AUG. 9 
TH 
E 
RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
<®kr|toj)m. 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
N. Y., Elmira, Chemung Co., July 28.— 
Farmers here have been very busy for the past 
two weeks. The harvest of wheat aud barley, 
together with haying, has made the hours for 
rest few and far between. The weather has 
been favorable, and early-cut grain has gener¬ 
ally been housed in good condition, but many 
late crops of both wheat and barley have been 
caught out in the recent rains and somewhat 
injured. Haying iu this locality is about fin¬ 
ished. The crop, as a general tiling, is a light 
one, owing to the cool, dry weather iu the 
ea ly part of the season. Wheat and barley 
are only fair, and the yield per acre will doubt¬ 
less average less than usual. The potato crop 
promises well, much less damage being in¬ 
flicted by the beetles thau last year. Corn, 
favored by recent rains, is growing rapidly 
and bids fair to be a good crop. There is a 
general complaint among tobacco growers 
that the crop is not growing as it should. A 
few pieces are doing well, but others, even on 
good soil aud with the best of care, are growing 
very slowly. This is probably owing to the 
lack of rain and warm weather which the 
“weed” requires to make a good growth. 
o. e., jr. 
N. Y., Fluvanna, Chautauqua Co., July 25.— 
Crops of all kinds are looking fine; potatoes 
especially. a. c. vr. 
Ind., Croydon, Harrison Co,, J nly 23.—Wheat 
is very good in quality; the yield is about two- 
thirds of last year's crop. Corn and potatoes 
•will be light, owing to continued drought, with 
the exception of a few local rains here and 
there iu the county. Oat3 and grass are al¬ 
most failures. Apples are half a crop ; peaches, 
an entire failure; small fruits scarce. Trade 
and business are reasonably good. Farmers 
are preparing to sow a large crop of fall wheat. 
c. M. 
Mich., Palmyra, Lenawee Co., July 24.— 
Owing to the severe drought iu this section 1 
have lately felt somewhat discouraged about 
my chances for a premium for the best yield of 
Bluut’s Prolific corn, out my prospects are now 
brighter, for on the 21st and 22d we had plenty 
of ram, so I must still be kept among the luek- 
est of the competitors fur the liberal prizes 
offered. The corn is thoroughly worthy of its 
name, Prolific, with the biggest kind of a P., 
60 far as its growth is concerned. I have just 
measured one stalk that was 6] inches in cir¬ 
cumference. six inches above the ground, hut as 
yet there isu’t a sign of an car. Pearl Millet 
isn’t worthy of its name: it’s a failure with 
me. n. t. 
Wis., Salem, Kcuosha Co., July 25.—Crops 
good generally. The chinch bugs, however, 
are doing some damage. d. l. b. 
Minn., Le Seur, Le SeurCo., July 24.—We are 
in the midst of the wheat harvest. Croakers to 
the contrary uotwithstaudiug. we have not had 
eo good a crop in this section of the country 
for 6ix years. The yield will be large aud the 
quality good. Tne weather is glorious, quite 
cool and. pleasaut for the time of year. I 
measured my “ Blunt’s coru ’’ yesterday in the 
presence of several citizens; hight, thirteen 
feet and five inches. It is just beginning to 
tassel, aud the ears—four to five on a stalk- 
are forming. When fully grown I expect to 
see it fully sixteen feet high. I am not com¬ 
peting for the prize or prizes. I planted the 
Beauty of Hebron potatoes after taking off 
all the sprouts I could. From the two pota¬ 
toes and the sprouts 1 have raised a bushel aud 
a peck of good eatable potatoes. 1 planted the 
Early Rose at the same time and 1 must con¬ 
fess that I can see uo difference between the 
two. I could uot tell the potatoes apart and 
could see no difference either iu the time of 
maturing or in the size and flavor of the tu¬ 
bers. Is the Defiance wheat a hybrid? If it 
is, from what species? [Yes. it is a hybrid of 
the common Club Wheat, aud a fine, white 
sort from the Pacific Coast.— Eds.] Permit me 
to object to the use of the term "variety "as 
applied to various plants iu the Rural. For 
instance, a "new variety of grapes," a " new 
variety of corn," etc., etc. A "genus " is a class 
embracing many species; a "species ” is a class 
subordinate to a genus: a "variety” is a varied 
assortment, subordinate to a species; a 
“kind" is a race or sort. If I say I have a new 
variety of Strawberry, I mean that I have got 
a varied assortment. If I say that I have a 
new kind, or sort of Strawberry, I think I 
hit the nail on the head; but perhaps I am 
wrong. I shall continue to take aud read the 
Rural in any case. o. d. s. 
[8ort, kind and variety are used synony¬ 
mously. Our friend only needs to look into 
any botanical work, or even into Webster’s Un¬ 
abridged, to see that he is mistaken.—E ds.] 
Oregon, Tangent, Linn Co., July 24.—The 
Rural may wish to know how we have suc¬ 
ceeded iu growing the seeds it seut us. 1 believe 
that we have succeeded first-rate, beyond our 
most sanguine hopes. To enumerate; we have 
A3 of the Rose of Sharon; 18 Aquilegia; 10 
Yucca filamentosa; 18 Hollyhocks ; 12 Hibis¬ 
cus; 6 Amorpha fruticosa; 5 Callicarpa. 
They are all growing thriftily. We have seven 
nico hills of the Beauty of Hebron potato. 
Blunts’ corn is growing very well, but there is 
only one of the prizes that we cau have any 
hopes of competing for, and that is for the 
heaviest bushel of corn. I really do believe 
that our cool summers produce heavier grain 
thau can be raised anywhere else in the United 
States. Our crops are looking better than they 
have done for a number of years. b. l. s. 
Oregon. Chesher, Lane Co., July 14.—The 
prospects here for a bountiful harvest were 
never better. In this country the arable acre¬ 
age is much larger than last year, and we have 
the finest promise ever known iu this county 
for wheat and oats. Potatoes are looking fine, 
too. There is plenty of new ones in market, 
and of good size. Hay is a heavy crop. Corn 
does uot thrive here us a general thing—the 
nights are too cool. Strawberries were mostly 
killed by frost. Blackberries, both tame and 
wild, are plentiful. We have an abundance 
of apples and pears, as well as some plums, 
but very few peaches. Harvest begins here 
about the first of August. e. b. b. 
Wash. Ter., Coupville, Island Co., July 22. 
The wheat crop looks very promising; but 
there is not a great deal of it sown. Potatoes 
are veiy thrifty. Oats and barley look fine. 
No corn is raised here—it is too cold. Grass 
aud all forage look thrifty. The whole spring 
was wet and cold. w. j. 
N. C., Brookston, Warren Co., July 25.—The 
fine rain mentioned iu my last report, proved 
to be of only ninety minutes’ duration, and 
was soon swallowed up by the thirsty earth 
and now we are, as it were, completely dried 
up. All crops are suffering severely; corn is 
rolled up; cotton is losing its foliage; tobacco 
is at a standstill: grass aud clover are no¬ 
where. Grapes are maturing rapidly. We 
must have rain soon or else "good-bye" to 
our corn crop, aud if that fails us, we shall be 
sadly crippled; it is the chief food for both 
man and beast. Melons are among our great¬ 
est luxuries—early, very small; later, none sek 
ting. m. b. p. 
Va., Alexandria, Essex Co., July 24.—An 
unusual drought is now prevailing in the tide¬ 
water counties of this State. Mill-streams are 
dry aud so are pastures, und stock water is 
scarce. Fields aud gardens arc suffering se¬ 
verely from lack of rain ; and fanners are very 
anxious. Observer. 
Ala., Saud-Spring, Limestone Co., July 24 
—We have had very dry weather for the past 
five weeks, and much of our coru is so "fired 
up" that it will be worthless. If it doesn’t rain 
soou, cotton, too, will suffer badly. w. m. 
Canada, Columbus, Out , July 25 .—Ab a 
general thing crops arc in a fine condition. 
Spring wheat was badly damaged by the wee¬ 
vil. W. 1). II. 
<$umsl, 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS 
Top-dressing for Meadow Land. 
IF. M. A’., Darien, Conn., asks which of the 
various chemical fertilizers would be best as 
a top-dressing for meadow laud. 
Ass.—Stable manure will last longer than 
any of the concentrated fertilizers. As a mat¬ 
ter of guess-work we should choose boue flour. 
We should like our friend to lay off several 
equal plots upon his meadow—they need uot 
be over 33 feet square, 1-40 of an acre—aud 
upon each to sow a different fertilizer. For 
example, let him procure fifty pounds of bones, 
burn and mash or grind them to a powder. 
This would furnish phosphoric acid. Then 
for auother, he might use uulcachcd wood 
ashes for potash. Fora third he might buy 
25 lbs of sulphate of ammonia. For a fourth 
hone flour which would furnish both nitrogen 
amt phosphoric acid, and so on as far as he de¬ 
sired to experiment. We have faith that the 
results of such experiments would afford some 
clue as to which fertilizing ingredient his land 
stands most in need of at present. 
To Remove Worts from a Cow’s Teat. 
J. T. ft., Bay City, Mich., asks what will re¬ 
move a wart from a cow’s teat. 
Ass.—Apply caustic potash two or three 
times a week, and it will soou disappear. Or, 
tie a silk thread tightly around its base, so as 
nearly to cut into it and stop the circulation, 
and it will come off in a couple of days. This 
may be impracticable when the wart is broad 
and flat, or crowded by others; in which ease 
it may ba removed by culling it off aud touch¬ 
ing the cut with a hot iron to stop the flow of 
blood, or by applying very strong pyroligneous 
acid to the wound. Lunar caustic iu a strong 
solution is also recommended. 
Miscellaneous. 
T. M., Pembroke, Out., Can., asks, 1. what do 
manufacturers of pianos, organs and melo¬ 
dious mean by guaranteeing their instruments 
for five years; and how long should such in¬ 
struments last with constant but good usage; 
2 , whether there is any means of changing the 
color of sprouting whiskers from dark red to a 
light color and of coaxing them to grow natu¬ 
rally of the nicer shade afterwards; 3. whether 
the electric belts advertised are of any use in 
curing disease; 4, who publishes the best edi¬ 
tion of Scotch songs with music; 5, what is 
the best kind of soil for Geraniums in pot6 and 
how can the leaves be prevented from wither¬ 
ing and turning yellow, as his are doing now ; 
6, is Pearl Millet likely to prove a good forage 
plant in that section ; 7, which would be the 
best breed of cattle for that part of Canada; 
8, a neighboring hen lately laid an egg hav¬ 
ing another perfect egg inside of it, and the 
cause of the phenomenon is asked. 
Ans.— 1. A manufacturer's guarantee is an 
engagement that with proper care und use, 
the piano or other instrument will retain, for 
the period mentioned, all the qualities that 
make it desirable; and that should it fail to do 
so he will put it in good order or replace it. 
Where the purchaser lives near the seller or, 
in some cases, near au agent of his, such a 
guarantee may be carried out; but in most 
cases it merely amounts to an assurance that 
the instrument is well aud substantially built. 
If so constructed, then with ordinarily good 
care, a piano or organ, in what is called con¬ 
stant use, should last fully five or six years 
and with less frequent use, a longer period— 
provided it is periodically tuned. 2. We have 
never heard of any such preparation. The 
daily use of a razor has a tendency to pro¬ 
duce the desired hirsute effect. 3. The Pul- 
vermacher belts are reported by those who 
have used them, to have a beneficial effect; 
otherwise wc would not feel justified in allow¬ 
ing the advertisment to stand in our pages. 
4. Of C. H. Ditson&Co., Sf3 Broadway, this 
city; in boards $2.50; cloth, $3; cloth gilt, §4. 
5. Geraniums will do well in a mixture of 
one part of leaf mold, two parts of loam from 
decayed soda, with a little manure and some 
sand. This is beet if the plants are intended 
tobloom;if they are simply to be wintered 
for bedding plants next year, they should 
be set In small pots and have a very light soil 
without manure. Some leaves will always 
fade away and die on the lower part of the 
stem, but if they all turn yellow, the plants 
are not receiving the right treatment; 6. The 
farther South this plant is cultivated the bet¬ 
ter the accounts of it, although many good ac¬ 
counts of it are given by growers as far north 
as this latitude and even farther. We have no 
reason, however, for the belief that it will prove 
a good forage plant as far north as Canada. 
7. Which is the best breed of cattle for that 
section will depend mainly on the object for 
which they are kept. The Ayrshire is very 
hardy, gives a large mess of milk and can¬ 
not easily be beaten iu sueh a climate either 
for the milkman or the dairy. For a 
butter cow the Jersey is a great favorite, 
but it may be doubtful whether the cli¬ 
mate is not too severe for her, but we hear of 
good results from Jerseys and especially from 
Jersey grades, nearly as far north in New Eng¬ 
land. If given a rich pasture, the Holstein is 
excellent for milk, butter or cheese, and at the 
same time she fattens well whenever it is de¬ 
sirable to turn her over to the butcher. The 
praises of the Short-horn, both for the butcher 
and the dairy, have been sung too often to 
leave anything unsaid in their praise; while 
for beef it is no easy matter to get ahead of 
the Hereford. Before advisiug judiciously 
in such a matter, we should be told more about 
the circumstances, 8. Sueh freaks of nature 
occur occasionally, but we have never seen 
auy satisfactory reason assigned for them, aud 
we haven’t room here for conjectures. 
V. A- IF Frederickstoion, Ohio, has several 
Spanish eoius bearing dates from 1776 to 1825, 
and asks whether they possess any special 
value. 
Ans. —The value of old coins, like that of 
most articles of trade, depends wholly on the 
proportion the supply bears to the demand. 
Very old coins Lave an intrinsic worth beyond 
that of the bullion iu them, as they help to de¬ 
termine historical uuestious and are mementos 
of the progress of the arts in their days: hut 
those of a date so modern as that of these, cau 
in no case have more than a "fancy" value 
beyond tlicir circulating or bullion worth. 
Now the "fancy ” price of an article depends 
on the taste or whim of the purchaser, aud as 
we are unacquainted with any possible- pur¬ 
chaser for these coins, we really cunnot tell 
what he might be induced to pay for them. 
A. C.,Shrub Oak, N. Y., has considcrble space 
in the garden in which nothing has as yet been 
planted aud, being desirous to raise a crop on 
the ground, he asks what can yet bo planted 
aud become of use before fall; if it is too late 
to sow bush beans and peas. 
Ans.— Quite a number of vegetables may yet 
be planted iu that part, of the country. It is 
not too late for bush beans and peas. Strong 
celery plants may yet be set out. if done at 
once. Late cabbage, cauliflower and kale may 
also be set out aud seeds may be sown of lettuce, 
turnips, radishes, spinach aud endive. It is now 
also a good time to set out strawberry plants. 
J. F. C-, Los Pinos, New Mexico, asks 
whether hand cultivators like that described in 
Rural for July 12, will be manufactured, where 
and at what price. 
Ans. —We have no reasou to suppose that 
cultivators like the one mentioned will be 
manufactured, unless individuals wish to make 
them for their own use. It is not patented, and 
the teeth, which are the main feature of 
claimed excellence, can bo made by any black¬ 
smith. In fact, the teeth may be attached to 
any hand cultivator and we suppose the same 
results achieved as if the whole implement 
were manufactured. 
E. S., Grand Island, Neb., sends us a speci¬ 
men of a variety of wheat which, during 
the last three years has been spreading rapidly 
among bis wheat crop, despite the fact that he 
has in that time never found a head that had 
filled, and htj a6ks what i6 the probable cause 
Ans. —No doubt seed will be found iu some 
of the heads. As it tillers so remarkably, an 
occasional seed iu a head would account for 
its increase. 
C. A. 8., Tamarac, Pa., sends some ears of 
wheat for name. Several years ago a neighbor 
found one stalk growing in a stump, saved 
and sowed the grain, and this year has raised 
four acres of it. Thereabouts it is called 
" Stump ’’ wheat. It yields well, the berry is 
large, and if it is a new variety, he thinks it 
will prove a valuable acquisition. 
Ans. —We do not know it. It is a fine-look¬ 
ing grain, 
A. C., Placet * Go., Cal., wants to know how 
much we would charge for Sharpless, Forest 
Rose aud Pioneer, and a6ka if we could send 
them by mail. 
Ans. —Elhvangcr & Barry, Rochester, N. Y.; 
F. R. Pierson, Tarry town, N. Y.j J. T. Lovett, 
Little Silver, N. J.; E. P. Roe, Cornwall-on- 
Hudson, N. Y., P. M. Auger, Middlefield, Ct., 
can furnish them and send by mail. Wc do 
not sell plants or seeds. 
G. T. G., White Store, asks where he can 
get some rattlesnake oil and the price per 
ounce. 
Ans. —Rattlesnake oil is a preparation from 
the fat of the rattlesnake and ean be had of 
Lhen & Fink. 160 William St., N. Y., or in any 
other wholesale or large retail drug store; 
price 50 cents an ounce. 
S. B. P. (no address ) sends us a frond of a 
Fern, and asks for its name. 
Ans. —Adiantnm pedatum—Maiden’s Hair. 
This handsome Fern is a native of our shady 
woods. It surpasses many of our cultivated 
species in beauty, aud is well worthy of culti¬ 
vation. It is especially adapted to shady rock¬ 
eries. 
F. C. L., Herman, N. Y., sends a sample of 
a plant which he fouud growing among his 
wheat. It was four feet, high and one of 26 
which grew from a single seed, aud he asks its 
name. 
Ans. —It is Bromus seealinus — Cheat or 
Chess. 
D. D. K., Bethel, Conn.. Bays that at the 
American Institute Fair, in this city, an eleva¬ 
tor was exhibited suitable for raising or low¬ 
ering from five to ten cwt., 20 feet, and he 
wishes to know the parties who exhibited it. 
Ans.— Otis Bros. & Co., 346 Broadway, N. Y. 
|ouitrj) jjarii, 
A Remedy for Gapes. —In answer to a 
recent inquiry in the Rural for a cure for this 
pest of the poultry house, L. P. J., of Bethlehem, 
Conn., says: “I know there are innumerable 
so-called remedies for this malady, and I have 
tried a great many of them, besides giviDg my 
fowls a different course of feeding each year, 
and yet all my early chickens died. At length 
an old uncle—a prosperous farmer—told me to 
just take my coops out into the orchard or 
meadow, eutirely away from the house; to 
place each coop under a tree, mowing the grass 
where necessary. I did bo, aud even the 
chicks that were affected with the gapes speed¬ 
ily recovered, and I have not lost one since 
then. I was so glad at having found a cure for 
gapes ut last, that I have given this as another 
remedy for gapes in eliiekeus in the hope that 
others also may share my satisfaction.” 
Preventive and Remedy for Gapes.—I 
keep a tew chickens which are never troubled 
with gapes, and this I attribute to a change of 
roosters every spring. I use old barrels for 
coops, thus keeping the chicks off the ground 
at night. For feed they have wheat screenings 
and cracked corn with plenty of clean water. 
Several of my neighbors think the above pre¬ 
cautions too troublesome, and I’ve uot the 
least doubt but that each of them loses nine 
out of every twelve of his chickens. My 
sister is quite a fancier of poultry aud ex¬ 
changes eggs with neighbors ; but she has been 
troubled somewhat with gapes. She cures the 
ailment, however, by bathing the afflicted 
bird’s throat well with kerosene. This I offer 
for the benefit of M. S. who, iu a late Rural, 
told of the trouble he has had with gapes, t. 
