MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. Ill 



wrought nails that pass through each splint and clinch on the inside. The 

 two pieces that form the bottom are placed with the grain of each piece run- 

 ning at right angles across the other, so that when the nails are driven and 

 clinched it prevents their warping or splitting, thus forming a very strong 

 bottom, on which the basket may be dragged about without danger of break- 

 ing or wearing out. The rim at the top being fastened with wrought nails 

 that clinch, is very strong, and does not become loose and let the handles 

 slip out. A flexible wire hoop passes around the centre of the basket, 

 which is fastened to each splint, separately, confining them firmly in their 

 places at that point. 



PRESERVATION OF WHEAT. 



Some time since, under the direction of the French Government, 790 

 hectolitres (2,175 bushels) of American corn were, by way of experiment, 

 inclosed in two " silos " of sheet iron (large cylinders sunk into the ground, 

 so as to form receptacles for corn, like the corn pits in Algeria) and the 

 covers secured with seals. These latter were recently removed in the 

 presence of two delegates from the War-Office, to which the corn belonged, 

 and of the Commission des Subsistances Militaires, and the corn subjected 

 to a strict examination, when it was pronounced to be in exactly the same 

 state as it was a twelvemonth ago. The cost of preserving corn by means 

 of the "silos " does not exceed 80c. (eight pence) per hectolitre (two and 

 three-quarter bushels.) 



A NEW METHOD OF PRESERVING EGGS. 



A new method of preserving eggs has been suggested by an English 

 chemist. By coating the shells of fresh laid eggs with mucilage of gum 

 arable, he has preserved them perfectly good and sweet for several months. 

 In September, 1855, he covered several fresh eggs with two coatings of mu- 

 cilage, and in March, 1856, six months afterwards, the eggs were boiled, 

 and found to be sweet and good as when newly laid. By this plan eggs 

 may be preserved in summer for use in winter. One coating of the gum 

 arable should be quite dry before the other is applied. A small brush is best 

 for the purpose of applying it. 



SIMPLE CONTRIVANCE FOR TRANSPLANTING TREES. 



Take a sheet of iron four feet square and one-eighth of an inch thick. 

 "We must suppose one side to be the front ; on the front, therefore, rivet two 

 strong iron staples, one near, but not close to each corner. These staples 

 must be cleft to admit and embrace the iron sheet ; rivet also two staples be- 

 hind, so that a horse, or two or three men, may, by means of ropes, drag 

 the contrivance on either side. The tree is to be placed upright on this iron 

 sheet, and fastened to it by cords passed through the four staples ; it can 

 now be dragged over the ground without any shaking, and as it slips over 

 the surface without much labor, and as no lifting has been required to place 

 the tree on the carriage, very large balls can be conveyed with the tree, thus 

 lessening the risk of moving. Horticulturist. 



