^abort culture. 
CHAMiEROPS EXCELSA- 
Les'dley, in the "* Vegetable Kingdom,” 
says:—“ The race of plants to which the 
name of Palms has been assigned is, no 
doubt, the most interesting in the vegetable 
kingdom,—if we consider the majestic as¬ 
pect of their towering stems, crowned by a 
still more gigantic foliage; the character of 
grandeur which they impress upon the land¬ 
scape of the countries they inhabit, their 
immense value to mankind as aftordimr food 
and raiment and numerous objects of eco¬ 
nomical importance.” 
The cocoanut, which is well known, is 
the production of one of the noblest Palms, 
cocos nucifem. The cane used in chair bot¬ 
toms, the material of chip and grass hats, 
rattan, and many other objects with which 
we are all familiar, are products of the 
Palms. In tropical countries, however, they 
supply material for houses, food, clothing, 
weapons, and utensils of every kind. This 
continent is the richest in the number of 
species — having nearly three hundred— 
while the total number known is about one 
thousand. 
Tlie genus Cliauiserops here illustrated is 
generally of low growth—say from ten to 
forty feet. Ten species are enumerated in 
Paxton’s Botanical Geography. Our well 
known Palmetto— Ckammrop* palmetto — is 
the most northern of all the Palms. Travel¬ 
ers in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, &c., 
must have seen it by acres. 
In Europe the Palm is cultivated in con¬ 
servatories, and is regarded with more inter¬ 
est than any other family of plants. Many 
of the more hardy arc also employed in the 
summer decoration of grounds, to which 
they impart a sort of tropical aspect. In 
our own country they may he used to great 
advantage. Looking through several of the 
catalogues of our more prominent nursery¬ 
men, we find attention is being given to 
their propagation and the species herewith 
illustrated named. 
-- 
ARBORICULTURAL NOTES. 
arbftwr. 
GARDEN ITEMS. 
iisnissums. 
AMERICAN INST. FARMERS’ CLUB. 
Gas Lime on Orchards. 
“ Runnymeadb” writes us that in the 
spring of 180U, Charles BabtmUS, Flem- 
ington, N. J., applied to a young and thrifty 
orchard—each row of trees consisting of 
hut one variety—about fifty bushels of gas 
lime per aero to one-half, and twenty-five 
bushels to the other half. The lime was ap¬ 
plied across the rows, and last October the 
increased quantity and quality of the fruit 
was very evident, and the stronger and 
healthier growth of the tree’, well marked, 
in each variety, where the larger quantity 
of lime was used. Our correspondent con¬ 
cludes that fifty bushels of gas lime per acre 
is not “ too much,” siuce it did not result in 
death to the trees, as Mr. Sylvester re¬ 
cently said too much would. Soil, red shale. 
Pruning Raspberries. 
At a recent meeting of the. Wisconsin 
Horticultural Society, Mr. McAffee gave 
the following as his method of pruning rasp¬ 
berries ” When the young raspberry shoots 
are eight inches high, pinch out the terminal 
buds, leaving only three or lour shoots to 
each stool. When the laterals are grown 
one foot, pinch in again, then allow to grow 
the rest of the season. Next spring cut to 
within one foot of the last pinching, and 
stake with small stakes. The pinching and 
pruning make the stalk woody and lusty, 
and they yield about twice as much as if 
treated in the common way.” 
Prone away late Autumn or Second Growth 
wood. 
There may be something in my views 
relative to the necessity of pruning away all 
second or late autumn grown shoots on the 
pear or apple. Judging from many years of 
observation, I know there can he no harm 
in the practice, and I strongly believe there 
is a benefit, if indeed, it be not m itself 
strictly a safeguard, in the prevention of one 
class of blight. 
My view is that the late autumn growth 
never, or rarely, fully ripens to perfection ; 
and that the frost of winter bursts and 
destroys more or less of the natural tissue 
and channels of circulation, leaving the sap 
therein more or less poisoned by slow decay; 
and as soon as vegetation comes in spring, 
and the leaf is grown, so that a return of sap 
toward the root is formed, with that return 
flows more or less of poisonous sap, many 
times leaving traces on its way, that, soon 
increase with warmth and circulation until 
they exhibit fully to the common observer, 
in blackened branch and browned foliage. 
Frank Amon. 
Cultivating Cauliflowers. 
Mbs, L. Stillson grows the variety d 
known as Early Paris, and writes the a 
Rural that she finds one package of seeds 
contains enough for two families. She y 
writes:—“I start my plants in the early i 
part of March. In lieu of a hot-bed, I use tl 
pans filled with rich, moist loam, placed in ,'J 
any warm situation in the kitchen ; and.to ^ 
keep moist, 1 cover with a paper or hoard, i 
or even a cloth, until the seeds have germi¬ 
nated, then put them in the lightest part of 
the room, and keep moist with soap-suds. 
When the plants have put out the second 
pair of leaves, I transplant into half-pint 
pots, made of coarse, strong paper, (flour 
sack is very good; cul the pieces half square, 
lap the corners together, and fasten with a 
few stitches, or a pin,) l set these in a pan, 
fill the spaces between with earth, keep well 
watered with soap-suds; and as soon as the 
weather is warm enough, I have nice large 
plants for t he garden. 1 make I lie soil rich, 
deep and mellow, tear the paper off and set 
in the plants; keep the earth drawn well 
around the stems, and water in dry weather, 
in August they will be ready for cooking.” 
TIid Eilderkrnut Cnhlitiue. 
II. II. Hoyt, Onondaga Co., N. V , writes 
us that he tried this cabbage (recently no¬ 
ticed in Rural) last year, for the Syracuse 
market, and found them to head well, grow 
solid, but the core runs nearly to the top, 
and the Germans objected to them for kraut 
on that account, preferring smaller but hard, 
fiat heads. H« adds:—“The Filderkreut is 
a very sweet cabbage, but requires more 
boiling than other kinds.” lie intends to 
try them again. 
llInrkctiiiK Horse-radish. 
Mr. C. W. Idei.l informs us that there is 
one class of men who buy this root in large 
quantities and grate it up to (ill orders from 
wholesale dealers, who receive orders for it 
from customers who buy to sell again. An¬ 
other class in this market, buy it and grate 
it for their customers in any small quantity 
they may wish, so that each may get it fresh; 
for it soon spoils after being grated, even 
when bottled tightly. It will not answer, 
therefore, to bottle a large quantity to be 
sold on commission, unless a demand for it 
is first created. 
“ In order that horse-radish should bring 
a good price, the roots should average at 
least one inch in diameter, and from six to 
ten inches long. Small roots, the size of 
one’s finger, rarely bring half price; and a 
dealer is fortunate if ho can get any offer for 
it. The buyer says such roots cost too much 
time and labor to prepare them for grating; 
that a prime article at a higher price is 
cheaper.” 
Peanut Culture. 
F. A. B., Weston, O., asks how and when 
to plant and how to cultivate peanuts. We 
doubt if peauuts will pay for planting in 
your locality; it is too fur North. They re- 
quirts a tolerably long season, ami should be 
planted as early ns possible after the ground 
1 is warm and in suitable condition to receive 
seed of any kind. A warm, sandy soil should 
be selected. They should be planted iu rows 
three feet apart—three peas in a hill, eighteen 
inches apart in the row, or one pea every six 
inches. Early m the season the weeds should 
he kept down, for after the vines begin to 
run they should not be disturbed. The vines 
run on the ground and each joint produces a 
cluster of fruit. 
A Mnlnc Woman In a Garden. 
A Mrs. 0., from Maine, insists that “ moth¬ 
er earth will yield a full return to the faith- 
fid laboring hand, without regard to sex.” 
And she adds that the blindness of false 
pride prevents many a poor widow, bending 
over her sewing which does not pay over 
five cents per hour, from earning a dollar an 
. hour by using the hoe, and the ashes from 
her winter lire, in spring. The writer says 
that last spring she had a spot of mucky 
soil, too soft to he plowed, and she turned 
every foot of it (not. quite a quarter of an 
' acre) herself with a spade. ResultPlenty 
of green Leans for a family of four, a few 
pecks to sell, and several baskets to give 
* away, two barrels of potatoes, three hundred 
> cars of sweet corn, plenty of cucumbers and 
pecks to spare, a dozen cabbage heads, ten 
> nice squashes, one bushel of beets, sixteen 
1 quarts nice, ripe, yellow-eye beans, &c. She 
r urges that the dignity and wisdom of poor 
1 women compelled to labor is in no sense 
1 compromised by cultivating the soil; aud 
We continue our notes of the sayings and 
doings of this distinguished body of scientific 
agriculturists. 
(iliiuew) Yarn*.— OWEN A. MORRISON, Middle- 
fort, lad., asks where he can obtain Chinese 
yams, and at what price. No one could answer: 
but F. 1). Curtis said when he gets them he will 
find them of no practical value. [The only man 
we know who finds merit iti them is Ya.iuu. 1BY 
TAYLOR or London Co., Va., who used to fight 
for the tuber after its oldest friends had deserted 
it.—E d. Rural.] 
fair seed. As theory is not of so much import- 
unco (is practice, 1 will state, that season before 
last I planted a row of Peach blow potatoes, put¬ 
ting the hugest and fairest potatoes in whole, 
and alongside I planted a row, taking those 
about, the size ol' black walnuts, culling them 
once In two, and the row of largo ones camo up 
first and looked the blackest and rankest the 
whole season, and yielded the best crop and 
largest potatoes. Mr. Ueapi: said ho knew a 
man who had improved ills oat crop by continu¬ 
ously selecting and sowing I he heaviest aud bust, 
grain he could get out of his crop. 
Curcallo Exterminator. — f}E0. W. COLLINS, 
Buena Vista, l’a., last year, when his plums were 
about (is largo as pens, took a gallon of strong 
llino water, poured Into it a half pint of spirits 
of turpentine, and squirted it nil over the tops 
of the trees, sprinkled turpentine on the grass 
under the tree, aud hung an open bottle eon- 
.-vA 
/] fclli Jll/! iit 
JJJ / 
fiU’ /■ * 
rk s —■ -jv 
!$hW4 
m 
Corn Experiments.— S. L. GLASGOW, Three 
Springs, I’li., covered tt pun ol tils corn seed with 
a hoe in tiio usual manner; another portion 
with a single shovel plow (don’t say how deep;) 
and still another portion was planted with a 
single-row planter. That covered with the sin¬ 
gle shovel plow came up the best, and (with the 
game culture) did the best, throughout the Sea¬ 
son. Wants to know the reason why. No ono 
tells him ; and no one can without further de¬ 
tails as to relative depth of covering, character 
of soil, &c. lie ought to have discovered the 
reason for himself, with all the facts before him. 
Why didn’t he? 
Rat Exterminator.- Mr. Glasgow asked some 
one to tell him the most effective rat extermi¬ 
nator. No member of the Club replied, but the 
Rural tolls him, ferrets, and is astonished that 
more of these useful and bnyitiful animnlsare 
not bred aud kept whore rats arc a nuisance. 
Lest wo should receive a thousand and one in¬ 
quiries where they may bo obtained, wc say 
here that we don’t know a person on tho foot¬ 
stool who has them, but wo know a great many 
who ought to. 
Quniillty of Clover Heed per Aero. —Mr, GLAS¬ 
GOW asks how much rod clover seed should bo 
sown per acre. The Champion of Shallow Plow- 
CHAM.EUOPS Hi X Old I. S-A.. 
L.. Glasgow, Three tabling turpentine in each tree, which he occa- 
ol his corn scad with sionully tipped up, so as to allow its contents to 
er; another portion run down on the body of the tree, thus keeping 
don’t say how deep;) up a Strong smell of turpentine about (ho tree, 
was planted with a Tho result was a good eiop of pluciB on trees so 
covered with the sin- treated, and none on those neglected. 
10 boat, and (wit h tho l’otatn Experience,—G. 0. BttOWN of Crototl 
throughout the sea- y-uis, N. Y., presented the following compura- 
roason why. No ono g ve tabular statomont of his last year's expo- 
wit,liout further do- rtenco with different varieties of potatoes: 
Kind. 
Early Molmwk,.. I so 80 
IIurlHi'ti . .|3 1-3 IK* [25 
Early Rose.1 2-3 63 l-3;22 
OlOliMOn .,8 7-10 72 ,1!) 
Hresoo Frullfto. .. I I 10 O’. 2-3 50 
Garnet Chin ....;*» io ta M 
Knvlixl. Kidney.. 3 !> 10 02 17 
WV- Poach Blow, ft t .s to ty 
P'k-ayo Rusty C’t 4 AT. I 211 
While Sprouts... 3 I 3 00 2 3 10 
Goodrich.3 V-10 Hi 13 
A odes. 
08 1-3 18 
Cost of Osage Hedge.— A Missouri farmer has 
found the cost of 100 rods Osago hedge, three 
years old, to be $33 ; of a rail fence, $58. 
—-m- 
Willow Culture.—J. Andrews—W e know of 
no practical work on willow culture. 
--- 
To Rill Sprouts, cut timber in July and Au¬ 
gust.—c. n. 
she is right. 
Hail for Ilot-Jleds. 
At a recent Illinois discussion as to the 
best soil for hot-beds, one gentleman stated 
that he would use any rich soil—that from 
around decayed logs being best—and cover 
with an inch or so of sand. Another would 
not use sand in hot-beds, since soil contain¬ 
ing it docs riot adliere to the roots in trans¬ 
planting. Another uses about half sand and 
half soil—the more sand the better roots. 
ing, with the conservatism for which he is fa- Calico . 
mine, recommended four quart*' Tho dtstlng- LondiJJf wii 
Ulshod V, J',, of the Slaty Agricultural Society, Wldtn Moult 
knew better, and recommended eight quarts! <'-u!«*?<,”*Wliiti 
The Commander of the Club, with groat pone- nynkmnn . 
trillion. Stated that It, would be safe to split tho pti’.'eR m© roe 
difference, and sow six quarts! The Kura i. says Rail Forfar* 
much depends upon the kind of red clover sown, SjJjSry*'Ol’ne! 
and with what It Is sown. If tho large kind is Patterson.." 
sown, and alone, eight quarts is too little; but If Widte Merc 
with it Is sown timothy and rod top, eight, quarts Average. 
ia about right, for meadow. For pasture, wo 
would never sow It alone, anyway. Pastures Mr. BBOv 
should contain as many kinds of grass that are P'aco, as nr 
good forage, as can bo got to grow together. If different ki 
tho small kind of rod clover is sown with timothy fu ' ‘‘ompa 
aud red top, six to olght quarts is a plenty for taint'd by a 
meadow, but wc would not sow tho small kind varieties, a 
for meadow n t all. It is a good fertilizing crop, gave mo 1.9 
Such la our experience. auot wr I 
aud so wltl 
Water for Stock nn<I Water Ruins. G. W. all of the 1 
Livermore, Confer Lisle, N. Y., lias a Spring four q^e | ua q v 
or live lent higher than his yard, but intervening loam, plan 
is a depression of twenty-live foot. Ho asks If exposed, h 
the pressure will bo sufficient to overcome the distant, pli 
depression. No answer from tho Club, but the the yields i 
Rural thinks, yes.' the compi 
Exposure for Peach Trees.— G. M. BUS! 1 NELL, course, ow 
LawtOll, Mich., wants to plant two hundred gave the b< 
poach trees this spring, and asks whether ho year’s stab 
shall plant them in the sand on fclio south side or Dyck man 
a hill, or on a heavy loam on the north side. P. most. A n 
Tr Quinn says It muBt depend upon varieties, proved by 
and upon whether he is in a locality subject to planting t 
late spring frosts. If exempt from these spring generally l 
frosts, and tho varieties to bo planted are early, those of tli 
—say, Halo's Early,—the south side is the best liner than 
place; but if late varieties, and spring frosts oc- crepancy i 
cur, It is better to plant on the south side of the also uotiei 
hill. Dr. Trimble said if ho was near Lake ofplautin, 
MIchigan, lie supposed ho was exempt from late as wc 'l a \ 
frosts to endanger the blossoms, Mr. Lawton ; ' 1 great dl 
had succeeded, in Westchester Co., N. Y., in pro- the dlfferc 
ducing Apricots (which always bloom earlier curious on 
than the peach) by planting them on the north himself, ai 
side of his buildings. Dr. Trimule had sue- of plautin 
cccded with the same fruit by planting it. on the vvimt HI 
west side of a hill high enough to protect the Batavia, I 
blossoro3 from tho morning sun. Mr. Quinn t)f tboOlu 
stated that during u recent trip in Delaware and an ,j myg . 
Maryland, peach growers had told him that they p( , ( . t () 
had rather have half to three-fourths of their pounds, h 
crop destroyed by spring frosts t han not, for past scvci 
one-fourth of a crop proved more profitable thirty eo’ 
than tho whole one they had the past season. house, on 
The Hotter the Heed tho Hotter the Crop, — Ol the till 
SYLVBBXfiR Knapp, Sayville, L. (.:—My theory greater p 
is that large wholo potatoes are best for plant- verses of 
ing, for the reason that there is more moisture you what 
and richness to give tlm new potatoes a start, a trade, h 
and that the rule with grain will hold good wirh factory ? 
potatoes— the bettor t be seed the better the crop but wont 
-and although by planting small seed you may theservh 
not see the difference tho first year, but by sue- ness?" 5 
cessivo planting they will deteriorate, so that skilled ii 
thero will soon ho a very perceptible difference housewoi 
between them and those raised from large and Good die 
Red Peach niow. t I t M 2-3 r: 
j.’i 12 7H [ »I3« 51 
London White... 3 tl I 2 It 1 , 90 
..Monitor.. ! 50 12 
Erick*. <n.lit 51) 13 70 
Casco White. I 3 1 73 1-2 11); 55 
llyckman. 4 40 it) 100 
Samaritan... 2 l t it 1-220 I 90 
Bluok Mercer.,8 1 t ,71 17). 50 
Red Forfarshire. :4 70 10 57 
.Snbee .-.It 8-1 20 33f 200 
— I 15-00 l 
—is! 2.00 U 
—I 2 5.00 I 
—125| 2.25 0 
— 16 10.00 7 
— « 2.50 8 
.OP 11 2.25 3 
03 20 2.50 4 
-- 23 3.00 10 
— 7 2.00 15 
- 3 1.50 10 
.0122 L.'iO — 
.05 21 2.13 « 
21 2,00 11 
.(til 9 I 25, 
tt 8.00 0 
,05 10 1.23- 
.wu 1,(0 - 
.05|20 I.OUi- 
IU. '* 2.2.7 13 
— 1* 1.50]- 
.50 4 2.28 13 
- is; loo - 
- ip t .oo — 
.50 13- 1.00| - 
.Solan).i t SA 20 3Sf *00 .50 4 2.28 13 
Skerry Blue.3 10 2-3. 5) v 240 -IS LOO- 1 
Palter nop....18 12 1 4 ,,,1280 1 - V.) t.m 
White Mercer...,[3 t-4 I 5 5-7, il, 700 .«>jin i.oo i - 
Average. . 1 219 . 50 i 00 ^ooj 
Mr. Brown adds in explanation “ In the first 
place, us most, of these potatoes wore planted on 
different kinds of soil, in order tho bettor to teat 
tho comparative merits, the results were ob¬ 
tained by averaging the yields of the different 
varieties, as, for instance, one piece of Harlson 
gave ino 130 bushels to the aero, another 48, aud 
another 100, the average being S3 for the wholo, 
and so with the other kinds. The treatment <>f 
all of the kinds in each several plots was alike. 
The land varied from warm, deep, rich alluvial 
loam, planted middle of April, to cold, northerly 
exposed, high, stony, and poor soil, two miles 
distant, planted the 151 h of May. This affects [ 
tho yields of most of the varieties seriously, but 
the comparison is the better sustained. Of 
course, owing to the drought, tho earliest plots 
gave tho best results, and, as compared with last 
year’s statement, tho Sebee, Goodrich, Rose and 
Dyokman scorn to have felt dry wouthor the 
most. Another fact not to bo overlooked, as 
proved by those experiments, is the folly Of 
planting too much seed. My plan has been 
generally to plant largo potatoes of each sort; 
those of tho newer and more vigoi'ous kinds cut 
finer than the other, and this accounts for dis¬ 
crepancy in amount of seed to tho acre. It is 
also noticeable that difference of soil and of time 
of planting both affect tho quality of the potato 
as well as the yield; the early planted is tho best. 
A great, difference of profit, to the acre between 
tho different kinds is another feature which the j 
curious can readily reckon from these data for 
himself, and this shows Mm supreme importance 
of planting tho best. 
YVhuc Hhull tho Maiden Do 1 —Minnie Frost, 
Batavia, N. Y., writes tho handsome Commander 
of the Club a complimentary preface to a letter, 
and says:—“I am twenty-threo years old, in 
perfect health, weigh one hundred and fifty 
pounds, have always lived in a dairy, and for the 
past seven years have tnaduull tho oh cose from 
thirty cows, besides having ah tlio care of the 
house, our family consisting of sjx persons most 
of tlm l imu. I also umde the butter and did tho 
greater part of the sowing. Owing to tho re¬ 
verses of fortune my homo is broken, and I ask 
you what shall I do t hat will pay the best learn 
a trade, hire out as housekeeper, or in a ohee.se 
factory? 1 understand all kinds of housework, 
but would prefer tho cheese factory. What are 
the services of a good girl worth in that busi¬ 
ness?” Mr. Curtis replied that unless she is 
skilled in choose making she had better do 
housework, for which there is always a demand. 
Good cheese makers, who know how to make an 
article adapted to the English market, can com- CTj 
mand good wages. Wages for cheese makers lr 
range from $15 to $100 per month, depending J- 
upon skill. In the West they pay more for such Y 
skill that* ill the East. But It should be romem- J, 
bored that the cheese making season is only f 
about six months. Mr. Doty suggested that tho J< 
fact that good cheese makers got more than 
poor ones was an inducement to choose that vo¬ 
cation in preference) to tho drudgery of house¬ 
work', where the day begins with dawn aild ends 
at ton o'clock at night. In one case the maiden 
would have a chance to advance in dull and get 
pay in proportion; in the other there is no ad¬ 
vancement. Mr. Fuller Indignantly denied 
the statement that people are nut. Willing to pay 
good, faithful housekeepers well. A young wo¬ 
man capable of and willing to take charge of a 
house can command almost any price especially 
if she fo faithful and economical in the discharge 
of her duties. There la a great demand in city, 
suburbs and country for just such persons, and 
he advised her to stick to tho housework. The 
whole subject was finally referred to a commit¬ 
tee ot' handsome bachelors, (sadly in need of 
housekeepers,) consisting of P. T. Quinn, New¬ 
ark, N. J., worth $20,000 to $30,000, and who 
never married a rich widow, and a young editor, 
A. B. Crandall, of this city, who ia rich lu 
beauty and goodness, if not otherwise. Wo 
shall endeavor to procure and publish the report. 
To Destroy Cut-worm*.—8. II. Templeton, 
Now Richmond, <)., ran a roller over a portion 
of his corn-ground after dark,and after the cut¬ 
worms began to appear, cross-ways the rows, zig¬ 
zagging about. Where be thus used the roller 
tho cut-worms did not trouble the young corn 
afterward; where he did not use I ho roller they 
did destroy it. Dr. Thimble asked Him to in¬ 
form tho Club if he found t he worms smashed 
in the morning. 
Products <>f Cows. Thomas J. IIURBKY, Maco- 
don, N. Y., writes the Club, concerning four 
cows milked by him the past, season, tho average 
time of calving lining April 18. lie says: —“ Sold 
three calves, four weeks old, for $37.25; rnlsod 
one worth $15; butter made during tho season, 
1,113pounds, average price per pound, 33 cents, 
$367.2!): also uunlo 1,508 pounds pork, at £12 per 
hundred, $188.1*5 total, $61)7.70. Said hogs con¬ 
sist ot a sow aud seven pigs, being ten days old 
tho 181b of April, for which I paid $35. Iu addi¬ 
tion to the sour milk were led with 100 bushels 
of pot-1 toes, worth $30; It) bushels of corn, worth 
$11); ID bushels ol barley screenings, worth $5— 
total, $80. Product, of cows, $517-70. Income 
from each cow, $129.1%. Tlio said cows were 
fod nil nothing but grass until the 22d of No- 
vombor, when they wero put upon clover hay 
that laid been summered over, and a peek of po¬ 
tatoes each, daily, and are DOW making seven¬ 
teen pounds per week.” 
Black-Leg lu Cattle. James A. Thompson, 
Ki Manning, Pa., tells tho Club ho and some of his 
neighbors are losing stock with black-leg. Wants 
a remedy. No answer given. 
Practical English Ditchers Wanted. — W. H. 
Dijnuan, Greenwood, Did., writes that there Isa 
demand for good, practical dttch-dlgging Eng¬ 
lishmen (here who know how to lay tile, and 
adds j—“ Tl Ie-dmining is fit It6 Infancy hero, and 
while MlO establishments tiro multiplying fast, 
und t.llo plenty at reasonable rates, good ditchers 
are vary scarOo. Our Irish HUfihers generally 
construct drains from two to two and a-hall' feet 
deep, and contend that this is better than deep¬ 
er, aud many farmers bcliovo it. My experience 
the past season iu placing tile three feet deep has 
proved to a demonstration the falsity of such 
nonsense. What wo need most now are good, 
practical men whoarowillingtoconstructdrtilns 
as lulu down by our best writers on the Mibjeet. 
In constructing ray drain 1 was governed by 
Henry Fuenum'S work, and my drains are giv¬ 
ing perfect satisfaction, and will quite pay their 
entire cost tho first season by Iho Inoraaso of 
crop.” Dr. Trim due read an extract from a let¬ 
ter received from C'uas. 8. Wior.n, Penobscot Co., 
Me., in which he says many farmers Micro have 
caught tho draining pet of otic of your leading 
members, and have Spent muoh money in tins 
foolish way. The money so spent, has been wast¬ 
ed In every Instance. One of your savans told 
us somo years ago, “that all lands that wero 
worth cultivation at all would more than repay 
L the cost of under-draining.’’ Now, is Micro nny 
wonder Miat farmers should bo lod, In a measure, 
’ to distrust what such men say about farming; 
* when such crude, loose, unmitigated extrava¬ 
gances are allowed to go tho world us agricultu¬ 
ral facts? Prof. Wiutnby very sensibly replied 
1 that, there was no sensible man who believed 
Unit draining would pay on nil kinds of soils, 
j There are soils naturally drained, upon which 
money should be expended in supplying them 
^ with manure. Stiff, tenacious soils generally 
g I repay drainage; but soils with porous, deepsub- 
t soils, often do not. Common souse is us essential 
!> to a farmer’s success as manure and drain tile. 
s Rutter from Alderney t’oiv*. Mrs. E. Lyon, 
,t New London, Conn., exhibited u sample of but- 
d ter made from the milk of Alderneys, and asks 
0 if butter made from tho milk of this breed is 
is worth more in market than Mint mudo from tlio 
d milk of native breeds. Tlio butter was u golden 
u yellow, and it was stated that, the richness of Al- 
deruey cream was such as to give color to tho 
it butter made from llie milk of other cows, when 
s- mixed therewith. Other qualities being equal, 
is a gold-colored butter sells the beat; and to this 
ie extent the Alderney butter is more valuable, 
x, Whether It is more profitable to keep Alderneys 
it. on this account, must depend on tlm relative 
■n amount of butter made from them m propor- 
ic uou to the money Invested in tho animals and 
>r In feeding them. One gentleman thought a good 
;o deal depended upon how cows of the same breed 
wero bred —whether they wero the result of 
breeding for quantity or quality of milk. An- 
T ’ other gentleman said that he doubted i f any man 
“ l over know a cow that was a good milker that 
:r ’ was not a good feeder; and if snob a cow wero 
in dried of her milk, she would toy on flesh well. 
' y . He thought there was a good deal of twaddle 
10 talked about breeding for milk. 
I 1(J Kurpriwe OaU.- A Trumtuisburgh, N. Y.,eorrc- 
ist spondent of tho Club sends a sample of oats 
ho which ho says yielded eighty bushels per acre, 
0 _ and weighed forty pounds to the bushel. Ho 
s j { asks If they aro Norway oats. Mr. Carpenter 
nl thinks they are Surprise oats. 
. sr . Gypsum from Pnimvllle, IV. Y. Kin BARBER 
•k, sends samples of rock, which he says Is believed 
u-e by somo to bo gypsum. Asks if any ono can 
si- toll. One sample, which the Rural saw, was a. 
is conglomerate, which we doubt if it contained a 
do trace of gypsum. The Professor of Chemistry 
id. examined the throe samples, a ad expressed his 
nu doubts if they were gypsum. , 
