AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
105 
who has been taught the experience of cen¬ 
turies, now hearken to the dogmas' of an 
hour? No! by Confucius! Never be it 
recorded in the annals of China, that the vast 
and accumulated wisdom of the Wings was 
first set at nought through the folly of their 
son Yung!” 
So saying, he filled his mouth with opium, 
and thanked his little gods that the wisdom 
of Confucius was still alive. * 
Weather, W t heat, &c., in Central New- 
York. —Our correspondent, N’Importe, writ¬ 
ing from Waterloo (Seneca Co., N. Y.) under 
date of April 23d, says : 
Our peach trees are all but done for, I fear, 
to the end of their lives, and new ones will 
have to take their places. We have at last 
fine weather for the season, and every farm¬ 
er is plowing. On Thursday night and Fri¬ 
day last, we had the first continuous rain in 
ten months. 
All agree that wheat never looked so well 
on the ground before at this season. 
. -—a Awarni ?i 'mu— - 
Flour. —The Buffalo Republic rebukes the 
croaking about the scarcity of flour at pres¬ 
ent in the country, and states that it is in 
possession of information which fully war¬ 
rants the expectation that the following 
quantities will arrive at that port this season : 
From Lake Michigan ._ .650,000 bbls. 
From Detroit .125,000 “ 
From Toledo..100,000 “ 
From Cleveland. 50,000 “ 
Total.925,000 bbls. 
The Republic adds that it had no means of 
estimating the amount that will be received 
from Canada, in addition to the above, but 
learns from gentlemen whose means of in¬ 
information are extensive, that it will not be 
less than 250,000 barrels, and may be four 
times that amount. 
BLAK-F00T, OR HOOF-AIL. 
The Ogdensburg Sentinel says : 
“ The cattle in this vicinity are suffering 
severely from the black-foot, or hoof-ail. We 
hear of many farmers who have lost ten, fif¬ 
teen and twenty head during the winter and 
spring. The disease has made frightful 
havoc among the dairies, and in anticipation 
of a short crop of butter at some future pe¬ 
riod, the price has advanced beyond the 
reach of short purses. The quotations ought 
to frighten a millionaire.” 
Several of our cattle were badly affected 
with the hoof-ail in the month of March, 
some seventeen years ago. They had been 
fed more or less coarse hay all winter, which 
grew on a wet meadow. Upon closely ex¬ 
amining this hay, we found ergot in it. We 
attributed the foot-ail to this poisonous sub¬ 
stance. We immediately stopped feeding 
this hay, and substituted timothy and clover 
entirely for it. We then washed the cattle’s 
feet affected in warm soap-suds, smeared 
with tar, and gave them small doses of sul¬ 
phur daily in a little meal. They got well 
rapidly; and as we have not allowed them 
to feed on hay cut from this meadow since, 
we have seen no more of the foot-ail. 
We lost several swine and fowls one sea¬ 
son from feeding them the screenings of rye 
and other grain, in which, upon subsequent 
investigation, we found ergot. 
PLOWING WITH THE ELEPHANT-DOCTOR¬ 
ING THE LAND-DISSOLVING BONES. 
It is well known that many have occasion¬ 
ally “seen the Elephant” to their great cost 
and chagrin; but as to plowing with him, 
we, believe Mr. Barnurn is the first who 
has effectually made the experiment in this 
country. Being curious to know how this 
succeeded, we wrote him a note of inquiry, 
to which we promptly received the following 
characteristic reply: 
Bridgeport, April 21, 1855. 
Dear Sir : The Elephant has been at 
work on my farm a little over one week. 
He takes the subsoil plow and drives it down 
16 to 21 inches, in a tight, hard sward, and 
moves so fast and easily, that it is hard to 
realize that he has any thing attached to 
him. He walks nearly twice as fast as a 
horse, and plows as correctly as the best 
broken team in the world. His attendant 
sometimes rides him, and sometimes walks 
(fast) by his side, while another man holds 
the plow. He also draws carts, stone-boats, 
(drags), loads wood , piles timber, picks up 
stones, and makes himself generally useful 
about the farm. 
As for the profit of farming with elephants, 
I have not taken that part into consideration, 
and probably shall not, though at a “ rough 
guess,” I should think, all things considered, 
oxen, horses, or mules would be quite as 
economical on a farm as elephants. But of 
this, I will leave the public to judge for it¬ 
self, when I inform them that he eats three 
pecks of oats per day, and about 200 lbs. of 
hay. The one I use is as docile as a cow, 
yet this is not always the case. 
In answer to your inquiry I will say that 
my “salts doctoring ” works well, and my 
wheat and grass already show that the phys¬ 
ic has had a good effect. 
I have dissolved several tuns of bones with 
oil of vit riol, and doubt not the result will be 
excellent. 
Deep plowing, draining, and fertilizers are 
the true investments of tire farmerwho loves 
to see large and rich crops. Every man 
should this year sow and plant all the land 
that is tillable. If this is not done, another 
drouth would give us a famine. 
P. T. Barnum. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
COTTAGE UPHOLSTERY. 
USEFUL HINTS TO HOUSEKEEPERS. 
In the various suggestions made through 
your excellent paper for the improvement of 
our homes, I have been most interested in 
that which relates to the furniture within 
doors. By furniture, I do not mean cover¬ 
ing the floors with tapestry or velvet, nor 
arranging brocatelle and damask, ormulu 
and bubble, so as to produce a gorgeous and 
striking, if not always tasteful, effect. All 
this I leave to the denizens of the Fifth- 
avenue and the palaces upon the Hudson, 
where money, if not the handmaid of taste, 
has the privilege of purchasing the creations 
of genius. But in farm-houses or country- 
villages, remote from cabinet-maker and up¬ 
holsterer—with no money to spare for either 
—if the wife and mother does not exert her 
own ingenuity, her house will be but scanti¬ 
ly and uncomfortably furnished. 
How easily may a lounge be constructed, 
by nailing four boards together, and tacking 
strong pieces of factory muslin over it; then 
stuffing the top with cut straw or tow. And, 
by covering it with furniture-chintz or shil¬ 
ling calico, a neat and comfortable sofa may 
be constructed, upon which the husband and 
father may recline when wearied with the 
toils of the day, without danger of being 
called to account for bringing his feet to a 
level with his head—which might happen if 
the materials of which his couch are com¬ 
posed were more expensive or less washable. 
How frequently, in reply to the eager ques¬ 
tions of visitors as to where I procured those 
“beautiful ottomans,” am I compelled, by 
turning them bottom upwards, to prove that 
they are only a barrel cut in two, and after 
being interlaced over the top, are stuffed and 
covered with morocco—thus forming a neat 
and appropriate parlor ornament. 
The comfort of bed-chambers may be much 
enhanced by couches constructed of scant¬ 
ling nailed so as to form a frame-work with 
four plain legs, thus making a portable bed, 
suitable for children ; and, in time of sick¬ 
ness, convenient for grown persons, taking 
less room and without being as unsightly as 
the ordinary cot bed. 
I might fill pages with descriptions of 
home-made furniture, by which any lady of 
ordinary tact and ingenuity could, with slight 
assistance from the village carpenter—or, 
better yet, from her husband and sons— 
greatly improve the appearance of her house, 
adding to the comfort , and consequently to 
the happiness, of its inmates. But my hour 
has expired, and possibly I may again re¬ 
sume the theme. Eliza. 
We thank our fair correspondent for the 
above suggestions, and hope she will fre¬ 
quently favor us with similar communica¬ 
tions. 
A little ingenuity exercised on the part of 
housekeepers, with, or even without, the as¬ 
sistance of their other halves, would add 
much to the comfort, convenience and neat¬ 
ness of our dwellings. We will add, to what 
is given above, an instance or two coming 
under our own immediate observation. 
A common packing-box for boots—about 
3 feet long, 15 or 18 inches high, and 14 inch¬ 
es wide—is covered upon the sides with a 
sheet of cotton batting, and over this is 
placed furniture-calico, gathered at the top 
like bed valancing, and hanging to the floor. 
The lid of the box is fastened at one side 
with hinges made of leather strips (from a 
boot top). Upon this lid is a cushion, made 
by putting on some 2{- inches of fine hay, 
separated by one or two pieces of worn cal¬ 
ico or cotton from some cotton batting over 
it. A covering of cotton cloth is brought 
over the edges and nailed upon the inside of 
the lid or cover, and this again covered with 
furniture-calico nailed down to the edges. 
A gathered fringe or flounceof the same 
material is then tacked upon the edge, 
and hangs down some three or four inches, 
so as to entirely hide the opening of the box. 
The whole cost of such a seat does not ex¬ 
ceed fifty cents, and one or more of them 
placed in the kitchen, dining and other rooms, 
add to the good appearance, furnish excel¬ 
lent seats for two, and form a very good 
closet or chest for the reception of a great 
variety of articles. 
An ingenious, economical person will, in 
