1881.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
349 
county and other societies have permanent 
buildings, especially for household produc¬ 
tions and for flowers and vegetables. Much 
may be done in the way of decorating these 
rooms if it be only taken in hand in time. 
Those who have in their gardens cannas, 
castor oil plants, large coleuses, or other 
decorative plants that can be spared, can do 
much toward decorating, but they must begin 
a week or two beforehand. Get from the 
store, nail-kegs, and boxes of various sizes ; 
if likely to he heavy, put in rope handles. 
Take up such plants as can be spared for the 
purpose, and pot them in these kegs or boxes, 
taking up as much earth with the roots as 
practicable. Do this towards night, place 
under a shed or in other sheltered place, 
where the wind will not reach them, and 
water both soil and foliage. The few that 
wilt will recover in a day or two, when they 
may be placed outside. When ready to take 
them to the fair, use stakes and twine to pre¬ 
vent them from jolting in the wagon and 
getting broken. When the plants are set in 
place, cover the kegs or boxes with brown 
paper. If one has plenty of Arbor-vitae 
trees, he can cut them judiciously, and find 
that the twigs or branches are things of 
which there cannot be too many for decora¬ 
tion. Let whoever goes to the fair with the 
intention of working, take a paper of tacks, 
another of stout pins, balls of twine, fine and 
coarse, several pencils, som& blank cards, a 
stout jack knife, and, above all, a cheerful, 
spirit that leads to the doing of everything 
that needs to be done to make all things 
show at their best—bring order out of chaos. 
Canada Thistle-“A Sure Cure.” 
“ H. W. S.,” Montgomery Co., Pa., writes, 
that he has discovered the Canada Thistle in 
one of his fields, and asks if we can send a 
“sure cure” for it. After stating that he 
does not know where the weeds came from, 
he concludes by again wishing that we may 
send him a “ sure cure.” Our friend’s letter, 
like many others we receive, shows that there 
is a very general belief that there is some 
special method for killing weeds, and he will 
no doubt be disappointed if we tell him that 
we know of no “sure cure” for Canada 
Thistle or any other weed. Plants, whether 
useful or not, are all subject to the same 
laws of growth, and no application can be 
made to the soil to stop the growth of an un¬ 
desirable plant that will not also unfit it for 
the growth of useful plants. In order to 
destroy the Canada Thistle, or any other 
plant, we must consider its manner of 
growth. Our friend is troubled to know how 
the plant came upon his land. If he ever 
saw a patch of this thistle at the time the 
seeds were ripening, he would have seen 
that each little one-seeded pod, and practically 
a seed, was provided with a tuft of down, 
by means of which it could float upon the 
air, and be wafted for many miles. He 
would see seed after seed starting off on its 
journey, to be dropped sooner or later, where 
it would in time germinate and establish a 
plant. This would show him that one method 
to prevent the spread of this thistle upon his 
own land would be, to prevent any seeds 
from ripening, and that the sure way to do 
this would be to prevent any of the plants 
from flowering, which can easily be done by 
cutting off the stems before they flower. But 
the plants already in his ground will spread 
by “ the root,” as it is called, but really by 
underground stems, which the Canada thistle 
produces in abundance, and pushes them out 
in all directions from the original plant. Our 
friend’s plants, however careful he may be to 
prevent them from flowering, will increase 
in this manner. Each original plant will 
soon surround itself with a colony of other 
plants, if allowed to do so. Our friend writes 
that he discovered them in “ several places,” 
by which we infer that they are not generally 
scattered. He well knows that to get a crop 
of potatoes he must encourage a luxuriant 
growth of tops, or vines—he also is aware 
that were he to cut away 
his potato vines as often as 
they appeared, he would 
harvest no tubers. It is 
just so with the Canada 
Thistle. If the tops are 
cut off as fast as they ap¬ 
pear, it is impossible for 
the underground growth 
to increase. Put up a stake 
as a mark at each place 
where there is known to 
be a plant of the thistle ; 
have some hoes well 
ground, and very sharp, 
and let it be the business of 
some one on the farm to keep every leaf and 
shoot cut off as fast as it appears, and the 
thistle must die. It is only where the Thistle 
has become well established, and has filled 
the ground, and thus has possession, that 
this method is not practicable. We have 
known cases in which a few thistles were 
only discovered, when they were far enough 
advanced to bloom, in which salt was applied 
with benefit. The whole top of the plant 
was cut off with a stroke of a sharp hoe, and 
a small handful of salt was applied upon the 
cut surface. That an excess of salt will kill 
all plants, useful or otherwise, is well known, 
and where the thistles are few, it may be 
well to apply it. If it be borne in mind that 
the thistle spreads in two ways only, by seeds 
and by underground stems, and that seeds 
may be completely prevented by not allow¬ 
ing the plant to flower, and that underground 
stems can not grow unless there are above¬ 
ground leaves to nourish them, the problem 
of destroying the Canada Thistle is a simple 
one. The only “sure cure” that we can 
recommend to our friend is a sharp hoe, to be 
used wherever a thistle is found, to cut away 
the flower stalks, and every green leaf that 
shows itself. This “sure cure” applies not 
only to the Canada Thistle, but to every 
other perennial weed that annoys the farmer. 
plied, in clear water, before bringing it in 
contact with soap. When Javelle water is 
used, this precaution is not necessary; but 
with the chloride of lime liquid it is, or the 
articles will become very harsh and stiff. 
Plans of a Silo. 
From the various plans that have been sug¬ 
gested we select the one here presented as 
the most suitable in form, etc., for those who 
wish to erect a building for the preserving of 
green fodder. The silo is shown in perspec¬ 
tive in figure 1. It is about twice as long as 
broad, and may be made of any size suited 
Fig. 1.— THE SILO IN PERSPECTIVE. 
to the needs of the owner. The silo should 
be located where it will be handy both in the 
filling and feeding out of its contents. The 
walls are of concrete, resting on a firm stone 
foundation, and should have a thickness 
sufficient to withstand all the pressure from 
within. This will depend somewhat upon 
the area of the silo, and the hight to which 
the ensilage is carried. The roof is of boards, 
and resembles that of a hay-barrack ; it serves 
the double purpose or keeping out the rain, 
and staying the walls by means of the uprights 
which bear the roof and pass into the con¬ 
crete wall below. Four doors are placed at 
one end of the silo for the convenient re- 
3'i-jiit Stains. —In the season of fruits, 
the napkins used at table, and often the hand¬ 
kerchiefs and other articles, will become 
stained. Those who have access to a good 
drug-store can procure a bottle of Javelle 
Water. If the stains are wet with this before 
the articles are put into the wash, they will 
be completely removed. Those who can not 
get Javelle water can make a solution of 
Chloride of lime. Four ounces of the Chlo¬ 
ride of Lime is to be put into a quart of water, 
in a bottle, and after thorough shaking allow 
the dregs to settle. The clear liquid will re¬ 
move the stains as readily as Javelle water, 
but, in using this, one precaution must he ob¬ 
served. Be careful to thoroughly rinse the 
article to which this solution has been ap- 
Fig. 2.—SECTIONAL VIEW OF THE SILO. 
moval of the ensilage. A portion of the 
wall is shown removed, that the ensilage may 
be seen, with the covering of plank and 
weight of stones in view. In removing the 
ensilage a thin slice is cut down the whole 
length of the end next to the doors, through 
which it is taken out. Subsequent layers are 
removed in the same way, by cutting down 
the fodder, as shown in figure 2, which is a 
