row may be obtained by giving them poisoned 
food. Of course, great care would have to be 
taken to put such food on high poles, or roofs 
of buildings or in some place where other ani¬ 
mals could not get to it. I do not think it 
would be necessary to use arsenical poisons 
for this purpose. It is well known that common 
salt is a deadly poison to the entii-e feathered 
tribe,so I think that food stronglyseasoned with 
salt would do the work as well as arsenic. Be 
sides these remedies the shotgun will be found 
useful in frightening them from the barnyard 
and premises of the farmer. The children 
should also be enlisted in the work by offering 
them a cent or two a head for all they will 
destroy. In short, let head and band be at 
work devising and putting into action every 
possible .means to drive from among us this 
rapidly increasing little foreigner that already 
costs us millions of dollars a year to support, 
and which gives no adequate return for this 
enormous tax. 
Ag’l Coll., Mich. 
iVliscf tUrnons. 
* 
CORRESPONDENTS’ VIEWS. 
Shall Farms for City Folks.—I am in¬ 
terested in the subject of small farms or hold¬ 
ings—say, five to 25 acres. There are thou¬ 
sands of city clerks who would be glad to be¬ 
come independent farmers if they knew how 
they could obtain a living. They know noth¬ 
ing about the possibilities of the small farm, 
and it would be something towards solving 
the problem of the future to lessen the over¬ 
supply, in cities, of young men and turn this 
surplus into producers. s. w. c. 
Chicago, Ills. 
[R. N.-Y.—This is indeed an important 
question. In New York City alone there are 
thousands of young men earning from $8 to >10 
per week, and spending every cent, of it for a 
bare living. There are also thousands of 
young women earning still less! Within 50 
miles of the city there are thousands of farm¬ 
ers who are becoming disgusted with farming 
because they cannot secure intelligent labor. 
The young men and the young- women who 
crowd our cities and thus reduce wages to a 
ruinous figure could easily find profitable work 
and comfortable homes in the country if they 
reallv cared to do so. Most of these city 
young people would, as we believe, fail miser¬ 
ably if they were to be placed on small farms 
without passing through some form of appren¬ 
ticeship. If they could be induced to work a 
few seasons as laborers, and then be placed in 
the way of securing small holdings, great good 
would result from the arrangement. The 
trouble is that most of such parties have no 
means of properly informing themselves. 
There is nothing in the books or papers they 
read, or in their conversation to show them 
the time side of farm life. 
Experience With Prickly Comfrey.— 
An article in a recent Rural relating to 
Prickly Comfrey reminds me that I bought 
some of the roots of it in the spring of 1878. 1 
set some of them in a wet, mucky place, and 
some of them on a dry, gravelly hillside. It 
has remained there ever since, but it never 
spreads unless the roots are broken and moved. 
It sometimes blossoms, but I have never seen 
any seeds. That planted on wet ground I cut 
four times a seasou, and fed to cows, pigs and 
horses. They all eat it without any trouble. 
If fed too much at once, it acts as a cathartic. 
I remember reading that it was fit only to give 
to a costive dog. One of ray cows got into 
my patch and ate all she wanted, aud for a 
day or two there was not enough of her to 
make a shadow; but she soon came to her 
milk again and now I am careful to keep the 
fence in good repair between the pasture and 
the comfrey. There may be better forage 
plants, but it certainly is very easily and 
cheaply raised. If one has a waste, wet place 
full of weeds, flags and the like, he can choke 
them out by sticking In a few pieces of Prick¬ 
ly Comfrey root. “ Hampshire.” 
Hampshire Co., Mass. 
Is Nitrate of Soda Too Dear?— I am 
well satisfied we cannot profitably increase the 
wheat crop by the use of nitrate of soda at its 
present price when wheat is selling at fi5 cents 
per bushel; but 1 saw by a report of the Treas¬ 
ury Department that it costs very little in ex 
cess of one cent per pound aud is imported 
free of duty. The New York dealers, it seems 
to me, ought to be satisfied with a profit of 25 
per cent. East year aud the year before it 
cost more to import it, and yet the price is still 
as bigb as it was then. sam’l r. h, 
Crawfordsville, Ind. 
An Appreciative reader—I wish to ex¬ 
press our appreciation of the Rural. The la¬ 
dies of the family think their department is 
veiy excellent, and 1 nuist say that there are 
p] ways'# freshnessflf’d a(] #if nf prosperity 
about the paper that have a cheering effect 
every time it is received. In the past season, 
during the terrible drought, when I was about 
discouraged, each receipt of the RuRALseemed 
to brace me up, aud I always felt better for it. 
I shall certainly take it regularly as long as I 
can find the funds. G. o. G, 
Kankakee, 111. 
A Dark Lantern is a handy thing for a 
farmer to have. I have mine fastened to the 
front of my wagon every dark night when 1 
am nu the road, aud this has prevented many 
an accident, I use a common “bull’s-eye” 
lantern. 1 found that lanterns with wick and 
oil will not work well. The jolting aud shak¬ 
ing of the wagon work the wick down. A 
candle inside the lantern is much better. 
Monroe Co., Mich. u. J. L. 
A Bit of Frozen Truth. —The Rural is 
by far the best farm paper I have ever seen. 
It is beautifully printed on splendid paper; 
nothing is slighted—not eveu humbugs in 
the Eye-Opener. The cartoons certainly tell 
the truth plainer than words could ever tell 
it. 1 can see the pictures before me although 
the papers are laid away. It is doing a good 
work. H - c - 
Hampden Sidney, Va. 
CATALOGUES, ETC., RECEIVED. 
Wisconsin Farmers’ Institutes.— Bulle¬ 
tin No. 1 is received from Supt. W. H. Mor¬ 
rison, Madison, Wis. Nothing like this volume 
has ever before been attempted. A complete 
report of the Farmers’ Institute held at Green 
Bay, Wis., last year is given, with a brief 
history of ihe Farmers’ Institute movement in 
Wisconsin aud a complete list of the dates of 
this year’s meetings. An examination of the 
volume shows with wliat care the meetings 
are planned aud carried out. They are far¬ 
mers’ meetings, pure and simple. The poli¬ 
tician has no chance here to make himself 
‘•solid” with the farmers. It is an admirable 
volume representing good work. 
Folding Sawing Machine.— Illustrated 
catalogue describing this implement, from the 
Folding Sawing Machine Co., 3QS S. Canal 
St., Chicago, 111. All farmers are invited to 
investigate the merits claimed fur this tool. 
It is claimed that one man can, with its use, 
saw wood as rapidly as two men with the or¬ 
dinary cross-cut saw. The best “record” 
claimed for it is 7’4 cords of beech in nine 
hours by one man. The writer has lmd to 
work bard to saw six cords, even with u good 
sawyer to help him. Send for the circular 
and look it over. 
Harrison’s Standard Mill.— Catalogue 
from the Edward Harrison Mill Co., New 
Haven, Conn.—Ten good reasons are given 
why the Harrison Standard is the best mill 
made. Any man who proposes to get a mill 
should by all means look this catalogue over 
before purchasing. All who send for it will 
find a well written account of why and how 
these mills are made—with excellent illustra¬ 
tions. 
Pennsylvania Farmers’ Institutes.— 
Programmes for three of these meetiugs are 
received from Thos, J. Edge. Harrisburg, Pa, 
The dates assigned are; Miftlintown, Novem¬ 
ber 24—25: Newtown, November 80; Decem¬ 
ber 1; aud Lewisburg, December 7—8. Good 
programmes have been prepared and all 
farmers living within riding distance of these 
places should by all means attend the meet¬ 
ings. 
Missouri Farmers’ Institutes. —Prof 
J. AT. Sanborn sends us a programme. Four¬ 
teen meetings have been arranged for and 
five more are under consideration. The cam¬ 
paign opens at New Loudon, December 20. It 
is proposed to make these meetings particu¬ 
larly enjoyable this year. 
Report of the Mycologist. —This pam¬ 
phlet of some 150 pages is by Prof. F. S. 
Scribner. It is taken from the annual report 
of the Department of Agriculture for 188(5. 
It treats of plant diseases and is of special 
value to vineyardists. 
Rabbit Killing. —The farmers of South 
Australia are still obliged to fight rabbits. 
This pest has increased even in spite of the 
most vigorous warfare against it. It 
seems a little absurd to think of men organiz¬ 
ing and passing “resolutions” against rabbits, 
but that is what Aust ralian farmers find them¬ 
selves forced to do. Hunters and trappers 
have made rich harvests but there is a strong 
feeling against them. Such men would l>e 
likely to want to make their positions peruia. 
ueut. They would always see to it that game 
enough was left to enable them to make a liv¬ 
ing. Cats, weasels aud pole-cats fiavp been 
imported in large numbers and have done 
good work but have a bad habit of attaching 
poultry', A machine for forcing bi-sulphide 
of carbon into the burrows has |>epq invented 
and jfdQBS vv'orh, 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
[Every query must he accompanied by the name 
ami aildrr.sK nf the writer to insure attention. Before 
asknwa quest lop, please see if it Is not answered in 
oar advertising columns. Ask only a few quest Ions at 
one time. Pul questions on a separate pieeeof patter.] 
CABBAGE CULTURE AND HANDLING, 
IF. W. P., Muff Point , N. F. — Would 
cabbages pay on dark, loamy, “made luttd” 
that produces 100 bushels of corn to the acre? 
What would be the estimated returns from 
10 acres within half a mile of station aud 
steamboat dock? What is the proper cul¬ 
tivation? 
Ans.— Land that will bring 100 bushels of 
core to the acre should produce 10.0(H) good 
cabbages, or 12,000 to 15,000 good summer 
cabbages. But tbe late kinds are the best 
where there is not a good aud sale market for 
the early kinds, as the fall aud winter mar¬ 
kets are certain, and the crop can be kept over 
without difficulty- The returns from this 
crop vary' from $2 to 85 per 100 heads, making 
a very satisfactory profit on it. The method 
of cultivation is as follows; The laud is 
plowed before winter and manured. Iu the 
spring it is cross-plowed, and if the season 
admits of it, a crop of early potatoes is taken 
first. While the potatoes are growing the 
cabbage plants are grown in seed-beds of rich 
soil in which tbe seed is sown aud the plants 
cultivated until ready to set out in July. 
The most popular kinds are Late Flat Dutch, 
Fottler’s Improved Brunswick, and Large 
Lute Drumhead. The seed is sown thinly in 
the beds as soon as the season is warm enough, 
in rows or broadcast, but uot too closely for 
making stocky plants. When the potatoes 
are taken up the laud is well harrowed, and 
should be dressed with 1,000 pouuds of good 
superphosphate per acre; this being harrowed 
tu at the last turn of the harrow. 
The ground is marked out 2} .J feet by IS 
inches, and a plant is set out at each inter¬ 
section. A raiuy time should be chosen for 
the transplanting; but if the plunts.are good 
and strong and the ground is mellow and rich, 
the planting may be done safely in tbe aftei- 
noon although there may not tie rain. It is, 
however, better for the plants if ram is tail¬ 
ing. The cultivation then includes the work¬ 
ing of the laud by proper tools, as a small, 
light plow, or the Planet Junior horse hoe, 
keeping down weeds, preserving the crop from 
cut-worms ami the greeu and striped leaf- 
eaterpillars. The latter are destroyed by 
spraying the plants with a solutiou of an 
ounce of saltpeter or alum to the gallon of 
water. With a good season few plants will 
fail to head, and when the cabbages are hard 
aud mature, they are gathered for sale, or 
kept over in pits until sold, or made into sour- 
krout and shipped iu kegs and barrels to 
markets in the large cities, or the upper lake 
towns, where this savory preparation is iu 
good demand. 
ICE HARVESTING IMPLEMENTS. 
N. J., Mt. Pleasant, N. ./.—Is there any 
machine for cutting ice, that works in a satis¬ 
factory way? 
Ans.— The ice plow is about the only prac¬ 
tical tool in use by ice men. This is a thick 
piece of steel about four feet loug ami six 
inches wide with one edge lilted with saw-like 
teeth. Two ordinary plow handles are fitted 
to it and a piece of light steel answering to 
the extra bar of a marker, supports the plow 
and marks for the next cut. With this plow 
ice can be cut as last as a horse can walk. It 
is usual to plow both ways, and then break 
off the cakes,which can be done by a light tap 
with an axe. In cutting thiu ice or m takiug 
that Irom narrow rivers or ponds icc saws are 
very useful. There are also hand plows to be 
pushed iu front of the person using them. A 
complete set of ice tools would include a 
marker, plow, snow planer, ice jack (un im¬ 
plement for pulling cakes up the slide to the 
ice house), a grapple, half a dozen pairs of 
tongs aud us many saws, ice hook, chisel, 
bars and hatchets. The Higgauum MTg 
Company make an excellent set of these tools. 
SWEETENING A MEAT BARREL.—TAINTED 
PICKLE. 
M. L. S., Newark , N. J.—The last of the 
meat taken from an ouk meat barrel was taint¬ 
ed probably owing to the use of impure salt; 
how cun the barrel be sweetened for use 
again? 
ANH,-:I>ry it and put a puilfuj of dry pine 
shavings Into it, aud then set them on fire so 
as to char the whole inside of tbe barrel. 
Then piiise it out well with clean water and 
PCrilb it with a stiff brqom. Tl|p bu|‘p j yyill 
DEC 3 
then be sweet enough for use. Tbe spoiling 
of the meat was uot due to impure salt, but 
to tbe souring of the piekle from excess of 
albuminous liquid from the meat. Before 
meat is packed in a barrel it should be salted 
and left on a bench or in a tub to drain and 
got rid of this easily decomposed albuminous 
serum from the meat. To cure piekle that has 
become tainted it should he boiled; by this 
means the albumen becomes coagulated and it 
may be strained off and the impure matter 
will in this way be removed. 
AUSTRALIAN VOTING SYSTEM. 
J. H. S., Paterson , N. J .—What is the 
“Australian system of voting” which is rec¬ 
ommended as a means of preventing fraud? 
Ans. —In a general way it may be said to 
do away with the caucus. All voters are re¬ 
quired to register. When they register each 
voter names the candidate he would like elect¬ 
ed. When a given number of voters name a 
certain candidate, his name is to be printed 
on the tickets which are printed at the pub¬ 
lic expense. Thus there may be a dozen or 
more names on each ticket. The voter crosses 
off, with pencil or pen, filenames of the candi¬ 
dates he does not wish to vote for. The vote 
is given to the candidate whose name is left 
blauk. 
Miscellaneous. 
K. Me A., Coturn biaville, Mich .—Will the 
early Swedish Oats yield from 80 to 100 bush¬ 
els per acre? 
Ans. —We have never raised tbe above oats. 
AVe should think, however, that such a claim 
is preposterous. Tbe yield of auy kind of 
oats will depend on the richness and cultiva¬ 
tion of the soil and the character of the sea¬ 
son much more than on the variety, and an 
assertion that any particular sort will yield 
such an enormous crop, irrespective of the 
most favorable conditions, is, on the face of 
it, extravagant. 
D. B. B., Stratford, Conn .—What is the 
best artificial incubator for poultry? 
Ans. —This question will be answered as far 
as it possibly can be in the articles by P. H. 
Jacobs on “The Broiler—from the Egg to the 
Griddle.” 
■ -■ ■•»« - 
DISCUSSION. 
POTATOES AND THE IRISH. 
C. H. B., New York City.— Dr. Nichols, 
I age 770, makes the point that the great cause 
of the suffering aud poverty of the Irish peo¬ 
ple lies in the fact that the potato is almost 
the onl}* crop produced for food. There may 
be much in what he says; in fact, to a greater 
or less extent, the same is true of many dis¬ 
tricts iu our own country, where farmers live 
upon an almost exclusive meat diet of salt 
pork. But there are other facts connected 
with this potato growing besides the fact of 
insufficient nutriment. The Irish, as a rule, 
at least those who come to this country, are 
large, strong, tough men and women. I think 
the fact is that the growing of potatoes year 
after year, supplying the necessary nutriment 
at the least expense of labor, makes the Irish 
a lazy, happy-go-lucky race. If they had to 
work harder to raise their food they would be 
better off. I believe that a certain amount of 
labor will produce more food in the form of 
potatoes than iu any other crop that can be 
grown. 
THAT SORGHUM TRUST AGAIN. 
B. F. J., Champaign. III.—I note what 
the Rural says on page 75(1. about a Sorghum 
Trust in Kausas, There never was a bigger 
swindle proposed. The fact is, there is little 
short of a famine in Kunsas, in consequence 
of crop failures this year and in the two sue 
cessive years before, aud nobody can pay. 
Mortgages are being foreclosed and interest 
defaulted, while u vust amount of laud is fall¬ 
ing back into the hands of the shyster lawyers 
and shark bankers—the agents of Eastern 
capitalists. Under these circumstances some¬ 
thing must be done to start a boom in real 
estate and these “Sugar Trusts” are the in¬ 
ducements. If the season is good, the land 
rich, the crop large aud the roads hard while 
the stuff is beiug haul <1, farmers can make 
something delivering green sorghum to the 
mills for about 82 the ton, if they are not too 
far off. But if the crop is light, the weather 
wet and the roads muddy, there is no profit in 
it. That was the experience at Champaign, 
where there is adverse evideuce enough to lay 
out cold any scheme to start a Trust on so 
light a basis as a profit iu sugar by the diffu¬ 
sion process from the sorghum sugar cane. 
Cucnjwljcrc. 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
Canada. 
Glanworth, Out., Nov, 15 .—Alloropshavo 
been rathsr short liet’c f]jjs season, owing to 
