238 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[August, 
premises flower, much less perfect its seeds. 
Patience and frequent cutting as fast as it ap- 
pears above the surface, will in time destroy it. 
Tlie Legislature of Michigan has recently 
passed a law requiring every person to cut from 
his land and the adjoining highways, the Cana- 
da Thistles as often as may he necessary to pre- 
vent them from going to seed, under a penalty 
of 10 dollars for neglect. In case the owners of 
the land should fail to cut the thistles after prop- 
er notice, the Overseers and Commissioners of 
highways of the towns are empowered to de- 
stroy them and add the expense of doing so to 
the tax levy. If a similar law could be carried 
out in every State, we should hear but little of 
the Canada Thistle. 
Agricultural Colleges. 
The Agricultural College Act passed in 18G2 
donates to each State 30,000 acres of land for 
each Senator and Representative in Congress. 
We find the following list of states which have 
accepted the land grant, in one of our exchanges : 
1. Iowa — To select land within her own limits. 
2. Rhode Island — To locate with scrip. 
3. Minnesota — To select within her own limits. 
4. Kansas — To select within her own limits. 
5. Illinois — Part selection, part scrip. 
6. New- York — Scrip. 
7. Kentucky — Scrip. 
8. Vermont — Scrip. 
9. Wisconsin — To select within her own limits. 
10. Pennsylvania — Scrip. 
Unless we are much in error, the State of 
Michigan should be placed with the above. We 
can not conceive that a State which has, from 
her own resources, established an Agricultural 
College and accumulated a fund of experience 
for the benefit of otherStates, should be behind 
her neighbors in accepting the means with 
which to consummate her costly experiment. 
The little Slate of Rhode Island, smallest in 
territory, but among the first in every patriotic 
work, was foremost to avail itself of the pro- 
visions of this grant, and locate her lands; 
and now we find Kansas, which was but a short 
time ago a territory, inviting for proposals from 
different counties for the location of its Agri- 
cultural College. Rhode Island has placed 
her lands in trust with Brown University to 
carry out the provisions of the act of Con- 
gress, and we have no doubt that this venerable 
institution will, in due time, give a good ac- 
count of its stewardship. Most of the States 
have several colleges, and they can not do as 
Rhode Island has done for fear of exciting lo- 
cal jealousies. In the majority of cases entire- 
ly new institutions will be founded, and as the 
matter will probably be put in charge of those 
who have had no experience, we would offer 
one or two suggestions on the subject. 
Do not make the attempt to start an Agri- 
cultural College in the wilderness. It is better 
to begin in a settled and well cultivated region. 
The students have already seen enough of sub- 
duing the forest and of making a farm at their 
own homes. They wish to see the best culture 
on cleared land, and will become discouraged if 
they find nothing better at an Agricultural Col- 
lege than they left at home. Every institution 
of this kind should have manual labor as one 
of its absolute requirements. An agricultural 
college which neglects this branch of education 
will fall short of public expectation. While 
we insist upon manual labor as one portion of 
the instruction in these colleges, we are aware 
of the difficulty of uniting the theory taught 
in the class room with practice in the field. In 
a somewhat extended experience we have met 
but few persons who united thorough practical 
with thorough scientific knowledge of agricul- 
ture. The opening of so manj' colleges where 
agriculture is taught, both as an art and as a 
science, will present a new field, and induce our 
young practical farmers to educate themselves 
to fill places in them as instructors. 
—— ->o»- —*■ ■ 
A Few More Humbugs. 
One of the meanest attempts at imposition we 
have met with, is set forth in the following ad- 
vertisement, published in several newspapers, 
DRUNKENNESS CURED.— The inebriate may 
now bid defiance to the tempting cup. Dr. '9 An- 
tidote FOit Stroxu Drink is a certain cure for drunken- 
ness. It creates ft dislike for strong drink, and can lie ad. 
ministered without the knowledge of the patient. Price $1 
a box. Sent by mail. 
An acquaintance of the writer's who had un- 
fortunately contracted an uncontrollable appe- 
tite for spirituous liquors, earnestly desiring to 
reform, was induced to try a prescription ad- 
vertised like the above. It made him severely 
ill, and for a short time kept down the desire for 
alcohol, but upon his recovery it raged as 
fiercely as ever, and he drank even more deep- 
ly than before. Fortunately he was finally res- 
cued by taking and keeping the total abstinence 
pledge, which is the only perfect preventive of, 
or known cure for the habit of drunkenness. 
The " remedy " proposed, probably consists of 
tartar emetic, a poisonous substance producing 
violent nausea, and affecting some persons dan- 
gerously. A sufficient amount to " turn the 
stomach " can be purchased for a few cents of 
any druggist. At best, its effects will only he 
temporary, and we repeat, it is a mean swindle 
to thus trifle with the sorrows and the hopes of 
the afflicted for the purpose of unjust gain. 
Another " Transmutater." — A certain 
"Doctor" sends out from New- York City, a 
"Journal of Science and Medicine," wherein 
are contained matters of marvelous import and 
astounding magnificence. Every disease is to 
be cured, unbounded wealth obtained, and un- 
limited happiness realized, all for a few dollars 
apiece. Here are a few choice samples of this 
"Doctor's" wares. "Elixir of Life, $6.' v "Sil- 
ver and Gold Fluid, $5." " Instrument to Dis- 
cover Treasures, Mines, Minerals, etc., $3.'' 
" Instructions and Means how to make an Ene.- 
mv fear you, at whatever distance, $5" (a pledge 
of Good Motives must accompany the Order). 
"A Means by which one may go through all 
Dangers, Troubles, fecv, $5." "String of the 
Civit Cat, by the use of which one may pass 
through all Enemies, Battles, &c, without any 
Danger whatever, $7. This valuable means is 
used in our army with the greatest success, and 
no person who has a friend in the present strug- 
gle, should fail to procure one and hare it sent 
at once; hundreds of testimonials can be given, 
but want of space prevents, and as the ' Civit ' 
speaks for itself (wonderful Civit), it is not re- 
quired." " Mysterious Electrical and Weird 
Ring. — Whoever Wears it, Never can have an 
enemy. Just by turning the Weird Seal of this 
Ring towards the beholders, he will become to 
them Invisible. In which condition he can do 
what he or she likes to do, and no one cau see 
How or What is done " — and so on to the end 
of the chapter. Now "Doctor" Freeman, you 
know this is all lying nonsense, got up to cheat 
the ignorant and credulous — but there is no use 
in wasting words on such a case. Let none of 
our readers, from curiosity even, hold any com- 
munication with such a glaring swindler. Let 
him and others like him pay their own printing 
and postage bills, without aid from our readers. 
A Wonderful Preparation. — We notice 
in the columnsof a respectable agricultural con- 
temporary, an advertisement of a " Sheep Dip- 
ping Composition," which is said to "add over 
one pound of wool to each fleece, besides won- 
derfully improving the condition of the sheep, 
at a cost of only about three cents a head." 
This beats Gtaham's Unguent for making whis- 
kers grow in six weeks, or the hair preparation 
recommended to restore the covering on old 
trunks. Possibly it is made of the same mate- 
rials. If a sheep be afflicted with scab or other 
similar ailment that causes the wool to fall off, 
then a "dip" in tobacco water may save a 
pound of wool per head ; but the attempt to 
pull the wool over the eyes of farmers by such 
pretensions as are made in the above advertise- 
ment is simply dishonest, and we can not but 
wonder that it should receive any countenance 
from a respectable journal. 
Japanese Agriculture— Interesting and 
Instructive Notes. 
Dr. n. Maron, has made a report to the Min- 
ister of Agriculture at Berlin, on Japanese hus- 
band^', which is full of interesting facts and 
eminently suggestive. The Japanese cultiva- 
tor follows a routine which the experience of 
centuries has marked out, and though there is 
nothing about their system which indicates pro- 
gress, their results show that their actual state 
of cultivation is far in advance of more civilized 
countries. The area of the Japanese Empire is 
about the same as that of Great Britain and Ire- 
land, and contains a far larger population: yet 
Great Britain is obliged not only to import food 
from other countries, but to also import large 
quantities of fertilizers to aid in raising its crops. 
Japan, on the contrary, imports neither grain nor 
manures, but exports considerable quantities of 
food. This is the present, condition of Japanese 
Agriculture, taken as a whole. Its details are 
not such as could be carried out among our 
people as they bend the whole energies of a 
large majority of the population to producing 
the greatest possible amount from a small area 
of soil. The whole arable land of the country 
is divided up into plots of from two to five 
acres each, and their agriculture would be con- 
sidered by us as a very close system of garden- 
ing. The land is kept constantly up to its great- 
est productiveness, iind (his is done by a system 
of manuring and cultivation which may offer 
s»me suggestions to our own farmers. In the 
first place, the Japanese follow deep tillage, 
the arable soil being several feet in thickness. 
What is a wheat patch at one month is con- 
verted in part into a rice swamp the next. One 
part of the field being excavated, and the earth 
thrown upon the other to make an elevated 
island for the growth of sweet potatoes and 
other crops, while the lower portion is Hood- 
ed with water for the rice crop. In this way 
the whole soil is frequently turned over to the 
depth of 2 or 2i feet. Another peculiarity is 
that the crops, of whatever character, are al- 
ways grown in drills; sown in this way they 
can receive the highest possible culture, and 
special manuring. Each crop is grown with no 
reference to that which shall succeed it. The 
system of rotation and fallows is unknown, but 
the land is looked upon as a batik, which will 
honor any drafts made upon it, if the drawer 
has only made a sufficient deposit of manure. 
