250 
bage plants doubled the number of attacking | 
root maggots, it might also seem to have been 
wiser to try the experiment over again—be¬ 
fore sliding into print with it, in antagonism 
to the life long experience of such veteran 
gardeners as Peter Henderson, for instance, 
who says—in “Gardening For Profit,” p. 137.— 
“The large amount of lime in the soil is not 
only coDgemai to the growth of the cabbage 
tribe, but is certainly destructive tothelarvte 
of the insect.” The experience of others, on 
lands not naturally rich in shell lime, (such as 
Mr. Henderson recommends for cabbages) is 
that while its application does not at first de¬ 
stroy all the worms, and perhaps may produce 
but little effect, yet in the long run it does 
greatly diminish the number, so that good 
crops are grown where before they utterly 
failed. 
A MISTAKE CORRECTED. 
L. S. F., Oakland, Ind.— In the Rural of 
March 2, page 146, it is said that the bonded 
railroad debt of Muhlenberg county, Indiana, 
has been allowed to grow until it has reached 
£1,000,060, and that efforts are being made to 
repudiate it. This statement must be a mis¬ 
take. There is in the State no county so 
heavily afflicted witn debt, and none that 
would try to evade its legitimate debts; nor is 
there in the State any county called Muhlen¬ 
berg. 
R. N.-Y.—A telegram making the statement 
appeared in several New York dailies on 
February 21 and 22, just before the Rural of 
March 2 went to press. No doubt Indiana 
was substituted by mistake for Kentucky, in 
which Stale there is a Muhlenberg county. 
We commented on the matter, believing the 
statements as to the fact and the place 
correct, without finding out whether among 
the 92 counties in Indiana, one was not called 
Muhlenberg. We are glad to learn that none 
of the counties in the fine old Hoosier State is 
so grievously debt-laden, and also that her 
sons have such a just pride in the honesty and 
solvency of all parts of their State as to be 
ready to correct promptly even an unin¬ 
tentional error reflecting upon her. 
KEEPING HORSE MANURE FROM BURNING 
R. B , St. Henry of Montreal, Canada. 
—In a late number of the Rural, I saw an in¬ 
quiry of how to prevent horse manure from 
getting fire-fanged. We draw the manure 
from 80 horses from the city. In beginning 
the manure pile, we give plenty of room, and 
as the loads arrive from the town we keep 
driving over the heap,spreading each load not 
more than six inches thick. We also had a 
bas : n-shaped hole in rear of the barn lined 
with puddled clay which received the urine 
from the stables and leakage from the barn¬ 
yard. We put the horse manure from the 
city into this basin, and it absorbed all the 
liquid, making manure of the best quality. 
We used the former plan when the basin 
got full and could not contain any more 
manure. The continual driving over the 
heap packed it so tight that it kept the 
manure from getting firc-fanged. 
We get all the manure we want for noth¬ 
ing, and have to draw it three miles; our un¬ 
leached hard wood ashes cost us $5.50 per 
ton delivered. 
A LANGSHAN-COCHIN CROSS. 
H. G., Hamburgh, Conn. —After seeing the 
picture and reading the account of the 
Rural’s Wyandotte-Dorking pullets in a late 
isme, I venture to give the result of a similar 
experiment I tried last spring in crossing a 
flock of Langshan hens with a Buff Cochin 
cockerel. The pullets, like the Rural’s, 
vary very much in color; two have a complete 
mixture of black and brown feathers, while 
some are nearly all brown with spangled 
necks of black, while others have black feath¬ 
ers over their bodies with brown necks. All 
have fine plump bodies of as good form, I think, 
as that of the specimen shown in the Rural, 
and they have fewer feathers upon the legs 
than the parents on either side. They were 
hatched about the middle of May; but did 
not commence laymg until the last of Decem¬ 
ber; but they have laid very well since 
then. Their eggs are very large for pullets 
and all are of the shape and color of those of 
the Cochin. 
BURPEE’S GREEK WINTER ONION. 
G. H. S., Northfield County, Va —Last 
year I planted a packet ot Burpee’s Greek 
Winter onion, and was well pleased with the 
size of the bulbs, but a large percentage were 
scallions. This may have been owiDg to the 
soil—a rather heavy loam. At this date not 
one of ihem shows the least sign of sprouting, 
while Wethersfield and Danvers, with hardly 
an exception, have made sprouts from half 
an inch to four inches long. All received the 
same treatment. If the scallions can be eradi¬ 
cated I am inclined to think that Burpee’s 
will prove a good onion .for this section. 
E. L.,. Philadelphia, Pa.—T he criticism 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
APR 43 
on calling the new American seedling rose by 
a French name—“Souvenir de Wootton”—in a 
late Rural, is, on general principles, correct; 
but in justice to the originator—Mr. John 
Cook, of Baltimore—it should be stated that it 
was named and offered for sale under the 
name of Souvenir of Wootton. True, souvenir 
is a French word, but it is a word in every¬ 
day use, so much so that it has become part of 
our own language. The name, as it now 
stands, is much better than if it were known 
as “ In remembrance of a pleasant afternoon 
spent at Wootton.” The originator of an 
improved variety of fruit, vegetable or 
flower is entitled to some latitude when giv¬ 
ing it a name. There is a little history con¬ 
nected with the naming of the rose under con¬ 
sideration, which may be interesting. 
“Wootton” is the country home of Mr. George 
W. Childs, proprietor of the Philadelphia 
Public Ledger. It is located at Bryn Mawr, 
Montgomery county, Pa., six or eight miles 
from Broad street Station, Philadelphia, on 
the main line of the Pennsylvania railroad. 
In August, 1886, the Society of American 
Florists was in convention in this city. Mr. 
Childs invited that body to his beau¬ 
tiful place to accept of his hospi¬ 
tality which was dispensed with a lavish 
hand and generous spirit. Mr. Cook, in his 
desire to return thanks to Mr. Childs, named 
the rose as above. When the rose becomes 
more widely cultivated and better known,the 
Souvenir de or of, will be dropped and it will 
be known by its more distinctive name 
“Wootton.’* The rose belongs to that class 
known as the Hybrid Tea. It is the result of 
a cross between the Tea rose Bon Silene and 
the H R. Louis Van Houtte. From present 
indications it will be more valuable to the 
grower of cut roses for commercial purposes 
in winter, than for the amateur to grow out 
of doors in summer. It may, however, prove 
as hardy as La France or any of the same 
type. It is more the color of Papa Gontier 
than the Jacqueminot, as it does not possess 
the velvety sheen which is one of the charms 
of the old and well-known “Jacque.” It is 
large and double, and it is certainly one of 
the most promising varieties for cut flowers 
that has been tried in recent years. 
S. S. C. ,Fredonia, N. Y.—The Rural of 
January 19th, referring to “ Farmer's Insti¬ 
tutes,” and an article by Mr. Hodgeman on 
page 35, say r s, “Is he right in his guess that the 
managers of the New York State meeting are 
trying to heat the mass from the top?” Let 
us do justice to the present series of meetings. 
1 attended the institute at Sherman, Chautau¬ 
qua county, in December. Recently one 
was held at Fredonia. I think they were of 
great utility. They were both of them every 
whit as good as the institute described by Mr. 
Hodgeman. There is nothing in this world 
beyond improvement; but the meetings were 
a pronounced success—instructive, interest¬ 
ing, stimulative, helpful. This is the univer¬ 
sal verdict of the farmers. Never before did 
I see professional men and others, not farm¬ 
ers, show so much interest. Believe me, if 
the two institutes in Chautauqua county, are 
samples, the money appropriated by the legis¬ 
lature will bring fourfold returns. 
H.T., Brandywine Summit,Delaware Co. , 
Pa.— 1. The corn that I have been growing for 
several years is a mixture of Gourd-seed and 
shallow-grain varieties, my aim being to get 
a large long cob and deep grain. By plant¬ 
ing a mixed corn I think the blossoming 
period is lengthened, giving the pollen a bet¬ 
ter chance to fertilize the ears and making 
them fill better. 2. My yield, on an average, 
is about 75 bushels per acre without manure. 
I have grown 106 bushels on a measured acre 
with stable manure. 3. Four feet each way. 
4. Stable manure and gooa bone superphos¬ 
phate. 
E. A. B., Hopkins, Minn. —Of the vines 
grown from Niagara grape seed received 
from the Rural one has survived. Last year 
it bore one imperfect bunch—wl ite with a 
slight tinge of yellow—ripened with or a lit¬ 
tle before the Concord and was about the 
size and shape of the Lady. 
The Albany Cultivator and Country Gen¬ 
tleman offers in a pithy way suggestions as to 
the construction of silos that shall really 
cover the entire subject. 
Silos should be made deep or high when 
practicable, so that the silage itself may ex¬ 
ert a greater pressure on all below. * * 
Good walls may be made of boards or plank, 
nailed on the two sides of a stiff timber frame 
forming ftp fur-space lined with tarred build 
ing paper, to make It air-tight and prevent 
freezing much. * * If the planks are well 
soaked with petroleum, they will last many 
years. The portion next to the earth may be 
treated with gas tar. * * A plank door, 
capable of being strongly barred, should open 
next to the passage towards the stable. * * 
The bottom or floor should have perfect 
drainage. * * After filling the silo, during 
successive days, the contents will settle in the 
course of a week or two, to about two-thirds 
of their former bulk. * * A ton of good 
silage contains no more nutriment than an 
equal amount of well dried and cut corn¬ 
stalks, but it is liked better by cattle and is 
better assimilated, digested, and goes further 
than the dry fodder. * * It has nearly the 
same advantages as green food given in sum¬ 
mer. * * The best silage is obtained by al¬ 
lowing the stalks to ripen enough to let the 
grain glaze, and the leaves to dry on their 
edges. Failure results when cutting too 
green. * * Thoroughly tramp around the 
edges of the silo in filling; the central portion 
will become solid without much tramping. * 
* Weighting the silo packs the top layer 
more nearly air-tight; leaving it exposed 
causes several inches to rot on the top. A 
layer of several inches ot dry straw holds a 
portion of the steam from the hot silage and 
tends to lessen the rotting. * * A weight 
of a hundred pounds to the square foot is 
ample It may be stones laid on plank cover; 
or it may be sand, saw-dust, earth or bags of 
grain, according to convenience. Weights 
are better than screws, because continuous. * 
* In feeding out, expose as little of the sil¬ 
age to the air as convenient, either by cutting 
down perpendicularly in successive sections; 
or in small silos with large herds, by taking 
off successive layers over the whole sur¬ 
face. * * 
Management of Cream. —The all-impor¬ 
tant question that was asked John Gould at 
the institutes was, “How can I keep cream to 
get enough to churn and not have it get old 
or musty ?” Milk and cream, Mr. Gould says, 
in the Weekly Fress, will take up everything 
afloat but fine flavor. The best remedy is a 
creamer. Keep the cream sweet and cold 
by allowing the pail to remain in the cold 
water. When ready to churn bring out the 
cream, warm it up to 64 or 65 degrees and 
keep it there until properly ripe or pleasantly 
acid, or bring it up at once to 75 degrees and 
let it cool down slowly to 64 degrees or there¬ 
abouts and churn as it gets acid. The chief 
trouble, and the one that gives the most 
bother, is in allowing cream to remain in a 
room of changing temperature, from freezing 
up to “blood heat,” as many a room is. where 
cream is set to await churning. Keep it cool 
at a uniform and low temperature. Don’t 
try to keep it too long even then. Better add 
30 per cent, of water at 64 degrees and churn 
the oftener. Never add “fresh” cream to old 
just as you start to churn. The acid of the 
old cream will not “cut” the new quickly 
enough to liberate all the globules, and a 
large per cent, will remain uuchurned and 
will go out in the butter-milk, which also de¬ 
creases the profits of dairying. 
WORTH NOTING. 
It is useless for any one to attempt to make 
a small farm pay, unless he has a love for his 
work, remarked a speaker at a late farmers’ 
meeting, as reported in the Massachusetts 
Ploughman. If he has a genuine love for it, 
everything he puts his hand to seems to know 
it. If his specialty is plant growth, whether 
fruit, vegetable or cereals, it is astonishing to 
his neighbor how they grow. If it is animals, 
they feel his love and how they grow and 
thrive. But if, on the other hand, he has no 
special love or liking for his work, plants and 
animals seem to know it, and they don’t like 
him and fail to respond to his heartless labors. 
A farmer must be a student and abreast 
with the progress of the times. In brief, the 
qualities necessary to the make-up of a suc¬ 
cessful farmer are as follows: he must be ac¬ 
tive, diligent, methodical, economical, tem¬ 
perate, progressive, a good salesman, and 
possess a good share of common sense. If he 
is not blessed with these qualities, the sooner 
he sells out and gets into something else the 
better; for it will avail him nothing to remain 
and make himself uncomfortable and every¬ 
body else by whining and moaning that farm¬ 
ing is a poor business and cannot be made to 
pay. 
The corn plant cannot endure a crusted 
soil about it. 
If, by some unforeseen accident every other 
grain crop, every root crop, aud all our grass 
and other fodder crops were lost to us, we 
could still survive and prosper if only corn 
were spared. 
TheJ florists of the pountry are frying fcq 
settle upon a national flower. The R. N.-Y. 
would select Zea mays. This would no doubt 
amaze the ladies and corner the florists. 
If it be granted that the application of 
1,000 pounds of a $50 fertilizer will increase 
the yield from 25 to 50 bushels, then that 
amount can be profitably applied. 
Nothing will keep the young coru plants 
thrifty and keep them growing better than 
stirring the soil. 
Prof. Henry says, in the Breeder’s Gazette, 
that a principal reason why farmers have 
held to the silo is because their stock show 
such an intense fondness for silage after hav¬ 
ing been fed upon it a few weeks. Every 
good feeder learns to appreciate the dis¬ 
criminating appetite of his cattle and is 
happy in catering to it, believing that any 
preference expressed by the beast should be 
carefully considered by the master. There is 
no denying that horses, cows, steers, and 
sheep prefer some of this succulent food to 
anything that can be given them excepting 
grain and roots, and will leave the best bay 
that can be made, for plain fodder-corn silage. 
So long as the facts stand thus those w ho 
have had actual experience will not permit 
themselves to be argued out of the case by 
persons who have had no experience iu the 
matter. They propose to stand by the beasts 
that have the food to eat, rather than by 
neighbors who theorize about it. It is an un¬ 
deniable fact that the friends of the silo to¬ 
day are the owners of silos, and that the ob¬ 
jections to it come almost wholly from 
persons who have never fed a pound of silage 
in their lives. It will be ample time for us 
to grow doubtful in the mattrr when we see 
siloists giving up the practice. 
The new tuber-bearing plant called Stachys 
tuberifera is prized in France. The tubers 
with us at this season are rotting when kept 
in damp sand, while if brought into a warm 
room they shrink up immediately into a mere 
skin. The plant is said to be hardy. 
Mr. W. W. Rawson says that the best cul¬ 
tivators do well if they succeed with cauli¬ 
flowers three seasons out of four. Failures 
are generally caused by drought. 
Mr. Philbrick of the Massachusetts Hor¬ 
ticultural Society, plants squash seeds among 
his early potatoes. The squash vines do not 
ordinarily interfere with the potato vines 
until the latter have made their growth. 
Mr. Philbrick commends the White Egg as 
the best turnip for family use. This variety 
may follow a crop of peas if the land is rich.. 
Just before frost Mr. M. B. Faxon takes up 
his tomato plants with all the soil that can be 
made to adhere to the roots, and places them 
in the cellar. He has had perfect, well 
ripened tomatoes on his table as late as 
Thanksgiving from such vines. 
Mr. Faxon speaks well of the Sievn dwarf 
bean. This variety is really a small Lima_ 
Plant some beet seeds for greens. Is your 
parsnip seed sown?. 
The following is taken from our old and 
much respected friend the Farm Journal: 
“ Dear Farm Journal; Would you not, 
as friend and guardian of the farmer, do us 
the favor to call on the Rural New-Yorker, 
aud try to induce it to call a halt, and think 
what it is doing to us poor farmers who hap¬ 
pen to be potato growers? For the last seven 
years or so it has been teaching the world to 
raise such enormous crops ot potatoes that 
the price has whittled down, so that to day 
they only bring the Penns) lvania farmer 
about 20 cents per bushel. And now, to 
cap the climax of our misery, it is trying to 
induce all the fair ladies of the land to go 
into potato culture next spring, for health 
aud for profit. Should this prove a success, 
wnat will potatoes be worth a twelvemonth 
hence ? Probably not more than five 
cents per bushel. And the R. N.-Y. in its 
next cartoon will be obliged to add to the 
load of the over-burdened farmer, a bouncing, 
healthy, robust woman or two, on his should¬ 
ers, carrying large sacks of potatoes to mar¬ 
ket. The last straw broke the camel’s back. 
Hydetown, Pa. Despairing Farmer.” 
Prof. Henry says, in the Farmers’ Review', 
that the best way to treat sorghum is to plant 
eight or ten seeds in hills two feet apart, with 
the rows three or three and one-half feet wide. 
Plant about the same time as corn, but not 
until the ground has become warm, upon well 
prepared, freshly stirred soil. He has been 
able to grow cane with very little hand culti¬ 
vation, by having the ground carefully pre¬ 
pared and using a fine slant-tooth drag to 
stir the soil before the seeds have sprouted, 
and while the plants are small. If the hills 
are slightly below the general surface the 
drag will not tear much of the cane. Usually 
oaue must be hoed once or twice, since tne 
youug plants are quite small when they first 
spring up, and easily smothered by we°ds. 
The after cultivation can be carried on with 
the cultivator. 
Prof. Fern alp shows us that alum water 
—even a saturated solution—has little or no 
effect upon the pqrr&nt WOIfll.. - .. * 
