subscription price, and that you cannot read 
it a year without finding some useful hints, 
etc. But Mi*. C. takes this view of the gen¬ 
eral proposition, “Here is a gold mine. There 
is $100 worth of gold in it; but it is worth 
$1,000 to dig it out.” Therefore the mine is 
worthless.” _ 
My vineyard of Niagara and Concord grapes 
was almost an entire failure last year, on ac- 
eouut of the injury done the vines by the ex¬ 
treme cold of the Winter before last. To 
avoid any such mishap again, I laid down the 
vines from the wires last Fall, and they now 
promise a great crop. c. p. w. 
Hillsborough Co., N. H. 
The cow that will suck herself is generally 
the best in the herd. If it was not for this 
fact, very few of them would be kept. When 
measures are taken to keep the cow’s head 
away from the bag (and that is the only sure 
remedy), the cow must be kept in a stall by 
herself, as the frame on her neck will not let 
her head into a stanchion. It pays better, 
though, to keep a good cow in a stall than it 
does to keep a poor one in a stanchion. 
Jefferson Co., N. Y. T. n. s. 
In the Summer of 1884 several peach trees 
bore a medium crop, but almost without ex¬ 
ception, the peaches were wormy. The apples 
were just as bad. Last May I had corn-cobs 
soaked in crude petroleum and tied in all the 
trees. We had an abundant crop of peaches 
and I don’t remember one dozen to have had 
worms. I think small, wide-mouthed bottles 
hung in trees with the petroleum in them, 
might be better. In the Spring of 1884 I tried 
an experiment with a scrubby peach tree, 
that was about two feet high and inch in 
circumference. I removed the earth from the 
roots and put in a peck of ashes over which I 
poured two gallons of boiling water, and then 
put the earth back. Now the tree is fully 12 
feet high and as thrifty as any tree on the 
place. The earth was removed this Spring, 
but no trace of worms could be found. 
Orange, Va. MRS. J. E. M. 
Some 30 years ago Horace Greeley spoke at 
the Indiana State Fair, and expressed sur¬ 
prise at the small size and inferior quality of 
the horses on exhibition. The average farm 
horse then was gaunt and spindling, averag¬ 
ing 13 hands high. It was then held that a 
colt could make its full growth without regard 
to care or feed. Colts were made to live on 
scant pasture in Summer, and straw stacks in 
Winter. Lately they have had better care and 
larger breeds have been introduced. The Ham- 
bletonian, Cleveland Bay, Clydesdale, Perclier- 
ons, and other breeds are found everywhere. 
Raising good horses pays as well as any other 
branch of farming. It is to be hoped that with 
the improvement of the “general-purpose” 
horse, the gambling race course will not be 
made, as now, the chief attraction of our State 
and county fairs. s. w. H. 
Madison Co., Ind. 
I have been much pleased with artichokes 
as a food for hogs, especially in the Spring, 
or as a food for brood sows. We had a plan¬ 
tation near an old piggery which gave excel¬ 
lent satisfaction. Since the hogs were moved 
to new quarters we have fed no artichokes, 
but we shall put out a small plot, as I think 
they pay well. prof. s. johnson. 
Lansing, Mich. 
In many cases where hog cholera is given as 
causing the death of hogs, I think the trouble 
is due to kidney worms. The animals are 
sluggish and seem to grow weak behind. A 
dose of sulphate of iron or of turpentine will 
help matters. l. j. t. 
Canon City, Col. 
I have been bothered very much by my 
hens eating their eggs. 1 think I have at last 
found a sure remedy. A gentleman was at 
my place some time ago and we were, speak¬ 
ing of this trouble with hens, 1 found we had 
both come to the conclusion that if the nests 
are kept nearly dark there will be no loss. I 
proposed to darken my nests by placing them 
in a separate room with but little light, and 
that not to shine into the nests. My hens are 
a cross between the Plymouth Rock and 
Brown Leghorn. They are good layers, rather 
tardy about sitting, and almost too timid. 
Black predominates among them. L. M. M. 
N. Ferrisburg, Vt. 
I was recently struck with a statement in 
coal mining. The miner filled three ton cars, 
employed his own driver, found his light, 
tools, powder, etc. After these expenses, it 
netted 10 cents per tom A farmer places a 
tenant in absolute possession to pay as rent 
half the gain or in many cases two-fifths. The 
tenant has all the comforts of lifo, his cattle 
and horses’ increase and profit, his poultry, 
vegetable garden, orchards, fuel, etc. What a 
contrast with the mine and its woi'ker 1 There 
is discontent all over the country. Business 
languishes, and all must economize. The 
products of the soil remain unconsumed, or 
are sold at prices which will not pay the cost 
of production. Capital is settling into the 
hands of the few, while the many become 
poorer. A halt must be called. We must be¬ 
gin just where capital began. It created 
laws for its purpose, now farmers must take a 
hand. Too many of our legislators are 
lawyers. We want laws that the common 
people can understand. The rich have gained 
their wealth by the labor of tbc poor. Let 
all bear the burden alike. Honest labor can 
never fill its proper place till it forces itself 
into it. The war began the work by raising 
the most degraded labor. We must carry the 
work on. The Rural is right in the matter. 
Farmers havo the power to work out their 
own freedom. J. B. b. 
Talbot Co., Md. 
I have just, finished a machine that gives me 
gi eat satisfaction. I can now crack all my 
corn and grind my oyster and dam shells. 
This is quite an item to one, like me, in the 
poultry business. I took an old mowing ma¬ 
chine and took off one wheel and fastened a 
sweep to the other wheel, lengthened out the 
shaft, put a horse to it and with a Wilson $5 
mill can grind all I want. It will save me 
much hal’d work. J. R. L, 
Coxsackie, N. Y. 
New seedling potatoes should be raised on 
clay loam, for on such soil they run a hard 
test, and if there is any bad blood in them it 
will show itself about the second year. Sandy 
soil is deceitfuL Sandy soils give you beauti¬ 
ful Burbanks and Empire States, but on our 
clay loam in our valley they look like cows’ 
boms, and grow very coarse, and will never 
do for our soil. O. H. A. 
Charlotte, Vt. 
Rev. R.chard Nott of Charlotte, Vermont 
says; “I nave heard “thin-skinned” folks ex¬ 
press the belief that the Rural editor has not 
any feelings from the habit he has of “sitting 
down” so independently, callously, defiantly 
in his paper on matters and things, measures 
and men. I incline to the opinion, however, 
that the Rural folks—from the Editor-in- 
chief down to the imp of the composing room, 
are all people of kindly sensibilities. 
Experience is the first and best teacher for 
successful farming, and the Rural is next best. 
We need to learn what we can do ourselves 
and also what others can do. There is much 
in the way this experience is told. We had a 
cow choke with a beet. It stayed in her throat 
all night. We fixed two blocks of wood be¬ 
tween the jaws of a wood clamp, so as to press 
on the beet without pressing the wind-pipe. I 
screwed the thing up and it started the beet so 
that I had no trouble in working it out by 
band. We applied the pressure near one end 
of the beet so as to start it. This is much bet¬ 
ter than trying to smash the beet with a mal¬ 
let or poking it down with a stick. A. B. e, 
Manhattan, Kans. 
I am getting out of patience with strikers. 
Most of them get far better wages than the 
majority of farmers can possibly hope to get; 
yet they go on agitating aud depressing times 
still more. We live nine miles from a railroad, 
and haul our oats and com that distance over 
rough, muddy, country roads, and then selL at 
20 cents pier bushel. What would these 
‘ ‘strikers” do in such a condition ? Borne people 
never know when they are well off. 
Hopeville, Iowa. m, t. a. 
Tree agents are around here deceiving the 
people with Moore’s Arctic Plum aud Kieffer 
Pear. They don’t like to hear from the Rural. 
One agent offered peach trees grafted on 
water elm roots. He made no sales for lack 
of fools. Anocher agent sold trees which he 
said were grafted on a kiud of stock that sent 
up such a smell that the borers never touched 
it. He found some customers, strange to say. 
Monroe Co., Iowa. J. n. b. 
Before the war, people here were planters 
but not farmers. We raised great crops of 
cotton, rice aud sugar but let the smaller 
things go. Bince then, while we have been 
wanting to change, we have been unable to 
learn to do as our father didn’t do. We 
must get rid of the olds-tyle system of culti¬ 
vation and learn the thrift, economy and mau- 
ageinent-that have made other countries suc¬ 
cessful. How are wo going to learn? 
Sumpter Co., S. C. e. j. k. 
We have to pay 1% cents a foot for tile 
here, and sell cabbage at two cents per head 
and common grapes at two cents per pound. 
My four Jerseys keep us from running out of 
dry goods aud groceries. They are doing ex¬ 
tra well and support the family in better shape 
than many men could do. Times are hard but 
we expect to live yet. We have enough to eat 
and drink and wear. That is a good founda¬ 
tion anyway. I have successfully reduced 200 
large carcasses by the use of fresh manure aud 
gypsum. I have now enough fertilizer to do 
my 20 acres for a long time. J. k. p. 
Knoxville, Tenn. 
A neighbor has a hooking cow. She prac¬ 
tices her peculiar habit upon every person or 
thing within reach. Among her farm com¬ 
panions is a monkey. The first time the cow 
saw him. she, as usual, lowered her head and 
“made for him.” The monkey waited until 
she was within reach and then jumped quickly 
to the top of her head between the horns, and 
run the whole length ol' her body and jumped 
off at the rear. The cow was so badly fright¬ 
ened that she ran all the way to the stable. 
Since then she has behaved herself, o. A. u. 
Falls church, Va. 
A farmer who has everything convenient 
can take care of 200 hens without neglecting 
his other work, 1 do it and my work is gen¬ 
erally done in time. Duck raising will not 
pay unless one is near a hotel or other good 
market where ducks can be sold at a fancy 
price. c. s. p. 
Plymouth Co., Mass. 
Wk have apples enough out here. In our 
apple season hundreds of bushels rot on the 
ground because there Is no market near en¬ 
ough to get even with freight, etc. Califor¬ 
nia apples to be appreciated must be tasted in 
their season and before the taster has filler! 
himself with apricots, grapes, pears, straw¬ 
berries aud the like. Our apples will not keep 
well, but I find that they compare well with 
“Chicago” apples that have found their way 
out here. I have lived in the groat apple- 
growing regions of this country — Michigan 
aud Western New York—yet I must stand by 
our California apples; our Yellow Bellflower 
can’t be beat. You can take an early start 
from the northeast corner of Maiue aud look 
all the way along to this place, so as to arrive 
here in October, and fail to find such apples 
on the road. The best of it is, we have them 
every year and no frost to cut them off. It is 
here just as it is elsewhere; poor fruit will 
find its way to market, and just because it is 
cheap, it will be hawked about the streets and 
carry a bad name into every kitchen. Cali¬ 
fornia is well able to supply her own apples. 
Santa Barbara Co, , Cal. O. n . c. 
CATALOGUES, ETC., RECEIVED. 
St. Johnsville Agricultural Works. 
Circular from M. Williams, St. Johnsville, 
N. Y., proprietor of the above named manu¬ 
facturing enterprise. The horse powers, 
thrashers, truck wagons and other implements 
manufactured at these works have received 
the highest testimonials. The range in man¬ 
ufacturing is great: from the circular saw, 
weighing 325 pounds, to the great four-horse 
power, weighing 4,000 pounds. Ail machines 
are allowed to run four days within two weeks 
after they are received. If a machine dons not 
give satisfaction after ample time has been 
given for fixing it, the purchaser may return 
the same at the expense of the maker, 
aud whatever note or cash has been paid, 
will lie returned. The catalogue contains a 
surprisingly large number of testimonials. 
We invite all who are interested in work re¬ 
quiring the use of such machinery to send for 
this catalogue. 
Society for the Promotion of Agri¬ 
cultural Science. —Proceedings of the sixth 
meeting of the above society, from its Secre¬ 
tary, B. D. Halstead, Ames. Iowa. This so¬ 
ciety, though young, contains some of the 
brightest minds in American agriculture. It 
was organized in 1880, and has met yearly 
since then. It was organized for the purpose 
of bringing together persons interested in 
scientific agriculture that discussions as to the 
methods and results of investigations might bo 
had. The present volume contains the papers 
read at the last meeting. It is packed lull of 
facts. Papers wore contributed by Dr. Beal, 
Maj. Alvord, Prof. Caldwell, Dr. Sturtevunt, 
and others. This society Is doing much 
for American agriculture as it presents 
a medium through which advanced thinkers 
can reach each other. 
Cornell University Register— from the 
Treasurer of the University, Ithica, N. Y. 
All are familiar with the history of Cornell 
University. In many respects in is the lead¬ 
ing industrial school of the age. It is grat¬ 
ifying to learn that efforts are being made to 
increase thekeope and efficiency of the agri¬ 
cultural department. This would appear to 
be necessary, us out of a total of 604 students 
we can find but 22 who are taking the present 
agricultural course. The register is neat and 
comprehensive. It should lie carefully exam¬ 
ined by all who have children to educate. The 
advertisement of the University will be found 
elsewhere in this issue. 
New Iron Fence for Farmers— circular 
from the Barnes Patent Iron Fence Company, 
Easton, Pa. A well considered effort to an 
swer the question—“Which is the best fence 
for the least money?” The Barnes fence is 
cheap, strong and durable. The rails are 
made of wrought iron, seven-eights of 
an inch wide, one-eighth of an inch thick, 
aud eight or ten feet long. Cattle can- 
uot injure themselves against it and snow can¬ 
not drift about it. It can be easily moved, as 
there are no post-holes to dig and no rails to 
drive. The price ranges from $1.20 to $1.70 
per rod, according to the number of rails re¬ 
quired. A new thing. Investigate it by all 
means. 
Roofing and Lining Papers for Poultry 
Houses. Circular from G. S. Garrett & Son, 
12 and 14 Decatur Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 
Few things have doue so much to make the 
poultry business what it. should lie as the fact 
t hat the means of building cheap, simple, yet 
warm houses have, been greatly increased. 
Few lining papers have given bettor satisfac. 
than those sold by this reliable house. We are 
confident that our readers will receive prompt 
and courteous treatment in all business rela¬ 
tions they may have with Garrett & Son. 
Whitman’s Fountain Pump.— Poster from 
Josiali A. Whitman, Providence. R. I. This 
excellent pump is deserving of a neater and 
more attractive advertisement than is given 
in this crowded poster. A neat pamphlet 
would have been far more attractive. This 
implement is considered by such men as Prof. 
Cook, Sec. Garfield, Prof. Comstock and others 
as being the best of its kind for spraying trees, 
plants and bushes as well as for all other pur¬ 
poses to which a fountain pump can be ap¬ 
plied. It has given excellent results with us. 
New Fruit Nomenclature.— J. J. Thom¬ 
as, the worthy horticultural editor of the Cul¬ 
tivator (Albany), refers to the action of the 
American PomologicaJ Society in correcting 
and improving the names of fruits. He states 
that there are more than 250 names of pears 
with the word “Beam*” prefixed to them. 
With the exception of a few hard culinary or 
winter pears, the term applies nearly as well 
to all the thousand varieties, and is useless. 
There are nearly as many unnecessary pre¬ 
fixes to other fruits. It is hardly reasonable 
to require every one of the ten thousand fruit- 
raisers in the country to write these sterile 
words every time they refer to these peare. 
Many other names are inappropriate or mis¬ 
leading, or have been applied by dissemina¬ 
tors to help the sale of second-rate sorts, and 
others are coarse aud vulgar: and it is entirely 
within the province of the American Pomolog- 
ieal Society, on behalf of the great multitude 
who are to use these, names, to correct or im¬ 
prove thorn. _ 
A Potato Centennial. —Just now Monti- 
dier, France, is preparing to celebrate the 
centennial of the introduction of the potato as 
an article of human food into France by M. 
Parmentier, who was born in that town in 1737 
and died in Paris in 1815. A chemist and en¬ 
thusiast, he had struggled for years against 
bitter opposition, to make the “apple of the 
earth” (the French name for potato) an arti¬ 
cle of food; for it was then regarded by the 
French with the utmost contempt, as fit only 
for hog feed. Finally h© obtained from Louis 
XVI. permission to cultivate the tuber on the 
plaius of Sablous, near Paris, and in 1786 pre¬ 
pared n banquet to which he invited all the 
savants (the scientists of those days) of France, 
to prove to them the excellence of the potato 
and the variety of ways in which it could be 
made palatable. It was served up in 33 differ¬ 
ent styles, and was at once declared to be the 
most delicious of esculents. Parmentier be¬ 
came famous; he visited the King ut Versail¬ 
les, holding a bunch of potato flowers in his 
hand; Louis shook bauds with him; Mario 
Antoinette allowed him to kiss her on both 
cheeks, and at a ball at night his Majesty wore a 
bunch of potato flowers in his royal buttonhole. 
Since then the potato has lmd u triumphant 
career in France, and the 33 styles in which it 
was introduced by Parmentier have, Alexan¬ 
dre Dumus tolls us, been increased to 250. 
What statesman, poet, financier, orator or 
soldier has done as much for the real happiness 
aud prosperity of the French people as was 
done by Parmentier? Have all the "glories” of 
Napoleon conferred as much “solid” happiness 
on them? Justly therefore are all the distin¬ 
guished men of Franco invited to the celebra¬ 
tion, und from the original home of the potato 
the Rural New-Yorker sends, from the 
Western Continent, its cont ribution of praise 
to honor the introducer of the tuber into 
France. 
The Suffolk Horse is considered in many * 
parts of England as superior to either the 
