6 
J AN S 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
years ago. We have also raised many seed¬ 
lings from this variety. All were worthless. 
F. M. R., Fairview, Fa —1. What is the 
name of the inclosed wheat, which the Rural 
sent out a few years ago in its Free Seed Dis¬ 
tribution? 2. What is the name of a relia¬ 
ble dealer of farm produce in N. city, also 
in Philadelphia, Pa. ? 3. Can all the ladies 
who are members of a family where the 
Rural is taken enter the Potato Contest? 
Ans. 1. The wheat resembles “Surprise.” 
2. S. H. and E. H. Frost, 100 Park place or 
E. and O. Ward, 279 Washington street N. Y. 
Pancoast and Griffith, 122 Dock street. Phila¬ 
delphia, Pa. 8. By all means. 
W. C. A. (no address).— Can the common 
hickory tree fce grafted with the Shell-bark 
hickory. If so, when should it be done, and in 
wbat way? 
Ans. Yes, the hickory can be so grafted. 
The b»st method we know of is by the Rural’s 
bud-graft method. The stem co be grafted is 
cut off horizontally. Then slits are made 
through the bark, as in budding, from the 
top down an inch or so. The cions cut on one 
side only are inserted and the whole covered 
with strong paper which extends an inch 
above the grafted stem. This basin so formed 
is filled with mud. It should be wet from 
time to time. 
E. R. L., Clarion Co., Pa.— My mare has 
been lame in the left front foot for about 
three weeks. She does not limp at every step; 
she does so only w r hen her toe or the right 
side of the toot strikes something. The day 
after she became lame I took her shoe off and 
>,-rapped her foot and pastern with rags which 
I kept wet with cold water for 24 hours. 
Then I set the foot in some wet cow manure 
for 12 hours. In a day or so I bathed the 
hoof with caustic balsam, making two ap¬ 
plications 24 hours apart, and then two more, 
30 hours apart, a week afterwards. The foot 
s worse if anything. I have not worked the 
animal since she became lame. She does not 
rest the foot in the stable but sometimes puts 
it a little in advance of the other. What can 
be done for her? 
Ans. —You should have given a full de¬ 
scription of the cause and nature of the in¬ 
jury or disease causing the lameness. We 
cannot tell what form you have been treating, 
and therefore cannot advise further treat¬ 
ment until we know the probable cause and 
nature of the trouble. Each of the various 
forms of lameness in the foot requires special 
treatment. If you will give a full description 
of the case we may be able to prescribe suitablo 
ti eatment. _ 
DISCUSSION. 
THE MAN FOR COMMISSIONER OF AG¬ 
RICULTURE. 
Fred Grundy.— I am glad to see the 
Rural express itself in favor of a practical 
farmer for our next Commissioner of Agri¬ 
culture. Its choice, Mr. J. S. Woodward, of 
New York, is a most excellent one. We do 
not need a personal introduction to him to be 
assured of his eminent fitness for the position. 
The great mass of reading farmers know very 
well that he is not a man who opens his 
mouth simply to put his foot into it. His 
utterances are invariably clear and practical^ 
and prove him to be a man who is thoroughly 
informed on all matters pertaining to agri¬ 
culture. Of course he is politically in ac 
cord with the President-elect, or the Rural 
would not have presented his name. [That does 
not follow at all. We have mentioned a dozen 
names regardless of their politics.— Eds.] 
While the Rural is not in any sense a parky 
paper, I still think it would be remiss to its 
whole duty if it did not openly and emphati¬ 
cally advocate the appointment of a practical 
man to the one position which farmers as a 
class are especially interested in. That the 
office of Commissioner of Agriculture is con¬ 
nected with politics to a certain extent is a 
fact that there is no need to gloss over with 
varnish or cover with soft soap. There is 
nothing wrong in the Commissioner being a 
politician. He has a perfect right to belong 
to a party, and, when out of office, to vigor¬ 
ously work for the success of that party. The 
idea that the Commissioner of Agriculture 
should not have decided political opinions is 
simply silly. It is the idea of a lot of sooth¬ 
ing sirup goody-goodies who are shocked at 
the shadow of a ballot, and of a class of low 
pettifoggers and paste diamond politicians 
who desire that he should be simply a good- 
natured old cove, with hayseed in his hair and 
corn in his pocket, who is handy to have about 
when the “rooral element” needs to be con¬ 
ciliated; a gentle, pudgy old chap, whose 
greatest delight it is to provide packages of 
turnip seed to be gratuitously distributed 
among “my inflooential rooral constituents.” 
We need to smash that idea so everlastingly 
that it will never be heard of again. We 
need to demolish that free seed swindle so 
thoroughly that even its ghost will never re¬ 
appear. We need a man that is not afraid to 
do it: a man who is honest enough, is poli¬ 
tician enough and has grit enough to handle 
politicians without gloves, and to prove that 
a veritable farmer is neither simple-minded 
pig-headed nor inconsistent; who is not 
afraid to say that a swindle is a swindle, if it 
is sanctioned by Congressmen. 
I think Mr. Woodward is the man who is 
capable of doing these things, and he is the 
man we should have. But he never will be 
appointed unless the class whose interests he 
will represent emphatically demand it. An¬ 
cient political hacks and theoretical husband¬ 
men are serenely bobbing up in all parts of 
the country and almost moving mountains to 
secure the appointment. It behoov es farmers 
to bestir them selves if they desire to be rep¬ 
resented by a whole practical man. 
FARMING DOESN’T PAY. 
A. W., Litchfield, Conn. —Under caption 
of the “Post Office Club” “Small Pica” gives 
a colloquy between the parrot which says 
“farmin’ don’t pay,” and the “schoolmaster” 
who gives “facts” and “figures” purporting to 
show that farming does pay. The “school¬ 
master” gives the value of the farms, farm 
machinery and live stock, together with the 
cost of fertilizers, the value of crops, of horses, 
mules, etc., including pretty much everything 
farmers have about them (or owe for) and 
then says “Farmin’don’t pay, eh? What do 
you think of all this wealth then?” Now I 
would much prefer to figure as the “parrot, 
for I believe he shows more sense by far or 
more honesty than the schoolmaster. He at 
least sticks to an obvious fact. But how 
about the “school-master? ” Think of enumer¬ 
ating the cost of fertilizers with the wealth of 
the farmer! Why not put in his taxes and in¬ 
terest money too? As to the value of farms, 
farm machinery, etc., if there’s a “school¬ 
master abroad ” so lacking in honesty or sense 
as to claim these are a true criterion of the 
prosperity of the farmers, he ought to be 
trounced immediately and sent off to his own, 
the politicians who are seeking by such 
sophisms to silence the farmers. The truth is 
that such valuations show more truly what 
the banks and other money-lenders are worth, 
and what the farmers owe for and pay in¬ 
terest and taxes on. As to the value of farm 
products, if he will take their total value by 
his “census of 1880,” subtract interest on 
capital invested and divide the remainder by 
the numbers engaged in agriculture, I think 
he will find that the farmers get, on an aver¬ 
age, about $190 per annum with which to sup¬ 
port and educate their families, and to buy 
the luxuries, the makers of which they are 
supporting in the “market.” Though I pro¬ 
pose to “stick to it,” and fight monopolies and 
other iniquities, nevertheless,—“farming 
doesn’t pay. 
SALT FOR POTATO SCAB. 
W. C. T., Harmony, R. I.—On page 810 of 
the Rural, D. B. H., Delevan, Wisconsin, 
claims that one tablespoonful of salt dissolved 
in two gallons of water and sprayed on the 
ground, is a preventive of scab in potatoes 
and he asks me to try it. I am willing to try 
the remedy if D. B. H. will tell how many 
hills the two gallons should be applied to. He 
also found the same amount applied with 
Paris-green answered the same. Now I use a 
very fine sprinkler to put on Paris-green, and 
two gallons of water will cover from 250 to 
300 hills. I do not think one-eighth part of it 
would touch the ground; applying one-eighth 
of a tablespoonful of salt to 300 hills of pota¬ 
toes is very fine work. 
R. N.-Y. We cannot see how the salt can 
have any effect in preventing scab, if applied 
in this way. If fertilizers are used—kainit, 
for instance—a comparatively large quantity 
of salt is applied to the soil. 
SCAB IN POTATOES. 
D. L. B.,'Nunda, N. Y.— The Rural asks 
some one’s experience in using salt as a pre¬ 
ventive of scab in potatoes. I have used salt 
for that purpose at the rate of 15 bushels to 
the acre, so that no.weeds grew where it was 
used. It was applied two weeks or more be¬ 
fore planting. Nevertheless I had scabby 
potatoes as usual. I do not think wire-worms 
cause scab on my potatoes. In fact, I know 
they do not. A close, inspection will show 
small white spots all over the potatoes. These 
turn brown and increase in size and depth as 
the tubers mature. I have tried sulphur, 
lime, plaster, different fertilizers, both special 
and general, without any perceptible effect. 
They have been so badly affected some years 
that I did not pick up half of them; and the 
longer they are left in the ground the worse 
they are. I would like to hear the experience 
of others in the matter. 
COTTON-SEED MEAL FOR MILCH COWS. 
E. B. D.,Shoreham,Vt.—A fter a number of 
yeqrs’ experience in feeding cotton-seed meal 
to milch cows I continue to use it. The cows 
have been very healthy. There has been 
only one case of abortion in more than 15 
years in a herd of 85, and only one case of 
milk fever. The product has been very good. 
The production of butter ran as high as 325 
pounds per cow in 1885, and 310 pounds in 
1886, without grain in summer. I would not 
feed over two quarts of cotton seed meal per 
day with com or corn and oat-meal—four 
quarts per day, fed at two feeds, with plenty 
of good hay and water tw^ per day. 
BROWN SWISS COWS AS BUTTER MAKERS. 
R. H. A., Chatham, N. J.— Is not the 
Rural a little “rough” on the Brown Swiss 
cattle’s butter capacity ? On page 833 it says it 
takes 25 to 30 quarts of their milk to make a 
pound of butter. Mine will yield a pound to 
12 quarts and I am milking about 20 thorough¬ 
bred registered cows and heifers. The Rural 
| cannot speak too highly of the Brown Swiss 
as the farmer’s cow. 
[R. N-Y. Our correspondent refers to a 
quotation made from the Farm Journal. 
Doubtless pounds should have been used in¬ 
stead of quarts.] 
J. R. B., Wellsville. Kans.— V. M. H* 
Milford, Del., wishes to know how the ailan- 
thus tree does in the West. In this part of 
Kansas it is a failure. It grows well while 
young, but when a few years old it loses all 
its vigor. The Early Harvest blackberry is 
as hardy here as the Snyder; it stands the cli¬ 
mate as well. It ripened this year June 18. 
The Luceretia Dewberry is a success here. 
Rural readers should know that a hot-bed is 
the cheapest, safest and best brooder they 
can have. I never saw or heard of one being 
used until last spring. I made one myself. 
Our chicks were chilling to death. I set a 
large box on a pile of heating manure, banked 
it up and put some old sash on for a cover,and 
I never saw chicks grow faster or do better. 
At one end there can be a door and a run at¬ 
tached . 
B. C. Haverhill, N. H.—I find feeding 
little potatoes to milk cows a benefit. I give 
about four quarts daily to each cow while on 
dry fodder. If too many are fed they will 
affect the milk so that it will be quite difficult 
to get butter from the cream. 
so. If there is one point at which British and 
American interests become identical, it is in 
the matter of fine stock-breeding. 
He believes that horse-breeding is likely to 
take a prominent place among the paying in¬ 
dustries of the future. He might have said 
also the paying industries of the present, for 
it is at this moment the only branch of agri¬ 
culture he thinks, that is yielding any sub¬ 
stantial profit. In spite of bad times, every¬ 
body who has handled horses has had toler¬ 
ably substantial remuneration for his labor 
There has always been a good demand for 
imported horses, and it would seem as if in 
creasing. Phenomenal prices are seldom 
heard of, but for well-bred animals good 
round sums are given which enable importers 
to pursue their business with profit. 
Notwithstanding the many hundreds of 
Shire and Clydesdale horses, and latterly 
Clevelands and Hackneys, annually landed, it 
is within the mark to say that quite three- 
fourths of the horses in America are of the 
Percheron breed or descended therefrom. 
The French horse Mr. MacDonald does not 
much admire, being very short in the quarters 
and rather bent in his hind legs. Yet the 
Percherons are useful stock. They are about 
the right size and weight for American tastes, 
though the heavier types of horses, such as 
the Shire and the Clyde, are being more and 
more looked after for horse-ranching purposes. 
The favorite type seems to be the thick, 
blocky horse—as square as a brick—with 
strong, short legs and good feet. For agri¬ 
cultural purposes, no horse weighing over 
1,600 pounds is used to any great extent, the 
popular weight being from 1,300 pounds up to 
1,600 pounds. 
“An Englishman’s Notes on'American 
Live Stock. —Mr. MacDonald, a well-known 
live-stock authority and one of the editors of 
the Mark Lane Express, is now visiting this 
country. In a letter to the Express he says 
that the shortage of grazing steers on West¬ 
ern ranches, results mainly from two contrary 
causes. On the one hand, the spaying knife 
has been too freely employed; on the other, 
unusally large numbers of half-famished 
cattle—store cattle of all classes—have been 
consigned to the butcher during the past 
autumn. The spaying of heifers, like de¬ 
horning, has become a mauia with Western 
stockmen. It is a sure and effectual source of 
infertility, but it is to say the least, a cruel, 
and superfluous practice. The operation is at 
once painful and revolting, and the results 
are only partially successful, while, unless a 
shrewd business eye is kept upon the condition 
and tendencies of the trade of the entire coun¬ 
try it is very liable to be seriously overdone. 
Mr. MacDonald desired to visit the wonder¬ 
ful ranching region of Texas. He saw a 
large number of cattle from some of the 
biggest ranches, which he characterizes as 
rough, ugly brutes. Many of them showed a 
slight departure from the original scrub, but 
at best they were very much inferior to what 
he saw even in Kansas, where Texan cows 
are extensively used for crossing with pedi¬ 
gree bulls. Yet he was told Texan beef is 
superior to that of improved and highly-fed 
bullocks, for the simple reason that it is 
raised under more natural conditions. Texan 
steers are wholly grass-fed, and although they 
do not attain to a high degree of maturity at 
any age, their beef is tolerably sweet. ‘ 1 But,” 
said one of his informants, “ we see little of it, 
and taste less; it is all shipped to Europe.” 
It is a national misfortune, continues Mr. 
MacDonald, for America that so little of the 
land is suited for the cultivation of roots. 
No turnips, and only a few mangels are 
grown; and though there is a belief in some 
parts of England that these are not worth the 
trouble and expense of raising them, they 
form a very important ingredient in the cattle 
dietary. If American stockmen used more 
roots and less corn they would make fewer 
visits to England for breeding 3tock. Yet he 
has no wish to discourage their visits. It 
would be prejudicial to both countries to do 
Average Yield of Corn per Acre.— 
The corn crop this year is the heaviest ever 
grown in this or any other country, amount¬ 
ing probably to 2,000,000,000 or at the rate of 
32 bushels per acre. The yield in the Southern 
States averages 11 bushels in North Carolina, 
against nine bushels in South Carolina, 10 in 
Florida, 13 bushels in Alabama, 19 5-10 bushels 
in Texas, 17 bushels in Virginia, 11 bushels in 
Georgia, 19 bushels|in Delaware, 25 bushels in 
Maryland, 19 7-10 bushels in Arkansas, 21 2-10 
bushels in Tennessee and 26 7-10 bushels in 
Kentucky. Iowa is the banner corn State, in 
1888 her average yield per acre being 87 
bushels, against 27 7-10 bushels in Minnesota, 
35 2-10 bushels in Ohio, 31 bushels in Michigan, 
35 bushels in Illinois, 31 bushels in Wisconsin, 
35 bushels in Indiana, 31 bushels in Missouri, 
27 bushels in Kansas, 36 bushels in Nebraska, 
28 bushels in California and 25 bushels in 
Oregon. The average yield in the New Eng¬ 
land States is 18 5-10 to 31 810 bushels, 
against 31 bushels in New York, 321-2 bushels 
in New Jersey and 32 6-10 bushels in Penn¬ 
sylvania. Surely there need not be much 
improvement in agricultural practice to in¬ 
crease the average yield in some of the above 
States. Remember, too, these being average 
yields, the production on about half the farms 
in each State must be considerably below the 
figures given. Can such crops pay? 
Average Yield of Wheat per acre. 
—In looking back over the year’s work, it 
certainly seems that there ought to be little 
difficulty in increasing the yield of wheat, 
say by one bushel per acre. While in the 
United Kingdom the average yield for a 
series of years has been 28 bushels per acre, 
the average in the United States has been 
less than 14 bushels,’or less than half the “Old 
Country” production. In view of the fact 
that the land there has been cropped for cen¬ 
turies, while much of our land is virgin soil 
or nearly so, such a great disproportion should 
not exist. This year the yield of wheat here 
has been unusually low, averaging only 114- 
10 bushels. The new States and the Terri¬ 
tories make the best show; while the Southern 
States make the poorest. 
Washington Territory yields 18 5-10 bush • 
els, against 16 3-10 bushels in Oregon and 5 
bushels in the two Carolinas. The average 
yield in New York is 14 1-10 bushels, against 
14 6-10 to 16 8-10 bushels in the New England 
States, 13 bushels in New Jersey, 13 7-10 
bushels in Pennsylvania, 12 6-10 bushels in 
Delaware, 14 5-10 bushels in Maryland, 8 7-10 
bushels in Virginia, 9 5-10 bushels in West 
Virginia. The average in Georgia is 5 1-10 
bushels, against 5 8-10 bushels in Alabama, 7 
8-10 bushels in Mississippi.il 2-10 bushels in 
Texas, 9 7-10 bushels in Tennessee and 9 7-10 
in Arkansas. The winter-wheat crop in 1888 
was far less than the yield of most of the 
previous years, being 11 2-10 bushels in Ken¬ 
tucky and Ohio, against 14 5-10 bushels in 
Michigan, 11 3 10 bushels in Indiana, 13 bush¬ 
els in Illinois, 12 6-10 bushels in Missouri, 14 
7-10 bushels in Kansas and 12 7-10 bushels in 
California. The spring-wheat States in 1888 
had unpropitious weather, and the average 
out put per acre is much smaller thau usual, 
