166 
AMERT r AN AGRIC7'LTUR7ST 
[June, 
make it worth while to transport the liquid far for a fertil¬ 
izing material. 
Amount of Plaster per Acre.— Wm.D. Belden, 
Jackscm Co., Mich., writes that in that vicinity only 40 to 
SO pounds per acre is sown, that amount being consider¬ 
ed as beneficial in its results, as more. They procure it 
from Portage, O., and Grand Rapids, Mich., the latter be- 
ng rather most highly esteemed. This amount of the 
nest plaster may do much good, but we should not stop 
shcrt of at least 100 lbs. per acre, and we have known 
600 lbs. applied with decided advantage • it was perhaps 
a poorer article. 
Spent Tan Baric as a Manure.— Joseph F. 
Brown, Providence Co., R. I., and others. Simply as a ma¬ 
nure by itself, we should attach little value to spent tan 
bark, though if composted with lime until rotten, it would 
doubtless be as good as cheap manure, or leaf mold. But 
tan bark is excellent as a mulch on the soil around trees, 
si rawberry plants, etc. It is also good as an absorbent to 
c impost with yard manure. When thus applied to the 
s >il, it aids in keeping it light, and in its ultimate decay 
acts partially as an organic manure. 
Onion Maggot—Preventive. —W. E. Newton, 
Hillsboro Co., N. H. We have no faith in secret remedies, 
for which a large bonus is asked. A correspondent of the 
N. E. Farmer saved most of his onions by mixing % lb. 
powdered sulphur with one pound seed, and sowing it to¬ 
gether in a drill. The onions not so treated, were badly 
injured. Try the experiment by sowing a little along the 
row while they are quite small. 
Whale Oil Soap.— The Gardener’s Monthly gives 
the following directions for making this efficient com¬ 
pound for the destruction of insects : Render common 
lye caustic, by boiling it at full strength on quick lime ; 
then take the lye and boil it with as much whale oil foot 
as it will saponify (change to soap,) pour off into moulds, 
and when cold, it is tolerably hard. Whale oil foot is the 
sediment produced in refining whale oil, and is worth $2 
per barrel. 
Apples for Minnesota, —Henry A. Monser, Min¬ 
nesota, inquires for a list of apples which will bear well 
in that State. He writes that there has been very poor 
success with this fruit, some having had trees planted 14 
years without any return worth mentioning. Will some 
reader in that section, who has done better, please give 
the desired information. No reports were received from 
Minnesota for the list published in the Agriculturist. The 
lists from Wisconsin will be the nearest to your wants. 
Hardiness of Grapes.— Hiram Sibl’V Esq., of 
Rochester, N. Y. (lat. 43°.), has 8 varieties *of grapes, 3 
years planted, in a well prepared border, on ground slop¬ 
ing a little to the north, the vines in a row 4 to 6 feet high, 
supported by a trellis running north and south. The ends 
of the lateral branches were cut off in Autumn, but the 
vines left fastened to the trellis unprotected during Win¬ 
ter. The editor of the Rural New-Yorker examined them 
the middle of May and reports thus : Hartford Prolific, 
entirely killed to within six inches of ground—the Rebecca 
killed to within one foot of the ground; below this 
buds starting— Isabella, Catawba and Diana, killed to 
within 3 feet of ground, and all side shoots killed to one 
bud at base.— Delaware, Northern Muscadine, and To 
Kalon, wood all sound and buds breaking.Seven oth¬ 
er varieties, two years planted, two to three feet high, 
stood as follows: Garigues, killed nearly to ground— 
Clara, and Raabe, ends of lateral shoots injured, but two 
or three buds nearest base breaking finely.— Concord, 
King, Logan, and Northern Muscadine, all uninjured. 
The Delaware Grape Productive. —Mr. 
Charles Downing, of Newburg, writes that he planted, 
five years ago, one each of the Rebecca, Raabe, Dela- 
waie. Hartford Prolific, Concord, and Elsingburgh grape, 
in a continuous row, the cultivation, etc., being the same ; 
and, so far, the Delaware has yielded more fruit than any 
one of the others. Mr. D. also places the Delaware at 
the head of the list in flavor. 
Grape Stalces. —The Farmer and Gardener says, 
small cedar trees of symmetrical form, make excellent 
stakes or trellises !or grape vines. Cut them down, thin 
out the smaller branches, but carefully preserve the main 
ones, cutting them to a pyramidal shape. When cov¬ 
ered with vines they are quite ornamental. 
Cherry Currant is probably a sepdling. It has 
•jeen in cultivation in this country fqr a dozen years, or 
more. It is considered by our best pomologists as too 
■our for the table. 
Strawberries In Hills.— Samuel Rolfe, Cumber¬ 
land Co., Me., writes tlqat from a bed of strawberries, 
(Hovey’s Seedling and Boston Pine,) 11 by 14 feet in ex¬ 
tent, he gathered 42 quarts in a single season. A dense 
fog, which set in about the time they were fully ripe, pre¬ 
vented picking enough more to make the amount at least 
50 quarts. 342 ripe berries were taken from one hill. 
The bed was set out in the Fall two years previous; the 
plants put in hills 18 inches apart, and the runners kept 
constantly clipped. He favors this method of cultivating 
strawberries. 
Quinces in March. —M. St. John, Medina Co., 
O., states that he has a variety of quinces, which keep 
until March. This is unusual. No mention is made of 
the quality or other characteristics of the fruit. 
The Green Hose, noticed in the Agriculturist, 
Vol. XIX., page 366, Dec. No., is claimed by a writer in 
the Gardener’s Monthly, to have been first introduced to 
the world by a Baltimore florist, about seventeen years 
ago. Tfie plants were then sold at $2.50 each. He also 
states that a Philadelphia florist sent it to England and 
France in 1852. It did not prove popular here, its novelty 
being about its only recommendation. 
Nursery Catalogues. —The farmer’s or gardener’s 
library is incomplete without a good collection of Nur¬ 
sery and Floral Catalogues. These publications, of late 
years, are something more than mere price lists ; they 
often contain condensed botanical, and practical informa¬ 
tion, which could be obtained only by consulting and com¬ 
paring numerous authorities inaccessible to the general 
reader. One of the most complete we have met with has 
just been issued by the Bridgemans of this City. It com¬ 
prises eight distinct lists of flower, vegetables, fruit and 
ornamental plants, neatly bound together, and is valua¬ 
ble merely as a work of reference. We have frequent oc¬ 
casion to consult its pages. 
Boohs for Fanners.— Thomas H. Williams, 
-Co., Minn. In our advertising colums, page 191, 
is a list of good works on most branches of husbandry. 
Composition for Roofs-Roinan Cement.— 
Thomas Stokes, White Co., Ill., writes that he has a recipe 
for a roof covering, consisting of 8 gallons tar, 5 lbs. rosin, 
3 lbs. tallow, and 2 gallons of “ Roman Cement j” he in¬ 
quires where the last named article can be obtained. Ro¬ 
man cement is simply a good quality of hydraulic cement, 
(often called water-lime), brought from England. It is 
sold by importers in this city at about $5 per barrel. For 
most purposes, we doubt whether it is superior to the 
best Rosendale cement, which can be obtained here for 
about $2 per barrel, or less if in quantity. 
Xieaky Hoofs. —Mrs. L. A., Chester Co., Pa., in¬ 
quires for something that will not peal off, to apply to a 
rusting iron roof, beginning to leak. Good paint will not 
peal, if its “ life ” is not killed by too much “ patent dryer,” 
or other material. A slow drying oil paint is most dur¬ 
able. We like and use Ellery’s India Rubber paint, which 
is similar to any common paint, with the addition of a 
mixture of India rubber and gutta percha worked in. An 
out-building, covered with shingles, which leaked badly 
one year ago, we covered with cheap cotton, and applied 
two coats of Ellery’s paint. It stands well, and sheds 
water perfectly. 
Novel Mode of Churning. —A newspaper item, 
(which is of course true !) says that in Chili churning is 
done thus: The cream is put in bladders, and these are 
tied together and swung over the back of a mule. The 
animal is then kept trotting around the yard until the but¬ 
ter “comes.” Whether it would be easier to keep a 
mule “ trotting ” than to work a churn dash we are not 
able to decide. What say the air-compressed-double-ac- 
tion-force-pump-ehurn men to this plan of churning m 
air-tight bladders ? 
Milking Machines.— C. Mitford, Addison Co., 
Vt. We know of no apparatus for milking superior to an 
old fashioned one, used on the homestead farm in our 
younger days. It was a most ingenious contrivance, hav¬ 
ing pads and levers opening and closing alternately, so 
that the milk was drawn rapidly and perfectly. It would 
take too much space to describe it accurately—it was 
called the hand. 
Canada Thistles.— James R. Clark, of Waverley, 
gives the following method to eradicate them. Cut them 
close to the ground, pour brine on the stubble, and turn 
in cattle or sheep. The animals attracted by the salt, will 
perform a second grubbing, and make thorough work 
with them. 
Warts on Horses and Cattle. —According to 
Dadd, these are best cured by tying a stout thread around 
them. He gives directions as follows: “ Take a common 
suture needle, and arm it with a double ligature ; each 
ligature to be made of three threads of saddler’s twine, 
well waxed ; pass the needle right through the center of 
the wart, close down to the skin ; tie each half separately 
with a surgeon’s knot, as tight as possible ; cut the ends 
pretty close to the knot, and in the course of a short time, 
the whole will drop off. A single ligature will do for 
warts with a small base.” Tincture of aloes and myrrh 
will remedy bleeding, and powdered charcoal and blood 
root, in equal parts, are good for ulcerations. 
Administering Medicine to Horses.—J. G. 
O. writes that on one occasion he had a sick horse, to 
which a New-York carman administered medicine from 
a bottle by elevating the animal’s head, and pouring the 
dose down his nostril. There is a passage down the 
throat by way of the nose, but it was not intended for any 
such use, otherwise the horse would naturally drink 
through his nose. In cases of lock-jaw, liquids are some¬ 
times given in this way by veterinary surgeons, but ex¬ 
cept in such cases of necessity, always use the natural 
road to the throat, through the mouth. 
A E.arge Horse. —Chas. L. Hilboum, former editor 
of the Morgan County Clarion (Ind.), referring to a late 
item in the Agriculturist about the largest horse in the 
world, sends us a slip from his paper describing a horse 
exhibited at the Ohio State Fair, in Sept. 1855, called 
“ Rocky Mountain Chief,” which at 4 years old weighed 
2,500 lbs., measured 11 feet from head to tail, and stood 
21 hands high. Can any one tell where he is, and how 
large he is now —if alive ? 
Chester County Hogs.— C. J. Warren, Rocking¬ 
ham Co., N. H. This breed of swine is as distinct as the 
Suffolks, Berkshires, or other varieties. The marked 
points are, w hite hair, thin skin, length and depth of car¬ 
case, small offal, and ease of fattening. These charac¬ 
teristics have become confirmed in this race by great 
care in breeding for more than 20 years past. They orig 
inated in a pair of Bedfordshire hogs, which were crossed 
upon the best of native stock obtainable by their owner, 
Paschal Morris. Their reputation is now fully established. 
Ring Rone. —James J. White. This disease is of 
the same nature as spavin, only situated in a differ¬ 
ent part of the horse’s leg, and may be treated as recom¬ 
mended on page 72 (March No.) 
Feeding Sheep in Winter.— A subscriber in 
Wisconsin gives as his list of fodder and condiments, 
“ corn, oats, wheat bran, lime, ashes, tar, salt, barley, 
rosin, and sulphur.” He complains that 7 out of a flock 
of 192 died, eating heartily to the last. There are many 
causes of disease among sheep besides an improper diet. 
Sometimes they are kept in too close quarters, and die 
from want of cleanliness and ventilation. Sometimes the 
soil is too wet. Sometimes they die from excess of fat. 
We should add to this bill of fare, a few roots—carrots, or 
turnips—fed daily. They act favorably upon the bowels, 
and promote the health of the flock. 
Sheep and Dogs in Massachusetts.—The 
sheep in Massachusetts numbered 378,226 in 1840; but 
they decreased to only 11,311 in 1860. In 1850 they num¬ 
bered 188,651, and produced 585,000 lbs. of wool, while 
the manufacturers of the state consumed 22,000,000 lbs., 
outside of domestic or household products. The returns 
from the various towns, almost without exception, attrib¬ 
ute the decrease in sheep in great part to the killing and 
worrying of dogs. The benefits of the stringent dog law 
passed two years ago, are beginning to be perceived. All 
dogs are taxed, and from the fund thus obtained all losses 
caused by dogs are paid. 
tiicc on Cattle.— James C. Wallace, La Salle Co., 
Ill., writes that lice on cattle can be destroyed by wash¬ 
ing the infested animals with water in which unpeeled 
potatoes have been boiled. He says two or three applica¬ 
tions are sufficient. It is easily tried. 
Ciiolera in Hens,— Mrs. W. C. Vail, Jefferson 
Co., Ind., inquires how to treat hens affected with a dis 
ease resembling cholera. We have never seen any thing 
of the kind. Some of our readers may be able to advise 
in the matter. 
Mixing of Potatoes.—J. Reeder says, in the 
Farmer and Gardener, that during fifteen years experi¬ 
menting with potatoes, he has never known them to mix 
in the hill, and he pronounces it impossible. 
Squashes versus Pumpkins.— The former Is 
much the better article. The Hubbard squash is not only 
an excellent dish for the table, but superior fodder for 
cattle—though less can by grown on the same ground. 
Beach or Sand Plum.—M. Brown, Dukes Co., 
Mass. Stocks of the above will answer for grafting the 
cultivated plum upon, but they must be planted in n 
light sandy soil. Other stocks are preferable, however, 
and the beach or sand plum is of little value as fruit, l* 
comparison with finer sorts. 
