FES. 22 
<28 THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
% 
Ditrious, 
TALKS ON TIMELY TOPICS. 
All Tin? egos in one basket. —Farmers who 
keep strict accounts of their income and ex¬ 
penditure will he surprised at the difference 
in profits on their various products during 
the past season and in ordinary years. The 
prices of butter and cheese cannot compare 
with those of former years, while a crop of 
potatoes brings in more cash than the same 
quantity of choice apples. Unthinking farm- 
era who could not be persuaded into orchard 
planting, arc now exultant. “ I told-you-so" is 
ever ready to give his opiniou that all this 
talk of planting apple trees for profit is 
*• bosli—there’s nothing like a crop of good 
sound potatoes,” forgetting the uot far dis¬ 
tant time when the tubers were fed to the cat¬ 
tle in preference to selling them at 20 cents 
per bushel, while apples were worth a dollar 
for the saine quantity. It is true that in the 
case of the fruit, we have to wait, some years 
for a crop, but it is always a remunerative one, 
if the fruit is properly handled, and the quality 
first-class. At t he same time the experience 
of the past season proves the wisdom of hav¬ 
ing more than one department of agriculture 
or horticulture ou which to depend. The cul¬ 
ture of some kinds of vegetables, or small 
fruits, the perfecting of such seeds as can lie 
grown in the climate where we lir e, the careful 
curing of good hay for winter sales, and the 
profits of a well kept poultry house, all con¬ 
tribute to till the different “ baskets." Yet 
let no one be tempted, ly the low price of 
fruit, to neglect the orchard, or to leave it to 
the ravages of the tent-caterpillar or codling- 
moth. Careful picking of the “ rings” of the 
former, which contain the eggs; and hay 
bandages to lure the latter where it can easily 
be destroyed, will amply repay the time ex¬ 
pended. The children of a household if prop¬ 
erly interested, can become students of nature 
in many branches of natural science if once 
they begin entomological researches; and the 
trees well cared for during years of ovdr-bear- 
ing and low prices, will repay a hundredfold 
when the change comes, and apples once more 
bring profitable returns. A. L. Jack. 
- *-»-* - 
Advance Office, Wcnonah, N. J.,) 
Jan. Slst, 1878. j 
Pub. Rubal New Yorker: —Some party is 
trying to trade one of my neighbors a large 
quantity ol fertilizer, I think, in exchange for 
a residence here. My neighbor desires me to 
ascertain, if possible, whether the article is re¬ 
liable or not. lie lias banded me a circular 
which has been furnished him. It purports to 
be issued by the " Bird Guano and 8hell Fertil- 
, izer Co.,” and the title page bears the name of 
Tunis Johnson and whai appears to be the 
name of C. C. Lewis, erased. 1’beir stores pur¬ 
port to he located at the foot of South Sixth 
street, Williatnsburgh, L. L, and office at 58 
Liberty street, New fork City. Will you please 
inform me if the concern and this fertilizer are 
reliable, and what the real value of the fertil¬ 
izer is ? Yours truly, 
Milton P. Peirce, Pub. Advance. 
We have received the above letter, and, as 
requested, made inquiry at the “Bird Guano 
and Shell Fertilizer Co.,” where the following 
analysis was handed us, from which the reader 
can judge for himself: 
Ciirbonaie ot lime. . .. 44,51a 
Organic unit voUlili' mailer . b.K'ti) 
insoluble sued amt clay.<i,N 83 
Oxide "1 iron and aluminum.. . l,im 
Chloride ot sodium. 27M 
Aniinniiia. 4S 
Moisture. 43.7IJJ 
Carbonate of ruuKiiesia.a irace 
Sulphate of lime.a trace 
I’oUbIi ami phosphoric acid, pure .a iraco 
Sf.i.iW 
Signed by Walz <fc Stillwell, 18 Exchange 
place. 
ififirrpljm. 
NOTES FROM NEBRASKA. 
EX-GOV. ROBT. W r . FURNAS. 
A lively and instructive -week's work; products 
of Nebraska in 1878 ; Eastern exaggeration of 
Nebraska lawlessness ; o fine showing for the 
educational system of the State; its weather 
peculiarities; its hardiest Apples. 
Ouk State Horticultural Society, State Board 
of Agriculture, State Stock-Breeders' Associa¬ 
tion, State Agricultural Institute and State 
Wool Growers have just concluded a week’s 
session at Lincoln, the capital. Ail the sessious 
were held the same week, having been sand¬ 
wiched and interspersed to mutual accommo¬ 
dation. The Horticultural meeting ivas par¬ 
ticularly interesting, consuming three days and 
evenings of the time. The usual discussions,— 
as to varieties of fruits best adapted, all things 
considered, to our sol] and climate, locations 
for orchards, modes of culture and treatment 
of trees,—were indulged in. whereby much 
valuable information was both imparted and 
obtained. In addition, valuable papers and 
essays were read and delivered from and by: 
Dr. Jno. A. Warder, Ohio, President American 
Forestry Association—Forests and the Future 
Water Supply; William Saunders, Agricultural 
Department, Washington City — Rotation of 
Crops; Suel Foster, Town — Evergreens and 
Hedges: by our own residents; Prof. Samuel 
Anghey of State University—Soils of Nebraska, 
outside the Loess: Ex-Gov. J. Sterling Morton, 
—Trees and Homes ; Prof. Harvey Culbertson, 
Agricultural College—What can our Society 
do for the People ? James Y. Craig—Grape 
Culture: D. W. Kauffman—Plum Cull tire, and 
James T. Allan, Sec'y American Forestry Asso¬ 
ciation—Forests. For want of menus, the pro¬ 
ceedings of these annual meetings have not. 
been published for some years past. The pres¬ 
ent Legislature, however, now in session, will 
make needed appropriation. 
Statistics show that Nebraska products for 
1878 were, in round numbers, wheat, 1.5,000,000 
bushels; corn, 48,000,000 bushels; outs, 8.000,- 
000 bushels ; barley, 8,000,000, and rye, 1.000,- 
000 bushels. Nebraska has 48,000,000 acres of 
land, of which 80,000,000 acres are suited to all 
kinds of agricultural purposes. Wo have now 
about 8,500,000 acres under cultivation. 
I note that some Eastern newspapers are 
prone to advertise Nebraska as the ‘‘home of 
desperadoes!” Here, like all other sections of 
the world, weare not free from such characters. 
They are not native products, however, but 
refugees from oldcrSlat.es. The extreme west¬ 
ern aud unorganized portions of the 8 tate 
afford fields for unlawful operations and hid¬ 
ing ]ilaces for their perpetrators. Yet a greater 
number of such outrages as those heralded 
from our borders as "Nebraska crimes,” are 
perpetrated in all the great cities of the East, 
in proportion to the population of both sec¬ 
tions. As an evidence of the status of society 
generally in Nebraska, let me state that we 
have to-day more churches, more school- 
houses, more money invested in educational 
matters, two to one, than hud ever any other 
State iu the Union at our age. To say noth¬ 
ing of our State University, Stale Normal 
School, sectarian and private schools, wc have 
2,600 common-school districts, employing 3,780 
school teachers. The educational expendi¬ 
tures for 1878 were $906,93L98. We have on 
baud a permanent cash school fund of-$535,- 
167.35, drawing eight and ten per con. interest; 
aud in addition, an educational endowment 
fund of 2,443,148 acres of land. The constitu¬ 
tion lixes the minimum price of these lands at 
$7 per acre—some have sold as high as £40 per 
acre. This would make for us a permanent 
common-school fund of nearly ii)20.000,1X10, 
The State university has a land endowment 
fund of nearly $1,000,000 besides. With these 
prominent aud leading characteristics, we are 
uot likely to turu our attention to propagating 
or shielding outlaws to any very great extent! 
We. have had a remarkable winter. Up to 
the 13th day of December last farmers were 
plowing. Commencing on that day, aud con¬ 
tinuing for the following week, there was au 
unusual snowfall. We had the fiuest of sleigh¬ 
ing for six consecutive weeks, the weather dur¬ 
ing that time having been the coldest known 
for years. The thermometer indicated27 degrees 
below zero. At the date of this writing farm¬ 
ers are again plowing and planting spring 
wheat. Fruit-men do not think fruit buds in¬ 
jured as yet. Such is our altitude—one thou¬ 
sand feet above tide-water—and such our conse¬ 
quent. favorable atmospheric conditions, that 
fruit buds and trees withstand a greater degree 
of cold here than in many other localities dif¬ 
ferently situated, lu the winter of 1873-4 we 
had cold 32 degrees below zero, yet the season 
of 1874 gave us the finest peach crop wc have 
ever had before or since. 
What does Dr. Hoskins, your fruit corre¬ 
spondent, mean by “ the climatic belt just be¬ 
low us,” “the cold belt,” and his intimation 
that Red Astrachan, Maiden’s Blush, Talinan’s 
Sweet, Beu Davis, Bailey’s Sweet and other va¬ 
rieties he names, are "almost hardy!” To 
what locality does he refer ? The varieties I 
name are among the very hardiest in Nebraska 
—we class them “iron-clads ”—and most profit¬ 
able. 
Brownsville, Feb. 1. 
-♦♦♦- 
NOTES FROM KENTUCKY. 
Many seem to think that we have, in this 
State, blue-grass, fine horses and beautiful 
women, and nothing more worth mentioning. 
'Tis true we have these almost iu perfection, 
but we have something more. We have inex¬ 
haustible mines of coal aud iron; immeasura¬ 
ble beds of marl and carbonate of lime; almost 
boundless forests of the most valuable timber ; 
farming lands of unsurpassed fertility ; peach 
and other fruit lands of uuuqualed quality ; a 
healthful climate; the most beautiful rivers in 
the world ; taxes only HO cents on the $100, 
and no State debts; schools, churches, rail¬ 
roads, etc., etc. 1 do not wish to he understood 
to say that we are exempt from ull "the ills 
that human llesh is heir to,” but that we have 
a full share of the blessings and a small pro¬ 
portion of the curses common to this “land of 
the free and home of the brave," aud that the 
worthy who conies to " Old Kaintuek ’’ will find 
a welcome so hearty aud a greeting so cordial, 
that ho will never regret the coming. 
Excellent tobacco land can be had for $15 to 
$20 per acre; fruit land, $10 to $15 per acre; 
Ohio River bottom-land, $40 to $60 per acre, 
according to location and improvements. Here 
in Hunter’s Bottom, 50 miles above Louisville 
and 100 miles below Cincinnati, land rates from 
25 to 50 per cent, higher than its equivalent 
on the Kentucky and other interior parts of 
the State. The four farms sold here recently 
averaged $51 per acre. Horses, 15 to 16 hands, 
sound, good steppers and stylish, can he bought 
for $60 to $80; good work horses for $40 to 
$50; mules. 14 to 154 hands, for $60 to $75. 
Six thousaud barrels of potatoes were shipped 
from this Bottom the past, season at $1 per 
barrel, and they averaged 40 barrels per acre. 
Our market is tlic Ohio River. Each farm has 
a landing for the packets that pass each way 
every day, and buy our farm products of all 
kinds at Cincinnati and Louisville prices, with 
freight and commission off. Tobacco is sell¬ 
ing at 7 to 14c. per pound, and about 1,000 
poutids is the crop per acre; corn is worth 81e.; 
oats, 24e.; wheat, 85c.; potatoes. 50c. 
8. E. Hampton, M.D. 
Trimble Co., Ky. Fob. 4th. 1S79. 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
Nebraska, Orleans, Harlan Co., Feb. 6.—In 
the issue of Jan. 11, the Rural refers to the 
fondness of potato beetles {nr the Matrimony 
Vine, and suggests its use as a beetle trap. 
There is a plant growing hereabouts which 
the beetles seem to like better than that Vine. 
I refer to Solatium rostratum. The plant is 
the original pasturage of the beetles in Colo¬ 
rado, and lias come dowu to us Nebraskans 
along our mountain streams. For several 
years past, 1 have been in the habit of allowing 
a few plants to grow among my potatoes. I 
find the plants alive with beetles while the po¬ 
tatoes are uninjured. If the plants are getting 
worsted too soon, J come to the rescue with 
Paris-green. The beetles appear each year, 
hut in such limited numbers as to cause no 
serious apprehensions. I do uot use Paris- 
green on 8. rostratum rather than on 8. tube¬ 
rosum through fear of injuring the latter,but be¬ 
cause I like to fire where the enemy is thickest. 
1 have raised the Doura—illustrated iu Rural, 
Jan. 18—for two years past and propose to 
continue raising It. 1 think it far inferior, 
however, to Pearl Millet us a forage plant. On 
new “ breaking ” it duos well the stalk rots and 
is out of the way much sooner than corn-stalks. 
It is as nearly grasshopper-proof as i6 common 
Sorghum. 1 never knew it to be injured by in¬ 
sects of any kind. It grows slowly at first—corn 
planted at the same time comes up a week 
earlier—but the Doura is always "ahead on 
the home stretch." It may do for John China¬ 
man to eat, but we find no place for it in the 
house. Wife wants a supply for her poultry; 
and hogs, sheep, cattle and horses eat it with 
seeming relish. 1 plant it about three and a 
half feet apart with a hand corn planter, by 
putting in a proper slide. H. n. a. 
Nebraska, York, York Co., Feb., 5.—We 
haven’t had more than five or six inches 
of snow this winter, aud but very little cold 
weather. For the last week, farmers have 
been busy plowing and iu some instances the 
hum of the thrashing machine has been hoard 
in the land. According to present indications 
there will be a larger acreage of wheat put 
out this coming spring than over before. This 
will furnish employment lor the 1001 idle men 
of the East, if they will come this way about 
next July, |Put the idle men hereabouts at 
1,000,002, and the estimate will be nearer the 
truth. Efts,] A great many fruit trees were 
sold the past season, which shows that t he 
people have faith in raising fruit in this sec¬ 
tion. Wheat is now worth 60c; corn, 16c; 
oats, 15c; hogs, $2.00 per 100 pounds, live- 
weight. Anon. 
California, Carpentria, Santa Rosa Co., 
Feb. 3.—Much apprehension has been ex¬ 
pressed in some parts of this Stale of late 
with regard to the crops for the coming sea¬ 
son, owing to the small amount of rainfall, 
but it is raiuing here aud the soil is in fine 
condition for "working," aud the promise 
for next harvest never was more favorable at 
this time of the year. We are now planting 
potatoes, sowing grain, etc. The grass is grow¬ 
ing finely, so that stock can get some feed. 
Flowers are blooming and all Nature looks 
gay. o. n. c. 
New York, East Bethany, Genesee Co., Jan. 
31. —The Rural’s article on that patent fence 
out West, and the accompanying illustrations, 
well exposes one form of patent swindling, but 
it is only one out of thousands. As au inven¬ 
tor of a patent fence and several other devices, 
myself, I am quite familiar with the whole 
subject, and with the multitude ol abuses con¬ 
nected with it. d. it. i*. 
New York, Whitney's Point, Broome Co., 
Feb. 11.—Snowing again! the second snow¬ 
storm iu a week. Roads are nearly block¬ 
aded, drifted from fence to fence. Farmers 
are busy cutting wood and filling tlieir ice¬ 
houses. Potatoes aro scarce—65@75c. per 
bushel. Buckwheat, floured and sacked, sells 
for $1.25 per hundred; oats, 25c. per bushel; 
eggs, 22c. per dozen; butter, 121, cents per 
pound. M. B. D. 
Michigan. Three Rivers, St. Joseph Co., 
Feh, 3— Last year’s wheat crop hereabouts was 
only middling. Good corn, too, was short, as 
drought had hurt it. Hay was a big crop. 
Potatoes are rather scarce, but. apples arc 
plentiful. Wheat looked well when snow 
fell. It was sowed rather late on account o 
the ravages of the fly last year and the warm 
and dry fall. s. m. s. 
Wisconsin, Delafield, Waukesha, Co., Feb. 6. 
—My 30 head of cattle aud horses well cured for 
and protected from the storms winter in 
warm stables, bear testimony to the good 
effects of their owner's attention to the les¬ 
sons taught by the Rural. Since Christmas 
the winter hereabouts lias been severe, hut 
good sleighing makes the weather more 
bearable. 
Virginia, Dunnvillo, Essex Co., Va.—The 
wharves and depots along our navigable rivers 
have suffered very much from floods. It is 
supposed that a great many oysters have been 
killed by the influx of fresh, muddy water. 
Grain is low, and labor unsettled and highly 
unsatisfactory among our farmers. r. s. 
North Carolina, Reidsvillc, Rockingham 
Co., Feh. 7.—I have hud experience with Pearl 
Millet, and as a fodder plant it is far more pro¬ 
ductive than is claimed for it by any seedsman 
in your latitude. It is a great exhauster of the 
land, and therefore needs generous manuring. 
w. s. F. 
Kansas, Matficld, Green Co,, Feb. 5.—We 
have had more snow this winter than for 21 
years, and still the ground is snow-clad, so 
that no plowing has been done up to date. 
Fall grain is doing finely, and the prospect 
for good crops is excellent. d. w. m. 
Massachusetts, Swansea, Bristol Co., Feb. 
10.—Stock of all kinds is doing well. Pro¬ 
duce is low; pork, 5c. to 51 e. per pound; 
beef 7c. to 8c; poultry, 15c. to Ifie ; eggs, 30c. 
per doz; hay, $13 to $14 per ton at the barns; 
rye straw, $12 per ton in Fall River, k. r. m. 
——— ■ - ■ ■ _ ■ m’ j '■ i _ _j_ 
®Dr (Mmst, 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Improving n Poor Farm.—Bent) in sheep. 
U. M. S., Martinsville , ip. Va., 16 a merchant 
who knows nothing about farming. Sometime 
ago he became a subscriber to the Rural, aud 
reading it made him interested in agriculture. 
This interest led him to invest iu a farm. It is 
a mixture of limestone, soapstone and slate. 
It lias been badly handled; the fences are di¬ 
lapidated; no manure has been put on tlie 
land for years ; there is no grass on any part 
of the 193 acres included in it. lie asks what 
is the best way to get it under grass : some tell 
him to bow it to buckwheat and when that is 
in bloom, to plow it under; others advise him 
to sow corn On it, aud plow it under green ; 
while others insist that to treat Carolina peas 
in the same way is the quickest method of en¬ 
riching the soil. lie asks, also, whether coal 
ashes have fertilizing properties enough to 
make it worth his while to haul them three 
miles; whether it will pay to put gas-house 
lime on the land, after Laving hauled it three 
miles at a Cost of five Cents a bushel; will 
blue-grass grow iu the woods, and what is the 
best time and way to sow it; is there another 
species of grass that would do better under the 
circumstances. Which is the belter plan—to 
rent the land for a few years to a skillful farm¬ 
er and get him to put it gradually into good 
condition, or to put a man on it himself with a 
view to produce the same effect. lie has a lot 
of fine sheep that arc troubled with the scab, 
and he inquires whether the ailment is curable, 
and if so, what is the best remedy. 
Ans, —No skillful farmer would be likely to 
rent such a farm as this, because, if sufficient¬ 
ly skillful, he would most likely be working a 
farm of his own. To hire a good man would 
be a good plan; and then furuish him with 
means to do the best he can with the land. 
But for one competent man iu such a case, 
there are a thousand others, aud the money 
cost would be disheartening. We would sug¬ 
gest, to try 40 acres or less at first. There 
must be limestone on the land and probably 
wood ; if so, burn a few thousand bushels of 
lime in the most convenient of the methods 
recently described—see page 55—and spread 50 
bushels per acre, when finely slaked, on the 
plowed ground as early in the spring as may 
be, and let it remain so. When danger of 
frosts is over, sow one Imelicl of buckwheat 
per acre and harrow the seed in with the lime. 
Whcu the crop is in blossom, plow it under 
and repeal the sowing. Early in September, 
plow the 6ocuiid crop under and sow two 
bushels of rye per acre. In the spring, sow 
eight quarts of clover, six quarts of timothy 
and a bushel of Kentucky blue-glass per acru. 
When the rye is cut, sow 100 pounds of gyp¬ 
sum per acre on tho grass. The blue-grass 
