170 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[April, 
powdered flowers of which go to make the “ Per¬ 
sian Insect Powder” of commerce. His ex¬ 
periments with this powder as an insecti¬ 
cide in the field have convinced him of its high 
value, and he believes there is no better or safer 
remedy for a large number of our injurious insects, 
and the only satisfactory one so far found for the 
Cabbage Worm. In the experiments of the Com¬ 
mission last summer it was found that one pound 
of the powder stirred into 130 gallons of water, 
and sprayed upon the plants, killed the Cotton 
Worm, and that even a less proportion of the 
powder would destroy most of them. Prof. Riley 
has just received 5 pounds of the seed from Mos¬ 
cow, through the State Department, at a cost of 
over $100. He has found great difficulty in ob¬ 
taining this seed, as in the Caucasus, etc., these 
Pyrethrums are a monopoly which is so jealously 
guarded that every ounce @f seed has to be smug¬ 
gled out of the country. Prof. Riley offers to send 
a small quantity to such of the readers of the 
American Agriculturist who will agree to sow and 
cultivate it carefully, and report results to him. 
The plant will be likely to retain its insect-kill¬ 
ing quality best in the cooler and mountainous parts 
of the country, though it may do well in any 
light, dry soil, in the Northern and Middle States. 
of Hams and Shoulders. 
—“ G. H. M.,” and others. There are two methods ; 
one by dry salting, the other by pickling. We have 
used both with equally good results. For the first, 
place a table or platform of boards where the drip 
will do no harm, or so arrange cleats as to direct it 
into a pail. Mix one pound of brown Sugar with 
every four pounds of Salt; rub the hams, etc., with 
this daily for a week, and afterwards every two or 
three days for two weeks more. Brush off and 
smoke. For pickles there is a great variety ot 
recipes. Salt and sugar are all that are really 
needed, but Saltpetre and Potash are often added. 
The only use of Saltpetre in pickling meats, is to 
preserve the red color; potash is thought to make 
them more tender. The following is as good’ as 
any. Put a layer of salt on the bottom of the 
cask, and place in the hams, sprinkling salt freely 
over each layer. Make a pickle in the proportion 
of a pound and a half of salt and half a pound of 
sugar to a gallon of water; boil, skim, and when 
cool pour it over the hams. In six weeks or two 
months they will be sufficiently salted, when they 
are to be taken out, dried, and smoked. 
Potatoes Without Manure. — “A. 
B.,” Derby, Vt., asks if potatoes can be profitably 
cultivated by using phosphates and other artificial 
fertilizers, and omitting barn-yard manure.—Some 
successful potato growers do not use barn-yard 
manure at all, as they think it propagates the rot. 
They prepare the land in advance by growing a 
crop of clover to turn under in July; upon this is 
sown buckwheat, and when this has made its 
growth it is turned under. The next spring at 
planting time superphosphate at the rate of 200 
lbs. to the acre, is applied in the hill or drill, mix¬ 
ing it with the soil before planting. At the last 
hoeing—or just before, so that it may be mixed 
with the soil—a generous handful of wood ashes 
is applied to the hills, or in drills to each plant. 
Excellent crops have been raised in this manner, 
without manure, but the clover is an important 
part of the preparation, and should not be omitted. 
A I5si«l SiiTing.—We are told that a man 
in New Hampshire had two ice-houses filled last 
winter. He thought he would save a couple of 
dollars by not taking a paper, and so did not hear 
of the ice famine. A man offered him $690 for all 
his ice, which he quickly accepted. The next week 
another man offered him $2,000 for it, but it was 
too late. He had not read the papers. The man 
who bought thrice sold it for $6,500. So the story 
runs, and it is not at all incredible. We knew a 
man who sold 600 bushels of wheat at 90 cents a 
bushel, because it was 5 cents a bushel higher than 
he had heard of. His neighbor sold his 500 bushels 
for 971 cents, becabse he had heard of the rise in 
price; his paper saved him $37.50. We have heard of 
hundreds if not thousands of people swindled out 
of from $1 to $300 each, by the very humbugs that 
had been shown up in the American Agriculturist. 
Somehow they could not afford to take the paper— 
but did afford the loss incurred through sharpers. 
Cranlaerry Culture. —“ W. S. B.,” New 
Brunswick. Tour questions may be answered in 
brief by saying that a profitable cranberry culture 
is only possible where the bog can be drained to 
the depth of at least 18 inches, and can be flowed 
at will. You ask how often the bog must be flowed. 
The vines are always covered with water from the 
time growth ceases at the beginning of winter until 
spring. Besides it is necessary to flow to destroy 
insects, to protect the fruit from frost, etc. All 
these matters are clearly set forth in “Cranberry 
Culture,” by J. J. White (sent from this office for 
$1.35). We would not advise any one to under¬ 
take cranberry growing without first studying this 
eminently practical work. 
Topping' tlie Apples.— A correspondent 
thoroughly familiar with the London Fruit market, 
writes: “Let me, through you, warn American 
fruit-growers that they will lose their trade to an 
enormous extent if they do not adopt an honest 
mode of packing. The Canadian apples, being the 
same right through , have, in Covent Garden market, 
taken the lead this year, and bring much better 
prices. One can hardly imagine so cute a people 
as yours being ‘left out’in this way.” It is the 
old story of “a few scabby sheep spoil the whole 
flock.” Our regular shippers know better than to 
send anything to England that is not of the best 
quality and properly packed; but in this year of 
plethora of apples, speculators not in the trade, 
who never sent an apple before, and not expecting 
to send again, and having no reputation to make or 
lose, have sent out fruit at a venture—and no 
doubt poor fruit dishonestly packed. A few barrels 
of this trash are enough to bring our fruit as a 
whole into discredit, and regular shippers who have 
been for years building up a reputation, suffer. 
Coating upon a Waste Pipe. — 
“ C. P.,” Clyde, Ohio, has the lead waste-pipe from 
a wash basin so coated upon the interior as to ren¬ 
der it useless. Such a coating may be due to either 
of two causes not generally thought of. When 
very hard water, due to the presence of lime salts, 
is used to wash with, the soap is decomposed, and 
an insoluble “ Lime Soap” is formed. Until all the 
lime is removed from the water in this manner, the 
soap will not form a lather, and washing is a dis¬ 
comfort. This lime soap appears as a scum which 
readily adheres to whatever it touches, as the hands 
of those who are obliged to wash in such water will 
bear witness. This deposit might readily gather 
upon the interior of the pipe in the manner com¬ 
plained of. In many waters, especially in cold 
weather, there is a growth of a low form of vege¬ 
tation, which to the unaided eye appears like a 
transparent jelly, but which a strong microscope 
shows to have a minute plant within the sub¬ 
stance. Judging from the manner in which the 
water from a well of ours will in a few days coat 
the inside of a goblet with a growth of nearly half 
an inch thick, the same might soon close up an 
ordinary pipe. The deposit is gelatinous, trans¬ 
parent, and stiff enough to keep its shape. It is 
probably a Nostoc, a species of which some years 
ago collected in the Croton Aqueduct to such an ex¬ 
tent as to seriously interfere with the flow of the 
water. We mention these as two things to be looked 
after, when a similar difficulty occurs in water pipes. 
As to the first, the lime soap, if a strong acid can 
be applied, it may be decomposed and dissolved 
out; otherwise it must be removed mechanically. 
The other, the transparent gelatinous vegetable 
growth, may be killed if hot water can be used. 
“The Universal Pump” was thought to be 
about as serviceable as a pump could be, but Mr. Blunt 
now makes an “ Improved Universal Pump,” in which 
the structure is still more simple. The new pump has a 
marked business-like look and in use is very efficient. 
Since ours has been set up there has been no weather Ins 
which its power as a force pump could be tested, but 
from its performance in other respects we have no doubt 
it will give a good account of itself in that. 
Lengthening Life.— Anxiety that disturbs one’s 
nervous system, and thus affects the whole physical 
organization, is a direct promoter of disease, and a 
strong obstacle to recovery from illness. On this ground 
alone we have always believed that any and every man 
having a family, or relatives, or even creditors, not well 
provided for in case of his decease, is morally bound to 
have an interest in some organization that will come to 
the rescue if he be taken away. A few dollars, more or 
less, paid into a common fund every year, secures a pro 
portionate larger sum to be promptly returned to those 
in the association who are first stricken down. Such an- 
Association, of the best kind, is the N. Y. Life Insurance 
Company, whose statement appears on page 163. This 
company is practically a Mutual Association of 48,542 
persons, have a fund of over Forty Million Dollars 
($43,183,934.81) on interest, and also increasing by their 
annual contributions. As one after another dies their 
heirs draw out their share. According to the well- 
established death rate, the above fund leaves a surplus 
of $9,000,000 over the actual amount needed to return to 
each insured person the amount expended by him, We 
advise all interested to write to the Company and get 
full particulars on these matters, which are furnished free. 
The Horse Essays.— We fully expected to an- 
nounce the awards of prizes in this paper, but the un¬ 
looked for absence of one of the judges, makes it im¬ 
practicable. The reading of such an immense mass of 
manuscript is not a task to be disposed of in a few hours, 
or even days. It is our wish to make the awards and 
close up the matter at the earliest practicable time, 
and hope that nothing may cause further delay. 
Reliable Business Men, those who have 
both the ability and the intention to do what they 
promise, are the only ones invited to use the business- 
pages of this journal, and those in charge of that depart¬ 
ment are under positive instructions to admit no others 
at any price; and they try to live up to it, and generally 
do, though once in a while they may make a mistake—t® 
err is human—but this seldom occurs. We could make a 
fortune in a single year, and supply the paper at lower 
rates, if the advertising pages were thrown open to those 
who gladly pay high prices, as they can afford to. 
because they give little for much. But we mean our ad¬ 
vertising pages shall be a valuable source of trustworthy 
information to our readers.—When ordering from, or cor¬ 
responding with any of our advertisers, or sending for 
catalogues, etc., it is well to state that you are a reader 
of this Journal. They will know what we expect, and 
what you expect of them as to prompt and fair treatment. 
The Liquid Asbestos Paints.— We have al¬ 
ready given a favorable report npon these paints, and a 
year’s additional wear confirms the opinion formerly ex¬ 
pressed. To meet the demand caused by new styles in 
decoration, the H. W. Johns’ Co. have brought out a va¬ 
riety of “ fashionable ” shades which will allow every 
style of outside and inside decoration to be done with 
these, that is possible with common paints. 
Tlie “American Agriculturist” Premi¬ 
um List.— If any one of our readers has not yet re¬ 
ceived our fully illustrated Premium List, or if any one 
desires the List for a friend, we will send a copy free, 
on receipt of the address. 
Worms for ChlcUeus.—“A. L. W.,” Kittery, 
Me. “ Is there any such a thing as generating worms for 
chickens, and if so how is it done?”—Mr. A. doubtless 
means the growing or propagation of the common earth 
worms. We have not learned that this has been done, 
and should be pleased to hear of any information on this 
question. We have observed that Angle Worms are 
more abundant in rich and moist soil than elsewhere, as 
everybody who "goes a fishing soon learns. 
Poisoning Moles.—R Forseman, Pickaway Co., 
Ohio, writes that, having to re-plant a 16-acre field with 
corn three times in succession on account of the moles, 
he tried poisoning them. He mixed arsenic with a pint 
of shelled corn, covering it with warm water, and let it 
stand over night. He then put about a dozen grains in, 
each mole-run, opening the run and covering it with a 
clod. He found ihe remedy most effective. In giving 
the quantity of arsenic, he said that he used ten cents’ 
worth. This may be an ounce, or might be half a pound, 
as the deadly stuff is a waste product, and very cheap. 
It is not very soluble in water, and half an ounce treated! 
as described for a pint of corn would be an abundance 
