1872.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
A Hundred B> CI " Cent Interest. — 
"Book-farming" is a great bugbear with the majority 
of cultivators. Why, we could never quite discern. Sir. 
A. settles on a farm, got* to work hard, and never talks 
with any neighbor. Mr. B., living alongside Mr. A., 
with cqnal advantages in soil, capital, etc., drops in 
of an evening on Messrs. C, D., E.. F., and G.— talks 
with them about their crops, modes of culture, animals, 
and marketing crops. He goes to the clubs and fairs for 
the same purpose. In this way he not only has his own 
skill and experience, just as Mr. A. has, but he also has 
the benefit of the experience and the thinking and plan- 
ning of many others. If he gets no new hints from 
them, the conversation stimulates his own thoughts to 
activity, and he plans his work and his crops better. 
Mr. A., in effect, says : " I know it all ; I know so much 
that nobody can tell me anything/' Mr. B. says: "I 
think I know a good deal, hut the rest of the people 
know some things I do not, and I will try and get these." 
A good book is only a collection of the thought? and 
practices of many men on some subject. Agricultural 
papers are similar, but they discuss a wider range of 
subjects, and embody the thought and describe the 
practices of a larger number. No man or boy can read 
sach papers or books without, sensibly or insensibly to 
himself, having his mind developed and enlarged, his 
thinking and his reasoning improved ; and his hard 
labor will he more profitable, whether he suspects it or not. 
We firmly believe— we know— that every dollar invested 
in good hooks and papers to be read, will pay back a dol- 
lar every year—a hundred per cent— yes, much more. 
Farmers, every cultivator of a plot of ground, take our 
advice, and now, at the beginning of this year, squeeze 
out a few dollars, even if you have to borrow on 10 per 
cent interest, and buy a few good hooks and papers and 
read them this year. Let your sons and workmen read 
them. After you have done *>, you will not part with the 
knowledge and the mind-power gained for many times 
the cost of the books and papers. Try it. Take a step 
forward and upward in knowledge and mind-power this 
year. It will pay in many ways— it will pay In dollars. 
Sell, if need be, an acre of land, pnt it into good reading 
matter for your sons ; they will grow up with developed 
minds, and be far happier and more successful in the 
world than if you kept them ignorant of their business, 
and left them that extra acre at your death. They will 
he happier while at work if you give mum Bometiring t<_> 
read and think about, especially if it relates to the work 
Ihey are doing — the soil, the crops, the aniuials they 
daily handle. You will find in the premium list and in 
the advertising columns some hooka worth getting. 
Worms in Hogs.— Allen Cope sends a de- 
scription of a worm, a foot in length, which infests his 
hogs. He administered the common remedies : salt, 
ashes, sulphur, copperas, and finally calomel, which 
"brought away the worms. Had some simple remedy been 
given as a preventive, probably no trouble wonld have 
occurred. The treatment was judicious otherwise. 
Cure lor Cril>-Biting; and Wind - 
Sucking. — J. Teaklc, Baltimore, has discovered a 
method of curing this unpleasant vice, but without a 
drawing we can not fully understand it. Send a sketch. 
To Stain Leather. — "A Reader." A solu- 
tion of sulphate of iron (copperas), applied to sole-leath- 
er, will color it black. "When leather has from exposure 
become whitish, the black may be restored by wetting it 
with, a solution of gallic acid, before using the sulphate. 
Cure for Curb. — "A Reader" may cure curb, 
if not of long standing, by using fomentations of hot water 
for twenty minutes, followed by a blistering ointment of 
biniodide of mercury and lard. Continue daily until a 
good blister is formed. As this is a very poisonoifS sub- 
stance, the greatest caution in using it is necessary. 
l\o Fences in Ottawa Co., Kansas.— 
Frank Philbrick thinks a golden opportunity is offered 
to men of small means in Ottawa, and six adjoining 
counties of Kansas, where they can open a farm on the 
broad prairie at no cost for fences, as cattle, by law, must 
be herded by their owners. Ottawa is on the Solomon 
River, north of the Pacific Railroad. 
Shall the Boy he Allowed to 
Climb 1— A farmer whose father was a sailor, has a 
six-year-old hoy who delights in climbing on to the roof 
of the house and other high places. Shall he endeavor to 
curb this propensity ? Why should he ? There must be 
sailors, and this boy is evidently destined to*' a life on 
the ocean wave." A sailor's life is hard, and so is a farm- 
er's, and a good sailor may be an indifferent farmer. Let 
him follow his bent, and educate him so that ho may have 
every facility for success. 
Flower Seeds Gratis. — Last spring we 
published an offer from Charles D. Copeland, of Lima, 
Livingston County, N. Y., offering free parcels or flower 
seeds to any subscriber to the American Agriculturist. 
We learn that some six thousand of our readers re- 
sponded, and that much satisfaction has been expressed 
by them in numerous letters. Mr. Copelaud informs us 
that he renews the offer this year, having enough extra 
seeds fresh grown the past year to supply over fifty thou- 
sand such parcels, if called for. Each paper contains 
mixed seed of fancy Pinks and Sweet Williams, embracing 
an almost endless variety of the best German, Indian, 
Chinese, and Japanese varieties. We believe Mr. Cope- 
land to be reliable, and that he will promptly respond to 
any calls from our readers. All that is required is the 
post-office address, a statement that the seeds will be ac- 
ceptable, and the inclosureof a post-oflice stamp to pre- 
pay postage. Send to Lima, N. Y., as above. 
How his Scales paid the Interest 
on their Cost.— '*D. R.,'* of Worcester, Mass., has 
put up a pair of large hay scales. One item of saving 
was 24 bushels of corn, the difference between the fig- 
ures on the bill and actual weight of a car-load. 
Shall he Sell the Milk or Butter ?— 
J. II. Y. asks which is best, to sell milk at 5 cents per 
quart at his door, or make bntter at 30 cents, and pay 
freight, etc., out of that. There is double the money in 
milk at 5 cents, and less labor. 
Cotton-Seed Meal. — "C. W. C., 11 of 
Bricksburg, N. J., writes: "Won't yon please tell ns 
about feeding oil or cotton-seed cake ? I am feeding five 
quarts of wheat bran a day to my cows, and think of 
using cotton-seed cake during the winter. Had I better 
use that alone, or alternate with bran?" — If you are 
feeding for milk or for fat, use cotton-seed meal (or cake) 
with bran. If for butter, leave it alone. It will make 
your butter flaky and tallowy. 
Which is the Best Churn?— We do 
not know. Twenty dairymen, each using a churn of dif- 
ferent pattern, will each testify that his own is " superior 
to all others. 1 '' So it is, for his nso, so long as he is bet- 
ter SatlsneO Wltli U Ihmi -witU »nj- other. IHoxt io good 
butter, perhaps, a satisfaction with one's self and pos- 
sessions (including churns) is one of the most enjoyable 
blessings. Without disparagement to other makers, 
however, we can freely say the Blanchard Churn is very 
popular, eminently satisfactory, and deservedly so. The 
claim of the manufacturers that they make the churn of 
the best materials and workmanship we know to be well 
founded, and this fact has given it wide celebrity and 
immense success. 
5Ir. Sheldon Stephens, a farmer and a 
breeder of Jerseys near Montreal, writes : " While I was 
away I did not see the Country Gentleman, and I now 
find, in an October nnmber, a paragraph announcing the 
sale of all my Jerseys, and that I have * changed my busi- 
ness.' This would imply a want of confidence on my 
part in Jerseys as a breed, and dissatisfaction with farm- 
ing as a pursuit. I wish you would correct this erroneous 
impression in the Agriculturist, and say that I have no 
intention of giving up the breeding of Jerseys or of 
changing my business in the least. I hope I shall be 
able to finish tile-draining, and working up my farm to 
the best condition ; and I have not the slightest desire to 
open a shop of any sort." 
Blue Gum- Eucalyptus.— " T. A. W.," 
Elgin, 111. This quick-growing Australian tree has proved 
a great success in California. We have not heard of its 
being tried in Colorado, but doubt if the climate wonld 
be suited to it. French writers, speaking of its growth 
in Algiers, say that it will flourish wherever the oratge 
will grow. Its northern limit Is not well ascertained. 
Judson's Branching 1 Corn. — In De- 
cember last we published the statement of one of our 
associates that he had trie! three varieties of Judsoifs 
Branching Corn, and failed to get over two cars to the 
stalk. We have now evidence which shows different re- 
sults in other hands. " T. D.," Sharon, Pa., planted the 
sweet variety and found it most prolific. One stalk pro- 
duced eight good cars, some stalks five, others four, and 
never less than three. O. F. Treadwell, of New Haven, 
Ct., planted the Branching Sweet; " nearly every stalk 
had two ears and a good share of branching." Another 
lot planted in another place had among it stalks with five 
and sis cars, but Ihey were not well formed. There is 
much complaint in other quarters in regard to this corn, 
and we infer that there has been unfair dealing some- 
where in relation to it. 
Best Floor lor a House without 
a Cellar.— Win. Webb, Huntington, Iud. After the 
joists are placed, fill in with coarse gravel and ram down 
hard ; on this put a coat of cement and fine gravel and 
beat down level with the joists ; lay the fio»r close on tkis 
as soon as it is dry. No rats or mice will work under it. 
Xo Measure fifiay iu the Mow. — A 
"Reader" wants a rule for measuring hay in the mow. 500 
cubic feet of close-packed timothy hay will make a ton, 
or 800 feet of loosely packed clover hay. Between these 
limits xhc difference is relative ty the condition of the hay. 
How to use a Siphosa. — A "Subscrib- 
er," Raleigh, N. C, has on a hill a well twelve feet deep ; 
a ravine, 200 feet distant, is four feet lower than the water 
in the well ; will a siphon cause the water to flow into the 
ravine ? Yes. To start the water, solder a short piece of 
pipe into the siphon, just below tho bend, over the edge 
of the well; close with a plug the lower end; fill the long 
leg of the siphon with water through the pipe soldered 
on; when full, plug up the orifice and cement air-tight ; 
withdraw the plug at the lower end, and the water will 
flow, and continue until it is all drawn off. If tho supply 
remains constant, the stream will be constant too. 
Pennsylvania Frnit-Gr«>ver»' As- 
^oeiation. — Tiiis, one of the most thoroughly active 
and useful bodies in the country, will hold its next 
annual meeting at Horticultural Hall, in Philadelphia, 
on January 17th. Addresses will be given by several 
prominent fruit-growers and others, and the discussions 
which will follow will be well worth hearing. Josiah 
Hoopcs is President, and a number of other live men are 
upon the list of officers. 
Cahfoagfe-Louse.— A "Subscriber," Succa- 
sunna, N. T., has had nearly all his turnips destroyed by- 
lice, which consumed the leaves. How shall he destroy 
them? The best remedy is lime, slaked dry with water 
in which carbolic acid has been dissolved, one part, and 
dry air -slaked lime three parts; mix together and 
sprinkle on the leaves, while wet with dew. Where they 
are very numerous on a leaf, it is better to removo it and 
destroy them by burning. 
A. Freak in Corn. — A gentleman sends 
from Pittsburgh, Pa., a specimen of corn having well-de- 
veloped grains upon the tassel. This is not rare. 
Tobacco.- " Z. G. H.," Salem, N. C. It 
would take several l»ng articles to answer yonr queries. 
You had better procure our pamphlet upon Tobacco Cul- 
ture. See book list. The quality is greatly influenced by 
soil and climate, and you should endeavor to find out 
what kind does best in your vicinity. Connecticut seed- 
leaf grown in your State would be quite unlike that rais- 
ed in the Connecticut Valley from the same lot of seed. 
New York is usually the best market for all products. 
How to Raise a Calf.— F. Prade, Rock- 
ville, Ct., takes a bladder and fills it with warm milk and 
allows the calf to suck. Better teach it to drink from 
the pail at once, which may be readily done. 
Marl from Iowa.— N. J. Burt & Co., 
Burlington, Iowa, send a sample of marl and asks its 
value. The specimen is carbonate of lime, and has evi- 
dently resulted from the decomposition of a limestono 
rock. It will be of value as a top-dressing to grass, 
laud, especially so to clover, and also to soils whicli 
contain much vegetable matter. It may be spread iii 
quantities of 50 to 103 bushels per acre. 
Queer Egg's;— A subscriber in Charleston, 
S. C, writes an interesting letter graphically describing 
the effect produced upon the colored people of his neigh- 
borhood by black eggs which have been laid for two sea- 
sons by a duck which he keeps. Such an occurrence as a 
black c^ may, naturally enough, be constraed into an 
omen by the superstitious, and is qnite as anomalous as 
a white blackbird. He says: "The duck is of an ordi- 
nary English breed, with a white neck-ring and breast. 
She lays about fifteen eggs, then stops a .voile and resumes. 
The first cg^ of each laying is as black as the ink with 
which yonr journal is printed, and each successive one i» 
a shade lighter, until a dark slate-color is reached. The 
color can not he washed or rubbed off, but can be removed 
by scraping with a knife." Quv. correspondent asks us 
to explain the occurrence.. Wc can only say that in many 
cases of discoloration of various animal sccrotions, car- 
bon is the pigment deposited, and very likely it is in this 
instance. The eggs must be considered abnormal, yet 
they may produce, ducklings that are perfectly healthy. It 
is worth while to raise some in order to fiud, whe thcr thq 
trait will profc hereditary, as it may 
