368 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
[October, 
An Honor Well Bestowed. — The French 
Academy of Sciences at its meeting on July 39th last, 
elected oar friend and contributor, Prof. Asa Gray, of 
Harvard, a corresponding member in the botanical sec¬ 
tion. The number of correspondents in all parts of the 
world is limited to 100, and when a vacancy occurs 
through death, there is an active competition on the part 
of the members of the Academy to secure the honor for 
their friends. It should be gratifying to Americans that 
the choice has fallen upon our first Botanist, and the fact 
that he received 32 out of 40 votes gives us a high opinion 
of the eminent good sense of the Academicians. 
Eulalia Japonica. — M. Carriere has found a 
mare’s nest. He has discovered that the plant sold as 
Eulalia Japonica is not a type, but a variety with striped 
leaves, as seeds from this have given plants with green 
leaves; he adds, moreover, that, we can be sure that it 
will be the same with Eulalia Zebrina. As we were the 
first to describe and figure both these grasses, and never 
had any idea that they were “ types ” or anything but 
varieties of a plant normally green, this seems rather 
strange, coming from the editor of the “ Bevue Ilorticole," 
especially as he does not seem aware of the fact that E. 
Japonica , the type, is a recognized and described species 
(see Mem. Acad. St. Petule, 1S52—Trillin’s Andropo- 
gineorum, p. 333), and as recently as December, 18T6, we 
gave the new form as '■'Eulalia Japonica var. Zebrina." 
Evidently our distinguished confrier does not read his 
American Agriculturist witli proper care. 
How Much Wool is Produced 1 —The U. S. 
dlfesus for 1870, reported 28,477,951 sheep, yielding 
100,102,387 pounds of wool,—an average of about 3 lbs. 
and 9 ozs. per head. There are now probably a fourth 
more, or between 35 and 36,000,000 sheep. Great Britain 
has about the same number. The total wool clip of the 
world for 1877 lias been estimated at, about 1} billion 
lbs. (1,500,000,000 lbs.), or over 1 lb. for each inhabitant. 
Coal Mined in the World.— For the Paris 
Exhibition, a statement was prepared by John Pecliar, 
of Teplitz, Germany, from which we condense the fol¬ 
lowing striking, and very interesting figures, giving the 
estimated total production of coal for the year, 1876. 
throughout the world: 
Pounds. Tone. Perc't. 
In Great Britain.298.953,537,850=149,476,769... .47.4 
United States.106,588.919,613= 53.294.460.... 16.9 
Germany.106,588,919,613= 53,294,460... .16.9 
France. 37,211,516,314= 18,605,758.... 5.9 
Belgium. 31.535,183,317= 15,767,591.... 5.0 
Austro-Hungary. 29,643,072,318= 14,821,536.... 4.7 
Ail of Asia. 9,174,480,000= 4,587.240.... 1.5 
Rest of the World .... 11,008,037,327= 5,504,019.... 1.7 
Total .630,703,606,352=315,351,833.. .100.0 
[We reckon by the American ton of 2,000 lbs., though at 
the mines, and in large dealings here, a ton of coal is 
2,240 lbs., the same as everywhere and for everything in 
Great Britain. The metric ton in France is 2,204 lbs.] 
It will be noted that nearly half (47.4 per cent) is mined 
in Great Britain; that the United States and Germany 
are each credited with the same amount, about one-sixth; 
that little Belgium nearly equals France, and yields more 
than three times as much as all of Asia. The annual 
product for all the world is about 500 lbs. for each in¬ 
habitant; for the United States, it is 2,422 lbs. for each of 
44 million inhabitants. 
Tlie Iron Product of the World, for 1876, 
is given by Mr. Pechariabove named), as 31,571,460,276 
lbs., or 15,785,730 tons of 2,000 lbs. The coal mined is 
about 20 times the weight of pig iron produced. The 
ratio of production in the leading iron producing coun¬ 
tries is nearly as follows; Great Britain, 46}; United 
States, 17; Germany, 3}; France, 10V 5 ; Belgium, 3 2 / 5 ; 
Russia, 3; Austro-Hungary, 2 4 / 6 ; Sweden, 2}. (The 
iron product of the United States for 1876 (5,330,719,707 
lbs.), or about 125 lbs. for every inhabitant_Of 
Bessemer Steel , the product for 1876, is stated at 4,646,- 
873,336 lbs., or 2,323,436 tons, of which one-fourth was 
made in the United States, a little over one-third in Great 
Britain, not quite one-lifth in Germany, and one-tenth in 
France. The total steel made in 1876 would lay 22,116 
miles of railway track, allowing 20 lbs. to the foot of rail. 
The present rate of production would put steel rails 
upon all the railways in the world in less than ten years. 
Glue Scrap. — “ J. L. T.,” Butler Co., O. By com- 
postingglne scrap with barnyard-manure, for three to six 
months, an excellent fertilizer will be the result, as the 
material is rich in nitrogen. It is hardly comparable to 
stable-manure, for though it has more of the valuable in¬ 
gredient, nitrogen, it contains little potash or phosphates. 
Wlieat Bran for use as a fertilizer, is asked about 
by several readers of the American Agriculturist. Of 
the essential ingredients of a fertilizer, wheat bran con¬ 
tains about 2} per cent of nitrogen, 1} per cent of pot¬ 
ash, and 2} per cent of phosphoric acid, which, togetfi. 
er, give a ton of the bran a value of full $15.00 as a ferti¬ 
lizer—reckoning the nitrogen at 20 cents per lb., phos¬ 
phoric acid at 10 cents, and potash at 7 cents—which are 
the value of these ingredients in commercial fertilizers. 
Rye bran has about the same value for use as a fertilizer. 
Where bran is cheap and abundant, it is sometimes ap¬ 
plied to the soil as a manure, and, it is said, with quite 
favorable results. That this is a wasteful practice, is 
proven by the experiments of Lawes and Gilbert, who 
found that the manure resulting from the feeding of a 
certain amount of fodder to mature animals, contained 
nearly as much of the fertilizing ingredients as before 
passing through the animal; the reason being that the 
processes of digestion remove for fat forming only those 
portions which have little value as manure. The simple 
lesson, then, is to feed the bran to fattening animals, 
thus making it serve the double purposes of producing 
beef, and supplying good manure. 
Our Wonderful Petroleum.— Twenty years 
ago this article was little known. The first artificial 
well was sunk in August, 1859, we believe. Now there is 
an annual production in this country of about 15,000,000 
barrels , and more than sixty million dollars’ worth are 
exported to other countries annually—our exports rang¬ 
ing in importance, according to valuation, 1st, Cotton; 
2d, Flour and Grain ; 3d, Hog products (lard, hams, and 
salt pork); and 4th, Petroleum. There are more than 
ten thousand oil wells flowing or being sunk; and prob¬ 
ably over one hundred millions of dollars invested in 
the business, in one way and another. Fifteen million 
barrels (40 gallons to a barrel) of this earth-yielded oil, 
would fill 9,600,000,000 lamps holding half a pint each, or 
about seven such lamps for every man, woman, and child 
on our globe. If these lamps were equally distributed, 
so that every four persons could have one, and allow half 
a pint of oil to burn three evenings on au average (short 
nights included), the 15 million barrels of oil would light 
up the whole human race for a period of three months, 
or a fourth of the population of the globe for a whole 
year 1 AU this has come to light, from the bowels of the 
earth in less than twenty years, during which time we 
have not only used all the petroleum we have wanted 
ourselves, but have sent to other lands nearly Five Hun¬ 
dred Million dollars’ worth, at the low Custom-house 
valuation. What other stores of light and of comfort, 
lie yet undiscovered in this wonderful world of ours 1 
Expenses of the United States Govern¬ 
ment since Its foundation. —Recent investi¬ 
gations show the total expenditures for all purposes by 
the United States General Government, from its founda¬ 
tion up to July 1, 1876, to have been $15,516,996,680,—al¬ 
most exactly half of the estimated value of real and per¬ 
sonal property by the Census of 1870 ($30,068,518,507). 
The smallest expenses were in 1793, being about 7} mil¬ 
lion dollars; the largest in the year ending July 1, 1865, 
when they were 1,906 miUion dollars. The $15,516,996,680, 
if in dollar greenbacks (3}X7J inches, or 23 square inch¬ 
es each,) would carpet or cover 468,000 acres, or 730 
square miles, or a little over one-third of the State of 
Delaware, or nearly one-tenth of Massachusetts. Some 
of the mathematical readers of the American Agricultur¬ 
ist may reckon how many acres would be covered if the 
dollars were in the new silver currency, touching at then- 
edges; also how many tons of silver it would take, at 
412} grains to the dollar, and 7,000 grains to the pound 
avordupois; how many teams to draw it, e*;c., etc. 
Cyprus—Its Size.— Recent treaties bring into 
prominence the Island of Cyprus, in the Eastern Mediter¬ 
ranean, which has been taken possession of by Great 
Britain. Its area is 3,673 square miles, or 247 square 
miles greater than the combined area of Delaware (2,120), 
and Rhode Island (1,306); or about three-fourths the size 
of our next smallest State, Connecticut (4,750 square 
miles). The population of Cyprus is about 200,000, or not 
two-fifths of Conn. (537.454, in 1870), and a little larger 
than that of Florida (187,748, in 1S70). It is nearly 100 
miles west from the coast of Syria, and 300 miles from the 
entrance to the Suez Canal. The name Cyprus is from 
the Greek word cuprum (copper), so named from the 
ancient copper mines on the island. 
Cistern without Stone or Brick.— “B. K. 
W.,” Bay St. Louis, Miss. A cistern often may be 
constructed in the ground where the earth is clay, pro¬ 
vided the inside is plastered with hydraulic cement; 
though of course such a cistern would not last so long as 
one made of stone or brick At several places in the vicin¬ 
ity of New York most of the cisterns have no brick walls, 
but a heavy coat of hydraulic cement mortar is put di¬ 
rectly upon the compact earth at the sides and on the 
bottom. The top is covered two feet below the surface, 
with locust poles and fiat stones, leaving a man-hole at 
the center carried up by planks a little above the ground. 
They are often arched over with bricks when the soil is 
compact enough to support the arch, and many soils will 
do this. The top of the cistern is made wider, three feet 
down, a coat of cement mortar put on—with flat stones if 
plentiful—and the brick convex arch stands upon this. 
Pennsylvania Corn.— “J. C. P.,” N. Orleans. 
La. The variety of corn grown in Pennsylvania having 
32 rows upon the ear, is the Gourd Seed Corn. It is 
usually planted in hills 4 feet apart, sometimes more ; 2 
stalks are left in the hill, andgencrally but one car or one 
large and one small one are produced upon each stalk. The 
stalks are not so large as those of the Sout hern or Western 
corn. Good farmers in Pennsylvania grow from 80 to 100 
bushels of this corn to the acre. The manner of cultiva¬ 
tion is to plow under a very heavy sod well top-dressed 
with barn-yard manure, and to use 300 lbs. of superphos¬ 
phate per acre besides. 
Abortive Ears in Corn.— “D.” We do not 
yet know the possibilities of the corn-plant. Five 
fair sized ears to a stalk is not uncommon. We are try¬ 
ing this year to grow more ears by extra fertilizing and 
pruning. There is no doubt that if the soil is made suffi¬ 
ciently rich, and the plants have room enough, and if they 
are trained to it by continued skillful selection, pruning, 
and cultivation, every abortive ear can be made produc¬ 
tive. This can only be accomplished by long and patient 
work ; it can not be done by a spurt or accident. The 
removal of abortive ears, and suckers, will doubtless 
throw more strength into the others. You may experi¬ 
ment hopefully in this direction. 
Gilt-edged Butter.--" G. E. R.,” and others. We 
can not give the names of any persons purchasing gilt- 
edged butter. The number of customers’ for butter at a 
dollar per pound, is very limited, and we doubt if tliose 
persons who sell butter at very high prices make a cor¬ 
responding profit, considering the expenses incurred. 
Probably the best way to get good prices would be to put 
up first-class butter in neat packages, marked with the 
maker’s name, and sell it through a commission agent for 
a time until a reputation is gained, and then gradually 
work into such a connection as may be deserved. No 
extra price can be procured except for a stated supply at 
all seasons, and of an unvaryingly good quality. 
Cows Eating' Wood, Bones, etc.— " C. M. 
F.,” Trenton, N. J. When cattle eat bones, leather, wood, 
etc., it indicates a lack of phosphate of lime in their 
food, which they require to supply bone material and 
wastes of the system, and the 100 lbs. or more which every 
cow requires in a year for her milk. Lack of this in the 
food, creates a morbid appetite, which is only partially 
satisfied by gnawing at such objects. Bone flour may be 
fed in its grain to each animal at the rate of a teaspoonful 
per day. A good dressing of superphosphate or bone- 
meal on the upland pastures, will stimulate the growth 
of such plants as furnish the missing ingredients. 
Okra Soup. —“ Mrs. J. J.,’’ Clark Co., Va.,referring 
to a note upon the uses of Okra, in August American Agri¬ 
culturist, says that when the sliced Okra is added to the 
soup; “Tlie mucilage in the young pods will create a foam 
that is almost impossible to keep under control. To ob¬ 
viate this, slice the pods into sufficient water to cover 
them; in an hour or more, squeeze out with the hands 
into a skillet or shallow pan containing a very little lard, 
and fry until the gummy matter is killed. A little obser¬ 
vation will soon determine that fact. Be careful not to 
brown or scorch. Turn the fried Okra into the soup 
keltle and let it boil at least an hour in the soup, as it 
should be perfectly soft when served. Add a generous 
amount of tomatoes to the soup, as they are a decided 
improvement, and “Okra Soup,” according to Southern 
usage, should be quite thick. As in all vegetable soups, 
I think it an advantage not to have the stock too rich. 
When made with chicken as a basis, a small piece of ham 
or bacon improves the flavor. In using the dried “ Okra” 
soak several hours in tepid water, and then fry as directed 
for the green. It requires more boiling in the soup than 
the fresh, and, although not so finely flavored, still is a 
valuable addition to our winter soup vegetables.” 
“Compulsory Education.”— To “Individual 
Rights.” It is out of the scope of the American Agricul¬ 
turist to discuss with you tlie “ injustice of compelling 
education arbitrarily,” hut here is a thought or two. No 
parent lias a right to send into the community a child 
with an infections disease, or one viciously inclined. 
Tlie State has to take care of such cases for the protec¬ 
tion of the people at large. Ignorance is the parent of 
vice. Tlie foundation of power, of civil rights, is with 
tlie mass of citizens. Education refines tlie feeling's, 
strengthens the moral powers, enables one to think and 
judge better, improves the understanding, and makes a 
better citizen. Is it not tlie duty of tlie State to require 
wliat will lessen its care and expense for the vicious ; to 
compel an education that will improve its own condition, 
its source of power, its safety from crime and revolution ? 
