1871 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
409 
The <»iTaI Fire in CTiieago lias 
stirred the heart of the whole Christian world more than 
any single event of this century. The particulars have 
been so thoroughly discussed already, that we need add 
nothing here, except to say that, in this city at least, 
there has not only been sympathy in every heart, but 
action in every hand, from the poor, ragged newsboy on 
the street, who gave his few pennies, to the contributor 
of tens of thousands. We were pleased at the impromptu 
action of those employed in this office. Though many 
had suffering relations at Chicago, to be relieved by 
themselves, and almost all gave liberally to other Chicago 
Relief Funds, the following sums were quickly gathered 
in this office— viz.: From 22 printers, $69.25: from 38 
artists and engravers, $102; from 23 employes in publish¬ 
ing department, $54 ; from 37 employes in the press-rooms, 
$61; from 18 women anti girls in the folding department, 
$8.25 ; from 25 electrotypers (Lovejoy, Son & Co.), $50. 
To this the publishers added about as much more, and 
sent the following telegram: 
New York. October 17th, 1871. 
To Hon. R. B. Mason, 
Mayor of Chicago, Illinois: 
Six hundred and fifty dollars ($6.50 )—for relief of 
Chicago sufferers , antributed by Employes of American 
Agriculturist and Hearth and Home, and by the Proprie¬ 
tors—subject to your order, whenever needed. 
Orange Judd & Company, 
245 Broadway, Hew York. 
To which the following response came: 
Chicago, October 18th, 1871. 
To Messrs Orange Judd & Co.: 
Heaven bless the generous Employes. The “Chicago Be¬ 
lief and Aid Society" will draw. 
R. B. Mason, Mayor. 
'Flie Fires in Michigan and ’Wis¬ 
consin. —The heart sickens as we read the accounts of 
these extensive fires. No long recital could be more elo¬ 
quent than the statement that hundreds have perished by 
lire, and that thousands have lost their all, and are house¬ 
less, homeless, and helpless. God comfort these suffer¬ 
ers, and so touch the hearts of the prosperous that they 
may send them much-needed aid! It was well to help 
Chicago. It will be better to help these poor, scattered, 
and needy people. 
lending' Grapes and oilier Fruit:. 
— We received a box of grapes and the following letter 
from Cornwall (no State): “I send you a small package 
of grapes, of a new kind, which please examine, test, 
and name. B» kind enough to state in the next Agricul¬ 
turist your opinion of same, and oblige an ‘Old Sub¬ 
scriber.’ ”—-We give this as a specimen of the many in¬ 
definite things which come to us. If “ Old Subscriber” 
had given us his name, we should have written to ask 
in what way his grapes were “new.” They seem to us, 
and to other very good judges of grapes,very much like one 
of Rogers’s hybrids, and probably No. 4, or Wilder. It 
is, in our “opinion,” a very fair grape, audit is our “opin¬ 
ion ” that no one should write to an editor upon any sub¬ 
ject whatever without giving his full name and address. 
Ayrshire Ifferd-Hoolc.— The American 
and Canadian Ayrshire nerd-Book is the title of a volume 
just received. It contains the third volume of the Ayr¬ 
shire Herd-Book, edited by J. N. Bagg, Esq., West 
Springfield, Mass., which indeed makes up the bulk of 
the volume, but this is prefixed by two previous records, 
and as a whole possesses the greatest value to the breeder 
of Ayrshires. The work contains the pedigrees of 530 
bulls and 1,132 cows, belonging to the herds of the mast 
notid breeders of Ayrshires in the United States and 
Canada. The names and addresses of 333 Ayrshire 
breeders are given; twenty-seven of these live in the 
British Provinces, and the others are scattered through 
twenty-one of the States of the Union. The book is 
embellished by photographs and engravings of noted 
animals. 
Plants Earned.—O. H. Leavitt, No. Tur¬ 
ner, Me. Corydalis glauca, or Pale Corydalis, a hand¬ 
some plant in cultivation ; has yellow and red flowers, and 
is quite common upon rocky hillsides.“J. A. M.,” 
Eastmauville, Mich. Adlumia cirrhosa, Alleghany Vine, 
or Climbing Fumitory; cultivated as an ornamental vine ; 
it is figured and described in March Agriculturist, 1865. 
.J. E. Darby, Dexter, Iowa. No. 1 is Setaria viridis, 
sometimes called Green Foxtail, or Bottle Grass ; No. 2 
is Setaria glauca, or Foxtail. Both species are annual 
grasses, and can be destroyed by mowing often enough 
to prevent their seeding, and sowing good varieties. 
Neither are valuable for bay.“J. B.,” Dalton Sta¬ 
tion, Ill. Erigeron Canadense, or Canada Flea-bane, or 
Horse-weed ; a very common weed throughout the United 
States, and varying in liight from 5 inches, to 5 feet_ 
“J. B.,” Venango Co., Pa. Gypsophila paniculata ; its 
delicate white flowers are valuable for dressing bouquets. 
.L. Woodworth, Niagara Co., N. Y. No. 1, Chinysop- 
sis Mariana, or Golden Aster. No. 2, a species of Aster, 
which can not be determined from the small and incom¬ 
plete specimen sent.“Mrs. S. J. II.,” Elyria, Ohio, 
No. 3, Centradenia rosea, a low, bushy plant from Mexico, 
bearing very numerous white and rose-tinged flowers; 
not very common, but sometimes found in choice conser¬ 
vatories. No. 4, Alsh'cemeria psittacina; belongs to the 
Amaryllis firmily, and is a native of South America; a 
very pretty and free-blooming greenhouse plant. No. 6, 
a species of Croton. No. 7, Epiphyllum ; belongs to the 
Cactus family. The other specimens are too poor to name. 
Those who wish plants named should prepare complete 
specimens, consisting of the flowers, fruit, or seed, and 
a portion of the stem with the leaves on.“ Old Sub¬ 
scriber,” La Porte, Iiul. Staphylea trifolia, the Bladder- 
nut. An interesting shrub or small tree.Mrs. D. D., 
Clarence, Mo. The White Day-Lily, Funkia subcordata. 
.J. A. Lineback, Salem, N. C. No. 1, Variegated 
Funkia. No. 2, Avcuba Japonica, a charming climber. 
. Ella Corbett, Perry, Ga. A Coral-root ( Corallo- 
rhiza) of some kind, but too much crushed and decayed 
to make out the species. Plants should be dried before 
inclosing them. 
Having’ Tiling’s Mandy.-- The writer 
lately had occasion to hire a passage in Southern Illinois 
on a light road-wagon, and the horse, being fractious, 
broke one of the shafts. The driver had nothing to re¬ 
pair the damage with,and was “stuck.” Fortunately 
there was close by a neat-looking farm-house, which 
seemed so well appointed in every respect, having gates 
well hung, etc., that we were led to go there for assist¬ 
ance. The farmer kindly came to our help with brace 
and bit, a couple of small carriage-bolts, and a piece of 
wire. The broken shaft was repaired in a few minutes, 
and we were under way again, thankfully remembering 
that farmer who had “ things so handy.” During the few 
minutes wo were in his company, we discovered that he 
was one of a club that subscribed to the Agriculturist. 
He will therefore see that his kindness is not forgotten. 
Native ISrapes. —“ C. Horst,” Washington 
Co., Wis., wishes to improve a lot of wild grapes, and 
asks how to do it. Also, he is unable to distinguish the 
various cultivated grapes, and asks us to give descriptions 
of them. The best way to “ improve wild grapes ” is to 
dig them up and put out others. Any other mode will be 
time wasted. To describe the various cultivated grapes 
would take the whole paper. Buy Fuller’s or Husmann’s 
book, or send to Isidore Bush & Son, Bushburgh, Mo., 
for their illustrated catalogue. 
Tliorongli-l»rcd Negretti Sdieep.— 
We have just seen ten of these animals—four rams and six 
ewes—recently arrived from Germany. We judge them 
to be Merino. They are very fine in wool, which covers 
their whole body, limbs, and faces, excepting a very 
small portion of the tip of the nose. They are in the 
hands of Godeffroy, Brancker & Co., 5 South street, who 
have their full pedigrees. 
Traveler’s GnMe to New York 
City. New York : J. S. Redfield. Price 25 cents. This is 
a well-prepared little work, which points out the principal 
objects of interest and tells how to reach them. It gives 
to strangers, visiting the city for the first time, advice 
which, if followed, would prevent much swindling by 
sharpers. A good map accompanies the work. 
Tlie Chicago Papers.— The agricultural 
papers published in Chicago are the Prairie Farmer, the 
Western Rural, and one upon an agricultural specialty, 
the National Live-Stock Journal. In another item we 
have alluded to the energy which the Prairie Farmer dis¬ 
played in keeping up its issues. Its half-sheet has just 
come to hand, dated October 14th. It gives a full account 
of the fire, and the first map of the burnt district that 
was published. Among its acknowledgments of aid and 
sympathy we find the following: 
“ Offers of aid in a trying time like this always strike 
upon the hearts of the recipients with peculiar impres¬ 
siveness. The Prairie Farmer Company acknowledges 
many of them in various ways, but it must particularly 
mention the contents of a dispatch received on Thursday 
from Orange Judd & Co., of New York. It read as 
follows: 
“ ‘ What can we do for you ? Command us. If you 
send copy, will issue your next number at * 111 ’ expense.’ 
“ Having our paper in this modest form Nearly ready 
for the press, we could not avail ourselves of the offer, 
but our thanks are none the less hearty for the kindness.” 
We supposed that the Western Rural was still printed 
in Detroit, or we should have extended our sympathy 
to It. This paper comes out with a “Fire Extra,” in 
which it states that it lost all, save its account books and 
lists of subscribers. It promises to go ahead as lively as 
ever within a month. Wo wish it much success, as wo 
have few more welcome exchanges than this. The Stock 
Journal saved its books and will go on without interrup¬ 
tion. Its October number was destroyed, but will be re¬ 
printed. 
Gas-Time. — 11 V. S. D.,” New York, asks 
what is the real value of this article, how should it be 
used, and should it be mixed with stable-manure ? Gas- 
lime is most valuable applied to coarse-grass lands, or on a 
fallow. It contains chlorine, sulphur, and ammonia, and 
after some exposure to the atmosphere the sulphur in 
combination with it (which renders it injurious to vege¬ 
tation in its fresh state) is changed to sulphate of lime. 
It is thus about equal in value to ordinary lime that has 
been thus exposed. It should not be brought into con¬ 
tact with stable-manure, unless at the moment of appli¬ 
cation to the soil. 
Power of a Suction-Pump. —M. H. 
Polhemus, Somerset Co., N. J., has a spring, 145 feet, 
distant from the house and 20 feet below the level of the 
ground on which it is built, neasks if a common suction- 
pump will raise the water through this length of pipe. 
The theoretical hight to which a suction-pump will raise 
water is 34 feet, but friction and the imperfect vacuum 
obtained reduce this to 28 feet in practice. Against the 
excess of 8 feet in this case must be offset the friction 
occasioned by the water passing through 145 feet of pipe. 
Here it is obvious that the kind of pipe used will affect 
the result. A smooth, tin-lined lead-pipe would probably 
enable the water to pass with so little friction that the 
pump would raise it successfully. Cucumber-wood pipe 
(which is the best wooden pipe) of 1 % inch bore might 
succeed, but the margin is so close that the pump must 
be most perfectly made or it would fail. All curves 
should be avoided, and a straight stream obtained. 
(jahhages anil Onions.— Edw’cl Skinner, 
Orange Co., N. Y., states that one of his friends has very 
fine cabbages in an onion-field while the cabbages in his 
garden are infested by worms, and asks if we think the 
strong odor of the onion kept them away. We do not. 
There is very little odor about a growing onion, unless it 
is bruised. 
“ Some Pumpkins.” —“ W. J. P.” writes 
us about a “volunteer” pumpkin-vine which produced 
60 pumpkins, averaging 12 lbsTeach. Good for one vine. 
Mulching ISasphcrries. —J.Van Loon, 
Wis.—It. will no doubt be of great benefit to mulch with 
five or six inches of straw,’as you propose. Clear off 
what weedsjthere may be, and put on the mulch when 
freezing weather sets in. 
A Targe Egg’. — W. E. Horwill, New 
Utrecht, L. I., sends an egg weighing 4 oz., 28 inches 
in circumference, from a Brahma fowl, but it is not 
stated whether light or dark. 
Great Nettle. —“E. H.,” Hickok, Pa.—We 
know of no nettle bearing the name of Urtica major, nor 
can we find such in a pretty full botanical library. The 
nettle sometimes used in Europe as a substitute for flax 
is Urtica dioica. We do not ki>ow where the seed may 
be had. 
A Soiitlaes*ii Cahhage Pest. —S. Ser¬ 
vice, Fairfax Co., Va.— 1 The insect which is committing 
ravages upon the cabbages in your vicinity is, as you 
suspect, the Phytocwis lineolaris of Harris’s Insects, and 
the Capsus oblineatus of Say. A very good account of it 
will be found in Riley’s 2d Report of the Insects of Mis¬ 
souri, where it is given the name of Tarnished Plant 
Bug. We hope to say more about it another month. 
Honse-FSy. —“E. G. H.”—The common fly 
breeds mostly in manure heaps. Some individuals pass 
the winter hidden in crevices, and come out in spring in 
sufficient numbers to supply the demand. 
Apple anal Pear ©rchard.— “H.,” 
Brooklyn, N. Y.-We have frequently stated that, we must 
decline giving advice to any one as to where he had bet¬ 
ter losate. It is a responsibility that we do not care to 
assume. 
©1«1 Postage Stamps.—“ J. A. L.,” N. 
Carolina. The Government does not buy canceled 
stamps. They are of no value save as paper stock. 
Seeds of the Ifard Maple. —A. G.Weed. 
—Mix them with dry sand, and keep in a cool place 
where the temperature will be uniform. They should 
not get too dry, nor should they, heat by lying in a mass. 
