416 
and help out-of doors, comes from all parts 
of the country. What is to be done about it? 
Must we abandon our farms or plan only so 
much work as we can ourselves do, with the 
aid of improved implements. Is there any 
way by which farm labor can be better paid 
and still leave a profit to the farmer ? 
The trouble at the bottom of the whole 
matter, is that the farmer, the producer, is 
not getting a proper share of the money which 
the consumer pays for the produce. Take, for 
example, milk which is retailed for, say, eight 
cents per quart, although the producer in¬ 
vests the capital in the farm and the cattle, 
does the work of feeding and caring for the 
cows, milking and cooling and carting the 
milk to the depot, does at least two-thirds of 
the labor, yet he does not got even one half 
of the price paid by the consumer. What is 
true of milk is equally true of almost all other 
kinds of farm produce. 
The result is the monopolies that do the trans¬ 
porting, and the middlemen who do the re¬ 
tailing are able to pay their help higher wages 
then the producing farmer. 
The cause of the inability of the farmer to 
compensate labor proportionately, being 
known, the remedy is evident; there must be 
a more equitable division of the money which 
the consumer pays for farm produce. It is, 
however, far easier to prescribe a remedy 
than to apply it. It is evident that farmers 
can do little individually, they must organize 
and co-operate. They must see to it that our 
laws are so revised that all shall have an 
equal share for their labor in producing and 
distributing. h. G. james. 
Build a Cistern.— What a lesson last 
year’s drought should teach those who value 
a supply of pure water. All intelligent 
people should know and others should be 
taught that well water is not always safe 
and that river sewage though al ways bad is 
doubly dangerous with the water at a low 
stage. I read last summer of a region in 
Indiana where the people hauled water in tanks 
a distance of eight to 12 miles from the only 
available source of supply, the foul pools 
of water in the nearly dry bed of a usually fine 
stream. WRat a pitiful straight is thisl 
All should know that a well acts as a drain 
for all the surrouuding surface for a distance 
of at least four or five times its depth. How 
many privy vaults are so far away? How 
many empty dish and household slops of all 
kinds within this radius? More than the ma¬ 
jority, I’ll warrant. The water looks clear and 
inviting to the thirsty one. Put it down; it’s a 
wolf in sheep’s clothing, typhus lurks within 
the sparkling cup. How much greater the 
danger in time of drought when the well con¬ 
tains only the dregs! And while on the sub¬ 
ject, why not carry the matter still further 
and provide better water for the stock and 
also make provisions against drought by build¬ 
ing great cisterns at the farms and saving the 
water from the large roofs instead of allowing 
it to fall on the manure pile to wash out its 
strength,as it evidently does if we may judge 
by the dark, rich flood so often seen issuing 
from the corner of the barnyard! The waste 
from this source, if saved, would, I believe, 
be worth enough to build the cistern. Water 
from the barnyard well is unfit for human use; 
why is it good for the stock which furnish us 
with some of our principal foods—milk, cheese 
and butter ? 
Those who read the paper thoroughly last 
season cannot have failed to notice the pre¬ 
valence of typhoid fever in some places. 
Bad water was the cause, and it behooves all 
to look well to the source of supply, and to 
provide against drought. The writer knows 
of no better means at the command of all 
than the one thus briefly noted. Impurities 
cannot enter the cistern (well made) except 
from the top which is under control. G. o. G. 
Kankakee, Ills. 
“Wire Grass” Seeds— I have amused some 
of my neighbors very much by telling them 
that Wire Grass slips were selling in New 
York (or offered) at $5 and $(5 dollars a barrel. 
The Bermuda Grass is evidently the “Wire 
Grass” of our country and is considered by 
many an intolerable pest. In gardens it cer¬ 
tainly is, but in the fields, while it greatly in¬ 
creases the labor of cultivation, it furnishes 
good grazing and improves the land. It will 
not grow on very poor land. When once 
started on good soil, it is perennial in a double- 
extra sense; it has come to stay. I had a 
stammering negro working for me some time 
ago, and I told him I had seen that some one 
was inquiring for Wire Grass seed. He looked 
startled and said, “W-w-well—I think ha-that 
man is out of b-b-b-business and w-w-wants 
s-s-somethiug to do.” Any quantities of it 
might be had here for the digging—thanks to 
the digger too. I prize the Rural very much; 
I take more papers than I ought, and thought 
at one time of stopping it—but when the time 
came I could not get my consent to let it go. 
I believe in it as an honest paper and full of 
good sense. 
Kings and Queens Co., Va. j. r. G. 
Manure Making. —I keep material enough 
in my stables to absorb all the liquid manure 
as fast as made. I consider this of prime im¬ 
portance. I use leaves, straw and sawdust 
principally, the first two for horses and mules 
and the sawdust for milch cows and cattle that 
are fastened up, it being so clean and conven¬ 
ient. It costs less to get it also, and the man¬ 
ure is in good condition for handling. In hog 
pens I use weeds as far as they go and supple¬ 
ment with the other materials. I have, be¬ 
sides, two pits into which I put yard rakings, 
leaves, etc., and turn the drainage from 
kitchen and laundry into them by means of 
pipes carried to some distance from the build¬ 
ings. I use them alternately. I obtain a large 
amount of valuable material in this way. 
Talledega, Ala. E. A. B, 
“ Nip in the Bud.” —Everywhere we see 
farmers and gardeners who do their ut¬ 
most in the fever of the spring time to pre¬ 
pare the soil, apply manure, sow the best 
seed they can get ; and then, for want of a 
modicum of the same attention later on when 
the heats and cares of summer relax their 
zeal, they allow the weeds, unseen and un¬ 
heard, to overtop or compete with the in¬ 
tended crop, and quietly ruin it. Like fire 
and water, and other good servants weeds are 
most useful to us if kept strictly in place. 
Cut their heads off at once if they presume to 
lift them above those that we appoint to 
grow in their stead. The rule for mastering 
weeds as well as human or other subordinates 
is to cheek effectively the first manifestations 
of unsubmissiveness. “w.” 
Manure Note.— I use plenty of dry sand 
(very dry) in my stables and pig-pen. It 
saves all liquid and keeps all bad odors down. 
My stables are built after a plan I found in 
the R. N.-Y., and in two years’ use they have 
paid me more than the cost of the paper 
would be for many years. It is best for me 
to apply stable manure in the fall, as I have 
more time bo draw it then than in spring. I 
always have to draw some in spring, or 
rather I draw it out in winter on a sled and 
spread it in spring. “ Hampshire.” 
Leeds, Mass. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
[Every query must be accompanied by the name 
and address of the writer to InRure 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. 
ORCHARD QUERIES. 
F. B. B., Ottawa, Mich. —I have consider¬ 
able low land, light, sandy loam, in which the 
water stands within a few inches of the sur¬ 
face in winter or early spring, but which can 
be drained by the first of May to a depth of 
four feet. 1. Can I safely plant an orchard of 
apples or other fruits on this land? 2. If not 
of the ordinary fruits, what kinds would 
succeed? 3. If none would do well, what 
would be the absolute requirements, so far as 
drainage is concerned, to fit the land for fruit 
growing? 4. Would sugar maples grow here? 
5. Would it be practicable to put Hard Ma¬ 
ple on Soft Maple roots for setting out on low 
land. How and when could it best be done, 
and what would be the result in timber and 
sugar? 
Ans.— 1. While apple tree roots might safely 
withstand occasional short immersions, we 
know of no lengthened trials like that indi¬ 
cated, and dare not advise the trial. 2. Of 
the larger fruits, the apple would best with¬ 
stand such conditions. Of the smaller fruits 
the currant (especially the black varieties) and 
the gooseberry. 3. Permanent drainage to 
the depth of four feet would doubtless insure 
at least a tolerable degree of success with 
most, if not all, classes of fruits. Still even 
deeper drainage would be preferable, at least 
to the extent that a permanent stratum of 
water should not be held within reach of the 
roots. 4. The Sugar Maple (Acer saccharinum) 
usually occurs only upon well-drained soils. 
Its permanent success, under the conditions 
mentioned, must be regarded as at the least 
doubtful. 5. There is such marked dissimi¬ 
larity between the two species of maple, espe¬ 
cially in the texture and general character of 
the woody growths, that there is much doubt 
of the success of the process of grafting the 
one upon the other. Actual trial—possibly a 
lengthened one—would be required to deter¬ 
mine the question. So far as we know, the 
experiment has not been tried. It could best 
be done by the growing of stocks from seed, 
and whip grafting them, very early in spring, 
before the earliest movement of the sap, as 
indicated by the swelling of the buds. 
WHEN TO CUT HAY. 
W. B. K., Sherrill'a Ford, N. C.— For the 
best results, at what stage should clover hay 
be cut, when the seed is the principal thing 
sought, and how should the hay be treated 
thereafter until thrashed; 2. Can clover be 
thrashed on a common wheat thrasher suc¬ 
cessfully; if so, how does one have to arrange 
the machine? 
Ans.—W ith the medium red clover, the 
first crop is cut for hay and the second crop 
of the same year, which is the first year after 
seeding, is left for seed. When the seed is ripe, 
which will be about September, the clover is 
cut and dried, but it is best to expose it to the 
weather for two or three weeks to partly rot 
the bulbs or pods in which the seed is con¬ 
tained. The straw may be thrashed in a 
common thrashing machine which separates 
the seed with the bulbs or chaff; this is passed 
through a clover-huller which rubs off the 
hulls and cleans the seed. There are small 
machines made for hulling clover by hand- 
power where the large hullers are not kept. 
Miscellaneous. 
W. C. D., Riceville, Tenn. —1. What is the 
name of the inclosed wheat? Some call it 
Golden Chaff, others say it is Velvet Chaff. 
2. What amount of the Mapes Complete Man¬ 
ure should be sown per acre with the wheat in 
the drill on thin land? How would it do in 
sowing 1^ bushel per acre to sow one-half of 
the wheat and 150 pounds of the fertilizer 
each way, making 300 pounds of fertilizer per 
acre. 
Ans.— 1. We raised it some ten years ago un¬ 
der the name of Velvet Chaff. The trouble 
with us was that the heads mildewed badly. 
2. We should not sow fertilizer in the drill at 
all for wheat. But that is not answering the 
question. Wo have drilled in wheat both ways 
and rather like it. The amount of seed being 
the same per acre, each plant has a better 
chance. We should also prefer to drill in the 
fertilizer both ways. It approaches more 
nearly broadcasting. 
R. K., Peaksvillc, Va.—How can I utilize 
several huudred bushels of waste apples (most¬ 
ly windfalls) so as to get the most money out 
of them? How would apple butter or apple 
jelly pay? 
Ans.— Windfall apples will make very fair 
jelly, but the best use to which they can be put 
is to make vinegar. They are ground and 
pressed and the cider is exposed to the air in 
a warm place, by causing it to trickle from 
one barrel to another down a channeled board 
in a zigzag manner, thus giving the air the 
best opportunity to act upon the cider to devel¬ 
op acid in it. Some vinegar-makers cause the 
liquid to pass slowly through a perforated 
vessel filled with beech shavings by which the 
air is enabled to effect the change of the cider 
into vinegar. 
A. B. A , Brooklyn, N. F.—What exper¬ 
ience has the Rural had with Syringa Jap- 
onica the “Giant Tree Lilac.” Has the Rural 
had any experience with the “Pyrus Malus 
Parkmanii?” 
Ans.—W e do not know of such a lilac. We 
have a single plant of Pyrus Malus Park¬ 
manii bought of W. Atlee Burpee, the past 
spring. It is called the Japan Rose Tree, be¬ 
cause the buds are said to resemble those of a 
rose, being an inch long. The flowers are said 
to be as double as an ordinary tea rose. Ever 
and ever so much is claimed for it, all of which 
we shall know about when our own plant 
gives us the desired information. 
TJ. P. B., Canterbury, Conn.— My cabbages 
are covered with lice of a gray color. I have 
tried the kerosene emulsion, but they in¬ 
crease rapidly, and threaten to devastate the 
whole field. What can be applied to stop 
their ravages, and does the wet season in¬ 
crease their number ? 
Ans.—T he kerosene emulsion if mixed in 
the right proportions should exterminate 
them. It would be well to try more kero¬ 
sene—on a few plants only at first. Tobacco 
water sprayed upon the plants will kill 
the lice. 
W. D. H., Rockfort, Ills.—The Country 
School Special of the Rural, will fully dis¬ 
cuss the question of agricultural education 
in district schools. 
P. J. A., Milboro Springs, Va. —The plant 
sent for nameisPhacelia Pursbii—Miami Mist 
—an annual of no particular account. 
I. H., West Granby, Conn.— The plant 
sent is Pogonla verticillaba—unfortunately it 
has no common name. It belongs to the Orchid 
family. 
■ " - ■ ••• — 
DISCUSSION. 
ENSILAGE IN STACKS AGAIN. 
C. S. Plumb, Knoxville, Tennessee.— 
In the Rural of June 2, Mr. Northcott 
writes concerning the method of stacking si¬ 
lage, as in use in England, and wonders why 
it is not adopted in America. He further re¬ 
fers to Mr. James Hunt’s patent system of 
stacking. The process above referred to has 
been slightly tried in this country. Mr. James 
Wood, of Mt. Kisco, N. Y., imported two of 
Mr. Hunt’s compresses from England in the 
summer of 1887. I think very likely Mr. 
Hunt was the first person to bring these im¬ 
plements to the United States. One press Mr. 
Wood kept, the other he sent to the New York 
Agricultural Experiment Station, where the 
experimental work with it fell to my charge. 
My report on this work will be found in the 
New York Station report for 1887, page 73. 
About ten tons of meadow and Hungarian 
grass were placed in the stack, and all the 
conditions were made as favorable as possible 
for its preservation. The directions sent out 
by Mr. Hunt were very carefully followed. 
About the sides the silage was discolored and 
spoiled to a depth of about 24 inches. At the 
bottom the loss varied from two to six inches. 
The silage as preserved was good, and was 
relished highly by the cattle. The stack was 
14x14x8 feet, the latter being the hight at the 
time pressure was first applied. Within a 
week the silo stack was reduced to a hight of 
4J4 feet. The reader who is acquainted with 
the ordinary hay press can have an idea as to 
how this silo press acts, as it works on about 
the same principle. Whether or no Mr. Wood 
made use of his press last year I cannot say. 
If he did, for one I should be pleased to hear 
of his results. 
R. N.-Y.—We expect to publish Col. Wood’s 
experience soon. 
J. A.F., Crawfordsville, Iud.—It is curi¬ 
ous how a really true statement may be mis¬ 
leading. This occurs in connection with the 
statement of the Director of the Michigan 
Agricultural College, that none of the so- 
called new varieties of oats surpasses the com¬ 
mon variety. Without doubt that is a true 
statement, else it would not have been made, 
and yet to many it will convey an erroneous 
and damaging opinion. It comes, I think, of 
using the word “common” without explana¬ 
tion. It is probably true as regards the oats 
common to Michigan; but it is not true as to 
the common oats of this section of Indiana, 
and probably of many sections and many 
States. I say this because the oats commonly 
grown here weigh only 28 to 32 pounds per 
bushel,or in the best of seasons perhaps 35, while 
Welcome and White Russian and Wide-Awake 
always produce oats that weigh from 38 to 45 
pounds, and they certainly produce as many 
measured bushels. So it will be seen that the 
acceptance of that statement would be much 
to the detriment of the farmers of a large 
part of the country. 
I have noticed the statements as to the iden¬ 
tity of a number of the varieties of oats and 
they may be substantially true, and yet there 
seems reason to doubt it. For instance, the 
Wide-Awake is placed on the list as belonging 
to them, and yet no one so far as I have been 
able to see testifies personally to the fact. It 
might be assumed from the reading that it was 
so pronounced by the Iowa Experiment Sta¬ 
tion, but I understand that it was not grown 
there. Then here we find it entirely distinct 
from the Welcome in size and appeal ance of 
the grain, and it is earlier than the White Rus¬ 
sian, so that it seems evident that in these 
three we have three distinct varieties. 
H. A. W., Fluvanna, N. Y.—In the 
Rural of June 2, the Editor speaks of placing 
his seed potatoes in a warm room to sprout be¬ 
fore planting. From many years’ experience in 
cutting my potatoes (good, perfect ones) into 
quarters, and rolling them in land plaster and 
leaving them in a warm, dry place to dry and 
sprout, I calculate I increase the germination 
from one week to ten days and the product¬ 
iveness very perceptibly. This season I dried 
them until they seemed almost lifeless, al¬ 
though the sprouts had started—in planting I 
lacked a few to finish, so I went to the cellar 
and took some of the same kind that were 
nicely sprouted—some a half-inch long—and 
finished with these. Those dried showed 
themselves above ground five days m advance 
of those freshly cut, and now they look more 
rank and are of a deeper green color. I have 
often dried a few seeds so dry that they 
sounded like sticks falling in the basket, and it 
was seldom that they failed to give good results. 
H. T. F., Lansing, Mich.— Prof. Johnson’s 
statement, in Bulletin No. 34, of the Mich. 
Ex. Station, in regard to Dakota Red and 
Rural Blush potatoes is correct so far as the 
specimens wo have are concerned. They do 
resemble each other in shape and color, and 
