AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
Steaming Food—Pipes under Ground.— 
P. C. T., of N. H. Steaming roots, and especially hay 
and straw, is highly useful ; but you can not carry the 
steam 100 feet under ground in a small pipe. In a large 
pipe, well enclosed in a non-conducting material, you 
might carry it AO to 100 feet, but in the manner you pro¬ 
pose, the steam would condense, and soon clog the pipe. 
Hemlock Branches for SUcep.— Alfred Pas- 
coe, Wayne Co., Pa., inquires if hemlock branches in 
small quantities are injurious when fed to ewes with 
lamb, as is done in some sections under the supposition 
that the health of the sheep is thereby promoted. We 
know nothing on the subject from observation, but the 
practice would seem to be of very doubtful utility. 
How Sheep were Saved.— A. W. Hillman, Sa¬ 
lem Co., N. J., relates that a neighbor, fearing the loss of 
his sheep by dogs, partly roasted a piece of meat, and 
trailed it around the field just inside the fence. In the 
evening he set up small stakes in this trail, several rods 
apart, on each of which was placed a piece of meat 
charged with strychnine. In the morning several dogs 
wore found resting in the field, with no further thoughts of 
sheep-killing, and he had no more trouble from them. 
Sheep Profitable. —Mr. Bushnell, of Berkshire Co., 
Mass., says that he has been engaged for 30 years in 
sheep-husbandry, and has thereby raised the value of his 
farm 50 per cent. By constructing cheap sheds on wheels, 
so as to be moved to different parts of the farm, and by 
placing a little salt under the shelter, any part of the pas¬ 
ture can be enriched, as the sheep when they are not feed¬ 
ing, will stay under the shed. Mr. B. plows his land and 
seeds it to grass once in three years. 
Chester Co. Hogs. —A. M. S., East Cleveland, 
considers these superior to either the Byfield or Suffolk. 
He states that last season, Chas. Clark, of Pilesgrove, N. 
T., slaughtered 50 Chesters, 18 months old, weighing as 
follows: one 396 ; twenty two, over 400 each; twenty five, 
over 500 ; one over 600 ; one 1015 !—total 23,311 lbs. The 
last two we judge must have been over 18 months old. 
Horses Stabled with Cattle.— Subscriber, Col¬ 
lege Springs, Iowa. No harm need be apprehended from 
stabling horses and cattle in the same building, provided 
the ventilation be sufficient to remove all offensive odors. 
There is nothing prejudicial to the health of horses in the 
mere presence of cattle under the same enclosure. 
Birds and Bees.— “ Subscriber ” asks if any one 
can give positive proof that king-birds and martins de¬ 
stroy bees. He states that last season he saw many of 
these birds busy about a field of buckwheat which was 
sowed for the bees, but that he could find no bees in the 
gizzards of those he shot for examination. On the con¬ 
trary, he discovered great numbers of millers and other 
destructive insects which the birds had eaten. 
Glass Boxes on Bee Hives.— D. Pangburn, 
White Co., Ark. These should be put on the hives in the 
working season. Bees will not always work in the boxes 
until they have filled the hive with honey. A false cap or 
jox should be put over the glass boxes to darken them. 
Prolific Bees.— J. G. Thompson, Minn., writes 
that in 1859 a neighbor had a hive of bees which threw off 
a swarm early in May ; the young swarm, (No. 2,) sent 
out a colony, (No. 3,) about the first of July; and in Au¬ 
gust a young swarm, (No. 4,) issued from No. 3, and all 
wintered well. 
Turnip Fleas. —T. J. Swan, Meade Co., ICy., in¬ 
quires for a remedy for these insects which have destroyed 
his cabbage, cole, broccoli, etc., and against which he has 
vainly used tobacco decoction applied with a syringe, 
uric acid, coal oil, tincture assafmtida, quick lime and 
ashes—Try a hen and chickens. Keep the hen in a 
portable coop, with openings large enough to let the 
young chickens hunt the insects. Move it to a new place 
every few days. Please communicate the result. 
Aphides on Apple Trees.—II. Mariton, Cum¬ 
berland Co., Me. Syringe or dip the twigs of your in¬ 
fested trees in a solution of whale oil soap, strong lye, or 
tobacco water, either of which will kill the green lice. 
White Worms in Apple Trees —Henry Schep- 
per, Owen Co., Ind. The worms you speaa of between 
the bark and wood of your trees, are borers, ( Saperda bi- 
vitata,) and unless destroyed will kill your trees. See 
page 83, March No., and pages 143, 218, 274 and 333 of last 
volume, for remedies. 
Corn Cobs for Wire Worms.— A. M. S., East 
Cleveland, O., recommends to plow plenty of corn cobs 
into land infested with wire worms. The idea is, we 
suppose, that the worms will burrow in the cobs, and 
leave the crops unmolested. 
Propagating; Willows.— Mrs. E. Cravorth. The 
willow is one of the easiest trees to propagate. Make 
cuttings at any time, from the fall of the leaf to budding 
out in Spring. Insert them in light soil, early in April, 
and most of them will grow. 
magnolia Hardy in Missouri.— A. Waller, 
Clay Co., Mo. The Magnolia tripetala and some other 
varieties will prove hardy with you. Holly is also hardy. 
Bwarfor Shrub Grapes.— W. C. Aber, Cata¬ 
houla Co., La. Cuttings received, and hope they will 
live, although quite dry. If wrapped in oiled silk they 
would have dried less. 
Ketarding Fruit Buds.— J. W. Deeble, D. C., 
says a friend of his delays the blossoming season of trees 
coming forward too eariy in Spring, by removing the sur¬ 
face soil about their roots until all danger is past. He 
saved his fruit while his neighbors lost theirs. 
Renovating Peach Trees.— The editor of the 
New-England Farmer, has renovated diseased peach trees 
thus: he removed the soil from around the trunk of a sickly 
tree in his garden, and supplied its place with charcoal. 
He was surprised at the rapid growth of the tree, as well 
as the tenacity with which the fruit held on the branches, 
and the unusual riclmess of its flavor when matured. 
Fruit Trees Branching how.— J. W. Brokaw, 
Marion Co., Ill. It is better to have fruit trees branch 
low,especially for prairies. If such cannot be had, cut off 
the leaders of the most stocky, when placed out in Spring. 
It is not advisable to cut off the whole top, or main stock. 
Norway Spruce Hedges.— Thos. M. Crawford, 
Bourbon Co., Kansas. The Norway Spruce is a quick 
growing tree, and makes a fine ornamental or sheltering 
hedge, but not proof against animals. When practicable, 
it is better to buy the young trees from a nursery, than to 
wait for them from seeds. Seeds can be sent by mail. 
Apples, Pears, Peaches, etc., from Cut¬ 
tings.— Ed. Bussell, Doniphan Co., Kansas. Cuttings 
of the above can sometimes be made to root and grow in 
the hands of skillful propagators, but without special care 
they fail even with these. It is better to graft the cions 
upon native stocks. In quality we rank the Delaware 
grape ahead of the Diana, although the latter is a fine 
grape, and larger and sweeter than the Delaware. 
Cranberries. -J. B. Gallap, Jefferson Co., Wis. 
Your muck land, which is annually overflowed, will 
make a fine cranberry field. If you can cover with one 
inch of sand it will improve it. Plant with the bell varie¬ 
ty, two feet apart, early in April. 
Standing Cypress. —Wm. J. Bassett writes from 
Franklin Co., Mass., that he has wintered this plant, va¬ 
riously known as Cantua coronopifolia, Gilia, and some¬ 
times Ipomea. Mr. B. has grown it for several years, 
but finds it rather tender. 
Blackberries, etc., from Cuttings.— !‘ Sub¬ 
scriber,” Lycoming Co., Pa., will find it a difficult task to 
obtain the above from cuttings. Pieces of the root will 
often grow, especially with a bottom or hot-bed heat. 
Buffalo Berry. — Shepherdia Canadensis. J. C. 
Allen, Lucas Co., O. The flowers of this shrub or small 
tree, are dioscious, and it is likely both of yours are sterile, 
requiring one of the opposite sex to produce fruit. The 
berries are of little value. 
Single Flowers made Double.— F. M. Dear¬ 
born, I’nouois Co., Ill. A change from single to double 
petals is brought about by high culture. Seeds from the 
most perfect flowers are saved and sown upon rich soil 
each season. It is usually several years before a fixed 
change is effected ; and even then there is a tendency to 
return to the original form unless under good culture. 
Petunias.— C. Bussell, writes that the petunia seed 
distributed from the Agriculturist office last season, 
produced the finest flowers he has seen, with all shades, 
from deep crimson to pure white, and that they are worth 
ten times the cost of the paper. 
Chinese Wistaria.— Mrs. E. C. Angel, Marion 
Co., Iowa. The wistaria is propagated by cuttings or 
layers. It is a woody climber of much beauty. 
The Allen Raspberry.— Mr. Meehan, editor of 
the Gardener’s Monthly, says that a neighbor of his had a 
plot of this raspberry under 100 feet square, from which 
he sold over $200 worth of fruit. The reports upon this 
variety differ greatly. Some speak of it in the highest 
terms, while others reject it entirely. 
lawn Grass.— E. E. Welbon, Jefferson Co., Ill. 
The preference now is for a single variety of grass for 
the lawn, and nothing suits us better than the perennial 
Italian Bye grass, to be had at almost any seed store. 
103 
Cast Iron Trellises.— These are now made, of 
various forms and sizes for pot plants, shrubs, vines, etc. 
They are cast with branching arms, somewhat resembling 
a hat stand, and are forced into the ground. Short cross 
pieces near the bottom keep the trellises upright. 
Preserving Fruits—Nyce’s Method.— Cool¬ 
ness of temperature (34 to 36 degrees), dryness of atmos¬ 
phere, and freedom from unpleasant odors are the essen¬ 
tial points to be aimed at. To secure coolness, he con¬ 
structs a chamber of iron or zinc, with walls, say three 
feet in thickness, filled in with dry sawdust, or other non¬ 
conducting material, and places above, an ice room large 
enough to preserve ice during the whole season. For 
drying the atmosphere he uses chloride of lime, which 
rapidly absorbs moisture; he brings all the air of the cham¬ 
ber in contact with the lime, by means of a fan which is 
moved by a wind wheel on the top of the house. For pu¬ 
rifying the air, fresh charcoal is kept about the room. 
Detectiug Poisonous Mushrooms.- George 
Drew, Macoupin Co., Ill., alluding to the article on page 
47, Feb. Agriculturist , says the difference between poi¬ 
sonous and wholesome mushrooms is easily told by break¬ 
ing out the stem, and putting a little salt on the under side 
of the cap. If good, the color will turn reddish, but if 
poisonous, the color remains white, and the vegetable 
should be discarded. [This does not appear plausible—it 
may be useful.— Ed.] 
Out Door Whitewash. —W. Montgomery, Mont¬ 
gomery Co., Pa. Full directions for a good, durable 
whitewash were given in Vol. XVIII, pages 136 and 197 
(May and July Nos.). 
One Package of Seeds. —A. A. Pierce, Caledonia 
Co., Vt., writes that last year he raised over 300 bushels 
of White Poland Oats, all derived from a single package 
sent from the Agriculturist office three years ago, and that 
probably not less than 5,000 bushels will be raised from 
that seed in a single county this year. 
Evergreen Book. —Benjamin Henry, Bichland Co. 
O. Warder’s Hedges and Evergreens ($1) is a pretty 
good descriptive work, but defective in directions for rais¬ 
ing from seed. In this particular Meehan’s Ornamental 
Trees (75c.) is preferable. 
Securing Valuable Reports.— The Secretary 
of the Ohio State Agricultural Society has by direction ot 
his Society sent blanks to Secretaries of the various Coun 
ty Societies, in which they are requested to record month¬ 
ly the state of the growing crops, the condition of stock, 
the amount and prices of old crops on hand, with any oth¬ 
er matters of general interest to farmers. The blanks thus 
filled, are to be returned to the Secretary, and published 
by him in all the agricultural papers of the State. By 
this means, much reliable information may be obtained. 
The Scientific School of Yale College is now in 
possession of their new building, lately presented to the 
college by Joseph E. Sheffield. It cost $40,000. 
Cause of Smut.—J. G. Thompson, Minn. The 
blight called smut, is a fungus or parasitic plant, the minute 
seeds of which lodge upon various grains, germinate, and 
appropriate the substance of the kernel. To prevent it, 
soak the seed eight or ten hours in brine strong enough to 
float an egg, drain it well, and shovel it over with fresh 
slaked lime until each kernel is well coated. Of course, 
it should be sown within a day or two after preparing it. 
Soaking Barley Seed.— A write 1 - in the Home¬ 
stead recommends that seed barley should Ns steeped be¬ 
fore sowing, in a solution of copperas, or blu-- vitriol, the 
same as is often done for wheat, and then rolled in plas¬ 
ter enough to dry it. He says it gives the seed a rapid 
start, and makes it come up strong and dark-colored. 
Salt for Swine.— A correspondent of the Annalen 
der Landwirthscha/t states that he selected two pairs ot 
barrow hogs, weighing 200 lbs. apiece, and gave to one 
pair two ounces of salt with their daily allowance of 
food. To the other pair, he gave the same kind of food 
without the salt. In the course of a week the salted pair 
had a much stronger appetite than the others, and after a 
fortnight the salt was increased to two ounces a piece. 
At the end of four months the salted hogs weighed 350 lbs. 
each, and five weeks later, the unsalted ones weighed 
only 300 lbs. a piece. This experiment is suggestive. 
Value of Sorghum.- Heports from various parts 
of the West show that 2,500,000 gallons of Sorghum Syrup 
were made on Cook’s Portable Sugar Evaporator last 
year ! This syrup, at 40 cts. per gallon, gives a saving 
to the farmers of the West of $1,000,000. 
Tlie Word Elgin is usually pronounced as if writ¬ 
ten Eljin. We believe the proper pronunciation is with 
the hard sound of g, as in begin ; thus the Elgin marbles, 
not Eljin; the steamship Elgin, not Eljin. 
