APRIL 24. 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 
135 
THE CURCULIO. 
The great enemy of all our smooth-skinned stone 
fruits, particularly of the Apricot and Plum, is the 
Curculio. We know of nothing we can recom¬ 
mend as a specific—no patent annihilator that will 
destroy this little nuisance at one blow — but we 
can state with perfect confidence, a confidence de¬ 
rived from experience and observation, that with 
proper care, at the right time, a good crop of fruit 
can be saved from these destroyers, in all cases. 
The Curculio, and the mark it 
makes on the plum, is pretty well 
shown in the engraving. It i3 a 
small, dark brown beetle, with 
spots of white, yellow and black, 
and is scarcely one-fifth of an 
inch in length. Whether it 
makes much use of its wings is 
yet a disputed point, some con¬ 
tending that it confines its ope • 
rations to a single tree, while 
others think that it flies over the 
orchard or neighborhood. A week or two after 
the blossoms have fallen, this insect begins to punc¬ 
ture the young fruit, making a cut as shown in the 
engraving, into which it inserts an egg. This egg 
soon becomes a white grub, and eats its way to¬ 
wards the stone. About the first of July the fruit 
falls to the ground, and the grub leaving the fruit 
makes its way into the soil. Here it remains until 
the next spring when it emerges from the ground 
in the form of a beetle, to commence its work of 
destruction on our best fruits. 
There are several ways of fighting these insects, 
which we will mention very briefly. As soon as 
the insect makes its appearance spread sheets under 
the tree, and strike the trunk with a mallet, so as 
to jar it sharply. The insects will fall into the 
sheet and can be killed. Do this every morning 
for a week. By this time they will be found to 
have disappeared. After this an occasional search 
for them will answer. Another plan, less trouble¬ 
some, and which we know to be effectual, is to pick 
up all fallen fruit and destroy it We would go 
further than this, and with a pole knock down all 
stung specimens, as they will fall very readily. It 
is a good plan to tread the ground hard and smooth 
around the tree, and after the injured fruit has fal¬ 
len sweep all up, and carry off and burn, or feed to 
hogs. This, if followed up for a few years, will 
pretty much overcome the evil. Allowing pigs 
and fowls to run in the orchard when the stung 
plums are dropping, is another easy way to destroy 
the crop of insects. A friend in Michigan sends us 
still 
ANOTHER REMEDY FOR THE CETRCTTLIO. 
The time will soon come when the Curculio will 
emerge from its hiding place, and, following the 
instinct of its nature, unless timely prevented, will 
destroy the entire crop of plums, which, were it 
not for its ravages, would be abundant. Various 
remedies have been proposed, some of them have 
partially succeeded, others are inconvenient to ap¬ 
ply, and many of them too laborious and precarious 
to be generally adopted. Whatever remedy is ap¬ 
plied must be in season or it will be of no avaiL 
Many persons do not know the curculio or its 
habits, and perhaps daily examine their trees; not 
finding what they had imagined to be the insect, 
rest satisfied for a few days, and all at once find to 
their astonishment their fruit all destroyed. A few 
days is quite sufficient for a few curculiosto destroy 
the entire erop. We offer a remedy which we have 
known to be applied with the most perfect suc¬ 
cess, having never known a single failure when 
used as directed. The labor can be performed by 
children, who will consider it a pastime. The anti¬ 
cipation of a supply of fruit will be a sufficient 
stimulus. 
The following is a very convenient mode of per¬ 
forming the operation. Provide a pole from one 
to two inches in diameter; having squared one 
end, nail upon it a four quart tin basin; into the 
basin put a quantity of live hard wood coals, upon 
which springle roll brimstone, previously broken 
into small pieces, or sulphur, or for the want of 
either, tobacco may be used, but brimstone is best. 
Elevate the pole among the branches, carefully 
moving it around in the top of the tree, until the 
entire leaves, small limbs and fruit are thoroughly 
smudged with the smoke of the brimstone. Al¬ 
ways be careful to keep the pan moving in order to 
prevent the fruit or leaves from being over-heated. 
Let the operation, when convenient, be done in the 
morning when the dew is on, and for three or four 
mornings in succession; a day or two may be 
omitted. Then smudge three or four times, which is 
sufficient If soon after the smudging a heavy rain 
follows, we advise a repetition of the operation. 
We do not claim that the process will kill the 
curculio, but we do claim that they will leave the 
plum trees. Their olfactories are very sensitive, 
and, like other sensible beings, will avoid the per¬ 
fumes of sulphur or tobacco. S. B. Noble. 
Port Huron, Mich., April, 1858. 
The Rose SnuG.-IIave any of the floricultural read¬ 
ers of the Rural any experience in combating with 
the enemies of the rose bush, and particularly with 
a small green worm which appears about the 1st of 
June and destroys the entire foliage of the roses 
by indulging a voracious appetite? It is about 
half an inch long, and as large round as a knitting 
needle, and is preceded by a small black fly which 
seems to deposit eggs upon the leaves. The worms 
disappear in about a month after they begin their 
ravages, but not until the work of devastation is 
complete. Common remedies, such as dusting 
with lime, ashes, plaster, &c„ and fumigation with 
various kinds of smoke, prove ineffectual. Cannot 
some one give a preventive whereby they may be 
kept away entirely? Let us hear the experience of 
rose cultivators.— Libbie, St. Joknsville, N. Y. 
Remarks.— This troublesome insect is the Rose 
Slug. The Massachusetts Horticultural Society 
some years ago offered a premium of $100 for an 
effectual way to check the ravages of this insect^ 
which was awarded to D. Haggerston. His reme¬ 
dy was whale oil soap dissolved at the rate of two 
pounds to fifteen gallons of water. This is a com¬ 
plete remedy when seasonably applied. Perhaps 
some of our readers will give us their experience 
with this insect. 
MOUNTAIN SEEDLING GOOSEBERRY 
In August last we received from the proprietors, 
the “Shakers” of New Lebanon, a box of goose¬ 
berries, which we then described in the Rural, as 
being of a “ dark-purplish color, good flavor, and 
rather less than medium size, though larger than 
Houghton’s Seedling.” We also expressed the 
opinion that it was a very productive variety, as 
the branches sent were literally loaded with fruit. 
We now have an opportunity to present a draw¬ 
ing of this fruit, just about as we saw it, crowding 
the branches. This gooseberry we have seen and 
tasted but once, and though we don’t like to ex¬ 
press a very decided opinion on so short an 
acquaintance, we think well of this variety. As it 
is a native and doe3 not mildew, and is larger and 
finer than any native sort now known, (except 
perhaps Chas. Dow'ning’s new seedling,) it will, no 
doubt, be a decided acquisition. It is stated to 
have been discovered growing wild about ten years 
ago, and has never been known to mildew, but ap¬ 
pears to improve year by year, both in quantity 
and quality of its fruit 
CULTURE OF CELERY—THAT $25. 
Messrs. Editors :—I noticed in the Rural a short 
time since, a communication requesting informa¬ 
tion on the culture of Celery. I proposed to give 
to the author of this article, in a plain and simple 
manner, and strictly from own experience, the re¬ 
sults of the many experiments which I have tried 
with this vegetable during the last fifteen years.— 
I never succeeded to my satisfaction until last 
year, but I have now learned how to grow celery 
in a superior manner and avoid a great deal of la¬ 
bor used in its cultivation heretofore. 
I answered your correspondent, “ Celery ,” of 
Johnson’s Creek, in a private letter, but some way 
or other we differed. I, of course, demanded the re¬ 
ward offered to any man who would give the need¬ 
ed information of any fertilizing manure that 
would answer as well as stable manure—a preven¬ 
tive of the rust—and the best way of preserving it 
through the winter, or for future use. I have suc¬ 
ceeded in overcoming all these difficulties, and if 
my simple instructions are followed they can be 
overcome very easily by any one. If any of your 
numerous inquirers want this information, they 
can have it through the Rural, if the reward of¬ 
fered is deposited in the hands of the editors, and 
the matter is left to be decided by them, or any 
committee that they may choose. 
Will you please state how) many good celery 
plants can be grown on an acre to advantage. This 
seemed to be a difficulty with your correspondent. 
I say that rows five feet apart are near enough 
and the plants one foot in the rows, which gives, 
according to my calculation, 8,712 plants to the 
acre. Your correspondent wrote me that he had 
grown 25,000 to the acre. If he grows that num¬ 
ber of good plants and gets them to market, I don’t 
see what improvement he need to make, or why 
he offers a reward of $25 to be taught how to grow 
celery. So I though it was useless to write him 
further on the subject. If 8,712 good, straight, tall, 
well-blanched stalks of celery is carried to market, 
from one acre during February, March or April, I 
know of nothing that will pay better in most 
places, if not in Western New York. Some early 
crops can also be raised on the land that will gene¬ 
rally pay for the labor of cultivating the celery.— 
This is from the pen of a hard working gardener, 
and a reader of your paper.—J. 3. L., Portland, 
Maine, 1858. 
Remarks.— We never had much faith in offering 
rewards for divulging secrets in horticulture, nor 
in the value of secrets proposed to be made known 
for money. Nor do we think much of strawberries 
or grapes, or any other fruit, of which wonderful 
stories are told by the proprietors, but which 
other people know nothing about, and can only 
learn by paying a large price for plants. There is 
too much humbug about all this, and honorable 
men should have nothing to do with it. If J. S. 
L. has discovered a better mode of cultivating 
celery than that generally practiced he should let 
the world know it through the columns of the 
Rural, and he will receive the thanks of thou¬ 
sands, and be honored as a benefactor of the great 
family of cultivators. Men with more money 
than character or heart, perhaps, can afford to be 
mean, but “ a hard working gardener, and a reader of 
the Rural,” cannot afford to damage so good a 
character by anything small. On second thoughts, 
we know our friend will agree with us. 
We w r ere satisfied from the first that our “ celery ” 
correspondent did not follow the practice of good 
gardeners in growing this vegetable, or he would 
not have so much cause to complain of rust, Ac.— 
Five feet apart for the rows is as near, we think, 
as it can be grown well, though eight or nine 
inches apart in the rows we think space enough, 
and where we plant in single rows we generally 
give only six inches to each plant Size and qual¬ 
ity is much more important than the number of 
plants. One good stick of celery is better than 
half a dozen poor specimens. 
Trimming Currant Bushes, Ac.—Can you give 
me information about trimming Currant bushes- 
what stalk should I trim out, and what leave?_- 
Should Gooseberry bushes be trimmed like a tree 
on one 1<% as folks call it?— Subscriber, York, Liv. 
Fig. 1. Fig. 2 . 
Remarks. — Currant bushes, as generally seen, 
resemble that shown in the engraving, (fig. 1,) with 
two or three old, straggling branches, surrounded 
by a mass of young shoots. When a bush gets as 
bad as this, the better way is to divide it. Each 
branch starting from the ground will make a good 
plant, it it can be so taken off’ as to secure a fair 
portion of roots with it. Plant it, remove all the 
buds from the root to about six inches above the 
ground line, then leave four or five buds to form 
the head, and cut off all the shoots above these. In 
a year or two you will have a miniature tree, like 
fig. 2. If the bush is surrounded with only a few 
suckers, the old wood can be cut away, most of the 
shoots removed with the spade, and two or three of 
the strongest allowed to remain. These will grow 
thriftily and bear fruit at once. By a little atten¬ 
tion in pruning, occasionally cutting out the old 
wood, the bush will remain vigorous for a number 
of years. The gooseberry should be grown like 
figure 2. 
Dwarf Pears.—In the Rural please tell me if 
dwarf pears do well on a light limestone soil? It j 
is from two to five feet deep, and then there is a 
layer of limestone. What kind of fruit will thrive 
best on it?—J. A. Fouts, Paris, Linn Co., Kansas. 
Remarks. —If fertile, containing a good per cent- 
age of vegetable matter, dwarf pears would succeed 
on such a soiL Indeed, if the climate is favorable, 
we know of nothing to prevent success with all of 
our popular fruits. We caD, however, hardly judge 
of your soil by the description. 
The Weather is now, (April 20th,) mild and 
moist ; the early spring flowers are coming into 
bloom, and in the next we shall commence our 
notes on plants and shrubs in flower. 
TRIMMING TREES,-A CALL FOR PICTURES. 
Eds. Rural: —Passing by an orchard the other 
day, I saw that it had been mangled and maltreated 
in a horrible manner—upon making inquiry I was 
assured that the mischief teas perpetrated by the oumer 
himself !—that he did not do it in a sudden freak 
of passion, for he was a man of an equable and 
even temper, and was counted perfectly sane! Tf 
he was mad there was “ method in his madness” 
for, judging by appearances, he made it his rule to 
haggle off every limb that he could reach with his 
axe while standing on a salt barrel. The orchard, 
unlike “the barren fig tree,” had always done as 
well as it could under the circumstances, and was 
entitled to decent treatment. This, by some inex¬ 
plicable association of ideas, brought to my mind 
the subject of pruning trees. I have myself been 
engaged in that business for a few days past, and 
regret the want of more exact information on that 
subject, although I have taken some means to in¬ 
form myself. 
I would like to have the Rural unfold in this 
matter. It may be that full directions have already 
been given, which I have overlooked; but then it 
will do no harm to repeat. 
Did Noah Webster think he had done enough 
when he had pictured the “young sance-box ” in 
the old gentleman’s apple tree, and pelted him with 
stones through one edition of his spelling book?— 
No, indeed. Noah kept him there month after 
month, and year after year, till every rascally 
urchin had a fair opportunity to appreciate his 
miserable position. So, we want the theory of 
pruning explained, illustrated and enforced—and 
the same thing repeated. 
We want to know how to make growth, and how 
to check it; how to “ cut back ” and how to 
“pinch”—how to get fair fruit, good fruit, and 
plenty of it. We want some trees all pictured out 
in a state of tangled barbarism—then half civilized 
—then civilized. I have pruned a tree and after¬ 
wards on going back thought it wan’t pruned 
enough, and finally did’nt know when to stop. I 
suppose the pictures will show how many limbs 
there ought to be, and where. Of course, the dif¬ 
ferent kinds of fruit require different treatment. 
n. t. b. 
Remarks. —No one should remove a limb from 
a tree without an object. If you cannot tell why 
you are about to remove it, let it remain. Never 
cut it off for the fun of the thing, or because you 
have an idea that a tree needs pruning. If you 
have a sharp axe, and a disposition to try its metal, 
go into the wood pile, but keep out of the orchard. 
We will give some suggestions on this point next 
week. 
CULTURE OF THE BLACKBERRY. 
Eds. Rural: — In the Country Gentleman a Mr. 
Young gives a sketch of his experience in raising 
Blackberries in his garden, and the success he mea¬ 
surably attained last summer, after fruitless efforts 
for three previous seasons; an abridgement of 
which I thought might be interesting to your read¬ 
ers, with a few remarks from my own experience, 
as the time has now come for planting and caring 
for this fruit 
In the fall of 1853 he set out 40 plants and staked 
them upright; but next spring, 1854, after a com¬ 
paratively mild winter, all his plants had died down 
to the ground. That summer, of course, there was 
no fruit That winter, the plants, which had grown 
from the roots during the summer, lay flat on the 
ground and were protected by the snow. Next 
spring, 1855, four or five of the largest plants to 
each hill were tied to a stake; all others cut away. 
The ground having been heavily manured, suckers 
came up in profusion so as to pretty much smother 
the fruit That winter the plants were again erect, 
few lay flat on the ground, and hence most of them 
being much exposed to the cold many were much 
injured. 
Next spring, 185G, he thinned out the plants to 
six feet apart each way, [rows 8 feet apart and hills 
4 feet apart in the row is better,] and as fast as any 
suckers appeared destroyed them, reserving only 
3 or 4 to each hill to produce the next year’s fruit. 
These reserved canes grew large and strong. In 
the fall he carefully bent the tops of half the hills, 
and threw a little earth on the tops to hold them 
down; but did not cover the whole vine with earth. 
[I would recommend a damp day for doing this or 
after rains; since we all know how much less apt 
a moistened plant is to break than a dry one.]_ 
Half of his vines he left erect as before. These in 
the spring of 1857, showed that they had been in¬ 
jured by winter, and a much more thrifty and vig¬ 
orous growth was seen in the vines that had been 
bent down, and they produced four times as much 
fruit and of a finer quality than the unburied ones. 
Ten hills produced about one bushel, or 32 quarts, 
of berries. The picking season lasted from the 
1 st of August to the 11th of September. 
He recommends “ first cutting away all the suck¬ 
ers in a hill as fast as they appear, except three 
early and strong shoots for fruit-bearing the subse¬ 
quent season. Second, laying down the vines to 
protect them from the winter.” 
The largest New Rochelle berries he raised were 
three-and-three-quarter inches incircumference and 
three-quarters of an inch in length. The berries 
are highly flavored, and are borne in abundance, 
but the bushes are liable to be injured by the win¬ 
ter, unless bent as before stated. He says the 
objection is often made that blackberry vines 
planted in the garden will soon overrun it and 
crowd out everything else; that is true if they are 
neglected, just as w-e see the weeds covering alike 
beds and paths in ill-kept gardens, * * * but 
stake and hoe them and keep down the suckers and 
they will keep their places and pay you for the 
trouble of taking care of them. The Homestead 
says “ a few rods of ground devoted to the New 
Rochelle will supply a family cheaper and better” 
than wild ones if ever so abundant In a former 
number of the Rural, I stated the pruning which 
was necessary, viz: cut off the main stalk to five 
feet in height and the lateral branches to about a 
foot in length. C. P. Bissell. 
Rochester, N. Y., April, 1858. 
SULPHUR FOR INSECTS. 
Among the many remedies proposed for the de¬ 
struction of insects, that of introducing sulphur, or 
some other nostrum into the trunk, by means of an 
augur hole, always seemed to us one of the most 
foolish. Dr. Eben Wight, Corresponding Secre¬ 
tary of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, 
has made some experiments showing that quick¬ 
silver and sulphur, inserted in a tree, remain 
unchanged both in quantity and quality for a long 
series of years, thus proving that no portion of it 
is taken up by the sap, and therefore, that no effect 
can be produced more than if a piece of wood or 
stone was inserted instead of the sulphur or quick¬ 
silver. We give the statement of Mr. W. from 
Honey's Magazine: 
“Determined to show the absurdity of such a 
mode of proceeding, I too set to work with both 
sulphur and quicksilver, carefully weighing the 
quicksilver in a balance distinctly sensible to the 
hundredth part of a grain. The holes were bored 
and cleared so that I might thereafter remove it 
without trouble, as it all laid in one globule, — the 
holes were cemented over. These holes were 
opened from year to year, and the quicksilver taken 
out and weighed, showing no decrease from first 
to last. Amongst my trees selected for the trial of 
sulphur, were two venerable elms. The augur was 
used of the size of the rolls of sulphur, and was 
allowed to penetrate to the very heart of the an¬ 
cient specimens. Roll after roll of sulphur was put 
in and the holes plugged—one with grafting clay 
the other a wooden plug. The one on which graft¬ 
ing clay was used, soon healed over, while the 
other showed signs of bleeding for a length of time. 
This was over twenty-five years since. 
Now, mark the result This winter these two 
trees were cut down, one having been struck and 
killed by lightning, its mate on the opposite side 
must also share its fate for harmony’s sake, and so 
give place to others planted some thirty years since, 
with the view of making up the deficiency. 
On cutting up the butts, it was found that sul¬ 
phur and holes were of the same size as when ope¬ 
rated on twenty-five years ago. The holes were 
grown over, and that was the only change observa¬ 
ble. The better to illustrate such folly, I send you 
a piece of the same, that you may have it to show 
to others. A like piece I shall place in the hands 
of Chas. L. Flint, Esq., Secretary of the Mass. 
State Board of Agriculture, State House, Boston; 
and still another will be sent to Col. B. P. Johnson, 
Corresponding Secretary N. Y. State Agricultural 
Society, Albany, N. Y.” 
A Nice way to make Apple Trees.— Get a tree 
from a Nursery, {no matter what kind,) such as they 
send out, or if so large as to be unsalable, just as 
good. Let it be straight and thrifty. Cut it square 
off at just the height you want the top, and splice 
or whip graft on it, one scion, with three buds above 
the waxed paper with which it is wound. To make 
it more sure not to get displaced, tie a long strip of 
bark around over the waxed paper, as tight as you 
can; set your tree, and it will make a beauty. Get 
the nurseryman to do it for you if possible, as he 
will do it better than you can. I have trees made 
last spring, that put out strong shoots two feet in 
length, precisely alike. This spring I cut back to 
six inches, and when the new shoots start allow six 
to grow, saving those well placed to make a hand¬ 
some top. Next spring shorten them one-half; af¬ 
ter that, use your judgment. I have trees grown 
three summers, that look like miniature mature 
trees —very fine. I prefer such a tree, to one from 
a nursery ready to set If your friend at the jump¬ 
ing off place sends you a scion in a letter, you may 
have a tree better than one of the same sort got at 
a nursery.—S. B., Pittsford, N. Y., 1858. 
0wslif 
TO COLOR COTTON GOODS GREEN. 
W e have received quite a number of responses 
to the query of “Nellie C. L.,” from among which 
we segregate the following: 
Nellie C. L. inquires for a recipe for coloring 
cotton goods green. Here it is, and we will war¬ 
rant it good, as it has been well tried during these 
hard times when rag carpets are more in vogue 
than tapestry. To 4 lbs. of fustic take 1 lb. log¬ 
wood chips—not the extract—and 1 oz. vitriol.— 
Boil the wood until the strength is obtained, then 
add the vitriol. This solution will color 4 or 5 lbs. 
of goods. But in the goods and boil 10 or 15 min¬ 
utes. Have hot soap-suds ready and wash just as 
soon as drained. Do not rinse it after washing in 
the suds.— If. St. Clair, Inverness. N. Y., 1858. 
To 3 lbs. of cotton goods take 4 oz. of sugar of 
lead; 3 oz. bichromate of potash; 3 oz. of prussiate 
of potash; 2 oz. of oil vitriol—dissolve in separate 
vessels, each containing one and a half gallons of 
rain water. Wet your goods in warm rain water; 
dip them in the sugar of lead, then in the bichro¬ 
mate of potash, then in the sugar of lead again, 
then in the prussiate of potash, and last of all, in 
the oil of vitriol, wring out and air. Rinse in cold 
water and dry, and if Nellie C. L., of Charlotte, 
N. Y., don’t have a good green, it will not be the 
fault of a— Subscriber, Vernon Centre, Oneida Co. 
N. Y., 1858. 
In a late number of the Rurai, Nellie C. L. asks 
for a recipe to color green on cotton. I send the 
following which I have tried and know to be good. 
One lb. fustic; two oz. logwood chips; j oz. blue 
vitriol — boil the fustic and logwood in separate 
brass kettles one hour, then put them together and 
add the vitriol. Put in your cloth and let it re¬ 
main fifteen or twenty minutes—it should then be 
dried and afterwards washed in soap-suds. This 
will color two pounds of yarn or cloth.— Josephine, 
Niles, Cay. Co., N. V, 1858. 
I send you a recipe for coloring green, which I 
think will act on carpet warp—I have tried it on 
old cotton cloth, and had a good color. Take 4 
lbs. fustic; G oz. logwood chips; 3 oz. blue vitriol, 
for 10 lbs. of cotton goods.— J. W. Powers, Pult- 
neyville, N. Y., 1858. 
POUND CAKE—INDIAN PUDDING. 
Eds. Rural:— Having noticed, in your issue of 
March 27th, a request for a recipe for Pound Cake, 
and being possessed of one which is termed “ quite 
good and cheap,” I forward it for trial. One lb. of 
sugar; 1 of butter; 1 of flour; the whites of 12 
eggs, beaten to a froth; flavor with the essence of 
lemon. Bake in a quick oven. This quantity will 
made two “ good sized cakes,” baked in six-quart 
pans. 
I have also a recipe for a “ Plain Indian Pud¬ 
ding,” which, perhaps, would be acceptable to some 
of your lady readers. Two quarts of boiling milk, 
with Indian meal enough added to make a thin 
batter, stirred in while boiling hot; add sugar; all¬ 
spice, and salt to your taste, also a teacup of cold 
milk. Bake five hours in a moderate oven. 
Hardscrabble, N. Y., 1858. A Country Cook. 
Starch Cake.— The lady that gave a recipe for 
Starch Cake a short time since, will confer a great 
favor by telling me if she did not intend to have 
sugar added, and if so, how much is necessary to 
make it good,—or, will some other lady tell me how 
to make starch cake? —Peggy A., Side Hills, North 
East, 1858. 
PURIFYING AND FILTERING WATER. 
As the period is now approaching when greater 
necessity exists for the filtration of water than 
during the winter season, anything new on the 
subject deserves attention. We learn by a late 
number of the London Engineer that A. P. Malard, 
of Paris, has recently secured a patent for the em¬ 
ployment of prepared wool-shearings as superior 
material for the water to pass through to be filter¬ 
ed. He employs any common filter, such as the 
portable kind so well known in our cities, which 
have a perforated false bottom, or a supporting 
shelf of wire gauze on which the filtering materi¬ 
al is laid. The wool-shearings employed by Mr. 
Malard are prepared in such a manner as to render 
them very durable, and not so liable to rot as the 
fibrous filtering diaphragms commonly employed. 
He first boils his wool-shearings for one hour in a 
solution of alum and cream of tartar, then takes 
them out, and exposes them to the air until they 
are quite cold. After this he boils them for an 
hour in a solution of nut-gall and acetate of iron, 
then in a weak solution of the carbonate of soda, 
after which they are taken out, washed perfectly 
clean, dried, and are ready for use by placing them 
in a stratum on the false bottom of the filter, and 
allowing the water to percolate through them into 
the recess below, when it is drawn off clear and 
limpid for domestic use. 
As hard water cannot be employed for washing 
without wasting considerable soap, a simple meth¬ 
od of rendering it soft will be useful to many of 
our readers. Take .about a pint of fresh slacked 
lime, stir it in a gallon of water, and allow the 
sediment to settle; pour off the clear water and 
bottle it tight for use, because if the air is not ex¬ 
cluded it will absorb carbonic acid from the atmos¬ 
phere. Half a pint of this lime water is added to 
a gallon of hard water, stirred, and the whole al¬ 
lowed to settle, after which the clear is filtered 
through a diaphragm of Canton flannel, and is 
ready for use, being rendered quite soft. Those 
who reside in limestone districts, where the wells 
contain hard water, will find this method of treat¬ 
ing it (the water) very useful for washing purposes. 
If they wish to use this softened water for drink¬ 
ing purposes, a little lemon juice or cider added 
to it will greatly improve its taste. In the mag¬ 
nesian limestone regions of Ohio and other places, 
where the water of the wells, in warm dry weather, 
is liable to cause cramps and chills when drank,' 
especially to strangers; the method described for 
treating it will prevent such results. The fresh 
slacked lime water unites with the carbonic acid 
of the lime in the hard water, and the whole lime 
held in solution falls down in the state of a fine 
chalk, leaving the water clear and soft .—Scientific 
American. 
