1S70.1 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
869 
Evea-g-rceEas irosaa ^eed. — "J. L. H." 
The chief tronblc is with the young' plants when they are 
quite young. They must he shaded, which is usually 
done by a lattice work of laths. They will sometimes 
suddenly " damp off" by a decay of the little stem at 
the surface of the ground. Sprinkling the bed over with 
dry sand, if applied in time, will usually arrest this. 
Sail ami Asparagus. — " J. L. H." asks : 
" How much salt will kill asparagus, and what is the 
quantity required per rod?" — We never bad occasion to 
kill any asparagus in this way and cannot say. Probably 
our correspondent means to ask bow much salt can be 
used and not kill the plants. We have a statement from 
a gentleman that salt may be applied half an inch thick 
with benefit to the plants. The quantity used by the 
New Jersey growers is from 5 to 10 bushels to the acre. 
* 6 ]List ©false AgrIcaa8eBaralaia«l Hor- 
ticultural and I*omo3o»ical Societies, Fann- 
ers' Clubs, etc., on the Books of the Department of Ag- 
riculture, July 1, 1S70, together with the name of the 
President and Secretary of Each, 11 — is the title of a pam- 
phlet of 47 pages received from the Commissioner of 
Agriculture. This is a work which many will find veiy 
useful; and though it contains no intimation as to the 
manner in which it is to be distributed, we presume that 
the Commissioner will exercise his customary libcralily 
and supply applicants as far as he is able to do so. There 
must be a new hand at the government printing-office, as 
here is a job from it that is not a national disgrace. 
Box-Trcc§.- l( J. J. R.," Wilkes Co., Ga. 
The compact growing dwarf box is a variety of the Tree 
Box. Your specimens, over 9 feet high, arc large for the 
dwarf kind. You can transplant without difficulty, tak- 
ing the tree up with as much root as possible. Do it in 
early spring, so that it may be well establishcd'befoic 
dry weather comes on. 
B&rafiaing; a ISara CeBEas'. — " B. W.," 
of Shcrborn, Mass., writes: "By digging about 50 feet 
I can draiu my barn cellar. I am troubled with water in 
the spring. There arc plenty of cobble-stones handy. 
Can I put one or two feet of these into the ditch, and then 
cover them with dirt ? Would the drain keep free ?" 
Your drain would no doubt keep free for a very longtime, 
unless a considerable flow of water would at times go 
through it, if you put big stones, not closely, at the 
bottom, and fill up with small ones about a foot, in- 
Verting sods over this, and ramming clown the clay bard 
upon them ; thus making the drain take its water out of 
the soil, and not from above. It would, in all probability, 
be cheaper to buy good drain tiles than to handle the 
stones, be they never so "handy. 11 
" Blow cam B lB5r;t3n a TPig IPeBa ?'• — 
Don't drain it: keep water from running into it from 
buildings or from the ground, and keep enough litter al- 
ways on hand to be worked over by the bogs to absorb 
the liquid which properly belongs to the yard. A hog yard 
should not be in a place where water will run off from it. 
Personal. — Mr. W. Robinson, Horticultural 
Editor of the London Field, is in this country upon a 
tour of observation. Sir. R. is favorably known to many 
of our readers as the author of " The Parks and Gardens 
of Paris," and "Alpine Flowers for British Gardens. 11 
Killing Sassafras an<l Pcrsininion. 
— W. S. Walker, Kent Co., Md M says: "Cut them off 
just below the surface of the ground and apply a small 
handful of salt to each. I have killed thousands in this 
way. Do not attempt to grub them up, as you separate 
the roots, and hence do not get the salt into the general 
circulation, which you will do by cutting them just below 
the surface. My plan is to arm every man with a grub- 
bing-hoc and a bag of salt, and make him apply the 
Fait to each plant as he cuts it off. 11 — Joel A. Burton, 
Mitchell, Ind., writes: "Say to 'J. A.M. R., 1 of Georgia, 
top bis Persimmons 3 to 4 feet from the ground, about, 
the middle of June, at the same time removing all the 
laterals. Then rub off the sprouts as often as they are 4 
inches long. None of them will live over two summers. 
I have tried this treatment and know it to be effectual." 
Petroleum as Paint.— We continue to 
receive inquiries ou this subject. We recommend the 
use of petroleum to preserve wood— not as a paint. 
Nothing should be mixed with it. The only point in 
applying it is to get as much oil on as the wood will ab- 
sorb. We use it on implements, machines, wagons, 
carts, fences, buildings, shingle roofs, pig troughs, etc., 
with groat advantage. It will certainly do much to pre- 
serve wood from decaying, and iron from rusting. We 
buy it by the barrel, at from 25 to 30 cents per gallon, 
and use it freely on all wood-work exposed to the weath- 
er. It is not necessary to go into the details of its appli- 
cation. We would simply advise our readers to get a 
barrel and use it freely on plows, harrows, drills, culti- 
vators, reapers, mowers, tedders, forks, rakes, spades, 
shovels, hoes, axes, scythes, cradles, hen-coops, dog ken- 
nels, hot-bed frames, sashes, swill barrels, pails, pig 
troughs, plank, floors, wheelbarrows, gates, fences, wag- 
ons, carts, sleighs, stone-boats, horse-powers, and saw- 
ing-machines. We have used it on all these and many 
similar things, and think even log chains and crow-bars 
would be none the worse for being rubbed over with it. 
Washed ©r "Bjnwaslie«! Batter. — 
Mrs. "M. E. M., 11 of Frazeysbnrg (State not given), asks: 
"How came the Blanchard premium to be given to a 
woman who washes her butter?' 1 — This implies that un- 
washed butter is the better, — better, of course, to eat at 
once, and to keep ; better for home use, and for market ; 
better for the reputation of the dairy-woman, and to give 
satisfaction to the customer. If "M. E. M." means this, we 
take issue against her position. Butter made from sweet 
cream or new milk need not be washed if made in cool 
weather and worked with great skill and care. Perhaps 
butter from sour cream may be so worked as to keep well 
without being washed at all, but we doubt it, unless in- 
deed, a good deal more than an ounce of salt to the pound 
is used. But after all, the point is not whether under the 
most favorable circumstances butter can be made to keep 
well without using water in removing the butter-milk, 
but whether it would be wise to advise the practice ; and 
wc assert unqualifiedly our belief that whenever, with 
proper instruction, nine out of ten women will learn to 
make excellent butter if they wash it, not one in ten 
will make fair, without washing. 
AaSarataas Unhealthy. — " C. W. S.," 
Canton, Mich., asks: "Is the Allan thus unhealthy as a 
shade tree ?" — Some years ago a New York physician con- 
ceived that the Ailanthus-trees were a cause of sickness, 
and proposed to get up a petition fora law ordering them 
to be cut down. We suggested he had better first fortify 
himself with some proofs that they were injurious to 
health. We have never heard of his proofs nor his peti- 
tion. The staminatc plants give off a disagreeable odor 
during their brief flowei^ng time, but wc have no reason 
to believe that they are otherwise injurious. 
Am Enthusiastic IT 1 arsaaer." a J. M. M.," 
Knobnostor, Mo., writes : "I am a farmer and garden- 
er of two years 1 experience. Have read Hendcrson 1 s 
Gardening for Profit, Fuller on Small Fruits, Johnson's 
How Crops Grow, Flint on the Cow, Harris on the Pig, 
and American Agriculturist. Have 3o acres of corn that 
arc safe for 2,000 bushels. Land plowed twice, harrowed 
once. No w r eeds. Whole cost of production less than 
$100. Have got some good, large sows, possibly Chester 
Whites, and am looking for a thorough-bred Essex or 
Suffolk to cross with them. I have had nothing but suc- 
cess. Stay at home and sec that nothing fails for want 
of attention. Mr. Henderson uttered a great truth when 
he said that it was not so much a great amount of knowl- 
edge as a great amount of care that led to success in busi- 
ness. I am an enthusiast, and this hot weather does 
not allay it. 11 You are ou the right track. Go ahead and 
prosper. 
Farmers' Cln1>s.— In forming Farmers' 
Clubs it is desirable to have the organization of the ea- 
siest and most clastic kind. So that while there may be 
the utmost freedom of pleasant social intercourse, the 
officers may still have the power to enforce the rules of 
deliberative bodies whenever necessary, and be them- 
selves held to their own duties. A good form for a soci- 
ety, whose regular meetings would be for business rather 
than for social enjoyment atid business combined, was 
given in August. Now we give one of a somewhat differ- 
ent character. 
CONSTITUTION FOR A TATlMKUs' CLITB. 
Akt. 1. This association shall be called the Farmers' 
Club of . Its object shall be to promote a knowl- 
edge of practical Farming and Gardening among its 
members and the community, in connection with social 
enjoyment of the members and their families. 
Art, 2. The members of the Club are those who 
frame this constitution and conform to its requirements, 
and others who may be invited to join by the executive 
committee, all of whom shall pay each $00— annually in 
October (or monthly), into the treasury. 
Art. 3. The officers of the Club shall be a President, 
a Secretary, who shall also be the Treasurer, and three 
members, who, with tho President and Secretary, shall 
constitute the Executive Committee. These officers 
shall be elected at the annual meeting on the second 
Tuesday of January of each year. 
Art. -1. The President shall perform the duties usually 
devolving upon the presiding officer of a deliberative 
body, and act as chairman of the Executive Committee. 
The Secretary shall keep records of transactions, and be 
custodian of the funds and other property of the Club, 
being accountable at all times to the Executive Com- 
mittee, giving bonds if required, and shall prepare and 
present a full report to the Club at the annual meeting. 
The Executive Committee, three members of which shall 
be a quorum, shall have general charge of the interests of 
the Club, and the carrying out of its objects. It shall fill 
vacancies in its offices, make rules, invite new members 
to join, regulate expenditures, manage exhibitions or 
fairs, publish offers of prizes and the awards, bo re- 
sponsible for the welfare of the Club, and report at the 
annual meeting through its Clerk. 
Art. 5. The meetings of the Club shall take place on 
the second Tuesday of each month. The meetiug in 
January being known as the "Annual Meeting. 1 ' 
Art. 6. This Constitution may be amended by a vote 
of two-thirds the members present at any regular meet- 
ing, notice having been given at the preceding regular 
meeting. 
Percheron and Norman Horses. 
We had the pleasure of inspecting a shipment of noble 
Percheron and Norman Stallions on their arrival, per 
steamer LaFayette, in July. Nine of them belonged to 
the Marion Norman Horse Co., of Marion, O., and four 
to Dr. Westfall, of Macomb, 111. Messrs. Wallace & 
Kling, of Marion, and the Doctor, bad traveled indepen- 
dently, and purchased the best horses they could find. 
Dr. Westfall's arc 5 and G years old, of a prevailingly 
dark, dapple-gray color; three are of great size; one 
is smaller, of a lighter c«lor, showing a more recent 
Arabian cross, and possessing greater fleetness, and a 
better trotting action. The others show the excellent 
judgment of Messrs. W. <& K., in selecting them, their 
ages varying from 4 to 6, and their weights we should 
judge from 14 to 17 hundred. One noble 4-j-ear old will, 
we hardly doubt, weigh 1.S00 lbs. within two years. 
This horse has£ beautiful head, a true Arab eye and car, 
and is as gentle as a two-year-old filly. As an evidence 
of their great kindness of disposition, ten of them stood 
on three sides of a small stable, and there was not the 
least sign of kicking or biting, or any sort of roughness, 
aud with a single exception they all allowed themselves 
to be approached and petted by total strangers, without 
an expression of dislike, but rather the contrary. We 
believe the importation of such animals is of very great 
service to the country. Our large cities are insatiable in 
their demands for heavy, fast walking, powerful, tough 
draft horses, for the express and railroad freight business. 
Our agriculture is demanding heavier teams aud deeper 
plowing, and the spirit of our people is too fast for the ox. 
We want the power of the ox with the speed of the horse. 
Nothing should give a greater impetus to the plow than 
the fact announced and demonstrated, as wc believe, by 
the Committee of the N. Y. State Ag 1 l Society, who made 
the awards upon plows at the great Auburn Show, and 
subsequent trials. This fact, alluded to, is that a great 
increase of speed in the motion of a plow but slightly 
increases the power required to pull it. Hence, power- 
ful, quick-moving teams are a vast economy of force. 
The Pcrcberons arc bred for heavy, quick draft, and dif- 
fer from the Norman horses in having a more recent in- 
fusion of Arabian blood, and in being somewhat lighter, 
clcauer limbed, and much quicker in their motions. The 
Normans as now bred, are improving in these respects, 
while they are not allowed to lose weight. Either nick 
well, with large, "roomy, 1 ' coarse mares, which should 
be sound, good milkers, and heavy feeders. 
Bee Notes.— By M, Qui/iby. 
Tlie Apiary In October.— Tho honey crop of 
1870 is good; the hives are very well filled. Owing to 
the poor season in '69, however, and the loss in the win- 
ter, there are fewer bees in the country than there were 
a year ago. Now is the time to select, and prepare stocks 
for winter. Ascertain the amount of honey ; allowing 
six pounds for wax and bee-bread. There should be 20 
or 25 pounds. In movable comb hives, alternate combs 
that are filled, with such as are not. If a stock is light or 
lacks bees, do not attempt to winter it alone. Two light 
ones may be united. Now is the time to feed if necessa- 
ry—now, or as soon as the brood is all hatched. Feed as 
rapidly as possible up to the required weight. Honey is 
the best thing to feed. If strained, scald thoroughly and 
skim, so as to obviate all danger of foul brood. (See de- 
scription of a feeder given below.) All stocks a year old 
ought to bo examined with reference to foul brood. By 
no means let any such be robbed, and so poison your 
own or your neighbor's bees. They get no honey now, 
and boxes should all be removed. Boxes partly filled 
may be set on hives needing the honey, and after the 
honey has been removed, the boxes with the clean, emp 
