532 
aug 8 
Kansas. 
Parsons, Labette[Co., July 20.—'The season 
is about three weeks later than the average. 
Wheat will be a very sorry crop, because 
when wheat is five bushels per acre, the bushels 
when weighed will average not more than 
three to four bushels of good wheat. Corn 
here is growing fast and weeds also: the stand 
is not more than five-eights of an average 1 
and the bight of the corn is from six inches 
to four feet. This has been reached hy plow¬ 
ing at least twice, and planting and replanting 
as many times. In fact, more than double the 
usual work has been expended. The result is 
but a poor show. Wo have bad two large 
rainfalls since April. The first was six inches 
and the last, which occurred on July 1, was 
at least seven-and one-half inches in 15 hours. 
The whole Neosho Valley was swept by a 
flood, averaging five miles wide. All the 
crops were wiped out and whole fields of wheat 
carried away. Losses of life and stock (es¬ 
pecially the latter) were great. Houses, barns 
and bridges were generally carried away or 
damaged. Yet take in the whole State and 
we shall raise as many bushels of grain as 
ever, providing grasshoppers and frost re¬ 
spect our feelings. Grass is spleudid, both 
Timothy and prairie. J. B. 
Louisiana. 
St. Joseph, Tensas Parish, July 18.—Crops, 
though we have had too much rain lately, 
are still very promising and more corn will be 
raised here than since the war. There will be 
but a limited amount of grain purchased 
abroad next season. d. h. c. 
Manitoba, 
Qu' Appelle Station, July 6— The dis¬ 
trict which extends 10 miles round Qu’Appelle 
Station on the Canadian Pacific Railway, is 
quite new, settlement having begun just three 
years ago. The crops for the present year 
are approximately; wheat, 5,000 acres; oats, 
2.000 acres; barley 320 acres; flax, 70 acres; 
potatoes, garden stuff etc. 170 acres. We have 
no tobacco, broom-corn, or sorghum: aud no 
fruit except wild fruits, such as cherries, sas¬ 
katoons, etc., of which we have a great abun¬ 
dance this year, and which make delicious 
preserves. From every side I hear of the 
grain crops looking well. Potatoes were 
badly nipped by a frost some time ago; but 
they seem to have quite recovered from the 
bad effects. L - 6. b. 
Michigan, 
Robinson, Ottawa Co., July 20.—I am so 
well pleased with the appearance of the Diehl- 
Mediterranean Wheat that I would like to 
buy a bushel. I have some heads now which 
have six kernels abreast. w. m. 
Minnesota. 
Battle Lake, Otter Tail Co., July 19.— 
Crops still continue A No. 1. Our harvest 
usually begins the first week in August. We 
raise no winter wheat. I have 20 acres of flax, 
the first ever sown in this township. It is on 
land broken in May and sowed the first of 
June, and looks splendid. My early sown 
wheat (Blue Stem or Velvet Chaff), will go 30 
bushels per acre. Our soil is a black sandy 
loam, which is necessary for maturing corn 
in our short seasons. All vegetation grows 
and matures very rapidly—wheat in from 95 
to 105 days; com in from 100 to 110: ftint va¬ 
rieties in leas. We are situated very high, as 
the water within four miles of us flows both 
ways, south to the Mississippi and north to 
Hudson Bay. It is evident that we have.not 
had a heavy storm in this section for a great 
many years, as the half burnt trees still stand¬ 
ing would otherwise have been prostrated. 
J. C. H. 
Nebraska. 
Columbus, Platt Co., July 18.—Wheat har¬ 
vest has just commenced. The crop is re¬ 
markably uniform and considerably above 
tlie average. Oats heavy. There will be a 
very large crop of corn uuless it is hurt by 
drought the uext few weeks. j. H. R. 
Long Pine, Brown Co., July 7.—I have 
traveled around considerably and 1 formed 
my opinions on personal knowledge. Corn is 
an average, very thrifty, with an extra-good 
stand, thousands of squirrels to the contrary. 
Wheat and oats are all headed; oat prospects 
are fine for a good crop; the crop stands up 
well aud is very heavy. About 35 per cent, 
of all the crops consists of small grains. Po 
tatoes are extraordinarily fine; very few 
bugs. About three percent, of our tilled land 
has been planted to this crop. Gardens are 
doing as finely as I ever suw them; so are all 
orchards, of which a great many were set out 
this Spring. The Rural seeds have all done 
well. The Rural Treasures are not so good 
this year, but those of laBt year were simply 
grand and the peas are extra-line. Tomatoes 
are doing finely, and the corn—well, you can 
see it grow, almost. R. W. B. 
New Jersey. 
Trenton, Mercer Co., July 22.— I have just 
harvested my crop of potatoes, and although 
I have no exact figures as to the yield in pre¬ 
vious years, I think I am safe in saying that 
the yield this year, by tbe trench-mulch 
method of culture, is about 17 per cent, great¬ 
er than heretofore obtained from tbe same 
area of ground cultivated in the old wav. It 
may be of interest to state that about 50 per 
cent, of the potatoes in one line of the Beauty 
of Hebron, which were allowed to stand a 
much longer time than tbe others, with tbe 
idea of keeping the tubers for seed, were 
affected with scab, although such was not the 
case in any of the other lines, either of the 
Beauty of Hebron or Early Rose. w. n. 
Pennsylvania. 
Hosensack. Lehigh Co., July 28.—We have 
very dry weather. Oats are mostly harvest¬ 
ed, and are only about half a crop. Wheat 
was a little more than half a crop Rye good. 
Corn is a good stand, but if we do not get 
rain soon it will not be balf a crop. Pasture 
is very scarce and no sale for cattle. Apples 
and other fruits drop off on account, of the 
drought. We had very warm weather last 
week—98 degrees in the shade—but the weath¬ 
er is cooler now. H. k. e. r. 
Texas. 
Dever's Woods, Liberty Co., July 16.—No 
wheat, rye or barley grown here. Oat crop 
fair. Corn a good crop. Condition of cotton 
very promising. Irish potatoes have yielded 
well, and sweet potatoes promise an abundant 
crop. Grass aud garden crops good. Peaches, 
plums, figs aud grapes abundant. Average of 
areas of crops about the same as in previous 
years, except cotton in which there is an in¬ 
crease of perhaps 20 per cent. b. l. 
Vermont. 
Bridgewater, Windsor Co.. July 18.— 
June was cold and dry. Since July came in, 
the weather has been all one could ask—warm 
aud plenty of rain, and all crops are looking 
fine. Grass in this section is a little above an 
average. Corn a little late, but in line condi¬ 
tion. Potatoes above tbe average at this 
time. Oats, an average acreage; condition 
below. Wbat little wheat I have seen looked 
extra well. Apples very light; about quarter 
crop. Strawberries were much above an 
average, both iu quantity and quality. Gar¬ 
dens late, but looking exceptionally well. 
W. C. R. 
Virginia* 
Pulaski, Pittsylvania Co., July 22.—This 
is essentially a Blue Grass and consequently a 
cattle-raising country. Beyond the possession 
of a fine herd of Short horns, our farmers do 
not show much ambition, though in that 
branch they undoubtedly compete successfully 
with auy part of the country. The present 
season could hardly be improved upon io this 
section; it really seems as if a kind fairy was 
waiting beyond tbe hills for the right day to 
send the needed showers over the fields, and 
consequently all crops (except wheat) have 
yielded a plentiful harvest. c. f. 
Washington Territory. 
Ferndale, Whatcom Co., July 13.-Wheat 
aud oats, increase of area over last year 25 
per cent.; prospect 100 per cent. Potato area 
100 per cent.; prospect 75 per cent. Roots, 
area 25 per cent, over last year; prospect 100 
percent. Hay area increasing c-aeh year; 
prospect 25 per cent above last year’s. Apples 
and pears promise 100 per cent. Prunes, 
plums and cherries promise 60 per cent, of 
last year’s crops. All small fruits 100 per 
cent. >t . s. n. 
AN8WERS TO CORRESPONDENTS 
(Every query must be accompanied by tbename 
and address of the writer to insure attention. Before 
asking a question, please see If It Is not answered In 
our advertising columns. Ask only a few questions 
at one time.] _ 
MAKING AND KEEPING CIDER : GAPES IN 
CHICKS, ETC. 
T. F., Troy Bills, N. C— 1. What is the 
best method of making and preserving cider 
sweet ? 2. What will prevent gapes in chick¬ 
ens ? 8. Who makes the best wheat drills ? 
Ans.— 1. Cider should be made from ripe, 
sound apples. It makes but little diff erence 
how it is made so long as the largest quantity 
is got from a given amount of apples. It can 
be kept uearly sweet by filtering through per¬ 
fectly pure sand and at once barreling tightly, 
but this is practicable only iu u large way 
aud in a cool climate. It may be, when freshly 
made, put into large boilers and brought grad¬ 
ually to the boiling point aud carefully skim¬ 
med, but it must not boil. Then put it into ab¬ 
solutely clean barrels, filling to within two 
inches of the bung; put in a table-spoonful of 
pure olive oil and bung tightly. It may also be 
canned and sealed up, or bottled and sealed, 
but both of these operations must be done 
when the cider is boiling hot. There are lots 
of drugs that will keep cider, but they are all 
injurious to health or they impart a bad taste 
to the cider. 2. The best way to prevent gapes 
is to change the quarters of the chickens to 
fresh ground. It also helps to sprinkle the 
chicken quarters freely with a strong solution 
of copperas or carbolic acid. A small quan¬ 
tity of either of these should be added to their 
drinking water. All fowls that die of gapes 
should he immediately burned, and all coops, 
roosts and all feeding and drinking dishes 
thoroughly cleansed before admitting any 
healthy fowls to them. 3. We have more than 
one make of drills and can hardly say which 
we like best, all things considered. We have 
not seen one advertised in the Rural within 
a year that we could not thorough¬ 
ly recommend, aud with which we would not 
be satisfied. We have tried, it. and much 
like, the Laruoine regulator for attachiug to 
auy drill for regulating the depth at which the 
teeth shall run. 
THE nFSSIAN FLY, ETC. 
J. II., White City, Kans. —1. Please describe 
the Hessian flv? 2. How can we prevent pea- 
weavils. 3. What is the best and hardiest 
winter wheat for this State? 4. Wbat is the 
inclosed wheat? We call it Russian here, 
Ans. 1 —The Hessian fly is a two winged 
gnat, something after the pattern of a mos¬ 
quito, only much smaller, its body being 
ouly one tenth of an inch long and its wings 
expanding a little more than one-fourth iuch. 
It lays its eggs in tbe cavities of the leaves in 
tbe Fall, and these hatch into small, pale- 
red maggots, which crawl down the leaf, 
working their way between it aud thb main 
stalk, till they come to a joint, where they lo¬ 
cate and never move till they have arrived at 
a perfect state. They subsist by sucking 
the juice from the stalk. They come to full 
size, remain in the wheat plant until warm 
weather in Spring, when they emerge perfect 
insects, and again lay their eggs on the leaves 
of tbe then gruwiug wheat plant, and these 
again hatch out maggots which work their way 
down between the leaf and stalk to a joint, 
where they can be found full-grown, looking 
more like small flax seeds than anythiug else: 
when two or more find a habitat near one 
joint they cause the stalk to break down, and 
thusruio the w heat. 2. There isno way of pre¬ 
venting tbe depredations of the pea-weevil ex¬ 
cept to sow the peas so late,that the pea weevils 
have gone before tbe peas are in condition to 
be injured: but then they will be so late that 
thej' w ill be likely to be injured as badly, or 
worse, by tbe mildew. 8. That is hard to tell, 
as some wheat is best adapted to each soil. We 
would advise trying the Diehl-Mediterranean 
in a small way; also the Democrat. 4. We 
do not know it. 
PUTTING UP CUCUMBER PICKLES FOR MAR¬ 
KET, ETC, 
E. C. D., \Vest Andover, Ohio. —1. Wbat 
will cure warts in a horse’s ear ? 2. Are 
Hitchings & Co., 233 Mercer Street, N. Y., 
responsible ? 8. How are cucumber pickles put 
up for market, all ready for the table ? 
Ans.— 1. Apply a little acetic acid daily with 
a feather, being careful not to touch the sound 
flesh around it; or touch it daily with the 
moistened end of a stick of lunar caustic, 2. 
Worth from $75,000 to $100,000, aud prompt 
pay. 3, At the pickle factories cucumbers are 
pickled when from two to three inches long— 
never larger for the best pickles. They are 
first steeped or slightly parboiled in brine. 
They are then put into vats containing good 
cider vinegar to which a little salt is added 
from time to time. Mustard, horse radish or 
various kinds of spices are added by those who 
are fond of tbero. Wheu done—taste is tbe 
best guide to Ibis point—They are packed iu 
half barrels or kegs, or, for more particular 
customers, iu glass jars. Great cure should 
be taken in packing pickles in jars. Much de¬ 
pends upon their appearance, as they can be 
readily seen. Only bright, well shape! cucum¬ 
bers should boused. Home-made pickles are 
preferred by the better class of customers be¬ 
cause they know that extra pains have been 
taken. Glass or stone jars will be found best 
for packing the home product. Be careful to 
have the top closely sealed. 
ABOUT BASKET WILLOWS. 
D. H. C., Tensas Parish, La .—1. Where can 
I get basket willow “trees” to start a planta¬ 
tion? 2. What is the best mode of cultivating 
and raising them? 3. How are they to be 
prepared for market! 
Ans. —1. The basket willow is raised from 
cuttings, not trees, and you can obtuin these 
in the Fall of the New York Experiment 
Station at a mere nominal price. Write to 
the Director, Dr. E. Lewis Kturtevaut,Geneva, 
N. Y., concerning them. 2. They should be 
planted 10 to 12 inches apart in rows three 
feet apart, aud cultivated with horse and 
cultivator to keep them free from weeds. The 
cuttings are made about 12 inches long, and 
stuck at least eight inches into the ground. Tbe 
young grow th should be cut close back to the 
stock each Winter, and will he large enough 
for use the second year. 8. Most of them are 
sold with the hark on just as they are cut, to 
be made into coarse work, such as grain aod 
fruit baskets. F or finer work they are peeled; 
to accomplish this, they are cut in Winter and 
tied into small bundles and these are placed, 
right end np, in shallow pools of water, and 
as soon as the buds start, the bark becomes 
loose and is stripped off. Many machines have 
been devised for this purpose, but so far we 
are not advised of any in successful working 
order. They usually sell by the pound iu the 
bark at from $20 to $30 per ton, and for twice 
that amount or more when peeled. 
GRASS HEED MIXTURES. 
C. Ii. It., Rockford, III. —1. What formula 
will give a good lawn grass? 2. What varie¬ 
ties of seed are used iu the “mixed bird-seed” 
offered for sale? 
Ans.— 1. Every dealer has a formula of bis 
own, which he keeps a great secret; but the 
basis of all lawn grass seeds are Juue Grass, 
(Kentucky Blue Grass) and White Clover. The 
famous Central Park Lawu Grass is mixed as 
follows: Red Top (Agrostis vulgaris) 14 pounds, 
Kentucky Blue Grass (Poa pratensis) 14 
pouuds, Rhode Island Bent Grass (Agrostis 
cauina) pounds, Sweet Vernul Grass 
(Anthoxanthumodorotum)fivepounds, White 
Clover (l’rifolium repens) five pounds, and 
this quantity is for an acre. If for a lawn to 
be much trampled, as a croquet ground, we 
would say, add five pounds Creeping Bent 
Grass (Agrostis stolouifera). If the soil isex- 
cessively dry, substitute for the Red Top the 
same number of pounds of Slender Fescue 
(Festuca tenuifolia). 2. Each dealer also 
mixes a “Bird Seed” to suit himself. Canary 
seed always forms the base; with this is 
mixed hemp, millet, rape, lettuce, mustard or 
poppy in varying order aud quantity. Too 
much bemp. millet, mustard or rape causes 
the birds to become too fat, and too much 
poppy seed is not good for them. 
SWELLED LEGS ON A HORSE. 
C. H. Ii., Niagara, I). T .—My 111 year-old 
mare is subject to swelling from the hock joint 
down on her left hind leg. After standing a 
day or two early in Spring, the leg swelled a 
good deal and broke out, disebargiug pus 
from a small hole below the fetlock. Then 
the lameness disappeared, aud 1 worked her 
steadily; but after resting in the stable half a 
day, the leg, nearly to the hip, swelled very 
much, thongh she doesn’t limp much; what 
ails her ? 
Ans —Swelled legs may be due either to an 
undue deposit of serum, or watery particles 
in the blood, or inflammation of the cellular 
tissues. A poor condition of the blood,or feeble¬ 
ness from loss of it, may cause the legs to 
swell. Disease of tbe kidneys may do so, too. 
Horses of coarse fiber and full habit, accus¬ 
tomed to exercise, if allowed to stand idle for 
a day, more or less, are apt to have swelled 
legs from an accumulation of watery matter. 
Sometimes the swelling appears suddenly aud 
as suddenly disappears. The cause, in such 
cases, has only begun to operate, and the 
trouble can be easily remedied. In a more ad¬ 
vanced stage small cracks appear on tbe skin, 
and exude a wutery matter of a yellowish- 
white color. Improvement then is slow. 
Occasionally it is merely an extension of 
cracked heels, caused by whatever may have 
produced the latter. Often the swelling is due 
to anasarca, a species of dropsy, which shows 
itself in the legs of horses, and sometimes the 
tumefaction extends to the sheath and along 
the abdomen as fur as tbe chest. In such cases 
the swelling generally appeal's towards morn¬ 
ing, after u night’s rest, and usually disappears 
after a few hours’ work. The hind legs are 
most prone to become anasarcous. If the dis¬ 
ease seems due merely to uudue deposits of ser¬ 
um, owing to confinement, all that will usually 
be necessary is to give a dose or two of niter 
daily, to act upon the kidneys, and to give 
regular exercise so as to induce absorption. 
When the swelling, manifest in the morning, 
disappears duriug the day, a good plan is to 
stand the horse in cold water up to his knees 
for half an hour just ut nightfall; then rub 
thoroughly dry before stabling. If the animal 
is weuk, and the swelling is manifestly due to 
sluggishness of circulation, be should 
bo well fed and the legs should be well rubbed, 
aud (Irmly, though uot tightly bandaged. 
Take half an ounce of pulverized ossafoutida; 
one ounce of cream-of-tartar; two ounces of 
powdered gentian; two ounces of African gin¬ 
ger; four ounces of finely pulverized poplar 
bark : rub these together in a mortar until 
thoroughly mixed; divide into six doses, and 
give one in the food every night. Remove 
thu bandage from time to time and rub tbe 
limb briskly with the hand or a moderately 
coarse cloth. 
For anasarcous swelling it is well to address 
