8 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[Jaiicabt, 
very good, and others very wooden. Upon the whole, it 
Is the best specimen of Government book-making we 
have yet seen in the way of an Agricultural Report, and 
will doubtless be very acceptable to members of Con¬ 
gress to present to their political adherents. If we were 
not rapidly accumulating an enormous public debt, it 
might be well to publisli volumes of essays, poetical 
quot.ations and all, at the expense of the general treas¬ 
ury, but just at present it does not strike us as wise. We 
would have the Department of Agriculture liberally 
enough provided for to secure the services of an able 
head, and to publish a well digested account of the ag¬ 
riculture of the country, but it is quite time that this 
“spinning of yarns” came to an end. Still, as long as 
the present plan of publishing a book of treatises and 
calling it a report, is adhered to, we may be thankful that 
the work Is, upon the whole, so good. Mr. Newton pre¬ 
faces the volume with an account of the operations of the 
Department and things in general, and closes with the 
following, which is about as pretty a specimen of “ hifa- 
lutin ” as one would need for a snapper to a 4th of July 
oration; “ A.mighty giant, resting firmly on the soil, and 
acquiring development and strength by toil, by thought, 
and by equity, our republic will dominate the western 
continent and adjacent seas, and command the fear and 
the respect of all nations.” Now we call that good in the 
way of fine writing. It should have been accompanied 
by an illustration of the “ mighty giant resting firmly on 
the soil,” with “ all nations ” paying their respects to him. 
The Great ITnioit Victories are knock¬ 
ing down gold, and most kinds of produce are falling with 
It. Prices are considerably lower to-day than given in 
our table on page 3, which was stereotyped last evening. 
The Best Bictiomary.— F. Smith and 
others wish to know whether we consider Worcester’s 
or Webster’s the best dictionary. Tlie war of the dic¬ 
tionaries is waged with sufficient vigor by their pub- 
.ishers, and it is too pretty a fight, as it stands, lor the 
Agriculturist to throw its weight in favor of either. We 
keep both these works standing side by side, and find 
that each has some advantages over tlie other. The 
editorial staff keep up a private battle of their own over 
this question, and until they can agree among themselves, 
they will not undertake to indicate a preference. 
Size of Blocks of Ice for Filliiigi the 
Ice-House.— When ice is packed solid, there is no 
thawing except on the outside of the mass, hence it is best 
to cut the blocks as uniformly as possible so that they 
will pack snugly and regularly. Thus if the house is 12 
feet square, blocks 2x3 would make a layer having six 
biocks one way and four the other. And the next lay¬ 
er might be placed to break joints with th6 first, and so on. 
Ice OM the Boor-step. —Many a fall and 
severe hurt has been occasioned by ice on the door-step 
or in similar places. If it is frozen fast it may be covered 
with a little coal ashes and so made safe to walk upon, but 
this makes it dirty and the ashes are tracked into the 
house. Many persons use salt on such spots to thaw the 
ice ; this is well, if properly done. Remember that a 
mixture of snow or ice and salt produces at once the tem¬ 
perature of zero of Fahrenheit. In fact, that is the way 
Fahrenheit fixed his 0 point. Every person stepping 
on the salted spots carries off upon his feet more or less 
of the salt which so long as it remains on his feet keeps 
the soles at or near a zero temperature—certainly much 
colder than they would be otherwise. In many towns 
where it is not forbidden by law, this salting the side¬ 
walks is an Intolerable nuisance. Salt may be used if 
necessary, but clear off every particle of it as soon as 
it has thawed the ice, which will be in a few minutes. 
Suntlay School Tesson-Book, I^'o. 3, 
was unexpectedly delayed until Dec. 22. Few can 
appreciate the great amount of labor in preparing this 
book of only 112 pages, and getting it correctly through 
the printers’hands, w ith its many thousands of reference 
figures, etc. Very few books of any kind have required 
or received so much mental labor as is being expended 
upon this series. Nos. 1, 2, and 3, are now ready. No. 
4 is mainly written, but will not be through the printers’ 
hands in some months yet. The four books, each con¬ 
taining 52 exercises, entitled “ Lessons for every Sunday 
m the year," go over the whole Bible History—the lessons 
being selected from nearly every book in the Old and 
New Testaments, with a running outline history con¬ 
necting them all together. No 1 extends from the Birth 
of Christ to the end of Acts. No. 2 embraces the whole 
New Testament, but is mainly upon the books following 
the Acts of the Apostles. No. 3, upon the Old Testa¬ 
ment, extends from Adam to Elijah ; and No. 4 will con¬ 
tain the histoi 7 from Elijah to Christ. Nos. 3 and 4 con¬ 
tain lessons selected from the historical and prophetical 
books, the Psalms, Proverbs, etc., all arranged in order I 
of time ; with a running history, which presents a pano¬ 
ramic view of the whole Old Testament period—interest¬ 
ing to all classes, though expressly prepared for Sabbath 
Schools. An examination of the plan, and peculiar fea¬ 
tures of these books, is respectfully suggested. The 
price of each volume is 15 cents for a single copy ; $1 50 
per dozen ; $12 per 100. If to go by mail, 4 cents a copy 
extra, or 3 cents each when in a package of 10 or more. 
Single copies of 1, 2, or 3, for examination, will be 
sent post-paid, for 18 cents; or three copies for 50 cents. 
Valiiakle legislative Boemment.— 
At the last session of the Legislature of the State of New- 
York, the State Assessors made individual reports upon 
the Resources of the State. The report of Mr. Theodore 
C. Peters has recently come under our particular notice, 
and it is gratifying to find evidence of a trust so faithfully 
executed. As an agricultural survey of the State, indi¬ 
cating the influences which have been in operation in 
different parts of this State (roads, markets, manufac- 
uring interests, mining, etc,,) serving to increase the 
value of real estate and personal wealth, it is most sug¬ 
gestive and important. Mr. Peters has certainly given 
an example which the Assessors in other Stales will do 
well to imitate. Since his appointment he has personally 
inspected ever y county and almost township in the Stale. 
The whole report is suggestive of grave faults in the sys¬ 
tems of census taking employed by the National and 
State governments, and of improvements much needed. 
I^ewspaper Box.— Many of the subscribers 
of the American Agricul¬ 
turist receive their pa¬ 
pers by news-carriers or 
post-men who leave them 
at their doors. When a 
house is distant from the 
highway it is a common 
practice to have the pa¬ 
per thrown out near the 
gate, or deposited in a rai¬ 
sin box or similar con¬ 
trivance nailed upon a 
tree or post. We have 
sketched and engraved a 
good substitute—a post 
with a hollow in the top 
and a hole in the side, 
as indicated by dotted 
lines, to be set near the 
road. This will be found 
excellent for receiving 
papers. The post is 10 
inches square, solid, and 
5 feet out of ground. The 
opening should be wide 
enough to admit a man’s 
hand easily. Fasten the 
top on with wooden pins, 
and paint white or protect 
w ith a coat of iinseedoil. 
llsird and Soft Water tor Cooking. 
The effects of hard and soft water on different vegeta¬ 
bles vary materially. Peas and beans cooked in hard 
water.contaiidng lime or gypsum, will not boil tender, be¬ 
cause these substances harden vegetable casein. In soft 
water they boil tender and lose a certain rank raw taste 
wliich they retain in hard water. Many vegetables (as 
onions) boil nearly tasteless in soft water because all the 
flavor is dissolved out. The addition of salt often checks 
this, (as in the case of onions,) causing the vegetables to 
retain the peculiar flavoring principles, besides much nu¬ 
tritious matter which might be lost in soft water. Thus it 
appears that salt hardens the water to a degree. For 
extracting the juices of meat to make broth or soup, soft 
water, unsalted and cold at first, is best, for it much 
more readily penetrates the tissues ; but for boiling meat 
where the juices should be retained, hard water or soft 
water salted is preferable, and the meat should be put in 
w hile it is boiling so as to seal up the pores at once. 
Scrap Books for tlic Soldiers.— 
Not long since some unknown person left a small pack¬ 
age at the office of the A merican Agriculturist contain¬ 
ing two “ Scrap Books for Soldiers. ” They were neatly 
made from sheets of paper stitched together, on which 
were pasted all sorts of interesting reading cut from 
newspapers, and designed to be sent to the Military tlos. 
pitals for the use of sick and wounded soldiers. With a 
very little effort our young readers can, in a short time, 
make thousands of similar books, and send them through 
the Sanitary and Christian Commissions to the Hospitals 
and camps, where they will be most welcome. The se¬ 
lection of pieces should include plenty of lively and 
amusing articles, mingled with those of a mote grave 
and thoughtful chaiacter. The books will be of more 
service if sewed into flexible covets, made by past 
ing stiff, heavy paper upon dark colored glazed muslin 
The First Subtsci'ipiioit .at the New 
Terms, was sent by Mr. John Rail, of Cedar County, 
Iowa, Nov. 11th, with the remark that if we “could not 
afford the paper next month for $1, we could not do it 
then,” and that “if 20,000 others would do the same, it 
would help out materially in the expense.”-Such ex¬ 
pressions of appreciation of which many have been re¬ 
ceived, are grateful, and stimulate the editors to increased 
exertion. The ;new Terms were announced to go into 
effect a month later, so as to take no one by surprise, 
though they ought to have included all subscriptions re¬ 
ceived, as the present rates are none too high to meet 
the increased expenses. We hope those who availed 
themselves of the old terms, prior to Dec. 1st. will each 
send at least one new name at the new terms, and thus 
make the two subscriptions average $1.25, the lowest rate 
at which less than 20 subscriptions can be well affoided. 
Plain nieu Slioitld Write Bore.— 
As a rule, the best workers are the poorest writers. Those 
who do work the best are the least able, or rather the 
least willing, to talk or write about it. You. good farmer, 
gardener, fruitgrower, stock raiser, and you good house 
keeper, please talk to us on paper just as you would talk 
to us byword of mouth, if we were visiting you. We 
want to gather some hint from your successful mode of 
operation, to tell to half a million of others. Never mind 
fixing up the style of the words and sentences—it is the 
editor’s business to attend to that. Give us the facts, and 
we will take care of the language and the grammar. 
“Information Wanted”and “Giv¬ 
en,” might be the standing heading to this journal. Its 
proper sphere is,to gather and communicate all the infor¬ 
mation possible, upon all topics apuropriate to its 
sphere; to examine, sift, and “boil down ” all the facts, 
experiences-, hints and suggestions that can be obtained 
from observation, from reading, from conversation, and 
especially from letters from our readers. We solicit 
tliese letters in unlimited number. No one should write 
merely for tlie sake of rvriting ; but every fact—every 
hint drawn from successful or unsuccessful experience 
in cultivating grains, grasses, vegetables, fruits, flowers, 
etc.; in using and caring for animals ; in marketing pro¬ 
ducts ; in conducting household labors—should be noted 
down, with all necessary details, and reported for the 
benefit of others. If one has a better implement than any 
of his neighbors, or a better or more successful method 
of conducting any operation, or of treating this, that, or 
the other thing, the chances are that tens of thousands of 
others elsewhere will be benefited by learning something 
about it; and an account should be sent to the Agricul¬ 
turist. The letters may not always be used, for reasons 
which the editors can not take time or room to exidain ; 
but all these items go to make up a mass of information, 
of w hich every printed line is read by hundreds of thou¬ 
sands. We solicit suggestive queries from each of oui 
readers as a help to our labors. Many questions go un¬ 
answered, because we can not at once give or obtain the 
information sought. But send along the items, the ques¬ 
tions, etc., and we will do the best w e can w ith them ; 
always having an eye to “ the greatest good of the great¬ 
est number.” 
The Grape Controversy—Dr. Grant and 
Mr. Bushnell, v&rsus Mr. H. P. Byram. 
Last month we published a communication from H. 1 
Byram, Esq., in reference to the Israellaand Iona grapes 
This came wholly unsolicited and unexpected. We hac 
known Mr. By ram favorably as Editor of the Valley Farm¬ 
er, and as a Horticultural writer, and from his general 
character and standing we supposed his statements reli¬ 
able. Had wc thought differently.or had we suspected him 
to be governed by any personal feelings, the communica¬ 
tion would have been rejected ; and had we ourselves har¬ 
bored any ill-feeling or had any personal difficulty with 
Dr. Grant we should have been very careful not to admit 
into our columns any thing which would have even had the 
appearance of malice. The communication was printed as 
one of the items interesting in these days when the grape 
fever rages everywhere. We fully ex[iected that any er¬ 
ror of fact or observation would be corrected, and our 
columns were freely open for any such corrections. In 
the present paper Mr. Bushnell (Dr. Grant’s foreman), in 
the reading columns, and Dr. Grant himself in the busi¬ 
ness columns, flatly contradicts Mr. Byram’s statements 
and deductions. The question is reduced to one of ve¬ 
racity between Mr. Byram on the one hand,and Dr. Grant 
and Mr Bushnell on the other. We can hardly be con¬ 
sidered a parly to the contest, further than to publish 
what may be said on both sides, where we judge the 
public interest will be subserved by such publication. 
