1867 .] 
AMERICAN AG-RICULTURIRT. 
351 
popular—provided that it favorably answers the florists’ 
great question—“will it cut?” 
Xoad Flax. “ Saap Dragon.” 
—Butter and Egg*.”—E. Stowe, of Wis., asks: 
“ Will you be kind enough to state the best method of de¬ 
stroying that pest of farmers, ‘ Snap Dragon.’—There 
is more or less of it in Wisconsin; 1 have mowed it in 
blossom, and tried digging it out; this last seems to 
spread it and make it grow more vigorously.”—.-Insu’e)’.- 
We know of no way easier than to smother the plant. 
Make a pile of fresh cut grass or weeds, 8 inches thick, 
well trodden down over and around the infested locality. 
If on a lawn or in a gartlen, after cutting up the plants, 
cover with old boards, laid close together, and covered 
with hay to prevent their warping. This is said to be a 
tur« cure in one season, and is the easiest one we know. 
L'lllii<stration Ilorticolc.— Thi.s is a 
most elegantly Illustrated monthly, published by A. 
Vcrschaflelt, the horticulturist of world wide reputation, 
and contains beautifully colored plates of all the floral 
novelties. The June number is especially interesting to 
Americans, as it contains a new Passion Flower from 
Panama, Taewnia Buchanani, in compliment to our 
esteemed friend, J. Buchanan, of this city, who flrst cul¬ 
tivated it. The same number contains a colored repre¬ 
sentation of our native Bird-foot Violet, llola Pedata, 
one of our common plants, which we pass by unheeded, 
but one on which our friends over the water lavish a 
great deal of eloquent French. 
The Her lie Ilorticolc.— This periodical 
is published semi-monthly, in Paris, under the able edi¬ 
torship of .'I. Carriers. Its “ Chrouique Horticole ” is an 
admirable resume of horticultural news, and we cordially 
• recommen*! the journal to those who read French, and 
A\i8h to keep advised of European horticultural doings. 
The Revue has one feature which wc would commend to 
the attention of certain .iVmerican journals—when it 
copies, as it often does, articles and flgures from the 
A^rictflturlst, it gives full credit for them. 
nn<l Slicwers.”— Thi.s is 
a mc.'t fascinating subject. It engages everybody's atten¬ 
tion, because it affects everybody's comfort. An English 
barrister has written a very instructive popular Imok on 
the weather, giving it the above attractive title. No 
doubt the laws which govern the weather of Great Brit- 
alu prevail over the whole world, and, with a little allow¬ 
ance for the different climatic influences, would form a 
correct basis for judging of its changes, provided we 
could give j)ropcr relative weight to the indications. 
Everybody believes that it may be possible to predict the 
weather with some degree of certainty, and Mr. Steinmetz 
believes that he can do so generally, and that man ought to 
do it, as well as the lower animals. In a very pleasant way 
he discusses the premonitions which storms and showers 
give of their approach. Certain it is that many birds 
knew when storms are coming, and frogs and leeches 
perceive it also. The Old Salt has no better reason for 
predicting a storm than that he “smells it,” and the 
old rheumatic aunty, than that she “feels it in her 
hones.” Hence wo fully believe that if we, who are 
neither “old salts” nor rheumatic, only knew enough, 
we could do the same. The little book before us has 
helped us so much towards gaining knowledge about 
those things, that we have placed it on our book list. It 
is printed in London, but imported in sheets, and neatly 
hound by Roberts Bros., Boston, Mass., and is for sale at 
our counter, or will be sent by mall on .receipt of price. 
Xlac Onagje OrJinge a,w a, 1 i*ec. 
Tho-^o who have only seen the Osage Orange as a hedge 
plant, can have no idea of its beauty when ““owe^ 
crow into a tree. There are fine specimens at Iona 
L’and fDr. Grant’s,) and at the place formerly owned by 
tho late A. J. Downing, at Newburgh. It grows to the 
hight of twenty or thirty feet, and has a remarkably clean 
amiearance. The leaves arc of a bright green, and its fniit, 
>rdllch grows to the size of a large orange s very coii- 
It is put down by botanists as a dimcious tree, 
/ r one having staminate and pistillate flowers on sep¬ 
arate plants. Our French friends arc discussing this 
noint as they find that trees bear fruit when there is no 
Ttamlnatc one in the neighborhood, and suppose that as 
is very likely to be the case, it is only imperfectly 
dioecious. Wc hope to see this very beautiful tree mor 
generally introduced in ornamental planting. 
The Vcsretahle World, by Louis Fi- 
cnier NewVork. D. Appleton & Co. A handsomely 
Snted volume of 676 pages, and intended to ^ P°P' 
nlar account of the structure, and some general ideas of 
Sfc cSeation. of plants. Unfortunately it was trans- 
lated from the French by one who apparently had no 
knowledge of the subject, and the work is so full of mis¬ 
takes as to seriously interfere with its value as a popular 
teacher. The illustrations are many of them very beauti¬ 
ful, but as some blunderer has in several instances put 
the wrong names to them, they are sometimes calculated 
to mislead rather than to instruct. It is painful to see so 
handsome a work marred by so many blemishes. While 
those who have suflicient botanical knowledge to see the 
errors, will And much instruction in it, we cannot recom¬ 
mend the work as an introduction to the study of plants. 
Oiir Animals.—The American Agricultural 
and Horticultural Annuals are in course of preparation, 
and will be Issued before the close of the present year. 
As these works are in part devoted to recording the pro¬ 
gress in Agriculture and Harticulture during the past 
year, they cannot,on this account.be brought out as early 
as if they were made up of miscellaneous articles that could 
be written at any time. The work has mainly to be done 
when the growing season is over. The favorable recep¬ 
tion given to the volumes of 1867 is an incentive to make 
those for 1868 worthy of general approval. 
Conn. Boai'il of Agfficnltnre, 1800. 
—The First Report of the Conn. State Board of Agricul¬ 
ture has been for some time on our table, through the 
politeness of Hon. E. II. Hyde, Vice President of the 
Board. The chief value of the book consists in the report 
of the lectures and discussions at the annual meeting in 
January last, a brief account of which was given in the 
Afjticultmist for Febniary. The Board, between their 
meetings for business, listened to lectures which were 
open to the pnplic. The report of them is so full as to 
give the volume a permanent value to all agriculturists. 
Tlreyarc, one by Prof. Johnson, on The Source of Nitrogen 
in Plants; one by Prof. Brown, on Irrigation in Califor¬ 
nia, and two, by the same gentleman, on Diseases of 
Plants Caused by Fungi. Discussions took place in regard 
to Draining, Irrigation, and Fniit Culture, and responses 
to a circular, sent out by the Secretary, asking informa¬ 
tion based on personal experience on these subjects. 
The information thus given is of notable value. The Sec¬ 
retary has little to tell about the town and county 
societies which arc known to exist, except their names, 
and the fact that they spend the J1600 appropriated for 
premiums by the State, and it appears as if he collected 
this meagre information about them much as a newspa- 
])er reporter would do. This ought not to be, and the 
State bounty should, wc think, be appropriated only to 
those societies presenting a detailed report of all their 
doings, and the amount paid should be graduated ac¬ 
cording to the degree of excellence of these reports. 
yiaiiua! oi' Botany. — Filth 
Edition. N. Y.: Ivison, Phinney, Blakeman & Co.— 
\bout twenty years ago, the flrst edition of this work 
appeared, and immediately took the position it has since 
maintained—that of guide and hand-book to those who 
wish to gain a knowledge of the plants of the Northern 
States. That our flrst botanist should be so mindful of 
the wants of students as to prepare for them a series of 
books unequalled by any in the language, is something 
to be thankful for—a good which those of us, who, in 
our early studies, struggled along with incomplete and 
unsatisfactory text-books, can better appreciate than can 
the student of the present day. We are indebted to the 
publishers for an advance copy of the new edition, which 
is in the same neat and attractive style that characterized 
the former manuals. The present one embodies all the 
recent discoveries, and contains such alterations as the 
advance of the science demands. Gray’s Manual for 
the Northern States, Chapman’s Flora for the South, and 
Brewer’s forthcoming Botany of California, gives us a 
series of admirable hand-books for all parts of our ex¬ 
tended territory—except, perhaps, “Walrussia, . an 
the botanist will be likely to find but few plants not re¬ 
corded in one or the other of these standard works. 
mntH Aaineel. - Mrs. C. L. Mabbit, 
Vineland, N. J.-Vermka cpicata, the blue ; and the 
white is the delicate Fringed Orchid, Platmth^a mh- 
arinloltis... .Mrs. Robuck, Herkimer Co.-^cenfm Cana- 
the Squirrel-corn; less common than the closely 
STated D. CucuUaria, or Dutchman’s Breeches and worth 
cultlvatin*' . .F. W. Earl, Tawas, Slich.-Kdrma an^- 
the LOW, or Sheep Laurel.... A. Williams, Hdls- 
dale N. Y.—The common Wiegela rosea, properly 
vWm Japodca. a flue ornamental shrub.. .C. J. Brane, 
Wabash Co., InOi.-Solanum Dulcamara, Bittersweet, 
pretty climber, but the berries are suspected of poison¬ 
ous qualities. ___ 
Sulinon Fisheries in England.— 
The work of restoring this noble fish to the rivers of Eng¬ 
land is in successful progress, though it meets pith 
sracles from defective legislation, from the refuse of fac¬ 
tories poured into the streams, from badly constructed fish 
ways,Ld from illegal fishing. Notwithstanding these 
hindranees, the fish appear in increasing numbers in all 
the streams that have been restocked, and best cuts of 
salmon are quoted in the London market at tiventy cents 
a pound, or about half the price it commands here, in the 
cheapest part of the season. When we get our rivers re¬ 
stocked, ive hope to tuni the tables on our British cousins, 
and quote salmon at ten cents a pound. The best style of 
passes or ladders at the mill dams is now a theme of live¬ 
ly discussion. One writer proposes “ rough rock work, 
the rougher the better, built against the dam on an in¬ 
cline.” He has seen fifteen fish pass such a ladder in 
three quarters of an hour. The idea may be valuable. 
lliitcliiiig Sliatlsit Holyoke, Mass. 
—Mr. Seth Green, of Miimford, N. Y., is supervising the 
work of stocking the Connecticut River with shad, at 
Holyoke. By his system, 95 per cent, of the spawn is 
hatched while in the river. It is estimated that not more 
than 5 per cent, live, the most being destroyed by fish 
and by unfavorable changes in the temperature of the 
water. He will turn into the river this season more than 
100,000,000 of these fish. If they return to their birth¬ 
place as their instinct prompts them, there pull be fine 
fishing in that stream next season. Under the new reg¬ 
ulations of the New England Fish Commissioners, the 
fish will be able to visit the upper waters of the River, 
and Vermont and New Hampshire can eat home-bred 
shad again. Fish breeding is now as easily managed as 
the breeding of land animals, and measures should be 
taken to restock all our streams. 
Damp Sloiises.—“W. B.” These are oc¬ 
casioned quite as often by the surroundings as by the 
materials of which they are made. An undraiued cellar, 
or too many shade trees, will make a damp house. If 
brick or stone is used, fill out the palls, and ventilate. 
The house is then as dry as if made of wood, and cooler 
in summer as well as p-armer in winter. 
EongAVorth’s Wine House.—Some 
samples from this establishment show that it maintains 
its well established reputation, and are of a quality to 
convince even the writer in the Boston Journal of Horti¬ 
culture that “ pure wines ” can be produced in the North. 
Ox-l»ow« and Yokes.—H. A. S., of Man¬ 
chester, Conn., criticises the ox-yoke, figured in the 
August number, page 284, on the ground that the holes 
foi^the bows are too close together. Such narrow hop s 
may do, he says, to draw in, but cattle will not back well 
in them. Narrow bows chafe the roots of the cars in 
backing or holding back, going down hill. He formerly 
used yokes with bows only 10 inches wide, but never 
found his cattle to back easily until he put the bow-holes 
12 inches apart. Cattle will not back well if the yoke 
hurts them. 
Fi'of. oi*k out Esi.'toiw.ol" 
Offv -Aside from his labors in the Museum of the De¬ 
partment of Agriculture at 'W'ashingtou, Prof. Glover is 
carrying on his elaborate work on insects, which one 
would think, is of itself sufficient to occupyall his time. 
His plan appears to be as admirable in desi^ as i s g- 
uresare beautiful in execution. The work 
and we hope that a way will soon be found to publish It. 
Mosquitoes in”water.tio.igks.-A 
few little brook or pond fish '^te^-trougM 
cisterns water barrels, ponds, etc., entirely free from the 
larv* of mosquitoes, by eating them almost as soon as 
the eggs hatch. 
Fielding Ciicumkers.-B. G. B. We 
have never found any substitute for salting epeum 
hers A bag of spices is usually tied up, and put in the 
vinerar for those who like it. More commonly the vine- 
carts applied hot upon the cucumbers, but some house¬ 
keepers of unquestioned gumption apply the vinegar 
Sid Cifier vinegar, however, is always used and has a 
snap to it. Mem.-It is some trouble to have anything nice. 
Influence of Climate in Aortk and 
America.-Prof. John Disturnell has given 
to the public, through the Z 
Ttrnstrand New York, a work with the above title, uis 
Sng ?he climate and climatic changes and influences 
tvhich^vailinthi^Weste^^^^^^^ 
Sr etr^tls accompanied by an agricultural and an 
zation, etc. America. The former shows 
toe limrorprofitable culture of our staple crops ; the 
^ +Vio lines of equal mean, summer and winter tem- 
nerSrea The work contains a great array of carefully 
Collected facts and observations, with free cit^iona ^ the 
opinions of travelers and writers upon the climate. 
jt is an octavo of 324 closely printed pages. 
