1868.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
321 
Wheat Weevil and(lover.-A gentle- 
man in Pulaski Co., Ind., pent us a communication in 
which he asserts that red clover is tho nursery. of the 
•' wheat weevil, also called midgo," and advises fanners 
to abstain from Bowing clover if they would pave their 
Wheat. Haviag occasion to scud to the eminent ento- 
mologist, B. I). Walsh, Esq!., weencloBed our correspon- 
dent's letter, to which Mr. W. replies ns follows : •» Your 
correspondent suggests that clover Is the. nursery of the 
Wheat Midge, alias the Red Weevil, alias the Weevil ; 
and hence infers that farmers must quit growing clover, 
If they wish to he free from this pest. He is altogether 
mistaken. The Wheat Midge can exist only in certain 
species of the grass family (fframiwa), and certainly can- 
□ol brood In clover, which belongs to an entirely distinct 
botanical family (ZegrumittOSa) tho Pulse family. If such 
men as your correspondent would go to school them- 
selvee for a few months before setting up as school- 
masters in entomological mailers, the world would be 
spared a great deal of ignorant balderdash. There is a 
very small snout-beetle (Aphm), the larva of which breeds 
In the heads of red clover. The gentleman perhaps 
happened upon this larva, and jumped to the conclusion 
that it must be that of the wheat midge, though the two 
are as unlike each other as a Rose and a Peony." 
Potato fltu^w. — 17nsnie Advice. — 
The following is going the rounds of the press. "Sure 
death to Potato Bugs : Take 1 lb. Paris green, 2 lbs. pul- 
verized lime. Mix together, and sprinkle the vines." 
We consider this unsafe, as there is no intimation of the 
fact, not generally known, that Paris ^r^nn is a compound 
of arsenic and copper, and a deadly poison. Such things 
should never be recommended without a full statement 
of their properties, so that one may know with what lie 
Is dealing. The poison would be very likely to kill the 
potato bugs, but how about the vines? 
Lime lot' Wltoat. — Wc wish the readers 
of the American Agriculturist would try the effect of lime 
on the wheat crop. A few square rods would be enough 
for the experiment. Put a bushel of fresh slaked lime 
to a square rod and note the effect. There has been very 
general complaint the past harvest of shrunken wheat. 
It is attributed to the hot weather in July ; but the fact 
Ihat in many instances where the laud was in good con- 
dition the wheat was plump and fine proves that it is not 
wholly due to the climate, or at least that the difficulty 
may be overcome. It is well known that liming the soil 
lias a beneficial effect, especially in stiffening the straw 
and producing a full, plump berry. We believe the lime 
lias come when much of our wheat land, even in the 
limestone regions, would be greatly benefited by liming. 
Plaster, How Prepared for S^and. 
"T. W. E.." Salt Lake City. Tho only preparation 
which Gypsum rock needs for sowing is pulverizing. It 
is ground in mills made for the purpose, and is burned 
only when nscd for making casts, hard finish, etc. Your 
better course would probably be to purchase the machin- 
ery and put up a mill. It acta most beneficially upon 
land remote from the sea. Sown at the rate of one or 
two bushels per acre, it greatly increases the yield of 
grass and in some of the grazing districts it is consider- 
ed the cheapest and best fertilizer that can be used. 
Hone Hill. — " E. II. C," who wrote us some 
time since inquiring for a cheap bone mill. Is informed 
that the article has not been invented. The bones are 
Strong and require great power to crush them. It would 
take ten or twelve horse power to grind bones, and a 
suitable mill would cost several hundred dollars. Per- 
sons having good bone-mills to sell should advertise. 
>'o\v is the Time to Destroy Retl- 
Itoot. — On many wheat farms Red-root, or Pigeon 
Wood {LWiOtpernwm artun»)i&agreatpest. The seed 
germinates in September and October, and the plants 
come Into flower early In the following summer. They 
are easily destroyed, but the difficulty lies in getting at 
them. They are seldom found except in "Winter wheat, 
and the only way to kill them Is by hoeing the wheat or 
pulling out the red-root by hand. Old farmers say the 
only way to kill them is to make the red-root think that 
ynu aij going to sow the land to wheat in the fall, and 
then not do it. The red-root will start up. and by plow- 
ing the land in the spring tho plants are all destroyed. 
Cultivating among corn does not free the land from red- 
root, because it cannot bo done late in August or Septem- 
ber. Barley is sown after the corn and the land plowed 
after harvest and sown to winter wheat. The red-root 
then springs up and seriously injures the crop. Now, if 
the land for corn could be broken up in August or Sep- 
tember, the red-root would start, and would be killed by 
tin.- plowing uext spring. Or. a two or three year old 
clover sod might, be broken up in August or September, 
and then sown to barley the next spring, followed with 
winter wheat. The difficulty is that at this season the 
land is •ftcn so hard that it is difficult to break it up. 
But even if the land is plowed very imperfectly and not 
more than two or three inches deep, it will effect the ob- 
ject. The hot sun will kill the roots of grass and weeds, 
and when rain comes the red-root will start. As the land 
has not been plowed since it was in wheat the seeds of 
red-root arc near the surface, and shallow plowing would 
be better than deep plowing. But later in the fall, plow 
the land again deep and well, and let it lay rough for the 
winter. Land so treated will be likely to give a splendid 
crop of barley and a good wheat crop afterwards, and we 
get rid of the troublesome red-root into the bargain. 
Ice House. — W. A. Burlon, Iowa, wantshints 
on building an ice and milk-house together. He will 
find a very good plan of an ice-house in the October 
Agriculturist, ISfiO, with six illustrations, and several 
valuable hints in November lStJT. These conveniences, 
a milk and ice-house, can very well be put at the end of 
the L, where a house has this appendage. The milk room 
might open into the L. and it would save some labor to 
have a Email door or opening from the ice-house directly 
into the milk room. But the large door for filling should 
be upon the outside. If the drainage and packing are 
good, the material of which the house is made is of second- 
ary importance. The room for holding the ice fora family 
should be about 1*2 feet square and 12 feet between joists. 
This will give plenty of ice for the whole season, and the 
extra expense of filling, where the ice pond is convenient, 
will be small. We are glad to know that the luxury of 
ice in summer is more generally appreciated by farmers. 
Mechanic Tnrning: Farmer. — " D. 
D. II., Richmond, Ind.. wishes to know if a young me- 
chanic who takes a lively interest in agricultural, and 
especially in horticultural pursuits, would do well to go 
to Iowa and follow farming. If ho had a capital of a 
thousand dollars to begin wjth he would probably suc- 
ceed. Why not buy a few acres in the vicinity of 
some one of the thriving cities of that State, and start 
fruit and vegetable gardening? Perhaps Richmond 
might be just the place for this business. It pays well, 
and can be indefinitely extended. 
Canada Thirties— BBoiv to Kill.— 
"W. H. H., 1 ' New Milford. Conn., says, cutting them 
With the' hoe even with the ground every two weeks dur- 
ing the period of growth will surely kill them. I have 
repeatedly destroyed patches of thistles in this way, and 
in only one instance have I seen a thistle the second sea- 
son.'" This is a laborious process; but to leave the 
thistles to multiply will make still more labor. 
rVoto* from Colorado. — A well known 
botanist, now on a scientific exploration, writes us from 
Denver as follows: " On several of these streams, especial- 
ly the Big Thompson, St. Vrains and Bouldu Creek there 
is a considerable amount of cultivation in the valleys, by 
means of ditches, which lead off the water from the main 
stream into the fields. We saw many very fine fields of 
grain. One man told me he had 30 acres of oats which 
would yield 75 bushels per acre. But it is yet a mystery to 
me, how the many millions of acres contained in these arid 
plains are to be made productive of human food except 
in the way of raising cattle, etc. I have looked with 
considerable interest and care to see what kinds of grasses 
cover the plains. Several species of Trilicum arc found. 
Triticum repens seems to be the principal grass. This 
grass, the Couch or Quack, which gives farmers so 
much trouble at the East from its difficulty of being 
eradicated, seems to be Heaven's boon to the Plains.. 
However, as we approach Denver from Cheyenne, the 
Buffalo grass {Iiuchl<*> r/arfijloiths and Munroa squarrosa) 
become quite abundant, and in the valleys are large 
patches of a grass looking at a distance like our Red top, 
but what it is I have not yet satisfied myself." 
The Second Animal Report or the 
Secretary of the Connecticut Board of 
Agriculture. —This volume is made up principally of 
the reports of the discussions and the lectures of Profes- 
sors Verrtll and Brewer at the meeting of the Board held 
at Hartford, last January. The discussions on breeds of 
cattle, dairy husbandry, and feeding cattle, brought out a 
great variety of n so fill information from the principal 
breeders and dairymen of the Slate. The full reports of 
the lectures, with illustrations, is a valuable feature of 
the work. We trust the Board have taken measures to 
si-cure a wide circulation of their report among tin- peo- 
ple of the Slate, for the audiences that heard these very 
instructive lectures were exceedingly small. Judging 
from the attendance both at New Hav«u and at Hartford, 
the city is not the. best place \o hold these meetings. Al- 
most any rural village would have given hundreds of 
hearers, where the city afforded tens. The volume Is 
from the press of Case, Lockwood & Brainard, Hartford. 
Reclaiming a, Swamp. — " G. L.," 
Bridgewater, Vt., wishes to know how to proceed in re- 
claiming a swamp, the soil of which is black mack lo tho 
depth of }i foot, and the subsoil hard Eand and clay. Tho 
first step is to find an outlet, and provide*" for the escape 
of the water. Get four feet if you can, but attempt drain- 
ing if you can have only two. Cut oft" all water from the 
adjacent upland by a drain near the edge, to the full depth 
of the fall at the outlet. Then put a main drain through 
the middle, and cross drains about two rods apart empty- 
ing into the main and side drains. Tile are the cheapest 
in the end, because they save so much labor in the 
digging of the ditches, but it is better to use stone or 
wood than not to drain at all. The sand mightbe spread 
upon the surface as a top-dressing, after the drains are 
completed. It is not necessary to do the whole job in 
one season. Begin at the outlet and make thorough work 
as far as you go. We recommend to all persons under- 
taking draining. Waring' s work on "Draining for Profit," 
published by Orange Judd *fc Co. Price, post-paid, $1.50. 
Wild Mnsfai-d or fii:il< — BSovr to 
Kill.-" W. P. S.," Flackville, N. Y. The best way to 
eradicate this and all weeds is by persistent cultivation. 
If the ground is very foul, we would recommend a sum- 
mer fallow, plowing and harrowing the ground alternate- 
ly, as often as every fortnight. Every time the surface or 
the soil is disturbed a new crop of seed is brought into 
those conditions in which it will vegetate, and the sub- 
sequent harrowing or plowing destroys them. In a fal- 
low ten or a dozen crops may be destroyed in a season, 
and it is very much cheaper to destroy them with two 
horses on a grand scale than with two fingers among 
cultivated crops. Make a business of weed killing. 
Oeam Skimmer Tor I>eep Vessels. 
—The question has often been mooted whether or not 
much cream would be lost if milk were set for cream to 
rise, in deep vessels. Experiments have given very di- 
verse results, and what the reason was, nobody knew. 
Thorough cooling of milk as eoou as it comes from the 
cow, not by immersing The cans in ^^ 
cold water or putting ice in the milk, %^^ 
but by passing through a cooler, is 
found to check all tendency to sour 
for a long time. On milk thus treated 
cream will rise through the depth of 
a foot, or more, as easily as throngh 
milk three inches deep, set warm from 
the cow in ordinary pans. The coolers 
are patented, but the cream is removed 
by a simple dipper, which we figure. 
It bears the name of the Orange Co. 
Cream Dipper, and is made of a half 
circle of tin, bent around the centre of 
the circle, and the straight edges lap- 
ped and soldered, with a wire for a 
handle. This is dipped into the milk 
after wetting In water; the cream parts around it, and 
flows into it when the edge sinks low enough. Thus, 
all is easily removed. The dipper is useful for taking 
grease from a pot of hot soup, and for any other purpose 
when a light liquid is to be removed from a denser one. 
The method of milk cooling above alluded to recom- 
mends itself to all who sell milk, or set it for butter. 
Fresh X^isli Compost — How to l*re- 
pare it.— "A. D. M.," Hyannis, Mnw., complains that 
turnips will not grow in a compost made of fresh fish and 
sandy loam. He says : " The seeds germinate, but do not 
grow. A neighbor tells ine it is the oil that makes the 
trouble, and says if the fish had laid in the heap one year 
they would have done better." Our diagnosis of the 
case would be a little different from the neighbor'."*. The 
oil is of little benefit to vegetation, and for this reason 
fish scrap, after the oil is pressed out. is worth about as 
much for manure as the whole fish. If there is not an 
oil factory at Hyannis, there ought to be immediately, 
and the oil be saved. The compost was made with sandy 
loam, and there was not enough of carbon in it to absorb 
all the ammonia or to divide the fish. The manure wa« 
too powerful, and burnt up the roots of the turnips, as 
fast as they formed. Peat and muck are much better ab- 
sorbents and dividers for fresh fish, and even of these at 
least five tons should be used to one of fish, and the com- 
post should be forked over twice, in a thorough manner, 
before it is used. The compost unquestionably improves 
by age until the fish are entirely decomposed. Lime and 
ashes are not wasted in the heap, but are better applied 
to the land. See Volume. XV. 185C. pp. 248 and 273. 
