404 AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



production of the emanations wliicli produce fever and disease. It is admitted that 

 the compost is deodorized, but is it disinfected ? Until this can be conclusively shown 

 it would be idle to agitato for its more general use or adoption in our towns and cities. 

 Were it even proved that the pestilential evolutions disappeared with the odor, there 

 must always exist cities too vast for its successful practice. How could we expect 

 that London could set apart 400 acres each year in Avhich to dig three feet deeii the 

 2,000,000 of cubic yards of earth which Mr. Bateman estimates would be required un- 

 der the earth-closet system ? To bring the earth from a distance would be still more 

 undesirable in point of economy. 



The work contains cliapters on tlraiu-x^ipes and drainihg ; invert blocks, 

 brick sewers, special pipes, and sewage-tanks; ordinary house- traps, 

 wash-troughs, and basins ; yard, gully, and road traps; ventilation of 

 drains and sewers; water-closets and urinals; earth-closets, ash-i^its, 

 and ash-closets ; disinfection and disinfectants ; utilization of sewage ; 

 smoke-drainage, roof-gardens, and smoke-sewerage; the water-supply; 

 damp-proofing and fire-proofing; ventilation; heating; cooling ice- 

 houses, &c. 



AxN-UAL Report of thk Commissioner of AGr.icuLTURE axd Arts for the Prov- 

 iNXE of Ontario, (C.vnada,) for the year 187L 12mo., 450 pages. 



This work contains but little, if any, information which would prove 

 of benefit to the agriculturists of the United States. Two-thirds of the 

 work are devoted to statements relating to the finances of the various 

 county and township societies of the province. All the local societies 

 seem to be under the control of the government, to which they are 

 compelled to annually report, both as regards the number of their mem- 

 bers and their financial condition. Unlike the admirable yearly reports 

 issued by many of the State societies of this country, this report con- 

 tains no statements of experiments with grain and root crops — that is, 

 no exact data are given or comparisons made with i->revious crops. The 

 work contains several well- written and elaborate articles on fruit-cul- 

 ture, and a series of articles on entomology, copiously illustrated. 



The early part of the season was extremely dry, and the drought con- 

 tinuing throughout the gTcater part of the spring, the early crops were 

 seriously injured. During the latter part of June a rainy season set in, 

 which continued for several weeks, seriously damaging fall-crops. There 

 was a good grass-crop, but the rain so interfered with its proper curing 

 that hardly an average crop was saved. It would seem that dairying 

 interests were receiving much more attention than formerly. Many 

 additional cheese-factories have recently been established in the prov- 

 ince, and a considerable amount of cheese is now exported. A great 

 improvement is also noted in the breeds of horses, cattle, sheep, and 

 hogs. 



A case of "sports'' in fruit is given, which seems to be quite well 

 authenticated. It is thus alluded to by the officers of the Brant County 

 society in their report to the commissioner : 



The past season has been a remarkable one in the production of what are tei-med 

 "sports" in fruit and cereals. In the garden of Dr. Lawrence, of Paris, we had the 

 strange phenomenon of apples growing spontaneously upon a licar-treo. The apple 

 and pear trees grew in close proximity to each other, and each of them produced a 

 largo quantity of blossoms in the spring, but the fruit upon the pear-tree did not forrn. 

 When Dr. Lawrence gathered his apples in the fall,, ho was siu'prised to find two speci- 

 mens of fruit, resembling apples, upon the branch of the i)ear-treo nearest to the 

 apple-tree. This fruit was sent to i\Ir. Thomas Meehau, of Philadelphia, and pro- 

 nounced by him and other scientific gentlemen to bo " -pul]}, apple ; stem, cone, and 

 seed, j)ea?-.'' Another gentleman in this neighborhood has an apple-tree which, for 

 years past, has produced Bpitzenbergs, but this year, without grafting or budding, one 

 branch has produced quite a different species of apple. 



Among several interesting articles on fruit-culture is one contributed 

 by J. H. Springier^ on the proper treatment of young pear-trees. The 



