1898 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
is to find the original hen that lays 125 eggs a year. 
Of course, we know how the experts tell of hens that 
lay 200 and more eggs in 365 days. But any man who 
ever fed a hen, knows that be has to travel thousands 
of miles in order to find one of these record-breakers. 
We have proved to our own satisfaction that the vast 
majority of hens in the average farmer’s dock, will 
not average over 75 eggs per year. Where, then, is 
the farmer to go to bnd his 125-egg hen ? Such hens 
are worth money. They are cheap at $3 apiece, and 
the man who wrote the above note ought to state that 
somewhat important fact in connection with his ad¬ 
vice about breeding. It is all very well to lay down 
the law, telling other people how they ought to do it, 
but if some of our agricultural writers could only be 
led out upon a poor farm and made to practice their 
own doctrines without any help from the outside, 
they would soon be reduced to a diet of air, water 
and scenery. 
Changes in Milk Quality. —Inquiring at a cheese 
factory, where the milk was paid for by the Babcock 
test, I learned that “ The old farmer’s two cows, 
which were fed a little grain every time they were 
milked, and gently treated, gave the highest and 
most uniform test of any patron.” I was told that a 
herd of Holsteins which gave quite large amounts of 
milk, had fallen below four per cent of butter fat but 
once. This was said to be due “ to careful manage¬ 
ment on the part of the owner, rather than to a strain 
of rich milkers.” The tester thought that the food 
fed did affect the quality of the milk, especially where 
a better (grain or rich ensilage) ration was fed for a 
long period—six months or a year. He did not think 
much of “a few days’ trial” to decide the question. 
Hoard’s Dairyman recently devoted a column to de- 
G00D POINTS OF SHROPSHIRE SHEEP. 
At Fig. 277, is shown a group of Shropshire year¬ 
lings, reengraved from the Mark Lane Express. This 
breed is an old favorite in England, and many flocks 
are found in this country. The first importation of 
any account here, was made about 40 years ago. Both 
here and in England, these sheep have taken many 
prizes in the mutton classes. The face is dark grayish 
or brown, the wool going well down to the eyes, and 
with no trace of horns ; the legs are darker than the 
face, almost black ; the head longer than in the South 
Down, the ears larger, while the wool is close-set and 
longer in staple. 
According to the description of a typical Shropshire, 
adopted in connection with the scale of points by the 
American Shropshire Association, they are deep and 
large in breast and through the heart; back wide, 
straight and well covered with lean meat and muscle ; 
wide and full in thigh ; deep in flank; skin thick but 
soft, and of a pink color ; prominent, brilliant eyes, 
and healthful countenance. In fair condition when 
fully matured, rams should weigh not less than 225 
pounds and ewes not less than 175 pounds. They have 
a good carriage, head well up, elastic movement show- 
ing great symmetry of form and uniformity of char¬ 
acter throughout. The body is well proportioned, 
medium bones, great scale and length, well finished 
hind quarters, thick back and loins, twists deep and 
full, standing with legs well placed outside. Breast, 
wide, and extending well forward. Head short, and 
broad ; wide between ears and eyes, short from top of 
head to tip of nose ; ears short and of medium size. 
Head should be well covered with wool to a point even 
with the eyes, without any appearance of horns. The 
neck is of medium length, good bone and muscular 
591 
we had a larger market for currants and strawberries, 
there would be considerable profit in them. We grow 
but few strawberries. c. w stuart. 
Wayne Co., N. Y. 
Some Pennsylvania Notes. 
For the last three years, black raspberries have 
sold for from $1 to $1.25 per crate of 32 quarts, and 
the more one had the poorer he was. The doctors 
condemn the blacks, and the people are afraid of 
them. The Palmer leads here for early, and the 
Kansas seems to be crowding out the Gregg. They 
are very prolific and hardy. The reds are more profit¬ 
able ; they sold at $2 to $3 per crate. I grow the 
Marlboro and Cuthbert, and give them the best of 
care and cultivation. My Cuthberts were very fine, 
and have always been. In ray opinion, most growers 
allow them to get too thick in the row for best re¬ 
sults. The Loudon is vigorous, hardy, productive, 
very firm, and the best keeper I ever saw. but the 
quality is inferior. I don't believe that it will ever 
crowd out the Cuthbert. w. A. f. 
Homewood, Pa. 
Satisfactory in Delaware. 
Farmers here have every reason to be satisfied with 
their raspberry crop. The yield of fruit was never 
better, nor the quality finer. Prices, although lower 
than last year, owing to the large acreage that just 
came into bearing this year for the first time, have 
yet been good enough to make this the best paying 
crop of the year. There are a great many acres of 
Miller Red raspberries that have paid enough clear 
money to buy the land on which they grow. This 
statement may appear extravagant, but I am well sat¬ 
isfied that the facts will bear it out. This variety has 
ENGLISH PRIZE SHROPSHIRE8. Fig. 2 7 7. 
riding the ignorance of a farmer who asked, in sub¬ 
stance, whether a cow could be made to give richer 
milk. There are more people who would say yes than 
UO. C. E. CHARM AN. 
A New Old Reader. —Mr. Milton Manrow, of Cayuga 
County, N. Y., has just come back to The R. N.-Y. as a 
new old subscriber. He says that, 40 years ago, when 
a boy, he earned a Webster's Dictionary by getting 
up a club of subscribers. At that time, he says, he 
could count the books in his library, on the fingers of 
his hands. Later, he helped his brother get up another 
club, and the premium this time was a watch. This 
was over 20 years ago, and the watch is still going in 
good repair, although the brother has long since 
passed away. Now Mr. Manrow comes back as a new 
subscriber to The R. N.-Y. If he were to get up 
another club now, he would be surprised to see how 
much more premium value there is in a single new 
subscription than there ever was before. 
Molasses for Weeds. —The Louisiana Planter men¬ 
tions a case where a southern man sowed Johnson 
grass on his farm. It spread so as to become a per¬ 
fect pest. He tried to kill it out by various cultiva¬ 
tions, but failed. As a last resort, he adopted the 
plan of covering the land with waste molasses, and 
this seems to have had the desired effect. This singu¬ 
lar way of killing weeds will hardly answer in any 
other part of the country. In some parts of Louisi¬ 
ana, the waste molasses becomes a perfect nuisance, 
and is drained into the ponds and streams until they 
are so foul as to be dangerous to health. Tons of it 
are sold for feeding stock in Europe, and thousands of 
mules in Louisiana are fed upon corn and molasses ; 
yet there is a vast surplus which must be destroyed in 
some way. Efforts have been made to devise a burner 
so that the molasses might be used as fuel in the 
sugar houses. 
development, and especially with the rams, heavier 
toward the shoulders, well-set, high up, and rising 
from that point to the back of the head. Legs are 
broad, short, straight, well-set apart, well-shaped, 
and well-wooled to the knees. 
The body is well covered with a fleece of even length 
and quality. The wool is medium, such as is known 
in markets as medium delaine, and half combing, 
strong, fine, lustrous fiber, without tendency to mat 
or felt together and at one year’s growth, not less 
than 3X inches in length. 
Shropshires are especially fitted by conditions under 
which they have been raised, for moist or even wet 
localities. They are not likely to do so well on the 
dry ranges of the Southwest, but are likely to be good 
for crossing on the middle wools in such localities. 
SOMETHING ABOUT THE RASPBERRY CROP. 
Report From Western New York. 
We grow raspberries quite extensively, and find a 
nice margin of profit. This season has been less favor¬ 
able than usual, as June and July frosts severely hurt 
the young fruit, and cut the crop very short. We, 
however, harvested 21,000 quarts of berries, from 
seven acres, which we sold for three cents per quart. 
We paid IX cent for picking. Last year, our berries 
went somewhat over 5,000 quarts per acre, on our 
three-year-old plants, and 1,500 quarts on our two- 
year-old plants. 
Except in small patches for the purpose of compari¬ 
son, we now grow nothing but the Black Diamond ; 
you will remember we sent you some plants of this 
variety to test, and you were well pleased with it. 
We believe the days of most of the older varieties are 
past, as with present prices for fruit, a person must 
have a big crop to make a profit. 
Our gooseberries have paid us well this year, and if 
now become so popular that it is the only variety 
planted to any extent here, but it is not the only good 
raspberry. Early King is so much like Miller that 
the fruits cannot be distinguished, though the growth 
of the vines is quite different. Loudon has a larger 
bush, and is a somewhat heavier bearer possibly, but 
is not so early‘in season. 
The new blackcap, Eureka, bids fair to rival any of 
the reds in profit. It is early, large and wonderfully 
productive, but the blackcaps rule a few cents per 
quart lower, usually, than the reds. Palmer is the 
variety most largely grown here, and it well deserves 
its popularity. I am of the opinion that the very sat¬ 
isfactory condition of the raspberry business on this 
peninsula is owing to the excellent varieties which 
are now grown, and especially to their tine carrying 
qualities, which put them in market in the most attrac¬ 
tive condition. Raspberries as now grown for market, 
are not an expensive crop to grow ; planted in check 
rows, they are worked both ways by horse hoe, thus 
avoiding expensive hand hoeing. Large fields can 
thus be cared for by a few men until picking time, 
when men, women and children turn in and help. Two 
cents per quart is the usual price for picking raspberries. 
Delaware. a. w. slaymaker. 
Berries in the Hudson River Valley. 
Compared with Strawberries. —While the price of 
good blackcaps has been better than last season (the 
majority were not good because of dry weather) the 
crop has been deficient in quantity and the income 
less. Red raspberries went through the Winter in 
good condition, and the prospect in March was for a 
large crop ; but the extreme cold weather in April in¬ 
jured the canes to such an extent that less than half 
a crop was secured which, with low prices, gave light 
returns. Blackcaps usually sell best in our local mar¬ 
ket, but there is more call for the reds in our eastern 
