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SEPT. !0. 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 
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STRAWBERRY CULTURE. 
Eds. Rural :— Will you, or some of the readers of this 
paper, please inform me where the strawberry plant called 
“ Bush Alpine” can be procured, and at what price per 
dozen. Also the best time for setting out any kind of 
strawberry, and if it is a good plan to let the vines run 
together. Which variety are the most productive and the 
best for the garden. An answer from some one will oblige 
—A SuBSCRiBKR, Hartwick Seminary. 
Messrs. Eds.:—I have a bed of strawberry plants set out 
last August, of the variety known as Hovey’s Seedling. 
The plants were well tended, and have grown large and 
thrifty, yet notwithstanding all the care that they have 
had, they have produced but few, and those very imperfect, 
berries. Now, I wish to inquire what is best to be done 
in the premises—destroy these and start with some other 
kind, or is there a course that can be adopted to bring 
them into bearing.—E. V. W. D., Wilson, Niagara Co. 
Friend Rural I take the liberty of asking for some 
information in regard to the culture of strawberries. In 
August, 1854,1 set out a bed of the Hovey variety. The 
season was very dry, and only half of them lived. The 
next spring, ’55,1 filled up the bed ; they grew finely, and 
last spring, ’56, were well filled with blossoms, and set full 
with fruit, but I did not get a dozen perfect berries, al¬ 
though I did not allow them to suffer by drouth. Now as 
I am not experienced in this branch of horticulture, can 
you not, in a few words, advise me what other variety to 
mingle with them to cause them to yield fruit—(or what¬ 
ever advice you see best to give.) I have read the account 
in the Rural of July 20, of the meeting of Fruit Grow¬ 
ers, but do not find in it anything to meet the case. If 
you will comply with my request, you will confer a favor 
on—A Subscriber, Monroeville, Huron Co., Ohio. 
Without meaning anything offensive to our 
respected correspondents we would kindly in¬ 
quire of them if they read the Rural, and if so, 
if they understand what they read ? It would 
appear to us that they either fail to read it at¬ 
tentively, at least that portion which is appro¬ 
priated to Horticultural matters, or we must 
have failed to present the subject we have 
treated of, in an intelligible manner. 
The subject of the cultivation of the Straw¬ 
berry has been repeatedly written upon by 
several contributors, and in a late number the 
discussions of the “Fruit Growers’ Society” 
furnished much useful information on the sub¬ 
ject. We think we could not do better than 
advise our correspondent's to refer again to their 
back numbers. However, we shall briefly re¬ 
ply to the above queries rather than put them 
to this trouble. Strawberries may be planted 
at any time from August till October in the 
fall, and in spring from the opening of the 
ground and disappearance of frost till the mid¬ 
dle of May in cool latitudes, but in warmer 
localities, not later than the middle of April.— 
Those planted in August, with proper attention, 
will bear fruit the following spring. When 
planted late as in the latter part of September, 
there is very little gained on spring planting, as 
the plants have scarcely time to become estab¬ 
lished before the winter sets in. When it is 
not convenient to obtain plants early in spring, 
they might be taken up late in the fall, and 
kept over winter under cover of a frame, or in a 
cellar protected from frost, they will then be at 
hand as early as it is advisable to plant them. 
This present season will oblige many to defer 
planting till spring, as the extreme drouth has 
prevented the growth of young plants, so that 
nurserymen cannot supply them as required.— 
For western cultivators at a considerable dis¬ 
tance from the source whence they obtain their 
plants, the method of protecting them during 
the winter as suggested above, is preferable. 
Planting. —There are very few directions re¬ 
quired for planting. Prepare the ground by 
deep digging, and manuring if not already rich 
enough. Well rotted barn-yard manure is to 
be preferred to any other material, though un¬ 
der certain circumstances special manures may 
be used with advantage. Plant in rows two 
feet apart, and set the plants from twelve to 
eighteen inches distant in the row. A very 
convenient method of cultivating is that of al¬ 
ternate strips. A bed four feet wide may be 
laid out, and planted with four rows. When 
this bed is covered with plants too thickly to 
produce well, or in the third year, a space down 
the centre of the bed may be spaded, burying 
the old plants, a portion of manure may at the 
same time be supplied, this space will soon be 
overspread by runners, which will bear the fol¬ 
lowing year. The strip should be spaded in 
the summer, after the fruit has been gathered. 
In the following year, the side strips are to be 
spaded down as before, and so alternately over 
the beds which may be as numerous as the ex¬ 
tent of the plantation may require. Some cul¬ 
tivators recommend the destruction of the 
plants after each full crop is produced, that is to 
say in the second year, and the renewal of the 
plantation ; this seems too much labor for some, 
and will only be advisable for large plantations 
where it would not be possible to keep the 
plants free from weeds. With regard to the 
choice of varieties there is much difference of 
opinion. Two of our correspondents above, 
have failed with Hovey’s Seedling, perhaps 
from the want of enough staminate plants to 
fertilize it properly. Rather than advise the 
destruction of their beds which are not yet too 
old, we would recommend to plant the Large 
Early Scarlet, Genesee, Iowa or other staminate 
variety near them, say one row, or a row at each 
side, if the bed is large. Hovey’s Seedling is 
condemned by many cultivators for its tardi¬ 
ness in bearing, and its frequently imperfect 
fruit, while others who have better success as 
highly extol it. If we mistake not it was stat¬ 
ed at the Fruit Growers’ meeting by several 
cultivators, that Hovey’s Seedling required a 
staminate variety, such as the Large Early 
Scarlet to fertilize it. The most popular varie¬ 
ties are Burr’s Hew Pine, Boston Pine, Hovey’s 
Seedling, McAvoy’s Superior, Longworth’s Pro¬ 
lific, Genesee, Walker’s Seedling, Bicton Pine, 
Triomphe de Gaud, Trollope’s Victoria, Jenny 
Lind, British Queen, Hooker, Monroe Scarlet 
and Moyamensing; several others might be 
added, but a selection may be made from the 
above. 
The Bush Alpines are much in request by 
by some amateurs, and may be had of any of 
our leading nurserymen whose advertisements 
may be found in this number.—s. 
LAWTON BLACKBERRY-GRAPE CULTURE. 
I am in possession of one bush of the Lawton Blackber¬ 
ry, from which I wish to procure some more bushes. I 
wish to learn the mode of propagating them. I have 
bent down one of the young shoots and covered the top 
end with earth, merely for an experiment, thinking per¬ 
haps that may be the mode of obtaining more bushes. 
Any one having the knowledge of cultivating the above 
berry, will confer a favor by answering this inquiry 
through the Rural. —A. F. H., Dryden, N. Y., Aug., ’56. 
The Lawton Blackberry is propagated from 
root cuttings, but unless we had an opportunity 
of showing our correspondent, we fear we could 
not give him the information necessary to suc¬ 
cess. Small suckers are thrown off from the 
roots, which are inserted as cuttings in a sandy 
soil, and seldom fail to grow. 
Eds. Rural Can you or some of your correspondents, 
inform me, through the columns of your valuable paper 
of the method of raising grape vines from cuttings, so as 
to have good strong plants at the end of the first year.— 
Also the process of making and preserving the cuttings, 
and what is the best manure for the grape.—B., Sept. 1, ’56. 
Grape Vine Cuttings should be gathered in 
February or March, and only the ripe shoots 
used ; a cutting with three or four eyes is long 
enough ; if it has four eyes cut it off smoothly 
at one of the eyes, and plant it so as to have the 
second eye under the surface. The cuttings 
may be tied up in bundles and kept in a dry 
cellar till the ground is fit for planting them.— 
Grape vines require rich manure. Stable litter, 
barn-yard and slaughter-house refuse, will suit 
wed, or any available substance rich in fertiliz¬ 
ing matter—s. 
FRUIT CULTURE. 
TIIE PEAR —STOCKS, CULTURE, VARIETIES, Ac. 
[We give below further extracts from Mr. 
Barry’s Address before the North-Western 
Fruit-Growers’ Association:] 
The introduction of the quince stock for the 
pear, has not only enabled us to multiply pear 
trees much more rapidly than we could have 
done without it, but to fruit them in an almost 
incredible short space of time. We have been 
able to test more new varieties of pears during 
the last eight or ten years, by means of the 
quince stock, than we could have done in thirty, 
without it; so that although it has been misap¬ 
plied, by working improper sorts on it, and by 
planting it in unsuitable soil, yet it has con¬ 
ferred great benefits on fruit culture in this 
country. 
When it once becomes fully understood, that 
only certain varieties of pears take well upon 
the quince, and make vigorous, permanent and 
fruitful trees, and also that the quince stock re¬ 
quires deep, rich soil and generous culture, then 
its use will really be attended with profitable 
and pleasant results. So far, in this matter, it 
has been all experiment with us. The Maha- 
leb stock will render the culture of the cherry 
possible, in many soils where the Mazzard 
stock would not grow, besides, it dwarfs the 
tree to some extent, and makes them more 
manageable as pyramids and low bushes. The 
Paradise and Doucain stocks are an interesting 
feature in apple culture, and enable thousands 
of persons to have their kitchen gardens en¬ 
riched with beautiful dwarf and pyramid apple 
trees, who could not possibly cultivate the 
apple under any other forms. The Paradise 
stock is invaluable for nurserymen, as it ena¬ 
bles them to test their entire collection on a 
small piece of ground. You can have, for in¬ 
stance, 600 trees on half an acre of land, and 
these will bear, generally, the second or third 
year, and the most tardy, the fourth. Is not 
this a great gain ? At the same time, nothing 
can be more interesting than one of these minia¬ 
ture apple orchards. You see what a field for 
investigation and experiment there is here, gen¬ 
tlemen, among all these forms of trees, modes 
of culture, stocks, etc., and the great variety of 
taste and circumstances, to which fruit trees 
can and may be adapted. 
When you hear a man cry out that he has no 
faith in dwarf pears, or dwarf apples, or dwarf 
trees of any kind, you may be assured he has 
something to learn, and you should make it a 
point to correct him. I flatter myself that I 
have made a great many converts in my time, 
and I hope to live long enough to make a great 
many more. 
In the introduction and dissemination of new 
and superior varieties, we have made a great 
step forward in a few years. The spirit which 
was awakened by Van Mons, Bouvier, Esperin 
and others in Belgium, and Knight, and others 
of less note, in England, gave a wonderful im¬ 
petus to the search for new fruits in all parts of 
the world where fruits are cultivated. Van 
Mobs’ curious theory of improvement by suc¬ 
cessive sowings of seed in a direct line, pro¬ 
duced a great number of fine pears. 
His first sowing, we are informed, was the 
seeds of good old pears then in cultivation—the 
produce of these seeds were varied in character, 
wild and worthless, they did not bear fruit un¬ 
til between the ages of ten and twenty years. 
The next generation was improved in appear¬ 
ance and bore at an earlier age. The fifth gen¬ 
eration was greatly improved, and the period 
of bearing reduced from an average of fifteen, 
to eight years. 
This work of experiment lias been carried on 
by the successors of Van Mons, M. Bivort. and 
others, down, we believe, to the 12 th genera¬ 
tion ; and although the seedlings raised in this 
way have yielded many fine fruits, yet very 
few of them appear yet on our list of popular 
varieties. The pears which have of late com¬ 
manded most attention, are such as have sprung 
up, one here and another there, either from 
chance seedlings or from the seed of good pears. 
PLANTING TREES. 
Those who intend to plant in the fall should 
immediately attend both to the preparation of 
the ground and selecting the trees. With re¬ 
gard to the latter, a better estimate can be made 
of the general habit and health of a plant be¬ 
fore the fall of the leaves. It may be necessary 
to caution beginners against the prevailing error 
of selecting the largest trees. Medium sized 
trees come up with better roots, are easier 
handled, less liable to casualties in transporta¬ 
tion, and grow faster than those that have been 
drawn up tall, weak, and unshapely in nursery 
rows. Old trees have strong roots, and these 
must necessarily be cut in removing. The tops 
must then be pruned down, to correspond with 
this mutilation, in order to secure a healthy 
start. So that there'is nothing gained in the 
way of size. Even should they live, it is only 
an ekeing out a miserable existence for two or 
three years; meanwhile the smaller tree far 
exceeds it both in health and height. 
The question as to whether autumn or spring 
planting is most successful, has been often dis¬ 
cussed. The arguments favoring autumn plant¬ 
ing are based upon the well-known fact that 
the roots and branches may be separately exci¬ 
ted to growth. This is well exemplified in the 
rooting of slips or cuttings. To favor root for¬ 
mation the cuttings are placed in soil kept 
warmer than the surrounding atmosphere. In 
the fall the soil is warmer than the air; the 
formation of roots proceeds while the branches 
are dormant; when spring arrives, the balance 
of the tree being in a great measure restored, 
growth commences vigorously, and the plant 
becomes established and able to bear up against 
summer aridity. 
But to insure these good results, planting 
should be proceeded with immediately after the 
leaves have fallen ; if delayed beyond October, 
success will be less certain. 
Holes should be made 6 or 8 feet in diameter 
and 14 to 18 inches deep. In clayey subsoils, 
breadth should be considered of more import¬ 
ance than depth. A portion of well pulverized 
soil should be in readiness when planting sea¬ 
son arrives. It is poor economy to pay a couple 
of dollars for a tree and then begrudge a shil¬ 
ling for planting it.— Horticulturist. 
ftoraejrfit furauimj. 
Bijurait fits, &t. 
LIST OF PATENTS, 
iRsned from the United State* Patent OBlee for the 
week ending Sept. 2, 1856. 
Edwin Allen, Glnstenburg, Conn., improvement in cal¬ 
endar clocks. ff. 
Homer Adkins, Plymouth, Ill., improvement in har¬ 
vesters. 
David Babson, Groton, Conn., machine for feeding sheets 
of paper to printing presses. 
D. J. Bucher, Greenville, Miss., improvement in cotton 
seed planters. 
P. D. Carmichael, Le Roy, N. Y , improvement in rotary 
steam engines. 
Cummings Cherry, Pittsburgh, improvement in appara¬ 
tus for purifying oil obtained from mineral coal. 
Cummings Cherry, Pittsburgh, improvement in appara¬ 
tus for distilling crude oil from mineral coal. 
Cummings uherry, Pittsburgh, improvement in the 
preparation of drying oil, from oils extracted from bitu¬ 
minous minerals. 
Hezekiah Chase, Lynn., improved apparatus for arrest¬ 
ing carbon in chimneys. 
David N. B. Cofiin, Jr., Newton, Mass., improved filter. 
John F. Driggs, New York, improved street sprinkler. 
Chas. H. Gould, Concord, for bedsteads. 
Josephus P. Harris, Bybelia, Miss., improvement in 
plows. - ~ 
Andw. Hariupee & John Morrow, Pittsburgh, assignors 
to Joseph P. Haigh, Andw. Hartupee & John Morrow 
same place, improvement in adjustable cut-offs for steam 
engines. 
Jno. M. Hathaway, New York, improvement in charges 
for shot pouches. 
Henry Hays, Quincy, Ill., improved method of hiring 
and mortising hubs. 
Hankies HeaberliD, Scipio, Ind., improvement in hay 
rakes. 
Benaiah C. Hoyt, Fort Washington, Wis., improvement 
in plows. 
M. G. Hubbard, Penn Yan, improved raking attachment 
for reapers. 
Warren Hunt, East Douglas, Mass., improved machine 
for testing axes. 
Charles Ketcbum, Penn Yan, improved fountain ruling 
peD. 
Wm. H. Kimball and Andrew J. French, Lynn, assign¬ 
ors to themselves and Amos K. Nor es, of Lynn, afoi esaid, ! 
spring bedsteads. 
Wm. A. Kuby, Buffalo, improvement in harvesting ma¬ 
chines. 
John H. Knapp, New York, pen and pencil case. 
Loomis Lamb, P.erlin, Conn., improvement in churns. 
Jas. Mackiutire, Somerville, Mass., improvement in ale 
and beer coolers. 
David Matthew, Philadelphia, improvement in condens¬ 
ers for steam engines. 
Jos. McCracken, Brooklyn, improved process of stiffen¬ 
ing hat bodies. 
John T. McCully, Gonzales, improvement in the manu- 
facture of black bottle glass. 
Edward Parker, Plymouth, Conn., improved buckle for 
wearing apparel. 
John Robingson, New Brighton, Pa., improvement in 
rotary steam engines, 
John Robingson, New Brighton, Pa., improved candle 
moulding machine. 
Joel Y. Schelly, Hereford, Pa., and Jos. Stauffer, Hosen- 
sack, Pa , assignors to Wm. Watson, St. Paul, Min., im¬ 
provement in harvesting machines. 
N. N. Selby, Fairview, Pa., improved whifiletree for de¬ 
taching horses from carriages. 
Wm. Slade, Gum Creek, Ga , improved buckle for wear¬ 
ing apparel. 
Oren Stoddard, Busti, N. Y., improvement in grain and 
grass harvesters. 
C. L. Falliant, New York, invalid chairs. 
Shelton W. Thompson, Glasgow, Ky., improvement in 
straw cutters. 
Abdelah Watson, Falmouth, Ky., self-waiting table. 
Ferdinand Wietorich and Komad Hagen, New York, 
improvement in curtain fixtures. 
C. Wheeler, Jr., Poplar Ridge, Ind., improved cutting 
device for harvesters. 
Samuel H. Yocum, Shelbyville, Ind., improving method 
of boring hubs for boxes. 
KE-ISSUE. 
Isaac N. Forrester, Centreviile,Pa., improved method of 
hanging and straining reciprocating saws. Patented Oc¬ 
tober 60, 1855. 
TO COLOR QOTTON. 
Mr. Rural :—Allow me to present your nu¬ 
merous readers a few recipes for coloring cotton. 
From trial I know them to be durable colors. 
Yellow. —For five pounds of cotton, dissolve 
one and a half pounds sugar of lead in hot wa¬ 
ter. Dissolve in a tub of cold water 12 ounces, 
of bichromate of potash. Dip your cotton first 
into the lead water, and wring out; then dip 
into the potash, and wring ; next dip into the 
lead, and proceed in this manner until you have 
a bright color. 
To produce a beautiful orange color, dip the 
yellow in boiling hot lime water. Prepare 
your lime as for whitewashing. Put a lump of 
lime about the size of your fist into one pailful 
of water ; let it settle, dip off the top, dip your 
cotton, and rinse in cold water. 
Blue. —A sixpence worth of Prussiate of Pot¬ 
ash ; 1 table spoonful of copperas, dissolved in 
8 quarts warm water ; 1 tablespoonful oil of 
vitriol, dissolved in hot water. 
Let your readers try these once, and if they 
ever make a rag carpet without these colors in 
it, I shall be disappointed, as they are durable 
and not at all expensive. Mary. 
Deansville, N. Y., Sept., 1856. 
HOW TO KEEP EGGS FRESH. 
Editors Rural :—As this is the season for 
farmers and the “ rest of mankind,” to lay 
down their stock of eggs for winter’s use, I 
send you my way of preserving them—know¬ 
ing from past experience that they will keep 
frecher than when packed in salt, lime-water, 
water or anything else. My mode is this :— 
Pack with little ends down, in what the farm¬ 
ers call Cayuga Plaster, ground, all farmers 
ought to have a little on hand and know what 
it is. It is cheaper than salt or anything they 
can use. All eggs put down fresh in it, will 
come out so. 
As it costs me only postage and a little 
time, I send you the above recipe for publica¬ 
tion, knowing it to be good and worth more to 
the farmer than one year’s subscription to your 
valuable paper. I have anotherobject in view ; 
if they will only pack in plaster, when eggs 
are cheap, we “ Villagers,” who have to buy 
for our own use can get them without paying 
an exorbitant price when we want them. 
Penn Yan, N. Y., 1856. A. V. M. 
To Cook Ripe Tomatoes. —Remove the skins, 
and season them to the taste. Roll them in 
flour, and place them in a deep dish, add a lit¬ 
tle water and butter, place in a quick oven, 
and bake until tender. Serve hot, and you 
will have a delicious dish.—B., Gorham, iV. Y. 
To Prevent Jams from Graining. —A corres¬ 
pondent informs us that to prevent jams, pre¬ 
serves, etc., from graining, a teaspoonful of 
cream of tartar must be added to every gallon 
of the jam or preserve. 
THE FLY CATCHER. 
The last Yankee invention is a patent fly¬ 
trap, got up by a couple of ibis ilk, and which 
is “ all that the most fastidious could desire.” 
It is a wire cage about a foot square, with a 
revolving cylinder coveied Avith cloth, and on 
which a little molasses is rubbed as a bait.— 
The flies (like poor humans, intent on the pres¬ 
ent good without a thought for the future,) 
light [upon the cylinder, which, moving by a 
species of clock work slowly carries them un¬ 
der and up into a trap trom which there is no 
escape where thousands of them are soon col¬ 
lected and disposed of! It is a very ingenious 
affair and will prove highly useful. 
A good story is told of “ Bishop,” who was 
sent down to New York with one of these 
machines, as a “ specimen number.” A butch¬ 
er was very desirous he should set it going in 
his shop, and in course of half an hour some¬ 
thing less than a peck of flies had been 
“ hived.” The butcher was pleased, but con¬ 
cluded as his flies were “ all trapped,” he didn’t 
want the machine. “Very Well,” said Bishop, 
“ I’m a Yankee, and won’t be mean, and as you 
don’t want my trap, I won’t take any advan¬ 
tage of you by ca.~ying off your flies,” and 
drawing the slide he liberated the whole swarm 
about the butcher’s ears, and beat a retreat 
under cover of a little the loudest buzzing ever 
heard in that vicinity.— New Haven Register. 
REVOLVING STEAM BOILERS. 
By a newly invented mode, steam-boilers 
are now constructed in such a way that they 
may gradually revolve on an axis, so that a 
fresh surface of the boiler may be constantly 
exposed to the action of the fire, instead of 
allowing the latter always to act on the same 
surface, as is usually the case. One of the 
ways of accomplishing this is, supposing an 
ordinary cylindrical boiler to be chosen for the 
purpose, patentee bolts, rivets or otherwise fas¬ 
tens at each of its ends an axis of a suitable 
length, supported on bearers in the usual way. 
One of these axes may be of solid iron, but it 
is preferred to be hollow, and provided with a 
stuffing-box, through which a water-pipe passes 
in order to feed the boiler with water, and it 
is also on this axis the inventor prefers placing 
a water-guage, to indicate the level of the wa¬ 
ter in the boiler. To this is fastened a cog¬ 
wheel, into the cogs of which an endless screw 
or spur wheel is working, or else a pulley with 
a chain, by means of which a slow revolving 
motion is given to the boiler.— -N. Y. Spectator. 
Hundic. —This is the name given to copper 
pyrites. It has lately been introduced into the 
manufacture of soda-ash. It is useful for this 
purpose, being readily converted by heat and 
alkali into sulphuret of the alkali and peroxide 
of iron. Soda has thus been reduced in cost, 
and is more easily obtained. 
IMPROVING IRON-NICKEL, 
Many persons entertain the opinion that pure 
iron is superior for use to an alloy of it. This 
is a great mistake. Pure iron is unfit for use ; 
it is soft—not so strong as an alloy of it, and it 
cannot resist the action of the atmosphere.— 
Pure iron reduced to very fine powder, when 
thrown into the atmosphere, takes fire, on ac¬ 
count of its great affinity lor oxygen, and it is 
soon reduced to an oxyd (rust). Unless iron 
contained some other ingredient, it could not 
be employed for forged or cast-iron work.— 
Cast-iron resists the action of the atmosphere 
(is not liable to rust) far better than wrought 
iron or steel, simply because it contains more 
carbon. 
It is true that there are some substances 
generally found associated with common iron, 
such as silica and sulphur, which are adultera¬ 
tions, and injure its useful qualities; but then 
there are other substances, which, when com¬ 
bined with it, improve its character for strength, 
and capacity to resist the action of the atmos¬ 
phere. 'V- Iron containing a small portion of car¬ 
bon, copper, zinc, nickel chromium, or cobalt, 
is stronger than when pure and is not so lia¬ 
ble to rust. 
Owing to the abundance of iron scattered 
over and combined with the earth’s crust, and 
owdDg to the facility with which it can be 
molded, forged, and welded, it is really the 
most useful, as it is the most generally used 
metal in the arts. The method of alloying it 
with carbon, and rendering it (in the form of 
steel.) the strongest and hardest of metals, is 
well known ; but steel rusts rapidly by the 
affinity which it has for oxygen, when exposed 
to a moist atmosphere. Could wrought iron be 
made capable of resisting the oxydizing effects 
of the atmosphere, and also made stronger, it 
would be a grand achievement. The way to 
do this is known. 
An [alloy of iron and nickle is very ductile 
and strong, and almost proof against rusting._ 
Could nickle be obtained so cheap, that only 
about from 2 to 6 per cent, of it could be com¬ 
bined with our common iron, the latter would 
be rendered far more useful for all wrougbt- 
iron work exposed to the atmosphere. The 
discovery [of rich nickel ores m our country 
would be of great consequence in tending to 
improve and advance the useful arts, by using 
it only to alloy iron, not to speak of its value 
as a useful metal for other purposes. The most 
productive ores of nickel are those of Germany; 
and its early use in that country, as an alloy 
of copper, acquired for it the paame of German 
Silver. It is found[ at Uliathams, Conn., in 
gneiss, hut it has been mmeu there with only 
moderate success. Owing to the vast extent 
of the metaliferous rocks of the United States, 
•we are of opinion that sufficient attemion Jbas 
not yet been directed to the discovery of nickel 
ores. In the copper regions of Lake Superior, 
and other parts of our country, we believe that 
rich nickel ore exists, and aw ait to reward inde¬ 
fat igable scientific and observing mineral ex¬ 
plorers.— Scientific American. 
MOTHER OF PEARL. 
Mother of pearl is obtained from shells of 
various kinds, and particularly from those of 
the oyster. Those found in the Indian seas 
alone furnish this coat in sufficient thickness to 
be of value. The genus of the snell fish called 
Pentadince produces the finest pearls. It is 
found most frequently around the coasts of 
Ceylon, in the Persian Gulf, and the Australian 
seas. 
The mother of pearl possesses the most bril¬ 
liant hues, which depend entirely upon its 
structure. The microscopic furrows which run 
across the surface of every slice, act upon the 
reflected light in such a w’ay as to produce the 
chromatic effect. This substance is very deli¬ 
cate to v ork, but it may be fashioned by files, 
saws and drills, wdth the aid of corrosive acid, 
and it is polished by colcothar of vitriol.— Pen 
and ever. 
Hollow Lightning Rods. —An ingenious me¬ 
chanic of Indianapolis, has patented a novel 
and very possibly a valuable improvement in 
lightning rods, the design being to employ a 
superior conductor and present a very extensive 
surface to attract the electric fluid, without ma¬ 
terially increasing the expense above that of 
the ordinary iron rods. The material employed 
in the patent is sheet copper or brass, which is 
bent by machinery into the form of a hollow 
tube, but with two wide lips or ridges on oppo¬ 
site sides, the whole being twisted to aid the 
strength. The lips or ridges being sharp, es¬ 
pecially on the side where the thin edges of 
the sheet are presented, the rod seems admira¬ 
bly provided with edges and slightly ragged 
points to attract the fluid. Such rods we pre¬ 
sume might be made to appear considerably 
more cleanly and ornamental than the rusty 
iron now universally employed.— Iribune. 
A Remarkable Invention. —M. Barrere, a 
French inventor, has exhibited a machine which 
engraves lines so minute as to be undistinguish- 
able, and almost imperceptible to the naked 
eye. It is designed for the production of pri¬ 
vate marks in bank notes, and is capable of 
producing two hundred thousand different com¬ 
binations of minute kaleidescopic line-figures, 
only to be seen by the aid of a powerful micro¬ 
scope, yet perfectly regular and distinct, and 
insusceptible of being imitated. At every 
turn of the tiny wheels which work it, the ma¬ 
chine produces four entirely new designs, ex¬ 
ceedingly complicated, and quite different from 
each other. 
Never trust genius for that which can be at¬ 
tained by labor. 
