THE RURAL WEW-YORKER. 
Tiie difference in color between wheat 
and rye is less than is generally supposed. 
It is for the most part owing to the 
“bloom.” If the bloom from the blade 
or the stem of rye be rubbed or washed 
off, the color is nearly that of wheat. 
Of the three little plots sown respect¬ 
ively with Timothy, Blue Grass (June 
Grass) and Red-top, 'the last still shows 
the best stand and the largest area of 
green, though the Timothy blades are 
taller and coarser. The Blue Grass plot is 
far behind either of the others. So far 
as can be judged by this trial, there is no 
good reason that can be given why Timo¬ 
thy should be sown on lawns with Red- 
top, If sown with Blue Grass it would 
certainly start earlier and sooner carpet 
the lawn with green. But why Timothy 
should be sown with Red-top does not as 
yet appear._ 
Ouu readers will be pleased with the 
account of the prize butter found on an¬ 
other page. Much can be learned from 
these short notes. Jerseys and Guernseys 
make much of our best butter; but they 
do not make it all by any means. Some 
of this prize butter was made from the 
milk of common or native cows. While, 
there is much in the milk and cream 
itself, there appears to be far more in its 
manipulation after the milk has been 
drawn from the cow. One butter-maker 
makes a fine point, when he says that no 
stated time for holding cream can be 
given. There are points about butter 
making that cannot possibly be learned 
out of a book. One must actually handle 
the cream and experiment with it weak 
after week before he cun call himself a 
butter-maker. As to the use of butter 
colors,there is evidently much room for ar¬ 
gument. Nobody claims that the best of 
these preparations are any more harmful 
than salt, yet the owners of Jersey or 
Guernsey cattle can rightly claim that they 
have no use for anything of the kind. 
STRIPED BEETLES AND CUT-WORMS. 
What will destroy or drive off the 
Striped Beetle? How protect plants 
against the Cut-worm and Squash Borer? 
Never before have we received so many 
inquiries of this kind. For the Squash 
Borer we can suggest no better remedy 
than that of Mr. E. S. Goff, of the New 
York Experiment Station, viz., to place 
cobs dipped in coal tar among the plants. 
But we have this to say iu regard to the 
others: Seedsmen offer plant-prolectors, 
the frames of which are made of barrel 
hoops covered with mosquito netting. 
They serve the purpose certainly; but the 
price (from one to two dollars the dozen) 
is prohibitory. Instead of them we find 
that flats (such as florists use), cut out of 
old soap or cither boxes, aud from four to 
five inches deep, with mosquito netting 
tacked over them, serve the purpose just 
as well, and thpir cost is very little. Such 
boxes will last for mauy seasons, and they 
may be made during the winter or when 
no other work is pressing, either by knock¬ 
ing out the bottoms and sawing the sides 
through lengthwise, or by nailing any 
suitable pieces of wood into squares and 
covering them. As soon as the melons, 
cucumbers, squashes, or pumpkins sprout, 
cover each hill with one of these, pressing 
the edges into the soil so that there shall 
remain no openings for the ingress of the 
beetle. This gives protection against the 
Striped Beetles and also, in a great meas¬ 
ure, against cut-worms. Whether we 
use these devices or not is a question of 
economy each must decide for himself. 
For home use, where small patches of 
melons, etc., are raised, they appear to 
us the simplest and most effective remedies 
at present known, Where considerable 
areas arc planted, the necessity of storing 
a large number of Buch protectors might 
be an objection. Still, when the time 
required to go over the young plants seve¬ 
ral times and sprinkle plaster, dust, or 
ashes upon them is considered, while even 
then there: is no real security against loss, 
it 8eeinsto us that these cheap and easily- 
made protectors would pay for themselves 
over and over again before it would-be 
necessary to make ajsecond supply. 
VALIDITY OF THE DRIVEN WELL 
PATENT. 
Last Monday the United States Su¬ 
preme Court at Washington, announced 
its decision sustaining the validity of Nel¬ 
son W. Green’s reissued patent on driven 
or tube wells, thus fiually closing a liti¬ 
gation of 14 years. There were two ap¬ 
peals—one from the United States Circuit 
Court for the District of Connecticut, 
and the other from the United States Cir¬ 
cuit Court for the Northern District of 
Ohio—and the same decision covers both 
cases. The patent was opposed on three 
grounds—first, that the invention it cov¬ 
ered had been anticipated by others; sec¬ 
ond, that too long an interval (five 
years) had been allowed to elapse between 
the time when the invention came into 
public use aud that at. which application 
had been made for a patent; aud, third, 
that in the specifications for a re¬ 
issue of the patent more was claimed 
than was covered by the original patent. 
The “invention" of the tube or driven 
well occurred in the summer of 1801; 
the first patent for it was obtained by 
James Suggett, in 1863, and after several 
other patents connected with it had been 
issued, Green obtained his origiual patent 
in 1868. Finding this impracticable, he 
surrendered it, and sought a reissue on 
broader grounds, aud obtained it in May, 
1871, for the unexpired part of the term 
of the original patent. As a patent has 
only 17 years to run from the date of the 
original issue, the term of Green’s reissued 
patent expired on January 14, 1885. The 
recent decision will affect only wells put 
down prior to that date, and under it the 
users of all such wells put down without 
license from Green or his agents, will have 
to pay a royalty—probably $10 for each 
—unless they have done so already. 
No patent iu recent years has caused 
so much wide-spread discontent, or done 
more to prejudice the public against our 
patent system than Green’s on the driven 
well. Indeed, with the farmers of the 
country, and especially with those of the 
West, the patents on driven wells and 
those on barbed wire fencing have caused 
more exasperation, perhaps, than all the 
others combined. Over 100 patents cov¬ 
ering various features of the tube well, 
have been obtained, most of which have 
expired, though a very few are still in 
force to harrass and swindle the agricul¬ 
turist. Green’s patent has been in litiga¬ 
tion before the United States Circuit. 
Courts in at least ten of the States, aud 
the decisions have been about equally 
divided for aud against its validity. 
Over a year ago, the United States Su¬ 
preme Court rendered a decison on the 
matter, but as two of the Justices were in 
favor of its validity and two against it, 
while one was absent, no settlement was 
made. Monday’s decision having been 
agreed upon by a majority of the Court, 
finally settles the question. It is suppos¬ 
ed that from 750,000 to 1,000,000 wells 
covered by the patent, were put down 
before it expired in January, 1885. 
“RETARDERS,” NOT “STARTERS.” 
AN INTERESTING EXPERIMENT. 
Most farmers are not in favor of sowing 
fertilizers in the hill or drill and planting 
corn in contact with the fertilizer. Still, 
there are many who do it and who think 
that the infant plaut is thus given a start 
that it can get in no other way. 
As haR already been stated, five plots of 
corn were planted and fertilized different¬ 
ly May the 16th, in order to support or 
controvert the Rural’s often expressed 
opinion that it is a had practice. Plot 
No. 1 received at the rate of 880 pounds 
of a high-grade complete fertilizer, broad¬ 
cast. The corn was planted in drills 
three inches deep and four, feet apart. 
On May 24th, nearly every kernel had 
sprouted and the average higlit of the 
plants was about two inches. Plot No. 2 
received 880 pounds all in the drills. The 
seed was planted on the fertilizer and 
covered as in Plot No. 1. May 24th, 
not one plant had appeared. Upon ex¬ 
amining the seed in several drills, it was 
found that most of the kernels, though 
apparently sound, were in the same con¬ 
dition as when planted; that is, they 
were not swollen. 
Plot No. 3 received 440 pounds in the 
drills and 440 pounds broadcast. About 
10 per cent, only had sprouted. 
Plot No. 4 received no fertilizer. 
Nearly all the plants were up and there 
appeared little difference as compared 
with No. 1. 
Plot No. 5 received 1,760 pounds^of 
fertilizer (double the quantity of the oth¬ 
er plots) all sown broadcast. The stand 
and appearance of the plants were much 
the same os in the first plot which received 
880 pounds broadcast. 
Comparing No. 1 which received 880 
pounds broadeast,or No. 4 which received 
no fertilizer, or No. 5 which received 1,760 
pounds, all broadcast, with No. 2, which 
received 880 all in the drills, or No. 3 
which received 440 in the drills and 440 
pounds broadcast, the inference may be 
drawn that high-grade corn fertilizers in 
the drills retard the germination of the 
seed when in contact with them. They 
do not act as “ starters but as “re¬ 
tarders.” 
As many of our Northern farmer read¬ 
ers have not yet planted corn, we hasten 
to lay before them the above results. To 
what exteut wet instead of dry weather, 
which has prevailed since and before 
planting, would have modified them, is 
left to conjecture or future experiment. 
LATER. 
May 27. The stand of plot No. 3 has 
improved 25 per cent. About 10 per cent, 
of the seed has sprouted in plot No. 2. 
END OF A MONSTROUS ABUSE. 
Besides the alternate sections of the 
public domain along the various roads, 
donated by the General Government to 
the subsidized railroads for the construc¬ 
tion of their lines, vast areas, called “in¬ 
demnity belts.” have been reserved from 
settlement, to enable the corporations to 
select in them a comparatively small num¬ 
ber of sections to make gpod the loss of 
the same number of sections, which may 
have occurred, from any cause, in the 
“grant belts.” The boundaries of the 
indemnity belts were specified, not in or¬ 
der that the corporations might control 
all the lands included by them, but sim¬ 
ply to restrict the area within which they 
were allowed to select in lieu of those in 
the grant belts which had been acquired 
by settlers before the] passage of the 
granting acts. 
Indeed, so vast have been the indemni¬ 
ty belts in comparison with any possible 
claims of the railroads, that the latter 
could never acquire more than one section 
out of fifty within their boundaries* yet 
under rulings of the Interior Department 
no settlers can acquire any right, under 
any of the general land laws, iu any 
part of the belts so long as they rernaiu 
withdrawn liy executive order. Mind, 
all this land 1ms been shut out. for various 
periods ranging from two to 37 years, not 
by law, but by the action of executive 
officers over-anxious to serve the great 
land corporations. It seems to have been 
thought that if the settlers could be kept 
out year after year, some means would be 
found, through corruption in the Land Of¬ 
fice, or tricky legislation in Congress, to 
enable the greedy, unscrupulous railroads 
to grab all the indemnity belts. 
For fifteen years broad belts of the pub¬ 
lic land, including,\in the aggregate, over 
100,000,600 acres, or a tract equal to the 
area of the six New England and the four 
Middle States, have thus been closed to 
settlers, for the convenience of powerful 
corporations, and to enable them to op¬ 
press those who ventured to make homes 
within their boundaries. Knowing that 
the railroads could never acquire title to 
more than one section in fifty, settlers 
have been constantly tempted to make 
unauthorized settlements and take their 
chances of eventually getting their land 
from the Government, or, if the worst 
came to the worst, making favorable 
terms with the railroads, should the latter 
select their homesteads as an “indemnity.” 
The worst uearly always came; for the 
railroads have been in the habit of waiting 
until the land was made valuable by im¬ 
provements and then pouncing on it as an 
indemnity. This method of gouging has 
been going on for years, and thousands of 
settlers have suffered grievously from it. 
The other day a gross abuse of the kind, 
in the cause of Guilford Miller, called the 
Government’s attention forcibly to the 
abuse, and an end has been promptly put 
to it. Henceforth the railroads must make 
their selections from sections unoccupied 
by settlers, aud in a very short time the 
whole 100,000,000 acies of the indemnity 
belts are to be thrown open to settlement 
under the Homestead Law. Land Com¬ 
missioner Sparks has been the chief agent 
in this mighty reform, aud surely he de¬ 
serves much credit for his persistent ef¬ 
forts to save from corporate greed and 
restore to honest settlement so vast an 
area of the public domain. 
BREVITIES. 
TnE new Cayuga gooseberry mildews badly 
at the Rural Grounds. 
Read what Sir John B. Lawes says, page 
353, ou clover aa a.soil euricher. 
The terrible Elm-leaf Beetle lias again ap¬ 
peared in some places on Long Island, N. Y. 
Tttk eaidiest peas are now in bloom with 
you ? The late ones are coming on. Now. if 
you would keep up the season, pin tit late peas 
—the dwarfs are always best for late, because 
less liable to mildew, 
On May 6, 13 eggs of Silver Gray Dorkings 
were received from John L. Rice of Rensse- 
laerville, N. Y. May 26 {20 flays) 11 healthy 
chicks were hatched, all marked fairly alike 
and having five toes. 
C. W. Garfucup. the popular horticulturist 
of Michigan, will deliver a course of lectures 
nt Cornell University. As suggested by Sec¬ 
retary Woodward.Cornell would do well to se¬ 
cure him ns a Professor of Horticulture. 
The butter made by Mrs. Sudduth, de¬ 
scribed in another column, was marked “per¬ 
fect” by the dairy judges. As wo remark 
elsewhere, it won $110, over ?30 per pound. 
It was a great victory for the “Blue Grass 
country.” 
Efforts will ho made to make the New 
York Dairy’Show a permanent affair. It is 
proposed to hold at least one show each year. 
If this is done the time for the show should bo 
changed to October. That would give farm¬ 
ers and dairymen a far better chance to 
attend. 
Grange lecturers are urging Patrons to set¬ 
tle their differences at the Grange iustead of 
at the court house. Probably 75 per cent, of 
the petty cases which givo employment to 
lawyers could be settled outside the court 
room if men were really willing to meet each 
other fairly and honestly, and givo way when 
they find thy are in the wrong. 
Attention is called to Mr. Falconer’s re- 
t»uks (page 369) respecting the Norway Spruce 
aud Balsam Fir. He will tell you that the 
Rural’s advice is sound: “Don’t plant them,” 
except, it maybe, for the reason that Robert 
Douglas gives,viz., tofill up until otherslower- 
growing evergreens are large enough to take 
their places. Then cut them down. 
Unusually large quantifies of nitrate of 
soda were sold the past season to small-fruit 
men aud gardeners. Much of it was used ou 
strawberries and early cabbage. We shall 
be glad to hear from our readers as to the use¬ 
fulness of this fertilizer. Those who have used 
it will oblige us by sending reports of its 
workings. Reports as to the soil and crops to 
which it was applied and the results attained 
will doubtless add to the usefulness of the les¬ 
son learned from the applications of this fer¬ 
tilizer. 
From 11 eggs of Black Java hens sent to us 
by Jacob Heckman of Kingston, Ill., April 26, 
we have now eight strong chicks. It thus ap¬ 
pears that eggs may be sent, from a long dis¬ 
tance without injury. The sitting lien was 
borrowed from a neighbor, and while off the 
nest strayed into another yard and could not 
find her way back. She might, have been off 
as long as three hours before discovered The 
day was warm—the eggs were cold. If the 
eggs bad not hatched we should have attribut¬ 
ed the failure to this circumstance. 
Many farmers expect to derive a good rev¬ 
enue from summer boarders. The business is 
an important and profitable one to those who 
make a study of it. Plenty of city people de¬ 
sire the rest and quiet which a few months in 
the country will bring them, and they are 
ready to pay well for good treatment. Tho 
farmer who studies 1 he wants of Ills guests and 
labors to supply these wants will make the 
business pay him well. Those who go into the 
business without knowing what city* people 
want and expect, will lose money and patience. 
We shall give a few thoughts on this subject 
next week. 
Go through the business parts of New York 
any day shortly after noon and about every 
man in three will be seen smoking a cigar. 
Most of them smoke from one-half to two* 
t birds of the tobacco and throw the rest away. 
Where do these “stubs” go to? They are rare¬ 
ly to be found ou the pavement. One would 
suppose they would be plenty. It now appears 
that there are persons in this city who make a 
busiuessof collecting these filthy “stubs”outof 
the mud and garbage iuto which they are 
thrown. The dirty stuff Ls dried and sold 
again to makers of cigarettes and cheap ci¬ 
gars. It is placed oh the market again and 
respectable people actually carry tills disgust¬ 
ing material about in their mouths and smoke 
it. The satuo material is often worked over 
two or three times, The cheap and nasty 
cigarettes which foolish boys affect because 
they think it is “manly” to smoke, are large¬ 
ly made up of this vile stufF. Is there any 
more unpleasant thought than that of putting 
into the mouth such an essence of filthiness 
as these cheap cigars are known to be? 
We learn that the Champlain (yellow) 
Raspberry (we have called It Maoomber’s 
seedling of the White Antwerp) has proved 
nearly hardy—in a protected position—400 
miles north of the Rural Grounds. The Cuth¬ 
bert, within a few feet of the Champlain, was 
killed back more than the Champlain. As 
we have stated, the Champlain stood the 
winter of 1886 very well at the Rural Grounds 
—while the past winter killed it nearly to tho 
ground. And so it goes. Wo do not pretend 
to be able to judge ns to the hardiness of a 
raspberry in less than four or five years. Wo 
have yet’to cultivate) the raspberry that docs 
not suffer more or less during occasional win¬ 
ters. Why it is, however, that a Cuthbert 
hero is severely injured, while another within 
six feet of it is not hurt at all; why all rasp¬ 
berries sometimes pass u winter during which 
the thermometer goes to 15 degrees below 
zero in safety, while they aro badly damaged 
during another winter when five degrees be¬ 
low zero Is the lowest temperature reached, 
passeth our understanding, Cnthberts wore 
everywhere injured in our neighborhood by 
the past winter. All red or yellow varieties 
suffered more or less, with tho solitary excep¬ 
tion of Golden Queen (seedling of Cuthbert), 
which escaped w ithout any injury. Again, as 
a rule, when black berries nro killed back, 
raspberries suffer also. Our teuderest kinds 
(except Crystal White) passed the winter with 
less! harm than uruuI while grapes never pro¬ 
mised a more abundant yield, 
