1874.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
47 
A Kansas Homesteader. —Abraham 
Diffenbaugh, Hutchinson, Reno Co., Kansas, settled upon 
160 acres of land four miles from that town in April, 
1872. He is a miller, and was unacquainted with farm¬ 
ing ; his success therefore is the more encouraging. He 
broke up the first seasou 100 acres, and put part in sod 
corn which did well. The remainder of the season was 
occupied in building and planting trees. The past season 
(1873) he had 80 acres of corn which produced 40 bushels 
per acre; 4 acres of wheat produced 80 bushels; and 10 
acres of oats produced 450 bushels, which were sold for 
30 cents a bushel. Wheat brought $1 a bushel. Potatoes, 
cabbages, tomatoes, melons, and pumpkins, yielded yery 
largely. He has sown 45 acres of fall wheat this season, 
which looks splendid. He has 200 apple trees and 25 
cherry and peach trees, all doing well. All the work 
above mentioned has been done by himself and his son, 
a boy of eleven years, and the expenditure of $40 in 
money. Mr. Diffenbaugh kindly offers to give any advice 
or information to those who write to him for that pur¬ 
pose. Persons thus writing should 1 , of course, inclose a 
stamped envelope for reply. 
Aiand. Sales. — The Atchison, Topeka, and 
Santa Fe Railroad Co. have sold from April, 1873, to Oc¬ 
tober, 87,963 acres of land, at an average price of $5.50 
per acre. For October last the sales were 23,676 acres. 
Soiling 1 Cattle.— “H. D.,” Shipley, Ohio. 
There is no more economical mode of feeding cows for 
the dairy than soiling ; that is, growing crops to be fed 
in, the stable, the cows to be not pastured but exercised 
in a small yard daily. By this system one cow can easily 
be fed the year round from the product of one acre of 
rich soil, and the manure saved is equal, including the 
litter, to one load per head per month. “Quincy upon 
Soiling Cattle,” price $1.25, to be had at this office, is the 
best work upon this subject. 
Wheeler’s Amti Snow-balling- Pad. 
“I. B. S.,” Napanock, N. Y. This pad is an entire pre¬ 
ventive of the gathering of snow-balls in the horse-shoe. 
It, can be affixed by any person without the aid of a 
blacksmith, and we can confidently recommend it from 
personal experience with it during a whole winter. 
Gail BJorflen died in Texas on January 11th, 
at the age of 72. His was a very varied and useful life. 
He was a settler in Texas before its independence, resid¬ 
ed at the North for several years later in life, aiid again 
went to Texas, where he was actively engaged in devel¬ 
oping the resources of the country when he died. He is 
best known to the public as the inventor of meat biscuit, 
condensed milk, condensed beef, etc. Through these 
inventions he had a handsome income, which he freely 
used for benevolent objects. Personally, Mr. Borden 
was a most genial old man, and his too rare visits to 
our office were always productive of pleasure. 
“H. S. I>.,” Thompsonville, Pa. Wo wrote 
a reply to your inquiry, and when about to address the 
letter found you had not given your name. We have fre¬ 
quently given notice that those who do not give us full 
name and address need not expect a reply in the paper. 
More comply with our regulations than we can find room 
to answer, and those who do not observe our repeatedly 
published terms can not expect to have preference over 
those who do. As this was a merely personal matter, we 
took the trouble to write an answer by mail, and do not 
find it pleasant to know that our time has been wasted. 
See Page 75 for other “ Basket ” items. 
Patrons of Industry.- This appears 
to be a weak imitation of the Patrons of Husbandry, the 
constitution and forms belonging to that order being 
mainly copied. Its ostensible object is to unite me¬ 
chanics and laboring men in a body like that of the 
Patrons of Husbandry, but its real object seems to be to 
transfer money from the pockets of those who earn it to 
those of people who live by their wits. The head¬ 
quarters is advertised as being in New York, but we 
have not yet seen any one who has succeeded in finding 
the head men. It looks like a concern that will do no 
harm if let alone. 
The American Dairymen’s Asso¬ 
ciation. —The annual convention of this association 
was held at Utica, N. Y., on the 13th, 14th, and 15th of 
January. Although not so numerously attended as in 
some previous years, there was no lack of interest exhib¬ 
ited, and the papers read were of more than usual excel¬ 
lence. Amongst the more important of these were a 
paper upon “Butter Making,” by O. S. Bliss, of Ver¬ 
mont; one upon “ Making and Marketing Bntter.” by L. 
T. Hawley, of Syracuse; one upon “Experiments in 
Cheese Making," by Mr. Green, of Pennsylvania; an. 
other by X. A. Willard upon “ Dairying in the West and 
South-west,” with others of equal interest to dairymen. 
The discussions elicited by the reading of these papers 
were eminently practical, and were made in a vigorous 
and lively manner. We regret that our space is too lim¬ 
ited to do more than mention the bare fact of the meet¬ 
ing of this important convention, and would inform our 
readers tfcat the papers at full length will be published 
by tile association, and maybe procured of the secretary, 
L. B. Arnold, of Rochester, N. Y., for 75 cents for the 
volume. 
Forestry Memorial. —A committee ap¬ 
pointed by the Farmers’ Club, of the American Insti¬ 
tute, have drawn up a memorial asking Congress to pass 
laws to preserve our present forests from destruction, as 
well as to encourage the planting of trees where none 
exist. Some of the things it asks of Congress are all 
right and proper, while others are not especially useful, 
such as asking it to publish the literature of Forestry in 
the form of public documents. There are no works so 
difficult to be obtained by those who need them as those 
published by Congress. Public documents always go 
where they are not wanted and seldom where they are ; 
and we know of no way by which to thoroughly bury a 
work on Forestry or any other subject than to have it 
sent to the public printer—unless it may be to have it 
read before the Farmers’ Club. Mr. George May Powell 
is the principal mover in this matter, and is, as we un¬ 
derstand, a gentleman who has devoted much attention 
to the forests of this and other countries. He will be 
wise if he acts by himself, as he can accomplish much 
more than with such a load as the Farmers’ Club to carry. 
How to Carry a Ladder.— “E. W.,” 
Elwood, describes how Farmer W. carried home a long 
ladder which he had borrowed, and which was supposed 
to require four men to carry it. He balanced the ladder 
upon his wheelbarrow and lashed the sides of it to the 
handles of the barrow ; then taking the end of the lad¬ 
der, he wheeled it along with comparative ease. 
Improving- Fence Posts.— “R. McC.” 
Although we can not say from personal experience, yet 
we have no doubt that fence posts would be made more 
durable by thorough soaking in lime water. It is the 
albumen of the timber which soon decays and causes 
the timber to rot, and the effect of lime is to solidify the 
albumen and render it insoluble. This effect would be 
produced upon fence posts as well as upon boards or 
planks, but the exposure of the posts to the lime Would 
need to be for a longer period than that for thin boards. 
Rutter Packages. —“M. A.H.,” Dover, 
N. J. We have on previous occasions referred to the 
great need of small packages for butter, which would hold 
such quantities as would be sufficient for the week’s con¬ 
sumption of a family, say two to five pounds. Here is 
a great field for the exercise of ingenuity, and the inventor 
of an acceptable package of such a shape that several of 
them could be packed into one larger one would cer¬ 
tainly meet with much profitable encouragement. 
Hog - Cholera. —“A Kansas Farmer,” Linn 
Co., Kansas, says he has cured hog cholera by sprinkling 
fine lime-dust around his hog pens and upon the corn 
fed to the hogs. 
Potato Planter.— “C. P. K.,” Northport, 
L. I. There is a machine which makes the furrow, cuts, 
drops and covers the seed,known as True’s potato planter. 
The manufacturer of these machines will probably make 
his address known in the usual way before the seasou 
for using them arrives. 
Castor Beans anti ©il.— “J. M. M.,” 
Emporia, Kansas. The culture of castor beans is the 
same as that needed for corn. In harvesting it is neces¬ 
sary to gather the beans before they are ripe, and spread 
them upon a smoothly swept piece of ground surrounded 
by a board fence to prevent the beans from flying when the 
pods burst open. In making the oil the beans are ground 
into a paste, which is put into hair cloth bags and pressed 
beneath strong screws or wedges. The first oil is known 
as “ cold drawn.” The cake is then pressed between 
heated plates and yields an inferior second product. 
There are several mills in St. Louis where the oil is 
manufactured. The refuse is a valuable fertilizer, but is 
of no value for food; it is in fact injurious to cattle. 
Lar4 Oil. —“ J. S.,” Logansport, Ind. The 
apparatus required is so expensive and cumbersome that 
a farmer could not make his own oil except at great cost. 
A Fame BSeaiS. of Spring- Wlaeat.— 
A correspondent of the American Agriculturist at Fidalgo 
Islands, Washington Territory, sends us a head ot Aus¬ 
tralian spring wheat. “Please count the grains,” he 
writes, “and see if it will yield as many grains as the 
head of Diehl wheat which John Johnston sent to 
‘ Walks and Talks.’ I counted the grains in two heads, 
one had 103 and the other 126. I think the heads will 
average 75 to SO grains. The wheat was raised on this 
Island.” The head sent us was remarkably handsome. 
There was nothing abnormal about it, as is sometimes 
the case with a very large head of Diehl. We counted 
the kernels in the head, and found 96. The grains were 
large and plump, and nearly as white as an average sam¬ 
ple of Diehl. We should be glad to know the yield per 
acre, time of sowing, harvesting, etc. Wo may add that 
the head of Diehl raised by Mr. Johnston contained 65 
kernels ; those alluded to by “ Walks and Talks,” one 
80 kernels and the other 88 kernels. 
Manure lor Potatoes.— 11 Hartford.” 
Potatoes succeed best with thoroughly rotted manure in 
which no more fermentation can take place. A very ex¬ 
cellent compost for potatoes is swamp muck, bone-dust, 
and plaster. One load of muck, 100 pounds of fine bone- 
dust, and a bushel (80 lbs) of plaster make a very useful 
fertilizer when stable manure can not be procured. Fish 
guano makes a good substitute for the bone. 
Value of Leather Scraps. —“Con¬ 
cord,” Winterset, Iowa. Leather scraps are a very valu¬ 
able fertilizer. The best way to utilize them that we 
have discovered is to bake them in an oven until they 
become quite brittle, and then to pound them with a 
wooden stamper or a flail upon a barn floor. In this way 
any waste leather may be made useful. They furnish an 
acceptable fertilizer for grape-yines, and may be hoed in 
around the roots. 
Sowing) <jri-:iss ini Spring'.—“ Chas¬ 
seur,” Washington, D. C. If a crop of rye is an object, 
and the land is not desired to lie idle a whole year, which 
would probably be injudicious anyhow, spring rye might 
be sown, and timothy and clover be sown with it. The 
rye and grass seed should be sown as early as possible. 
At least two bushels of spring rye should be sown, as it 
does not tiller or spread at the root like fall rye. 
HJovn Scotia Plaster.— “J.C.,” Pittston, 
Pa. Nova Scotia plaster is regularly imported into New 
York, where just now it is quoted in the market reports 
at about $4 per ton. 
The Florida Agriculturist is the 
name of the first agricultural paper ever issued in Florida. 
It is a weekly of eight pages, published ; at Jacksonville 
by C. H. Walton & Co., and edited by S. D. Wilcox. 
Its first number is bright mechanically and editorially, 
and looks as if it would deserve the success wc wish it. 
A Vapor Stove has been advertised, and 
several have written to ask us if it is a humbug. It is 
not a humbug in so far as it is j ust what it pretends to be, 
a stove in whieh the heating material is the vapor of 
naphtha. We would not advise any one to use naphtha as 
a heating or illuminating material, as it is not a safe 
thing to have in the house. 
Woolen Mill Refuse.— “H. P.,” Haw¬ 
thorne, N. J. The refuse from woolen mills is rich in 
nitrogen, and is a valuable fertilizer. As it is free from 
water, it is more valuable on that account. It generally 
sells for $10 a ton or thereabouts. 
Agricultural Department Seeds. 
—“E. R. S.,” Greenbrier Co., W. Ya. The seeds dis¬ 
tributed by the agricultural department are said to con¬ 
tain pestiferous weeds and insects—at least it is so 
charged by many Western people who have been gratui¬ 
tously favored with them. 
Boat Ruildiug.— “H. W. H.,”Hillsboro, 
Ill. Full directions with engravings for building boats 
and skiffs were given in the Agriculturist of August, 
1871, and October, 1872. These numbers can be procured 
for 15 cents each. 
Libea*al Potato Premiums.— Messrs. 
B. K. Bliss & Sons, encouraged by the great interest ex¬ 
cited by the potato premiums offered by them last year, 
offer this year the handsome amount of $1,500 in equal 
sums for Brownell’s Beauty, Early Vermont, and Comp¬ 
ton’s Surprise. Six prizes from $100 to $10 are offered 
for the greatest yield from one pound of seed of each kind, 
and similar sums for the largest quantity grown upon a 
quarter of an acre of ground. Some growers who ob¬ 
tained large results last year failed to receive a prize for 
the reason that they did not comply with all the condi¬ 
tions of the offer. Those intending to compete should 
send to Messrs. Bliss for a copy of the schedule for 1874. 
