1873 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
329 
Tl'lie Tlinfeer Tree ILaw. —“Enquirer.’’ 
The law to encourage the growth of timber on the west¬ 
ern prairies provides “ that any person who shall plant, 
protect, and keep in a healthy growing condition for ten 
years forty acres of timber, the trees thereon not being 
more than twelve feet apart each way, on any quarter 
section of any of the public lauds of the United States, 
shall be entitled to a patent for the whole of said quarter 
section at the expiration of said ten years, on making 
proof of such fact by not less than two credible wit¬ 
nesses. Provided , That only one quarter in any section 
shall be thus granted.” 
SSarvosttet* that Binds CSrain.— 
“Subscriber,” Albany, New South Wales. There is a 
machine manufactured that cuts and binds grain, but we 
doubt if it has as yet achieved perfect success. That it 
will before long is very probable. Then doubtless the 
manufacturers will make the fact known. 
To Caaise a, drowtlla of Wlaite 
Hair.—“J. N. H.,” Le Roy, Ill. Sometimes after a 
blister or a gall has been made upon a horse’s skin, the 
new growth of hair will be partly or wholly white. This 
occurs but seldom. The reason of the fact is supposed 
to be that the growth of hair is weakened, or the follicles 
which furnish the coloring matter to it are destroyed. 
Any caustic application then that will temporarily re¬ 
move the hair and cause slight disorganization of the 
skin may have the desired effect. For the purpose of 
matching a temporary white spot paint may be made to 
answer. 
Weifflit of Clovor-lany.—“ S. J. II.,” 
Tuscumbia. Clover-liay is bulky at all times; and in 
weighing hay from the cock and from the mow, where it 
has been packed for some months, the advantage in 
weight with us has always been with that from the field. 
A wagon load 15 feet long, 5 feet average width, and 7 
feet high from the wagon bottom, taken from the cock 
after only one day’s handling, would weigh about 1,500 
pounds. This would be about 800 cubic feet to the ton, 
which is what it generally weighs from the mow after 
having settled. The hay from the field possesses con¬ 
siderable moisture which escapes during fermentation in 
the mow, and this equalizes the weights. Perfectly sun- 
dried clover-hay would be 25 per cent lighter in the load. 
Stesim on a Farm.—“ J. R. P.,” 
Susquehanna Co., Pa. On a farm of one hundred acres 
cleared, where there is only two hundred bushels of 
grain used for feed each year, and where there is already 
a horsepower in use, we would not recommend the out¬ 
lay of $500 for a steam-engine and feed-mill. A feed- 
mill which will do all this grinding can be procured for 
$50 if of iron, and $100 if of burr-stones, and it may be 
run by the horse-power. The saving will be the toll for 
grinding, equal to twenty bushels per year,worth possibly 
$15 less the interest on the cost and the wear and tear of 
the mill. This is not a very paying investment at any 
rate. The $500 laid out in improvements of the land- 
draining, manuring, etc.—would, probably pay a vastly 
greater percentage each year. 
Harvesting; Beaus.—“ T. B. O.,” Waj-ne 
Co., Ky. You will find an article on stacking beans in 
the August number. If the short pieces of rail mentioned 
therein to be placed beneath the beans can not easily be 
procured stones may be substituted. If no other way 
presents itself, the beans may be laid directly on the 
ground, and as the lowest bundles will be somewhat 
damaged in appearance in consequence, it will only be 
necessary to keep those by themselves and thrash them 
separately. They may be cooked, and given to hogs or 
fowls profitably. 
Tubes for Lactometer.-" R. Q. Ten- 
ny,” Colorado. The tubes for a lactometer, such as is 
described in American Agriculturist for October, 1872, 
may be ordered of any druggist, who will procure them 
in this city or Philadelphia for 15 to 20 cents each when 
he orders his periodical supply of drugs. They are com¬ 
mon chemical test-tubes, should be 12 inches long, and 1 
inch in diameter, or as near that size as possible. 
What He Knows about the Tails. 
—A corre spondent of the N. E. Homestead writes about 
Equisetum aroense , the “ Horsetail,” and then goes on to 
give this remarkable bit of information: “There is an¬ 
other weed, own cousin to the Equisitaeae, which is 
poisonous to horses, and killing them, as I have heard in 
instances, that is, Hippnris (mare’s-tail). The plant re¬ 
sembles in growth the horse tail, only it grows much 
larger, to the hights of two feet or more, and of other 
proportions.” The Hippuris is.about as much cousin to 
the Equisitaeae by which we suppose Equisetacese 
is meant—as an elephant is cousin to a clam. Hippuris 
is one of the rarest of plants, and as it grows in ponds, 
usually entirely under water, horses must be very acute 
to find it. A knowledge of their subjects would help 
these professional writers for the press. 
A Woman will Tails.—At the Nebraska 
State Fair, to be held at Lincoln the first week in Sep¬ 
tember, Matilda Fletcher, of Iowa, will tell what she 
knows about “ Farmers’ Wives and Daughters.” It is 
hardly possible for Miss Fletcher to be worse than the 
average of fair orators, and there is every chance that 
she may be much better. At all events the innovation is 
an interesting one, and it is only fair that the fair who 
contribute so much to the success of fairs should cay 
their say. The Nebraskans might “ go farther and fare 
worse.” 
Salt Wells Operated by Cwns.—“ M. 
M.,” Brandenburg, Ky. There are several salt wells in 
or near Kanawha Co., West Va., in the operation of 
which the natural gas escaping from them is used for 
fuel. A. J. Vosbnrg, of Charleston, Kanawha Co., Wes^ 
Va., is interested in such a well, and would doubtless 
furnish information as to his method of using the gas. 
Cai»osiS.zisag'. — II. H. Stoddard, Hartford, 
Ct., is the correct address of the party who supplies 
caponiziug instruments. Inadvertently it was given 
incorrectly in a late number of the Agriculturist. 
Seotirs in B®ig-s. —“A. R.” Try a change 
of food. Make everything about the pen absolutely 
clean. See " Harris on the Pig.” We have sometimes 
found it good to give a little sulphate of soon (Glauber 
salts) dissolved in water and mixed with the food. For 
a young pig half a tea-spoonful of salts is plenty. 
Fm-ly Kose a,t tlae SotaUb.— It is very 
difficult in the Southern States to keep early potatoes 
until the time for spring planting. Mr. P. J. Berckmans 
in his paper the Farmer and Gardener, Augusta, Ga., 
gives his method of treating them. He digs the 
potatoes when ripe, in June, and spreads them on a plat¬ 
form under the shade of a tree. During a rain they are 
covered with bagging. These potatoes are planted early 
in August, and are ready to harvest by the first of Novem¬ 
ber. This second crop should be planted on land that 
had been well manured in the spring, but no manure is 
used at the time of planting. Whole, medium-sized 
tubers are used. The ground is kept level, and well 
mulched with straw or litter. The potatoes raised i.i 
this manner keep well until late in the spring. 
Tlie I>onl*le While I’eliirgoniuin, 
Aline Sisley, has, Mr. Cliitty informs us, flowered at the 
Bellevue Nursery, Paterson, N. J. This is, so far as we 
have heard, the first time that this horticultural novelty 
has bloomed in this country. Our own plant, though 
growing well, shows no indications of flowering. 
A May Ijuloacler.—“ G. W. Long,” Dela¬ 
ware Co., Iowa, writes us that he has invented and tested 
a new device for unloading hay, straw, chaff, or stalks, by 
which one pair of horses will take up half a ton at one 
time without scattering any. The cost is very trifling 
and not over $4.50. — If such a device is in existence and 
operates as is claimed for it it will be of the greatest 
benefit to farmers, and we should be glad of an oppor¬ 
tunity of examining it. Send a drawing and full de¬ 
scription. 
Weiglat of Corn Iffnslis.—“ Wm. M.,” 
Georgetown, D. C., desires to know how much the husks 
from a barrel of corn ears (5 bushels) will weigh. As we 
do not know, never having tested the matter, we shall be 
glad to hear from some of our readers who know or who 
will take measures to learn when husking corn. 
Clover Sod. for Wheat.—“F. S. B.,” 
Lexington, Ky. There is nothing better than a clover 
sod for wheat. But it should be plowed in time for the 
sod to rot before the wheat is sown. 
Falling ofl'in Millc.—“ C. H. W.,” Nova 
Scotia. It is not at all an uncommon case that a cow 
which becomes in calf, immediately falls off in milk, and 
the quality of her milk changes very much. This is the 
natural condition of the animal. If such a habit is found 
unprofitable the only resource is to feed her, and substi¬ 
tute another animal in her place. Our cows are artificial 
animals, but yet occasionally one forgets her education 
and goes back to the original condition of her race. 
Frauds in si a no.—In March last wo 
published the analyses, made by direction of the New 
York State Agricultural Society, of the article sold in 
New York G'ity as guano. The results showed that guano 
in New York was a very variable article, and that very 
extensive adulteration was practiced somewhere. Re¬ 
cently the Peruvian Government, who have the monopoly 
of the Chincha and Guanape guanos, have brought suits 
against several firms in New York. The complaints are 
of refilling old bags with an adulterated article, and of 
imitating the brand or trade-mark of the Government. 
The bags of genuine guano have the trade-mark printed 
upon them, and this is precisely imitated in stencil by 
some persons. We have examined both marks, and there 
can be no doubt that there is a gross fraud somewhere. 
We do not give the names of the persons accused, as it 
is only fair that they should be held innocent until proved 
guilty. We shall watch the trial with interest, as it is a 
matter that concerns every farmer who uses fertilizers. 
Fairs, State sasa«l Coanty.— See list on 
pages 353, 354, and 355. 
Of Interest to Inventors. 
Hardly a week passes that applications are not sent to 
this office for information about obtaining patents, in¬ 
quiries for reliable patent agents, and requests that we 
undertake to secure a patent for the inventor. Hereto¬ 
fore we have been unable to do more than recommend 
j parties to the most reliable agencies within our knowl¬ 
edge. Considering the fact that about three hundred 
patents per week are issued from the Patent. Office, that 
a very large part of these relate to agricultural or house¬ 
hold interests, thus bringing them within the range of 
matters to which the American Agriculturist is devoted, 
and knowing that a large number of our correspondents 
earnestly desire that the reliability which has character¬ 
ized the American Agriculturist in all its departments 
maybe made serviceable to them in this, we have organ¬ 
ized a department for Patent business in connection 
with this office, as announced in our advertising 
columns. 
We believe our arrangements and means for success¬ 
fully conducting this department are unsurpassed, and 
that inventors will find that through the American Ag¬ 
riculturist they may best introduce their inventions to 
the public and secure the due reward for their talent. 
There are abundant fortunes yet to be reaped by dis¬ 
coverers of valuable improvements, and it will bo a 
pleasure to help those who seek to introduce worthy in¬ 
ventions. The community will in the end receive the # 
greatest benefit, whatever reward may be gained by the 
inventor. 
The Patrons of Husbandry. 
This order is multiplying with astonishing rapidity. 
At the South and West especially Granges are being 
formed so rapidly that it is useless to try to keep pace 
with them. In one county alone in Kansas there are 
forty Granges with a membership of over one thousand. 
In an article last month we expressed a fear that this 
great organization would be in danger from professional 
politicians. One Grange in Iowa issned a call for a meet¬ 
ing to nominate local officers, which was promptly sup¬ 
pressed by the State Grange. Should the order confine 
itself to the objects expressed in its constitution it will 
have before it an unlimited field of usefulness. The or¬ 
ganization of the order is such that all subordinate 
Granges report to their State Grange and the National 
Granges report to the National Grange, which body is, so 
to speak, a court of final adjudication, having powers, as 
set forth in Article III of the constitution of the order, 
as follows: 
“The National Grange, at its annual session, shall 
frame, amend, or repeal such laws as the good of the 
Order may require. All laws of the State and Subordin¬ 
ate Granges must couform to the Constitution and the 
laws adopted by the National Grange.” 
We give a list of the principal officer of the National 
Grange, and assume, without any positive knowledge on 
the subject, that the secretary will furnish documents to 
those who wish to kuow more about the Order : 
OFFICERS OF THE NATIONAL ORANGE. 
Dudley W. Adams, Master. Waukon, Iowa. 
O. H. Kelly, Secretary.Washington, D. C. 
T. A. Thompson, Lecturer,.Plainview, Minn.^ 
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 
William Saunders .Washington, D. C. 
D. Wyatt Aiken .. Cokesbury, S. C. 
E. R. Shankland . Dubuque, Iowa. 
It will be seen that Mr. Saunders, who was the origin¬ 
ator of the organization, has relinquished the office of 
Master for that of a member of the Executive Committee,. 
