4.46 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[October, 
Catching Gophers. —“H. K.,” Council Bluffs, 
Iowa, writes: "I noticed in the American Agriculturist 
that you ask for a better way of destroying gophers, 
than that of poisoning them. I am very successful in 
catching them in steel traps, the only trouble is that 
few people know how to set them properly. When I 
want to catch one I go to one of the freshest hills I can 
see, and dig into it until I come to the hole, then I dig 
out the earth a little until I can see where the hole forks, 
and carefully remove a little earth from the bottom, 
so as to allow of the traps being placed level with the 
bottom of the run, then fill up the unevenness around 
the trap with some fine earth. I build the mouth of the 
hole up with clods, and ten chances to one that you will 
have him by next morning, and some times in an hour 
or less. I think this is the best way, as it costs nothing 
but a trap and the trouble of setting it Use no bait. 
Hints and Helps for Everybody.— The 
giving of a large number of labor-saving—and con¬ 
sequently money-saving—appliances, has always been a 
conspicuous feature of the American Agriculturist. In 
no former years has it given so many as in that now 
closing. This we attribute to a word of encouragement 
given early in the year, which we would now in sub¬ 
stance repeat. If in the work of the farm, the garden, 
or in that of the house, you have found any contrivance 
or device especially useful, no matter how simple it may 
seem, if it is useful to you it may be so to thousands of 
others. Such things are usually best described by a draw¬ 
ing. Whether you can draw or not, make a sketch, 
no matter how rude, if the measurements are put upon 
the parts, we can make an engraving from it. Every 
reader can at some time help many others by sending us 
sketches of useful devices for the farm, garden, etc. 
To Groiv Weeds.— Thoroughly prepare the soil by 
plowing, harrowing, and manuring—all this costs money 
—in fact prepare the soil as if a crop of roots or grain 
was expected, then sow or plant the seed of some agri¬ 
cultural plant, carrots are good, but turnips will do, and 
leave the soil to take care of itself. At the end of the 
season, if there is not a full crop of weeds with seed 
enough to stock the whole neighborhood it is not 
your fault, for as a grower of weeds you have done 
your part. The truth of this statement is founded on 
an extensive series of experiments, in this and other 
-countries, that settled this point long ago. 
Warts.— “J. S.,” Baltimore, Md. Warts consist of 
an enlargement of the papillae of the skin with a thick¬ 
ening of the epidermis or scarf skin. They appear more 
frequently on young animals, and affect various parts of 
the body—the under side of the abdomen, the mammary 
gland, the eye-lids and lips being the favorite seat of the 
affection. They often disappear without treatment, but 
in some cases are quite persistent. When of the pe¬ 
dunculated form (i. e. small at the base) they may be 
readily removed by a ligature, or by twisting, or they 
may be snipped off with scissors. If the base is broad, 
repeated applications of strong acetic acid will remove 
them by a gradual destruction of the epidermis covering 
the tumor. We have seen cases in which they appeared 
in a short time, in large numbers, in young animals, on 
the underside of the body and legs, and as quickly dis¬ 
appeared without the application of any remedy. 
WIUl Carrot— a Weed. —‘ - J. S. R.,” Rains- 
boro. Ohio, sends very complete specimens of a plant 
that is becoming very common in his locality, and wishes 
to know whether it is a native of this country, etc. The 
plant is the Wild Carrot (Daucus Carota), and is just our 
cultivated carrot which has reverted to the wild state. 
This, and its relative of the same family, the Parsnip, are 
among our most common weeds. In the older States, 
both are very abundant, but the Carrot is the most so, 
and often whitens whole fields when in bloom. Being a 
biennial, it is not so difficult to subdue as some peren¬ 
nial weeds, as it does not spread by the root. It pro¬ 
duces seeds in the greatest abundance, and in this man¬ 
ner spreads very rapidly. Each of the little one-seeded 
fruits, commonly taken for seeds, is provided with a 
gr°at number of hooks, by means of which it attaches it¬ 
self to the covering of both men and animals, and is thus 
readily carried from place to place. It begins to bloom 
in midsummer, and continues through the season. Its 
umbels of while flowers, produced in succession, are at 
first flat, and usually have in the center of the cluster one 
single dark purple or maroon colored flower. We have 
occasionally seen plants the flower-clusters of which 
were purplish throughout. After the bloom is over, the 
clusters, as the fruits grow and mature, become concave, 
and at length become of a shape that suggest the child¬ 
ren’s name of “ birds’-nests.” If the plant is not allowed 
to ripen ils seeds, it will soon disappear, hence it should 
be mown while in flower, and if the roots push up other 
flower-bearing stems, a second cutting must be made. 
Remember, it will do little good to cut off the flowers 
from the plants in the fields, and leave ample seed-beds 
on each side of the roads. If neighbors will co-operate, 
the Wild Carrot can soon be disposed of. Many may 
have been troubled by having their cultivated carrots 
come into flower the first year; this is said to be due to 
the fact that the seed was raised where the wild carrot 
was abundant, and the seed-bearing plants had been 
crossed wilh the wild. Of the truth of this’statement 
we are not quite sure, but find the belief very common. 
Some Things We Can Not Do.— We do not 
propose to enumerate all the things that we can not do. 
but recent letters suggest two. We cannot find situa¬ 
tions in the city for young men. Aside from the fact 
that 99 in every 100 young men who wish to come to 
New York had better stay away from it, we have no un¬ 
filled place in our own business, and know nothing about 
the business of others. We can not purchase, or tell 
parties where to purchase farms. If we wished a farm 
ora place of any kind, we should at once put our wants 
in the form of an advertisement, feeling very sure that 
our next want would be, help to open the many replies 
that would come to us in answer to the published desire. 
The Allantltus In Nebraska.— “A. H. R.,” 
Willowdale, Neb., writes that he intended to try the 
Ailanthus, but hesitates, as he has seen a statement in 
an agricultural journal that the tree is not hardy in “ the 
West,” and asks our opinion. We believe that the 
Ailanthus has not proved hardy in some parts of Northern 
Illinois, and there may be places in Nebraska where it 
would not endure the winters. Upon the northern 
limits of any tree local influences make a great difference, 
and parallels of latitude do not serve as guides. The 
Ailanthus flourishes in the climate of Boston, and we 
think that the injury reported from Illinois is not 
altogether due to the severity of the climate. Our cor¬ 
respondent, unless he meets with local experience, can 
easily try the experiment, and if, a3 proposed, he sets 
the trees in poor soil, it will be favorable to success. 
Exorbitant Charges for Repairs. — “ H. 
C.,” a farmer in Orange Co., N. Y., writes us a long and 
indignant letter upon what, he considers exorbitant 
charges for repairs upon farm machinery. He complains 
that he pays the price asked for a new machine, but 
when he needs a small casting he has to pay far beyond 
what he considers its value, and cites other instances of 
extortions. We do not see that it would aid our friend 
were we to give the names of the makers thus accused. 
The makers of some mowing machines, at least, give a 
list of every part likely to be needed in repairing, and 
one can know at the outset the cost of whatever “ extras ” 
he may need. In selecting an important machine like 
a mower, the farmer should take into account two 
things that are often overlooked; 1st. Are the parls 
needed for repairs kept in stock; and, 2d. the relative 
nearness of the factory or agency where they may be had. 
Pickles in Glass Jars.— We have many letters 
asking how to put up pickles so that they will look like 
those sold in glass jars at the stores. These pickles look 
beautifully, but we can not advise our readers to try to 
imitate them in all respects. The fine appearance of 
these pickles is due to two things, the “greening” and 
to the use of colorless vinegar. The very green pickles 
are made so by soaking them in a solution of alum, and 
verdigris. The use of a small quantity of alum, an 
ounce to every five gallons of water, to harden the 
pickles, is not objectionable. After the salted cucum¬ 
bers have been thoroughly freshened by soaking in 
blood warm water, and changing it every day, until 
the cucumbers are fresh enough, they are put into the 
alum water and kept at blood-heat for a day or until 
sufficiently hard. If they are not green enough, be 
sure not to use verdigris. The vinegar used is called 
“ White Wine Vinegar,” but it is really made from whis¬ 
key and water. Its only merit is, that it is colorless, it 
is a pure acid, and without the fine fragrance and flavor 
that belong to cider, or even to real wine vinegar. For 
home use, cider vinegar is vastly preferable ; but the 
pickle makers, for the sake of looks, use the other. 
A Ne vx Wheat.— G. A. Hisey, of Seneca Co., Ohio, 
sends half a dozen beautiful heads of an amber-co'ored 
wheat which be has raised for two years, and which 
originated in this wise: “Three years ago,” he writes, 
“a package of wheat was received from the Department 
of Agriculture, sown, and proved worthless. There were 
three heads so different and apparently superior, that 
they were saved and sown. This wheat proves very pro¬ 
ductive, and the flour is of an extra good quality. It is 
as early as the Fultz ; the straw is stiff and stands up 
well.”—The heads are large, bearded, with eleven spike- 
lets on each side, and frequently three kernels in a spike- 
let. The grain is amber-colored, above medium size in 
the samples we have-not plump, but fairly full. It 
seems to be a variety well worth growing, and should 
be tried both as winter and spring wheat. If it con¬ 
tinues to hold its own with other first class wheats, and is 
superior in some respects, it should he named and intro¬ 
duced—otherwise not; we have many tolerably good 
varieties now, and certainly do not want any more. 
Pollen Grains Carried by Wind.— Dr. Geo. 
Engelmann shows the lightness and floating power of 
the fertilizing dust (pollen) of the pine, in a statement 
that pine pollen has been found in the streets of St. 
Louis during a northern storm, from the pine forests on 
the Red River 400 miles away. Pine trees produce a 
wonderful abundance of pollen, as any one who has 
passed through a pine grove, when the trees were in 
flower, must have observed. The least disturbance 
given to a branch brings the yellowish dust down in 
copious showers. The wind has often carried great 
quantities of pollen to a distance, and deposited in such 
profusion as to give the idea that there has been a 
shower of sulphur. We have on several occasions had 
a portion of the ‘ brimstone” sent us (and the color is 
not very unlike that of sulphur) from various parts of 
the country; a glance at the powder through a strong 
microscope at once shows it to be the pollen grains of 
pine trees. If those who are disposed to look upon the 
shower as a warning one of brimstone, would gather a 
little of the powder and burn it, their fears might be 
allayed by proving it not to be sulphur. 
To Measure Timber.— It is a slow process to 
obtain the number of feet of lumber in square timber by 
the actual multiplying together of the three dimensions. 
All this work is avoided by the use of a Lumber and Log 
Book by J. M. Scribner, which is made up almost entirely 
of tables so arranged that the measuring of lumber be¬ 
comes more a pastime than a tiresome mathematical 
work. For example, you have a scantling by 8 inches 
in area of cross-section, and 19 feet in length. In an in¬ 
stant it is seen that there are 31f feet of lumber in the 
scantling. If the timber is round the difficulty of ac¬ 
curately measuring it is made equally easy by this little 
pocket Log Book. For example, a log with an average 
diameter of 19 inches, and 45 feet long, is seen at a glance 
to contain 51i cubic feet. This is one of the most use¬ 
ful little books that we have had occasion to use, and at 
the small cost of 35 cents, should be in the hands of all 
who have lumber of any kind to measure. 
Soap Boilers’ Waste.—“P. G. E.,” Balt. Co., 
Md.. writes: “If not too much trouble would you please 
tell me the value of soap makers’ waste ; it appears to 
be principally lime with a large per ceut of animal mat¬ 
ter, and lumps of soap (I suppose the settlings of the 
kettles). The soap makers use a large quantity of soda, 
and it ought to be a strong manure.”—Soap boilers waste 
is a very indefinite term. It is largely common salt 
(used to precipitate the soap out of the solution in 
in which the saponification, has taken place), with some 
caustic soda. It is worth something, in all probability 
enough to pay for carting three miles and perhaps enough 
to warrant paying a few dollars a month for the product 
of the establishment. The animal matter in the waste 
does not amount to a great deal. The salt is the main, 
in fact, almost the only thing of much consequence. 
Sometimes salt does a great deal of good. Sometimes 
little or none. The commercial value of such stuff would 
be as indefinite as its agricultural value. 
Central Park.— Much fault has been found with 
the details of management at Central Park, for several 
years past. A step has been taken in the right direction 
in the appointment as Superintending Gardener, of Wil¬ 
liam L. Fischer, who held a similar position in the years 
when the park was at its best. The public will be the 
gainer by this restoration of Mr. F. to the position he 
long and ably filled as Superintendent of the garden. 
Drain Tiles.— If properly done, draining is a per¬ 
manent improvement upon the farm, but it is a paying 
investment only in such cases. It is not enough to lay 
the drains in the right direction, with the proper descent, 
with the proper outlets and well protected. The tiles 
themselves must every one be perfect, in order that the 
work may last for generations and give no trouble in the 
future. If a tile is soft, being half baked, is cracked, or 
in any way imperfect, throw it aside. Such a tile is like 
a weak link in a chain, rendering the good ones useless, 
and when once laid in the drain is hard to find, and very 
difficult to mend. Use only the best of tiles. 
To Break up a Sitting Hen.—“M. C. D.,” 
Falls Village, Conn., writes: “I notice J. S., of Balti¬ 
more, Md., tells how to break up a brooding hen; I think 
my way better. I keep 100 hens, and have a coop four feet 
square and two feet high. When I gather eggs at night, 
I put all sitting hens in the coop, and keep them there 
two days, feed and water well, and let them out. and 
find that they soon commence to lay again. I have 
had the care of fowls for 15 years with good success.” 
