14 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[Jakttabt, 
extirpating it and accept it as an evil in perpe¬ 
tuity. Quack grass, which came in the roots of 
some shrubs from tiie nursery, holds the same 
ground. Blumenhachia and a species of Catch- 
fly were sown as flowers and destroyed as soon 
as their worthlessness was known, j-et they 
give a few specimens every year, as if just to 
keep up the breed until some more favorable 
opportunity occurs to possess the land. A spe¬ 
cies of Lamtum (Dead Nettle), came in seeds 
from the Patent Office. Tlie first year it was 
viewed with curiosity as a new plant, now we 
have ten feet square to watch and hoe often, as 
it comes up by hundreds. A species of liud- 
beckia or Cone-flower {li. hirta\ appeared some 
six years ago in a field sown to timothy. It is 
a tall showy yellow flower with a purple cen¬ 
ter. We now find it quite plenty, having come 
in grass seed from Illinois where it is common. 
Every one with a quick eye will detect such stran¬ 
gers lurking about his premises getting ready a 
crop of seeds for a larger claim. Before the 
seeds shell out, put them in the stove or make a 
bonfire of them, and in destroying one plant 
you prevent the growth of thousands.”-A 
norticultural friend of ours was some years ago 
on business at the Patent Office, and saw a box 
labelled EcMum vulgare. Upon inquiry he learn¬ 
ed that the box contained seeds, which had been 
imported from Russia, at a cost of $100, and 
were to be distributed over the country as a 
valuable plant for bee pasture. Our friend took 
down a volume of “ Weeds and Useful Plants,” 
and showed the officials the description begin¬ 
ning “ This showy but vile weed,” and thus 
saved a still greater dissemination of what is 
already a serious pest in some parts of the coun¬ 
try, and at the same time illustrated the import¬ 
ance of scientific knowledge on the part of those 
who have it in their power to do so much good 
or evil to the agricultural community. 
■ -« I — a I * ... - 
A Veterinary College in New York. 
The necessity of having good veterinary prac¬ 
titioners in this country is every day increasing. 
The immense draft of horses for the army 
has made horseflesh very valuable property 
both in town and country. Their term of ser¬ 
vice is very short, as they contract disease from 
overwork, and have improper medical and sur¬ 
gical treatment when they are sick and wounded. 
The war also increases the value of cattle for 
work, to supply the labor of horses sold to the 
Government, as well as the demand for beef. 
Never before has there been so general an in¬ 
terest in sheep breeding, and the value of this 
stock has risen very much of late. The diseases 
of animals are increasing in number, in fact, 
in proportion to the care and “good treatment” 
that animals receive, beyond a certain point, 
domestic animals are prone to contract disease. 
The truth is, the most profitable systems of farm¬ 
ing require such early maturity in animals used 
for food, and other conditions tending to secure 
the most economical consumption of their food, 
and rapid fattening, that they are peculiarly lia¬ 
ble to the attacks of disease. This makes it 
very desirable that breeders and feeders in all 
parts of the country should be able to secure med¬ 
ical advice, if they would not suffer severe loss¬ 
es from the sickness and death of the stock. 
We are gratified to know that the Institution 
chartered as the “ New York College of Veteri¬ 
nary Surgeons,” is in the hands of earnest, high- 
minded scientific gentlemen and physicians, 
some of whom are devoting themselves with 
aeal to its interests. A portion of the endow¬ 
ment required has been already secured, and 
the gentlemen expect soon to announce their 
readiness to receive students and patients. Lack 
of suitable endowment is all that prevents the 
immediate institution of a course of instruction. 
Tlie faculties of the medical colleges of this city 
have, in the spirit of true liberality, offered to 
establish the same reciprocity between their 
own and the Veterinary College as exists be¬ 
tween the medical colleges of the country. 
We shall be happy to give individuals any 
further infoi'ination, or facilitate the communi¬ 
cation of any persons with the Committee on 
Subscriptions to the endowment fund. 
.. ■■ I ^ . ■ — 
Saws and How to File Them. 
Every farmer and almost every man has occa¬ 
sion to use a saw, and ought to know how to 
keep one in good order, and this can not be 
done without some notion of the principles in¬ 
volved. Should we attempt to cut a board in 
two by repeatedly drawing a knife-point across 
it as at a or 6, fig. 1, we should be simply 
using a saw with one tooth. If the blade be held 
in the position indicated at a, it may be moved 
with much less power, and will cut deeper and 
make a cleaner cut than if held as at b. This 
is true, and it leads us to the conclusion that 
cross-cut saws, with teeth shaped as at c, do 
their work easier and better than those shaped 
as at d. Rip-saws operate in a different way, 
which we may illustrate on another occasion. 
Fig. 2 represents a good cross-cut saw for soft 
wood, the teeth being quite sharply beveled al¬ 
ternately on different sides; 6 shows the broad¬ 
side view of a single tooth, and c the same 
tooth seen edgewise, or a perpendicular section 
of the same; while at a is represented the 
Fig. 1.— ACTION OF SAW TEETH. 
proper position of the file in filing such a saw. 
The filing should be so done as to leave the 
edges of the teeth clean, sharp and good cutting 
surfaces. The next tooth will, of course, have 
the bevels on the other side, and so on alter¬ 
nately. This brings the cutting points of the 
c 
Fig. 2.— CROSS-CUT SAW FOR SOFT WOOD. 
teeth on the outside of the cut, on each side. 
The best saws are now made thinner at the 
back, so that the cutting edge is always the 
widest, and such saws clean well and do not 
bind at all, without having the teeth “ set,” pro¬ 
vided of course, that the teeth are properly 
filed. An irregularly filed saw, or a dull one, 
leaves the cut so ragged and fibry that it will 
bind frequently, no matter how much it is set. 
Setting is bending the teeth slightly to one side 
and the other, alternately, so that the cut shall 
be made so wide that the saw will slide easily 
through it. It is best done by means of a saw-set. 
Figure 3 represents a cross-cut saw for hard 
Fig. 3. —CROSS-CUT SAW FOR HARD WOOD. 
wood (a), the side view (6), and the edge view 
(c) of one of the teeth. It will be noticed that 
the teeth are smaller, having the bevel on one 
edge only, and the point of the tooth less acute, 
as more strength and ability to stand harder wear 
are needed. Between saws for soft wood and 
Fig. 4.— BADLY FILED SAW. 
and those for very hard, one or two interme¬ 
diate grades are used. Filing should be done 
with a strong hand, guided by an accurate eye. 
A poor, unsteady filer will soon get a saw into 
the condition shown in fig. 4. The illustrations 
we have employed above are from a capital lit¬ 
tle book, by W. H. Holley, “ The Art of Saw 
Filing,” published by Wiley, price 60 cents, 
and placed on our list 
What Fruit Trees Shall I Plant? 
No question is more frequently asked ol 
the Editors of the American Agriculturist., than 
the above, and none more difficult to answer. 
There are certain varieties which can be recom¬ 
mended for a wide range, and others which are 
very local in their character. The transactions 
of any State Society will show that the greatest 
diversity of opinion exists with regard to the * 
fruits adapted to a single State. The Illinois 
Horticultural Society have been obliged to dis¬ 
trict their State into three different fruit regions, 
as will be seen by referring to page 50 in the 
Agriculturist for February last. It is evident 
that it is impossible for any one man, or any as¬ 
sociation of men, to indicate the varieties of 
fruit suited to each particular locality. Now 
what is to be done ? If one has the means he 
can make a series of experiments. If he is 
wise he will make use of the experiments of 
others. If one wishes to set out any consider¬ 
able plantation of fruit trees, he can not make 
a better investment, than to take a week of time 
and the necessary money, and visit the fruit¬ 
growers of the neighborhood. It is one of the 
beauties of horticulture that its true disciples 
have large and liberal views, and are always glad 
to communicate their experience to others. A 
few days spent among the nearest fruit-growera 
