154 TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



of English in their island. Our trustees will send our transactions 

 to Japan, and hope to have in return such of theirs as will help 

 us to processes in gardening, farming, and to seeds and fruits, 

 now unknown. Fortune for the London Horticultural Society, 

 and Montigny from Paris, have derived some interesting plants 

 from Japan, which are mentioned in our volumes. 



Our Chamber of Commerce has entered into these questions of 

 Japan trade with that sound judgment it always shows in matters 

 of American commerce. 



STUMP-PULLER. 



Mr. Wj^lis, of Orange, Mass., exhibited his model of a stump- 

 puller, which is already well known to a part of the world, and 

 from the course about to be pursued by the inventor, of adver- 

 tising and exhibiting, we hope he will make it known to the 

 other part, which we are willing to assure in advance, that there 

 is no humbug about this valuable farm implement. It will root 

 out the biggest stumps that can be found this side of California. 

 There are some there a little ahead of this puller. The price of 

 Mr. Wyllis's machine is $225. 



SEED-BOXES. 



Prof. Mapes exhibited a specimen of a new kind of cheap 

 boxes, manufactured in Newark, upon a new plan, which he re- 

 commended as useful things to store away seeds. By a new 

 patent contrivance, boards are cut about one-eighth of an inch 

 thick, of suitable length and width to bend into forms for the 

 sides of a round box, the largest holding about a peck, and eight 

 others, smaller and smaller to form a nest. The ends are fastened 

 together with some kind of glue, and the bottoms are fastened in 

 by a rim of tin bent over the corner ; and the lids are made in 

 the same way, so that the ends may be of stuff but little thicker 

 than the sides. The tin corners are great protectors against mice, 

 as that is the only part of a circular box likely to be gnawed 

 into, and this makes them quite safe for seeds, and better,* as 

 well as cheaper than tin boxes, and a decided improvement upon 

 the old style circular w^ooden boxes, which have bottoms made of 

 a half inch board, so as to nail in. We should think that half 

 bushel and smaller measures, made up on the same plan, with 

 iron, instead of tin covers, would be first rate. Will tin manu- 

 facturers take the hint and look to this ? 



