74r 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
[February, 
at work for the past few months with perfect satisfaction. 
This attachment takes the seed-cotton from the field, 
separates it from the seed, and cleans it from trash, and 
renders ginning unnecessary. Mr. Whitfield says that 
nearly three-fourths of all the buildings, motive power, 
machinery, and operatives, needed to convert seed-cotton 
into yarn by the ordinary process, are saved by this im¬ 
provement. He invites all those interested in introduc¬ 
ing cotton manufacture into the cotton fields, to examine 
his mill, and the new process in operation in it. 
To Treat Broom Sedge and Sprout 
Land. —“W. B. D.,” Benton, Tenn. If the soil in 
question is in pretty good heart, or can be manured, we 
would plow the sod not more than three inches deep in 
June, and let it lie two or three weeks, when it should be 
harrowed thoroughly. The harrowing should be repeat¬ 
ed as soon as the weeds appear on the surface, until next 
September, when we would sow a bushel and a half of 
wheat per acre, spread what fine manure can be procured, 
and cover both seed and manure with a light furrow of 
not over three inches in depth. If possible, we would 
roll the ground, but do no more. 
Orapes and Wine. —“ W. H. R.,’ ! of 
Dorchester Co., Md., asks if grape-growing and wine 
making on a large scale, could be made profitable in 
northern New York and Vermont. This is a question 
that can not be readily answered, as localities in which 
grapes may be profitably grown, are very restricted. In 
the best grape districts in New York state, the difference 
between the two sides of a hill makes all the difference 
between success and failure. There may possibly be 
spots in both northern New York and in Vermont, where 
the conditions are all favorable, while half a mile away, 
grape culture is not possible. It is not possible to an¬ 
swer such general questions yes or no, but the places 
named are not the localities towards which we should, 
did we propose to, set a vineyard. 
Tiicei'ii, (Alfalfa), in Virginia.— 
“ J. D. S.,” Bull's Valley, Va. What you call “alfalfa 
clover,” is properly lucern, and not clover. Alfalfa is 
the South American name which was introduced with 
this plant into California from Chili. Lucern is a valu¬ 
able forage plant, and will thrive well in Virginia, and 
over nearly the whole of the United States. It loves a 
deep, dry, rich limestone soil, and will yield good crops 
for several years, if occasionally manured. It is being 
largely cultivated in California for forage for horses, cat¬ 
tle, and sheep. 
Among tlie Coal IVIines. —J. Paynter, 
who is a coal miner in Trumbull Co., Ohio, says that 
when people wonder what he does with the American 
Agriculturist , he points to the largest crop of onions ever 
raised in his neighborhood: 37 bushels and one peck, os 
a bed 40 by 15 feet, and says “That is what I have done 
with the American Agriculturist .” Or he shows 110 
bushels of corn to the acre, as another proof of the use 
of the American Agriculturist. Our friend Paynter thinks 
if he could write, he would send us something frequent¬ 
ly, and we would say to him, and to all others who think 
that they can not write well enough for publication, that 
the manner is of secondary importance. If you have 
facts or experiences, tell them in your own way, and we 
will manage to find them. We have not near so much 
difficulty with such letters as this of our correspondent, 
as we do with those of elegant penmen who make writ¬ 
ing-school flourishes, and when Mr. P. writes of the Ameri¬ 
can Agriculturist, “ I hope I shall get it as long as I live, 
and that my children will take it after me,” it is not only 
very plain and easily read, but very pleasant reading. 
Chemical rertiliasers. —“ J. D. S.,” Va. 
For the convenience of those who so frequently enquire 
about artificial fertilizers, we now have regular price¬ 
lists in our market reports from month to month. These 
are the wholesale prices, which are always a little lower 
than those for small quantities. Quantities of ,10 tons, 
can be obtained at the very lowest prices. Thus it will 
be an object for neighboring farmers who need fertil¬ 
izers for their spring crops, to join in purchasing their 
supplies in one large lot. 
IIo>v to ITIake Good Stutter.—“F.B. 
S.,” Baltimore, Md. To tell how to make good butter, 
is too long a story, and it has often been told in detail. 
There ate a few golden rules that must be observed, 
which will meet every case, and will bear repeating. 
(1st.) Keep only those cows that yield butter of good 
color, flavor, and texture.—There are some cows from 
which no one can get good butter. (2nd.) Feed only 
good, sweet food, the best for butter being early cut tim¬ 
othy and clover hay, and corn-meal, and give only pure 
water. (3d.) Observe the most scrupulous cleanliness in 
the stable and dairy. (1th.) Keep the cows in good 
health and contented. (5th.) Use a churn that brings the 
butter in 30 minutes. ( 6 th.) Keep the temperature of the 
milk and cream as near to 60 degrees as possible, and 
churn the cream when only slightly sour. (7tli.) Work 
the butter-milk out. of the butter with the ladle, and not 
with the hands ; if water is used it should be pure and 
cold ; the butter should bo gashed or cut in working, not 
“ plastered ” or flattened out. ( 8 th.) One ounce of pure 
dairy salt should be used for each pound of butter, at two 
workings, with an interval of twelve hours between the 
workings, (for immediate use many prefer less salt). 
(9th.) Pack at once in a sweet clean oak firkin or pail, 
and cover with a layer of salt until the next packing is 
laid down ; when the firkin is filled, it should be headed 
up air tight, aud set away in a cool, dry, sweet cellar. 
The rest will be learned by experience. 
Tlac American Aatui'alist, which was 
published at a loss in Salem, is now issued by Houghton 
& Co., Boston. This journal might have been a success, 
had it been popular, and we are glad to see that the 
January number shows a decided improvement in this 
direction. Long technical articles, of interest to only a 
few specialists in science, should appear in the “ Trans¬ 
actions ” of the different Societies. What is needed is a 
journal for the unscientific, who have a fondness for, and 
would like to.learn about natural objects. If the “Natur¬ 
alist" supplies this want, it will succeed. 
Am Hen.—“ J. H. M.,” Mar¬ 
iners Harbor, S. I., has shown us a number of abortive 
eggs taken from the uterine passage of a hen in prepar¬ 
ing it for the table. The eggs were masses of solidified 
yolk and membranes, without albumen or shells. This 
was clearly a case of “ egg-bound,” aud must have final¬ 
ly destroyed the hen. It might probably have been dis¬ 
covered by noticing the condition of the hen, and exam¬ 
ining the abdomen, when the hard masses would have 
been observed. The remedy would have been to inject 
some linseed oil into the passage, and by dilating it with 
the fingers, remove the collected matter. The trouble 
was doubtless from over-feeding with stimulating food. 
Cement Roof.-“R, W. S.,” Pike Co., Pa. 
A cement roof needs to bo laid with a close boarding be¬ 
neath it, and a depth of two inches of cement is sufficient. 
A coat of hot gas tar may be laid upon the cement, which 
will make it water-proof. The slope need not be more 
than an inch to the yard. 
Tlae Targe Essex “R. S. W.,” 
Watsonville, Mich., who raised the Essex pig which 
dressed 570 lbs., and mentioned in the American Agri¬ 
culturist recently, gives us the following particulars as to 
the age of the pig and the manner of feeding. The pig 
was 22 months old when slaughtered. He was placed in 
a pen for feeding on the 1st of June last, where he was 
fed milk and three ears of corn three times a day up to 
the 19th of Sept., when in addition he received a quart 
of dry shelled corn three times a day. When killed he 
was feeding well, and would have probably reached a 
considerably heavier weight. When cut up, the bones 
were found extremely hard, which explained how such 
small legs could support such a heavy weight of flesh. 
Catalogues Received, 
Our friends in the trade endeavor to have their cata¬ 
logues ready on or shortly before Feb. 1st, and this pre¬ 
vents our giving the majority of them until our March 
number. As the list in that month is usually a heavy 
one, we give here those that have come to hand up to the 
day of going to press, January 15th. The names are 
given alphabetically. 
SEEDSMEN. 
Unless specially mentioned, the dealers keep vegetable, 
field, and flower seeds, gardening implements, and vari¬ 
ous horticultural appliances. 
Beach. Son, &Co., No. 7 Barclay St., New York, issue 
their catalogue iu the “ American Garden,” now changed 
to a quarterly. 
B. K. Bliss & Sons, No. 34 Barclay St., New York, ac¬ 
company their catalogue with a Gardeners’ Almanac, 
which contains a full calendar of operations. 
D. M. Ferry & Co., Detroit, Mich. Through some 
accident this catalogue was overlooked last year until 
very late. We now notice it very early as one of the 
most complete and interesting of all. 
J. A. Foote, Terre Haute, Ind.. raises seeds, and has a 
specialty in his “ 100 Days Tomato.” 
James J. H. Gregory, Marblehead, Mass., sets forth 
his favorite cabbages and squashes ; he has several nov¬ 
elties in vegetables, besides all the standard sorts. 
Harvey Bros., Buffalo, N. Y., send a very neat and 
well illustrated catalogue. 
R. D. Hawley, Hartford, Conn., calls his catalogue 
the Centennial, and puts a fine Danvers ouion on the 
title page. We wonder if friend II. intends any play 
upon words, and wishes us to see that he means “ scent- 
enuial ? ” Mr. H. gives special attention to the genuine 
Wethersfield onion seed. Indeed he believes in Weth¬ 
ersfield, for one of the P. O. clerks stole his money let¬ 
ters and was sent to the state prison at W., which is said 
to be very strong.-- A very full catalogue. 
Peter Henderson & Co., No. 35 Cortlandt St., New 
York, issue a more ample catalogue even than usual, 
very neatly illustrated, and also an abridged list of 
“ Everything for the Garden,” including seeds, plants, 
fruits, etc. 
King & Savage, Chicago, HI., succeed to Jas. H. Mor¬ 
ris, in the seed and implement business. 
J. B. Root, Rockford, Ill., sends his Garden Manual 
and Seed Catalogue. Like that of last year, this gives 
really valuable instruction, and hints marked by practi¬ 
cal common sense. 
Charles Sizer, Mount Lebanon, Columbia Co., N. 
Y., sends his Shaker’s Catalogue in a most unshakerly 
cover of blue and gold. The excellence of the seeds 
grown by the Shakers is generally admitted. 
J. M. Thorburn & Co., No. 15 John St., issue as usual 
separate catalogues, one for vegetable and agricultural 
seeds, another for flower seeds, and still others for 
spring bulbs and tree seeds. Their catalogues announce 
that they offer $100 premiums, each, for the best collec¬ 
tions of vegetables and of flowers exhibited at the Cen¬ 
tennial from seeds purchased of them. 
James Vick, Rochester, N. Y., is a most uncertain 
man. No one knows what he will do next. He began 
with catalogues unlike those of any one else, and now he 
comes with a catalogue in the shape of a quarterly 
“Floral Guide,” and more than this, he has a "Flower 
and Vegetable Garden.” Both works are elegant, use¬ 
ful, and full of interesting matter, including not a little 
of Vick. He is so versatile that he sometimes “ d rops 
into poetry,” pitches into Congress, writes notes of 
travel, and instructs his readers, and we trust, makes 
money. 
FLORISTS. 
Peter Henderson, 35 Cortlandt St., New York, and 
Jersey City Hights, N. J., sends the first florist’s cata¬ 
logue of the new year. -It is embellished with a fine 
plate of the flowers of some of the new cannas and zo- 
nale geraniums in colors, and of course contains numer¬ 
ous “novelties.” 
NURSERYMEN. 
David Baird, Manaplan, Monmouth Co., N. J. A 
large assortment of peaches, with other fruits. 
Charles Black, Hightstown, N. J., at the Village 
Nurseries, makes a specialty of peaches, and offers other 
stock. 
A. M. Burns, Manhattan, Kansas, has a general list of 
grapes aud other small fruits, and the Burns Raspberry. 
Robert Douglas & Sons, Waukegan, Ill. Evergreen 
and Ornamental Tree Seedlings, and Tree Seeds. This 
establishment counts its stock by millions, and offers 
trees of various sizes at wonderfully low rates. 
A. Hance & Son, Red Bank, N. J., issue a special list 
of their small fruits, offering the Brandywine, Highland 
Hardy, and Canargua Raspberries as specialties. 
E. W. Harrington, Palmyra, N. Y., sends wholesale 
price-lists of the Palmyra Commercial Nursery. 
R. S. Johnston, Georgetown, Del., makes a specialty 
of peach-trees, and offers other stock. 
C. K. Kesler, Bethany P. O., Tredell Co., N. C., offers 
general nursery stock at low prices. 
Tyra Montgomery, Mattoon, Ill. General nursery 
stock, with a special and full catalogue of Roses. 
II. M. Thompson, St. Francis, Wis. Evergreen and 
deciduous forest-tree seedlings and tree seeds. 
B. F. Transou & Brother, Humboldt, Tenn., pre¬ 
sent their 26th annual catalogue, and are consequently 
no novices ; they have various local fruits, besides a 
general stock. 
John Wampler, Carthage, Mo., has general nursery 
stock, and offers the Amsdcn peach. 
EUROPEAN CATALOGUES. 
ENGLAND. 
Anthony Waterer, Knap Hill, near Woking, Surrey. 
The Knap Hill Nurseries have a world-wide reputation, 
and every American with a taste for horticulture, who 
visits England, makes it a point to visit the remarkable 
collection of conifers and rhododendrons, and other 
“ American plants ” to be found at this nursery. 
Waite, Burnell, Huggihs & Co., London. This is 
one of the heavy seed houses of the world, and sends out 
only wholesale prices current. 
PRANCE. 
Ch. Huber & Co., Hyi-res, Var. This is one of the 
largest establishments in France for the production of 
flower seeds and the seeds of ornamental trees. Its 29th 
annual trade catalogue gives an astonishing variety , they 
send also a special list in English. 
