398 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
June 4 
rhubarb. After the second crop of lettuce, he would 
grow early vegetable plants for outdoor use. Any of 
these vegetable plants, like tomatoes, egg plant, celery 
and cauliflower might be sold. Outdoors, the regular 
garden crops in succession of early and late, so as to 
keep the ground in use continually. One good point 
is to grow especially those things which other truck 
growers do not have, and then watch the markets. 
Jerry Dutter, of Indiana, says that he would not be 
afraid to take the greenhouse alone, and a half-acre 
garden, and support a family of four, by raising early 
vegetable plants for market. He would, also, grow 
carnations and such other flowers as will sell in the 
market; strawberries and other fruits that bring the 
best prices are advised, as are gooseberries and cur¬ 
rants. Some of the tree fruits such as plums, peaches 
and pears, set among the small fruits, would be a 
source of profit, and he would also keep a good cow, a 
few chickens and a pig to eat the refuse and waste 
from the garden. Many other little things would 
suggest themselves to a thinking man from a study of 
the markets he intends to supply. A few swarms of 
bees are, also, suggested, which would be a help to 
the fertilization of the flowers. 
W. H. Taplin, of Philadelphia, says that the two 
acres mentioned, if well located, will furnish a good 
living for a family of four, but that, if it is proposed 
to embark in the florist business, one greenhouse 20 
by 100 feet will not be glass enough under present 
conditions of the trade, lie would suggest the build¬ 
ing of some cheap frames in which to grow violets 
during the Winter, these to be followed by a crop of 
early vegetables in the Spring, the choice of which is 
governed by the market, though lettuce, radishes and 
beets are among the most profitable in the East. The 
greenhouse may be used for carnations, with mush¬ 
rooms under the benches; and ground not otherwise 
occupied, may be utilized for vegetable growing, 
always taking into account the requirements of the 
market, aiming to grow only high-grade products, and 
place them in market in the most attractive manner. 
Prof. Bailey, of Cornell University, says that the 
family can make a living upon two acres, but would 
need to grow specialties, and these specialties would 
depend upon the adaptability of the grower. As a 
rule, the greatest amount of profit can be made from 
specialties in Winter fruits, in vegetables and in 
flowers, but there is, also, more risk in the growing of 
these. lie says there are numerous instances of these 
small-area farms with good living to be seen in 
Europe, but the people there do not live so well as 
Americans do ; still it can be done here. 
T. C. Kevitt, of New Jersey, says that the inquirer 
might set one acre to strawberries, 30 by 34 inches, 
let only four runners grow to each plant, and let only 
one plant grow to each runner. He advises Glen 
Mary, Ridgeway and Parker Earle as the varieties 
best adapted for this method of culture. He figures 
out that the acre would yield, at the low price of five 
cents per quart, $750, which, after taking out all ex¬ 
penses of growing and marketing, would leave a profit 
of $398. The other acre might be set to currants, 
raspberries, blackberries, plums and peaches, but 
nothing else would pay as well as strawberries ; lie 
would set both acres to strawberries and would not 
bother with a greenhouse. 
F. C. Tice, who is located in the strawberry section 
near Oswego, N. Y., says that the thing can be done 
with a favorable market, and intensive cropping in 
the best manner. But most careful attention must be 
given to all details, with the aim of producing nothing 
but strictly fancy products. As to what should be 
grown, depends upon the local demand, but in a gen¬ 
eral way., he would strive to grow those articles for 
which there is a good demand for fine goods at a high 
price, and those products of which large quantities can 
be grown on limited areas under high culture, like 
celery under the new system, strawberries in hill 
culture, transplanted onions, lettuce, radishes, beets, 
peas, etc., the vegetables to be followed by the celery. 
The greenhouse should be used for growing early 
vegetable plants or flowers, if there is a sale for such, 
and also mushrooms and similar crops. The secret of 
success on this small place would be intensity. 
Fred. Dorner, of Indiana, is of the opinion that a 
family of four should be able to make a living on the 
two acres, but says that it is impossible to go into de¬ 
tails, as the success depends on their ability and their 
knowledge to grow either flowers or vegetables, or 
both ; also upon the requirements of the market, and 
what competition is to be met. He believes that it de¬ 
pends as much on their ability to sell what they grow 
as on the production, but enough can be produced on 
such a place to support the family. 
William Scott, of westeim New York, would use the 
greenhouse for carnations from September to March, 
reserving a portion to keep a stock of geraniums ; 
when the carnations are thrown out, the geraniums 
can be given room, and make good plants, or fine 
Cannas can be grown in the Spring. A large number 
of hotbeds should be used in which to grow early 
vegetables. One acre of the ground might be used to 
grow choice vegetables, and the half-acre to grow 
asparagus, which proves very profitable and is always 
in demand. Much depends upon the ability of the 
man, soil, and market, as to what should be grown. 
WHAT THEY SAY. 
Barrels of Strawberries. —M. P. G., of Salem 
County, N. J., selected a whisky barrel, though not 
with any expectation of improving the flavor of the 
berries, then bored 100 1^-inch holes through the 
barrel, and put two inches of broken shells in the bot¬ 
tom for drainage. A cone of shells was then built 
through the center of the barrel from top to bottom, 
the barrel being set on a wheel according to the style 
described by other experimenters. But M. P. G., having 
read that a strawberry could not have too much pot¬ 
ash, allowed such an abundance of wood ashes that 
every plant was killed within a week, and the barrel 
smelled like a lye tub. Another attempt was made, 
the earth being packed firmly under the plants, which 
were slanted downward so that they would not be 
drawn through the holes by the settling of the earth. 
Verj 7 few plants died during the first Winter, and at 
the present time, the barrel is covered with blossoms 
a week earlier than the same variety in the garden 
bed. J. P. O., Dayton, O., commenting upon the ex¬ 
perience of S. S. S., in The R. N.-Y. for May 14, says 
that the earth in the barrel should have settled before 
the plants were put in, and also suggests that the 
fodder put around the barrel to protect it in Winter 
caused the rotting of the plants, which need no Winter 
protection. J. P. O. allowed his barrel to stand out 
all Winter without protection. Mulching strawberries 
does some good in the Summer, because it keeps tbe 
SAMPLES OF CORN, LINSEED AND COTTON SEED. Flo. 175. 
berries clean during a shower, and shades the ground, 
thus retaining the moisture ; but the covering is un¬ 
necessary during the Winter. 
Seeds That Yield Cattle Food. —Fig. 175, from 
Bulletin 53 of the Massachusetts Experiment Station, 
shows the different parts of a kernel of corn, of a flax 
seed whole and in section, and of a cotton seed. All 
of these come under the class known as concentrated 
feeds. In the diagram of the corn kernel, a is the 
husk or skin which covers the whole kernel, and con¬ 
sists of two distinct layers, the outer and the inner, 
which constitute the bran, and contain practically all 
of the crude fiber of the whole grain, b is a layer of 
gluten cells immediately beneath the husk, as a rule, 
yellow in color, and cannot readily be separated from 
the rest of the kernel. This part is richest of any in 
gluten, c is the germ, readily distinguished by its 
position and form. It contains gluten, though par¬ 
ticularly rich in oil and mineral constituents. The 
large portion represented by d is composed chiefly of 
starch. At the right of the kernel of corn, a represents 
a common flax seed, and b a longitudinal section show¬ 
ing the embryo. Linseed meal is the ground residue 
remaining from the flax seed after the oil has been 
removed. Most of the flax seed used in this country 
is grown in North Dakota, South Dakota and Minne¬ 
sota. The seeds contain, in their natural state, from 
30 to 35 per dent of oil. In what is known as old- 
process meal, from 20 to 28 per cent of the oil has been 
removed by warm pressure, and the pressed cake dried 
and ground. New-process meal contains less oil, as it 
is quite thoroughly extracted from the crushed seeds 
by means of a solvent, after which the meal is treated 
by steam, which process tends to produce a coarse 
and flaky product. In the lower part of Fig. 175, b 
shows a cotton seed covered with lint, a shows the 
same seed delinted, and c a section of the seed and 
the crumpled embryo. The seed is black in color, and 
of irregular egg shape. After the thick, hard hull is 
removed, the meats are cooked and subjected to heavy 
pressure to remove as much of the oil as possible. 
The pressed cake is cracked, and ground, and produces 
the decorticated, bright yellow cotton-seed meal of 
commerce. A ton of seed furnishes about 800 pounds 
of meal. Sometimes a considerable quantity of hulls 
are ground fine, and mixed with the meal, producing 
a dark-colored article having not much more than one- 
half the feeding value of the pure meal. 
Trade in Bottled Milk. —The crusade in Phila¬ 
delphia against milk bottles (see page 352), was got up 
in the interests of cheap milkmen who objected to 
bottles because the use of the bottle obliged them to 
sell clean milk, and also enabled each patron to get 
the whole milk as it was bottled direct from the farm. 
The great advance in the manner of delivering milk 
to the consumers that has been brought about by the 
bottling system, has in every city, increased the con¬ 
sumption of milk largely, also the quality. We would 
very much like to know of an authenticated case of 
contagion that has been carried by a glass milk bot¬ 
tle. There is plenty of chance to do it with the old- 
fashioned rusty, seamy, dented tin can, besides the 
opening of the can in the street, and the dipping with 
dirty hands, exposing the milk to all the odors and 
contagion of the street, horse hair, flies, and what 
not. There has been no time in the history of milk 
delivery when consumers got as pure milk as they do 
to-day with this bottle system of delivery. There 
may be an occasional slouch who does not properly 
cleanse his bottles, but there would be such cases in 
any mode of delivery. When the tin can becomes 
worn, as it very soon does, the iron is exposed, which 
is porous enough to take a taint that is almost impos¬ 
sible to eradicate, even by steam. The use of milk 
bottles has almost entirely eliminated the watering 
of milk by the driver, and all contamination in deliv¬ 
ery, as the pulp cap inserted in the bottle and used 
only once will show any tampering, and is a perfect 
protection both to the consumer and dealer. 
THE THATCHER MFG. CO. 
II. N.-Y.—A dirty milk bottle is as dangerous as a 
dirty can, and every bottle should be scalded, rinsed, 
sterilized and sunned after using. 
TUBERCULIN AND BACTERIA. 
DR. JAMES LAW EXPLAINS. 
In looking over the Cornell Veterinary College notes 
by Mary Wager Fisher, in The R. N.-Y. of May 14, 
I find one or two statements which, if left unqualified, 
might seriously mislead the reader. “ Tuberculin in¬ 
jected into cows with calf reacts invariably.” As 
stated in this general way, this is incorrect. It is true 
that cows, shortly before or after parturition, are so 
liable to react under a dose of tuberculin, that we 
cannot accept the reaction at such a time as evidence 
of tuberculosis. In other words, the tuberculin test 
is not reliable when applied near the time of calving. 
But this is not the case for the whole period of preg¬ 
nancy, or until the last few weeks of gestation. If 
the test were inapplicable to all pregnant cows, its 
field of usefulness would be very restricted, indeed. 
Bacteria are, perhaps, too delicate objects to dish up 
in a short popular article. As indicated in tbe article 
referred to, the bacillus of typhoid fever of man, and 
that of hog cholera, do resemble each other very 
closely when viewed under the microscope. The bac¬ 
teriologist would, however, resent the insinuation that 
the two cannot be differentiated. By their different 
behavior, when grown in similar culture media, he can 
state confidently that the one is from typhoid and the 
other from hog cholera. Although there are points of 
resemblance between these germs on the one hand, 
and the common bacillus of the healthy intestine on 
the other, yet as they are found in the healthy state 
and the diseased, the bacteriologist can, by his stain- 
ings, and cultures under different conditions, show 
that each has the peculiarities of its own particular 
group. Whatever theory we may adopt as to their 
descent from one common germ, we must admit that, 
as found in the different diseases, they have charac¬ 
ters belonging to the group which causes the specific 
disease to which they respectively belong. 
The same is, in a measure, true as to the bacillus 
tuberculosis of man and bird. They resemble each 
other closely, but as found in the mammal, it is diffi¬ 
cult successfully to inoculate them on the bird, and 
as found in the bird, they are not readily transferred 
to the mammal. Yet under favorable conditions, this 
transfer has been made, and once started, they can 
then be continued indefinitely in the new genus of 
animal. This gives color to the idea that they have 
both come from one common ancestor, yet the truth 
remains that it is difficult to inoculate from one genus 
of animal upon one so widely separated as are beast 
