366 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
[October, 
its first President. Mr. B., upon taking the chair, gave an 
address in which, among other matters, lie cited the re¬ 
markable adaptability of the State to fruit growing; from 
the borders of Florida to the high mountains, it presents a 
wonderful diversity of climate, and allows of the produc¬ 
tion ©f northern as well as peculiarly southern fruits, and 
its capabilities in the way of vegetable and ornamental 
plants, are equally great. Every horticulturist will join 
with us in wishing prosperity to the new society. 
Shooting' “ CoEiHting'.”—As 
there is now a good deal of interest in rifle shooting, and 
the newspapers are full of “ scores ” made, etc., some of 
our readers wish us to tell them how the “counting up - ’ is 
reported, to complete the 
full information given in 
our illustrated article last 
December. There are 
two kinds of targets gen¬ 
erally used, Fig. 1 for 500 
to 1,000 yards or more. 
This has a black center, 
36 inches in diameter, 
though it looks like a small black spot at a distance of 
3,000 yards (3,000 feet). Balls hitting this center count 
5. A white circle is around this, 9 inches wide, or 54 
inches in diameter, in which shots count 4, and are 
called “ centers.” The inner square is 6 feet each way. 
Shots in this, outside of the circle, are call¬ 
ed “inners,” and count 3. The two wings 
are 3 feet wide, and 6 feet high. Shots in 
these count 2, and are called “outers.” 
There are no 1 counts_The 200-yard 
target, Fig. 2, is 4 feet wide, and 6 feet high. 
The black bull’s eye, 8 inches in diameter, 9 
counts 5. The circle around it, 26 inches lo ' ' 
in diameter, called “centers,” counts 4. The next 
circle, 46 inches in diameter, counts 3, called “ inners.” 
Shots in the target outside of the circles, count 2, 
called “outers.” 
USsiIryisag'.—A work on Ameri¬ 
can Dairying by L. B. Arnold, Secretary of the American 
Dairymen’s Association, has been published by the Rural 
Home Company. As might have been expected from 
the reputation of the author, this book treats of the 
dairy business in a very practical and plain manner. If 
the author had omitted the chapter in which lie advances 
some questionable theories of the “ Animal odor ” of 
milk and some curious speculations about the relation 
of “germs” to milk, the book would have been unob¬ 
jectionable. This, however, is the only portion of the 
book that is not of practical utility to an American dairy¬ 
man or woman. Sent from this office by mail for §1.50. 
Arlifilcisal Mother.—“ F. R. Q.,” White 
Plains, N. Y. The artificial mother for young chickens 
described in the American Agriculturist for August is 
not, so far as we know', made for sale. It is so simple in 
construction that any one wdio can use carpenter's tools 
should be able to make one. Any worker in tin plate 
can make the heater. 
Fine B8nlsaans.—Those who have seen only 
the common kinds of half-double Balsams,—or “Touch- 
me-nots,” as they used to be called—have no idea of the 
beauty of some of the improved strains. We thought we 
had seen quite perfect ones, but Mr. W. S. Allen, of 
Queens, L. I., recently showed us some that excelled any 
we had before seen. A white one, particularly, was very 
large, as full as the most double camellia, and of excel¬ 
lent substance, which makes it very useful for florists’ 
work. Mr. A., who cultivates these Balsams in large 
quantities for their seed, informs us that the finest, flow¬ 
ers so rarely produce seeds, that they are worth a cent 
a piece at wholesale. 
“Signal Service Ilnroiuctcf.”—“ C. 
W. G.” and several others, The article advertised un¬ 
der this name, is not a “ barometer” at all, nor is it any¬ 
thing of the kind used in the U. S. Signal Service. Ac¬ 
cording to the circular it is only the old storm-glass that 
has been around as long as we can recollect—and that is 
no brief period. Now that the thing has started upanew, 
we have made one, and if, after observing it a while, 
we think advisable, we will give directions, so that 
those who care to do so, may amuse themselves with it. 
TBae Wagon IBrake.— 
A committee appointed by the Elmira Farmers’ Club has 
tested the Markrud wagon brake, recently described in 
the American Agriculturistt, and has reported very favor¬ 
able concerning it. 
Coco or Niat-g'rass.—In response to our 
inquiry as to the methods of subduing this pest of the 
southern fields, “F. G. S.” writes from Robertson Co., 
Tex., that sowing the land with cow-peas, thickly for two 
years in succession, will both destroy the. “ coco,” and 
give a fine 'crop of cow-pea hay. This remedy is founded 
upon correct principles, and we do not doubt its success; 
crowding and smothering an objectionable plant by a use¬ 
ful one is one of the best methods of getting rid of weeds. 
A Cranberry 'Weed.—“ A. J. A.,” Black- 
stone, Mass., sends a specimen to be named, of a plant 
which proves quite troublesome in cranberry meadows. 
It is known as Swamp-Loosestrife, Swamp Willow-herb, 
and Slink-weed, the last name on account of its reputa¬ 
tion, in some parts of the country, as a cause of abortion 
in cattle. Its botanical name is Nescea verticillata , a 
shrub with willow-like leaves in the axils of which are 
clusters of rose-colored flowers ; the slender stems, 2 to 
8 feet long, curve over and take root at the tips, after the 
manner of a black-cap raspberry, and thus spread rapidly, 
completely occupying the soil to the exclusion of other 
plants. We should judge that frequent mowing would 
keep it in subjection. 
Screw Stump iPnllers.—“A. C.,” New 
Haven, Mo. A screw stump puller is made by Chamber¬ 
lin & Sons, of Olean, N. Y. 
Aergalleaa BPerar.—“ S.” writes from Hart¬ 
ford, Conn., that having a Vei-galieu or White Doyenne 
pear tree, upon which the fruit, as in most Eastern local¬ 
ities, became cracked and worthless, he grafted over the 
tree and changed it into Bartlett. By an oversight a 
shoot of the original Yergalieu, which, being small, was 
mistaken for a graft was left. In time this twig became 
a bearing branch, and now yields an annual crop of per¬ 
fect Vergalieu pears. Our correspondent thinks that this 
change for the better, on the part of this Vergalieu 
branch may be due to fertilizing its flowers with pollen 
from the healthy Bartletts. We regard'the change as due 
to the new vigor imparted to the old trunk through the 
influence of the healthy leaves of the Bartlett; that we 
need not look to the pollen as the cause is shown by the 
fact that many an old Vergalieu lias been restored by 
pruning and fertilizing, arid made to bear good fruit. 
WSaaBe ©si Sosap. — A Boston subscriber 
writes to know if this soap used upon vines will stain 
the faced brick walls. We have no experience meeting 
the case, but if the rains have free access to the walls 
wo think they would wash them clean. Whale oil soap 
is dirty stuff. Who can tell if it will be safe to use it ? 
Tlii*aasla San tSae Fcetf.—“ T. S. C.,” See- 
konk, Mass. The usual treatment for thrush is to pare 
away all the lose horn around the frog, and inject into 
the cracks a strong solution of chloride of zinc, washing 
out the diseased parts thoroughly. Then fill the crack 
with some tow, steeped in the solution to prevent dirt 
from entering the hoof. Where the heels have been cut 
away loo much, use a Goodenongh shoe. 
SBa’caScitag' tip si Meadow.—“B. Bros.,” 
Linn county, Mo. Meadows after a few years are apt to 
run to stools, unless some fresh seed is sown upon them 
every year and a top-dressing of some fertilizer, such as 
wood ashes, is given. When this has been neglected and 
the meadow is very “patchy,” it would be better to plow 
it up and re-seed it. If this is not convenient, we would 
harrow the ground well, and sow some fresh seed at once 
and give a dressing of wood ashes after the seeding. In 
the spring, when the ground is still soft, the meadow 
should be well rolled. A dressing of barn-yard manure 
—that from horses fed upon grain and hay is generally free 
from weeds—would be useful once in four or five years. 
Fotasli Salts for Wliea.4.—“ W. W,” 
Richmond Co., Va. Potash salts and all other very 
soluble fertilizers should either be used very early in 
the fall or in the spring. It would perhaps be safest to 
use half the quantity to be applied at once and the re¬ 
mainder in the spring. When the winter is mild and 
the crop is kept in a growing condition all the season, 
this rule is not intended to apply. 
Mow to Wliilewaslia a Poultry 
Mouse.—“S. J.,” Chatham Center, N. Y., writes, “my 
way of whitewashing a poultry-house is as follows: 
first make double the quantity required to do the work 
in the ordinary way; place the whitewash in a tub or 
barrel near your hen-house door, then apply the wash 
with a garden-engine or a hydropult, with a boy to assist, 
and the house can be done in fifteen minutes.” 
A Itecord of Grade Essex Pig's.— 
“ J. W. D.,” Jefferson Co., Iowa, sends the following ac¬ 
count of the feeding and growth of two litters of grade 
Essex pigs, by a neighbor, Mr. S. H. Brown. There were 
13 pigs experimented with, which came Oct. 28th, 1875. 
They had plenty of exercise, were fed upon corn and 
milk, had a comfortable place to sleep in, and plenty of 
dry bedding. April 18th, ’76, they weighed 2,090 lbs—in 
35 days from this time, until June 3d, they ate 49 bushels 
and 38 lbs. of corn, shelled and fed dry. (56 lbs. to the 
bushel,) and II buskel wheat bran; they also received 4 
gallons per day of skimmed milk. June 3d, when 7 mos. 
and 6 days old, their fasted live weight was 2,744 lbs., or 
an average of 211 lbs., showing a gain of 654 lbs. They 
were watered regularly throe times a day. The milk was 
fed morning and evening after the corn. The mothers 
of the pigs are medium sized, from a Magie sow and a 
Berkshire boar. The sire is a thorough-bred Essex. On 
June 3d, one of the heaviest weighed 234 lbs. 
Feeding- decayed Fruit sand Pota¬ 
toes.— “ G. O.,” Hamilton, N. Y. If partially rotted 
apples or potatoes are boiled, they may then be fed to 
pigs without injury ; but not otherwise without danger 
■-—• - 
Sundry Humbugs. 
“A reader” seems to think 
that we give more attention 
to the minor swindles than 
we do to the large ones, and 
we admit that we have in¬ 
tentionally done so. The 
small frauds which have for 
their object the fleecing of 
their victims of all the way 
from a post-stamp up to §1 
and §5 are much more 
numerous than those in 
which the game is played 
for larger sums, and in the 
aggregate these 5® cent 
and $1 humbugs fleece the 
community out of vastly 
more than do those in 
which. $100 and $1,000 are 
involved. These minor 
cheats appeal largely to 
young people,and to persons 
of small moans, to whom the loss of a dollar is of greater 
importance than the loss of the larger sums to those able 
to invest in them. If one has $100 ready cash to put into 
the hands of some curb-stone broker on Wall street, of 
whom he only knows through an advertisement, we d@ 
not feel a tithe the regret over his loss that we do over 
the farmer’s boy or clerk in the village store who sends 
his dollar for some kind of a watch chain “ which can 
not be distinguished from and will wear as good as 
gold.” The possession of large sums implies a certain 
amount of ability in making the money, or caution in 
saving it, which make us feel that they who have them 
should know better than to bo caught by sharpers, and 
feeling that such should less need our warnings, we have 
given more attention to the other class. Still there are 
cases in-which those who have several hundred dollars to 
expend in a legitimate way—not in speculation with a 
view to rapid money-making—who are liable to be de¬ 
frauded. An example of this is in the 
PURCHASE OP BOGUS TIANOS. 
Many a farmer or mechanic would gladly make his 
home pleasant by encouraging his children in a love for 
music, and many such have looked forward to the time 
when the money, perhaps the gradual accumulations of 
several years put aside for the purpose, could be invested 
in a piano. As he expects to buy but one piano in his 
lifetime, he intends it shall be a good one, and does not 
mind paying a good price for a good instrument. He 
has read about the different makers and what is said of 
their productions, and makes up his mind that he will 
have a Steinway, a Chickering, a Steck & Co., or a 
Decker & Bros., piano, each and all bearing a good repu¬ 
tation. If the intending purchaser goes to the nearest 
city and buys a piano as he would a barrel of flour, on 
the credit of the maker's name, it is 'about an even 
chance that he will get a bogus instrument, and one 
which, instead of lasting a lifetime, will be quite useless 
at the end of a year. A first-class piano is made with 
almost as much care as a ship is built, and the best mate¬ 
rials in every part are put together with the greatest care 
and skill. The making of bogus pianos is a large and 
profitable business, as only the poorest materials are 
used, and though they are highly finished on the exterior, 
they arc within a sham, and endure neither use nor at¬ 
mospheric changes. The purchaser may say that he 
bought it on the strength of the maker’s name, but a 
careful examination of the letters, often obscured by 
flourishes, will show that ho has a Steinmay instead of a 
Steinway ; a Chickring for a Chickering, and Stock & 
Co., or Becker cfc Bros, were hurriedly road as Steck & 
Co. or Decker & Bros. Frauds like these ftre frequently 
exposed in the courts of New York city, for the makers 
whose names are thus imitated, finding their business 
injured, are bringing the sellers of such bogus instru¬ 
ments into court. No doubt these imitation pianos are 
Fig. 1. 
