286 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
[July, 
A Perpetual Source of Interest, and In¬ 
struction, 
To every Family, and to every individual, is a really good 
Compound Microscope, which is a far more ef¬ 
fective and satisfactory instrument than anything in the 
way of a Simple Microscope. The latter, by means of a 
single lens, or two or three of them placed together, 
simply magnifies objects from 3 to 25 diameters, though 
not very distinctly above 10 or 12 diameters. The Com¬ 
pound Microscope makes a magnified image of the thing 
looked at, while other lenses remagnify this image, and 
thus the original object is seen enlarged a hundred or a 
thousand or more diameters, and many thousand times 
its original size, according to the power of the instru¬ 
ment. Then it has sundry arrangements for adjusting 
the focus, for holding the object, for concentrating light 
upon it, etc., etc. The Microscope opens a new world to 
•one far more extensive, and if possible mure interesting 
than anything that can be seen with the unaided eye. 
For example, the fine dust on the wing of a butterfly, or 
moth, seen under the Compound Microscope, becomes a 
mass of most beautiful feather-scales of regular form 
and construction. The foot of a fly, or other insect, be¬ 
comes an object of great interest. The mould upon 
cheese, or on leather, etc., appears as a minute forest of 
plants, as it really is. There is a vast number of objects 
all around us that can thus be exhibited to the eye in 
most wonderful forms, and the instrument is a perpetu¬ 
al source of interest, instruction, and wonder. 
Until recently, a really valuable Compound Microscope, 
with all its parts, has been far too costly to be within 
reach of most families or individuals. After long effort, 
repeated trials, and many failures, the Editors of the 
American Agriculturist succeeded in securing a Com¬ 
pound Microscope having all the parts and the effective¬ 
ness of those costing five to ten times as much money, 
so that this most desirable instrument is now brought 
within reach of the great mass of the people. This most 
desirable end has been reached not only by new devices 
and inventions, but especially by the application of au¬ 
tomatic machinery to making with great accuracy the 
multitude of parts that were previously only made by 
slow and less accurate hand-work.—A large number of 
these new Compound Microscopes have been made and 
tried, and strongly approved not only by the highest sci- 
• entitle authorities, but by many unscientific families who 
ihave put them to practical and most interesting use, so 
that we can now recommend it to all with entire confi- 
• dence that it will give the highest satisfaction and de¬ 
light, not only to the young and old of all classes, but to 
'Schools, to Physicians, and to scientific investigators. 
JSP" A marked feature of this new Instrument is the 
<'amera Lucida, which enables one to throw the 
greatly magnified image of any small object upon paper 
in such a way that it can be readily drawn or sketched 
for preservation, even by a child large enough to hold 
and use a pencil. 
A full Description of the Instrument, with en¬ 
gravings, showing its parts and use, etc., will be forward¬ 
ed to any one desiring a copy, upon receipt of address. 
Mow Much Torn for a Hen,- “G. B. T.” 
Owego, N. Y. One bushel of corn will feed one hen for 
one year, and if she has the run of a barn yard and the 
fields, she will do well on this quantity. If given no 
other kind of feed, a hen will need a quarter of a pint' 
,of grain a day, or 45 quarts for the whole year. 
Sit or Set?— “S.” No, either is not right. Yon 
set a hen, but the hen’s business is to sit. The hen lags 
.eggs, and the eggs lie in the nest. There is a difference. 
Moving Westward. —If we should draw a 
north and south line through the United States, dividing 
the country into two parts, so that there would be the 
same number of bushels of wheat produced on the 
west side of the line as on the east, it would be found 
that the line each year would have to be drawn farther 
westward. According to the report of the Bureau of 
Statistics, this westward movement of the dividing line 
has been on an average nearly 15J miles for each of the 
last 28 years, or upwards of 450 miles in the last 30 years. 
If an east and west dividing line is drawn it will be 
found to coincide nearly with the 40th parallel. The 
central point of wheat production is then moving to the 
west along this east and west line; it was in Eastern 
Ohio in 1849; ten years later in Indiana ; a decade later 
in Eastern Illinois, and now the hub, so to speak, is in 
Western Illinois, but will soon cross the Mississippi. 
To Destroy CTiincli Bugs,- “T. H. G.,” 
Whiteside Co., Ill. Chinch Bugs may be destroyed in 
great numbers, by burning the stubbles and rubbish, or 
by plowing it under, when many will find their way to 
the surface again. Burning makes an end of them. 
“Seeding Down” With Boots.-“L. A.J.,” 
Plymouth Co., Mass. This is always summer or fail 
seeding, and is done after the cultivation of the roots is 
over. The practice is most usual in connection with 
such roots as may be harvested without much disturb¬ 
ance of the ground ; but it is not particularly objection¬ 
able to seed down with Carrots, Sugar-beets, or such 
Mangels as have to be started with a spade, or fork, at 
harvesting. It is important that the ground should be 
left nearly level at the last hoeing, to rake or hoe in the 
seed, and to roll after the roots are pulled. 
Ash of the Pea-Nut.-H B. Cornwall, Prof, of 
Analytical Chemistry in the John C. Green School of 
Science, College of New Jersey, Princeton, having occa¬ 
sion to refer to the composition of the Pea-Nut, could 
find no analysis of the ash. This deficiency was sup¬ 
plied by Mr. W. M. Norris, a post graduate student at 
the School: the results of the analysis, now for the first 
time published, are forwarded by Prof. C. 
Per 100 parts of Ash ; 
Silica. l.Oli 
Potash.44.73 
Soda. 14.60 
Lime. 1.71, 
Carbonic Acid and Carbon undetermined. 
The kernels yielded 2.0S per cent of ash. 
Magnesia.12.65 
Phosphoric Acid.17.64 
Sulphuric Acid. 2 53 
Chlorine. 0.15 
Spoilt Tan Bark.- 1, W. A.,” McVeytown, Pa. 
Tan bark is of no use as a fertilizer, except for the ash it 
contains. The best use to make of it is to employ it as a 
mulch around young trees, currant bushes, etc. 
To Streak Up a Broody Men.— 1 “J. S.,” Bal¬ 
timore, Md., gives his method thus: “ You inclose the 
hen in a coop (light or dark), and keep her there for 3 
days and 8 nights. She must not have a particle of 
victuals or drink. When she emerges she will be so 
‘run mad’ hungry, as to banish all thoughts of her 
former intentions. No fear of starvation in this plan. I 
have practised it for years, and recommended it to hun¬ 
dreds. It is a sovereign cure. Several liens may be put 
together. One obstinate case in 100 may occur. Then 
repeat the dose.”—But how about the Society for the 
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and its good work? 
The Boys’ Cotton Crop.— The “ Alabama Farm 
Journal ” has offered a premium of $50 to the Alabama 
boy who shall raise the largest crop of cotton on a half¬ 
acre of land. We hope there will be a large number of 
young cotton growers that will enter their names for this 
prize; of course only one out of the hundreds who try 
can get the prize, but the trying will do every one much 
good. Other States might offer prizes for different crops. 
Some Dairy Figures.— 1 The dairy industry in 
the United States represents over $1,300,000,000, with an 
annual production of $350,000,000 worth of Butter and 
Cheese. This is $50,000,000 more than the wheat, crop of 
the country. The number of pounds of butter made last 
year, as near as can be calculated, was 1,500,000,000 pounds. 
FIsIl Skins.— It is comparatively recent that fish 
skins have been put to any practical uses. At Gloucester 
shoes have been made from the skin of the Cusk, and a 
patent is said to have been secured for this preparation. 
The skins of thornbacks are prepared as a substitute for 
sandpaper. Bouquets of flowers arealso made from them. 
The English Sewage Farms.—“M. W. S.,” 
LaSalle Co., Ill. The sewage farms in England have not 
been profitable ventures directly. Indirectly they have 
saved money for the towns and cities, inasmuch as the 
cost of running the farms has been less than that of dis¬ 
posing of the sewage in the ordinary way, considering 
cost in its fullest sense and not in its pecuniary meaning 
wholly. Every dollar’s worth of product grown on the 
farms has cost probably two dollars, but the waste has 
been got rid of very cheaply and inoffensively. Reports 
of the different sewage farms have been published in 
various English journals, but we do not remember that 
there has been any publication in a more permanent form. 
T. N. S. S. F. T. F. O. C. A.— What a pity 
that so good a thing should have such a name that its in¬ 
itials only, make the formidable array of letters above 
given, “ The Nova Scotia Society for the Prevention of 
Cruelty to Animals ” sends us a circular by its Secretary, 
John Naylor, Esq., in which they announce to kindred 
Societies, and to all interested, that they have examined 
a new cattle car, which they recommend to other Socie¬ 
ties and to railroads generally. To read the description 
of the excellent arrangements for the comfort of the ani¬ 
mals, one wishes that the inventor would turn his atten¬ 
tion to the construction of cars for carrying passengers. 
A Doctor on Pie.— Here is a man, and a doctor 
too, that has no sympathy for the much abused pie. “ Pie 
is vile, because it is indigestible, inexcusable, and mys¬ 
terious. It is indigestible from the very nature of its 
composition, it is inexcusable because it is tampering 
with the holiest functions of the stomach to offer pie to 
it in place of food, and it is mysterious because you don’t 
know what you are eating.”—There are two general 
classes of pie, the one we eat and think well of it, the 
other—well 1 it is the kind the doctor has described. 
Cabbage Worms Again—Other Remedies. 
The Cabbage Caterpillar or “Worm,” has so many 
natural enemies, that these, aided by the means for its 
destruction employed by the owner of the cabbages— 
man—have so greatly reduced its numbers that we now 
hear but little of it in localities where, a few years ago, 
it was feared that cabbage culture must be abandoned. 
In those places where it appears for the first time, culti¬ 
vators are having the same experience that those of us 
had who endured the visitation when the insect first ap¬ 
peared in this country a dozen or so years ago. It hap¬ 
pens that the Cabbage Worm is a matter of great impor¬ 
tance in some parts of the country every year, and what 
ever relates to its destruction is of interest to a large 
number of readers. We gave, last month, some hints 
about destroying the worms in advance, so to speak, by 
killing the moths before they can lay their eggs. We 
also stated there, that the most generally successful rem ■ 
edy is hot water. To many, the idea of applying hot 
water to a living plant is new, and such persons ask for 
more full directions. Like the hunter who aimed to kill 
if the animal should be a deer, but to miss if it were a 
calf, we must have the water hot enough to kill the worm 
and miss the plant. This is 160°, or from that to 170°. 
One with a little practice, after learning how water heat¬ 
ed between 160° and 170° feels to the hand, hits the right 
temperature without the use of the thermometer every 
time. The water is conveniently applied with a common 
watering-pot, but that is ordinarily made with a rose, 
which scatters too much, and there is a waste of water, 
a matter of no little consequence if one has to bring it a 
long distance. If many plants are to be treated, it will 
pay to have a rose made for the purpose, one much small¬ 
er than those sold with the pot. It should be, borne in 
mind that the water, in passing through the air in small 
streams, will cool rapidly. Matters should be so man¬ 
aged that the water shall be at the temperature named 
when it reaches the worm. The water in the pot may be 
considerably hotter than 170°, and if need be, cooled by 
holding the rose at some distance above the plant. On 
the other hand, if the water is scarcely above 170°, thi 
rose, in applying it, should be held close to the plant, to 
avoid cooling. Those who put a little thought into their 
work will have no difficulty. 
A correspondent, “G. M. L.,” Cincinnati, O., writes 
that Wheat Bran, or Shorts, if sprinkled upon the cab¬ 
bages when they are wet with dew, or rain, will com¬ 
pletely banish the pests. When the Cabbage Caterpillar 
first made its appearance we gave all the remedies in use 
in Europe, where it is an old trouble, and Bran among 
the others. Since then, having heard nothing of its use, 
we had forgotton about it until reminded by our corres¬ 
pondent. We suppose the bran, in this case, acts me¬ 
chanically rather than as a poison; the particles of bran 
probably irritate or otherwise annoy the worm and inter¬ 
fere with its movements, and the insect starts off in 
search of more comfortable feeding grounds. 
Among other things used in Europe to get rid of these 
caterpillars is the common Brake, or Bracken, a tall 
coarse fern (Pteris aquilina), found almost everywhere. 
The fronds (leaves) of this are laid upon the cabbages, 
and the worms are said to leave at once. The leaves of 
the Elder are used for the same purpose; our Elder is 
quite different from the European, and may not have the 
same effect, but it is easily tried. In France the refuse 
from the Hemp brakes, the broken leaves and crushed 
seed pods, is used. The odor of this is said to kill the 
worm in a very short time. It has been suggested to 
sow Hemp seeds between the cabbage rows that its odor 
may keep off the insect. A year or two ago we publish¬ 
ed the statement that some European gardener had dis¬ 
covered that water, in which the clippings of Tomato- 
plants had been steeped, promptly killed planfrlice and 
other insects. We would suggest a trial of this upon 
the Cabbage Worm. While we have no doubt of the ef¬ 
ficacy of hot water, a cold application is attended with 
much less trouble, and for that reason preferable 
