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MAY 24. 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 
167 
fujrartt atrit ©ailini. 
IRRIGATION AND WATERING. 
The process of irrigation, when judiciously 
performed, greatly increases the productiveness 
of all soils and every crop in climates that ex¬ 
perience periods of drouth, be they ever so short. 
A proper quantity of water is absolutely 
necessary, not only as a vehicle of conveying 
the food from the soil to sustain the plant, but 
is the sole agent in promoting the decomposi¬ 
tion of all organic and most of the inorganic 
manures. All vegetable and mineral matter is 
unchangeable and indestructible when dry, and 
the wet state is the position antagonistic,— 
therefore a regular and constant supply of water 
is the very life-blood of vegetable vitality. 
In California, where from the necessity of the 
case, they are obliged to resort to that process, 
owing to the periodical dry seasons, it performs 
wonders: 84j^ bushels of wheat to the acre; 
turnips 13 inches in diameter; beets weighing 
27 pounds, and all other crops in proportion are 
the result. 
There are many locations in this country 
where it could be used to great advantage, par¬ 
ticularly on grass. The process is entirely dif¬ 
ferent from our watering of gardens in dry 
weather. In irrigation, water is let on in any 
quantity not sufficient to drown the plants, and 
allowed to stand till the earth is thoroughly 
soaked to a foot or more in depth, and then 
passes to another level. 
Whoever has taken pains to water gardens in 
dry spells, cannot fail of having been struck 
with the trifling effect produced, often appear¬ 
ing to do more harm than good; the cause is 
that temporary watering does not penetrate the 
soil more than an inch or two; but the great 
failure arises from the fact, that instead of tho¬ 
roughly wetting the ground, the slight sprink¬ 
ling causes the roots, instead of penetrating deep> 
to send out and spread near the surface during 
the night, and an hour’s sun dries up all the 
moisture—leaving the plant often in a worse 
state than if it had not been tampered with ; 
for had it been left alone, the roots, in their re¬ 
quirement of water, would have penetrated 
below and sustained themselves. 
We have often observed, that after commenc¬ 
ing the watering of vegetables, it must be 
constantly kept up, or they prove worse than 
those left alone. When temporary watering in 
the garden is resorted to, the only course is, to 
have large dishing hills, or drills, and to give 
slowly large quantities «f water, or the contig¬ 
uous dry earth absorbs so much and so quickly, 
that the plant is very little benefited by it. 
The same fault applies to the manner gene¬ 
rally adopted with house plants ; they get daily 
little dabs of water, doing no good,—when one 
thorough watering a week, wetting the entire 
earth of the pots, would be infinitely better.— 
The roots being at and near the bottom, it is a 
good process to set them in a basin of water till 
wetted entirely through. 
Tub American Gkai>k Growers’ Guide, intended espe¬ 
cially for the American climate. Being a practical treatise 
on the cultivation of the Grape Vine in each department 
of Hot-house, Cold Grapery, RetardiDg-house, and Out¬ 
door Culture ; with plans for the construction of the 
requisite buildings, and giving the best methods of heat¬ 
ing the same ; every department being fully illustrated. 
By William Chorlton, Author of the « Cold Grapery.” 
New York : C. M. Saxton. 1856. 
It is only a few years since we could boast of 
any treatise devoted exclusively to the cultiva¬ 
tion of the exotic Grape. lie-issues, abridge¬ 
ments and compilations of English works could 
be had in abundance; the best of them, even 
with an editor’s notes, of very little service to 
the amateur or inexperienced gardener, who 
- was about to proceed in the cultivation of the 
Grape Vine. 
Who was here to prepare such a work—who 
had watched and practiced and proved the er¬ 
rors he had been led into by others ? At length 
a spirited amateur of New England prepared 
an elaborate treatise on . the grape, which was, 
to a certain extent, popular, and formed a basis 
for other writers to build upon. It was not, 
however, just the kind of work to put into the 
hands ot the unskillful. It lacked simplicity 
and was confused in its arrangement. 
The increasing taste for grape culture which 
resulted in the erection of “ cold graperies” in 
various parts of the country, created a demand 
for current information suited to the require¬ 
ments of the different cultivators. It was 
chiefly through the pages of the Horticulturist 
and similar journals that this periodical infor¬ 
mation was supplied, and many warm discus¬ 
sions were entered into by the various advocates 
of the leading systems of pruning, manuring, 
Ac. At length it became apparent that a sim¬ 
ple, concise treatise, founded upon practice, and 
conveying just such ideas and hints as the cul¬ 
tivator would find himself in want of, during 
the routine of his operations, was much needed, 
to aid in extending the cultivation of the for¬ 
eign grape. The author of the present volume, 
a working gardener, had been engaged in this 
branch of his business for some time, and had 
entered warmly at times into the discussions 
which took place on disputed points of prac¬ 
tice. For an humble gardener to offer a book 
to a publisher was somewhat of a bold under¬ 
taking, and to ever expect to realize anything 
from the sale of it was absurd. The Cold 
Grapery was issued and highly commended by 
many good judges, but failing to obtain a fair 
field to test its merits, we presume the present 
volume is designed to supercede it. 
With the aid of the kind hints of friends, and 
the experience furnished by his first trial, Mr. 
Chorxton has made many improvements in the 
volume before us. He has added many useful 
diagrams and illustrations, and more fully ex¬ 
plained the system of heating. The value of 
the work is enhanced by the fact that the results 
which he promises to accrue from a certain 
course of practice he has clearly shown to have 
been secured by himself in the situation he 
now holds. He furnishes the means of calcula¬ 
tion, by which any one can see how far he 
would be justified in entering upon the culti¬ 
vation of this fruit for profit or pleasure. We 
shall quote the following statement of the pro¬ 
duce from a cold grapery 74 feet long by 20 feet 
wide, and 14 feet high from the base level.— 
There is a cistern sunk beneath, near the center, 
12 feet deep by 12 feet wide, and a force pump 
hose and tank for tempered water. The house 
rests upon strong cedar posts and the borders 
are 20 feet wide each outside ; the inside is pre¬ 
pared in the same manner, which gives an ex¬ 
tent of 60 feet extreme breadth. For proportions 
and style this house is considered by most 
persons who have seen it to be satisfactory in 
every respect. The vines were planted in 
March, 1850, and there has been the following 
bunches of good quality, cut in the respective 
years mCntiorfed : 
1851.262 bunches. 
1852....618 “ 
1853 .J.918 “ 
1854 .1,147 “ 
Total in 4 yeais....2,945 “ 
The following calculation of expenses, which 
is as cdrrectly stated as can be, tvill show the 
result: 
2,945 lbs. at 50 cents.$1,472,50 
Deduct labor 1st year.$50,00 
“ 2d “ .100,00 
“ 3d “ .150,00 
“ 4th « .200,00 
“ 5th “ .225,00 
Yearly dressings, $20 .100,00 
Repairs, painting, &c.,.,200,00—1,025,00 
$447,50 
We cannot now afford space to quote many 
very important items from the work, which 
would be ot service to our readers, but as the 
book is not expensive, and highly reliable and 
useful, all interested in grape culture can obtain 
it. A chapter is given on the treatment of the 
Native Grape, which is very desirable. From 
a long and intimate knowledge of the author, 
and his success in his profession, we can have 
no hesitation in pronouncing this the most use¬ 
ful and practical treatise on the Grape Vine 
ever published in America. The trifling de¬ 
fects of style we can readily-overlook when we 
recollect that the daily routine ol occupation 
affords but limited means for literary pursuits. 
From the confidence that C. M. Saxton A Co. 
have secured as Agricultural and Horticultural 
publishers, we are disposed to think that the 
author’s second attempt will prove more fortu¬ 
nate than the first.—s. 
PATENT RIGHT I 1 OR FRUIT. 
Eds. Rural :—Supposing I should, by the 
process of destroying the stamens—the male 
organ of a fruit flower—and applying the sta¬ 
mens and pollen of another, both of favorite 
kinds, and thereby produce a fruit superior to 
any ot the kind known before, excelling in the 
saccharine and malic qualities—of beautful 
proportions, more melting and tender, and with¬ 
al of a peculiarly delightful flavor—an apple 
without a core, or peach without a pit, or only 
the rudiments of those organs, why am I not 
the agent, the artificer and inventor of that 
fruit ? Why am I not entitled to a protective 
patent for my discovery as much as are quacks 
for patent medicines, or lubricating oils, or the 
the compounding of metals for anti-friction 
purposes ? 
You may say the process and materials were 
known before, and that nature is the inventor. 
Very well, the same thing may be said of the 
compounds cited, if they had not been endow¬ 
ed with certain properties, the compounding 
would have been of no avail, and had it not been 
for my agency this, valuable fruit would not 
have been produced. 
There is nothing new under the sun ; all is as 
old as the beginning—as the first particle of 
matter that congregated to form this globe.— 
An inventor endues no particle of matter with 
any new principle, or power. All inventions 
are only the application of known laws to new 
uses. They now patent the figures on stoves, 
calico patterns, the form of a spoon handle, eve¬ 
rything is patentable that is new and useful.— 
Therefore I stand in the same category. I used 
a well known principle to effect a valuable dis¬ 
covery for the use of man. Why then am I not 
entitled to the benefit of it by the Patent Laws 
of the United States. B. Manly. 
Orleans Co., April, 1856. 
Prune your Grate Vines.— Those that have 
so far neglected to prune their grape vines, and 
think it is now too late in consequence of their 
bleeding, can do so by preparing good black 
Japan varnish; and in the middle of a warm 
sunny day, the moment you prime the vine, 
with a small brush—and before the sap exudes 
—cover the wound with the varnish thoroughly, 
and the deed is done—the pores are entirely 
closed.— S. N. Holmes. 
The Curculio.— A reward of $500 was offered 
by the Kentucky Horticultural Society at its 
meeting in Louisville, last week, to the discov¬ 
erer of a certain and effectual remedy against 
the curculio. Said remedy not to be so costly 
or troublesome as to prevent general application. 
Insects should be looked after; the canker 
worms, when young, can be easily destroyed 
by syringing with oil soap. The old tent cater¬ 
pillars, which are often allowed to defoliate 
whole orchards, may be readily destroyed 
without the least trouble. 
ROSE CULTURE. 
Four things are absolutely essential in high 
rose culture—a rich and deep soil, judicious 
pruning, freedo n from insects, and watering 
when requisite. If any of these be wrong, the 
success will be in proportion incomplete. Soil 
is tbe first consideration ; what is termed a 
sound loam, they all delight in ; the soil should 
be adapted to the stock rather than the scion, 
or kind worked on it. The common, or dog- 
rose stock, thrives best on strong loamy soil, in 
half-shaded situations near water, without ma¬ 
nure ; cultivated roses require the latter because 
they have more hard work to do ; their amount 
of blossom, if weight alone be allowed as a test, 
would, in most cases, doubly and trebly exceed 
that of the dog-rose—added to which they have 
less foliage. 
Roses, on their own roots, require that the 
soil be modified according to kind ; we should 
not use so adhesive a soil to a Tea or Bourbon 
rose as to ordinary kinds; organic matter is 
here required. Depth of soil is of great im¬ 
portance to all kinds ; it is the deeper series of 
fibres, situated in a proper medium, that sus¬ 
tains a good succession of flowers, in defiance 
of heat and drouth. 
Judicious pruning reduces the rampant 
growths, and increases the energies of those 
which are of a more delicate constitution, re¬ 
lieves from superfluous shoots and useless wood, 
and reduces the whole outline to a compact or 
consistent form. Insect ravages must be guard¬ 
ed against—tobacco water or fumes will do this; 
bathing them twice a day with water from a 
barrow-engine is only objectionable from the 
time required. If you have not provided deep 
culture, watering, in dry times, will be requi¬ 
site ; but this should be done thoroughly rather 
than frequently, and the surface soil should be 
frequently stirred without injuring the roots.— 
Liquid manure—say two ounces of guano to a 
gallon of water—should be given once a week. 
With this treatment every one may have fine 
roses.— Horticulturist. 
Facts in Fruit Culture. —The proceedings 
of the Fruit Growers’ Society of Western New 
York, printed in a neat pamphlet form, contains 
more really useful and valuable hints on the 
cultivation of fruit than any similar publication 
yet issued. A few copies still remain for sale, 
and may be had of the Secretary, H. E. Hooker, 
by enclosing thirty cents in postage stamps. It 
may also be had at the office of the Rural N ew- 
Yorker. 
SOFT SOAP. 
In No. 19 of the Rural, I noticed an inquiry 
in regard to the “ best method of making soft 
soap,” and thought it might possibly be of some 
use to the Subscriber’s Daughter to state the 
process pursued in our family for several years, 
and always with the best success. 
Take your soap grease, whatever it is, and 
put it in a large kettle with sufficient water to 
prevent burning, and let it cook until the grease 
is thoroughly tried out; then skim out the 
rinds and remove the sediment, placing it by 
itself. After this put two or three pails of cold 
water in the kettle, and let it remain over night, 
as the grease can then easily be taken off.— 
Take the clean grease, and add lye sufficiently 
strong to cut it, and let it boil half an hour, or 
longer if considered necessary ; then remove it 
to your tubs, and fill up with weak lye and 
rain water as long as it continues to thicken, 
and you will have as nice an article as could 
be wished for. The proportion of lye to the 
grease may be governed by judgment, though 
about ten pounds of grease to one pail of strong 
lye will be sufficient for a barrel of soap after 
being filled up ; but it can be made thicker if 
desired. 
Take the sediment and add lye that will bear 
up au egg, and let it boil until it looks like 
soap; this will answer to do dirty work with. 
A Farmer’s Daughter, Lc Roy, May, 1856. 
RECIPES.-CAKES, ETC. 
Cheap Cake. —One cup of sugar, one of but¬ 
termilk, two ounces of butter, one teaspoonful 
of saleratus, one essence of lemon ; stir in flour 
till quite stiff; beat the mixture well before 
baking. 
White Cake. —One and a half cups of sugar, 
one of milk, two of flour, four tablespoonfuls of 
butter, one teaspoonful of cream tartar, one-half 
do. of soda; the whites of three eggs. 
Soda Fried Cakes. —One cup of milk, two of 
sugar, three eggs, two teaspoons of cream tartar, 
one of soda. 
Cookies. —One cup of butter, two of sugar, 
two eggs, one teaspoon of saleratus dissolved in 
two tablespoons of milk. 
Loaf Cake. —One pint of bread sponge, one 
cup of sugar, one of butter, three eggs, one ta¬ 
blespoon of saleratus; spice to the taste. Mix 
thoroughly, but not very stiff, and bake when 
light. It is much improved by adding raisins. 
One of the Girls, Gorham, 1856. 
Dough Nuts. —As Domestic Recipes are in 
order, mother says she has a mind to send one 
for fried cakes, according to Mr. Moore’s re¬ 
quest. Take two cups of buttermilk, two- 
thirds of a cup of brown sugar, one egg, a large 
teaspoonful of spice, a teaspoonful of saleratus, 
and stir in fine Indian meal and flour in equaj 
quantities to a very thick batter ; then wet the 
liaad and mold to your own liking; drop into 
hot lard and fry as you would any other cakes. 
Martha S., West Genesee, 1856. 
Bnljmit fife, &t. 
LIST OF PATENTS, 
iHHiied from the United State* Patent Offlee for the 
week ending May G, 1856. 
Clayton Brown, Sr., Richmond, Ind., improved appara¬ 
tus for lubricating grist mill spindles. 
Chas. F. Beverly, Ohio, improved rotary shingle machine. 
Joseph Bastion, Theresa, N. Y., improved construction 
of guides, or shutes for turbine wheels. 
^ J.^ T. Braugham, Frazeyburgh, Ohio, improved wagon 
Chas. Buss, Marlboro, N. II., improved vise. 
G. W. Bishop, Brooklyn, improvement in’self-heatinr 
smoothing-irons. 
Abel Brear, Saugatuck, Conn improved lubricator. 
Chas. S. Bruff, Baltimore, improvement in double-pan¬ 
el shutters. 
Thos. D. Bailey, Lowell, improvement in peggiDg-iacks, 
or “ shoemakers’ head-blocks'” 
John D. Brown, Cincinnati, improvement in machine for 
paring apples. 
Reinhold Booklen, Jersey City, N. J., improvement in 
corn planters. 
S. & Wm. H. nook, Rushville, Ohio, improved machine 
for sawing felloes. 
Melvin C. Chamberlin, Sheldon, N. Y., improved mould 
press for horse collars. 
Wm. Clarke, Dayton, improvement in process for mak¬ 
ing paper from straw. 
C. J. Cowperthwait, Philadelphia, improved hydrant. 
Samuel Davis, New Holland, Penn., improvement in lard 
lamps. 
Chas. Day. Lancaster, N. Y., and Alanson D. Lord, 
Bethany, N. Y., improved mnohine for splitting wood. 
Albert G. Field, Quincy, Ill., improved self-regulating 
wind-mill. 
John Gustine and J. M. Rankin, Lewiston, Ill., improved 
road scraper. 
Abram Heulings, Philadelphia, improvement in potato 
diggers. 
Nath’l Hayward, Colchester conn., process of preparing 
elastic India-rubber cloth. 
Abm. Hager, Baton Rouge, and Youngs Allyn, New Or¬ 
leans, La., improvement in bagasse furnace. 
Benj. L. Hood, Albany, and E. P. Monroe, Charlestown, 
Mass., improvement in salt, evaporators. 
Henry G. Tyer, Ballard Vale, Mass., and Jno. Helm, New 
Brunswick, N. j., improvement in making gum-elastic 
cloth. Ante-dated January 9, 1856. 
Moses A. Johnson, Lowell, improvement in manufactur¬ 
ing felted yarn. 
Mathew S. Kahle, Lexington, Va., improvement in ma¬ 
chines for saving clover seed. 
Mathew S. Kahle, Lexington, Va., improvement in 
dumping scrapers. 
James T. King, New York, improvement in washing 
machines. 
Edward Lindner, New Yerk, improvement in breech¬ 
loading guns. 
Geo. Leonard, Shrewsbury, Mass., improvement in re¬ 
peating fire-arms. 
Eugene L. Norton, Charlestown, improvement* in ma¬ 
chines for figuring and polishing morocco. 
James Neal, Boston, improvement in gas-burners. 
Samuel Nickelson, Pulaski, Tenn., improvement in ma¬ 
chine for sawing marble in keifs of varying angles. 
Robert Neisch, New York, improvement in preparing 
artificial stone. 
Jesse Ohmert, Mt. Morris, Ill., improvement in ovens. 
Samuel Oberholyer, Terre Hill, Penn., improved method 
of hanging gates, doors, &c. 
Thos. H. Powers, Wyocena, Wis., improvement in furna¬ 
ces for smelting iron. 
Geo. Pierce, New York, improvement in cooking appa¬ 
ratus. 
N. W. Robinson, Keeseville, improved machine for 
manufacturing barrel heads. 
Solomon W. Ruggles, Fitchburg, Mass., improved ma¬ 
chine for extracting stumps. 
Ephraim D. Rosencrantz, New York, improvement in 
extension wagons. 
Jno. Rose, Newark, improvement in compositions for 
stuffing leather. 
Jos. and Sylvester Sawyer, Fitchburg, Mass., improved 
hoop machine. 
Willard H. Smith, New York, improved door fastener. 
Thomas Sloan, St. Louis, improvement in heating feed 
wat er apparatus for steam boilers. 
Wm. Solpho, New Yo r k, improvement in the construc¬ 
tion of artificial legs. 
Enos Stimson, North Craftsbury, Vt., improvement in 
machiues for sowing seed broadcast. 
Wm. P. Walter and Jacob Green, Philadelphia, im¬ 
provement in the ladling of molten glass. 
A. F. Want, Louisville, improvement in marble sawing 
machines. 
Robert M. Wilder, Coldwater, Mich., improvement in 
sheep shears. 
Geo. Willard, Boston, assignor to himself and Nathan 
W. C. Jameson, Antrim, N. H., improvement in railroad 
car seats. 
Denison W. Green, Benardstown, Mass., assignor to him¬ 
self and Aretas Ferry of same place, improvement in 
scythe fastening. 
Geo. W. La Baw, Jersey City, assignor to himself, Jos. 
Colton. New York, N. Y., and T. Howell, Ewing Town¬ 
ship, N. J., improvement in propellers for life-boats. 
Geo. W. Hill, Waverly, N. Y., assignor to Francis Ly¬ 
ons and Geo. W. Hill, aforesaid, improved saw-mill dogs. 
James S. Taylor, Danbury, improvement in machinery 
for felting hat bodies. 
S. W. Wood, Washington, D. C., improvement in the 
manufacture of machine bricks. 
additional improvements. 
Moses Woodbury, Boston, improved faucet. Patented 
March 11, 1856. 
Henry^A. Frost, Worcester, improvement in means for 
holding window blinds. Patented January 23,1855. 
GREAT IRON WORKS, 
The Northern Budget (Troy, N. Y.,) states 
that tlie largest water-wheel in the world is 
that of H. Burden, at the Albany Nail Works, 
on Wyanskill Creek, near Troy. The fall is 75 
feet, and the power of the wheel equal to 1,000 
horses. It drives machinery which works up 
annually 10,000 tons of iron into horse shoes, 
spikes, nails, rivets, Ac., in the different build¬ 
ings into which the power is distributed, viz. : 
iron foundry, horse-shoe factory, rolling-mill 
and puddling forge, cut-nail factory, machine 
shop, cooper shop, &c., leaving a power equal 
to that of 400 horses to be applied for additional 
purposes. 15,000 tons of coal are used annually, 
and 3,000,000 tons of ore. The business 
amounts to from $950,000 to $1,000,000 a year. 
The wheel is an overshot, built on what is call¬ 
ed the “suspension principle.” It is a noble 
piece of mill-wrighting, and does credit to those 
who put it up. 
On the same stream are the Iron Works of 
Corning, Winslow A Co., which has a fall of 75 
feet distributed between three dams. A por¬ 
tion of the works—viz.: a rolling-mill and pud¬ 
dling forge—are worked by steam, while 
another rolling-mill, a wagon, carriage, and 
car-axle factory, and spike and nail factory, are 
run by water. This establishment employs on 
an average 500 hands, works up annually about 
11,000 tons of iron, and uses from 10,000 to 17,- 
000 tons of coal; also 1,500 tons of ore brought 
down from Port Henry on Lake Champlain. It 
does a business of a million a year, and pays 
out probably $180,000 a year for labor perform¬ 
ed on the premises—or nearly $3,500 a week. 
—Scientific American. 
The Iron of the World. —The annual pro¬ 
duction of crude iron throughout tht, world is 
estimated at 6,000,000 tuns. Of this, Great 
Britain produces 3,000,000, France 750,000, 
Prussia 300,000, Austria 250,000, Belgium 200,- 
000, Russia 200,900, Sweden 150,000, the lesser 
German States 100,000, the United States 750,- 
000, and other countries 300,000. 
VERMILION. 
This substance is formed by the mixture of 
mercury and sulphur, in the proportion of 100 
to 16. It is well known for the beauty of its 
color, and is used in painting, making wax, and 
for other purposes. When vermilion is pre¬ 
pared by means of sublimation, it forms in 
bodies of some thickness, is convex on one side 
and concave on the other. The mass is of a 
brownish-red color, but when reduced to pow¬ 
der, a brilliant red. When exposed to moder¬ 
ate heat, it evaporates without leaving any sub¬ 
stance ; but if the heat is increased, it catches 
fire and consumes entirely, with a blue flame. 
The Dutch were, for a long time, the only 
people who manufactured this article in large 
quantities. They possessed the secret of im¬ 
parting to it a fine flame color, which gave them 
the monopoly. The French chemists sought* 
for a long time, to discover the art, but were 
unsuccessful till the discoveries of Seguin._ 
Some supposed it contained but a small quan¬ 
tity of hydrogen; others, with Fourcroy, sup¬ 
posed the mercury was oxydized. It was also 
supposed that the superiority of the Dutch ver- 
nnlion, or cinnabar, was owing to the difference 
of composition in the red and black sulphurets 
of mercury. Seguin proved that a change of 
temperature would convert one sulphuret into 
another, and that there would be no variation in 
the proportion of the two elements. He also 
® n8 “ ed ’ 111 «>e first place, that no hydrog¬ 
enous matter was thrown out in the decomposi¬ 
tion of vermilion, and next, that mercury and 
sulphur were transformed by combination into 
red-sulphuret, in close vessels, without the ac¬ 
cess of oxygen. 
France is yet dependent upon other nations 
for the best kinds of this article. M. Seguin 
announced that his cinnabar was as good as that 
pioduced in Holland, buthowever true his state¬ 
ment might have been, its manufacture has 
never been carried to any extent in that coun¬ 
try. English vermilion is now imported into 
that country, for the manufacture of sealing-wax. 
Vermilion is often adulterated with foreign 
matter, such as brick-dust, red-lead, realger, 
and dragon s blood. These, however, may be 
detected by chemical tests.—Pen and Lever. 
ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH CABLE. 
The cable of the New York and Newfound¬ 
land Telegraph Company, which was lost from 
the steamer James Adger, w r eighed five tuns to 
the mile, had three conducting wires, each 
about as thick as a knitting-needle, and a flaw 
of either of these was sufficient to stop the 
electric current from one end to the other. 
The new cable now making in England will 
be made of small copper wires twisted together, 
and will not be more than half the thickness of 
the old cable. According to the contract, this 
should be laid and in working order next month. 
The Trans-Atlantic cable will have but one 
conductor made like the above, and will weigh 
about three-fourths of a tun to the mile. The 
distance from St. Johns, Newfoundland, to the 
nearest point on the southern coast of Ireland is 
1,647 miles. The cable will be 2,400 miles 
long, and is to be laid by two steamers, each of 
them to have on board 1,200 miles of cable 
weighing 900 tuns. After joining the ends of 
the coils, and dropping them in the ocean mid¬ 
way between the two points they are to con¬ 
nect, they will start for their separate places of 
destination. It is estimated that ten days will 
be required to accomplish this work._ Sci. Am. 
The Cosmorama Stereoscope. — This is a 
modification of the beautiful instrument invent¬ 
ed by Sir David Brewster. The improvement 
consists in employing, instead of two small 
semi-leDses, one large one, which is rendered 
stereoscopic by cutting an ordinary plano-con¬ 
vex lens in two, removing more or less of the 
opposite outer diameters, and then transposing 
the pieces, so that the original centre of the 
lens becomes the two sides, and the outer edges 
come together. The advantages obtained by 
this instrument, is an increased facility for 
viewing, as for one of the double pictures.— 
Only one adjustment is necessary for all sights, 
namely, increasing or diminishing the distance 
between the line and the double picture. By 
using the larger lenses of proper focal length, 
pictures of any dimensions may be viewed 
stereoscopically .—Pen and Lever. 
Paper Manufacture in Lee, Mass. —Great im¬ 
provements have been made in the manufacture 
of paper within the last few years. In six 
hours after passing into the manufacturer’s 
hands, rags can be converted into paper, being 
thoroughly dried by passing around iron cylin¬ 
ders heated by steam. There are 20 mills in 
lee, with .75 engines; 1,100,000 pounds of rags 
are used annually, giving employment to 1,000 
operatives. From this amount of rags are man¬ 
ufactured 780,000 reams of paper, worth about 
$1,300,000. Besides this, there is an extensive 
stationery establishment, in which 100,000 reams 
of paper are manufactured.— Inventor. 
Hardening Cast-Steel for Cutting. —Kieser, 
of Issy, in Switzerland, prepares admirable 
hardened razors, penknives, Ac., from English 
cast-steel, by plunging the blades at a dark 
cherry-red heat into a bath made of 14 parts, 
by measure, of yellow resin in fine powder, 2 
parts of fish oil, and 1 part hot melted tallow ; 
they are then allowed to cool perfectly, and 
without wiping them,are re-heated to alow red 
heat and immersed in water, in the usual way 
of tempering such articles. The edge of the 
blade, treated in this manner, is said to be very 
fine, and the hardening more uniformly done 
than by any other process .—London Artisan. 
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