1871 .] 
325 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
containing a great variety of Items, including many 
good Hints and Suggestions which we throw into smaller 
type and condensed form , for -want of space elsewhere. 
Postage 13 Dents a Year im Ad¬ 
vance. —The postage on the American Agriculturist 
anywhere in the United States and Territories, paid in 
advance , is 3 cents a quarter, 12 cents a year. If not paid 
in advance, twice these rates may he charged. 
Blow to ISeiait:—Claeclts oia IVew- 
York Ranks or Rankers are best for large sums ; 
made payable to the order of Orange Judd Sc Co. 
Post-Office Money Orders may be obtain¬ 
ed at nearly every county-seat, in all the cities, and in 
many of the large towns. We consider them perfectly 
safe, and the best means of remitting fifty dollars or less, 
as thousands have been sent to ns without any loss. 
58egis tei - e«l Letters, nndertlie new 
system, which went into effect Oct. 1, 1868, are a very 
safe means of sending small sums of money where P. O. 
Money Orders cannot be easily obtained. Observe , the 
Registry fee, as well as postage, must be paid in stamps at 
the office where the letter is mailed, or it will be liable 
to be sent to the Dead-Letter Office. Buy and affix the 
stamps both for postage and registry, put in the money, and 
seal the letter in the presence of the postmaster', and take his 
receipt for it. Letters thus sent to us are at our risk. 
Special Notice.— Communications giving 
or asking for information are always acceptable. These 
should always be accompanied by the name of the wri¬ 
ter. The name will not be published whenever there is 
indicated a desire that it be withheld. Writers may 
choose any signature they please, but we must be fur¬ 
nished with the real name. We are nnder no obligation 
to return rejected manuscripts. Where stamps are sent 
for their return, we, as a matter of courtesy, try to send 
them back. Writers should retain copies of articles 
which they consider valuable, as, witli the best intentions 
in the world, we may not be able to return them if called 
for after the lapse of considerable time. 
“ Will Gas Lime Drive away In¬ 
sects ? ”—We fear not. But it is worth trying. An 
Illinois fanner writes us : “A person near Chicago has 
been experimenting with different substances on potato- 
bugs, and claims to have found in gas lime a specific that 
will not only banish the potato-bug, but all other insects. 
I propose to try it next year on my spring wheat as a 
preventive to chinch-bugs.” We would spread it on the 
land this fall, and either plow and harrow it in; or, if 
necessary, let it lie exposed to the atmosphere all winter. 
In this way, if not applied in excessive quantity, there 
will be no danger of its injuring the wheat. 
Manure a Kennedy for tlie Oiimcli- 
Rug in Wlieat.—Mr. John T. Lawrence, of Lee Co., 
Ill., writes that he hears many complaints of the damage 
done by chinch-bugs this season to the spring wlieat. “ My 
own wheat,” he says, “ has escaped, and is a better crop 
in quality than I have raised for many years, which I at¬ 
tribute to a liberal application of manure plowed in last 
fall. Seed sown March 11th. The land is a sandy bluff, 
sloping to Rock River, the ridge being crowned by a row 
of Indian mounds, from which we have taken bones, 
arrow-heads, pottery, etc. Such soil, being dry and light, 
is just suited to the chinch-bug. Some years ago I 
sowed a piece in wheat which had been heavily manured 
for corn, and it was the only wheat in the neighborhood 
which escaped. A small portion not manured was 
destroyed by them, the line of their ravages being dis¬ 
tinctly marked.” This is an interesting experiment, and 
well worthy the consderation of onr Western readers. 
When the midge made such havoc with the wheat crop of 
Western New York fifteen years ago, similar effects of an 
application of manure on dry land were frequently ob¬ 
served. It may be that the insects do as much damage 
on the manured crop as on that unmanured ; hut if we 
had a piece of land rich enough to produce 35 bushels of 
wheat per acre, and another piece adjoining only rich 
enough to produce 10 bushels, and the insects destroyed 
5 bushels per acre from both crops, we should get 30 
bushels per acre from one piece, and only 5 bushels from 
the other. Practically, the insects might ho said to have 
nearly destroyed one crop, and to have done little dam¬ 
age to the other, while, in point of fact, they destroyed 
just as much wheat on the rich land as on the poor land. 
CofSiiBiosi Sense in s!a« lionise- 
bold is the title of a work by Marion Harland, which is 
publish by Charles Scribner & Co., N. Y. Price $2. Mrs. 
Harland is widely known as a writer of fiction, and one 
might expect to find her quite out of her sphere as the au¬ 
thor of a work upon such a matter-of-fact subject as domes¬ 
tic economy. Whoever prejudges the work in this way 
will make a great mistake, for a more practical, “ common- 
sense ” household book than this we do not remember to 
have seen. The recipes, so far as we have had occasion 
to test them, are excellent; and the whole work hears 
the evidence of having been written by one who lias 
“ been there.” The chapters about “ Servants,” “Com¬ 
pany,” “The Sick-Room,” and others, are full of sound 
sense, capitally put. It is not often that we meet with a 
work that we can commend so heartily. 
Da'illiiig- Seed. —A new subscriber, Clarks- 
ton, U. T., is anovicc at farming, and wants information 
about drills and drilling seed.—Drills are of great variety, 
but yet nearly all are constructed on the same principle. 
They can be drawn by a two-horse team, and will sow 
about ten acres of grain in a day, depositing the seed at a 
depth of three inches beneatli the surface, more or less, 
as desired. Economy of seed and a better stand of grain 
are among the advantages gained by the use of drills. Our 
advertising columns contain the names of makers of drills 
who would gladly send a descriptive circular to our cor¬ 
respondent on being asked for one. 
Wire Eeraees. —W. H. Barnes, Anderson 
Co., Kansas, says a two-wire fence would lie of doubtful 
value. lie makes a three-wire fence, the lowest wire 18 
to 20 inches from the ground, the others placed at inter¬ 
vals of 12 o 14 inches. Thus the fence will be four feet 
high or something less, hut sufficient to turn stock of any 
kind. Posts reed to he one rod apart, and between the 
posts stakes to prevent the wires from spreading. 
Mauageincut of Tiinler ILantls In 
Illinois. —A subscriber (Iroquois Co., Ill.) lias 150 acres 
of timber land which he wants to make the most of, and 
asks how he must manage it. All brush and undergrowth 
must he kept down. If the trees are small, they may he 
permitted to stand six feet apart until they begin to get 
too tail, then one half may he cut out and disposed of and 
the rest will increase in size. In a few years another 
thinning will be necessary, to he continued until each tree 
occupies a square rod of space. In twenty-five years eacli 
of these trees will probably contain half a cord of wood, 
or from six to eight posts, so that their value will be con¬ 
siderable. During these years the ground may be sown 
with orchard grass and some white clover, and pastured. 
Clover witli Corn. —A. G. Kirk, Dickin¬ 
son Co., Kansas, says he saw in Columbus County, Ohio, 
last April, a fine stand of clover in a corn stubble, and on 
inquiry found the owner of the land was in the habit of 
sowing clover seed when he worked the corn the last 
time, for the purpose of supplying manure for the crop of 
oats, or barley, or wlieat, which was to follow. This 
farmer evidently was one of the progressive sort, who be¬ 
lieves in putting all he can on the land. We have done 
the same, pasturing the clover with sheep, and had a good 
crop of wheal after it. 
r:iss lor Mountain in Yew 
Jersey. —A subscriber asks which is the best grass for 
mountain land in the north-west part of New Jersey. Wc 
have seen in Sussex and Warren Counties (which com¬ 
prise the district referred to) as fine timothy and clover 
as we have seen anywhere, and we do not think these 
could he changed with any benefit. Where timothy and 
clover will thrive, we do not know of any more valuable 
substitute, though we might propose to add some blue- 
grass, which also thrives in that locality, as a help to the 
pasture. 
M'lie Extensive Koollng Works of 
H. W. Johns, which were burned July 26tli, are being re¬ 
built of iron, on a larger scale than before, and will he 
completed by the time this paper goes to press. His 
business of manufacturing Asbestos Roofing lias in¬ 
creased very rapidly, the demand this season having 
exceeded the manufacturing facilities. The enlargement 
of his factory will enable him to meet the requirements 
of his customers. 
Fsirm DSsate. —Asa Hartshorn, Ashtabula Co., 
O., sends us a model of a farm gate very neatly gotten up, 
hut unfortunately the patent-right men have a claim on 
that gate. There is a patent on it for the right to manu¬ 
facture and use, for which parties have been to our 
knowledge charged two dollars. It is hardly safe to make 
or use any gate that operates by means of rollers, as they 
are all subject to one or more patents. 
Stoj»|»iE8g- si SHess flVoEai Silting.— 
J. E. Smith, Durham, N. II., writes: “ I was quite amused 
some days since by an old sitting hen. Having tried 
all the usual ways to induce her to leave her nest, I con¬ 
cluded to use ‘moral suasion.’ I placed two lumps of 
ice in the nest after taking her off. The ‘ old critter,’ as 
usual in such cases, soon returned and took a seat, which 
seemed to disagree with her, and after a few hours Mrs. 
Hen concluded to associate with her fellows.” 
A Model Eeltter.—Wm. Johnston, Brook- 
side, Mich., sends us a rare specimen of brevity and per¬ 
tinence, which wc print in full, as an example to others. 
“Hill, forty feet high ; pitch of hill, 45°; spring at bottom, 
house at the top ; what is the cheapest fixture you know 
of to raise water to the house ? ”-One tiling is lacking, 
tlie fall of the spring from source to outlet, and this is 
important, as on it depends whether a ram can be used 
or not. If a fall of three feet can he got in a length of 
forty feet, a ram would work, and would elevate water 
through a half-inch pipe to tlie bight required. The pipe 
supplying the mm should be iy 2 inches in diameter. If 
there is not sufficient fall, a windmill is the best thing. 
Soft BBtalter.—H. S. Dutch, Johnson Co., 
Iowa, has his butter come soft. His cellar is a “ West¬ 
ern” one, not waKed, well ventilated. Cows have good 
pasture, water, shade, and salt twice a week. What is 
the matter ?-August prhbahly is flic matter. There is a 
good deal of soft butter comes in July and August. 
“ Western ” cellars are generally rather warm in the hot¬ 
test part of summer, and ventilation does not mend it 
much. We have got good liart bntter by putting a mus¬ 
lin hag filled witli pounded ice in the churn just before 
the butter came. But generally, if tlie cellar is suffi¬ 
ciently cool, the bntter will harden by the time it is ready 
to work over. Butter-making in Bummer is attended with 
many difficulties, unless all the accessories are well ar¬ 
ranged, and even then the cows themselves will some¬ 
times fail of coming up to the mark. 
Norway Oats. —W. D. Krolm, of Bergen, 
Norway, sends ns, by steamer, a sample of his oats. He 
states the native Norway oats had been cultivated for 
6ome years with great care, hut without improvement; 
lie therefore procured seed from Scotland,, and now lias 
a really good oat. The men consume all the crop ; the 
animals get hut little of it. The climate of Norway is 
damp, and the oats, having a heavy straw, are apt to lodge. 
We think, as lias- been generally the case, these oats 
would deteriorate in our Hot, dry climate, though the ap¬ 
pearance of the sample before us is very different from the 
Norway oats sent out hyRamsdell & Co. ; they are plump, 
heavy oats, and would weigh40 pounds to the bushel. 
B5ome Manure.—N. C. Boutelle asks if 
ground bone is profitable to use at $45 a ton, where barn¬ 
yard manure is worth $10 a cord, delivered on land. We 
think it is, if got pure. A dressing of 250 pounds per acre 
on grass land, especially if it is occasionally pastured, 
would undoubtedly pay. It must he remembered that the 
principal mineral substance carried off from grass land, in 
the shape of fed cattle, is the hone, and if this is return¬ 
ed to the laud exhaustion is prevented, more especially 
when occasional dressings of barn-yard manure are ap¬ 
plied. As a dressing for grape-vines, pear-trees, and for 
general garden use, it may he used at the rate of 300 to 
500 pounds per acre profitably. 
Making €Ueesc-Saving Kcunet. 
—Julius F. Bingham, Greensville Co., Va,, is making 
cheese in a region where nobody saves the rennet, and 
can not procure it. Can it be purchased in New York ? 
Is also a novice >n making cheese, and has made some 
errors, and wants advice. One cheese leaked badly, and 
is now dry and hard ; some arc hard and tough. Some¬ 
times the curd comes in thirty minutes, and sometimes 
in an hour.-Rennet should he saved by all cheese- 
makers. It is very easily prepared, nothing more being re¬ 
quired than to take the stomach of an unweaned ealf and 
empty it of its contents without rinsing it; rub it with salt 
until it is perfectly cured; then the loose salt may he 
turned out, and a hoop of light twig be inserted, to keep 
it distended, when it may he dried and hung up for use. 
We have purchased rennet, when commencing to make 
cheese, at a seed store in Philadelphia. Wc have not 
seen them in New York. Tlie failures spoken of are un¬ 
doubtedly due toil-regularities in tlie making of tlie curd, 
which practice will enable oar correspondent to over¬ 
come. The temperature of the milk when the rennet is 
added should be always equal. 95 degrees is the proper 
heat. If this is exceeded, it will make a hard, tough 
cheese. The curd should net stand too long, or the same 
effect will he produced. 
