128 
AMERICAN AGRICr’LTURIST, 
[April, 
ff’ei-tilixcr for S^siwiis.—One bushel gyp¬ 
sum, two bushels ashes, one bushel line bonedust (sifted). 
Sow about one peck of the mixture to the square rod. 
Coi»a|»os4 for dona in t.lie Hill.—Take 
hen manure 1 bbl., bonedust 1 bu., dry muck 2 bbls., 
chamber-ley 3 pailfuls. Soften the dry hen manure with 
the urine, and mash Hie lumps—then mix thoroughly 
witli the bone and muck ; 1 handful to Hie hill. Worth 
more than best poudrette. Good also for any root crops. 
donapost foi" Cois&ision ®ar<lest 
Crops.—For surface dressing, to be raked in after 
thorougli manuring, lien manure one busliel, mix witli 
chamber-ley or stable liquor, and soften, add half a bushel 
plaster and half a bushel ashes, mix intimately, adding at 
the same time one busliel of good soil or fine muck. 
Use within three days, or add 2 bushels more of muck. 
I-’crtilizer for IPotatoess iis. the l>rill. 
—Bone-dust or good bone meal, mixed with oil of vitriol, 
% water, and well stirred three days, then dried with 
leached ashes and muck, equal parts. The proiiortions 
being about one bushel bone, ten pounds acid, twenty 
pounds water, one-lialf bu.«liel ashes, and one-half bushel 
dry muck. This preparation is good also for corn. 
C|iaicl£ Acting' Composts.—“ J. D. B.,” 
Summit Co., Ohio, and others. Materials are within 
easy reach of most people that, judifciously compounded, 
will make first-rate fertilizers for the garden, for field 
crops in the liill, for tlie lawn, or for top-dressing mow- 
ing-lands or grain. There are some vvlucli everv one has 
on his own place ; otliers lie must buy. Almost any man 
this .side of tlie Grand Prairie can afford to pay for good 
hardwood ashes as many cents a bu.shel as hay Is worth 
dollars a ton. There are otlier things, like gyp.sum and 
lime, that it will always pay to have on hand. Soapsuds, 
chamber-lev, and many articles of household waste, -are 
often lost, which miglit, if collected, make many dollars 
worth of rich fertilizers in the cour.se of tlie year. See 
other items fur several recipes for cheap composts, 
which are not -specific, but good for the uses suggested. 
for Swamp Msaclc. — 
Swamp muck, or peat, so far decomposed as to fall to 
powder, is one of the most useful articles about a farm 
or garden to save and increase the value of the manure, 
form part of composts, or the chief bulk of stable manure, 
being used iiisteail of litter to a great extent, and to pre¬ 
vent burning in the mass, and td absorb all liquids. A 
very good substitute may be made by throwing .sods from 
the roadsides or fence-rows togelher, spreading upon tliem 
about one busliel of slacked lime to the cubic yard. 
A Seed. Several inquire about a seed 
drill. We have tried the Wetliersfield, and found it quite 
satisfactory. It will sow anytliing from turnip seed up 
to beans. We have seen no better ones in use. 
Orion oai Ileets.—Avery good article is of¬ 
fered in the dialogue form, an attractive one—but it takes 
two or three times tlie space of a succinct account of Hie 
matter. We slioiildbe gladof more concentrated articles. 
“ 'Fhe l>eep Ai'caii.a. of Facts.”— 
Congress called for a report from the Commissioner of 
Agriculture—a “statement in detail” of the disburse¬ 
ments and expenditures of tlie Department of Agricul¬ 
ture. We are indebted to the Hon. Mr. Washburn for a 
copy of tlie otRcial document. We find a great many 
figures, and get some insiglit into how the money goes-, 
thougli notin all cases a very clear one. Of course the 
report closes wit i the usual amount of sel.f-laiidation, 
which, if it wei i expressed in good tasle, might be 
endured, but wh -n we learn from the Commissioner 
that CPi'iain labor of tlie department opens “the deep 
arcana of fads,” v e turn for relief from the literary por¬ 
tion of the reiiort to tlie figures, vvliich, if not poetical and 
“ iilfaliitin,” are at least suggestive. In perusing liiese 
many columns, we are struck with tlie wonderful amount 
of horse litre, and are tempted to add up how much it 
costs to “run” tlie department in lliis way. Aside from 
buying a pair of horses for $22'), we find for horse 
litre and lior.se-keeping in a little over 3 years, $3,438,00, 
and tills is so lumped in sums ranging from $3.00 to 
.$-100, lliat we are at a loss to know wliich is cheape.st—to 
keep a lior.se or liire one. Surely tiie Department irdglit 
give us some slalislics on this point. This report is very 
great on litlle tliing.s, but very iinsalisfactory on large 
ones. Every individual man and woman who lias receiv¬ 
ed $3 or upwards, for making seed bags, is put down in 
full with the amount, and we are told distinctly who gets 
the money ; but when it comes to tlie large sum.s, all is 
lumped, and we find that “ Isaac Newtori el a!,” are, dewq 
for thousands. Perliaps the people will like to know 
who el al. are, and we are quite sure that some of the 
“ vvatcli dogs of Hie treasury ” will look into the matter. 
Then we find Isaac Newton, Jr., et al. were paid $40ti0 
in one year. We are glad to know lliat there is an Isaac 
Jr., and that he has an et al., and that they get well paid. 
There are more interesting items which we must reserve 
for anotiier time, such as where the seeds come from, 
how much is paid for the long drawn articles in the so- 
called reports, what it costs to write a preface to one 
of those precious volumes, etc., etc. 
Stsalciiig' TLVees, —When young trees have 
the proper balance of root and top. there is seldom need 
of staking them except in very exposed places. But 
tliere are cases in wliich it is necessary to do it, especially 
where large trees are moved. Two firm stakes are 
placed opposite each other in Hie direction of Hie pre¬ 
vailing winds, and about a foot from Hie trunk of tlie tree, 
or one stake only may be used. The figures show two 
melliods of securing the tree. In figure 1, a straw rope 
is put around the tree, twisted until it reaches the slake, 
and tlien passed around it, and fastened by a nail. In fig. 
2, the tree is kept in place by two straps of leatlier or 
stout canvas, wliicli are secured to the stakes by nails. 
I®li.eia.osia.ema®f* Flame Hiifo, — A neat lit¬ 
tle volume, published by Nicliols & Noyes, Boston, and 
containing a series of popular essays by Geo H. Grindon, 
of Manchester, England. Wlien vve take up a book 
of this kind we feel pretty sure of being bored. Essay¬ 
ists and preachers are generally careless as to tlieir 
science; but iiere is a writer who can present tlie 
plienomena of plant life in its moral and msthetic as¬ 
pects, without violating scientific accuracy, or besig 
tediously preachy. We do not quite agree with tlie 
autlior’s description of Hie embryo; but he is, witlial, so 
genial and so readable that we are not disposed to find 
fault with him, and we commend the book as one that can 
not fail to please tlie tlioughtful reader. Handsomely 
bound in beveled boards, 94 pages. Price $1, by mail. 
lloolc oil “’ILiaiicl Drainag'e,’^ by John 
H. Klippart. We have recently placed this book on our 
li.'t, and can recommend it to our readers. Tho.se 
who already have tlie work of Judge French on the 
same subject will find Hiis, in some dearee, a new pre- 
seiitatioii of the same facts and conclusions, but besides 
coiilaining rniicli tliat is of especial value, not touclied 
upon in Hiat. Tlie Secretary of tlie Oliio Board of Agri¬ 
culture adapts his work especially to the wants of Hie 
Western farmer, while tlie Judge views liis subject 
more from a more Eastern stand-point. Price, $1.50. 
Tlie American House Carpenter, by 
R. G. Hatfield,, is a new book upon our list. It treats of 
the principles of carpentry, and is calculated to supply a 
want wliich our correspondence indicates is felt by many 
of Hie readers of the Agriculturist. Tlie work will be 
valued, we think, by every carpenter who makes a study 
of Ills trade, as Hie inathematic.s of arcliilectnre are 
made simple ; and witli the aid of tables and very 
numerous diagrams and illustrations, strength of materi¬ 
als, framing, drawing and sliadows, practical geometry, 
and Hie principles of architecture are ably discussed. 
An appendix contains numerous convenient tables and a 
glossary. Sent by mail, post-paid, for 'the price, $3,50, 
Tsiriiei-^s C«ttoai Flasiter’s Hsmiaal. 
—In answer to inquiries for works on cotton growing, we 
wish we were able to recommend a better book tlian this. 
But as this is the only work, as far as we know, on 
the subject, we keep it in piiiit to supply tlie demand. It 
is a compilation of essay.s by different well known Soulh- 
ern autliors, and it conlains much useful information, 
good, as it is, but would be more available were it more 
systematically arranged. Price $1.50, by mail. 
ISoiissiiig-aiiltf’s Rural Ecosiomy.— 
This is not, as its title might imply, a handbook of direc¬ 
tions for the management of rural affairs, but a discus¬ 
sion of the principles involveil in agricultural operations. 
Its author is one of the first chemists France has produced, 
and this work embodies his views of chemistry as applied 
to agriculture. It is a work which should find a place in 
the libraries of agricultural societies and clubs, as well 
as in private collections of the best works on agriculture. 
€Srape Cmltsire in SteiibeSj Co.—Our 
notice of tlie essay by tlie Hon. Goldsmitli Denniston, lias 
called out so many inquiries for it, tliat we liave procured 
a number of copies, and can supply them at 40c. post¬ 
paid. It is a neat pamphlet of 24 pages, with maps of 
the famous grape localities, and Illustrations of tlie 
methods di prmi’ing followed in one of the noted grape 
regions of the country. 
Farm RooIc-lSeepiaig'. —There are a num¬ 
ber of rather expensive forms of farm account-books 
which are offered to farmers. AH that we have seen 
contain some good ideas ; but to give a plain, straightfor¬ 
ward knowledge of business ways, and to lead the 
farmer into keeping accurate D^t and Credit accounts 
witli himself, his farm, his animais. and ihose with whom 
lie ddal.s, we really know of no better guide than May¬ 
hem's Practical Book Keeping, with tlie accompanying 
Sample Account Books. It is caieiilated for Hie use 
of scliools, bul needs no explanation. We would be glad 
to be instrumenlal in placing it in Hie hands of every 
farmer's boy in the land. Price of the volume, 9f)o. ; of 
the set of account books, $1.20.—Sent post-p'aio. 
A CSoosl Story.—“Lulce Darrell, the Chica¬ 
go Newsboy,” advertised in our columns, is a live, w'ide 
awake story, which will lead boys to love trulli, courage, 
and manliness. Tlie young will be quite sure to read it, 
if it comos within tlieir reach. We can forward it post¬ 
paid on receipt of price, $1,50 
Rreclfi’s New ISoolc »f Flowers.-- 
Brack’s Book of Flowers lias long been a standard work 
on floiiciilture. The author liaving for the mo.st part re¬ 
written it, it is now called Hie New Book of Fowers. It 
describes all the favorite annual, biennial, and perennial, 
plants of Hie garden, as well as tlie flowering shrubs. 
Its chleT value consists in its giving tlie experience of the 
author, who is well known as one of our ino.st successful 
and devoted cultivators of flowers. Aside from its prac¬ 
tical directions, there is an amount of quaint gossip about 
plants, and personal reminiscences, that make it a very 
readable, as well as useful, book. Ready in April. $1.50. 
Field’s Cssltiii-e.— Manuals upon 
specialties are rapidly taking Hie place of large volumes 
upon general culture. This manual upon tlie pear com¬ 
mends itself to pear growers only, and its .scope is 
modesHy set fortli in the author’s own'.vords: “Its de¬ 
sign is to answer in a clear and iiileiligible manner, the 
oft ''epealed queslions of the novice : ‘ Wliat kind of Pear 
Trees can I plant most profitably ?—and how shall I 
treat litem, to insure a return of the investment?’” $1 25. 
Cow Milker" —To several inquiries we an¬ 
swer, that we have no evklence Hiat any macliine for 
milking cows lias ever been tried and given satisfaction. 
The one advertised last montli may be the best of them, 
but we have no evidence about lliis tliat will eslalilish its 
claims to favor. Until sati.sfied of its real value, we can¬ 
not give it Hie endorsement of furtlier admission to our 
advertising columns. * 
Hog aitd Moon.—Judge Olin, of Vermont, 
being badgered at a dinner oy a young sprig of Hie Law, 
made no reply. A friend asked why lie did not squelch 
liim. The Judge simply re.'poiided. that. “In hl.s neiglibor- 
liood. there used to he a little dog that would sit for lioiirs 
and hark al tlie moon”—and resumed his ealing. “ Well, 
Judge,” re.'umed his friend iiresently, “ vihat about tlie 
dog and moon ?” “ Oh,” said tlie Judge, “ the moon kept 
onP We commend Hiis incident to one or two captious 
cotemporaries, wlio cavil at very small matters, and won¬ 
der why tlie Agriculturist does not slop to bandy words 
with them.-.\dverlising, $2 a, line. 
