38 
ficient; but he will soon learn better. Stretch 
the wires as tightly as possible; staple them 
securely, and they will never sag or give way, 
unless broken. 
Such a fence is proof against all kinds of 
large stock; they will always avoid it if pos¬ 
sible. Wind will not affect it, nor snow drift 
against it; it will harbor no weeds; and the 
wires, if properly galvanized, will outlast all 
other fencing material. The wires will cost 
about 35 cents per rod, and will require only 
from one half to one fourtn as many posts as 
a board fence. Such a fence, however, is 
unlit for a horse-lot, or a place where horas 
are cornered to be caught, as they are apt to 
be forced against it and badly hurt. 
Smooth wire is cheaper than barbed, but 
w here used alone is almost worthless. Wire 
and lath fence is extensively advertised here, 
and costs about 85 cents per rod; it is excel¬ 
lent for gardens, vineyards, etc ; but cattle 
all seem fond of horning it and soon get it 
into bad shape, unless the posts are close to¬ 
gether. 
Common plank is the general fence of this 
part of the country, and its merits are knowm 
to all. But as a four-board fence costs about 
85 cents per panel (15 feet), and will last only 
about ten years, and is very apt to be dis¬ 
turbed by all kinds of stock, I think it is much 
inferior to wire, except where wire would be 
dangerous. The old-fashioned rail fences, so 
much used, 1 consider the costliest of all, if 
the owner’s time and patience are worth any¬ 
thing. They are very laboriously constructed, 
and after a few' years must be constantly re¬ 
built, or repaired, and if the rails are sharp, 
they are as dangerous as barbs. They also har¬ 
bor more w T eeds than auy other, except a 
hedge, and are easily blown down. Never¬ 
theless, they are good for hog-lots, or lots that 
are to be frequently changed. 
The best feuce for both hogs and large 
stock I have ever tried, is of two barbed wires 
and three bottom boards, as shown in the 
illustration at Fig. 30, with a short post in the 
Barbed Wire Fence. Fig. 30. 
middle of each panel, reaching only to the top 
of the boards Sueh a fence is much cheaper 
than a five-board fence, and far better. 
Tazewell Co., Ill. “an Illinois reader.” 
THE NEW ORLEANS INTERNATIONAL 
EXPOSITION, 
(rural special report). 
It must be freely confessed that things are 
still very chaotic here. The general public 
having been invited to the feast, has reason to 
demand an exjjlauation for this state of things. 
The reasons are not far to seek, and they are 
of such a nature as to uppeal to the disap¬ 
pointed guest for much indulgence. 
In the first place, the desigu was originally 
hardly more ambitious than those of the At¬ 
lanta and Louisville Expositions, but it met 
with such general favor and interest that its 
scope was necessarily enlarged. In the words 
of President Richardson, in his opening ad¬ 
dress, “At an early date it became manifest 
that the liberality of individuals would be in¬ 
adequate to meet the requirements of the 
ever-increasing magnitude of the undertak¬ 
ing. Accordingly an application for aid was 
made to the United States, through Congress, 
resulting in obtaining the generous assistance 
which so materially contributed to the accom¬ 
plishment of the purpose contemplated.” 
Pending the necessary legislation, there was 
some loss of time, and during this period of 
uncertainty it was impossible to definitely de¬ 
termine on the amount of work which might 
reasonably he undertaken. Although work 
was begun in April, it was not until tha loan 
became an assured fact in June, that it cau 
be said to have been vigorously prosecuted. 
The amount of space that has been provided 
since that time is certainly wonderful. It is 
much more than that occupied at Philadelphia. 
For instance, the main building has 1,656.080 
square feet of floor, while that at Philadelphia 
bad only 872,320. The Government Building 
has about 500,000 square feet, and added to 
THE BUBAL NEW-¥©BKEB. 
these are the Horticultural Hall, 000x194 feet; 
the Cotton Annex, 300x100 feet; and the Art 
Gallery, 30(1x100 feet; besides the two Mexi¬ 
can huildings, a few buildings for private ex¬ 
hibits, and the vast system of sheds for live 
stock display. With the exception of the Art 
Gallery, which is not yet opened, the build¬ 
ings, so far as the provisions for exhibits are 
concerned, are substantially finished. Many 
offices and headquarters remain to be fitted 
up, and some of the approaches are yet in 
quite an unt idy condition, but a few days will 
be sufficient for this work, if the weather is 
propitious. 
The question of weather suggests auother 
reason for failing to fully accomplish the 
work as soon as was anticipated. When the 
Exposition was planned, it was understood 
tbat the city would prosecute some indispens¬ 
able public works with great vigor. The 
broad St. Charles Avenue, the finest approach 
to the grounds, was to have a double-track 
asphalt pavement, with car track between, 
affording an elegant carriage drive to the 
Park. Other road-ways, for heavy hauling, 
were to be put iu good repair. These neces¬ 
sary preparations have been so much delayed 
or altogether neglected as to cause much 
heavy hauling to be done at great disadvant¬ 
age. The Avenue is not yet completed and 
the shelling and repairing of other roads are 
provokingly slow. When the vast quantities 
of exhibits began to arrive,the fact that many 
railroads had no approach to the grounds, 
but must transfer their goods ever other lines, 
often with a change of tracks, made railroad 
blockades, tbiugs to be expected. The exhib¬ 
itors have experienced much delay in getting 
hold of their goods, and are therefore, many 
of them, fully excusable for not having them 
in proper condition at the opening day. 
Foreign exhibits have often suffered great 
loss of time from Consular red tape. 
These are the reasons given for being tardy, 
and to those who say the opening ought to 
have been deferred, it is only to be said that 
all the arrangements bad been made, the ter¬ 
rible weather of the last week, which could 
not have been forseen, made a great deal of 
difference in the amount accomplished, and 
the disappointment of those who were ready, 
would have balanced that of those who came 
expecting fully ordered houses. I made a 
tour of inspection a day or two ago, fur the 
express purpose of getting an answer to the 
question, “When will the exhibits be fully in 
place/” The answer's ranged from two days, 
to two weeks, with a few cases where there 
was much uncertainty, on account of belated 
goods. A few departments, like those of the 
colored exhibit and women’s work, will be 
delayed beyond the latter limit on account of 
the space for them not being ready in time, 
and the Art Department cannot possibly open 
its doors before the middle of January. 
To give even the most condensed view of 
the whole Exposition would, I find, occupy 
more space than the Rural has to spare, so I 
content myself with saying that it will be 
particularly rich in its machinery exhibits, in 
its horticultural and stock departments, and 
in its private mercantile exhibits. In its col¬ 
lective (State exhibits, it is a magnificent 
gathering of national resources. Its Govern¬ 
ment exhibit alone would justify the trip to 
New Orleans, and its educational exhibit will 
be exceedingly full and interesting. The for¬ 
eign exhibits are fine, as far as they have 
been placed in position; but so many of the 
foreign exhibitors are only just in possession 
of their goods that I must refer to them au¬ 
other time. Hereafter I shall confiue myself 
to short sketches of particular departments, 
or special exhibits, tbat seem to promise most 
interest to Rural readers. 
May I say, iu conclusion, that, particularly 
among the State Commissioners, I have found 
the name of the Rural New Yorker to be 
an “open sesame.” They all want their works 
to be known to its renders, and speak of the 
paper as a tried and valued frieud. M T. E. 
New Orloatis, Dec. 24. 
Snimsi’l %oc'uiu$. 
ILLINOIS DAIRYMENS’ ASSOCIATION 
MEETING. 
(RURAL SPECIAL REPORT.) 
The Eleventh Annual Meeting of the Illi¬ 
nois Dairymens’ Association, which was held 
at Champaign—the first held outside the dairy 
region of the State—was not largely attended, 
purtly because of the sudden aud extreme 
cold, with an unusual snow-fall. The tone of 
the meeting showed that the dairy interest in 
the State is fairly prosperous. There was not 
much of enthusiasm and nothing of despond¬ 
ency. There is a growing interest in the busi¬ 
ness in different parts of the central belt of 
the State, shown iu the occasional establish¬ 
ment of a creamery, usually working on the 
“gathered-cream” plan; the more frequent 
enlargement of private dairies, and the in¬ 
creasing number of herds of the distinctive 
dairy breeds. Some development of the dairy 
interest in the south of the State was report¬ 
ed, aud a good showiug of the profit made. 
For both Central and Southern Illinois butter¬ 
making promises better results than cheese- 
making. In the north of the State the cen¬ 
trifugal cream separators are being somewhat 
used, guarded commendation being given 
them. A less product of skim cheese was re¬ 
ported, with more effort to insure a good 
grade of both butter and cheese. Winter 
dairying was given preference over summer 
work. The sale of butterine, oleomargarine, 
etc., evidently is a serious obstacle. A spirit¬ 
ed discussion showed a difference of opinion 
as to method of meeting this; one party urg¬ 
ing legislation to prohibit manufacture; others 
insisting that all that was needed or proper 
was compelling the sale of these products un¬ 
der their proper names. Somewhat indefinite 
resolutions, in favor of efficient legislation, 
and the appointment of a dairy commissioner 
to aid iu enforcing this, were adopted. 
The old question of meager representation 
of dairy products at the State Fairs was gone 
over, members of the State Board of Agricul¬ 
ture strongly urging the desire of that Board 
to secure creditable exhibits. As a whole, 
the papers read were of excellent character. 
There were then carefully prepared addresses 
on educational topics; one, by a teacher, forci¬ 
bly urged the good that would come from 
teaching the elements of agricultural science, 
iu the public schools; another, by a dairy 
farmer, urged the greater value of general 
education and training over instruction in 
mere technical lines, and pleaded for more 
instruction in good morals—not religious di¬ 
rectly. A third was by a su^ erintendent of 
schools, elaborately setting forth the value of 
reading, to the farmer. Two or three hours 
werespeut at the Industrial University, which 
was almost extravagantly complimented by 
several speakers. 
Altogether, the meeting was fairly up to 
the average. Has the time gone by for such 
meetings? Aside from the officers and speak¬ 
ers, not ten dairy farmers or manufacturers 
were present from the counties where dairy¬ 
ing is a leadiug interest. My hope that the 
meeting might be directly helpful to the 
farmers of the central and southern portions 
of the State, was uot fulfilled in any large de¬ 
gree, for they were scarcely represented. 
Not one in a score of the farmers living with¬ 
in five miles of the place of meeting attended 
even one session. One of the most enterpris¬ 
ing of the weekly papers of Champaign gave 
nine lines to a report of the meeting; our 
daily gave, perhaps, 30 lines. 
Pretty certainly it is true, whether or not 
it should be, that the most affective mode by 
which any man or society cau reach large 
numbers of farmers aud farmers’ families, is 
through the agricultural press—including all 
papers which give some attention to agricul¬ 
tural matters. Q. e. morrow. 
Industrial University, Champaign, Ill. 
fUrintltitml. 
THE CLEMATIS. 
WILLIAM FALCONER. 
This is one of the most beautiful and popu¬ 
lar of garden flowers. It is a member of the 
Crowfoot family of plants—to which also be¬ 
long the columbine, anemone, Meadow-rue, 
larkspur and paeony,—aud abounds through¬ 
out the temperate regions of the Northern 
Hemisphere,and occasionally occui's iu tropical 
aud subtropical parts, both north and south 
of the equator. But beyond the New Zealand 
species, Indivisa, which is a winter bloom¬ 
ing, profuse, white-flowered, showy kind, aud 
a greenhouse plant with us, the hardy clema¬ 
tises only appeal to our notice. At Figure 29 
p. 41, we show a bouquet of the hardy varieties. 
Everyone knows the common wild Virgiu’s- 
Bower (C. Yirgiuiana) that drapes the branches 
of the trees, mantles bushes in the thickets, 
trails over rocks and banks, and is so lavish 
of its flowery wreaths in Summer and fleecy 
akenes in the Fall. Europe yields us others 
notunlike it. The Traveler’s-Joy (C. Vitalbii) 
rougher, may be uot so pretty; and C. Flam- 
niula is a neater and more copious plant, with 
whiter and sweet-scented flowers. From 
the higher mountains of Chinese Tartary 
comes C. graveoleus, a fragrant, yellow flow¬ 
ered species, perfectly hardy iu our gardens, 
a rampant grower, whose akenes in the Fall 
are flossier, whiter and more abundant than 
those of other common garden kinds. From 
Texas comes C. cocciuea with orange-scarlet 
flowers, shaped like those of our common 
leather flowered clematises, as Piteherii and 
Viorna. 
The above, being vigorous vines, hardy and 
profusely floriferous, are well fitted for use as 
JAN 47 
screens in front of the veranda, to cover naked 
stumps or tree trunks, envelop rocks or tree 
roots, or face lattice or other fences used to 
screen from view unsightly objects. Both Coc- 
cinea and Flammula are worthy of special 
care. 
But the large-flowered, showy clematises so 
greatly favored in our gardens, are of a differ¬ 
ent race, and Jackmanii may he taken as the 
best as well as the best known among them 
Jackman.of England, claims it as one of bis first 
hybrids; tbat be raised it in ’58, and bloomed it 
for the first time in ’02. Now comes the emin¬ 
ent French arboriculturist, A. Lavalee, and 
declares it to be a Japanese species called C. 
Habonensis. No matter, it is a capital garden 
flower; so are the whole set of its kind, C. lanu¬ 
ginosa, patens, florida aud the rest of them. 
But as some of them blossom in Spring, others 
in Summer, and others from Summer into 
Fall, and as the earlier-blooming ones flower 
from the old wood, and the late-season ones 
from the young wood, we require to know 
something about them in order to be able to 
treat them intelligently. 
The “Patens” typo represents the spring- 
bloomers. They bloom from the old wood, 
and are in beauty when the azaleas and rho¬ 
dodendrons, Bleeding-Hearts aud oriental 
poppies are in perfection. A vigorous growth 
should be encouraged iu Summer, and no 
pruning be done in Fall; but all the wood 
possible should be retained till Spring; then, 
after the plants are out of bloom, we may 
pruneif need he. Lord Loudesborough, mauve; 
Lady Londesborough, silver gray; Miss Bate¬ 
man, white; The Queen, lavender; Vesta, 
white; Stella, violet; Albert Victor, lavender; 
Standishii, mauve-purple; and Sir Garnet 
Wolseley, bluish, are good varieties of this 
kind. Countess of Lovelace, bluish-lilac; 
Duchess of Edinburgh, white; Fortunei, white; 
aud Johu Gould Veiteh, lavender blue, are 
double flowering clematises coming in with, 
or soon after, the precedin g single ones, and 
requiring like treatment, except, perhaps, a 
more sheltered position, or to be taken down 
and covered with earth in Winter, as we do 
with raspberry bushes or grape-vines. 
The “Lanuginosa” type represents the 
large, showy flowered varieties that come 
into bloom in midsummer and continue more 
or less for a month or two. They bloom from 
short lateral growths from the old wood, 
hence we should be careful to preserve ag 
much old wood as possible. Lanuginosa and 
its varieties, lavender to white; Henryi, 
creamy white: Alba magua, white; Gem, la¬ 
vender; William Keunett, lavendor; Mori- 
kata Okd, satiny white, and Otto Ficebel, 
grayish white, are good sorts. 
The “Viticella” and “Jackmanii” types in¬ 
clude the well known hardy race whose 
showy, purple flowers are so familiar in our 
gardens in Summer arid Fall. They hlossom 
successionally outbccurreut Summer’s shoots; 
hence are benefited by being shortened back 
in Winter. All tilings considered. Jackmanii 
is the best among them. But there are others 
also of exceptional merit; for instance. Lady 
Bovill, grayish blue; Mrs. James Bateman, 
lavender; Thomas Moore, pucy violet; Viti¬ 
cella rubra grandiflora, claret; Alexandra, 
reddish violet; l’rince of Walts, pucy purple; 
Rubella, claret-purple; Star of India, red¬ 
dish plum, Tunbridgensfs, bluish mauve, aud 
Velutiua purpurea, dark mulberry. 
Clematises love good treatment, rich, well- 
drained soil, a suuuy situation and protection 
from cutting winds. A mulching over their 
roots in Summer and occasional heavy water¬ 
ings during dry weather are well repaid iu 
vigorous growth and profusion of blossoms. 
The showy clematises, as represented in the 
Pateus, Lanuginosa and Jackmanii sets, are 
worthy of the choicest places in our gardens,— 
up the pillars of the veranda, on the door 
posts, around our windows, on pillars or 
trellises specially prepared for them, or 
wherever else a pretty vine would he desir¬ 
able. And the Jacnianii set are often used as 
bedding plants by being planted thickly in 
bed-, and the vines spread over the ground 
aud pegged closely to it. They are propagat¬ 
ed byluyersof the vines, cuttings, grafting 
on root cuttings, division of the clumps, and 
by seeds; but, most frequently, by layers aud 
division, except in the case of florists, who 
have come to use eattings mostly. 
But, apart from the clematis as u vine, we 
know it intimately as a common hardy her¬ 
baceous perennial garden plnut, in C. recta, 
for instance. This, the upright Virgin’s 
Bower, a native of Europe, grows three to six 
feet high, und hears large masses of white 
dowel's in June. There are several forms of 
it: the double is one of the whitest. Integri- 
folia is a small, bluish-purple one; tubiflora, 
a handsomer plant with small, bell-shaped, 
blue flowers, und Davidiana from Northern 
China, which has terminal aud auxiliary 
masses of hyacinth-like blue, sweetly fragrant 
flowers. It is quite hardy and one of the 
finest summer-blooming perennials. 
