236 TRANSACTIONS OF TliE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



Mr. X. C. Meeker said tli;ifc iu Illinois .$G a bushel fur Wilson 

 will produce as great a prolit as $12 a ])ushel for Triomphe de 

 Gaud. 



A New Plow Coulter. 



Mr. Solon Ro))inson. — ^Ir. C. Rowland, Chicago, has invented 

 a new plow coulter. Its form is that of an arc of a circle, one end 

 fittino- in the point and the other in the standard of the plow, and 

 is reversible. It is held in place by a screw belt through the 

 beam. It is highly commended by Illinois farmers as superior to 

 an\' other form, but none of the members present, in looking at 

 the cut, can discover wherein the advantages claimed consist. 



Mr. Wm. S. Carpenter said he had tried a number of coulters 

 of different forms, without finding one that was any improvement 

 upon the oldest style he has ever seen, that is, a straight bar 

 firmlv fixed in the beam, and having a sharp-cutting edge. 



Improved Churn Dasher. 



Mr. George Dcckman, Malvern, Carroll county, Ohio, sends a 

 specimen of what he calls an improvement of the old dasher churn. 

 Whether it is such remains to be tested. It looks, however, about 

 the smallest matter for a patent that we have lately seen. Yet as 

 the dasher is the only churn that some persons will use, we are 

 slad to notice every improvement of this indispensable piece of 

 household furniture. 



Mr. S. Edwards Todd. — The only advantage I can conceive that 

 this dasher has over any other is, that owing to the shape of the 

 under part it may enter the cream somewhat easier than the one 

 that is entirely fiat. A current, then passing through the holes 

 of the lower part of the dasher and through those of the upper 

 will meet sufficient sharp corners to cut the globules. The theory 

 that butter is produced by cheraicul action is exploded. It is by 

 mechanical percussion which separates the oily from the watery 

 portion of the milk. The separation can be made by heat, but 

 the result will be entirely different. One produces oil, the other 

 butter. It is possible the dasher will work more easily than the 

 one more angular. It will also probably require more time. 



American Prunes. 

 Mr. David Thompson, Green Island, near Troy, sends to the 

 club, two specimens of prunes, and says: " The fruit sent is the 

 o-leauings from the trees, and sent at this late day, in order to show 



