copperas, Venetian red, and red pepper? 3. 
What is the White Seal burning oil, so exten¬ 
sively advertised? 
Ans,— 1. That is just what we are going to 
find out next Summer on that half-acre ex¬ 
periment. Now we cannot tell. 2. We can 
see no good in the Venetian red, as it is sim¬ 
ply an earth. The pepper we consider good, 
and copperas, (sulphate of irou,) iu limited 
quantities, is used by some. We never feed 
it. 3. We have never examined it, but if you 
buy good oil, standing 150° fire test, you ueed 
not have any fear of an explosion, or pay 
any big price for this. 
W. 11. W., Fall River, Mas ft. —1. What is 
the best remedy for the cabbage worm? 2. Is 
there any remedy for club foot in cabbages, 
and what is the best preventive? 8. Is 
Paris-green water advisable for the squash- 
vine borer? 4. Would it be well to plant 
Early Ohio Potatoes in drills two feet apart, 
with the sets one foot apart? 
Axs.—1. Pyrethrum powder blown on 
through a bellows, or sprayed on with 
water. Prof. Riley stated, in a recent Rural, 
that ice-cold water will kill them. 2. No. 
Rotation is best. 3. You should not use 
Paris-green; it is dangerous and will not be 
v ery effective either. T he k erosene emulsion 
is best. 4.Yes; the tops are small. 
R. G. B., Baton Rouge, La.—1. How would 
cotton seed ashes, at $14 per ton, do for ferti¬ 
lizing potatoes? 2. What fertilizer should be 
applied to oats sowed last November? 
Ans.— 1. We suppose you mean ashes made 
by burning cotton seed hulls ; if so, they con¬ 
tain 400 pounds of potash per ton, and about 
220 pounds of phosphoric acid, and are very 
valuable manure for potatoes, richly worth 
more than twice the price named; but if they 
are mixed with coal ashes their value would 
be very much less. 2. Sow2o0 pounds of ashes 
above-named and 100 pounds of nitrate of 
soda per acre soon after they begin to grow 
in Spring. 
H. M. <?., Plum P. O., Pa — Is the instru 
ment. for opening obstructions in cows 1 teats, 
sold by W. Horne, V. S., Janesville, Wis., a 
good one? 
Ass.—Dr. Horae is a competent veterinary 
surgeon, and the instrument referred to is quite 
u simple affair, so that although we have not 
seen this particular instrument, we consider it 
to be sufficient for the purpose intended. This 
kind of instrument consists of a tube or bougie 
having a small concealed blade in the side or 
sides, which is pressed out by a spring, and 
being drawn down through the stricture div¬ 
ides it and relieves the obstruction. 
W. C. J,, Grecnport, N. K—My 15 year- 
old mare sweats very profusely for no suffici¬ 
ent reason. Why? 
Ans.— The sweating indicates the cause of 
the trouble, which is impaired digestion. 
Give one pint of linseed oil. After this, give, 
once a day, a feed of cut hay with one quart 
of linseed meal, and two quarts of bran. Add 
to it one teaspoonful of ground ginger, and 
the same amount of powdered Peruvian bark. 
Brush the skin, but do not curry it, and finish 
with a good rubbing down with a coarse 
woolen cloth. 
E. L. R., Trenton, N. J.—l. Wbat are the 
best grapes for a succession cf fruit in a vine¬ 
yard of 100 vines? 2 What plant can be 
sown that will make good pasture for a cow 
the first season after sowing? 
Ans.— 1. Moore’s Early, Worden, Lady, 
Brighton, Niagara, Concord, Salem, Wilder, 
Duchess. 2. We know of no plant that makes 
any amount of good pasture the first season 
after sowing. It would be better to sow oats 
and corn, and soil the cow in a yard. 
J. A. W.. Brooklyn, N. F.-l. Are straw and 
hay as good protection for ice as sawdust? 2. 
Should bay or straw used for this purpose be 
whole or cut ? 
Ans.— 1, They are not, for the reason that 
they are more open and do not as effectually 
confine the air and prevent its circulation; 
they answer very well, however. 2. They are 
much better cut, and the finer they are cut 
the better. If as fine as sawdust, they would 
be better than that. 
M. Me N., Centerville, la— My lather has 
bought some Gooseberry Plums, are they 
good? 
Ans. There is no such plum. There is a 
Wild Goose Plum, which is of the Chickasaw 
class or similar to your wild plums and of 
about the same quality. If you do not mis¬ 
take in the Dame, your father has been taken 
in by some dishonest tree peddler. 
G. A. B., Moscow, Mich. —What kind of 
roots are best for stock, and how should they 
be grown? 
Ans.—C arrots, sugar beets, Swede Turnips 
and mangels. But of these we prefer man¬ 
gels, because we can grow so much mere per 
acre with less labor, and they can be fed with¬ 
out imparting auy objectionable flavor to 
milk and butter. Grow them iu fields, in rows 
SO inches opart, 12 iDcbes apart iu the row, 
and'do'most of.thelcultivation with a horse. 
Inquirer, Lewis Center, Ohio. —1. What are 
the 12 best hardy lilies for this latitude—41 
north? They must, be different in color. 2. 
What are the 12 best tender or ever- blooming 
roses? 
Ans —1 Lilium speeiosum, album aud ru- 
brura ; auratum ; eaudidum ; excelsum ; su¬ 
perbum ; tigrinum flore-pleno; Thunber- 
gianum ; Japouicum longiflorum ; Harrisii. 
That is the best we can do. 2. Boo Sileue, 
Safrano, Catharine Mermet, Perle desJardins, 
Marie Van Houtte, Monsieur Furtado, Jean 
Ducher, Madame deVatry, Niphetos, Madame 
Falcot, Isabella Sprunt. 
B. P. M, Hastings, N. Y — l. Is it too late to 
cut duns? 2. Is it better to put food for fowIs 
on the ground? 3. Is it necessary to keep a 
brooder out-of-doors, or can it be put in a 
cellar? 
Ans.— 1. No; cut them any time, when not 
frozeu, before the buds swell. 2. Better put 
all soft food in troughs, or on a floor. Cora 
may be scattered on the ground. 3. o, keep 
it iu any place light enough, and where the 
air is good, 
W. W., Milton rale, Aon.—What is the dif¬ 
ference between Kentucky aud English Blue 
Grass? 
Ans.— Our Blue Grass is Poa pratensis. 
This is the June, Meadow, Green or Spear 
Grass or Kentucky Blue Grass. Poa cotn- 
pressa is the Northern Blue Grass, and is the 
true Blue Grass, or ought to be so considered. 
English Blue Grass is Meadow Fescue-Fes- 
tuca pratensis. 
M. W., Hickory Corners, Mich. — What 
makes my potatoes scabby? Rose and Clark s 
No. 1 were covered, while Burbank's, by their 
side, were free and smooth—all on new land. 
Ass.—One of several causes will produce 
scab. It is bast to plant those kinds least 
affected, and try kainitas a preventive. The 
subject of scab on potatoes Las lately been 
pretty thoroughly discussed in the Rural. 
P. D. K., Yarmouth, N. S.— 1. Will un¬ 
leached wood ashes, spread over a top dressing 
of bam yard manure in December, cause auy 
loss of ammonia? 2. What is the best white 
grape for a cold grapery ? 
Ans —1. The alkali of the ashes would 
unite with the vegetable acids of the manure, 
setting free the ammonia, and much of it 
would be lost. 2. We do not know. 
A. IF. W ., Burnham's, N F.—What is the 
Rural’s opinion of teosiute as a forage 
plant? 
Ans.— This was tested at the Rural Grouuds 
when first talked of. The blades are broader 
than those of corn—the joints closer. It starts 
to grow late aud then grows splendidly. But 
it never matures seed in this climate. Proba¬ 
bly it will mature seeds in Florida, possibly in 
Georgia. 
T. V., Seymour, Wis— 1. How long after 
orange and lemon trees flower until tbe fruit 
is ripe? 2. How many crops are on trees at 
once? 
Ans.—S ix months is the least interval. 2. 
One or two; in the latter case the oranges of 
one year’s crop have been left hanging until 
tbe second year, as the trees blossom but once 
in a year. 
L. A E, North Randolph, Ft.—1. Will the 
Japan Chestnut endure this climate? 2. Which 
are a few good cooking apples that will prob¬ 
ably be hardy here? 
Ass —1. Probably not. 2. Dr. Hoskins 
names Tinmoulh for early Winter. Wealthy 
for mid-Winter, Powaukee for late Winter, 
and Scott’s Winter for Spring use. 
J, P. A., Green Brier, Tenn.—I What is 
tbe best fertilizer for beans in the absence of 
stable manure? 2. How' long will Red Clover 
endure as pasture without re seeding? 
Ans.— 1. Any brand high in potash and 
phosphoric acid. 2. Clover is a biennial, and 
if pastured so close that it cannot reseed itself, 
it will fail in two years. 
I. B„ Stanbro, Can .—Will young fruit trees 
thrive, if planted iu vacancies in an old 
orchard? 
A.NS,—Much depends upon bow thick tbe 
remaining trees stand. If they are not too 
thick, and the youug trees are liberally man¬ 
ured, they will do fairly well; but not as well 
as if planted alone. 
8. S , Chester Co., Pa.— 1 Where can we 
get Wyandotte poultry eggs most conven¬ 
iently? 2. Would food, boiled in a galvanized 
kettle, be injurious to poultry or cattle? 
Ans. _1. From Johnson & Stokes, Wm. H. 
Maule, or W. Atlee Burpee, Philadelphia, Pa; 
C. S. Cooper, ScraaleDburg, N. J.; J. T. 
CotbraD, Greenwich, N. Y. 2. Not in the 
least, unless allowed to stand iu it aud become 
sour, 
A. L -S'., Le Mars, la.—I What four apples 
would you recommend for this section, quality 
being the first consideration? 2. How old 
should a tree be when planted? 
Ans.— 1. Jonathan, Wealthy,Grimes’s Gold¬ 
en, and Fameuse. 2. If well grown, four or 
five years old, and even older, if carefully 
takeh'up. We prefer young stocky trees. 
J. W. J., Allen, Md —1. Would the Yellow 
Transparent Apple be likely to thrive here? 
2. Are the Williams’ Favorite and Ohio 
Beauty later than the Early Harvest? 8. Is 
the Law'son Pear likely to do well iu market? 
4. Is the Parry Strawberry as large and pro¬ 
ductive as tbe Sbarpless? 
Ans —1 It is recommended for the North. It 
may be worth trying in a small way. 2 Yes. 
They commence to ripen about wbeD the other 
has finished. 3. It has uot been tried suffici¬ 
ently away from its place of origin. It is a 
brilliantly colored pear of fair quality. 4. 
Tbe Parry is as yet little known. The berries 
are more regular and of bettor quality than 
those of Sharpless, though the latter will 
average larger perhaps 
E. S. M , Crisman, hid.— 1. What is the 
difference between peat and muck? 2 When 
stable manure cannot be obtained, wbat can 
be substituted in making a compost with 
muck? 
Ans.— 1. Peat is a mass of decaying leaves, 
sticks and roots, etc.. found in bogs or swamps, 
and is in various stages of decomposition. 
When this has passed a certain point in decay 
it becomes muck. Thus the surface of a peat 
bog is often covered with a layer of muck. 
2. Slake lime, with w'ater saturated with salt, 
and use the slaked lime in proportion of one 
bushel to 50 bushels of muck and 25 pounds of 
fine bone dust. 
S G. E , Quincy,1U.~ Are tbe Crimson Beauty 
Raspberry, the Dewberry, or Creeping Black¬ 
berry, profitable berries for market? 
Ans.— Don’t buy any of them at big prices. 
The Cutbbert, which you can get for a moder¬ 
ate price, is good in every way. Tbe Crimson 
Beauty is earlier, and we think the Dewberry, 
however good the fruit may be found, will 
prove a nuisance, it will ruo all over the 
ground, can’t be cultivated out and it will be 
hard to pick; by far better go slow on these, and 
thank us in a year or so. 
A. H. B., Lamong, Ind. — What sort of 
plows do you use amoug corn and potatoes for 
flat culture? 
Ans.—W 6 use no plows at all: but simply 
some form of shallow-working cultivator, 
something that works not more than three 
iuches deep, and it would be better if not more- 
than two. The broad-pad five-tooth cultivator 
is uot a bad implement, our object being to 
stir as much of the surface, aud as little of auy 
other soil, a3 possible. 
E. E. J., PouUney, Ft.—I have five acres of 
rich muck land, which I ditched, and am now 
drawing the muck upon a piece of hard land 
where I propose to sow oats in the Spring. Is 
it best to spread and plow in the muck, or 
spread it on the surface after sowing the 
oats?. 
Ans. —We should say plow the land, spread 
the muck, and harrow it into the surface. 
D. C., Homer, Cortland Co., N. Y— In your 
potato culture how do you make trenches 18 
inches wide and five inches deep? 
Ans.— So far %ve have made them with a 
spade—two spades wide and one "spit” deep. 
We are trying to obtain a plow with which to 
make them. They may be opened with a 
large two-horse plow by making a "dead fur¬ 
row” and then loosening the soil in the bottom 
of the furrow with a one horse plow. 
F. S., East Des Moines, Iowa— Can I seed 
a piece of open timber land with clover and 
Timothy, so as to makegood pasture, by sow¬ 
ing the seed and harrowing it in? 
Ans.— Yes; sow nine pounds of Timothy, 
10 pounds of Red Clover, two pounds of Alsike, 
and five pounds of Blue Grass seed per acre. 
After this, brush it over lightly with tbe har¬ 
row. 
R. M. G.,Ilhinebeck, N. I'.—Wbat is kainit? 
Ans —Kainit is an impure sulphate of pot¬ 
ash ; of course, it varies much in composition, 
but an average good sample contains about 
36 per cent, of sulphate of potash, or about 
1234 P er cent of actual potash. The rest is 
largely muriate of soda, or common salt. 
Inquirer.—1. Whose strain of Wyandottes 
are those at the Rural Grounds. 2. Are Ply¬ 
mouth Rocks quiet aud peaceable? 
Ans —1. They were got from W. Atlee 
Burpee & Co., aud Johnson A Stokes, Phila¬ 
delphia, Pa. 2. They are as quiet and peace¬ 
able as auy fowls we have ever had. 
N. S., Schenevict, N. Y— 1 hare the Cuth- 
bert Raspberry and want something earlier, 
wbat shall 1 get? 
Ans.— Marlboro and Ilansell are both re¬ 
commended for earliness. Send one new 
subscriber, aud get 12 plants of the Marlboro. 
S. G, West North field. Mass.— Where we 
have no baru yard mauure, bow can we make 
liquid manure for strawberry beds? 
Ans —The easiest way uud one as good as 
any other, is to scatter the complete manure 
over the ground, and then apply water. 
D. M. A/., Stafiville, Canada —Would the 
Northern Spy grafted on early apples, come 
into bearing any sooner than trees of that 
variety bought from a nursery? 
Ans— Unquestionably. The Northern Spy, 
however, is a tardy bearer. 
C, F. M, St. Clair, Mich.— What value has 
common salt as a fertilizer? 
Ans.— No odo claims that there is any fer¬ 
tility in salt, and yet it sometimes has a won¬ 
derful effect, probably as a solvent. Try it 
and watch the result. 
F. E. F., no address—By whom is the 
white Manilla twine for binding wheat tnanu- 
factnred? A tag marked "Plymouth,” ri on 
every ball. 
Ans.— It is made by the Plymouth Cordage 
Co., Plymouth, Mass. 
J. H. L., Stuart, Mont —If hard wood ashes 
are worth 40 cents per bushel, what are the 
ashes of red fir worth ? 
Ans,—T he ashes of all coniferous trees are 
much alike, and hardly worth applying unless 
given gratis. 
L. H , Dansnille, N. Y.— Are potatoes that 
have been somewhat sunburned good for 
seed ? 
Ans.—Y es; no doubt it improves them to 
have them so much exposed as to get even 
much greened, 
W. S. W. , Shawano, Wis.—Will apples graf¬ 
ted on the wild or cultivated crab do well? 
Ans.—Y es, if the crabs are fast-growing 
kinds; if not, such a method of working 
would have a tendency to dwarf the trees 
S. E. H., Rocky Comfort, Mo.— Does the 
Baldwin Apple grow successfully in the 
South ? 
Ans.— It becomes an early fall apple there, 
and is of no value as a winter apple. 
E P., Jewett, N. Y .—What is the earliest 
grape known? 
Ans —The Champion or Tallman; but, un¬ 
fortunately, it is good for nothing. Try 
Moore’s Early or Jessiea. 
./. IF., Brown's Grove, Kans—Ot whom can 
1 get German carp for stocking a small pond? 
Ans.— Of 8. F. Baird, United States Fish 
Commissioner, Washington, D. C. 
Several Inquirers — Where can cranberry 
cuttings be obtained ? 
Ans —From J. T, Lovett, Little Silver, 
Monmouth Co., N. J. 
T. T. K., Cargill, Can—Is “Everybody’s 
Paint Book” a good one? 
Ans.—Y es. 
-m*- 
DISCUSSION. 
To Many Contributors. — We can not 
open the chess wheat discussion. If our 
friends are determined to believe that wheat 
turns to Chess we can uot help it. The thiug 
is utterly impossible. Let us agree to differ. 
We have 50 or more communications upon the 
subject. 
A. E. M.. Bergen Co., N. J.— The great 
rose William Francis Bennet, for the control 
of which Mr. Evans, is said to have paid $5000, 
is offered by Hallock, Son & Thorpe, of 
Queens, Long Island, N. Y. It may be offer¬ 
ed by others, but we have not noticed the 
offers in the catalogues received to date. It 
is unquestionably a spleudid rose, not quite so 
hardy as the Hybrid Perpetuals. but hardier 
than the Ever blooming. 
A. S. P., Chicago, III.—Wood’s Class book 
in botany is the best aud easiest to trace by. 
It is sold by A. 8. Barnes & Co., New York. 
T. K. R., Warren, Ohio.— Samuel Wilson, 
of Mecbauiesville, Pa., offers tbe Stray Beauty 
Potato, lie claims that it is the earliest in 
cultivation. We shall try it. Geo. W. Camp¬ 
bell, of Delaware, O., offers the Empire State 
Grape. We have not yet fruited it. Read 
the advertisements. 
E. W., Damascus, Ohio.— Iu the Rural 
of Feb. 7, H. H. asks for some simple way of 
preserving celery in Winter, adapted to pri¬ 
vate places where small supplies of fresh 
plants are frequently wanted for family use 
I have followed the following method which 
works admirably:— 
Tbe bottom of my cellar is paved with rough 
stoue, the spaces among which are filled iu 
with clean sand. When I take up my celery 
iu the Fall, after shaking the dirt and earth¬ 
worms from the roots, l store it by setting it 
upright lathe clean sand on this cellar bot¬ 
tom, packing tbe roots snugly together and 
also pressing the stems of each bunch closely 
to each other and packing the sand in 
among the bunches, keepiug it moderately 
damp. The celery continues growing and 
blanching, and is easily taken out at any 
time iu auy quantity, crisp aud sweet. It 
might bo stored in the same mauner in boxes. 
J, P., Knox Co., Neb —James J. H. 
Gregory's catalogue says H. C. Pearsou, Pit¬ 
cairn, N. Y., raised from three pounds of 
Early Main Potatoes 3,243 pounds. Can it he 
possible? That beats the Rural. 
R. N.-Y.—This was accomplished, no doub^ 
by sprouting the potatoes and planting the 
prouts as long as it.eouldrbe'cotitinued. 
