THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
rollers hang on a swivel with the gate j these 
rollers are of his design and not pateuted. 
As predicted in the article of Jan 25, the 
prosecutions commenced against fanners using 
the slide gate, for infringement of the Lee pat¬ 
ent, proved to be nothing more or less than a 
means of extorting money. Of all the eases 
Introduced before the court not a siugle one 
was prosecuted. The plaintiffs sought to de¬ 
fer the trial hy every possible means, evidently 
for the simple reason of causing farmers ad¬ 
ditional expense. The judge in charge dually 
suspected this practice and ordered them to 
give bouds for the cost. This was done under 
protest and a plea of poverty from the plain¬ 
tiffs. Finally, as the time expired for taking 
testimony^, and no active prosecutions were 
begun, Judge Brown dismissed all the cases 
against the farmers, and ordered the 1! 8. 
marshall to collect the cost from the plaiu- 
tifls. Despite the worthlessness of the Lee 
claim, by making good use of their time, its 
owners succeeded in extorting over .f5000 from 
the fanners of a single county in Michigan, 
who paid their demands, rather than take the 
matter into the courts. IIow much was col¬ 
lected on this worthless patent in other por¬ 
tions of Michigan we have no means of know¬ 
ing. The fanners of the State are now partially 
organized to resist the farther collection of 
royalty uuder either the Lee or Teel patent. 
The Teel patent can be defeated by showing 
that the slide gate was in use before 1861. 
Despite the number of years since this date, 
testimony that cannot be doubted, can now be 
brought forward to show that the gate has been 
in use since aud before 1856. 
I present a few letters received from differ¬ 
ent parties in regard to the early use of this 
gate, ihe first letter is from Air. C. A. Sprague, 
of Alabama, who claims to be the inventor of 
the gate. He is probably correct in that he 
was an inventor, but as the gate was in use in 
Michigan at about that time (some claim as 
early as 1848) it is doubtful if he was the first 
inventor. 
Deak Sir: —Having just received the Rural 
New-Yorker of Jan. 25, I notice on first 
page your article on the slide gate. I invented 
the slide gate in the year 1856, and have had 
them iu use ever since. X never sought a 
patent on my invention, and up to the time I 
constructed mine, I never heard of any being 
iu use. I thda resided in Erie County, N. Y. 
I now Jive iu Alabama; my address is Aunis- 
ton, Ala. If you desire further Information 
write me. C. A. Sprague. 
****** 
Dr. Manley Miles, formerly Professor of Ag¬ 
riculture at our College, certifies to seeing 
these gates in use when on the State Geological 
Survey in 1858. lie also had them constructed 
at the College early iu 1863. Charles Curtis, 
Howell, Mich., aud E. R. Merithen, of Osceola, 
mado and used these gates in 1857. N. G. 
Noble, Drayton Plains, Michigan, built oue of 
these gates in 1852. N. D. Laudon, Orion, 
Mich., used oue iu 1858. T. B. Eldrcd, Climax, 
Mieh., used those gates in 1861. 
From the Detroit Post aud Tribune of Janu¬ 
ary 20, 1879, we learn that the following per¬ 
sons used the slide gate previous to 1861: 
Charles Campbell. Van Buren, Wayne Co., 
Mich.; Andrew Martin, Ypsilauti, Mich.; 
Azuriah Martin, Venice, Mich.; F. M. Hollo¬ 
way, Xayette, Hillsdale Co.; I.oriu liiggs, 
Bellville, Wayne Co., Mich. ; James Leonard- 
son, Jefferson, Mich.; T. N. Wadsworth, 
Canandaigua, N. Y.; James Miner, Pittsford, 
Mich.; A. J. Leetch, Superior, Mich. ; Thomas 
Blake, Ann Arbor, Mich.; John Van Voorhies, 
Canton, Mich.; Elius Forbes, Van Buren, 
Mich. ; Johu Forbes, Brownstowu, Mich.; 
J. C. Emory, Plymouth, Mich. ; David Clark¬ 
son, 1 lymouth, Mich.; J, D. Y r erkes, Plymouth, 
Mich.; George Yerkes, Novi, Mich.; George 
Hill, Northville, Mich.; N. L. Peer, Holly, 
Samuel Laiden, Canton, Mich. ; L. C. Walling- 
ton, Ypsilanti, Mieh.; Harvey Hubbard, Bcfl- 
ville, Mich.; 8. P. Bray, Pittsfield, Mich.; H. 
W. Co wen, Moscow, Mich. 
(The list in the Post and Tribune was fully 
twice the length of the one published here.) 
The couclusioa arrived at is that, although a 
patent was given to A. C. Teel, covering all 
varieties of the slide gate he was in no degree 
entitled to it, the gate being in common use 
long before it was pateuted. The patent law 
ptovidoa for such cases as this by putting it iu 
tlio power of the courts to declare such pat¬ 
ents void. It is to be hoped that no farmer 
will pay royalty for the use of the slide gato to 
any panics, for by so doing, he not only for¬ 
feits his iwu right, but he contributes to sup¬ 
port a class of men who, although working 
uuder protection of the law, are in other re¬ 
spects little better thau swindlers. Ho should 
meet their claims in court rather thau submit 
to taxation, however slight. 
The owners of the patent given A. C. Teel 
commeueed operations in.the newer portion 
of the State, where they supposed they would 
meet with little resistance by the farmers. 
As soon as the character of their operations 
was discovered, a combination among the 
farmers was brought about by the grange, and 
nearly 31,000 were raised to defend all cases 
taken to the eouru; meetings were held in the 
newer portions of the State, aud such steps 
were taken as to make collection of royalty by 
threats, a decidedly poor business. A number 
of suits have been commenced, but it is not 
likely that any of these suits will be tried, for 
the same reason that the suits under the Lee 
pateptwere not prosecuted—that is, because 
the prosecutors are certain to he defeat¬ 
ed. They will probably' make a desperate 
effort to collect royalty, by threatening prose¬ 
cution, and in some cuses by actually com¬ 
mencing suits, but in the end it will terminate 
in the withdrawal of all the suits begun, and 
more to their discomfiture than to that of the 
farmers. 
The case would have been far different in 
Michigan had the farmers not organized to 
resist this encroachment on their rights. It 
would have cost them, in all probability, nearly 
a million of dollars, iustead of a few hundreds. 
This case well illustrates the force of united 
efforts. Yet iu Michigan these united efforts 
would not have been possible had it not been 
for the organized body of farmers already 
joined by the State and subordinate granges, 
and for the interest which the educational in¬ 
stitutions and the press took in regard to the 
welfare of the farmer. The work and cost of 
organization have fallen maiuly on these insti¬ 
tutions—the grange, the agricultural college 
and the press—aud yet, if these efforts are suc¬ 
cessful, every farmer in the State of Michigan 
and iu the United States, using the slide gate, 
is benefited. Yet those persons who arc bene¬ 
fited. aud who are not connected with the or¬ 
ganizations mentioned, will doubtless, in every 
ease, give no credit whatever to them; on the 
other hand, such persons, ignorant aud bigoted 
though they may bo, wifi be found decrying 
the grange, if not for one reason then for an¬ 
other, and claiming that education is detri¬ 
mental to a farmer, or, at least, that our edu¬ 
cational institutions do not properly educate 
him, or raising some similar cry containing 
little reasou or truth; aud finally, practicing 
to a great extent what they preach by taking 
no agricultural paper. 
It is needless to say that such a condition of 
thiuga should not exist. I: the few are still to 
do the work while the mass reap the beuefit, 
then should the few who do the work be en¬ 
couraged and assisted, not hindered as in the 
past. Iu regard to this gate matter, it is to be 
hoped that every man will eoutribute his mite, 
both of iulluence and money, to support the 
combinations formed. 
Mieh. Ag'l College, Causing. 
<$icl& Crop. 
WHEAT RAISING—No. 1. 
H. L. WYSOR. 
Virginia os a Wheat State. 
The wheat harvest ended here about the 1st 
of this month. While the quality of the grain 
is generally very good, the yield, a few fields 
here and there excepted, is much below that of 
several years past. The fields whose yield 
has been the greatest, are mostly those which 
were sown very early, the later-sown having 
been badly wiuter-killed. It must not be. sup¬ 
posed, however, that the early-sown wheat 
always does the best here. This is true only 
when the winter turns out exceptionally severe, 
as did the last. 
The winter climate of southwestern Virginia 
is a much harder oue for a wheat crop to en¬ 
dure than that of New York, or indeed, of any 
of the Middle States. Those who look at the 
difference of latitude ouly, would not suppose 
this to ho true, yet that it is, the facts will 
prove. Although the cold in New York is 
very inteuse, yet it is at the same lime con¬ 
stant and continuous. Here, there are fre¬ 
quent alternations of freezing and thawing, 
occurring within a few hours of each other. 
These sudden changes arc death to the wheat 
plaut. At intervals, all through the winter, 
w'e havj days, sometimes weeks, of weather 
as warm as any duy in May, then, without auy 
gradual change whatever, the thermometer 
drops suddenly below zero. In the warm days 
the wheat bus become green aud tender. The 
frost comes aod bites the blades, turuiug them 
yellow. Then there may come a sudden 
thaw after the ground has long been deeply 
frozen, and the wheat plants are thrown out 
by the settling of the earth. 
it may be surmised from this that, as a rule, 
southwestern Virginia is not specially adupted 
to wheat-growing. In certain localities aud 
favored situattou6, as Hue wheat Is grown 
as any in the world. On the steep hill-sides 
bordering ou the water-courses, where the soil 
is composed of slate or- gravel, the quality of 
the wheat grown is of the finest description, 
although the yield ou an average does not 
exceed ten to twelve bushels per acre, fre¬ 
quently not more than eight. Our section lies 
in what is called the Traos-AIleghauy region 
aud Is better suited to grazing than to the 
raising of grain. Between the Alleghanies 
and the Bias Bldg* lies the great Valley of 
Virginia, one of the best wboat-growlng sec¬ 
tions In the world. A few years ago, Muj. 
Jed. Hotchkiss, iu a geographical lecture, 
stated that this valley produces 1-84 of all the 
wheat grown in United States. It is said to 
average 20 bushels per acre. It may be seen 
from this what a great difference, so far as 
wheat-growing is concerned, is made by one’s 
happening to live on one or the other side of 
a mountain range. I propose to show pre¬ 
sently that the difference is just as great be¬ 
tween the two sides of a single hollow field. 
As I have now been engaged in experiment¬ 
ing with different varieties of wheat for some 
eight years past, I propose to offer some of the 
results of these experiments to the readers of 
the Rural. I shall first offer some general re¬ 
marks, which, while they apply more particu¬ 
larly to this climate, are applicable, with a few 
modifications, to auy part of the country. 
Influence of Exposure. 
In a broken, hilly country, it is throwing 
away time, labor aud money, to sow wheat on 
a hill-side with a northern exposure. Even if 
the plants should chance to pass the winter 
safely—which is seldom the ease—they will 
never mature. They will, in nine cases out of 
ten, be destroyed by the rust before they can 
possibly ripen. As a case in point, I have a 
hollow field which runs from east to west. 
Following the hollow and going west, one has 
a south hill-side on his right-hand aud a north 
one ou uis left. From the middle of this hol¬ 
low to the right, I have never seen the wheat 
fail to mature, although the yield was some¬ 
times very indifferent; from the middle to the 
left, I never knew but one crop to ripen. On 
hill-sides the exposure must be either east or 
south, otherwise it would be better to sow rye 
in the full or oats in the spring. Iu sections 
where the land is only gently rolling, these 
remarks admit of considerable modification. 
Influence *f Early and Late Sowing. 
The time uf sowing does not make any great 
difference iu the time of ripening, as this lat¬ 
ter is almost wholly controlled by the situation. 
On southern exposure, wheat sown the 1st of 
October, will ripen sooner thau the same wheat 
sown ou a different situation the 1st of Septem¬ 
ber. Iu the fall of 1876, 1 sowed with Clawson 
Wheat a field which consisted of an eust 
hill-side that gradually sloped and spread oul 
into a bottom. The bottom was sow n a w* ek 
earlier thau the hill-side, uud yet the grain on 
it ripened a week later. Early sowing exerts its | 
influence on the liiicriug power of the plauts, 
aud enables them to get better rooted to 
withstand the winter. For this reason, one 
bu.-hel of wheat would be sutlicieut for an acre 
if 60 wu the 1st of September, two bushels the 
1st of October, aud three bushels the 1st of 
November. Some varieties, as, for instance, 
the Bougbtoa, do most of tLeir tillering iu the 
fall, aud consequently, in order to succeed, 
they should be sown very early; others, as 
the Fultz, tiller mostly In the spiing, aud may 
be sow'U later. It may bo set down as a rule, 
with few exceptions, that the large-grained 
wheats ripen lute, the small-grained, early. 
Long aud Short Ears. 
The length of the car docs not have as much 
to do w ith the number of graius contained in 
it as many suppose, since the iutervals between 
the spikelets in the lurge-grained kinds, is 
much greater thau iu the stnaU-graiued. An ear 
of Bough ton would probably have as many 
graius as an ear of Ulawsou of one-third 
greater length. There would be, however, 
this difference in favor of the large-grained— 
admitting the number ot grains in both kinds 
to be the same, ou an average—that it would 
take about 700,000 small grains to make a 
bushel, aud 550,000 to 600,000 large grains. 
Maj, IlaJlot, of England, claims that 450,000 
gtains of his pedigree wheat will make a bush¬ 
el. Ihe form of the ear aud the number of 
grains in the spikelet, have much to do with 
the yield. A 6quare-shaped car with four to 
five graius to the spikelet, will yield more than 
a much longer poiuted ear with three grains to 
the spikelet. A spikelet coutaius from five to 
six florets, of which oue always—eometimes 
more is barren. No spikelet, then, eau con¬ 
tain at most more thau five graius—oltener 
ODly three, it will be readily understood from 
this how it is that iu California they obtaiu so 
much greater yields than we do, as the wheat 
there averages four aud five g.aius to the 
spikelet, ours ouly two aud three. Our wheat 
generally stands as thick ou the ground as 
theirs. 
Rust. 
The great enemy of the wheat plaut iu this 
country is the rust, or mildew, as it is called 
iu Euglaud. There is no year iu which it is 
not more Or less prevalent. I do not remem¬ 
ber having ever seen a field of wheat in which, 
at the lime of cutting, the plauts hud more 
than the top blades, tbe others having been 
eaten up by the rust. While it is true that the 
plant, to he perfect, should have all its blades 
turned a goldeu yellow from the grouud up, 
still the loss of the blades does uoi appuar to 
affect the size and plumpness cf the kcruels. 
It Is ouly when the roots of the fuugua peue- 
trftta the stem and intercept the flow of the 
sap to the ear that the grain loses its color and 
shrivels. The only certain way by which the 
effects of rust may he avoided Is to sow a vari¬ 
ety which will ripen early’. In this climate, a 
sort which would he ready to cut by the 20th 
of June would generally be safe-; one that 
ripened as late as the 1st of July would always 
be more or less injured, it is probable that 
ashes, or a mixture of ashes and salt, if ap¬ 
plied iu quantities sufficiently large, would 
have a tendency to prevent the ravages of rust. 
I have observed spots in fields, where brush 
heaps or a pile of stumps had b^n burnt, In 
which the straw was perfectly clean and bright, 
while all around it was perfectly black. When 
a field is first struck with what is commonly 
called "the black rust,’’ the only thing to be 
done is to cut it immediately. A single night 
will ruin it utterly. This leads to a considera¬ 
tion of 
The Plan of Cutting Wheat Green. 
Iu Johnson's Encyclopedia we are given the 
details of an experiment practiced by Mr. 
Johu Hannam, of England, in 1810. This gen¬ 
tleman cut a sheaf from his field four weeks 
before the grain was ripe. He let this staud in 
the field two weeks, when he housed it, and 
on the same day cut another, w hich stood an¬ 
other fortnight, at which time tbe remainder 
of the field was cut, at the time when harvest 
usually begins. The straw of the first sheaf 
was perfectly green, and the grain, while 
plump, was lull of milk; the straw of the 
second was of a hue approaching yellow, and 
the grain still juicy, but not so much so as the 
first; the last was cut when all signs of vivid 
health had disappeared. Samples of these 
were shown to a miller, who priced that cut 
greeu and the ripe samplu at about the same, 
while he priced that cut in the raw state at two 
ehilliugs per quarter more than either of the 
others. The difference iu weight both of grain 
aud straw was in favor of the raw over the 
ripe, and in weight of grain over the green also. 
I will say at once that while the plan of cutting 
iu the raw state might do in England, it would 
not answer at ail here, except in the case of 
rust, above mentioned. The gram of wheat in 
this country would be scarcely formed four 
weeks before it was ripe, aud, if cut two weeks 
before being ripe, would shrivel badly. Wheat 
cannot be cut hure more than three or four 
days before it is ripe. It will do to cut when¬ 
ever, ou taking a grain between the thumb and 
forefinger.it cau be mashed without any milky 
juice exuding. I speak here from experience, 
as I have cut several ctups iu the green state, 
aud they all shriveled. Our hot sun will dry 
up the straw iu a single day’, so that very litde 
of its substance goes to the ear. It has. no 
doubt, been noticed by all observing farmers 
that the inside bundles of a shock always yield 
plumper and better grains than the caps und 
outside bundles. I have cut sheaves green, 
aud carried them into the house to dry in the 
shade, and fuuud that, while the gram lost iu 
color, it shrank very little, if at all. 
I reserve the consideration of the varieties 
of wheat and of the results of some of my ex¬ 
periments with the newer ones for auother issue 
of this paper. 
Pulaski Co., Ya., July 10. 
—---— 
VARIETIES OF SUGAR BEETS. 
E. R. BILLINGS. 
The sugar beet is doubtless the most valua¬ 
ble product known for tbe manufacture of the 
finer grades ot sugar. Canes, the Date, aad 
our favorite forest tree, the Maple, abound in 
rich saccharine juices, but do not furnish so 
valuable au arlielu as tbe vegetable known all 
over the world as the beet. While it does not 
yield as much sugar as the eaue by about three 
per cent., the quality is much better, and in 
Gerraauy. France uud Btdgium supersedes all 
kinds made from other sugar-producing plants. 
The manufacture of beet sugar has Uccd con¬ 
fined until quite recently to the three uatioos 
named, but at tbe present time it is attracting 
very much attenttou in this country. Iu Cali¬ 
fornia a fine article of sugar has beeu mado 
from the watermelon, but no great industry ia 
likely to grow out ot the experiment. The 
French aud Germans have made the manufac¬ 
ture of beet sugar a complete success, and an¬ 
nually export large quantities to mm-sugar- 
produeing countries. The root is easily culti¬ 
vated and is so rich in sugar that auoiher great 
brauch of industry in this country cau hardly 
fail of success when once the pr cess of man¬ 
ufacture is thoroughly understood. The beet 
requires rather light soil aud must be well en¬ 
riched with tnauure, since only large roots will 
gi^ e a flue g’rade of sugar. I propose to describe 
at some length some of the most popular vari¬ 
eties cf the sugar beet, and shall only recom¬ 
mend those sorts that are cultivated by the 
best growers of both Europe and America. 
Standing at ihe head of ail varieties, as 
claimed by American growers (though not as 
yet by Europeans), is 
Lane's Improved Sugar Beet 
This variety is a greatly improved sort of 
thd Prenoh sugar bt#: ? obtained by very flareftR 
