8 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[January, 
IF.— If you persuade a neighbor to take and 
read a wide-awake, instructive, reliable journal, treating 
specially of his business, yon set him to thinking, you 
elevate him and his family. He will experiment, and you 
will have the benefit of his experiments. His family 
will read and be more intelligent neighbors. The tone 
of society will improve; and yonr own property even will 
be improved in value. Every additional reader in the 
place will have a like tendency. Scatter annually in any 
neighborhood $50 worth of good periodicals and books, 
on agriculture, horticulture, and domestic economy, and 
it will change the character of the neighborhood, and in- 
crease the intelligence and the desirableness of the 
place, and raise its product many hundreds of dollars in 
the aggregate, every year. One easy, cheap way of ac- 
complishing this is, for the people to unite, raise a club, 
and each receive thir- journal, or Hearth and Home, or 
botli, and get one C the book premiums as a library for 
common use by all. It only needs some wideawake, en- 
terprising, public-spirited man or woman— young or old— 
to start the enterprise in each neighborhood. See pre- 
miums 94 to lOfi, pages 37 and 38. By a little effort any 
man or boy may secure quite a lot of good books for him- 
self as a premium without money. 
Pacific Railroad Lands.- The Direc- 
tors of the Northern Pacific Railroad have established the 
rule " That land exploration tickets over the Northern 
Pacific Railroad be sold at full fare, and that persons who 
take such tickets and within sixty days thereafter pur- 
chase lands of the Company to the amount of 40 acres or 
more, shall be credited the fare on their purchase and be 
entitled to free tickets for themselves and families when 
going to settle upon the lands purchased." 
Our Staff! — The Agriculturist commences 
the new year with an unusually full corps of editors, 
Bpecial contributors, correspondents, etc. In looking 
over the list we are gratified to notice that there is not a 
man among them who is, ever has been, nor, so far as Ave 
know, expects to be a Member of Congress or of a State 
Legislature, a City Alderman, or even a Mayor. We there- 
fore feel assured that all engaged upon the paper will be 
able to devote their time to the interests of our readers. 
Fowls Sneezing;.— "G. H.," Cleveland, 
O. Poultry sometimes sneeze when swallowing soft food, 
for ttio BOmoroaeon tl»at cl.U'U'ou <Jo, i^;., fcUoy ontioo fact. 
But if your fowls frequently sneeze at other times, you 
had better look closely for a disctujrge at the beak, and 
other signs of roup. Sneezing in the poultry-yard is a 
thing not to be sneezed at, for it is often the first intima- 
tion of this troublesome disease. A careful poultry- 
keeper will go the rounds of the roosts by lantern-light, 
listening for such warningB. 
Xhe Best Clover to Sow on Poor 
Land..— A. D. Cloyd, Nashville, Tenn., wants to sow 
clover, on poor land worn out with com, as a fertilizer, 
and asks if the small Red or the Mammoth clover is the 
best. The large clover makes the largest amount of 
matter to plow under, but it is often difficult to get it 
properly covered. We tried it once, but abandoned it 
for the common Red. 
How to I>ye a Permanent Red.— 
A lady asks for a permanent red dye for cotton. There 
is no permanent red except the old-fashioned "Turkey" or 
Madder red. This is obtained by means of a bath o. boiling 
solution of alum in water. When the cloth is saturated 
with alum, it is to be placed in a decoction of Madder-root 
for an hour, rinsed in clear water, and plunged into a 
lye of common soda, and again washed in clear water. 
A. OiK'liint* Machine. — A person asks us 
to notice favorably a ditching machine in which he is in- 
terested. It is altogether contrary to our practice to re- 
commend or even advertise anything, unless we arc sat- 
isfied it is really what it is represented to be. Our ad- 
vertising columns would be the proper means of intro- 
ducing it to our readers. 
To Van Sheep-Skins tor Whip- 
Lashes. — R. S. II., Middletown, Ct., can tan sheep- 
skins for this purpose by soaking them in weak lime- 
water, to remove the wool, and then rubbing them with 
oil or grease with pressure of a roller thicker in the cen- 
tre than at the ends. They will absorb a large quantity 
of grease. Finish with chalk or whiting. 
Asparagus Beetle.— " A. G. K.," Eliza- 
beth, N. J. The insect undergoes its transformation be- 
low the surface of the earth or under rubbish. It requires 
over a month from the g^ to the perfect insect. Three 
broods are produced in a year. The perfect insects of the 
last brood, which hatches in September, pass the winter 
hidden under loose bark or in some similar shelter. 
Walks and TalUs.— J. S. Bowles, Hamil- 
ton Co., O.— These papers have never been collected in a 
book form. You can only obtain them by purchasing 
the back volumes of the Agriculturist 
SinmiKY HUMBr«S.-We are thor- 
oughly tired of the constant labor, watching, and care in- 
volved in keeping up, month after month, and year after 
year, the chapter under this head. But the thousands of 
letters commendatory of its great usefulness, and the re- 
ports of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dol- 
lars in the aggregate saved to the people of the country, 
compel us to keep up an unceasing warfare upon swin- 
dlers who grow rich by taking advantage of ignorant 
people, and those easily imposed upon, because, honest 
in themselves, they are unsuspecting of fraud in others. 
So we shall in future cheerfully continue the work as in 
the past. The chapter this month is crowded out from 
its usual place, but we have made room for it by leav- 
ing out a page of advertisements — sec page 39. 
School Geographies. — Messrs. "Wilson, 
Hinklc&Co., Cincinnati, publish a series of school geog- 
raphies by Gen. Von Steiuwehr, called the Eclectic Series. 
It includes a primary work and two of a higher grade. 
It is difficult to conceive of anything finer in the way of 
school-books. The maps and engravings are exquisite, 
and when we consider how firmly fixed are the first im- 
pressions too much importance can not be attached to ex- 
cellence and accuracy in the pictorial and topographical 
illustrations. The works arc brought tip to the present 
time, and we have derived much pleasure in studying the 
beautiful maps, which, though made for children, will be 
found useful to all. Map-drawing occupies a considerable 
space in the course, and physical geography receives 
proper attention. 
Dry Murrain.— W. H. Catlin, Burton Co., 
Mo., asks the cause and remedy for dry murrain. The 
only symptom given to us is one not generally belonging 
to this disease, and it is therefore doubtful if the cows 
were suffering from] it. Murrain is consequent in a low. 
debilitated condition, and tonics or astringents arc ad- 
ministered with sulphur. In the absence of a more ex- 
act description it is impossible to advise. 
Xlie Best Clnmi.-J. P. C.," Dayton, 
O., asks which is the best churn ? He wants one " that 
has no dash and is innocent of inside works." Such 
churns a/c rare in this country. We believe the Kalmuck 
Tartars use something of that sort, made of a goat's skin, 
but their butter would not fetch much in our markets. 
We use a churn which turns by means of a crank and 
cog-wheels, and has a double dash, but no other inside 
works. When the butter comes the dash will gather it 
by turning back and forth. 
Paint Tor Farm Implements.— "G. 
R. W." wants to know how to mix paints for painting 
farm implements or wagons. A coat of crude petroleum 
will make a good ground to commence with. To cover 
this, boiled linseed oil should be used, mixed with a por- 
tion of litharge, or patent, dryer— about a pound to the 
pint of oil. For colors, use red-lead, lamp-Hack, Paris 
green, Prussian blue, or red or brown oxides of iron (com- 
monly called fire-proof mineral paint). The green and 
liluc arc costly colors. 
■ I <> \v to Ascertain when it is >oon. 
— " W. II. C." wants to know how to ascertain the cor- 
rect time at noon any day in the year, so that he may 
be able to keep a clock regulated by it. To do this cor- 
rectly requirea the use of delicate instruments by which 
the highest altitude of the sun is taken. When the sun 
is in this position it is on the meridian, and it is noon at 
that particular place. An approximation may be made 
by getting up two plumb lines in such a position that 
they are in a direct line with Hie north efcnr; a post Is 
then set perpendicularly beneath each plumb bob. When 
the shadow of the south post falls exactly on a straight 
line, drawn from the foot of one post to that of the other. 
it is n«on, for the sun is then exactly in the south. This 
can be reduced to mean time by comparing it with the 
time on which the sun is on the meridian for that day as 
given in tho almanacs, and set the clock accordingly. 
Cattle Licks. — A "Subscriber/ 1 Greenwood, 
Del., has some spots on his farm, which the cattle keep 
bare by continually licking them, and on which the corn 
i* affected injuriously. What is the cause and remedy ? 
The above description, and the fact that lime injures the 
crop, would seem to point to salt as the trouble. If so, 
no surface application will avail. Deep drains through 
the spots would possibly intercept the supply of salt and 
permit the rains in time to wash the surface free from it. 
White Daisy.— Henry Zehner, Butler Co., 
Pa., has purchased foul timothy seed and has filled his 
laud with white daisy. How shall he get rid of it f If 
it is inconvenient to plow the land in May, pasture it 
with sheep, which are very fond of this weed. But if 
plowed early in summer and any daisies that come up 
afterwards are pulled or destroyed before they seed, the 
land may be cleared of them. 
Value or Liquid Mannre.-" S," 
Long Island, asks if it will pay to cart liquid manure half 
a mile ; if so, how shall he apply it. It will pay, unless 
much diluted, and even then, if it can easily be hauled, 
it is worth the expense. Throw on to dry absorbents, 
or, what is preferable, spread directly. 
Is Stable Mamuc at Two Dollars 
per Load better than A rtiflclal manures t 
— U W." asks advice on this point. We would rather 
take the stable manure, if of average quality, at this price, 
than depend wholly on artificial manures. But we favor 
the use of bone-dust, superphosphate, and guano occa- 
sionally, as a help to barn-yard or stable manure. Plaster 
and lime, occasionally, are also indispensable. 
The Cost of Draining.— "G. W." wants 
information about the cost of uuderdraining. Draining 
by means of tiles, put four feet beneath the surface and 
forty feet apart, will cost from $35 to $50 per acre. The 
ditches will 'cost 50 cents per rod or less, according to the 
nature of the ground, the tiles 20 cents per rod, including 
the laying, and filling the ditches 10 cents, in all 80 cents. 
Exhibition in Bermuda. — A fair will 
be held at Hamilton, Bermuda, commencing on January 
23d. A glance at the premium list at once impresses one 
with the wonderful difference in climate between Ber- 
muda and our Northern States. Prizes are offered for 
such fruits and vegetables as would be shown with us in 
August and September, as well as for many quite unknown 
in this country. 
Subsoil from Utah.— S. J. Andersen, 
St. Peter's Co., Utah, sends a sample of the subsoil from 
his farm which kills young trees as soon as the roots pen- 
etrate it. What is it? The soil, which appears like a 
gi-ayiaii oi*j- Aricir pni vurizeo, is eviaentiy me remains of 
a rock containing a feldspar rich in soda. This in a rain- 
less country would make a soil injurious to vegetation. ' 
Irrigation will, in time, remove the excess of soda. 
" 'Exceedingly "Valuable to me 
are your pages of advertisements,'" 1 writes an old sub- 
scriber, u for I have learned to turn to them with confi- 
dence, since knowing that the publishers give careful at- 
tention to editing this department of the American Agri- 
culturist and Hearth and Home. It is such a relief to see 
business announcements that are not sandwiched with 
' patent medicines,' ' gift enterprises,* humbngs, and the 
like. And ttien the feeling that unreliable parties are ex- 
cluded from these columns, and that I can order from 
any advertiser who is admitted, without fear oTbeing un- 
fairly dealt with, is surelya comfort. lvalue this feature 
of the paper so highly that I should continue a subscrib- 
er for it even if yon sent me nothing but the advertising 
pages. Idaubtnotyou could make ten times as much 
present money, if you let in the excluded class, who, 
giving little for the much money they get, can afford to 
pay big prices for advertisements, but I am sure your 
course will pay best in the long run " The above is 
an epitome ©f a. multitude of letters received— and we 
value such testimony. We hope our readers who think 
thus will make their feelings known to our advertisers, 
when writing to them with orders, or for circulars, etc., or 
at least tell them where their advertisements were seen. 
Chinese Yam. — " Subscriber, 11 Taunton, 
Mass. There is no difficulty in growing the yam, but the 
trouble is to get the crop out nf tho ground. TJic tubers 
arc often three feet long, largest at the lower end, and as 
brittle as glass. In view of the difficulty of digging them, 
some one proposed to go to China and pull them through. 
A German Edition of this Journal has 
been issued for 14 years past, and is still continued. It 
contains the engravingsand principal articlesof the Eng- 
lish edition, with a special German department, edited by 
Hon. Fred. Munch, a distinguished cnlturistof Missouri. 
This edition ought to be in the hands of every German 
cultivator in the country, and is of special value to the 
multitudes constantly coming hither from the old world. 
Many subscribers to the English edition also take the 
German edition for their German gardeners and laborers. 
Our friends will oblige us, and their German neighbors 
also, by informing them of the above facts. The German 
edition is supplied at the same price as the English, and 
may form a part of clubs for the latter. 
