1877 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
320 
more money than usual into farmers’ hands ; it would be 
a good thing to put some of it into such permanent im¬ 
provements as draining, by which the value and produc¬ 
tive power of the land may in many cases be doubled. 
A Useful Orange Meeting.—Our re¬ 
mark, made at the outset of the institution of Granges, to 
the effect that in time they would most probably develop 
into useful“ Farmer's Clubs,” as these meetings are gen¬ 
erally understood, is exemplified by the proceedings at a 
meeting of the Palmyra (N. Y.) Grange, held on July 21st. 
Samples of wheat were exhibited, the best of which were 
of the Post and Clawson varieties. Specimens of currant 
jelly were shown, made by squeezing the juice from 
ripe currants, and adding to it an equal quantity of white 
sugar. The mixture was then brought to a boil, and 
boiled only 5 minutes. Others were made without boiling, 
by exposing the sugared juice for one day to the heat of 
the sun on a tin roof. Samples of fruit, including a new 
seedling cherry; conversations about qualities of differ¬ 
ent wheats, in which the red wheats were chiefly recom¬ 
mended, and regarding a Fire Relief Association, also 
helped to fill up the time of the meeting. Here was a 
practical and useful way of occupying time which, how¬ 
ever, scarcely needed the costly formalities of a Grange 
establishment; but if this was a necessary condition for 
such a meeting, there is then a good excuse for it. 
Poisoning by Paris Green Anti- 
tode.—“ W. F. H.” asks, “What to do in case of acci¬ 
dental poisoning by Paris Green.”—Paris Green is so 
deadly a poison that the utmost care should be taken to 
prevent accident, and every one should know what to 
do in case poison has been taken into the stomach. 
There is but one tolerably certain antidote, the 
freshly prepared Hydrated Peroxide of lion, or Ferric 
Hydrate. This cannot be kept on hand long, as it soon 
changes and becomes inert. All well managed drug 
stores keep on hand the means of preparing it at once. 
In case of poisoning by Paris Green or any other form 
of arsenic, give an emetic. Mustard is always at hand ; 
give two tablespoonfuls of Ground Mustard stirred in a 
quart of luke-warm Water.— Drink freely, tickling the 
throat with the Anger to induce vomiting. When the 
stomach is emptied, give Calcined Magnesia in table¬ 
spoonful doses, stirred in milk, repeating every 15 min¬ 
utes. When the vomiting ceases, give a large dose of 
Castor Oil. But send first to the nearest physician, and 
also to the nearest apothecary for Hydrated Peroxide 
of Iron; the doctor will want it; if he is not present, 
give it in tablespoonful doses every 10 or 15 minutes until 
the patient is relieved. It is in the form of pulp like 
Indian-red paint. No harm can come from giving too 
much. When the doctor comes, follow his directions. 
The Great Value ot" Allies, Veacli- 
ed and Unleached, and the reasons therefor, are 
pretty fully discussed by Prof. Atwater, on page 330. It 
will be worth While for all to read the article. Those using 
hard coal, use more or less kindling wood, producing 
good ashes; and the hard coal itself having been origi¬ 
nally from plants, supplies a little potash, etc., though 
the greater heat melts and vitrifies the alkalies so much 
as to render them not immediately available to plants. 
We have seen good results even from hard coal ashes, 
though as a rule they make such excellent covering for 
foot-paths and roads, that they are most useful for this 
purpose. They are well worth preserving for one or the 
other of these uses. We have materially improved the 
texture of a heavy soil by a free application of them. 
iMacliines for Cleaning; Grain.— 
J. H. P.,” Armstrong Co., Pa. Various kinds of fans 
or windmills, for cleaning grain and seeds of all sorts, are 
made by many of the manufacturers whose notices are in 
our advertising columns. These parties will be happy to 
send catalogues of their goods to any one who asks for 
them. See also notices of various catalogues mentioned 
nearly every month. If these notices and advertisements 
were examined regularly by those in need of anything 
whatever, the desired information would be almost cer¬ 
tainly found. There is no more comprehensive list of 
useful articles to be found anywhere in print, that we 
know of, than the advertising columns of the American 
Agriculturist throughout the year. They are worth read¬ 
ing, if only for the varied information they give. 
Pasturing; tlie Highways.— One of 
the greatest nuisances of rural localities is the pasturing 
of stock upon the roads. The road is the private proper¬ 
ty of the owner of the land on each side of it; he gives 
only the right to use the lanc^for travel to the public. In 
law, when this use is no longer exercised, the land re¬ 
verts to tlie owner. The grass, fruit, trees, etc., growing 
on the road-side, are the property of the owner of the 
soil, and not of the public, and he may plant his garden 
there, if he' does not interfere with the conveniance of 
the public in passing to and fro upon the road, No man 
then should use the roads for pasturage. No one has a 
right to do this; and when cows are permitted to graze 
upon tlie road-sides, they may do much damage, by en¬ 
tering gates that may be left open, and destroying garden 
and field crops. Localities, in which the roads are made 
common pasturage, are to be avoided by all persons 
seeking new homes, for whatever the attractions of a 
place, this nuisance would neutralize them all, and leave 
a large balance on the wrong side. 
“ Snow-hill Durhams.”—“ W. V. C.,” 
Troy, Ind. There is no breed of cattle of the above 
name. The Durhams are the Short-horns, as th^p are 
now universally known. Various breeders, who have 
carefully kept up a strain, frequently name their herds in 
the manner referred to, and there may very probably be 
a herd so called, which we do not remember. 
Go tlie Fairs—Why ?—“ Fair ” is not just 
the word for our autumn shows—“Exhibition” would be 
better—but the word has come by use to mean exhibition, 
when it don’t mean a “ horse-race ” exclusively. We 
say, go to the fairs. Just as reading other’s thoughts en¬ 
larges and stimulates one’s own thinking, so contact with 
other men, seeing what they do, what they show, asking 
how they produced this or that good thing, can not fail 
to afford some new hints and do one good. A day at the 
fair lifts one out of daily drudgery; the sight of so many 
people engaged in the same calling, helps one out of that 
low view which the great mass of farmers set upon their 
own pursuit. However much farmers may talk of the 
dignity of their calling, there is in their hearts too low 
an estimate of it. If a son goes into a store, or a daughter 
marries a merchant, or professional man, they will speak 
of it as something to be proud of. This is wrong. Agri¬ 
culture, from Adam down, has been and is the noblest 
pursuit. Going to the fair will help in this and many 
other ways. Go early in the day, and have a quiet look 
at things, before the horse-races disturb the general and 
good order of the day. 
Clothing;.—A Great Convenience, 
as well as economy, for a multitude of people living re¬ 
mote from business centers, is afforded in the present 
improved plans of sending out cloth samples with prices 
affixed, adopted by some large dealers, so that any one 
can examine the fabrics at home , know the cost of any 
garment, and have it forwarded directly to them. The 
carriage by the mails of parcels of not over 4 lbs. at the 
cost of a cent an ounce, or 16 cents a pound, brings a 
store to one’s own door. (We remember sending a silk 
wedding dress by mail, a few years ago, to one of our sub¬ 
scribers in the interior of Kentucky, which cost 96 cents 
a pound for postage, and even then it gave great satis¬ 
faction). Those wanting men’s garments are referred to 
the advertisement of Foote & Richardson, page 349. 
Letters from our readers who ordered of them during 
the summer, express great satisfaction with the result. 
Basket Items continued 
on page 353. 
A Hundred Per Cent Interest! 
“G. W. M.,” writes from Iowa: “... Some talk about 
their good luck in receiving 20 per cent, or more, for a 
little money invested. I can tell how I got not only 100 
per cent for an investment, but many times that, and I 
believe hundreds of thousands of others can do the same. 
During five years past, I have bought, at a total cost of 
$34.25, eighteen books on farming and gardening, stock- 
raising, and fruit-growing, including one volume on farm 
buildings, one on drainings, and one on housekeeping, 
(Youman s Household Science). I have read these, about 
one in three months ; my sons have read them; my 
neighbors have borrowed and read them, and there they 
stand in a neat row on a shelf, always ready not only for 
reference, but the finest ornament we have in our humble 
dwelling. We feel proud of them ; they give an air of 
intelligence ; we feel our dignity as a reading family; my 
sons talk intelligently, and they insensibly appreciate a 
calling that has even 18 books treating of it. They don’t 
talk about leaving the farm for a ‘ higher calling.’ When 
at work they talk about what such and such an author 
says. I know they are happier for it. In these respects 
I know the books have paid a thousand per cent. That 
$34.25 would buy one small animal, or a cheap set of fur¬ 
niture, but none of my family would vacate that book 
shelf for a dozen of animals. I will not pretend to say 
how much good these books have done among our neigh¬ 
bors, in elevating their tastes and their dignity, as well 
as in giving useful information—how much, scandal has 
been avoided, because the readers of the books have 
something to think and talk about, gathered from these 
books ; how many demoralizing ‘ novels ’ have not been 
read because these books took their places. There are 
fewer candidates among our farmers’ sons for city life, 
where,as we know, 95 out of every hundred fail to succeed. 
But there is another paying side to our library. During 
these five years we have saved at least ten animals, from 
a chicken, pig, sheep and cow, up to a valuable horse, by 
the use of the knowledge we got at once from our little 
library. I can see well, where by hints, suggestions, 
new thoughts, avoidance of errors, etc., which have 
come to me through reading the seven thousand pages in 
these 18 books, of other men’s experiences and opera¬ 
tions, I have myself planned my work, my sales, my im¬ 
plements, etc., more profitably. No, I would not be 
without their benefit to myself and family for a hundred 
times their cost. I wish I had got twice as many such 
books, twenty years ago. I send you a list of what I have, 
and want your advice what to get more, to the value of 
$40 this fall. I did not cultivate that extra ‘ Book Acre,’ 
we had not an extra acre left, but my second son has 
some pigs that will bring about $40, and he says 4 we will 
put the money in new books, on another shelf, to be 
mine, and when I go on a farm I will take them for 
my house, and we can all read them until then.’—I 
have written this to re-inforce what you have often ad¬ 
vised. If my brother farmers could see the advantage of 
such books, as I see it, and know it, there would not be a 
farmer’s cabin or mansion in all the land, without at 
least a small farm-book library right off._” 
Being Familiar with Our Headers. 
The rule of this office has always been to consider the 
Readers, the Editors, and the Publishers also, as holding 
a sort of family relationship, with mutual interests to be 
guarded and promoted. What helps, aids, removes diffi¬ 
culties, or otherwise benefits our readers, young and old, 
should give, and we believe does give, the highest satis¬ 
faction to the Editors. If an objectionable or doubtful 
advertisement is offered, with ever so much money ten¬ 
dered to get it inserted in these columns, (for such adver¬ 
tisers offer big prices,) the Publishers should not, and we 
believe do not, look one moment at the profit, but how 
will it affect the readers. If they had no kindly feelings, 
no thought but how to make the most money, yet, if wise 
men, they must see, that, in the long run, honesty is the 
best policy; that if they fill up the business pages with 
things that will be unprofitable to the readers of ordinary 
judgment, they will by so much diminish the value of 
6uch pages to good patrons, and in the end lose by it. 
(We heartily wish all publishers, even of some of the 
“religious papers” could, and would, take this view of it. 
How many tons of worse than useless—of death and dis¬ 
ease introducing medicines—would fall to find a market.) 
On the other hand, we believe our readers generally 
appreciate this family relationship, and that they take an 
interest in the Editors’ and Publishers’ plans. So we do 
not hesitate to talk familiarly in the reading pages, of the 
plans, the offers, the business arrangements, etc. Some¬ 
times a reader will object to these business talks—that 
there is too much of them, etc—but we believe the great 
multitude of our readers are rather pleased than other¬ 
wise, with plain talk—with our telling our plans and pur¬ 
poses familiarly. We like to have them do so with us. 
If any of them have big crops, fine farms, prosperous' cir¬ 
cumstances, we like to hear of it, and rejoice witli them, 
even if we do not find room to put it down in print. 
Bee Notes for September. 
BT L. C. ROOT, MOHAWK, N. Y. 
During the present month, if the weather is favorable, 
we may reasonably expect a fair yield of fall honey. 
Golden Rod will be in bloom very freely in most parts of 
the country.- Partly filled boxes, that are not too much 
rounded and finished, may be completed. Those that are 
rounded over and sealed on the edges, should be removed. 
There is a large proportion of such boxes at this date 
(Aug. 6th), owing to the sudden cessation in the yield of 
white honey. It is seldom advisable to place empty boxes 
upon hives so late in the season, expecting them to be 
filled. It would be better to take the honey from part of 
the combs with the Extractor, and let the bees refill them. 
Questions and Answers. 
Bee Forage. —“ What trees would you advise planting 
as affording best forage for bees ? ”—I think the native 
Basswood is best, as it matures rapidly and yields very 
abundantly. It is sometimes called Linden, and is found 
in abundance in many States. It blooms in Central N. 
Y. about July 15th, and the honey is of the finest quality. 
“Stock and Swarm.” —“What is the difference be¬ 
tween a stock and a swarm of bees ? ”—We usually speak 
of a swarm of bees as it issues from the hive, or as jaken 
separately from the hive, while a stock is spoken of as 
including hive, combs, and bees. 
Returning first Swarm. —“ Do you think it advisa- 
