EDITOR'S TABLE. 



had some bad luck with the rest of them. In one night, four turkeys and six fine hens 

 were stolen from him. One of the hens was a fancy Cochin China, that he was petting up 

 to st'll to Brother .S'., at a fair price. On another night, fifteen of his best fowls were killed 

 by a rascally mink. 



After some desultory remarks amongst the members, an adjournment was carried to meet 

 at the same place on Saturday, the 17th inst., at early candlelight. The next subject before 

 the meeting to be the culture of vegetables. 



JouN Quill, Sec^y. 



The Ladies. — It used to be said that ladies were " those pinks, carnations, roses, and tulips, 

 that required the iirotection of a bonnet!" Where are all these beauties of the streets ; the 

 bonnet part, at least, has disappeared. 



Extensive Establishments. — Among the many large establishments in this city, there are 

 none, perhaps, that possess more interest to all classes of the community than those in which 

 fruit and other luxuries peculiar to the summer and autumnal seasons are preserved, in all 

 their flavor and sweetness, for tise in winter and spring. A few years ago, this was a very 

 trifling business, but enterprise and energy have built up a trade in Philadelphia, amount- 

 ing, in the aggregate, to upwards of $300,000. Employment is given to several hundred 

 persons during the year, and, in one establishment, nearly $12,000 were paid out for wages 

 during the fruit season of 1855. The capital invested in an establishment of this kind, is 

 far greater than a mere cursory glance through it would seem to indicate. In the prepara- 

 tion of the various kinds of fruit, there is a vast amount of care and prudence required, as 

 some kinds have to be cooked before being put in cans and bottles, while other varieties only 

 demand a certain kind and quantity of syrup. This is considered the most difiicult portion 

 of the business, and experience has taught many housekeepers that the knowledge of these 

 two important matters — cooking and making syrup — are of greater- utility than luck ; for, 

 where the latter is depended upon solely, losses of time and money much more frequently 

 occur than where the parties have the facilities for preserving the fruit, and possess the 

 knowledge of having it properly attended to. 



The two principal dealers in this city are Mr. Mills B. Espy, No. 109 South Third Street, 

 and J. L. Wendell, No. 152 South Front Street. Mr. Espy does much the largest business, 

 and has a building 27 by 120 feet, and 5 stories high, in which every department is carried 

 on extensively. The cans used are made in the building, the sealing-wax prepared, the 

 fruit cleaned, pared, cooked (when rendered necessary), and put up, ready for foreign mar- 

 kets, or home use. Some idea may be formed of this trade when we state, that among the 

 articles put up in Mr. E.'s establishment, in 1855, were upwards of 20,000 pounds of cher- 

 ries, 10,000 quarts of strawberries, 4,000 baskets peaches, 6,000 baskets tomatoes, 3,000 

 bushels plums, 100 bushels gages, 100 barrels quinces, 15,000 pine-apples, 1,000 bushels of 

 gooseberries, 2,000 bushels each of corn, peas, and beans, besides 300 hogsheads of pickles, 

 &c. Although a comparatively small quantity of oysters are put up here, nearly 12,000 cans 

 were prepared in this house, as well as thousands of cans of fresh beef, mutton, veal, milk, 

 and other articles. The cooking of Mr. Espy is all done by steam. Tlie apparatus is con- 

 structed in a superior manner, and, from the peculiarity in cooking the fruit and vegetables, 

 and preparing the syrup by the same agency, the flavor and delicious taste are preserved, 

 and, when eating the articles prepared, it seems as if they were fresh from the vines or 

 trees. — Philadelphia Ledger, 



Dwarf Cherries and Pears. — We have found great pleasure in the cultivation of dwarf 

 cherry-trees, and observe others are planting them. Cherries, as bushes on the mahaleb 

 stock, root pruned, should be planted four feet apart. The root pruning should be done 

 towards the end of September, and will be facilitated if the bushes are planted on a little 

 mound. Dig a trench round the tree, and introduce the spade below, to cut olf all the 

 perpendicular roots ; thus, all the spreading roots are shortened, precisely as is done with 

 dwarf pears ; this may be done with a knife, and the ends brought to the surface, previously 

 filling in the trench with light, friable soil, and covering with tlie soil taken out of the trencli ; 

 no dung, or manure of any kind, is refjuired, as this stock flourishes on the poorest soils. 

 Some short litter, or half-decayed leaves will, however, be of much benefit, placed on the 

 surface, near the stem. If not root-pruned, they should be six or eight feet apart, as they 

 are very apt to get large and lose the character of dwarfs ; great attention should be 

 to pinching the new growth to within three or four buds of the old wood, leaving the 1 



