18GG.' 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
277 
New Horticultxiral Books. 
Orange Judd «t Co., PiilUishers, announce the follow- 
ing new anil iini'ortiinl works, which will be issued as 
soun as ptacticabie : 
Anirrlcan Pouiolo'?:y,— Part I. The Apple. 
By Duct. J. A. Waiilec. The uimounremeMl that tile 
fiist iiislalliiieiit of Ditct.WardeiN hmg ptumised work on 
Poniolo'.^y is alrpa'iy ill the publisheu' hands will be re- 
ceived with pleasure by all fruit ("row't-rs. Our present 
fruit l)Ouks arc all beliind the time, and a work that shall 
post up our present slat<r of knowledge concerning them, 
es|iccially with repaid to the apide. is much needed. Our 
poinolouists will agree thai Doct. Warder is of all otliers 
the man to supply the want. an<l will be glad to learn that 
the results of liis large expeiience and extended observa- 
tions are to be in^de accessible to others. 
Barry's Fruit Garden.— The work bearing this 
title, by P. Bairy. i-f the .M.iunt Hope Nurseries. Uo- 
cliLster, N. Y.. lia:^ long been llie standard, ami indeed the 
only wr)rk of its kind. It will be entirely revised with 
such additions as the progress of luirticulture may reqniie. 
Practical and Scicutilic Gardeuiii;^.— Dy 
Win. i\. White. Editoi' of the Soutliern Cultivator, 
Athens. Ga. This is a completely re-v\ ritten woi k, upon 
the plan of Gardening for the South, by the same author. 
While especially adajded to the States south of Virgirua, 
its utility will not be confined to that section of the 
coiintiy. It will include all the various departments of 
gardening. Now in ImikI. 
Tlie Siuall Fruit Culturist.— Cy A. S. Fuller. 
Wuodside Nuisery, Uidgew.iud. N. J. The practical 
aii'l scientific rharacier of Mr. Fuier's Grape Cultu-ist 
caused it to lake ai once the position of a standard work. 
Th«! oiher small fruits wiH in this book be treaied in the 
s.mie manner, and we predict for it an equal popularity. 
ITIarket and Family Gardcninjj.— By a New 
Jersey Market Gardener. Tins work was briefly an- 
nounced la>t inonih. There is no book in the c^uintry 
upon managing a garden for pi-Ofil, and we are glaJ to 
be able to meet a long existing want, by presenting one 
from one of our mo>t clear and practical writers and ex- 
perienced and successful cultivators. 
It is with much satisfiictioii that we announce these 
contrilHitions lo horticiiitural literature. We have otliers 
in conlemplation wlwch we are not yet prepared lo name. 
These works will all be fully illustrated and produced in 
a neat and serviceable style. We do not propose to issue 
works uf reference for practical men. in fancy paper, 
binding, and price, which put them beyond the leacli of 
all but the wealthy, but to give good substantial books, 
to be used rather than to be looked ai. illustrated with 
engravings which shall aim to be conect, as well as ar- 
tistic, and at a pi ice that shall render them accessible to 
the general public. 
Uai*onio(er!$ QJi-iorul to Farmers.— 
At the "N. Y. Farmers* Club." the Barometer has been 
condemned, first, by one farmer who thought the barom- 
eter was something designed to ynake weather ; 2d. by a 
reporter who pronounced the rules and observations of 
all really scientific men as "all utterly fallacious," and 
3d, by aimther reporter who talked mucli about experi- 
ence, and I'bservation. but who by his own confession, 
had never tried a good mercurial barometer. So much 
for the opinion of the /tinners of tlie Club. On the con- 
trary, we have the united testimony uf all the leading sci- 
entific men of this country, and the world over, tliatthe 
barometer is excee<liiigly valuable to indicate approach- 
ing changes in the weather, which it dues with a great 
degree of certainty. A sea-captain would be considered 
as utterly incmnpelenl.w ho should go on a voya;;e wlihuut 
a brtrumeler lo iridieale approacliing storms, and these 
are governed by similar laws on land and sea, not always 
the same. The Smithsonian In^littiiion is constantly 
having recorded, in all parts of tlie country, the fluctua- 
tions of tlie barometer, and the lens of thousands of ob- 
servations tlijs R.iiJicre I. show the intimate connectioD 
of the li-ie and fad of the mercury, and variations of the 
weather.— We have watched the liaruineler for many 
years, and sehlom if ever knew a change from wet to dry, 
or the reverse, that was not indicated by a rise or fall of 
the mercury. And most ot these changes are govern- 
ed by ilefinite rules, upon wliich all scieniific men have 
agreed. Ttiere are loc.d or general exceptions to these 
rtilrs. as w hen the atmospheric pressure is modified by the 
direction or velocity of the wind. But tliese are only 
exceptions, which careful observers must necessarily 
learn partly by experience, and must take into account. 
We assert posillvely stnd without fear of successful refu- 
tation by the " Farmers^ Clun," or others, that any care- 
ful, ohsp.vant man. who wiil rishtlv watch a g/ to- 1 ba- 
rometer. .Mil «.ion learn to predict the apnionch of vwt 
or dry leather, fro.ii tv%o to twenty hours in advance, in 
a very iarye majority of cases, A Wiilqh is useless lu a 
savage who ean'l tell the time. We repeat unhesitating- 
ly, thtl a barometer is of very groat value to every farm- 
er or other person, on land or sea. to whoui it is import- 
.ant to be forewarned of the iinmediaie approach of a 
storm. To be most highly useful, it must of course be 
carefully observed. The novice may, and probably will, 
sometimes fail, and the careless man will often do so, 
owing to the occasional exceptions to general rules 
w tiicli he may not have learned to provide for in his cal- 
culations ; yet with this drawback, it will he of great 
use lo any one who is willing lo devote the sliKhlest care 
and attention to the insirunnmt — It will be useful to oth- 
ers, if such of our readers as have used barometers will 
send us an account of their successes and failures in re- 
lying upon them. We wouUi like the opinion of a real 
*■ Farmers' Club," that is, of our agricultural readers 
w'lio can speak from actual expei ience. We have no 
personal interest in any I'articular form or manufacture, 
but we have latterly commemled and placed in our pre- 
mium list tho«e made by Charles Wilder and called 
" WoodrufTs MeriMirial Barometer." because its partic- 
ular forui renders it so portable and convenient, as well 
as for its general good make, and we shall ilo so again. 
The Aneroid is still more portable, and we continue 
the use of one at home with satisfactory results. But 
owing to complaints tliat its spring depreciated in elastici- 
ty in some cases, we ceased to commend it lo general 
use. The permanent character and [lortability of the 
Wo<idruflf instrument, impels us to place that above all 
others of similar cost for common use. 
^■"S^^x 
Containing a great variety of Items, iiicluding many 
good Hint.t and Suggrstiojis which we throw into smaller 
type and condensed form^ for want of space elsewhere. 
Sundry IIaiiu1>ii;^<«, — Some 300 letters, re- 
ceived recently, refer to 28 diflferent swindling concerns, 
of which half or more have been already described by ns, 
directly or indirectly. Too many correspondents re- 
quest answers by mail to admit of re|)lyiiig in that way. 
Suffice It to say llial \% hen no answer by letter is received, 
put down the thing inquired about as a Iminbug. Pray 
don't send us S'> much money to try these liumbugs with. 
We have returned large amounts,— all that has come. 
If anybody must try any promising concern, just sei\i\ the 
tickets to us and we will advance the money, if for a 
good thing, and then send for it when we get the prize, 
for such grand prizes as are peered will surely be secuii- 
ty enough to us. This will save ri^k of sending money 
both ways in 999 cases in 1000 ...When one asks, is such 
and such an enterpiise a humbug, our silence means 
" Yes," in our opinion at least . . .One swindler is trying 
to bother us by writing from different points, under as- 
."siimed names, that he has recently forwarded us $5 to 
invest in his concern, and asking us to return the money 
or the prize. " Old birds.. .Chaff'.'". . .That bogus " Mer- 
chants^ and Manufacturers* Depository." is still troubling 
a good many people's quiet, by w riling that they have 
drawn "$I5U," and upward, and asking merely the "$5" 
for the ticket : a big swindle! ...Rev. E. Wilson, has a 
twin brother in Brooklyn, Dagnall by name ...Among 
new humbugs, we find Sarah D. Lamher* ; Moieliouse 
& Co. ; Thos. II. Scott ; and particularly Mackey <fe Co., 
who in two sets of lickets offer several of our subscri- 
bers aiiicles valued at near $400 00, all for less than $30 
in cash I We have plenty of their lickets of similar im- 
port But space fails to describe a loi more of similar 
character, or lo speak of the old ink, vineyar, and other 
recipes, selling a.^ something new ami valuable ; of Lind- 
say & Co., Bain & Co., and Ilabcr & Co.. the San 
Francisco operators, etc., etc. See items under this 
head in our previous half dozen papers, w hich explain 
the various swindling schemes. P. S.— July 13th. We 
cant find Mackey <Sc Co., to-day. 
XheHf. Y* IitdepeiKleut on Cnb1>sig'e 
Seed.— The Independent, in its desire lo supply an 
" iigricultural coluinn," has published far too much trasli 
and error for a journal of it^ hi^h standing and aims, 
even on agriculture and horlicuUure it t^aii not afford t^ 
be inilependent of accuracy and reliability. We have 
referred lo one or two of its items, and several intelligent 
coi responderds, who read both papers, have written us 
quite sharply about the Independent's defects, desiring us 
to correct them. We can not afford the space required 
to keep the agriculture of that paper straight. Its re- 
sptuisible editors, if not practical cultivattirs, are liable 
lobe imposed upon by prcteniious, un'eliable penny-a- 
liners,— As a moral and religious journal however, we 
suggest that the editor^ of the Independent should not, 
on their own account, allow these scribblers to stoop to | 
low slurs, and to dishonest garbling. Take an examole 
from its issue of June 14. Omilting its slang, which far 
more concerns its own editors than us. we give paral- 
lel quotations from our lansuaye and from the Inile- 
pendent. as it pretends I,) quote us. To caution people 
against tlie Independenl's advice lo plant only cabbage 
stumps for seed, we said ; 
June Agrirulturist : Independent, Jnne 14. 
" If there is any seed Ihat "As the seed of apples, 
needs care in raising, it is pears, peaches, and squash- 
that of the cabb;ige. as this es is found within llie fiiiil, 
plant is ar removed from or vegetables, the edit<ir 
Its naturiil condition and [of the Agrtcultnnst] rea- 
will reveit to it. more or sonmg from analogy, con- 
less, with the least neglect, eludes that the seed of cah- 
Thcrefoie don't follow this baues mnst be enclosed 
wise man of the Indepen- wiiliin the head of tins ve- 
dent, [and plant stumps get. ible !'.... . It [the Agri- 
only.) bul use only the bisl cuttunst] says: " Pui <uit 
developed and bet kept the ciibba'-'es'witli the heads 
cabliages, uuth the head on oji Ihe slump, and select the 
the stump, iov seed raising, se^d from the sprtiuis that 
and Iheti allow only tiie sprint? Uum the ceider of 
central flower stalk togrovv. x\\e head '. '. ' If this is not 
Any oilier cr)ui '■e will sure- the most illustrious piece of 
ly degenerate the variety." stupidity ihat a gardener 
c\er teal of I-... The edi- 
tors of that journal [the 
AgrtcuKurist] state that tiie 
sprouts from the center of 
the head are the only ones 
that produce seed suitable 
fur propagating cabbayes." 
We italicise the \\o\(\ head In the quotation from the 
Independent, to show more defirutely what it aims at. 
The reader has before him, in the left half cidumn, just 
what we did say. Here is a deliberale and laliored at- 
fempt lo make the leaders of the Independent believe 
that llie editors ol the Agriculturist were so "illuslriotisly 
stupid." as to think that the seed springs from the head of 
the cabbage, and our language is misquoted to favor this 
end. Was that sheer isnoiance on the part of the writer, 
or malicious falsehood ?— We at fiist put in type tlie en- 
tire article of the Independent, its slang, bad grammar, 
and all. bul c<jncliided it would not only deface our own 
columns, but would be loo severe upon the responsible 
editors of the Independent themselves, who are personal- 
ly our friends, and whom we would not hold directly re- 
sponsible for what has hitherto appeared in its agricul- 
tural department. We will simply liint that they will do 
well to make a little inquiry into the previous history and 
animus oi their "agriculluial writer," before they allow 
htm Ihe free use of ilieir columns from week to week. — 
To our corresponileuts. who have wiitlen on the subject 
of this and <itlier items in the Independent, we say, be- 
fore being anxious about what they see qtioted in that 
paper as from this journal, they will do well to first con- 
sult the original.— In respect lo the question at issue, we 
reiterate our former caution; " Use only the best de- 
veloped and best kept cabbages, with the heads on the 
stumps, for seed raising, and ihen allow only the central 
flower stalk to grow." The retention of the head to 
nourish llie seed stalks has been found by experience lo 
be necessary to the production of [lerfect seed that will 
propagate the original well. Our best seed growers use 
the laigest and best heads entire cm the stalk, for produc- 
ing seed No. I, and seed from anything but the best whole 
cabiiages is marketl No. 2, or inferior. We speak not 
only from our past knowledge, but from recent inquiry of 
large seed growers, as Mr. Biiil, of Newark, and others. 
'Flac Circat Sinplenicnt Xrial„ at Au- 
burn, is in |M ogress as we go to piess, and is to continue 
for an indefinite lime. The valuable results arrived at 
will be duly placed before our readers. 
I*raclK'al aii<l Soioiitific Fruit CmI- 
tnrc.— By Charles R. Baker, of the Dorciiesler Nur- 
series. Boston : Lee & Shepard. This is a work, the 
appearance of which has been looked for by pomologists 
with no little interest, as it was supposed, from the 
aulhor's relations with the Hon M;irshal P. Wilder, it 
would emboily many of that gentleman's ideas upon fruit 
culture. The preface relieves Mr. Wilder from any 
sponsorship, and Ihe work stands on its own merits. It 
can only be considered as an industrious compilation of 
the views of writers on horticulluie. and subjects having 
a relation thereto, such as metcrologv. geob)gy, etc. We 
never saw a book so full of quotation marks, and one 
looks over page after page filled with extracts of okl and 
familiar writers — mainly Europeans by tlie way — in 
search of what the autiior lias to say for himself. We do 
not object lo a judicious use of quotations, but when 
thirty or forty puges are taken bodily out of the book of 
another and put in Mr. Balier's, some other name would 
be more appropriate than quotation. A book should 
either present old facts in a better form than liad been 
done before, or add to our knowledpe by giving us new 
ones. This work does neither, but only serves to add to 
ihe>izeof a horlicultural library withyut increasing its 
value. Price by mail §4, 
