MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY JOURNAL. 
171 
NEW HORTICULTURAL WORK- 
Thk Fruit Garden, by P. Barry, of the Mount 
Hope Nurseries: pp. 398. 
This is a new publication just issued by 
Scribner, N. Y., and is a well arranged 
practical treatise on every operation apper¬ 
taining to the fruit tree; from its first in¬ 
ception, to the final perfection of its pro¬ 
ductions, in all its phases—hybridizing, pro¬ 
pagation, management while young, pru¬ 
ning, protection and seeming ; together 
with a brief physiological view of the prin¬ 
ciples and structure of vegetable vitality, 
and a correct history of the deprecating 
insects and diseases of fruit trees, and is, in 
short, a good and reliable work of a practi¬ 
cal and well informed man. 
This work is not got up by extracts from 
foreign books as many are by theorists and 
printers hirelings, without a particle of 
knowledge of the science; producing books 
not one half of which arc adapted to our 
soil, climate, or habits. This author may be 
depended upon in all respects—the work is 
adapted to every capacity, and one on which 
the fruit grower, orchardist, and amateur 
may rely with entire certainty. It should 
be in the hands of every one who professes 
the least taste for the cultivation of this 
branch of the bounties of creation. Price 
81,25. For sale by E. Darrow, Rochester, 
and booksellers generally throughout the 
country. “ 
PLANTING LIMA BEANS—ANOTHER MODE, 
Mr. Moore:— In the last Rural I saw 
an article on “raising Lima beans,” but be¬ 
lieving the following an easier and as sure 
a method, I give it for the benefit of those 
interested. You can publish if you think 
best, and have nothing better on the subject. 
In a rich warm soil, dig a hole about six 
inches deep—fill half full with fresh stable 
manure,—putin two inches of dirt, then the 
beans —cover lightly. 
— I have planted in this way as late as 
the 20th June, and haye never failed of a 
good crop, and of their getting ripe. A few 
melons or cucumbers in every third hill 
flourish well, and I think are no damage 
to the beans. Tours, a. 
JJenton Centre, N. Y., May 20, 18ol. 
WHY IS THE GARDEN MORE FERTILE 
THAN THE FIELD I 
The universal answer to this question is, 
because it is more highly manured, and 
therefore has a richer soil. This is not al¬ 
ways the case. But it is owing to the fine¬ 
ly pulverized condition of the beds, that 
gives it a highly absorbent power to attract 
moisture from the atmosphere—a source of 
fertility that many farmers scarcely seem 
aware that they possess. If the soil of the 
field were as carefully worked, and fresh 
earth constantly exposed to the atmosphere, 
as in the well tended garden, the land would 
increase, rather than deterioriate in fertility 
Let the rule be, “ plow deep, cultivate well, 
pulverize lumps and sods, and return the 
straw to the soil,” and you may carry off 
an immense quantity of human food, and 
still have a fertile soil remaining. 
Plants, in their nature, are organized be 
ings. By means of their roots they take up 
food from the soil—and often, the very food 
which the soil has taken up by’its power of 
absorption from the atmosphere, and which 
power is increased to an almost indefinite 
extent, by disintegrating the particles of 
which it is composed. The very act of plow¬ 
ing and harrowing is an act of manuring.— 
The act of stirring the earth, in time of 
drought, serves as watering of the plants 
The moisture thus absorbed is loaded with 
a fertilizing power that is lost upon a hard 
surface, for it lacks the power of absorption, 
If, then, you would have your field as 
fertile as a garden, you must not depend 
alone upon manure, but pulverize freely, 
not upon the surface alone, but deep below 
it.— Agriculturist. 
Gardens. —I have ever considered 
good policy, that every farmer should have 
a good sized, carefully worked aud managed 
garden. Yet there are nevertheless many 
who pretend to be farmers in the most lib 
eral acceptation of the phrase, who greatly 
neglect this important part of the economy 
of the household. Every person who has 
a good garden, is in possession of a sort of 
savings institution, where he cau bestow 
much time that would be otherwise unprof- 
itably spent or thrown away. 
Plum Tree's. —A gentleman says: “I 
smoked a part of the trees with birch bark 
when they were in full bloom. The trees 
that I smoked are full of plums, while on 
those not smoked not a plum is to be seen 
On the three small trees that I smoked, 
think there will be from a bushel to a bush¬ 
el and a half of the finest plums. ” 
PRUNING 
BIRDS Vs- THE CURCULIO. 
It is quite wonderful what a passion some 
men have for what they call pruning trees, 
and what I call murdering them by inches. 
Only put a knife or saw into their hands, 
and a tree before them, and you will see 
that it is only because they were not born 
Caliphs of Bagdad, their neighbors have any 
heads left on their shoulders. Gardeners 
from the “auld countrie”—especially all 
such as have served their time behind the 
wheel-barrow, are mighty fond of this sort 
of thing. One of these “gintlemen” was 
lopping off and utterly despoiling the natu¬ 
ral ways of a fine linden tree lately. When 
he was cross questioned a little as to what 
he was about, ruining the tree in that ban¬ 
ner, he replied—“ Bless yer sowl—I’m only 
a fitting the hair intil it!” But in fact, 
many a better gardener than this Paddy — 
many a man who has done as good things 
in the gardening way in Great Britain, as 
can be done any where in the world, is 
placed in the same awkward fix when he 
comes into a country with a dry, hot cli¬ 
mate, like the United States. All his life¬ 
long has he been busy learning how to “Jet 
the air in” to the top, and keep the wet 
away from the roots, till it is a second na¬ 
ture to him, and he finds it almost as im¬ 
possible to adopt just the contrary practice 
when lie gets to America, as. it is for a Polar 
bear to lay aside his long, white furry coat, 
and walk about like a tropical gentleman in 
his natural nankeen pataloons and waist¬ 
coat. He cuts away at his trees to let in the 
sun, and raises up his flower beds to drain 
off" the wet, when it is just the very sun and 
drouth that we have too much of. No man 
can be a good gardener who will not listen 
to reason, and in a country where nature 
evidently meant leaves for umbrellas, take 
care how you snap your fingers at that, by 
pruning without mercy, and tl littin the hair 
in .”— Old Digger in Horticulturist. 
INSECTS ON P LANTS. 
Make war upon insects all this month, 
and especially at the end of it, as if it were 
the chief duty of man to destroy them— 
(there is no doubt about its being the chief 
duty of the gardener.) Tobacco water is 
your main weapon, and with a syringe or a 
hand engine, you can, if you take them in 
time, carry such slaughter into the enemy’s 
camp as would alarm the peace society, if 
there is one among these creeping things. 
Slugs on rose bushes, or the green fly on 
plants, will make their appearance by thou¬ 
sands and tens of thousands, as the weath¬ 
er gets hot, and the nights summery. The 
time to open your fight artillery on the “in- 
emy,” is very early in the morning, or just 
after sundown, the latter the better time— 
by all odds. Find out whether they “roost” 
on the under or upper side of the leaves, or 
nibble away at the tender points of the 
shoots, and shower them to the tune of “Old 
Virginia,” i. e., strong tobacco water. If 
your plant is of a delicate substance, mind, 
however, that you don’t give it a fainting¬ 
fit, as well as the vermin. Always make 
the tobacco water by mixing some rain wa¬ 
ter with it, for such plants, and if you have 
no experience in the matter, dilute and use 
some on a single plant before you under¬ 
take your whole border. After half a day 
you can tell how it works, and act accord- 
ingly. What you want is just strength 
enough to kill the insect, and not enough to 
injure the young leaves.— Horticulturist. 
Tobacco Dust a protection against 
Insects. —We last year procured from a 
snuff mill a bart-el of dry, but damaged 
snuff flour, and prepared drudging boxes, 
covered with a fine bolting cloth with which 
we sifted it over the surface of any plants 
attacked by insects, and with most signal 
success. The snuff should be applied, if 
practicable, while the plant is wet with dew, 
and repeated after every shower. If the 
boxes are properly made, (like a common 
flour drudge,) and the snuff is pefectly fine 
and dry, but little time is necessary to go 
over an acre of plants. Even the rose bug, 
cabbage louse, thrips on grape vines, <fec., 
all yield to the influence of snuff, and the 
most delicate plant of the hot-house is not 
injured by its application. For field vege¬ 
tables, caustic lime made into a fine powder, 
while dry, and applied before slacking by 
contact with the air, will produce similar 
results.— Prof. Mapes. 
Tomatoes, Cucumbers, and Melons, 
from Cuttings, etc.— Perhaps it might be 
interesting to some of your readers to know 
that tomatoes, cucumbers, and melons, 
grown from cuttings, will produce fruit ear¬ 
lier than from seed. My plan is to sow 
the seed; (in a hot bed of course;) when 
the plants are large enough; take off the 
cuttings with a sharp knife, close to a leaf, 
put three or four in a small pot, water them 
and shade from the sun is the only care re¬ 
quisite; transplant to the open ground as 
soon as the weather is fit. A number of 
year’s experience convinces me that they 
grow less in vines but more to fruit and ear¬ 
lier; but in the case of cucumbers and mel¬ 
ons, they are shorter lived. 
The depredations of birds are highly 
compensated by the services they render in 
preying upon insects. « 
Wm. Hopkins, of Brunswick, N. Y., in a 
letter to the Horticulturist, recommends 
letting loose the birds of the air, and the 
inhabitants of the poultry yard against this 
destroyer of fruit. He says: 
I have put the following questions to 
the oldest people in the neighborhood, and 
received invariably, about the same answers 
—“ Are your apples as sound now as those 
you raised thirty or forty years ago ?” “Oh, 
no! they’re gnarled and wormy now—the 
seasons ain’t as good as they used to be.” 
“ Are the birds as plentiful now as formerly ?” 
“ Ob, law, no, they used to make noise 
enough to deafen you, when I was young.” 
“ Do you raise as much poultry ?” “ Why, 
no, guess not, we get more butcher’s meat 
now.” It will be readily observed by the 
first reply, that those persons' have not the 
least idea of the present cause of failure. 
He continues—Let every fruit grower, be 
a grower of poultry, as well as a grower 
of fruit; let him give accommodation and 
encouragement to the birds of the airy in 
every possible way; let him petition the 
proper authorities, that stringent laws may 
be enacted for their preservation; that all 
dishonest persons may be prevented from 
coming on our land to shoot or ensnare 
them. The word dishonest may appear too 
severe for this place—let it pass. Those 
who feed the birds, (namely, the owners of 
the soil,) have a special claim to their ser¬ 
vices, and no straggling sportsman should 
deprive them of it. 
LIST OF PATENT CLAIMS 
ISSUED FROM THK UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 
For the week ending May 13, 1851. 
BLASTING ROCKS. 
THINNING OUT VEGETABLES. 
There is a greater loss in suffering veg¬ 
etables to stand too thick, than most culti¬ 
vators are aware of. It does require con¬ 
siderable nerve to commit indiscriminate 
slaughter upon fine growing plants. For 
instance here are ten beautiful melon vines, 
just beginning to run, with fruit blossoms 
forming. Now, who has the bold hardihood 
to draw them all out but three or four, and 
throw them wilting away ? Who can take 
the beets just as their tops give evidence of 
roots below, and separate them to ten inch¬ 
es? It is a hard matter, we must confess, 
and is not properly done one time in twen¬ 
ty; but to have bulbs, tap roots, melons, 
cucumbers or squashes, it must now be 
done, and the increased vigor of the re¬ 
maining plants will well repay for the troub¬ 
le. Then fall to and spare not; no tap 
rooted plant or bulb, should stand so thick 
that the hoe will not freely pass between 
them. No vine should have more than four 
plants left to a hill. 
Snap beans look so pretty growing thick 
that, we hate to disturb them; but if you 
would have the bushes yield their pendant 
treasures, thin out to ten inches. We know 
of nothing that bear as thick planting as 
English peas; in place of thinning them, 
shade the ground around them; now that 
they are in bloom and pod, they will con¬ 
tinue in fruit much longer; the shade en 
riches the land and saves culture. It is 
not always those that make the earliest and 
best start in the garden, that succeed best; 
but those who thin judiciously and cultivate 
understanding^. Most gardeners plant 
seeds too thick, trusting to thinning out in 
their growing state, but alas! they look so 
inviting, and plead so eloquently for fife, 
that degenerate, inferior plants are the re¬ 
ward of our false philosophy. Gardeners, 
now is your time to thin; strike in with a 
bold hand, and your reward is certain .—Soil 
of the South. 
To Jonathan Sullivan of Lexington, N. C., for 
improvement in straw cutters. 
To John R. St. John, (assignor to James Ren- 
wick, G. F. Barnard, and E. B. St. John, of New 
York, N. Y., Trustees of the St. John’s Compass 
and Log Manufacturing Co.,) for improved meth¬ 
od of supporting the vanes of aquatic velocimeters. 
Ante-dated Dec. 27, 1850. 
To Rufus Bixby, C. S. Bixby, and John Grist, 
of Dayton, Ohio, for improvement in planing 
machines. 
To Charles Hoskyns, of New Orleans, La., for 
improved apparatus for relieving the helmsman 
from the shock of the rudder. 
To George Faber, of Canton, Ohio, for im¬ 
proved apparatus for indicating the height of water 
in steam boilers, etc. 
To James M. Clarke, of Lancaster, Pa., for im¬ 
provement in flouring apparatus. 
To Ezra Ripley, of Troy, N. Y., for crane hinge 
of doors, shutters, &c. 
To A. F. Ahrens, of Philadelphia, Pa., for im¬ 
provement in setting teeth. 
To Joseph Grant, of Providence, R. I. for im¬ 
provement in brick presses. 
To Martin Rich, of Fairfield, Wisconsin, for 
improvements in saw mills. 
RE-ISSUES. 
To G. H. Corliss, of Providence, R. I., for im¬ 
provement in cut-oil’ and working the valves of 
steam engines. Originally patented March 10, 
1849. 
To Calvin Adams, of Pittsburgh, Pa., (assignor 
to J. P. Sherwood of Sandy Hill, N. Y.,) for im¬ 
provement in door locks. Originally patented Dec- 
17, 1842. 
To Alex. Calderhead, of Philadelphia, Pa., for 
improvement in the jacquard machinery for weav¬ 
ing all kings of figured cloth. Originally patent¬ 
ed Feb. 3,1841. 
DESIGNS. 
To M. C. Burleigh, of Great Falls, N. H., for 
design for stove doors and panels. 
To James Hutchinson, of Troy, N. Y., (assign¬ 
or to Deborah, A. E., and Nathaniel Powers, of 
Lansingburgh, N. Y.,) for design for floor oil 
cloth. 
To N. A. Batchelor, of New York, N. Y., for 
design for clock frame. 
Blasting rocks by the old process con¬ 
sists in making boles in a proper spot by 
using a heavy iron bar, of which the suc¬ 
cessive strokes produce the desired effect; 
the hole then is cylindrical and rather con-* 
ical, being wider at the top by the friction 
of the rod bar against its sides. The pow¬ 
der has not then all the effect which it 
could have, and can never be used in large 
quantity. A process used with full suc¬ 
cess, is this: a deep hole is first made in 
the above manner, then a glass tube is in¬ 
serted, and strong sulphuric acid mixed 
with a small proportion of water is poured 
in; the acid dissolves part of the stone; the 
sulphate is then extracted and the bottom 
washed by sending down some water, 
which is pumped out by any medns what¬ 
ever; this operation is repeated as many 
times as is necessary to produce at the bot¬ 
tom of the hole a kind of pouch, which is 
well dried by using rags or anything simi¬ 
lar. This pouch is then filled with powder 
by the common process of ramming and 
then blasted. The quantity of powder be¬ 
ing as large as it may seem necessary, per¬ 
mits to blow up, with a single charge, as 
much as with ten of the old process, and 
to have larger blocks if desired. 
GOOD FOR BLACKSMITHS. 
EXPERIMENTS WITH THE COPYING ELEC¬ 
TRIC TELEGRAPH. 
An Orchard of Olden Times. —In 
1597, John Gerarde published in London, 
a work on fanning and gardening, in which, 
to encourage those of his day to plant 
orchards, he says:—“The tame and graft¬ 
ed apple trees are planted and set in 
orchards for that purpose. Kent doth 
abound in apples of most sorts, but I have 
seen in pastures and hedge-rows, about the 
grounds of a worshipful gentleman dwel¬ 
ling two miles from Hereford, called Mas¬ 
ter Roger Bodnome, so many trees of all 
sorts that their servants drink but what 
is made of apples. The quantity is such 
that by the report of the gentleman him¬ 
self the parson hath for tyth many hogsheads 
of cyder. The hogs aref ed with the fal¬ 
lings of them, which are so many that 
they make choice of the apples they do 
eat, who will not taste of any but the 
best—an example doubtless to be followed 
by gentleman who have land and living.” 
Asparagus. —Asparagus beds never re¬ 
quire weeding* for there should be just as 
much salt put upon them as will kill every 
vegetable except asparagus. The weeds 
should all be killed with salt; and then the 
soil is in proper order, if rich enough, to bear 
asparagus like hoe-handles. We this spring 
put half a peck of salt, and three or four 
inches of well rotted stable manre, on a bed 
two feet and a half square. The stalks 
shoot up there about as thick as an ordina¬ 
ry candle,—a dozen of them about every 
two days. They will not bear more than 
ten minutes’ boiling; fifteen reduces them 
to a pulp. The asparagus is entirely free 
from that little pungent taste which resem¬ 
bles bad salad; and has that delicious fla¬ 
vor peculiar to itself..— Mrs. Swisshelm, 
A trial of Mr. Blackwell’s copying elec¬ 
tric telegraph was made lately between 
Brighton and London. An instrument at 
the central station of the Electric Telegraph 
Company in Lothbury, was placed in con¬ 
nection with a corresponding instrument at 
Brighton, and communications in writing 
were opened between these two stations. 
Several messages which were fac-similies 
of the writing applied to the cylinder of the 
transmitting • instrument, were received in 
the presence of gentlemen connected with 
the Telegraph Company. The writing, 
formed by electro chemical decomposition, 
was distinctly legible, and the signatures 
could be recognized. The rapidity with 
which the transmission was effected varied 
from 120 to 150 letters per minute, accord¬ 
ing to the size of the writing, and we un¬ 
derstand that Mr. Blakewell expects to ac¬ 
complish more than 200 letters a minute 
with a single wire when the telegraph is in 
perfect work. 
The messages transmitted were written 
in full, with capitals, points, and figures, but 
contractions and even short-hand symbols 
might be used. No manipulation is requir¬ 
ed to transfer the copies of writing from 
one instrument to the other at a distance; 
therefore this telegraphic correspondence is 
free from the liability to error which always 
attends the manual operations of other tel¬ 
egraphs. The writing transmitted is an ex¬ 
act copy of the original, therefore no error 
can occur. To exhibit the peculiar means 
of secresy which the copying telegraph pre¬ 
sents, some of the messages received from 
Brighton on Wednesday were impressed 
visibly on the paper, and no trace of wri¬ 
ting until it was washed with a solution 
that instantly made the whole legible. 
SUGAR REFINING MACHINERY. 
We lately, says the Maine Farmer, ex¬ 
amined a newly constructed Tuyere iron, 
for blacksmith’s use, which combines as 
many good improvements as anything of 
the kind we have ever seen. 
It is the invention of Mr. Harris, of Spring- 
field, Mass., who has obtained a patent for 
it, and they are manufactured in this city 
by Col. Webster, who can supply those who 
wish to obtain it. They are made of cast 
iron, and of course will last as long as any 
blacksmith will. 
By a very simple contrivance, the wind 
can be laid on in full blast, broad and strong 
enough to spread the heat over the flukes 
of an anchor, and then again, by the turn 
of a finger it will dwindle down to a “gentle 
ephyr,” and converge the heat to the com¬ 
pass of a hob-nail. Another turn of the 
finger will open the blast to this or that 
side of the coal, just as you wish. By this 
power of directing the wind and control¬ 
ling it in amount and power, according as 
the work demands, a large saving will be 
made in the coal, and of course the cost of 
the implement will soon be saved. 
New Grain Cleaner. —Mr. George 
Wilkes, of Louisville, Ky., has invented and 
taken measures to secure a patent for cer¬ 
tain new and useful improvements in ma¬ 
chines for cleaning grain, whereby it is 
stated, “ very beneficial results are obtain¬ 
ed.” He employs a cylindrical screen pro¬ 
vided with revolving beaters working in 
connection with a fan blast and a number of 
flat inclined screens, which afford an increas¬ 
ed screening surface and a very effectual 
action within a comparatively small space. 
To Deaden the Sound of an Anvil.— 
If a chain, about one foot long, formed of 
a few large finks is suspended to the small 
end of an anvil, it will destroy that 
sharp thrilling noise produced by stri¬ 
king on it with the hammer: the vibrations 
of the anvil are extended to the chain, 
which absorbs them without producing any 
sound. This is good advice to anybody 
who has a blacksmith or, worse yet, a cop¬ 
persmith for a neighbor. —Sci. Am. 
TEETH SET ON EDGE. 
At the present moment there are being 
constructed at the Novelty Works, this city, 
four copper vacuum pans, the largest ever 
seen in this country, each weighing over 
four tons, and being 8 feet G in. in diam., 
and capable of containing 2,000 gallons.— 
They are constructed, also, on a new and 
improved plan ; having double bottoms, 
and being fined with long coils of pipe, 
which allow of the application of steam to 
the boiling of the sugar. An air pump, 
worked by steam, draws off the vapor ari¬ 
sing in the pans; while the sugar itself is 
dissolved in water. All risk of burning is 
avoided by the boiling point being obtained 
at a low temperature. Each pan is provi¬ 
ded with a thermometer; a guage to exhibit 
the extent to which the air has been ex-, 
hausted; a proof-stick to enable the boiler 
to test, at any time, the condition of the mass, 
and an eye-glass which affords a view of the 
interior of the pan .—Scientific Am. 
Knowledge is power. —Lord Bacon. 
All acid foods, drinks, medicines, and 
tooth washes and powders, are very injuri¬ 
ous to the teeth. If a tooth is put in cider, 
vinegar, lemon juice or tartaric acid, in a 
few hours the enamel will be completely 
destroyed, so that it can be removed by the 
finger nail as if it were chalk. Most have 
experienced what is commonly called teeth 
set on edge. The explanation of it is, the 
acid of the fruit that has been eaten has so 
softened the enamel of the tooth that the 
least pressure is felt by the exceedingly 
small nerves which pervade the thin mem¬ 
brane which connects the enamel and the 
bony part of the tooth. Such an effect 
cannot be produced without injuring the 
enamel. True, it will become hard again, 
when the aeid has been removed by the 
fluids of the mouth, just as an egg shell 
that has been softened in this way, becomes 
hard again by being put in the water.— 
When the effect of sour fruit on the teeth 
subsides, they feel as well as ever, but they 
are not as well. And the oftener it is re¬ 
peated, the sooner the disastrous consequen¬ 
ces are manifested. 
Antidote against Poison. —Hundreds 
of lives might have been saved by a knowl¬ 
edge of this simple recipe:—A large tea¬ 
spoonful of made mustard, mixed in a tum¬ 
bler of warm water and swallowed as soon 
as possible. It acts as an instant emetic, 
I sufficiently powerful to remove all that is 
* lodged in the stomach. 
