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Agricultural.
Where and How to Apply Fertilizers.
Under the above caption the Ameri
can Agriculturalist publishes an ex
cellent article advising broadcast
manuring, from which we quote the
following paragragh: “The growth
and vigor ot all plants or crops de
pend chiefly upon a good supply of
strong roots that stretch far out, and
thus gather food over the widest; ex
tent of soil. If a flourishing stalk of
corn, grain or grass be carefully wash
ed,, so as to leave all its roots or rootlets
attached, there will be found a won
derful ma u s of roots to any plant, and
they extend off a long distance, fre
quently several feet, the farther the
better, to colitct more fcod and mois
ture. Put more manure or fertilizer
in one place two fret away from acorn
or potato hill, or from almost any
plant, and a large mass of roots will go
out in that direction. So if we mix
manures or fertilizers well through
the whole soil, they attract these food
seeking roots to a greater distance ; and
hey thus come in contact with more
of the food already in the soil, and
find more moisture in dry weather.
A deeply-stirred soil, with manure at
the bottom, develops water-pumping
roots below the reach of any ordinary
drouth, and the crops kept right on
growing—all the more rapidly on ac
count of the helpful sun’s says that
would scorch a plant not reaching a
deep reservoir of moisture.”
Poultry Diaaaiei.
Canker in lowls should not be ne
glected for it is often a forerunner of
roup in its worst form. We have
found chlorate of potash an effectual
remedy for all except the very worst
cases. Put a pinch of the dry powder
on the canker spots, and keep the few
from water for an hour or so. Two or
three application will generally effect
a cure. Iu bad cases, touch the canker
spots with a stick of lunar caustic, and
give a weak solution of alum, or of
chlorate of potash to drink. Chlorate
of potaih is a cheap drug, and can be
obtained in powdered form at any
drug store. Keep fowls that have can
ker apart from the r;st of the flock,
and thoroughly cleanse all d rinking
vessels, feed boxes, etc., before they
are again used for other fowls.
Bumble-foot is a wart corn, a lump
oa the bottom of the foot, and is usu
ally caused by jumping from a high
perch on to hard floor. When the
lump appears to contain matter, cut it
open ; press the matter out, wash the
foot with warm castile soap suds,
and keep the fowl in a separate
coop on a bed of straw un il the foot is
well. To preven r . this disease, put the
roosting perches nearer the floor, or
cover tne floor with four or five inches
of dry earth, or else make a ladder for
the use of the fowls.
Crop bound.—When you see one of
your fowls going around with a crop
that looks twice as big as it ought to,
catch her, and if the crop is hard
and swollen, you may conclude
that there is some obstruction
in the passage from the crop
to the stomach. Pour some warm
water down the throat and then knead
the crop gently until the contents
seem soft; then hold the head down
and the bill open and work at the crop
a few minutes longer. Nextly give a
tablespoonful of castor oil audshut the
fowl up without food for twelve hours
or more. If this course of treatment
does not benefit the fowl, cut open the
crop, and remove the contents with a
teaspoon handle. Make the cut, which
should be about an inch long, near the
top of the crop. After the crop has
been emptied, oil the finger, and pass
it carefully as far as possible down the
passage to the stomach. Lastly sew up
the cuts, but don’t sew atl the edges up
together; take two or three siitohes in
he cut iu the crop, and then sew up
he outer skin separately. Once upon
time your correspondent sewed the
ges of both cuts all together, but
meliow that heu didn’t get along
ry well,—In fact she up and died,
ep the fowl on soft cooked food, and
t little of that, and away from the
er fowls for a week or so. Give no
ink for two or three dajs after the
ration. In making the cut, take
not to injure and large blood ves-
^Egg-bound.—When a hen mopes
round with hanging wii’gs, appears
^distress, and goes often to the nest,
[ties not lay, she is egg-bound, and
st treatment should be a large
iy two tablespooufulsof castor
[this does not give relief withiu
table time, inject sweef oil into
iot.
iUyatlon of Squashes.
and cannot endure the slightest touch
of frost. It should not be planted be
fore the middle of May. Being a very
quick and vigorous grower, it is not
necessary to put it iu early, as noth
ing is gained thereby. This plant feeds
as near the surface as it possibly can,
and the roots extend quite a distance,
which fact warns growers to spread
manure over the ground around the
plant rather than in the hill. Sq lashes
thrive well on nearly all soils if well
manured, and require but little atten
tion. Squash culture has received a
check during the past two seasons ow
ing to the ravages of the stiiped and
bl ck bugs, so-called, which destroy
it. Paris green kills the former, but,
as that substance is objectionable, ex
perienced growers suggest in its stead
nitrate of soda (saltpetre) which is not
only harmless but furnishes nitrogen
to the plants, thus increasing growth,
and assisting the plant to push ahead
of danger. Dissolve a tablespoonful of
the saltpetre in a half gallon of water,
and sprinkle over the plants (vines,
fruit and ground) and it will not only
drive away or destroy the bugs but
prevent attack. The black bug must
be caught. This is easily done by
placing a piece of stiff paper, card
board or shingle near tbe vine. Un
der this the bugs will gather at night,
and early in the morning, before the
sun is up, they can be killed. The
early bush, or paJty-pan squash is
mostly grown, but the marrow squash
give* the largest yield, and the Hub-
bird the best quality. There is no
vegetable in the garden or field that
requires less labor than the squash,
nor is any one more wholesome. The
rows should be about ten feet apart for
Hubbard and Morrow, and the plants
five feet from each other. Give them
plenty of room and keep them clean.
The time for gathering the early
squashes is at a period when they can
be indented by the finger nail with
comparative ease. If allowed to grow
until an effort is required to thus punc
ture them they become too hard, and
cannot be cooked satisfactorily. At
times the squash will, while growing,
suddenly lose Its beautiful green color
and turn yellow, apparently without
cause. This comes from two causes,
Ihe bugs and dry weather. In times
of drought these dangers should be an
ticipated by mulchiug around the
plant, for being a close surface feeder
it needs moisture near the top of the
ground, which can only be secured by
watering or mulching. Whenever
squash plants are watered the saltpe
tre will be found to be a valuable ad
dition, for it has been known to re
store ihe vines even after the yellows
have set in. A good sprinkling of
plaster and ashes around the plant
not only gives nourishment to the
vines but aLo distresses the black bug
should it endeavor to operate. The
yellow bug is the one that works the
greatest mischief. In cultivating or
hoeing squashes tbe object should be
to destroy grass and weeds only, care
being taken to disturb the roots as
little as possible.
Sheep en the Farm.
A correspondent of the Farmers'
Review makes some good points in the
following plea for sheep-keeping: “On
almost every farm are fields and pas
tures where weeds grow which horses
and cattle would mver think of eating.
Ou this sheep will browse and thrive.
Turn them into these pastures early iu
the spring, and they will take care of
themselves all summer. The pasture
must be proportion tte to the number
of sheep it is expected to support. If
too great a number are turned into it
early in the season they will keep it
fed down so closely that the crop will
be a scant one all summer. But if the
number is not too large for the range
given they will do well where other
animals would starve. Nothing escapes
them. They browse briars w^h great
relish, and in fields where other
bushes have begun to start they will
soon exterminate them, for they crop
off every young shoot as soon as it
makes its appearance. It is a good plan
to divide your pasture into two or
more fields. Let them run in one
until they have cropped it pretty
close. While they are doing that the
other will be getting a good start. By
and by you oan turn them into it, and
the one they have occupied can have a
chance to do something. In this way
you will he likely to get better feed for
them than you will by allowing them
full range of the entire pasture all the
time.”
A Bemedy for Potato Bags.
The Troy Fresa tells of a farmer who
tried a new remedy for potato bugs
with success. He prooured a number
of boards and placed them here aud
there among his potatoes and on these
e,re placed raw potatoes sliced.
At noon on the first day of the experi
ment he and his hired men found every
piece of potato covered with bugs. The
men killed this crop, and at night an
other crop was killed, though not so
large, and in a week not a bug could
be seen, and his trouble with bugs
after this was comparatively small.
In the spring, he says, is the best time
to attend to bugs as a spring bug, he
understands, breeds from 2<>0 to 300
during the pota’o season. He thinks
it would be a good plan to dip the
piece of potato in paris green, as it
would save the work of killing them.
Scientific Adulteration.
Adulterations in food and drugs
when clumsily made are easily enough
detected ; but the crafty aud unselfish
fellows who adulterate these products,
frequently do their work with such
scientific skill that no ordinary watch
fulness will suffice to defect it. So
many substances which formerly were
supposed to be the products exclusively
of living organisms can now be pro
duced artificially in the chemist’s lab
oratory so closely resembling the nat
ural oiganie substances themselves,
that it is impractical to distinguish
ihe artificially prepared compound
from the true one. In medicine,
vaelrianic acid, benzoic acid, volatile
oil of bitter almonds, etc., are familiar
illustrations of the artificial produc
tion of substances which at one time
were known only as peculiar consti
tuents of certain plants, or parts of
plants. Essential oil of mustard is
recently reported to be extensively
adulterated with an artificial product
made from allyl alcohol. Substances
may have apparently the same ele
mentary composition, and yet differ
essentially in properties, and it is not
certain that any artificial imitation of
an organic substance used iu medicine
has yet been made which possesses
the same medicinal properties as the
natural product. On the contrary, we
do know that in some cases the most
striking differences as to physical
properties exist, notwithstanding the
apparently proven identity as to
chemical composition (isomerisjn).
Starch, dextrin, and wood-fibre are
all represented by the formula C6H10
05, and yet they differ widely one
from the other. It is easy, therefore,
to suppose that organic substances can
be successfully adulterated with other
organic Substances without fear of de
tection by ordinary means, but with a
material change In quality. As the
art of successful adulteration must
necessarily steal its secrets trorn sci
ence, it becomes evident that the
necessity for the employment of scien
tific experts to protect the public
against impositions of this kind •must
grow with the advance of science
itself, and the time has arrixed when
public analysis are actually indispen
sable.
— —— ♦ ♦ -— - ■■ —
Carbolic Acid in Diphtheria.
Dr. Z. T. Magill, of Linco'n, Mis
souri, contributes to the Chicago Medi
cal Journal the method of treating
diphtheria from which he has secured
better results than from any other*
H® uses an ordinary hose, from three
to five feet long and about one inch in
diameter. One end is placed over the
spout of a common tea-kettle, into
which has been put half a gallon o 1
water and half an ounce of carbolic
acid. The kettle is then placed on the
stove, over a good fire, and when the
water reaches the boiling point, the
free end of the hose is carried under a
blanket thrown over the patient’s
head. The room must be closed. In
a short time the patient will perspire
freely. If persevered in at short in
tervals, breathing becomes softer, and
presently, after a succession of quick
explusive efforts, the patieut tb^ws
off a coat or tube of false mem - rane.
The acid vapor seems to pre* ect tne
re-formatien of exudation. Alcohol
aud sulphate of quinine a o used in
conjunction with the ack’/, for their
supporting properties.
— ’ i
Educational.
Educate your children in the high
est sense of the word, and you have
put into their lands a lever far more
powerful tha'. that of Archimedes;
one powerful enough to raise the deuse
mass of i .horance and sin. There is
wicked* ss and misery enough iu the
world, but endeavor to make your
come of it brighter and better, ^nd
your far-reaching influence will tell
on generations yet uuborn. Under
stand that on the wise, skillful train
ing of the souls committed to your
charge hangs a mome tous issue, a
tremendous power for g<
How 1 Teach Elimentary
Science.
It is proposed to introduce element
ary science as a class-sulject in the
Mundelia Code. It is put on a level
with geography and grammar, and a
Byllibus is given in which mechanics
occupies a very prominent place.
This indicates the value set upon such
kind of instruction by tbe department.
I think I can trace the handiwork of
one of the best known and most
highly esteemed of H. M. Inspectors.
I am, as may be supposed, especially
gratified to find my favorite subject
thus treated. Of the direct encourage
ment given to the teachings of me
chanics by the London Hchool Board,
I can speak from pleasant personal
experience. It is no wonder it should
be thus highly esteemed. It is the
one subjsct above all others that lends
its aid, in the words of Gambetta, to
“ that progress which is tbe develop
ment of that capital given by nature,
and which Is called reason.” I sup
pose all teachers have read Sir John
Lubbock’s speech at York, as reported
in the Times. I felt a certain personal
interest in reading it. For a short
time since, one of Her Majesty’s In
spectors did me the honor fo bring Sir
John and Lady Lubbock to Gloucester
Road to hear one of my lessons on
elementary science. Well, I feel that
when I am engaged in this kind of
teaching, I am, though in a humble
sphere, a fellcw worker with those
men of mighty minds, who met to
listen to that remarkable address from
their president.
I propose in this article to give an
outline of the first lesson, dealing with
matter in the three states; solids,
liquids and gases. The mechanical
properties peculiar to each state.
These are the words of a syllabus. If
I had the wording of this, I should
have said : “ matter; its three states,
solid, liquid arid gaseous; the physi
cal properties peculiar to each state.”
In order that the teacher should know
what he is talking about, and clearly
conceive of a plan for best presenting
the subject before juvenile minds, it is
necessary that he read Tyndall’s
“ Heat, a mode of motion,” and espe
cially Grove’s “Correlation of the
Physical Forces,” besides the ordinary
text-bcoks of Natural Philosophy.
John Jones, come here; take this
block of chalk in your hands; tell me
what you know about it from feeling
it. Ans. It is rough. Anything else?
Ans. It easily rubs off. Anything
else? It is a square. Is he quite
right, boys, in calling that a square ?
Ans. No, sir ; it is a cube. Yes. Now,
shut your eyes and tell me the shape
of this (handing him the ball). Ans.
Round. Again, boys, is he right in
calling that “ round ?” No, sir. Yes,
sir. Some boy says yes. Why ? Ans.
Bi cause it is round, every way. It is,
but the cube is also square every way,
yet you said it was wrong to call it
square. What is the proper word for
this shape ? Ans. A globe or sphere.
Just so. Now, Smith, you come here.
Put your finger in that basin of water
and tell me its shape? Ans. I can’t
feel any shape. No, you can’t. It has
no shape, and you oannot give it
shape of itself. S >e, I place the chalk
on the table and it remains there and
keeps its shape. Now, I will pour
some water on the table. You see It
does not remain there ; it runs away.
What do you ttiink is in that pipe?
And. Gas. L am going to turn it on,
but not ^ght it. I want you two boys,
In opposite corners of the room to tell
me when you begin to smell it. ( After
a few seconds.) I can smell it, sir.
Yes, so can I here. ( A boy) I can
miell it. (Another boy) And so can
I. Yes, you can all smell it. Now, I
have turned it off. How much gas
came out, think you, while it was
turned on ? Ans. This room full.
Indeed? Do you know how many
cubic feet that would be ? Ans. No,
sir. Well, then, this room is 20 feet
long, 20 feet broad, and 20 feet high ;
and 20 times 20 times 20 is what?
Ans. 8,000. Yes; then how many
cubio feet of space is there in this
room ? Ans. 8,000. Now, do you
think that 8,000 cubic feet of gas
passed < ut of that pipe during the
few seconds it was turned on? Ans.
No, sir. Yes, that is true. Now
boys, there was really only about one
cubic foot of gas passed out while I
turned it on. (A boy) Please, sir,
how could it fill this room, then?
Ah I that is just what I wa^ about to
ask you. boy) It spread. Spread?
What si^Bl ? Ans. The g{& -Do
you lus^^^b^thiug else^at would
s 11 n s w e
fo
would it spread all over it ? Anj
Ho, sir. How many cubic feet of]
water must I briig into this room tc
fill it? Ans. 8,000. And if I want
to fill the room with chalk, hoj
much ? Ans. 8,000 cubio feet. Y<
aud yet it seems that one cubic foot!
gas will flil it. A boy holding up h]
hand. Well ? Please, sir, I can mat
a cubic foot of water fill this rooml
You can? H >w ? Ans. Make it hoti
and turn it into steam. Yes, but thei
it would be vapor, not water. (A boy)
I read in one of our library books thatJ
steam and water are just the same.
Yes ; so they are in composition ; but
water in a state of steam is not called
water; you can turn the vapor into
water by condensing it. But you
have not answered my question as to
how one cubic foot of gas can spread
all over this room. Can any of you
tell me? No one? Well, now listen.
What would you call the smallest con
ceivable divisions of this gas ? Ans.
Molecules. Yes; there must be a cer
tain number of molecules in the cubic
foot it has spread all over the room, \
than when it passed out of the pipe?
No, sir. Then, what must have hap
pened to the molecules? No answer?
Look, here’s a little heap of peas on
the table. Suppose I wanted to make]
them spread all over the table whatj
must I do? Ans. Put them further
apart. Just so. Then, what musl
have happened (o the molecules ol
gas? Ans. They must have gon/
further apart. Yes, they separatee
from each other. Now why do not
the molecules of water iu that basin r ]
or the molecules of carbonate of limel
in that block, separate from eacn
other? Now think. (A boy). There]
must be something to keep them to-1
gether. Exactly so; there must be
and there is, and I will write on the
board the name of “ that something.”
“ Attraction of cohesion.” In the]
case of the gas the molecules are not ’
only not bound together, they fly
apart. Tell me some word which is
the opposite of “attraction.” No on$
can tell ? You two boys come here
stand together; now push each oth^
away. There, you see they nearly fell
down. There was certainly no attrao-1
tion; what was there? Aus. Repul
sion. Just so. Now, one of you boys'
try and put your finger into that piece
of ah Ik. You can’t ? Ans. No, sir^
No, ant very easily. Now, putyoi
finger Into that water. Yes, that,
easily < on \ What was it you pushel
apart in he water ? Ans. The mol/
cules of water. (A hoy) I coul
push apart the molecules of chal^
with a nail aud hammer. Yes, y<
could; but that requires preat fore
So in which of those two things is th^
attraction ol cohesion strongest? Ans!]
In the chalk. Now take out youi
books and write; In solids, such as^
chalk, the attraction of cohesion is
great; in liquids, such as water, the
molecules move freely among them
selves, for the attraction of cohesion is
slight; in gases or vapors %pre is
attraction of cohesion at all, but rej
sion between the molecules.
Water Power of Niagara.
The water power of Niagara
undoubtedly be utilized at no
tant day. It is thought practicably
have three turbine wheels, each at
three and a half feet in diameter, ul
izing a fal l of eight feet by means of
pipe eight feet in diameter. Eg
of the tiyee turbines would
I, 000 horse power, and since the^
ply of water would be that of the]
lakes, it would be practically inex^
hanstible. Calculations of the power
of the falls of Passaic, at Paterson, N.
J. , show 1,000 horse power; of th«
Merrimac, at Lowell, 10,000 ; of tht
Mohawk, 14,000; of the Connecticut,]
17,000; of the Audroscoggiu, 11 000; of
the Mississippi at St. Anthony’s FalJ
15 000. The total force of these
represents 75,000 horse power, and
each might be made to do at let
double work, it may be set down as
all 225,000 horse power. As an equalj
amount of energy might be drawn
from the smaller rivers in the moun
tainous regions, the total available hy
draulic force of the United 8tat s may
be set down as no less than 600,00(1
horse power. That Niagara and oi her
waterfalls in America will be utilised
for machinery there can be little
doubt; it is only a question of time.
Truths.
If we would have powerful mind]
we must think; if we would ha/]
faithful hearts, we must love; if b|
would have BtrogMMMuscUs, wefuujj
aud these^^^^^f^r.ado i
isj