THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
ter resembles the Delaware but both berry and 
cluster are larger. Admirable for shipping. 
Mr. Salter thought highly of the Pocklington. 
It is hardy, early, productive, a strong grower 
and of fair quality. Mr. Hoag being requested 
by several, gave a short history of his new 
Grape, the Niagara. It ripens with the Hart¬ 
ford and hangs on the vine fully two weeks after 
ripening. An excellent shipper. Mr. Young- 
love, Mr. Hooker and others spoke in high 
terms of this new Grape. 
The grapes above described are all white 
or green, aud are all competitors for popular 
favor. None of them is yet for sale, but they 
are being carefully tested. 
In the evening of the 23d inst., the question- 
box was opened and the following questions 
aBked : “Has cider pomace any value as a ma¬ 
nure ?” Prof. Dann quoted from Prof. Storer 
that its manurial value was very slight. Mr. 
Barry would not throw it away. It is not in¬ 
jurious and might be beneficial. 
• “What about the Yellows?” Mr. Rogers 
thinks it is caused by the grub in the roots. 
Mr. Hooker, to prevent any misunderstanding 
as to the disease, gave the symptoms, which 
are: first year, slender, yellowish shoots ap¬ 
pear to be forced out of the larger branches. 
This is followed by premature ripening of the 
fruit and deterioration of its quality. The 
second year, these symptoms appear to be ag¬ 
gravated, and perhaps there is no fruit at all, 
followed by the possible death of the tree. No 
hope for a tree once diseased—better dig it out 
and burn it. Some localities that were for¬ 
merly seriously affected with this disease, are 
now entirely free from it. He is afraid its vis¬ 
itation here will prove a serious thing. Mr. 
Hooker reported that they had been troubled 
with it in Chautauqua County for several years, 
but it was now spreading very rapidly over 
the whole county. Mr. Woodward said that 
in Niagara County the yellow shoots do not 
appear at first aud sometimes one-half of the 
tree will be diseased while the other half is ap¬ 
parently healthy,but the second year generally 
takes the other half too. They had never been 
troubled with the yellows till after the winter 
of 1877, and many whose trees were apparently 
diseased had restored them to their former 
vigor by the liberal use of barnyard manure. 
Mr. Fowler said that the yellows was accom¬ 
panied with low vitality. By proper care and 
manure he thinks we can keep it out. Mr. 
Younglove stated that the cause of the death 
of the tree was the grub. The yellows are al¬ 
ways first seen in the fruit. He would remove 
the tree and have some hesitation in replanting 
in the same spot. Mr. Hooker said that the 
'disease sometimes commences on one branch. 
We should not regard peach culture as a hope¬ 
less case, because the yellows have disappear¬ 
ed in some localities. Mr. Allen had restored 
his trees by the use of barnyard manure. Mr. 
Ruhlman stated that a Dr. Gould had applied 
iron chips around his affected trees aud with 
good success. Mr. Barry said that all these 
symptoms are common in sickly trees. Many 
trees have this appearance, which do not have 
the yellows. 
Mr. Barry was requested to name the six 
best Plums for market culture. His choice 
was: Heine Claude de Bavay, Lombard, Pond’s 
Seedling, Fellcuberg, Bradshaw, Coe’s Golden 
Drop, Magnum Bonum, Shropshire Damson. 
He did not like to stop at the half dozen. Mr. 
Hoag named the Mooney as a valuable market 
sort. Mr. Hooker would add the Monroe 
Gage; Mr. Jones, the German Prune. 
Upon some reference being made to the Rus¬ 
sian Apples, Mr. Barry stated that he did not 
know of one as good as our own, but they were 
hardy and especially adapted to the Northwest. 
H. T. 3. 
-♦ ♦ * — 
VERMONT DAIRYMEN’S ASSOCIATION. 
• _ 
The winter meeting of this active Society, 
which was held at Montpelier, Jan. 22, 23 and 
21, was, as usual, well attended, spirited, 
and every way successful. Papers on a great 
variety of subjects were read, and addressee 
made on various topics by intelligent gentle¬ 
men. These were followed by lively discus¬ 
sions. The most prominent speakers from 
abroad were Professors Atwater of Connecti¬ 
cut, and Englebardt of Syracuse, Mr. Whitta¬ 
ker of Massachusetts, and Capt. Strongitharm 
of England. Among our home speakers was 
ex-Gov. Smith, who, besides being president 
of the Vermont Central Railroad, is one of our 
most extensive farmers, and who gave a very 
vivid and interesting sketch of his recent trip 
through England, Ireland, Belgium, France 
and Switzerland, in each of which countries he 
took piains to inform himself by personal in¬ 
spection of the actual condition of agriculture, 
and especially of the dairy interest. His re¬ 
port of his visit to the Cork (Ireland) butter 
market, and his comparison of it with the al¬ 
most equally noted butter market of his own 
town, St. Albans, excited a lively interest 
among his hearers. Mr. Skinner, of Tunbridge, 
and Mr. Whitney, of Williston, two of our 
“boss” butter makers, (dairymen who have got 
far beyond that once imagined Ultima Thule 
of 300 pounds to the cow), gave full and de¬ 
tailed accounts of their methods of manage¬ 
ment and manufacture. The last-named gen¬ 
tleman, who began dairying twenty odd years 
ago with a herd that yielded 50 pounds of but¬ 
ter per cow, has, by careful selection and 
breeding, with little use of foreign blood, pro¬ 
bably come the nearest of any man to creating 
a native breed of dairy cows. Prof. Eugle- 
hardt discoursed upon the sugar-beet and beet 
sugar making. Prof. Atwater gave one of his 
clear, masterly lectures on feeding materials, 
with special reference to the feeding of dairy 
herds. Capt. Strongitharm read a paper upon 
the feeding value of the palm-nut meal. 
Mr. Whittaker discoursed with ability upon 
the general subject of dairy-feeding, and the 
management of herds with reference to con¬ 
tinuous milk production. The subject of the 
recent International Dairy Fair, and Vermont’s 
position there, formed very interesting topics 
of discussion,and it was resolved with enthusi¬ 
asm that the officers of this Association should 
accept the offer of a position in the manage¬ 
ment of the International, with authority to 
contribute financial aid, and with instructions to 
secure a full representation of Vermont in every 
line of dairy production at the next interna¬ 
tional exhibition. It came out in discussion 
that, notwithstanding the inroads of Western 
creamery butter upon the market for our me¬ 
dium grades of product, for strictly fine and 
fancy butter Vermont still holdB her grip on 
the Boston market, the only difficulty being 
the lack of enough of this class of goodB to 
answer the rapidly growiug market for a kind 
of butter not heretofore demanded in large 
quantities. T. H. Hoskins, M. D. 
Orleans Co., Vt. 
gasman. 
STOCK NOTES. 
Keeping Back Hogs. —In view of the ex¬ 
tremely low price of hogs during the present 
season, a price lower in some parts of the 
West than has been obtained for them at any 
time within the last thirty years, it would 
probably be more[proli table to hold back young 
and thrifty animals than to sell them now at 
a loss, which in many places must be done if 
they are disposed of at the ruling figures. The 
present depression in the trade cannot last. 
The financial stringency which now depresses 
ail branches of trade, can only be temporary. 
The last report from the Treasury at Washing¬ 
ton shows an accumulation in that department 
of $233,000,000 in coin, almost the whole of 
which must go into circulation within the next 
twelve months. In the banks of England and 
France a very unusually large amount of coin 
aud bullion has also accumulated—a sure sign 
of an exceptionally bad state of trade in our 
foreign markets. During last year the excess 
in value of our exports over our imports was 
in the neighborhood of $280,000,000, a gain of 
that amount by this country, aud it is estima¬ 
ted that during the present year the gain will 
amount to $300,000,000. Since New Year's 
about $150,000,000 have been invested here in 
Government bonds at four per cent, interest, 
mainly by banks and capitalists, and the 
greater part of this sum will certainly be with¬ 
drawn aud put into undertakings which will 
return a larger percentage, so soon as finan¬ 
cial confidence revives, and this must soon 
occur now that the business of the country has 
returned to a specie basis. The tightness in 
money matters caused by this measure has 
been especially hard upon farmers, but it is 
the part of wisdom to pluck consolation even 
from disaster, and hope at any rate can he 
drawn from this step. Moreover, the present 
distress among the working classes in Great 
Britain, who in good times are among the best 
customers for our hog products, cannot last 
long, and with an easier money market aud an 
increase of purchasers, prices must go up. 
Then again, many farmers will probably be 
discouraged by the present prices of hogs and 
quit the business of raieing them, and the con¬ 
sequent smaller supply next year will contri¬ 
bute with the larger demand and the greater 
amount of money in circulation to raise the 
prices for them a twelvemonth hence. 
We have here mentioned our chief reasons 
for the suggestion that hog products will pro¬ 
bably “pay” better next winter than they are 
doing this, in order to enable our readers to 
form an intelligent opinion on the matter for 
themselves. Of course, the risks of loss from 
disease in the meantime, as well as the com¬ 
parative value of the extra feed and the profits 
therefrom, together with the worth of money 
in hand, are all questions which every farmer 
is in the best position to decide for his own 
neighborhood and his own circumstances. 
Winter Shelter for Sheep.— The advan¬ 
tages of shelter for all kinds of stock during 
the inclemency of winter have been so fre¬ 
quently and forcibly set forth in these pages 
and in all other periodicals and works in which 
the best agricultural experience has been given 
to the public, that to dwell on the subject here 
would be as wearisome as to dilate upon the 
evils of cracks in barns. There are some people, 
however, who, while they arc careful to pro¬ 
vide protection from the weather for their cat¬ 
tle, their horses and even for their bogs, seem 
to imagine that Nature has done this office for 
their sheep. Because they themselves might 
to a considerable extent be insensible to the 
miseries of cutting blasts, of heavy showers, 
and of melting snows, if protected by the 
sheep’s warm fleece in addition to their usual 
covering and while kept warm by moving 
about, these wiseacres act on the supposition 
that the same defence must be equally effective 
for its owner. They forget that an unusual 
protection is in every case needed against an 
unusual hardship, whereas the unsheltered 
sheep has only its ordinary coat to screen it 
from severe weather, however extraordinai y 
it may be. Moreover, the covering that would 
be warm enough for man or beast while in mo¬ 
tion, would be a sorry protection for either 
while asleep or at rest. Then again, neither 
the cold nor the wet that penetrated the fleece 
in which they might be cosily enfolded, would 
come into direct contact with the sensitive 
nerves that ramify all through the skin, and by 
reflex action from the little brains even such 
folk6 must have, would produce a local feeling 
of discomfort and misery, while the same 
causes would instantly produce these sensations 
in the poor sheep. 
Here at the East almost every sheep owner af¬ 
fords his flock some winter shelter, hut out West 
thisiB often neglected, not through such stu¬ 
pidity as that here indicated, but from careless¬ 
ness, oversight or on account of the ex¬ 
amples set by neighbors; for examples of 
this kind are often more infectious than dip- 
theria. For the sake of economy in feed, of 
the health of the poor things, and of gentle 
humanity, we would urge upon any ot our 
readers who may have hitherto neglected to 
provide Borne sort of shelter for his fleecy 
flock, to delay not an hour longer before he 
supplies the omission. Even a rough shed to 
shield them from the pelting rain, the heavy 
snow or the cutting blast, would be a godsend 
to the pitiful things during this inclement 
season. 
Hogs.— Following is the total number of hogs 
packed in the West during the winter season, 
with average cost of hogs per 100 pounds, 
dressed and gross, according to Cincinnati 
“ Price Current ” reports: 
Seasons. 
Number; Coat, Cost, 
packed, net. gTOss 
1877-78.... 
1876-77.... 
1876-76... 
1874-76... 
1873-74..., 
1873-78... 
1871-72... 
1870-71... 
1869-70... 
1868-69... 
1867- 68... 
1866-67... 
1866-66... 
1864-65... 
1863-64... 
1862- 63... 
1861-62... 
1860-61... 
1859- 60... 
1868- 56... 
1857-68... 
1866-57... 
1866-56... 
1854-65... 
1863- 64... 
1862-63... 
1861-68-.. 
1860- 61... 
1849-60... 
6,806,446 
6,101,308, 
4.880,135 
15,886,226 
0.466,200 
6,410,814; 
4,831,558 
3,690,251 
2.635,312 
5,41*1,673 
2,781, 
2.490.791 
1,185,955 
2,422,778 
3,961,1C6 
4,0»,63) 
2.892AO: 
8.U6.JS 
2,850,822' 
S,W»2| 
2,210,77* 
1A18.4S8 
2,489,602 
9,124,404 
770 
2,901.110 
1,182,846’ 
1,332,8671 
1,662,220 
$4 99 $3 99 
7 18 6 74 
8 HZ 7 05 
8 33 6 66 
5 S3 4 34 
4 66 S 73 
6 15 4 12 
6 58 6 £6 
U 63 9 22 
10 2a 8 18 
7 «. 6 36 
7 32 6 78 
11 67 9 3-1 
14 ?i! 11 46 
6 7il 6 36 
4 31 3 36 
5 fl! 2 42 
5 67 4 67 
6 9'. 4 73 
I 6 98 6 02 
6 86 3 89 
A 94 4 76 
1 5 75 4 60 
| 4 21 3 37 
4 19 3 35 
6 01 4 81 
1 4 45 3 66 
I 3 76 3 00 
2 66 2 13 
Of these the following numbers were packed 
in the towns mentioned during the last 25 
years: 
Seasons. Chicago Cln’tl. St- L. Jlilw. L’vlle. Ind’s. 
Hints from Assembled Wisdom. —At the 
fifth annual meeting of the Iowa Fine-Stock 
Breeders’ Ass’n, lately held at Des Moines, abor¬ 
tion in cattle and horse* was attributed to over- 
exertion, fright, use of the spurs in mares, foul 
food, moldy fodder, soured roots and ergotized 
grain. As preventives, food should be changed 
frequently and the above causes avoided. To 
prevent contagious abortion, affected animals 
should he quarantined. The Cotswold was hon¬ 
ored with the title of the 8hort-horn among 
sheep, on account of its rapid growth, superioi 
quality, tendency to fatten at any age and long 
wool. Grass was enthroned on the seat from 
which King Cotton was years ago deposed. 
Hogs, it was held, would be more healthy aud 
profitable if they got more of it than they now 
do. For roadsters, a trotting sire was preferred 
to a thoroughbred, and fanners were advised 
to shun breeding fast horses and confine them¬ 
selves to draft-horses. The great advantages 
of beef cattle that can be fatted for the butcher 
at an early age, were strongly dwelt upon, So 
were those of creameries over butter making 
at home. As a remedy for warts on calves, a 
6alve was recommended, made of sulphur, lard 
aud camphor ; and to get rid of lice on cattle, 
two methods were given : first, an application 
of two drachms of arsenic in a quart of water ; 
and, second, thoroughly washing, and applying 
eight pai ts of good linseed oil, one part of tar, 
aud sulphur sufficient to make a thin paste. 
Jottings.— The recent rise in hog products 
beems to be of a speculative nature, as it is 
generally conceded that the supply Is greater 
than the demand. The “ bulls” who tossed up 
the prices will probably be badly injured by 
the “bears" who have already pulled them 
down. . . . The sale of Hereford cattle 
appears to be rapidly growing In the West, 
especially on the plains where milk is of little 
or no account. Hereford breeders claim that 
for beef their breed matures at least as early as 
the Short-horn, takes on flesh as readily, and 
brings top prices oftener in the London market. 
Mainly on account of some articles in 
American papevs, asserting the existence of 
pleuro-pneumonia among our cattle in some 
isolated parts of the country, the English 
papers have for some time been making strong 
efforts to secure from the Privy Council an order 
compelling the slaughter, at the port of de¬ 
barkation, of animals imported from the United 
States. On the 28th of January news was tele- 
graped to this point that on account of the 
arrival from Canada of a cargo of cattle, some 
of which had died on the passage from that 
much-dreaded disease, the Privy Council had 
yielded to the pressure put upon it and for¬ 
bidden the removal from the port of debarka¬ 
tion of cattle shipped from this side of the 
Atlantic. This measure would lower the price of 
imported beeves about $25 per bead, and as the 
shippers would be sure to deduct at least that 
amouut from the prices given here, our stock¬ 
men aud farmers would be so much out of pocket. 
The news came from Montreal and it is thought 
that it was merely a trick of Canadians, to se¬ 
cure the bulk of the trade for the next year. 
Although shippers here are in daily expec¬ 
tation of such an order, no direct news of 
its issue has hitherto reached this port. 
Fat Scotch cattle bring in the English 
markets $25 per head more than American cattle 
of the same weight, the difference being due 
solely to their superior quality. Here is a profit 
for the improvement of our stock by more care¬ 
ful breeding. . . - Three or four weeks ago. 
it was mentioned in our “news” department 
that an English buyer of horses for Egypt de¬ 
clared that Great Britain could not compete with 
America in the price of horses for his market, 
and now we find that the American, Gen, Stone, 
for a long time an officer in the Khedive’s army, 
has written to Commissioner Le Due that there 
is a fine opening for the sale of our prime horses 
in the land of the Pharoahs. . . • AU live¬ 
stock designed for exportation are carefully 
inspected by Government order to prevent all 
possible danger of spreading any contagious 
disorder elsewhere. . - • That British Em¬ 
pire Horse Association whose formation was 
mentioned some months ago in the Rural, is 
about to wind-up its affairs, leaving others to 
realize its high expectations of profits from the 
importation of horses from this country. 
The export demand for cattle in Canada next 
spring is put down by the American Stockman 
at eight thousand fat beeves a week, and it is 
considered probable that the shipments from 
this country will be at least as heavy. In the 
latter estimate no account 1 b taken of our live¬ 
stock trade with Cuba and a few of the other 
West Indian Islands which are supplied mainly 
from Texas aud Florida. . • .Me notice in 
our Western exchanges, and in telegrams to 
New York papers from that quarter, that there 
has been considerable mortality among sheep 
in some parts of those States and especially on 
the plains, owing to lack of food and shelter. 
. . . There is a pretty lively discussion 
between the National Live-Stock Journal and 
the Turf, Field and Farm about the value of 
thoroughbred blood in the trotter. The former, 
while acknowledging that the modern rattler 
originally derived much of his good qualities 
from that source, thinks that where prime 
roadsters are wanted, the best cross now is that 
with a good trottiug sire. It declares that our 
trotters have been so vastly improved of late 
that it would be as hopeless to expect further 
advancement from thoroughbred blood In their 
case, as it would be to think that an increase of 
speed could nowadays be secured by the cross 
of an English race-horse and an Arab. Our 
New York contemporary, on the other hand, 
is of the opinion that there still remains a good 
deal of trotting virtue iu a thoroughbred cross, 
and for the last few weeks has been citing a 
number of exceptionally fast examples of young 
flyers, the progeny of such breeding. 
Large Hogs.— A correspondent from Au¬ 
gusta, Kalamazoo County, Mich., writes us 
that this fall he sold two hogs, 20 months old, 
