1866.1 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
47 
delicious as peaches which may be eaten right from the 
tree.'' But he is nolliinj to Luther Suttnn, who hails 
from Wisconsin. Luther has wheat with seven heads on 
one stalk. Likewise lie has seed of the ** Western 
Green Tea," wliich people must be very green to buy. 
Moreover, he has *' paint seed.'' A wonderful seed it is 
loo— with both j)arnt and oil in the seed, and as brooms 
can be made from the tops of this wonderful plant, we 
don't see why not paint brushes too. Be^^ides all this, 
the same chap will '* doctor for fits, cold sores and con- 
sumption, one month on trial for the receipt of 15 cents 
down," which is cheap. The blasphemous wretch uses 
tlie name of the Almighty several times in his circular, 
and calls himself a " Minister of the Cross of Christ."' 
Will not people learn that setds. plants, trees and such 
things of real value, do not first find their way to tlie pub- 
lic througli peddlers, nor thrnngh the agency of sucli 
circulars as we have described. 
Cnrape lYOlclew, Remedy Proposed. 
M'. J. Macciacken, Secietary of the Hocking Valley 
Hurticultural Society, sends minutes of a meeting held 
at Lancaster, O., from which we extract the f<jllowing : 
•■ Informal remarks were made by Mr. Fetleis in regard 
to rauifiiing as a preventive of mildew in vineyards and 
protectinn to orchanU. He had experience ! the bene- 
fits by comparing results in portions of hi? vineyards 
mulched and not mulched, and he was so well satisfied 
of the benefits, that he intended mulciiing his whole vine- 
yard to the depth of eight or ten inches with bagasse (llic 
ground cane of sorghum), thereby protecting the soil 
from the hot rays of the sun. Dr. Sanders always keeps 
surface soil wet, believing that rain on hot parched soil 
creates mildew.*' Mr. M. states, lliat while neighbor- 
ing vineyards were ravagei.l by miliiew, the mulclied 
portion of Mr. Fetter's remained in fine condilinn, Plea'^e 
send the note on propagating the Delaware. 
An Esisay on Ora.pc Culture. — We 
are indebted to Coi. B. P. Johnsoji. Sec. N. Y. State 
Agl. Society, for a copy of au Essay on Grape Culture 
in Steuben Co., by Hon. Goldsmitii Demiiston. This Es- 
say forms a part of tiie Transactions of tlie Society for 
18o5. and is also printed separately in a pamphlet form. 
Steuben Co., now ranks as one vf the great grape regions 
of the country, and this account of the character of the 
land devoted to vineyards, and the methods of culture 
that have proved siiccessful, is interesting and useful. 
Ii is fully illustrated by maps, etc. There are doubtless 
many other localities as well adapted to the growth of 
the grape, as are those near Crooked Lake, and this 
Es^ay wiil be auseful aid in forming an opinion of them. 
The CataT»'ba in Iowa. — Mr. A. Brodt, 
Lee Co., Iowa, sends us samples of Catawba wine, which 
shows that the grape ripens with him. The wine, though 
of a lighter character than that made further South, was 
exceedingly well made and a very creditable specimen. 
Steuben County Cilrapes*.— The neisjh- 
borhood of Crooked Lake, in Steuben Co., .■^eems to be 
especially favorable to the growth of the grape, and the 
brands of Hammondsport, Urbana, P:easant Valley, and 
others, have already become well known in tiie New 
York Market. On the 12th of December, we saw ten 
tons of grapes from those places, at the Commission store 
of C. W. Idell, on West st. The fruit was Isabella and 
Catawba, in 5 and 10 pounU boxes, and in excellent order. 
It met with a ready sale at 20 cents per pound wholesale. 
Keeping: Carape Cuttings.— Rev. W. K. 
Darcey. In a dry cellar in dry sand, the grape wood 
will be likely to become dry itself. In a cool cellar, 
they will do well if the sand bp kept moist, but if it be 
both dry and warm, it is better to bury the cuttings out of 
doors below the reach of hard frosts. By putting some 
straw or litter over the place, the ground may be kept 
from freezing so that they can be easily taken out. 
lona and Isi*aelta iirrape.s. — W. 8. 
Waters. Wilson Co., Tenn. We have nothing to add to 
the opinion given In October last. They are both worthy 
of trial in your State I. Maliison, DeKalb Co., III. 
The lona is not as hard to strike from cuttings as the 
Delaware. It is easily propagated from cuttings in the 
open ground, but the wood i« ju.'-t now too valimble to 
use in that way. 
Apples in Wiscon.sin- — E. W. Daniels, 
W'lishara Co. says, that with lum the King of Tompkins 
Co, proves one of the most tender varieties. From his 
own experience and that of his fruit gi-owing neighbors, 
ne gives the foUowing as the hardiest. Duchess of 01- 
denburgh, Talman Sweet, Golden Russet, Perry Russet, 
St. Lawrence, Red Astrachan. Fameuse or Snow, Fall 
Orange. Sop= of Wine and Westfteld Seek no-further. 
Apple ibr a I\anie. — J. O-sboru, Uuiou 
Co., N. J. Apparently Victuals and Drink, a favorite 
variety in some parts of your State, wliere it is also cal- 
led Big Sweet, and Pompey. 
Crab Cider. — A correspondcut wishes to 
know how the f;unous Crab Cider of Franklin Co.. Pa., 
is made, and what kind of apples are used. Will some 
of our Franklin Co. readers respond ? 
Fruit l>rawinss*.— '^F. H. H.," White 
Mar.-)h, Pa., sends some clever drawings, which he need 
not be ashamed to put his name to. The lar°e apple is 
Peck's Pleasant. A fine fruit and good keeper. The 
other we do not recognize so readily. It may be 
JefTeris, a Chester Co. variety— but that is a guess only. 
The other fruit is that of Ctlatfrus scatideri':. See en- 
graving and description in August, 1S64. 
Forest Tree.**. — Many correspondents. It 
is our intention to give more attention to the culture of 
these than we have heretofore done. No progress can 
be made with their propagation at this season. If any 
seeds are on hand, do not let them d. y up. Thin shelled 
seeds should be kept in sand, and tho^e very difficult to 
start, such as Thorns and liard nuts, should be put into 
boxes of earth and exposed to the cold of winter. Ar- 
bor Vitae seed m-iy be kept in srand. 
■European Alder. —J. G. Eieentrandt, 
Washington Co., Wis. The European Alder is sold at 
large nurseries, but at a price which would make it too 
costly to plant on riser banks to keep tiiein from wash- 
ing, Om- native Alders would answer as well, and prob- 
ably the White Willow would be better than either. 
Fxteruiinatiug- L<ocust Sprouts.— 
"E. K. T .'• Orleans Co.. N. Y.. writes. "I would be 
thankful if some person could recommend, through the 
Agricutturisi, an effectual way to remove or prevent 
young locusts growing up from the old roots." Tlic 
only way is to cut off the sprouts when they are not more 
than a foot or two high. Young locust trees will give 
little or no trouble if they are mowed twice every .season, 
close to the ground, when grass is cut for hay. 
l^ate Straw^berries. — B. F. Butterfield, 
Windham Co , Vt. The Georgia Mammoth is perhaps 
the best of the later varieties, and is a fair fruit, hard 
enough to bear transportation to market. 
Flowering- Shrubs.— Mr, H. Allen, Wash- 
ington Co., N. Y. The shrub wiih double yellow flow- 
ers seen at Central Park was doubtless Kerria Japonica 
fofien incorrectly called Corchorus Japonica), the Japan 
globe flower. It spreads greatly by means of suckers 
and often becomes troublesome. The Rose of Sharon, 
Hibi.scufi St/riaciis, may be had at any of tlie nurseries. 
'^Vashiug' Seeds. — One of our readers cal- 
led in to say that the easiest way to wash tomato, cucum- 
ber and other slimy seeds, i.« to tie them in a cloth and 
then wash them, cloth and all, in soap suds, then rinse 
and dry. He says that the mucilage is readily removed 
by this treatment. Make a note to try it ne.xt summer. 
Poison Ivy, — Joseph Lux. That this plant 
poisons some persons and is harmless to others is a 
well known fact. We cannot tell why. any more than 
we can why cheese, honey, or any other usually harmless 
things are poisonous to some individual?. The queries 
propounded by you are without the scope of an agricul^ 
tural journal, as they refer to obscure points in pathology. 
Xlie Practical Entomologist.— We 
liavp leceived two numbers of this sheet, and find it filled 
with interesting matter relating to insects, presented in a 
popular form. It may be had by sending 12 cents In 
stamp--, to E.T.Cre^son,51S South I3lh St., Philadelphia. 
Xhe Potato Trade. — New York enjoys 
a very large inland and coastwise commerce in potatoes, 
which ha? sprung up, or at lea*^! immensely increased 
within a few years. Formeily the seaboard towns of 
Connecticut, New Jersey, and Long Island were chiefly 
interested in this trade, and tlieir crops were for the most 
part calculated for marketing in fall or winter. Now. 
however, the trade is contrnlled by dealers who purchase 
at the West, chiefly along the lines of emigrant travel. 
They make use in cold weather of the returning emigrant 
cars in which fires may be kept up if there is any dang- 
er fiom frost ; and thus, in the coldest weather, and at 
an expense quite inconsiderable, compared with the ad- 
vantage, the crop of the great West is brought to our 
markets. We learn that this system, wliich w^as at first 
put in operation, according to the Detroit Free Press in 
Southern MicJiigan, by a Mr. Shoecnaft of St. Joseph Co.. 
in 1857-8— i.s gradually extending--as it should. The 
use of warmed cars should not be confined to potatoes ; 
eggs, apples, and other roots, especially carrots for cattle 
feed, might be profitably transported in this way. Another 
result is that eastern farmers who formerly rai.sed winter 
potatoes now make their crops in mid-summer, or hold 
them over for spring prices. The former is the best 
practice, for the land is used for a crop of cabbages, or 
pickles after the potatoes come off", with great profit if 
in good condition and well enough tilled and atten<le.l. 
A :\eAv Worlc on ftee-Ueeping-.- Mr. 
Quinby, whose work on bee-keeping has long been a 
standard one, has entirely rewrillcu the volume, and 
given the results of an experience of many years. The 
work is well illustrated, and directions for all the piacti- 
cal operations in the apiary are given. The plates of this 
work have been ready for some time, an-i we have only 
been waiting until the printers should be relieved of the 
pressure of holiday work to print and issue it. It will 
be ready during the present month. 
Xlie European XimeUecper largely 
advertised to be sent on receipt of one dollar, in some 
cases 50 cents, is a form of sun dial on a card, costing the 
maker perhaps 5 cents, and of little or no practical 
value. An advertisement of it was offered to the ^^r(- 
culturist, but declined because it was thought the pur- 
chasers would not receive tlie worth of their monev. 
Victor*s Stories, FOR boys a\d girls, by 
the writer of "Uncle Paul's Stories," is an excellent 
book for children. There are 45 of these stories, tbld in 
a pleasant manner, and each inculcating some valuable 
lesson, without being " preachy " in style. The numerous 
engravings, its printing and binding, are all attractive. 
Published by the American Tract Society, Boston. 
Adobes or Sunl»nrnt Briclcs.- N. J. 
Smith, Mitchell Co., Iowa, We have had some ex- 
perience with houses built of these, in Northern Mexico. 
There the climate is perfectly dry for nine months in the 
year, and there is but very little frost. The houses are 
seldom more than one story in hight, with very thick 
walls. When covered by a good roof and the outside is 
protected by a thick coat of plastering, they stand very 
well, but when, as is usually the case there, the roof is 
faulty and the walls unplastered, the bricks wash away 
badly in heavy rains, and they require pretty thorough 
repairs at the close of the rainy season. We know of no 
instances in which this material has been used in North- 
ern climates. It strikes us that the great diflicully, in our 
uncertain climate, would be to get the brit-ks thoroughly 
dry. If they retauied any considerable amount of moist- 
ure, the frost would cause them to crumble. We should 
be glad to hear from any who have tried this material. 
Wire Clothes I^ine,— Ciiarles Sylvester, 
of Mercer County, N. J., writes: "We have used a 
Wire Clothes Line for over five years. It has not been ■ 
housed at all, and it is just as good as ever. II does not 
injure the clothes a bit. It is an old telegraph wire about 
hi inch in diameter and 'galvanized', (that is, coated 
with zinc.) Tiie wire was a present to us, so I do not 
know what it costs, but can assure you it will pay for 
everybody to get one."' [We believe it.— Eds.] 
**• LiOosen a !\'ut Rusted Xig*lit« by 
holding a hammer or something heavy against one side, 
then placing a cold chisel as you would to cut Ihe nut 
through to the bolt ; give a few light taps on theciiisel. 
which will expand and loosen the nut and seldom injure 
it." So .says " P. G." of Peekskill. N. Y. 
Ljaurel Poisoning". — Auother reiuedy i:^ 
proposed by a Farmer of Wickford, R, I., which is sail " 
pork foiced down the throat of cattle ami sheep tliat 
have been poisoned by Laurel. He says that he has tried 
it with success. Such an inert antidode would indicate ' 
that the poison must be very mild, or the medicine useless. 
Seeds l>y ^lail. — E. P. Home. Denver. 
Colorado. Seeds and plants have a legal right to go 
wherever there are Post ronfes and Post Offices, at the 
same rates in tlie Tetritories a^ in the States. We fre 
quently send and receive such things in tliis way from 
Washington, and other Territories. 
Plant tbr Edg:ins:s.— D. Noble, Sb-^wanavr 
Co., Wis. The plant is Lycopodium complanatum, and is 
noticed on page 22. Mr. N. recommends this for edgings, 
but we do not understand from his letter that he has so 
use 1 it himself With us it only grows welt in the shade. 
If Mr. Noble has succeeded with it in cultivation, we 
will thank him for an account of its manageonfint. 
