18G6.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
313 
S®oimli*ette froiMir^’ew Yoi-Ic to C&laio. 
— “A. C.,” fimr years a soldier, saved hi.s money and 
bought a farm 22 miles from a R. R. station in Ohio. He 
lacks manure, and asks if it will pay to get poudrette 
from New York lo make corn. No, indeed ! It will not 
pay to cart poudrette as' far as you say, if you could have 
it for nothing. Guano, bone-dust, a good superphosphate, 
or even ground plaster are of sufficient value to haul so 
far. If your carts come back from lire stalion empty, it 
raiglit pay to bring a light load of poudrette, but not if 
you could get either of tlie other manures mentioned; 
that is, if plaster (or gypsum) has a good effect on your 
soil. Make your own poudrette. See article on p. 319. 
Claan-coal fbi* MaaaMre,—James Fergu¬ 
son has at command a large lot of charcoal dust, which 
lie would like to apply to his land, if advisable. Char¬ 
coal does not act largely as a fertilizer. Its cliief value 
is as an absorbent, and it may be used in the stables if it 
be frequently removed and mixed in a muck or earthy 
compost. Charcoal first absorbs and then decomposes 
organic gases. When spread on the land it will produce 
an immediate beneficial effect. There is alw ays more or 
less ashes in such dust, which would act beneficially. 
ff’ea'lillaiei* loir ’^Vlaeat.—“ 'W. W.,” of 
Southern Indiana, has his choice between poudrette, 
Peruvian guano, and flour of unburnt bones, for his wheat 
land, which is of clayey soil. Poudrette for field crops 
we do not believe in, except home-made poudrette. 
Peruvian guano, if pure, is very good, e.specially if 
properly mashed and mixed with 3 or 4 times its weight 
of dry fine muck or peat. This compost may be much 
improved by .adding twice as much bone dust, and as 
much ground plaster (gypsum) as guano—say 150 lbs. 
guano, 150 lbs. gypsum, 300 lbs. bones. This mixture 
maybe sowed on and harrowed in, or mixed with as 
much fine muck as you please, and applied evenly. 
AuiBsisal —Cover up with loamy 
soil, or muck, work them over a few months after the 
temperature has become such .as will allow fermentation, 
and mingle again more soil or muck, using as much 
plaster as you please. 
■^Toolen "^Vaste.—“F. O. ’iV.,” of Black 
Stone, .Mass., can have all the “ picker waste” he wants 
from a woolen mill. It is oily and can not be wet, it is 
dry and might be used as bedding for horses, but he has 
tried it and “it spoils the manure” (1) “Left in a pile 
through the summer, it heats so that one can not hold his 
hand in it.” We .advise F. O. W. and anybody else who 
is troubled with too stroyig- manure to treat it exactly as 
they would too strong tea or coffee—namely, dilute it to 
suit his taste. Y'ou add water to strong tea : add soil or 
swamp muck, or straw to the waste, and make it just the 
strength you want, first heaping it until it begins to heat. 
TSsc Fesace AsiSsancc.—The Legislature 
of New York overhauled and amended extensively the 
fence law of the State. The more laws and amendments 
we have, the worse off wo are and the farther from equal 
justice, until “the People of the State of New York, 
represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact ” that all 
owners of cattle of all kinds shall be responsible for 
them, and all the damage they do ; and in case they do 
trespass, wandering from the high way or from their 
owner’s land, or elsewhere upon the premises of other 
proprietors, it shall be regarded as a misdemeanor of the 
owner, for which fines and punisiiments shall be awarded. 
Mow to get 'Fimotlay —“C. 
F. S.,” writes : “ I have an 8-acre lot, once seeded with 
timothy, which has now runout, and grows nothing but 
a wild grass, having its rough prickly seed growing on 
the blades and not at the to;) of a stem. IIow shall I kill 
tills gr.ass? Tile meadow is overflowed several times a 
year, and is nearly flat.” There are 10,000 farmers who 
have each just about such a piece of ground. It needs 
draining, and the way to do it is to begin when the land 
is dry, and dig narrow straight ditches 30 feet apai't. and 
3 feet deep, usually uniting in a main ditch or two dug so 
as to get the best fall possible. The ditolies should be 
as nearly level as possible and still have a distinct fall. 
Small drain tile should be lairl in the ditches ; and 4-inch 
tiles would generally be large enough for the main drains. 
After the draining is done, plow in the spring, raise a crop 
of corn, and follow with spring grain, seeding to Timo¬ 
thy. 'VVe suggest summer crops and spring plowing, sup¬ 
posing that the overflowing would interfere with other 
practice. This meadow offers an excellent chance lo 
irrigate after the plan suggested in August 1564, page 236. 
I®isacliinar CJreijpcs.—C. Thurston, Brad¬ 
ford Co., Pa., oPjects to our directions to stop bearing 
canes at 3 or 4 leaves from the last bunch, as “ agin 
natur,” and suggests that “thorough trimming in tlie 
fall, with judicious pinching off, \s according to my ex¬ 
perience the best course.” Now friend T., we should 
like to ask if thorough trimming is not “.agin natur?’’ As to 
“judicious pinching,” we directed just (hat same, on the 
supposition that the vine had been properly trained at the 
start. Rambling vines in rich garden soil, will have 
pretty much their own way, whatever you do with them. 
WBaat is it «ji tlae l®car Ta’ce?—C. 
C. Phillips, Cumberland Co.. Pa., says : “ My dwarf pear 
trees have almost been stripped of Iheir leaves by a 
slimy, sticky, snail-like worm. What is it?” We try to 
anticipate such common troubles as this in our “ Hints 
about work.” Under the head of Fruit Garden, in June, 
it is said; “ The disagreeable slimy slug which appears 
on pear and other trees is killed by a dusting of air slaked 
lime.” We would not seem to lake our friend to (ask for 
not reading each paper from the heading to the last ad¬ 
vertisement, but use his query ns a sample of many for 
which we have already provided in our Hints about 
Work. That portion of the paper is made up with ,a 
great deal of care, and though many things must of neces¬ 
sity be repeated from year to year, it is always re-written 
and many new suggestions from letters, ete., worked in. 
for a. Naisae.—“ P.,” Franklin, N. Y. 
Those in the green paper are apparently the White Run¬ 
ner, and the others are Lima. 
^SraftiEag' TSioa*sa —“ G. B. 
S.” By “Thorn Apples,” we suppose you mean some 
species of Thorn, of which we have several. The pear 
will grow when grafled upon the thorn, but the trees 
thus produced are usually short lived, and inferior to 
those grafled upon quince. 
»3a Cliera-y'Frees.—“Mrs. L. C.,” 
w rites to know why flies gather on her cherry trees, and 
she notices that the leaves are covered with what she 
takes to be their eggs. The supposed eggs are undoubt¬ 
edly aphides, or plant lice, which are very common on 
cherry trees. These lice exude a sweetish liquid, or 
lioney dew, which atlr.acts flies and other insects in 
great numbers. Tobacco water wilt kill the lice, but its 
application is not very practicable upon the large scale. 
XSataaa'ks t«> WEtoaaa tfEa«y saa'e S&iac.— 
A delegation of the American Institute Farmers’ Club, 
visited Ilammonton, N. J., in strawberry time, and were 
splendidly entertained by the people of that enterprising 
place. For some reason not clear to us, it was supposed 
that we should be there, and at the festival a fine bouquet 
upon the table w.as dedicated “ To the Editor of the 
Agriculturist." We are sorry that we did not get the 
bouquet, but are glad we didn't go, as we should have 
been obliged to make a speech, v\ hich is the horror of 
our life. Still, the lady or ladies who were so thoughtful 
will accept our thanks for the compliment. 
MegeiiO'j’saaiosi of 8i5'faw'II)es’a"ac‘is.— 
M. Korff, asks if the statement made in the report of the 
Department of Agriculture for 1863, to the effect that the 
use of side runners in propagating strawberries causes 
the varieties to degenerate, has any foundation in fact. 
We never met any one but the writer of the article al¬ 
luded to who believed in or practised its teachings. One 
good healthy runner is as much a representative of the 
original plant as another, no matter from where it starts, 
and will perpetuate the variety as perfectly as will a bud 
taken from any part of a tree. The two cases are per¬ 
fectly parallel, and the strawberry plant may be regarded 
as a tree with branches loo weak to stand upright. 
B>4is'iviafti®sa of “ '^Voig'eJisa.”—W. Pe¬ 
ters, New Haven Co., Conn. The proper word is 
Weigela, and it comes from the name of Weigel, a Ger¬ 
man botanist of the last century. In Latinizing names 
of other languages, they follow the usual rules of Latin 
pronunciation, and in this case the g would be soft. 
The plant is now referred to an older genus, Diervilla, 
which is its proper botanical name, while Weigela will 
serve for its English name. 
Pi'oprag'atfliag’ iEae —L. 
Grafton, Pulaski Co., Ind., was unsuccessful in propagat¬ 
ing the Lawton or New Rochelle blackberry. Many 
who have it in their lands would be glad to kr.ow what 
he did to kill it. We do nol know how it is in Indiana, 
but here the smallest root will make a plant. It is too lale 
for peanuts—sweet potatoes will be noticed in season. 
“■ Cwoliileaa A. Mitchell, Ma¬ 
coupin Co., Ill., .sends us specimens of a currant of a 
bright yellow color. He considers the fruit as excel¬ 
lent for tarts. It appears to be a variety of the Mis¬ 
souri Currant, and is known but not valued wiih us. 
Asa^'Ee ’5A<>j*3Biisi,—J. H. Luttentou, Orleans 
Co., N. Y, You will find a brief account of the hfstory 
of the angle worm, with an engraving of its eggs, in the 
American Agriculturist for January, 1863. 
A Mose ” on nai Apple 'Fa-ee.—E. 
W. Knight gives an account of a “white semi-double 
rose” found on .an apple tree, and asks if we have 
“previous to this, knowledge of a double rose blossoming 
on the apple ?’’ No—but we have several times seen very 
handsome double apple-blossoms, which look remarkably 
like small double roses. They usually appear after the 
general blossoming is over. 
'fi'iaovn Seed.s,—“ N. W. W.,” Peacedale, R. 
I., says that the seeds of one of our wild thorns will 
come up the first year, even after being kept dry all 
winter. Will he oblige us with a leaf or two, th.at we 
may know the species. 
®i!at=4looi- ■%VEaitc»wa,sla—A ®«loi*e4l 
Wasii.—Having recently erected 1500 feet of rough 
picket fence, we adopted the following wash, which 
seems to stick well, and appears very well. About a 
peck of lime at a time was put in a tub, and over this 
was poured two pailfuis of water, in which a large double 
handful of salt was previously dissolved. As soon as the 
lime began to boil up well, we added about % lb. of 
coarse grease from the fat-tryers, and stirred it in thor¬ 
oughly while the whole was hot. It was then used on 
the pickets, rails and posts, stirring it often, and diluting 
as needed. For the running bottom boards we mixed 
nearly a barrelful of white wash, in quantities of a peck 
at a time, with grease and salt, as above. 3;j lbs. of lamp 
black were then ground or mashed ; then thoroughly 
stirred in 3 quarts of sweet milk and strained into the 
barrel and well stirred—the stirring being repealed every 
time a pailful was to be taken out, and that in the pail 
frequently stirred while using. This applied carefully to 
the bottom board, gives a fine very dark lead color, tliat 
contrasts well with the white. Both the white atnl 
colored washes were applied very freely, IJ.i barrels of 
fresh lump lime being used.—The posts and rails were 
w.ashed before nailing on the pickets, and the pickets were 
also washed on one side, so that there is a coat of lime 
between the pickets and rails. The whole job is satis¬ 
factory, and the fence looks like one planed and painted. 
tVe expect the lime will add much to its durability. 
BSeep xt'."!;. SSsallww los* lElJiSi.— 
There is a general impression that cream rises more 
freely when milk is set in shallow pans than in deep 
ones. It seems, however, that the Orange County butter 
makers, at least in the factories, use deep pans or pails, 
and think they get just as much cream and of better 
quality, as there is less exposure to the atmosphe;-e and 
consequently less liability to its crusting over. X. A. 
Willard and others in Herkimer Co. have made some ex¬ 
periments which seem to prov'o that there is no advantage 
in putting the cream in shallow pans. If sucli proves to 
be the case, it will be a great saving of hi’oor (in scalding, 
etc.), to use deeper pans, as we shall need fewer of them, 
and tills at the present cost of pans is no slight advan¬ 
tage.—Much must depend upon the cow, the season of 
the year, that is the temperature, and the length of time 
the milk will keep sweet and in the best condition for 
cream to rise. A few years ago the subject was discus¬ 
sed, and we know of numerous experiments which led 
us lo consider it a settled fact that shallow pans gave the 
most cream, and we have little anticipation that this 
decision will be reversed. 
'S'Ibc Gloi*y Jiitaal SEsssssae ol‘Ejag-lajacl. 
—Several years ago 31r. C Edwards Lester wrote a book 
with the above title. Since the war. during a portion of 
which he was in Great Britain and upon the Continent, 
he has re-written it, or rather we may say, put forth 
another work with the same title, in two volumes. Mr. 
Lester looks upon England’s power and England's weak¬ 
ness as an American may now-a-days be expected to do, 
making few allowances, ;ind applies lo her the measures 
which she delights to apply lo the rest of the world. He 
has furnished a book of many statistic.', and statements 
in regard to the condition of the agriculture and of the 
agricultural population of Great Britain ; and in his dis¬ 
cussions of politics, religion anil society, of the condition 
of Ireland and of India, and of the aristocracy, he fur¬ 
nishes a mass of matter which will he read with great 
satisfaction by at ieast some American people in their 
present frame of mind. Mr. Lesler does not forget the 
love we bear to England as the mother country, and the 
home of our poets, philosophers and historians, nor the 
warm brotherly :iffection wo entertain for the working 
men and the li'neral statesmen of England, and the Work 
is one which will exalt the appreciation and love of his 
own country in the heart of every American. It is in 
2 vols., small 8vo., 304 pages each ; price in muslin $4. 
