MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY JOURNAL. 
STARTING LIMA BEANS. 
Eds. Rural: —Every practical gardener 
in our State is aware of the difficulty in 
getting’ the plants of Lima Beans out of the 
ground in spring when the season is unfa- 
favorable, on account of the beans them¬ 
selves being subject to rot on exposure to 
an excess of moisture, with not a sufficient 
degree of heat to bring the plants out to 
the air; although when the latter is accom¬ 
plished, they do not seem to suffer from 
cold more than other varieties. 
I have practiced the following plan, and 
have never failed in any instance of getting 
the plants out of ground, and sometimes 
two weeks earlier than it could be done by 
planting in the usual way. I prepared 
shallow boxes about two feet square and 
four inches deep, and over the bottom placed 
inverted sods four inches square; on each 
of these I put four beans and covered with 
another sod of corresponding size, with the 
grass side downward. The boxes were 
placed either in a pile of fermenting ma¬ 
nure or near the kitchen fire, so that about 
a blood heat could be kept up. As soon 
as the beans show an inclination to rise 
from their recumbent position, I removed 
the upper sods and covered with about 1| 
inches of sifted leaf mould, and when they 
showed themselves through this, I removed 
the squares of sods to the hills where the 
beans are to grow’. 
By adopting this plan I get my Lima 
beans much earlier, and there is no risk of 
failure. I have found that half a shovel 
full of hen dung mixed with the soil in the 
hills will create a great addition to the crop, 
as this manure is calculated to furnish the 
material necessary for their formation, judg¬ 
ing from actual results, without referring 
to the analyzation of the chemist. If the 
ground around the hills is covered with 
some dark substance to draw the heat of 
the sun, the growth of the plants will be 
facilitated, and the beans brought to matu¬ 
rity earlier in the season. They are a trop¬ 
ical plant and need the warmest location in 
the garden. i. h. 
RAISING MELONS ON GREENSWARD. 
With proper treatment, melons may be 
raised in admirable perfection in all parts 
of the country, except, perhaps, in very un¬ 
favorable seasons. The following method 
is new to us, but seems to have been prac¬ 
ticed with most encouraging; success. Where 
o to 
but little room can be spared, especially, we 
should think it worthy of adoption. We 
find it in a letter of J. S. T., to the German¬ 
town Telegraph. He says: 
“ I selected a piece of sward land, well 
set, and at the distance of six feet from the 
edge commenced excavating my “hills.” 
Those v r ere six feet apart, and an equal 
space was left between rows. The holes 
were four feet in diameter, and thirteen 
inches deep, —the sods or “turf” inverted 
in the bottom, and the rest of the “ hill” 
filled to the surface with old compost, formed 
of scrapings from the forest as the basis, 
and one peck of lime, one do. plaster of 
Paris, one do. leached house ashes, two 
quarts of salt, one lb. sulphur and one of 
copperas, thoroughly mixed and dissolved, 
to each hill. Over this a third stratum of 
rich well-sifted garden mould was placed 
as a receptacle for the seeds, ten of which 
w r ere allowed to each hill. 
A cheap frame, with gauze sides and glass 
top was placed over each hill during “ bug 
time,” and the plants were regularly irriga¬ 
ted every morning, till they commenced 
blossoming, with urine and soap suds, in 
which cowdung had been soaked for twenty- 
four hours before applying it. Immediate¬ 
ly after the disappearance of the bugs, the 
frames were removed, and the weeds clear¬ 
ed from between and around the plants. 
I have never se<»n finer fruit than result¬ 
ed from this method. By allowing ten 
seeds to the hill, and scattering them as 
widely and evenly over the surface, as prac¬ 
ticable, I was enabled to have my plants 
in any position desired. The spaces be¬ 
tween the hills, were cut over before the 
runners shot forth, but not after, as the 
grass by retaining moisture and sheltering 
the vines and fruit in some degree from the 
sun’s rays, was less a detriment than a 
benefit to the crop. This may appear to 
some rather a tedious and onerous process; 
but the production of hard, sound and ripe 
melons, is I think a consummation worthy 
of some toil.” 
By the aid of a microscope the mouldy 
substances on damp bodies sometimes ap¬ 
pear a forest of trees, whose branches, 
leaves, flowers and fruits can be clearly dis¬ 
tinguished. 
CEMENT FOR GARDEN AND OTHER WALKS. 
Many of our readers have found much 
difficulty in keeping the walks of their 
yards and gardens free from grass and 
weeds, which spring up through gravel, and 
between the crevices of brick—much to the 
injury of their tidy appearance. Unless a 
walk is kept clean, we may as w’ell have 
have none at all, as far as beauty is con¬ 
cerned. 
A correspondent of the Germantown 
Telegraph, gives the following mode of pa¬ 
ving narrow walksin gardens and ornament- 
al grounds—recommending it as economi¬ 
cal, as well as durable and beautiful. He 
says: 
“Having first laid out your walks and ar¬ 
ranged their direction and width, excavate 
the soil to the depth of six inches. On 
each side of the excavation place a strip of 
plank or board just wide enough to reach 
one inch above the surface of the soil on the 
sides, and fill in the space between the two 
strips with earth—a mixture of clay and 
coarse sand of the consistence of mortar, is 
the best, and make the whole as solid, firm 
and compact, as practicable. This should 
extend to within one inch of the upper 
edges of the side pieces, which should be 
perfectly straight and made to correspond 
exactly with each other. Over the surface 
of this spread your cement, formed of one 
part prime Hydraulic or Roman cement, to 
three, (or if the latter be of firstrate quality, 
and very strong) three and a half parts of 
good sand. It must be applied in aplastic 
state, and the surface smoothed by drawing 
a straight edge over it, graduated by the 
side pieces. 
In this way a solid and durable walk 
will be secured, which will possess all the 
beauty and evenness of stone or brick. No 
weeds will ever be in the way, and in wet 
weather it will be as dry and free from wa¬ 
ter, as a side walk of brick. If desirable 
this pavement may be colored by the intro¬ 
duction of pigments. Any shade almost, 
may be given to them that inclination or 
fancy may suggest. The cement is by no 
means a costly article, and the labor of pre¬ 
paring the walks and applying it, can be 
performed by any person of the most ordi¬ 
nary ingenuity.” 
Time must of course be allowed for their 
hardening—and they wall become like 
granite, and never wear out. Water poured 
upon the surface or allowed to stand there¬ 
on, will hasten this process. We should 
imagine that, a greater depth of snhstratnm 
would be desirable, where the frosts are 
very severe. 
THE PEACH WORM. 
This is probably one of the most assid¬ 
uous enemies with which the cultivators 
of this excellent and deservedly admired 
fruit are called to contend. In order suc¬ 
cessfully to obviate the attacks, some per¬ 
sons recommend removing the soil around 
the trunk to the depth of three or four 
inches, and apply boiling hot water, soap 
suds, or brine at any season when it is un¬ 
frozen, and it is said that the gum which 
oozes from the wound and which is, indeed, 
an infallible evidence of the presence of the 
worm, be previously removed, so that the 
application can enter the aperture, the en¬ 
emy is sure to be expelled or perish. In 
some observations illustrative of the habits 
and entomological character of this trouble¬ 
some insect, a recent writer says: 
“Though it feeds on the pulpy part of 
the bark, it seems careful not to disturb the 
cuticle, so were it not for filth mixed togeth¬ 
er on the outside, it would be difficult to 
find the depredator. The fresh tilth, how¬ 
ever, sufficiently indicates its presence. By 
entering a knife at that point, and slitting 
the cuticule, longitudinally, the establish¬ 
ment is soon broken up, for it is seldom 4 
inches in length; and then we discover a 
white grub, three quarters of an inch long, 
which is readily extracted. When it is re¬ 
moved, the tree speedily recovers. 
The peach, in this climate is, I believe, 
less subject to depredations of the peach 
worm, than in some others where it is more 
extensively propagated. The trees, how¬ 
ever, sometimes sutler from their attacks, 
and in many instances, indeed, they are 
greatly and fatally injured by them. 1 have 
known some cases where their depredations 
have caused the destruction of tine trees, 
before the nature of the evil was discovered 
or even suspected. It is always a good plan 
to examine the peach tree frequently and 
with care, as it is necessary when they do 
make an attack to arrest and to remove 
them at once .—Boston Rambler. 
Fruit Treks.— Keep the surface of the 
soil around your fruit trees clean and light. 
Should any of them become sickly in dry 
weather, apply a small quantity of compost, 
and cover the surface with straw. Over 
this pour a quantity of soap-suds every week, 
and the tree will speedily revive and go on 
as before. The straw keeps the moisture 
from evaporating, and retains the soil loose 
and light. — Ger. Telegraph. 
PRESERVING FRUITS. 
The European Times says that at the 
last meeting of the Horticultural Society, 
London, various dried vegetables, such as 
peas, haricot beans, Brussels sprouts, car¬ 
rots and turnips, &c., were exhibited from 
Peyrusset, Moller & Co., of Paris. These 
were stated to have been dried by a pro¬ 
cess peculiar to M. Ganhal, the celebrated 
embalmerof animal substances. This pro¬ 
cess is understood briefly to consist in di¬ 
viding the larger vegetables into pieces, 
and placing them in an apparatus into 
which dried air is driven, until they have 
parted with all their water, and have be 
come perfectly dry. In this condition they 
may be preserved for any length of time, 
and it is said that their flavor is not at all 
interfered with. If these facts, therefore, 
are borne out by experience, the discovery 
is a very important one; but in addition to 
vegetables, fruits, as apples, pears, apricots, 
&c., and even flowers, may be dried and 
preserved by the same process. In confirm¬ 
ation of this, several dried specimens were 
shown to the meeting. 
This discovery is by no means a new one. 
It is a Yankee invention Frenchified. For 
several years -past it has been in use in Ma¬ 
ryland, Virginia, and other states. The 
American operation is as follows: 
Prepare canisters in the best manner, of 
good tin,—about seven or eight inches in 
length, and five in diameter. The fruit se¬ 
lected for preservation should be just ripe 
and no more, free from specks and bruises. 
When the canisters are filled, solder on the 
tops carefully, leaving a small hole as large 
as a pin, in the top, for the escape of air.— 
The canisters are then to be heated by pla¬ 
cing them in boiling water nearly up to the 
top, until the fruit within has obtained the 
same temperature as the water. This is 
ascertained by placing a drop of water on 
the pin hole, which will continue to bubble 
as long as air escapes from the canister.— 
When the internal temperature is equal to 
the water, no more air will escape, and 
then a di op of solder is to be applied to the 
pin hole. If the operation has been prop¬ 
erly conducted, the ends of the canisters, 
after cooling, will become depressed in con¬ 
sequence of the pressure of the atmosphere. 
The heat thus applied does not cook the 
fruit in the least; it dries them. The can¬ 
isters when filled and sealed should be 
kept in cool places. In this manner any 
one can preserve peaches, strawberries, and 
all kinds of fruit in the most perfect man¬ 
ner. Fruit thus preserved are as good at 
the end of six months or more time as 
when first gathered. The operation is an 
important one, and v.-. Uojis ft will tie mure 
generally adopted. Fruit thus preserved 
would bring great profits in New York in 
the winter.— N. Y. Sun. 
HOW TO CULTIVATE MELONS. 
A correspondent of the Horticulturist 
says:—I had the pleasure of eating some 
very fine muskmelons at Cottage Lawn, the 
seat of Thos. W. Ludlow, Esq., and he 
kindly gave me the following account of his 
method of treating them, which is so much 
less expensive and more simple than the 
usual manner of protecting the young plants 
with hand glasses, which require a small 
fortune devoted to them alone, I think it 
may be useful to some of your readers: 
After the young plants have been “start¬ 
ed” in a frame, they are set out in the 
melon patch, and each one is enclosed by 
four common bricks, laid flat on the broad¬ 
side, the space at the top is covered over 
with a pane of ordinary window glass. This 
enclosure remains until the plant reaches 
the glass, when the bricks are turned up on 
one side, and the glass replaced. By the 
time they have grown up to this “ roof,” 
they are strong enough to do without pro¬ 
tection, and the season so far advanced that 
frost is not feared. The fruit resulting from 
this treatment, was uncommonly fine and 
large, and the vines very healthy and strong. 
The seeds may be sown at once in the mel¬ 
on-bed if more convenient, and enclosed 
with the brick and glass. 
ABOUT THE GOOSEBERRY. 
A gooseberry bush arrives at maturity 
in six or seven years; and to insure a plen¬ 
tiful crop of fruit the bushes ought to be 
renovated by pruning out the old w’ood, at 
or previous to that time, thus having only 
young and vigorous branches coming di¬ 
rectly from the roots for bearers. The prac¬ 
tice of some gardeners in attempting to 
make trees of bushes, by pruning to a sin¬ 
gle stem, ought to be carefully avoided.— 
Plant the White or Prolific Gooseberry, 
avoiding those large varieties which are 
generally injured more or less by mildew; 
keep the bushes vigorous by a liberal appli¬ 
cation of manure to the roots yearly; pre¬ 
vent the grass from growing about them; 
and prune out the old wood every spring. 
By following this system, I raise bushels 
of this delicious fruit, yearly, yielding a 
plentiful supply for family use, and several 
bushels for market One of my l eighbors 
three years ago, by following the above plan 
sold fifteen bushels from a sm 11 garden, 
and all entirely clear of mildew.— Cor. 
Ger. Telegraph. 
To Thomas Ball, of Boston, Mass., for design 
for bust of Jenny Lind. 
LILLIPUTIAN LOCOMOTIVE. 
muhank %xU. , rA ™ 
' _ The Dutch who are celebrated as a peo- 
LIST OF PATFNT m atws . for their industrious and economical 
A T CLAIMS habits, have a maxim, it is said, that “ paint- 
I 8 SUED FROM THE UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE . . ’ . iua<i ycmiL 
For the week ending April 29, 1851. ‘“S 13 no expense. ’ Ihis doubtless is true. 
_ A coat of paint on wood work, exposed to 
To I. L. Cady, of New York, N. Y., for im- atmosphere, tends greatly to preserve 
proved compound metallic door for vaults, safes, and as paint, when of a good quality, 
etc. and well put on lasts unimpaired for years, 
To Oliver Etnier, of Shirley Township, Pa., for the t'Xtra durability it confers on the sub¬ 
improvement in winnowing machines. Stance it is designed to protect, goes, DO 
To J. C. Smith, of Stoughstown, Pa., for im- doubt, a great way toward defraying the 
provement in spring saddles. expense. All houses should be painted.— 
To J. G. Goshon, of Shirleysburgli, Pa., & White is the best color, especially in hot 
Wm. H. Towers, o r Bucyrus, Ohio,for improve, climates; all dark colors have a tendency 
ment in apparatus for giving ease to the arms in to absorb caloric or the matter of heat, and 
writing. by so doing to render houses much hotter 
To Ira H. Smith, of Wolcott, Conn., for im- than when pamled with pure white, which 
provement in machinery for making matches. reflects it. One story houses which have 
To R. G. Babcock, of New London, Conn., for had their roofs painted with coal tar, or 
improved horse shoeing machine. some other paint of a dark color, are gen- 
To L. W. Boynton, of South Coventry, Conn, dally insufferably hot. 
for improvement in bats for felting. The out-buildings on a farm ought, for 
To L. L. Gilliland, of Dayton, Ohio, for im- economy’s sake if nothing more, to be paint- 
provement in splint machines. ed. Any structure that has cost money 
To YVm. Mt. Storm, of New York, N. Y., for ought to be preserved by every means and 
flexible hose or float, for supporting vessels. application possible to be bestowed. White- 
To Frank Chene^'of Manchester, Conn., for W . ashin S the walls °J sheds and fences, 
improvement in machinery for doubling, twisting, § lves a very neat and tasty appearance to 
and reeling thread. Originally patented Oct. 9, an establishment, while the wash retains 
1847, t its brilliancy, but as soon as that is gone, 
To Thomas Ball, ofTuston, Mass., for design the aS P® ct 1S un P lea sant. If a farmer pos- 
for bust of Jenny Lind. ° sesses the means, by far the most judicious 
-method is to bestow a good finish, and pro- 
LILLIPUTIAN LOCOMOTIVE. tect with a coat of paint. Durability is a 
prime quality in farm buildings, and they 
We had the pleasure yesterday of ex- who expend their money in furnishing good 
ami rung, at the office of the Providence structures, at first, escape the heavy expen- 
Railroad, a diminutive railroad engine and diture which cheap edifices entail on their 
tender built with the view of exhibiting at owners, for annual repairs 
the World’s Fair, but which, not having Paint applied to the farming utensils 
been finished in season for that end, has suc h as plows, wheels, carts, &c well re- 
been purchased for the use of the Military pays the cost; it preserves the wood, and 
Academy at West Point. a well painted, neat looking instrument is 
It is truly a gem of mechanical skill, and always used with much greater care and 
it is a pity it could not have been exhibited circumspection, than one that is not The 
m London as the production of a native cost is a mere trifle, and scarcely worthy of 
Yankee, and especially as that Yankee is being taken into account, if we contem- 
still a boy. The engine is less than three plate the utility of the process.— Ger. Tel. 
feet long, and is yet in perfect working or- _ _ . _ _ 
der in ail its parts, and of the most beauti- INTERESTING DISCOVERY. 
fill proportions and finish. It is furnished - 
with Mr. Stephenson’s reversing link, a very We observe in our foreign papers that a 
admirable contrivance, not yet introduced Mr. Kronheim, in Paternoster Row, London, 
in practice, as we are aware, on this side of has invented a new process in Lithography, 
the water. All its parts are made of ap- to be exhibited at the Great Fair, by which 
propriate materials, accurately fitted and the chefs d'ceuvrc of art may be transferred 
highly polished. The boiler has its 136 to engravings, with their original colors, and 
tubes, and the springs are adjusted in the any number of copies struck off. Each 
nicest manner. An alcoholic flame gene- description of tint is transferred to its sepa¬ 
rates the steam which sets it in motion. rate stone, and the requisite filling in is ef- 
The builder is Jas. L. Lincoln, of South footed by means of a chemical ink. By the 
t>»ji—® o - e .u-- c —e _: ,j_ r.._. ■. 
inet maker. He receives $300 from the U. caused, and then oil colors are made to 
S. Government for the machine, though it pass over the stone, by rollers, arrested, 
must have cost him twice that. But the however, by the ink, which secures the 
honorable fame of the achievement will be needful amount of shading to the utmost 
worth more to him than money. It is a nicety. The colors from die stones being 
monument which he will enjoy in his life- then printed off upon paper, the exact tints 
time .—Boston Commonwealth. are produced by printing one color over the 
-—-——-—■- other; and thus an exact copy of the origin- 
CHINE5E PRINTING. al picture is obtained. 
m . , ~ ,. . . , The invention is pronounced a certainty. 
The method now adopted in China is the Several copies of Reubens’ « Descent from 
following:—Th“ work is transcribed mlegi- the Cross” are nowon exhibition at Mr. 
ble characters upon sheets of thin transpa- Kronheim’s as samples of the process, and 
rnn t nonni* • t lx o nonov ic t’hon rvoef/i/'l tiTr\r\r 1 .1 i. • • t it ^ 
CHINESE PRINTING. 
The method now adopted in China is the 
following:—Th° work is transcribed in legi- 
to t to 
ble characters upon sheets of thin transpa¬ 
rent paper; the paper is tnen pasted on wood, the resu lt is indisputable. The expense of 
and the engraver cuts away the surround- such pictures will be cheap, while it serves 
ing wood, leaving the characters m relief. the purpose of an original. Altogether 
From the nature of the language the art of th i s invention is of much importance and 
printing does not appear capable of being interest— AT. Y. Sun 
materially improved. As the Chinese lan¬ 
guage is composed of between seventy and 
New Lamp for Minot’s Rock Light 
eighty thousand characters, each character | Boat. -The Boston Journal says, that the 
representing a single word, it would appear | new ]amp ordered for the Ught-boat, to be 
almost impracticable to use moveable type; stationed at Minot’s Rock, has been com- 
therefore the p an is adopted of cutting in pleted and ig read to be placed on board 
relief, on very hard wood, the characters of as SAnn w arril70c r at 
reliet, on very Hard wood, tne 
the work about to be printed. 
as soon as the boat arrives at that port.— 
The lantern is five feet high, and 3 feet 3 
When about to print a work, or notlfica- inches wide . The frame f s of ; r(m nea „ 
ton, the printer takes a slab of the char- paillted , and secured t ther in a ’ 
acters, and with a hair brush besmears the strong manner . The gilts used is of the 
slab with the ink previously described; the best French p , ate one-fourth of an inch in 
paper is then pressed upon the slab re- thickness, and remarkably clear. There are 
ceiving the impression. One coating of the four each side, IS by 30 inches 
printing ink is sufficient for two or three in size . 0 n the lantern is a „ j r0 „ lat0 
impressions ; but as Chinese paper is ex- fi rm l y secured to iron braces, running from 
ceedmgly transparent, and being of too each corner, and upon this plate stands the 
porous a character to receive impressions ;| lar Bhich ’ s the la ^ The , 
on both sides, it becomes requisite to fold which is g un „ ina man l aer simi]ar £ 
the paper, printing only on one side. a compass, as we n as , his pi |] ar> is made of 
. ~ „ rm ~ , , brass, and will hold three gallons of oil. It 
A Sofa made of Coal.— Ihe Fife Ad- bas 12 three-quarter inch burners, and 
verUser, referring to one peculiar charac- looks as though it might give a lighfc which 
tenstic ot the coal found in that district, wou i d be seen for a great distance. The 
which can be converted into articles of lantern has a ven tilator on top, and aper- 
household furniture, such as looking-glass tures in each corner of the bottom to admit 
frames, writing-desks, chair and tables, states t j ie a j r 
that Mr. William Williamson is at present --- 
engaged in making a sofa wholly composed Improved Knitting Machines. —Mr. T. 
of coal. It is nine feet long, with three Bailey, of Ballston Spa, N Y., has taken 
compartments or divisions, and is sufficient measures to secure a patent for improve- 
to contain seven people sitting on it. Ihe ments in knitting looms, whereby he ap- 
front standards are beautifully carved, dis- plies steam and other power to them, so as 
playing three mongrel animals, which forci- to do away with all hand gearing in the 
bly remind the spectators of those richly knitting loom. Stockings will soon be made 
carved figures that appear so frequently in much cheaper than is now done, so that the 
Dr. Layard’s remains of ancient Babylon, common kinds, like cotton cloth, will soon 
This rare geological curiosity was ordered all be made in the power knitting loom. 
by General Wemyss, and it is highly prob- --- 
able that it will appear at the Great Ex- One hundred and forty degrees of heat 
hibition, as it was ordered to be finished are absorbed, during the conversion of ice 
previous to that time; and as the General i n t 0 water. 
holds an appointment in the Queen’s house- - - —- 
hold, it may yet be transferred from the A pint of water converted into steam 
Crystal Palace to ihe palace of her M ijesty. fills a space of about 1,800 pints. 
