pired in 1 S°5, iu which to collect or bring suit 
for royalty, and where judgment has been se¬ 
cured the claim will remain good for 30 years. 
Green’s agents in every State claim to have 
lists of all those who have owned driven wells, 
and all they have to do to get judgment for 
the royalty is to prove that the alleged own¬ 
ers have used the wells during the life of the 
patent without paying royalty. It will there¬ 
fore save money to all who have really owned 
and used such wells between January 14, 1888 
and January 14, 1885, to settle at once with 
theduly authorized agents of thepatentee Care 
should be taken, however, to ascertain for cer¬ 
tain that auy applicant for royalty is “a duly 
authorized agent.” 
SNAPPING OR SPRING BEETLES. 
J. P,, Kingston , N. J. —The Rural mis¬ 
understood my description of the worm men¬ 
tioned on page 254, under the name of wire- 
worm, and as destructive to potatoes and 
especially to corn. That there may be no 
mistake about this worm I send one; what is 
it? 
ANSWERED BY PROF. A. .T. COOK. 
The insect is a species of the destructive 
wire-worms. The color is light-brown and 
the form flat, or less cylindrical than most of 
the species of this family. The mature beet¬ 
les are known as Snapping or Spring Beetles, 
because of their power to spring up when they 
fall or are placed upon their backs. For the 
same reason the family is known as Elateridae. 
While many of these grubs or wire-worms 
feed on rotten wood aud other decaying vege¬ 
tation, some of them are very harmful to 
growing plant®. I have known the very 
species sent, which is peculiar in having two 
jaw-like books terminating its posterior end, 
to tunnel through and through newly planted 
potatoes. They also destroy corn, grass and 
wheat: in fact, nearly everything except 
buckwheat and, perhaps, beans and peas; 
though iu some oases these last-named are 
also destroyed. These insects make the most 
serious attacks on crops planted on sod land; 
but they are rarely very (Instructive the first 
year after the land is plowed, or so it has 
proved iu cases which have come under my 
observation. In the second year, on the con¬ 
trary, they often blight the entire crop. 
Hence, some have practiced sowing buck¬ 
wheat the second year with marked advan¬ 
tage. The explanation of all this is seen in 
the fact that these insects are three years in 
the larva or grub state. In England, and in 
this country to a less extent, the wire-worms 
are trapped and killed by placing pieces of 
potatoes in the earth. Each piece is marked 
by a stick, and after the beetles have collected 
on the tuber it is pulled up and the grubs are 
killed. I think Prof. W. W. Tracy, of I). M. 
Ferry’s Seed Grounds, has practiced this 
remedy with some satisfaction. Sometimes 
our lulus, or cylindrical thousand-legged 
worms, are improperly called wire-worms. 
They should be called myriapods or willepeds, 
and the name wire-worms should be retained 
for the elater grubs. 
FERTILIZERS FOR GRAPES AND STRAWBER¬ 
RIES. 
A. V. T., Leon , Mexico .—I have a vineyard 
of about 12,000 young vines, also a strawberry 
patch. Will it pay to buy bones at $5 a ton 
and grind them at, say $5 more a ton, to use 
them as manure? My land is sandy loam and 
rather poor, and stable manure is hard to get. 
1 propose to mix wood ashes, in quantity, with 
ground bones, say five parts of ashes to one of 
ground bones, and make a compost with what 
little stable niauure I can rake together. I 
can get bones aud ashes in any quantity I 
want. My land is irrigated and gives fair 
crops of corn without manure. 
ANSWERED BY T. V. MUNSON, TEXAS. 
Ground bones, at $10 per ton, mixed with 
five times their bulk of fresh wood ashes, aud 
these mixed with stable manure and other 
composting material, especially leaves, or¬ 
chard trimmings, etc., when well rotted, 
would be a cheap and sufficient stimulus to 
grape-viues in a thin, sandy loam, which pro¬ 
duces fair corn with irrigation. The bones aud 
ashes are most to be desired for grapes. The 
addition of blood, hair, and slaughter-house 
offal would stimulate to better wood growth 
for fruiting in the grape than stable manure. 
Such a mixture as the above, applied at such 
a rate as to use 500 poimds of bone per acre 
annually, would be nbundauce on such a soil, 
if underlaid with a calcareous clay. If a very 
deep, thin sandy soil, then more fertilizer will 
be needed. The best way to apply it is by 
sowing aud plowing, or drilling it in, in Feb¬ 
ruary or March In the State of Neuvo Leon. 
As to whether this manuring would pay or 
not, I could answer on learning what amount 
of grapes the varieties produce per acre, aud 
the I prices obtained for them, or the wine 
made.from them. I presume that only stand¬ 
ard varieties of the European or Yinifera 
species are cultivated, and thnt the yield can 
average four tons to the acre, at $20 to $30 
per ton in the vineyard, iu which case such a 
fert ilizer would pay. I don’t see that anything 
better as a fertilizer for grapes could be se-* 
cured at less expense than the bones and 
ashes. • 
FRUIT QUERIES FROM NEW MEXICO. 
L, E X., Aztec, New Mexico. —1. Some of 
the old farmers of this section say that if ap¬ 
ple trees are set on ground where they can 
root to water in six or eight feet they will die 
as soon as the roots get to the water. What 
doesthe Rural think? 2. Last year I bought 
of an agent some small fruits, among them 
some Crimson Beauty Raspberries. Last win¬ 
ter they were all killed to the ground, and we 
had the mildest winter ever known hero—not 
below zero during the whole seasou. This 
spring they are sprouting up two or three feet 
on each side of the row us thick as they can 
stand: are they likely to be ‘•Crimson Beau¬ 
ty?” 3. Will the Duchesse d’ Angoulemo Pear 
be early enough for this climate where the 
altitude is 5,000 feet—the seasou somewhat 
short, 
Ans. —1. We think it is not true, Apple 
trees need well-drained laud; but laud may be 
well-drained and yet hold water six or eight 
feet below the surface. We have apple trees 
in good health and 20 years old, three feet 
above our lake and within 15 feet of it. 2. 
The true Crimson Beauty is ns hardy as most 
red raspberries. It will probably stand where 
the Cttthbcrt will stand. Still it is not 
always intense cold that kills raspberiy canes. 
2. The Duchesse d’ Angouletue is a large pear 
of fair quality aud highly esteemed for the 
market. The flesh is coarse but juicy, buttery 
aud good. The tree is a strong grower and 
it is one of the few kinds that succeed well on 
the quince stock. It ripens hero in mid- 
autumn. It ought to ripen with you. Still 
we have no record that any pears thrive in 
New Mexico. 
HARDY ORNAMENTAL TREES. 
S. B. F., Winthrop , Me .—What about the 
hardiness of the yew, cypress. Sycamore Ma¬ 
ple, Umbrella Pine aud other ornamental 
trees. Our severest winter temperature here 
is 15 to 25 degrees below freezing,on the hills; 
would these trees bo hardy enough ? 
Ans. —We think the temperature must be 
be much lower during certain portions of the 
winter at Winthrop, Maine, than 15 to 20 de¬ 
grees below freezing—probably below zero is 
meant, as this is more likely. The yews and 
cypress cannot be recommended for such a 
climate, though possibly some of them might 
be nursed along with very careful protection. 
The Sycamore Maple and many other tine va¬ 
rieties are perfectly hardy and desirable as 
ornamental trees; so are the beech, birch, ash, 
mountain ash, willow, elm, linden, etc. The 
Umbrella Pine, so-called, will not stand; it 
may be classed w tli the more tender yews. 
The very hardy evergreen trees will be found 
among the pines, firs and spruces. There are 
small species aud dwarf-growing varieties of 
these for situations requiring small-sized trees. 
PACKING EGGS IN SALT. 
E. S. E., Matfield. Green, Kans. —What is 
the best way to pack eggs in salt? 
Ans. —Several of our correspondents have 
been quite successful with this salt packing. 
Common table salt, is used. A layer an inch 
or more thick is placed at the bottom of the 
vessel, and the eggs are placed on this, smalt 
ends down. They are not permitted to touch 
each other or to touch the sides of the vessel. 
The spaces around them and for an inch 
above them are then tilled with salt, and so 
on until the vessel is filled. Eggs are cheap at 
this season. Those who like to experiment 
can easily risk a few dozen in this way and a 
few months hence report the result. Such a 
widely conducted experiment would be of 
value, 
REMOVING A SUPERNUMERARY TEAT. 
E. W. iS. Bamesville , O .—A heifer of mine 
bus four nice teats, and an extra one between 
the ordinary two on one side. If the smaller 
one is cut off, is one of the larger ones likely 
to dry up, or is auy injury likely to happen to 
any milk duct? At present the surplus teat is 
much iu the way of milking. 
Ans. —The supernumerary teat may be re¬ 
moved by cutting it out, leaving one or two 
flaps of skin which can be brought together 
and held by a stitch, so us to insure rapid 
healing. It is not probable tlmt it is connected 
with any distinct set of milk gluuds or milk 
ducts, as the udder is usually made up of only 
foui’ of these glands while supernumerary 
teats are quite common. The surplus teat may 
therefore be removed without any danger of 
injury. It is better to do it at ouce and be¬ 
fore the heifer is in a milking condition. 
Miscellaneous, 
C. E. S ., Denison, Texas.— 1. What will kill 
persimmon sprouts? 2. The Kittatinny Black¬ 
berry has failed here owing to rust; what will 
take its place? 
Ans. —1. Nothing will kill persimmon sprouts 
more effectually than grubbing up the roots. 
2. The Kittatinny is the latest blackberry in 
most, of the South. We know of no other that 
will tako its place. In dry seasons the fruit, 
however, Is apt to be very small. There is 
nothing better fora general crop than Wilson's 
Early, so far. A Georgia friend tells us Early 
Harvest is fully two weeks earlier than Wil¬ 
son’s in that State; this year at least three 
weeks, and while the berry is not large, its 
earliness, profuse bearing, aDd erect, bushy 
growth should give it. a high rating as an early 
market berry. The R. N.-Y, has never tried 
Brunton’s Early. 
B. .4. S., Greenville, Ky .—Is Japan Clover 
what it is advertised to be? * 
Ans.—W e cannot see why it should be 
sown in your State. Further South it is val¬ 
uable to form a sod ou thin laud and to cover 
otherwise naked places. On rich, damp soil 
it will grow, perhaps. 18 inches high; hut the 
leaves are small aud the stems too woody for 
hay. 
J, P. A., Tallahassee, Fla.—Is the prepared 
rennet sold in some stores suitable for cheese 
making? Who makes it? 
Ans.— Yes. Burrill & Whitman, Little 
Falls, N. Y. 
L. J., May smile, Ala .—What is the “Old 
Poultrymau’s” remedy for gapes? 
Ans.—A teaspoouful of spirits of turpentine 
iu Ij-fj pint of corn-meal, fed as dough. 
L. II., Louisville, Ky .—What is a “vege¬ 
table peach,” and how is it to bo prepared 
for cooking? 
Ans.— We do not know. The term “vege¬ 
table peach' 1 is probaldy a localism which has 
not yet traveled far beyond the place in which 
it originated. 
F. II. /?., Perry, N. Y .—What kind of an 
evergreen hedge will make the best wind¬ 
break iu the shortest time? 
Ans. —Well, we must answer Arbor-vitae. 
DISCUSSION. 
J. E. S., New York City.— In the Rural 
of May 14 it is said that “the fear of bogus 
butter has cut down the butter bill oue-half iu 
many families.” It may be so, but from the 
present outlook the day is not far distant 
when the fear of the genuine article will in jure 
the dairy business to a still greater extent. 
On the same page from which the above words 
are quoted is a column and a half showing a 
few of the many ways iu which milk and its 
products are rendered uu wholesome, and an¬ 
other article of like import appears iu the 
Rural of May 7. About 14 days ago 25 or 30 
persons in the City of New York were made 
very sick by the use of milk iu which no adul¬ 
teration could be detected, nor was there any 
adulteration in the ice cream which poisoned 
a number of persons at Long Braueli last sea¬ 
son. Prejudice aud pocket have made a cru¬ 
sade against oleomargarine, which now seems 
likely to prove a boomerang, for the investi¬ 
gations by the U. S. Government, under the 
unconstitutional oloomargariue law passed by 
Congress,are showing that the most obnoxious 
samples siezed (supposed to bo “oleo,") turn 
out to be genuine butter. Indeed all facts and 
evidence to date show to any unprejudiced 
mind that there is more danger lurking in 
genuine dairy products thau in the much de¬ 
spised oleomargarine. Still people of strong 
prejudices will cling to the genuine article, no 
matter how strongly it is flavored with old 
boots, the barn yard or the pig-pen. They 
have a perfect right to do so, but I deny then- 
right to force their prejudices on othere. 
Destruction of Seed Corn in the 
Ground. —We find the following as an origi¬ 
nal contribution to the N. E Homestead. It 
is copied, however, from a late report of the 
Director (E. L. Sturtevaut.) of the N. Y. Ex 
periment Stutiou: 
“Seed corn, when plautod too early, is often 
destroyed in the ground. This destruction 
does not come from the cold, as often assumed, 
but from other conditions, the most important 
of which is the slow germination of the seed 
and a vitality which cannot endure Ibis cir¬ 
cumstance, aud also the action of mold, which 
grows rapidly at a lower temperature than 
will suffice for the corn. It, therefore, holds 
good in practice that to those who plant early 
the very best of seeds is of great importance; 
and wbul adds value to this reflection is, so far 
as our data warrant, we can state with con¬ 
siderable certainty thnt early planted corn 
will usually yield a larger crop than will the 
same variety planted at a late period.” 
No, the destruction of the seed corn does not 
come directly from the cold. Every farmer 
knows that well-cured seed-corn will stand 
zero and lower. But it is the cold that causes 
the “slow germination,” and the “action of 
mold, which grows rapidly at a lower tem¬ 
perature,” etc. Dr, Sturtevaut might juntas 
well inform us that it isn’t cold that spoils the 
eggs under a fickle sitting hen, but the slow 
development of the embryo and a vitality 
which can not endure the circumstance of the 
hen’s leaving the eggs too long. As to the 
other statement that “curly planted corn will 
usually yield a larger crop than will the same 
variety planted at a late period,” our experi¬ 
ence teaches us that if the weather succeeding 
the planting be favorable to the growth of 
corn, we cannot plant too early. It, is a ques¬ 
tion of risk. There is such a thing as being 
“too scientific for anything.” 
Laud Adulteration.—Iu au inquiry at 
Boston by the legislative Committee on Pub¬ 
lic Health, atnoug the witnesses on Wednesday 
was Charles H. North, who testified that he 
had been in the pork packing business for 
about 30 years, and did an annual business of 
$5,000,000 or $ 0 , 000 , 000 , About one-seventh 
of his business was in lard, and from each hog 
of the average weight about 30 or 35 pounds 
of lard would be obtained. He thought that 
nine-tenths of all the lard on the market to¬ 
day was adulterated. These adulterations 
consisted of mutton, beef fat, cotton-seed oil, 
terra alba or white earth, and greases of all 
kinds. The effect of the placing of these goods 
on the market was detrimental to the manu¬ 
facturers of the pure goods; so much so that 
in Mr. North’s business alone thure was a daily 
loss on the lard product alone of $700, due to 
the manufacture of compound lards. Then 
another consequence of this adulteration was 
that the public obtaiued impure food, aud the 
general public health was impaired. This loss 
the consumer at the other end was obliged to 
stand. This impure lard came from the West, 
the major portion of it, while some came from 
New York and some from Philadelphia. 
Nuts. —A. S. Fuller says, in Orchard and 
Garden, that his first experiments iu nut cul¬ 
ture in New Jersey were certainly discourag¬ 
ing, but later ones were exceedingly promis¬ 
ing, aud he is now quite confident that there 
are foreign varieties of the chestnut which 
will grow and thrive wherever the native 
chestnut is found; aud the same is true of fil¬ 
berts aud the European walnut. If we are to 
succeed with the pecan, we must obtain nuts 
from the most northern localities where the 
tree grows, and not from Texas or other 
Southern States. It, is quite true that an occa¬ 
sional seedling raised from Southern-grown 
nuts may prove hardy in the North, but they 
are not to be depended upon except for the 
Middle and Southern States. The many old 
bearing trees of English walnut to be found 
in several of our Northern States prove that 
with the right stock to begin with we are 
pretty certain of success, especially with trees 
grafted from hardy specimens and varieties. 
Treatment of W arts. —Reports come from 
Europe of several eases where “wens,” warts 
aud other similar excrescences have been suc¬ 
cessfully treated with electricity. The treat¬ 
ment mentioned is simple enough. A plati¬ 
num wire is fastened to the "weu” or wart 
and connected with one end of a buttery. The 
patient takes the other end of the battery in 
his hand. The strength of the electric current 
is then gradually increased. In the instances 
on record the excrescences turned white iu a 
short time and could then bo removed with 
little pain and no loss of blood. Many boys 
aud young nieu are greatly troubled by the 
appearance of warts on their huuds. Many 
of them spend money for so-called cures which 
give but little relief. Most of these warts are 
sure to disappear before full manhood. It is 
questionable if the common practice of burn¬ 
ing and cutting should ever be permitted. 
We have a friend whose bauds were covered 
with thick, coarse warts. One night in des¬ 
peration, he pushed a needle through the base 
of the largest one and then held the needle in 
the llame of a lamp until it was too hot to en¬ 
dure. The wart came out by the “roots’ 
with little bleeding. All the others huvesiuce 
disappeared of their own accord. Such heroic 
treatment is not to be considered. 
The American Cattle JTrdst.— The 
National Stockman secs iu this organization 
all the ear-marks of a monstrous monopoly 
fully as obnoxious ou many accounts as the 
dressed beef monopoly now is, and probably 
with much more power to oppress and injure. 
Its first objection is to its great capital, $25,- 
000,000, which it thinks moans a corporation 
with absolutely dangerous power. But really 
this is u small capital compared with that of 
most other largo corporations and with the 
work it proposes to underlake. The Stock- 
man’s second objection is that the l rust is iu 
the hands of a few men, all capitalists, some of 
whom are already notorious for their couuec- 
