4333 
THE BUBAL l4IW-¥©BtCIB. 
6&S 
general rule and have more or less unnatural 
or abnormal appetites; and still it is not to 
be inferred that they would relish a constant 
sour diet, or thrive on it. Some people—too 
many—like whisky and tobacco, which are 
known to be physiologically bad in their 
effects; and while some of them live to old 
age, a majority perish prematurely. But be¬ 
cause a few survive to a good old age and all 
seem to enjoy themselves for a while, does it 
follow that these articles are to be preferred ? 
Yet their use is sanctioned by long centuries 
of indulgence.* The pig survives but a few 
months, at most, and the calf goes beyond a 
sour-milk diet. Who can tell what would be 
the effect of its prolongation ? 
Our contemporary thinks souring milk and 
curing cheese are much the same. “ The 
change in cheese which makes it so strong,” 
to which it refers, is an injurious one, like 
the souring of milk, and lessens the digesti¬ 
bility of the cheese. It is not the curing or 
ripening process, but a decomposing one. In 
all its assumed parallelism the Mirror is most 
unfortunate. It certainly has not made out a 
case in favor of sour milk as food for young 
animals, even though the advocates of a sweet 
milk diet, as it asserts, have failed to estab¬ 
lish theirs. The antiquity or prevalence of an 
error does not make it right to the intelligent 
mind. I should run to the pigs with swill, if 
running were necessary to prevent it from 
souring. 
COW NOTES. 
An old Scotchman told me once, as we were 
looking at his cows while feeding in the past¬ 
ure, that he intended always to keep his cows 
in feed so good that when they lay down they 
would leave their mark on the grass for sev¬ 
eral hours afterwai’d. I have seen his cows 
in summer and in winter,and they always were 
in good condition, and gave him large re¬ 
turns. I think if dairymen would give their 
cows all they want to eat so that they might 
get their fill in a short time and lie down to 
chew the cud, there would be no need of an 
inquiry as to the best method to get them into 
condition for winter. Cows should always be 
in thrifty condition, to give the highest profit 
in the dairy. After the frosts have taken the 
goodness from the pastures, cows should have 
hay and grain and should not be allowed to 
enter the pasture; for, although they will eat 
the frost-bitten grass, it not only does them 
no good, drying them up, but it is a positive 
injury to them. c. m. w. 
Bandor, Vt. 
fit til Cr0|)0. 
RYE. 
The best crop of rye that I remember was 
raised on red shale land rather dry; most of 
it was plowed early in August after the oats 
were taken off, then worked up, I think, with 
what is termed a corn-plow here. The re¬ 
markable part of this crop was the heavy 
seeding—two bushels to the acre. This crop 
had the same amount of fertilizing material 
as the wheat; the yield of grain was 25 
bushels to the acre and I should think two 
tons of straw. I think we need to use just the 
same care to seed to rye as though seeding to 
wheat, our present plan being to follow oats, 
plowing as soon as convenience will admit, 
and then work up with the harrow, the Acme 
doing good work. Sow, about the 10th of 
September, using 1% bushel of seed—rather 
less than .more. We also use our poorest 
land, rye being much hardier than wheat 
Red shale land is the best, but it will grow on 
wet clay or dry sand where wheat would en¬ 
tirely fail. 
The wheat crop pays best on good land un¬ 
less the straw is extremely high; for instance 
you can raise as many bushels of wheat as 
rye. Wheat worth say one dollar and rye 
sixty cents per bushel, raising say 20 bushels 
each per acre. The wheat straw ought to be 
worth eight dollars. The rye if in demand is 
worth on an average 815. I have never 
weighed a load of straw on an acre but should 
think the above about an average for a fair 
crop. Now we are eight dollars short on the 
grain of the rye and seven ahead on the straw, 
leaving.one dollar balance to the wheat. This 
balance to the wheat will increase as the rye 
straw depreciates in value. The last year 
straw was worth here more than the best hay, 
the cities of Trenton and Philadelphia taking 
the straw for litter at about 820 per ton. We 
sow grass seed with the rye, Timothy at time 
of sowing the rye, clover about the 10th of 
April and expect the same stand we get on 
wheat. It is said that grass will not grow 
after rye, or the rye either, if you take an 
old, worn-out piece of land and put on no 
manure. I know grass will grow after rye 
and grow well. There is little difference 
whether seed be broadcasted or drilled. I 
prefer the former. We use the straw for 
baling purposes and make cider by the old 
method, using up what straw we raise. The 
grain is good feed for horses, hogs, and makes 
fair bread, but is out of fashion for the latter 
purpose. Very poor for milch cows or other 
milk stock. Green rye is a very good soiling 
crop, and so hardy as to give a crop for any 
purpose for which it is grown in this section. 
Titusville, N. J. i. j. b. 
H\)t (Sarfoit, 
THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. 
WILLIAM FALCONER. 
Clear up the old crops ; celery , bank up the 
early ; never handle when wet ; when to 
store; spinach supply ; protection; late let¬ 
tuce ; hot-beds for radish and lettuce ; 
Thanksgiving salads. 
Of course the frost has put an end to the 
crop of snap beans, Limas, tomatoes, cucum¬ 
bers, peppers and egg plants, so that all we 
can now do with what remains of these is to 
clear them off the ground to the rot pile or 
hog pen. Water and muskmelons and squash 
vines should also be cleared off, for a dirty, 
littery garden patch has an ill look about it 
that isn’t creditable to the owner. 
The celery crop is now very important. We 
have had so much rain and cool weather lately 
that celery has grown unusually well. All of it 
that we intend for use before New Years should 
now be banked up full, taking care to do 
this only when the celery is quite dry, and 
to late celery we should throw some earth, on 
either side of the row, by a plow or hoe. then 
gather the leaves of each head close together 
with one hand and pack the soil around it 
with the other. Before earthing up celery 
pull away all spotted or withered leaves, for 
if left, they will be sure to rot and often taint 
others that are perfectly fresh. A few de¬ 
grees of frost wont hurt celery; the leaves 
may wilt in the morning, but after they thaw 
out they will be plump and fresh enough. 
But never touch celery while it is wet or 
frozen. I never lift celery to store it for win¬ 
ter before about the middle of November, but 
in more severe localities this should be done 
sooner, say before we are likely to have six or 
ten degrees of frost. Storing celery too soon 
is apt to rot it; if you are afraid of too hard 
frost before the proper time for storing comes 
just bank up the earth a little higher about 
the plants. 
Spinach is an important crop now and we 
should strive to keep up a supply of it as long 
as we can. From a sowing I made August 9 
we have been gathering capital spinach since, 
over three weeks, and it is still bearing a 
heavy crop of leaves. Another sowiDg made 
about the end of August is also in bearing con¬ 
dition. Oui winter spinach, sown early in 
September, suffered considerably on account 
of very heavy rains which compacted the 
ground so much as to rot a good deal of 
the seed, but as soon as we discovered this we 
unfastened the blank spots and sowed them 
over again. It is with fall sowing as it is 
with spring sowing. Don’t sow seeds deep 
else they will rot. Just observe how nicely 
the seeds you spill upon the ground and which 
are not covered at all grow, when those you 
sowed so carefully in drills and covered have 
failed to germinate at all. Spinach is a pretty 
hardy crop, but if we wish for a mess of it in 
winter we have got to cover it. This I do 
with cold frames. We can preserve it in the 
open ground by mulching it over with ever¬ 
green branches, strawy litter or sea thatch; 
but this should never be applied till late in 
November or December—just about the time 
we expect the ground to become frozen in for 
the winter. If mulched before the ground is 
encrusted by frost field mice will find a shelter 
there and completely ruin the crop. 
How nice it is to have some lettuces at this 
time of year. I am now lifting my large and 
half-grown lettuces with good balls of earth 
to their roots and planting them close in cold 
frames, giving them of course room for their 
full development. And the smaller lettuces I 
am pricking into another frame and about two 
to three inches distant from one another. This 
is the stock I draw from for planting in suc¬ 
cession in hot-beds between now and next 
February. A lettuce is like a radish; in order 
to be real good it must be grown quick. Now, 
at this time of year we usually have plenty 
of fresh stable manure and we may just as 
well use it in making a hot-bed as not. Then 
put up a hot-bed and plant some half-grown 
lettuce plants in it and sow some Woods’ Early 
Frame radishes in one sash of it, and you can 
have something pretty toothsome for Thanks¬ 
giving. Let me add another green to that 
salad : Get some white mustard seed, then 
prepare some shallow boxes—what we call 
seed-flats, that is, boxes say 12 inches wide by 
20 inches long and two inches deep—and fill 
these with rich soil and sow the mustard seed 
thickly on top of the soil, merely pressing it 
into the soil. Then place the box in a warm 
room. In a few days the seeds will germinate. 
When they are from seven to ten days old cut 
them over close t.o the ground, and wash and 
eat them. In this way keep up a succession 
as long as you may desire. As soon as the 
crop is cut over the box may be emptied out, 
for the roots are of no further use. 
QL\)t tHwijari). 
GRAPE NOTES FROM THE LAKE ERIE 
ISLANDS. 
ROT AND MILDEW. 
danger from snow-storms is past, untie them. 
This plan will apply to all evergreen trees 
that are injured by snow bending them down. 
We have found the Cottage the best very 
early grape we have tested. It is a good bearer, 
very sweet and hardy, and gone, too, some 
weeks before the Concord is fit to eat. Next is 
Worden, larger and better than Concord and 
ripens before it. 
Our Triumph gooseberry has given perfect 
satisfaction, bearing full crops for three years 
and no sign of mildew. Your description of 
the Primate must be a mistake in the descrip¬ 
tion following the first paragraph—another 
apple. Isaac Hicks. 
Queens Co., L. I. 
Kelley’s Island and the adjacent group 
of islands in Lake Erie have long been known 
to be favorable for the cultivation of grapes— 
especially the Catawba grape. The long, mild 
fall—the effect of the surrounding water- 
gives it time to ripen and attain its greatest 
perfection. Pelee Island is one of this group 
just across the line between the United States 
and Canada. But the Catawba sometimes 
fails, even on these islands, on account of its 
disposition to rot and mildew in unfavorable 
seasons—seasons when there is an excess of 
rain-fall in July or August. This year has 
been remarkable for the great damage done 
to the Catawba by the black rot and mildew. 
It has been a good season to watch the com¬ 
parative resistance of the different varieties 
of grapes to these two great enemies of the 
grape grower; and the writer, who has had 
an experience of 20 years growing grapes here, 
has carefully noted this with great interest. 
The Catawba, as intimated, has suffered 
most. First, from rot, destroying one-fourth 
or more of the berries, and then the mildew, 
taking off most of the leaves and preventing 
the grapes from ripening. The Delawares did 
not rot and were nearly free from mildew. 
Both clusters and berries are usually large and 
fine in my vineyard. But in some others they 
have lost their leaves before getting ripe. The 
Iona and Jefferson have not rotted, but have 
mildewed and are not ripening well. The 
Rogers’ Hybrids are generally subject to mil¬ 
dew, but this season they are nearly free from 
it. So with the Brighton. Of black grapes, 
the Ives, Concord, Moore’s Early, Hosford’s 
Mammoth, Worden, etc., have all been free 
from mildew or rot. As to the quality of these, 
I would place them in the following order : 
Worden, Hosford’s Mammoth, Concord, 
Moore’s Early, Ives, and Champion the poor¬ 
est. The Hosford’s Mammoth is a new grape 
not yet in the hands of propagators. It is a 
chance seedling, discovered by George Hos- 
ford, of Ionia, Mich. Clusters large, berries 
very large—many ot them an inch in diame¬ 
ter, making a very showy grape. Flesh juicy, 
with little soft pulp. Sub-acid, very few seeds 
—one and two to the berry; several days ear¬ 
lier than the Concord; vine very hardy, and 
a vigorous grower. 
White Grapes.— The Noah rots badly. 
The Prentiss mildews, even when the Catawba 
does not. Neither is worth planting here. 
The Niagara has rotted some and lost some of 
the leaves from mildew. My 200 five-years-old 
vines nave a magnificent crop of fruit on them, 
but the quality is not first class. The Empire 
State is free from rot and almost from mildew; 
is a vigorous grower, but I am disappointed 
in its productiveness, and the size of clusters 
and berries, which are only medium. The 
quality is good. The Etta is a healthy, strong 
grower, but of poor quality. 
Of young vines, planted last spring, I find 
the leaves of the Niagara and Brighton dam¬ 
aged some by mildew, while the Woodruff Red, 
Horsford’s Mammoth, Eaton, Downing and 
Moore’s Diamond show no signs of mildew. 
Grapes of the Clinton type, Bacchus, Marion, 
etc., have neither rotted nor mildewed. 
Pelee Island, Ont. thaddeus smith. 
Ijoxtmdtmal. 
NOTES. 
If the editor will tie up his Retinisporas be¬ 
fore winter by a string wound around them, 
fastened near the bottom, and wound spirally 
so as to draw the limbs moderately close to¬ 
gether, the snow will not bend them down and 
disfigure their beauty, and in spring 4 when the 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
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one time. Put questions on a separate piece of paper. 
FRUITS IN WYOMING TERRITORY. 
O. F., Meeteetse, Wyoming Territot'y .—I 
live in North Western Wyoming on the foot of 
the Rocky Mountains. The altitude of my 
place is 6,300 feet above sea level. I have been 
trying hard for two years to raise small 
fruits but with very poor success; either I do 
not get the proper varieties or else the climate 
is too severe. I enclosed a piece of ground on 
the north and west with a high board fence 
(no open spaces between the boards) so as to 
protect the plants against the cold winds from 
the mountains, and left it open to the south 
and east. The plants make a strong growth 
during the summer and fall, but although I 
cover them during the winter, everything 
above ..ground seems to freeze out, and noth¬ 
ing bears fruit in the following summer. We 
get it as cold as 35° below zero for two or 
three days some times. I am trying Turner 
and Gregg Raspberries, Cherry and White 
Grape currants and Houghton gooseber¬ 
ries. I planted some Siberian Crab apple 
trees last Spring. They look very thrif¬ 
ty at present. Do you think with 
proper winter protection they will live here 
and bear fruit? Which variety of straw¬ 
berries would you recommend me to plant 
here next spring? We have wild straw, 
berries and raspberries but they are very 
small. There are no wild plums growing 
here, but they are very abundant in Eastern 
Montana at lower altitudes, say, from 5,000 
feet down. I got some seeds from there ast 
fall. I kept them over winter in damp sand 
and planted them this spring. About 10 per 
cent, came up and are making a good growth. 
They are from one to two feet high. Now I 
want to try some hardy domestic plums, which 
do you recommend? Do you think huckle¬ 
berries would do here ? 
The summers are very dry, but we have 
abundant water for irrigation. We have oc¬ 
casional frosts all through the summer, but 
they do not seem to hurt the plants—I sup¬ 
pose on account of their being protected 
against the north and west. I am the first 
party in this very sparsely settled country 
who has attempted the culture of fruits, 
and I have therefore no neighbors of whom 
to inquire what varieties have succeeded 
with them. All my recent failures have not 
discouraged me but rather urgs me on to 
renewed efforts. My currant bushes (planted 
in 1887) bore a few bunches of nice large fruit 
this year, but the raspberry vines were 
killed, although I had covered them with 
earth, (perhaps a little too deep?) They came 
up again from the roots and are now three to 
four feet high. 
ANSWERED BY PROFESSOR J. L. BUDD. 
As the exact peculiarities of soil and climate 
at Meeteetse are now known, I can only reply 
in a general way. But personal observations 
in the mountains at an elevation of 6,000 
feet, joined with the reports from our trial 
stations in Wyoming and Montana, favor the 
belief that small fruits and orchard fruits in 
abundance can be grown in Fremont County, 
Wyoming. Even as far north as Como, 
Montana Mr. W. B. Harlan reports encourag¬ 
ing success with the small fruits, and with a 
number of varieties of hardy apples, pears, 
cherries, and plums. Yet the climate is de- 
cidedly severe. He says “Last October we 
had a very cold snap, the thermometer going 
1 
