black water diluted with three times its bulk 
of clean water, for roses, chrysanthemums, and 
cherry and plum tips, being guided, of course, 
by the condition of the subjects operated on. 
A GOOD AND CHEAP RATION FOR MILCH COWS. 
G. H. B., Carman, Minn. —Wbat is the 
best and cheapest ration for butter, made out 
of the following feeds? Wheat at 50 cents 
per bushel; oats, 35 cents; barley, 30 cents; 
shorts. $13 per ton; bran, $11; wild slough 
hay, $5, wheat and oat straw costing nothing. 
ANSWERED BY HENRY STEWART. 
The cheapest ration for the production of 
butter from the above mentioned foods would 
be as follows per day: 
20 pounds of oat straw - 
6 pounds of oats 4 cents 
4 pounds of bran 2)4 cents 
and as much of the hay as the cows would 
eat. The above ration would doubtless be 
increased one third in effect if part of the 
straw was cut, say, five pounds for each meal, 
and wetted and mixed with ha'f the grain 
food finely ground, thus making two meals of 
cut feed and one of whole straw at noon. 
The butter made from this food, however, 
would be crumbly in texture and light in 
color, bub it would have a good flavor, if it 
was not spoiled in the management. 
WORKS ON RAISING AND FEEDING LIVE STOCK 
C. H. S , Brooklyn, N Y. —What is a good 
work on stock raising and feeding and wbat is 
one on training Thoroughbreds? I would pre¬ 
fer works which explain technical terms. 
Ans. —There is no single good work which 
treats of stock raising and feeding. The 
following are good works which treat of 
different parts of the broad subject—American 
Cattle, by L. F. Allen, price $3.50; Stock 
Breeding, by Manly Miles, $1.50; the 
Shepherd’s Manual, by Henry Stewart, $1.50; 
Swine Husbandry, by F. D. Coburn, $1.75; 
Horse Breeding, by J. H. Sanders. $2; Feed¬ 
ing Animals, by E. W. Stewart, $2; Manual 
of Cattle Feeding, by H. P. Armsby, $2.50; 
Poultry Culture, bj I. K. Felch, $1 50; 
Wright’s Practical Poultry Keeper, $2. A 
good work on training Thoroughbreds, is W. 
Day’s, the Race-horse in Training, $0.25. All 
of these can be obtained through the nearest 
book store, or from the Orange Judd Com¬ 
pany, 751 Broadway, New York City. 
THE “COMBINATION” FENCE. 
L. B., Law ford,Va. —Has what is known as 
the “combination” fence been treated of in any 
of the past numbers of the Rural? We think 
that there is no doubt that it is the most 
serviceable farm fence. It consists of wooden 
pickets woven together by strands of wire. 
There is no patent on it, but there are about 
60 different patented machines for making it. 
A survey of them in the Patent-Office is quite 
bewildering In deciding between their merits, 
the services of a mechanical expert and of a 
patent-lawyer would be necessary. It appears 
to me that it would be worthy of a paper like 
the Rural to devote a special issue to the 
subject, and having worked it up thoroughly, 
to present the salient features of each ma¬ 
chine, so that the farmer desirous of using 
one could tell which would best suit his pur¬ 
pose, 
I Ans. —Yes, we have frequently spoken of 
this fence, which is certainly an admirable 
one. We will consider the matter of such a 
special number. 
ROSES. 
J. B., Plymouth, W. —Among white, yel¬ 
low, pink, aud red roses, which are the most 
hardy, freest bloomers, aud best adapted to a 
northern climate. 
Ans. —Abel Graud, rose color; Anne de 
Diesback, carmine; Baron de Bonstettin, deep 
crimson; Barones* Rothschild, light pink; 
Boieldieu, cherry; Caroline de Sansal, flesh 
color; Gen. Jacqueminot, pinkish crimson: 
La Reine, rose color; Baroune Prdvost, Ma¬ 
dame Plautier, white; Coquette des Blanches, 
Harrison’s Yellow, yellow. The above list 
are the hardiest roses we know of giving the 
colors desired. They are all hybrid remon- 
tauts except Harrison’s Yellow and one or two 
others whose origin is doubtful. The rose 
that is “most hardy, freest to bloom, etc.”, is 
yet to appear. 
THE POST OFFICE CLUB REPORTS. 
*4. W., Litchfield, Conn —Was it owiug to 
a loss of interest in “facts” and “figures” or 
to the absence of the “Schoolmaster” that 
“•small Pica” fell back on “sunshine” and 
sentiment in his last report of the “Post 
Office Club?” 
Ans. —“Small Pica” is merely a reporter. 
He states waat takes place at the Post Office 
Club, without any particular interest in 
presenting au argument. “The Parrot” is 
the only character that holds to a single line 
pf argument. 
P. S., Swansea, Mass. —Is there any 
machine for banking celery? 
Ans. —Wedo not know of one. 
F C. B., Lawrence, Kans. —Is there any 
work on frog culture? 
Ans —We don't know of any such work. 
L. 3. M., Shelburne, Mass. —What will 
kill black-knot on plum’trees? 
Ans. —Cutting back is the only remedv we 
know of. It is best to cut somewhat below 
the affected part. 
C.L.J, Verqennes. Vt. —Where can I get 
a cheap telephone that will work well for 40 
rods in a straight line? 
Ans — A telephone made by the Shaver Cor¬ 
poration of this city does very fair work. 
A. A. M., Md. —Is there anv effective 
destrover of potato beetles, except Paris- 
green? 
Ans. —We know of no preparation except 
Paris-ereen or other arsenical compound, that 
will kill the beetle withouCmaterial injury to 
the vine. 
F. E W., Warwick, Mass. —Which is the 
correct name—Mclntosn Red or McIntosh 
Red Canada apple? 
Ans. —McIntosh Red and the Canada Red 
are different apples. There is no McIntosh 
Canada R°d anole that we have ever heard 
of; but the McIntosh Red originated in On 
tario, Canada. 
W. A H., Homewood, Pa. —1. I want to 
plant 200 peach trees next spring; how would 
it do to plant strawberries with them? 2. 
What does the Rural think of the Erie 
Blackberry and Souhegan Raspberry as 
market varieties? 
Ans —1. There is no objection. The straw, 
berries will have parsed their usefulness before 
the peach trees take possession of the land. 
2. The Erie is said by several good judges to 
be the Lawton. The Souhegan is about the 
same as the Doolittle and a half dozen other 
kinds which it closely resembles. The 
Souhegan is as good as any. 
F. A. C., Olendale, N. Y. —1. What two 
varieties of strawberries—one early and the 
other late—will do best on a’sandy soil? 
2. W hat red and black raspberries would do 
best on the same soil? 3. What is the usual 
price of tomatoes per bushel at the canning 
factories? 
Ans —1. We would suggest Manchester for 
late, and May King for early. 2 Cuthbert 
for a red raspberry, and Hilborn for a black. 
3. The price varies somewhat according to the 
proximity of local markets. A firm in this 
city has a factory at Mateawan, N.'J. They 
formerly paid 18 cents per bushel, but on ac¬ 
count of the nearness of the city markets they 
have raised the price to 22 cents. About 20 
cents per bushel would be a fair price for the 
grower. 
F. K.P., Delevan, IF»s.—1. In planting pota¬ 
toes, does it pay to cover the seed-pieces with 
half a pint of slaked lime in each hill as a 
preventive of leaf blight and other pests. 
How should the “ounce of prevention” be ap¬ 
plied? 2. Is laud plaster much used in arti¬ 
ficial fertilizers 2 
Ans. —1. We do not see that covering the seed- 
piece could have any effect in preventing rot 
or blight. This is merely an opinion. If lime 
were strewn in the soil where the tubers form 
it might have such an effect We cannot say. 
Our experience has been confined to sulphur. 
We have never bad any rot or scab where 
powdered sulphur has been liberally used in 
the trenches. It is the R. N.-Y.’s opinion that 
much of so-called blight has been caused by the 
Flea-beetle. This we know to have been true 
in many cases the past season. 2. Not in high- 
grade fertilizers. 
DISCUSSION. 
BUCKWHEAT EXPERIENCE. 
H. A. W., Erie, Pa—H aving read with 
much interest the numerous communications 
upon the buckwheat questiou, that have been 
published in tue Rural during the past few 
months, I have concluded to give a few 
facts from an experience of over 20 years. I 
am acquainted with only four kinds of buck¬ 
wheat and I think there are no other kinds 
kuown to the trade to-day. The common 
black kind has been known to the oldest in¬ 
habitants as a staudard, and bas’usually given 
a fair return for the labor of cultivation and 
a satisfactory quality of Hour, but it is not as 
abundant a flour-producer as any of the 
newer varieties. Farmers usually conclude 
that any soil will produce buckwheat, as it re 
ceives a large percentage of its food from the 
atmosphere Then came the gray kind, like the 
black in the shape of the kernel, but gray in 
color, and producing flour a very little more 
in quantity but not better in quality. The 
average product of grain r>er acre of either of 
these was from 15 to 20 bushels. Sometimes 
on extra fine soil the yield would run up to 30 
bushels: but, this yield was vpry rare. The 
quant.itv of flour per bush'd seldom exceeded 
16 to 18 pounds. In 1880 I procured one 
bushel of 43 oounds of the Sdver-bull, costing 
$4.65. thinking to sow it upon 1)4 acre of 
clover sod. from which T had cut the crop on 
June 25. That night it rained very hard, and 
as tbe clover was lying iu the swath, it, of 
course, became verv wet. For two days and 
nights we bad rain almost constantly. When 
the sun came out sufflcjentlv to dry the crop, 
the latter was black and in many peaces 
spoiled. I soon nut the plow nt work turning 
the sod seven inch°s. and so comoletelv cover 
ing the clover that one would not suspect that 
at least two tons of hay to the acre had been 
turned under. 
Af*er plowing, the ground was put in fine 
condition for the seed and after applying 500 
pounds of Bowker’s superphosphate and two 
barrels of salt to the land. I sowed the seed, 
rolling the ground after harrowing. Tbe re¬ 
sult was the largest vield of straw I ever saw 
and 67)4 bushels of verv plump, nice grain. 
The thrasher who bad followed the machine 
for ye«rs, said it surpassed anything hp bad 
ever seen. Remember the seed cost $4 65 a 
bushel (one of my foolish ventu r e’) ' r be 
following season T sold 55 bushels for $1 50 a 
bushel, while tbe old kind was worth onlv 60 
cents a bushel This kind has for the last sii 
years, been the standard for this section. Tt 
is first for the quality and the quantity of 
its flour, there being usually about 22 to 24 
pounds to the bushel, and in qualitv it is 
swpeter and whiter than the flour of anv other 
kind raised here. This kind is often adver¬ 
tised bv seedsmen, for the sake of giving it a 
high-sounding name, as the English Silver- 
hull. The average yield per acre is from 25 
to 35 bushels. When sown at the same time 
as either of the old kinds, it wi]]|ripen about 
one week earlier and the burning suns of 
September do not blight it as thev do the old 
kinds. Last spring I procured eight quarts of 
the new Japanese buckwheat and sowed it on 
half an acre, by the side of two acres of the 
Silver-hull. The ground for both was pre¬ 
pared exactly in the same way, and both were 
sowed the same day, and in every way treat¬ 
ed alike. The Japanese grew a very strong 
straw and ripened a few days later than the 
Silver-hull. The yield was at the rate of 36 
bushels per acre, and the flour is iD no ways 
superior to that of the Silver-hull either in 
quantity or quality. The kernel is much 
larger than that of either of the other kinds, 
though similar in shape and color to the old 
black kind. I cannot believe it will prove in 
any way superior to the Silver-hull. Were I 
to sow any great amount, I would stick to the 
Silver-hull.as it has stood the test for years. In 
all new varieties of seeds it is wise to go slow 
Having had quite an experience with differ¬ 
ent new varieties, I again, repeat: go slow 
with new sorts. 
THE LENGTH OF ROOTS. 
J. W. L, Sugar Run, Pa.— The Rural 
New-Yorker once asked the question: 
“ How long are potato roots anyway?” I can¬ 
not tell, but, judging from analogy, I should 
say that in a fine, rich, mellow soil under 
favorable conditions, they grow five or six 
feet long. The person who pulls up a hill of 
early potatoes while the tops are green, and 
shakes off the earth may suppose he has got 
nearly all the roots, but such is by no 
means the case. The same is true of 
onions. I once had an onion bed on a hill side 
garden, the soil of which was a fine sandy 
loam. The bed was about four feet wide, the 
1 onions about full-grown and the tops still 
green. There came a shower in the night 
and a stream ran down over the bed until the 
surface dirt was all washed away and the 
roots were left bare, ex r ending unbroken in 
every direction, and generally remaining in 
the place where they grew. In the morning 
when 1 visited my ga den to see the havoc 
that had been caused by the rain. I was sur¬ 
prised, beyond measure, to fiud that onion 
roots were so long. Some onions that stood 
near the middle of the bed had pushed their 
roots in both directions to the outside of the 
bed; in otner words, their roots were extended 
two feet on all sides. I would not believe it if 
I had not seen i,t myself. It is the common 
opinion that the roots of trees extend about as 
far out in the ground as the branenes pn.j-ct 
out above it; but the truth is that they extend 
much farther. I have seen large trees, as well 
as willows, and alders, washed out by a flood 
in the creek, and in every case the roots were 
more than twice the length of the branches. 
The person who buys trees from the nursery¬ 
men may think be obtains about all the roots 
with the trers, but he does not get one-half of 
them. From what 1 know of other vegetables, 
I believe that potatoes of vigorous growth 
send out roots three feet in every direction 
where they are rot opDosed by some impedi- 
mpnt. and that if there is richer soil or manure 
within four feet of where thev are Dlanted 
they wifi start for that the first thin». and 
reach it in a short time. The tran who 
manures one rw of potatoes and leaves the 
next without anv manure a« an exoeriment, 
to find out the value of enrr>m°rcial fertilizers, 
makes as great, a mistake as tb“ one who put 
his monev into a con f ri>mtion box, thinking 
i‘ a savings-bank. Tf you manure one row 
of potatoes, the next row will steal nart of the 
manure unless vou interpose an impassable 
barrier of boiler plate or chilled iron. 
GREEN CORN IN WINTER. 
A T. T.. Franklin Park. New Jersey.— 
An article in a lat.p Rural. r°’ated to pro¬ 
longing the season for greon ccn. A neigh¬ 
bor of mine has had a similar exnerience. I 
was in his house during the latter nart of 
November just at bis dinner hour, and found 
him munching a fat ear. with a plateful of 
luscious ones close a* hand. 
“ How long does vour run on sweet corn 
expend this season?” was mv not unnatural 
inquirv. considering that the weather had 
b c en quite severe of late. 
“Well, unless some thief com^s a'o r g and 
shea’s it, we expect to keep this up all winter,” 
said be. 
“Your corn grows right along I sucrose 
now since cold weather and winter have set 
in?” T remarked. 
“ T can’t say the stalks grow much.” said he 
“hut the corn grows—grows better in taste 
anvway. The fact is we bad more planted 
than we supposed ourselves ab’e to use, and 
when the earlv frosts of September came and 
froze the stalks and leaves. I imagined the 
corn was ruined The effect, on the ears, how¬ 
ever, was to improve the flavor ra’her than 
otherwise, and its natural tendency to harden 
has been permanentlv checked A good com¬ 
parison. perhaps, may be notpd in the influence 
of mustard on sweet cider, which “fixes” the 
cider so that the umal changes incident to 
age and fermentation do not take place. I 
have not cut the com, and tbe stalks 
have been whipped bare of leaves by the wind 
and weather, but the com ears hang on all 
the same, so that when the cook wants a sup- 
plv for the kitchen, she goes into the garden 
and h«lps herself just as if it were mid-summer 
instead of winter ” 
“A trulv wonderful labor-saving device!” 
“Yes, that’s what we think, and to empha¬ 
size the matter a little, there is no beating 
this plan of harvesting a com crop. Perhaps 
I exaggerated a little in saying it will last all 
winter, but it will certainly hold out until it is 
used up. anyway.” 
“Exaggerate, indeed! That’s a mild term 
for it. Whv, mv dear fellow, if you daily 
consume as big a pile as that now before you, 
vour whole farm would have to be a corn¬ 
field to l«st all winter ” 
“■Well. I admit I am rather fond of sweet 
com myself. My neighbors are too. Sit 
right up now and help yourself; your mouth 
has been watering for some of this long 
enough.” 
KEEPING UP SOIL FERTILITY BY MEANS OF 
COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS ALONE. 
D. C. L , Cranberry. N. J.—In a late 
Rural, C H. F.. of Fore«tville, N. Y . asks, 
“What can farmers do without the cow, the 
sheep, and the ox? How is tbe fertility of the 
farm to be maintained without them? Can it 
be done with commercial fertilizers alone? 
Men who have tried doing so, tell us. no. 
Mv own experience tells me. yes. I have a 
farm of 100 acres. 90 of which are under cul¬ 
tivation. The sales of the products of my 
fann are now larger than they have been for 
any year of the 17 1 have owned it. and T am 
keeping less stock than at any former period. 
Two working teams and three cows are all 
that I keep on the fa r m through the year. I 
also keep two or three steers through the 
winter to dispose of the corn fodder aud 
coarser products. Mv farm to-dav is more 
productive, growing larger crops than at any 
former period, and this improvement is 
brought about bv the use of chemical ferti¬ 
lizers alone. I do not b°lieve that the usual 
superphosphates will give such a resuR, as 
thev contain too li’tle nitrogen and potash in 
them; but when fertilizers of a high grade are 
used, excellent results can be secured. In one 
in«*ance in Monmouth Ccn^y, N. J,, a field 
of lOacrps has not received any manure ex¬ 
cept chemical fert’lizers, for about 13 years, 
and that field is producing douhle the crops it 
did under the old system, when vard manure, 
marl and lime were used. Now, this remit 
ha* been obtained, not by use of ordinary 
superphosphates; but by the application of 
special and high-grade fertilizers. 
R B., St Henry of Montreal. Canada. 
—I was rnrh interested in tho c e letters on pota¬ 
to scab iu a late Rural. I find that to plant 
potatoes on„land_where grain., grew the pre- 
I 
