THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
were offered for sale and readily bought. 
Now planters are shy even of the trees offered 
for sale, for they find that young trees, how¬ 
ever thrifty and handsome in appearance, may 
have the poison lurking within them ready to 
show, like small-pox or spotted fever, all 
over the tree when it begins to fruit. 
Several interesting examples of the exceeding¬ 
ly infectious nature of this destructive disease 
are given, and it seems proved that it can bo 
communicated through the tender tissue of 
the rootlets from tree to tree, for it is com¬ 
mon to see a ring of trees ulfocted around one 
that has shown it first. A Grimsby orehard- 
ist tells of his whiflle-tree having rubbed some 
bark off the stem of a diseased tree, and then 
struck a branch of a healthy tree. Next sea¬ 
son that branch showed signs of the disease, 
the whole tree soon following. Pruning, or 
simple scoring is well known to inoculate 
from tree to tree. But liees and other insects 
probably convey the contagion in the pollen 
grains which adhere to them. A farmer in 
Stamford neglected to cut. down and burn one 
tree seen to be affected in bis orehurd, and the 
next year 200 trees in it. were diseased. So 
great a dread of the disease prevails that 
American nurserymen are now unable to sell 
any peach trees in Canada, and where the yel¬ 
lows is prevalent people fear to eat the prema¬ 
turely ripened fruit. Yet it is freely eaten else¬ 
where, being the first taste of the season, and 
no serious 111 effects are known to have re¬ 
sulted beyoud the indigestion that attends 
the eating of any fruit not properly ripe. 
Inspectors of the yellows are now appointed 
in Canada on the requisition of the in¬ 
habitants of auy municipality, or of any live 
rate-payers of any adjoining one. These in¬ 
spectors are to make two rounds annually, 
visiting all the peach plantations once in July 
15th to 30th, and once in the same half of 
August,. A mark is to bo put on any diseased 
tree found. Tbo trees so marked must be 
burned within a reasonable time. This is not 
well carried out, but a good suggestion made 
is that as most of the older trees were killed 
by last winter’s cold, a resolute action by the 
united tree owners of a whole dist rict would 
stamp out the fungus effectually; and with the 
Knowledge and feeling now generally prevail¬ 
ing it would be possible to keep the germs 
at a distance. Like other epidemics, this plague 
seems to run out of a district either from final 
lack of means of support, or from the occur¬ 
rence of soma influences of weather, climate, 
or competition, which for the time destroys it. 
It is said to have prevailed about. Philadelphia 
as early us 1700, and was soon afterwards 
carrying havoc through Maryland und Vir¬ 
ginia. Many districts can tell of its cessations 
and reappearances, each usually continuing 
for som i years. w. 
FRUIT NOTES. 
Apples. —The Yellow Transparent is a very 
great acquisition to our list of early apples. 
The trees bear beautiful, good fruit abundant¬ 
ly in two years after grafting on large trees 
in tbo orchard. Indeed, the fruit ueods thin 
ning or they will overbear, and young trees in 
nursery rows are also prolific. Wealthy is 
also a very early bearer in nursery rows, and 
iu the orchard it commences* bearing u full 
crop of excellent dark crimson fruit ripening 
'about the last of summer. Those who want 
apples very soon, or have but small places or 
gardens, can be accommodated with these 
two varieties, to which tin* Smokehouse and 
Twenty Ounce may be added for early bear¬ 
ing in autumn, and Smith’s Cider for winter, 
although this is not of first-class quality; 
but where great prolificness, beauty mid bear¬ 
ing when quite young, are desirable, it can bo 
recommended. 
Chau Apples.—S ome80 years ago 1 planted 
30 Transcendent Crabs for market, but have 
found my mistake. They ripen too early for 
the demand, and fall oil' the tree before they 
are ripe, and so 1 have grafted most of them 
over with winter apples. 1 find late-ripening 
sorts best. These are fit for sale when house¬ 
keepers are ready to use them, und of the 
many varieties I have fruited I prefer the 
Hyslops. They are very showy, dark purple, 
and hang on the tree till wanted. Their great 
beauty will help to sell them. 
Gooseberries. — l have fruited the Triumph 
for two years, and they have borne full crops 
of large size, and excellent berries exceeding 
so far the Downing und Industry in produc¬ 
tiveness. 
Raspberries.— The ltaneocas and Marl¬ 
boro have not been profitable with me, nor 
has either come up to my expectations. The 
Golden Queen is u tine grower, and the ber¬ 
ries are on improvement on the Caroline; but 
it is much inferior to the Outhbert iu flavor 
and firmness, and 1 cannot si si why, except 
for a novelty, auy ouo would plant it or the 
Caroline, or any yellow variety, as the color 
is not popular. 
Quinces. —Neither do I believe in the 
Champion Quince, especially in this latitude. 
Great are their keeping qualities, for they 
will stay till winter before they ripen—long 
nfter they are wanted for use, for there is a 
season for all kinds of fruit, and out of sea¬ 
son they are not wanted. 
Grapes. —The Cottage is the first to ripen 
and, of course, the first gone. Hardy, sweet 
and prolific, Brighton is the best, but it is an 
uncertain bearer and quite liable to mildew— 
its only fault. My Norfolk, Jefferson and 
Empire State were killed to the ground, but 
they are fine growers. The Pocklington vines 
have not made a good growth, and probably 
this variety is no letter than many of tho 
light kinds. When the Martha was first in¬ 
troduced I was told, “You want Martha,” and I 
believed it. Mine grow on the south side of tho 
office, which may improve the quality, but 
certainly it is an excellent grape, and when 
the fruit hangs on till late in the season ex¬ 
posed to the sun, they are delicious, and there 
is no foxiness then. The Worden still holds 
its own. Although not ripe as soon as the 
Cottage, its large size and sweet, melting tex¬ 
ture will make it always prized, and ‘better, 
no doubt, than many scores of new sorts high 
in price, but of uncertain quality. Where 
tho Catawba succeeds it is the best, but not in 
this part of the country. The Rogers’s Hy¬ 
brids with me have generally failed of contin¬ 
uous ripening, hut where the season is long 
enough to ripen them, or the situation is favor- 
uble, they, especially the Salem, are a valu¬ 
able addition to our list of varieties. The 
Niagara ripens late here, but I have not tested 
it long enough to give an opinion yet. Con¬ 
cord, however, is yet the grape for the mil¬ 
lion. ISAAC HICKS. 
Queens Co., L. I. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
[Every query must he accompanied by the name 
and address or Mm writer to Insure attention. Before 
asking a question, please see If It In not answered In 
our advertlslnt; columns. A*k only a few questions at 
one time. Put questions on a separate piece of paper.] 
PEAR BLIOUT BEETLE. 
“Several," Salisbury, Pa .—What are the 
insects samples of which are inclosed? They 
killed all the buds on a Seckel pear tree. Will 
the tree die or will it start dormant buds next 
spring! 
ANSWERED BY C. P. GILLETTE. 
The insects were badly crushed iu the mail, 
but from what is left of them and the twig in¬ 
closed, 1 think your trees are infested by the 
Pear-blight Beetle, (Xyleboms pyri.). The 
presence of the beetle is first, noticed by tbo 
blighted appearance of the leaves and fruit 
and the discoloration of the bark. This ap¬ 
pearance is almost identical with that of fire- 
blight, a disease due to a fungus. If tho 
blight is the work of this little beetle, small 
piu-hole-like perforations will be seen near 
the bud. This little beetle, which is about 
oue-teutli of an inch in length, lays its eggs at 
the base of the buds; the minute grubs food 
on the inner bark and sap-wood and so girdle 
the twigs as to cause them to die. It is not 
true, as was formerly supposed, that tins 
beetle attacks only unhealthy or dying trees; 
for they work upon the most thrifty as well. 
Neither is the work of the Insect confined to 
the pear; for it occasionally attacks apples, 
apricots and plums. Remedy: cut off the 
twigs as soon as tile blight apjiears and burn 
them. It is bal’d to tell whether the trees will 
live or not. If the buds are all destroyed, the 
the trees will probably not survive. 
MAKING A LAWN, ETC. 
F. L. N., Fair Haven , N. Y. —1. How can a 
good lawn be made in the country? What 
and how much seed should be used? 2, Can 
the RURAL publish a plan of a couveuieut 
farmhouse costing from $1,500 to #1,800? 
Ans. —1. It is best to plow the land in the 
spring and harrow it, killiug all weeds by cul¬ 
tivation as they appear. Plow again in late 
August and harrow until of the grade desired. 
Sow Blue Grass and Red Top September 1, 
about 1 1 .j bushel of each, or more if you like. 
If tho land is uot rich, a heavy dressiug of 
immure should be plowed under at first—not 
less than 80 tous to the acre. In tho spring 
tho lawn should lie rolled as needed. This is, 
as we believe, the best in the end, the cheap¬ 
est way of making a first-rate lawn. You 
may plow the land and harrow it now and 
sow, but this would insure a weedy lawn. 2. 
We have presented many such buildings and 
shall continue to do so from time to time. 
IPOMA5A BONA-NOX. 
S. A. B., Edwardsville, III .—Is Ipomsea 
noctiphiton a perennial? Is it hardy enough 
to be left out during winter without any 
mulch? 
Ans. —Yes, it is a tender perennial vine—the 
proper name of which is Ipomcea bona-nox. 
Started in the house in winter,it may he trans¬ 
ferred to the open ground when there is no 
longer danger of frosts. It will make a pro¬ 
digious growth. Its (lowers open in the even¬ 
ing just before dark, remaining open all night 
and a part of the next morning if cloudy. 
The flowers have tubes three inches long, the 
corolla being white, round and about four 
inccs in diameter, fragrant withal. It is a 
grand old vine. 
DUROO JERSEY HOGS, 
J. H. B., Jr., Hamlin , Kan .—Are the Jer¬ 
sey Red hogs a valuable breed? Are they 
nearer cholera-proof than the Poland-Chiua? 
Ans. —Yes, the Jersey Red, or, more 
correctly, the Duroe-Jersey hogs are quite a 
valuable breed. They are robust, good feed¬ 
ers, making a good quality of meat, at a mod¬ 
erately early age, with bones stout enough to 
carry them about under a fair load of flesh, 
and with less tendency to ruu to excessive fat 
than some other breeds. They are of recent 
origin, and it is therefore claimed that they 
possess a stronger constitution than some old¬ 
er breeds, whoso constitution has been enfee¬ 
bled too much by close in-breeding and feed¬ 
ing too much for fat and early maturity. 
This is one of the charges alleged against tho 
Poland-Chinas by the Duroe-Jersey men, and 
probably there is something iu it: but tho fact 
that the Poland-Chinas are still much more 
extensively popular than the Duroc-Jerseys 
even iu sections where both are well known 
goes to prove that the hog-raising public do not 
put much faith in the charge, or else see in the 
Poland-Chiua counterbalancing advantages. 
Miscellaneous. 
J. S. P., Bourbon, Ind .—What fertilizer 
would be best to push to vigorous gi owth ap¬ 
ple, cherry and other fruit trees in nursery 
rows on n stiff clay soil and subsoil. How 
much should be used per acre ? 
Ans.—A s u guess, wo would mention (500 
pounds of raw bone flour and 400 pounds of 
kainit, per acre. 
O. P. B ., Washington Co., Va. —What is 
the best fertilizer for a sandy loam, with 
heavy clay subsoil ? 
Ans. —Tho fertilizer should contain the fol¬ 
lowing per cent, of the constituents named or 
in that proportion relatively : Ammonia, six 
per cent.; phosphoric, acid, seven per cent.; 
potash, six per cent. 
*4. G., Augusta, Ga. —What is the wheat a 
specimen of which is inclosed ? 
Ans. —This is the Seven-headed, Egyptian 
or Eldorado wheat, valuable only as a spring 
variety, and that only in certain favored 
localities of the Northwest. 
W. L. .4., Hushing , O .—Where is Professor 
Gulley’s book published ? 
Ans. —By Professor F. A. Gulley, A. & M. 
College, Oktibbeha Co., Miss. 
W. M. K., Anacostia, D. C .—Should one- 
year-old or two-year-old vines be planted this 
fall for an arbor ? 
Ans.—W e should choose two-year vines. 
J. S., Ashley, Utah .—The plant is a species 
of Cuscuta, Dodder, but it was so covered 
with mold that wo cannot give its specific 
name. Cultivation of the land before it seeds 
is tho only remedy. 
DISCUSSION. 
R. M. L., Xenia, Ohio.— “It is safe to as¬ 
sert that not one farmer in ten, the country 
over,would cast a ballot for the bill to create a 
new Cabinet officer to bo known as Secretary 
of Agriculture,” suys a late Rural, quoting 
from the Philadelphia Press. Is this true? 
What grounds has the agricultural editor of 
the Press for supjiosing it is true? During a 
number of years past I have seen a multitude 
of reports of conventions of farmers, pure and 
simple, of professors of agriculture in our 
agricultural colleges, of agricultural chemists, 
of stockmen and llock-masters and others 
prominent in agricultural matters or represen¬ 
tatives of agricultural interests, and in four 
out of live of them, the subject of making the 
head of the Department of Agriculture a Cab¬ 
inet officer was discussed, and I canuot re¬ 
member one instance in which the proposition 
did not meet with hearty indorsement. The 
men who composed these various meetings or 
conventions were either practical farmers 
themselves or they were in constant contact 
with practical farmers of the various sections 
where they dwelt, and knew their sentiments 
on this and other matters of interest to agri¬ 
culture, yet every convention declared it to 
be the wish of the farmers of the country 
that the Department of Agriculture should 
bo raised to the level of the other Departments 
of the Government. Did they mistake or mis¬ 
represent the sentiments of the. farmers of 
their sections? Is there any reason to suppose 
they did, except the unsupported assertion of 
the editor of one department of a large c : ty 
paper, containing a few columns of agricul¬ 
tural matter once a week ? Remember, every 
section of tho country has been represented in 
such conventions, from the cotton planters of 
the Gulf to the wheat growers of Dakota, 
from the stockmen of the Plains to the flock- 
masters of Vermont, and all have been loud- 
spoken in their indorsement of the proposed 
measure. I do not care to advocate it here, or 
indeed, elsewhere ; but I think it hardly fair 
to use the above quotation as representing the 
sentiment of the farmers of the country with¬ 
out a word of comment, iu the face of such 
a unanimous expression of the real feelings 
of the farmers of the country by those who 
represent them more truly than the ex¬ 
cellent agricultural editor of tbo weekly agri¬ 
cultural issue of the Philadelphia Press. 
Whenever any measure, State or National, 
for the advancement or benefit of any other 
industry than agriculture is advocated in the 
press or before tho State or National Legisla¬ 
tures, others may object to it on tho ground 
of economy, but not one word of protest is 
ever seen or heard from the ranks of those 
who may be benefited by it. No sooner, how¬ 
ever, is any measure. State or National, pro¬ 
posed for the benefit of any branch of agri¬ 
culture than there are always farmers, or 
would-be farmers, or would-be representa¬ 
tives of farmers, who vociferously declaim 
against it; in nine cases out often chiefly on 
tho ground of State or National economy. 
Either the measure is worthless for farmers, 
and, therefore, not a cent should be speut on 
it; or it is likely to be of less value than is 
claimed and, therefore, it should be dropped 
altogether; or the benefits to be derived from 
it are likely to be smaller than the outlay that 
may be required to carry it out, and, there¬ 
fore, it should not be supported; or the udvo- 
cacy of it may lessen tho force of the advo¬ 
cacy of other contemplated measures, or— 
well, these men are never at a loss Tor a reason 
for protesting. Of course, the experience of 
ages leads one to expect opposition from other 
quarters to the outlay of money for the bene¬ 
fit of agriculture; that has always been the 
case and always will be; but why should 
farmers themselves—or a small, but loud¬ 
mouthed faction of them—oppose such expen¬ 
diture? No other business is taxed so heavily 
as agriculture for the benefit of other indus¬ 
tries, and any amount likely to be laid out for 
its at! vantage by the National Government is 
but a fraction of what it pays for^the benefit 
of other industries, most of which ela.nor 
against any special outlay for its advantage. 
CL'iH'njwljcvc. 
AN ILLINOIS FARMER IN CALIFORNIA. 
All crops can be raised, by irrigation except 
Indian corn; land monopoly; harvesting 
on grain ranches-, market gardening a 
Chinese specialty, great variations of cli¬ 
mate. and condition in so large, a State; 
old-timers; utilizing minert ’ ditches; cost of 
irrigation; the foot-hills for health; rain¬ 
fall: vineyards and orchards: white labor 
thriftless and uncertain: Chinese labor 
a necessary evil; the land boom. 
AUBURN, Placer Co., CaJ., Sept. 11.— I came 
to this State early iu the spring to purchase a 
fruit farm. Before finally settling down I 
wandered over tho State considerably, and 
found most people were pleased to live here, 
but the universal testimony was that it takes 
a year or two to learn to be in love with the 
State. Of course, I don't refer to those excur¬ 
sionists who come and go at a certain season, 
but to those who come in moderate circum¬ 
stances and try to make a living. We can 
raise almost everything iu California with ir¬ 
rigation, except Indian corn. That can be 
grown iu the rich river bottoms, and is grown 
to a limited extent; but tho grade is low. The 
same is the case with broom corn. No Timo¬ 
thy hay is raised, except iu the mountains, 
where it doesn’t dry out. Wheat, oats and 
barley can be grown without irrigation, and 
they are: the main crops in the great Sacra¬ 
mento Valley. They are grown for grain and 
huy. Most of the best lands of the valleys are 
held by the rich, and they came iu possession 
of them by grants from tin* Mexican Govern¬ 
ment, before we had control. One grunt of 
40,000 acres of choice land, joining Sacramen¬ 
to on the cost, is owned by Colonel Higgins, 
now East trotting his horses. There are no 
improvements on it except his own dwelling 
and a few cabins scattered here and there. A 
great many farms of tho best lauds, from 
5,000 to 40,000 acres, are a curse to the coun¬ 
try. The owners hire a few men and raise 
grain. One man will drive eight to ten horses 
and manage a gang of four plows, sleep in his 
