AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[January, 
Containing a great variety of items , including many good 
hints and, suggestions which we give in small type and 
To CoiTCspoiidents.—Our Basket Col¬ 
umns are rather crowded by the necessary Seed Notes, 
and several items are left over. Indeed, we are now re¬ 
ceiving a great number of hints, queries, etc., in renewal 
letters, which will furnish interesting topics to be discus¬ 
sed iis we have room hereafter. We solicit such items 
without limit. 
Tlae IPi-ize Essays.—In response to our 
offer?, some sixty essays, were sent in. They have been 
nanded over to competent committees, who are at work 
upon them as they have time ; but as there are more than 
1500 pages of manuscript to be read over, it will re¬ 
quire considerable time to go through with the whole, and 
decide upon their relative merits. As fast as we receive 
the decisions in the several classes, the successful compet¬ 
itors will be notified and the money be subject to their 
order. We shall publish the best essays in the order most 
appropriate to the successive seasons. 
A Aomng- Man wlao knows Hollaing- 
or Farming.—J. Y. will do well to put his $300 at in¬ 
terest, and to hire himself to a good farmer, till his $300 
becomes $400, and he becomes pretty w-ell initiated into 
the business. We would about as soon undertake to live 
by our pen without knowing our letters, as to live by farm¬ 
ing without some previous experience,—such as he could 
get with a first-rate farmer. 
A Os'eat Bumpkin.—We have had “ some 
pumpkins” on exhibition since the harvest season, the 
largest of which is a Lima variety which was raised by Mr. 
Geo. Barclay of Dutchess Co., N. Y., and weighed 204 
pounds, when t ken from the field. It is of an orange 
color,- splashed with cream, oblately flattened,and ribbed. 
It measures 7 feet 2 inches in circumference. 
A Chest aim 4. OrcltEU'd.—The Chardon 
Democrat says that E. J. Ferriss; of Lake Co., 0., has an 
orchard of 100 chestnut trees, just coming into bearing. 
He has an accidental variety, very large and early, which 
he is multiplying by engrafting, and is sanguine that 
chestnut culture will prove remunerative, as late frosts in 
the Spring never injure the flowers, as they do not ap¬ 
pear until about the 10th of July. 
Sown Apples.—Mr. A. S. Fuller placed on 
our Exhibition tables, Dec. 16, samples of Fall Pippins, 
Northern Spy, Mountain Pippin, White Winter Pear- 
mam, Peck’s Pleasant, Swaar, Melon, McClellan, Winter 
Sweet, Belmont, Raules Jannet, Ladies Sweeting, Pry¬ 
ors Red, Rambo, Newtown Spitzenberg, Black Gilliflow- 
er, and Hays Winter Wine. They were fine specimens 
raised by Mr. Henry Avery of Burlington, Iowa, and 
compare very favorably with the same varieties grown 
at the East. 
Bnricd Appl es.— “Experimentor,” writing 
from Wyoming Co., Pa., says: I have tried several plans 
for preserving apples but have never found any thing 
that pleases me better than tire old fashioned Dutchess 
County way. Take perfectly sound apples, and bury 
them in a dry place in the garden and keep them dry. 
Put 5 to 10 bushels in a heap ; cover with about 3 or 4 
inches of straw, and then with about the same depth of 
earth, leaving a small hole at the top, and then cover the 
whole with a straw cap. Or better with a roof of boards 
or slabs. Apples treated in this manner retain their flavor, 
which is of the greatest importance. I have often, for 
.ate fall and early winter use, packed them in sawdust, 
wheat and oats chaff or wheat bran, dry sand, and in 
woolen bln fleets, etc., but none of these experiments have 
pleased r«:;. They will not rot, but loose their fruity flavor. 
Wliite Doyenne Pear. — (E. Blosser, 
Middlesex Co., Conn.) This is the old Virgalieu, which, 
though generally discarded in New-England, is still a fine 
pear at ^tha West. As a dwarf, it succeeds pretty well 
Mixing- Cerates.—Enquirer may plant as 
many kinds as he pleases on the same trellis. The inter¬ 
mixture of the pollen will not affect perceptibly the per- 
ection, or flavor of the fruit. A very strong growing va¬ 
riety and gross feeder will so take the nourishment out 
of the soil, that thus its delicate neighbor will be nearly 
starved. The Concord will rob a Delaware if planted 
too close, and care is not taken to prevent the robbery. 
©M Bffsiekleljeri-y Pastures as Vine- 
yard Sites.— (J. C., Jr.)—The subject is too extensive 
for a Basket article. If the exposure is southeast or 
south, and the ground dry and not too leachy, and if you 
have plenty of manure and can apply 100 or 150 dollars’ 
worth per acre, composted with twice its bulk of muck, 
and expend an equal sum in labor, your 2 or 3 acres of 
huckleberry pasture will make a good vineyard. Your 
selection of grapes is probably good; the Delaware 
should have a prominent place. 
Aromatic IPlants.—Trees of the Myrtle 
and Laurel families abound in China, Japan and Austra¬ 
lia. These families of plants produce cloves, cajeput oil, 
gum kino, etc. (from myrtacious plants), camphor, cin¬ 
namon, cassia, benzoin, sassafras, etc., (from the Laura- 
ceous plants). The Revue Horticole states that the at¬ 
mosphere of Australia is so filled with the odors from 
these trees that fevers never exist, even in apparently 
the most malarious of swamps. 
BSoxv Large a Garden.—" Ex City Sub¬ 
scriber ” inquires “How much land will be needed for 
a kitchen garden for a family of five persons, with a lib¬ 
eral allowance for City cousins. For raising common 
Summer vegetables and small fruits a quarter of an acre 
would be ample. Half an acre could be profitably 
used in providing a supply of extra vegetables, with pota¬ 
toes, etc., for Winter use. 
Second Crop of Batliskes.— The first 
week in Dec., George Haywood, of Brooklyn, placed 
upon our table crisp and tender radishes, from seed 
grown the same season. The first crop was sown ear¬ 
ly in May, and a few left to ripen seed, and this in turn 
was sown the last of September. They have been in eat¬ 
ing condition for some weeks, and were of the scarlet 
turnip-shaped variety. 
©Id Asparagus Beds.— (“Old Will.”) Use 
plenty of manure in the Fall either as a top dressing or 
forked in, and salt well in the Spring. 
Bliododendron—Correction.—In the 
article page 368, Dec. No., on transplanting the Rhodo¬ 
dendron, by Mr. L. H. Johns, the color should have been 
printed blush w'hite, instead of blueish white. 
Baspkerry Jam and Wine.—The 
Western Railroad Gazette states, that 12 to 15 tuns of 
raspberry jam, and from 300 to 400 gallons raspberry wine 
are annually made on Sugar Island, in the. Sault St. 
Marie River, Mich. The berries are gathered by the 
Indians and sold to parties who manufacture the jam and 
wine, and send it to Chicago and other cities for a market. 
Bed Cloven-.— Branch 5 feet long received 
from S. Barfoot. Kent Co., C. W., a large growth but not 
equal to that referred to on page 329, last volume. 
Bkysne — I*oe4ry.— 'We are often favored with 
contributions of rhyme, and occasional bits of real poetry; 
but we can publish very little, if any, of such material. 
If there were no other objection, this one is fatal, viz.: the 
difficulty of properly translating English poetry into Ger¬ 
man,and vice versa— and since all articles go into each 
edition, we are obliged to omit poetry, as a general rule. 
Snow Cream.—Mrs. M. A. H. Rowe, Co¬ 
lumbia Co.,N. Y., says the following is quite equal to ice 
cream. Beat thoroughly 1 egg with 1 cup white sugar, 
add 1 cup sweet cream, flavor to the taste, and stir in 
snow until it is quite stiff. 
Heel* and Pork Pickle—Correction. 
—The recipe at the foot of page 357 of our last issue was 
singularly misprinted. Mr. Aten who sent us the recipe 
pointed out the mistake. It should read—4 gallons wa¬ 
ter, 3 quarts salt, 1 pint molasses, 2 oz. saltpetre. 
Becipe Wanted.—J. Henderson, Mifflin 
Co., Pa., inquires for directions for making the French 
national dish called “ Pot-a-feu.” 
Tlie Dust Eirst.—On the last page of the 
November number of one of our competitors for public 
favor and patronage we read: “ The rapidly increasing 
circulation of this journal .. and its daily increasing pop¬ 
ularity proves it to have become an established fact.”- 
On the first page we read: “ The publication of this pa¬ 
per will necessarily be discontinued with the next num¬ 
ber.” Evidently the last written item is placed first. 
A Valuable Opinion.—A recent Maine. 
Farmer, (a journal devoted to news and agriculture,) 
says: “Those of our readers who want a prac¬ 
tical and reliable monthly Agricultural Journal, issued in 
good form for binding, and containing numerous illustra¬ 
tions, we would advise to subscribe for the American 
Agriculturist... ..” This, coming as it does from one en¬ 
gaged in the same line of business, we consider as the 
highest praise. It also exhibits just the feeling we like to 
see and strive to cherish, which is above petty jealousy. 
The Maine Farmer, edited by Dr. Holmes, and published 
by Messrs. Homan & Badger, at Augusta, Me., ($2 00 a 
year,) is always one of our welcome exchanges. 
“Manual of Agriculture, for the School, 
the Farm, and the Fireside.” This book of 306 pages, 
prepared by Messrs. Geo. B. Emerson and Chas. L. Flint, 
and published by Messrs. Swan, Brewer & Tileston, (75c.) 
we have had on our table for several weeks, dipping into 
it now and then, and uncertain whether to give it a strong 
endorsement or not. It is one of tire most thoroughly ed¬ 
ited agricultural works published, and this will be the 
main obstacle to its general introduction. It is close 
reading—many thoughts packed in few words—and, 
while well adapted to older minds, will be rather strong 
mental food for children. A good teacher, experienced 
in agriculture, using this as a book of topics, would make 
it interesting. The style is that which may be used in 
stating unquestioned truths ; we should have preferred 
more of illustrative argument. While approving of the 
doctrines of the book as a whole, there are some state¬ 
ments which we should call in question, had we time and 
room for an extended review. 
ISook ©it Breeding of Domestic Ani- 
mals.—A valuable little work of 164 pages, by S. L. 
Goodale, Secretary of Maine Agricultural Society, in 
which is discussed the principles of breeding-, or the phy¬ 
sical laws involved in the reproduction and improvement 
of domestic animals. Correct knowledge on this subject 
is important as well as interesting to every one, and Mr. 
Goodale has furnished much valuable information, and 
many useful facts and hints, condensed and systemati¬ 
cally arranged. (Price, 50 cents, postpaid.) 
Two 52 mles foe tke Bara.—1. Feed reg¬ 
ularly. All animals desire their food at stated intervals, 
and digest it better when fed at about the same hour daily. 
2, Feed uniformly in amount. Do not give an excess one 
day, and too little another day. Let the fodder be pro¬ 
portioned in kind and amount to the animal; then let it 
be given systematically.—Old Reader. 
Transferring- Wild Bees.— “Bee Hunt¬ 
er,” Providence, R. I., and others can either cut down 
the “ bee-tree ” and saw off the section containing the 
honey and set it near the stand; or they can place a com¬ 
mon hive or box over an orifice made in one end of the 
section, and blow smoke into the other end to drive the 
bees from the combs. Then cut into the log and careful¬ 
ly remove the comb in as large pieces as possible, and fit 
them into the movable frames, or box of another hive, 
securing them with the help of cross sticks. Put in about 
25 lbs. honey and brood comb for Winter use, and drive 
the bees into the hive, where they will make a contented 
home. 
Destroying: Moles. —Mr. Geo. Barclay of 
Dutchess Co., N. Y., puts sheets of tin across the new 
made mole tracks running them in so slanting as to throw 
the moles upon the surface in their attempt to work past 
them. Once on the surface they are easily killed by cats, 
terriers or boys. Two pieces of tin should be placed in 
each run, the upper edges approximating, as it is not 
known from which direction the animal will come. 
James Warden, Baltimore Co., Md., kills moles by 
sinking glazed earthen pots beneath their runs. They 
cannot get out when once in. Post holes dug with a 
spade or bored with a post-hole auger is said to answer 
the same end. 
Busty Straw Unlit lor Feeding.— 
R. McClure, in the Farmer and Gardener, gives an ac¬ 
count of the injurious effects of rusty straw fed to horses, 
causing almost immediate sickness and death to a large 
number of animals belonging to a cavalry regiment. 
A decoction made from rusty straw given as an experi¬ 
ment caused loss of appetite, and sickness. 
Blow to keep a Cow on Cape Cod.— 
(R. C., Jr.)—Pressed or “bundle” hay will probably cost 
you 1 cent per pound. A tun of hay ($20,) a tun of straw 
($8,) and a ton of cornstalks ($5)) with what meal and 
roots she ought to eat, will keep your cow a year. In the 
Winter, give her cut feed,—half hay, with straw and 
stalks, w-et up with 3 quarts corn meal (or 4 quarts ship- 
