348 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[August, 
grounds, or in the same buildings, and this pastur¬ 
age in common of herds on an open range. 
These conditions are closely allied to those which 
have perpetuated the Lung Plague from time im¬ 
memorial on the open steppes of Europe and Asia, 
and on the mountain ranges of Central Europe, 
and which in more recent times have enabled it to 
defy all attempts for its extinction on the open 
ranges of Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. 
Similar conditions operate around our own infected 
cities in the East, and the plague can never be ex¬ 
tirpated until these are abolished. 
Can it be wondered that Ireland has been an 
especial home of this bovine plague for over forty 
years ? And can it be credited that England, so 
stringent with regard to the exclusion of infection 
from other countries, should continue to welcome 
the imports of plague-stricken Ireland ? 
A second blunder, no less grossly absurd is found 
in the order regulating the internal cattle traffic of 
England. “ The Diseased Animals (in transit), 
Order of 1878,” enjoins concerning cattle : 
“1.—While exposed for sale or exhibited in a mar¬ 
ket, fair, sale-yard, place of exhibition, or other 
place; or 
“ 2.—While placed in a lair or other place before 
exposure for sale ; or 
“ 3.—While being in or on a landing place or 
wharf or other place during transit, or while in 
course of being moved by land or by water; or 
“4.—While being on common or uninclosed land; 
or generally 
“ 5.—While being in a place not in the possession 
or occupation, or under the control of the owner 
of the animal.” 
“ A. •—PLEURO-PNEUMONIA. 
“ (a) —When Pleuro-pneumonia is found to exist 
the Inspector of the Local Authority shall seize 
and detain all the diseased cattle.” 
“ (6)—The diseased cattle so detained shall, if not 
slaughtered in the place where they are seized, be 
moved to the nearest available slaughter-house 
with the license of the Inspector ; and that license 
shall be in force for twelve hours, and no longer, 
and shall specify the slaughter-house to which the 
cattle are to be moved for slaughter ; and they shall 
be there slaughtered in accordance with the Act 
of 1878.” 
* * * 
“ And the following regulations shall apply in 
case of 
“ C.— ANIMALS NOT DISEASED.” 
(c) —All animals in the market or other place re¬ 
ferred to in this Article, other than the diseased 
animals so seized, may be moved in all respects as 
if no disease had been found in that market or 
other place.” 
Is it credible that legislators so strenuous to sup¬ 
press a contagion that they enjoin the summary 
slaughter of all cattle from infected countries, 
should thus deliberately allow the free sale and re¬ 
moval of the still apparently healthy cattle, taken 
from a diseased herd, and which have been actually 
exposed to infection and have, presumably, become 
infected ? No wonder that the process of extin¬ 
guishing this bovine plague in Great Britain has been 
a slow, and an expensive one. 
Illaccaroni-A Good Food.— In the scarcity 
of vegetables, and as vastly more nutritious than 
potatoes, Maccaroni makes an acceptable variety. 
It is somewhat strange that this nutritious food is 
little known outside of hotels and restaurants. Or¬ 
dinary wheat contains 69 percent of heat-producers, 
and 11 per cent of flesh-formers. Certain varieties 
of wheat grown in Italy, have a much larger per¬ 
centage of flesh-formers (we cannot give the exact 
figures,) which fit it for the production of Mac¬ 
caroni. The wheat is ground, the flour is made in¬ 
to a paste with water, and by a machine is squeezed 
out in the form of tubes, like enormous pipe-stems. 
Maccaroni contains so much gluten (a flesh-former,) 
that it may be cooked without falling apart. It is 
cooked by breaking into convenient lengths, wash¬ 
ed, and dropping into boiling water, seasoned with 
salt, and cooking until tender. It makes an excel¬ 
lent breakfast dish if dressed with a cream sauce, 
the same as for milk toast. For dinner, boil in 
salted water until done ; place in a pudding dish, 
distributing grated cheese among the layers, sea¬ 
soning with salt and pepper, and adding a few bits 
of butter at top, place the dish into the oven, until 
the top is brown. Any firm cheese, hard enough 
to grate, will answer, and about a quarter of a pound 
is required to half a pound of Maccaroni before 
boiling. The addition of cheese makes a dish about 
as rich in flesh-forming materials, as the same 
quantity of meat. 
A Barrel Header. 
The accompanying engraving shows a useful con¬ 
trivance for pressing in the heads of barrels. Fruit 
and eggs require to be firmly packed to bear trans¬ 
portation with safety. Eggs properly packed, with 
an inch of chaff or oats between the layer of eggs, 
can be properly compressed without injury; in 
fact, without this need¬ 
ed pressure they will 
often suffer damage. 
The Header consists 
of a bar of I-inch iron 
with a loop at one end 
and two diverging 
hooks at the other to 
grasp the bottom of the 
barrel. One end of a 
lever is placed in the 
loop, with its middle 
resting on a block placed 
on the center of the 
head. A strap or cord 
with a loop or stirrup is fastened to the other end 
of the lever. The foot is placed in the stirrup, and 
the weight of the body brings the head of the bar¬ 
rel down into its place. The hands of the opera¬ 
tor are free to put the hoops securely in place. 
Where People Die Fastest.— In a Congres¬ 
sional speech, June 28th, advocating the admission 
of Washington Territory as a State, Hon. Thos. H. 
Brents gave the figures below as the annual num¬ 
ber of Deaths for each 1,000 inhabitants, the 
average for the whole United States being a trifle 
over fifteen (15.011) per 1,000.—The death rate in 
some European countries are added for compar¬ 
ison : 
Rate. 
Rate. 1 
Rate. 
1-D. C . . 
..23.60 
19-Vt. 
...15.12 37—Fla_ 
..11.72 
2-N. Mex.. 
. .20.37 
20-Del. 
..11.67 
3— Md. 
..18.96 
21—Penn... 
..14 92 39—Minn.. .. 
..11.57 
4—Mass... 
..18.59 
22—Conn... 
..14.74 40—Oregon.. 
..10.67 
5—Ark. 
..18.46 
23—Maine... 
. .14.67 41—Wash. T. 
..10.05 
6—N. Y. 
..17.38 
24-111. 
..14.63 i 
7-R. I. 
..17.00 
25—Ky. 
..14.39 EUROPE. 
8-Mo. 
,.16.89 
25—Ala. 
..14.20 Hungary.... 
. .45.00 
9—Tenn- 
..16.80 
27—Georgia 
..13.97 Austria. 
10—N. .J. 
..16.33 
28—Cal. 
..13.34 Itaiv. 
..29.98 
11-Va. 
..16.32 
29—Ohio.... 
..13.32 Spain. 
. .29.72 
12—N. H. 
..16 09 
30—Col. 
.27.21 
13—S. Car... 
..15.80 
31-Neb. 
..13.11 Prussia. 
. .25.48 
14—Ind. 
.15.78 
32—Miss_ 
..12.89 France. 
..26.64 
15—Texas... 
. .15.54 
33—Wise_ 
..12.17 Netherlands. .23.87 
16—L 3. . 
. 15.44 
34 -Mich_ 
..12.06 Eug. & Wales.21.83 
17—N. Car... 
. .15.39 
35—W. Va.. 
. 11.99 Denmark. .. 
..19.92 
18—Kansas. 
..15.22 
36—Iowa... 
..11.93 Sweden. 
Of course the newer Territories, occupied by 
strong, vigorous adults, have a lower death rate 
than where there are many young children ; while 
large cities like New York, Philadelphia, etc., hav¬ 
ing many emigrants, and with crowded tenements, 
are affected by these special circumstances. 
Sundry 1880 Census Items: In the whole 
United States, there were : In Cotton Manufac- 
ture, 230,223 Looms ; 10,921,147 Spindles, using 
1,586,481 bales, and employing 181,628 persons.... 
Ignorant People, over ten years old, those who 
could not read, 4,923,451, or nearly 10 per cent; 
number who could not write, 6,239,958, or 121 per 
cent... .Going to School, 9,781,521 enrolled in 
public schools, with an average attendance of 
5,805,342_ Sea-shore Line, including bays, is¬ 
lands, and irregularities of coast: Atlantic Coast, 
12,359 miles; Pacific Coast, 3,251 miles ; Gulf of 
Mexico, 5,744 miles; total, 21,354 miles- An¬ 
thracite Coal Mined, 28,646,995 tons (of 2,000 
lbs.); value at mines, $40,331,981 ($1.47 per ton); 
yearly average raised each by miner, 454 tons ; men 
and boys employed below ground, 40,754; above 
ground, 27,485 ; total, 68,239.— Bituminous Coal, 
42,420,581 tons ; total Anthracite and Bituminous 
Coal, 71,067,576 tons ; men employed in mining, 
170,585 .. .Coal mined in 1880 in England, 163,876,- 
000 tons.... Glass Made: Value, $21,013,464, of 
which $868,305 was Plate-Glass ; $5,047,313 Win¬ 
dow-Glass ; $9,534,020, Glassware; $5,563,826, 
Green Glass... .Iron Ore in 1880: Tons produced, 
7,971,706, valued at $23,167,007; of which Penn¬ 
sylvania produced 2,185,675 tons; Michigan, 1,834,- 
712 tons ; New York, 1,262,127 tons ; New Jersey, 
757,372 tons ; Ohio, 547,303 tons ; Missouri, 386,197 
tons; Alabama, 191,676 tons; Virginia, 182,676 
tons; Maryland, 139,628 tons; Tennessee, 104,465 
tons; 13 other States produced from 91,416 tons, 
down to 513 tons in Indiana. 
Bnckwheat as Green Manure.—" C. A. N.,' r 
Danville, N. J., having read in the American Agricultur¬ 
ist that Buckwheat is used as a green manure, has asked 
the opinion of “good farmers” as to the effect of such 
a crop. Some thought it would be a good thing. Others 
advised him not to do it, “ as it would kill the land, and 
take 10 years to bring it back to a condition to raise 
crops from.” In view of this adverse opinion, Mr. N. 
asks, “ how to prevent deleterious effects when Buck¬ 
wheat is so used.” When the anthor of the "Natural 
History of Ireland ” came to the chapter on snakes, he 
wrote, “ There are no snakes in Ireland.” If there are 
any who have any land “ killed ” by the plowing under 
of a crop of Buckwheat, we should like to see that dead 
land. We can assure Mr. N. that that part of New 
Jersey is the only spot on the face of the globe where 
Buckwheat has that effect. The growth of a crop of 
Buckwheat can add nothing to the soil, beyond what is 
already there, save what it takes from the atmosphere. 
All the agricultural practice of generations is in favor of 
this use of Buckwheat, and probably those who say • 
that it kills the land, never tried it or ever saw it tried. 
Tlie Marianne Nortli Gallery.— The English 
Horticultural Journals are all aglow with the praises of 
Miss Marianne North and her munificence. It would 
appear that this lady is an artist of marked ability, and, 
what is unusual with artists, abundant means. Having 
visited every part of the globe, including the United 
States, especially the Pacific Coast, and painted the 
characteristic vegetation of every country, with inci¬ 
dental representations of birds, reptiles, and insects, 
especial attention appears to have been given to eco¬ 
nomic plants, and characteristic landscape views are made 
to serve as accessories to the plant portraits. This in¬ 
dustrious lady has accumulated some 600 oil paintings; 
more than that, she has erected, at her own expense in 
the Royal Gardens at Kew, a Gallery for their preserva¬ 
tion and free exhibition, and presents the whole as a 
free gift to the British nation. Prof. Helmsley has pre¬ 
pared an elaborate catalogue of the pictures, and it is 
evident from the accounts of the Marianne North Gal¬ 
lery, that it essentially adds to the attractiveness of 
Kew as the great Botanical Garden of the world. 
What are Vetches? asks a subscriber at Mid- 
dleburgh. Pa. The Vetch or Tare ( Vida sativa,) is a 
plant closely related to the Pea, and in appearance is 
much like a Pea in miniature. In Europe it is valued 
as a forage plant, but the same cause that prevents our 
making much use of the Pea as a farm crop—our hot 
climate in summer—renders the Vetch of little use in 
this country. Those who wish to make a trial of them, 
can get the seeds of the leading seedsmen, who offer 
both spring and winter Vetches. 
Mushes — Not Grasses.— A correspondent in 
Bourbon Co., Kentucky, sends specimens of what he 
takes to be a Grass, and asks for the name. The plant 
is not a Grass, but a Rush, a species of Juncus. While 
some of the Rushes have Grass-like leaves, they may be 
distinguished from the Grasses by an examination of 
the flower. In the Rushes, the flower is six-parted, 
while the parts of the flowers in the true Grasses are 
always in pairs, or are two-parted. ' But little is known 
about the economical value of the Rushes. What is 
known as “ Black Grass,” and very abundant on the salt 
marshes of the coast, is not a grass, but a Juncus (J. Ge- 
rardi), and is regarded by those who feed it as of real 
value ; but beyond this marsh species, little is known of 
the value of the various Rushes as food. 
Kentucky Coffee-tree as a Fly Foison. — 
“ VV. S. R.,” Mason Co., Ky., writes us that the leaves 
and the beans of the Kentucky Coffee-tree (Gymnocladus 
Canadensis ), bruised and mixed with milk, are used in 
his neighborhood as a fly poison. He writes to inquire 
if this tree has been used to kill other insects, especially 
cabbage-worms. We have not been able to find any ac¬ 
count of the use of this tree as an insect poison, and 
our friend's letter is the first intimation that wo have 
had on this subject. The tree is found wild from West¬ 
ern New York and Illinois, southward, and is often cul¬ 
tivated elsewhere as an ornamental tree. If any of our 
readers can give information as to its use in killing in¬ 
sects of any kind, we hope that they will impart it. 
