384 
fertility of the soil is ever to be seriously im 
paired, although their own statistics show that 
the acreage products are diminishing. With 
our constantly increasing population, we have 
also decreasing fertility of soil over much the 
greater part of our immense territory. Turn 
to our agricultural reports, and see the enor¬ 
mous sah 1 of our fertility, for that is what it 
is, to foreign parts. The great problem of 
farming for the future of America is, to han¬ 
dle old and worn soils; to conserve what nat¬ 
ural fertility remains, aud to produce, eco¬ 
nomically, animal and vegetable supplies, 
without mortgaging the land for the holders 
of itiu years to come. Major Alvord believes 
that, our agriculture must be of the intensive 
and diversified kinds, the country over. This 
in the broadest seuse, may, and should include 
specialties in single farms, and in small areas, 
but do such exclusive specialties as the cotton 
of the South, the grain of the West and North¬ 
west, and nowhere such exhaustive cropping 
as there. 
MULTUM IN RARVO. 
Mr J. B. Olcott says that a tidy woodshed 
is more rare and therefore looks better than 
a fine parlor. ... 
He also says that advertisements are rather 
too necessary to a newspaper when the reader 
seems,almostalways,tobeplayiug second fiddle 
to the advertiser in the columns of his journal. 
Prof. Knapp say’s that Johnson Grass is 
not hardy in the climate of Ames, Iowa. 
The National Stockman says that many of 
the best cows are fed to death for a big milk 
record .............. 
Prof. Knapp, of Iowa, says that the plant he 
would substitute for Red Clover is Red Clover 
and more of it..... 
Prof. Knapp deeuis the Johuson Grass 
craze a harmless one because it will last only 
one year, aud the knowledge may be worth all 
the tuition costs. He should bear iu mind that 
we have sent out over 19,000 packets to read¬ 
ers of the Rural without cost, bo that the craze 
created by this journal will be harmless in 
any case ........ 
“Margaret” writes to the Ohio Farmer 
about tramps to the effect that indiscriminate 
giving only encourages the business and in 
creases the craft. Keep your extra food aud 
clothes for thB deserving poor whom you cau 
find in your nearest town, if not ueajer home. 
Don’t give a tramp a bite or even a kind word, 
but let him know that you honor labor and 
despise the sluggard. 
Pkof. Bcdd states, in the Prairie Farmer, 
that Shaffer’s Colossal Raspberry is the har¬ 
diest variety yet tried on the college farm at 
Ames, Iowa .. 
Martha Howes Davidson says, in the 
Sanitary News, that there are too few homes 
where the consideration of “what people will 
say” has no weight, but, in them there are a 
finer sense of right, a broader culture, and 
steadier nerves than iu many where deference 
to sham aud parade has become, often uncon¬ 
sciously, the ruling motive of householdliving. 
The National Live Stock Journal says that 
our farms need some Newtons, Franklins and 
Edisons upon them to bring them abreast of 
their sister industries in this advancing age. 
After the professions impoverish a few more 
millions of our youth, the tide will surely turn. 
Young men will see their folly, and parents 
will be less urgent to drive them from the good 
fortune of the country to misfortune in the 
city. 
TRANSCONTINENTAL LETTERS. 
XXXII. 
MARY WAGER-FISHER. 
A civil engineer, who visits us occasional¬ 
ly, has been telling me of the great amount 
of agricultural land that lies in Eastern Wash¬ 
ington some dozen miles west of the sterile 
belt through which runs the Northern Pacific 
Railroad. He gave quite a glowing picture of 
the future of that great region, when the 
Columbia River shall have beeu made navig¬ 
able for a thousand miles, with locks at the 
“Cascades”, and a canal at “The Dalles,” the 
Lewis Fork or Snake River forming an 
additional water-way, so that boats laden with 
wheat can steam directly through to tide¬ 
water, which must cheapen, and keep forever 
at a low figure, transportation for all that 
region of country. Farmers East, and by 
East I mean East of St. Louis, have small 
idea of what railroad freights signify to the 
farmers of the West. The vital question with 
them is, not what they cau raise or how much 
of it, but what it will cost them to send it to 
market. If every Member of Congress under¬ 
stood and realized the enormous importance 
of securing to producers reasonable transpor¬ 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
tation rates for their products, there would be 
vastly less quibbling and delay in making the 
water-ways of the country navigable, especial¬ 
ly where railroad monopolies sap the very 
juice of the land. It ought to be a positive re¬ 
quirement that every man who is to legislate 
in matters affecting any or all parts of the 
country, should know what he is about—and 
the American law-maker does not get this 
knowledge by a trip to New York or Boston, 
or Loudon or Paris. If be will cross this con¬ 
tinent two or three times, and talk with every 
“Tom. Dick and Harry”—as he ought—he will 
imbibe an inkling, at least,of what the temper 
of a Western man is when he talks of railroad 
freights, besides seeuriug an enlargement of 
his mental vision in other respects. A trans- 
Atlantio trip may be very nice and very inter¬ 
esting; but I wouldn’t exchange my transcon¬ 
tinental experiences for the two years I bad in 
Europe by a long way! The interests of home 
of any confined locality or Sta te even, seem 
very insignificant in comparison with the 
interests of this immense country. The balance 
of power is all in the East, and will probably 
rest there for all time, so far as many genera¬ 
tions to come are concerned; aud it is not an 
easy matter for the West to get its due meed 
of justice. Every State aud Territory west 
of the Rocky Mountains pay6 tribute to the 
East, very much as the Thirteen Colonies did 
to Eugland, and for Territories to be kept 
such from political prejudices, and subjected 
to the gubernatorial service of some Eastern 
“carpet bagger,” who has neither the wit 
nor energy to make an honest living for him¬ 
self, and, forsooth, requires an office, is by no 
means a soothing or satisfactory state of 
affairs. 
I think Western people have had enough of 
the Territorial idea. One of the holidays in 
California is “Admission Day,” in commem¬ 
oration of its admission as a State into the 
“Blessed Union ” By the way, I see it stated 
that some Member of Congress has proposed 
the admission of Washington Territory as a 
State, under the name of Tacoma '—the Iudian 
orthography is “Tab-ko-ma.” It must have 
been done as a joke, for if the people of this 
Territory are clear in their minds about auy one 
thing, it is that this corner of the Union shall 
bear the immortal aud honored name of the 
“Father of his Codntry.'’ That man might as 
well have proposed changing the name of 
Pennsylvania to Susquehanna. 
As regards the monthly rates of wages paid 
throughout this country, the following is 
about correct: Farm laborers (with board), 
830 to #40; teamsters, $75 to #80; choppers, 
#05 to #70; common laborers, #40 to #45; bak¬ 
ers, #00; milt hands, #60; tailors, #54; boys, 
#30; cooks, #50. The last is an exceptional 
price, and only applies to hotel and restaurant 
cooks, although I know a small family of two 
persons in Seattle who pay, I have been told, 
their Chinese cook—and he is man of all work 
as well—#60 per month. But I know of no 
class of workers who would bo so apt to find 
immediate and profitable employment as good 
and capable women for general housework, 
and they would readily command from $20 to 
$40 per month. But people here do not hire 
“help” for their households for the sake of 
their “society” any more than they hire a 
carpenter for the sake of companionship. 
The prices paid per day for tradesmen aud 
artisans I find quoted as follows: Carpenters, 
#3.50; bricklayers, $5; machinists, $8.25; 
house-painters, #4; shoemakers, $3; tinsmiths 
aud blacksmiths, $3.50; day laborers, $2,50; 
stone and marble cutters, $4; gasfitters, $3 50; 
plasterers, $4.50; plumbers, #4; coal-miners 
(shift work), #3.50; by the yard, $3 to $4; 
mechanical engineers, $3 to $4. So far as 
doctors aud lawyers are coucerued, every 
town is overflowing with them, and very 
clever ones at that, some of them. All sorts 
of stores are in abundance, and goods are put 
up and delivered iu a style not surpassed by 
the best houses in Philadelphia. There is no 
room for mediocrity in any branch of work 
except it be “art work,” as some of the per¬ 
sons who assume the r61e of giving lessons in 
paintiDg are as far from being artists as they 
are from the North Role. Oue of the best 
artists on the coast is the daughter iu law’ of 
Henry Ward Beecher. 8he is a winsome little 
woman, who eirne here from California to 
sketch the scenery, met Captain Beecher on 
his boat, aud married him. They have two 
children, aud the oldest, a boy of two years, 
and named for his illustrious gi’andfather, aud 
christened by him, is the prettiest child I have 
seen this side of the Rocky Mountains—a most 
exquisite little fellow, and, withal, the image 
of bis grandfather in expression, movement, 
gesture, and so precocious as to suggest the 
possibility that he has inherited the mantle of 
genius—only precocious children generally 
result iu commonplace men or women. But 
the child is transcondently lovely. 
One phase of social life on this coast is the 
prominence often achieved by men whose pre¬ 
vious career has led them to leave their sur¬ 
roundings for the good of the same. Very 
speedy recognition is given to ability and to 
money, while fine character and a spotless 
one, counts but for little, comparatively. Of 
course, the bulk of the people who come here 
from elsewhere, come chiefly for the purpose 
of making money, and when money-making 
forms the great object of attainment in a 
community, a high standard of morality, if 
looked for, will not be found, “It doesn’t 
pay,” in current coin, which is silver and gold 
and five-cent nickels. The merchants all say 
they never wish to see pennies introduced 
here—that it is not worth while to bother for 
anything less than five cents! But money is 
gradually gaining in value, and 25 cents are 
worth considerably more than they were a 
year ago. Bat the people are still a long way 
off from illustrating the frugality of Frank¬ 
lin’s maxim about the care of pennies. The 
long period of high wages, that succeeded the 
discovery of gold, and the consequent plenti¬ 
fulness of money, which is now only begin¬ 
ning to fall back into harmony with the pro¬ 
fits which accrue from legitimate business, 
bred a certain extravagance that the present 
“hard times” will do much to correct. 
Iu one way, society is more democratic thau 
it is in the East, and this pleases men better, 
at least. They do not “dress" in the fashion¬ 
able sense, and a man handsomely dressed is 
rated a “dude.” Women dress better, if only 
they would stop out of their “hoop skirts”— 
those atrocious productions that from every 
point of view are utterly abominable. A 
Puget Sound lady, who went to New York 
City on a visit last year, B-rid that the hoop 
skirt grew smaller and rarer as she traveled 
East, and when she reached Broadway, such 
a thing was not to be seen, unless distending 
the petticoats of a servant girl. She made 
another observation (she had never before 
been east of the “Rockies”), that may not be 
amiss to note: “The tbing chat surprised me 
most was the amount of untilled and ill-kept 
land in the East. I expected to see every 
fence corner and every foot of ground culti¬ 
vated iu the most careful mauner. I was 
disappointed in nearly everything I saw but 
the shops, the churches aud the Metropolitan 
Museum. I went up the Hudson to see that 
famous river; but, dear me! I had seen the 
Columbia! But the funniest thing of all was 
that an old friend of my mother, in Brooklyn, 
asked her where I had learned to talk! as 
though good English was an Eastern mo¬ 
nopoly!” 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS 
[Every query must be accompanied by the name 
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.] _ 
“SCOURS IN CALVES.” 
Several Inquirers ask what is a remedy for 
“scours” in calves. 
Ans. In each case the age of the calf, the 
manner in which it is fed and the probable 
cause of the ailment should be mentioned to 
enable us to return to the question an answer 
which will do the most good. In the case of 
sucking calves, the dam’s milk sometimescon- 
tains injurious properties because she has 
been over-driven, excited or had access to foul 
water or improper food, or because it has 
been retained too long in the udder. The dis¬ 
ease, however, is most prevalent among calves 
brought up at the pail, aud is generally due to 
indigestion consequent ou over-feeding after 
fastiBg an unduly long time, or to some un¬ 
wholesome property of the milk. If kept on 
the milk of a farrow cow, the patient should 
have a change to that of one that has calved 
more recently; and if the health of the nurse 
fails, or the bag cakes, the calf should be sup¬ 
plied from a more healthy source. If the 
little thing is too rapid a drinker, an artificial 
teat in the pail for it to suck at, will in a great 
measure correct the fault. The stomach 
should be cleaned of irritating matter by a 
dose of oue or two ounces of castor oil and a 
teaspoonful of laudanum. If the skiu or 
membraues of the mouth, nose or eyes are 
of a yellowish tint, two grains of calomel 
and 20 grains of chalk may be added 
and repeated daily for some time. If fed ou 
milk, give only a quart of sweet new milk at 
a feed twice a day. If it is older and weaned, 
give a teaspoonful of castor oil night and 
morning for a few days, aud feed some boiled 
oats and nice sweet hay. If the abdomen is 
tense or tender to the touch.it should be rubbed 
over with a thin pulp made of the best ground 
mustard and tepid water, and be covered with 
a bandage to prevent drying until the appli¬ 
cation has taken effect on the skin. If spasms 
are severe, give a teaspoonful of the following 
in a cup of milk every hour until relieved: one 
dram of laudanum, one dram of camphorated 
spirits and one ounce of sweet spirits of niter. 
The surest way to prevent scouring in calves 
is to feed them regularly, aud keep them clean, 
dry and warm, though not too warm. Neg¬ 
lect of these matters is a fruitful source of 
scours, and of other ailments to which calves 
are liable, while attention to them will prevent 
much trouble, loss and disappointment. 
IMPACTION OF STOMACH AND WORMS IN A 
HORSE. 
M. H. S., Malvern, Kan, —1. Two of my 
cows died lately, some thought from eating 
too much millet. The first attacked had been 
fresh two days when she was noticed walking 
around looking dull. Half an hour later she 
was found dead. Next day another was 
fouud lying up-hill, seemingly in great pain. 
I gave her lard and hot, black coffee; in the 
evening she appeared well and ate thrashed 
millet heartily; but two days afterward she 
died. On opening the carcass, everything 
looked as healthy as possible; what should 
have been the treatment. 2. What is a 
remedy for worms in horses? 
Ans.— 1. Judging from the few symptoms 
given, death may have resulted from impac¬ 
tion of the third stomach, due to the dry, 
| over-ripened millet, or to ergotism.—See F. C., 
January 10, 1885. In the former case a pur¬ 
gative should have been given—one to one- 
and-a-half pound of sulphate of soda, accord¬ 
ing to the size of the auimal, with two ounces 
of giuger and plenty of water, and the dose 
should have been repeated in 15 horn’s, if relief 
was not obtained. In feeding such dry, indi¬ 
gestible fodder, care should be exercised that 
the bowels do not become torpid and the 
animal feverish, in which case a more laxa¬ 
tive, stimulating diet should bo substituted. 
3. Two drams each of tartar emetic and 
copperas, given on six successive mornings, 
and on tbe seventh a purgative—four or five 
drams of aloes—will usually clear a horse of 
intestinal worms. Another method is to give 
a dose of aloes at night, to empty the bowels, 
and in the morning to give two to four 
ounces of oil of turpentine diluted in milk. 
Feed should be withheld during the night and 
for a few hours after giviug the turpentine. 
For colts oue year old, one-fourth, and for 
those two years old, one half of the above 
doses is sufficient. 
FEED FOR YOUNG LAMBS, PIGS, CALVES, ETC. 
C. S. C., Siveetsburyh, l\ Q., Can,— 1. How 
should lambs which the mother refuses toowu 
be fed to keep them iu health? 2. With no 
milk.how can a March Chester W hite pig be fed 
economically, so os to make it dross 200 pounds 
in November ? What i3 the best way of feed¬ 
ing a calf in the absence of milk? Would too 
much oil cake be injurious? 4. How should 
seedling geraniums aud heliotropes be win¬ 
tered when only wanted for blooming in the 
Summer? 
Ans. —1. The mother refusing to own her 
lamb should be confined in a small pen aud 
compelled to let it suck for a day or two, and 
she will own it; but the lamb maybe raised 
pu cow’s milk. The milk should he from a 
fresh cow, and at first should be slightly re¬ 
duced with water and sweetened with molas¬ 
ses, and should be fed little aud often. As 
soon as two week* old, it should have a trough 
of oil meal, where it can eat as much as it 
likes. 2. The best feed for growiug pigs is 
wheat middlings and boiled potatoes. When 
the pigs are very young, tbe middlings should 
be made into a sort of porridge and be thor¬ 
oughly boiled. When old enough to eat grass, 
they should have the ruo of a clover pasture, 
and the food may then contain a little pea, 
bean or corn meal, or, better, all these. 
There should be no trouble iu making a pig 
treated in this way, weigh SIX) pounds at the 
time mentioned. 3. The calf can be fed a 
porridge made of wheat middlings with a 
handful of oil meal. If too much oil cake is 
used, it will have a cathartic effect, aud will 
lie injurious. 4. Take the plants up before 
frost with plenty of soil adhering to the roots, 
and plant them iu boxes or pots in sand, and 
place them in a dry, frostproof cellar, all the 
better if dark. The sand in the pots should 
be kept slightly damp, but care must be taken 
not to get it too damp, or the plants will 
mold aud decay. The happy medium is just 
that point where the stalks will not shrivel. 
SUMMER DRINKS. 
S. W. E, Ashland, Pa ,—What is a good 
drink for the Summer. A recipe for such a 
drink would he of great benefit to some farm¬ 
ers who have bad water, and are therefore 
tempted to resort to beer and liquor. 
Ans. A healthful, refreshing and invigora¬ 
ting drink consists of water in which oatmeal 
has been allowed to steep. The quantity will 
depend on the taste of the drinker. This we 
