4r74 
[December, 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
interested in sheep culture and wool production. It is an 
epitome of the history and characteristics of European 
sheep, of which the Merino occupies the largest portion. 
The English mutton breeds, with their foreign crosses, 
are described at length, and a description of some little 
known varieties is given in an interesting manner. The 
pamphlet is a contribution to the natural and economic 
history of the sheep, which is well worth study and pres¬ 
ervation for reference. 
Wheat Cri’owing in EniglsoBitl.—Eng¬ 
lish farmers are grumbling just now more than is usual 
with those proverbial grumblers. Wheat is only five 
shillings sterling a bushel, equal to $1.25, a price that 
makes its growth unprofitable. The remedy proposed is 
to lay down all those lands that are suitable to grass, and 
raise cattle. The point of interest, to American farmers 
is this, that at the present price of wheat there can be no 
profit ible competition by English farmers, and that the 
lowest possible price has been reached. If we can make 
wheat growing pay at the present prices, and English 
farmers can not, we have a decided and permanent advan¬ 
tage, and there can be but little danger of prices going 
any lower than they now are. The outlook now seems to 
be that prices are at the lowest, and there will be an in¬ 
creasing demand for our grain ; at the same time the cost 
of everything the farmer uses is lower than formally 
years. If we can then increase the yield of our crops, our 
position, fair as it now is, will be improved in an equal 
ratio, and this is a comforting reflection to the energetic 
and skillful farmer, who is the one to gain most from 
these circumstances. 
The Common Reed.— The flowering tops of 
the Reed, Phragmites communis, the tallestgrass of North¬ 
ern marshes, is now largely sold as an ornamental grass. 
If the spikes are cut very early, before the flowers open, 
they make very pretty and serviceable dusting brushes. 
Seed Potatoes.—F. Jackson, Henry Co., O., 
asks “ why not plant the whole seed of potatoes as well 
as other vegetables?”—What we call "seed” of the 
potato is not a proper seed, but a stem. We only raise 
potatoes from seed when we sow the contents of the seed- 
ball ; in the ordinary way we really grow potatoes from 
cuttings, and not from seed. That, as our correspondent 
suggests, the continued planting of small potatoes will in 
time injure the variety, we do not doubt, but as to cut¬ 
ting the “ seed,” if an eye has a sufficiently large piece of 
the tuber to sustain the shoot until it forms roots and can 
maintain itself, it is as well as if it had the whole potato. 
fjirass leagued.—“ F. O. H.,” Florence, 
Miss. The Hedge-hog or Bur-grass, Cenchrus tribuloides , 
common in sandy soil from the great lakes to Mexico, and 
a real nuisance. Travelers who camp out., do not find 
it adds to their comfort when it attaches itself—as it is 
very sure to do—to their blankets. 
To Make a Small Compost Heap. 
—“J. H. C., Jr.,” Cincinnati. With one cow or horse 
the best way to make compost would be to arrange the 
stable with a floor sloping slightly backwards ; one inch 
in six feet will do. Then have a gutter at the lower end 
of the stall, and keep that filled with dry earth, sods, 
swamp muck, leaves, or whatever similar stuff can be 
gathered. Clean this out each day with the droppings 
and keep it in a pit two or three feet deep, lined with 
plank or bricks, or if the bottom is of clay, beaten hard, 
that will answer the purpose. Then all the waste of the 
house may be thrown into the pit, and if any small arises, 
throw on some garden earth or a pailful of water in which 
half a pound of copperas (sulphate of iron) has been dis¬ 
solved. It will be well to dust the gutter with raw 
ground plaster every day. When the pit is full a pile 
may be made over it. 
Rosemlale Cement.—“ J. W. O.,” Pa¬ 
lestine, Texas. When cement, or hydraulic lime, has 
been exposed to the air and has absorbed moisture, it 
can only be renovated by another calcination and grind¬ 
ing. It is of no value whatever as a fertilizer. 
Broken in A la imill<§.—A valuable 
Jersey cow in Kentucky, recently received a compound 
fracture of one of the hind legs, and was treated as fol¬ 
lows, with complete success. The cow was laid down 
upon its side, with the injured leg extended. The broken 
bones were properly placed, and a piece of canton flannel, 
cut to fit the limb, was wetted and applied. A bandage 
~'A inches wide, (this should be previously made into a 
roll, with the ends of the strips sown together), soaked 
with water, was then wrapped smoothly from the foot 
upwards upon the leg, some distance above the fracture. 
This was coated with freshly mixed Plaster of Paris 
(calcined plaster) and water, and six other bandages 
and alternate coatings were applied, until the leg was 
inclosed in an immovable envelope as the plaster be¬ 
came set. The cow was kept down until the plaster was 
hard, when she arose and required no further attention 
until the bone was properly united. This method of 
curing fractured limbs has long been in use in hospitals, 
and the surgeon who applied it in this case does not 
probably claim it as his discovery, as is attributed to him. 
We have mended broken legs of fowls, sheep, and calves 
in a similar way, using common paper, saturated in ordi¬ 
nary starch as prepared for the laundry, over the cloth 
bandage, and covering it with strips as above. Sufficient 
layers of brown paper should be used, to give a stiff, 
firm support to the limb. Newspapers will answer as 
well as brown paper. When the paper is dry it is as firm 
as a board. If small animals may be thus treated, larger 
ones may be also, if careful precautions are used. 
giteJirEaSaag' tFooul for is*Joel*.—“ W. L. 
II.,” Elizabethtown, Ky. A method of steaming food for 
stock, with illustrations, was given in the American 
Agriculturist for January, 1873. A pamphlet descriptive 
of the process, and giving the experience of several per¬ 
sons who have practiced it, is published by the Orange 
Judd Co., and is sold for 20 cents, sent post-paid. Those 
who wish to feed their stock in this way, will find many 
valuable suggestions in that little work. 
TSic New .¥ersey CrankciTy <JjJs-ow- 
ers’ Association.—The importance of the Cranberry 
in New Jersey, is shown by there being a sufficient, num¬ 
ber engaged in its culture, to form a large association for 
mutual improvement and cooperation. The Society held 
its semi-annual meeting, on Sept. 5th, at the “ N. J. 
Head-quarters,” on the Centennial Grounds. There was 
a large attendance, and though some who had nothing to 
say, would persist in talking, the meeting as a whole was 
interesting. The committee on “ Foreign Trade ” re¬ 
ported favorable prospects, and the company recently 
organized for canning the fruit, have made encouraging 
sales in England and France. The “ scald,” a disease as 
mysterious and as mischievous as the blight in pear cul¬ 
ture, was discussed sufficiently to show that no one knew 
anything about it. 
Some Cfcniesfioms from Iowa.—“ J. F. 
R.,” Polk Co., Iowa. A Thomas harrow can be used on 
young corn or any other crop, until it is 8 inches high, 
without injury to the young plants, or danger of pulling 
up sods or whatever is plowed under. Corn should bo 
plowed or cultivated as many times as may be needed to 
free the ground from weeds. If the soil is clear of weeds, 
it should be cultivated sufficiently to keep it mellow 
and loose. When a horse can no longer pass through the 
rows, then cultivation may be stopped. It costs nothing 
to cultivate corn if there are horses in the stable and the 
farmer is otherwise idle. Under these circumstances it 
is folly to charge the corn crop $5 a day for cultivating it 
and call it lost money ...Using a large boar with a 
small sow, will cause no difficulty in the birth of the pigs. 
There is a popular but an erroneous opinion to the con¬ 
trary. In choosing a male breeding animal, large ani¬ 
mals that are coarse, bony, and ungainly, should be re¬ 
jected, but not fine-boned, well-proportioned ones — 
Rattle-snakes are the only poisonous snakes in Iowa_ 
Rye-straw makes the best bands for corn shocks. 
Weeds Named.—“ R. L. C.Omro, Wis. 
No. 1, which you say is called “ Stick-fast,” “ Beggar’s 
Lice," and “Pitch-forks,” are the one-seeded fruits or 
akenes, (usually mistaken for seeds), of Bidens frondosa, 
a common weed at the East as well as the West, and be¬ 
sides the names you give it, is also called “Bur-Mari¬ 
gold.”—We do not recollect to have seen the name 
“Pitch-forks ” before, but it was no doubt suggested by 
the two awns or prongs, by riieans of which the fruits at¬ 
tach themselves so affectionately to ones clothing-No. 
2, for which you have no name, is the “ Indian Mallow ” 
or “ Velvet-leaf,” Abulilon Avicennce, a naturalized for¬ 
eigner, but now very widely distributed. In the rich 
lands of Illinois and other Western States, it grows taller 
than a man, branches widely, and produces a great abun¬ 
dance of seed. Your specimen had nearly ripe seed, 
which shows that the crop for next year is provided for. 
—“R. M. W.,” Buffalo, W. Va. The plant which you 
send and describe as over-running your neighborhood 
is the Thorny Amaranth, Amarantus spinosits. It is a 
very unpleasant weed, hut being an annual, there is but 
little difficulty in keeping it in subjection. 
IProf. Cwlover’s IIIsasjrnfsons of In- 
sects.— Prof. Glover, of the Department of Agriculture, 
has been engaged for many years in accumulating infor¬ 
mation concerning Insects, and making most exquisite 
copper-plate engravings of them. Despairing of ever 
having his work published by the Government, and fear¬ 
ing that some accident might destroy the labor of years, 
Prof. Glover, a few years ago, commenced the publication 
of his notes, taking an order of insects at a time. We 
have now before us the volume on the Hemiptera, or 
“ Plant Bugs,” which contains 10 large plates crowded 
with engravings of insects, all drawn and engraved by the 
author. The text is also in the author’s hand writing, it 
being written upon lithographic paper and transferred to 
the stones, from which it was printed, a method adopted 
as cheaper than type for a small edition. An edition of 
only 50 or GO copies was printed, which are produced at 
the author’s own expense, and are distributed by him to 
various Scientific Societies and Agricultural Colleges. 
The work, like its predecessors, is a wonderful illustra¬ 
tion of what may be done by well directed industry, and 
the author a remarkable example of unselfish devotion 
to science. Under some governments the author would 
be rewarded by a pension ; under ours, he can hope for 
no pecuniary compensation, but we trust that his labors 
in behalf of the agriculturist may he held in grateful re¬ 
membrance by those for whose good he has worked so 
long and so faithfully. 
Red Wafer isa BSog-s.—“ T. G.,” Kittrells, 
N. C. The dark colored urine noticed in diseased ani¬ 
mals, hogs included, may be caused by inflammation of 
the kidneys, or the bladder; or by disorganization of the 
blood in bilious or typhoid diseases, or in consequence 
of the animal eating irritating substances, as poisonous 
fungi, smutted corn, etc. The actual cause can on/y be 
ascertained by post-mortem examination, and this should 
be made in all cases of obscure diseases, that measures 
may be taken to cure or prevent the same trouble in the 
survivors. If the disease is in the liver, the 15 grains of 
calomel suggested might be of use. 
I Bisect for Name.— H. A. Berry, 111. The 
insect is the Pigeon Tremex, Tremex Columba, and is 
sometimes called Wood Wasp. The strong point which 
projects from under the belly is not, as many suppose, a 
sting, but is a complicated and powerful borer, of several 
parts; the females only have this, and use it to pierce 
holes in the trunks of trees, in which they deposit their 
eggs. They prefer the elm, buttonwood, and pear, and 
bore holes half an inch or more deep; sometimes the in¬ 
sect is unable to withdraw the borer, and is held fast un¬ 
til it perishes. The grubs live upon the wood of the 
trees, and are, like other borers, injurious; they are not 
very numerous, and the grubs are often destroyed by the 
ichneumon flies, which deposit their eggs in the grubs, 
and the maggot of the ichneumon fly feeds on and finally 
destroys the Tremex grub. 
Horticulinral Elxliibitinn in IBol- 
land. —An International Exhibition will be held at Am¬ 
sterdam in 1877, opening probably in April. The Pro¬ 
gramme of Exhibits, which is very systematic and com¬ 
prehensive, may be obtained from the Secretary Gen¬ 
eral, H. Groenewegen, 5 Octewalerweg, Amsterdam. 
Feeding- Apples.—“P.,” Franklin Co., 
Mass. Apples are very healthful and agreeable food for 
stock of all kinds, and rather than sell them for a few 
cents a bushel, we would feed them. They may be kept 
by pitting them, as is done with potatoes, and covering 
with straw and earth. If put in small pits, one maybe 
opened and used at a time. We would rather feed them 
separately than boil them with roots or corn, ns then 
they will help the appetite for other food. A peck a day 
would be a moderate quantity to feed one cow or pig. 
When feeding pumpkins and potatoes boiled, we would 
give some corn whole and dry. Some dry feed makes 
more solid pork than when all the food is cooked. 
Excrescence on the Shin of n Heif¬ 
er.— “ J. J. II.,” Marietta, Ga. It would be wise to deal 
carefully with an excrescence beneath the belly of a 
heifer. It may possibly be a rupture of the abdominal 
sac. If only a growth upon the skin, it may be removed 
with the knife by a surgeon, but if it is soft, and can be 
forced backward into the abdomen, it should be treated 
by a competent person, or the animal may be sacrificed. 
Preparation for Coloring' Buffer. 
—“ J. F.” For coloring butter in repacking it, the liquid 
preparation of annotto will not answer the purpose de¬ 
sired. A preparation for this purpose is made by rub¬ 
bing up a small quantity of annoto, which may be pro¬ 
cured of the druggists in the form of paste, in melted 
butter, until a smooth even colored mixture is made. 
This is added to the butter to be repacked in only such a 
small quantity as may be required—one ounce to six or 
ten pounds, according to the paleness of the butter, and 
is evenly worked in with the butter worker. If lard, tur¬ 
meric, or salts of tartar, are used, as proposed, the flavor 
of the butter will bo injured, unless the butter is so bad 
that these are really an improvement to it. The methods 
in use of flavoring and improving poor butter for repack¬ 
ing, are not given in any book on butter-making, as this 
process is not dairying in any sense. If the dairying 
were done properly, this process would not be needed. 
