FEB. 6. 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 
47 
FRUIT IN OHIO. 
The two past severe winters, and especially that 
of 1855-6, have been so destructive to fruit trees 
growing at the West, that much pains have been 
taken by individuals and associations to ascertain 
what varieties best endured the almost Siberian 
cold. The Ohio Pomological Society addressed a 
circular to the fruit growers of the State, inquir¬ 
ing of each, how great had been the loss of apple 
trees from the effects of cold, and the varieties 
that had most suffered. Also, whether the popu¬ 
lar varieties of winter apples, such as Rhode Island 
Greening, Roxbury Russet, Baldwin, EsopusSpitzen- 
berg and Red Canada succeed; and which is con¬ 
sidered the best six winter apples , taking into ac¬ 
count the hardiness of the trees, productiveness and 
certainty of crop and the keeping quality and 
general excellence of the fruit for market or 
family use. 
In answer to these inquiries, the Secretary re¬ 
ceived many letters, which are published in the 
Transactions of the Society, and sums up the 
whole matter in the following remarks: 
1. That very great loss of fruit trees resulted 
from the extraordinary winter of 1855-6; nearly 
all the peach and heart-cherry being destroyed; 
and in some parts of the State very many apple 
trees, but not so general a loss of these as many 
persons had supposed. 
2. As a general rule, there is not much differ¬ 
ence in the hardiness of the different varieties of 
fruits, especially of peaches and sweet cherries; 
and in regard to apples, the difference is much less 
than was generally supposed; as many of those 
reported as tender in one locality, or by one writer, 
are classed as hardy by others. The principal ex¬ 
ceptions seem to be in reference to the Belmont, 
Rhode Island Greening, E. Spitzenberg, and Rox¬ 
bury Russet, which are reported as most generally 
injured by the winter. 
3. The effect of the previous crop had no per¬ 
ceptible influence in rendering the tree liable to 
injury by the winter; but more was dependent on 
the condition of the wood as to ripeness—those 
trees which, from richness and moisture of soil, 
made a late and luxuriant growth the season pre¬ 
vious, were most injured by the winter. For this 
and other reasons, elevated or hilly lands are found 
most favorable for apples as well as peaches and 
cherries. 
4. The damage to the apple crop by rotting, scab, 
rust, etc., is not by any means general, but confin¬ 
ed mostly to the South-Western quarter of the 
State, the limestone, clayey soils, and is worst in 
the rich valleys or plains; but can generally be 
guarded against by a judicious choice of varieties 
and proper pruning and culture. 
5. The varieties of winter apples best adapt¬ 
ed for the districts just named, are not those 
generally known and approved in Northern Ohio 
and in New York, but varieties of Western or South¬ 
ern origin; as, Rome Beauty, Rawles’ Janette, 
Smith Apple, Milam, Limber Twig, Wine Sap, 
White Pippin, White Pearmain, Broadwell, etc.— 
At the same time, it is found that the popular 
Eastern and Northern fruits continue to succeed 
well in most parts of Northern Ohio, and on the 
more hilly and sandy lands in the eastern parts of 
the S ate. 
From the reports of twenty-five northern coun¬ 
ties, to the State Board of Agriculture, giving 
answers to the question, “Which are considered 
the best six winter apples in your county?” the 
vote stands as follows: 
R. I. Greening,_ 20 
Ramho,_18 
E. Spitzenberg,_18 
The next in order were Belmont, G. Russet, Cana¬ 
da Red, and Newtown Pippin, from six to ten votes 
each. 
The reports from the southern half of the State 
(and western central) were less numerous and 
more diverse in character, recommending more or 
les3 of the southern list first above given, along 
with a few of the northern, accordingly as the 
writers were more or less extensively acquainted 
with varieties. 
GARDEN ARCHITECTURE. 
Roxbury Russet,.16 
Baldwin,_13 
Y. Bellflower,. 11 
Nothing adds more to the beauty and comfort 
of a garden than neat and appropriate arbors, seats 
and resting places. In the first place, however, the 
garden itself must be creditable, well filled with 
plants and shrubs, tastefully laid out, and kept in 
perfect order. Beautiful furniture would be more 
than useless in a dirty, disorderly parlor, and all 
kinds of garden ornaments are an eye-sore in an 
untidy garden. These garden ornaments, to look 
well, must be appropriate, and the more simple, 
durable and useful they can be made, the better.— 
While expensive structures might be admitted in 
large and highly kept gardens, such as are found 
in Europe, they would be sadly out of place in our 
more modest and unpretending village and subur¬ 
ban grounds. There should be no ostentatious 
display, no vain attempt to eclipse nature with art. 
As a general rule all painting and carving should 
be excluded from the garden, and the carpenter 
with his jack plane must never be permitted to 
enter. The most appropriate material for garden 
work is the rough limbs of trees, with the bark 
preserved in its natural state. These can be ob¬ 
tained of all desirable forms, and with only a saw, 
hammer, and nails of different sizes, any person 
with a little patience and ingenuity can make the 
most beautiful and appropriate garden decorations. 
To aid in this work we will give a few designs.— 
The first is a 
FRUIT AND TREE BLIGHTS. 
Northern Spy Apple—Pears on Sandy Soils, 
Ac.— I was much amused and instructed by the 
discussions at the recent meeting of the West¬ 
ern New York Fruit Growers’ Association, and 
regret that the session was limited to two days, as 
some subjects were passed over, and others hurried 
over, for want of time. 
Being somewhat of a novice in fruit growing, I 
was especially interested in the remarks of Mr. 
Peck and others on Grape Culture, and in the spicy 
discussion on the Northern Spy apple. I had form¬ 
ed a very high opinion of the Spy, from the fruit 
which I had seen and tasted, and last fall, in plant¬ 
ing an orchard of over 1,000 apple trees, I set 83 
of Northern Spy. The information received at the 
late meeting relative to this variety, has decided 
me to re-graft most of the trees with some more 
profitable sort. 
I would like to have you or some of your cor¬ 
respondents enlighten me on one or two points in 
fruit culture. 1st Can a reasonable degree of suc¬ 
cess be expected from the culture of dwarf and 
standard pear trees in a light sandy loam? 2d. 
What varieties are best adapted to such a soil?— 
3d. Is subsoiling any benefit to trees on such a soil ? 
Is not the natural drainage and permeability of 
sandy land, ten feet or more deep, sufficient with¬ 
out trenching or subsoiling?—C. L. S., Greece, N. 
Y., Jan., 1858. 
Remarks. —With thorough pruning and good 
culture, we think the Northern Spy will do well, 
though it will not bear transportation very well, 
nor much rough usage in any way. We have 
grown fine dwarf trees on a sandy soil, and this 
can be done very easily with a free application of 
manure. We cannot see that subsoiling such a soil 
as described above would be of any benefit, unless 
for the purpose of incorporating manure, ashes, 
&c., with the soil to a greater depth than could be 
done by shallow plowing. Who will give the de¬ 
sired information as to the varieties that succeed 
best on sandy soils, and such other information as 
will be valuable to our correspondent, who has 
commenced fruit growing on a large scale, on a 
soil principally sandy loam. 
RUSTIC SUMMER-HOUSE 
made under a tree, which forms a good support— 
Any tree that is unsightly from the loss of its lower 
limbs can in this way be made very ornamental. 
The next is a rustic seat placed under the shade 
of a tree, which can be made a fixture by driving 
the branches, which form the legs, into the ground, 
or it can be made so as to be moved when necessa- 
RUST1C CIIA1R. 
RUSTIC SEAT. 
ry. In making seats it is well to place them in 
some retired part of the garden if possible, where 
persons may sit and converse without danger of 
interruption. It is also best, generally, to put two 
or more near each other, so a3 to accommodate 
any small party with seats, as nothing is more an¬ 
noying than for a portion to be compelled to stand. 
Near any fixed seat like the above it would be well 
to place one or more 
movable chairs, like 
that represented in the 
engraving, or they may 
be constructed of a much 
more simple form, being 
merely rustic stools, so 
light as to be easily 
moved to suit conven 
ience. 
Seats should be loca¬ 
ted, if possible, in such 
places as command a 
good view of the gar¬ 
den, or certain interest¬ 
ing portions of it; or 
else of the surrounding 
landscape, so thatilie proprietor and his family and 
friends can sit pleasantly and admire the beauties 
with which they are surrounded. This, and priva 
cy are the principal 
considerations in the 
location of seats or 
garden houses. The 
next, and last en¬ 
graving, shows a 
circular rustic seat, 
constructed around 
an old tree. These 
are always tasteful 
and pretty. At an¬ 
other time we may 
give a few more de¬ 
signs. The present leisure time might be improved 
by many of our readers in making such garden 
furniture. We have of.en seen quite young per- 
sons very ingenious at this work. Will not some 
of our young readers give the thing a trial the 
present winter? 
Immortelles. —We have received from A. Frost 
& Co., a beautiful winter boquet of these flowers— 
a species of Gnaphalium, or Everlasting Flower, a 
common herbaceous plant of European gardens, 
similar to our native Cudweed. The flowers are 
originally white, changing by age to light yellow. 
These are dyed by some chemical process, by- 
French and German florists, and much employed 
in floral decoration. When mingled with other 
flowers in bouquets they have a very fine appear¬ 
ance. 
CIRCULAR RUSTIC SEAT. 
Eds. Rural: —There are several diseases of fruit 
and fruit trees, mostly of recent appearance, that 
seem to defy the scrutiny of the keenest observers. 
I refer to the Leaf Curl of the peach trees, the 
Black Knot of the plum tree, the Fire Blight of the 
pear tree, and the Rust on the leaf and Fungus 
spots on fruit. 
As far as I have been enabled to observe, Mr. 
Barry’s suggestion, that the leaf curl in the peach 
is attributable to cold in its early and tender stages, 
is the true solution of that question, but why it 
should only have appeared within ten or fifteen 
years past is beyond my comprehension, unless our 
climate is gradually undergoing a change. 
The Black Knot on the plum tree has generally 
been charged to the sting of an insect, from the 
fact that the larvae of some insect are found inhab¬ 
iting the protuberances; but it is not very well set¬ 
tled whether the insect is the cause of the disease 
or the disease the cause of the insect; at any 
rate there is a virus produced that is as deleterious 
to the tree as the poison of the rattlesnake to ani- 
mal'life. Nothing short of the most careful and 
thorough excision is a cure for it. 
There are none of these diseases more occult 
and unaccountable than the Fire Blight on the pear 
trees. It comes in a moment almost, and whole 
limbs, even whole trees, are dead beyond resusci¬ 
tation, with the smell and appearance of having 
been scorched from the blaze of a burning brush 
heap. Its cause has been suggested to be cold, dis¬ 
organizing the inner bark next to the sap wood, 
whereby the return of the sap was prevented and 
soured and decomposed in the leaves and branches, 
and consequently fatal to its vitality. It has also 
been attributed to pletlwry —a redundancy of sap, 
which the leaves were unable to eliminate and form 
into the material for new wood, stagnation super¬ 
venes and the tree dies. It can hardly be charged 
to this cause, as a single limb is often affected, while 
the rest of the tree is perfectly free and vigorous 
I am rather disposed to attribute this disease to 
the effects of freezing, or some cause affecting the 
bark of the old wood of the tree. From long and 
the closest examination I am able to give the sub¬ 
ject, I am forced to say that it is one of the most 
inscrutable diseases in vegetable life. 
The recent appearance of Rust on the leaf of the 
pear tree, from my limited opportunity of observa¬ 
tion, T am unable to give any elucidation, or hardly 
to advance an opinion. It has the appearance o 
being more of a Lichen (moss) than a Fungus (toad 
stool,) and it may prove to belong to this latter 
class, and the result of the spontaneous production 
of mildew or other cryptogameous organization, 
originating in the deposit or exudation of what is 
termed honey dew. 
The black looking fungus spots on apples and 
pears is an old disease, but more general this year 
than heretofore observed. The Newtown and Hol¬ 
land Pippin, Early Harvest and Fameuse apples are 
particularly liable to it; as also are the Virgalieu 
Bon Chretien, and some other pears. 
At the Fall Meeting of the Western New York 
Fruit Convention the subject was very fully dis¬ 
cussed, without coming to any very satisfactory 
conclusion. I fully agree with the views asserted 
at that meeting by Jon v/I^Thokas, who stated that 
with the closest examination with a powerful mi¬ 
croscope, he could detect no appearance of vege¬ 
table organization in the disease, and therefore 
inferred that it did not belong to either the Fungus 
or Lichen tribe. The apple is covered with a trans¬ 
parent coating of wax, which, when scraped off 
with a knife and held to the candle, melts and 
flows freely, and this coating covers the true skin 
which contains the coloring matter. 
This disease is located on the true skin, and seems 
to work and extend itself in the waxy covering 
only, from a center in every direction, with a gran 
ulating edge, not unlike the appearance of a pock 
from vaccination. It looks and acts like a gan 
grene—a virus that, when it commences in the 
early stage of the fruit, paralyzes the side where it 
begins, the other parts increase while the attacked 
partceases to expand, causing an irregular shaped 
fruit, frequently cracking to the core, with a hard, 
woody portion surrounding the diseased part 
It may be derived from an exudation through 
the pores of the skin of saccharine, mucdlagenous 
or starchy matter, which on exposure to moisture, 
it is well established, produces mildew or other 
cryptogameous plants spontaneously, or from germs 
passing through the air—which as yet are mooted 
points among naturalists—and did the disease atany 
of its stages show any signs of vegetable organi¬ 
zation, I should be disposed to attribute it to this 
cause. 
These are my views on these much agitated 
questions, which I should be glad to see discussed 
in the Rural. It is a subject worth following up, 
that we may arrive at some reliable conclusion as 
to its cause and prevention, if possible; for it is a 
plague spot that, if it prevails and increases, will 
destroy the good character of our best fruits. 
Greece, Monroe Co., 1858. L. B. Langwortiiy. 
GRAFTING TREES DESTROYED BY MICE, &c. 
Eds. Rural:—I think I have found out a very 
satisfactory way of disposing of those trees whose 
trunks have been winter-killed or girdled by mice, 
borers, or any other cause. I cut the tree off with 
a saw below the surface, where the bark is sound. 
Then insert between the bark and wood, scions as for 
cleft grafting. These make a thrifty growth, and 
if allowed to grow without being mutilated with 
the knife, will make fruit in a short time. I first 
practiced this mode of inserting the scion between 
the bark and wood on a pear tree about eight inches 
in diameter, which I sawed off below the surface, 
intending to cleft graft; but I saw with all my care 
1 could not prevent the stock from pinching the 
-cion too closely,—so on one-half the tree I stuck 
in the scions between wood and bark. These all 
grew finely, while those inserted in the clefts, after 
growing feebly a short time, died. 
Had I known this five years ago, I think that 
about three hundred trees would now be growing 
for me, at. one-tenth the cost and trouble I have had 
in digging out old trees, buying, hauling, and plant¬ 
ing new ones from the nursery. Beside that, I think 
the trimmed trees from the nursery can never be 
made as serviceable as those grown unpruned on 
the spot they are intended permanently to occupy. 
Rochester, Fulton Co., Iud., 1858. C. Brackett. 
THE BEECH TREE. 
Eds. Rural:— As we look abroad at this season, 
when the sun as it were recedes from us, when the 
winds scatter, whirl and drive hither and thither 
the sad remains of our rural shades, the oak and 
the beech, among our deciduous trees, defy the ut¬ 
most efforts of the wind to strip their stately heads. 
It is only to the genial warmth of spring, that these 
monarchs of the woods will yield their reddened and 
withered crowns, to be again renewed in pristine 
beauty. 
The Beech, so shamefully neglected, commands our 
admiration for its dense shade, its magnificence and 
beauty, and as an ornamental shade tree, deserving a 
prominent position, in all landscape gardening or 
rural scenery. Dr. Darlington also says, in his 
Flora Cestrica: —“The Beech —although asymmetri¬ 
cal and handsome tree, has been unaccountably neg¬ 
lected, in this country, as an ornamental shade tree; 
and yet it would seem, from Virgil’s Pastorals, that 
in the land of sweet do-nothing (“ dolce far niente,”) 
the Italian peasant, of ancient times, found an 
enviable enjoyment under its spreading branches 
—“patulce recubans sub tegmie Fagi.” The beech 
tree — der buchenbaum of the Germans, and the 
Fagus of Botanists, so named from the Greek 
phago, to eat; because the oily seeds or nuts, were 
used as food in the early ages. Dr. Darlington 
says truly, that they “afford nutritious food for 
swine.” Dr. Gray has shown that the Fagus Syl- 
vestrie of Micheaux, is but a variety of the F. fer- 
ruginea, others again contend that the European 
beech, F. sylvalica of Linn.kus, is not specifically 
different from the American beech. 
The beech will grow on a dry soil, but prefers ti 
sandy calcareous loam. The nuts ripen in Octo¬ 
ber and November, and should be dried aud kept 
in dry sand, and sown the following spring in 
March or beginning of April, in a light soil, in 
beds or drills, covered about one inch, and at least 
an inch apart. When sown in Autumn they will 
come up in April, but are greedily sought after 
through the winter by mice and other vermin; 
the seeds remain good only for a single season. 
In the Patent Office (Agricultural) reports for 
1854, p. 406, the Fagus ferruginea is suggestively 
recommended for hedges, in like manner as the 
F. sylvatica is used in Europe “for enclosing and 
protecting gardens, orchards and small fields, 
affording shelter to early grass, from strong chilly 
winds, because it retains its withered leaves during 
the winter, it affords a similar protection as an 
evergreen.” 
The wood is dense, uniform in texture, and em¬ 
ployed in cabinet-making and turning; excellent 
for panels for carriages, screws, rims of sives, Ac., 
and perhaps superior to any other kind of wood for 
fuel. Nor is this all that can be said. It is well 
worthy of attention on account of the oil the nuts 
are made to yield, which is but little inferior to 
olive oil. The forests in the department of the 
Oise in the North of France, have yielded in a sin¬ 
gle season more than two millions of bushels of 
these nuts; and in 1770, the forest of Campaign 
alone afforded oil sufficient to supply the wants of 
the district for more than half a century. The nuts 
are collected in dry weather as they fall from the 
trees, or are shaken down when perfectly ripe 
cleaned from the husks, spread out on floors like 
corn, and frequently turned till dry. They are 
then ground and formed into a paste; this paste is 
subjected to strong pressure in wool or hair bags, 
two or three times repeated if necessary to extract 
all the oil. If skillfully managed they yield one 
sixth of oil from the nuts employed. The oil 
becomes limpid by repeatedly drawing it off the 
dregs, and at the end of sixth months arrives at 
perfection. It will last good for ten years or up 
wards.— Rhinds ’ Vegetable Kingdom. 
Hooter, in his medical dictionary, says—“The 
fruit and interior bark of this tree, are occasionally 
used medicinally, the former in obstinate headache 
and the latter in the cure of hectic fever. The oil 
expressed from beechnuts is supposed to destroy 
worms; a child may take two drachams of it night 
and morning; an adult an ounce. The poor people 
of Silesia use this oil instead of butter.” Having 
now discharged a duty to my sylvan friend under 
whose cooling shade I have frequently enjoyed the 
rural scenery around me, though more might be 
said, I deem it sufficient to entitle him to the atten 
tion of all lovers of the beautiful and useful. 
Mount Joy, I’a., 1857. J. Staffer. 
Tile Vine Mildew having made its appearance 
in one of my houses, I tried the following plan of 
curing it:—Having shut the house quite close, 
got four large flower pots and half filled them with 
lumps of quick lime; having sprinkled it with 
water, I strewed a handful of sulphur on each pot, 
and let it steam up through the vines till it quite 
filled the house with steam. On the following 
morning I opened all the ventilators, and gave the 
house a good syringing till I quite saturated it 
repeated the same the following day, when I found 
that the mildew had wholly disappeared. I have 
also tried the remedy for red spider in a Peach 
house, and I soon found it to vanish. If gardener 
will use sulphur in this way they will find no ill 
effects from it; as soon as they have strewed it on 
the lime they can leave it till the following morn¬ 
ing.—J. J., in London Gardeners 1 Chronicle. 
Rochester Trees for Europe. —Messrs. 
wanger & Barry have propagated large number 
of the Wellingtonia, from seeds obtained from Cal 
ifornia. For these plants they have received large 
orders from Europe, and have shipped many to 
Liverpool, and other places. The home demand is 
now, however, so great that we understand they 
have refused to fill further European orders. 
Blackberries. —Will some one of your readers 
who have tried the experiment tell us: 
1st. Whether if we take the common high bush 
blackberry from the woods, and cultivate it proper¬ 
ly, the fruit will be improved? 
2d. Will the fruit be increased? 
3d. What is the proper mode of cultivation? 
4. When properly cultivated and in full bearing, 
how will the fruit compare with the New Rochelle 
(or Lawton) as to flavor, size and quantity?—* 
Remarks. —We have seen the best blackberries 
selected from the “bush” and removed to the gar¬ 
den, where they received such care as was given 
to raspberries, being planted alongside of a rasp¬ 
berry bed. The result was a finer growth of cane 
and fruit, the flavor certainly equal to the New 
Rochelle, sweeter, but inferior in size. 
mg. 
ICING FOR CAKES, VEGETABLE OYSTERS, &c. 
Icing for Cakes. —Beat the whites of two small 
eggs to a high froth, then add 4 lb. of fine white 
sugar. Flavor with lemon or vanilla, beat it until 
light and very white—the longer it is beaten the 
more firm it will become—no-more sugar must be 
added to make it so. Spread smoothly on the cake 
hen sufficiently beaten. This quantity will ice 
quite a large cake over the top and sides. It should 
be spread on with a piece of card paper 4 inches 
long and two wide. For small calces where only a 
thin icing is required it should not be beaten so 
stiff, and should be put on with a brush. 
Silver Cake. —Stir to a cream 1 cup of butter 
with 2 of white sugar, add the whites of 6 eggs 
beaten stiff; 1 cup of sweet milk with 4 a teaspoon 
of soda dissolved in it. Stir 1 teaspoonful cream 
of tartar into 4 cups of flour and add to the cake. 
Flavor with lemon, vanilla or rose water. 
Gold Cake. — Stir to a cream 4 a cup of butter 
with 2 of sugar, add the yolks of 6 eggs stiffly 
beaten, then add 4 a cup of milk with 4 a teaspoon 
of soda in it; mix 1 teaspoon cream tartar with 
flour enough to make it as thick as cup cake.— 
Flavor as for silver cake, or with 1 teaspoon cloves, 
of cinnamon, 4 a nutmeg. Currants and raisins 
which are considered an improvement by some. 
Plum Pudding. —1 lb. of flour; 1 lb. beef suet; 1 
of currants; 1 of raisins; 4 eggs; 1 pint of milk 
and spicing to taste. Tie in a bag, allow no room 
for swelling, and boil 4 hours. 
Ginger Cake.— Without Shortening. —Beat 1 egg, 
put it into 2 cups of molasses and a little salt; then 
put 4 a teaspoon of saleratus in a cup of sweet 
milk, and add to the other ingredients. Add flour 
to make a light batter not much thicker than for 
pan cakes, and 2 tablespoons ginger. Bake quickly 
in two long tins. This is well liked. 
Egg Dumplings, for Soups. —To 4 a pintof milk 
put 2 well beaten eggs; add as much flour as will 
make a batter rather thicker than for pan-cakes, 
and a little salt; drop it a tablespoonful at a time 
into boiling soup. 
Salsify, or Vegetable Oysters. —Slice 2 quarts 
of salsify and boil two hours in milk and water, 
then add 1 cup of butter; 1 of sweet cream with 
pepper and salt to taste. Toast some thin slices of 
bread a delicate brown, place them in small dishes 
or platters and pour the oysters over them and 
serve. Roselynda W. 
FRUIT FOR MINCE PIES.-KEEPING HAM. 
In the last Rural is a recipe for making mince 
pies, which speaks of using grapes and other pre¬ 
served fruits. To prepare grapes for this purpose 
as well as many others, I put into a preserving ket¬ 
tle what sugar I think I can afford, and put in 
grapes until the syrup becomes a perfect jelly. I 
then pour the syrup upon the same and put it 
where it will dry down considerably. This makes 
an excellent and cheap sauce (for those who raise 
their own grapes,) to use either in pies, cakes, or 
on the table. 
Last spring I saw a recipe for keeping ham thro’ 
the summer which, as it struck me as likely to be 
good, I thought I would try. It was to partly cook 
the ham and then put it down in its gravey. About 
the first of June I cut up the hams and shoulders 
of a hog and cooked them so much that they only 
needed warming to use. I then took a stone crock 
and putting into it gravy sufficient to cover the 
bottom, put into that a laying of ham and then 
completely covered it with gravy and repeated the 
operation (alternate layers of ham and gravy,) till 
the crock was filled. I used the last of the ham in 
November, and it was just as good as when first 
prepared. It requires considerable lard to cover 
the meat and this I put into the spider and cooked 
the ham in it, that it might be flavored. 
While upon the subject I may as well give my 
experience in keeping grapes fresh. Just throw 
away all saw-dust, cotton batting, Ac., and keep 
them by themselves in a cool, airy place; yet not 
allow them to freeze or a current of air to pass 
over them. The general complaint when grapes 
are packed in cotton or other substances, is that 
they mould, while if spread too thin they shrivel; 
but packed in tubs with holes bored in the sides 
and bottom and placed, as I have recommended, 
both these difficulties are obviated. We have them 
now as fresh as when picked from the vines. 
Naples, N. Y., Feb. 1, 1858. H. F. McKay. 
WHAT MAKES DOUGH RISE. 
The cause of the rising is the vinous fermenta¬ 
tion produced by the spontaneous change of the 
gluten or albumen, which acts upon the sugar, 
breaking it up into alehohol and carbonic acid gas. 
Tf the fermentation is regular and equal; the knead¬ 
ing and intermixture thorough, and the dough kept 
sufficiently and uniformly warm, the production of 
gas will take place evenly throughout the dough, 
so that the bread, when cut, will exhibit number¬ 
less minute cavities or pores equally distributed 
throughout. For its capability of being raised, 
dough depends upon the elastic and extensible 
properties of its gluten, which is developed by the 
admixture of water and flour. Hence the proper 
quantity of water is that which imparts to the 
gluten the greatest tenacity — an excess of it low¬ 
ering the adhesiveness of the glutinous particles. 
The toughness of the gluten prevents the small 
bubbles of gas from uniting into larger ones, or 
from rising to the surface. Being caught the in¬ 
stant they are produced, and expanding in the ex¬ 
act spot where they are generated they swell or 
raise the dough. All raising of bread depends up¬ 
on this principle—the liberation of a gas evenly 
throughout the glutinous dough. 
Syrup Nicer than Stewart’s Extra. — Take 
2 pounds nice white coffee sugar, or more, dissolve 
it in water, put it into a sauce pan and boil it twen¬ 
ty minutes, and you will find it just the article for 
griddles, as palatable as white clover honey. Try 
it, try it. Yankee. 
To Housewives. —We have received the mode 
and manner of conjuring up very many of the good 
things of this life, all of which will in due time be 
placed upon the tables of Rural readers. 
