1870.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
285 
will not be a large one, both on account of extensive 
winter-killing of broadcast grain, and on account of the 
drouth. Spring wheat promises to make up in some 
degree for the deficiencies of the winter wheat crop, as 
the season has been remarkably propitious for it; and 
the abundant harvest rains, coming too late for winter 
grains, have favored spring wheat, oats, and barley, very 
greatly. Little complaint of raidge or rust has come to 
ns so far. The corn crop of the Eastern States was much 
put back by the drouth, and that of the West suffered 
also. Early planted corn was much of it in a condition 
to be rather benefited than otherwise by the dry, hot 
weather, and thus a wonderful disparity existed, which 
will tell at harvest time. Potatoes. — We fear the low price 
which potatoes brought this spring has induced the plant- 
ing of a small breadth of land to them. They are look- 
ing finely at the time of writing (July 14th), late varie- 
ties promising especially well. 
Agricultural and Horticultural 
Fairs* — We are obliged to go to press so early in the 
month that we are unable to prepare a satisfactory list of 
Fairs for our August number. The Fairs to beheld in 
August, were mentioned last month on page 247. We 
shall endeavor to publish as complete a list as possible 
in September, and will be glad to receive premium lists 
and any information which will make it more accurate. 
Great Field Trial of Harvesting: 
Implements. — The Missouri State Board of Agricul- 
ture made, according to announcement, a trial of Field 
Harvesting Machines near St. Louis. The competition 
between Mowers, Reapers, etc., was between the follow- 
ing machines: Champion, Advance. Acme, Kirby, Clip- 
per, Excelsior, Burdick, Climax, iEtna, Bucyrus, John 
P. Murray, Marsh Harvester, and Meadow King. There 
was, besides, Stacking and Pitching Apparatus. The 
premiums awarded are as follows : Best Harvester, " the 
Marsh;" best Combined Reaper and Mower, "New York 
Clipper;" best Self Waking Reaper, "the Burdick " (Kirby 
Improved); best Reaper, ''Climax ;" best Mower, "Ac- 
me" (Climax improved); best Hay Fork, lk Nellis' im- 
proved Rogers 1 Harpoon; best Stacker, etc., "Nellis." 
New York State Fair of 1S70, at TJtica, 
Sept. 27, 23, 29, 30. Entries close August 31, but intend- 
ing exhibitors of fruits and flowers need only make their 
applications for space in advance, and, if they prefer, 
may defer making detailed entries until the morning of 
Tuesday, Sept. 27. Trial of Implements. — The testing 
and judging of implements and machines will begin on 
Monday, September 12, at TJtica, and continue probably 
two weeks. No premiums will bo awarded without ac- 
tual trial for any implements in sections 17 and IS of the 
Premium-List, and trial cannot be promised to any exhib- 
itors making their entries later than August 15. Other 
machines besides those mentioned in the Premium-List, 
will be admitted to trial if they give promise of value 
and if time will admit. For copies of the Premium-List, 
and for blank forms for entries, address the Secretary, 
State Agricultural rooms, Albany, N. Y. 
Crops in SBlinois. — N. J. Shepherd, St. 
Clair Co., writes: "Since the wheat harvest is about 
over we can judge pretty well of the prospect for a good 
crop for this year. Wheat is something better this year, 
though it stood very thin on the ground, so much so that 
a large number of acres were too thin to pay for harvest- 
ing. The grain is somewhat better than it was last year. 
The prospect for oats, corn, and hay, is very good, and 
if the price is not too low, these will relieve farmers 
greatly from their indebtedness. Farmers were more 
careful this season in getting harvest hands, and the ma- 
jority paid $2 per day for men. The prospect for fruit is 
very fluttering ; there seems to be an abundance of Binall 
fruits now, and more coming on." 
Nomologists iu California. — Our po- 
mological friends in California are enjoying a visit from 
Borne of their distinguished, eastern brethren. We doubt 
not that the visitors on their part are highly enjoying 
themselves ; and we know none better able to appreciate 
the horticultural wonders of California than such gentle- 
men as Wilder, Downing, Barry & Ellwanger, who, with 
others, compose the party. Perhaps this visit may lead 
to a meeting of the Ani. Pomological Society upon the 
Pacillc coast in 1S73. 
Mr. Dreer's Establishment. —We 
have long known Mr. Henry A. Drecr, of Philadelphia, 
as an enterprising and reliable seedsman ; but we were 
not prepared to ilud him so largely engaged as a florist, 
as a recent visit to his establishment showed him to be. 
At West Philadelphia he has a garden and green-houses, 
and at Riverton, N. J., a largo farm devoted to seed-rais- 
ing, bulb-growing, and the propagation of small nursery 
stock. Hero, also, is another extensive rauge of green- 
houses. Gladioluses, Tuberoses, Verbenas, etc., are 
grown by the acre for seeds and bulbs. Onion Sets, 
which are a Philadelphia specialty, covered a large area, 
and numerous crops of vegetable seeds, small fruits, or- 
namental shrubs and vines, aud evergreens had their 
appropriate quarters. We saw here many interesting 
plants, some of which we may notice at another time. 
President Wilder Strawberry. — 
This new variety was not mentioned in our notes xipon 
page 304, as at the time they were made up we had not 
seen any specimens. It has not fruited to any extent in 
the neighborhood of New York, but at the June Exhibi- 
tion of the Mass. Hort. Society it was the principal fea- 
ture. A sample of the fruit from J. M. Merrick, Jr., of 
Waltham,Mass., was sent to Messrs. Bliss & Son, which, 
though it endured the rough handling of the expressmen 
satisfactorily, had been too long from the vines to appear 
at its best in point of flavor We notice in the Country 
Gentleman a communication signed 4i J. E. Tilton & Co., 
Proprietors of the President Wilder Strawberry Plant." 
Is there but one plant, and who is the " proprietor " of 
those we received from Col. Wilder himself? 
Old Seeds.-" H. L. H.," Portage Co., O., 
wishes we would "blowup in the humbug column,'" 
those who furnish country merchants with garden seeds, 
as those which are sold are too old to germinate. We 
think that the country merchants have as much to do 
with selling old stock as those who supply them. We 
advise our correspondent to send to some seedsman of 
reputation for his stock of seeds, and he will fare better. 
Cabbages — American and Foreign 
Varieties. — Recently we visited a farm upon Long 
Island, to examine a crop of cabbages which had been 
raised for Mr. Dreer, of Philadelphia, for the purpose of 
testing the most popular European varieties by the side 
of our own. There were some 30 varieties grown in 
field culture, and in sufficient quantities to show what 
they would do as a crop. They presented a wide range 
of quality, from perfectly worthless to very good. There 
were only two or three that seemed to be worthy of fur- 
ther trial. The result of the experiment is, that we have 
little to gain by going abroad for our varieties of cab- 
bage. Several of the European varieties have been so 
modified by culture in this country that seed of the same 
kind grown here is vastly preferable to the imported. 
Some of the Long Island farmers have local varieties, or 
strains, which they have obtained by selection, in which 
eaiiiness and solidity are combined in great perfection. 
Sundry Humbug's* — Multitudes of letters 
come to us, asking about many parties we have already 
exposed. Our previous articles under this head should be 
consulted. We can not continually go over the same 
ground againforthe benefit of such writers. Newsubscri- 
bers, of course, can not refer to back numbers. It may 
generally be understood that when we do not refer to 
such inquiries, it is because the parties inquired about 
have already been shown up within a few months, or a 
year or two at most The City Swindlers who have 
made money enough, are, like many others, off" to the 
" Watering-Places" and "Country Retreats, 1 '' and some 
of them carry their "business" with them. The chap 
who has operated extensively as " Daily & Co.", "Wo- 
gan & Co.", "Waters & Co.", and under sundry other 
aliases, most of which we have shown up, prints a lot of 
circulars, all alike, and puts in a card, giving himself va- 
rious names and addresses. He dispatched to the far 
West and South, a large lot of these circnlars, giving in 
some a card " Samuel Fox, Bergen Point, N. J."; in others 
a card, "Peter Jackson," same P. O.; and in others, 
"Edward Palmer," same P, O. Fortunately, Mr. Gaylur 
kept track of him ; and his numerous letters, excepting a 
very few of the first, went to the Washington Dead-letter 
Office, to be returned to the unfortunate, dishonest dupes, 
who wanted to deal in counterfeit money. It is better 
treatment than they deserved One of the most, plausi- 
ble schemes is signed "J. Fuller, 37 LaFayette Place, 
N. T.", under a letter head " W. II. Morris & Co., Clifton 
Building." He pretends to print from a genuine U.S. 
plate obtained surreptitiously from the IT. S. Treasury 
Department. He will doubtless take in a good many vic- 
tims T. F. Wood, Vernon, N. J., offers not only the 
"queer," but "exciting" books to injure the young. — 
Will Mr. Gaylcr please engage lodgings for this rascal 
along side of Jas. S. Colgate, at Sing Sing Thomas 
W. Pierce, SO Nassau-st., alias Win. B. Logan, 15 Dutch- 
St., alias Wm. J. Ferguson, 104 Broadway ; Rufus Stock- 
ton, 204 Broadway, alias Adam Smith, 210 Broadway; 
Robert II. Holland, 242 Fulton-st., and 73 Nassau-st., 
alias John F. Hamilton, 212 Broadway, and 73 Nassau- 
st. ; Henry E. Stewart, Earle's Hotel, and W. H. Wood, 
20f> Broadway, etc., are the assumed names of operators 
in Photographs, pretending to be money The Ex- 
press swindle is revived again. For oxample, G. L. 
Seymour writes to a young man in Wabash, Indiana, 
that a package has been received for him at the of- 
fice of the " American Dispatch Express Company, 1S4 
Broadway," on which there are $2.35 charges due, and 
that if it is not paid for in 20 days the goods will be sold 
at auction— a swindle of course. In this case, the opera- 
tor calling himself G. L. Seymonr, has got hold of an old 
list of names, as the party to whom the statement was 
sent, has resided in Maryland, eight months past, and 
the important notice was forwarded to him there from 
Wabash Deafness. To N. B. R., and others. Don't 
send your money. If the " Dr." can't trust you, don't you 
trust to his returning the money. But no Doctor adver- 
tising certain cures is to be trusted either with your money, 
or life, or health, or ears, or eyes W. M. of Mich., 
and . Darestown, N. J. That Bowery Doctor is a 
vile humbug. Ditto the "Regenerator" "Howard 
Association." We are receiving other letters in corrob- 
oration of what was said on this topic last month. To 
cure the "errors of youth" don't send money to the 
chaps running those swindling "Associations," so-called. 
Take strong, active exercise; eat nourishing, easily di- 
gestible food, but nothing after 4 or 5 P. M. ; sleep on a 
hard bed, and give medicines to the dogs. This pre- 
scription is worth a million times all you will get from 
the "Howard Association" after they have called on 
you time and again for money, money, and more money, 
and sent you " powders," and other stuff in any quantity. 
Henry P. Jones & Co. (so-called), keep on referring 
to McKillop, Sprague & Co., etc., for their " Grand Pre- 
sentation $275,000 Enterprise" humbug. See our April 
No., page 12(5, and May number, page 16G Beware 
of advertisements of sewing machines, on the gift prin- 
ciple, from unknown new parties. One such party offers 
to send a machine C. O. D., if a few dollars be sent with 
the order. They, of course, pocket the money, and that 
is the end of it, so far as the sender is concerned, 
Arbor Vitaes. — A lady wishes to know If 
pruning will prevent her Arbor Yitass from turning brown 
in the fall. It is one of the faults of this tree that it be- 
comes unsightly in winter. No pruning or other treat- 
ment will remedy it, 
Foiir-Iearcd Clover. — J. R. Carter. The 
clover with four or more divisions of the leaf instead of 
the usual number of three is not a species, but a not very 
unusual development of common clover. 
Wilu Bailies. — A correspondent sends us a 
specimen of the Turk's-Cap Lily, and asks if it can bu 
transplanted to the garden. This species (Zffiitm superb- 
vm) makes a fine plant in cultivation, and is highly val- 
ued in Europe. The most favorable time for taking up 
the bulbs is when the leaves have turned yellow. 
Onion Seed.— A. N. Curtis. Our seed- 
growers thrash with a flail and winnow. Some wash the 
seed to clear it of the light particles, but our best grow- 
ers do not approve of the practice. 
Geranium Sporting-. — "F. K. M., n 
Philadelphia. Some of the geraniums will sport iu the 
way you mention, and by propagating the sporting 
branches the peculiarities are perpetuated. 
Pear Etligrlit.— C. H. Kent. The blight is 
probably a minute fungus, the prcsonce of which is not 
suspected until the mischief is done. No preventive is 
known. The best way is to cut back the limbs to sound 
wood and burn the trimmings. White lead applied to 
the wounds of a tree has no special curative properties. 
It protects the part from the action of the weather, and is 
as easily applied as anything. 
Characteristics of American Hor- 
ticulture— Under this title the editor of the Horti- 
culturist writes to the English Gardener's Magazine. He 
Bays : " You do not find here a true American sou of the 
soil touching anything high or low (much less horticul- 
tural) unless there is some money in it."— "There's an 
opinion as is an opinion." — Neighbor Williams should 
publish this article iu his own journal, if he wishes to 
get up an excitement among American horticulturists. 
Tan for IIot-l>eds.— u Weymouth." Tan 
is sometimes used for producing bottom heat. It lakes 
much longer to heat up than stable manure, and the heat 
continues longer. It is sometimes mixed with stable 
manure. It is but little used in this country, and we 
cannot say how it would do for winter work. 
Plants Named, — E. C. Breed, Waupacea 
Co., Wis. Tho Twin-flower, Linnaa borealis. A beauti- 
ful little vine and doubly interesting on account of bear- 
ing the name of the great Linna?ns W. S. Williamson, 
Coffee Co., Kansas. Callirrhov involucrata. We know no 
