1879 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
265 
.follows : April, rye ; May, grass and clover ; May 
and June, peas; June and July, oats; July and 
August, grass and clover and fodder-corn ; Septem¬ 
ber, barley or fodder-corn, and thinnings of the 
turnips ; October and November, cabbages, and 
some of the surplus fodder which has not been con¬ 
sumed but has been dried for this purpose. After 
this will come the turnips, helped out by the re¬ 
mainder of the dry fodder, and hay will need to be 
purchased to get through the winter. There must 
be no time lost in replanting, but as the crop is cut 
in strips through the plot it should be sown at 
once if only a strip 6 feet broad or as wide as a 
swathe of the scythe will leave. For the cultiva¬ 
tion of such a plot the Rue hand-plow and cultiva¬ 
tor would be sufficient, and it would be no more 
than agreeable recreation for the owner of the cow 
and his family to do the little farming that will be 
needed, with the occasional help of a boy to wheel 
the manure out of the yard to spread upon the 
ground as soon as it is sown or planted. The cow 
should be bedded with dry earth or hard-wood saw 
dust, and the yard should be littered in the same 
manner and frequently scraped clean. The com¬ 
fort derived from having plenty of milk, cream, 
hutter, butter-milk, pot-cheese, and whey, and the 
puddings and other things, only possible with a 
plenty of milk, that will come upon the family table 
during the year in consequence of an abundance of 
it, will well more than repay the light labor involved. 
A Little Oil.— Lubrication of the axles of vehi¬ 
cles, including even wheelbarrows, and of the jour¬ 
nals of machines, is not only a saving of power in 
their use, but it prevents waste and destruction of 
the material of the working parts. Nevertheless, if 
we should examine a hundred wagons, reapers, or 
fodder cutters at any time, ninety or more of the 
hundred, would be found wanting cil or other lubri¬ 
cants. The choice of a lubricant is frequently ill 
made. Common kerosene oil is too often injudi¬ 
ciously used in place of a thicker or more bland oil, 
because the heat produced by the friction, rapidly 
vaporizes the oil, and leaves the journal dry. Crude 
petroleum for the same reason is fitted only for 
very slowly revolving journals, such as water wheels. 
For very heavy machinery or for gearing, tallow and 
black-lead rubbed up together, is the best lubricant, 
and is also the best for wagon and carriage axles, 
during the hot weather. For light running machin¬ 
ery, sperm oil is the best; good olive oil that has 
not become rancid, and acid, is perhaps the second 
best, and for winter use, lard oil is excellent, but is 
rather too drying to be a first class lubricant. 
Castor oil is better for axles in the winter time, and 
black-lead mixed with it, is a help at any time. 
To Sink Deep Milk Cans. 
In using deep cans for setting milk in cold water 
pools, a difficulty is sometimes experienced in pre¬ 
venting the cans from 
upsetting and spilling 
their contents. In using 
the excellent system 
known as the Cooley 
Creamery, we are oblig¬ 
ed to use the incon¬ 
venient cross bars, not 
only to keep the cans 
down, but to fasten the 
covers in place. Anew 
improvement invented 
and used by the writer, 
and one not subject to 
patent, so far as known 
at least, is as follows : 
A leaden band of suffi¬ 
cient weight is attached 
to the bottom of the 
can, as shown at figure 
1. This may be cast in 
the shape of a mould¬ 
ing, by taking as a pat¬ 
tern, a piece of ordinary wood moulding, of the 
right size, and bedding, it in wet plaster, having 
first oiled it well. This will form the mould into 
which, when dried, melted lead may be poured. By 
Amixur. -5-TXDsSSiul! 
IBP- 
iM 
imi 
Jil 
Fig. 1.— CAU WEIGHTED. 
Fig. 2.—BAUD. 
making the band the right length, it may be bent 
around the bottom of the can or pail, and fastened 
by a piece of copper wire, or a tie and two screws. 
The band may be made in two parts, as shown at 
fig. 2, and these may be joined in the way described 
or in any other convenient manner. By affixing this 
to a deep pail, that may be placed safely in a pool. 
To keep the cover down 
when the cans are sub- 
merged as in the Cooley 
System,the writer uses a 
heavy leaden knob, 
fastened to the cover 
by a screw, the head of which is afterwards covered 
inside with solder, to make the joint air-tight. The 
knob is made by pouring melted lead in a mould of 
common plaster worked 
over an ordinary porcelain 
door - knob ; when the 
plaster has set, and is dry, 
the mould is separated 
into two parts, by cutting 
with a fine saw. If the knob is not heavy enough 
to keep the cover down safely, a round plate of 
sheet lead may be placed under it, and fastened 
with the knob, by the screw before mentioned. 
The cover, with the knob, is shown at figure 3. 
Fig. 3.— cover. 
“American Jute”—What is it? 
—-O- 
In the American Agriculturist for May last, (page 
185), there was an article upon the Jute of the East 
Indies, in which reference was made to a former 
speculative operation in “American Jute,” and we 
mentioned, with a caution, that the matter had 
been revived. Recent information makes some ex¬ 
planation necessary. Some 15 or more years ago, 
taking advantage of the fact that, like most plants 
of the Mallow Family, the common Rose Mallow 
(Hibiscus Aloscheutos) of the marshes, had a strong, 
fibrous bark, some speculators advocated its cul¬ 
ture as a fibre-producing plant. We showed at the 
time that its culture could not be profitable, and 
that the whole excitement about “American Jute” 
was to enable the plants and seeds to be sold at a 
great profit. Noticing that the subject of “Amer¬ 
ican Jute ” was before the Legislature of New Jer¬ 
sey,and supposing,from the name,that the plant was 
the same, we gave in May a w r ord of caution. But the 
plant that we long ago saw could not be profitable, 
and the one concerning which legislation was 
sought, are two very different things, and the matter 
is of so much importance that we wish to explain. 
At the great Centennial Exhibition—which appears 
all the greater as we look back upon it—no State was 
more ably represented than New Jersey. Its State 
Commission was one of the most active, not only 
in securing full and creditable exhibits, but in the 
returns it made to the State it represented. The 
State contributed freely, and, thanks to its most ex¬ 
cellent Commission, it received more than it gave. 
As an outgrowth of the State Centennial Commis¬ 
sion, the Legislature instituted a “ Bureau of Sta¬ 
tistics, Labor, and Industries,” whose duty it 
should be to look after the varied and growing in¬ 
dustries of New Jersey. The Chief of the Bureau 
is James Bishop, Esq., an active member of the 
Centennial Commission, and its Secretary is Sam’l. 
C. Brown, Esq., the most efficient President of that 
Commission. The first Annual Report of this Bu¬ 
reau is before us, and gives—what is rarely found 
in such documents, a wealth of interesting matter. 
The Secretary, Mr. Brown, became much interested 
in the fibre products of the Centennial, and was 
led to investigate the fibre-producing qualities of a 
very common plant, the “Velvet-Leaf,” or “Indi¬ 
an Mallow,” Abutilon Avicennce. This plant, a na¬ 
tive of the East, is thoroughly introduced in all the 
older States, and is frequently found in cultivated 
grounds. Mr. Brown found that this plant would 
yield a valuable fibre, and, aided by some parties 
who are interested in fibre-making machinery, pro¬ 
duced fibre of great excellence, which has attracted 
much attention at home and abroad. The plant, 
Indian Mallow, will grow to the hight of six feet or 
more; it has leaves of the shape given in the en¬ 
graving ; they are very soft and velvety to the 
touch ; the small yellow flowers are produced in the 
axils of the leaves, and are followed by a star-shaped 
capsule, shown separate, containing the seeds. In 
September, 1865, we figured and described this 
Abutilon as a weed, but as bur engraving gave the 
plant in its young state only, we make use of one 
on the next page, kindly loaned by the Bureau refer¬ 
red to, as it shows the mature plant, with its star¬ 
shaped seed-vessels. That the plant will yield a 
fibre that can be used for all the purposes to which 
imported Jute is suited, there would seem to be no 
doubt. The N. J. Bureau were so impressed with 
its value that they proposed to the State Legislature 
to offer a bounty to encourage the cultivation of 
this and other fibre plants; the bill passed the 
Lower House by a large majority, but failed in the 
Senate through being introduced at the close of the 
session. However, the Bureau have taken measures 
to have the matter fairly tested; seeds have be<*n 
distributed to those who would experiment with it, 
and Messrs. Lafranc & Paliser, of Philadelphia, the 
manufacturers referred to, offer to purchase the 
stalks. We leam that, through the efforts of the 
Bureau, there will be at least 100 acres of the plant 
grown in the State this season—enough to test it 
fairly. The seed is sown broadcast on rich ground, 
and sufficiently thickly to insure straight, unbranch¬ 
ed stalks. Of course there is much to learn about 
the proper cultivation and methods of preparing 
it, but these will soon follow. The specimens we 
have seen show a fibre of great excellence, which, 
besides answering all the purposes of the Eastern 
Jute, may be converted, by cottonizing and other 
processes, to uses to which that is not applicable. 
Thinking it strange that so common a plant, fur¬ 
nishing so fine a fibre, should not have been previous¬ 
ly utilized, we looked into the matter somewhat, 
and find that in the South of France, it has been 
used “for making choice cordage, and on account 
of the high price this brings, it is cultivated for this 
purpose.” It however remained for our New Jersey 
friends to see in the fibre a material which could 
be converted into Gunny cloth, and other coarse 
fabrics. The importance of this may be appre¬ 
ciated when we state that in one year, the 
California farmers paid over $2,450,000 for wheat 
sacks, and that to bale the crop of our cotton grow¬ 
ing States, costs annually an outlay of about $4,000,- 
000 for bagging. To save even a portion of this 
outlay, is a worthy object, and we hope that the ex¬ 
periments now instituted by the New Jersey Bureau, 
may meet with full success. Should they be suc¬ 
cessful, they will be of national importance, as the 
plant may, in all probability, be cultivated wher¬ 
ever Indian com will make a crop. We hope to 
keep our readers advised of the result. The name 
“ American Jute,” is to be regretted, as the plant is 
not American, nor is it Jute, but it is now too late 
to hope for a change. As our friends interested in 
the matter say, “ Jute ” is used as a term for the 
fibre rather than the plant, and “American” indi¬ 
cates the place of the production of the fibre, rather 
than the origin of the plant, so we are forced to 
accept it, and wish all success to “ American Jute.” 
Mending Waste Places. 
There are but few farms that have no waste places 
where heaps of rubbish and beds of weeds eneum- 
well for draining. 
ber the ground. Some of these are around build¬ 
ings, others in comers of fences or along fence 
rows, some are damp spots which could .not be 
plowed in season, or places where stone heaps or 
clumps of bushes prevent the working of the land. 
These unsightly blemishes ruin the appearance of 
the farm ; neatness is wanting, and disorder con¬ 
spicuous. To redeem these spots is but a trifling 
