256 
AMERICAN AG-RICULTURIST. 
[July, 
quiries as to where the things we bring to notice 
may be had. Some nurseryman or florist Avill 
yet find it to ids interest to propagate our native 
plants and offer them for sale. It is only be¬ 
cause people do not know where to find them 
that they are so seldom cultivated. The Lung¬ 
wort was formerly called Virginica, 
and is found in the Western part of New York 
and in most of the Western States. The root- 
leaves, not shown in the engraving, are from 
four to six inches long; the stem is from one to 
two feet high, and terminates by a cluster of 
trumpet shaped flowers of a very rich purplish 
blue color. It belongs to the Borage family, 
which includes the beautiful Forget-me-not, He¬ 
liotrope and, several other choice garden plants. 
Beurke Berckmans.— One of Bivort’s new 
varieties; medium size, pale yellow, melting, 
juicy, sweet, excellent. Ripe in October and 
November. Keeps well. Tree very productive. 
Spare Corners in the garden can be filled 
with something more profitable than the bur¬ 
dock, plantain, and grass, which are so frequent¬ 
ly left to occupy them. A few radishes, half a 
dozen heads of lettuce, a cabbage, or a cauliflow'’- 
er can be put almost anywhere, and their being 
planted will give sufficient motive to keep the 
ground around them clean, which would other¬ 
wise be left as a nursery for growing weeds. 
Some of the Less Known Pears. 
As a people, Ave are as much in a hurry about 
fruits as we are Avith other matters, and many 
varieties have been condemned Avithout a fair 
hearing. This is especially the case with pears, 
many of Avhich, though condemned at first, 
have, by the good qualities they presented after 
the trees became old, commanded recognition. 
Mr. P. Barry prepared for our Horticultural 
Anmial.a long list of these reclaimed varieties, 
with illustrations. In the abundance of material 
at hand for that Avork, Ave were obliged to omit 
a number of these pears, and we give the en- 
Fig. i._bburre berckmans 
gravings of some of thorn oow, ,,1* jjr. Bar- 
ry s notes upon tl,oil-productiveness aacl q„amy\ 
Fig. 2. —BONNE SOPHIE. 
Bonne Sophie. —A neAv variety of much 
promise; medium size, melting, delicious. Sep¬ 
tember and October, Tree an abundant bearer. 
SouvenirD’Esperen. —An excellent late au¬ 
tumn or early Avinter pear, from Belgium, resem¬ 
bling the Winter Nelis, but the tree is a vigorous 
erect ^ groAver. Fruit large pyriform, obovate, 
tapering to the croAvn; color dull yellow, Avith 
a mottled red cheek. Flesh melting and Aunous. 
---—^-— o »i — - 
Making Manure in Summer. 
With manure enough and labor enough, no 
man knoAVS Avhat may be the limits to the pro¬ 
ducts and profits of the cultivation of the earth, 
in the garden or the field. We make most ma¬ 
nure in Avinter, because then our stock is con¬ 
fined, and all the droppings, with the litter and 
waste of fodder, are readily accumulated. Cows 
yarded every night, leave their droppings and 
urine Avhere they maj^ be used, to compost with 
muck, litter, etc., to greater advantage, in sum¬ 
mer than in Avinter, because the temperature 
of the season keeps the compost heaps in a 
more active fermentation. Thus, the value of 
the manure made in summer from a given num¬ 
ber of cows, or other animals, may be nearly as 
gieat as in AAunter, though, if they are pastured, 
they may be in the yard less than half the time! 
SAvine used simply as pork producers or 
breedens, are oftentimes of profit, but on three- 
quaiters of the farms AA^est of the Alleghanies, 
if the value of the manure made by pigs were 
left out of the calculation, they Avould show a 
loss on the balance sheet of the farm. To em¬ 
ploy them as manure makers to the best advan¬ 
tage, in connection Avith either private or mar¬ 
ket gardens, give them a covered yard, having 
a tight bottom, and open on the south for the 
sun to come in ; give them also the free use of 
theii rooting powers, until they are taken up to 
fatten ; feed them well, and supply them daily 
Avith sods, Aveeds, peat, bog parings, etc., and it 
matters little hoAV much you give them, they 
Avill Avork up an incredible amount and make 
better manure of it than the best exposed barn¬ 
yard manure you can make or bu 3 L Every 
gardener, and not less every farmer, ought to 
begin the growing season with half groAAUi hogs, 
not with a lot of little pigs. They should re¬ 
ceive as regular attention as the rows of vege¬ 
tables or plants, for they are preparing the raAV 
material Avith Avhich to produce next year’s crop. 
The accumulations in the hog-pen should be 
leveled off, and mixed somcAAdiat by hand, but 
the hogs ordinaril}' do this themselves tolerably 
Avell. If left thus Avater-soaked, and trodden 
hard, the manure Avill be of the rankest, strong¬ 
est character imaginable, and besides so tough 
and stringy that it can only be gotten out Avith 
great labor. It is best, therefore, to take lime, 
some rainy day, about once a month, to clear 
the pen out, and laj-’ the materials up in a 
compact compost heap, Avell trodden, and if 
possible, under cover. The action of the air 
will cause rapid and usually complete fermen¬ 
tation, and once or tAvice Avorking over of the 
heajA at times, to check excessive heating, Avill in¬ 
sure an abundance of fine and excellent compost. 
About Horticultural and other Patents. 
The greatest embodying of stupidity, (the 
Agricultural Department ahvaj^s excepted), is 
the U. S. Patent Office. In “ Walks and Talks,” 
Mr. Harris speaks of haAung the “right” to use 
petroleum as a vehicle for paint, given him. If 
Ave had a barrel of petroleum, we should use it 
as we pleased, and should like to see any jury 
of twelve honest men Avho would say that Ave 
had not a perfect right to mix it Avith any knoAvn 
substance. So Avith a patent for saving paint, 
that has been sent us Avith permission to use it. 
It is merely to fill the pores of the wood Avith 
some poAvder that will prevent it from absorb¬ 
ing the paint. We have knoAvn this to be done 
Fig. 8 .—souatenir d’esperen. 
since we were a boj^ to preAmnt wood from ab¬ 
sorbing varnish. Can one make us pay for the 
