THE BUBAL WEW-YOBKIB. 
4886 
499 
which California has, I believe a larger p o- 
portion than any (State in the Union. After 
passing Lattrop where the train stopped for 
dinner, we crossed the San Joaquin River and 
were in what is distinctively the San Joaquin 
Valley, which is but a continuation of the Sac¬ 
ramento. The two rivers flow into a swampy 
region south of Sacramento and west of 
Stockton, and on into San Francisco Bay. 
These two valleys are partly intersected by 
this swamp or tide land, consisting of 3,000,- 
000acres. The two valleys are 350 miles long 
from north to south, with an area of 14,- 
000square miles, and not over 500 feet above 
the sea level. The fertility of the soil is said 
to be far inferior to that of the loamy val¬ 
leys of the. Missouri and Wabash Rivers, and 
wheat cannot regularly be raised without irri¬ 
gation, Crossing the San Joaquin Valley the 
train made its way through a mountainous re¬ 
gion via Livermore Pass, and ere long we 
sniffed-#ie fresh air of the coast valleys, and 
at five o’clock we were iu Oakland, the most 
behutifulcity in the United States. 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
Canada. 
Somenos, Vancouver’s Island, Canada, 
July 0.—The weather for the last ten days has 
been very wet. Crops look very well. Wheat, 
oats and peas will be a good average. Roots 
of all kinds and fruit, as well as hay, good. 
j. D. 
Dakota. 
Raymond, Clark Co.. July 15.—I have just 
read your Rural Special Crop Report. Things 
have gone from bad to worse since then 
only a few slight showers the end of May. 
Wheat put in early and in good shape may 
produce from one-quarter to one-half crop: 
late grain null be a total failure. Many are 
cutting it with the mower for fodder. Hay, 
extremely scarce, and the prospects, on the 
whole, very gloomy. Seven-eighths of the flax 
crop has gone up; oats and barley very light 
and thin. Hard times inevitable. t. m. 
Idaho. 
Caldwell. Ida Co,, July 11,—Taking as a 
standard the Boise Valley, whose soil is as rich 
us any in the Territory, the condition of all 
crops is not qnite so favorable as at this time 
last. year. Wheat, will fall far short of an 
average crop, Oats and rye, a fair average. 
Corn is not raised to any exteut, not doing 
well here: not enough is raised for home con¬ 
sumption—nights are too cool. All kinds of 
garden truck are iu excellent condition. Po¬ 
tatoes^ full crop; apples, peaches, [wars,plums, 
and Herman prunes, very large crops. Grapes 
arc not a success in this section. Hay is the 
largest yield that has ever been known 
Alfalfa is raised to a great extent. 
J. w. F. 
Illinois. 
Granville, Putnam Co., July 16.—Hay a 
good crop and about made. Wheat (Spring) 
good. Oats, fair. Coin, a splendid prospect. 
J. A. 
Minnesota. 
Leroy, Mower Co., July 12,—The season 
has been very dry; no rain from May 10 to 
amount to anything till J uly 3. when we had 
a nice shower, but too late for many crops. 
Com is fair—about the same as last year at 
the same time. Oats are the poorest I have 
ever seen, lots too short to cut and bind. 
Wheat is middling; chinch-bugs are operating 
m lots of pieces, ltye not much raised here; 
looks fair. Barley is short,, and headed out 
poor; pieces turning out yellow; lots half head¬ 
ed. Potatoes—some look fair. The potato- 
bugs are multitudinous on account of dry 
weather. They sat on the fence and brush in 
the Bpring, waiting for the potatoes to come 
up. Garden track that has been sprinkled 
looks fair. Apple trees mostly all killed by 
a late freeze a year ago last Spring. The few 
that am left look fair; not many apples. Pears 
and peaches are not raised here. Berries are 
fair; not many. Hay is about one-third light¬ 
er than last year. From the way things 
started iu the Spring, it looked as though we 
were going to have early and heavy crops, but 
dry weather soon made a change, F. a. v. 
Montana. 
Fridley, Gallatin Co., July 14.—For the 
last five days the thermometer has been over 
100*-' in the shade, and on the 11th it was 105°, 
and stood so for three hours. But, our nights 
are cool, so we have the satisfaction of having 
good sleep. The oat and wheat crops will be 
below the yield of last year, as the water iu 
streams has been scarce for irrigating. The 
measured bushel of oats here hardly ever falls 
below 40 pounds in weight. I don’t know what 
kinds they are, only they are white. The old 
residents say that the warm sj>ell has never 
been equaled iu this country. Grain, cattle 
and horses are the main features here—fancy 
farming has not commenced much. There is 
hardly any dairying, and I wonder at it, as 
there is no letter place for it in the United 
States, Butter aud cheese bring fancy prices, 
but dairying, I suppose, takes too much work 
and is too confining. B. p. v. 
Vermont. 
Charlotte, Chittenden Co., July 12.—We 
have been having very' fine hay weather, and 
most of our farmers will finish harvest by the 
16th. The hay crop is more than an average. 
o. H. A. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
[Every query must be accompanied by the name 
and address of the writer to Insure attenttou. Before 
asking a question, please see If It Is not. answered In 
our advertising columns. Ask only a few questions at 
one time. Put questions ou a separate piece of paper. | 
CUTTING DOWN ASPARAGUS; DISINFECTANTS. 
T. R. IF., Roselle, N. J, —1. Can I cut down 
asparagus plants any time before maturity of 
the seeds, without injury to the future growth 
and bearing of the plants: and if not, why 
not? 2. What is the best, disinfectant and 
deodorizer for cesspools t 
Ans. —1. It is true that fruit-bearing and 
seed-pei’fecting are exhaustive processes. It is 
also true that the roots or tuliers of perennial, 
herbaceous plants need their foliage until it 
matures, in order to store up the needful 
amount of strength aud food for the future. 
We should say that it is letter to allow the 
fruit to mature in the case of the asparagus 
plant rather than to deprive it of its stem and 
leaves before they begin to mature. The best 
way would be to cut off the flowers, not such 
a difficult task for a small boy. 2. Dry 
earth, strong loams and clay, reduced to 
powder, are cheap and excellent. Cover the 
contents of the cesspool or other fetid sub¬ 
stance with the earth. For privy vaults, 
cesspools, etc., powdered copperas is the best. 
One or two pounds will destroy the odor from 
an ordinary cesspool, and it is cheap. It is 
also the best disinfectant and deodorizer for 
sinks, drains and other ill-smelling situations. 
Carbolic acid or chloride of lime can be used 
in all places where the odor of those deodor¬ 
izers cannot reach the rooms in the dwelling 
house. 
HOW TO HARVEST AND CURE TOBACCO FOR 
HOME USE. 
F. J. Dunilns, Ont ., Can. —How should I 
harvest and cure a small lot of tobacco for 
home consumption ? 
Axs.—When the plants shoot up to flower, 
break off the stalks low enough to take three 
or four of the upper leaves. Let the plants 
stand three or four weeks after topping aud 
pick off the suckers that start from the axils 
of the leaves. Let the plants lie a few hours 
after cutting to wilt; then hang in a bairn or 
other out-building, on scantling or poles, 
using coarse twine, wrapping the latter about 
the stems near the base. After the leaves 
have all assumed a cinnamon color, take the 
plants down ou a wet day, strip the leaves 
from the stems and tie them into bundles, 
keeping the butts all one way. Pack the 
bundles into a double rank, lapping the tips 
in the center. Cover the top and ends of 
the rank with tobacco stalks, leaving the 
butts exposed to the air, and place a weight 
of boards or other material on the top. Let 
the tobacco lie in this condition for some 
weeks, say until February or March. Then 
pack the bundles into a box iu moist weather, 
placing the butts outside and the tips iu the 
center, as before. Use a lever and pack 
iuto the box very tightly. Nail ou the cover 
securely aud keep the box near the ground 
iu a building without a fioor until warm 
weather, then move it to a warm, close loft 
to go through the sweating process. 
ONE AND TWO-YEAR-OLD BERRY PLANTS. 
R. V r ,, IF. Flambro, Ont., Can .—I bought 
100 two-year-old Hansell and 100 Gaiuor 
Rasplierries from a tree [toddler, and when 
they arrived l refused to pay for them, as I 
was convinced they were one-year-old; I 
expect to be sued soon for the price, is there 
any distinctive difference between one-year- 
old and two-year-old plants.' 
Ans.- We are afraid there is no difference 
between them that would pass as positive 
proof in law. Wo would advise you to have 
them examined by a professional grower. He 
should be able to show that one-year plants 
have produced but one growth of cane, the 
canes being biennial. The one-year plants 
might also show the root cutting from which 
the plant was grown. 
THE MARTIN-AMBER WHEAT. 
F, C. .4., A ustin, Mich .—Iu our soil the 
Martin-Amber will outyield the Clawson or 
Fultz the Velvet Cbaf oue-half. It’s 
a good hardy productive variety. It is much 
like the Armstrong or Landreth in every way 
and there is little choice between them. For 
our soil aud climate there are few if any bet¬ 
ter kinds. We should sow one aud oue-half 
bushel to the acre—not less unless the land is 
unusually rich, when a less quantity would do 
better. 
KEROSENE EMULSION. 
T. E. C., Norwich, Ont .—We suppose that 
by “coal-oil” emulsion you mean kerosene 
emulsion. There are two forms of this—one 
with milk and the other with soap, but exper¬ 
ience has shown the latter Is the better; for if 
properly made and applied, it can be used 
without injury to plants; while the milk emul¬ 
sion is reported to be injurious to many kinds 
of foliage. To make the soap mixture, put a 
quart of soft soap w ith a gallon of water into 
a kettle and heat it to the boiling point, and 
while still boiling-hot, stir in thoroughly a 
pint of kerosene oil. Hard soap or whale-oil 
soap will probably do equally well. The pre¬ 
paration would kill with less soap; but this 
large proportion of soap makes the mixture 
more effective, and the miscibility of the oil 
and soap solution is thereby increased. 
THE LUCRETIA DEWBERRY. 
R. L., Provincetoum, Mass .—The Lucretia 
Dewberry is a healthy vine and productive. 
The fruit is large and of fair quality. But 
really we should not care for it. Unless it is 
trained to a trellis, the berries lie on the 
ground and become soiled. Each vine, if not 
trained to a trellis, covers as much as two 
standard plants. Now what is the use of 
plautingthe Lucretia if we cau get standard 
kiuds which are as good iu every way without 
the objections to the Dewberry. 
GETTING RID OF RED ANTS. 
R. IF. D., Dunkirk . .V. 1".—Red little ants 
swarm iu millions in my milk-house, and all 
efforts to get rid of them have been in vain. 
Can the Rural suggest an effective way? 
Ans. —We have killed ants about bee-hives 
by putting sirup in which a little Paris-green 
had been mixed or. better, white arsenic 
(which is quite soluble), into a small box and 
covering with wire gause which was coarse 
euough to admit ants but not bees. This would 
soon poison all the ants. If we can reach the 
nut-nest, or ant-hill, we can easily disperse 
the ants by making a hole iu the hill or mound 
with a crowbar, and turning in kerosene, 
carbolic acid, or boiling water. 
Miscellaneous. 
J. P., Kingston. X. J .—There \ 'ould be lit¬ 
tle economy in sowing a plot of land already 
“in good condition,” to turnips, for the sake of 
plowing them under as green urnuure. If you 
could grow the turnips and pasture them off 
with sheep, the laud would be benefited; but 
as a “greeu mauure,” turnips would give little 
improvement. There must be something be¬ 
sides bulk in a greeu manure. 
F. IF. L., Trenton MiUs, Fa.—The Earhart 
Everbearing Rarpberry bore a full first crop. 
Up to this time, the buds for a second crop on 
the canes of this Summer’s growth have not 
yet appeared. The berries were of medium 
size aud quality aud borue in close clusters. 
It can be had of J. H. Hale, South Glastonbury 
Cotin. 
IF. MeD., Joliet, 111. —The gooseberries sent 
for name are of a foreign variety. These large 
foreign kinds generally mildew in this country 
so that they cannot be raised with profit. We 
have no native kinds to equal the size, though 
Houghton and Downing are better iu quality. 
B. U //,. Fridley, M, T .—The grasses sent 
for name are Honloum juhatum. Squirrel-tail 
Grass—and Erieoma ciispidata—Bunch Grass, 
IF. J. C., Smethport, Pa .—The grass you 
inquire about is Festuea prateusis—Meadow 
Fescue. 
DISCUSSION. 
G. H., Worcester Co., Mass.—D. P. H., 
page 462, ought to tell us what breed of cows 
he keeps. I never heard of such cattle before. 
I am inclined to think that the great majority 
of farmers, who keep but a few head of stock, 
do want a “general-purpose” cow. Cattle 
raising with most of us must lie more of a 
chore than a main business. Can we afford to 
use all the finer tools for dairying when we 
keep but two or three cows t I fail to see how. 
I want a cow that will provide milk and but- 
ter for the family, with a little to sell with the 
eggs, and which will sell when she is eight 
years old for decent beef. That is all most of 
us expect of a cow. We don’t expect to bury 
our cows as a mark of respect for the good 
they have done, but we want them to pay 
right up to the last. 
R. P. Me An ally, N. C.—With thanks for 
your news as to oats aud wheat turning to 
chess, we must beg to be excused from again 
discussing the question. With all respect for 
the opinions of those who think it possible or 
even that it often occurs, we cannot ourselves 
believe that it has ever occurred or ever will. 
D. E. H.. Leeds.. Mass. —The experience of 
“E. D. C.,’ 1 page 467, with the Alaska Pea is a 
duplicate of my own. The vines are very 
slender, and have more the appearance of 
sweet pea vines than anything else. They 
were planted in good garden soil, well man¬ 
ured with old stable manure. 
Communications Received for the Week Ending 
July 24,18S6. 
J. S. C.-C. N. L.-G, S. R.-T. J. C.-J. H. S.-W. G. 
B.—W. A. H.-R. L.-T. W. L.—G. P. C.-J. D. S.—B. P. 
V. H.—,T. W - R.—T. M. A.—J. D.—J. A. B., thanks.—D. 
E. H.—“Hampshire." thanks.—R. A.—M. P. W.—C. E. 
D.-A. B. N.-J. W F.-O. Z. M.-W.-E.E. R, thanks.— 
M. K.—S. E. C.—W. A. H.—F. K.—S. T.-S. C.—W.—T 
W. L.-E. C. U.-P. E.-L. E. B.-J. E. S.-A. W. L.- 
D. N.—k. W. C.—A. L. J—N. B. & Co.-W. A. H.-J. E 
N. —W. G.—H. T. D.—A. D. S.-E. B.-R. S. C. 
i$cclIaneons ^<1 vcvtistufl. 
Dyspepsia 
Does not get well of itself; It requires careful, 
persistent attention and a remedy that will assist 
nature to throw off the causes and tone up the 
digestive organs tilt they perform their duties 
willingly. Aiming the agonies experienced hy the 
dyspeptic, are distress before or after eating, loss 
of appetite, irregularities of the bowels, wind or 
gas and pain in the stomach, heart-burn, sour 
stomach, etc.,causing mental depression, nervous 
irritability and sleeplessness. If you are dis¬ 
couraged be of good cheer and try Hood’s Sar¬ 
saparilla. It has cured hundreds; it will cure you. 
Hood’s Sarsaparilla 
Sold by all druggists. $1; six for $5. Made 
only by C. I. HOOD & CO., Lowell, Mass. 
IOO Doses One DoNar 
HAND 
PICKED 
SEED. 
DIEHL-MEDITERRANEAN. 
The hardiest, best yielding 
uasi 
grown. Seed hand picked aiuf strictly pure^’or sam. 
pie heads and prim's, address, with stamp. 
H. >1. J AQUES, Wright’s Corners, N, T, 
SEED WHEAT. 
LUX) Bu. Ten varieties. Prices low. Satisfaction 
guaranteed. Send for circular. Samples of all, 16 cts. 
K. (1. CRIST, New Market, Iud. 
RUSTLESS 
Send for catalogue. 
IRON 
WATER 
PIPE. 
THE FELIN RUSTLESS IRON CO.. 
; & 9 CLIFF STREET. NEW YORK. 
Bramax. Dow & Co., Boston, Ag ts for New England. 
MAST, FCOS&GO., 
SSPHiNGFiELD. O., 
BUCKEYE FORCE PUMP, 
IRON TURBINE WINDMILL. 
BUCKEYE WROUGHT IKON PUNCHED 
RAIL FENCE. 
BUCKEYE LAWN MOWERS, 
BUCKEYE HOSE REELS' AND LAWN 
SPRINKLERS. 
Send for Illustrated Catalogue and IT ice List. 
Virginia Karins.— SCUd Climate. Cheap Homes. 
8eud for Circular. A. O . BLISS, Centralia, Va, 
DA1HY ANDTKUCk FARM 
, FOR SALE. 
SO Acres, within two miles of Baltimore, hard road- 
land in excellent condition: good House and out-build- 
lugs; absolutely healthy, possession Nov. 1st. 'S6. 
H. W. ROGERS, BALTIMORE. Md. 
FRUIT and ORNAMENTAL TREES, 
SMALL FRUITS, CRAPEVINES.dLc., 
In great variety, thrifty aud true to name, at prices 
that all can afford to buy and plant llrst-elass stock. 
our stock embraces all that Is to be found iu a first- 
class Nursery, which we carefully pack for safe de¬ 
livery Iu ail parts of the country, hv mall, express, or 
freight. “Illustrated Descriptive Catalogue and Guide 
to Successful Fruit-Growing.” sent for tea cents In 
stumps. Price Lists free to all who mention this 
paper. Address 
The Randolph Peters Nursery Co., 
WILMINGTON, DEL. 
POTATO dicge:i 
IS A SUCCESS. 
Send for circular to PLANTERS’ HOE CO. 
Troy. N. Y. ' 
HAR VIBRAllNG SEPARATOR. 
SEND FOR CATALOGUE. 
Wonderful 
Capacity. 
►» C JO 
-3 a* SI 
«1 
a. if. r.uuji it \ 
= < 
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ALL RIGHT 
lSolf-feed STRAW dfc 
HAY CUTTER 
The best in the world. 
1 The knife is Steel. and tempered,and 
ts fastened to lever with three bolts, 
and can be easily taken oS to sharpen. 
The length of cut is regulated by tho 
irrcc to which the knife is bolted. 
The higher ihc Itmc? Is raised. the 
oilier it will cut. All are Trarr.inted. Send tor 
. circular which will be mailed FREE. 
bNK \\ VKK MACHINE CO., t'olumbu*, Ow 
IT PAYS 
to sell our Rubber Printing Stamps. Sam¬ 
ples frw J. M- Mltttfn 4 Co* Cleveland, O, 
