im.] 
AMERICAN A<3-RTOtfLTURiST. 
457 
only partially staled. Had J. C. said what the room was 
used for, we could have replied under8taiidingly--fresh 
Blakcd lime will take up carbonic acid, so will water, and 
eo will several other things. 
Xlie Best Ilolidsiy Presenl.— Send to 
a relative notice that you have paid for him a year's sub- 
scription to this journal, and every time a number arrives 
that friend will have a new reiuiuder of your kindness. 
The hints and suggestions its pages will afford will be 
turned to profitable accouut, and supply additional cause 
of gralitude. 
Italian OiiioMS-— It is astonishing to what 
siZM and escellence onions attain in warm climates, with 
suitable soil. The onions imported from Bermuda give 
some idea of this, but those raised on our Mexican 
frontier, as at EI Paso, are vastly superior to the Bermuda 
onions, and we did not suppose these could be equaled, 
until we recently received some from Wm. H. Carson, 
seedsman, No. 125 Clianibers street, N. Y., which he had 
just obtained from Itjily. There were five kinds, from 
moderate — indeed, one quite small size — up to those 
equal in size and qnality to any we have met with. The 
two larger onions, a red, weighing 26 oz., and a white, 
28 oz. weight, each measured 17 inches in circum- 
ference. Mr. Carson expects to receive seed of these 
varieties, which, whatever it may do in the Northern 
States, will, in some of the Southern States and on the 
Pacific Coast, no doubt succeed well. In Southern Eu- 
rope these large onions are produced by sowing seed in 
Autumn, wintering the partly-grown bulbs in the ground, 
and in the Spring they start early, and grow to a great size. 
Tick's Illiistratca :9ioiitblx MsBga- 
zine.— Mr. James Vick, seedsman, of Rochester, N. T., 
has for some years published his catnloirue in the form 
of a quarterly, in which he gave many interesting horti- 
cultural items. He starts out for the coming year with a 
monthly, with the above, title, and sends specimen num- 
bers nearly three months in advance of the regular issue. 
Mr. Vick, having liad much experience as an editor, does 
not enter journalism as a novice, and his magazine will 
no doubt be interesting and useful. If any ouc man can 
can-y on an immense seed business, run a seed farm. 
look after a florist's establishment, and then, when ho 
wishes a lili:le recreation, can edit a Monthly Magazine, 
it is Mr. James Vick, to whom added years only seem to 
bring increased energy. We have only space to say that, 
in contents and mechanical execution, this specimen 
number is quite equal to his former publications, and 
that is saying a good deal. As his Monthly is only $1.35 
a year its success would seem to be assured. 
Our L.iii<>»cc«l Oil UlsinunxotBare.— 
The extent to which the manufacture of linseed oil is 
now carried on in the West, may be shown by thu fact 
that there are three mills in Chicago, each turning out 
about 10,000 b.iirels of oil and 4.000 tons of oil cake yearly, 
using to produce these 2.^0,000 buslu-ls of flaxseed, all the 
growth of near by localities. St. Louis competes very 
closely with Chicago, if it docs not surpass these figures. 
Wliile we congratulate ourselves on this fact, we have to 
n^gret that the 12,000 tons of oil cake are worse than lo^t 
to us, because we sell them to our competitors in Europe, 
who feed this nutritious substance to cattle, making 
meat and manure with which tlieir large crops are crown. 
This is a serious loss to us who should use every pound 
of our product and sell the meat and grain grown by it. 
Catalog^iies. — Comparatively few of the Cat- 
alogues for the spring of 1873 have come to liuud, and iu 
view of the crowded state of our columns at the close of 
the year, we defer a notice of those received until wo can 
make a fuller and better showing. 
XIk^ <'al>l>ag;e I-'aiiiily, its varieties, 
qualities, and culture, by David Landreth & Sons. Phila- 
delphia. Pa. A companion to the pamphlets on Root 
Crops, etc., issued by tho same firm. Price 25 cents. 
I>tl£infi: a Salt Mradow.— " W. IT.," 
Long Ulaml. N. Y. It is ea«y to diki; a salt meadow by 
throwini: up a hank to cxchide thu tide, .ind taking tho 
material foi* the bank from !i ditch inside of it. Muck 
will make a good material for the bank, but it is so onsily 
burrowed by musk rats that the Imnk will not lie perma- 
nent unless it is protected. If a fence of hemlock plank 
be built in the center of the dike, that will prevent tlio 
rata from burrowing throuL'h it. When the water has 
drained from the muck it will become solid, and the sur- 
face of the marsh will sink a foot or two perhaps as tho 
water is drained off. An automatic sluice, as shown In 
the Arrvncan AfjricuHunst. July. 1S77. may be used, by 
which the drainrige water will flow off at low tide, and 
tidal water be excluded. Tho cost of dicrgin^' a ditch and 
throwing up a hank would hi' about 12'; cents a cubic 
yard, or 27 cubic feet (that is 3 feet loug wide aud deep), 
'i\> BBoysi and. <jiii'l!!». — We cougratulaie 
you on the arrangement made to supply a microscope to 
every family — ouc th:it will not be a mere useless, im- 
perfect toy, but a really good one. Full instructions for 
its use will go with the instrument, and the Editors will 
take some pains to give you interesting information from 
time to time iu your own columns. We expect you will 
have little Microscope Clvbs, the members of which will 
each prepare specimens tliat all can study and enjoy. 
It will be a capital amusement, full of instruction. See 
that you liave as many microscopes as possible in your 
own neighborliood. When one ofyou cannot do it alone, 
it would be well for two, three, four or more of you 
to unite your eftbrts, and raise a premium club of sub- 
scribers, and perhaps own the premium in common, or 
join hands and get subscribers enough to procure the 
Great Dictionary for your school-rooni ; or if possible a 
sewing machine for some worthy poor woman ; or some 
article or articles of silver ware for your pastor, or a 
favorite teacher. Almostany onecan aloncgcta 7nultum 
inparvo kniieor other small premium. The premium list 
goes on just the same as before. The microscopes do 
not interfere with them, but are an additional help in 
procuring subscribers. The microscope would be clxeap 
at $2.50, yet for a good deal less money any one can have 
both the microscope and the A»ierica/i Agricdtuylst all 
through 1ST8, as explained elsewhere. 
Talaie oi'ShaTinsr.s stud Trimmins'S 
of Hides,— ""S-B.," Kings Co., Na^'a Scotia. We have 
paid as high as §5 a two-liorse wagon load for tlie trim- 
mings of green hides from a tinnery. These contain a 
large proportion of water ; but if dry would be worth 
$1 per 100 pounds as compared with superphosphate at 
$2.50. The hide scraps, however, contain no phosphoric 
acid, being nearly all nitrogenous matter and very rich in 
ammonia. They should not be treated directly with 
sulphuric acid as bones are, but composted with earth 
and moistened with very dilute sulphuric acid, or dried 
and reduced to powder and used as guano Is. 
A IFsBii" IBtt at the present attention given to 
" athletic exercises " is the following floating item: A 
Michigan farmer writes to the Faculty of a leading East- 
ern College: "What are your terms for a year? And 
does it cost extra if my son wants to ieam to read and 
write, as well as to row a boat ? "' 
Hay dr|>s.— CBittflsag- Ilsin-o^v. — "M. 
C. S.," Montgomery, Ala. We know of no one who 
makes hay caps for sale. They are eo easily made that 
it is less trouble to make them than to send out to buy 
th;m. Shares' coulter harrow, and tho Nishwitz harrow 
act by cutting or slicing the sod, and do not tear it up; 
the Bradley reversible harrow acta as a smoothing har- 
row, which does not tear up the sod when drawn one 
way, and as a clearing harrow when reversed. This last 
is a most useful implement. All these harrows can be 
prociured of R. H. Allen & Co.. 389 Water St., New York 
Craclieivs foi- Horses. — The Rtissian 
cavalry are provided witli a prepared food made of 
pounded oats, graj'-pea flour, hemp-seed oil, and salt; 
this is made into a paste, and cut into thick cakes about 
4 inches across, perforated with holes to facilitate soak- 
ing iu water, and baked. It is transported strung on 
wires in rations of 4 ttis. each, to be fed dry or soaked. 
Xh<' Ai'uold Arl»OD'<*tMBu. — A tract of 
laud at Jamaica Plain, Alase., of about 130 acres is as- 
signed by Harvard tJnivcrsity to the Arnold Arboretum, 
of which Prof. Chas. S. Sargent is the. able director. It 
being desirable to have the land laid out to the best possi- 
ble advantage, and the income from Mr. Arnold's bequest 
not being equal to any extraordinary expenditure. Mr. 
Fred. Law Olmstead. so favorably known as a landscape 
architect, volunteered bis services for tho work, and a 
few of the wealthy gentlemen of Boston and vicinity, 
have volnnteerod the few thousands needed to pay the 
snn-eyors and drnughtsmen. Thu^ this important jire- 
liminary work will bo accomplished witho it drawing 
upon the proper income of the fund, and in a manner 
BO thorongh that it can not fail to bo of the greatest value 
to the Arboretum-an Institution, to the development 
of which nrboricnUnrlsts and loven* uf trees, not only iu 
America, but abroad, look with the liveliest interest. 
m:i!«lin;ir liO^i-s.— '*R. 0.." UumbnldtBay. 
Cal., writes: *'Tn yonr July No. you advise • II. C O., 
to nso dynamite in blasting logs. TTero In California. 
where it is a common pra'^tlc to blast logs from S t<> 12 
feot diameter, we use nothing but blasting ji^wder. 
Take a 1} '^r H-inch auger, bore a hole In th'' «ldc and 
middle of the log, ni»t in the end. ttnvards. and a little 
below the center, in tho direction the log will split easi- 
est, put in the powder and fu-^e. put n rag or something 
dry on the top of It. and tamp with wlritt^-or ia at hand 
and will pack. If well done, the log will seldom fall to 
split iu halves. For blasting logs to fragments, use a 
larger auger, more powder, and do not bor© below the 
center, but I beUeve dynamite would be best for that." 
Basket Items continued 
on page 481. 
Horseshoe Nails by Machinery. 
Long after cut-nails were, in this country, made 
by machinery, wrought nails were still turned out 
by the slow process of heading each one singly, 
and when the stUl more difficult problem of a 
Fig. 1. — MACHINE-lIADi: NilL. 
norseshoe nail was presented, it being so unlike in 
head and point to all other nails, it was the boast of 
the blacksmith that no machine would ever be in- 
vented that could turn out and point a horseshoe 
nail. In machinery, howcTer difficult the task, 
some inventor has been found able to overcome 
it ; and at the present day, the wide-awake black- 
smith, instead of defying invention to make a 
Fig. 2. — MAKING JIOliSE-NAILS BY HAND. 
horse-nail, is glad to make use of the nails that the 
inventor's machine turns out ready to his band, 
and thus quietly acknowledges th.at these nails .are 
better than those he could slowly fasliion one by 
one from a piece of nail-rod. The Globe Xail Com- 
pany, of Boston, Mass., have been engiigcd since 
1868 in manufacturing horseshoe and other nails, 
and in perfectiag the machinery for the purpose ; 
beginning on a small scale, they gradually enlarg- 
Fig. 3.— IIACUISE FOR MAKING HOU3E-NiIL3. 
pd, until, at the present time, they have have an 
immense cstihlishment. capable of turning out 
elelit tone of finished nails daily. Their horseshoe 
nails are mnde from the best Norway iron, cold- 
rolled, and are remarkable for uniformity of size 
and perfect finish. The appearance of the nalle ia 
shown In fig. 1. Every one who has had anything 
