1872.] 
AMERICAN AGRIOaLTURIST. 
9 
u 
Ten Dollars a Day.' 
Advertisements like the above arc very common, with 
the addition of M expenses paid." An investigation will 
generally (not always) show that, to get a chance at such 
a prize, one must first advance more or less money, which 
is -one in any case, and then lie must trust to luck in 
selling some " gimcrack " to get his salary and expenses 
out of a commission. — We think a much belter opportu- 
nity is presented in the premiums offered ou page 3 
No advance money is required, and no expenses needed. 
One has only to show specimen copies of the papers (pre- 
sented free) to his friends and neighbors, explain their 
character, and solicit their subscriptions. It will be seen 
that a very few names will secure a $10 article fres, that 
is worth this amount of cash, either for nsc or for §ale. 
This can usually be done evenings, and when not engaged 
in one's regular occupation. We make no promises of 
any sure amount per day or hour, but we do know that a 
multitude of persons have realized as much as ten dol- 
lars a day— often much more— in canvassing for our pre- 
mium articles, and that there are thousands of others who 
may do the same thing, with profit to themselves, to 
the publishers, and to those they secure as subscribers. 
See pages 37 and 3-S. 
Prolific Ewes.— Mr. Win. Woodsell, Bath 
County, Va„ writes that he has two ewes which are each 
two years old this spring, and the two together have given 
birth to fourteen lambs. A year ago this spring they were 
yearlings and had three lambs each, but as these came in 
cold weather they froze to death. This year the ewes 
had each four lambs, seven of which arc living, of good 
size and lively. This is a remarkable case. 
^Ifiuui'ing a GSartl en. — "A. McM." If 
the manure is at hand haul it on whenever you can. We 
man urc and plow in the fall and plow again in spring. 
64 Missionary *' Grap«>Vino.- Geo.W. 
Baldock, Clark County, Ind. We know of no vine of 
this name. The Mission grape, so common in California, 
is an European variety, and if yon have bought this yon 
are, as you suspect, " humbugged," in so tar OS u win 
not succeed with you in out-door culture. 
'Die Atlrantage of a Pair of Plat- 
form Scales.— Geo. H. Russell, Oakville, Pa., writes 
us setting forth the trouble farmers labor under in selling 
their grain, both in being cheated in weight and being 
compelled, for want of storage, to sell at unfavorable 
periods. We have impressed on farmers the advantage 
of weighing the whole of their produce accurately before 
taking it to market, and insisting on receiving the true 
proceeds. This can only be done byprocuring and using 
correct platform scales— steelyards arc not reliable. Safe 
"bins for storing grain have been already figured and de- 
scribed in the American Agriculturist. 
How to Kill Old. Morses.— "Mass.," 
Taunton, Mass., asks how to kill an old horse most 
speedily. This is a humane proceeding, and a far more 
" Christ iau work" than selling' them to draw canal -boats. 
A bullet from a rifle or Colt's "navy revolver at the base 
of the ear is the most speedy and painless mode of de- 
stroying an animal. But let some person apply it that is 
free from nervousness and can do it with certainty. 
Ayrshire* or Jerseys for ISuttcr. 
— A Massachusetts farmer asks which art better, Ayr- 
shires or Jerseys, for butter? There is no doubt but the 
Jersey cow is preferable for yielding butter in quantity 
aud quality. We think the Ayrshires come next. Some 
prefer Devons to Ayrshires. In theirnativo county — Ayr, 
in Scotland— they are considered as "butter cows" as 
Well as cheese COWS. We Uavu had excellent cowe of tho 
Ayrshire and Jersey breeds, and could hardly say which 
we prefer for the ordinary nses of the farm. It is the 
mode of preparation which makes it necessary for " Jcr- 
" (not New Jersey) butter to be eaten fresh. Properly 
salted it will keep a year or longer. 
A^c to Market Fo^rls.— " J. W. A.," 
Kansas City, Mb. No precise age' can be given at which 
hens cease to be profitable as layers. This depends on 
breed*, degree of thrift, and amount of previous laying. 
Hens forced by high feeding to lay profusely during the 
early part of their lives will lay correspondingly less 
afterwards. 
m° See Page 37. 
Food lor 'l'lii>roni2;li-l>refll !*ig-s.— II. 
K. Smith, of Illinois, writes that lie has just bought a 
pair of thorough-bred Essex pigs. "I am," he says, 
"pleased with them. They are as quiet as cats. I 
would like to ask your opinion as to how they should be 
fed to produce the best results, I am now giving a mush 
made of unboiled wheat and oatmeal mixed with good 
milk. I thought it best not to give too much corn whiTc 
young." We can suggest no improvement to the above 
diet. It is very nutritious food, but as long as the pigs 
arc growing rapidly it will not hurL them. The point is 
to feed them as much as they can digest and turn into 
flesh. If they eat more than they can digest, it will pro- 
duce scours. In this case reduce the quality of the food 
by mixing bran with it. A few potatoes, parsnips, beets, 
or mangolds may be given with advantage. Let them 
have as much exercise as possible. 
Onions. — " Mrs. J. Bl M As wc can not make 
out your locality we must answer on general principles. 
If you intend to raise onions to sell green, you must buy 
the sets, which will cost this year about $7 or fiS per 
bushel. Much depends on the size of the sets, but the 
ordinary size will require 15 to 20 bushels to plant an 
acre. However, as the labor on onions so planted is 
great, though the profits are large, you had better not at- 
tempt more than an eighth part of an acre at most. If you 
intend to sell onions dry, then you must sow the seed. 
The red is most generally grown. Price of seed about $2 
per pound ; quantity sown with seed sower, in drills, per 
acre, two or three pounds. We cannot estimate the crop, 
as all depends on the condition of the land and the care 
with which it is cultivated. The seed can be purchased 
of any of the seedsmen advertising in our columns. It is 
best to buy at once, before the rush of orders begins, as 
if yon delay it late in the season yon may not be able to 
get your order filled in time. The rush on our seedsmen 
is so great as the season is opening in spring that many 
orders are necessarily delayed until it is too late. 
CJrowing Ximotliy Seed. — "W. J. J." 
asks ••■ if timothy seed draws heavily on the land." Proba- 
bly not. The main difference between raising a crop of 
timothy bayand acropof timothy seed .is that the nutri- 
ment in the one case is distributed through the hay. while 
in the other a portion of it is taken from the hay and con- 
«ntrnt ?( i ;.. tho ceed. The formation of seed draws 
heavily on the Aay, but not necessarily on the land'. 
Best Variety of Winter Wlaeat for 
Illinois.— An Illinois farmer says he raises Mediterra- 
nean wheat, and that " the yield is not satisfactory — only 
twenty bushels per acre." and he wants a better variety. 
We shall be glad to hear from our readers on this point. 
Our varieties of wheat are better than our culture. 
BcdlnUnnd Pencil.— Some people will 
write with red ink and others will use pencil. An editor 
who has much to do will usually drop communications 
written with either of these mediums into the waste bat 
ket. Black ink if you please, and leave these reds, mauves, 
and all other colored abominations to school-girls. 
Thorns for Sledges* — " Young Farmer, 1 ' 
Ont. We do not know what you mean by " Common 
Thorn." without specimens. There are three or four 
that are common. Thorns are used for hedges, but they 
come out too late, and are too liable to attacks of insects, 
to be popular. The seed generally remains a year in the 
ground before germinating. 
Florida Oranges. — Mr.Day, Jr.,Daytoma, 
Fla., left, with us a twig bearing a cluster of 5S oranges. 
Strawberry Queries, — W. M. Allen, O. 
The Wilson does not need any other variety to fertilize 
it. Comstock's Pony Cultivator has a runner-cutter 
attachment, but we have never seen it in nse. 
Smoking' Onl Hen-Lice. — 3. Under- 
wood, Harwich, Mass., writes us that after whitewashing 
Ins hen-roosts and trying change of location, both of 
which afforded only temporary relief from vermin, he 
smoked the rqpst very thoroughly so that the poles and 
walls were impregnated with the odor of the smoke for a 
long while, and though eight years have elapsed, no hen- 
licc have been seen ill the apartment since. 
Potato-Seeds.— " Gf.'W. B.," Charlestown, 
Ind. Let the seeds remain in the balls until time to sow 
them, then treat them As you would Comato-seeds. Start 
in a hot-bed or in a warm room, and when the weather 
is suitable transplant them. 
Patent Deodorizer.-" G. W. G.," Wash- 
ington. D. c. We do not See thai this patent matter is 
any better for the public than dry earth, winch is not 
patented fas yet.i, but if the patentee thinks differently 
he will find our advertising terms on page 29. 
Evergreen Seeds and Plants.— "J. 
M. P.." N. II. Keep the seeds of evergreens in the 
cones until spring. They are sown like any other seeds. It 
will he of little use to try to raise evergreens from the; 
seed unless shade is provided. ITemlock aud white pine 
are transplanted in spring. The precise time is net of 
so much consequence as is keeping the roots moist when- 
ever the work is done. 
A Good Barley 4Vop and Wliatto 
do Willi it.— A correspondent in Iowa says he raised 
this year 200 bushels of barley from 6 acres. He can o»ly 
get 35 cents per bushel for it, and asks whether he had 
better sell it at that price or feed it to his sheep. He can 
buy corn at 20 cents a bushel in the ear. Corn is as nu- 
tritious as barley, weight for weight. Barley weighs 48 
pounds per bushel, corn 5G pounds. If corn is' worth 20 
cents per bushel, barley is worth 17 1-7 cents. Our cor- 
respondent had better sell his barley and buy corn. 
Grinding Grain For Sheep. — A West- 
ern farmer says he is ten miles from mill, and asks us if 
it will pay to take his grain that distance, and payontf 
seventh toll to have it ground for sheep. Certainly not ; 
grain does not need grinding for sheep. 
Lime for Wheat. — An Iowa farmer asks 
when it is best to apply lime to winter wheat. Spread 
it broadcast on the land anytime during the previous 
spring or summer, or just before sowing the wheat, and 
harrow and cultivate it in. 
"Tine Cancer I*lant.*" — That man or 
association of men. who calls himself or themselves tho 
•' Xew York Medical University," 1 is or are not to he out- 
done by the Cundurango folks. Before these people were 
fairly ready with their South American cancer cure, 
the "University" folks were out with " their Cancer- 
Plant," and a pamphlet, entitled a "History of the Cancer 
Plant," is spread broadcast. This pamphlet says : " The 
Cancer Plant (Phtnfago Canerorum) evidently belongs 
to tho imlnml w.K-v _?VTMiVr.7rnar<rir, ami cvauul PyStem 
Tetramiia Moiiogynia." It is a little remarkable that a 
Plant ago should belong to the order Plant aginacea?, isn't 
it? "It is a small plant, having several sea-green, purple- 
veined leaves, with a central, upright stalk bearing dimin- 
utive yellow flowers, found in the vicinity of swamps and 
in moist earth, on the borders of pine forests in the 
Southern aud Middle States. We may err in claiming it 
as a recent discovery, but we have shown specimens to sev- 
eral physicians and botanists,who nay they have never seen 
anything like it before. It is certainly not laid down in 
any medical or botanical work with which we are acquaint- 
ed." Wc do not know with what kind of botanists and 
botanical works these " University" chaps are acquainted, 
but wc do not know of any botanist, even the merest stu- 
dent) so utterly ignorant and stupid as not to knew that 
the figure given of this precious plant is not that of a 
Plantago, and that it " evidently" docs not belong to the 
Plai)!ag'm«ce(?. but is an undoubted Composita, being a 
tolerably fair picture of the very common and well-known 
Ilieracium venosnm, the Rattksnake-wced. so called be- 
cause it has in common with many other native plants a 
popular reputation in some localities as an antidote for 
the bites of snakes. With the medical properties of this 
plant, if it has any, we have nothing to do. The story of 
the " University " chaps in relation to them is sufficient- 
ly set forth and illustrated by the most repulsive cugrav- 
ingsin the pamphlet before us. The point we wish to 
make is this : Here are persons calling themselves " doc- 
tors," and blowing their own trumpets under the false 
pretense that thay arc a "University,* 1 who know nothing; 
about the plant they profess to use. They are fools 
enough to suppose that a Hkracium is a Plant-ago. To 
he "sure they arc both plnnt^ Bird do arc ;\ robiu ntkl a 
turkey-buzzard both birds. 
Bee Notes for January.— By ~M. Qainby. 
— ♦ — 
This is the trying month for bees in the open air. 
Such as have too much honey can not pack close enough 
together to keep warm. The very heavy hives should be 
protected with an outside covering during the severest 
weather. The bees in those hives that have only a mod- 
erate quantity of honey have empty cells to creep into, 
and can pack close for mutual protection, but are in dan- 
ger of starving, even with stores in the hive. If the 
weather does not change, from extremely cold to moder- 
ate at least once in two weeks, so as to melt the frost ia. 
