394r 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
[October, 
fall into tbe same fate. Thanks for the sketch of the 
gun fence, which is a common one in many localities. 
W ©ig’lits of various ISaisliels.—“S. 
H.,” Frazer River, B. C. The legal bushel is not the 
same in every locality, and varies according to law or 
custom. The most common measures are as follows: 
wheat and rye 60 pounds, corn 56, barley 48, buckwheat 
48 to 50, oats 32. potatoes and roots, 60, clover 60 to 64, 
peas 60, timothy grass 44, orchard grass 12 to 14, red-top 
12, blue-grass 14, lime and hard coal 80 pounds. The 
bushel in general use in the United States is the Eng¬ 
lish or Winchester bushel, which contains 2,150.40 cubic 
inches, or 77J- pounds of pure water at its greatest dens¬ 
ity, or 39 degrees. The Imperial bushel of England con¬ 
tains 80 pounds of water at 39 degrees, or 2,218.2 cubic 
inches, and is in use in the State of New York. 
English Consumption of Ameri¬ 
can Cotton. —It will surprise many persons who have 
supposed that the Southern States possess a secure 
monopoly of the English cotton market, to learn that 
American cotton is being rapidly supplanted in that coun¬ 
try by other kinds. In 1860, out of 2,633,590 bales of cot¬ 
ton used iu English factories, 2,241,590 bales were of 
American growth. In 1870, of 2,627,884 bales used, only 
911,741 were American cotton. In 1860 England used 
only 176,668 bales of East Indian cotton; in 1870 there 
were 95S,936 bales used, or more than were consumed of 
American product. The consumption of Brazilian cotton 
is now four times that of ten years ago, and 132,527 bales of 
West Indian cotton is now used, against only 6,384 bales 
ten years since. American cotton is no longer beyond 
the rivalry of East Indian cotton. But there are now in 
Georgia alone, over forty cotton factories, and others are 
building, and Georgia is a more profitable customer for 
Georgia cotton, than any foreign country can possibly be. 
American Berkshire Record. — 
The Secretary of the Berkshire Swine Association. A. M. 
Garland, Esq., Springfield, Ill., informs us that applica¬ 
tions for entry for the Second Volume of the Berkshire 
Record, will now be received. A circular containing sug¬ 
gestions and instructions, will be sent to applicants, also 
blanks for entries ; copies of the first volume can be had 
for $3 00, postage paid. The creditable and satisfactory 
character of the first volume of the Record, will be a 
sufficient guarantee for the future volumes. 
Sidc-Sliows at Fairs. —To our notion 
one of the great blemishes to State and County fairs has 
been the various shows and mountebank venders that 
have been allowed within the grounds. We have seen 
within the enclosure of the New England fair exhibi¬ 
tions that we regarded as perfectly disgraceful, and had 
supposed that these, and other violations of propriety, 
were due to weakness and good nature on the part of the 
managers. To our surprise we find that the Berks Co. 
(Pa.) Agricultural Society, in their announcement for 
this year’s fair, haie a direct appeal to “ Proprietors of 
Side-shows and Exhibitors of Natural Curiosities,” of¬ 
fering every inducement to such to engage space on 
their grounds. We mention this with regret, and only 
cite this particular society as the first that we have 
known to encourage “ side-shows.” It is bad enough to 
have “Fat Women,” “ Snake Charmers,” and “Double¬ 
headed Calves” outside the grounds, and we think that 
any society that can not hold successful fairs without 
catering to such things, had better omit them altogether. 
Watermelons in Virginia.— Water¬ 
melons have been a success in almost every locality, but 
one grew so large in Virginia, that Justice Crutchfield 
had to arrest its career at 120 pounds, and send it to a 
station for the attention of the policemen. It was as 
large as a flour-barrel, and according to the account “ It 
was a novel sight, though, to see three men eating off 
one slice, and to see another flaxen-haired policeman 
holding a piece between his legs like a bass-fiddle, and 
beginning at the top, trying to eat his way down. 
Toads and ’Tatcr Bugs.—“A. H. G.,” 
Sing Sing, N. Y., writes an account of his observations 
on the Colorado Beetle. What ho says of the agency of 
the larva of the Lady-bird as a destructive agent, is well 
known, and we have long ago published it. Besides this 
he states that the common toad consumes a large num¬ 
ber. He threw before the toad five beetles in succession, 
and each, as soon as the insect showed signs of life, was 
swallowed by the toad “ quicker than a wink.” We have 
always held the toad in great respect as an insect de¬ 
stroyer, and his fondness for the Colorado beetle in¬ 
creases our regard for it. 
T'lie Potato Bng Useful.— We are told 
that nothing that is, was made in vain. To be sure, 
there are many things of which utility is not their most 
conspicuous feature, and we have been some years in 
discovering that the Colorado beetle is useful as well as 
ornamental. We regard the so-called “Horse-nettle,” 
Solarium, Carolinense, as perhaps the worst of our agri¬ 
cultural weeds; though owu brother to the potato, 
it has been repeatedly stated that the Colorado beetle 
would not feed upon it We now have direct testimony 
from a correspondent in Fairfax Co., Virginia, that the 
beetles last year kept the plants so stripped of leaves 
that they matured no seed-balls, and came up much 
weaker this year. Who knows but after all the Dory- 
pliora may be a blessing in disguise. 
Weed Vamvd..—“ R. E. S.” The specimen 
sent is botanically Erectliites hieracifolia , and generally 
known as Fire-weed. It is one of the composite family, 
and springs up in great abundance in newly cleared land, 
especially if it has been recently burned over. It is very 
luxuriant where the soil is rich, growing higher than 
one’s head, and on poor soil only a foot high. Its seeds 
are provided with abundant moans of transportation by 
the winds, but it is not aggressive in cultivated grounds. 
Valentine & Co., Varnish Makers, 323 
Pearl St., New York, have adopted a novel method of 
making their products known. They issue a collection 
of a dozen or more silhouette engravings, of an excel¬ 
lence that will make them welcome to any household, 
with, of course, their card accompanying it. 
Variegated Grape Ijeaves.—“V. L.,” 
Palmyra, Wis., sends Concord grape leaves, which are 
quite ornamental, being yellowish with green veins. 
This is one of those variations, to which no satisfactory 
cause has been assigned, and is similar to that which in 
some plants is permanent, and gives them increased 
value as horticultural ornaments. We have seen other 
instances in our native grapes, and there is a variegated 
grape, of a species which has not edible fruit, that is per¬ 
manent, and cultivated for ornament. 
Rresslkfsast. Bucon. —“W. F. C.,” Mar’s 
Bluff, S. C. The bacon put up in strips, packed in can¬ 
vass and known as “ Breakfast Bacon,” is the belly pieces 
of the hog, which are left after the roasting pieces or 
the mess pork is cut off for packing, cured in the usual 
manner and smoked. The bacon is thin and streaked 
with lean and fat, and the best of it comes from the 
Berkshire pigs, which have deep sides, yielding a large 
proportion of bacon. When home cured the pickle 
should have four ounces of sugar to every pound of salt 
used, and the smoking should be done with hickory 
brush or corn cobs. 
Corn Muslis.—“ S. F.,” Glenlock, Pa. The 
yield of dry corn husks from an acre of ground will be 
very variable. We have not measured it, but should not 
estimate it at more than 200 lbs. at the most. The husks 
may be baled and shipped as they come from the corn 
husking machine; the cleanest and best husks of course 
will sell at the best price. 
Millt MiiTor.—“W. W. W.,” Ft. Madison, 
Iowa. The “Milk Mirror,” or “escutcheon” in cattle is 
that growth of hair upon the back and inside of the 
thighs which, instead of lying smoothly downwards, 
points upwards and makes several curls at the parts 
where the direction of the hair is changed. The shape 
and extent of this upward growth of hair has been sup¬ 
posed to denote a special aptitutc for producing milk. 
A book has been written on the subject entitled “ Gue¬ 
non on Milch Cows,” in which the author gives bis ob¬ 
servations and deductions. In male animals the milk 
mirror is held to denote hereditary tendency to transmit 
milking propensities to the produce. 
Sowing Steeped Seed. — “Reader,” 
Richmond, Va. It is not proper to steep the seed so 
much as to soften it. All that is necessary is to use 
enough liquid to reach the covering of every grain and 
destroy any adhering spores of smut or rust, or to im¬ 
merse the seed in the solution used only so long as will 
insure contact. If left for 24 hours before sowing the 
seed will be dry enough to sow with the drill. If it is 
made so wet as to adhere together, the seed should be 
sprinkled with dry lime, and may then be sown by hand. 
ESed Water in Cattle. —“ASubscriber,” 
Greenville, Miss. The disease which has for its most 
marked symptom a highly colored urine, from which it 
takes the common name of “red water,” is usually oc¬ 
casioned by derangement of the liver. This may be 
caused first by indigestion, as it is always accompanied 
by impaction of the manyplies or third stomach. It is 
also a marked symptom of what is known as Texan or 
Spanish fever, and is then also accompanied by impaction 
of the stomach. In this latter disease the liver and 
spleen are both extensively affected. The original cause 
may be an excess of food that is indigestible and un- 
nutritious or acrid and irritating. A cure is difficult. 
The first remedy is a saline purge administered with 
copious addition of tepid water, such as 12 to 16 ounces 
of Epsom salts with an ounce of ginger. This may be 
followed with an ounce of hyposulphite of soda, daily, 
in the morning, and one ounce of salt and one dram each 
of sulphate of iron, ginger, and saltpeter, given in the 
evening for a week or ten days. Copious and frequent 
drinks of linseed tea should be allowed. In giving med¬ 
icine to cattle, it should be poured slowly down the 
throat from a drenching horn or a tin vessel made in the 
shape of a cow’s horn, but much larger at the base. 
Dadd's American Cattle Doctor is a useful book for every 
one who keeps cattle, sheep, or pigs. The new edition, 
8vo., costs $2.50. 
CoanposItioBi ©i* tlae Banana and 
Sweet rotate. —Some recent analyses made by M. 
Corenwinder of the banana and sweet potato, have given 
the following results. Bananas, when green, contain a 
large proportion of starch, which, when ripe, becomes 
converted into cane sugar ; this latter in time is convert¬ 
ed to a considerable extent into glucose. The composi¬ 
tion of fresh and stale bananas are given as follows : 
Fresh. Kept for' 18 days. 
Cane Sugar . 
. 15.90 
2.84 
Glucose . 
. 5.90 
11.84 
Nitrogenous Matter. 
. 2.13 
2.14 
Cellulose, Pcctine, etc... 
. 2.58 
2.58 
Mineral Matter. 
. 1.02 
1.02 
99.98 
99.97 
The composition of two samples of sweet 
potatoes was 
as follows: 
No. 1. 
No. 2. 
Water. . 
.86.45 
69.10 
Sugar . 
. 3.05 
2.78 
Glucose . 
. .98 
.75 
Starch . 
) n +-r> 
14.72 
Cellulose, Pectose, etc. . 
r o.oo 
10.11 
Nitrogenous Matters. ... 
. .39 
1.20 
Mineral Matters . 
.55 
1.32 
99.98 
99.98 
Mstcli from. Eomg- 
Island. 
,—“S. M.,” 
Manor, L. I. A sample of muck from Lon; 
g Island con- 
sists largely of roots of grass and sedges, with partly 
decayed stems and leaves. This muck, or partly formed 
peat, would make an excellent absorbent in the stables, 
pens, or yards, and if mixed with fresh lime when first 
dug, would rot quickly and make a valuable fertilizer. 
Tlie Ilai'din System of Setting 
Milk. —“E. C. B.,” Newtown, Conn. For a small 
dairy of 10 cows we would choose the Ilardin plan of set¬ 
ting milk in preference to a dairy house and icehouse 
connected with it. The former would be much cheaper 
and more economical. So far the experience with the 
Hardin refrigerator has been highly satisfactory. 
A String ©£ Questions.—“ J. H. T.” 
All your questions about sheep are answered in “ The 
Shepherds Manual,” by H. Stewart, price $1.50. To learn 
all you want to know you had better study that book. 
As an addition to stable manure, wood ashes and plaster, 
being probably most available, would be best to restore 
run down land. To use up old straw stacks spread them 
thinly over the meadows or fall grain fields, or more 
thickly over stubbles, and plow it in in the spring. A 
leaky roof may be made tight by covering it with Johns’ 
roofing cement. 1 To fit up an ice house see the American 
Agriculturist for December, 1875. 
East 'S’eaamessee.— “J. B. C.,” Berlin, 
Wis. East Tennessee is a mountainous country and 
consequently much cut up into narrow valleys, rocky 
hills and table lands. The climate is healthful and the 
winters are shorter and milder than in Wisconsin. Like 
every other country it has its drawbacks and advantages, 
its variety of soil and its contented and discontented 
people. Land is cheap in places, but good farms, well 
located, are no cheaper than similar farms in Wisconsin. 
Wl»y not Grow more Barley ?— 
The successful growth of barley is only possible with 
good farming, just as large crops of roots need the best 
culture. To admit that one cannot grow barley is to 
admit himself a poor farmer. Our poor farming is then 
the reason why seven million (7,000,000) bushels of bar¬ 
ley are imported into the United States every year. Bar¬ 
ley is certainly a crop subject to much risk in marketing, 
but there is no better feed for horses; when ground it is 
excellent feed for cows producing rich milk; it is prob¬ 
ably the best food of all for poultry, and when barley 
meal is mixed with boiled potatoes and fed to pigs, it 
makes the very best flavored pork more rapidly than 
any other food we have used. With all these advantages 
why not grow more barley ? 
Butter linking. —“ H. T. R.,” Montgom¬ 
ery Co., Pa. Willard's “Butter Book,” price $1.00 and 
