24r6 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
[July, 
cannot examine the article until you liave paid the 
“O.O. D.,” and then you are as badly off, as if you 
gent the money on by mail. (One party sends us spe¬ 
cific charges against certain parties, and wants us to 
publish them—but don’t give us his own name. How arc 
we to prove these charges, if the accuser and witness 
keep out of sight? Give us the proofs and witnesses, if 
you wish us to assume specific charges.) . A “ Watch ” 
man sends a special circular to editors, inviting them to 
buy, and sell, and advertise his watches. We shall not 
“ show up ” that scheme now. If any editor is not sharp 
enough to sec through this, he ought to try it, and get 
his eye-teeth cut, and then he will be prepared to en¬ 
lighten his readers, and will be less likely to advertise 
“aluminous” and “oroide gold” watches, etc . 
A “ Greenhorn,” who “ feels kinder sick, and won’t do 
so any more,” sent $2, and 73 cents for postage, to get a 
very valuable “time-keeper” from “It. S. Ellerton, 
Fourth St., Williamsburg,” and he got—well, “awooden 
compass,” alias wooden snn-dial, alias §00.00—the usual 
value of these advertised, cheap watches and “time¬ 
keepers.” . “NorfolkConn’s” experience in sending 
$10 for an Armstrong Watch, to It. F. Wood & Co., S99 
Broadway, and then not being able to find any such par¬ 
ties there, is the usual experience of the thousands who 
send money for watches advertised cheap. Watches are 
a standard article, and cannot be bought under their real 
value. The low-priced advertised watches are, in 099 
cases out of a 1000, cheats. Buy only of well-known, 
responsible , reputable dealers, and get what you pay for, 
whether it be $13 or $50, or more. This must serve as an 
answer to a lot of watch letters and circulars, recently 
se_nt to us, which we can not describe in detail . A 
chap in W. Ya. advertises stamps for making gambling 
cards. As none but gamblers will want his stamps, they 
may as well send their money to him, and get nothing in 
return, as to lose it otherwise—perhaps better, for then 
they will have less to gamble with, and will not be so 
able to bother and cheat others. liecipe sellers are 
pretty numerous throughout the country — recipes for 
making honey, washing compounds, inks, silvering 
powders and fluids, vinegar, soaps, liquors, medicines, 
etc., etc., etc. Nearly all or quite all of them have been 
published as newspaper items, and fow T , if any of them, 
are of real worth; but a well-told story about them 
brings in the “ stamps,” the dollars, and the $V’s. A 
few shrewd men have collected and printed from twenty 
to sixty of those recipes on single sheets, costing two to 
three cents each, and by advertising largely for agents, or 
“ employment ” on high pay, and a plausible setting forth 
of their pretended merits, and giving a very taking fi¬ 
nancial show, they have succeeded in getting thousands 
of persons to send them $2 to $5 for the worthless sheets. 
Simple-hearted, trusting people part with their money 
very easily, and so these chaps thrive. We repeat our 
.oft-given caution: Pay no money for any such recipes 
advertised in newspapers or by circular. For example, 
one man gets $5 for telling you to let cider or alcohol 
trickle over shavings, a thing published in books and 
papers for half a century or more ; and so of many others. 
.Life Insurance Companies, on entirely new and 
wonderful plans, will bear letting alone severely . To 
J. G. C.—Your 3-cent stamp was well invested in draw¬ 
ing out the real character of the so-called “American 
Knitting Machine Co., of Boston,” if the profanity came 
from the operator. A genuine company would be likely 
to give its exact location.But our space is more than 
full, with a lot more of humbugs on hand for attention. 
P. S.—A great “ Gift Concert,” for “ California Mer¬ 
cantile Library,” is just advertised in glowing colors. 
The investor of $5 in a ticket is quite as likely to be 
struck with lightning, as to get the grand prize of 
$100,000, with his one chance in two hundred thousand 1 
Send a present of $5 to the said library, if it needs it, 
and if you want to give it, but pray let this lottery alone. 
This is just what 199,37 2 persons will say afterwards; 
that is if the 200,000 tickets are sold, and if any distribu¬ 
tion is made. 
B6<nv to itlaiiiigc Spiring Pigs.—“I. 
II. C.,” Delaware, Ohio, writes: “I want to know the 
most profitable way to manage spring pigs, whether to 
give them all they will eat and fat them this fall, or to 
winter them over and fatten them next summer?” It 
depends on the breed, the food at command, the con¬ 
veniences for feeding, the probable price of pork next 
fall, and the price a year hence. We should premise, 
however, that in any case the pigs should have all they 
will cat of some kind of food. The only difference to be 
made between growing pigs and fattening pigs is in the 
character of the food. A fattening pig requires rich, 
concentrated food ; a growing pig a more bulky and less 
nutritions food; but in either case the pig to do well must 
have all it will oat. If you have a small-honed, well-bred 
pig, such as a grade Essex or Berkshire or Suffolk, wo 
think it would be far more profitable, as a rule, to fatten 
spring pigs than to winter them over. Let them have the 
run of a clover pasture, all the milk and slop from the 
house, and all the corn or other grain they will eat and 
digest. The latter point must be carefully attended to. 
Soak the meal or whole grain in water for 21 hours be¬ 
fore feeding. If well-bred, such treatment should give 
you pigs that will dress 300 lbs. by the first of December. 
On the other hand, if you have a coarse, large-boned 
breed of pigs, the better plan will be to winter them 
over. In this case, give them the run of a good clover 
pasture, plenty of water, what wash from the house you 
have to spare, and a little grain to keep them growing as 
rapidly as possible. You will find this subject treated 
on at considerable length in “Harris on the Pig.” 
Ti'iuisplanting ami Wafcriiig.— 
“ W. S. B.,” Cass Co., Ind. In setting out cabbages, if 
the soil is very dry, make holes with a trowel, pour in a 
pint or more of water, and set the plant. We do not like 
to water in a dry time, unless it is necessary to save the 
life of the plants, as, if commenced, it must be continued 
until a rain comes. 
Sparrows.—W. B. Christopher. The Euro¬ 
pean Sparrow is thoroughly established in New York and 
vicinity. Imported birds are sold at about $t a pair. 
They need to be furnished with small box houses, and in 
winter should have food scattered where they can find it. 
We do not know that they will destroy the Canker-worm, 
but have no doubt of it. 
Xroiible witJi Viase*.— ‘ I). D.,” Win¬ 
field, Ind., in training Concords on the horizontal arm 
system, finds that some of the buds did not start. The 
Concord is usually very tractable. It may be that the 
fall pruning was too close, or that the Vine Flea-beetle 
has been at work at the buds. 
Vkosusis’ SSjiut-ow.—T his 
implement was mentioned in the Ogden Farm Papers for 
June, and several have inquired where it can be had. We 
cannot inform them. It is probably designed for a select 
few, or the makers would advertise. 
Xu-iaS ol" Farm Macliiucry in Wis¬ 
consin.—A circular from the Ripon Farmers’ Club in¬ 
forms us that arrangements have been made for a great 
trial of Farm Machinery. The time will be announced 
hereafter. Particulars may be had by addressing D. T. 
Glaze, Secretary of the Club. 
Vookisis*- Com* on tlie ©ol».—“ G. A. 
T.,” Utica, Ill. We cannot tell whether it would or 
would not pay you to steam the ears of corn. Are in¬ 
clined to think it would not, unless you have every .con¬ 
venience for the purpose, and do the work systematically, 
and on a large scale. We think it will nearly always 
pay to soak corn in water for 24 or 30 hours before feed¬ 
ing. See the chapter on cooking food in “Harris on the 
Pig.” Shall be glad to hear the results of the experi¬ 
ments you allude to. 
I* there any «liJF<‘i'esicc between 
Winter and Spring- IJarley? “M. V.,” Kansas. 
Certainly; as much difference as there is between winter 
and spring wheat. The winter barley is heavier, and 
ought to bring the highest price ; but in sections where 
little of it is raised, it will not bring as much for malting 
as six-rowed spring barley. 
Mi-aiating-.— “Kentucky” writes: “ I have 
some wet strips of ground in my fields which have been 
drained by open ditches, but I find it impossible to stop 
bushes growing on the ditches. Would it draw the water 
off if I were to lay drain tiles in the bottom of these 
ditches, fill them up level, and cultivate over them?”— 
An*’.—If tiles are within easy reach and can be obtained 
on the place at a cost of about $40 per 
1,000 feet—it will pay to use them—other¬ 
wise use hemlock boards four and three 
inches wide, nailed together as here 
shown, breaking joints. Put them in the dug out and 
deepened bottom of the ditches and fill them in. 
(Plowing’ with T8aree Morses.—Bil¬ 
lings Hobart, of West Ya., writes: “ There are thousands 
of farmers that have never seen 3 horses work abreast in 
a left-hand plow, who would be much benefited if they 
knew the facts relating to the subject. Two 3-horse 
teams with two plowmen, can do as much work as three 
2-horse teams—thus saving the labor of one man. By 
working a steady horse as leader, i. c., on the left, with a 
left-hand plow, lie walks in the furrow, and guides the 
other horses by jockey sticks—little driving is required; 
do that little with a single line ; a steady pull for ‘ haw,’ 
two or three light jerks for ‘gee.’ It is usually best to 
hac),--furrow, beginning in’-’tlic center of a land, turning 
‘ haw.’ A left-hand plow is in no sense an awkward 
tool. When the ground is hard and the weather hot, a 3- 
horse, or better, a 3-mule team can do a satisfactory day’s 
work when it is impracticable to run a 2-horse plcno at all. 
This, in preparing for wheat, will afford great relief in 
many cases. It is hard when work presses to stop the 
plow to wait for rain ; all this and more has been express¬ 
ed in the American Agriculturist , but it will bear occa¬ 
sional repetition—and it is especially valuable for the con¬ 
sideration of the owners of those teams that are com¬ 
pelled to drag a raw hand along in the slack of a line run¬ 
ning to each horse.” 
Sumacli.—G. H. Alford, Cohn. The com¬ 
mon species are the Smooth, the Staghorn, and the 
Mountain Sumachs. The leaves arc considered equally 
valuable. They are collected when fully developed, usu¬ 
ally in August, and if intended for market, are dried, 
ground, and bolted. 
Petroleum for ti I'ickd Fence.— 
“ A. N.,” Franklin, N. II., wishes to paint a picket fence 
with petroleum. He finds in market the “ native oil," 
which sells at 50cents per gallon, and “crude petroleum” 
that sells at 2S cents. It is the latter he should use. For 
hard wood, petroleum of a light specific gravity is best; 
but for pine and hemlock, and other soft woods that ab¬ 
sorb the oil readily, a heavier petroleum may Ire more de¬ 
sirable. As to applying it, any way which gets it on with 
the least labor and in the largest quantity is best. We 
should go over the fence first with a whitewash brush, 
commencing on tlie top of the pickets, and letting the 
oil run down the wood. Then go over the fence again 
with a large, long-haired paint brush, and get on all the 
oil the wood will absorb. 
ILoaig- Mows iai tlie CJamleia,—Bil¬ 
lings Hobart, West Ya., writes: “ Have found great 
economy of labor in laying out kitchen garden in long 
rows, about 2 to 214 feet apart, putting a strip of potatoes 
at each end for a horse to turn on, and plowing every¬ 
thing; it saves three-fourths the labor, and produces 
finer vegetables. Those who think this arrangement 
don’t work well, can apply the saved labor to ornamental 
grounds, and look at the whole result.”—We have fre 
quently advocated this method where land is plenty and 
labor dear, but it is not practicable in small gardens. 
Cooking- Peas in Milk.— “E. II. M.” 
Danbury, Conn., does not think Peas properly treated un¬ 
less cooked as follows : “After shelling, rinse the pens, 
and place them in the pot with milk enough to boil them 
in, adding sufficient water—say one-quarter as much as 
milk—to prevent burning. Salt to the taste; stir occa¬ 
sionally while cooking to prevent the milk 1 boiling over.’ 
If a scum rises, which is not likely to occur if the milk is 
new, and cooked properly, skim off When done, pom- 
all into a deep dish, and add a generous lump of butter.” 
Green Corn is also greatly improved by milk. The corn 
should be cut from the cob, and then cooked the same as 
peas. If it is desirable to eat with beans, tlie latter may 
be cooked in the usual way, and added to the corn after 
both are done. Milk requires less salt than water does. 
The Value of Swamp Mitek.—Muck 
differs in value, but when one has no choice, it is safe to 
actas if the material was of great value. The chief value 
lies in the organic matter, which contains more or less 
ammonia. In some 33 samples, Prof. Johnson found an 
average of l-tf per cent, in the air-dried substance, which 
is more than double as much ammonia as is contained in 
very good barn-yard manure. Several peats contained 3 
and one 3 % per cent. J. L. Faulkner, of Tioga Co., asks 
for “a simple formula for analyzing swamp muck.” It 
would be impossible for a farmer without accurate chem¬ 
ical knowledge to do this, but an approximate estimate 
might be arrived at in regard to the ash and the amount 
of ammonia, thus: Dry some lumps as large as one’s fist; 
burn them, see how much ash they leave, and its charac¬ 
ter—whether sandy and abundant, which is bad, or fine 
and little of it, which is good. When the lumps are 
burning, and as soon as they have done smoking and 
blazing, take out a coal of the size of a lien’s egg or big¬ 
ger, and hold near it a feather dipped in strong vinegar. 
The amount of white, cloudy smoko which curls about 
the feather, indicates the presence of ammonia, and thus 
when two or more samples are compared, the amount of 
ammonia may be guessed at. After all, the best lest is the 
practical one ; and generally, that peat, or muck is best, 
which decomposes and disappears quickest in the soil; 
and will probably show the most effect upon the crops. 
Spurrcy.—J. M. Me A., Summerville, Mich., 
’ writes: “ I see Spnrrey, Common and Giant, advertised 
in the Catalogues as a forage plant for cattle and sheep— 
What is it ? Is it liable to become a nuisance on the farm ? 
Is it worth cultivating? Would it do to plow under for 
