( ,g > 
|niutstrial topics. 
VACATION LETTERS, 
A WORKING EDITOR OUT OF HARNESS. 
1 went to Richmond—“just for fun, you 
know ’’—to attend Ike meeting of the Ameri¬ 
can Pomological Society. I wanted to sec 
liow the men who would gather tImre would 
look and how they would meet. I wanted 
to hear the Potomac sieanier’n hell Loll as 
she passed the home and resting place of 
George Washington, just as I heard it 
toll twenty years ago, nearly. I wanted to 
see the old town of Fredericksburg and 
wander under the trees and up and down 
the streets of Richmond, as I did twenty 
years ago. And so 1 went, and experienced 
my desire. The oaks and magnolias had 
grown more beautiful. The old State Capitol 
is still preserved, showing the wear and tear 
of time and political strife; but the repose 
of the city gave no sign of the turbulent, his¬ 
torical record it has made since twenty years 
ago. There are graves and monuments and 
trees and vines, evergreens and flowers, and 
other tokens of loving memories, and heart¬ 
breaks in Hollywood; there are evidences 
in that beautiful Resting Place that, as time 
has passed, so have passed away those who 
used or abused it. Some things (thank 
God !) 1 did not see that 1 saw in its mnils 
twenty years ago — scenes that made the 
blood, of men who loved mothers and sisters 
and daughters, boil. But Richmond is 
beautiful and prosperous and, 1 hope,“march¬ 
ing on.” 
How Viralniu IiUimIh are 1’niil K r. 
Standing beside a reliable gentleman, 
well known to the readers of the Rural 
New-Yorker, on the Potomac boat, lie 
pointed out to me a locality where lie said 
the wood oil the lands would pay the price 
asked for them. lie staled that a gentleman 
who had been well-to-do, but had lost 
his properly, left Washington, and without 
a cent of money purchased five hundred 
acres of land on the Potomac, and in two 
years had cut, and marketed in Washington 
nearly wood enough to pay for his farm, had 
good crops growing, and was on the high 
road to independence. Pluck and labor 
had done it. Wood can be cut thirty to 
sixty miles from Washington and realize to 
the owner $2 per cord net. There are 
grand old estates going begging here—lands 
that only require the. right kind of tickling 
to produce bountiful harvests of grasses, 
grains and fruits, Labor is plenty and com¬ 
paratively cheap; climate salubrious and 
healthful, and a country as beautiful and 
inviting us the sun shines upon waiting 
occupation. Fact is, I seriously thought of 
taking an eternal vacation from t he sanctum 
and putting on the harness of Farm Life in 
Virginia! 
Tlie OeiMivtineiii of Amieiiltine. 
We (our party of American Sovereigns) 
were hound to call and see how our em¬ 
ployes in this Department of our domain 
were doing. We found things looking ship¬ 
shape. The arboretum, with its families of 
trees and shrubs, commanded our attention. 
Sometime, as the trees grow, there will be a 
good place for our boys to become familiar 
with these families, which their parents 
have, by their agents, planted lor their in¬ 
struction. The new green and grape houses 
were in commendable order. There are 
about two hundred and iilly to three hun- 
Imndred varieties of grapes growing in a 
grapery one hundred and fifty fed long, 
which, when they get in bearing, will at¬ 
tract attention and merit comparison and 
study. Such pears and pear trees as we saw 
in the Experimental Garden ! And we Imd 
Downing, Flago, IIovey, Carpenter, 
Smith and others for companions and com¬ 
mentators as we read this natural bibliogra¬ 
phy of plants. 1 heard little criticism and 
much commendation of the work doing here 
from all these critical observers. And this 
did me good ; for it makes a fellow happy 
to he able to say to the boys “ Well done!’’ 
Tin* Concussion Colonel front i'loriilo. 
One of tin) men of mark whom 1 met at 
Richmond was Col. Lucius A. Hardee, a 
man who was voted “a brick ” by the en¬ 
tire delegation, and who deliberately and 
confidentially informed ine that lie was go¬ 
ing to nominate and intended to vote (“ first, 
Iasi, and all the lime”) for Marshall P. 
Wilder of Mas$. for next President of the 
United States, and for Judge W. Schley of 
Georgia for Vice President. I record this 
fact so that if anything so sad should hap¬ 
pen to the gentlemen named, they will 
know who is responsible for their terrible fate. 
Col. Hardee is a warrior, patriot and 
statesman. As a. warrior, he believes in j 
concussion as a means of destroying all cue- I 
mies to man and his industries; as a patriot, 
he believes in universal concussion, pro bono i 
publico; ns a statesman, lie comprehends the 
marvelous effects of concussion upon the i 
body politic. And so lie proposes to utilize 1 
concussion, and this is the history of the t 
manner in which it was suggested to him, I 
with a detail of some of his experiments, swelling music, altogether make it quite a 
lie says: little Fairy Land. 
“ I claim to have utilized concussion in the As we gave a description of the fruits of 
perfect annihilation of the horticulturist pest California, in an article which appeared in 
known as Curculio. My attention,early last the Rural New-Yorker, Dec. 18, 1809, it 
spring, was called to the fact that, in the vi- 1 will not be necessary to go into particulars 
cinily of the new railroad, which runs imme¬ 
diately’ through my orchard, the curculio 
was being driven to tlie extreme end of iny 
orchard. Lt is well known to all potnologists 
that this enemy does its work at night. Tlie 
steam car passing through my orchard 
(situated just one mile from the depot) blows 
its whistle just after night, and again in the 
morning before daylight. I was led to the 
on this head now, us the present display Ills 
little or nothing new,and in fact, is not equal 
to that of 1869, already described. 
Among the most prominent of the pro¬ 
ducts of the skill and resources of Califor¬ 
nia are the much admired and unrivaled 
productions of our woolen mills. They 
are the pride and honor of the Pacific 
Coast. California blankets are unsurpassed; 
lorseman. 
WORMS IN HORSES, 
Intestinal worms are parasites which 
develop themselves in all the domestic, ani¬ 
mals, each, however, possessing its own vari¬ 
eties. The presence of worms in the digest¬ 
ive tube is marked at first by an increased 
appetite, but Hie animal, notwithstanding 
the quantity of food which he consumes, 
falls off in condition; his coat is rough, and 
is not shed at the ordinary time; there is an 
belief that the noise of the whistle, or jarring, and so with the finer class of woolen goods, annoying itching, which causes the horse to 
was the cause of their disappearance from fabrics for ladies’ cloaks, for gentlemen’s 
the vicinity of the railroad. To satisfy my- wear, hosiery, undergarments, &c. Stew 
sell, I placed two pounds of powder in llie art, the New York merchant prince, it will 
hollow ol a live onk stump, immediately in be remembered, made one order for these 
tlie vicinity where they promised the entire goods of $150,000, Eastern and European 
destruction of some plums, peaches, &c:. This factors have discovered that there is a soft- 
powder was fired olT one calm night, and it ness, glossiness of luster and elasticity of 
not only destroyed the curculio, but every fiber in our California wools that can no 
winged insect in my entire orchard. My where else be found. Hence the present ac¬ 
rid) bis upper lip against the manger or on 
tin* wall; sometimes there is considerable 
itching about the rectum, which is indicated 
by the horse’s rubbing his tail or rump 
against anything within reach. The symp¬ 
toms mentioned arc such as would cause one 
to suspect the existence of worms, but it is 
only when these appear among the dung 
voided by the horse that we can speak with 
attention was called to the marvelous growth live demand for our wool by Eastern maim- certainty on the nature of the disease. At a 
of my peach trees and vines on the lin of faeturers, which has increased its price nearly 
the railroad. I could in no way account for one hundred per cent, in one year, 
this, until I discovered the wonderful effect The display of mining machinery and 
that the two pounds of powder Imd on my farm implements is also very creditable, 
other trees. 1 claim, gentlemen, that con- All the most important improvements of 
mission is the greatest fertilizer known. How the East, as well as recent inventions and 
it affects the air, soil, or trees, I know not— improvements in machinery on the Pacific 
that I leave for more scientific minds; I only Coast, are here displayed. There is also a 
know the fact. I claim that concussion will line show of minerals from flic bowels of 
destroy all animalcules, and render sickly our mountains iiud quartz mines, gold and 
localities perfectly healthy. It is well known I silver, copper, quicksilver, coal, lead, &e. 
that during the late war yellow fever, nor The art galleries are also objects of alien* 
any other contagions, made their appearance tion; mid Japan and the Heathen Chinee 
in our Southern cities; and it is also known arc also represented by some of their finest 
that Grant’s entire army of fifty thousand Wares and mechanical products, and a dis- 
men, enjoyed perfect health on the Big play of California wines. But it is useless 
Black, during the sickly season of 1804. to attempt to particularize, as a full cata- 
This, heretofore, has not been satisfactorily logue of the articles on exhibition makes a 
accounted for. I claim that the Yanks are good sized volume 
indebted to King Gun -Powder for their Altogether, this exhibition is a grand suc- 
hcalHifulness during the late wicked war. cess,, and reflects credit upon the enterprising 
Concussion is the great agent of Nature in managers, as well as upon the industrial rep* 
purifying the atmosphere. It is well known, utation of the Pacific Coast, 
by physicians, the effects produced by Hum- Boon wo are to have our State Ag. Fair, 
i dor during the sickly seasons; and it is a at Sacramento, our various District and 
well established fact that, during the fall of County Fairs, of which we may speak liere- 
1857, when yellow fever was raging in Jack- after. 
son villi?, there was very little or no thunder.” 
He also staled that he and others had de¬ 
stroyed the mosquitoes in a room by loading 
a pistol with gun powder, bolding tlie muz¬ 
zle within two feet of the floor, in the center 
of the room, and firiug it downward; also 
that a few discharges about a cotton field 
had destroyed the cotton caterpillar. He 
says he is willing to risk his reputation as a 
nurseryman and planter on Concussion as 
the best fertilizer known to man—that by 
operating with a shot gun on a tomato vine 
lie can cause it to mature fruit in half the 
usual time; also melons, squashes,&e. 
No matter what Colonel Hardee’s sup¬ 
posed discovery may amount to, practically, 
it is certain that he is honest in his belief 
that Concussion will dq all* that lie claims 
for it. 
bf ||atrfir §(opr. 
CALIFORNIA INDUSTRIAL FAIRS. 
The season of Annual Fairs and Industri¬ 
al Expositions in California has arrived and 
been fairly inaugurated, first and foremost of 
all, by 
The Mechanics Inslittm* Exhibition, 
which opened on the ?!li August, under most 
promising auspices. The cash receipts for 
entrance tickets, at the doors, for the seven¬ 
teen days since the opening, have been about 
$40,500, besides considerable amounts for 
tickets sold at tlie. book stores, &c , and for 
privileges of booths, etc. This exceeds, by 
some $4,000, the receipts of the former lair 
for the same number of days. 
This exhibition is upon something of the 
plan of those of the American Institute of 
New York, excepting that this embraces, 
chiefly, only the works of mecluinieal skill, 
and its kindred industries, and a horticultu¬ 
ral exhibit, which is a tine display so far as 
the department of Floriculture is concerned. 
The display of fruits and vegetables is very 
meager, for a California exhibition. But of 
flowers and flowering plants there is a great 
profusion; ami every clime,front the tropics 
to the regions of perpetual snows, is repre¬ 
sented. Mr. R. B. Woodward lias a prince- 
Atrriciiltui'a’ Hum u«rne Cattle Slum. mean or, agility, etc., and a single glance of 
We have just bad another horse race eat- Hie observer seems almost to reveal the pedi- 
tlc show, under the cloak and cognomen j gree of the little wild fellow. But though 
and direction of the “Bay District Agricul- | all the natural or national Arabian features 
turn I Fair.” There have been so many Of are born with the progeny, it is a great, error 
these horse race displays got ten up under to suppose that the woriil-raiowned strength 
the mask and prestige ol an agricultural ex* and power of endurance of most Arabian 
liibition that many of the people who did not 1 torses are ‘ inborn’ distinctions. These two 
belong to the •' ring ” expected little <ilse than important qualities are exclusively the fruit 
the usual racing entertainment. But on this and result of a special and quite peculiar 
occasion they were happily (or unhappily, manner in which Arabs influence the future 
as the case might be.) disappointed ; for al- physical development of the coll. To give 
though there was little or nothing in the line in a few words a full idea of this manner, 
of agricultural products or fruits of the soil, suffice it to say that the endeavors of the 
there was quite a respectable show of horned owner or breeder are, first, to maintain tlie 
cattle and a few choice sheep, and a pen or mother’s undisturbed quiet, repose and corn- 
two of pigs, and a few coops of choice fort, and lo prevent her as long aa ever pos- 
poullry. sible from any fatigue or strong exercise, 
Col. Peter Saxe ol Troy, N. Y., bad a fostering thereby, second, It is more import- 
fair display of Durham cattle, just brought ant intent, to wit; — the prolongation of 
out from Kentucky, and also some superior nursing by the mother. The mere realizing 
Coiswohl sheep. Mr. Patterson, the well* of these two points alone, however, could 
known Western New York sheep man of not produce those special distinctive qunli- 
bv-gonc days, also had a good display of ties mentioned above. They only serve as a 
later period, and especially when the worms 
have developed in great numbers, the symp¬ 
toms are yery much aggravated, and the 
horse becomes emaciated and suffers occa¬ 
sionally from colicky pains; the flank is 
tucked up, Hie inside of the eyelids is pale, 
lie walks with difficulty, and a fatal termi¬ 
nal ion will sometimes ensue. A dose of 
aloes pi or 0 drachma) may be given, which 
has often the effect of expelling worms with¬ 
out having recourse to further treatment. If 
this fails, divide six ounces of iron filings 
among twelve halls, and give one every 
morning until they are finished, and I lien 
give a dose of aloes, which will cause the 
expulsion of any worms which remain in 
the horse's intestines .—Scottish Fanner. 
-- 
THE ARABIAN 00LT. 
Dr. Max Redmond, the renowned savant, 
gives in his “Physiological Hints” (yet 
unpublished) the following important epi¬ 
sode:— “From the very first day of un¬ 
checked development the Arabian colt shows 
all the prominent features of its parents and 
progenitors, in beauty, form, proud de¬ 
meanor, agility, etc., and a single glance of 
the observer seems almost to reveal the pedi¬ 
gree of the little wild fellow. Bui though 
all the natural or national Arabian features 
arc born with the progeny, it. is a. great error 
lo suppose that the world-raiou ned strength 
and power of endurance of most Arabian 
horses are ‘ inborn’ distinctions. These two 
important qualities are exclusively the fruit 
and result of a special and quite peculiar 
manner in which Arabs influence tlie future 
physical development of (be coll. To give 
in a few words a full idea of this manner, 
suffice it to say that the endeavors of the 
owner or breeder are, first, to maintain tiie 
mother’s undisturbed quiet, repose andoom- 
lbrt, and to prevent her as long as ever pos¬ 
sible from any fatigue or strong exercise, 
fostering thereby, second, his more import¬ 
ant intent, to wit:—the prolongation of 
nursing by Hie mother. The mere realizing 
of these two points alone, however, could 
Spanish Merino rams and some fine Durham 
cattle.; there were also several other tine 
animals of this class. There was likewise a 
splendid display of Devon cattle—finer, it 
seemed to us, in quality, Ilian any we ever 
saw at tlie cattle shows in tin* State of New 
York. We, incline to the opinion that tlie 
Devon thrives better in our long,dry seasons 
of short feed than the more bulky Durham. 
Major Beck, Secretary ol'our Stale Agricul¬ 
tural Society, had a fine display of Silesian 
sheep, recently sent out from the East. They 
seemed to ns lather too small for California, 
but may be crossed, with advantage, per¬ 
haps, with our larger sheep, when fine wools 
shall again (as we believe they ere long cer¬ 
tainly will) have the preference over the 
coarser kinds of wool. But as a fast horse 
display the show was more pre-eminently a 
success. There were some very fine horses, 
that made good time; and a lew line car¬ 
riage and team horses. 
The racing and betting made a lively time 
for Ibe sports, and for those particularly in¬ 
terested in that part of the entertainment. 
And . then there was the tournament , so 
called, which was a sort of agricultural cir¬ 
cus, we suppose it might be called, or tlie 
low comedy, of the play. But as it made 
basis to the principal purpose, which is car¬ 
ried out by, third, mixing with the usual 
food given Hie mother several (doubtlessly 
vegetive) ingredients known by the breeder 
to act beneficially upon the lacteal glands, 
and to undisturbedly maintain or constantly 
restore Hie lactnnt faculty, while exercising 
at the same time u direct, specific, strength¬ 
ening influence upon the muscular spstem of 
the nursed offspring. 
“ This fact is not denied by the Arab, but 
the kind or character of tlie ingredients em¬ 
ployed could never be obtained from him, 
neither by promise nor by force. They are 
still a secret, known in his own country to 
the initiated only, and cautiously transmitted 
from father to son. This circumstance ex¬ 
plains why there exists with Arabian houses, 
sometimes, such a striking difference as to 
physical strength and power of endurance, 
though, as lo external beauty, they appear to 
be alike and of the same value. 
“ Tlie possibility of exercising a specific 
beneficial influence upon a single organ or 
faculty by the appliance of definite vegelives 
or other harmless substances cannot be de¬ 
nied. This possibility is proven above any 
doubt. 
“Pulsatilla (the well known meadow ane- 
soii i cu. Mr. u. LS.vv oodwakd lias a prince- f mi) „ m ) helped to draw a crowd, it an-! mono) acts as a beneficial specific upon the 
ly collection, showing the banana palm, the swered its purpose. As a specimen of knight j heart; millefolium (the common yarrow) 
pine-apple in fruit, growing vigorously, and 
almost every variety of flowering plant and 
shrub; and there, are a large number of simi¬ 
lar contributors; and as this display is on 
the ground adjoining the main pavilion, and 
extending a whole block, the grounds are 
laid out in the most artistic style of land¬ 
scape gardening, with pretty, green lawns, 
errantry, however, we do not think it would 
compare very favorably with Hie tourna¬ 
ments of the Romans in their palmy days, 
nor yet even horsemanship with w iiat we 
have seen among the Moors and Arabs of 
Hie Barbary States in modern days. 
If they had extemporized a plowing 
match, or even given the vaquerosa chance 
to try their hand and skit! al bmoinf/ a few 
neatly graveled walks, blooming parterres, wild cattle, it might have been of some prac- 
rustic seals, arbors and alcoves, sparkling ! ,Cil ' ^‘nefii 01 • but whether it would 
*. , . . “ have drawn as well as a display of bufloon- 
fountains, beautiful jets 'dpm., ornamental is a ln!lll , r Q f doubt. Tims much for 
statuary, and with the rich perfumes from u,'e Second Annual Fair of the Bay District 
the thousands of odoriferous flowers, and the Agricultural Society.— t. h. h. 
upon Hie lungs; ipecacuanha upon the 
stomach; fluot-spatli upon the brain; apis 
mclliflea (the honey bee) upon the ovaries; 
resin upon Hie womb; senna upon the 
bowels; cannabis (hemp seed) upon the kid¬ 
ney; lycopodium upon Hie liver; coal upon 
the nerves; nitrum (saltpeter) upon tlie 
bladder—and a great mass of other harmless 
vegelives or other substances—each ouc in 
its own way upon a definite organ, faculty, 
or locality. 
“ The astounding power of muscular mo¬ 
tion and endurance in an apparently so ten¬ 
derly formed being as the Arabian horse 
has been always a puzzle to the reflecting 
physiologist, and it, might almost he called a 
highly satisfactory circumstance i<> know 
that we have here before us the result of 
skillful or scientific human influence, and 
not me;-'tv a freak or problem of nature. It 
could or should have been surmised lony 
ago that such an amount of muscular power 
can impossibly be acquired by simple exer¬ 
cise. alone, and that such a surprising en¬ 
durance, apparently in direct contradiction 
to the tenderness in construction, must have 
necessarily been implanted through quite 
peculiar means and influences. 
“Arrived at this conviction which, as 
mentioned, has been strengthened and veri¬ 
fied by the frank avowal of Arabs them¬ 
selves, I find it to be a duty to the European 
or American breeder to try whether Nature 
did not. favor us also with some domestic 
vegetive or other beneficial substances apt 
to influence and ennoble tlie development 
and value of our own equine races in a simi¬ 
larly important measure. Since years I have 
devoted time and expense to open, if possi¬ 
ble, a new path in this highly important 
direction. Until now (March, 1855,) 1 have 
not yet been gratified with any certain re¬ 
sult. But we must not.‘giye up the ship.’ 
One day 1 hope to tell my readers , 1 Then* 
it is, that great result!’ And then, of course, 
we shall make the stubbornly silent Arab 
just as envious ol’ us as we have hitherto 
been envious of him.” 
- 
Horse wiili n Coiiuli. 
My liorse lias hud a hard cough for several 
weeks—slight at commencement, hut grow¬ 
ing worse. Seems something like phthisic 
in form. Coughs worse when pulling hard 
or ascending n hill. Please give me u remedy. 
I — Subsc riber, Benton Co ., Miss. 
There are so many causes for cough it is 
difficult to prescribe without seeing the ani¬ 
mal, or knowing more about the manner in 
which lie has been used and fed. 
|?i ttrntn. 
FALL FEED FOR BEES. 
J. L. Hubbard (in Bee Keepers’ Journal) 
says;—When bees cease gathering surplus 
honey for the season, which in many places 
occurs in this month, they should have 
enough sealed honey in the* hive to winter 
them safely. If they do nut have »/, they 
should immediately be fed until they do have 
it. Undoubtedly the best way to do this is 
to give them sealed honey from another hive, 
if practicable, otherwise they may be fed 
liquid honey, or a syrup made by boiling 
refined sugar in enough water to make it of 
tlie consistency of honey, adding one or two 
pounds of honey to each ten pounds of 
sugar, to keep it from crystalizing. 
I have fed barrels of sugar in the fall, 
when I had a lot of light or late swarms 
without sufficient supplies. They do not 
generally winter as well as those that, gather 
sufficient supplies earlier in the season. If 
then liquid feed must be used, feed just as 
early as you decide it will be necessary. 
Bees gel the dysentery in winter from eat¬ 
ing poor or sour honey, bad air and perhaps 
improper ventilation. Sealed honey rarely 
sours; unsealed, sours very easily if kept in 
a cellar or damp place, especially if in a 
comb uncovered with bees. When bees 
gather supplies late, or are fed, there is 
usually a lot of unsealed honey. It would 
be well to remove this with a machine from 
the outside combs, and in all combs where 
the bees will not cluster, as it is worse than 
waste for Hie bees to use it after it sours. 
Those using machines to remove surplus 
honey will sometimes have swarms with too 
little firsl quality honey remaining when tlie 
season closes, especially when the fall sup¬ 
plies are less abundant. than usual. Liquid 
feed will not fully make up such deficiency. 
For fall feeding, use plain tin feeders with 
upright sides, coated with wax on the inside, 
and supplied with wooden floats. They 
hold about five pounds each, and should be 
filled daily until the swarm is supplied. Set 
them inside the cap, and feed just at night. 
I have been thus explicit on this point oi 
unsealed honey, because I believe it to he a 
prolific source of trouble afterwards and be¬ 
cause it is a point frequently overlooked.’ 
Mrs. Tupper says upon this same sub¬ 
ject :—“ Before the close of this month, Sept, 
the bee pasturage in some localities begins 
to fail. If there are auy weak colonies, then 
is the time to feed, unite, or strengthen them 
from other hives. If they are to be fed, one 
pound of honey given them now is worth 
more lo them than two or three after the 
weather gets colder. We have had less ex¬ 
perience than others in feeding, yet by wa\ 
of experiment we kept colonies building 
cotnb until November, by feeding diluted 
honey and sugar syrup. Care must he taken 
not to feed too much at a time, and to ex¬ 
amine lest they store it too near the centei 
of the hive, where they should cluster. R 
they put it there, it is time to stop supplies 
for a while.” 
