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• “ If Novice will send me liis address, I will
send him some millet seed w ithout charge.—J-
Spann Jeffers., Hopkins Turn Out, 8. C l .,
*' When is the proper time for sowing Lucerne
in middle Alabama? What kind of commercial
fertilizers should be used on clover and grasses
after they have been sown, and in what quantity
per acre? — Young Subscriber., Oxford , Ala.”
Lucerne is generally sown from middle of Feb
ruary to middle of March. For clover sow land
plaster in early spring 100 lbs. per acre; select a
damp foggy (not rainy) day or w'hen the dew is
on in the morning. Grasses are greatly improv
ed by a dressing of super-phosphate and some
nitrogeneous manure, nitrate soda for instance —
100 to 200 lbs. per acre.
“ Will I)r. Clow' please explain what he means
by the term “ arrowing” as applied to sugar
cane?—F. C. D., Good Hope , Miss.
“ Can you inform me wiiat “ stump puller”
can be relied on to extract big stumps, trunk
and roots.” —A Subscriber, Abbeville, S. C.”
Will some of our planting friends who have
experience with these machines, answer the
above.
“In your August No., I notice a valuable re
port, relating to the subject of “ Diversifying our
Industries,” by F. Peyre Porcher, M. D. Under
the classification of “ Plants Yielding Paper
Stock,” I observe the Cat-Tail (Typha Latifolia)
mentioned. I have a fine meadow, which is
greatly injured by abundance of Cat-Tails. It
is an old saying that everything has its use, and
if tliis plant can be made profitable, I w'ould be
glad to know' when to gather, how to prepare,
where I could sell, and what will be the probable
price. In Dr. Porcher’s work, entitled “ Re
sources of the Southern Fields and Forests,” the
common Cat-tail, found in morasses and stag
nant waters, is mentioned as having many oth
er uses. The root is eaten as a salad; jelly is
extracted from it; it has medicinal properties—
the pollen is used in the treatment of wounds;
the bark has been employed in the fabrication of
hats, and in making gloves; the down is used to
stuff matrasses. It is used also in the manufac
ture of turpentine and rice barrels, being cut in
to strips and placed between the interstices to
make the seams tighter. If this plant has so
many uses, it ought to be worth some money.—
SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR
Heretofore I have looked upon it as a curse to
the country. If it can be made profitable, the
writer would be glad to develope this, as one of
the resources of his little farm. If not, then
you will do myself, as well as the Southern coun
try in general, a great sendee, by suggesting a
method of getting rid of this perennial plant for
ever. I w'ish to make liay where the Cat-tail
grows, unless there is more money to be made
in raising Cat-tails.— lredell Jones, Rock Hill,
York Cos., S. C.
We have very little experience in utilizing the
Cat-tail. Samples of it cut at different times,
and sent to the paper mills, w'ould soon
test its fitness for paper making, and its value.
We have used it for making horse collars,
(plaited like the ordinary shuck collar,) and it
is most excellent for that purpose. Pulling it
up by the roots is the only method we have ever
seen tried for eradicating it.
Acknowledgements.
To the many friends who have kindly aided
us in extending the circulation of the Cultivator,
w r e beg leave to return our warmest thanks, and
if they think we have merited their kindness,
wejrespectfully ask a continuance of their favors.
Relying on these voluntary efforts, which are
prompted perhaps by a too partial friendship
for an old and honest advocate in the cause of
agriculture, w'e have discarded such appliances
as giving premiums, Ac., Ac., and the results
have showm that w r c did not lean upon a “ bro
ken reed.” Cheering w'ords and substantial to
kens of approbation come to us from every side.
Our old subscribers are promising many new
ones for the coming year. In return, w r e pro
mise to labor hard and honestly for the farmer’s
good. The Cultivator is not the organ of any
Society, but is the free and untrammeled organ
of the farmers of the South. Whatever contri
butes to their prosperity will meet with heart}'
commendation in its columns. Every real step
forward will be gladly hailed, but it will not be
come the advocate of the visionary or the im
practicable.
EHf 35 Mr. L. J. Thomas, who some time ago
announced the establishment of an “ Expen
mental Farm for testing seeds, fertilizers, Ac.,
will begin his reports of the same in the Janu
ary No. of the Cultivator. He will also give
some very interesting experiments made this
year with cotton and guanos.