454 
tll£ AURAL NEW-YORKER, 
THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
A National Journal for Country and Suburban Homes 
Conducted by 
K. S. CARMAN, 
Editor. 
J. S. WOODWARD, 
Associato. 
Address 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
No. 34 Park Row, New York. 
SATURDAY, JULY 4, 1885. 
There is an impression among farmers 
that potatoes begin to form as soon as the 
plant begins to bloom. With many early 
kinds this is true, but not with ail; while 
many late varieties, like Late Beauty of 
Hebron and White Elephant, bear blos¬ 
soms as early as the earliest. 
The R. N.-Y. is now safe in making 
the statement that its two littTe patches of 
Johnson Grass (Sorghum balapense), -with 
the exception of a very few roots, were 
killed by the past Winter. As our read¬ 
ers know', they passed the preceding 
Winter in safety, though growing in ex¬ 
posed situations entirely unprotected. 
This grass may prove so far north more of 
a hardy biennial than of a hardy peren¬ 
nial. We hope that Rural readers will 
give it a thorough trial, now that they 
need not fear that it will livelong enough 
to overrun their farms. 
June 26 we dug up several potato 
plants with a view to studying the for¬ 
mation of the tubers, the root growth, 
etc. Tubers upon late kinds had not 
begun to form, while several were found 
upon the Beauty of Hebron as large as a 
medium-sized hen’s egg. Though the 
plants were lifted with an ordinary po¬ 
tato fork, and all of the finer roots broken 
off in the soil, still masses of the roots re¬ 
maining upon the plants were found to be 
18 inches long. It is hard to see how 
these roots can be disturbed or destroyed, 
as in late hilling-up, or deep cultivation, 
without lessening the power of the plants 
to withstand dry weather. 
The Statistical Bureau of the Depart¬ 
ment of Agriculture certainly deserves 
credit for the promptitude with which it 
gives to the public the gist of its crop 
reports every month. The original re¬ 
turns are made up by its correspondents, 
forwarded bv mail, tabulated, revised 
and a synonsis telegraphed, within the 
first 10 days of each month. But it takes 
the Public Printer 12 days to print the 
reports in full, so that the public get one 
report only a few days before the gist 
of the next is sent abroad. Purelv this 
delay, where there is abundant help and 
the best facilities are at hand, is inexcus¬ 
able. Among the numerous “reforms” 
promised by tbe new Administration, we 
trust reformation in this respect will not 
be overlooked or neglected. 
It has been remarked that of the 21 
rows of the 37 of our poor-soil half-acre 
plot, on which a trial of the Rural’s 
trench-mulch system of raising potatoes 
is being made, at least one-fifth of the 
seed have not sprouted, or if they have, 
the sprouts have not reached the surface. 
All of this seed sprouted tardily, while 
all the sped-pieces of the several other 
kinds sprouted as well as usual. These 
potatoes were received, during a cold 
snap, from Mason, New Hampshire, and 
when cut soon afterwards, it wasnotic.pd 
that they were all as wet as if water had 
been thrown unon them. No doubt this 
was because they were frost-bitten during 
their passage from New Hampshire, and. 
no doubt, also, that the partial freezing 
is the reason of the imperfect stand. We 
are glad to say that one of our progres¬ 
sive farm-neighbors is also trying the 
method upon a considerable area of very 
poor, sandy soil, within almost a stone’s 
throw of the Rural half-acre. 
At different tiroes last week the Rural 
Grounds were favored with visits from 
Mr. E. H. Libhv and Dr. E. L. St.urtev- 
ant, the founders and editors of tbe 
Scientific Parmer. The former is now 
creditably editing Our Country Home; 
the latter is the efficient Director of the 
N. Y. Ex. Station. Both evinced an 
appreciative amount of interest in our 
wheat-rye hybrids. Mr. Libby, seeing 
that some of the. heads had remarkably 
long beards, raised the thoughtful ques¬ 
tion whether, inasmuch as the mother 
plant was beardless, the beards of the first 
bearded wheat might not have originated 
from some accidental cross of wheat and 
rye. The same question, however, may 
be raised as to barley,as Dr. S. remarked, 
since we have now beardless kinds. Dr. 
Strutevant saw that some of the plants 
resembled rye more than wheat in several 
decided respects; that others were inter¬ 
mediate and that others seemed to be 
wheat pure and simple. Nevertheless, he 
inclined to the opinin (a mere opinion he 
granted), that the grain (kernels) would 
prove to be either those of wheat or rye; 
wheat it was to be hoped, since in that 
case, the superior flouring qualities of 
wheat might be combined with the earli¬ 
ness and hardiness of the rye plant. 
PINK AND RED CELERIES. 
We can hardly conceive why it is that 
prejudice or fashion has so utterly ignor¬ 
ed the use of pink or red celeries. Further 
experiment has more than ever convinced 
us that they are finer in every way than 
the green or white, being more tender 
and containing more of that rich, nutty 
flavor which constitutes the chief excel¬ 
lence of a celery, and, then, what could 
be more tasty and inviting than a dish of 
this when prepared for the table. They 
are also much less liable to rust, and they 
keep better when stored for winter use. 
We again call attention to their merits, 
that our friends in purchasing their plants, 
may not fail to select a portion of some of 
the pink kinds, and thus “see how it is for 
themselves.” We believe all that is need¬ 
ed to correct this false notion and place 
the pink celeries where they belong, is 
that people should give them only a trial, 
as this must convince them of their supe¬ 
riority. Don’t fail to remember this,and 
report to us next Winter how you like 
them. 
HOW? 
An apology may be due to our older 
readers for giving so much space on p. 
458, in replying to the low-minded at¬ 
tack of the July American Agriculturist 
upon the Rural Nkw-Yorker and its 
editors. But many of our later readers 
may know nothing of the fix that journal 
is in; of the straw-grasping necessity it is 
under to hold its head above water— 
though surely its “ head ” should prove a 
t r usty life-preserver:—or how for years 
we have vainly endeavored, by shnrp, 
just criticisms, to bring its editors or 
managers to their senses. Our readers 
may reason that a quiet libel suit against 
the A. A. would have been the Rural’s 
best answer. But the attack in question 
was made up of cautiously-worded inuen- 
does—not specific charges—and even in 
case the suit were decided in our favor, 
it is doubtful if, in its present condition, 
damages could be collected from the 
Orange Judd Company. And now as we 
write comes the news, more pad than un¬ 
expected however, of the failure of another 
of its long-time associates—Mr. Joseph 
Harris. Truly a blight seems upon the 
whole establishment, and we really regret 
the seeming necessity of striking an enemy 
even in the act of falling. 
CUT THE CLOVER IN TIME. 
In very many parts of the country the 
Clover Midge,commonly called the Clover 
Weevil, is becoming very prevalent. The 
eggs are laid in the seed pods of the 
heads, before the blossoms appear, by a 
minute two-winged flv, so closely resem¬ 
bling in appearance the fly of the Wheat 
Midge as to be readily mistaken for that 
pest, and the maggots which hatch from 
the eggs devour the embryo, so that no 
blossom ever appears. The infested 
head will be found quite hard, as though 
the seed was forming, hut on examination 
it will be discovered that each seed-pod 
contains from one to a half dozen little 
orange-colored maggots not more than 
one-tenth of an inch long. These insects 
do the clover no harm beyond preventing 
the formation of blossom and seed, and 
are not of the least injury to it as a hay 
crop. But the large majority of people 
judge of the proper time for cutting 
clover for bay, by the appearance of the 
fields, most people waiting until it is in 
full bloom, or until a portion of the heads 
have begun to turn brown. 
We wish therefore to call particular at¬ 
tention to this matter, because we know 
that the midge is widely scattered and be¬ 
cause those people who wait, before com¬ 
mencing to hay. to see the clover “hang 
out its gay banners,” will “get badly 
left.” and next Winter the stock, instead 
of having the best hav in the world, as 
early-cut and properly-cured clover is, will 
be compelled to subsist on clover straw. 
No reliance should be placed on the show 
of color, but the fields should he carefully 
watched, and the condition of growth 
judged by tbe appearance of the plant and 
the number of full-grown heads; and the 
clover should be cut as soon as at full 
growth, no matter if it has not shown a 
single blossom. 
We have already been haying for sev¬ 
eral days past on the Western N. Y. 
Farm, and find the clover plenty far 
enough advanced and of a very heavy 
growth, but. scarcely a blossom is in Bigbt; 
with suitable weather, we expect to finish 
haying before the Fourth of July. We 
urge all to look sharp for the midge, and 
when present, don’t let it delude you, to 
neglect the haying till nothing is left but 
straw. 
DANGER WIDE-SPREAD. 
From what we saw on a recent visit to 
the country, and from numerous letters 
received, we are surprised and greatly 
alarmed at the wide-spread distribution of 
the canker-worm. Not only are the pests 
prevalent in New England and in most 
of New York, but they have spread 
into the majority of the States and 
Canada as well. Thousands of orchards 
are scourged and blackened as though 
visited by fire, and in other ten thousands 
are trees more or less as bare of foliage as 
in the midst of Winter. Much of this is 
the result of ignorance as to the cause and 
remedy; but much more, of carelessness 
or sheer laziness. But whatever the cause, 
the damage done to the orchards and the 
danger to the apple interests are none the 
less. The losses of the fruit crop on the 
eaten trees this year will not be less than 
three million barrels, and this will by no 
means he a measure of the damages, be¬ 
cause were every worm to be killed at 
once, those trees so badly eaten will be so 
weakened that they can produce no fi uit 
for at least a couple of years; and unless 
the worms are destroyed, they will in a 
few years kill the orchards on which they 
feed. The apple production of this coun¬ 
try is by far too great an industry to 
be allowed thus neeulessly to suffer. 
If it were a disease like the peach yel¬ 
lows or the pear blight, whilst there 
would be no less danger, there would be 
some excuse lor neglecting it, but with 
an insect so easily controlled and that can 
be so completely destroyed ns the canker- 
worm, there is not the least excuse. And 
no man, though lie cares nothing for the 
loss to himself, has aright to allow bis or¬ 
chards to become a breeding ground from 
which the pests can spread to his neigh¬ 
bors’ orchards. If he lacks the time or 
energy to keep them clean, he should be 
compelled to cut them down and thus 
not curse the whole community. 
Though it is now too late to do much 
toward destroying these pests by direct 
attack, millions can be destroyed in the 
pupa state by repeatedly plowiug the or¬ 
chards and confining in them plenty of 
swine. This we know by actual experi¬ 
ence, and next Winter, apple growers 
should make common cause in urging the 
Legislatures to enact lawsthatshall give to 
the proper authorities in each town,power 
to compel the destruction of these worms 
or the cutting down of the orchards. In 
the proper season we shall again call at¬ 
tention to this matter, and give simple 
directions for destroying the worms. 
CROP OUTLOOK. 
Never before has so much careful and 
pains-taking atttention been paid to tbe 
collection, from all parts of the country, 
of data for forecasting the harvest, alike 
by the National and State Governments, 
commercial associations and enterprising 
journals; for as years roll by the truth 
comes home more vividly to every soul 
that the prosperity of every industry, of 
everv class and of the nation at large, de¬ 
pends mainly upon the prosperity of agri¬ 
culture. Tbe Rural Nkw-Yorker wsb 
certainly among the first of agricultural 
papers, if not really the first, to collect 
such information systematically, and this 
week wc present to our readers specimens 
of upward of 2,000 reports received be¬ 
tween June 11 and 16, concerning the 
area and condition of crops in all parts of 
the country. Other reports from more 
distant points and from sections nearer 
home not previously heard from, are 
constantly pouring in. Selections from 
these will be published iu our next issue, 
■which will contain our conclusions drawn 
from a careful analysis of the entire num¬ 
ber, published and unpublished, as well 
as from many other sources of information. 
Meauwbile some obvious inferences 
with regard to the crops as a whole can 
be drawn, without special analysis, by 
the careful reader of these pages. Crops 
everywhere are late, except perhaps in 
Dakota, and in other widely scattered 
situations favored by peculiar climatic in¬ 
fluences, generally due to proximity to 
large bodies of water, or to the conforma¬ 
tion of the surrounding country. In every 
State and Territory in the North, except 
Michigan, winter wheat is a very poor 
crop, while in the South, as a whole, it is 
a full average. Spring wheat, to which 
since the invention of roller mills, so 
much attention has been given, has a con¬ 
siderably larger area, and is unusually 
promising. It is probable next harvest 
will see the largest corn crop ever 
produced in this country. Owing to the 
failure of winter wheat, a large part of 
the ground was replowed and planted in 
corn, so that the area under this crop has 
been considerably increased in the older 
States, while in the border States and 
Territories it has shared in the increase of 
other cultivated crops. With the excep¬ 
tion of winter wheat, crops in the North 
are, nooe of them, so inferior as to be 
deserving of special comment; and a 
year of fair prosperity is indicated 
for those farmers who have not invested 
too heavily in winter wheat-raising. 
Even tbe scanty wheat crop of next har¬ 
vest ought to he uearly as remunerative as 
the superabundant crop of last year, as 
the price should certainly be higher. 
The outlook for all crops in the South 
is excellent. While a larger area than 
usual has been devoted to food crops, 
there is no material decrease in the acre¬ 
age under cotton, and the yield of all is 
either very good or highly promising. 
BREVITIES. 
The beauty of tbe old Nine-bark or Spiraea 
opulifolia, is not. alone iu its graceful form, 
but in the fruit which is far showier than the 
blossom. The umbels of fruits nearly cover 
the sbruhs. They are red in color and last 
for a long time. 
I have just finished reading the articles on 
the grasses for bay and pasture, and to a man 
that doesn’t kDOW and wants to learn how to 
raise grass successfully, those articles are 
worth a dozen years’ subscription to the Ru¬ 
ral New-Yorker, and a good many of the 
old huv-malrers can learn some right good 
points from them. A man is never too old to 
learn. R. C. crandon. 
Hart County, Kentucky. 
Dear Madam. When tempted to buy that 
love of n boDnet. ornamented with that beau- 
ttrm bird, ciun't <io ft. Renwinner how muon 
happiness it enjoyed and how sweet was its 
little life, and that by wearing its corpse you 
would proclaim to the world that you were so 
heartless as to be instrumental in causing the 
dpath of one of God’s dear creatures and 
man’s best friends; and remember, further, 
“that not ovpn a sparrow falls to the ground 
without the Heavenly Father’s notice.” Can 
you wear it? Your Friend R. n.-y. 
Is there a more fragrant rose than General 
Jacqueminot? A cluster of them in a street 
car perfumes the whole car. Tbev are carried 
and worn more generally by the business men 
and women of the city than auv other one 
rose. It is a Hybrid Perpetual Rose, easily 
grown aud ueediug only a little protection in 
Winter to render it perfectly hardy. A strong 
bush blooms twice during the Summer: pro¬ 
fusely iu June, and a little less generously in 
August. No oue to whom roses are a delight 
should be without at least one Jacqueminot 
rose-bush. 
Dr. Peter Collier, late chemist to the 
Department of Agriculture, lias lately im¬ 
ported from various points in Asia aud from 
Natal, Africa, 73 distinct varieties of sorghum, 
uone of which seems identical with an v of the 
many sorts already introduced here. In those 
dry countries, sorghum is preferred to corn, 
because its deco roots enable it to grow well, 
after once getting a start, where maize would 
parch up; and its seed is considered quite as 
nourishing and valuable as that of maize. The 
value of the stalk in addition is being develop¬ 
ed here by superior mills and management. 
General farming seems to require for its 
fully profitable conduct more acres than can 
be cultivated either iu grass or tillage by one 
person, or even one small family. Failures in 
farmiug are chiefly of either small farms, 
under 100 acres, or of large ones over 200. A 
small farmer can gain vpry little advantage 
from labor-saviug machines, because his use 
for them does not Justify their expensive pur¬ 
chase. And on very large farms the owner’s 
eve and foot, said to bo the best fertilizer for 
the land, can hardly prevent loss and damage 
by awkward, wanton or perverse hands, 
which would not occur with his own immedi¬ 
ate handling and care. Doiug all himself, he 
is Independent, and his own and family’s 
interests safe for the conservation of all that 
is good. 
In the Infirmary for horses, established by 
the Great Northern Railway, England, the 
boxes in one sectiou -used for infectious dis¬ 
eases, as glanders, etc.—are lined with glazed 
bricks, and the troughs art) of glazed earthern- 
warc, so that most thorough cleansing can be 
quickly carried out. Peat is used for bed¬ 
ding, being wholesomer as well us cheaper 
than straw. Three rooms tire adapted for 
giving t he four-footed patients a Turkish bath, 
and have been so used now for about 25 years, 
especially iu cases of skin disease In one 
room a dry or moist heat of about 150° F. can 
be supplied, and there is room round tbe cen¬ 
tral pen confluiug the animal for the neces¬ 
sary shampooing. In an adjoining room a 
deluge of hot and cold water can be given 
from tauks overhead. ^The third is fordrying. 
