1868.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
245 
important part in llic decoration of our homes and in the 
shielding of them, as well as our orchards, from harsh, 
cold winds and storms. In both popular and scientific 
language the author describes the many species, and 
treats practically of their propagation, their hardiness, 
etc., in such a manner as cannot fail to make the work a 
necessity to every planter. Botanically, we have long felt 
the want of just such a work as is here presented, and are 
thankful to the author for the care he has evidently taken 
in striving to arrive at correct names. The book is got¬ 
ten up in the usual good stylo of its publishers, is abund¬ 
antly illustrated with engravings, executed in a very su¬ 
perior manner, and cannot fail to take its appropriate 
place as a standard of authority on evergreens for this 
country. Price, §3.” 
Aquarium.— S. M. Bateman, Va.—If prop¬ 
erly constructed, the aquarium needs no change of water. 
The plants supply what the animals need, the animals 
help support the plants,and the water is kept in healthful 
balance by the two. The skill of the operator is shown 
in hitting this balance and in keeping the water always 
transparent and sweet. Rain water is the best to use in 
starting a fresh water aquarium. The size of the tank must 
determine the number of animals and plants that can 
be kept in it. Begin small, and determine by experiment 
what can be added. It furnishes a very interesting study, 
but it is quite impossible to teach the art by books. 
Aquaria are also made with salt water. See articles 
in the Agriculturist for Sept., 1866; May and Oct., 1867. 
Muiig'c for Fowls. —“ S. C.,” Hudson, 
N. Y. Most dwellers in towns fail to give their hens 
room enough. A flock of a dozen ought to have a half 
acre, and half of this in grass, in order to gain the best 
results in breeding. They will lay some for a time, in 
confinement, but they will inevitably run down. Breed¬ 
ers for sale, especially, should be conscientious in giving 
their fowls plenty of range. The roosts should be well 
ventilated, and kept scrupulously clean. 
from YoBiisg- Fowls.— 
“ J. V. M.,” Barnegat, N. J. The flock will run down in 
size and vigor, if this is followed habitually. Pullets lay 
more eggs than old hens, but they do not lay so large 
ones, or make so good mothers. The cock should be 
two or more years old, and the hens at least two years old, 
for breeding. A rooster from another flock should be 
introduced every other year. 
S*o«iltry obi ti Large Scale.—“ A. K.,” 
Tiverton, It. I.—We have read some very interesting 
romances upon this subject, but have never seen a case 
of success. We do know of failures. Because a farmer 
with ample room can keep twenty hens, and raise two 
hundred chickens, it does not follow that he can keep 
two hundred hens and raise two thousand chickens on 
the same ground, or on ten times the space. The figures 
mislead sanguine people, and many learn, at great ex¬ 
pense for tuition, that a few hens pay, and many do not. 
'fiVaiiiiBSfj; Toarlkeys;—“II. H. C.,” King¬ 
ston, Pa. — The attachment of these birds to their roosting 
places is not quite so strong as that of hens, but they 
have very strong memories of their feeding places. One 
of the best roosts they can have is a large pole, raised ten 
or twelve feet from the ground on crotched sticks. If the 
young flock is trained to roost on this, as soon as they 
are large enough to leave the mother’s wings, they will 
seek it of their own accord. They should be regularly 
sought at night, and fed, and driven to one roost. 
Cure for Cnsijies in Clisokeias;,, By A. 
L. Phoebus, Md.—Turpentine and goose-oil, mixed, rub¬ 
bed on the wings and breast of the hen just before the 
chickens go to roost, is good for the gapes. 
StsoailsiiMl Weiglit of IPonltry. — 
“ W. N. J).,'’ Rochester, N. Y. W r e are not aware that 
any society, which offers premiums for poultry, has adopt¬ 
ed any standard of weight for prize fowls. This is espe¬ 
cially desirable in the birds that are raised for their flesh. 
We notice in a recent show in England a pair of turkeys 
that weighed 50 lbs.; a pair of white geese 54J4 lbs. ; 
White Aylesbury ducks 18*4 lbs.; Rouen 19 y 2 . We like 
the suggestion, and commend it to the notice of all the 
Agricultural Societies. Birds that do not come up to 
some adopted standard should not have premiums. 
'IL'Bie IPerclicrosi Morse. — Translated 
from the Erench of Charles Du Iluys, author of numerous 
popular works on the horse. Illustrated, 100 pages, 
12mo. Orange Judd & Co., 1S68. Price, $1.00. — The 
work is a report made to the French Government upon 
the breeding and rearing of this admirable breed of 
draft horses. The demand for the Percherons, both for 
breeding and for labor, has been so great of late, that a 
well-grounded anxiety 'xisted lest the district should 
lose its famous and valuable breed of horses, being 
tempted by present gain to hazard its future prosperity. 
This book is written with the view of indicating how to 
defend the race against degenerating, to improve it in 
all its estimable qualities, and at the same time to ena¬ 
ble the breeders of Perchc to supply the ever hungry 
market. It discusses principles applicable to the breed¬ 
ing of work horses, that is, any horses except race 
horses and hunters. Interest in the Percheron has 
greatly increased in the United States as the breed has 
become better known, and every new importation adds 
to it, and to the firm friends of the breed. The book is 
arranged in three parts, namely; 1. The excellencies of 
the Percherons and their decline. 2. The means of 
bringing up the breed. 3. Information to strangers 
visiting Perche. It is illustrated with several fine en¬ 
gravings of horses and mares recently imported by 
Mr. W. T. Walters, of Baltimore. 
Agj'B’iUtMlU.sire Affsisssiu-llRBSseits. I$y 
C. I>. Flint —1867—8.—The volume is made up of 
the Secretary’s report of the discussions at the meetings 
of the Board of Agriculture and of the abstracts of returns 
from the agricultural societies. It embraces a wide range 
of topics, and shows the steady progress of agriculture 
and horticulture in the Old Bay State. The leading men 
of the State give much of their time to the promotion of 
these interests, and it is owing to their influence that so 
much has been accomplished on a hard soil, and in a 
climate that is often discouraging to the hopes of the 
husbandman. One of the interesting topics discussed is 
Prof. Yille’s experiments upon the imperial farm at, Vin¬ 
cennes, who thinks he has proved after ten years of ob¬ 
servation that the cereals prefer for manure, nitrogen ; the 
leguminous plants, potcissci; the roots, phosphates. In 
preparing a specific manure for these crops respectively, 
he would have the preferred article in much the largest 
quantity. lie would add lime, which humus renders as¬ 
similable by plants. The volume is got up in the usual 
good style of the State Printers, Wright & Potter. 
'IVoamt S|»siwaa.—“ H. K.,” Groton Centre, 
Ct. The trade in fertilized spawn is in very few hands, 
and, we think, is on too small a scale to promise sudden 
fortunes to any one. It will probably be a paying busi¬ 
ness, in a few years, to the men who have a sportsman’s 
taste, and the requisite skill and patience to develope it. 
At present the fertilized spawn sell for ten dollars a 
thousand, and the young fish, of suitable size for trans¬ 
portation, for forty dollars a thousand, delivered at the 
depot nearest to the purchaser. A full-grown trout has 
from four to five thousand eggs. It will probably be 
cheaper to buy the trout to stock your pond than to at¬ 
tempt the rather difficult task of raising them yourself. 
SmiBHSBici* BSsitcllttcd. Cliiclccsas.—“R. 
D. ,” Babylon. L. I. We have never succeeded very well 
with July and August chickens. They do better in Sep¬ 
tember. But if a clutch comes out in summer, put the 
coop under the shade of trees, or in the edge of a patch 
of corn, where they will be screened from the sun. The 
critical time with them is the first month. 
«88 Cows’ 'Feats.—' This nuisance 
may be abated when the cow is dry more easily than 
when she is giving milk. Small warts may, however, 
often be removed by some simple application, which will 
give little or no pain. Moistening them after milking 
with strong saleratus water, applying a paste of wood 
ashes to the warts only, or touching them with almost 
any caustic in a way not to make them sore, will usually, 
but gradually, cause the warts to disappear. Very large 
warts should be first tied off, that is, have a wire or silk 
thread bound around them close to the teat, so as to 
prevent a circulation of blood ; but this makes the teat 
sore and milking difficult. “ N. C. B.” writes that raw 
linseed oil applied once a week will cure warts on cows. 
EAbbic obi Yhsl-iI MsBBastre. —C. C. Moore, 
Chester Co., Pa., asks : “ What will be the effect of lime 
on barn-yard manure which I had spread previous to plow¬ 
ing under?” We answer, if the effect be, on the whole, 
good, it would surely have been better if the lime had 
been applied after plowing under the manure. Lime in 
contact with manures containing ammonia takes the 
place of the ammonia in its combinations, and the vola¬ 
tile alkali is free to go with the blowing wind where it 
listeth. In this case, doubtless a portion of the small 
quantity of ammonia in the manure would be disengaged, 
but unless the lime were to remain in contact with the 
manure a considerable length of time, there would not 
be much ammonia lost. One hundred pounds of common 
yard manure will contain one to two per cent of ammonia, 
— - - «— - , 
which is considered as worth about 20 cents a pound. 
The loss of one quarter of the ammonia would be equiva¬ 
lent to 5 to 10 cents on each 100 lbs—or $1 to $2 per ton, 
estimated at the market price of concentrated fertilizers, 
which is fair. 
E8obi« Mill Wanted. — “E. H. C.” 
writes: “I have searched the advertising pages in vain 
for a cheap, effective, and durable bone mill. Is there 
any thing of the kind ? I can get many tons of dry bones 
for the gathering, and I need the nitrogen that is in them 
more than anything else in my soil. I want to reduce 
the bones to fine flour before using them, that the good 
that is in them may be made immediately available.” 
Mr. C’s want is very much like that of many others, and 
if no such mill exists, one ought to be invented. 
IProfiJs ol* ]FarniiB8g-.—“A. C. T.,” Wor¬ 
cester County, Mass. If the average profits are less than 
five per cent, it does not follow that the same men would 
do better by changing their business. There is more un¬ 
skilled labor upon the farm than in any other calling, and 
that kind of labor has a hard time in any business. If 
some men make but two per cent by farming, others 
make eight on their capital and furnish themselves and 
their sons with remunerative employment all the while, 
which is one of the great advantages of farming. The 
remedy for unsuccessful farming is not a change of busi¬ 
ness, but a change of policy. Knowledge and skill pay 
as well on the farm as in the workshop or counting room, 
Millie lor* liens.—Mr. Affleck 
says : “The very best food for young chickens and turkey 
poults, is sour milk curd, or clabber, boiled until tolera¬ 
bly hard, and the whey separates entirely. Mix with 
com meal or ‘little hominy.’” 
Cliimi-tree Foiices, etc.—Mr. Affleck 
of Texas writes: “I thought my experience and observa¬ 
tion in live fences was tolerably complete, and especially 
in the South. Fences may be made in the manner pro¬ 
posed, (alluding to the article on this subject on page 19, 
Jan. No.) but I have never seen any that deserved the 
name. On the beautiful Bayou Rapides was a long string 
of capital fence, of living posts—china-trees 15 to IS 
inches through—with cypress rails let in between. As it 
lay in the track of armies, it is probably now destroyed.” 
S!SB8«li - y MBaBBalmig-s. — “The Riverside 
Drawing Association,”—J. F. Jones,—and their Sewing 
Machines, are not to be found at the number given. We 
looked up the place indicated by the circular, and found 
a low grog-shop where several persons were engaged in 
a gambling game. If any one sends money to such a 
place as this, he does it at the risk of never hearing from 
itagain_Wright, Bro. & Co., although repeatedly closed 
by the police, are still “ on the make.” The last inves¬ 
tigation resulted in the arrest of one A. A. Kelly, of 
Kelly’s Weekly, it being alleged that he was the prime 
mover in “Wright Bro. & Co.”_The Washington Li¬ 
brary Co., in aid of Soldiers’ Orphans, N. S. Read, Sec’y, 
under the management of Geo. A. Cook & Co., Bankers, 
No. 6 Clinton Hall, N. Y., has been spoken of before in 
these columns. Geo. A. Cook & Co., some weeks since 
retired probably “behind the scenes,” and Read & Co. 
took up the business and are flooding the country with 
notices of prizes drawn. If questioned about the business 
they claim only to be receivers and bankers for said 
Washington Library Co., and give but little satisfaction. 
We have visited their “Banking House,” and learned 
from them that by addressing A. J. Peters, 42 South Third- 
st., Philadelphia, the alleged responsible party, we could 
learn what prize belonged to our number, and then if wo 
would deposit the money with them, they would order 
the prize sent. Accordingly we dropped Mr. Peters a 
letter, and here is the reply. “ In answer to yours we 
will state that your premium is a house-lot, valued at 
$200. By paying the percentage of $10, to the receivers, 
Read & Co., No. 6 Clinton Hall, New York, a deed will 
be made out properly acknowledged, and sent in any 
name and to any address you may desire.” Now, that is 
all very nice, and a house-lot is a good thing to have, but 
wo failed to learn where the lot is located. It may be on 
Barnegat Beach, or on the top of the Rocky Mountains,and 
in either case not worth ten cents to anybody. One num¬ 
ber wo know of is for a deed of a house-lot in an unheard- 
of town in California. These may be very nice lots—on 
paper—but with our present knowledge, we advise all 
persons to shun any investment with any party belong¬ 
ing to or having any connection with Read & Co., or 
the Washington Library Co.Look out for II. Ballou 
Carter, in New Hampshire, and his “Automatic Needle- 
Threader,” which is no needle-threader at all, but an en¬ 
ticing notice in regard to “ Greenbacks,” and more in¬ 
formation guaranteed if one will only send him his ad¬ 
dress in full, and a three-cent stamp forrcply. The “reply” 
