MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY JOURNAL. 
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PE AES. 
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THE OLD ROCHESTEE NURSERY. 
The Nurseries of Western New York 
rank among the best and most extensive in 
the country, and are very justly becoming- 
celebrated, both at home and abroad.— 
Many of these establishments—especially 
those located in or near Bufi’alo, Rochester, 
Macedon and Geneva—have acquired con¬ 
siderable notoriety, and are known to be 
well stocked with choice and extensive col¬ 
lections of fruit and ornamental tree&, 
shrubs, &c. This not only- shows that the 
business pays, but is evidence of enterprise 
on the part of nurserymen—to say nothing 
of the peculiar adaptation of our soil and 
climate to the production of healthy and 
thrifty trees of almost every variety. The 
nurseries of Rochester and vicinity probably 
exceed in both number and extent, those of 
any other town in the State. Of each of 
these we propose to make brief mention, in 
such order as we may find leisure to visit 
and take note of the contents of the same. 
Our remarks will be confined, generally, to 
such statistical facts as any one might gath¬ 
er during a brief visit to each establishment 
At present we will speak of the “ Old 
Rochester Nursery” of Mr. Samuel Moul- 
SON, situated on North Clinton, Norton and 
Parker streets, one mile and a half nortli of 
Main street, and about half a mile east of 
the Steamboat Landing. On a recent visit 
to this establishment, we were agreeably 
surprised, not only at its extent, but the 
quality and variety of its contents—indica¬ 
ting good management on the part of the 
proprietor, and the growth of the nursery 
business in our vicinity. The Nursery cov¬ 
ers over forty acres, comprising a great va¬ 
riety of soil, from a gravelly loam to a stiff 
clay—an advantage in the culture of differ¬ 
ent kinds of trees and shrubs. 
The above engraving represents one of the 
sejuares forming the chief front of the nur¬ 
sery. . The front of the plot is planted with 
small herbaceous plants, and the rear with 
conifers. There are about a dozen similar 
squares, each one being perfect in itself, with 
centres broken by a diversity of figures— 
some of T?hich, like the one above, are laid 
out in the modern style of easy curves, pro¬ 
ducing an artistic and agreeable effect We 
think our readers may take a useful hint from 
the illustration, as to the manner of laying- 
out and planting ornamental grounds front¬ 
ing- on the public highway. 
The Ornamental Department contains j 
perhaps a liundred thousand items. Coni- ! 
fers are largely grown. Ilex, Rhododendron, 
Ivy, and the class of broad-leaved ever¬ 
greens have received considerable attention, 
being grown from seeds. The assortment 
of roses, phloxes, dahlias, box edgings, de¬ 
ciduous trees, <fec., is highly creditable. 
The Fruit Tree department is far more 
complete and extensive than we expected. 
The arrangement and cultivation of the va¬ 
rious kinds and varieties, exhibit good taste 
and a correct knowledge of tree culture.— 
Of Apple trees, there are about a hundred 
thousand of the justly celebrated Northern 
Spy, and from three to four hundred thou¬ 
sand of other sorts. Of the Cherry, over 
fifty thousand. The assortment of Pears 
is large and superior. There are being- 
worked on quince stocks, for pyramidal pear 
trees, fifty tliousand, and perhaps double 
that number on the pear. Pear seedlings 
also receive a due share of attention. We 
observed a beautiful square, which the fore¬ 
man estimates at about a hundred and 
twenty thousand plants—all having the ap¬ 
pearance of being very vigorous and thrifty. 
The plum and apple .seedlings were also 
fine. Indeed the whole tree department of 
the Nursery indicated excellent manage¬ 
ment, and we regret that the limited time 
of our visit did not admit of our taking more 
particular note of the same. It is well 
worth a visit by all interested in tree and 
fruit culture. 
In one corner of the nursery grounds, we 
noticed about three-quarters of an acre of the 
celebrated Giant Rhubarb, cultivated for 
selling petioles in the Rochester markets.— 
The product of this patch, standing on the 
ground, sold this season for over one hundred 
dollars, the purchasers gathering the stalk. 
We have not heard of so considerable a sale 
of pie plant, in these parts, heretofore. The 
profit must be large—and the .sale of such a 
quantity proves the article to be in demand. 
We may remark, now that we have alluded 
to this plant, that the Giant Rhubarb produ¬ 
ces no seeds, being a male pkmt Its peti¬ 
oles are some three times the size of those of 
the common sorts, and preferable in other 
respects. 
But we must close this somewhat disjoint¬ 
ed notice. We advise our readers to visit 
tliis establishment, and see for themselves 
the variety and quality of its trees, shrubs 
and plants. 
NEW GRAPE. 
Oke of the Editors of this paper, after 
several years experience, with more than 30 
varieties of foreign and indigenous Grapes, 
became strongly impressed with the import¬ 
ance of multiplying varieties to discover 
those that should ripen in this climate in all 
season, with other valuable properties; has 
brought up to the period of bearing, nearly 
two hundred seedlings, without any success 
until the present season. 
The leaf is the surest but not a constant 
criterion. There can be no good -grape, 
with a thin, watery, wild leaf; and some 
with thick, strong leaves, sometimes produce 
bad flavored, late, and worthless fruit 
Plants from the Isabella seed often pro¬ 
duce the wildest, crabbed, acrid frost grapes, 
that can be found wild in the forests. Two 
vines are showing fine clusters; one of them 
under very unfavorable circumstances,— 
having become swamped with an over¬ 
growth of vine, during our absence for a 
month—is now coloring- fast The berries 
are large, round and well set, and promise 
early maturity. It is from the Catawba 
seed, and may be crossed with the Isabella, 
as the two vines intermix on the trellis. 
As we liave but a single grape that can 
be relied upon in this climate—the Isabella 
—if ours comes up to the mark of excel¬ 
lence, we intend to give it the big name of 
some heathen goddess; or perhaps, a live 
Christian one, we have in our eye, jmd make 
a fortune out of it—and nothing shorter.— 
Nous verrous. 
Lofty Trees. — Lieut Wise says that 
many of the trees that fringe what Hum- 
bolt terms the maritime alps of California 
are of enormous magnitude. A German 
naturalist assured him that he had measured 
pines in the Santa Cruz mountains fifty- 
seven feet in girth at the base, and jiarrying 
their lofty tops up a clear shaft for 270 feet 
without a branch] It is Humbolt, we be¬ 
lieve, who mentions a species of mature 
pine only three-tenths of an inch high!— 
He also mentions pines in California 300 
feet high, if measured to tlie very top.— 
Somewhat of a contrast I 
Tub character and mind of a person who 
commends us should be considered before 
we set a value on his esteem. 
It is conceded that as good pears can be 
grown in the vicinity of Rochester as else¬ 
where, and was it not for the blight with 
which the trees are more or less affected, 
we should be able to produce very large 
crops. They are a profitable fruit to raise, 
and Ihe kind we now mention may be 
grown to any extent; a ready market can 
be found for them, varying according to the 
season fof plenty or scarcity, say four to 
eight dollars per barrel, in this market. 
The Virgalieu stands unrivalled as a 
choice pear for market It bears transplant¬ 
ing well and is an universal favorite. It is 
known as the “Virgalieu” in New York, 
the “ St Michaels ” in Boston, the “ Butter” 
in Philadelphia, and as one of the best the 
world over. J. h. w. 
MANAGEMENT OF PEAR TREES. 
The practice of what is termed root-pru¬ 
ning has of late years attracted a good deal 
of notice. Root-pruning is, however, no 
modern discovery. It has been followed, 
less or more, for a century, and perhaps 
even longer; but the system of docking the 
roots, and dwarfing trees is somewhat new 
in this country, although well understood in 
the Celestial Empire. The result of this 
practice has been the production of stunted, 
bark-bound trees, the fruit from which par¬ 
takes more of the character of the wood of 
the tree than that which we desire to find 
in plump, well-grown pears. I therefore 
take this opportunity of cautioning my ama¬ 
teur readers on a point which, to my per¬ 
sonal knowledge, has sadly misled many of 
them. It may be stated, and in fact recog¬ 
nized as an axiom, that unless a tree is in a 
kindly growing condition, the fruit will at 
all times be inferior. Let it not be inferred 
from this that I mean over-luxuriance; in 
that case wood alone will be made. 
Pears should be generously used when 
they are first planted: the ground should 
be in good heart, and manured near the 
surface. If in the course of a few years 
the trees indicate a tendency to produce 
more wood than is desirable either as re¬ 
spects the fruitfulness of the trees, or out¬ 
growing the limits originally assigned them, 
then cautiously examine the roots, and care¬ 
fully curtail their exuberance, but this should 
be done by degrees, and the month of Au¬ 
gust should be preferred to any other for 
the operation. 
The most important point in the manage¬ 
ment of pear trees hinges on the summer 
pruning; many imagine that when the trees 
are planted there is nothing- more to be 
done, except picking the fruit This notion 
has converted some little gardens into little 
forests. During the summer let the supers 
fluous shoots be stopped back to within 3 
inches of the old bearing- wood, broken oft’ 
rather than cut This will cause flower- 
buds to be formed at the base' of the shoots 
so treated. The projecting part can be re¬ 
moved in autumn or winter close to the 
fruit buds; by following this mode of treat¬ 
ment the trees will be kept within a limited 
space, and their productiveness secured.— 
Gardener's Chronicle. 
AMERICAN POMOIOGICAL CONGRESS. 
By the following notice from Hon. Mar¬ 
shall P. Wilder, it will be seen that the time 
for holding the next session of the Pomo- 
logical Congress has been changed. 
American Pomological Congress.— 
The next session of this National Institution, 
which was to have been held at Cincinnati 
in September, is hereby postponed to the 
2 d, 3d, and 4th days of October next 
The Ohio State Board of Agriculture 
have postponed the State Fair to the same 
time. In conformity, therefore, with the 
Resolutions instructing the President of this 
Association to act in concert with that Board, 
this notice is given to countermand the or¬ 
der for the meeting in September. 
The reasons assigned for this change are 
that the apprehensions in relation to cholera 
and similar diseases may continue to exist 
until after the time heretofore named for 
the meeting- of these Institutiona 
Marshall P. Wilder, Pres’t. 
Boston, Aug, 21, 1850. 
A Good Yield. —Mr. Henry V. Colt, of 
this village, harvested this season, from thir¬ 
ty acres of land 840 bushels of first quality 
Wheat The land was new, never having 
before “ broke up,” and near one quarter 
of the whole lot was occupied with stumps, 
none of which had been grubbed out On 
new land and occupied as this was, we think 
28 bushels to the acre a good yield. 
Better. —We learn that Mr. William Cook 
of Lima, harvested this season 466 bushels 
of fine Wheat from ten acres of land. The 
Wheat was of the Soule’s species, imd was 
drilled in with one of Spencer & Col’s drills. 
Forty-six and six-tenths bushels to the acre 
is a great yield. Can it be beat? If so, 
we should like to see the figures.— Living¬ 
ston Republican. 
Heroism is active genius; genius contem¬ 
plative heroism; Heroism is the self-devotion 
of genius manifesting itself in action. 
NEW DISCOVERIES. 
The Paine humbug—His successor — Prof. Page; 
his prospects ; probable result — Judson’s Pow¬ 
der Engine—New Motive Power — House’s Tel¬ 
egraph—Chie of the toonders of mechanism. 
Since the explosion of the trickei-j' of 
Paine’s Electric Light, as predicted by 
those that understood the chemical proper¬ 
ties of those gases that produce light, there 
has appeared another claimant for the hon¬ 
ors of exposure. A blacksmith in Penn¬ 
sylvania asserts that he, in the course of his 
business, has discovered the means of pro¬ 
ducing Hydrogen alone from water, and at 
an expense that beats Mr. Paine’s method 
in cheapness. 
Prof. Page, formerly of the Patent Oflice, 
but now attached to the Smithsonian Insti¬ 
tute, has been exhibiting some very curious 
experiments at Washington, on the powers 
of Electro-Mag-netism when applied to ma¬ 
chinery. He exhibited a reciprocating en¬ 
gine, said to be of six horse power, which 
drove a circular saw, cutting boards into 
lathing, and making over a hundred strokes 
per minute—with other new and very cu¬ 
rious experiments. When it is considered, 
that the attractive power of electricity de¬ 
creases in intensity at an inverse ratio, as 
the square of the distance, it may be doubt¬ 
ed whether any very considerable and reli¬ 
able power can be produced, without a 
weight in battary, magnets and appliances, 
that will render its use unavailable, when 
compared with the improved steam engines, 
that work with half the fuel of those gener¬ 
ally in use. Time, that hoary headed old 
truth-teller, will settle the question. 
JuDsoN, of Rochester, who has been sev¬ 
eral years experimenting with a powder en¬ 
gine, in which an explosive compound takes 
the place of steam, has, since the discovery 
of the explosive properties of the chlorate of 
potash and sugar, (which renders the chai-g- 
ing safe,) and other additional conveniences, 
brought it to that degree of perfection that 
those of mechanical and scientific preten¬ 
sions are sanguine in their belief of its suc¬ 
cess. Some have predicted, that a space of 
six feet square would contain a power that 
would drive a vessel across the Atlantic so 
fast that, like some aquatic birds, it would 
only skim the surface. But this, we opine, 
is running under rather high steam. Old 
Time’s opinion is worth all the speculation 
in tlie world. 
House’s Printing Telegraph, now in op¬ 
eration in this city, is no longer a matter of 
experiment—a contingency—but a settled 
fact. Its operations are as certain as the 
printing by the application of paper to inked 
types. In the absence of other business 
the operators converse with each other as if 
face to face, the letters being correctly 
printed faster than any person can count— 
as fast as an experienced operator can pro¬ 
duce notes on the piano. It is tlie ne plus 
ultra of mechanical inventive ability — the 
end—all but vitality, mind and speech. 
AN IRON STEAM CRAFT. 
A LARGE iron steam vessel of singular 
appearances, is in progress of construction 
at Mott & Ayses’ Minnesota Iron Foundry, 
foot of West 26th street. New York. Its 
extreme length is 130 feet, and its breadth 
of beam 23 feet, (36 feet over all) of iron. 
Mr. Stephen Card is her proprietor. He 
also formed the plan for her construction.— 
She is ribbed not unlike an ordinary vessel, 
and to those ribs are attached the plates, 
Avhich overlap and are riveted. All the 
parts are of iron. They can easily be dis¬ 
connected, and sent any distance, as freight 
It is probable she will be soon sent around 
to the Pacific in this manner, to navigate 
the inland waters of Oregon to Cjilifornia. 
She is calculated to accommodate 120 pas¬ 
sengers and about 169 tons of freight— 
She will be furnished with a rudder at each 
end, in order the better to control her in 
eddies or short turns of the river, and also 
with two high pressure steam engines.— 
Farmer and Mechanic. 
. Prof. Draper, in Tlie course of a desser- 
tation upon the Nature and Relation of 
Water — its various changes and modifica¬ 
tions, observes;—“The tears you shed in 
the depths of grief, to-day, may be squirted 
to-morrow through a hose-pipe, to clean the 
dirt off the streets, or whistled away through 
he squeak of a locomotive, to scare some 
dilatory cow off the track!” 
“ Mister, will you lend pa your news¬ 
paper ? he only wants to read it.” 
“0 certainly—and ask your father if 
he’ll just lend me the roof of his house, I 
Only want the shingles to make the tea-ket¬ 
tle boil.” 
LIST OF PATENTS 
18SU£I> FROM THE UNITED STATES PATENT OFFtCX 
For the week ending August 13, 1850. 
To N. Barlow, of St. Louis, Mo., for improve¬ 
ment in friction clutches. 
To Bartholomew Beniowski, now residing in 
London, England, for improvement in cylinder 
printing presses. Patented in England, Oct. 14, 
1847. 
To J. G. Davis, of Buffalo, N. Y., (Assignor to 
A. B. Warren & J. G. Davis,) for improvement 
in the manufacture of candles. 
To J. F. Tozer, of Rochester, N. Y., for im¬ 
provement in instruments for vaccinating. 
To Adam Hays, of Madison, Ind., for improve¬ 
ment in splints for fractures. 
To G. Houston, of Washington, N. C., for im¬ 
provement in weighing machines. 
To Wm. H. Hovej% of Hartford, Conn., for im ¬ 
provement in packing boxes and axles. 
To Allen Judd, of Chicopee, Mass., for im¬ 
provement in pentagraphs. 
To W. B. Kean, of Worcester, Mass., for im¬ 
provement in bench-hooks. 
To A. McKinney, of Montgomery, N. Y., for 
improvement in apparatus for regulating tlie set¬ 
ting of bows in wagon-tops. 
To R. Milligan, of Rarden, Eng., for improve¬ 
ment in ornamenting textile fabrics. Patented in 
England, March 18, 1850. 
To J. Pirsson, of New York, N. Y., for im¬ 
provement in pianofortes. 
To W. Robinson, of Lebanon, Conn., for im¬ 
provement in ship ventilators. 
To J. C. Tennent & J. Workman, of Philadel¬ 
phia, Pa., for safety apparatus for steam boilers. 
RE-ISSUES. 
To J. Pecare J. M. Smith, of New York, N. 
Y., for improved concealed trigger for fire-arms. 
Patented Dec. 4, 1849. Re-issued 'Aug. 13, ’50. 
To John Hinton, of Pack’s Ferrj-, “Ya., for im¬ 
provement in harvesters of clover heads and other 
grain. Patented May 22, 1849. Re-i.ssued Auv 
13, 1850. 
DESIGNS. 
To W. Bryant, of Boston, Mass., for de.sign for 
cast iron bracket. 
To J. F. Rathbone, o^ Albany, N. Y., for design 
for coal stoves. ' ® 
To R. J. Blanchard, of Albany, N. Y., (As¬ 
signor to B. P. Learned & G. H. Thatcher.) for 
design for stoves. 
•To S. S. Jewett & F. H. Roof, of Buffalo, N. 
Y., for design for stoves. 
IMPROVED LATHE MACIHNE. 
Mr. Wm. Merrill, of Northampton, Por¬ 
tage Co., Ohio, has made some excellent 
improvements on machinery for making 
laths, for which he has taken measures to 
secure a patent. The machine makes the 
laths out of the slabs of logs. It has a cir¬ 
cular saw which slits the lath out of a slab 
as it is fed in, and it has a revolving knife 
on the saw spindle, which turns the edge 
of the lath after the saw cuts it. The slab 
is carried forward the whole length, allow¬ 
ing the saw to cut a lath the whole length, 
when a projection on the saw frame takes 
the slab, turns it over on revoking rollers, 
which bring it back to the person to feed it 
in, who stands at the end of the frame, and 
merely feeds in the slabs to the slitting saw. 
This machine has a register to it, wtiiich 
rings a bell when a hundred laths are finish¬ 
ed, to tell the operator that a bunch is ready 
for binding, so that no counting is required 
for that purpose.— Sd. Am. 
Imi’rovement in Flax Manufacture.— 
We learn by the Glasgow “Daily Mail,” 
that a very important improvement in the 
manufacture of flax has been exhibited in 
England by a Mr. Doulan, which, it seems, 
prepares the flax for spinning by the remo¬ 
val of its fibrine matter without steeping.— 
The discovery is said to be patented. Four¬ 
teen pounds of the unsteeped flax produced 
4 pounds and 4 ounces of good flax, where¬ 
as the same quantity of steeped flax produ¬ 
ced nearly a pound less. This is stated to 
be a great improvement over the old way. 
It almost appeai-s certain to us that this is 
the invention of Robert Patterson, ivho pat¬ 
ented the discovery last year in the United 
States, and then went back to Ireland to 
introduce the invention there. We were 
informed by Mr. Goddard, assignee in the 
United States, that Mr. Patterson was man¬ 
ufacturing by his process at his brother’s 
factory, somewhere near Belfast 
Swiftness of Birds. — A German pa¬ 
per, speaking of the swiftne.ss of various 
birds, says:— 
“A vulture can fly at the rate of 150 
miles an hour. Observations made on the 
coast of Labrador convinced Major Cart¬ 
wright that wild geese could travel at the 
rate of 90 miles an hour. The common 
crow can fly 25 miles, and swallows, accord¬ 
ing to Spallangain, 92 miles an hour. It 
is said that a falcon was discovered at Mal¬ 
ta 24 hours after the departure of Henry 
IV from Fontainbleau. If true, this bird 
must have flown for 14 hours at the rate of 
57 miles an hour, not allowing him to rest 
a moment during the whole time.” 
A Curious Calculation. —The twenty 
four letteis of the alphabet may be transpos¬ 
ed 624,443,404,733,239,439,390,000 times. 
All the inhabitants of the globe, on a rough 
calculation, could not, in a thousand millions 
of years, write out all the transpositions of 
the twenty-four letters, even supposing 
that each wrote forty pages daily, each of 
which pages contained forty different trans¬ 
positions of the letters. 
