180 L.J 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
203 
Home-made Native Grape Wine. —J. L. Lock- 
wood, Fairfield Co., Ct., presented us recently with a 
specimen of native wine, which is pronounced good by 
judges of the article. It was made thus : For a 22 gallon 
cask, 4 bushels of ripe wild grapes were taken, and after 
throwing out the decayed berries, all the good grapes were 
mashed and the juice pressed out through a coarse 
bag. Tins was put into the cask with 60 lbs. coffee sugar, 
and water enough added to fill up to within an inch of the 
bung. The plug was driven in tightly, but through it was 
introduced a bent or syphon tube, the inner end remain¬ 
ing above the wine, and the outer end dipping into a vessel 
of water which was always kept replenished as it dried 
away. This arrangement permitted the escape of gases, 
but excluded the entrance of air. The whole remained in 
this position until the last of April, when the ciear wine 
was drawn off and bottled. 
‘‘Guinea Dwarf Pea.”-T. J. Swan, Meade 
Co., Ky., sent us, June 25, a package of peas under the 
above name. They were planted immediately, and were 
ready for cooking in six weeks—rather earlier than the 
Daniel O’Rourke. They prove to be what is known here 
as the “ Strawberry Pea in France as the “ De Grace,” 
and in Germany as the “ Buchsbaum,” or box-tree pea, 
because they resemble in size and growth the box plant 
used for edgings or borders. Indeed, they are mucli used 
there as edgings for kitchen garden beds. There are sev¬ 
eral varieties, which differ but s'ightly from each other, 
all being very dwarf—not more than 6 to 8 inches high. 
They „re convenient and pretty, but not adapted for a 
general crop, as the short vines bear too few pods, and 
the berry is small, and not equal in flavor to larger sorts. 
Large Wlieat Heads.— Charles Potts, Schuyler 
Co., Ill., sends to the office of the American Agriculturist 
two wheat heads, each 6 y, inches long, taken from his 
field. They were selected to compare with the samples 
of the Giant and Hallett’s, illustrations of which have ap¬ 
peared in this journal. If pains were taken by wheat 
growers to select such heads for seed, year by year, great¬ 
ly increased production vyould result. Read article on 
the subject on page 295. 
Apples and Wheat from Minnesota.—A 
few days since we received a neatly packed box, per ex¬ 
press from St. Paul, Minn., (all expenses paid,) which 
contained samples of apples and Spring Wheat, sent by 
Mr. Martin D. Clark. The apples are of the late Straw¬ 
berry variety, from trees taken to Minnesota from Buffalo, 
ii 1858. They are beautiful specimens, much larger 
than the same variety grown here, such as would do 
credit to any orchard. One of them measures 12 }£ inch¬ 
es in circumference, and weighs 12 oz. Mr. Clark writes 
that he sent them to disprove the idea that apples can not 
bf raised in that section. The Wheat is the Rio Grande 
variety, is of the best quality, and speaks well for the soil 
xml the cultivation. 
Cotton from Milk-Weed.— “ Bridge water,” 
suggests a trial of the silky fibers of the common milk¬ 
weed ( Asclepias cornuti ), as a substitute for cotton, or 
perhaps for silk. The seeds are attached to the stalk by 
a fine glossy substance, which, if it possess the requisite 
strength, may be worth experimenting with. It is a very 
hardy northern plant, prolific in seed-pods, and would 
doubtless be improved by culture.-The if will doubt¬ 
less be in the way. Our impression is, that the fibers are 
entirely too fragile to serve any practical purpose. 
Tlie California 44 Soap Weed.”— In answer to 
an inquiry in the September Agriculturist respecting this 
plant, Prof. George Thurber, of the Michigan State Agri¬ 
cultural College, writes : “ The plant alluded to is doubt¬ 
less the Amole of the Mexicans, and is known to botanists 
as Ch lorogalum pomeridianum. A figure of the plant will 
be found in the 2d volume of the Report of the United 
States and Mexican Boundary, plate 60. The plant is a 
perennial; its bulb when bruised yields a mucilaginous 
juice which when mixed with water causes it to froth in 
the same manner that soap does. This, or an allied spe¬ 
cies, is much used as a detergent throughout Northern 
Mexico. Its medicinal qualities are probably not more 
marked than those of Slippery Elm bark or Sassafras 
pith. I am not aware that a chemical examination has 
been made of it, but it probably contains a principle anal¬ 
ogous to saponine.” 
Tliree Specimens of Millet.—J. W. Grier, 
Adaigsville.—No. 1 is panicled millet (see page 298). Nos. 
2 and 3 are club millet, No. 2 being the Hungarian millet, 
or so-called “ Hungarian grass.” 
Burning over a Meadow.— Almon J. Pierce 
Van Buren Co., Mich. Burning over a meadow after 
gathering the crops would be injurious to the following 
year’s growth. Many of the roots would be killed by 
heat, and the remainder being left unprotected by destruc¬ 
tion of the young growth above tli^n, would suffer se¬ 
verely during the Winter. 
Open Ends of Drains.—“ Iowa Subscriber.” The 
lower end should be well open to admit air, but be se¬ 
cured with wire or iron rods to shut out mice and toads. 
The upper end should be closed to compel the air to as¬ 
cend through tne soil from the whole length of the drain. 
Water through Cement Tiles.—Delos C. Ran¬ 
som, Erie Co., O. As usually mixed, that is one part of 
hydraulic lime, and one to two parts of sand, the cement 
formed will not admit water through it. Indeed the walls 
of cisterns are made to hold water by plastering with such 
a composition. A company in Brooklyn are manufactur¬ 
ing tiles by a patent process in which pressure is used, 
and a smaller quantity of lime is required. These tiles 
allow considerable water to pass trough their sides. This 
is not essential, however, for the joints of drain pipes ad¬ 
mit water as fast as it can be carried off. See July Agri¬ 
culturist, page 201, bottom of middle column. 
Amount of Honey needed by Bees. —J. F. 
Lester,.Ill., writes to the American Agriculturist, that 
fifteen swarms of bees kept in the cellar last Winter 2y 
months, each consumed on an average 6 y lbs. of their 
stores. As this is about one third of the time bees con¬ 
sume stored honey in a northern latitude, it follows that 
not less than 20 lbs. will be needed to cary them safely 
through the Winter. 
Candy for Bees. —J. F. Lester, Ill., asks for a recipe 
for making candy from brown sugar, on which bees can 
be fed without waste. M. Quinby, gives the follow 
ing directions : Add water enough to dissolve the sugar 
over a slow fire without burning. Take off the scum as 
it rises. To prevent its graining and becoming sugar 
again, add some acid. A teaspoonful of cream of tartar 
will be sufficient for 20 lbs. Evaporate the water by boil¬ 
ing slowly till it is brittle on cooling. Lay white paper on 
the bottom of some shallow dishes, and pour it on, mak¬ 
ing it into thin cakes, and it is readily broken into suita¬ 
ble pieces for use. Bees can not be sustained on this 
alone, they must have some honey in connection with it. 
They have starved with a full supply in reach, even when 
water was given to assist in dissolving it. It may be val¬ 
uable when given before the honey is exhausted. Those 
who have tried feeding sugar in the form of syrup, about 
the consistence of honey, speak of it very highly. It is 
preferred to candy, where both have been tried, yet it is 
more trouble. 
Oil Cake for Bees.— T. S. Wilson writes to the 
American Agriculturist, that oil cake mixed with water, 
to form a thick paste is excellent food for bees, of which 
they are very fond. This does not seem natural. 
Twenty Bushels of Army Worms.—Mr. 
Ransom, of Erie Co., O., whose letter of August 9, came 
to hand too late for notice last month, reported the rav¬ 
ages of the army worm as quite severe in that and adjoin¬ 
ing counties. One 48-acre plot of oats was entirely spoil¬ 
ed. Plowing furrows across the field to catch the worms, 
and burning straw in them was resorted to. He says one 
of his neighbors estimated that he had in this way killed 
at least twenty bushels of worms ' 
Scrubbing Digs. —Charles F. Raymond, Fairfield 
Co., Conn., writes that a gentleman with whom he 
worked, bought two very unpromising pigs of the com¬ 
mon breed, which he scrubbed regularly every day for a 
month, and afterward occasionally used a currycomb and 
brush. They were fed with sour milk and corn, and 
when dressed at the age of nine months, one weighed 306 
lbs., the other 296 lbs. The cleansing of the skin un¬ 
doubtedly favored their growth. 
Convenient Pig Trough. —A Subscriber sends 
us the model of a pig trough by which the animals are 
prevented from “ putting their feet in it,” and from crowd¬ 
ing each other. It is a common trough with the addition 
of slats upon the top wide enough to separate the pigs while 
feeding, and having an inclined board lengthwise, along 
the top, to keep them from jumping over to the wrong 
side. The feed is poured in through a small hopper fitted 
into the back side of the trough. 
Relative Size of Animals and Plants.— Dr. 
Dick estimates the largest whale to be 34,560,000,000,000, 
000,000 times as large as the smallest known animalcule. 
The largest tree of Guiana he estimates to be 2,985,984,000, 
000,000 times as large as the rose-leaf plant. 
Bats and Mice may often be caught by bailing the 
trap with flax, cotton, w'ool, etc., which they will try to 
secure for making their nests. 
Destroying Muskrats. — Ephraim Montague 
Hampshire Co., Mass. These animals may be destroyed 
by feeding them slices of sweet apple sprinkled with a 
little strychnine. When thus poisoned their skins should 
not be used, and the carcases be kept away from hogs. 
Fish Culture.—Several subscribers ask for prac’d 
cal information on this subject from those who have ox 
perimented successfully. Who will furnish the facts ? 
Preserving Eggs.— S. V. V., and other recent in 
quirers, will find a chapter on eggs in the August Agri¬ 
culturist, page 246. A new plan is proposed on page 309. 
Dissolving Bones. —D. W. Bliven, New-London 
Co., Ct., writes that last March he dissolved 500 lbs. of 
bones in 100 lbs. of Soda Ash in water, adding 50 lbs. f 
unslacked lime, and it has done well as a manure. Pj 
asks if the preparation is as valuable as if sulphuric acid 
were used. This depends much upon the character of 
the soil, we suppose, and can be best decided by trial. 
On cold, sour land, the alkaline preparation would prob¬ 
ably be preferable ; while on other soils the acid solution 
would be likely to be most effective. 
Cultivated Land in Ireland. —Ireland contains 
very nearly twenty one million acres. Twenty years 
ago thirteen and a half million acres were returned as 
“arable land,” that is land cultivated with the plow, 
leaving seven and a half million acres as waste land, or 
only adapted to pasturage. By draining, partly by pri¬ 
vate enterprise and partly by the aid of Government 
loans, the arable surface is now increased to nearly six¬ 
teen million acres—a gain of about twenty per cent in the 
amount of tillable land. 
--— sea-V*so—-.-to.- 
“ Information Wanted ” from Practical 
Men—$240 offered in Cash Prices. 
Winter Wheat—Rye—Fattening Hogs, etc.—Winter Feed¬ 
ing of Stock—Spring Wheat — Oats — Corn — Apples — 
Peaches—Blackberries and Raspberries—Family Vege¬ 
table Garden—Flower Garden. 
TIME EXTENDED. 
Under the above head we last Augustcalled for a series 
of essays, or details of experience and observation, from 
practical men, and offered the following Prizes or Pre 
miums for the most valuable one in each class. 
1— Culture of Winter Wheat, $25— Not to exceed 20 pages 
of manuscript, and to be sent in, on or before Sept. I. 
(Time extended to Nov. 30.)* 
2— Culture of Rye, $15—Not to exceed 15 pages—Sept. 1. 
(Time extended to Nov. 30.) 
3— Rearing and Fattening of Swine, $15—Not ever 15 
pages—Sept. 1. (Time extended to Nov. 30.) 
4— Winter Feeding and Care of Stock, $20—Not over 20 
pages—Oct. 1st. (Time extended to Nov. 1.) 
5— Culture of Spring Wheat, $20—Not over 15 pages— 
Nov. 25. 
6— Culture of Oats, $15—not over 10 pages—Dec. 2. 
7— Culture of Indian Corn, $25—Not over 20 pages—Dec.2, 
8— Growing Apples, $20—Not over 20 pages—Dec. 2. 
9— Peaches, $15—Not over 12 pages—Dec. 2. 
10— Blackberries and Raspberries, $20—Not over 15 page! 
for both—Dec. 2. 
11— Family Vegetable Garden, $25—Not over 25 pages.-- 
Dec. 2. 
12— Flower Garden, $25—Not over 20 pages—Dec. 2. 
EXTENSION OF TIME. 
Many who desired to write for the prizes, complained 
that the time allowed for the first of them was too short 
after they received the August Agriculturist, to al low 
them to prepare the essays before Sept. 1st, and only a 
few wrote, and then in a hurried manner. Our aim 
was to get these contributions in early enough to be of 
use this season. But owing to the brief time allowed, and 
to the war excitement, the efforts so far made, have not 
been up to what we wish to call out. We have therefore 
extended the time of the first four premiums, as noted 
above. (Those who have already sent in their articles, 
can withdraw them, if they desire, and send in again be¬ 
fore the expiration of the extended time.) 
Fob full particulars and specifications in regard 
to the prizes, character of the essays, etc., see the August 
Agriculturist, copies of which can be had on application 
by those intending to compete. Let no one hesitate to 
offer his contribution, because he is unaccustomed to use 
the pen. The one who gives the most practical informa¬ 
tion, in the plainest language, will be the one to receive 
the prize in each case. 
* Change of Wheat Premium. —In accordance with 
numerous suggestions, we will make the following change 
in the Wheat prize : Instead of $25 for a single essay, we 
will offer two prizes of $15 each, viz., one of $15 for the 
best essay on growing wheat in the New-England and 
Middle States ; and one of $15 for the best directions for 
cultivating wheat in the Western States, particularly on 
the prairies. The specifications for each will be the same 
as first given for No. 1, in the August Agriculturist. 
