1882.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
265 
“Consumption.”— Important Discover- 
ies.—It is estimated that one-seventh of all the deaths 
of the human race are due to tubercular disease, and 
that one-third of all who die in middle age are carried 
off from this cause! We never admit advertisements of 
medicines for “consumption,” because we consider all 
such nostrums valueless, when not injurious. Skilful 
medical treatment may modify suffering, and sometimes 
delay the fatality of the disease for years. Consump¬ 
tion has long been classed as one of the human mala¬ 
dies rarely curable, though some expert physicians have 
recently been successful in this direction, to a limited 
extent, when the disease has been taken in hand during 
its earlier stages. But medical investigations are now 
carried on with greater energy than ever before, and 
medical science is advancing with wonderful rapidity, as 
compared with any past period of the world's history. 
Recent discoveries make it possible to arrest splenic 
fever, which has been so destructive of cattle and other 
domestic animals, by inoculation, similar in its action 
to that of vaccination for small-pox.—And now we have 
the most interesting and important announcement that 
Dr. Koch, of Berlin, after a long series of patient in¬ 
vestigations and experiments, has discovered the cause 
of consumption, and the way the disease is dissemi¬ 
nated. Prof. Tyndall reports upon this discovery in the 
“London Times,” and is convinced of its reliability. 
Without going into details, we will explain briefly that 
it is thought to be proved that tubercles in the lungs of 
consumptives are due to an animated, minute rod-shaped 
parasite, that multiplies with great rapidity, and that 
may be transferred from one person to another by in¬ 
oculation, and by inhalation. By impregnating these 
parasites with a special dye, Dr. Koch has been able to 
detect them, to watch their operations, to transfer them 
to many animals, to breed them—five successive genera¬ 
tions in fifty-four days—and to perform a large number 
of most remarkable experiments. This discovery prom¬ 
ises to be one of the most important of the age, and of 
far-reaching consequences. If the cause of consumption 
and its mode of transfer he discovered, its cure, by 
timely inoculation with cultivated or modified virus, or 
by other means, will probably quickly follow. The fur¬ 
ther developments in this direction will be watched with 
intense interest by the entire medical profession—in¬ 
deed by the whole human race. And well may it be so, 
if we can now indulge a hope of successfully combat¬ 
ting a disease that is annually sending to the grave more 
victims than war and pestilence, and more than any 
other human ailment; a disease that, as stated above 
is the direct cause of one-seventh of all human deaths 
-the slayer of one-third of all who die in middle life. 
The Sugar of the Maple Where Stored.— 
“A. J. P.” asks: “What part of the tree does the sap, 
or sugar water come from—the roots or the branches? ” 
In general terms, material for the future growth of the 
tree is provided during the previous summer, and is 
stored in the form of starch, or some closely related sub¬ 
stance. In spring, when it is necessary to carry this nu¬ 
triment to the buds, where new growth will take place, 
the starch is changed into sugar. Starch is not soluble 
in cold water, and is usually the form in which material 
for future growth is stored. It is readily converted into 
sugar, which is very soluble, when it is to be conveyed 
where it is needed in the growth of the plant, and there 
converted into the material of which the new stems, 
leaves, etc , are built up. Sugar does not exist, as such, 
in the roots and branches of the tree, but in the sap; and 
when this is intercepted by cutting some of the carrying 
tubes, it flows out, and the sugar is obtained by boiling— 
that is, driving off the water by heat. 
Sugar from Sorglmm.— The “National Acad¬ 
emy of Sciences ” is our most important scientific asso¬ 
ciation, and is, in a sense, an official one, as it bears 
certain relations to the Government. In view of the 
increasing importance of Sorghum as a source of sugar, 
the Academy last year appointed a committee to inves¬ 
tigate the matter. Professor Silliman, the chairman, 
m a letter to Dr. T. G. Richardson, of Louisiana, 
states that the committee have examined the published, 
and especially the unpublished, investigations of Dr. 
Collier, Chemist to the Department of Agriculture, and 
that he is so far convinced of the importance of Sor¬ 
ghum as a source of sugar, as to advise planting it in 
those southern localities where the recent floods have 
destroyed the fields of Sugar Cane. His advice is 
founded upon results obtained from “Early Amber 
■Cane,” while the “ Early Orange ” seems to be still 
more promising. One of the most interesting points of 
ibis letter is the statement, on the authority of Col. H. 
B. Richards, of LaGrange, Texas, that the “ Orange ” 
cane becomes perennial in Texas, the shoots from last 
year’s stubble having been, on April 8th, far ahead of 
any cane from seed. Should the Sorghum become really 
perennial in Texas, Louisiana, etc., it may revolutionize 
sugar culture in the cane-growing States. The great 
difficulty in growing Sorghum in the Northern States, is 
the small size and weakness of the young plants, as theji 
are at first difficult -to distinguish from grass. Late sow¬ 
ing, so that the plant will grow rapidly from the start, 
is for this reason better than too early sowing. The 
introduction of the “Early Amber” has revived the 
interest in Sorghum culture ; it has, on undoubted au¬ 
thority, yielded from 1,000 to 2,000 lbs. of fair sugar to 
the acre, with 20 to 25 gallons of syrup, besides an im¬ 
portant product of seed. This seems to be the earliest 
variety, and in a climate similar to that of Washington, 
matures in 90 days. Can farmers produce their own 
sugar? is a question that will be asked. As we have 
formerly.suggested, sugar can only be produced by the 
use of more expensive apparatus than a single farmer 
would care to purchase, and it requires skilled labor. 
The proper way, as in the oase of cheese factories and 
creameries, is for farmers to unite, put up and equip a 
sugar-making establishment. The farmer can readily 
make a superior syrup from the “ Early Amber,” vastly 
better than any ever made from the older sorts of Sor¬ 
ghum. For this he will need a mill and an evaporator. 
These are made by several establishments which adver¬ 
tise them, and will send circulars that can be compared. 
One manufactory will answer for several neighbors, and 
co-operation will be economical. 
A liemarkable EScar.—The number of odd 
things that are*sent to a New York commission dealer 
in the course of a year, would make up a curious cata¬ 
logue. "We often find, besides those animals ordinarily 
regarded as “game,” living Alligators, Horned Owls, 
Opossums, etc., and lately there was the carcass of a 
fine Brown or Cinnamon Bear hanging at a store. 
Upon inquiry, we learned that the bear was sent from 
the mountains of western Pennsylvania. As this bear, 
formerly considered as a distinct species, hut now re¬ 
garded as only a variety of the common Black Bear, is 
not known east of the Rocky Mountains, we thought 
that there must be some mistake about it, and that pos¬ 
sibly it had been a tame specimen. Upon further in¬ 
quiry of the sender, Seeley Bovier, of Bradford Co., 
Pa., he replied in substance, that the animal was killed 
by him on the “South Mountain Range," in Lycoming 
Co. Mr. B., who is an old hunter and trapper, had never 
seen such an animal before. He states that all last sum¬ 
mer the people of that sparsely settled district had been 
alarmed at a strange animal, which followed men, wo¬ 
men and children who were out after dark, and would 
sometimes come very near them, making a frightful 
noise. From the occasional glimpses had of the ani¬ 
mal, it was decided that it was a panther. Mr. B. is 
convinced that this bear, which he shot on April 12, was 
the mysterious animal. He writes that he was the most 
ferocious of all the bears he ever killed. Feeling sure 
that the occurrence of a Cinnamon Bear in this locality 
must be of interest to naturalists, we wrote to Prof. 
Baird, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, the 
above statement. He at once telegraphed to purchase 
the animal and forward it to Washington. Prof. B. 
afterwards wrote that the specimen was a remarkably 
fine one, and was a welcome addition to their collection, 
which, full as it is in our native animals, had not before 
included the rare Cinnamon Bear. 
Covering Taud with “Greenbacks.”— 
Those living on tne “boundless prairies,” where the 
government gives a farm to every man or woman who 
will take it, live on it and work it, and where any 
amount of land can be bought for a very few shillings 
or dollars per acre, will open their eyes pretty wide on 
seeing the price paid the other day for a plot of ground 
in New York City, on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 
54th Street. It is four “ city lots ” 25 by 100 feet, or just 
100 feet square, making 10.000 square feet, which is less 
than a quarter of an acre—(an acre is 43,560 square feet). 
Mr. W. H. Vanderbilt bought the plot to build a couple 
of houses on it for two married daughters, and the cash 
paid for this quarter acre was $396,000, or at the rate of 
over a million and a half dollars per acre ($1,581,000 per 
acre).—The ordinary greenback bills, somewhat closely 
trimmed, are 14- inches long, and 3 1 /, 5 inches wide, hav¬ 
ing 22 square inches of surface; six and a half bills lack 
but an inch of covering or “carpeting” a square foot. 
A little figuring will show that the price paid for Mr. 
V.’s plot would just about cover it all over with one- 
dollar bills, laid six deep, or cover it with $5 bills, and 
spread $1 bills all over these ! 
“ No Shoe, No Horse,” runs the old saw, but I 
say “nay—that is not true.”—Not a nail has been driven 
in any hoof in my stable since February, 1881. I had 
four young horses, one in contant use, two others used 
frequently single and double, in all weathers and in all 
conditions of the roads. Two old horses were about 
two months in getting good feet under them on account 
of their shelly hoofs—made so by nails. Their feet 
finally became hard, and just as tough as the colts’. They 
were used all the time, did all the farm work and “ team¬ 
ing,” until I sold one and loaned the other. With more 
horses than I needed, no me was worked very much. 
The feet of the old horses were worn a good deal, but 
not enough to need shoeing; the colts had to have their 
feet rasped off and shaped now and then. If I had had 
much more work for them, no doubt “ toe-clips " would 
have been needed—and if we had had a very icy time 
I would have had a set of steel shoes of the “ Good- 
enough” pattern tacked on one horse “all around." 
We took great comfort in driving ; the horses certainly 
stood up better than if shod and the calks had worn a 
little smooth. They did not “ ball up,” in soft snow, in 
the least. They did not throw snow balls back into the 
sleigh. They travelled without wincing over the rough¬ 
est. frozen roads, and I have not known of a slip or a 
stumble all winter. So much for the experiment of 
which I wrote last summer.— Mason C. Weld. 
Traps for tl»e June ESugs. — “A. F. N.,” 
Beaver Dam, Wis. There is probably no better trap 
than that given in Nov. last, page 489, which is a French 
invention with Yankee improvements. This throws a 
powerful light in all directions and attracts insects from 
a distance. A cheap trap is to cut a barrel in halves to 
make two deep tubs, and place a few inches of water in 
the bottom of each, and set a lamp of some kind in 
the center. It will be well to fix some kind of a 
shield at a little distance above the top of the lamp 
chimney to prevent the bugs from falling into it and 
thus interfering with the flame. 
lieepiMg Pop-Corn.—“H. T. W.” Always keep 
the corn on the cob, and in a cool place. If shelled, it 
loses its moisture sooner, and after a while will not pop 
well, as there is not water enough to make the steam 
which bursts it open. If kept on the ear in a hot, dry 
room, it will, in a week or two, be very unsatisfactory. 
The crib where other corn is kept is a good place for pop¬ 
corn, or it may be put in any room where there is no fire. 
Those SSad Sparrows.— There was much satis¬ 
faction, fora few years, with the result of introducing 
the English Sparrows into New York City, and soon after 
into other cities and into many villages. They destroyed 
the caterpillars or “ measure worms,” which were annu¬ 
ally doing great injury to our shade trees. But the 
sparrows have multiplied so rapidly that they have be¬ 
come a serious nuisance, and effective measures are al¬ 
ready necessary to reduce their numbers. Once in 
possession of any place they drive off nearly all the 
native songsters, while they themselves afford no 
sweet music, and they are, moreover,homely birds at best. 
And worse still, they destroy many seeds, and grains, 
and attack most kinds of fruits and garden vegetables. 
—In the mild climate of Australia they have so multi¬ 
plied that a Government Commission was appointed to 
look into the matter. The report of this Commission 
recommends active and prompt measures for the destruc¬ 
tion of the Sparrows, before they have another season’s 
multiplication, such as rewards for their eggs and heads, 
poisoned water in summer, and sulphur fumes under 
their roosts at night, plaster of PariB mixed with oat 
meal, etc. The report says, “the sparrows are increas¬ 
ing at an astonishing and alarming rate, under despair¬ 
ing conditions to the cultivator, that he can not control; 
the seed is taken out of the ground, the fruit buds off 
the trees, the sprouting vegeiable as fast as it grows, 
and the fruit ere it is ripe.”_“They attack apricots, 
cherries, figs, apples, grapes, peaches, plums, pears, nec¬ 
tarines, loquats, olives, wheat and barley, peas, cab¬ 
bages, cauliflowers, and garden seed ...” 
More About “Graliam Gems.”—Mrs. “H.,” 
Caldwell, N. J., writes that to make perfect gems, the 
essentials are: Cast-iron gem pans, good Hour, and a very 
hot oven—one that would burn anything else. She 
directs: 1 egg, well beaten: 1 cup cold water; 1 cup 
sweet milk; a little salt. Stir into these enough 
Graham flour to make it too thick to pour, but just drop 
from the spoon. Place the gem pans on the top of the 
stove until they are heated, drop in the mixture, aijd 
bake from 20 to 30 minutes in the hot oven. 
Pruning Knives. —We have recently tried a 
pruning-knife made here, which shows that we need 
not depend upon England for such implements. It 
requires long usage to properly judge of the material, 
but appearances are in its favor ; strength is evident, 
and so is good shape. One important point has evi¬ 
dently been considered, the handle fills and fits the 
hand ; no matter how good a pruning-knife may be. 
unless the handle is a handful, it will be tiresome to 
work with. This knife, which also has a budding-blade, 
and another for general use, is made by Maher & Grosh. 
Toledo, Ohio, whose knives and cutlery of other 
kinds have already acquired reputation elsewhere. 
