1870.J 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
idS7 
Vinegar Making.—“B. H.” asks it' it 
will accelerate the conversion of cider into vinegar to 
add yeast. As vinegar is usually made, probably not. 
What fs needed is free access of air. The cider naturally 
contains enough ferment, and if it be exposed freely to 
air, the change takes place. Some secret and patented 
processes are founded upon this fact. 
Tlie “Fly” on Tsirnips and Cab¬ 
bage Plants. —“D.,” Goshen, Conn., writes that a 
mixture of equal parts of wood-ashes, plaster, and rye 
flour, sifted upon the plants while wet with dew, will 
successfully rid them of the “ flv.”—The flour is used to 
make the other ingredients adhere. 
Black Ants.—N. S. Buckley says : “ Ail 
articles set upon a cold stove or other cold iron are safe 
from the attacks of black ants. 
Mice or Moles?— “Fowler,” Orange, N. 
J., asks how to destroy mice which injure his bulbs. 
Are they mice ?—They are more probably moles. In either 
case, some kind of a trap is, thus far, the best remedy. 
The Colorado Potato Beetle. —Sev¬ 
eral inquire about ‘ the potato bug.” There are several 
beetles which live upon potato vines, the most destruc¬ 
tive of which is known as the 13-lined Spearman, or Colo¬ 
rado Beetle. As we have already twice figured this in¬ 
sect, we will say that it is in shape somewhat like a 
large Lady-bug, yellow, and with twelve black longitudi¬ 
nal lines. The remedy that has been found most effectual 
is Paris Green. This is mixed with 8 or 10 times its 
hulk of flour and dusted upon the vines while the dew 
is on. A very slight quantity is said to be sufficient. A 
broad-mouthed bottle with a bit of gauze tied over it may 
be used for applying it. We give this remedy with the 
positive announcement that Paris Green is a dangerous 
compound of arsenic and a deadly poison. The use of 
Paris Green is commended in the journals of those States 
in which the insect abounds, and by our correspondents. 
If used, every care should ho taken to avoid accidents, 
and the operator should he upon the windward side of 
the vines and avoid breathing the dust. 
Oats Cut and Cured as May.— “II. 
L. B.” Oats cut and cured as hay can hardly he said to 
have a market value ; they are, however, constantly used 
iu this way, and are found to he profitable. We should 
say, ton for ton, they would he worth as much as good 
timothy hay. The oats should he cut while the most for¬ 
ward heads are just coming into the dough state, and 
while most of the crop is still in the milk. If tall, they 
should be cradled aud hound, as it saves labor in cutting. 
Oats should he cut small with a liay-cutter, and wet up 
with a little bran or meal when fed out. 
Spurrey. —We are informed by a friend who 
is familiar with the use of Spurrey in Germany, that it is 
highly valued, in fact, regarded as indispensable in some 
sections, as fall feed for milch cows. It is sown after the 
rye harvest in July, or early in August, and affords rich 
succulent pasturage in October, upon which it is custom¬ 
ary to tether the cows. See article on page 240 (July.? 
“ Superphosphate ” I8.eei.pe.—“ W. 
If. A'.,” Myersville, Aid., asks if the following recipe for 
making superphosphate is good. It is no superphos¬ 
phate, but a rich nitrogenous and pliospliatic manure, 
and we presume is one of those secret recipes which are 
advertised so often. Here it is:....“ For Corn or 
Wheat.— Take GOO lbs. of good, rich earth, spread on a 
floor, and then add 500 lbs. of Peruvian Guano, 100 lbs. 
Sulphate of Ammonia, 500 lbs. Flour of Raw-Bone, 100 
lbs. Pulverized Saltpetre, and 200 lbs. ground Plaster. 
2U0 lbs. of the mixture for one acre.”—This mixture 
would not cost less than $70 for the 2,000 lbs. directed, of 
which GOO is earth, and it certainly is not worth more than 
half as much as Peruvian Guano, which, sifted, aud mixed 
with earth and plaster, we would prefer at $100 a ton. 
Aslies vs. Criia.no. —“ W. H.,” of Snow 
Camp, N. C., proposes this conundrum: “What are 
wood-ashes worth per bushel, if Peruvian Guauo is worth 
$100 per ton ?” Really this problem is about equivalent 
to this: If broadcloth is $7 a yard, what will a panqof 
shoes cost ? Guano and Ashes are eacli used as manure 
—Broadcloth aud Shoes are both articles of clothing. 
Almost anybody who raises grass, potatoes, corn, or cot¬ 
ton, can afford to pay 15 to 30 cents per bushel for good, 
quick wood-ashes, and often one might pay more with 
profit.—They may usually ho bought for 10 to 15 cents per 
bushel. The use of Guano is to supply nitrogen and the 
phosphates. Ashes supply potash chiefly. 
Self-milking- Cows. —A cow sometimes 
gets the habit of milking herself, and as she appears to 
enjoy both the operation and the milk, it is hard lo break 
her. We published some years ago a highly recommend¬ 
ed cure, which was to slit the cow’s tongue about 2 or 3 
inches. Some readers tried this, and, failing, tried two 
square yokes placed on the neck and braced apart with 
iron bolts so that the cow could not get her head near her 
side. This was of course effectual. Now we have a let¬ 
ter from A. Allan, of St. Louis, Mo., saying that the yoke 
arrangement did not work, for the cow would break it,- 
and that the tongue-slitting worked like a charm. 
Cows tliat Hold up tlicir Milk.— 
“N. M. F.” It is very exasperating to sit and handle 
a cow’s teats and vainly try to coax her to let down her 
milk, but wo know no cure. Sit quietly and manipulate 
gently—after a while the muscles which hold the milk 
hack will relax from sheer exhaustion, and you will get 
it. The plan we have often thought of putting in prac¬ 
tice but have not, is to arrange a lid which shall close 
the manger. Then prepare cut hay with meal upon it, 
or roots or other favorite feed, which the cow must he 
deliberate about eating; then when one sits down to 
milk let him draw hack the lid by a cord and give Cushy 
a bite. If she withhold her milk close the crib and open 
it only when the milk comes down. We think she 
would appreciate the cause and effect , and so be cured. 
* li urns. —W. G. Kuhnian, Gibson, Ill. You 
can get Thermometer Churns of almost every largo dealer 
in agricultural implements and machinery the country 
through—at least such has been the case. Other and bet¬ 
ter churns have been introduced of late, and it may he 
the thermometer churns are not so easily found. We 
prefer testing the temperature before putting the cream 
into the churn and while it is iu the churn, by a common 
brewer's thermometer held in the hand. 
Minks. —-We have numerous inquiries where 
Jive Minks can he purchased for breeding purposes. 
Those who have them for sale should advertise. 
Tronlile with Ciibbtiges.— G. A.,” 
Biddeford, Me., writes us a pathetic account of his troub¬ 
les in raising cabbage; the larva, or maggot, at the root 
destroyed his crop in spite of all the preventives he could 
think of. Some time ago Air. P. T. Quinn offered a re¬ 
ward for the best remedy, aud he is this season trying a 
large number of those proposed, and promises to publish 
his results. We doubt if the manure had anything to do 
with G. A's trouble. 
Aujiusl Bntter.—“A. W. K.,” Monmouth 
Co., N. J. If the cows are well fed, or have good pas¬ 
turage, aud their milk is kept cool, especially if cooled 
as soon as milked, and the cream is churned two or three 
times a week, and ice or spring water is at hand to con¬ 
trol the temperature of the cream, of the churn, and of 
the butter when it comes, there is no difficulty about pack¬ 
ing butter all summer. With half-fed cows, milk kept in a 
warm cellar, and warm, sour cream a week old, you will 
have soft and miserable, lardy butter, if any, which is not 
fit to eat to begin with, and will he rancid in three weeks. 
Industrial Exhibition. — Atgrand “Ex¬ 
position ” of Manufactures, Products, and Arts, will he 
opened at Cincinnati on Sept. 21st, and continue until 
Oct. 15th. Artizans, Alanufacturers, and Inventors, are 
invited to exhibit, and can obtain a prospectus, giving 
rules, etc., by addressing “Cincinnati Industrial Exposi¬ 
tion, Cincinnati, O.” 
Cosisaitutions of Agricultural and 
Hortlcultsiral Societies unci Clubs. —When 
men are really iu earnest it requires very little machinery 
in the way of constitutions and by-laws to keep Asso¬ 
ciations together. Alany societies spend so much force 
upon their constitution, that they have little left for their 
proper work. As we arc frequently applied to for a form 
of constitution for clubs and societies, we give the fol¬ 
lowing, which, with the necessary verbal changes, will 
answer for almost any society: 
Art. 1. This Organization shall he known as the 
“Horticultural Society of Jo. Davies’ County.” 
Art. 2. Its object shall he the advancement of Horti¬ 
culture. 
Art. 3. Its members shall consist of persons who 
have paid an annual fee of one dollar; and of Honorary 
Members of distinction in Horticulture aud Agriculture. 
Art. 4. Its officers shall consist of a President, flYe 
Vice Presidents, a Corresponding Secretary, a Recording 
Secretary, a Treasurer, and an Executive Board, which 
shall consist of a President and four other members; all 
of which shall be elected at the first jegular meeting in 
the year, and shall hold their office one year, of until their 
successors in office are chosen. 
Art. 5. The officers of this Society, aud the Chairmen 
of the Standing Committees, shall be chosen by ballot., at 
tlie regular meeting iu Juuuary, of each year, and a ma¬ 
jority of all the votes cast shall be necessary to a choice. 
Art. G. There shall he the following Standing Com¬ 
mittees: 1—On Orchards_2—On Vineyards....3—On 
Orchard Fruits... .4—On Flowers... .5—On Culinary Veg¬ 
etables. .. .G—On Entomology... .7—On Botany and Veg¬ 
etable Physiology 8—On Ornithology ‘J—On Small 
Fruits —10—On Wines.. .11—On Useful and Ornamen¬ 
tal Planting. 
Art. 7. The Society shall hold Monthly and other 
Meetings and Exhibitions as it may direct. 
Art. 8. This Constitution may be amended at any reg¬ 
ular meeting by two-thirds of the whole number of votes 
cast, one mouth’s notice having previously been given. 
Tobacco in JLatcIilield Co., Conn. 
—“A CoiTstaut Reader” is IS years old, can hire a farm 
of 50 acres : for $100, and inquires if without knowing 
anything about it he can make it pay by raising tobacco. 
We advise him to try some other crop first. Get a lease 
of the farm fur 10 years with the right to purchase at a 
fair figure, if you wish. Then raise cattle and sheep and 
pigs, take horses to board, or in some way, keep all the 
stock you can keep well, and make all the manure possi¬ 
ble. Then you can manure your corn laud well, mid top- 
dress your permanent meadows and get the farm in or¬ 
der, so that you and your man or men can keep ahead of 
the work easily; then lay out for half an acre of tobacco 
on the richest and warmest land you have, give it 50 to 
100 big loads of manure, and take good care of the crop. 
Orange Judd & Co. have published a comprehensive little 
'.treatise on Tobacco for 25 cts., which it would pay you to 
possess. It contains the experience of several growers. 
Iitibor from Castle darden. — Wo 
cannot undertake to engage labor for our correspondents. 
We have ourselves frequently engaged men here and have 
obtained the poorest as well as the best help we ever 
had. One slioulo come in person and pick out the men 
himself. If he is a good judge of character, he will be 
able to make a better selection than another can do for him. 
The officials, as far as our experience goes, are uniformly 
courteous and painstaking, but when they have brought 
the laborer aud employer together, their duties cease. It 
is a well-mauaged labor market in which, as iu all other 
markets, the purchaser must ho a judge of the article. 
Mesti’oying' !®er!siisani»Bis.—“ J. A. AI. 
R.,” who lives in Georgia, is much troubled by persim¬ 
mon “scrubs” in his fields. He wishes to know if any 
one can tell him a better way to destroy them than by 
the use of the grub-hoc and root-drag. Who is learned 
on the persimmon question?. 
Flests upon Cosmopolite.” We 
have found an occasional washing with carbolic soap to 
keep the animals quite free of fleas. 
Crsmliiera-ics obi Upland.— R..H. Rose 
and several others ask if cranberries will succeed on 
high, warm, and rich, sandy loam. We have no proof 
that cranberries have ever paid when grown on upland. 
The vines will sometimes be a long while in dying, and 
will produce some fruit; but we would not advise any 
one to undertake cranberry culture upon upland with a 
view to profitable returns. 
Furilication ©4" — F. II. Rob¬ 
bins, of Allamakee Co., Iowa., writes: “ Please inform 
me how to cleanse a cistern and keep it in good condi¬ 
tion, and the water free from smell and taste?”—If 
it is foul, clean it out. If not," heat half a bushel of 
charcoal, and when in a glow, pound it into pieces as 
big as hickory nuts, and shovel them with the coarsest of 
the dust into a wet gunny bag or other coarse sack ; put. 
in a stone big enough to sink it., and, tying a cord to it- 
draw it up aud down through the cistern, finally leaving 
it suspended near the top of the water one day and near 
the bottom the next. The results will be observed very 
soon, and will be permanent for several weeks, when 
the operation may have to be renewed. 
H'otaloes from Seed..— “F. H. AI.,” 
Scarborough, Ale. When the potato balls are ripe, hang 
them in a dry place, leaving the seed untouched until 
time to sow. In the spring sow tlie seeds in a hot-bed 
or in a box in a warm window, just as you would those 
of tomatoes, and transplant to the open ground when 
danger of frost is over. 
Fallen Apples.—“ D. P.” says: “Apples 
are dropping quite freely. AVould it he of any use to 
spread ashes or lime under the trees to kill the worms 
that come out of the fruit ?” This would he a very un¬ 
certain way of killing the larval in the apples. It- is ranch 
better to gather the fallen fruit and feed it to the pigs. 
