ms 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
directions. Having never seen tbe grass 
growing, I feared eradicating the weeds lest 
the grass should be destroyed. But after 
a month’s patient waiting and seeing nothing 
appear that I thought would answer for the 
Johnson Grass, patience gave way to a declar¬ 
ation of war against the weeds. The row was 
thoroughly hoed over, and left in that state. 
Some time afterward I was surprised to find 
a row of unfamiliar grass showing itself, 
which proved to be the abandoned grass. It 
has attained a hfght of four to live feet, but 
the seed has not fully matured on account of 
late October frosts. Hay crop sompwhat 
light, owing to lack of rain early in the sea¬ 
son. Rye very heavy; corn, oats and pota¬ 
toes, good. Scarcely any apples along the 
river, but back near the mountains, where 
late frosts entirely destroyed the crop lust 
year, the yield is very heavy. Grapes a large 
yield. The Rural cross-bred corn made a 
fair growth; some maturing very early; 
some later, which produced some very tine 
ears. With me the Rubal’s trench system 
was quite successful; shall try it again. The 
Garden Treasures sown in a bed near the rail¬ 
road depot have proven a great pleasure all the 
Summer and Autumn. They are silent re¬ 
minders of the Rural’s kindness to its read¬ 
ers. E. F. Y. 
Vermont. 
North Ferrisburg, Addison Co.—Of the 
Rural seeds, the corn was mostly too late; 
considerable of it got ripe, but it is of little 
value for us here: the produce of one stalk, a 
cross between dent and Hint, I thiuk of try¬ 
ing further. The Prince Humbert Tomatoes 
varied; one plant produced quite large, nice 
tomatoes; the others were small and of little 
value. The Prince of Wales Pea produced 
finely; the other mildewed badly. The 
Flageolet Beaus made a poor show beside the 
Golden Wax. The Garden Treasures produced 
many choice Howers. l. m. m. 
Dummerston. Windham Co., Nov. 17.— The 
Rural corn grew very rank and the ears 
filled out, but remained in the milk. Had the 
season been about a month longer they might 
have ripened. The beans did very nicely. 
They are more productive than any kind i 
have seen. The tomatoes did splendidly. The 
Johnson Grass did not come up, though on 
rich land and raked in. The Prince of Wales 
Pea did fairly; Carter's Strategem did not 
come up. TheGardeu Treasures did well. A 
neighbor planted one seventh of an acre of 
potatoes ou the Rural plan, and got .50 
bushels from it. He hilled them up instead of 
using level culture. He said that he got more 
that way than he did the old way. He thinks 
that he would have got more still if he had 
followed the Rural plan exactly. Crops are 
generally good here, especially corn. 
c. v. w. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS 
(Every query must be accompanied by thennme 
and address of the writer to Insure attention. Before 
asking a question, please see lr It Is not answered In 
our advertising columns. A sk only a few questions 
atone time.] 
OSIER WILLOW CULTURE. 
S. P (1., Jersey City, X. J .—How should the 
Osier Willow be cultivated? 
Ans.—T he extent of the industry may, per¬ 
haps, be estimated from the following statis¬ 
tics taken from the last census report: Num¬ 
ber of establishments for manufacturing wil¬ 
low ware, 304; of these 195 were in the New 
England and Middle States, Hands employed, 
3,119; wages paid, $657,405. Value of mate¬ 
rial used, $867,031, and value of product 
$1,992,851. Most of the business is at present 
conducted iu the eastern part of the country. 
The best location for willow culture would be 
on deep soil near a stream. Charles Downing 
describes bis ideal location as a "natural 
meadow composed of a mixture of vegetable 
and earthy matter, uot so adhesive as to be of 
difficult tillage, with a stream running 
through, by which it might be occasionally 
overflowed.” The soil should be thoroughly 
plowed and mellowed. The cuttings, about 
12 iuches long aud as large as one's linger, are 
stuck into the ground so that about two inches 
appear above the surface. They are placed 
at intervals of one foot iu rows three feet 
apart. This permits ample space for cultiva¬ 
tion, which is necessary until the shoots are 
large enough to thoroughly shade the ground. 
The cuttings from the first year’s growth are 
of little >alue; those from the second are bet¬ 
ter, but three years of growth are ueeessary 
to develop perfect cuttings. Cuttings from 
lantations near the factories are simply cut 
and dried, sold before being peeled. It was 
reported last year that the market had been 
overstocked, Tbe price of cuttings had been 
reduced from $30 to $20 per ton, in conse¬ 
quence of an over production. The business 
will undoubtedly pay better in the future, as 
the demand for willowware mu9t increase. 
Tn the older countries baskets and hampers 
take the places of boxes to a great extent. 
This result will follow here as our lumber 
supply decreases. 
SCAB ON POTATOES. 
J. B., Warren, It. I. —1. Instead of the 
other seeds of the Free Seed Distribution, 
would the Rural send me one Calico Potato? 
2. Is the scab on potatoes produced by a worm 
of by a fungous growth, or by both? 3. 
Would lime be a preventive; 4. Would mu¬ 
riate of potash have a tendency to produce 
smooth potatoes? 5. Will anything prevent 
scab on old ground '/ 
Ans.—L. It would not be just to other sub¬ 
scribers. Should we have a favorable season 
next year, we hope to distribute this valuable 
early potato, which originated at the Rural 
Grounds. 2. Both. That is now our belief. At 
the Rnral Grounds it is generally produced by 
the wire-worm. In places where there are 
no wire-worms, the scab exists and is no 
doubt caused by a fungus. 3. We do uot 
know whether lime would destroy the fungus 
or not. Lime may he applied with fertilizers. 
4. Our potatoes raised with chemical fertil¬ 
izers (of which muriate or sulphate of potash 
is a chief ingredient) are al ways smoother than 
those raised with farm manure. The latter 
attracts the wire-worm (lulus); the fertilizer 
repels it. 5. Our experiments last year tend 
to show that flowers of sulphur will repel the 
wire-worm. The sulphur was spread upon thi? 
pieces of five or six different kiuds. All were 
smooth and clean. Others without sulphur 
were generally more or less scabby. 
AN UNFRUITFUL ORCHARD. 
W. H. IT. T., Loyansport, Ind. —l. I have 
an orchard on rolling land with a stiff clay 
soil, and a sand and gravel subsoil; the 
trees grow nicely but do not bear; what 
shall I do with it? 2. What is the best 
manure for apple trees? 3. Are coal ashes 
of any value for trees? 
Ans. —1. We cannot tell from such mea¬ 
gre data. It may not be old enough. The 
trees muy be planted too closely. The vari¬ 
eties may not be bearing kinds. The soil 
should produce good trees and plenty of 
fruit, were there not something amiss; but we 
are by no means omniscient. Wo will have 
to know more of the conditions before we 
can give a satisfactory answer. 2. This de¬ 
pends on circumstances—much upon the 
soil; something on varieties. Barnyard 
manure is good unless the trees are already 
making too much wood growth. Potash 
may be deficient; so may phosphoric acid. 
We suggest some experiments; put bone 
flour around a few trees; potash around a 
few, barnyard manure around a few. aud 
then around a few put a mixture of each 
two, aud of all three. Mark them, and 
carefully watch the results. 3. We thiuk 
ashes worth applying when you have them 
handy. Ou some soils the minerals they con¬ 
tain do good. 
KEEPING CELERY. 
.1 Subscriber, Fleet ville. Pa. —1. When 
should celery be housed? 2. What is the best 
method of keeping it for winter use* 
ANS —1. At any time before it freezes hard 
enough to kill the loaves; up to that time, tbe 
later the better. 2. It may be packed iu sand 
iu a cold cellar; it may l«? stored in treuches 
iu the garden, the trenches being as deep as 
the celery is tall, and after planting the celery 
in them close together, cover the whole with 
boards, and over these put litter or leuves so 
deep that the celery will uot freeze. The best 
way we have ever tried is to pack it close to¬ 
gether, standing upright in boxes, haviug the 
bottom of the box for some four or more inches 
iu hight, water tight, and with holes bored so 
that the water can never get higher than that. 
A little dirt should be left on the roots wheu 
transplanting, aud enough water should be 
always kept in the box to keep the plants fresh 
and growing. The cooler the cellar, if the 
celery does not freeze, the better. 
Miscellaneous. 
It. F. IF., Olympia, Wash. Ter. —1. I find 
on my apple trees a kind of little scale 
about one eighth of au inch long, curved a little 
aud taperiug to a point at one eud; nearly of 
the same color as the bark; what are they ! 2. 
Are they liable to become seriously injurious 
aud what will exterminate them? 
Ans. —1. They are Oyster-Shell Bark Lice, 
common iu some orchards and on trees not 
over-vigorous. 2. Unless checked they ure 
liable to become so thick as to injure the tree 
and curtail its fruitfulness. The treatment 
is to wash the trees on the trunk and as far as 
possible on the limbs, in June, with a strong 
solution of cnnstic potash or, better, soda, 
using a stiff brush and rnbbiog them well. At 
this time tbe scale is loose and the young are 
migrating, and they are easily killed. At other 
times the wash will do some good, but is not 
so effectual. 
C. H. B., Pemberton, X. J. —1. Wbat is the 
best hook on soiling? 2. Will soiling pay ? 8 
Could a man pay $7,000 for 50 acres of good 
land, with good buildings and on which nine 
head of cattle have been well kept? 4. Do 
bees pay, and on what can I make most money 
on a farm ? 
Ans. —1. There is no work devoted to this 
subject exclusively. 2. It will pay on high- 
priced laud, as it easily thribbles, if it does 
not quadruple, the capacity of the land for 
keeping stock and raising crops. 8. Very 
much depends upon the man. Some men 
would go on to such a farm and get rapidly 
rich: others would starve to death. Much 
also depends upon the locality and the mar¬ 
kets. Such a place with soiling and the pur¬ 
chase of hrau, oil meal, etc., should keep not 
less than 40 cows, besides leaving plenty of 
laud for other crops: and 40 cows well kept, 
if first class butter is made, should pay at 
least $5,000. There are in farming other spec¬ 
ialties that may be worked to pay largely, 
hut the man must know his business at first 
and then make a constant study of it after¬ 
ward. 4, See what Mr. Doolittle says in 
Rural of November 7th. page 747. He knows 
what he talks about, and from this figure for 
yourself whether they pay or not. We can't 
tell what has most money for you with so 
little knowledge of you and your surround¬ 
ings. 
C. B. IF., Westfield, X. .7.-1. Where can I 
get the horse shoe which you say goes off and 
on like a man’s shoes! 2. Would they injure 
the foot if worn from five to 10 hours a day? 
3. Does the grass growing on salt-meadows, 
called "salt-hay,” make any more valuable 
manure than bog ferns and weeds from fresh¬ 
water marshes? 
Ans. —1. We do not think they are yet iu 
the market, or for sale by any one. 2. We 
tbink not: although we doubt the feasibility 
of putting shoes on in this way for permanent 
use. 3 Not as good, though neither of them 
makes very valuable manure—very little, if 
any, more valuable than muck. The principal 
value of either would be as a mulch, or, if put 
into the soil, for the mechanical effect. 
C. 1/. O., De Forest, Ind. —1. When is the 
proper time to plant grape seed? 2. Can the 
Delaware be successfully grown in the latitude 
of Southern Indiana? 8. Do you consider the 
Jefferson Grape a first-class variety? 4. Where 
can 1 get a book giving the names of different 
varieties of fruit? 
Ans. —Now. Plant them in pots or boxes 
in the house or in drills out-of-doors. 2. We 
think uot. The Delaware does not thrive 
really well in uny part of the State. 3. Yes', 
indeed. The quality is superb. It is, however, 
late in ripening aud succeeds only here and 
there. 4. There is no book published that 
gives the names up to this time. Downing’s 
Fruits of America comes the nearest. It 
003ts $‘>, andean be obtained of the American 
News Company, this city. 
J. W. M. , South Cameron, X. V.—1. How 
deep should sod or stubble on clay land, be 
plowed ? 2. How deep should the ground be 
harrowed for spring grain? 4. How deep 
should spring grain be sown? 4. How deep 
should commercial fertilizers lie harrowed in? 
5, la it best to roll spring graiu immediately 
aftersowing or after the grain is up? ti. How 
mauy bushels of oats or barley should be sow n 
per acre? 7. Is the "Acme” Pulveriztug Har¬ 
row, Clod Crusher and Leveler a good im¬ 
plement to thoroughly pulverize the soil? 
Ans. —-l That depends in part upon the soil. 
We should plow as deep as practicable with¬ 
out disturbing the subsoil much. 2. Two 
inches. 8 One inch. 4. One inch will answer. 
C. Immediately after sowiug. 0. One and a 
half ou good soil; from two to three ou poorer 
soil. 7, Yes. indeed. 
Pioneer, Touchwood Hilts, Out. —1. You 
advised last year to use copperas to soak seed 
grains, to prevent small birds from eating 
them; it was effectual so far, but it did not 
prevent their pulliug aud eating the "braird” 
aud thus destroying all chances of a crop; 
what will prevent that? 2. What is the easi¬ 
est, cheapest and most effectual way of utterly 
destroying them? Either 1 or they must leave 
here. 
Ans. —1. Shootiug them is the only way we 
know, as auy application to the seed does uot 
affect the growing shoot. 2. We can only 
suggest, the use of some sort of grain, of 
which they ure fond, soaked quite soft in a 
solution of arsenic, or dusting it with Paris- 
graeu af,ter soakiug. 
IF. S.) Richmond, Fa.—What is the rule 
for calculating the number’ of bushels of 
shelled corn in a crib or bin containing ears? 
Ans —Multiply length by breadth, aud the 
product by depth. This will give the cubic 
contents in feet. Multiply this prodnet by 
four, and point off the right figure as a deci¬ 
mal; or, in other words, divide by 10, this 
will be approximately correct iu bushels. 
Double the answer for bushels of vegetables, 
or if heaped measure is sought with vegeta¬ 
bles, subtract one-fifth of the product. 
Mrs. M. IF., Sejfner, Fla. —1. What two 
varieties of blackberry will do well so far 
south as this' 2. Of whom can I get the true 
Lucretia Dewberry? 
Ans.— 1. We doubt if any will do well in 
Florida. Try the Kittatinny. 2. Of Albert¬ 
son & Hobbs, Bridgeport, Ind.; also of Hale 
Bros,, South Glastonbury, Conn. Try P. J. 
Berckmans, of Augusta. Ga. 
J. P. CL, North Blenheim, X. II—I. How 
can I best utilize summer grass seed? 2. 
Should it be scalded or ground ? 
Ans. —1. The bestttse would be for chicken 
food. It may also be mixed with corn as cat¬ 
tle food, 2. It should be mixed with other 
grain, and ground pretty fine, 
./. IF, L.. Norton, Fan. —Where can I get 
the genuine Rural Branching Sorghum as 
sent out by the Rural several years ago? 
Ans —Of Thorburn & Co,, N. Y.; James 
J. II. Gregory, Marblehead, Mass.; Hiram 
Sibley & Co., Rochester, N. Y. 
DISCUSSION. 
P. S S., Nelson, Pa.—A late Farmers’ 
Club told howto cure warts on a horse; here 
is my way. which is simple and sure:—Rub on 
fresh lard once a clay. 
E. D. D., Ghana, III.—Various remedies 
for the cabbage worm have been given in the 
Rural; the following is a sure one:—When 
the heads begin to form, throw some earth on 
them. Repeat this as often as necessary. The 
adhering earth will keep the pests off. 
G. E. C. t HoRNKLLxvrLLR. N. Y.—In the 
Rural of OcL 24th, you mentioned the fact 
of digging 6X poands of potatoes from one 
hill. That is a good yield certainly; but I did 
a little better, I dug in my field, after field 
culture, one hill of White Star Potatoes that 
contained 17 tubers, which weighed 8% pounds, 
and exhibited them at two fairs. They were 
grown on new land. Potatoes are rotting 
badly in this section. 
P. H J., Hamhontox, N. J.—There is no 
recognized breed of White Plymouth Rocks, 
or Wyandottes, though by selecting the lights 
est-colored, several parties have succeeded in 
breeding them white in color. At the poultry' 
shows they are classed as sports. Anyone can, in 
a few seasons, succeed in breeding Plymouth 
Rocks or Wyandottes nearly white by careful 
selection. I believe a Prof, Tucker, of Alden, 
N. Y., claims to have some. 
E. D. G , Ashburnham. Mass.—I am moved 
to say a word of commendation regarding 
your valuable paper. I believe it to be the 
most strictly upright, downright, outright 
honest paper we have. You seem to aim to 
give us the truth, uot only when you can add 
"we told you so;” but just the same when you 
find lasall mortals must now and then,; that 
you have made a mistake aud have been in 
error. You set au example other editors and 
publishers would do well to follow. There is 
one thing more iu which I wish the Rural 
might be first to help the farmer, and that is 
iu compelling seedsmen to give correct des¬ 
criptions of the varieties of seeds or plants 
they offer, and this is the way it seems to me 
it might be done. Let each agricultural paper 
have a department in which subscribers can 
give, in a very few words, their experience 
with any new seed, telling where it was ob¬ 
tained. L believe such a course as this, if fol¬ 
lowed for two or three years, would oblige 
seedsmeu to tell the truth. 
R. N.-Y.—Seedsmen are often condemned 
unjustly. We have constant dealings with 
them necessarily, and our experience is that 
they endeavor to do the best they'can, and this 
from self-interest, if from no higher motive. 
Seedsmen can uot, as a rule, or do not find it 
profitable to test novelties before they are 
offered for sale, The introducer’s or originat¬ 
or’s account is often accepted and disappoint¬ 
ment follows in many cases. 
There are disreputable people in all occu¬ 
pations. 
Cost mv siGA.Tto.Ns Rkpkivbd for thk Wkkk Ending 
Saturday. Novkmbkr 28,18SS. 
C. M. O-—W T. W.—W. K. S.. we do uot know 
him — J. B.-A. L. B.-O, D.—M. W.-F.-C. M G.—J. 
C. M.-C. M. O.—TL G.—L G. M. S., thanks.—T. E. Sb— 
J. B. L,—F. B. U.— J. H. B.— W. J. B . thanks.—M. K. 
B. Jr.—H, G. C , will write.—D. P. T.—G. B. F — 
K. K. S.-K. W.-.I. O R.-G. C. R, -C. W. G-G. B. 
W.-O. J. IL-L. T5. JL—J. N. M.—F. O.-M. B. H.— 
O. —J H. H., thanks. — W. H. N., pears received' 
thanks. J. D. O. B.—C. O. Sb—E. W.—W. M. B.— 
E. H., thunks. -C. M. G.-H. E.W.-A.-D. P. L.-F. H. 
R.-F. F.-G.M.H.-C F. C.-R. P. MoN. 
