544 
proper proportions for one acre for permanent 
pasture. The object in sowing the Timothy 
is that it would come on earlier than the other 
grasses named and would, much of it, remain 
in the land even after the other grasses had 
obtained full development. 
BUCKWHEAT AS A REMEDY FOR CUT WORMS. 
N. II. S., Plymouth , Michigan.—Is buck¬ 
wheat ever used as a remedy for cut-worms ? 
Is it effective and how is it handled ? 
Ans.— Here is a letter from a New Jersey 
farmer that answers the question : “ Sow 
buckwheat about the first of May and when it 
is well in bloom put a good, heavy chain on one 
end of the plow, fastened to the beam, and tie 
the other end to the off horse whiffletree and 
plow the whole crop nicely under ; then roll 
the ground and occasionally barrow, so as to 
keep the surface in fine condition until about 
the 10th of July (for Jersey); then put on the 
cultivator and put in as good condition as the 
plow can possibly make it. Nowsow one and a 
half or two bushels of rye ; next one bushel of 
buckwheat, giving fertilization enough to pro¬ 
duce a crop of ouckwheat for seed. The mode 
of operation will clear the ground of worms 
and give a good crop of rye to plow under.” 
In “ Insect Life,” recently issued by the De¬ 
partment of Agriculture,the following appears 
from a party in Mobile, Ala.: “Have you 
ever noticed the effect of plowing under a crop 
of buckwheat to keep cut-worms off the land ? 
It has been our experience the last 15 
years that wherever we turn under a crop of 
buckwheat we will not have any cut-worms 
on it ; but this year has been the most remark¬ 
able of all. The seed we got from the North 
was of a very poor quality, hardly coming up 
at all. So we sowed the remaining seed, 
about two bushels, on a piece of about one- 
half acre. This gave us a good stand. Now 
everywhere cut-worms are plenty, except on 
the little piece where the buckwheat has been 
turned under. We always have been free 
from cut-worms on land where we'have plowed 
buckwheat under, while our neighbors have 
sometimes their whole crop ruined by them.” 
INCUBATORS, EGGS AND BROILERS. 
A Poultry-lover, N. F. City : —1. Which 
are the good chicken incubators ? 2. What in¬ 
cubators are used at Hammonton, N. J., 
where artificial incubation is such a success ? 
3. What incubator does Major Jordan, Secre¬ 
tary of the Hammonton Association, use? 4. 
What percentage of chicks are hatched from 
fertilized eggs at Hammonton ? 5. I infer 
from a statement in the Philadelphia Press, 
that so many eggs were not hatched at Ham¬ 
monton this year, that the broiler business 
there has not been profitable. What are the 
facts ? 
ANSWERED BY P. H. JACOBS, HAMMONTON, N. J. 
Ans. 1. There are no “good incubators,” for 
all incubators are good according to the man¬ 
agement of the operator. We have the Mon¬ 
arch on one place, the operator considering 
it the best. Another thinks the Eureka the 
best. Another prefers the Perfect Hatcher, 
and another the Keystone, while others pin 
their faith to the hot-water incubator. Some 
succeed with one and fail with another ) 
while a neighbor succeeds with the kind the 
other could not work, and fails with one that 
has been successful, The man does not live 
who can pick out the best incubator, any more 
than one can select the best harvester, the 
best thrasher, or the best churn, as each is a 
favorite with some. 2. The incubators used 
at Hammonton are the Monarch, Perfect, Eu 
reka, Centennial, Keystone, Hot-water (de. 
scribed in a previous issue of the R. N.-Y.), 
and the same with a lamp attachment. 3. 
Major Jordan uses the Monarch and Hot- 
water. 4. The percentage of chicks hatched 
depends upon the season. Sometimes an op¬ 
erator will hatch 90 per cent, and over, and 
the next time he may get only 40 per cent. 
5. The statement in the Press, by 
Miss Helen M. Williams (who raises 
moie broilers than any lady in this country) is 
correct. It has already been pointed out in 
the R. N.-Y., that at Hammonton no hens are 
kept on broiler farms, for fear of lice. The 
consequence is that all eggs must be collected 
from the surrounding country. Those who 
sell the eggs care nothing about the purposes 
for which they are intended. All they ask 
is the market price, which they can secure-for 
any kind of eggs. We find that eggs from 
pullets produce weak chicks, that eggs must 
not be chilled, that males with frosted combs 
are of no service, that in-bred stock cannot 
be relied upon, and other objections, yet these 
difficulties are in the way. The farmer who 
sells the eggs will secure a good hatch in 
April, when the males are matured, but we 
begin in November, when some of the “next 
year’s roosters” have not passed their “ chick- 
hood.” We must also take anything and 
everything—not excepting Bantams—as good 
breeds are not on every farm. We also, at 
times, have 20 broiler operators on the road 
competing with each other for eggs. 
THE RURAL HEW 
The operator who batches and markets 40 
chicks from every 100 eggs is doing well. The 
loss is in the eggs, not from any fault of 
incubators, as the eggs have been tested with 
hens also. With good eggs the number of 
chicks would be largely increased. This sea¬ 
son it would have paid to raise late chickens, 
as prices are even now 30 cents per pound. 
The business is profitable in proportion to the 
capital invested. No one has failed, and no 
one has “made money.” Nearly all the 
operators are novices. Some of the broiler 
farms are no larger than half an acre. Howe, 
who marketed about 6,000 chicks, lives on a 
town lot. The egg difficulty is the greatest 
drawback. Only a few months of the year 
are used. 
Miscellaneous. 
J. W., Falls City, Neb. —We are preparing 
some articles on house plumbing and house 
drainage. 
A. T. Elmer, Midi , sends wheats for name. 
Ans —The smaller head is Velvet Chaff. 
The larger resembles Silver Chaff. 
F. P., Columbia Co., N. Y.— What is the 
matter with the Massasoit grapes, specimens 
of which are inclosed ? 
Ans. It seems to be merely a case of rot. 
,7. N., Wabash, Neb.—Where can I get 
large cooking kettles or vats for manufactur¬ 
ing catsup. I understand they should be 
brass or porcelain. 
Ans —H. J. M. Peckham, Utica, N. Y. 
J. N., Hopewell Center, N. Y.— Is there a 
yellow-cap raspberry ? What are the inclosed 
berries ? 
Ans.—Y es; there are many different varie¬ 
ties of the yellow cap raspberries or thimble- 
berries. 
Kemp Co , Md.— Is the Erie blackberry as 
early as the Wilson, and is it more hardy ? 
The Wilsons have winter-killed on my place 
two years in succession. 
Ans.—A s we remember it ripens with the 
Wilson. The Wilson is tender with us—the 
Erie thus far hardy. 
J. E., McM+nnville, Oregon. —As the Rural 
takes interest in the hybridizing of fruit, I in¬ 
close specimens of a hybrid between a cherry 
and a plum. Some years ago a neighbor sowed 
two cherry stones, one of which produced an 
ordinary seedling cherry, while the other pro¬ 
duced the accompanying hybrid. The tree, 
now six or seven years old, is of upright 
growth like a Bigarreau. It blossoms pro¬ 
fusely, bearing a small white blossom like that 
of a sloe or wild plum; but up to this year, it 
has borne very little fruit; now it has a fair 
crop. What does the Rural think of it ? 
Ans.—T he fruit and foliage have every ap¬ 
pearance of the plum, while the fruit seems to 
be a plum in every way. 
R. E. Brooklyn, N. Y.— What is, the best 
place for a young man with $1,000 for land 
and $500 for stock to start general farming ? 
He has farmed in England, but has bad no ex¬ 
perience in American farming. 
Ans. —You had better put the most of your 
money into a bank or some other reliable place 
of deposit and keep it there until you know 
more of this country. The best chances for 
stock raising are at the West or South. If you 
could travel through Michigan, Ohio, Dakota 
and Tennessee or Arkansas you could see some 
of the special advantages offered by the large 
farming sections. You cannot do better than 
hire out with some good farmer in Ohio or 
Michigan. You will thus get an idea ot the 
country, that you cannot get in any other 
way. If you want to do general farming and 
gardening you will do as well in New Jersey 
or New England as you will anywhere. In 
any event, before you invest your money in 
farming, work a season in the neighborhood 
if you possibly can. 
J. II. B., Oakland, Ila.— 1. Before mar¬ 
riage my wife loaned some money earned by 
herself to a relative, a person living in Mis¬ 
souri, taking a note therefor. Since then she 
has been trying to get it back, but not only 
does he keep the money, but he refuses to 
answer her letters. We have found out that 
he has mortgaged bis farm for about all it is 
worth since he contracted this debt; is there 
any way by which she can get her money ? As 
it was loaned before he mortgaged his place, 
hasn’t she first claim upon the land ? 2. I 
want half a dozen broad-leaved trees for shade 
and ornament around the house; what kind 
would be the best ? 3. How would the Japan 
buckwheat, advertised by a New York seed- 
man, do here ? 
Ans. 1. No; there is no going behind the mort¬ 
gage. 2. We could not intelligently advise 
as to the selection of trees without knowing 
more ofthe lay of the land, the soil, etc. P, 
J. Berckmans, of Augusta, Ga., is well-posted 
and would doubtless advise you. 3. This 
buckwheat is fine in appearance and we have 
heard it praised. We have not tried it. 
DISCUSSION. 
FARMING IN THE CONNECTICUT RIVER 
VALLEY. 
L. A. R., Litchfield, Conn.— Much has 
been said of late about the deterioration of 
New England farms, and one who reads the 
articles published might imagine that what 
were once fertile fields had become barren 
wastes, offering no more inducement to the 
farmer than do the “ bad lands ” of the West. 
Of other portions I will leave others to speak, 
while I bear testimony of the section from 
which I write, i. e., the Connecticut River 
Valley. I was born here in a small township 
containing some 30 square miles in which is 
found a great variety of surface and sol- 
greater than is often found in the same space. 
Here I lived until I was 20 years old, and 
having spent here some portion of every 
summer since, I am competent to compare 
what was with what is. so far as the produc¬ 
tiveness of the farms is concerned, and I have 
no hesitation in saying that there are very 
few, if any farms, that are not better than 
they were 40 years ago, while the improve¬ 
ment of the whole township is marked. It is 
true that there is a smaller number of farm¬ 
ers here who save money, than there were for¬ 
merly ; but that is not the fault of the farms. 
It is not so much what one receives as what he 
spends that determines that matter. “One can¬ 
not keep his cake and eat it,” is an old maxim. 
If the farmers would, they could have from 
their farms a great deal more than they do 
now. There are a few really good farmers 
here, and but a few ; men who manage 
their affairs skillfully and profitably, and 
are successful, making money and improving 
their farms at the same time. There are a 
few more w'ho would do so, but they are 
laboring under the disadvantage of want of 
capital. They cannot do as well as they would 
lixe to do. They have their farms and stocks 
and nothing else, and they think they must 
use all the land they have when there is no 
doubt that they would be better off if they 
would let a portion of it lie idle and use their 
best efforts to till the rest as it should be tilled. 
Then there is another class who are farmers 
because they have inherited land and think 
they must work it; who have neither ambition 
nor brains to do anything else. With their 
land came the ways of working that their 
ancestors had a hundred years ago, and they 
are not competent to improve them. The good 
examples of those around them they laugh at. 
Their expenses increase as the ways of the 
society around them change and they wonder 
why they do not get on better. Occasionally 
through mismanagement or idleness one gets 
so far behind as to be obliged to sell, and then 
wo hear of another New England farm 
abandoned because it fails to pay. A great 
drawback to the farmers here is want of good 
laborers. The demand is greater than the 
supply, and there are not enough of even poor 
ones to be had. It is a^ great pity that many 
who are sweltering in great cities, discontented 
and unemployed, do not come here. They 
might not make good farmers, but they have 
muscle and sinews, and could do good work 
under direction. The great needs here are 
brains, labor and capital. Given these and 
this whole valley can be made a garden. 
A DAIRYMAID ON DEHORNING. 
“ Dairymaid.” —A farmer’s sister writes to 
ask if she may say a word in defense of what 
the correspondents of some of the leading 
newspapers are pleased to term “the inhuman 
practice of dehorning.” In one paper a wife 
writes of her feeling of “ sickening horror,” 
(or something in that style) when her husband 
came in to wash bis bam s, gory with the 
blood from dehorning. Let her husband be 
brought to her some day,fresh from the horns 
of some so-called “quiet” monarch of the 
dairy, a crushed and helpless mass of pain, 
and maybe leaving her a widow and her chil¬ 
dren orphans. The remembrance of the 
strong hands “stained with gore” would bring 
no sickening feeling then; but sad remorse at 
her own foolishness. This is no fancy picture. 
Only a few miles from us a wife has nursed 
for months a maimed and invalid husband. 
On the other side of us, and but a few miles 
further, a wife and little ones mourn 
the strong arm suddenly taken from them. 
Some will say these are exceptional cases, but 
to both these homes, mutilation or death came 
as sad realities as well. The head of our dairy 
herd (a great Holstein), was dehorned with 
others through the neighborhood last winter. 
Now when I go out to milking in the morning, 
he stands quietly chewing his cud, sole occu¬ 
pant of the yard,except the yearlings. The rest 
of the dairy are in their stanchions, and the 
doors are shut, for the early morning air is 
chilly. Now, were our Holstein’s head adorned 
with those tapering horns, that are so beau¬ 
tiful and yet so dangerous, do you think I 
would trust myself inside the inclosure ? I 
trow not. But as it is, feeling perfectly se¬ 
cure, I close the gate with a click, slip across 
the yard past the quiet animal, it may be 
within a foot of his head (if necessary), and 
on into the barn among the busy milkers. 
This is all. Long sermons are wearisome at 
any time, and a word to the wise is suffi¬ 
cient. 
HARDSHIPS OF SETTLERS ON PUBLIC LAND. 
S. C. Davenport, W. T.—Having read what 
the Rubal says editorially, with regard to the 
“Public Land Bill,” in the issue of July 14, I 
wish to tell my experience with regard to pub¬ 
lic land settlement for the benefit of those of its 
readers who may think of securing what is 
wrongfully called a “free home.” I filed a 
homestead in ’82. I had but very little money 
and no property. I went to work as best I 
cquld and earned a little money by working 
out, built a shanty, then left again to earn 
food, and I have ever since been home for 
a while, then off again to work. Now all 1 
have is invested in the improvements I have 
made on the public land. If I cannot secure 
a deed I lose six years’ toil and hardship. I 
took the best men I could get for witnesses and 
they very unscrupulously swore to a good deal 
more than I could. They had been there be¬ 
fore. My time was weighed in the balance 
and found wanting a little over one year, 
which would extend it over the seven, and the 
filing was canceled. I shall ever remember 
the kindness and sympathy shown me by the 
officers and clerks of the Land Office, and have 
not seen a deserving person yet lose his land ; 
but why ask a list of questions to answer 
which in a way satisfactory to the officials 
nine-tenths of honest settlers will have to per¬ 
jure themselves or have trouble. The Home¬ 
stead Law under present rulings is not a poor 
man’s law. A political party may claim to 
have saved land ; but land is of no value un¬ 
less productive. Government land is not pro¬ 
ductive ; hence it is of no value and the party 
has saved nothing. A Territory has no con¬ 
trol over its public lands. It would be far 
different if it had. 
E. P. Powell, Clinton, N. Y.—In a late 
issue the Rural quoted an opinion that I 
never uttered,to the effect that a mixture 
of hellebore and kerosene would kill rose- 
bugs. What I wrote wms that it would kill 
slugs, and it will. 
R. N. Y.—The Rural quoted Mr. Powell 
correctly. The mistake originated probably 
with the paper we quoted from. We have no 
doubt that hellebore and kerosene, or either of 
them, will kill slugs. 
Culture of the Common Water Lily.— 
Mr. E. S. Goff, ofthe N. Y. Experiment Sta¬ 
tion, says, in the American Garden, that few 
exotic floweis equal in grace, beauty and fra¬ 
grance the native white water lily, Nympbaea 
odorata. and not one of them surpasses it in 
the ease with which it mayi.be grown. Any 
one who has a cellar which does not freeze in 
winter and sufficient ground exposed to the 
sunshine to inclose a half barrel tub maygrow 
this exquisite flower with very little trouble. 
He has grown the water lily for the past six 
years with complete success. All that is nec¬ 
essary is to plant out, in the spring, one or two 
of the fleshy roots in the bottom of a tub that 
does not leak, and then set this nearly its whole 
depth in the ground and fill it with water. 
Any good soil will answer, and a layer three or 
four inches deep in the bottom of the tub is suffi¬ 
cient. In dry weather it will be necessary to 
add a little water to the tub from time to time, 
but no other care will be required. The water 
may become foul, but this does not appear to 
interfere with the growth in the least. Late 
in the fall the tub should be lifted out and after 
pouring off the water removed to the cellar, 
where it may remain until the following 
April. He has never found it necessary to 
add water to the soil in the winter, and it is 
said that no harm results if the roots are 
partially dry. 
This season he is growing the plants in the 
basin of a large fountain. The tubs are set 
upon boxes of sufficient hight to bring their 
tops within a few inches of the surface of the 
water. The leaves float upon the surface and 
entirely conceal the tubs. 
The roots spread rapidly, so that they may 
be occasionally divided and a portion trans' 
planted to a new tub. It is thought by some 
that flowering is promoted by the roots becom¬ 
ing crowded. 
The beautiful pink variety ealle4 Rosea Mr, 
