THE RURAL NEW-/ORKER. 
what the Blount corn has done for me. I ex¬ 
pect to get one of the premiums on it. 
The clipping says:—“G. W. Strong, one of 
the C., R. I. and P. R. R. force in this city, 
has a patch of coru, grown from seed fur¬ 
nished him last winter by the Rural New- 
Yorkbk, well deserving notice. The variety 
is a new one, called Blount’s Prolific. Of the 
127 grains furnished him and planted on his 
lot on Laurel street near Farnam, 102 grains 
grew, yielding five or six stalks to the grain, 
and from the whole about 1.000 well-formed 
ears have come. A single grain in ouc case 
produced 13 ears, all good. The corn is a 
common field corn, the stalks growing about 
10 feet high. The great iucrease from the 
seed would indicate that it is a variety likely 
to come into general use.” 
All the seeds sent me have done first-rate. 
The Golden Rural tomatoes are very nice, and 
have done very well; but they did not ripen 
until eight day6 after the Canada Victor, and 
as they are a yellow tomato, they will not 
make a good market variety iu this place. I 
dug my Beauty of Hebron potatoes to-day; I 
cut the seed iuto 17 pieces, of which 15 grew, 
and I have dug 81 good, large potatoes, auy 
one of them large enough to use, beiug at 
least four times as large as the oue sent mo 
for seed, and a good many of them as large as 
my two fists. I shall weigh them and report. 
The Defiance wheat did not do very well, as 
the rust hurt it. The Pearl Millet looks splen¬ 
did; it is just begiuniug to head out. I am 
somewhat afraid it will not ripen. It stands 
now about six feet high. 
We are haviDg spleudid weather. The crops 
arc all gathered except coru, and a bountiful 
harvest it has beeu. The farmers in this sec¬ 
tion are happy, and business is better here 
now than it has been within the last ten years. 
Our county fair begins here Monday, and we 
expect a big time, as it is the best county 
fair in the State, I have two hills of Blount 
corn in boxes to take to it. I forgot to slate 
that my Blount coru was planted the 8th of 
May, and it will be ripe euough to gather in 
ten days, as it is all turned brown now. 
G. w. s. 
Mo., Cliuton, Henry Co., Sept. 9.—I planted 
my Blouut’s corn on May 8, iu my vegetable 
garden—a high prairie. The soil—clay—had 
been enriched with barnyard manure for sev¬ 
eral years and got another dressing in spriug. 
The rows for the corn were three feet apart 
and it was planted 2J feet apart in the vow. 
Two severe storms prostrated some of the 
stalks, while insects and moles destroyed sev¬ 
eral hills. Many of the plants sent up from 
three to six suckers and some of these had 
three aud four good ears apiece. The weather 
having been very dry, the corn that escaped 
the storms aud other foes was cut short. I cut 
it ou Sept. 4. I weighed the product of the 10 
best hills, which, however, had not entirely 
escaped iu jury from the wind. The ears with 
the corn ou them weighed 1(59 pounds aud the 
husked grain, 36 pouuds. If I had planted 
one-fortieth of an acre and it yielded at the 
same rate as those ten hills, I should have had 
240 bushels per acre. With the Beauty of 
Hebron I am much pleased and also with the 
tomatoes. Pearl Millet is six feet high aud 
will, I believe, mature seed. Very dry here uow. 
Coru has beeu cut 6hort by drought, but will 
average a full crop. Wheat sells for 77 cents. 
W. A. U. 
Newmarket, Shenandoah Co.. Va., Sept. 6. 
—The long drought we had here is ended, and 
we are having a good season for some weeks. 
Fanners are getling ready for seeding; cutting 
coru will soon be iu order. Times are pretty 
good here now. Wheat soils for 95e. to 98.; 
rye, 50e. to 55c.; corn, 50c. and oats, 30c. ; 
butter, 10-12c.; eggs, 8c.; water aud musk- 
melons plenty, from 5c. to 30c. each. Pearl 
Millet is seven feet high aud in head. x. * y. 
Ala., New Market, Madison Co., Sept. 11.— 
The Blount corn promised to yield, according 
to best judges, 350 bushels per acre. The ex 
cessively dry weather, however, cut it short, so 
that it will only make 40 bushels. The Pearl 
Millet is the fodder plant par excellence; the 
diT weather did not injure it; I have cut it five 
times, and expect to cut it again. It yields an 
immense amount of forage; am raising seed. 
The Beauty of Hebron yielded finely; crops of 
corn, cotton, grass, peas, wheat, sweet pota¬ 
toes, etc., are extra-fine. g. d. n. 
Canada, Cornwall, Sept. 9th.—The Rural 
seeds were excellent. My “ Blount’s White 
Prolific” is fully 13 feet high, and promises to 
be all that is said of it, though I am afraid this 
part of Canada is too cold for corn. I planted 
it the last of May and I am doubtful whether 
it will ripen or not. Pearl Millet does well 
with me as fodder, though a groat part of the 
seed missed, owing to the cold spring. Beauty 
of Hebron potatoes I have not dug vet. Defi¬ 
ance wheat is spleudid. Iu this neighborhood 
the harvest promises to be abuudaut. Pota¬ 
toes turned out to be better lhau expected, 
aDd will be sold here for 35 cents a bushel; 
apples are almost a drug, iu fact, almost eve¬ 
rything except coru promises to be abundant. 
W. 8. T 
i Continued ou page 634.) 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Preparing Phosphorus Paste, etc. 
J. W. 8., Owensboro\ Ky., asks how drawn 
butter is made; 2, how to prepare phospho¬ 
rus paste for the purpose of destroying rate 
and other vermin. 
Ans. —Drawn butter is an admixture of melt-' 
ed butter aud Hour. 3. Take eight ounces of 
common starch aud pour over it one piDt of 
water; stir and pass through a No. 60 sieve 
iuto an euameled dish capable of holding a 
gallon, aud add a pint and a half of water and 
34 ounces of flour. Mix thoroughly, introduce 
34 fluid ounces of glycerine aud heat ou a sand 
bath, stirring constantly. When a plasma be¬ 
gins to form, take it from the fire, but con¬ 
tinue stirring. After a few minutes, reapply 
heat, stir and set aside to cool. Mix six ounces 
of the plasma gradually with eight ouuces of 
water iu a porcelain measure and set in water 
nearly boiling. When hot enough, dTOp in 
two drachms of phosphorus. When this has 
fused, agitate the whole thoroughly and intro¬ 
duce as much more phosphorus, repeating 
the operation until two ounces of phosphorus 
have been added. After this, thicken the phos¬ 
phorus emulsion with more of the reserved 
plasma, aud finally, incorporate all thoroughly 
with the remainder. Preserve in small, wide¬ 
mouthed bottles, protected from the air. Such 
is the recipe according to which the article is 
compounded by manufacturers, but it is sel¬ 
dom that farmers have all the necessary con¬ 
veniences, aud, perhaps, therefore, it would 
be better for them to buy the manufactured 
article, as, at the best, it is likely that they 
could themselves make only a second-rate 
paste. Phosphorus paste is largely used iu 
California for poisoning squirrels and other 
noxious rodents, and in the Rural of May 
23d, 1877, a writer there gives his method of 
preparing it, as follows:—Take a five-gallon 
oil-can; fill it one-third with water, aud set it 
on the stove until it boils. Then mix corn- 
meal and flour, half and half, and stir it brisk¬ 
ly iu until a stiff mush is produced. Add two 
pounds of sugar aud let the eau cool for teu 
miuntes out-of-doors. Then take a stick of 
phosphorus in a pair of pliers and pluuge it iu 
the mush until it has all melted. Melting it in 
the mush, instead of iu water, prevents it from 
settling, is more economical of phosphorus 
and produces a more thorough mixture. It is 
important that the mush should be considera¬ 
bly below tho boiling-point, otherwise the 
phosphorus will take fire. Wheu the phos¬ 
phorus has beeu melted, wheat is added 
until the mixture is too stiff to be readily 
stirred. The wheat becomes swollen, absorbs 
the water and the mass cau be conveniently 
broken into lumps of suitable size. Of course, 
when ouly a smaller quantity titan the above 
is needed, the amount of each ingredient here 
mentioned must be diminished proportionately. 
Raising Watermelons, 
T. D. B., Greenville, A'// v says that he has a 
good market for watermelons, but that he has 
never been successful in raisiug them, and he 
asks for instructions how to do so; 3, which is 
the better plan—to manure a few hills heavily 
or to have more hills; 3, whether we would sell 
him seeds of the Vooihis watermelon aud tho 
Golden Rural tomato. 
Ans. —1, Prepare the field as for corn. Let 
the hills bo made six feet apart. Enrich them 
with well-rotted manure. Work the soil aud 
manure together. Plant from four to six seeds 
—four are enough if all should live—and then 
cultivate until the vines cover the ground. As 
soon as tho first leaves appear they should be 
dusted with plaster, fine-sifted coal ashes or 
soot, to prevent the depredations of insects. 
The soil should be a saudy loam or a well- 
dratned clay loam. We kuow of no advantage 
to be derived from planting in hills, as many 
understand the word. A little mound of earth 
seems only to shed the rain and to expose the 
roots to the heat and drying influence of the 
sun. The earth thrown over the manure and 
seeds should be as flat as the surrounding soil. 
2, No. More hills. 3, We have never sold a 
plant or a seed. Our seed and plant distribu¬ 
tions are free to subscribers. 
Maggot* In Cheese, Etc. 
Tyro, The Dalles, Oregon, asks, 1st, what to 
do with a cheese half of which only has been 
eaten, yet the rest of it is full of the liveliest sort 
of maggots; 3d, should an out-door dug-out 
root house have a chimney for ventilation ? 
Ans.—T he maggots are the larvte of the 
ehcesc-fly, aud among steady cheese eaters are 
merely picked out of the cheese when the 
cheese is eaten. In England where cheese is 
largely eousumed, maggoty cheese is not ob¬ 
jected to by mauy persons, but cheese and 
skippers arc eaten together with mustard aud 
vinegar. If you eau briug yourself to this 
state of miud, or rather of stomach, the cheese 
may be used ; otherwise it will have to be 
thrown away, or at least that part of it that is 
infested, if any of it is free. You should have 
kept your cheesg from t]ie fly by covering it 
with paper well buttered, not only over the 
outside but the cut part of the cheese as well. 
2. A dug-out root cellar should have provision 
for ventilation, but a chimney would not be 
the right kiud of ventilator, unless it was pro¬ 
vided with some arrangement for closing it 
tightly in cold weather. 
Removing a Wagon Bed Easily. 
W- II. D., OhesterviUe, O., asks for a plan by 
which the bed can be easily removed from a 
wagon by one man. 
Ans. —To raise a wagon box or bed, put a 
strong screw ring in each side near each end 
of the box. Fix a strong hook, with a bolt 
and nut to secure it, through a beam over¬ 
head iu the shed. To this hang a pair of 
blocks aud tackle. A two or three-wheel 
block will be the best. Arraugo four hooks ou 
the cuds of the two ropes aud fasten the ropes 
together iu the middle with au eye or ring so 
that each hook may fasteu to one of the rings 
in the wagon bed, and the eye or ring in the 
middle of ihe ropes may hook on to the lower 
block. Then one inau cau easily raise the 
wagon box to the beams by hauling on the rope 
which is rove through the blocks. When the 
box is higlt enough, the loose end of tho rope 
is fastened to a cleat or ring iu the wall, or to 
the wagon box itself. The box is thus hoisted 
out of the way, and when it, is wanted, it may 
be lowered on to the wagon again. Hay 
racks, wood racks, and wagon boxes of all 
kinds may be thus hooked up to the top of a 
shed. One set of blocks and tackle will do for 
all, by having a set of stout ropes aud hooks 
for each box or rack, which may be fixed to 
the beams. 
About Blount's Corn. 
W. E. />., Spartansburg, Pa., says under date 
of Sept. 1, that his Blount’s corn is 15 feet high 
aud still growing at the rate of four inches a 
day. aud he asks whether it will tassel this year, 
and when he may expect the tassels to show. 
Ans. —By the date when this issue reaches 
our friend, it is probable, that be himself will 
be able to answer the comtudrutu he proposes 
to us—provided he- has a telescope of even 
moderate power with which to bring the tas¬ 
sels low enough to be distinguished. We heard 
excellent accounts of this variety of corn, and 
thinking it would be a bcuefit to our frieuds to 
try it in tiicir several localities, we decided, af¬ 
ter mature deliberation, to make it a supplemen¬ 
tary free seed distribution, and in order that it 
should have a fair trial, we offered a liberal 
premium ourselves for a good crop of it, aud 
secured other premiums from friends of the 
Rural to insure the same object. We are 
testing it uow ourselves ou the Rural Farm, 
just as purfriends are doiug in all parts of this 
broad country, aud so soon as the coru crop 
shall have beeu gathered, we shall “ sum up ’ 
the results of our own experience with regard 
to it and of that of our friends “Everywhere.” 
When lo Plow for Corn. 
H K., Copper Hill—one of three in the country 
—asks whether anything is gained by plowing 
up the sod iu the fall for coru. 
Ans. —Time is gained, if nothing else, aud if 
one expects to be pressed fortune, the sod may 
be plowed in the fall. But coru succeeds best 
upou freshly-plowed ground, and in the spring 
the sod will have made a good growth which 
will furnish abundance of the most acceptable 
food for the coru. The usual practice is to 
plow sod for corn as late as possible in the 
spriug, and plant at once ou the fresh, moist 
ground. A general practice is usually based 
upon reasonable grounds, and unless there is 
good cause tor it., it is not wise to make in¬ 
novations. The writer’s practice is to top-dress 
the sod during the winter with fresh manure 
drawn aud spread as it is made, and plow the 
sod in the spring in strips, so that each day’s 
plowing can be plauted the next day. The top- 
dressiDg causes a good growth of clover to be 
plowed under. With fall plowing this advan¬ 
tage is lost. 
Miscellaneous. 
J. S., Eagle, Wis., a6ks whether a brass 
cylinder and a galvanized iron pipe will impart 
any harmful properties to water for drinking 
purposes—the water bciDg “ hard." 
Ans.—B rass is a compound of copper and 
zinc, and vessels made of it have been for ages 
in extensive use in Eastern countries for cu¬ 
linary and other household purposes without 
any injurious effects. The best pumps made 
for supplying houses with water are of brass 
and we have never heard any complaints of 
any injury to health from their use. Galvan¬ 
ized iron pipe is merely iron pipe coated with 
zinc, or zinc and tin, and is the best pipe in or¬ 
dinary use for com eying water. The quality 
called hardness m waters is due to the salts of 
lime aud magucsia present either as carbonates 
or in the form of sulphates and chlorides. In 
the wells of several districts such waters readily 
oxidize simple iron pipe and “taste" of the 
metal, while their action on galvanized pipe is 
much slower. Probably the best pipe in such 
cases would be tin-liued lead or galvanized iron 
with a coating of tiu secured by dipping the 
pipes in a bath of melted tin after they have 
beeu galvauized iu the ordinary way. TUo 
metal then adheres much more firmly than if 
it had been applied directly to the iron. 
A. E. C., Hudson, N. Y-, 1st. Wishes to plant 
an orchard, and his soil being light and sandy, 
but not very dry, he asks the names of six 
varieties of Pears that would be likely to suc¬ 
ceed in such a location. 3. Several attempts 
have been made there to raise peaches, but 
they have all ended in failures which have 
been generally attributed to the proximity of 
the river, a quarter of a mile away; he, how¬ 
ever, thinks the want of suecesa due to lack 
of proper care of the trees after setting, and 
asks our opinion on the matter. 3. He intends 
to put up a tight board fence on the north side 
of his orchard, and asks how far away from 
the trees should it be. 4. Wanting to study 
Latin at home without a master, he asks what 
book he should buy to help him along. 
Ans.— Bartlett, Clapp> Favorite, Howell, 
Seckel, Bcurre Bose, Lawrence. If “not very 
dry,” the soil should be drained. 2. Good 
care would insure healthy trees, but it could 
not prevent the destruction of fruit buds. The 
proximity to water is an advantage, 3. Any 
couvenieut distance will do on the north side ; 
on either of the other sides, it should be far 
enough away not to shade the roots. 4. An¬ 
drew’s Latin Reader aud Grammar or Hark- 
ncss's Grammar aud Reader. 
W. S. F., Kingston. Mass., wants to know 
how to raise Clerodendron from seed; she has 
had some giveu to her ; do they require to be 
kept wet or dry, iu the sun or shade ? 
Ans. —Sow the seed in a well-drained pot, 
filled to within three-quarters of an inch of the 
rim with a fine, light soil, such as a mixture of 
leaf-mold and sand; cover the seed thinly and 
lay a pane of glass over the pot. The pot 
should be placed iu a warm place in the green¬ 
house or room, and the soil kept moist. When 
the young plants are old enough to he handled 
they should lie planted separately in small 
pots and kept moist, warm and partially 
shaded. As they grow, richer soil and larger 
pots will be required, and plants large enough 
to flower should be potted in a mixture of peat, 
loam and dried cow or sheep manure, with the 
addition of a little sand. With regard to the 
four climatic conditions mentioned in the last 
part of the question, we would advise to give a 
judicious mixture, as either oue administered 
ingly, might prove fatal. 
W. M. K., Washington , D. C., asks our opin¬ 
ion of the Shropshire. Damson and the Wild 
Goose Plum sold pretty exteusively iu that 
vicinity last season by tree-peddlers. 
Ans.— Downing says: The Shropshire or 
Prune Damson is an English purple variety, 
rather obovate in figure, but little superior to 
our common sorts- The Wild Goose is an im¬ 
proved variety of tho Chickasaw, which is 
nearly as large as the Green Gage. Skin purple, 
with blue bloom ; flesh juicy, sweet, adheres to 
the stone. Season last of July. We would not 
advise to deal with tree peddlers, uuless they 
are known to be responsible agents of reliable 
firms. 
Ji. T., Garratsville, N. Y., asked in our issue 
of Sept. 13. what is the cause of coated wool 
in sheep, and the question was then answered, 
as we understood it. The anthor of “ History 
of a Poor Farm,” however, writes that our 
correspondent, in his opinion, may have meant 
“cotted” wool instead of “coated.” The 
former is a sort of felting of the wool and a 
matting of it down on the sheep’s back, caused 
by wet weather and absence of yolk, by which 
the wool is felted together. It is a sign of 
poor condition of tho animals. 
F. H. D. Corning, N. Y., sends specimens of 
a flower and asks whether it is worthy of cul¬ 
tivation. 
Ans.— This is the Virginia Clematis—C. Vir- 
giniana. It is a very rapid grower—is covered 
with small white blossoms iu early August, and 
is now (Sept. 10th), rather showy in fruit, which 
consists of whirligig, feathery tails. It is not 
bad for covering stumps or out-of-the-way 
places. 
J. IV. M., Oregon, Mo., asks what is the 
proper name of what is thereabouts called 
Grass Wheat. 
Ans.—W e do not know. 
M. B. McC., Beaver Co., Pa., sends a wild 
plant for name. 
Ans. —Gentiaua Andrewsii—Closed Blue Gen¬ 
tian. 
R. T. Spaxland,, III., sends a leaf, and asks 
the name of the plant that produced it. 
Ans.— It looks like Hibiscus moscheutos. 
COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVED FOR THE WEEK ENDING 
Saturday, Sept. 20. 
F. A. P.—J. G. B.—I. S.—F. M. S.—L. A. R.—A. 
R.—A. L. B.—S. L.—E. V.—I. W. J.—C. E. F.—F. 
F. D. C.—J. S. P.—C. F. R.—M. J. F.—M. A. F.—A. 
T>_ nf. B.—P. O. P.— Bessie Victor—T. G. L.—K. S. 
D _R. IL C.—J. W. M. G.—C. C. S.—G. M-—W. S. 
q\_W. S. II.—J. H. L.—A. E, S.—F. F. C. Van A. 
Thank .2 — W. T.—MarquerUe — Grandmother — 
Mother-ln-iuW—L. L. P.—E. S. T.—Apiarian—E. 
\V. S.—F. P. 11.—F. H D.—M. E. P.-W. I. C.—W. 
M. K.-J. D—G. G. C.—B. S.-J. B. T. W.-8. J. V. 
C.—J. E.M.—J. R.Tkanks—R. L. 8.—E. B.—F. D. 
P.-W. S. T.- W. W.-E. H.—W. B. P.—8. &P.—C, 
M. H. S.—D. W.—E. L. J,wA, J, C, 
