ft 
or frame. Place them not more than lf> 
inches from the glass, admit air very freely 
in mild weather, protect from frost, and 
the bulbs will not bloom until April. If 
you wish them later than that, keep them 
in a north aspect, giving plenty of air and 
light, so as to prevent them from becoming 
drawn. 
Hyacinths in (Hasses.—In answer to 
a question, the Cottage Gardener of Oct. 
17 says:—The bulbs may be placed in glasses 
now, though it is not well to begin too soon. 
We consider it well to keep the bulbs for a 
work the figures thusSuppose girth of 
bullock 0 feet l inches, length, 5 feet ;1 inch¬ 
es, which, multiplied together, make 33 
square superficial feet, and thoso, multi¬ 
plied by 31—the number of pounds allowed 
for each superficial foot of cattle measuring 
less than seven and more than five feet in 
girth make 750 lbs. When the animal 
measures less than nine and more than sev¬ 
en feet in girth, 31 is the number of pounds 
to be estimated for each superficial foot. 
And suppose a small animal to measured 
feet in girth andlifeet in length, these mul¬ 
tiplied together make 4 foot, which 
multiplied by eleven—(be number of 
pounds allowed for each square foot 
when the cattle measure less than 
three feet, in girth—make 44 pounds. 
MARANTA SEEMANNI. 
The plant herewith illustrated is a native 
of Central America and was sent to England 
as a Marauta by Dr. Berthold Seemann, 
after whom it is named; but some of the 
English florists think it has too much the 
appearance of a dwarf-growing HeUconia 
to be a Maranta. If it is a HeUconia, 
Expbiito Crude, in Cottage Gardener, says 
“ It may produce! conspicuous and 
ornamental flower-bracts in addition 
to the fine foliage. Be it, however, 
Maranta or HeUconia, the fact re¬ 
mains that it is very beautitul and 
thoroughly distinct; 1 certainly look 
upon it as amongst the best new 
plants of the present season. The 
leaves are ovate-acuminate, some 12 
inches long by about 6 inches in 
breadth; on the upper side they are 
of an intense deep satiny-green, hav¬ 
ing a light midrib, whilst the un¬ 
der side is of a deep vinous red, af¬ 
fording a pleasing contrast. Maran¬ 
ta Seemanni is not, strictly speaking, 
a variegated plant, yet it possesses so 
much beauty that even amongst Ma¬ 
ranta 8, which are so numerous and 
so beautifully marked.it cannot but 
occupy a leading position. This . 
plant thrives admirably under the A 
same treatment as the other Maran- JeT 
tas; it delights in strong heat and 
moisture, and should be potted in a 
compost consisting of good peat, a 
little loam and sand. The drainage, 
of the pots must be kept in good or¬ 
der. for although it likes an abundant 
supply of moisture, water must not 
be allowed to become sour around its 
roots. 
ALLEN’S HISTORY OF SHORT-HORNS. 
American breeders of Short-Horn cattle 
have now the history of this breed—origin, 
progress and present condition—available, 
prepared by Hon. Lewis F. Allen, Buffn- 
lo, X. Y. U is a volume of 200 pages, simi¬ 
lar in size and style to the American Herd- 
Book, edited Mr. Ali.kn. That this 
volume will settle all disputes with rofer- 
Horns.—October 24th, J. II. Pick- 
I erell, Harristown, III., hold his an¬ 
nual stile of Short-Morn cattle and 
other stock, which wo judge (from 
a private note from him) proved very 
successful. We make the following 
extract from his lcttur:—“ I sold ten 
bulls, one to three years, for #1,050; 
one two .years — own breeding—for 
#3,000, being #1,150 more than any bull 
ever sold for that bad been bred in 
Illinois; eight bull calves averaged 
$340 each. The cows and heifers sold 
from $150 to $1,700; one yearling for 
$800; one for $ 1,100 and one Just turned 
two years, for #1,310. Thu ten bulls aver¬ 
aged $077 each; twenty-nine cows and heif¬ 
ers, $583.10— the whole, $007.12. Forty-sev¬ 
en Rerkshire pigs sold at from $7 to $76 
each—averaged #23. Twenty-eight South- 
down sheep sold at from #8 to $38 each— 
averaged $18.53. The whole—some stock 
not in catalogue included—sold for $26,408. 
In-and-in Breeding'. — During a dis¬ 
cussion of this subject in England, not long 
since, It was asserted that the most success¬ 
ful lines of Short-Horns were those in which 
one animal was the sire of the sire and of 
the dam also —thus making the parents 
half brother and sister by the same sire 
out of different dams. This system of 
breeding had produced some of the finest 
cattle in the country. It was also said that 
where cattle were closely in-bred and 
preserved their constitution, they had a 
tendency to lose color, save perhaps the 
ROSE MALLOW 
Inclosed with this find flower, 
leaf and seed vessel of a plant which 
you will oblige me by naming. The 
plant in question is a perenuial; 
grows to the bight of four or five 
feet, and is hardy—enduring the cold¬ 
est winters without protection. The 
flowers are produced at tbo ends of 
the shoots which spring from the 
root each year, and are of a beautiful 
pink color. Another variety has white 
flowers with a crimson - maroon center. 
Time of blooming is August.— Moiit Per¬ 
kins, Woodcock, Pa, 
The plant is the quite common Rose Mal¬ 
low; {llibiucux Maiicheutos), which usually 
grows abundantly in brackish marshes. It 
also succeeds well when cultivated as a gar¬ 
den plant; and by growing seedlings any 
number of varieties can be produced. 
Tiiere are several native species varying in 
form of leaf as well as in size aud color of 
flowers. The bark on the stems or all the 
herbaceous species is very tough and might 
be utilized for making cloth, cordage or 
paper. 
The Okra or Gumbo ( Uibercus esculen- 
tus) and the Manihot (H. Manihot), are 
both well kuowu members of this genus. 
The Rose of Sharon of our gardens (H-Sy- 
rincus) is the most common representative 
of those species that have woody stems. 
The Mallow family is quite a large one and 
it includes cotton, the AbutUun, so exten¬ 
sively cultivated as a greenhouse plant, 
Malva, the Holyhook, aud many other fa¬ 
miliar plants. A close inspection of the 
flowers will enable almost any person to de¬ 
termine their relationship; as all are simi¬ 
lar in structure and form, although varying 
greatly in size aud color. 
MARANTA WKKMANNI 
week in damp moss or sand, then place 
them in the glasses, the water at first bare¬ 
ly touching the base of the bulb; thou put 
them in a dark closet until they have roots 
an iuch long. Two drops of spirits of harts¬ 
horn may be added to the water, and a 
piece of charcoal when the plants are 
growing. They may be placed near the 
light alter the roots are an inch long, and 
may have a temperature of 50° to 55 s , but 
one of 45 s to 50' insures stronger blooms. 
eneo to families, eto., or that it is devoid of 
errors Mr. Allen doeB not pretend; but it 
is bis contribution to this class of literature, 
and a valuable and interesting contribution 
it will bo found by all breeders of Short- 
Horn stock. It is prepared as a labor of 
love, chiefly—the author expecting no profit 
from it — because ho became oouviuood 
from the number aud character of the in¬ 
quiries made of him, as editor of the Herd- 
Book, that this breed of cattle should have 
as full a history as could be given of their 
race. He haa been able to correct some er¬ 
rors and to gather much information, com¬ 
paratively new, through the kindness of 
correspondents. The book is illustrated 
with ten portraits of representative ani¬ 
mals at different dates in the progress of 
this breed. Fart First is devoted to the 
origin and English history of the bread; 
Part Second to the first and subsequent 
importations to this country, their distri¬ 
bution and improvement. It is u compend 
ol all, probably, that is worth knowing 
concerning the general history and distri¬ 
bution of this breed in this country, and 
no mau who is making the breeding of 
Short-IIorns a speoialty can afford to do 
without it. 
Smilax Culture*—Please tell mo, does 
Smilax need a hot or cool temperature ? Is 
it to be kept moist or dry?— Addle Ap- 
PLEY. 
Smilax succeeds best in a moderately 
warm room, but not too hot or dry. Give 
sufficient water to keep the soil moist, but 
not soaking wet all the time. While plants 
are growing rapidly, they require a liberal 
supply of moisture. As the vines begin to 
die and the leaves to turn brown, withhold 
the water and allow the bulbs to ripen, 
after which they may be divided or left 
together until Autumn; then divide and 
put into fresh soil, when they will soon 
commence growing again. Auy one who 
has grown other tuuder house plants suc¬ 
cessfully, should succeed with Smilax. 
A Lame Steel*. —Can you, or any of your 
numerous readers, tell me what ails my 
steer and what will euro blui? He is five 
years old, aud was in pasture in Pocahon¬ 
tas Co., W. Va.,aud in June ho tookii kiud 
of reeling, and soon his hind legs below the 
knees swelled smartly, aud ho cannot step 
on his feet well, but generally steps on his 
pastern joints with his foot to the rear. 
He is poor; if he wero fat, ho would weigh 
1,500 lbs.—G. W. S., Swoope’s Depot, Au¬ 
gusta Co., Va. 
A Dinease Afflicting Calves and Two- 
Year-olds is thus described by G. W. 
Siilly:—“T he first that 1 ever noticed it 
was a loss <if t he use of one or more legs 
by the, animal, and in less than twenty-four 
hours the animal attacked is dead. On 
skinning it, wo found a place on or adjoin¬ 
ing the affected leg, which is all in a blub¬ 
ber of black blood. When i was a boy, we 
always burned one and salted the others 
with the ashes; but now we mix salt aud 
ashes to stop it.” 
Duck Leg in Cuttle,—A correspond¬ 
ent asks if there is any cure for “ black leg” 
in cattle. We have often heard of ‘black 
leg, but we confess we do not know any¬ 
thing about a disease with that name, and 
wish those familiar with, would describe it. 
TO ESTIMATE THE WEIGHT OF LIVE 
CATTLE. 
Saving Marigold Heedst. — Seeds of 
French and African Marigolds may be har¬ 
vested some time before they are ripe. I 
had some excellent plants of French Mari¬ 
golds of good form, and producing fine flow¬ 
ers, and being anxious to procure some 
seeds of t hem, mi the approach of the late 
frosts I picked off several in-ads. but found 
none Of the seeds ripe. I kept them, how¬ 
ever, for a few days and sowed some in a 
pot which I placed in a gentle heat, just by¬ 
way of experiment, and, to my surprise, 1 
have been rewarded with a numerous pro- 
gety of young Marigolds.—w. 
FLORICULTURAL NOTES, 
Hyacinths for Late Flowering.—The 
Cottage Gardener of Oct. 17 saysWe con¬ 
sider the end of this or beginning of next 
month as late as it is desirable to pot Hya¬ 
cinths for a late bloom, but they may be 
potted in Deoemoer. After potting, plunge 
the pots in coal ashes in a north aspect, and 
oover them with three iuohes of old tan or 
ooooa-nut refuse. Put over them a frame 
or spare light to throw off the wet. In this 
way they may remain six weeks without 
further attention, but if the weather lie 
severe they must have a covering of mats 
or other material, to protect them from 
frost. This must be removed in mild 
weather. After six weeks the potH should 
be taken out, placed under lights, aud 
merely protected from frost. You may 
keep them in this position until March, 
when they should be removed to a cold pit 
alive by the aid of measurement? If any 
of your Western readers who are dealers in 
bve stuck ran give any rule, pmctioallv 
tested, which maybe r. lied upon its reason¬ 
ably ayeiirate, they will confer a favor upon 
—A Connecticut Farmer. 
The following rule is generally accepted, 
we beiieve, as nearly accurate by English 
Catile dealers, aud has been adopted iu some 
localities in this ootmtry, where animals 
Could not be weighed: 
First, see that the animal stands square; 
I hen, with a si ring, take his ciroumference 
just behind the shoulder-blade, and meas¬ 
ure the feet and inches—this is the girth. 
Then measure from the bone of the tail 
whioh plumbs the line with the hinder part 
of the buttock, and direct the string along 
the back to the tore part of the shoulder- 
blade, and this will be the length. Then 
Wintering Roses iu Pots in a Cold 
Room.—The Gardener’s Monthly reports a 
florist who winters the teuderest roses in 
pots in a bouse without any tire, though the 
temperature goes below zero and the plants 
most of the time are frozen solid. The 
secret is in watering as regularly as through 
the Summer, 
