1875.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



117 



Of oniainoiitall)li>ssi)iiiiii}{!ii'i'lp trees, tlusconi- 

 111(111 cial) and llie iloulili'-llowcrcd Silierian 

 crab, liiitli rcil ami \^■l^il(^ aiv iniicli ciiltivaU'd. 



Tlic \v(ii)d ol'ilic aiipk'-treo, in its wild .stale, 

 ia fiuc-fjraiiK'U, liard, and of a li;j;lit-l)n)\vii 

 color; and, in i>xcci>lion to tlic general rule, 

 tlic cultivated wood is of a still linerand do.ser 

 ftrain, weii;hiiifi in tlui iiropoitioii of about 

 si.vty-six to forly-livu of the wilil wood. In a 

 Ki'een .state the wood wei;,'lis from forty-ei^'lit 

 to sixty-six pounds i>er euliie foot, and it loses 

 ill di'viiiir about a tenth of its weijjht, and 

 fniiu iiii eighth to a twelfth of its bulk. It is 

 iiineh used by tiiriieis, and for the luaiiufae- 

 tnre of shoe lasts, eofjs for wheels, and some 

 kinds of furniture ; stained black and poli.shed, 

 it passes for ebony ; and the wood of the roots 

 is eut into thin sheets or vcneci-s for interior 

 decoration. 



Thi^ apple as an article of food is iirohably 

 unsurpassed, except by tlu; banana, for its 

 a;;reeable and nutritive properties. Unlike 

 most tropical fruits, it reijuires no trainimj to 

 iK'conie acceptable to the palate, and whether 

 liaked, boiled, made into jellies, or preserved 

 with cider in the shaker apple .sance or apple- 

 biitti'r. is popular everywhere. The exporta- 

 tion of Xew Kngland ice was accompanied liy 

 the exportation of Nt'w lOnglandapiiles, which 

 are better suited for this purpose than AV'est- 

 ern ones ; and at the ice ports of China and 

 India, American apples are to bepnreha.sed in 

 as fine a condition as in our own markets. 

 American apples always command a good 

 price in Kngland. Every farmer cuts and dries 

 a supi>ly of apples for use in the late spring 

 and early summer, and immense ipiantities of 

 apples are pared and cut by machinery, and 

 slowly dried in ovens or in the sun, furnishing 

 an important article of trade. The flavor is 

 much injured by long exposure to the sun. 

 AVheii properly prepared, dried apples will re- 

 main good for live or six years, if kept in a 

 dry place ; and for use it is only necessary to 

 soak them in water a short time previous to 

 cooking. Crabapples make the best jelly, and 

 are also much used for a sweet pickle. The 

 riii^inc compose of the French is made by boil- 

 ing aiijiles in nuist or new wine. I?y mixing 

 the juice with water and sugar a light fruit 

 wine is obtained. Cider in the Ignited States 

 has never acquired much celebrity from the 

 care of its manufacture, as it has usually been 

 made from the refuse of the orchard. That 

 made from wild apples or seedlings is much 

 the best. In England, in the counties of Here- 

 fordshire, Woreestei-shire and Devonshire, 

 much cider is made of superior qnalitj*. To 

 these uses of the apple it may be added that 

 a mixture of apple pulp and lard was the origi- 

 nal iionuUum. 



The orchard products of the United States 

 (mostly apples) are stated in tlie census re- 

 turns for ISTt) to be worth $47,.'i;ir),189. Jilore 

 than a million acres an^ under cultivation as 

 orchards, but many more acres of hilly land 

 might be used i)rolitably for this purpose, 

 where no other fruit would grow well. In 

 New England the crop is apt to be irregular, 

 and some yeare the abundance is so great that 

 the fruit will not pay fc)r picking and sending 

 to niarkit, and is used for cider or to feeil 

 swine. The apple-tree is not subject to disease, 

 and years ago the fruit was perfectly fair and 

 uninjured by worm or caterpillar, in N'ew f^iig- 

 laiKl, as still in ( )regon and the West ; but now 

 the Tiorer [Smnnla biviUdIa) attacks the .stem, 

 perforating it a little above the ground; the 

 woolly aphis attacks the tender shoots; the 

 caterpillar (C/ii-iwYij/ipa Amcriraiia) builds its 

 cobweb nests and devours the leaves ; the can- 

 .ker-worm {Anisoptcryx v(nt<ttn) also devours 

 all foliage ; the api)le moth {Carji'inyisa pum- 

 (titriii) lays its egg at the e<lge of the calyx, 

 and the larva when hatched enters the fruit ; 

 and the bark louse {t-orrus) attacks the hark. 

 The borer in.ay Iw destroyed, as well as the 

 bark louse and aphis, by pota.sh washes (li lbs. 

 of potash to 2 g-allons of water), if applied 

 when till' egg is unhatehed ; hut after the borer 

 h;us entered the stem it may bi^ killed by thrust- 

 ing a wire into the hole. The apple moth is 

 destroyed by feeding all the fallen apples to 



swine, thus preventing the larvio from enter- 

 ing the earth, where they undergo tluur trans- 

 formation.* The caterpillar eomes from eggs 

 laid in the fall on the smaller twigs, encircling 

 them, and, as the whole coiiiinnnily collects in 

 the nest, may be burned by torches on poles 

 thrust among the branches. The canker-worm 

 is not .so easily managed, from the vast number 

 of its armies. As the females are wingless, 

 they may Iw prevented from ascending the 

 stem to lay their eggs, when they issue from 

 the chrysalis in the ground at the base of the 

 tree, by lar or any viscid substance that will 

 entrap them, and by digging around the trees 

 in the fall and exposing the pupie to the 

 weather. 



The varieties of apples suitable for growth 

 in dilTercnt parts of the United States have 

 been mad(^ the subject of many ('xperiinents 

 by the best pomologi.sts ; and the Xational 

 I'omologiial Society, founded in ISoO by the 

 late A. J. Downing and others, has i)ublislied 

 the results. To these reports, and to the pub- 

 lications of local societies, cultivators are re- 

 ferred for the best kinds for orchards in their 

 vicinity. For general cultivation, the Wil- 

 liams "Favorite, a laige led apple, the I'orter, 

 Newtown I'ippin, Early r>ougli, Itid Astra- 

 chan and (iravenstein are recommended for 

 fall use; whilelor wiiiterthe Baldwin, Uhode 

 Island Greening, Danvers Whiter Sweet, Fa- 

 nieuse, Ilubbardston Nonesuch, Northern Spy, 

 Spitzenberg, Minister, Vandevere and llox- 

 bury Russet otter a variety both for cooking 

 and dessert. For exportation, the Baldwin, 

 Khode Island Greening, Newtown I'ippin, 

 Sjiitzenberg and Swaar are most in deimind. 

 In the Boston market native apples command 

 a higher price than Western ones, although 

 the latter are usually larger and fairer. Ap- 

 ples are commonly sent to market in barrels, 

 whieh weigh about 150 lbs.; and I'liuy says 

 that this was one of the two fruits known in 

 his time that could be preserved in ca.sks. On 

 the Western coast, however, apples are always 

 marketed in boxes .somewhat smaller than 

 standard orange boxes, holding about a bushel. 

 ^W. T. JJriiiham, Esq., Boston, inApplcton^s 

 New Americtxn Cydoxxdia. 



METHOD. 



Of course, much is due to method in the ac- 

 complishinent of labor. There are many peo- 

 ple among all classes of .society, who can'never 

 lind time to either read a page or write a sin- 

 gle paragraph. These people have it ever upon 

 their tongues, that thi:y have no time for these 

 exercises. It is only neces.sary to say that such 

 people cannot possibly make much progress, 

 either mentally, morally, or intellectually. 

 Not because they have not time, however, but 

 because they have not the trill. No one can 

 become an intelligeni, discriminating, and 

 self-denying Christian, that does not nad. In 

 manyca.ses (Jod's word and the precepts there- 

 in contained have no more ellect upon their 

 life and conduct than water has upon a duck's 

 back. It is evident that they have not the 

 icill, from the fact that as soon as they have 

 a little spare time, they spend it on the door 

 step, or in some dark window recess, and gaze 

 listle.sslj' and gaddingly into the street ; and 

 thus rust their lives out in the darkest illiter- 

 acy and ignorance ; and they have no com- 

 punctions of conscience at all, that they are 

 doing wrong or that that wrong will one day 

 react fearfully upon themselves. Such a habit 

 may be refortiud in youth, but when it becomes 

 conlinned in old age, it may then well be .said, 

 "Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the 

 leopard his .spots V So may they dogooil, who 

 are ua:n.<t'rii(i:d to" do evil." We do not bj- any 

 means infer from these remarks that all the 

 intelligent are goo<l and all th<' ignoi-ant or 

 illilinatc.are evil ; but, if an intelligent person 

 is evil, it is not fcfca».sc of his intelligence ; and 

 on the other hand if an ignorant person is 



"riio al)i>v,.> Ih n iiiiKHtntt'iiicnt in r»f{;tr(l to tlio niotb that 

 ftttjickw thi>/rftiVof (hf apple. Ua larva nrrT go«*< Into the 

 Ciirlti. Till) writer t'vulvutly baH ronfotiuilcd Iho C«rrw/io 

 (which .iIru iufcflte the ujiple) with the apjile dioth, whoso 

 natural hititory aiul U<ilfltH <hiv paKc lU) are treated at large 

 iu a leading article iu tbiH uuinljur of TuK Fabmeu. 



good, it is not brjausc of his ignorance. In- 

 (heil there are many intelligent iieopU- in the 

 world.souiiiler the dominion of self-aggrandizo- 

 liieiil, that they '/o-irt the ni;l.s.ses to Ik- ignor- 

 ant that they may enjoy a monopoly of intel- 

 ligence, and subortlinate the ignorant miuwea 

 the more easily to the ailvancemeut of their 

 own ambitious cutis ; and there are many ig- 

 norant or illiterate ones, too, who settle down 

 in the belief that intelligence is a speiaal gift 

 in which they can possibly never be |)artaker«, 

 anil hence Ihey never cultivate even the mil 

 to 111- anything but ignonint or illiterate. 



The foregoing relleetions have been elicitetl 

 from having recrived a contribution from a 

 farmer's wife, in which she remarks that "Peo- 

 ple are .so ignorant here, that they lianlly tako 

 even :l weekly newspai)er in their liou.seH, 

 while I read live weeklies and Tun Fa kmick 

 oviT and over, and sometimes two or three 

 books out of the library. I do all the work in 

 a family of seven, and still have liint' to return 

 occasional visits." IX'pend uiion it. that wo- 

 man has method, and mainly tlirougn ini-thod 

 is she able to accomplish so much. Ilei-s can 

 not be a iniu-ely impulsive, aimless and random 

 life. She iloes not defer until lo-inonow what 

 oiojht to be done to-day. She does not frillcr 

 away the early iiortion of the day or evening, 

 and then "owl it" into the late hours of the 

 night, in doing what ought to be ilone in the 

 earlier hours of the day or evening. Such a 

 one is capable of moral regenia-ation through 

 the ijentler preceiits of Divine truth ; whilst 

 her ignorant and obdurate sister can only be 

 ajiproaelied through " the thumlersof Sinai,?' 

 in some death or other calamity in her house- 

 hold ; and even then she may only be teiiiiK)- 

 rarily awed, but not refonned. 

 * 



SNAILS. 



One of the sfntrular imltistvics pursued by tlic Paris- 

 inns is tliat of fattcnim; snails lor I he market. Tliat 

 llje ileniauil lor this article of diet Ik lariti: Ih pnjved 

 Ijy the fact that a (rreat iiunilierof jicrsoiis liml pnifit- 

 alile ciiiployment in furuisliing an ailei|uate supply. 

 Most snail-breeders, who carry on their liiislncss out- 

 fide the " barriers" of Paris, fatten the inolluskB in 

 tanks, but some prefer to keeji the creatures In the 

 0]ien air. The preserver In which snails are fed Is 

 di\ided into eight or ten seiiarate liielosures, each of 

 which is surrounded by a line of saw-dust four Inches 

 broad, and I'rcslily laid eacli moniing. This simple 

 hedffc is an cflVelual barrier to the paeea^re of any 

 helix tempted to indulife vajraliond proixMisities and 

 stray lieyond the boundaries of its allotted precincts. 

 Eacli ilaily consiKument of snails Is tlejiosited In ono 

 ofthe parks or inelosure.s, and is left to fast for 4S 

 hciurs. After this they are removed to another park, 

 where they are provided with abundance of fen k1, con- 

 sisting of cabbaffes, lettuce, endives, thyme and vine 

 leaves. I'urifled by their proliniiriii fast, the snails 

 eat with voracity, and In eiiiht nr ten days are fat 

 enough to satisfy the eye and taste of a Parisian epi- 

 cure. The tax upon fatted snails is very small, but 

 It is estimated that, were the levy to be raised toonc- 

 (|iiarter of that set ui>on oysters, and fifty snails to be 

 counted as one dii/.en bivalves, the revenue aiinu.illy 

 arisimr Ircim theirconsuniption in Paris would amount 

 to U'0U,0(I1I francs. 



It is stated that a diet of snails reduces a man's 

 flesh until he becomes a mere skeleton. The edible 

 snail of the (iold (.^oast has a shell three Inches loiiit 

 by two inches deep. From this he protrudes a pair 

 oi" tentacles four inches in Icnirlh. These t^'iitaelcs 

 arc the choice part of the animal, and arc served 

 whole In that savory com|K>uiid called snail soup. 



.'^hrinip-lishiiii; is al.so an extensive industry In 

 France, and Is mostly pursued by women. The 

 shrimps are plentiful on sandy shores, and the fishers 

 wade knee-deep into the sea, pushing tiefore them a 

 lu't hi the form of a wide-mouthed ba^ sewed around 

 a hoop, and fasteiuHl to the end of the |KiIe by means 

 of a cross-piece. A ba;; tied around the waist receives 

 the animals as they arc eaUKht. In the winter the 

 shrimp retires to deeper water, and Is there captured 

 in nets drawn by boats. These nets are now made of 

 galvanized wire, which resists the action of the water, 

 anil Is a ;rreat Iniprovement U|Kin twine Shrimps 

 are sonietimes left by the relirlni; tide in sandy pools, 

 and when alarmed will bury themselves In the sand 

 by a dextennis movement of their fan-like tall. In 

 feedini; they irrasp their pn-y by the short rake-llkc 

 apiHiidaLTS between the claws pnijier and the tail, 

 and pass it alons; tip to the claws, and so on to the 

 mouth. The choice between shrimps and snails as 

 IViod Is a mere matter nf taste. Many ikthohs who 

 partake ofthe oni' reject the other with loathing;, l>ut 

 there seems, in fact, no rea.»on why both are not as 

 cleanly and wholesoihc as the oyster. 



The snail is a univalve uiollusk, and Ixilongs 



