472 
THE RURAL 
NEW-YORKER. 
JULY 2$ 
manner of those of some Spiraeas, and these 
bunches, in great profusion. The. shrub is of 
upright form but not so high as Crenata; it is 
the earliest flowering and hardiest Deutzia 
that we have got. It comes into blossom 
some time before Gracilis and lasts in beauty 
till the flowers of the last-named open. Our 
nurserymen advertise it for 35 to 50 cents a 
plant. 
* * 
Again let me say a good word for the Jap- 
anese Silver Bell Tree (Styrax Japonica). It 
is now (the 20th of Juno) in full bloom, and 
very lovely. Little trees eight years old from 
seed, and seven or eight feet high, have more 
flowers than leaves. The branches are slender, 
and spread out horizontally, and the snowdrop¬ 
like flower’s droop from the under side in great 
profusion. The little trees blossom when lour 
to five years ohl. They are perfectly hardy 
here. It assumes a neat pyramidal form and 
is peculiarly adapted for small gardens. 
* * 
The Mantchurian Lilac (Syringa Amurensis) 
is a newly introduced and desirable species. 
It is quite hardy and a good grower, has ample, 
graceful panicles of white, fragrant flowers, 
and is in full bloom between the 10th and the 
SJOth of June, some time after the common and 
Persian Lilacs have done flowering. It is en¬ 
tirely distinct from the Chinese, Persian, com¬ 
mon Josikcea or Ernodi Lilacs. So far as I 
know it is uot for sale yet by our nurserymen, 
but as Mr. Ellwanger saw and admired it 
when he was here the other day, I presume it 
will soon be in the trade. 
* * 
A cold-frame is an excellent place in which 
to sow seeds, grow along young small and 
tender seedlings, root cuttings and care for 
choice little plants, in Summer-time. If you 
have a sash or two, good and well, you can the 
more easily raise your seedlings, root your cut¬ 
tings and shade and shelter your Chinese Prim¬ 
roses, but sashes are not necessary for Sum¬ 
mer use. A square or oblong box, three 
to six feet wide and of any length you please, 
and one foot high, set in a sheltered place, 
partially shaded if practicable, is all you want. 
Into this you can put some sandy soil; root 
and grow you r little plants till they become 
large and strong enough to bear planting out 
into the open garden. By placing a few bean¬ 
poles or slats across the frame, and a branch 
or two of Norway Spruce, White Pine or other 
evergreen over them, you can get all the 
shade you want, aud in dull weather you cau 
remove it at pleasure. Heavy washing rains 
are what are to be most guarded against. 
Leon. 
A GOOD PIGGERY. 
This piggery was designed for a farmer 
who annually raises and fattens about 25 hogs. 
It is built as cheaply as is consistent with a 
proper degree of convenience and neatness, 
and will prove ft very satisfactory affair on 
small farms. It is 18 feet wide and 32 long, 
including the corn-crib; the sides are eight 
feet high the cornice projects 10 to 14 inches. 
It is a common frame structure. Hills six by 
eight, on brick or stone foundation. 
Fig. 308 is the front elevation; Fig. 304 the 
corn-crib end; Fig. 305, ground plan. Crib 
(Fig. 304) is 8x18 feet. The partition between 
it and pen proper is tight. Besides the crib, 
the building contains one main pen 12x18 feet, 
Plan ok Piggery, Front Elevation.— 
Fig. 303. 
and two pens 0x0 feet, for breeding sows or 
other uses; u feed room 0x12 feet for cooking 
apparatus, swill tanks, shelter and pump. 
Referring to letters in Fig. 805, F is the 
boiler or feed cooker, which maybe a common 
brick furnace and boiler or one of the excel¬ 
lent and compact cookers advertised in some 
agricultural papers. T is the swill tank; P, 
pump; S, shelter; TV, troughs; D, doors; W, 
windows; O, sliding gate connecting pens. 
The building has four windows four panes 
square; one large door in front; one door at 
the end, opening into main yard, O; one door 
in each small pen opening into yards A and B, 
and one into the corn-crib. A large feed 
trough is placed under partition separating 
main pen from feed room. Fig. 31)5 is an end 
view of it. T is the trough; P, partition; V, 
door hinged to partition; //, handle for open¬ 
ing or closing door; B, brace firmly fastened * 
to floor to stiffen partition. Two of thes e 
braces are used. 
By means of this hinged or swinging door 
the hogs may be shut off from the trough until 
food is distributed, or at any other time. Han¬ 
dle H has several holes in it through which a 
bolt is passed to hold the door in auv position 
desired. 
The floor of the feed room is brick laid in 
“slush cement,” or it may he grouted with 
coarse gravel and cement. The floors of the 
Plan of Piggery, Corn Crib Enu.—Fig. 3!)4. 
two small pens should be made of the same 
material and laid slightly inclining towards 
the outside of t he building. 
The walls of the building are double thick¬ 
ness: i. e., common boards nailed on the stud¬ 
ding lengthwise, then stock boards nailed over 
them perpendicularly and battened. The roof 
i s shingled, or covered with inch boards laid 
Plan ok Piggery, Ground Plan.—Fig. 395- 
lengthwise aud overlaid with rubber roofing. 
The windows are made to open by sliding to 
one side, aud are used to ventilate the pens in 
warm weather. The annual butchering may 
be done in the feed room. The feed cooker 
may be used for cooking small potatoes and 
other waste vegetables, crushed corn, corn- 
meal, shorts, ship-stuff, etc., which, combined 
Plan of Piggery, End View of Feed- 
Trough.—Fig. 39fi. 
with corn,make a most excellent food for either 
growing or fattening hogs. An additional 
shed may be built at. the end in yard C-, to ac¬ 
commodate a larger number of hogs than the 
main building is designed for. “ Picket.” 
Morrisonville, Ill. 
£l)C VhmjajpJ. 
THE GRAPE ROT. 
GEN. C. M. CLAY. 
Its Nature. 
The discussion of the grape rot or mildew 
of leaf and berry has been going on for a 
quarter of ft century with about as much dif¬ 
ference of opinion as to its cause as ever. For 
WALLS. 
In England, where there is but little sun¬ 
shine, the walls of houses, aud walls built for 
the purpose, are used for the grape-vine. The 
consequence is that the sunshine and heat are 
utilized to the fullest extent. During the day 
the heat is stored in the walls, and during the 
night it is gradually imparted to the vines. 
Thus, when the days and uights are equal, 
there is twice the time for maturing the sap 
as there would be without walls. The result 
is that mauy delicate varieties are there ri¬ 
pened with walls, which it is impossible to ri¬ 
pen without. Now, for a half century or 
more I have raised grapes, beginning with the 
Catawba and following on to the American 
seedlings of the latest date, on walls, stakes 
and the wii’e trellises. Those on the stakes have 
proved the most liable to rot; those on the 
trellis next, and those on the walls havu al¬ 
ways produced grapes, except once, last year, 
when in an unusually wet season some white 
grapes on the wall were touched in the leaf 
and in the berry with slight mildew, whilst 
those on the trellis and stakes wore entirely lost. 
CLOSE PRUNING, 
which a correspondent in the Rural suggests 
as a remedy, will increase the evil. On the 
stakes the vines underwent the greatest possi¬ 
ble trimming; that is to say, the two-cane 
system was used—one cane being alternately 
cut down to two or three buds, and yet they 
rotted more than on the trellis where more 
vine was allowed. Root-pruning, then, would 
be the right thing; but that being impossible, 
or at least impracticable, the next best thing is 
to leave more wood to make more loaves, aud 
instead of cutting away so many branches, 
spread them more: and where there ure two 
wires to the trellis posts, put three or more till 
the branches and the roots are equalized aud 
no more sap is infused than can be matured. 
TIME OF THE ROT. 
Here in the hottest nights of July, when 
there is often fog aud always heavy dews, the 
rot takes place, when the fullest-bearing vines 
are n a few days stripped of their fruit. The 
reason is plain: then the vine is in its most 
vigorous growth, and consequent, aeeumlation 
of sap; anil the damp fogs mid heavy dews re¬ 
tard assimilation when it is most needl'd: the 
consequence is indigestion or mildew. 
FUNGUS AND INFUKORLE. 
Some have claimed that the rot is fungus, 
and others auimalculax In my opinion these 
are effects aud not causes. A sickly animal 
always invites vermin, and a sickly tree fun¬ 
gus aud insects. Nuture utilizes all her mate¬ 
rials. When one organization takes the place 
of the decaying one, this purpose is liest car¬ 
ried out. So in the pear-blight, iu my opin¬ 
ion, the infusoria- an' the result aud not the 
cause of the blight. 
CULTURE. 
Admitting indigestion, then, to be the cause 
of the grape-bliglit, the direction of the rem¬ 
edy is patent. Select high and well-drained 
soiL Don’t manure highly. Train the brunch¬ 
es longer. Spread them more carefully to the 
sun and air. Reduce the number of bunches 
by cutting them out with the knife or scissors, 
and not by cutting away the leaves and the 
branches so much. Place them upon all the 
walls of all the houses. Build fences or walls 
for them. Cover the tops of trellises with 
broad planks fixed on the posts, to shelter the 
vines against rains and dews to some extent. 
Having these eDds always in view, with hardy 
varieties, it seems to me that grapes cau be 
successfully cultivated even iu our difficult soil 
and climate. 
VARIETIES. 
No plant is more sensitive to climate and 
soil than the grape, as by long experience iu 
Europe and even iu this country has been 
fully proven. The proper way is to set out 
more than 20 years I have formed and ex¬ 
pressed my views about it, and have no cause 
to change them. The cause is indigestion; 
that is, the vines at certain seasons have more 
Bap in their stems and leaves than can bo by 
air, light and heat matured and assimilated: 
just as in animal life the same cause produces 
the same result—the souring of the contents of 
the stomach and a failure of food nutriment. 
with several of the best, varieties and speedily 
abandon the worst, for- a great number of in¬ 
ferior varieties of anything is a mistake, j 
have on my wall the Catawba, the Concord ( 
the Delaware, the Martha, the Rebecca, the 
Imdy and the Sweet-water (old), aud a few 
other seedlings, aud after all, the Catawba is 
the best for tuble and wine when fully matured* 
White Hall, Ky. 
Grape Rot. 
Some time ago, in remarking upon seedlings 
of the Niagara Grape, 1 stated that some of 
them had developed that peculiar disease of 
the foliage which indicated grape rot. Some 
one of your correspondents said afterwards, if 
I remember correctly, that if Mr. Campbell 
had any knowledge of this kind with refer¬ 
ence to the rotting of grapes, ho should give 
it, to the public. I suppose the disease to which 
1 referred was well known to all grape- growers 
of ordinary habits of obsoivation, or I should 
probably have offered some description of it at 
the time. I send the Rural to-day both the 
foliage aud the grapes from urine infected 
with incipient rot, which will illustrate the 
matter more perfectly than any written de¬ 
scription. This condition of the foliage, with 
brown, nearly round spots, which are sprinkled 
upon the surface more or less abundantly, so 
far as my observation goes, always aceorn 
panics this species of grape rot. And I do not 
remember ever to have seeu grapes thus af¬ 
fected without the corresponding appearance 
of the foliage. So, in raising seedlings, if I 
find any which develop this condition of foli¬ 
age, as some do even before bearing. I should 
naturally expect such seedlings to be liable to 
rot. 1 have, perhaps, thirty seedlings from 
the Niagara, from some of which I expect 
fruit next Summer, and although some of 
these seedlings have, as 1 stated, shown this 
peculiur disease of the foliage, others have 
not. And though 1 do not regard it as by any 
means certain that the Niagara will be subject 
to rot because some of iffi seedlings are, the 
inference is fair that this tendency might be 
inherited from the parent. 
Delaware, Ohio. geo. w. Campbell. 
Slfbotindtuuai. 
WOOD CONSUMED BY THE RAILROADS 
OF FRANCE. 
DR. J. A. WARDER. 
The increased activity iu the new railways 
of France adds interest to the following noteH 
furnished by F. Jacqimon, Chief Engineer of 
Bridges and Highways (Punts et Chaufrtes), 
and Director of the Eastern Railways, hi his re¬ 
cent report of the Universal Exposition of 
1878, respecting materials employed. 
The six great railway companies required 
for the maintenance of their roads in 1877, 
2.5(15,000 cross-ties. This enormous figure 
represents the use of 03 ties to each kilometer, 
or the daily need of 7,009 tics. 
Supposing that each tree will furnish an 
average of ten pieces—a low estimate for the 
Beech aud a high one for the Oak—it would 
have been ueeessary since 1877 to cut down 
700 fine trees daily to furnish the demand for 
cross-ties alone. When the projected net-work 
of roads shall have been completed, this 
estimate will grow to 1,000 trees per diem. To 
this enormous consumption of wood must lie 
added that which is requires! for the main' 
tenance of the rolling stock, which cannot be 
estimated at, a less figure than 140,000 cubic 
metros annually, or 4,944,100 cubic feet. Wo 
can see that by the year 1890, the construction 
of 20,000 kilometers, (or 12,238 miles) of uew 
roads will require 20,000,000 new tics. We 
imiy now see that the Reporter is right in cull¬ 
ing the railroad the greatest consumer of wood 
in the country. 
By increasing the number of tics we Increase 
the supporting surface, and thus add to the 
stability of the roud. The companies of the 
North aud East use ten ties to the rail of eight 
metres length (or 20.25 feet nearly), which re¬ 
duces the interspace to 80 centimeters from 
center to center, or less than 80 inches. 
The figures we have given for the annual 
consumption of wooden ties show the im¬ 
portance which attaches to the question of 
metallic cross-ties, a matter which is attract¬ 
ing increased attention. 
If successful, as is probable, in producing 
satisfactory ties of metal, the forges will re¬ 
ceive a new stimulus iu producing the metal 
tie, and the forests w ill be greatly relieved by 
the withdrawal of this enormous drain upon 
their resources iu sustaining the railways. 
})(mllnj JJurlr. 
CRITICISING A CRITICISM. 
In the Rural of June 2d, 1 notice an artitle 
entitled, “ A Sharp Criticism,” by A. B. C- 
Salmon, and the question arises, does the 
writer use common sense iu his criticism. In 
the first, place he says he doesn’t know anything 
about au incubator, but has heard it claimed 
that as many chicks cau be obtained from a 
cei-tain number of eggs as wdieu hutched by a 
