250 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



after all that has been said, may he consid-*f 

 ered of as much importance as anything 

 that can be said, Jethro Tuli has the follow- I 

 ing observations, which deserve very serious 

 regard. "A wheat plant that is not plant- 

 ed early, sends out no root above the grain 

 before spring, and is nourished all winter by 

 a sitigle thread proceeding from the grain 

 up to the surface of the ground, and the 

 worms can more easily find a thread or sin- 

 gle root that extends by its length to five or 

 six inches deep, than one which reaches 

 but one inch ; besides, the worms in winter 

 do not inhabit very near the surface, and 

 therefore miss the short threads or roots, 

 but meet with the long, single ones. On 

 rich land planted early, four gallons of seed 

 drilled per acre may suffice, because then 

 the wheat will have root near the surface 

 during wintej^ and tiller to the spring with- 

 out damage from the worm and other acci- 

 dents that late planted wheat is liable to." 



Boston Cultivator. 



THE WONDERS OF INDIA RUBBER. 



Among the recent applications of India 

 Rubber none are so remarkable as the man- 

 ufacture of what is called " Hard India 

 Goods,'' into which the rubber enters most 

 largely. There is in New York a company 

 called the Beacon Dam Company, which is 

 devoted to the manufacture of this class of 

 goods. By a process that originated with 

 Mr. Chaffee, coal tar is mixed with the rub- 

 ber, and the compound makes one of the 

 most solid, elastic and elegant articles that 

 can be found in the market. It resembles 

 polished stone, is as black as coal, needs no 

 finish, and has of itself as hard and exqui- 

 site polish as it is possible for any metal to 

 bear. There seems to be no end to the ar- 

 ticles to which it can be made. Canes of 

 the most elegant form and appearance are 

 constructed out of it, and are as tough as 

 so much steel, while they have all the elas- 

 ticity of whalebone. Cabinet work, inlaid 

 and mosaic, ornamental to the parlor and 

 the chamber. Spectacle bows and glasses 

 for the eye, are made so light as to be no 

 annoyance, while their elastic character 

 cause them to sit firm to the head ; opera 

 glasses, castors, sand stands, ink stands, 

 brushes for the hair, that cannot be harmed 

 by hot water, tape lines, pen holders, pen- 

 cil cases, cigar cases, government boxes for 

 the army and navy, government buttons, 

 and an endless variety of articles are thus 



made, and the articles areofa most elegant 

 character; syringes of a novel form and 

 character ; machines for oiling cars and en- 

 gines, on a new principle, indicate that this 

 new use of rubber is to work a com})Iete 

 revolution in the arts and manufactures. 



But one of the greatest applications of 

 this new rubber manufacture is the new tel- 

 egraph wire that is made from it It needs 

 no poles, as it is laid in the ground. It needs 

 nocoveiSng; a trench of a few inches is 

 dug ; the rubber telegraph wire is put in and 

 covered up; the wire is enclosed with the 

 rubber; no dampness can effect it; no 

 storm render the wires inoperative; no in- 

 sect sever; no rust corrode. It would ap- 

 pear fabulous if we should state the miles 

 of this wire that have already been eno^aged, 

 and the goods cannot be made to meet the 

 demand. 



The government of the United States is 

 now the best customer of the Beacon Dam 

 Company The call for the Navy and Ar- 

 my button is immense ; the article is ele- 

 gant; the naval button has on it the motto, 

 "don't give up the ship." And so tough 

 are these rubber buttons, that if one is pla- 

 ced on an oak plank and presure applied, 

 it can be sunk clear into the plank, and will 

 come out unharmed ; and the government 

 shaving boxes, which are about three in^ 

 ches in diameter, are so strong that a man 

 weighing 200 pounds can press his whole 

 weight on one of them, and not break them. 

 Gun handles, sword handles, and other mil- 

 itary implements are constructed from this 

 material. They are cheap, elegant, endur- 

 ing. — Boston Journal. 



CULTIVATION OF BUCKWHEAT. 



It seems unnecessary to write anything 

 in regard to the cultivation of buckwheat. 



Throughout the Eastern, Middle, and 

 Western States and the Canadas it grows 

 almost spontaneously, and it would seem 

 that the only thing requisite to secure a 

 crop is to scatter the seed. It sometimes 

 receives injury from early frosts, but, as a 

 general rule, no crop is better adapted to 

 the short, hot summers of the Northern 

 States. Botanically, it is not a cereal, but 

 its natural character and composition close- 

 ly resemble this useful order of plants. Ex- 

 cept millet, no plant used as food for man 

 can be sown so late in the season ; and 

 this to the farmer is one of its most valua- 

 ble qualities. It is frequently sown after a 



