OCT.48 
THE RURAL NEW-/ORKER. 
(fbmrtoiiftf, 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
N. H., Reed’s Ferry, HUlsborougli Co., Oct. 1. 
The Blount corn received was planted on 
May 20. It grew three and four stalks from 
one seed, with from two to seven ears per stalk. 
It did not ripen before the frost. It was a 
cariosity for this place; but I shall have to 
throw up the sponge in regard to the premium. 
The Golden Rural tomatoes were, very flue 
and bore an abuudance of fruit; but the Acme 
is the “ boss” tomato. We never had any¬ 
thing like it and consider it worth the price 
of the Rubai. —which, by the way, we think 
is better than ever We don’t think much of 
Pearl Millet. The Beauty of Hebron proved 
to be a fine potato. We raised from one small 
potato tifty-two tubers. The Voorhis water¬ 
melon did not get ripe. A part of the flower- 
seeds did not come up ; others were very tine. 
Our crops in this section are very good. 
Potatoes are a large yield, and we have a good 
many apples for the odd year. f. f. w. 
Vt., Manchester Depot, Bennington Co., 
Oct. 3.—I think I can give as good report of the 
Beauty of Hebron potato as any of the Rural 
subscribers. Through an oversight, I suppose, 
last spring I received from the Rural two 
packages of seeds. In one package there were 
two potatoes; iu the other one only. I gave 
one potato to an uncle who raised from it six 
pounds of tubers. The other two father 
planted on land that has been used for a gar¬ 
den for 15 years. He put manure in a trench 
and placed the seed about 10 inches apart, one 
eye in a hill. He had 18 eyes; the result was 
53 pounds of tubers. Of these 15 of the largest 
weighed 15 pounds; of the next size, 40 weighed 
23 pounds. There were 97 suitable for table 
U6e and 35 small ones, making 132 in all. My 
uncle raised from potatoes of the “ Burbank 
Seedling " variety u full barrel of tubers on a 
plot of ground eight by forty-five feet, which 
is a very good crop. If auy Rural sub¬ 
scriber can beat this for a potato story, I 
should like to hear from him. The other seeds 
sent I shared with my neighbors, and they 
have given satisfactory results. The Millet, 
however, is of small growth ; it is too far north 
here, I think, for its successful cultivation. 
The potato crop lias been the heaviest that has 
been known here for years. They are worth 
30 cents per bushel; oats, 35 cents ; hay, $10 
per ton delivered. Corn is about an average 
crop. E.L. T. 
Mass., Blackstonc, Worcester Co., Oct. 1.— 
I plauted my Blount corn on the 26ih of May, 
and had it cut on the 20th of September. I 
plauted one kernel in a hill, three feet apart 
in the rows and about 2$ feet between the hills. 
The ears average four on a stalk; the stalks 
average 13 foet in bight. I do not think the 
season is long enough for it here. I shall have 
seed enough to try it again next year. Two 
hills of my corn I had carried to the cattle 
show; there were 19 ears on the two hills. 
Pearl Millet would he a good soiling plant if 
the 6cason were long enough. I plauted nunc 
the same as I did the corn, ou the same land 
and the same day. It did not grow much until 
the middle of June. Some of it was pulled up, 
it looked bo much like baru-grass ; but by the 
first of July it was as much as 18 inches across, 
with a very thick bottom. The tallest of mine 
was over seven feet high, with a blossom spike 
over a foot long. O. w. f. 
N. Y., Bloomvillc, Delaware Co., Sept. 24.— 
The weather here is very dry at present, al¬ 
though we have had plenty of rain during the 
summer. The crops have been very abuudant. 
The Beauty of flebrou potato is very due; I 
raised from the potato you sent me, which 
weighed two ouucos und had eight eyes, 30 
pounds aud 11 ounces of very large potatoes. 
The Defiance wheat was nearly a failure; it 
rusted badly aud was very much shriveled. 
Pearl Millet did not any of it grow. t. r. 
N. Y., Belfast, Allegany Co., Oct. 4.—I cut 
the Beauty of Hebron seed potato into 13 
pieces, each having a single eye, and plauted 
one piece in a hill. From these I have ob¬ 
tained 32$ pounds of large tubers, the largest 
weighing 1$ pound. The Goldun Rural tomato 
is the best I ever had. h. o. r. 
Pa., Monroeville, Alleghany Co., Oct. 5.— 
The Beauty of Hebron potato did splendidly. 
The Acme tomato was not a whit behind it in 
well-doing, and we like it greatly. The Pearl 
Millet, however, is rather late and I fear much 
of it will not mature seed. Some of the flower- 
seeds didn't come up; but others did very well. 
N. B. 
Omo, Ml. Vernon, Knox Co., Oct. 2.—I grow 
from eight to ten acres of potatoes each year, 
and find good crops can be grown almost every 
season with a little care iu the selection of 
ground on which to plant them. For this 
purposo, I prefer a clover sod and let the clover 
grow as long sb l dure, say, to the 15th of 
May iu this section. I then turn it under and 
plant the potatoes immediately in drills, two 
feet four inches apart for varieties with medi¬ 
um tops and two feet six inches for those sorts 
that spread large tops, putting the seed, cut to 
two eyes to a piece, 12 inches apart in rows. 
So soon as the vines make their appearance. I 
harrow with a light harrow aud keep the 
ground free from weeds by working" until 
just as they begin to blossom, when I hill them 
np with a single-shovel plow with wings at¬ 
tached made to expand as may be needed. 
1 prefer upland to bottom for potatoes. 
Take any good free soil and mark out drills, 
Bay, 4$ inches deep and put in them, say, two 
inches of well-rotted manure, or, what is bet¬ 
ter, scrapings from an old chip pile, or rotted 
pomace from a cider mill. Cover the potatoes 
slightly and till the ground well, aud you are 
sure of a crop, bugs or no bugs. This season 
ray crop per acre was: 
Brownell’s Beauty.150 bushels 
Burbank’s Seedling. 200 
Early Vermont.12S 
Alpha.no 
Dunmore. 150 
This week 1 have been digging Burbank’s 
Seedlings that weighed from one pound ten 
ounces to two pounds thirteen and a half 
ounces each. The potato of the latter weight 
I have now ou exbibtion and it alone would 
make a dinner for any man. with some to 
spare. Price of potatoes here is:—10c. per 
bushel with indications of reaching 50c. soon. 
vr. w. 
Kansas, Edgertou, Johnson Co., Oct. 1st. 
A few weeks ago I thought my Blount’s corn 
would surely take the prize, and so thought 
some of my neighbors who saw it growing; 
bat since reading iu the Rural some of the re¬ 
ports of corn 18 feet high and stalks 10 inches 
iu circumference, averaging 10 and 12 ears to 
the stalk, I think my chances for a premium 
exceedingly nliiu; iu fact my visions of a prize 
have almost entirely vanished. I plauted 
122 grains in 100 hills, three feel each way, on 
April 29; but as some of the grains were poor, 
they did not all grow. Others died after they 
came up, so that by transplanting where there 
were two in a hill, I barely succeeded in getting 
100 stalks to grow in as many bills. I had 
some stalks 14 feet high; but I don’t thiuk they 
would average that. I had one stalk that had 
20 ears or rather nubbins. There, now, who 
can beat that ? A great many grains produced 
three good-sized stalks, and no stalk had less 
than three ears, while some had nine. I cut 
up my corn Sept. 1st, and it made the tallest 
and biggest stook of corn I ever saw. My 
Pearl Millet is all ripe, many of the stalks 
measuring 11$ feet high, with heads fully 
12 and 14 inches long. 1 planted my Beauty 
of Hebron together with a package sent me by 
Gen. Le Due; in all about two quarts, one eye 
in a place, aud 18 inches apart in the row, on 
the same day, aud side by side with Early 
Rose. I have dng them and have six heaping 
bushels of as nice potatoes as ever grew. I 
give the measurement of five of them, 5$xl6, 
lOxlS, 9$xl7, 9jxl8, 10$xl3$. They beat the 
Rose badly for curliness, size, and productive¬ 
ness, and I think they are of butter flavor. I 
shall plant them altogether next year. Defi- 
auee wheat was badly shriveled, on account of 
rust. Our Acme tomatoes were the finest we 
ever raised. They were admired by all who saw 
them. Our flower and shrub seeds did not do so 
well ou account of drought. Altogether what 
I have raised from seed sent me by the Ru¬ 
ral, is worth more than five times the price 
of the paper. a. b. d. 
Kansas, El Dorado, Butler Co., Sept. 30, 
1879.—Iu the cultivation of potatoes iu Kansas 
we find it quite difficult to secure a good crop 
of the late varieties. As regards Peachblow, 
Early Rose, Snowflake, Early Ve rmout aud 
Early Ohio, all do well if plauted very early 
in thespring, as they mature before thedrought 
commences ; but to obtain a good crop of late 
potatoes we have to give at least from oue to 
two feet of straw mulch which is generally 
put on as soon as the potatoes are planted. 
Ab it is not customary to manure our laud 
here for any crop at present, I cannot 
say what would be the result, if we planted 
as we used to do in the East. By the following 
plan, I never failed of a good crop :—'Plow 
the ground deep, as early in the spring as 
possible; then drag it smooth. When ready 
to plant, mark out with a common plow 
good deep furrows three aud a half feet 
apart. In the furrows place well rotted 
cow manure, and drop the potatoes ou 
top; then follow with five parts of laud plas¬ 
ter and one of salt, mixed ; cover with a small 
plow and drag smooth, and keep the drag 
going until the potatoes are well up. Then 
cultivate in the usual way, and you can be 
sure of a good crop of nice potatoes e^en iu a 
dry season. Perhaps some may say “ i’oo much 
trouble!” but when the time comes for dig¬ 
ging there is no more work in digging a good 
crop than a poor oue. 1 call it up-hill busi¬ 
ness to dig an acre for 50 bushels when you 
can, by this method, get 200 or more. I. J. b. 
Mo., Benton City, Audrain Co., Oct., 4.— 
Bouton City is on the St. Louis, Kansas City 
and Northern railroad, oue hundred miles 
from St. Lou is and seven miles from Mexico, 
our country seat, which has three railroads 
aud a population of about 0000. Good unim¬ 
proved land, prairie and timber, i6 worth $4 to 
$8 and improved land, $8 to 16 per acre. 
Wheat is yielding 15 to 30, and corn, 30 to 
60 bushels per acre. We have good soil, mar¬ 
kets, timber, water and stock range and also 
good schools, good society and a mild and 
healthful climate, but the country needs more 
good farmers and mechanics. I have been 
here several years aud I find I can do better 
on a farm here than in auy of the several States 
in which 1 have formerly lived. Recently 
there has been considerable inquiry for land 
and farms here, by panics from the North and 
East, wbo after thorough investigation, find 
that they can do much better here thau farther 
west. Many of the bargains have been taken, 
but still there is plenty of room. To all who 
wish to get good homes and cheap homes. I 
would say:—“Come now while yon can se¬ 
lect; come and help us to make Missouri one 
of the best States in the Union !” b. f. w 
S. C., Aiken, Aiken Co., Oct. 4.—The crops 
of this section of South Carolina may be 
classed as a fair average. At one time it was 
feared that the long drought in Juue would 
have cut them down ranch below the average, 
hut we are thankful to be able to say such fears 
have not been realized, and the farmers gen¬ 
erally are contented with their prospects. One 
thing in their favor is that they are less in debt 
than in former years. 
There Is comparatively little small grain 
planted iu this section in consequence of the 
expeuseof cutting and harvesting it by hand, 
and hauling it to the water-power mills to be 
trashed. It appears to me if the patentees and 
manufacturers of machines and implements 
took the trouble to bring there inventions to 
notice in the South that their is, in tbut line, a 
fine field opeu for business. Now that the 
South is recuperating from the disastrous 
effects nf the war, and the farmers are getting 
out of debt, they are beginning to make im¬ 
provements and adopt new methods of culture. 
As illustrating one of our needs, most of the 
lumber is worked by hand. In this county, 
with a population of 25,000,1 know of only oue 
planing mill, while there are probably a buu- 
dred or more saw-mills. If wood-workiug 
machinery were exhibited anil explanations of 
the advantages made personally, iustead of by 
circulars, many might be induced to add such 
machinery to their mills, as water power is 
abundant. The fairs which take place 
throughout the South, generally iu the fall, 
would offer an excellent chance to show the 
machinery in practical operation. The State 
Fair this year takes place Nov. 11, in Charles¬ 
ton, aud power will be furnished to those 
desirous of exhibiting machinery in operation. 
I trust some of the enterprising men who ad¬ 
vertise in the Rural will give this matter more 
than a passing thought, for it will not only be 
advantageous to them, but it would aid in 
diversifying the produets of this sectiou. The 
South, heretofore, has paid comparatively 
little attention to manufactures or to invent- 
ting machinery for the saving of manual labor, 
consequently a favorable opportunity is afforded 
for the introduction of implements adapted to 
the peculiar needs of the people. Machinery for 
making brooms, turpentine and other barrels, 
rice and kaolinc tierces, wooden-ware aud a 
thousand aud one like conveniences, could be ad- 
vautageously introduced. There are very tew 
tanneries here, wh ile large quan titles of hides are 
shipped North. Near this town there arc im¬ 
mense beds of the flue6t kaoliiie and clays suit¬ 
able for pottery works, but uo oue thinks of 
utilizing them, other than by drying the 
material, packing it in tierces and shippiug 
it abroad. A party iu middle Georgia informed 
the writer that he had made $000 last spring by 
the use of a portabiu thrashing machine. As 
indicating the change which is taking place, 
the recent reporton cotton manufactures states 
that the increased consumptiom of cotton last 
year by the Southern mills, was 30 per cent, 
while that by the Northern mills, was only two 
per cent. The assessed value of land in this sec¬ 
tiou is about $2 au acre, although much is 
sold for u less price; that lying near railroads 
aud towns, as a matter of course, commands a 
better price. 
To those desirous of changing their location, 
the midland region of North aud South Caro¬ 
lina and Georgia offers many advantages, es¬ 
pecially to those whose health or the health of 
whose families is delicate. The first visitors d 
the season are arriving. As is well known, 
Aiken is quite a favorite resort for invalids in 
the winter, thousands having been benefited 
by a short residence here. Heretofore, one of 
the drawbacks has been the high price charged 
for board, but now, us prices of other goods 
have fallen, so has the price of board. Tbe com¬ 
petition in this line is strong, and the house¬ 
keepers are anxious to get boarders early in 
the fall, so that now one by looking around, 
can find board at the private houses at very 
reasonable prices. Many who are out of health, 
make a mistake by deferring coming South till 
late iu the wluter or early spring months, 
wheu it would be far better for them to come 
and enjoy the maguificout weather of the fall 
moiithB when they can remain with pleasure 
out-of-doors all the time. k. q. c. w. 
®iif Querist, 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Care of Gold Fish. 
0. A. B-, Stamford, Conn., asks for informa¬ 
tion concerning tbe care of gold-fish. 
Ans. —We referred tbe question to a lady 
friend who said she bad some experience with 
them, and she answered that they nearly al¬ 
ways died after having been coufined in a basin 
in the parlor fora month or so. We have, 
however, had better success; some that were 
kept in a tank in the greenhouse lived almost 
three years. If kept in a small basin, fresh 
water every day is absolutely necessary, and 
the water should not be taken from a well but 
from a stream or clear pond. Large fishes 
also need to be fed on crumbs of bread and 
very small pieces of meat, if there is nothing 
in tbe water on which they can feed. Atten¬ 
tion should also be given to the temperature of 
the water; for, though they can bear great 
variations of heat and cold, a constant temper¬ 
ature of about 60 degrees seems to be most 
favorable to thei r well-being. 
Weighing Corn for Premiums. 
O. W. F., Blackstone, Mass., asks: 1, how 
long a time must elapse after the Blount corn 
stalks are cut until they can be weighed ; 2 
how long after tho corn is husked until the 
bushels ^an be weighed 3, whether Hollyhock 
and Rose of Sharon will winter-kill in that 
latitude—the bonudarv line between Mass 
ancl R. I. 
Ans.—1 and 2. We have not specified the 
time iu either case, and only stipulate that 
both stalks and corn must be dry before they 
are weighed. Under ordinary circumstances 
we would consider four weeks a sufficient lapse 
of time. However, if our friend wishes to 
compete for the book premiums offered by the 
Farmers’ Publishing Company, the corn must 
be weighed three months after harvest, as 
stated on the announcement of the premium 
3. They are hardy. 
MUcellnneou*. 
F. McC., Wenona, III., 1. has some house 
plants, and she has been wondering how she 
should manage to keep them from freezing this 
winter. She has heard that to wrap a newspaper 
around them affords a good protection; she 
wants advice. 2. Some time since she found that 
tho roots of some of her Geraniums were 
affected with a small white worm, and the soil 
of plants thus affected did not dry out, she 
wants to know the reason, 
Ans.— 1. Any ingenious housewife who loves 
her plants is far better able to devise means of 
protection than we are. She knows just 
where is the best place to put them at night 
and can take advantage of many circumstan¬ 
ces we know nothing about. Newspapers are 
good to wrap around plants as a protection 
against a fight frost. 3. The soil in those pots 
did not dry out because the plants were sick 
aud did not absorb and evaporate the moisture. 
In healthy plants the roots absorb moisture 
aud tbe leaves evaporate it, which process was 
in this case at a stand-still. 
K. IF., Bolinyton, Va., sends an insect which 
he saw sting a poplar post; thinking it might 
be injurious, ho asks for its name and habits. 
-Lns. —This is the common horutail or Tre- 
mex Columba. It belongs to the lowest family 
of the Hymenoptera. By use of its ovipositor 
—the stiff, hom-like organ which gives it its 
common name—It bores into Maple, Beech, 
Bass-wood, Elm, Pear, Button-wood and Pop¬ 
lar, and lays its eggs in the hole which it 
forms. It is often found fast to the wood, 
being unable to withdraw its ovipositor. Tho 
larva feeds on the wood, but tho insects are 
too rare to do mneh or any harm. The horn 
tail is 1} inch long, or 1$ inch to the end of the 
so-called horn. The colors are black, brown 
and yellow. 
(r IT. T., GranoiUe, Mass., asks, 1. whether 
the rubber boots advertised in the Fair No. of 
tho Rural, are really what is claimed lor 
them: 2, some recipe for extracting grease, 
dirt and paint from clothing. 
Ans. — l. Yes. they are just what is claimed 
for them ; otherwise we should not have ad¬ 
mitted the advertisement. 3. A deodorized 
preparation of benzine is good for this pur¬ 
pose ; so art* some Freach chalks and patent 
soaps. The next druggist can either supply 
them directly or procure them for a purchaser. 
W. T. T., Salisbury, N. C., asks where can 
he get cans ami other fixtures for carrying on 
a retail milk dairy. 
Ans. —Dairy Supply Co., 261 Greenwich St., 
N. Y.,or Joues & Faulkner,Utica, N. Y.—[N.B. 
Many questions and answers are crowded out 
of this number.— Eds.] 
COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVED FOR THE WEEK ENDING 
Saturday, Oot. 11. 
A. W, C.—W. C., thanks—A. L. J._H. F. S.—B. 
C. D.—F. A. B.—IV. T. T.—D. J.—D. W.—C. P. B.— 
M. L. B.—O. \V. F.—M. W.—K. L. T.—E. J. C. \V.— 
B. F. W.—S. H. D.—J. G. R. K.-J. A.—A. E.—B. 
P.—J. E. S.-E. L. D.-F. D. C.—J. B.-M. M. P - 
* A. T.-L. W. G.-T. 11, U.-L. A. R.-L. J. \V.-J\ 
