1881.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
421 
different varieties of wheat are sown to produce 
straw for different purposes. The wheat is grown 
for the straw alone, and something like 12 bushels 
of seed are sown to the acre in the fall; in spring, 
before the grain is half developed, the wheat plants 
are pulled by hand, tied in small sheaves, spread to 
dry for a few days, and then stored. Before the 
straw is worked up it is carefully assorted, the up¬ 
permost joints being reserved for the finest work, 
and lower ones for coarser braid. The straw, assort¬ 
ed and bleached by the use of sulphur, is given out 
by those who carry on the business, to women who 
do the plaiting at home, and return the braid. The 
braid is of varied qualities; of the coarser kinds, a 
woman can make 30 to 60 yards a day, while of the 
finest kind, that used for the best Leghorn hats for 
women, it takes five or six months to braid the 
straw for a single hat. 
Sending Grasses and other Plants. 
Those who send plants to be named often take a 
great deal of useless trouble. They pack the plant 
in a large paper box, and if the box ever reaches 
us at all, it is so crushed in the mail bags, that its con¬ 
tents are of very little use. As strange as it may 
seem, it is, as a general thing, much easier to deter¬ 
mine a plant from pressed and dried specimens, than 
it is from a specimen sent in the fresh state in the 
condition in which it usually reaches us. Let us 
say to our friends, in the first place, that we always 
welcome specimenss of all kinds that are sent us 
to be named. We are not altogether unselfish in 
this, for out of probably every ten specimens sent 
us, we get one that we are very glad to have, and 
learn, perhaps as to the introduction of a weed, or 
the extent of a grass or fungus, something that we 
are very glad to know. So our friends will see that 
the obligation is not all on one side. They often give 
important facts in asking information of us. When 
a plant can be seut co that it will be sure to reach 
us in good order in the fresh state, all the better, 
but in sending a long distance, and especially in 
sending grasses, it is much better to dry the speci¬ 
mens. It is very easy to dry specimens, as those 
know who have placed flowers in some thick book. 
But most books are too valuable to be used for 
drying plants, and old newspapers will answer every 
purpose. It is a very easy matter to dry plants. 
Take a lot of old newspapers, and cut up a portion 
of them so that they will give a lot of folded sheets, 
like sheets of letter paper—that is a simple fold. 
These should not be over twelve inches long. If 
the plant is longer than this bend it ; if a very tall 
plant, take the flowering and fruiting (seed-bearing) 
portion, and such of its leaves as are of different 
shape from those near the flowers. If the plant is 
a grass, it is not often so large that bending it 
twice will not bring it within the limits of a twelve- 
inch sheet. If a grass is very tall, give the flower¬ 
ing part, and leaves, and be sure to get the root, 
whether the grass be long or short. Besides the 
simple folds mentioned, do up a lot of the papers, 
no matter how many thicknesses, to form di'yers. 
An ordinary city paper, like the “Tribune,” 
“Times,” “Herald,” etc., will make a capital 
dryer, by folding it twice. Take the full sheet, and 
fold from bottom to top, and then across. This 
will give a thick pad, of sixteen sheets, about a 
foot long by nine inches wide. These we will call 
“ dryers.” Having cut some of the paper into sin¬ 
gle “ folds ” of this size, you are ready to dry the 
plants. Lay down a “ dryer,” then take a “ fold ” 
and having placed the plant, as naturally as may be 
within it, put the fold upon the dryer, and another 
dryer upon the fold, and so go on, until all the 
plants are disposed of. Put a board upon the top 
dryer, and on this any convenient weight. A box 
filled with old iron, or with bricks or stones will 
answer ; all that is needed is too keep the leaves of 
the plants from wrinkling. An extra lot of dryers 
should be provided; the next day the plants 
should be changed; to do this lay down a fresh 
dryer, upon this a fold containing its plant ; on this 
another dryer, another fold, and so on, observing 
that the plants in changing are not disturbed, as 
they are removed from the old dryers to the fresh 
ones, without opening the folds. Two such 
changes, in the meantime spreading the used dryers 
where they will become dry, will be sufficient for 
most plants ; grasses very rarely require more than 
two. To send dried plants, use two (one will often 
answer) pieces of paste-board of the size of the 
fold; old store boxes will answer, or thin wood, 
such as is used for backing frames, and place the 
folds containing the dried plants between them. 
Tie them up securely and mark “ dried plants,” and 
they can go as 4tli class mail matter at one cent for 
each ounce or each fraction thereof. Observe and 
place with each plant a number which refers to a list, 
telling what may be necessary about the plant, lo¬ 
cality, etc., in a letter mailed at the same time. It 
has taken some space to describe a very simple 
matter; we do not wish to imply that those who 
cannot prepare their plants in this way should not 
send. We only point out the best method, and 
show how specimens may be prepared that will 
often be of value when we get them. If only a 
fragment can be sent in a letter, by all means send 
that fragment, but half the trouble that our friends 
take in the attempt to have fresh specimens reach us, 
if expended upon providing us with well prepared 
dried specimens, would make the sending easier 
for them, and give us better specimens which we 
might often be glad to keep in our own herbarium. 
Grain and Produce Speculation — Bene¬ 
ficial to Farmers. 
The ways and doings of the speculators in Flour, j 
Wheat, Corn, Oats, Lard, Pork, etc., were fully de- ! 
scribed last month (page 378). The speculation 
has gone on since with increased activity, and a 
multitude of outsiders have taken a hand in. In 
fact, the Grain markets have fairly overshadowed 
the dealings in Railroad and other stocks and 
bonds. Prices have been thus carried up to very 
high figures, mainly by the operations of the 
“bulls” and “bears.” As the result, all farmers 
able to get their produce to market have realized 
higher prices than they would have otherwise done. 
It was quite reasonable to expect a decided fall 
in prices after the “ bulls ” had unloaded at the end 
of August. But two unlooked for events have 
transpired which now promise to prevent a future 
•decline from the present high figures. First, the 
severe drouth over a large part of this country has 
stunted the corn and other unmatured crops very 
greatly, and the recent partial rains in some parts 
of the country have come too late to restore them. 
The pastures have dried up so badly that fall dairy 
products will be greatly lessened. 
Second, just as the farmers of Great Britain 
were rejoicing over a fair yield of Wheat, and it 
was going into shock, long continued, devastating 
rains came on and spoiled much of the grain, 
increasing the dependence upon foreign supplies. 
Less corn here means less pork and lard, and 
fewer fat cattle. Further, the threshing shows a 
lower average per acre in the great wheat regions 
of the Northwest than was anticipated a month 
ago. Minnesota, for example, was expected to 
equal last year’s production, taking into account 
the increased acreage. But the most careful esti¬ 
mates up to September 1, give the yield for the 
State an average of only ll 4 /io bushels, on 2,960,363 
acres = 33,771,511 bushels, which is a decrease of 
3,600,000 bushels from last year’s total crop. 
Taken altogether, the present status favors a 
continuation of the present unusual high rates for 
Wheat, Corn, Hog and Dairy products. Only two 
general crops, Oats and Hay, have come anywhere 
near an average here, and these are reported de¬ 
ficient in parts of Europe, particularly in France 
and Germany. The high prices of exportable 
grains have checked and materially decreased the 
exports for a month past, as compared with this 
time last year. The Official Reports for July, 1881, 
give the exports of Flour, Wheat, Corn, and Meal, 
Oats, Barley, and Rye at only $19,981,792, against 
$31,229,677 in July, 1880. 
BEGUGNTS IsTOW. 
All New Subscribers for 1882, whose 
subscriptions come to hand before Octo¬ 
ber 31, will receive the American 
Agriculturist for- November and De¬ 
cember of this year without extra charge. 
The above applies to All new sub¬ 
scribers, from whatever source received — 
including Premium Clubs . 
Those too distant to receive this num¬ 
ber before October 31, will be allowed 
] 0 days after its reception in due course 
of mail, to take advantage of the above 
in presenting the paper to their friends. 
'I'lic Society for Promoting Agricultural 
Science held its second Annual Meeting at Cin¬ 
cinnati, on Tuesday and Wednesday, August 16th 
and 17th, thus sharing in the courtesies so gener¬ 
ally extended to the American Association for the 
Advancement of Science, whose meetings it pro¬ 
ceeded, and whose sessions, as members, it attended. 
The object of the Society is to promote progress 
in agricultural science and to encourage original 
work. Its means are the presentation of papers by 
members, discussions open to the public, and the 
legitimate use of the press. All papers presented 
are required to meet the approval of a committee 
before reading. It hopes,through concerted and care¬ 
fully critical action, to offer to the agricultural inves¬ 
tigator opportunity to receive scientific recognition 
for all original and good work, which is accomplish¬ 
ed in the sciences relating to agriculture, and thus 
to render researches in this economic science more 
attractive and fruitful. It hopes to further accu¬ 
rate and reliable experiment through the exercise 
of a critical supervision, awarding recognition only 
to such work as may undergo the criticism of men 
who are capable, through tastes, education, and 
pursuits, of forming a just judgment. Its claims to 
authority must arise from the character of the 
membership, and the weight which may reasonably 
be ascribed to organized and educated effort. It 
also seeks the good influences which comes from 
the social intercourse of men who are earnest work¬ 
ers in the same field of inquiry and thought. 
The membership is to be kept limited. Some few 
members will annually be admitted, after careful 
scrutiny, and the qualities deemed essential for can¬ 
didature are attainments, character, and a willing¬ 
ness to work in harmony with the Association. 
The following is the list of present members : 
L. B. Arnold, Rochester, N. Y. ; Patrick Barry, 
Rochester, N. Y ; Prof. W. J. Beal, Lansing, Mich.; 
Prof. C. E. Bessey, Ames, la.; Prof. W. II. Brew¬ 
er, New Haven, Ct.; Prof. G. C. Caldwell, Ithaca, 
N.Y.; Prof. Peter Collier, Washington, D. C.; Prof. 
J. H. Comstock, Washington, D. C. ; Prof. A. J. 
Cook, Lansing, Midi. ; Prof. W. G. Farlow, Cam¬ 
bridge, Mass. ; Prof. M. C. Fernald, Orono, Me.; 
Prof. C. A. Goessman, Amherst, Mass. ; Dr. B. D. 
Halsted, New York City ; Prof. Eug. W. Hilgard, 
Oakland, Cal. ; Prof. S. W. Johnson, New Haven, 
Ct. ; Prof. R. C. Kedzie, Lansing, Mich.; Prof. 
James Law, Ithaca, N.Y.; Prof. A. R. Ledoux, New 
York City : Pres. Levi Stockbridge, Amherst, Mass. 
4 
