Show editorials THE monthly report of the department of agriculture for march and april is to hand band it contains statements from various parts of the union of the condition of winter grain condition of cattle sheep and farm animals diseases of the same entomological record chemical and scientific notes facts from various sources market prices of farm products etc in first words of the botanist that gentleman mr george vasey states that he haa hag just entered upon his duties the botanical collections of the department are distributed in cases and on shelves numbering 1 to corresponding to the natural orders large quantities of specimens yet remain lu in packages awaiting examination and distribution the collection contains the botanical collections of the dlf dif different exploring expeditions of the government together with numerous private collections which have found their way to the department the botanist says a representative of every species of plant growing in the united states andy andt and as far as practicable of the plants of other countries should have a place in the department collection it is also desirable to haye have a more complete representation of all our native forest trees in the form of sections of the trunk or body of the trees so BO as to illustrate the natural appearance of the the bark and the wood also a section of the wood polished to show the quality ual uni of the grain this feature of op the work would also have a practical bearing upon the important questions now agitating the public mind the preservation and perpetuation of the forests of the country another object of great importance import anea anca to the country is the diffusion of information respecting the vegetable or fungoid diseases which affect many of our moat valuable agricultural products our grains our orchards and vineyards in many localities are buffering from the ravages of blight mildew mold rot or other fungous parasites these require investigation vesti gation in the be expectation that a full knowledge of their nature and habits of growth will enable us to discover means of arresting and controlling their progress in the scientific notes is one of a very important announcement lately made in france concerning the effect produced upon the luxuriance of vegetation by the disturbance of the natural position of the branches in addition to the knowledge acquired some bome time since that it if one of two branches branch ts of a fruit tree of similar size and upward inclination cli nation is bent downward toward the horizontal plane the bent branch appears to lose its vigor while the other gains in a like ratio it is now announced noun nGun bounced eed ced us hs the discovery of one hooi hool break a pe peasant amrit that this law holds good only to the horizontal position but that it if the branch is depressed still lower it acquires greater vigor than before and will put out leave leaves sand and branches to an unheard of degree though this depends upon keeping the branches as aa nearly as possible in a straight line the effect being measurably lost with a considerable curvature as in this latter case else only the buds which occupy the top of the arc are are developed completely at the expense of the rest which remain in their original conditi in contributing neither to the extension of foliage nor of fruit the following extracts will be acceptable to all who are interested in the subjects upon which they treat CAR cau carbonic CARBOLIC bonto BOLTo ACID AS A disinfectant clomburg homburg CHom 0 burg of berlin proposes to use carbolic acid as a disinfectant by saturating batu aatu rating sheets of bristol board or any thick spongy paper with a solution of carbolic acid in water the paper in peces pieces of any convenient size may be nung hung up in the room to be disinfect ed or may be placed in drawers or wardrobes where it Is desired to protect clothing from moths or other insects this sugg bugg esta eata a convenient method of using this excellent disinfectant and insect destroyer USE OF SEWER WATER AS A MANURE Accordi according Dg to the revue horti cole experiments with the sewer water of paris parts in the cultivation of certain lands below the level of the city commenced three years ago have been of the most moat satisfactory character and the eagerness that the farmers now exhibit to obtain permission to use these waters on their lands wherever it is practicable is justl juitt justified fled fied by the great increase in their value many of them having previously been of little worth thus certain lands now rent for six or seven times as much per annum as formerly artificial WATER lime LIMB it has been long known to chemists that water lime consists substantially of quicklime quick lime burnt clay and a small portion of the oxides of iron and mag nesia but scarcely any effort has hag been made to utilize this knowledge all yellow or red clays contain iron and most specimens of lime in use contain the required magnesia if burnt clay or brick dust duat in fine powder be mixed with an equal weight of fresh slaked lime and twice this weight of clean sharp sand be added a compound will be formed which will harden under water equal to the best hydraulic cement MILK milr OF DISEASED CATTLE mr hassou in a paper upon the milk of animals diseased with the cattle cattie plague announces announce sas as the result of cf one oneff of his researches that neither the flesh nor the milk of animals suffering from this cattle plague contagious typhus will convey the disease although they may summer suffer greatly in their nutritive properties the milk of diseased cows he be found to have a more or less marked reddish yellow tinge and a disagreeable flavor although cats fed upon it seemed to suffer no inconvenience As general conclusions mr husson remarks first that when the typhus breaks out in a cow the beasts therein are subjected although in different degrees to the epidemic influence in fact in one instance the whole herd berd died with the exception of four cows which never seemed to be ill although they furnished one of the three specimens of milk analyzed second milk cannot any more than flesh transmit the disease to man nor to animals that do not belong to tb the ruminant rumia rum leant izant ant family third not with stan standing dini dint this even during the first stage of the disease when the yield still continues normal the milk s should hould not be employed as aa food for young children in consequence of the modification fi that has taken place in its principles fourth from the commencement men cement of the disease the combustible elements of the milk in great part disappear while the elements on the contrary are increased in considerable proportions and are soon found commingled with sangat dolent matters frequently there may be observed under the microscope agglutinated globules glo bules either mucous or purulent WIRE FENCES IN TEXAS mr it 3 E talbot georgetown williamson county texas describes a new wire fence which has been extensively introduced into that section which it is claimed can be built for less than 1 20 per rod it has been enily tested by wild texas cattle and is perfectly hog proof it consists of eight wires no 9 sze oze passing through cedar boits a rod apart the lower four wires are six inches apart and the others nine inches this will give a five foot fence between the posts weave in three sawed or split pickets which should not reach the ground staple the wires to the pickets regulating THE thu HATCHING OF SILK worn WORM eggs egas duclaux due Duo laux lauz after a cartful observation of the external conditions which favor and influence tbt thi hatching of the eggs of silkworms bilk blik worms has prepared the following rules by attention to which it is said that the development of the eggs can cali be regulated at will first to prevent an am egg from being hatched at the usual time it must be kept from the period of being laid at a temperature between 59 and 68 F and then exposed fourteen days to cold three months before the time at which the hatching is desired being subsequently treated in the usual man ner nen to cause an egg to batch before the usual cimei time it must be exposed to cold twenty days after being laid and keit kent kept in that condition for fir two months mouths an and then removed sis bix weeks later it will be in the same condition as ordinary eggs and can be treated in the same manner in this way it la Is possible to have hav e silkworms silk worms ready for hatching at any season of the year CONDITION OF FARM earm ANIMALS horses and mules the most valuable class of domestic animals receive more uniformly the requisite care and protection than other stock if hay bay 1 is scarce the deficiency is usually made good by extra supplies of grain a and U d 1 yet the colts and young horses of thinly settled states are often left to the same chances for pasturage and shelter from the rigors of winter tha that are enjoyed by the less valuable st at ck of the range with the exception of suffering from the severity of the past winter among this class elass of uti stabled horses mainly in the milder climates of the country both horses and mules are reported to be in average condition while pecuniary considerations appear to govern the action of farmers in the care of the dumb brutes committed to their protection it is hoped that no respectable stock grower will disregard the common dictates of humanity in his treatment of his dependents A close view of the subject will show abow that its monetary and humanitarian aspects are usually in harmony and a man who is a man indeed will be willing to make some pecuniary sacrifice in emergencies rather than subject his farm far matock stock to avoidable suffering the terrible loss of brute lives by the winters severity as recently experienced in texas in kansas and nebraska and in colorado and wyoming should be avol avoided ded eed as far as practicable by better provision pro for scarcity of feed resulting from drought deep snows and other causes and by greater care in providing stock with shelter either natural or artificial ODESSA WHEAT mr L H eaton of monroe green county wisconsin has cultivated the odessa wheat for five fave years with good results twice during this time other varieties failed but the obessa produced twenty bushels to the acre the berry is small but weighs sixty three pounds to the measured bushel it is equal to winter wheat for milling purposes it is eight days later in ripening than other varieties encouragement TO TREE P LANT plant ING IN 14 MAINE the following act was passed by the recent legislature and has become a law that any landholder land holder in this state who shall plant or set apart any cleared auis ands or lands from which the primitive forests shall have been removed forthe for the growth and production of forest trees within ten years after the ibe passage of this act and shall successfully grow and cultivate the same for three years yearb the trees being not less lebs in number than two thousand on each acre and well distributed over the same then aen on application of the owner or occupant of buch sueh lands to the assessors of the town in which the bame same is situated and is so successfully cultivated or set apart to forest trees and at the time of such application shall file with said assessors a correct plat of such lands with description crip tion of their location prid hild setting forth all the faeta in relation to the growth and cultivation of said grove of trees or incipient forest the same bame eime shall be exempt from front taxation for foi twenty yeara thereafter provided such grove or plantation of trees shall during that period be kept alive and in a thriving condition YIELD OF CORN COHN J sall sail ders of saunders county nebraska deposes that he raised eighteen aeres acres of corn last year which averaged ninety bushels to the aero acro J if H nesbitt Ne abitt of the same county also deposes that bev sey enty five acres of corn raised by him averaged ninety seven bushels per acre while another field of one hurl huri hundred dred and seventy five acres aver nver averaged aged eighty ove nive bushels per acre preparation OF BEET LEAVES for ifor FODDER mahay maintains the entire success of his bis method of so preparing the leaves of the beet as to render them capable of preservation for beveral several months as fodder gudat the same bame tim time greatly improving their qualities as food for cattle the method eon con consists siets simply in placing them in baskets bal bets and immersing them in a containing diluted hydrochloric acid of 4 degrees of beauma the result of this tj isi to greatly condense the volume of the leaves and to render it necessary to add arre fresh ones to nil nill up the basket which has again to be immersed immer sedi and finally allowed to drain off the leaves may then be placed in beds in lri dry earth and kept until antil needed for use according to a report of a committee who examined the result of this process domestic animals become extremely fond of the leaves thu thun 4 prepared and indeed cows fed with them are said to give a large increase of milk with a decided improvement in the quality of the butter the tendency to diarrhoea in cattle produced by the fresh beet leaves seema reema not to be developed by this prepared fodder and for this and many other reasons it is strongly recommended to agriculturists agriculturist ts 1 A |