1872..] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
T4.5 
MieSBig’asi AgTictiltBii’aiil Collcgi 1 .- 
This, the oldest, and in many respects the best of our 
agricultural colleges, sends us its catalogue, which indi¬ 
cates that the institution is enjoying a well-deserved 
prosperity. For information, address Richard Ilaigh, 
Jr., Sec’y, or Prof T. C. Abbott, Pres’t, Lansing, Mich. 
Canadii <ga»ei-Ics.—A correspondent at 
Montreal, whose name we can not make out, asks if it 
would pay for him to plant an orchard. For this we must 
refer him to local experience. It is difficult to give lists 
of apples for a particular locality. Among the hardiest 
varieties are Red Astrachan, Sops of Wine, Duchess of 
Oldenburg, Early Joe, Tollman Sweet, Fameuse, St. 
Lawrence, Wagoner, Pomine Gris, Golden Russet, and 
Northern Spy. Trees usually come into profitable bearing 
in6or7 years. Stable manure, at “reasonable rates,” is 
better for nearly all purposes than concentrated manures. 
TB«e CsalifToj-siiiii Vintage.— The circu¬ 
lar of J M Curtis informs us that owing to the late cold 
spring and severe frosts in April, the vintage may be set 
down as fully twenty per cent less than the average. 
Wire Fcsice. —A. Hnnce & Son, Monmouth 
Co.. N. J., writes us of what they know of wire fences as 
follows : As to fence wire, we would advise, after a very 
satisfactory experience of twenty years, No. 8 annealed. 
One pound will measure fifteen feet. We use five strands 
for cattle, and use No. 7 for the middle strand ; posts six 
feet apart, end post well braced and secured ; wires 
tightened whenever required by a cheap apparatus simi¬ 
lar to that used in cording a bedstead. 
Smwtty Wheat, —“Mrs. M. L. B.,” Mon¬ 
tana. Smutty wheat is not wholesome food for fowls 
nor for any other animal. Boiling might prevent in¬ 
jurious results.' 
Ece«liiiag Fowls. —“W. N. T.” wants to 
know how much corn would feed 500 fowls for one day, 
and if it would pay to keep fowls for eggs alone.—The 
allowance of grain is a quarter of a pint per day per fowl. 
If they have a good run, where -they can get grass and in¬ 
sects, one bushel per head per year is a proper allowance. 
Our experience has been that fowls kept for eggs alone 
will not always pay, but when chickens are raised, the 
eggs pay expenses, and the chickens yield a good profit. 
But there must be tact and experience. 
Mana.geBM.emt of Morses and Cat¬ 
tle.— “ Subscriber” will find Allen’s American Cattle 
and McClure’s Diseases of Horses, Cattle, and Sheep 
valuable books to put in the bauds of a manager of a 
stock-farm. 
Corn-Stalks.— “J. F. P.,” Fredericksburgb, 
Va., has 100 tons of corn-stalks ; hitherto he has burned 
them, but is ashamed to confess it; now what can he do 
to avoid this waste ?—No one should be ashamed to con¬ 
fess his faults, but confess, repent, and learn better. 
There is a better way which has been frequently pointed 
out by the Agriculturist, which is to cure them and feed 
them to stock. This may be done by throwing them to 
the cattle in a yard or pen, when the finer portions are 
eaten, and the rest trampled down into manure; or, which 
is far better, cutting them up, wetting and sprinkling 
them with bran or mill-feed, when they will be eaten up 
clean. Horses, cows, and oxen will eat and thrive upon 
such food, if the slalte are well cured. 
Wc repeat, that no one is bound to notice 
a letter which has no proper signature. We also repeat 
that we never print a name when the writer indicates that 
he would not like to have us do so. Sign letters what¬ 
ever you please, but give us also the real name and place 
if you expect us to attend to your requests. 
About West In reply to “ J. R. 
W.,’ Portland, Me., candidates for admission to West 
Point must be between the ages of 13 and 21. They 
should be prepared for examination in the ordinary 
brandies of English education, preparatory mathematics, 
and United States history. Appointments are made one 
from each Senatorial district and ten at large. The course 
is five years, and appointments are made as vacancies 
occur. Inquiries as to vacancies, etc., should be made 
of the Senatoi from your district. 
IPiassts Naaned. — “G. A.,” Stanhope, 
Prince Edward Island. Your plant is Sonchus arvensis, 
or Field Sow-Thistle It is one of the weeds introduced 
into the United States and Canadas with grass and other 
field seeds sent from Europe. The plant is best eradicated 
by plowing the land in the fall thoroughly harrowing it, 
and putting in some crop which requires careful cultiva¬ 
tion ; or the land may be allowed to remain idle during 
the summer, and plowed and harrowed at least once a 
week during the season .A. E. Treadway, Havre de 
Grace, Md. No. 1. is Triosteum perfoliatum. commonly 
• known as Feverwort, or Horse Gentian ; No. 2, Euphor¬ 
bia polygoiiifolia, or Shore Spurge, a very common plant 
along the Atlantic coast.“II. H. B.,” Pleasant Green, 
Va. It is impossible to name grasses from leaves alone ; 
either send them in flower, or with ripe seeds. Your 
other plant is a species of Aster, probably A-ster Trades- 
canli. It is necessary to send the whole plant, or at least 
the flowers and root leaves, in order to determine asters 
accurately, as there are upwards of fifty species in the 
Northern States. 
.ligi'icullural Schools. — The general 
failure of the efforts to make agricultural colleges what 
they were designed to be, seems to have turned the ideas 
of private parties towards attempting something which 
may take the place intended for them, or at least do their 
work. We understand that Thomas Judd, a wealthy 
farmer of Illinois, has about completed arrangements for 
opening an industrial agricultural college, in which prac¬ 
tical and scientific studies shall be open to young men 
and women. A farm of 160 acres of land will be attached 
to the college. Competition is said to be the life of busi¬ 
ness ; it may also help our agricultural colleges. 
The “ fkernal Corn.” —A highly’intel¬ 
ligent lady who has a somewhat rare knowledge—for a 
lady—of stock and other agricultural matters, made use 
of this expression in a conversation with us the other 
day. It was an apt expression. Our corn crop has be¬ 
come so immense that the inquiry. What will we do with 
it ? becomes exceedingly apropos. Corn is worth ten 
cents a bushel'in the far West. At such a price it had 
been better not to have raised it, for there;is no profit in it. 
But what shall we do about it ? Feed it! is a general re¬ 
commendation. And this, though at present in most 
cases impracticable, must at some time be done. How to 
do it must be studied out, and the way learned as soon as 
possible, for it won’t do to raise corn to burn always. 
Time ItlnlTton (Mo.) Yi«eyH**«ls, es¬ 
tablished in 1867 by a stock company, under the direction 
of Mr. Husmann, of Missouri, with some 1,500 acres of 
land, and many buildings and other improvements, 
which have cost over one hundred thousand dollars, have 
been sold lately under mortgage. The present owners 
now offer the entire property for rent for a long term of 
years. These lands are known to be very superior for 
grape and fruit-growing. 
Clticlcens williont :i Mother.—“ J. 
W. B.,” Carlisle, Mass., is troubled with lice on his young 
chickens, and asks: Can chickens be taken from the hen 
as soon as batched, and reared successfully ? And if so, 
how ?—There is but little difficulty in hatching chickens 
artificially, but the trouble begins when it is undertaken 
to rear the brood. Our correspondent had better get rid 
of the lice, and leave his chicks with their mother. 
Sprinkle the nest freely with sulphur, and give the hen 
herself a dusting two or three times during her sitting. 
Mow to Met Early Clover.— Top-dress 
it with manure in the fall. It would have been better 
earlier, but may yet be done. The manure protects the 
plants and enriches them at the same time. 
Mow many Rows on aia Ear of 
Corn ?—“ E. N. H.” asks what is the largest number of 
rows of corn on an ear we have seen or know of.—Wc 
have raised corn with 32 rows on an ear, but believe we 
have heard of more. Have any of our readers? 
No Milk.—“S. T.,” Morristown, has a young 
Alderney cow, with her second calf, which has no milk. 
With her first calf, she gave bloody milk out of one teat, 
and dried up in two months. He thinks this is an un¬ 
usual case, and asks if she would be likely to milk if she 
bad another calf. We never met with so bad a case, in a 
cow at least, and fear that she would never be worth 
keeping. Can any one advise him what to do ? 
How to Renovate a n Olcl Apple 
Orchard witliout Plowing.— We have only 
space to answer this question briefly. Prune judiciously, 
and manure heavily. Do not put the manure round the 
trunks of the trees, but spread it all over the ground. 
Ashes, leached or unleached, are excellent; so is lime or 
bone-dust. But superphosphate and nitrate of soda would 
probably act quicker than any other application. 
Tlie Cotton States Association 
Fair. —The Cotton States Association compriies some 
of the most active business men in Augusta, Ga., and vi¬ 
cinity. It has near the beautiful city of Augusta ample 
grounds, which are well arranged and tastefully orna¬ 
mented, and offer every facility to exhibitors and spec¬ 
tators. Its fair was held in October last, but as the 
weather was adverse, the result was a pecuniary loss. 
There were many interesting things exhibited, and though 
some departments were less full than usual, the show of 
stock was remarkably fine. Some animals exhibited by 
A. B. Allen & Co., and by Wm. Crozier, both from New 
York, attracted much attention. The Brahmin cattle, both 
pure and grade, shown by Mr. Peters, were among the 
novelties. Of fruit there was a most meager display, but 
Floral Hall was made attractive by the abundant and 
tastefully arranged contributions of the President, Mr. P. 
J. Berckmans. The Association did everything to deserve 
success, some of the most prominent business men giving 
their whole time and personal attention to the different, 
departments. We hope that another season fairer skieB 
and a more abundant attendance of both exhibitors and 
visitors will reward the efforts of the courteous officers. 
“ PATENT MEDICINES.”—Rec¬ 
ipe for Getting IS ids s Get from the medical dispen¬ 
satories, or elsewhere, any simple stimulating compound 
or tonic, or take cheap whiskey and color it, adding any 
cheap stuff to give it a medicinal taste. Adopt any name 
you choose, the more nonsensical or mysterious the bet¬ 
ter—one having an Indian, or Japanese, or Turkish sound 
will be all the better. Employ the glass-blower, or prin¬ 
ter, or both, to get up fanciful bottles, or boxes, or labels. 
Look out that the package, contents included, don’t 
cost over 5 to 8 cents. Assume for yourself a name, as 
near that of some noted physician as you dare go, and 
add to the end of it M.D. , F.R.S., D.M.D., etc., etc. 
Write a long story about your great age, experience, and 
success abroad. Invent 50 to 100 or 1,000 wonderful enres 
wrought by your medicines, giving names in full, with 
residences, date, etc., but be careful to not blunder into 
giving any real name of any person living in the same 
place. (An improvement is to refer specially to one or 
two persons, and have an ally at the place, to receive let¬ 
ters of inquiry, and write false letters confirming the 
story you tell of their being cured.) If you connect with 
your medicine a touching story about some old mythical 
person, or Indian, or South American, all the better. 
These matters arranged, advertise your medicines 
largely. Print and scatter circulars, pamphlets, and pic¬ 
tures by the ton. Call for agents, and let them give away 
samples of your medicine, to be paid for if it does good. 
You may begin in a small way with a few hundred dol¬ 
lars (printing is cheap now), but five or ten thousand dol¬ 
lars or more will make a more brilliant show, and produce 
large proportional returns. Result. —You will reach a 
multitude of weak, nervous, ignorant people who are 
slightly ailing, or think they are. They will take your 
stimulating or tonic preparations, and “feel better” 
right away. They will believe they have escaped or been 
cured of some terrible disease (the symptoms of which 
you should take gcod care to set forth vividly in your 
circulars). Henceforth, you have not only a regular cus¬ 
tomer, but one who will sign your certificates of cure as 
strong as you can write them, and who will talk up the 
wonderful virtues of your medicines to others. A dozen 
of your bottles or packages, costing you less than a 
dollar for the whole, if given away in any neighborhood, 
will find you one or two ardent customers, and thence¬ 
forth you may depend upon the annual sale of a hun¬ 
dred bottles or parcels, at $1, $2, or $3 each—the price to 
depend upon the skill you use (or buy of some penny-a- 
liner) in writing up the medicines. The druggist of the 
town, as your “agent,” will of course help scatter the 
mediciue if you give a liberal profit. If you set aside 
three quarters of the receipts to cover cost of bot¬ 
tles, advertising, commissions to retailers or agents, etc., 
you will still have a net profit of say $50 a year from each 
town where your medicine is well introduced. If you 
only secure 1,000 such towns in the whole country, you 
still get the modest income of $50,000 a year! Do you 
ask, “Is this all true ?” We answer, that this Is a fair 
history of the patent-medicine business— 
with the variations of pills which give relief to some 
cases, and opiates which under the name of soothing 
syrups, etc., give quiet to young and obi babies at the 
expense of future health. We have several other recipes 
in reserve to give. 
SUNDRY HUMBIKSS.-Ouv newer 
readers keep inquiring about the trustworthiness of 
this, that, and the other doctor for various diseases. 
We answer, that every so-called physician, every 
medical institute, or college, or association that 
advertises medicines or medi.cal advice, by circular 
or otherwise, is a quack—in short., a swindle. The 
whole tribe of those who advertise “marriage 
guides,” “ female medicines,” “ advice to the young,” 
“ errors of youth,” “ eye doctors,” “ car doctors,” “ con- 
snmption-curers,” “cancer doctors or medicines,” etc., 
etc., are positively quacks and impostors, to whom it is 
unsafe to address even a letter of inquiry .A lot 
