apricot originated, unless it was among the 
“trees bearing fruit” created on the “third 
day.” It is indigenous in Armenia and thence 
eastward to China. It was introduced into 
Europe from Armenia, and thence to America. 
It is generally grafted or budded upon the 
peach or plum. It blooms very early and is 
therefore very liable to lose the crop of 
fruit from late frosts in Spring. It is scarcely 
as hardy as the peach; and a winter extreme 
of 18 or 20 degrees would be very sure to 
prove fatal to the tree. Even if the tree were 
to prove hardy in Northern Central Indiana 
(which is doubtful,) the probability that the 
fruit buds and fruit would escape is exceed¬ 
ingly slight. The Black Apricot and the 
Breda are the most hardy. 
Miscellaneous. 
S. W. O., Ridgewood, N. J. —I have a quar¬ 
ter of an acre of sandy loam which has been 
worked for 10 or more years’without the use 
of fertilizers. When I.'came'here last year I 
tried to raise a crop of potatoes with the help 
of a little chemical fertilizer m the hills, but 
with very poor success, very few of them be¬ 
ing large enough for market. This year I 
had field corn there. I wish next spring to 
make use of the ground for asparagus. How 
should I prepare it for its new task? What 
is the best asparagus for the New York 
market? 
Ans. —Plow and subsoil-plow the land, and 
about the end of March or early in April just as 
soon as the ground is dry and mellow enough 
to work, throw out wide furrows three feet 
apart in a light land, or four feet in good land, 
with a double mold-board plow. If the aspar¬ 
agus is for home use green “grass” may be 
preferred; in thiscase an eight or nine-inch 
deep furrow will be enough; if for market, 
white “grass” will.be more desirable as it sells 
better, and in this case the furrow should be 
12 or 13 inches deep. In this furrow spread a 
heavy coating—two or thee inches deep—of 
rotted manure, then draw a little earth over it 
before setting out the plants. Plant the aspar¬ 
agus two feet apart in the rows, and cover the 
roots some three inches deep with soil. If you 
have used the deep furrows, don’t fill them up 
level till the second year; if the shallow ones, 
you may fill up level any time after the plants 
have grown a foot high. Chemical fertiliz¬ 
ers are very good after your plantation has 
got established, but, to begin with you had 
better use barn manure very liberally. Colos¬ 
sal is the variety mostly grown for market. 
R. H., Oswego, N. Y. —I have a mare with 
foal. She was in good flesh. About Septem¬ 
ber 1 a neighbor took her from my barn 
and rode two miles as fast as she could go, 
part of the way down hill. Since that time 
she has lost flesh and has no life. She is weak. 
Her hair is rough and full of dust. She 
froths at the mouth when driven, and the 
hair rubs off wherever rubbed by the harness. 
She galls easily. She has a good appetite. 
What should be done for her? 2. Can I pun¬ 
ish the man who took her out? 
Ans. —1. Your history of the case would 
indicate that the mare was injured in the way 
you suggest. We suspect the foal may have 
been killed, but cannot say positively. Allow 
the mare a period of rest from active work, 
giving only moderate daily exercise in a yard, 
or a short drive to a light carriage. Feed 
sparingly on a laxative nutritious diet, such 
as oats and wheat-bran with ground linseed, 
or oil-meal, and roots or corn-fodder if avail¬ 
able. 7 The following .prescription may prove 
beneficial: One ounce powdered gentian night 
and morning in the feed, and one ounce 
sweet spirits niter in a pint of cold gruel or 
water as a drench or in the drinking water, 
three times daily. 2. If the person had no 
authority to take or use the mare he is cer¬ 
tainly liable for all damages, and may be 
subject to criminal prosecution, in addition 
to a civil suit for damages. 
J. S., Caledonia, N. Y. —In the Rural 
of November 12, William Falconer gave us 
the best article I ever read on celery. Will 
he please give his experience with Golden Self- 
blanching? Is it as early as White Plume? Is 
it as sweet as the green kinds of celery? I 
grew 1)4 acres of White Plume this year; it is 
bitter and does not stand the drought. 
ANSWERED BY WILLIAM FALCONER. 
Golden Self blanching celery is about as 
early as White Plume, but not nearly so good- 
looking. During its whole career its leaves 
have a yellowish-green, sickish appearance; 
when blanched the “white” part is yellowish- 
white. We earthed up ours as we did any 
other variety of celery, hence it was tender. 
But none of the self-blanching sorts have, to 
my taste, the pronounced celery flavor pecul¬ 
iar to the Boston Market or London^Red. 
W. G. G., Rock Glen, Pa. —Is it safe to de¬ 
horn cattle at this time of the year? How 
close to the head should the horns be cut off? 
Should anything be put on the wound after 
sawing off the horns? 
Ans. —Yes, in fact, the winter is considered 
best, as the flies are not troublesome, and if 
the animals are kept in warm quarters there 
will be little danger. The directions call for 
sawing as close to the head as possible, which 
is about the best advice that can be given. 
Some cattle bleed more than others but the 
majority bleed about a gill. On the dehorned 
cattle that we have seen a little cotton batting 
was placed on the stub and a bandage tied 
around it. Western stockmen who perform 
the operation on a large scale would doubtless 
smile at this bandage. 
W. M., Broad Ripple, Ind. —What is the 
difference between the Long-Bunched Holland 
and the Victoria currants, and what are their 
good or bad points, season, etc. 
Ans. —The Long-Bunched Red Currant re¬ 
sembles the Red Dutch. The clusters and fruit 
are a trifle larger. The fruit of Victoria is 
rather larger than Red Dutch, berries red. 
The bunches are long and the fruit ripens late 
and hangs on well. We do not know about 
the Holland currant. 
M. F., Eaton Rapids, Mich. —Is the raising 
of millet for seed profitable? Where can the 
seed be marketed? 
Ans —Millet seed is a staple, used largely 
for the feeding of birds. The price varies 
from 60 cents to $1.25 per bushel according to 
the season and quality of the seed and also in 
what market; like wheat it is higher near 
New York than it would be in the West. 
Feed stores and bird stores will usually buy it. 
C. E. J., Maysville, Ala. —I would like to 
open correspondence with some practical 
dairyman with the view of establishing a 
creamery here. Can you assist me in the mat¬ 
ter? 
Ans. —Perhaps you can secure the services 
of a student at the A. and M. College of Mis¬ 
sissippi. At that college an excellent course 
in dairying is given and many students are 
expert dairymen. Address Prof. F. A. Gulley, 
A. and M. College, Miss. 
J. W. H., Elizabeth , N. J. —Where can the 
Rural Thoroughbred Flint corn be pur¬ 
chased? 
Ans. —We find it in Thorburn & Co.’s cata¬ 
logue—15 John street, New York. It is but a 
matter of time before all seedsmen will offer 
this for ensilage purposes. There is no other 
kind that approaches it in leafiness. 
H. H. L., Geneva, N. Y. —Is the Idaho pear 
described in the Rural the same as that ad¬ 
vertised under the same name by a Kansas 
nursery; if not, where can the real Idaho be 
obtained? 
Ans. —We do not think it is as yet in the 
market. Address John H. Evans, Lewiston, 
Idaho, for particulars. 
T. A. C., Manhawkin, N. J —What is the 
best preventive to keep rabbits from cutting 
off young pear grafts in nursery? 
Ans. —Rubbing them with fresh blood is 
said to be effective. 
J M. R., Fountain City. Pa. —Where is the 
Hudson potato digger, recently mentioned in 
the Rural, manufactured? 
Ans. —By S. Terry Hudson, Riverhead, 
N. Y. 
W. S., Smith's Landing, IV. Y. —Who breeds 
Pea-combed Plymouth Rock fowls? 
Ans.—H. S. Babcock, Providence, R. I. 
DISCUSSION. 
G. S. K., Chambersburg Pa.— In a recent 
number of your excellent paper you say that 
R. W. Cameron & Co. are authorized to offer 
a reward for any effectual means of extermi¬ 
nating the superabundant crop of Australian 
rabbits. Now, I would suggest the establish¬ 
ment of meat preserving enterprises, whereby 
their carcasses may be preserved and exported 
as an article of diet. Besides their heads and 
viscera could be converted into a very good 
poultry food and fertilizer, their fur be wov¬ 
en into an excellent cloth, and their skins 
be used in the manufacture of gloves, and for 
linings etc., which would go a long way 
towards making the industry profitable. Be¬ 
sides canning the meat, a very good aad 
cheap way to preserve their meat, would be 
to salt and dry them as codfish is done. By 
this mode the government of Australia would 
not only avoid the bounty which I have no 
doubt they are willing to pay for their rid¬ 
dance, but their destruction would be attended 
with a profit. It strikes me that the Pasteur 
THE WEEPI 1STG HEMLOCK.‘.Re-engraved from the London Garden. Fig. 16. (See page 38.) 
