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AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
Swamp Muck— " What i'iq>!"«- 
Hon Duo It »e<t l»»— This la Ihe burden ol Mvoral 
Inquiries to Uie A grieuttwrut. Some muok in.iv be luali I 
out urn" grass I ' ■ " " It '■ d n enough lo bo 
spread evcnlv. uid no bad eflects will be nollosd Othai 
UmI , n<le d : ued to lha frosts and thews. o( Win- 
ter, to be, ns somo farmers say, " aweelened." Bui In 
general n Ihe miiok when lha ground ad 
mils going tu ii In Bumraei 01 In Winter, draw lo lome 
oonvenlent place.lel it freeze a few times, and com- 
post it wltli slaked lime, « 1-ashes, oi lime slaked with 
. ,io. To this may I"- added any manurlal sub- 
itanoes not containing ammonia, and even these may be 
used after the compost has stood a month or two and 
been thoroughly worked over once or twice. Or without 
addlns lime or ashes, Ihe « eathcred muck may he com- 
liosic.l with animal maiuncs, inmr, nivlit-soil, or the 
like. Thus it will be found of much more vuluc than 
In its raw state. There Is no better absorbent of liquid 
manure for the stable or barn-yard, 
Caiiaua Thistles Aguin.— To several 
Inquirers. There is nothing to be added to what has 
already been said upon Hie destruction of this pest. We 
are convinced that persistent mowing will finally subdue 
them. One correspondent writes that he succeeds hast 
by allowing them to grow until just about to flower, and 
then cutting them down. 
"Make" ILaud 1>J Uiu-jiiiR Stone. 
— " L. L.." writes lo the American Agriculturist : " Al- 
most every body has noticed In his own experience, that 
mode ground, as it is called, if the soil is only tolerably 
good, produces most luxuriant vegetation; yet how few 
act upon the hint. Neighbor D. has just been removing 
the surface stones from his Geld by drawing them away 
perhaps a quarter of a mile. Why didn't lie open the 
ground a little and bury them ! It would have taken no 
more time, and every ten feet square of land which he 
had thus matt, would have been at least doubled in value. 
Never shall a loose stone be carried off my meadow." 
[Stones only make soil, by their decomposition, effected 
by frost, and atmospheric influences. If sunk in the soil 
decomposition w ill not go on. Crumbling granite or other 
felspathic stones add potash lo the soil and thus enrich it.] 
IMtcliiii? Plow.— F. A. Renz. We arc not 
acquainted with the plow you refer lo. Parties having 
such an implement, if good, would do well to advertise it. 
What Kiuds ofDrain Tile to I'se.— 
C. G. Packed, Randolph Co., Indiana. Former volumes 
of Ihe Agriculturist have discussed particularly the uses 
of various forms of drain tile. In a good firm " gravelly 
hard-pan," or any really hard-pan not readily pervious to 
water, the horse-shoe or n-shaped tile does very well 
without a board to stand upon. On steep falls where a 
large quantity of water runs, it is safer to set these tiles 
on boards. The sole tile will admit all lite water that 
can run through them, and so will Ihe round tile. Of 
these two sorts, the round tile is now much used for lateral 
drains, and every tile-maker should get dies for them. 
They require a little more care in handling to preserve 
their form perfect. The sole tiles are heavier and more 
expensive. But they are valuable, when the ground is like- 
ly to wash, and where round tile might be easily displaced. 
Size ol" Wraits-'l'ile to Use.— Few people 
who begin to lay tile-drains realize the importance of 
having small lateral or minor drains. Two-inch tile is as 
large as are ever necessary, unless living springs are to 
be conducted off ; and where the drains are not longer 
than 150 feet, lX-inch round or pipe tile or sole tile will 
answer perfectly well, provided the fall be as much as 
two or three inches per rod. and the joints and open- 
ings be so tight that mice, moles, or toads, cannot get in. 
Bad Habits of Horses.—" M. B. P.," 
Schuyler Co., N. Y., has a 3-year-old mare which has the 
bad habit of hanging her tongue out when the bit is In, 
and asks for a cure. It is probably a coltish trick she 
will gel over. Such are not uncommon. Try putting a 
liitle pulverized aloes on the tongue as often as you can 
find it out, or hitling it with a riding-whip. 
Mutton Sucep.— " J. IT.," New-Jersey.— 
Considering hardiness, excellence of the mutton, early 
maturity, and fair quality of the wool, the preference of 
the Agriculturist has long been for Ihe South Down 
sheep. To breed large early lambs, from good sized com- 
mon ewes, the use of a Cotswold or other long wool 
buck may be desirable— though butchers are very fond of 
the dark legs and faces which show the South Down cross. 
The Long-wools require more care, and wiil usually yield 
more weight of wool from the same amount of feed. 
(ro»» lor Pine Wool.— The best com 
for a (lock of common fine wool sheep Is no doubt the 
American Merino— whose blood Is of Spanish origin. 
The constitution of the breed and fineness of the wool Is 
all that can bo asked. Salejot French or American bucks 
with reference lo quality of wool, size, and constitution. 
Richness of iiiiu in Cream ami 
<'Iioono.-- Luke Hoxle, <ii Hiullson County, N. Y., re- 
ports to the Agriculturist, experiments with the tnllk of 
a heid oi 16 cows, by which he finds that the milk rich- 
est in eieam also makes by far the heaviest curd. — We 
regret that he did not repeat the experiment two or three 
times for the sake of accuracy, and extend his observa- 
tions on the comparative amount of cream and the 
weight of tho curd to the milk of each of the cows. 
More Mutter.— llansou Gardner, of Rens- 
selaer Co., N. V., writes that from four old cows and two 
2-year-old heifers, he made and sold 1300 pounds of 
butter last year, besides what was used in his family 
consisting of three persons. This was '2'1Q% lbs. for each 
cow. At 25 cents per lb., which is less than prime butter 
is now worth, it would amount to $56.60 per animal. 
Msig'ur in Soi-glium Ifagassc. — The 
statement from " Prof." Mot which has been going the 
rounds, that the cane refuse (bagasse) will yield under 
certain treatment a great additional quantity of syrup, 
we give no credence to. Bagasse front a good mill, well 
worked, contains but a very small proportion of sugar. 
The important question is: If worked upon a large 
scale, will it be possible to get any marketable cane 
sugar ? — that is, sugar which will crystallize and make a 
table article. We have never seen a pound of suck sugar 
that we knew was made from sorghum. This does not 
invalidate the value of sorghum for syrup. 
Xlie Spinning Wheel and. Cheese 
Press. — Gradually one employment after another is 
taken out of the hands of women-folk, by*the innovations 
of machinery and associated labor. Our grandmothers 
spun and wove, made up, and wore the wool of their own 
flocks. Our mothers spun, but they did not weave ; our 
wives barely recollect homespun ; they can make up 
their own garments— but now-a-days, little is left for 
our daughters to do but wear them out. Every thing 
else Is done by machinery and factory labor. The labors 
of lite dairy are going the same way, and for aught we 
can see, a home-made cheese w ill be as rare a sight in a 
few years as home-spun-and-woven linen is to-day. 
When that day comes, and even now perhaps, we may 
congratulate ourselves that the employments of the dairy 
are discovered to he unhealthy, and ruinous lo the con- 
stitutions of the poor women who engage ill them — in the 
family, not in the factory— according lo X. A. Willard's 
recent brochure, in which he attributes "overtaxed muscle, 
incessant care without relaxation, disease, broken health, 
and premature old age," to the labors of the dairy. 
Leaky Roofs. — John Wheelan, Jefferson 
Co., Wis. writes that the cracks often opened between 
a wing or rear addition and tho main building, may be 
effectually closed with paint skins or the scrapings from 
old paint pots, prepared as follows : Boil them in a little 
linseed oil, stirring them frequently, making the mixture 
about the consistence of hasty pudding or mush. Apply 
It while hot with a small paddle, and it will soon harden. 
The application may need to be repeated once or twice. 
Color of Houses. — J. A. B., Grandsville, 
Md. In matters of taste it is difficult to advise. Pre- 
suming that the house is to be some other color than 
white, our method would he to paint the window frames, 
etc., some shades darker than the body of the house, and 
the sash very dark. For out-buildings a similar color, 
but one that would be as little conspicuous as possible. 
Cheap Paints.— The essential part of all 
good paints, properly so called, is Linseed Oil. Oil if 
well boiled, may be applied alone, and affords an excel- 
lent protection lo hard wood and implements, and upon 
floors. Sundry substances ground very fine, are used to 
mix with the oil, and in proportion as they thicken the 
oil and form an opaque coating, they are said to possess 
" body." A pretty good, cheap paint for outside work is 
made by mixing piaster of Paris with white lead, or zinc- 
white, and grind them togelhes in a paint mill with oil. 
Plaster alone may be used, and it is said to form a dura- 
ble and very cheap paint. Of course any color may be 
given which is desired. 
Cleansing 'fainted Barrels.— John 
Wheelan, Jefferson Co., Wis., directs to throw about 
•our quarts of bran into a tainted barrel, pour a pailful ef 
boiling water up,, n ii, an 1 leave it covered for ruilf an 
hour. Then tcrub the barrel thoroughly with a bioorn, 
rinse it well with cold water, and It will be found sweet. 
This may answer whuie there Is only a sll s ht taint, but 
we should judge some stronger treatment necessary in 
most ensos. A thorough soaking with strong lye fiom 
wood ashes, or putting ihi villi hel w.,ier,oi 
using lime, we should judge tu bo effective. The iafr,t 
remedy was recommended by a cooper— buy a new barrel. 
What Pears to Plant.— Wdl Bowel, 
Decatur Co., Ind. There is a list of select rartetle* on 
page 17 (Jan. Agriculturist 1863), which will servo for a 
general guide— to be modified according to the experience 
of your neighbors. Varieties very good In ono place, 
often fall In certain other localities without any assigna- 
ble cause, and It Is only from one's own experience or 
that of others near by, that he can ascertain with absolute 
certainly what sorts are adapted to his soil and climate. 
Tarred Paper Around Trees— A 
Caution.— J. C. Fenn, Litchfield Co., Conn., writes (o 
the American Agriculturist that he has used sheets of 
tarred paper tied around trees to keep off rabbits In 
Winter, and injury has been done by Ice accumulating 
upon the bark under the paper. Care should be taken to 
arrange the covering, so that little water can enter. 
Nebraska I*luins.— R. O. Thompson of 
Otuc Co., Nebraska, says of the wild plums of Nebraska : 
" I have 8 fine varieties of good qualities (some as large 
as the Jefferson), of various colors, forms and times of 
ripening. For four years they have stood near Jefferson, 
Kirk's, and Coe's Golden Drop, and the Curcullo has 
never injured a plum upon them, while the varieties nam- 
ed have been invariably destroyed, or at least It required 
much labor to get a single specimen of Kirk's to re- 
main on the tree." We would like some cions, though 
we should fear that a plum which would resist the cur- 
culio here, would not be particularly valuable as a fruit. 
Thanks for Die seeds. 
The Scale on Trees Again.— Quite a 
number of remedies have been proposed by correspond- 
ents, and published in the Agriculturist. Here is still 
another from a New Jersey subscriber, who "took some 
lamp-oil, and a little soft soap," and applied it to the treo 
with the effect of killing the scale and removing the 
moss." The proportions are not very definitely given. 
(drafting the Apple on the Crab.- 
"M. S. S.," Lyndon, Vt. It is not probable this would 
render the apple any hardier to withstand your Winters. 
Evergreens and otlier Trees tor 
Prairies. — Duel Sherman, Chickasaw Co., Iowa. Do 
not think of moving the evergreens until late in Spring. 
Oaks, hickorys, and other bard woods can only be suc : 
cessfully grown when the seed is planted where it is to 
remain. Even in favorable climates they need lo have, 
while young, the protection of other trees, or lo be plant- 
ed so thickly that they will shelter each other. The 
thick plantings are gradually thinned out until the trees 
are of proper size to grow for timber. No doubt that any 
hard-wooded trees which will stani the climate, may be 
raised in Iowa, if protected thus during early growth. 
Pruning: Roses. — Mr, S. P. Adams, Hump 
den Co., Mass. The remontant roses are best left until 
Spring. Then cut out the weak and the crowded shoots, 
and shorten the others to three or four buds. 
Strawberries.— Wni. Howel, Decatur Co.", 
Ind. Wilson'6 Albany is considered good for putting in 
cans, as it is firm and quite acid. A crop can not be ex- 
pected from plants set next Spring. Fuller's Strawberry 
Culturist costs 12 cents by mail and Barry's Fruit Garden 
$1 50. We can not particularize nurserymen, those who 
advertise in our columns are believed to bo reliable. 
Large Yield of Squashes.— Wm. A. 
Hart, Middlesex Co., Conn., raised on only 7 by 10 feet, 
sixty Boston Marrow squashes weighing 618 pounds 
Asclepias Fibre (mkweed).—C. F. Bigham, 
Tolland Co., Conn. Specimens of fabric made of this 
and part cotton, were shown at the late fair of the 
American Institute. As they were enclosed In a glass 
case, we could not form any judgment of them, and have 
not the address of the exhibitor. This Is the only at 
tempt we have seen to utilize this very abundant material. 
Botanical Journals.— U A. E. E.," Illi- 
nois. There is no botanical journal published in this 
country. Silliman's Journal has a botanical department. 
