1877.1 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
367 
Tlic American Fomolog'ica.1 So¬ 
ciety held its 16th biennial meeting at Baltimore on 
Sept. 12th to 14th, too late for us to do more than to 
mention the fact, that the meeting, while an exceedingly 
pleasant one, was attended by fewer members than usual, 
and. to express our great regret, and that of every other 
member, that the President, Col. Marshall P. Wilder, 
was by a sudden ill turn, prevented from being present. 
'The exhibition of the Maryland Horticultural Society, 
held at the same time, was notably fine, and the Maryland 
horticulturists deserve abundant credit for their efforts in 
•various directions to make the meeting a success. The 
next meeting, in 1879, will be held at Nashville, Tenn. 
'Flie Names of Fruits.— Sometimes, in 
order to make an article fit a given space, we are obliged 
.to add to or shorten it. In the article on Easpberries, we 
.abruptly stopped after entering a protest against the 
same of Mr. Koe’s promising new berry, the “ Pride of 
the Hudson.” We do not single out this variety for 
criticism in this respect, and only referred to it because 
it was new. In our opinion, the name of a fruit should 
never be of more than one word, and that word should 
not have more than two syllables if it can be avoided. 
No dealer says “King of Tompkins County,” but calls 
the apple “King.” “Duchesse d’ Angouleme,” and 
■*' Triomphe de Gand,” are by common consent “Duch¬ 
ess ” and “Triumph,” and Mr. Eoe’s berry, if it attains 
the popularity hoped for it, will be either “Pride” or 
“‘Hudson.” Life is too short, and dealers’ time is too 
valuable for them to spend a large share of it in saying 
“Pride of the Hudson.” It starts in the world weighted 
with just four times as much name as it ought to carry, 
had it been called “ Koe,” it would have been well. Why 
not call it “Pride of Cornwall-on-the-Hudson, Orange 
-County, N. Y.,” just for short? 
A Mole in a Sauce Pan, or other article 
■of tinware, is a small thing, but it causes great annoy¬ 
ance. Those who will take the trouble to learn, can 
•easily do small jobs at soldering, but many have not the 
needed gumption, and spoil the job. These, and indeed 
all others, will find the “Magical Patching Plate” a 
•great convenience. It is a thin sheet of solder prepared 
.for the purpose, from which a bit is to be cut out large 
•enough to well cover the hole ; the surface of the ware 
being scraped bright, the patch is put on, a poker or 
other hot iron held upon it, and as soon as the solder 
melts the job is done. Our neighbors, M. D. Tracy & 
■Go., are headquarters for “tinkering made easy.” 
Tl»o Sanitary Condition of City and 
‘Country Dwelling Houses, is the title of a little work by 
■Col. Geo. E. Waring, Jr., and published as No. 31 of Van 
INostrand’s Science Series. It contains two papers read 
by the author before meetings of Public Health Associa¬ 
tions, and correspondence suggested by these articles, 
■and presents in a compact form the principles which 
must be observed in carrying off the waste matters from 
•all houses. The proper disposal of house waste is as 
necessary on a farm as in a city, and it should be done 
with a view to the health as well as the comfort of the 
family. Sent from this office by mail for 50 cents. 
Tlie Priclcly Comfrey was quite widely 
■distributed last spring, and a fair estimate maybe made 
•of its value, though final conclusions can not be reached 
until another fall, as the sets sent out were very small, 
And the plant has now only fairly established itself. Next 
year it will start off in the spring from large and strong 
roots, and should furnish a much greater amount of foli. 
age. Mr. W. Sweet, Washington Co., N. Y., gives an ac¬ 
count of his trial; he had small sets, which he put out 
late in May; August 23rd he found it to average 114 
leaves to the plant. At first his cows declined to eat it, 
but they soon took it greedily, as did the pigs. Thus far 
Mr, S. is pleased with it; he thinks instead of 3 x 3 ft., 
as advised, the plants should be set at least 4x4 feet. 
Scrap-Bookery and Pottery.— We 
had no idea until we examined the stock of Oscar W. 
Young, Brooklyn, E. D., of the extent of the business of 
importing what are known as “Scrap Pictures,” for the 
ornamentation of scrap books, jars, and other pottery, 
including “ginger-pots.” The variety of subjects is 
immense, from minute insects and leaves, up to groups 
■of figures, gorgeous clusters ot flowers, and birds of the 
gayest plumage. In excellence of design and execution, 
in brilliancy and variety of colors, with gold and silver, 
these are simply wonderful, and their production must 
■employ a large number of skilled artists and mechanics. 
Trea tment of a SelftSncking <’ow. 
—‘ B W. B.,” Saratoga. N. Y. If the bit described in the 
American Agriculturist. (Nov, 1876) is not effective, we 
would suggest making a larger one Try a piece of elder 
wood with the pith punched out, and an inch or more 
thick. Increase the thickness until it is found to suit. 
When the proper size is found, then make one of iron. 
The half-inch size is quite effective with calves, but very 
likely may not be with a full grown cow. 
Wanted an Owner for one tin box of live 
caterpillars; one butterfly, very dead and much smashed; 
one paper box containing what was a bunch of grapes, 
fruit mostly fallen, very foxy, and never can be worth 
growing; one apple bymail, which is now quite decayed; 
a piece of pine with a hole plugged with cork, may con¬ 
tain insects, and may not; one lot of grass, sent in a roll 
of stiff paper open at the ends, probably not so much as 
when it was started, as there is but a fragment. Probably 
we could find other things to increase the list of articles 
now at hand, and to which we have not the least clue as 
to who sent them, or what they were sent for. In some 
weeks we shall perhaps get a letter or post-card stating, 
“ some time ago I sent you, so and so, but I have had no 
reply, etc.” If our friends will mail the letter or post¬ 
card asking about, or referring to articles sent by mail, 
with the articles themselves, or before, rather than later, 
it will save them from disappointment and us from no 
little inconvenience. 
A Concrete Matiui-e S*il.— “A. B. S.,” 
Bucks Co., Pa. There can be no better material for the 
wall or bottom of a manure pit than concrete, made of 
one part of cement (hydraulic lime) and two parts of 
coarse sand; this may be used with twice its bulk of 
small broken stone, or large stones may be built up in a 
wall with the cement used in place of mortar. The 
floor may be three inches thick; a wall six feet high 
should be two feet thick at the bottom, tapering to six¬ 
teen inches or one foot at the top, according to the good¬ 
ness of the sand and stone used. A wall of round stones 
should be thicker than one of broken stone with square 
or sharp edges. The cost of cement building is usually 
but a little more than that of ordinary lime work, but it 
depends on the cost of the materials in the locality. 
Bean, for :i Nsime.—D. H. Stuart, Va., 
sends leaf, flowers, and pod of a bean ; the flowers are 
pink, and the unripe pod is almost a foot long and over 
an inch wide. The plant is Canavalia obtusifolia, and na¬ 
tive of, or naturalized, in most warm countries all over 
the world. It is abundant in the West Indies, and grows 
wild in some parts of Southern Florida. Another species, 
C. gladiata, is said to be held in great dread by the blacks 
in Jamaica ; they call it the “ Overlook,” and have a su¬ 
perstitious belief that it can in some manner bring evil¬ 
doers to punishment, and the whites take advantage of 
this notion, and plant this bean around their gardens, etc., 
to protect them from thieves. 
Tlie Copper Strip Cutter.— The feed 
cutter referred to in the American Agriculturist for Sep¬ 
tember as the Copper Strip Feed Cutter, made by the 
Belcher and Taylor Co., of Chicopee Falls, Mass., we 
understand is not intended to be known as “ The Cop¬ 
per Strip” cutter. The “ copper strip ” cutter is made 
by the New York Plow Company of Beckman St., N. Y. 
We do not understand the precise relationship of the 
different manufacturers to the Copper Strip Cutter, but 
we are requested to state that this machine is made by 
and can be procured of the N. Y. Plow Company. 
Mow to FJsc Poultry Manure.-“ C. 
S.,” Lewiston, Me. It is preferable to mix poultry ma¬ 
nure with earth. If a quantity of weeds, leaf mold, and 
earth from Woods or swamps, could be procured, these 
should be mixed in the heap in thin layers. The whole 
will ferment, and make an excellent manure, which 
may be used in the hill for cabbage, corn, or potatoes. 
Potasli for "Wisent.— “ J. F. H.,” Har¬ 
rison Co., Ind. The cheapest source of potash is the 
high grade or 80 per cent muriate. This is equal to 50 
per cent of actual potash, and as it costs 3 cents a pound 
in small quantities, or cents by the ton, it is equal to 
potash at double that cost, which is less than it can be 
bought in any other shape. A very instructive pam¬ 
phlet on chemical fertilizers can be had free of cost 
from the Mapes Formula Co., 158 Front st., New York. 
Canning Tomatoes. —Lastmonth we re¬ 
quested any one who had successfully preserved tomatoes 
in ordinary fruit jars, to give their method. Several have 
complied with the request, and as many accounts are al¬ 
most identical; the following from “L. P. J.,” Atlanta, 
Ga., is selected it being the most detailed. She says: 
'■ Select ripe tomatoes, scald and skin them ; place in a 
kettle, and allow them to cook for a few minutes, adding 
a little salt. Have the jars already heated, (by placing 
near the fire, or by the use of hot water), and fill them 
with the cooked tomato. Before putting on the rubber 
ring and cover, be sure and wipe the neck of the jar, so 
that there may be no seeds left to make an air passage, 
Screw down the tops, and after 15 or 20 minutes tighten 
again. I have put them up in this manner for ten years, 
and have never lost a jar, except when I have used old 
rubbers, which should be scrupulously avoided.”_“A. 
K.,” Grandview, Iowa, gives almost exactly the same di¬ 
rections, also cautioning against the use of imperfect rub¬ 
bers, and advising a second tightening, but she further 
suggests wrapping the jars, when cool, in some thick pa¬ 
per, to exclude the light, and to keep them in a box in 
the cellar... Another Method is given by Mrs. H. P. 
Sexton, Hampden Co., Mass. “The tomatoes being 
skinned, they are cut into pieces about two-thirds the 
size of an egg; the jars being filled with these pieces, the 
cover is screwed on lightly, and the jars are placed in a 
wash-boiler, which has a coarse wire screen to prevent 
them from touching the bottom. [A wooden lattice work 
will answer. Ed.] The water is luke-warm, and reaches 
to two-thirds the liight of the cans. The cover being put 
on the boiler, it is set over a good fire, and when the wa¬ 
ter commences to boil, the time is noted, and the boiling 
is continued briskly for 30 minutes. At the end of this 
time take out the cans, by the aid of towels, place them 
on a table, (but not exposed to currents of air, or the jars 
may break), then remove the covers a couple of minutes 
to let the steam escape. As the fruit settles, I take one 
jar and fill up the rest from the contents of this, and then 
seal up quickly. I put nine jars into the boiler to cook, 
and use one of these to fill the spaces in the rest, making 
eight cans out of ninfe.” 
Sundry Humbugs. 
As the seasons ehange the 
aspects of nature, so do they 
affect the aspects of hum- 
buggery. For months we 
have heard nothing of that 
very big bug that has its 
home in Wall St. As cool 
days and cooler nights send 
city people home from the 
seashore, so do they give 
country people more time 
for reading, and the Wall 
StreetHumbugis ready with 
his little advertisement and 
his little pamphlet. His ad¬ 
vertisement is usually very 
brief, just enough to excite 
curiosity. It is in substance: 
“Do you wish to make 
money ? If so, send for my 
circular.”—The farmer “out 
West” or “down East,” 
sends for this circular or pamphlet. It shows him, as 
plain as printing can make it, how he can make money 
“ hand over fist.” Examples are given, in which tens 
have rapidly turned into hundreds, or hundreds into 
thousands. All the farmer has to do is to send the adver¬ 
tiser his money, and the advertiser understands all about 
“ special privileges,” and lots of street slang that the 
farmer never heard of before, or he has a plan by which, 
with a “combination of capital,” he is going to do big 
things. The farmer is tempted; why should his money 
bring him in only six per cent, when others turn over 
dollar for dollar in a few days—and keep on doing it—it 
they will only put their money in the hands of these ad¬ 
vertisers. Still, the farmer has earned his money by 
hard work, and a little at a time. He would like to dou¬ 
ble it, he don’t care how many times, but—not feeling 
quite sure as to the character of those who propose to 
make him suddenly rich, he writes to the American Agri¬ 
culturist about it, and perhaps sends the documents and 
asks advice. We apply to the record, which includes all 
the names of men who are regarded as doing business at 
all, and find that the advertiser, who promises to make 
others rich, is not down as good or bad—in fact, is not 
known among businessmen. We know a Wall St. broker 
who does a regular business in the street, and on appli¬ 
cation to him, we learn that the advertiser who promises 
to make others rich, is not known at the Board of Bro¬ 
kers, and quite unknown by name even, among those 
who do business there. We bethink ourselves of one who 
has retired from business, but who is widely known for 
his shrewdness, one who has made enough money to be 
able to carry on a farm for his own amusement—and one 
must be pretty well off to do that. We show him tlie ad¬ 
vertisement and documents. His reply is, “Tell your 
people to let it alone.” Now if we were to write a page, 
it would only mean “let it alone.” Still, there will be 
some who can not resist the temptation, and these had 
already made up their minds to try their chances before 
they asked us for advice. Our readers may be very sure 
that those who advertise in country papers for $19 to 
$100, with which to “ operate," or seek one dollar sub¬ 
scriptions to some “ combination of capital,” stand in. 
