1S08.] 
AM ERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
448 
cows. He says: "We all have cows, but of an inferior 
kind, ami no thoroughbred bull could bo found in this 
parish, ' Point Coupee.' Our object is to lave cows 
which will give rich mill; in good quantity; and I would 
yon to inform mo what breed would coverthese 
points best in our warm climate, and at what probable 
price a i or a ycar-ol i thoi 
in th? North nhd delivered in New Orleans."— Tho Devor. 
Btock Ins been tested in warm latitudes,. and is said to 
do well. Wo should third; the Ayrshire also would tlo 
well, and their reputation as milkers is rather better than 
thai or (ho Devons. Procure a bull of a good strain of 
blood, and the grades will be likely to meet your wants. 
Popular I»eoi<luotis and. Ever- 
green Trees and Shrubs, for planting In Parks, 
Gardens, Cemeteries, etc. By F. R. Elliott. New York, 
Francis W. Woodward. This is a band book of 125 
pages, in which are pointed out tho leading characters, 
uses. etc. of those trees and shrubs most generally «m- 
ployed in ornamental planting. So experienced a planter 
as ail. Elliott could not fail to give much information 
which would be of service to the novice, who will find 
here Just the practical points which most, horticultural 
writers are apt to omit. As the work professes to be 
simply a guide in planting, it is not necessary to criticise 
its botany or its illustrations, which are equally good or 
equally bad— we are not quite sure which. Price $1.50. 
Sod Ponces and Ditches. — "G. W. 
M." Sod fences and ditches turn cattle, but not sheep and 
goats well They will stand the weather several years 
with very little repairs, if well made. 
" Pepper Tree. "—II. II. Howard, Lake 
Co., Miss. Your "Pepper Tree" is ScMnue molle, and 
belongs to the same family with the Sumachs. It is a 
native of Peru and other parts of South America, and is 
in common cultivation in warm countries. We hope to 
say more about it at another time. 
TIic Western Beauty AppSe.— Mr. S. 
R. Bailey, Lima, O., has sent us specimens of this very 
large and fine apple. The tree is a very vigorous one, 
and the leaves remarkably large, being sometimes six 
inches long and half as broad. This fruit is supposed to 
have originated in Ohio. Warder gives it high praise, 
and places it among the best in quality. "Flavor sub- 
acid, vinous, delicious, satisfying." describes the fruit as 
we found it. The season, September to Christmas, but 
it may be kept until March. 
Injuring; a Vineyard. — J. R. Hoessli, 
Onondaga Co., N. Y., asks if the State has the right to 
raise the water in a lake to tho injury of the drainage 
of his vineyard. This is a question in law, which does 
not fall within our province. 
Apple Melon- "C. S.," Wilmington, Del. 
The melon you described is the Apple-seeded Water- 
melon. Thorburn and Bliss & Son, of this city have seeds. 
A Oirdled Elm.— " Diseonsolably Um- 
brageous" Potsdam, N. A'., has a flue Elm which has 
been, by mistake, girdled with an axe, and he asks how to 
save it. If the tree is a large one, we fear it is a hard 
case; still we should try, by bridging over the injury by 
means of pieces of elm. with the bark on, fitting them 
carefully, so that the new wood of the pieces and that of 
the tree Will meet as nearly as possible. The parts where 
they join should be freshly cut, and the whole covered 
with a mixture of clay and COW dun.', bound on with old 
cloths. The top should be cutback severed}', to diminish 
the ei aporating surface. 
Cranberry Queries. — "M. K. B.," Nor- 
folk. Mass. Spring is the best time to plant Cranberries. 
Eastwood's is the only work we have on the subject. 
Xlie Xrotlinpr-llorse of" America. 
—This i- the title of a very neat linn, volume, by Hiram 
Woodruff; edited by Mr. C. J. Foster ; published by J. 
B ford & Co., New York. Hiram Woodruff was by far 
the most successful, widely known, and respected profct 
sional trainer of trotting-borsea in this country. His 
familiarity with the most famous horses was life-long 
almost, and being posse edof a< ar, quick, sbrewd 
mind, and an uncommon degree of co i 
a remarkable memory, his influence among bore 
Li ' of the 
trotting horses of this country Is in no im dl degt 
to him. This book was written chiefly from "Hiram's" 
dictation. It was published iu chapters In Wilkes' Spirit 
of the Times, and now, as soon after the death of the 
famous trainer as possible, it is given to the public, and 
will be found of great interest to all who love a good 
horse, The first eleven chapters, together with others 
scattered through the book, arc chiefly instructive on 
handling, feeding, training, etc. Others are reminiscen- 
ces of the trotting turf, told in a very pleasant way. It 
coutains US pages, with a portrait of the author, and will 
no doubt meet, and worthily, with a very extensive Bale. 
Postage 13 Cents a Year in Ad- 
vance— The postage on the American Agriculturist 
anywhere in the United States and Territories, paid in 
advance, is 8 cents a quarter, 12 cents a year. If not paid 
in advance, twice these rate's may be wharged. 
Flower Seeds. — Some time ago we pub- 
lished a communication on flower culture, from Miss o. 
M. Luke, Ohio, which brought heralorge correspondence. 
She wishes us to say that ill health prevents a reply to 
her letters, and that the flowers about, which inquiry has 
been made were from seeds and bulbs obtained from J. 
M. Yiek, the well-known seedsman. Rochester, N. Y. 
, Profitable Use of Land.- "II. A. X." 
wishes to know how he can use five acres of good land to 
the best advantage. He is one hour by rail from the city. 
This depends so much upon the man and his circum- 
stances, that we can give no very definite advice. If he 
lives upon the five acres, the best, thing to be done is to 
make it tributary to the supply of the family and the do- 
mestic animals kept,— one or two horses, two cows, poul- 
try, pigs, etc. Tho horses and cows are best kept by 
soiling, about which much has been said in our past vol- 
umes. A half acre will be needed for a vegetable gar- 
den and small fruits, and another half for larger fruits. 
Work on tlte Horse. — " J. L. W\," 
Providence. R. I., inquires for a work on the Horse,— 
one that treats the subject in a plain, practical way, and 
that, is reliable as far as any book is in its statements. 
Herbert's Hints to Horsckeepcrs will probably meet Ha- 
waii Is of our correspondent as well as any book in the 
market. Price $1.75. The same if sent by mail. 
iHera and Emits.— In that most charm- 
ing and now almost forgotten "Fable for theCriiies" 
of Lowell, he takes off the literary men of his time. 
He describes Hawthorne as being made of particular- 
ly fine clay, and as old Dame Nature was at the 
task of mixing she sang, and somehow the music got 
mixed with the clay which resulted in Hawthorne. In 
looking over the fruits produced by our pomologists, we 
have thought sometimes that their qualities and peculiar- 
ities became in a similar way blended in their productions. 
To illustrate from strawberries. Who could have pro- 
duced such a plump, juicy, productive berry, with a good 
bit of spice in it. but just McAvoy himself? "Downer's 
Prolific" and his later "Charles Downing," in their un- 
pretending, sterling, and reliable qualities typify our old 
friend Downer of Kentucky : and the latest candidate, 
" President Wilder." considering its origin, could it bo 
any other than the rich, polished, perfect fruit that it is? 
Of course there is nothing iu it— a fancy— nothing more. 
An E{j{? or Two, or a Poor Cigar, 
each "Week, costs more than the subscription price 
of this journal, with all of its fine engravings, its calen- 
dar of hints, its many items of information given iu 
the " Basket" columns, and in its farm, garden, house- 
hold, and children's departments 1 
The " Leaven Manure " Humbug-. 
—One Palmer, of Dutchess Co.. N". Y., issues a very 
shrewd circular, well calculated to deceive even pretty 
well read farmers, no claims to have a secret, and a 
secret leaven for making manure, and we believe also a 
secret manure. He sells, or wants to sell, "Rights " for 
$25, and to all "Wbo take them he proposes to furnish a 
book of 300 pages, which is to be published "as soon as 
circumstances permit," which will tell where and bow 
he obtained the leaven, and many other things. Besides, 
arcceipt book of 24 pages is furnished, and the dupe will 
be told also how to make guano "powerful yet harmless," 
how to make poudrctte, bone-dust, chloride of lime, 
a substitute for plaster, etc., etc. Finally. Mr. Palmer 
wishes to engage those who give him $25, to help him in 
his real estate and stock I peculations. This 
man is no fool, though if we did not know to the con- 
trary, we Miould say be were m :l a sln- 
■ man to pay him $25 for th i right to all' 
We have little 
doubt many a dupe will be laps, will 
think in 
been reading that little pamphlet now issned by tie' pub- 
lishers of the American Agriculturist, called "Bommer's 
Method," which probably covers almost exactly the 
same ground. The circular about the Leaven is so 
full of chemical and other blunders, that they appear to 
us let he willful misstatements. It is endorsed by a dozen 
or more certificates of people whom we do not know, hut 
who may be very honest, good fanners; and ! he same 
may be obtained by any deceiver, if the trial samples f 
the manure he were to furnish were really good. Let 
secret things alone, as a rule ; where there is real merit, 
lii' i ■ no need of secrecy to make a thing go. "Bom- 
mer'sMnthod" costs 25 cts., and is well worth it. though 
we do not endorse it at all, and wo do aim to give our 
readers sounder views on the same subjects every year. 
More Labor Wanted on the Farm. 
A thriving farmer to whom wc put the ques- 
tion, What, item of expenditure pays hest in your 
operations? answered "Labor." He had then 
in the lieid six men find kept them constantly 
at work for nine months in the year. He had 
but sixty acres of land, yet the gross products 
were about fifteen thousand dollars a year. A 
single item in this year's crop was G,000 bushels 
of seed potatoes. His rough firm was rapidly 
rounding into form under Ins plastic touch. 
Old stone walls had been removed, and tho 
small fields opened into large ones. RogIcs had 
been blasted and sunk, and the rougli places 
made smooth. The wet places had been made 
dry by deep drains. He subsoil ed, and guarded 
every crop against, drought, He kept at work 
upon improvements, and made the crops pay 
for them. He said lie regretted nothing so 
much as that he had not employed more help. 
This clear-headed farmer is unquestionably 
right. Nothing pays so well as labor, even tit the 
present high prices. Almost all farm products 
have advanced more than labor in the last eight 
years. And if this were not so, we think in the 
single item of improved implements the farmer 
lias an advantage that more than balances the 
increased price of labor. He can make hay 
cheaper with these tools to-day than he could 
ten years ago without them, though ho pays a 
third more for labor. Yet many of our farmers 
doubt this, and continue to apply the labor of 
one man toa hundred acres, and call it economy. 
We have no doubt it is the most expensive 
mode of applying labor. Almost every thing 
can be made cheaper on a large scale than on a 
small one. The publisher makes very lit tie on a 
thousand copies of a work; on a hundred 
thousand he would make a small fortune. It 
will not pay to build a factory and use power 
looms lo make cloth for the use of one family ; 
to clothe the people of a State it, is a very good 
business. Most farms have every requisite but 
labor to grow four or five times their present 
amount of crops. They have land enough, and 
often all the materials for making manure. 
They lack the men lo haul the sea-weed, the 
muck, or tho marl, to burn the lime, and to 
handle the compost. For lack of labor three- 
fourths of their capital lies idle, or pays them 
barely two per cent per annum. One great ad- 
vantage of plenty of labor upon the farm is the 
ability to do every thing at the fitting lime. 
Nearly half the expense of handling muck is 
saved if it is dug out in a time of drought. 
Three-fourths of the labor of tillage is saved if 
the men are put into the field as soon as the 
weeds are in sight. Every crop is followed up 
willi timely care, and is raised at the lefasl cost. 
There are improvements that almosl every farm- 
er has upon his mind that never gel done for 
the want of labor. He knows that underdraw- 
ing is paid for by the extra crops of two good 
. the land more than doubled in 
r a lifetime. He never finds time to do 
ii. no knows that manures pay well, yet he 
never makes Italf the amount he could use to 
