435 
4885 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Sound-country from Canada, including Nova 
Scotia, on account of the climate). I asked 
about the healthfulness of Whatcom, and with 
the most serious gravity she said it was the 
healthiest plaee in the world; that no one 
ever died, and children neper/ She said that 
her husband, who was an undertaker, had 
ordered a “nest of children’s coffins” two years 
before, and he had them all yet! It is true 
that the children of Puget Sound are remark¬ 
ably healthy in appearance—a happy condi¬ 
tion that I have noticed innumerable times in 
Seattle, even when the homes and surround¬ 
ings of the little people were squalid enough, 
the fresh, pure air atoning for a multitude of 
sanitary shortcomings. 
In returning to Seattle from Whatcom I 
had some conversation with a young farmer 
who had a “ranch” near the town. He re¬ 
ported good farms back of it; that it was 
colder than in Seattle; snow remained five 
weeks on the ground last Winter, and the 
mercury went down to zero. The country 
past Spring was unusually cold, wet, and 
backward; and, worse than all, this section 
was visited by a very destructive flood the 
last of April, which did an untold amount of 
damage to the bottom farms. All crops that 
bad been planted in the bottoms had to be 
planted over, which has made them very late 
The rise was higher than that of 1883; although 
not as late, it seems to have damaged land 
much more. In some places, the soil has all 
been swept away, leaving nothing but the 
hard clay subsoil. Such a wash here renders 
the land almost useless. The prospect now is 
good for a dry spell. There hasn't been any 
rain for about two weeks, so farmers are be¬ 
ginning to “catch up” with their work. Oats 
and potatoes are flue, as it take3 a wet SpriDg 
to make each do well here. Corn is beginning 
to look well—the best is waist-high. Cotton 
is also coming out of the “kinks” since the hot 
weather stopped the ravages of the cut-worms. 
These pests have been so bad this Spring that 
it has been a hard matter to get a good stand 
• ‘ 'ESS?' : 
y 
- . ... ' as iKdESST . . -V &•„ 
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j ' • ■ ■ 
■ I.S ■' ; ' •• 
. 
JEFFERSON APPLE. (From Nature.) Fig. 224. (See page 434.) 
roads were well nigh impassible in Winter—a 
serious difficulty in all this country. He 
thought the climate flue. He came from 
Texas, where he had malaria all the time. He 
liked this country much the best, but was re¬ 
turning to Texas, because of the recent brutal 
murder of his brother there, which left his 
widowed mother alone. It was the sixth 
member of his family who had suffered a vio¬ 
lent death! There was aho on board a lad of 
15 years w v «o was insane and was being taken 
by his lather to the Territorial insane asylum, 
at Steilacoom. He had been a student at the 
University in Seattle, and his father thought 
he had been injured by excessive mental ap¬ 
plication. The boy would talk lucidly for a 
miuute or two and then go off into most ex¬ 
traordinary extravagances, his mind being 
of cotton. There will be an abundance of 
fruit this seas m, though the early fruit will 
be about three weeks late. The wheat crop 
is nothing extra—too many freezes last 
Winter. H. c. b. 
Idaho. 
JcxiAErrA.Nez Perces Co ,May 27.—I have 
seen by reports iu the Rural and other East¬ 
ern papers, that over there the Winter has 
been unusually hard. How strange! I have 
been here four Winters and this last has been 
the mildest. We have had no cold weather to 
speak of. Once, and once only, the mercury 
fell to eight below zero, but the spell did not 
last more than a couple of days. Stock ran 
out until the middle of December, and on 
February 5 the snow was so nearly gone that 
cattle and horses went to the fields again. 
ing of this country in the Century Magazine, 
says that everybody here “except the people 
on the hillsides of Seattle” wish to cell Rain¬ 
ier by its Indian name “Tacoma.” The In 
dian name is “Takhoma,” but the only effort 
that has been made to substitute it for Rainier 
has been on the part of the projectors and 
founders of the town of Tacoma—certain 
large stockholders in the Northern Pacific 
Railroad. There is something to be said in 
favor of keeping and restoring Indian names, 
but it is altogether untrue that the people of 
Washington, generally, call their favorite 
mountain by anv other than its old-time fa¬ 
miliar name of Rainier, or desire so to do. 
In making the trip to Whatcom, the steamer 
touched at different poiuts on Whidby, Fidal- 
gn, C4enernes, Lummi and Camaro Islands, 
threading its way through some narrow and 
picturesque parses. At La Connor, on the 
mainland, the vi«wsare flue, and the town is 
of some importance. There are Indian reser¬ 
vations—the Swinamisb. opposite La Connor, 
and the Tulalip further south. These are 
supplied with schools and agents, and the 
comfort and elevation of the tribes are care¬ 
fully looked after; but it is a discouraging task 
to trv to elevate a Puget Sound Indian. The 
Swinamish “flats” are tide lands which have 
been roughly dyked, and are very productive, 
yielding oat* at the rate of SO bushels per acre. 
The land is held at from *100 upwards. Whid 
bv is the largest of the islands aud contains 
some very fine farms. Very fine prunes are 
raised on this island, which is well adapted 
for certain fruits, dairying, oats, chickens 
and general farming. Not much wheat is 
raised aud the nights are too cold, as in all 
this Sound basin, for corn to mature well. 
For this reason little or no corn is fed to hogs, 
and bams, bacon and lard come from the 
East. San Juan Island, which we did not see, 
is quite a “sheep” island. All these islands 
are well watered hy springs and well wooded. 
The laud is good, the soil a foot deep: 65 
bushels of oats to the acre are regarded as a 
fair vield; but the land, with small clearings, 
is held at $15 per a :re no. Some of the farms 
lying on the slmes from the water looked 
verv pretty indeed, the black soil of the plow¬ 
ed fields, the luxuriant green of the grass and 
the tenderer hues of up-springing vegeta¬ 
tion forming charming contrasts. Coupeville, 
on Whidby Island, is quite fluely located 
and is the county seat of Island County—the 
several islands forming one county. 
Whatcom—sometimes with the final e— 
took its name. T am told, from the frequent 
“Why coma” and “What come J” of the 
Indians in regard to the inexplicable coming 
of the whit^ The cantai a ot the steamer told 
me that in 1853, at the time of the gold excite¬ 
ment on the Fraser River. Whatcom was a 
fitting-out camn. and that as ruanv as 15,000 
people w«rethere. Some years later—within 
the past 10 years. I think—a colonv from 
Kansas came to Whatcom, and about a year 
and a half ago. the town had what most 
Western towns suffer ffotn at one time or 
another—a “boom”—town lots sold at exorb¬ 
itant prices; houses were putun in the hasty 
Western manner: and all this stir was brought 
about chiefly bv the bail ling of the Canadian 
Pacific Road, and a branch road to connect 
with it was begun at Whatcom, which con¬ 
tinues to be one of the onuib'lities of the great 
future. Rut, the “boom” died out speedily, 
not bo soon hut many oeoole p’lt their “little 
all” in town lot*, which now could not be sold 
for a quarter of the inon«v the? Invested in 
them, and rows of unoccupied buildings 
eloquently attest the stagnation of the 
place. The location of the town—population 
from 1.500 upward—as seen from the water, 
is rather attractive. We had a walk on a pier 
three quarters of a mile in length from the 
boat landing to tbe shoro. and during the 
seven hours we had to spend there, we saw the 
“sights,” which are extremely limited. The 
cantain had some amusing tales to tell of the 
colonizing Kansans; h* would carry a hun¬ 
dred of them to Whatcom, and bring back 
ninety nine of them—“the most disgusted 
peonle ho ever saw.” blazing with wrath 
against the colonv founders and leaders! A 
leading lawyer of th« town told me that a long¬ 
time feud had existed hot ween the Kansans and 
the other people of the locality, which had re- 
sulted.sometwo or three mouths previously, in 
the blowing uo by dynamite of a new house 
erected for his dwelling by a prominent 
“grasshopper,” as the Kansans are called by 
their enemies We visited the house, which had 
been torn and rent as if split by a thunder¬ 
bolt. Vlthough a libera! reward hail been 
offered for the perpetrator of the crime, no 
clue whatever has been found to hita; and 
that it was the deed of an auti-Kausau was 
but a matter of general suspicion. 
A« we strolled about the town, we fell into 
conversation with a woman in charge of an 
establishment of merchandise. She had mi¬ 
grated from Canada to Nebraska, aud thence 
to this place. (A great many oome to the 
bent upon speculation. He smoked cigarettes, I 
read the New York “story” papers, including \ 
the "Police Gazette," bo that I couid not but ! 
think that the lad’s pitiable condition was not | 
altogether due to “overstudy.” But anent in 
sanity, the number of people who become in¬ 
sane here is proportionately very great, I 
have talked with various persons ns to tue 
cause of it, and tbe invariable reply has been 
“from the isolation of their lives,” living so 
far from other people, in the woods, etc. 
Disappointment and the ruinous results of 
speculation have undoubtedly wrought the 
meutal ruiu of many, and * ‘divorced people” 
are encountered at every turn. 
Our little trip, which covered 320 miles of 
travel by water, was delightful throughout, 
and “down to Whatcom” will long remain in 
the memory as a gallery of exquisite pictures 
from Nature. 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
Arkansas. 
Potkau, Scott Co., Juu# 8th.—We are at 
last having some fine growing weather. The 
Spring broke about the last of February. In 
March vegetation was growing finely. March 
aud April had very beautiful weather. Crops 
of all kinds look splendid. Wheat seldom 
goes less than 50 bushels per acre, if properly 
put in. Early vegetables have been in use for 
the last six weeks. Fruit promises an abund¬ 
ant yield. We will have new potatoes by the 
first of June. I have lived in almost every 
State in the Union, aud for farming with ease 
and comfort, this beats all. s. w. B. 
Illinois, 
Farmixgpaus, Saugatuou, County. — As 
the season advances, the injury by Winter 
to trees, vines, etc,. Is more apparent. I have 
an idea that late pruning, late cultivation, or 
anything that promotes late growth by stuut- 
ingthe early, such as the application of arse¬ 
nic, coal oil. etc., is injurious in a cold climate. 
Of 200 Lawrence Pears I have cut back 300; 
they uow show level rows of sprouting stamps 
10 inches high; yet Mr. Downing call* the 
Lawrence hardy. In a row of Concord 
Grapes trimmed and laid down last Fall, it it 
quite common for one vine to be killed,* or 
nearly so, and the next to* be 1 growing'vigor- 
ously. Does the Grape vine Flea Beetle, by 
eating young buds, kill the vine? [They de¬ 
stroy the svmmetry of the vine and doubtless 
do some injury but never kill the vines. Eds. 
Perhaps pruning has something to do with it. 
Lawyer apple trees, reported tender.are sound 
with me, while Red Astrachan issplifi with frost. 
Snyder Blackberries have never been injured 
in anv location iu which I have planted them, 
but l hear of their being killed in many other 
places. Cuthbert Raspberry is considerably 
injured at the tip; I do not like it, as it i 3 not 
productive here and it sprouts terribly. I in¬ 
tend to try tbe Shaffer. Among peach trees 
I frequently find a fine, healthy growth in one 
tree, while a dozen on either side, of the same 
variety, are dead, though the conditions ap¬ 
pear to be the same. b. b. 
Kansas. 
Marietta, Reno Co., June 9th.—We are 
having the worst time we have had for seven 
years or more. Wheat is rusty and will not 
make more than one-fourth of a crop. Corn 
ia late, and a poor stand; some is very weedy, 
and the outlook is very poor for this part of 
Kansas. Corn is worth 35 cents; butter, 
10 cents: eggs, six cents per dozen: oats, 30 
cents; potatoes, $1. s. a. 
Massachusetts. 
Hampden Co . June 15 —The planting of 
corn and potatoes is finished. New England 
farmers are planting more potatoes, oats, rye, 
and especially core, becoming less dependent 
ou western corn. We are increasing our 
crops largely for dairy purposes, such a 3 cul¬ 
tivated grasses and silage for winter feeding. 
Rye is looking fine. Grass is looking well, 
and will be heavier than last year. Wheat, 
barley, broom corn and sorghum are on the 
decline in New England. Strawberry-raising 
bids fair to be an important industry. The 
fruit tre c s iu this town and vicinity have 
blossomed to their utmost extent. Tbe season 
is as forward as usual. The warm days and 
gentle rains of two weeks past, have pushed 
vegetation wonderfully. There was no frost; 
nothing was injured; the crisis is past; and 
with tbe present promise, we are all hopeful 
of a prosperous season. j. w. m. 
Nebraska. 
Neligh, Antelope Co.. June 2.—Farmers 
are busy in the corn-fields and will be for 
some time to come. A. k. f. 
New Jersey. 
Harbgrton. Mercer Co , May 31 —We had 
so cold a Winter that the wheat and grass 
were killed out worse thau has been known 
for 40 years; but the weather has been warm 
and growing for the last two weeks, and the 
prospect for goo i crops is rapidly improving. 
Corn planting is mostly done, and corn seems 
to germinate and “come up” well. Fruit trees 
of all kinds bloomed very profusely, aud we 
hooe for a good fruit cron. Prices of nearly 
all commodities are very low and times dull. 
D. J. B. 
New York. 
Cuba. Alleghany Co. June 5.— The past 
Winter was mild and rainy with but little 
sleighing until about the middle of January, 
after which it was very severe at times, with 
good sleighing until about April 1st. March 
was unusually severe. From the 17th to the 
22d inclusive, the mercury went below zero 
every day, reaching—12 degrees on the 21st 
There was uo rain from January 16th until 
April 8th. The maple sugar season was very 
poor. The Spring was backward and the 
weather changeable—some very warm days 
and a good many cold ones. The prospect 
for fruit is good, if blossoms are any indica¬ 
tion. Apple and cherry trees were in full 
bloom June 1st. Winter grain looks well; 
but little was sown. Spring wheat and bar¬ 
ley look good; but oats are mostly rather 
“slim.” Corn is all planted aud some is com¬ 
ing up. There will be a large crop of hay, 
especially of clover, which is our hest crop. 
Prices for farm products are low with dull 
markets. k. w. it. 
Port Leyden, Lewi? Co.. May 38,—Spring 
has been very late. Some have finished plant¬ 
ing potatoes: some have not planted any yet. 
Next week will see the most of them in the 
ground. A larger area than usual is being 
sown to oats iu this section, and not so large 
an acreage to potatoes. Oats are worth 50 
cents to 60 cents per bushel; potatoes, 40 cents; 
eggs, 13 cents; butter, 13 to 20 cents per 
pound; hay plenty at $8 per ton. The maple- 
sugar season wa3 short here this Spring; there 
was uot quite so much made as usual: worth 
10 cents per pound. d. j. 
Pennsylvania. 
Kane, McKeon County.—The early part 
of the last month was cold and wet, so that 
nothing could be done towards putting in 
crops until about the middle of the month 
when we had a spell of warm weather with 
frequent showers Now grass looks well, and 
fruit trees are in bloom. Oats are coming up. 
Some have not planted potatoes yet. The 
season here, is usually short, and this year it 
looks as if.it.might be still shorter. 1 ^ w.xv. 
