g 
APRIL 30 
(Continued f rom page 289.) 
means that it is ready for slaughter. Some 
persons, however, consider an animal fit for 
slaughter only when it is excessively fat 
while others would prefer it when moderately 
fat. The difference between the Small and 
Large Yorkshires is more one of food than 
anything else, so far as growth and fitness for 
slaughter are concerned. They will both keep 
fat at any age, with suitable food, and the 
Large Yorkshires will average in weight one- 
third more than the Small. When nine 
months old, the Small may weigh, dressed, 
from 200 to 2.50 pouuds, and the Large from 
250 to 350. At full growth they may respec¬ 
tively *reach 300 to 400, and 400 to 500 pounds. 
These would be exceptionally heavy weights 
for the Small Yorkshires, and most of them 
would fall below, while such would not bo the 
ease with the Large. The question as to the 
comparative, profitableness of the two breeds 
is more difficult to answer, as the profit de¬ 
pends so much on circumstances. Both kiuds 
would return a profit on the feed and labor, it' 
well managed, and, like all other animals, they 
might not, if badly managed. With the “same 
care and treatment,” and more feed to increase 
the growth, the chances are with the Large, 
as there would be more weight with ouly ouo 
life to support, and more iucrease for the 
same amount of labor. 2. From J. M. Thor- 
burn & Co., 15 John St., N. Y. 
A POULTRY HOUSE FOR 20 FOWLS. 
D. A, S., Newark , N, J. —1. How can I 
make a hot-bed? 2. What is the best plan for 
making a poultry house on a plot 80 by 275 
feet for 20 fowls? 
Ans,— 1. Full instructions for making and 
managing a hot-bad can be obtanied by con¬ 
sulting seedsmen’s catalogues 1 ‘noticed” in the 
Rural, any of which will be seut to our sub¬ 
scribers free, on application to those who pub¬ 
lish them. 2. There are hundreds of plans for 
constructing poultry houses, ami but few 
agree as to which is the best The object 
should be to get as much space as possible on 
the floor, and to have the house low and the 
roof (which is the most expensive! as cheap as 
it can be made. A plan of this kind is excel¬ 
lent for 20 fowls: The house should be 10x10 
feet, having in front an extension four feet, 
making the floor 10x14, or 140 square feet. 
JOffft 
Fig. 181. 
The back is four feet high; the front seven 
feet. Roosts should be at the back end with the 
nests under them, and a wide board between 
the two. Fig. 181. 
- ■ — «*> < 
Miscellaneous, 
J. W. V., West Fulton , N. V.— 1. At what 
age may I reasonably expect my pullets to be¬ 
gin laying? They are a cross between Wyan¬ 
dotte hens and a W. Leghorn cock. 2. Under 
the stable windows are many loads of almost 
pure cow dung; should I use it on the garden 
or mix it somehow; or is horse manure bet¬ 
ter? 3. How can I make a good, nourishing 
food for a young Jersey calf, for which we 
have insufficient milk? 4. Are the White P. 
Rocks and White Wyandottes offered by fan¬ 
ciers pure-bloods? 
Ans. — 1. They should begin laying at 5}£ 
or six months. When our pullets—Wyan¬ 
dottes—begin laying at six months, we con 
sider it an excellent record. Some breeders 
claim to produce fowls that will lay at 90 
days from hatching. We have never seen 
any. 2, The manure can be spread on the 
ground and spaded or harrowed in. Horse 
manure is generally richer and easier to 
spread and handle. 3. We do not know how 
much milk you have. Skimmed milk can be 
fed with oil meal, bran and oatmeal mixed in 
it, so as nearly to equal in feeding value the 
whole milk, yet sweet milk is the natural food 
for a calf, and it will do better upon it than 
upon any other food. In your case, the 
“Royal Calf Meal” will probably suit you as 
well as anything you can get. 4. They were 
originally “sports” from the regularly marked 
breeds. They usually breed true. 
Oakville, Ont.., Canada .—An acre of 
strawberries planted last year, received a 
dressing of 500 pouuds of complete fertilizer. 
Later a large handful of pure hen manure was 
applied to each plant. What is the best fertiliz¬ 
er to apply now ? If 500 pouuds of complete fer¬ 
tilizer were now broadcasted, would the direct 
contact of the fertilizer with the plants, have 
any injurious effect? 
Ans.—A potato fertilizer would perhaps be 
the best to usehow,'which is strong in potash. 
We are inclined to think that it will not, in 
iucrease of crop, pay to use any fertilizer now. 
If dry weather follow the application, the 
fertilizer will do harm. 
E. It S. Clinton , Mich. —I have some ni¬ 
trate of soda which 1 want to apply to about 
two acres of strawberries, raspberries, black¬ 
berries aud grape-vines; should it be sown 
broadcast or put about the roots of the 
plnuts, and how much should bo used per 
acre? 
Ans. —It does not seem to the R. N.-Y that 
anybody can afford to use nitrate of soda on 
small fruits of any kind, or largo fruits either, 
for that matter. We should prefer the am¬ 
monia from raw bone, ground fish, etc. The 
nitrate of soda would soon pass through the 
soil aud be lost to the plants. Always sow 
broadcast It may be left on the surface 
without loss. From 109 to 800 pounds per 
aci-e. 
D. E., Auburn , N. F.—What is the best 
known method of keeping eggs from August 
till February ? 
Ans. —From all that we can learn, from our 
own experience, the reports of judges at poul¬ 
try shows, aud the experience of others, we 
believe that common salt is as good an egg 
preservative as has yet been found suitable 
for general use. The eggs are simply packed 
in the salt, kept away from each other and the 
sides of the package. Large quantities of eggs 
will probably be best preserved in cold stor¬ 
age rooms. 
J. 7?., Lawrence, Texas .—What is the best 
work on cheese and butter making? 
Ans. —The “best” is probably “Dairy Farm¬ 
ing,” by Prof. J. P. Sheldon, published by 
Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co., New York; 
price 812. Willard's “Practical Dairy Hus¬ 
bandry,” 83, aud Arnold's Amerieau Dairy¬ 
ing,” $1.50, are the best of the lower-priced 
works. Either can be obtained through the 
American News Company, New York City. 
.7. 8. O., MadisonvUle , Pa .—Will apricots 
ripen here, and are they profitable for this 
section? 
Ans. —Yes, they will ripen. The apricot is 
one of the first trees to blossom aud the 
blossoms are sometimes harmed by frost. We 
cannot say that they are likely to prove very 
profitable. 
D. 77. IF., Fairfield Co., Conn. —Is horse 
manure good for potatoes? 
Ans. —Yes, if well decayed The “barn 
yard manure” used in the Rural’s potato ex¬ 
periments is always horse manure. 
A. II. M., West Springfield, Pa.— Yes. 
The Bryant & Stratton Business College of 
Buffalo, is trustworthy. 
DISCUSSION. 
E. W., Montclair, N. J.—In a late Rural 
“Jayhawker” denounces the imposition of a 
tax on oleomargarine, maintaining that it was 
necessary only to pass a law that would pre¬ 
vent fraud and properly regulate the sale of 
the stuff under its true name, and ho stigma¬ 
tizes the anti-oleo laws as “class legislation.” 
Is Jayhawker a bogus butter manufacturer 
that he should cry out against class legisla¬ 
tion? If he is a butter buyer he certainly 
would not like to buy the oleo counterfeit for 
the genuine article, though assured it was 
made of the best materials. If he is a butter 
maker he certainly would not like to have his 
produce compete with the bogus article. If 
be belongs to either of the latter classes he is 
benefited by the law, even though he may 
oppose this class legislation. If we had no 
worse class legislation than this, the people 
would have little cause to complain. There is 
a good deal of capital involved, and the “oleo” 
men will not submit withoutft desperate strug¬ 
gle. The moment they ask the consumer to 
buy it for what it really is, down goes the 
price and the customer doesn’t want it. The 
business is based on fraud and deception, aud 
the manufacturers and dealers know it, and 
when they sell the concoction for butter they 
deserve punishment just, as much as the dealer 
in counterfeit money. The people of the 
country ought with one accord to oppose any 
change iu the law, calculated to place such in¬ 
fernal frauds on a fairer basis as competitors 
with genuine products. 
Swine Breeder, L. I.—In a late Rural, 
Mr. Joseph Harris, speaking of Essex pigs, 
says: “They are remarkably deep in the 
flank, thus affordiug a good quality of the 
best breakfast bacon.” I never found this so. 
Their pork is entirely too fat for bacon, but is 
nice for pickling and barreling. It has not 
the lean, tender, juicy sides of the Berkshire, 
and, of course, it is nothing like equal to it 
for bacon or smoked hams or shoulders. Some 
years since Mr. Hands recommended the Es¬ 
sex for crossing on the Berkshire; but such a 
cross would spoil the progeny for hams and 
bacon. 
“W.” Tyrone, Pa.—M uch has been said iu 
the Rural and the other papers about the in¬ 
fluence of the stock on the cion, but less Ls said 
about the influence of the cion upon the stock. 
It is a fact, however, that the prepared sap 
from the leaves of an inserted bud or cion will 
carry with it its constitutional peculiarities 
of structure even to the extremities of the 
roots. Nurserymeu find, iu digging different 
sorts of grafted trees, that the roots differ in 
direction, in color, iu toughness, and iu vol¬ 
ume according to the peculiar habit of each 
individual sort, and the bark shows differences 
which are often quite marked. 
Battle for Life among Trees.— An in- 
% 
teresting mid instructive survey of tree growth 
in the forests of Denmark, illustrating the 
survival of the fittest, is given in the French 
periodical, VExploration. Anciently, as now, 
on sterile, sandy shores nud tracts, the aspen 
and the birch formed everywhere thin, open 
woods. Fir trees came iu later, aud their 
dense shade killed the smaller trees of other 
kinds, so that eventually they alone formed 
the general vast forests. But as the soil sur¬ 
face became enriched with mold from the 
decay of the leaves aud wood, oak trees crept 
iu, and with their broader leaves choked down 
young seedlings of tho fir where thedr parents 
had fallen, and gradually the forests became 
chiefly oak. Then the beech began to dispute 
for a place, nud, after the most stubborn con¬ 
test of all, it is causing the oak to succumb by 
its broad stretch of limbs and superior shade. 
BRIEFS. 
Secretary Matthew Crawford, Cuyahoga 
Co. O., excellent and disinterested authority, 
says that the new straw berry “Itaska” is pro¬ 
ductive and high-flavored. The plant is 
stroug aud healthy. He has counted 25 ripe 
hemes and 200 green ones on a single plant. 
The fruit is about the size of the Crescent and 
of regular conical form, ripening all over at 
once. The quality is very superior. 
The “Logan,” Mr. Crawford says, is one of 
the largest strawberries grown—28 selected 
last year weighed 32 ounces. It is productive, 
but not over-vigorous. He considers the 
May King superior to the Crescent. The 
Summit is a seedling of his own ,bearing the 
largest berry he has seen. Color and form 
good. The Ontario is evenly matched with 
the Sharpeless in growth and productiveness; 
but the Ontario is better in form. 
Bubacii No. 5 is ono of the best varieties 
Mr. Crawford has. Not a spot of rust appeal’s 
on the plants. The plants are productive and 
the berries very large, somewhat irregular 
aud of good quality. He gives high praise to 
the new Jessie, believing it to possess all t he 
desirable qualities of the strawberry iu a 
higher degree than any other variety ever in¬ 
troduced. He knows of no fault in it. 
Mr. Crawford is well pleased with the 
Marlboro Raspberry. The Hilborn he consid¬ 
ers the finest black-cap. 
The majority of reputable manufacturers 
of chemical fertilizers, says Prof, SAT. John¬ 
son, agree that the average cost of mixing, 
bagging, handling and carting the fertilizers, 
ranges from three to four dollars per ton. 
Prof. Johnson, iu a late bulletin, estimates 
the value of ashes from eottou hulls at $35.39 
per ton in one case, and at $48.57 in another. 
In the first the analysis showed 18.97 per cent, 
of potash; in the second 32.79 per cent ..._ 
Every fruit known will make cider, says 
Vick’s Monthly. That from pears is of an- 
cient renown as perry, but pear juice is worth 
more for sirup or fruit honey, as it is rich in 
sugar. Plum cider is very nice, and grape 
cider will yet be the American beverage, hav¬ 
ing the strengthening quality of wine without 
its alcoholic spirit, and tasting bettor than 
anything known in the shape of drinks. There 
would not be a grape too many in the United 
States if the juice, freshly drawn from the 
clusters, undiluted, could be placed on sale in 
our cities... 
The “Coral Lily of Siberia” now extensively 
advertised as something new,is simply Liliam 
tonuifolium, according to Vick's Magazine... 
Montmorency Cherry is ono of the best va¬ 
rieties. It will hang on the trees two weeks 
after it is ripe, and allow us plenty of time to 
gather it. Mr. W, C. Barry, of Rochester, 
N. Y,, says that there is no cherry so valuable 
as tho Montmorency. His Montmoreneys 
pay him as much as $]<> per tree. Wherever 
it has been planted, it. bus succeeded. Accord 
ing to Prof. Budd, it is as hardy as the Early 
Richmond. The crop, too, is uniform over the 
tree; and, when loaded with fruit, the tree is 
about as handsome as anything you could 
wish to look at. The fruit is also of a beauti¬ 
ful color, which it retains when it is canned. 
It is a little later than the Early Richmond in 
time of ripening. . 
Mr. Wm. n. Bow ker believes that if farm¬ 
ers could afford to use nitrate of potash mow 
worth $120 j>er tout on their tobacco in con¬ 
nection with dissolved bone, it would furnish 
the forms of plant food especially adapted to 
the tobacco crop. He considers that the soda 
of nitrate of soda is probably injurious to the 
tobacco plant... 
Mr. Bowker takes the view that the speci¬ 
fic fertilizer for potatoes is a mixture of muri¬ 
ate of potash (not sulphate, as generally sup¬ 
posed) and soluble phosphoric acid, with a 
liberal percentage of ammonia. 
Prof. Geo. E. Morrow, of the University 
of Illinois, expresses the belief, in the Weekly 
Press, that we are to become less ami less a 
nation of pork eaters. Speed the time!. 
Mr. Crawford looks upon any person who 
succeeds in Interesting his neighbor in any 
branch of horticulture as a public benefactor. 
How we do forget old flowers! Vick’s Mag¬ 
azine for April places before its readers a 
colored plate of Canterbury Bells—white, blue 
and rose-colorcd—the last a new variety in¬ 
troduced by Vilmorin, of Paris, France. 
There arc other new shades, and also a variety 
with a frilled calyx, the tops of which are 
colored the same as the corolla. The Canter¬ 
bury Bell is a biennial, which accounts for its 
passing out of mind now and theu. 
Dr. Beal, in his book on grasses, speaks of 
the marked defects of Timothy. When sown 
with clover, it makes but a small growth aud 
must be cut young if the clover Ls secured in 
good season. It starts very slowly in the 
spring, is a long time coming into flower, and 
after cutting, the second growth is slow, fee¬ 
ble and of little consequence, seldom large 
enough to cut a second time or to afford much 
pasture. If cut.early, the tuber at the base of 
the stalk does not become sufficiently matured 
to keep the plant alive aud healthy, If cut 
close, the tuber is cut off, and the plants suffer 
and become feeble and perhaps perish. 
Other objections which Dr. Beal mentions 
are that it is hardly suited for pasture at any 
time, unless it is “kept quite large;” horses, 
sheep, aud especially hogs, must not be allowed 
to eat it close to the ground; it is likely to 
be sliort-livod; the tubers are easily trodden 
out by cattle, killed by frost or drought, or 
eaten by mice or gophers; it sometimes rusts 
badly. 
Tt is safe to assert, remarks the Press, that 
not one farmer in ten, the country over, 
would cast a ballot for the bill to create a 
new Cabinet officer to be known as the Secre¬ 
tary of Agriculture. One danger to farmers 
and their interests, continues the Press, is 
that their real desires may be neglected when 
so much attention is given bo counterfeit ones. 
When they want some legislation in earnest, 
they will bo met with the reply: “You can’t 
expect everything. We gave you the Cabinet 
office you sought, money for experiments aud 
for animal diseases, law against fraudulent 
butter and all that. Other people besides 
farmers have interests.”. 
The true way for farmers to secure strong 
influence is to unite only in asking for what is 
a substantial good, and then insist upon it. It 
is quite as necessary for farmers to repudiate 
every false claim made in their name as it is 
to insist upon a righteous demand which 
they really desire to make. 
It is gratifying, therefore, the Press con¬ 
cludes, to hear tho stroug expressions against 
this Cabinet scheme in the agricultural 
papers. It is to be hoped that, the next Con¬ 
gress will be informed as to the true attitude 
of the farmers of the country toward this 
worse than useless addition to the offce-hold- 
ing class. 
None of our breeds of animals are adapted 
to all climates and all conditions of life. To 
lie at their best, they must be kept, as nearly 
as possible, under the sumo comlitons of food 
aud climate as those under which they attain¬ 
ed their acknowledged excellence. Usually 
changes are unfavorable, and have, therefore, 
a deteriorating influence. Change, however, 
when in tho direction of better care, more 
generous feeding anil more congenial climate 
will tend to produce greater size, a more grace¬ 
ful form ami greater excellence; but improve¬ 
ments in these particulars is very likely to be 
at tho expense of hardiness, or ability to with¬ 
stand exposure or rough usage. 
Those who would crush the live cattle in¬ 
dustry of tho States east, of the Mississippi 
Valley by flooding tho country with dressed 
beef have not hesitated to make all kinds of 
claims as to superiority of these Western 
meats. They say that epicures much prefer 
beef which has been killed for some time, and 
that Western heel’ is of much liner quality 
