4r34. 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[December, 
Make tlic Fresft *Ai«l 'STosi.—Few are 
aware of the benefioial effects upon all kinds of soil, and 
especially upon heavy land, of a thorough freezing and 
lhavving. Eight cubic feet of water in freezing, swells to 
nine feet at least. Soils filled with water expand in the 
same way. The water dispersed all through the pores 
when freezing, cracks and pulverizes the soil, and fits it 
for plants, and releases much |ilant food. Tins freezing 
also kills many insecds, insect eggs, and weed seeds. 
It is wise, then, to plow fields and spade the gardens 
into ridges and furrows in Autumn, so as to let the 
frost down as deeply as possible. This can be done 
at any time before the ground becomes solid. If so 
wet that it packs, the freezing will lighten it up again. 
The operation pays well. If ground be left in ridges with 
deep dead furrows or ditches, it will drain and dry off, 
and become warm a week ort« o earlier in spring, which 
is an important gain for the cultivator at that season. 
Coa.1 Ta,r as I®aiMt foi* ISonsseSo—“J. 
T.” writes from Madison, Ind., “ to the question: ‘ Is 
coaltar good paint for the outside of a small house?’— 
You answer, ‘yes, if you like a black house.’ I would 
answer, yes for either a smaller large house. A good 
paint that will outlast any oil paint, on either wood or 
brick, and not be black either, can be made with coal 
tar.”—In whatever wtiy "J. T.” modifies the color, we 
presume he cannot tivoid having it very dark, and this we 
decidedly object to for dwelling houses at least, which 
should be of a light cheerful color, if of wood, or of a 
natural stone color, if of brick or concrete. 
WSaat ss, 'SToiiiiig; Mam ©ial.—Wc were 
pleased, on more than one account, by a recent call from 
a young man in Putnam County, a farmer boy student, 
we believe. Seeing our premium offers he started out, 
and in about four days work, all within a week, he ob¬ 
tained 157 subscribers to the Agriculturist at $1.50 a year. 
His call was to bring in the names and order his premi¬ 
ums, viz. : the 16 volumes of Appleton's Cyclopedia and 
the Tool Chest, which were promptly furnished. He is 
thus well equipped for mind work and hand w ork. (The 
Cyclopedia, $80, and the Tool Chest, $14.50, or $124.50 
for four days work, is pretty good pay—it would pay well 
for forty days work.) Why may not you, reader, and 
hundreds, yes, thousands of others do the same thing. 
There are in our country more than ten thousand differ¬ 
ent Towns, which each contain more than 157 persons 
who would afterwards be grateful to any one who should 
persuade them to subscribe for this journal for 1867. 
ISuttei* Costs More tlaam Flomr.— 
After some inquiry, we estimate that in a family of ten 
persons, including two or three children between three 
and eight years old, a barrel of flour lasts 36 days. This 
is nearly the general average, of a barrel of flour a year 
for each full grown person. The same family (of ten) 
consumes an average of 1)4, Ihs. of butter per day, or 2 
ounces each, including that used in cooking. The aver¬ 
age retail price here, for good articles, has been for some 
time past, about $16 per bbl. for flour, and 50c. per lb. 
for butter. (Both are higher now.) At those figures, it 
takes $22.50 worth of butler to use up $16 worth of flour 
—or an excess of $6.50, equivalent to full 40 per cent. 
If we reduce (he butler to 1 lb. per day, or 1 3-5ths ounces 
each, its cost will still be nearly 20 per cent, greater than 
the flour. This proportion will hold good throughout 
most of the country, as the relative prices of flour and 
butter are about the same as here. 
Wl«y tlae ISest IFlomr is Claeapest. 
—Two dollars extra on Ihe price of a barrel of flour, will 
secure a much superior quality. Any one who will de¬ 
vote a little observation to the subject, will notice that 
with poor bread, people eat from to Yi more butter than 
they do with that which is of superior or extra quality. 
If we reckon }4 more, it will be seen by the calculations 
of the preceding item, that $2 saved in the price of flour 
involves $5.62 more expense for butter, or for other con¬ 
diments to make the poorer bread palatable. 
IScwai-c of A«lvca*(lsc«l BSceipes foi* 
Ink, Paint, Vinegar, Money, etc.— We notice 
a good many of these advertised in news|)apers and by 
private circulars, at from $1 to $5 each, with promises of 
wonderful profits to the purchasers. One editor offers as 
a premium for new subscribers, an ink recipe by which 
‘‘you can make hundreds of dollar’s worth of splendid 
ink, in a few minutes, for less than half a dime per gal¬ 
lon ! ” All of these advertised recipes have been publish¬ 
ed in the Agriculturist this year, with no )iatfcnt or copy¬ 
right to prohibit their general use. We have also publish¬ 
ed the vinegar and honey recipes. So don’t give $1, $2, 
$3 or $5 to somebody who sets up a claim for their e.x- 
clusive use. The Recipe of the “ Great American PaitU 
Company" which we have referred to, (Aug., p. 278, and 
Nov., p. 389), has turned up. It amounts to fresh slaked 
lime with about l-5th its weight of salt, and l-6th its 
weight of sugar, mixing it with milk, and adding Y of its 
weight of Spanish whiting for while paint. For other 
eolors, use, instead of the Spanish white, some yellow 
ochre for straw color, chrome yellow for lemon, indigo 
for lead or slate, chrome green for green, etc. The 
amount of these, and the mode of mixing, are not stated. 
For iinplcments, use linseed oil instead of milk. (What 
say practical painters to mixing freshed slaked lime with 
linseed oil?) This is what we got for $1 paid to the so- 
called ’• Great American Paint Company,” by way of in¬ 
vestigation.—The ‘‘ Company” don’t claim any “ patent,” 
but oidy say “ copyright applied for.”—[.l/em ; Club sub¬ 
scribers vrill please credit us $1 for this information, 
which is all they will get from the said ” Company ” for 
the same money. So we end the year square ; you paid in 
$1 and we return It here—throwing in the year’s papers 1] 
I®ii*epsiiifsatio5i foi* BjcaftBaci*.—The “Shoe 
and Leather Reporter ” translates from the Gerber Cour¬ 
ier, the following recipe for a preparation which is said 
to be excellent for boots, harness leather, and belting, 
giving pliability, softness, and consequent durability : 
Melt 7 ounces of lard, add 1 ounce rosin, and stir well 
together when both are melted. In another vessel dis¬ 
solve Z)i ounces of good hard soap in a quart (or 2)4 
pounds) of clean rain water. When dissolved and healed 
to the boiling point, add the prepared lard and rosin, boil 
gently a few minutes, and it is ready for application. 
The preparation is easily and cheaply made, and will 
doubtless render the leather pliable, even if it does not 
turn water, of which we are in doubt. 
we Saw.—On one of the coldest 
mornings of November, when the sterner sex were glad 
to wear gloves, thick overcoats well buttoned up, and not 
a few had winter caps on, well down on their ears, we 
saw a well dressed lady belonging to a well to do family, 
get out of the cars with a gentleman, and walk off 
through the cold wind, bareheaded ! (There w as some¬ 
thing flat lying on the crown of her head, but it was so 
small we could not tell what it was.) A friend at our 
elbow said she was a fashionable lady.—We guess so.— 
Mem. (from our note book): Hadn’t we better open our 
advertising columns to the latest patent medicine, coa- 
sumptioti curing geniuses ! Where’s (Rev.) Edward 
Wilson, and (he other suchlike humbugs?—The “ca¬ 
tarrh” humbug medicine dealers may increase their 
stock, too, for the present fashion will largely increase 
this disease, and those who catch it, because they will 
conform lo fashion at any cost or risk, are foolish enough 
to patronize such pretenders. 
JFasteiiaisiig l®eiitcii Maries.—It is often 
desirable to prepare pencil notes or marks so that they 
will not rub off readily. A thin solution of gum arabic 
in water, or shellac in alcohol, applied with a soft brush, 
will do it effectually. But this is not always convenient, 
as when one is traveling, or at a library, as at the Aslor 
Library where no ink is allowed in the reading room. 
Rev. L. L. Langstroth, the Bee man, w rites us that a 
little saliva applied with (he tongue or otherwise, over 
pencil notes, drawings, etc., will cause the lead to adhere 
so firmly that it w ill not come off without friction enough 
to injure the paper surface. He has used it for over 16 
years with decided satisfaction, and thinks that, though 
a simple Ihing, it is very useful to know, and he has met 
with no one else who understood it. We have often 
used it for 25 years, but it did not occur to us that it was 
not known by everybody until reminded of it by Mr. L. 
loalf—Viiaegai-—IIiamlaMgfs.— Mr. Chas. 
C. ICulp, of Jlontgomery Co., Pa., sends the copy-righted, 
printed recipes, which some chap in Biddeford, Maine, 
is selling at a high price, claiming that they came from 
Brazil, that he has refused $5,000 for the “ right ” to make 
them iii New York alone, etc., etc. Mr. Kulp sends us 
recipes for the same things copied from his old scrap¬ 
book where they have been at least ten years, and they 
are almost identical with those which this JIaine fellow 
has dug up, and is now selling to agents and others. We 
may add here, that many of the advertisements for 
“agents” at ‘‘$100 a month,” “ employment at $150 per 
month,” etc., are from parties who have got some old 
recipe, quite likely taken from the Agriculttirist, and 
giving it a new name, they persuade agents to undertako 
its sale as something of great value. A fellow recently 
tidverlised for agents, sent applicants a long circular to 
persuiide them to buy a honey recipe, ami rights to make 
it at $5 each, and to all green enough to semi him the $5, 
he returned a sugiw-honey, or artificial honey recipe, 
which we ptiblished many years ago with a caution as to 
its value. He prohably got it from our columns.—Here 
are Jlr. Kulp’s old recipes ; purchasers of the Maine 
oiierators “right” will see that they are tilmost identi¬ 
cal with those which have cost them $2 to $5 .—Vinegar: 
40 gallons water, 1 gallon molasses, ami 4 lbs. acetic acid, 
mix and let it ferment until it is strong vinegar,- Ink : 
(a) 1.gallon hot water, 2 ounces extract logwood, % ounce 
bi-chromate of potash. Stir together and let it stand to 
settld^ and strain. (5) Dissolve Y lb. extract logwood in 
5 gallons hot water, and add Y ounce bi-chromate of 
potash ; stir for a short time. Five gallons cost 25 cents. 
Tnese recipes copied from a very old scrap-book, are as 
good (if good at all) as the $5,000 recipe of the Maine man. 
Mow tSaey CooSc Grouse in tlae ISocky 
RSouiitaius.—An old prospecter in tlje Rocky Moun¬ 
tains, writes us : “ Perhaps you' would like to know how 
we live out here. We are go’.irmands—Venison, bear 
meat, Grouse and trout, are our every day food. How do 
we cook ? I’ll tell you, and you’ll say you have never 
eaten a Grouse if you take the trouble to try it. First, shoot 
your bird, and as soon as you pick him up, bleed him by 
an insertion of your penknife into his jugular. Being in 
camp for the night, dig a hole in the sand about 1 foot 
deep, and build a fire in it. When it is thoroughly heated 
leave it about Y full of coals, which cover well with 
ashes or very dry sand. Make a paste of mud or cl.ay, in 
which encase your bird, leaving the feathers on, to the 
thickness of % of an inch or so, and lay him in the hole, 
covering with ashes and coals, and filling up with dirt. 
After Y of an hour, dig him out, and give him a rap on 
the ground, when the casing will fall off, taking with it 
feathers and skin, and leaving you the Grouse cooked in 
his own juices. Eat with ‘ hard-iack,’ and tell Delmon- 
ico you have dined elsewhere. Perhaps I’ll tell you how 
to cook a trout some day.” 
Coolsiia?? SaHsily, or Aeg'eitis.tole 
©ystcr. —We hope many of our readers have a liberal 
supply of this vegetable, or will have another year. It 
is grown as easily, and just like cari'bts or parsnips, and 
if rightly cooked affords a very agreeable dish, especially 
in spring. It is all the better for standing in the ground, 
as it grows all winter, although we usually take up late 
in autumn a quantity for winter’s use, and pack it in 
boxes of moist sand in a cool cellar. AVe clean the roots 
well, cut in short pieces, boil tender, drain, salt it, add a 
little salt coilfish picked very fine, and butter, thicken 
with a little flour and milk, and pour it over toast.- 
C. W. C., Howells, Orange Co., N. Y., writes; Wash 
and scrape the roots, cut in thin slices, boil in a little 
water until soft; pour off the water and mash the roots 
fine. Season with salt, pepper, butter, and a little cream. 
Iffojs Cniltiii’e.—Preston Miller, Dauphin 
Co., Pa. It is not practicable for us to reprint articles on 
special culture. In March, 1863, we published a prize 
essay, and have since issued a pamphlet (see Book-list) 
that contains about all that is known on the subject. 
Obbi* IBoclfiy MoBimtaiai Fi’icButl on 
Trout.—" I promised to tell you how to conk a trout. 
You think you’ve caught trout in (he streams that run 
among our dear old Green Mountains, or down the slopes 
of our Berkshire hills, but you must come out here to 
seethe real fish. Everyone you hook, from 15 to 22 
inches long, and as garney as the shiest that hid himself 
under the old stump by the Alders, near home, years ago. 
There ! you’ve landed him. Stick your knife in the back 
of his neck, and slash his gills the first thing. (Always 
bleed your fish as soon as you land him, it makes his flesh 
hard.) AVhen you are ready for your supper, make a 
small incision at the throat, and draw the entrails. Then 
fill him up wilh a wedge of fat pork or bacon. Wrap 
him in several thicknesses of paper, well wet, (oak leaves 
will do), and lay him in the hot ashes, covering him well 
wilh ashes and coals. Leave him for from 20 minutes to 
)c an hour, when you may unearth him, and eat vvith 
whatever accomiianirnents you may have. The first 
thing you’ll do next morning, will be to go fishing.- 
There are other ways to cook him, but when you’ve 
eaten this fellow you wont care to know them.” 
■%Vl»o Eats Spas'i-ows ? — These little 
birds are found, by the Maltese and Italian, to be most 
epicurean. They are best in the fruit season. Find 
a tree in which they roost, and by burning a little sul¬ 
phur under it you may bag any quantity. Pluck and 
clean them. Lard them, or better still, pin across the 
breast a very thin slice of pork. AA’rap them in young 
grape leaves, and pul in Iho oven. AVhen cooked, serve 
up iii the center of a dish of boiled rice. Cover welt 
with a rich tomato sauce. The grape leaf will be found 
an agreeable accompaniment. Other small birds are de¬ 
licious cooked in the same manner, and it may be partic¬ 
ularly recommended for the “ Reeil birds” of the Dela¬ 
ware and Potomac, and “Rice birds” of the South. 
