754 
NOV. 22 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
(jffofrijtoljtre. 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
N. Y., Ithaca, Nov. 8.—We have had a few 
days of winter weather. The mercury was 
down to two decrees above zero on Nov. 4th. 
Four inches of snow fell on the 4th and 6th, 
but it has since disappeared. We have had a 
smaller rain-fall this season than on any in 
the remembrance of the oldest settler. The 
first enow fell in the duet. Crops generally 
were not a good yield, except potatoes and 
oats. Cattle are plentiful and cheap, owing to 
the high price of fodder. 5V heat is worth $1.30 
to 1.45; oats, 35ets.; buckwheat, 52 cts.; corn, 
55 to 60 cts; butter 25 to 30 cts ; eggs, 20 ets., 
potatoes. 30 to 85 ctB; apples, 40 to 50 cts per 
bushel; hay, $12 to $15 per tou. 
There seem to be a great many farmers that 
have never learned to be careful in their farm¬ 
ing operations, or, in other words, to reap the 
largest benefits fromtlieiiiabors. In fact, people 
of that class, I think, are in the majority, in 
this locality as least. Look over the youug 
orchards in spring, and see the young trees 
that have been ruined by mice or rabbits; 
while a few strips of lath carefully tied about 
them in the fall, would have saved all these. 
Strawberry or other small plauts will seldom 
fail to grow, if they are carefully puddled 
when set out, be it ever so dry ; but how many 
do it? Aud so I might continue to give 
examples of neglect with regard to operations 
whose importance is from time to time fully 
explained iu the Rural and other agri¬ 
cultural journals. As times become more 
prosperous, farmers, as a rule, become moic 
slack in the details of farm-work, that are 
seemingly small, but which, in the end, amount 
to a great deal. One of the greatest evils is 
the auuual waste of manure, au indispensable 
article for the success of the farm. I think 
that the fertility of the soil could, by the 
judicious use of all accessible substances for 
manure, be so increased as to yield a product 
one-fourth greater than at present—through 
the East at least. Farmer. 
N. Y-, Cuba, Allegany Co., Nov. 2.—I 
planted my Beauty of Hebron potatoes beside 
the Early Vermont. They both ripened about 
the same time, but the Beauties yielded most 
from the amount of seed planted. I had two 
small tubers which I cut to one eye in each 
piece, making20hills, and duglTj pounds, or 70 
potatoes, most of them good-sized aud beau¬ 
ties. I think them rightly named. Pearl Mil¬ 
let was a failure ; there came a cold raiu soon 
after planting and it did not come up. I have 
a few seed8 left which I shall piaut next spring. 
Defiance wheat was a good yield. I shall sow 
it agaiu iu the soring; then try it as a winter 
variety. The watermclou did not do wellmy 
soil is not suitable for it. The Golden Rural 
tomato ripeued several days before the Acme. 
They are both very nice. w. w. d. 
Pa., Wallsville, L*cawanna Co., Nov. 6.—I 
sowed two packets of the Defiance wheat in 
drills on rather poor wheat ground, and got 
about one quart of small-sized but plump 
grains. I shall try it again. Pearl Millet was 
a failure in this section; of the Beauty of He- 
brou I received two small tubers and cut them 
to one eye in a piece, and put one piece to the 
hill. I dug 26J pounds of very fine potatoes. I 
think very highly of them. The Blount's corn 
proved too late for this section. I planted It 
on May 17, on ground prepared as follows: I 
took a plot that bore a good crop of Stowell's 
Sweet corn last year; put on a light coat of 
stable manure; plowed and harrowed and 
marked it out in rows 34 feet apart. In the 
hill I used the following fertilizers : I made a 
large hill of cobs; covered them with good 
road - wash dirt, like a charcoal pit; gave 
air enough so the cobs would all burn to 
ashes; then mixed the dirt andashe6 all together 
—a good way to use cobs, I think. When ready 
to plant, I mixed half as much hen manure 
with the burned dirt and ashes, put about four 
quarts in a hill and dug it in thoroughly; hills 
1 wo feet apart two grains in each hill. The 
r-ialksgrew to an average bight, I should say, 
of 13£ feet, some stalks reaching 14 feet. I cut it 
up on September 24. It was then just good 
gmen corn.” That night there was a very 
hard frost. With me the corn did not prove 
as prolific as many report—one or two stalks 
had four ears; several had three; most of them 
but two, and some but one. I think this, how¬ 
ever, was owiug to the season, as common 
corn has eared very poorly. We have had 
plenty of rain during the season. Corn has 
made a large growth of stalks, but some 
pieces where the ground is very rich, do not 
yield more than a fourth of a crop. Although 
the Blount com, on account of its late matur¬ 
ing, has proved a failure iu many sections, yet 
1 think if we take a light view of it, we all 
may be benefited by the experiment. Where- 
ever it was planted, it has borne uuiuistakable 
evidence that corn may be greatly improved by 
judicious management. What Processor Blount 
lias done for the White Prolific may be done 
by the same management with any of our na¬ 
tive varieties that will mature in any given 
section. I think the Professor says he has been 
14 years in bunging this even to its present 
state of perfection; now we can accomplish the 
same in a much shorter time by adopting what 
I would call the seed-plot plan; that is, to 
plant a small plot on purpose to raise seed. 
By this plan wc may select the very best ear 
or two to commence with ; plant on good 
ground; and give good cultivation; again 
select the best top ears of the most prolific, 
stalks, taking the next best for field planting. 
By this plan we can also easily cut out all false 
or barren stalks—as recommended in the 
Corn Number of the Rural —which I think 
would tend greatly to increase its prolific 
qualities. W. e. m. 
Mich., Otsego Co., Nov 5. —An abundant 
harvest rewards the toilers in this newly settled 
place, only five years ago a wilderness. Cere¬ 
als and vegetables have been grown, which 
cannot be excelled cither in quantity or qual¬ 
ity, while fruit trees show cheering promise 
for the near future. We have already good 
schools, churches and alive newspaper, which, 
with two railroads running through the county, 
give us all the advantages of civilization. 
Land is cheap and the climate remarkably 
healthful. To all honest, industrious people, 
who are searching for a good locality, to build 
up a home, we say : ‘ Come and abide with 
us.” G. m. 
Utah, Glen wood, Sevier Co., Nov. 3.—Fann¬ 
ing here is different from what it is in the East¬ 
ern or even in the Western States, as every 
crop has to be irrigated from two to six times. 
In the northern part of this Territory small 
grains have to be flooded by means of double 
furrows ruu on the highest portions of each 
field, generally on the “bi-furrows”; but in 
this, the southern part, every crop is “fur¬ 
rowed out” from one to two feet apart, accord¬ 
ing to Lhe coudLionof the land for “soaking.” 
Sometimes the graiu has to be “watered up,” 
but this is more or less injurious to the crop, 
aud it can generally be avoided by watering 
the land before the crop is put iu. Fall wheat, 
isalwayB a better crop here than spring wheat 
under favorable circumstances, but the fields 
are usually “ throwu open" after the harvest is 
gathered and the crops put iu. in the fall. For 
this purpose the ground lias to be carefully 
furrowed, and then these furrows are so 
trampled down by the stock that water eauuot 
run along them properly. Great efforts, how¬ 
ever, are being made to “fence in ’the land 
aud keep the stock off the fall grain and 
Lucern. The latter is becoming quite a favor¬ 
ite crop here, and most people contrive to sow 
a portion of their 1 “ city” or town lots with it. 
It is cut about four times during the summer, 
and produces about four tons of dry hay to the 
acre. 
The varieties of wheat principally grown 
here are Club Head and Tons or Touse, a name 
derived from the Mexican town, from the 
neighborhood of which it originully came. On 
rich ground they are generally mixed, the Club 
Head standing about two-thirds as high as the 
Teas, which forms a second story, head aud 
shoulders above the other-, the Club Head pre¬ 
venting the Toas from failiug dowu, which it 
is liable to do when the crop is watered at the 
time the heads are full. 
Corn is not a sure crop in this Territory, ex¬ 
cept in the neighborhood of Salt Lake, The 
higher valleys are so subject to frost as to make 
it somewhat risky to grow this crop, and the 
late and tall-growing varieties never mature. 
Here, in the Sevier Valley, we have a semi- 
tropical climate, but even here we are liable to 
frost on any night after a “ blow." The wind 
generally comes up from the Gulf of Mexico, 
and in passing over the barren wastes of Ari¬ 
zona and New Mexico it is so robbed of its 
moisture, that on its arrival here, it iB as dry as 
if it had passed through a red-hot furnace. 
This state of the air causes Buch sudden evapo¬ 
ration as to bring down the mercury to freez¬ 
ing point in July and August. Tender vegeta¬ 
tion, such as beans, squashes, tomatoes, 
melons, etc., consequently very often get 
nipped before bearing. 
Some of the potatoes illustrated in the Rural 
Potato Number have found their way to 
thi6 Territory, and are supplanting the old- 
fashioned “ Mechanic.” The Early Rose and 
Snowflake are common. Wheat brings about 
$1 per bushel here in the southern part of the 
Territory, while in the north—Cache county— 
it sells for about 55c. The potato crop is 
almost a failure; I hear that $1.50 per bushel 
has been offered by fanners for seed fur next 
season, though probably $1 is an average. 
Oats and barley, sacked, bring $2 per 100 
pounds. Most of the surplus grain from tiiis 
section is freighted to Pioehe and other miuing 
towns in Nevada, and costs about $2 per cwt. 
for freight. Poultry, eggs, pork, fruit, etc., 
are shipped thither in considerable quantities. 
Good apples bring about $4 per bushel; 
chickens from $5 to $7 per dozen. Now that 
the railroud is crawling towards the mines, 
freighting is getting the “dumps,” as its days 
aie numbered. w. m. c. 
Texas, McKinney, Colin Co., Nov. 3.—We are 
having au extremely dry fall after a droughty 
summer, causing stock water to be scarce and 
considerable inconvenience to the stock-men 
who have not tanks aud good water facilities. 
Wheat is now spreading.and would be fine if a 
good rain would fall on it before the freezing 
weather comes; rolling and packing the ground 
now will prevent it from “ heaving.” The 
acreage sown is 25 per cent, larger than has 
been sown here on any previous year. The 
late frost cut off the top or second crop of cot¬ 
ton. Fencing and fall plowing are now the 
rage—as farmers generally are preparing for 
large crops another year. w. n. w. 
®tjr (|uftist. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
JincilH Snis and Hog Cholera ; Bust on Wheat, 
Etc. 
A. L., Atlanta, Ohio, asks, 1, what is the 
nature of bacilli suis; are they possessed of 
animal life; and how do they produce hQg 
cholera; 2. what is the uature of rust on 
wheat, aud how is it produced; 3, at what 
time in the year Bhould Alfalfa or Lucern be 
sown, and should it receive any special treat¬ 
ment afterwards. 
Anb. —The word bacilli is simply the plural 
of bacillus, a form of bacterium which is an 
exceedingly minute and low vegetable form of 
monad, a monad being the simplest, indivisable 
form of life; (mis is the genitive or possessive 
case of the Latin word sus, a pig; the bacilli 
suis, therefore, are merely the bacilli of the 
pig, many other forms of bacillus being found 
in 01 her animals as well as in vegetables. The 
term was first employed the other day by Dr. 
Detnier, in the report he made to the Depart¬ 
ment of Agriculture on the Diseases of Swine. 
He describes these bacilli as small, almost 
straight, cylindrical bodies of about 0.003 to 
0.005 millimeter in length, and 0.0007 to 0.0008 
millimeter iu thickness; sometimes moving 
and sometimes not; in certain stages of de¬ 
velopment slightly moniliforni, or connected 
like a necklace. They multiply by first length¬ 
ening out and theu dividing into pieces, each 
one of which becomes a distinct bacillus. Dr. 
Law also speaks of them in his report on the 
same subject, but under tiie name of bacilli, 
bacteria or micrococci, the name given them 
by Dr. Kleiu. 
While it is highly probable, indeed almost 
certain, that these bacilli and their germs, 
which are found with them in affected ani¬ 
mals. in the form of round, microscopic gran¬ 
ules. are the medium by which the contagium 
of swine plague is propagated, ii has not yet 
been demonstrated that this is the case, or that 
other causes also may not exist which produce 
the same effect- As to the mode in which they 
might spread the malady the excretions of 
diseased animals are full of them, and it is 
supposed that these rise iu the air iu day-time, 
are carried off to a certain distance by the 
winds, and come down again during the night 
with the dew, as dew collected from the grass 
of a pasture adjoining a lot in which diseased 
pigs were confined, was found, ou microscopic 
examination, to contain both the bacilli and 
their germs abundantly. It can therefore be 
readily seen that they could be easily intro¬ 
duced into the organism of animals feeding 
ou such herbage, or upon old straw, or, in¬ 
deed, on any substance on which the infected 
dew had collected. It has also been found 
that auimals whose bodies are wounded iu any 
way, are peculiarly liable to the contagion, and 
it has therefore been inferred that the infec¬ 
tious principle, coming in contact with the 
raw surfaces, is absorbed by the veins and 
lymphatics. It has also been observed that 
hogs having access to water—such as creeks 
and streamlets—running from the quarters of 
diseased animals, are themselves 60 on infected, 
while those having access to such streams 
higher up, are exempt from the malady, unless 
infected by other means. Although the iufee- 
tious principle must be floating about abun¬ 
dantly in the air iu the neighborhood of diseased 
herds, it is thought hardly probable that sound 
animals are affected by breathing such air. 
2. The red dust or mildew, commonly called 
rirnt. that infests the wheat plant and often 
proves so destructive to the crop, is a minute 
parasitic fungus, or flowerless plant, known 
to botanists as Fuccinia graminis. It has been 
known to exist as a scourge to the wheat crop 
from very ancient times ; but it was not until 
the invention of the microscope that it was 
ascertained to he a vegetable growth, aud not 
until recent years has its real uature been 
studied out. The best authorities on the sub¬ 
ject contend that this fuiigus passes through a 
cycle of changes, each year appearing in differ¬ 
ent forms aud even ou different plauts. Strange 
as this arrangement seems, it is not at all un¬ 
likely ; there are striking parallels among 
insects aud the lower marine auimals. Thus, 
iu the fall the wheat rust forms spores—spores 
of flowerless plauts answer to seeds of the 
flowering ones—that remain over winter in a 
dormant state and are scattered far and wide 
by the winds, or which adhere to the straw, 
stubble and other objects. In the ensuing spring 
stimulated by warmth and moisture, these 
germinate wheu placed in a favorable condi¬ 
tion, but this time they infest, not the wheat, 
but the Barberry, and doubtless also other 
plants, as this shrub is sometimes entirely ab¬ 
sent from localities where the rust prevails. 
Here, iu germinating, they penetrate the epi¬ 
dermis, or covering, of the leaves, fill the tissues 
with mycelium —which is the name given to the 
flue net-work of threads that, may he com¬ 
pared to roots—aud shortly appear on the sur¬ 
face in the form of yellow spots. On examin¬ 
ation with a microscope, those spots are found 
to be clusters of small, open cups that slightly 
protrude through the epidermis. These cups 
are filled with millions of minute spores 
which, as they ripen, are scattered through 
the atmosphere. It is these that now at¬ 
tach themselves to the stem aud leaf of 
the wheat plant where they germinate and 
appear as rust; this time, however, not in 
the form of cups, but as tiny filaments crowned 
with two enlarged cells, one above the other, 
and crowded together in blotches and streaks 
all over the plant. This is the rust so familiar 
to the harvester. It again produces the snores 
that remain over winter, ready to begin life 
on the Barberry the coming spring. 
3. It is generally sown early iu spring, and 
iu the South, where the ground is in a fit con¬ 
dition to receive the seed sooner, it lias been 
successfully sown in January and February, 
as shown by reports in back issues of the 
Rural. It may also be sown in fall. Lucern 
needs a rich soil, with a permeable subsoil, 
aud great care should be taken to thoroughly 
clear the ground of weeds ; otherwise success 
with it is doubtful. To facilitate thorough 
weeding for the first year after planting, it 
should be sown in drills 15 to 18 inches apart, 
and hoed whenever weeds make their appear¬ 
ance. A top-dressing of gypsum, lime, ashes 
or barnyard manure is also beneficial. Alter 
the first year it will need little attention and 
bear abundant crops for an indefinite period. 
The Hessian Fly. 
W. S., Iloyleion, III., sends two wheat plauts 
in which were imbedded a great number of 
what he thinks must bo eggs of au insect that 
this fall lias been very destructive to the wheat 
crops in that region, having destroyed nearly 
all the early-sown wheat, but the late sown, 
he states, has not suffered so much. The 
same pest was in the wheat before harvest, lie 
asks us to name it, aud, if possible, suggest a 
remedy. 
Ans.—T he plants sent contained a great 
abundance of the pupae (not the eggs) of the 
Hessian fly. Wheu the larvae pupate, they are 
commonly spoken of as being iu the flax-seed 
stale, from the resemblance the pupa has to a 
flax-seed. Iu the Rural of July 13. 1878. will 
be found an article with illustrations describing 
this destructive insect. This fly deposits her 
eggs ou the leaves of the young wheat, plant. 
The eggs soon hutch, when the larvie crawl 
down to the base of the leaf and there live by 
absorbing the juice of the plant. Half a dozen 
such lame will in a few days completely de¬ 
stroy the plant which turns yellow aud falls to 
the ground. Ordinarily there are two broods 
in a season, but when the spring begins early 
and warm weather continues lute iu the fall, 
there may he three broods. The pupae which 
our friend had observed iu the wheat before 
harvest, were doubtless of the second brood, 
and the flies which emerged from them, aurain 
deposited their eggs on the wheat sowd this fall, * 
of which wc received the two plauts containing 
the. pupae. There are no artificial remedies for 
this pest. All that can be done is to sow the 
wheat late, and thus give time lor the multitudes 
of the second brood to pass away before the 
wheat appears above ground. Iu some seasons 
even late-sown wheat suffers much; but iu 
spite of all that may be said to the contrary, 
the experience and observation of entomo¬ 
logists and practical farmers prove that gen¬ 
erally early-eowu wheat suffers most, aud late 
sown, least. In seasons, therefore, when the 
dies are abundant, it is prudent to delay the 
sowing as late as the season will permit,'and 
better still to sow a strip around the outskirts 
of the wheat field early, which will then serve 
as a trap for the swarms of flies that are wait¬ 
ing for a chance to deposit their eggs. Later, 
when the whole field is sown, this strip should 
be plowed under and seeded down anew. The 
Clawson has been found to withstand the rava¬ 
ges of the fly better than almost any other vari¬ 
ety of wheat. There are numerous parasites that 
prey upon the eggs and larvie of the lly. It 
has been estimated that nine-tenths of the 
latter were destroyed, by parasites. For this 
reason the flies appear periodically in great 
numbers. Wheu they increase rapidly the 
parasites also increase rapidly, and Anally 
overpower their supporters which then for 
years may almost entirely disappear. 
“ (lorn- \ i I ” 
M. M. W., Pills field, asks for a remedy for 
“horn-ail " iu a cow. A new milch cow of hers 
was troubled with garget, and subsequently 
become afflicted with “ horn-ail ” aud she asks 
