187ff.J 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
367 
Popular ^aiue* of fruits. — When 
the name of a fruit becomes popularly established, the 
New York venders are apt to make it cover more than 
one kind. *" Delaware peaches" and •'California Bart- 
letts " arc cried over many a lot of fruit that never saw 
Delaware or California. The Catawba grape is a well- 
known aud popular variety, while the Delaware is known 
only to the few, and we have been amused to see the 
street venders put up the sign, " Fresh Catawbas," over 
boxes of the Delaware. Tins is a case of deception, in 
whiclfthe victim is not taken in. 
Weeping Trees. — R. B. "Werdcn. We can- 
not tell you the cause of the pendulous character of those 
trees called "weeping." They are eccentric individuals, 
that have the peculiarity from the start, and are " born 
so.'* These and other departures from the usual habit 
of trees are perpetuated by budding and grafting. 
The Richmond Peach.- Dr. E. Ware 
Sylvester, of Lyons, N. Y.. sends us samples of this new 
variety from the original tree. He says in comparison 
with the Early Crawford : "II is more hardy, it is as 
large, as firm for marketing, as handsome, and that it is 
as sweet as any first-rate white peach ; lacking the acid- 
ity the Early Crawford always has however ripe it may be. 
I grew 500 seedlings from selected seed ; and the Rich- 
mond and Atlanta, a white peach not quite ripe, were the 
only ones I deemed better than varieties we had already." 
The specimens were of excellent flavor and very sweet. 
"What i^ tlie flatter triih these 
Grapes ?" asks "Dobb's Ferry."' Many of the grapes 
are discolored, have the skin broken, and are already 
passing into decay. Had our correspondent carefully ex- 
amined the interior of the infected berries, he would 
have found a minute " worm," which is so near the color 
of the pulp of the grape as to readily pass unnoticed. 
This is the larva of the Grape Cureulio, Cceliodes in&- 
quaU$ y which will be found figured and described in our 
columns in July, IS'jS, p. 223. The perfect insect is »| I0 th 
of an inch long, aud appears in July. It may be jarred 
from the vines early in the morning. At the West it has 
proved very destructive ; there the fruit drops, and the 
larva goes into the ground to undergo its transformation 
late in July or early in August, while in the specimens 
from Dobb's Ferry (some 30 miles up the Hudson) the 
fruit had not yet fallen. This insect has not come under 
our observation before, but we have no donbt that much 
of the injury to grapes ascribed to bees aud wasps is due 
to this cureulio. It would be a wise precaution to gather 
all this infected fruit and burn it, or place it in a tight 
vessel and allow fermentation to take place, which would 
probably kill the larva?. Riley, in his report on the in- 
fects of Missouri. 1SGD, says that probably a parasite is at 
work in destroying it. as in 1S6S the vineyards in that 
State were almost entirely free from it. 
fl>'i1i!ia->. — T. L. Ingell. You cannot expect 
Dahlias to bloom well until the heats of summer have 
passed. They have all they can do to hold their own 
through the hot months J. W. Bair. It is impossible 
to tell about Dahlias from description only. Your seed- 
ling yon can name what you choose, but it is not worth 
while to name it unless it is really distinct. To get the 
finest exhibition blooms, the plant is allowed to bear but 
few. Good culture, in order to secure strong roots, is all 
that you can do to develop your seedling. 
Cactus. — T. J. Iugell. The term Cactus, is 
a very comprehensive one, and it is impossible to tell 
what one you have that does not bloom. Some, of the 
hundreds comprised under the general head of Cactus, 
only bloom when of great age. and are cultivated for the 
singular forms of the plants. Others, again, flower when 
quite young. The best way to treat the majority of them 
is to keep them quite dry during the winter, and in spring 
■when they begin to grow, give plenty of water. 
< lie-m n I- in Illinois. — " D. L. M." 
The Chestnut will grow in any part of your State. 
The Grape Cnltiirist and flic 
Farmers' Club.— We have heretofore spoken in 
commendation of the Grape Culturist, edited by Geo. 
Huamann, St. Louis, Mo., but wo fear thai we shall be 
obliged to retract. It quotes a talk ou the. Scuppernong 
gTapeat the N. Y. Farmers* Club, aud then Bays : " It is 
certainly amusing— but at the same time disgusting— to 
sec men, who have not. the faintest perception of vegeta- 
ble life, who know nothing about the influence of grafting, 
but only know that the word hybridizing is in the dic- 
tionary, and that it means some horticultural operation, 
persist in trying to force this grape upon Northern plant- 
ers, etc." Mr. Grape Culturist, this wont do, at all. 
The "Farmers' Club" is a peculiar. New York instHu 
tion ; it embodies wisdom, science, experience, modi sty 
and eloquence, in a manner that no other institution ever 
did before, and probably never will again ; and we simply 
demand that you show it that respect which it merits. 
Please keep on your own side of the Mississippi. How can 
you know any thing about grapes so far from New York ? 
Flowers in Church — A ISeantifnl 
Custom.— At the Methodist E. Church, in Middletown, 
Conn., (the seat of the Wesleyan University), a large vase 
of beautiful, fresh flowers, with small trailing vines and fo- 
liage, is always found standing on the table in front of the 
Clergyman's desk ; and on communion days, and frequent 
other times, one or two extra vases are added at the right 
and left, with a cross of white flowers upon the pulpit, or 
speaker's desk. This has been kept up every Sabbath, 
summer and winter, for several years past. These flow- 
ers are the gift of a lady. Miss Ellen Rockwell, who 
raises the flowers, and wreathes them with her own 
hands— presenting them as a token of love for the House 
of God— and it seems to us, a very appropriate one. 
Might not this custom be appropriately imitated in every 
Temple of "Worship? iu summer at least, where green- 
house flowers cannot be secured for the winter season- 
though they appear most pleasing at the latter season. 
A >'ew Peach. — Messrs. Kemp & Kerr. 
Choptank Nurseries, Denton, Md.. send us specimens 
of a new peach called Glendale. It originated with the 
Rev. R. W. Todd, of Caroline Co., Md., and is described 
as a vigorous grower and good bearer. The fruit is of 
good size and exceedingly beautiful in appearance. The 
quality was remarkably fine for a yellow-fleshed peach, 
and seemed to us the best of that class we have tasted. 
Lice on Cabbages. — "We have been told 
that .salt and water will kill these, but fortunately have 
not had occasion to try it. 
Hedsre in Connecticut. — "J. TT. J.," 
Stamford. — For you the Honey-Locust will make the best 
hedge to " take the place of a fence." It will turn stock 
in four years. Land in good condition for farm crops is all 
that is required. Raise seeds in seed-bed, and transplant 
when one year old. 
^ttoles. — An old gardener of our acquaintance 
says that he drove the Moles out of his garden by the use 
of -coal-tar. He dips a corn cob in the tar and places it 
in the run. He says that the mole will not travel that 
road again. 
A Vine Lock:.— Mr. Edward F. Underbill, 
Brocton, N. Y., sends us specimens of a \ine lock, which 
is a peculiarly bent wire for attaching the canes of vines 
to the wires of the trellis, and serves a6 a substitute for 
ties. Those who have used the appliance speak highly 
of it as effective, and allowing the work to be done with 
great rapidity. The samples came too late for us to try 
them this season. 
Plants by Hail. — Persons -who send plants, 
seeds, etc.. by mail, should recollect that no written nor 
printed communication can accompany them. The law 
is very explicit upon this point. Nothing beyond the 
simple label is allowable. 
Tobacco Stems for Mannre. — " D. 
L. M." Tobacco stems will decompose if laid up with 
stable manure, and make an excellent compost for a mar- 
ket garden. Even burned for their ashes they would 
have considerable value. 
AutS.— What will kill ants ? We have pub- 
lished all the remedies that have come tons, and still the 
call comes for help against the pest. The ant question 
is still open. Let ns have experiences. 
The Black, or Itarn Weevil. — Har- 
rison Y. KxanSfr, Bucks Co. We believe there is no feasi- 
ble remedy for this pest but starvation. If no grain is 
stored in the barn or granaries for a full year the insects 
die out. If a head of rye is iu the hay, the probability is 
the insect will be found there aud tin- evil perpetuated. 
The best way is to build barracks aud shelters fur hay, 
grain, and straw, and leave the barn empty for a year — 
at the same time clean it out thoroughly, and make what 
repairs are necessary. Granaries which arc isolated can 
be fumigated with burning sulphur sometimes, and the 
weevil thus exterminated. 
Wood-Ducks and the Falcons.— 
"S. M." pleasantly writes from Bluffton, Mo.: "Your 
Picture of our beautiful AYood-Duck in the Sept. No. is 
such a complete representation of what can be witnessed 
out here in the wilderness, that I am tempted to give you 
a little account of an interesting chase with a set of the 
young of the above named ducks. In company with An- 
other man and two boys, we went in a skiff to Hermann, 
fourteen miles below here. About midway down, and a 
few hundred yards from shore, we came across a half-doz- 
en of these little ducks, about the size of half-grown par- 
tridges. The boys were elated and at once gave chase, as 
they said they would make nice pets. We said nothing, 
but well knew what would be the result. The skiff went 
one way and the birds another, for they would dive and 
reappear iu every direction. In the midst of the excite- 
ment anew character appeared on the scene. Two Wan- 
dering Falcons, [We presume S. M. refers to the Duck- 
Hawk, Fako analum, a very rare bird. — En.] came swoop- 
ing down from a lofty cliff, screaming fearfully. * Stop.' 
said I, 'one enemy is enough;* and we lay on our oars 
and looked on. Those voracious birds would come down 
like a dart at the little ducks, and when we thought one 
had a dnckling in its talons, it would appear on the sur- 
face again. After various attempts in coming down on 
them, they tried it horizontally, and would skim along 
the snrface like an arrow shot from a bow, and at times I 
thought a bird was actually in the Falcon's claws, but 
quick as lightning the little thing dived under. We stayed 
until the robbers went back to their lofty rocks. You 
may be sure we had no gun along, or there would have 
been one or two rare birds still more rare, as our feelings 
were by no means pleasant toward the assailants. 
White Leghorn Fowls.-R. J. Taylor, 
Berkshire Co,. Mass., writes: "Indifferent parts of this 
State there are persons who keep what they call White 
Leghorn Fowls. Is there any snch breed of fowls, and 
what are their distinguishing characteristics'?" A fine 
engraving and description of this beautiful breed was 
published iu the Agriculturist for March, 1S69, p. S9, which 
you had better send for. We are more than ever inclined 
to adhere to our views then expressed, that White Leg- 
horns, to be considered pure, should be of a slender sty- 
lish figure and proud carriage ; and have pure white plu- 
mage, yellow legs, thin single combs, carried erect in the 
cocks and drooping in the hens, and white or creamy- 
white ear lobes. The hens should be persistent layers of 
medium-sized to large, white eggs, and rarely or never sit. 
They are a hardy, valuable breed, especially as layers. In- 
creased size of fowls and of eggs should be cultivated — 
aud the points named insisted upon. There is a Brown 
variety equally well defined and valuable. 
6 * Mack on My Paper.'' — We frequent- 
ly have a request that we shall answer a question by 
some mark ou the writer's paper. This it would be more 
difficult to do than to write a dozen letters. The mailing 
is done with such great system and rapidity that it would 
cause serious interruption to single out a particular sub- 
scriber's paper. Besides it would be contrary to the 
spirit, if not the letter, of the postage laws. 
44 W. «J." — We do not give advice on purely 
personal matters through the paper ; and do not advertise 
any secret compound unless we know its composition, 
think it proper to use, and worth what is asked for 
it. But why not sign such letters? 
Does Fish Culture Pay ? — We hav^ 
never doubted that it was profitable to raise trout to sell 
by the thousand when an inch or two long. — or to sell the 
eggs of trout and salmon,— but whether it would pay to 
raise trout as we raise sheep, in enclosed races and ponds, 
where almost every particle of food they receive must 
be provided for them at considerable expense, is a ques- 
tion we have never considered as satisfactorily answered. 
The following statement by Mr. Furman. seems to settle 
the matter, in his own case. As his system of breeding 
is peculiar, his success maybe peculiar also. He writes : 
" You may place fish culture among the paying pursuits 
of the day, as I can sell my young fish by Weight and pay 
the entire expense of shanty and attention, and will un- 
dertake to deliver them on the 1st of May next to the ex- 
tent of ten ions — many of them weighing three-quarters 
of a pound each." 
Stable Floors, etc.— lt C. B.," of Beals- 
ton, Va., writes: "In the Agriculturist for August, in 
describing a barn, you speak of a depressed walk behind 
cattle to convey manure. Please tell us what kind of ma- 
terials yon use in making tin's walk, and the manner of 
mixing them. Also, if it will support the weight of a 
horse or cow without cracking?"— Snch a walk iun> 1 • 
made of two thicknesses of plank, the first receiving a 
good coat of asphaltum, rendered fluid by coal-tar and 
heat, and applied nearly boiling hoi, and the scams of 
the upper planks being filled with the same. Bricks laid 
in common cement mortar, or in asphaltum and coal-tar, 
thickened with sand, and used hot, exactly like mortar, 
make an excellent stable floor. Stones may be used laid 
iu the same materials, and if covered with dry earth, make 
a floor easy to the cattle or horses, and at the same time 
impervious to water, durable, and easily taken care of. 
