1864 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
333 
river banks, and wishes to know what to plant to pre¬ 
vent it. We should be disposed to try the Osier Willow 
as promising better than any other plant, but this is not 
a perfect remedy, and it is difficult to find anything that is. 
A “Seedling ” Lombardy Poplar. 
—T. C. Martindale, Philadelphia Co., Pa., sends us a 
ieat of what appears to be a Lombardy Poplar, it is 
from a young plant, which he supposes to be a seedling. 
There are no known pistillate or fruiting trees in the 
country, and as the plant was at least 200 yards from any 
other tree, it could hardly have been a sucker. He asks 
us to explain the phenomenon of its occurrence. We 
should say, boys. Youngsters are fond of using poplar 
twigs to play with, to make whistles, etc., and very prob¬ 
ably tins young tree grew from a bit stuck in the ground 
by some boy at play ; they grow with the greatest ease. 
Where Bid it Come From?— A. Ely, 
Lancaster Co., Pa., writes that some furrows were turn¬ 
ed on a road side, which had not been broken for 10 or 
12 years, and that a fine crop of mullein grew on the 
upturned soil. As this happened in a locality where 
there is no mullein, he asks where the seed came from. 
It is simply an illustration of the fact that seeds will lie 
in the ground for>ji long time when buried below the in¬ 
fluences which favor germination. There is a well au¬ 
thenticated case recorded in which seeds that had 
probably been buried sixteen or seventeen hundred years, 
germinated and produced plants. 
Stud Success with Chicory.— Mr. G. 
W. Thompson, of Essex county, N. J., complains that 
his chicory, sow'ed in good ground, blossomed the first 
year and failed to form roots of any value. The chicory 
should not bloom the fii st year. It often happens, from 
some unexplained cause, that biennial plants will become 
annuals, and it is not rare to see in a field of carrots a 
plant here and there with this precocious tendency. That 
seeds Com these annual specimens inherit this peculi¬ 
arity is shown by the fact that the seeds from the chicory 
which blossomed the first year, produced plants wrnch did 
the same. The only remedy is to change the seed. Doubt¬ 
less breaking off the flower stalks on their first appear¬ 
ance would incline the plant to the formatipn of root. 
Baising Ca1>l»age Seed.— W. T. Keaton, 
Shelby Co., Ind., plants his cabbages out in the spring, 
and then cuts away all the head but the central stalk, 
which he leaves about the size of a man’s arm, and 
claims that' besides saving a part of the cabbage, he gets 
more and better seed than if the whole cabbage is left, 
and avoids trouble from the rotting of the head. It may 
be well to remove a part of the head if there is dan¬ 
ger of rotting, but we should prefer to always leave as 
much as possible of the head to nourish the seed stalk. 
Tlie Prairie Seedling' Potato.—F.H., 
Greensburgh, 0., says that he planted three Prairie 
Seedlings, and gathered only nine potatoes ; while three 
White Peach Blows, with the same treatment, yielded a 
full half bushel; he asks if the Prairie is not a humbug. 
It has proved near New York an excellent cropper, of 
fine quality. For experiments on size of seed see page 336. 
Peanuts iai Illinois.— T. W. Worley, of 
Union Co., Ill., states that from 70 hills, with 3 peas in 
each, the hills 3 feet apart each way, he gathered 36 
quarts of peanuts. This is equal to'about 70 bushels to 
the acre, and it is probable that the yield would have 
been larger had the planting been done as described on 
page 341. Mr. W.’s experience is contrary to that of the 
writer in the article alluded to, for he finds that they must 
be dug in a few days after frost or they will decay. 
Concrete or Gravel Wall.—“H.,” 
Bristol, Ind. Good clean gravel, which you say abounds 
with you, (screened or washed if it is not clean) will do 
very well for concrete wall, only it requires more ce¬ 
ment mortar. The use of wooden blocks, instead of 
stones, is a new idea, and probably not objectionable. 
Straw Protection for Beehives.— 
Take a few bundles of straw, open, sprinkle, and turn 
them. When so moist, that they will not break in hand¬ 
ling, grasp a handful by the buts and draw it out; take 
the heads in the other hand, and drop the buts ; a lit¬ 
tle shake will separate all the short and broken straws, 
leaving only straight and long ones in the handful. Pro¬ 
ceed in this way until you have a good bundle of long 
straw. Put a tight band about it very close to the heads. 
Twist some yards of rope from the broken straw. Now 
open the bundle and put it over the hive, spreading 
it evenly on all sides, and passing the rope tightly 
twice or thrice about it just above the fly hole. Then, 
with a knife or shears trim off the straws in a neat arc 
close around the hole, which should be so closed that only 
one or two bees can pass at a time. Ventilation ought 
to be provided before the straw is put on, and this is easi¬ 
ly done in hives where the honey boxes are on the top, 
by taking them out and either leaving the holes open, or 
better, laying a bit of wire gauze over the holes. Thus 
protected, only very weak stocks fail to winter well, 
and such you can not depend upon either to live or die. 
Bride Cistern.— “ S. F. F., ” Havre de 
Grace, Md. Rectangular cisterns of brick of the form 
you propose are much weaker, and more likely to bulge 
and leak than cylindrical ones. If .the cistern is to be 
above ground, build it of wood; if itis to be below the 
surface of the ground, save the cellar room, and put 
it in the open ground. The easiest way, if the ground is 
firm, is to dig out a true cylindrical hole say 8 feet in 
diameter, strengthening the rims with a sort of grouting 
of stones, and laying a plank top. It is better to have 
the cistern arched as a dome, with only a “man hole” 
left at the top. Such a dome has to be laid upon a sup¬ 
port of some kind, which can be subsequently removed. 
This is easily made of boards and sticks covered with 
gravel and clay, smoothed over and formed like a true 
dome. The cement and grouting is laid upon this 4 or 5 
inches thick, and afterwards the support is taken away. 
The top ought to be 18 inches below the top of the 
ground, and the man-hole is best covered with a stone. 
Angle Worm* in a Well.— “C. P.,” 
Mishawaka, Ind., is troubled by angle worms in his well. 
A tight curb to keep them from getting in from the surface, 
and plastering over the wall for about six feet, downward 
from the surface will probably prevent their entrance. 
A Convenient Barn Cistern.— James 
W. Fuller, of Lehigh Co., Pa., has recently constructed 
a barn with cistern attached; the cistern is situated at 
the rear of aside-hill bam, the wall forming one side of 
the cistern. A lead pipe placed a few feet under ground 
ponnects the bottom of the cistern with the feed-trough 
in the barn and the trough in the yard. Water can thus 
be drawn in large or small quantities without trouble 
or waste of time, and if properly arranged and having 
a waste cock, it is perfectly protected from frost. 
What to I>o with the Ulnch.— Timo¬ 
thy Hoyt, Cumberland Co., N. J., writes : “ Upon this 
tract is an old saw-mill pond, covering nearly 100 acres, 
which was in use more than one hundred years, but now 
is empty, in which is a vast quantity of muck. My neigh¬ 
bors wish me to write to the American Agriculturist, and 
inquire of its readers the best method of preparing this 
muck for use as a fertilizer. ” There are many ways of 
composting muck. Several have been discussed by the 
editors in past numbers of the Agriculturist, and it 
would be as gratifying to us as to our correspondent, to 
receive the practical notions of those who have had 
large experience.—Our favorite method is to throw the 
muck into alarge heap, sprinkling slaked lime or unleach¬ 
ed ashes all through it. Then, after lying a while, mix it 
in large quantities with stable or yard manure, or satur¬ 
ate it with manure liquid. So much of the heap as can 
not be composted with manure may be applied to the soil. 
Dwarf Broom Corn Seed. — Several 
subscribers ask where they can get seed of this highly 
praised variety. Those who have it should preserve it in 
good order, and communicate with some good seedsmen 
in regard to prices, before they feed it to chickens 
There will be considerable call for it before spring. 
To Sim day School Superintendents 
and Teachers. —The Editor of the Agriculturist has 
for several years had in preparation a series of four 
Question Books and Lessons, the plan of which origi¬ 
nated from his own experience in the Sunday School. 
That they meet the wants of others, seems evident from 
the fact that the first number, which came into use only 
last year, has already been called for to the number of 
over a hundred thousand copies, from all denominations 
of Christians, though in competition with a multitude of 
other S. S. Question Books. The plan of the work is 
to furnish, in each volume, a series of 52 lessons (one 
for every Sunday in the year), consisting of about seven 
verses each, with suitable suggestions, questions, an¬ 
swers, references, etc., calculated not only to draw out 
the minds of the teachers and scholars, but also to supply 
the place of Commentaries and Reference Books, which 
are not accessible to the great majority of teachers. A 
special feature is the selection and arrangement of the 
lessons in order of time, so that with the accompanying 
outline history, they give a connected epitome of the 
whole Bible. No. 1 contains'52 lessons from the four 
Gospels and Acts, giving a connected view of the history 
from the birth of Christ to the end of the Acts of the 
Apostles. No. 2 contains 52 lessons taken from the whole 
New Testament, thus bringing the whole New Testa¬ 
ment history together, with an analysis of the several 
Epistles, their object, time of writing, etc. Most of these 
lessons are taken from the second half of the New Tes¬ 
tament. Nos. 3 and 4 present a panoramic view of the 
entire Old Testament history, from Adam to Christ, em 
bracing 104 lessons, taken from the Historical Books, 
Prophets, and Psalms, all arranged in order of time, with 
a running connected history, which brings all the more 
interesting events of the Old Testament naturally to¬ 
gether in the order of their occurrence. No. 3 extends 
from Adam to Elijah ; No. 4 from Elijah to Christ. No. 
3 will be ready early in December. The copyright to 
these books was given to others who could better publish 
them, but a special edition of each book is prepared for 
the Agriculturist Office. Price of each series, $1.50 
per dozen ; $12 per 100 copies ; single copies 15 cents. If 
sent by mail, the prepaid postage requires 4 cents extra 
on each book, or 3 cents each in packages of ten or 
more. J^^Single copies for examination will be sent 
postpaid for 18 cents each; or three copies for 50 cent's. 
Blowing- too deep tor Corn,— This 
happens when much of the cold subsoil is brought up. 
When corn is planted on this, it germinates slowly, and 
afterwards grows slowly. It is better to invert the sod 
in the usual way, and then follow in the furrow with a 
regular subsoil plow to deepen and loosen the soil below, 
but not bring it to the surface. If only an inch or so of 
subsoil be brought up, and then harrowed fine,mixing in 
manure, before planting or sowing, no harm will be done. 
“ What is a Compost, ?”—This name 
is properly applied to any manure made by mixing var¬ 
ious substances of fertilizing value, so that by their action 
upon one another, or by the effect of the mixture, their 
joint value is enhanced. Thus, when we rtiix a bushel or 
two of lime slacked with brine, or of ashes, with a load 
of muck, the result is a compost worth more to the soil 
than both applied separately. So when we take bone 
dust, hen manure and leached ashes or plaster, in judi¬ 
cious proportions, we make a compost which is good for 
manuring corn in the hill, for a top-dressing for grass, 
etc., and so composed or “ composted ” as to be more 
conveniently handled, and worth more than if separate. 
“ Compost” does not mean anything in particular, but all 
compound manures in general which farmers make. 
Compost the Corn “Stwbhle.”— J. 
F. W., of Baltimore Co., Md. advocates the clearing of 
cornfields of stubs in the autumn, and mixing them with 
the dung in the barn-yard where the cattle tread and 
work them up during the winter. A better plan is to 
compost them with lime or ashes, or some manure in ac¬ 
tive fermentation. There is no doubt about the value. 
Kerosene Oil for Lice on Fowls.— 
Charles Arnold, of Cumberland Co. N. Y., says that be¬ 
fore he was aware of it his fowls were covered with lice. 
Taking a small swab he applied a little kerosene under 
their wings, and has noticed none of the vermin since 
Vinegar from Cider.— C. H. Wheeler and 
others. The two conditions for the conversion of cider 
or other fruit juices, into vinegar, are a temperature va 
rying from 72° to 100°, and free access of air to the liquid. 
Both these are generally disregarded. The proper tem¬ 
perature is easily managed : free contact with air can be 
in a measure secured by frequently transferring the liquid 
from one cask to another. The addition of some “ moth - 
er,” as the plant which lives in vinegar is called, or some 
old vinegar, hastens the operation. In vinegar factories 
the liquid is allowed to trickle down slowly through a tall 
cask filled with beech-wood shavings, a provision being 
made for a current of air, from near the bottom of the 
cask, to pass up through it and come in contact with the 
liquid, which being spread over the shavings exposes a 
great surface, and the change into vinegar is very rapid. 
Steeping Sweet Potatoes. —A. W. Cur¬ 
tis, Green County, Wis. A warm, dry place is neces¬ 
sary. It will not.do to expose them to frost or any where 
near it. Set the barrels in a warm cellar, upon timbers 
or something to raise them from the cellar bottom. They 
need no special provision for ventilation. Dry cut straw 
has been found to answer perfectly as a packing material. 
Ulolasses Gingerbread.— Soda or Salera- 
tus ought never to be used in food, except to correct 
acidity, unless some acid be added to neutralize the 
alkali. Whenever they are properly used, the carbonic 
acid gas which they contain is given off in the dough or 
batter, and puffs it up. On this depends our ability to 
raise gingerbread with molasses, which contains a con¬ 
siderable quantity of acid. This acid combines with 
the soda or saleratus, and sets at liberty the carbonic acid 
which expands all through the batter and makes it light. 
Much sugar or molasses prevents the action of yeast. 
