treal. I took a morning train over the Boston 
and Lowell road and was somewhat surprised 
to learn that it constituted the Boston ter¬ 
minus of the Canadian Pacific line. GoiDg 
northward through Southwestern New Hamp¬ 
shire, the road passed numerous lakes of even 
the existence of many of which 1 had been ig¬ 
norant, although several of them, by their sur¬ 
roundings, as well as by various conveniences 
for the purpose, gave evidence that they had 
come to be summer resorts of very consider¬ 
able prominence. 
The rough, rocky and, in some places, even 
mountainous character of both this State and 
Vermont to Western eyes, would seem to af¬ 
ford but indifferent encouragement to the pur¬ 
suit of agriculture, and yet farms were fre¬ 
quently passed giving abundant indications 
of thrift, although usually narrow in limits 
compared with the broad, level acres of West¬ 
ern prairie farms. 
Although very many of the farmers of the 
West acquired their fondness for horticulture 
here, and have not failed to develop it, often¬ 
times under serious difficulties in their West¬ 
ern homes, this region, at least so far as could 
be seen from a moviug train, shows compara¬ 
tively few attempts at orcharding. Occasion¬ 
al plantations were seen with trees here and 
there showing good crops of fruit; but or¬ 
chards, or even single trees, giving evidence 
of care and judicious and intelligent cultiva¬ 
tion seemed to be comparatively rare. 
The early afternoon brought us to Newport, 
Vermont, at the head of Lake Meraphrema- 
gog (a name which had been the terror of the 
spelling class in our schoolboy days), where 
resides Dr. T. H. Hoskins, widely known as a 
horticultural writer, as well as an orchardist 
and a careful experimenter with fruits, espe¬ 
cially such as might be supposed to be adapted 
to the “cold North ” The Doctor also devotes 
more or less attention to market gardening, 
finding ample demand for the products in the 
village which has recently become a popular 
summer resort, the lake, some 40 or more 
of the various sets of numbers used in connec¬ 
tion with the various importations, often, if 
not even generally, unaccompauied by the 
name; to say nothing of different names often 
in different importations, applied to the same 
fruit and in other cases the application of the 
same name to different fruits. The report 
eontaius abundant internal evidence of great 
care, thought and labor in its preparation, 
and there is much apparent reason for the be¬ 
lief that Mr. Gibb's second visit to Russia dur¬ 
ing the past summer at bis own expense was 
made partially, if not wholly, to enable him 
the more fully to perfect this report, which 
may be expected to appear iu the forthcom¬ 
ing volume of the society'’s transactions. 
Mr. Gibb is located in a region apparently 
possessing unusually favorable peculiarities 
for successful fruit culture in so high a lati¬ 
tude. 
MR. TERRY’S NEW BARN. 
THE GROUND-PLAN. 
Figure 476 shows the grouud plan of my 
barn, tool house and yard, a picture of which 
was given iu the last issue of the Rural. 
The buildings face the road, standing back 
about 50 feet, so as to give an easy rise to the 
bank or driveway. We graded the rise to one 
footm eight, and find a team without shoes 
will easily draw in a 3,000-pound load, when 
the road is dry. The grouud is only about 
three feet higher where the bank is than in 
front of the tool house—that is, the natural 
Jay of the laud. 1 prefer not to have the 
basement, iu the ground very much. If it is 
sunken there is not as good a chance for light, 
ventilation and dryness, plenty of which 
every good stable must have. 
The tool-house has a ground floor, with only 
about six inches rise in 10 feet, in front, to 
out-of-doors for a single hour, when not in 
actual use. On many farms there is an ex¬ 
cuse—it is too much trouble to get things 
under cover; when we are through using any 
particular tool, then it can be stored iu its 
place in the tool house. 
To show the practical working of these 
sheds, there are today (Sept. 10.1 two disk 
harrows, a Thomas, a *100 potato-digger and 
a load of potatoes (50 bushels) standing there. 
We are digging and drawing potatoes to mar¬ 
ket, and fitting the land for wheat with the 
barrows. Everything is under cover; but 
right where we can hitch on to it and drive 
right out, L shows where we hang our work 
harnesses. When the slide door is shut into 
the stable the harness and the carriages are 
away from the dust and ammonia. The posts 
of the tool house are 12 feet. 
The yards need not be described, only to say 
that if I intended to keep more than 15 or 20 
head of stock, 1 would cover them both. We 
shall have water at C; whether we are to use 
a pump and tub, or wind-mill and tank, is 
not yet decided. 
I. shows the stone wall that holds the bank. 
This and the bridge can be seen in the picture 
in last week's Rural. In this way we keep 
the dampness of the bank away from the 
barn, aud have a chance for a large window 
in the granary for light and ventilation. The 
walls of the granary or cellar (a fine place for 
potatoes, etc.) are of hollow bricks, which are 
far superior to stone, as they are glazed so 
that no dampness goes through them, and 
they take up no more room tbau the sill— 
eight inches. Then they are cheap. The en¬ 
tire foundation, with the walls of the gran¬ 
ary—13x30 feet, and 9 feet high—nest $188, 
laid. The work was done by two masons in 
three days. Thiuk of that! Manufactured 
stones are away ahead of nature’s kiud. With 
a tile floor the granary' is rat-proof. There is 
a plank floor uuder the hay bays, raised up 
six inches from the earth. These bays are 
boarded up on the sides next the stables, with 
they please. The windows in the stables are 
six feet high to the sill, aud slide to open. 
The doors are all lined with flooring on the 
inside so that they cannot be kicked to piecas. 
Plan of second story and further descrip¬ 
tion in my next. 
Summit Co., Ohio. 
FARMERS DISCUSS OFFICIAL WEATH¬ 
ER REPORTS. 
(RURAL SPECIAL REPORT). 
Weather wise saws; better results to be expect¬ 
ed when weather wisdom is older and the re¬ 
porting system improved; experience of 
“ four-seoret uneful prognostication; 
learning after the shower. 
The Bedford Farmers’ Club held its Novem¬ 
ber meeting in the Griffith Opera House, Mt. 
Kisco, N. Y. Johu Green Clark was called to 
the chair. The subject discussed was “ The 
Value of the Weather Bureau to Farmers.” 
The meeting was opened with a valuable paper 
by the Rev. Lea Luqueer. He spoke of the 
prominence of the weather as a conversation¬ 
al topic, as an clement in business, and a sub¬ 
ject for prognostication. The paper abound¬ 
ed iu old weather proverbs like these: 
if the sun goes pale to bed, 
•Twill ruin to-morrow. It Is said. 
Onion skin very thin, 
M1U1 winter coming in. 
Onion skin thick and tough. 
Winter will be very rough. 
Evening red and morning gray, 
Sure to be a pleasant day. 
He also cited the fact that when hogs run 
about with straws in their mouths, when dogs 
take to grass as a diet, peacocks scream, and 
oxen are restless, raiu may be expected. He 
described minutely the workings of the Bu¬ 
ndles in length, being supplied with steamers 
and with conveniences for fishing and hunt¬ 
ing. 
A frost occurred here on the night of Sept¬ 
ember lfith, which partially killed tender veg¬ 
etation. I walked out with the Doctor, a half 
mile or more to his farm, to look at. his exten¬ 
sive orchards, which are nicely kept and in 
excellent condition. 
Rabbits are very troublesome here in winter, 
and to protect the trunks of trees from their 
attacks, slats are fastened about them, close 
together, and extending high enough to be 
beyond tbe reach of the pests. Many of the 
hardiest of the old varieties have been tried 
here and failed. Even Fameuse, considered 
to be one of the hardiest of these, does not 
prove quite satisfactory. Several of the 
Western varieties, such as McMahon’s White, 
Pewaukee, Walbridge, Salome, and others, 
reau and the methods of making tbe predic¬ 
tions. “ For the farmer,” said he, “ the 
weather reports are not of much practical 
value because they are not received soon 
enough for practical use. It would be of great 
practical value if the Bureau would establish 
a system of signals at high points in given lo¬ 
cations, so that, the farmers might refer to 
them for guidance.” 
Mr. James Wood said he felt like asking 
the farmers present whether they had ever 
changed the plans of their day’s work be¬ 
cause of the reports of the Weather Bureau. 
He said the farmer would trust more to bis 
weather eye thau to all the Government reports 
ever seut out. If the Weather Bureau said 
rain and it rained, the farmer would sav, “I 
told you.” He said he believed in the scientific 
principles of the Weatber Bureau, but he 
thought it had as yet failed to do much Cor the 
fail to give full satisfaction. Scott's Winter, 
of recent, origin, and a long-keeper, seems to 
be the Doctor’s favorite, at least so far as 
profitableness is concerned A large number 
of the Russian apples have been, and are being 
tried; but, so far, ouly a very few varieties 
are considered valuable. 
This locality is said to be considerably more 
elevated than the valley of Lake Champlain, 
some distance farther west. Although both 
are more or less hemmed in by mountains, still, 
for some uuexplained reason, tbe latter is less 
subject to severe extremes of cold in winter, 
and is, therefore, a more satisfactory fruit¬ 
growing region. 
Taking an early train northward on Mon¬ 
day morning we were soon beyond the domain 
of ‘‘Uncle Sam;” and, changing cars at Farn- 
harn, a few miles brought us to Abbottsford— 
the home of Mr. Charles Gibb, the gentleman 
so favorably known among horticulturists as 
the associate of Prof. J L, Budd, of Iowa, 
during his visit to Eastern Russia a few years 
since, and who, at the session of the Ameri¬ 
can Pomologieal Society, at Grand Rapids, 
Michigan, in 1885, was chosen sole member of 
a committee, iu effect, to originate an Ameri¬ 
can system of nomenclature for the varieties 
of fruits introduced from Eastern Russia and 
adjacent countries by various persons and 
also by the National Department of Agricul¬ 
ture, under the, to us, unpronouncable names 
of Russiau and Russo-German origin. Owing 
to the fact of Mr. Gibb’s acquaintance with 
these fruits iu their native localities, aud his, 
at least, partial acquaintance with the lau- 
guage.be was doubtless the most capable person 
available for so onerous aud difficult a task— 
oue which has now been completed, and the 
result of which was reported at the recent 
meetiug of the society at Boston. 
To enable a person to fully appreciate the 
great labor aud extreme difficulty of this 
work, he should become aware of the crudity 
of the original Russiau nomenclature; the var¬ 
ious blunders which have grown out of the 
loss of the original lists of the Government 
importation; the common and continuous use 
take tbe water away. Being so nearly level, 
I can alone run in or out a mower, wagon, 
or any tool we have except the binder. A 
dirt floor is far cheaper than a plank one, aud 
far easier for getting implements in. A tile 
floor, which 1 will speak of soon, would be 
very Dice; but a bard gravel floor is good 
enough. The tool house is all oue room. The 
dotted lines simply show the positions of the 
door posts, which stand on stoues, with an 
inch iron dowel to hold them. Except where 
the doors are, the tool house, as well as all of 
the barn, is underpinned with hollow-brick. 
Tbe day of putting barns on stone piers, aud 
leaving the rest of the space open for the wind 
to blow in, ought to be past. There is a 
matched floor over the four east spaces iu the 
tool house. The stairway is shown iu the 
plan. This is a handy place for storage, 
work-shop, drying clothes in web weather, 
etc. The four pairs of doors under this floor 
are about 6 ’,j feet high—high enough for any 
tools. The next pair are eight feet high, for 
top carriages. B shows the closet for car¬ 
nage-harnesses. All doom are marked D, 
and all windows W. The space A has doors 
II feet high, so that a load of hay can be 
driven in. This space and also the east one, 
are 12 feet wide. The others are eight feet. 
Tbe low-down binder, bay-rake and other 
wide tools go in the wide place. Tbe place A 
is particularly intended for driving in with 
any tool we may be at work with, at night, 
or when rain is coming. It is just as bandy 
to drive in there before unhitching from the 
manure-spreader, or mower, as to leave them 
iu the road or yard; then the team go right iu 
the stable. Iu the morning hitch on and go 
out through the yard, and out of gate K into 
the road. The same can be done with any 
load for market, uml is so much hautlier than 
going up the bank on to the barn floor. The 
covered ynrd and A are all one shed when 
the doom are open. We can drive through K 
directly into the covered yard, and then un¬ 
hitch. Surely there cau now be no possible 
excuse for leaving any wagon or implement 
slide doom through which we can throw out 
hay. 
Tbe cow stable will not be finished up tdis 
fall It will hold about 15 to 20 head If 
more room is wanted a lcau-to will be built 
across the west end of tbe barn, giving 15x45 
feet more stable room aud increasiug the capa¬ 
city of the stable up to 30 or 35 bead. There 
are double doors at each end so that we can 
drive right through to draw out manure, or 
gram or potatoes from the cellar. The base¬ 
ment is nine feet in the clear. We are now 
finishing up the horse stable. There arc three 
box or double stalls, each nearly 10 feet wide. 
Two horses cau be tied in each (with n swing¬ 
ing partition between if desired) or oue may 
be turned loose. In the winter, or when idle, 
we shall keep them loose, having the straw a 
foot deep aud letting the manure accumulate. 
At E, F aud G there are heavy gates which 
open around agaiust the wall, out of the way, 
when not in use. Between the hay room 
and horse stalls is the feeding alley. The ^ 
reader will notice that the windows arc so ar¬ 
ranged as to throw light in the alleys of the 
stable and the cow stable, so that one can see 
to feed early and late without a light. Thej 
partition posts in the stable are set on stones 
with iron dowels: but ihe important point is 
the floor. In the average horse stables half 
the manure goes to waste, or worse. What 
kind of a floor would be best has been the 
study of years, lam using blocks of burned 
and glazed sewer-pipe clay, eight by eight 
inches and five inches thick. These are used 
for pavements in the city. They will be laid 
in Portland cement, so that the whole floor 
will be practically one solid stone about six 
inches thick. The cost l can hardly give yet; 
but probably it will not be far from 12 or 14 
cents a square foot of surface. The floor of 
the granary is made of thinner plates or tiles 
and cost nine cents a foot, laid. Both the 
horse and cow stable are lined on the inside 
of the girts with l>/-inch matched Norway 
pine flooring. This makes them warm, and 
with plenty of girts the horses may kick all 
farnii r, chiefly because the science was as yet 
in its iufaucy. He, however, had great hopes 
of future success iu prognosticating the 
weather, which would be of greut assistance 
to agriculture. He concludes that no farmer 
should ever change his plans unless the weather 
indications are unmistakable; the best thing 
to do is. even in ha ving time, to go right ahead 
and get through your work as the business on 
hand. “He that observeth the wind will not 
sow, and he that regardeth the clouds will not 
reap.” 
Mr. Gedney said he had watched the 
weather for over 80 years, and that it was 
true that when the eveuing was gray and the 
morning red a man might as well go to bed. 
He thought that the Weather Bureau was a 
good thing aud that its chief defect was that 
the prognostications were uot obtained by the 
farmers early enough in the day. He said he 
had observed that showers never advanced 
toward the uioou. He said farmers should 
watch the weather particularly in harvest 
time, and get iu their hay as fast as they cut 
it, if the signs indicate rain 
Mr. Haines said: “I’d rather have the old 
fiddle on the wall than till the weather reports 
I’ve ever read. Take it down and play ‘Auld 
Lang Sync’ and you can tell whether its goiug 
to rain or uot.” lie thought the farmer who 
kept bis men idle while he went to the depot 
for the morning paper to see the weather pre¬ 
dictions, cared more for his morning nip for 
his stomach’s sake than he did about the 
weather, and predicted his downfall. The 
only comfort to be derived from the weather 
reports is reading them at the end of ihe week 
and seeing what weather we haven’t had. 
Mr. Robertson said he thought tho chief ob¬ 
jection to the reports of the Bureau wat the 
fact that the bulletins were uot seen in time by 
the farmers. He thought tho signals might 
be exhibited from some elevated point. Iu 
the iiupromtu discus-ions which followed the 
regular meeting tho opinion seemed to prevail 
that a farmer could not afford to study the 
bulletins of the Weather Bureau as they uro 
now published; but if they could be signaled 
