1878.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
125 
Useless Letters. — Some persons ask us 
questions which arc beyond the power of any one to an- 
Bwcr. We have letters asking: How much will a given 
sum retnni if invested in stock, market-garden, or 
orchard ? It is as impossible to reply to these as to tell 
what kind of cake a woman whom we never saw will 
make, provided she has plenty of flour, sugar, etc. The 
probable success in enterprises of this kind depends 
upon many local considerations, not the least of which 
ie the character of the man who undertakes them. 
To numbers of Eastern people who have written to ask 
our advice as to whether they had better go "West, we 
Bay, No 1 The person who in such a matter will seek and 
act upon the advice of a total stranger is not of the 
kind needed to populate the "West. He will be much 
safer if he remains where he is. 
Moreover, we mnst repeat that we can not procure 
places on farms, in the city or elsewhere, for any one. If 
we wished to find a place for our own brother we should 
advertise, and we advise all others to do the same. 
Manure Advertisement.— "L. A. "W.," 
Woonsocket, R. I. The advertisement you send about 
"Chemicalizing manure " is a humbug shown up several 
years ago In onr columns. The advertiser threatened to 
prosecute us, but we have not yet been called into court. 
O I>ear ! — In the Western Pomologist and 
Gardener is an article by P. It. Elliott, of Cleveland, Ohio, 
in which he says : " Not a single journal emanating from 
New York City, to-day, has in it, aside from its Western 
correspondence, a single writer whose brains can grasp 
our great country, or who can see aught of value outside 
of theNewYork, Boston, or Philadelphia market." Mr. 
Elliott was employed on a New York paper, is not now, 
hence the rest of us catch it in the extract above quoted. 
The Northern Pacific R.R.— Those 
Who are seeking for chances to invest will not overlook 
the 7.30s of the Northern Pacific, a road which is making 
satisfactory progress. We learn that during the month 
of February over a million of the bonds were sold, and a 
million and a half were taken during January. 
Barry's Fruit Garden.-Tliosc who 
have been long looking for the appearance of this work, 
will be glad to know that it is now ready for delivery. 
It contains nearly 500 pages, is printed on heavy paper, 
abundantly and handsomely illustrated, asd bound in 
beveled boards. Sent by mail for $2.50— diot $2.00, as was 
inadvertently stated in a notice last month. 
Ufon-cxplosive K^antps. — S. M. Heir, 
Lancaster Co., Pa. We know of no lamp that will make 
it safe to burn bad oil, and do jiot believe one can be 
made. The danger is not altogether in the lamp. It is 
not safe to have very volatile oils in the house, at any 
rate. No safety lamp will guard against accidents in filling 
and at other times. Get oil that will not flash at a lower 
heat than 110°, and you may use any lamp you please. 
Those who do not choose to buy good oil, should use 
candles or go to bed at dark. As you value your own life 
and that of others, use no cheap oil in any lamp whatever. 
See the ** Items. M — This month we 
have adopted a plan of giving matters of news and of 
general interest in a very condensed form, which will bo 
placed wherever we happen to find room for it. In the 
present issue it is upon page 158, and though not as full 
as we intend to make it, will give an idea of our plan. 
This will give us more room in the "Basket" proper, 
to answer our increasing number of correspondents. 
Inverted Cuttings. — "C. B. S.," Excel- 
sior, Minn., writes that he has seenit stated that if fruits, 
as apples, grapes, currants, etc., are grown from grafts 
and cuttings that are inserted in the stocks or in the 
ground with the small or top end down, they will have 
few or no seeds or cores. Is there any truth in this state- 
ment f— [Nonsense.— Ed.] 
Raspherry leaves Scalaing.— "I. 
F.,' 1 Floyd Co., Ind. The cause of your raspberry and 
strawberry leaves scalding and dropping off may be the 
lack of a mulch around the roots, to prevent the too rapid 
evaporation of moisture from the 6oil. It may be rust. 
It is impossible to tell without seeing them. 
Chinese lara.-"A.M, ) " Erie Co., Pa. 
The Chinese Yam is usually raised from small tubers, 
which are planted in the spring in a rich soil, in rows 
two and one half feet apart, and plants one foot apart in 
the rows. Small tubers may be had of most of the seeds- 
men at about 2-"> cents per dozen Your compost of \' 3 
sods and earth, % leached ashes, and ^ hen manure 
should be thoroughly mixed, and when the sods are well 
j rotted, the compost may be applied to corn ; a handful 
around each hill is sufficient. 
Liquorice.— " W. S. K.," Washington, D. C. 
This root will probably succeed south of latitude 32°, 
though we do not know of any experiments made with it 
in the Southern States. It requires a rich, loamy soil, 
' and should be planted early in spring in rows three feet 
apart, and eighteen inches in the row. The sets are 
made from the small roots thrown off by the main root, 
and cut into lengths of 5 or inches. All weeds must 
be kept down, and the field top-dressed in the fall, and 
three years after planting the roots will be fit to dig. We 
do not kuow where sets for planting can be procured. 
Chinese Yam for Stoclc. — W. A. Moore, 
Iowa. We do not believe that any one ever dug enough 
Chinese Yams to be able to try their value as food for 
stock. We have no doubt that they would be as valuable, 
at least, as potatoes ; they are perfectly hardy, but they 
run so far towards the center of the Earth, that ouc has 
to dig a small well in order to get out a root. 
Ash-leaved staple, or ISox Elder.— 
" A. a.," Monticello, Wis. The seeds of this tree ripen at 
the end of summer or in early autumn. A tree upon our 
lawn was last year filled with seeds, but upon long exami- 
nation we failed to find one with a perfect germ. In 
gathering seed examine them carefully. Sow in shallow 
drills as early as the ground can be prepared, and thin to 
about four iuches. Thorburn & Co., New York, keep a 
large assortment of tree Bceds, as does Thomas Median, 
Germantown, Pa. 
Gnmelan Grape. ~ "A.," Newbury > Vt. 
The quality of this grape is most excellent. It has the 
fault of not making handsome bunches, but this may dis- 
appear as the vines get older. We can not advise you 
about planting more. If in your place, we should wait 
and ascertain how those you already have turn out. Every 
fruit does not suit all localities. 
Insect on House Plants. — Mrs. H. 
F. B.. Brooklyn, N. Y. Thrips, one of the worst pests to 
exterminate of all that infest house plants. The air and 
soil have probably been too dry. Remove the affected 
plants from those that arc free from the trouble. Give 
frequent syringings with tobacco-water over the foliage, 
washing it off after a while with clean water. 
Plowden Peach.— C. Norris, Mich. We 
have seen nothing about this peach of late. It has been 
claimed as a distinct and early variety, while others 
aBSertittobe only Hale's Early. Write to John Saul, 
Washington, D. C, who will know all about it. 
Tineland. — "F. M M " Scarboro, Me. We 
advise you to go and see for yourself, and not trust the 
advertisements of this or any other similar enterprise. 
CJoosebcrries. — Geo. Chivers, Alleghany 
Co., Pa., had the foliage of 3,000 Houghton Gooseberry 
plants destroyed by " some unseen enemy,' 1 and wishes 
to know what to do. How can we at this distance see 
the "unseen enemy" ? Look more closely. If worms, 
they will be found on the under side of the leaves. Sprinkle 
White Hellebore. If mildew, there will be white patches. 
Dust with sulphur. If neither, send us some leaves for 
examination. It is difficult to prescribe without seeing 
the patient. 
Honey. — "A. C," Orleans, Ontario. Honey in 
the comb has a higher market value than strained honey. 
The retail price of honey in the comb varies from 20 to 10 
cents per pound, according to the season and quality, 
and the wholesale price is about two thirds of this. 
Gonx*s Patent Earth-Closet. — We 
wish to call attention to this very useful application of 
the dry-earth system. It combines a tub or receptacle for 
the earth, and a mold with which a basin is formed. Six 
inches of earth is thrown into the tub, to form the bottom, 
the mold is placed on it, and earth placed around the 
mold and packed firmly, so as to retain the shape when 
the mold is withdrawn. There is then a basin of ab- 
sorbent earth as a receptacle, into which the deposit is 
received, and an immediate covering of dry earth or other 
deodorizer effectually prevents any unpleasant conse- 
quences. When the basin becomes filled, the tub is 
emptied of its contents into a covered shed, where the 
matter is allowed to accumulate until it is needed as a 
fertilizer. As such its value is very great, and although we 
know many farmers have an objection to using night-soil 
on vegetables or grai trs, yet, i f they can not overcome the 
objection to use it in this way, it will be found a most 
excellent application to grass or clover crops. The great 
convenience of this method makes it very desirable for 
all those who have material on hand to use with it. Dry 
sifted coal ashes would make a good substitute for earth, 
in towns and cities, where it can not easily be procured, 
and powdered copperas makes an excellent deodorizer. 
The absolute necessity for disposing of our waste matte' 
in a manner which is not prejudicial to health, make," 
it imperative to use a dry-earth elosct in some shape 
and this one has many advantages to recommend it. 
Hog Swindler.— " T. J.," La Crosse Co., 
Wis., wants to know all about hog swindlers, and whether 
they will prevent rooting. No method of cutting the 
snout short of cutting it off will prevent bogs rooting as 
soon as the wound is healed. The old-fashioned ring is 
the best thing yet. A horse-shoe nail passed through the 
11 rooter,' 1 with the point twisted around the head, makes 
a good ring. 
Bones, Hen-Manure, and Ashes.— 
u A. J.," Baltimore Co., asks the oft-repeated question 
whether it is injurious to mix ashes with manures con- 
taining ammonia. It is. except when the compost is to be 
used immediately, and then plaster or fine dry earth 
should be mixed ; if the materials are perfectly dry, and 
kept so, very little ammonia will then escape. 
Tiles, where procured.-" T.," Bangor, 
Wis., wants to know where he can procure drain-tiles. 
Doubtless in Milwaukee ; certainly in Chicago. 
What to Do witli Clover-seed 
Straw.— "P.," Lodi, Wis., writes: "I have 140acresof 
straw and corn-stalks, and that is about as much as I can 
work into manure. My clover straw is out in the field 
where it was thrashed. Would it be of any service to 
spread it on the land as itis, and plow it under without 
being converted into manure? " — Certainly, it would. A 
ton of clover straw is worth at Jeast twice as much for 
manure as a ton of wheat Btraw. Spread it out on the 
land, and let it be exposed to the rain as much and as 
long as possible before plowing under. It will rot all the 
sooner, and have a greater effect on the first crop. Or it 
may be spread on a pasture. It will act as a mulch, and 
as manure alBo, and increase the growth of grass. 
We can not possibly find time to answer by letter 
the multitude of individual inquiries about this and 
that humbug, or the merits or demerits of advertise- 
ments, medicines, doctors, instruments, etc., etc. All 
doctors advertising positive cures arc humbugs; no repu- 
table, reliable, regular physician ever advertises thus ; the 
rules of all reputable medical associations forbid it. No 
man can safely give medical advice to a patient upon his 
own written description of bis case, or without' seeing 
him. So much depends upon individual peculiarities, 
condition, and local circumstances, that, in fact, what is 
one person's meat (or medicine) is another's poison. 
There is no getting around this, and it sweeps away at 
one brush the whole class of patent or specific medi- 
cines. There is but one " medical specific, " good in all 
cases for the same difficulty, and that is "Sulphur for 
the Itch." Some important suggestions on this subject 
were brought out during our recent libel suit, noticed 
elsewhere All cases of general swindling that we 
get hold of are exposed in these columns as early as we 
can collect proofs sufficient to warrant us in doing so. 
The unsupported statement by letter of one person, not 
personally known to us, that he has been cheated, is not 
enough to warrant us in ^publicly denouncing a party. 
Swindling parties have themselves often tried to entrap 
us by giving false statements concerning themselves, 
sent from distant localities under assumed names, written 
appaiwilbj by some of our own subscribers. After fol- 
lowing up swindlers for a seore of years, we have be- 
come somewhat skillful in their arts an/1 wiles, yet we 
arc surprised at not having been canghtnapping In a sin- 
gle instance in all these years. We arc glad to hear from 
all our readers in regard to swindling operations, for 
a number of single we 11 -authenticated eases from differ- 
ent individuals, pointing in any one direction, generally 
serve to bring to light the nefarious operations of parties 
previously supposed to be trustworthy. We invite all to 
promptly forward to us all suspicious circulars, advertise- 
ments, and the like An Advertiser informs us that 
he received a letter from a Boston party offering him a 
list of good names for addressing with bugincss circulars, 
lie forwarded $3 for the list, and received a letter saying 
the list would soon come. After waiting a month, and 
writing for information, a letter came from (apparently) 
another person of the same name, saying there was some 
mistake, for ho bad never received any money or asked 
any for any snch purpose, and he coifld find no one else 
of the same name in the Boston Directory. This looks 
like a " Bell.'' Have any of our othef advertisers had a 
similar experience? "Ehc Albany "Dr. Andrews," 
