366 



the: illijstois f^^rjnier. 



imports have continued lar^e, mosily fro n 

 Frjince, while the quiiritity of old wheat in the 

 hnnds of Eoji^lish f;irmcrH in the Insc week \r. 

 August is put at 24,000 000 bushels. The im- 

 ports into Grs'it Crituiu during fbe tir^^t 7 

 months of t in yenr wore 1,029,788 bueh-ls 

 wheat, nnd 2.409,870 bbls flour from Frnnco, 

 and only 3,228 bushels wheat, and 24,863 bbl- 

 floor from the United States, showing that 

 France and the United States have changed 

 positions since last year, w^en t'.ie Umtod 

 States sent to England 392,831 buHdels wheat 

 and 1.338 792 bbie fl mr, and Frnnco only 

 498,958 bushels wheat nnd 173,031 bMs tluur. 

 The importations from Franco, h wover, have 

 been Irtrge lately, under the anticipation of the 

 operation of the tariff in Septeoi'^er. 



The powitiou of affairs iu England is about as 

 follows : First, Full avenigo crops in quantity. 

 Second, Full average spring crops, beans, bar- 

 ley, oats, etc. Third. On hand 3,000,000 quar- 

 ters whnat. Fourth, Usual stock in warehou-ic. 

 Fifth, Nine years' average of wheat, 54.^ 5d ^i 

 qr. Sixth, Since January, average of whoiit. 



43d 5d '^ qr. Sevo/ith, pirescnt priiio of wheat, 

 44^ Id fi qr. It follows, that the English sup- 

 ply is such that she will require little from 

 France. The croi 8 rf the oiintinont now, be- 

 eides France, are good, ani 5,000,000 quartert^ 

 may be obtained for the coming; y^ar, without 

 aid from the United States, notwithstanding 

 the low prices of transportation. The abun- 

 dance of food is a good augury for the gonera! 

 improvament of the commercial interest^ of the 

 world, if it is not directly propitious for the 



food sellers. 



••• 



Gutta Pcrclia. 



In its crude state, Gutta Percha has no 

 resemblance whatever to India Kubber, nor 

 are its cheuiical or mechanical properties the 

 same, nor does the tree from which it is tak- 

 en belong to the same family of trees, or 

 grow in the same soil; yet, frota the fact 

 that it can be dissolved, and wrought into 

 water-proof wares, many, not informed upon 

 the subject, have inclined to the belief that 

 the two materials are identically, or very 

 nearly the same. But nothing could be 

 more erroneous, as may be seen by the fol- 

 lowing comparisons : 



Gutta Percha is produced from the Ison- 

 andra or Gutta tree ; is a sap of a brownish 

 color which, when exposed to the air, soon 

 solidifies, and forms the Gutta Percha of 

 commerce. It is a fibrous material, much 

 resembling the inner coat of white oak bark, 

 is extremely tenacious, and without elastic- 

 ity or much flexibility ; may be melted and 

 cooled any number of times without injury 

 for further manufacture ; is not injured by 

 coming iu contact with grease or other fatty 

 substances ; resists the action of sulphuric, 

 muriatic, and nearly every other acid ; is a 

 non-conductor of electricity, as well as heat 

 and cold. When exposed to boiling water 

 it contracts and becomes soft like dough, 

 when it may be moulded into any desirable 

 shape, which it will retain when cool ; has 

 an exceedingly fine oily grain, and is not an 

 absorbent, but a perfect repellant of water. 



India Ilubbcr, or Caoutchouc, is produced 

 from a milk white sap, taken chiefly from 

 the Soephoca Cahuca tree, W'hich soon coag- 

 ulates, when the whey is pressed out, or 

 dried off by heat — the residue is the India 

 llubber of commerce. It is of a soft gum- 

 my nature, not very tenacious and astonish- 

 ingly elastic. ^\hen reduced to a liquid by 

 heat it appears like tar, and is unfit for fur- 

 ther manufacture. By coming in contact 



with grease or other fatty substances it is 

 soon decomposed, and ruined for further use. 

 If brought in contact with sulphuric, muri- 

 atic, and other acids it soon chars it. It is 

 a conductor of heatj cold and electricity ; 

 exposed to the action of boiling water does 

 loose its elastic properties, increases in bulk 

 and cannot be moulded; is not a perfect 

 repellant of water, but more or less absorb- 

 ent. 



The term " vulcanized " is applied to 

 fabrics of Gutta Percha or India Rubber, 

 which have been cured or tanned, by sub- 

 mitting them to a high degree or artificial 

 heat; the object being to change the nature 

 of the gum so it will not afterwards be afi'ect- 

 ( d by heat and cold. 



Gutta Percha is vulcanized for the pur- 

 pose of giving it elasticity and pliability, 

 and is entirely free from unpleasant odor; 

 will not decompose and become sticky under 

 any circumstances. AVhcn exposed to fric- 

 tion it wears away dry; is still a nonconduct- 

 or, and by vulcanization is not injured in 

 its incompjirable repellant properties. 



India llubber is vulcanized to reduce its 

 elasticity, and give it more firmness than 

 is natural to the crude material. 



Our readers are referred to the advertise- 

 ment of the Gutta Percha Manufacturing 



Company. 



•••^ — ■ 



Inskcts as Sken in the Microscope. 



— Tbe wi)igs of insects are very interesting 

 objects, both to look at unassisted, and with 

 the microscope. The wings of the horse fly 

 are found to be covered with minute stiff 

 short hairs; tl;c black net- work of lines that 

 we see in them are elastic honey tubes, over 

 which the membrane is stretched like the 

 silk of an umbrella over its ribs. Bees have 

 a very curious mode of strengthening their 

 flight, in the shape of hooks and correspond- 

 ing doublings on the edges of their wings, 

 su that when they are flying these are kept 

 expanded by even extra aids to the elastic 



ribs and tightened membrane. Who would 

 have thought of a bee hooking and eyein"' 

 himself out in that manner ! All sorts of 

 theories have held ground successively, re- 

 specting the feet of flies. First they were 

 suckers, and they walked by means of ex- 

 haustion and atmospheric pressure; then 

 they were grappling irons, and they hooked 

 thomgelves to microscopic inequalities by 

 means of invisible hooks; then they were 

 glue-pots and exuded a natural gum, which 

 gummed the insect at every step ; now we 

 believe they are assumed to be all three : 

 claws, or spines, to hook ; pads, or cushions, 

 to preserve them from abrasion (these pads 

 were the original suckers ;) hairlets as suck- 

 ing disks, that exude a certain moisture. 

 All these hypotheses are found to be true, 

 as always happens in cases when truth un- 

 rolls itself in sections. 



The scales on the wings of insects are a 

 world in themselves. The little bristle tail 

 which leaves a thick dust on your finger, 

 though touched ever so lightly, loaves in 

 that dust a mass of metallic scales of all 

 shapes. Oval, heart-shaped, round, elliptic, 

 long and narrow, shovel-shaped, they lie un- 

 der the microscope like a collection of fairy 

 toys, ail made out of gems. The sugar-louse 

 has oval or shovel-shaped scales, set on to 

 a stalk and arranged like a fan : the five 



plume moth of the summer meadow has them 

 willow-leaved in shape, sometimes singly 

 pointed, but generally noticed with two, 

 three or four notches ; the six-spot buruet 

 moth has them lustrous but opaque ; the 

 blue butterfly, shaped like a battledore; 

 the huff-tipped moth has large scales like a 

 fan , the magnificent emperor has them tri- 

 angular; while some have them fringed, 

 some pear-shaped, and others corrugated, 

 but all overlapping each other, or tiled. The 

 diamond beetle is the most splendid fellow 

 of the lot. He has a row of precious stones 

 in his flat transparent scales that irradiate the 

 whole field with their gleaming glory. Those 

 precious stones are set on to broad bands of 

 black velvet, velvet and jewels alternating in 

 stripes in the most regal and enchanting man- 

 ner. Few objects are so beautiful as the 

 scales of the diamond beetle, with their royal 

 richness and burning glory. 



■ ■'** 



Preserving Squashes. — It is presumed 

 that the squashes have been gathered ere 

 this, and put in a cool, dry place, where they 

 have the heat of the sun during the day, and 

 are protected from frost at night. When 

 freezing weather approaches they should be 

 removed to a room having a dry atmosphere, 

 and at a temperate warmth. A room above 

 the kitchen is not a bad place in most in- 

 stances. Great care should be observed in 

 handling, as a very slight injury inflicted 

 may cause the speedy decay of the whole 

 fruit. There is no conceivable reason why 

 every farmer in the country should not enjoy 

 the luxury of superior squash pies during 

 the whole winter, ani, if he raises enough, 

 they may grace his^ table in March or April. 

 A proper regard of these precautions will 

 M'ithout doubt secure so desirable an end. 



Linseed Cake for Heifers before 



Calving. — C. S. Flint, in his new and val- 

 uable work. Milch cows and Dairy Farming, 

 says that heifers fed with a little linseed 

 cake, in addition to their other fodder, for 

 three months before calving, acquire a larger 

 development of the milk vessels, and yield 

 more milk afterward than others fed as usu- 

 al. He thinks cotton-seed cake would ans- 

 wer equally as well. 



<•» 



Barrels for Fruit. — Everything in 

 contact with fruit should be clean and sweet, 

 and the vessel in which it is placed should 

 be dry and tight. Old flour barrels should 

 not be used unless well washed and dried, 

 as the particles of flour will mould and im- 

 part to the fruit an unpleasant odor and 

 flavor. Old lime barrels, it is said, are ex- 

 cellent for this purpose — the lime absorbing 

 the vapor and gases. If this is so, a little 

 fresh slacked linie scattered on the bottom, 

 sides and top of the barrel, would be bene- 

 ficial. ' 



.•• 



Preserving Dahlia Koots. — Take up 

 the roots on a dry day, after the tops have 

 been killed by frost. Let them remain ex- 

 posed to the sun and air till quite dry. All 

 the soil should be taken ofT them. When 

 quite dry, put them on a shelf in the cellar; 

 or in a box or barrel of dry sand. The 

 name of the variety should be written on a 

 wooden label, and attached to the root with 

 wire. 



