1861 . j 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
339 
Blanching Celery with Sawdust.— T. L. F., 
Carbon Co., Pa., writes: “ Mr. Isaac Ripple, of Luzerne 
Co., Pa., tried an experiment last year in blanching celery, 
with a result which far exceeded his expectations, and I 
take the liberty of communicating his plan for the benefit 
of the readers of the American Agriculturist. He pre¬ 
pared his trench and set the plants in the usual way (but 
he thinks he would have succeeded quite as well without 
the trench). After the plants were fairly established, he 
enclosed them with aboard box, which he filled, as the 
plants gii w, with sawdust, instead of earth. The celery 
appeared to grow better than when banked with earth, 
and when brought to the table, the stalks were white, crisp, 
and tender from bottom to top. There was neither rot 
nor rust, and when wanted for use, by removing one side 
of the l jX the sawdust fell away from the plants, leav¬ 
ing tnern almost sufficiently clean for the table. He had 
al£ single plants set here and there wherever he had 
vacant space in his garden, which he covered with 
boxes and headless barrels, and blanched with saw¬ 
dust in the same way, many of which grew higher than 
their enclosure and were perfectly blanched as high as 
the sawdust extended. The sawdust was used just as it 
came from the mill, where White Pine and Hemlock 
were the principal kinds of lumber sawed. [We should 
have supposed the plants would be slightly flavored with 
the pine and hemlock sawdust,—E d.] 
itl us It me Ions Cracking. —G. S. W., Monroe Co., 
N. Y., lost his melons by cracking, as alluded to by a pre¬ 
vious correspondent, until he put small pieces of boards 
or shingles under them a little while before ripening. 
'rise Hubbard Squash and Insects.— Geo. 
W. Powell, Hancock Co., Ill. We have found in our 
own experience, what you suggest as probable, that the 
striped bug and other insects have a special liking for this 
valuable squash. They can be preserved only by unre¬ 
mitting care, use of ashes, and hand picking. 
Squasb Vine Borer. —C. B. Shoemaker, Mont¬ 
gomery Co., Pa., sends specimens of Hubbard Squash 
vines, destroyed by a worm at the root, and asks for in¬ 
formation. 1 he injury is done by the .Egeria Cucurbit®, 
or squash vine Algeria. The parent insect is about %ths 
of an inch 1 my orange colored spotted with black, hav¬ 
ing its hind le 6 s fringed with orange colored and black 
hairs. It deposits eggs on the vines close to the roots, 
from about the tenth of July to the middle of August. 
The larva when hatched, bores into the stem, works 
downward, and kills the vine. We know no certain 
remedy, but protect the vines with millinet frames. 
Tlie eggs might be detected and removed before hatching. 
Strawberries—A Good Picking.— Carew San¬ 
ders, of St. Louis, Mo., tells us through the Valley Farm¬ 
er, that at one picking he gathered five bushels of Wilson’s 
Strawberries from 11% rods of ground, or at the rate of 70 
bush? s pvr acre. This was without any extra culture. 
The bod was in its third season of bearing ; was planted 
in rows four feet apart, the plants all taken out from be¬ 
tween the rows each year, leaving plants 12 to 18 inches. 
Morel. —F. W. Purdy, Bourbon Co., Ky. This plant 
resembles the mushroom, and is used similarly, especially 
for gravies. It has not a smooth surface like the mush¬ 
room, but is irregular, and has a deeper hollow on the un¬ 
der side. It grows wild in moist places, in some parts of 
the country. We are not aware that it has been cultivated. 
Large Potatoes. —T. P. Dunham, Kalamazoo Co., 
Mich., puts Mr. White’s large potato quite in the shade— 
(see page 69, March Agriculturist.) He writes that he 
raised 10 bushels as fine blue mercer potatoes as he ever 
saw, from 12 potatoes ! He cut them, planted 3 eyes in a 
hill, on land previously occupied by a rail fence, never 
tilled before. They grew very large, the heaviest weigh¬ 
ing 5% lbs !! while others weighed 4% lbs., 4 lbs., 3% lbs. 
Barren Beans.— Joel Y. Schelly, Berks Co., Pa. 
Broad Windsor and Scarlet Runner Beans seldom set 
pods from blooms which open in the heat of Summer. 
Our climate is too hot for them. Upon the approach of 
cool weather the flowers will frequently remain longer 
and set pods. It is better to plant late, say the middle 
of June—or raise in frames, and plant out very early. 
They stand a little frost. 
Dwarf Broom Corn in Ohio. —G. L. Howard, 
Lorain Co., O., planted some of this seed obtained from 
the Agriculturist office a year ago. It grew 4 feet high, 
with straight solid brush, from 16 to 22 inches long, and 
made excellent brooms. Most of the seed ripened. 
Monster Arum.— Mr. S. H. Haviland, Kings Co. 
L. I., has placed on our table a very large flower of the 
Arum Dracunculus, 15 inches long, and 7 inches wide, 
vrlih a spadix 12 inches ir length. The flower is of bright 
veivet, oi reddish purple, and the largest of this species 
we have ever seen. 
The Escholtzla Perennial.— C. W. Servoss, 
Atchison Co., Kansas, writes that seed of the above re¬ 
ceived from the Agriculturist Office, came up well, and 
flourished through all the “ terrible drouth and burning 
siroccos” of last season. They showed a fine bloom, 
and, although an annual, Mr. S. covered his plants light¬ 
ly with litter, and by the middle of last May they began 
to bloom again, and are now, (June 3,) “ a mass of flow¬ 
ers.” 
Manrandia Barclayana.— This plant is describ¬ 
ed by Breck as an elegant green-house climbing peren¬ 
nial, which may be raised from seed, and brought forward 
in a frame, or small pots in a hot bed, so as to flower pro¬ 
fusely from August to October, or until killed by frost. 
Plants are also to be had at most green-houses at small 
expense, say 25 to 50 cents each, which, transplanted to 
the open border the first of June, will flower profusely 
during the season. They should be provided with a wire 
frame, or strings, for the tendrils to attach themselves. 
Flowers purple, bell-shaped, and graceful, in fine con¬ 
trast to the deep green foliage. The plant extends from 
six to twelve feet. 
Dicentra Cucullaria, or Dutchman's Breeches, 
is the name of the flower sent by H. A. L., Worcester Co., 
Mass. It is a native, resembling, but not equal to, the 
Chinese Dicentra Spectabilis. 
Lady Gardeners. —E. Y. Teas of Richmond, Ind., 
writes to the Ohio Cultivator, that his gardener has gone 
to the war, and that he has “ engaged a young lady to 
take charge of the green-house.” That’s all right, and 
just what the Agriculturist has long encouraged. There 
is no reason why ladies may not excel in a garden, and 
especially where so much skill and taste are requisite as 
in a green-house. We once heard a gardener compli¬ 
ment a lady who was remarkably skillful in striking cut¬ 
tings, that “ whatever she put in, knew it had to grow.” 
Flower Books. —E. O., Nashville, Tenn. Breck’s 
Book of Flowers is the work you want. It is descriptive, 
and gives many practical directions. Sent post-paid for $1. 
Coboea Scandens.—J. M. M., Huntingdon Co., 
Pa., alluding to the statement that this plant will not 
bloom in pots, says that his plants flowered freely last 
February, in an 8-inch pot. Its growth from October, 
when it was put in the Conservatory, until it flowered in 
February, was 25 to 30 feet. 
Pot Boses and Acacias in Borders.—J. M. 
M. It is better to turn these plants into the open border 
in Spring, and repot them in the Fall. 
Tea Boses not Hardy. —L. T. Wheeler, Kosci¬ 
usko Co., Ind. The tea roses will bear some freezing, 
when protected, and in your latitude would probably live 
in the open ground, if covered with earth during Winter. 
We protect ours in that manner. It is better to pot and 
set them in a green-house, in the Fall. 
Bose of Jericho —(Anastatica hierochuntina.) —This 
is not a real rose, but an annual herbaceous plant, which 
grows in the sandy deserts of Syria and Egypt. When 
mature, it rolls itself up, and the winds blow it over the 
arid plains. It opens again during the rainy season, and 
once more becomes a living plant. 
Baising Plum and Cherry Trees.— German 
Subscriber, Elkport, Ind. You can be certain of good 
varieties of fruit trees, only by grafting or budding with 
desirable sorts. Seedlings are seldom true to their kind. 
Hop Tree. Ptelia trifoliata.—L. H. Hammond, 
Franklin Co., O.—This is a small tree, or more properly 
a shrub, rather ornamental, but of little value as a sub¬ 
stitute for the quick growing and easily raised hop vine. 
Leather Scraps for Fruit Trees. —C. Garri¬ 
son, Atlantic Co., N. J. These are good to spread around 
newly planted trees for a mulch, and in their slow decay 
they yield some nourishment. 
Wild Grapes. —A subscriber wants to know the rea¬ 
son of their unfruitfulness when brought into gardens and 
cultivated. Most of them are poor bearers or barren in 
their native localities. As a rule they are not fit to eat 
when they do bear, and so long as good grapes can be had, 
it seems a waste of time and soil to transplant them. 
Market for Grapes. —There is no danger of over¬ 
stocking the market in the present generation. Dr. Un¬ 
derhill’s Isabellas and Catawbas are sold every year, at 
thirteen cents a pound and upward, this being the lowest 
price we have ever known them to bring. We want 
grapes so cheap and plenty that the poor can have them 
upon the table every day during the grape season. They 
are now an expensive luxury. The sale of fruit will pay 
much better than wine making in any of the older States. 
Vermont Farmers.—T. L. Tucker, West New 
berry, Vt., after planting his corn, went to the war as a 
drummer. Twenty seven of his neighbors turned out and 
hoed his corn. When he hears of this he will doubtless 
put in “double licks” with his drum sticks, and be less 
likely to “ tucker out.” There will doubtless be an old 
fashioned “ husking bee ” next Fall not a thousand miles 
from West Newberry. 
Those Neglected Tools. — A subscriber in 
Bureau Co., Ill., writes to the American A griculturist, 
“ I have no doubt you would feel terribly vexed, as I did, 
to see reapers and mowers left in the road, or in the field 
where they were last used, to stay there until wanted 
next year.” Yes, it always vexes a man of common 
sense to see thriftlessness. No wonder “it’s too hard times 
to take a paper ” with such people. It is gratifying to 
know, however, that there is much improvement gener¬ 
ally in the care of implements. Most cultivators in the 
Eastern section of the Union keep tools properly sheltered. 
That Mammoth Horse. —Wm. McCracken, 
Morgan Co., Ind., writes that lie raised the large horse 
mentioned in the June Agriculturist, page 166. The horso 
was sold by him to Richard Johnson, of Morgan County, 
who exhibited him at ^various places, traveling as far 
South as New Orleans. The horse died shortly after this 
at St. Louis, Mo. 
Gapes in Chickens.— A subscriber recommends 
asafoetida for this disease. He puts a piece of the size of 
a hickory nut in a pint bottle of water, shakes it up, and 
mixes the water with meal. The bottle is then filled 
again with water, for the next dish. He gives this mix 
ture to the fowls every day, until the danger of gapes la 
past. One ounce of the asafoetida lasts through the sea 
son, and he raises as many early chickens as he desires. 
“Absconding Bees.” —M. Quinby, Montgomery 
Co., N. Y., writes : The paragraph from the “ Bee Jour 
nal,” on page 197 of the American Agriculturist, concern 
ing tlie only reliable means of preventing the absconding 
of a swarm, is not to be depended on in all cases. I have 
found exceptions with both natural and artificial swarms, 
when managed precisely as there directed. The propor¬ 
tion swarming out after being hived, is as great as with 
regular swarms. I object to rules being given as injhlli- 
ble, because they have succeeded in a limited number of 
cases. I have had hundreds of swarms, and not one left 
for the woods without first clustering. Would it be very 
inconsistent to say they never did? Yet I am satisfied 
that they will do so occasionally. It may be a good way 
to put a refractory Swarm in the cellar for a time, but it 
can not be depended on. Treatment of “twenty-four 
hours” duration will not always have the desired effect. 
I have found it necessary to confine them three days be* 
fore they would remain contented. 
Bat Kennedy. —We have never found any remedy, 
but to make the building rat proof—either by putting it on 
posts capped with tin or stone, or by making the cellar 
tight by cementing the bottom and sides. This is effectu¬ 
al, and if the doors are kept shut, such a building is inac¬ 
cessible to rats. The poisons are only a temporary rem¬ 
edy, and cats, ferrets, and terriers only half do the work. 
To kill Bats, Mice, Squirrels, Gopliers, 
etc. —I. M. Evans, in the Oregon Farmer, says : mix one 
quart corn meal with milk until it is in the proper state to 
bake : add X teacupful fine pounded glass, mixing thor¬ 
oughly. Place the mixture in barns, near holes and other 
infested places, and bid farewell to the vermin. Mr. E. 
says the recipe is worth $20 to every farmer. 
Kidney Worms in Hogs. —This, and most 
other diseases in hogs, are the result generally of want of 
care and cleanliness, or arise from injudicious and irregu¬ 
lar feeding; from their being kept in foul and wet places, 
with no clean dry place for sleeping. The remedying of 
these evils is better than medicine, and without attention 
to these things, medical treatment is without avail. For 
slight ailments charcoal and cinders are excellent. For 
disease of the kidneys diuretics are indicated, especially 
fruits and vegetables. 
Wire Worms. —A subscriber kills them by Fall 
plowing. This is a cheap remedy, and good for the land. 
Starlings or Parrots are now kept at some of 
the Railroad Stations in Scotland, and taught to call the 
name of the stations loudly and repeatedly, whenever a 
train arrives. The passengers are thus notified of their 
whereabouts. Perhaps the plan may be generally adopt¬ 
ed—if the birds can be made to talk only when needed— 
there is certainly “ confusion of tongues ” enough already 
at a Railroad depot without the addition of babbling, gar¬ 
rulous parrots. 
Cheap Paint. — G. S. W., Rochester, N. Y., has 
tried and likes the cement paint described on page 136, 
May Agriculturist. He used no coloring material, pre¬ 
ferring the tint given by the water lime. 
