466 THE RURAL’NEW-YORKER. 
FARMERS’ CLUB—DISCUSSION. 
That Forestry Question Again. 
L. H., South Dansville, N. Y.—I do 
not wish to enter into any discussion of 
the forestry succession question unless 
something can be learned by it; but as 
Dr. Beal, on page 269, questions the truth 
of my statements, I would like to be some¬ 
what more explicit. First as to my knowl¬ 
edge in regard to the condition of the orig¬ 
inal forest: When my father settled here 
this farm was in a state of nature; he was 
obliged to clear a place to put Tip a log 
cabin. He lived here the remainder of his 
life, dying in 1874. I was born on the farm 
and it has been my home for nearly 50 
years. The laud here is quite uneven, the 
hills running mostly in ranges north and 
south. The timber varies on the hills, 
some ranges having birch and maple inter¬ 
spersed with hemlock; others oak and 
chestnut with pine. The growth on this 
particular line of hills was so distinctively 
oak that the elevation was given the name 
of Oak Hill. This hill divides towards its 
northern extremity, the eastern portion 
having pine mixed with the oak. On the 
western hill there was no pine in the orig¬ 
inal forest. It was this particular tract to 
which I referred on page 269. The farm 
lies across both hills and has long been 
cleared, except a portion on the extreme 
western slope of the west hill, about 200 
rods from the pine on the eastern hill. Dr. 
Beal says that his experiments demon¬ 
strate that the vitality of tree seeds lasts 
but a comparatively short time, in which 
case the seeds must have come from the 
pine on the east hill. Nature prac¬ 
tices no sleight of hand and works 
through simple laws, the only trouble 
is to find them out. The “second growth” 
pines are large enough to bear seed now, 
but no young pines are starting and all that 
are eight inches or less in diameter are 
either dead or dying. It was this change 
that attracted my curiosity and elicited 
the inquiry. The seeding of the hemlocks 
that have recently sprung up through this 
same tract of woods is more of a puzzle 
than the pines. The facts are just as I 
stated them. To find hemlock trees we 
have to pass the eastern part of Oak Hill 
to the hills two or three miles away to the 
east. The suggestion of J. W. J., page 820, 
that the woods might have been burned 
over about 20 years ago, and that a seed-bed 
might in this way have been prepared does 
not apply ; there have been no fires through 
these woods in the last 60 years. His idea 
also that the seed might have been carried 
by the drifting snow is erroneous, as the 
topography of the country would prevent 
it. In case it could be done the seeds would 
be deposited a great deal more thickly on 
the edge than in the center of the woods and 
that is not the case. There are as many 
young hemlocks in the middle as on the 
edges. If the seeds were carried by the 
wind it must have been above the surface 
of the earth. I have thought that birds 
might have been the means of conveying 
them. What ever the cause we have cer¬ 
tainly this succession, while the oaks and 
chestnuts remain the same they become 
thickly interspersed with pines to be in turn 
followed by hemlocks. It would seem by 
the communication of H. F., page 354, that 
others have noticed the same change taking 
place. 
“ Why James Left The Farm.” 
J. S. T., Lysander, N. Y.— I take some 
exceptions to the illustrations of “ Why 
James Left The Farm,” in a late Rural. 
At least the cartoon is not a fair illustration 
of the way boys are brought up in Central 
New York. I have looked the circle of my 
acquaintances over and cannot find a boy 
that was treated as James was, whether he 
is bound out, works out, or is at home with 
his own parents. My observation is that 
boys, as a rule, leave the farm more from 
natural adaptation to something else than 
on account of ill-treatment or uncongenial 
homes. I do not know of a farmer in this 
town who does not do all for his sons his 
circumstances will allow, and many deprive 
themselves of every luxury in order that 
their boys can have a year away at school, 
a new buggy, or something their tastes call 
for. There is not a boy in this neighbor¬ 
hood who has not a horse and buggy at his 
command ; for almost every farmer keeps 
an extra horse for carriage and light work. 
There are boys that work by the month who 
support a nice horse and carriage. Boys 
can often see the advantages and allure¬ 
ments of business as far as some men. It 
is the appearance of business prosperity 
that dazzles their eyes. Farming is slow 
and hard, and one cannot make anything 
else out of it. Then, too, a poor boy can¬ 
not start farming as he could do a few years 
ago; it takes no small amount of capital 
now to start a farm. It cannot be run with 
just a plow and peg-toothed drag as in days 
of yore. A boy can receive living wages at 
almost any trade or business, and if he is 
diligent he is sure of promotion to a posi¬ 
tion that will command wages far beyond 
a farmer’s income. I claim that the times 
never were better for wage-workers than at 
present. Everything we wear and eat is 
cheap, and wages in comparison are good. 
This appears to be the great reason why so 
many boys leave the farm in the opinion 
of one of the boys that did not leave it. 
The Geneva Experiment Station 
Poultry Experiments. 
P. H. Jacobs, Hammonton, N. J.—Notic¬ 
ing the allusion to the Geneva Experiment 
Station, in The R. NY. of June 5, 1 am 
prompted to send this by way of giving 
some information on the subject of poultry 
experiments there. While as yet no results 
have been recently reached, work is being 
done, as I have requested Mr. W. P. 
Wheeler, the assistant to the director, to 
follow some plans of my own selection. Mr. 
Wheeler made a visit to me in order that 
we might consult, and he also inspected 
several large poultry farms as well as the 
broiler establishments in this place. Hav¬ 
ing a small but incomplete laboratory of 
my own, I am much interested in the 
investigation of all that requires the assist¬ 
ance of chemistry, and Mr. Wheeler and I 
mapped out a line of investigation which 
will keep him busy. He has already dis" 
covered several facts that confirm 
“theories,” and he has also made discover¬ 
ies that upset some beliefs. This is not the 
season for experiments, for lice, heat, and 
other drawbacks are in the way. Experi¬ 
ments can be properly made only when the 
fowls are confined, as hens differ from each 
other just as do cows or horses. It requires 
much care to make an experiment with 20 
hens, owing to their individual character¬ 
istics, to say nothing of the fact that there 
are nearly 100 breeds of poultry to contend 
with, each of which has its merits. As I 
am personally interested in the experiments 
at Geneva (the idea being first suggested to 
me by The R. N.-Y.), I can assure readers of 
the paper that feeding experiments, the 
operation of an incubator, with experi¬ 
ments in the use of substances over which 
disputes have arisen, are being made, aud 
I have no doubt information of value 
will be collected. I know nothing of the 
charges referred to in The R. N.-Y., nor am 
I in any manner interested, but supposing 
that I could throw some light on the 
“poultry department” at Geneva, I make 
bold to pen the above. 
[Thank you.— Eds ] 
Maryland’s Eastern Shore-Isms. 
J. W. K., Denton, Md.—I n “ Brevities” 
page 404,—issue of June 21,—The Rural, 
says, in relation to magnolia seeds, that 
“ the pistils and stamens of magnolias are 
seldom matured at the same time” etc. 
While this seems to be the case with regard 
to some varieties; with others it is not; an 
isolated “ Lenn6 ” on my grounds has, ever 
since large enough to bloom, produced 
seeds plentifully, the cucumber-looking 
seed comes following nearly every flower. 
M. glauca, tripetala and acuminata also 
produce seeds abundantly with me; while 
the flowers of M. macrophylla are always 
destroyed by the rose-chafers. The mam¬ 
moth flower buds are not permitted by 
these pests to expand, but are covered with 
the beetles, two or three layers deep, aud 
though thousands of the pests are an¬ 
nually destroyed while engaged in this an¬ 
noying work of destruction, thousands 
more are always ready to fill up the depleted 
ranks, and complete the total destruction 
of the flower. M. conspicua and Soulange’s, 
while they flower profusely, have never yet 
produced any seeds with me. M. grandiflora, 
as I have it,has none of the “rust” on the un¬ 
der surface of its leaves characteristic of that 
variety. It is identically the same in all 
other respects; the time of flowering and 
fragrance as well as the formation and 
size of flowers being precisely similar. Why 
the variation in leaf ? Perhaps mine were 
grown from seeds, as I am inclined to be¬ 
lieve. and this difference has been produced 
through the agency of foreign pollen. 
While all the magnolias are beautful, if I 
were compelled to have but one kind, M. 
glauca would be promptly selected. This 
makes a pretty little tree, extends its 
blooming over a longer period of time than 
any of the others, and, I think, is fully as 
fragrant as M. grandiflora. It is almost 
evergreen here and thoroughly hardy. It 
has often been a source of wonder to me 
why the Rural does not say more about 
the Japan Styrax. If its merits and habits 
are elsewhere as here, it most deservedly 
should appear in every collection, great and 
small, of ornamental trees. 
[The fact that a magnolia fruits freely 
is not proof that the stigmas and anthers 
are mature at the same time any more 
than ears of corn on a given plant would be 
proof that the pollen and silks of that plant 
were simultaneously ripe. Insects, as our 
friend well knows, may pollenate the recep¬ 
tive stigmas of flowers whose anthers are 
immature, carrying the pollen from other 
flowers with ripe anthers.— Eds.] 
The Dog Question Again. 
H. V. F., Cranford, N. J.—There is a 
great deal of sentimental bosh and non¬ 
sense over this dog question No one ad¬ 
mires a good dog more than I do. The 
law in most of the States rightly recognizes 
him as property and accords him the same 
protection as is given to other domestic 
animals. But there are thousands of 
worthless curs which are not only not 
worth the tax paid upon them, but are 
public nuisances. They are usually owned 
bv irresponsible persons of whom damages 
for injury cannot be collected, even if the 
depredator be apprehended. They have in 
many rural communities rendered sheep¬ 
raising a profitless business, besides prey¬ 
ing upon poultry and other live stock. 
Now, I agree with The Rural that no 
man should keep a dog unless he keeps 
him within proper bounds the same as he 
is compelled to keep his horses, his cattle 
or his hogs. I fail to see why any distinc¬ 
tion should be made in favor of the dog. 
Furthermore, I claim that all these law¬ 
less, roving dogs should be treated precise¬ 
ly as any other wild animal would be 
treated I know that it is a risky business 
in many localities for a man to shoot or 
poison a trespassing dog, but I know also 
that it is the only relief from this nuisance 
that is left to many sufferers, and were I 
placed in this extremity I would not hesi¬ 
tate to avail myself of this relief. I would 
be careful, however, not to go at the busi- 
iness in such an indiscriminate, careless 
way that really valuable dogs would suffer. 
The law rightly protects the latter, but all 
vagrant curs should be placed without the 
pale of the law’s protection and I am not 
sure but a premium should be offered for 
their scalps. 
Honeysuckles from Seed. 
M. B. P., Vance County, N. C.—The 
Rural expresses a desire to hear from 
those who have had experience in raising 
honeysuckles from seed My experience in 
that line has been an unhappy one. Eight 
or 10 years ago a variegated-foliaged Japan 
honeysuckle was planted quite generally, 
and it was my misfortune to be made the 
recipient of one plant as a present. It is 
now a dense mass of vines, six feet wide by 
two feet thick, and 15 feet high. It grows 
vigorously, and produces abundance of 
fruit, of which birds are very fond, and by 
their agency the seeds have been sown 
along fences, under trees, among berry 
bushes, and almost everywhere birds are 
wont to alight. It has became a nuisance, 
which it will take a long time to abate. I 
regret to lose the shade, but before it ripens 
another crop of seed the old vine will come 
out, root and branch. 
SOME DAIRY QUESTIONS. 
A “ dairy school ” was recently held at 
McDonough, N. Y. From the report by 
Col. Curtis, printed in the Couutry Gentle¬ 
man, we take the following conversation 
between pupils and teachers: 
“ Do you allow tobacco smoking where 
you are making butter ?” No, never. 
“ How can we best sell our butter ?” 
Directly to consumers. First sell to your 
friends, and use them as aids to secure 
other customers. Iu this way we may save 
the commissions and profits of the hand¬ 
lers. 
“ Will cream rise quicker at any time by 
making the milk thinner?” Yes; cream 
will always rise quicker by thinning the 
milk. The smaller the volume of milk the 
sooner the cream will rise. This fact 
teaches us not to have the milk too deep in 
the pails or cans. 
“Should sour buttermilk be put into 
sweet cream?” No; do not do that. If 
you do, you will be likely to impart a but¬ 
ter-milk taste to your cream and injure the 
flavor of your butter. 
“ Will butter keep better under brine 
JULY i9 
than salt ?” Butter should be packed solid 
and the air excluded. This can be done 
well with salt and a cloth at the bottom 
and the top—first salt, then a cloth, then a 
layer of salt paste on top of all. Some say 
that to submerge with brine is best. 
“If the tin is peeled off from the metal 
used to store the butter, will the butter be 
injured?” Certainly it will. The salt will 
cause oxidation, and this will discolor and 
injure the butter. Bacteria and filth will 
adhere to the rusty iron. 
“ Is it practicable to set the milk of far¬ 
row and new milch cows together ?” It is 
all right if the conditions are favorable 
for the cream to rise and it is all fully 
ripened. 
“ Will butter keep better in earthen jars 
than in wooden tubs f” If the jar is glazed 
it will keep well. Many, however, prefer 
oaken tubs. 
“ Can the white specks begot out of butter 
in any other way except by washing ?” No; 
a cream strainer will not remove them. 
“ What is the best method of fastening 
cows ?” Either by a chain or strap around 
the neck or with a swinging stanchion. 
“ Will butter absorb more salt than is 
necessary to preserve it through the sum¬ 
mer ?” If butter is worked so dry that it 
will not dissolve the salt, and salt is mixed 
through it in this state it will contain too 
much salt. As salt is usually put into the 
butter or mixed with it while it has a large 
amount of water in it, the salt is formed 
into brine and so worked out. If the salt 
all dissolves while the butter is being 
worked, it will not impart an undue salty 
taste. Salt does not preserve butter, but 
it gives it a flavor most people like. When 
salted, an ounce to the pound, it does not 
retain this amount. We salt butter to 
season it An increase will not preserve it, 
but it may make it, as explained, too salty 
for good taste or flavor. A small quantity 
is as good as a large amount, so far as pres¬ 
ervation is concerned. The salt coats the 
butter granules or is distributed in little 
pockets of brine. It does not penetrate the 
butter, nor is it absorbed by it. 
“ Should grain be fed to cows dry or wet?” 
All ruminating animals will do better if 
grain is given them dry. 
“ What time in the day if but once a day?” 
In winter in the morning; in summer at 
night. 
“ How long should cream be kept in win¬ 
ter ? ” Not more than three days. 
“ Does it injure the butter to put ice in 
the churn ? ” Yes. It injures the color. 
“ Does it injure butter to put sugar and 
saltpeter in it ? ” Sugar will change the 
flavor, and it will not keep so well unless 
pure. Some like the sugar flavor, some 
prefer the real butter taste. A little salt¬ 
peter will not change the taste. It is 
antiseptic and no doubt preservative ; but 
its use is not to be commended, as too 
much is injurious to the st*mach. It must 
be used with care. We do not advise its 
use. 
“ Will cream spoil in a damp cellar before 
it will ripen ? ” Yes; it will rot or begin to, 
and make tainted butter. 
“Does it injure the cows if the milker 
sings and whistles ? ” That depends. If it 
makes them the least bit nervous, it does. 
Cows might relish good music if they were 
used to it. 
“ Will more butter be obtained by churn¬ 
ing the milk than the cream ? ” If the milk 
is well set, no. 
“ Does it make any difference in the yield 
of butter if the cream is strained ? ” That 
depends on how clean the cream is. 
Straining does not add anything to the 
cream; but it might remove dirt of some 
kinds. _ 
SAMPLES AND COMMENTS. 
Canadian Butter Missionaries.— One 
of The R. N.-Y.’s Canadian subscribers, 
Mr. A. A. Wright, desiring to see a better 
grade of butter made In his district, secured 
the services of two of the best butter makers 
he could find, aud went about the country 
giving exhibitions of butter making. He 
had a lively time, entertaining audiences of 
French, Germans, Irish and Swedes, with 
volunteer interpreters. A good deal of in¬ 
terest was aroused, however, and the result 
will be better butter. A Canadian reporter 
semis us the following information : “ The 
most general trouble of all—and the great¬ 
est source of ‘soft’ butter—has been the 
ripening of the cream at too high a tem¬ 
perature. In summer, when taken from the 
cow, the milk should be brought down to 
40 deg. or thereabouts, and never allowed 
to rise above 58 deg., either iu milk or 
cream state, till it is changed into butter. 
This is an important point. Read it over 
again. One lady, who had apparently done 
