AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[February, 
58 
Mulching itmKicrries with Cut Straw. 
—The advantage of e^rering the ground around straw¬ 
berries with straw, kave^een fully set forth in the Agri¬ 
culturist. Tliis is generally done in Spring K, '-fore fruit¬ 
ing. A correspondent recommends putting on a coat of 
short c'&t Straw In Autumn or Winter, and taking it off 
from the leaves and steins in Spring, when not done by 
trains and wind. The advantages claimed, are : that it 
[prevents the killing of the plants by freezing and thawing, 
►the latter part of Winter ; that it keeps the weeds down in 
^Spring; and that it prevents the soiling of the fruit by 
' contact witli the-ground ; and also acts as a manure by its 
^gradual decay. 
Value -uC the Black Currant.— The follow- 
1 ing is ' extracted from Le Jardin Fruitier du Museum, 
•France : The nlanting of the blackcurrant bush was com- 
•' mended in 1841 at Dijon, and a small portion of wine 
'•Was then made. It was so well liked, that since then 
’•some two millions of currant bushes have been planted, 
til some places the grape has given place to the currant, 
the cultivation of which is rapidly increasing ; but the 
supply of fruit is not yet equal to the demand. Each 
bush yields from 2 to 5 pounds, for which the manufacturer 
pays five to six cents per pound. An acre yields a profit 
of from $100 to $200. The bushes are planted in trenches 
4 feet 3 inches apart, and 15 inches deep; the plants being 
placed some distance asunder. It is worth a trial at least 
by cultivators in this country. 
To Make a Barren Blum Tree Bear.— Mary 
A. West, Harford Co., Md. Early in Spring fasten a 
strap or cord tightly around the body of your young tree 
near the first limb, and let it remain all Summer. This 
will cheek the upward flow of sap, and often promote bear¬ 
ing. Also cut back the ends of the leading shoots, say 
the middle of June, so as to induce the formation of fruit 
buds. The effect upon fruiting will not be seen until the 
following season. 
•Tor Insects and Moss-covered Trees.— 
•When orchard trees are infested with insects or moss, the 
‘Gardeners’ Chronicle recommends that the bark be well 
•scraped with a blunt tool, after which, a coat of the follow¬ 
ing composition is useful, viz.: hot lime and soot in equal 
quantities mixed with water from the cow house until it 
: attains the consistency of thick paint. It should be well 
i rubbed into the crevices of the bark. If a little cow manure 
iis worked into the composition, it will adhere better. 
[Cow manure or other fertilizers worked into the soil at 
’the roots, or means adopted to make the trees grow vig¬ 
orously,are the best antidote for moss.— 'E'd. Agriculturist.] 
Potatoes under Straw. — Theodore Schenk, 
’Posey Co., Ind., writes to the Agriculturist that his neigh¬ 
bor last year planted % acre with potatoes, by laying them 
■'upon the surface, and covering them with straw about 
‘one foot deep. lie harvested 100 bushels of excellent pota¬ 
toes, which was greater than any previous yield from the 
same land. On wet, undrained land, in localities where 
straw is abundant, the plan may occasionally answer, but 
its general utility is doubtful. Better drain the land, make 
manure of the straw, and mix it thoroughly with the soil. 
Illinois as a Farming State.— In many re¬ 
spects we considerlllinois as literally the “Empire” Farm¬ 
ing state. Almost the whole surface is tillable, and very 
much of it, rich prairie soil. The broad navigable Missis¬ 
sippi extending along its whole western border, with St. 
Louis and other flourishing towns upon its banks; the 
Ohio river on the south ; Chicago the port of the Lakes 
on tlie nortli; Dunleith on the northwest; Cairo at the 
south, directly accessible to all the lower Mississippi; the 
numerous railroads crossing the State, and running to all 
tire principal eastern cities, and that grand stretch of iron 
track, the Illinois Central Railroad, which with its two 
brandies joins the Northeastern, Northwestern and 
Southern points, and unites the whole of the crossing roads 
—all these conspire to furnish the greatest possible mar¬ 
ket facilities. We have traveled over nearly every mile 
of the railroads of Illinois to see the country, and when 
we recall the magnificent panorama of the State as it is 
now spread out in the mind’s eye, we feel very much like 
dropping our pen and going to be one of the “Illinois 
Farmers.” Well, we have wandered from the purpose 
of this paragraph, which was simply to direct attention 
to the advertisement of its lands by the Illinois Railroad 
Company on another page. We almost forgot the rail¬ 
road in thinking of the State. Wc arc glad, also, to feel 
such an interest, as we can not help having, when a 
whole army of readers of the Agriculturist is scattered 
over the surface of the State. Our large mail book of 
nearly 500 pages tells the story of their number. 
For tlie “ Farm Garden and Honsehold.” 
—One German friend in Indiana, don’t like the household 
and children’s department ; thinks the ladies should get 
their instruction while young, etc. T|)e answer we give, is 
fq asu mm to read the first 20 pages pf eacli number, and 
stop there—if lie don’t get a dollar’s worth out of 240 pages 
in a year, we can’t do more for him. The paper is pro¬ 
fessedly for the farm, the garden and the household, and 
must live up to its profession. That farmer is poorly off, 
who has not a good indoor establishment—wife included. 
Suppose, again, friend, that other men are not, like you, 
blessed with a help-meet who learned everytliing while 
young. Shall we not publish something to instruct such 
persons ? 
Wheat in New-England.— The New-England 
Farmer estimates the product of wheat last year, at three 
times that of former years, and attributes the result in a 
great measure to the attention awakened by discussions 
in Farmers’ Clubs, and in the Agricultural journals and 
books. In some towns in Cheshire County, N. II., enough 
was raised for the entire home demand. 
Oats on a Wheat Mead ! —Wilson Rogers, Erie 
Co„ N. Y., writes that last Fall he found a wheat head 
on which were growing three distinct kernels of oats. 
He inquires if this be something new. Yes, the most sur¬ 
prising novelty in vegetation we have heard. If the spec¬ 
imen be preserved, please forward it—if not, pardon us 
for thinking there was some mistake, though our inform¬ 
ant did “ see it with his own eyes.” 
Scotch Fife Wheat in Minnesota.— Tlie Ru¬ 
ral Minnesotian says that Mr. T. J. Van Hook, of Wino¬ 
na Co., harvested and threshed the product of thirty acres 
of wheat of the Scotch Fife variety, sowed last Spring, 
which yielded 930 bushels, or 31 bu. per acre. It was rais¬ 
ed on stubble ground, and harrowed in without plowing. 
Abortion in Cows. —David Fairlove, Randolpli 
Co., N. C. Injury by over exertion, or fright, as from a 
dog, will sometimes cause the cow to slink her calf. A 
substance called ergot, which grows upon grass or lye 
heads, will also produce it. Sometimes no reason can be 
given. It is remarkable that when a cow is thus affected, 
others of the same herd will often lose their calves, appa¬ 
rently from sympathy. When an animal shows symp¬ 
toms of tliis trouble, she should at once be separated from 
the rest of the herd. 
Keeping Cattle Clean.—B. R. Phelps, Jr., Scott 
Co., Iowa, writes that he keeps the bedding of cows and 
other cattle clean by nailing a board across the stall, a few 
inches above the floor, just behind the animal’s heels. 
The excrements fall outside of the board, which also 
keeps the bedding from being thrown upon it by the cat¬ 
tle’s feet. Will they not bedaub the board, and then rub 
their legs against it ? And will they not stand or lie in a 
cramped position, if thus boarded in ? 
Burning- off Calves’ Horns.—A subscriber in¬ 
quires how this can be done safely, so as to prevent fu¬ 
ture growth. He thinks it desirable, in order to prevent 
accidents. We should consider the loss of an animal’s 
horns a sad accident, and would deprecate any such bar¬ 
barity. If young cattle are properly treated from the be¬ 
ginning, there is but slight danger of their proving vicious. 
A board properly fastened across the horns, will prevent 
any serious damage from tlie head of a turbulent ox. 
Novel Chicken Question.— Mr. Jones’ hen sat 
a week on a dozen eggs, when Mr. Smith’s turkey drove 
her off, hatched all the chickens, and took them home to 
Smith’s. Ought Mr. Smith to pay for the chickens, and if 
so, how much apiece ? A Connecticut judge is said to 
have awarded 8 cents apiece in a similar case tried before 
him—he deducted four cents each for the services of the 
turkey. 
New Process for keeping Nails from 
Busting.— A Belgian, named Stipheen, has made a dis¬ 
covery which may be of some utility ; it is that the rust¬ 
ing of nails employed to fasten tlie branches of fruit trees 
to walls, can be prevented, by driving into tlie wall, in 
contact with the nail, a small piece of zinc. In giving an 
account of his discovery to the Agricultural Society of 
Ghent, Mr. S. exhibited nails which had been eight years 
in walls in contact with a piece of zinc, and which were 
not at all rusty. 
Destroying Moles.— E. Y. B., Wallingford, Conn., 
writes that he destroyed the moles which infested his 
garden badly, by soaking corn in a solution of corrosive 
sublimate and placing it under the surface in their tracks. 
A small hole was carefully opened in the track, the corn 
introduced and covered with a flat stone to prevent the 
fowls scratching it up.—Do moles eat corn ? 
Fartk Worms Troublesome.— Mrs. W. H. 
Cook, Adams Co., Pa., Inquires for a remedy for earth 
worms which have become so abundant about house 
plants as to injure their roots. They can easily be ex¬ 
cluded from pots or boxes, by sifting the earth and re¬ 
setting the plants. Out of doors, they are generally con¬ 
sidered rather beneficial than otherwise ; as they loosen 
the soil and open it for drainage and ventilation. Have 
any of our readers found them destructive ? If so, whrf 
efficacious means were used to expel them. 
Keeping Meat under Ground.—H. Clark, ol 
South Carolina, communicates to the Scientific American 
a mode of curing meat in the hottest climate, which ha 
been practised at the South many years. A hole is du 
in the earth, 4 to 6 feet deep, of any required size, th 
meat packed in salt at the bottom, and the whole covered 
with boards and earth, keeping it in this condition, until 
sufficiently salted. By this means, he says, no one need 
lose a pound of meat in the warmest climate. 
To avoid a Cold. —Change the stockings two or 
three times a day, if they become wet from perspiration. 
Avoid cold draughts of air upon any part of the body ; or 
unequal temperature from any cause, such as evapora¬ 
tion of moisture from wet clothes on a portion of the 
person. The clothing wet all over, is less productive of 
colds then when partly wet. You might jump naked into a 
snow bank and not take cold, but receive serious injiu / 
from immersing only a hand or a foot in the snow, while 
the rest of the body is kept warm. Unequal temperature 
upon different parts of the body, disturbs the circulation 
of the blood and produces a cold. The best precaution, 
however, is to keep the system vigorous by temperance, 
by a generous diet of digestible food, with plenty of sleep. 
Death in tlie Toy Shop. —The editor of the 
Chemical News (Eng.), noticing the extreme brilliancy 
of the green paint with which some toys were decorated, 
purchased three or four and subjected them to analysis. 
He found so much arsenic in the form of arsenite of cop¬ 
per present, as to render such playthings dangerous in the 
hands of children, especially of infants, who always sub¬ 
mit the brightest colors to the test of taste. 
Business Notices. 
B®” Eighty Cents a Line of space. 
Farm for Sale or to Hire. 
A valuable Farm of 82 acres in New-Jersey, near New 
York, good land, well situated, and near churches, 
schools, &c. About 60 acres under cultivation. There 
is good furniture in the house—also horses, oxen, cows, 
&c., on the place, with wagons and farming utensils of 
all kinds, which will be sold with it—and at a great bar¬ 
gain for a small payment down. All the credit which may 
reasonably be required on the balance (in annual instal¬ 
ments,) will be given. For further particulars, address 
U. B. BREWSTER, Jr., (Box 362 P. O.) New-York City. 
Also—A place of about 15 acres in the City of Madison, 
Wisconsin, with a good house, and excellent state of cul¬ 
tivation, grapery, &c., being within the city limits, and 
the capital of the State, and the most beautiful city in the 
West. It will be sold low to close an estate, and will be 
a fortune to the purchaser in a few years, as the city must 
have it for building purposes—meantime a market is at 
the door for all its produce, &c. Address as above. 
WHEELER & WILSON’S 
SEWING MACHINES, 
With. Important Improvements at Reduced 
Prices. 
These great economizers of time and preservers of 
health, have won the highest premiums at the Fairs of 
the United States Agricultural Society, at the State Fairs 
of Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, New-York, New-Jer¬ 
sey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, 
Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Wisconsin, Cali¬ 
fornia ; and at the Fairs of the American Institute, New- 
York ; Mechanics’ Association, Boston; Franklin Insti¬ 
tute, Philadelphia; Metropolitan Mechanics’ Institute, 
Washington; Mechanics’ Institute, Baltimore; Me¬ 
chanics’ Association, Cincinnati; Kentucky Institute, 
Louisville; Mechanical Association, St. Louis; Me¬ 
chanics’ Institute, San Francisco, and at hundreds of 
County Fairs. 
“There is no better family machine than this made, 
as we have proved by nearly three years’ use in our own 
family. We want no better .”—American Agriculturist, 
December, 1860. 
Office, 505 Broadway, New-York 
SEND FOB, A CIRCULAR. 
Orders will now be received for these bees to be dellv 
ered in the Spring. A circular will be sent to all appli¬ 
cants enclosing a stamp. In it will be found the terms 
and also reports from Mr. Langstroth, Dr. Kirtland, Mr. 
Brackett, Mr. Baldridge, and others, testifying fully, from 
actual observation, to the great superiority of this race 
over the common bee. S. B. PARSONS, 
Rushing, N, Y 
