18G8.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
49 
pensive and more effectual way of getting rid of them, 
and if so, you will very much oblige me, as well as a 
number of my neighbors.” Smothering with a heavy 
coating of straw has been sometimes successful. If the 
patches are not too large it would he worth while to try 
the effect of a heavy mulch of straw, tan hark, or some¬ 
thing of the kind. 
The Arch Sleigh-Bench. —Henry H. 
Zahriskie, of Paterson, N. J., sends us a sketch of a 
style of sleigh-hench, which strikes us as both new and 
valuable. He writes: “ I work at wheelwrighting, and 
make what I call the arch-bench sled, which is cheaper 
and stronger than the old style. I made one for myself 
of 114 inch stuff, that will carry a ton weight with ease ; 
everyone that sees it likes it, and I have more orders for 
making them than I can fill in a long time. If it is new 
to your readers, give it to them. I have eight acres of 
land which I never knew the good of until my neighbor 
got me to subscribe for the American Agriculturist." The 
size and strength of the pieces must be adapted to the 
use to which the sleigh is to be put. The bench consists 
of a rim, bent like a wagon-wheel felloe, attached to the 
cross-bar or beam by bolts, and substantially braced by 
iron braces at the sides, as shown in the engraving. 
Moving; Trees. —Harry Baker, Washington 
Co., Wis., gives his method of moving trees from the 
forest, as follows: “ Before the ground freezes, cover the 
roots of the tree selected for removal with coarse manure 
sufficient to keep the frost out, and do the same to the 
place the tree is to occupy. When it freezes hard, take 
away the covering and mark a circle around the tree, 
leaving a good ball of earth; outside of the circle dig a 
trench, sufficiently wide to work in, and shape the ball of 
earth like an half orange till it rests on a pivot. Then dig 
the bank away for a gangway large enough to let the ball 
of earth through, leave it till morning, when it will be as 
hard as a stone ; then take the team and stone boat, slip 
the stone boat down the gangway, use the tree as a lever, 
and pull the top directly from the stone boat; then slip 
the boat underneath the tree, and draw it up to the place 
where you want it, dig your hole, set] the tree upright, 
drive three stakes around, and fasten with hay bands. 
The advantage of moving trees in this way is, you do not 
injure the limbs or the small fibrous roots, and it is sur¬ 
prising how easily one can move a large ball of earth with 
a tree stuck in it for a handle. If there is snow upon the 
ground, the operation will be so much the easier.” 
Root Crrafted Trees.— There is a grow¬ 
ing feeling that much of the trouble with young orchards 
in the West is due to the manner of propagation, and 
one of the Western Horticultural Societies has published 
a warning against root-grafted trees. The wisdom of this 
depends entirely upon what is meant by root-grafted 
trees. If it is intended as a protest against the practice 
of attaching a fragment of a root to a cion, and trying to 
make a tree of it, we in the main agree with it. If, on 
the other hand, it is intended to include those trees form¬ 
ed by grafting upon the collar of a seedling stock, we 
must dissent. Both reason and practice teach that trees 
grown in this way are as good as those produced in any 
other manner. 
“ Rotten Root.” —Among the causes that 
produce death in young trees is the disease known as 
“ rotten root.” The matter was discussed at the recent 
meeting of the Northern Illinois Horticultural Society. 
Mr. Walsh ascribes this to the “ woolly aphis,” which 
attacks the roots and causes large excrescences, followed 
by decay and the death of the trees. The remedy pro¬ 
posed is to examine the trees in the spring, and if any 
insects are found, which may be recognized by the cot¬ 
tony substance which envelopes them, to apply hot water. 
Forcing Vegetables.— “ J. H. S.,” Mon¬ 
treal, Canada. This is done only in a small way in this 
country, and in hot-beds. It would doubtless pay well 
near all our large cities to have regular forcing houses. 
The first outlay is of course considerable, but a properly 
managed house will give several crops in a season, and 
Its products wflH meet With a roady sale. The best house 
is doubtless that described by Mr. Henderson in his 
Gardening for Profit, where drawings and measurements 
are given as well as directions for its management. 
Macciironi.—R. G. Honeybrook, Pa. Tour 
trouble, which resulted in making a “ mush ” of your 
maccaroni, was probably duo to your getting the American 
article and not the Italian. The imported is made from 
a wheat containing a great deal of gluten, and cannot be 
successfully imitated with common wheats. Get Italian 
maccaroni, break it to a convenient size, and put it in 
boiling water to which a little salt has been added, and 
boil gently until done. It can then be dressed in various 
ways. If you wish it a la Milanese put it in a tin pan or 
pudding dish, grate cheese over the surface, and brown 
in a quick oven. Dressed with butter and a little milk 
it is very nice, as it is when served with any good gravy. 
Maccaroni is not very expensive and to our notion is 
a most welcome article on the dinner table. 
Ten. Fot-tery. — “Subscriber,” in New- 
London. Ct., says: “My good wife is one of those who 
believe that nothing equals the black earthen pot to in¬ 
fuse or draw tea in ; and these being perishable, because 
unfitted to stand sudden heat, she has generally found it 
for her advantage to purchase them by the dozen. She 
has a way to prevent breaking that may be useful in other 
families, viz., always keep somewhere on the top of the 
range, or stove, the sancer of an earthen flower-pot, 
which costs little or nothing. When needed, she draws 
it over a hotter portion, and sets the tea-pot in it. If 
by chance the saucer is broken, little harm is done. 
As the result of this course for six months, she reports 
only two saucers broken, and the pot remaining whole.” 
Meerschanm. —J. S. Witner. The material 
of which the true Meerschaum pipes are made is a min¬ 
eral found in some parts of Turkey and Greece. Chemi¬ 
cally it is a silicate of magnesia and in composition 
allied to soap stone. It being very light, the fanciful 
name Meerschaum, foam of the sea, was given to it, 
which has led to the not uncommon idea that it is in some 
way prepared from sea froth. In its rough state it looks 
like a lump of very white clay. It is easily carved and 
worked into shape, after which it is put into boiling wax, 
and then polished. Imitations are made so like the true 
article that only an experienced eye can tell the difference. 
Crood for Maine.— A daily paper says that 
the Maine ladies trim a large pumpkin seed with fur, and 
wear it for a bonnet, the large end being worn in front, 
to protect the forehead. We shall welcome any style of 
ladies’ head-dress that is worn with a view to protect 
any part of the head. Any change must be for the better. 
Dickens’ Works. —The advent of this most 
popular of living authors, and his public readings, have 
given new life to the old editions of his works, and have 
called out several new ones, varying in style and in price. 
Some of the very cheap editions are in such small type 
that they are not to be commended to those who have 
any regard for their eyes. T. B. Peterson & Brothers, 
Philadelphia, publish several editions, ranging in price 
from 75 cents, in paper, to $3 a volume. That called the 
“ People’s Edition,” with each work in a large duodecimo 
volume, is on good paper, in clear type, and strikes us as 
being, at $1 .75 a volume, the best of the moderate priced 
editions, and cheap for the quality. 
Erratwin.—In the January number, page 21, 
in speaking of the European Mistletoe we by a slip of 
the pen called it Yiscurn Jlavescens. It should of course 
have been V- album. 
Canker Worms. — In some places the tent- 
caterpillar is mistaken for the canker-worm, but the two 
are quite different in their habits, and the span worm, also 
called canker-worm, is different from either. The females 
of the true canker-worm arc wingless ; 
they form their chrysalids in the 
ground and come out of these in early 
spring (sometimes in autumn), crawl 
up the trunks of the trees, and there 
lay their eggs, from which are hatched 
the destructive worms. All the methods ^- 
of combating this insect have for their Fig. 1. 
object the preventing of the female from ascending the 
tree. Numerous things have been proposed in the way 
of obstructions, from tarred paper to very ingenious 
troughs to be kept filled with liquid. There are many of 
these that will answer, if properly attended to, and all 
are perfectly useless, if the barrier, whatever it may be, 
becomes passable by drying, or becomes bridged over by 
dust, leaves, or even dead insects. In 1865 we published 
an illustration of an easily made protector, which, as it 
has been inquired for several times, we reproduce. Pro¬ 
cure a strip of tin 3 inches wide and long enough to 
make a ring to encircle the tree, and leave 2 inches 
space all around between it and the trunk. Turn over 
one edge of this tin as shown in figure 1. A piece of 
cotton cloth, as long as the tin and rather wider, has a hem 
upon one edge to receive a cord, and the other edge is 
fastened to the tin by placing it in the fold and hammer¬ 
ing close. The manner of 
application is seen in fig. 2 ; 
The cloth is bound tightly 
to the tree by means of the 
drawing string and the ends 
of the tin joined by means 
of one or two rivets. The 
edges of the cloth are to be 
fastened where they lap, by 
a few stitches. All should 
be so arranged that no in¬ 
sect can pass up the trunk 
without first going over the 
tin, which of itself forms 
quite an obstacle to the in¬ 
sect, though not a complete 
one. The surface should he 
smeared with Mr. David 
Lyman’s prescription, of equal parts of kerosene and 
castor oil; this is fatal to insects and keeps in good con¬ 
dition for a number of days, but should be renewed once 
a week. Any one who is really in earnest in protecting 
his trees, will visit them every day or two to see that the 
protectors, no matter what kind is used, are properly ad¬ 
justed and in good working condition. 
Spring Bntlding the .—F. H. 
Colton. The earliest time at which this can be done is 
when the stocks are in full leaf and the bark will sepa¬ 
rate from the wood, or “run,” as nurserymen say. The 
cions to furnish the buds must be cut while still dormant, 
and kept so by placing them in an ice-house. 
The YVestchester Co., NT. Y. s Agri¬ 
cultural Society, at a recent meeting for election of 
officers for the present year, made choice of Mr. Warren 
Leland, as President. Mr. L. resides in the town of Har¬ 
rison, where he has a fine farm of 500 acres, 450 of which 
are under cultivation. This is said to be one of the best 
cultivated farms in the country, and we have no doubt it 
is cultivated with profit, there being in this case no mid¬ 
dle men between the producer and consumer. Mr. Le- 
land’s fondness for agricultural and horticultural subjects 
is well known, and the society certainly has secured the 
services of a very efficient officer. 
The NcwYork FertiiSixer Market. 
—The price of fertilizers along our seaboard is regulated 
a good deal by the price which they bear in New York. 
This is especially true of bone-dust and the superphos¬ 
phates. The changes which take place in the prices, are 
usually gradual, and commonly upwards. There are a 
number of kinds of “ superphosphates” in market, pass¬ 
ing under a variety of names, animalized, ammoniated, 
etc. It would be an exceedingly useful thing if all the 
prominent fertilizers, especially superphosphates, could 
be subjected to examination by competent chemists, and 
their results published. The manufacture of superphos¬ 
phates presents an unusually attractive opportunity for 
rascals to defraud the unsuspicious. The prices of some 
of the most reliable fertilizers are as follows : 
No. 1 Peruvian Guano.—The price for this article varies 
with the premium on gold. At present, with gold at 35 
per cent premium, it is selling at $S5 per ton of 2000 fi>s.; 
with gold at 40 per cent, it would be worth $00. 
Baker and Jarvis Island, (South Pacific^hospliatic,) 
Guano.—$45 per ton. These can be treated with sul¬ 
phuric acid, the same as bones, thereby making a good 
superphosphate; they should contain an equivalent to 
GO to 70 per cent of bone phosphate of lime. 
Superphosphate of lime.—$55 per ton, in bags of 100 
lbs., and barrels of 2501bs. Haw bone superphosphate, 
$55 to $5G per ton in barrels of about 250 lbs. 
Fine Ground Bone Dust.—In barrels of 250 lbs., the 
barrels tarred, $45 per ton ; flour of bone, $G0 per ton ; 
fine floated bone, $G5 per ton. 
Fish Manure.—Finely ground, $45 per ton; not ground, 
$30 per ton. 
Gypsum or Land Plaster.—Ground, $1.75 per barrel, by 
seven barrels or more; a barrel will weigh about 250 lbs. 
Shell Lime.—10 cents per bushel, or $1.50 per barrel. 
Sulphuric Acid, GG°, (Oil of Vitriol,) 1% cents per lb ; 
Sulphuric Acid, 60°, (Pan Acid,) 2)4 cents per lb. Car¬ 
boys, $3 each, (returnable); they contain aboat 150 Bis. 
]Lea<l Pipe—Lead in Water.—“E. C. 
S.” asks if the illness of his horse is due to his drinking 
water which came through a lead pipe. It is not easy t» 
