t 
» 
m RUR/tl NEW-YORKER. 
443 
3. Wheat from 65 cents to $1.10 per bushel; 
Red-top seed 35 to 75 cents per bushel; clover 
seed $3.25 to $5.50 per bushel; oats 15 to 30 
cents per bushel; hogs from $3.25 to $6.00 per 
100 pounds; cattle from $2.00 to $5.00 per 100 
pounds. One year ago last fall Red-top seed 
brought ouly from 20 to 30 cents per bushel, 
which did not pay expenses. Cattle are very 
low at present, but we hope for better prices. 
4. A few farmers make more money than 
the others by pooling and selling their prod¬ 
ucts in large lots, saving the buyer much time 
and trouble. 
5. Timothy and clover are taking the place 
of wheat, tobacco and Red-top. Dairying 
too,is creating much interest in this neighbor¬ 
hood. Owing to the low price of cattle and 
Red-top seed, the ravages of the Hessian fly 
and chinch bugs, we will have to change our 
mode of farming, or depend wholly on ov r 
wives to support the family and pay the tax¬ 
es with poultry and eggs, which command a 
very good price. j. n. r. 
Mount Erie. 
1. Hogs, cattle, dairy products, corn, oats, 
hay, potatoes, tobacco, melons, in about the 
order named 
2. Most of the grain, hay, etc., is fed by 
stock raisers, and only the surplus is hauled 
to the nearest towns. Stock are generally 
sold at the handiest railroad station to buyers 
who make a business of buying and shipping 
to Chicago. Tobacco is often shipped to St. 
Louis, or Cincinnati, Ohio. 
3. Prices seem to be very unsettled, and 
this is caused, I think, by stock and grain 
gamblers and speculators. Prices are gener¬ 
ally so low that it is only by the best man¬ 
agement, and by a lucky sale when prices are 
up, that the common farmer can make a 
profit. If the enormous sums wasted for 
cursed drink could be turned into the honest 
channels of trade, prices would soon be better, 
as drunkards’ families are, at present, poor 
consumers of healthy food and clothing. 
4. Some farmers made money two or three 
years ago forcing calves for market at 10 or 
12 months old. They began to feed, as soon 
as the calves would eat, plenty of oats, corn, 
bran, oil meal, etc., besides letting them run 
with the cows till four or six months old, and 
when the animals were sold they weighed 
from 700 to 900 pounds per head, and brought 
from four to six cents per pound. But this 
seems over-done, and prices now are three to 
four and a-half cents. 
5. There has been no change in farming ex¬ 
cept in raising tobacco, which is compara¬ 
tively of recent introduction here ; but it 
doesn’t show such profit on paper as it did a 
tew years ago. Poising pop-corn would be 
profitable if prices would remain as they were 
last fall in Chicago—1 % cent per pound in 
the ear. We can raise easily 1,400 to 2,100 
pounds per acre. Potatoes have no sale at 
present; but I believe they would be worth 20 
cents per bushel to cook for hogs, if corn were 
at its usual price of 40 cents instead of 25 
cents. Large profits are made by good breed¬ 
ers who raise and sell thoroughbred cattle 
and swine. w. s. 
Pleasant Valley, 
FROM OHIO. 
1. Cheese, butter, wool, pork, veals and 
sheep, and some wheat. 
2. At Youngstown, Buffalo and Cleveland. 
3. They are yearly going down iu value. 
4. Some get extra prices for butter, factory- 
made, and that from the best farmers. 
5. More artificial manures are used, and 
more potatoes are raised. Here on the West¬ 
ern Reserve, cheese is most depended upon un¬ 
less near Cleveland, where milk is sold. I 
think we are doing better farming than we 
did 10 years ago. Tie Rural may help some. 
Gustavus. H. H. K. 
1. Most farmers here depend on wheat, oats 
and milk for cash. 
2. The wheat and oats are sold mostly at 
the mills here and in Akron (the Akron mills 
are numerous and large); the milk, at the 
various cheese factories in the county. 
3. The price of milk has varied from five to 
15 cents per gallon of 10 pounds, the average 
being about seven cents for summer and 13 
cents for winter. 
4. A few farmers get extra prices on milk 
by shipping or carrying it to milk depots, 
hotels, etc., iu cities. 
5. Farmiug has changed but little in 10 
years, and the same crops are grown. Pota¬ 
toes are grown quite largely now, but last 
year’s glut will probably discourage many. 
Cuyahoga Palls. w. s. c. 
1. Maple sugar aud sirup, with fruits, 
wheat and potatoes. 
2. We have home markets at Garrettsville, 
and at the Mahoning Valley Iron Works. 
3. Prices remain about the same with very 
little variation. The future does not look 
very bright, there seeming to be an overpro¬ 
duction in all farm products except the maple 
products whose area is limited, and whose 
production cannot be overdone. 
4. There are some farmers who have built 
up a trade in sirup, and can, box and ship 
sirup directly to regular customers at an ad¬ 
vance of 50 cents per gallon. Some by use 
of cold storage keep apples till they are out of 
the regular market and get better prices, but 
they do not claim any great advantage by so 
doing. 
5. Ten years ago this whole section was 
strictly devoted to dairying and sheep hus¬ 
bandry. Now not one in 10 of the old fac¬ 
tories is running. They are rotting away, 
having been forsaken by owners and patrons. 
Our best cash crops consist of maple products 
which are about the only things that bring us 
any profits. Farmers should form a vast 
trust and demand “living” prices for their 
products. They have the power to do so, if 
they would only combine. l. m. 
Garrettsville. 
FROM MINNESOTA. 
1. Oats, barley, potatoes, hay, good horses, 
beef, pork and dairy products. 
2. Mostly east—at Chicago, New York,etc. 
3. Prices for stock, horses, beef, pork and 
dairy goods have been fair. 
4. The most prosperous farmers are those 
who produce a good article and ship it direct 
to the consumer. 
5. Farmers have changed from wheat-rais¬ 
ing to diversified farming, with stock in the 
lead. j. a. t. 
Austin. 
1. The principal crops are wheat, oats, bar¬ 
ley and corn. 
2. Corn is fed to cattle and hogs and these 
are sold to the butchers and shippers. The 
other grains are sold at the elevators. 
3. Prices for the past few years have been 
very low except last fall, when wheat was 
high. The men who have the best of every¬ 
thing get the highest prices. “x. l.” 
Winona. 
1. Wheat. 
2. At the railroad station to the elevator 
company. 
3 The price is $ 1 per bushel. Prospects are 
fair for a good crop; but prices are likely to 
be lower. 
4. Some do; it depends on the location of 
their land, and how they work it. 
5. Not much. Some have come in to raise 
stock which doesn’t pay very well yet; but it 
will be better after a while. There is not 
much blooded stock in this section yet. We 
will have to raise hogs and stock as wheat is 
running out. j. f. m. 
Ottertail. 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
Georgia, 
Summerville, Chatooga County, May 30. 
—We had a very mild winter. Wheat aud 
oats came through uninjured by cold. The 
grain is plump and fine—as good as I ever 
saw it. Fall oats will be lignt; spring oats 
short, but the grain of both will be good. We 
have had a very dry spring,but we have had a 
fine rain to-day all over the country, which 
will be a great thing for spring oats and for 
all farm crops. Wheat is ready to cut now; 
it looks almost as yellow as gold. Fruits of 
all kinds are in the greatest abundance. 
Peach trees are so heavily loaded that they 
are breaking to pieces. My Niagara grapes 
are as large as No. 1 buckshot. The cotton 
crop is late on account of cool, dry weather. 
Corn looks well, but it is small. Some have 
not finished planting; while others have corn 
waist-high. This North Georgia is a flue 
country and there is plenty of room for some 
Northern farmers and Northern capitalists; 
they are surely coming, too. J. c. H. 
Washington. 
Davenport, May 20.—I have lived here for 
seven years and never saw a better prospect 
for crops than at present. Many are coming 
here from the East, and most of them are 
much disappointed. Good land is about all 
occupied, and for the mau without means this 
is no place. s. c. 
(£ntomolo0iciil. 
DISAPPEARANCE OF THE COL¬ 
ORADO POTATO-BEETLE. 
It is now about 30 years since the Colorado 
Potato-beetle first appeared in Iowa aud about 
25 years since it crossed the Mississippi river 
in its march eastward. The beetles were first 
collected in their native home at the base of 
the Rockies on the upper Missouri in 18i9 by 
Thomas Say, Zoologist of an exploring expe¬ 
dition sent out by the U. S. Government to 
the Northwest Territory. Only a few of the 
beetles were seen and these were feeding on a 
wild plant, Solanum rostratum, belonging to 
the same genus as our common potato, Solan¬ 
um tuberosum. The marvelous increase and 
spread of this insect over the entire country 
were due,principally,to the increased food sup¬ 
ply brought to them by the introduction of 
the potato by the settlers without a corres¬ 
ponding increase of their natural enemies. 
Not only has the Colorado Potato-beetle spread 
to all parts of our own country, but it has 
crossed the Atlantic and is already doing much 
damage in Europe. During all of the years 
that this beetle has been with us, its myriads 
of egg-clusters and plump, juicy larvae, or 
young, have furnished abundance of delicious 
food for predaceous insects which, in their 
turn, have also increased in numbers. 
I do not remember to have seen it stated 
that the potato-beetles were very greatly on 
the decrease over large areas. I came to Iowa 
from Michigan one year ago, and was sur¬ 
prised to find so few Colorado Potato-beetles, 
in the vicinity of the Iowa Experiment Sta¬ 
tion. I do not think that I saw a-balf-dozen 
of the adult beetles during the entire summer 
although I made special search for them on 
several occasions. On inquiring of old resi¬ 
dents, I was told that the “potato-bugs” had 
been on the decrease for several years. At 
the present time the potatoes in my garden 
are nearly knee-high and the tops are badly 
punctured by the little black Flea-beetle (Hal- 
tica cucumeris) that did so much damage in 
many places last summer, but I have not seen 
a single 1 ‘potato-bug” anywhere. Last win¬ 
ter the Station sent out a large number of 
question sheets to the farmers of Iowa, mak¬ 
ing inquiry concerning certain injurious 
insects. Out of over 300 replies to the ques¬ 
tion: “Have the Colorado Potato-beetles done 
any damage in your vicinity the past sum¬ 
mer?” more than half were in the negative. 
To the question: “Are they as numerous as 
they used to be?” only 26 replied in the affirm¬ 
ative, and these replies all came from the 
northern and eastern parts of the State. 
I think there are two principal causes for 
this great decrease in numbers of the Colora¬ 
do Potato beetle first, the free use of the ar- 
senites, London-purple and Paris-green; and, 
second, the increase in numbers of its insect 
enemies, chief among which are the Lady 
Beetles and the Soldier Bug—Podisus spino- 
sus. Ik is important that we should know 
our insect friends as well as our insect ene¬ 
mies, but there are very few who appreciate the 
fact. C. P. GILLETTE. 
^orsfmam. 
HACKNEY MARE “MOVEMENT.” 
See page 141. 
The R. N.-Y. has frequently printed pic¬ 
tures of Hackney horses and described them 
so well that our readers know the main points 
of interest about the breed. This week’s pic¬ 
ture is given—see Figure 155 —because it 
shows one of the most remarkable horses of 
the kind in England It would seem at first 
sight that the remarkable color of this mare 
—known in England as “ skewbald’’—would 
fit her for the circus rather than for competi¬ 
tive exhibition for a high place in the ranks 
of a breed of horses that are remarkable for 
solid colors, yet this mare has beaten every 
rival that has appeared against her. When 
at rest she is described as an “insignificant- 
looking little horse,” but when harnessed and 
hitched to a cart, she shows a style and en¬ 
ergy that are remarkable, considering her age 
and the service she has seen. 
ANSWERS ’ TO . CORRESPONDENTS 
[Everylquery must be accompanied by the name 
and address of the writer to insure attention. Before 
asking a question, please see If it Is not answered In 
our advertising columns. Ask only a few questions at 
one time. Put questions on a separate piece of paper.] 
TAPHRINA PRUNI: A FUNGUS ON PLUM TREES. 
E. T. /., Marshallton, Pa .—What is the 
fungous, growth on the inclosed twigs of the 
Miner and Wild Goose plums? The pest first 
appeared here two weeks ago, and is spread¬ 
ing quite rapidly. The Miners have the thrif¬ 
tier growth, but are suffering most. It looks 
as if everything would be destroyed. The 
pest first appears on the stem of last expanded 
leaf, and then extends to the off wood of the 
branches. 
ANSWERED BY E. A. SOUTHWORTH, ASSISTANT 
MYCOLOGIST, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
The twigs in question are the victims of a 
fungus known to botanists as Taphrina pruni. 
It is closely related to the fungus that causes 
the disease of peach trees, known as “ peach 
curl.” On the plum it generally attacks the 
fruit, causing what are commonly known as 
“ plum pockets,” but occasionally, as in this 
instance, it also attacks the growing branches. 
Similar cases have been reported from the 
South and from Iowa. The fungus is itself a 
plant that grows within the tissues of the 
twig and produces its fruit on the surface. 
The powdery patches seen on the deformities 
are masses of spores, each of which is capable 
of reproducing tne fungus and causing the 
deformity of another twig. The part of the 
fungus growing within the tissues is the my¬ 
celium, or vegetative part of the plant, and is 
composed of fine, branching threads of micro¬ 
scopic size. By their presence, they so irri¬ 
tate the unlignified parts of the twig as to 
cause excessive growth and so produce the de¬ 
formities. The presence of this fungus is quite 
independent of any fertilizer that can be ap¬ 
plied to the roots, but is dependent to a large 
extent on a proper condition of the atmos¬ 
phere, heat and moisture being necessary to 
the germination of the spores, and w the in¬ 
fection of new shoots. Wheu infection has 
once occurred, however, the fungus can de¬ 
velop under any ordinary conditions, and the 
mycelium will live over winter in the woody 
parts of the stem, and in the spring will grow 
out into the young shoots. In order to get 
rid of the fungus, it is necessary to remove 
and burn every diseased shoot as soon as it 
makes its appearance. In doing tnis, it is best 
to cut back the branches so as to destroy all 
parts which are likely to contain the mycelium 
of the fungus. Instances are known where 
this process was followed for two or three 
years with decidedly beneficial results. If, 
in addition to this, it is desired to disinfect 
the trees so that spores falling on the leaves 
or stems will not germinate, the following 
method of treatment may be used: Spray 
the trees in the spring before the leaves come 
out with a solution made by dissolving two 
pounds of sulphate of iron in five gallons of 
water This would destroy any spores lodged 
in the crevices of the bark. Spray the foliage 
two or three times during the summer with a 
solution made as follows: Into a vessel hav¬ 
ing a capacity ."of one gallon, pour one quart 
of ammonia (strength 23 degrees Baum£), add 
three ounces of carbonate of copper ; stir rap¬ 
idly for a moment, and the carbonate of cop¬ 
per will dissolve in the ammonia, forming a 
very clear liquid. For use, dilute to 22 gal¬ 
lons. Use a good force pump with a fine noz¬ 
zle, and make the applications after sun-down. 
The simple cutting back will, however, if per¬ 
sisted in and followed up on all the diseased 
trees at once, probably be sufficient. An il¬ 
lustrated account of the fungus will be given 
in the Annual Report of the Department of 
Agriculture for 1888. 
RATION OF SILAGE AND SUPPLEMENTARY 
FEED. 
Several Subscribers .—How much silage 
should be fed to a cow and what sort of grain 
is best fed with it? 
Ans.— There appears to be no such thing as 
a standard analysis of silage. The materials 
of which the silage is made vary so much in 
composition and the silage itself is made 
under such varying conditions, that a stand¬ 
ard analysis seems out of the question yet. 
The Wisconsin Experiment Station directors 
have printed a list of grain rations that may 
be fed with silage. The R. N.-Y. could do no 
better than give them here. These are daily 
rations, and the cow is expected to eat, with 
the grain, 40 or more pounds of silage from 
well-matured, well-eared corn. 
a.) 
Oat straw, 8 pounds 
Bran, 7 “ 
Oil meal, 2 “ 
(3.) 
Bran, 7 pounds 
Hay, 5 “ 
Corn Meal, 2 “ 
( 5 .) 
Hay, 5 pounds 
Oats, 5 “ 
Corn Meal, 4 “ 
(7.) 
Bran, 10’pounds 
Corn Meal, 3 “ 
(3.) 
Hay, 5 pounds 
Bran, 5 “ 
Oats, 4 “ 
(4.) 
Malt Sprouts, 3 pounds 
Oat straw, 6 “ 
Oats, 4 “ 
( 6 .) 
Br’s Gains, 20 pounds 
Bran, 6 44 
( 8 .) 
Corn Meal, 3Jpounds 
Clover Hay,' 8 “ 
