'■> J.. I, . .JMHiPII:. V. 



280 



THE ILLINOIS FARMER. 



grape, morello cherries to ropresont some 

 new wouder in the currant family, and other 

 currants and small fruits sliov.n in viols 

 which are made to magnify the noniial size 

 of the fruit fifty per cent. Every farm- 

 house and every village garden have been 

 visited by these worthies, and tlie superlative 

 merits of their trees and plants vividly set 

 forth. 



Sometimes they represent tl-.eniselves as 

 the agents of some vrell-knov.n linrscry in 

 New York. At other times tliey are the 

 owners or partners of nurseries in ihis Stoite. 

 One thing is certain, tliey can fiiruish you 

 with any variety of fruit you nniy {-(lease to 

 name, tliouirh, at the time of tak!ii^^ the or- 

 der they are not the owner of a siigle tree, 

 shrub or plant. 



Should you wish to follow tiiem further, 

 after the order season is over, yon inuy find 

 tliem visiting the Ei>.sr, pnrelias'ng cheap 

 trees by the tliousa)i(l, wiiich arc Libeled 

 with such names as suit the vaslies, v.'iiinis, 

 or caprice of their VYcstoru customers, and 

 when the first frosts arrest further growth, 

 these trees are duly packed and sent turward 

 in charge of a third party to their destina- 

 tion, who, armed with the writteu contract, 

 delivers the goods. In many cases these are 

 of less size tlian represented, but this is of no 

 avail; they fill the letter if not the spirit of 

 the contract, and the purchaser lias the 

 satisfaction of believing, that if not as large, 

 or well-grown as he e-xpccteu, they will 

 soon grow to it. Of course, he has full con- 

 fidence in the integrity of the little wooden 

 label which sets forth the name, for b.ov* is 

 he otherwise to know whetlicr it is a seed- 

 ling or Putnam Russet, a >'ev/town Pippin, 

 or a Swaar; to him tiie trees have the same 

 general aj)jH'arance; ihore little charactfris- 

 tics form of tree, color and size of twig, 

 sizo and feature of bud, have formed uoj'art 

 of his study. He sets his trees, cultivates 

 them with care, but v.ith his best ciTorts 

 ordy a few of them chow a thrifty growth. 

 Year after year their number:* grow less. 

 After along delay some of them show fruit. 

 He watches its Uevelopment with an anxious 

 eye, and wonders why its rich {/encilings 

 are so long delayed. It proves but an in- 

 different fruit, perhaps a seedling. The 

 wonderful grape v,'ould nof i)ro(iuce the i.'inm 

 tomato and now discloses its foxy origin. 

 The currants have long since disclaimed 

 their relationship to the cherry, aud i)roved 

 themselves of the oommou kind. 



But where is the peddler? — gon?, no one 

 knows where. His note for half the bill of 

 purchase, payable in six months, is still held 



by the nurseryman, who was so anxious to 

 close out his unsaleable stock. This is but 

 an eYsrj day picture, the f icts of which are 

 patent to the West. Yet these leeches 

 continue their vocation, and find too many 

 simple-minded persons sulficieutiy credulous 

 to give tliem a hearing. 



Tliis system of fraud is fast working its 

 own cure, but its efiocts have proved a 

 deeper injury than many suppose. The ef- 

 fect of tile wiilidrawal of trade from our 

 nur.-:eries in consequence has been severely 

 felt, and it will be sometime before the last 

 traces of these vampyrcs will be obliterated.. 



"We hope no one will confound the well 

 authenticated agenta of responsible nurser- 

 ies, who travel for orders, with the self-con- 

 stituted vagabonds which we have noticed. 



DOMESTIC ECONOMY. 



XJ 



Our RKcreij'T ran Cviw^o BjsF.r .\.nd Fokk. — 

 This receipi, which orginated with a?, and has 

 ij.j'.v hiid inaiiy years of irifd, we bei'eve to be 

 unsurpassed as a pickie. iN'early uil the modern 

 receipts which have appeared ;u the difierent 

 a'^ricultural journals, partake, in some instances 

 a,inaost ideaticaliy, ol the ingredicntH and pro- 

 pwriions set hirta iu ours, which vre tirst {»iid 

 before our readeisbome ilfteen or eighteen years 

 v.go. At this period in the season, when farm- 

 ers and cthera v/ill soon bo put'iiig down their 

 v/inter's, and we may add, thei'; next year'* sup- 

 ply of meat, it may be of service to re-pubiish 

 Lhe receipt, wiiich is as fullows: To 1 gallon of 

 water, take IJ lbs. ol' suit, h lb. brown sugar, 

 A oz. saltpetre, and ^ oz. potash. In this ratio 

 the pickio to be iaercasiu to any quantity de- 

 sired. 



Let ihcse be boiled togeth^T until rdl the dirt 

 from thg Ealt a,ud snjj.ir (-.vliich will not be a 

 little) rises to tlic top, and is skimmed oli. — 

 Then throw tha pirkle iu!,o a large tub to cool, 

 and whru cr.ld, jionr it over your bei;i or pork, 

 to reniiia liie usual time, sav from tour to six 

 weeks, aecuruiug 1.0 the size of the pieces, and 

 tiiC kind of hicat. 'i'he lac^it must be well 

 covered wiih ilie pickle, and it sliould not be 

 jjut down for at least two d-.ivs after killing, dur- 

 ing vvddcli time it sho aid be si igluly .sprinkled 

 v.dth powdered saltpetre. 



Several of our friends have emittad tlie boil-* 

 ing ol the pickle, and (baud it to answer equally 

 LIS ufcll. It will niil, however, answer quite so 

 WL'ii. ]^y builing tlie pickle, ic is purified — lor 

 the umoiuit of du'i vthieh is dTuwa oil b}' the 

 ouerutiou, i'roni the sail and su^^ar. v/'tuid snr- 

 prise Oi)e not acquaint L-d with the tact. 



If uuybjdy caa prove that ho has a better 

 receipt iu: the curing oi uieat than tlie foregti- 

 ing, we will r^cnd him tiie 'i'cK'gruph for half m 

 d izen years I'ur his discoverv. — [Germantown 

 Telegr,ipii. 



