34.6 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
[October, 
Cal>l»ag'e Queries.—W. R. V., Elkton, 
(where?). An ounce of cabbage seed will usually give 
about 2000 plants. See notes for Kitchen Garden this 
month, and article on Management of Cold Frames in 
itlarch last, page 90, for answers to other queries. 
XoiBiato Seed..—“W. R. V.” The pulp is 
usually allowed to ferment slightly, when it will wash. A 
friend puts the seed in a cloth, and washes the cloth with 
the enclosed seeds in soap suds. We have not tried this. 
'fi’ildesi 'S'oiiiato.—Either we have not the 
right sort around New York, or it is not suited to this 
locality, as our own, and those we have seen in a half 
dozen other places, have been in no respect equal to the 
old smooth red ; not as early, no more dwarf, productive, 
solid, nor better flavored tha,n that excellent old sort. Has 
it been over-estimated, or have we the wrong seed? 
ILarg'c CsoiHiflowei*. — Mr. Raildall H. 
Green, of Wickford, R. I., sends us a cauliflower that 
measures 47 inches around and weighs 11 lbs. It grew in 
the black soil of a reclaimed bog. Pretty good for Rhode 
Island—or any other State. 
A SettleiiicMt.—The Niagara j 
Fire Insurance Company of this city, paid their losses, 
$70,000 and upward, within one week after the great fire 
in Portland, besides paying $1000 toward the relief of un¬ 
insured sufferers. Such promptness will increase con¬ 
fidence in an excellent company. 
'I'Sae Aew aii«l Aei’inosit 
Fair. —The New England Agricultural Society, with 
the Vermont State Society, held ,a fair at Braltleboro the 
first week in September, at which we were able to be 
present a short time. The weather was all that could be 
desired, the grounds in fine order, and the attendance 
large. The show w-as renrarkable for its uniform excel¬ 
lence in almost all departments, and the New England 
farmers, breeders, and mechanics deserve great credit, 
almost all of the N. E. States being well represented. As 
a show of live stock, there has rarely been a superior ex¬ 
hibition lit this country. All classes of sheep were re¬ 
presented in goodly numbers. Mutton sheep, especially 
the Cotswells and So\tthdowns, were very fine, but the 
great show was that of Merinos, as was to be expected, 
and in this class it is claimed that all previous exhibitions 
were eclipsed by both the number and value of the 
animals shown. In the various classes of neat stock 
the show was fine also, the Short-horns greatly pro- 
ponderated, thoiigh there were animals of all the favorite 
breeds. Among horses, Thorough-breds, Morgans, Black- 
hawks, and Hamiltonians divided the honors given to 
breeding stock. ' The same blood told its story on the trot¬ 
ting course, Ethan Allen, now 19 years old, making his 
mile in 2 min. 38 sec.—the best time made. Specimens of 
mostof the valued breeds ofswine were on exhibition, and 
the show was regarded as creditable. There was also a 
good show of poultry. To the departments of industry wm 
had not time to devote much attention, but from the 
crowd, have no doubt the multitudes were gratified and 
instructed. Gov. Andrew’s able address was listened to 
on Friday by a great audience, surrounding the statid and 
filling the seats, which were said to accommod.ate 3000 
people. Listening was paiiiful, and hearing quite impos¬ 
sible for all within the sound (and who was not ?) of the 
continual yelling, auctioneering, shouting and declaiming 
of the keepers of a great number of disgusting side-shows, 
snakes, big woman, big dogs, peddler wagons, gambling 
stands, and what not, which were allowed to fill up a 
good portion of the grounds. A shame and blot upon the 
otherwise good management of the fair. 
A'ew Yoi’lc State Fair. —The Fair of the 
N. Y. State Agricultural Society, wuis held this year at 
Saratoga, a location which offered great inducements so 
far as concerns the comfort of both visitors and exhibi¬ 
tors, in the excellent grounds of the County Society, and 
the abundant hotel accommodations of the city. The 
weather was prevailingly good, the first and last days only 
being rainy, and the attendance on Thursday was very 
large, so that it is safe to say the expenses were paid, 
and perhaps a sn\ig sum laid by against a rainy day. The 
show was a very large and interesting one in several de¬ 
partments. The Fairs of this Society have been al¬ 
ways good in the department of farm machinery and 
implements of all kinds—but this has, in our view, ex¬ 
ceeded all previous ones in this particular, both in variety 
and excellence of the articles. The show of swine was 
the best we ever saw in this country, or perhaps we 
should say, it was a show of the best swine, for the num¬ 
ber of different breeds was not very great. The Jeffer¬ 
son Co. breeders were there in full foree. most with 
excellent swine. The show of cattle was small, but 
very good, the herds of Messrs. Cornell, and Sheldon, 
were represented by as good Short-horn cows as ever 
took the Society’s prizes, and the Alderney’s were in 
goodly number, and unexcelled in quality by any we have 
ever seen exhibited together: we can not specify partic¬ 
ular animals now. The Ayrshire and Devon stock had 
each good representatives, so that on the whole, the cat¬ 
tle department presented a most instructive exhibition. 
In the sheep class, thei-e was also a very instructive 
show. The American Merinos, worth from $500 to $1,500 
each, were in strong force ; the Silesian Merinos, in 
smaller number, but of great excellence; their grades 
also of the first and second crossing were shown, demon¬ 
strating the greatirnprovement in the quality of the fleece 
thus produced on common flocks. There was a good 
show of most excellent Long-wools, and some South- 
downs. The horse show was, on the whole, inferior to 
those of other years, and to what [it should be. There 
w.as[a very poor show of Dairy produce, and of fruits. 
The side-shows, whose name was legion, were kept out¬ 
side. The management was excellent, and though many 
of the cattle and sheep, and horse-stalls were empty, yet, 
on the whole, the show was a very interesting and im¬ 
portant one. The discussions held during the mornings 
were well kept up, and formed a valuable feature. There 
is much to interest a stranger in the town, and this visit 
lo Saratoga Springs will be remembered with satisfaction 
by a great many people. 
Awsartls of the N. A. State Ag’’l So¬ 
ciety to Mowers, Reapers, Threslters, etc. 
—The awards of the great trial at Auburn were announc¬ 
ed at the N. Y. State Fair, as follows: 
Class I.— Movie.rs, 18 entries. —The Gold Medal to the 
‘ Buckeye,” Adriance, Platt & Co., New York.—2d 
Prize, $25, to the “ Clipper,” R. H. Allen & Co., N. Y. 
Class II. —Reapers (Hand-rake), 2 entries. —The Gold 
Medal to the “ Kirby,” D. M. Osborne & Co., Auburn, 
N. Y.—2d Prize, $25, C. Wheeler, Jr., Auburn, N. Y. 
Class III 2 . —Reapers (Self-rake), 5 compete. —Gold 
Medal to Seymour, Morgan & Allen, Brockport, N. Y.— 
2d Prize, $25, to C. C. Bradley & Son, Syracuse, N. Y. 
CJ.ASS III. —Combined Moioers and Reapers (Hand- 
rake), 7 compete.—Gold. Medal to W. A. Wood, Hoosick 
Falls, N. Y.—2d Prize, $25, to the “ Eagle,” E. F. Har¬ 
rington, Rondout, N. Y. 
Class IV. —Combined Moivers and Reapers (Self-rake), 
10 COiti}>ete .—Gold Medal to the “Hubbard,” Williams, 
Wallace & Co., Syracuse, N. Y.—2d Prize, $25, Sey¬ 
mour, Morgan & Allen, Brockport, N. Y. 
Class V.— Combined, (Hand and Self-rake,) thrown out. 
Class VI.— One-horse Mowers .—Gold Medal to the 
“Clipper.” R. H. Allen & Co., New-York. 
Class VII.— Horse-Power Inclined Endless Chain .—A 
Gold Medal to R. & M. Hardee, Cobleskill, N. Y. 
Class VIII.— Horse-Power Lever and Sweep .—Dow 
& Fowler. Gold Medal recommended, [not aw.arded]. 
Class IX.— Ten-Horse Thresher and Cleaner .—Dow 
& Fowler, a premium recommended. 
Class X.— Two-horse Thresher and Cleaner Combined .— 
Gold Medal recommended to R. & M. Hardee. 
Class XIII.—//orse Rakes .—To Barker, Sheldon, & 
Co., Gold Medal, to A. B. Sprout, $25. H. N. Tracy, and 
P. S. Carver, judged worthy of second premiums for 
Horse Rakes, with and without sulkv attachments. 
Class XIV. —Hay Tedder —Herring’s Tedder was 
judged worthy of a Gold Medal for the design, but it 
was refused because the workmanship was so inferior. 
Class XV.— Horse-Power Hay Forks, 4 compete. —Gold 
Medal to J. Mansfield & Co., $25 to Chapman, Hawley 
& Co., applicable to Barley and Oats. A 2d premium, 
is recommended for A. B. Sprout, for Harpoon Fork. 
A New Grape I5ox.— Boxes for packing 
grapes are usually made of six pieces. We have been 
shown one patented by Smith & Doolittle, that is made of 
only three pieces. The ends are of pine, and the sides, 
bottom and top are made of one thin piece of white 
wood. This piece is cut part way tlirough, so as to al¬ 
low it to bend at the corners. That portion of the piece 
that forms the two sides and bottom is tacked to the ends, 
the top is about 2 inches wider than the box, and this 
portion laps over and fastens to the side. By taking the 
nails from this flap, the cover opens without splitting, and 
remains attached to the other side, as if it were hinged. 
The box is light and cheap, and if no fault is found in 
use, it w ill no doubt become popular with grape growers. 
181acl£l>erry Qsieries. — “ Siibseriber ” 
complains that the new kinds of blackberries are too ex¬ 
pensive to plant, and wishes lo know if wild plants can 
be successfully transplanted, or shall he depend upon 
seed. All of the garden blackberries are accidental wild 
seedlings that have been taken up and propagated. Wild 
plants differ greatly in the size and shape of their fruit, 
as well as in productiveness and time of ripening. If 
“Subscriber” knows where to get wild plants, that in 
their natural state have desirable qualities, they w ill be 
likely to do much better wheit put under cultivation. To 
put out a plantation of wild plants, taken at hap-hazard, 
would not be likely to be profitable. The matter or seed¬ 
lings is one requiring some time and patience, and though 
some good sorts may be obtained, it will be much 
cheaper—if fruit is desired—to procure a few plants of 
varieties of known excellence and propagate from them. 
In good soil, blackberries multiply very rapidly—often 
too freely for convenience. 
Orc]ia.i’ds. — “ Subscriber,” 
Jliddletown, Mo. The best time to manure an orchard 
is just as the trees are making their growth in spring. It 
is usually more convenient to haul manure in winter 
when the ground is frozen, and there is more time for the 
work, hence it is frequently done at that time, though at 
some waste of manure. 
Cooking Cauliflower.—“ I. C. S.,” De- 
Kalb Co., Ind., is not acquainted with cauliflower, and 
wishes to know how to cook it. If friend S. does not 
know cauliflower, he has a pleasure in store. Cut the 
heads before they become loose, and boil in water slightly 
salted —never with meat. When tender, wdiich will usu¬ 
ally be with 20 minutes cooking, take up and drain and 
cover with drawn butter, (white sauce made with butter, 
flour and water,) and serve hot. They are usually eaten 
without other addition, but some dress with pepper and 
vinegar-—the same as they do cabbage. 
Cooking’ Egg’ Fraii*.—Last month we 
gave our manner of cooking the fruit of the egg plant. 
Since then we have received several communications 
upon baking the vegetable. ‘ ‘ Hawk eye,” of B u rlington, 
Iowa, says; “ Cut longitudinally, like opening a water- 
meion, scrape out the contents of both halves, mix well 
with dry bread crumbs, season with pepper and salt, re¬ 
place in the hollow, rind, and bake well in a hot oven. 
Try it if you wish a treat.” Others direct that the fruit 
be parboiled before it is opened. 
Good BIoiBic-nmtle Ink—lliimkng 
Recipes.— W. H. Bull, West Springfield, Mass., writes 
us with a beautiful jet black ink which he says was made 
thus : Two ounces of Logwood and half an ounce of Bi¬ 
chromate of Potash were dissolved in one gallon of rain 
water and strained, and one-eighth ounce of ammonia then 
added.—The ingredients can be bought of any druggist 
for less than 50 cents (probably for 25 or 30 cents). Se 
many others recommejid this or a similar compound, and 
send such good specimens of the ink used, that it must 
be good.—If we had not so thoroughly exposed the hum¬ 
bugs as to make their business unprofitable, we might 
soon expect to hear of a dozen of them privately offering 
by circulars, to send a valuable and “immensely profit¬ 
able” recipe for only a “$V,” and then forward this 
very ink recipe, printed on a large sheet and marked 
“ Patent,” or “ Copyright” “ applied for.” In our many 
investigations among this class of swindlers, we have 
paid 25c. to $5 for recipes, etc., that we had already 
published in the American Agriculturist. 
“ Gartlenisig foi* I*i’ofl< in the iMarket. and 
Home Garden, by Peter Henderson.” A few months ago 
w-e announced a w-ork on market gardening as being in 
preparation, but did not give the name of the author, as 
he preferred it should not be announced until he had 
completed his work. The manuscript is now in our 
hands, and the book will be brought out as soon as the 
necessary illustrations can be prepared. To answer 
numerous applications, we state that orders cannot be 
filled until late in autumn or early in winter. While the 
work is written more especially as a guide to market 
gardening, its teachings are also adapted to small oper.a- 
tions, and it will be, as those familiar with the practical 
character of Mr. Henderson’s writing might expect, just 
the book tliat its title indicates. 
'I’ke Few Hat Hade advertised in this 
paper is a very neat and simple contrivance for keeping 
one’s “ best hat” safe while attending church. 
'Fke I>eatU of Frof. .Tolin A. Forter 
of Yale College took place at New Haven on the 25th of 
August. Prof. Porter was known to many of our readers 
as having filled the chair of Agricultural Chemistry in 
the Sheffield Scientific School for some time, and subse¬ 
quently that of Organic Chemistry. That very interest¬ 
ing, and to those who participated in it, instructive con¬ 
vention of agriculturists, by whom the so-called “Yale 
Agricultural Lectures” were delivered and listened to, 
was carried through in great part by his efforts, and iden¬ 
tified him with the cause of agricultural progress. The 
Sheffield Scientific School, now so liberally endowed, 
owes its success to Prof. Porter in a great degree. 
