136 
THE RURAL WEW-YORKER. 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
Canada. 
Prince Albert, N. W. T.—All ei-ops here 
were failures last year; and the farmers are 
far from being well-to-do. Our nearest rail¬ 
road at the present time is 250 miles away: 
but we live in hopes of getting one to Prince 
Albert iu two years, and if we should be suc¬ 
cessful in getting one to Hudson Baj r , 1 pre¬ 
dict a great future for this section, as we have 
a fine grain and cattle country, but what we 
want is a good portion of the farmer immi¬ 
grants, and that we will not get until we have 
a railroad to Prince Albert or to the South 
Saskatcbew’au, which is 12 miles south of this 
place, which is on the North Saskatchewan. 
J. W, T. 
Colorado. 
Orchard, Weld Co.—I follow sheep raising 
and wool-growing mainly. I now have 
2,500 sheep. They obtain most of their food 
on TJncle Sam’s land, although 1 feed an al¬ 
lowance of Alfalfa and other hay nights and 
mornings. Thus far, I have lost but one sheep 
this Winter. This country is but sparsely set¬ 
tled, the people being mostly engaged in stock- 
raisiug, and this Winter thousands of cattle 
and sheep have died from the effects of cold, 
and a want of food and water. They actually 
starve, aud theu readily succumb to the severe 
cold. There should be a strict law against 
lettiDg stock run without proper food, and 
thus endure such suffering. I am also engaged 
in farming to a limited extent, and have read 
of your potato experiments with great inter¬ 
est, I don't suppose I could get the fertilizers 
you mention anywhere about here, and the 
freight charges on our Western R. R. are so 
exorbitant I don’tsupposelcouldpay them on 
fertilizers bought in the East. I have an 
abuudance of sheep manure and am tempted 
to try your system, using a supply of that, 
and suppose that by experiment I can soon 
learn the best way to use it. p. w. P. 
[Remarks.— From our knowledge of the 
soil of Colorado, we should say the sheep ma¬ 
nure is the very best fertilizer vou could have. 
Make a good application broadcast, plowing it 
into the soil, then trench for the potatoes, and 
after covering them a couple of inches, scat¬ 
ter a moderate quantity of tine manure over 
them, and then finish covering with soil. We 
believ^ one trial of this kind will convince 
you that this is the way.—E ds.] 
Kansas, 
Leavenworth, Leavenworth Co., Feb. 11. 
—I am sorry to say our peaches and, 1 believe, 
many otlipr fruits are killed for this year. 
The thermometer indicated here and in this 
vicinity 20 to 23 degrees below zero yesterday 
morning. J. B. 
Michigan. 
Mapleton, Grand Traverse Co.—The 
weather has been very cold here, the coldest 
I have ever known, 28 degrees below zero on 
low ground and 16 below on high. Farm 
produce is low and money very scarce. The 
Rural is my favorite paper. f, e b. 
Nebraska. 
Scotia, Greely Co., Feb. (5.—Out here na¬ 
ture is now wearing her kindliest smiles, and 
the energetic farmer has commenced sowing 
his spring wheat, and getting ready for spring 
work. Cattle have wintered well, having 
been fed only two months so far. No disease 
is yet known here among cattle aud hogs. 
Fat steers, £5.00 to £5 25; hogs, £3 50 to 34.00; 
corn, 18 to 25 cents; hay, £2 50 to £3.00. Cattle 
raising is very profitable, many farmers and 
stock-raisers having doubled their capital in 
two or three years. Choice land can be 
secured at from £4 to £10 per acre. The soil 
is a rich, black loam with clay subsoil, very 
productive—no stumps; no stones; easily till¬ 
ed; and it makes the farmers smile with satis¬ 
faction at the big crops it produces. Some 
government land has not yet been taken, but 
most of this is rough grazing land. Good 
school and church advantages are found here, 
and an excellent class of people. There are 
fine fields here for the capitalist, the man of 
moderate means, the farmer and stock-raiser, 
the mechanic and laborer, and all can do well. 
A. B. L. 
RURAL SEEDS REPORTS. 
Connecticut. 
Harwinton, Litchfield Co.—I gave all 
the Rural seeds the ordinary cultivation I 
gave my other crops of the same kinds. 1 use 
only barn-yard manure, aud hoe sufficiently 
often to keep weeds from growing. The 
Rural Union Corn was truly a success, except 
that the early frost of September came a little 
too soon, so that the grain was not quite as 
hard as I could wish; but it was the same with 
all corn around here. The stalks grew 14 and 
15 feet high and every one bore two or three 
ears of good size—some enormous. I took the 
prize with it at our agricultural fair, and shall 
try it agaiD. The oats were good, but late. 
The peas were justloadcd with very sweet peas. 
I saved most for seed, as I think them superior 
to our other sorts, The tomatoes were fine, 
large, even and smooth; some were very 
handsome at the stem end. The Garden 
Treasures the female members of the family 
thought very interesting, though the drought 
injured them somewhat. My Beauty of 
Hebron Potatoes are now my reliable crop, 
though the Blush are equally good. The 
White Elephant decayed badly, yet I never 
saw so large and fine a yield; in fact all our 
R ural seeds are prizes of themselves, although 
some may be better suited than others to this 
section. The wheat did not do well. c. C. 
Kansas. 
Ogallah, Trego Co.—I planted the Rural 
Union Corn June 2, and it was fully ripe in 
00 days. The Rural peas were much earlier 
than any I had tried before,especially the Rural 
New-Yorker. The oats were vei’y late: but 
heavy, stooling better than any other kind that 
T have tried; single grains planted 12 x 6 
inches apart, produced from 20 to 72 stalks, by 
actual count. J. M. 
Mich i aran. 
Mapleton, Grande Traverse Co.—The Ru¬ 
ral seeds all did very well. The corn ripened, 
but I think it, rather late for this climate. The 
oats also are too late. The tomatoes were 
very nice. The peas were all saved for seed. 
The Garden Treasures were very fine, although 
many failed to ripen seed. F. E. b. 
New York. 
Pultneyville, Wayne Co.—My Cleveland 
R. N.-Y. Peas ripened fit for table iu 40 days, 
and were fit for resowing in 58 days. I did 
sow some, and gathered, in September, two 
quarts of very nice peas which, I think, will 
be free from bugs. The Rural Union Corn 
was fit to shell iu 128 days. 1 think, however, 
that the season, as a general thing, will not be 
long enough for it as a field crop. The oats 
did not even fill; they could not grow high 
enough to head out, so I lost all the seed. The 
tomatoes were the grandest lot I ever raised. 
From 80 plants I could at any time have pick¬ 
ed 30 bushels, aud left enough for all of the 
neighbors. The Garden Treasures were not as 
good as might be expected, owing perhaps to 
my sowing them a little too early, c, f. p. 
[Every query must be accompanied by the name 
and address of the writer to Insure attention. Before 
asking a question, please see If It Is not answered In 
our advertising eolutn us. Ask only a few questions 
at one time.] 
STARTING A GARDEN. 
.7. D. C. S., Hamilton, O .—I waut to start 
a gardeu of an acre which is now in sod I 
have 100 bushels of hard-wood ashes, 10 bushels 
of hen manure, and any quantity of barnyard 
manure. I wish to break the ground next 
month, aud waut to start right, how shall I 
proceed, the land to be used for berries and 
vegetables? 
Ans. —Pile up 25 loads of barnyard manure 
at once, addiDg bone according to directions 
given in a late Rural. Apply 25 loads at 
once to the sod, aud plow down as soon as 
possible. Apply the pile io the Spring, and 
plow in. Then scatter the wood ashes, and 
harrow them in; then the hen manure, and 
cultivate that in. We thiuk you could then 
grow almost anytbing on that land. 
A SELECTION OF FLOWERING SHRUBS. 
J. A C., Simcoe, Term. —1, Which are the 
twelve best flowering shrubs? 2. What ad¬ 
vantage cau result from successfully crossing 
rye and wheat? 
Ans.— 1. The ornamental quinces are among 
the best of hardy shrubs. An assortment of 
spiraeas is indispensable. The bush houeyguck le, 
lilacs, dwarf borsechestnut, double-flowering 
cratoegus, the Great panicled Hydrangea, 
Magnolia stellata, philadelpbus or mock- 
orange,deutzias,weigelas, Viburnum plieatum, 
Chionanthus Virginica, Hibiscus Syriacus (iu 
variety), Stuartia Virgiffica and Euonymus 
are all among the best. 2. We do not know. 
The hybrid may prove hardier and more pro¬ 
ductive than wheat. 
BLACK KNOT. 
J. & B., Bristolville, O .—What is the cause 
of black-knot on sour cherries, and how.shall I 
treat it? 
Ans. —Black-knot is a fungous disease, and 
attacks both sour cherries aud plums. Cut 
all affected parts off and burn them now. anil 
next Bummer keep an eye on the trees, aud on 
the first indication of the malady cut off aud 
burn all diseased parts. If it attacks the 
bodies cut out all diseased portions, aud apply 
turpentiue to the wound, being careful not to 
reach any healthy wood, as it will kill as far 
as it goes. There is no trouble iu controlling 
this disease, if it is not carelessly allowed to 
get a start. 
BOSES. 
J. H. S., Middlebv.ry, Ohio —1. A butcher 
near me steams the bones and tallow for ex¬ 
tracting the grease; is the residue worth any¬ 
thing for manui’e? 2 What is the percentage 
of phosphoric acid in bones? 
Ans —1. The residue probably contains 
much of the lean meat aud muscle, and if so, 
contains some nitrogen; in any case, it is a 
valuable manure, as the phosphoric acid of 
the bones remains; if considerably lumpy, 
compost it with twice or thrice its weight of 
fresh stable manure. 2. Clean bones of a 
good class contain about 50 per cent, of phos¬ 
phate of lime, or 20 per cent, of phosphoric 
acid. 
STOCK DRINKING ALKALINE WATER, 
J. C. G., Abbotsford, Dak. —I have a slough 
from which 1 am obliged to water my cattle; 
it is all right in Summer, but now, when near¬ 
ly frozen solid, the water seems very alka¬ 
line, and causes the stock to rub themselves a 
good deal, and spots of hair to come off; what 
can I do? 
Ans. —We cau suggest nothing, unless you 
can open an outlet iu high water and run off 
the alkali. It is better to let the animals suf¬ 
fer as they are, than to try to feed any drug as 
an antidote; if you had some roots to feed it 
would be better. It might be well to card 
them every day, using a little kerosene on the 
cards. 
PEARS AND PLUMS FOR MARYLAND. 
77. F. S, Winterburn, Pa. —1. What pears 
would be best for the Eastern Shore of Mary¬ 
land? 2 What plums? 
Ans —1. Bartlett, Anjou, Angouleme, Belle 
Lucrative, Bergen, Bloodgood Clairgeau, 
Howell, Lawrence, Manning’s Elizabeth, 
Seckel, Sheldon and Superfin are all double- 
starred for Maryland 2, Richland, Lombard, 
German Prune, Washington and Columbia 
are worthy of trial. If you have any plum 
growers about you, who have been successful, 
consult them. 
CORN-AND COB MEAL. 
F. P., Stockport, N. F.—Is cob and corn- 
meal (corn and cobs ground together) a better 
feed than corn meal alone; and if so, why? 
Ans. —No; the cobs have little if any more 
nutritive value than sawdust; in fact, as a 
dilutant of the corn meal, they are not as 
good as basswood sawdust if finely ground. 
Don’t feed them at all. If you desire to dilute 
the meal do it with wheat bran. This is sen¬ 
sible. In grinding com and cob together the 
miller takes his toll from the corn; he is too 
sensible to want cobs for his part. 
TEOSINTK. 
Subscriber, New York. —How would Teo- 
sinte do as a forage plant? 
Ans.— We tested Teosinte (Reana luxurians) 
years ago. The season at the Rural Grounds 
is far too short for it. Our opinion, as then 
stated, and it remains the same, is that it will 
not mature seeds north of Georgia. The 
leaves are broad, and they and the stalks as 
well are highly relished by live stock iu gen¬ 
eral. As stated, it continues to grow after it 
is cut, 
VITALITY OF SEEDS.. 
W. W. II., HornesviUe, N. Y.— How long 
do the following seeds retain their germina¬ 
ting power:—cress, cauliflower, celery, en¬ 
dive, peppers, parsley, spinach, salsify ? 
Ans. —Cress, from four to six years; cauli¬ 
flower, five years; celery, live to eight years; 
endive, ten years: pepper, about four years; 
parsley, two to three years; spinach, four to 
five years; salsify, three to four years. 
NUMBER OK PLANTS TO THE ACRE. 
B. A. C., La Conners Wash. Ter .— By what 
rule cau I tell the number of plants for an 
acre at any given distance apart? 
Ans.—F ind the space occupied by one 
plant by multiplying the distance of rows 
apart by the distance of plants in the rows; 
divide 43,560, the number of square feet in one 
acre, by the space occupied by one plant., and 
the quotient will he the number of plants. 
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Miscellaneous. 
J. H. C., Sanford Corners, N. Y. —1. On six 
acres of sandy loam on which I had a heavy 
crop of clover aftermath, and sod was turned 
under last Fall, what crop would be best to 
raise? 2 Will plowing kill Johnson Grass, or 
is it like Quack? 3. My barnyard is sur 
rounded by barns from which the water runs 
into the yard, aud is apt to run off aud waste; 
would it pay to build a cistern and catch the 
water aud cart it on my meadow iu the 
Spring? 4. Who is the nearest breeder of 
Devon cattle? 
Ans.— 1. Such land should raise good oats, 
potatoes, roots, or in a corn country, splendid 
corn. We know nothing of your markets or 
help, and so can’t advise more specifically. 2 . 
Johnson Grass is a perennial, and spreads 
from stolons; but the roots are so fleshy and 
sweet that we think to kill it, it would only 
be necessary to let the hogs get at it. It is 
also a grass of which stock is very fond; but 
we don’t think it will stand pasturing. 3. It 
will pay you a hundred times better to put up 
eve troughs and spout the water out of the 
barnyard. No water should ever come in a 
barnyard except what falls there, and then 
there will be no leaebiug. It won’t pay at 
present to handle so much water for the man¬ 
ure it contains: but, of course, it is ruinous to 
let it wash away. The troughs should not 
be neglected another week. 4. A. F, Bron¬ 
son, Vernon; Joseph Hilton, New Scotland; 
J. A. Pommy, Sidney Cbnter; Rumsey Bro¬ 
thers, Yestfield; and H. B. Johnston & Bros., 
Afton, N. Y,, all have Devon herds. 
.4. R ,Stonehaven, Mass. — 1 . Is the Cuthbert 
Raspberry as hardy as the Wachusttt? 2. 
Which is the more '‘iron-clad” in this section, 
the Cuthbert or the Shaffer’s Colossal? 3. 
What potato is as good in quality as the 
Beauty of Hebron, and a larger yielder? 4. 
Is the Jumbo Strawberry as late as the Ken. 
tucky, and is it a strong, healthy grower and 
large producer? 
ANS.-l.The Waehusett is a blackberry. The 
Cuthbert is as hardy as any raspberry, except 
perhaps the Turner, 2. The Cuthbert. 3. We 
can do no better than to refer to our careful 
potato reports from the Rural Ex. Grounds. 
Every variety nearly, has been tested and re¬ 
ported upon. 4. No, it is not. By some it is 
praised, by others condemned. Our plants 
have not shown any particular merit. 
L. B., Independence, Kans. —What ails my 
mare, and how should she be treated? There 
are lumps, about the size of a pea, in the skin 
of her shoulders. 
Ans.— This symptom indicates farcy, which 
is due to a disorder of the blood. Give a 
pint of linseed oil, and repeat the second day 
after: then give one ounce of hyposulphite 
of soda daily for a month or six weeks. Far¬ 
cy is a form of glanders, and is incurable, 
aud contagious. 
J. W. R., Berrien Co., Mich.— 1. Is the Tyler 
Raspberry larger than the Doolittle black-cap? 
2. Isit earlier; and, if so, how much? 3. Is 
it as firm? 4. Is it as prolific? 5. Does it rust? 
Ans.—I. Very little, if any. 2. Yes;about 
three or four days earlier. 3. Yes. 4. Yes; 
very. 5. Mr. E. A. Scott, Ann Arbor, one of 
the most successful berry growers in Michigan, 
tells us it doesn’t rust with him. 
Wt C. J., Frederick, Md .—Where can Wy¬ 
andotte chickens be obtained? 
Ans.— We purchased three settings from 
William Henry Maule and W. Atlee Burpee, 
both of Philadelphia, Pa. From the three (39 
eggs) 12 chicks were hatched, three of which 
were killed by accident. Oue setting was sent 
too early. 
M. W., Omro, IFis,—How should asparagus 
for field culture be planted—in rows several 
feet apart, or iu hills one foot each way? 
Ans.—I t is usually planted in rows from four 
to six feet apart in trenches made with the 
plow so deep that, when gradually filled, the 
crown is from four to six inches below the 
surface. 
P. V. J., Gypsum Creek, Kan ,—Who manu¬ 
factures turbine water-wheels? 
Ans. —Jas. Leffel & Co., Springfield, Ohio. 
-«»» 
DISCUSSION. 
E.C.M..Portlandville,N. Y.-Unlike J. L. 
of Sherbrook, Quebec, Cau., see Rural, page 
89, I have uo fault to find with the Rural 
about its advice to keep the boys on the farm; 
for, despite all of it, too many by far will 
not stay there, ami even J. L, must admit that 
all the articles on this subject in the Rural 
for the past year have been good, and if 
studied thoroughly, then acted upon in good 
faith by the Rural fathers, even if they fail 
to keep the boys on the farm, they will at 
least tend to make broader, deeper, better, 
more self-reliant men of them, and that is the 
sort that all professions are most in need of. 
While I am willing to admit to J. L. or any 
other man that there is uo more reason why 
farmers’ sous should be farmers than the sons 
of Sir J. Macdonald should be Prime Ministers 
of the Dominion, 1 would simply suggest that 
we need more farmers than Prime > inisters. 
I would l*e to say that if the Rural 
fathers would study to put less brawn, and 
more science, thought, brain and business 
methods in the management of their farms, 
the boys would stay, and the old man, instead 
of being glad to see them go, would be happy 
they were with him still, though long pas 
their majority, and the noble profession 
would have more members in it, with more 
heart and greater enthusiasm. I can’t agree 
with J. L.’s statement that there are too many 
