Chapter III: Part 3

I am led to these conclusions by the fact that among the many failures in fruit culture there are some splendid successes; and that these successes occur with those, as a rule, who are guiltless of these sins; and that just in proportion to the magnitude of the guilt is the success insured. In other words--that almost invariably are our failures to be attributed to our own want of skill and our neglect--most generally the latter. Here and there we note cases of marked success--of heavy crops and large returns for care and labor invested. These are mostly on a small scale; as for instance, one man produces from at the rate of 200 to 300 bushels of strawberries per acre, on a few rods of ground. Another, his neighbor, gets about as many quarts. The conditions of soil and climate are about the same. Now is Providence to be charged with this disparity? Certainly not. The same care, the same intelligent management, and the same amount of labor bestowed, would have produced as favorable results in the one case as in the other.

And so, as to larger tracts. I hold that what my neighbor can do on a dozen square rods, he and I both ought to be equally able to do on five or ten, or twenty times as large a tract. But, you say, these large yields are the results of extraordinary care. True, they are; and that proves my theory--that extraordinary care will produce extraordinary results. What one man can do once, he can do again and all the time; and we all can do the same. Extraordinary care may be defined as the care necessary to produce good results, and if that care were always applied it would cease to be extraordinary.

I myself saw in my neighbor's field a crop of strawberries, on two rows, which at the safest and closest calculation I could make, yielded at the rate of over 300 bushels per acre. He had but the two rows; had given them extraordinary care--had kept them clear of grass and weeds--and the ground mellow--and had mulched them with forest leaves. Those two rows were in a field of several acres in size. The same care in planting, in cultivating, in mulching, and the whole tract would have produced corresponding results. That same year, my crop, on soil equally as good, reached a yield of less than one-fifth in amount. Why this difference? Providence favored him and didn't favor me, I might say, if I felt disposed to make a scape-goat of Providence for my misdeeds. But I do not believe that Providence did anything of the sort. The fault was my own; and I have no right to attempt to shift the responsibility. And it was not want of knowledge either. We, none of us, do as well as we know how. Our failures are mostly the results of sheer neglect. Mistakes, we incline to call them. Let us call them sins, and repent of them; and not endeavor to do as Aaron did, pack them off into the wilderness. When we bring ourselves to thus correct our mistakes, our crops will be increased threefold, and Providence will no longer be made a scape-goat for us.

T.G.

PRUNINGS.

The strawberry was introduced into England from Flanders in 1530.

Gardeners in London, England, are always ready to buy toads. The regular market price for them ranges from $15 to $25 per hundred.

Soap-suds are a valuable fertilizer for all forms of vegetation; especially serviceable for small fruits, and in the fruit garden proper will never be wasted.

An Italian claims to have discovered that by drenching the foliage of grapevines with a solution of soda the filaments of the mildew fungus will be shriveled, while the leaves will remain uninjured. A Wisconsin nurseryman, however, advises the use of flowers of sulphur, which he believes a good remedy, also, when applied to the vines and when added to the soil surrounding them.

A correspondent of the Germantown Telegraph says that he has found salt a valuable remedy for rust on blackberry vines, and concludes: "I have applied two or three handfuls on the surface of the ground, immediately over the roots, when the plants were badly rusted; in two or three weeks the disease had disappeared, and the plants had made a good growth. I believe moderate applications of salt, sown broadcast over a blackberry patch, would be of great benefit as a fertilizer and health renewer."

Gardener's Monthly: In the discussions on forest culture, little is said of the willow, which forms a very interesting department. The white willow, Salix Candida, is often used for coarse work. S. Vinnunatis and S. Russelliana, are the most commonly used in the Eastern United States, under the name of Osier, or basket willow, and S. Forbyana, a variety of S. rubra, or the red willow is often used for fine work. In the Editor's recent visit to the Northwest a number of fine species were noted which would evidently be worth introducing for basket-making purposes.

The Germantown Telegraph says: "To grow good crops of blackberries the soil should be good and especially deep, for the roots run down wonderfully when possible for them to do so; and as the growing fruit requires its greatest nourishment in the usually dry month of August, it is an advantage to have deep soil for the roots to draw a supply from. A deep, sandy soil will generally grow the best crop of berries, while a clay soil tends to produce rust. Good cultivation, good soil, and a judicious use of manure make stout and vigorous canes, with a crop of berries in increased ratio."

Indiana correspondent Orange County Farmer: I have had a good deal of experience in propagating currants. I always plant my currant cuttings in the fall as soon as the leaves fall off. They will make durable roots two to four inches long the same fall, while the buds remain dormant. They will make double the growth the next season if set in the fall, and they should be set in ground that will not heave them out by the effects of frost and should be covered just before winter sets in with coarse litter. Remove the covering early in the spring and examine the cuttings to see if any of them hove, and if so, press them down again. Should they heave up an inch or more, if well pressed down, they will start and make better growth than cuttings set in the spring. In either case, however, the cuttings should always be made in the fall.

A Rural New Yorker correspondent gets down to the real art of grape eating. Hear him tell how to manipulate the fruit: No! the man who holds the grape between his thumb and dexter finger and squeezes or shoots the pulp into his throat, does not know how to enjoy the fruit, and is not likely to appreciate the good qualities of a fine grape. Let the berries follow each other into the mouth in rapid succession until three or four are taken, while with each insertion the teeth are brought together upon the seeds without breaking them. The acid of the pulp is thus freed to mingle with the saccharine juice next the skin, and a slight manipulation by the tongue separates the seeds and skins from the delicious winey juices; after this has tickled the palate, skins and seeds may be ejected together. Close to the skin lies a large part of the good flavor of the grape.

On the subject of protecting trees from mice, R.W. Rogers, in Ohio Farmer says: "As the season is near at hand when farmers will have to look to the protection of their young fruit trees from ground mice, I send you my method if you deem it worthy of publishing. It is as follows: Take old tin fruit cans, put them on the fire until the parts that are soldered have become heated, when they will come apart. Take the body of the can and encircle it around the tree, letting the sides lap each other, and press firmly in the ground before it has become frozen. The mice coming in contact with the tin will turn them in another direction. It is far better than mounding up or tramping snow about them. Most any farmer can gather up enough for a good sized orchard, and make them pay compound interest, which otherwise would be a nuisance or pitched out of the back window."

FLORICULTURE.

Gleanings by an Old Florist.

ARTIFICIAL MANURES AND OTHER MATTERS.

The successful raisers of many kinds of flowers use, more or less, some kind of what might be called artificial stimulants other than the ordinary manuring of the soil at the time the plant is set out, whether it be in pot culture or in the open benches. This is no new thing under the sun; not a few who have been in the habit, and found great results, have tried to keep a monopoly, and have been more or less close-mouthed in the matter. Perhaps one of the oldest forms of this feeding extra stimulants to their pets was in the form of liquid manure made from various materials, as horse, sheep, cow, and other manures. They are sometimes prepared with ever so much mystery in the matter of quantity, time of preparation, quantity given, etc., all of which was supposed to have its influence. Of one thing, however, there was certain, tangible evidence that many of these persons managed, if for exhibition, to carry off the best premiums; and if for the market were pretty sure to command the best prices, and what is more, obtain the greater results financially.

Soot, guano, ammonia, and in later years, material obtained from the immense slaughter-houses, such as blood and other offal in a highly concentrated form, find, perhaps, nowadays, more advocates; principally because the first-mentioned list contains articles that give off very offensive odors while being applied, so that the more fastidious are loath to use them. What may not be very offensive to the plodding florist would be highly so to the more refined, or when the general public comes more into contact with the crops while being so applied. In almost all of the cases where the ingredients mentioned are used they are diluted with a large quantity of water, except in the case of the droppings of the animals; the latter are often used by florists in the form of a very heavy mulch, depending upon the ordinary watering to carry down to the roots such parts of the dressing as would dissolve in the water, and thus give extra stimulant, and at a time when it would do the most good, because, ordinarily, the more water necessary the greater the growth going on, and vice versa, if plants are in a state of rest, either from a finished growth or from lowness of temperature, but little water would be needed, and but little benefit from the mulch, except such as undoubtedly arises from the ammonia itself in the manure permeating the atmosphere, which again, however, would be the most active when heavy watering was necessary, simply because of the high and humid temperature.

For obvious reasons the votaries of window gardening will use those giving off little or no unpleasant odors. Others again make the soil so rich in the first instance that much less of what may be called artificial manures are required during growth. But without some skill in this matter it is not safe, for if much of the material is not thoroughly decayed (which, however, has then lost most of its volatile ingredients) it is, in the common vernacular of the gardener, too rank to give good growth and results, whether it be in fruits, flowers, or foliage. For example, in Henderson's horticulture he recommends, as the best soil for potting, loam and hops. He says, "Not the least simple of these operations is the preparation of our potting soil. We have, we may say, only one heap--a big one it is--but it contains only two ingredients, rotted sods, from a loamy pasture, and rotted refuse hops from the breweries, in about the proportion of two of the sods to one of hop. One-year-old rotted manure, if the hops cannot be obtained." It is evident upon its face that so large a proportion as one-third of a fresh manure or hops would be disastrous; but well rotted, and with care otherwise in temperature and other desiderata, it would be a highly stimulating soil. This was in 1869. We well recollect the commotion the hop business caused in the horticultural world at the time, as Henderson recommended it for plunging pots in, setting pots on mulching outdoors, and almost every purpose. And did he not grow the best of stuff and himself practice what he preached. Spent hops in this city were eagerly sought after and used, apparently with great success, in almost every florist's establishment as well as market garden. What before was a nuisance to the breweries was eagerly sought after; like most things, however, it had its day, and is now seldom seen again. We might, however, say that its decline undoubtedly arose from its unpleasant features, as it drew myriads of insects in its train and often emitted a very unpleasant odor. Its great value consists in that it is the seed of the hop plant, all seeds contributing by far the greatest value in manures.

In the green-house the object aimed at, is the greatest possible results from limited area. Of the atmosphere the gardener has almost absolute control--no siroccos, biting frost, or destructive winds interfere. He can beat nature all to pieces in growing plants faultless in shape and in quantity of flowers, but his soil is of limited extent for the roots to wander in. To counteract this, he can give in other forms just as much and no more nutrition as is necessary to effect his purpose, and here comes in this artificial supply of manurial agents.

Mr. DeVrey, the successful superintendent of Lincoln Park, uses horn shavings. This is the cleanest and most pleasant material that we ever recollect to have seen used for the purpose, it is the refuse in the factories where the horns from the slaughterhouse are steamed and manipulated into the numerous objects they are applied to, not the least being into knife and fork handles, and the like. It is in the form of thin shaving of half an inch to an inch in length, quite dry and light, entirely free from odor. He takes all they make, and this year has a ton of the material for which he pays at the rate of three cents per pound. The method of using is simply to mix with the soil at the time of potting, giving it, to the common eye, as oil specked all through with a white flaky substance. Its effect is very visible in a clear, healthy growth, given off gradually, and as it is quite common where vast quantities of plants are required to be grown in small pots, when there appears to be a necessity of some new stimulant, it should be given by the amateur in a larger pot. This is done by shaking nearly all the soil from the roots and re-potting again if possible in the same sized pots, thus doing away with all artificial watering, and yet having healthy, luxuriant growth all the time.

A pound of the material, which is light, will be enough for a wheelbarrow of potting soil. After all, the question is not so much the exact material employed of a number of similar agents, as it is with the intelligence brought to bear so as to apply at the right time the right quantity, and under the best possible circumstances.

EDGAR SANDERS.

SCIENTIFIC.

AM I A SCOT, OR AM I NOT?

If I should bring a wagon o'er
From Scotland to Columbia's shore,
And by successive wear and tear
The wagon soon should need repair:
Thus, when the tires are worn through,
Columbia's iron doth renew;
Likewise the fellies, hubs, and spokes
Should be replaced by Western oaks;
In course of time down goes the bed,
But here's one like it in its stead.
So bit by bit, in seven years,
All things are changed in bed and gears,
And still it seems as though it ought
To be the one from Scotland brought;
But when I think the matter o'er,
It ne'er was on a foreign shore,
And all that came across the sea
Is only its identity.

I came, a Scotchman, understand,
By choice, to live in this free land,
Wherein I've dwelt, from day to day,
'Till sixteen years have passed away.
If physiology be true,
My body has been changing too;
And though at first it did seem strange,
Yet science doth confirm the change;
And since I have the truth been taught,
I wonder If I'm now a Scot?
Since all that came across the sea
Is only my identity.

--_Wm. Taylor, in Scientific American._

PRIMITIVE NORTHWEST.

Mr. C.W. Butterfield contributes an article on the Primitive Northwest, to last number of the American Antiquarian. He says that early in the seventeenth century French settlements, few in number, were scattered along the wooded shores of the river St. Lawrence in Canada. To the westward, upon the Ottowa river, and the Georgian bay, were the homes of Indian nations with whom these settlers had commercial relations, and among some of whom were located Jesuit missionaries. In the year 1615, Lake Huron was discovered. To it was given the name of the Fresh Sea (Mer Douce). But, as yet, no white man had set foot upon any portion of what now constitutes the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Eastern Minnesota. And thereafter, for nearly a score of years this whole region remained, so far as the visitation of white men was concerned, an undiscovered country; and such it continued down to the year 1684. However, previous to this date, something had been learned by the French settlers upon the St. Lawrence, of this (to them) far off land; but the information has been obtained wholly from the Indians. This knowledge was of necessity crude and, to a considerable extent, uncertain. Such of it as has been preserved is properly treated of under the following heads: First, as to what had been gleaned concerning the physical aspects of the country; second, as to what had been brought to light relative to the various tribes inhabiting this region.

Previous to 1634, nothing had been learned of Lake Erie, Lake St. Clair, or Lake Michigan although it was understood there was some kind of a water-way connecting the Fresh Sea (Lake Huron) with Ontario. A little knowledge had been gained of a great body of fresh water lying beyond the "Mer Douce," "a grand lac," so called by the French--now known as Lake Superior. The length of this superior lake with that of the Fresh Sea (Lake Huron), the Indians declared was a journey of full thirty days in canoes. At the outlet of the great lake was what was described by the savages, as a considerable rapid, to which the French gave the name of "Sault de Gaston," the present Sault St. Marie, in the St. Mary's river, the stream, which, it is well known, flows from Lake Superior into Lake Huron.

Accounts also had been received from the Indians prior to the year last mentioned, of a lake of no great size, through which flowed a river discharging its waters into the Fresh Sea (Lake Huron). These were reports of Lake Winnebago and Fox river, in what is now the State of Wisconsin. As the French upon the St. Lawrence had no knowledge as yet of Lake Michigan, they imagined the location of this small lake, and its river was beyond, and to the northwest of Lake Huron and that they emptied into it; Green Bay into the head of which Fox river really flows, being (like Lake Michigan) wholly unknown to them.

It had further been reported by the Indians before this date that there was a mine of copper on an island in what has been mentioned as probably Lake Winnebago; doubtless, however, this island should have been located in Lake Superior. A specimen of native copper had as early as 1610, been exhibited by an Indian to an interested Frenchman upon the St. Lawrence, and an account given by him as to the rude method employed by the savages in melting that metal. But other islands besides the one containing the copper mine had been brought to the knowledge of the French settlers. A large one southeast of the "Sault de Gaston" being described, and two smaller ones, to the south of it. These islands were, it is suggested, the Great Manitoulin, Drummond, and Little Manitoulin, of the present day.

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Dr. Leeds has said that spices were adulterated to a great extent, but only such substances were added as were purely non-poisonous. Mustards were never found to be pure. Vinegars were also highly adulterated. Competent officers, who shall be specialists, should be appointed in each State to examine manufactured and natural foods to detect adulteration. So far these examinations have been made by college professors. The State Boards of Health should take the matter in hand and see that it has the proper attention.

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A French periodical, La Culture, gives the following simple method for testing the purity of water. In an ordinary quart bottle three parts filled with water dissolve a spoonful of pure white sugar, cork it well and put it in a warm place. If at the end of forty-eight hours the water becomes turbid and milky there can be no doubt of its impurity, but if it remains limpid it may be considered safely drinkable.

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A meeting of farmers interested in ensilage will be held at 55 Beekman street, New York, Wednesday, January 23, at 12 o'clock. All interested in the subject are invited to attend.

The Iowa State Horticultural Society will hold its annual meeting at Des Moines, January 15-18. Prof. J.L. Budd, Ames, will forward programmes on application. The usual reductions in railway and hotel fares are expected.

Professor S.R. Thompson, Superintendent of the Nebraska Agricultural College farm, has been chosen to represent Nebraska at the meeting to be held at Washington, D.C., next week, for the purpose of taking action in regard to contagious diseases of cattle. He requests stock men and all others interested in the cattle industries of his State to correspond with him, and make such suggestions as they may think proper for guidance at the meeting.

Since its organization in 1853 to 1882 inclusive, the managers of the Illinois State Fair have offered the following amounts in premiums for live stock: Cattle, $70,406; horses and mules, $81,825; sheep, $24,450; swine, $25,320; poultry, $8,214;--total $210,215, which must be considered pretty substantial encouragement. The total offered in premiums for all classes of exhibits has been $303,961. Thus a little more than two thirds of the entire amount has been given to the breeders and importers of stock.

The officers of the Northwestern Dairymen's Association say that every indication warrants the conclusion that the coming convention at Mankato, Minn., commencing February 12, will prove the grandest success in the history of the association. A full array of the best dairy talent of the entire Northwest will be present. The purpose is both in the arrangement of the programme and in the conduct of the discussions, to make of the coming convention an institute for study and instruction which no intelligent and progressive farmer can afford to miss.

The Missouri State Board of Agriculture asks the aid of one competent man in every township in the State to give it estimates of crops, etc., in his vicinity. The aim is to give as full and reliable statistics for crop reports as it is possible to collect. The State provides but $1,250 for the general expenses of the Board, and it is thus dependent upon voluntary aid in the matter. The Board will defray all expenses of postage and stationery. Competent persons willing to undertake this work for the public good should address J.W. Sanborn, Secretary, Columbus, Mo. Such persons will receive, free, the monthly and annual reports of the Board.

In March of last year Secretary Fisher, of the Illinois State Board of Agriculture, submitted his report for 1882 to Gov. Hamilton. This report has just made its appearance. It has taken the State printer ten months to get the volume printed and bound for distribution, a work that any respectable job office in Chicago would have turned out in four weeks without any extra exertion. The report is valuable, of course, but it would have been worth a deal more had it appeared last April. Such papers as the report of Prof. Forbes, State Entomologist, for instance, might have been of immense benefit to the people of the State if the information it contains regarding noxious insects had reached them in early spring.

SEED SAMPLES.

We have letters from several parties desiring us to publish an offer they make to send packages of seed corn and other seeds to any one applying and inclosing stamps to pay for trouble and postage. Some of these parties also send samples of the seed. There is one great difficulty in the way of publishing this class of communications. Once we begin, the door is open to the practice of petty frauds upon our readers which we have no right to encourage or allow. Now we are almost certain that all these writers, thus far, are honorable men, who wish to confer a favor upon their brother farmers, and who do not wish to gain a farthing in the transaction. But some of them are personally unknown to us, and we do not feel like vouching for their responsibility, still less so because it is difficult to tell who will next propose a similar scheme. There is to be a brisk trade in seed corn during the next four months, and parties having a well tested article will find no difficulty in disposing of it at good prices, providing they can convince people they have exactly what they claim. The way to do is to advertise the seed corn in the regular way, giving as references such men as the postmaster, justice of the peace, banker, etc., as may be most convincing and convenient. We are as anxious as any one can be to see the people supplied with well ripened and well cared-for corn grown in the proper latitude, and we are equally anxious to guard them against imposition.

THE PORK QUESTION IN EUROPE.

The question of admitting American pork into France is not yet settled. The Corps Legislatif is again "all tore up" by rash statements made by member M. Paul Bert, who has published a letter at Paris in which he argues that the use of our pork must result in disease, and that a general outbreak may be feared at any moment, so long as the products of diseased swine are offered in French markets. He endeavors to strengthen his position by pretending to quote from Dr. Detmers, Department of Agriculture Inspector at the Chicago Stock Yards. He alleges that Detmers has reported that diseased and dying hogs are sold daily in Chicago, and then shipped as pork, bacon, and lard to Havre and Bordeaux. To this audacious or mendacious charge Dr. Detmers replies as follows:

The statement made by M. Paul Bert, as contained in a cable
dispatch from Paris, is not only a perversion of facts, but a
falsehood cut from whole cloth. I never certified, wrote, or
said that dead hogs are shipped to packing-houses, or that
these carcasses are shipped abroad. All I ever said in regard
to transportation of diseased or dead hogs is contained in my
official reports to the Commissioner of Agriculture,
Washington, and can be found in his annual reports of 1878
and 1879, on pages 355 and 418 respectively, where it is
accessible to everyone. I simply called attention to the
transportation of diseased and dead hogs to the rendering
tanks--entirely distinct from packing houses--as affording a
means of spreading the then prevailing disease--swine plague,
or so-called hog cholera.

M. Paul Bert seems to be a true demagogue, otherwise he would
not resort to a falsehood to please his constituents. I never
in any manner, directly or indirectly, stated or intimated
that packers are or ever were in collusion with dealers in
diseased live stock. Moreover, the laws and regulations of
the Chicago Stock Yards are such as to render it absolutely
impossible that a dead hog should be smuggled into them, and
if an animal should die while in the yards it is at once
delivered to a soap-grease rendering establishment outside of
the Stock Yards, and can not possibly get into a
packing-house.

This reply came too late to have any effect upon French legislation, and the decree of prohibition has been re-enacted. So far we notice no marked effect upon the prices of pork products in this country, but later it must result in depression. We notice the leading papers of the United States are advocating the retaliatory measures proposed months ago by THE PRAIRIE FARMER against European States interdicting the importation of our meat products. We refer to the prohibition of French and German adulterated and poisonous wines and liquors, and dry goods and silk goods colored with poisonous dyes. It must come to this at last if such totally unreasonable legislation against American products is to continue in those countries.

CORN, WHEAT, AND COTTON.

The preliminary crop estimates by the Statistician of the Department of Agriculture have been completed. He says the average yield of corn per acre for 1883 was within a fraction of twenty-three bushels, which is 12 per cent less than the average for a series of several years past. The quality is another thing.

It is doubtless true, Mr. Dodge says, that the quality of the corn north of parallel forty is worse than for many years, increasing practically the amount of shortage indicated by the number of bushels. As the whole corn grown in 1883 in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Dakota, added to half that grown in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska, would make 400,000,000 bushels only--a fourth of the whole crop--so that the possible depreciation of 40 per cent in all of it would be equivalent to a 10 per cent reduction in the value of the entire crop. The Illinois Department agents make the quality 31 per cent less than the average in this State. An effort will be made later, after the worst of the crop has been fed, to ascertain the feeding value of the year's product. It is not proposed, however, to reduce the product to the equivalent of merchantable corn, or "sound" corn, as no crop ever is free from immaturity or imperfection. There always are some Northern fields caught by frost, some neglected acres, some choked with weeds or flooded by over-flows, and so on--corn, which is mainly "nubbins." What is intended without reference to panic or exaggeration is to find out the exact truth and then tell it. There is nothing gained, be it to farmers or consumers, the Statistician adds, in suppressing truth on the one hand or exaggerating the losses on the other. One feature of corn-growing in 1883 should prove a lesson to the farmers of the country; that is, the general use of seed corn in the West, grown in lower latitudes. The planting of Nebraska seed in Minnesota and Kansas seed in Illinois, has demonstrated the folly of attempting to acclimatize the Southern maize in the more Northern districts. Much loss from frost would have been avoided had the seed been carefully selected from the best corn grown in the immediate neighborhood.

The wheat crop is estimated, as before, slightly in excess of 400,000,000 bushels.

The cotton product, as shown by the December returns, is about 6,000,000 bales. There will be another investigation after the close of the cotton harvest and the shipment of a large portion of the crop, when precise results will be approached more nearly than has been possible hitherto.

The Department evidently feels a little "nettled" over the criticisms that have been made upon its estimates of the last two corn crops. Again we must protest that the amount of harvested corn in the West will fall considerably below Mr. Dodge's figures. Whether or not the Department sees fit to "reduce the product to the equivalent of merchantable corn" such an estimate would be of interest, and when it gives the result of the feeding quality of the corn, there will be something of a basis furnished for such a calculation, especially as we shall have by that time a pretty accurate account of the exported corn of the crop of 1883 and the amount "in sight," as the grain merchants say. It is true that there is nothing gained to consumers by "suppressing truth on the one hand or exaggerating losses on the other" but there is something lost to consumers by overestimating yields at about the time the harvest is ready and when speculators can use Government estimates to force down prices.

The statistical machinery of the Department of Agriculture is far from perfect, but it is the best the Government has supplied it with, and it is not wise or fair to criticise its estimates too severely, based, as they often must be, upon inadequate returns. The most that can be said is that the Department should be exceedingly careful not to err on the side that may result in injury to the producers, for, as we understand it, it was created solely to advance their interests.

CHICAGO IN 1883.

Compared with the other great cities of the Union, and even with previous years in her own history, Chicago had a prosperous business year in 1883. The total trade of the year foots up $1,050,000,000, which is a slight gain over that of 1882. The receipts of flour were 4,403,982 barrels; wheat, 20,312,065 bushels; corn, 74,459,948 bushels; oats, 37,750,442 bushels; rye, 5,662,420; barley, 10,591,619. Of cattle there were received 1,878,944 head; hogs, 5,640,625; sheep, 749,917; horses, 15,255; dead hogs, 55,656. Of seeds, 122,582 tons; broom corn, 15,038 tons; butter, 53,987 tons; hides, 34,404 tons; wool, 20,122 tons; potatoes, 13,000,000 bushels; coal, 4,042,356 tons; hay, 50,000 tons; lumber, 1,848,817,000 ft.; shingles, 1,154,149 M.; salt, 1,096,587 barrels; cheese 23,590 tons. The total value of farm products of all kinds is estimated at $402,000,000, which is $20,000,000 above the valuation of that of 1882. The products of Chicago manufactures are valued at $325,000,000. In 1881 the receipts of hogs amounted to 6,474,844 head, and in 1882, 5,817,504 head. The wholesale mercantile trade has fallen off somewhat, as it has all over the country, owing to depression that seems to be universal. In manufactures the city is making wonderful development. In growth she is still unchecked and without a rival in the world among large cities and business centres.

STRONG DRINK.

We often see in the papers the amount in dollars and cents, that strong drink costs the people of this country. Some one has been making out similar statistics for Great Britain, and finds that if the total house rent is added to the rent of farms in the three divisions of the Kingdom the total is $30,000,000 less than is usually spent for drink. Add together the cost of the linen goods, cotton goods, coal, tea, coffee, sugar, milk, butter and cheese and the total is only $45,000,000 in excess of the sum spent in drink. And this is only the direct cost. The indirect expense of drink--the crime and misery entailed, the cost of prisons and almshouses, criminal courts and trials, the loss from idleness, incapacity, blunders, sickness--towers above these figures in colossal magnitude. Counting all these things it may be said of both countries that strong drink costs more than sufficient to supply the personal needs--food, clothing, and homes--of all the people. It is indeed a fearful showing.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

CHARLES DE LONG, Artesia, Miss.--THE PRAIRIE FARMER has the reputation of knowing all about the prairies, north and south, and, therefore, I appeal to it to tell me whether the Japan persimmon will be likely to be hardy in this section, some portions of which is, as you probably know, a prairie country?

ANSWER.--The Japan persimmon, Diospyros kaki, is, as we understand it, an evergreen of sub-tropical origin, and will not be likely to fruit satisfactorily far north of the region of the orange. Like the fig, in your latitude, it may stand what frosts you have and, like it, attain considerable growth, but you will seldom get a crop. We know enterprising nurserymen are telling us it will grow and fruit as far north as Washington; but we were told the same story about the eucalyptus, which proved to be no more hardy than the orange. Our authorities for these opinions may be regarded as first-class--no less than LeBon Jardinier, who says it can not be grown and successfully fruited outside the region of the orange. Recently, at a horticultural exhibition at Nice, France, there was a fine show of the kakis contributed by a gardener in the vicinity of Toulon, of which the official report gives this account: "Among the newer exotics were the kakis, of Japan, grown at Toulon. The fruit is about the size of an average apple, a bright, orange-red in color, and the tree is very productive. The Japanese make a great account of it, both as a fruit, when ripe, and as a source for obtaining tannin, in its green state. It appears to accommodate itself remarkably well to the climate of Provence, and especially merits to be introduced into Algeria, where it will even do better in all reasonable probability.". In respect to the appearance of the fruit, it more nearly resembles in shape and size a bell pepper, than an apple, but the color is orange-red, as described. It is pretty sure to cut a great figure among the fruit products of Florida, where its successful cultivation will lend additional attractions to that already seductive State.

MRS. SARAH Y. STAPLES, DALLAS, TEXAS.--I do not ask you for a remedy for the roup, with which my fowls have been recently affected; but for a course of treatment to follow to prevent its return?

ANSWER--The roup may be brought upon healthy fowls if they are shut up in narrow and unventilated quarters at night, and of days turned out in cold or wet weather. And it will almost certainly follow if they are confined under glass, as they sometimes are in winter, in abandoned green-houses. In the first place, see fowls have a dry and airy roosting place, but where they will be out of a draft or cold currents. Feed once daily in the morning, the following compounded rations. Raw onions one part, pork-cracklins one part, and bread or boiled potatoes one part, chopped tolerably fine, but do not wet the mixture before feeding. If you can substitute a few bits of garlic for twice the measure of onions, it will be all the better for the health of the fowls, but they might taint the taste of the eggs. If fowls are fed this mixture once daily, it don't matter much what the other food is, whether corn or small grain, though for laying mill-screenings or shrunken wheat is best.

ASA GRAY, ROCKFORD, ILL.--I have seen it stated the daily rations of the cowboys of the Southwest, in certain sections and during some months, was confined to raw beef, rock salt, and red peppers. How is it?

ANSWER.--We don't know. Will someone familiar with cowboys and their manner of living report. However, all things considered, the ration is not a bad one, for the reason that raw beef digests in half the time of beef well cooked, and the large, sweet pepper of the Southwest deprived of its seeds is not near as hot in the mouth as it is commonly represented.

R. ROOT, CLARKSVILLE, IOWA. 1. Does the basket willow have to be cultivated like a field crop? 2. Is there more than one kind, and if so which is best? 3. What kind of soil is best adapted to its cultivation?

ANSWER.--1. In some respects, yes; the land having to be given over to them exclusively. In France the cuttings are planted from twelve to fifteen inches apart in order to obtain long and slender shoots. 2. There are half a dozen cultivated in Europe, the best two being the Salix rubra or red Osier, and the Salix vitellina or yellow Osier. But a hardier variety, Salix viminalis, is commonly preferred in this country where the cultivation, though often undertaken, has never been very successful, from the fact that American labor can not compete with the labor of women and children in Europe. 3. In cool climates having a moist atmosphere the Osier willow is successfully grown where ordinary crops thrive, but in warmer and drier sections low and moist land must be chosen. Indeed the whole tribe of willows love cool, moist situations, and the richer the soil the stronger and quicker the growth. We should be glad to hear from correspondents who cultivate, or who live where the Osier is grown and prepared for market, the details of the whole industry.

B.F.J.

WAYSIDE NOTES.

BY A MAN OF THE PRAIRIE.

I don't know that I really ought to take any credit to myself for it, but I hope I have done something toward increasing the number of farmer correspondents for the hale old PRAIRIE FARMER. I can't help noticing, as I do with pleasure, that the number is increasing. Furthermore, the correspondents all write well, I mean, simply; they seem to have something to say, and say it in a manner that can be readily understood. Their writings are instructive, too. Well, I hope this writing fever, like most others, will prove highly contagious, and have a run through the entire PRAIRIE FARMER family. I know from experience the malady is not a dangerous one. At least it don't do the writers any harm; if the readers can stand what I say, I am satisfied. The editor may boil down our communications, or chop them up and serve them in any style he chooses, so that he presents all the good we mean to say, and we will be satisfied. Will we not, fellow-contributors?

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Rufus Blanchard, for many years a leading map publisher of Chicago, told me the other day, that in 1838 he was farming in Union county, Ohio. That year he grew about 1,000 bushels of oats, some 250 bushels of wheat, and raised 100 hogs. He sold his oats for eleven cents per bushel, his wheat for twenty-five cents, and his hogs for one cent and a quarter per pound. He hauled his grain to Columbus, forty miles, to market, and took his pay in salt. I remarked that this was pretty rough farming. "On the contrary," said he, "in those days we were happy as clams. We had all the pork we wanted without cost, for our hogs fattened themselves on the mast of the woods. We paid by toll for grinding our wheat into flour. The woods supplied us with deer, turkeys, and many other kinds of game. Our clothing was homespun. We had plenty of corn meal and cheaply grown vegetables, and helped each other in sickness or accident. If a neighbor's log house burned down, we all joined together in putting him up a better one than he had before. We had pretty good schools and interesting religious meetings without expensive pew rents or style in dress. We visited each other and had plenty of sound amusement. I never was so happy or so well contented in my life," he added, and I believe him, for his face is wrinkled with care and saddened by misfortune. It don't do, you see, to get too far removed from this simple, natural life.

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I am looking out for a little colder weather. The pond is not yet frozen sufficiently for us to cut ice as we want it. But both my neighbor and myself have gotten all things in readiness for the harvest. I like an open winter pretty well, but I do want ice.

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It seems to me that Dr. Detmers is always going off "half-cocked." He once did the foreign cattle shipping interest great harm by an ill-advised and unwarranted dispatch concerning the prevalence of pleuro-pneumonia at the Chicago Stock Yards, and now I notice that his alleged statements regarding diseased hogs and the disposal of them at the same point have furnished the French Corps Legislatif an excuse for enacting the decree prohibiting the introduction of American pork products into France. Isn't it about time the Department of Agriculture at Washington sat a little down on this man who writes too much with his pen? Not that I would silence any man who sticks to facts, no matter whose soap-bubble he pricks; but a simple alarmist who rushes into print mainly for the pleasure it gives him to see his name in print, and to know that he is talked about, deserves to be squelched. For aught I know, though, Dr. Detmers has been misrepresented by the wily Frenchmen. What has Dr. Loring to say on the subject?

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But, after all, as I think the editor of THE PRAIRIE FARMER himself said some months ago, this foreign agitation of the live stock question may result in great good, inasmuch as it must lead to proper legislation in this country against the introduction and spread of contagious diseases among animals. It is without doubt the basis of the proceedings at the Chicago cattle-growers' convention in November last, and of the present movement for immediate Congressional action upon the matter. The difficulty abroad will, I believe, prove short-lived.

LETTER FROM CHAMPAIGN.