THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
another, which will not be until they have 
given a number of good crops. About one- 
third of the grass cut around them Is used for 
mulch, and in addition it iB my practice to put 
about a bushel of leached hard-wood ashes 
around each tree upon the top of the old mulch 
when they have been two years set out. The 
land is naturally good, having been cleared of 
a heavy growth of Sugar Maple about thirty 
years ago. It is a somewhat gravelly loam. 
The slopes are in every direction except north¬ 
erly, and the trees thrive equally well on all. 
Apart of it is a hill-side below my garden, and 
this gets considerable wash, the result being 
an extraordinary growth of the Wealthy Apple 
trees there, and at four years from planting 
these promise quite a crop of fruit. 
As my greatest fear in regard to these trees 
was from the effect of drought, especially on 
the southern slopes, my main object in making 
these flat circles about them, was to arrest the 
water flowing down the hill during heavy rains 
and give time for its absorption by the soil. 
This is satisfactorily effected, and with the 
mulch keeps the surface of the .earth around 
the trees always moist. My chief trouble is to 
keep the fowls from scratching away this 
mulch to get at the insects which harbor be¬ 
neath it. When there are enough small stones 
for the purpose I put them upon the top of 
the mulch. The land is kept in good condition 
by top-dressing, and as long as I can cut a 
heavy crop of hay, I shall expect to see the 
trees also grow as well- I hope in future 
years to be able to tell the Rural readers how 
this orchard continues to prosper. 
Orleans Co., vt. 
are a very much neglected fruit; there is no 
better fruit tree for children than the Down¬ 
ing’s Ever-bearing Mulberry. One of them 
will bear fruit for eight or ten weeks steadily, 
constantly ripening, and pleasing all the fowls 
and turkeys, and children and old folks. He 
would rather have this mulberry to-day than 
a strawberry. The common mulberry is flat 
and sweet; but this has a fine sprightly acid 
taste, as finely combined as lemonade. 
See page 464 for continuation of What Others Say ? 
parts of this country, and deserves the careful 
investigation of every progressive stock-owner. 
Pamphlet of Pot-grown and other Straw¬ 
berry Plants, by J. T. Lovett, proprietor of 
Monmouth Nursery, Little Silver, N. J. This 
successful small-fruit cultivator enumerates in 
his catalogue all the leading varieties of Straw¬ 
berries, both for light, and heavy soils. It 
contains, also, a short but practical treatise on 
the culture of Strawberries, which will prove 
valuable to amateurs. Mr, Lovett gives special 
attention to pot-grown plants, that is, young 
plants rooted in small pots sunk in the 
ground ; such plants are stronger and will 
suffer but little or no check by being trans¬ 
planted. The catalogue will be sent free on 
application. 
Dairt Farming ; edited by J. P. Sheldon, 
late resident Professor of Agriculture in the 
Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester. This 
new and original work by our correspondent. 
Prof. Sheldon, will be published in monthly 
parts >.y Messrs. Cassell, Petter cfc Galpin. 
It will be embellished with colored plates and 
original wood engravings, illustrating the 
various processes employed. 
Wholesale Price-list of fruit trees, small 
fruits, ornamental plauts and bulbs for sale by 
B. F. Transon & Co., Humboldt, Tenn. This 
is the 2Sth year since the establishment of Mr. 
Transou’s nursery, and the record made by the 
firm during the interval is justly a matter of 
pride with them. 
Annual Catalogue and announcement of 
the Columbia Veterinary College and School of 
^ jmparative Medicine. New York. 
will be considerably below an average. The 
condition of oats is much below an average, 
varying from 5 to 50 per cent.; the area, too, 
is 118,961 acres less than last year's. Meadows 
were much below an average. Clover mead¬ 
ows were in much better condition than tim¬ 
othy. Meadows pastured in the spriug were, 
as a rule, not worth cutting, and it. Is feared 
that the rains came too late to make much dif¬ 
ference in the hay crop. In pastures only one 
county reported an average condition; all the 
others reported a decrease of from 10 to 75 per 
cent.; while the aggregate diminution of acre¬ 
age amounts to 185,324 acres. The number of 
cattle was about the same a6 last season, and 
their condition was good, in view of the short 
pastures. The number of hogs in the State is 
less by nearly three-quarters of a million than 
last year. The small profits last year of even 
the best breeders, aud the large losses often 
incurred by others, have had a depressing 
effect on this industry. Hogs are generally 
healthy and in condition above the average. 
For the last five years there has been a steady 
decrease in the number of sheep, chiefly of the 
fine-wool sort; hut the increase in mutton 
sheep has not kept pace with the decline in 
the other kind; though it is hoped that the 
high prices lately realized for mutton will be¬ 
get greater attention to this branch of stock- 
raising. Barley is considerably below an aver¬ 
age. The acreage under flax is much above 
that, of last year, but the condition of the crop 
was considerably below the average at date of 
report. The acreage uuder potatoes is about 
the same as last year; but the prospects of a 
fine yield were hardly as favorable as in most 
of the other States. Apples and pears were 
much below an average, and peaches almost an 
entire failure, while small fruits promised well. 
Quarterly report of the Pennsylvania 
Board of Agriculture for March. April aud 
May. T. J. Edge, Sec., Chester. The official 
country reports on which this State Report is 
based were closed out on June 1st. and several 
causes may since have changed the result in 
some localities. At that date, however, it was 
estimated that there would be a considerable 
falling-off in the wheat crop from that of last 
year, but still a good average crop was antici¬ 
pated. The rye corp is estimated at 3,550,000 
bushels with possibilities in favor of a larger 
amount. Since the rise of a demand for rye 
straw for the manufacture of paper there has 
been an increase in the area planted to this crop 
but there are no satisfactory data for estimat¬ 
ing the extent of the increased acreage; the 
yield per acre is put down as probably less 
than usual. Of corn the average annual yield 
for ten years has been 35,250,000, bush, and ow- 
iug to the backwardness of the season and the 
appearance of wire and web-worms the aggre¬ 
gate crop is not expected to be larger this 
year, though there seems to have been a slight 
increase of acreage. The average annual 
yield of oats for the past decade has been 
31,250,000 bushels and although there is much 
talk of substituting some other crop for this, 
still the returns show a somewhat larger area 
than usual planted to it; it was too early to 
estimate the yield. Of hay the actual yield 
in tons was not expected to be as great as last 
year, but the nutritive quality of the crop prom¬ 
ised to be better. Horses aud mules were iu fine 
condition generally, and healthy with the ex¬ 
ception of a few cases of nasal aud throat dis¬ 
eases. Within the last five years there has 
been a slight decrease in the number of cows 
and a depreciation iu their condition. A few 
cases of pleuro-pneutnonia aud simple pneu- 
mouia were reported, but a great many cases 
of abortion, especially in the Eastern part of 
the State. So much uncertainty exists as to 
the cause aud cure of tbis malady that a State 
committee has been appointed to investigate 
its cause or causes, aud if possible to suggest 
remedies. * Within the last five years there 
has been a slight falllng-off iu the cooditiou 
of sheep throughout the State, although iu 
seventeen counties there had beeu a marked 
improvement. The condition of swine is much 
the same as at this season last year. There 
may, on the whole, be a slight decrease iu 
number, but there is ulso iu some parts a con¬ 
siderable improvement in the value of the 
stock, due to the introduction of boars of im¬ 
proved breed. Fat cattle were not in many 
places iu as good condition as at the same time 
la6t year,a mishap occasionally attributed to the 
belief that last year’s hay did not "feed well.” 
There has been a decrease of five cents per 
day in the cost of boarding a farm hand, and 
a corresponding decrease In his hire during 
the past year. 
Ensilage. —This pamphlet of seven pages is 
in the form of a supplement to the larger work 
on the method of preaerviug fodder in silos, 
published by J. B. Brown, 55 Beekman Street, 
this city, and which is for sale by him for $1, 
as noticed in the Rural several mouths ago. 
Both the larger work and this pamphlet are 
translations of the original works of Mous. A. 
Goffart, the French inventor of this method of 
preserving fodder, chiefly maize or Indian 
corn. The system is attracting a great deal of 
favorable attention in Europe, and has also 
been employed to a considerable extent in some 
GROWING AN ORCHARD IN GRASS 
S. Q. LAPIUS, 
I began my orcharding a firm believer in 
the doctrine that apple trees require constant 
cultivation for the first ten years in order to 
produce a thrifty growth and satisfactory 
fruitage. Consequently I took my best land 
for an orchard, and the results have been very 
satisfactory. I have also some hilly ground 
which cannot be tilled without ruinous wash¬ 
ing by heavy rains, and by the water from 
thawing snow-banks in spring. I would have 
much rather planted my apple trees there, but 
the impossibility of tillage prevented me. About 
seven years ago, however, I set a few trees 
upon this land, and, finding that they grew 
well, the number has been annually increased 
until now about four acres are occupied with 
trees, the growth of which, notwithstanding 
the grass about them, is quite equal to that of 
my older orchards upon level gTonnd. These 
trees were transplanted from the nursery at 
the ages of two and three years from root 
graft, most of them at two. The holes were 
dug large euough to give a free spread to the 
roots, and afterwards the ground was dug 
away ou the upper side in a semi-circle of 
three feet radius from the tree, the earth being 
placed upon the lower side, thus forming 
around the tree a flat surface, six feet in di¬ 
ameter. which is kept mulched with grass cut 
WHAT OTHERS SAY 
"Pearl” Millet.— We little thought when 
we wrote our playful remarks about the Pearl 
Millet that It would occasion enough trouble 
to our contemporary, the Rural New-Yorker 
—the peer of any weekly agricultural journal 
in the world—to make a response. We never 
said, or meant to be understood as saying, the 
Rural New-Yorker, or Mr. P. Heuderson, 
claimed this to be a newly discovered plant. 
We published Mr. Henderson’s glowiDg de¬ 
scription of this Millet because we have faith 
in all Mr. Henderson writes, recognizing him 
as one of the best practical writers of the day, 
and knowing his works on gardening, etc., 
have beeu of inestimable worth to the people 
of the South especially. Wc saw with pleasure 
the beautiful illustrations of differeut Millets 
in the Rural New-Yorker, aud wheu we read 
the article of the Planter aud Grange, we, iu 
justice to our readers, gave them the benefit 
of its views, expunging the more offensive 
parts, that our patrons should not be left iu 
error and blame us for indirectly endorsing all 
that was said in favor of 1‘enrl Millet. We 
were, In fact, amused to see how a change of 
name from ••Horse” or "Cat-tail” into the more 
attractive appellation of ••Pearl" eould raise 
suddenly the price and demand for the same 
article. However, we are sure that no money 
has been really lost by auy who have bought 
the Pearl Millet if they followed the directions 
in regard to its culture, and fed it in its green 
state to the cattle. It is a crop for soiling and 
for green manuring, the best we have ever 
known. We confess, however, that wc never 
fully appreciated Soutbc.ru "Horse or Cat-tail” 
Millet as fully before we read the remarkable 
PAYNE’S NEW ENGINE 
Recent improvements, the outcome of 
practical tests, have been gathered together 
and put into the shape of a new agricultural 
engine which we illustrate this week. The 
makers, B. W. Payne & Son, of Corning, N. Y., 
claim that a ten-horse steamer of this con¬ 
struction will supply power sufficient to drive 
the largest class of separator, without over 
pressure, or excessive firing. This advan¬ 
tage is gained by the manner of constructing 
the boiler, and through the influence of an 
automatic cut-off, which, permits the steam 
to be used expansively—an economical prin¬ 
ciple that results in securing the maximum of 
work at the minimum of power. The princi¬ 
pal and mechanical device by which it is se¬ 
cured are interesting to users of steam power, 
and being fully illustrated aud explained by 
the manufacturers, we will simply refer our 
readers to them for particulars. They will be 
happy to supply them, we are sure. 
The substantial results derived from the use 
of the cut-off, and the thorough way in which 
the engine is constructed, are productive of 
safety, economy of fuel, light weight, com¬ 
pactness, simplicity, strength, long wear and 
great saving of power. 
The form of boiler used has been built and 
tested for more than twenty years. It is so 
little open to the objection of danger from ex¬ 
plosion, that it is no longer a factor taken into 
aecouot. At competitive trials the Payne en¬ 
gine has achieved a fine fame. Sparks are 
caught aud subdued in spark-arresting cham¬ 
bers that are said to be a complete assurance 
agaiust danger from fire. An examination of 
the engine has shown it to be excellently 
constructed, and the claimed advantages 
make it well worth investigation by those 
contemplating the use of steam-power for 
farming or thrashing purposes. 
from the'surrounding area. The accompany¬ 
ing cut shows the appearance of trees two 
years after setting (four-year-old), and also 
illustrates my method of protection from mice 
and rabbits by tying common strip laths about 
the trunks. If left on during the whole year 
it is also an entire protection against the borer, 
and obviates injury from the action of the sun 
upon the bark. (The laths, as we understand 
it should be tied close to the tree. The artist 
shows them as forming an inclosurc a foot or 
more square.— Eds.] 
The Eureka Mower is making a fine record 
in Pennsylvania, as we learn from one of our 
subscribers, Mr. Win. H. Sobn of New Scotts- 
ville, Beaver county. Being advised of the 
merits of the "Eureka" through the Rural 
New-Yorker, one was purchased through a 
Pittsburgh dealer, aud Mr. S. says " of all 
the mowers I ever saw work (and I have seen 
nearly all), it has the greatest advantages. We 
cut ten acres of very heavy clover without the 
least trouble, where last year in same piece, 
we had the greatest difficulty.” 
This is enthusiastic, certainly, and a little 
allowance must be made for exaggerations 
due to the effect of the weather, but the “ Eure¬ 
ka” is growing in favor with giant strides, and 
Mr. S.’s letter is merely the exuberant expres¬ 
sion of a perfectly satisfied farmer. 
Watertown, N. Y., June 27, 1879. 
Rural Publishing Co. — Gents.: We are 
glad to add our names to your list of testimo¬ 
nials, as we consider the Rural the best ad¬ 
vertising medium for our business in the coun¬ 
try. We have received more direct benefit from 
•‘ Ails ” in it than from auy other in which we 
have ever published. Yours respectfully, 
Watertown Spring Wagon Co., 
Wm. B. Sylvester, Sec. 
payne's new engine 
I am extremely well satisfied with my ex¬ 
periment so far. The annual elongation of the 
branches on these young trees, is from 18 to 30 
inches. Quite a number are already iu bear¬ 
ing. They are set out iu rows twenty-five teet 
apart, the trees being 15 feet asunder iu the 
row. The intention is to remove every alter¬ 
nate tree in the row as soon as they crowd one 
statement of our frieud Hendersou. [The 
above we take from our esteemed contempo¬ 
rary, the Maryland Farmer. Wc have our¬ 
selves remarked that the stalks when the 
plauts grow old are as "hard as fish poles.”— 
Eds.J 
The Neglected Mulberry. —Mr. Beecher 
says in the Christian Union, that Mulberries 
Bradley’s Changeable-Speed Mower took 
first prize silver medal at the Thorn Hill, (N. Y.) 
trial June25th. First blood for Bradley die Co! 
