82 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
[March, 
better not write. We are tired of “Subscriber” and 
“ Constant Header,” as signed to letters. It is not con¬ 
sidered gentlemanly to write an anonymous letter to a 
private individual; why should it be otherwise to an 
editor ? We do not wish to publish names, but it is 
right that we should have names as a guarantee that a 
statement is made in good faith. Sign initials or any 
fancied signature to the article intended for publication, 
but give its the real name, as a clue to the author. 
'Flic ol‘ Mr, IPartlee.—Mr. R. 
G. Pardee, well known in the horticultural world, died in 
New York City on February 4tli, in his 57th year. Mr. P. 
was an enthusiastic lover of horticulture and the author 
of a work on the strawberry ; besides he was widely 
known as a devoted worker in the Sunday-school cause. 
Veterinary Education. — The New 
York Legislature could not do a better thing with the 
people's money than to extend such aid to the New York 
College cf Veterinary Surgeons as it gives to other educa¬ 
tional institutions. If they were to liberally endow it, it 
would be money well appropriated. 
'Flue Grape Ciooltssrist is the title of anew' 
monthly by George Husmanu, St. Louis, Mo.,at $2a year. 
Mr. II. informs us by letter that copies have been sent, 
but they have failed to reach us. The starting of a pe¬ 
riodical devoted exclusively to grapes and wine is an in¬ 
dication of the importance attached to this branch of in¬ 
dustry. Mr Husmanu is not only an experienced grape 
grower and vintner, but a remarkably vigorous writer, and 
we look for not only an instructive journal, but one with 
a great deal of “ snap ” to it. 
Ti*e OaBKiiiiasaati Slorticiiltmiral So¬ 
ciety show’s remarkable vitality. It will hold spring 
and summer exhibitions every Saturday from June 5th 
to July 31st, and offers most liberal premiums for such 
fruits, vegetables, and flowers as may be in season. The 
merchants of Cincinnati have taken hold of the matter, 
and offer liberal special premiums. The prospectus is a 
capital specimen of tasteful printing. The President of 
the Society is Capt. W. P. Anderson, and the Correspond¬ 
ing Secretary, C. II. Wardlow. 
S B 5tSEsa<“r*!4 “ licnven HffsaMiii'e.”—In 
our December number, we published an item in respect 
to this. It was written by one of our editors wholly from 
what appeared in the Circular itself, which was sent 
to us from a subscriber for an opinion. That Circular, 
taken by itself, without any explanations, would warrant 
the general inferences drawn. But Mr. Palmer has called 
upon us and made some explanations, which put rather 
a different face upon the matter. lie says he did not in¬ 
tend that Circular to go beyond the bounds of his annual 
route (though printed in general terms ;) that the $25 (or 
$15) he asks applies to those only so far aside as to re¬ 
quire extra labor, and includes recipes, a book of 200 
pages, and all necessary attention in preserving and pre¬ 
paring mixtures and manures of all kinds. We have no 
doubt that in such a work lie may be of practical service, 
however much we may call in question his science of 
manures. Any man devoting his whole time to making 
or w'orlcing manures w'ill be able to afford aid to those 
who give no observation to the subject, lint work hap¬ 
hazard. Mr. Palmer also brings us certificates from 
many of Iris neighbors and patrons for his good charac¬ 
ter as an honest Christian man, with good intentions. 
With these explanations and certificates, and after hear¬ 
ing from himself his desires and mode of operation, we 
very cheerfully withdraw any reflections upon his personal 
character, or his intention to humbug people, for w-c 
judge 1 hat. he means to do right. In saying this as to his 
personal character and intentions, W’C do not necessarily 
indorse his manures or “science.” We are perfectly will¬ 
ing that he should demonstrate his faitli by his works. 
A B5;(z:a:nr for Oias- BSeiiileirs 
is provided in the Advertising Pages, where they •can 
find what is for sale and by whom, and consult a great 
variety of establishments. We are sorry to lie compelled 
to leave out nearly three full pages of advertisements that 
arrived too late. Please be on time. Probably nowhere 
else can one find so many reliable business announce¬ 
ments brought together, for our rules exclude those not 
known personally, unless they furnish evidence that they 
have tlie ability and intention to do what they promise. 
We repeat the request that those sending to our adver¬ 
tisers for cards or circulars, or ordering, should mention 
the fact of seeing the advertisement in this journal. It 
gives special pleasure to advertisers to know where their 
business notices arc seen; and we like to have them 
learn something of the vast number of wide-awake 
people that see this journal, not only in every part of 
this continent, but also in remote lands. 
TL'Iie Bfioirilicailt sarist.—The first number 
of this journal under its new management lias a pleasant 
look, as it has returned nearly to its original form of page. 
The contents show signs of vigor, though bearing the 
marks of having been hastily made up. An eminent, writer 
said to ns a few days ago that “ no one ever should 
publish a first number, but destroy it after it was made 
up and begin with the second.” While we do not intend 
to say that the first number of the Horticulturist deserves 
this fate, we are sure that the second will be better, when 
the new editor becomes used to the harness, where we 
hope he will have a heavy load (of subscribers) to pull. 
'File C«irr«sit SSovev.— H. T. Prindle. 
The only way to “ prevent ” the ravages of the currant 
borer is to destroy the parent insect which lays the eggs. 
Traps of sweetened water might help. There arc two 
borers, one the larva of a small beetle, and the other that 
of a small moth. Cut off and burn the infested twigs. 
'Flaw ABBiei'Scasa IPoiBiolog-ical So¬ 
ciety. —A special meeting of the Executive and Fruit 
Committees was held in New York on February 10th, the 
Hon. Marshall P. Wilder presiding. The main object of 
tlie meeting was to give the fruit catalogues a more care¬ 
ful revision than could be done at the annual meeting. 
Though we missed many whom we hoped to see present, 
there was an assemblage fitly representing the pomolo- 
gists of tlie country. Tlie gentlemen went into the work 
with earnestness and prosecuted it with perseverance, 
and their labors will relieve the annual gathering of much 
time-consuming work. The prompt and well-matured 
decisions given by those present indicated a great 
amount of careful observation. As the work of revision 
was going on, it occurred to us that people in general 
know but little of their indebtedness to these workers in 
pomology, who give years of experiment to enable 
them to say whether a variety is worthy or unworthy of 
cultivation. Fruit growers all over the country reap the 
benefits of these observations, which for tlie most part 
are carried on through a love for tlie cause rather than 
from any prospect of gain. Among those who took an 
active part in the proceedings were Wilder, Hovey, Hyde, 
and Manning, of Massachusetts. New York was repre¬ 
sented by Downing, Barry, Ellwangcr, Messrs. Parsons, 
and others; New Jersey by Perry, Fuller, and Quinn; 
Eastern Pennsylvania by Mitchell, Hoopes, and Meehan, 
and the western part of the State by Knox and Bockstoce. 
Ohio found an able representative in Elliott. Saunders 
and Saul were present for the District of Columbia. 
Other names escape us at the moment, but enough have 
been given to show the character of the meeting. 
Asparagus.—The Horticultural Annual con¬ 
tains an excellent article on the market and garden cul¬ 
ture, by F. Brill, a New Jersey market gardener. 
KxceSsioi* IPotsutoes, from Mr. Jas. J. II. 
Gregory, Marblehead, Mass., were of really first quality. 
!“rssc*ica,S I-'toa-idMiIl Jii'O,—The imme¬ 
diate sale of the first issue of this work rendered it neces¬ 
sary to print a second edition at once. In doing so some 
typographical errors—which any one familiar with the 
subject must have seen were merely mistakes of the types, 
and not of the author—have been corrected. It is the 
only work which gives a full account of the management 
of a commercial florist’s establishment. The wants of 
tlie amateur are also kept in mind. Price by mail, $1.50. 
'Flic New York Trilmite deserves 
thanks for the persistence with wlxich it advertises the 
Agriculturist , in addition to what we pay for. Some one 
thought the tail of a cat in a picture in our children’s de¬ 
partment too large, and accordingly wrote to the Farm¬ 
ers’ Club (as the body most competent to judge of such 
subjects) upon this and other minor details of our pic¬ 
tures. This letter the Tribune kindly published, as it 
often does letters in which the Agriculturist is mentioned. 
Tlie February number, containing tlie pictures alluded to, 
lias had a remarkable sale, allowing the influence of the 
Tribune’s advertising. We return tlie favor by saying 
that the Weekly Tribune is a most admirable paper. If 
it would devote the columns which it facetiously heads 
“Agricultural” to some useful matter, well understood, 
it would be even a still greater marvel of excellence com¬ 
bined with cheapness than it now is. 
Tlie Stark Apple. —A variety under this 
name lias recently been attracting attention at the West. 
We give an outline of it, with Dr. Warder’s description, 
on another page. Since that page was printed a meet¬ 
ing of the Fruit Committees of the American Pomologi- 
eal Society was held in New York, at which specimens of 
tlie “Stark” were presented. The pomologists pro¬ 
nounced them to lie the Pennock, or Pennock’s Red Win¬ 
ter, an old and but little valued sort, under a new name. 
BBosiriiasaei-’i'S Metliwil.—We are rather taken 
to task for having said in a recent issue that we did not 
endorse tlie little book called “Bommer’s Method.” 
The writer sent for the pamphlet, made the tank, and 
followed the directions with great satisfaction,—no doubt 
greatly increasing tlie quantity and the quality of his ma¬ 
nure, and he does not see why we do not endorse it all, 
We do heartily approve the general process, and follow 
tlie same as nearly as we conveniently can ; but there arc 
some claims and statements in the book a little extrav¬ 
agant, or at variance with views at present received. 
^reeii-Mouses Upon IBosise-'Fops. 
—A correspondent of the Country Gentleman suggests 
that the modern style of building houses allows of the 
ready conversion of the attic into a conservatory or green¬ 
house. The idea is not a new one, it having been advo¬ 
cated as long ago as 1S61 by Mr. Samuel B. Parsons. An 
article on the subject, with illustrations, will be found in 
the Agriculturist for April, 1S61. It is not surprising that 
a plan so feasible should have suggested itself to others. 
'fi’l&e New Yoirk: 1'VaaIl, Growers’ 
Club are to have a committee who are to call on all the 
powers that be and are to be, to enlarge the “ Bureau of 
Agriculture into a full Department, so as to insure greater 
attention to horticulture.” Now we do not know what 
the “ Bureau” of Agriculture is. There is a Department 
of Agriculture in Washington, and had the Club desired 
to know what that has in contemplation for horticulture 
and abont its plans, the execution of which is only defer¬ 
red until spring, it could easily have obtained the knowl¬ 
edge. Mr. Saunders, of the Department., was present 
when the resolution was offered, and had he been called 
upon, he might have shown tlie Club that quite all they 
propose is already on its way toward accomplishment. 
Sundry ISiiiBilmg's.—The “ Gift Enter¬ 
prise ” business, which for some months past seemed 
to be on the decline, has in a measure revived again, and 
several of the more prominent companies are flooding the 
country with their circulars of “ great promise,” regard¬ 
less of the law in the matter. Those who have seen the 
notices of these various firms in our Humbug articles for 
the past year will not, of course, trust any of them. To all 
persons we say, invest in no “ gift lottery” or cheap jew¬ 
elry enterprise whatsoever. An instance showing how 
successful these leeches of society sometimes are in their 
operations was given in tlie Brooklyn police reports. 
On January 29th, one Jonah Andrews, of Fulton Street, 
Brooklyn, was arrested, and, although proof was strong 
against him, he was let go on his promise to quit tlie 
business. He admitted to the authorities that he had 
made over $100,000 at the business, most of which was 
invested in real estate. Young men of tlie country, when 
you feel tempted to trust the promises of such persons, 
remember that every cent you send them is so much en¬ 
couragement. to villany, and that, as a rule, you will never 
see the prize you send for or hear of tlie money again. 
_Haifa dozen parties in Boston, in Williamsburg, N. 
Y., and elsewhere, are operating in the “ dry goods ” 
line. On the receipt of a specified sum they propose to 
send a certain number of yards of cloth of various kinds 
and patterns. And to those who are willing to act as 
agents for them, they will, besides allowing 15 per cent 
on their sales, give them twelve yards of cloth as a pre¬ 
mium on their first sales amounting to $6. Tlie wise will 
risk no money on these schemes. The cat is well mealed 
over, but we see the ears, toes, tail, and tlie teeth sticking 
out. Some of them have no “ cat,” but arc like the “ Eu¬ 
reka Print Works”—well known to our readers as a 
thingnot to be found except on paper.. .E. A. Saunders is 
impressed with the belief thatpcople will think him hon¬ 
est and that he will do as he agrees. His plan is this: To 
make it appear to tlie managers of the “Delaware State 
Lottery” that they owe you a prize, you are to send him 
$10 in a letter dated one day previous to its being mailed. 
This letter he will put into the hands of tlie “ Managers,” 
and by a judicious system of lying obtain from them a 
prize-ticket which will entitle tlie holder to $100 in 
“ greenbacks.” This “ prize-ticket ” he agrees to return 
to you with instructions liowto get the prize! Of course 
none of our readers are verdant enough to be caught ini 
such a trap. The game is altogether too ancient, Mr. S., 
and you will have to try something new, or go among 
those the Agriculturist does n’t reach.... “ Music boxes " 
(a three-penny reed whistle), sold for one or more dollars 
each, are just now a favorite swindle adopted by swindling 
parties, new and old....“Rev. Edward H. Wilson !” 
This swindling wolf in sheep’s clothing continues to ad¬ 
vertise. Wo are glad to see in tlie Methodist Home 
Journal of Philadelphia a letter from a correspondent 
