SEPT. 43 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. v 583 
Why Millers do not dike Fultz. —“The 
percentage of gluten is too small,” says the 
Indiana Farmer, “and the 6tarchy matter is 
too great to make the best grades of flour. 
Gluten tends to strengthen the flour and make 
it absorb water and hold it in the gases of the 
yeast when making bread.” 
Spring Wheat.— Home it Farm (Louisville, 
Ky.,) says: For all countries and regions 
but those having cool summers, the spring 
wheat crop is a delusion and a snare, and 
should, in every case, be cast aside as utterly 
unworthy of spending time and money upon it. 
Amount op Seed. —Jared F. Pond says, in 
the Ohio Fanner, that his best crops have 
been where ouc and a half or one and three- 
fourths bushels were sown. He is satisfied 
that thin seediug has cost him more than a 
hundred dollars, or perhaps two hundred. 
Manure.— “ Waldo ” says, in the Ohio Farm¬ 
er, that ho has rarely if ever seen a wheat 
crop on manured laud materially injured by 
fly, rust, chinch bug, or auy of the insect ene¬ 
mies that so often ruin the crop on impover¬ 
ished lands. 
Fruit vs. Pork. —If more fruit and less 
pork were eaten, especially during the sum¬ 
mer mouths, there would be less bilious fevers, 
less doctors’ bills to pay.- Mich. Pom. Soc. 
B. K Bliss is “ confident that Champlain 
and Defiance, as winter wheats, will soon 
supersede all other varieties now sown.” 
-- 
THE TRUTH ABOUT IT. 
[The object of articles under this heading is 
not so much to deal with *• humbugs” as with 
the many unconscious errors that creep into 
the methods of daily country routine life.— 
Eds.] 
PRICES OF FERTILIZERS. 
In the Rural New-Yorker of July 12, the 
following editorial appeared. So many of our 
readers and friends objected to it as unjust to 
our be6t dealers in fertilizers that we forwarded 
a part of the correspondence and the objec¬ 
tionable editorial to Prof. 8. W. Johnson, of 
the Connecticut Agricultural Station, asking 
him for his views which are appended. 
The editorial was headed “ Prices of Fertili¬ 
zers," and said: “ We consider artificial fertili¬ 
zers to be a prime necessity in the pursuit of ag¬ 
riculture. No fanner can hope to procure the 
highest profit from his business without their 
use to some extent. At the best, a farm that 
is worked on the self-supporting system as 
regards manure, must lose its fertility to 6ome 
extent; slowly, more or less, it may be, but 
surely. But there is small encouragement 
held out by manufacturers of fertilizers for 
farmers to use their wares. The prices exacted 
for them are excessive. This is shown by the 
irregularity in the price lists. Ouc entirely 
respectable and responsible manufacturer may 
offer superphosphate at $35 per ton, and an¬ 
other may ask $40 for an article which may be 
no better.* * The basis of the market rates of 
fertilizers is fixed, in a measure, ou the prices 
of Peruvian guano.t But the trade in this ar¬ 
ticle is a huge monopoly. The Peruvian Gov¬ 
ernment has hypothecated its guano and 
nitrate deposits to its foreign bondholders, to 
pay the iutcrest on large debts, and it exacts a 
large price. To make these articles the basis 
of the price of nitrogen in other fertilizers 
(such as sulphate of ammonia, which is a by¬ 
product of gas works), is monstrous. So with 
potash salts, which area refuse of the German 
salt miues, and dried blood | and flesh, § which 
are the refuse of the large slaughter-houses, 
and were formerly disposed of by (lowing or 
dumping into rivers. Before farmers can be 
induced to use these fertilizers to any largo 
extent, the prices must be reduced." || 
Ou these views Prof. Johnson comments: 
“Judging from my knowledge of affairs in 
Connecticut, I should thiuk that those who ob¬ 
ject to the above have a real grievance. I 
kuow of no good superphosphates that are sold 
for less thau 35 to 40 dollars per ton. Articles 
offered for less money have been correspon¬ 
dingly—usually more thau correspondingly— 
inferior in value. Peruvian guauo is no longer 
the standard for the price of nitrogen, but its 
nitrogen really undersells that from most other 
sources when the states of division and solu¬ 
bility are equal. Ihe reputable superphos¬ 
phates uow ou the Coun. market, give the far¬ 
mer an active fertilizer, mostly prepared from 
domestic or native raw materials that are of 
themselves nearly worthless lor his purposes 
uutil submitted to chemical and mechauieal 
treatment, and these fertilizers are, I believe, 
sold at as fair juices, as rule iu ease of 
• To tins it is objected that no responsible manufac¬ 
turer can make il growl superphosphate to retail 
throughout the country at loss than from $85 to $ to 
per ton. 
1 The price oi Peruvian Ouano has nothing to do 
with the price of superphosphates, is the objection to 
this. 
11: Good dried blood, containing 14 per cent, ammo¬ 
nia such as they use here is worth for export to-day, 
I roui to ijjSn per ton. 
i Azotiuo is worth to-day, In Now Vork, wholesale, 
from $:)0 to $23 per ton. 
This paragraph is considered very damaging to 
manufacturers of good phosphates, as well as to farm- 
el's Who may thereby be induced to buy a low-priced 
fertilizer which, in the end, they will find to be a very 
dear article. 
merchandise generally. The $25 superphos¬ 
phate is either a new departure or, as I think 
it most probable, is of quality much inferior 
to the $35 and $40 goods.” 
-♦♦♦——— 
AN APPRECIATIVE CRITIC. 
Editors Rural: —On taking up the last 
Rural my eye fell on the. benign countenance 
of our friend Charles Downing, which 1 recog¬ 
nized before Beeiug the reading matter. The 
likeness is admirable, though showing a little 
more fullness iu the face than when I last saw 
him. 
His prompt negative to your request for 
permission to publish his likeness is charac¬ 
teristic of a man. so quiet, modest and un¬ 
assuming that even proper credit and the 
promineuce due his eminent services in the 
field of horticulture and pomology, are dis¬ 
tasteful to him ; hut one must sometimes yield 
to others' wishes aud I doubt not. your thou¬ 
sands of readers will sustain and thank you 
for giving them this excellent souvenir of 
this revered veteran horticulturist. The 
biographical sketch of Mr. Parsons is ex¬ 
cellent. That a kiud Providence may prolong 
the life and faculties of our venerable friend 
for years to come, is the wish of w. 
JUDGING AT FAIRS. 
How can ten plates of GRArEs Ijc com¬ 
pared, that are fifty feet apart, with a whole 
orchard of fruit between them and oceans of 
people standing by to draw the attention of the 
committee? It is of the greatest importance 
that articles competing with each other in the 
same class, should be in close jiroinixity. Still 
the exhibitors object to this on the ground that 
they wan t ail their own things together. If a man 
is making au exhibition of articles as an adver¬ 
tisement simply, let him take a space and put 
his things together if be likes, even if he enters 
bulls and bedquilts, a thrashing-machine and a 
chrorao; but if lu enters for competition the 
authorities should compel him to show his 
articles in connection with others with which 
they compete. This should be insisted to the 
cud that perfect justice be done. 8. Q. Lent. 
-- 
A Peach Correction.— In the issue of the 
Rural for August 30lh, I notice that an error 
has been committed insetting up my article on 
peaches. Referring to the Early Beatrice aud 
Early Louise as deserving a place on the re¬ 
jected list, the now peaches, Downing and 
Wilder, are also spokeu of as meriting similar 
treatment. This was not my intention, a 
period should have been inserted after Early 
Louise, aud the follow ing sentence should read 
“ Downing and Wilder ripeued here about the 
same time as the Alexander, but arc not so 
large." W. C. Barky. 
Rochester. N. Y. 
PAMPHLETS AND CATALOGUES. 
First Biennial Report for 1877-8. Kansas 
State Board of Agriculture. Alfred Gray, secre¬ 
tary, Topeka, Kausas. This contains numerous 
statistical exhibits, with diagrams of the agri¬ 
cultural, industrial, mercantile, and other in¬ 
terests of the State. Il also contains a colored 
outline map of the State and sectional maps in 
colors of each organized county, showing 
their relative size and location, railroads, 
towns, post offices, school houses, water 
powers, etc., etc. This is a really valuable 
work, gotten up with much care and ingenui¬ 
ty and containing a vast amount of minute 
statistics that can be found nowhere else. It 
is especially serviceable to those whoiuteud to 
settle in Kansas or desire information about 
the State. 
Catalogue of Dutch Bulbs and other Flow¬ 
ering Roots; also, seeds and plants for autumn 
planting, aud house decoration in winter; 
offered by 1). M. Ferry & Co., importers aud 
dealers iu seeds, bulbs, etc., Detroit, Mich. 
Annual Descriptive Catalogue of Bulbs 
and other flowering roots, with directions for 
their culture aud management, offered by J. 
M. Thorburu it Co., 15 John street, N. Y. 
H. H Brower, Light Street, Columbia Co., 
Pa , sends us his circular of Italian Bees, 
Queens, Coluules, Comb Foundation, Honey- 
Knives aud other apiarian supplies. 
Descriptive Price Lisa’ot St raw Denies for 
the autumn of '70, offered for sale by Ell- 
wanger it Barry, Mount Hope Nurseries, Ro¬ 
chester, N. Y. 
Catalogue of Strawberry Plants, pot- 
grown aud grouud layers, for sale by P. M. 
Augur it Sous, Spring Grove Fruit Farm, Mid¬ 
dleton, Coun. 
Descriptive Catalogue and Price List of 
small fruit plants for the fall of 1879 aud the 
spring of 1880, by N. Oltuor, Dayton, O. 
Wholesale Prick List of J. W. Wuuder- 
ligh, seed merchant aud grower, Fraukforl- 
on-the-Main, Germany. 
Cjp foultrg fjarii. 
THE POULTRY DEPARTMENT OF OUR AG¬ 
RICULTURAL SHOWS. 
The management of this division of the 
iive-stoek exhibitions in our agricultural fairs 
is uot always satisfactory to those who ex¬ 
hibit, and we have become so accustomed to 
the grumbling of disappointed exhibitors that 
it hardly receives any other attention than a 
doubtful siude or open ridicule. It has been 
so customary for the non-premium-takers to 
growl, that it is looked for as a matter of 
course; still there frequently occur occasions 
when the growl becomes too deep and long- 
continued to be ignored. This is more oftou 
the case in our county fairs than lu the State 
exhibitions; in the former it receives only 
local attention, but in our State exhibitions it 
becomes a matter of general importance, and 
wheu there is just cause for complaint the at¬ 
tention of the officers of the Society, as well as 
of the general public, should he so directed to 
the ease as to effect a cure of the cause of the 
complaint. 
The importance of the jioultry interest is 
now too great to be iguored, nor do our agri¬ 
cultural societies, as a rule, overlook it. Most 
of our Slate exhibitions have a goadly list of 
premiums offered for poultry, aud have pro¬ 
vided good aud suitable accommodations for 
Showing the fowls. This is notably the case 
with thu New York State Agricultural Society, 
which not ouly offers a large amount in pre¬ 
miums, but has large aud secure accommoda- 
tious, and also selects competent judges, who 
arc paid for their services. 
Iu strong contrast to this is the management 
of the New Jersey State Agricultural Society. 
The premiums offered by this Society arc fair 
and uot to he complained of, but the accom¬ 
modations are wretched. Hitherto it has been 
the prevailing custom to restrict these to a 
canvas tent of only medium size, in which the 
fowls are stacked, three tiers high, in the same 
coops or boxes iu which they have been 
shipped, with little or no regard to classifica¬ 
tion, and with uo attention paid to sanitary 
measures. The superintendent of this depart¬ 
ment has seemingly been selected not for his 
business capacity, but for his known favorit¬ 
ism to the members of the society and their 
personal friends. The judges, also, were rneu 
who h'.vl raised chickeue for market all their 
lives, aud knowing a Bantam from a Brahma, 
wore, therefore, iu the opiniou of the apjmint- 
iug committee, competent to decide the merits 
of exhibition fowls also. 
For years the awards in this department 
have been a perfect farce. In 1877 the writer 
was asked to assist, in judging, and was told 
that other aud competent parties would be ap- 
pointed with lam. Arriving on the ground, 
he found the oilier judges to be three in num¬ 
ber: first, the superintendent (ex-officio); sec¬ 
ond, a gentleman who had raised poultry for 
marker all his life; third, a friend aud neigh¬ 
bor of one of the largest exhibitors, who ac¬ 
knowledged he knew uotbing about poultry— 
except in a culinary way—and accepted his 
appoiuLmeut simply to comply with the re¬ 
quest of his frieud. Jt is hardiy necessary to 
chronicle the result. The first three judges 
invariably voted together, aud the awards 
were placed as they decided. 
I commented pretty severely on the matter 
iu one of the pouLtry journals, aud as a result, 
iu 187S 1 received a very courteous letter from 
the secretary, asking me to give the society 
the names of a few parties who were compe¬ 
tent aud who would act as judges in the poul¬ 
try department; also, if I remember rightly, 
stating that the society would bear their ex¬ 
penses. I forwarded the names; the judges 
were selected from that list, accepted and 
served, aud I presume, for once, the premiums 
were correctly awarded. The judges were 
treated to a cold luueli, aud upon presenting 
their bills lor expenses and services, were met 
with u demurrer as to the aniouut. After con¬ 
siderable delay, they received the munificent 
offer of $3 each for their traveling expeuses 
aud time. Their railroad expeuses were not 
less than $5 each, amt the cost of breakfast (for 
they loft home by daybreak) aud supper had 
to be added to that. (Possibly I may be in 
error as to above amount, but I am quite cer¬ 
tain that was the sum mentioned by my in¬ 
formant, one ot the judges). 
I have draw n the following conclusions from 
this matter: either the managers were con¬ 
temptibly mean, or the interested home exhibit¬ 
ors cooked up this job with a view topreventing 
the Society from afterwards getting competent 
judges to serve, thus leaving the field open for 
their mongrels to win. In justice to the secre¬ 
tary. I must say that 1 do not believe him to 
have been a party to the above action, and I 
think him to have been in earnest iu his at¬ 
tempt at reform iu this department; but he was 
either overruled or outwitted by those person¬ 
ally interested iu the matter. 
It is with reluctance that I have referred to 
this matter. As I am not. in any way inter¬ 
ested in it, never exhibiting fowls or pigeons, 
and haviug no interest in any that were ex¬ 
hibited, I cannot be accused of being a “dis¬ 
appointed exhibitor,” or a “sore-bcud.” But, 
a6 the judges of last year were nominated by 
me, and were seemingly aggrieved at my get¬ 
ting them “Into the scrape,” aud as others 
who did not serve last year may be asked to 
do so this, I wish to publicly notify them of 
last year’6 action. Further thau this, and still 
more important, is my desire to arouse the 
attentiou of the honorable members of the 
New Jersey Agricultural Society—and there 
are many such—to the way in which the 
poultry department has been managed. The 
poultry interest in the State of New Jersey is 
far too important to be neglected, or worse, 
by a Society which should iu every way foster 
and encourage its growth. And, last but not 
least, for the sake of the good name of the 
State Society, there should be a thorough over¬ 
hauling of such “ways that are dark and tricks 
that are vain." A. M. Halstead. 
PRACTICE WITH RASPBERRIES IN THE 
FIELD. 
My experience agrees with that of Mr. 
Thomas and the Ga/dcuer's Monthly on the 
subject of removing Raspberry and Blackberry 
plants as soon as the picking is over ; and there 
is more in the philosophy of leaving the canes 
till the season is ended than appears at first 
thought. The order of nature with these fruits 
is, as I have observed, to make the main 
growth of successional plants early in the sea¬ 
son ; aud if this growth is uot thus made, there 
cannot be a full crop the succeeding year, for 
the reason that an aftergrowth is always winter- 
killed. The young plant# are, and should 
necessarily be more or less troublesome to the 
pickers. This is esjiccially the case with the 
Blackberries. 
The practice has been in the Antwerp sec¬ 
tion ou the Hudson, as soon us the picking is 
over.to cut up the old canes, remove the stakes, 
plow out the patch and puli the weeds remain¬ 
ing about the hills. Two injurious results fol¬ 
low :—We know that the rich descending sap 
from the old canes, instead of forming albur¬ 
num, as iu tree growth, adds to the strength of 
the roots from whieh have already risen the 
young plants for future bearing. Therefore, 
when we cut away the old cane in full leaf, we 
commit a waste. 
The removal of the stakes aud canes admits 
light aud heat, injurious to the young plants, 
because it excites to a push'mg of buds which 
should lie dormant until spring. This is 
specially true with the Antwerp Raspberry. 
When the dormant buds have been broken by 
the extra nourishment of a warm sun aud a 
loosened soil, they die. Although apparently 
alive when laid down in the fall, they are as 
dead as we always hope the curculio will be in 
spring. A. A. Bensel. 
Orange Co.. N. Y. 
A really practical manual-delivery binder at¬ 
tachment, to a sell-rake reaper has been a prob¬ 
lem that has engaged the attention ot every think¬ 
ing manufacturer ot tuts class of machinery. It 
cannot be said, we believe, that anything very 
practical or efficient has, until lately, successfully 
met a thorough test. Our representative in Syra¬ 
cuse has, recently, sent us an account ot the trial 
of a new device of this character, that. Is one of 
the latest achievements of .Messrs. Bradley & Co., 
the well-known Implement manufacturers of that 
city. Although simple. It would be difficult to give 
a lucid description or the binder without the aid 
ot Illustration. In this case It worked admirably, 
delivering the gavels squarely into the binder’s lap 
where he sits on the machine, lio saw inexperi¬ 
enced men who were not used to any such mech¬ 
anism, after a few minutes’ work, bind aud throw 
off from eight to ten bundles per minute. This 
was done In a series ot trials showing that it can 
be operated by any man who is a fair binder in the 
field. We congratulate • • Chris” tn bts success. 
The evidence ot travelers points to the superior 
accommodationsof the Wabash Line for quick tran¬ 
sit to places this side and beyond the Mississippi 
P.lver, and as the road is able to make its record 
for quick time and skillful management of passen¬ 
ger traffic, It Is equally successful as a rast freight 
route. As some of the important state Fairs are 
held very hear together lu point of time, the 
freight question becomes a leading one. Our ex¬ 
perience would suggest that all eastern ship, 
pera that, propose to reach the State Fairs at 
Springfield, ILL, and St. Louis, Mo., avail them¬ 
selves of the - Great and Only Wabash,” as they 
can intercept it at Toledo by any or the East¬ 
ern trunk lines, and ship exhibits through with¬ 
out breaklug bulk. Mr. K. j. iturrltt the General 
Eastern Agent, whose headquarters are In New- 
York ts Indefatigable in hts endeavors to oblige the 
patrons ot the road, and it Is to his efforts mainly, 
that the “ Wahaah.” is popularized among those 
who have not yet personally tested the route. 
