this mill are well set forth. The Racine Mill 
is self-governing, and can be safely run dur¬ 
ing a gale if necessary. It is made of two 
sizes, 10 and 12 feet diameter respectively. It 
has a sectional wheel composed of six and 
eight fan sections. The motion is communi¬ 
cated by means of wrist pin and pitman. The 
work throughout is strong and simple. The 
mill will be sure to please. A full description 
of the mill, as well as directions for erecting a 
tower, will be found in the pamphlet. Besides 
the windmill, the company have for sale 
pumps, tanks, and Eureka sand-papering ma¬ 
chines. 
Feed Getters. —Circular from Dick’s Ag¬ 
ricultural Works, Cantou, Ohio.—These cut¬ 
ters can be used in cutting hay. straw, corn¬ 
stalks and silage. The corn-stalk splitter at¬ 
tachment is an excellent feature. A series of 
steel bars are arranged so as to cut at right 
angles to the cutters. These split and crush 
stalks or cobs as they are cut off by the kuives, 
so that the feed is turned out much liner than 
when they are not used. These 1'ars can be 
easily removed when it is desired to cut hay 
or straw. The cutters are made of various 
sizes with knives from TVs to Id ., inches in 
length. The larger sizes when run by a suit¬ 
able power are capable of making 1,800 cuts 
per minute and cutting 4.000 pounds of feed in 
an bout We believe these cutters to be sim¬ 
ple, durable and effective. Farmers will be 
greatly pleased with them. 
Daniels’ Plow So. ky.— Circular from E. 
B. Daniels & Co., Havana, N. Y.—The time 
has gone by when a plow sulky is to be consid¬ 
ered one of the luxuries of farm life. It is fast 
becoming a necessity wherever any great 
amount of plowing is to tic done. The Daniels’ 
sulky is claimed to i»e the lightest and simplest 
made. Any plow can be attached in five min¬ 
utes’ time so that the farmer who desires differ¬ 
ent plows for different kinds of work can eas¬ 
ily adjust them to suit. The foot lever is an 
improvement to be found only in the Daniels. 
By means of this lever the plow can be firmly 
held in the ground, slightly raised so as to 
skim the earth, or pulled entirely out of the 
ground. The superior qualities of the Daniels 
Sulky are well set forth in the circular. T hose 
of our friends who think of procuring a sulky 
are advised to send to the manufacturers for 
catalogues, etc. 
Wheat Experiments. —Bulletin No. 8, of 
the Purdue University (Lafayette, Ind.), gives 
an account, of wheat experiments. Forty-nine 
differently named wheats were sown side by 
side under conditions as nearly identical as 
could be secured, September 24-6 with a two 
horse drill at the rate of oue bushel per acre. 
Again the Velvet Chaff takes the lead, yield¬ 
ing nearly 30 bushels to the acre, weighing 
nearly 63 pounds to t.he bushel This is de¬ 
scribed as a bearded variety with medium- 
strong straw and large, red grains ripen- 
- ing June 27. All of the Velvet Chaff wheats 
which we have tried are late, and the heads 
mildew and the kernels shrivel. Diehl-Medit¬ 
erranean yielded 17 bushels, weighing 00 
pounds. The straw was “very strong,” the 
grain large aud red. It ripened July 2. Two 
different kinds called Michigan Amber were 
raised. The first yielded 23 bushels, <00 
pounds), ripening June 28, strong straw, 
smooth head, medium red grain. The other 
yielded 26 bushels (60 pounds).ripening July 1, 
strong straw, smooth head, large, red grain. 
Of the latter only five per cent, was winter- 
killed; of the former 40 per cent. Martin’s 
Amber yielded 21 bushels (59 pounds) stroug 
straw, smooth head, medium amber gram, 
ripening July 2. Laudreth (Armstrong) 
yielded 21 bushels (58 pounds), ripened July 1, 
smooth, medium, amber grain. Lancaster 
yielded 26 bushels (60 pounds), ripened July 1 
weak straw, bearded, large red berry. Red 
Russian yielded 28 bushels (62 pounds),ripeued 
June 30, medium strong stein, smooth head, 
medium-sized, red trrain. Clawson yielded 25 
bushels. Smooth V elvet C'haIf yielded 24 bush¬ 
els (62 pounds),ripened June 27, medium strong 
stem, large, red berry. This name has been 
changed to Dietz Long Berry. The other va¬ 
rieties were remiss iu yield or strength of 
straw, so that we need not speak of them. 
Professor Latta’s comments are: 
“The Velvet Chaff continues to hold first rank,every 
thing considered. It was this year the most prolific 
wheat grown at the College., and Is as hardy as any. 
The straw is not strong enough to stand well on very 
rich soils. The heads, whlclt are strongly bearded, 
curve (townward when ripe, making the sheaves quite 
busby anti dimeu.lt to shook compactly. The Finley, 
Fultz, Haines, Hedges’ Prolific, Hickman and Hicks 
Wheats resemble each other in general characteristics 
of both straw and grain. They are uot hardy here, 
but when the Winter is not too severe they produce a 
good yield. The grain is too small,however, tobegeu- 
erally popular with millers. Tasman Ian .Tuscan Island, 
Mediterranean and Lancaster are apparently Identi¬ 
cal. They closely resemble tho old Mediterranean. 
Diehl-Mediterranean and Lovett are two very 
different wheats that might be mistaken for each 
other when standing in the field. Both have very 
stiff straw and erect bearded heads with bronze 
chaff. The former has the larger head and pro¬ 
duces a large red kernel, while the gram Of the latter 
Is a medium-sized amber. The Diehl-Mediterra¬ 
nean produces fine Wheat in favorable years, but Is 
seriously damaged by hard Winters. The Lovett Is un¬ 
worthy of further cultivation here. The German 
Amber and Red Russian are good, smooth wheats, 
resembling Fultz when standing In the field, but they 
are later, more hardy, and produce larger and heavier 
grain. Smooth Scott, Emporium Scott. Badger, 
Rogers nud Zimmerman arc all smooth wheats of the 
Fultz type, both tn appearance and hardiness. Mar 
tin Amber and Landrotb are almost Identical In 
characteristics. They have not sustained, here, the 
high reputation they have borne elsewhere. They are 
not hardy enough to endure seven' Winters. Being 
rank In growth and late lu mature, they arc not well 
suited CO the dark, rich soils of lids seottou of the 
state Arnold's Gold Medal, Arnold’s Hybrid, Charu- 
plou Amber, Dott ami Mlclilgan Wick arc not con¬ 
sidered worthy of further trial on the' College farm. 
Eight pecks of seed per acre gave the high¬ 
est yield, viz: 35 bushels. Seven peeks gave 
33—six pecks 33—five pecks 32—four pecks 36 
—two pecks 38. Rolling after seeding did no 
good, though the soil was not dry. Mulching 
Increased the yield over three bushels to the 
acre. Our own mulching experiments have 
increased the yield far more than that, hut we 
have no exact figures to present. But, the 
mulch must be applied evenly aud to do this by 
hand is a tedious, costly work. Prof. Latta 
says that “Kemp’s manure spreader will 
scatter the straw quickly aud evenly, and 
those who own, or can get the use of this im¬ 
plement can mulch a few acres of wheat with 
slight expense.” 
Home Industry—Happy Thought.— Li¬ 
quor dealers pay on an average $2 per gallon 
for whisky, says the Farm and Fireside. 
Oue gallon contains an average of 65 drinks, 
aud at 10 cents a drink the poor man pays 
If6.50 per gallon for his whisky. In other 
words he pays *2 for the whisky aud $4.50 
to tho man for handing it over the liar, to say 
nothing about the water added. Now, if you 
must drink, make your wife your barkeeper. 
Lend her $2 to buy a gallon of whisky for a 
beginning, and every time you want a drink 
go to her ami pay her 10 cents for it. If she 
waters it 25 per cent., which will lie uone 
the worse for you, by the time you have 
drunk a gallon she will have $7.12, or 
enough to refund the $2 borrowed and have a 
balance of $5.12. She will be able to conduct 
further operations on her own capital, aurl 
w’hen you become un inebriate, unable to 
support yourself, and shunned by respectable 
persons, your wife will have money enough to 
keep you until you get ready to fill a drunk¬ 
ard’s grave. 
Seasoning Butter with Brine.— Prof L. 
B. Arnold, in the Farmer’s Advocate, says 
that those who are far enough along to appre¬ 
ciate the difference lie tween gathering butter 
iu a lump and handling it in granules, are iu a 
position to adopt brine seasoning with ease 
aud a decided lieuefit. All that is necessary 
for such a butter maker to do is, when his 
butter has come, to wash in the usual way 
w ith water till it will run off clear, and then 
immerse the granules of butter iu brine as 
strong as it can be made, aud let tlio butter 
lie iu it the same length of time he would to 
have the salt dissolve if he hail used dry salt, 
aud then press the butter into a solid form, 
avoiding any friction or grinding motion 
while reducing it to a solid. Iu this way all 
working w ill beavoided, audthehutter be left 
iu the best possible condition for keeping, and 
have an even color aud the highest flavor it is 
possible for it to have. By lying in strong 
brine a few' hours, the briue will draw the 
water out of the butter the saute as dry salt 
would. 
Brine makes a more even distribution of 
the saline fla vor than dry salt can do, and it 
will relieve the butter of any excess of w r ater 
it may contaiu just as readily as salt in crys. 
tal can, aud put it in readiness for packing in 
as little, if not in less, time. It is by some 
supposed that salt strikes into butter better if 
dry salt is worked into it than it would if 
Covered with brine, but this is a misapprehen¬ 
sion of the action of salt.—neither salt nor 
brine strikes into butter at alL There is no 
affinity between suit aud butter or briue and 
butter. In seasoning butter with either, tin* 
salt remains in butter only as a foreign body 
mechanically mixed. When butter is gath¬ 
ered iu the churn in grauular form it is never 
overchurned. Pounding it after it is in a 
lump or large masses is what overchurns it. 
Iu seasoning with brine it is never over¬ 
worked, as it is not worked at all. Working 
out buttermilk ami w'orking in salt is where 
the overworking comes in, In fact, working 
at all is overworking, because, by the im¬ 
proved method, none is needed, aud breakiug 
the grain of butter by grinding iu erysta 
of salt is also obviated by seasoning with 
brine. 
Notwithstanding the many advantages of 
this mode of treating butter, it will, no doubt, 
be a very long time before every butter-maker 
w ill adopt it. But the new way is so much 
easier and better that time will fetch them iii f 
and the butter-worker aud seasoning with dry 
salt will become a thing of the past. 
Whence do Plants Get Carbon?— The 
agricultural editor of the N.Y. Times says that 
the value of carbonaceous matter for manure is 
generally supposed to be very little or nothing. 
The prevalent opiuion is that plants get all the 
carbon they require from the atmosphere. 
The same opinion was once held with regard 
to nitrogen, but it is now stoutly denied. It 
may soon lie the case with regard to carbon. 
Many intelligent aud experienced students 
doubt the truth of the prevailing opinion now', 
and many farmers are using carbonaceous 
substances, such as the waste from sugar fac¬ 
tories, with positive and marked benefit to 
their soil. Practical fanners have long be¬ 
lieved that bulk in manure had a considerable 
value, and certaiuly the bulk of a manure 
pile consists of carbonaceous matters. This 
subject is of present iuterest, because at this 
season the farmer w'ho Is intent tqion enlarg¬ 
ing Ins stock of manure is laying plans for 
gathering the leaves, swamp muck, and other 
earbouaceous materials, aud he may take 
encouragement from the fact that he is 
probably supplying to his land iu these bulky 
matters precisely what it requires, and those 
materials w r hich will supply to the soil a large 
quantity of carbonic acid as the product of 
their decomposition. 
What some Consuls Bay.— Consul Dufais, 
of Havre, in a report to the Secretary of 
State, describes an abortive attempt on the 
part of commercial and labor organizations 
to secure a repeal of the decree against Amer¬ 
ican pork. He concludes: “All hopes of a 
favorable change have been abandoned by 
those opposed to the prohibition. The mil¬ 
lions of ill-paid and scantily-fed laboring men 
of France will continue to pay tribute to the 
French hog-ruising farmer.” 
Consul-General Bonham, at Calcutta, re¬ 
ports that it is reported in Calcutta that the 
cattle plague, known as the “rinderpest,” pre¬ 
vails iu parts of the Madras Presidency. 
Large quantities of haled hides (dried aud salt, 
ed) are shipped from India to the United 
States. He calls attention to the question of 
cattle iu America contracting the disease from 
the importation of these hides. 
Commercial Agent Smith, of Mayence, says 
that the new American method of drying 
fruit, which gives such satisfactor} 7 results, 
especially with apples, is susceptible of being 
developed into an important industry. 
MULTUM IN PARVO. 
One kind of apple tree will yield you bush 
els of apples, while others will yield you pecks. 
Which are you going to choose if setting a 
new orchard? Or don’t you care? lu the 
latter case, order of one of the tree ugents that 
visit your locality. Iu the former case, study 
the question. Consult the catalogue of the 
Am. Pom. Society; consult the nearest suc¬ 
cessful apple grower . 
Mr. J. B. Olcott has once seen purslane in 
Hartford (Ct.) markets, but never on a farm¬ 
er’s table since he was a boy. Yet if the ten¬ 
der shoots are cooked like spinach, he says 
purslane is really one of the most w holesome 
things the round glolio furnishes. 
The Superintendent of the N. II. Ag. Col¬ 
lege gives the N. E. Farmer an account of an 
experiment iu rapid butter-making by the 
centrifugal process. At 4.36 a. m. the help 
commenced milking. At 7 the butter was on 
the table at the college farm house. 
“There was an unusual amount of gamb¬ 
ling in connection with the New England Fair,” 
says the above journal. 
Mr. T. B. Terry’s (Ohio) exjierience with 
Karly Ohio Potato is much like our own. He 
thinks it is the earliest good jiotato in culti¬ 
vation, for which reason as well as because its 
vines are very dwarf, it should be grown iu 
rich soil with the hills nearer together than 
with other kinds... 
Just to show what can be done with early- 
cut clover and timothy hay, Mr.Terry says in 
the N. Y. Tribune that he has a team of rather 
heavy work-horses that for almost five years 
have lived on this diet. They have not had 
during uli Ibis time oue single feed of grain of 
any kiud, They are fat as seals, and ut no 
time during the five years could oue see a rib 
on either of them. To take a big load of pota¬ 
toes or wheat to market, tw elve miles, is but 
play for them. Mr. Terry would like to see a 
farmer keep horses iu any such order on late- 
cut hay aud do the same work that his do. His 
practice certainly shows that there is great 
virtue iu properly dried grass and clover. 
Many a time has a visitor said to him. “I 
cannot keep my horses so fat as yours on hay 
and grain.” He is confident that he has 
made hundreds of dollars by cutting his hay at 
just, the right time. 
Don’t flatter yourself, says Mr. Holmes, that 
friendship authorizes you to say disagreeable 
things to your intimates. On the contrary, 
the nearer you come into relation with a per¬ 
son the more necessary do tact aud courtesy 
become. Except in cases of necessity, which 
are rare, leave your friends to learn unpleas¬ 
ant truths from their enemies; they are ready 
enough to tell them. ..... 
Mr. Holmes also says that insanity is often 
the logic of an accurate mind overtasked. 
Good mental machinery ought to break its 
owm wheels and levers, if anything is thrust 
among them suddenly which tends to stop 
them or reverse their motion. A weak mind 
does not accumulate force enough to hurt it¬ 
self; stupidity ofteu saves a man from going 
mad....... 
Prof. Budd (Ames, Iow 7 a) thinks the Cham¬ 
pion the best very early grape for his climate. 
.Next iu order, he says, is Moore’s Early. “ It 
is a treasure rapidly coming to the front in 
the Northern States”.. ... 
Mr. Charles Girr of Canada (Abbotsford 
P.Q.,) says iu the Montreal Horiculturul Soci¬ 
ety’s Rejiort, that Weir’s Cut-leaved Maple is a 
curiosity; au eccentric, wayward grower. The 
foliage of the young growth is so sleuder aud 
so deeply slashed as to be scarcely recogniz¬ 
able as a maple. He recommends it as a 
tree thoroughly suited to his climate. 
The Cut leaved Maple (dissectum) is a varie¬ 
ty of the Norway. The loaves are so deeply 
cut as nearly to divide them in three parts. 
At the Rural Grounds this tree is highly 
prized for its compact growth, ample foliage 
and comparatively slow growth. It is a 
grand tree for small places. 
Mr. Gibb praises very justly the tree we 
have ofteu talked of iu our columns, viz; 
Schw'endler’s Maple, also a variety of the 
Norway. The leaves as they unfold in the 
Spring are a brilliant crimson, and this bright 
color continues until they are fully grown. 
They then grow 7 darker, finally chaugiug to a 
dark green. The leaves of this tree before 
becoming n dark green are sometimes nearly 
black for a few 7 days with us.. 
Another curious variety is the Curled¬ 
leaved or Cucullatum. Mr. Gibb mentions 
that the leaves curl into strange 
forms while the structure of the leaf and the 
way iu which the veins radiate are remark. 
able . 
Mr. Gibb justly praises the Imperial Cut¬ 
leaved Alder. It is an aerial tree. Its light, 
feathery foliage and dark, dull color give it 
an expression peculiar to itself. It is quite 
hardy iu Lower Canada... 
Young’s Weeping Birch is a tree that 
might well take the place of the Kilmarnock 
Willow. Top-grafted it is just as pendulous 
aud more graceful and, w 7 hat is important, 
longer lived... 
G. W. Williamson, of Mattituek, L. I., 
says that he has used sulphate of ammonia, 
bone-black, aud muriate of potash, to the 
value of $26 per acre, for a number of years, 
and finds that his crops grow better and bet¬ 
ter every year. . 
For the last two years he has'put it ou broad¬ 
cast for potatoes, and says it saves labor and 
produces a more uniform crop, although some- 
whut slower in maturing. 
He goes over his potato ground w ith a horse 
rake before lieginningto dig, and says it cleans 
thegrouud aud materially lessens the labor of 
picking up the potatoes. 
In the ] iota to-growing sections of Long 
Island tho Burbank seems to be the favorite. 
So far it has beeu freer from rot, and has com¬ 
manded better prices than other varieties- 
0itcn)ibl)cn\ 
TRANSCONTINENTAL LETTERS.-LXV. 
MARY WAGER-FISHER. 
A Spring visit to Monterey; the " old town;" 
the environs; the “ Drive;" wheat and 
fruits; malaria; the question of irriga¬ 
tion. 
Such readers of the Rural as have read 
my lettere from the outset, may recall those 
descriptive of the Santa Clara and adjacent 
valleys and the charming towns that lie iu 
them between Sun Francisco, Monterey and 
Santa Cruz. Wo made the trip in August, 
1884, whou the hills and fields were brown 
from the ruiulc.'W Summer; hut when the time 
came for leaving Central California it was 
the last of March aud we could.uot well resist 
