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NONSENSE ABOUT SMUT, 
F. D. COBURN. 
At the present season of the year nothing is 
more commonly seen in the rural press than 
accounts of this or that man having lost sev¬ 
eral head of cattle from eating smut in stalk- 
fields; and the account is usually fortified by 
a statement that the owner cut some of the 
animals open and found large quantities of 
the alleged deadly smut in their stomachs. 
I venture to say that ten thousand cattle 
die from other causes to every one that dies 
from eating smut. The National Agricultural 
Department exploded the smut theory years 
ago, when, to test the harmfulness or harm¬ 
lessness of it, it had some cows tied up and fed 
on smut almost by the bushel, for days and 
weeks, and instead of promptly dying, as 
others are alleged to do, they flourished and 
grew fat. 
The trouble with the cattle arises from their 
eating the corn-fodder in such quantities and 
under such circumstances as they do. Most 
farmers, in the early part of the Winter, are 
in a great hurry to finish husking their corn 
in order to pasture the cattle on the stalks ; 
prior to this or in the meantime the cattle 
have been taken from pasture before accomo¬ 
dations were really ready for them elsewhere, 
and kept on half rations and promises, from 
day to day, for some weeks in anticipation of 
the stalk field being soon ready to receive 
them, where it is expected they can take first- 
rate care of themselves for a considerable 
time, while the always hurried farmer is 
“catching up” with some other work, put off 
already too long in order that the corn gather¬ 
ing might be pushed. 
The cattle go into the stalks lank and hun¬ 
gry, and reaching right and left gulp down at 
a fearful rate the shucks and coni they find in 
such abundance, until they are as tight as 
drums. There may or may not be water in 
the field; if there is, the cattle may not kuow 
where to find it, and if they do, it may be dif¬ 
ficult of access, or perhaps frozen over, aud 
they wander off to lie down without having 
had the water necessary to thoroughly mois¬ 
ten the barrel or more of heating grain aud 
woody fiber within them, acting as an irritant 
from the first. This mass to be properly di¬ 
gested must be mixed with enough fluid from 
some source to separate and readily float it; 
without any, or with none at the right time, 
it heats and impacts, becomes a dry, immova¬ 
ble mass, generating fever, delirium, aud 
resulting in speedy death. Aboutthe next Sun¬ 
day, ( which will probably be the first day the 
farmer can Hud the time to spare,) the owner 
will stroll out to “look up the cattle,” and the 
probability is that some will be found that are 
valuable ouly for their hides; whereupon the 
smut stories are revived aud the annual la¬ 
mentations are sounded. 
The protection against this expensive state 
of affairs, is reasonably simple; among its 
features are these: Don’t turn cattle, when 
crazy-hungry, into a rich stalk-field; see that 
they have been supplied fairly with other food, 
along with salt aud water. See that they re¬ 
main in only a short time—say an hour—the 
first day, and that theltime is gradually length¬ 
ened a little each day for a week or more. 
Keep salt readily accessible all the time. See 
that the water is within reach and do not 
trust to their finding or going to it, but see 
that they do go and have ample time,—an 
hour perhaps—to drink, remembering that no 
other animals are so tedious and dilatory 
about drinking, especially in cold weather. 
Finally, after the Beld has been stripped of 
the best of its fodder, do not compel the cattle 
to subsist on the weather-beaten and woody 
stalks when they are both indigestible and 
innutritious. Let other and better feed be 
the main reliance, and then their running in 
the field for a time each day when the ground 
Is frozen, will afford some desirable exercise, 
and enable them to glean at the same time, 
such fodder as they may find and care for. 
With these precautions heeded, “smut” will 
largely cease to be the horrible, terrible bug¬ 
bear it now is. 
Kansas City, Mo. 
Pontologicjftl 
THE RUSSIAN PEAR. 
PROF. J. L. BUDD. 
The cultivated pears of Eastern and Cen¬ 
tral Russia may be divided into three general 
classes; 
1. The variety of the Snow Pear of the 
Shensi and Mongolia China, and their crosses 
with indigenous forms of the pear, common 
to the native timber belts along the streams 
of the black-soil region. 
2. The varieties of the Bergainotte (Kuang- 
li) of Bokhara, Mongolia, and Shensi with 
their crosses. 
3. The crosses on the native wild pear of 
the improved varieties of Western Europe. 
The Chinese or Asiatic forms and their 
crosses show the thick, shining leaves peculiar 
to all the pears of the East, and their fruit, 
without exception, is firra-fleshed and more or 
less gritty. In no instance did we taste a 
specimen of these pears, which we were able 
to class as “good” for dessert use. but all of 
them are from good to best for culinary pur¬ 
poses. The trees we find able to bear our 
summer and winter extremes quite as well as 
the Oldenburg Apple, and the idea often oc¬ 
curs that if chance had placed one of these 
varieties in the position of one of the more 
Bessemianka Pear. Fig. 5. 
tropical forms which gave birth to the Kieffer 
and Le Conte, we might to day, boast of iron¬ 
clad pears for all parts of the Mississippi 
basin. In time I shall yet expect crosses com¬ 
bining the extreme hardiness of tree of the 
Mongolian pears, with the quality of fruit of 
at least Smith’s Duchess. 
But at this time I sat down to say a good 
word for the Russian pears classed 8. 
These show no trace of admixture with the 
Asiatic species: but in leaf, bud, habit of 
growth, and fruit they confirm the story told 
of their origin, viz: they are true crosses of 
the hardiest varieties of the north plain on 
the wild pear of the east plain. One of the 
most perfect examples of this cross is known 
in Russia as Bessemiauka, and among the 
Germans of Poland and Silesia as Samenlose 
and Kernlose, the words meaning,in all cases, 
"seedless." In our movement west from Sar¬ 
atov on the Volga we found this pear in sea¬ 
Fig. 6. 
son for a long time—from September 1st to 
25th—and I do not remember testing ft single 
specimen containing perfect seeds, as a rule 
only traces of the coresurrouudiugs being ap¬ 
parent. With us the tree seems as hardy as 
the Oldenburg Apple, and bears annual cut¬ 
ting back, for cions, better than any fruit tree 
we have tried. In no case have 1 seen traces 
of injury to foliage from our summer ex¬ 
tremes of heat and humidity of air, or of dis¬ 
coloration of wood by our recent test Win¬ 
ters. As to size and quality of fruit, the notes 
of H. Goeggener, of Riga, Russia, may be 
taken as safe guides, as he was brought up 
among the best fruits of Western Europe, and 
in all cases makes these the standard In his 
estimates of quality. He says: “It begins to 
ripen in the middle of September and is sent 
in quantity to the markets of Moscow and 
St. Petersburg. It finds a ready sale, as it is 
preferred by many to imported fruit, on ac¬ 
count of its good keeping and flavor. At 
full maturity it is yellowisb-green in color, 
and finally greenish-yellow. The flesh is 
yellowish and very juicy. A very good mar¬ 
ket and table fruit. It is largely grown 
throughout Central Russia and in the eastern 
part of the Empire. In the Baltic Provinces 
we find only specimen trees here aud there, 
and we rarely find it in the market, as propri¬ 
etors reserve it for their own use on account 
of its fine flavor. The tree grows to a very 
large size. It bears well and seldom fails to 
produce fruit. In the nursery it grows 
rapidly and makes a &trong stem. The leaf 
is rather large, very shiny, like leather. The 
variety can be recommended for planting in 
quantity." 
A likeness of a medium-sized specimen is 
given at Fig. 5 to show its form, and in con¬ 
nection the outline of one of the Bergamottes 
of Eastern Russia, of Chinese origin, is shown 
at Fig. 15. As noted in our opening lines, 
the texture and quality are as variable as the 
form. I make special mention of the “seed¬ 
less” pear, as it is now grown in many parts 
of the Mississippi Valley and our cold North, 
and will soon tell its own story. But it must 
not be supposed that Central Russia has no 
other pear of good quality for dessert use. 
On the Bogdanoff estates, near Koursk, we 
saw fine trees of an equally hardy variety 
named Voskovoi. The fruit is bright yellow 
in color, with the size and shape of our Flem¬ 
ish Beauty. In quality it seemed “best,” but 
we were not able to test it when fully mature. 
Another pleasant pear, very common to 
all parts, as far north as Moscow and Ka¬ 
zan, is called Tonkavetka, meaning “Limber 
Twig.” It is medium in size, but far better in 
quality than any crosB with the Sand Pear we 
yet know. 
Ames, Iowa. 
&\)c tHmijan). 
GRAPES IN EASTERN VIRGINIA. 
REV. J. R. GARLICK, A.M., D.D. 
I fruited this year, for the first time 
several varieties of grapes, and offer the fol¬ 
lowing report: 
Champion is the earliest of all; growth of 
vine free; yield abundant but quality poor. 
But for its earliness, I should dig it up. 
Lady, early, of moderate or slow growth; 
quality of fruit very fine; vine healthy and 
productive. It seems to me very valuable. 
Salem, vines vigorous, but the fruit, though 
of excellent quality, rotted badly. None of 
the bunches were full and perfect. Still I 
prize it for its peculiar spicy flavor. Perhaps, 
it may do better hereafter. 
Telegraph, an enormous 
grower and bearer, but the 
fruit was rather poor. 
Worden bore well aud 
proved very good. 
Brighton, vine quite vigor¬ 
ous and healthy, bearing a 
good crop of beautiful berries, 
which were delicious—indeed 
of almost unsurpassed flavor. 
There can be few better grapes 
than this. 
Concord bore a good crop 
of fairly good fruit. 
Agawam rotted very badly, 
and the berries that ripened 
looked very much like Salem, 
but were not nearly so good. 
Alvky, fruit small and 
black, a good deal like Nor¬ 
ton’s Virginia, but not so good. 
The vines bore quite well. 
Martha, yield good, the 
vine was quite vigorous; the 
fruit sweet, but somewhat 
foxy. I think it well worth 
keeping, however. It is not 
nearly so good us Lady, but 
comes after that variety is 
gone. 
Moore’s Early came in just after Cham¬ 
pion, but it is very much better. A large, 
fine, early grape; yield only moderate, how¬ 
ever. 
Catawba was of first quality, of course, 
and the young vines made good growth and 
bore well. 
Delaware, growth feeble, but healthy; a 
fail - crop of fruit, very beautiful and deli¬ 
cious. 
Duchess. If I were asked which variety 
of those I have, Is of finest quality I should 
answer at once, “Duchess;" but, alas! it rot¬ 
ted so badly that I had only a few imperfect 
bunches to test. I do hope it will do better 
hereafter. Every one who tasted it pro¬ 
nounced it the very best: not so sweet as 
some, but sweet enough, with a refined, de¬ 
licious flavor. 
Pocklington. If I were asked to name the 
poorest sort I have, I should probably say 
Pocklington. Its beauty would lead one to 
expect fine quality; but this first crop was far 
from good—a sad disappointment. It ripened 
among the latest, aud was hardly so good as 
Champion, the earliest. I hope it may he 
better next season. 
King and Queens Co., Va. 
fax m Ccjcmomij. 
THE BENEFITS WHICH CHEMISTRY 
HAS CONFERRED UPON AGRI¬ 
CULTURE. 
GEO. B. LORING, U. S. COM. OF AGRICULTURE. 
The production of plants and that of ani¬ 
mals, the two broad divisions of the aims of 
agriculturists, have both been dependent 
on chemistry, in conjunction with physics, for 
their advancement during the past forty-five 
years. Before that time it was even an un¬ 
settled question whether or no the ash of 
plauts was essential to vegetable growth, and 
since then the information which has been 
furnished the farmer as to the air, the soil, 
tbc manures aud the general phenomena of 
plant life, has placed the methods of cultiva¬ 
tion of plants largely upon a rational basis, 
and he is no longer compelled to follow the 
results of past experience in attempts to imi¬ 
tate what has been fouud to be successful in 
nature. 
In a like manner with animal nutrition, 
chemistry, by determining the composition 
of food-stuffs and their digestibility, and, iu 
connection with physiological studies, the 
necessary rations required by different ani¬ 
mals, for maintenance or fattening, has been 
able to place the fanner upon an entirely new 
basis in regard to his stock. Chemistry has, 
in fact, been the teacher of economy, aud it is 
in the oldest agricultural countries that its 
greatest application is fouud. 
The great practical benefits derived from 
chemistry have been so thoroughly appre¬ 
ciated in Germany that almost every branch 
of agriculture, iu addition to the laboratories 
for general research, has its own experimen¬ 
tal station, where the chemistry of the sub¬ 
ject forms an important part of the work. In 
this country there has been, as yet, but a 
beginning, but every year makes more appar¬ 
ent the necessity for the extension of the ex¬ 
perimental system over our country with 
facilities for chemical investigation. Enough 
has been done to show that the results ob¬ 
tained in Germany and other countries, while 
they may be relatively - instructive, are not 
eutirely applicable to this country. Our soils 
and climate are so different from those of the 
Continent and so varied among themselves, 
that particular studies must be made for the 
conditions around us. The experiments in 
feeding cattle by Prof. Sanborn, aud analy¬ 
ses of oar forage plants by the Department 
of Agriculture, show how very different these 
conditions are, and the chemical investigation 
ol' the cereals of the United States, which bus 
been conducted by the Department for the 
past few years, has shown the marked effect 
upon their quality, produced by environment 
aud selection of the seed. 
There can he no doubt but that there is an 
opportunity for the advancement of agricul¬ 
ture in this country, with the aid of chemis¬ 
try, far beyond the appreciation of the casual 
observer; but our national conditions are so 
rich that it is in the East alone, that a demaud 
l'or this sort of Investigation occurs. It is 
there that we find some of the most palpable 
evidence of the practical aud immediate re¬ 
turns which chemistry has made to the 
farmer. 
The fertilizer control, exercised by the Ex¬ 
periment Stations of the Atlantic States, is 
the means of assuring the farmer of the exact 
quality of the article which he purchases. He 
is, without doubt, saved thereby millions of 
dollars yearly. [In so far as this applies to 
fertilizers, we submit that the chemist, as 
yet, is unable to inform us whether the nitro¬ 
gen is from huir, wool, leather, or other in¬ 
soluble substunces, or from the soluble 
nitrates or ammonia salts; he cannot tell us 
whether phosphoric ucid is from S. C. rock or 
from bone.—E ds.] It is able und does tell 
the manufacturers the value of the sources of 
raw substance on which he draws, and decides 
Have you seen the announcement of the 
Rural's present Free-Seed Distribution? 
Have you read an account of its #3,000 worth 
of gifts to subscribers alone? If not, send for 
the Seed and Premium Supplement. It will 
be sent at once without charge. 
