©CT.4 
2, which is the best for the Lemon—budding, 
side, cleft or whip grafting; 3, where can 
lemon cions be obtained ; 4, is the Star Insu¬ 
rance Company of this city a reliable concern. 
A ns. —Plumage throughout, a bluish gray, 
each leather distinctly and finely barred with 
^darker gray. Beale, bright yellow ; comb, 
small and straight ; bright red wattles and 
ear-lobes; medium-sized wings on which there 
should be uo white feathers. Tail, rather 
small and upright; bright yellow legs stand¬ 
ing well apart, and as free from dark scales as 
possible. The fowl should be of medium size, 
and as evenly-colored throughout as possible. 
No splashes of white, or reddish or brassy 
feathers are allowed in any part of the plum¬ 
age. Ju exhibiting, the hen and cock must 
match in color of plumage and legs. 2. Orange 
trees should be budded, not grafted ; the latter 
practice tuay he employed, hut the farmer is 
preferable. 3. For buds apply to John Saul, 
Washington, D. C., or address a letter to Mrs. 
Increase Sumner, Starke, Florida, inclosing 
stamp for answer, and she may kindly give 
information where buds of a good variety cau 
be procured directly from Florida. 4. Yes. 
Planting and Tending Grape Vines. 
C. T., MillersviOe, O., asks what is the best 
time and mode for planting grape tines; 2, 
which are the best varieties for family use; 3, 
what is the proper mode of cultivating them. 
Ans.— For several reasons it is preferable to 
plant grape vines in the fall. The circulation 
of the sap commences very early in the spring, 
and if the planting is deferred until then, any 
wound the vine might receive would cause it 
to bleed and lose much strength. Again, the 
soil is seldom fit to plunt iu as early in the 
spring as vines should be set out, whereas in 
the full it is always ready. If they are planted 
at this season, too, all wounds will heal during 
the winter, the roots will be settled in their 
bed, and even new roots may sometimes form, 
all of which combine to give the vine a good 
start iu the spring. 
As to situation, a full southern exposure is 
preferable, in the Northern States, and some¬ 
times necessary in order to ripen the fruit of 
late and tender varieties, and if the land de¬ 
scends toward tile south, so much the better. 
If there is a choice of soils, one having a lime¬ 
stone foundation should be chosen in prefer¬ 
ence to ail others. A wet soil must be under¬ 
drained, and in all eases it should be pulverized 
to the depth of 20 inches or two feet, either 
With the trench plow or spade. In planting 
the vine, it is well to set it four or six inches 
iflcCperiu the ground than it stood before: it 
will then send out fibrous roots from the por¬ 
tion of the cane under grouud, which will 
greatly strengthen it. The distance apart will 
vary with the variety and tlm system of 
pruning adopted. If trained on the fau-shaped 
system, strong growers should he some fifteen 
feet apart, aud some cultivators have of late 
advocated even 20 to 24 feet; for weak growers, 
eight or ten feet are sullicient. 
2. Of varieties suited for home use may he 
named the Concord, Adirondac, Delaware, 
Isabella, Catawba, Rebecca, Rogers’s No. 33, 
Creveling, Lady, Salem, Iona and Martha. 
3. As for pruning, training and cultivating 
the grape vine, so much is to be said that we 
can here give only au outline of the work. For 
complete information we would refer our 
friend to some comprehensive t reatise on the 
subject, and, above all, lie should visit some 
successful grape-culturist and see for himself 
how a vineyard is managed. A trellis running 
east aud west is preferable to any other kind 
of support. It is made by setting good cedar 
posts 20 or 2. r > feet apart, between which wires 
are stretched as tightly us possible, and about 
ten inches apart. The common or fan-shaped 
form of training consists muiuly iu spreading 
the branches in a semicircle over the trellis. 
Norule cau in tins case be laid down on paper 
for the pruning of the vines, beyond the state¬ 
ment that the growth should he well balanced 
aud that all the young shoots should he 
shortened to from four to twelve buds, accord¬ 
ing to their strength and the space they are to 
occupy. Nowhere should the branches crowd 
each other, and old, unproductive wood should 
be cut away, aud young wood laid in its place. 
Another method of training, to which we are 
inclined to give the preference, eofisists in 
forming two leading branches, one on each 
side of the stock, and these are to produce the 
bearing wood which is each year pruned back 
to spurs. To train a vine iu this shape, the 
young plant is, after the first season’s growth, 
cut back to two strong buds near the base. 
These two buds will, the next season, scud out 
two branches, which should lie tied to the 
trellis horizoutally iu opposite directions, and 
wheu pruned the second year, shortened to 
six buds each. The third year these buds will 
send up the bearing branches, and the whole 
system of pruning will now cousist in pinching 
the summer shoots, or laterals, and cutting 
the bearing wood down to oue strong bud each 
year. 
By this system the vines may be planted eight 
feet apart, both weak and strong growers 
occupying about the same space. 
THE RURAL NEW-/0RKER. 
Keeping Dnhlia Bulbs in Winter, etc. 
E. V., Oxford Center, Onl ., Canada, asks 
1st, the best plan of keeping Dahlia bulbs 
duriug winter ; 2d, the best time for plauting 
grape-viues for glass-honse or cold-frame; 
3d, the best kind of Strawberries, early, me¬ 
dium and late, to plant for family use. 
Ans. —1. Keep them on shelves in a dry cellar 
out of danger from frost. Place them singly 
on the shelves ; if piled one upon another, there 
is danger of their rotting. Should the cellar 
he damp, it is best to cover them with dry 
sand. Dahlia roots should be taken up on a 
fine, sunuy day, the earth shaken off very 
carefully that noue of the roots be broken 
loose, and they should then bo placed in Ibe 
sun to dry till toward evening, wbeu they can 
be brought under shelter. 2. In the spring, as 
early as the plants in the grapery are started. 
3. For early, Pioneer, Duchess ; for medium, 
Charles Downing and Sharpless; for late, 
Kentucky. 
Miscellaneous. 
Mrs. E. II. G., Pekin, N. 1'., asks 1, when is 
the proper time to trim an evergreen hedge of 
neatly two years’ growth ; 2d, the best variety 
of Primrose for winter blooming; 3d, will 
Verbenas that have just begun to blossom con¬ 
tinue if potted and taken into the house. 
Ans.—l. We could answer this question bet¬ 
ter if our friend had told us what kind of 
evergreen it is. It will be best to defer the 
trimming till next spriug. Just how much to 
trim off, to get the best possible result, must 
depend upon the vigor of the hedge, the de¬ 
sired shape, etc.; no rule can bo laid down 
that will answer for all cases alike. Au ever¬ 
green hedge, however, should never he trim¬ 
med severely; three or four shearings during 
the season of growth are preferable to a severe 
one at the end of the season. 2. The single 
Chiuese Primrose. Primula Sinensis, is most 
easily managed and blooms profusely ; if the 
(lowers are wanted for bouquets, the donble- 
liowercd is tbe best. The latter is best propa¬ 
gated by cuttings. Seed of the single variety 
sown now will tlower iu the spring. 3. It may, 
if potted carefully; but it is seldom that old 
Verbenas that have been used for bedding pur¬ 
poses, do well in pots afterward. 
lot/, [vyst'est, iV. Y., asks. 1, how can apple 
trees be made to bear the odd years; 2, what 
are the salaries of brakomou, firemen aud 
engineers on the railroads; 3, is it safe for a 
person who has lost the sight of one eye to run 
au engine. 
Ans.— Apple trees that are in the habit of 
bearing ouly every other year, may generally 
be made to reverse their fruitful years by pick- 
iug off the blossoms, or tbe young fruit as soon 
as they tire formed, which, of course, should 
be done without injuring the spurs. It is bet¬ 
ter, however, to thin the fruit only moderately, 
so as to have a crop every year. Overhearing 
one season so exhausts the tree that it can form 
no fruit buds tor the next. 2. Salaries vary on 
the differeut roads and ou different trains on 
the same road according to the responsibility 
connected with the posts. Brabemcu get from 
$25 to $40 a month, firemen from $2 to $2.50a 
day. and engineers from $75 to .$90 a month. 
3. We should not consider it safe. 
J. W. /,., Smith's Grove., Ky., asks 1, whether 
a variety ol corn known there as Gen. W. G 
Le Due's Improved Prolific, is the same as 
Blount’s Prolific; 2, whether McCabe's Uni¬ 
versal History is, as it claims to be, without a 
superior. 
Ans. —There is uo ,, Gou. Le Due ” corn that 
we have ever heard of. 2. We don’t know the 
work; but we have little faith in the utility of 
l niversal TTistories. The field they pretend to 
cover is too large for one man to do it justice, 
and such a meager smattering of information 
as they can impart, is of little benefit for utility 
or ornament. 
C. S. II., Detroit, Mich., refers to an Editorial 
Brevity in our issue of July the 20th, iu which 
it was stated that Prof. Lazenby fouud a cheap, 
safe and effective remedy for the cabbage 
worm in the application of a few quarts of tar 
in a barrel of water, aud asks whether coal or 
pine tar should he used. 
Ans.— Professor Lazeuby writes us that he 
has used both coal and pine tar with almost 
equally good effect, but that he gives a slight 
preference to the former. 
E. L. J., New Haven, Cl., sends a worm which 
he lias takeufrom a tree in thegarden andasks 
for its name. 
Ans.— The worm was dead and crumbled up 
wheu it reached us, so we are unable to tell 
anything about it. Insects sent for name should 
always bo iu the imago state. Larva? molt and 
change iu their appearance so often that they 
cannot be named with certainty. 
J. IV. T., New Richland, Logan Co., Ohio, 
asks where can Defiance wheat be bought; 
and at how much a peck, and whether it is the 
sort sent out by the Rural last season. 
Ans. —This is now offered for sale by several 
seedsmen. B. K. Bliss & Sons of this city are 
the injjpducors, Wo have sown it its ft wiptor 
wheat and distributed some of it to our friends. 
The price is now quite low. 
J. 11., Oioasco, N. Y.,, asks whether a glass 
pipe can be used in a cistern, instead of a lead 
one, without discoloring the water. 
Ans —Certainly it can. Were it not for the 
expense, the risk of breakage, and the diffi¬ 
culty of making bends aud joiuts, glass pipes 
would be the best, as they certainly are the 
cleanest, for conveying water, 
L. H. J)., Newark, 0.. asks how often must 
the progeny of a Short-born boil and a good 
dam he crossed by 8hort-horn sires, before 
they are reckoned as good as Short-horns. 
Ans.— Four crosses are allowed to constitute 
animals substantially as good as a pure-bred 
Short-horn ; that is, the female progeny ol a 
Short-horn sire and an approved dam, must 
agaiu be crossed by a Short-horn bull, and this 
must occur a second and a third time, when the 
offspring of the fourth cross is considered as 
good as a pure-bred Short-horn. 
TV. S. vl., Petersburg, Pa., asks, 1, what va¬ 
rieties of Grapes should he plant for a succes¬ 
sion throughout the season ; 2, what Plums 
would be likely to do best in that latitude. 
Ans. —Try Lady, for earliest white. For 
early. Hartford Prolific, Concord. For medi¬ 
um, Ives’s, Scuppernong, Delaware. For late, 
Iona. Clinton, Norton’s Virginia : 2, Plums, 
Damson and Wild Goose. 
Mrs. J. 11., Owasco, N. 1'., asks if Pelargo¬ 
niums cau be wintered in a box iu the cellar 
the same as Geraniums. 2. She raised some 
Stipa, or Feather Grass, last year which did 
not blossom this summer, and she asks when 
it will. 
Ans. —1. Yes. 2. The Feather Grass will 
blossom next summer. 
8. S. S., Ricefield Minn., asks whether, when 
u fruit tree is killed aud another grows from 
the roots, the latter can properly be called a 
seedling. 
Ans —Yes, if the stock was a seedling in the 
first plaee, before it was grafted, and the tree 
is killed off below the graft. 
J. 11. G., GlenniUe, N. V., asks what is the 
color and season of Mold’s Ennobled Oats ; also 
whether it is au early or late sort and whether 
a well grown berry is longer or shorter than 
the ordinary kind. 
Ans. —Black. Season medium. Longer. 
K. Me. N., Bloomville, Ohio., sends a twig for 
name. 
\ Ans. —JDuonymus Anicrieauus, or American 
Sti aw berry Bush; found in the forests from 
the latitude of New York and southward. It 
is often cultivated. 
S. Sharon Center, N. Y., asks whether 
the Brouze Rieiuus w ill stand the winter out-of- 
doors. 
Ans.—N o. 
J. I. B., Grundy Centre, Iowa, asks for the 
name of a reliable grain dealer in this city. 
Ans. —R. A. Yellowlee, 45 Pearl St., N. Y. 
Communications received for the week ending 
Saturday, Sept. 27. 
F. W. t>.—T. A. P.—L. A. P. —If. C. E.—O. S. O. 
—J. W. L. — M. M. S.—G. H.—D. 8.—J. B.—L. 
P.-M. E. P.-T H. II.—L. W. B.-L. \V. S —M. 
gL—m. l.—s. f. s.—s. l. t.—W. C. It.— g. r.— 
P. F. C.—H. K. U.—A. S. 1).—J. W, L.—F. W. S.— 
S. W. K.-S. S. S.-G. A. B.—1. Y.—J. A. H.—J. 27.— 
II. R. P.—F. B.—E. L. T.—H. R. P.—“ Ivy"—C. 
W. \. C.—G. M.—W. II.M.—W. R. L.—An Old 
Subscriber.—G.B.—S. >t.—T. n. II.—F. W. G.— 
T. It.— J. C. W.—J. A. Van V—II. T. J.—M. B. P.— 
J. P. P.—J. A. C.-O. S. B.—L. B. A.—F. II. IX— 
THE FARM DAIRY. 
IV. J. B., El Dorado, Kansas, asks for a 
trustworthy article on cheese making on a 
farm. 
ANSWERED BY HENRY STEWART. 
The factory system has almost com¬ 
pletely destroyed the farm dairy. This may 
be a convenience to the farm household, but 
it is a question if the convenience, ease, or 
exemption from the labor of the household 
dairy has not been purchased at too great a 
price. The labor involved iu making cheese 
is uot, or need not be heavy, disagreeable or 
exacting. By proper mechanical labor-saving 
contrivances, all heavy lifting, slopping and 
other work which might be considered unde¬ 
sirable under our present popular notions, 
may be avoided. The factory system, too, has 
the effect of producing a homogeneous pro¬ 
duct. All tactory cheese is alike, unless a 
differeuce may be uiade between good and 
bad, but here the variety ends. The methods 
iu use are not productive of variety. In fact, 
the whole conduct of dairying from the talk 
aud discussions of the Convention to the work 
of the n make” and curing room, has au una¬ 
voidable tendency to produce sameness in the 
product. There is nothing else that bo palls 
upon the appetite as a constant repetition of 
the same thing, and may it not be for this rea¬ 
son. among others no doubt, but for this 
chiefly that we have seen cheese a drug in the 
market at five cents a pound, and dairymen 
mourning over their losses. With a diversity 
of system there will he a diversity of product, 
and the farm dairy is productive of just the 
variety of quality and character that is need¬ 
ed to please a diverse public taste. Practical 
experience is not sufficient for improvement; 
on the contrary, it tends to draw people Into 
ruts and narrow channels ; bur when accom¬ 
panied by inventive ability, there are no bounds 
to the extent of the improvements that may be 
made iu any industry. Thus the farm dairy 
by the necessary employmeut of a huudred 
heads and niiuds, where now but one is at 
work, offers a great opportunity for the better¬ 
ment of the dairy industry. 
It is au encouraging sigu when inquiries are 
made about the best system of farm cheese 
making. It shows that a beginning is made in 
returning to the practice of a legitimate do¬ 
mestic manufacture upon the restoration of 
which, to a considerable extent, may depend 
the return of prosperity to the dairy interest 
and its larger extension in the future. Farm 
cheese making is apt to fail most frequently 
for want of specific and accurate knowledge of 
the small details. Long experience gives this, 
but it is apt to be a “ rule of thumb" aud not 
oue of strict weights and measures. There is 
no w ork on dairying yet published that gives 
the needed detailed information with accuracy, 
so that with the proper appliances used with 
thermometer, scales, and measure, a cheese of 
some kind may be made as a beginning upon 
which to found a practical experience that 
may be rapidly available. For the use of be¬ 
ginners, if not for older cheese makers, we 
give some of the needful 
Detail* of Farm Cheese-Making. 
The best cheese is made by what is known 
as the Cheddar system. In this a certain 
amount of acidity is developed iu the curd 
before it is pressed. The process is as fol¬ 
lows:—The whole milk (unskimmed) is used. If 
a whole day’s milk is required, the evening’s 
milk is cooled and stirred at intervals before 
retiring, and in the morning is again stirred 
and brought to a temperature of 78 to 84 de¬ 
grees, the former for warm weather and the 
latter for cold. This milk is poured into a 
vat which may be heated by means of a pipe 
from a boiler, or upon a stove kept in the 
eheese room. Or the vat may have a false 
bottom of ziue for the purpose. The morn¬ 
ing's milk is strained warm into the vat and 
the whole is well mixed by stirring. Half a 
pint of infusion of rennet for eaeh 100 gallons 
of milk, is then poured into the vat and the 
whole once more stirred. The infusion is 
made by steeping a cured stomach of a calf in 
one quart of salt water for three weeks, w r hen 
it is bottled for use. At this strength the milk 
will be curdled at the temperature previously 
mentioned, in one hour. 
The stomach is prepared as follows:—take 
the true stomach, not the paunch, of a sacking 
calf just killed, turn out the contents and fill 
it with salt; then haug it up in a cool place to 
dry; after that pack it into a paper bag and 
hang it up iu a dry plaee for a year, when it 
will be ready for use by merely putting it in 
water. The curd when made is sliced with a 
curd knife crosswise, porpeudieularly aud also 
horizontally, to bring it into cubes of moderate 
size, so that the whey may separate. The mass 
is then heated by means of hot water let into 
the pipes, or the false bottom aud sides of the 
vat, until it shows a temperature of 100 de¬ 
grees. This should take half an hour. The 
hot water is then drawn off and the curd 
stirred in the hot whey and broken up more 
finely. After standing half an hour until the 
curd has settled, the whey is drawn off and set 
to cool, when the cream which rises upon it, 
may be skimmed off and saved for butter. The 
vat is covered with a cloth and the curd left 
another half hour, wheu it is cut into pieces, 
turned, covered and left for half an hour 
again, when it is again cut aDd left for 15 
minutes. During ibis period it will have be¬ 
come slightly acid to the taste. Care must here 
be exercised lest the acid become too much 
developed. The eurd is now'torn to pieces, 
cooled and put into layers in the vat to drain 
for half a day, until it is dry and tough. It is 
then broken up, and ground in a curd mill, 
two pounds of salt to the 100 of curd are added, 
and then it is placed in the hoop in a cloth 
aud pressed. The pressure is about 2,000 lbs. 
for a 60 lbs. cheese. The cloth is changed daily 
for three days, wheu the cheese is taken from 
the press and bandaged, unless the bandage has 
beeu put ou at the last pressing. It is then 
ready for the curing shelf where it is turned 
daily aud kept in a steady temperature of 65 
degrees. 
A less troublesome system may be practised, 
but with some gaiu in the amount of labor and 
attention required, there will be a loss iu 
quality of product. The utensils required cau 
be purchased very cheaply at any of the dairy¬ 
furnishing stores, and by using the most im¬ 
proved ones, the work is made very light, 
