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PLANT TREES TO IMPROVE YOUR PLACE.
The Illinois Agricultural Society has awarded
a premium to L. H. Thomas, of that State, for
making a beautiful grove of timber trees. The
seeds were planted on new ground in 1852, ’53
and ’54; and many of the walnuts, oaks and
maples are now twenty-five 'feet high, very
thrifty and growing finely.
Black walnut plank sells very high in all cities
for the manufacture of furniture; and the readers
of the Field and Fireside can hardly do a better
thing for the improvement of their farms, and
the benefit of their children, than to plant this
fall seeds enough of the black walnut to make a
handsome grove. Add a sprinkling of sugar
maples, mulberry, oak, locust, and poplar, for
variety. The cultivation of our best forest trees
cannot fail of being exceedingly profitable in a
few years; therefore begin early.
i«i
THE CAMEL IN THE SOUTH. '
The following letter, published in the Savan
nah Republican of a recent date, will be read
with interest. If good, serviceable camels can
be delivered here at from $l5O to $450 a head,
the demand cannot fail of being large in a few
years:
Artesa, (near Selma,) May 22.
Editor Savannah Republican:
Yours of the 17th instant reached here on
the 20th.
In reply, generally, the camels have proved
equal to all the demands made upon them. They
have been on my plantation for the past week,
plowing and carrying burthens to my entire sat
isfaction, though I have not been able to give
my personal attention to the making and fitting
of gear adapted to the peculiar form of the ani
mal, having been engaged on the Grand Jury,
and only at home from sundown to sunrise.
Besides, the long voyage from the Canary Is
lands here, and improper feeding since their ar
rival, have reduced the camels very much, so
that they are really too poor to work. With
more flesh and proper fitting harness, I hazard
nothing in saying that a grown camel will draw
with ease one of our two horse prairio turning
plows. lam now breaking out cotton middles
with a winged sweep, of 24 inches from wing to
wing—tlio camel poor, and with two years of
growth before him.
On Tuesday last, I sent twelve bushels of corn
to Selma, to be ground, on the same camel. The
corn was placed upon a saddle weighing 170
lbs., and the camel driver 160 lbs., making a
burthen of 1002 lbs.—a very good mill wagon
and team, I think.
The price at which camels can bo sold here
varies according to the age and size. The ex
tremes are $l5O and $450.
The camel will eat "almost anything that the
goat does not refuse. They are fed in the Ca
nary Islands on barley straw and barley chaff,
and occasionally, but very seldom, barley meal
is given them. I think they could soon be taught
to eat cotton seed. While at wrerk I feed them
upon liny and wheat straw; when at rest, they
are turned into n dry pasture, and they are im
proving every day in flesh and spirits. There
are no\V ten in an old field where a mule would
Starve, luxuriating upon weeds, briars and shrub
bery.
Two of these camels will be retained by me.
The others are owned by J. A. Machado, and
for sale at the above prices, for exchange on Mo
bile or New Orleans, payable in six months.
I induced Mr. Machado to bring these camels
over, for the purpose of satisfying myself if they
would answer for plantation purposes. I believe <
they will, although I have not yet harnessed
them to a wagon.
I am not interested in the sale of them, ex
cept as a planter desirous of checking the im
mense draught upon our cotton for nudes, by
substituting a procreating animal of more power
and greater longevity, and which requires less
expensive food to keep in working condition.
If the camel reaches this point, I shall feel
amply repaid for the outlay of tune, money aild
trouble, which I am now doing to ascertain it.
In my experiments thus far, it may be proper
to add, I found the camel awkward, of course;
but not restive, or unwilling, or intractable.
In conclusion, let mo say, that tho above is
the result of my operations with “ the animal of
tho prophet,” up to this time. I will write you
again when I am better posted.
In the meantime, with the warmest wishes for
your prosperity and happiness, I am, dear sir,
Yours truly, Bexj. M. IVoolsey.
- -4MM—
The Best llay and Winter Grass for the
South. —Tho agricultural editor of this journal
has devoted much time to the study of grasses
adapted to tho climate and soil of the South, and
feels confident, from his personal observations
. and experiments, that he possesses the forage
plant best adapted for winter grazing, soiling
purposes, and for hay, known either to science
or art at this time. This remark will be sus
tained by evidence hereafter to appear in our
columns. At present, we have only room to
say that every subscriber to the Southern Field
and Fireside will receive one or two ounces of
this seed, gratuitously, on sending to the office
of the paper letter stamps to pay postage.
A full description of the grass will appear in
our next issue.
—^
Cutworms. —From my own observations, it
appears these worms are never able to crawl the
lengtli of their bodies up a perpendicular bank
of earth, before they lose their foothold and fall.
If my supposition is correct, that these worms
mostly come from the surrounding fields, I-have
thought that a single deep furrow around \)ie
outside of a field or garden, when tho worms arc
first beginning to appear, (any break in the land
side of the furrow being repaired with the hoe,)
would form a barrier over which it would be im
possible for them to make their way, thus pro
tecting the whole field effectually, at a very tri
fling cost.
[Dr. Asa Fitch, in N. T. Entomological Report.
Dr. Fitch is a very careful observer, and the
above suggestion may be worthy of trial. It is
very certain that cabbage plants, when set in a
trench four or five inches deep, are not molested
by the cutworm, and head equally as well, if not
better.
—■—K I■ I ■
The Chinese Yam, Dr. Lindley says, lias
proved extremely valuable in England, and its
culture will extend. It is said that the female
has been received in France, and hopes are en
tertained of improvement from seedlings.
sics mwTummm wmm in
[WiltU-n for the Southern Field and Fireside.]
RUST ON COTTON.
Dr. Lee —ln an article on "Mildew, mst and
smut on wheat and oats,” in the Field and Fire
side, you explain the nature of rust, and the
cause of its production in cotton. I have my
doubts, even after tho scientific investigation j
made, as to whether anything is really and truly i
known in relation to its origin, or yet as to wliat
it is. Like causes produce like effects, and it is
impossible that rust, if it be as you represent it,
can destroy a single stalk of cotton in a field,
while there may not be another similarly affected
in fifty yards of it; yet, this is common with
what is termed with us black rust.
This black mst may occur at almost any sea
son of the year, or at any stage of the growth
of the cotton plant. It is usually confined to
particular spots in a field, and generally near
where water settles, after a heavy rain, but will
be found on a stalk here and there over a con
siderable space. It entirely destroys the plant,
and is confined generally on its voyages to lands
near a swamp or pond.
What is called red rust never attacks cotton —
at least, on my plantation—before the last of
July or first of August. Like the black, it usu
ally attacks particular localities, but spreads
from one stalk to another, and usually covers a
considerable space. The cotton infected by it is
invariably heavily fruited when the rust makes
its appearance. It then sheds leaves and squares,
but the bolls mature. If the season is good, the
cotton, in the course of a week or two, renews
its foliage, but always too late to make another
boll. Wherever, on my land at least, you find
a poke stalk growing amongst cotton, there you
will find the red mst. Occasionally it will spread
from this spot over a large space; again it will
be confined to a few cotton plants nearest the
poke bush. This is the way in which the two
varieties of rust act on particular fields of mine
every year. It is the liest land I plant, very
level, of a fine grey soil, resembling leached
ashes, and bordering upon a creek.
A. C. Walker.
Richmond County, May 24, 1859.
Tho writer of the above has onr thanks for his
interesting communication. Let the readers of
the Field and Fireside have as many facts bear
ing on this destructive malady, be its cause
what it may, as possible.
— *»i
The Guano Trade. —Few of our readers, per
haps, are aware of the amount of business that
has been reached in the Guano trade of this city,
which is but in its commencement. We have
received some figures from a well-informed friend,
and without at present going into detals, we may
state that the amount sold in this city since the
Ist September, 1858, is nearly $600,000. There
was little done in the first quarter of the com
mercial year—September, October, November—
so that this amount may be fairly credited from
the Ist December, at which time the large trans
actions began. Os this amount, one thousand
tons of Peruvian guano wore of direct importa
tion to this city.— Charleston Courier.
A system of agriculture so largely commercial
as that of the South, involves the necessity of
wearing out the soil, or of importing an immense
quantity of manure. In time, the true balance
between the export and import of the elements
of fertility will be established and maintained.
Until that is done, we shall steadily consume our
capital in planting lands—"make a desert,” and
call it profitable agriculture.
Vitality of Seeds. —The idea is prevalent
that some seeds will keep good a long time. The
Ay. Gazette gives the result of some experiments
•The first figure shows the number sown, and the
second the number that grew. All three year
old seed: Parsley, 130—-42; Carrawny, 600—2;
Parsnip, 300—20; Carrot, 300—79, Stocks, 600
—236; Candy tuft, 100—11; Rape, 450—323;
Turnip, 900—325; Cabbage, 150—11.
CISTERNS FOB STABLES.
Some of your subscribers were inquiring about
building cisterns. A few years ago, I built a
new stable, 36 feet long, 20 feet wide, with a
twelve foot shed along one side. I got tin spouts
put on both sides, and joined together on the cen
ter of the south end. Here we sunk a hole 11
feet deep, 10 in diameter, and intended to cement
it on the clay to about three feet on the top, from
which turn an arch of brick. But I met a per
son who had one built in this way, who told mo
that the roots of the trees pushed the cement off
the clay, and he advised me strongly to wall it
up with -stone and lime mortar. I had heard of
other cisterns, that were plastered on clay,
“ caving” in, and I hauled as many thin lime
stones from the creek, say two to three inches
thick, (thin stono do best,) as walled it up to
within two and a half feet of the top of the
ground. The wall is nine inches wide at the
bottom, and reduced to six inches at the top.
The plasterer turned a very flat arch on this,
(with brick,) four inches wide, by working round
and round, like a screw, and inclining the brick
on their edge a little more every round, till they
were nearly on their edge, and until the hole
was small enough to hold the metal frame, which
was tlion set in. We filled about the brick with
clay, and rammed and tramped it. Over the
clay we spread gravel. The arch rises about a
foot above the level of the ground, and we
formed a mound over tho cistern, so that any
water that is spilled runs off. I think a brick
arch is far better than wood, as the wooden cov
ering must be level, and any water that falls on
it may drip through into the cistern, and the
wood may rot. I told the mason that I thought
a four inch arch too weak, and that he ought to
make it the length of the brick—nine inches.
He replied, “the four inch would carry one cor
ner of the barn, and that it would last as long
as tho pyramids of Egypt.” T find this cistern
a great labor-saving article, and one of tho most
useful and convenient things about my place.
The creek is only two -liundreij yards from the
stable; but sometimes a horse comes in too
warm; we let him cool, and then givo him a
bucket of water out of tho cistern—and if the
hay is dusty, we have water convenient to
sprinkle it. It is not as big as intended by the
thickness of the wall, but last summer we wa
tered four horses half tho time out of it, and it
never ran out. Cost: mason building stone
wall, $4 50; plasterer, uming arch, plastering
first with mortar, to fill tho unevenness of the
stone, plastering with cement, and re-plastering
the old cistern, $5; cement, $3 50; lime, $1 60;
digging, $5; chain pump and box, $5 50; total,
$25. Tin spouting, sl9 75; say $45 in all.
T(ie stable cost $176 75. It lias seventeen feet
posts, which give a good hay loft above. It is
a double stable, with four stalls in each end, fif
teen feet long, and a feeding place in the middle,
six feet wide; two windows in each end, and a
trap door to throw down the hay in the feeding
place, which acts as a ventilator to carry off ihe
horses’ breath. I ought to have a cupola on the
centre of the rop£
[J. J. Craig, in Germantoxvn Telegraph.
AGRICULTURAL LETTERS FROM HANCOCK.
BY AS OLD MEMBER OE THE PLASTERS’ CLCB.
NO. L
Topography of llancoci — Shoulderbone lands —
Metamorphic valley—Pine lands — Mirierals —
Planters.
Mr. Editor: —By your permission I propose
to write a series of letters for the agricultural
department of your paper, which is intended to
give a faithful view of Southern agriculture as
it now exists and has existed, for the last quar
ter of a century, in Hancock county. Although
my labors liave been dispensed mainly in another
and more arduous profession, yet I have devoted
much time to the study of agriculture, both prac
tically and theoretically, and have left no stone
unturned in my investigations after truth, in the
beautiful cluster of sciences which constitute
this noble art.
Perhaps no county in the State possesses such
natural advantages for general observations in
agriculture as Hancock. Lying as it does on the
dividing line between the Primary and Tertiary
regions of the State, having about one-lmlf alum
inous and the other a silicious soil, an observer
might soon learn the different modes of farming,
as applicable to different soils, and the relative
strength and value of different classes of land.
The Shoulderbone lands are by far the most
valuable, lying as they dojn a metamorphic val
ley, which abounds in homblendic gneiss, and
felspathic and micaceous rocks, many of which
' are in a disintegrated state. As these rocks
ateund in potash, soda, lime and magnesia, the
soils they constitute have an inexhaustible sup
ply of these elements. All that is needed to
make them productive when worn out by long
cultivation, is something to open the soil that
the atmosphere may penetrate it and produce
decay, and that the roots may permeate it in
quest of food. It has been ascertained by well
conducted experiments in this county, that this
aluminous soil, when divested of everything but
the subsoil, will increase in fertility by an an
nual plowing in early spring. Two would do
better, one in early auffunn for the purpose of
turning in what few weeds might have grown
on the surface, and rendering it porous that the
frost may penetrate during the winter, and the
nitrous particles be eliminated more readily—
the other in the spring that the weeds and grass
might get a vigorous start by a proper commi
nution and mingling of the soil We have in
process of renovation a number of galled spots
on this plan, and our red laud farmers would do
well to cultivate the bases of hills and the low
lands where the soil is l.>etter, and attempt a
renovation of their sides and summits in this
way, instead of leaving these exhausted spots
to the slow process of recuperation by the leaves
of the old Held pine. But we have anticipated,
and must leave this very interesting subject for
thb present, intending to recur to it again.
This metamorphic valley, of which we spoke,
lies between two granito ridges, on one of which
is situated the town of Sparta. Twelve to fif
teen miles North of this runs the parallel ridge,
bordering on the edge of Greene county. On
both of these ridges large masses of granite are
seen cropping out, which is composed about
equally of Quartz mica and felspar. It is very
fine for building purposes, but can never be made
subservient to agriculture, as it appears to be as
firm as when the plutonic fires upheaved it from
the burning centre of the earth. South of the
ridge on which Sparta is situated, we find no
more granite to the ocean, the primary merges
into the tertiary, oak and hickory change to pine,
and the compact clay gives place to the light san
dy soil which characterizes this region.
Thero are fine farming lands on Buffalo creek,
which flows through this section, having its ori
gin among the primary hills about Sparta. Huge
masses of felspathic rock crop out along its bor
ders as low down as Sasnett’s mill, which may
be considered as the terminus of the primary re
gion. Beds of micaceous sandstone also abound,
which, doubtless, aids the fertility of these lands.
The ridges on either hand belong to that class of
pine land, heretofore considered unproductive,
which have so recently been brought into notice,
by the successful cultivation of Messrs. Harris,
Dickson, Turner, and other distinguished plan
ters of this county, of whose operations we ex
pect to write hereafter more in extenso. Here is
the beginning of the burrstono or fossiliferous
region, and, doubtless, much of the value of this
soil depends on the lime it contains.
Bordering on the line of Hancock and 'Wash
ington counties is a most interesting region for
the geologist. Here we discovered nodules of
brown jasper, which, when broken open, con
tained beautiful crystals of wavellito, the only
locality of this rare mineral in North America.
Lower down, large boulders of silicified shell#
crop out, many in a state.of disintegration, with
the shells in a perfect state. Here, also, is a lo
cality of beautiful milliey opal, winch Professor
Shepard (to whom we sent specimens,) says
promises well for fine opal, one of the precious
stones. We also discovered a bed of green and
brown opal, (menillitt,) which is found nowhere
else in the United States. All of these are fine
formations, and indicate a superabundance of
that fertilizing element in the soil.
So much for the rocks and soils of Hancock.
What shall wo say of her planters? We must
say that few comities in this, or any other South
ern State, can boast of so many intelligent and
educated cultivators of the soil This needs ne
proof, as it is generally given up—and we have
sometimes thought, from certain indications we
have seen, that our farmers have more reputa
tion abroad than they deserve. This much cred
it, at least, they are "entitled to: the origination
of the first planters’ club and agricultural fair in
the State, as well ns of the Southern Central Ag
ricultural Association; and, as the sequel will
prove, the development of many of the most
important improvements in planting that have
been made in the last quarter of a century.
He would be a poor observer of men and
things who could not, during such a period, sur
rounded by such favorable circumstances, glean
a harvest of facts and opinions worthy at least
to be recorded in an agricultural journal. For
a proper presentation of these facts and opin
ions, together with sketches of some of the lead
ing minds who gave birth to them, we have
chosen the epistolary and more discursive method
of communication, hoping that your long habit
of the terse and treatistical style, generally and
very properly used by scientific men, will not
prevent us from a hearing before the plain and
unscientific farmers of the South, for whom these
letters are mainly designed. P.
Sparta, Gy.
—-—-- ♦»» -
Cedrus Deodara. —The seed of the C. D.
germinates much better when pealed. Pot in
turfy, moist soil, and do not water before they
are up. — Gardener’s Monthly.
-
Gas Tar.—A correspondent of the American
Farmer says gas tar painted about the collar of
a ]teach tree will keep out the borer. The pub
lic should know that this tar is very apt to kill
all fruit trees to which it is applied.
[Written for the Southern Field »nd Fireside.]
ENTOMOLOGY.
Mr. Editor— lt is something remarkable, and
not the less to be regretted, that the writers for
our agricultural papers never give their thoughts
on the subject of entomology. And why is it so?
It cannot be that they think the subject devoid
of interest. We are informed that Aristomachus
devoted fifty-eight years of his life, and Philiscns
nearly the whole of his, to the study of the hoqey
bee; Linnanis, Reaumur, Swammerdam, and a
liost of others, who have spent much of their
time in investigating the habits, Ac., of insects,
have left upon the pages of natural history
names that will be associated with the benefac
tors of any country. To show in what estimation
the subject is held by the intelligent, I quote a
few lines from Addison:
“ I could wish,” says'he, in The Spectator,
“our Royal Society would compile a body of
natural history, the best that could be gathered
from books and observations. If the several
writers among them took each his particular
species, and gave us a distinct account of its
origin, birth and education: its policies, hostili
ties and alliances; with the frame and texture
of its inward and outward parts—and particu
larly those which distinguish it from all other
animals—with their aptitudes for the state of
teing in which Providence has placed them: it
would be one of the best services their studies
could do mankind, and not a little redound to
the glory of the All-wise Creator.”
Although Addison can hardly be considered a
naturalist, the plan recommended by him is
worthy of the test attention of all men who de
sire to be informed, Considered in an agricul
tural point of \*iew, the question presents pecu
liar claims, as I shall illustrate by a few extracts
from the works of distinguished naturalists.
Speaking of the grain-fly, history informs us that
in the spring of 1800, in the neighborhood of
Edinburgh, they laid waste whole fields of oats
*and other grain. In many districts of England,
these insects.cut off a large proportion of the
wheat crop, particularly, it would apiiear, when
it had teen sown on clover leys. “In the rich
district," say Kirby and Spence, “of Sunk Is
land, in Holderness, in the spring of 1813, hun
dreds of acres of pasture have been entirely
destroyed by them, being rendered as completely
brown as if they had suffered a three months’
drought, and destitute of all vegetation exeept a
few thistles. A square foot of the dead turf te
ing dug up, two hundred and ten grubs were
counted on it; and, what furnishes a striking
proof of the prolific powers of those insects, last
year it was difficult to find a single one.”
Os the wheat-fly ( Cecidomyia Tritici) every
body has heard, but few understand it through
all its transformations. Mr. Shieeff, an intelli
gent farmer of East Lothian, has written quite
an interesting account of it, from which I will
make one or two extracts:
“The Hies,” he says, “were observed to fre
quent the wheat plant including the thick-rooted
couch-grass, ( Triticum repens). They generally
reposed on the lower parts of the stems during
the day, and lieeame.active about sunset, exeept
when the wind was high. 1 have, however, seen
them flying ateut on cloudy mornings till seven
o'clock; and, upon one occasion, witnessed them
depositing their eggs, in a shaded situation, at
two o’clock in the afternoon. Their movements
appear to be influenced by the rays of light, of
which they seem to be impatient, teing active
when the sun is below or near the horizon; they
frequent the most umbrageous part of the crop,
and shun that which is deficient in foliage.”
I have noticed that the tee moth selects the
shades of evening, and at night, for the commis
sion of their ravages on the hives, shewing that
the two are governed by the same instinct. Mr.
Shieeff goes on to say: “The flies almost inva
riably preferred the ears emerging from the va
gina to those further advanced for depositing
their eggs on; and as one side only of the ear is
exposed when the plant is in this stage of growth,
the other side generally remained uninjured.—
The fly deserted the fields as the crop advanced
towards maturity, and were found longest on the
spring sown portion of the crop.”
“ The larvae are produced from the eggs in the
course of eight or ten days; they are at first
perfectly transparent, and assume a yellow color
in a few days afterwards. They travel not from
one plant to another, and forty-seven have l>een
numbered in one.”
Mr. Gorrie, another intelligent observer, found
“that by the first of August, all the nmfgots
leave the ears and go into the ground about the
depth of half an inch, where it is probable they
pass the winter in the pupa state.”
The whole subject is an interesting one to me,
and I could continue the extracts to any length,
but I have no assurance that the}' would be
W agreeable to your readers. I know that they
would prefer some remedy against the ravages
of insects. I would be glad to offer a remedy;
but tllat must be left to some one more compe
tent—l cannot. Respectfully,
V. LaTaste.
Transportation of Eggs for Setting. —lt is
becoming quite common for persons who wish to
obtain new breeds of poultry, to buy the eggs
and have them sent by express. For short dis
tances, if carefully packed, this will do very
well; but it should not be inferred hence that
they can be safely sent any required distance
without destroying the vitality of the eggs. Any
violent shaking of the egg destroys its vitality;
so long continued gentler motion must produce
the same effect. By packing in strong paste
board boxes, each egg in a cell of its own, about
two and a half inches square? and three and a
half inches deep, putting the small end down
upon a thick layer of cotton wadding, and then
filling in firmly all around tjie egg with bran of
wheat or meal, and finally, end by packing the
pasteboard box in a board box about an inch
larger all around, and filling in this space also
with dn- sawdust or bran, and eggs may be
transported any distance without breaking. In
deed, last year the writer sent Spanish and Dor
king eggs as far as Calais, Me., and to lowa
City, lowa, and a part of them hatched, but I
cannot recommend the transportation of eggs for
setting, for I think it of doubtful utility, if carried
any considerable distance. One fact in my ob
servation is worthy of note—in my experiments,
so far as I learned, the Spanish eggs resisted the
injurious influences of transportation better than
the Dorking, and the eggs of Aylesbury and
Rouen ducks better than either.
Utica, N. Y. D. S. Heffron.
[ Country Gentleman.
Veterinary College in New York.— -There
is now going up in Twenty-third street, near 6th
avenue, a splendid edifice for the “College
Veterinary Surgeons,” which is to cost about
$40,000. *
— i»> —*"
Maple Sugar.—A correspond*® 1 °f ' er '
‘ mont Chronicle estimates thc J,B B ar cro P a "
moille county, in that Sta«. at 9OMOO pounds
this spring. The yield •* the North has b^ ll
unusually large.
HORTICULTURAL.
WM. N. WHITE, Editor.
SATURDAY JUNE 4,1859.
HORTICULTURAL. .
Communications for this department are re
spectfully solicited. Address them to the editor,
at Athens, Ga.
Horticultural exchanges will please direct to
the same address.
ERRATUM.
In an article on Stocks for Roses, in the first
number, for “Hawser Yellow” read “Harrison,”
and for “Marietta” read “ManettL”
——
HORTICULTURAL SCHOOL FOR GIRLS.
Mrs. Piielps, of New York City, is about to
erect on Long Island an establishment for train
ingyoung orphan girls in the art of Horticul
ture —an art which requires care more than
physical strength. The scientific culture of flow- *
era is to form a prominent feature of the institu
tion. Mrs. P. ha 9 taken a step forward in the
right direction.
CULTURE OF VETCHES.
Mr. A. WooLFonn, of Lynn, Canada West,
writes to the Country Gentleman, that he has
been very successful in the cultivation of the
English Vetch. It is a plant which we ought
to grow in the .South. Mr. W. says: “ I havd
tried it in all kinds of land, and it has done well
on each, but I consider high land the best,
nave sown it on pieces of rocky land where
there was not over four inches of soil, and the
crop was abundant. I have mowed it three
times in one season, upon clay land, for my
horses. I have also cut once for feed, and left
the second for seed, which returned twenty
bushels per acre." Has any one at the South
this seed for sale?
ma t »>
COAL TAR-RABBITS.
An application of coal tar to the trunks of
young fruit trees, has been recommended to
protect them from rabbits during the winter. A
friend of ours last winter tried the experiment
on his pears, and found it to be an efficient pro
tection. It had, however, one little drawback;
ns this spring he finds it has killed most of the
trees. Os course, a single application to a tree is
quite sufficient. The item, coal tar, will not
hereafter appear in our friend's account of yearly
expenditures. We make a note of it for the
benefit of our readers.
Large Cameiau. —A correspondent of the
Church Journal, New York, in Portugal, de
scribes a Camellia, near Cintra, of immense size
capable, he says, of shading two hundred per.
sons.
THE TWELVE BEST DAHLIAS.
The Dahlia, owing to the endless variety of
colors furnished by tho annually increasing hy
brids, and the facility with which the root may
be cultivated, has always claimed a prominent
place in tliq garden of the amateur. Such is the
profusion and novelty of colors, that we anhu
ally reject many choice sorts to make way for
the new claimants for favor. Twelve well se
lected varieties will make quite a d'splay, and
afford an op]K>rtunity to compete for a premium
at the neighboring horticultural exhibition or
county fair. The following varieties we can re
commend for beauty and perfect form:
1. Bessie, deep yellow.
2. Mount Blanc, white.
3. Bishop of Hereford, deep rosy purple.
4. Captain Ingram, dark crimson.
5. Hairy Queen, palo lilac and white.
6. Lollipop , salmon buff.
7. Lilac King, clear lilac.
8. Malvina, white and light purple.
9. Primrose Perfection, primrose yellow.
10. Ruby Queen, bright ruby.
11. Beauty of the Grove, buff edged with crim
son.
12. Baron Ahlerson, orange tipped with white.
Many additions might be made to our favor
ites for the open garden, but the space is limited
and the claimants for attention numerous.
[Ru/st'# Almanac.
m THE USE OF BURNT CLAY AS MANURE.
About four years ago, I had my attention
called to the use of burnt clay as manure, by an
Englishman, who used the ashes of burnt day
on his potatoes and garden vegetables. The
good results obtained by him induced me to try
the plan. Accordingly I burnt ten bushels of
ashes from good day sods, and applied them to
one-tenth of an acre of meadow land. I sowed
them broadcast, about the lnsfrof August. The
effect was quite perceptible during the fall, and
the next season the crop of hay was at least one
third lieaviei than it was on a meadow adjoining,
where there had been no manure of any kind
applied.
I was induced by my success on meadow land,
to continue the use of burnt clay. I burned two
hundred bushels during tho fall of 1856, and
sowed broadcast one hundred and fifty bushels
on one and a half acres of meadow land; and
the next spring I applied fifty bushels to half ar
acre on potato ground. The results of the be"
clay on the meadow land was quite as sa*" 80 *
tory as was my first trial of them, and tae re "
suits of the burnt clay on the crop " potatoes
was equal to an increase of oue-t l * nl ove £ “ aU
an acre adjoining, on which no * nanu ro of any
kind was applied, both pieces '’ cc ‘ v^£ tae same
amount of cultivation, and ; ere same va "
riety of potatoes. . .
Being welt satisfied port experiments m
theuse of burnt cl/* Q^, burn . ed , ur ndred
bushels, in the fall* 1857 - and during the past
season have u «e* t,iem on meadow land, on po
spring wheat. The results
on grass am’ on potatoes were equal to the re
sults obtained; but on spring wheat,
the eft’e-* 8 were not at aU perceptible.
j funk its effects on grass and potatoes have
equal to the effects of plaster, if not more
a). I shall apply Borne of it on spring wheat,
next season, and l anticipate better results than
I obtained last season. I shall also continue its
use on meadows and potatoes, and shall try it
on carrots, oats and other crops, and watch the
results with interest. ® EE - »
Hickory Bluff, Erie Co., N. Y., Nov., 1858.
[Genesee Farmer.
■
Raisins.—Mr. A. P. Smith, of Sacramento, is
vciy successful in producing fine raisins. The
California Crdturist says “their flavor is excel
lent."
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15