AUGUST 9. 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: ‘AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 
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firijauti anti Gtatton. 
U. S. AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
Premiums on Fruit. 
The following are the premiums on Fruits, 
to be awarded at the National Exhibition of 
the U. S. Ag. Society, to be held in Philadel¬ 
phia, from the 7th to 11th of October next: 
Apples. —For the largest and best exhibition of named 
varieties, not less than three specimens of each, $50 ; for 
the second best, $30 ; for the third best, $20. 
For the best thirty varieties, not less than six speci¬ 
mens each, $30 ; for the second best, $20; for the third 
best, $10. 
For the best twelve varieties, not less than six speci¬ 
mens each, $15 ; for the second best, $10; for the third 
best, $5. 
For the best dish of apples, of one variety, $5 ; for the 
second best, $4; for the third best, $3; for the fourth 
best, $2. 
Pears.— For the largest and best exhibition of named 
varieties, not less than three specimens of each, $50 : for 
the second best, $30 ; for the third best, $20. 
For the best thirty varieties, of six specimens each, $30; 
for the second best, $20 ; for the third best, $15. 
For the best twelve varieties, six specimens each, $15 ; 
for the second best, $10 ; for the third best, $5. 
For the best dish of pears, of one variety, $5 ; for the 
second best, $4 ; for the third best, $3 ; for the fourth 
best, $2. 
Peaches.— For the best collection of peaches, $15 ; for 
the second best, $10 ; for the third best, $5. 
For the best dish, not less than twelve specimens of one 
variety, $5 ; for the second best, $3. 
Quinces.— For the best bushel, $5 ; for second best, $3. 
Grapes.— For the best native or seedling grape, hardy, 
and equal or superior to the Isabella, a premium of $20 ; 
second best, $10. 
For the best display of Isabella Grapes, not less than 
twelve bunches, $10 ; for the second best, $5. 
For the best display of Catawba grapes, not less than 
twelve bunches, $10 ; for the second best, $5. 
For the best display of native grapes, $15 ; for the sec¬ 
ond best, $10. 
For the best display of foreign grapes, $15 ; for the sec¬ 
ond best, $10. 
Special premiums will be awarded on melons, plums, 
and other fruits not enumerated, if creditable specimens 
are presented. 
All fruits offered iu competition must be 
grown by the competitor. Fruits receiving a 
premium iu one class cannot compete in another. 
Judges may withhold premiums when fruits of 
sufficient merit are not presented. Fruits once 
placed on the tables are under the control of the 
judges, and cannot be removed until the close 
of the exhibition. Exhibitors must present to 
the Secretary a list of the fruit exhibited, with 
the names of the fruit, and a certificate, when 
required, that the same was grown by the exhibitor. 
It will ripen more perfectly, and attain a deep¬ 
er color under the shade of the leaves. It is 
not too late yet to cut out some of the bunches, 
if the crop is too heavy. The grape is a free 
and large bearer, but a continued yearly sup¬ 
ply can only be insured by allowing regular 
and moderate crops. 
Strawberries. —Plants for forcing early next 
spring should be secured, and potted early this 
month. Select young runners of the present 
year’s growth, and place them singly into five- 
inch pots. Use a good loamy soil; let it be 
rather dry when used, and press it firmly in the 
pots. If advantage can be taken of a shaded 
spot, they should be placed there for a week or 
so, until they commence growth; then they 
cannot have too much sun, but see that they are 
always well supplied with water. By slightly 
diminishing the foliage, they may be set out in 
the sun at once. 
Grapery.— When the fruit is ripening, the 
supply of water at the root should be gradually 
curtailed. Syringing over the foliage should 
also be discontinued, but still keep a slight hu¬ 
midity in the atmosphere by sprinkling water 
on the floor of the house. Keep the house well 
aired, both night and day, and pinch the young 
points out of all growing shoots. When a bunch 
of fruit is cut, immediately prune back the 
shoot to within two or three eyes of the stem, 
and use means to get the wood well matured. 
The ripening and hardening of the wood is now 
the principal object, as upon it depends the 
next season’s production. The soil and atmos¬ 
phere should be kept perfectly dry as soon as 
the crop is fit for use. Many graperies are de¬ 
stroyed by being overtaken with frost while in 
a succulent and immature state. 
Outside borders should be covered with 
leaves or manure, to throw off heavy fall rains. 
Everything, for the future, depends upon a 
thorough and proper termination of growth. 
Flower Garden and Pleasure Grounds.— 
The operations in these departments, at pres¬ 
ent, are principally of a routine character. In 
geometrical gardens, the outlines of the beds 
ought to be distinct, and trim the plants when 
they grow out over the edging. In tying climb¬ 
ing and trailing plants, do not aim at over-neat¬ 
ness ; close tying tends to destroy that grace¬ 
fulness of disposition which such plants naturally 
assume when left to themselves. In general, 
the main stems only will require fastening, al¬ 
lowing the side shoots to take a natural position. 
CHOICE CURRANTS. 
We are indebted to Messrs. Ellwanger <fc 
Barry, of the Mt. Hope Nurseries, for speci¬ 
mens of some eight or ten varieties of Currants 
—comprising altogether the choicest display of 
this fruit which we have seen and tasted the 
present season. The “ assortment” embraced 
several superior varieties. For instance the 
White Grape and White Dutch, both excellent, 
but the former superior in size and flavor, and 
the most prolific—the assertion of a critique in a 
late number of the Horticulturist (relative to 
the comparative merits of the two varieties) to 
the contrary notwithstanding. The specimens 
of Cherry, Red Grape, Red Dutch, Prince Al¬ 
bert, and Victoria, were very fine—beautiful to 
the sight, and pronounced exceedingly palatable 
by the somewhat large “ tasting committee” 
who tested and discussed their merits. 
— Messrs. E. & B. also favored us, at the 
proper season, with more than a taste of several 
superior varieties of Strawberries and Cherries 
—including, among the former, very fine speci¬ 
mens of the Genesee and other seedlings pro¬ 
duced in their extensive and justly celebrated 
N urseries. 
SEASONABLE OPERATIONS. 
The following timely items are extracted 
from an article by Wm. Saunders in the August 
number of the Horticxdturist: 
Vegetable Garden. —Sowings of early beet, 
turnips, kidney beans and peas, may yet be put 
in. They will afford a desirable dish when 
tender vegetables of that kind are scarce.— 
Spinach, to stand the winter, should now be 
sown ; prepare a well drained border, and ma¬ 
nure and dig deeply. The Savoy spinach is the 
hardiest. At the same time, throw in a few 
seeds of lettuce, to be lifted by-and-by, and 
transplanted into frames for using about Christ¬ 
mas. Cauliflower for frames should now be 
sown, as also Early l r ork and flat Dutch cab¬ 
bage, to stand over winter. 
Plantations of cantelopcs, melons, Lima 
beans, <fcc., that are growing slowly, should re 
ceive an extra deep forking-up of the ground 
between the rows. This will give them a stim¬ 
ulus to growth which will enable them to carry 
out a crop. This loosening allows a free access 
of air to the roots and the soil by which they 
are surrounded. The air furnishes the roots 
with an increased supply of substances essen¬ 
tial to their growth, such as carbonic acid and 
ammonia, either generated by the air favoring 
the decay of organic matters naturally in the 
soil, or absorbed direct from the atmosphere.— 
The mineral ingredients of the soil are also lib 
erated, and brought into a fitting state for the 
use of plants. The subsequent effects of such 
cultivation is apparent in the increased vigor 
and deeper colored verdure of the plants. Stir 
the ground about celery plants, and do not be 
gin to earth it up until the plants are growing 
freely. 
Hardy Fruit — Grapes. —The plants of all the 
leading shoots should now be pinched out, and 
thin out some of the lateral or side shoots on 
the fruit-bearing branches, so that a free circu¬ 
lation of air may reach the fruit, but not by any 
means endeavor to expose it fully to the sun.— 
in the morning, and about midway between 
breakfast and dinner. 
An incalculable amount of sickness and suf¬ 
fering would be prevented every year if the 
whole class of desserts were swept from our ta¬ 
bles during summer, and fresh, ripe, perfect 
fruits and berries were substituted, while the 
amount of money that would be saved thereby, 
at the New York prices of fruits, would in some 
families, amount to many dollars, enough to 
educate an orphan child, or support a colpor¬ 
teur a whole year in some regions of our coun¬ 
try.— Hall's N. Y. Jour, of Health for July. 
Ants. —These are not very destructive, yet 
they sometimes do considerable injury to beds 
of seedlings, by making their hillocks among 
them, and they also infest ripe fruits. 
Boiling water, oil, or spirits of turpentine, 
poured on their hillocks, disperses them ; and 
if wide-mouthed bottles, half filled with sweet¬ 
ened water or syrup, be hung among the 
branches of a tree when the fruit is attaining 
maturity, ants, wasps, flies and beetles of all 
sorts that prey greedily upon sweets, will be 
attracted into them. Dry guano thrown on the 
hillocks will scatter them. 
Mr. Downing, who recommends this as a 
“ general extirpator suited to all situations,” 
says, “that an acquaintance caught in this way, 
in one season, more than three bushels of insects 
of various kinds, and preserved his garden al¬ 
most entirely against them.” 
LIST OP PATENTS, 
Issued from the United Statei Patent OlDee for the 
week ending July 22,1856. 
ftoesKt frmtBmy. 
FRUITS IN SUMMER. 
By an arrangement of Providence, as beauti¬ 
ful as it is benign, the fruits of the earth are 
ripening during the whole summer. From 
the delightful strawberry on the opening of 
spring, to the luscious peach of the fall, there is 
a constant succession of delightful aliments,— 
made delightful by that Power, whose loving 
kindness is in all his works, in order to stimu¬ 
late us £o their highest cultivation, connecting 
with their use also, the most health-giving in¬ 
fluences ; and with the rich profuseness of a 
well-attended fruitery, it is one of the most un¬ 
accountable things in nature, that so little atten¬ 
tion is paid, comparatively speaking, to this 
branch of farming. 
It is a beautiful fact that, while the warmth 
and exposure of summer tend to billiousness 
and fevers, the free use of fruits and berries 
counteracts that tendency. Artificial acids are 
found to promote the separation of the bile from 
the blood, with great mildness and certainty ; 
this led to the supposition that the natural acids 
as contained in fruits and berries, might be as 
available, and being more palatable, would 
necessarily be preferred. Experiment has ver¬ 
ified the theory, and within a very late period. 
Allopathic writers have suggested the use of 
fresh, ripe, perfect, raw fruits, as a reliable rem- 
dy in the diarrhoeas of summer. 
How strongly the appetite yearns for a pickle, 
when nothing else could be relished, is in the 
experience of most of us. It is the instinct of 
nature pointing to a cure. The want of a natu¬ 
ral appetite, is the result of the bile not being 
separated from the blood, and if not remedied 
fever is inevitable, from the slightest grades to 
that of billious, congestive and yellow. “ Fruits 
are cooling,” is a bye-word, the truth of which 
has forced itself on the commonest observer.— 
But why they are so, they had not time, oppor¬ 
tunity or inclination to inquire into ; the reason 
is, the acid of the fruit stimulates the liver to 
greater activity in separating the bile from the 
blood, which is its proper work, the result of 
which is, the bowels become free, the pores of 
the skin are open. Under such circumstances, 
fevers and want of appetite are impossible. 
How to use Fruits. —To derive from the em¬ 
ployment of fruits and berries all that healthful 
and nutritive effect which belong to their' na¬ 
ture, we should, 
First— Use fruits that are ripe, fresh, perfect, 
raw. 
Second —They should be used in their natural 
state, without sugar, cream, milk or any other 
item of food or drink. 
Third —Fruits have their best effect when 
used in the early part of the day, hence we do 
not advise their employment at a later hour 
than the middle of the afternoon ; not that, if 
perfect aud ripe, they may not be eaten largely 
by themselves, within two hours of bed time 
with advantage, but if the sourness of decay 
should happen to taint them, or any liquor 
should inadvertently be largely drank after¬ 
wards, even . cold water, acidity of the whole 
mass may follow, resulting in a night of distress, 
if uot of actual dangerous sickness. So it is 
better not to run the risk. 
To derive a more decided medical effect, 
fruits should be largely eaten soon after rising 
RECIPES FOR COLORING. 
Eds. Rural :—I have been much interested 
in reading the recipes in your valuable paper, 
and as it is no small part of “ Domestic Econo¬ 
my” to color or recolor garments, I send you a 
few recipes, and would request some of your 
correspondents to forward others—particularly 
for dyeing silk and worsted, sky blue, pink and 
wine color. 
To Color Scarlet. —To one pound of cloth 
or yarn, take one-half ounce cream of tartar, 1 
ounce pulverized cochineal; mix them well in 
warm water, and add two ounces muriate of tin. 
Stir well until it scalds, then put in the yarn or 
cloth, and move it briskly for a few minutes. 
Let it boil five minutes, and rinse in cold water. 
To Color Woolen or Cotton a Cheap Green. 
1 pound fustic, one-quarter pound logwood, 1 
table-spoonful of blue vitriol, to five pounds of 
goods. Soak the logwood and fustic separate¬ 
ly ; then strain and mix together, and add vit¬ 
riol. Wash in strong suds while wet. Color 
in brass. 
To Color Madder Red. —3 lbs. madder to 
ten of cloth or yarn; one-half lb. alum ; 1 lb. 
cream tartar. Put the alum and cream tartar 
together in water sufficient to cover the goods 
Let it boil and remain two hours. Then wet 
the madder in warm water, and put it in a boiler 
of clean water. Wka blood warm, put in the 
cloth, keep it stirring until boiling hot, and re¬ 
main in the dye three hours ; after which take 
out the cloth and stir a quart of soft soap info 
the dye, put the goods back, and let it stand 
until cool. Then wring out and dry.— Marion : 
Wilson, N. Y. 
-- 
CORN CAKE —TEA CAKE-COOKIES 
Eds. Rural :—I wish to add a few “ home¬ 
made” recipes for the benefit of Farmers’ Wives 
and Daughters to the many valuable ones which 
have come under my notice in the columns of 
your excellent paper. I will first give you my 
mode of making warm corn cake, or more fa¬ 
miliarly “Johnny cake 
One quart good buttermilk, 1 pint corn meal 
2 eggs well beaten, 1 tea-spoonful soda, 1 do 
salt. Bake in a shallow pan, in a quick oven 
Serve with butter. 
If a nice farmer’s tea cake is wanted, add to 
the above 1 tea-cup sugar, one-half do. cream 
and a little nutmeg. I would like to serve you 
a bit at my rural table, in proof of its excellence 
Sister housewives, tiy it. 
I think I can improve upon “ Mrs. Toodles’ ’ 
cookies. My recipe for cookies is this :—Two 
cups sugar, 2j/o do. sour cream of best quality ; 
1 tea-spoonful soda, spicing as preferred; mix 
soft, roll thin, bake quick. In delicacy of ap 
pearance, agreeableness of flavor, and health¬ 
fulness, this cookie is unsurpassed.— Superin¬ 
tendent of a Farmer’s Table. 
icfraitic &(. 
A. Munroe, Worcester, Mass., improved re-acting water 
wheel. 
J. F. S. Otterson, Nashua, N. II., improvement in tap¬ 
ping fluids under pressure. 
Edward Pelouze, Jr., Philadelphia, improved valve for 
type-casting machines. 
S. G. Randall, Rockford, Ill., improved self raker. 
C. S. Pettengill, New Haven, Conn., Improvement in re¬ 
peating fire-arms. 
Samuel Richards, Philadelphia, Pa., improvement in 
glass furnaces. 
J. W. Rodefer, Abingdon, Va., improved scaffold for 
Bhingling roofs. 
John C. Fr. Salomon, Baltimore, Md., improvement in 
liquids used as a motive power. 
J. C. Fr. Salomon and G. E. Cooper, Baltimore, Md., 
improved riding saddles. 
C. D. Smith and H. Patterson, Baldwinsville, Mass., im¬ 
proved friction match machine. 
J. Stever, Bristol, Conn., pendulum pump for ships. 
A. Swingle, Boston, Mass., improvement in sewing ma¬ 
chines. 
B. H. Westerhood, Philadelphia, Pa., improved trigger 
protector for fire-arms. 
Henry White, Oneida Castle, N. Y., improvement in 
riving equal pieces from a block. 
J. O. Woodward, Taunton, Mass., improvement in saw¬ 
ing cooper’s hoops. 
H. R. Worthington, Brooklyn, N. Y., improvement in 
relieving steam slide valves from pressure. 
C M. Zimmerman, Philadelphia, Pa., improved valves 
for accordeons. 
B. C. Boyes, (assignor to himself and H. Dercum,) Phil¬ 
adelphia, Pa.,improved folding guides for sewingmachines. 
Asahel Lockwood, Chicago, Ill., assignor to L. B. Flan¬ 
ders, Cleveland, O., improvement in planiDg machine. 
E. S. Woodford, Winchester, Conn., assignor to J. R. 
Keeler, New York city, improvement in sewing pins upon 
paper, &c. 
James Fernald, Boston, Mass , improvement in chairs. 
Lewis M. Berry, Boston, Mass., improved cutter heads 
for planing machines. 
Abner G. Bevin, Chatham, Conn., attaching sleigh bells 
to straps. 
Jeremy W. Bliss, Hartford, Conn., improved door knobs. 
John Broughton, Chicago, 111., improvement in driving 
circi lar saws. 
George Buckeland Edward Dorsch, Monroe, Mich., im¬ 
provement in fixed cartridges. 
James Chattaway, Springfield, Mass., improved percus¬ 
sion tape primers. 
Wm. Darker. Jr.. West Philadelphia, Pa., improvement 
in vibratory steam engines. 
JohnS. Drake, Boston, Mass., improved artificial bands 
and arms. 
Moses G. Farmer, Salem, Mass., self acting electric tele¬ 
graphs. 
Ambrose Foster, New York City, and George M. Foster, 
Fairhaven, Conn., improvement in molding and pressing 
building blocks from clay, &c. 
James Humphrey, Boston, Mass, improvement in gas 
stop cocks. 
Lansing E. Hopkins, Brooklyn, N. Y., improvement in 
felting hat bodies. 
Stephen Hunter, Cortlandt, N. Y., improvement in har¬ 
vesters. 
Joseph Hvter, Kent, Ind., fly trap. 
Joshua Mason, Paterson, N. J., improved cutter stock 
for metal planers. 
Matthew J. McBird, Logansport, Ind., improvement in 
sawing stone or marble. 
Jas. B. Miles, Chicot, Ark., improvement in cotton gins. 
John Moore, Gardiner, Me., polishing machine. 
John M. Mott, Jr., Lansingburgh, N. Y., improved 
marble sawing machine. 
RE-ISSUES. 
A. W. Rapp, Philadelphia, Pa., improved metallic pen. 
Patented Jan. 6, 1852. 
Joseph Smith, Condit, Ohio, improvement in raking and 
loading hay. Patented J une 3, 1856. 
ADDITIONAL IMPROVEMENT. 
Wm. F. Shaw, Boston, Mass., improved gas heater.— 
Patented Jan. 23, 1855. 
mass of water high enough to afford it relief. 
It therefore makes its way at the same time 
downward upon the solid rock, crushing, 
crumbling and grinding it to pieces. All mat¬ 
ter, so far as we know, is porous and compressi¬ 
ble, and rocks are more compressible than wa¬ 
ter. Philosophy should, therefore, teach us 
that a sudden expansive force between a body 
of water and a body of rock, while it requires 
time to remove the water, must necessarily, to 
some extent, crush the surface of the rock, if it 
is too large or too confined to be removed in a 
body. And this has been proved to be a fact 
by every blast that has been made.” The ex¬ 
plosive force being exerted vertically, and 
downward, no fragments of rock are driven 
above the surface of the water. Most of the 
rock is pulverized ; all the larger pieces are re¬ 
moved by divers or by grappling irons, to the 
deepest surrounding water, which is from thirty 
to forty feet.— Selected. 
STEAM IRON FLOATING BATTERY. 
SUBMARINE BLASTING. 
Gathering Perfume of Flowers. —The per¬ 
fume of flowers may be gathered in a very sim¬ 
ple manner, and without apparatus. Gather 
the flowers with as little stalk as possible, and 
place them in a jar, three parts full of olive or 
almond oil. After being in the oil twenty-four 
hours, put them into a coarse cloth, and squeeze 
the oil from them. This process, with fresh 
flowers, is to be repeated, according to the 
strength of the perfume desired. The oil being 
thus thoroughly perfumed with the volatile 
principle of the flowers, is to be mixed with an 
equal quantity of pure rectified spirits, and 
shaken every day for a fortnight, when it may 
be poured off, ready for use. As the season for 
sweet scented blossoms is now approaching, 
this method may be practically tested. 
Embroidery Patterns. —As some of the young 
ladies who read the Rural can roll up their 
sleeves, and play with the rolling pin, I thought 
perhaps they could play with the needle; there¬ 
fore I send the following directions for the ben¬ 
efit of such as wish to draw patterns from em¬ 
broidery :—Lay the cloth on the article ; take 
the blueing bag and rub the whole slightly. 
The cloth will then be marked correctly, with 
much less trouble than the old way.— One wiio 
nxs Embroidered. 
A very interesting work is iu process of exe¬ 
cution, promising the most valuable results, in 
effecting the removal of “ Diamond Reef,” 
which lies near Governor’s Island, and has be¬ 
come a serious impediment to the navigation of 
New York harbor, owing to the large size of 
modern ships, and their consequent increased 
draught of water. Husted & Kroehl, who have 
a contract from the city government to remove 
this rock, have been firing from eight to ten 
enormous charges per day. These are contain¬ 
ed in large tin canisters, each holding 200 lbs. 
of powder, or eight kegs of 25 lbs.; so that the 
value of each charge is about $40. These are 
sunk to the surface of the rock, and discharged 
by meaus of a wire connected with a galvanic 
battery. 
This plan is termed the “ Paisley Blast,” on 
account of its having been first introduced by 
Lieut. Gen. Paisley, of the Royal Engineers, in 
the year 1839, in the removal of wrecks, and 
afterward, as at Bermuda and Nassau, in the 
removal of rocks from those harbors. Diamond 
Reef is the largest work of this kind that has 
yet been undertaken ; the rock being about 300 
by 40 feet, and very hard. The depth of water 
over it is only sixteen feet at low tide; it is 
stipulated that this shall be increased to twen¬ 
ty-two feet, at a cost to the city of $35,600. 
Congress has often been memorialized with 
the object of having the general government 
remove this obstruction, but without success, 
until the immediate performance of the work 
has become imperative, and the city must look 
to Congress for the reimbursement of its ex¬ 
penditure. 
Wonderful phenomena are occasioned by the 
submarine explosions. An immense body of 
water is suddenly raised iu the form of a dome, 
of snowy whiteness, and forty or fifty feet in 
diameter. For a moment it retains its eleva¬ 
tion, and then bursts at its apex, columns of 
water shooting forth in a perpendicular or ob¬ 
lique direction, sometimes to the height of 100 
feet. The commotion then subsides, leaving 
the water covered with foam and large numbers 
of dead fish, killed by the concussion. Dia¬ 
mond Reef has long been celebrated as a fish¬ 
ing ground, and the mortality from this cause 
among the piscatory tribes is very great. The 
boats engaged in blasting brought to shore a 
great number of them, mostly “ moss-bunkers.” 
The force of the explosion is tremendous. Gen¬ 
tlemen engaged on Governor’s Island, in the 
coast survey, felt the tremor of the earth very 
distinctly. The discharge is accompanied by a 
heavy rumbling sound, like the peals of distant 
thunder. The manner in which the rock is af¬ 
fected is thus explained by scientific authority : 
“By the expansive force of the explosion, the 
large mass of water above and around must be 
instantly removed or lifted. But the motion of 
all matter requires time. The expansive force 
is exerted instantly in every direction. It will 
not willingly wait for the slow rising of the 
The late Robert L. Stevens was employed 
for some years before his death in the con¬ 
struction of an immense iron floating battery 
for the defence of New York. Several months 
ago, the Secretary of the Navy sent an intelli¬ 
gent naval officer to inspect the battery, and 
report progress. His report, now on file at the 
Naval Department, is an interesting document 
at this time, when gun-boats and all sorts of 
defensive and offensive modes of warfare are 
being developed. The Washington correspon¬ 
dent of the N. Y. Herald writes : 
This vessel, so mysteriously docked and hid 
from public view, has already been fourteen 
years under way, and of course considerable 
progress has been made in her construction, 
and she could be finished, if necessary, in one 
year. She is four hundred feet long, and thirty 
or forty in breadth. She is built entirely of 
wrought iron plates, and each plate seven inches 
in thickness; these are attached to her iron 
frame work. She will have eight steam en¬ 
gines, and is to be propelled by two screw pad¬ 
dles, one on each side of her stern post. In 
smooth water she will run, it is expected, from 
twenty to twenty-five miles per hour ; and as 
she is intended solely for harbor defences, she 
will have smooth water to run in at all times. 
She can, by her double propulsion power, by 
reversing one of the screws, turn in her own 
axis, or in a space of four hundred feet. She 
is to be mounted with twenty guns, of the 
heaviest calibre and the longest range. 
The dock where this wonderful floating bat¬ 
tery is now lying is very mysteriously guarded. 
Owing to the extreme length of the vessel, 
rocks have been excavated, and one of the 
streets of Hoboken has been tunneled to admit 
one end of the monster. When Mr. Robert L. 
Stevens died he left models to enable Mr. 
Walker, the Superintendent of her construction, 
to complete the vessel in accordance with his 
original conception. She has cost the govern¬ 
ment, thus far, over half a million of dollars, 
all of which has been expended, and lately the 
work has been carried on out of the private 
funds of Mr. Stevens. 
This vessel, or two or three like her, will 
guard New York from any force that may be 
brought against the place. She is perfectly 
impervious to shot and shell, from Lancaster, 
Paixhan, or Columbian. The iron plates of 
which she is constructed are each thoroughly 
tested by cannon shot before being fastened to 
the frame of the vessel. Her machinery is all 
below the water line and out of harm’s way. 
Her speed will make her equal to twenty or 
thirty gun boats of the modern style. 
COAL ON THE ILL. CENTRAL R. R. LOCOMOTIVES. 
Experiments of burning coal in the locomo¬ 
tives of the Illinois Central Railroad Company 
have recently been made with great success.— 
The coal used is obtained on the line of the 
road, where it exists in great abundance. A 
number of experiments were made last week, 
with engine No. 51, which had been altered for 
the purpose. The portion of the road used was 
between Amboy and Wapella, 109 miles. The 
train consisted of sixteen loaded freight cars, 
and the coal used was La Salle. The compar¬ 
ative result was as follows : 
Wood, five cords, at $5,75.$28,75 
Coal, fiftj-two bushels, at 15 cts. $ 7,80 
Saving with coal.$20,95 
This is a very gratifying result, and the im¬ 
portance of this fuel question can scarcely be 
over-estimated. If the service of this road can 
be performed with coal, the saving to the com¬ 
pany will be immense. Wood on the northern 
end is very scarce and very high, while on the 
company’s lands are inexhaustible beds of the 
finest coal, which can be mined at a cost not 
exceeding six or eight cents per bushel. Sev¬ 
eral other locomotives are to be at once changed 
to coal burners and the question thoroughly 
tested. 
A New Bridge to Goat Island. —We learn, 
by the Niagara Falls Gazette, that workmen 
have commenced operations on the new bridge 
which is to take the place of the old one lead¬ 
ing to Goat Island. Very substantial abutments 
are being put down. That part under water is 
made of timbers strongly put together in a 
frame filled with stone ; above the water the 
whole will be of massive cut stone, and upon 
which will rest the arches. The number of 
piers between the shores will be only three, 
about ninety feet apart. The bridge will be 
two or three feet higher than the present one. 
We understand that the piers will be ready for 
the superstructure by the latter part of August, 
and that it is expected the whole will be com¬ 
pleted in October. 
