1883.] 



193 



ure, the presence of the Hessian fly, etc., must 

 all be considered. According to these, the best 

 date for sowing Winter Wheat in Central Ohio is 

 from September 10th to September 30th. The 

 conclusions derived from the experiments with 

 concentrated fertilizers are especially interesting. 

 We shall refer to them more fully in a future 

 number. 



N. W. Ayres & Sons' American Newspaper 

 Annual, 1883, Philadelphia, contains a care- 

 fully prepared list of all newspapers and peri- 

 odicals in the United States and Canada, arranged 

 by States in geographical sections, and by towns 

 in alphabetical order. 



In this list, also, is given the name of the paper, 

 the issue, general characteristics, year of estab- 

 lishment, size, circulation, and advertising rates 

 for ten lines one month. 



It also contains a carefully prepared description 

 of every county in the United States, as well as of 

 each State and Territory as a whole, and of each 

 of the Canadian provinces, giving valuable infor- 

 mation concerning their mineral deposits, chief 

 agricultural products, principal manufactures, 

 nature of the surface and soil, location, area, 

 population, etc. 



There is no other single publication within our 

 knowledge which contains information of such 

 varied use and value for general business pur- 

 poses. Complete in all its departments, thorough 

 in its details, giving just the information needed, 

 and only that, simply arranged, easily referred 

 to, carefully compiled,— it is, in fact, a model 

 work of its kind. 



Price $3.00, carriage paid. 



The American Farm and Home Cyclopedia, 



by Horace R. Allen, A.M., M. D. Published by 

 W. 77. Thomson, Philadelphia.— The title does 

 hardly justice to the contents of this work, as it 

 comprises not only matter pertaining to the farm 

 and home, but information on almost every sub- 

 ject imaginable. In fact, it would require much 

 less time to enumerate what is not in it than to 

 name its contents. The leading topics treated 

 successively are Agriculture. Live Stock, Horti- 

 culture, Law and Business, Hints on Money- 

 making, Architecture, the Household, Outdoor 

 Sports and Pastimes, Miscellaneous Topics, Hy- 

 giene, the Sick Room, Home Medication, etc. 

 Each department is subdivided into convenient 

 divisions, forming in themselves condensed man- 

 uals on the respective subjects, and the whole is 

 interspersed with over two thousand illustrations. 

 It would require a year to give a careful perusal 

 to the entire work, but even a hasty examination 

 shows that the author has taken great pains to 

 obtain the most reliable and practical informa- 

 tion on every subject, and to arrange all so that 

 every detail can be referred to with the greatest 

 ease. We do not know of any other volume 

 which contains so vast an amount of useful in- 

 formation. The mechanical execution is superior 

 to most books of this kind. The volume contains 

 over one thousand large octavo pages, and is sub- 

 stantially and handsomely bound. To any one at 

 all interested in rural affairs, and desiring a 

 cyclopedia of general useful knowledge, this ele- 

 gant work will make a valuable addition to the 

 library. 



The New-York State Experiment Station — 



First Annual Report of the Board of Control.— 

 When it is considered that the farm near Geneva, 

 where the station is located, passed to the State 

 only in February, 1882, and was not taken posses- 

 sion of by Dr. E. L. Sturtevant. the director, 

 before March 1st, and that no preparations what- 

 ever had been made previous to this date, the 

 amount of work done during the year, and 

 which is minutely recorded in this pamphlet, is 

 simply wonderful. 



The theory under which the direction of the 

 station is acting is the necessity of applying to 

 agricultural research the principles which have 

 accomplished so much in the pursuit of science, 

 namely, the accurate ascertaining of facts, then 

 the grouping of these facts in order to show the 

 laws under which these facts are produced and 

 modified, and finally the test, or verification. 

 Agricultural experiment also includes the adap- 

 tation of facts and laws obtained to practical 

 affairs. 



The province of an agricultural experimental 

 station is not so much the discovery of new facts 



as it is the testing of applications and the theory 

 of relations. Its ultimate object is to give ex- 

 pression to values which shall assist the farmer 

 in the largest sense in meeting and overcoming 

 the various obstacles which arise in the practice 

 of his pursuit. 



The experiments made, and the results deduced 

 from the same, comprise several of our leading 

 crops,— Corn, Potatoes, Wheat, Beans, Forage- 

 Crops, various vegetables. Some of them we 

 have already mentioned iu previous numbers, 

 and to others we shall refer hereafter. 



It would be impossible to accord even faint 

 justice to the director and his assistants in en- 

 deavoring to give, in the limited space at our dis- 

 posal, a resume of the valuable services rendered 

 already by the Station to the farmers of this State, 

 which only those can appreciate who give the 

 pamphlet a careful study. Residents of the State 

 may obtain this report from the Assemblyman of 

 their district; the station has none for distribu- 

 tion. 



CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 

 Jenkins' Nurseries, Winona, 0.— Price-list of 

 Plants and Trees. Specialties for this season are 

 Strawberries, Tree seedlings, Catalpa speciosa, 

 etc., etc 



AVilliam Parry, Pomona Nurseries, Parry P. 

 0., X. .7.— Fall Ca talogue of Fruit Trees and Small 

 Fruit Plants. The new Pedigree Blackberry 

 Wilson Junior a specialty. 



John S. Collins, Mooresloirn, X. .7.— Descrip- 

 tive Circular and Price-list of the new Early 

 Cluster Blackberry, together with many letters 

 and testimonials as to its merits. 



H. S. Anderson, Union Springs, X. T. — Descrip- 

 tive Catalogue and Price-list of the Cayuga Lake 

 Nurseries, with an excellent colored plate of the 

 Duchess Grape. A select list of all the leading 

 varieties of Fruits. 



J. T. Lovett, Little Silver, X. 7.- Illustrated 

 Catalogue of Trees and Plants. Choice Small 

 Fruits a specialty. This is a neat and tastefully 

 gotten up pamphlet, full of useful hints to those 

 contemplating to plant this autumn. 



Ellwaiigrer & Barry, Mount Hope Nurseries, 

 Rochester, X. T. — No. 1. Descriptive Catalogue 

 of Fruits ; price, 10 cents. No. 2. Descriptive and 

 Illustrated Catalogue of Ornamental Trees, 

 Shrubs, Hardy Herbaceous Plants, etc., with 

 colored plate ; price, 25 cents. No. 3. Catalogue 

 of Strawberries and other Small Fruits ; free. 

 No. 4. Wholesale Catalogue, for the trade only; 

 free. No. 5. Descriptive and Illustrated Cata- 

 logue of Roses ; free. No. 0. Abridged Catalogue 

 of select Fruits and ornamental Trees, Shrubs, 

 Roses, etc ; free. No. 7. Descriptive Catalogue 

 of new and rare Roses ; free. A set of these 

 publications will be of much value to any one 

 interested in their subject, as they contain not 

 only price-lists, but descriptions of all the most 

 valuable varieties, practical hints on transplant- 

 ing, pruning, and general treatment of trees, 

 shrubs, and plants. 



ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS, 

 Ipomcca leptophylla — 7?ee. Th. (!., Marathon 

 Co., Wis.— The roots are perfectly hardy if grow- 

 ing in drained soil ; but if the ground is heavy 

 and wet, light mulching is advisable. 



Hyacinthuscandieaus, L. R. C, Tarmouthville, 

 Me.— In ordinary winters the bulbs are hardy 

 here and near Boston, that is, in dry ground ; 

 nevertheless, it will be advisable to give them 

 some mulch. The same may be said of Hardy 

 Gladiolus andTritomas. The Petunia branch has 

 not come to hand. 



Manure lor Orchards, T., South Carolina.— 

 Without any information whatever about the 

 condition of the soil and cultivation of an orchard, 

 the answer to the inquiry about " the best ma- 

 nure for an orchard " must necessarily be some- 

 what on general principles. Where good stable 

 manure can be had at two dollars a load, this will 

 probably be found best and cheapest. It may be 

 lightly plowed or harrowed under in autumn, or 

 spread on the surface at any time during winter. 

 Wood ashes are beneficial iu almost all cases, but 

 they should not be applied in connection with 



stable manure. Superphosphate of lime and 

 ground bone will also be productive of good 

 results. 



Grasses for the South.— Several inquiries about 

 the best grasses for the Southern states we cannot 

 answer more authoritatively than by giving the 

 opinion of Mr. Win. Saunders, Superintendent of 

 the government gardens and grounds, derived 

 from personal observation last winter : 



"One of the greatest wants in Florida is that of 

 food for live stock. Northern grasses and clovers 

 are of small value; they are not adapted to the 

 climate. Lucerne, Medicayo saliva, has the repu- 

 tation of succeeding well iu warm climates, and 

 would doubtless nourish in the rich bottom lands 

 when ouce they are fitted for culture. This being 

 a perennial, noted for a propensity to send its 

 roots deep into the soil, would be almost as per- 

 manent a plant as the dwarf Palmetto, and infi- 

 nitely more useful. Lucerne is one of the most 

 ancient of cultivated plants, and as a forage 

 plant for dry, warm climates has always been held 

 in high estimation. 



" Among rapid-growing grasses none excel the 

 Italian Rye Grass, Lolium J/aiieum. Seeds of this 

 grass, sown in November, would produce a crop 

 fit for cutting iu April for hay. The winter sea- 

 son being also the dry season would be so far 

 unfavorable to continued growth ; but the want 

 of rain could he met by a proper selection of 

 soil. The worst selection would be high and dry 

 fields ; the best, a thoroughly drained swamp. 



" But I look upon the Johnson Grass, Sorgh um 

 halapense, as having greater prospective value 

 than either of the plants named. In Alabama, 

 and in others of the Southern States, it is proving 

 to be one of the best grasses for hay or for feed- 

 ing in the green state that has so far been intro- 

 duced to cultivation. This grass has long been 

 known, but its persistent growth, and the diffi- 

 culty of eradicating it from cultivated fields, 

 caused it to be regarded as a nuisance. Its 

 greatest fault is its greatest merit. 



"A few days ago, in Polk County, iu conversation 

 with an Alabama farmer, I asked him what he 

 found the most profitable crop to raise in that 

 State. He promptly replied hay. To the further 

 question as to what grasses he cultivated for this 

 purpose, he answered the Johnson grass. He 

 stated that he made three, cuttings yearly, and 

 from these his returns averaged five tons of hay 

 from an acre. This is grown on good bottom land, 

 a ml all the cultivation it receives is to plow it down 

 once in two or three years; then give it a very 

 thorough harrowing, and an increased growth 

 ensues. A portion of the roots are thus destroyed, 

 which prevents them from becoming too thickly 

 matted, keeps up the fertility, and increases the 

 growth. It would seem that a plant so well 

 adapted to a warm, sunny climate will ultimately 

 prove of great value all through this southern 

 country." 



Utah Plants.— We acknowledge the receipt of 

 several beautifully preserved botanical speci- 

 mens from R. 77. Hannah, Parle City, Utah. 



mipany, Xeir 

 ers with us fo; 



The World Mam 



York, have been cons 

 sometime, and we have never heard a single com- 

 plaint from any reader that the company had not 

 fulfilled what it agreed to. The " New American 

 Dictionary," which the firm offers now, we con- 

 sider the best book of the kind for the money we 

 have ever seen, and the premiums offered to those 

 getting up clubs are well worth attention. 



The Harback Organina Co., of Philadelphia, 

 offers on another page to send their Illustrated 

 Catalogue of Musical and Optical Instruments 

 free to all applicants. Of course, no sane person 

 will expect to buy a grand piano for five and ten 

 dollars, but those who have no expensive instru- 

 ments nor knowledge and skill in their perform- 

 ance will find that these ingenious instruments 

 go a great way in furnishing a substitute for 

 their lack. 



IMPORTANT. 



When you visit or leave New- York City, save Bag. 



srago Exprt-ssago ami Carriage hire, anil stop at the 

 Grand Union Hotel, opposite I irand < 'entral Depot. 

 ISO" elegant rooms, titled up at a cost of one million 



dollars, reduced to SI. 0(1 and upward pet day. Euro- 



pean Plan. Elevator. Restaurant supplied with the 

 best. Horse ears, stages, and elevated railroad to all 

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