1882.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
307 
Buying Seed Wlieat.— A correspondent in one 
•of the richest wheat-growing sections in Pennsylvania 
-writes ns about a certain seed wheat which farmers in 
his section have bought at the rate of $5 a bushel, to the 
amount of several thousand dollars. Observe that the 
inquiry comes after the farmers have bought, and after 
each one has signed an agreement to pay the above price 
on delivery. As to the merits of the wheat we have 
nothing to say, as it is of a variety with which we are 
not acquainted and is not known to our dealers in seed 
grain. Weare informed that “ the seller is a good talker ” 
and the samples are “a very pretty wheat,” both of 
which statements are very probable. But how can the 
.farmers in “ a rich wheat-growing community ” buy 
seed wheat, upon the quality of which their prosperity 
depends, of a heretofore unknown kind, and of a perfect 
stranger 1 The man must indeed be “ a good talker ” to 
talk a community of wheat-growers into doing this. As 
the seed can not be delivered before it is harvested,there 
would have been abundant time to inquire about it be¬ 
fore signing the agreements to take it. The wheat may 
he all right, and worth the large price asked for it, but 
they have no proof that such is the fact. 
The Goldsmith Beetle.— A young lady at Ne- 
pang, Conn., writes us that she has read what we have 
said about the June-bugs, and would like to know “ about 
a beetle of similar shape, but larger, with gold and sil¬ 
very markings.” This beetle, popularly known as 
“ Gold-bug ’’.and “Goldsmith Beetle ” (Cotalpa lanigera ), 
is so common in New England and elsewhere that it is 
strange that so little is known of its history. Their 
gilded appearance at once distinguishes them from all 
related beetles. They have remarkably sharp claws, by 
means of which they cling to and hide themselves under 
the leaves of trees during the middle of the day ; at twi¬ 
light they are very active and feed upon various fruit 
and forest trees. Beyond the fact that the female lays 
her eggs in the ground, that the larva lives there and has 
been known to injure the roots of the Strawberry, little 
is recorded in the books. It would be a very useful 
work for some of our young naturalists to watch this in¬ 
sect and endeavor to complete its history. 
A Paper-File, or Binder.— Mr. J. Beattie, 
Caldwell Co., Kansas, writes us: “ There are many who 
wish to preserve certain papers or magazines (like the 
Agriculturist , for instance), but who, like myself, can ill 
afford the $1.00 or $1.50 charged by the hook-binders. 
A short article on book-binding, such as could he done 
at home, would be very acceptable.”—In the American 
Agriculturist for March, 1879, we gave an illustration of 
a simple home-made binder for magazines. It consists 
of four pieces of hard-wood, with two holes in each. 
These are placed in pairs, with the papers between 
them, and held firmly together by cords which pass 
through the papers and the holes in the wooden pieces. 
If sheets of pasteboard of the size of the magazine are 
provided as covers, they will aid materially in keeping 
the numbers in a neat condition. 
Sale of Mr. Simpson’s Jerseys.— This was 
the second annual sale of selections from the Simpson 
herd, and consisted of young stock bulls and heifers of 
his own breeding, with a number of exceedingly good 
imported cows, chiefly in calf to “Mercury,” the fa¬ 
mous and only living son of “Alphea” and “Jupiter,” 
at the head of Mr. Simpson’s herd. The number of 
animals offered was 37—12 bulls and 25 cows and heifers 
of all ages. The cows averaged $615.75 in price, and the 
bulls nearly $444. The highest price for a cow was 
$2,300, paid by Paul Sgobel, Esq., of Hyde Park, 
N. Y., for “Alphea Queen” (13,732), and the highest 
price for a bull was $1,650, paid for “ Zalmas Mercury ” 
<6,983), by H. S. Muldro, Esq., of Washington, D. C. 
This sale was held at the Simpson Homestead, within 
the limits of the City of New York, in what is known 
as “ the annexed district,” which lies north of Harlem 
River, a beautiful spot, within easy reach by elevated 
and surface railroads. The day was superb. The cat¬ 
tle, in neat temporary stalls, in two rows, under a great 
tent, could be inspected and handled conveniently. A 
bountiful collation satisfied appetites rendered keen by 
exercise and the bracing air. Then at noon, or shortly 
after, the famous bulls “Mercury” and “Hex” were 
exhibited on the lawn, and with them a young bull 
named “ Fame,” certainly a most beautiful animal, and 
famous for his broad and high “escutcheon,” of the 
first-class Flauderin type. The sale drew together many 
earnest breeders of Jerseys, though some were con¬ 
spicuously absent. Prices averaged rather high, but it 
was a very good place to buy, for excellent things, of 
both sexes, with famous pedigrees, sold within the 
-reach of any breeder. Neither in the catalogue nor at 
the sale was there any “buncombe,” or effort to work 
up prices. As at the Kellogg sales all sales were ab¬ 
solute, there was no by-bidding or upset prices, and 
everybody seemed gratified and happy. It was like a 
great family party, and we shall not soon forget the 
scene on the lawn in the fresh green and bloom of May, 
gay with tents and carriages, ladies and children, and 
the two or three hundred guests, bidders and buyers, 
seated under a second spacious tent, enjoying the jokes 
and bulls of the jolly auctioneer. 
Bust on Wheat.- The yellow or orange-colored 
dust that forms on the leaves and stems of wheat 
shortly before reaping time, is caused by a minute 
fungus. The fungus-plant attacks the wheat some 
weeks before it makes its appearance, and fills the in¬ 
terior substance of the leaves and stems with its fine 
threads. These threads act as roots, by means of which 
the fungus or rust-plant obtains its nourishment from 
the substance of the growing wheat-plant. There is no 
remedy for the rust after it has once appeared upon the 
surface of the wheat. The most effective preventive is 
blue vitriol or blue-stone (sulphate of copper), two or 
three ounces of this salt to a bushel of wheat. The 
wheat is soaked in the brine for a short time before 
sowing. There has been much energy expended in the 
endeavor to find some variety of wheat that is rust¬ 
proof. Prof. Brewer, who has charge of the grain sta¬ 
tistics in the late census, finds many districts where a 
variety of wheat has sprung up, that for a year or so 
is almost rust-proof, but afterwards it becomes infested 
the same as other sorts. As a precaution, it is well to 
burn the stubble, thus destroying many spores that 
would otherwise germinate and continue the pest. 
Tlie Death of James Vick occurred at Roch¬ 
ester in May last. Mr. Yick was of English birth, but he 
soon thoroughly identified himself with horticulture in 
this country. He was one of the first to avail himself of 
the new postal laws regarding the transmission of seeds, 
and his business by mail was remarkably large. He was 
at times editorially connected with the “ Rural New 
Yorker” and the “Horticulturist,” and in the later 
years of his life published a horticultural monthly of 
his own. Those who have had the good fortune to be 
acquainted with Mr. Yick, do not need to be told of his 
genial qualities or of his devotion to horticulture in all 
its departments. In Rochester, one of the chief centers 
of horticulture in this country, his active presence will 
be greatly missed, and all over the country a vast num¬ 
ber of correspondents, who never saw him, will feel 
his loss as a personal bereavement. 
Ants in the Lawn.- Before us are three letters, 
the purport of which maybe summed up: “Ants have 
established themselves in our lawn ; how can we get rid 
of them?”—Our Ant experience is not very encour¬ 
aging ; the writer once lived in Texas, where Ants can 
not be ignored. In the front yard of our house were two 
ant-hills, one on each side of the path leading from the 
front door to the gate. We directed the cook to always 
have a supply of boiling water ; this was applied several 
times a day, and the Ants seemed to like it. Other in¬ 
secticides, including turpentine and chloroform, were 
tried, but when we came away the colonies seemed to be 
in a flourishing condition. Since then the Persian In¬ 
sect Powder (Pyrethrum), has come into use, and we 
have great hopes of this an an agent in destroying Ants 
in the lawn. An infusion of it has been found useful. 
Hair on the Upper Uip. —A correspondent in 
a Western State puts his case essentially as follows: 
“ I have a lady friend who has spent several years of 
genuine, smothered-up misery, because she imagine* 
there is on her upper lip just a trifle too much ‘ down,’ 
—too good a showing for a future moustache. She came 
to me in an agony of despair, and wanted me to write to 
those who advertise preparations to remove superfluous 
hair. I told her I believed them all to be dangerous, but 
promised to write you, and ask if there is any safe and 
effective remedy for too'much “ down ” on a girl’s upper 
lip.”—We have had other inquiries of similar purport, 
and would say, so far as we are aware, all depilatories, as 
hair-removing preparations are called, are either prepara¬ 
tions of arsenic , or strong alkaline sulphides. The 
arsenical compounds are too dangerous to be used under 
any circumstances; the Sulphide of Barium, and other 
sulphides, are very corrosive, and are apt to cause great 
pain, though they are not so dangerous as those contain¬ 
ing arsenic. While these will destroy the hair, we can 
not commend them, as they are not at all satisfactory. 
With dark hair, the small portion, or “ root,” that still 
remains in the skin, shows very distinctly, presenting a 
much more unpleasant appearance than the hair itself, 
and conspicuously advertises that an attempt has been 
made to remove it. It is a misfortune to a young lady, 
and often the source of much mortification to have such 
a growth of hair on the face; but if one has solid ac¬ 
quirements, sweetness of character, and self-forgetful¬ 
ness, she need not fear that any one whose esteem is of 
value, will think any the less of her for that which 
she can not prevent. It is better to accept what nature 
has given, than to attempt to remove it by application^ 
which may be dangerous, and are rarely successful.—Wj 
may add, that in two instances, where very worthy ladies 
of our acquaintance were troubled with a few straggling 
hairs upon the face, perhaps 75 to 100 of them in all, 
they used a pair of tweezers and drew out the separate 
hairs by the roots with a quick jerk, taking only a few 
at a time. Cologne-water applied and a dusting of com¬ 
mon face powder or corn starch soon stopped the slight 
pain produced by this operation. 
Write When You Send.— We have a dozen or 
more specimens of plants, stones, etc., that have been 
sent to be named, and no doubt the senders think that 
they are badly treated because they get no response. 
Yet, out of this whole lot, there is not one to the owner¬ 
ship of which we have the slightest clue. Whenever 
our friends send specimens, it will be safer, even if it 
does cost them a trifle more, to inclose their letter in the 
parcel, and send the whole by letter postage. When this 
is done, we have the whole story before us, and can 
reply by mail or in the paper, as seems best. 
Uate Fodder-Corn.— Corn sowed early in July 
in good soil, in drills, with some compost of yard ma¬ 
nure, or fertilizer like superphosphate, a fish or flesh 
manure, in the drill, will be in exactly the best condi¬ 
tion for cutting and curing for winter fodder by the time 
of early frosts—say September 15th. The system which 
it is best to follow, depends upon the kind of manure at 
hand. If that he a well-rotted, fine compost of yard 
manure, or of other nitrogenous substances not likely 
to burn the seed by fermenting, make furrows about 
four or five inches deep, thirty inches apart, and spread 
the manure in them liberally. Scatter in the seed by 
hand or by seed-drill, at the rate of 24 to 30 kernels to 
the running foot. When we must depend upon some 
commercial fertilizer, we have our choice between 
guano, a nitrogenized superphosphate, fish manure, 
“tankings,” or something of the kind. Such are well 
called “ hand manures ” sometimes, and when spread in 
the drills with rather a liberal hand, using 250 to 600 lbs. 
to the acre, according to the strength of She fertilizer, 
it should be mixed with the soil in some convenient 
way before sowing the corn. Cover seed lightly with a 
plow. A convenient implement for mixing a fertilizer 
in the drill is made in a few minutes where red-cedar 
trees abound, by taking a stem about eight feet long, 
having branches on all sides, and trimming them off, 
leaving strong spurs about six inches long. This, 
dragged by a horse, butt-end foremost, and guided by a 
rope or chain attached to the small end, will completely 
mix the fertilizer with the soil in the drill. The guide- 
rope in the hand of the driver is important, for the butt 
may strike a root or stone, which might cause the stick 
to bound or turn a somersault, and hit the horse; with 
the guide-rope the stick may he lifted over obstructions, 
turned at the end of drills, and guided conveniently. 
Plants for a Grave.— “E. H. C.” You do not 
state whether you have in view a burial lot, or merely 
the grave itself. If the grave only, we would advise 
setting several small plants of the European Ivy, and as 
they grow, train them to form a solid mat of dark green 
verdure. Ivy treated in this manner will endure the 
winter in localities where it would be killed if it grew 
upon buildings. If flowers are desired, they should be 
of kinds that will take care of themselves, and be 
placed near, rather than on, the grave. Next autumn 
you can plant Crocus and Snow-drop bulbs. The peren¬ 
nial Candytufts, the White Moss Pink ( Phlox subulata, 
var.), Astilbe Japonica, Deutzia Gracilis , the White 
Bird’s-foot Violet ( Viola pedata, alba), and the white 
variety of Anemone Japonica, are among the desirable 
plants for decorating the lot, that may be set in the spring. 
Sending Plants for Name.— Our friends often 
attempt to have plants from a distance reach us in a 
fresh condition. When they wrap up a fresh plant, or a 
part of one, it usually reaches us in a partly decayed 
state, and often in an entirely useless condition. We 
would hint to those who send plants to be named, that 
we can identify them much more readily if they are first 
properly dried, than we can in this half-decayed state. 
Please put a bit of the plant, showing its lower leaves, 
if these differ from the upper, a flower cluster, and the 
fruit (or seed pods), between folds of newspaper, or be¬ 
tween the leaves of an otherwise useless book, placing 
them under moderate pressure until dry. Such speci¬ 
mens can then reach us in a condition in which they 
may be readily examined. 
Kansas Flowers.— “W. S. R.,” Washington, 
Kans. Your “ Earliest Spring Flower,” is the Carolina 
Anemone (Anemone Caroliniana ), abundant all through 
the Western States, and very variable in color, from deep 
purple to nearly white, as your specimens show. Thank 
you for sending such well dried specimens. 
