460 



THE QUALITY OF FERTILIZERS. 



Kershaw County, 8. G. — I know no boon to the cotton-planter whicb 

 would be so great as the promulgation of some method by which the 

 unscientific planter could test his fertilizers as to percentage of soluble 

 matter, or, better still, a law of Congress requiring manipulators of fer- 

 tilizers to truly label the quantity and nature of ingredients on each 

 parcel, with a sufficient penalty to prevent frauds. 



WHEAT IN RUSK COUNTY, TEXAS. 



Kush County^ 'Texas. — I am satisfied that the sandy Lands in this vicinity 

 do not suit wheat. I have tried for four years to raise it, and have 

 abandoned it altogether. I tried the Deihl and Mediterranean ; they 

 both rusted and made nothing. The Tappahannock did quite well two 

 years, and last fall I planted three acres, but it rusted so badly this 

 spring that it was not worth cutting. 



OVERCUP OAK. 



Prairie County, Arlc. — There will be plenty of " overcup" to keep hogs 

 until next fall. The overcup oak is a species of the white oak, which 

 grows exclusively upon overflowed lands. The timber is better than 

 any other variety of white oak. The acorn is entirely covered with a 

 thick hull ; it floats in the water, and is drifted in great heaps, some- 

 times containing many wagon-loads. The fruit is nearly as pleasant to 

 the taste as the chincapin. This oak should not be confounded with the 

 overcup or burr oak of Kentucky, which is here called cow oak. 



CROPS IN UTAH. 



Sevier County, Utah. — This county having been farmed but one sea- 

 son, no comparison can be made with former years. Estimated product: 

 wheat, 5,000 bushels ; oats, 2,000 bushels ; barley, 500 bushels ; pota- 

 toes, 1,000 bushels. 



GOOD STOCK PROFITABLE. 



Giles County, Tenn. — I have recently, sold 20 head of horses, mares, 

 tolts, and fillies, at from $300 to $3,366 a head. If all the stock of the 

 county were the best of its kind, how much wealth would be added to- 

 individuals and to the country ! 



BEAR GRASS. 



CheroJcee County, Texas. — I have growing in my field a plant which I 

 have seen only in Florida and Texas. The common name is bear grass,. 

 ( Yucca filamentosa.) The leaves are 2 to 3^ feet long, one-half to one and 

 a half inch wide, very strong and tough, and when wilted by immersion 

 in boiling water a moment are very pliable. They are the best thing 1 

 ever saw for tying grape-vines, fruit-trees, hanging meat, &o. The 

 flower is magnificent, growing on a stalk 4 to 10 feet high, and 2^ to 3 

 inches in diameter; white or light cream color, like wax, and 500 to 

 1,000 on each stalk. It will grow in the poorest white sand, and will 

 Btand heavy freezing any length of time. The root and leaves are per- 

 ennial, but the flower-stalk comes from the root each year, something 



