4r4r 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
[February, 
Sew Coleuses.—A few days ago we saw at 
Peter Henderson's small specimens of some of the new 
varieties of Coleus, about which so much talk has been 
made abroad. The leaves are beautifully and curiously 
variegated, while the colors are of different shades from 
anything we have had before. They are pretty as pot 
plants, but it will require an open air exposure during 
one of our hot summers to determine their real value. 
The New TegetsiMes.—Mr. Gregory, Mr. 
Henderson, and others, give their experience with the new 
vegetables in our Horticultural Annual. 
Where glasull 31 Go ?—We have a num¬ 
ber of letters asking advice as to whether the writers had 
better move to this place or that. A little reflection will 
show that it is quite impracticable to give advice in such 
cases. Some men will flourish where others would 
starve, and it is difficult to put such under circumstances 
where they will not make a living. Others would be “ ne’er 
do weels” if they had a farm given to them in the most 
fertile region, ready stocked with all that is needed for its 
best cultivation. Unless one has made up his mind to be 
a “ mover,” as they say out West, i. <?., put all his worldly 
goods and family into a wagon, and travel until he finds 
a place to suit him, he had better make a visit to the 
place first. It will be money and time well invested. 
Many inquiries are made about Vineland, N. J., and sim¬ 
ilar land speculations. Wo can only say about these, 
that we know some wdio have settled in such places and 
are quite content with their lot, and others who have left 
in disgust. Success anywhere depends quite a3 much 
upon the man as upon the place. 
Glanders In Jlac Sffnnaan Sislaject. 
—The medical journals report the case of Mr. Eli Town¬ 
send, Montgomery, Ala., who treated a horse having the 
glanders. Mr. Townsend had, at the time, a scratch 
upon one of his hands, through which liis system became 
inoculated with the poison, and after great suffering, he 
died in fifteen days from the beginning of the attack. 
A similar case has recently occurred in the City of New 
York, where the disease is very prevalent among horses. 
!§ee«llEig' Grass 3Lan«l.—“ C. J. II.” of 
Rock Dell, Minnesota, writes: “I have a piece of land 
which I wish to seed down next spring to clover for pas¬ 
ture. The land is plowed, and I want to put on oats. 
Will oats and clover grow together, or shall I put on red 
top and timothy ?”—It is a common practice to seed land 
to grass and clover with oats in the spring. The clover 
has the ground the second year, and the grasses the third 
and subsequent years. A pound of white clover seed to 
the acre would be a good addition to the red clover and 
the grass seed. It is best to substitute blue grass for 
timothy, if the object is to make a permaneut pasture. 
MeiIc UB.ai*]ke4.—“E. II. F. S.” Gorham, 
Me.—You will generally find mules at the horse markets 
in the large cities, at prices from $300 to $600 a pair, ac¬ 
cording to size and quality. 
IPlsiiatfs.—W. S. Jacks, of Napa 
Valley, will please accept our thanks. Wo went through 
the beautiful Napa Valley w’hen the settlers were few and 
far between; while there we discovered a Dutchman’s 
Pipe which was undescribed. We alluded to it iu an ar¬ 
ticle upon the Dutchman’s Pipe of the East, and Mr. J. 
took the pains to send ns plants by a friend who was 
coming East. The plants on the passage made an unnat¬ 
ural growth, and arriving here at a cold season the shock 
was too much for them. Upon learning this Mr. J. sends 
us cuttings by mail. These, though rather dry when 
they reached us, we hope to start. 
Tile Factories*.—“ G. C.” Staunton, Va., 
writes: “If the tile makers can’t afford to advertise in 
this section, will you be so charitable as to recommend 
some of them to us ? The farmers of my neighborhood 
wish to combine to get a supply of tiles, but so far have 
found no advertisement.”—There arc large tile factories 
at Albany, N. Y., and at Woodbridge, N. J., both points 
from which tiles could be easily shipped to the seaports of 
Virginia. Probably it will be cheaper for you to import 
a tile maker and machinery than tiles. Most of the tiles 
laid in England are made upon the estates where used. 
A very large item in the expense of draining is the trans¬ 
portation of tiles, and thiswoukl be quite heavy from the 
seaboard to your place. C. W. Boynton, Woodbridge, 
N. J., would probably give you the needed information 
about tiles, and the way to make them. 
Devon Yfier<l-l>oolcs.—The first Devon 
nord-book was published in England in 1851, by John 
Tanner Davy, of England, and contained only the nn- 
imatls of British breeders'. The MConti volume app’efarcVl in 
1854, and was edited by Mr. Davy and by Mr. Sanford 
Howard, then of Boston. It contained the names of 
eighteen American breeders. The third volume appear¬ 
ed in 1S59, as an exclusively American Herd-book, being 
edited by Mr. Howard, while Mr. Davy issued a third 
English volume on his side of the Atlantic. The Asso¬ 
ciation of Breeders of Thoroughbred Neat Stock pub¬ 
lished a Herd-book in 1863, edited by Mr. II. M. Sessions, 
of South Wilbraham, Mass., and a second volume has 
recently been issued under the auspices of this Associ¬ 
ation, by the same editor. These two volumes, bound in 
one, contain a History of the Devons, Points of excel¬ 
lence in Bulls and in Cows, the pedigrees of 1,171 
animals, and (not the least valuable portion of the work), 
a Directory in the second volume to the names and 
addresses of one hundred and fifty breeders residing in 
twenty-one States. The editor, one of the most success¬ 
ful breeders of the country, assumed the pecuniary re- 
sponsibilty, we believe, of the publication of this volume, 
and it may be obtained by addressing him. The De¬ 
vons are one of our most useful breeds, and pre-eminent¬ 
ly combine most of the desirable and valuable qualities 
—beef, labor, milk, hardiness, and ease of keeping. 
Early Ficltl Corn. —“ Charles Mallory,” 
of Embarrass, Wis., sends us a well-matured ear of varie¬ 
gated flint corn, planted June Slst, and cut September 
5th, a period of eleven weeks. This variety will be of 
great value in the regions of early frosts. 
Impontation of S3,©©© EBasslacls* ©f 
German ISarlcy !—The January number of the 
Amerikanische Bierbrauer , the German Brewer’s journal 
of this city, notices the importation of 25,000 bushels of 
German barley. It weighed eleven pounds to the bushel 
more than other barley in market, and was eagerly 
bought up by the best brewers. It was of the two- 
rowed sort, and we infer its reception was such as to en¬ 
courage further importations. We raise barley enough to 
ship a good deal to England, where it brings a poor price 
compared with their own, and is used for horse-feed. 
Our brewers are forced to use it because they can get no 
other, and some (we believe ignorantly) even prefer the 
four or six-rowed barley to the two-rowed sort. Our 
barley-raisers may be assured that a much better quality 
of grain will bring a proportionably higher price, and 
they will do well to look out early for superior seed. 
Seedsmen and. Florists.— 1 The Horti¬ 
cultural Annual has a very full list of them. 
A Potato Testing.— By a happy con¬ 
junction's the astrologers would say, quite a number of 
persons interested in potato culture happened to be in 
New York early in January, and Messrs. B. K. Bliss & 
Son, the well-known seedsmen, availed themselves of the 
opportunity to give a potato feast to a party, which in¬ 
cluded those above referred to and several of the agricul¬ 
tural press. Mr. Bresee -was present, and with his new 
potatoes. Mr. B. is the originator of the Early Rose, and 
has some new varieties of great promise. Single potatoes 
of one of his varieties have sold at enormous prices. Of 
one of these he sold one tuber for $60. At the feast alluded 
to, sundry valuable specimens were served, boiled and 
roasted, but we noticed that calls for a “ few raw ” were 
passed unheeded. We cannot give a full report of the 
discussion, which elicited a great many valuable facts, but 
briefly give the results. Of the specimens tested, the 
Early Rose was unanimously declared the best; Bresee’s 
Prolific stood No. 2, by a small majority; Bresee’s King 
of the Earlies, No. 3; and Climax, No. 4. This vote was 
solely on the merits of the potatoes as they appeared 
upon the table, and had no reference to productiveness, 
earliness, or any other quality. Bresee’s King of the 
Earlies is said to have been dug before it was fully ma¬ 
tured, to save it from being stolen. Climax had evi¬ 
dently been badly kept, as it had the flavor of a potato 
that had been exposed to the air and light. The Early 
Rose was of the highest quality, and all the testimony 
was in favor of its great productiveness and carliness. 
Tlae Farmers’ On!*. —What should we 
do for fun if this advertising medium should become ex¬ 
tinct ? The Tribune claims to have “ exclusive reports ” 
(whatever that may moan) of the doings of this branch of 
its business. The New York Sun has reports that are 
not exclusive, and we quote from it the way in which a 
woman disposed of the gabble abont deep plowing:— 
“ Mrs. nallock—‘ I am delighted to hear these gentlemen 
all repeat the same story, with slight variations. When 
I remarked here, a few weeks since, that this Club was 
not celebrated for scientific attainments, some of the re¬ 
porters opened their eyes so wide that I feared they 
would never get them together again. But suppose a 
company of women should spend their time in discussing 
tho subject of long or short stitches, what would yon 
think of them ? Gentlemen', it sbemS to nm you are just 
about as sensible in your talk, for ybu have not told us 
what you call deep or shallow culture.’ ” 
USI«ls for ttlac Stale Fair.—The officers 
of the New York State Agricultural Society are desirous 
of having the “ bids ” for the State Fair ready to be pre¬ 
sented at the annual meeting, which occurs on the 10th 
and 11th of this month. The requirements are, good 
ground of about 30 acres in extent, well-fenced, the 
needed stalls, pens, buildings and offices, forage for 
stock, water, etc., and about $1,200 in money. A 
schedule giving the details will be furnished to all send¬ 
ing for it to the Secretary, Col. B. P. Johnson, Albany. 
A Great UPoaltry §lsow Isa Pros- 
pcct.—At the last fair of the New York State Agricul¬ 
tural Society the Poultry-breeders present inaugurated a 
Society called the New York State Poultry Society, which 
has ever since been growing in influence, respectability, 
and the confidence of the public. Dealers whose reputa¬ 
tion for dishonesty and trickery was or would have 
been a reproach to the Society have been both virtually 
expelled and excluded, and the energy of its mem¬ 
bers, the increasing ranks of its life-members, and 
the funds now on hand or pledged to the treasury, 
give the fairest promise that the proposed show, which is 
advertised to take place March 22d to 26th, will be well 
managed and worthy the fair beginning of the young So¬ 
ciety. The officers have secured the 3d Avenue Skating 
Rink, a building 350 feet long, 150 feet wide, covered with 
an arched roof 70 feet high, and furnished with parlors, 
retiring rooms, committee rooms, etc., a restaurant, band 
of music, and everything needed for a grand poultry fan¬ 
cier’s festival, except the fowls themselves. A lecture 
will be delivered by some distinguished speaker on some 
subject connected with the objects of the Society, and a 
very liberal premium list will shortly be circulated. 
Besides farm-yard and ornamental poultry, dressed poul¬ 
try, Singing Birds, Rabbits, and all animal pets, are in¬ 
cluded in the prize list. An advertisement in this num¬ 
ber of th a Agriculturist furnishes further information. 
Slaow of Fla'® 0118 anal lPoaalta*y.— 
The American Columbarian Society held its first ex¬ 
hibition in New York about the middle of December. 
The show of fancy pigeons was highly creditable, and was 
especially rich in Pouters, Carriers, and Tumblers, of 
which breeds very beautiful specimens were shown by 
several exhibitors. The largest number of first premiums 
was taken by Mr. William A. Wood, of New York, who 
received on this account the Society’s Gold Medal. The 
show of poultry was small, but contained some of the 
finest fowls we ever saw. Mr. Benj. Haines, Jr., of Eliza¬ 
beth, was winner of the Gold Medal in this department, 
for having tho most first prizes. Exceedingly fine Creve- 
cceurs and Cochins were shown by Mr.Leavitt,of Flushing. 
Garaloaaisag,- for tJae Sosatla has met with 
an unexpectedly rapid sale. A work adapted to the peculiar- 
wants of the warmer States has long been wanted, and Mr. 
White’s book is just the one that was needed. Those at 
the North who have friends at the South can send no 
more acceptable present. Sent by mail for $2.00. 
Cbnmihry Fife.—A great many people an¬ 
nually leave the city and town for the country. We do 
not know any work better suited to such than “ Cope¬ 
land’s Country Life,” which gives the general manage¬ 
ment, not only of farm matters, but of ornamental grounds, 
flower gardens, green-liouses, etc. A handsome volume 
of over 900 pages. $5.00. 
Great Slaovr ©f tlae jPcaaEassylvanaa 
Poultry Society. —Christmas week was devoted by 
tho Pennsylvania Poultry Society to a show of poultry, 
open to national competition. The fine hall of the Horti¬ 
cultural Society was used as an exhibition room, and we 
believe all the appointments and regulations were grati¬ 
fying to both exhibitors and visitors. There were 362 dis¬ 
tinct entries, chiefly of fowls in trios. Brahmas were the 
prominent feature, there having been more than thirty 
coops entered, containing an aggregate of upwards of 100 
fowls, and among them many of extraordinary size and 
beauty. A very interesting bird in this class was a 
12-year-old hen weighing 14 lb. 6 oz. The show of Cochfhs 
was good also, the first prize being won by the Secretary of 
tho Society, Mr. J. M.Wade, fora trio, the progeny of those 
of which wo gave engravings last September, and winners 
of tho first prize of their class at the show of the Colnm- 
barian Society in this city. Silver-spangled Hamburglis 
were quite a feature of the exhibition, and were very fine. 
•Leghorns also were shqjyri in good numbers. Our artist 
secured excellent portraits of those winning the silver 
cup, which we shall show our readers in due time. The 
French fowls seem hardly to be so great favorites among 
Pennsylvania breeders as with those in the vicinity of 
Now York J but though tho Show in this class was not 
