THi;^ FARM AND GARDEN. 



13 



(slilPPINGS. 



ItUour desire to make these so/uU and varied that every 

 -reader if Thk Fakm and Garden, evfn thouylt. he takes 

 ■910 other pa]>er canfeH in a measure acquainted with all 

 the leading publications. 



JYoTfi" Our Country Home," Greenrir/d, Mass. 

 CONGRESSIONAL FARMERS. 

 After the adjournment of Congress, those representa- 

 tives who have rural constituencies will return to their 

 Phonies, and will develop a great regard fur agriculture. 

 During the past session very few of them have given 

 any evidence of this, except by voting large appropria- 

 tions which will give each one of them a few thousand 

 papers of seeds and five hundred copies of the Agricul- 

 tural Report for distribution among their favored con- 

 iStituents. They haveintroducedand urged the enactment 

 ■of bills calculated to benefit the railroad speculator, the 

 .merchant, the banker, the manufacturer, and the law- 

 yer, but not one in twenty has proposed any legislation 

 •calculated to benefit the farmer. Yet they will goto 

 -cattle shows, masquerading as the "Friend of the 

 Farmer," and they will make eloquent speeches at din- 

 ner tables about the dignity and respectability ot rural 

 life. The farmers should not be deceived by these 

 |)olitical hucksters, but should ask them what they have 

 tUine, in a session which has lasted seven months, to ad- 

 vance the agricultural interests. As election time ap- 

 proaches, I shall not be surprised if some of these soft- 

 handed politicians go about disguised in brogans and 

 blue overalls, singing, like Petroleum V. Nasby's mock- 

 Orangers, 



We are the farmers oT the day, 

 Scatter the hay-seed rouad them* 



In blaniev we for votea will pay, 

 Scatter the ha/>si;ed round tbem. 



Sen Perley Poore. 



W. E. Gladstone, reported hij '* Live Slock Journal," 

 London, England. 

 POULTRY IN ENGLAND. 

 •' I will now take another case — that of eggs ; that Is a 

 very good Illustration, for it is In everybody's power to 

 Tear poultry, and. If I may say, grow eggs. In 1S55, 

 tthougli that was a time when freedom of trade had 

 advanced largely in the country, and when there was, 

 •consequently, a verj' great increase In the consumption 

 •of good food by the people, 100,000,000 eggs were impor- 

 ted from abroad, which represented a consumption of 

 an average of 3'2 foreign egg.i to every man, woman, 

 and child. You might have said, if asked to send eggs: 

 ' Oh, no ; there are already plenty, or more than enough 

 ■in the market.' But that is not the fact, for in 18S0 the 

 import had increased to 7.50,000,000 eggs from foreign 

 countries. It is hardly credible, so vast and so multi- 

 plied is the demand for these little but very useful com- 

 modities, every one of them helping to feed somebody. 

 The consumption per head has increased from 3,'a to 

 no fewer than 26f2 eggs. That illustrates what I have 

 said to you about the enormous, insatiable capacity uf 

 the human stomach. Depend upon it, that if it be in 

 your power to turn your attention— I do not say at first 

 on a very large but on a mnderate scale — to the produc- 

 tion of those articles which are of the nature of com- 

 ■forts, or even comparative luxuries, for popular con- 

 eumplion, j-ou will find that the market will graduallj- 

 open and adjust itself for their reception. I think the 

 figures I have quoted are a distinct proof of the truth 

 and reality of what I have said. 



J^«am ' 



Vick's Monihhj," Ilorhester, N. K 

 THE CACTUS. 



It may seem strange to those persons, not admirers of 

 the cactus, that anyone can see any beauty in such a 

 plant, often covered with thorns which pierce us, and in 

 its best estate, destitute of that easy grace which helps 

 ^vi^ our regard for our favorites. But there are enthu- 

 siasts engaged in making collections of the cactus plant, 

 and if it is true that it is to be used and perliaps used up 

 in time, for manufacture, cacti collectors will increase in 

 numbers indefinitely. If, as stated, it will take only 

 fleven years at the present rate of waste to annihilate 

 all the yellow pine, the question of cactus growth is 

 ■only a question of time. 



A Boston paper states that the "Mexican government 

 Is encouraging the manufacture of paper and textile 

 fabrics from cactus, and has recently granted important 

 concessions to the individuals who propose engaging 

 in the new Industry. They are given the exclusive 

 right to gather the cactus for ten years, from the govern- 

 jnent lands. The grant further provides that for each 

 mill of the value of $h30,000 erected by the grantees for 

 the manufacture of pai)er from the cactus leaf, the gov- 

 ernment shall give a premium of $30,000." 



Paper, it would seem, can be made from almost any- 

 thing, but what about the textile fabrics? One of the 

 most beautiful bonnets I ever saw was made from the 

 cactus fibre, so it was said. It had a silvery sheen unlike 

 any other material. Kow, if the bonnet and hat manu- 

 facturers take hold of this industry, and make their 

 -goods of it, they will not be long in diminishing the sup- 

 ply of planta,^ Bonnets are shart-lived. Only a few 

 seconds suffice to make a hat or bonnet on a sewing 

 machine, and one man can press ninety dozen a day, on 

 an average, by machinery. On lands well adapted to 

 the growth of the cactus it may prove as chean to culti- 

 vate the plants, and raise them on a grand scale, as to 

 gather the wild plants when they become scarce. That 

 they could be produced at a low cost, if there should be 

 sufllcient demand, there is little doubt. 



Chas. Downing in "Rural New Yorker," New York. 

 THE MARLBORO RASPBERRY. 



Your correspondent, A. B. C. (why not give his real 

 name?), in the Jiitral New rorArer of July 19th, page 463, 

 states that he saw "the Marlboro Raspberry in all its 

 glory, or at least all the glory it will ever attain in New 

 Jersey." It was on the best of soil and given the best 

 possible treatment, but the canes were faltering, and 

 would not bring out their first crop, etc., etc., "and my 

 firm conviction is," continues this anonymous assailant, 

 "from what I have seen of the Marlboro, it will not do 

 for New Jersey and locations south A'ard. I can see 

 nothing in it but Idieus blood." 



Having examined the Marlboro Raspberry carefully, 

 I think otherwise, and doubt if it has very much, if any, 

 Idaeus or foreign blood in it (except its mature leaves; ; 

 but I believe it to be an improved seedling of the Amer- 

 ican red (Rubus strigosus), or it may be the result of a 

 succession of improvements or crosses, etc. The growth, 

 and habit of throwing up numerous sprouts or suckers ; 

 the strong, vigorous, upright canes, branching a little 

 toward the top, nearly smooth, witli a few short scatter- 

 ing spines; the peculiar reddish color of the young 

 leaves at the ends of the new shoots; the color and 

 flavor of the fruit, all strongly indicate Its native origin. 



The bright scarlet color of the fruit (which adds 

 greatly to its market value); its good size, quite firm 

 flesh, which retains its form and color well, and keeps 

 well, are all qualities which make the Marlboro promis- 

 ing as a market berry. This is what I now believe, but 

 my practical experience with the fruit has not been 

 sufficient to warrant my giving a more decided opinion. 



Prom " Southern Cultivator," Atlanta, Ga. 

 ABOUT INCUBATORS. 



The big hen still "' pursues the even tenor of her way," 

 neither striking for higher wages, nor asking for every 

 Saturday out. She has company now, for there are 

 several more in this locality, all working faithfully, to 

 their owners' enthusiastic delight. "We have a brooder, 

 or artificial mother, that is as perfect in Its way as the 

 hatcher. Ours has a glass run, an extra attachment, 

 where the little chicks have a fine time. In spite of rain, 

 cold, wind, and wet grass. The brooder shelters and 

 warms them, and in pleasant weather the chicks are 

 allowed to pass from the "run" on the grass, and to 

 wander at will. It is fuimy to see how they scamper 

 for the shelter of their glass house when there comes a 

 sudden shower ; and funny, too, to note how, when shut 

 in, they tap at the wire end, or exit, Just like a parcel of 

 cross, impatient children who do not care a jot how wet 

 they get themselves or their clothes, only that they may 

 go out and play, rain or shine. 



Two weeks ago a hen hatched out a brood of chicks, 

 having been set the same day that a lot of eggs were 

 placed in the hatcher; in pity to the featliered mother, 

 we allowed her to keep her brood. But in ten days' 

 time the difference in the growth, between the hen's 

 brood of fifteen, and the brooder's brood of sixty, was so 

 marked that we deposed the hen, especially as she had 

 a way of sitting on her cliicks that was detrimental, and 

 made them. feel decidedly flat. Motliers do "sit on" 

 their children, sometimes— you know it Is a way they 

 have, all the world over. 



My poultry yard boasts of two other very Important 

 assistants, too— hand mills, that make us independent 

 of the miller, who does not exist in many of our 

 Southern sections. We grind corn coarse or fine; and 

 all the dry or green bones we can pick up get turned 

 into bone meal for our little ones, from their first day on 

 earth, right along. It would be a, costly item if we had 

 to buy It all, for we can supply our laying hens, too; 

 and it is too important a food for their health and 

 growth, and egg production, to go without. So we are 

 proud of our mills, and, do not see how we could do 

 without them. 



From ■'Ctdttvafor and Omntry Gentleman," Albany, N. Y. 

 THE LATEST KNOWLEDGE ABOUT GAPES. 



The gape worm maybe termed the hete noir of the 

 poultry-keeper— his greatest enemy— whether he be 

 farmer or fancier. It is true there are some who declare 

 that it is unknown in their poultry-yards— that they 

 have never been troubled with it at all. These are apt 

 to lay it down, as I saw a correspondent did in a recent 

 number of the Cot;NTRY Gentleman, that the cause is 

 want of cleanliness, or neglect in some way. But I can 

 vouch that that is not so. I have been in yard.* where 

 everything was first-rate — where no fault in the way of 

 neglect could be found— and yet the gapes were there; 

 and on the other hand, I have known places where 

 every condition seemed favorable to the development 

 of such a disease, and there it was absent— this not in 

 isolated cases, but in many. No, we must look elsewhere 

 for tlie cause. 



Observations lead me to the belief that gapes are 

 more than usually troublesome during a wet spring or 

 summer following a mild winter. This would tend to 

 show that the eggs from which the worm (that is in 

 itself the disease) emerges, is communicated from the 

 ground, from the food eaten, or the water drunk, in the 

 first instance, but it is more than possible that the 

 insects themselves may pass from one fowl to another. 

 All this we can expect as a settled fact, and also any 

 description of the way in which the parasitic worms 

 attach themselves to the throats of tlie birds, and cause 

 the peculiar gaping of the mouth, which gives the name 

 to tlie disease. 



Many remedies have been suggested, and my object 

 now is to communicate some of the later ones— thus to 

 give a variety of methods, so that in the case of the 

 failure of one, another will be at hand ready to be tried. 

 It is a mistake always to pin the faith to one remedy, 

 for the varying conditions found in fowls compel a 

 diflferent treatment. The old plan of dislodging the 

 worms with a feather is well known, and need not be 

 described again. But I may mention that in this coun- 

 try some have found the use of an ointment, first sug- 

 gested by Mr. Lewis Wright, I believe, most valuable. 

 This is made of mercurial ointment, two parts; pure 

 lard, two parts; flour of sulphur, one part; crude petro- 

 leum, one part— and when mixed together is applied to 

 the lieads of the chicks as soon as they are dry after 

 hatching. Many have testified that tliey have never 

 found tliis to fail as a preventive, and if the success is to 

 be attributed to the ointment, it would seem as if the 

 insects are driven off by its presence, for the aiiplicatiou 

 to the heads merely, would not kill the eggs. 



J^07?i " Forestry Lullrtin,'' Phw Street, New York. 

 THE TARIFF ON LUMBER. 



The necessity of preserving and even extending our 

 forests is now so universally admitted, tliat the only 

 question which needs discussion with respect to the lum- 

 ber tariff, is whether it promotes or hinders the destruc- 

 tion of forests. It would seem to be a matter of plain 

 common sense, which admitted of only one answer. So 

 far as the tariff has the slightest protective effect. It 

 must exclude foreign lumber and so compel and increase 

 the consumption of domestic lumber and the continued 

 destruction of domestic forests. &Iuch has been and 

 may still fairly be said in favor of the protective system 

 generally, on the ground that it tends to develop our 

 natural resources. But a protective duty on lumber has 

 the very opposite effect. Instead of developing our re- 

 sources, it destroys them. It puts a premium on the de- 

 struction of natural forests, which can never be replaced 

 by artificial culture, and the removal of which tends to 

 change our climate and desolate our country. There 

 was a time in which so large a portion of the country- 

 was covered with forests that immense tracts had to be 

 cleared in order to make room for human residents and 

 cultivation. But that state of things has long since 

 passed away. It still exists, however, in large portions 

 of Canada; and thus the bounty of Nature has provided 

 a means for deficiencies, with benefit to both countries 

 and injury to neither. But a tariff wall is interposed to 

 hinder Canada fr(.m supplying wants and to fttrce our 

 own people to continue the destruction of our forests, 

 long after such a course has ceased to be desirable or 

 even excusable. 



The only pleas which are made In defense of this duty 

 are (1) that it is necessary to cut down our forests in 

 order to prevent their destruction by fire from advanc- 

 ing settlements, and (2) that tiie iidmission of foreigu 

 lumber would reduce the wages of American workmen. 

 We answer : 



I. The repeal of the lumber tariff would not put an 

 end to all lumbering in this country, and would indeed 

 not reduce it as much as it ought to be reduced. The 

 work of cutting down trees will continue with unabated 

 vigor in the neighborhood of all settlements where there 

 is any danger from settlers' fires. The only places In 

 which tree cutting will be diminished, are those whicli 

 are remote from busy settlements and where the only 

 danger of fires arises from the presence of the lumber- 

 men themselves. 



II. The wages of lumbermen will not l)e cut down, be* 

 cause many thousands of them now come from Canada 

 who would return at once if Canadian lumber were 

 admitted duty free. It is the importation of Canadian 

 laborers and not Canadian lumber which reduces the 

 wages of American lumbermen. There are many other 

 reasons wliy wages could not be reduced ; but this single 

 fact would suffice to produce an absolute advance of 

 wages in the lumber business on the American side. 



The lumber business of the United States would suflier 

 no injury whatever. If we repealed our tax on im- 

 ported lumber, the Canadian government would repeal 

 its export lax on logs. Canadian logs would then come 

 in freely, and our saw-miils would be as fully occupied 

 as ever. The profits of manufacturers and dealers 

 would be just as large as before, and their means of pay- 

 ing wages would be increased. There is but one class 

 who would suffer from the change, and it is from that 

 class that all the opposition comes. The owners of tim- 

 ber lands know that their "stumpage," which is only 

 another name for rent, would he reduced by the compe- 

 tition of Canadian timber lands. The rent of timber 

 lands has been a .source of vast income to a small class, 

 who are very powerful by reason of their concentrated 

 wealth. They have made vast fortunes by purchasing 

 land from the government at very low prices, and sell- 

 ing the privilege of cutting timber fVom those lands at 

 three or four times the whole cost of the land. Although 

 many of them have made great fortunes in this way, 

 they naturally desire to increase these fortunes still 

 more, and so long as a single pine tree remains in this 

 country uncut, their chances for making a large profit 

 on "stumpage" will still remain. Many of these gentle- 

 men are worth reveral millions of dollars each, and 

 they are still struggling to obtain "a modest compe- 

 tency." We sympathize with their anxiety to avoid the 

 perils of starvation, but the people of the United Stales 

 can hardly afford to have their climate changed, their 

 rivero dried, and vast districts of tlie cotintry ruined, for 

 thesakeof adding to the prosperity of the men who are 

 already millionaires.— TAos. G. Shtarman. 



