JULY 14 
THE B5JRAJ- WEW-YORKER 
s 
ment, and double in value'in from five to ten 
years. The soil appears to be an alluvial de¬ 
posit averaging from'two to three feet deep. 
It dries rapidly after rains, and all plowing 
being done in the Fall, crops are put in about 
as early as in the neighborhood of Rochester. 
I find garden and farm crops as fur advanced 
here as in Monroe County, N. Y. The soil is 
as rich as New Orleans molasses. If the mud 
gets on your clothes or boots, it sticks and 
stains like grease, yet whou dry it is as loose 
as clear sand, and there is not a stone or stump 
to annoy the plowman. 
If the Mayflower had sailed up the Missis¬ 
sippi, and the Great West and Northwest had 
been the first settled, it is thought here that 
rnauy Eastern States would now lx* in the 
hands of the Indians. One thing is ceidain— 
this is a great, rich, undeveloped wheat gar¬ 
den, with fertility enough to feed the world. 
The Winters are severe, the roads impassable 
at certain seasons, mosquitoes abound, neigh¬ 
bors, churches, schools, are not, always what 
might be desired; but railroads, markets and 
the necessaries for financial success are not 
wanting. A poor Rochester boy came here a 
year ago. He worked on a farm for wages, 
and has now a tree claim aud homestead. 320 
acres, and in five years, if he has pluck, will 
bo worth $5,000. Aside from this, he will 
wake up intellectually, and make twice the 
man ho would have made plodding about 
Rochester. But I do not go buck on the 
Flour City I have nowhere seen a city so at¬ 
tractive; hut a poor man's chances appear 
better lie re than in Munroe County. But no 
man with a family ami just enough money to 
get here should come with his family. Wait 
till you get something ahead, or come alone, 
leaving your family, providing such an ar¬ 
rangement can l>e made. While a good man I 
will succeed anywhere, 1 confess that in my 
opinion his ehauces here are not excelled any¬ 
where else. I advise no oue to come. 1 am 
not (no oue is) iu a position to advise individu¬ 
als. more thau this—look before you leap! If 
poor, come aud work lieru a year before set¬ 
tling. Young meu without families eau get 
along on much less thau others—if such have 
money to pay their railroad fare here they 
have enough, if they have energy and pluck. 
Grand Forks Co., Dak. CHAS. A. Green. 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
DuUutu Territory 
Forestburg. Sanborn County, June at.— 
Wheat, oats, barley. Max, potatoes and 
gi-ass, looking extra well. Owing to the wet 
weather early in May corn was planted late, 
but is growing well now; will probably yield 
75 percent, of a crop. The Rural seeds are 
all growing well. Wysor’S Shoe-jieg Corn is 
making the fastest growth out of ten varieties 
planted. H. c. w. 
Florida, 
Leesburg, Sumter Co., Juue 15.—Yester¬ 
day was our first warm day; tliermoipeter 
stood IW'ri in the shade at uoon. We are now 
having our rainy season and it will last till 
September. Farmers busy setting out sweet 
potato sets. Corn laid by—prospect of au 
average crop. Sugar-cane looking well. Truck 
gardening about over. Oue lady ou Lake 
Norris cleared from one acre of hummock 
land set to tomatoes $800, with the last ship¬ 
ment yet to hear from. Orange crop an av- i 
erage, with many groves putting out a second 
crop. New pineapples and sweet potatoes 
coming into market. Many new buildings 
going up in and about Leesburg. 1 .eesburg 
proper cannot lie called a healthful place dur¬ 
ing hot weather, situated, as it is, between the 
swamp lands of two large lakes—Griffin and 
Norris. High pino lauds are always free from 
malaria. Laud has doubled iu value the past 
year. G. L. R. 
Illinois. 
New Windsor, Mercer Co., Juue 18.—I 
planted the seeds of the Niagara Grape in a 
box: 23 have come up and more are coming, k. 
Iowh. 
Story City, Story Co,, Juue 22.—Our crop 
outlook is about this: Wheat (Spring) aud 
oats are looking nice and promise a fair yield- 
Corn is small for t he season, but of good color 
and a good stand, taking into consideration 
the lateness of planting and the extremely cold 
aud wet weather during plautiug time. Small 
fruits are about as follows: Strawberries, 
fair to good; raspberries, prouiisiug; currants 
aud gooseberries,a failure. Grapes are very few 
owing to the buds having been winter-killed. 
Of apples we shall have but few. Many of my 
trees a foot in diameter have succumbed to 
the severity of the past Wiuter. Among 
those most injured on my place are Winosap, 
Falla water, all killed; English Golden Russet 
and Fall Pippin, considerably injured; Dyer, 
Roman Stem, Talman Sweet, slightly injured. 
Several varieties of Russian apples received 
of Prof. Build, of the Iowa Agricultural Col’ 
ege, are also injuicd. Pi u Davis is also laid 
ly hurt. Duchess of Oldenburg, Fameuse, Be 
uoni, Perry Russet, Red June and others have 
come out uuharmeil except iu the blossom 
buds, which 1 think were nearly all blasted. 
We have had a very wet season so far, au d 
cold weather also, and farmers are rather blue 
but hope for the best. I have been souiewka 
interested and amused at the discussion in re_ 
gard to sulky plows and two-horse cultivators, 
Go far none have presented the tacts in regard 
to these implements as they exist here. Should 
the Rural Editor desire 1 will at some future 
time give my experience with these tools. 
Also, il' it would be of interest to you would 
from time to time communicate the state of 
crops, etc., etc., in this very center of Iowa- 
[Yes, we shall be obliged.— Eds.] w. a. w. 
.UlchiKun. 
Mapleton, Grand Traverse Co., Juue 
26.—The seasou here is very backward: 
The Spring has been cold and wet. Wheat 
badly winter-killed, not more than two-third 
of n crop. Oats are looking fine. Corn a fair 
prospect with n large acreage. Potatoes a fair 
prospect with about the usual quantity 
planted. Fruits of all kinds promise fair 
crops. My Rural grape seeds are doing 
nicely. f. e, b. 
OshtemO, Kalamazx> Co., June 26.—Since 
my last report iu April, U> rainy days in May 
soaked the ground aud started the life into 
grass uud wheat. Most of Mav was cool and 
there were several freezes. Juue has kept up 
the precipitation begun iu May. So far we 
have had 13 rainy days w ith a greater water¬ 
fall than during May. As a result, corn is 
small, but wheat and grass are loo Icing grand. 
There is yet danger, however, that a continu¬ 
ance of these soaking mins may badly damage 
both grass and wheat by laying them and 
otherwise. So far there is a great similarity 
between last season and this, especially since 
May came in. Pota toes are looking fine, but. 
the bugs are on hand lively, aud the continued 
wet weather prevents destroyi ng them. Ap¬ 
ple trees were a mass of bloom, lint, from some 
cause the apples are few: thus the parallel 
holds good with last year. Iu this section ap. 
pies will lx» about the same as last year—not a 
quarter of a crop, but. it is thought they will 
be of better quali ty. Strawberries aud rasp¬ 
berries will be abundant, uud. on the whole 
if the rain soon ceases and warm weather 
soou comes (of which we as yet have had little) 
the seasou w ill be bounteous aud crops abuud 
ant. T. P. D. 
Chadwick. Iona Co., June 27.—The weatli. 
er here is very wet and has been for some 
lime. Corn backward: some have planted 
this week for the first time. Wheat looks 
fair. Grass pretty heavy: if wet weather con¬ 
tinues it will be damaged considerably. Ap¬ 
ples and peaches will be light crops: also cher¬ 
ries. E, D. H. 
Nebriinka. 
Alma, Harlan Co., Juue 20.—There is 50 
per cent, more wheat iu this neighborhood 
thau last year; prospects good: 100 per cent, 
more rye aud barley. Rye good, barley 
splendid. Best prospect for corn. Potatoes 
tin* best l have ever seen. Harvest will com¬ 
mence next week. < ’ountry rapidly filling up 
with good farmers mostly from Iowa, Illinois, 
Indiana and Ohio. The price of real estate 
has advanced 50 per cent, iu six months. On 
the whole, the prospects for crops iu general 
are the best I ever saw. d. \v. 
Pennsylvania. 
Baden, Beaver Co., June 23.—We are hav¬ 
ing a very wot time. Wheat is very poor, iu 
some places not worth cutting. Potatoes are 
good. Corn is middling good. Oats are a 
very heavy crop. Grass ditto. Apples very 
poor, although this is our bearing year. 
There was a great deal of bloom, but the bios 
sums were frozen and the apples dropped off. 
Apples were all killed here by frost last 
year also. The locusts are here iu swarms. 
Horses aud cuttle are very high. The French 
and Kuglish horses are being introduced aud 
it is well, as the native horses are so small. F.s. 
VirKinin. 
Dunnville. Essex Co , June 18.—Our sea¬ 
son is backward with corn, wheat aud gar¬ 
dens; abundance of fruit aud grass. Stock in 
good condition. Every interest of the country 
seems thrifty, though there is a scarcity of 
money. Laud is improving in value, though 
very low now. Our county has about 500 
square miles and about 11,000 population. It 
is a good place for working men to emigrate 
to from where they are too much crowded. 
Good mechanics eau find cheap homes with a 
demand for their work. This county has 
every convenience that a reasonable man 
would expect in the country. R. s. 
Wtnriiiixtn. 
Kansasvili.k, Racine Co., June 22.—We 
have had a very stormy seasou so far—terrible 
storms of wind, rain aud bail, doing much 
damage to the growing crops. Wheat, oats 
and barley look well ou the uplands; ou the 
lowlands they are drowned out. Corn is very 
backward, much of it had to be replanted 
on account of poor seed. Grass is an immense 
crop. Of the three wheats the Rural sent 
out last year, all are looking well, Shumaker 
is ahead; Surprise next. I do not think the 
B-b, C. will amount to anything. I think it 
* is a Winter wheat. We raise both kinds 
hero. j. s. 
Neenah, Winnebago Co,, June 23.—Spring 
wet. Backward Winter wheat looks splendid. 
Spring wheat and oats not looking very well 
‘ on account of so much l ain. Coru very poor, 
a great deal having been planted over. Pro¬ 
spect good for hay. A hail stoim passed 
through here on June 10th, doing a great deal 
of damage. Hail-stones fell that measured 
ten inches in circumference, and bushels of 
them were as large as goose eggs. f. w. 
(Tl)t’ (Qitmsl. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
(Every query must be accompanied by the uame 
and address of the writer to Insure attention^ 
CAPONIZING COCKERELS. 
Subscriber, Denver. Col .—How are cocker¬ 
els caj ionized? 
Ans. —The best birds for capons are the 
large breeds, Asiatics or Dorkings. They 
should be two to three months old; old birds 
seldom survive eaponizing. Before the opera¬ 
tion they should be deprived of food for from 
24 to 48 hours, so as uot to have their bowels 
distended. There ara? instruments made for 
the operation, which cun be purchased in most 
cities. Capons should be kept till the uge of 
15 to 18 months, which will bring them to full 
size, which should be double the size they 
would have attained had they uot been capon- 
ized. The bird to be operated on, must be 
fastened down on his side to a board or bcuch 
thi ough an augur bole; the wings should be 
drawn together over his back and well secured; 
the legs drawu backward, the upper oue 
drawn out lurthest aud secured. The feathers 
must be plucked from the right, or upper side 
near the hip joint., on a line with and between 
the joint of the shoulder. The space uncovered 
should be about one-and-a-half inch in diam¬ 
eter on au ordinary-sized bird. Draw the 
s kin of the (>art backward so that when the 
operation is finished the skiu slides back to it s 
natural position and covers the wound in the 
flesh, and does not, when neatly done, require 
sewing. Make an incision with u fine, sharp 
jieuknife (or praqier Instrument Ls best), be¬ 
tween the last rib and hip. commencing about 
au inch from the back-bone; extend it oblique¬ 
ly downward, from au inch to an inch and-a- 
half, just cutting deep enough to separate the 
flesh; take grant care uot to wound the intes¬ 
tines The wound must be kept open with au 
instrument withaspring, called a retractor, 
or with something answering the same pur¬ 
pose, stretching it wide enough to afford room 
for the work. Then, carefully' cut the mem¬ 
brane covering the intestines which if not 
sufficiently draw n up, may be pushed towards 
the breast-bone lightly by a spoon-shaped in¬ 
strument, or the haudle of a teaspoou. The 
organs to bo removed are readily recognized 
—a small reddish-yellow cylinder attached to 
the spine ou each side, covered with a line 
membrane or skiu which must first be removed 
with forceps aud a tiue hook to draw it away. 
With the left haud introduce the bowl of a 
spoon (an instrument is made for the purpose) 
under the lower or loft testicle, which is gener¬ 
ally a little nearer to the rump than the right 
one. Then take the instrument called u can¬ 
nula, which is a hollow tube with a horse hair 
passed through it forming at the end of a loop, 
which can lx? tightened by pulling on the two 
ends of the hair at the other end of the tube. 
Pass tins loop around the testicle with the 
help of something to place it in position (the 
cauuula has a hook for this purpose! so as to 
bring the loop to act upon the parts w hich 
connect the organ to the back Then 
by drawing the ends of the hair loop back¬ 
ward and forward, aud at the same time push¬ 
ing the lower eud of the tube or cauuula 
towards the rump of the fowl, the cord or 
fastening of the organ is severed. A similar 
process is then to lx? repeated with the upper¬ 
most or right testicle, after which any re¬ 
mains of the organs together with the blood 
around the w ound or at the bottom, must lie 
removed with the spoou. The reason for oper¬ 
ating on the left or lower organ first is to pre¬ 
vent the blood from covering the lower one if 
left last. V\ ben the operation is performed, 
which if skillfully doue occupies but a few 
minutes, the retractor is taken out, the skiu 
drawn over the wound, which if it was drawu 
ou oue side be fore cutting (as mentioned 
above), will connect at a place not exactly 
opposite the woumt In the flesh, thereby cater¬ 
ing the flesh wound. If skillfully doue it re¬ 
quires uosewing. The old 1 reuclisystem was 
to operate? ou each side of the fowl, but the 
system here described is considered an im¬ 
provement on the antiquated Gallic method. 
The necessary tools can be bad of H. H. Stod- 
dart, Hartford. Conn. 
A. S„ Kalamazoo, Mich .—How can I dis¬ 
tinguish the male strawberry plant? How 
many male plant* should be put in a row two 
rods long? 
Ans -Strawberry plants are divided into two 
classes, viz: hermaphrodite, or perfect, from 
having both stamens and pistils developed; and 
pistillate, or female, from which the pistils are 
chiefly developed. These are very easily de¬ 
termined. In the perfect the long, slender 
filaments, which are little tbiead-like stems 
bearing upon their tips little sacks which shed 
a yellow dust called pollen, are abundant. The 
center of the flower has a cone-like form, 
which is quite compact, around the base of 
which is situated tbese stamens. Place about 
one bisexual plant to every? other two plants. 
It is a better plan to have one row of bisexuals 
to every other two rows. 
M. W, J., Atlanta, Ga ,—1 planted the Niag¬ 
ara Grape seeds out-of-doors under glass in a 
cold-frame on Feb. ‘17, without soaking at all. 
I now have four vines, one very vigorous, over 
18 inches high, one about 12 inches, two, four 
to eight inches. They have never been trans¬ 
planted, I thought I would let them remain 
where they are until next Winter and then 
transplant. Would that lx best? 
Ans, —The better plan would be to allow 
them to remain where they? are, if not too 
crowded, until next Spring and then trans¬ 
plant. Nothiug would be gained by trans¬ 
planting late in the season, and perhaps the 
young plants might be heaved out by the frost 
if uot planted firm and deep, and be thereby 
much in jured, 
R. C., Udbinds, (Jnt .—Last year my neigh¬ 
bor sowed two acres of Fall wheat. It rusted 
badly owing, 1 presume, to the wet weather. 
Iu the Fall he plowed the land, spread barn¬ 
yard manure on it, dragged it and sowed it to 
wheat, which grew strong and thick iu the 
Fall but now it is tliiu. and he says it is badly 
winter-killed, while another neighbor says it 
is manure-killed; which is right? 
Ans. —Is the land properly drained? With¬ 
out knowing more about the circumstances, it 
would be risky to decide what really injured 
the crop, but there is very little risk in say ing 
chat it was not the manure. 
W. J. A., No address .—Of the two varie¬ 
ties of grass inclosed I claim the hollow¬ 
stemmed kind is June Grass, aud the solid¬ 
stemmed sort Blue Grass; am I right? 
ANS.—June Grass aud Blue Grass are the 
same—botanic-ally Poa prateusis. The hollow- 
stemmed specimen is this variety. The oue 
with the flat, solid stem is also Blue Grass, but 
Northern Blue or Wire Grass—Poa compressa 
— not June Grass. 
M. A. B ., Kutztoien, Pa ..—1. When is the 
proper time to plant crocus aud w hen will it 
blossom ? 2. When must I sow smilax to get 
Winter twiners? 
Ans. —1. Crocus bulbs should be planted in 
September or October. The plant floweis in 
April, but in sheltered places, frequently in 
March. 2. Almost any? time in the course of 
the next two months. 
.4. P. K., Greenville, Ala —What is the best 
method of keeping potatoes for Wiuter use? 
Ans. —The best way to do is to put them iu a 
cool, dry cellar, where the temperature will he 
such as not to cause the buds to start. Some 
sort tlieir potatoes aud barrel all that are 
large enough for eating purposes, then till the 
barrels with fine saud. 
P. P. P.. AVer York City,sends for real name 
a specimen of “the unmitigated nuisance" 
known in Virginia as Wire-Grass. 
Ans. —The Virginia Wire Grass is the same 
as the Bermuda Grass of the more southern 
States. This is a specimen of Bermuda Grass 
—Cyuodon dactylon. 
J. B. A., Pungoteague, Vd., sends head of 
grain for name. 
Ans —This is the Bearded or Poisoned Dar¬ 
nel—Loliurn temulentum. Grain noxious or 
poisonous. 
_4, E. C., Schnectady, .V. Y. —Where can I 
obtaiu Pyrethrum roseum seed? 
Ans.—A ddress Buhach Manufacturing Co., 
Stockton, Cal. 
-♦- 
COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVED FOR THE WEEK ENDISU 
Saturday, June A): 
F. E. B.-C. V. R.—C. L. F.-J. S.-R. 0,-F. E. H.- 
J. L. M.—W. W. B.- C. J. G.-C. V. R.-G. W. R.-0. F 
B. — N. W. K—G. \V. S.—A. L. B„ thnuks—H. F.—E W. 
U.—J. B. U.—M. W.—M. W. ,T,-H. W. -J. A I. V.-W. 
D. G.—W, C. H. A. 11., thanks—I. B A. -I. S. S.—A. R- 
M.-P. 51. A.-L. S. H.-F. D. D.-P. P.-J. H. W.', 
thanks for beans—W. I. C.—D. W.— F. G. G.—A. T.— 
T.O.—A. M. W. R. S.-H.B. B.-C. V. R.-S. E. W.— 
C. A. 5tcC.-J,S H. J, C. F.-A. N.-D. B. U.-C.E 
T.—\V. L, P., tliauks,—H. U.-C. V. R.-G. W. R.— 
W.J. A.-A. J. C.-C. G.-H. J.-G. C.R.-J. G - 
A. B. A.-G. L. R.—W. A. W.—H. S.—W. B. H.—F 
W.—P. P. P.—A. J. C.—S C. R.— 
