1.40 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
Native Grapes. — Rev. David Mills, of Pa., has 
narren grape vines, and wants to know the cause, and 
w hat to do w ith them The cause is probably that they 
are poor, worthies?, w ild grapes. We never yet saw a 
native, taken from the woods, that was worth cultivating. 
The remedy is to get Isabellas, Catawbas, Dianas, or the 
Concord, and plant in the place of these wild grapes. 
With these old vines, he will lose his time and labor. 
Kohl Rabi.- To Charles Pulsifer, of Christian 
county, Ill. This is a turnip-rooted cabbage , or, more 
properly, a turnip growing out of ground, seemingly upon 
a cabbage stump. It is sometimes called German turnip. 
Sow and cultivate as ordinary turnips, cooking and serv. 
mg m the same manner. 
Martynia.— A Western correspondent asks what it 
is. w hen to plant, and for what purpose raised. There are 
several varieties, which, from the peculiar form of the 
seed-vessels, are sometimes called Unicorn or Proboscis 
plants. They are handsome annuals—usually assigned a 
place m the flower-garden, although one variety, in addi¬ 
tion to a line bloom, is often cultivated for its capsules, 
v liich make an excellent pickle when green. Sow on a 
w arm border, in the early part of May. It may be planted 
on the first of June, however. 
Brussels Sprouts.— A subscriber in Janesville, 
Wis..who, from the cold and backward season, suggests 
that we prepare for Winter, asks what he shall do with 
his sprouts, now growing in a hot bed. If Winter is really 
coining out there, he better leave them in the hot-bed ; but 
ji appearances are fallacious, and Spring actually arrives 
with this number, let him plant out his sprouts and treat 
them as cabbages until Autumn. Except at the South, or 
in sheltered situations, they should be taken tip upon the 
approach of heavy frosts, set in trenches, and buried to 
their lower leaves, covering the heads with straw or ev¬ 
ergreen brush. The small heads may be cut at any time 
during the Winter, and the old stumps set out in the 
Spring for another year. They will continue to grow for 
two or three years 
Ants Among' Flowers.—J. G. H., of Brooklyn. 
Pour hot water upon their “ nest mounds,” and paths in 
which they have burrowed. If water would injure plants, 
dust black pepper, Scotch snuff, or guano, upon the sur¬ 
face, each of which is offensive to ants. 
I.ice on ESose HEiisSiU'S.—The whale oil soap, re¬ 
ferred to on another page, is a good specific. Our corre¬ 
spondent will find it better than “snuff.” 
Pear Tree Mattasisr.— G. M. asks if the matting 
on tea chests will -answer to protect the trunks of pear 
trees. It will. It is not necessary to bind the covering 
closely around the tree, the chief object being to protect 
the trunk from our hot Summer sun. 
Flower Gardening EEooks.—F. A. Bowen of 
Winebago County, Ill., asks for the best works on the 
Flower Garden. Buist’s “ Flower Garden Directory,” 
price $1 25 ; and Breck’s “ Flower Garden,” price $1, are 
both good works. There is a small book, “ Every Lady 
Her Own Flower Gardener,” price 25 cents. Value, as 
compared with first-named, about proportional to the 
price. 
The Osage Orange.— We have conflicting ac¬ 
counts of this plant for hedges. With some it does very 
well; with others it is pronounced worthless. A recent 
letter from the West speaks of a large portion of those 
planted in the vicinity as failures. 
Preparing and Sowing the Seed. —A correspondent 
sends us the following: “Perhaps as good a way, and 
by many preferred, particularly at the North, is to pro¬ 
cure the seed in the Fall, and mix with moist sand, put 
them in the coldest place you have, as on the north side 
of a house, where they will freeze thoroughly during the 
Winter, and plant in the Spring. If the seed be procured 
in the Spring, the planting may be deferred until the ground 
becomes warm. In the latitude of New-England any 
tune during the month of May will answer. In order to 
have the seed vegetate quickly, it should be put to soak in 
soft warm water, and allowed to remain three, four, or 
five days, (even ten days,) or until they are very much 
swollen, and the germ begins to appear. Keep the water 
constantly warm by allowing the vesselto stand in a warm 
place covered with a cloth, and change the water daily to 
avoid fermentation ; mix with a little dry earth or sand 
when you get ready to plant. The ground for the nur¬ 
sery should he a rich sandy loam, deeply plowed and fine¬ 
ly pulverized. If you have none such, supply the defi 
ciency by hauling sand or wood mold on to the best and 
richest spot of land you have, and mix thoroughly with the 
soil. Proceed to lay it out in drills 18 inches apart, and drop 
the seeds at intervals of one half inch in the row ; cover 
with fine earth a few inches deep. Be sure to pat well 
the ground above, so as to press the earth tightly around 
the seed.” 
Sleep Plowing.— J- J. R, of Louisville, Ky. Good 
hints. — received too late for discussion in this number. 
ECing Philip Corn Wanted.— A. Fowler, of 
Farnumvilie, Mass., inquires where a half bushel can be 
purchased. We know of none for sale. If any one has it 
to part with, it should be advertised immediately, in the 
daily and weekly papers, stating prices, &c., as a great 
number of persons wish it in quantity, for late planting, 
and for replanting. It will be rather late to wait until our 
July number, though we will gladly depart from our usual 
custom, and announce, without charge, the names of any 
persons having any to part with. The older varieties may 
yet be planted, however. 
Prairie Fences. —M. Joslyn, of Cedar county, 
Iowa, makes several important inquiries on this topic, 
which we must take time to consider. We shall have an 
eve to this, ihe present season, as we intend spending 
considerable time on our great Mississippi Valley farm, 
embracing Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and the other Western 
States. 
Potato Planting".—E. T. says, put them on the 
top of the ground, and cover with leaves, and they will 
notrot. Where shall we get leaves for a ten acre field? 
Fotatoes—More Wanted. —So says D. P. of 
"New-Jersey, and so say we. We paid $2 a bushel for 
some fair table potatoes, last week. At such prices, they 
would pay, if two-thirds of the crop rotted. 
A Cltance for Uratai Tile Makers.—Mr. 
Joshua Meek, of Greenfield, Hancock county, Ind., some 
time since wrote, desiring particular information m re¬ 
gard to making drain tile ; and that a person understand¬ 
ing their manufacture, would find an excellent opening 
there. We have not yet been able to find any one to meet 
the want. If this note does not call a reply from some 
practical man, we advise the farmers of Greenfield to en¬ 
courage an experienced brick maker to visit Albany, 
Waterloo and Geneva, N. Y., and study the modes there 
pursued in tile making. 
Tire Chess Question.— An avalanche of ques¬ 
tions, notes, opinions and dissertations have been re¬ 
ceived. We were tired of the question, years ago. Our 
doctrine and belief is, that chess will produce chess, and 
that nothing else will. The seed will lie dormant in the 
ground for years, and when the conditions are all right, it 
will spring up abundantly—ten to one, just where you 
least expected it. 
Tees water Sheep.— “ Earnest Farmer ” will not 
find these equal to the Southdown, Cotswold or Leices¬ 
ter. The old Teeswater are nearly extinct, or at least su¬ 
perceded by the varieties above named. .. There is a cross 
between the Teeswater and Leicester, which rivals the 
old Teeswater both in carcass and fleece, but not, in our 
opinion, equal to the Southdown. 
Spaying' Cows with Sttlplmric Acid.—A. 
P. L., ot South Carolina. We know nothing of the prac¬ 
tice you refer to. We should as soon think of “ injecting ” 
a rifle ball, to render a cow barren, as sulphuric acid. We 
confess ignorance in this matter of using acid. 
Canal Sediments. —To. A. M. Gibson, of Steuben 
County, N. Y. All such substances as the vegetable mat¬ 
ter in bottoms of canals, ditches, &c., are highly valua¬ 
ble as fertilizers, and should be under the surface of cul¬ 
tivated fields, where they will cease to produce malaria 
and the resulting diseases, as they are sure to do if left to 
decay upon the banks or surface ot the ground. On mod¬ 
erately light or sandy soils, they will need no previous 
preparation. On cold, heavy, wet soils, an after applica¬ 
tion of lime or ashes will be highly beneficial. 
Sand i'or Manure. —“A Connecticut Plow-boy ” 
recommends sand as preferable to muck for an absorbent 
in horse and cow stables. This cannot be so ; hut wdiere 
muck cannot be had, sand may be used to advantage, es¬ 
pecially if it can afterwards be applied to stiff or clayey 
soils. Dry clay loam is a good absorbent for stables, if to 
be used on sandy soils. 
Green-house ISooSis.— M. Kane, oi Westchester 
county. N. Y., inquires for a good work on the treatment 
of green-house plants. Buist’s “American Flower Gar¬ 
den Directory” is an excellent work on this subject. 
Price $1 25. For a technical or scientific treatise, see 
notice, in this number, of Leuchar’s Book. 
Osage Orange at the West.— Mr. F. Colby, of 
Racine, inquires the fate of this plant in Central Illinois 
and Iowa, after the past severe winter. We shall soon 
start on an extensive tour of examination over our large 
Western farm tilled by more than I2,UU0 practical men, and 
report upon this and other things. In the meantime let 
us hear from a mullituieof correspondents on tins point, 
also respecting the Wheat and Corn prospects. 
Transporting E5ces.—J. H., of Cayuga County, 
N. Y., does not see any necessity for inverting the hive 
when moving bres, as recommended in the May number. 
If they are only removed from one stand tq another there 
is no necessity for this precaution, but when sent to a 
distance, it is far safer to invert them so that the comb 
may rest firmly upon, instead of suspending from the 
attached portions. It will be less liable to break off 
Spring wagons only should be used, jarring the hives as 
little as possible. 
Pounds in a ESusEiel. —“A Farmer” writes re¬ 
specting the “ unreliability of the Register of Rural 
Affa’is and Cultivator Almanac for 1857,” and quotes, as 
an illustration, the table of pounds in a bushel, given on 
page 387. The table is certainly very defective. “Farmer” 
w'ill find on page 127 of this number, a table of the true 
weights, which happened to be Stereotyped before the re¬ 
ception of his note. 
Mode Turlle Soup.— Rev. E. N. Nichols, of 
Michigan, asks a recipe for this article. We give him 
the following, from one, who in our opinion stands high 
among the cooks. Take a calf’s head, a very cheap institu¬ 
tion at this season of the year,and divide the upper from the 
lower half. Put both in agallon of w ater arid boil till ten 
der. Strain the liquor, and let it stand till the next day,and 
then take off the fat. Three quarters of an hour before 
serving it, hang it over the fire and season it. with pepper, 
salt, mace and sweet herbs tied up in a small bag, (the 
basil comes in here,) add half a pint of rich gravy, darken 
it w ith fried sugar, or brown flour ; add the juice of two 
lemons, the yolk of eight eggs, boiled hard, forced meat 
balls. Just before taking up, pour in half a pint of wine. 
Please do not invite the Aldermen when you have Ibis 
for dinner. Leave out the wine and you may invite 
Temperance men. 
Sweet Corn for Coffee.— A. P., writes: “ Sweet 
corn roasted and ground makes a pleasant cofiee, and if 
well prepared and mixed with half, or a third of common 
coffee, can scarcely be distinguished from that made 
wholly of coffee.” 
Hot bed covering;—a substitute for 
Glass.— D. P., of South Norwalk, Conn., recommends: 
“ Make a frame with cross bars two feet apart and cover 
it with cotton clolh, painted with a composition made a.- 
follows: One quart whitewash, one pint linseed oil, 
whites of three eggs. This is much cheapear than glass and 
it prevents the danger of scalding the plants in a hot day. 
The forcing is less rapid, but lhe plants grow more hardy 
and are more likely to live.” 
Vegetable Nutrition, Tull, &c.—We nave a 
long article on this subject too long for insertion. Had 
the thoughts been expressed in a fourth of the words, and 
written on only one side of the paper, we could have 
given it earlier attention. These remarks apply to sun¬ 
dry other articles received, but not thoroughly examined 
Cheap Kean Foies.— Mr. E. II. Avery, of Bel- 
videre, writes (too late for our last): “The following 
may he useful on prairies and in villages where bean 
poles are not easily obtained, I sow early a bed of sun¬ 
flower seeds, and at the time of weeding, I transplant, a 
thrifty sunflower stalk to each hill of beans. The sun¬ 
flower grows rapidly and soon produces a thrifty stalk 
around which the bean will entwine itself. Care should 
be taken to place an abundance of fertilizing materials to 
support both the plants ; and also to remove the flower 
from the stalk.” 
Remark. —Two years since a correspondent wrote 
us that he tried this plan, but the sunflower grew so fast 
that it drew lhe beans up by the roots. 
Keeping Mouse its lit© Country.— This 
communication from “ Emily ” on another page is an ex¬ 
cellent one. Read it. We can find room for many more 
from the same facile pen. 
Mapcs & Gibbs’notary Iligger.— We have 
on hand a report of the Beach Island Farmers Club, hand¬ 
ling this implement “ without gloves.” We intended to 
comply wilh the request lo publish it, butit would croud 
over articles on more important topics. We are opposeu 
also to giving the implement the “notoriety” of even a 
discussion of its merits or demerits Mr. J. J. Mapes 
keeps a journal to advertise his own manures and implc 
ments. If people buy them on the strength of what they 
read in the “Working Farmer,” and get into difficulty 
with Mr. Mapes, they must “ take their chickens home 
to roost.” 
“ TVilie Wanted.” —Under this head, “ One Inter¬ 
ested” writes to us, or rather to “ mothers,” a long chap¬ 
ter on the deficiencies of the present system of femaie 
education, to most of which we subscribe; but if “One 
Interested” waits till his lecture, or all we coukl say on 
the topic, shall put matters right, and educate the help¬ 
meet he is looking for, he will become an old bachelor, we 
fear. Better look on the blight side of the picture, as it 
is. Do not indulge in thoughts about the “ worthlessness 
of the mass of young ladies.” There are plenty of un 
married, good girls in the country, as “ bad as things are; ' 
and if himself worthy, one possessing your discern 
merit, cannot long go unmated. We'll be happy to drop 
in after you get things fixed on your nice farm—we wish 
you all success, but it is out of our line to take any part in 
the preliminary arrangements. 
