1870.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
329 
chance of being "struck by lightning," which is pro- 
verbial y very small. 
Coleuscs and ESegonias.— " J. G. E.," 
Griffin, Ga. Both these need a greenhouse temperature 
of not lower than 60° during the winter. The Coleuses 
are particularly difficult to keep unless there is the prop- 
er heat. 
Castor Poraace.-Mrs. "W. A. E., Wind- 
ham Co., Conn., says: Those who use Castor Pomace 
as a fertilizer should observe cautiou in handling and 
using it; if it comes in contact with the eyes, either by 
rubbing the eyes with the soiled hands, or if the wind 
blows it into them, it will cause inflammatipn. It should 
be kept away from cattle. A valuable cow came near 
losing her life a short time ago by getting to compost 
where Castor Pomace was used, repeated doses of melted 
lard saved her life, hut she is permanently injured." 
I*oIsone«l Dogs.- lt W. B. M.," Lewiston, 
Idaho, writes that, when living in Texas, he often had 
hunting dogs poisoned by strychnine that was set for 
wolves. He always cured the dogs by pouring down 
their throats as much milk-wunn oil, or grease, as their 
stomachs would hold. 
££oot Pruning;.— " W. T. W." The "prac- 
tical" part of the operation is very simple. A circular 
trench is opened to expose the roots, and they are then 
severed by means of a very sharp spade. The point 
where there is the most difficulty is, to judge how much 
to prune. The object is to check the growth of the tree 
and induce it to form fruit ; and while removing too large 
a share of the roots will cut off too great a supply of nour- 
ishment, the removal of too little will defeat the object 
sought. For young trees, Rivers advises that the trench 
should be a foot from the tree for every inch of the diam- 
eter of the trunk. Thus a tree 3 inches through would 
have the trench 3 feet from the tree on all sides, making 
a circle G feet in diameter, of which the tree is the center. 
All the roots outside of this circle are to be cut off. But 
no fixed rale can be applicable to trees in all conditions, 
and much must depend upon the judgment of the ope- 
rator. The work may be done in autumn or in early spriug. 
Sparrows. — *'D. G. H.," East Bridgewater, 
Mass. Sparrows are usually for sale in the spring. 
There are no "means to secure their staying," yet if 
boxes are put up for them, they are likely to take posses- 
sion of them when set at liberty ; but they may, fly off and 
reject your hospitality. "We cannot tell what the prices 
will be next season. 
Syrnp.— "M. S. B." The syrup referred to 
is an incidental product in the process of sugar refining, 
and it is not practicable to make it in the household. 
"Black: Rug" osi Oierry-TVees.— 
A correspondent asks, "What is the occasion of the 
black bug on cherry-trees ? Are they destructive ? andean 
they be got rid of?" — The " occasion " is that the insects 
are there to get a living. Wc supposo the " black bug" 
to be a plant louse. It lives by sucking the juiceB from 
the young shoots, and is injurious. It can be killed by 
the use of tobacco water, applied as most convenient. 
Oiled Paper. — In these days, when so many 
plauts are sent by mail, wc find a frequent use for oiled 
paper as a wrapping material. We have used that pre- 
pared by Mr. F. Trowbridge, South Milford, Conn., and 
found it very serviceable. Plants put up in slightly 
dampened moss, rolled up hard in oiled paper, and then 
covered with common brown paper, will go safely a long 
distance. The oiled paper is much lighter than India- 
rubber cloth, and for the purpose, quite as useful. 
Fisla E»on<ls and Mnck.- l, M. Q. E.,' 1 
Ccntrevillc, Ind. It is quite practicable to make fish 
ponds in muck beds. There are very frequently good 
gravel and sand, and springe at the bottom. In this caso 
you can have trout. Make the ponds long and narrow, 
and screen the outlet. If the water proves too warm for 
trout you can make the ponds of any shape that pleases, 
and put in black bass. The muck will generally pay for 
the digging, with a large surplus. If the sides of the 
pond arc left with a slope of 45 degrees, they will not 
need stones nor plank. 
Soaking Grain for Pigs.— R. n. Dix- 
on writes that the plan of soaking and cooking whole 
grain alluded to in " Harris on the Pig," does not prove 
successful with him. " The pigs will not cat more than 
half as much as they will if the grain is ground before 
cooking." Ilisplau was to "put one bushel of corn to a 
barrel of water iu a common cauldrou holding forty-five 
saw anything more beautiful. Mr. Pullen says: "I 
think the Sal way will prove a valuable variety for more 
southern latitudes. I sold a large number of these trees 
to planters in Delaware and Maryland last year, so that 
its merits as a market variety will soon be tested. The 
tree is very hardy and productive." Mr. Eulton in his 
Peach Culture, speaks of it as likely to prove of great 
value as a late freestone. The following is Mr. P's de- 
scription: Sai-way. — Large roundish-oblate, distinct 
suture, with point at apex. Skin bright yellow, beauti- 
fully mottled with red spots. Flesh deep yellow, red at 
stone,and very good. Tree hardy, profuse bearer. Flowers, 
small. Glands reniform. Late, ripening after the Smock. 
fffnmmotlt Cluster Raspberry. — 
S. D. Comfort, writes that he has the Doolittle, Miami, 
and Mammoth Cluster, growing side by side, and that 
any one can see they are distinct. *There are two 
distinct varieties that have been called Miami, and it is 
claimed by such authorities as Chas. Downing, that the 
Large Miami, or McCormick, is identical with that re- 
cently named Mammoth Cluster. This is also the decis- 
ion of the committee of the Am. Pomological Society. 
The Kentucky Strawberry. — We 
have not yet seen the fruit of this variety, our vines were 
set out only this spring and have not yet borne. It is a 
seedling by Mr. J. S. Downer, of Fail-view, Ky., to whom 
we are indebted for the Downer's Prolific, and Charles 
Downing. The Kentucky is said to be the latest variety 
in cultivation. Mr. A. D. Webb, Vice-President of the 
Ky. State Tlort'l Society, in an article published in the 
Farmer's Home Journal, says: "I certainly regard the 
Kentucky as the handsomest and most attractive berry I 
ever saw of the light color variety, good flavor, and very 
large size. There is certainly a debt of gratitude due 
Mr. J. S. Downer for originating and introducing the 
Charles Downing and Kentucky, both of which possess 
superior qualities and are decided acquisitions." 
Early Apples. — R. H. Martin, Susses Co., 
Del., sends a crate of apples known as Ben Whitenen. 
It is probably a local variety. Mr. M. says that it is fit 
for cooking by July 1st. It is a fair fruit for eating, and 
no doubt valuable for home use, but neither its size nor 
appearance would commend it for market. Among the 
early varieties, Summer Queen, Sour Bough. Red Astra- 
chan, and Early Bough, are the best market sorts. Some 
New Jersey growers consider the Summer Queen the 
most profitable variety. 
E>ry5ng- Fruit. — When much fruit is dried, 
it is necessary to have a house for the purpose. Small 
quantities should be so arranged as to be placed near the 
kitchen fire when taken in at night or during stormy days. 
Those who have hot-bed sash, can easily arrange a drying 
apparatus which will dry rapidly and at the same time 
keep off insects. A hot-bed frame with a bottom to it, 
and raised above the ground, makes a capital drying box. 
The sash should be elevated at one end to allow the 
moisture to pass off, covering the opening with netting. 
Pcar-Trcos and Hot Weather. — S. 
Wood, Jr., writes that during the heats of July, two of 
Manning's Elizabeth pear-trees, out of a collection of 
thirty varieties, had their leaves crisped as if burned by 
fire, and asks the cause. If some of his trees had been 
winter-killed, he would have said they were "tender," 
meaning not able to withstand excessive cold. Trees arc 
also tender to excessive heat, hence many varieties can 
not be grown In the Southern States, but we hear much 
less of tenderness in this direction than in the other. 
Peach-trees in Raslccts. — Mr. A. C. 
Chamberlain, of Brooklyn, presented us with a four-year- 
old peach-tree grown in a wire basket a foot across. It 
had a half-dozen, well-grown, ripe peaches upon it. The 
basket is filled with moss, through which is diffused 
come fertilizer, the composition of which Mr. C. keeps 
secret. Asa novelty, it will please the curious, but we 
cannot see any advantage over tho well-known way of 
growing the peaches in pots. 
Pineapple Fibre. — Nora N. This is a 
fabric made from the fibres of the leaves of pineapples 
and related plants of the same family. 
Wild Wistaria.— Nora N. There is a 
wild Wistaria, but it has blue and not maroon-colored 
flowers. You probably have in view the Apios tubi>ro$a, 
called Wild Beau aud Dacotah Potato. 
Vines on a I-.t;*l»tiiiii£'-i*o«l. — A corres- 
pondent asks if it is safe to train a honeysuckle upon a 
lightning-rod. Wc do not know if she means safe for 
the rod or for the vine. It cannot in any way interfere 
with the rod, and as for the vine, that must tako tho 
gallons. Get the water to boiling heat. Then shut up 
tight to keep the heat nnder the boiler, and leave it for 
twelve or sixteen hours, when the corn will fill the ves- 
sel. This is cheaper than boiling the grain until it is 
cooked. It will be seen that the corn swells to throe 
times its original size. The pigs had been used to cook- 
ed corn-meal, and would not eat as much of the cooked 
whole grain." We have no donbt that cooked meal is 
better than soaked or cooked whole grain, but where it 
is not convenient to get the corn ground, soaking or 
cooking it whole is better than feeding it dry. 
TTBae Enmniin^-bird Irlotli, also called 
Bee-moth, and Clear-wing, is the insect sent us by D. H. 
Horning for a name. It is Sesia Thysbe. It is a day-flying 
moth, and is often seen hovering about flowers with 
movements much like those of a humming-bird, aud is 
readily distinguished by the large transparent spots upon 
the middle of the wings. We do not know the larva, 
hut no donbt it is destructive to vegetation. Neither 
Harris nor Packard, the only works we have at hand, say 
anythingabont the larva orwhat it feeds upon. We wish 
Mr. Riley would write a work upon insects — then we 
should have one that would tell just the things that per- 
sons not entomologists wish to know. 
"Wil«l Animals in Maryland. — In 
looking over one of our exchanges, the Civilian and 
Telegraph, of Cumberland, Md., we were struck with the 
long list of bounties paid for the u scalps" of panthers, 
wolves, foxes, etc. A hurried footing up and classifica- 
tion of the list shows that during the past year there 
were killed in that county, 1 panther, 7 wolves, 22 wild 
cats, 337 foxes, 7 owls, and 3 hawks, upon which bounty 
was paid at the rate of $5 for the panther, §20 each for 
the wolves, $1.50 each for cats, SI each for foxes, hawks, 
and owls. This may not be extraordinary, but it strikes 
us as remarkable that so many of the "varmints" should 
be killed in a single county, within a few miles of the . 
National Capitol. 
Purification of Cisterns.— D. L. Wil- 
-liams, E. Hartford, Conn., and several others, have writ- 
ten to say that they keep the water in their cisterns pure 
by continuing the conductor, or iulet pipe, nearly to the 
bottom of the cistern. By this arrangement the fresher 
water is at the bottom and that which has-been longest 
in the cistern passes out at the overflow. 
Catgut.— " J. M. E.," Faimew, Pa., says that 
there is a dispute as to whether violin strings are made 
of "pussy's inwards," or whale's sinews, and the ques- 
tion is referred to us. We decide it easily— neither. 
Catgut is made from the intestines of the sheep, which 
undergo various processes of soaking in ley, scraping, 
drawing, twisting, and sulphuring. The best are made 
in Italy, in part, because the workmen are more skilled, 
and iu part because the sheep are so poor and lean that 
their intestines arc tougher. Very poor strings are made 
in England, and it is said to be because the sheep are fat. 
The name, catgut, is said to be a corruption of gut-cord. 
Bee Notes.— By Ml Qniriby. 
— • 
The Apiary in September.— Where plenty of 
buckwheat is in blossom there is little danger of robbing, 
but when that fails, weak hives will be plundered at once 
unless protected. Make the entrances to them narrow, 
so that the bees may guard them, or remove them with- 
out delay. No one should complain of bees being robbed 
now, as prevention is in his own hands. Leave no refuse 
honey near the apiary. Such maybe carefully fed to 
light hives. Remove diseased stocks now. There are 
too many chances that they may be robbed to the detri- 
ment of others. The becsof such may be given to quecn- 
lcss stocks, but not unlil after having been confined ofi 
hours in an empty box, as a precaution against the infec- 
tion. That portion of the contents of diseased hives 
which consists of brood and honey mixed, should be 
buried iu the ground— not a particle of such honey should 
be fed until it has been well scalded and skimmed. Tho 
portions free from brood may be strained, scalded, and 
saved for use. Condemned hives that arc healthy and 
strong enough to defend themselves, may stand until 
next month. Time will thus be given for the yonog 
bees to mature and leave the combs clean for next year. 
Italians seem almost exempt from disease. A heavy 
hive, though queenless and having but (c\\ bees, if not 
infested with worms, may bo saved by supplying queen 
and bees. Bees of two or more hives will unite more 
readily if moved a mile or so. Where there arc few bees 
and no sealed brood, it is strong evidence that there is 
no queen. When it is desired to winter light stocks that 
have but little comb, they must be fed freely that they 
may build comb and rear brood. If attended to noic. this 
maybe done, but it is not always the best economy. 
