1869 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
241 
of numbers sent to our office will be neatly bound in our 
regular style for 75 cents per volume, (50 cents extra if re¬ 
turned by mail.) Missing numbers supplied at 12c. each. 
'Fl»e Approsicliiaag 1 Blairs aai«l Cat¬ 
tle SSiows.—It is very desirable that we should be in¬ 
formed early when and where the various shows of the 
whole country are to be held, in order that, going to press 
as we do weeks in advance of the date ot the issue, we 
may prepare as complete lists as possible. Please send 
premium lists as soon as out, newspaper notices, marked , 
or information by letter—any thing that will give us the 
name of the Fair, the Town, County, and State, where it 
is held, and the responsible business man. Don't forget 
the State; many of the printed premium lists do not 
mention it, and it is often impossible to locate an import¬ 
ant fair on this account. Another thing. Don’t think 
“ somebody must have sent the Agriculturist a notice,” 
but mail one at once, and then you know it is done. 
Potato Essays.—The prizes for Essays 
upon potato culture offered by the Rev. W. T. Wiley, as 
announced in April last, will not be awarded until Sep¬ 
tember next. Essays may be sent to the care of D. K. 
Bliss & Son, 41 Park Row, New York. 
JPIiotog'rssplas «F Cattle.— Capt. W. P. 
Anderson, of Cincinnati, O., sends us some fine largo por¬ 
traits of his Jersey stock. The cow Daffodil was imported 
from the Queen’s herd at Windsor. Beauty Blucher is a 
fine heifer, and Buttercup Blucher, another heifer, makes 
a most pleasing picture. The animal is held by the 
Captain’s little boy, who for the occasion, wears his 
father’s hat. His expression at the ludicrousness of the 
situation is admirably rendered by the photograph. 
A Great Cattle SIiow at Altosaa.— 
Altona is a city of Holstein, lying on the Elbe, about two 
miles from the city of Hamburg. It is of as convenient 
access to the whole civilized world as could be desired. 
Here a cattle show, open to the live-stock of all coun¬ 
tries, is announced for the 3d to the 7th of September 
next, to be held in connection with a general exhibition 
of industry at the same place, continuing from the 27th 
of August to September 13th, as already announced. The 
prizes for live-stock are liberal, and the rules and pro¬ 
gramme of the exhibition are such, we judge, as will 
give satisfaction, and secure equitable awards. This 
show offers to travelers on the continent an excellent op¬ 
portunity to study the Holstein breeds of neat cattle. In 
the premium list which we have received in English, 
there are no less than four of the large native breeds of 
“Marsh” cattle enumerated, besides the Middle and 
Highland breeds. Applications are to be made to the 
Secretary, Director A. Schaffers, No. 110 KOnigs-strasse, 
Altona, and we presume the Prussian Consul in New 
York will furnish information and premium lists. 
Tlie Reconstructed Farmer.— In a 
notice of this journal on another page, we omitted to say 
that it is published at Tarboro’, N. C., at $2.00 a year. 
Poudrette wills B6ry Eartl». —We have 
never seen anything by the name of Poudrette in market, 
or the same thing sold under other names, which was 
worth much, if any, more than barn-yard manure ; but eve¬ 
ry man may utilize the night-soil of his own establishment, 
if he will, by mixing it continually with dried earth, and 
have a poudrette of great excellence for home use. The 
employment of charcoal dust with night-soil as a deo¬ 
dorizer should always be avoided, as a loss of ammonia 
almost always ensues. 
Mrs. Sally M. Spencer sin'll Baca* Pic¬ 
tures.—The beautiful engraving called “Take your 
Choice” on page 204 is from a painting by Mrs. Lilly M. 
Spencer, a lady who has won an honorable name in art. 
Though of a poetic imagination, and the author of many 
paintings which comprise classical and allegorical sub¬ 
jects, she is best known for her pictures of domestic life. 
Her works of this class have been reproduced in colored 
lithographs and other forms, and through these her name 
has become a familiar one throughout the country. Find¬ 
ing that pictures of a domestic character with something 
( of the humorous in them were more popular than those 
to which her natural tastes inclined her, Mrs, S. for some 
years painted such subjects almost exclusively. Her 
“Shake Hands,” “Jolly Washerwoman,” “The Gos¬ 
sips,” and others, are known to all lovers of pictures. 
They are full of life and meaning, and at the same time 
finished with an accuracy and detail that few artists at¬ 
tempt, The engraving given on another page shows how 
capitally Mrs. Spencer introduces children into her pic¬ 
tures. In another picture called “ Dandelion Time,” she 
represents three children and a huge Newfoundland dog, 
which is decked with a dandelion wreath. The whole 
gubjecj; is go pleasing ajuj §g yyejl Jreated that the pub* 
lishers of the Agriculturist are about to issue it as a 
cliromo, which will be announced as soon as ready. Mrs. 
S. at present has her studio in N. Y. City, where she is 
successfully engaged in portrait painting, and at the same 
time is producing other pictures. Among her latest pro¬ 
ductions are “ War Times at Homo,” “The Home of the 
Red, White and Blue,” “The Starry Flag,” “Beauty to 
the Brave,” etc. Her greatest work, and one highly 
commended by those who have seen it, is a large allegor¬ 
ical picture called “ Truth unveiling Falsehood.” It con¬ 
tains six figures of life size, and is considered by good 
judges to show great power in its conception as well as 
skill in the execution. 
66 STvc Acres; too Mitcla.*’—By Robert 
B. Roosevelt. Pp. 210. N. Y.: Harper & Bros. An injunc¬ 
tion should bo put upon the sale of this book, for we 
consider it a dangerous thing to be let loose upon the 
community. This opinion is formed Rom its effect upon 
ourselves. Though progressive in most matters, we 
have some old fogy notions about books and one of these 
is to read them before noticing them. We read “ Five 
Acres too Much,” and when wc laid it down felt as lame 
and sore as if wc had done a hard day’s work at mowing 
or rowing. Is a book which makes one laugh until he 
cries, laugh until lie is tired and cannot laugh any more, 
a safe thing? We call the attention of the Board of 
Health to the Harpers, and give ours to the book. It is 
the story of a city lawyer who went to the country to 
farm it on five acres, and contains an account of the 
blunders of a novice. There is a perfect breeze of fun 
through the whole, not boisterous fun, but charming and 
irresistible, and it is marked by a genial appreciation of 
the ludicrous. We have not for a long time been so 
thoroughly amused as in reading this book, and laughed 
none the less at the gentle digs he gives us as editors 
in general, and of the Agriculturist in particular. Flush¬ 
ing is the scene of our author’s exploits in horticulture, 
and as our Senior Publisher is the Chief Magistrate of 
that town, we hope he will haul Mr. R. over the coals 
for some of his detracting remarks concerning that beau¬ 
tiful place. Wc don’t think he has injured it much, 
however, and any sensible man will consider it an addi¬ 
tional inducement to live in Flushing now that he knows 
so clever a person as the author lives there on “five 
acres too much.” Price by mail $1.50. 
Igaill ESarncss.—We would be glad to re¬ 
ceive drawings and descriptions, either or both, of good, 
practical ways of harnessing a single bull for work at 
plowing or in a wagon or cart. 
r ][’Ite Mexican EverHsearirag Straw¬ 
berry just now occupies the attention of our Western 
exchanges, some strongly advocating its claims and 
others denouncing it as a “ transparent humbug.” We 
briefly answer numerous letters in regard to it. The 
same thing was exhibited at the N. Y. State Fair last fall 
as the “ Maximilian,” and was decided by the fruit com¬ 
mittee to be only the old Bush Alpine. We saw the 
plants, and at the time thought that the committee were 
right. Since then our friend Judge Geo. W. Clinton, of 
Buffalo, N. Y., has named this strawberry as a new species 
and calls it Fragaria Gillmani. While we would give all 
deference to Judge Clinton, we think he has been hasty, as 
we fail to see in the characters he has given anything that 
makes a very distinct variety of this plant, letting alone the 
question of its being a distinct species. We have the 
plant in cultivation, obtained from head-quarters, and 
shall be able to determine if it is as good as, or better 
than, the Alpines we have already. From the manner in 
which the plant was first introduced, and its change of 
name, it would take a very strong affidavit to make us 
believe that it ever came from Mexico at all. 
SiiorticiiBlf.saral Patents.—Mr. E. IT. 
Reilil, at a meeting,of the Alton Horticultural Society, 
gave a hard hit at some of those who have patented proc¬ 
esses in horticulture. He finds that grape cuttings upon 
a sunny and sandy slope root earlier than elsewhere, and 
proposes to get out a patent to prevent others from using 
soils which are similarly favorably situated. He also has 
a cellar which keeps his cuttings at the right temperature 
and moisture, and proposes to patent that also. Mr. 
Reilil proposes all this in burlesque, but if lie were to go 
to the patent office we have, no doubt he could get a 
patent. Things more ridiculous than these are patented. 
fiMaals Named.- At this season we have 
numerous favors in the way of plants to be named. Wc 
wish our friends to understand that it is generally diffi¬ 
cult to name plants from leaves only. The flower, leaf, 
and, where possible, the more or less developed seed pod 
or fruit should bo enclosed. Moreover, we cannot under¬ 
take to name things put together promiscuously. If one 
sends us four or sis specimens in a lump without desig¬ 
nating them by numbers, wq pajnwt giyp space to de¬ 
scribe them so that the sender can know which is which. 
-R. J. R., Midway, Ky. No. 1 is our native Wistaria, 
Wistariafrzilescens, a most excellent climber to cultivate; 
No. 2 is probably a Trumpet Creepor, but the materials 
are insufficient_Michael Eberhard, Jr., Clayton Co., 
Iowa. Probably the American Cowslip or Shooting Star, 
Dodecatheon Meadia ; but you should send more than a 
solitary flower_G. W. C., Parkersvillc, Tenn. The 
plant known to you as “ Purple Shade,” is the Feathered 
Hyacinth, Hfuscaricotnosuni _S. B. AY., Columbia, Conn. 
The flowers which puzzled the ladies are those of the 
Fringed Polygala, Polygala paucifolia, one of the most 
beautiful if our early spring plants_Jas. J. Strong, 
Benton Co., Mo. The plant, the “ root of which contains a 
paint,” is the Hoary Puccoon or Alkanet, Lilhosperinum 
canescens. The root was formerly used by the Indians as 
a paint and dye....E. A. E., Anson Co., N. C. The 
“grass” sentis notagrass proper, but a sedge. Itissome 
species of C'yperus, but too young to determine. None 
of this family are of value as fodder, though they are use¬ 
ful as bedding and in the manure heap... .Thos. Middle- 
ton, Mason Co., AA'est Va. No. 1 is the Cranesbill, Gera- 
iuum mam,latum, figured in June last; No. 2 is a Phlox, 
probably Phlox divaricata ; but how can one tell from 
such a small snip? 
Sassalras Slioots 'IVoialdesomo 
Weeds .— 11 E. P. It.” asks: “ Can you give me a sure 
method of eradicating sassafras shoots?”—They will not 
bear repeated plowings. The way to get rid of them is 
the one you suggest, viz., to “ eradicate.” After plow¬ 
ing, or even when plowing, let men follow the plow and 
pull out every root they see. We presume there is a 
market for the clean roots or bark, sufficient to pay the 
expenses of the job, or a good part of them at any rate. 
When those roots not seen show shoots, grub them out. 
The land may be put in corn or any hoed crop. 
Sundry Mnnibngs.—AVefeel called upon 
to again warn all persons against the wicked transactions 
into which Gumbridge & Co. would entice them. Their 
“Fac-simile U. S. Treasury Notes ” are nothing but 
reduced photographic copies of the genuine ones, and 
utterly worthless as money. No person, who lias any re¬ 
gard for his own honor, would engage to take these notes 
from Gumbridge & Co., and we hope our readers will 
remember that both parties in such a transaction are 
equally culpable.The man who advertises as the 
“Howard Medical Association, Philadelphia,” has taken 
upon himself the management of the health of a 
certain class of the community, and in a circular to 
his patients on “diet and self-management,” he makes 
a mess of it surely. But this was to be expected. 
The treatment of the disease we consider erroneous, and 
the immoral tone of some parts of the circular ob¬ 
jectionable.The “ New York Jewelers’ Co-operative 
Union” still keep at their “preliminary drawing.” 
Messrs. C. C. Havens & Co., can’t you get through this 
preliminary business and give us a taste of the regular 
thing? Some are getting tired of waiting 1_Messrs. H. 
M. Johnston & Co., New York, have gone into the lottery 
business. Their plan differs but little from other “ Gift 
Lotteries.” The holder must return the ticket to them 
inclosing $1, within fifteen days, or lose his prize. AA r e 
advise all ticket holders to keep their dollar and lose 
their prize, for if they send the money they will probably 
lose both.R. G. Barnwell, Philadelphia, is in the 
“ oroide ” watch business. The number given as his 
office is that of a flourishing daily paper, and no such 
person is known by any of the occupants of the build¬ 
ing ; so we infer that Mr. B. is no more reliable than his 
watches. Our opinion of the above-named watches has 
been sufficiently set forth_Mr. E. C. Allen, Augusta 
Me., is a great man. AA r e have before us his descriptive 
catalogue, in which he proposes to teach those who will 
go to Maine and work for him, how to make “ thirty-six 
valuable and best-selling articles of the day.” This is 
not all; boys and girls can do it, and do it in the even¬ 
ing, and make from $1 to $5 a night at the business,—a 
“grand inducement!” To those who cannot go to him 
he offers for sale the whole batch of receipts and in¬ 
structions for $2. Ah! now we begin to smell the rat. 
Mr. A. wants your $2, and if you don’t care to go the whole 
thing, he will send “ Five Horse Tamer’s secrets,” for a 
dollar! ! AVe advise Mr. A. to get into some other busi¬ 
ness, or cover his tracks better; that thing won’t work. 
... A person calling himself A. G. Holman has been 
traveling through Ohio, representing that he is the pro¬ 
prietor or agent for disposing of the right to manufacture 
and sell_self-raising flour prepared with Prof. Hereford's 
Patent Cream of Tartar substitute. He has usually sold 
the right for a certain sum, cash, and then given direc¬ 
tions for preparing the flour, and prices for which the in¬ 
gredients could be procured of '■■his agents ” in Chicago, 
Cincinnati, or. elsewhere. Some of the parties’ who 
bought rights ordered their ingredients of the firms 
referred to by Holman, and though them found that they 
