1872.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
367 
Sawdust for MnlcH. — ' L. B. B.," 
Lansing', Mich. Wc have never used sawdust as a mulch 
for strawberries. Complaint has been made, where 
it has been used in some Western nurseries as a mulch 
for yonng stock, that in its decay the sawdust pro- 
duced a ftingus which was injurious to the young trees. 
Leaves arc the best of all material for mulch. Wc use 
marsh hay, as.it is cheaper for us than anything else. lias 
any one any experience in the use of sawdust ? 
A I>onl>lc White Zonal Pelargro- 
aium.-M, Jean Sisley, of Lyons, France, whose suc- 
cess in raising double Pelargoniums we noticed last 
month, informs us in a recent letter that he has at last 
succeeded in obtaining a pure double white from seed. 
An unsatisfactory double white had been in cultivation, 
a sport from a single white. Mr. Sisley is an enthusiastic 
and successful amateur to whom we are indebted for some 
of our finest Cannas and Pelargoniums, and knowing his 
experience and judgment in such matters, we look for 
something very fine in his new horticultural triumph. 
Ailanllms-Trees for Posts. — " Read- 
er," N. Y., has some Ailanthus-trces which he wishes to 
cut off, and. as we understand him, use as posts for grape- 
vines, where they stand. Wc do not know how he can 
preventtbe trunks from sprouting. Better cut down the 
trees, season the posts, and then set them. 
ward." The roses referred to were China and Tea 
Roses, but the Remontant* or Hybrid Perpetnals may be 
bo treated. The common garden roses are too robust to 
manage well. Peg down in the fall or spring, and as the 
new growth is formed, peg that down. We use hooked 
pegs, cut from brush. The use of one or several varieties 
in a bod is a matter of fancy ; we have a dozen at least. 
We shall let our tender sorts remain in the bed, and when 
the ground freezes cover them with sods. 
Bee Notes. — Owing to the illness of Mr. 
Qninby, the Bee Notes for last month and this were 
omitted. We are glad to learn that Mr. Q. is recovering, 
though but slowly. 
IVaiit in England. — The Gardener's 
Chronicle, in giving its customary annual report upon the 
fruit crop in the kingdom (including Ireland, Scotland, and 
Wales) presents a most melancholy account. That jour- 
nal says: " Never before have wc had occasion to report 
so complete and so general a failure." Here we have a 
crop of almost unprecedented abundance, apples being so 
plenty that they hardly pay for sending to market. 
A Farm Cyclopedia. — "Jas. M. G.," 
Oakland Co., Mich., asks which is the best work on farm- 
ing which treats of all branches, from clearing the ground 
up to planting, reaping, harvesting crops, and raising all 
sorts of stock. There is no one American book that 
treats fully of all these things. " Allen's New American 
Farm Book" is one of the best hand-books we know of. 
" Stevens's Book of the Farm" is the best English work, 
and a valuable help to a farmer. 
Fodder-Cutter.— " J. McC.," Berks Co., 
Pa., has planted some corn for fodder, and now wants a 
good fodder-cutter to cut for five or six cows. We have 
used " Gale's copper-strip " fodder-cutter, and found it 
one of the best machines of the kind. 
Greenhouses. — "A. B.," Concord, N. H. 
A reply was sent to your letter which was returned as 
''uncalled for." The substance of our note was as fol- 
lows : The cheapest house you can build is that de- 
scribed in February Agriculturist of this year — a lean-to. 
The cheapest method of heating is by a flue ; full directions 
—for building one are given in September, 1871. If you 
wish to build a span-roof, Henderson's Practical Flori- 
culture is the best work to consult. Other things being 
equal a span-roof is best, but where expense is a consider- 
ation, the lean-to is much cheaper, and answers a good 
purpose. Henderson's book gives as ranch about man- 
agement as yon can get from books. 
"'Vindication oft he Entomological 
and Museum Divisions of tlic Department 
of Agricultu re " is the title of a small pamphlet by 
Prof. Townend Glover. It is intended to show up the 
misrepresentations of one Swank, who as chief clerk of 
the Department has published a most, uncalled-for pam- 
phlet, " The Department of Agriculture, its nistory and 
Objects," in which the Swank aforesaid, by implication, 
omission, and misstatement, reflects upon Prof. Glover, 
the man who of all others has made the Department what 
it is. It seems an unnecessary labor fora man like Prof. 
Glover to refute what a man like Swank may say. Those 
who have not. given up 'nil hope that the Agricultural De- 
partment may yet be of use to the agricultural commu- 
nity, look in vain for any good results from its present 
management. The time will come, we sincerely hope, 
when, with abundant means and competent officers, the 
Department will take its proper place. In that hopefully 
looked-for day there will be neither Wattscs nor Swanks 
to stand in the way. 
Potatoes Tor a Hot Climate. — A 
Kentucky correspondent asks what arc the best potatoes 
fur a hotclimate. A potato expert says, Early Rose for 
early. Garnet Chili for medium, Peachblow or Peerless 
for late. The Shaker Russet, also known as Dyritrht, 
N. J. Monitor, and by several other names, does well in 
Kentucky, but is very poor with us. In the far South the 
Peachblow is a very poor cropper. 
Cutting liny in Wet Weather.— 
Mr. II. C. Hallowell, of Maryland, writes : "Allow me 
to say that my experience fully indorses the remarks of 
Walks and Talks on the subject of cutting grass iu wet 
and cloudy weather. I have for a number of years secured 
hay from about 103 acres, and generally with satisfaction 
to myself. My neighbors sometimes express surprise 
that I secure so much in such beautiful order. I think it 
is because I keep my Buckeye Jr. moving almost con- 
stantly, regardless of the clouds. If it is raining, there 
is the greater probability of clear weather afterwards. 
We must run some risks, and I prefera possibility of some 
hay being wet, to the chance of its getting over-ripe. My 
experience fully confirms the remark that 'as long as 
grass [and clover] is green, rain docs not hurt it. 1 " 
Winter Wheat in Massachusetts. 
—A. L. Clark & Son, of Hampshire Co., Mass., raised 29 
bushels of winter wheat per acre, in 1S71. Owing to the 
severe drouth the straw was not two feet high. The land 
was seeded down with the wheat, and this year the first 
crop of hay was estimated to yield 4 tons per acre, and a 
second crop well worth cutting. And this upon land that 
in 1864, when it came into their possession, yielded only 
a crop of white beansof six bushels per acre. The wheat 
was sown after tobacco. Mr. C. says, " We got our land 
clean from weeds with two crops of tobacco, and any 
crop does well after it. We have four acres of tobacco 
this season, and there is not half a hushcl of weeds upon 
the whole." Manure and clean culture is what our laud 
needs to produce good wheat and grass. 
Jerseys for Stutter. — L. C. Flower, 
Onondaga Co., N. Y., sends us the following statement 
of the yield of butter from his Jersey cows, viz., Jenny 
Lind, 2years old, in seven days in April last, from 04 i ; 
pounds of milk produced 10 lbs. 2 oz. ; Victoria, G years 
old, in 2S days in June produced £0 pounds; Beauty, 4 
years old, in the same period produced 72 pounds from an 
average of 30 pounds of milk per day. The heifer was 
fed on hay and oat-meal, the cows on grass alone. What 
can beat the Jerseys for butter and beauty ? 
Heeling In. — " E. H. M.," Danbury, JCt. 
This term, or •* laying in by the heels," is used by gar- 
deners to designate a kind of temporary planting. In 
the case of cabbage plants, they arc laid closely together, 
and the roots covered with earth. This operation checks 
growth, and yet keeps the plants alive. It is often very 
convenient when one wishes to remove plants from a 
piece of ground, and the place where they are to go is not 
yet ready, to heel them in. Trees are often heeled in for 
the winter, they being taken up iu autumn, and laid in 
trenches at an angle of 45°, taking care to fill iu the earth 
so completely as to leave no spaces among the roots. 
"Minnie B-'s" Inquiry. — If " Min- 
nie B." had sent her name, with her address, we should 
have replied to her question by mail. Others writing 
on purely personal matters will please take notice. 
Sixth Report of the Connection 1 
Fifth Commissioners. — Much has been accom- 
plished in the Nutmeg State to make cheap fish. Thirty- 
seven ponds have been stocked with black bass by the 
Commissioners, and nearly as many more have been 
stocked by private enterprise. Nearly all the available 
ponds iu the State are now supplied with this superb 
game fish, and they are known to be doing well. The 
policy of hatching shad at Iladley Falls is persistently 
followed. This, without doubt, is the best point in New 
England, if not in the whole country, for this business. 
After the public fishing ceases, on the 15th of Juno, all the 
fish in the river are compelled to stop at these falls, and 
fish fully ripe are taken in large numbers for about three 
weeks. Over sixty-three million ova were taken, and 
nearly all hatched and turned into the river at an expense 
of about five hundred dollars; All parties are now agreed 
that artificial propagation is a complete success. At a 
very small cost to the State every stream within its 
borders may be made to swarm with this delicious fish. 
A million of shad-fry maybe carried in five gallons of 
water a half-day's journey with very little loss. The 
Saugatuck, atWestport, and Great Brook, near New Lon- 
don, have been stocked by private enterprise. The Com- 
missioners, united with other parties, formed a stock 
company, to take salmon spawn on the Penobscot, last 
fall. The enterprise was successful, and will be contin- 
ued under more favorable circumstances the present sea- 
son. About 25,003 salmon-fry were hatched at Poquo'noc, 
and distributed mainly in the Saugatuck and Quinnebaug 
Rivers. A note from C. G. Atkins, at Bneksport, Me., 
who has charge of the salmon-spawn enterprise on the 
Penobscot, just received, informs us that he has already 
purchased 231 salmon of the fishermen, and has only lost 
20 of the lot. The rest are in the reservoirs, doing well. 
Should he be as successful with the spawners of this 
year as he was the last, he will take at least a million of 
eggs, which will mark a new era in salmon breeding in 
New England. The great obstacle hitherto has been the 
extreme difficulty of procuring spawn. 
A Prolific Sow.-"J. M.,Jr.," Wayne 
Co., Ind., makes the following statement about his sow : 
Late in July she produced three pigs, and three weeks 
later added eight more to her family. Two of the first 
and five of the latter litters arc living and doing well. 
1,1 J. M." thinks this a strange freak on the part of hie 
sow, and asks if there are more of her character. 
A 1%'e^v Metliod of Churning?. — U L. 
L. D.,"' Wake Co.. N. C, sends us anew method of churn- 
ing, which he thinks an improvement on the old plan; 
it consists in forcing air through the cream by means of 
bellows and a system of pipes, contained in a cylindrical- 
shaped vessel. We doubt the success of this method, as 
it is necessary to the complete breaking up of the butter 
globules that a more powerful mechanical action should 
be produced than would be caused by the mere passage 
of currents of air. But let "L. L. D." make a churn and 
try his method, by all means. 
Power for one lSnia of Stone.— 
" W. P. S.," Sidney, Ohio, asks what is the power of one 
run of stone. This depeuds on circumstances somewhat. 
Generally it will take one horse power to grind one bushel 
of wheat into fine flour, or two bushels of corn into meal, 
per hour. The less quantity of wheat is caused by the 
extra consumption of power by the bolts and smut 
machine. With old-fashioned or badly constructed wheels 
not more than half this work will be done, but with the 
best turbines it is often exceeded. 
Savins;- in Feeding- Cooked Corn- 
meal. — "W. A. T.," Augusta, Ky., asksif it would pay 
to hire an extra hand to cook the corn for 32 hogs which 
he wishes to fatten. It would certainly pay to do so, as 
the saving in grinding corn m lt i cooking the meal is equal 
to one fourth of the feed, at least, which in feeding 32 
hogs would pay for the extra labor. The cooked 
meal should be fed cold, aud in the shape of thick mush. 
Boys and Girls— Special Notice.— 
AH contributions intended for the Puzzle-Box should be 
addressed to Aunt Sue, Box 111, P. 0., Brooklyn, N. Y. 
"The Doctor's 1 ' address is 245 Broadway, New York. 
Puzzlers will specify whether their contributions are for 
Hearth and Home or for the American Agriculturist. 
Well-flavored Ituttei*. — How can it be 
expected that butter of good flavor can be produced from 
pastures foul with every strong-flavored weed ? From 
early spring, when garlic abounds, up to fall, when the 
Golden-rod and Ragweed cover the pastures and meadows, 
cows rarely get a bite of grass or clover free from admix- 
ture with weeds. And when it is known that these 
strong and often disagreeable flavors concentrate in the 
milk, and that every impurity iu the milk seems to con- 
centrate in the butter, how can it then be otherwise than 
that the great bulk of butler coming to market should be 
poor in quality, and poorer still in profitable returns to 
the farmers? Here is the strongest argument for clean 
pastures and meadows, and such farming as will raise 
feed and not weeds. 
i:» "-eating Hens. — "C. G. R.," North 
Attleboro, Mass. The bestpreventive is to provide dark 
nests, to be approached by a covered passage just wide 
enough to admit the hen. When the egg is laid, the hen 
starts for the light and docs not turn around to see the 
egg. So says one who has tried it. 
Artificial Manures. — English farmers 
use yearly nearly a million tons of artificial and chemical 
manures, the materials for which are drawn from all 
quarters of the globe. It is thus they raise their heavy 
crops and keep their soil improving. 
