1873.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
129 
A Minnesota Colony.— R. D. Buchanan 
sends us an account of a thriving colony in Minnesota. 
It is named the National Colouy, the principal settle- 
ment of which is at Worthington, a thriving town on 
one of the beautiful lakes that frequently occur in that 
State. It seems that the colony is a successful enter- 
prise, materially; and as whiskey is tabooed, and the 
school-house and the church are the first considerations 
after the home is founded, there is no good reason why, 
with fertile soil and a beautiful and healthful climate, it 
should not be so. We wiBh them and all such colonies 
entire success. 
Cheapest Way to Itlalce Manure. — 
Allen Reynolds, Washington Co., R. I., asks which Is 
the cheapest way to get his manure— to keep good cows, 
with hay at $30 per ton, and butter at 40 cents per 
pound, or pay $6 a cord for it at the livery stables.— We 
•nppose our correspondent raises no hay nor straw, and 
muet purchase these articles to make manure of. Then 
he must figure in this way: A cow of 1,000 pounds, live- 
weight, will need thirty pounds of hay daily, or its 
equivalent, worth 45 cents. Against this the butter is to 
be set off, which can not be expected to reach more than 
half a pound a day throughout the year, even with a very 
good cow. The manure and buttermilk should pay for 
labor. Then it is seen there must be a loss in making 
manure in this way, and it would be better to purchase it. 
Large Squashes. — C. Shafer, Canajoharie, 
writes that he raised five mammoth squashes. '"Three 
weighed respectively 160, 133, and 117 lbs. ; two smaller 
ones weighed about 70 or 80 lbs. I purchased the seed from 
Hovey & Co., Boston, Mass.' 1 
lj'ow DIucU Irlamire from a Xon 
of Hay?- 1 ' A. R.," Davisville, R. I.— A ton of hay, 
fed to a cow, will produce 5,500 pounds of solid and 
liquid manure in a freah state ; when dried, this is re- 
duced to 830 pounds. Our own experience is that a cow 
produces about GO pounds of manure when eating 
about three per cent of her live-weight of hay daily, 
which is rather less than the usual estimate. The 
earth used need not be added, as it is not manure in any 
sense, only an absorbent ; while if straw or sawduBt 
were added, it would go to increase the manure. 
Rooting in Meadows. — "Subscriber," 
Mareh Creek, Pa., writes tliat he allowed hiB hogs to 
root up an old meadow. He then sowed some timothy 
»eed on the parts rooted up, and found it yielded a good 
crop of hay.— The same good effect would have been 
produced by the far more business-like method of har- 
rowing the meadow with a sharp-toothed heavy harrow, 
and then brushing in the seed. To allow hogs to root 
Dp a meadow seems a slovenly practice. 
What to !><> vritH Small Potatoes. 
— Do not use them for seed. Better cook them and mix 
them with meal for young pigs or sows giving milk. In 
the spring of the year when other succulent food is scarce, 
they are especially valuable for this purpose. 
Winter in tlie North-West. — The 
Chief Engineer of the Northern Pacific Railroad reports 
on the 27th February that the road so far as it has been 
completed has been run with remarkable regularity and 
great freedom from snow or snow-drifts. The temperature 
during the coldest Beasons has not been excessive, al- 
though the winter has been unusually severe. On the 
26th January, the farmers of the Walla Walla Valley 
were plowing their fields, and on the Pacific coast the 
grass has been green throughout the winter, and flowers 
were in bloom out of doors in January. He also reports 
that had the line been finished throughout, there would 
have beeu no difficulty in operating it constantly the 
entire distance. 
Hand Corn-Drill. — " J. B.," Anoka, 
Minn., asks ns to aid him in finding a hand-drill to plant 
corn and other seeds.— The best we have used is Em- 
ery's Planter, which can be purchased at any large agri- 
cultural implement seed-store, or of any of those who 
advertise in the Agriculturist. 
Lawns and Lawn*M<»wers, — The 
number of lawn-mowers annually sold is gratifying evi- 
dence that our people are finding out that the one 
essential to the ornamentation of a place, be it large or 
small, in city or country, is a well-kept lawn. Without 
this, flowers and shrubs do not show half their beauty. 
To have a well kept lawn, a good lawn-mower is neces- 
sary. We have tried mowers from the time they were 
first made in this country, and have found none that for 
ease of draft and excellence of work are so good as the 
"Excelsior." The works of the Excelsior Company are 
now very extensive, they having absorbed those of a 
rival establishment, and they turn out machines that 
leave little to be desired in the way of lawn-mowing. 
ISizena. — A new food preparation from rice, 
under the name of Rizena, has lately appeared. It is an 
improvement upon the well-known rice-flonr. We have 
used it in several forms with much satisfaction. The 
following recipes will show a few of the many methods 
of using this delicate article of diet. 
Snowflake Cream.— Take four heaping table-spoonfuls 
of Rizena, three of sugar, a few drops of essence of 
almonds or other flavoring extract, with two table- 
spoonfuls of fresh butter ; add one quart of milk ; boil 
from fifteen to twenty minutes, until it forms a smooth 
substance, though not too thick ; then pour in a mold 
or cups previously buttered. Serve when cold, with 
cream or any kind of stewed or preserved fruits. 
Plain Pudding— Boil one pint of milk with a little 
bit of lemon-peel or essence ; mix one quarter-pound of 
Rizena with half-pint milk, four table-spoonfuls of su- 
gar and one of butter ; add this to the boiling milk : 
keep stirring ; tak*e it off the fire, stir in the yolks of 
three eggs, beaten well; butter a dish and pour in the 
mixture and bake until firm; take the whites of the 
three eggs, beaten light, with half-cup powdered sugar, 
and spread over the top ; replace ia oven to brown. 
Nice with hard sauce. 
Rizena Pudding.— Mix. four large spoonfuls of Rizena 
with half-pint cold milk, and stir it into a quart of boil- 
ing milk until it boils again ; then remove, stir in butter 
the size of an egg, and a little salt ; let it cool, and add 
four eggs, well beaten ; two thirds of a cup white sugar, 
grated nutmeg, and half wine-glass of brandy, or other 
flavoring if preferred ; bake in a buttered dish twenty 
minutes. To be eaten hot, with sauce. 
Deaths of Prominent Horticulturists. 
Doctor Samuel A. ShurllelS" died at 
his residence at Brookline, Mass.. on February 11th, at 
the advanced age of 80. Doctor S. was one of the early 
fruit-culturists of the vicinity of Boston, and his en- 
thusiasm continued until within a short time of his 
death. As late as 1858, he exhibited a number of seed- 
ling pears, among which were President and Admiral 
Farragut. 
•fl. S. Downer, of Fairview, Ky., died on 
February 10th, at the age of 64. If we mistake not, Mr. 
Downer was by birth a Virginian, but had long resided 
in Kentucky, where he was well known as a nurseryman 
of sterling integrity. He raised a number of seedling 
cherries, and some of the strawberries he originated 
have taken a place among our most valued varieties. 
Downer's Prolific, Charles Downing, and Kentucky 
were produced by him. Mr. Downer was a fine speci- 
men of a genial gentleman, and the older members of 
the Pomological Society will, at their next meeting, 
greatly miss his presence and his counsel. 
S;i i)i ii •*! Feast, loner known as a prominent 
florist of Baltimore, died not long ago, as we learn from 
the Gardener's Monthly. That journal is without any 
particulars, and we have seen none elsewhere. 
Book Notices. 
Manual of 'Weeds, or the Weed-Exterminator, by E. 
Michener, M.D. Pp. 14S. Henry L. Brintou, Oxford, Pa. 
This work adds nothing whatever to our knowledge of 
weeds, nor does it give any other than well-known 
methods of extermination. We arc at loss to see the 
reason forHta publication. Price 75c. 
The Beauties of If at u re combined with Art. By II. A. 
Euglchardt. Pp. 174. John LovelJ, Moutreal. If the 
author would learn to write English, he might. express 
himself better than he does in this work. His lists of 
trees and shrubs are marvels of inaccuracy. 
A Manual of the Cultivation of (lie Grasses and Fbrage 
Plants at the' South. By C. W. Howard, Kingston, Ga. 
A neat pamphlet of 2S pages, presenting in a forcible 
manner the need of attention by Southern cultivators to 
grasses and forage plants, and giving practical directions 
for the work. A valuable contribution, to be had of the 
author for 25c. 
Catalogues Received. 
The following catalogues have come to hand since the 
publication of the list in our last. The crowded state of 
our columns prevents our giving anything but a list: 
Nurseries. — ElHvanger & Barry, Rochester, N. Y., Fruit 
and Ornamental Trees Dingee & Conard Co., West 
Grove, Pa.... Otto &Achelis, West Chester, Pa.... Loornia 
& Brainard, Painesville, O E.W.Sylvester, Lyons, 
N. Y....A. T. Blauvelt & Co., Blauveltville, N. Y....P. 
H. Foster, Babylon, L. I., N. Y. . . .J. W. Coburn & Co., 
East Chester, N. Y. . . .John S. Collins, Moorestown, N. J, 
Seeds, Flower and Vegetable.— Vanderbilt Bros., N. Y. 
City. . . .Ft. H. Allen & Co., N. Y. City. . . R. D. Hawley t 
Hartford, Ct....D. M. Ferry & Co., Detroit, Mich.... 
Crosman Bros., Rochester, N. Y. ..Hugo Beyer, New 
London, Iowa Hovey & Co., Boston, Mass ...T. Cad- 
wallader & Bro., Riebboro, Pa Nicholas Cole, Pella, 
Iowa Kern, Stcvcr & Co., St. Louis, Mo.: this firm 
publish very full catalogues in the English, German, and 
French languages. 
Implements and Fertilizers.— The dealers in seeds gen- 
ially keep implements also. H. B. Griffing & Co.,N. Y. 
City Jeremy Lake, North Eastou, Mass., Forking 
Spades. . . .n. N. Peck & Co., Rochester, N. Y., Roches- 
ter Berry-Baskets. 
Flower, Bedding, and Othtr Plants.— Loomis & Biain- 
erd, Painesville, O.... Miller & Hayes, Philadelphia, Pa. 
... Edgar Sanders, Chicago, 111 W. J. Hesser, Platts- 
mouth. Neb. . . .W. B. Woodruff, Westfield, Wf. J....P. J. 
Berekinans, Augusta, Ga George Such, South Amboy, 
N.J ...Olm Bros., Newark, N. J John Saul, Wash- 
ington, D. C....Ellwanger & Barry, Rochester, N. Y. ... 
W. F. Porter, Warner, O. 
Poultry.- D. B. Corey, Westfield, N. J. 
Bees.— Advice to Beginners. 
BT M. QUINBY. 
The " Christiau Union,' 1 having a department for Farm 
and Garden, says : "A man in New Hampshire bought 
four swarms of bees ten years ago, and now has an in- 
come of $1,200 a year from honey. Go buy four swarms 
of bees, young man." What is the meaning of this ? Is 
it a burlesque on teaching bee-keeping in one short 
paragraph ; or is it sober earnest ? As well say lk a man in 
New York bought oue hundred acres of land, and fifty 
cows, ten years ago, and now has an income of §2,000 a 
year from cheese. Go and buy a farm unci cows." What 
is gained? Is not such advice a damage to the reader? 
We want the other side; and that, alone, would be 
equally unfair. To say that a man bought bees or 
bought cows ten years ago, and now has no income or 
has one does not profit us. But when wo have the causes 
detailed that have led to these results, either favorable 
or otherwise, we have a key to success. 
John has a desire to keep bees. Let him take measures 
to know his business, examine the subject, and what 
may from such examination seem unfavorable, is often 
an advautage. If he has been trained to think that the 
simple act of buying four hives of bees will secure a 
competence, let him be undeceived. If he is sufficiently 
credulous to take the marvelous tales of the patent-ven- 
der, that his particular hive, and no other, will make him 
rich without an effort on his part, let him be undeceived. 
If he is indolent, and hopes to escape the necessity of 
labor by procuring bees to do it for him, I beg that he 
will not disgrace the business by undertaking and fail- 
ing. If he feels that he has an exemption pass— '* bees 
never sting me "—and supposes that he will have no case 
of sufficient provocation for them to sting, and bases his 
fitness ou that alone, he will feel differently after a little 
experience. If he dare not risk the possibility of a 
sting when protected as he can be now, or lets the fear 
of one prevent the performance of any duty until to- 
morrow or next week, he will find the profits small. 
With bees, more than many other things, very much de- 
pends on doing proper things at the right time. A good 
way to test his qualifications for bee-keeping is to exam- 
ine his way of doing things in the past. If he has been 
so unfortunate in his training as to form habits of indo- 
lence or negligence in his farming operations, until all 
chances of remuneration are lost— not so much from 
non-performance as for not performing the proper thing 
at the proper time, and failed to make it pay in conse- 
quence— he will not be likely to do better with bees. If 
his training has induced a study of natural history, and 
he is familiar with the habits of many things about him, 
and of bees in particular, or has a wish to become famil- 
iar, and has energy to carry a good resolve into effect, 
and can spare the time necessary from other duties to do 
it, I would advise a few bees, to begin. If he is conver- 
sant with the best books and papers on the subject, 
which he should be, he will not need much instruction 
until he gets the first colony. Should he begin in spring, 
which is the best time, let him get some one better ac- 
quainted with them than himself, if possible, to make 
the first purchase. In the absence of such assistance, I 
would say, first, Italians, in movable combs, are most 
desirable. Select from a large number, if possible. The 
best stocks arc not the heaviest. A large colony is very 
important. There should be bees in the spaces between 
