dense enough for such a purpose. For 
posts it is second to but two timbers, cedar 
and live oak. Our brush fences are made 
by setting up two lines of posts, with a 
space of, say one foot between, and tilling 
up this space with mesquit brush laid length¬ 
wise and crowded down. By renewing or 
laying a course of brush on top, once a 
year, we have a durable, cheap fence that 
will turn any animal larger than a rat. The 
trouble of renewing, where mesquit grows 
as plentifully as it does with us, is not greater 
than that required to repair the common 
rail fence. By the use of brush fences we 
save our valuable timbers. 
The Asli-Lcaved Mnplp. 
In the Rural New-Yorker of May 14th, 
1870, ment ion is made of the sugar-producing 
qualities of the ash-leaved maple, or box 
elder (Negundo acerokks) A tree called by 
us box elder is abundant in our river bot¬ 
toms, and so far has been valueless, except 
as a material for hoe handles. If, however, 
it will produce sugar, we can easily make it 
a source of some profit. I want to learn 
the time-and modus opemndi of extracting 
the sugar. 
Yearn ago, when a boy, I spenttliree years 
in the North, and can remember something 
about making maple sugar, but not enough 
to help me in an experiment of this kind. 
,7, B. POLLEY. 
Sutherland .Spring's, Texas, 1870. 
Remarks. —In brief, in early spring when 
the ground freezes nights and thaws days, 
and the sap starts hi the trees, the maples 
are tapped by boring into their sides with 
an inch auger, and inserting therein spouts 
through which the sap flows into buckets 
upon the ground (or suspended from the 
trees) beneath them. This sap is gathered 
and evaporated in kettles or pans to a thick 
sirup and crystalizes, becoming sugar. The 
details of the process have been again and 
again published in the Rural. We thank 
our correspondent for his letter and the in¬ 
formation contained therein concerning the 
mesquit. Hope we may hear from him 
again. 
grew, and thrived vlgorousty; and these will 
give a few bunches, I trust, next year, from 
which 1 hope to obtain something “ new 
under the sun.” I watered the bed every 
other day, as this kind of manure will be¬ 
come very dry. Woodman, 
Stanford, Ky., 1870. 
ger of injuring the land by using it too freely? 
and arc its benolloial effects confined to sandy 
soils, as most farmers seem to think ? T think T 
have realized good results from Its application 
to various crops on clay soils. Plaster costs, de¬ 
livered here at our doors, about $11 per ton. 1 
consider if a rlioap fertilizer, and if there is no 
danger from ifs too extensive use, 1 shall apply 
if. more freely. Professor Nash replied: It, re¬ 
quires about forly-lwo Indies of rain-fall to dis¬ 
solve eighty pounds of plastor, therefore eighty 
pounds is enough if there is an annual applica¬ 
tion ; but If It is only Intended to put on plaster 
say every five years, then, oTcourse, the quanti¬ 
ty may be greater, for It, producesan effect upon 
crops so long as it retmimsaindlHsolved. Dr. 
Trtmblic stated (what the Editor of the Ritual 
does not believe to be a. face,) Mint after a few 
applications to the soil plaster ceases to act. 
Ground requires but little plaster. [This do- 
ponds upon the condition and character of the 
soil and the kind of crop, as well as upon the 
modo of application. Eos. Rural. 
The Crow Again. — Dr. H. J. Purdy, Seneca 
Falls, N. Y„ thinks “ the crow subserves about 
the same uso In a community as the bed-bug. l 
set him down as a thief of the first water. He 
wilt pull corn and rob birds’-nosts and commit 
other depredations too numerous to mention, 
and should be treated ns an outlaw and shot 
whenever found. Sitting in the Farmers'Club 
rooms and praising the good qualities of the 
crow and going forth in the hot sun to replant 
half of a cortHleld after having your corn pulled 
by thocrows, I consider ns two sides of !lt« ques¬ 
tion* and I think if our friend, Dr. Trim mac, had 
to personally superintend the re-planting a few 
times in a season Ids views of the bird's good 
points would change radically. There may be 
something In having green corn in the fall, when 
the crop should he harvested, but not enough, 
in my opinion, to cover the loss." Mr. Corns 
said this correspondent docs not know as much 
as he thinks he does, or else he is as full of pre¬ 
judice as all ogg is of meat. True, the crow pulls 
a little corn : but nine months In the year (when 
the ground is bare) they are steadily foraging 
upon the enemies of the farmer’s crops. The 
little damage they do docs not amount, financial¬ 
ly, to anything. If a man is a fool and don't 
take the precautions,easily taken,to prevent t he 
crow damaging Ids crops, ho may have some 
fault to Hud with the bird ; but lie is a greater 
and better friend to the farmer than enemy. Mr. 
Fuller asked if this correspondent supposed 
that the members of this Otubdid nothing else 
than sit and talk for the cdilleutiort of outsiders. 
Dr. Trimble had re-planted whole fields of com 
destroyed by crows; but it was bis own fault. 
In ono case he went to t he weeds and caught a 
young orow, tied it lo a stake lit the center of 
the corntlold, and it kept up a most hideous 
howling* so much so that all thocrows In (he 
vicinity gathered together about the prisoner 
and howled too; but they made up their minds 
it was not a healthy place for crows and let tho 
com atone; and tho next season they avoided 
that Held, although tt was again planted with 
corn. 
Snlt for Whcnt,—J. Q. A. IjORTNGTER, f.anrel- 
ville. Pa., has wheat and oats that, lodge, and 
asked if he should apply salt to such soil. Prof, 
\V HtTNEY said no reliance can tic placed tieforo- 
Iruid on tho action of salt in any given case, or 
for any given crop, for the reason that its opera¬ 
tion may depend upon any one of a dozen dif¬ 
ferent causes. IT there is a deficiency of soda 
In the soil,salt may supply It; the decomposi¬ 
tion of tho salt may, by liberating one of Its 
components, chlorine, hasten the germination 
of the seed, this element being believed to have 
this effectspoolfloatly; or the salt dissolving in 
the soil may, as is known to be frequently the 
ease, help the solution of insoluble phosphates. 
The ash of wheat kernels contains nearly four 
per cent, of soda, the ash of the straw nearly 
two and a-half per cent., and that, of tho chaff 
more than one and throe-fourths per cent, ltls 
likely, therefore, that salt will prove bouetlciut 
to wheat, hut this can only bo found by actually 
applying it to a piece of ground and watching 
the result. 
A Mountain Ash Falls to Fruit.— ,1. H. WoOD- 
BtTtiN, Kingsville, O., has a mountain ash treo 
which bloom3 regularly, but matures no fruit. 
Asks for tho cause and a remedy. Dr. Thimble 
tbought the borer might be at work at the roots 
and so weaken Die tree us to prevent it maturing 
fruit. Mr. Fuller said tho borer, if that was 
the trouble, would soon kill the tree. Ho more 
thought the soil was too dry and the tree needed 
mulching. 
The Hcuppernong Grape Defaulted.—C. W. GAR¬ 
RETT Sc Co., Ridgewood, N. C., writes “ In tho 
report, of .tune 2fl we not,lee the remarks of Mr. 
Fuller on the Scuppornong grape. He either 
knows nothing of what he is talking about or 
designedly misrepresents this grape. It will not 
grow to any advantage North of tho line of this 
State, nor furl her West In tho State than Ra¬ 
leigh. Wo believe it will do bettor in Eastern 
North Carolina, than anywhere in the world. It 
docs not belong to the “ Fox" class of grapes, 
having distinct characteristics. It commences 
to bear tho third year, and will beur as much 
fruit the third year as tho Concord or any nther 
vino. It. is capable ol’ producing 2,000 gallons of 
wine to the acre. Wo offer to prove that the 
must from tins grape, properly cultivated, will 
weigh, on Oeaehio’s scale, 98* of sugn r. We have 
tho official statement, of Dr, Antisell, Depart¬ 
ment Chemist, r>f Washington City, that I he wino 
capacity is equal to any native grape, showing 
from ton to fourteen per cent, of alcohol. Wo 
haw wine in our cellar which we have recently 
compared with Johannisberger, for which we 
paid $8 per gallon in New York, and wo think 
Mr. F. cannot decide which is which. We have 
Jive acres in grapes from which wo made last 
season 6,000 gallons of wine, and we havo ono 
acre for w Itieh we would not take $2,000 to-day. 
Wo uso no whisky nor any form of alcohol in 
our wine, mid we are making sparkling wino, 
white and red, which wo are willing to have 
tested with any native brands of wine. Wo 
know vines in this State which have borne crops 
for sixty-five years without a. failure. It tins no 
disease. It blooms after all danger from frosts 
has passed. Tho Walter Raleigh vine, on Roa¬ 
noke Island, which was three inches in diameter 
in 1010, now covers an acre, and last year pro¬ 
duced $3,000 worth of wine. Ono vine in Tyrrell 
Co., N. <’., last year produced SyWO gallons of 
wine. H is a natural sparkler, and admirably 
adapted for making spark ling Wine. These facts 
we arc prepared to establish, and could say much 
more for the grape If wo could bo heard. Mr. 
Fuller would do welt to study tt In its nattvo 
place before he exposes his ignorance agaiu.” 
r ztmziom 
THE GRAPE PROSPECT 
AMERICAN INST. FARMERS’ CLUB 
From Liockport, N. Y. 
Though not a noted “ grape region,” we 
yet grow and ripen hardy grapes in all 
"grape seasons,” which the present prom¬ 
ises to be in reality. The prospect certainly 
never was better at this season. Nearly nil 
varieties are carrying n full crop, and the 
period of ripening promises to be a month 
earlier than last year. The Hartford is 
bearing a heavy crop, and the bunches ap¬ 
pear compact and large for that variety. 
CONCORD GRAPE. MOISTURE, 
Hnt Exterminator.—W. H. Coy, Gilbert’s Mills, 
N. Y., asks for the safest and surest rat extermi¬ 
nator. No answer was given. 
Cabbage# Attacked. A correspondent, nt Fowl¬ 
er’s Mills, O., destroyed tho worms which at¬ 
tacked his cabbage roots by working untouched 
ashes into tho soil about tho roots. 
Destroying Brakes.— C. F. COBB, Scott, N. V., 
asks how ho can subdue land covered with 
brakes—if mowing them will kill them. Mr- 
The Concord grape will bear a great deal 
of water. IIow it is with oilier vines I can¬ 
not tell 80 explicitly; but, the Concord will 
endure drenching. 1 remember a vine in 
Missouri that was planted under the eaves 
of a carriage building, and in one of the wet¬ 
test seasons that the locality had experiene- 
CINCINNATI INDUSTRIAL. EXPOSITION BUILDING. 
SOUTH-WEST CORNER ELM AND FOURTEENTH STS. ERECTED EXPRESSLY FOR THE EXPOSITION. 
DIMENSIONS OF MAIN BUILDING AS SHOWN IN ABOVE CUT. 
Front—Elm Street 
Depth.. 
Mam Floor. 
Oullory Floors ...... 12 , non square feet. Clei 
Stage.f>r by HO fact. Ctei 
_ .— . “ .<>,270 flqimro foot. Clun 
Power Hall (in tho rear, not atiown in the above cut), 100 by 100 ft. Main floor t 
tU'cmely profitable on cd for over twenty years, the vine thrived 
elawatc, is not over- and boro an exceedingly fine crop; nothing 
rs. The last wet sea- could bo more healthy than the vino, fruit 
to its foliage, which and all. It seemed almost a miracle that, it 
mbltious. Diana car- should withstand such a flood of water 
mpact bunches. Iona which \y»s almost constant. But the ground 
I doubtless ripen up was tolerably drained, so that the Surplus 
ucord is bearing the water was discharged. . 
with us, and hunches We have a vine of oinfo-vn, similarly situ- 
:1s promise finely. No. ated—a Concord, it receives the drenching 
g a large crop of fine of every rain. The vine is eight years’ old, 
rly in bearing here for and has, thus far, been nmtty well-tested. 
am happy to say it One year an eavesdrop wits attached to 
hat lias been claimed carry off t ho water. There was no difference 
lor are, without doubt, observable; the vine bears yearly the lieavi- 
ids. And some of ns esfc (lt orops; it has to be thinned out largely 
ome our lead in"- mar- ( ' l(:h U' iU '- Tliere is little difference in the 
ome out teauin 0 mat Bm0lmt „ r grapt , g j,i cac]l croPi only as tho 
vine increases with age. No other vino of 
t we shall in the future its age is equal to it in the locality. We 
ho California ,y rapo in purposely let the water have access to il 
..in ... . .... .... now. F. G. 
NOTES AND QUERIES. 
I lowing or Burning Ktruw Stubble. — John 
TIaoo of Iowa oaks whether itia better to plow 
under straw stubble and corn Millies or burn It, 
over bol’ore plowing. Dr. Trimblu hail never 
known a good farmer to burn hinsl nbble. Ful¬ 
ler had seen thousands of tons of straw spread 
upon tho land in Wisconsin and burned, and it. 
was tho best, thing to do there, c onsidering Hie 
price and scurclty of labor. Mr. IIiuten knew 
Western lands t hat had boon grievously impov¬ 
erished by the practice. 
Wood Anhc# mi Kandy Soil#. — Mr. RKA.DE 
stated that, a friend of his stated to him that ho 
cut, from four to five tonsof etoveron two acres 
of land, which had been generally treated toil 
dressing of ashes (from tlfly to seventy-five 
bushels to the nere) lor two years, and that on 
other portions of tho same Held Umt had boon 
manured exactly the same, without the ashes, 
tho crop was very much h -s. Tho ashes were 
a mixture of chestnut and oak. Tho land was 
sandy and not very rich. Mr. Fuller said clay 
soils do not need ashes, but they are valuable on 
sandy soil. Mr. Curtis says the only trouble is 
to get. them. 
The Colorado Potato Bug, Dr. Trimble an¬ 
nounced, has arrived in Pennsylvania. 
To Take Wart* from Cow*’ Tent*,—D avid Pet¬ 
tis, Fulton, N. Y„ recommends applying strong 
alum water to the warts twico a day, after 
milking. 
Patent Cow Milker#.—Mr. Rr ADE asked if any 
one present had any experience with these con¬ 
trivances. Mr. CURTIS said ho did net. know of 
a single dairy in tho State t.bufc used them; if 
they were good for anything they would bo used. 
Mr. Parsons said that some i iniosinco he visited 
a man who milked three hundred cows, near 
Philadelphia, and was using those milkers. 
Asked if he liked them,and lie said lie would not 
An Unfruitful Aiudo Tree. 
H. Bailey writes the Rural New- 
Yorker (bis note lias been overlooked until 
now) that lie lias an old apple tree which 
used to bear fifteen or twenty bushels of 
good l’ruit annually ; but for the last eight or 
ten years it lias ceased bearing. It blos¬ 
soms very full every year, but produces lit¬ 
tle fruit. Wants to know what ails the tree. 
It wants feeding. The effort to bloom ex¬ 
hausts it. Give the ground under it a heavy 
top-dressing of cow-stable manure and muck, 
with ashes. Do not stint in the quantity. 
Pay the poor old tree vvliat you owe it. 
Give it a good bath of strong soap suds. We 
will warrant, it will repay such treatment. 
When to Prune Apple Trees. 
A correspondent of the Times, Water- 
town, N. Y., gives the result of his experi¬ 
ence in pruning apple trees as follows:—“ It 
has long been a practice among farmers to 
commence pruning apple trees in February, 
mainly, I suppose, because there is leisure 
time. There are reasons why this should 
not be done. There will not be sufficient 
action ill the tree to harden the surface 
where a limb baa been taken off before the 
sap siscends in the spring. When this action 
does take place, the sap flows out and 
spreads over the surrounding hark, and by 
some chemical action which takes place, it 
is changed to a poisonous fluid, which 
greatly injures the tree. Trim your fruit 
trees in August, and I will guarantee you 
will have no black-hearted trees.” 
GRAPE ROT 
At a recent meeting of the Erie Co., Ohio, 
Horticultural Society and Farmers’ Club, a 
paper by President Oiimkr of the Mont¬ 
gomery County Horticultural Society was 
react. The Secretary sends us the following 
report of tho discussion thereon: 
"The theory of President Oiimf.r in re¬ 
gard to grape rot, as contained in that paper, 
coming as it did from so good authority, was 
pretty fully discussed by many of the mem¬ 
bers, none, however, fully indorsing Mr, 
Ohm er's views as to the primary cause of 
grape rot, resulting from the formation of 
lenses, by globules of water on t he vine, and 
with a focus bearing on the fruit, thus caus¬ 
ing it to turn black and fall off. This t lieory 
was believed to be untenable, from the fact. 
Umt some varieties are almost entirely ex¬ 
empt from the malady; and in this vicinity, 
at least, the rot is of comparatively recent 
occurrence, while the causes, as above, exist, 
with all alike, and Imvc, for nil time. Clus¬ 
ters, also, hidden by the foliage, and away 
from the direct influence of the sun and re¬ 
flections, are equally subject to the rot. 
“Mr. OrtvOEtt’s plan, however, for shelter¬ 
ing the vines from too much moisture, by 
placing a covering over the trellis, was 
highly approved, and the conviction was 
very prevalent, that in some way excessive 
rains and a damp atmosphere lmd much to 
do with the failure of the grape crop. 
“ Col Lindslf.y had observed that a dry 
June, when grapes aro in blossom, is almost 
a sure augury of a good crop. Believes ex¬ 
cessive moisture about the roots of vines to 
Iki highly injurious; would recommend 
plowing the vineyard Into in the fall, throw¬ 
ing the earth towards the vines, leaving the 
center between the rows so low as to collect 
the surplus water as much as possible; be¬ 
lieves in clean culture, but would stir the 
soil ns little as possible during the flowering 
and fruiting season. 
" President Richmond recommended thor¬ 
ough culture for grapes, as for other fruits ; 
believes grapes will rot now, more or less, 
pursue whatever mode of culture we may, 
but would recommend Mr. Oiimer’h plan of 
protection from rain, heavy dews, «fcc. 
"Judge Phillips plows his vineyard as 
latent the fall as the weather will admit, 
throwing the soil to the vines, and in the 
spring reverses the operation, throwing tho 
earth to the center, between the rows; has 
not been successful with all varieties of 
grapes; cultivates now mostly Concord, 
Iona, Hartford and Delaware; likes the 
Iona best for his soil; sold the fruit the past 
season mostly for twenty cents per pound.” 
Blight on Fear Trees. 
J. S. IL, Binghamton, N. Y., writes: 
“Will you please toll me, through the Ru¬ 
ral New-Yorker, what ails a pear tree, 
the leaves of which arts covered with spots 
like those 1 enclose ; and a remedy, if any.” 
We should call it pear blight. We know of 
no remedy. Read IIoopks’ address, pub¬ 
lished in Rural of February 12,1870, page 
111, aud February 19, page 127. 
Apple Tree Twin* Dvina. 
J. B. Buchanan writes:—“ What is the 
matter with my apple trees ? The twigs com¬ 
mence dying all over the tree, and finally, in 
the course of a year or two, the tree dies. I 
have lost some fine trees; also my neighbors. 
Will some of the correspondents of tbo Ru¬ 
ral New-Yorker give cause and cure?” 
We have seen the twigs of apple trees die in 
the manner described, caused by the boring 
of apple-twig borer, (Bostrichm bicaudatus.) 
We have rarely or never seen trees die from 
tbc.se operations, however. We think it 
more likely to be the twig blight. We do 
not know that the cause is known, nor that 
a remedy has been discovered. We should 
cut. ott all twigs affected, as soon as discov¬ 
ered, and bum them. 
Mulching Urn pa Vine#. - o. \V r . Humphrey, 
Kuirbuult, Minn., writes:—“ I have about, a thnu- 
Rnml vines, set two yours ago. A part arc bear¬ 
ing I his year. Some or them tu-c on a hillside, 
where the ground will wash in showers. Our 
summers arc usually hot, and very dry. Will tho 
Vines grow luxuriously under mulching, and 
will they fruit as well and the fruit ripen us 
well? Which I* tho host mulching for thorn, 
straw or coarse manure? The expenseof either 
is only the cost of drawing rind putting on." 
Mr. Fuller (called upon) said he disliked to give 
advice on this subject, ir ids udvicowero fol¬ 
lowed, tho cultivator might lose a crop one sea¬ 
son, and succeed with tho sumo praetico tho 
next. Whether mulching is best, depends upon 
Ihe season. If I he season is wet, mulching may 
cause mildew, even Oil sandy soils; hut. if tho 
soil is well drained and season dry, I would 
muloh. Every man must exercise judgment in 
accepting any advice. Only to save the vines 
and crop from the effects of drouth would I 
mulch. Have lost my crop on sandy soil, in a 
wet season, by mulching. Dr. Hexamsr thought 
the best advice to give In grape culture ism-ith- 
er to mulch nor nianuro. As to the manuring, 
the advice must, ol' course, depend upon the 
quality of the soil. But it is safer not to mulch. 
Mr. GREGORY suggested that Mr. Humphrey 
experiment himself with a vino or two, and 
watch and report results. It is the best way to 
get information. Mr. Fuller said one year’s 
experience would not be enough ; it should con¬ 
tinue a series of years. 
Amount of Plaster on Clover.—Mr. Woodbubn 
writes:—“Tn the uso of plaster upon clover, 
why is it recommended to apply ovo bushel to 
theatre instead of bwo or more? Is there dan¬ 
manure a strawberry bed, we by chance 
hauled it from under a tree oyer which a 
common wild grape vine ran and had shed 
its fruit the full previously. This was scat¬ 
tered quite heavily—some six inches deep— 
over the bed, and that year we had a large 
number of thrifty, beautiful young vines 
come up in our strawberry bed. Out of 
curiosity, and as an experiment, some half 
dozen of the young grape vines were per¬ 
mitted to stand, and some of these grew 
four or five feet long. The wood was 
healthy, sappy, and " fat; ” the leaves large 
and of a beautiful, dark, fresh green. 
Agricultural Inquiry.— Can any of your rea 1 
era toll mo about the character and value of tb 
Cypress trees of the South?—s. a. 
