%4r<5 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[July, 
*' are now making an unjust use of a dead man's name to 
sell the identical instrument that was found defective years 
ago ; " while Dr. J. Ball & Co., in their circular, caution 
against counterfeiters, and say, "They sometimes go 
undei the name of a 'College,' when no such medical 
college exists in our city.'" To those disposed to try 
Bye Caps we say, Don't We have also rival " Moun- 
tain Herb" medicines, one in New York and the other 
in Chicago. If obliged to decide between them, we 
■hould go for the Chicago " Herb," as that has a circular 
giving a pathetic account of " How I found Aunt Mary,' 1 
and it was * k Aunt Mary " who found the " Herb." It is 
all very touching, especially the "religious" part of it. 
We are informed that a "medicine" advertised 
largely from Jersey city is only one of our well known 
New York dealers in this line with another string to his 
bow, over in Jarsey, and that he sends over for his letters. 
We shall have to look this up. 
ANATOMICAL MUSEUMS. 
A Boston subscriber sends ns a pamphlet concerning a 
"Gallery of Anatomy," and asks "Is this quackery?" 
There are in most large cities one or more " anatomical 
museums." There are so many who know but little 
about the structure of their own bodies, in whom there 
Is a strong desire to know more, that these exhibitions 
are well patronized, especially by the young. Very ex- 
cellent models of all parts of the human body in health 
and disease, made in wax or papier-mache, may be bought 
in Paris for a moderate sum. These, with a few skele- 
tons and preparations in alcohol, usually make up the 
eto k of these exhibitions. They may be made instructive 
or not, as they are managed. So far as our personal 
knowledge of them goes, they have merely served as a 
sort of advertisement to those who treat private diseases. 
RECIPES FOR FERTILIZERS. 
A chap is around in Maryland, and probably elsewhere, 
selling a recipe for making a fertilizer. The pr ce of the 
recipe is $10, and the purchaser binds himself in a 
penalty of $500 not to divulge the secret. We have seen 
one of these recipes, and can not advice any one to in- 
vest in such stock. Tilings that are of real value are not 
hawked about the country in this manner. 
"THE QUEER." 
The dealers in counterfeit money are unusually scarce. 
The unusual efforts of the police, backed by the courts 
and the city officials, have made dealers in "sawdust" 
refreshingly scarce at least in New York City. C. 
Alland has moved West, and dates his taking, confi- 
dential letters from Louisiana, Mo. ; I?. S. Nixon may be 
fuund at 34 Amity st. ; J. M. Ward & Co., ti4 Grand st. 
Size of a, Bushel. — u Rural." A struck 
bushel C*" -ains 2,150 cubic inches in round numbers (ex- 
actly *2,l50Vio)- Any hox or vessel whose length, width, 
and depth, multiplied together, equ lis 2,150 inches, holds 
a bushel. Thus a hox 13 inches long, 13 inches wide, 
and 12?£ inches deep, contains 2,154 cubic inches, which 
■will be nearly enough correct for home use. A heaped 
bushel is 2.750 cubic inches in most places, at least 
charcoal, coal, and lime are everywhere measured by 
this bushel ; and a box or other measure, or a heap or 
corn-crib needs to have its contents reduced to cubic 
inches and divided by 2,750 to find the quantity con- 
taiued in heaped bushels. 
Sawdust as a Mulch.— "F. W. W." 
Sawdust, in decaying, is often infested with fungus, and 
this has been found injurious to plants. As a mulch for 
etrawberries it is useless, as the fine particles are thrown 
upon the berries by the rain. 
French Stocks.— W. D. Baker, Fayette 
Co., Pa: A " French stock" is, of necessity, no better 
than any other stock. Some stocks can be more certainly 
and more cheaplv raised abroad than here, and our nur- 
serymen often find it to their advantage to use imported 
stocks. If any one has charged yon 75 (tents to $1.50 for 
pear, plum, and quince trees of ordinary nursery size, 
for the reason that they were worked on French Block, 
you had next time better buy of some other dealer. 
Rose«l>ii^s on Grape-Tines. — " M. 
B. B" The onlv remedy we know of is to shako them 
off early in the morninc, when they do not fly readily, 
and catch them in a pan of water. 
Sowing 1 Grass and Clover in the 
Fall-— "B. D.," Noll Co., Ohio (and several others). 
The question of success or failure in sowing timothy and 
clover immediately aft*- harvest depends on the quality 
of the ground and the weather. With good, rich soil, 
grass and clover will take la spite of very dry weather ; 
but with an average amount of rain, they will be suffi- 
ciency advanced to resist the winter on moderately good 
soils. We would, on such groflnd, sow twelve quart b of 
Timothy and six of clover, harrowing the ground well 
before and after sowing 1 . The last harrowing should be 
light. We, on one occasion, succeeded in getting an ex- 
cellent stand by sowing, after a crop of wheat was har- 
vested, a bushel of buckwheat with the grass seed, and 
leaving the buckwheat to be cut down by the frost. It 
was a protection to the grass both from heat and frost. 
Summer-Pruning' the Crape, — "M. 
D. B." We do not know in what sense you use the term 
" summer-pruning." If yo» mean the pinching of later- 
als, it should be continued as long as they pnsh. There 
should be no other summer-pruning than that which can 
be done by the thumb aud finger. 
Steam-plow.— " B. B.," Plymouth, N. n. 
The various experiments in steam-plowing have not, as 
yet, progressed to far as to warrant any person in saying 
definitely whether it is to be a success or a failure in this 
country during this century. That it will succeed aud 
be largely used, we do not doubt — in time — but only in 
level districts and on large farms. We would recom- 
mend no one to experiment except 6ome public-spirited 
person who could afford to lose $10,000. 
Skin E> i senses in Dogrs. — Prof. Williams, 
veterinary surgeon, is quoted bytheMedical and Surgical 
Reporter as saying that skin diseases in dogs require to 
he treated with great care. Applications that may be 
used upon other animals with safety will upou the dog 
produce great disturbance, and even death. For this 
reason he has abandoned carbolic acid, no matter how 
dilute, in canine skin diseases, as the effect is sometimes 
deleterious and fatal. lie finds the best application as a 
stimulant to the skin in dogs to be sublimed sulphur and 
carbonate of potash, each a drachm, made into an oint- 
ment with one ounce of lard. 
Agricultural Colleges. — Last month 
we referred to the trouble that had attended the disposi- 
tion of the national land grant by the different states. 
There has long been much dissatisfaction in Illinois, and 
now the papers talk about a Credit Mnbilier as connected 
with the college — we beg pardon, University — at 
Cliamplain. 
The Sheep-Ticlf.— « W. L. L.," Wash- 
ington Co., Pa. The sheep-tick may easily be extirpated 
by dipping the lambs after the she^p have been sheared. 
While the wool of the sheep is short, the ticks, to escape 
the light, go upon the lambs and accumulate in such 
numbers as to greatjjr aunoy them and interfere with 
their growth, and often kill Ihem. If the lambs at this 
time are dipped in a solution of carbolic eheep-dip, the 
ticks will he killed, and the flock freed for this season 
from their persecutions. A barrel sawn in halves or a 
large wash-tub or a watering-trough may be need for the 
purpose, and a five-pound can of the dip will make fifty 
gallons of the solution. It will cost $1.75, and maybe 
had of Orange Judd & Co., 245 Broadway, Now York. 
Largre Hogs.- u H. T. S.," Unionsville, 
Ct., sends us the following weights of some Chester Co. 
hogs as follows: One nearly two years and a half old 
dressed 81S pounds. One pig nine months and twenty- 
five days old dressed 510 pounds. This was fed by a 
neighbor of "fl, T. S.," and was sired by the first- 
mentioned hog. 
Value of Coal-aslies. — " A Farmer." 
Coal-ashes are useful on all soils mechanically, loosening 
a heavy clay and improving sandy loams. They coutain 
lime, alumina or clay, silica or tand, and sometimes 
notable quantities of potash and phosphoric acid. 
Farming and Hunting.— A "Young- 
Man,'" Mount Vernon, 111., who wants to go where man- 
ure is not needed (at least at present), and where he can 
get some hunting to rest him occasionally, should go to 
Western Kansas, where buffalo and antelope are plentiful, 
and where lie will have an excellent chance for sheep or 
cattle grazing. There he will have also good air, good 
water, grass, and game, which he is in search of. 
Keeping Mill* Street in Summer. 
—"A Subscriber" can only keep his milk sweet in hot 
weather by the nse of ice, or placing the pant in a stream 
of cold aprfng water ; attention to cleanliness of the pau s 
Is absolutely necessary. 
Cheese Factories in Kansas. — 
"Farmers' Club." Fanners in Kansas are acting wisely in 
looking to the establishment of cheese factories. This 
is one of the methods of manufacturing produce whereby 
the raw material which will not bear transportation is 
changed into an article of much higher value on which 
the freight bears proportionately very much less. Kansas 
is Very well adapted for dairying and cheesfl-maklng, and 
farmers' clubs can not do better than gather aud spread 
information upon this subject. The cost of electing 
buildings and furnishing them will be somewhat higher 
than in the East, but an advantage will be gained in the 
less cost of land, labor, feed, etc., and the con sequent 
less cost of the finished product. The cheese eaten in 
the WeBt is from New York factories chiefly, and there 
will he another advantage gained in the saving of the 
freight now paid on this cheese. The building needed 
for the milk of 600 cows might be put up for $3,000, even 
in Kansas, if of wood. Brick would be preferable, al- 
though it wou'd cost possibly 50 per cent more than this. 
The fittings would cost $1,500 or $1,600. The associated 
principle works as well as any other. The yield of cheese 
is at the rate of one pound from ten pounds of milk. We 
believe there is a factory in operation in Kansas, or at 
least there was, with what snecess we have not learned. 
There are over £0 in Illinois, and GO or 40 in Wisconsin, 
many of which use the milk of 200 cows or less. 
Tine Pnnctnred l»y Unsects. — "J. C," 
Royallon, O.. sends us grape canes which are punctured 
sometimes for the entire length of a joint so as to split 
the twig quite down to the pith. Small overlapping e<ig9 
are laid in the fissure. The eggs are evidently those of a 
tree-cricket, probably the Snowy Tree-cricket ((Eeanthus 
niveus) which, according to Mr. Riley (in Am. Entomolo- 
gist), is often very destructive in the far West, not only 
to the grape-vine but fruit trees and even willows. If J. 
C. hatches out tho eggs in a bottle as he proposes he 
will probably get a small cricket less than an inch long, 
the male of which is ivory white. 
Composting.— "J. J. S.," who writes from 
Columbus, but which one is not stated, asks if he should 
mix any fertilizer with a compost of marl and manure. 
No ; such a plan is not to be recommended. It would 
not he what is understood as a compost. That is a mix- 
ture of such matters as swamp-muck, leaves, refuse vege- 
table matter, sods, lime, or plaster together in such a 
way that fermentation may take place, and the materials 
become well-rotted and broken down. Stable manure 
may be used In such a mixture to start the fermentation 
as a sort of leaven. But the mixture of concentrated 
fertilizers, which are of themselves sufficiently fine and 
soluble, with stable manure and other coarse materials is 
not advisable. It is better to apply them to the soil 
separately. The bone-dust referred to is probably as it 
is represented to be. The parties have a reputation for 
respectability, and that is all that purchasers of commer- 
cial fertilizers have to rely upon. 
Wool Box.-"J. D ," Rock Co.. Wis. The 
wool box described in tho American Agriculturist of May, 
1872, is not patented. 
Corns in Horses* Feet. — A " Horse- 
man," Orange Co., N. Y. Corns are not a disease, but 
result from injuries to the sole of the foot. When the 
sole is pared thin, a blow from a stone which strikes it 
injures the sensitive portion of the foot which should be 
protected by the sole, and au effusion of blood or serum 
oc.urs, which presses upon the bruised part and causes 
lameness. A red or discolored spot is seen. This is 
supposed to be a corn, and is pared away until it bleeds, 
and instead of good being done there is much evil. If 
the shoe is also improperly put on, so that the bearing is 
unequal, parts of the sole become bruised with the same 
result. A remedy is to foment the sole with hot water, 
or to stuff the foot with tow, which should be soaked in 
hot water repeatedly. If a badly-fitting shoe is the cause, 
it should be removed before the fomentations are applied, 
and refitted with an even beoringall round, but especially 
at the heel, when the lameness will soon disappear. If 
the shoes were always well fitted, and made long at the 
heel, and the sole and frog not pared down until no pro- 
tection to the foot is left, there would he many fewer 
lame horses. 
About Whiflletrees. — <( W. H. M., M 
MontL-omery Co., Ta. The length of the whifflotree has 
no effect whatever on the draft of a team. One of three 
feet will be equally effective as one four feet or five, and 
vica versa. 
E;art3i« Closet Manure,- L B. Y," 
Meriden, Ct. The doubt thrown ur*>n the value of earth- 
closet manure by a distinguish** 1 agricultural chemist re- 
lates to the supposed loss «* ammonia in the mixture of 
refuse and earth after* lapse of time. This view is not 
accepte.. by rome fltber chemists whose analyses go to 
show that tho ammonia or nitregen does not disappear. 
Practically, however, it is not of much importance, for if 
some of the ammonia.is necessarily lost we can not help 
It, and must accept, what we can save on the principle of 
" half a Irj&f rather than no bread" 
