1871 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
365 
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 Cents a Year in 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 be charged. 
How to Remit:—Checks on New- 
York Banks or Bankers 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 connty-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 us without any loss. 
Registered Letters, under tine new 
system, which went into effect Oct. 1, 1868, are a very 
safe means of sending small sums of money where P. 0. 
Money Orders can not 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 foe' 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 
Where our Thoughts cc :nc from. 
—The human mind is like a ponderous engine upon a 
railway track. A small point of iron at a switch will 
turn it to the right or left—sending it on its proper 
course, or perchance causing it to go over an embank¬ 
ment, or into another train, crushing both in shapeless 
destruction. The sight of some object, a word spoken 
or read, will give one’s train of thoughts a new direction, 
or some direction quite different from what it would 
otherwise have taken. Upon very small things depends 
all one’s future course in life. Parents, teachers, guar¬ 
dians, in fact every one, may well ponder this. We are all 
influencing each other, giving direction to thought, every 
day, every hoar, every moment.—One hint in this con¬ 
nection : A family read a journal (say like this) for a 
year, and, at the end of that time, do not recall any par¬ 
ticular advantage therefrom. But how many new channels 
of thought have their minds been led into by wbat they 
have read! How many plans have indirectly and insen¬ 
sibly come from what they could have read ! How much 
of vacancy there would be if they blot entirely from their 
minds all the information they have gained, and all the 
new ideas and plans of their own, suggested only, and in¬ 
directly at that, by what they have read during a year! 
The truth is, one can not read and think too much about 
his daily labor. If he get not one new positive piece of 
useful information, the thinking developed by reading 
other men’s views and ideas can but be useful in stimu¬ 
lating him to reasoning, to intelligent labor—tliatlaborin 
which his head aids his hands. Labor withont intelli¬ 
gence is merely brute muscle in exercise. 
Rulb Catalogues. —The dealers are all 
ready to receive orders for bulbs. First came Richard¬ 
son & Gould’s catalogue, then James Fleming’s, both of 
New York, then James Yick, of Rochester, and F. K. 
Phoenix, of Bloomington, Ill. B. K. Bliss & Son, and J. 
M. Thorburn & Co., and we know not how many others, 
have sent their bulb lists. Let onr readers look in the 
advertising columns, and they will a number of dealers 
who are ready to serve them with good bulbs. 
i - 
Xlae IVew England JFsiir, which was 
held at Lowell last month, was in many respects a suc¬ 
cess. The weather, as usual the first week in September, 
was very fine, which of course brought out a very large 
attendance. Other managers may notice this fact with 
profit. The grounds at Lowell are large, and well ar¬ 
ranged for all kinds of live-stock, giving good protectien \ 
and comfort for the animals. The show of mechanic 
arts was spoiled by being divided into two parts. The 
exhibition of horses and cattle, sheep, swine, and poul¬ 
try, was very large and good. The show of Ayrshire 
cattle was very fine indeed—in fact, we have rarely seek 
a better one. The herds of Wm. Birnie, of Spring-field, 
Mass., Messrs. S. M. and D. Wells of Wethersfield, Ct., 
and others, are hard to heat. The show of Jerseys was 
not large, but very fair in quality, some of the animals 
being as fine as can be found in the country. There was 
a good display of Hereford cattle, which are not com¬ 
monly seen at the fairs, and they attracted much atten¬ 
tion. Dutch cattle were fairly represented, and of good 
quality; while Shorthorns were there in comparatively 
small numbers, some of very good style and blood. 
Long-wooled sheep are rising in importance in New Eng¬ 
land, as elsewhere all over the country. Messrs. Appleton, 
of Mass., Hartwell, of Ct., and Chase, of Mass., showed 
some very fine Cotswolds. The collection of swine was 
quite large, but mostly of one kind—Chester Whites— 
many of which were of very good quality, but the judges 
wisely gave the first prize and sweepstakes t» a splendid 
Berkshire sow, and first prize to her litter of pigs. The 
officers of the Fair were very courteous and attentive to 
all comers, but there was evidently a great lack of efficient 
management. Committees were not in attendance early, 
and there were no proper arrangements for them to work 
when finally together. Marshals were not appointed to 
attend them until they begged and waited for them, and 
no proper provision was made for their entertainment 
even. Those who work hard all day for nothing should 
at least be furnished with a good dinner, but such could 
not even be bought on the grounds, and some of the 
committees regaled themselves on cream-cakes and re¬ 
turned to their labors. Let this matter be reformed, and 
let the management stop the peddler nuisance. 
June on* Itlnc C*rass.—Jas. McC., New- 
fane, N. Y.—The specimen is what is commonly called 
June grass. It is quite different from the grass known 
as “ Quack ” or Couch grass, and can be more easily got 
rid of. It is in some places valuable for pasture—in fact, 
it is the same grass known as Kentucky Blue-grass. 
Plowing under will rid the land of this grass without 
trouble ; but the soil being full of seed from past sow¬ 
ings, itwill appear again, after a grain crop. A clover 
and timothy crop will keep it down. The description 
of the couch-grass rake is too late for this month. 
Fotlrtei* Crops. — -W. Howard, Ithaca, N. Y. 
—It is not too late to sow rye for soiling. We have 
sown it as late as 14th October, and it was ready to cut 
by the middle of May. It must be sown on rich ground 
if a heavy cutting is desired. It will be followed by 
oats, for which the ground should be prepared, and well 
prepared, both by plowing and manuring this fall, and 
the seed sown as early as possible in the spring, at the 
rate of four bushels per acre. Good ground will bear 
heavy seeding for a forage crop. 
Seed Wheat—“Golden ChaffMay ” 
Variety.—“ D. P. M.,” Raleigh, N. C., wants to 
know where he can procure a good variety of seed wheat, 
such as is grown on the hills of Pennsylvania. We are 
not acquainted with the variety, at least not under this 
name. The White Mediterranean, Treadwell, Diehl, and 
Michigan Amber are all favorite wheats in the locality 
mentioned. With us the Treadwell has succeeded very 
well, and has given fair crops, though it requires care 
and good cultivation where the winters are changeable 
and inclined to he severe. All of these varieties could be 
procured at the principal seed stores. See advertisements. 
To Preserve Hams from Flies.— 
S. Green, Jackson, Ill., asks how he can keep his hams 
free from skippers. The skippers, as they are called, are 
the larvie of the meat-fly. To prevent their attacks we 
have enveloped the hams and bacon in thick paper, wrap¬ 
ping carefully, so that the meat is completely covered. 
Then the meat is put into a cotton bag, which is sewn 
up closely. The fly can not penetrate both envelopes 
with its ovipositor, and if no holes or small openings 
are left, the meat may be preserved from it. We have 
also packed the meat in wheat bran and oats in boxes and 
barrels, and have been successful in saving it. But we 
favor the first-mentioned plan. 
Wild Carrot.—“H. J. J.,” Franklin Co., Pa., 
wants to get rid of wild carrot. No weed is easier 
killed than this. As soon as the seed is matured the 
root dies. It is therefore necessary only to gather the 
seed, or, better still, to gather the flowers, which will pre¬ 
vent seeding for a year or two, and they will disappear. 
These roots are of no value for any purpose. 
CSolUlen. Rod.—A “Subscriber,” Milford, 
Pike Co., Pa., sends us a specimen of a weed for name and 
means of destroying it. It is a Solidago, or Golden Rod 
(Solidago nemoralis), known also by several local names, 
one of which, common in Pennsylvania, is Wire-weed. 
It is a very common an l thrifty weed, and i-n damp 
meadows forms patches of matted roots, stout enough to 
throw out the plow. It can only be destroyed by plow¬ 
ing up the roots, and gathering and burning them; or 
throwing them into a heap and decomposing them with 
quicklime, when they will make manure. This plant is 
so tenacious of life that a root we placed on the top of a 
fence at one time, grew and struck its fibers into the 
crevices to seek a living. It is therefore hopeless to try 
to k.ll it otherwise than as above. 
backing tisttl Preserving IBaittcr. 
—“R. R.” wishes to pack butter for sale, and also to 
have a process for coloring it evenly. Packing butter 
that is gathered up at country stores, is a nice operation, 
and needs to be carefully performed. As it is of all shades of 
color, from white to pale yellow generally, a coloring may 
be prepared by melting some of the butler and dissolving 
in it the prepared annatto, which may be procured at any 
drug-store. This should be kept for use as it is wanted. 
To use it, take a quantity of the butter to be colored in 
the mixing bowl, cut it into gashes with the butter-ladle 
(don’t touch it with the hands), place a small portion of 
the coloring preparation in each of these gashes, and mix 
until the color is evenly spread and no streaks are to be 
seen. Then gash it once more with the ladle, sprinkle 
one ounce of salt to the pound of butter, and leave it 
twenty-four hours. Then pour off any water collected on 
it, and pack it in a new oak tub that has been soaked 
with brine for a day and night. Water should never be 
used in working butter at any time. 
ADutilon striatum.—R. L. Sehroclc, La¬ 
clede, Mo. We preserve this over winter in the cellar, 
as you suggest. _ It makes a very good house-plant if you 
have room enough to keep it in that way. 
North-eastern Bee-Keepers’ Asso¬ 
ciation will hold a meeting during- the session of the 
New York State Fair. The evening of October 3d is as¬ 
signed for the discussion of Bee Culture. 
Keeping- Eggs. •— Relt Rednevac, Rich¬ 
mond, Ind., wants to know the hest way to keep eggs. 
Parties in the egg business in a large way build brick 
vats made water-tight, in which is lime-water, made by 
putting lime in water, and when it is slaked and settled 
to the bottom drawing oft’ the clear liquor. Into this 
liquor the eggs are placed and kept beneath the surface. 
They are kept as cool as possible. These arc the “ limed 
eggs” with which the markets are supplied during win¬ 
ter. Another mode of keeping eggs, tested by the Agri¬ 
cultural Department, is as follows: Rub the eggs with 
flaxseed (linseed) oil, and place them, small end down¬ 
wards, in sand. Eggs so prepared were found at the end 
of six months to have the taste and smell of perfectly 
fresh eggs, and to have lost in weight only three per¬ 
cent. Greasing eggs with lard or tallow has not been 
successful in preserving them, except for short periods. 
SUNDRY HUMBUGS. —Elsewhere we 
have spoken of a certain class of “medical” advertise¬ 
ments. An Illinois subscriber sends us a prominent ad¬ 
vertisement of a so-called “Medical Retreat,” in Cincin¬ 
nati, O., of the “Madame Restell” order, which lie says 
has polluted the fair pages of an otherwise good Peoria 
journal for a whole year past!.The “ Ladies’ Health 
Association,” 49 and 51 Wall street. New York, is a sheer 
humbug. No such articles as are professedly offered, even 
if desirable, can possibly be made. No letters to that 
address can hereafter get through the New York P. O. 
.“Dr'.” Andrews, of Albany, N. Y., whom we re¬ 
cently showed up, has various “female” “precautions,” 
and many other tilings, in his so-called “ Good Samari¬ 
tan,” whicli he continues to scatter, to the destruction of 
life, health, and morals, and now we hear he is sugar- 
coating agents with the offer of building lots to those 
who aid him (and the Devil) in scattering his worse than 
vile trash.We suppose few editors arc so-‘green” 
as to publish the “direct” advertisements of the so- 
called “ Metropolitan Cash Prize Co.,” until they get the 
money, and we hope there are few who care so little for 
their readers as to publish the advertisement at amy price, 
though cash he paid down_“Ink Recipes,” etc., are 
advertised in some respectable journals. We have often 
shown them np, and need only say that whoever send® 
25c. or 50c. or more for any such recipe or powder- 
will lose not only his money and stamps, but all the 
time he expends in bothering with them — Miss O. H. 
Hoover, of Hazle Barrens, Mo., wants to let people into 
the life (light) of making money easy. We hardly know, 
from her illiterately written circular, whether to call her 
(or him) a swindler, a crazy person, or a fool. The last 
appellation will certainly belong to any one patronizing 
her (or him)_No matter what the tickets say, we say 
that neither L. P. Pardee & Co., Binghamton, N. Y., 
nor any other parties, will for $2 sc'nd you gold watches, 
chains, etc., etc., worth $25, or anything like it. The 
most you will get in these cases, where yoiv get anything 
for your money, will be cheap stuff, usually worthless, 
and always affording a good round profit to the sellers at 
the price you pay. The ticket and the C. 0. D. dodges 
are to catch greenhorns_We should pity South Caro¬ 
lina if her population could be increased by no other aid 
