364 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
HAY 30 
and carried throughout the system in the 
blood and each organ selects what is needed 
to beep it in healthy action, and in appropria¬ 
ting the new, throws oil' precisely the same 
elements that have been used and worn out, 
and this waste matter contains nearly all the 
elements of plant growth that came into the 
system, and except the carbon, which is 
thrown into the air through the lungs and 
which can readily betaken from the air again 
by the growing plant, the waste matter 
and worn-out material pass from the system 
in the liquid or solid excreta; so that, as 
we have said, it is merely an exchange of 
the old for the new; and while the new is es¬ 
sential to the existence of the animal, the old 
is much better fitted for the plant. But 
if the animal be growing, or fattening, or 
giving milk, or producing wool, either 
of these will be done at the expense of more 
or less of the manurial value of the food; but, 
luckily', the greater bulk of either is made up 
largely of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen (the 
carbohydrates), which are abundantly and 
inexpensively obtained, being always present 
in the air, the rain and the dews. The bones 
of growing animals, the caserne of the milk, 
and the wool of the sheep, all contain quite au 
amount of the scarcer aud more costly ele¬ 
ments—potash, phosphoric acid and nitrogen; 
but with a judicious selection of forage and 
grains, we can supply these iu abundance and 
have left in the manure a sufficiency for the 
growing plants to which it is applied. 
The feeder who grows on his own land most 
of the forage to be fed, must, to a certain ex¬ 
tent, raise plants to which his soil and climate 
are best adapted: but even these conditions 
are greatly within every man’s control. If 
the land be wet. it can be drained; if deficient 
in potash or phosphoric acid, these can be ap 
plied: and the direct result of feeding and 
applying the resulting manure is to add the hu¬ 
mus or vegetable matter to the soil, as well as 
to apply nitrogen and the other costly ele¬ 
ments, and with this aud the application of 
bone dust and potash, or commercial fertili¬ 
zers, the soil can lie fitted for the production 
of almost any plant uot interdicted by the 
climate. 
The most common forage on the average 
farm, is some one of the grasses, or a mixture 
of the same. Timothy ( Phleum pratense) 
Red-top IAgrostis vulgaris). Orchard Grass, 
Dactyl is i/lomerata), Kentucky Blue Grass, 
the .Juue Grass of the North t l J on prat crisis), 
and the real Blue Grass i Pan contpr essa lare the 
principal varieties found iu most meadows, 
and these, when cut in proper season and well 
cured, make a very good forage for any sort 
of cattle feeding, aud especially is the North¬ 
ern Blue Grass (Poa campressa i a rich and 
fattening food. The greatest objection to the 
last two is their insufficient yield. Millet 
and Hungarian Grass, especially the latter, 
yield well, can be sown after the farmer has 
ascertained the condition of his meadows; 
and, when cut early and properly cured,make 
a very excellent forage for cattle feeding. 
Corn stalks or stover from a corn crop, cm rich 
land, yields a very large amount of forage, 
and where the Hint, or the smaller growing 
kinds of corn are raised, and it is cut aud well 
shocked as soon as the corn is “glazed,” it is 
nearly a,« valuable, ton for ton, for cattle feed¬ 
ing as Timothy hay, and for sheep it is even 
bettor; and we believe that east of the Mis¬ 
souri River, and even with large-growing 
dents, it. will pay to cut and shock the corn 
and to save tbc stalks for winter feeding, and 
that any of our readers who will make the ex¬ 
periment will be so well pleased that they will 
continue it. There are now bemg raised, in 
many sections of the country, hundreds of 
acres, of sweet corn for cauuiug pur¬ 
poses, and the stalks of this, if cut before they 
are dried up, say IU days after the corn is taken 
off, will be found exceedingly sweet and a 
very valuable forage. Iu almost every part 
of our country, where the farmer wishes to 
greatly increase his forage supply, he will 
find nothing more available than corn-fodder; 
with rich ground, sown in rows just far 
enough apart, and well cultivated while 
small, it will yield an immense amount of 
forage, whether to be preserved in the silo, or 
to be cut aud shocked aud thus preserved dry 
for Winter's use. All the above as forage will 
be much better relished and a more d.sirable 
food for cattle of any class than for sheep, 
though when cut quite green and well cured, 
mature sheep will do passably well on them. 
The manure resulting from the use of these 
feeding stuffs, however, unless they are 
supplemented with oil meal or other highly 
nitrogenous foods, will be found quite defi¬ 
cient in ammonia. 
The best of all forage crops, the one adapted 
to the taste of more kinds of animals and 
which contains more value to the farmer both 
as forage and for the quality of the resulting 
manure, is Red Clover. Cut at the proper 
period of growth, aud well preserved, all ani¬ 
mals will thrive .on it alone, aud sheep will 
make a very satisfactory gain with a full ra¬ 
tion of it. We should hardly dare undertake 
the reariug of winter lambs without a full 
supply of clover hay for both the old sheep, 
and the lambs as soon as old enough to eat; 
aud we daily give to our hogs and hens 
a full feed of cut. clover hay, aud have never 
found auytliing to add more to their 
health or thrift. Besides all its other advan¬ 
tages, the manure resultiug from its use is 
worth at least 50 per cent, more thau that 
fx'om any of the other forage plants as easily 
grown. With an abundance of manure and 
an application of potash salts, or wood ashes, 
to such soils as are deficient in potash, very 
large crops can be grown, and if cut as soon 
as in full bloom, the laud will produce two 
crops in a seasou, and the roots remaining in 
the soil will insure a large yield of any 
crop that may follow it: and there are few 
soils that w ill not produce good crops of clover 
aud no feeder need have any fears of having 
too much. Where auy part of the forage is 
to be purchased, it is safe to say that, nine 
times in ten,it will be the case that.while clover 
hay is w’orth much the most, both as a feediug 
ration and a manure constituent, it can be 
boughtat about four-fifths of the price of Eng¬ 
lish hay, aud wheu the high value of the re¬ 
sulting manure is considered, it will be found 
much the cheapest of auy forage that can be 
bought. Straw of wheat, barley or oats, 
when bright aud well preserved, is worthy of 
amomeut’s notice before we leave this branch 
of our subject. The higher an animal is grained 
and especially ousuch uitrogenously rich foods 
as linseed-meal and cotton seed meai, bran, 
etc , the more straw it will eat, and the more 
persistent it is iu obtaining it,and if the straw 
is not placed before the animals m the feeding 
racks, they will eat their bedding as far back 
as they can reach it. If (he straw has been 
under cover, sheep will prefer it to over ripe 
Timothy hay. There is no doubt but ioall 
the older portions of this couutry, it will pay 
to provide better shelter for, and take better 
care of the straw. 
And, lastly, no farmer should commence to 
feed expecting the most satisfactory profit, 
without providing a sufficiency of some sort 
of succulent food, so that every animal may 
have daily a full ration. Whetoer it shall be 
silage or roots of some kind, we will leave for 
a future paper: but that some such food is 
esseutial with all stock, and absolutely indis¬ 
pensable in the raising of winter lambs, we 
have over and over again demonstrated by 
experiments in the many years in which we 
have been feeding. 
It seems to me that it is about time to call 
for a pause, and ask ourselves if we are not 
multiplying the varieties of the strawberry 
altogether too fast. The pace at which we 
are going can lead to nothing but confusion. 
The increase in varieties bears no relation 
whatever bo the improvement, in quality, and 
it strikes roe that we have already reached the 
point where severe thinning out may justly 
begin. [During five years past, the Rural has 
tried about 100 different new kinds, not one 
of which is retained as worthy of continued 
cultivation.— Eds.] We are last rushing the 
strawberry into the muddled condition in 
which we find the list of apples and pears,60 per 
cent, of which might be blotted out of exist¬ 
ence with benefit to the world. Wo have al¬ 
ready secured in the strawberry certain qual¬ 
ities which leave u? nothing further to desire 
in that direction. For example, we have va¬ 
rieties large enough to (ill to overflowing the 
ordmai'y btmiau mouth, and surely no man 
wants to iusult a strawherry by eating it with 
a knife and fork. It ought to choke him if 
be did, and 1 think it would. Then, again, we 
have varieties-that y ield their frutt 60 gener¬ 
ously that no reasonable bemg could ask for 
more. Does any man expect a strawberry 
plant to produce all fruitaud no leaves! How 
is the poor thing going to do it! Some of us 
are expecting too much. Nevertheless, there 
are one or two points still wanting to make 
something like a perfect strawberry for the 
market, aud the new candidates do not seem 
to possess them iu any marked degree. The 
chief trouble,however, is, thuttooinauy kinds 
are being added to the list,that have no busi¬ 
ness there. 
# * * 
The above remarks lead me to a point I 
wish to make. The time has come when no 
more strawberries Bbould be added to auy list 
without undergoing a course of what may be 
called a public service examination. Let uot 
less thau three meu, known for their know¬ 
ledge aud integrity, aud living in different 
parts of the country, be appointed a commit¬ 
tee, to whom shall be sent plants of all new 
candidates for public favor. After two years* 
trial, let the committee report fully all the 
good aud bad qualities developed during the 
trial. The report of the committee would fix 
the status of the candidate from the begiu 
niug, showiug, as it would, the results pro¬ 
duced iu different soils and under different 
conditions. The details could easily be ar¬ 
ranged. I would name the editor of the Ru¬ 
ral as one member of that committee. 
* * * 
There are some features in Mr. Lovett’s 
catalogue that are commendable. For exam¬ 
ple, a certaiu strawberry is “one of the most 
profitable of all for market,*’ but we are also 
told that it is of “poor quality. Another is 
also profitable for market, but “too acid fora 
family berry.” Still another is large and 
handsome, but “soft aud poor,” and so on. 
This helps the reader to decide that he wants 
none of these for his own use, while it also 
shows that mauy poor ones go to market. 
Ellwanger & Barry aud some others are 
equally outspoken. All should be. Trade, in 
the end, would be all the better if no conceal¬ 
ments were made. 
¥ * * 
Iu speaking of the Narcissus, I meant to 
have said that N. bicolor “Ajax,” another 
new aud high-priced kind, resembles N. b. 
Horsfieldii, the resemblance, however, being 
altogether ia favor of the latter. Having the 
one, you do not waut the other, except to make 
up a collection, Besides, N. b. Horsfieldii is 
the easier to grow in Winter. This is worth 
remembering. 
* * * 
The Rural family, aud all lovers of the 
grand and beautiful iu Nature, are to be con¬ 
gratulated oil the passage of the Niagara Park 
Bill, and its approval at the last moment by 
the Governor. If he had not signed the bill, 
as was feared, I think I would rather be a 
tramp than Governor of the State of New 
York just now. It remains to be seen whether 
the park is to be managed in the interests of 
the public or of the politicians. Let us hope 
for the best. 
* * * 
The Japanese, in some respects,are a peculiar- 
people. and have ways of their own, though 
they are fast learning some of the ways of 
other people. In Tokio, they offer trees aud 
plauts for sale on the streets very much as 
tree venders do at our markets, only the Japs 
present them in very much better condition. 
The roots are carefully gathered lip, and neat¬ 
ly packed in dampened moss. They have an 
eye to trade, too, a ad are as shrewd as a Yan¬ 
kee, as may lie gathered from the followiug 
incident: Mr. H. aud bis wife were walking 
aloug a street in Tokio, aud stopped to admire 
some plauts exposed for sale. Mr. H., as a 
matter of curiosity, asked the price of a tree 
about eight feet high. “Three dollars,” was 
the reply. (I give the value in our own 
money.) ‘Too much,” said Mr. U. “Two 
dollars,” said the Jap, after a pause. “No, I 
guess not to-day.” “One dollar then,” after 
another pause. “I have no place for it; but 
I’ll give you half a dollar for it,"’ said Mr. H., 
ami walked along, thinking that would end it. 
But not so. He had not proceeded far- before 
the Jap came naming after him, crying, “You 
may have it for half a dollar.” This was too 
much for Mr. H., so he bought the tree, and 
it was sent home. He thought he would plant 
it himself; but one of his Japanese servants 
said to him, “It won’t grow plumed m your 
way. Lot me plant it the Japanese way. Thcu 
it will grow.” Curious to see the Japanese 
way, he told him to plaut the tree. It was 
doue in this manner:—A large hole wa3 due, 
and half filled with water. The roots were 
then spread out, placed iD the water, aud the 
hole filled up with earth. The tree grew finely. 
It was planted in that part of Tokio called 
Tsukiji, perhaps the worst place in all Japan 
in which to plant a tree. It seems to mo that 
something may be learned from the Japanese 
way of plauting a tree, especially in dry 
weather. 
* * * 
I have another good thing for the readers 
of the Rural, which many of them have pro¬ 
bably not yet beard of. I allude to Gladiolus 
Colvillii albus. The flowers are a pure, deli¬ 
cate white, with a pale, narrow straw colored 
stripe ou the lower petals. It is called “The 
Bride,” u name so appropriate aud expressive 
as to be at once recognized by all who see the 
Uower. It is, ludeed, a very bciutiful plant. 
It is easily grown in pots, aud should be high¬ 
ly prized for winter tilooming. In a warm 
house there is no difficulty iu having it in 
bloom Iu mid-winter; but it would have most 
value for Easter. It dues best iu a light, rich 
soil and should bo watered freely when in 
bloom. The bulbs or conus are small, aud I 
find five or six the right number to put in a 
five-inch pot. Last Fall I put five selected 
conns m*tme pot, aud took a little extra care 
of it. It is now (May 4) before me m full 
bloom, having been grown in a cool green¬ 
house, with the mercury often hovering about 
the freezing point. There are 10 flower-stalks, 
each stalk having from 10 to 12 flowers on it, 
and I can think of uotlung more beautiful. I 
am uot surprised that it was called “The 
Bride,” for it looks like one in all her loveli¬ 
ness. There is not a single coarse feature' 
about it. “The Bride” was sent to church 
last Sunday. horticola. 
QL\)t 
“STOCKMAN,” AND OUR EXPORTS OF 
LIVE CATTLE. 
Occasion ally “Stockman” contributes to 
the Rural articles calculated to mislead. 
Even to careful readers they convey ideas 
which have no foundation in truth. For ex¬ 
ample, he charges that “the enormous losses 
that have been inflicted upon our business 
with loreigu countries,” are the results of “ex¬ 
aggerated and senseless excitement in regard 
to contagious diseases of our live stock.He 
has asserted in effect that the Bureau of Ani¬ 
mal Industry, and those who are striving to 
aid that Bureau in preventing the further 
spread of pleuro-pneumonia iu tbi3 country, 
caused Euglaud to forbid importations of 
living cattle from the United States. Publi¬ 
cation in a paper of the high character of the 
Rural gives to such statements au influence 
they could never otherwise have. This war¬ 
rants a request that you will give space to a 
review of a few- facts so widely aud well 
known that ignorance thereof is little less 
than disgraceful in one who writes ostensibly 
for the information of the public. That 
“Stockman” is ignorant of these facts is the 
most charitable assumption that can be made 
in his case. 
E trly in the Winter of 1ST8, when the Bu¬ 
reau of Animal Industry had never been 
thought of, and when people in this country 
vigorously, but honestly, denied the existence 
in the United States of any dangerous conta¬ 
gious or infectious disease of cattle, Euglaud 
sent trusted aud competent agents to investi¬ 
gate a malady that was then killing many 
cow’s near Washington. About the same 
time a case of the true lung plague of cattle 
was discovered among the bullocks of the 
cargo of the Ontario, sent from Portland to 
Liverpool. Upon reports made by veterina¬ 
rians of the highest character, the Euglish 
Privy Council ordered that no more living 
cattle from the United States should be ad¬ 
mitted to Great Britain, uutil this country 
could show a clean bill of health for our cat¬ 
tle. That order was issued five years and five 
months before the Bureau of Animal Indus¬ 
try bad au existence How can any one say 
that the Bureau of Animal Industry was, iu 
even the most remote degree, the cause of that 
prohibition, or that it is in auy way responsi¬ 
ble for the losses that have falleu upon the 
beef producer of America because of that 
prohibition! 
Assurance bas been given by the members of 
the English Privy Council that as soon as Ame¬ 
rica shall be able to show that pleuro-pneumo¬ 
nia no longer exists in this country, the order 
forbidding importations will be rescinded. En¬ 
couraged by this promise, ihe leading friends 
of our cattle interest have striven to secure the 
adoption of such measures as will quickly free 
the conn try from the plague, and relieve the 
producer of beef from the onerous aud ueed- 
less burden he now bears because that plague 
does exist iu the United States, and not be¬ 
cause any man or class of meu create au ex¬ 
citement about the matter. The Ik st class of 
owners of cattle in this laud have sought, aud 
are striving, to bring into active co-operation 
all those who have Influence and who favor 
ridding the country of dangerous diseases of 
cuttle. For this purpose they organized the 
National Cattle Growers’ Association of Amer¬ 
ica, and through it secured the enactment 
of the uationa! laws that, give to the Commis¬ 
sioner of. Agriculture the limited power he 
has for dealing with this difficult matter. 
That those laws are still far from sufficient 
for preventing the extension of the dreaded 
malady is due to obstructionist* who persist iu 
declaring, iu the face of unquestionable evi¬ 
dence. that there is no danger, and that the 
attempts of owner's of cattle to protect their 
herds are intended to create “an extravagant 
aud senseless excitement,” that their own 
selfish purposes may be served. 
“Stockman” has, from the shelter of a nom 
dc plume, freely charged with the basest 
motives, and with gross falsehoods, men of 
high character and learning; dues it not occur 
to him that those who do uot know him, may 
justly believe that he is working slyly to ob¬ 
struct the authorities m t he task of eradicating 
contagious diseases! May they not reasonably 
think that he is liable to lull the people into 
a false sense of security, so that the exist¬ 
ence of those disorders may be perpetuated 
