4888 
and expelled by mechanical means, and during 
the necessary operations and manipulation, 
the juice from the corn is conveyed from the 
bottom of the pit to the very top and held 
there by capillary attraction.” 
same farms. The usual ground is abou 
all plowed for wheat. Corn will be ready to cut 
in two or three weeks. Weather at present 
cool. We have had plenty .of rain all the season 
and crops are good. A. G. s. 
xe. 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
NOTES FROM THE EAST END OF LONG ISLAND. 
The east end of Long Island has been called 
“The Carden Spot of America.” It is fer¬ 
tile, level aud easily cultivated. It has the 
advantage of having two important markets 
within shipping distance—namely, Boston and 
New York. Intensive farming prevails to a 
great extent. Early cabbage is raised between 
sweet corn, carrots between onions, etc. G-. 
W. Hallock & Son have made a typical farm 
out of meadow land. It is located, just east 
of the village of Orient. It was purchased at 
a low price about 15 years ago. The firmnowhas 
about 54 acres under cultivation. The total 
receipts for produce sold during the past year 
exceeded $12,000. Deducting tho cost of fer¬ 
tilizers, and horse manure, estimated at $5,000, 
and the cost of labor, freight, etc., there is 
a margin of profit as large as, or larger than, 
that of any other farm of its size in the State. 
The manure consists of horse dung from the 
city and fish scrap from the neighboring fish 
factories. The quantity used varies some¬ 
what, but will average, say, 150 “York” 
loads of horse manure and one ton of fish 
scrap per acre, applied usually in the fall. 
The crops are cabbages, carrots, early pota¬ 
toes, Brussel’s sprouts, sweet corn, onions and 
strawberries. Very little experimenting is 
done and but few changes are made in the va¬ 
rieties grown. In strawberries, the Wilsons 
are raised exclusively. Only one full crop is 
raised; the land is then plowed aud the plants 
reset. This year the crop was not a large one, 
but about 12,000 quarts were marketed at an 
average price of 12 cents per quart. They 
are raised in matted rows. In order to save 
time, some plants have been set in hills from 
pots, but it is not the usual system of culture. 
In order to save room and labor, cabbages 
and corn are raised together. The last work¬ 
ing of the corn is done when the cabbages are 
pulled. One of tho most profitable crops is 
late sweet corn. Carrots aro an alternate 
crop, but as they will sometimes yield 800 
bushels per acre there is money in them. The 
Early Ohio potato is raised exclusively. The 
average yield is 300 bushels per acre. Consid¬ 
ering the fact that they are dug before they 
are fully matured, this is a very large yield. 
Eighteen acres of early cabbages were raised. 
The “ Yellow Danvers” is the favorite onion. 
At this time the ground seems literally cov¬ 
ered with them. Mr. Hallock says they can¬ 
not be too thick. About 800 bushels per acre 
are raised. 
The firm market all their produce by steam¬ 
ers. They watch the markets of Philadelphia, 
New York and Boston, and send their produce 
by steamer to whichever promises the best re¬ 
turns. The problem of labor is an important 
one. During the busy season at least 40 men 
are employed. With the exception of two 
foremen the laborers are all foreigners. They 
are hired at Castle Carden. They aro paid on 
an average $14 per month and board, and are 
hired from month to month. They seldom 
stay more than one season. No special effort 
is made to keep them as the raw hands are 
more contented and do as much work as the 
older ones. “rambler.” 
Delaware. 
Dover, Kent Co., Aug., 24.— This of all 
other months is the one that our farmers look 
forward to with the most interest as it is the 
peach month of the year. Wo have been pick¬ 
ing for the past three weeks; but the bulk of 
the crop is on this week. Seventy-five per 
cent, of the peaches are sold directly to buy¬ 
ers at our station, and the prices, as a rule, 
are more than we would obtain net in New 
York or other cities. Wyoming, three miles 
south of Dover on the railroad,is the peach cen¬ 
ter. From 15 to 30 car-loads of 500 to 700 bush¬ 
els are shipped from that point every day. 
Growers prefer selling to shipping on consign¬ 
ment as they know what they are getting for 
their fruit before it leaves their hands. It is 
a sight for a stranger to see on a day when 
there is a rush of peaches; a person can see 
5,000 or 10,000 baskets on wagons at one look. 
Growers will not realize nearly as high prices 
as last season; still they have nothing to com¬ 
plain of. Prices have ranged from 25c. to 40c. 
per bushel. No one makes a specialty of 
peaches; but all other crops are grown on the 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
[Every query must be accompanied by the name 
and address of the writer to insure attention. Before 
asking a question, please see if it is not answered in 
our advertising columns. Ask only a few questions at 
one time. Put questions on a separate piece of paper. 
THAT “ NEW BREED ” OF POULTRY. 
Several Subscribers .—The Rural has made 
mention of a cross between White Wyandotte 
and Dorking poultry which it has attempted 
to make. What is the result ? 
Ans.— Perhaps a little history of this ex¬ 
periment will bo interesting. We have always 
admired the Wyandotte fowl. One serious 
objection we have found with it, lies in the 
fact that its eggs are small and dark-colored. 
For the New York market a large white egg 
is most desired. The Leghorn egg is the ideal, 
but we have found the Leghorn unsuited to con¬ 
finement, tender in cold weather and the next 
thing to worthless for eating. The Dorking 
has many admirable qualities; as a table fowl, 
we doubt if it can be excelled. The flesh is of 
fine quality and there is an unusually large pro¬ 
portion or breast meat. It lays large white eggs 
as salable as those of the Leghorn. It is not con¬ 
sidered as hardy as the Wyandotte, and its 
white legs injure its sale for table purposes in 
the general market. We have thought many 
times that a cross between these breeds might 
produce an excellent general-purpose fowl. 
The bird we want to raise has a rose comb, 
short, yellow legs, a chunky, “blocky” body 
with a short neck and small head, and pure- 
white color. It has the form of the Dorking, 
the hardiness of the Wyandotte, the tameness 
of both breeds, the winter-laying qualities of 
the Wyandotte and the large, white eggs of 
the Dorking. Last year a friend ordered 
several settings of White Dorking eggs from 
a firm in Indiana. They hatched well and 
the chicks grew rapidly. It was found that 
five of the pullets differed from the others in 
two respects: The legs were a light-yellow 
and the combs were so diminutive as to be 
hardly larger than those on the Pea-combed 
Plymouth Rock. In all other markings— 
color, shape and the distinctive five-toed feet 
—they were apparently true Dorkings. With 
these birds we secured an excellent White 
Wyandotte rooster with a very shapely rose 
comb and legs of a peculiarly bright yellow. 
These birds were kept in a pen by themselves, 
and eggs enough secured for five settings. 
Two hens left their nests before hatching aud 
the oggs were ruined. Of the chickens hatch¬ 
ed by the others 17 aro now left. They are 
a curious mixture as the following figures 
will show. As to color,"12 are pure white, 
three are spotted, showing traces of red, black, 
and brown, one is gray aud one is almost like 
a Plymouth Rock. There can be no doubt 
but that the eggs were all from the] five white 
hens and the white rooster. Nine of the 
chickens have the five-toes of the Dorking. 
The color of the legs is a curious feature. Ten 
chickens have bright yellow legs—darker even 
than those of the rooster—five have white legs 
like the Dorking,and two have light yellow legs 
a trifle darker than those of the hens. Four 
chickens have single combs—no two alike in 
shape and size—and 13 have fine rose 
combs, most of them like the Wyandotte 
though three are much smaller. There are 
some curious freaks. The chicken with the 
Plymouth Rock color has a rose comb, dark 
yellow legs and five toes. One has pure white 
legs with four toes. ' There is but one out of 
the whole 17 that comes up to the standard we 
have made up for our “new breed.” This is a 
pullet with a genuine Wyandotte head and neck, 
snow-white in color,short legs of the color of old 
gold and five toes. She is nearly a perfect 
block in shape. We shall keep her for breed¬ 
ing and possibly experiment further with some 
of the others, using another White Wyandotte 
rooster or a bird of our own raising. This 
latter, now a young chicken, is from a white 
Dorking rooster and a white hen that appears 
to be a mixture of white Dorking and Leg¬ 
horn. It promises to be white in color with 
yellow legs and five toes and a large rose 
comb. We have no great expectation of 
being able to produce a “ new breed ” that 
shall be any great improvement over other well 
established breeds. We do want to try and 
breed a class of fowls that shall suit our own 
eye and market demands, as none of the other 
breeds exactly do at present. In making this 
cross we would naturally suppose that the 
Dorking characteristics would largely pre¬ 
dominate in the chickens. The Dorking is 
one of the oldest of breeds and its character¬ 
istics are supposed to be firmly established. 
On the other hand, it is generally held by 
breeders that external markings are in the 
majority of cases determined by the sire. In 
this experiment the majority of the chickens 
have five toes—taking after their mothers, the 
yellow legs of the Wyandotte largely pre¬ 
dominate as does the rose comb. Tho majority 
of the chickens have Wyandotte heads while 
the shorter legs and fuller breasts of the 
Dorkings largely predominate. On one point 
at least this experiment is most convincing. 
It is only by the most patient and painstaking 
study and observation that we may be enabled 
to guarantee birds of any breed absolutely true 
to the standard. 
VALUE AND TREATMENT OF BONE AS A 
FERTILIZER. 
J. C. Me A., Brandy Gamp, Pa.— lean buy 
bones here for eight to 10 dollars per ton, and 
there are two bone mills within reach. 
Where phosphates have been used here they 
have given satisfaction; but I have had little 
experience with bones. 1. What is raw bone 
worth per ton ? 2. Does steaming increase its 
value ? 3. Would it pay to “ reduce ” it with 
acid? 4. Before treating them with acid, 
would it be necessary to grind the bones ? 
ANSWERED BY W. H. BOWKER. 
Ans.— That depends entirely upon its con¬ 
dition. If it is fresh from the slaughter houses 
it is worth certainly $8 to $ 10 per tor. If, how- 
ever, it has been boiled and the grease ex¬ 
tracted, it is worth less for rendering pur¬ 
poses, but more for fertilizing purposes; for 
grease is of no value as a fertilizer. Probably 
well steamed or boiled bones with the grease 
nearly all extracted are worth from $17 to 
$20 per ton. 2. If bones are properly steamed 
their value is certainly increased, because by 
this means the grease is thoroughly extracted 
and the bones are more completely broken 
down and consequently more easily ground. 
The question whether it will pay or not, 
depends upon the quantity of bone to be 
steamed and the facilities for doing it. It 
probably would not pay to rig up and steam 
any less quantity than 200 or 300 tons a year. 
For to do it well require not only a steam 
boiler but steam tanks which are quite expen¬ 
sive. Bones are steamed under pressure. 
3. Acid applied to bone dissolves it and 
makes it more valuable for plant food because 
more available. If the bone i3 to be used 
upon quick-growing plants, like corn, pota¬ 
toes, vegetables and spring grains, it should 
by all means be reduced by acid, but if it is to 
be used upon winter grains or grass land it 
would probably not pay to dissolve it. It 
would not pay under any circumstances to 
dissolve it if the sulphuric acid could not be 
obtained near at hand, for the freight on acid 
in glass carboys is very expensive and the 
transportation is very hazardous. 4. Most 
certainly it would. Bone soaked in acid after 
a long time becomes soft, but it is a process 
requiring time, ranging from three months to 
a year, depending upon the freedom of the 
bone from grease. To dissolve bone prop¬ 
erly it should be ground; in fact it is necessary 
to grind it if you wish to thoroughly dissolve 
it, and also make it into a dry product that 
can be applied by machines. 
ABOUT COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS. 
C. C. E.yBartlett, Ohio.— 1. Can nitrogen be 
incorporated into a fertilizer as a simple ele¬ 
ment, or is it always chemically combined 
with ammonia? 2 If so, from what source is 
it obtained? 3. The agent of the Bowker 
Fertilizer Co., offers for sale here tho Hill and 
Drill fertilizer with the following guaranteed 
analysis: 
Nitrogen.1 hs fo 2ha per cent 
Ammonia. 2 “ 3 
Sol. & Avail. Phos. Acid.10 “ 12 
Total Phos. Acid. U “ 13 
Bone Phosphate.24 “ 28 
Potash. 2 “ 4 
What is the value per pound of the ammonia 
and bone phosphate, and is there anything 
lacking, compared with what you call a com¬ 
plete fertilizer? 
Ans. 1. No. Nitrogen as an element is a 
gas. In ammonia we have one part of nitro¬ 
gen and three parts of hydrogen, or by weight 
14 parts of nitrogen and three parts of hydro¬ 
gen. 2. From nitrate of soda, iron, lime, 
magnesia, etc. and from organic matter 
such as bones, flesh, hair, etc. 3. The 
actual value of a fertilizer can be as¬ 
certained only by an analysis when the ingre¬ 
dients themselves are known. For example, 
the above guaranteed analysis does not show 
the value of the fertilizer, because it does not 
appear whether the potash is muriate, carbon¬ 
ate or sulphate ; it does not appear whether 
the nitrogen is from mineral or organic mat¬ 
ter. Again, the analysis may show a larger 
amount or a smaller amount of food than the 
minimum guaranteed. Assuming, from the 
well-known character of the firm referred to, 
that the best of materials are used, the value 
of the fertilizer may be estimated by knowing 
the cost of the constituents : Nitrogen from 
nitrate of soda is worth 16 cts. per pound ; 
from sulphate of ammonia 17 cts.; soluble 
phosphoric acid from bones is worth seven 
cents; insoluble from S. C. rock 1.5; potash 
from sulphate 4. 7 ; from muriate 4. 0. No, it 
is a “ complete ” fertilizer, but rather low in 
potash. 
TREATMENT OF A LAWN. 
A. W. A., Lowell, Mass. —What is the prop¬ 
er treatment of a lawn which so far has failed 
to give satisfaction. The-soil is slightly clayey, 
not very strong. The seed used was Red-top 
and White clover sown last September. The 
grass came up well and wintered in good con¬ 
dition. Last spring the lawn was rolled while 
the ground was soft and since then the growth 
of the grass has been very slow. I attribute 
this slowness of growth to too much rolling in 
the spring, the ground now being quite hard. 
Will the frosts of another winter and spring 
correct this hardness due to too much rolling? 
Can a top-dressing of commercial fertilizer, if 
liberally applied, be depended upon to pro¬ 
duce as good a result as stable manure ? If 
yes, what kind would be best and should it be 
applied this fall'or next spring ? 
Ans. —Yes, being clayey, it was, in our 
opinion, rolled too much, or when it was too 
wet. Had the soil been richer, the rolling 
would have shown less harm. No doubt the 
frosts of winter will mellow it. Yes; a liberal 
amount of fertilizer can be depended on to 
produce the same result as stable manure, 
though,being soluble, the nitrogen will not bo 
effective for so long a time. We should use 
raw bone flour, unleached wood ashes or, in 
its absence, kainit or muriate of potash. It is 
probable that the rather small per cent, of 
nitrogen in the bones will suffice; but to insure 
a quicker effect, either blood, nitrate of soda 
or sulphate of ammonia may be added in small 
quantity. By all means apply the fertilizer in 
early spring. 
THE GRAPE-VINE APPLE-GALL. 
F. L. D., Union, N. J .—What are the in¬ 
closed growths? I have dissected several and 
found insects in all. My neighbors insist that 
they are genuine “grape apples.” 
Ans. —These growths are of a conical shape, 
about an inch long, attached to the stem like 
a hazel-nut. They are divided into about 
eight segments, the inside being first fleshy 
and then divided into long cells, having a 
transverse partition. Each cell is occupied 
by a larva of a bright-yellow color (Saunders) 
with a chestnut-brown Y-shaped breast-bone, 
which eventually produces a gall-fly belonging 
to the genus Cecidomyia. It is known as the 
Grape-vine Apple-gall—Vitis pomum. Our 
friend will see that it is not an “apple,” but a 
certain form of excrescence caused by the 
above insect—just the same as the Grape-vine 
Tomato-gall is caused by a nearly related 
insect the larva of which is of an orange- 
yellow color, found in the succulent swellings 
of the stems and leaf-stalks. They are of 
various shapes and sizes, from the roundish 
cranberry-like swelling to the irregular, bul¬ 
bous protuberances (Saunders), which ook 
like a group of little tomatoes. 
SMALL FRUIT QUERIES. 
J. J. Toronto, Can. 1. Which Is the best 
time—fall or spring—for planting blackber¬ 
ries and raspberries ? 2. Do strawberries do 
as well if planted in the fall as if set out in 
spring ? 3. What does the Rural consider 
the best blackberry and bl and red rasp¬ 
berry ? 4. What is the best fertilizer for 
small fruits, omitting barnyard manure ? 5. 
I’m going to plant 15 acres in small fruits ; 
what are the three best strawberries ? 
Ans. 1. For your climate we should prefer 
spring. 2. It is getting rather late to get the 
best results from planting strawberries now. 
Wait until early spring. 3. We hear that the 
Minnewaski blackberry in doing well in cer¬ 
tain parts of lower Canada. Hilboru is a good 
black-cap—Cuthbert and Marlboro good late 
and early reds. 4. Unleached wood ashes 
and raw bone flour. 5. It would be better to 
inquire of local cultivators. We would men¬ 
tion, as a matter of guess—not knowing 
whether you want early or late, the Bubach, 
Crescent, Downing, Jessie and Sharpless. 
HARROWING YOUNG POTATOES. 
H. S. L., Jamestown, N. Y. —Farmers in 
this neighborhood are advocating the harrow¬ 
ing of young potato plants in the spring. 
They run the Thomas harrow directly over 
the rows. I claim that while this might ans- 
