160 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[April, 
Catalogues Received. 
Catalogues are many—space is narrow. Our friends 
Slust be content with the briefest acknowledgement. 
SEEDSMEN. 
K. H. Allen & Co., 189 and 191 Water Street, N. Y. 
■“Neat and full. Grass and Farm Seeds a specialty. 
J. H. Andre, Bingham’s, Tioga Co., N. Y. A special 
Potato catalogue. 
A. Beck, Oregon. Ill. A new Radish as a specialty. 
Wm. E. Bowditch, 645 Warren Street, Boston, Mass. 
S'tllly illustrated. Numerous novelties. 
Henry A. Dreer, 714 Chestnut Street, Phila. Full, 
'frith a long list of novelties. 
J, A. Everett, Watsontown, Northumberland Co., Pa. 
©eneral Seed list, with several new Potatoes. 
Wm. L. Ferris. Jr., Poughkeepsie, N. Y.. offer seeds, 
'frith the American Agriculturist as a premium. 
Joseph Harris, Moreton Farm. Rochester, N. Y. A 
Select list of Farm, Garden, and Flower Seeds. 
R. D. Hawley, Hartford, Conn. Vegetable and Farm 
Seeds and Implements. 
Hovey & Co.. 16 South Market Street. Boston, Mass. 
<Dne of our oldest houses, but wide awake for all novelties. 
F. E. McAllister, 29 Fulton Street, N. Y., sends his 
Wholesale trade catalogue in English and German. 
A. C. Nellis, Canajoharie, N. Y., makes of his cata- 
jsrgne a “ Floral Instructor,” and very full it is. 
.Price & Knickerbocker, 80 State Street, Albany, N. 
“ Surprise ” Musk-melon, with other specialties. 
W. W. Rathbone, Marietta, 0. Special list of Sweet 
Sfld other Potatoes. 
, W. H. Reid, Rochester. N. Y., calls his handsomely 
Illustrated catalogue, “A Key to Success in the Garden.’ 
H. N. Smith, Sudbury, Mass. A select list. 
James Vick. Rochester, N. Y. While his catalogue is 
Sailed a “Floral Guide,” it does not omit Vegetables, 
find is full of pictures. 
NURSERYMEN. 
Briggs Arnold, Rockland, Mass. Grapes, especially 
She “ Rockland Favorite.” 
A. T. Blauvelt & Co., Blauveltville, Rockland Co., N. 
jf. General Fruit and Ornamental Stock. 
Bush & Son & Meissner. Bushberg. Jefferson Co., Mo. 
^rape-vines, full and admirably condensed. 
M. Crawford, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Strawberry list, 
With treatise on culture. 
Ei.lwanger & Barry', Rochester, N. Y. A general 
descriptive Fruit catalogue, with illustrations of novelties 
find a special strawberry list with cultural directions. 
W. L. Ferris, Jr.. Poughkeepsie, N. Y. General 
fruit stock and several new Grapes. 
Frank Ford, Ravenna.Ohio. Small Fruits; new Apple. 
A. Hance & Son, Red Bank, N. J. Trade Price List 
Stld surplus stock at very low rates. 
DAVib Hill, Dundee, Kane Co., Ill. Evergreens and 
Ornamental Tree Seedlings. 
D.E.Hoxie.N orthampton,Mass. Small Fruits; all kinds. 
Thos. Jackson, Portland, Me. General Fruit list and 
ornamental stock, especially Evergreens. 
Kelsey & Co.. Saint Joseph, Mo., sends wholesale 
price list of a full stock. 
Sam'l Kinsey. Kinsey’s Station (Near Dayton), Ohio. 
Wholesale list of Fruit and Ornamental Trees. 
William H. Moon, Morrisville, Pa., sends a general 
Catalogue and a special Strawberry list. 
John C. Neltoe, Turner Junction, Ill., has several 
neat, condensed lists of Strawberries, Small Fruits, etc. 
Parsons & Sons Co., Flushing (L. I.), N. Y. General 
eutaloguo and special list of New and Rare Plants. 
/ Chas. S. Pratt. North Reading, Mass. Descriptive 
list of Strawberry Plants. 
8hearman & Major. Bricksburg, N. J. General as¬ 
sortment ; Peaches and Strawberries as specialties. 
Storrs, Harrison & Co., Painesville, Ohio. A general 
Illustrated and an abridged list of an immense variety. 
Thus. J. Ward, St. Mary’s, Ind. Evergreens, Small 
Fruits, etc. 
FLORISTS. 
C. E. Allen, Brattleboro, Vt. Has a combined Plant 
and Seed catalogue, with novelties in both. 
Paul Bute & Sons, New Castle, Pa. Wholesale and 
retail lists of a large collection of “ New, Rare, and Beau¬ 
tiful Plants. 
Dingee & Conard Co., West Grove, Pa. Make a 
Specialty of Roses, and give a new guide to their culture. 
Henry A. Dreer, 714 Chestnut St., Philadelphia. A full 
greenhouse stock. Many novelties, especially in Coleus. 
Ellyvanger & Barry, Rochester. N. Y. A descrip¬ 
tive catalogue of Greenhouse and other Plants, and a 
Special Rose catalogue. 
Greunbrook & Paterson Nurseries, Paterson, N. 
3. Supplement to general catalogue, and rich in Or¬ 
chids, etc. 
Robert J. Halliday. Baltimore, Md. Very full illus¬ 
trated list, with many novelties. 
W. A. Harknet, Dubuque, Iowa. New Seedling Gera¬ 
niums and general assortment. 
Chas. T. Starr Avondale, Pa. Makes a specialty of 
Carnations, but has everything else. 
Storrs. Harrison & Co., Painesville. Ohio. Their 
Plant catalogue is as full as that of Nursery stock, with 
many new things. Also a special list of dollar Collections. 
John Stephens, Circleville. Ohio, sends a full and 
complete catalogue (for a beginner) of Greenhouse and 
Bedding Plants. 
J. M. Thorburn & Co., No. 15 John Street, N. Y. 
Special catalogue of Gladiolus and other spring Bulbs. 
Woolson & Co., Passaic. N. J. Hardy Perennials in 
great variety, also Native Plants, including Ferns, etc. 
Wm. C. Wilson, 45 West 14th Street, N. Y. A Seed 
catalogue is added to the immense list of Plants, which, 
as usual, has many novelties. 
Dexter Snow, Chicopee, Mass. General catalogue of 
a fine selection of Greenhouse and Bedding Plants. 
EUROPEAN CATALOGUES. 
Wm. Thompson, Ipswich, Eng. Flower Seeds only, 
and one of the rarest collections in England. 
H. Connel, Swanley Junction, Kent, Eng. A “ Floral 
Guide,” a volume of over 250 pages and illustrated. 
MACHINERY AND MISCELLANEOUS. 
Wm. M. Bell, Smyrna, Del. Drain Tiles, with reasons 
why they should be laid, and directions for laying them. 
Brockner & Evans, 492 West Street, N. Y. Galvan¬ 
ized Wire Nettings. 
Graham, Emlen & Passmore, Philadelphia. Phila¬ 
delphia Lawn Mowers and Lawn Sweepers. 
Haworth & Sons, Decatur, Ill. Haworth’s Check 
Rowers. 
N. P. Mix, Avenue, Franklin Co., Ohio. Continues to 
make the “ Old Reliable Banner Wind-mill.” Also Im¬ 
proved Sowers for Grass, etc. 
Timothy B. Hussey, North Berwick, Me. Plows, Cul¬ 
tivators, Harrows, etc. 
Russell & Co., Masillon, Ohio. TheMasillon Thresh¬ 
er, Farm Engines, and Horse Powers, finely illustrated. 
Geo. L. Squier & Bro., Buffalo, N. Y. Plantation Ma¬ 
chinery. for Coffee, Rice, Sugar, and Corn Machines, with 
Horse, Water, and Steam Powers for driving them. A most 
interesting and instructive work. 
A. W. Wells & Co., St. Joseph, Mich. Baskets and 
other Fruit Packages in great variety. 
R. & J. Beck, Philadelphia. Pa. This celebrated Lon¬ 
don firm of microscope makers, has a branch at 1016 
Chestnut Street. 
LIVE STOCK., INCLUDING POULTRY. 
Wm. Crozier, Northport, Suffolk Co,,N. Y. Ayrshire, 
Jersey, and Guernsey Cattle. 
The following send Poultry lists : G. D. Elmes, Water- 
port, N. Y.; M. B. Rowe. Fredricksburg, Va.; T. J. 
Ward, St. Mary’s, Ind... A. M. Halsted, Rye, N. Y., 
Centennial Incubators and Brooders. 
DAIRY APPLIANCES. 
Cornish & Curtis, Fort Atkinson, Wis.—Rectangular 
Churn and Lever Butter Worker. 
Moseley & Stoddard, Poultney, Vt. Moseley’s 
Cabinet Creamery. 
C. H. R. Triebels, Philadelphia, Pa. The Lilly Butter 
Worker. 
DEALERS IN FERTILIZERS. 
Bowker Fertilizer Co., Boston, New York, and 
Rochester. The Stockbridge and other manures, with 
directions for their use. 
H. B. Griffin, No. 70 Cortlandt Street, N. Y. Peruvi¬ 
an Guano, Phosphates, and Fertilizers generally. 
Manhattan Fertilizer Co., 38 Platt Street, N. Y. 
Blood Guano, Ground Bone, and Chemicals. 
Mapes' Formula and Peruvian Guano Co.. 158Front 
Street. Mapes’ Complete Manures, Peruvian Guano, etc. 
A. H. Ward, Bridgewater, Mass. Agricultural Chemi¬ 
cals and Special Fertilizers. 
The Mapes Complete Manures.— Those in¬ 
terested in the question of fertilizers, will find this pam¬ 
phlet instructive reading. In the Reports of the Ameri¬ 
can Agriculturist Fertilizer Experiments, the number of 
crops to which chemical fertilizers were applied, is limit¬ 
ed, while the pamphlet in question gives the result of 
their application to almost every crop grown in our cli¬ 
mate. The results with Cauliflower, Onions, and other 
“ truck” crops, show that stable-manure is not the only 
fertilizer that can be profitaoly used upon them. There 
is no secrecy about the composition of these fertilizers ; 
if there were, we should say nothing about them. 
liife Insurance A Duty.— Every man has or 
ought to have some care or pecuniary responsibility for 
others resting upon him—for wife, or children, or friends, 
or for some public enterprise. And no man can drop off 
suddenly by death, as every one is surely liable to do, 
without danger that his family, or perhaps his creditors 
would be embarrassed, unless he be one of the few who 
have ample supplies of registered government bonds to 
more than offset all possible contingencies of fire and 
flood, of financial panics, or the failure of others. Wide 
extended observation and carefully prepared statistics 
show with almost absolute certainty how many persons 
out of every ten thousand will die annually. It is a very 
easy matter, therefore, for a company of persons to unite, 
and by mutual contribution to a common fund provide 
for the bestowal of a given sum to the family or creditors 
of each one who shall drop out by death during any year. 
Take the figures on page 155 in illustration. We there 
find 45,715 persons contributing an average of $140 a 
year, which, with the interest from the already accumu¬ 
lated great fund of nearly 40 million dollars, is sufficient to 
secure to each person who dies an average of $3,000, and 
except in very rare years of extraordinary mortality, there 
is a large surplus to be divided among the contributors, 
or to be deducted from their next year’s payments. A 
man of 30, having a wife or children, or aged relatives, or 
creditors depending on him, can have in store for them 
$1,000 for each $22.00 be annually contributes to the 
generil fund, less his share of the dividends. The fact 
that he has this provision made will often be a strong 
help to his recovery from illness, by lessening his anxiety 
and worry about those he may leave behind him. Those 
not already fully insured should write to one or more of 
the large and well managed Companies like the N. Y. 
Life, whose Reports appear from time to time in our col¬ 
umns, and get and study their tables, explanations, etc., 
which are furnished gratuitously to those desiring them. 
London Purple.— If we mistake not, the Ameri¬ 
can Agi'iculturist was the first to call attention to Lon¬ 
don Purple, as a substitute for Paris Green, as an insec¬ 
ticide. Last season’s experience of a large number of 
prominent cultivators, is now made known, and 
more than sustains all that was claimed for it, 
not only in destroying the “Potato Bug,” but in de¬ 
priving the Canker Worm of its power of destruction. 
The testimony of Prof. Riley as to its power of destroy¬ 
ing the Cotton Worm, is most important; during his in¬ 
vestigations in the cotton-fields last summer, London 
Purple was thoroughly tested in Georgia, Alabama, and 
Texas, and was found to kill the Cotton Worms, without 
injury to the plant. Prof. R. advises using it with 
water, mixing half a pound with 50 to 55 gallons of water. 
Being a “ by product,” that is obtained incidentally in 
the process of making Analine dyes, it can be sold 
more cheaply than Paris Green, which must be manufac¬ 
tured directly. There is no temptation to adulterate the 
Purple, while the Paris Green, as ordinarily sold in coun¬ 
try stores, is rarely pure. It should be remembered that 
the Purple being a compound of Arsenic, is equally 
poisonous, and is to be preserved and used with all the 
care advised for Paris Green. 
“ New and Rare Plants.”— The Parsons Sons 
Co., Flushing, (L. I.) N. Y., issue a special catalogue 
with this title, and the contents certainly warrant it. 
We doubt if any establishment in Europe can show such 
a list of rare Japanese and other trees, shrubs, climbers, 
etc., both evergreen, and deciduous; several Horse Chest¬ 
nuts, Maples, Oaks, Hydrangeas, Ashes, Magnolias, and 
others, quite new to cultivation, help make up a cat¬ 
alogue full of interest to every lover of choice plants. 
Tying Material—Raffia.— For a long time Bass 
or Bast bark, was the universal tying material with gar¬ 
deners and nufserymen. Large quantities of this are im¬ 
ported in the form of Russia or Archangel mats, which 
are used for packing furniture or similar articles, and are 
pulled apart by gardeners and others for the strands of 
which they are woven. Several years ago war shut off 
the importations of mats, and our nurserymen learned 
that they could prepare a better material from our native 
Linden or Bass-wood Tree. Cuba Bass, the inner bark 
of a tree of the Mallow Family, was introduced into Eng¬ 
land and to this country as a substitute for the Russian, 
and while it is very strong, it lacks the pliancy needed 
for most purposes. Lately there has been introduced 
from the East Indies, a material that appears to have all 
the good qualTties of Bass without the faults of its substi¬ 
tutes. This is offered in our advertising columns as 
“ Raffia,” or “ Raffia Fibre.” It is in lengths of about 5 
feet, and is about half an inch wide, but tapering gradu¬ 
ally at one end. We take this to be derived from the 
stem of a species of Cypenis closely related to the Papy¬ 
rus plant, and the same material as that from which the 
much esteemed India mats are made. The Raffia splits 
into the smallest fibres; it unites great strength with a 
silky softness and pliability, and for budding seems to be 
a most perfect tying material. How it will work in the 
rapid wholesale operations of the professional peach- 
budders, can only be told by experience. 
Dentaphone and Audiphone, are names of 
new devices for utilizing the well-known fact that the 
bones, etc., of the head, can convey vibrations to the 
auditory nerve, and produce the sense of hearing. To 
many totally deaf persons these affairs are a new revela¬ 
tion, while those partially deaf often find great assistance 
from them. But those persons, in whom essential por¬ 
tions of the ear have been destroyed, or in whom they have 
been lacking from birth, are beyond the aid of these or 
any other appliances whatever. 
• The American Veterinary College.—The 
commencement of this excellent institution was held on 
February 27th last, in the presence of an audience noted 
for the large number of prominent scientists, merchants, 
and others. The graduates were 18, and represented six 
different States, with one from Bermuda. The custom¬ 
ary addresses were made and prizes distributed. The 
occasion must have been a gratifying one to the officers 
and faculty of the College, and especially so to Dr. A. 
Liautard, its President,whose efforts in behalf of veterin¬ 
ary science, continued in spite of all obstacles, are now 
meeting deserved success. Young men who contemplate 
entering the medical profession will do well to consider 
if Veterinary Surgery does not present quite as useful a 
career as any other, and one more likely to be profitable. 
