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MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER! AN AGRICULTURAL, LITERARY AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 
(Drtfntrti aittr darta. 
THE DAISY. 
The following poetical gem is from the pen of the late 
John Mason Goon, author of that Interesting work, “The 
Book of Nature”: 
Not world* on worlds, in phalanx deep, 
Need we to prove a God is here— 
The daisy, fresh from winter’s sleep, 
Tells of His hand in lines a3 clear. 
For who but He who arched the skies, 
And pours the day-spring's living flood. 
Wondrous alike in all he tries, 
Could rear the daisy’s purple bud ? 
Mould its green cup, its wiry stem. 
Its fringed border nicely spin, 
And cut the gold-embossed gem, 
That, set In silver, gleams within 1 
And fling it unrestrained and free, 
O’er hill and dale, and desert sod, 
That man, where’er he walks, may see 
In every step the stamp of God. 
PEARS. —FOR GENERAL CULTIVATION. 
Tiie Proceedings of the American Homolo¬ 
gical Society, give, at some length, a discussion 
on Pears, from which we compile a list of 
those “ recommended for general cultivation,” 
with some remarks upon the characteristics of 
each variety. 
The Lawrence Pear.— In Massachusetts this 
Pear is e 3 teeme 1 as the best ol AY inter pears 
always perfect, long-keeping, and fine-flavored. 
The tree is a thriity one, has an abundance of 
foliage, and holds it until frost comes. The 
fruit clings to the branches as though tied on, 
like the Urbanists. It originated on a light 
sandy loam, but succeeds well on heavy clay 
soils. _ ,, 
Manning's Elizabeth. —In IN ew .. ersey this 
Pear has a high reputation, as one of the best 
of late summer Pears. The tree is hardy and 
vigorous, and a good bearer, though the fruit 
is rather small. It does well also in IS’ew 
York and Massachusetts. 
Beurre Diet. —This pear is of large size and 
fine quality, and succeeds admirably in most 
parts of the country. It does best on the 
Quince, but grows very well on the pear stock. 
In some seasons and localities it is found to 
crack, but this objection holds against most 
other varieties. The growth of the tree is 
very vigorous, and its cultivation is rapidly 
extending. The Ohio Homological Society, 
recommend it at their last meeting for general 
cultivation in the Western States. 
It should be remembered that the above 
pears are only additions to the list put forth at 
previous meetings of tdie Homological Society, 
and published at the time in this paper. 
HINTS AND GLEANINGS. 
We continue our selection of valuable items, 
on Fruits and Fruit Culture, from the last 
Patent Office Report: 
A Profitable Orchard. —An orchard belong¬ 
ing to this city, of about two hundred trees, 
produced this year 250 bushels of grafted ap¬ 
ples, which were sold for $2,50 per barrel.— 
This orchard is well situated on a southeasterly 
slope, with a hill ou the west to break off the 
cold winejs, and is enclosed by a tight, high 
fence. For quite a number of years it has 
been pastured with hogs, to enrich and keep 
light the soil, and to eat the small apples which 
fell from the trees. Last year the same orchard 
had some GOO or more bushels on it. The cost 
or transporting fruit from this county to the 
Atlantic market by navigation is 10 cents a 
barrel; by railroad, 44 cents.—I). A. Fair¬ 
banks, Augusta, Me. 
Pruning Trees — Valuable Hints. —I think 
most people prune too much. The tap-root is 
cut off when the tree is planted, and all the 
branches, for at least six feet from the ground, 
and in some eases they are pruned so severely 
that a man on horseback could ride round 
them without touching his hat to the few limbs 
that are left. Thus the trees are treated with 
downright cruelty. The result is, the bodies 
of the trees are more or less affected with the 
“sun-scald.” However we may respect the 
customs of our fathers and grandfathers, we 
are not obliged to copy their errors. To pre¬ 
serve the pear and other fruit trees that have 
been deprived of their much needed dress and 
ornament, we wind the bodies with wreaths of 
hay, or shade them by cotton cloth from the 
ground upwards to the lower branches. Where 
this is done, in every instance it has afforded a 
sure protection from sun-scalds. I have long 
been convinced of the great benefit of permit¬ 
ting all fruit trees to branch near the ground, 
suffering them to form the shape of a pyramid. 
—H. Little, Bangor, Me. 
The “ Curl ” in Peach Trees. —The “ curled 
leaf” is the most fatal obstacle to peach cul¬ 
ture here. Quite commonly the cold of winter 
spares buds enough for a fair crop of fruit, 
and the month of April opens with fair pros¬ 
pects, which are perfectly blighted before its 
conclusion. Prematurely warm weather late 
in March, or during the month of April, 
swells the buds almost to bursting. Then 
succeeds cold weather, holding them in check 
sometimes, as in 1851, for thirty-six days.— 
When vegetation finally recommences, the 
juices of the tree are in a morbid state ; most 
of the bud3 that had been previously so ex¬ 
cited never open at all; and those that do, 
exhibit a sickly, stinted foliage, which speedily 
falls, presenting the phenomenon of the “ curl¬ 
ed leaf.” Some writers refer it to insects ; but 
these are seen in the final catastrophe, and arc 
the plunderers merely of the morbid vegetation. 
It is especially worthy of remark, that sudden 
and severe chills, occurring in mid-summer, 
often cause a slight show of this disease. So 
well are the causes of “ curled leaf’-’ ascertained, 
that little is risked in predicting its speedy ap¬ 
pearance, while, as yet, not a trace of it is 
seen.— 0. E. Goodrich, Oneida Co.,N. Y. 
Culture of the Apricot. —Apricots are scarco- 
ly cultivated here, except occasionally in city 
gardens. The tenderness of most varieties, 
and their liability to attacks of the curculio, 
together with the lack of enterprise, have been 
reasons for this untrequency. The fact that a 
few varieties, as the Breda and the Black, arc 
really as hardy as the apple, and that the cur¬ 
culio may be resisted by cheap and effectual 
methods, should encourage their culture; and 
the more so, because this fruit fills a gap be¬ 
tween the cherry and the peach in the succes¬ 
sion of early fruits.— lb. 
Plums in Wisconsin. —For raising plums, 
this county will probably be unsurpassed. The 
trees make the most astonishing growth ; I 
have seen shoots of one year’s age eight iect 
long ; six feet is quite common. The whole 
timbered country is full of wild plum-trees, 
which answer well as grafting-stocks. A com¬ 
mon error is to set grafts too high upon these ; 
the graft outgrows the stock, which is of slow 
growth, and after a few years the tree becomes 
top-heavy, and is liable to be broken down by 
the wind. This is prevented by grafting but 
a lew inches above the roots, and working the 
soil up to the place of union. Good plums, 
with us, arc sold from 8 to 12)4 cents per 
quart.—G. de Neven , Fond du Lac, Wis. 
Remedy for the Peach Borer. —The peach 
tree with us has been gradually losing its 
health and vigor for some years past. The 
only remedy 1 have yet found to preserve it 
in a healthy condition is, to remove the earth 
at the root of the trees in the month of March, 
and tie some flannel or any old woolen stuff 
around the lower part of the trunk of each 
tree. Then put about two pounds of hen ma¬ 
nure on the roots, and replace the earth. The 
flannel ought to extend into the ground as far 
as the roots will allow, and about six or nine 
inches above the surface of the ground. 1 have 
pursued this course for some years, and find it 
an entire protection against the borer and 
worms.—P. Gross, Lehigh Co., Pa. 
THE WREN, VS. CHERRY" BIRDS. 
The common house wren, which is known 
to everybody on account of his lively song and 
his pugnacious habits, is found in all parts of 
the United States, and is an indefatigable de¬ 
stroyer of insects. “ The immense numbers of 
insects (says Alex. Wilson,) which this little 
sociable bird removes from the garden and 
fruit trees, ought to endear him to every culti¬ 
vator, even it he had nothing else to recom¬ 
mend him. But his notes, loud, sprightly, 
tremulous, and repeated every few seconds with 
great animation, are e tremely agreeable.” It 
feeds on insects and caterpillars, and while sup¬ 
plying the wants of its young, it destroys, on 
a moderate calculation, many hundreds a day, 
and greatly circumscribes the ravages of these 
vermin. The wrens are not conLmed to the 
country. They are to be heard on the tops of 
houses, in the central parts of our cities, sing¬ 
ing with great energy. Scarcely a house or 
a cottage m the country is without at least 
a pair of them. It is said by a iriend to this 
little bird, that the esculent vegetables of a 
whole garden might, perhaps, be preserved 
from the depredations of insects by a few pairs 
of these small birds.” 
The wren is often seen running over the 
fences and stone walls like a little squirrel, 
creeping in and out of holes and the crevices of 
woodpiles, hunting for various kinds of insects, 
particularly for spiders and moths, that lie 
concealed in these retreats. It is curious to 
observe the celerity with which ho moves 
about on these hunting expeditions, running 
so unlike a bird that he is often mistaken for a 
mouse. The wren is very pugnacious, and 
will drive away all other birds that intrude 
upon what he regards as his own premises.— 
This trait in his character may be made to 
serve a useful purpose, rendering him guardian 
of our cherry trees during the ripening of their 
fruit. Place a wren box upon the cherry tree 
you wish to protect, in May, and it will sel¬ 
dom fail to be occupied by a pair of wrens.— 
These little birds, from that time regarding the 
cherry tree as their own property, will not 
only devour all the insects that infest its leaves 
and branches, but will also drive away every 
bird that alights upon the tree. When the 
fruit is ripe, no robin or any other bird that 
comes there to eat the cherries is allowed one 
moment’s peace ; and, by the pugnacity of the 
little pair who have buii^their nest upon the 
tree, the fruit is saved.— Hoveifs Magazine. 
The High Cranberry. —This shrub grow¬ 
ing in the swamps around us, can be as readily 
cultivated in our gardens as tbe currant, and 
is worth more certainly than the gooseberry.— 
It bears rich clusters of scarlet berries, and as 
an ornamental tree or shrub, is far preferable 
in gardens than hundreds of those of foreign 
growth, that are obtained with great expense, 
and raised with a great deal of trouble. Be¬ 
sides, the fruit makes a rich, delicious sauce, 
preserve, tart, or pie, and is invaluable in the 
pastry department. It can be raised where 
the common cranberry would fail, and as it is 
easily transplanted, or can be raised from cut¬ 
tings, we are surprised that it is not more cul¬ 
tivated. We hope to see it generally introdu¬ 
ced into our gardens.— Grande Farmer. 
faltOTO. 
VALUABLE RECIPES. 
Dropped Eggs. —Take a nice sauce-pan to 
a tinman and have a tin plate cut to fit it.— 
Then have a few holes cut therein, and a wire 
handle inserted in the centre. Pour hot water 
into the sauce-pan and break your eggs gently 
into the water, placing them on the range till 
the whites harden. Then lift them out by the 
handle and place them on a plate without re¬ 
moving them from the tin. This may cost 12J4 
cents, and save many shillings worth of eggs 
in the year. Cooked thus eggs look neater 
than fried, and are more wholesome, and can 
be removed to bacon pork or buttered toast. 
The Kitchen Garden. —The practice of 
sowing old seeds of cucumber and melon in 
preference to new, is a very general one among 
the gardeners of England. There is certainly 
a very marked difference in the growth from 
new and old seed — the former producing 
strong vigorous growth, consequently late in 
fruiting, while the old seed is proverbial among 
the “ clan,” for early and free productiveness. 
It is not at all uncommon for a gardener to 
have seeds of his own saving from some favor¬ 
ite sort, from six to eight years. Where so 
much winter forcing of these two plants is of¬ 
ten carried on, and often by the fermentation of 
manure alone, it is of the utmost importance 
to have sorts or seed highly productive.— Al¬ 
bany Cult. 
Can you furnish a recipe for making Scrap¬ 
ple, or any dishes within reach of farmers?— 
More materials arc thrown away in a Yankee 
kitchen than would supply a French or Ger¬ 
man family with wholesome meals. Give a 
cook from those countries a bone we should 
throw to a deg, with a carrot or other trifle, 
and she will make a good soup. We have 
recipes for rich dishes, but want to know how 
to use common materials. 
Take nice sweet apples, pare, core and quar¬ 
ter them. Boil the cores and parings in a lit¬ 
tle soft water. Strain and add sugar to your 
(asle for a syrup ; then add the apples and 
cook them as long as you can without break¬ 
ing ; then a second lot, and you have a cheap 
sweetmeat.—A. B., Hallowell, Me. 
WASHING DISHES. 
In clearing the table scrape all the plates as 
clean as possible and pile them, the largest at 
the bottom, and set them in regular rank and 
file around the borders of the sink or table.— 
Put the knives and forks in a mug or pitcher, 
with the water just up to the handles. Ar¬ 
range the cups and saucers near the dish-tub, 
with the spoons and all silver articles in a tray 
together. Place the wooden dishes by them¬ 
selves. Have two wooden dish-tubs, painted 
on the outside, but not on the inside. Some 
people use milk pans or bread trays for wash¬ 
ing dishes; but this is decidedly filthy. The 
dish-tub should be used for no other than its 
appropriate purpose, and there should be one 
for washing the dishes and one for rinsing 
them. Some .people fill the dish-tub with 
water when they begin, and cool it to the pos¬ 
sibility (f holding their hands in it. so beiore 
they are half through it is covered with a coat 
of grease, and unfit to wash a pig’s trough. 
It is better to take a little water at first, 
and make a goed suds, and keep adding as it 
cools, both hot water and soap. Wash the 
spoons, and silver articles, of ail kinds, and 
glass, before anything else is put into the water, 
and wipe them on a towel which is never used 
for anything else. Next in order come the 
covers and such earthen articles as are com¬ 
paratively clean. Then the knives, which 
should have been previously wiped out of the 
water in which they were first immersed.— 
Then plates, and meat and vegetable dishes.— 
By this time an entire new water is needed, for 
tin and iron vessels, and especially wooden 
ones need a water as clean as for silver. Ev¬ 
ery towel should be thoroughly washed in suds 
arid scalded after being once used, and the dish 
tubs should go through the same process.— 
And I have washed dishes after this fashion 
weeks and months and years, without a trace 
of the “menial labors ” upon my bauds! 
All the articles in the castor, and the salt 
cellars, should be washed and filled anew once 
a week. And where oil lamps are used, they 
should be thoroughly cleansed as often as once 
a month, else the oil forms a glue upon the in¬ 
side and upon the wick that prevents a clear 
light. Milk-pans and cream-pots, and every 
thing in which milk isset, should be thor¬ 
oughly sea'dal every morning, ar.d nothing 
but milk should ever soil their bright faces. 
Tea-pots and coffee-pots should be rinsed in 
clear hot water and dried, every using. Some 
rub all the silver in daily use with soft deer¬ 
skin, after washing, and this keeps it very 
bright. I have a great aversion to scouring 
knives, and never touch brick-dust if I can 
help it; but if their brightness depends on me, 
I prefer to rub them three times a day rather 
than once, for it is less labor, and they last 
longer.— Minnie Myrtle, in Am. Ag. 
FUTURE HOUSEKEEPERS. 
ante %xh, h. 
LIST OF PATENTS 
Issued from the United Stales Patent Office for the Ovo 
vjeete’s ending January 9, 1855. 
CLas. do Bergue, London England, improved propoller. 
Bated Jan. 9, 1855. Fatentod in England. April 6, 1854. 
Arnold BufTiim, Ferth Amt.oy, improvement in ma¬ 
chines for crushing and pulverizing ores. 
Wm. J. Casseiman, Vernon, improved machine for 
turning irregular forms. 
Lewis C. Ashley, Troy, improvement in candle mould 
machines. 
Rob’t Prayton, Buffalo, improvements in machines for 
making nuts and washers. 
David N. B. Collin, jr., Lynn, for stop cock. 
Aaron I). Crane, Newark, improvement in torsion pen¬ 
dulums for time pieces. 
AVm. B. Emery, Albany, for mode of arranging and 
driving circular saws. Ante-dated Nov. 13, 1854. 
Chas. G. Eveiltt, Brooklyn, improvement in ratchet 
wrenches. 
Gilbe: t B. Farnam, New York, for forcing pump. 
Chas. W. Fe'.t, Salem, improvement in entry lights. 
Lean S. Howard, Lyonsdale, N. Y., improvement in 
dredging machines. 
•las. Hanley, New York, improvement in devices for 
stoppers of bottles. 
Geo. W. Hubbard, Brooklyn, and Wm. E. Conant, Green 
rotnt, improvement in operating slide valves in direct 
action engines. 
Adolph Hammer, Philadelphia, improvement in hop- 
extracting apparatus. 
Adolph Hammer, Philadelphia, improvement in wash 
machines. 
J. W. Hatcher, Columbia, Tcnn., for rotary shingle ma¬ 
chine. 
AVm. C. Hicks, Hartford, improved arrangement of slide 
valves and exhaust passages in steam engines. 
Frank G. Johnson, Brooklyn, for self-regulating wind¬ 
mill. 
Guillaume Lambert, Mens, Belgium, improvement in 
coke ovens. 
Hugh E. McAvoy, Baltimore, improvement in refrige¬ 
rators. 
Cyrus B. Morse, Rhinebeck, for rotary planing and 
matching machine. 
Chas. .Morey, Paris, improvement in reworking hard 
rubber compounds. 
Eob't Neale, Clermont Co., Ohio, for machinefor print¬ 
ing from engraved plates. Patented in England, January 
18, 1853. 
Oluin Nichols, Lowell, improvement in windlasses. 
John E. Newcomb, Whitehall, improvement in grain 
harvesters. 
John A. Reed, Now York, improvements in oscillating 
engines. 
John L. Roiiand, Paris, improvement in machines for 
knoauing dough. Patented in E’rance, April 11, 1851. 
Sain’i T. Sanford, Eall River, improved carriage cramp. 
Wm. J. Stevenson, New York, improved apparatus lor 
soldering tin cans. 
Nathan Thompson, Jr., Wiiiiamsburgh, improvement 
in life-preserving seats. Patented in England, October, 
16, 1854. 
Jas. W. Treadway, Crown Point, for stave jointor. 
F. Tesh, Johnstown, Pa., improved beef spreader. 
Jno. L. Yule, New Orleans, improvement in flouring 
mills. 
Luther Wentworth, Burlington, Iowa, for lathe for 
turning fancy handles, &c. 
Jos. Welch, Philadelphia, improvement in looms. 
Hiram L. Hail, Poverty, Mass., assignor to James C. 
Stimpson, Salem, Mass., improvement in processes for 
making japanned leather. 
Lyman C. Camp, Berlin, Ct., assignor to Phelps, Todge 
& Co., New York, improvement in machines tor forming 
kettles from metal oi<ks. 
AVm. Beasley, Smethwick, England, assignor to Jacob 
and John W. Biett, Westminster; Chas. AV. Tupper, Lon¬ 
don, and Wm. Beasley, Smethwick, improvement in man¬ 
ufacturing metal tubes. 
Wm. Tongue, 1 hi.adelphla, assignor to himself, and 
Jas. Buckley, Sadsburyville, Pa., improvement in looms. 
Mr. Lancaster's gun? arid if the revolving 
motion becomes slow will not the slug tip over 
and go head foremost Avherever it takes a no¬ 
tion ? I commend these points to the attention 
of all marksmen. a. o. b. 
Hanover, N. H. Jan., 1855. 
A DROP OF OIL, 
We sometimes catch ourselves wondering 
hoAv many of the young women Ave meet with, 
are to perform the part of housekeepers,, when 
the young men who eye them so admiringly 
have persuadal them to become their wives". v 
We listen to those young ladies of whom we 
speak, and hear them not only acknowlalging 
but boasting of their ignorance of all house¬ 
hold duties, as if nothing would so lower them 
in the esteem of their friends as the confession 
of an ability to bake bread and pies, or cook a 
piece of meat, or a disposition to engage in any 
useful employment. Speaking from our youth¬ 
ful recollection, avo are free to say that taper 
fingers, and lilly white hands are very pretty 
to look at with a young man’s eyes, and we 
have known the artless innocence of practical 
know'.olge displayed by a young Miss to ap¬ 
pear rather interesting than otherwise. But we 
have lived long enough to learn that life is 
full of rugged experiences, that the most loviug, 
romantic and delicate people must live on 
cooked or otherwise prepared food, and in 
homes kept clean and tidy by industrious 
hands. And for all the practical purposes of 
married life, it is generally found that for the 
husband to sit and gaze at a wife’s taper fin¬ 
gers, or for a Avife to be looked at and admir¬ 
al, dees not make the pot boil or put the 
smallest piece of food in the pot. 
THE LANCASTER GUFF 
Eds. Rural: —Having read in a recent 
number of your paper a paragraph headed 
“The Lancaster Gun,” extracted from a Mon¬ 
treal paper and holding such horribly pervert¬ 
ed notions on the subject of projectiles, I can¬ 
not refrain from saying a word in regard to it, 
which you arc at liberty to publish should you 
sec fit. 
One of the chief defects to Avhich smooth- 
bored fire arms, ar.d more particularly cannon, 
are liable, is that the ball, when shot from 
them, acquires, to a greater or less degree, a 
rolling motion in passing through the barrel. 
This motion, on account o the greater Aveight 
of the ball, will evidently be greater in a can¬ 
non than in a fowling-piece. This is doubt¬ 
less what some of our Canadian brethren have 
taken an English “ public writer ” so severely 
to task for affirming. 
It is partly because it obviates this difficulty, 
but principally for another reason, that the 
rifle supasses ail other fire-arms in accuracy.— 
It will be. instantly seen that a ball tightly 
fitted to a barrel having more than two inter¬ 
nal creases or grooves cannot roll out, but 
must slide instead of turning over. 
Let any one spin a child's top and he will 
notice that the faster it spins the more firmly 
it will stand, and that as the velocity of rota¬ 
tion diminishes it “ Avobbles ” about and finally 
falls to the ground. Although from the coni¬ 
cal shape of the toy the upper part is the 
heaviest, yet under the influence of rapid rota¬ 
tion the tendency to remain in its first position 
is such that, even if Ave slightly tip it with the 
finger it will oscillate back and forth, and tend 
still to maintain its original vertical position. 
Now apply this to the rifle. The slug, re¬ 
volving as many as 500 times in a second, is in 
similar circumstances with the top, save that 
its revolution is horizontal instead of vertical; 
but this will not alter the steadying effect of 
the rotation in the least. This is the true 
cause of the superiority of the rifle, so beauti¬ 
fully simple that though the solution of it Avas 
daily before their eyes, men for more than one 
hundred years have been unable to perceive it, 
but imagined (and some still imagine) that it 
is because the rotary motion balances the ine¬ 
qualities in the density of the lead, that the 
rifle is preferable to other fire-arms. As 
though the inequalities in a carefully cast slug, 
even after swedging, would produce the differ¬ 
ence in the two. 
The Lancaster gun may now be dismissed in 
a few words. Will not a cone revolving on 
its axis experience less resistance from the air 
than if it had tAvo fans on each side? Is not a 
slug, whose transverse section is an ellipse, 
practically the same as one of a circular sec¬ 
tion with fans attached ? But the fans Avould 
retard the motion of the revolving cone, and 
will not the elliptical section do the same for 
Every man Avho lives in a house, especially 
if the house be his own, should oil all the vari¬ 
ous parts of it once in two or three months,— 
The house will last much longer, and will be 
much more quiet to live in. Oil the locks, 
bolts and hinges of the street door, and it will 
shut gently, with luxurious ease, and with the 
use of a small amount of force. A neglectal 
lock requires great violence to cause it to shut, 
and Avith so much violence that the whole 
house, its doors, its windows, its very floors and 
joists, are much shaken, and in time they get 
out of repair in all sorts of ways, to say 
nothing of the dust that is dislodged every 
time the place is so shaken. The incessant 
banging of doors, scrooping of locks, creaking 
and screaming of hinges, is a great discomfort. 
Even the bell-wire cranks should sometimes be 
oiled, and they will act more certainly and 
with such gentle force that there will be little 
danger of breaking any part of them. The 
castors of tables and chairs should be some¬ 
times oiled, and they will move with such gen¬ 
tle impulse and so quietly that a sleeping child 
or old man is not awakened. A well oiled 
door-lock opens and shuts with hardly a aaIhs- 
per. Three pennyworth of oil usal in a large 
house, once a year, will save many shillings in 
locks and other materials, and in the end will 
save many pounds in even the substantial re¬ 
pairs of a house, and an old wife living and 
sleeping in quiet repose will enjoy many more 
years or even temper and active usefulness.— 
Housekeepers, pray do not lorget the oil. A 
stitch in time saves nine, and a drop in time 
saves pounds.— The Builder. 
THE RAILWAYS OF THE UNITED STATES- 
The number of miles of railway noAV in op¬ 
eration upon the face of the globe is 40,344; 
of which 17,020 are in the Eastern, and 23,324 
are in the Western Hemisphere, and which are 
distributed as follows: In Great Britain, 7,774 
miles; in Germany, 5,340 mile3 ; in France, 
2.480 miles; in Belgium, 532 miles; in Rus¬ 
sia, 422 miles; in Africa, 25 miles; in India, 
100 miles ; in the United States, 21,528 miles; 
in the British Provinces, 1,327 miles; in the 
island of Cuba, 359 miles ; in South America, 
GO miles. 
The longest railway in the world is the Illi¬ 
nois Central, which, with its branches, is 731 
miles in length, and has been constructed at a 
cost of $15,000,000. The number of miles of 
railway in the Unital States exceeds the rest 
of the world by the amount of 2,712 miles.— 
The total number of railways completed in the 
United States is 271 ; and the number of rail¬ 
ways in course of construction is 174; the 
number of miles in operation, 21,528, Avhieh 
have been constructol at a cost of -$616,666,- 
333. 
The State of Massachusetts has one mile of 
railway to each seven square miles of its geo¬ 
graphical surface. Essex county in that State, 
with a geographical surface of 400 square 
miles, has 159 miles of railway facility; which 
is a ratio of one mile of railway to each square 
mile of its surface.— Hunt’s Mer. Mas;. 
Safety Camrhene Lamp. — Wm. Bennet, 
of Brooklyn, N. Y., has applied for a patent 
for an improvement in lamps for burning cam- 
phene, so as to render them more sale and free 
from explosions. The nature of the invention 
consists in having the fluid chamber of the 
lamp partially or Avholly surrounded with Ava- 
ter, lor the purpose of keeping it cool and pre¬ 
venting it from voiatizing more than is neces¬ 
sary to feed the flame, so that the generating 
of a great pressure of gas inside ol the lamp 
to burst it, will be prevented. This part has 
no reference to explosions caused by a mixture 
of air with the gas, but simply an excess, of 
pressure. This lamp is also so constructed 
that the fluid can be supplied at its bottom, 
ar.d thus the danger of fluid coming in contact 
with the flame of the wick is avoided.— Scien¬ 
tific American. 
Steam vs. Gunpowder.— Mr. Perkins, the 
son of Jacob, the eminent American inventor, 
who invental and exhibited in London a steam 
gun, has, through a contemporary, mad.) the 
following offer. He says I am prepared 
to undertake to supply the government with a 
steam gun capable of throwing a ball of a ton 
weight a distance of five miles. If such a gun 
were fixed in Brunei’s large ship of 10,<J0O 
tons. I venture to say that Sevastopol would 
be destroyed Avithout losing a man.”-— Set. Am. 
To Give a Dull Black Color to Brass.— 
A dull black color, such as is frequently em¬ 
ployed for optical instruments, may be given to 
brass by first carefully rubbing the object with 
tripoli, then washing it with a very dilute so¬ 
lution of a mixture of one part neutral nitrate 
of tin and two parts of chloride of gold, and 
then Aviping off the excess of liquid, after the 
lapse of ten minutes, with a Avet cloth. If 
there has been no excess of acid, the surface of 
the metal will have assumed a dull black color. 
The neutral nitrate of tin may be prepared by 
decomposing the perchloride with ammonia, 
and dissolving the precipitated oxyd thus ob¬ 
tained in nitric acid.— Scientific American. 
The Barometer and Cannonading. —A 
gentleman namal Chas. Le Maout. has com¬ 
municated to the French Minister of War the 
discovery that a heavy cannonade, like that of 
the battle of Balaklava of the 25th of Octo¬ 
ber, produces so sensible an effect upon the 
barometer, even at the distance of fifteen hun¬ 
dred or two thousand miles, as to indicate, by 
an extraordinary rise of the mercury, the 
probable occurrence of such a battle, and in a 
much shorter time than the facts can be com¬ 
municated in any other w T ay than by the elec¬ 
tro magnetic telegraph.— Scientific American. 
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