as I would apply to ordinary hoed crops on 
the same land. Is it advisable to continue the 
same treatment in future, or can you suggest 
an improvement? 2. In laying down land to 
grass, I have practiced sowiug in the Fall, and 
applying, at the time of sowing, 400 pounds of 
raw-bone phosphate, 150 pounds of muriate of 
potash, 100 pounds of dried blood and 100 
pounds of sulphate of ammonia to the acre. 
Can the formula be bettered, and is it best to 
apply all at the time of sowing or to reserve 
a portion to sow In the Spring? 
Ans.— We should advise pruning, and the 
application indicated, and also the use of 300 
or 400 pounds of dissolved pbosphatic rock, as 
you can probably get it cheap. Don't plow 
the orchard too deep so as to cut the roots 
very much. 2. It depends a good deal on 
what you sow; if clover largely, we would 
not advise the sulphate of ammonia, and in 
any case we would prefer reserving this for a 
spring application. The rest of the treatment 
is good. 
MIXING ASHES WITn MANUBKS. 
W. F. K., Clinton, La .—The chemist of the 
Department of Agriculture says it will not 
waste the ammonia in manure to mix wood 
ashes with it; what says the Rural on this 
point? 
Ans. —It depends much upon what sort of 
manures the ashes are mixed with, and how 
they are mixed, if put with manures not very 
rich in ammouia, and containing much vege¬ 
table or animal matter capable of absorbing 
the ammonia, the mixture would not result 
in loss; for instance, by adding wood ashes to 
broken bones in a tight cask or box the whole 
to be kept moist, we think there would be 
very little, if any, loss of ammonia. But if 
ashes are mixed with such a mauure as the 
droppings of the fowls, or guano, there would 
be a great loss, as can be easily proven by tak¬ 
ing a quantity of hen manure and putting one 
part of it in a box or barrel without a mix¬ 
ture of ashes, and the rest in another uiixed 
with only a small quantity of ashes. On 
holding the nose over one, no smell will be 
perceived, while the ammonia escaping from 
the other will nearly straugle one. 
HOW TO PROPAGATE ROSES. 
E. E. W., Cherokee, la. —How can roses 
(monthly) be propagated from slips and cut¬ 
tings? 
Ans.— Use cuttings of the growing or half- 
ripe wood; each may have but one “eye,” or 
if yon like two “eyes." If of one eye, cut the 
shoots about an inch under the eye and half 
an inch above it, aud retain the leaf or part of 
it. Dibble these cuttings into the soil so that 
the eye shall just touch the soil, but not be 
covered by it. If of two eyes, cut close un¬ 
der the lower eye and about half an inch 
above the upper one, and retain the leaf; dib¬ 
ble iix the cuttings so that the lower eye and 
most of the iuternode betweeu the two eyes 
will be buried, while the upper eye and leaf 
will be above ground. Use sharp, sandy soil 
or clean saud, aud iuserc the cuttings very 
firmly. Pots or shallow boxes are convenient 
for this purpose. Keep the cuttings shaded 
from sunshine and sheltered from draughts of 
air or undue drying influences; and dew them 
overhead twice a day. When rooted, plant 
single in small pots or thickly in shallow 
boxes, in light soil, aud preserve from frost. 
wintering kerns. 
M. *4. B., Kutztoum , Fa ,—To keep a creep¬ 
ing fern alive over Winter, should it be kept 
in a warm room or in a cellar? 
Ans. —Without knowing what sort of 
creeping fern you have got, we cannot tell. 
Multitudes of ferns, native and exotic, hardy 
and tender, are creeping ferns—for instance, 
the common polypody creeps over rocks aud 
roots, the sensitive fern creeps all through our 
moist meadow lands, the common brake creeps 
through our woods, and the little beech-ferns 
among the rotten sticks and leaf-mold beds in 
shady rock places, and the walkiug fern 
creeps over its mossy bed in leaf-long steps, 
and all of these ax-e hardy. Among tender 
ferns common in cultivation, we may mention 
many species of Davallia or Hai-e’s foot Fern, 
uephrolepises, some kiuds of maiden-hair 
ferns, golden polypody, and several aspleu- 
iums. The cellar is a poor place for any ever- 
greeu fern; but deciduous ones may be 
wintered in it with safety. Never allow the 
roots of ferns of any kind to get very dry. 
ABOUT CRANBERRIES. 
C. C., Five Lakes, Mich, —1. How can I 
preserve a few bushels of cranberries till Win¬ 
ter? 2. How cau I improve a wild cran- 
beiTy bog. 3. When is the right time to pick 
the beiTies, 
Ans.— 1. Put them iuto boxes having some 
ventilation, and set them in a cool pluee—the 
cooler the better if they do not freeze. 2. 
Take out all bushes or small trees and all 
coarse bogs aud pull out all weeds; then 
cover the surface, early iu Spring, or late in 
Fall, with a half inch of clean sand. Repeat 
this again in a year aud each succeeding year 
till the sand is two inches deep. All weeds 
should be pulled out as soon as they appear. 
3. Pick for an early market as soon as ripe 
and continue as wanted. For winter use, 
leave them on the vines until fully ripe; but 
do not let them freeze on the vines or after 
they come off. 
CHARCOAL DUST. 
F. E S,, Gray dene,Colo. —1. I can get, two 
miles away, all the fine or dust charcoal that 
I please, for the hauling. Will it pay me to 
haul it for application to a clayey soil, or 
“adobe," to lighten it np and protect it from 
baking when irrigated; and if so, bow much 
should be applied per acre? 2, Would it pay 
to put it upon my manure heap as an absorb¬ 
ent? 3. To put around fruit trees or berry 
vines as a winter mulch? 4. As a mulch in 
Summer to keep down weeds and retain 
moisture? 
Ans.— 1. Most decidedly it will pay both in 
lightening up the soil and as a direct benefit 
to the plants; put on enough to change the 
soil to a sort of loam, if you can get it. 2. By 
all mean8,yes! 3. Yes, yes! 4. Yes, yes! yes!! 
An old pit bottom is always a productive spot 
in any soil. 
ABOUT DAHLIAS. 
F. R. W., Roselle, N. I. —Last year my 
dahlias gave a multitude of flowers of various 
colors and shades, no two being alike; this 
year all, without an exception, are of a dark, 
velvety crimson; is such a change common, 
and how can it be prevented? 
Ans. —There are certain varieties of dahlias 
that have “mixed-colored" flowers that change 
a good deal; the flowers may be more or less 
variegated or streaked, or half the flower 
may be of one shade and the other half of 
another color, or some of the blossoms maybe 
of a pale color and others of a dark color, 
and all be in bloom on the same plant at the 
same time. But anything as decided as what 
you mention has not come under our own 
observation. 
Miscellaneous. 
H., Galveston, Texas. —I herewith send 
specimens of grape leaves “webbed up,” what 
is the insect that does the work? 2. What ails 
my two-year-old Berkshire hog? A few 
weeks ago he began to get weak in the back 
and is now unable to walk, though he does 
not fail off in flesh? 
Ans. —1. The leaves have b*en webbed up 
by the larva of tbe Grape Leaf-folder (Des- 
mia maculalis). The larva webs the leaves of 
the grape together and transforms to pupa 
within the fold of the leaf, coming forth a 
small, blackish moth with white spots. There 
are two broods in the season in the latitude 
of St. Louis, and there are probably three in 
Texas. If let alone, these worms will soon 
defoliate a vine, and the best method of de¬ 
stroying them is by crushing them suddenly 
withiu the leaf with both hands. In going 
over the vineyard in October or any time be¬ 
fore the leaves fall, the folded and crumpled 
leaves should be plucked and burned to pre¬ 
vent the reappearance of the worms the next 
year*. 2. Any one of several causes may pro¬ 
duce such weakoess of the back. In the 
absence of fuller details, we think it likely 
that it is due to a disease of the spinal cord 
aud its covering membranes, known as spinal 
meningitis. Apply turpentine freely along 
the back. Give half a pint of linseed oil, and 
then one ounce of powdered cascarilla bark 
daily in the food. 
T. B. II., WellsrUJe, Pa,— 1, What shall I 
sow on a wet piece of ground to make a per¬ 
manent meadow? It is too wet for wheat or 
clover, and has a clay soil with mueh water 
in Winter and Spring. 2. Cau I secure bee 
pasture and bay with Alsike Clover and Tim¬ 
othy sown together this Fall? 8. If Alsike is 
sown next Spring, when will it bloom first? 
Ans. —1, 8ow Red Top, seveu pounds; 
Rescue Grass, 10 pouuds; Water Meadow 
Grass, six pouuds; Rough stalked Meadow 
Grass, five pounds; Timothy, five pouuds, 
and . Alsike, three pouuds per acre. 2, 
Yes, to a certain extent; but if left to be 
most valuable as a bee pasture, much seed will 
have ripened, aud the hay will be somewhat 
injured. 3. Much depends upon the season 
next Summer; if much rain falls, it will 
bloom “some” in August and September^ but 
no full bloom must be expected till the Sum¬ 
mer following, commencing in Juue. 
T. C, B , Bradley, Mich. —1. Will a cross 
of Shropshire on Merino ewes give u healthy 
sheep when full grown • *w» With tiles from 
to 3j>£ feet deep, how far apart should 
drains be placed to thoroughly drain a clay 
soil? 
Ans.— 1. The cross-bred sheep will, if any¬ 
thing, have more health and vigor than 
either pure breed; but we would not advise 
breeding from this cross, as it would uot give 
a uniform progeny, altbougb we believe a 
valuable breed might be ootained from such a 
cross with loug, judicious selection and breed¬ 
ing. 2. Three-aud-a-half feet is a very good 
depth, and the drains should dry tbe soil when 
50 feet apart, unless the clay is very tenacious, 
when it might bo necessary that they should 
be as close as 30 or 33 feet. 
L. C. R., Springdale, N. C. —My farm is on 
a mountain 4,000 feet above the sea, and we 
are subject to early frost in the Fall and late 
frosts in Spring, and our corn is often caught; 
would it not hasten tbe maturity of the crop 
to plant in rows 12 feet apart and the stalks 18 
inches apart in the row, instead of in hills 
three ,by four feet? We could plant some 
other crop between ? 
Ans.—W e greatly favor tbe di’ill method of 
planting corn, running the rows north and 
south where it can be done. This gives the 
roots more room, as also the stalks for devel¬ 
opment, and, we think, makes the com not 
only earlier, but more vigorous We think, 
however, that four feet is quite far enough 
apart for the small-growing flints, while five 
or six is ample for the larger-stalked dents. 
We should advise, for such an Alpine country, 
the procuring of the smaller-growing, early 
Northern corns They will be quite sure to 
ripen. 
E J. S., Holderness, N. H. —1. What is the 
inclosed gx-ass? 2. What is a safe cure for a 
flat wart on a colt’s neck? 3. What is the 
best time of the year for seeding to grass, and 
how deep shonld the seed be sowed ? 
Ans. — 1. Panienm sangninale (Finger or 
Crab Grass), a grass of no value. & Apply 
strong acetic acid just to the wart; or touch 
it with the moistened end of a stick of lunar 
caustic, being careful to touch only the wart. 
3. For Timothy or the grasses proper, except 
Orchax-d Grass, sow October first. For Orchard 
Grass and clover sow early in the Spring, and 
cover all very lightly with brush harrow, 
plank harrow or roller, or possibly with 
smoothing harrow. 
C. E. Needham , Alasta,Cal. —1. Are citrons 
and watennelons good horse food? 2. Which 
is the better food for horses, wheat or barley, 
and bow much should they have at a feed? 3. 
Which are best adapted to a warm climate, 
strawberries or blackberries? 
Ans.—N either has mnch nutritive value, 
and would be only advisable where the horse 
was confined to dry food, if at all. 2. Wheat, 
though both are good. Feed enough to main¬ 
tain a good condition; no one bxxt the owner 
who sees the horees every day can say how 
much that shoxild be. 3. We think strawber¬ 
ries are most successful, though some varie¬ 
ties of both do fairly well. 
J. S. W., Creswell F. O., Md.—l. I have 
an acre of sun-flowers; tbe stalks are very 
tall, and the flowers large; what can I do 
with them? 2. Are they salable for oil-mak¬ 
ing? 
Ans.— 1. We know of no use to which you 
can put them, except for chickens and stock 
food in limited quantities. They are very 
good for this purpose; but do not feed too 
freely of them, as they contain much free oil. 
2, We do not think they are now used for 
that purpose. Small quantities of this oil 
were at one time made; but about its only use 
was for adulterating linseed-oil. 
J. T., North Madison, Ind .—I have a large 
two-hoi'se wagou load of sheep droppings 
from a flock kept nights in the barn-yard; 
would this manure be best for wheat this Fall, 
or oats in the Spring, and how can 1 best util¬ 
ize it? 
Ans.—Y ou can make it fine and mix it with 
road dust, coal ashes or dried muck, equal 
parts, and sow with a drill with the grain. It 
will probably pay best on wheat; next best on 
corn; and next best on potatoes. Wood-ashes 
should be sown with it. Sheep manure is cap¬ 
ital for any crop. 
R. H., Latcrence, Texas .—Oxxr Summers 
are loug and dry, and consequently our cotton 
suffers from drought. Would it do to open 
deep furrows with the plow, and pnt straw 
or hay iu them and then cover, say six to 
eight Inches deep, leaving a slight ridge, and 
then plant cotton on top; could the moisture 
be retaiued in this way long enough to help 
the crop? 
Ans.— It is doubtful. We fear the results 
would uot compensate for the trouble and ex¬ 
pense incurred. Try it in a small way and 
please report results. 
S, S. IF., Forest Grove, Oregon.—U the 
Surprise Wheat sent out by tbe Rural in its 
Free Seed Distribution,the same as that offered 
for sale by Landreth under the same name? 
Ans. —If Landreth seut out a Sxxrprise 
Wheat.it was uot the Surprise that we sent 
out—for the reason that we had all the seed 
except a very small quantity which the orig¬ 
inator sowed. 
.4. S.M., New Brooklyn, N. J. —Asparagxis 
plants, the seed of which was sown in May, 
stand 12 to 15 iuches high, when should they 
be set out ? If this Fall, how soon? 
Ans.—A t once. It matters little whether 
th* work be done now or in the Spriug, 
S. C., Farmington, W. Va .—How should I 
treat a Niagara grape seedling to make it sur¬ 
vive tbe Winter? 
Ans —The vine should be perfectly hardy. 
If it is not, then let it die. 
W. S. f Plainville, Conn .—What is the price 
of a directory of New York City, and where 
can one be obtained ? 
Ans. —Trow's City Directory, $6; pixblished 
by the Trow City Directory Co., 11 Univer¬ 
sity Place; Wilsons Business Directory, §2.50; 
published by the same company. 
F. T., Saratoga Springs, N. Y.— The White 
Mexican sweet corn was originated by George 
W. Campbell, Delaware, Ohio, and we sup¬ 
pose it can be obtained from him, if from 
anybody at present. 
A. C. H., Roanoke, Ind —No; the plant in¬ 
quired about is not a pyrethrum. 
DISCUSSION. 
W. L. D., Wayne Co, N. Y. — In the 
Farmers' Club, page 547. D. C. McP. asks the 
cause of tbe injury to stools of wheat having 
short, bleached stems, or straw bearing 
shrunken giain. It seems to me there is in 
his description a clear indication of the work 
of the common white grub (L. fusea). He 
states that the lot was wheat after wheat-, and 
in that case, the pests were two or tbree-year- 
old grubs, and it is at that stage, when they 
are nearly full growth, that they commit the 
most in jury to vegetation. Where ground is 
plowed ofteD, they injure isolated small spots 
rather than larger patches. Some of the 
roots of a clump of wheat being gnawed off, 
it is injured, and can be pulled up very easily. 
G. vr. G. Cuba, Mo.— In digging some 
sweet potatoes 1 found a white potato grow¬ 
ing on the vine with the red ones. I am cer¬ 
tain not one white potato was pnt in the hot¬ 
bed this year. Last year there were a few in 
one corner, hut as we didn’t like them, 1 was 
quite careful to exclude all in Spring; how 
came a fair-sized white Southern Queen,then, 
on the same plant that bore our Red Nan- 
semonds. Examination showed that the vine 
was red, and a runner from the main stem 
bore the white and two or three red potatoes. 
Who can account for this strange thing? 
R. N.-Y.—A change in color in both sweet 
and (so called) Irish potatoes is by no means 
uncommon We can show white (buff), red 
and streaked potatoes from tbe same vine. 
This is merely bud variation. Propagating 
from such “sports," as they are familiarly 
called, has in many cases led to the establish¬ 
ment of new varieties, both in sweet and Irish 
potatoes. 
A CHEAP ICE HOUSE. 
J. M. S., St. Louis, Mo.—Perhaps a de¬ 
scription of an ice-house a neighbor of mine 
has will prove helpful to M. L. D. page 596 
of Rural), and many others who desire to 
have ice during the Summer (and what sensi¬ 
ble person would not?), but who are deterred 
from building an ice-house because they fancy 
it must be costly. The house I speak of is 
made of poles and clapboards. The poles are 
built np into a pen of the desired size, being 
notched where they rest upon one another, to 
prevent their rolliug aud to lessen the cracks. 
The gables are left open, and the roof projects 
three feet at each end. The roof is of clap¬ 
boards, nailed to pole rafters and cross pieces. 
A layer one foot thick of old rails, closely 
laid, is put in tbe bottom for a floor, and also 
to provide drainage—a very essential thing. 
As the chunks of ice are put in, they are laid 
two feet from the poles, and sawdust is packed 
in between. A layer two feet thick of saw¬ 
dust is put over tbe top when the house is full. 
This house is 14 feet wide, 20 long, and 10 high 
to the eaves. In it ice keeps perfectly during 
the hottest Summer. The cost is very small 
where timber is plenty, and any man can 
build the hoxxse. An ice-house should not be 
smaller than 12 feet square and eight feet 
high; a less amouut of ice will not keep well. 
The man who builds a cheap, but good, ice¬ 
house and fills it properly, will say within a 
year that it was the wisest and most profitable 
work he ever did. 
-» ♦ ♦- 
Communications Rkcxivkp fob thk Wkkk Ending 
Saturday, Skx’tkmber -S, 1-S5. 
J. H.-C. A G.-E. D. C.- S. C.-D. A. F.—A. A. D. 
-TL G. A.-W. A. D.-A. H.—A. J, 8.—P. I.—H. B.-L. 
D.-W E. J-L C.R--J. S.-I. S. tV.— G. S. S.- J. M. 
-C K. N.-W F. K.-A. W. L.-D. B.-W. F.-C. S. J. 
-C. E. K -T. R H.-T.C.B.-K. J. S.-J. L.-J. O. C. 
A. W. E.—Col F. E S.-J. F.-B. H. E. K.-R. H.-M. 
S. B.-G. W. H.-K. A. C.-J IV. IV.—R. S. R.—H. 
H.-G. L. S.-W S. P.-O. Jt.—W. R. L.-G. Lestour- 
geoxi, thanks,—\V. A. L.—M. A. C —J. L. G.—W. 
J. C.-J. P.—K. \Y. P.-N. F.-T. H, H.—W. L. D. 
-C.J. B.—A. H., thanks.—C. A. G.—A. W.C.—W. S. 
H.-J. A. M.-S. S-J. J. b\- K. E. B.-R. P. McA.— 
W. R. II.,thanks.—H. W C.-tV H. W.-A. E.-T. H. 
G. -A. S. M. tV. C. C -J. B. A.-D. T. A. O. B.— 
V. L.-P.. J.B.-A. L. J.-M. M. tV.-J. G. I -W. S.— 
D. H. S.-J.W. EL H. B.-A. G.—B. F. J.-T. J. L.-L. 
A. R.—C. B. A.—A. E. H.—E. .1. B.—J, S —J. L, B,—J. 
E. T. -C. B. T.—C. C.—S. H.—E.—J. tV. R.—M. C. G.— 
tV. L. D.—J. L. B., many thanks.—Mrs. L, A. H.—V. 
E. F.-1I. 8. a W. 
