1800.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
■2 l . ; 
'Flie Vih< ric.iii I^itf omolo£'ist tonus 
as bright aud full of "vim" as ever. It is impossible 
tor any agricultural journal to give to insects the space 
which the importance of the subject demand. This 
journal admirably supplements their work, and every one 
xvho rakes an agricultural paper should have the Ento- 
mologist if In- can afford it It co-ts $1 a year and gives 
many times that value in " bug" knowledge. Moreover 
we like it fur its open war upon humbugs of all kinds. 
« Cut- Worms." — "S. H.," Raueocas, X. 
»T., asks for a remedy for cut-worms, and complains that 
" they attack all kinds of truck, and even cut down the 
rye." We suspect that the "cut-worms" are the white 
grab, the larva; of the May-bug. How to destroy them 
is as yet an unsolved problem. In France they have a 
close relative of this wiiii similar habits ; they plow the 
ground and employ children to pick them up. Kill all the 
May-bugs— we have disposed of three which came at the 
light while we were writing thus far. The Indians in 
their warfare kill women and children. We once remon- 
Btrated with a Chief against this practice; his excuse 
was forcibly, if not elegantly put, "No nits, no lice." 
Tin- May-bug or May-beetle is a harmless looking insect, 
which conies into the rooms at night and makes a great 
noise. It is capable of being the parent of much trouble. 
Squelch it wherever found. Quantities of them may be 
caught by shaking the trees early in the morning. 
tto*:e Bug.— CI E. II.," Kutztown, Pa. We 
know of no application that will disturb this hard-shelled 
fellow. The best way is to shake it off early in the 
morning and kill. 
The Department; of Agriculture* 
—We arc pleased to learn from various sources that the 
improvements in the grounds of the Department have 
made satisfactory progress, We saw the plans of Sir. 
Saunders, the efficient Superintendent, and have no doubt 
that if properly carried out, they will result in giving ns 
the most complete arboretum and botanical garden in 
the country. Now, Messrs. Senators and Representatives 
who hold the pnrse strings, will you not please let your 
wives buy their own bouquets, and shut up that florist's 
shop near the Capitol which is ridiculously called the 
'* Botanical Canl'Mi." but wbioh i* nmply a nntinnnl 
disgrace, and give the money which is expended there for 
private uses to the Department of Agriculture? Do let 
us tax payers have something worth looking at when we 
go to Washington. If you give money tor planting trees 
it will be spending it for something that will every year 
increase in beauty and value. The statuary and paint- 
ings upon which so much has been spent are mainly such 
as make one wish that the Capitol had been despoiled 
by the enemy. Please give us something for our money. 
"Wine ^1 ;a I- i ciii 1 . — A discovery in relation 
to fermentation— one applying equally to cider and other 
liquids— lias been made in California, which, according 
to the accounts given, will be of the greatest importance 
to the wine makers of the country. By the ordinary 
process of fermentation it takes many months to com- 
plete the process, and then the wine has to stand one or 
more years to ripen, snhject all the time to various ac- 
cidents and diseases. In the usual method the contact 
of the air is at the surface of tin- liquid in the vat or cask 
cnily ; by the new process, which has been patented, air 
is ai intervals forced through the liquid from a perforated 
tube placed at the bottom of the vessel. It is claimed 
that the whole process of fermentation (without any 
second working) can be completed in about live days, 
and that in from two to four weeks after fermentation 
has ceased tin- wine or cider will be clear and ripe, and 
not liable to undergo any further change. 
Farming l>y I noli o«. or at i 111 
BraittS, Sir. — Uniform with "My Ten Rod Farm. -1 
Pp. 123. Loring, Boston. That this work should be 
''uniform " with " My Ten Rod Farm " is not at all singu- 
lar, as it 13 by the same young man, who in print 
assumes a "uniform" which most men are slow to 
adopt, though there are instances in which the other 
sex have appeared as male writers. "My Ten Rod 
Farm" is the story of a woman whose husband died, 
and this is by a woman whose husband was near dying 
but recovered on "garden pass," an indication of an im- 
proved sanitary condition in the suburbs of Boston. 
Now while we give the author of these works credit for 
an excellent style and a most capital way of putting 
things, which would find proper scope in our magazines, 
we cannot regard his works as valuable additions to our 
horticultural literature. The work before us is in the 
main Washburn's excellent seed catalogue discussed by 
the aid of Henderson's " Gardening for Profit." He or 
she, as we may consider the author, enumerates the 
works which he or she found useful in his or her opera 
tions, and he or she says: "At that time Henderson's 
Gardening for Profit was not published." Now it so 
happens that Henderson's " Gardening for Profit" was 
published before one of the works quoted, and we think 
before one or two others in the list of those from which he 
or she was provided " with Brains, Sir." One or two hor- 
ticultural novels were well enough, when, as in the case of 
" Ten Acres Enough" aud "My Vineyard at Lakeview." 
they were men's records of men's experience ; but when a 
man hide- himself behind a woman's name to give us in 
a diluted form works which, like " My Ten Rod Farm,"' 
were inspired solely by Henderson's " Practical Floricul- 
ture," and "Farming by Inches" equally based upon 
Henderson's " Gardening for Profit," we feel it duo to 
the women who have written and are writing about hor- 
ticultural matters to advocate " women's rights," and one 
of these is that their sex shall not be assumed by men in 
writing fictitions autobiographies. We know several 
women who have been through severe trials and found 
profit, as well as pleasure in horticulture, and we hope 
that they will come forward and give their experience 
without assuming a garb not belonging to their sex. 
There is not the slightest reason why Mr. should call 
himself Mrs. Caroline Gilmau. He has talent enough, 
and can write well, and need notwastehistimc in telling 
us improbable stories of impossible persons. 
Canada Thistle.— " J. H. T " Mt. Pleasant, 
Del. We have published so much upon the subject 
of eradicating the Canada Thistle in former years that 
ir is not to be wondered at that you have seen nothing 
since January. The methods are, mow just before 
it blooms, and keep mowing as often as it grows. 
Smother it out with a straw stack. Salt it and let the 
sheep eat it. Cut off the stems and put salt on the roots. 
Any one can destroy it if he keeps at it. Mr. Beecher 
suggests to try to cultivate it as a crop, and then it will 
he beset by all possible pests. We suspect, by the way, 
that our correspondent has not the Canada Thistle but a 
plant common in Delaware, and often called by that 
name, which is the Horse-nettle, Solatium Carolinense. 
This is quite as had as the Canada Thistle, but may 
be conquered by persistent work. 
ISuckwlieat Seed, — G. W. Clemmer, of 
Tenn., asks how long buckwheat will retain its vitality. 
This all depends upon the manner in which it is kept. 
Seed one year old is preferred, but we nave known 
old seed to germinate freely. The simple way to know 
whether a sample is good or not is to test 100 seeds 
sprinkled between two sods laid earth-sides together. 
Ciioocl Again for the "Buckeye" 
Mower.— David McBride, of Cumberland Co., N. J., 
seeing the statement made by Gcu'l. Halstead in the 
June Agriculturist^ writes us : " I sold a Buckeye 10 years 
ago to Mr. William Fogg of Shiloh in this county, who 
says that he has cut on an average 400 acres a year, and 
that one year be cut 600 acres, and the machine has never 
cost him anything, except for new knives and new fingers, 
about $'30 in all. I think this rather beats Gen'l Hal- 
stead's statement. 11 — Remember. — The Publishers of the 
American Agriculturist send a No. -2 Buckeye, costing 
$135, to any one sending 150 subscribers at $1.50 each. 
Hay! llalie Hay!— A Maryland subscriber 
writes : ki Land is cheap here, the soil, clay and sand, and 
splendid grass laud, but the farmers do not know any- 
thing about, hay. It is all corn." This indicates a great 
agricultural fault,— perhaps we ought to say si/i. To 
regions where grass is a natural product and even a 
nuisance among cultivated crops, hay is brought in great 
quantities from the North fur the maintenance of those 
horses and cattle which cannot be pastured. The South 
might raise its own hay, and it ought to do it. Almost 
all farmers save a good deal of corn leaves stripped off 
before they are ripe, and when dry bound in sheaves. 
Thia is all the native hay used over a large section. 
Itcst Rrced of Cow* for villi*. — 
•• \\\ It. R." We answer this question, in some way, 
frequently. Farmers who sell milk, and care nothing for 
quality, are partial to Short-horn (Durham) grades out of 
good-milkim; common cows. Those who make cheese 
and butter prefer Ayrshires or Ayrshire grades. Those 
who make fancy butter the chief thing, or who wish 
milk of great richness for their own tables, select the 
Jerseys. Great milkers occur in all breeds, occasionally. 
The Dcvons give a good quantity of rich milk, and the 
Holetein or Dutch cows are great milkers. Your choice 
would be wisest, probably, if it fell upon the Ayrshires or 
Devons as giving the best returns for food consumed and 
care given, and making good veal and excellent beef. 
Another Handsome Architectural 
"Work.— Messrs. Loring & Jenny, architects, of Chica- 
go, are the joint authors uf a large and handsome folio 
on "The Principles and Practice of Architecture," con- 
taining Hi plates of plans, elevations, and details <-r 
Churches, Dwellings, and Stores of their own construc- 
tion, together with an elucidation of the French plan of 
"apartment houses," and a discussion of the problem 
of providing suitable dwellings for the laboring classes 
of our cities. We are glad to find the principles of cor- 
rect architectural taste so ably discussed and so well illus- 
trated. The chapter "Truth in Architecture" is especially 
commendable in these days of " frescoed " sham in- 
teriors of churches and of pine-freestone porches and 
pillars. The designs re, many of them, elaborate and 
eleganl : the work will have an excellent influence, into 
whosesoever hands it comes. It maybeofgreal value 
to builders, and many architects need its tutoring. Letter 
press 62 pages, folio. 'HI lithographic plates. Published 
by Cobb, Prifcchard & Co., Chicago. For sale by Orange 
Judd it Co.. and sent by mail, prepaid, for the price— $12. 
Coal Tar on Shingles. — Jas. McClive. 
Not long ago when gas or coal tar became very abundant 
it was utilized in many ways, and more or less as paint 
for wood and metals. Upon metals it gradually dried and 
formed a varnish-like surface little acted on by the weath- 
er. On wood a similar surface was firmed, but not alto- 
gether by evaporation, for a portion of the tar struck in, 
and though it looked well ("black but comely ">, the re- 
sult proved that when exposed to moisture, tar-coated 
wood would absorb it more or less, and generally decay 
quicker than if not coated at all. This is the case 
probably when shingle roofs are coated with tar. The 
practice is now generally, if not universally, condemned. 
Potatoes— <mOO<1 Tops hut no 'ru- 
bers.— "A. M. ('.." of Savannah, Ga. The trouble with 
your neighbor's crop which looked so well, but yielded 
nothing, was probably the manure and the season com 
hined. Heating animal manures always trive a tendeni v 
in potatoes to run to top, and the production of too 
much vine arrests or retards the formation of tubers. 
Fencing— High Farming -Large 
Farms.— The reader will find some thoughts on these 
topics in the "Walks and Talks," page 251, that will 
afford food for thought and probably call out some pro- 
test. The subject is important— [Eds. 
Whitewashing Sfiiuglcs. — J. McC. 
We know nothing of the use of the water-lime and milk 
wash you mention, but in the situation it could hardly 
be in anyway superior to whitewash,— which, by the 
way, is improved for inside or outside work by the addi- 
tion of a lump of tallow or any clean grease, nearly as 
big as one's fist, to a pailful of whitewash, put in while 
the lime is slaking. Lime applied to the shingles, course 
by course, as the roof is laid, is a great preservative. 
American Pomologira I Society. — 
All interested in fruit growing will remember that, the 
12th session of this Society will be held at Philadelphia, 
in Horticultural Hall, on the 15th of September next ll 
is expected that this will be the largest and most import- 
ant meeting the Society has held. Preparations have 
been made to reduce the price of board at the hotels in 
Philadelphia, aud negotiations are in progress for reduced 
fares on the several railroads leading to that city. We 
shall probably be able to give more information on thia 
subject next month. Life membership, $10: biennial 
membership, which secures the volume of Transactions, 
$2, to be sent to Thomas P. James, Treasurer. Philadel- 
phia. Send fruit lists of State and local Societies to p. 
Barry, Rochester, as early as possible, and tVnii for identi- 
fication and new varieties to F. It. Elliott, Cleveland, O. 
Iron an<l IVar Trees. — "J. J. H.," 
Delphi, Ind., says: "I have near my pear orchard a 
knoll of ground formed by springs from a bluff. The 
water from the springs comes from an iron bog, and the 
soil, highly charged with iron, is of a very red color; 
and though loose, it will clog any plow we ever used 
on it, even in July. Would it be any advantage to my 
pear trees to make a trench about three feet from stem, 
and fill with this soil?" It has been asserted on sev- 
eral occasions that iron in various forms is beneficial to 
pear trees, but we never could get any positive evidence; 
on the point. It has been argued that as iron is a useful 
tonic to the animal system, it must therefore be useful 
to the pear. "J. J. H." has an excellent opportunity to 
try the experiment and report the results. It would 
make the experiment the more valuable if trees of the 
same kind were selected, and, as near as may he, in the 
same condition. Treat some with the iron, some with 
good composted manure, some with lime and ashes, and 
some with nothing. Unless the trees are small, cutting a 
trench three feet from the stem would be root-pruning, 
and the benefit arising from this would be ascribed to the 
iron. The best way in each case would he, to make the 
application to the surface, and then thoroughly fork it in. 
