4885 
579 
The Michigan Farmer thinks clover seed 
will be worth something this year. The crop 
is likely to he a short one—in Michigan, at 
least. From our own Special Crop Number, 
we should judge it to be a fair crop for the 
country at large. This indicates that it will 
be scarce here and there, and over abundant 
in other places—generally it will be an aver¬ 
age crop, however..... 
Says the Farm and Ranch, it is not enough 
that the farmer should work hard all day 
long, scarcely taking time to eat, if his work 
is not done at the right time and in the right 
way.... 
Few out door pursuits go so well together 
as bee3 and poultry, says the Bee Journal. 
Tend to the poultry iu the morning and even¬ 
ing, and give the bees the time between. 
Mr. Ruskin thiuks the father should never toil 
to provide for bis children’s future. Heshould 
educate and maintain them to the beat of his 
power till they are of mature age, and when 
they are strong enough, put them out of the 
nest as the bird does... 
Hon. I. G. Nelson wants to stop and shake 
hands with every farmer whodrivesinto town 
with a load of well-cured, bright, tea-scented 
hay. He knows there must be a happy 
family with such an intelligent head to it. 
Judge a farmer by bis hay and you won’t be 
far in the wrong... 
The same writer says that if there is any¬ 
thing the thriftless farmer is more stingy 
about, except paying his church contribution, 
it is the quantity of grass-seed he can cheat 
his land out of. The more he cheats with 
grass-seed, the more he expects it to pay. 
Thk Philadelphia Press says, “Put in a 
little White Clover wilh the Timothy for 
Lawn Grass.” We should say, the man who 
would seed his lawn to grass, had better trade 
the Timothy altogether for Blue Grass and 
Red Top, and then mix in the White Clover. 
Timothy is about the poorest grass ever sown 
on a lawn. Any man who would sow it must 
have had his early education badly neglected. 
An English farmer’s wife thinks if there is 
any way of “eating one’s cake and keeping it 
too,” it is in raising geese. 
The Prairie Farmer calls unacknowledged 
clippings lost children of the brain. There are 
pleuty of them. 
The Sheep Breeder has an article on the 
“cost of cruelty.” Every man who treats his 
animals cruelly has to pay for it. To make a 
profit in sheep rearing no philosopher's stone 
is needed. The “alchemy of patience” aud 
kindly treatment alone is needed.. 
Now is the time to watch the cows coming 
home from the dry pastures, aud mentally re. 
solve that next year j T ou will have land enough 
in soiling crops to enable them to get a green 
bite at home.... 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
California. 
North San Juan, Nevada Co., Aug. 9.— 
The Johnson Grass never came up. The peas 
did very well, ami so did the beaus and the 
corn I got. There are ouly 13 stalks of the 
Rural corn, but it looks very well. This is 
not a corn country, as it is too dry. I have 
had lots of children out to my place to see 
this corn growing, as it is quite a curiosity to 
the little folks. Here are some of the prices 
we have to pay for some articles iu our towu, 
and what we get for our produce. We are 80 
miles from a railroad, and have to cross two 
very high mountains. Hogs are 10 cents a 
pound live weight; cattle, seveu cents; mutton 
sheep, eight cents; chickens, 75 ceuts apiece; 
turkeys, #2 apiece. Groceries are very high: 
coffee, three pounds for a dollar; sugar, four 
pounds for a dollar; flour, $8 per 100 pounds, 
aud every thmg else iu proportion. This is a 
miniug place. Laborers get #2.50 a day; 
board #0 to #8 a week, and there is never a 
rest on Sunday: one could hardly tell when 
Sunday came if he did uot hear the church 
bells. * * 
Connecticut* 
Flainville, Hartford Co., August 10—l 
sowed over two acres of the Deihl Mediterra¬ 
nean Wheat lust Fall; it grew well; the Win¬ 
ter was a trying one, and it looked very brown 
in March; but it pulled through iu good form, 
made a rapid growth, tillered freely aud ripen¬ 
ed evenly;the heads were compact; the straw 
was very stiff, remaining erect when corn 
and tobacco were beaten down. The drought 
in mid-June shortened the heads somewhat on 
a couple of dry knolls; the average was a fair 
length. As it was sowed late, 1 did not look 
for the Hessian fly, uor did 1 see any at or be¬ 
fore harvest. 1 like it very well so far. 
I had a number of varieties, aud all 
but the Deihl-Mediterraneau perished. I 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
trenched a patch of potatoes, using cut tobac¬ 
co stems as mulch. The potatoes are nearly 
all Rural Blush, which received four premi¬ 
ums last Fall, and bid fair to yield a good 
crop now. They had hen manure, unleached 
wood ashes, tobacco stalks, and nitrate of 
soda, and corn was drilled between the rows. 
The Rural rye was grand: I have stools of 
27 and 29 heads, which were oue-third longer 
than those in a neighboring field. It fully 
earned its title of Thousand-fold. It should 
be a good kind to raise for soiling purposes. 
Iam afraid I shall not meet with much suc¬ 
cess with the cross-bred corn. A. w. s. 
Illinois. 
New Windsor, Mercer Co.—Till about 
July 20 it was very dry here. By July 27 hay¬ 
ing was all done and oat harvest was well ad¬ 
vanced. The grasshoppers cut the oats badly, 
some fields having been half cut off by them. 
Oats are light owing to the dry weather. 
Early potatoes are small. Corn looks very 
well; a great deal had to be replanted, but 
with favorable weather it will be a fair crop. 
Berries of all kinds were plentiful. Cherries 
were scarce and apples and plums will be the 
same. Timothy and clover were light. The 
Rural farm and garden seed are doing well, 
except the Johnson Grass, which failed to ger¬ 
minate—soweil too early', I think. w. K. 
Indiana. 
Poplar Grove, Howard Co., Aug. 13.— 
I planted two packages (my own and one sent 
to one of my neighbors) of the Rural Diehl- 
Mediterranean Wheat. The land was clay, 
both surface and subsoil, incliuiug slightly to 
the south, and on it a full growth of clover was 
turned under just before the harvest: then it 
was allowed to lie until S-pt. 20. when it was 
harrowed three times with an Acme Harrow, 
and on Sept. 25, the wheat was put in. one 
inch deep, seven by six inches apart, one ker¬ 
nel in a place. The plot was surrounded en¬ 
tirely by other wheat sown iu the usual way. 
It was cut July 10; thrashed, cleaned and 
weighed on Aug. 6. There were 10 pounds of 
good wheat. The straw is medium in bight, 
stiff and clear from rust; heads very com¬ 
pact and well filled; some were small; five per 
cent, was winter-killed. I think it will be a 
good variety for this section. w. m. 
Mill Grove, Blackford Co., Aug. 17.—The 
harvest is above an average. Good wheat 
and grass, both Timothy and clover. More 
acres in grass, especially clover, than ever be¬ 
fore. Clover is the great natural fertilizer of 
this coud try. Oats are good. Potatoes splen¬ 
did; those given level culture are the best, 
llye good; some wili make 85 bushels per 
acre. Corn looks flue; will make a good 
crop; large acreage planted. The Rural seeds 
all grew finely. The Stratagem Peas are the 
finest I ever saw. The Prince of Wales grew 
about three feet high and were very prolific. 
The beans are splendid, and the tomatoes just 
“takethe cake.” The King Humberts will do 
for table use in a few days, with eight to 10 
in a bunch. The corn looks well, but the 
Johnson Grass is a failure. The Garden Treas¬ 
ures are beautiful. r. 
Hall’s Corners, Allen Co., August 12.—I 
have tried the trench system of potato culture 
after the Rural's plans in part, and in my 
own way also. I manured a piece of dark 
sand and gravelly loam last Fall, and plowed 
under this Spring. I replowed and dragged 
well, after which I did the trenching with a 
good two horse plow. I plowed as deep as I 
could, and then planted. There was plenty 
of good, rich soil in the bottom of the trench, 
which fell in after the plow. T covered 
slightly aud filled up the trench gradually 
when I cultivated the potatoes. The ground 
is level, and I have the best crop for years, 
although there was a very dry time for four 
weeks just wheu a crop requires frequent 
showers. All are ripe, aud as we use them for 
our family, 1 often bear the remark that our 
potatoes are very nice and extra mealy for so 
dry a season. 1 think I shall always adopt 
the trench plan. This plot has beeu planted 
in potatoes for 35 years, and perhaps louger, 
as it 1ms been cropped for nearly 50 years. 
My neighbors say their potatoes are small on 
sandy soil, because it was so dry. Wheat is a 
very good crop. Oats a fair crop, but the 
grusshoppers, with hot, wet weather for a few 
days, have doue much injury. Clover nearly 
all ruined by the grasshoppers. Meadows were 
fair, only many were ruiued by last year’s 
drought. Many apple trees have died from 
freezing. All old peach trees dead. Small 
fruits were scarce. Raspberries are killed by 
some kiud of borer, w. H. H. 
Albion, Noble Co., August 18 —I have just 
been as far west as Huron, Dakota, then took 
a private conveyance up the James River 
Valley, some 30 miles, through some of 
the finest country I ever saw. Crops of all 
kinds were looking tiue; they commenced cut¬ 
ting wheat before I left there, two weeks ago. 
Barley and rye were nearly all cut. Wheat, 
oats, flax aud corn were looking well. J^Hare 
crops are good. Apples not a half crop. We 
have plenty of rain. Cabbage worms abund¬ 
ant. j. w. 
Boyleston, Clinton Co., August 17.—The 
Rural corn, planted April 11, was earlier 
than my other corn, and it is larger than 
I anticipated, and more prolific, some stalks 
bearing three and four good ears each. I have 
one stalk that will mature six good ears. The 
Prince of Wales Peas are good and prolific. 
The Market Garden are not so good with us. 
The Stratagem are the boss: those who saw 
them wondered, and admired aud begged for 
seed, but I saved all this year, and will plant 
all next Spring. The Evergreen Bean pods 
were not well filled aud rotted to some extent. 
I attribute this to so much rain and hot 
weather. Tomatoes of fair size, but they also 
begin to rot before they are fully ripe. The 
Garden Treasures are very beautiful and 
highly praised by our lady friends, a. w. b. 
MnaimchUHetis, 
Taunton, Bristol Co.—The trench system 
of planting potatoes is a complete success with 
me. The plot trenched and mulched will 
yield nearly twice as much as those planted 
in the old way. I used oak leaves for mulch. 
F. W. 
Boston, Suffolk Co., Aug. 19.—Hay was 
rather more than an average crop. Potatoes 
not an average acreage; yield about SO bar¬ 
rels to the acre, Cabbage much hurt by dry 
weather and the maggot. Apples light. 
Pears and other fruits fairly good. j. p. b. 
Nebraska. 
Neligh, Antelope Co., August 13.—I was 
rather premature in saying, in the Rural of 
July 18. that we would have the largest corn 
crop ever harvested here. We had norain of 
any account for six weeks, and the corn is 
looking so bad that anyone who gets 20 bush¬ 
els per acre will be lucky. The thrashing 
machines are going the rounds, and small 
grain is turning out well so far. Rye about 
22 bushels, and oats 50 bushels per acre. No 
wheat thrashed yet, but the grain in the shock 
looks grand. a. k. f. 
Nebraska. 
Grand Island, Hall Co., Aug. 15.—Corn 
acreage double that of former years; largest 
show for crop ever known, if frost holds off 
till September. Hay crop largest ever known. 
Wheat, oats, rye and barley up to the average. 
Fruit but little raised, as yet; prospect good. 
Potatoes, cabbage and garden truck good. 
H. E. 
New York. 
West Camp, Ulster Co —I have a piece 
planted to potatoes according the Rurar's 
trench plan, plauted mainly as an experiment, 
and for testing this system. I have watched 
the growth closely above ground, and being 
auxious to see if they compared well below 
the surface, I dug into a hill about the middle 
of July and was somewhat surprised at the 
size they had attained, as we had some very 
dry weather until of late. The seed was from 
the stem end, planted May 14th, between four 
and five inches deep without fertilizer of 
any kind or mulching. Contrary to the 
statement of others, mentioned in the Rural 
of July ISth, my viues have been of a deep 
green color even during the very dry spell. 
This maybe owing to the Cayuga laud plaster 
I u«ed on them. I am much pleased with the 
system, the only objection being that some 
of the tubers have been exposed to the 3un’s 
rays. I have noticed iu the hilling up pro¬ 
cess, that roots will strike out from the stalk, 
as far upas the earth is hilled. It seems to me 
that this will cause a draft upon the vine, or 
divert growth from the tubers; while iu the 
Rural system there is no second growth of 
roots caused by hilling up, aud such force is ex¬ 
pended in q u ioken ing the gro w th and i no reasi ng 
the size of the potatoes. Am I right. 1 [We think 
so.—E ds 1 The Johnson Grass did not come up. 
The Rural corn is doing finely. The hay 
crop has been considerably reduced on account 
of the dry weather, which occurred not loug 
since. Later rains have revived other crops. 
E. F. Y. 
Cropseyville. Rensselaer Co., August 12. 
—We bad quite a severe drought until about 
a week ago. Grasshoppers are numerous aud 
destructive to crops. Early potatoes are uot 
half a crop; late potatoes looking better 
since the raiu. Oats aud hay less thau an av¬ 
erage; rye a full crop. The prospect is good 
for a fair harvest of apples and pears. Am 
tryiug level culture for part of mv potatoes 
and corn. I can not yet speak definitely as 
to the results, hut it certainly works well for 
corn on dry soil. H. m. g. 
Ohio. 
Mkndon, Mercer Co., August 18.—Wheat 
is a good crop. Corn backward and weedy. 
Oats good; but badly cut by grasshoppers. 
Pastures badly cut also. Good demand for 
all stock at some price; but no sale for sheep 
or wool. s. H.'si. J 
Pennsylvania. 
Annville, Lebanon Co.. August 17.—The 
harvesting of whe^t, oats and hay Is over. 
Wheat generally was a fair yield, although 
not as heavy as last year, as some fields were 
slightly winter-killed: quality gobd. Oats and 
rye were fair, with exceptional cases. Hav a 
medium crop, hut of good quality. The lat¬ 
ter part of Spring was very dry: Summer 
dry and partly very hot; plenty of rain lately. 
Pastures good. Prospects good for an im¬ 
mense corn crop. Potato crop not so 
heavy as last year. Apole?, on an average, 
a failure. Pears, a good crop. Grapes pro¬ 
mise one of the largest crops we have had for 
years. Very little thrashing done, as farmers 
expect better prices for their wheat crop. 
New crop sells at from 80 to 90 cents per 
bushel according to quality and variety. 
j. A. B. 
Went Virginia. 
Sinnett’s Mtlls, Ritchie Co., August 15.— 
Wheat very thin on the ground; yield, com¬ 
pared with the growth of straw, very good. 
Oats good. Hav very light. Acreage of corn 
much larger than usual; very promising. 
Garden crops good. Potatoes good. Consid¬ 
erable buckwheat sown. Apples a large crop. 
Other fruits not much grown. Tobacco very 
good. The weather has been very warm and 
wet for a few weeks. ,T. w. s. 
Wisconsin. 
Green, Like County.—T his is as good a 
farming country as there is in the world. I 
have run a farm here for -37 years, and during 
that time we have produced in each year 
sufficient to supply the home trade and some 
to spare. Spring wheat this year is about one- 
fourth of the usual crop. All other crops 
promise to be good. j. m, s. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS 
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and address of tke 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 timed _ 
JARRING FOR THE CURCULIO; HEAVES IN A 
HORSE, ETC. 
J. P. M., Elm, Mo.— 1. L jarred my plum 
trees mauy times and did not catch a curculio, 
and still the plums are all stung, why is it? 
3. Can the plum curculio fly. aud if so, how 
far? 3. I am growing a hedge on the north 
aud west sides of my orchard for a wind-break; 
is this desirable l 4. I have a mare that blows 
3 o badly as to render her almost useless: what 
is the cause and is there any remedy ! 
Ans.— L To catch the curculio, the trees 
must be jarred early in the morning or 
in the evening, for the pests are active 
and readily fly away in the middle 
of the day. The jarring should be sudden; a 
mere shaking will not do. To avoid bruisiug 
the bark, it is a good plan to saw off a branch, 
leaving a stump several inches loug cn which 
to a strike with a heavy mallet; ora hole may 
be bored in the tree into which a broad¬ 
headed iron spike should be inserted to receive 
the blow. Of course, a small tree may be 
jarred by hand. 3. Yes, a long way; but if 
disturbed, except iu the middle of the day or 
on warm nights, it will not fly, but will fold 
its legs dose to its body, turn its suout under 
its breast, and drop to the ground, or into the 
sheet that is spread to catch it. when it can 
be killed. 8. We should want a mere wind¬ 
break, uot a close screen, to keep off all cur¬ 
rents of air, as, no doubt, insects work most 
where no air is stirring. 4 From such a 
meagre description of the symptoms of the 
ailment, we should judge that the mare is 
“brokea-winded,” or has the “heaves.” There 
is uo known permanent cure for this malady, 
which is usually caused by feeding on dusty or 
musty hay and grain, or on food of a bulky 
character, or by driving fast after a meal. 
Although the trouble may be relieved by 
suitable care and feeding, yet it will return, 
iu a more or less severe form, ou the first pro¬ 
vocation Preveutdou is therefore the only 
way to be free from the trouble. Don’t feed 
any sort of dusty or musty hay or grain, and 
do not breed from horses affected by the 
disease, as it is readily inherited. To allevi¬ 
ate the trouble, the food should be nutritious, 
but given in a coudensed form, a little at a 
time, but often, and regularly, say. four to 
five times a day. Oats, beaus, wheat straw, 
chaff, turnips or carrots, with a little hard- 
stalked hay free from dust and moistened, 
together with cleau, cured corn-stalks have 
given satisfaction; but the feed should be 
chiefly grain aud grass in Summer, and grain 
