574 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
August 20 
WHEAT IN THE CENTRAL WEST. 
HOW TUB HOOSIKR FARMERS DO IT. 
Itight in the Corn. —Perhaps two-thirds of our 
wheat is sown in corn with a five-hoed drill. The 
three-hoed drill of other days has been entirely super¬ 
seded by the five-hoed. The three-hoed used to drill 
the two marks near the middle of the row nearly or 
quite in the same line. If near together, the last shoe 
passing would pile the earth on the other mark so 
that its wheat came through a ridge which crumbled 
away from it, while if in a mark, the weather works 
the soil down toward the plants. Our best farmers 
prepare corn ground for the coming wheat crop by 
running through the corn after harvest with a many¬ 
toothed cultivator, say the Iron Age or Planet .Jr., 
with 13 small shovels and a drag pulverizer behind. 
This fills the furrows, kills any starting grass, makes 
a fine mulch for the corn, does not run deeper than 
two inches, and does no damage to corn roots. We 
sometimes repeat this late cultivation, especially in 
Purr-oak black land that cracks badly. It pays many 
times over in the good it does the corn, and the wheat 
drill leaves the wheat well covered and uniform in 
depth. 
Some farmers drag a mower wheel through each 
row. This levels it down but leaves the ridges between 
the furrows scraped clear of the dust mulch, and al¬ 
lows serious evaporation. It also pushes part of the 
fine dirt needed as a mulch into a useless ridge along 
the corn stalks. The cultivator is much better ; some 
of us have raised the hitching post of the cultivator 
(Planet Jr.) eight inches higher so we can hitch close 
without lifting it. It runs better. 
Corn on Clover Sod. —If corn has been grown on 
clover sod, as most of our corn is, and not broken wet 
in the Spring, this makes a good show for wheat. We 
don’t usually expect as much wheat by two or three 
bushels per acre as on broken ground, but it is much 
less costly. One man and one horse will drill six acres 
a day in corn for $1 wage money for the hand. The 
ground is usually so dry at that time of year that it 
costs about $2 an acre to break and harrow once, and 
it is then not worked enough. Most of our farmers 
grow a rotation of corn, wheat and clover. This is 
the only way one can raise 60-cent wheat on $50 
land. Where we break land we try to break early. It 
is usually either new land cropped a few years or oat 
stubble or clover sod. We seldom follow wheat with 
wheat. A neighbor just now walked by that said he 
raised 35 bushels last year on one field, broke for 
wheat and got 12 bushels this season ; this was partly 
owing to a dry Fall. 
I pass a field of sod (clover) broken last Fall for 
wheat, in which a strip, say five rods wide around it, 
was broken before thrashing ; then it was finished a 
month later. The wheat was fully twice as good on 
the early breaking. This, too, was an extreme case, 
partly due to the dry Fall. 
A farmer near here broke clover for corn last year, 
and it turned dry and he didn’t plant it but harrowed 
it a few times. Wheat came up freely the next Fall, 
and last week he thrashed 35 bushels per acre, while 
most wheat near him ran 15 bushels this year. So wc 
break as early as possible, and harrow once as fast 
as plowed every day. 
Cultivating Broken Land. —We aim to roll or 
harrow once a week till the time to sow, which is 
between September 10 and 25 in the latitude of In¬ 
dianapolis We like to work ground down firm enough 
to bear a horse without denting it much deeper than 
his shoe. One reason for the use of the roller more 
than in the Spring is that the frequent rains settle 
the seed-bed in the Spring. The seed-bed should be 
well cleared of clods and sods and air chambers be¬ 
fore it is finally firmed down to its condition for seed¬ 
ing. Someone says that, if you want to know whether 
it is fine enough, take up a spadeful, throw it about, 
and if no clods fall, it is well worked. 
Many farmers are using shoe drills instead of hoe 
drills, as they put the seed at a more uniform depth. 
A very common mistake is in sowing three or four 
inches deep. There is not enough starch in the grain 
to grow a stalk to the light, and Nature makes'the 
stalk very slender, so that it often curls up and 
perishes. One inch deep is enough. Last year our 
broken ground pulverized to dust, and a hoe drill ran 
deep. We postponed sowing till a general rain, which 
firmed the seed-bed, and our shallow sowing came up 
as early as the deep-sown wheat. 
The Fertilizer Problem.— Commercial fertilizers 
have been used freely on the farms near the Ohio 
River, and their use is coming north about 25 miles a 
year. In this section, they are just coming into use. 
Our stringent fertilizer laws make them an intelli¬ 
gent investment, at least. In this section, we are 
spreading manure on clover sod for corn. I was talk¬ 
ing with a large farmer to-day about it, and suggested 
that I would prefer to buy a manure spreader and 
scatter stable manure more finely and evenly on needy 
places ; that we waste much manure by putting it on 
too heavy, and it doesn’t go far enough. The farmer 
said that he is going to try a field this Fall with phos¬ 
phate. Suppose it cost IX cent a pound, 200 pounds 
would cost $2.50 an acre. Wheat, at 62cents a 
bushel, would require four bushels extra yield. In 
average seasons, it may increase the crop more than 
that, but last Fall, it would have done little good, 
and if the crop fail or half fail, one is out cash. The 
time will soon come, however, when it will be used 
freely on our thinner land, partly for the good it does 
the clover crop. We sow Red Russian, Gold Dust, 
Early Ripe, Poole, Fultz and other varieties, from IX 
to 2 bushels per acre. Our wheat is carefully re¬ 
cleaned, and the larger and heavier grains used. Our 
crops this year near here average about 300 bushels to 
the farm, and about 15 bushels per acre. The grain 
was shrunken slightly by the aphis in many fields, 
but is fairly good. e. h. collins. 
Central Indiana. 
KIRTLAND HICK0RYNUT. 
Among the many choice varieties of the Shellbark 
hickorynut which I have seen from childhood up, and 
from all over the region of their growth, there is none 
equal in all respects to the one sent me by Mr. H. 8. 
Ivirtland, of Yalesville, Conn., and which I now name 
in his honor, and describe for the first time. It is a 
seedling that, to use his own words, “ came up in the 
fence row between myself and a neighbor. It is the 
most remarkable Shellbark in this vicinity. The 
habit of the tree is very good, being of spreading 
shape, and is a free and regular bearer. I do not re¬ 
member but one year of its failing to bear—that was 
1896, when there was scarcely a walnut in this region.” 
The tree is about 30 feet high and 12 inches diameter 
of trunk. It is thrifty, and the young branches would 
make good scions for propagation. 
This is a variety that well deserves to be propa¬ 
gated by grafting and budding. Although this is 
hard to do, it can be done by going about it right. 
Directions for doing this have appeared from time 
to time in The R. N.-Y., the last being a very plain 
and practical statement by Mr. James, of Louisiana, 
concerning the Pecan. He tells how he propagated 
his choice varieties of that nut tree, and as it is one of 
the hickories, and by actual experience in several 
places has been successfully grafted and budded, I am 
sure the Shellbark will behave likewise. I have grafted 
THE KIRTLAND HICKORYNUT. Fig. 267. 
ft HAT THEY SAY. 
Potato Rugs and Tubers. —One of our readers in 
Minnesota says that he, 54 years old, and the boys, 
all the way from 12 to 16, were much surprised that 
Prof. Slingerland would state that Potato beetles 
never eat the tubers. lie says that they often find the 
beetles eating the potatoes, both at planting and at 
digging time, and so our friend says the learned ones 
may not know it all. Quite a number of our readers 
have stated positively that they have known the 
Potato beetle to eat the tubers. 
Solid Ground for Perries. —In speaking of the 
Gladstone strawberry, three weeks ago, we meant to 
have made it clear that this variety has not received 
anything like special treatment. The ground on 
which it was set was not plowed at all. It was merely 
cultivated with the ordinary cultivator : in fact, this 
ground has not been plowed for 10 or 12 years. Mr. 
Merceron says that he has a theory that strawberries 
planted on solid ground, will do better than those 
where the ground is worked up too fine. He thinks 
that is why a good clay loam brings finer berries than 
a sandy loam. 
On the Road to Klondike. —The picture shown at 
Fig. 266, illustrates a device known as “ Unicle Go- 
devil ” used by Klondike miners who attempt to reach 
Alaska by the All-Canadian route. They take a wheel 
five or six feet in diameter with a load placed around 
the axle, so as to bring the center of gravity very 
low ; then two men with a pole, as is shown, can often 
carry as high as 500 pounds. In some cases, a man 
and a horse or a man and a dog, will be seen pushing 
this one-wheeled vehicle. Most of these unicles are 
made in the woods, with only an ax for tools. This 
Canadian trail, however, is not a success and will, 
probably, not be used after this season. 
Government Seed Tests. —Jos. Breck & Sons, of 
Boston, speaking of the seed tests to be conducted by 
the Department of Agriculture, think some intelligent 
method of supervision or quality conducted by capable 
men, would be approved by seed dealers, They think, 
however, that better results would be obtained by be¬ 
ginning at headquarters, say at the Chicago Board 
of Trade, through which center a very large percent¬ 
age of grain and grass seeds is sold. They do not 
think supervision of the sale of vegetable seeds is 
necessary or desirable. They also think that, if the 
Department cause seed to be bought on the open mar¬ 
ket for tests, the results of all such tests, whether 
good or bad, should be published. The Secretary, they 
think, should have no discretion in this particular. 
Smut in Oats. —We have not been seriously troubled 
with smutty oats, but as there has been some increase 
of smut in recent crops, we concluded last Spring to 
treat seed enough for one field. The treatment, as 
recommended by the Wisconsin Station, is one ounce 
of formalin in four gallons of water, in which soak 
IX bushel of seed for 10 or 12 minutes. Drain off and 
spread on a clean floor, and shovel over until dry 
enough to sow in the drill. The oats will increase in 
bulk fully one-half, and the drill should be set accord- 
ingly. The liquid should be used only once. As to 
the results, there were 10 acres in the field treated, 
and we did not see one head of smut in the whole field. 
In another field sown with the same seed not treated, 
there was considerable smut. geo. c. hill. 
Wisconsin. 
A Paper for Stammerers. —It seems as though all 
classes of people are represented in the various news¬ 
papers of the counti-y. Even the billstickers have 
their organ, and now comes the Phono-Meter, which 
is “Devoted Exclusively to the Interests of Stam¬ 
merers.” This paper discusses the disease of stam¬ 
mering in all its phases, as to what it is and how it 
may be cured or remedied. It would appear, from 
this paper, that many stammerers are being cured by 
the patient application of certain principles. One 
article in the paper gives the following statement of 
old remedies for stammerers : 
the Pecan on this species of hickory many years ago, 
but not with much success, because I did not then 
know how to do it properly. My later expei-iences 
with these and other difficult things to graft have 
been very much better. I trust several persons will 
try to secure the Ivirtland hickorynut, as I hope to do, 
and graft or bud trees with it. 
The nut i6 large for that species, as Fig. 267 shows, 
and the shell is thin. The flavor of the kernel is 
superior. One of the best points about the nut is the 
ease with which the kei-nel leaves the shell. By look¬ 
ing at the sectional drawing, it may be seen that the 
inside walls of the shell are not so deeply corrugated 
as many nuts of this class. Some have T-shaped pro¬ 
jections that make it impossible to get the kernels 
out without breaking them into pieces. The kernel 
of the Ivirtland may be easily taken out in halves. 
Where the kernels are taken out and sold as hickory 
meats, as is done by the ton in some places, this is a 
very important matter. h. e. van deman. 
Celsus (A. D. 37) advised the use of a gargle of thyme, hyssop, 
or pennyroyal, the chewing of garlick, onions and mustard, and 
the washing of the head with cold water, after which the patient 
should eat horseradish and then vomit. As ridiculous as this 
remedy may appear, it is not more so than those of many of the 
quacks and charlatans of a more modern day. Exponents of the 
theory that stammerers should take a deep inspiration before 
attempting to speak, but borrowed the idea from Avicenna (A. 
D. 1037). As late as 1498 De Chauliac recommends a three-fold 
treatment for stuttering, viz.: Pungent blisters, frictions and 
cupping of the neck, as a diversion of the humors; desiccatiug 
embrocations on the head, made of mustard, pepper, etc., “which 
fortify the brain and possess the virtue of sucking up the humors.” 
Certainly the fact that the stammerers of the country 
are able to maintain a paper of their own, speaks well 
for the power of the press. 
Can a Hen Reason ?—Our henhouse runs east from 
our potting room which, with the greenhouse, runs 
north and south. The henyard is east of the green¬ 
house and south of the henhouse. A door on the west 
side of the potting room opens outside, and one 
on the opposite leads to the hen?’ quarters. We 
