334, 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
[September, 
Pickling Seed-Grain.— The unusual presence of 
smut the present season, makes it desirable that more 
than usual care should be taken to free seed-grain from 
it before it is sown. The smut is produced—as was 
shown last month, on page 301—from a minute spore, 
which serves the purpose that seeds do in ordinary plants, 
and it is desirable to destroy the spores wherever they 
may occur. The grain can be cleansed and the smut 
spores destroyed by steeping it in a pickle of strong salt 
brine, or a solution of 4 ounces of Sulphate of Copper to 
a gallon of water. The seed may be put into a tub with 
the solution and steeped two hours ; or it may be put in¬ 
to a basket and the 
solution poured 
over it. This is 
an easy method 
and may be done 
as follows. Pro¬ 
cure a bench or a 
block upon which 
the basket may 
stand (see engrav¬ 
ing), arrange a 
sloping board, up¬ 
on which the bas¬ 
ket of seed is 
placed, so that the 
liquid will drip 
from the board 
into a pail after it 
has washed the 
seed. The pickle 
poured upon the 
seed in the basket method op pickling grain. 
flows through it 
and washes much of the smut from it, carrying it 
down the board and into the pail. The pail is covered 
with a piece of folded flannel or blanket, and the pickle 
filtering through this leaves much of the smut on the fil¬ 
tering cloth. When the dripping ceases, the liquid in 
the pail is again poured upon the seed and it is again 
washed. After it is drained, it may be spread upon the 
barn-floor and dried with a few handfuls of dry lime. 
Annual Growth of Trees.— Mr. N. S. Britton, 
of Staten Island, in experiments with 22 species of trees, 
finds the White Willow the most rapid grower, with 
Apple, Norway Spruce, Ailanthus, Catalpa and Cherry 
next in the order given. 
Tlic Ain, Pomological Society. — Fruit¬ 
growers should remember that this is the bearing year of 
this Society, and that the harvest will be gathered at 
Rochester, N. Y., this month, the 17th to 20th. This So¬ 
ciety is perfectly free from anything like exclusiveness, 
and welcomes to its membership all who are interested 
in fruits, whether they be large cultivators, small culti¬ 
vators, or no cultivators at all. We* especially wish to 
encourage amateurs and beginners in fruit knowledge to 
become members, as we are sure that, aside from the 
value of the regular proceedings, they will find great 
benefit from meeting and conferring with others engaged 
in the same pursuits. Besides, a Society like this needs 
a constant accession of new members—of young blood, 
to keep up its life and maintain its usefulness. Let no 
one hold himself aloof because he feels that his opera¬ 
tions are too small for him to rank himself as a Pomolo- 
gist. The biennial fee is $4—and that entitles one to the 
volume of Transactions, which is well worth the money. 
A Persistent Weed.— In 1865, Solon Robinson 
brought us a specimen of the “ Bladder Campion” (Silene 
inflata ), with the in¬ 
formation that it was 
spreading rapidly in 
Westchester Co., N. 
Y., and promised to 
become a great pest. 
We at the time gave 
an engraving of the 
plant (see Sept. 1865, 
p. 217,1 that it might 
be recognized, and 
warned farmers 
against it. Recently, 
a friend from the 
same County brought 
us a specimen to 
name, and from his 
account we find that FLOWERS OF BLADDER 
it has fully met its campion. 
early promise of mischief; it has taken possession of his 
lawn, and is establishing itself in cultivated grounds. 
Its root is large, and runs down for several feet, making 
it almost impossible to grub it up. Whatever else may 
be done, let it, wherever it appears, be prevented from 
seeding. It has opposite, pointed leaves, and a cluster 
of small, white, pink-like flowers, the calyx to which be¬ 
comes bladdery or inflated; this, which is its distinguish¬ 
ing character, is shown in the engraving here given of a 
few flowers somewhat smaller than the natural size. 
Oranges and Lemons.— The reports show that 
for the fiscal year ending with June last the Oranges and 
Lemons brought into the port of New York had a money 
value of over $2,000,800, and paid a duty of about 
$560,000. The duty upon these fruits is 20 per cent, 
which is sufficient to give the growers in Florida and the 
other Gulf States, as well as in Southern California, great 
encouragement. The American grower of these fruits 
has not only this duty in his favor, but another agent 
that no change in the tariff can affect. Of the Oranges 
imported, about 36 per cent, and of the Lemons, about 
20 per cent, were lost by decay during the voyage from 
foreign ports. The cultivation of these fruits in Florida 
has been much retarded by the foolishly extravagant ac¬ 
counts of land speculators. It is now becoming estab¬ 
lished as a regular industry, and those who went to 
Florida, supposing that Oranges and Lemons could be 
grown without labor, are giving way to those who are 
willing to work and wait. Under the more healthful con¬ 
ditions which the culture has assumed, we look for a large 
increase of these fruits from Florida aud other Gulf States. 
The Tomato has been the most unfortunate of all 
our vegetables. Those familiar with its early history can 
recollect that it had only fairly become popular when it 
was accused of various medicinal properties. The inno¬ 
cent fruit was charged with acting upon the liver like Calo¬ 
mel, and some chap produced a quack medicine, “ To¬ 
mato Pills,” which, to the credit of the people be it said, 
soon died a natural death. After the nonsense about its 
medicinal qualities had died out, and tho tomato became 
a generally acceptable article of food, one Dio Lewis, 
who every now and then turns up in a new phase, dis¬ 
covered that tomatoes were injurious to the teeth. This 
is not so singular as that sensible people were found to 
believe it, and forego the use of tomatoes. The only way 
in which tomatoes can injure the teeth is by the action of 
the acid they contain during the process of eating them. 
Teeth that will stand uninjured the ordinary use of vin¬ 
egar, lemons, rhubarb, gooseberries, and other sour 
fruits, have nothing to apprehend from tomatoes. Celery 
is likely to be the next victim of these remarkable physi¬ 
ologists—we believe they call themselves hygienists, or 
by some such name. It has already reached the first 
stage, and has been accused of being medicinal—to cure 
something, we have forgotten what. Soon it will be dis¬ 
covered to have some very bad quality; yet in spite of 
these remarkable reformers, the world "will go on and 
eat tomatoes, celery, or whatever else is good. 
Sowing Oats witli Winter Wheat.— Some 
farmers, whose land is exposed to sweeping winds, have 
tried the sowing of one bushel of oats with their winter 
grain as a protection to that against the excessive cold 
and exposure. The oats grow up much more rapidly 
than the wheat and help to shade and protect it. When 
killing frosts occur, the oats perish, but in falling, still 
cover the wheat with their mantle of straw, and the pro¬ 
tection remains through the winter, sheltering the wheat- 
roots. The little that is drawn from the soil by the 
oats is returned to it by their decay, and the benefit to 
the wheat is apparent when growth begins in the spring. 
Tl»e Early Peach “ Waterloo.”— Last year 
we gave an engraving of the “ Waterloo ” peach, from 
specimens grown upon the original tree in Seneca Co., 
N. Y., and picked July 10th. Messrs. Ellwanger & Barry, 
Rochester, N. Y., sent ns specimens this year, on August 
1st, but the mail did not deliver them until the 5tli. At 
least a day must have been required to get them from 
Waterloo to Rochester, and the fruit was evidently six 
days from the tree when we received it; it shows, as we 
noticed last yeaf, remarkable keeping qualities. Even 
August 1st is very early for any peach to ripen so far 
north, and the sending of the specimens when they might 
have been withheld, shows that Messrs. E. & B. are will - 
ing to have the fruit seen at its worst, as well as at its 
best. Messrs. Ellwanger & Barry, write, Aug. 1st: 
“ We send you by mail to-day, specimens of the ‘ Water¬ 
loo’ peach. The fruit is not quite so large as it was 
last season, owing to the tree being overloaded. It has 
also ripened about ten days later than last year. We find 
this to be the case with all the very early peaches that we 
have seen thus far. Mr. Davidson's (of Painesville, Ohio), 
seedling, sent us last summer, was ripe July 9th, and 
measured 7 inches in circumference. This year, those 
sent, arrived on the 29th of July, were not yet entirely 
ripe, and measured inches in circumference, showing 
a marked difference in size and time of ripening as com¬ 
pared with last year. ‘ Cumberland ’ and ‘ Musser,’ 
received from H. M. Engle & Son, Marietta, Pa., July 
26th, measured 6i and 6} inches in circumference. We 
think there is no doubt that the 1 Waterloo ’ is the larg¬ 
est of the very early peaches. We hope soon to have 
trees of our own in bearing, when we can give them the 
necessary attention. The original tree in Mr. Lisk's gar¬ 
den, where these specimens were grown, has no chance 
to ripen its fruit early—besides, far too mauy specimens 
were allowed to remain upon the tree which is yet quite 
young. It should be added that the tree was cut back 
severely last August, in order to obtain every bud possi¬ 
ble for propagation. This is, we think, one reason why 
the fruit is smaller and later than usual.” 
Frog Farming.— A Mr. Soule, of Elgin, Ill., is in 
his third year of frog farming, and his first crop is now 
being marketed. He has an acre and a quarter devoted 
to the frog industry. The kind grown is the “ Goslin 
frog,” much larger than the common sort. Mr. S. will, 
next season, furnish St. Louis, Chicago, and Cincinnati, 
with frogs, and is confident of success in the business. 
Sending Insects by Mail.— We must again re¬ 
mind our friends that a large share of the insects sent us. 
arrive in a perfectly useless state, from being put into 
paper boxes which are almost certain to be crushed in 
the mail. Boxes of wood 
or of tin are not difficult 
to procure, and these 
bring their contents in 
safety. If boxes can not 
be had, old fruit or tomato 
cans are always procura¬ 
ble. Heat these until the 
solder melts, knock out j,. ^ 
the ends, and straighten ' 
out the piece that forms the body of the can. These cans 
are of very thin tin, that may be easily cut with a pair of 
strong shears. Cut out a piece like fig. 1, according to 
the size of the box; cut out the corners as shown by the" 
dotted lines; now turn up 
the sides, and you will have 
a box or tray, as in fig. 2. 
Make a similar one, just a 
trifle larger, the sides of 
which are not to be so deep, 
j'jg_ for a cover. This will form a 
box that will go in the mails 
for a long distance with safety. A block of wood with 
a hole bored in if, with a plug or cork to close the hole, 
answers well for a single insect, or several small ones. 
Corn Smut.—“H. F. L.,” Sauk City, Wis., sends 
us a box of “ diseased corn,” for a name and a remedy. 
The trouble is caused by a parasitic fungus, Ustilago 
Maydis, commonly called “Corn Smut.” This fungus 
usually attacks the ear, changing the grain to a swollen 
mass, filled with a dark, brown, dusty powder; but some¬ 
times, as in the present case, it also appears upon the 
leaves, “tassel,” and joints of the stalk. The only rem¬ 
edy is to cut off all affected parts, whenever and wherever 
they appear, and burn them, thus destroying the spores. 
Cattle should not be allowed to eat the corn fodder af¬ 
fected by the smut, as, in considerable quantities, it has 
been known to produce serious diseases. 
American Horses in Franco.— A small ship¬ 
ment of American horses from Richmond, Ind., arrived 
in Havre a short time ago, and were at once accepted for 
the French Cavalry, at two hundred and twenty to two 
hundred and sixty-five dollars per head, the highest price- 
paid for remounts. The demand for horses in the French 
Cavalry service, as well as for other purposes, together 
with the perfect success of this first shipment, teaches us 
that we have here another valuable item of export, and 
the sooner our people know it, the better. At the figures 
given, we can successfully compete with Germany, Rus¬ 
sia, or any other country, and our Western horse raisers 
would do well to make a note to this effect. 
Salt on Melons.— “D. C. M.,” Trenton, Out. So 
little is positively known about the action of salt as a 
fertilizer, except upon grain crops, that you will have to 
experiment for yourself as to its effects upon melons 
upon your soil. We shall be glad to learn the result. 
High and Lour Priced Wools.— From Mau- 
ger & Avery’s monthly circular, July 15, we notice that 
the only class of wools for which there has been a steady 
demand at firm prices, is that known as Territory wools. 
These wools, grown chiefly on the plains, run from 15 to 
25 cents per pound ; while Ohio x, to xxx, sell for 36 to 
42 cents. The difference in cost is greatly in favor of 
the cheap wools, to say nothing of their ready salability. 
After all, there may be the most money in cheap goods, 
and this is a point to be studied in all its bearings. 
The Largest Fleece of Wool.— “O. E. P.,” 
N. Y. The largest fleece of wool ever shown, is undoubt¬ 
edly that cut in California about 5 years ago, and which 
weighed 52 lbs. Tiiis fleece, however, was supposed to 
be the growth of two years, and had a large proportion 
of dust and yolk in it. Fleeces of 34 or 36 lbs., are not 
uncommon among aged Merino rams, but of this four- 
fifths or five-sixths, usually consists of grease and yolk_ 
