350 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[October, 
ETaflal Disease among Poultry. — 
Lemuel D. Dobbs, of Brownsville, Texas, writes : "My 
young chickens, clucks, and turkeys are all dying. I have 
just lost two entire broods. A swelling commences 
around the eyes, nostrils, and the skin on the under part 
of the bill. These places rise up like great warts, and in 
from one to three days from the time that the disease first 
appears, the chickens die. I think it is the biting of 
mosquitoes, and have tried to prevent it by cooping them 
at night under a mosquito bar, but it does no good. All 
my neighbor's chickens are affected the same way." 
"Whether our subscriber's suspicions are well founded or 
not, we would recommend the application of warm pine 
tar, smearing it over all the affected parts, but not stop- 
ping up the nostrils. If this does not cure, wc would try 
painting the parts with a solution of nitrate of silver, 
(lunar caustic,) applied with a feather. 
Incubators, or Artificial Egg- 
Hat clue rs. — "We have several inquiries for these arti- 
cles, or for descriptions of them. It is, perhaps, enough 
to say, we know of none which we believe it worth while 
to attempt to use. There are several advertised, and 
used more or less abroad, but none that we know of in 
this country. It seems to be a fair subject for experi- 
ment. What is needed is a tolerably uniform tempera- 
ture, not far from 100° Fahrenheit, a certain slight degree 
of moisture in the air, and daily turning of the eggs. 
Tegetmeier, in The Poultry Book, speaks highly of 
Manasi's Patent Incubator. The French plan is taking 
hen turkeys, forcing them to sit on false eggs a few days, 
Jind. when they are contented, putting good ones under 
them, as many as they will cover. The chicks are re- 
moved as fast as hatched, and other eggs substituted. 
This plan has been tried by one of our neighbors, with 
success. A turkey covers twice as many eggs as a ben. 
WHat Bards are "Fowls."— There is 
an article "going the rounds " of the press, distinguish- 
ing fowls as birds which take their young to their food. 
The absurdity of this definition is apparent on a mo- 
ment's thought ; for, though applicable to farmyard 
poultry, in distinction from the birds of the hedge, it will 
not bear a more extensive application. It is unfortunate 
that, in English, we have no single word for our barn- 
door or dung-hill fowls. Even the names cock and hen 
they share in common with a score of other birds from 
Cock-robin to Cock-turkey — (Cockroach and Hood's 
Cock-mermaid included) — Hen Sparrow and Pea Hen as 
well. Poultry fanciers have, of late, with an unanimity 
which is remarkable, confined the use of the word fowl 
to this, in English, nameless bird — GaHus domesticus. 
Milling AsRasaals at tlae Paris 
Abattoirs,— Mr. Judd writes : " To-day, (July 15th,) I 
visited the extensive new Abattoirs, or slaughter houses, 
now partly completed, within the city walls, but beyond 
the thickly-settled portion, on the north-northeast side of 
Paris. The grand market, not yet finished, is an immense 
iron structure, with iron and glass roof, supported on 
iron columns, and to remain open on the sides, I believe. 
A strict prohibition to visitors, at present, prevented my 
examining it fully. The roof covers several acres ; the 
pens are small and low, and arranged in streets and 
avenues, and the bottom is as hard and smooth as rough 
cut stone. The slaughter-houses near by are nice blocks 
of stone and stucco building, each apartment opening 
at either end into the avenues running between* 
the blocks. The whole looks like a village of tasteful 
houses, joined side to side along the streets, which are 
bent at a small angle frequently, so as to diminish the 
sight of too many operations at one view. The floors of 
both buildings and streets are solid cement, with an in- 
clination Infrequent drains, opening into subterranean 
sewers. Water is arranged to wash the whole surface 
neat and clean, as often as it becomes soiled. Ladies can 
walk through the whole establishment without soiling 
their dresses, except in the vicinity of the actual opera- 
tions of cleaning the offal. Two masters or journeymen 
butchers occupy each killing room with two assistants, 
and dressing eight to twelve beef cattle is a day's work, 
according to the size of the animal and the activity of the 
market. I watched the entire process of killing and 
dressing a bullock, which was as follows. The animal 
was driven in at one door, the other being closed ; a rope 
was lassoed over his horns, and the other end put through 
a ring in the floor. When his nose was drawn to the floor, 
so as to to curve his neck, a short, spear-like knife was 
thrust into the spinal column, just back of the horns. It 
was done in an instant, and the animal dropped as sud- 
denly as if struck with a cannon ball, and scarcely moved 
a muscle. A moment or two after, the front of the head 
was struck with an appropriate long-handled hammer 
several heavy blows ; the animal lay almost perfectly 
still. Next, the operator cut into the neck, as near the 
shoulders as possible, and opened the arteries at or near 
the heart, apparently to give the best outlet to the blood, ) 
which flowed off into an opening in the floor, and was all 
saved in a clean condition. The animal was then moved 
and pushed about to promote the entire expulsion of all 
the blood. One man then skinned the legs up to the 
gambrel joint, and cut them off. The other, in the mean 
time, made one small opening through the skin on the 
belly, just back of the forelegs, and another between the 
hind legs. Into these apertures he thrust a round-pointed 
half-inch steel rod, a little curved, and made openings 
along under the skin in different directions. A large 
hand bellows was then thrust into each of the openings, 
and one long lever arm was worked, while the other was 
held upon the floor with the foot. The air was thus 
driven in with great power and permeated every part un- 
der the skin and throughout the entire flesh and interval 
fat. The carcass swelled to nearly double size, and when 
beat with a stick to promote the circulation of the air, 
the skin sounded like a heavy, loosely strained, bass drum. 
When the inflation was complete, the skinning was easily 
and quickly performed. Great tact was exercised in run- 
ning the knife along so as to have its curved point leave 
the surface of the meat slightly gashed in stripes, at 
various angles. A small iron windlass, with ratchet 
wheel and pulleys, served to raise the carcass as fast as 
it was skinned. Napkins or towels were kept at hand to 
remove the slightest trace of filth or blood. Thepufliness 
of the flesh, its clearness from blood, and the line cutting 
where the red integument appeared, together with the 
neatness everywhere exercised, gave an exceedingly 
beautiful appearance to the dressed sides as they were 
conveyed to the store-room, and hung up for sale. One 
can eat meat in Paris without any qualm from slaugh- 
ter-house recollections or associations. The entire ab- 
sence of apparent pain or motions in the dying animal, 
and the inflation of the meat, though often read of, were 
novelties to me in actual observation. Calves and sheep 
are dressed in the same manner. I priced some of the 
meats to-day as follows : The best sidea*of beef, 142 francs 
per 100 killogrammes — equal to about 12 cents per pound 
in gold, or 16@,17 cts. per pound U. S. currency. Other 
qualities ran down to 110 @<100 francs per 100 killogram- 
mes. Very good carcasses of sheep were selling at 15 sous 
per livre, (about 15 cents gold per pound, equivalent to 
21 cents currency ;) and dressed pork at 17 sous per livre. 
ftffiamii Ea§5>berry. — Mr, W. Johnston, 
South Bend, Ind., dissents from Mr. Fuller's estimate of 
this variety, and gives his own experience as follows : 
" I fruited it in connection with seven other varieties ; 
the time of ripening first berries was as follows * Kirtland, 
June 30th ; Golden Cap and Miami, July 3d ; Doolittle 
and Philadelphia, July 4th ; Ohio Everbearing and Cat- 
awissa, July 7th. Thus, it has a very favorable season. 
Compared with the Doolittle, which, Mr. F. says, is 
'very large and very productive, and a profitable market 
berry,' its superiority over it was, in all respects, quite 
noticeable— the bush larger, more hardy and thrifty, the 
berry larger, more abundant, flavor decidedly superior, 
and berry much firmer. I had the Philadelphia in its 
perfection, I believe, and it is a magnificent berry, giving 
more fruit during the best days of its season than the 
Miami, but as the season of the latter is from eight to 
ten days longer, I think it will yield full as much fruit, 
and is a more profitable market berry, as the Philadelphia 
is quite too soft for long transportation. Thus we know 
of no raspberry superior to the Miami, and if Mr. F. does, 
we wish he would name it, for it is wanted." 
TTIae Eiittatiiiaaay B51acl£l>erry. — We, 
two years ago, described and figured this berry. This 
year it has quite warranted all that we have said of it. 
Some specimens brought us in August from E. Williams, 
Montclair,N. J., show it to be the very best berry that 
is now in cultivation. We have seen plants iu locali- 
ties north of New Jersey, fruiting finely. 
Klaclc Caps tfrom Seed,-Wra, Law- 
rence writes: "I have a cluster of vines that produce 
much larger and finer fruit than any other that I have 
seen," and asks if they can be propagated from the seed. 
They can be readily grown from seed, but there is no cer- 
tainty that the same qualities will be reproduced. The 
resulting plants may produce better fruit, but arc more 
likely to give that of inferior quality. The only sure way 
is to layer the tips of the branches as soon as they get 
somewhat firm. See Agriculturist for August, page»202. 
TTae Oaae-leave*! Strawberry. — Every 
one knows that the leaf of the strawberry is three-parted. 
In 1761. a variety with a single leaf was brought to notice, 
and afterwards figured in the Botanical Magazine as 
Fragaria monophytta, or One-leaved Strawberry. Just 
one hundred years after this appearance, Mr. A. S. Fuller, 
author of the Small Fruit Culturist, found (in 1861,) a sim- 
ilar freak among his seedlings, from the Boston Pine, and 
now Gloedo, the groat Freucn strawberry grower, getp a 
similar form from seeds of Napoleon IU. These de* 
partures from the normal type are interesting : they, how- 
ever, show a general debility in the plant, as in neither 
of the three recorded cases was the fruit of any value- 
brasses I^'anacd.. — H. A. Slater, K. Man- 
chester, Conn. — Blue Joint-Grass, Calamagrostis Carta- 
densis E. F. Roberts, Woodworth, Wis.— EragrostU 
jxxzoides, an introduced weed, for which wc know no 
common name New Egypt, N. J. (can't read the 
name) — Triticum, rcpens, the Conch, Quack, Quick, oi 
Twitch Grass. Valued in some places for pasturage, bu/ 
a terrible pest in cultivated lands "Subscriber," St- 
Paul, Minn. — The purple specimen is Barn-yard Grass v 
Panicum Ciiis-galli ; the long one is Indian Grass, Sor 
ghian nutans; that of which two specimens were sent 
is a Beard Grass, Andropogon furcatus ; and the most 
delicate of all is Sporobolus heterolej)is. When more than 
one specimen is sent, they should be numbered. With 
the exception mentioned in reference to Couch Grass, 
none of them are of any agricultural value, and many-of 
them are so little noticed that they have received no 
popular names. C 
&raai4l Old. Plants. — "Recently wc visited 
the grounds of a gentleman near Newburgh, N. Y., and 
were delighted to see a Gardenia, or Cape Jessamine, some 
sis feet high, and well furnished with branches to the 
base. It had good company in some Pomegranate and 
Lemon and Orange trees, all of which showed that they 
had been objects of care for years. We have a great affec- 
tion for these old plants, as we have for old furniture, old 
china, and old pictures. These plants are venerable, and 
it is pleasant to think of the kindly care of several gen 
erations that is incoi-poratcd with their growth. 
Bfiea aaid White Clover.— Prof. Way, 
of the Royal Ag , l. Society, made several analyses of 
clover hay with a view to determine what substances 
clover crops extracted from the soil, and thus, if possible, 
to come at the cause of what in England is called " clover 
sickness." This is a condition of the soil when it refuses 
under ordinary treatment to yield good crops of clover — 
and so is called "sick" or "tired" of clover. Wc arc not, 
as yet, troubled with this failure of the crop upon land 
where it once did well, except as we lose the influence of 
plaster on the crop, which frequently occurs. The analyses 
show that clover makes great drafts upon the soil for 
alkalies, especially potash, and no doubt it is the gradual 
exhaustion of this ingredient which causes the failure of 
the crop. The great benefit of applications of wood 
ashes and of plaster to clover are matters of universal 
experience, and we may safely say that so long as wc 
continue them wc will live in ignorance of clover sickness. 
CSoTer in Mercer Co., 511. — "E. L. 
M." writes that in this hot dry summer the red clover is 
killed out, so that they have to give it up as a farm crop. 
This is also the case farther south, in many places, and 
no kind of red clover will grow. Neither will the ordi- 
nary grasses, that form the greensward of Ihe Northern 
States. The only chance to get clover to stand under such 
disadvantages is to sow it in time for the usual early 
autumn rains. Thus early sown, it may send its roots 
deep enough to withstand the summer droughts. 
B>o"BR!h»!e jPeIaH*g"OBiI«mi — Gloire He 
Nancy. — We were gratified to receive from Mr. John 
Saul, Florist, of Washington, D. C, some flowers of this 
new variety. It has made quite a sensation abroad, and, 
apparently, deservedly so. The flowers are very double, 
and of a brilliant deep rose color. It is greatly superior 
to the Iuinnnculillora, figured in December last. Mr. 
Said says : "It is a noble plant, strong and vigorous in 
its growth, and luxurates in our hot bright sun,blooming 
freely. The flowers are thrown up well above the foliage, 
and, being double, are more enduring than single kinds." 
? Plaiats witBi 43ray Foliage. — In the 
present popular "bedding out" planting, a plant with a 
gray or silvery tint is very desirable to set off the more 
brilliant Coleus or Achyrantfies, (Iresine.) Herbsiii. Cen- 
taurea ragusina, also called candidissima is one of the 
best for this purpose, but it docs not propagate fist 
enough to suit the florists, who prefer to sell the freer 
growing Cineraria maritime or "Busty Miller." We 
have tried this latter, this summer, for a bed in the 
lawn, and find that by cutting it back freely, it may 
be made to grow bushy, and we are rather pleased 
with it. The English gardeners are talking about one of 
our wild plants for this purpose — Antennaria margaii '- 
tacca, or Life Everlasting. Wc have never seen it in cul- 
tivation, but think it worth a trial. Mr. Peter Hender- 
son has shown us this season a new plant of this style^ 
Centaureagynwocarpa, and from what we have seen of it 
wiili him and elsewhere wc think that It will become 
