110 
AME RICAN AGRICULTUKIST. 
[Amur., 
About twenty years since, I constructed a green¬ 
house, on the property of the Sailors’ Snug Har¬ 
bor, then considered the “ ultima thule ” of Nevv- 
York. The house had not been slocked for more 
than a year, when the sombre and glossy leaf of 
the Camellia assumed the sickly hue of reddish 
brown. The gloss disappeared from the leaf, and 
beauty from the plant. It was then that hostili¬ 
ties commenced ; the war is not yet terminated. 
I consulted books and floriculturists, and laid 
out the plan of campaign agreeably to their ad¬ 
vice, but came off second best. Between the 
spider and myself, the plants—the battle ground— 
had but a sorry time of it, and a few years of 
precarious existence generally terminated their 
unhappy lives. 
A few years since, I removed to the country, 
and looked forward to a glorious rest, both for 
myself and my plants. My stock consisted chief¬ 
ly of Camellias. I had them all carefully wash¬ 
ed, and then distributed over the grassy lawn. 
Now, I thought, my pets are safe from every fiery 
foe. One hazy, sultry, Summer morning, I took 
a saunter among my plants, to see how country 
life agreed with them. I was pleased to observe 
many vigorous shoots with the old gloss and 
healthy green upon the new-born leaves. “No 
spider now,” I thought; “they’re whipped, over¬ 
thrown, exterminated !” My rejoicing, however, 
was of short duration. I espied some suspicious 
little specs, here and there. “ What can they be 1” 
was the question which naturally occurred to my 
mind. “ Perhaps a little dirt carelessly tossed upon 
the foliage by romping children.” Still, I will ex¬ 
amine. They were quite still, no stir, “ all right,” 
says I. But I’ll just poke the specs and imag¬ 
ine I am killing spiders. It will give me such 
pleasure as is enjoyed by the old soldier when he 
again recites the tale of battles he has fought. 
Judge of my astonishment, when the specs took 
life and walked off. 
Since that rude awakening, I have put up large 
plant structures on the outskirts of the town, on a 
high and healthy location. My houses are stocked 
with a vari sky of plants, grape vines, etc. My 
gardener is ever busily fighting the old enemy, 
under my leadership, combined with his long ex¬ 
perience in England and America, yet we can not 
subdue the hateful foe. Rout him out one week, 
the next is pretty sure to find him at liis post again ; 
pepper him with sulphur, strew it in every direc¬ 
tion, over pipe and stage, still he survives. 
And now gentlemen, editors, or contributors to 
the Agriculturist, can you aid me in my afflictions 1 
Is there any better or surer method than such as 
those I have adopted 1 If so, I should most glad¬ 
ly learn it through your useful columns. I should 
gladly hear-of that deadly, verminous remedy that 
would destroy the disease, yet leave the patient 
alive. Enquirer. 
--- 
Salt Mn,rsh Sods for a Eence. 
It may not be generally known along the sea¬ 
board, where wood is becoming scarce and 
worked stone is expensive, that sods from the 
marsh form a very good and durable fence, and a 
beautiful facing for the slopes of terraces. There 
are three kinds of grass found upon our salt 
marshes, all forming a tough sod, a foot or more 
in thickness. The first is a coarse sedge, found 
nearest the water. The second is known as 
“fox marsh,” and is very fine and thick, and of a 
light green tinge. The “black marsh” is the 
third variety, growing on higher land, that is only 
flowed in the highest tides. It is a much darker 
and richer green than the others. This forms a 
god c*’ great strength elasticity, an d-i-ability, 
and when dry, is very light and easily transposed. 
This is the most desirable variety for fencing. 
The sods may be cut with a common hay knife 
into any desired shape or size, and laid up with 
as much accuracy as hewn stone. 
These sods were used for building a parapet to 
a fort, at Gloucester, Mass., during the year 1812, 
and in other instances at that time. The parapet 
at Gloucester in 1850 remained in excellent pre¬ 
servation, decidedly better than rough masonry 
would in its place. At Fort Adams, Newpm.H 
they have been used for facing over a thousand 
feet of the breast-high slope of battery crest, and 
give promise of perfect adaptation to this pur¬ 
pose. Near Mystic, Conn., a battery was pro¬ 
tected with walls of this sod, thrown up in the 
last war, and these walls are still remaining, un¬ 
less they have been quite recently removed. 
These marsh turfs are frequently used for fences 
and cottage walls in Ireland and other parts of 
Europe. In the moist climate of that island it 
remains green, and forms walls of great beauty. 
The sods may be put up perpendicularly, but they 
are more likely to stand, when having an inclina¬ 
tion of about one foot to three in bight. If the 
marsh grass does not flourish, other kinds of 
grass seed used for lawns, may be sown upon 
the terrace. If a brown wall is preferred, the 
sides of the sods instead of the surface should 
be exposed for the face of the terrace. The ease 
with which they are cut, and their durability, 
make them an excellent material for building the 
walls of sheds and hovels for cattle. They also 
form a very neat border for walks, in gardens, 
and are much less troublesome than common 
grass. Sea Shore. 
■-0 4-->-e»- 
For the American Agriculturist. 
Vicious Cattle. 
My neighbor Jones has a yoke of handsome 
grade Devons, that would be worth two hundred 
and fifty dollars if they were not breachy. A 
better pair of cattle for work can not be found in 
town. But he can not keep them in any pasture 
upon his farm, though his fences are much better 
than the average of our farmers. Last Summer, 
they tore down a seven rail fence, and got into 
his rye, just before it was ready for cutting, and 
destroyed ten dollars’ worth of grain in a single 
night. He found them so uncontrollable in the 
pasture, that he had to put them in the stable 
for the rest of the season. He could not sell those 
oxen for a hundred and fifty dollars to any man 
who knew their character for jumping. This vi¬ 
cious propensity costs him at least a hundred dol¬ 
lars, to say nothing of the crops they destroy 
when they get a chance. 
And this trick is altogether a result of educa¬ 
tion, as much as lying or stealing is in a boy. He 
bought them of a man who was too lazy to put 
up his fences in the Spring, and uniformly has 
that job to attend to all through the season. 
Sometimes the cattle were in the oats, some¬ 
times in the clover, and again in the corn. Of 
course, they had to be driven out, and the gap 
was temporarily stopped. 
This vice of jumping, and throwing down fence, 
is, almost without exception, taught to cattle 
when they are young, by careless and lazy own¬ 
ers. Neglected fences are soon thrown down as 
the cattle rub against them, without any design 
on their part They can not’be blamed for their 
rubbing against every fence corner, for it is their 
nature. If the fence falls, it is their first lesson, 
and they walk over triumphantly into the better 
feed in the next lot. Any animal of good sense 
puts the rubbing and the good bite together, and 
the next tempting feed over a poor fence creates 
a great itching of the skin, and suggests rubbing 
as the fence falls, and this is the second lesson! 
If the boys are too lazy to let down all the bars 
so that the animals are compelled to jump over 
they have a third lesson. This is generally enough 
to complete the education ; but if the farmer gets 
desperate and puts on an additional rail every 
time they make a breach in the fence, the ambi¬ 
tion of the animal generally rises with the hight 
of the fence, and he becomes an accomplished 
vaulter, that no fences can restrain. When once 
the lesson is taught, it becomes a permanent 
characteristic, and lowers the value of the ani¬ 
mal for all purposes except beef. It is worth 
while to bear this in mind at this season, when 
fences are repaired. The pastures especially, 
that are designed for young cattle should be thor- 
oughly secured. The want of a half day’s work 
in the right spot, may be hundreds of dollars dam¬ 
age to the young herd. Connecticut. 
■ -- ■■ - *-€*» -- 
An Experienced Butter Maker’s Method. 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist : 
My experience for many years in a large dairy 
gives me some practical knowledge of what con¬ 
stitutes a good article of butter, and perhaps 1 
can not better explain the principle of making it, 
than by giving the regular method pursued by my 
family. In the Spring, when our cows are com¬ 
ing in, we keep them entirely from the horse lit¬ 
ter or stable, which would give the milk an un 
pleasant flavor, and feed them a little yellow 
corn, carrots or cornstalks, which improve the 
color and quality of the butter. We are very care¬ 
ful to strip the cows as clean as possible, and 
strain the milk in the cellar before it cools, in 
order that the cream may rise undisturbed. We 
use twelve-quart tin pails instead of pans, finding 
them more convenient. If the weather is freez¬ 
ing cold, we add about one teacupful of butter¬ 
milk to each pail, strain it full, and let it stand un¬ 
til the cream rises ; then take enough for a churn¬ 
ing to an upper room where fire is kept most ol 
the time, and let it become loppered, at which 
time it is ready for the churn. We put about 21 
gallons of milk in a 60 gallon churn, and in churn 
ing, have the dash rise above the milk, and de¬ 
scend to the bottom of the churn, otherwise there 
is a deficiency in churning all the milk effectually. 
We use no thermometer, but suppose the milk to 
be at about 60° or 65°, (Fahrenheit). We can 
tell by the sound if the milk is tempered right, it 
will have a clear ring. We use horse power, and 
churn from 60 to 80 minutes. When the churn¬ 
ing is nearly done, (which is told bv the butter 
rising in separate specks upon the dash), we put 
in about 5 gallons of water, continue to churn a 
few minutes longer, when the butter is ready to 
be taken out. It is then washed in 2 or 3 differ¬ 
ent waters, salted, and put away to stand about 
two hours, for the salt to dissolve. It is then 
worked a few minutes at a time, several times 
during the day. When the brine becomes clear 
it is packed in tubs holding about 40 lbs., and sen' 
to the city. This is our method of making but¬ 
ter until about the middle of May. 
The means used to secure the thickening of the 
milk (loppering), depend on the weather. When 
it is mild, we strain the pails half full in the morn¬ 
ing, and then fill them at night with warm milk. 
Again, if the weather is still warmer, we fill the 
pails full. Buttermilk is used only in cold weath¬ 
er. If a stove can be used in the cellar, it is 
preferable to any other mode for thickening milk. 
About the middle of May, our cows are general¬ 
ly all in, and we commence the Summer daily 
