494 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[NOVEMBER., 
A Leaf Fork. 
Mr. G. B. Dyer, Scott Co., Tenn., sends us 
a sketch of a leaf fork : The head piece 
is a y.rinch oak board, a, 5 inches wide 
and 22 inches long. Tough oak prongs, b, b, 
seven in number, are fastened in 3 / 4 -inch 
holes bored along the lower edge of the head 
piece. A cross piece, c, l'/Vinch wide, and 
a /i-inch thick, bevelled in front, is nailed on 
the under side of the prongs, 9 inches from 
the head. Two rods connect the ends of this 
piece, d, with the top of the head-piece, to give 
the necessary strength. The fork may be 
further braced by two side pieces, e, e, which 
run from the head to near the ends of the 
outside prongs. They also help to hold the 
leaves on the fork. The handle may be a stout 
round pole, split into three parts and fast¬ 
ened to the head, as shown in the engraving. 
Important to all Sending Poultry to 
Market. 0 
New York City receives a large amount of 
poultry at all times of the year, both for its 
own consumption, and for over a million 
residents in Brooklyn, Jersey City, Hoboken, 
etc., which get their chief supplies in the 
Metropolitan markets. On the approach of 
the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays, 
the receipts are enormous. In, former years 
we have given many hints to those sending 
poultry to this market, and emphasized the 
advice that the fowls should not be drawn, 
as they are for the Boston, Providence, and 
some other markets. But early in 1882 a 
strong effort was made by interested parties 
to secure a law requiring poultry to be drawn 
before sending it to market in this City. 
After much discussion, a compromise was 
effected, and the following ordinance was 
passed by the Board of Aldermen, and ap¬ 
proved by the Mayor, which should be ob¬ 
served by all sending poultry to New York : 
Section 1. That no turkeys or chickens 
be offered for sale in the City unless the 
crops of such turkeys and chickens are free 
from food or other substance and shrunken 
close to their bodies. That all fowls exposed 
for sale in violation of this ordinance shall be 
seized and condemned; such of them as shall 
be tainted shall, upon examination, be de¬ 
stroyed, and the rest fit for food shall be 
used in the public institutions of the City. 
Sec. 2. Every person exposing for sale 
any chicken or turkey in contravention of 
this ordinance shall be liable to a penalty of 
FIVE DOLLARS for each chicken or turkey 
so exposed for sale. Sec. 8. This ordinance 
shall take effect on the first day of Oct., 1882. 
This is much better than to require the 
poultry to be drawn, and may be complied 
with by keeping all poultry from food for 
12 hours before killing. After October 1st, 
all sending poultry to New York should 
strictly observe this ordinance; otherwise 
they may be subjected to heavy losses, and 
those receiving their consignments may be 
greatly damaged. Send the poultry un¬ 
drawn, but with empty crops, to be secured 
by 12 hours fasting before killing, as above. 
A Wire Gate. 
Mr. O. G. 'Nevins, Graham Co., Kans., 
writes us: On the plains here we use wire 
fences of necessity, and, as lumber is expen¬ 
sive (fence boards bringing $35 per M.), we 
even make a gate of wire. Provide two 
heavy fence posts; two stout poles for braces, 
10 feet long ; a round stick of tough wood, 5 
feet long and 2 inches through at the larger 
end; two iy a -inch pins, 8 inches long, and 
3 or 4 wires 8 inches longer than the width 
of the gateway. Set the posts firmly, and 
after placing the braces outside of the gate¬ 
way, attach the wires of the main fence. 
Bore 1 Yu-inch holes in that side of the post to 
which the wires are attached, and drive in 
A WIRE GATE. 
the pins. Fasten the gate wires to the other 
post with staples, and attach the loose ends 
to the five-foot pole. To shut the gate, take 
this pole or gate-head and put the lower end 
back of the lower pin, and spring the upper 
end behind the one above. If the wires are 
all of the right length they will be taut and 
firm. Two slats fastened to the gate wires 
will keep them from tangling. A short post 
set at one side of the gateway may be found 
convenient to hold the gate when open. 
A Supply of Parsley in Winter. 
Those who have a greenhouse Can readily 
keep up a supply of Parsley all winter, but 
it is not difficult to do this in the kitchen 
where it is to be used. A few leaves of Pars¬ 
ley used as a garnishing to a. dish of cold 
meats, etc., adds much brightness to the 
table, and Parsley is so useful in flavoring 
soups, etc., that it is worth the little trouble 
required to afford a supply through the colder 
months. Wherever there is room at a sunny 
window for pots, or a box of earth, a supply 
may be had. There are two methods of se¬ 
curing this : The seeds may be sown in pots 
or boxes of good soil, the sooner now the 
better. They are slow in germinating, and 
if they do not appear in four weeks one need 
not be discouraged. When well up, thin the 
plants so that they will be about three inches 
apart. As a general thing, a box is better 
than a pot, but in either case, watering and 
other care must be given as if it were a gera¬ 
nium in the parlor window. Another method 
is, to take up the plants that have been 
raised in the garden and set them in pots or 
boxes. In doing this, the long tap root may 
be cut off, and the outer leaves removed. 
When the plants get well established, a new 
growth will start and afford an abundance 
of leaves. After a while, these old plants 
will push up a flower stalk and cease to form 
new leaves; when they do this, they are of 
no further use. It may be well to have some 
plants raised from seed to take their places. 
Several years ago we described a beautiful 
object we saw in a friend’s greenhouse, and 
as it will, no doubt, be useful to many, we 
here give it again in brief : A small barrel, 
with its hoops well nailed, had its staves 
bored all over with inch holes (or larger), 
about six inches apart. Parsley was taken 
up from the garden and all the larger leaves 
removed. A layer of soil was placed in the 
barrel, and a root of Parsley put at each 
hole, with its top pointing outwards, with a 
few roots at the top. At the time we saw it, 
this was a perfect cylinder of green foliage, 
the leaves having grown and completely hid¬ 
den the barrel. If there is not room in. 
the kitchen for a barrel, use a small keg. 
A World-Wide Weed—The Canada 
• Flea-bane. 
A list of the weeds which infest cultivated 
grounds in this country, would probably 
show that nine-tenths of all were originally 
introduced from abroad—were foreigners. It 
is a singular fact that as aboriginal man has 
disappeared before the European, the native 
plants have, as a general thing, disappeared 
in the face of civilization, very few native 
species remaining to annoy the cultivator. 
Hence, as a rule, the weeds we have to con¬ 
tend with are those which have accompanied 
the settler from abroad, and which, finding 
a new soil and climate, have often flourished 
with an aggressive vigor not known to them 
in their own homes. But all rules have ex¬ 
ceptions, and in this case we have a most 
marked one in the Canada Flea-bane ( Eri- 
geron Canadense.) As may be supposed, with 
a plant found all over the country, this has 
several common names. Belonging to a 
genus known in Europe as “ Flea-bane,” it 
seems desirable to retain that name,, but in 
some localities it is known as “ Horse-weed.” 
In some Western States it is universally call¬ 
ed “ Mare’s-tail,” while at the South it is 
“ Colt’s-tail,” names which the shape of the 
plant niay in a measure warrant, but the 
origin of the name, “ Butter-weed,” as it is 
called in some Eastern States, is difficult to 
conjecture. In some places where it springs 
up in cleared land, we have known it to be 
called “Fire-weed,” a name given to several 
different plants. In Pennsylvania, this, and 
some related species, are known as “ Scabi¬ 
ous” and “Scavish,” names also given else¬ 
where to other plants. Of all these names, 
we prefer “ Canada Flea-bane,” as that has 
not been applied to any other plant. The 
genus Erigeron gets its name from the Greek 
for “ spring,” and “old-man,” as some of the 
species bloom in early spring and have an 
abundance of whitish hairs. The genus in¬ 
cludes about 100 species, mainly of temper¬ 
ate and mountainous regions. Most of them 
have the general appearance of an Aster, and 
they are only separated from that genus by 
minute botanical characters. Some of the 
Erigerons are so showy that they are culti-. 
