1889 
367 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Ludicrous Legislation as to Dogs and 
Sheep.—The legislature of North Carolina 
passed a law compelling the owner of a dog 
which was known to have killed or injured 
sheep, to pay two dollars in cash for each one 
killed, and one dollar for each one injured. 
The Progressive Parmer in commenting upon 
this, says that this act, if it means anything, 
means to elevate the dog and give him more 
privileges than heretofore. To say that a dog 
may bill a sheep for two dollars and may in¬ 
jure a sheep for one dollar, what does it 
mean? A grade South Down wether sells 
for four to six dollars, and a grade Cots- 
wold sells at five to eight dollars for mutton. 
A pure-blood Merino, South Down, or Cots- 
wold lamb sells for 10 to 50 dollars, accord¬ 
ing to breeding. The city of Baltimore, to 
encourage sheep husbandry, sells the South 
Down lambs from the Druid Park flock at the 
low price of $25 each. Does this bill mean 
that if any farmer has any improved breed of 
sheep, worth from $10 to $50 each, a dog is 
authorized to go and kill them for $2 each? 
If this be so, farewell to all attempts to im¬ 
prove the breed of sheep. Farewell to all 
stock raising, and let all cotton and all to¬ 
bacco be the cry—buy everything else. Would 
it not be better to pass a bill making it a crime 
to have a sheep? 
WHICH MAY REMIND YOU. 
Most people who consider cabbage an es¬ 
sentially coarse food are unacquainted with 
the Savoy class, says W. F. Massey in that ex¬ 
cellent journal, Garden and Forest. Even the 
Savoys which have been crossed and in¬ 
creased in size and coarseness, like the Drum¬ 
head Savoy, are still far superior to the ordi¬ 
nary Flat Dutch and Drumheads. And now 
we have a variety known as the Netted Savoy, 
which combines fair size with the highest 
quality. The difficulty in growing all late 
summer cabbages is due to the ravenous green 
caterpillars which eat them so greedily. Py- 
rethrum powder will destroy the worms if 
constantly and thoroughly used, continues Mr. 
Massey, but the marauders come so rapidly 
that if the application is not made almost 
daily it is useless, and with good pyrethrum 
at 75 cents per pound, it will not take long to 
spend the value of the cabbages. 
This is true enough if the pure dry powder 
is used. But it should be borne in mind that 
it can be greatly extended with plaster and 
still be effective. Moreover, if pyrethrum 
water is used, the expense is inconsiderable, 
since a table-spoonful of powder suffices for a 
pailful of water. With a hand pump, long 
hose (say 10 feet) and spraying nozzle (Ver- 
morel is about the best for cabbages) the 
plants may be sprayed rapidly, with compar¬ 
atively little exertion and at cost for the pow¬ 
der scarcely wortn considering. 
Mr. Clarence M. Weed, of the Ohio Ex¬ 
periment Station, says that his Station’s ex¬ 
periments last year indicate that spraying 
plum trees with Paris-green water is effective 
in killing the curculio. Four ounces of the 
poison to 40 gallons of water. 
It is easy to understand, says the Philadel¬ 
phia Weekly Press, how some cows may get 
iuto a habit of living with a minimum of ex¬ 
ercise. We have known some men to get into 
the same way and never discovered that it 
made them more efficient. To keep a nervous, 
high-bred cow confined to one spot for months 
together with, perhaps, her head fastened in a 
stiff, unyielding stanchion, looks very much 
like cruelty to animals. Dehorning is nowhere 
compared with it. If the mjui ious effects of 
confinement do not show to any marked de¬ 
gree in the present generation of cows, they 
are certain to crop out in au enfeebled off¬ 
spring. 
Careful Experiments to show the relative 
shrinkage of silage and hay, made in Lanca¬ 
shire, Englaud, and reported in the Live Stock 
Journal, show that two tons of meadow grass 
made into hay, leave VZ}4 cwt. Two tons of 
meadow grass put iuto silo come out 34 cwt. 
of silage. 
Prof. Henry of the Wisconsin Experiment 
Station, after two years’ experience with 
Prickly Comfr»y, thinks it may be valuable 
with dairymen for soiling purposes, but that 
it is not likely to hold a prominent place in 
our agriculture . 
Alfalfa is another plaut,«ays Prof. Henry 
in the Breeder’s Gazette, that has received 
some attention in the East of late years. 
From Colorado westward it occupies a very 
important place among furm crops and on ir¬ 
rigated lands of the West gives enormous 
yields. The plant is a legume, like clover, 
but is a perennial, so that when once it occu¬ 
pies a field, with favorable conditions it con¬ 
tinues indefinitely. It yields from two to 
eight tons of excellent hay per acre per year 
at the West, and it is no wonder that the 
farmers in the Eastern United States, when 
they learn these facts, are so anxious to try it. 
In most cases attempts to grow Alfalfa at the 
East have not succeeded. The New York and 
New Jersey Experiment Stations report very 
fair success. Alfalfa on the Wisconsin Station 
grounds stood about 10 inches high in early 
May,but on the'wholeit has not been a success. 
Unless the conditions are very favorable he 
thinks the farmers east of the Rocky Moun¬ 
tain section should not attempt to grow this 
plant. W ith a porous subsoil and the water 
10 or 15 feet below the surface, also perhaps 
on sandy land with a sandy subsoil, Alfalfa 
may oe tried with some chance of success. 
In general, however, Red clover ismuch better 
suited to Wisconsin needs than Alfalfa. Clo¬ 
ver gives a good crop the second year after it 
is sown, and can then be turned under for en¬ 
riching tne soil. Alfalfa requires two or three 
years to get well established, so that the 
farmer can hardly afford to use it in the ro¬ 
tation of crops even if it succeeds. 
Cow peas, lupines, vetches and seradella 
have also been tried at the Wisconsin Station, 
but appear to be of little value as compared 
with clover. 
T. B. Terry, in the Ohio Farmer, says he 
harrows his potatoes three times with a Thom¬ 
as harrow—the first time soon after planting; 
the last time, usually, just as the sprouts are 
coming out of the ground. Some seasons two 
harrowings are enough. All he wants is to 
keep the surface mellow and not let the weeds 
see daylight. He wants to be sure the weeds 
are cleaned out just as the potatoes come up. 
Before they start again he takes care of them 
with cultivators and avoids all hand work 
and horse-hoes. When harrowing the first 
two times he keeps the horses between the 
rows (there are ridges over the drills so he can 
see them) and, last, he harrows cross-wise to 
level the ground and be sure of killing all 
weeds. 
The report of the N. Y. Experiment Sta¬ 
tion, Peter Collier, Director is all things con¬ 
sidered, the best we have seen. It fills 406 
pages and should be examined by every farm¬ 
er. Careful experiments made by the Station, 
prove that the liquid portion of the stable ma¬ 
nure contains approximately the same amount 
of fertilizing material as the solid portion; 
but, in addition, the portion present in the 
liquid portion is in a condition rendering it 
immediately available to the growing crop. 
This portion which is so generally allowed to 
be wasted, through imperfect methods for its 
preservation, it is proposed by the Station to 
save completely'. 
“ Who can doubt,” says Dr. Collier who was 
one of the judges in the R. N-Y. Potato Con¬ 
test, “ that the great yield of potatoes secured 
at the rate of 645 bushels to the acre of one 
variety, and 1,076 bushels of another variety, 
under the conditions of soil and climate ob¬ 
taining in the locality where the trial was 
made, was aue wholly to the fertilizers applied 
and the method of cultivation employed?” 
It is doubtless true that the results 
may be less, equal or greater, in the same or 
another place and another season might have 
been modified or omitted entirely with;ut 
affecting the result recorded above; but Dr. 
Collier thin' s none will doubt that with all 
the limitations and modifications which 
science would demand before accepting any 
conclusion from the trial, it^does possess a de¬ 
cided value practically and scientifically 
which will be found helpful in the produc¬ 
tion of large crops in the future . 
The R. N.-Y. was the first, so far as we 
kuow, to ascertain that the pyrethrum plant 
is quite hardy in this climate. We have now 
a dozen plants growing in the open ground, 
that were planted five years, or more, ago 
—both roseum aud cinaranefolium. The 
New York Station raised some plants and a 
quantity' ot the unopened blossoms was gath¬ 
ered aud dried In a shaded part of the office, 
after which they were pulverized in am rear. 
The strength of the powder as compared with 
samDles of Buhach, au msec ic.de made from 
another species of pyrethrum grown in Cali¬ 
fornia, was then tested by putting two 
grammes of each in a large fruit jar, introduc¬ 
ing live flies iuto the jars and noting the time 
required for the insects to become paralyzed. 
In seven trials, the files placed in the jar con¬ 
taining the home-grown powder fell first four 
times; those in the one containing the Buhach 
twico, and in the other trial both tell together. 
Some 70 varieties of potatoes were tested by 
Dr. Collier. Below we give the names and 
yields (rate per acre) of those which yielded 
most. The il. N.-Y. No. 2 stands fiist. The 
yield was at the rate of 266 bushels to the 
acre. Then we have as follows: 
Gov. Foraker. .214 bushels. 
Summit . 201 “ 
Stump of the World.179 
Green Mountain.173 
Morning Star.167 
Lombard.165 
Delaware .161 
White Beaucy.151 
New Queen yielded but 102, Early Puri¬ 
tan 95, Crown Jewell 80, Sunlit Star 74, 
Charles Downing 68, Early Ohio 43, Mrs. 
Foraker 50, Ohio Junior 48. 
Sprouted Tubers used for seed yielded less 
than sound seed, the difference amounting to 
10 bushels to the acre. No advantage was 
gained by being careful not to injure the 
sprouts. 
As between seed pieces exposed to the light 
and warmth and those not so exposed, the dif¬ 
ference amounted to little. 
The R.N.-Y. guesses that the chief advan¬ 
tage in exposing seed to the light is that it 
enables one to reject all potatoes with weakly 
or “blind” eyes. 
At the suggestion of the R. N.-Y., Dr. 
Collier endeavored to find out whether it is 
better to place the fertilizer above or below 
the seed pieces. The results with him, as 
with us were negative. 
The following conclusions may be made 
from the New York Station’s well conceived 
series of potato experiments: 
1. Little or nothing was gained by using 
cut potatoes for seed, over whole tubers of 
the same weight. 
2. Seed tubers badly sprouted yielded about 
8X per cent, less than unsprouted ones. 
3. The earliness of the crop was not in¬ 
fluenced by exposing the tubers to light and 
warmth before planting. 
4. The yield was materially reduced by 
removing the seed end of the planted tubers. 
5. Fertilizer placed below the seed mav be 
slightly preferable to fertilizer placed above 
it. The fact was not clearly established. 
Corn Experiments again show that need¬ 
less root-cutting in cultivating is injurious. 
Thus we see that the truth of the R. N.-Y.’s 
assertions, made 10 years ago, is confirmed. 
Experiments were made by Dr. Collier to 
ascertain in how far stirring the soil conserved 
moisture. 
Here are the conclusions: 1. That keeping 
the surface of the soil stirred, if only to the 
depth of half an inch, increases the water con¬ 
tent of the first twelve inches to a very ap¬ 
preciable degree. 
2. That the deeper the tillage, at least up 
to four inches, the greater is the increase iu 
water content. 
3. That the rate of increase diminishes as 
the depth increases. 
4. That a slight mulch exerts a far greater 
influence in retaining water than tillage four 
inches deep. 
An observation made while excavating for 
a lysimeter in the latter part of August is ap¬ 
propriate here, as showing the depth to which 
surface tillage affects the water content of 
the soil. The excavation was made on a dry 
ridge, in order to escape bottom water, and 
on one side it reached into the corner of a 
plat that had been plowed in the spring, but 
upon which no crop had been planted, and 
which had not been cultivated during the sum¬ 
mer. The soil it was necessary to remove was 
very dry and hard, except Deneath this plow¬ 
ed portion, where it was so much moister and 
softer that the labor of excavation was very 
materially reduced. The influence continued 
to be uoticeablo to the depth of at least two 
feet. 
Dr Collier's conclusions as to the wire- 
worm and its part in causing scab in potatoes 
differ from the R. N. Y.’s belief founded up¬ 
on observations made in its own soil: 
1. Millipedes do not feed upon the round tu¬ 
bers of the potato. 
2 Their food consists of decaying vegetable 
matter. 
3. The presence ot millipedes in the hills 
with the scabby tubers was due to the scab, 
they being attracted by the decayed portiou 
which they desired for food, and the scab is 
not due to their presence. 
-Garden and Forest: “ Dead grass and 
leaves should never be burned. It is an ex¬ 
pensive and wasteful custom, and a sure indi¬ 
cation of extravagant and therefore bad man¬ 
agement. It is a poor policy and thriftless 
management which burns up plant food in 
large or in small quantities, and sooner or lat¬ 
er it will make the best land sterile.” 
-Professor George H. Cook, Director of 
the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment 
Station: “The weakness of human nature is 
such that nothing but the chemist’s tests and 
publication is sufficient to hold the dealers 
to the furnishing of fertilizers of stand¬ 
ard purity. More than 40,000 tons of 
commercial fertilizers were used in 
our State last year, which were sold for con¬ 
siderably more than a million dollars, and the 
amount used in the whole United States is 
more than a million tons annually. Of the 
quality of these the farmer can form no judg¬ 
ment from their color, smell or taste, or their 
general appearance. The analysis and pub¬ 
lication of tbe composition of these fertilizers 
have a most salutary effect.” 
DIRECT. 
-Bishop Potter: “That political corrup¬ 
tion is alarmingly prevalent; that it is the most 
perilous portent of the age, is amply borne 
out by every careful observer. Political job¬ 
bery', public service for revenue, position for 
perquisites— those are blood poison iu the body 
of the Republic. Just row they are rampant, 
voracious and ferocious. Panisansbio is a 
kind of brigandage, and the purchase of votes 
is made iu the open streets.” 
For Tired Brain. 
Use Horslord’s Acid Phosphate. 
Dr. O. C. Stout, Syracuse, N. Y., says: 
“I gave it to one patient who was unable to 
transact the most ordinary business, because 
his brain was ‘tired and confused’ upon the 
least mental exertion. Immediate benefit, 
and ultimate recovery followed.”—Ada. 
gjfttenattttro* verging. 
Dyspepsia 
Does not get well of itself; it requires careful, 
persistent attention and a remedy that will assist 
nature to throw off the causes and tone up the 
digestive organs till they perform their duties 
willingly. Among the agonies experienced by the 
dyspeptic, are distress before or after eating, loss 
of appetite, irregularities of the bowels, wind or 
gas and pain in the stomach, heart-bum, sour 
stomach,etc., causing mental depression, nervous 
irritability and sleeplessness. If you are dis¬ 
couraged be of good cheer and try Hood’s Sar¬ 
saparilla. It has cured hundreds, it will cure you. 
Hood’s Sarsaparilla 
Sold by all druggists. $1; six for $5. Made 
only by C. I. IIOOD & CO., Lowell, Mass. 
IOO Doses One Dollar 
For Internal and External Use. 
Stops Pain, Cramps, Inflammation in body or limb, 
like magic. Cures Croup. Asthma, Colds, Catarrh, Chol¬ 
era Morbus, Piarrhcea. Rheumatism, Neuralgia, Lame- 
back. Stiff Jointsand Strains. Full particulars free. Price 
$5 eta, post-paid* I* S. JOHNSON & CO., Boston* Mass. 
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