204 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[July, 
thick and clear. It was passed through a 
large milk strainer into open kegs, so as to cool 
before barreling. Product from GO rods of clay 
ground, planted in hills, 113 gallons syrup with 
cane taste—large growth and seed half ripe. 
Sept. 13—made 61 gallons first quality syrup 
from 30 rods of high hazel ground. This would 
have been the prize piece, had not a tornado de¬ 
stroyed about half the cane before gathering it. 
Sept. 14, 15, 1G—made 250 gallons syrup from 
1 $■ acres. Soil, a mixture of sand and clay; cane 
in hills 3^ feet each way, 4 
stalks in hill, well tended 
and suckered. A portion of 
the syrup sugared in 6 days, 
although the cane was not 
cut in two for that purpose. 
Sept. 20—made 80 gallons 
nice honey syrup from 40 
rods of cane drilled in. Ha¬ 
zel ground, poorly tended 
and injured by the tornado; 
was crushed with leaves on. 
Oct. 1 to 8, made 650 gallons 
good honey syrup from 3 
and 2-5th acres, black san¬ 
dy soil, with some oak 
ti ees standing.—Oct. 26, 
made 41 gallons best syrup 
of season, from cane cut in 
Sept., and covered with 
straw; also 56 gallons from 
the same piece of cane cut 
after freezing. The molasses was sour and poor. 
.Nov. 22—made 88 gallons very thick, light 
oolored, and excellent syrup from 51 rods cane 
cut in Sept., set in large shocks, like corn, with 
leaves on; in which state it was crushed. The 
soil on which it grew was a sandy prairie. 
Nov. 23—made 38 gallons poor syrup from 
cane grown on low, rich, prairie soil. Boiled 
18 gallons juice into one of syrup. The Chinese 
cane should never be raised on such soil. 
Mr. B. says about 2,000 barrels syrup were pro¬ 
duced in his county the past season, worth 
$40,000 at $20 per barrel, and that it pays well 
at that price to cultivate sorghum. The whole 
apparatus for manufacturing 200 gallons syrup 
per day, should cost about $175. 
-— . - —»>— -- - 
Price of Potatoes in Hew-York City for 
Seven Years Past. 
What of tiie Chxjfa ?—A few years since 
the Cliufa, or “earth almond,” ( Gyperus esculen- 
tus ,) attracted considerable attention. The nuts, 
or tubers, were prized by some as a substitute 
for chestnuts, and others claimed that they 
would be very valuable as feed for swine. The 
ground was to be stocked with the tubers, 
which multiply rapidly, and the hogs were to 
do their own harvesting. Recently little has 
been heard of them. Is any one growing the 
crop ? If so, we should like to hear results. 
The following table, carefully prepared for the 
American Agriculturist by Mr. Henry B. Walker, 
a large dealer of this City, will be found in¬ 
teresting and useful. The statistics have refer • 
ence to the best potatoes at wholesale prices; 
it will be noticed, that the price has fallen 
every year, with but one exception, since 1854. 
This is owing in part to greater facilities for 
transportation, which have made more distant 
localities accessible to this market, and thus 
largely increased the supply. But it is without 
doubt largely due also to improved culture, by 
means of which greater quantities have been 
raised in the vicinity of New-York. 
AVERAGE PRICE PER BUSHEL. 
1854. 
’55. 
’56. 
’57. 
’58. 
’59. 
’60. 
Jan .. 
,$i 
07 
$1 
22 q 
50 
72 
$0 
97 K 
$0 
95 
$0 
5212 ! 
JtO 
45 
Feb . 
. 1 
IS 
1 
25 
0 
72 
1 
02 M 
1 
00 
0 
57 M 
0 
58 
Mar.. 
1 
12 
1 
25 
0 
HO 
1 
00 
*1 
OHM 
0 
54 
0 
50 
Api-U. 
.*1 
50 
*1 
43 
0 
62 q 
1 
35 
0 
RX 
0 
55 
0 
52 M 
May. 
. 1 
44 
1 
20 
to 
00 
*1 
41 
0 
77 K 
*0 
82 M 
0 
55 
.lime 
. 1 
50 
1 
:«q 
0 
00 
1 
2.5 
0 
58 
0 
08 
n 
60 
July . 
. 1 
00 
1 
00 
*1 
00 
0 
72 
0 
55 
0 
70 
0 
59 
Au" . 
. 1 
50 
to 
02 K 
0 
60 
to 
65 y % 
0 
61 
n 
47 
0 
52 M 
Sept.. 
. 1 
22 
0 
60 
0 
09 X 
0 
S3 
0 
57 
0 
50 
n 
63 
Oct.. 
. 1 
or, 
0 
0!) 
0 
75 
0 
S' 
l\ 
K- 
' f 
06 
0 
45 
Nov . 
to 
so 
0 
60 
0 
84 
0 
95X 
to 
52 M 
n 
60 
*0 
63 M 
Uec.. 
1 
02 
0 
65 
0 
94 
0 
95 
0 
55 
to 
45 
0 
62 M 
Av ge$l 
22 
$1 
01 
$0 
75 
$1 
00 
50 
72 
50 
59 
$0 
56 
“ Highest price ; t Lowest price during the year. 
The Dioscorea Batatas Homeward Bound. 
The long time readers of the American Agricul¬ 
turist , may remember the above humorous illus¬ 
tration of the habits of the Dioscorea Batatas 
or Chinese potato, published in Vol. XY, (and 
now republished in response to numerous re¬ 
quests.) It represents a cluster of the plants 
which have started for home, China, by the 
shortest route, downward through the soil. The 
idea was suggested by our own experience in 
trying to dig those we had planted, and by the 
account given by a subscriber, who expended 
$10 for a dozen “ bulbs” (bits of skin), and after 
vainly waiting a long time for their appearance 
above ground, wrote to us to inquire, if “ they 
had not started for home.” This gentleman has 
just informed us that in digging a deep drain in 
the ground where he formerly put the plants, at 
the distance of Jive feet below the surface the 
workmen came upon a singular looking object, 
of vegetable origin, flattened out six or eight 
inches in extent, and about an inch thick. Upon 
examination it proved to be the long lost Dios¬ 
corea, which had been industriously growing 
downward since 1856 ! It had met tvith a large 
stone, and flattened out in trying to grow 
around it. He had not noticed the leaves above. 
Destroying Ground Squirrels. 
In some part of the West, and especially in 
California, the ground squirrel, or “ prairie dog ” 
is very troublesome to the corn and wheat fields. 
Phosphorus is generally used to poison this 
pest, but as sometimes prepared, it ignites from 
the heat, or by the friction when bitten, and the 
ground being dry, large tracts are often burned 
over. A late number of the California Farmer, 
gives the following plan for preparing it, which 
is safe, and successful in its effects: 
Dissolve a stick of phosphorus two inches 
long, in a gallon of warm water, then stir in 
flour, or shorts, to the thickness of a batter, and 
add wheat until the mixture is quite stiff, stir¬ 
ring it to coat the wheat. Scatter small quanti¬ 
ties of it about their “ towns ” or holes. It wil. 
not fire, but will kill. The squirrels eat it bet¬ 
ter if a little sugar be added. The writer cau¬ 
tions those using the mixture against allowing 
hogs to get at the mixture, or the dead squirrels. 
*-^ t — -- 
The Bye Fly (Cecidomyia Secalef), 
In August of last year Mr. Daniel Steck, 
Lycoming Co., Pa., sent to the office of the 
American Agriculturist several stalks of rye, show¬ 
ing the work of an insect whose ravages we had 
not previously seen noticed. Fleshy excres¬ 
cences appeared on the body of the stalks im¬ 
mediately above the joints, in which were en¬ 
cased the larvae of a minute insect. The ex¬ 
crescences appeared to be formed by an abnor¬ 
mal growth of the stalk, in the same manner as 
galls are formed on leaves and twigs of trees 
and plants, in consequence of injury to the veg¬ 
etable cells. Mr. Steck has continued to ob¬ 
serve the insect, and recently forwarded addi¬ 
tional specimens, with the following notes on 
their habits, which we copy as written. 
“ The full grown rye fly makes its appearance 
about the first of May. It somewhat resembles 
the Hessian Fly ( Cecidomyia destructor ) in size and 
general form. This fly deposits its eggs, which 
are of a yellowish color, the latter part of May, 
in the upper channels of the rye leaf. It soon 
hatches, producing a very small worm, which 
works its way down between the leaf-sheath and 
stalk until it arrives in the vicinity of the joint, 
where its presence, from some cause, produces a 
protuberant excrescence, in which the larva be¬ 
comes enveloped. This interferes with the de¬ 
velopment of the grain, and also weakens the 
stalk, often causing it to crinkle and fall to the 
ground about the time of blossoming. 
The larva attains its full size about the time 
the circulation of the juices in the stalk ceases. 
It remains in this state until the following Spring, 
without further change; but as soon as warm 
weather commences ‘ a change comes over the 
spirit of its dreams,’—if it has any—and with its 
mandibles it gnaws or bores through its strawy 
prison, and issues forth a perfect insect without 
moulting, which is not the case with most insects 
passing from the pupa to the perfect state.” 
The specimens received, consisted of joints 
of the straw grown last year, on which the pro¬ 
tuberances were fully developed ; from six to 
ten, and in some instances fifteen of them being 
clustered in the space of two inches above the 
joint. Mr. S. wrote that these contained the 
larvse, which had been retarded from changing 
to the perfect insect by being kept in a cool 
place. But upon opening the prison house of 
one of the insects, out he came, full winged, 
active, and perfect in every respect. Several 
have since emerged unaided, by opening an ori¬ 
fice through the straw. The change from larva 
to pupa, and to imago or perfect insect, therefore 
takes place within the cell which has grown for 
his accommodation. The fly is smaller than a 
mosquito, black, and in form bears some resem¬ 
blance to the Hessian Fly ( Cecidomyia destructor ), 
as stated above. An engraving of the latter in¬ 
sect appeared in the Agriculturist , Vol. XVIII, 
p. 240, (Aug. No.) Mr. Steck has named it Ce¬ 
cidomyia Secale , or Rye Cecidomyia. It may be 
recognized by Entomologists as a species al¬ 
ready described, though we are unable to find 
it particularly noted in any work to which we 
have access. 
If the insect should spread as rapidly as the 
