692 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
OCT 20 
THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
Conducted by 
ELBERT S. CARMAN. 
Address 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER,' 
No. 84 Park Row. New York. 
SATURDAY, OCT ODER 20, 1668. 
We shall be ready to supply all appli¬ 
cations for our new poster, premium lists 
and specimen copies by October 15. 
The Rural has been so crowded with 
fair reports from our special correspon¬ 
dents that the usual arrangement of our 
regular departments has been quite upset. 
We tire of hearing that the Wilson’s 
Albany is still the best strawberry. If 
you can’t grow a better hind, then grow 
the Wilson, but don’t say there are no 
better kinds. 
We are going to press this one modest 
request upon the friends of the Rural 
New-Yorker, viz., that each will send 
us oric new subscriber for 1884. Is that 
asking too much? 
We see over 800 lines of advertisements 
(cheap guns, jewelry, etc.) in the columns 
of some of our farm contemporaries of the 
past week, which were declined by the 
Rural New-Yorker. Last year we 
accepted them, and the number of com¬ 
plaints received from angry subscribers 
decided us never again to subject them to 
the same imposition. 
- - - - 
Speaking of the comparative merits of 
ground Carolina rock and superphosphate, 
Sir. J. B. Lawes writes us that for the 
purpose of pushing young turnips so as to 
prevent destruction by the fly, superphos¬ 
phate is the better. ‘ ‘ But in your country, ” 
he says, ‘ ‘very finely ground phosphate will 
act quite rapidly enough, and, if I farmed 
in your country, I should use it.” 
-- 
TnE very best time we lxdieve to make 
plant cuttings of grape-vine canes, is 
just as soon as frost destroys the leaves. 
Make two-joint cuttings, leaving an inch 
of wood beyond each. Plant these at an 
angle of 80 degrees in mellow soil, a foot 
apart. Finn the soil, especially about 
the lower joints, and then cover three 
inches dec-p, after the first freeze, with 
straw or litter. 
Tnose who do not wish to renew their 
subscriptions to the Rural New-Yorker 
need never take the pains to inform us of the 
fact. If they receive one or two papers 
after their subscriptions expire, no charge 
is made. It is our loss. We have no 
sympathy whatever with the law that 
enables publishers to collect a year’s sub¬ 
scription from those who, for any reason, 
happen to take the paper from the post- 
office after the subscription term has ex¬ 
pired, or who merely do not notify the 
publishers of their desire to discontinue 
the paper. The Rural New-Yorker has 
no need to obtrude itself upon anybody. 
Mr. McDougal, in a paper lately read 
before an English Farmers Club, reckoned 
the value of the ammonia (50 pounds) in 
the urine of a well-fed cow or ox for 100 
days, at $5.30. In addition, there were 
also potash, sails of soda, salts of magne¬ 
sia and lime, valued at $2.40. If the 
whole urine of the domestic animals of 
the Kingdom were lost, he would consider 
it equal to ten million pounds a year 
(about $50,000,000). This strikes us en¬ 
tirely too much, and we can arrive at 
nothing definite on tin? subject until 
numerous and careful experiments are 
made as to the value of urine applied to 
crops. Owing to leachy soils and other 
causes, the use of a liquid fertilizer has 
often been found of little benefit, while 
at other times it has proved of high value. 
- •» ♦ •-. 
A note from Prof. A. Blount, of the 
Colorado Agricultural College, reads as 
follows: “I see you give me the credit of 
sending you ‘badly mixed Black-bearded 
Centennial wheat.’ To this I enter a 
solemn protest. When what I sent you 
left these grounds not a grain of another 
variety was in it. It is true it was thrashed 
by a machine that had been thrashing 
other wheats; but the machine was 
thoroughly cleaned by sweeping before a 
bundle"of Black-bearded Centennial went 
in. Another proof: I sent you every pound 
of it I had after it had been cleaned, and 
I sowed the screenings myself on one acre, 
and not a single stalk of another kind 
came up or was seen in it when ripe. I 
do not deny that there were two kinds of 
Black-bearded Centennial in the wheat I 
sent you, so far as the beards of it are 
concerned, because some of it had black 
and some white awns. This doesn't affect 
the grain: it is caused in the ripening.” 
■ ■ -♦ ♦ ♦ - 
From our English exchanges we learn 
that down to September 1st, the number of 
farms reported to be infested witlifoot-and- 
mouth disease,in England, Wales and Scot¬ 
land. amounted to 2,348. The number of 
animals remaining diseased from the previ¬ 
ous week was 21,008, and the number at¬ 
tacked during the last week in August 
was 22,182. Of these, 32 were killed, 144 
died. 0,101 recovered, and 36,863 re¬ 
mained under treatment. The shocking 
losses and sufferings thus indicated among 
the cattle of Great Britain, should be a 
warning to the United States Congress to 
pass such a general law, immediately on its 
assembling, as will prevent the introduction 
of this disease among our herds, and if the 
malady should, unfortunately, find en¬ 
trance here, provisions should be made to 
stamp it out at once, whatever the cost 
might lie. The farmers of Great Britain and 
Ireland have lost millions of pounds ster¬ 
ling during the past few years from the im¬ 
portation of this foul disease from foreign 
countries, and the same disasters will soon 
come upon us, unless our Government 
takes immediate measures to prevent 
them. The laws of individual States can¬ 
not do this; what is absolutely necessary 
to effect it, is a general law. 
We are every year surprised when we 
dig our potatoes that hills of the same 
variety, manured and cultivated in the 
same way, should so vary in size and 
yield. For example, one lull would yield 
four or five very large potatoes, another 
15 to 20 small ones, another both 
large and small. In some hills the 
potatoes would be smooth and shapely; 
in others prongy and knobby. If such a 
potato were judged by one* hill alone, it 
would be judged, perhaps, as a great 
yielder of large potatoes; by another,as 
a large yiclder of small potatoes; by still 
another, a poor yielder of worthless pota¬ 
toes. To what are such variations due in 
this most valuable crop? Can any one 
tell ? Would not this be a sensible matter for 
experiment on the part of our experiment 
stations? The New York Experiment 
Station exhibited at the late State fair 90 
varieties of potatoes on as many plates, 
the total product of ns many lulls, grown 
in exactly the same manner. Thus, it 
was supposed, a guide to spectators was 
offered as to which varieties it would be 
desirable to plant—which to let alone. 
Well, we should say that this experiment 
was no guide at all—worse than worth¬ 
less, indeed, except as a curious piece of 
ingenious industry. 
■ *** 
A valuable white Short-liorn bull is 
Royal Windsor, belonging to Mr. Outh- 
waite, of England, which has just been fat¬ 
tened and slaughtered at 13 years of age. 
The use of him in his herd has been very 
profitable to his owner, and, beside this, 
lie has won prizes on him amounting to 
$3,500, he being quite successful when¬ 
ever exhibited at the cattle shows. In 
America, owing to Ids white color, he 
could never have -won a prize at a cattle 
show, and no one would have bred from 
bim. In fact, he would have been made 
a steer and grown up only as a bullock, 
no matter how superior in form and qual¬ 
ity. Thus much for the nonsensical prefer¬ 
ence for pure red among us latterly as the 
most fashionable Short-horn color, This 
is equivalent to the equally nonsensical 
effort for a few years past to breed Jersey 
cattle of solid colors only. But this 
fashion is now happily scouted by most 
breeders, and rich milk and large yields 
of butter alone are preferred, the color of 
the cow becoming quite a secondary con¬ 
sideration. 
■ •» »»- 
OUR STRAWBERRY AND RASPBERRY 
“ELECTION.” 
In the Rural of September 22, we asked 
our readers what two varieties of straw¬ 
berries and raspberries (early and late) 
they preferred for market, and what for 
home use, the answers to form a straw¬ 
berry and raspberry “election” for the dif¬ 
ferent parts of the country. We have 
already received sufficient replies to this 
appeal to enable us to publish in last issue 
and this 77 reports from 29 different 
States, and others are daily coming in. 
A careful study and analysis of those 
already printed show, as might have been 
expected, that the cultivation of straw¬ 
berries is much more common than that 
of raspberries. Of the 77 persons w r ho 
make reports on strawberries 18 fail to 
speak at all of raspberries, and while the 
different varieties of strawberries are 
mentioned 329 times, showing an average 
of 4 3-11 varieties to each report ; the dif¬ 
ferent sorts of raspberries are mentioned 
only 163 times, showing only an average 
of less than three to each report. 
It has been pretty generally supposed 
that some varieties of strawberries and 
raspberries are special favorites in partic¬ 
ular sections, but in these reports from 
all ports of the country there are few in¬ 
dications that this supposition is correct— 
at any rote with regard to the dozen, or so, 
that receive mo9t mention. These appear 
to be cultivated everywhere, and every¬ 
where to stand high in public favor. With 
regard to those that are mentioned only 
once, twice or three times, of course it is 
impossible to tell,from these reports, how 
widely they are cultivated. It is prob- 
ble, however, that they are peculiarly 
adapted to special soils and climates, and 
therefore not well fitted for general cul¬ 
tivation. It is rather surprising to notice 
how extensively some of the new varieties 
have been already disseminated, especially 
those which, like the Crescent Straw¬ 
berry, and the Cutbbort and Souhegan 
Raspberries, the Rural has, on the. 
whole, found reason to commend. Some 
of the varieties are mentioned two or even 
three times in the same report—as early, 
medium and suitable for market and home 
use, or both. In summing up tbe num¬ 
ber of times each sort is commended, how¬ 
ever, only one mention is counted in each 
report. Under this rule here is a table of the 
number of-times each variety has been 
c-ommended as the choice of growers in 
various -widely separated parts of the 
country: 
Strawberries, Raspberries. 
Crescent . 
.. 45 
Cuthbert . 
32 
Wilson. . 
.. 37 
.•>,2 
Downing . 
. 80 
Turner .. 
20 
Shnrplrss .. 
.. 27 
Mammoth Cluster . 
13 
b nnchoster . 
.. 23 
Doolittle.. 
11 
Kentucky.. 
.. 23 
Suuhegan. 
10 
Cumberland. 
.. 22 
T> lor .. 
Rid well....; . 
.. 15 
Caroline . 
Miner's Prolific . 
.. M 
Philadelphia . 
5 
Mt. Vernon . 
.. I? 
Hansoll . 
4 
Glendale . 
.. 10 
,\ 
Copt. Jock . 
.. 9 
Davison's Thornless.... 
4 
Windsor Chief . 
• < I 
1 Highland Hardy . 
.3 
Green Prolific . 
Mm i 
| Minner ... 
3 
Duchess . 
i Ilrandywine . 
8 
Jersey Queen . 
.. b 
Early Prolific . 
8 
Downer’s Prolific.... 
.. 4 
Lost Rubles. 
2 
James Vick. 
.. -1 
Ohio Black Cap. 
2 
Jucundo... 
.. 3 
Montclair.. 
1 
Crystal City. 
.. S 
Now Rochelle. 
1 
Among strawberries the Crescent and 
Wilson are specially recommended for 
their earliness for market purposes, 
though in about one-fifth of the reports 
that commend them, both are also spoken 
of as being medium-early. Both ore. also 
recommended for market and family use; 
but for this two-fold purpose the Crescent 
is praised at least twice as often as the 
Wilson, The Bidwell is spoken of as an 
early family berry in all rases except two, 
in which it is recommended for market 
purposes also. The Downing is lauded as 
a medium-early berry for family use 
chiefly, though about one-third of those 
-who praise it speak of it as a late berry, 
and five recommend it for market as well 
as family use, and three, for market only. 
The reports of Cumberland Triumph re¬ 
semble very closely those of Downing, ex¬ 
cept that the former is recommended for 
the two-fold purpose of market and 
family use a trifle more frequently than 
the latter. A glance at the extended 
analyses of the reports of both varieties, 
however, is enough to convince anyone 
that there are no two berries in the 
list that resemble each other more 
closely. 
Sharpless is evidently a splendid medium 
and late berry for family use, though some 
find it equally good for market purposes, 
and one recommends it for market only, 
finding others better for the private table. 
Manchester and Kentucky are both me¬ 
dium and late berries for market and 
family use, and evidently they very closely 
resemble eac-b other both in qualities and 
time of ripening, the Kentucky, however, 
being spoken of a trifle more highly for 
family use. Miner’s Prolific must lie a 
fine late market berry, though there are 
many who admire it for the private lable 
also, and several find it profitable as a 
medium berry. Mount Vernon appears 
to be among the late berries what the 
Sharpless is among early sorts.an excellent 
kind for family use. Glendale is a good, 
late market berry, sometimes recommend¬ 
ed for family use also. The reports give 
much useful information about other 
strawberries also; but lack of room pre¬ 
vents reference to them here. 
Among strawberries tlie most popular 
varieties, the Crescent and Wilson, are 
early berries; but among raspberries the 
favorite sorts, the Cuthbert, red, and the 
Gregg, black, are late varieties. Both of 
these are most widely recommended, the 
former for family and market, and the 
latter for market and fumily purposes. 
Turner, red, and Souhegan, black, are the 
favorite early varieties; the foimer for 
family use and market, and the latter tor 
market and family use. Doolittle, black, 
is a wide favorite as a medium berry for 
market nurposes c-hiefly, 1 bough, some re¬ 
commend it also for family use, while 
Mammoth Cluster, black, is an excellent 
late henry for family use principally, and 
Tyler, a fine early one for market. Many 
parts af these reports are altogether op¬ 
posed to the results of our experience at 
the Rural Grounds. 
BREVITIES. 
Read Henry Hales’s article on Incubators. 
Another article will follow. 
There are some cows which we cannot af¬ 
ford to kcepand the same may be said as to 
“ some” help, 
“I wouldn't take §10 for my Blushes,” 
writes an enthusiastic and modest potato 
raiser from Michigan. 
A friend writes: “ I have seen so much of 
Short-horn insolence and unfairness that their 
complete defeat at Chicago was a source of 
satisfaction,” 
Mr. B. F. Johnson sends us a sample of 
beautiful sugar from Northern sorghum man¬ 
ufactured at the Champaign (Ill.) Sugar 
Works, “precisely what they are swinging out 
of the centrifugal every hour.” 
We do not exactly see why anybody should 
take the trouble to buy the hew postal notes. 
Why not send bank bills in letters instead i 
Tbe postal notes are payable to bearer. Is 
there more security to the sender in the one 
case than in the other ? 
What has become of the silk culture boom 
that made so much noise a few months ago? 
Of course, silk-worms can be raised here; but 
can they be raised profitably by our bigh- 
pricea labor in competition with tbe cheap 
labor of other countries. After all, however, 
the main difficulty consists in our inability to 
reel silk profitably, owing to the great skill 
necessary and tbe cheapness of reeling 
abroad, while the American exported cocoons 
are not considered worth as much in foreign 
markets, as those produced at borne. 
And about this time it correth to pass that 
the farmer who giveth his swine naught but 
corn and rag-weed to eat and stagnant water 
and excrement to drink, doth wonder exceed 
iugly why his hogs kerflun mix and give up 
the ghost. And he sayeth it is luck and Prov¬ 
idence, But bis neighbor batteth his eye and 
putteth his forefinger against bis nasal \irgan 
and saitb, "Thou fool! It is not luck or 
Providence, but lack of variety' of food and 
purity of drink. Dost thou uot read in the 
books and papers that sw ine cannot live upon 
corn and malaria alone?” 
Ttie eleventh annual convention of the Na¬ 
tional Butter, Cheese and Egg Association w ill 
be held at Cincinnati, Ohio, on December 4th, 
5th and 6th, next. Breeders of dairy stock 
and manufacturers of dairy implements, as 
well as dairymen, poulterers and dealers are 
specially invited. Au exhibition of dairy pro¬ 
ducts, implements and machinery will be held 
in conned ion with the convention, and those 
who intend to exhibit are urgently requested 
at once to notify the Secretary, Rob. M. Lit- 
tlcr, Davenport, Iowa, For the lust ten years 
the meetings of this association have done 
much to stimulate the industries of the dairy 
atd poultry raising, and to call attention to 
the magnitude and importance of these great 
national interests. 
Prorably with a view to recommending 
retaliatory Congressional action against those 
countries which have discriminated against 
the importation of American hog products, 
the President has decided on the appointment 
of a Commission to thoroughly investigate the 
curing of pork in this country, and has named 
as numbers of this Commission, the Hon. 
G. B. Boring, Prof. C. F. Chandler, Ehphalet 
W. Blatchford. Col. F. D. Curtis and Dr. D. 
E Salmon. The President says he has no au¬ 
thority to guarantee the expe nses of the Com¬ 
mission, but he has no doubt, that, in view of 
the commercial interests involved, Congress 
will meet all bills incurred for the purpose. 
The Commissioner of Agriculture as chair¬ 
man, is directed to summon his associates aud 
proceed to work at once. In order that Con¬ 
gress may he able to act promptly in this mat¬ 
ter as soon as it assembles next December, 
would it not be expedient to appoint another 
Commission to investigate the adulteration of 
imported German wines, beers and other 
drinkables as well as eatables ? 
We desire to rail tbe earnest, attention of 
those interested in all classes of live stork to 
the importance of having a full repi tentative 
attendance at the Notional Convention to be 
held at Chicago, on November 15 and 10, to 
consider the subject of contagious diseases 
among our domestic animals. In v iew of the 
damage caused to the live stock interests of 
the country by the real or reported existence 
of contagious diseases among our faim ani¬ 
mals, and the constantly' threatening danger 
of incalculable Joss Ihrmigh the further intro¬ 
duction or spread of such muladies, it is of the 
utmost importance that, I he efficiency of ’ this 
Convention should be rendered as great as 
possible by the multitude and representative 
character of those in attendance. The West¬ 
ern stock owners appear to bo fully alive to 
the necessity of prompt and vigorous action 
in this matter, and it is earnestly to be hoped 
that those in nil other parts of the country 
w ill be equally wide awake to their own wel¬ 
fare. W hile cattle interests are most directly 
concerned, swine, sheep and even horse ow ners 
cannot afford to he indill’erent in the matter. 
We strongly advise farmers’ clubs, live 
stock associations, and prominent breeders and 
feeders of domestic animals to see to it at 
once that the attendance at the Convention 
shall be large, and fully representative. 
