MAY 28 
Harrison Co., of Painesville, Ohio, who, we 
believe, raise and sell more Japan chestnuts 
than any other American firm. They reply 
as follows: 
“In reply to your inquiries, we do not know 
that we can give you a satisfactory answer. 
In the first place, we have but very little wood 
of the Giant chestnut, not enough to graft any 
quantity. In the second place, we have always 
found the grafting of the chestnut somewhat 
of a difficult task to perform, the failures out 
numbering the successes. We are not prepared 
to say that the Japan Giaut is I tetter than any 
of the seedlings of the Japan Chestnut; in fact, 
we do not think the quality of the fruit equal to 
that of many of the seedlings; the great size is 
its chief recommendation. If you should 
order from us 100 or 1,000 Japan Giaut Chest¬ 
nuts, grafted, you would no doubt get all of 
the one variety, but. as all the Japaus that we 
handle are extra large we run them all under 
the name of Giant, making the distinction in 
our offer between seedlings and grafted trees, 
charging more for the grafted, they being 
more expensive. We have, at different times, 
procured named varieties of the seedling of 
the American chestnut, which were larger 
than the ordinary run of seedlings but of no 
better quality, aud have found them very dif¬ 
ficult to bud or graft, and we discontinued it 
as unprofitable, most people preferring the 
seedlings at the lower price.” 
Breaking Young Cows to Milk.— The 
best way of accomplishing this, according to 
the experience of a correspondent, of the Ger¬ 
mantown Telegraph, is the following: Get 
the young cow into a stable aud if you have 
stanchions that will hold her all the better; 
but if not, tie her up with a rope around her 
horns or neck, hitched short, then with a rope 
hitched to a haine strap buckle the strap 
around the fore foot between the hoof and 
first joint; put the rope around her body, 
draw up the foot, and tie the rope sufficiently 
short, so that she can’t reach her foot, to the 
ground. She is no\v in proper shape for milk¬ 
ing. Standing on three legs aud unable to 
free the other, she gives up at ouce aud soon 
becomes gentle aud kind. If she is of an un- 
usqally nervous disposition, the hind leg next 
to the milker may be buckled to a rope, and 
around her leg near the hoof, and hitched to a 
post or something behiud her. She will soon 
get tired of kicking and entirely give it up. 
Usually hitching her by the head, either by 
stanchions or a rope and strapping up her 
fore foot is all that is necessary, aud she will 
soon be a quiet, cow. 
Washing Wool. —In discussing this sub¬ 
ject the Wool Journal says that more than 
nine-tenths of the domestic clip now comes to 
market uuwashed. The quotations are mostly 
made for unwashed wool. Shrinkages are 
more accurately estimat ed on wool in its nat¬ 
ural state than when it has been washed. 
There is no uniform standard among growers 
as to bow much or how little it shall 
be washed. So it happens that a mis¬ 
cellaneous lot of washed wool (so called 
collected in any of the sections wdiere 
the old practice of sheep-washing still pre¬ 
vails, varies so widely in condition that any¬ 
thing like a correct estimate of the shrinkage 
of the entire lot is impossible. It is little bet¬ 
ter than guessing to buy such a lot at. a stated 
price per pound. The well washed wool gen¬ 
erally sells the half washed lots. 
Inoculation a Failure.— Inoculation as 
a means of preventing the spread of pleuro¬ 
pneumonia has just been tried pretty thor¬ 
oughly in the county of Cumberland, Eng¬ 
land. The result was looked for with a good 
deal of interest, and when it proved to be a 
failure there was no little disappointment. In 
view of this outcome the Ixmdon Live Stock 
Journal says the whole of the facts go to 
show, almost beyond question, that inocula¬ 
tion is not the efficacious remedy which its ad¬ 
vocates claim for it. Yet there arc authori¬ 
ties in Scotland who claim that inoculation is 
a certain and absolute remedy. The fact is that 
its success, if success there sometimes is, seems 
to be a contingent affair, rendering it certain 
that the true policy in contending with dis¬ 
ease is to depend upon nothing of the kind. 
Crops in the Argentine Republic.— The 
area under cultivation in the Argentine Re¬ 
public in 1886, according to the Buenos Ayres 
Standard, is estimated to be 5,250,000 acres of 
which 40 per cent., or 2,100,000 acres, was 
planted in wheat. A yield is indicated of 600,- 
000 tons, or 20,000,000 bushels, which, with 
home consumption subtracted, will leave 10, 
000,000 bushels for export. The next largest 
crop is Indian corn, on an area of about 1,000,- 
000 acres, with an estimated yield of 480,000 
tons. The estimated export this year is about 
250,000 tons. The average yearly export is 
210,000 tons. The sugar crop is estimated at 
40,000 tons, and the tobacco crop at 8,000 tons. 
The estimated'total values of the various crops 
THE RURAL MEW-Y0RKER. 
raised show what an important item wheat is. 
The total crops of all kinds were worth $02, 
200,000, aud of this, wheat w ns worth $12,000,- 
000, maize or corn $8,000,000, and hay $25,000,- 
000. The tobacco crop is worth $1,200,000, 
sugar $8,000,000, aud linseed $2,000,000. The 
value of the probable exports this year are as 
follows: Wheat $6,000,000. corn $4,000,000, 
linseed $2,000,000, and hay $200,000, or a total 
of $12,200,000. _ 
What is the Matter with the Ranches? 
—Under the above title the Pall Mall Gazette 
prints an interview with Mr. Moreton Frewen, 
some portions of which will have an interest 
for American readers. The depression in the 
range-cattle industry is severely felt by En¬ 
glish capitalists who own stock in many West¬ 
ern cattle companies. Mr. Frewen gives his 
views of the subject briefly as follows: lie 
says that the trouble with the cattle industry 
proceeds wholly from the overstocking of the 
ranges. He thinks that “the ‘cattle baron’ ;he 
is no longer a ‘king’) belongs to history." The 
great herds must be broken up. The future 
of the industry rests with the small farmer or 
stock-raiser, who will breed cattle in inclos¬ 
ures. Although probably productive of loss 
to alien cattle companies, he thinks the West¬ 
ern country will Lie greatly benefited. The 
elimination of the large herds he thinks high¬ 
ly probable in that part of the country north 
of Texas. Some companies will continue to 
raise cattle in that State on fenced-in lands. 
The increased value of their lauds, he thinks, 
will compensate for their other losses. He 
reasons that bal'd winters have nothing to do 
With cattle losses. The want of pasturage is 
the main trouble. His advice to cattlemen is 
to move their stock from the overcrowded 
ranges of the Western United States up into 
the British Northwest. But a small portion 
of it is stocked, and in extent it equals Texas. 
The price of beef, he states, is about as high 
as it was before the “boom” years of 1880-1-2. 
As long as t he increase by birth was as rapid 
as then, prices were remunerative. Now the 
herds, instead of increasing, decrease. 
SHORT AND FRESH. 
Experiences differ. Mr. T. E. Platt, of 
Conn., says, in the N, E. Homestead: 
“If a growing potato comes in contact with 
a particle of potash the skin will be corroded; 
this will give the tuber a rough skin, which 
some people call the scab, but it is not, yet it 
may damage the tubers as much as the true 
scab, which is caused by a fungus.” 
Our practice is to cover the seed-pieces slight¬ 
ly with soil aud then sow the fertilizer in the 
furrows or trenches. We have used as much 
as a tou of potato fertilizer—which is strong 
in potash—to the acre, aud yet we harvested 
clean potatoes with smooth skins and without 
“scab.” Not so when fresh farm manure is 
used. This with us almost always causes 
“scab,” by attracting wire worms (lulus), 
which eat into the skin and give the potato 
the same corroded surface as the fungus 
causes. .. 
“There is a large class of people,” continues 
Mr Platt, who makes a specialty of potato 
growing and raises fine crops, too, “who say 
and write much against the use of manure 
for potatoes, but are loud in their praise of 
fertilizers. How much of this advice comes 
from persons who have uu interest in the sale 
of fertilizers 1 do not know. 1 am sure as 
good crops of potatoes cau be grown with 
manure us with fertilizer, when either is used 
separately. 1 have always obtained the best 
results by using both manure and fertilizers.” 
For -potatoes tho Rural is decidedly one of 
those that advocate the use of potato chemi¬ 
cal fertilizers, by which we mean a complete 
fertilizer strong in potash. Year after year 
by the side of farm or stable manure (always 
applied in the spring, however) the fertilizer 
has given us the best and cleanest yields. But 
we have no “interest in the sale of fertilizers" 
aud should condemn their use as freely as we 
now' commend it were the results the other 
way. 
Experiences differ, as weat first remarked. 
Perhaps if Mr. Platt had our soil aud climate 
aud we his, we might now be advocating farm 
manure for potatoes aud he chemical fertil¬ 
izers... • 
Ouu friend the N. E. Homestead asks its 
readers to remember that when peas are plant¬ 
ed four to six inches below the surface, the 
drought will scarcely affect them. If an ex¬ 
periment made at the Rural Grounds about 10 
years ago is trustworthy, six inches are too 
deep to plant peas. On June 28, 1878, the 
writer planted five rows of dwarf peas. In 
the first row—two inches deep—three-quarters 
germinated. In the second row—four inches 
deep—all germinated, though the plants did 
not grow so tall as in the first. In tho third 
—six inches deep—one-quarter grew, aud of 
these nearly all dwindled awuy after making 
a growth of an inch or so. In the fourth row 
—eight inches deep—one plant appeared and 
died. In the fifth row, none came up. As to 
standing dry weather, it is our belief that it 
matters little whether peas are planted two or 
six inches deep; the roots will in either case 
penetrate to about the same depth. If peas 
were planted in late spring or summer for a 
late summer or fall crop, probably it would 
be as well in light soils to bury the seeds four 
inches deep, so as to secure the necessary 
moisture for germination. But there are few 
who raise pens for fall on account of the mil¬ 
dew which usually attacks the vines. Even 
whenlmildew does dot appear tho vines of late- 
planted peas make a comparatively dwarfed 
and sickly growth, and bear a proportionately 
small crop. 
Professor Henry, of Iowa, is very posi¬ 
tive in some of his statements respecting the 
best silos and the best aud cheapest way to se¬ 
cure silage. He condemns the old silo made 
of stones for seemingly good reasons. He ad¬ 
vocates using scantlings—2x10—boarded on 
both sides over building paper, giving a dead 
air Space... 
He predicts, in the Farmers Review, that 
the future silo will contain fodder corn more 
or less wilted and cured before it is put into 
the silo. Water is not food in our general un¬ 
derstanding of the term, yet succulence in food 
is a point of considerable importance aud 
quite essential in feeding dairy cows. Green 
fodder corn contains from 80 to 00 j>er cent, 
of water, and ordinary shocked and dried fod¬ 
der corn from 25 to 50 per cent, of water. 
Professor Henry maintains that we can 
cut and shock the corn, and so get it out of 
the way of frost; then, instead of giving one- 
eighth of the crop for huskiog and another 
eighth to the miller for grinding the grain, 
we will draw the shocks, corn and all, to the 
feed-cutter, and pass it through that into the 
silo....... 
He asserts that w r e positively can not af¬ 
ford to husk and grind corn for stock in these 
times of low prices. We must feed our corn 
to cattle unhusked and unground. The kind 
of silo he proposes is simply a room for stor¬ 
ing in a very compact form fodder corn or 
field-shock corn which all farmers now raise, 
but which they cure nud handle in various 
ways, usually at greater expense than in the 
silo. Shock corn will notbo too dry. It will 
still be about half water. Let auyone cut up 
a lot and pile it on the barn floor, covering it 
up with blankets, and it will soon appeal' to 
get quite moist and begiu to heat. The water 
from tho stalks is disseminated through tho 
mass and the whole appear moist in conse¬ 
quence .... 
By passing the shock corn directly through 
the cutter all can be put into the silo cheaper 
and in less time than it can be husked, aud 
there is no expense for cribbing or grinding 
tbe corn. When winter comes, instead of 
chopping around the frozen shocks and pull¬ 
ing them out of the snow one has only to draw 
a load of nice, bright silage from the pit to 
the feeding stable without auy loss in any 
way. 
Moore’s Diamond Grape, which we have 
on trial, is one of Jacob Moore’s Concord seed¬ 
lings crossed with tho Iona. Mr. Moore is the 
originator of the Brighton. He says it is a 
white grape almost free from pulp and bettor 
in quality than any other white grape, while 
it ripens from “two to four weeks earlier than 
the Concord.” This seems to us improbable. 
Time will show.... 
After a trial of several years Prof. A. J. 
Cook finds no better remedy for plant lice than 
the kerosene and soap mixture. One-fourth 
pound of hard soap or one quart of soft soap 
cau be mixed with one quart of water. It is 
heated till the soap is dissolved aud then one 
pint of kerosene oil is added. This is agitated or 
churned until a complete emulsion or mixture 
is formed. Water is then added so that there 
shall be one part of kerosene to 15 parts of 
water.... 
From an analysis of tobacco stalks grown in 
Connecticut, Prof. S. W. Johnson figures that 
the stalks grown on an acre will contain 
about as much nitrogen and potash as would 
lie furnished by an application of 70 pounds of 
munatfl of potash aud 300 pouuds of cotton 
seed meal per acre. Tho latter, however, 
would contain ueurl y twice as much phosphoric 
acid..... 
American cheese imports atGlassgow have 
fallen off nearly 100 per cent, in two years. 
Tho total imports in 1886 were 130,072 boxes, 
or 8,042 tons, against 250,137 boxes, or 7,200 
tons in 1884. Consul Underwood reports that 
American cheese matures quicker than Scotch 
or Canadiun cheese, but also spoils quicker, 
and when other cheese is in season American 
goods are not wanted. In fact, American 
cheese fills the gap between the old and now 
crops, as it is ready for consumption before 
the others. If the trade in American cheese 
is to bo maintained or increased it must bo 
well made, and greater care must be taken in 
shipping. 
The National Stockman thinks that as a 
result of the discontent of cattlemen with the 
cattle trade of late, there will soon be a turn¬ 
ing away from cattle just as many have turn¬ 
ed away from sheep, and as many are now 
turning to swine. The change must be slower 
than in case of smaller animals—as, for in¬ 
stance, swine. It sees a general drift, in that 
direction, however. Although statistics show 
that the increase of cattle has not kept pace 
with the increase in population among us, the 
country has had more cattle than the pro¬ 
ducers have been able to handle to advantage, 
and it thinks the ratio of beef cattle to popu¬ 
lation must be reduced before satisfactory 
prices can be obtained. 
Dragging a barrow over the plowed ground 
is one of the hardest tasks that horses have 
to do in farm work, and teams are often im¬ 
posed upon while doing it. The walking is 
hard for both driver aud horses, and the 
former is often tempted to ride, either on the 
harrow or one of the horses, not thinking or 
caring what the consequences really are. 
TRANSCONTINENTAL LETTERS.— 
LXXX. 
MARY WAGER-FISHER. 
Sight-seeing in New Orleans; the French 
quarter; the Creole; Jackson Square; the 
Mint; filthy streets; municipal corruption; 
architecture and fiowers; “ Margaret;'" 
pantalooned bipeds all smoke. 
By the help of addresses with which we had 
been furnished,we speedily found very satisfac¬ 
tory lodgings in St. Charles Street, a short 
distance from the hotel of that name, aud 
fronting one of the beautiful squares with 
which New Orleaus abounds, named La¬ 
fayette, from a statue in the middle of it in 
honor of that chivalrous Frenchman who 
helped us in a time of need. The lady who 
kept the house was a Creole; her husband had 
been a sugar plauter, an easy-going, improvi¬ 
dent man, who had managed to die penniless, 
and leave his widow burdened with nine chil¬ 
dren. Poor thing! she seemed to be very 
much of a lady—was a Catholic—and in her 
brokeu English told us many touching things 
of the war, and of the unselfish loyalty of one 
of her slaves (to her after he was freed—he 
having, in fact, saved her life at the risk of 
his own. It may not be amiss for me to state 
here, in view of the fact of the various ways 
iu which tho term Creole is applied, that the 
Creole of Louisiana is merely a person of 
French descent, aud quite without a mixture 
of colored blood. Wo always took lodgings, 
when we could do so, in preference to stop¬ 
ping at a hotel.as we were then free to get our 
meals at restaurants wherever we might be, 
aud so economize in time and strength as well 
as in ruouey, and in this way we also gained a 
more liberal acquaintance with the customs of 
a city. We had been for nearly two years 
without the delicious bivalve as it is fouud on 
the Atlantic coast, aud we therefore proceed¬ 
ed to make our luncheon on raw oysters—enor¬ 
mously large they were—and, oh me! how de¬ 
licious! Nolhiug that we had as yet encount¬ 
ered had had such a home-like flavor. 
The remainder of tho day we devoted to the 
Creole quarter, abounding in novel interest, 
the largo, haudsome, balconied old houses 
along the Esplanade—a wide street with a 
double row of trees through the middle—the 
dirty cross streets with their rickety, pictur¬ 
esque dwellings, through Jackson Square, 
planted with beautiful flowers. There, too, 
was General Jackson iu bronze with this 
surprising legend on the base: “The Uuion 
must aud shall be preserved.” Upon in¬ 
quiry, it appeared that the patriotic senti¬ 
ments uow to be seen on the statues in this 
city were engraved immediately after the 
war, being excerpts from the speeches of tho 
men they represent. We visited the Mint, a 
large, red-fronted building with a dirty inte¬ 
rior; some negroes employed—a pompous 
guide who spoke execrable English—altogether 
a shabby, uninteresting place. The Cathedral 
of St Louis, near-by, is n Hue exterior. The 
Jesuit church up town is said to be the finest 
in the city, aud is certainly splendid, and very 
fashionable. But everywhere about .he city, 
excepting St. Charles Avenue and immediate¬ 
ly ubout the Squares, the filth iu the streets 
was appalling. Tho drainage is on the sur¬ 
face, underground drainage being impossible, 
as a foot below ground one comes upon water; 
uud what with the greasy streams from kitch¬ 
ens and all manner of rubbish dumped into 
the streets, to lie oozing and blistering iu the 
hot sun, it seemed to me that some terrible 
epidemic would immediately be the result. 
“Dirty!” iterated a gentleman with whom we 
talked, “why we regard the condition of the 
streets now as being exceptionally clean!” 
He then went on to say, what a dozen men 
