1880.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
77 
Eclipses for 1880.— There are to be six, namely: 
(1) A total of the sun, Jan. 11, visible through portions of 
Utah, Nevada, and California. (2) Total of the moon, 
Jnne 22, invisible in eastern portions of the United States. 
(3) Annular eclipse of the sun, July 7, invisible in North 
America. (4) Partial of the sun, Dec. 1, visible only in 
the Southern Hemisphere. (5) Total of the moon, Dec. 16, 
invisible in the eastern United States. (6) Partial of the 
sun, Dec. 31, visible in eastern United States. Thus the 
last day of the year brings the majority of our people a 
partial eclipse of the sun, and the only visible one. 
The Ic© Harvest.—The time for filling the ice¬ 
house will soon be over, and the harvest of ice should be 
made at the earliest day. To those that have never had 
the convenience, nor practised the economy, of a supply 
of ice for the hot months of summer, let it be said that it 
pays, and a house built now will not be too late. 
Salt Marsh.—" P. W. H.,” Aransas Co., Tex. Un¬ 
less you can, by means of tide-gates or otherwise, con¬ 
trol the inflow of salt water, you can make no valuable 
improvement in the quality of the grass produced. If 
the water can be excluded, Orchard-Grass, Timothy, and 
other "tame” grasses may be sown after the rains 
have freshened the surface. If this can not be done, 
encourage the natural grasses, of the marsh by removing 
brush and other plants than grass, so far as practicable, 
for the natural growth.is of far more value than is gener¬ 
ally supposed, not only for bedding, but for feeding. 
The Western N. Y, Horticultural Socie¬ 
ty.— There is no Society whose meetings we have a 
stronger desire to attend, or whose published proceed¬ 
ings—always brought out promptly, by the way—we read 
with more interest than this. Its meetings are held at 
Rochester, one of the great horticultural centers of the 
country, and when the cultivators from all the western 
parts of the State meet those belonging in that city, they 
form a gathering that, for practical knowledge of the 
subjects they discuss, can hardly be equalled elsewhere 
in the country. The meeting this year was held after 
this number went to press (Jan. 28th;, but it is safe to 
say in advance that the proceedings were worthy of the 
occasion, it being the 25th anniversary of the organiza¬ 
tion of the Society; a quarter centennial celebration, 
demanding an extra effort on the part of the members. 
Where can Cranberries be Grown?—"A. 
G. S.,” Payette, Iowa, has a piece of springy ground on 
the banks of a river, usually overflowed in spring, and 
is wet most of the season, and thinking that Cranberries 
may be grown there, asks us how to set about it. We can 
best answer this and other similar letters by giving the 
essentials in Cranberry Culture. The Cranberry plant, 
or vine, will live almost anywhere when once established, 
but for its profitable culture, there are certain essen¬ 
tials, in the absence of either one of which no cranberry- 
grower would undertake it. The soil must be either 
peat or muck, so situated that it may be drained for 18 
inches below the surface, and an abundance of water at 
hand so situated that the ground may be flooded to the 
depth of some inches at once—added to these there must 
be at hand a supply of pure sand, enough to cover the 
whole surface of the bed for an inch or two. Without 
these success can not be hoped for, and it is not always 
realized when these are all present, as there are various 
accidents and troubles that may defeat the cultivator. 
Poplar Sprouts.— S. Lea, writes that at the base 
of his poplar trees, there are some shoots, and he would 
like to plant them if they will grow, but they have no 
roots. He wishes to know what to do and how to do it. 
A poplar will grow almost as well without roots, as with. 
Cut them any time before the buds start, as small as a 
lead-pencil, or as large as the arm, and six incheB or six 
feet long, set them out or drive them in where they are 
wanted, and they will attend to the rest of the work. 
Cannot Tell. —“A Reader" asks why the vine of 
the bean turns one way and that of the hop in the op¬ 
posite direction in their twining around the supports. 
Of course it is not very satisfactory to say it is the nature 
of each to climb in its own way—but that is about as far 
as we can go. Why will a chick run towards the hen 
that clacks for it, though it be for the first time, and the 
hen is not in sight 1 There are many things in nature 
that are beyond any exact explanation. 
Pleuro-Pneumonla has broken out in New 
Hampshire, and the Governor has appointed a Board of 
Commissioners to investigate the appearance of the dis¬ 
ease. A number of cattle have died at Haverhill in that 
State, and grave fears of its spreading are entertained. 
Corn Nubbins for Kicking Cows.— There 
is an old farmer in Vermont who buys all the kicking 
cows he can find, and curjjs them with kind words, abund¬ 
ant use of the currycomb, and feeding of corn nubbins. 
We are at a loss to decide which of the three agents is 
the most important, but think there is more in the first 
two than many may think. Harsh words and blows 
would more than overcome the soothing influence of the 
nubbins. Even cows can be influenced by example. 
Pressure on a Cistern.—" T. B. P.” If a cistern 
is empty, and the ground full of surface water, the pres¬ 
sure will certainly be considerable, and may be dangerous, 
if the cistern is not well constructed. If it is made of the 
shape of half an egg, the pressure will not injure it, that 
being the strongest possible form. If it is round with a flat 
bottom, the sides will be sound but the floor may be burst 
in. In such cases it would be well to provide against the 
danger by making the cistern of the strongest shape, and 
laying the bricks in the most substantial manner. 
The Bradshaw Plum.—" J. P. W.,” Pennville, 
Mich., asks us to give the merits of this plum, as it (the 
tree we suppose), is being offered for sale in his section. 
The Bradshaw is a fairly good, large, blue plum, ripening 
in August. In making a selection of 10 varieties, in the 
order of quality, we should not include the Bradshaw. 
In selecting 10 for profitable market culture, this would be 
included, and stand towards the head of the list. If offer¬ 
ed as being “Curculio proof,” or "Black-Knot proof,” 
or remarkable in any other way, it is misrepresented. 
Fertilizer for Cotton.— “J. R.,” Kaufman Co., 
Texas. Peruvian guano is one of the best fertilizers for 
cotton. There are special manures made for this crop by 
the manufacturers of fertilizers, whose addresses may bo 
found in the advertising columns; these fertilizers are 
cheaper than guano, and sometimes more effective, being 
richer in potash, the element that is most needed. 
Book on Cotton Culture.— “R.,” Lawrence, 
Texas. The most modern information about cotton cul¬ 
ture is contained in the Manual of Agriculture by E. G. 
Wall, of Mississippi. The culture is very simple, and a 
whole book is hardly necessary to tell all the story. 
Chalk and Water in Milk.— The daily city 
papers often call attention to the quality of the milk 
furnished to city customers. There is abundant reason for 
doing this, and they can not too frequently insist, that 
milk must be furnished just as it comes from the cow. But 
these articles lose much of their force by implying, indeed 
some of them directly asserting, that a mixture of chalk 
and water is served in place of milk. This is absurd; the 
most skilled manipulator can make no mixture of any form 
of chalk, that will be no more dense than ordinary milk, 
from which the chalk will not completely settle, upon 
standing for a few hours. We doubt if there was ever a 
pint of milk sold in N. Y. City, in which chalk was used as 
an adulteration. In London, milk and other adulterations 
were carried to such an extent, that Parliament had the 
matter investigated some years ago. -Doct. Hassall, who 
was officially connected with these examinations, and has 
probably examined more samples of milk than any other 
person, says of chalk and starch in milk, while he admits 
that they may be very rarely used, that “It has not 
happened to ourselves to meet these substances in milk.” 
Wanklyn, also of London, in the most recent work on the 
“Analysis of Milk,” 6ays nothing about the occurrence 
of chalk. The fact is, the most serious adulteration of 
milk is with water. Besides the addition of water, milk 
is impoverished by the abstraction of cream. These two, 
the taking off of cream, and putting in water, are the worst 
that happen to city milk, and these are bad enough. 
It diverts attention from these real troubles, to talk about 
improbable, if not impossible “ chalk and water.” 
Gold and Silver.— The United States produced 
$32,529,920 of gold and $38,623,812 of silver during the 
year 1879. Nearly the whole of the gold, except 4 millions 
used in the arts, has gone into employment as money, 
and about two-thirds of the silver has passed to the mint. 
In addition to the production, we have imported $75,000,- 
000 in gold, while the exports of it have been almost 
nothing. It has been a golden year for us. 
mending Rubber Boots and Shoes.— A 
number have asked how rubber boots and shoes could be 
patched. Of course any cement used for this purpose 
must be elastic, and the only thing suited to the work is 
a solution of rubber itself. Unfortunately, rubber is solu¬ 
ble in but very few liquids, and these are either costly or 
dangerous to have about on account of their volatile and 
inflammable character. Probably the best solvent of rub¬ 
ber is Bisulphide of Carbon. (See “A Wonderful Liquid,” 
page 453, November last.) We dislike to publish a recipe 
that we have not tried, and rarely do so; the following, 
commended for patching rubber, we have not used for 
that purpose, but have used it for cementing other arti¬ 
cles, and have reason to think it will answer for that. 
Take one part of Rubber, three parts of Gutta-Percha, and 
eight parts of Bisulphide of Carbon. The Rubber and 
Gutta Percha must both be pure; manufactured or vul¬ 
canized will not answer; both should be cut fine and put 
with the Bisulphide in a wide-mouthed bottle with a 
tight cork. They will require a day or so to dissolve, 
and will need thorough stirring to make a smooth mix¬ 
ture. Recollect that the Bisulphide and its vapor will 
take fire very readily, and the greatest caution must be 
, used. Moreover, it smells horribly. The rubber to be 
joined must be perfectly free from grease, and the parts 
coming in contact should be rubbed with fine sand-paper. 
When the patch is put in place it should be held there, 
by winding a string about it, or in any other manner that 
will keep it under pressure until the cement is hard. 
A Shell In a Tea-Kettle.—" H.” says in a visit 
to the shore of Long Island Sound, he saw the house¬ 
keeper put a clean clam-shell or oyster-shell in her tea¬ 
kettle to prevent a crust from forming on the inside, and 
wishes to know if it isn’t " an old woman’s whim."—Not 
at all—but founded upon correct scientific principles. 
Some hard waters deposit, on being boiled, the Carbo¬ 
nate of Lime to which their hardness is due. In time 
this gradually accumulates and lines the interior of the 
tea-kettle ; we have seen such a crust two inches thick. 
A shell, which is Carbonate of Lime, is placed in such 
water, when the water is heated the Carbonate of Lime it 
contained is deposited; it is in accordance with “the 
nature of things ” that its minutely divided particles 
should aggregate themselves upon the shell, which is of 
the same material as itself, rather than upon the smooth 
iron surface of the kettle, thus keeping the kettle clean. 
Treatment for Garget.— “F. S. C. H.," Law¬ 
rence, Mass. Garget consists of congestion of the 
udder, and it is not always caused by overfeeding. Some¬ 
times it may result from a poor condition, and often oc¬ 
curs in poorly fed cows from want of sufficient vigor to 
control the circulation evenly. The disease results also 
from cold, excessive exercise, bruises, lying upon cold 
ground or floors without sufficient bedding, nervous ex¬ 
citement, or any disorder of the circulation which may 
throw undue pressure upon the glands of the udder. 
One-quarter or the whole of the udder may be effected. 
Thus it is readily seen that a specific remedy that will 
meet all cases can not be given. The cause must be dis¬ 
covered and the appropriate remedy provided. General¬ 
ly, there is fever, and a dose of 12 ounces of Epsom Salts 
will tend to reduce that and lead to a recovery; the Salts 
will also act as an alterative upon the digestive organs, 
and will be useful in this case also. Accompanying 
remedies should be bathing the udder with warm water, 
injecting a solution of Soda to dissolve the curdled milk, 
or applying Iodine Ointment, which may be had at any 
drug Btore, externally to assist in absorption. 
Agriculture In France. —The French Legisla¬ 
ture has made the study of agriculture one of the regular 
branches to be taught in her public schools. A familiarity 
with the growth of crops, etc., is seen by that Republic 
to be as important as the fact that the earth is nearly a 
sphere, or the sun is between 93 and 95 millions of miles 
away from us. But where do they find competent teachers? 
German Ivy.— Nothing in the way of living plants 
adds so much to the cheerfulness of a room as healthy 
vigorous climbers; and all things considered—ease of 
culture, rapidity of growth, grace and delicacy of form— 
the German or Parlor Ivy may well take a leading place. 
Celery.— The complaints that come to us of the fail¬ 
ure of celery to keep this winter show that the trouble is 
general. “ W. H. B.,” Waterbury, Ct., thinks that his 
trouble was due to late planting, but as he does not say 
when his was set out, we can not judge. But in general 
it is not necessary to go beyond the unusually warm 
weather to find a cause. Celery will grow at a very low 
temperature, and the weather has been for weeks at a 
time so mild that the plant would grow. Growth in the 
trenches is fatal, for its roots being out of the ground, 
whatever growth takes place at the center, must be at 
the expense of the other stalks, which become hollow 
and flabby. Besides this, in such a mass of vegetable 
matter, the warm weather will soon induce decay. Lov¬ 
ers of celery can congratulate themselves that statistics 
show that such a winter as we are now having is rare. 
Initials in some cases, will answer instead of full 
names, but not in the U. S. Post-Office. Had we written 
out a rule, that we were requested to send “ by letter,” 
placed it in an envelope and directed it to "H. B. J.," 
Dayton, Ohio, it is very likely that it would be in the Dead 
Letter Office. No doubt the writer of the letter, signed 
only by the above initials, thought we were not very 
obliging to refuse him a small favor, and we hope he will 
now learn why we were obliged to do so. “ A. C.," of 
“ Stmga,” will also learn why his postal had no reply. By 
aid of an imperfect post-mark, we could make out that 
the place was St. Marys, Ga., but as there was nothing 
to help us make out the A. C., we were unable to answer. 
