AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
169 
187?.] 
Marketing- Produce. — The produce 
commission business is one that offers a field for dis¬ 
honest operators, and we would caution those who send 
vegetables, fruit, or other produce to the New York and 
other markets, to be careful to whom they consign it. 
There are two classes to guard against; those who start 
with good intentions, but who for want of sufficient ex¬ 
perience soon fail in their undertaking, and those who 
start with the deliberate intention of cneating. Already 
circulars of a suspicious character are being sent among 
the producers, and soon the fruit growing districts will be 
beset by numerous glib-tongued persons, who have a 
plenty to say, and a plenty oi time in which to say it, as 
to their wonderful facilities for handling and selling 
fruit. Raising fruit and other produce is of little avail 
unless it is well sold, and as it is seldom that one per¬ 
son can do both, it becomes necessary for the grower to 
entrust his articles to another, to whom he pays a com¬ 
mission for selling. It needs no argument to show the 
importance of selecting a commission merchant who is 
not only thoroughly honest, but has sudn a knowledge of 
the business as will allow him to get the best prices. 
There are numerous dealers of this class, some of whom 
advertise in our columns, and as to others, it will not be 
difficult to ascertain their reputation. It is very unsafe 
to consign to unknown parties, whether they make their 
appeals by circulars or in person, no matter what induce¬ 
ments they may offer, without first making sure of their 
ability to do wbat they promise. It is well to consider 
this matter before the busy season comes on. 
Tlie Foreign Meat Trade.—On the 
first page will be found a series of engravings giving 
scenes connected with the important and growing busi¬ 
ness of shipping meat to Europe. In the description 
reference is made to the plan of the refrigerator, showing 
the interior arrangement, which is here given. 
“ Xtlaclc Quarter,” Carhnncnlar 
Erysipelas.— “ C. J.,” Rockbridge Co., Ya. This dis¬ 
ease is frequent at this season amongst well-kept calves 
and yearlings. It does not effect the half-starved ones. 
The principal symptom consists of large black patches 
beneath the skin of the legs, shoulders, or flanks, and 
over these patches the skin is puffed up and crackles 
when pressed or rubbed. It is a disease of the blood, 
supposed to be caused by the presence of vegetable or¬ 
ganisms in the fluid, which destroy its vitality. These 
vegetable growths or cells have been discovered by mi¬ 
croscopical examinations, and seem to be produced by 
the entrance of germs through the stomach. It is possi¬ 
ble that these may exist in the water or grass, and are 
most abundant in the spring, when the young herbage is 
luxuriant. There seems to be no certain cure, as the dis¬ 
ease is too rapidly fatal after its discovery, and the only 
course is to prevent it by giving, early in the spring, fre¬ 
quent doses of half an ounce of hyposulphite of soda, and 
being careful of changing the feed too suddenly. 
Tilling- in Building's. —W. A. Dean, 
Fillmore Co., Minn. The filling of the space between 
the outer boarding and inner plastering of a house, with 
sawdust or some such material, is nothing new. Saw¬ 
dust, spent-tan, and the like, are valuable as non-con¬ 
ductors of heat, mainly on account of the air they hold 
in their interstices. There is no better conductor than a 
body of air enclosed within a tight space between the 
two walls. The method hy which this may be easily se¬ 
cured, is given in the American Agriculturist for March, 
1875, p. 89, with a diagram, to he had for 15 cents. 
Chiifas Again. —Some 20 years ago the 
Chufa, or Earth Almond ( C'yperus esculentus), was intro¬ 
duced as a plant from which great things might he eg* 
pected, its chief use being as food for swine. The plant 
is one of the sedges, and closely related to the Coco or 
Nut-grass, which is such a pest to Southern agriculture, 
and bears tubers in a similar manner; these tubers are 
from the size of a pea up to that of an almond, or larger, 
and have a sweet pleasant taste. In a few years after its 
introduction, nothing was heard of the Chufa, except 
here and there as a curiosity. Within the past year or 
two the interest in the plant has revived, the Southern 
papers are advocating its culture, and the tubers for 
planting are advertised in large quantities. While no 
definite experiments are given, it is claimed that an acre 
in Chnfas will produce more pork than an acre in com, 
and it is evident that they will he largely planted this 
season. The culture is very simple: the tubers, previously 
soaked if very dry, are dropped a foot apart in furrows 
made 30 in. or 3 feet apart, covering about an inch; on 
very rich land 18 inches is near enough for the tubers. 
The after culture is to clear the space between the rows 
with a cultivator of some kind, using the hoe in the 
rows. When frost stops the growth, the pigs are turned 
in to do their own harvesting ; of course enough tubers 
must be previously dug for seed. The yield is said to 
be about 200 bushels to the acre. We noticed some of 
the seed Chufas a short time ago in the store of Wm. 
H. Carson, 125 Chambers St., New York. 
Basket Items continued 
on page 193. 
The New York Horticultural Society. 
The attendance at the regular monthly meeting on April 
3d, was less than usual, as at this time the florists and gar¬ 
deners are in the midst of their busiest season. There 
were some very interesting plants and flowers on exhi¬ 
bition, principally from Wm. Bennett, Flatbush; G. Such, 
South Amboy, N. J.; I. Buchanan, Astoria, L. I. ; R. B. 
Parsons, of Flushing; John Henderson, Flushing, L. I.; 
Wm. A. Burgess, of Glencove, L. I.; Wm. Wilson, As¬ 
toria, L. I., and Charles Zeller, Flatbush, L. I. There 
was a gratifying increase in the number of amateurs 
present, particularly ladies, who thronged the rooms. 
Many of them took notes of the articles on exhibition, 
reminding us of what is so generally the practice at the 
flower shows of Europe. The exhibitor finds his remu¬ 
neration in orders for Diants from the specimens he ex¬ 
hibits ; at the same time the amateur in flowers obtains 
a knowledge of plants and their names, and learns some¬ 
thing of culture. An interesting paper was read by Mr. 
David Fonlis, New York, on “Cut Flowers and Floral 
Decorations.” His essay gave an account of the kinds 
of flowers now used for decorative purposes, and showed 
the great improvements that have been made, and the 
immense increase of the business during the past twenty 
years. He made the broad assertion that in no city in 
the world was the business of cut flowers or floral decora¬ 
tions done so well, or to such an extent, as in the city of 
New York. The essay was well received, and it was to 
be regretted that there were not more to listen to it. 
The Adjustable Plant Box. 
There are some inconveniences attending the use of 
small pots by those who raise tomato and other plants in 
the window of the kitchen or other warm room, and a 
box of some kind, or even a tin can, is preferred by many. 
Fig. 1.—THE BOX FLAT. 
Various contrivances have teen proposed, to allow the 
box to be taken away from the ball of earth, and allow 
this to be setin the ground without disturbing the roots; 
among these we have seen none that seem so well adapt¬ 
ed to secure this as the Adjustable Plant Box, invented 
by Mr. C. M. Crandall, of toy-making fame. Pieces of 
thin board, with similar dove¬ 
tailing to that used in his building 
blocks, are used for the sides of 
the box; four of these are put to¬ 
gether and fastened by pivots as 
in figure 1. It is but the work of 
a few seconds to put these into the 
shape of figure 2, when the box is 
ready. As many boxes as are de- 
si red are set together upon a board, 
which serves as a bottom for all, filled with earth, and 
they are ready for the plants. In a short time the earth 
gets so compacted, and is so held by the roots of the 
plant, that the box may be lifted, or may be taken 
Fig. 2. 
quite away from the ball of earth, which will hold 
its shape. The readiness with which the plants may be 
transferred from the boxes to the open ground, may be 
seen at once, and the plants will be so little disturbed by 
Fig. 3.— BOX MADE WITH TWO FLATS. 
the operation, that they will never know it. One advan¬ 
tage of these boxes is their durability, and when not in 
use they may be laid flat, as in figure 1, tied together, 
Fig. 4.— DIAMOND SHAPED BOXES. 
and put away for another season. If one chooses to make 
a larger box, it can be done by uniting two in the man¬ 
ner shown in figure 3, and they are susceptible of a 
variety of combinations, as shown in figure 4, and others 
will suggest themselves to those who may wish to use 
them for a miniature window-box. Being General 
Agents for the other manufactures of Mr. Crandall, the 
Orange Judd Company have also the sale of these, which 
they offer to dealers in packages of 500 each. Those 
who wish to purchase them at retail, may order them of 
seedsmen and other dealers in horticultural wares. 
Bee Notes for May. 
BY I.. O. ROOT, MOHAWK, N. Y. 
Each month I am more convinced of the advantages of 
having the readers of “ Bee Notes” send in such ques¬ 
tions as they desire to have answered, as we thus ascer¬ 
tain their wants, and, as far as possible, meet them. 
Readers of the “ Notes ” are again requested to continue 
their queries. The questions at hand are of general in¬ 
terest, and cover the practical operations for the month. 
When to Transfer.— ‘‘Would you advise me to 
transfer my bees during April I consider the best 
time to be that when apple trees begin to blossom. Full 
directions may be found in “ Bee Notes ” for May, 1876. 
Combs when Bees Die.— “ What would you do with 
combs in box hives in which the bees have winter killed ?” 
—Brush the dead bees from them, and if you use mova¬ 
ble frames, transfer the combs to these for the following 
season’s use. They may be used for extracting, or be 
placed in empty hives, and swarms hived in them. If 
you desire to continue the use of box hives, set the hives 
with the empty combs away in a cool place, until swarms 
issue, when swarms may be placed in them. The value 
of empty combs is not appreciated by many. 
A Substitute for Pollen.—" Do you feed rye flour 
early in spring?”—After bees are placed on their sum¬ 
mer stands, I feed unbolted rye flour, ground as fine as 
possible, giving all they will carry. Spread it out thin 
on a broad flat surface. 
Feeding in Spring.— ‘‘ Would you feed diluted honey 
in the spring to stimulate breeding?”—Yes, either honey 
or sugar syrup. I prefer syrup, as it is less likely to in¬ 
duce robbing. 
Discouraging Bees from Flying.— “ Ought bees to 
be discouraged from flying during cold and windy 
days ?”—The loss of bees on such days is greater than is 
supposed. Hence we should prevent their flying. 
Sealed Honey.—" Is it important to have ample stores 
of sealed honey in each hive In order to secure rapid pro¬ 
duction of brood ?”—There should be a moderate amount. 
Not enough to fill the combs that should contain brood. 
Spreading Combs.— “After settled warm weather 
comes, would it not be well to spread apart the brood 
nest, and insert an empty worker comb, in order to ac¬ 
celerate brood rearing?”—I practice this largely. Do 
not spread combs in hives that are not strong enough to 
care for brood when too much separated. 
Langstroth and Quinby Frames. —“Are the stand¬ 
ing frames of the Quinby hive as easily and quickly 
handled, when occupied by bees, as are the Langstroth 
frames?”—This is a question upon which beekeepers 
differ very much. Every person can handle those frames 
best, to which he is accustomed. After the first comb is 
removed, the preference is with the Langstroth frame, 
in this one respect. 
Italians and Natives.— “ Are Italian bees preferable 
to natives?”—Yes, except in localities where the forage 
is largely buckwheat. Even there, a portion of the bees 
kept should be Italians, to take advantage of their work¬ 
ing on different kinds of flowers.“Why do black 
