202 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
must eat a great bulk to get very little real 
food. 
I never repeated the experiment, consid¬ 
ering them, for such purposes as a crop, 
worthless. The stumps and roots of the 
sunflower are the worst possible of all crop 
offal to leave in the field. They are hard to 
plow out, and will not rot for years—as hard 
as wood, and always in the way. To get 
rid of mine, I had to gather and burn them. 
Cattle are fond of the leaves and stalks un¬ 
til they become quite dry and hard. But 
they possess so much woody fiber as to be 
of little value as fodder. The only use of 
the sunflower is, as an ornament in the gar r 
den, where they have a domestic, home¬ 
bred look, as they throw their high, broad, 
glowing disc cheerfully up to the sun in 
pleasant weather. L. F. A. 
LEAVES FROM MY CHINESE NOTE-BOOK. 
Chinese Yam (Dioscorea Batatas.) —This 
esculent seems to be attracting a good deal 
of notice in England as well as in France, 
and is apparently considered by some per¬ 
sons equal, if not superior, to the potato it¬ 
self. It is very abundant m China, but is not a 
staple crop, like the sweet potato for example. 
Foreigners, as a body, prefer it when roasted 
to the sweet potato ; but do not dream of put¬ 
ting it on a par with the common potato. 
However, I believe there is no vegetable of 
the kind at present known more likely than 
this to take the place of our old favorite, 
providing it should die out or become so dis¬ 
eased as to render its cultivation uncertain 
and consequently unprofitable. In making 
this assertion, I am taking for granted that 
the climate of England is suitable for the 
production of the Chinese Yam, which I 
must confess I have some doubts about. I 
dare say it will prove hardy enough to with¬ 
stand an English winter, but are our sum¬ 
mers hot enough? Or does not the want of 
summer heat account for Mr. Thompson’s 
failure in the garden of the Horticultural 
Society 1 Experiments made in glass frames, 
or with bottom heat, or even in the open air 
in a summer which may be unusually warm, 
are all to be guarded against in deciding an 
important question of this kind. It ought 
to be kept in mind that the sweet potato, the 
Arum esculentum,the Nelumbium speciosum, 
and such like plants, are cultivated as escu¬ 
lents in the north-eastern provinces of China, 
along with the Yam. But should the sum¬ 
mers of England prove warm enough for its 
cultivation, I have no hesitation in saying 
that it is more likely to suit the people than 
anything which has been brought forward 
since the commencement of the potato dis¬ 
ease. 
Mosquito Tobacco. —Some amusing corre¬ 
spondence has appeared upon this subject 
which I can not take as very complimentary 
to my last book, “A Journey to the Tea 
Countries,” &c., or to the retentive memo¬ 
ries of the readers thereof. Mr. Prideaux 
says (Sept. 9th), “In answer to ‘ R. A. H.’ 
(see p 505), respecting the passage referred 
to in Fortune’s book on China, I have made 
the following note unfortunately without the 
reference. ‘ For keeping off mosquitos, the 
Chinese use the resinous saw-dust of the 
Juniper smeared upon Bamboo, which they 
find very efficacious.’” Dr. Hooker states 
“ he has somewhere read or heard of the 
plant in question being a species of Artem¬ 
isia.” The following passage quoted from 
the book in question will assist the memo¬ 
ries of both correspondents, although it will 
not add much to our information. “ Various 
substances are employed by the Chinese to 
drive away mosquitos. This which we had 
just purchased was made from the sawings 
of resinous woods—I believe procured from 
Juniper trees—and mixed with some com¬ 
bustible matter to make it burn. A piece of 
split Bamboo, 3 or 4 feet in length, is then 
covered all over with this substance. When 
finished it is as thick as a rattan or small 
cane.Various species of wormwood 
are likewise employed for the same purpose.” 
Since my arrival in China on this occasion I 
have been making further inquiries about this 
curious substance,but have been met with con¬ 
siderable jealousy on the part of the Chinese. 
One manufacturer, more communicative than 
his neighbors, gave me a good deal of in¬ 
formation as to the substances employed, 
but when pressed as to the proportions of 
each, suddenly changed his tone, and coolly 
told me he knew nothing about it, that if I 
wanted to buy it he would supply me with 
any quantity, that it was cheap enough, and 
what could I want more. Patience is a great 
virtue in China, and if I can only exercise it, 
perhaps I may tell you something more»bye- 
and-bye about Mosquito Tobacco.—R. F., in 
Gardener's Chronicle. 
A NOVEL MODE OF FAYING THE PRINTER. 
I once had the pleasure of listening to a 
colloquy between an editor and a farmer, 
which struck me as being decidedly funny 
and unique. For the benefit of those who 
“can’t afford to pay the printer,” I conceive 
its relation not to be inappropriate as it is 
written. 
Early in the spring of 18—, I casually hap¬ 
pened up in the office of my friend C., whom 
I found earnestly engaged in a spirited con¬ 
versation with farmer B. Just as I entered 
the office, the farmer, with a very vehement 
gesticulation, flinging his arms mid-air, then 
lowering them as if to pump out his words in 
the conclusions of a sentence, in answer to 
a question asked by an edtior, “ Can’t afford 
it, sir ; should like to take your paper, sir, 
but can’t afford it; country is new, and ex¬ 
penses high! must provide for my family 
first, as I once read in the newspaper.” 
“ I can,” resumed the editor, “ show you 
a novel way to pay the printer. I will cite 
you to it, not because I want to getyour sub¬ 
scription money, but merely to convince you 
that you are perfectly able to take a paper, 
and can afford it, and after taking it, will be 
thoroughly convinced that it would be show¬ 
ing charity at home. You have hens at 
home, of course. Well, I will send you my 
paper for the proceeds of one single hen for 
the season, merely the proceeds. It seems 
trifling, preposterous, to imagine the pro¬ 
ducts of a single hen will pay the subscrip¬ 
tion, perhaps it won’t; but I make the offer. 
“ Done,” said farmer B., “ 1 agree to it,” 
and he appealed to me as a witness in the 
affair. 
The farmer went away apparently much 
elated in his conquest, and the editor “ went 
on his way rejoicing.” 
Time rolled round, and the world revolved 
on its axis, and the sun moved in its orbit 
just as it formerly did ; the farmer received 
his paper regularly, and regaled himself with 
the information obtained from it. He not 
only knew of the affairs of his own country, 
but became conversant upon the leading top¬ 
ics of the day, and the political and financial 
convulsions of the times. His children de¬ 
lighted, too, in perusing the contents of their 
weekly visitor. In short, he said he was 
“ surprised at the progress of himself and 
family in general information.” 
Simtime in the month of September, I hap¬ 
pened again up in the office, when who 
should step in, but our friend the farmer. 
“ How do you do, Mr. B.,” said the editor, 
extending his hand, and his countenance lit 
up with a bland smile, “take a chair, sir, and 
be seated ; fine weather we are having.” 
“ Yes,.sir, quite fine, indeed,” answered 
the farmer, shaking the proffered “ paw” of 
the editor, and then a short silence ensued, 
during which our friend B., hitched his chair 
backward and forward, and twirling his 
thumbs abstractedly, and spitting profusely. 
Starting up quickly, he said, addressing the 
editor, “ Mr. C. I’ve brought you the pro¬ 
ceeds of that hen.” 
It was amusing to see the peculiarexpres- 
sion of the editor, as he followed the farmer 
down to the wagon. I could hardly keep my 
risables down when at the wagon the farmer 
commenced handing over to the editor the 
products of the hen, which on being counted 
amounted to eighteen pullets, worth a shil¬ 
ling each, and a number of dozen eggs, mak¬ 
ing the aggregate at the least calculation, 
$•2 50, one dollar more than the price of the 
paper. 
“ No need,” said he “ of men not taking a 
family newspaper, and paying for it too. I 
don’t miss this from my roost, yet I have 
paid a years’ subscription and a dollar over. 
All folly, sir, there’s no man but can take a 
paper ; it’s charity you know commences at 
home. 
“ But ” returned the editor, “I will pay 
you for what there is over the subscription. 
I did not institute this as a means of profit, 
but rather to convince you. I will pay 
you all—” 
“Not a bit of it, sir ; a bargain is a bar¬ 
gain, and I am already paid, doubly paid, sir. 
And whenever a neighbor makes the com¬ 
plaint I did, I will cite to him the hen story. 
Good day gentlemen.” 
After his departure the editor and myself 
had a hearty laugh at the novelty of the idea, 
and the complete success of the enterprize. 
Many a subscriber did the farmer smid in, 
andin the course of a number of years, dur¬ 
ing which he continued to take the paper, it 
was his wont to relate his novel mode of 
paying the printer to his guests, which were 
not a few, for his general information, for 
which he always thanked the editor, made 
him a desirable companion, both to old and 
young and of invaluable service to the com¬ 
munity in which he lived. He became noted 
as a man of much reading and a man of ex¬ 
tensive information. As lie was courted by 
the wise, so did he court the company of the 
illiterate, and many are the individuals 
whose souls were lighted by the lamp of 
his knowledge. His motto was ever “ My 
light is none the less for lighting that of my 
neighbors.” Emulate it, kind reader. 
A Hint or Two. —Never make use of an 
honest woman’s name in an improper place, 
or at an improper time, or in a mixed com¬ 
pany. Never make assertions about her 
that you think are untrue, or allusions that 
you think herself would blush to hear. 
When you meet with men who do not scru¬ 
ple to make use of a woman’s name in a 
reckless and unprincipled manner, shun 
them, for they are the very worst members 
of the community, men lost to every sense 
of honor, every feeling of humanity. Many 
a good and worthy woman’s character has 
been forever ruined, and her heart broken 
by a lie, manufactured by some villian and 
repeated where it should not have been, and 
in the presence of those whose little judg¬ 
ment could not deter them from circulating 
the foul and bragging report. A slander is 
soon propagated, and the smallest thing de¬ 
rogatory to woman’s character, will fly on 
the wings of the wind, and magnify as it 
circulates, until its monstrous weight crush¬ 
es the poor unconscious victim. Respect 
the name of woman, for your mother, your 
sisters, are women ; and as you would have 
their fair names untarnished, and their lives 
