106 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[April, 
SSicep an«l Vences.— A " Counecticut" 
conesiioiKientwho approves of dog laws and their rieid 
enforcement, writes feelingly in regard to his neighbors' 
sheep, which range his rye fields, and feed down his pas- 
tures, bringing pond returns lo their owners, but none to 
tiiose who pasture them. This we agree is not fair. In 
fact the whole theory of making farmers fence their 
faims, adjoining proprietors doing half the fencing, is un- 
fair and wrong. Every man should fence in his own 
animals o;- control them in some way. It is unjust to 
make any man fence out his neighbor's cattle on the 
highway or anywhere else. The laws enforcing it are 
arbitrary, not naturally right, and should he changed. 
■^Volves siH4l Gopliers.— J. Molouy, Jr., 
Dubuque Co., Iowa, finds that he does not succeed in 
destroying these enemies by means of strychnine. Can 
anyone give him a better remedy? Will the Kansas 
contributor send on the drawing of his gopher trap ? 
IflsinHi-e for si Garden.—" O. W." and 
several others ask about fertilizers for a garden, as they 
object to stable manure on account of the weeds it brings 
in. Spent hops and the barley sprouts from breweries 
are both good manures. Where circumstances wiil allow, 
home-made pondrette should be made. Hen manure 
will be useful f"r many strcmg growing plants. Bruce*s 
manure has a gnud reputation, but we have not tried it, 
and are very cautions about recommending any fertilizer 
of this kind. Cow manure can be used in the liquid 
6tate, without danger of bringing in weeds, and ground 
bones are always a strong and valuable manure. 
IVillo-w' FraiKl!^.— We coutinue to hear of 
frauds practised upon farmers by selling common swamp 
Willows for the White (or Gray). The fact that when 
the cuttings grow they are recognized as a familiar kind, 
is not, however, proof of fraud, for this willow is com- 
mon in many parts of the counlry— not wild, but grown 
in neglected and swampy places, or for charcoal. 
Xurpeutine iroini I*itcli Piiie. — John 
Haist. The Pitch Pine does not afford a resinous juice 
in sufficient quantity to pay to tap the trees. Some time 
ago a paient was taken out for distilling the wood, but 
we have not heard of its successful application. 
Sor^liinii in CUina. — Mr. Goverueur 
Emerson, of Pa., stated in the Office of the American 
AsrricuUurist last month that Rev. Mr. Williams, a Mis- 
sionary in China, wrote in answer to some inquiries of 
his own : 1st, that Ckinamen do not make sugar from the 
cane and do not even make syrnp. 2d, that it is largely 
cultivated, the leaves and stalks being used for fodder. 
From the seeds a kind of spirituous drink is made. The 
slalks are also used for thatching buildings, and for fuel. 
It 1e very extensively used for these purposes, and in 
some sections the people could hardly live without it. 
Reportfii of tlie Commissioner of 
Agriculture,— " How can a man who has no ac- 
quaintance in Washington procure a copy ? " asks " W." 
— Answer: Write direct to the Commissioner, by his 
title, and ask for one, giving your own address in full. 
Xlie Coi-U Oalc.— J. H. Morrie, Orange Co., 
N. Y. The tree is a native of Southern Europe and 
Northern Africa, and it is doubtful if it would be hardy 
in the Northern States. An experiment was made with 
it in California, and the young trees did well for some 
years, but we have not heard about Ihem recently. The 
bark or cork is taken from the tree once in 7 or 8 years. 
Ij*'Estraft'on.— " J- L." wishes to know the 
English name of the plant the French call L'Estragon. 
It is Tarragon, a perennial herb, which has aromatic 
leaves used for flavoring salads. It is bolanically Arte- 
I misia Z>rnc»nLU?ws. and own brother to the Wormwood 
t and Southernwood, but quite different from either in 
flavor. Thorburn advertises the seeds with a note that 
they are very scarce. The plant is hardy and wlten 
once obtained may be multiplied by dividing the stools. 
wa>TUjpsxrIi Kow " not "I*ark: l^lace/"— 
■ ^I&ny persons address us at 4! Park Place, and tlie Office 
is sometimes lookod for on that street, instead of on 
Park Row. Park Row runs along the southeastern side 
'■■Of'City Hall Park, from Broadway at llie Astoi" House 
''Hlld Barnum's Museum, to the Times and Tribune ofllices, 
I'i S'Tvhei'e Chatham street begins and extends on to Bowery 
X >n at Chatham square. Park Row is one of the busiest short 
■/I : streets In the city. The Office of the American Agricul- 
i . turixt is at No 41, adjoining the Daily Times office on 
Printing House Squ:tre, as the triangular space is called. 
at the junction ui Park Row, Nassau, Spruce and Chat- 
ham streets. It U an Interesting fact that the first Office 
of this journal was opened 23 years ago in Ihe Basement 
of the buildings occupying the very site of the present 
magnificent " Times Building," the first floor of which is 
now the Headquarters of our journal. The Office was 
subsequently removed to 189 Water street, where it re- 
mained until 1860, when we secured a len years* lease of 
the present convenient location. Our business office ex- 
tends eighty feet through from Park Row to Nassau 
street, opposite the American Tract Society buildings. 
Our folding, stitching and mailing rooms occupy the 
whole basement — a busy bee-hive llie last half of every 
month. The composing (type-setting) is done in upper 
rooms. The stereotyping and piess-work are done at 
the largest establishment of Ihe kind in tlie country, we 
believe— that of iMessrs. John A. Gray & Green, corner 
of Frankfort and Jacob street, a fourth of a mile cast- 
ward. Park Place is a short street beginning at a 
Point on Broadway across the Park, opposite our of- 
fice, and running westward towards the Hudson River. 
Small <)fladioins Bnll>s.— Mr. T. P. 
Nelson, Putnam Co.. Pa. The little bulbs, about the 
size of wheat grains, will grow and make large bulbs, but 
according to Rand, they need to be kept out of the 
ground a year, otherwise they are not apt to grow. 
£lccampaue as a "^Veetl. — James Mc- 
Clure, Logan Co., Ohio, is troubled by Elecampane inliis 
pasture, and wishes to know liow to eradicate it. Does 
any one know any better way than to grub it up? 
lligrlVame for a Seed.— J. G. F., Phila., 
has a package of seed marked, "Pied d' Alouette vivace 
agrandfleur." "Delphinium elatum et grandiflortim," 
and wislies to know if it is anything good lo eat. All of 
this French and Latin stands for twii very common kinds 
of Larkspur. Both are perennials for ordinary culture. 
Improving' Itlack Cvirrantw. — To the 
writer's taste they need it. — Mrs. C. E. Pond, says it is 
done by pouring boiling water upon them, leaving until 
cool, and then drying, which will remove the rank disa- 
greeable taste. 
Xhe Bene l*lant, — Daniel Bender, Wil- 
liams Co., Ohio, has received from the U. S. Patent Office 
some bene seed, and wislies to know what to do with it. 
The seeds furnish oil, but at the North the season is not 
long enough to perfect them. The only use made of the 
plant among us is a medicinal one. The fiesh leaves 
when placed in cold water, render it very thick and ropy, 
like gum water. Two or thn-e leaves will convert a 
tumblerful of water into a mucilaginous drink, which may 
be used instead of gum-arabic, or otiier bland drinks, in 
dysentery and other bowel complaints. Sow when the 
ground is warm, and thin to about 8 inches apart. 
91asi!iac1ii(sctts Co0ee, — A Boston friend 
informs us that the ^ticle called *' Massachuselt's Cof- 
fee," alluded toon page 38, (February,) is the common 
field bean, universally grown in Great Britain, and 
known there as the *' Egyptian" or "horse" bean. Our 
informant last spring purchased a pint of these Ijeans for 
halfa dollar— not knowing that the bargain was to turn 
out an old acquaintance with a new name. Fifty cents 
would almost purchase a bushel of such 'coffee* in 
any English market. 
E-verlasting: Klo^rcrs,— If any one does 
not know how pretty these are, he should see a bouquet 
made from these and ornamental grasses, which Mr, 
James Vick of Rochester has sent us, and wlwch now 
adorns our new exhibition tables. The plants are all 
hardy annuals and easily grown, and they make most 
beautiful parlor ornamenls. 
A IVtonstrotis Capacity any one miist 
have who can swallow the statements made in the "Good 
Samaritan," professedly published by Dr. E. Andrews, 
and sent out by the thousand for distribution by Post- 
masters principally at the West. The "Doctor" who 
"edits" tlie concern, offers to do almost any thing for 
money— to cure all diseases ; tell how to make poap ; 
pander to licentiousness ; make fraud easy by enabling 
persons to remove ink and signatures from every kind of 
paper by invisible means ; to make ink at one cent a 
gallon; to do all sorts of impossible things. Humbug! 
^' A Cat in Unloves Catches no 
Mice," runs the old adase, but that was before India 
rubber came into general use. The " Goodyear Rubber 
filove Company" manufacture gloves, of which some 
are so thin and elastic that they would be no impediment 
to feline hands. We have received some samples, two 
for gentlemen and two for ladies, designed specially for 
work in the garden. They afford admirable protection 
against wet and cold, and are yet so pliable that one can 
work with them among plants almost as delicately as 
without anything upon the hands. One pair of each 
kind is lined wiih flannel, for cold weallier, for driving, 
etc. These gloves will prove a blepsing in one respect, 
at least ; they will induce ladies afraid of soiling their 
hands to engage more frequently in the heailhfipl and en- 
joyable exercise of working in the garden. They are 
sold at a reasonable rate, lower than "kids", we believe. 
and can be obtained in the usual places for such articles. 
We advise dealers in seeds, implements, plants, etc.. to 
keep a supply, and induce their customers lo try them, 
Blumbng;. — Mart <fe Co. offer to send for 1(3 
cents a certificate entitling the holder to buy a fine gold 
watch, a silk dress, a piano-forte, a gent's vest chain^ 
locket, pin, ring, etc., etc, for $1, i/his ticket draws tlie 
name of such an article from a lot of envelopes contain- 
ing them. One misht as soon expect to catch a pearl 
cyster with a pin-hook in "0 feet water on the codfish 
banks, as to get his money's worth iu such a venture. 
Bevrare of tlie 4)iip.*!»ies* Cliarms.— 
£. F. Mayo wants to humbug the public by selling them 
" Secret Charms." He says they are in liquid form, pre- 
pared from certain roots, and are to be rubbed on the 
hands and forehead, " as the forehead is the grand cen- 
ter of thought and feeling together with the five senses 
of the human system "—including tasting and hearing 
of course ! These wonderful liquids "make you as it 
were a telegraphic battery to send out and receive com- 
munications of thought" ! For all these wonderful pre- 
parations he wants fifteen dollars, which foolp. and fools 
only, will perhaps send him, and buy hard experience, 
IloM'ard Association.— Tbid a humbug- 
ginp concern. One of the letters from a so-called '* doc- 
tor," attached -to it, has been sent. Aside from the stupidity 
of professing to cure diseases by letter, he recommends 
things which have no existence under the names he gives 
them. He repeats the old story, " you will consult your 
own inteiest by obtaining the necessary medicines from 
the Association, as but few of them are kept In the common 
drug stores, and I find it impossible to administer them 
successfully unless prepared under my direciions." Of 
course not — and he will send the s-tuff by mall for $20. 
Of course he will. J. Skillin Houghton, either dropyour 
*' M. D." or stop writing such nonsense and humbug. 
F'arms in lo'n^a. Rosewood Piano Fortes, 
Gold Watches, and any quantity of Pistols, Jewelry, ©tc, 
are lo be sold at $2 to $5 each, provided you get one of D. 
McDowell's Business Cards, containing the right numbers. 
Of course he wants the money in advance. His circular 
comes to us from tiie town of Big Flats, vihere, being a 
sharper, he had sent it hoping to fleece some of the inhab- 
itants ; they were not tlw fiats he took them for ; tii«y read 
the American Agriculturist. 
Sorry to See our neighbors of the Country 
Gentleman and Rural New-Yorker Kdvertising a cheap 
jewelry establishment, where you pay for a certificate 
enclosed in a blank envelope and then buy what the 
certificate calls fur. Humbugs of this sort should be ex- 
posed, not encouraged, by journals professing to give re- 
liable reading to farmers. They have repeatedly been 
shown up in this paper. 
Vineftar in Cement Cisterns. — Geo. 
Nelly, of Burlington, Iowa, inquires " if common ce- 
ment cisterns will keep cider for vinegar through the 
winter without damage to the cider or cistern ?" They 
will not. The lime In the cement would unite with tl)e 
acid of tlie elder or vinegar, and destroy the solidity of 
the cement, and also spoil the liquid. A large wooden 
tub, about four feet high, and five or six feet in diameter, 
would be quite as cheap and much better. The cider 
needs exposure to the air to change into good vinegar, 
but it should never freeze. 
l£ees>ing: Iron Vessels from Rnst. — 
" E. E. M.," writes tliat after the vessels arc clean and 
dried while still warm, she pours in a little sweet milk, 
rubs it in well, then dries again, with care not to scorch. 
S>veet Cider.— A. M. Ward, Hartford Co., 
Conn., writes : "After years of 'fussing' with cider to 
' make it good' I have this season fmnd the short road to 
perfection. Took cider direct from the press, heated !t 
nearly to a scald over ti«e fire, returned it to a barrel, and 
have since made daily use of it with great satisfaction." 
How to IPIant Sorgflinm.— J. L. The , 
culture of this may be precisely the same as IndlanJ 
corn. When the plants first appear, the leaf is 
small, and may be mistaken for that of a coarse grass,| 
Osier "^^illo^vs.— " Bowriug." These are 
never raised from seed. Most nurseiies supply cutting^fl 
