1873.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
24,9 
Steamed ami JSoiled Bones.-Wm. 
Ashberry, London, Canada, asks if it is true, as stated in 
" Morton's Farmers' Almanac" (English), that "fat as 
au element in bones has no fertilizing qualities what- 
ever." — This is correctly stated. But steamed and boiled 
bones lose by the process, not only fat, bnt some gela- 
tine, which is a positive loss of nitrogenous matter, and 
as fat is in no way injurious it is better to have raw bones 
as a basis for fertilizers. 
Clover as a. Fertilizer. — "Interro- 
gator," Hempstead Co., Ark., asks if when clover is used 
as a fertilizer it should be nsed exclusively for that pur- 
pose, or should meadow and pasture come in rotation. — 
Where the soil is poor, and clover has been sown with a 
special view to a green manuring, we would plow in the 
whole bulk; but when the system has become estab- 
lished the clover is mown and lightly pastured and as- 
sisted with gypsum and lime, and becomes only an aid to 
the general course of manuring. 
Itlixed Grasses in Arkansas. — 
41 O. J." wants our opinion as to whether clovor, blue- 
grass, timothy, red-top, and orchard grass would succeed 
iu Arkansas. — We do not doubt of their success if sown 
on suitable soils. Red-top needs a moist soil, and all the 
rest need soil of fair quality at least. 
Measuring Corn in the Crib. — 
S. Fuller, Greenville, 111., gives a rule for measuring corn 
in the crib as follows: Multiply length, bight, and 
breadth of the crib iu feet together, then by 4}/ 2 , and 
divide by ten ; the result is bushels of shelled corn. 
This may do for some localities, but as ears and shelled 
corn bear as many relations to each other in quantity as 
there are localities and sorts, the safest way is to reduce 
the contents of the crib to cubic inches, and take 2,750 of 
them for a bushel of ears. 
Kansas Agricultural College. — 
This College has, thanks to the efforts of its friends, 
been pnt on a thoroughly satisfactory footing as an agri- 
cultural institution, and promises to be of the greatest 
value to the farmers of Jhat State. Amongst other im- 
portant improvements, a veterinary hospital has been 
established, where diseased animals will \>e treated by a 
veterinary surgeon at only nominal charges. Prof. Dct- 
mers is in charge. 
A Drain Wanted. — A " Subscriber " 
wants a method of diverting a flow of water from a cut 
in a hill-side where a road passes through it. The water 
constantly oozes from the bank. There is no help but 
digging a drain along the upper side of the road until 
the springs are cut and the water carried off in a covered 
drain where it will not overflow the road in winter. In 
similar places, drains have had to be cut seven feet 
deep to intersect the flow of water, which is necessary 
to make a perfect job. 
Fencing Pastures.— " Inquirer" wants 
to know if we think it economical to fence a farm into 
fields in order to pasture cattle therein on clover or peas. 
— We do not. If special crops are grown for fodder, it is 
far more economical to cut and carry these crops to the 
yard or pen where the cattle may be fed, and thus save 
manure and the expense of fencing, and prevent the 
waste of feed by trampling underfoot. 
What wliall we do with onr Bones ? 
— A " Subscriber " living on the prairiea of Nebraska, sees 
quantities of bones bleaching on those vast fields, where 
they have been left by luckless buffaloes and horses, and 
knows there are no bone-mills around, and no money to 
start them.-— If we were in his case we would gather 
those bonea and burn them, and crush them into powder, 
and spread them on the fields. They have but little an- 
imal matter left to be lost by burning, and they may 
be crushed very easily when burnt thoroughly. Thus 
they may be very profitably used. 
HI u*taru in the Southern States. 
— -D. E. S.," of N. C. We do not think Mustard will 
make good fodder. It is very succulent, and would be 
difficult to cure without losing the leaves. But we have 
had no experience on this point. The white Mustard is 
nut su " hot " or pungent as the black, and grows larger. 
Pennsylvania State fair. — The 
Pennsylvania State Agricultural Fair is to be held this 
year at Erie, beginning September 19th, and lauting three 
days. 
Steam Plowing,- The Adams Co. (111.) 
Agricultural Society having offered a large preminm for 
the best steam-plow and road steamer, it is expected 
that the question of the practicability of steam-plowing 
on the prairies will receive a somewhat satisfactory test. 
Two steam-plows are already entered to contest for the 
premium, which will come off on the 2d September, and 
more are expected. 
« Venug's Flower-Basket."— In Feb- 
ruary last we published a description and engraving of 
the singular sponge-structurejtnown as Venus's Flower- 
Basket. Since then we have received from Messrs. 
Greenleaf &, Anthony, ~So. 104 Court street, Boston, a 
much finer specimen than the one from which onr 
illustration is taken. "We learn from a friend that Messrs. 
G. & A. import largely of foreign curiosities, and that 
during the summer they open a branch establishment at 
the now much-frequented Martha's Vineyard. 
Another of the Family. — A farmer 
in New Hampshire may thank the author of " What I 
Know about Farming " for a valuable discovery. He was 
"plowing deep" most likely "while sluggards sleep," 
and plowed up a petrified Indian, seven feet seven inches 
long. It belongs to the family of the Cardiff giant. 
Land. For Sale. — The impression is rife 
that land is rarely for sale in England ; on the contrary, 
the chief advertising mediums of England are plentifully 
famished with announcements of sales of estates, farms, 
and lots of all sizes, from single roods and acres up to 
immense estates, so that it would seem the possession of 
land is only circumscribed by the ability to purchase it, 
there as elsewhere. 
Steam Cultivation. — An extensive 
English farmer, who has long practiced steam cultivation, 
thus testifies to its advantages : On two fields he has 
grown fifteen crops of grain, wheat and beans in succes- 
sion, without a fallow, and last year's crop of wheat was 
forty bushels per acre ; on two other fields he has grown 
fifteen successive crops of wheat, the last crop quite 
equaling forty bushels per acre. Under horse cultivation 
the average crop of these fields was twenty bushels. 
The total cost of preparing the laud for the seed is only 
$1. GOpcr acre. Much similar testimony is now coming in. 
English Agriculture. — An idea of the 
position of agricultural labor in England may he gathered 
from the fact that lately some laborers " struck," and 
refused to use double-furrow plows on a farm, for the 
reason that they tended to reduce the need for men. 
When brought up iu court on complaint of their em- 
ployer for not obeying orders (thus punishable iu Great 
Britain) they were fined ten dollars, and costs two dollars, 
each. The judge said, this thing must be put down, or 
farming must come to a dead stop, which shows that 
across the Atlantic " their ways are not our ways." 
American Pork. — Fifty thousand tons 
of American bacon and pork were imported into Eng- 
land iu 1S71, and seventeen thousand tons in the first 
three months of 1S72, and the last hog has not been 
killed yet. 
Fine Grinding;. — We are asked whether 
our correspondent's miller is correct when he advises 
him to have his corn ground very coarse, becanse "if he 
grinds it fine, it kills the strength of the meal."— He is 
entirely wrong— except for his own interest. He can 
grind four times as much coarse meal in a day, as he can 
of fine, and so can make more money. The finer the 
grinding, the more digestible the meal —the more of its 
nutriment will the animal appropriate. The "strength" 
of the meal lies, not in its granular texture, but. in its 
cliemical comjxtsiliOTt, and this is not affected by grinding. 
Very fine meal is more apt to heat than that which is 
coarser, but this only implies more care in keeping. 
IBeet«I£oot Sugar in ^*ew JTersey 
—The Legislature of New Jersey has passed a law to en- 
courage the manufacture of beet-root sugar in that State, 
by exempting from taxation for ten years any factory 
with the necessary machinery, which may be put into 
operation after April, 1872. 
Exportation of Shorthorn Cattle. 
— The importation of thorough-bred stock has been so 
very common for many years past, that it seems as though 
we had turned a very sharp and sudden corner when we 
come to write of the exportation of them. But it is a 
fact that at last American breeders have arrived at that 
point when English breeders send commissions here to 
purchase our choice stock at hitherto unheard-of prices." 
Mr. Richard Gibson sailed on Saturday, May 25th, on board 
the steamer Oceanic, of the White Star line, with a pair 
of Princess cows, purchased from Mr. Alexander, of Ky., 
for an English gentleman, at a price, as we understand, 
of $18,000 for the pair. Besides these Mr. Gibson takes 
out some other choice stock on his own account. It is a 
matter encouraging to all engaged in breeding stock, 
that the character of American cattle has become so well 
established ; for although there are but few breeders who 
can hope to realize such handsome prices, yet the fact 
that some do receive them, makes it much easier for all 
others who raise good stock to realize fair and remunera- 
tive prices also, and thus all our stock takes a lift together. 
Plants Gained.— "Susie M.," Hickory 
Creek, Mo. — The flower sent is ErytJironiut/i albidum^ or 
White Dog's-tooth Violet, a very pretty plant for garden 
cultivation. Wish you would send us a few bulbs by 
mail J. A. Hubbard, jr., Champion, N. Y.— The 
weed that is so troublesome to you is the Plantain-leaved 
Everlasting; its botanical name is Aute/inaria plaittu- 
gini folia. As it is a perennial, the best remedy is plow- 
ing up the grass lands where it is abundant, and planting 
some crop which requires hoeing. 
I iiqu b<1-!I iiiiure Cart. — Mrs. S. J. S., 
Mendota, 111., writes to ask if there is a cheap way of 
saving and spreading liquid manure. Iu the Agriculturist, 
for May, 1872, directions were given for making a cistern 
for saving and tank for spreading it. 
Chicken Cholera. — John J. Keating, 
Washington, Iowa, has lost a great many fowls by cholera, 
both this year and last summer, and wants a remedy. 
This probably arises at first from too much green food, in 
which case it may be remedied in the start by giving 
chalk or magnesia iu the food ; alum-water is also useful, 
or a small quantity of sulphate of iron, given in the 
drinking water. When very bad, ground rice, boiled in 
milk, fed slightly warm, has been found beneficial. 
Lime-Kilns. — "T. S. G.," Brevards, X. C, 
wants a good plan for building Hme-kilns. A long article, 
with illustrations, was published in Agriculturist for 
September, 1871, ou this subject. 
At what Age should Young Mules* 
Work?- "A. S.," Mercer Co., Pa., asks at what age 
may young mules do light farm work. — At three years old 
they may do such light work as cultivating corn, or har- 
rowing, or drawing light loads, but the work should 
really be light until they are a year older. At two years 
they might be taught to work by drawing an empty wagon. 
Flax Fiber. — "W. W." asks where he can 
dispose of a quantity of flax fiber or tow. Doubtless in 
New York or Philadelphia. Write to any of the produce 
commission agents advertised in American Agriculturist. 
Bee Notes for July.— By -1/". Quinby. 
So few bees are left in the country this 'season, that 
every one having them should manage to secure every 
pound of honey possible. Be sure and know the first 
day a box is finished, and take it off at once. It is un- 
necessary to wait until every cell is finished, because the 
bees will continue to find room for just a cell more 
around the outside, and keep adding. Economy, as well 
as the beauty of the honey, would dictate taking it off as 
soon as it can be called full. 
This is the month to examine for foul brood, or three 
weeks from swarming. The matter has been fully de- 
scribed heretofore in the Agriculturist. So much has 
been done towards getting rid >f it, that we hope yet to 
completely eradicate it. Those troubled with it, or those 
iu sections where it is, should be energetic, and neglect 
no case at the right time. Catch the moth, as before 
recommended, in dishes of sweetened water set among 
the hives at night. 
Queens are raised easier this month than earlier. In 
rearing them artificially, we wish to get as nearly as pos- 
sible what we would have when reared in the natural 
course of swarming, or what we would ordinarily get 
when a colony loses the mother queen. The eggs iu the 
abdomen of a healthy queen are probably all alike, yet 
the eggs deposited in worker cells make workers, in 
drone cells make drones. Sex is probably decided in the 
act of laying. The eggs that are laid in worker cells 
may produce queens; those laid in drone cells never do. 
When the egg has hatched, and the larva has been fed 
beyond a certain time as a worker, it can not be changed 
to a queen. Bees, when deprived of their queen, seem to 
think that the first thing necessary towards replacing her 
is the queen-cell, and they commence several. When 
they have grubs of the proper age, the queen-cells will 
be commenced over those first, or over those just a little 
too far advanced to bo changed perfectly, if they happen 
to be suitably located in the hive. If these are not to be 
had, they commence over drone-cells, or cells of bee- 
bread, or even empty cells. If a full colony is left desti- 
tute, several queens will be started at the right age— per- 
