AMERICAN AG-RIC ULTURIST. 
255 
1879.] 
Horse Rakes. —Nothing has done more to relieve 
the labor of the hay-field than these. Most of ns can recol¬ 
lect the excitement produced, by the introduction of the 
old horse rake with wooden teeth, which revolved and 
dropped its load. It seemed then as if we had the per¬ 
fection of a hay rake, and the following on foot by the 
driver, was not thought a hardship. But instead of the 
old wooden-rake, with clumsy teeth like fence pickets, 
we have long, elastic teeth of steel, and the one who 
rakes, does not plod along on foot, but rides. Among 
others of the steel rakes that have become popular, those 
madeby the Wheeler & Melick Co., Albany, N. Y., have a 
high reputation. The awards at the Centennial and 
Vienna Exhibitions, are sustained by farmers all over the 
country, who find them easy and effective in working, 
simple in construction, and durable in use. 
TI»e Whitman Fountain Pump.— An ac¬ 
quaintance with this pump from the start, and its use for 
several years, enable us to say that in the present im¬ 
proved condition, it combines in a remarkable degree 
simplicity and effectiveness. Scarcely larger than a good 
sized walking stick, it discharges a stream of remarka¬ 
ble volume with force, 
and may be used wher¬ 
ever a garden syringe or 
a portable pump is re¬ 
quired, whether in the 
greenhouse or the open 
ground. Now that it is 
found possible to des¬ 
troy the Canker-worm 
in the caterpillar state 
by the use of Paris 
Green, or London Pur¬ 
ple—formerly all efforts 
were confined to plac¬ 
ing barriers to its as¬ 
cending the trunks— 
this Pump will be found 
very serviceable in dis¬ 
tributing the poison on 
the trees. Aside from 
horticultural uses there 
are various others in 
which it will be found 
very handy, especially 
in washing windows 
and carriages. In every 
country house there 
should he means at hand for throwing a stream of water 
in case of fire. At the first outbreak of a fire, it requires 
but very little water to extinguish it, provided it can be 
put in the right place. The Fountain Pump will be found 
most useful as a fire extinguisher, and if always kept 
where it may be found without searching for it, may he 
the means of preventing a serious conflagration. 
ITIlxing; of Wlieat.-“ A. H.,” Neb., asks: “If 
wheat sown side by side will not mix, how do persons 
originate a new kind?”—The flowers of the wheat are 
closely surrounded by the palets or chaff, and it is claimed 
that the ovary is fertilized by the pollen of its own flow¬ 
er, before the chaff opens, and liberates the stamens. 
Those who “ originate new varieties ” by crossing, are 
obliged to carefully open the chaff before natural 
fertilization takes place, and apply the foreign pollen. 
Tlie Coffee Tree. —“W. A.,” Union Grove, Wis. 
The Coffee Tree only succeeds in localities where the aver¬ 
age temperature is from 64° to 70°. In tropical countries 
it only succeeds where the mountain elevation allows of 
the proper temperature. There have been very contradic¬ 
tory stories as to its success in California. At first it was 
stated that the coffee plant was found growing wild there, 
but it was found that this was only a species of Buck¬ 
thorn, and not at all related to the true Coffee. .Perhaps 
our friends of the “ Southern California Horticulturist” 
will tell us what success has attended the experiments 
with the Coffee plant in their most genial climate. 
Dried Persimmons.-Not the “’Simmons” of 
which the Southerners make their “ ’Simmon beer,” but 
the true Japanese Persimmons, several times larger than 
our native fruit, and as much better as they are bigger, 
have been sent us by Mr. Chas. H. Shinn, of Niles, Cali¬ 
fornia. The Japanese Persimmons are of various sizes 
and shapes, when fresh, and present a similar variety 
when dried. In taste they are much like figs, and if of¬ 
fered in the market would no doubt meet with a ready 
sale. Mr. S. does not state, in sending us the specimens, 
whether they are from fruit grown in California, or are 
Imported from Japan in the dried state. 
Treatment of Amaryllis.— “Mrs. E. S.,” Ore¬ 
gon. The species of Amaryllis are so numerous, that no 
one can with propriety be called “ the Amaryllis,”—yet 
they all require essentially the same treatment. To suc¬ 
ceed with them, attention must be given to secure a good 
leaf-growth after they have flowered. Upon this will de¬ 
pend the next season’s blooming, hence, after the flowers 
fade, the plants should not be neglected, but let them 
be watered regularly, and have a light position until the 
leaves begin to fade, when they may be gradually dried 
oft', and the pots, containing the bulbs, kept in a cool dry 
place to rest, uutil the time to start into growth again. 
Jersey Red Figs.— “ J. H. P.,” Yakima Co., W. 
T. The Jersey Red pigs grow rapidly to an enormous 
size, but the flesh is nearly all fat. Where this is not an 
objection, this is perhaps the best breed for one who de¬ 
sires to procure heavy pigs at an early age. 
Weeds—Snap Dragon. — “ X. Y. Z.,” Long 
Island. We presume that your “ Snap Dragon ” is the 
Toad-Flax, Butter and Eggs, or Ramsted-weed of Penn¬ 
sylvania. Your neighbors method of sinking a board 
frame a foot below the surface, and covering the top 
with cement, as you say, will not answer for a field. 
Your letter is more satisfactory than many we receive, as 
you do not suppose that there is any application that 
will kill a weed and not hurt other plants. All plants, 
useful and injurious, have the same laws of growth. 
Some are more tenacious of life than others, and some 
are especially well provided with means of multiplica¬ 
tion. However well a plant may be established, and 
the ground is filled with roots and root-stocks, stored 
with nutriment, each inch of which will make a new 
plant, every attempt this plant makes to grow will ex¬ 
haust a part of this under-ground store. It can not in¬ 
crease this stock without leaves. If kept from produc¬ 
ing foliage, this accumulated store must in time be ex¬ 
hausted. It can not last forever, it can not add to it un¬ 
less it has leaves to make it. These are fixed facts. 
Keep down the leaf-growth and the plant must die. It 
is only a question which will hold out the longest, man 
or plant. There are few who will give the needed thor¬ 
ough work; if the plant does not yield to a few hoe- 
ings or cuttings, the task is given up. There is perhaps 
no worse weed in existence than the so-called Horse- 
Nettle, Solatium Carolinense, which is actually, in parts 
of Delaware and Maryland, driving people from their 
farms. It is said, and generally accepted, that the plant 
can not be killed. A friend in Delaware, a good botan¬ 
ist, who held the view of plant growth expressed above, 
determined to put his philosophy into practice, ne tried 
the Horse-Nettle; as soon as a shoot appeared, off it 
came; he admits it was a hard struggle, and that to clear 
it out would cost all that the land was worth—but it can 
be done. If “ X. Y. Z.” has the courage and determina¬ 
tion of our Delaware friend, he can get rid of his pest. 
Turn the field into a fallow, to be gone over just as often 
as there is anything to cut, even if it must be daily. 
Only thorough work will conquer—and that will. 
Charcoal for Fot Plants. - “Mrs. E. S.,” 
Oregon. Charcoal in itself has no fertilizing properties, 
though it may absorb fertilizing matters, and thus be use¬ 
ful. In pots its main effect is a mechanical one, to keep 
the soil open and prevent it from becoming packed and 
hence impervious to water and to the slender root fibers. 
Land Compasses.- “ A. H.,” Tekamah, Neb., 
sends us a drawing and description of “a handy instru¬ 
ment to measure land or lay out garden plots.” It is 
made of two strips of lath, so nailed together as to form 
a pair of “dividers or compasses, the points of which 
will be one-half a rod, or eight feet three inches apart.” 
He has one piece six feet long, and the other six inches 
longer, to form a handle. It is made of strips an inch 
by an inch and a half, with a cross-piece as shown in the 
engraving. It will be seen from the illustration that this 
simple implement affords a ready method of measuring 
small plots, and may be made very useful in laying out 
beds, etc. We used a similar affair some years ago, but 
made in a more permanent manner, and so arranged that 
the points, by means of a screw, could be placed at any 
desired distance apart, and found it a great convenience. 
Water for Fattening Hogs.- 1 “W. L, S.,” 
Jerseyville, Ill. When hogs are put up to fatten, and fed 
on dry corn, it is the practice to give them but litte water; 
but they require some. It would not be possible for a 
hog “ to live for weeks,” without water or other drink, 
when feeding on dry corn, although when fed on new 
“ soft ” corn, a very small quantity of water will be suffi¬ 
cient, and possibly if the corn is very soft and unripe, wa¬ 
ter might not be indispensable. 
Cribbing. —“W. H. G.,” Center Co., Pa. Cribbing 
is a vice which springs from habit more than from any 
other cause. It begins frequently from a desire to ease the 
teeth from inconvenience or perhaps pain, at that period 
when the dentition is perfecting, and then becomes fixed 
upon the horse as a vice. It is not inj urious except when 
accompanied with “ wind-sucking.” which is a series of 
deep inspirations by which flatulence and belly-ache are 
caused. When the habit is fixed on a horse it is difficult 
to break it, and the only effective method is to use a 
muzzle which prevents him from thus using his teeth. 
Peaclies from Georgia. —Some friend sends us 
a copy of the Macon, (Ga.) “ Telegraph,” which informs 
us that on May 20, the first peaches were sent to New 
York by R. H. Rumph, of “ Willow Lake Nursery,” near 
Marshallville. The varieties were “ Alexander,” “ Ams- 
den,” and “Beatrice.” The same paper states that on 
Mr. Rumph’s place, “ apples ripen every month in the 
year,” and that he accompanied the shipment of peaches 
by one of apples. Is there no mistake about the statement 
that apples ripen at Macon “ every month in the year ? ” 
Mange in a rig. — “ O. J. C.,” Schodack, N. Y. 
Mange can be cured by applications of wbale-oil and sul¬ 
phur, well rubbed into the affected parts with a corn-cob; 
the skin being thickened needs something rough to 
break up the dry flakes with which it is covered. Give 
4 oz. of sulphur in the food daily for a week or 10 days. 
Filler for a Cistern.— “ J. L. C.,” Rock Co., 
Wis. The best filter fora cistern, is made of a box of 
brick work, with the end joints of the brick left open for 
two courses at the bottom. This part is filled with coarse 
washed gravel; a layer of sand is placed upon that, and a 
layer of fine broken charcoal upon the sand. Then sand 
and coarse gravel are placed upon the charcoal, and the 
leader pipe is cemented into the top of the box. The box 
should be at least 2 feet square inside, which will give a 
capacity for filtering the water, as fast as it is led into it. 
Express Charges on Stock.— Many persons 
are debarred from purchasing improved stock by the 
enormity of the charges for carrying animals by express. 
Even for a short distance the cost of freight is often 
equal to the value of the animal, and when one is sent 
from the Atlantic to the Pacific Coast, the charges some¬ 
times run up to ten times the first cost. The business 
would be very much increased if the charges were mod¬ 
erated, and an Express Company that would foster and 
encourage it would doubtless find it greatly to its profit. 
Shipment of Cattle. —Purchasers of cattle should 
be informed that while the present embargo on account 
of the cattle disease continues, animals can not be shipped 
into New York or New Jersey, or be permitted to pass 
through those States without a permit from the State 
Inspectors. For permission to move stock in N. Y., ap¬ 
plication should be made to General Patrick, 301 Mott 
St., N. Y., and in N. J. to Colonel Sterling, 249 Washing¬ 
ton St., Jersey City. 
The “California Horticulturist” had for 
a long time been very little Californian, and not very hor¬ 
ticultural, and was the poorest possible apology for a 
journal bearing its name. Recently it has taken a new 
lease of life. Chas. II. Shinn, Esq., a well known nur¬ 
seryman of Niles, Cal., has become its Editor, and with¬ 
in a short time has made it not only horticultural, but 
distinctly Californian. From being an indifferent mag¬ 
azine. it has now become one, the advent of which gives 
us pleasure, as we feel sure that we shall learn what is 
going on in California, and not be treated to extracts 
from English journals, which we had read in the original 
weeks before. Mr. Shinn has shown that he can do good 
work, and we wish him success. California , has such a 
peculiar climate, that it must have a horticultural jour¬ 
nal of its own. A monthly that contents itself with tell¬ 
ing what is done in England and France is of little value. 
Home articles, giving home experience, are now to be 
found in its pages, and if Mr. Shinn only continues in 
his present course, his success must be certain. 
Sugar in Amber Cane. —Prof. Goessmann finds 
that grape sugar appears in the cane while it is quite 
young, and increases to 3 to 4 per cent before any cane 
sugar is formed, which is first found when the flower 
stalks are pushing out of the leaves, and increases in 
amount until the grain is of full size. The per cent of 
the grape sugar to the cane sugar was, in most cases, as 
three to seven. After cutting,the cane sugar changes gradu¬ 
ally into grape sugar, the change being hastened by moist 
and warm weather. For the best results in sugar and 
syrup, cut the crop as soon as the grain is full grown, but 
not ripe, and grind the stalks at once. 
Killing Insects by Manuring tlie Soil.— 
Some queer notions are held about insects. A person 
who has a “ Mineral Manure ” for sale called on us a few 
days ago. and among other claims for his fertilizer said 
that its application to the soil would prevent the Codling- 
Moth from laying its eggs in the apples. This man was 
