MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER 
THE APPLE-BOOT BLIGHT. 
This affection of the roots of the Apple tree 
has been occasionally observed and commented 
upon among fruit-growers, but no very complete 
account of its cause and character has appeared 
until the publication of the first part of Dr. 
Fitch’s able Report on the “Insects Infesting 
Fruit Trees,” in the last volume of the IN. Y. 
Ag. Transactions. Dr. F. first noticed it in 1849. 
It was also mentioned in the same year by a 
correspondent of the Horticulturist, as common 
in Pennsylvania. It is now frequently observ¬ 
ed, but as it is not well understood, we propose 
to give, from the Report, a condensed account of 
the same. 
The Apple-root Blight takes the form of ex¬ 
crescences or warts upon the roots of the apple 
tree, both upon the large roots and the more 
’slender fibrous and capillary branches. They 
are caused by a minute insect, the Pemphigus 
Pyri, named Eriosoma Pyri, in the Natural 
History of New York, but the latter genus is 
now included in the former. 
It is instructive to note the difference in price 
of all kinds of produce brought to the markets, 
and ascertain why one variety should be worth 
so much more than another, as each kind takes 
up the same amount of ground, while the low 
priced returns little if any profit to the producer. 
The following, from the New York Times, is 
too good to be lost, and conveys a useful lesson 
on this subject: 
Potatoes. —We find one kind selling for 87c. 
per bbl., another kind at $1, another at $1,12, 
and so on up to $1,75 and $2 per bbl. The 
chief cause of this difference in price is found 
in the variety. All kinds of potatoes require 
nearly the same cultivation. One farmer has 
selected the best variety for seed, and he is here 
to-day receiving $l,62al,75 per bbl., which 
gives him a profit of fifty or sixty dollars on his 
hundred barrels raised this year. Another 
plants an inferior kind for seed, simply because 
he happened to have them on hand, or could get 
them a little cheaper. His hundred barrels 
bring him in $100 to $112,50, leaving a profit 
of—well, it is not worth mentioning. So much 
for economy in seed. But as Ave have a large 
market before us, let us leave the potatoes and 
go on to the 
Turnips. —Here are Russias and Ruta Bagas, 
at 87c.a$l,12 per barrel,and White Turnips at 
62c.a75c. The latter cost rather the most to 
raise them, but the producer thinks the old- 
fashioned White Turnips that he has grown 
(not cultivated) for a dozen years, are good 
enough for him. He does not like these new¬ 
fangled roots with foreign names. They are 
something introduced by the agricultural papers, 
whose editors have an axe to grind. No, he 
don’t want you “ Russias” nor your “Swedes.” 
So he carts in his hundred barrels of Whites to 
the market and gets for them $62a$75, while 
his neighbor brings the same amount of Rus¬ 
sias, produced with less labor, and carries home 
$100 more. So much for want of “ Book knowl¬ 
edge.” Let us go next to the 
Cabbages. —How much did you pay per hun¬ 
dred for this lot, Mr. Market-man ? “ Three 
dollars.” And how much per hundred for these. 
“One dollar.” The former are a new variety, 
raised from carefully selected seed, were set out 
early on well manured ground, and have each 
grown almost to the size of a peck measure, and 
many of them would fill a half bushel. The 
latter were from hap-hazard seed, and were set 
late, on a soil wanting a few loads of some cheap 
fertilizer. A hundred of each kind occupied 
the same-amount of labor in setting, hoeing and 
gathering. One kind just pays cartage to mar¬ 
ket, the other yields a handsome profit. So 
much for carelessness. 
ANNOUNCEMENT. 
With the desire of rendering this department 
of the Rural more valuable and interesting, we 
have recently engaged a gentleman of superior 
knowledge and experience in Horticultural af¬ 
fairs, as a special and regular contributor. He 
has written much and well for several Horticul¬ 
tural and Agricultural journals, and is eminently 
qualified to impart definite and reliable infor¬ 
mation upon the various subjects appropriate 
for discussion and elucidation in this depart¬ 
ment—to speak advisedly touching matters per¬ 
taining to the Orchard and Garden. Over the 
signature of S. our new contributor will proba¬ 
bly furnish one or more valuable and practical 
articles in each number. 
We also have the pleasure of announcing the 
promised aid of several of the best amateur and 
professional Horticulturists in the country.— 
And we trust that many of our readers—espe¬ 
cially those most interested or engaged in the 
culture of Fruits, Flowers and Vegetables,— 
will likewise communicate the results of their 
observation and experience for publication. 
With such assistance—and more room and smal¬ 
ler type—we are confident of making this de¬ 
partment of the Rural far more useful and 
interesting than heretofore. 
Hyde & Wright’s Cultivator Plow, or Horse- know and have heard concerning it, we have no 
Hoe, above represented, has been extensively doubt it possesses superior advantages for the 
used during the past season, and given, we be- purposes designed. For price, and other particu- 
lieve, very general satisfaction. From what we lars, see advertisement in this paper. 
such enormous dimensions that a stationary 
steam engine was placed on deck for the pur¬ 
pose of loading and unloading. Since the 
catastrophe to the Great Republic, the construc¬ 
tion of no other sailing vessel of her size has 
been attempted; but in the line of steamships, 
increased dimension is the order of the day. 
( The new Cunarder, Persia, is of three thousand 
tons burthen, and the Collins Company are 
constructing a steamer to take the place of the 
ill-fated Arctic, of nearly equal dimensions. 
But the greatest stride in this direction is the 
steamer now constructing under the direction 
of Mr. Brunei., upon the Thames. It is to be 
entirely of iron, and ten thousand tons burthen ; 
to be moved by two sets of paddle wheels and 
a stern propeller, and will be built in several 
water-tight compartments, so that if one should 
by any accident be stove and fill with water, the 
others will remain sound, and thus render the 
sinking of the ship by accident impossible: 
She will be launched next summer, and the 
eyes of all men interested in naval architecture 
and the progress of the mechanic arts are turned 
to the question of her success or failure. We 
confidently predict success, although it is a long 
and a bold stride from three thousand to ten 
thousand tons burthen. 
LIST OE PATENTS, 
Issued from the United States Patent Office for the 
week ending December 11, 1855. 
WILL THE TBEE GEOWP 
Wm. M. Welling, Brooklyn, N. Y., for improvement in bleach¬ 
ing ivory. 
James Baxendale, Providence, E. I., for improvement infold¬ 
ing and measuring cloth. 
H. E. Chapman, Albany, N. Y., for improvement in boot and 
shoe peg cutters. 
C. T. Close, New York, forimprovement in fountain inkstand. 
Josephus Echols, Columbus, Ga., for improvement in water 
gauges for steam boilers. 
John S. Gallaher, Jr., and John W. Smith, Washington, 1). C., 
for improvement in gas apparatus. 
P. G. Gardiner, New York city, for improvement in railroad 
car springs. 
G. Graessle, Hamilton, O., for improvement in tile roofing. 
John K. Harris, Allensville, Ind., for improvement in raking 
and loading hay. 
Benjamin Hinkley, Troy, N Y., improvement in bedsteads. 
F. A. Jewett, Abington, Hass., for improvement in attaching 
extinguishers to lamps. 
Henry C. Jones, Newark, N. J, for improvement in locks for 
freight cars. 
Athison Queal, Plymouth, N. Y., for improvement m impact 
water wheel. 
James J. Johnston, Alleghany city, Pa., for improvement in 
corn shellers. 
Gilbert D. Jones, Jersey City, N. J., for improvement in sand 
paper making machines. 
Jean Pierre Molliere, Lyons, France, for improvement in cut¬ 
ting out, punching, and stamping the soles and heels of boots 
and shoes. Patented in France, July 22, 1853. 
Robert Prince, Lowell, Mass., and Ambrose Lovis, Boston, 
Mass., for improvement in processes for calico printing. 
George T Pearsall, Apalachin, N. Y., for improvement in saw¬ 
ing marble, Ac., in taper form. 
Sheldon S. Hartshorn, Orange, Ct., improvement in buckles. 
John S. Martin, Boston, Mass., for improvement in mosquito 
curtains. 
Amos D. Highland, Philadelphia, Pa., assignor to himself, and 
Wm. H. Harrison, of same place, for improvement in adjusting 
circular saws obliquely to their shafts. 
J. P. Smith, Hummelstown, Pa., improvement in corn shellers. 
I. M. Singer, New York, improvement in carving wood, Ac. 
E. I). Leavitt, Jr., Lowell, Mass., for improvement in slide 
valves for steam engines. 
Daniel Treadwell, of London, England, for improvement in 
manufacture of cannon. 
S. W. Reed, Berkshire, N. Y., improvement in carriage hubs. 
Charles Rice, Boston, Mass., and S. II. Whorf, Roxbury, Mass., 
for improvement in cutting articles from leather. 
Guillaume Henri Talbot, Boston, Mass., for improvement in 
auger handles. Patented in England, Aug. 25, 1855. 
Edward Weissenborn, New York city, for improvement in 
chain making machines. 
Israel Amies, Philadelphia, Pa,, for improvement in embossed 
leather. t 
Francis Taylor, New York city, for improvement in piano¬ 
forte action, 
Joel W. Pettis, Hillsdale, Mich., for improvement in packing 
pistons for steam engines. 
A. S. Thompson, Albion, Pa., improvement in cutting cloaks. 
John W. Haggard and Geo. Bull, Bloomington, Ill., assignors 
to Bull, Haggard A Newsteter, of same place, for improvement 
in harvester rakers. 
C. D. Wright, Fort Atkinson, Wis., for improvement in rotary 
pumps. 
Daniel Moore, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to Geo. S. Cameron, 
Charleston, C. S., James H. McWilliams, New York city, and 
Daniel Moore, aforesaid, for improvement in rubbing type. 
Wm. W. Wade, Springfield, Mass., assignor to Wade A Bum- 
ham, of same place, for improvement in variable cut-off gear 
for steam engines. 
Re-Issues. 
Jos. Guild, Cincinnati, O., for improvement in mortising ma¬ 
chines. Patented Nov. 30,1352. 
- Samuel Rockafellow, Coatsville, Pa., for improvement in 
reaping and mowing machines. 
Designs. 
Conrad Harris and Paul W. Zoiner, Cincinnati, O., for design 
for parlor wood sto ve. 
Jonathan C. Brown, Bristol, Conn., design for clock frames. 
Tbe above figure shows a portion of a root 
covered with these excrescences, reduced to one- 
fourth of its actual size. The root shown is the 
main root of a young tree, and half an inch in 
diameter. Its surface is of the same yellowish 
brown color as the bark of the root, and is every¬ 
where crowded with little round elevations from 
the size of a mustard seed to that of a buck-shot' 
or small pea. On cutting one of the projecting 
knobs, it is found to be of a very hard, woody 
texture, and without any cavities in the centre. 
These excrescences are formed in much the 
same way that galls and other morbid enlarge¬ 
ments in the structure of vegetables are produ¬ 
ced. The parent insect insinuates herself down¬ 
wards along the side of the root, as it would 
appear, at the close of autumn, and there de¬ 
posits her stock of eggs and perishes. These 
eggs hatch the following spring, and the young 
lice insert their beaks into the bark of the root 
to extract their nourishment therefrom. Their 
punctures produce a kind of irritation, which 
causes an increased flow of fluids to the spot, 
and an increased growth of the wood, and re¬ 
sults in the excrescences above mentioned. As 
in other cases in this family, these lice probably 
continue to multiply until autumn, Avhen winged 
individuals developed, which leave their 
retreat?/ and Srtirch out new situations in which 
to plant their species. 
v , The young larvse, largely 
(AijyV, magnified, are shown in the 
JJ yM accompanying figure. They 
/ \ are scarcely 4-l00ths of an 
j -\ , inch in length, and of a pale, 
\\J ?—dull yellow color. The white 
~~ *~j.,_ 3 filament proceeding from the 
~ top of the abdomen, renders 
T their situation, visible to the 
F \ naked eye as they move.— 
The mature winged insect is 
about a quarter of an inch in length, to the tips of 
the closed wings, the body, legs and attennie 
are coal black, the head and upper part of the 
abdomen covered with dense white down. A 
full description will be found in the Report. 
The effects of the apple-root blight appear in 
the decreased vigor of the tree, in paler leaves, 
&c. The remedy recommended is strong soap 
suds, which will destroy every insect which it 
reaches. Mixing ashes with the earth thrown 
around the roots when the trees are set out, is 
also useful.’ It is chiefly in nurseries, upon the 
roots of trees taken up to be transplanted, that 
the blight will be detected. But if the cause 
be removed, the trees probably are not injured 
for future bearing. This matter can easily be 
tested by experiment. 
If the conditions which the organism of a tree 
demands, have been fulfilled by the planter, and 
the requisite supplies of nutriment provided in 
the soil to which it is transferred, rendered es¬ 
sential by the increase of its various parts and 
the renewal of the portion gradually wasted—it 
will grow, since nature has carefully and wisely 
arranged the parts for that purpose. If the tree 
planted is a fruit tree, it will require to bo 
placed in a soil, rich enough in those elements 
of which not only its wood and leaves and suc¬ 
ceeding fruit is to be formed, but possessed also 
of a certain mechanical texture or character suit¬ 
ed to the peculiar nature and structure of the 
roots it is designed to support. Two important 
classes of wants have to be satisfied; one class 
embraces the nutritive elements which are to 
provide the food which the particular species of 
tree requires; for, as is well known different 
families of plants extract from the soil different 
kinds of matter if within their reach; if not so 
provided, their system suffers from innutrition, 
and they linger to decay. Another class con¬ 
sists of the kind of medium demanded by the 
roots, in which they may best sustain them¬ 
selves in a firm position and search for, and 
absorb the elements already referred to, of 
which their structure is made up, and their or¬ 
gans sustained. 
All roots are not alike in their physical char¬ 
acteristics ; some are thick, soft and fleshy, or at 
least comparatively so, while others are hard, 
small in volume, and extensively ramified, re¬ 
sembling mere threads, others are succulent and 
incapable of resisting any great amount of pres¬ 
sure. As a general rule, the fleshy, thick rooted 
trees, such as the peach, cherry, apricot, necta¬ 
rine and allied species, flourish best in a mode¬ 
rately loose soil, offering but little resistance to 
their extension, yet sufficiently compressed to 
sustain the tree in its proper position, so that 
the functions of the roots may be carried on 
without obstruction, and resistance offered to the 
disturbing forces of winds, &c. While the 
amount of resistance which the roots of trees 
and even soft wooded plants are capable of 
overcoming, is scarcely credible ; yet it is not 
judicious to offer these obstructions, when it 
may be avoided, as all facilities should be afford¬ 
ed for the development of the various parts. 
Hard, wiry, or very fibrous roots, of which 
section the heath has been frequently offered as 
an example, require very firm, compact soil, as 
every fibre must be closely surrounded by the 
particles of soil so as to enable the delicate and 
minute spongioles to take up the liquid matter 
required with the greatest possible facility ; 
consequently those trees whose roots more 
closely resemble the roots of the heath in their 
size and nature, are best calculated to succeed 
in a soil comparatively firm and compact, or at 
least capable of compression around the roots, 
under certain circumstances. Such are the 
roofs of the pear and apple ; and in a less de¬ 
gree, of the quince. Reasoning from these gen¬ 
eral principles, we see in part the necessity of 
attention to the texture of the soil in addition to 
the more important question of its chemical con¬ 
stituents. To make the tree grow, we must 
have supplied, in a measure at least, these con¬ 
ditions. 
In our next article we shall proceed to note 
other conditions to ensure the growth and vigor 
of the tree, of whatever description it may be.—s. 
This recently invented Aveapon, if it possesses 
one-half of the power and capacity claimed for 
it by its proprietor, is destined soon to super¬ 
cede every other weapon for Avarlike purposes 
noAV in existence. It is the most efficacious and: 
terrible fire-arm in existence. The small car¬ 
bine iioav used by the United States mounted 
men, throws a ball with a deadly accuracy one- 
quarter of a mile, and can be fired ten times per 
minute. It is not complicated in structure, is 
easily cleaned, and suffers no injury from Avet 
Aveather. 
Mr. Sharpe is now preparing models for four 
new species of his weapon, namely: A small 
pocket pistol, calculated to throw a minnie ball 
one hundred yards ; a rifle suitable for footmen, 
with a range of one mile ; and a large gun to 
throw a two-ounce ball, or a small shell, one 
mile and a half or as far as a man and horse can 
be seen to advantage. With this latter Aveapon, 
Mr. S. declares he can set on fire a house or a 
ship at a distance of nearly tAvo miles, and pre¬ 
vent the use of field artillery by killing the 
horses before the guns are brought within good 
range. 
This rifle in the hands of a good marksman, 
is equal to ten muskets, bayonets and all; for, 
place a man six rods distant with a musket and 
bayonet, and before he can bring the bayonet 
into use, the rifle can be loaded and discharged 
ten times. They carry balls with great precis¬ 
ion and force. Mr. Sharpe intends these rifles 
to become a national weapon, and should Con¬ 
gress, by using a little liberality, purchase the 
patent, the country would be possessed of a 
means of warfare unequalled in the world.— 
Alton Courier. 
The Fruit Groavers’ Society of Western 
Neav York, will hold its Annual Winter Meet¬ 
ing at the Court House, in Rochester, on Tues¬ 
day and Wednesday, Jan. 8th and 9th, 1856—at 
which an Exhibition of Winter Fruits Avill be 
made. It is expected that an interesting Dis¬ 
cussion on Fruit GroAving Avill take place,, and 
new and Auiluable information be given. Mem¬ 
bers and all other persons interested, residing in 
the twenty-three Western Counties and else- 
Avhere, are cordially invited to attend and parti¬ 
cipate in the proceedings. 
Southern Slopes for Apple Orchards.— 
Mr. Underwood, of Lexington, in reply to our 
question, why he prefers southern slopes for 
•apple orchards, says :—“ My reasons are these : 
that Avith such a location the trees Avill be pro¬ 
tected by the rising ground on the north and 
northeast, and from the winds and storms that 
prevail from that quarter.. The frost will also 
be out of the ground earlier in the season, and 
of course the trees will sooner get the benefit of 
the opening spring.”— N. E. Farmer. 
Best Neav England Johnny Cake. —Take one 
quart buttermilk, one tea-cup of flour, tAvo-thirds 
of a teacupful of molasses, a little salt, one tea¬ 
spoonful of saleratus, one egg (beat, of course.) 
Then stir in Indian meal, but be sure and. not 
put in too much. Leave it thin—so thin that it 
Avill almost run. Bake in a tin in any oven, 
and tolerably quick. If it is not first rate and 
light, it will be because you make it too thick 
Avith Indian meal. Some prefer it without the 
molasses. Connecticutensis. 
Mr. King, of Winthrop, Me., presented the 
editor of the Maine Farmer some samples of 
very large cranberries, that grew on upland, 
without any cultivation. The Farmer says: 
“He related to us the folloAving history of 
them. While moAving in his lot he discovered 
a small patch of cranberry vines. This was in 
an upland field of grass, there being no water or 
boggy land near them. He mowed around 
them. A year ago this fall he picked from the 
vines a quart of cranberries. The vines con¬ 
tinued to spread among the grass, and this last 
season he picked four quarts. He, of course, 
did not moAV them down either season, neither 
has he done anything to them in the way of 
cultivation. 
“ He supposes the seeds were deposited there 
by birds, as there are no cranberries groAving 
very near to them. 
“ If they should continue to increase every 
year in a quadruple proportion, as they have 
during the past year, Mr. K. will soon have a 
large supply. 
“No doubt if he were to thin out the grass 
from among them, they would produce a larger 
crop, but they seem to be increasing pretty fast, 
and the berries are certainly of good size. We 
hope the crop will continue to increase, for 
Avhen they produce well they are more valuable 
than the hay he Avould cut there.” 
In no department of the mechanic arts, per¬ 
haps, has a greater improvement been made 
than in the building of ships. The fleet of 
Columbus consisted of three small ships, of less 
than one hundred tons each, not so large in fact 
as the boats iioav in use upon the Erie Canal.— 
They Avere such as at the present day would be 
deemed utterly unseaworthy and unsafe, even 
for the coasting trade, to say nothing of a voyage 
across a trackless and apparently illimitable 
sea. The extension of commerce, consequent 
upon the discovery of America and the doubling 
of South Africa, whereby an uninterrupted 
passage Avas opened to the East Indies, stimu¬ 
lated the branch of naval construction into 
extraordinary activity. Improvements in model 
and increase in dimensions were the immediate 
results, and these improvements have never 
faltered or given way even down to the present 
moment. 
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, a 
ship of four hundred to six hundred tons burthen, 
even for an India trader, Avas considered one of 
extraordinary dimensions. How is it noAV ? A 
first class clipper ship ol the present day can¬ 
not be rated less than fifteen hundred tons, and 
they not unfrequently reach twenty-five hun¬ 
dred tons. One of the most remarkable ships 
of modern times was the clipper Great Republic, 
launched from the ship yard of Donald McKay, 
East Boston, in the year 1852, and which was 
unfortunately burned soon after, at New Y r ork, 
before she had made a sea voyage. The Great 
Republic was a four decker of three thousand 
tons burthen, rigged with four masts, and of 
James Naysmith, the inventor of the steam 
hammer, has effected an impro\ T ement of great 
value in puddling iron. It consists in the dis¬ 
engagement of the carbon from the molten metal 
in the puddling-furnace by subjecting it to the 
action of currents of steam, introduced as near 
as possible at the loAvest portion of the molten 
metal, thence diffused upAvards, so as not only 
to mechanically agitate the metal, and thereby 
keep exposing fresh surfaces of it to the action of 
the oxygen of the air passing through the furnace, 
but also to remove the sulphuric and other del¬ 
eterious substances in the iron, by thus making 
the oxygen of the air and also the hydrogen of 
the water combine with them, and carry them 
off in a state of acid gas. 
All our largest size heavy plate glass has 
until recently been imported from Europe ; but 
the secret and the ability to mandfacture it is 
now thoroughly in the American mechanics.— 
It is well known that we have materials far 
superior to those used in France and Germany 
for the manufacture of this article, and there 
are iioav two or three very heavy establishments 
in operation, where an exceedingly beautiful 
article is manufactured.— N. Y. Tribune. 
Tea Hair-Wash. —An infusion of tea, when 
not too strong, is said to be very useful in pre- 
A T enting the hair falling off. The best plan is 
to pour boiling water on the leaves after they 
have been used for a meal. In ten or tAvelve 
hours it may be drawn off, and placed in a bot¬ 
tle for use as required. A table-spoonful of any 
perfumed spirits may be added to every half¬ 
pint-of the Avash. It should be applied to the 
scalp Avith a piece of sponge or a very soft brush. 
A little glycerine mixed Avith it, answers the 
purpose of oil; its offensive smell is corrected 
by the perfumed spirits.— Selected. 
The Ailanthus Tree. —In 1848, every Post- 
Master in the United States received a package 
containing 125 seeds of the Ailanthus, with a- 
sheet of paper printed as labels for ten seed 
bags, into each of Avhicli he Avas requested to 
put ten seeds and sell them for ten cents per 
paper, and remit one dollar to the consignor 
retaining twenty-five seeds for his trouble.— 
These labels gave a cut of the tree, and describ¬ 
ed it as the “ Tree of Heaven,” and the most 
splendid and valuable ever discovered. A 
writer in the N. Y. Times, says “ about one-half 
of the Post Masters remitted the dollar forth¬ 
with.” Those who did not, probably planted, 
and distributed the seeds, and this is the way 
the Ailanthus became so generally diffused 
through the country. It was a profitable spec¬ 
ulation to one party at least—the man who 
pocketed the dollars. 
Our Way of Making Beds. —We take clean 
oat straw and cut it up fine, with a cutting box 
used in the feeding room, and put in the “ chaff 
bed,” and find it almost equal to feathers.— 
Elta, in Ohio Farmer. 
A Nice Dish for Breakfast. — Take one egg 
and beat it up, add a teaspoonful of salt, pour 
into about two-thirds of a pint of Avater, then 
slice some bread, dip it in, and fry in a little 
butter. Serve Avarm, and you Avill find it an 
excellent dish.— lb. 
The probabilities are that ere many years, 
steam will be employed in plowing. Several 
attempts have been made in England but as yet 
without results sufficient to warrant its introduc¬ 
tion into practical use. 
Pruning is very little understood by the ma¬ 
jority of cultivators ; a visit to the orchard with 
an axe and saw, and cutting out limbs, being 
considered the indispensable procedure. 
