4888 
all the same, only the darker the quarters the 
paler will be the flowers. Indeed, you can 
cut off a branch with good plump flower buds, 
put its end into a bottle of water, set it in a 
sunny window and dew it overhead morning 
and evening, and it will bloom out as readily 
as will a forsythia or pussy willow. Japanese 
and American snowballs, deutzias, early-flow¬ 
ering spiraeas and many other early-blooming 
shrubs are also, at this time of year, very 
sensitive to heat, light and moisture. Just as 
soon as you can dig up one or two, try them. 
And they respond much more quickly after 
having been left outside unprotected from 
frost than if they had been lifted in the fall 
and since then kept over in the cellar. In 
forcing hardy plants, always start gently. 
And the early-blooming, showy garden clem¬ 
atises force easily, and with little exertion, 
can be had in bloom between February and 
May. Hydrangeas are worth starting early. 
By starting a few now we get them into flower 
in April and May, and they last so long when 
they come into bloom. There is nothing bet¬ 
ter than Thomas Hogg among whites, and 
Rosea among reds. 
BUCEPHALUS BROWN'S NOTIONS AND 
IDEAS. 
On Friendship. —A Frenchman classified 
his friends under three heads—those who 
loved him, those who hated him and those 
who didn’t care about him. I have lately 
noted another variety—perhaps a distinct spe- 
c j es _tbe friend who not only demands that 
you love him—which is just, at least from the 
American point of view—but who requires 
you to love all his dogs. This last phrase is 
“metaforakl,” as a “fonetic” correspondent 
lately spelled the word. I meaD that he in¬ 
cludes it in the duty of friendship that one 
should have just as much faith in all his hob¬ 
bies as he has himself. This is rather trying, 
especially if he is an experimental horticul¬ 
turist, and an “originator of novelties,” ain’t 
it, dear Rural?— (We are afraid it is.— Eds.] 
What Shall We Do About It?— Buceph¬ 
alus happens to have “quite a good many” 
friends of this sort—good men, kind men, em¬ 
phatically nice men, to one of whom it is quite 
impossible to refuse a favor, even though it 
be to try his last seedling grape, fee careful 
that no one gets any of the wood, and give 
your honest opinion about it as soon as it 
bears. I’d a good deal rather do that for an 
avowed and bitter enemy—hadn’t you, dear 
Rural?— [Yes, indeed.— Eds.] I would have, 
perhaps, one chance in two hundred to make 
a friend of him; while the other way I have 
two hundred chances to one to make an 
enemy—one fiercer and more irreconcilable 
than “a woman scorned.” 
And Again. —Suppose your friend is occu¬ 
pying an important official position, and you 
are a public writer whose bounden duty to 
your readers it is to render a true account of 
your friend’s work. Perhaps you believed 
him eminently qualified for the place, exerted 
yourself to get him into it, and announced his 
apointment with eulogy. Time passes, and 
with all the good purposes a man can have, he 
fails to satisfy the public he was set to serve. 
Letter after letter comes, setting forth that 
dissatisfaction. You perhaps write to him 
privately, mentioning these criticisms. He 
tells you in reply that the public is not qualified 
to judge of the value of his work. You point 
out to him that however needful or important 
the work he is doing, it is both duty and wis¬ 
dom for him to try to serve the public in the 
way the public wants service. You are sadly 
made to realize that he is bent on riding his 
own hobby at the public expense. Will any 
one point out the way in which you can do 
your own duty and retain his regard? 
On Good Farming.— It is a “poor coote” 
indeed that cannot plant a crop on rich new 
land, and get enough from it to feed him and 
his family. But when the poor cootes have 
cleared out all the primal fertility—eaten it 
up or wasted it—another kind of man is re¬ 
quired to get a living and competence by till¬ 
ing the ground. Farming old land profitably 
is both a science and an art. Horticulture is a 
fine art. Training is essential to success in 
the arts and sciences. The difference between 
the farming of a skilled farmer, or the garden¬ 
ing of a skilled gardener, and the work of the 
unskilled, is as wide as the difference between 
the boy’s charcoal sketch of a horse on a barn 
door, and a painting by Rosa Bonheur. 
Genius in Farming. —Men of genius have 
become tolerable draughtsmen and painters 
without instruction, but one of these was 
never known afterwards to advise another 
young man to do the same. He would say,— 
‘I can show you things in a minute that took 
me 20 years to find out, and during that time 
I was falling, through ignorance, into bad 
habits and ways which now I can never 
fully overcome.” It is very wise to make use 
of the world’s stored wisdom.—the toilsome 
findings-out of innumerable men since human 
improvement began. It is good to have a 
genius for farming, but even genius can be 
helped by a ladder, to which learning has 
been well compared. 
Good Sense, Too. —Instruction will feed 
good sense, but good sense itself is to a great 
extent a gift. It is in reality the power of 
correct mental comparison, and is as much 
innate as “a good eye,” or “a deft hand.” 
Without it a farmer inevitably falls into 
costly errors, often into ruinous ones. But 
this innate good sense is capable of great im¬ 
provement by cultivation, and as nearly all 
have the germs of it, a wise culture may, in a 
way, even confer this boon upon those who 
seek it. 
On Farming as a Source of Wealth.— 
Good sense, energy and acquisitiveness are the 
foundations of money-getting. A clear-headed 
independence of thought will often open out 
new ways to wealth, so that some have made 
fortunes where others have barely kept them¬ 
selves alive. All these characteristics are 
partly innate, and a man born without a good 
share of them is handicapped. To such the 
way even to a moderate competence must be 
through painful industry, and that minute 
economy which skirts on meanness, and 
frequently drops in. It is a fact that moder¬ 
ate fortunes are quite frequently acquired by 
plain, common farming, even in “rugged 
New England,”—which, by the way, contains 
a large amount of good farming land. 
Moderation with Security. —These be¬ 
long to the arts of tillage, as distinguished 
from industries dissociated from the soil. 
Great gains and safety are not often found 
together. If a just average were struck, the 
equation would show, I am sure, that agricul¬ 
ture, even as now pursued in America, is the 
best business going. Certainly it is so for the 
“average man,” since it is a business that re¬ 
quires no phenomenal brilliancy, but rather 
the careful application of the common quali¬ 
fication of civilized humanity. There are 
verge and scope enough in it, so that even 
superior minds need not weary of it, while it 
need occasion none of the excitement which 
weakens and wears out both body and mind 
before their prime. For those whose life is 
in the atmosphere of “storm and stress” farm¬ 
ing in any form is unsuited. He who deals so 
directly with nature must be able to possess 
his soul in patience, and wait for the perfect 
work of that virtue. 
CORRESPONDENTS’ VI-EWS. 
Let the Weather Bureau Help Farm¬ 
ers! — I am somewhat interested in the 
weather Signal Service, as I live in the coun¬ 
try. I have been waiting for and expecting 
such an improvement as will enable every 
farmer to form a comparatively true idea of 
what the weather for the day will be without 
waiting until evening to find out. Where a 
farmer lives a long distance from the place of 
publication, the report as given in the daily 
papers is of little use, even if he can go to the 
post-office every day. There are a large num¬ 
ber of farmers who are not willing to afford 
a daily paper. The last report of the chief 
signal officer does not seem to be very encour¬ 
aging to those who wish most for a good 
weather signal system. Now it seems to me 
that the people themselves or those who are 
interested might do something better than has 
yet been done. I have a plan to propose 
which, it seems to me, might be worked out if 
it can be properly brought before the people. 
The signal should be sent to certain telegraph 
offices and from these distributed over the 
country. At the office a pole or mast should 
be set up, and instead of using flags of differ¬ 
ent desiens, broad bands, say two feet wide, 
should be stretched between hoops, say three 
feet in diameter. These bands, of which there 
need be but a few and of different elementary 
colors, should be made so that they can 
readily be removed from the mast and ar¬ 
ranged in various orders. A certain combin¬ 
ation to represent a certain weather signal to 
be sent out, is to be drawn to the top of the 
pole, and can be rapidly copied with similar 
bands on poles all over the vicinity. 
This plan would cost but little to carry out 
and if generally adopted every little hamlet 
could have a signal on its highest elevation 
and every person interested in the weather, 
living in the valley or on high ground, could 
learn the first thing in the morning what the 
weather for the day is likely to be. Of course, 
the predictions from headquarters should be 
as accurate as possible and the telegraph sig¬ 
nal stations should not be too far apart. 
We need some means of foretelling the 
weather with reasonable accuracy that 
will give each one, whatever his situation, 
all the benefits, and I feel sure that if the 
Rural New-Yorker and other papers of 
influence will take up the matter it will soon 
be a thing accomplished. There is no need of 
stating the benefits to be derived; any intel¬ 
ligent person will readily understand the na¬ 
ture of these on stopping to consider. 
Warren, Me. f. w. h. 
[R. N.-Y. This is a timely subject. We 
shall be glad to have farmers discuss it. At 
present the weather indications are of consid¬ 
erable service to those who live where they 
can get the morning papers. We have 
watched them carefully for some years and 
have found them surprisingly accurate. Let 
the farmers tell what they want and how they 
want it and the authorities at Washington 
can work more intelligently.] 
Keeping Accounts.— In the Rural for 
December 24, page 856, a subscriber told how 
he had kept his accounts of farm operations 
for 40 years. If he could give his method, it 
would be of advantage to many readers. Far¬ 
mers want shorter methods than merchants. 
Oneonta, N. Y. g. i. g. 
R. N.-Y. The subscriber referred to writes 
us as follows concerning his method of account¬ 
keeping:—First I enter the day of the week 
and date; the condition of the weather— 
whether pleasant or unpleasant, rainy or 
snowy. If there is any storm I tell its course 
and character, prevailing wind, temperature 
at six A. M. and six P. M., and when I am at 
home at noon—then I briefly mention the 
general business of the day, and the result of 
the day’s labor; if of several kinds, the maxi¬ 
mum result of each. General observations— 
in regard to business, crops, fruits, etc. In 
regard to cattle I tell if any are ailiDg or 
really sick and the method of treatment, 
whether by another or myself. Then comes 
any change or improvement in feeding or 
care of stock of any kind. Observations 
while riding about the country, are also noted, 
as well as the negligence of many farmers in 
the care of farm implements. The pithy sug¬ 
gestions gained from others find a place, and 
so does a correct account of all incomes and 
expenditures. Thoughts upon any subject 
that may have most occupied my mind during 
the day are recorded, always aiming at 
brevity but accuracy. All of it is so simple a 
child might do it better—but I have an un¬ 
broken chain since February 1, 1847. It is 
practically of no value to others, but without 
price to myself. Those who have read the 
Rural through its long and interesting life 
have now and then seen an extract from a 
leaf in my diary. I use a three or four quire 
8x10 blank book, known as a journal, and 
ofttimes larger ones, always carrying in my 
side-pocket a small memorandum book to note 
down any data of interest during the day to 
be copied into the diary that night. 
Farm and City.— The isolation of farm 
life, with its hard work, and lack of social 
intercourse and other advantages, used to 
cause quite a difference in the manners and 
appearance of a farmer and a city gentleman. 
Formerly city cousins who spent most of their 
time in society, saw much in the dress and 
conversation of country relatives to excite 
their mirth and ridicule. There is now less 
difference between country and city folks. 
The church, the school, the grange, the agri¬ 
cultural association, the railroads, the literary 
society have all had their influence, but more 
potent in leveling these distinctions than all 
else are the newspapers, more especially the 
agricultural paper, with its varied depart¬ 
ments, instructing each member of the house¬ 
hold, from oldest to youngest. The girls and 
boys of the farm will now compare favorably 
in general intelligence and true politeness 
with those of the city. They may lack eti¬ 
quette and polish, but they are not inferior in 
tact and solid acquirements that fit them to 
be useful members of society. s. w. h. 
Pendleton, Ind. 
The Frontispiece, illustrating the railroad 
accident, is a powerful picture. It will set 
farmers to thinking. It will recall to the 
mind of almost every reader of the Rural a 
similar accident in the vicinity of his home. 
One of the reasons why such accidents are so 
common is that the railroads seldom have to 
pay any damages. It is assumed that if the 
whistle is blown and the bell rung, according 
to law, the unfortunate who is run over is at 
least guilty of contributory negligence. This 
is not always a correct assumption. Railroad 
companies should be compelled by law to put 
up either automatic gong signals, or gates at 
every dangerous crossing. j. w. G. 
Bogus Butter in the Country.— What 
can be done to stop the sale of bogus butter in 
our country stores? I am satisfied that there 
are a dozen stores selling it within a circuit of 
four miles of my residence. Farmers can not 
sell the genuine article, be it ever so good, at 
any price, except for trade in small lots, and 
there is an immense quantity of what they 
dall “fresh Delaware butter” sold. The busi¬ 
ness commenced about a year ago, when the 
authorities began to hunt the bogus article in 
New York and other places. Before that we 
could sell our butter readily and for good 
prices; now nobody wants it. Kingston and 
Saugerties are also full of the bogus article. 
Ulster Co., N. Y. amos cheney. 
[R. N.-Y.—Those who sell bogus butter will 
conduct their business where they can most 
easily escape detection. They were driven 
out of the larger places because there were 
too many inspectors and agents to keep track 
of them. In country districts where there are 
few officials to investigate them they consider 
themselves safer.] 
How Blushing Paid. —Many thanks for 
the little Rural Blush potato sent us in 1883. 
Some laughed when they saw our little Blush 
until I hid it away in the cellar. It was care¬ 
fully planted and has increased so wonder¬ 
fully that if all the potatoes from that little 
tuber had been used only for seed, in 1888 
they would plant 1,000 acres—and all this in 
only five years, and two of these dry seasons. 
Some of our neighbors blushed this fall when 
they found their potatoes turning out only 
five and 10 bushels to the acre; but I hid my 
Blushes again in the cellar at the rate of 125 
bushels to the acre. This, however, I do not 
blush to record. There is a moral in all this 
which would make thousands rich if they 
would only learn “to despise not the da} of 
small things.” G. a. f. 
Cuyahoga Co., O. 
[R. N.-Y.—It pays to blush, evidently.] 
I Breed for Early Lambs, sell the ewes 
as soon as fat, get most of them off without 
turning out to grass and buy in new stock 
early in July. Last year my flock cost me 
delivered, $318. My sales of old stock, lambs 
and wool amounted to a trifle over $1,050, 
which I think pretty good, as I had the scab 
to fight all winter. W. A. 
Mullica Hill, N. J. 
The Niagara Grape bore fruit with me 
last season for the first time and ripened at 
the same time as the Concord. I am very 
much pleased with it. I shall root up some of 
my old varieties next season and set out the 
Niagara. It pays to have such fruit. Some 
of my bunches were as perfect as the pictures. 
Those that I bagged looked like wax-work. 
Charlotte, Vt. o. h. a. 
Sulphur for Seed Potatoes.— Last 
spring I sifted some sulphur over a few pieces 
of seed potatoes for scab. Potatoes in general 
were nearly destroyed by potato bugs, but I 
could find none on those so treated; but they 
were not entirely free from scab h. 
Prickly Comfrey Again.— Much is said 
about Prickley Comfrey lately in the R. N.-Y. 
I am digging up my own patch; have tried it 
three years; find that only some cows will eat 
it. e. E. 
Paterson, N. J. 
LESSONS IN OATS. 
Our last year’s experience with the oat 
crop has taught us a very important lesson. 
The sooner the grain is sown after the ground 
is in order for work in the spring, the greater 
will be the chance of success. Those of my 
neighbors who got their seed sown the earliest 
saved their crop in good condition, while 
those sown a week later were almost an entire 
loss on account of frequent rains at the time 
of harvesting, My plan is to plow the ground 
in the fall. As soon as the frost is out in the 
spring and the ground is sufficiently dry to 
work, run over the field with a good cultivator, 
sow the seed broadcast and harrow it in, but 
don’t roll unless the soil is sandy. I find also 
that two bushels of seed to the acre of White 
Pobsteier oats give as many bushels of crop 
as three will, while the crop from two bushels 
of seeding will weigh from two to five pounds 
more per bushel, so that any more than two 
bushels of seed per acre is a dead loss, and if 
the land is in good condition I would be in¬ 
clined to seed lighter, as that variety stools or 
branches out well. j. p. 
Kingston, N. J. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
PLUM CULTURE. 
A.[A., Mt. Washington , Ky .—I have a thin, 
