6 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[January, 
cow before they can get any butter, but if we are to be- 
lieve tbe story this "Golden Butter Compound" only 
needs A live calf— to purchase the stuff. It is curious to 
see how this butter humbug comes up about once a year 
now in one place and now in another, and yet there are 
some Bttlpid old fogies who will keep cows and think 
them the proper source of butter Here comes one 
J. W. Stephens who hails Horn Newark, N. J., with his 
CLARK'S BOOK OP SECRETS, 
which teaches "the Secrets of Health, Wealth, and Hap- 
piness"— and must be singularly cheap at only $1. See 
here, Stephens, you say that this book " Teaches how the 
Primitive Elements maybe so combined as to produce 
the diamond, ruby, emerald, sapphire at very little ex- 
pense or trouble." Now you are at more than " a little 
expense" in printing your book, and at lots of ""trouble 1 ' 
in sending out your humbugging circulars. Why don't 
you, like a sensible man, just make a email handful of 
diamonds, or even emeralds, and get a fortune in a lump 
instead of by miserable driblets. Take our advice. Oh 
Stephens, for which we charge you nothing. Don't you 
laugh when you read that your book tells " How to Make 
a Girl Fall in Love With You," to think that there will 
be miserable idiots to buy your book and believe it? 
Here comes some 
. GOOD NEWS FROM KANSAS. 
Before this reaches our readers there will have been 
drawn (Dec. 31st), if the programme is carried out, a lot- 
tery under the name of " Grand Gift Concert " at the City 
of Leavenworth. This lottery is "For the Purpose of 
Erecting a Juvenile Reform School." We say that this 
je good news, for the fact that a huge lottery is on foot in 
Leavenworth shows a great need of reform, and as the 
present authorities, by their lottery gambling, are setting 
a fearful example to the rising generation, we are glad to 
learn that the youth of Leavenworth are to have a place 
■where they can be " reformed." 
DOES IT NOT LOOK SUSPICIOUS ? 
writes a correspondent in sending us the advertisement 
of The Fourth Lottery or " Gift Concert for the Benefit of 
the Public Library of Kentucky." Yes, good sir, it does 
M look suspicious," and so does every scheme of its kind. 
Every sensible man knows that every lottery, no matter 
how fairly conducted, enriches a few at the expense of 
many. This is "about tbe size of it" as they say in 
California : One hundred men put in a dollar each that 
one man may draw $25, and the chap that runs the ma- 
chine may pocket the odd $76. So with the " TJ. S. Prize 
Association" and everything of the kind. 
GENEVA $4 WATCHES 
are still to be had— or perhaps it would be safer to say- 
are still offered. Is it not a little funny that the " Geneva 
Watch Co. at Geneva, Switzerland," whatever that may 
be, should issue a certificate that they have appointed J. 
Wright & Co. [N. Y.] "our sole agents in the United 
States of America," and that they have appointed Howard 
& Co. [Phila.] "our sole agents in the United States of 
America," and that both certificates bear the same dates? 
COUNTERFEIT MONET OR " QUEER" 
eeems to be very dull. One would think that this thing 
would do better in time of panic, but as tbe swindlers 
always require good money in exchange for their bad, 
perhaps the times induce those who happen to have the 
genuine to hold on to it. We showed up the hotel dodge 
of the " Queer " dealers in the November number. These 
circulars are still going around with much the same old 
name6 Here is one new name, however, Rudolph A. 
Malataf, Erie, Pa., but as Rudolph sends the same old 
threatening circular, and mails it at New York, he is only 
"Mous. Tonson come again." Rudolph makes a mistake 
when he sends his temptatious to our friends in the nur- 
sery and florist's business; they read the Agriculturist, and 
know "what's what." 
ONCE MORE— PLEASE TAKE NOTICE. 
We again call the attention of our old readers to one 
thing, which we give for the benefit of our many new 
ones as well, which is this : We hold that any one who 
advertises that he can cure certain complaints, or who 
advertises anything beyond the fact that he is a physician 
or surgeon, or who advertises any put up secret medicine 
whatever, is unworthy of confidence. We must therefore 
request of our friends that they will not write to ask our 
opinion of this or that advertising doctor. It is a waste 
of our time and their postage stamps. We have but one 
reply to make to such inquiries, which is: "We have 
no knowledge whatever oft he person." 
Oilier 
on page 35. 
' Basket " Items will be found 
The Taylor or Kullli Grape.— 
P. Manny, Freeport, 111., writes that his vines of this 
Tarii'ty Inst season set unusually full, and thatthe grapes, 
instead nf being white as they should be and were in 
two previous crops, ripened of a black color and were 
very sour. These particular vines were not protected 
the preceding winter, and others of the same variety 
that were protected bore the usual kind of fruit.— We 
hope that Mr. M. will experiment this winter to ascer- 
tain if covering has anything to do with this singular 
phenomenon. The same writer remarks that while he 
considers the Taylor an indifferent grape, he finds it 
valuable for stocks upon which to graft other kinds, the 
Delaware doing especially well when so worked. 
**C3rape Tomato." — A correspondent, 
whose address we have mislaid, sends specimens of what 
he cultivates as "grape tomato," and asks if the name is 
correct.— This name belongs to a small variety of the 
common tomato, and not to the one sent, which is the 
Purple Alkekengi, or Purple Ground Cherry. 
Harvest Home festivals. — " Viz.," 
Covedale, Ohio, informs us that the harvest home festival 
is not unknown in America, but that a harvest home 
association has been in existence in Covedale for ten 
years or more, the annual picnics of which have been 
found to be indispensable. The offer of our correspond- 
ent to send us a copy of the regulations of the associa- 
tion is accepted with thanks. The extended formation 
of such associations is to be encouraged. 
tST See Pages 32 and 33. 
White Spots.— " C. B.," Groton, N. H. 
A white spot may be made upon a horse's forehead by 
blistering the part with common blistering ointment, but 
it must not be done so severely as to destroy the hair. A 
plaster of common pitch kept upon the part until it re- 
moves the hair has been used for this purpose. 
Pears. — "W. F." Some pears were received 
last fall in very bad condition. They may have been 
yours ; but your letter (November 15th) has neither 
town, State, nor post-mark, and no clue to your address. 
Kentucky Blue-grass.— W. S. Rand, 
Vauceburg, Ky., sends us a sod of blue -grass cut Novem- 
ber 15th, upon which green, fresh grass, over two feet 
long, is growing. This is intended to show the sort of 
winter pasture which may be had in the famed blue-grass 
region of that State, 
Capacity of Cistern.-" P. and GL," 
Wilson, N. C. A cistern 8 feet wide, 8 feet long, and 1>,£ 
deep, would hold 96 cubic feet, each cubic foot being 
equal to 7!£ gallons of water: the contents therefore 
would be over 700 gallons. Upon another page of this 
number you will find a method described of building an 
elevated cistern. The best material is probably hemlock 
or cedar lumber. Lead is poisonous, and iron rusts too 
readily. Zinc is also poisonous to some extent. 
The American Rural Home.— 
There are disappointed, soured persons calling them- 
selves pomologists who carp and snarl at every new 
fruit that they have had no hand in introducing, and are 
ever ready to malign those who bring out a novelty. We 
do not wonder at this— it is their nature so to do ; but we 
do wonder that a respectable paper should allow its col- 
umns to be made the medium through which these mal- 
contents can reach the public. The American Rural 
Home publishes an article in which two of the corre- 
spondents of this paper and its editor are referred to in 
the most ungentlemanly manner. To the writer of this 
communication we have nothing to say— the lion's skin 
of an assumed name is not sufficient to conceal the thing 
beneath it ; nor does the editor of this paper care to 
notice anything in reference to himielf that comes from 
this source. Yet we think it right to remind the editor 
of the Rural Home that it is not in accordance with edi- 
torial courtesy to allow one under a pseudonym to attack 
two brethren of the press. Mr. P. J. iJerckmans, editor 
of the Farmer and Gardener, named a new peach in 
honor of the editor of this paper, and furnished us with 
a description of it. The Rural Home should hesitate 
before it gives publicity to any aspersions upon the 
character of a gentleman who stands so high, pomologi- 
cally and socially, as does Mr. Berckmans. Before it 
uttered flings at the honesty of his motives or implica- 
tions aa to his truthfulness it could have inquired of the 
many pomologists of Rochester if such were justified. 
Mr. B. can not be injured by its article, but in what a 
position it places the Rural Home. The same article is 
equally courteous towards Mr. Bury, of Michigan, whom 
we quoted as having a Concord grape that behaved 
strangely. It contemptuously says: "We don't know 
aught of the man Berry." The gentleman's name is Bury ; 
but, Berry or Bury, he has cause tn congratulate himself 
fit this statement. Fair, open criticism, even if it be 
sharp, wo believe in, and nowhere is it more useful than 
in pomological matters; bat if we must have this 
underhanded substitute for it we beg the Rural Home not 
to give us bad grammar with its bad taste. 
Killing Weeds.-"R.," Sault St. Marie. 
Spading the garden in the fall, though beneficial in other 
respects, will not kill weeds. The seeds of weeds are 
not to be frozen out. The only way to get rid of weed 
seeds in the soil is to allow them to germinate, and then 
kill the young plants. If taken at the right time this 
may be done in the garden with the rake. Do not hope 
to destroy the vitality ot weed seedB either by freezing or 
by burying ; as soon as the influences are favorable they 
will grow as sure as fate. 
A Good Native Cow.— F. M. Baasett, 
Independence, N. Y., writes us that a native cow gave in 
June last 1,600 lbs. of milk. The lar-est daily yield in 
the month was 57 lbs. 55 lbs., or one day's milk, was 
churned, and yielded 2 lbs. 1 oz. of butter. Her feed 
was pasture and 6 lbs. of wheat bran per day. 
The Michigan Stale Pomological 
Society held its third annual meeting in the first week 
in December. It was stated that the signs (which almost 
always fail) indicated that the winter would be an open 
one; a mild winter was considered disadvantageous to 
fruit-growers, but what tbe Society propose to do about 
it is not stated. Prof. Cook stated that in the last disas- 
trous winter orchards that had been cultivated fared 
worse than others ; in the Grand Traverse region, where 
the snow is generally four feet deep, fruit culture was 
successful. Fruit near Kalamazoo had suffered from the 
drouths of summer. The otten vexed question of the 
best and hardiest grape came up. Mr. Chilson, of 
Battle Creek, considered the Delaware the hardiest and 
most money making; the Diana the best keeper; ap- 
proved of covering the vines with earth in winter, and 
that no grapes were hardy enough for Michigan without 
this protection; the Iona, though it often fails, he con- 
sidered a standard variety. Mr. Sterling, of Monroe, ad- 
vocated Concord and Norton's Virginia; he covers. In 
the Strawberry discussion the Wilson was the favorite. 
Frequent Working.— 'E. E. R." aska 
if be can injure his soil by spading every year. No. Our 
market gardeners plow or spade two or three times a 
year, and w,c can point out land that has been kept "al- 
ways turning," as they term it, for more than fifty years. 
They are careful, however, to put in some manure every 
time a crop is taken off, and if this be done the soil is 
practically inexhaustible. 
Freiit near Chicago.— A gentleman who 
haB experimented for six years considers the Green Pro- 
lific and Seneca Chief the most successful Strawberries 
with him, and Davidson's Thornless, Mammoth Cluster, 
and Golden Thornless the best Raspberries. These are 
all varieties of black-caps, and however well they may 
sell in Chicago, would find a poor market in New York. 
Solvents tor Ontta Percha and 
Caoutchouc.- 1 !). J. B.," Wash. Co., M. D. Pare 
ether, chloroform, and benzole, will each dissolve these 
substances. The last beard of the quack medicine vender 
waB in Paris, where he was in an impecunious state. 
Mushrooms.— "E. E. R." The "spawn" 
is what corresponds to the roots and stems of other 
plants, the mushroom, or eatable part, is the portion of 
the plant which corresponds to the seeding portion. Ton 
will not be able to grow them in common garden beds. 
They need a bed of horse manure, and proper attention 
to shade and moisture. 
Cotswolds.— "E. E. R." These are among 
the largest breeds of sheep. If your ram is small he 
must be a grade. 
The Scotch Larch.-" G. C," New Jer- 
sey. The larches are not evergreens, nor are their 
branches sufficiently rigid to make Ihem useful aa hedge 
plants, therefore your other questions need not be an- 
swered. 
Ashes. — A correspondent asks if ashes from * 
stove will be of use upon his garden, but does not say 
what he burns in his stove. Wood-ashes are good for 
almost all crops ; coal ashes had better be used for walks 
unless in very stiff land, where they may be of mechan- 
ical service. 
Swollen I\eck.- U L. A.," Fountain Green, 
TJ. T. The cause of a swollen neck in almost always a 
badly fitting collar. If a snugly fitting collar is provided 
the swelling often disappears without any other remedy ; 
if not it must have time to break, discharge, and heal. 
