ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND FACTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 52! 



FOOD, Steaming Cheaply. — A farmer 

 recommends, from personal experience, 

 the following economical steaming appa- 

 ratus: A large box, made steam-tight, 

 placed within a larger box, with some non- 

 conducting material, such as saw-dust, 

 packed between, at least twelve inches 

 thick. The food to be cooked being 

 placed in the steam-box, hot water is to 

 be turned in and the apparatus covered 

 tightly with woolen covers in order to 

 confine the heat. 



FRUIT TREES, to Destroy Moss on.— 

 Every second year fruit trees should be 

 well scrubbed with a scrubbing brush 

 dipped in strong brine, so as to moisten 

 every part of the bark of the stem and 

 branches. This not only destroys the 

 moss, but insects of all kinds, and is bene- 

 ficial to all trees, whereas applications of 

 lime choke up the respiratory pores, and 

 sometimes produce canker. 



Carbolic soap and lye is also recom- 

 mended. The poorest soft wood ashes 

 will answer for making the lye, as it need 

 not be strong ; it is used simply to dis- 

 solve the carbolic soap ; say ^ pound of 

 soap to a 3 gallon pail of boiling lye. It 

 may be applied to old trees while boiling 

 hot; use a swab or a large paint brush; 

 go over the trunk and all the large 

 branches. It will kill the eggs and larvae 

 of insects as well as the moss, and will 

 greatly improve the appearance of the 

 trees. 



FRUIT TREES, to Prevent Ants from 

 Injuring — Make aline of gas-tar round 

 the stem of the tree, or if it be trained on 

 a wall, make a horizontal line near the 

 ground on the wall, and one around the 

 stem ; this will prevent ants from ascend- 

 ing. 



FRUIT TREES, to Preserve from In- 

 sects and Mice. — Apply, early in the fall, 

 around the root a thick layer of lime and 

 ashes. It would be well to sink the earth 

 .around the tree about six or eight inches ; 

 throw in a few shovelsfull of the lime and 

 ashes, and then cover up with earth, 

 trampling it well down. 



FRUIT TREES, Blight on, to Cure.— 

 If the winter dressings fail and the pests 

 appear in spring so as to endanger the 

 •crop, procure a quantity of ammoniacal 

 liquor from the gas-works, and to every 

 pailful of the liquor add six of water, and 

 ioil as soon as possible in a large copper. 



Apply this in the evening, hot, with a 

 syringe, drenching every part of the trees, 

 and letting not a leaf escape. It should 

 be used be as hot as can borne by placing 

 the hand in it, and thrown with as much 

 force as possible into all the crevices in the 

 bark, on the under side of the leaves, and 

 splashed vigorously against the wall on 

 which espaliers are trained. It may be 

 used also for roses and fruit bushes, with 

 the most certain benefit. Two days after 

 give another syringing with plain warm 

 water. To clean the copper in which the 

 mixture is prepared, fill it with water, 

 throw in a shovel of cinder ashes and a 

 pound of soda, and let it boil for half an 

 hour. 



FRUIT TREES, Blossom in.— Surround 

 the trunk of the tree in blossom with a 

 wisp of straw or hemp. The end of this 

 sink by means of a stone tied to it, in a 

 vessel of spring water at a little distance 

 from the tree. One vessel will con- 

 veniently serve two trees; or the cord 

 may be lengthened so as to surround 

 several before the end is plunged into the 

 water. It is necessary that the vessel 

 should be placed in an open situation out 

 of the reach of any shade, so that the 

 frost may produce all its effects on the 

 water by means of the cord communi- 

 cating with it. 



FRUIT TREES, Coating for Amputated 

 Branches and "Wounds in. — Shellac, dis- 

 solved in alcohol, forms an excellent coat- 

 ing for amputated branches and for 

 wounds of fruit trees, making a water- 

 proof artificial skin, under which the 

 wood grows until the wound is healed. 



FRUIT, Time to Gather— It is well 

 known by observing horticulturists, that 

 winter-fruit may become over-ripe while 

 yet hanging on the tree, so that its season 

 is advanced. Such was the case during 

 the very warm and late fall of 1875; and 

 the following winter there was a complaint 

 all through the country that fruit could 

 not be kept. In some places it was gone 

 before New Year. There is a time in the 

 life of fruit when it is growth is complete — 

 when it will receive nothing further from 

 the tree. It is then tree-ripe. Shortly after 

 begins after-ripening, a chemical change, 

 whereby the starch, abundant in the un- 

 ripe or green fruit is transformed into sugar. 

 At the completion of this saccharine 

 change the fruit is in the best condition 



