THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
when completed and when the newly-moved 
earth had dried, there was nothing to indicate 
that any planting bad been done. Instead of 
marking the earth, a cord, 88 feet long, at¬ 
tached at either end to a four-loot stake, was 
stretched across to guide the. use of the dibble. 
The corn, we may mention, was first placed In 
hot water and tar and then covered with ashes 
and passed through a sieve. Ju this section of 
country, the blackbirds and crows (especially 
the former) are so numerous that we never 
feel safe without adopting this precaution 
which is quite effective. Our friends will con¬ 
clude that this quarter-acre crop of corn will 
cost us more than it will be worth. Probably. 
But we are anxious to determine how much 
corn we cau raise by giving it every needed 
care without Tegard to cost or trouble. It is 
well to determine how much it is possible for 
us to do, so that we may know how much it is 
wise to attempt. Besides, if by an intricate 
method of corn culture we find we may double 
the yield—perhaps the yield might still be 
doubled and. pursued upon the same principle, 
the method greatly simplified. We have sent 
thousands of envelopes of this Blunt’s corn to 
our subscribers. Many of them have advised 
us of their intention to compete for the “‘Ru¬ 
ral” premiums. We, of course, do uot desire 
to eater far the prizes—but we do desire that 
our yield should not fall far behind those yields 
which secure them. Holding ourselves up as 
instructors ol the agricultural public aud 
frankly a vowing that we intend to do our best, 
it might cast a cruel reflection upon the pro¬ 
prietors of the Rural Farm were they to be 
distanced by their less pretentious competitors, 
lu another letter w'e shall tell our friends how 
our Cultivation of wheat progresses. 
WORK FOR JUNE. 
In this lovely mouth the country usually 
puts on its most attractive dress. The warm 
weather pushes on vegetation and there is no 
lack of work. Some will he so absorbed in this 
that they can see little beauty in vegetation as 
it is displayed iu innumerable forms. A little 
better planning; a little less hard work j work 
for fewer hours iu the day, and a knowledge 
pf botany would make every farmer enjoy life 
better. The botanist sees something to admire 
in every plant, and plants make all or support 
all that there is of much interest in any coun¬ 
try. 
Corn. 
Indian corn is a beautiful plant, whether we 
view it in the tender blade, in the full-grown 
plant, or when harvested. Nothing is more 
useful or more beautiful than a crib well filled 
with good sound corn. In June, the corn 
should be well tended. The cultivator should 
start as soon as the rows can he seen, aud be 
kept running for some weeks. The laud should 
be well prepared before planting, and the rows 
be made straight, then all or nearly all the 
work can be done with the horse and cultiva¬ 
tor. It will seldom be a profitable c rop if much 
Jiard labor is given to it. For fodder or for us¬ 
ing in the dry weather of August and September, 
it is a good custom to drill iu the rows about 
two feet and a half apart, aud then run the cul¬ 
tivator. The stalks grow larger; they often 
bear small ears and the crop is worth more. 
A 6mall piece of corn for this purpose is almost 
indispensable ou a well-managed farm. 
Slock. 
Stock of all kinds should now be thriving 
aud doing their best. The sheep and lambs 
should be looked after every day. The swine 
should have some grass. Keep the calves 
growing by rich pasture, milk, aud a little 
ground feed. More attention should be given 
to selecting and raising good heifer calves to 
improve the milking qualities of our herds of 
common stock. This should be kept up for 
years with a definite cud in view. Good males 
should be used with the same object. 
Making Hay. 
For profit much depends on good manage¬ 
ment, aud, of course, something on the weather. 
There are advantages iu using a hay-tedder. 
Hay cau be cured much more quickly aud in 
good weather can be cut and drawu iu on the 
same day. This saves cocking up, and avoids 
risk of getting wet. Begin to cut grass early. 
Professor Beal gives the following good rea¬ 
sons for this practice. “Stock prefer hay 
made of grass just before, or as soon as it is in 
blossom. The chemist has found that grass at 
ench times contains a greater proportion of nu¬ 
tritious or digestible materials than when cut 
later. This plan leaves a longer time for the 
next growth, which may be used for pasture 
or for mowing again, it exhausts the roots 
less." 
Meadows hold out better when the grass is 
not allowed to go to seed or to get old before 
cutting. Very often the crop cau be well se¬ 
cured if cut eaily, while if cut late, bad weather 
may come on. If a farmer begins early, he 
has a longer time to work in case of had 
weather. 
Care of Trees and Gardena, die. 
Trees which have been recently planted, 
should be well mulched or frequently culti¬ 
vated. Tie up straggling canes of Black Caps 
or cut off a part of the top. Mulch Strawberries 
to make them endure the dry weather aud keep 
the fruit dean. For this purpose t here is noth¬ 
ing better than clean straw worked dowu among 
the plants. If there are oats or wheat in the 
chaff, the seeds will grow. If old hay is em¬ 
ployed, seeds will grow and make trouble. If 
leaves are employed, the wind will scatter 
them. Saw-dust is had for the soil. Corn¬ 
stalks, unless chopped or cut up. are a poor 
material for mulching Strawberries. For a 
successful garden, it is necessary to plant a 
succession of beans, beets, corn, lettuce, peas, 
radishes, spinach etc. It is usually most con¬ 
venient to leave a spot for each sort and so 
keep each kind of vegetable by itself. For 
encumbers and radishes and squashes, if hut 
few are raised, take advantage of coops of 
young chickens which should bo brought out 
in season and scattered about the garden. To 
start melons aud other vines, a depression may 
he made in the soil over the hills in the follow¬ 
ing manner: Plant the seeds, then place a 
block over the hill and pack the dirt closely 
around it. Remove the Mock by a handle at¬ 
tached to it. A pane of glass, or a piece of 
very thin muslin stretched ou a frame, may be 
placed over each hill and left till the plants 
crowd it. The plants thus get a good start 
without trouble from any insects. 
JOTTINGS AT KIRBY HOMESTEAD. 
COL. F. T). CURTIS. 
flutter Cows, 
We had to go with Esquire Davidson to his 
stable aud help him admire his Jersey cows. 
They are all grades, from half-bloods up to 
fifteen-sixteenths, and are beauties every one 
of them. The Esquire thinks, for a butter 
dairy, they are the most profitable cows a 
fanner can liave. They are hardy aud give 
good messes of exceedingly rich milk. People 
come to his house and offer five aud ten ceuts 
more than the market price for bis butter on 
account of its excellent quality. The Esquire 
is one of a few neighbors who have had the 
forethought and good judgment to send their 
best native cows to our Jersey bulls, aud he is 
now reaping his reward. Mr. Heaton did the 
same thing, and be has a half-bred Jersey 
heifer, which at two years of age, made nine 
and a quarter pounds of hutter iu one week, 
and when three years old. from a week’s milk, 
made twelve and a half pounds of butter. A 
four-year-old made iu one week eleven and a 
quarter pounds. These are all small cows, 
and give milk nine months out of the twelve. 
These results were from grass alone. We are 
umv making nice yellow butter from the milk 
of one Jersey cow, aud enough of it for our 
family, besides using nearly half of the milk. 
We have seen a great deal lately about IIol- 
steiu cows, but whon the amount of food con¬ 
sumed is taken into the account, Hie Jerseys 
aud the Ayrskiree will he found to he ahead for 
profit. An Ayrshimcow has raised two calves 
this winter, aud they are large and iu fine 
condition. 
»u-k Animals, Medicines. 
We had a spring lamb which stood one side 
in the flock and did uotrseem to eat. We con¬ 
cluded it was constipated aud immediately 
administered a tablespoonful and a half of 
castor-oil, with a teaspoonful of sweet spirits 
of niter, mixed with a gill of milk. Thu lamb 
was put in a clean orate by itself, aud the next 
day, there being no evidences of a passage 
from the bowels, an injection was given which 
brought no relief. The lamb had refused to 
eat for three days. Another dose of oil was 
given, and two gills of milk poured dowu its 
throat. In the evening more milk was given, 
aud the uext morning the bowels hud moved 
and the lamb began to eat, and was soon well 
again. It would have died but for the repeated 
doses of castor-oil. The huuh did not bloat 
hut was gaunt and growing weak very fast. 
Spring is the season when animals are very 
liable to be constipated, aud every farmer 
should be ou the lookout for this kind of 
trouble, and treat every case as soon as dis¬ 
covered. The next stage for constipatiou is 
inllammatiou of the bowels, aud when this 
condition is reached, a cure is almost impossi¬ 
ble. Constipatiou is the natural result of a 
long diet on dry food. A farmer should have 
his medicines on hand and ready for use. He 
should always hava castor oil, which is the 
best physic for young animals, aud where there 
is any cold or inflammation, the best for any 
animal. There should be Glauber salts for the 
horses, us they act both on the bowels and 
kidneys, and small dopes, a table-spoonful every 
day, are excellent, nothing better to tone up a 
horse’s stomach and help to put him in good 
condition. A farmer should never be out of 
niter, mustard, alcohol, good liniment, lauda¬ 
num, carbolic acid, and, last but not least, 
Gas Coal Tar— The Farmer’s Remedy. 
This is our sovereign remedy for all cuts and 
wounds, and is the best cure for all kinds of 
sores. It is the cheapest and most efficacious 
application which any one can nse. If applied 
to a fresh wound, however severe, it will pre¬ 
vent the growth of proud flesh, and promote 
healthy granulation. It coats over a flesh 
wound or cut with an adhesive covering which 
keeps out the air and prevents smarting or 
pain. It will keep the flies away, and is self- 
adhesive. The best way to buy it is by the 
barrel. It is a durable paint for tools, fences, 
a hay rigging, a farm wagon, or anything ex¬ 
posed to the w eather. Wood will last a great 
deal louger when painted with it. It should 
always, when used as a paiut, be put on hot. 
It is a durable and preserving paint for an iron 
fence. A barrel of it should not cost more 
than $1 50. 
-- 
CASH vs. CREDIT. 
A friend, living w ithin a few miles of Cin¬ 
cinnati. O.. writes ns as follows -■ “ We have a 
neighbor who must fail before long, his farm 
being mortgaged. He also owes many people, 
and keeps them from pressing him too hard by 
paying them a little now and tlieu. Neverthe¬ 
less, he can buy. and lias this spring bought farm 
implements, on time. Those he has bought 
this spring cannot have cost less than #200. 
Now the injustice is that as he does not intend 
to pay in full, he can and does sell his early 
truck at a lower price than his prompt-paying 
neighbors cau afford to sell for. I hope that 
your articles, Cash vs. Credit, may induce him 
to compromise with his creditors, and begin 
again upon an honest, cash basis.” 
ificlti (Crops. 
TOBACCO CULTURE.-No. 3. 
G. GOFF, .IK. 
(“iiII ivntion ol' Voung Plants. 
Tobacco requires thorough aud frequent 
cultivation. About one week from the time 
the plants are set, or as soon as they have 
commenced growing, the cultivating should 
begin, and it should he continued at intervals, 
as long as the work can be done without injur¬ 
ing the leaves. Especially is cultivating im¬ 
portant in dry weather, as there is no better 
remedy for drought than to keep the surface 
of the soil mellow by frequent stirring. The 
best growers hoe their tobacco twice. The first 
time the process is called •* scraping,” and 
should begin as soon as the weeds start. It 
consists of skimming the weeds and the surface 
of the soil, from around the plants, aud sub¬ 
stituting the fine, mellow earth from between 
the rows. It is hoed agaiu about the 1st of 
July, when the plants are billed up slightly, 
and the “ extras” uot needed to fill vacancies, 
removed. 
“ Worming,” “Topping,” and “ Suckering.” 
The tobacco-Worm is the greatest enemy of 
the tobacco plant. These worms prey upon 
the tobacco Iu the months of July aud August, 
and the utmost vigilance is necessary to pre¬ 
vent them from greatly injuriug the crop. 
“Worming” tobacco, is a task requiring much 
time aud patience. Each row should be passed 
over as often as once a week, aud the leaves 
examined for the worms. A little experience 
will euable one to tell where they arc most like¬ 
ly to bo found. Turkeys will devour the 
worms greedily, and are very useful to aid iu 
the work of hunting and destroying them. The 
chief reliance must, however, be in picking 
them off by hand. 
Iu order to throw the energies of llie plant 
into a few large leaves, the top is broken off at 
the time of flowering. This process is called 
“ toppiug.” It consists of breaking off the 
flower, with a few of the upper leaves which 
cannot become fully developed. Experience is 
required to tell just how much of the plant, 
should be taken off, as it depends, somewhat, 
upon its strength and forwardness. As soon 
as the plants are “ topped,” suckers will start 
out at the base of the leaves, which, if allowed 
to grow, will also form buds and blossom. The 
plants should be gone over at least twice, and 
all the suckers removed. 
Cutting. 
About twelve or fourteen days after the 
plants are topped, they should be fit to cut. 
Experience is required to tell the exact time 
when the tobacco should be harvested to yield 
the best results. All good growers agree that 
it is important that the cutting should be done 
at tbe proper time, as delay even of a day will 
sometimes cause much loss. When ripe, the 
leaves become spotted and the color of the 
lower leaves turns brown. The plauts are cut 
with a hatchet aud laid upon Hue ground to 
wilt, but they most uot be exposed to the hot 
sun. Great care Bbould be taken to handle the 
plants carefully, so as not to break or tear tho 
leaves. When they have become sufficiently 
wilted to admit ol haudliug without injury, 
they are drawu (o the tobacco shed and hung 
up to care. The cutting should be done prin¬ 
cipally in the morning and evening, to prevent 
“ sunburning.” It is not safe to leave plants 
cut upon the ground between the hours of ten 
in the morning and three in the afternoon on a 
hot day. Only as much therefore should be 
cut lu tbe morning as can be taken care of be¬ 
fore teu o’clock, when, if the sun shines hot, 
the cutting must be suspended until two or 
three in the afternoon. 
Turing. 
The plants are hung in the shed upou poles, 
with twine. The poles are placed as near each 
other as possible still permitting a free circu¬ 
lation of air—usually from twelve to eighteen 
inches apart. The ends of those poles rest 
upon joists, which fire placed from four and 
a half to five feet apart. The tobacco sheds 
are built so as to receive three or four tiers of 
these poles on which the plants are suspended. 
A free ventilation is secured from the sides of 
the building by having the boards placed ver¬ 
tically, and every third or fourth board liung 
on binges. The building also should admit air 
from beneath- Ventilators are placed in the 
roof to further encourage a circulation of air 
when needed. The size of the tobacco shed 
should vary with the number of acres cultiva¬ 
ted. A building 43 feet long, *13 feet wide and 
16 feet high, will receive three tiers of plants 
aud will store the tobacco grown on two acres. 
There is doubtless much yet to lie learnt about 
the curing of tobacco. The natural laws that 
govern it are not well understood even by out 
best growers. Many different opinions exist 
ou the subject, but it. is the common belief that 
tobacco can have too much air during the 
process of curing. Tbe important question 
yet to be answered, is : flow may the tobacco 
be cured so as to insure good colors and still 
escape Hie danger from “pole-burning?" If 
tbe drying is too fast, the colors will be too 
light, and Without proper ventilation, loss 
from “ pole-sweat” will almost surely occur. 
The method followed by our best growers is 
to keep Hie doors of tbe tobacco slied open 
except in dry or windy weather. Tobacco will 
cure iu about three months from the time it is 
harvested. When it has become thoroughly 
cured—which is known by the stems of the 
leaves becoming free from sap it is taken 
down and piled in a double rank, with the 
butts of the plains extending outward and 
covered over to prevent drying. This work is 
done in damp weather when the leaves are soil 
and pliable- The leaves are next stripped 
from the stalks and tied up in small bundles 
aud carefully packed away and covered over, 
where they remain until assorted. It is better 
to do tbe stripping iu damp weather, as it is 
essential that the tobacco Should retain its 
moisture. 
Assorting llie Tobacco 
furnishes the grower with pleasant employ¬ 
ment at a time ol the year when he has little 
else to do. The work is usually done iu the 
winter iu a tight room built in, or adjacent to, 
the shed. This room is made comfortable by a 
fire aud provided with benches or tables ou 
which the tobacco is assorted. A kettle of 
water should Lie kept on the stove, the evapo¬ 
ration from which will prevent the air iu the 
sorting-room from becoming dry. The leaves 
are handled over one by one. and sorted into 
differeut qualities aud carefully packed away 
and covered with boards or slightly dampened 
carpets. From twelve to eighteen leaves are 
tied together, which form wbat is called a 
“hand.” Four qualities are usually made, 
viz: first and second wrappers, binders and 
fillers. It is important in handling tobacco that 
it should be kept from drying. It is unfortun¬ 
ate If artificial mointeuiug is ever required, as 
it occasions unnecessary labor and danger. If 
the tobacco is iu proper order when it is taken 
down from the poles, and not allowed to dry 
while handling, it will not need further moist¬ 
ening. But when it is necessary to dampen it, 
much care aud judgment must be used. The 
water must be used sparingly, and, put on in a 
very fine spray, so that it will not spot the 
leaves. 
Racking. 
When the tobacco Las been assorted it is 
packed in cases, each quality by itself. This 
work should also be done in damp weather. 
From 375 to 400 pounds should be pressed into 
each ease, and the tobacco should be in proper 
condition as regards moisture when the “ pack¬ 
ing” is done. Some growers assort their to¬ 
bacco as it is stripped from the stalk. This is 
the more rapid way, and with small or poor 
crops, perhaps the best; but It is then almost 
impossible to do the work as well, and there¬ 
fore it is not usually considered the best way 
where the work needs to be well done. 
Profits. 
The tobacco iu this valley is principally 
bought up by New York houses whither it is 
shipped when prepared for market. A number 
of buyers usually come here at about the same 
time, and some competition is formed aiuoug 
them which enables the growers to get better 
prices. As regards the profits of tobacco cul¬ 
ture, there is much to say. The prices which 
growers receive for their crops have been and 
probably will be subject to great fluctuation*. 
