74: 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[February, 
drug that is described rather than the plant that yields 
it; but the right name of the plant is given, and suf¬ 
ficient references to fuller botanical information. Nor is 
it a Materia Medica in the modern sense, for the medi¬ 
cinal uses and applications, and the diseases they are 
thought to cure, are only slightly mentioned. Of course 
it gives none of the details of a pharmacopoeia or dispen¬ 
satory. But its pages are filled with authentic and re¬ 
liable matter relating to the Botanical Origin, History, 
Formation, mode of collection, Characters and Proper¬ 
ties, Chemical Composition, and Commercial Statistics 
of all the principal vegetable substances employed in 
medicine, or otherwise knows as drugs.—Of Sassafras, 
under the head of “Production and Commerce,” it is 
said: “ Baltimore is the chief mart of sassafras root, 
bark, and oil, which are brought thither from within a 
circuit of 300 miles. The roots are extracted from the 
ground by the help of levers, partly barked, and partly 
sent untouched to the market, or are cut into chips for 
distillation on the spot. Of the bark as much as 100,000 
pounds were received in Baltimore in I860. The quan¬ 
tity of oil annually produced previous to the war is 
estimated at 15,000 to 20,000 lbs. There are isolated 
small distillers in Pennsylvania and West New. Jersey, 
who are allowed by the owners of a ‘ sassafras wilder¬ 
ness ’ to remove from the ground the roots and stumps 
without charge.” 
' «foiin Ellis mot am American Bota¬ 
nist. —The American Garden, reproducing the Garden¬ 
ers’ Chronicle’s striking but rather fanciful page-full of 
figures of Insectivorous Plants, recapitulates the leading 
points in regard to their action, and the history of what 
is known about them, including the recent contribution 
by Mrs. Treat of New Jersey. Ellis, with whom the liter¬ 
ature of the subject begins (about 1770), is said to be “an 
American botanist and collector.” Now John Ellis was 
a London merchant, born within the sound of Bow-bells, 
probably was never in America, and, although a naturalist, 
can hardly be ranked as a botanist. Indeed, he was mainly 
famous in taking the corals out of the hands of the bota¬ 
nists, by showing that they belonged to the animal king¬ 
dom. He even took more than belonged to him; for 
some of his Corallines are calcareous sea-weeds and have 
been reclaimed by the botanists. 
“ OesiBalinesi* Is next to (aodli- 
!«ess,” the Gardeners’ Chronicle (of Dec. 5) tells us is 
“ a New Testament statement.” It is “ as true as Gos¬ 
pel,” no doubt; and it may rank with another doctrinal 
statement, of which a good woman, on being told it was 
not in the Bible, naively remarked, that she “ always 
thought it was a great omission.” 
Seymour's Broadcast S#wcr.-“L. 
A. H.,” Charlottesville, Ya. The Seymour broadcast 
sower can be procured of R. H. Allen & Co., 189 Water 
St., N. Y. A number have used this machine for sowing 
grass, clover, fine fertilizers, plaster, and all the small 
grains broadcast with great satisfaction. On roughrooty 
or stony land, it may be used where a drill can not. 
Effect of Seed.— “E. M. S.,” 
Warner Co., O. Pumpkin and squash seeds are said to 
have a diuretic effect, and this necessarily affects injuri¬ 
ously the secretion of milk. Therefore, when pumpkins 
are fed to cows, it is safe, at least, to remove the seeds. 
Mecliasiiical I> raftsmen.—“ J. P. B.,” 
Allentown, Pa. The best place to learn mechanical 
drawing, is in a mechanic’s shop or in a mechanical 
engineer’s office. It can not be learned from books, any 
more than the art of photography or of oil painting. 
'IVlent onp Motel Bills pay for.— 
A Reporter of the Tribune has recently been looking in¬ 
to the items of consumption at the N. Y. City Hotels, 
and makes some striking estimates. He selects 15 out 
of the 108 principal hotels, and in the 15 finds 4,662 
rooms, which will accommodate 6,030 persons, and that 
in an emergency, these hotels can put up beds for 7,640 
persons ; that in the course of a year these 15 hotels are 
visited by nearly a million and a half transient per¬ 
sons, or 1$ times as many as the entire resident popula¬ 
tion of the city ; that these persons expend at least $10 
each, or $15,000,000 here, aside from mercantile purchas¬ 
es ; that these hotels keep 1,456 female servants, and 
1,479 male servants—total 2,035. Further, that these 15 
hotels consume annually, 2,839,200 lbs. of Fresh Meat; 
481,520 lbs. of Salt Meat; 590.200 lbs. of Fish ; 15,000,000 
Oysters; 4,704,960 Eggs; 1.274,000 lbs. of Poultry; 
275,080 head of Game; 35,620 lbs. of Tea; 145,340 
lbs. of Coffee; 686,920 lbs. of Sugar; 461,500 lbs. of 
Butter; 1,421,160 quarts of Milk; 168,480 quarts of 
Cream; 91.000 lbs. of dried Fruit; 61,880 gallons of 
canned Fruits, Jellies, etc. ; 1,268,800 lbs. of Soap ; 
60.000,000 cubic feet of Gas ; 22.464 tons of Coal. 
The pieces of linen washed are estimated at 19,022,000, 
and the pounds of garbage at 11,000,000. These hotels 
range in number of rooms thus: Grand Central 630, 
Fifth Avenue 550, St. Nicholas 500, Windsor 500, Metro¬ 
politan 400, Grand Union 350, Stuyvesant 309, New-York 
300, Gilsey 267, Hoffman 250. Union Square 142, Bre- 
voort 138, Winchester 120, Ashland 108, Albemarle 107. 
What is si 0»iiy’s Work .— 1 “ T. A. P.,” 
Ontario Co., N. Y. We can not say how many hours 
work constitutes a legal day’s work upon a farm. A cus¬ 
tomary day’s work is from breakfast to sundown, but a 
farm laborer who would object to work extra hours upon 
emergencies, would not be generally considered as a desir¬ 
able farm hand. Those who are hired to drive houses, are 
expected to feed and care for the team mornings and 
evenings. A month’s work is held to include every 
working day in the month, excluding only Sundays. 
Legal holidays are generally counted as lost time, but 
in the case of men hired permanently, employers 
rarely deduct holidays as lost time. A man hired 
upon a farm has no right to refuse to do any reasonable 
labor required of him; ditching or making drains is 
reasonable labor, which he should not refuse to perform. 
To refuse to do such work would be sufficient cause for a 
laborer’s discharge without notice. 
Maud-Power for Sawing Wood.— 
“ E. M. S.,” Warner Co., O. There is nothing gained by 
substituting the ordinary “buck-saw” for a hand or 
foot-power in sawing wood. But a very simple sawing- 
machine may be constructed to saw wood by a one or 
two-horse-power, or a wind-mill. 
Stamp Paller.—“ T. E. D.,” Janesville, 
Wis. If the advertising columns of the Agriculturist 
were read before an enquiry for any implement is sent, 
a good deal of trouble might be spared. In this case you 
would have learned that a stump puller is made by 
Chamberlain & Sons, of Olean, N. Y., which will no doubt 
answer your purpose. 
Weight of Milk. — “Subscriber,” St. 
Cloud, Minn. Poor milk is heavier than water or rich 
milk. The specific gravity of milk, is from 1,029 to 1,033, 
the richer the milk, the lower the gravity. This means 
that the same quantity or bulk of water, which would 
weigh 1,000, if of milk would weigh 1,029 to 1,033. This 
is much more readily understood when the decimal or 
metric weights are used. Thus, the French litre, the unit of 
measure, weighs exactly 1,000 grammes when filled with 
pure water. But the litre of milk weighs according to 
its richer or poorer quality, 1,029 to 1,033 grammes. As 
cream is lighter than milk, the more cream there is in 
the milk, the lighter it is, and vice versa. It is this fact 
which makes the use of the specific gravity lactometer a 
very uncertain test of the quality of milk. The proper 
test is to set the milk in a tube graduated to a hundred 
parts, and note the percentage of cream. 
As to Bargaias aud SSsxles .—“ T. J. 
P.,” Naples, N. Y. When a sale of stock or produce is 
made, it is not legally binding upon either party, unless 
the whole or a portion of the purchase money is paid, or a 
portion or the whole of the goods is delivered. There 
must be either payment or delivery, or a written contract 
to make the bargain binding. If stock or goods arc sold, 
and a deposit is made, and a time fixed for delivery, the 
seller is not obliged to wait longer than the specified 
time, and may sell to other parties after that time. A 
seller is not obliged to deliver goods sold, without pay¬ 
ment, unless he has made a written contract, or has 
taken a note in payment, and not then if he has good 
reason to fear that he may not be paid for his goods. If 
farmers could and would buy and sell for cash, it 
would greatly simplify their business and prevent 
many disputes. 
“ Is tlie Fruit chang-ed i»y Foreign 
Pollen ? ”—“ E. Y. T.,” a competent observer at Rich¬ 
mond, Ind., gives the following interesting testimony: I 
once saw a hard shelled almond growing beside a peach- 
tree, both laden with ripening fruit, and the fruit of both 
was changed from the ordinary appearance and quality, 
especially was this change most marked in the sides of the 
trees adjacent. The almond is almost exactly like the 
peach in tree, leaf, flower, fruit, and seed : differing mainly 
in that the flesh of the almond fruit is unfit to cat; when 
ripe the flesh cracks open, and allows the nut, which is 
the only edible part, to dropout. In the case under con¬ 
sideration, the fruit of the peach tree, especially on the 
side next the almond, cracked open like the almond, and 
the quality of the fruit changed from a very good peach 
into a bitter one, with one side cracked open like an 
almond, exposing the stone, while on the almond-tree ad¬ 
joining the peach, the fruit was not so much cracked open 
as usual, and the size and texture of the fleshy covering 
of the nut, was more or less changed. Other peach trees 
growing near, were not mixed with almonds, and the 
owner of the orchard said that only this one peach tree 
bloomed at the same time as the almond. A friend of 
mine, a very careful observer, says he knows from many 
years observation, that if two varieties of Irish potatoes 
are planted adjo.ning, if they bloom profusely at the same 
time, many of the potatoes produced, will be well marked 
crosses, showing that the change produced in the seed- 
ball, through the action of the pollen, is also transmitted 
through the stems to the tubers.—[Will the gentleman 
here referred to kindly inform us which varieties were 
the subjects of his observation.—E d.] 
Catarrh in Fowis.—“C. W. R.,” East 
Taunton, Mass. Catarrh or roup in fowls, is best treated 
by injecting a solution of carbonate of potash into the 
nostrils, and afterwards a solution of chloride of zinc. 
The potash solution is made with % oz. carbonate of pot¬ 
ash (saleratus) in a pint of water ; the zinc solution of 
four grains of the chloride in an ounce of water. 
Plaatiag Hm.sides.-" L. A. W.,” Pike 
Co., Pa. In the neighborhood of tanneries, where rough 
mountain land is to be purchased “for a song,” after it 
has been cleared of timber for the bark, it would cer¬ 
tainly pay to plant it with rock-chestnut oak acorns. The 
bark of this is worth more than that of white oak, and it 
will not bo many years before tanners will be glad to buy 
the bark and twigs from small wood. These are richer 
in tannin than the bark of older trees, and an estimate 
of a yearly value of two dollars per acre for land planted 
in such a manner, would probably be a reasonable one. 
If the land can be purchased and planted for $20 an acre, 
the return would be ten per cent per annum. 
Extensive Chicken ISaisiag. —- “ A 
Subscriber.” It would undoubtedly pay for any person 
“ to raise 2,500 or 3,000 chickens for spring markets,” 
but it is very questionable if any novice can do this. An 
experienced poultry raiser might probably succeed in 
keeping 1,200 hens upon 25 acres, and raising many 
chickens, but it would be only by the utmost care and 
attention, and such treatment as is learned by experience, 
and exercised with the greatest skill and tact. We 
advise no one to go into a large poultry business without 
these qualifications. 
IFor a, Mickiag Morse.—“ W. W.,” 
Huntingdon, L. I. A horse that has acquired the habit 
of kicking in his stall, will not usually exercise the habit 
if kept in a roomy, loose box, or if he does he is nearly 
always so far from the sides of the box that he can not 
reach them with his heels. 
Angora Fleeces.—“R. J. C.,” Lancaster, 
Pa. Messrs. Coates & Bro., of Philadelphia, will doubt¬ 
less be able to find a market for Angora fleeces in that 
city, where we believe the only factories using this ma¬ 
terial are situated. It is not correct to say Cashmere or 
Angora. These two localities are distant from each 
other, and the Cashmere goat is distinct from the Angora 
goat. The Angora goat does not bear the fine downy un- 
der-fieece which is so valuable for the manufacture of the 
Cashmere shawls. 
Virginia Manas.—“ W. S.,” Christians- 
bnrg, Ya. The method of preparing the famous Virginia 
hams is as follows. The pork is to be well fattened, and 
after slaughtering hangs over night to cool. The hams 
are then smoothly cut and rounded, and the leg taken off 
below the hock. For each 100 pounds of hams, a pickle 
is made of 10 lbs. of salt, 2 lbs. of brown sugar, 2 ounces 
of saltpeter, and 1 ounce of Cayenne pepper, with 4 gal¬ 
lons of water, or sufficient to make brine that will float 
an egg. The shoulders and middles are generally pickled 
with the hams; all being neatly trimmed, they are packed 
closely in a cask, and the above pickle poured over them, 
to cover all completely. After five or six weeks the 
hams are taken out and drained-, and hung up by the skin 
of the hock in the smoke-house, in which a very little fire 
is made, so as to have cool smoke. The smoke is made 
with corn-cobs or hickory chips, nere they remain, be¬ 
ing smoked for a few hours twice a week, until fly-time 
is near. Before there is danger of flies, each ham is 
wrapped in clean paper, and put into a tight bag of coarse 
cotton, leg downward. The mouth of the bag is tied 
with strong twine, the end of which is made into a loop, 
and the hams are hung up until wanted. It would be an 
improvement upon this plan, if the bags were coated 
with thick lime-wasli. 
Water Pipes.—“ J. L. D.,” Martin’s Sta¬ 
tion, Ya. A pipe of one inch diameter, will discharge 
about one quart of water per second, or 900 gallons per 
hour. If 1,500 feet of pipe is laid from a spring to a 
house 30 feet lower than the spring, across uneven 
