12 4r 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
[April 
IlreediMj*- ol’ Fm^beariiig Ani¬ 
mals.—“J. E. S.,” Bridgeport, Conn. We entertain 
no doubts as to the possibility of profit—nay, its cer¬ 
tainty—under favorable conditions. Rabbits are bred so 
as to bring in a very fair income in England, both their 
flesh and fur contributing to'the result. Where fish offal 
is abundant, we believe that Cats in large numbers have 
been bred profitably, solely for their fur,—the varie¬ 
ties chosen being, of course, those whose fur brings the 
highest price, namely : clear gray ones, with dark, tiger¬ 
like bands, and black ones. A variety of food would 
doubtless be desirable, but butcher’s offal and fish of 
some kind are most acceptable to the animals. We 
know nothing of the particulars of this curious branch 
of industry, but would be glad of practical hints. A 
statement about a Minkeryin the central part of the State 
of New York has gone the rounds of the papers. The 
attempt was on a rather limited scale, but we see no rea¬ 
son why the effort to breed minks should not suceeed. 
^Woodcock taisd. 
Snipe is done in England, as a matter of fancy rather 
than of profit. The young ones, when captured, are 
stuffed with worms, in order to teach them to eat, the 
worms being put in at the side of the mouth, and crowd¬ 
ed down with a feather. As they get older, they will eat 
live worms from a shallow vessel, covered slightly with 
mud. One wing must be clipped, if the birds are to be 
kept in confinement, or they would surely escape. 
UIo rses janal Cows SBiJny BCcpt in 
Hie Same Stable without the least injury to either. 
The inquiries from different parts of the country wo have 
received on the subject, though once answered, seem to 
demand another response, and we here add our most 
positive assurance to the above simple statement. 
Mcias lls&tiaaj™’Slaoii* Ilg'g's.—R. B. Staf¬ 
ford asks how to break hens of eating their eggs. Supply 
plenty of finely pounded oyster shells, or, if these are not 
handy, provide bones; besides, some pork scrap cake dai¬ 
ly. Give at the same time an abundance of wheat screen¬ 
ings or other grain, and good, soft, secret nests. Allow 
no eggs to freeze, use artificial nest-eggs, and remove 
all eggs daily. Hens learn this from finding broken eggs. 
Cwmpes iaa CSaioStcias. —Anderson Campbell, 
of Tennessee, writes the American Agriculturist that, he 
finds from experience that by changing roosters every 
year, getting them from stock not akin to the hens, he is 
not troubled with gapes. Whether this is a preventive 
of gapes or not, there can be no doubt of the advantage 
of introducing new blood into the poultry yard, especially 
if care is used to get thoroughbred roosters of the best 
kinds. Stock from such is better able to resist disease 
of all kinds, than that from closely related progenitors. 
Sending; i'liiekcns to (lie .BSocky 
lTIouiitnins.—Mrs. J. A. Shreve, of Denver, Col., has 
received by express a trio of Brahmas in good order from 
G. il. Leavitt. The express messenger reported encount¬ 
ering a temperature of twelve degrees below zero on the 
plains. Provision was made for a supply of food and wa¬ 
ter. The fowls were sixteen days on the trip, and the 
express charges were $25 from New York to Denver. 
This is the first importation of Asiatic fowls to the Rocky 
Mountain States we have heard of. The natural way to 
get stock of these breeds on the Western coast would 
seem to be to bring them across the Pacific, though by this 
means few are obtained of superior quality, unless select¬ 
ed by a poultry fancier on the ground. 
Curcialio.—“ J. II. II.,” Delphi, Ind. The 
Curculio is able to fly, though it may sometimes prefer to 
climb. A pretty full account of the insect isgiven in the 
Agriculturist for May, 1864. 
C»l>l»ag;G Caterpillars.— G. W. Grant, 
Oceana Co., Mich. We cannot tell, without a de¬ 
scription, which “worm” it is that injures the cabbages. 
Try trapping, if salt, lime, and plaster have failed. 
Break off a cabbage-leaf and lay it over the head at, night; 
the worms will go under this for shelter, and may be de¬ 
stroyed early in the morning. A coop of chickens will 
help keep them in check. 
Painting stt DICai'it,—J. Mauglit, Frederick 
Co., Md. The sooner a barn or any wooden building is 
painted after its erection, the better. It ought to have a 
priming coat before the scaffolding is taken down, 
and after that it may be left six months, if necessary. 
This coat should be of good boiled oil, thinned with a 
little turpentine or benzine, to make it work easily. It is 
unnecessary for the priming to have much body. As 
soon as this is dry, of later, if more convenient, we may 
paint the building. Pure white lead is the best and 
cheapest paint that has an enduring color. (The most 
lasting is black paint; lamp-black in oil, or coal tar as- 
phaltum dissolved in benzine makes a very lasting black 
paint.) White paint may be tinted of any color, and a 
barn should never be painted white. By taking a little 
pains, some pleasant neutral tint may easily be formed, 
which will harmonize with the landscape. To choose a 
color, go to a spot where the soil is not dark and peaty, (it 
matters not whether it be clayey or sandy) tear up a sod, 
let the earth dry, and take that for the color of the barn; 
wet it, and take that for the color of the door and window 
casings, cornice, and corner strips. The house should be 
decidedly lighter than the barn, and usually of a warmer 
tint, that is, inclining a little more towards red and yel¬ 
low than towards blue. Bines, bluish-greens, and grays, 
are “cold” colors. Distinct yellows, reds, pinks, or 
bines, are horrible; cream and straw colors are almost as 
bad, but are easily modified with a dash of brown to very 
agreeable light, warm, stone colors. Browns are pretty, 
if neither too dark nor too red. Grays are cold, and 
should be warmed with brown or yellow ochre. Neither 
dwellings nor barns should be darker than the surface of 
fresh-plowed ground where they stand, unless of stone. 
A Coi»sma.4li*MiiM.—“ We desire you to answer 
the following: We were driving two horses close along 
by a ditch or ravine, perhaps eight feet deep. One of the 
horses gave the other a jostle which threw him off his 
balance, and he fell into the ditch, back down, heels up, 
and he fitted in the ravine so nicely that it was impossible 
for him to get out. We were twelve, and fourteen years 
old, and six miles from home. What would you have 
done in such a case? Please answer.—A n Egyptian.” 
The 12-year-old should have held the other horse. The 
14-year-old should have unbuckled the harness of the one 
that was down, made a rope fast to the shank of the un¬ 
der hind leg, hitched his mate to it, and started up— 
easy ! If that wouldn’t do, he should have gone for help. 
Slone Banae vs. Slacll.—“A. B.”, Syra¬ 
cuse, wishes to know which is the better for the land, 
shell or stone lime.—Oyster-shell lime contains about 
one per cent of phosphate of lime, and is generally con¬ 
sidered better than the lime made from marble or lime¬ 
stone. Tlie latter is used extensively in Pennsylvania 
and New Jersey, because it is the most accessible. All 
the shells on the shore, if burned, would not meet the 
wants of these sections. Either is a good application, and 
ought to be much more generally used. Stone lime con¬ 
taining a large proportion of magnesia should be avoided. 
“ TSae Balea oil’ Underdrainiug' is 
Neav to Me. 5 ’— So writes a Tennessee correspondent 
of the Agriculturist, and he would like to receive further 
instructions. We shall have much to say in the future, as 
in the past, on this important branch of farming. In the 
meantime he should get Waring’s Draining for Profit and 
for Health, and if there is any thing he does not under¬ 
stand we will do all we cau to throw light on the point. 
TSae CJaraoaical News is a republication 
of the English periodical of the same name, with an Amer¬ 
ican addition. It is of great value to all who would keep 
posted as to the progress of chemical science. 
BSofsase of llae Sendgi'ing’ Vats.— 
“ I can get a hundred loads of the refuse from the steam- 
tank of a slaughtering house, but the stench is distress¬ 
ing to my neighbors. How can I cart it without of¬ 
fense?”—So writes an Indiana correspondent. This is 
probably the solid or partly solid residue, after the 
“ soup ” has drained off, the whole solid and liquid mass 
having been thrown out into a heap. It decomposes very 
rapidly, and must either be composted, dried upon the 
spot, or carted away. To cart it in its decomposing state, 
without at least partial deodorization, is impossible. 
Gypsum would absorb ammonia if scattered liberally 
over the top of the cart, but would not destroy the efflu¬ 
via. If the mass be solid enough to sustain a covering 
of two or three inches of dry earth, thrown upon it after 
it is in the tight box-cart or wagon, this would be effi¬ 
cient. The fresh material might be mixed with lime 
without loss, provided it were to be composted with earth 
or peat, or put into the soil before a great while. If 
the fresh refuse is very liquid, it might pay to move it in 
tight hogsheads or boxes, without attempting to deodor¬ 
ize it. Why not hire half an acre of land, and compost 
it thoroughly, somewhere near the slaughter-house? 
The Illustrated,IBegister ot’IBiaral 
Affairs for 1869. By J. J. Thomas, Albany. 
Luther Tucker & Sou, By some oversight this Annual 
was not noticed at its appearance some months ago. Out 
appreciation of tills admirable series Is shown by our 
keeping it on our book list. Whatever bears the name 
of John J. Thomas is sure to be good, and this year’s 
Register is no exception. A series of these Annuals is a 
capital thing to have in one’s library. 
Saag»-ar sib. ILoaaisiaaaa. — “A. B. B.” writes 
from New Orleans: “We are learning much from the 
North now oven about our own peculiar crops, for your 
Western small sugar mills and evaporators are revolu¬ 
tionizing the sugar culture, which it was once thought 
only the very rich could undertake.” 
IPa'iclcIy Pear.— 1 “ P.” says : “In your in¬ 
teresting account of the Cactus family in the January 
number you failed to notice one very valuable property 
of the plant, viz.: if the leaves are bruised and placed in 
the kettles used in rendering tallow or lard, it will cause 
1 lie candles made out of the same to be hard and firm even 
in summer time.” 
Special Fertilizer for Potatoes.— 
“ F. W. B.,” of Edenton, N. C., asks : “ Can you advise 
me that within your own knowledge, you have known 8 
bushels of ashes, G of lime, 4 of plaster, and 2 of salt, to 
the acre to be applied to Irish potatoes with success ?”— 
We have never used these articles mixed in these propor¬ 
tions for this crop, but have used them all separately. We 
have no doubt that the mixture is a good one, and that it 
will produce very marked effects upon this or any of the 
hoed crops. A half a ton of muck or peat composted 
with the mixture, and afterwards mixed with 100 pounds 
of Peruvian guano, would improve it. 
StarcSa Mills. —In Northern New Hamp¬ 
shire, remote from railroads and markets, starch making 
is profitable. Thereabouts, there are said to be forty 
starch factories, each turning out fifty tons a year of 
prime starch, worth $150 a ton. A half million bushels 
of potatoes makes 2,000 tons of starch, which sells for 
about $300,000. Thus the community realizes 60c. per 
bushel for the potatoes. The farmer’s share is, of course, 
much less, in cash, but he is benefited by having the 
manufacture going on in his vicinity. 
Spoils assail 'Frees.—“G. W. G.” If a nursery 
tree is well grown, has good roots, and well-ripened wood, 
we should not care whether it was produced on a sandy 
soil or a clayey one. 
H'ocxl aaasl BVeig'lit.—Mr. Josiah Quincy 
argues ably before the Social Science Association 
against railroad monopolies, and high freight tariffs. In 
some parts of Maine the high price of food caused suffer¬ 
ing, while in Minnesota corn was 50c. per bushel. Ought 
the freight charges on breadstuff’s to be established by 
law ? This is contrary to the spirit of our institutions. 
Will the establishment of new lines of railroad cure the 
evil ? Ask the President of the New York Central. 
Oil-calcc Atlaalterateal.—“F. G. C.,” 
Dunham, Ct., writes: “I want to purchase some extra 
feed for my cattle this spring. Is there any security for 
the purity of oil-cake ?”—There is none but the character 
of the dealer of whom you purchase it. We have not 
heard any complaint of adulteration in tills country, but 
it is quite common in England, where it is much more 
extensively used. The singular fact that we can buy in 
New York City meal supposed to be pure at just about 
the same or even at a lower price than we can buy the 
unground cake leads people to suspect fraud, but we 
think it is because only the hard, whole cake is used for 
shipping, while the broken or soft cake of equally good 
quality is ground for consumption in this country. 
Field l*cas.—“ J. L.,” Washington Co., Ill. 
Your “ peas ” are beans of some variety which wo do not 
recognize. Several are cultivated in the South which are 
not known to the books. We advertise only in our ad¬ 
vertising columns; your stock of seed is too small for 
you to offer it for sale as proposed. 
Nataaa*al laaarclaiaag- often occurs. “ J. 
E. E.,” of Gettysburgh, O., sends us a specimen from a 
white oak and red oak which had formed a perfect union. 
A National Potato Growers’ Coss- 
vention.—L. D. S., Huron, O., suggests: “We have 
Grape Growers’ ConventionSj Poultry Shows, Strawberry 
Shows, Squash Exhibitions, etc. Why not call together 
the potato growers of this country, so that all may be 
benefited by the experience of each one ? It would save 
much trouble and confusion if potato growers could get 
together and agree upon the proper name of each variety 
of potato ; then we should not have ‘ Shakers’ Fancy ’ 
under twenty different local names, as it now is, 
' Early Buckeye ' with ft dozen local names; and so oni” 
