1865.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
335 
TIbc WSiite French Xurnip.— A few 
years ago, we were so favorably impressed with the merits 
of this turnip as grown in some portions of Rhode Island, 
tliat we procured a large amount of seed and distributed 
it free among our readers. In many cases the reports 
were exceedingly satisfactory, wliile in oliiers from some 
cause it did not appear to do well, and we ceased to 
recommend it further. Mr. Hollowell, a large farmer in 
Pasquotank Co , N. C., informs us tliat in his region the 
seed received from us gave the highest satisfaction, the 
crop far exceeding in value any variety of tlie Swede or 
other kinds, and that tliey continue to cultivate it there 
as extensively as they can procure seed. For some 
reason they can not grow turnip seed well there. He 
hopes the reopening to northern markets will etiable tliem 
to procure an ample supply, if it is to be had here. 
Sheep at the Y. State Fair.— 
“ Gastar” merinos, with fancifully high prices, ($200 to 
$6000) were present in full force from New York State 
and from Veimont, breeders from other States being ad¬ 
mitted on a equal footing with those from this. The 
Silesian merinos of Wm. Chamberlain, of Red Hook, have 
a finer fleece, greasy enough, which we have no tloubt 
will cleanse quite as heavy as the Americans. The South 
Downs, particularly Mr. Thorne’s Yearlings, were per¬ 
fect pictures. Those of Messrs. Gfifling and G. H. Brown 
excellent. We took great satisfaction also in the fine 
large Shropshire Downs and Hampshire Downs, shown 
by Mr. Lilienthal. Middle wool sheep, South Downs, and 
their congeners especially, are the sheep for our eastern 
farmers, furnishing unsurpassed mutton and wool, for 
which there is a constant demand. 
Termin-fifee Heus’ Nests.— The fowls 
of Thos. Lawrence, of Rockland Co., N. Y., were great¬ 
ly troubled with lice. Having little soft h.ay for nests, 
Mr. L. tried some Sycamore (button ball) leaves, for one 
or two nests for sitting hens. In these nests no lice were 
to be found, though they abounded elsewhere in the 
house—on Sassafras roosts, in the nests, and on the birds— 
in spite of the most diligent use of lime, ashes, etc. The 
nests were all changed. Sycamore leaves took the place 
of hay and straw, and the lice entirely disappeared, after 
whitewashing once or twice as usual. Now the building 
has gone a long time without whitewash, and still no 
vermin appear. 
SliaBle Trees Injured toy Morses.— 
J. E. Pratt, wishes to know what to do with shade trees, 
the bark of which has been gnawed by liorses. Pare off 
the rough portions and cover the wound with a generous 
poultice of cow dung and loamy soil, to which some 
iiair may be added to give it tenacity. The mass is kept 
in piace by covering it with a piece of bagging or other 
fabric, and tying it all securely. 
How to Tettoer out a Horse.— “ T. 
.S. J.” thus writes: “ I used to tether a horse by the head 
in former days, but he would almost always get his feet 
over the tether line and hurt himself, or get down. This 
led me to devise some other method, and I hitched my 
tether line to the fore-leg, but tlie same evil existed in 
that; then I tried a third experiment. I took a piece of 
an old leathern tug, long enough to make a bow to go 
around his hind leg, made a liole In each end, put in an 
iron bolt of proper size and length, with a thumb-nut, 
attached a trace chain to it, and put it around the hind 
leg of my horse just above the ankle, and the other end 
of tlie chain was fastened to a post. I watched the horse 
for a long lime, to see how the plan would work, and I 
soon became convinced that I had hit upon the true way 
of tethering. This was about ten years ago, and there 
has not been a year since that' I have not practised this 
way of tethering my horses, and I never have had a horse 
hurt himself, get down, or in any way get tangled by 
means of this tether line. I use a rope or chain, as is 
most convenient, but a chain is preferable, because it does 
not injure it to get wet, as it does a rope. The strap of 
which I have made my bow to go around the ankle, I 
have used ten years, and don’t know but it would last ten 
years more. I have often oiled it with neat’s foot oil. I 
prefer a leather bow to wood or iron, as it never has 
chafed. I have used this method on young, wild colts, 
and never had one injured by it; it is a most excellent 
way of taming them.” 
Smut in Wlieat—Kemedies in North 
Carolina. —We recently met Mr. C. W. Hollowell, an 
old subscriber in Pasquotank Co., N. C., who, like many 
thousands of others, has been separated from us by the 
war. Amongotheritems he informed us that the “smut” 
had been greatly detrimental to the wheat crop in his 
vicinity, and indeed throughout the Stale. Three years 
ago he sowed 120 acres of wheat, as follows : The seed 
for 40 acres was soaked over night in strong old brine 
from pork, and then thoroughiy mixed with lime by 
shoveling it over on the barn floor. No smut was found 
in the crop. For the second 40 acres, the treatment was 
the same as the above, except that the brine was reduced 
by adding an equal amount of water. This crop con¬ 
tained some smut. For the third 40 acres, the seed was 
wet with water only, but well coated witli lime. The 
crop was full of smut. These experiments seem to prove 
tliat the lime was not the curative agent. An effectual 
remedy has been found in blue vitriol (sulphate of copper). 
For each 10 bushels of seed wheat, 1 lb. of the vitriol is 
dissolved in water enough to just cover the wheat. The 
vitriol dissolves quickly in hot water, but cold water may 
be used by giving more time and stirring it occasionally. 
Experiments show no difference in the effects, when the 
seed is simply wet and then sown, or when it is suffered 
to lie in a heap and soak for 8 or 10 hours. Mr. Hollowell 
says that during the war little blue vitriol could be got, 
and that it sometimes cost several dollars a pound ; and 
that those who obtained it had so good wheat, that they 
could readily sell it at a high price for seed, so prevalent 
was the smut. His soil is a sandy loam, alluvial. 
A lied. Tocu^it.—A red flowering variety 
of the common locust, but like that in every respect 
save the color of its flowers, is offered by the European 
nurserymen. It is called Robinia Decaisneana, and is 
said to be highly ornamental. 
A New "Worlf Atooiit Insects. —“Cu¬ 
rious Facts in the History of Insects, including spiders 
and scorpions. A complete collection of the legends, 
superstitions, beliefs, and ominous signs, connected with 
insects, together with their uses in medicine, art, and as 
food ; and a summary of their remarkable injuries and 
appearances. By Frank Cowan. Pa., J. B. Lippin- 
cott & Co,” pp. 396. We give the title in full, as it 
explains the scope of the work. It is pleasant, gossipy 
reading, culleil from a great number of works, some of 
them quite rare, and shows extensive research on the 
part of the author, wlio has had tiie good sense to give 
reference to volume and page for his quotations. 
“Inspector Oeneral.”— Why take an 
Agricultural Paper ?—An Illinoian, whose expressive 
French suffers from translation and condensation, writes : 
“ Often when I ask my neighbors to subscribe for the 
Agriculturist, they object something in tliis manner : 
‘ We know what to do, we have no time to read, we do 
not know whether it will be worth what it costs, and be¬ 
sides it is from the East, where the culture is different 
from that of the West, etc.’ I answer like this; ‘The 
great profit I have found in reading my agricultural jour¬ 
nals is that, while they taught me many useful things, they 
made me love agriculture. To love our work is the 
only way to lighten it, and the naore we love it, the 
more progress v\e sliall make.’ The sad malady of not 
loving farm work, which has many victims among my 
brother farmers, has been cured in me by my reading the 
agricultural journals in my moments of leisure, and par¬ 
ticularly during our fine winter evenings. These papers 
teach us order upon our farms, and disorder (especially 
on our Western farms) contributes not a little to make 
our farm life laborious and discouraging. They incul¬ 
cate—‘ a time for everything and a place for everything.’ 
In this respect an agricultural, journal, and above all the 
Agriculturist is an Inspector General, who cannot come 
too often for the good farmer, and whose presence can¬ 
not trouble any but the negligent. It is a great loss to 
an intelligent agriculturist not to subscribe to an agricul¬ 
tural journal.” 
Piinipingf Water from a Spring^.— 
“ Annapolis ” writes to the Agriculturist: ‘‘ I have a first 
rate spring about 350 yards from the house, not over 30 
feet lower. Could not I pump the water from it in inch 
pipe, without requiring any more force, than for a com¬ 
mon well pump?” You cannot. It will require much 
more power to overcome the friction in a long tube than 
in a short one. We would not advise to attempt to 
draw water in this manner, as it would be very hard work 
for a strong man, at such a long distance and great depth. 
Sanitary Commission.—The following 
sums have been received since our last acknowledgment: 
Wm. Beekman, Sacramento, Cal., 50c.; C. Bushnell, N. 
H. $1.00. No further contributions are solicited on be¬ 
half of this noble organization, as will be seen by their 
farewell address of thanks, on page 253, August No. 
To Harden ISoap. —“S. M. E.” writes that 
soap made after the directions given In the Agriculturist 
page 88 (March No.) remained clammy or rather .soft. 
Time is needed for it to dry and harden : the addition of 
salt will probably bring it right if it remains too soft. 
Medical Questions. —A number of letters 
have been received, asking what will cure this or that 
disease. Those inquiries are unanswered, because we 
do not think that people, as a general thing, are able to 
determine what is the matter with themselves; anil 
secondly, because most diseases are treated on general 
principles, rather than with specifics. It is only quacks 
who use specifics. We mentioned the use of blackberry 
root in diarrheea, because in most forms of that disease 
astringents are beneficial, and blackberry root is a readily 
obtained astringent not generally known. A’V^e have also 
a great variety of prescriptions and remedies suggested. 
These we must, as a general thing, decline publishing. 
There is far too much dosing already, and we do not 
wish to contribute to its increase. 
Yoke for a Selfksuclcin;;' Cow.—M. 
Bixter and others inquire for a remedy for cows, addict¬ 
ed to sucking their own milk. In tlie Agriculturist for 
1864, page 308, there is an illustration of a cow’s tongue 
split at the end, to prevent her sucking, which has been 
reported both a success and a failure, by different indi¬ 
viduals. Tills illustration represents a yoke on the neck 
of a cow, which we never knew to fail. Four sticks of 
hard wood, A A, 10 or 12 inches long, and l‘X inches 
square, are held together by 8 round sticks, B B. of tough, 
hard wood, about 2 feet long 1 inch in diameter, tlie ends 
being pointed, passing through the sticks, A A. These 
dimensions may be too large for a very small neck. 
Fasten the round sticks, B B, in the desired place witli 
screws % of an inch long. Then the yoke can be 
removed, or adjusted to fit a large or small neck. 
Fatent Kigtots Conflictimg- witli 
Home-made Conveniejices.—G. E. Rice. We 
think it will seldom occur tliat tlie gates, etc., which you 
wish to build for your farm, will conflict with any body’s 
patent-rights, unless they are really copied. A careful 
examination of the patent documents, no matter what 
the owner may profess, will usually di.«close the fact that 
the real claim is for some feature with which your con¬ 
trivances will not conflict at all. You have no right to 
make and use even your own invention, if some one else 
invented tlie same thing before you, and patented it. 
Mr8i. Atoei’!4 Skillful Hoiit^ekeepeP. 
—This book is worthy of a place in tlie hands of every 
housekee[ier. It contains over six hundred recipes for 
cooking and other household operations, most of which 
are good common sfnse to say the least; but aside fiorn 
these, the first .30 or 40 pages on general deportment, 
practical thoughts on the care of one’s self and of the 
children, servants, etc., are alone worth far more than 
the cost of the book, which is $1.00. Sent post-paid. 
Mucilage and Ink.— I. C. Wildey. The 
mucilage put up in bottles is simply a solution of gum 
arabic in water. The cheaper kinds of gum are usually 
employed, and in this case it is necessary to use boiling 
water and strain the mucilage to remove impurilie.s. We 
have used a small quantity of creosote to prevent ink 
from moulding. Essence of cloves is sometimes used 
for the same purpose. A few drops of Nitrobenzole, a 
liquid which smells quite like oil of bitter almond, will 
entirely prevent flour paste from moulding, and we have 
no doubt would answer for ink. 
Quasi, sa lor Antsi. — The celebrated fruit 
grower, Th nas Rivers, slates that he kills ants by the 
use of a decoction of quassia chips. Four ounces of the 
chips, wiiich may be had of the druggists, are boiled for 
10 minutes in a gallon of water, and 4 ounces of soft soap 
added. This is used to syringe frees infested by ants, 
and is also potwed into their holes. 
