1863.1 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
359 
Good Catawba Grapes. — The finest 
Catawbas we have seen this year, were a box of some 25 
lbs. presented Nov. Cth, by Josiali Carpenter, Commis¬ 
sion Merchant, whose business card has long been in our 
columns. They were grown on lattices, by J. Larrowe, 
of Hammondsport, Steuben County, N. Y., which must 
be a good locality for this uncertain variety, judging from 
the well ripened, large clusters and berries. Mr. C. says 
he has had them from the same place through the Fall, 
and they have sold higher than any other Catawbas in 
market. They come packed in neat, light, board boxes, 
24x10x5X1 inches, with a division across the middle. The 
ends and division boards of '/. inch stuff; tiie rest Minch 
thick. White wrapping paper is placed above, below, 
and between the layers. Query : Would not small air 
holes preserve the fruit longer ?—A few bottom clust¬ 
ers, slightly mashed by hard handling, were a little sour. 
< old drapery.— B. Ayers, Rock Spring. 
The interior is usually painted white, but in this country 
there is no objection to coloring them any pleasant tint. 
Light stone color makes a good contrast with the foliage. 
Croton Point, Isabellas. — Dr. R. T. 
Underhill sent us some very large Isabella grapes, rath¬ 
er larger than usual even from his vineyards, but hardly 
as sweet as in some previous years. The uncertainty 
of this variety in many localities, and its inferiority in fla¬ 
vor to some of the newer grapes, are not in its favor, 
though Dr. U. is still successful in supplying a very large 
amount of grapes to a multitude of persons in New-York 
who would otherwise be unable, as yet, to eat grapes at 
all. Some assert that his example has retarded grape 
culture generally, as so many have been led by it to go 
largely into the culture of the Isabella, with poor results. 
On tiie contrary, we suspect the noise made about his 
grapes, and the reported profit of his vineyards, have 
done much to awaken an interest on the subject, and if 
this leads to a larger culture of better varieties than the 
Isabella, good will come of it. 
WEiat drapes to Plant.— “Onondaga” 
asks for a list of twelve sorts for family use. We do not 
know of that number of good grapes which have been 
sufficiently tested to warrant a general recommendation. 
The list given on page 325 (Nov.) includes seven sorts, 
and some of these are put in as only promising well. If 
disposed to experiment, we should add To Kalon, Anna, 
Etsinburgh, and test the newly-introduced Iona, Israella, 
and Adirondac. Unless one wishes to buy experience, it 
is best to plant only a few sorts which have been 
thoroughly tested. Hartford Prolific, Concord, and Dela¬ 
ware, will make a long season, and are reliable. When 
we know more of the Creveling, we rnay be able to put 
it in place of the Hartford. It promises well, but has 
yet to stand the test of extended cultivation. 
Grapes lor Canada. —R. M. Goodman, 
Ohama. The Delaware, the best of our native grapes, is 
hardy where any grape will grow. The Clinton, only a 
fair quality, is also hardy. The Oporto is not a good 
table grape, and is less suited to high latitudes than these. 
“ Caper Tree.” —A lady at Hampden, Me., 
says she has a caper tree, and wishes to know how to 
make pickles of the seeds. The true caper is a shrub, 
and Is not hardy in this country. Tne imported capers 
are the unexpanded flower-buds, and not the seeds. We 
cannot guess what the tree can be. 
El a w ! horn Hedges. — Charles Elliott will 
find a portion of his questions answered in another item. 
Tiie plants are set at a distance of 6 inches if in one row ; 
or a foot apart if in two rows, and the plants alternating, 
i.e., those in one row set opposite the spaces in the other. 
t&regon State Fair. —Matty Eastern peo¬ 
ple, who remember how recently the Flathead Indians 
came from beyond the Rocky Mountains in search of the 
White man’s Bible, can hardly appreciate the fact that 
Oregon is already a flourishing Stale, with all the insti¬ 
tutions of the older States in full operation. The Pacific 
Christian Advocate, published at Portland, reports the 
Oregon State Fair as a “ fixed fact,” the one this year 
exceeding any of its predecessors. There was the usual 
display of agricultural and horticultural products, of 
manufactures, household articles, etc., and the modem 
inevitable “agricultural” horse-lacing. A yearling heifer, 
and a two-year-old bull, of the Durham breed, indicate 
that blooded animals are not overlooked. The Fair 
lasted five days, and was visited by about 10,000 persons ! 
Military companies, and bands of music were present in 
large force, and were a marked feature of the occasion. 
The Advocate mentions one note-worthy fact, viz., “the 
order observed was excellent; vve did not see a single 
drunken person, and heard but a single oath, though we 
mingled freely among the multitude present."-We bid 
our distant friends good-6peed in their efforts to improve 
the agriculture of the new State, and we hope the many 
hundreds of copies of the Agriculturist they now re¬ 
ceive, increased to as many thousands, will be found an 
efficient aid in the work. 
Measurement of a Tost of May.— 
This is one of those things which are entirely indefinite. 
No man can tell how much space a ton of hay will oc¬ 
cupy in a mow or stack. It depends upon the dryness of 
the hay, its age, the bight of the mow, whether it has 
been trodden, either at the time it was placed in the mow 
or afterward, whether the liny has been disturbed or not 
since haying time, and what land of hay it is. A ton at 
tiie top of a stack will measure more than one at the 
base. In a mow 20 feet .high, carried up square to the 
top, the average will be about *100 cubic feet to a ton— 
more at top, less at bottom. (See May Agriculturist.) 
Prairie Seedling- Potato. — W. S. Car¬ 
penter, of Westchester Co., N. Y., lias sent ns speci¬ 
mens of this potato, which is a new variety to this neigh¬ 
borhood. He says that the yield is 300 bushels lo the acre. 
The potato is of good size, and quality excellent. 
Sings on Potaloes.—Mrs. Babcock, Hamp¬ 
den, Me. The slug which infests your potatoes is not 
recognized from the description, and vve can only suggest 
hand-picking, or the aid of a brood of ducks or turkeys. 
Tan Mark as a Matuu’C.— D. W. Kins¬ 
man, Cheshire Co., N. H. On account of the difficulty 
with which this is decomposed, it is not highly prized 
as a manure ; it may be decomposed by composting with 
lime. Its chief value is as a mulch, for which it is ap¬ 
plied around the roots of fruit-trees, bushes, and vines. 
Fisk, etc., on B>ry Eand.— “Subscri¬ 
ber,” asks how fish, frogs, etc., come to be found on land, 
as occasionally happens. Usually they are drawn up by 
a whirlwind, and fall when the wind subsides. Some¬ 
times a single one, “ alive and kicking” like the one de¬ 
scribed in his note, is dropped by some bird of prey. 
They do not “generate spontaneously ” in tiie clouds. 
Sex of Eggs.— A “friend of the Agriculturist ” 
writes from Blue Point, that when lie wishes a brood of 
males he selects the longest eggs he can find, and if fe¬ 
males are desired, the roundest ones are chosen. He 
says that lie never knew this to fail. 
Ckeap Sewing- Macliine “Agencies.” 
—Give them all a “ wide berth.”—We have investigated 
some half a dozen and not yet found one to which we 
would entrust a dollar. Some offer a great discount 
after the first macliine is paid for at full price. A good 
many have written us that after sending $5, $10 or $15 to 
some out-of-the-way New England town for a “sample,” 
they could never get any response of any kind. One man 
ordered a sample machine to be paid on delivery, but the 
strict orders to the express man were to “ C. O. D.” 
(collect on delivery,) and so lie paid $10, and $3 more for 
charges, and when opened, the machine was not worth 
a dollar—even for scrap iron, and no answer can be got 
to his complaints. That’s the way the thing works. 
Musnkng- Mining- Companies.— Just 
now the country is flooded with sundry “ Mining Com¬ 
pany ” enterprises nominally located, or to be located on 
the Pacific Coast, but of which the real and only location 
is in some 3d, or 5th story in Philadelphia, New-York, 
Boston, or Cincinnati. Very attractive are some of the 
schemes, circulars, blank “Certificates of Shares,” etc. 
Post Masters are especially solicited to act as agents and 
offered large inducements. Two or three dollars of your 
money will buy a share that will very soon be worth 
$5000 to $10,000,—all in gold ! We should like to make 
a few-such investments if we could, but “we don’t see 
it.” We have one of the most taking of these concerns 
in tow, whose operations we shall be able to show up in 
full by next month. In the mean time, if any reader will 
find one of these Eastern Mining Companies, advertised 
by circulars, which is at all trustworthy, we will pay a 
large premium for a chance in the enterprise. 
The Wine Plant HIumipcig- is still car¬ 
ried on in various parts of the country, as we learn from 
several letters. For example, Mr. B. F. Brown writes 
from Dane Co., Wisconsin, November 8, that “ an agent is 
there selling Linnaeus Rhubarb at $37 50 per 300 plants 
—many of them not the size and length of a man’s little 
finger—telling people that they can make IX gallons of 
wine from each plant next season, which will sell readily 
for $2 a gallon ; that government agents are contracting 
for ail they can at this time, etc.” This is sheer lying 
and swindling. Neither government agents, nor any 
body else is doing, or will do any such thing. A plant set 
now, will not make pints even of what is called wine, 
next season. Reliable men, King and Murray of Flush¬ 
ing, and others have this year advertised in the Agricul¬ 
turist , good Linnaeus Rhubarb roots at $18 lo $25 per 
thousand (only $1.80 to $2X per 100.) Our previous no¬ 
tice of this matter lias probably put upon their g.'iard all 
our readers except those subscribing recently. Don’t 
believe the stories told, nor trust the samples of real or 
pretended wine shown. Lastly, try to get tiie Agricul¬ 
turist into the hands of the multitude of farmers who 
are being constantly swindled by the thousand and one 
humbugs. It will save them much money. 
Ear E&oetors. —It’ we had a child or friend 
who had any trouble in the hearing apparatus, we would 
consult a regular physician, not those advertising ; or go 
lo Dr. Geo. Wilkes, (who don’t advertise,) sure that In- 
would not charge $50 to $500 for telling that there was a 
little wax in the ear, and how to wash it out ; nor hold 
on to the patient (as long as he has any money) if (lie 
case he not curable. Dr. W. charges $2 for each visit, 
we believe. His office is at 2S Laight-st. He is President 
of tiie New-York Medical and Surgical Society, lias 
business enough, and will doubtless not thank us for this 
public notice ; but we are consulting the interests of our 
readers, and not his personal comfort. We have not seen 
him in several years, but we know his character and 
skill. This notice is needed now—we have just refused 
an $800 advertisemefiit of an ear doctor. 
S®Uiladelp!&ia Humbug in Cali¬ 
fornia. —Our old college “ chum ” (Rev. Jas. Rogers) 
sends us from Downieville, Sierra County, in the Moun¬ 
tains of California, specimens of Humbug circulars 
issued iu Philadelphia, that have been scattered even lo 
that distant point. One of these sets forth a sale (said 
to be “ no Gift Enterprise or Lottery”) of $700,000 worth 
of Watches, etc., valued at from $5 to $250, all to be sold 
at $2J- each. The other is nominally from the next door 
in the same street, offering a beautifully illustrated Jour¬ 
nal at$l a year, and a gift to each subscriber, ranging in 
value from $1 to $100. We hope these circulars show 
enough on their face to put people on their guard, yet 
somebody must patronize the operators, or they would 
not continue swindling. As the new law allows two or 
three circulars under one envelope, the operators now 
generally send out their schemes in pairs, or triplets, 
under different names, hoping that if one bait does not 
take another will. 
Xo Kemove Coal Oil from Clo(!i. — 
“ S. B.,” of Ontario, Ind. Benzine, now very cheap and 
largely used in painting as a substitute for turpentine, 
will remove this and similar stains. In cleaning clothing 
it should be laid on a cloth folded to form a thick pad, or 
upon absorbent paper, so that tiie benzine which has dis¬ 
solved the greasy matter will be soaked up. The spot 
should be treated thus several times until it is thoroughly 
washed out. Merely rubbing the oiled place with a 
little of the liquid only spreads it. 
Why tiie 1*. O. Address Isa not gi r - 
en. —A correspondent thinks it very provoking that 
we generally only give the County residence of those 
contributing or making queries in the Agriculturist. 
One of tiie principal reasons for doing this is, that we 
may save our readers from annoying correspondence. 
When it is published that a person has some new or rare 
plant or other thing, he is immediately besieged by a host 
of applicants for cuttings, seeds, etc., and we are often 
requested, on tills account, not to use names at all. 
Swindlers also seize upon all such names. One lady 
whose full name and P. O. address we happened to give, 
received 57 circulars within three weeks after. 
Pickles for SSecf. etc.— E. Montgomery, 
of Clay Co., Ind., sends the following recipe for 200 lbs., 
of beef : “ Cut your beef in small pieces and pack it in 
a clean, tight cask. Take 7 pounds of salt, X pound of 
saltpetre, 1 pint of molasses ; put in a pot with water 
enough to cover the beef, and boil, skimming ; when cold, 
pour it over tiie beef and put on a weight to keep the beef 
under the brine.” He says he has eaten beefsteaks in 
May thus preserved all Winter. 
An Excellent Meat Pickle for Gc«= 
eral Use.— 1 To 2 gallons of water add 3 lbs. salt, 1 lb. 
sugar, 1 oz. saltpetre, 1 oz. potash, boll, skim, and when 
cold, pour over the meat, which should have been killed 
two or three days. The amount of salt needs to be in¬ 
creased if it be desired to keep the meat into or through 
tiie Summer, or if the meat be packed in Spring. This is 
excellent for beef for boiling, dried beef, longues, hams, 
shoulders, or muttoi# hams. 
Cleansing: Old fl»ork Barrels. — A 
subscriber, in Monroe Co., Wis., recommends, “ After 
scrubbing, to turn the barrels open end down, and keep 
a moderate smoke under them for Half or a whole day.’ 
