1S65.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
317 
They are muck used to border beds of hyacinths, 
etc. Sets inches apart and cover 3 inches deep. 
Orape Hyacinth. — The several species of Mus- 
enri, are perfectly hardy, ^vith small grape-like 
flowers, of white, blue and purple, like those 
shown in fig. 1, which is somewhat under size. 
The bulbs may be left in the ground for years. 
Lilies. — All are beautiful, from the common 
native wild ones to the more rare but perfectly 
hardy exotics from Japan. Set a foot or more 
apart according to the size, and four inches deep. 
ScUla. — Several species of Squill are verj' bril- 
liant spring flowers, among which is our West- 
ern Quaraash, Scilla Fraseri, sometimes sold as 
Canuissia c»culent<i. Treat same as the Crocus. 
Spring iS'noif/a/rc.— Tliis is a very modest 
hardy bulb and is called in the catalogues 
Le'iwium rtrnum. It has flowers of the size 
and shape of fig. 3, (on the preceding page,) pure 
white, with a green spot, on each of the petals. 
Snoxo Drop. — Smaller flowers than the Snow- 
flake, very early, delicate and drooping. It 
blooms in March, often when surrounded by 
snow. Gnlanthus niccdis is its botanical name. 
»-. — i<— -» 
A New Squash— The Custard Marrow. 
— ■ 
This season our attention has been called, by 
Messrs. Henderson & Fleming, Seedsmen, to a 
new variety of squash to which they give the 
name of Custard Marrow. It is said to be from 
Japan, the seeds having come to this country 
by the way of England. From the shape of 
the fruit one would suppose that it was a bush 
variety, and we were surprised to find it a vig- 
orous and quite prolific runner. The fruit is 
somewhat variable in sliape, one of the most 
common forms being shown below; the oth- 
ers vary from this iu being much shorter above 
or below the row of scallops. The skin is 
Fig. 1. — THE CUSTARD MAKROW. 
cream colored, or nearly white, and soon be- 
comes very hard. Tbe section, fig. 3, shows 
that the flesh is very thick and that the space 
occupied by the seeds and theh surrounding 
pulp is very small. The fruit should be taken 
for use while the riud is still so soft as to be 
easily pierced by the finger-nail. It cooks more 
dry than the scalloped bush squashes, and has 
very fine and delicate flavor. Having made but 
a 'single trial of this new variety we are not 
able to say how it compares with other kinds, 
but taken by itself we were veiy favorabl}' im- 
pressed with it. As the seeds were sown rath- 
er late we can not speak as to its earliness. 
We bring it to notice as one of the novelties, 
and await the trial uf another season to estab- 
lish its rank iu the already long list of varieties. 
Fig. 3.— SECTION OF CnSTARD MARROW. 
fMl IBI®I[JgEM(D)LIDo 
Hints on Painting old Wood Work. 
— • — 
As soon as there have been one or two hard frosts 
to kill most of tbe flics, it will be an excelleut time 
to p.iint wood work in the kitchen, or any other 
part of the house. Saying nothing of the economy 
of painting, it is an excellent practice to apply a 
thin coat of paint to all the wood work of the 
kitchen, once in 3 or 3 years. Good paint .always 
saves much hard labor iu keeping such parts of a 
house clean. Some doors that are used often, need 
painting every year, to keep them at all decent. It 
is not l)est to put on thick, he.avj' coats, as these 
are needlessly expensive, and after a few years will 
look bad. Tbe same amount of paint, applied often 
in tbin coats will look better and cost little more. 
Where wood work is mucli soiled, especially by 
hands not scrupulously clean, it is sometunes difli- 
eult to make even the best of paint hold well. It 
will dry soon enough, but will afterwards peel olT, 
for paint will not adhere well to a dirty, greasy 
surf\vce. This is particularly the case iu rooms, 
where washing and cooking are usually carried on. 
In order to make paint stick and become about 
as firm as the wood itself, wash the surface 
thoroughly with moderately strong ley, using a 
short swal), then wipe it off with a doth wrung out 
in fresh water. This will remove all grease and dirt 
that prevent the paint from taking a firm hold. 
Paint for sneh places should be made of the best 
white lead, mixed to the consistence of thin cream, 
with two pai'ts of the best boiled linseed oil, and 
one part of good lacquer, or " liquid drier." Such 
paint will dry in one day, and become sufficiently 
hard to handle in a few days. A very small quantity 
of lamp black will make a be.iutiful lead color. 
Yellow ochre may be added until the paint is of the 
desired shade for floors, mop-boards, or wainscoting. 
Pure white lead for the body will make u much 
more durable paint for floors, than mo.st other 
kinds. The use of zinc-white, which is much 
superior to white lead iu some situations, as for 
instance in privies, is attentcd by a little difficulty, 
because it must be applied very thick to cover well, 
when used alone ; but a second coat, not so thick, 
may be put on over other paint, and it will give 
greater brilliancy and will not tarnish from sulphu- 
rous gases frequently rising from sink-drains, etc., 
nor from the exclusion of light, which causes white 
lead paint to turn yellow. 
»-• .»♦- I « 
About Olives and Olive Oil, 
The Olive-tree furnishes two articles of com- 
merce which are more or less used as food — Olives 
and Olive oil. The tree h.is been in cultivation 
from time immemorial, and it is diflicnlt to trace 
it to its native country, though it is believed to be 
from Asia. In the Bible it is the earliest mention- 
ed of any tree, save the fig; it was the branch 
Of the Olive that the Dove bore to Koah, as a sign 
that the waters of the flood had receded — and the 
branch has been used as the emblem of peace 
through many ages. The tree seldom grows more 
than 30 or 30 feet high, though it lives to a great 
age ; it is an evergreen, with leaves of the shape 
shown in the engraving, but twice as large, and 
of a dull brownish green above, and very light col- 
ored beneath. This peculiar color gives to a grove 
of OUve trees a very sad aspect. The flowers are 
white and inconspicuous, borne in clusters in the 
axils of the leaves, and these are succeeded by a 
purple fruit which, in size and shape, resembles a 
damson plum, and contains a single nut. The 
fruit is remarkable for containing a large amount 
of oil in its fleshy portion, that being an unusual 
place for oil to occur. It is found to flourish in 
some of our Southern States and we have seen a 
BRANCH or OLr.B TJiliE. 
fine row of the trees near San Diego, in California, 
where they were planted by tbe early Jesuit Mis- 
sionaries. The green fruit is picked, steeped for a 
while in ley to remove a portion of the bitterness, 
and preserved in salt and water ; in this st.ate they 
are imported in casks .and iu bottles, and are the 
Olives sold in the shops. Tlicy are salt, bitterish, 
and have a flavor peculiar to themselves ; we doubt 
if any one ever relished them at first trial, and yet 
most persons soon become very fond of them. 
They may be regarded wholly as a luxury for the 
wealthy, and are considered .as useful to provoke 
an appetite— a purpose for which we trust our 
readers do not need to try them. The oil is a much 
more import.int product than the pickled olives, 
and is obtained by crushing and pressing the fruit. 
The quality of the oil depends upon the degree of 
maturity of the fruit, and the care used in its prep- 
aration. The finest, or " Virgin Oil," is from fruit 
not yet ripe ; perfectly ripe fruit yields a larger 
quantity of an inferior oil, and a still greater 
amount of poor oil is obtained if the ripe fruit be 
allowed to ferment in heaps. The oil is imported 
