PJS.vy what you will, tlie LeConte Pear ap¬ 
pears to be the “coining pear” for these 
parts. More and more are each year com¬ 
ing into bearing. There is a large breadth 
of land planted to peanuts. It becomes 
known to farmers that the most profitable way 
for them to make pork is to cultivate the 
nut freely and then let the hogs root them¬ 
selves into fatness. j. m. c. 
Palmer, Fla. 
My potatoes this year are splendid—as fine 
as any we ever had. When the ground was 
prepared, I made deep trenches with a plow, 
put in the potatoes and drove the Acme harrow 
lengthwise of the row once. Then I put in 
the fertilizer and mulch and harrowed the 
ground Until level. The plants come up well. 
This is cheaper and better than covering the 
seed with a hoe. G. e. loper. 
Suffolk Co., N. Y. 
I kail to see how a farmer can make use 
of his carpenter’s skill to better advantage 
than in putting up a grape trellis around the 
back door. A few vines trained over it will 
provide fruit, shade and comfort, as few 
other things can. s. j. 
Essex Co., Mass. 
There are plenty of men yet who will not 
take a farm paper. One man I know takes 
nothing but a county paper. He wants to 
know what the “folks” are doing. Another 
takes only a .Sunday-school paper. It contains 
a list of white lies called stories. They both 
say my corn is better than theira, because I 
have “good luck.” The man who makes a 
business of taking a paper will get something 
out of it. The man who takes oue just be¬ 
cause it ischeap, is a penny man, anyway. 
Wabash Co., Ind, r. l. m. 
1 want to utilize my bop kiln for drying 
fruit The late description of a plan for dry¬ 
ing raspberries iu a greenhouse makes me 
think the thing can be done. I am raising 
hops and expect to continue in the business. I 
also raise small fruits, and want to extend the 
business. The home market cannot be de¬ 
pended upon, so I mean to dry the surplus. 
We eau get tons of wild blackberries for the 
picking. I think it will pay well to dry them 
if T can make use of my hop kiln for the pur¬ 
pose. Others near me feel the same way. We 
want experience, hints and plans from others. 
Cleveland, N. Y, e. p. t. 
I Have killed lice and other insects on the 
hop vines with a solution of whale-oil soap. I 
take a piece of soap about the size of a hen’s 
egg, and dissolve it iu 10 quarts of water. I 
sprinkle or spray the vines with this, with 
good success. s . E< A 
Smyrna, Del. 
This country will hardly do to “boom,”but 
with industry and economy one can get a good 
living.if not riches. The Summers ore a little 
hotterthau in New York State.and the Winters 
a trifle milder. We were glad to look at Mrs. 
Fisher. She is younger than we thought, 
though she does not give her age. We would 
like to see “Auaxamauder aud the laddie,” 
ami thus get a glimpse of the whole family. 
Macou Co., Mo. MRS. j. v. r. 
W IL.LOWS to be used for baskets should be 
cut every year iu the Fall. If allowed to grow 
two years or more, they can lie used only for 
bottom sticks, and arc not worth so much. If 
prepared for market, they should be peelwl iu 
the sap, which is a good deal of trouble. So 
many willows were raised last season, that 
basket-makers are all busy. I do not see how 
it could be made to pay to establish a business 
elsewhere, the price is so low. In this couuty 
we make more willow clothes-baskets than in 
all the rest of the United States. We handle 
at least 20,000 dozen each year. Some 25 
years ago we began with handling 100 dozen 
a year. At that time willows were only grown 
along ereeks and river bottoms. We now have 
great plantations. There is little money iu 
the business, and it will not pay to raise them 
at any distaneo from a factory. l. l. t. 
Syracuse, N. Y. 
L. L. T. 
I keep my cows from sucking themselves 
by a simple device. Two leather strains, one 
inch wide, are buckled about the neck, oue at 
the shoulder aud the other just back of the 
head. To these, pieces of tough wood are 
fastened. The length of those pieces is ar¬ 
ranged to suit the cow’s noek from shoulder to 
jaw-bone. No chance for a cow to turn her 
head to t he side, while she eati move her neck 
up aud down. w , H B 
Iredell Co., N. C. 
After using the various preventives for 
grape rot, viz; paper bags, sulphate of iron, 
•sulphate of copper, milk of lime and air-slaked 
lime, 1 dud at least fill percent, of my grapes 
destroyed. The few remaining sound bags 
inclose sound clusters, but of 40,000 put on, not 
more than 1,000 are of service, The quality 
of the paper was too poor to withstand the 
rain and wind. X. c. s. 
Aiken S. C. 
Oh for more fruit! Planters here with 
thousamls of acres of land have not so much 
as a single peach tree. Blackberries and 
dewberries grow wild, but none are cultiva¬ 
ted. I don’t believe half the people know how 
strawberries grow. What fruit they use here 
is bought in cans. If they keep on, the next 
generation of Louisianians will want trees 
that bear canned fruit. t. w. 
East Carroll La. 
SI) cup ijusbrtiu)n). 
MUTTON MERINOS: THE BLACK-TOP 
SHEEP: BETTER MUTTON AND 
WOOL. 
COL. F. D. CURTIS. 
It is no wonder with me that Merino sheep 
fill so important a part in the sheep husbandry 
of the country. Now and then—rarely, how¬ 
ever—some one has praise for them; but al¬ 
though the conrse-wools are much vauuted, 
the Merinos take the lead in uumbers ten to 
one, and no doubt they will always exceed 
the others. To one who has kept both kinds 
the reasons are obvious. The Merinos will 
not only live, but do very well, under condi¬ 
tions where the open-wooled sheep would die. 
They seem almost to defy the storms aud cold. 
The income from oue sheep is not so much; 
but three, if not four, can be kept on the same 
amount of food which would be required to 
support two of the larger breeds. When this 
fact is taken into the account, the difference in 
the returns is not so great. American breed¬ 
ers should take hold of the problem and help 
to decide if the mutton qualities of the Meri¬ 
no cannot be improved. A real mutton Meri¬ 
no would lie au ideal sheep, lieeau.se it would 
lie one which would lie adapted to almost all 
parts of the country. Where vegetation is 
sparse sheep of this kind would deteriorate to 
a certain degree, unless extra food was sup¬ 
plied. The same is true of any large-growing 
breed of animals. Even Short-horns, when 
the pasturage is poor, will soon run down aud 
become dwarfed, in spite of their propensity 
to rapid and large growth. The meanest- 
looking cattle 1 ever saw were some of these 
degenerated Short-horns. They had the ex¬ 
pansive frames without the muscle and fat, 
and were not much more than living skele¬ 
tons. 
There has been no extended effort towards 
increasing the sire of the bodies of the Meri¬ 
nos, as the efforts of Merino breeders have 
been more in the direction of securing heavy 
fleeces. Their success shows what skill may 
accomplish. In Washington County, Pa., for 
some yeai-s an effort has been made to increase 
the size also. A family of sheep were selected 
and named “Black Top Merinos,” and an asso¬ 
ciation of the best breeders has been formed 
to improve them both in body aud fleece; in 
the latter respect not so much for weight as 
for quality. Individuals have also undertaken 
the same work, in different localities, to a 
small extent; but these Pennsyhauia men have 
laid a broader foundatiou by a community 
effort, and are succeeding right welL They 
have already issued a herd book which does 
them great, credit. There is no doubt that 
tin; character of the mutton of these sheep 
will also be improved, as the same law of 
improvement will apply with these as with 
all other animals. The famous South Downs 
were uot ouce the desirable mutton sheep 
they are now, and the Leicester, the breed 
made by Mr. Bake Well, which for many 
years was called after his name, was built 
up from a much poorer foundation than the 
improved stock. Not only was the quality 
and the flesh changed ami improved, but the 
fleece wus also made much better. There is 
no impossibility about the improvement of 
the Merinos. The food has always a great 
deal to do with the character of the meat, 
ami this law can be applied to the Merinos 
as well as to others. 
A few years ago I started to breed a small 
flock of mutton Merinos from selected stock, 
and each year 1 am trying to show an advance 
towards larger bodies aud more rapid growth. 
The enterprise involves care, selection and 
the application of the host principles iu 
breeding. There must be established in thorn 
a constitutional aptitude for rapid growth, 
which is the opposite from the natural char¬ 
acter of Merino, which is the slowest-growing 
sheep of all breeds, It is natural that the 
meat of these sheep should be dry and lack¬ 
ing in flavor when grown, as Merinos are usual¬ 
ly roared on scanty pastures. 1 found 
that these sheep respond quickly to extra 
care, and that the quality of the mutton can 
be very much improved by feediug them 
roots aud oil meal, which have helped so 
materially to improve the English breeds. 
The animals with gummy wool should be 
avoided in the experiment as well as those 
with wrinkles, and those.only should be selected 
which, like the Black Top family, have white 
oil. These sheep do not have the rank smell 
of those with the yellow yolk, and then- 
vitality is not drawn upon so much to fur¬ 
nish the yolk; neither do they secrete so 
much. They do not, therefore, coat the ex¬ 
terior of their fleeces with the dried oil, and 
consequently their wool is not so harsh and 
matted together. It is a longer staple, softer 
and more desirable. 
SHEEP WASHING. 
This subject has been discussed quite large¬ 
ly by wool growers in some sections this year, 
and many concluded to try the experiment of 
shearing their sheep without washing. It was 
an experiment which I don’t think will be re¬ 
peated; for but few would have tried it had 
they known how much loss they were to suffer 
by it. The old-time rule held to by buyers of 
the present day of deducting one-third for 
shrinkage of uuwashed wool, is decidedly 
unjust to the wool grower. Here is my ex¬ 
perience in this matter. My flock have aver¬ 
aged about 7’ 4 ' pounds of well washed wool 
for five years or more. With that amount of 
fleece at 27 cents per pound (which price it 
would have brought had it lieen washed), I 
would have realized si.ltd per head for the 
wool: as it was, I received less than £1.78 by 
selling it at 20 cents per pound. There is no 
doubt that the wool of some sheep will shrink 
more than that of others by washing; blit In 
my opinion whoever sells his wool at a deduc¬ 
tion of less than from 15 to 20 jier cent, for 
the reason that it is not washed, is a loser. 
Willow Creek, N. Y. w. 
COMMON-SENSE IN THE DAIRY. 
Science undertakes to teach us a great mauy 
things aliout butter making. It is possible to 
be too scientific. With more common sense in 
the dairy, we should have fewer butter makers, 
but more good butter in the market. No set 
of dairy rules are worth a cent unless oue is 
willing to temper them with common sense. 
A good sharp nose is often worth a £20 analy¬ 
sis. it is strange that people still think they 
can strain tilth out of milk. It can't be done. 
Filthy milk will be filthy to the end of the 
chapter, and all the straining iu the world will 
not make it pure. When a cow steps into the 
pail she steps into the butter plate. Milk col¬ 
lects all the foul odors about it aud lauds them 
safely into your mouth. When these facts 
are generally understood, there will be less 
trouble about “oleo.” j. w. w. 
Oceana Co. Mich. 
MILK INSPECTION. 
Milk inspectors examine the milk that goes 
into cities. They are anxious to see that it 
contains so much “solids.” They would do 
the public a great deal more good if they 
would spend less time ou the “solids” and 
more in finding out what the milk is made of. 
Disease is uot poured into milk with wate*-, 
but. comes from feeding rotten anddircy food, 
or from filthy surroundings. If “oleo” fac¬ 
tories are to Ik? examined, why should uot the 
barus where sickening milk is made be exam¬ 
ined in the same way f The cry is that honest 
dairymen cannot compete with men who use 
cheap fats in making bogus butter. In the 
same way how can honest milkmen who feed 
pure, sweet grain, hope to compete with those 
who use rotten refuse or swill ! l,et milk in¬ 
spectors extend their trips into the country 
and see what this milk is before it is milk. 
Bergen Co., N. J. B. h. 
BUTTER AVERAGES FOR HOLLAND CATTLE. 
For the past 18 months we have tested 82 
Holstein-Friesian cows and heifers iu our herd 
for butter (which includes none of the records 
made prior to that time), aud we find they 
make the following remarkable weekly aver¬ 
ages : Five cows, 21 pounds 4 5 ounces; 10 cows, 
10 (Annuls four ounces; 23 cows, 17 pounds 
one ounce; nine three-year-olds 13 pounds 
2 1-5 ounces; eight two-year-oltls, 13 pounds 
1-8 ounce; 21 two-year-olds, 12 pounds 1-8 
ounce; 37two-year-olds, 11 pouuds 4-5ounces; 
58 two-year-olds, 10 pounds 2-7 ounces. These 
facts show what selection, breeding and care- 
will accomplish. 
SMITHS POWELL & LAMB 
<Xl)c Poultvu jJuri). 
A FEW SUGGESTIONS ON KEEPING " 
POULTRY. 
We frequently see itemized statements of 
the enormous profits that can be made by run¬ 
ning the poultry business on a large scale— 
“poultry farming” is the popular term. A 
recent writer iu the Rural set forth in glow¬ 
ing terms the result of £1,000 invested in poul- 
tr y by a mRn “with any business gumption.” 
Unquestionably, an exfierienced man could 
invest that amount and show handsome re¬ 
turns, but many a business man has not the 
practical knowledge of poultry requisite to 
en g a ge in it successfully; aud without this 
knowledge for a man to invest such a sum in 
the business, would be simply to afford another 
example of the truth of the saying: “A fool 
and his money are soon parted.” 
There are those who manage “poultry 
farms” successfully, and herald their triumph 
through the press. Of those who fail, how¬ 
ever, wo never hear, unless it be by way of an 
advertisement offering an incubator (“used 
but little”) or other article for sale. My first 
suggestion to those who are beginning the 
business is, therefore, to be content to start 
on a small scale; for while there are a few 
who can run it ou a large scale and make both 
ends meet, there is not a man, woman or child 
who cannot show a profit from a small num¬ 
ber of fowls. I know of nothing which, on the 
actual capita] invested, will bring such larae 
returns as will 25 or 30 hens. The table scraps 
thrown away by so many families would fur¬ 
nish three-quarters of the food necessary for 
their maintenance, which Is the secret of the 
profits from a small flock. 
Our American fanciers have furnished us 
with a fowl exactly adapted to those who may 
wish to keep a flock that will furnish them 
with eggs the year round, and also with a 
chicken dinner of au excellent quality—a breed 
that requires no costly structure or artificial 
heat in order to lay well dux-ing the winter 
mouths, when eggs always command a high 
price and are too expensive for the laboring 
man s table. The Rural has too often spoken 
of the great worth of the Plymouth Rock as 
a general-purpose fowl to make it uecessary 
for me to say that it is also my ideal. The one 
important quality for a fowl to possess in 
Older to be suited to the average poultry- 
keeper, is “hardiness, 1 and I know of no breed 
that ]assesses it in so large a degree as does 
the Plymouth Rock. Wheu one begins poul¬ 
try-keeping, he should secure thoroughbred 
fowls, for he can't help but admire a flock of 
well-marked, symmetrical fowls, and he will 
therefore care for them the better. The stock 
will cost a trifle more than if a start were 
made with some common, worn-out stock, but 
the increased returns the first year will more 
than pay the additional outlay. 
Cobleskill, N. Y. ' A c K 
A CHICKEN CURIOSITY. 
I had a queer-looking chicken. It looked as 
though a hole had been made in its skin and 
then blown up like a bladder. It was one- 
third to one-half larger than it should have 
been. It was lively and the skin outside the 
ai r bladder f nil of vein* I pricked it over the 
left hip aud let out the air, but the air around 
the neck remained. I pricked on the right 
side of the neck aud the remaining air came 
out. In a few days it began to “blow up” 
again. As the result of a second pricking, it 
drooped aud died. No bones were broken. I 
thought broken lnines might have caused the 
troubte. R E D 
Tioga Pa. 
GETTING RID OF GAPE WORMS. 
You can get the gape worms out of a chick¬ 
en’s throat with a piece of fine wire. I take a 
piece alxiut eight inches long, about as large 
as that used in making hair flowers, I double 
it and wind it on a stick, thus forming a loop 
which can be inserted in the chicken's throat. 
It is better than horse hair. Of the many pro¬ 
posed ways of curing the gapes, this oue is sure 
an} way. Lf you get hold of the worm you 
eau kill it at least-. [\\ e fail to see why dip¬ 
ping a feather in kerosene and brushing it 
about in the chicken’s throat will not do the 
business. Eds.] p s 
Passaic Co. N. J. 
<l\)t 3 pmviait. 
ROBBER BEES. 
W. Z. HUTCHINSON. 
Some old man thus advised his son “Get 
money;get it honestly if you can, but get 
money. ” The bee always acts upon the principle 
of the above advice. It gets honey; honestly 
if it can, but it gets honey; that is if there is 
any to be got. It prefers to gather the sweet 
honestly from the flowers. During a good flow 
of honey I have seen it stand untouched in 
puddles on the ground where it had accidentally 
been spilled. But when the flow ceases, then be 
ware ! If there is a weak or queenless colony 
it is at once pounced upon,and a stout resistance 
