154- 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
cause of the injury at first; the ashes and lime doubtless 
benefit ted the soil aside from destroying the grubs. 
Buds from Natrsery '.Trees.— A subscriber on 
the Pacific coast, inquires whether buds taken from trees 
or cuttings received from New Aork or the Atlantic 
States, are fit to use for budding. If obtained from reli¬ 
able sources, the buds may be used lor the desired pur¬ 
pose. Experienced persons can usually judge of the 
genuineness from the appearance of the wood, and espe¬ 
cially from the leaves after they are well out. 
Curculio Reisiecly,—Mrs. E,, of Calhoun Co., 
Mich., wriies that she gets full crops of plums annually, 
while those of her neighbors aregreatly diminished by the 
curculio. As long as ihe trees are in bloom, and for a 
week afterwards, she every morning, whiie dew is on. 
takes a pan of leached ashes and with the hand throws 
them through the foliage, taking care that some shall fall 
upon each flower. 
White Pine from Seed.— S. Demsey, Essex Co., 
Mass. Collect the seed when ripe, and sow in the Spring 
on light, sandy loam, covering with very little soil. The 
bed must be kept moderately moist, and shaded from the 
hot sun. 
Aoiierican Weeping; Willow.—Benj. Kerr, 
Lancaster Co.. Pa., and others. This willow we have 
seen in the nurseries of Parsons & Co. See advertise¬ 
ment in page 73, March No. It is also for sale by other 
nurserymen, we suppose. There is another variety 
called the Kilmarnock , which is quite equal, if not superior 
to the American. These two are sold at 50 cents to $1.00 
each, according to size, quality, Ac. 
Sowing Carrots.—A. D , Ulster Co., N. Y. Early 
sowing is preferable, say by the first of May. Guano and 
Plaster will operate well if mixed thoroughly with the soil 
so as not to kill the tender plants by contact. Fine bone- 
dust, or better, bone saw ings, deeply mixed w tth the soil 
in the dril s we have found a most excellent fertilizer for 
carrots, beets and parsneps. Last year we raised parsneps 
‘large enough and long enough for respectable bed posts, 
by trenching deeply and digging bone-sawings into ttie 
rows before putting in the seed. 
Carrots vs Parsneps for Stock.— “ Sub¬ 
scriber.” Sidney Plains, N. Y. We think the long orange 
carrot is preferable to the Belgian, and belter for cattle 
lhan parsneps. It is easier to raise and dig 100 bushels of 
carrots than so many parsneps. Smooth carrots, two 
feet long, are hard enough to get out of the ground, but 
“ sprangly ” parsneps, 2} or 3 feet long, are only excelled 
in digging by Chinese Yams (Dtoscoreas.) 
Mandrake, or May Apple (podophyllum pel- 
tatum ).—“ Wisconsin” asks if these may not be improved 
by cultivation. We are not aware that the attempt has 
been made, and question w hether anything of much value 
can be made of them. Some of our readers may have ex¬ 
perimented w ith them. If so please report the results. 
New Rocketle Blackberry— J. J. B., 
Richmond. Va. This blackberry will doubtless succeed 
in your locality. We think they are already growing 
well in your vicinity, though we do not now remember 
w ho has them thereabouts. 
“ Sijuaw Corn”—J. S. Pulsifer, Schuylkill Co., 
Pa The sample of corn you sent u“, varying in color 
from white to mixed, red and blue, is probably a cross of 
the Tuscarora and some other kind. Single varieties sel¬ 
dom sport into divers colors when kept entirely by them¬ 
selves. 
Mixing; of Corn.—“One of the Boys” at Inde¬ 
pendence, Iowa, inquires, if corn, planted at different 
periods, side by side, will mix. It will to some extent, 
although slightly if one is an early variety, and planted 
sometime before a later kind. So long as the bloom, of 
the late suckers even, falls upon the opening silk of ano¬ 
ther variety, the two will mix. Better plant the kinds 
tarty rods or more apart, to preserve them pure. 
King; Phil ip Corn. —Horner A. Kidd, of Walden, 
Orange Co., N. Y., writes, that June 2nd, last year, he 
planted i acre with seed obtained of us, on light, sandy 
soil, rows 21 feet apart. It grew luxuriantly, was well 
plowed, and hoed twice, and was fit for roasting long be¬ 
fore other varielies in the same neighborhood. When 
>reen it was sweet and luscious. It produced at the rate 
of 100 bushels of shelled corn per acre.” At the date of 
his letter, Feb. 2d, Mr. K. had some seed to part with, and 
n.ay yet have. 
'Tobacco Culture.— P. L. Buchanan, and other 
inquirers, will find a full chapter on tobacco growing, on 
page 54 of our last volume (March No., 1857). We can¬ 
not repeal the chapter so soon again, and we have little 
to add to that article, which was designed to be as com¬ 
plete as our space w ould admit. There are many articles 
ui volume XVI., which, Q ( course, cannot be given in Ute 
present one, and it would, doubtless, be worth while for 
new subscribers to obtain it. Tite volume, in numbers, 
is sent, post-paid, for $1.12 ; or furnished bound for $ 1.50- 
The bound volumes are rather large to go by mail, but 
may be so sent by pre-paying 42 cents postage. 
Cucumber Slug; Preventive.—Mrs. I. Hunter. 
Knox Co., Ill., says’ that her cucumbers have never been 
troubled with bugs of any kind, since she has tried placing 
a tomato plant in the centre of each hill, when putting in 
the seed. The tomato plant is removed when the cucum¬ 
ber vines are too large for the bugs. 
Eradicating; Briars.—Hon. Wm. W. Valk, Som¬ 
erset County, Md. Your vivid description of slovenly, 
careless farming is too true of many places all over the 
country. Perhaps the Lantern of Diogenes, may yet 
shine into some of these dark corners.—We know of no 
better implements to eradicate the thick growth of briars 
infesting your ground, than the plow, harrow or culti¬ 
vator, and hoe. The rootsof any plantwill soon die ifkept 
from breathing by allow ing no leaf to exist above the sur¬ 
face. A few years since, a Western friend constructed a 
heavy small harrow, with long strong teeth pointing for¬ 
ward. A pair of handles on the rear end served to lift 
the implement up with, when clngeed. The ground was 
first plow ed deeply and then harrowed and cross-harrowed 
several times. By this means the briar roots were gath¬ 
ered and dropped in heaps wherever the clogged harrow 
was lifted, and they were then carted off. A couple of 
hoed crops following, subdued the pests. 
Car away.— Miss Lucy A. Watson, Orange Co., 
Vt., writes : Prepare and sow a small bed, and keep 
down the weeds for the first year. Then transplant to 
a large bed, and keep from weeds the second year, after 
which it w ill propagate and take care of itself, furnishing 
an annual supply. We have tried this plan, except the 
transplanting, on a small border of the garden. The only 
trouble was to keep it from spreading beyond due 
bounds. 
Ferrets.— J. B. W., of Harford Co., Md., inquires 
where these can be bought. We do not know. Any 
one having them to sell would do well to advertise them. 
Gophers or Ground Squirrels.— II. Platt, 
Whiteside Co., Ind. These animals on the prairies, like 
the chipmucks in woftdy regions, are often great pests, ami 
various remedies have been proposed. One is to drive 
steam into their holes by means of a portable hand boiler, 
with a long nozzle or hose. This scalds, or drives them 
out, when they are caught by dogs. They mat be poison¬ 
ed w ith arsenic or strychnine mixed with meal and placed 
near their haunts. “ it is said,” that castor beans planted 
among vegetab es will keep them at adistance (doubtful) 
Cats w ith half-grown kittens to proviue for, make no small 
havoc among the gophers. 
Potato Barings for Seed.—E. Remington Ly¬ 
coming Co., Pa , writes that he experimented with pota¬ 
toes last season, planting whole ones, halves, quarters and 
skms only. He cut the last as thin as possible, taking care 
however, not to wound the seed bud. They were dried 
by the s’ove until many of them were like chips, planted 
apart by himself, and the yield was fully equal to any of 
the others. This may have succeeded well in such a sea¬ 
son as the last, but is not generally advisable. The more 
nourishment the young plant gets from the old tuber, the 
better start it will get, and it w ill do better in nine times 
out of ten, than if having only the thin paring. 
Poultry and Cows in Minnesota..—M. 
Marks, of Rice Co., says, among oiher things: “ —Our 
23 liens laid 272 dozen eggs from the first of March 1857, 
to the first of Jan 1858. They are still laying 3} dozen 
per week.... From three cows and one 2-year old heifer, 
we made 800 lbs. of butter from the fifth of March 1857, 
to the first of January 1858. We sold 700 lbs at 32 cents 
per lb., and raised 5 calves worth $40.” 
Melons, Arc., in Kansas.—Mr. C. E. Blood, 
writing from Manhattan, Kansas Ter., says: I have seen 
no country that could excel this in ihe production of mel¬ 
ons, squashes, pumpkins, Ac. They all have a peculiar 
sweetness and richness of flavor. 
Nebraska Agriculture. —J. S. M. Weshall be 
glad to get condensed practical inlormation from your 
Territory and all others. Thanks for your kind words of 
encouragement. 
Improved Stock. —An advertisement in this paper 
announces some good stock for sale, by the Brothers 
Haines, of w hich a catalogue may be obtained as an¬ 
nounced. 
Twin Heifers, Free Martins.— II. G. Peach, 
Lake Co., Ind. Twinned heifers will breed as well as 
those dropped singly. The same may said of twinned 
males. It is only the “ Free martin”—that is, a heifer 
twinned with a bull—that will not breed well. 
Patent Office Seeds.—Jno. F. Driscol, Provi¬ 
dence, R. I., Secretary to the R. I. Hort. Society, says: 
“ I had some seeds from the Patent Office, labeled ai 
flower seeds, which turned out Red-top Grass and Mul¬ 
lein, which, were a very great acquisition to my annuals." 
Sawdust and F ine.— S. M., Luzerne County., 
Pa. If you can get sawdust delivered at the stable for l 
cent per bushel, or even double or treble that p ice, by 
all means get and use it freely to absorb liquids in ma¬ 
nures, and also as a mulch around trees, berry plants, Ac. 
Some striking results from the application as a fertilizer 
of sawdust soaked in urine have been recently published 
in Great Britain. There is no doubt that sawdust satur¬ 
ated with uiine, house-slops, or liquid manureis an excel¬ 
lent manure, 
ffommers’s Manure. —J. H. Foster, jr. ( junior 
Dispatch Ed.) Tioga Co., Pa This is refeired to in last 
volume, page 82. We do not consider the subject worth 
the room to discuss it in. 
Farmers’ Hand Mill.—W. B. Thompson, 
Meigs Co., 0. The above mill you inquire afler is still 
on sale, by Fowler A Wells, but they prefer not sending 
them out, unless the purchaser examines the machine, 
and is satisfied with it. It does not give the satisfaction 
which was expected. 
Value of a Paper —A Problem in Arith¬ 
metic.—J. L. J., of Montgomery Co., Pa , relates an in¬ 
stance where the knowledge obtained from a single copy 
of a paper saveh a valuable animal. We mention lhis as 
one of hundreds of such instances that from time to time 
come to our knowledge. R-n der, would you now really 
part with a tithe of all the information you obtained from 
even the poorest paper you ever subscribed for, for double 
the cost 1 Suppose you cypher it up. 
Daven port City, Sowa. - Friend Hall will please 
accept our thanks for the map of Davenport—it calls vi¬ 
vidly to mind the beautiful prospect we looked upon last 
Summer, as we were on thebridgecrossingthe “ Father of 
Waters”—also for the sundry notes which are laid away 
lor future use. 
Sckizantlms is pronounced as if written Ski-zan- 
thus. The letters ch are pronounced like k, in Lys-i-macA- 
i-a, EscA-scAolt-zi-a, Ar-is-ti-lo-cAi-a, Ac. Thanks to W. 
F. Bassett, Franklin Co., Mass..for his suggestions. The 
“ Maple ” topic some other tune. 
Three Wheels to a Wagon.—David Link 
Floyd Co., Va , writes : " I believe the Agriculturist in¬ 
dispensable to every systematic, well-regulated farm. I 
cannot say enough in commendation—am getting up a 
club. I would as soon do w ithout one wheel to my wag¬ 
on, as without the Agriculturist. It was certainly worth 
$20 to me last season.”—That will do. 
■- - »- - - 
An Editor Feeling Very Badly. 
A certain journal published near Philadelphia, is in a 
very bad way again—or rather its disease, which is consti¬ 
tutional, has broken out in a new spot. There are few 
Journals which it has not at some time, in a very milita¬ 
ry tone, bid begone from its august presence, or else salved 
them over with overweening praise ad nausevm. But 
Major Freas’ last gun was a regular Paixhan which must 
have been loaded with grape. Not content with detailed 
denunciation, be now- tells Ihe whole “ bnmboozled coun¬ 
try press" they are a set of ninnies, all of them having been, 
to quote his own words, “ gulled by a certain artful New. 
York city agricultural monthly.” From almost any other 
source we should have esteemed this quite complimenta¬ 
ry, for we have spent most of our days in the country, and 
from our boyhood up to this hour we have had quite an 
admiration for any “ New-York Chap,” smart enough to 
get round us country fellows, especially when w e had them 
on our own ground. But the compliment is of no account, 
since the “ Country Press ” in general, and that of Penn¬ 
sylvania and New-Jersey in particular, have heard the 
Major’s command, “eyes right,” so often, that they leave 
him where Ihe Shepherd boy, accustomed to cry wolf so 
often in fun, was left whenthe wolf did come. The Major 
goes on to condemn our advertisements as “outre’’be¬ 
cause they have been setup so as to accompli; h the aim of 
all advertisements, viz: attract, attention. Wewonderhow 
he had the conscience to say anyone of our articles was 
ever re-written from another journal and primed as origin¬ 
al. We pay over $3,000 a year for editorial aid, and have no 
occasion for this kind of plagiarism which the Major seems 
to himself understand, as he intimates further on that he 
feels as if he had a “ rope around his neck,” when he 
takes the New-York monthly in hand, since it is copy¬ 
righted, lest his propensity to take without credit should 
subject him to “ prosecution.” 
Pray don’t be alarmed Major; its only mililia train¬ 
training day; the enemy are not near; sorry to see 
you run (drop exchange). We only expect to “ prosecute * 
one Yankee and one Western editor, and not them if thew 
