VOL. XLVII. NO. 2004. 
NEW YORK JUNE 30, 1888. 
PRICE FIVE CENTS 
$2.00 PER YEAR. 
fEntered according to Act of Congress, In the year 1888, by the Rural New-Yorker In the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.! 
LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 
A VIEW IN THE RURAL GROUNDS AS 
SHOWN BY THE PHOTO GRAVURE 
PROCESS OF ENGRAVING. 
The accompanying exquisite picture (Fig. 
326) is one of 30 which were executed from a 
photograph taken by S. C \ an Derbeck, of 
Hackensack, N. J-, for the Photo Engraving 
Co. of New York. This new process is in 
jome respects superior to either wood or steel 
mgraving, as,'for example, in the softness of 
;he tone and fidelity of the reproduction. The 
ines and general im- 
pression upon the 
metal, however, are 
so delicate and shal¬ 
low that such pic¬ 
tures are likely to be 
confined to journals 
of the better class 
which are printed on 
fine paper and with 
good ink. This series 
of 30 photo-gravure 
views, taken at the 
Rural Grounds, will 
appear from time to 
time during this and 
next year, while it is 
intended to make 
this class of pictures 
a permanent feature 
of the Rural' New- 
Yorker. 
Our present scene 
shows the northern 
portion of a little 
body of pure spring 
water, collected by 
digging out a natu¬ 
ral basin, some 150 
feet west of the dwell¬ 
ing, so as to secure a 
depth of from two to 
six feet. It proved 
to be rather a costly 
undertaking, owing 
partly to inexperi¬ 
ence in such work on 
our part, and also to 
the fact that in order 
to provide for the lay 
of the basin which 
sloped" towards the 
south, it was neces¬ 
sary to construct a 
stone and cement 
bank some 100 feet 
long, with an outlet 
in the middle. The water which flows through 
this outlet, which is six feet wide and 18 in¬ 
ches below the surface of the banks on either 
side, falls five feet, flowing into another lake, 
and finally, by a circuitous route of some five 
miles, making its way into the Hackensack 
River. 
This lakelet is well stocked with fish, such as 
they are, being, for the most part, sun-fish, 
perch, pike, suckers, eels, etc., while turtles, 
particularly snapping turtles, which we have 
vainly endeavored to get rid of, abound. 
It is an interesting fact that a number of 
these turtles which were marked for identifi¬ 
cation and thrown into a connecting stream 
half a mile distant, found their way back in a 
few days. 
Four years ago 32 carp were received from 
"Washington and placed in this pond. Just 
what became of them is not known, further 
than that neither they nor their progeny have 
since been seen. 
This little body of water is a perpetual joy 
as well as a source of solicitude to the old folks 
of the Rural Grounds. The little ones vary 
their pleasures from rowing about in row¬ 
boats or canoes, sailing miniature yachts and 
sloops, to fishing and skating, according to the 
season. But the water is of such a depth that 
children under 10 years of age or so can not 
safely be left without the attendance of older 
persons. 
The Rural Grounds would never seem en¬ 
durable to us were we deprived of this little 
body of water, and it is a matter of surprise 
that farmers in general do not utilize similar 
privileges. Still there are ponds and ponds. 
Anything less than pure water near the dwel¬ 
ling is an abomination, while to keep a lake 
leaf Willow, Prunus Pissardii, Double-flower¬ 
ing White Horse-Chestnut, False Indigo (Am- 
orpha fruticosa), Rose of Sharon, Deutzias, 
etc. 
CARE OF THE FARM TEAM 
Only slight differences in manner of treat¬ 
ment ; why mules are best for heavy ivork 
in the South; practices in the South, the 
Far West and the rest of the country, best 
and most economical feed; feeding twice a 
day and oftener; when and how to 
A 
View in tlie Rural Grounds. From a Fhotograph May 1st. 
and its surroundings in a neat, thorough con¬ 
dition is a frequent item of considerable ex¬ 
pense. 
This picture was taken about the first of 
May, before the leaves of deciduous trees and 
shrubs had pushed. We have engravings in 
course of execution taken last week, which 
will show the lake in its summer dress. What 
we now desire to call attention to is the distri¬ 
bution of evergreens which, even in the dead 
of winter, give to it a pleasing, lively, inviting 
appearance. The judicious mingling of ever¬ 
green and deciduous verdure about the coun¬ 
try home is a subject of no little importance. 
To the extreme right is shown, somewhat 
feebly, a Scotch Pine, now 14 years old from 
the nursery. Next, to the left, we have hem¬ 
locks, arbor-vitae, again hemlocks, and to the 
left a Norway Spruce, a Balsam Fir, and, fin¬ 
ally, to the extreme left, arbor-vitae again. 
The deciduous trees shown are Liquidambar, 
Osage Orange, a variegated willow, Laurel" 
water-, regular watering and feeding 
necessary ; economy in cut feed ; care 
for man as well as beast,- three pounds 
of hay or its equivalent per 100 pounds 
of live-weight ; nets and hickory leaves de¬ 
coction for fly-time-, “a thorough groom¬ 
ing equal to four quarts of oats;" carrots 
for horses-, salting-, evils of over-feeding-, 
colic cures; good care the best medicine ; 
shelter most needed by roadsters in winter, 
attention in summer; over-free travelers; 
management of the check-rein. 
FROM E. A. BISHOP. 
For all heavy farm work and teaming I use 
mules, as I find them better suited to the cli¬ 
mate, and they will do more work on coarser 
feed than horses. They stand the heat and 
flies better and are serviceable for a greater 
number of years. They are more hardy and 
are seldom ailing. I use five mules for my 
farm work, two pair of which work six days 
in the week, summer and winter, when it is 
not too stormy, while for personal use, rid¬ 
ing, driving, and general light work I prefer 
horses and keep several for such purposes, 
partly through prejudice, I suppose. The 
cheapest feed I can use is corn, ground whole 
with the husks on. I grind with the “Scienti¬ 
fic” mill rather coarser than for cattle, as the 
mules seem to like it better. That it is teh 
best feed possible I am not ready to say, but 
oats are usually high here; otherwise I would 
mix the two. I give what uncut hay they 
will eat up clean. I like to change their hay 
occasionally as they relish it better. German 
millet, oats cut in the milk, and Crab Grass 
are my main dependence. I give three feeds 
a day, the heaviest of hay at night and of grain 
in the morning, 
about four pounds 
of the ground corn 
at a feed. We work 
10 to 11 hours in sum¬ 
mer and nine in win¬ 
ter and have one 
hour’s nooning. I 
water after break¬ 
fast in the morning, 
and before and after 
dinner and before 
supper at night. 
Each teamster 
grooms his team and 
puts on the harness 
before he eats break¬ 
fast. He is then 
ready to start im¬ 
mediately after, and 
while his team is 
drinking I give him 
his directions for 
work, usually going 
to the field to see that 
he starts all right and 
promptly. We do 
not give any roots, 
but give green rye in 
the spi'ing until it 
gets hard or the 
beard stiff. We sel¬ 
dom have any serious 
cases of sickness, 
other than a light at¬ 
tack of colic some¬ 
times during the 
summer, never 
severe enough to 
need medicine. I 
take off the harness, 
let the animals roll 
if they wish and walk 
about; then rub them 
well with the hands 
about the sides and 
belly. Sometimes i 
the latter seems hard’and very full I, rub it by 
using a rail or slat underneath, a man tak¬ 
ing hold of each end, while some one holds the 
animal by the head: this often gives relief. 
Seldom more than two or three hours are lost 
from work and not more than two or three 
cases occur in a season. 
One of the most important points in the care 
of farm teams is regularity in feeding. 
I have one man who sleeps in the barn, and 
does all the feeding; he also grooms the driving 
horses and cares for the wagons and barn gen¬ 
erally. The feed is all in the stalls before the 
teams come in,so the driver has only to water 
and tie his team. If the driver had to go up¬ 
stairs and feed it would many times, be done 
carelessly, especially if he came in a little late. 
On pleasant Sundays I have the mules and 
horses turned into the pasture, but give them 
the usual feed at the barn morning and night. 
I hold each driver strictly responsible for the 
care and proper handling of his team; no hard 
