MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL, LITERARY AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER 
(Srtjrartr onto darkt. 
ORNAMENTAL GROUNDS FOR FARMERS 
It is not so surprising, in this age of ntili 
ty and economy, that comparatively little at- 
NOTES ON FEARS LAST SEASON. 
BY JOHN B. EATON, BUPFALOj N. Y. 
[Concluded from last week.] 
Easter Beurre, although ripening out of 
season; was “ very good.” I am satisfied that 
with care in picking and ripenirg, it may be 
had in eating from the first week in Novem¬ 
ber to the last week in April, or perhaps 
tention has hitherto been paid to beautifying longer. I consider it the best winter pear. 
the BurronndiDgs of country residences with French Jargonelle —worthless, and very 
shady lawns and avenues, or tastefully ar- properly rejected by the American Pomologi- 
ranged gardens of fruit trees, when we con- ^ Society. 
aider that “ speed the plow” is practically, Gomel’s Bergamot, when it fruits , which is 
, , _ . quite rarely, is a finely flavored pear, of a pe- 
aod perhaps necessarily, the leading motto of c ' nliar 8pic ’ tMte . wh f c t, t am , Ldal to j but 
a very large portion of ihe denizens of rural- it is gritty at the core, and, although large, 
dom. Yet it is apparent—if you exclude the never bears enough of a crop to “go around.” 
amateurs and suburban residents about our “ Very good.” October, 
large cities—that, excepting the standard ap Gloire de Gambronne, (which was purchased 
pie orchard, and perchance an occasional 88 is 8 long-pyriform, good-look- 
grove of flourishing maples or oaks, reserved pleasant flavor. “ Good.” October, 
for the building site, through the forethought Gray Doyenne, which should be one of the 
of the tasteful owner, the farmers of this heat of pears, was this year scarcely “ very 
oountry have too much neg'ected the refiniDg ’ * n quality, but of fine size. October. 
and pleasing accessories to the homestead. 
The introduction of so many excellent va¬ 
rieties of fruits, and ihe rapid increase of nur 
Glout Morceau, ripenmg out of season, was 
no more than “ good.” 
Henry the Fourth or Ananas, or Beurre 
Ananas, (for we have it under all these names,) 
series in many of the States, aB well as the althoD g h usually small, produced some fine 
prodigality of our American forests, of orna- which were nearly equal in flavor 
. . , , , , . , , to the Seckel. Most generally it is a dull, dis- 
mental shade trees and shrubs, must eventual- agTeeabIe looking fruit, but bears enormous 
ly, it would seem, force this branch of rural 
art upon the attention of every lover of the 
ly, and is almost always “ very good.” Sept. 
Inconnue Van Mons is a great bearer also, 
oountry. Indeed, a growing interest has been hut has little else to reccmmeod it, unless it 
awakened in this respect within a few past keep well, which ours d d not. 
years, that certainly promisee much for the F uTl 1 , am ™ nch 
. . ^ , . . .,•! , x . . , pleased with. It is ot good size, handsome 
,u ure—a, least with that portion of the land form, somewhat similar to Napoleon, and pos- 
owners who can, or think they caD, afford to sesses a peculiar and very pleasant flavor.— 
let the trees grow. 
It should be the aim of the thrifty, before- 
handed farmer, to render a country life pleas 
“ Very good.” September. 
Jaminette is an unprepossessing, dull green, 
rough looking pear, but keeps well, and has 
rather a pleasant flavor. I have eaten it after 
ant and attractive by some associations bo it ^ lain on the ground, under the tree, all 
yond the merely useful. ‘‘Encourage the winter, when it had lost very little of its fla- 
beautiful, the useful encourages itself,” is a vor. “ Good.” 
good maxim, and it is to be hoped many may Louise Bonne de Jersey is the pear, par ex- 
be induced to act upon this advice, anl make c ^ enu > for growing as a dwarf. It will near- 
„ , •_._,,_. . lu take care ot itseit, and produce large crops 
° . P r n . y €ar ‘ 1 not more, than 0 f i ar g e> handsome, ruddy-cheeked pears, 
the adoption into their door yards of a few which in their brisk and sprightly flavor are 
handsome specimens of Whitewocd, "White “ hard to beat.” “Very good.” September. 
Ash, Eock Elm, Rock Maple, or other native 
trees, from the nearest wccdlaDd. The work 
need not be done all at once; but a few sea- 
Le Cure, or Vicar of Wvnkfleld, 1 do not 
like. I have perhaps been unfortunate, but 
never yet tasted one that I considered “ good,” 
yet I have eaten of many produced on our 
sons perseverance thereafter, as leisure or 0WQ trees, and also, by the kindness of various 
fancy may suggest, will accomplish it ~ e 1 -*-*«-»---• ■■ 
friends, of beautiful specimens grown in the 
We trust as the ability of the rural popu- vicinity, both on standards and dwarfs. All 
lation improves, and their attention becomes were near ^y similar—juicy, but coarse-grain- 
moregenerally directed to the embellishment of ac ^’ fhe pomologists of 
.... ., ... .. Boston say that it is their best winter pear, 
their homes, they will proportionately gratify but it ^ certainly not ours. 
those tastes which are not wantieg, but only Lawrence is capital—large, handsome in 
dormant, from constant attention to the more form and color, and “ very good,” at least, in 
practical details of husbandry. A liberal quality. In appearance, it is not unlike a 
display of accomplishment in this charm in®’ we ^ S row P V',? Doyenne, and promises to 
, n . „ , rr • . , rank but little below that fine pear. I have 
department of rural affatrs, not only mK Jj not kept it December, but then our 
exerts a genial, humamzir g influence upon the Bpecimens were not numerous, and were appre- 
iamates and upon neighbors, but often is an ciated. 
index that gives the first favorable impression Lewis is another fine pear, not so large as 
to the eye of the passer by, who pauses to ad- Lawrence, but of a somewhat similar char- 
mire a tidy farm house, encircled and skirted ani ^ promises to be an abundant bearer. 
with ample pleasure grounds, or half embow¬ 
ered with interlacing trees and vines. 
“Very good.” December. 
Muscat Robert is the earliest pear that we 
grow, and, if eaten before being too ripe, is 
A sufficient area might be enclosed about “ good.” It is, however, very small, and not 
every farmer’s dwelling for the exhibition of a enough earlier than Doyenne d’Ete to entitle 
degree of practical taste in landscape garden- 11 40 consideration. It is, unlike most 
pears, better when ripened on the tree. First 
ing, and for those who cannot afford to rear a week in August. 
forest upon their best grounds purely for Napoleon 1 have but little respect for as a 
Bhade, there are plenty of good substitutes in pear. It is handsome, and it bears well, but, 
the rarer fruits not usually grown in the or- though very juicy, it is not high flavored, and 
chard, many of them ornamental and quite 110 ™ ore than “good.” October, 
appropriate as lawn trees. We would prefer ( >v*go Leur re I*» aTe Q ot fairly tested, our 
f r ,. r . F , specimens having been mostly blown from the 
p anting near our premises at first a good tree and prematurely ripened. They were no 
proportion of trees that combine beauty of more than “good,” but promised better things 
form and foliage, with fruits for the family to under more favorable circumstances, 
get a taste of, or some of the improved varie- Lasse Colmar, although ripening prema- 
ties of nuts for the children to gather and ” “ d W ™ loTtd - . . 
. . .... Rousselct Hatif, or Early Catharme, as it is 
crack during the long winter evenings, instead universally called in this vicinity, is the most 
of settiDg out lorest trees exclusively, or on a extensively cultivated early pear to be found 
large scalo. Cherries, Apricots, Pears, Quinces in the older orchards, and was for some years 
and Grapes, as well as some of the finer kinds a ^ m03t the only one, which had much preten- 
of Shellbarks, Madeira Nuts, Almonds, and s T io ? to flavor ripening before the Bartlett.— 
Ctaetnnte, are in keeping with the door yard, jt “ JU,C J’ 1 P ear :, b “ t 
, , , \ P, , , ’ soon rots at the core, and only bears well oc- 
or paik, and are planted less frequently than casionally, when the branches are literally 
fLn rr /InnAMrn f a Vva _- J ? i. V _ /* *1 et n .in a . * 
they deserve to be. 
Meantime, room could 
covered with the fruit. “ Good." August 
be found for a Summer Franc Real is a great bearer, and a 
sprinkling of our native Oak, Elm, Maple, “g; oo <F’ fruit, of not much character, Its 
Pine, Hemlock, &c., from the woods, inter- J uice > tlj ougli abundant, wants flavor. Sept 
spersed with an occasional group, or arbor, of Stevens Genesee is muoh of the White Doy- 
enmo nf iKa °_• r v .. j enHf stamp, without its fineness of texture. — 
. ^ ^ spcdes of both de- ^ however, much more roundish than the 
ciduous ana evergreen trees and shrubs culti- Doyenne usually is, (though I have seen spe- 
vated in the nurseries. The Horse Chestnut, cimens of Doyenne pronounced Stevens’ Gen- 
for a dense, deep shade,—the Mountain Ash, who know both fruits well, and 
conspicuous from its profusion of bright scar- ^ j ud g e ^>) aud uot so highly flavored.— 
let berries,—the Larch, for a spire-like form * \ Cry g0od L- b fP tenib€r "... 
aud its vivid, silky foliage,-and the Weeping the fin£t grainiS pear that 1 ever tasted It 
Willow, without a peer, for pendant graceful- is almost as melting as a Strawberry, and de- 
ness, and desirable from its long season of Rcious in flavor. We have received it from 
verdure, though not indigenous to our cli- E rance under the name of Beurre d’Engheim, 
mate,—are all of them striking f or contrast, £ oh ? a \ Van Mons »»>«>identical. “Best ” 
unit cLnnlvt rtrtl 1-uv i-.var.I.M.lrl l -. -_ _ f-ep tCm >Cr. 
and should not be overlooked in localities 
where they can be readily procured. 
Seckel I have never seen so large in this 
part of the country, as the past season. We 
Many doubtless are discouraged or deterred had many which were over two inches in di- 
from planting, either for the grove or orchard, anieter > a ud some nearly two and a quarter, 
through an impatience to enjoy the fruits of ' ^ e8 ^’’ September. Contrary to the expe- 
their labor ; for, unlike the majority of farm ES* ° f ,, many cultivator8 ’ we ^ that it 
’ ’ j V liilPS WP ATI (lmnpp mwl nwl-ao a 
improvements, a lapse of time is required to 
does well on quince, and makes a very 
“ stocky" tree, fruiting profusely from the 
bring them to well grown maturity—yet in surface of the ground. 
many cases trees of large size can be selected, St. Michael Ar change, thus far, is a small, 
and it should be borne in mind that a tree g reeu Rh pear, merely “ good." September. 
once well established is continually progress- . Suw ”’ s ()ri!n gf> or Onondaga, has disap- 
• „ .1 . , . j ‘ 6 , pointed me much. It is certainly a large, 
mg, and that there is a beauty and a source of handsome pear, bears well, grows we’l on t he 
satisfaction m every stage ot its a ier devsl- quince, and forms a fine tree; but it is not 
opment to the real lover of Nature. what I have expected. Its flavor is a flat acid, 
Grand Rapids, Mich., 1SA5. l. w. i* too frequently. I have eaten it for three sea- 
sous, and cannot rank it higher than “good.” 
Our specimens were splendid in appearance, 
at d apparently perfect, but the first mouth- 
full is mvariab'y discouraging ; for, with such 
i a beautiful exterior, it certainly seems as if 
the flavor should approximate more nearly to 
it than it proves to do. October. 
S/eulle 1 estimate much more highly. It is 
of tine size and appearance, with the exact far 
vor of the White Doyenne. “ Best.” Oct. 
Suzetie de Bavay I tear is a humbug. In¬ 
stead of being a splendid winter pear, keeping 
until April, it is about the size and Bhape of 
the Yellow Siberian Crab, and not half as eat 
able. The tree is a splendid grower, and 
forms a beautiful pyramid spontaneously, but 
so far the fruit has proved an utter failure. 
Van Mons’ Leon le Clerc is a magnificent 
looking iruit, but I find it disposed to crack, 
as is the bark of the tree also. It has Dot 
jet proved a very abundant bearer, nor any¬ 
thing remarkab e in qua'ity. “ Good.” Oct. 
White Doyenne is, after all, one of the best 
pears in the world, or at least in Western 
New York. Occasionally a tree is seen bear¬ 
ing cracked fruit, but it is an exception, and 
the rule is, large, handsome, beautiful speci¬ 
mens, on both dwarfs and standards, not un- 
frequently three inches in diameter. “ Best.” 
September and October. 
Wilhelmine strongly resembles the Jami¬ 
nette, both in wood aud fruit. “Good.” 
Winter Nelis should be a little larger, for it 
is a capital winter pear, and there is much 
more gratification in keeping a large pear 
over win'er than a small one, even if it is 
“ very good.” 
HINTS FOR GARDENERS. 
All growers of raspberries, gooseberries, 
blackberries, currants, &c., can secure their 
bushes against disease a d unproductiveness, 
by mulching the roots well. Any old trash in 
the garden will answer for this purpose—such 
as weeds, grass, leaves, and the scrapings from 
the avenues. It acts as an exterminator of 
weeds—as a cooler and moisteDer of the soil— 
and as the best manure, when it rots, ihat, can 
be applied. We never knew a gooseberry 
bash that had been properly thinned out, and 
not bound up too closely, showing mildewed 
fruit, or that did not bear abundantly every 
year. These mu'chings should be applied 
three times in the season — in the spring, in 
midsummer, and late in the fall. 
Jt should also be remembered, as it respects 
raspberries, that any grubbing or d'gging 
about their roots, should be carefully avoided 
In nearly if not quite every instance where we 
have disturbed the roots of the raspberry, the 
stalks either perished over winter, or were so 
much injured as to be next to worthless the 
following season.— Germantown Telegraph. 
Domestic (^conomn. 
A NEW PRESERVE. 
A correspondent sends us the following : 
“ I have lately been very busy making a new 
kind of preserve, which, I may say, is quite a 
discovery, to me at least, and which promises 
to insure me a plentiful supply of good, whole¬ 
some jam for my family during the winter, at 
a price below the usual cost of preserves. I 
was, the other day, making some ordinary ap¬ 
ple jam, and before finishing it, I put in some 
blackberry juice, in order to give it a little 
color, and I was surprised at finding how much 
the preserve was improved by the addition ; 
so much so, that it might be mistaken for 
damson jam. As you will see by the follow¬ 
ing proportions, the cost must be very small, 
wherever apples and blackberries are to be 
got. I put two quarts of the juice of black¬ 
berries — that is, I bring the berries up to a 
simmer for five minutes, and then strain them 
through a coarse cloth—and about six pounds’ 
weight of cutup apples, and one pound of 
crushed lump-sugar, and stew it up in the 
usual way, till the apples are softened down, 
and the mass becomes of the usual thickness 
It is wholesome and good, and I thought that 
what was within any one’s reach ought to be 
known.— Godey’s lady’s Book. 
Raspberry vinegar for the sick may be 
made by steeping fresh gathered fruit in vine¬ 
gar-three quarts of fruit to one of vinegar ; 
after steeping three days, strain and simmer 
gently with one pound of loaf sugar to every 
pint of juice and vinegar. When cold, bottle 
and cork very securely. Or, to a pint of fresh 
raspberry juice allow one pound of loaf sugar 
powdered, boil together three-quarters of an 
hour after actual boilrng. Then pour off and 
mix with an equal quantity of distilled vine¬ 
gar, and bottle. A large “table spoonful of 
this in a glass of water, is a most refreshing 
drink in fevers, and is particularly useful in 
complaints of the chest; a substitute may be 
made by dissolving raspberry jam, straining 
the juice and mixing with it an equal quantity 
of the best vinegar.— Lady’s Book. 
Summer Snowballs. —Simmer half a pound 
of rice until it is tender, then strain it Take 
five or six apples, of middling size, pare them, 
and take out the core with a small knife or 
apple scoop, but do not cut them into sec¬ 
tions. Into the hollow made by cutting out 
the core, put sugar and a little allspice. Di¬ 
vide the rice into a portion for each apple, 
and tie them separately in a cloth, and boil 
for an heur. These dumplings, or snowballs, 
may be served with sweet sauce, or eaten' 
with simple sugar or treacle. 
Corn Cake. —A special premium was 
awarded to Mrs. Ghas. W. Wampole, at the 
late Exhibitiou of the Montgomery (Ala.) 
Agricultural Society, tor a corn cake, made 
after the following recipe : 
“ Fake the whites of eight, eggs; one-fourth 
pound each of corn-starch, flour aud butter; 
half pound sugar; one tea-spoonfnl of cream 
tartar ; half a teaspoonful of soda. Flavor 
with almond to suit the tast&” 
Jgetjrarac i k. 
LIST OF PATENTS. 
Imxd from (ha United States Patent Office for the xhxM 
ending July 24 18&S. 
Cephas Appiebee, Lyndon, Vt , improvement in ma- 
ch'ne* for cutting sbeath metal. 
.lohD k Evan Arthur, New Brunswick, N. J. improve¬ 
ment in machines for cutting boot and shoe uppers 
sole-i. &c. from sheets of India rubber. 
Arch’d Bailey, Blue Rock, Ohio and Daniel L. Allard, 
Rokebay, Ohio, improved whipple tree. 
Wm Ball, Chicopee, Improvement in feeding water to 
steim boilers by auxilary engines. 
John A. Burnap Albany, for double reciprocating split 
piston rod for pumps, &o. 6 * 
Frank Chase, South Sutton, N. H,, improved window 
bund. 
Matthew F. Connet, Plainfield, N. J., machine for 
turning cylinders of wood, &c. 
F. 0. Degener, New York, improved paging machine. 
w. H. Elliot, Plattsburg. hydro-pneumatic machine for 
exhausting and sealing vessels. 
Phinea-i Emons, New York, improvement in machine 
for sizing hat-:. 
Benj. Fulghum Richmond, Ind., sawing machine. 
Kingston Goddar, Philadelphia, improvement in bridle 
reins 
Chauncey A. Guard, Brownsville. N. Y.. assignor to 
John a Scroggs. New Castle, Pa., and C. H. Guard, afore- 
Baia. machine for boring and morticing hubs. 
Joseph Harris, Jr and Elbridge Hairis, Boston, im¬ 
proved hand stamp. ’ ’ 
John Harris, North Hoosick, N. Y., imprevement in 
machinery for making rope. 
Horace Hotchkiss. w a terbury, Conn., improvement in 
machines for cutting files. 
Moses G. Hubbard, New York, improvement in car- 
r ages. 
John Jenne Bethany, N. Y. improvement in stalls 
for horses, &c. 
Jame^ Kelren, Onton. Mass., assignor to himself and 
George Banks Ea-H Boston Mass., improvement in ma¬ 
chines for making rai way chains. 
Francis Kenney, Springfield, Mass., improvement in 
parlor stoves 
Edwin B. Lachar, Baltimore improvement in making 
gutta percha boats 
Sarn’l Macferran Philadelphia, improvement in pro 
ceases for smelting iron. 
Daniei W. Messer. Boston, improvement in processes 
for hulling cotton t-eed. 
Jonas Moore and D. p. Adams, Marietta, improvement 
in apparatus for admmi-teriug pulve r uient medicines. 
E. N. Lenox of Pa , and Isaac H. Hanyan, Chester N. 
Y.. balance water gate. 
Henry W. Worthington, Brooklyn, wafer metre. 
Jos. Plegar, Birmingham. Pa , improvement in binges. 
Horace T. Robbins, Lowell, improvement in shuttle 
guides fur loomB. 
Joe. T. Russeii, Tyler county Ya., improvement in 
wagons. 
Ihure E Sam'gren, Wilmington, Del., hydrodyamic 
friction loints. 
Geo. hompson, East Tarentum, Pa. improvement in 
preparing potash and soda. 
Pierpoint Seymour. East Bloomfield, N. Y., imurove- 
ment m seed planters. 
alfed E. Smith, East Bronxviile, improvement in 
wa> hers for axles. 
Charles A Wilson, Newport, Ky., improvement in os¬ 
cillating valves and gearing for pumping engines, 
William Mootry, New York, impiovement in refriger¬ 
ators. 
Jesse Urmy. Wilmington, Del., improvement in grain 
pnd grass ha 1 vesters. 
Augustus Sanborn St. Johnsbury, Vt., assignor to E. 
and T. Fairbanks & Co., same place, improvement in the 
Union platform scales. 
Samuel T. Jones, New York, improvement in furnaces 
for treating zinc O' es. 
Andrew Campbell, Newark, N. J., machine for feeding 
paper to printing presses. 
W ilia Humioton, Troy, improvement in candie-mould 
apparatus. 
Merwin Davis, New York, improved printing press. 
Augustine Duboce, Brooklyn improvement in pro¬ 
pellers. 
George B. Comstock, Manheim, improvement in cheese 
presses. 
John Allender, New London, improvement in bottle 
fastenings. 
Jas. Montgomery, Baltimore, improvement in wrought 
iron shafts. 
Henry Colgate, Jersey City, improvement in starch 
making. 
Jno. Williams, Hartford, improvement in Caiander 
clocks. 
Albert Walcott, Detroit, machine for dressing lumber 
from the log. 
Elias A. Swan, Brooklyn, and DeWItt C. Smiley, of 
New York, improvement in machinery for dressing and 
carving stone. 
RB ISSUE. 
Richard Garsed, Fr&nkford. Pa., improvement in 
looms for weaving figured fabrics. Patented Nov. 6, 
1849, re-issued July 24, 1855. 
THE NEW FRENCH SILVER, 
A method has lately been discovered by 
M. Deyille, a French chemist, of separating 
the metallic base of common clay trom the 
other constituents with great ease and facility, 
and brilliant expectations are entertained of 
its value to the arts. The National Intelli¬ 
gencer of this matter says : 
“ The public have been interested latterly 
by statements respecting a new method ot ob¬ 
taining in large quantities, from that most 
abundant of deposites, common clay, a metal 
which rivals in beauty pure silver, and sur¬ 
passes it in durability, not to mention other 
qualities. The discoverer — for so we must 
call him—is Mr. Sainte-Claire Deville. Alu¬ 
minum, which hitherto existed only in very 
small quantities, and esteemed rather as a cu¬ 
riosity, can now be produced in masses suffi¬ 
cient and cheap enough to repla-ce copper, and 
even iron in many respects, and thus place the 
‘ new silver/ superior in some points to the 
real article, into such common use as to suit 
the means of the poorest persons. 
At a late meeting of the Paris Academy of 
Sciences, the members and a numerous audi¬ 
tory were loud in their admiration and sur¬ 
prise at the beauty and brilliancy of many in¬ 
gots of aluminum presented by Mr. Dumas, 
tbe celebrated chemist. It was impossible to 
believe they were not silver until taken into 
the hand, when their extraordinary lightness 
at once proved the contrary. That a metal 
should weigh so little seemed almost incredible. 
The price of aluminum a short time since 
in France was about the rate of gold ! Mr. 
Dumas assured the Academy that owing to 
recent discoveries reducing the expense o^ex¬ 
tracting it, the cost of production was about 
one hundred times less ; and Mr. Ba ard, an¬ 
other member, stated that there was little 
doubt that the effect of competition in its 
manufacture, together with the advantage of 
throwing it open to the industrial resources of 
the world, would be to reduce the price as low 
as five francs the kilogramme, or about forty 
cents a pound. 
This important result is mainly attributable 
to the facility with which we are now able to 
procure pure sodium in abundance, which is 
the active agent for the revivification of alu¬ 
minum, and which was at cue time very ex¬ 
pensive. Sodium is obtained by the decom¬ 
position of carbona‘e of soda by charcoal._ 
By the aid of a little lime it has been found 
easier to separate it from oxygen. The con¬ 
version of aluminns earth or clay into chlo¬ 
ride of aluminum takas place so easily that 
tbe price of the chloride only comes to about 
teD cents a pound. 
Mr. Dumas observed that the generalization 
of the procedure of Mr. Deville, the applica¬ 
tion of chlorine to the extraction of metals, 
forms a new era in metallurgy. 
Among the many remarkable qualities of 
aluminum, ib its resistance to oxydation, 
either in tbe air or by acids, its hardness, its 
wonderful lightness, its malkableness, the fa¬ 
cility ot moulding it, &c., Mr. Dumas men¬ 
tioned another, its sonority. An ingot was 
suspended by a string, and being lightly struck 
emitted the finest tones, snch as are obtained 
only by a combination of the best metals.” 
SALT MANUFACTURE AT SYRACUSE. 
The manufacture of salt at the salt springs 
in Onondaga county is carried on but seven 
months in the year. The average annual pro¬ 
duct of solar and fine salt is about five and a 
half million of bushels, though the Syracuse 
Journal thinks the amount manufactured the 
present year will reach six million bushels. 
Any one who owns a “ block ” or “ vats," as 
the works are cabled, can get the salt water 
from the State for one cent a bushel of salt 
made, which includes cost of inspection_ 
Certain rules are observed among these en¬ 
gaged in manufacture of salt, so as to prevent 
competition, dull prices, &c. No manufactu¬ 
rer is allowed to make more than 20 000 bbls. 
per aennm, and the minimum price is fixed at 
$L ,25 p e r barrel of five bushels. The present 
price SL39 per barrel. A committee, choeen 
by the manufacturers, act a3 sel ing agents ; 
each party’s salt is sold by turn, and the 
whole details are equitably and eminently for 
self-interest. There is more salt manufactured 
at th&e sprmgs than the aggregate manufac¬ 
ture ot all other parts of tbe country. Some 
of the salt wells are sunk directly through the 
fresh waters of Onondaga Lake, but moet of 
the springs are on its borders. The salt is of 
a far superior quality, and generally ficd3 a 
good market; if, however, tbe sales are small, 
the price never falls below $1,25 per barrel. 
PROPERTIES OF GUTTA PERCHA. 
Tiie following statement of experiments 
made upon gutta percha vestments at the 
United States Daval laboratory will surprise 
many, and will give additional value to pre¬ 
parations of that gum. The Washington 
Siar says that, in consequence, the Navy De¬ 
partment has ordered a supply of sueh cloth¬ 
ing to be distributed among the East Indies, 
African and Gulf squadrons. Fabrics of the 
same kind have been freely introduced into 
the military service: 
“ Six pea jackets, made of gutta percha 
fabric, were baled in the same manner as the 
cloth clothing for the navy, under a pressure 
of 30 tons. They ware then placed over a 
steam boiler in the yard, and remained for 
sixteen days subject to an average tempera¬ 
ture of 190 degrees, at times as high as 212 
degrees. On examination, the garments were 
found in the same state as when packed.— 
There was no adhesion of the folds, nor any 
decomposition of the gutta percha. One 
jacket was dipped in water, rolled up and 
sewed in the corners, (but not pressed,) and 
subjected to the same heat for three days.— 
On examination this also was found uninjured. 
Consumption op Fuel on Railroads.— 
The Cincinnati Railroad Record has an inte- 
restirg article on the consumption of fuel on 
railroads. We note a few of its faTfs. The 
following is the number of miles and the wood 
consumed on five railways : 
Miles. Cords. 
New York and Erie.460 65,000 
Pennsylvania Central.263 27,0€0 
Little Miami. S4 16,000 
Cincinnati and Dayton.60 10,400 
Columbus and Dayton. 54 4,000 
911 126,000 
This is an average of about 140 cords per 
mile per annum. The increase of business 
will require an increase of fuel The writer 
says this consumption, with the quantity ne¬ 
cessarily used for private and household pur¬ 
poses, will use up all th3 fuel on the lines of 
the road in fifty years. The cost of wood on 
the Eastern roads averages $6 per cord ; on 
the Western roads the estimate is $3 per cord. 
On all the roads of the Union the cost of fuel 
now consumed is estimated at eleven millions 
of dollars per annum. 
Improved Oscillating Engine.— On Sat¬ 
urday we had the pleasure of viewing a beau¬ 
tiful model of an Oscillating Steam Engine, 
and a practical operation, with an improve¬ 
ment, for which a patent has been granted to 
Mr. George F. Wood, of Tompkins county. 
The improvement consists in a quick opening 
of its ports, simple and easy reversal, together 
with a cut off—all combined in one lever.— 
We learu that it has received the attention 
and admiration of most of our first engineers 
in this city, and that they look upon it as an 
important invention, and worthy of speedy 
adoption.— Buffalo Republic. 
Fibrous iron, by being for a considerable 
time subjected to concussion, will become 
granular, and therefore weak. A knowledge 
of this principle has induced the French gov¬ 
ernment to disallow the use of iron axles on 
their diligence beyond a certain time; tbey 
must then be renewed. Iron cannon, origin¬ 
ally very strong, become weaker and weaker 
by use, from the loosening of their texture. 
A triumph of manufacturing skill and in¬ 
genuity has been achieved at the Tredegar 
Iron Works, Monmouthshire, England. A 
railway bar was rolled 60 feet in length, ail 
in one piece; and advancing from this suc¬ 
cess. a second bar has teen rolled 85 feet two 
inches. 75 lbs. to the yard, weighing altogeth¬ 
er 3,130 lbs. It is now astonishing visitors 
at the Exhibition at Paris. 
