502 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[November, 
Catalogues Received. 
Some establishments are so extensive that they issue 
a separate catalogue for each department. Where this 
is the case each catalogue is noticed under the heading 
where it belongs. If the name of a firm or person is 
mentioned more than once in the same list, it indicates 
that it issues more than one catalogue. 
NURSERYMEN AND DEALERS IN SMALL FRUITS. 
John Burr, Leavenworth, Kans.—A special descrip¬ 
tion of a new Kansas Grape, “ Early Victor.” 
Bush & Son & Meissner, Bushberg, Jefferson Co., 
Mo.—We have often noticed the completeness and com¬ 
prehensiveness of their catalogue, and each half-yearly 
appearance only increases our appreciation of its ex¬ 
cellence. 
Ellwanoer & Barry, Rochester, N. Y.—This is the 
25th edition of the Descriptive Catalogue of Fruits, 
which gives in brief the leading characters of those con¬ 
sidered worthy of cultivation. The notes of the newer 
varieties, in the preface, are of much value to the novice. 
B. B. Hance, Agt., Red Bank, N. J., makes special 
wholesale offers of fruit and ornamental stock at the 
Rumson Nurseries. 
Geo. S. Josselyn, Fredonia, N. Y.—A list of grape 
vines and small fruit plants, accompanied by a colored 
engraving of ‘‘Fay’s Prolific Currant” noticed by us in 
September of last year. 
J. T. Lovett, Little Silver, N. J., sends a full cata¬ 
logue with many novelties, and a special account of the 
“Manchester” strawberry, described by us last August. 
Thomas Meehan, Germantown, Pa.—Thi§ year Mr. 
Meehan gives, in one comprehensive list, properly sub¬ 
divided, some idea of his immense stock in every depart¬ 
ment. 
Randolph Peters, Wilmington, Del.—This Nursery 
has long been noted for its attention to peach trees, but 
it is quite as well up with the novelties in other fruits. 
Stark & Co., Louisiana, Mo., offer at the Pike Co. 
Nursery, established over 40 years ago, a full stock with 
many things peculiar to the locality. 
James B. Wild & Bros., at Sarcoxie, Jasper Co.. Mo., 
have not only fruit and ornamental hardy stock, but 
greenhouse plants. Besides they advise their patrons 
to read the best agricultural and horticultural papers. 
SEEDSMEN, BULB DEALERS, AND FLORISTS. 
As a rule, seedsmen offer imported, or Dutch Bulbs in 
their season, and so many now offer florists’ plants that 
it is convenient to put Seedsmen and Florists in one list. 
B. K. Bliss & Sons, No. 34 Barclay St., New York City, 
besides the usual Dutch Bulbs, offer hardy flowej roots, 
small fruits, seeds for fall planting, and a long list of 
florists’ requisites, including dried flowers and grasses. 
Wm. E. Bowditch, 645 Warren St., Boston. Mass., 
presents his catalogue in the form of the “ American 
Florist and Farmer,” which is more a magazine and less 
a catalogue than such periodicals usually are. 
Ellwanoer & Barry, Rochester, N. Y., in their de¬ 
scriptive catalogue of Select Roses, give not only a list 
of the best varieties, but a treatise on rose culture, which 
is very complete. 
Peter Henderson & Co., No. 35 Cortlandt St., in¬ 
clude in their autumn catalogue, not only all the bulbs 
of the season, but plants for winter-flowering, seeds for 
fall sowing, small fruits and florists’ requisites. Very 
full with novelties in every department. 
Hooper, Brother & Thomas, Westchester, Pa., in 
their “Handbook of Beautiful Flowers,” offer an im¬ 
mense variety in every department, and the whole is 
abundantly illustrated. 
August Roelker & Sons, 44 Dey St., N. Y., offer a 
full list of imported bulbs, with a large stock of florists’ 
supplies. 
George Such, South Amboy, N. J.—To a lover of 
plants it is a real pleasure to turn over the pages of a 
catalogue like this, where the choicest of the world’s 
floral treasures are recorded in a style beautiful in its 
exquisite neatness and accuracy. If any European cata¬ 
logue excels this, either in matter or manner, we have 
not seen it. 
STOCK, IMPLEMENTS, AND MISCELLANEOUS. 
W. S. Blunt, No. 94 Beekman St., N. Y.. sends a 
catalogue “supplementary” to one noticed some months 
ago. Besides his own "Universal Force Pumps,” he 
offers various other contrivances for raising water and 
distributing it about after it is raised, all of which is 
abundantly illustrated. 
M. Carter, Plainfield. Ind.—An illustrated catalogue 
of his “Automatic Gate.” If Mr. C. or any one else 
has a gate that will be “automatic ” in winter as well as 
at other seasons, he has a fortune within his reach. 
A. B. Co hu & Co., 197 Water St., N. Y.—To carefully 
look through this catalogue with its copious illustra¬ 
tions, of nearly every implement or machine used in the 
agriculture of our own country and others, would go far 
towards giving a farmer's boy a liberal education in his 
pursuit. This notice is full, but 60 is the catalogue. 
The Hartford Sanitary Plumbing Co., Hartford, 
Conn., set forth the superiority claimed for their 
"Patent Glass Water Closet,” in a neat illustrated 
pamphlet. 
John Q. Maynard. 95 & 97 Liberty St., N. Y., is agent 
for various “Labor-Saving Specialties.” to be used in 
different mechanic arts; such as hoists of various kinds, 
devices for pipe-fitters, carriage-makers, etc., etc., all 
illustrated. 
Morris Little & Sons, England, with an agency in 
the Tribune Building. N. Y.. present a vast amount of 
testimony, gathered in various countries, as to the effi¬ 
cacy of their “Non-Poisonous Sheep Dip and Cattle 
Wash.” 
F. S. Peer, East Palmyra, Wayne Co.. Pa., issues a 
neat catalogue of his Jersey Cattle and Cotswold Sheep, 
with pedigrees. 
Farmers’ Manufacturing Co., Cincinnati, Ohio.— 
Offer their “Twin Dasher Churn,” and illustrate it. 
American Celery.— An English gentleman, 
much interested in horticultural matters, being 
about to return home after a brief visit to this 
country, asked us to put him in the way of pro¬ 
curing various garden appliances that he would 
like to take back with him, and also various seeds. 
Among other seeds he asked for some of our best 
varieties of Celery, as he had found that vegetable, 
even quite early in the season, solid and crisp, and 
greatly superior to that at home. The fact is, that 
there is very little Celery seed sown in this country 
that is not imported from England, and other parts 
of Europe, and the superiority that is found in our 
Celery does not consist in the variety, but in the 
manner of growing it.. In England, except by a 
very few market-gardeners who have learned bet¬ 
ter, Celery is still generally grown in tbe old way 
of planting it at the bottom of a trench, two feet 
or so in depth. As the plants grow, the earth is 
from time to time filled into the trench. The up¬ 
ward growth continues, but a good share of this is 
at the expense of the lower part of the stalks, which 
are robbed of their nutriment, and become hollow 
or “piped.” In our method, followed by all ex¬ 
cept the few who adhere to old ways, the celery 
stalks are first allowed to make a strong, healthy, 
and solid growth. When the growing season is 
about over, these stalks are earthed up and, being 
excluded from light, they become perfectly 
blanched, and at the same time that they are de¬ 
prived of their green color, they also lose their 
strong flavor, and we have the perfect solid pro¬ 
duct of a mild flavor, and so much superior to the 
common kind, that our friend supposed it to be a 
peculiar American variety. 
Tlie New York Horticultural Society.— 
There are two Societies in this country that do not 
believe in delay in their publications. One of these 
is the Horticultural Society of Western N. Y. This, 
though it holds but yearly meetings, issues a full 
report shortly after the session is over, and while 
the matter is still fresh. The New York Horticul¬ 
tural Society holds monthly meetings, and instead 
of waiting to give a voluminous “ Yearly Report,” 
in its announcement for each meeting publishes 
what was done at the meeting of the preceding 
month. We thus have not only an account of the 
exhibits, and the awards of prizes, but when an 
essay has been read before the Society, that is given 
in full. As a consequence, when Peter Henderson, 
E. P. Roe, Samuel Parsons, or any other member, 
reads a paper, those who were not present are en¬ 
abled to know very soon after, what was said, in¬ 
stead of the usual waiting well into the next year 
for the information. We do not know how those 
who are not members, can get these interesting re¬ 
ports, but the energetic Secretary, Mr. James Murk- 
land, No. 12 Cortlandt St. will inform them. This 
Society needs more than anything else a proper 
abiding place—a hall, and we are assured that that 
will come in the near future. 
American Apples In England.— Messrs. 
Materne & Mayer, who last year kept us advised of 
the apple market abroad, inform us that the ex¬ 
portation is, at this season, already active. On Sept. 
29th, the sales at Liverpool amounted to 4,000 bar¬ 
rels, and that ou account of heavy arrivals the 
market has a downward tendency. On that date 
sound fruit sold a6 follows: Baldwins 12—17s, 
Greenings, 10—14s,. N. Spy, 13—15s, King of Tomp. 
Co., 16—21s, Fall Pippins, 8—12s. European cor¬ 
respondents advise caution in shipping Fall Pip¬ 
pins, no doubt because they decay very quickly. 
The Agriculturist In Tasmania.—In a 
speech before the Agricultural and Pastoral Society 
of Tasmania, Sir Henry Lefroy, Governor of the 
Colony, is reported as saying : “He did not think 
that all was done here to develop agriculture that 
might be done, and especially referred to the de¬ 
sirability of the Society disseminating knowledge 
by means of some such excellent publication as 
the American Agriculturist ."—His Excellency was 
afterwards informed that the American Agriculturist 
had already a large circulation in the colony, a 
statement that our subscription books will amply 
substantiate. By the way, we may say that we 
receive complaints of the large price charged by 
the news dealers for this Journal. The remedy for 
this is for our Tasmanian friends to form clubs and 
send subscriptions directly to this office. 
Poultry Notes.— Many persons let their poul¬ 
try roost on trees during the summer months. This 
is well, if care is taken to get the birds securely 
housed before severe weather sets in. If they are 
allowed to remain out-doors amidst frost, sleet, 
snow, cold rains, and howling, bitter winds, they 
will suffer greatly; their combs and wattles will 
freeze and many will sicken and die from exposure. 
There should be a good supply of gravel, shells, 
road dust, etc., put away as “poultry supplies,” 
to be used during the time that fowls have to be 
confined to close quarters. Poultry, like other live 
stock, pays if properly cared for. Both profit and 
humanity demand of us good care for our fowls as 
of all other stock. J. R. B. 
Privy Contents.— P. Richmond complains of 
the unpleasant task of emptying the vaults, and 
asks what can be done to make the operation less 
offensive to the neighborhood. A historian of Ire¬ 
land had a chapter on snakes. It read “ There are 
no snakes in Ireland.” A history of our friend’s 
village should read, “ We have no privy vaults to 
be emptied.” We have again and again shown 
how easy it is to make an earth closet, and have 
described its advantages. It is a daily comfort, and 
all trouble with the contents of the vault is avoided. 
The value of earth-closet manure is less than it was 
at one time supposed to be, though it has a value, 
but for the sake of the greater comfort it is better 
to look to some other source for fertilizers. Tbe 
liquid contents of the vault may be mixed with 
dry earth, and as they are removed, placed where 
they can be covered with dry earth. Then fill up 
the vault and contrive some form of an earth 
closet, of which we have given several descriptions 
in former volumes. The ordinary village vault and 
its attendant discomforts should be abolished. 
Rhubarb Culture.— “ A. S.,” Coulterville, Ill. 
We do not understand your want of success. We 
have a bed that was put out 10 or 12 years ago ; this, 
with an annual manuring, yields so abundantly that 
we have not cared to make a new bed. Pieces of 
old roots, with a bud to each, are set in highly 
manured soil, four feet apart each way. The plant 
starts so early in the spring that it is well to make 
the planting in autumn. An old root, or clump of 
roots, will divide into as many pieces as there are 
buds. It is a mistake to suppose that the plants 
need to be re-set every three years. Besides our 
own, we know of a plantation—that yields well, 
that has been out about 20 years. Each fall a 
heavy dressing of manure should be put on, and 
this should be forked in when the soil is dry enough 
in spring. During the summer cut away the flower 
stalks as fast as they show themselves. It is pos¬ 
sible that you have a poor kind. The “Linnaeus” 
is as good as any ; roots of this may be had at the 
nurseries ; or as it comes true enough for family 
use from the seed, a sowing may be made in the 
spring to get young plants, which, when two 
years old, may be set in a highly-manured bed. 
leaves from the Woods make the very best 
of litter; they absorb a great amount of liquid 
fertilizers, and furnish in themselves large per 
cents of potash and other valuable manurial con¬ 
stituents. Fallen leaves, when burned, give four 
or five times as much ashes as the hard wood of 
the tree which bore them. To this must be added 
the nitrogen compounds that are not burned away 
when the leaves are used as a litter. The richness 
of the surface soil in the woods is due to the ac¬ 
cumulation of leaves from year to year, which 
