SEPT 28 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
fertilizer to a cheap one, but remains in the 
soil for an indefinite time ready for use. In 
1881 the experimental corn field was sown 
with the common black Southern field pea; 
no additional fertilizers were sown, and the 
comparative results were about the same as 
with corn, except that the stable manure was 
ahead. In the Fall, Winter outs were sown, 
that were harvested in ? 82. The raw phosphate 
was equal to the superphosphate in this test, 
and far ahead in the clover that followed the 
oats. The cost of hauling and spreading the 
stable manure was equal to the whole cost of 
the phosphate, aud yet it is hard to say which 
of these two manures has given the largest 
crop of clover. To the eye they are equal. 
Here are four crops in succession, all bene¬ 
fited by the single application of the plain 
phosphate. The corn and the clover especially 
prove themselves abundantly able to dissolve 
it, and that, for them, the costly soluble phos¬ 
phoric acid is unnecessary, 
Enough has been said to warrant fanners in 
testing the so-called iusiliable phosphate; a sin¬ 
gle bag will be ample. Try it against a good 
plain superphosphate; weigh the crop and re¬ 
port results. Unfortunately, chemistry does 
not detennine which form of phosphoric acid 
w ill be the best; a soil test is the only reliable 
guide. My soil is a decomposed 
gneiss, containing but little lime. On 
limestone soils a superphosphate 
may prove the best, for it is thought 
that to be efficacious, phosphoric acid 
must be insoluble, aud in a limestone 
soil the acid is speedily precipitated as 
au insoluble phosphate of lime in an 
exceedingly fine state of division, aud 
here lies the secret of the efficacy of a 
superphosphate. It formsa precipitate 
far liner than can be made by mechan¬ 
ical means In soils devoid of lime 
the soluble phosphoric acid may either 
remain soluble, aud be positively injuri¬ 
ous, or it may combine with iron and 
alumina, making the very insoluble 
phosphates of those substances. By 
applying a raw, uudocomposed phos¬ 
phate' these evils are avoided. 
Finely powdered South Carolina . 
phosphate can be obtained in the large j/J. lll 
cities. It is advertised in Baltimore , 
and New York. (.Yes, and abo in the ,- l<t rjo 
Rural.—Eds.] In the latter place it * ‘[]f\ 
is offered for $17 per ton, containing 
55 per ceut. of bone phosphate. I con- 
fideuthiook forward to its ex elision and em¬ 
ployment, and hope that those who use it will 
make the results public—the failures as well 
as the successes. 
Louisa Co., Ya. 
of their movement and the rapidity of their 
march. This step of progress Lavoisier pro 
dieted a century ago, aud it was realized by 
Leverrier thirty years since. But the art of 
forecasting the weather has, nevertheless, not 
attained the perfection it will finally reach. 
Depending upon purely terrestrial data, the 
predictions are of short term; t hey hardly ex¬ 
ceed a single week; and no meteorologist of 
reputation yet dares to forecast what the 
weather will be one month in advance. The 
astrologies of the popular almanacs alone 
hazard prophecies of the course of the seasons 
and the state of the weather a year ahead. 
But will true science always remain ignorant 
of these coming weather changes? No! But 
it is not upon this earth science will seek a 
solution of this problem; but in the skies. If 
the origin of these terrestrial aud aortal waves, 
the base of the weekly forecasting of the 
weather, is found in regions near the anti¬ 
podes, the causes of the annual phenomena of 
the varying character of the seasons will be 
found in the sun, but we know not the secret, 
and the interpretation of the dreams of 
Pharaoh Joseph,remains to this day the sole 
and venerable model of prophecies of the state 
of the weather for a long period.” 
Now we are on the subject of the weather, I 
over 15,000 or of butter, over 700 pounds. Cows 
worthy of all honor for the profit they bring, 
yield much less than these marvels however, 
and such are the animals chiefly represented 
in illustrations in our agricultural contem¬ 
poraries across the Atlantic. At 046 we re-en- 
grave from the English Agricultural Gazette, 
the likeuess of a good, profitable Jersey cow 
of this kind, Jenny. The original engraving 
was made, we are cold, from a capital pboto- 
graph, and the picture is certainly a good 
one. Jenny’s milk yield between June 11,1882, 
and .May 20, 1888 was 7,412 pounds. The 
cream averaged 16 per cent, of the milk, and 
the butter yield was calculated to have 
amounted to 880pounds. Nothing very re¬ 
markable in all this; but of how many of our 
ordinary dairy cows can as good a tale be told! 
LESSONS FROM Tt£E FAT CATTLE 
SHOWS. 
G. E. MORROW, PROF. OF AGRICULTURE 
ILL. INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY. 
For five years past the Illinois State Board 
of Agriculture has annually hold a fat stock 
show in the spacious Exposition Building in 
Chicago. From the first these have been note, 
hily successful in the qualityof the exhibit, 
Jersey Cow, Jenny.—Re-engraved from the London Agricultural Gazette. 
should like to state some facts which bear and the high character of those in at 
more or less directly upon the appearance of There has been a steady growth in t 
cyclones and tornadoes, of which lSs;J has of the show and the number of visitc 
given us numerous and notable examples. the show has not reached a national < 
Natural philosophers tell us one main cause at least nine States aud the Province < 
of the activity of electrical agencies, as mani- have been worthily represented. It 
fested in more or less frequent thunderstorms, true that nowhere else can one find 
is the greater or less force aud frequency of so large aud general a represvntat 
the winds. April, May and June of this year men engaged in our annual indust 
were exceptionally wiudy, and thunderstorms Chicago during " fat stock show w 
were of more than weekly occurrence, mde- agricultural exhibitions have attrai 
pendent of the two or three mild cyclones, intelligent criticism and comment, 
which visited Central Illinois. In July and believed none have been more useful 
August, the winds, if they blow at all, were of lying proof of the interest they havt 
the mildest character, aud the thunder storms create is fouud in the fact that an i 
were not only infrequent, but scarcely more of like character is to be held th 
imposing than the sheet-iron thunder of a good Kansas City from November 1 t 
theater. If then, it is true that if we have another at Toronto, Ontario, from 
no wind, we shall have no or not much 14 to 15. The writer hopes it will n< 
thunder, may it not be true that without vio- until a similar show will be establish 
lout southerly winds, blowing over a dry and York. It is not expected the new o: 
more or less heated surface, there will bo no fished will interfere with the success 
cyclones ? The April cyclones in Mississippi Chicago. It is practically certain 
and Kansas were preceded by violent south- sixth show, from Nov. 14 to 22, will si 
orly w inds blowing over a country in a state of its predecessors, 
of drought; the same was the case at a later The lessons taught by these shows 
date at Racine, Wise, aud near Terre Haute, most dearly learned by those who hi 
lnd. But to crown all, the Rochester, Miune- ded them. Some of the most irnpc 
sota, cyclone, late in August, was preceded hardly to be learned in any other w a 
by several days of dry, hot, southerly winds of and figures cannot give the impress! 
so violent aud destructive a character as to the animals shown cannot fail tod 
greatly damage the tobacco crop in portions print. There is no other equally 
of \\ iscousin. \\ arm aud violent winds blew mode of teaching the meat producer 
over Louisiana most of the month of Jaunary, once betw ecu good and poor animals, 
bringing ruin, thunder aud lightning. Mov- poor management; no argument so 
iug north they must meet with cold currents; in convincing the men who huvo im 
but we never hear of cyclones at that season. "fancy stock is all humbug.” We i 
Can it. be, because there is no frictou of dry first among the lessons taught: 
and heated surfaces to generate active elec- Well-brod animals are bettor mea 
tricity at that time of the year? 1 would like ere than "common stock.” No pi 
to have Mr. Edison see this article. been offered especially for common s 
THE CROP YEAR OF 1883, 
B. F. JOHNSON 
This has beeu so remarkable,and of au adverse 
character so unusual that the problem of the 
future of the weather has attained a new sig¬ 
nificance and importance. The late frosts, hav¬ 
ing found the corn crop of the Northwest 
from three to four weeks behind time, on ac¬ 
count of the low temperature of the Summer, 
have so disastrously affected it, there will beu 
shortage of something near 500,000,000 bushels 
of sound corn. Add to this the loss of 100,_ 
000,000 bushels in the Winter wheat crop aud 
a falling off in the cotton crop, of 2,000,000 
bales, the last two compared with the yield of 
of 1882, all on account of adverse weather in¬ 
fluences, and we shall be prepared to hear with 
interest what the advanced scientists have to 
say as to the present state of meteorological 
knowledge. 
This we find in an address delivered by the 
eminent French savant, M. Dumas, President 
of the National Agricultural Society of France, 
Oil the 27th of J tine last. The occasion was 
the dist ribution ol’ prizes at which M. Meline, 
the Minister of Agriculture, presided, and M. 
Dumas availed himself of the opportunity to 
give a brief, eloquent and very instructive and 
interesting resit me of the progress of agricul¬ 
ture on the scientific side since 80 years ago. 
And here is a rough translation of \\ hat he said 
on the present state of our meteorological 
knowledge, as applied to agriculture, and what 
he predicted of future scientific progress in 
the same direction: 
" The farmer is not yet master of storms and 
tempests, hail, frosts, droughts, as long raining 
periods are neither postponed, nor do they 
cease at his commands; but if he has not 
learned yet how to control the atmosphere, he 
knows in advance at least what weather 
changes he must submit to, and puts his crops 
safe beyond their influences. 
Formerly e wore ignorant whence came 
the aerial waves which bring heat or cold, 
drought or humidity. Before their arrival 
was announced we were already subjected to 
their influences. To-day, the electric telegraph 
informs us live or six days in advance, 
of the place of their departure, the direction 
OUR AR1MAL PORTRAITS, 
JERSEY COW JENNY 
LESSONS TAUGHT BY THE BLIZZARDS, 
1, Make it a rule to provide feed to carry 
the stock all through a very severe Winter, 
until May 10th at least. Il you cannot, sell 
some stock while they are in good order in the 
Fall. They are worth far more then than 
you can get for the hides of frozen cattle in the 
Spring, aud there will l*j many such hides. 
