SCRAPS. 



591 



Sex of Floweus.- Temperature has a 

 great influence over the sex of iiowers produced 

 by a given plant. A very liigh loniperature 

 caused a walerniclun to bear male blossoms on- 

 ly ; and a very low temperauire made cucum- 

 ber plants produ<!C feuialo Howors alone. 



Mr. Knight had little doubt that the same fruit 

 stalks might be made in the plants first noticed, 

 to support flowers of either sex, in obedience to 

 external causes. 



Constitution.-! of AGUicur.TUii.\r, Ci.uns 

 AND SociETiF.s. — It is highly gratifying to see 

 that these as-socialions are multiplying fast, all 

 over the country. We are sometimes infjuired 

 of, for sketches of constitutions. The simpler 

 the form of these the better. Only let five or 

 six zealous farmers get together. " any way they 

 can li.x it," and the as.sociation will model itself 

 There is truth in the French proverb, 

 " Dieu donnefil a toile ourdie." 

 In the mean time we will thank any of the sec- 

 retaries who have printed forms at hand, and to 

 spare, to send us copies, for the information of 

 those wishing to get up such societies. From 

 various forms, one may be arranged to suit the 

 diflering circumstances of various localities. 



More Good Signs. — We have pleasure to 

 learn by our correspondence, that gentlemen of 

 intelligence and influence in and about Win- 

 chester, Virginia, are an.xious for the establish- 

 ment there of a good agricullur.al triiinlngschool. 

 There could not be found in the Union a more 

 inviting and eligible locality. It will be an in- 

 delible rejjroach to that and all other States that 

 may neglect to establish Normal Schools as 

 nurseries for rearing instructors to supply the 

 establishments •which the public sentiment 

 will soon be calling for in all parts of the United 

 States. 



^^^ Mr. Youatt, the eminent veterinarian, 

 author of the " Treatise on the Hor.se. ' and other 

 works of a like nature, committed suicide by 

 taking poison. [Loudon Farm. Mag. 



I^^ Mr. .lames Gardiner, the inventor and 

 maker of the celebrated turnip-cutter, died on 

 the 26th of December, at Banbury. 



Why should not honorable obituary notice be 

 taken of all useful invcntm-sand writers, as well 

 as of politicians and waiTiors of high and of low 

 degree ? 



Irish Pot.\tof.s. — In an early number v,e 

 shall tell how to rai.se varieties from the seed ; 

 and, what many wiil think of more immediate 

 importance, how to cook them ; for many a 

 wise man %\ould bo at a loss hoir Lo boil a ■po- 

 tato ! The French calculate about sixty difler- 

 ent modes of dressing them, and of dressing 

 egga. We shall give a few of the simplest 

 (1101) 



The Westchestkk Socif.ty's Constitution 

 very wisely provides that there shall bo a 

 " Farmers' Club " cstablishe<l in each town of 

 the county, composed of the Vice-President, 

 Board of Town Managers, and the members of 

 the (county) Society of each town respectively. 



These Farmers' Clubs, where they have the 

 zeal to meet frequently and give in their expe- 

 rience, are of more real utility than County So- 

 cieties with their once-a-ycar meeting and exhi- 

 bition for a day — all hurry and bustle, and oflT 

 again. 



Cattle Imported by the Massachusetts 

 Ar.uicui.TUiiAi. Society. — The clear and in- 

 teresting account of this recent importation of 

 Ayrshire and North Devon cattle, prepared by 

 Mr. Phinney on behalf of that exemplary So- 

 ciety, has been copied from The Farmers' Li- 

 bkaky into anew, well managed and improving 

 English agricultural journal, "The Plow," to 

 which we are indebted for the article on the 

 Philosophy of Fattening Cattle, and for other 

 items and essays of nmch value. 



Wheat. — The best is said to contain about 

 three-fifths of starch and two-fifths of gluten, and 

 on the duo proportion of these two substances 

 in flour the goodness of the brand depends 

 Hence it is said that to insure the best bread it 

 is expedient to mix the flour of different wheats 

 together. 



Relative Value of Food for Cattle. — 

 100 lbs. of good meadow hay are about equal to 

 ."JOO of Swedes, .'jOO of mangel-wurzel, 4.50 of car- 

 rots, 700 to 800 of common turnips, or perhaps 

 400 of parsnips. 



Keeping Eggs. — The Editor of the Boston 

 Cultivator recommends, from trial, the follow- 

 ing : Put into the ca.sk a layer of plaster of Paris, 

 first covering the bottom of the cask with [)las- 

 ter, and then alternate layers of each in such a 

 manner that one shell shall not touch another. 

 He states that he has kept them in this manner 

 a year perfectly good. 



The following mode of keeping has been pat- 

 ented in England, and extensively used in this 

 country: 1 bushel quicklime; 2 lbs. salt; \ lb. 

 cream of tartar. Mix the same together with 

 as much water as will reduce the composition 

 to a consistency that an egg when put into it will 

 swim. It is said that eggs have bceu kept in 

 this way sound for two years. 



The Scat, on Sheep. — Lowe, in his work 

 "On Practical .\Lrriculture," gives the follow- 

 ing ilireitions tor the cure of scab : " A decoc- 

 tion of tobacco and spirit of turpentine, with the 

 addition of a little soft soap and sulphur vivum. 

 The decoction of tobacco may be obtained by 

 boiling the tobacco in brine or salt water. The 

 litjuid. when prepp.reii. is applic(l from a voosel 

 like a tea-pot with a spout, or from a bottle with- 

 a quill passed through the cork. Lay the wool 

 back in lines, .so as to expose the .skin, and pour 

 out ibe liquid along the lines upon the skin.'' 



