NOV 3 
THE RURAL MEW-YORKER. 723 
many orchards. The hard frosts early in Sep¬ 
tember ruined the prospects for a fine crop of 
clover. H. DE L. 
New York. 
Groton City, Tompkins Co., Oct. 18.—We 
had a cold, wet Summer, so that most crops 
were backward. Oats a heavy crop. Cora 
was mostly killed by frost before it was glazed 
Potatoes a big crop, but rotting badly. b. 
RURAL SEED REPORTS. 
Iowa. 
Stanton, Montgomery Co., Oct. 20. — 
The Shoe-peg Corn is green yet—too late for 
this climate. The Rural Heavy Dent is much 
earlier, larger, heavier and better in every 
way. 1 will plant about 40 acres of it next 
Spring. j. 8, b. 
Independence, Buchanan C'o.—My small 
Blush Potato weighed about two ounces and 
yielded 30* ,. pounds of splendid tubers, though 
the sod had beuu for nearly 30 years without 
any manure. Next year on good soil I expect 
to raise 30 bushels of Blushes. The Shoe- 
peg Corn is too late for this climate. The 
flower seeds did well, j. d. b. 
Illinois, 
Russelville, Lawrence Co., Oet. 18.— 
My Shoe-peg Cora was planted the last of 
May and ripened in about 100 days. I have 
enough of it to give it a fair trial next year. 
The Rural dent in the field grew the largest 
and tallest corn 1 ever saw. Many cars were 
too high to he reached from the ground, aud 
the stalks were the heaviest I ever handled. 
I sprouted the little Blush Potato twice, aud 
thou planted the potato itself, in light sandy 
loam. I had 15 vines, 18 inches apart; cul¬ 
tivated fiat with the hoe; yield 34 pounds of 
good potatoes. No manure except a little 
handful of ashes to each. vine. a. j. h. 
Vermont, Fulton Co., Oct. 23.—My Blush 
Potato, having nine eyes, was cut into nine 
pieces, which were planted one In a place, 
in a drill 12 feet long, early in Sprlug, in rich, 
tile-drained ground. Yield. 35 pounds. The 
two largest weighed three pounds two ounces 
—12? tubers in all. The Shoe-peg Corn was 
planted in 24 hills. The rats took six ears, 
leaving me 35. The Niagara Crape seed did 
not grow. Other seeds did nicely. a. e. h. 
KllflHIlH. 
Pittsburg, Crawford Co , Oct. 25.—The 
Blush Potatoes cut to single eyes made 20 
hills. 1 dug on October 1,23 pounds of tubers 
of good size. The Shoe-peg Cora did poorly. 
One Niagara Crape seed sprouted. I hope 
the vine will carry off the belt. j. a. l. 
Agricola, Coffey Co., Sept. 23.—My Blush 
Potato was cut iuto eight pieces, aud yielded 
17 pounds of nice tubers. Owing to a cold 
Spring the Shoe-peg Cora did not do very 
well; but l have about a dozen fair ears for 
trial next year. T. w. T. 
IHinncNOtu. 
Grand Meadow, Mower Co., Oct. 19.—My 
Blush Potato was cut into nine pieces aud 
yielded 60 tubers,weighing23pounds, j. a y. 
31 Innourl. 
Princeton, Mercer Co., Oct. 18.—My Blush 
Potato weighed nearly three ounces aud had 
eight eyes. One eye was planted in a 
place in black loam, very sandy soil. On 
September 8 l dug 150 potatoes weighing 38j ,, 
pounds. Four of them weighed four pounds; 
17 weighed 11% pounds. We cooked some und 
found them good and mealy potatoes. 1 have 
ten Niagara Grape-vines growing nicely. My 
Shoe-peg Corn was doing well when a hog de- 
troyed most of it. c j. s. 
New Jersey, 
Mountain View, Passaic C'o., October 17. 
—1 planted the Rural Blush Potato on May 8. 
Soil, a sandy loam. Manured with Mapes’s 
Potato Manure, a small quantity in bottom of 
the bill. Dug September 2lst, 36 pounds nine 
ounces. Largest potato weights 1 one pound 10 
outlet's; five largest, five pounds six ounces. 
Muelt pleased with the Perfection Watermelon 
—very productive, early, aud of superior fla¬ 
vor. Weight of one of the largest, 30 pounds; 
several nearly or quite equal to it in size. The 
Garden Treasures produced some voiy beauti¬ 
ful flowers. j. m. D. 
New York. 
Brooksidk Farm, East Chatham, Col. Co., 
Oct. 19.—From one Blush Potato, weigh¬ 
ing 1% ounce, l made 14 hills, putting one 
eye in a hill about 3>S feet apart. Planted iu 
sod plowed last. Spring. For fertilizers 1 used 
plaster, ashes and guano, mixed in the bill 
1 ilug the potatoes September 2d, aud had 187 
tubers, weighing 04 pounds. w. l. r. 
Nebriutkn. 
Madison, Madison Co , Oct. 15.—I planted 
my Blush Potato one eye in a hill three by 
four feet apart; nine hills came up; the tops 
were very largo. I dug 155 potatoes. The 
largest bill had 22 tubers In it. My Shoe-peg 
Cora ripened well. I husked it October 8; it 
sported considerably, but 1 have four good ears 
of real Shoe peg. My Perfection Water¬ 
melons were very late iu ripeuiug: but they 
wore of good size and flavor. The grape 
seeds grew well. w. h. v. 
Ohio. 
New Martinsburg, Fayette Co., Oct. 19.— 
My two Blush Potatoes, planted about the 
middle of May, alongside of the Mammoth 
Pearl, ripened at the same time, and yielded 
30 pounds of medium sized tubers. The Shoe- 
peg Cora matured in 130 days. Stalks too 
large; only one ear on a stalk. Black-bearded 
Centennial Wheat looking nice; was up four 
days after planting. I have four nico Niagara 
Grape-vines. a. n. a. 
Pennsylvania. 
Bridgetown, York Co., Oct. 19. — The 
robins took the Rural wheats; they appeared 
so good that T cannot blame the birds. Eighty 
grains of Shoe-peg Corn were planted in hills 
three by four feet apart, two grains iu a hill. 
All came up and grew from 13 to 14 feet high. 
There wore from one to four ears to a stalk. 
It suffered severely from drought in August; 
but ripened September 1, when a cow de¬ 
stroyed 30 stalks. The rest was shocked, dried 
and husked to-day; yield, one full bushel of 
ears, some of which have eight rows, others 
12 and others 10, The melons did very well 
and were of first-rate quality; ripened in 
August. My Blush Potatoes were cut into 21 
very small pieces and planted one piece in a 
place; yield about three pecks. Two tubers 
were seven inches loug and three-aud-a-haif 
thick. The rest were from three to four 
inches long and about two thick. The Garden 
Treasures did very well, aud have been the 
source of much pleasure to ourselves aud all 
who saw them, besides cultivating a love of 
the beautiful in the children. c. R. B. 
Virginia. 
Abbyvillk, Mecklmburg Co., Oct. 18.— 
! My Rural wheats did splendidly. The Sur- 
J prise is justly named. I had only 31 grains 
I that grew, and I was showing it to a neigh¬ 
bor wheu ho wanted to count the il berries” 
in a head, and we found as high as75 grains 
in different heads. My Centennial Wheat 1 
planted in the Spring, and for a time I uover 
saw anything like it; but it shot up into 
stalks only here and there. I have a few’ 
heads with shriveled grains, and I am going 
to plant them this Fall. w. m. l. 
Washington Territory, 
Rockford, Spokane Co., Oct. 20.—The 
Black-bearded Centennial Wheat did well, 
aud I think it will prove a good sort for this 
country. The two small Blush Potatoes 
yielded 22% pounds, all line tubers. This is 
not a eoru country, so that the Shoe-peg Cora 
could not thrive. D. j. t. 
West Virginia. 
Clinton, Ohio C’o., Oct. 18.—My two small 
Blush Potatoes weighed about five ounces, anti 
were cut to one eye in a piece and planted the 
second week in May. I cultivated them en¬ 
tirely with the hoe, and dug, September 20th, 
SIX pounds of very fine tubers. I have 56 fine 
ears of Shoe-peg Corn hung up todry with the 
busk ou. j. j. j. 
Wisconsin. 
East Troy, Walworth Co., Oct. 21.—My 
Rural w heats were planted on September 22, 
1882, six by ten inches apart, one kernel in a 
place on land exposed to the wind. They stood 
the Winter well, and were a surprise to every 
ouo that looked at them. The straw of all the 
kinds was about four-and-a-half feet high. I 
planted 330 kernels of the Shumaker and har¬ 
vested five pounds of very fine wheat. Birds 
took about one-half of it. It was one week 
earlier than the Clawson, l 'planted about 
800 grains of Fultzo-Clawson aud harvested 
14 pouuds of nico wheat. My small Rural 
Blush Potato, which weighed about two 
ounces, aud had seven eyes, yielded 41 pounds 
of splendid, largo tubers. The five largest 
weighed five pounds. u. a. t. 
Portage, Columbia Co., Oct. 18,— 
My small Blush Potato weighed one aud 
one-half ounce, was planted in nine hills, 
with an eye iu each, aud yielded 21 pounds of 
very fine potatoes. Rust killed the vines be¬ 
fore the tubers were fully matured. Early 
frost killed the Shoe-peg Corn before it had 
ripened. f. g, w. 
Darien, Walworth Co., Oet. 19.—My small 
Blush Potato was out into eight pieces with 
an eye in each, and planted, one piece iu a 
place, iu a drill, 14 inches apart. The tops 
were green until killed by frost. Yield, 
18% pounds. z. n. 
Lancaster. Grant Co., Oct. 15,—My Blush 
Potato w as planted obout May 1. one eye in a 
hill, making 14 hills. On September 16 I dug 
and weighed 31 pounds in all. Whole number 
of tubers, 288; the largest weighed one-and-a- 
half pound; the four largest weighed five 
pouuds. Mine did not ripen as early as some 
reported. The vines were still green until 
killed by frost on September 9. Vines very 
strong growers, ranging from three-and-a- 
half to five feet high. From the Niagara 
Grape seeds planted in a hot-bed 1 have 14 
plunts. a. d. u. 
£l)c $wmst. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
[Every query must hr accompanied by the name 
aud address of the writer to Insure attention. ] 
CROSSING CORN. 
S. R. 7’,, Lincoln, Neb .—Suppose one plants 
in alternate rows two kinds of corn, a white 
kind with thick, short cob, and a yellow va¬ 
riety with a long, slender cob. When the 
tassels appearand before the pollen is shed, 
cut off the tassels from the yellow corn, leav¬ 
ing the ears of that variety to be fertilized 
with pollen from the white-corn. Under these 
circumstances: 1. On the rows planted with 
yellow corn what will he the color of the 
grains ? 2. On the rows planted with yellow 
corn, will the ears be as long as on the same 
kind of corn planted elsewhere and fertilized 
by its own pollen ? 3. If the corn grown ou 
the stalks from which the tassels have been 
removed, be planted separately the next year, 
will the grains be all white or all yellow, or a 
mixture ? 4. The conditions being as iii ques¬ 
tion. 3, will the cob be as long as in the original 
yellow corn ! Answers to these questions, 
based upon actual observation or experiment, 
will be acceptable. 
Ans.—I. We have experimented for many 
years in order to answer such questions, and 
we think we can answer these questions rea¬ 
sonably correctly. To the first question we 
would say that oue quarter at least of the 
yellow corn ou the plants of which the tassels 
were removed will be colored. Of these a 
small proportion will he intermediate shades, 
the rest yellow or the color of the male pa. 
rent. 2. Yes, the ears will be of just the 
same length. That is to say, the cobs of the 
mother plant are not affected by' the pollen 
the first year. 3. The grains will be of va¬ 
rious colors, white, yellow, and intermediate 
shades. Five years would be required to 
establish a uniform color, though this would 
vary with different kinds, depending upon 
the potency of either parent. 4. The cob will 
vary in length; generally it will grow not so 
long as the one or short as the other. 
GATHERING CREAM FOR A CREAMERY. 
C. E. H.. (address mislaid .)—How many’ 
cubic inches of cream are usually reckoned at a 
creamery as the equivalent, of one pound of 
butter—the cream to lie raised by the cold, 
deep-setting system ? How is it measured ? 
Is there a cun recognized as standard—if so. 
what is its diameter? How is the farmer 
paid ? 
Ans. —In the present system of gathering 
cream the standard is 113 cubic inches of cream 
for a pound of butter. The cream is gathered in 
deep pails having transparent slips near the 
top, which are ga igod so that the number of 
inches eau be measured. There is no particu¬ 
lar standard can. Some use cans eight-and-oue- 
quarter iuches iu diameter and two-and-one- 
eighth inches of cream iu these make 113cubic 
inches. The Cooley' cans are wider, ami two 
inches in depth make 113 inches. The Fair- 
lamb can may be called (he standard, if any 
one is, because oue iueh of it makes 113 cubic 
inches and is equivalent to a pound of butter. 
The creamery gathers the cream, measures it 
at the farmer’s house, notes the quantity and 
draws off the milk and turns the cream into 
the gathering can. The farmer retains the 
skimmed milk. The creamery buys the cream 
at so much uu inch; the price of course is reg¬ 
ulated by the price of butter. The farmers 
provide their own cans. No doubt the system, 
notwithstanding its obvious disadvantages, is 
the best for both farmers and creameries. It 
has the merit of fairness, certainty, and sim¬ 
plicity, and encourages the farmer to increase 
as much as possible the quantity of cream by 
good feeding and keeping good cows. The 
cans used are of various kinds and names, and 
some without names; of these then- are the 
Cooley, Wilhelm, Falrlmnb, Cherry, Lincoln, 
Standard, aud the common 30-pound pail 
which is eight, and one-quarter inches iu 
diameter. We do not. kuow that any one of 
these has any advantage over the others in 
the way of superiority. 
MAD ITCH IN A HEIFER. 
D. E. li., Shackleford, Mo .—Recently I 
lost a heifer by a disease of which the follow¬ 
ing were the symptoms: She had a burning 
fever, was restless and wild with pain; 
would often fall on her knees aud rub her 
nose and head on the ground so violently as 
to rub the skiu off her face. Her nose and 
eyes were swollen, and her flesh constantly 
quivered. Towards the last her flesh turned 
a reddish-brown. Finally' she got mad, so 
that I had to shoot, her. Her wind-pipe and 
stomach were swollen. What ailed her? 
Ans. —This disease is known as the “ mad 
itch.” It is really erysipelas, which is an in¬ 
flammation of the skiu, aud the tissue under 
it accompanied by general fever auvi a dis¬ 
eased condition of the blood, resulting in 
blood poisoning. It may he communicated 
to other animals through the mouth, lips or 
nose, or by broken skin or scratches. Its cause 
is impurity of the blood from disturbance of 
the liver, kidneys or the digestive organs, or 
it may be caused by unwholesome water, air, 
or other injurious conditions. The remeiy is 
to give a vigorous purgative, os one or two 
pounds of Epsom salts, followed by one ounce 
doses of hyposulphite of soda given daily. 
The skin should bo bathed with a solution of 
an ounce of hyposulphite of soda in two quarts 
of water; aud then dusted over with dry corn¬ 
starch. The feeding should be light and 
laxative, as bran, slops, etc. No doubt this 
disease is frequently caused by feeding 
smutty corn stalks, aud in the Western States 
it is more frequent than elsewhere, because 
of the custom of turning cattle into the stalk 
fields, or of pasturing them in swales or 
undrained grounds where they not only con¬ 
sume coarse, indigestible herbage, but drink 
impure water aud breathe the unwholesome 
vapors from decaying vegetable matter. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
8. R., Grand Junction, Mich. —I set fire to 
a peat marsh this Summer, aud it burned to 
the depth of from six to ten inches. Would 
an application of the ashes be beneficial to my 
meadow ? If I banked up with the ashes 
around ray peach trees, which are four years 
old, planted on a sandy soil, would it be a pro¬ 
tection in Winter and aid their growth next 
Spring? 
Ans. —It would have paid you to collect the 
ashes and spread them upon the meadow. 
But ere this appeal’s in print, they will have 
so leached as to be of comparatively little 
value. The banking up would be no protec¬ 
tion whatever. No doubt a spread of this 
soil would assist the growth of the trees. Re¬ 
member that the roots of a peach-tree extend 
out fully as far as the branches, and that the 
best feeding roots are the furthest from the 
trunk, or main stem, us we prefer to call it. 
G. L. H., Bird salt, N. F.—My two-year- 
old colt has a bad cough which gets worse 
when he runs. How should he be treated ? 
Ans.— A cough in such a case as this indi¬ 
cates indigestion aud not any disease of the 
lungs. This may occur from feeding too much 
coarse and bulky food. There is no reason 
why the horse should not be put to light work 
which would be good for him. But it is neces¬ 
sary to treat him judiciously to remove the 
disorder. Give him eight ounces of linseed 
oil, three times in one week; feed scalded 
bran once daily, adding to each mess half a 
drachm each of ground ginger and powdered 
sulphate of iron. Give also half an ounce of 
salt once a day. 
5. E. M., Knox C'o., Ohio. —My three-year- 
old colt will be traveling all right when sud¬ 
denly' it cannot put forward its left hind foot 
for three or four stops or more. How’ should 
the animal be treated? 
Ans.— This is known as luxation of the patel¬ 
la, or plainly, slipping of the knee-cap. It is 
caused by woukness of the tendons and muscles 
of the joint. Rest, with moderate exercise and 
bathing tho part with camphorated spirits, 
will be beneficial. It is safest to keep the colt 
in a loose stall or pen where he can move 
about freely, but not take violent exercise. 
It is not infrequent with young horses, which 
usually outgrow it, if properly cared for. 
J. R. .1., CcaddorkctUe, Fa.—What is the 
proper time to trim grape-vines, and how 
should they bo trimmed when it is designed 
that they should cover an arbor? 
Ans. —We prefer to trim them as soon as 
the leaves die. To cover an arbor, trim up 
the canes as nearly four feet apart as you can. 
Nothing is gained by having them nearer to¬ 
gether, since the laterals will cover the arbor 
with foliage entirely if the canes were still 
further apart. Cut the laterals back to one 
bud each. 
C. K. Kain, Ohio. —What kind of trees 
would make a good wind-break in the shortest 
time ? 
Ans. —By’ all means we should choose the 
W bite Pine—Pinus S trot ms—first; the Austrian 
second, but never the second if we could ob¬ 
tain the first. The White Pine, if cut back or 
disbudded for oue or two years, makes a tine 
wind break, while it is one of the most beau¬ 
tiful and graceful of evergreen trees. Second 
answer later. 
Communications Received for the week Ending 
Saturday, Oct. 20. 
J. B.G., thanks.—W. K.H.—G. T. A.- M. W.—F. C 
R. B.—J. D. A.-S. R.—H. S, B.-E, E. W.-D. D.—O’ 
W. P.-J. I,. B.-C. K.—W. H. T.-n. 0. R.-E. N. C. 
-Q O. C.—H H. B.-W. L. D.—M. B. P.—W. B. Johu- 
son.—M. M.—C. P. B.—C E. P.—E. Tavlor. thanks.— 
R. M. L.-H. S. G.-T. W. K.-M. R., thanks .-L. R. T 
-T. H.-R. S. O.-M. It. M.-H. R.-W. L. H.-J. J. U. 
-R. C.-C. C.-T. J. L.—“P,”—H. M R.-T.H.-’’X. 
V, Z."—"Old. Reader R. H. R -VV. S. P.-P. B. C. 
-R. W. 8.—Mrs. L. H. B.-E. C. 8.-A. M.-J. C.-D. 
W. —K. G. B 
