386 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
[October, 
S*©acla Tree BE>Ssease«l.—“P. E. G.,” 
Lancaster Co., Pa. If the tree has the yellows, it may 
be known by the weak growth and the yellow color of 
the leaves. There is probably no remedy for it. As the 
fruit is frequently wormy, the failure may be due to in¬ 
sects, added to exhaustion from over-bearing. If the 
case is decidedly one of yellows, it is better to destroy 
the tree at once than to risk the disease being communi¬ 
cated to other trees. 
Osage Wraaag-c iia Bowsa.— F. L. Warner, 
Floyd Co., Iowa. The probabilities arc against the har¬ 
diness of the Osage Orange in lat. 43°, but the degree of 
latitude is no sure indication of the character of the 
climate. The plants will continue to grow until checked 
by the frost. They are then mowed over near the 
ground, dug up (or plowed up if the quantity is large), 
tied in convenient bundles, and stored in a cellar, with a 
covering of earth, or buried outside in a place where 
water will not stand, and below the reach of frost. 
ES«ej»ssng' I®lasits.—Mrs. E. M. Allen, 
Marion Co., West Ya. When cold weather comes, put 
the Fuchsia in the cellar. The Geraniums will keep in 
the cellar if not too damp. It is best to cut them back 
well. Your roses are hardy, and may be left out all winter. 
BAcrere EScnsss.—Mrs. E. M. A. picks the 
beans as soon as the pods begin to turn, and strings them 
on twine. The strings are hung in the sun or around the 
stove. She finds that they dry better in the pod than 
when shelled. 
ESensnatla.—A. Barton. Steamer for Ber¬ 
muda leaves every third Thursday. Passage, §30. Board 
at hotel, $2 per day, all in gold. Ladies can go alone. 
We prefer to answer personal queries like these by letter, 
and the address should always be sent. 
' Bosnia — E. Snyder, Highland, 
Has., writes: “ While there is no doubt of the advantages 
of fall planting in some portions of the country, we have 
a large tract of partially developed country, splendid for 
fruit, but where failure is almost certain to follow fall 
planting.”—It is probable that this failure is due to the 
prevalence of drying winds, which are often more injuri¬ 
ous to newly set trees than severe cold. 
CreTblt>ag;es. —“ E. O- W.,” Bethany, Pa. If 
the leaves turn yellow, examine the root; it is likely that 
insects are at work, or they have already caused club-foot. 
There is probably no help for them now. 
Ivy ©oes not Clang- — “J. P- P-,” Mer¬ 
cer Co., N. J. Probably the wind blows the plant about, 
and it does not stay in one place long enough to get a 
hold. Next spring try fastening it up by small leather 
shreds, secured by small nails driven into the mortar. 
CErnsscs Kamcd.-M. D. Mucltret, Hard¬ 
wick, Vt. The grass or grain you found with your seed 
wheat is the Chess, or Cheat (. Bromus secalinus ), about 
which there is so much talk, and which some people still 
believe is a degenerate wheat_A. G. Chase, Easton, 
Kas. Tlie Pungent Meadow-grass ( Eragrostis poceoides. 
var. megastachya). It is an introduced grass from 
Europe, and often appears as a weed in cultivated 
grounds. We never heard of its being put to any use. 
IPccmji I>ocs mot EBorer.—“ R. L. T.,” 
Rapides, La., has a large Pecan tree which bears full of 
husks, but no kernels. He proposes to try root-pruning. 
We should not look for any marked benefit, as the tend¬ 
ency to bear seems well established, which is the object 
sought for in root-pruning. It may be that there is a de¬ 
ficiency of staminate (male) flowers, or some malforma¬ 
tion in the ovary. In either of these cases, root-pmning 
would be useless. If staminate flowers are not produced 
—which may just possibly be the case—another tree plant¬ 
ed near would remedy the trouble; but if tho ovary is 
defective, no treatment can probably help it. 
Arc BIHclsory Stills Soeats ?—R. Wool- 
man. We never had any doubt that a hickory nut was a 
seed as much as a bean or a turnip seed. The question 
had reference to a Post-office decision, a Postmaster 
having refused to take the nuts by mail, on tho ground 
that they were not seeds, but nuts—a most singular 
ruling, but it was sustained at head-quarters. Perhaps 
the present, officials will take a more intelligent view of 
the matter, and not construe the law in such a way as to 
prevent those who wish to raise trees upon the prairies 
from receiving their seeds by mail. Under the former 
ruling, potatoes, wheat, and corn, could go in any quan¬ 
tity, and nuts—so far as we have heard—were the only 
things excluded. 
AcgetaTble IFarsaaiiag' itm So- Car.— 
At a meeting of vegetable growers of Charleston Neck, 
a few weeks ago, it was stated that vegetable farming 
had ceased to be profitable. Various causes were assigned 
for this condition of things, among which were bad seed, 
inadequate means of transportation, and exorbitant 
commissions. The farmers of Charleston Neck and sev¬ 
eral other parishes have made arrangements to form a 
farmers’ mutually protective club, to investigate and 
remedy these matters. The report of their proceedings 
shows that they have gone to work in a sensible manner, 
and we shall be glad to hear of their future doings. 
WiltJ E®©£re8© Tins®.— “E. P.,” Stamford, 
Conn., has his orchard overrun with the Wild Potato 
('Jpomtm pandurata ), which is not a potato at all, bnt a 
Morning Glory, with a huge root. The writer has one 
on his place which he pets, and would not have dug np 
on any account; but he can readily see how there might 
be too much of a good thing. We should dig up the large 
roots of the old vines this antumn, and then next year 
begin a regular fight with the young ones as soon as the 
sprouts start. The old fellows have laid in provisions 
enough to allow them to stand a long siege.—Your bird¬ 
house we have already published. 
ISecft Stig'ai*.—Several have asked for inform¬ 
ation concerning the manufacture of sugar from beets. 
It is not practicable on a small scale, but requires exten¬ 
sive machinery and large capital. We have a work on 
the subject by E. B. Grant. Price, post-paid, $1.25. 
CrelllHotnaHre SBaitter.—J. Berkiasks “Why 
does not California make its own butter?”—We suppose 
that it is for the want of suitable pasturage. The sum¬ 
mer drouths are such that in many portions of the State 
it is impossible to grow anything without irrigation. 
The subject is receiving the attention of California agri¬ 
culturists, and there is no doubt that before long the 
State will produce its own butter. 
CSa-relarem Meal.—“ L. S.” wishes to know 
what Graham Meal is. Graham Meal, also called Graham 
flour, is wheat ground without bolting. It contains not 
only the flour but the bran. Bread made of this is in 
some places called Brown Bread, bnt real New England 
Brown Bread is a mixture of Rye and Indian meals. 
WretCB* for CBaeese IFrecfloraes.—“ J. 
J. M.,” Oconomowoc, Wis., asks if all the cheese fac¬ 
tories in New York are supplied from springs—adding, 
“ If they are, and if it is essential to success, we shall be 
obliged to dispense with them in our State. Can they 
not be supplied with water from some other source?”— 
In case the water is not cold, coming directly from 
springs, ice is essential. Ice is a great convenience, 
even with good spring water, and success with other 
water would be impossible without it; while with good 
water, and a well-stocked ice-house, the dairyman may 
be quite independent of springs. 
BE«>e*s©=1k>©Js:„—A re OpiBsaos# ChIvcbb.— 
“A Friend,” writing from Perth, Out., asks: “Will you 
please express your opinion, if obtained from thorough 
examination, about a work advertised in your paper, 
“Hints to Horsekeepers,’ by the late H. W. Herbert?”— 
Wo regard it as the best book we know of, treating 
briefly, yet comprehensively, of the care of, breeding, 
training, breaking, and using, horses. “Stonehenge” 
treats the same subjects much more at length, and the 
volume contains a treatise of great merit on the diseases 
of horses. Herbert’s work is very modestly called 
“Hints,” when really it is a great deal more, besides 
being written in a very pleasant style, and well illustrated. 
l>o®s CErreisi Grow ii» SBae iSlaocIc Hre 
It an*a* ?—E. Topping, Ottawa, Kansas, writes that 
he notices that a Kansas correspondent of an Eastern 
agricultural paper, says : “ My hay all rotted, barley has 
sprouted, and wheat is sprouting, and oats cannot bo 
harvested.” Ilis own experience is different, as he 
writes: “I live near the center of the State, and have 
not heard of a grain of wheat or barley sprouting, but 
both are of the best quality, and all admit there never 
was so fine a crop of oats in the country. Although we 
have had a rainy season, yet there has been good weather 
enough to save crops in fine order. The last two weeks 
have been the hay harvest; the crop is now nearly secur¬ 
ed, in the best, of order, and without a drop of rain. Now 
I don’t see where that correspondent lives. Tho enclosed 
slip from a Ft. Scott paper will inform you of the Southern 
part of the State. Do justice to Kansas.”-From the Ft. 
Scott Press : “ Will some philosopher tell us why wheat 
will not grow in Kansas while standing out in the shock 
during four weeks of constant rainy weather ? In the 
climate of Ohio or Wisconsin, half the number of warm, 
rainy days that we have had during harvest would not 
have left a grain of wheat unsprouted. Why is it that 
our wheat has not grown ?” 
An Apple CEa-owing- on re, lEa’rep© 
Vine. —“F. M. B.,” Kingsville, O., sends ns the follow¬ 
ing: “Enclosed I send you what I think a queer freak 
of nature, which, as you will observe in the sketch I 
have hastily prepared, is a combination of an apple and 
a grape, or nearly a perfect apple on a grape vine. Tho 
vine on which this phenomenon occurred runs among 
the branches of an apple-tree. The skin of this peculiar 
fruit bedrs resemblance to both fruits, though quite 
glossy and of a purplish tinge. At first sight I supposed 
it to be. a protuberance caused by some insect, as I had 
observed them of different kinds on wild grape vines; but 
as it was of so peculiar a form I plucked the vine to ob¬ 
tain it as a curiosity, and on looking it over I thought it 
might be an apple, so I cut it in two and found quite dis¬ 
tinctly marked the seed vessels of an apple. The grape 
is an Isabella ; the apple, by some is called the Honey- 
sweet. This may furnish some information regarding 
the mixing of fruits.”—The above, which was accom¬ 
panied by a very neatly made drawing, shows how a per¬ 
son quite disposed to investigate a matter may allow 
himself to be deceived after all. no suspected it was 
produced by an insect, bnt cutting it open, found cells, 
and forthwith concluded it was an apple. Had he ex¬ 
amined the contents of these cells he would have found 
that each one contained a yellowish grub or maggot, and 
though externally and internally there were resemblances 
to an apple, the thing was a gall after all. We have seen 
a number of these galls and they cannot be very rare. 
IFretrare Wamte«t.—We get a good many let¬ 
ters like the following, but rarely having the merit of 
such brevity; in fact it is a model: “Dear Sirs:—Will you 
please be kind enough to inform me of a good, healthy 
farm (also eminently fertile), which is the most favora¬ 
ble for raising Northern fruit, such as apples, pears, 
peaches, plums, and grapes, and that can be purchased 
at a moderate price ’’’—This is written by a woman, and 
if the men would write as much to the point, though 
using twice as many words, they would have our thanks, 
and many more answers. We cannot help Madame- 
at all. No real-estate office is connected with the 
American Agriculturist. She, and all of her class, as 
soon as they are ready to breakup, sell out, and buy new 
farms, should state their wants in a concise advertisement 
in the Agriculturist or some other good paper. They 
would have plenty of responses, we doubt not. 
Sap Sjsorets.—“ G. M. g.,” of Montpelier, 
Vt., writes in reply to Young Farmer’s query in the Sep¬ 
tember number of the Agriculturist: “I have made 
many thousands of tin and sheet-iron sap spouts, linvo 
used cast-iron, wood, etc., but best of all is one that I 
made and used last year. It is a simple tube, made of 
DXX tin, % inch in diameter, and 3 inches long. I make 
them on a half-inch rod, and solder them. I use a half- 
inch bit or auger, and bore the hole from one inch to one 
and a half inch deep. Such spouts will not injure tho 
trees, will not rust, or be thrown out by freezing, are 
cheap and durable. Do not use more than one to a tree, 
unless you would risk scaling and spoiling your trees.” 
Bee Kotes —By M. Quinby. 
A correspondent writes: “ I wish to know, 1st, Tho 
best plan for building a bee-house_2d, How to get 
the bees into it from a hive... 3d, Whether the bees 
with their queens will agree all in one house... .1 wish a 
plan for convenience in getting the honey and to keep 
the bees from swarming.”—I have tried a variety of bee- 
houses, but none that would pay. Bees do not prosper 
in them. They arc crowded; you cannot get a free cir¬ 
culation of air, nor have tho sunlight on them for more 
than a small part of the day, even if they front the south. 
I can give no better plans for bee-houses, if any insist on 
using them, than may be found in “ Quinby’s Bee-keep¬ 
ing,” under the title “Bee-houses.” These, howev¬ 
er, are merely plans for covered stands, more or less or¬ 
namental, so arranged as to accommodate from three to 
sixteen separate hives. If the author of the questions 
above means to ask, How shall a number of swarms, 
workers, queens and all, be made to occupy the samo 
apartment ? I presume there is no answer to be given. It 
probably cannot be done. Whatever the working bees 
might consent to, in such communities, their insect roy¬ 
alty never would or could submit to it. A queen bee 
must be all or nothing. England’s good queen could as 
