satisfaction in his mind, anti the chances are 
that he sells at the same prices; “ for,” he 
says, “ what is the use of my holding his 
fruit at the highest figures, if he sends to 
others to cut under in the prices?” 
Now what is my experience in this matter 
is the experience of all old dealers; and I, 
recciviug a small consignment of choice 
fruit, knowing nothing about it hut what I 
can see, am just as apt to mistake the char¬ 
acter of the fruit as others are. And I know 
that I often receive censure from the owner 
! ed wound. Some, like the aligator, may, of 
course, produce a serious wound by a bite; 
but there is nothing whatever analogous to 
the venom of the serpent to be found in this 
order. Nor is there any credence to be 
placed in the stories of snakes with a poison 
apparatus iu the tail. Every neighborhood 
in the United States, has a legend of a so- 
called “ hoop-snake,” which takes its tail in 
its mouth and runs rapidly down hill after 
some terrified individual, and on reaching 
him uncoils, and lashes out the sting of its 
tail, which, however, fortunately strikes into 
a tree near by, to the great relief of the ex¬ 
pected victim. The tree then has to bear the 
brunt of the charge, and in twenty-four hours 
is found to have been completely killed, all 
the leaves on the branches having withered. 
It is not nncommou for certain species of 
^buertisements—.financial, (Etc 
isatsstons 
MARKE TING G RAPES, 
Will you permit me to call the attention 
of grape growers to one point conuected with 
marketing their fruit, which I think to be 
wrong. I allude to the practice of dividing 
or sending their crop to so mauy dealers 
during the same season. 1 am aware that it 
is done under the general idea of receiving 
a benefit from so doing, iu some way or 
other; but 1 think more injury than benefit 
is derived. 
It is true there are some growers who are 
not well acquainted with many dealers, 
therefore they try different ones to see which 
will best, please them; and it is true that 
there are some dealers, finding that others 
are receiving the fruit from the same parties, 
in order to make the producer believe that 
they cau do better, and get higher prices for 
their fruit, will return more than they receive 
for thv first consignment, knowing that if the 
bulk of the crop is sent to them, they will 
then make a sufficient margin to pay for the 
fust. loss. Meanwhile, the dealer who makes 
au honest return of the fruit sold, is looked 
upon either as an incompetent person, or, 
AMERICAN INST. FARMERS’ CLUB, 
Notes of Discussious, Extracts from Let 
tors, <Scc. 
Looked Food Tor Hogs —L. P. BROWN, New¬ 
port, l\y„ writes:—“For several years I havo 
annually raised and fattened about 500 hogs, 
feeding them entirely on whole and uncooked 
corn. At present price of pork, however, this 
will not pay, and I have concluded to cook their 
food hereafter. Now, would you advise rue to 
feed vrhole corn, steamed in the ear, or shall I 
~- —e corn, grind it, and feed it ns inush, 
f have thought, ton, of crushing the 
shell the 
( (cooked?) 
coru and cob together, and steaming it, feeding 
It cold. Would the latter plan bo a good one? 
Is there any nutriment in the oob when well 
cooked, and would any evil probably result from 
feeding it. to hogs?" The Professor of Early 
Rising advised him. to shell (ho Corn and use the 
cobs for fuel to cook it with. Dr. J. V. C. Smith 
rehearsed his old story about il, being undigni¬ 
fied to cook food for stock, and assert ed that tho 
cooking was the cause or measly pork, trichinae, 
&e., &e. Prof. Squelch wondered that the 
learned gentleman was so undignified ns to oat 
cooked food himself, and asked (mentally) if the 
gentleman hnd never scon measly pork made 
from uncooked food. Ho had. The Professor 
of Early Rising asserted that he knew ho had 
saved forty percent, by cooking food for his 
fowls, and ho did not believe either the meat of 
snakes to Have the terminal plates of the tail 
coalesced into a kind of hard conical point; 
or wasp, such as is ascribed to the boop- 
snake by its credulous historians. 
One North American serpent, the Slaps 
fulvius , (the “ harlequin,” or “coral” snake) 
a species beautifully annulated with black, 
red and yellow, belongs to a poisonous 
family, in which there aresmall, permanently 
erect poison fangs, instead of the moveable 
signments than small ones; for, as a general 
rule, they can be disposed of more readily 
if the fruit is strictly fine. On the other 
hand, if a dealer receives a small consign- 
afnralrst 
1ft III me vl n a cured by Hums’ Appliances For de 
unri id I <■ , r, ii. d . .. I iin/ivr a ro-. .. -.. 
a mimri ni£ cim*U by iJiLta.v A puli 
aunptton, addrt>ft» tflM PSON <fc CO, 
QO 
be Utncuarb. 
consignments from that party. 
Let us here take a glance at the act. of 
consigning and receiving fruit. The dealer, 
desiring business, solicits consignments, and 
it is for his interest to make the best returns 
lie possibly can. The larger the consign¬ 
ment the more profitable for him, conse- 
/il inn fit/ 1 m loir no moo,, * 1 .. 
at uue piauu, uui must go ciiasing an 
over the city to find the mark I want, and, 
perhaps, not find it then.” 
I hope these lines will be received with as 
kindly a spirit as that in which they are 
written, and that both growers and dealers 
may be benefited by them. C. w. i. 
New York, Feb., 1871. 
ones ot tnc rattlesnakes and copperheads. 
Our species has, however, never been known 
to attempt to bite, if indeed it possess the 
power to do any injury. The South Ameri¬ 
can coral snake, an allied species, is said to 
be extremely dangerous. 
Spencer F. Baird. 
Washington, D. C. 
meut from a person who is growing a large 
quantity of fruits and scattering it all over 
the city, lie takes but little interest in it; for 
lie does not know whether he will receive 
another lot, nor does lie very much care to 
while so many are receiving from the same 
party, lie prefers paying more attention to 
those customers who are sending him all of 
their fruit. 
I well remember an instance of a Southern 
grower sending large quantities of grapes to 
market, and it being quite early for that 
fruit, lie had almost the only fruit in the 
market. Had lie consigned it to only one, 
t or two firms, at the most, he might have 
realized good prices. But lie thought, like 
many others, Unit he must try a large num¬ 
ber of dealers, and see who would do the 
best; and lie did so. The consequence was, 
Hie dealers soon got to selling under each 
other, in some cases varying five eents per 
pound iu price. Of course, Ihose dealers 
who sold at the highest figures were vexed 
with the others, and, more so, with the 
grower. The result was, that this man’s 
fmir went into an actual opposition to itself, 
and ran the prices down to such a low figure 
that it did not pay to send. 
A dealer, having the entire crop of a 
grower, can secure a regular demand for it, 
particularly if it be a large one of choice 
fniit; for it is an established fact that re¬ 
tailers prefer buying one mark as long as 
they can, because, once having had it, they 
know it to be a good one, and do not wait 
to examine it whan they wish to purchase; 
and it is the same with their customers. 
To illustrate this point I will mention one 
case that came to my knowledge, of a 
dealer, in a distant city, who had frequently 
purchased of me a well-known mark, which 
had gi ven Jiim good satisfaction. He desired 
to secure a large lot; lie telegraphed me to 
send him twenty cases of that mark, but 
added, if you have none of it, send only three 
ot any other! It so happened that I had 
twenty-two cases, and I gou t him the entire 
ot, much to his gratification. In a few days 
he called to see me, and I asked him why lie 
made such a difference in his orders, and he 
stated to me that it made that difference to 
him; “ for,” said lie, “ if my customers only 
see the name of W. & B. on the boxes they 
buy freely, without examining them; for 
they are so prejudiced in their favor that 
auy other mark is looked upon with sus¬ 
picion, and every box must be opened for 
examination; and the least objectionable 
feature that is discovered is sufficient to con- - 
demn it.” 
Again, some marks are well known among 
jobbers as being strictly prime, and they are i 
always ready to purchase these at the market < 
price, when they find that the dealer is aware i 
of that tact; but when they find these marks i 
m the hands of dealers who are not thorough- i 
ly posted in regard to the quality, they take 
pretendtjh < ? f . U . ,eul \ aml in niiin y instances 
pretend that it is an inferior article in order to 
Riy R e-heap. When they succeed, which they 
aniTJi °i’ . the - V , tlien So to the other dealer 
and ask him why he will not sell that mark 
just as cheap U s another party does; and s 
n- riv- ‘ e fir8t ieater learns lbat another 
pai ty is receiving the same brand, which he o 
supposed be bad the entire control of, and is li 
selling it for less than he did, it creates dis- i) 
ABOUT HISSING SNAKES. 
r The Rural New-Yorker of the 28th 
e ult. contains various articles in regard to 
o hissing snakes, but without giving the scicn- 
e tific names of the species. It is now well 
o known to naturalists that quite a number of 
if our American serpents do hiss; but it is 
Only among the liog-nosed snakes, or the 
i so called spreading adders (those forming 
) the genus lletorodon of naturalists) that we 
t find this peculiarity most highly developed, 
b These snakes are of a short, chunky form, 
'> with a triangular head and a snout slightly 
™ tamed up, having much the appearance of 
3 a venomous snake, although it is perfectly 
• harmless. When interfered with or cor* 
3 nered, they will throw themselves into a 
, coil, flatten the entire body from the head 
i to the tail, and emit a succession of hisses, 
• which, with the otherwise threatening ap¬ 
pearance is usually enough to terrify the 
spectator. If, when iu this condition, the 
; linger be made to describe several rapid 
; circles around the snake, it will immediately 
, go into a kind of spasm, during which it 
i will writhe and twist, and appear in the 
agonies of death. It is, however, only in a 
measure “ playing ’possum,” as, if left to it¬ 
self, it will gradually recover, and endeavor 
to move slowly off. 
Your correspondent in Gi-ec^oro’ un¬ 
doubtedly refers to a variety of this same 
snake. While the best known species is 
generally of a yellowish color, with broad 
blotches of brown, there is sometimes a black 
race (that to which he refers,) in which these 
marks are also obliterated; and he is entire¬ 
ly in error in ascribing to it venomous prop¬ 
erties, as it possesses no poisonous fangs 
whatever, and were it even actually to strike 
a blow with its teeth, no severer result would 
follow than from any slight scratch. 1 have 
had before me hundreds of these snakes, in 
their different varieties, and handled them 
repeatedly without any bad result. 
Iluw to Distinguish Poison Sm-peutH, 
In this Connection, it may not be uninter¬ 
esting to mention some characteristics by 
which poison serpents in the United States, 
can always be distinguished. In the first 
place, we have no venomous species with 
longitudinal stripes, nor any of which the 
color is entirely green, black, or brown. We 
may, therefore, eliminate all striped and all 
uniformly colored snakes, “garter snakes,” 
“ black snakes,” “ green snakes,” etc., from 
the series of the kinds that are to be dread¬ 
ed. Our poisonous serpents are all marked 
with tiausverse blotches, which arc usually 
more or less distinct; and are also charac¬ 
terized by having a broad triangular bead, 
considerably and appreciably wider than the 
narrow neck, this expansion of the head be¬ 
ing required to accommodate the poison 
glands. 
Again, the poisonous species possess a 
deep pit or cavity on each side of the face 
between the eye and the nostril, always 
very definitely marked, tho nostril being at 
the end of the snout. The stories, therefore, 
ot the venomous character of the “ black 
snakes ” and “ garter snakes,” are fabulous. 
It may be well enough to mention, while c 
on the subject of posionous reptiles, that no f 
lizard of any kind is known to possess poison 1 
fangs, or to be capable of inflicting a poison- [ 
NOTES FOR NATURALISTS. 
Taming Fui-U'ldgos. 
Would some of the many readers of the 
Rural New-Yorker give some practicable 
means of bringing partridges into a domes¬ 
tic state.—S ubscriber, 
We havo Been many attempts made to 
domesticate partridges, but never knew of a 
success yet. 
Hpnn-ows In Ihe Cotton Fields. 
It is announced that five hundred Eng¬ 
lish sparrows have been imported into Lou¬ 
isiana, with the hope that they may help to 
destroy the cotton worm. 
OO f 
Rural Ardiitfcturc 
NOTES FOR BUILDERS. 
How to Build a Smoke-House. 
Thinking perhaps some of your readers 
would like to know how to build a smoke- 
SMOKK-HOUSE.—ELEVATION. 
house, I inclose a sketch which 1 think an 
improvement on old ones. It will be seen 
by carrying a chimney up inside and having 
a fire-place at a outside, enables one to build 
a fire without opening a door, which lets the 
y/pw7/mfiw/M/MwWmw , 
• I- 
w/z/mm/A 
SMOKE-HOUSE.—GROUND PLAN. 
smoke escape and fills the eyes with the 
same, which is very annoying.—W m. E. 
Davis, Sherburne, Jan,, 1871. 
Style of Stable, 
P. Green writes the Rural New-York¬ 
er 1 keep sixteen cows; stable in stan¬ 
chions three and a half feet apart; four and a 
half feet from stanchions to tho drop; drop 
four inches deep, one foot wide; walk be¬ 
hind cows, two and a half feet. Cows keep 
clean and dry.” 
Merchant Kelley says flat stones against, and 
outside of a wall, projecting- ono foot from It, a 
few inches below where the frost reaches, so 
that the rata in digging will come to the angle 
made by the wall and projecting stone, will 
keep rats from under walls. 
5 tue fowls or I tic eggs were any tho worse tor if. 
u If that was an muflgniflnd thing to do, he had 
been guilty of a great, tuauy Undignified acts, 
e and should probaby be of morn. Ono thing hn 
- ‘hd not do—he did not spend tho boat, part of his 
0 day In bed, but preferred to get up in t he morn¬ 
ing- before breakfast, and see that the creatures 
• God had given him were properly eared for, 
even if it iimw umlignilled, (Prof. SQUELCH was 
heard to say, “ Bully for the Professor of Early 
Rising !") Col. Curtis eoneeded that tho Digni¬ 
fied Doetor Smith was both witty and learned, 
but that he was talking nonsense on this subject. 
It was Anally resolved that Ctrtms and Smith 
should ouch present their diverse views in the 
2 shape or Essays on the subject, for the ediifea- 
3 tion of tho Cluli and tho country. 
- »<> Hog* \ml Halt l-ii. h. Wickham, Big 
Rue, O., asked if fattening hogs need salt. It so 
how much? Mr. Curtis said hogs confined in 
> pens require something more Mian is accessible 
i. to them there, henon it Is well to furnish thorn 
with a little salt now am) then, und ashes and 
sulphur are also good. There is littlo danger of 
their eating too much of either of these sub¬ 
stances. 
Pure Orchard LiraxM Heed.- F. T. Krero Den¬ 
mark, N. Y., asks where In- can get pure orchard 
grass seed. That, which lie inis obtained lias 
been mixed. Mr. Fot.leu said it. is doubtful 
if he can obtain it pure, oxoopt by Cutting It 
carefully in his own Helds with a Blokle. If ho 
wanted pure seed that Is tho way lie should ob- 
tain it. A day s Work will H-v-iiro all an Ordinary 
farm or would want to sow during tho season. 
Buckwheat to Kilt Weeds.— a correspondent 
asks if plowing in a crop of buck wheal wlirkill 
weeds. He is told that buckwheat smothers 
weeds so long as it grows; but when plowed in 
its agency us a weed uxtormiinU.or ceases. 
Ilow (.'liester While Plga are Obtained.—W. T. 
Smedi.bv, Siouvillb,Pa., writes: 1 was pleased 
as well as amused at t ho good hard hits you gave 
some of the swindlers who deal in what they call 
* Chester whites/ I know nothing of Geouok A. 
Dei iz, but 1 live in Chester Co.. ami know some¬ 
thing of th« operations in this famous breed of 
pigs; know something ol' the extent of their 
business, and of their ability to meet the demand 
with pure Chester whites pigs pure enough to 
reproduce themselves. There arc no doubt a 
great innny breeders who keep the stock unmlx- 
ed, but If you kuew the enormous demand from 
abroad, independent of the local wants, you 
would see how tittle likelihood I her© is of meet¬ 
ing it. with pure stock. Tho consequence is 
every aoolc and corner is scoured for pigs pigs 
that are not blank, that is all that is required. 
Drovers, hucksters and almost every other 
itinerant.aro ou the lookout for pigs, till they 
have tripled in price from what I hey wore a lew 
years ago. Last full a neighbor had several lit¬ 
ters of very ordinary pigs, which the 'armors en¬ 
gaged at a very young age to make sure of them; 
but a hog dealer—its they are called-oamo 
around a few days afterwards, bid higher, arul 
took the most ol' the lot. Another neighbor 
procured a pair of pigs from ono ol‘ the most 
reliable breeders wo have in the country, and 
the first litter ol pigs lie raised from them were 
nearly all more or loss spotted with black, thus 
showing, unmistakably, bad blood.” 
Burning il rnxs ami Weed*.—0 BO. COPELAND, 
Dresden, O., asks if it is any loss to the soil to 
burn off of land a crop of dry grass and weeds, 
as is sometimes doue, to facilitate plowing. Mr. 
Bergen said, no, but an absolute benetit, if the 
grass and weeds are green it would be better to 
plow them under. 
A IViuixy Ivnidnn uxlot Questions About Fruit.— 
Charles H. Stratton, Morristown, Pa., asks 
advice as to the kinds of fruit toplantand when 
to plant it. Ho Is advised to pay $1 and join the 
Pennsylvania Fruit Growers’ Society. Study 
its reports and read a few good Agricultural 
papers. 
To Destroy Quack Grass.—In answer to ftu in- 
quiry, Mr. Crane said he had destroyed Quack 
grass by planting on ground infected with it 
some strong growing variety of potato (Pink¬ 
eye Rusty Coat.) that after hoeing covered the 
ground completely and the foliage of which 
keeps gi ecu late in thesoason. He reooiumend- 
ed sowing eorn in dcilia on such land and culti¬ 
vating thoroughly. 
“Sunlight OB.“—S. Sewell, Soarboro, Me., , 
sends the Club a recipe for making “ Sunlight 
Oil,” which he says is being sold throughout his 
neighborhood ; - “ For one gallon take three I 
quarts of naphtha, one and a half ounces alum, 
two ounces cream of tartar, two ounces sal soda, 
one [)int ol potatoes out fine, two table- spoon- 
tuls'ol' tine salt, two drachms gum camphor, 
mix (and shake, and tho oil is ready for use in 
two hours.” He asks the opinion ol' tho Club 
concerning it. Dr. 8cuppt.RNO.va denounced it. 
as dangerous; said that anything that, contains 
naphtha is dangerous and should bo avoided. 
Mr. Fuller said this " secret” recipe is being 
hawked about the country by agents, and beside 
being a humbug is a dangerous ono. p 
.. -“"“•Vi, mi nn-ume worn si. Paul 
and the Northwest to Milwaukee and Chicago. 
Total amount or Mortgage, $4,000,000. Estimated 
value of Lands alone nearly doutilo that amount. 
PRICE 90c. WITH ACCRUED INTEREST, 
al which figure they pay, at present premium on 
Gold, 9 per cent, per annum to the investor. The 
Trustees are the Hon. WILLIAM H. LEONARD, Ex- 
Chief Justice or Supremo Court. State of New York 
■I DUTTON STEELE and JAMES G0ODS0N, M. P , 
England, where a large amount of the Bonds have 
been sold. These parties are required to see that 
proceeds of land sales are applied solely to the 
paying of those Bonds. 
COUPONS PAYABLE JANUARY AND JULY. 
The connections of this road with the Northern 
Pacific and the whole Northwest, as well as its 
Eastern connections, will be seen from a Pamphlet 
and Map, which can be obtained at the office of 
WHITE, MORRIS & CO., 
f\o. ! 4 !» Wall St., and 
0WYNNE, JOHNSON & DAY, 
No. 1 « Wall st., w. v., 
Dunkoi'ix and I*' i uuncin I Agent e for the 
Compilin'. 
THKADV.INTAIIKR OF USING DOO- 
A LKV S ^ BAHT loWDJSK 111 * 1 } kIkhvii in )t,« 8UD6flor 
excellence over all others. by which elegant livtit 
xweet rolls, blsui,its, broad, imxtry. ic-^ cn he nfade 
with very little trouble, food thnj’oan In-.-atm, with 
"‘'‘I.", “'.‘d rullxho.l by tho most Henidtlve dyspop- 
l‘ Vill| d- ,R poi'inllft no waste of flour prepared 
with It, and tho quantity required to be used 
Doolicy a VKAUT rOWiiicii Is ••MU-thli’il or oiMvhiiif 
loss thiin those Of othm mniiui’uoturerM. Try it ami 
fegSiiXraotfS-A <3r & M ..- 
many other great I in grove it tontei in Oheuxn Factory 
Price LNfc n. vi iV, urtrated Circular and 
I ri ce List. UUAKLKH MILLAR * SON, Utica, N. Y. 
TTNIO.N PACIFIC RAIX.SOAD COM- 
U party, have a Lund Gram direct from the liov- 
crttmentol i/J. 0OU.il OO Acres i. f till* lirsi farming 
aiul Mlntnd l.fui/ls in Amrruut. 0,000,000 act-,!!, choice 
tanning lilnd.n on the ltno of lito roiuj In tho State 
ot’ Nrurask t, in tint Great Pmt/vaiiru, now mr 
sale. lot oa.xh or credit, at low rates of Intercut The-,,- 
lands urn near the tUt parallel of North latitude in 
a mild and healthy eflnntle, and lor grain crowing 
and uock rruftlog aro onequaled. Prices range lr'.m 
t~.i>0 to $10 per acre, Great Intr-pi'mentk to Set- 
tiers with limited 1110110 .-* -J,.itlO,OOib Acres rich 
(inyortnn.rat lands along the road, between Omaha 
and Northi Plat t k, surveyed and open for entry 
under the Iloiuextcad and Pre-emption luwa and 
t-an he taken by Ai'tuut Settler/) truly. An opportunity 
never before presented for securing lunnes near a 
great Railroad, with all t In, conveniences of an old 
settled country. New edition of descriptive punt, 
plilcts, with maps, now ready, utid xnut free to all 
Parts ol tite United Slates, Canada Hm( Europe, Ad. 
O. F. DAVIS, l.nnd ConiiiiigHlnner, 
_U. P, R. R. Co., Oniuita, Neb. 
i «,<100 FA It 11 URN 
To 1HI relume mid Improve 1,700,000 Acres 
ot (Ilioico IOWA LANDS, FOR SALE AT 
*•* l ” ,, ‘ ACRE and upwards, for Cash or on Credit, 
by tho IOWA RAILROAD LAND COMPANY. 
Railroads already built through the Lands, and on 
tifi sides of their. Great, inducements to settlors. 
Send for our Pamphlet. It given prices, terms, loca¬ 
tion -tells who should come West: what, they should 
orl ug ; what it will cost; gives plans and cost of dif¬ 
ferent styles or ready-made houses. Maps sent If 
desired. Address VV. W. WA I.K Elf, 
_ V| co President, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 
GETTING UP CLUBS. 
GREAT SAVING TO CONSUMERS. 
a*.**- s» ass 
to consumers ana remunemtivo to Uub ^ 
.*{i ves/hit street, 
P. D. Jinx 3(Ha. NEW YORK. 
nrxnra household magazine 
B 1 M l il H I f pntiiiun in cvwrv number oijm complete prize 
,L-g.gf Y.II:: 
“W'~. .■M.is.ywo&pff.'ttlyT,/’"- 
; N » w .\\ TI; 1 ‘ ' - ‘ Month.) I>v 
mwT,WMJ. A:s knitting MACHINE 
BOH J ON, MASH., or ST. LOUIS. Mo. 
Ta NTED-A(JRNTS. ISWO wr day,) to sell 
) the celebrated IJOMK SJllITTLK SfewiNGt 
MACHINE!. Has the under-ft'til. makes the 
“ lock-stitch" (alike mi both' sides,) and Is 
fully licensed. The best and cheapest family 
Sewing Machine In the market. Address 
I JOHNSON. CLARK & CO.. Huston, Mass 
1 Pittsburg. Pa.. Chicago, III,, or St. Louis, Mo. 
I I IiVKIiFV KNITTING MACHINE. 
1 *- The SiMPLRar, Cheapest and best in Use 
has but o.n-e needle! a Child can Run It! 
Agent* Warned In F.vci-y Town. 
Send for Circular and sample Stocking, to 
H1NKLKY KNITTING MACiL CO., Bath, Mo. 
