370 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
envelopes gives us any elue to their Post-Offices. We 
often get such letters, and usually wait for a second 
scolding letter, before we know what O do with the 
money. It is impossible to always remember the Post- 
Office address of even our oldest subscribers, and it is 
impracticable to look over the sixty thousand names on 
our boo-s to find a particular one. Please be careful to 
always give the name and full address. 
Manures.— Guano, etc. Some 25 or 30 communi¬ 
cations on these subjects are on hand. They are filed to¬ 
gether lo be attended to in one or two articles, thorough¬ 
ly discussing the subject. Among these are letters from 
S. T.,ofMe.; Quereus, of Pa.; Airs. L., of Pa. ; Ron- 
dout, N. Y ; A. T. & G. G. I., N. Y.; D. B., Pa. ; II. B. 
C., Dei.; P S A., Ohio; R. K. T., N. J. ; E. S. Z., Md. ; 
A. M , of Union ; A. D. G., N. Y r .; 0. P , N. Y. ; Geo. 
T. , N Y.; R. T. O., Wis. ; E. F. B., Wis. ; L. H. O., (?) 
-; A. Van B., Warren Co. j E. A. D., Mass.; and 
others. 
Sundry Questions. — A. H. B., Mass. Your 
questions, each require a lengthy reply, which can be 
given only as time and room may allow. The same re¬ 
mark applies to at least a hundred questions on hand 
from others. 
Italian Bees.—Isaac Tremble, of Aluskingum Co., 
Ohio, and one or two others, inquire where these can 
be had, and at what price. We know of none to be ob¬ 
tained as yet. 
t'ilter>n8f Cisterns.—A communication from 
Win. Burnett, with drawings, is on file for insertion soon. 
Setvilig Machines— A Correction.— In our 
plain description of “ How Sewingisdone by Machinery,” 
on page 57-58, we staled that "the Grover & Bakerstitcli 
can be unraveled, wiih a little care in getting hold of the 
two threads used.” It having been construed by some 
of our readers that we intended by this to condemn the 
stitch, it is but justice that w e should say this was not the 
case. We slated that “care,” and we might have added, 
experience, is necessary in order to pull out the threads, 
w hich it is sometimes desirable lo do when work is 
wrongly put together. The three principal Sewing Ma¬ 
chines before the public, Wheeler & Wilson’s, Grover 
& Baker’s, and Singer’s, each make a stitch sufficiently 
firm for all practical purposes. 
Wlsile Blackberries.—Ohio subscriber. These 
are not new, but have been known for several years past, 
and have been frequently advertised in this journal—once 
cr twice this year. We have seen none of them which 
appeared to be in any way superior to the black varieties— 
except for the novelty oi the thing. 
Syringing Hie Borer.—J. W. Hoyt, suggests 
that the norers might be destroyed by injecting a poison¬ 
ous liquid into their holes, using a syringe closely fitting 
the cavity. This would be d.fficuIt. The condensed air 
and especially the packed chips in the cavity would resist 
the ingress of the liquid. 
Iittrsre Radish.—E, Lawrence, of Dutchess Co., 
N. Y., brought to the Agriculturist office, Nov. I7ih, a 
radish, w hich we found to weigh 6i lbs. It was 15 inch¬ 
es in length and 21 inches in circumference. We opine 
this is h ird to beet. 
Steam Cultivation in England.—At the late 
Royal Agricultural Show, at Chester, the Judges unani¬ 
mously awarded the Society’s £500 prize ($2000) to 
Fowler’s Machine. The Judges in their report say : “It 
is beyond question that Mr. Fowler’s Machine is able to 
turn over the soil in an efficient manner, at a saving, as 
compared with horse labor, of 2] to 25 per cent on light 
land ; of 25 to 50 per cent on heavy land, and of 80 to 88 
per cent in trenching—while the soil, in all cases, is left 
in a far more desirable condition, and better adapted for 
all the purposes of husbandry.” 
The Comet.— Several correspondents have request¬ 
ed “ one of our plain, full descriptions of this visitor,” 
with drawings, &c. We have, so far, found no room to 
do this. 
Book Notice. 
Landscape Gaisdenino, or how to lay out a Garden , 
from the Second London Edition ; bv Edward Kemp, 
Landscape Gardener, Birkenhead Park. First Amer¬ 
ican Edition. Wiley and Halsted. New York, 1858. 
This is a nice book, as might be expected from the ac¬ 
complished hand of the designer and planter of that beau¬ 
tiful modern appendage to the wealthy city of Liverpool, 
England, opposite to which it lies, along the banks of the 
Mersey. We have had several works on this attractive 
subject from various authors abroad and at home ; and 
while we lead our own native Downing with delight, the 
foreigner Smith’s attractive pages, coupled with our do¬ 
mestic Allen's notes, with evident instruction, w e hail this 
recent work as a co-laborer in the arts of the natural and 
beautiful with decided relish. 
In mechanical execution the book cannot be better, and 
for the matter it contains, is cheap enough. No one au¬ 
thor can treat of every thing in his line with the thor¬ 
oughness common to three or four different authors on 
the same subject, for the simple reason, that some par¬ 
ticular branches more than others are his favorites, and 
he will inevitably give more marked attention to them, 
although meaning to be just to all. For that reason no 
student of the landscape or the garden can be thoroughly 
instructed without a close study of at least three or four 
well approved vvoiks. 
There is much, of course, to be found in the volume 
before us, in the way of trees, shrubs, plants and soils, as 
well as climate, not strictly applicable to America, and 
which the practical American must alter to conform lo 
his own circumstances ; but the principles of his design 
arid practice, in laying out, planting, training and cultiva¬ 
tion are the same. For ourselves, w e have looked over 
the pages of this work of Kemp with decided approba¬ 
tion, and heartily recommend it to that portion of our 
people, who are seeking, as so many now are, to render 
their homes attractive, pleasant and beautifully lasting. 
-— ---— 
The Steam Plow on Trial. 
[The following Report was set in larger type for a pre¬ 
ceding page, but crowded out by ihe Index. We insert it 
here, out of place, as it is timely.—E d.] 
Our intelligent Western contributor who looks 
especially after prairie matters, was present at 
the Trial of Steam Plows, under the auspices of 
the Illinois State Agricultural Society, at Decatur. 
Wednesday, November 10th, and furnishes the 
following report, with his impressions derived 
from a careful examination of the subject:— 
The weather was very unpropitious, (it having 
rained for more than two weeks previous,) and was 
snowing during the afternoon. The ground was 
wet, soft and muddy—a condition very adverse 
to the trial of any implement. Three or more 
steam plows were expected, but owing to the 
weather and other causes, only one arrived upon 
the ground, viz.: that of Mr. Fawkes, of Lancas¬ 
ter county, Pa. This engine ot machine, consists 
of a frame-work resting on one driving wheel 
and two guiding wheels. On this frame-work 
rests the boiler, upright, with fire-box underneath ; 
a tank and place above for wood or coal. The 
boiler contains one hundred and fifty-one flues, 
and the engine is of twenty-horse power. The 
tank was intended for a smaller engine and holds 
five barrels of water. The consumption of water 
is estimated by the inventor at one-and-a-half 
barrels an hour; of wood, one cord a day. 
The cylinders, one on each side, are eight 
inches. The driving wneel resembles a drum or 
barrel, six feet long and five feet diameter, and 
is worked by cog-wheels on each end. The for¬ 
ward guide-wheels are broad and about three feet 
high, their axle being turned by a (tiller) wheel 
under the control of the engineer. The machine 
weighs, loaded, about seven tons, and carries an 
engineer to manage the engine, and a fireman, 
who also attends the plows. The plows are at¬ 
tached to a frame-work made fast to the locomo¬ 
tive behind, and are capable of being lowered 
and raised by chains running over pullies and 
worked by the steam power. 
The trial was not as satisfactory as could have 
been desired, owing to the absence of most of the 
committee, and a want of proper management on 
the part of those who were present. The ma¬ 
chine operated \ery well upon sward, wet and 
soft, turning six furrows, each twelve inches wide 
and about five inches deep. When tried upon 
stubble land, the plows, which were not con¬ 
structed with cutters, choked up with grass and 
weeds. 
Another trial, on very wet, slippery sward, 
proved unsuccessful, the inventor not having any 
spuds in his driving-wheel; these he intends 
putting in. Taken as a whole, a success was 
attained bevond anv similar exneriment with a 
new machine, and the multitude who braved the 
cold storm of rain and snow, though disappointed 
in some respects, yet left under the conviction 
that plowing by steam was an established fact. 
Another trial, on the following day, at which 
I was not present, I understand to have been 
most successful; but I have as yet received no 
full account.* 
It may, perhaps, be premature to express any 
decided opinion in regard to this new adjunct to 
farm labor. After I have seen the plow tried 
upon soft (i. e., newly-plowed old land) and upon 
land tilled in corn (i. e., ridged more or less), 
then my opinion as to its real value to the farmer 
can be formed. 
As a stationary engine it can be used to every 
advantage. The fuel can be drawn to the field 
by the machine itself, and a cistern, mounted on 
timber wheels, of a capacity to hold enough water 
for one or two days, can be made fast behind the 
locomotive and drawn to the field. The cost of 
a ten horse engine plow in full, will be in the 
neighborhood of $1,500; and for a twenty-horse 
power, $2,500. This machine could be used in 
preparing the ground, seeding or planting, har 
vesting, threshing, and, provided there were 
suitable roads, hauling the grain or produce to 
market. Horses would need to be employed in 
tilling or tending the crops. 
The main advantages (not small either) are the 
speedy mannet in which a crop could be planted 
and harvested. Every man capable of thinking 
rationally can form his own opinion in regard to 
this new “ rage ” of inventors—Steam Plows. 
Let us hail with acclamation the advent of any 
machine that will lessen the labor of man, wo¬ 
man. or beast. Many other inventors promise 
shortly to he in the field with steam plows, and 
1 think what Brother Jonathan undertakes, he 
will accomplish. H. H. 
Prairie Cottage , Nov. I5th, 1858. 
* We have from another correspondent a brief note, 
stating that the second day’s trial was a decided im¬ 
provement over that of the first day, and was reallv suc¬ 
cessful.—E d. 
A Simple Leveling Implement. 
To the Editor of the Ameriian Agriculturist: 
On page 199, of Volume XVI., you describe a 
simple “ Leveling Instrument.” I think the most 
convenient implement of the kind I have seen, is 
one which was used by our ancestors for leveling 
water courses in the first settlement of the 
country, and which has besn used by some of 
their descendants ever since. The sketch sent 
herewith shows its form. [We have made an 
engraving of it, above.— Ed.] I have used this 
kind occasionally for sixty years. It is made 
thus: 
Take three strips of straight-grained inch 
boards, say eleven feet long and two or three 
inches wide, and nail them together as repre 
sented in the figure. Set it on the floor with a 
plumb line and weight suspended from the apex 
Bv turning it round from end to end. the exact 
