392 
^Ml^mCAJs AGEIOULTUEIST, 
[September, 
Seasonable Books. 
Practical Porestry. —By Andrew S. Fuller: 
Orange Judd Company, New York. One needs to read 
the snb-title, in order to form an idea of the full scope and 
usefulness of the work. That which relates to the prop¬ 
agation of trees by various methods, planting and caring 
for tliem until of the most profltable size for their various 
uses, properly comes under the head of “ Practical For¬ 
estry.” Ilpon these matters the author has a right to 
speak as he does from an experience of many years, which 
was passed throtigh long before Forestry was regarded 
as an important branch of agriculture. As valuable as 
this practical portion of the work really is, the author 
has done the tree planters of the country a greater ser¬ 
vice in bringing before them, in a compact form, a com¬ 
plete list of all the trees native to the United Slates. If 
this has been done before, we have not met with it. 
Here the planter linds a list of the native materials at 
hand, and these are described in a brief and popular man¬ 
ner, which allows some opinion to be formed of their 
value .and uses. The work, while it includes all our na¬ 
tive trees, does not exclude all foreign species. There 
are some foreign trees, the value of which in this coun¬ 
try has long been fully eshablished, these are of course 
given )dace. Besides, there are a number of others, 
hut little tested, which may be useful on our soil. These 
newer, and probably promising trees, are known to the 
majority by name merely. Any description or informa¬ 
tion about them is scattered through volumes not in¬ 
cluded in ordin.ary libraries. Mr. Fuller has done well 
to bring these scattered materials together, and give 
such information and popular description as each ap¬ 
peared to require. The work will doubtless supply a de¬ 
mand which recent conventions and discussions have 
created for whatever of real value that relates to Forestry. 
Price, post-paid, $1.50. 
Allen’s New American Farm Book. —By 
R. L. & L. F. Allen : Orange Judd Oompany, New York. 
When a young farmer asks, if there is not a book of 
ready reference to aid him in his farm work; one that 
will tell him liow much seed is required to the acre by 
the different farm crops; what is the best preparation of 
the land, etc., in short, a nork that will reply to the 
many questions which he formerly depended upon his 
father to answer, we know that ” Allen's New Ameri¬ 
can Farm Book ” is what he wants. A correspondent 
writes ns in effect; “I was brought up on a farm, but 
have been so many years in mercantile business, that I 
find I have forgotten many things, and those I do re¬ 
member are not suited to the present day. Farming is 
not what it was when I left it. Can you not recommend 
some work that will aid my recollection, and give me in 
brief, hints at the present methods of managing farm 
work?” There is but one work that will meet tire wants 
of the merchant who has returned to the farm—‘‘Allen’s 
New Araei'ican Farm Book.” Some banker, or other 
city dweller, wealthy enough to have a farm as an amuse¬ 
ment, and as a comfortable jdace for the family in sum¬ 
mer, stops at the office, remarking: “Of course I am 
obliged to leave the management of my place to the 
farmer. I pay him to do that. Still I do not like to have 
a man in my employ ask my advice about matters, con¬ 
cerning which I am perfectly ignorant. Have you not a 
work, in which I can get some idea of what is going on 
upon my own farm ? The other day the farmer remarked, 
that “ the prospect for rowen was pretty good and I 
came very near telling him, if he would attend to the 
farm, the boys would look after tHe boating. Now I 
want some book which gives the meaning of farm 
words.” This man’s case, which is tj'pical rather than 
actual, could be best met by Allen’s “ Farm Book.” The 
work was originally written by the late R. L. Allen, 
the first editor of the American Agriculturist, who was 
in his day justly regarded as the most accomplished 
among our farmers, and who united practical agriculture 
with scientific acquirements in a manner very rare at 
that time and not too frequent since. After the author’s 
death, the volume was enlarged from time to time by his 
brother, L. F. Allen, long a successful farmer in one of 
the most fertile portions of 'Western New York. The 
work as brought down to the present time remains, as it 
was originally, unique in its character, and one which 
meets the wants of a barge number of farmers. It is 
rarely we find so much useful information brought with¬ 
in the limits of a single volume. Price, post-paid, $2.50. 
The Fruit Garden. —By P. Barry: Orange Judd 
Company, New York. In its last revision, Mr. Barry’s 
work has attained to greater bulk than ever before, over 
five hundred pages. This is another instance in which the 
title fails to give an idea of the full scope and value of 
the work. In this country, a “ Fruit Garden ” is regard¬ 
ed as an area devoted to the culture of small fruits. So 
far from this, this work is a treatise upon all kinds of 
fruit and fruit trees and shrubs grown in the country, 
and treated with a directness and thoroughness, rarely 
equalled. The tree is started from its very beginning. 
raised in the nursery, planted in the orchard, cared for 
until it bears, when its fruit is gathered, packed, and 
shipped to market. Everything is openly and plainly 
told, and the reader has no feeling that any trade secrets 
have been kept back. The author believes that the best 
way is the best, and he gives those methods that have 
led to success in the most extended and varied nurseries 
in the country. It is just the work that each one who 
grows fruit, whether for home use or for market, should 
have at hand for reference. Those about to commence 
fruit-growing, will find autumn the best season in which 
to begin preparations. Price, post-paid, $2.50. 
Elliott’s Housewife.— By Mrs. Sarah A. 
Elliott: Orange Judd C'omiiany, New York. Those 
who have been much in the Southern States are aware 
that, in many respects, domestic matters are very difl’er- 
ent from those in Northern homes. This is especially 
noticeable in the table, not only in dishes, the raw mate¬ 
rials for which are peculiar to the South, but in peculiar 
methods of cooking articles that arc common everywhere. 
Mrs. Elliott’s book does not claim to be exclusively on 
Southern cooking, but it contains many Southern 
methods, which are not to be found elsewhere. The 
Southern house-keeper, being usually far from good 
markets, gives more attention to salting and smoking 
meats, than her Northern sister, as well as to preparing 
pickles and preserves. In these preserving and pickling 
days, the Northern housekeeper will find in the work 
methods of preparing various peculiarly Southern com¬ 
pounds in these lines. The useful hints upon various 
points in household management, add to the value of the 
book. Price, post-paid, $1.25. 
Tlie Grape-Growers Guide.— By William 
Chorlton : Orange Judd Company, New York. If per¬ 
sons of means, or of snfticient leisure, were aware how 
readily large clusters of delicious exotic grapes could be 
grown in a cold grapery, such grape houses would be 
more frequent than they now are. We can raise such 
excellent grapes in the open air, that there is less induce¬ 
ment here to build glass houses than in England. There 
it is grapes under glass, or no grapes at all. 'Those who 
would add to their luxuries by growing exotic grapes, 
will find Mr. Chorlton’s w'ork what its title claims it to 
be—a guide. Not only is it a guide in growing and fruit¬ 
ing the vines, but in the construction of the house also. 
Its directions .are those of one whose long and successful 
experience enables him to teach others, and to guide the 
novice in every detail. Those who propose to erect 
grape houses, whether cold graperies or those to be 
heated, will find autumn the most favorable time for the ’ 
work. Price, post-paid, 75 cents. 
American Grape-Growing and Wine 
MaUing.— With added chapters on the Grape Indus¬ 
tries of California, by George Husmann : Orange Judd 
Company, New York. In this work the author gives 
his own large experience, and the methods of others, in 
cultivating grapes on a large scale. If one has but a few 
vines, a little more or less time expended upon them, is 
of no great consequence. In vineyard culture, where 
vines are to be dealt with by hundreds and thousands, it 
is necessary to treat them with a view to saving time. 
The method of training here proposed is that which 
will produce the best present crops, and also secure 
the future productiveness of the vines. The instructions 
for wine making are full and plain, and if intelligently 
followed cannot fail to produce good results, whether 
upon a large or a small scale. Those who contemplate 
undertaking grape culture in a wholesale way, should 
recollect the importance of making their preparations in 
the fall; at this time the land should be plow'ed, even if 
it is not expedient to plant it. Sent post-paid, $1.50. 
Frencli’s Farm Drainage.— By Henry P. 
French: Orange Judd Company, New York. Judge 
French, of New Hampshire, was in this country one of the 
pioneers who “ buried crockery ” with most excellent re¬ 
sults upon his lands and crops. He was certainly the 
pioneer author, and his practical work upon Farm Drain¬ 
age, in its way, contributed largely to the improvement 
of our agriculture. While the work is especially devoted 
to tile draining, which in the end has proved less costly 
than any substitutes or make-shifts, yet there are at 
times cases where it is expedient to make use of drains 
of wood, of stones, of brush, and even of open ditches. 
It is well to know where these substitutes for tiles are 
advisable, and how to construct them in the most effec¬ 
tive manner. Over a large portion of our country, 
autumn is the most favorable season for draining. The 
soil retains a genial warmth, and the work may often be 
continued far into the winter. Price, post-paid, $1.50. 
How to Hant and 'I'rai*, by J. H. Batty: 
Orange Judd Company, New York. The value of this 
work consists in its being the record of personal ex¬ 
perience, and in its attention to the small matters upon 
which success, especially in trapping, so much depends. 
It is too often the case, that those who write works as¬ 
sume that the reader knows about the apparently trivial 
matters, and omit the very things which the novice 
wishes to know. All Mr. Batty’s directions show that 
he has been able in writing for the novice to “ put your¬ 
self in his place,” and anticipate the difficulties he may 
meet with. Abundantly illustrated. Pric9,post-paid,$1.50. 
The Cattle Disease at the West, 
While the aceounts by telegraph and by mail agree 
that a fatal disease has appeared among cattle in Kansas 
and Nebraska, they differ as to its nature. Some assert 
that the dreaded and fatal Texas fever is among the 
herds in transit, others claim that the mortality is due to 
bad water; that good water has been very scarce along 
the route, and the animals have been obliged to drink 
water so highly impregnated with alkaline compounds, 
as to prove fatal to many that drank it. The arrival at 
the Chicago stock yards of several car-loads of sick and 
dying animals, naturally caused alarm, for fear that the 
disease would spread eastward. The prompt measures 
taken at Chicago and other points, resulted in the isola¬ 
tion of the animals that had been exposed to the dis¬ 
ease, and the shooting and condemning of the carcasses 
of those hopelessly sick. It is claimed by good authori¬ 
ties, that the Texas fever can not bo communicated by 
mere contact of the sick with the well, but only when 
well animals graze after or feed after those having the 
fever. It is asserted that, should it prove to be the 
Texas fever, there is no cause for alarm, as the disease 
prevails to no greater extent than it has for a number of 
years at this season. A still greater assurance is afford¬ 
ed by the action of the leading cattle men, those at the 
head of the largest Cattle Live Stock Associations and 
Cattle Companies at the West, and the railroads. These 
have agreed t<f move no more Texan Cattle until after 
the frost, which removes all danger. The prompt action 
of the Governors and the official veterinarians in the 
States most interested, should allay all fears that the dis¬ 
may spread eastward. 
-- 
Something N’e’w in Ramie Culture. 
Many of our readers will recollect with what hopes 
the cultivation of the Ramie, or China Grass Plant, ivas 
undertaken some twenty years ago. In the cotton States 
especially, where planters were ready for some crop that 
required less labor than cotton, quite large experimental 
fields were planted. These attempts showed, that there 
was no difficulty in producing the raw material. But the 
culture did not extend, and was soon practically aban¬ 
doned. The plant contains a fine, strong, and beautiful 
fibre, more like silk than any other ; but to free it from 
the bark and all extraneous matter, by the slow baud 
process of the Orientals, was not to be thought of. Ma¬ 
chines were invented, and those who undertook to grow 
the fibre, in the hope that these would prepare it for 
market, were disappointed. The separation of Ramie 
fibre by machinery failed, and its production ceased. It 
appears that the matters surrounding the fibres and at¬ 
taching them to one another, are of a nature that does 
not allow of their complete separation by machinery 
alone, but there must be a solvent which will dissolve 
these, and allow of the separation of the ultimate fibres'. 
A KEW PROCESS 
has just been discovered andpatented.which promises to 
make Ramie culture practicable, as it removes the ob¬ 
stacle which has so long stood in the way of the indus¬ 
try. The bark is stripped from the stems of the Ramie 
while they are green. It is then passed through a 
simple machine, which removes the coarser portions of 
extraneous matter ; the operation is completed by boil¬ 
ing for a short time in a solution of chemicals, which 
dissolves out all the gum and other materials. After 
the Ramie is washed, it has a slightly yellowish color, but 
the ultimate fibres are all distinct, and shine with a pe¬ 
culiar lustre. A final bleaching gives the Ramie a bril¬ 
liant whiteness, and it appears like silk. In order to en¬ 
courage the growing of Ramie, the company owning the 
process, offer to purchase the crude bark, merely stripped 
from the stems, at a stated price, thus removing one of 
the obstacles to its culture—the lack of a market. 
Much is yet to be settled with regard to the plant as 
a crop. Its Northern limit is not yet well defined. The 
plant is a perennial, but it will not bear severe freezing; 
it will probably succeed in New Jersey, though there 
the roots may need a covering of litter during the 
winter. Further South, three and sometimes four cut¬ 
tings can be made during the season. The plant may 
be raised from the seed; the seedlings, when large 
enough, being transplanted to the field. It is much 
more expeditious to plant pieces of the old plants; 
these, if planted in autumn will become established and 
be ready to yield a crop next year. 'W'e look with much 
interest upon this new departure in the treatment of 
Ramie, as possibly adding another to the crops of our 
varied agriculture,and with sincere wishes for its success. 
