89 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
l8?8.j 
we pass that by with contempt. Reno is a “ Professor in 
Spiritualism,” so he says, he holds weekly meetings of 
eminent spiritualists, he has a medium—and we will let 
him tell the rest of it in his own way: 
THUS WRITES PROFESSOR RENO. 
“ In our last meeting our sonambulistic medium, to our 
great astonishment, acted in a very strange and refractory 
manner, and only by the most stringent coercion could 
be brought to tell that she was influenced by a strange 
spirit, who tried to induce her to follow him to a certain 
distance, his object being to reveal a certain hidden 
treasure which he once got in his possession through a 
most hideous crime, bnt being haunted and chased by 
the oflicers of justice, hid the treasure, but had in his at¬ 
tempt to escape left the hidden place a dead secret. This 
he claimed allowed him no rest until the treasure should 
be unearthed, which we were willing to do, but he ob¬ 
jected, saying: 'Only the man on whose property the 
treasure is hidden shall raise it.’ There and then, through 
our medium, revealed your name and address, and he in 
spirit showed the exact place the treasure is hidden, and 
enjoined her that she should in my company show the 
place to you in person. We asked for further particulars, 
and he requested us to inform yon of this, and you would 
send the necessary traveling expenses, and give us one- 
fourth of the value of the hidden treasure. After this the 
medium awakened from her sonambulistic state. I now 
consider it my most imperative duty to inform you of 
this, and leave it to your own judgment to act in the mat¬ 
ter as you please. We are naturally very anxious to se¬ 
cure our share of the treasure, and enjoin you to take the 
matter in hand at once, and forward $25, the necessary 
traveling expenses; and when yon send the above 
amount, send only by letter. Address, etc.” 
It all went very well until we got towards the end, and 
then our faith in spirits and professors of spiritualism got 
skaky, and we lost faith, just as the poor child did when 
she found her doll stuffed with saw-dust—“Forward 
$25” !—the "spirits” are as bad as embodied humbugs. 
MATTERS AND THINGS IN BRIEF. 
“The Queer,” or counterfeit money fraud though 
subsided, is by no means dead ; we have perhaps one new 
phase of it a month, while formerly there were 20 or 
more. We have said little about it of late, as it can harm 
no honest person. Frank A. Johnson sends out circulars 
in which he offers his as “ cigars.” Take care, Frank, a 
cigar has one end that burns. We would say to those 
good people who, astounded at receiving a proposition to 
purchase counterfeit money, propose to us a plan to catch 
the chaps, that it will do no good. They have no counter¬ 
feit money , and can not he troubled for offering what does 
not exist .. .We have some curious developments in the 
Note Business— farmers, and all others, he careful what 
you sign.... Here is one who wants our opinion about $3 
watches.—We guess they are worth about the same price 
as hard clams—say 50c. a peck_A friend sends a pros¬ 
pectus of a book called the Complete Herbalist, by one 
O. Phelps Brown, and asks our opinion.—According to 
the circular it is the “ teachingest ” sort of a book. When 
we read of this book that “It teaches, by beautiful en¬ 
gravings, the exact similarity in shape, which exists be¬ 
tween medical plants used for the cure of certain organic 
diseases and the organs themselves,” we stop and say 
bosh I Brown should have lived some centuries ago when 
people believed in signatures—he is out of place in this 
age_Medical matters must go over to another month. 
The ass who sends long anonymous letters about a certain 
class of medical matters,is advised to save his post-stamps. 
A netv Industry fur tlie South.— 
It would be strange, indeed, if the rich soil and fine cli¬ 
mate of the Southern States should be fitted for the pro¬ 
duction of oDe staple article only, viz. cotton. The fact 
is that the Southern States will in time become the rich¬ 
est portion of the country, agriculturally, because of the 
great diversity of products possible. A new opening 
has been found for enterprise, viz.: the production of 
winter butter, and we learn that one farmer of Tennes¬ 
see, and another of Arkansas, are sending fresh grass 
butter to Boston market this winter. These farmers 
keep Jersey cows, which pasture during the winter upon 
the native grasses, of which Blue Grass is the chief. Blue 
Grass for winter pasture, and Bermuda Grass for the 
summer, will sustain cows in fine order, and there is the 
whole winter for the production of butter. Why should 
not southern farmers avail themselves of the advantages 
of their climate and raise dairy products at the time 
when northern dairies are suspending operations ? 
Kerosene Oil for Slieep Seal*.—“J, 
W. D.,” Limestone, Texas. It would not be advisable 
to pour kerosene oil along the spine of a sheep to cure 
the scab ; the effect would be to cause sores where it was 
applied, and it would fail to reach the vermin beneath 
the scabs. As a necessary preliminary to the successful 
application of any remedy, the scabs must be broken so 
that the insects may be exposed to the action of the 
remedy used. In using any dip whatever, this must be 
done. A rough corn cob is useful to effect the rupture 
and removal of the scabs. If it is desired to use kerosene 
oil, we would suggest that it be poured upon the scabby 
parts of the skin, and that these be rubbed with acorn 
cob or something rough—a cattle card might answer the 
purpose—and the oil made to penetrate to the bottom of 
the scab. The application should be repeated to destroy 
the mites hatched from eggs that have escaped. When 
a dip is used, the temperature should be 120 degrees, as 
the heat greatly helps the effect of the application. 
Rvea/king- a Colt.— “J. P. M.,” Somer¬ 
ville, N. J. A vigorous colt years old, may be safely 
broken to the saddle. At this age hundreds of English 
horses are not only broken, but are put through a severe 
course of training, and work on the race-course. One of 
the most popular races is only open to 2-year-olds. 
Roots Flavoring- Ulillc.—“ M.,” Morris 
Co., N. J. Mangels and other roots will flavor cows milk, 
unless they are fed at the milking time. If fed then, the 
volatile odor and taste passes off through the skin before 
the next milking time. 
Jersey ami Gncpasey Cattle.— “S. 
C. D.,” Moorestown, N. J. The Guernsey cattle have 
not been bred so much for fancy points or beauty as the 
Jerseys, and they are consequently, on the average, better 
butter cows—that is, a herd of ten Guernsey cows, 
promiscuously gathered,would probably yield more butter 
in a given time than ten unselected Jerseys. The Jerseys 
have no doubt suffered from the fashion of breeding for 
color and points, which has been rife of late years, and 
there is no doubt that first-class butter cows are more 
plentiful in Guernsey than in Jersey. 
How to Apply I-iinc.— “ Enquirer.” 
There is but one profitable way to apply lime to land that 
needs it, and that is to scatter it upon the surface, in an 
air-slaked or dry, powdered, condition. This may be 
done in the fall or early in the spring. It will be a waste 
of labor, and a loss of manure, (not of lime), to compost 
the lime with manure. There is enough hard work to be 
done upon the farm, without making useless labor by de¬ 
vising unheard of methods of doing simple things. 
TIte lliisiiiess of Sheep Raising. 
—“ J. W. B.,” New Orleans, La. It by no means follows 
that any amount of money can make sheep raising prof¬ 
itable. On the contrary, the more money invested when 
there is no experience, the greater risk there is of loss. 
Where a person knows nothing about sheep, he had bet¬ 
ter not invest money in the business until he has learned 
something about them in a practical way, either by living 
for a time with a shepherd who knows his business, or 
by hiring a competent shepherd from whom he may learn. 
Sonthern Agriculture.— The Depart¬ 
ment of Agriculture of the State of Georgia has issued 
an interesting report, giving a comparative total yield of 
crops, with cost and profit, under different systems of 
labor. In this report is also given a statement of the 
general condition of farming in Georgia, of which a very 
good idea may be gained from the following extract: 
“ there seems to be a tendency on the part of farmers, 
generally, to change their programme. Their wheat 
fields had their attention earlier than usual this season ; 
they are raising more potatoes and voot crops for stock, 
and investing their little surplusage in improved fruit. 
Our county has largely patronized the Atlanta and Au¬ 
gusta nurseries the past season... .Improved stock is 
sought by almost every one. We are paying more at¬ 
tention to our compost heaps, and there is manifested a 
greater disposition to improve farms than formerly.” 
With such a spirit as this abroad. Southern agriculture 
cannot fail very soon to become flourishing and profitable. 
Seeding with Ruclcwhent. — “S.” 
Clover may be sown with buckwheat early in July with 
success. But. it would not be advisable to cut the buck¬ 
wheat when in blossom and leave it upon the ground for 
a mulch. By the time the buckwheat is ripe, the danger 
from heat and dry weather will have passed away. 
“ Straziliau Artichokes.” —The men¬ 
tion of artichokes, especially the variety to which the 
name “Brazilian ” has been applied by Mr. Coburn in 
his excellent and popular work on “ Swine Husbandry.” 
has caused numerous inquiries as to this variety. There 
are several varieties of the common Jerusalem Arti¬ 
choke i there are those with white, red, and yellow skin, 
and of each of these there are forms with long and round¬ 
ish tubers. The term “Brazilian ” has been applied by 
some western growers to a variety that produces a 
rounded, red-skinned tnber; very productive, and does 
not spread so much as the common sorts. It is a con¬ 
venient distinguishing name for the variety, but no more 
indicates that it came from Brazil than the name Jeru¬ 
salem does that the common form come from that city, or 
that Irish potatoes originated in Ireland. Those who 
have them for sale should advertise, as we have inquiries. 
CitIt.iva.tiou of Iaicocii or Alfalfa. 
—“G. W. F..” Waynesburg, Ohio. Lucern, or as it is 
called in California, “Alfalfa,” can not be cultivated 
profitably where red clover will thrive. It is a plant 
suited for a dry climate, and is a very valuable fodder 
plant, but clover surpasses it in value and in ease of cul¬ 
tivation. Where heavy liquid manuring could be given, 
or ihe crop could be irrigated, it would give a greater 
yield than clover. We have tried it, but do not care to 
repeat the experiment. We are satisfied With red clover. 
Grinding- Roue. —“R. E. C.” If a suf¬ 
ficient quantity of bone can be procured and used to pay 
for the use of a mill, it would certainly bo desirable to 
work up all the bones for fertilizers that a district could 
furnish. The Bogardus “ Eccentric Mill ” is an excellent 
machine for grinding bones into fine flour, and can be 
worked by a 6-horse power engine. There are other 
mills suitable for this purpose, mentioned in the adver¬ 
tising columns. It is not necessary to make line ground 
bone into superphosphate,as it is valuable in its raw state. 
Endless Chain Wog-l’ower.— “ A. S. 
5., ” Portgage Co., Ohio. There are several small tread- 
powers made for a sheep, calf, or dog, on the same prin¬ 
ciple as the horse-powers. These cost about $25. The 
New York Plow Co., of New York City, exhibited a very 
good one at the recent American Institute Fair. 
Pipes for Convoying- Water.— “Sub¬ 
scriber,” Lynnfield, Mass. It is practicable to convey 
water 2,300 feet from a reservoir with a fall of 30 feet, so 
as to have the water rise at the outlet to within a foot or 
two of the level of the reservoir, and escape freely. The 
first 1,000 feet should be a 154 -inch pipe, the second 1,000 
may be 1 inch, and the last 300 feet may be % or X inch. 
Galvanized iron pipe would be best. If a large flow is de¬ 
sired from the outlet, the pipe may he wholly of 1)4 inch. 
Wlial Proportion of Eggs hatch 
after shipment.- “ R.” If eggs that are shipped 
by railroad are properly packed and are not too stale, we 
should expect that as large a proportion would hatch as 
of any others. We have hatched eggs that have been 
Bhipped in barrels 1,500 miles without any unusual loss. 
Tarnished Clotli us a Substitute 
for Glass, to cover hot-beds and cold frames. In 
February, 1874, we published an article by that wide¬ 
awake horticulturist, the late J. B. Root, of Rockford, 
111., in which he gave directions for preparing sheeting 
as a substitute for glass. He had his sheeting sewed to¬ 
gether and hemmed, of a size corresponding to four hot¬ 
bed sashes. He melted together, in an iron kettle, Lin¬ 
seed Oil, 1 quart; Sugar of Lead and Rosin, in fine 
powder, 1 ounce of each. When thoroughly melted and 
incorporated, he applied this, hot, with a brush, to the 
cloth, stretched for the purpose on a frame. In two 
days, he gave another coat. When dry, he used this to 
cover his frames. No doubt a frame, covered with this— 
as a shelter —would be a great help, bnt it is in no respect 
equal to glass, and as it will, no doubt, shut out at 
least half of the light, it cannot be used as a substitute. 
Basket Items continued 
on page 113 . 
Catalogues Received. 
See page 8 in January last for other catalogues. 
SEEDSMEN. 
Some of our seedsmen append to their seed catalogues 
lists of small fruits, greenhouse and bedding plants, etc. 
And we may say that they, at any rate those in the cities 
and large towns, keep on sale implements, fertilizers, 
baskets, aquaria, and all such articles. 
R. H. Allen & Co., 189 and 191 Water St., N. Y. This 
catalogue, while not neglecting garden and flower seeds, 
is especially full in field and farm seeds, novelties in the 
way of fodder and root crops and grasses. 
Benson. Burpee & Co., No. 223 Church St., Phila¬ 
delphia, Pa.—Garden, field, and flower seeds, with inter¬ 
esting novelties in each. They are also engaged in live 
stock of all kinds. 
Hugo Better, New London, Henry Co., Iowa, offers 
vegetable and flower seeds “grown in" and for the 
West. The preface shows that his heart is in his business. 
B. K. Bliss & Sons, No. 34 Barclay St., New York.— 
An enormous treatise of over 200 pages, including every¬ 
thing in their line. Also a special list of novelties. 
