SEPT 45 
THE RUBAI. HEW-YORKER. 
to bloom about a week before the Beauties. 
The vines of the latter died and the potatoes 
were dug over two weeks before the Blush. 
The Blush yielded from the three sprouts 37 
potatoes weighing 1XJ pounds two ounces, being 
97 times the weight of the “seed.” The larg¬ 
est one weighed 13 ounces and there were 
only four smallish ones among them. 1 think 
the crop very good from the quantity of 
seed planted. The planting was on new 
ground where the sod had been newly turned. 
The hills were enriched with fertilizers, c.f.f. 
iHIcbtgiiiii 
Bedford, Cal. Co., Aug. 22.—I have har¬ 
vested my wheat. I planted 40 kernels of 
Surprise, one kernel in a place about 18 in¬ 
ches apart, 35 of which grew, maturing 753 
heads of fair size; but the berry is somewhat 
shrunken. It was hoed twice, planted Hepl. 
18, on fallow ground, soil clayey loam. Think 
it will be a fine wheat if not too late. I 
counted as high as 31 heads from one kernel 
of seed. Shumaker planted in drill about one 
week earlier. Shall have about a peck of 
that. It got the same care and same soil as 
Surprise, yet the yield was not so great. 
The Fultzo-Clawson got the same care ami 
soil as the other varieties; was pluntod in drill 
Heads good, well matured. Straw large 
About three days earlier than Surprise, but 
not so early as Shumaker. There will be 
more than a peck of that. Weather very 
dry all through this month. People just 
finishing oat harvest. Oat crop good and 
well secured. Wheat of poor quality, and 
not yielding very well. Corn very late. 
Fruit crop small. Potatoes good. w. e. w. 
Missouri. 
McDonald Co., Aug. 25.—Crops of all kinds 
are unusually good here this season. There 
are very few orchards here, a fact that seems 
very strange to me, for this is undoubtedly 
a fine fruit country. What few there are seem 
to be doing well. s. G. w. 
Oil to. 
Leipsic, Putnam Co.. August 27.—The 
yield of wheat in this county is not above half 
a crop, and generally it is of poor quality. 
Prices range from 75 cents to 81.00 per bushel. 
The prospect for a good corn crop is certainly 
not very flattering. The planting season was 
late, owing to excessive rains and cold 
weather. Although “seed corn” had been 
pronounced as of uncertain growth, ample 
precautions had been taken to secure the best 
that could he bad, and a sufficient quantity 
was put in each hill to insure a full stand: yet 
the stand is light. The same cause prevented 
cultivation at the proper time, except on land 
well underdrained. Our farmers are placing 
miles of tile drain through the fields of the 
“Black Swamp,” and the result is wonderful. 
Hay is a good crop, aud most of it secured in 
good shape. Early potatoes excellent ; late 
ones will be an average crop unless they rot, 
and of rotting there is some complaint. Oats 
good, but few raised. Buckwheat looks well; 
only enough growu for home use. Apples are 
not plentiful, but there are more than will be 
needed for home consumption. What few 
pears and grapes are grown here look splen¬ 
did. I planted 48 grains of Shoe peg Corn oa 
June 5th; every grain germiuated, and the 
corn now looks well. The Blush Potato is 
still growing, and promises finely, considering 
the soil and care which it received. No rain 
for the past thirty days, except a light shower 
on August 20. Weather cool ami pleasant. 
T. J. W. 
Cadiz, Harrison Co., Aug. 23.—Having sev¬ 
eral new varieties of potatoes of my own pro¬ 
ducing, which together with the Blush I 
wished to plant in my garden where they 
would be under my own care, I was com¬ 
pelled to plant them t< >0 close—two feet be¬ 
tween the rows and one foot in the drill. I 
am confident that with more room the Blush 
would have produced fully one-third more. 
As proof of this, the plant that was next to 
the walk, where it had more room, yielded 
three pounds. The soil was a heavy lime¬ 
stone, and in spite of all my efforts to keep it 
mellow, it became very bard during the sea¬ 
son. The weather condition*, however, were, 
up to the middle of July, all that could be de¬ 
sired. From that time until August 22, we 
had no rain. I have been very careful in 
making up my report, and the following are 
the exact facts. For seed I had two Rural 
Blush Potatoes weighing two ounces, received 
through the R. F. S. D. There wore 17 eyes 
which were planted April 15. Fertilizers, 
stable manure, wood ashes, aud at the second 
hoeing, a top-dressing of soluble Pacific 
Guano well worked in with the hoe. Planted 
alongside of other sorts, two feet by one. 
Yield, 3(5)-£ pounds. Average per single eye, 
34X ounces. Number of tubers, 171. Aver¬ 
age weight &% ounces. Five largest 50 ounces" 
Rate per acre, 773J£ bushels, I hope ihat some 
one will be able to make a better report, for J 
believe that in favorable soil, with a good sea¬ 
son, and with such cultivation as I have given 
it, tlie Blush would produce a thousand bush¬ 
els to the acre. I would call it medium early 
instead of medium late. s. y. k. 
Oregon. 
Union Co. —We have about thirty Niagara 
Grape plants. Most of them were planted in 
the open ground and did fully as well as 
those planted in a box in the house. We have 
twelve hills of the Blush Potato, and they are 
looking line. The Centennial Wheat is very 
thrifty and made very largo stools, but does 
not throw up many heads and seems consider¬ 
ably mixed. Several varieties of flowers in 
bloom; some I prize very highly, mus. j. a. 
Pennsylvnutn. 
Hughesvtlle, Lycoming Co., Aug. 30.— 
A part of the Rural Surprise Wheat was 
sown ns a Spring wheat. It grew to about 15 
inches in hight, tillered quite freely, never 
headed out and by Sept. 1. had entirely dried 
up. The remainder was planted Sept. 14. It 
came up and made a very good top before 
cold weather came on, stood the Winter re¬ 
markably well—not a single plant having been 
injured. It tillered more than any wheat I 
have ever seen; the least stool numbered 91 
heads and stalks, and the largest 121. It rusted 
so badly that I never gathered a single kernel 
of the crop. The Fultzo-Clawson was sown on 
1,089 square feet of ground. It stood the 
Winter exceedingly well; but also rusted 
badly. It produced 11 medium-sized sheaves, 
which when thrashed yielded 81 pounds of 
badly shrunken wheat. If the kernels had 
boon as large and plump as those planted, I 
havo no doubt but that the yield would have 
been a full bushel. I have not yet decided 
whether to give it another trial or not. The 
latter part of the season here was wet and 
quite unfavorable to the growth and ripening 
of wheat. The graft© seeds were buried in 
earth iu the cellar as soon as received, where 
they remained until May 1, when they were 
planted in the open ground. They came up at 
once, though quite a number of the plants 
perished from mildew. 1 still have 115 thrifty 
vines left The Blush Potatoes awarded me as 
rny prize on the Rural Heavy Dent Corn, were 
planted on a quarter of an acre of ground. 
They are now fully ripe. Some were dug a 
few days ago with a view of estimating the 
yield, which from this test will be 127 bushels, 
or at the rate of 508 bushels per acre. The 
yield of Burbank alongside, with the same 
treatment, is 240 bushels per acre. If you de¬ 
sire it 1 will give the exact yield when all 
are dug, also the method of cultivation. [Yes ) 
please. Eds.] d. s. 
Tennessee- 
Green Briar, Robertson Co., Aug. 20.— 
My Shoe-peg Corn is now nearly ready for 
cutting up. I am wonderfully pleased with 
it. It is much earlier tbau our common field 
corn; will yield better, besides being much 
better for cutting up for fodder; it has more 
leaves aud less stalk. 8, k. c. 
(Querist. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
(Every query must be Accompanied by the name 
aud address of the writer tn insure attention.] 
rennet: making cheese in a small way. 
M. E. C., Severance, Kansas: What do 
writers mean by a spoonful of rennet? Of 
wliat strength should it be? Is there any way of 
preparing rennet with spirits? How warm 
should the milk for cheese-making be when 
the rennet is put into it? How should cheese 
be made in a small way? 
Ans. —It is impossible to say what is meant 
by a “spoonfulit is as indefinite as a “little 
salt,” or “apiece of butter” so often mentioned 
by cooks in their recipes. Rennet should al¬ 
ways be of a standard strength and the quan¬ 
tity be accurately measured, aud the milk 
should lie brought to an exact temperature, in¬ 
dicated by the thermometer, otherwise the 
curd will differ every time and no two makes 
of cheese will be alike. The chemical effect of 
rennet, upon milk is as certain and accurate 
as the effects of weights iu a scale, and as a 
grain in one scale or the other will turn the 
balance so the least variation in the strength 
and quantity of the rennet and the tempera¬ 
ture of the milk will affect the time and the 
manner of the curding. To make rennet pro¬ 
ceed as follows: Take a stomach of a sucking 
calf; empty it of its contents, but do not 
wash it; put a handful of salt iu it; spread the 
stomach flat; nib salt on the outside, and leave 
it 24 hours; then empty the salt, except what 
adheres to the inside; rub the outside again 
with salt; put a stiff twig of hickory in it Dent 
to stretch it and hang it up iu a dry place to 
dry. The longer this is kept the stronger will 
be its action. As long as it is kept dry it. will 
not spoil. In making cheese in a small way it 
is best to keep the rennets iu this way and use 
them as follows: For 40 gallons of milk, half 
an ounce of the dried stomach or a piece 1% 
inch square, is cut off and steeped for 24 hours 
iu half a pint of freshly-made brine, at 70 de¬ 
grees of temperature for 24 hours. Rennet is 
not prepared w,th spirits nor is it to be heated 
more than blood heat. This quantity of ren¬ 
net poured and w ell stirred into 40 gallons of 
milk at 90 degrees, will bring the eurd in 
about one hour; if a soft cheese is required the 
milk is not warmed so much—80 degrees is the 
usual temperature—but more time is required 
to bring the eurd. The tub should be covered 
to retain the warmth. The curd is left until a 
piece can be lifted on the band without break¬ 
ing; it is then cut cross-ways about an inch 
apart to let. the whey escape; and as soon as 
the whey separates it is dipped out and heated 
to 120 degrees It is then poured by degrees 
into the curd which is w - ell stirred aud broken 
up. After standing half au hour, the whey is 
drawn off and the tub slightly inclined to 
drain the curd which is heaped at one side. 
Here it is left until it becomes in the very 
slightest degree sour. It is then broken up 
very fine by the hand aud salted with fine salt 
at the rate of one ounce to four pounds of curd. 
The salt is evenly mixed with the curd, and 
the curd is then put in the press. It is ready 
for the press when a piece squeaks between 
the teeth. The whole of a rennet may be cut 
up and put Into a glass jar w ith oue quart of 
brine and steeped for three weeks, along with a 
sliced lemon. The liquid is then strained and 
bottled for use. One tablospoonful of this is 
used for 10 gallons of milk; or ono teaspoonful, 
for 12 quarts. Tin's is a good method when 
small cheeses weighing three or four ounces 
each are made, as in the Neufchatel or the 
Limburger fashion. 
SKIMMING CREAM, ETC. 
E. S , South Gibson, Pa. —1. What is the 
best way to skim the cream easily from milk 
set in deep cans? 3. V\ hat are tho best half 
dozen varieties of plums aud cherries for this 
place? 3. How can female help be got from 
Castle Garden? 4. What varieties of ever¬ 
greens are suitable for planting along the 
road-side? 
Ans —1. There is no difficulty in skimming 
the deep pails eight inches iu diameter aud 20 
inches deep and holding 80 pounds of milk. 
The pails are filled to within oue inch of the 
top: the cream will be from three to five 
inches deep, as the milk may be less or more 
rich A shallow - skimmer, about live inches, 
having a handle fitted at an angle of about 
45 degrees (see Fig. 08(5) with the bowl, is used 
and may be inserted at the edge of the pail 
aud under the cream with the greatest ease. 
This is better than any of the bottom-empty¬ 
ing pails, at least the writer finds it so, 
being very simple aud easily kept clean. 
2. Bavay’s Green Gage is the only plum 
reported as doing fairly well. No doubt 
there are others. Perhaps some of our Penn¬ 
sylvania subscribers can toll. Of cherries, 
Bigarreau, Black Tartarian, Downer’s Late, 
Early Richmond, Gov. Wood and Rockport 
can lie recommended. 3. It is of little use 
trying to get any female help at Castle Gar¬ 
den. Tho writer has found it impossible after 
many efforts; as there is evidently a desire 
and a practice there to put the business into 
the hands of agencies which charge a fee 
of a dollar or two. Help can be readily 
procured through these agencies, but it is 
of the very poorest kind, We learn there 
is a disinclination among people hiring 
from cities to eugage with fanners, because 
in some few eases, farmers, having got what 
they thought “green-horns,” fed them poorly, 
worked them hard aud finally refused to pay 
them their wages. Near all large towns— 
certainly around this—there arc a number of 
furiuers “too mean to live,” who get a great 
deal of work at little cost in this way, and the 
meanness and dishonesty of these knaves re¬ 
flect upon the great body of honorable agri¬ 
culturists. 4. Evergreen trees are hardly 
suitable for this purpose as they east too dense 
a shade. If we set nuy, however, wo should 
select the White Tine, Pinas strobus. Tho 
Spruces will not bear cutting up well—neither 
does the Scotch or Austrian Pine. 
A SCREW WATER-WHEEL, 
./. M. II., Lewiston, I. T .—Can a screw- 
wheel bo used horizontally in the bed of a 
creek subject to a rise of 10 feet, for raising 
water 1(5 feet high by means of u force-pump ? 
How should such wheels he constructed ? What 
size of wheel will furnish power to raise water 
10 feet high I Where can a book on the sub¬ 
ject i*e obtained ? 
Ans.—W heels of this kind are very ancient 
and have been used in Holland for many years. 
Some of the mills using these wheels are made 
on flat-boats, aud are moved up aud down the 
rivers as custom may require their presence. 
A mill of this kind, and the largest the writer 
lias seen, was a 3-run grist mill on the Genesee 
River. In fact, the power afforded by a well 
made screw-wheel is about equal to that given 
by any of the central discharge or Rose wheels 
used. A rapid current is necessary, and if 
there is not a sufficient natural flow a wing- 
dam should he made iu which to set the shaft. 
The wheel consists of a central shaft furnished 
with vanes weathered like those of a propeller- 
wheel, or a mold-board of a plow. It is neces¬ 
sary to set these at angles varying with the 
force of the current; for a slow stream they 
should be nearly horizontal. A continuous 
screw is not used, as it stops the current which 
only acts upon the first circle of vane. An 
open screw made of vanes broad at the outer 
end and narrowing to n point at the shaft so 
as to let the current pass from one vane to 
the other, gives the greatest power in propor¬ 
tion ns the pitch is made to suit the current. 
It would be quite easy to make a wheel of this 
kind for the power wanted, of sheet-iron vanes 
attached to a 1 J^-inch iron pipe for a shaft; or 
the whole may be made of wood. The mo¬ 
tion could bo carried to a pump by gearing, or 
a rotary pump could bo fitted direct to the 
shaft. Any good mill weight or mechanical 
engineer could get up the machinery, knowing 
tho velocity of the current. There are few 
books which describe this kind of wheel. A 
short reference is made to them in Craik’s 
Practical Millwright (II. Carey Baird & Co., 
Philadelphia). The size of wheel depends Up<m 
the quantity of water to be raised. You give 
only one element of this, the liight aud sec¬ 
tion; the velocity is needed. A fifth of a horse¬ 
power would raise 49 gallons a minute 1(5 feet* 
CROSSES OF SMALL BREEDS OF WINE ON 
LARGE BREEDS. 
J. C, W ., Orest on, la. —1. Will the first cross 
of Small Yorkshire boars—such as w ere pic¬ 
tured in the Rural of Augusts—on Poland- 
China sows increase the fattening qualities 
and reduce the number of “culls” that “eat 
their heads off ” before fit for market ? 2. 
Where cau such swine be obtained ? 
Ans. —1, The crossing of the small breeds of 
pigs with the larger, as indicated by our cor¬ 
respondent, will produce offspring which will 
embody the qualities of both parents. In or¬ 
der to obtain the best results the sire should 
be of a small breed and the dam of a large 
one. By this cross the frame, or hone, will be 
reduced and a rouuduess and plumpness im¬ 
parted to tho body, which will make it mature 
earlier. The offspring will also possess an in¬ 
clination to take on flesh readily, having im¬ 
parted to it this quality which is a character¬ 
istic of the finer breeds of swine. These quali¬ 
ties are strengt hened by the stronger blood of 
the coarser breeds, which imparts to the off¬ 
spring more vigorous constitutions, stronger 
appetites and powers of assimilation of food 
than are possessed by any of the smaller 
breeds. This is not ull, the dam being of the 
larger breed is capable of producing young 
of larger size at birth with increased activity 
and strength, and she will have Ja mammary 
development which will supply them with 
abundance of food at the start, and hasten the 
growth so that they will outstrip the pigs of 
smaller dams, and may be weaned earlier, al 
low ing the mothers to have another litter the 
same year. Pigs thus bred w ill mature when 
eight or uine months old sufficiently to dress 
from 200 to 300 pounds. With suitable care 
and food they will reach 300 pounds, which 
will pay better than to keep them over Winter. 
3,Those represented in tho first-page engraving 
in the Rural of August 5, belonged to T. R. 
Proctor, Utica, N. Y. Ben. McCulloch, Ben- 
wood, Mo., is the only Western dealer that wo 
know of. 
TREATMENT OF COWS AT CALVING TIME, ETC. 
J P. G., Vvrgil, Kansas. —1. One of my cows 
that calved nearly three weeks ago is not 
“clean” yet; what should be done in such cases? 
What, is the host treatment for a cow just be¬ 
fore and after culving. 2. Why do hush beans 
change to running vines? 3. What is the value 
of chufos for feeding hogs? 
Ans. —1. It is too late now for medicine. 
That should have been given six hours after 
calving; the following is commonly used:— 
carbonate of potash half an ounce; savin (red 
cedar) leaves dried, one ounce: infuse in a 
pint of water, strain and give it slightly warm; 
repeat in six hours until the membranes 
loosen. If they do not come away in 24 hours, 
the hand and arm should he oiled or lardi <1 
and inserted into the uterus; the nails should 
be cut close and the hand well washed first; 
the membranes ans then followed up with tho 
fingers pointed and kept close together, with 
the thumb under them, aud when au adhesion 
is found, the membranes are gently separated 
from the cotyledons, which are rose-like pro¬ 
jections on the interior of tho uterus, to which 
the foetal membrauos are attached* These 
easily give way to the fingers and as one by 
one is separated, iu a short time the whole 
may be removed. i T our best plan now is to 
tie a weight to them or insert the baud as fai¬ 
ns the opening of the uterus, which is prob 
