564 
THE RURAL HEW-rttRKER. 
AUG 22 
vious distributions. Wheat and oats are 
about average crops; corn, although back¬ 
ward early in the season, is looking very nice 
now. I think that potatoes will be below the 
average on account of the dry weather. 
Grass was light. Apples not more than one- 
fourth of a crop. Small fruits were splendid, 
particularly strawberries. F. E. B. 
St. Olair. St. Clair Co., Aug. 8.—Wheat 
and grass are good, and we have had good 
weather to secure them, though it is a little 
wet at present. Oats fair—not so good as 
last year. Corn backward, but is doing well 
now. Potatoes promise well; plenty of bugs. 
My Full zo Clawson and Shumaker Wheats 
have done well this year. I shall have four 
quarts of the Deihl Mediterraueau to sow this 
Fall. The Blush Potatoes are nice, the best 
keeping potatoes I ever saw; we used them 
till July 25, and they continued dry and 
mealy; they do not wither like others. 
W. A. T. 
MIbiuioir, 
Vivian, Waseca Co., Aug. 4.—Harvest be¬ 
gan yesterday. Hot weather in July has 
caused the wheat to be fit to cut about 10 days 
too soon, so the grain will not oe so heavy, 
and the yield will probably be only 75 per 
cent, of output last year. Oats same as last 
year. Corn better. s. K. I. 
New Hampshire. 
Henxiker, Merrimack Co., August 8.— Hay- 
crop light; many farmers not getting half a 
crop. Grain of all kinds up to the average. 
Corn looks well now. The Rural seeds look 
fair, except the Stratagem Pea and Johnson 
Grass. Only the vines of the pea are growing, 
and none of the grass has made its appearance. 
s. C. H. 
New Jersey. 
Montague. Sussex Co., August fi —We have 
had extremely dry weather here the past 
Spring and Summer, and early potatoes—our 
main crop—are not much larger tbau marbles. 
For experiment, I planted some Early Maine 
Potatoes according to the Rural trench 
system, aud was very agreeably surprised to 
find them twice as large as the others, and 
there were only one or two small ones. 
Although the planting requires some extra 
labor, 1 think the increased yield more than 
compensates for it, especially in a family 
garden. J. m. r. 
New York. 
Sherman, Chautauqua Co., Aug. 4.—The 
season thus far has been quite favorable for 
nearly all farm crops, although uearly three 
weeks late In the Spring. Farmers are nearly 
all through haying and the grass crop was 
very good. We have had fine corn weather 
for a few weeks past. Oats and barley are 
coming on well. Apples not over-abundant. 
Cherries a complete failure. The way of the 
farmer has been harder than usual this season 
on account of the low prices of butter and 
cheese. M. L. D. 
Meacham Lake, Franklin Co., August 3.— 
When 1 came here in 1672, there was no 
clearing, and having, as 1 supposed, no taste 
for farming, 1 made little effort towards mak¬ 
ing a farm; but 1 was obliged to become a 
a farmer, and soon found I had quite a taste 
for the business, aud the more I do, 
the more 1 wish to try the methods of other 
farmers, and to improve on them, if possible. 
As 1 look over my fields of bay and grain, I 
am very well pleased with the outlook for 
full barns and well fed stock next Winter. I 
am under great obligation to the Rural for 
many ideas which could hardly have been 
suggested in any other way; al 60 for new 
varieties of garden seeds. The Rural New- 
Yorker Pea is worth more to me than the 
year’s subscription to the paper. I had a pint 
of seed which gave us our first green peas. I 
keep a iarge flock of hens aud have good suc¬ 
cess with them, and pay a bounty on hawks 
aud save my chickens. I have quite a stock 
of Devon cattle—the only pure bloods in this 
part of the State. My bull—"King of the 
Dairy” four years old—we work with collar 
and harness, and find him very bandy, 
A. R. F. 
Port Henry, Essc-x Co., August 7.— The 
weather is fine; plenty of rain, aud crops are 
looking good. All kinds of grain are the best 
for several years. Oats, corn and potatoes 
promise to be big crops; but grass was rather 
light. ' H. s. n. 
Bharon Centre, Schoharie Co., Aug. 0.— 
We are being floodtd with rain. Judp was 
very dry, and we began to dispair of any bay 
crop, but on the 28th we bad the worst rain 
I have ever known, and it has continued wet 
ever since, so much so that I think one-half 
of the hay is still out. Earl}' grass was very 
light, but large clover and Timothy have im¬ 
proved wonderfully. In looking over my 
diary, I find it rained 10 days is July and it 
has rained four days in this month, aud hard 
every day. The ground is so wet it can’t be 
worked, and of course we can’t take a full 
load of hay off the field. Oats will be a large 
crop. Corn is two weeks late, but of good 
color; but unless the Fall is favorable we 
can’t look for a good crop. s. s. 
Ohio. 
Alliance, Stark Co., August 7.— Harvest¬ 
ing completed, except oats. Wheat not more 
than half a crop. Almost all the Timothy 
hay crop very heavy. Oats very large, but 
the grasshoppers are cutting them very badly; 
some fields were cut very green in order to 
save them. Corn a good stand, but some of 
it very late. Borne few pieces are in the silk: 
but most, of it has not tasseled yet. Potato 
prospect good. Borne apples; some trees very 
full; others bear none. Plums an average. 
Pears aud grapes good ; grapes aie rotting 
badly. I am a new subscriber to the Rural, 
but it has been worth dollars to me. I don’t 
see how I ever got along without it so long. 
We look forward each week with pleasure for 
its arrival. I planted the Johnsou Grass in 
drills early in May. but not one blade came 
up. Neither did the peas in one package. 
The others are immense; all saved for seed. 
The Rural coru is looking splendid; some in 
ears ; some just tasseling ; some very small 
stalks and some very tall. I planted one- 
tenth of an acre of the White Star Potato on 
the trench plan, and they promise au increas¬ 
ed crop. I think this will revolutionize the 
old system of hilling up in this section. I have 
Also tried the Rural’s system of flat culture 
on corn, and 1 have a piece which is the pride 
of the neighborhood. The beans and tomatoes 
are doing splendidly, though not ripe yet. 
I feel as if every farmer in this section should 
subscribe for the Rural. a. g. s. 
Pennsylvania. 
Ariel, Wayne Co., August 7.—We are now 
through with our hay and winter grain har¬ 
vest. Wheat and rye are of excellent qual¬ 
ity, but short in quantity. The hard Winter 
and dry Summer have shortened the yield 
very much. We have to complain of the 
poor prospects for coru and potatoes also. A 
drought of six weeks at the most critical 
period in the growth of summer crops, has 
done away with all the profits at least. The 
welcome rain of last Monday will help us 
somewhat, but early potatoes are past help. 
The thermometer has ranged through the 
last half of July, in the daytime, up to 90° as 
au average, and much of the time at 95 s> . The 
Rural corn I received in 1884 has stood the 
drought better thau auy corn 1 have, aud I 
planted some eight or ten varieties. The 
Rural is now all in the silk and looks fine, 
while the common field varieties are away 
behind. The Johnson Grass seed did not come 
up; though I hoed it in very carefully, not a 
stalk of it is visible. p. w. c. 
Texas* 
Helena, Barnes Co., August 4.—Crops are 
very good this year. Corn and cotton are the 
principal products, small grain being not 
much raised, but I think that would do well. 
All kinds of vegetables do finely. We raise 
no kind of cultivated truit yet, except peaches. 
o. w. 
Washington Territory. 
Oscar, San Juau Co.— I value the Rural 
New-Yorker above all other papers, though 
I take six others regularly. Mrs. Fisher’s 
letters come the nearest to being correct of all 
I have seen describing this country and its 
inhabitants, though 1 have read scores and 
probably hundreds of accounts of both. But 
it is simply impossible for any person, no 
matter how smart or honest an investigator 
he or she may be, to describe any of these 
Western countries as they are, by traveling 
through them and depending for information 
on the inhabitants. A newspaper correspond¬ 
ent is certain to be surrounded by interested 
parties, and in the West the most honest will 
give misleading information without intend¬ 
ing to lie. This country is good enough 
without exaggeratiug its ailvantages. I be¬ 
lieve it is the best I ever saw for a poor man 
who is willing to work, and 1 have seen all 
parts that have been most praised. It is 15 
years since I left my native State, New York, 
and during the intervening time I have been 
over and through 27 of the Btutes aud Terri¬ 
tories from the Atlantic to the Pacific aud 
from and including Canada to Mexico, so I 
ought to know something about what a good 
country should be. Wheat and oats have 
a slightly increased area; three-fourths 
of a crop. Potatoes about usual area; 
two-thirds of a crop. Peas, increased area; 
average crop. Corn aud rye uot grown as 
crops, and very little barley. Root crops 
average area; fair crops. Grass about as 
usual. Gardei crops not up to average—too 
dry. Apples, pears, plums, prunes, peaches, 
cherries, and all sorts of berries full crops. 
No special crops, except hops; they look well. 
B. t. 
Wisconsin. 
Rkwey, Iowa Co., Aug. 6.—The weather 
has been very wet for the season. Wheat uot 
much raised, but good. Oats and corn are our 
main crops. Oats look well. Corn looks ex¬ 
tra fine. We are raising tobacco for the first 
time; it looks fine. Quite a lot of peas are 
raised for early feed for hogs. R. R. h. 
Wyoming. 
Cheyenne, Laramie Co., August 6.—I send 
you by mail to-day a couple of pods of the 
Carter Stratagem Pea, which I raised from 
the seed sent by the Rural. I have about 30 
bushes of these peas aud about the same 
quantity of the Prince of W ales. The latter 
are not as large as the Carter, but yield more 
pods per bush. The Rural Corn is doing 
nicely. K. K. 
(Remarks. —The pods of the Stratagem 
were received, and after lookiug at them, we 
con Id believe almost anything of Wyoming as 
a pea-producing country. These pods were re¬ 
markable; one contained nine and the other 
10 splendid peas, all as nearly alike “as the peas 
in a pod.”—Eds.] 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS 
(Every query must be accompanied by thename 
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.] 
KEEPING EGGS. 
.7. E. B., Kasson, Minn .—What is the best 
method of keeping eggs fresh? 2. What is 
the character of Sheridan’s Condition Pow¬ 
der? 
Ans —1. There are several methods of pre¬ 
serving eggs that work moderately well for 
family use; but none that preserves them so 
that they can be kept any length of time after 
they have been taken out of the pickle, A 
good one is as follows: Take a stone crock or 
jar, and put au inch of salt in the bottom; 
fill it full of eggs known to be fresh, small 
end down, and packed as closely as possible. 
Over the top of the eggs place a board or 
plate, on which lay a weight sufficient to keep 
the eggs firmly ou the bottom when the pickle 
is added. Blake four pounds of lime in six 
gallons of water, and add to it two quarts of 
salt, stirring all thoroughly together. When 
it is settled so that the water is clear, it can 
be poured or dipped over the eggs till the jar 
is full, aud it should be kept full aud in a cool 
place, and no eggs must be allowed to be 
broken, as one broken egg would spoil the 
whole. Eggs will keep very well if coated 
with lard or tallow wheu fresh and new. 
Last year, at the Poultry Show at Birming¬ 
ham, England, prizes were offered for the 
best dozen of preserved eggs, the test lasting 
two moaths. Those that gained the first prize 
had been packed simply in common salt. They 
had not lost sensibly by evaporation, had good, 
consistent albumen, aud were of the best 
flavor when boiled. Those that won the sec¬ 
ond prize were but slightly inferior, and had 
the contest been for a longer time, it was the 
general opinion that they would have won first 
prize. The process for preserving them was as 
follows: Melt two parts of white wax to two 
parts of spermaceti; boll and mix thoroughly; 
or two parts clarified suet to one part of wax 
and two of spermaceti. Take new-laid eggs; 
rub them with antiseptic salt or fine rice 
starch. Wrap each egg iu Hue tissue paper, 
putting the broad end downwards; screw the 
paper tightly at top, leaving an inch to hold 
it by. Dip each egg rapidly iuto the fat heat¬ 
ed to 100 degrees. Withdraw and allow to 
cool. Back, broad end down, iu dry, white 
sand, or sawdust. 3 Good. 
FERTILIZER FOR WHEAT. 
J. IF. IF., South Cameron, N, I'.—1. What 
is the best fertilizer for wheat? 2. How many 
pounds should be applied per acre? 3. What 
will it cost? 4. Where eau I get It? 
Anh.— 1. The best fertilizer (commercial) 
for wheat is one that c utaius phosphoric 
acid, nitrogen and potash. The exact propor¬ 
tion of these ingredients to be used would de¬ 
pend much upon the particular soil and the 
fact whether any, and if so. how much, barn¬ 
yard manure was to be used. The ordinary 
high grade phosphates contain (or should con¬ 
tain) from three to four per cent, of ammonia, 
from eight to twelve per cent, of available 
phosphoric acid, and from two to four per 
cent, of actuul potush. If the soil was very 
light aud sandy, this fertilizer would be bet¬ 
ter if it contained two or three per cent, more 
ammonia and the same of potash. 2. This 
question can be only approximately answered 
except by actual experiment, lasting for sev¬ 
eral years ou the same farm. The usual cus¬ 
tom is to use from 200 to 400 pounds per acre. 
3. It will probably cost, in Western New 
’Sork, from $38 to $45 per ton, the price de¬ 
pending of course ou the amount of the above 
ingredients which it contains. 4. There are 
plenty of agencies for the sale of the various 
brands. See advertising columns of the Ru¬ 
ral. 
keeping sweet potatoes. 
F. R. II., Hamilton, Mo .—What is the best 
way of keeping sweet potatoes? 
Ans. —There are many ways of accomplish¬ 
ing this object, none of which may be the 
best. Careful handling, dry surroundings, 
and a temperature never below 50 degrees are 
three requisites to success. A cellar may be a 
good one for ordinary purposes, and yet be 
too damp or too cool for keeping sweet pota¬ 
toes. We have seen them kept in good con¬ 
dition until the secoud Spring m a dry cellar, 
piled on newspapers spread on the floor, the 
potatoes being sprinkled with lime, so that 
every one was slightly dusted, the whole beiug 
covered with papers with au old carpet over 
all, as they needed more protection. The 
more common practice at the Bouth is to 
build a small log cabin about five feet high, 
well daubed outside and inside. Cover it with 
anything that will hold clay, from six inches 
to one foot in depth, and over all have a good 
roof projecting sufficiently to keep all dry. 
The potatoes are stored iu large bins around 
the walls, the temperature being kept up by 
burning charcoal when necessary. Racking 
in perfectly dry saud or fine material of any 
kind will keep them well. 
TREATMENT OF “GUMBO” LAND. 
F. O C., Washington, Kansas. —1. What 
effect will under-draining have ou “gumbo 
laud” (hard-pan laud) such as is found in Kan¬ 
sas. 2. Where no outlet could be obtained ou 
oue side of a slight elevation, would au uuder- 
drain act like a syphon where the rise was 
not over four feet? 
Ans. L—Under-draiuing takes the surplus 
water out of the soil to the depth at which the 
drains are laid, aud thus permits the frost to 
enter deeper, and there is no influence so po¬ 
tent in breaking up a close, impervious soil or 
hard-pan as this. We should think that by 
under-draining and then using a sub-soil lifter 
(not a turning plow) to gradually break up 
and mellow the hard-pan, the soil could be 
much benefited. 2. The oulv way to get the 
water over, is to “take it through.” A 
syphou, to act, must be air-tight aud then kept 
constantly full, a very little air in the pipe 
would break the flow. It would not be very 
expensive to cut a main ditch through the 
knoll and then drain the whole of that side of 
the field into this. 
SECOND SWARM. 
G. J. K., Bath, N. Y. —One of my hives 
sent out a second swarm; they were out about 
30 miuutes aud returned to the parent stock 
The next morning, about 10 o’clock, they 
went out again. I put them iu a cool, 
clean, sweet hive, where they remained but a 
short time, aud then returned to the branch 
from which I had taken them. I then rubbed 
the hive well with apple leaves and put them 
buck again; they appeared contented. I left 
them about five miuutes and returned to find 
the hive entirely vacated, aud the swarm no 
where to be found; what was the trouble? 
Ans. —It is probable that the queen was un¬ 
able, for some rea on, to fly and join the 
swarm. The bees, discovering her absence, 
returned to the hive. Imperfect wings or 
other natural causes may prevent the queen 
from keeping pace with the othera. Of course, 
the bees will never be satisfied without her; 
after-swarms should be avoided if possible. 
“pinching” blackberry canes, etc. 
IF. It., Denver, III. —1. The cuues of my 
blackberries have mudu a growth of six or 
more feet. Should they be uow out back ? 
2. Is the Flageolet Beau designed for a win¬ 
ter beau, or is it to be used w hen green '? 
Ans. —1. They should have been “pinched;” 
that i,-, just the top should have been nipped 
out, when they wore 2j^' or three feet high; but 
they should not now be cut back until Spring. 
If they hud been pinched at the proper time, 
they would have branched out aud borne more 
fruit next year than they uow can. 2. They 
can be used for either purpose. They are a 
little hard to shell wbeu green, but, wheu 
shelled and cooked, the quality will compeu- 
sate for the work. 
DESTROYING THE HESSIAN FLY. 
T. IF. G., Bohemia, Mo .—Is there no wav to 
sow Winter wheat so as to prevent the attack 
of the Hessian fly? 
Ans.— The Hessian fly does serious damage 
only to wheat sown quite early. We think 
thut by makiug the lands as rich us practic¬ 
able, putting it iu the best tilth and sowing 
late so that the wheat will not make much 
top until after the adveut of frosty nights, but 
little damage will be done. Millions of the 
iusects may be trapped and destroyed by sow¬ 
ing ground designed for some spring crop next 
