1873.1 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
9 
Keel-Scraps tot- Jlauurc- U. B. Peck, 
Ct . asks the value, as manure, of beef-scraps left after 
the tallow is pressed out. as compared with bone-dust. 
- It is a much more active manure than bone-dust, and 
when immediate eflects are wanted, if ground and applied 
at the rate of SOU pounds per acre, would be worth as 
much as bone-dust- but not so on all crops or where a 
lasting manure is needed. It contains a large proportion 
of nitrogen, aud its market value would probably be, 
when dry. $35 per ton. 
« Non-Sitters " Sitting.— " S. W. W.," 
Flushing, L. I., has a White Leghorn hen, usually called a 
" non-sitter,'" that has hatched and brought up this sea- 
sou a brood of chickens. Nevertheless, White Leghorns 
are non-sitters; but the rule haB exceptions now aud 
then, as all others have. 
Spent Lime- " W. S.," Oswego, N. T., 
sends a sample of lime which has been used in the man- 
ufacture of corn-starch, and asks what are its fertilizing 
properties for market-gardens. Also the value of gas- 
lime.— This lime comes in the state of a paste which, on 
drying, would form hard lumps. This would be objection- 
able to its use as a fertilizing agent, for which purpose 
it should be in the finest possible state of division. Its 
Teal value at any rate is small ; it contains a small portion 
of vegetable matter, and if lime at the kiln can be pur- 
chased for 15 cents per bushel it would be cheaper than 
this waste stuff at nothing. Otherwise, on clay soils it 
would be worth hauling and mixing with the soil at the 
rate of 100 bushels per acre. Gas lime in a fresh state is 
absolutely poisonous to vegetation, and when old is about 
equal to the above-mentioned waste. 
Xo Herd K*a~W* — "A. R. C. f " Newton, 
Kansas, wishes to correct what may probably be an erro- 
neous impression arising from a statement made by F. 
Phillbrick, in the Agriculturist of January, 1S72, regard- 
ing the herd law. Unfortunately, or otherwise, as the 
case may be, that law has been pronounced unconstitu- 
tional by the Supreme Court, and consequently there is 
no herd law in Kansas, nor will be until one is passed by 
the State Legislature. 
Apples for Illinois. — At the Illinois 
State Fair, the following six apples were unanimously 
recommended for Northern Illinois; Maiden's Blush, 
Snow, Bominie, Jonathan, Beu Davis, and Willow Twig. 
Rooks County, Kansas.— Wm. Law- 
rence, Bull City, Kansas, sends us an interesting letter 
relating to the western part of that State. If is the old 
story of immigrants flowing in and occupying the coun- 
try, and selecting all the claims which have water and 
timber. It is in the buffalo-grass region, with a soil of 
r!ch sandy loam, especially favorable to grazing. The 
winter pasture generally is ample; even in the unusually 
cold winter of 1S71 there were only ten days when hay 
was needed, and the bulk of the losses occurred from 
want of water and not from want of feed, the streams be- 
ing frozen and no places being opened for the stock. lie 
advises energetic young men with small capital to choose 
this as their home. 
Chestnut* in Iowa.- D. W. Kauffman, 
of Pes Moines, tells of healthy chestnut-trees from seed 
planted six years ago, ? .: 3 cultivated four years ; they are 
sixteen feet high. 
California Chestnuts.— The Chestnut, 
of the Pacific Coast is the Golden-leaved Castanea Ckrys- 
ophylla, so called because its evergreen leaves are yellow 
on the under side. It is, however, more nearly related 
to the Chinquapin than the Chestnut, it producing but a 
single nut in a bur. It has heretofore been recorded as 
a small tree, but Dr. Kellogg reports to the California 
Academy of Sciences that he has discovered trees 100 to 
200 feet in hight and four to six feet in diameter, with a 
clear trunk of 60 or 70 feet. 
Western Pennsylvania Poultry 
Society will hold its annual exhibition at Pittsburgh 
on January 14th-lSth. C. B. Elben is Secretary. 
iflolasses for Cattle, — Successful cattle- 
feeders iu Europe give molasses constantly to fattening 
cattle and milch cows. A large German farmer gives a 
pint a day mixed with oil-cake to his cows, largely in- 
creasing their milk. We know one very successful 
American farmer who gives his cows molasses in their 
feed with very good results. 
Dogs. — A " Farmer V wants to know what can 
he done about the tlogs. He and his neighbors have lost 
their flocks, and although their country is a sheep coun- 
try, they are unable to follow sheep-raiding.— We can see 
no help for the shepherds of this country, uuless in the 
proper restriction of the dogs. If dogs must be kept as 
pets, or fox guards, they should be kept chained up; if 
they are allowed to run as wild animals, they should be 
treated as such, and shot on sight when out of their pro 
per bounds. If male dogs were highly taxed, or the 
brutes were prevented from unrestrained reproduction 
by the same methods which keep other animals in due 
bounds, the vagrant dogs without responsible owners 
would soon decrease in number. Farmers' clubs and 
associations Bhould ventilate this question. 
Egg-Plants in England. —A corre- 
spondent of the Gardener's Chronicle says of the egg- 
plant : " A very handsome and useful kitchen vegetable, 
perhaps about as wholesome as the encumber, and used 
much in the same way for pic/ding" What hope can 
there be for a country that knows not how to cook egg- 
plant? It was well that this writer added : ''But on the 
dangewus ground of giving any directions for cook- 
ing, I dare not enter." We should say so. 
Boiling Cider.— "C. P. F., n Grand Rapids, 
Mich., asks which is the safest for boiling cider, a vessel 
of copper or of brass.— Brass is less liable to oxidize 
than copper, but either should be made ^perfectly bright 
and clean before using. 
Renting a Market-Garden.—" Sub- 
scriber,' 11 Cleveland, Ohio, asks if we would advise him 
to rent a nfarket-garden by the year, and if not, why not. 
— Decidedly not ; and for the reason, that no one can prof- 
itably work a market-garden without expending much 
money and labor iu improving the soil, and a year is too 
short a term in which to recover the expenditure. A lease 
of five or six years is short enough for market -gardens. 
Gang-Plows.- u D. B. J." wants the best 
gang-plow. The use of gang-plows is not nearly so com- 
mon as it might well be. In California they are largely 
used. In England also they are quite common, and 
double-furrow plows drawn by three horses are found to 
do the work of two two-horse plows and two men with 
great ease, and a large saving of expense. The principal 
difficulty in their introduction here, is the cumbrous 
frame attached to them, which makes them unhandy to 
use. The best and lightest doublv-furrow -we have seen 
used, is of English make. Makers of American gang- 
plows would do well to consider this want here expressed, 
aud by meeting it promptly encourage the use of these 
implements, 
The Rural Sun. — The agricultural papers 
which have appeared and disappeared in the Southern 
States within the past six years are many. We have seen 
none that editorially or mechanically gave better promise 
that it had come to stay than does the Rural Sun, a hand- 
some weekly published at Nashville, Tenu. 
Falling offof Fowls' Feathers.— F. 
H. Graves, Washington, Iowa, wants a reason for the 
falling off of the feathers from the necks .of his " Hou- 
dans. 11 It is a continual trouble, and does not arise from 
molting or feather-eating.— Who can shed light on this 
matter? Wc would suggest that it is caused by the heat- 
ing of the system from having too much grain and not 
sufficient green vegetable food. We never knew fowls 
which had access to clover or grass fields to be troubled 
in this way, but those which are cooped up in runs often 
suffer from this disorder. Plenty of chopped cabbage 
would probably meet the difficulty. 
Title Potato. — The California papers are 
talking about a tuber found in the tale swamp lands, 
which they call Tule Potato. It is the tuber of an Arrow- 
head (probably Sagiltaria variabilis), which is also com- 
mon in wet places all over the country. Our California 
friends have nothing new this time, ae Kalm gave an 
account of it a hundred years ago, and says that the 
Ea-t Indians used it for food, and called it Kalniss. It is 
the Wapatoo of the North-western Indians, who, as well 
as Chinese and swine, are very fond of it. 
Farmers' Cltth in California. — E. 
S. Ilolden, Stockton, Gal., sends us reports of the meet- 
ings of the San Joaquin Farmers 1 Club, of which he is 
president. The club numbers 134 members, and is what 
he calls a live institution. The mode of procedure in this 
club is for members to note and record everything that 
occurs in their daily operations, the experiments made, 
the system uuder which they work, aud the results they 
achieve, iu the field, garden, and orchard, and amongst 
their stock. These matters are introduced into the meet- 
ings and give rise to comparison of notes and results, 
discussions as to differences of methods, and so forth, 
and any new or worthy idea is at once common property. 
We have before this noticed the proceedings of this club 
as reported in their local papers, and have often thought 
that some far more pretentions but far less useful farmers 1 
clubs could profitably study the words aud ways of 
these San Joaquiniaus. 
Who ? WJiere ?— An unfortunate who has 
neither name nor place of abode, if we must believe his 
letter, asks how to work up eight thousand sheaves of 
grain into manure.— If he has not enough stock to con- 
sume the grain when ground coarsely and mixed with 
cut straw for feed, bedding them with the rest of the 
straw so as to make all the manure possible, sufficient 
should be purchased for this purpoie. The best kind to 
buy are thrifty young cattle or cows, which always seli 
low in the fall and higher in the spring, and thus pay for 
their feed. But not knowing where this man lives, how 
can we properly advise him? 
Value of Cnooil Stool*.— A Wisconsin 
farmer has sold this season one yearling and two two- 
year colts for $1300. The sire was a Hambletonian horse, 
hut otherwise these colts cost their owner no more than 
three young scrubs would have done. The best pays. 
Where Shall he Go? — " J. G. E.," 
Bergen Point, N. J., has $500, is single, and understands 
farming, and would go to a mild climate where there is 
rich prairie land. — Kansas would probably suit "J. G. 
E." best ; he should write to Land Commissioner Kansas 
Pacific R.R., Kansas City, Mo. 
Co-operation. — A California Farmers* Club 
proposes to raise capital amongst themselves to set in 
operation a business for disposing of their own produce 
for their joint benefit, and owning their own warehouses 
and ships needed for this purpose. " Man proposes," 
but a natural law disposes of this matter in such a way 
as to leave little hope of success for these California 
farmers in taking this business upon themselves. 
Krive-Welt.— A "Subscriber" asks if he can 
have a drive-well put down in sandy ground, and through 
quicksand.— Yes ; but the pipe must pass through the 
quicksand into gravel, or else the well would t»c choked 
and useless. These wells are peculiarly fitted for such 
ground as this. 
Underground Treasures. — Thia is the 
title of a little work, by James Orton, A.M., which de- 
scribes 73 of the more useful and common minerals found 
in the United States, and gives simple methods of deter- 
mining their names aud character. As a first step in 
mineralogy, and as a means of interesting young people 
of both sexes in the pursuit of this engaging science, 
this little work will be found of great value. Farmers' 
boys and girls having a desire to know something of the 
minerals so plentifully existing in the soil aud in rocks, 
can make this a hand-book of preliminary instruction ; and 
few who do so will feel inclined to stop their investiga- 
tions when they have exhausted its pages. Published by 
Worthi ngton, Hartford, Ct, and Parker & Co., Chicago. 
Sweet JLard.—L. F. Hopkins writes: "It 
may be useful to some of your readers to know that lard 
may be kept perfectly sweet and free from any strong 
or rancid odor, for any length of time, I guess, by putting 
into each kettleful while 'rendering' a handful of red 
or ' slippery ' elm bark. Treated thus, it has a sweet and 
not unpleasant smell in the hottest weather, even when 
not kept iu a cellar.*'— This is a very old plan, the knowl- 
edge of which, if we mistake not, was derived from the 
Indians, who kept their deer-fat in this way. We have 
never tried it, but have been assured of its utility by 
others besides Mr, H. The inner bark only is used. 
Hogs and Sheep for a Mountain 
Farm,-" T. W.," Alabama, wants the best hogs and 
sheep for a mountain farm. — There can be none better 
than the native sorts crossed with males of the Berk- 
shire or Essex swine, and the Cotswold sheep. These will 
give fine grade hogs, and a grade of sheep with combing 
wool and heavy carcass of mutton. For breeders' names, 
see our advertising columns. 
The Swine-Breeders' Convention. 
The National Convention of Swine-Breeders was held 
at Indianapolis, Iud., on November 4th. The meeting 
was perfectly harmonious ; no jealousy or conflict of 
interests marred the result, which i- an attempt to place 
swine-breeding on a substantial basis entirely accordant 
with its importance as a great agricultural pursuit:. The 
movement, which our readers will remember was origi- 
nated last May by Col. F. D. Curtis, of Saratoga Co., 
N. Y,, has accomplished several reforms in awiue-broed- 
