Willamette farmer., December 04, 1874, Page 3, Image 3

WILLAMETTE FARMER
3
Domestic Ecof,ofy.
Tasteful House Furnishing.
The following, whioh we clip from an old
number of Blackwood, may not be counted
strictly as household "economy." In oar
time and place and with our actual ideas and
actual wants, such rooms as are described
below may be considered typical; they, repre
sent the highest form of realization of modern
taste wiihont its faults, or rather with as little
of them ns is consistent with the expenditure
of any given amount of money and thought:
The Dining Room.
In the dining room there is an atmosphere
which we do not often breathe elsewhere. All
is dark brown cloth and ebony; but the weak
ened daylight which straggles in through the
heavy curtains finds resting places, and marks
points on the angles of the old faience which
stands upon the dresser, on the steel hingts of
the sideboards, which flicker vaguely on the
yellow and dull blue of the hanging lamp.
Brown walls set in black beading frame in the
room, and lend its aid to its austere but grand
effect.
The Drawing Room.
The drawing rooms are painted in a tint
which the catalogues of color do not define
something between a fading China rose and
half-ripe Indian corn. Narrow banks of faint
pearl grey surrounded each panel, and here and
there a thin line of gold relieves the gentleness
of tone. Chairs of varied shapes, all made for
comfort and suited to the position which each
sitter may wish to take, sttnd about in pleasant
irregularity. They are clothed in different
stuffs of all the finer sorts, so that the varying
sheen of damask, silk and satin may prevent
the uniformity of one material; they are em
broidered with fantastio flowers of every hue,
but calculated so that each shall mingle with
and neutralize the other, the object being to
subordinate each part to the whole effect. As
the French say, "nothing screams," for ail fits
well together.
And plants with variegated leaves, and books
whose very bindiDg has been calculated for the
place it is to occupy, and th? thousand trifle?
which lie 'about, and the work basket from
which skeins of wool are cunningly allowed to
overflow, because their colors will serve a pur
pose, and the, laced handkerchief left trailing
there in the angle of a sofa, in order to light up
by its whiteness a too dark corner all these
things show thought; all are contrived with
skill and art, with the one object of creating a
thoroughly charming room, where the mistress
asserts herself in her own handiwork.
The Bed Room.
Now go to the bedroom, and from the
doorway observe it with your eyes, for never
have you seen a pioture so complete. The
walls, the hangings, and the seats, are all
in pale blue satin, edged sparingly with velvet
of the same shade, and embroidered daintily
with pale moss rose buds, swathed in still paler
yellow leaves. But this description, though
exact, gives no idea of the effect produced by
that wondrous tissue, of the incredible effect
of delicacy and thorough feminine elegance
which it sheds around. The room is filled with
a vague floating perfume of charm and grace;
its every detail is combined to aid and sustain
the almost fairy aspect it presents. Tbe bed
is shrouded in thickly wadded satin curtains,
inside of which hang others made of muslin
so vaporously filmy that its folds seem almost
mist; tbe coverlet which hides tbe lace trimmed
sheets and pillows, is in blue satin, lined with
eider down, and covered with the same veil of
floating white hanging down in a deep flounce
over the wood work of the bed. The toilet
table is the same a nestling mass of transpar
ency and lace, with blue beneath; and knots
and streamers of mingled satin and velvet
round. On the chimney piece stands a clock
and candlesticks of Sevres china. The piano
is in pale bolse de rose, (not rose-wood, which
is a very dinerent tning) lniaia witn pistes 01
Sevres to match. At night light comes from
above, where bangs a lamp of Sevres again.
Giiuel. We give the following from the
Health Reformer concerning what seems a very
simple matter the making of gruel. It is im
portant that every woman should know the
best way of preparing that whioh is both food
and medicine for the sick: "Several articles
may to used, but wheat-meal is preferable.
Have the water boiling. Make a piste of the
meal and cold water, and stir it slowly. It must
not stop boiling for a moment; if it does it will
have a raw taste, which yon cannot remedy by
cooking for hours."
Potato Puddino. With a pound and a quar
ter of mealy potatoes boiled very dry and mashed
perfectly smooth while hot, mix three ounces
of butter, five eggs, a few grains of salt and the
grated rind of a lemon. Pour the mixture into
a well buttered dish, and bake in a moderate
oven three-quarters of an hour. When done
sift some sugar in it.
Washing Windows. Inwashing windiws or
other glass, never use soap, unless it can be
thoroughly unsed on; wasn on tne airi in ciean
warm water; after tbe glass is dry, rub with a
little paste or whiting and water, in tne center
of each pane. With another cloth rinse over
the glass, then rub it with a dry cloth till it
shines like crystal.
UsEfllL IHfOFVP0-
Invisible Ink. If we write with a very
diluted solution of chloride of copper, which has
scarcely more color than pure water, tbe char
acters are invisible; but if gently heated, they
become distinctly yellow, and are easily read.
Let the paper cool, and they vanish; and they
may be made to appear and disappear an in
definite number of times. If heated too
strongly, the compound is decomposed, and the
nrriilno hannmAa nermanentlv brown from the
.lonnoitinn of the cooper. Tbe chloride ofi
copper may be conveniently made by mixing
solutions of sal ammoniao and blue vitriol.
Tho cbange of color in this and kindred cases
is flue to tho removal of the water of crystalliza
tion by the heat. In chemical combination
!ii, ii. mr thA Rait is transparent: without
the wa'er. it is opaque. Tho salt, being very I
deliquesoent, rapidly absorbs moisture irom
the air when cool. Boston Jour, of Chem.
How to Fasten Rubber to Wood ob
Metal. As rubber plates and rings are nowa
days used almost exclusively for connections
between steam and other pipes and apparatus,
much annoyance is often experienced by the
impossibility or imperfection of an air-tight
connection. This is obviated entirely by em
ploying a cement which fastens alike well to
the rubber and to the motal or wood. Such
cement is prepared, by a solution of shellac in
ammonia. This is best made by soaking pul
verised gum hellao in ten times its weight in
strong ammonia, when a Hmy masi i is ob
Ulned. which in three to four weeks wiUbe
eoma liquid without the use of hot water. This
,.n. .ha mhlur and becomes, after voUtlll-
zation of the ammonia, hard and impermeable
to gases and fluids. American Ariuan.
Breeze Coke.
A new industry has sprung np in our city in
the last year or two that gives employment to
quite a number of men, and, at the same time,
utilizes one of the waste product of our mills
which, heretofore, has been thrown away as
useless. The technical name of the article is
"Breeze Coke." The ashes from the furnace
ash-pits are hauled into one place, and the first
thing to do is to separate tbe larger particles of
coke from the finer ashes by ths use of a rake.
They are then placed in a large tank of water,
and all the coke that is fit for use floats on its
surface, while the heavy ashes and cinders fall
to tbe bottom. The breeze coke is then taken
off the surface, and any light cinder that did
not sink, taken out by hand, when the coke is
ready for market. It is used principally by
blacksmiths, and is the best article known for
a forge fire. Messrs. Lewis, Oliver and Philips
use 125 bushels a day for their forges, for
their forges, for which they pay five cents per
bushel, having furnished the ashes for them
free, and allowing the breeze washers to sell all
that they do not use for their own profit. Mr.
Rodgers, of the firm of Bodgers and Day, in
formed us that the company shipped a car load
a week ago into the staie of Ohio, besides fur
nishing many of our local shops with them,
while other firms have shipped three car loads
a week. As molt of the shops are at present
doing but little, tbe breeze coke business, of
course, is not so brisk, yet the three firms
that are operating in the city find ready sale for
all they can make. Mr. Schultz, the Carson
street bridge builder, uses a large amount of
the coke for his forge fires. Tbe price ranges
from G to 6 cents per bushel. Pittsburgh
Leader.
Bronzing Wood. Saturate tbe article first
with hot parchment glne, previously filtered
and not too weak; and when dry, coat while
slightly warm, with red oohre mixed with a
little yellow, and when perfectly dry coat a
second time. Then rub the whole carefully
with moistened shave grass and apply, with a
brittle brush the bronze, of copper and brass
or tin, mixed witn aiconoi. rne article, as wen
as the bronze must be kept warm during the
operation, either in the sun or near a fire. Two
or throe coats are necessary to produce a per
feet effect.
1e Diy.
Butter or Cheese?
A well fed and well sheltered herd of natives,
whose milk is skillfully cared for and manufac
tured, will yield a pound of butter the season
through from twenty pounds of milk. An Inferior
herd, not very highly fed, with inferior skill in
making butter, will yield one pound of butter
from tweuty-eijht to thirty pounds of milk.
With an average quality of milk of native cows,
and with average skill in managing milk, we
may assume twenty-five pounds to make one
pound of butter, and that the s.me quantity
will make two and one-half pounds of cheeso.
The owners of butter factories make and pack
butter in tubs, famishing every thing for $4
per hundred as the lowest price. For making
and furnishing every thing for a hundred,
pounds of cheese is $1 C2J4, which makes
the cost of manufacturing a nundred pounds
of butter and two hundred and fifty pounds
of cheese differ only six and one-fourth
cents. The difference in the cost of manufac
turing a given quantity of milk into butter or
cheese is therefore, so li.tle that it may be con
sidered the same in either case.
There is considerable difference in the value
of the refuse of a butter or cheese dairy for
feeding purposes. The whey from 1,000
pounds of milk has for two or threo years past
netted about fifty cents. The sour milk and
buttermilk from the same amount of milk is
estimated at from two and a-half to three times
that of whey. The difference in the value be
tween the sonr milk and whey, from a given
quantity of milk, is equal to $1 per hundred on
tbe cheese. If 2,500 pounds of milk will make
100 pounds of butter that sells for $30, the 250
pounds of cheese it would make ought to sell
for $32.50 to make an equal return for the
milk. This would make the cheese thirteen
cents a pound when butter was thirty cents.
The nnalitv of milk in special cases may vary
this proportion somewhat, but as a general rule
it will be safe for dairymen to assume that
thirty to thirteen is the latio of pricos between
butter and
cheese, to make them equally
,01SWtvw"'"l
rtrnnlfttiln.
In a herd of Jer3eya sixteen pounds of milk
would very likely make one of butter, and but
two pounds of cheese. In such a case the
cheese would have to s'-ll at sixteen cents to
omul tinttpr at thirtv cents.
jn a uorj of Ayrshires that would require
twenty-six pounds of milk for one of butter,
i tw0 aD(j three-fourths pounds of cbeese miRnt
be made instead, when cheese at $11.90 per
nunarea wouia oe as gouu uuuw u- w
hundred. L. P. Arnold, in Farmers' Advocate,
Canada.
First Prize Butteb. At a recent exhibition
of the Chester county agricultural society,
Pnnsvlvania. Isaao Acker received tbe first
prize on butter, who, on being called on for bis
mode of management, remarked as follows:
He feeds ten quarts ol corn meai ana ornn to
each cow per day, with hay. Does not think
that corn fodder makes good butter. The tem
perature of the cream at churning was fifty
seven degrees, and it was churned from twelve
to twenty minutes. Uses six ounces of salt
and three ounces of white sugar to twenty
pounds of butter. Uses an tmoree optter
worker, with a sponge and cloth, aud did not
wash tbe butter with water. Mr. Acker
believes that the essentials to make tbe dairy
business pay are good cows, well fed and well
taken care of, good and convenient daiiy
houses and appliances, and thn produce a
good article and sell it at a high price. One
year ago his cows averaged 230 pounds each.
Utica Herald.
UiiiniurxT of HwrERS. Farmers anxious
I to make their animal productive are very lia-
ble to crowa upon nature, .awn, auu m uu.uB du,
i... (naiomi nr saining mertuv. ne uo uui
agree with the Live Stock Journal in the opin
ion that heifers that have been well kept from
calf-hood may come in at two years whu per
fect safety and profit to tbe owner. The Jour
nal thinks the milk secretions thould be devel
oped early. nd that this will produce a better
milker at five yean old than when she comes
in at three. It is very important, it says, that
thero should be no check in the growth of the
hei'er dorlng the first year, for It will be very
difficult to make this np by an extra teed after
ward. Just here is where tbe trouBle comfs
in It is almost impossible to prevent a check
of growth and development; tbe extra feed and
care required to keep up the system will cost as
much as the receipts from the products of the
animal. Ohio Farmer.
Qood HBVTH'
One Hundred Years.
HOW TO ARRIVE AT THAT AGE.
It has been said that the human frame, as a
machine, is perfect; that it bears no mark
within it by which we could predict its decay;
that it is apparently calculated to go on forever,
and that only by experience have we learned
that it will not do so. A French writer has
tersely remarked that, usually, men do not die
tbey kill themselves. There is a great deal
of truth in the latter, and there is a gieat deal
of encouragement in the former saying. That
our organism is so perfect that tbe seeds ol
decay are not observable within it, affords
trround for hone that man mav add to the aver
age number of his years. And this is rendered
all the more probable as it is well established
that the average of human life is longer by a
very considerable traction man it was a cen
tury ano.
An English physician has lately published a
work on the means of prolonging life after mid
dle age. In common with a great many of his
profession, Mr. Gardner, the physician refer
red to, seems to believe in the possibility of
man's adding to his years. Flourens has for
mulated the law of natural organic life, and
claimed that it is capable of extension to five
times the period of growth. Assuming this
law to be true, man's natural years should be
from 90 to 105 years. Dr. Gardner seems to
have fully coincided with Flourens. Reason
ing from the analogy of anesthetics, be sees
no cause to do-pair of the discovery ultimate
ly of a genuine elixir vita;. Meanwhile ho
would prolong the reign of youth by tranquility
of mind, sobriety and uniform temperature.
He would have no one fret or worry.
Dr. Duncan Gibbs, who has written a work
on the physical condition of centenarians, and
who had personally examined six persons over
in this latter respect at least. In all six, Dr.
Gibbs found the lung perfectly whole, also the
heart. AllBixhad good " bellows-power, " as
evidenced by the firmness, sonorousness and
clearness of the voice. In each the cartilage
at the top of the wind-pipe was in a vertical po
sition. The skin was in each case tough and
silvery. There was no case of enlarged or fatty
heart. The digestion was perfect, and so was
the calmness of mind. The bodily senses and
mental faculties were unimpaired. Drs. Gard
ner and Gibbs agreed that climate was unim
portant as regards longevity. When bordering
on old age, the advice given is to stay at home,
to keep warm, to have pleasant occupation, to
take proper exercise and diet, to avoid starch
of potato, malt liquor and cheese. Dr. Gard
ner would not undertake to lay down rules by
observing which each one could make himself
a centenarian. Tbe task is an impossible one;
and yet his advice is not wholly to ba disre
garded. It may if scrupulously followed out
mike centenarians of us all, which perhaps
would be a great misfortune for the world; but
it will be calculated to make sexagenarians of
those who might have died in their thirties or
forties.
It a man would add to his years let him take
care of his lungs by properly exercising them,
of his heart bv avoiding all undue excitement,
of his brain by cultivating tranquility. Let
him be temperate and pay a proper regard to
the cleanline-s and temperature of his person,
and he will have done more for himself than a
doctor and the whole pharmacopoeia can do.
If be will do all this, some future Dr. Gibbs
mav find him. at the ace of hundred or there
abouts, with lungs and heart perfectly whole, i
with good "bellows-power, a nrm, Clear ana
sonorous voice, with tough and silvery skin,
and the cartilage at the top of his wind-pipe
in a vortical position, and with his senses and
his faculties as keen as those of a man in his
prime with his children and his children's
children around him. Virtue is the basis of
longevity, as of individual prosperity and
national greatness. Chicago Tribune.
Plain Diet Best. It is possible to satisfy
all tbe demnnds of nature at a very small cost.
In many parts of the continent tbe average
wages of the laboring classes, taking the year
throughout, is not more thon fiveponco a day,
or half a crown per week; yet these classes are
on the whole healthy and robust, although
meanly clad. It has been proved over and
over again that healthy life can bo maintained
ou cbesp and plain tood, and mat ine longest
livers and surest workers are those habituated
to plain diet. Tbe bcotcli are a
notable lu
stance of this: a hardier, stronger, more tndur-
ing race prooaoiy is not to ue iouna;auu u
--.- , , w -
the cheapest as it is the most nourishing of
"A HiBhlinder," says Findley. "will
inverse the mountains all diy upon a diet of
oatmeal stirred in fresh water from a gushing
spring, with his finger, in o leathern cup," Ant
English navvy who boasts of eating a pound of
beefsteak for dinner, would stsrve on oatmeal
and water, while all the beef he conld devour,
and the beer he could drink, would not enable
him to keep np with tho Highlander for a sin-
gle day. Leisure Hour.
The Grave Cure. What is termed the
"Grape cure" has not as yet become very pop
ular in this country, owing probably to the lock
nt ontin anitwl to the purpose. In Europe
the fruit used is of quite a different character
(rom mat of cur native varieties. iun saw ui natters blacking, alter tne on nis strucK in,
foreign sorts employed in the grape cures ad-' and rub well with a cloth to bring out the
beres firmly to the flesh and it would be a dif-1 polish. Most varnishes dry too hard to be nsed
fioult matter to separate it in eating, but the on tops, shellac varnish being tbe only kind
flesh being brittle and firm it readily breaks I that can be used with safety, but thiB will crack
open under pressure allowing the seed to drop unless tbe coat be applied very thin.
out if the consumer desires to reject these in-
digestible pellets. Bat whether swallowed or CoAL VlKUM 0F Spain. M. Grand, in deHcri
not will depend somewhat on the patient s bj ,no c0 ,, n(..(.g of s ,a ,0 tue Vm.h Boci.
stomach, as well as the disease to be treated. e, of Eninepr, estimated their area at 150,
A person consuming from three to ten pounds 1 000 ufcUrt.g ,the uect8re lW)R at 1-47
ot grapes daily which is not considered extrav- BCreg) from wuicn only 500,000 or C00.OO0 tons
agant at the grape cures would have to possess Bre annuaUy extracted, while Belgium, with tho
ibe stomach of on ostrich to safely carry tho Hame urea viohla 10,000,000 tons. The Spanish
stones from the quantities named. As a rule ( coa. fi(.,jg are Hit,,HCa j Castile, Leon aud
it is safe to reject the seed, although they are AHtutiM The processes aro describedas binu
not considered Injurious in moderate quauu-
ties.
Hair Oil. Are hair oils good things to put
on tbe bair? No! Home ol tbem are poisonous,
and others filthv. Tbe Laboratory says: "Many
hir oils are colored with aniline red, Instead
of the long nsed anchusa, which answers every '
" a a. . if . k 1. .i.1
nnrnose. and snouid oe commute., a nair
dresser had been accustomed to use hair oil
composed of castor oil, colored wlta aniline rea.
A patron, whose head had been dressed with
with this oil several times, became aware of a
disagreeable itching in tbe scalp, similar to that
produced by arsenic. Inquiry traced the pres
enoe of arsenic in. this aniline coloring, and by
a discontinuance of tbe oil tbe eruption disap
peared." A Fd-NCBMAN has discovered that a stream
of water directed from a force pump against a
spot visited by neuralgia will relieve it. The
operation is painful, but "patients call for a
repetition on a return of the diee."
Biw Fboit. Docs fruit agree better with the
stomach cooked rather than raw ? A writer in
an English paper says : " An almost universal
prejudice prevails against the freo use of un
cooked fruit. It is looked upon as very un
wholesome. The prejudice is easily accounted
for. Suppose any one eats a good dinuer, and
forthwith sits down to a second, the second
dinner would assuredly disagree with the first.
This is exactly what has happened in the case
of fruit. Ladies and gentlemen dine freely off
a great variety of food, and many afterward eat
sufficient fruit as dessert t have sufficed for a
temperate meal. The rosult is discomfort or
deranged function, followed by an outcry
against the use of fruit." But supposing the
fruit to have been eaten ns, instead of after,
a meal no such consequences would have fol
lowed. A moderate quantity of apples, pears,
Elums, cherries, grapes, with a slice or two of
read, form a cheap, pleasant, wholesome, and
satisfying meal. Without enteriug into their
chemical composition, it may also be affirmed
' almf frnUct nrnvinlnrntilv nnfritinna. nnd AS An
1 alterative they are exceptionally wholesome.
ut course mere are tnoso wim wuom raw iruits
disagree, just as there are many who are un
able to eat pork or veal. But these oan have
their fruit cooked. Stewed pears, apple pies
and paddings, plum or currant tarts, with
Elenty of bread, would turnlsb a dinner nt lor a
ing, without the preliminary of meat, fish, etc
In fact it is the mixture that Droves injurious.
Few fruits if eaten alone disagree with healthy
stomachs. Only bread and light cake should
be eaten with them. The food of a large por
tion of mankind, broadly stated, is bread or
rice, which is almost the sune thing, and
fruit."
Overworking the Brain. Softening of the
brain Is becoming a more common disease than
formerly; as it is utterly incurable, attention
should be given to its causes. The softening
is caused by an inflammatory condition or a
gradual degeneration of the substanoe of the
brain, arising from intense mental excitement,
as a result of study, of the use of spirituous
liquors, or allowing the mind to dwell upon
one subject unpleasantly, especially when there
is no real cause, or conjectured .injuries, or in
justices and the like, moping over them, cher
ishing thoughts of them. This lamentable
malady comes on at one time with a sudden
head or ear achn, at another with difficulty of
speech, or numbness, or convulsions, or paral
ysis, or actual insensibility; or at other times
thero is simply a decline of tbe power of the
senses, sight, hearing;, speech, and tho mental
powers generally. The same disease is caused
oy want oi sometning to uo, wuen mere is no
compulsion to mental effort or muscular exer
tion. To ameliorate a malady arising from
causes so diametrically opposite, antipodal
means should bo employed less work to the
over-worked, more work for those who have
nothing to do Hall's Family Doctor.
Sore Throat Tiani Collars. Says an ex
change: An emiuent physician, who devotes
his whole attention to diseases of tbe throat
and lungs, told us the other day that about
three fourths of all throat diseases would get
well by wearing very loose collars, and uo neck
tie at all. He said that often singers came to
him fur throat diseases and loss of voice, and
he would tear open their cravats and cure
them, with no othor treatment whatever. "The
pressure of the collar on the arteries of tho
neck is very bad for the health," said ho. He
also added: "If you have a disease of the
throat, let uaturo do the curing, and the physi
cian as little as possible."
Protecting Influence of the Earth's At
MosrHERE. Wtilaian, alterreducing tbe hourly
observations mado at Berne, Switzerland, for
seven years, and doduciug therefrom the laws
ol diurnal cbange ot temperature, lias investi
gated the effect of cloudiness on tho daily
variation, especially at night. Ho finds that
the radiating power of the earth's surface is
everywhere uud at all timos the same. The
temperature in tho morning is, he finds, in
cloudv weather, livo or six decrees higher than
in clear weather. And 'again that tbe simple
atmosphere of the earth surrounds it like a
protecting layer of clouds, aud that without
this the earth would experience daily an enor
mous variation in temperature. Even the
clear sky, or rather the moisture present, as an
invisible vapor, proteots the earth with an
efficiency eqnal to about one-third oi that
exerted by a layer of clouds, against too strong
a daily change of temperature.
Petroleum Preservative. We do not'
think that tbe value of crude petroleum as a
preservative of wood is proporly appreciated,
especially among farmers. Evon for Imple-
Tnnnta fnnpfa nntl linfllillnr-ti whlMi Are to be
, niintoil. it in n onn-i nlan to cive one or two
..nuts of petroleum first. It is verv often tho
case that when the first coat of paint is placed
, Jirectly on the wood that it is iujured by tho
t00 ronl(j absorption of tho oil by tbe dry wood,
Qno or two coats of petroleum will prcvont
this, ond save both oil and paint. For fork
an(j 8bovel handles nothing can be better,
Renovatino Boooy Tom. Enamel leather
tops which have become hard, but have not
lost their color, can be softened and much im
proved in appearance bv oilinu them with pure
castor-oil. This oil is readily absorbed by the
leather, and will not try out In the sun. wnon
,ue leather has turned gray, apply a coat of
h au, lalDtrfcct. M. Delosse stated
that the coal of the Asturias
for gas making.
was chiefly used
Discovery at Hebculanidsj. Tbe Italian
journals notice an interesting archavjlogical
discovery of some Importance recently made in
Il...l.....nn T. 1.... .11... I.H.t r.t 1 1 fat-Ctl V
i n.rniuuouw, .. nun m iiii
and in an eicellent state of preservation. It
is impossible at present to say whether it is
oast or worked with tbe chisel, or whom it may
represent. It is said to be the first discovery
of its kind made either at Herculaneom or
Pompeii.
Russian Navt. Tbe Russian authorities
having decided npon abolishing wooden ships
from their navy aud substituting iron ships in
their stead, have disposed of the whole of tbe
former, and tbe last of their onoe celebrated
frigates has been sold to Miasrs. Wilson,
M'Lay k Co., of London and Glasgow, who
are dismantiog her at Ht. Petersburg.
HorTlcdLjdrl.
Cranberry Culture.
Notwithstanding tho many failures in this
business, foituncs have been made in the cul
tivation of cranberries. In fact, the business
has become reduced to a science; so much so,
that there is no need of failure if certain rules
are followed. Some say cranberries need
nothing but sand and water. This is a mistake,
as no sand i& clean until washed. What they
do need is swamp muck, or vegetable mold.
Tbe roots of cranberries are very fine and
short. They also want an acid, or sour soil, in
order to bear fruit. Hence, you must not ma
nure the land, as this makes the viuesgrow too
rank, and then they will not bear. Manure
also causes tho weeds to grow. Taking off the
turf and ditching it gradually sweotens the sur
face, especially if exposed to frosts. Sometimes
the vines grow too rank. The only remedy in
that case is to spread one inch of dry sand
every year, immediately after picking the
berries, and keep on doing so until they bear
satisfactorily. This sanding covers the runners
and makes roots of them, and of course in
creases the uprights, thus increasing the yield
in the same proportion. The reason cran
berries do not bear until the third year from
setting is. that the first year tbey throw out
runners, the second put np uprights; the third
season these uprights make about one-half inch
growth, then throw out about five to six blos
soms from the new growth. I know of no
possible way to make a cranberry pxtoh a suc
cess on a wild grass meadow, except by flooding
it one or more years to kill the grass entirely;
then sand with clean white sand lightly not
over four inches; the detper the muok the
more sand you will have to put on in time, to
prevent the vines from growing too rank. But
you must not put much on at first, because the
roots of the plants want to reach the muok, and
because if the muck is soft tbe sand will sink
and it is necessary to mat the ground first.
Never take a cold, springy piece of ground for
cranberries; it costs too much for under-dressing
and for weeding grass. Here we have
numerous streams with valleys from 10 to 25
rods wide, (not miles, as the printer made me
say in a formor article;) these valleys have a
muck bottom of one to two feet in depth, and
they never 'overflow. By ditching the best sand
for covering is found beneath the muck. By
cutting ditches every two rods enough can be
ibrown ont to cover; mis Baves cartago ana
cost. Cranberry vinos aro very tenacious of
life, and will live set any time when the ground
is not frozen. Frost, however, inj ires them
when first set out before taking root. There
fore, if set in the fall, Bet in September, as soon
as the ground is moist enough for cabbage to
grow. If set in the spring, wait until about
corn-planting time, when there is no danger of
frosts. To improve a grass-marsh for cran
berries, flood it until the crass is killed out,
then ditch and s ind as with swamp lands with
no grass; otherwise, take off one foot ot top for
manure, or, if sand is near the surfaoe, upset
tbe whole concern, putting the grass in the
bottom and sand on the surface. A, J. Hinds,
in N. Y. Tribune.
Strawberry Culture.
R. L. Gazley, of Bridgewater, a very suc
cessful Btrawberry cultivator, sends us a box of
specimens of twenty varieties of borries, which
wo have examined with interest. The speci
mens wero for the most part in stocks and ex
hibited well the abilities of the different vari
eties,1)oth in qnolity and quantity of product.
Mr. Gazley believes that the Col. Chceney va.
rioty crowds out Charles Downlug and shows
superior excellence. Ho places first in estima
tion the Col. Choonoy, the Agriculturist and
the Fillmore. We quote tho results of Mr.
Gazley's experience for the benefit of our berry
growing readers. He says:
The Fillmore bears tho heaviest foliago and
the strongest foot-stalks I ever saw. Tbe
Green Prolific is largo and good and so is the
Charles Downing. Tho Michigan and Boston
Pine resembles tho Cheeney. Tbe Jenny Lind
in fruit resembles the Fillmore, but not in
vine. Napoleon III. Trlomphe do Gando, Ju-
cunda and Golden Queen resemble in some ro-
spects tbe fruit of the Agrlaultnrlst, but not
tbe plant, that being very fine and with light
colored foliago. Tbo Gulden Queen grows
very low, and boars a purple, delicious fruit.
The Ruesol Proliflo and O. Downing are simi
lar, except in shape uud fruit. Tbe Pine is
similar to the Choenoy. All tho above sorts,
except Jenny Lind and Fillmoro, are mnoh
lurger, superior in flavor, more proliflo, and
more hardy, except tho Napoleon and Golden
Queen, to the following:
Tbe Col. Wilder aud Nicanor aro similar.
Tho French is merely like the Wilson'B, ex
cept that it is earlier and sweeter than that
noted variety. Tbo Downer and Ida aro too
acid, but are prodigious bearers. Tbe Royal
Hautbois is peculiarly sweet, but it is fit only
for the amateur grower. It has run itself into
tho ground. Tbe Colfax is hardy and an
abundant bearer, and will do for those- who
say tboy prefer field borries. Barnes' Mam
moth is large and good enough, bnt there are
not enough of them. One row of thin variety
has stood three years between Fillmoro and C.
Downing, but now it must give place to its
neighbors, for eloven hills or stools have Pro
duced only five foot stalks and but three ber
ries. Gazley's Seedling must loava next yesr
if it does not improve in size and flavor. My
thornlesB blackberry is hardy, a prodigious
bearer; tho fruit is small but long aud almost
sweet. My white blackberry has stood fifteen
years' trial; It has a small spitm, very light
colored wood, tbe fruit is long and sweet, but
thero is not enough of it. I shall try tbem
longer, Utica Herald.
Winter Becklb Pear. Sjiccimens have
been shown us from a subscriber in Central
New York, of a seedling from tho Beckel, but
ripening as a winter variety; has a tine quality
though not quite as sweet or sprightly as the
Beckel, yet more so than the Lawrence; firm
flesh, a good keeper, ni'sety color, brighter
and better In this respect than tbe S-cVe), and
seems to be a very uesiresuie acquisition.
Doubtless there are more winter Seckels scat
tered through tho United States, yet this is
stated to be a genuine seedling, and tho fruit
is really fine. Horticulturist.
A Reliable Obcuabd There Is no written
or oral testimony that since the orchard of Ban
Gabriel commenced bearing, now more than 60
years, there has ever been a failure of tbe orop
from disease or other cause. Tbe scale insect
made its appearance here some years ago, after
tbe introduction of trees from South or Cen
tral Ameri'a, but its ravages have not been at
tended with any serious results.
These is a currant bush at Roohester, N. H
which, though growing among tho branches of
an elm, twenty feet from tbe ground, has born
well for more than a dozen 'years.