88 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[March, 
Seeds from tlie Agricultural de- 
partment,— "J. H. P.," Colony, Mo. Thy Depart- 
ment sends out seeds, good, bad, and indifferent, osten- 
sibly for trial. Write to the Commissioner. We pay 
those people at Washington to serve us, and you have as 
much right as any one to make known your wants. 
That Barn Plan.— "J. H. B.," Princeton, 
N. J., asks for more information about the plan of bam 
in the December Agriculturist, which he thinks worth 
ten years' subscription to the paper. The roof of the 
root-house should be arched with stone and covered with 
cement and two feet of earth. The basement wall should 
be eight feet high and two feet thick. The hight of the 
barn should depend on the size of the floor. For a barn 
of 50 feet square, the model from which the plan was 
taken, the posts should be 20 feet. The plan is drawn to 
scale, the whole being 50 feet square. 
Grnhs.— "0. C. 8.," Milton, Ky. You prob- 
ably refer to the White Grub, the larva of the May-bug, as 
injuring your corn. We know of nothing that will help 
yon, save employing children to follow the plow and pick 
Up all they see, and kill all the May-bugs you can. 
I?Iilk-Coolers.— " D. T. £., 7 Madison Co., 
N. Y., asks why milk-coolers 25 Inches high and 13 inches 
in diameter, which cost but a trifle more than those 8 
Inches in diameter and holding 2! 2 tiroes as much, are not 
as good as the smaller ones for dairy use.— The advan- 
tage gained by having the deep narrow coolers is that the 
milk is cooled rapidly ; this advantage would be propor- 
tionately sacrificed by increasing the diameter of the 
coolers, and the saving in cost would net compensate for 
the loss of utility. 
Mixing Clay -frith Scfcissfiy Soils.— 
**W. F. K.," Mayport, Fla., wishes to improve his light 
sandy soil by adding clay which he can procure at an 
caoy distance ; how Bhall he do it? — The cheapest way 
would be to dig the clay wlien it is In each a condition of 
moisture that it will crumble easily. Then haul it on to 
the sandy soil and spread at once. A few pIowTBgB wttl 
mix it thoroughly with the sand. A wagon-load of about 
a cubic yard per square rod would add a little over an 
inch in depth, which would be little enough for once. 
IlutterMVIaJcing:*— " Domestic " asks for 
the best work on butter-making". Probably Flint's Milch 
Cows and Dairy Farming conuonsas good a chapter oa 
this subject as any book devoted to dairying. 
How iYIucli do Horse* Sleep ? — " R. 
H. C," Oraro, Wis., asks how much do horses sleep 
in 24 hours ? He thinks not more than one or two hours 
at most. —Horses probably require as much sleep as any 
other animal, and would sleep more than they do and be 
better for it, if their stables were made comfortable and 
clean and kept free from flics. He suggests also that a 
horse when his work is over be permitted to refresh him- 
self with a good roll, which would be very well if a clean 
piece of grass were handy for the purpose. 
E1W.— " J. D.," Kossuth Co., Iowa, would like 
to furnish us or any of our friends with some tame elk 
two years old, for a valuable consideration. Now this is 
business, and business being business, should be trans- 
acted through the proper columns devoted to advertise- 
ments. Most likely a proper advertisement would at- 
tract the attention of persons who desire such animals. 
Analysis of Teg-etables.— A gardener 
in Ct. asks where he can find the analyses of garden vege- 
tables generally, and says, "We wish it for the purpose 
of applying manure."— There is a partial table in Wat- 
son's Home Garden, but it will be about as much use in 
•'applying manure" as the multiplication-table. Ma- 
nure, mannre, and more manure, is what you want in 
market-gardening. 
Fungus on Apple-Trees. — "P. C," 
Charleston, Mo. We can not tell the name of the fungus 
from your description. We would try the effect of a 
heavy dressing of lime. 
Cranberries and Onions.— 11 W. L. R." 
It is impossible to give the information you ask in one or 
several articles. If you know nothing about the cultiva- 
tion of either at these you should get ourOnion pamphlet, 
and White's Craibi-rry Culture. See Book-list. If you have 
not a peat swamp that can be flowed at will, you had bet- 
ter not undertake cranberries. 
Mannre Tor One Acre.— 11 H. N.," New 
York, suggests the following manure for one acre of 
study loam, to be planted in carrots and parsnips, 
which was well manured in 1871. and gave a good corn 
crop, and in 1872 a good oat crop without manure- 
namely, 10 loads of cow manure. 1 barrel bone-meal, 1 
barrel superphosphate, 1 barrel gypsum, 6 barrels of 
wood ashes. J bushel each salt and nitrate of soda, and 
20 bushels of potash.— We would recommend that the ni- 
trate of soda and the potash be dispensed with, and 
dependence to be placed on the rest of the manure. If the 
season should happen to be dry, the potash would cer- 
tainly burn the crop, and at any rate it would be in 
excess of its needs. 
Cost of Keeping; Cows. — " J. H. G.," 
Eaton Co., Mich., asks what it would cost to keep 7 cows 
with hay at $10 a ton and oats and corn ground atone 
cent per pound, and if milk could be produced at 6i£ 
cents per quart. —If the hay is cut, moistened, and mixed 
with S pounds of the meal per day, eighteen pounds 
will be sufficient. The feed would then coet 17 cents 
per day for a cow. All the milk produced above 3 
quarts a day would be profit, and a fair cow should give 
more than double that quantity when thus fed. 
Itermnda <*ra*s.— " J. C. R.," Texas. 
Bermuda grass propagates very freely by the root, and 
rarely or never bears seed. You must send for sods to 
some locality where it grows, and if you only get a bit 
you will have no trouble in multiplying it. We have 
seen it growing in Bexar Co. 
About Corn.Planters.— F. S. Sanderson, 
Petersham, Mass., says a word or two about corn-plant- 
ers, as follows : Corn-planters should be made to plant 
two rows ; if larger, they are cumbrous. An improved two- 
row planter will drop fifteen acres per day. The planter 
should go on runners, which should make the furrow for 
the seed. The seed-boxes should be over the runners, 
with a tube to convey the seed to the ground. A pair of 
wheels following, cover the seed. The driver should ride, 
and operate the dropping apparatus by hand.— These 
suggestions are valuable to those interested. 
Percheron Horses in Pennsyl- 
vania.— "■ Subscriber, " Allentown, Pa., sends us a good 
word for the Percheron horse. After three years' 1 rial he 
has found them well adapted to the rough, hilly reads of 
Eastern Pennsylvania, and for heavy work both on the 
road and farm. 
Cattle tor Western Pennsylvania. 
— "E. C. J.," Clinton, Pa., asks which is the best breed of 
cattle for Western Pennsylvania, Durham or Devon. — 
Devon, by all means; Durham cattle would be very 
much out of place on hilly ground or on thin pastures, 
while the Devons are at home in such a country. 
Garth-Worms in Pot*. — " R. M.," 
Ga. Lime-water will destroy worms without injury to 
most plants. The lime-water must be perfectly clear. 
Sawdust in the Garden.- "E. M. C." 
"Well-rotted sawdnst" will bo useful for vegetables in 
a sandy loam, provided it is well-rotted, which is very 
rarely the case. Sawdust undecayed will be worse than 
useless on such soils. 
Calked Foot. — The present season is pro- 
ductive of frequent injuries to the foot from calking. 
If this is not properly treated, the hoof often becomes 
badly diseased in consequence. The wound Bhould be 
well washed with warm water, a plug of lint saturated 
with " Friar's Balsam " (Compound Tincture of Benzoin) 
placed over it, and bound with a strip of cloth. If the 
wound suppurates, the plug of lint and balsam should 
be kept in it until the suppuration is stopped. This is 
especially for the benefit of G. P., Buffalo. 
About Potash. — lt A Subscriber," Port By- 
ron, wants some information about potash.— Potash is a 
staple article of trade, and is salable in all the large cities. 
It is refined, and made into pearlash and saleratus. The 
wood-ashes require to be leached ; the lye is boiled down 
until the salts are deposited ; they are then dipped into 
another kettle and melted ; when the cake is cool, it is 
broken np and packed into barrels for market. The 
Agriculturist of September, 1872, contained an account 
of the manufacture, with engravings, showing tho meth- 
ods commonly in use. 
West Point.— And. F. Frantz, Lancaster, 
Pa., informs an "Inquirer" that appointments to the 
Academy at West Point are made from each Congres- 
sional district and by the representatives, of whom in- 
quiries may be made. 
See page 119 and Third Cover-page. 
Corn-Stalks.—' 1 E. C. J.," Clinton, Pa., asks 
if the stalks of corn-fodder are equal in value to the 
blades.— We believe they are. 
Proud Flesh.— G. H. Allen desires to treat 
an old wound from a shoe-calk which is now filled with 
a growth of proud flesh which cracks and bleeds.— We 
would apply an ointment of perfectly pure lard, finely 
powdered white sugar, and sulphate of copper, to tho 
proud flesh or fungus growth until a healthy sore appears, 
when it may be healed by a covering of lint steeped in 
the Compound Tincture of Benzoin. The foot should be 
bandaged, and a leather cap be worn over the foot to pre- 
serve the wound from blows until it is healed. 
Sugar from Slelons. — M. W. Wads- 
worth, of San Francisco, Cal., has published a small pam- 
phlet entitled " Indigenous Sugars," in which he pro- 
poses the cultivation of melons (both water and musk) 
as a source of syrup and sugar. In California the melons 
arc much sweeter than with ub, and they have not a host 
of insects to contend with. However the project may 
result in the Pacific and Southern States, we doubt If It 
will be found practicable at the East and North. 
Working Vounjr Colts.— "W. O. D.," 
Elliota, asks. Will it hurt two-year-old mule colts to do 
light work, as harrowing in the spring, or to be ridden 
by a man weighing 150 pounds ?— The light work will not 
hurt them, but 150 pounds ia too great a weight for a 
two-year-old to carry. 
■ i ■•■ —~ 
Catalogues Received. 
The following list comprises the Catalogues of Nursery- 
men, Seedsmen, and Florists, which have been received 
during the present year: 
A T ursery7nen.—B. P. Hanan, Clark City Nursery, Clark 
City. Mo Joseph W. Vestal, Cambridge City, Indiana. 
Bronson, Ilopkins & Co., Geneva, N.Y — J.E.Piorce, 
Climax, Mich., Small Fruits and Evergreens — Sweet & 
Morey, Dansville, N. Y... Wm. Morton & Son, Deering, 
Me., Evergreens Benjamin Reid & Co., Aberdeen, 
Scotland, Trade List of Nursery Stock... -Wann, Ka- 
froth & Hoover, Vo~anviVtc and West Earl, Pa., Agents 
lor Dingee, Conard & Co., Genera] Nursery Stock 
Harvey Curtis, Owcgo, N. Y Robert Douglass <fc Sons, 
Waukegan, 111., Forest trees.. .Storrs, Harrison & Co., 
Painesvillc, Ohio. Chestnut Trees A. Bryant, Jr., 
Princeton, 111., Wholesale and Retail Price-List of Nur- 
sery Stock.... Georga S. Haskell & Co., Chicago, 111. 
Field, Garden, and Flower Seeds. 
Seedsmen.— Alfred Bridgeman & Son, S7G Broadway.N.Y. 
Henry A.Dreer, Philadelphia, Pa... James Fleming, N.Y. 
Miller & Sievers, San Francisco, Cal., Californian 
and Australian Seeds, Bulbs, and Plants Henry Keller, 
Darmstadt, Germany, Tree and Grass Seeds Hugh & 
Church, Knosvillc, Tenti., Field Seeds A. Bryant, Jr., 
Princeton. 111., Fruit, Evergreen, and Forest Seeds 
Benjamin Reid &, Co., Aberdeen, Scotland, Nursery and 
Grass Seeds J. M. Thorbum & Co., New York.. 
Waldo F. Brown, Oxford, Ohio.. ..W. R. Elliott, Pitts- 
burgh, Pa. . ..Peter Henderson & Co., N. Y. City, Seeds. . . 
Plant Seed Co.. St. Louis, Mo., Catalogue and Farmer's 
Almanac O. Burros, North Fairfield, Ohio James 
Vick, Rochester, N. Y.. . . Briggs Bros., Rochester, N. Y. 
...B. K. Bliss & Sons, N.Y., Flower and Vegetable Seeds. 
Jas. J. H. Gregory, Marblehead, Mass., Garden Seeds. 
. . . H. Young, York, Pa., Flower and Vegetable Seeds 
Reeves & Simonson, N. Y., Garden and Flower Seeds. 
Florists.— Alegatiere. Lyons, France, Zonal Pelargoni- 
ums... J. B. Guillot, Lyons, France, Roses. .DeLiabaud, 
Lyons, France, New Roses Damaizin, Lyons, France, 
Roses Levet, Lyons, Roses Ducher, Lyons, Roses. 
Joseph Schwartz, Lyons, France, Roses .... Peter 
Henderson, N. Y. C, Greenhouse Plants.. Miller & Hayes, 
Philadelphia, Pa., Roses.. Reeves & Simonson, New York 
City A. P. Jones, Fond du Lac, Wis., Greenhouse aHd 
Bedding Plants . . .Bellcvue Nursery, H. E. Chitty, Supt., 
Paterson, N. J., Greenhouse and Bedding Plants. 
Miscellaneous Catalogues.— T&. S. Lee & Co., Rochester, 
N. Y., Waters's Improved Tree Prun»r E. W. Clark, 
Springfield, Mass., Rustic Work. 
American Fish - Culturists' Association. 
The second annual meeting of this Association was 
held at the office of G. Shepard Page, No. 10 Warren 
street, February 11th, at 11 o'clock a.m. The occasion 
brought together a large number of fish-breeders and 
fish commissioners from all parts of the country. 
Several very interesting papers were presented, which, 
with the discussions accompanying them, occupied the 
whole day. The president, in his annual address, re- 
counted the marked events of the year in this new 
