1866.] 
/AMERICAN "AGRICULTURIST. 
SQ7 
iug how a large space of them may be regulated 
if not too long neglected. The trouble is no 
more than would be required to support them 
in any other way. Those who adopt the 
method will, I am pretty sure, be well satisfied 
with the result. My way of fastening them has 
been with staples, which I make quickly out 
of common wire with a pair of pliers, a ham¬ 
mer, and a stone to sharpen them on.” 
' Mr. S. sends us samples of the staples he uses, 
which have the points sharpened in the direc¬ 
tion of the staple or at right angles to it, ac¬ 
cording as they are to be driven into boards 
running horizontally or perpendicularly. 
— — ^4 lagBat ii » ■ 
Asparagus, White or Green? 
We are asked if asparagus should be blanch¬ 
ed to fit it for the table. By no means. It is 
blanched for the city markets by growing it un¬ 
der a coating of manure, but though it looks 
delicate and tender when treated in this way, it 
is tough, bitter, and nearly unfit to eat. City 
people, who do not know any better, will select 
white asparagus in preference to green, just for 
the looks, and as long as they are willing to pay 
for having it spoiled, market gardeners will sup¬ 
ply it in this way. Generally, all of the shoot 
that grows below ground is worthless, and were 
it not for leaving a portion to decay, there 
would be no need of cutting below the surface. 
late Blooming Flowers. 
By a little management the flower garden 
may be kept brilliant until frosts put an end to 
growth and flowering. Nothing among the 
bedding plants makes a greater show, late in the 
season, than the Mexican Sage, Salvia splendens. 
Then there are Chrysanthemums in great varie¬ 
ty. The Tritoma has spikes of flowers so 
brilliant that it has in England received the 
somewhat absurd descriptive name of the 
“ Red-hot-Poker-Plant.” There are tuberoses, 
late unless forced, Ageratums, and others, not 
forgetting the “ foliage plants,” Coleus, Iresine 
(Achyranthes) and others. It is not too late to 
sow annuals for late blooming, and those who 
have been obliged to delay sowing them can 
yet do so and get a very satisfactory bloom. 
Asters, Zinnias, Helichrysums, (and other ever¬ 
lastings,) if sowed as late as the early part of the 
present month, will pay for the trouble, and 
Candytuft, Mignonette, and many others usually 
sown in spring, may be put in for a fall crop. 
-» « —I ». 
Striking Cuttings in Sand. 
Noticing that the method of rooting cuttings 
in wet sand is highly commended in the recent 
English horticultural journals, we would re¬ 
mind our readers of a communication in the 
Agriculturist two years ago.—In February 1864, 
Mr. Henderson gave us an article describing 
the plan, and most of those who have followed 
it have met with success, while some have failed, 
probably from not complying with the essential 
requirement, i. e., to keep the sand constantly wet. 
It is very convenient for those who wish to mul¬ 
tiply bedding plants and make other cuttings 
during the summer,* and we have succeeded in 
this manner with a number of shrubs, taking 
the young and rather soft wood. A common 
saucer or soup plate is filled with sand—any 
kind will do that is free from salt—add enough 
water to thoroughly wet the sand and form a 
kind of mud, and into this insert the cuttings 
quite thickly together. The cuttings are made 
from one to two inches long, and when inserted 
are not to be shaded but exposed to full sun¬ 
light, and, as stated above, tbe sand to be kept 
constantly wet. Once dried they seldom recover. 
TME EI®lU§EEI®m 
Deodorizers and Disinfectants. 
In conversation some time ago with an officer of 
one of the gas companies, we asked him why he 
did not render his gas less disagreeable to the smell. 
His reply was, that it was a great advantage to the 
consumer to have the gas thus unpleasant, for were 
it odorless a leak would*not be observed, as it now 
is at once. As the unpleasant odor of the gas en¬ 
ables us to detect a defect in the pipes, so other 
odors point out defects jn the household and 
domestic economy, and indicate that something is 
escaping that ought to be stopped. Whatever may 
be the cause of certain epidemic diseases, there is 
one thing that is well established,—they are invited 
by filth and repelled by cleanliness. Decaying ani¬ 
mal and vegetable matters, if they do not cause 
disease themselves, put the air in a condition to 
propagate it. Fortunately these processes of decay 
give us warning, for the most part by the unpleas¬ 
ant odor given off. Cleanliness of the house and 
its surroundings should at all times be observed, but 
especially when the warm weather hastens decay of 
all kinds. Prevention in this case is better than 
cure, and the removal of all offensive matter from 
about the dwelling is the first thing to be thought 
of. An existing smell may be treated in one of 
three ways; it may be disguised, absorbed, or des¬ 
troyed. The disguising of smells is not to be com¬ 
mended, though much of the so-called disinfecting 
is of this character. The sprinkling of perfumes, 
the burning of pastilles and other substances which 
give off an odor by the application of heat, only 
substitute one odor for another, and do nothing 
towards actually removing the trouble. Absorbents 
are useful in many cases. One of the most ijower- 
ful of these is charcoal, but dried peat or muck, or 
even loamy soil will answer a good x^urpose. By 
the use of either of these, i^rivies, piggeries, and 
heaps where animal matter is being made into ma¬ 
nure, can be kept from giving off offensive odors. 
Among the substances that have been used for des¬ 
troying odors chemically, are Chlorine, Nitric oxide. 
Permanganate of Potash, Sulphate of Iron, Nitrate 
of Lead, Chloride of Zinc, and others, besides sev¬ 
eral secret or x^atented compounds. Of these there 
is but one likely to be employed by the XJublic gene¬ 
rally, and that is Chlorine in the form of what is 
called Chloride of Lime, or Bleaching Powders. It 
is cheap, easily apx)lied, free from unpleasant after 
effects, and quite as efficacious as any other. When 
sprinkled about in offensive places, it destroys un¬ 
pleasant odors as they are generated, and if a more 
promx)t action is desired, it may be dissolved in 
water, allowed to settle, and the clear liquid used. 
There are other ways for applying chlorine more 
thoroughly, but they are not to be commended for 
general use. While this and other disinfectants are- 
of great use in producing a wholesome state of the 
atmosxffiere, medical men doubt if they possess 
any considerable efficacy in destroying the x^oison, 
or whatever it may be that causes epidemic and 
contagious diseases after it is once introduced. 
For the American Agriculturist, 
About tbe Fashions—Sundry Hints. 
FUENISHED BY MADAME DEMOEEST. 
We cannot congratulate the ladies this season 
upon their sensible fashions. They are full of bright 
effects, and pretty colors seen from a distance, but 
in detail they are exaggerated, and in many respects 
absurd, as well as inconvenient. The bonnets arc 
ridiculously small, setting high like the crown of a 
Normandy eaxh on toxJ of the head, or laying low, 
and flat, like an inverted soup plate, tied close at 
■ --- L. 
the sides, but in either case affording no protection 
from sun, or storm, and leaving the hair exposed 
to all the dust of the streets and roads. [Very, 
very true.—E d.] 
The new styles of skirts, on the contrary, x^artic- 
ularly at the base, are enormously wide, and tilt at 
every touch in a way that verges slightly on the 
indecent.-The fashion of looping up the skirts 
over the Balmoral petticoats, was a very good one, 
but the original object has been almost wholly lost 
sight of, in the desire for display, in the temptation 
to exhibit elegant cambric flutings, rich embroidery, 
and a fanciful cJiaussure. A well dressed foot is a 
pleasant object to contemplate, and it is indisxjcnsa- 
ble to a lady’s good appearance, but the beauty of 
the shoe and stocking, consists in its x^erfect fit 
and fineness, not in color, and showy ornament. 
We do not object to the introduction of bright 
colors, even in street attire, but it requires to be 
done with great taste and judgment. A mixture of 
colors is always vulgar, and persons, who cannot 
afford a great variety in their dress, should be care¬ 
ful to select only such colors as will harmonize, and- 
prove lasting and serviceable. 
White has been largely introduced into street 
toilettes of late years, in the shape of white vails, 
white bonnets, white sacks, and the like. These 
are all very well for those who possess outside gar¬ 
ments, suited to every occasion, but for those limit¬ 
ed to one, or at most to a “ best,” and a “hack,” 
they are entirely unsuited. Nothing looks worse 
than a white bonnet, or vail, or a light, showy sack, 
and a dingy dress. A neat suit all of a color, or of 
a neutral tint, relieved by some bright shade is in¬ 
finitely x^referable. 
The great temptation this season is to a vulgar 
profusion of trimming. In addition to the usual 
ornaments, a great many new ones have been intro¬ 
duced, such as buttons, chains, strings of beads, 
cameos, buckles, clasps, and mixtures of straw with 
jet. In addition to these, not a few milliners pile 
on lace, ribbon, flowers, vail, until the diminutive 
bonuet is completely hidden, and its original shape 
quite lost sight of. 
Properly, the bonnets this season require very lit¬ 
tle trimming. They are very small, and the braids 
are all of the fancy sort, alternating with bands or ■ 
puffings of silk. A “AeK0ito«,” that is to say, a 
chain, fastened with cameos, a bandeau, and strings, 
are all that is required for these. 
The Frincesse, or gored stylo of dress is more fash¬ 
ionable than any other, but can never be very pop¬ 
ular, because it is not easily made, and cannot be 
made over with the same facility as the ordinary 
styles. Moreover, it is inconvenient for looping rq), 
and is not graceful for the street. Skirts may be 
partially gored, however, so as to give much of the 
effect of a gored dress, with very little trouble and 
a positive saving in the material, and the breadths 
of a rich silk may be turned in, and all cutting 
avoided, by those who wish to obtain the effeet, 
without injury to material. 
Dresses for house and evening wear, are worn 
with immensely long trails. In Paris two yards is 
considered moderate. There dresses are worn 
without hoops, almost without sleeves, and with a 
very short, low corsage, quite in the old Empire 
style. Looped up dresses are still worn over hoops 
in the street. 
Artificial Memory. 
A frequent Contributor to the American Agricul¬ 
turist 'Writes; One of our contemporaries recom¬ 
mends the use of a slate hanging up in the pantry, 
on which to note down whatever is wanted for daily 
suxqfiies, or whatever family duties need attending 
to. One morning, xmrhaps the entry will be, “Send 
for soda and saloratus and allspice.” “Examine 
brine in beef-barrel.” “ Weed the onions.” This 
is for the"man’s side of the slate. On the woman’s 
side we shall find such things as: “ Brown the cof¬ 
fee,” “Scald the bread-box,” “Finish Mary’s 
apron,” etc. Whenever anything occurs to the 
head of the family that is very important to re¬ 
member, it is put on the slate, rather than trusted 
