MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 
fn-pim uh <§ rc | ar fo ant, 
Planting Orchards—Siieep, Ac. —I am much 
pleased with your paper. It comes nearer Viy 
idea of a good family paper than anything we 
have in this part of the country. I have hung 
up your prospectus in my office, and think I will 
be able to send you some more subscribers.— 
And now, as you are well acquainted with the 
soil and climate of AVestern New York, I want 
to make use of my privilege as a subscriber, by 
asking you a question in regard to‘New Y T ork 
agriculture, to which I hope you will give a little 
consideration and answer me at your convenience. 
I have in Steuben county, on the line of the 
N. Y. <fc Erie Railroad, a tract of 1,400 acres of 
pine and oak land. As I get the pine and oak 
off, I am clearing up the land by burning the 
refuse timber on the land, sowing wheat on the 
ashes aiid seeding it down, and have thus far 
succeeded in getting 20 to 25 bushels of wheat 
to the acre. The tract is hill land, the hills 
rising in terraces to five or six hundred feet, but 
not so steep but that it may be plowed after the 
stumps are out The slope of the hills is to the 
south and south-east; soil, six to eight inches 
decayed vegetable matter, with a deep subsoil 
of chocolate colored loam,— very few stone of 
shell slate. Now, I have an idea of covering the 
face of one of those hills with an orchard of 3,- 
000 to 4,000 apple trees, and, as you are an old 
experienced hand in such matters, I would like 
to have your opinion, as to how an orchard 
would succeed in such a new soil, planted among 
the old stumps, with such a heavy dressing of 
ashes. Also, (as I am clearing it with the in¬ 
tention of going largly into the raising of sheep,) 
if any plan could be found to prevent the sheep 
from barking the trees? Also, what 'is your 
favorite sheep, combining the qualities of wool 
and mutton ? 1 am now raising the Cotswold, a 
very large, long-wooled sheep; the bucks some¬ 
times weighing 250 to 265 lbs. dressed, with 
ficecesof 7 to 10 lbs. But the price is so high 
that a large flock would be too expensive.—Wsc 
Bush, Wilmington, Del. 
We should think an apple orchard, if prop¬ 
erly planted with good trees and well cultivat¬ 
ed, would do exceedingly well on such a site. 
The ashes will be beneficial, rather than injuri¬ 
ous. As the land, at present, cannot be plow¬ 
ed, we would prepare the soil by digging or 
trenching two feet deep, and about eight feet 
in diameter, each spot where you intend to 
plant the tree. If you could dig in a good 
dressing of rich composted manure, the in¬ 
creased growth of the trees would abundantly 
repay the extra cost and labor. But as, under 
the circumstances, this cannot be done, early 
in the spring we would prepare the soil as 
before directed, and sow it with peas, and, 
when in full bloom, dig them under. This 
to some extent, would supply the place of ma¬ 
nure, and the trees might be planted in the fall. 
You do not want a method to prevent sheep 
from barking the trees. The orchard should 
be fenced off’ from the other part of the field, 
and should on no account be sown vnth grain 
or grass. A fallow frequently cultivated, is 
best for all orchards. If you must sow any¬ 
thing, let it be peas or clover, and plow or dig 
it under when in bloom. 
Cotswold sheep, probably, will fat quicker 
than any other breed ; but the quality of the 
mutton is inferior to the South llown, or even 
to the Leicester. On a hilly farm, for mutton 
sheep, we should prefer the South Down to 
any other. A cross with a Leicester or South 
Down buck with the common Merino ewe, 
makes a good, profitable sheep for the butch¬ 
er. Many of our farmers adopt this course.— 
If you wish Jine wool, Spanish Merinoes would 
be best 
HOT-BEDS,—THEIR USES, CONSTRUCTION, &c. 
The construction and management of Hot¬ 
beds is so simple and easy, that no farmer or 
owner of a garden need be without one; while 
their value, as a means of procuring a supply 
of early vegetables, is such as to render them 
very desirable. The summer seems so much 
lengthened when we may begin before the 
usual season to enjoy our radishes, lettuces, to¬ 
matoes, cucumbers, &c., and there can be no 
doubt that health is promoted by the temper¬ 
ate use of fresh vegetable food. But the love 
of such things is far more general than the en¬ 
terprise and attention which provides them— 
in other words, thousands would gladly eat, 
who will never take the trouble to raise them. 
They look upon it, perhaps, as a matter of very 
trifling consequence, or as one in which the ex¬ 
pense far exceeds the product. That this is a 
mistaken view, might easily be shown, but it 
would lead us too far from the subject of our 
present writing. 
BUFFALO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
The Annual Meeting of this Society was 
quite spirited, evincing a desire, on the part of 
its members, to re-establish its former prosper¬ 
ity and usefulness. The following list compri¬ 
ses the officers elected for the ensuing year: 
President —Amasa Mason. 
Vice Presidents —Col. J. R. Smith, Myron 
Stihvell. 
Treasurer —II. C. White. 
Cor. Secretary —John B. Eaton. 
Pec. Secretary —Charles E. Clarke. 
Committee on Fruits —L. F. Allen, Benj. Hodge, 
Lewis Eaton. 
Committee on Flowers —Col. J. R. Smith, John 
B. Eaton, A. I. Mathews. 
Committee on Vegetables —Jason Sexton, Jacob 
Schenck, Warren Granger. 
Committee on Entomology —W. R. Coppock, 
Wm. Lovering, Jr., J. B. G. Stenson. 
The Society voted to hold meetings on the 
first and third Tuesdays of each month; also to 
have two exhibitions during the present year. 
The first of the semi-monthly meetings was held 
lllftfenic %xk, fa. 
LIST OF PATENT CLAUS 
Issued from the United States Patent Office, 
For the week ending February 14, 1854. 
A. H. Caryl, of Sandusky city, Ohio, for im¬ 
provement in picking and cleaning flax. 
Matthias W. Baldwin and David Clark, of 
Philadelphia, Pa., for improved arrangement of 
vertical tube feed water-heaters, in locomotive 
smoke stacks. 
Lewis S. Chichester, of Brooklyn, N. Y., for 
improvement in machines for cleaning wool. 
John Griffiths, of Philadelphia, Pa., for im¬ 
provement in valve cocks. 
F. C. Goffin, of New York, for improvement 
in fire and burglar proof safes. 
Jonathan Knowles, of Trenton, N. J., for im¬ 
provement in process of treating vegetable fibre. 
Patented in France, April 4, 1853. 
Sam’l G. Lewis, of Delaware co.. Pa., for im¬ 
provement in making thick paper. 
Thos. Cook, of New York, assignor to Starkie 
Livsey, of same place, for improvement in fire- 
at the residence of the President, Amasa Ma- | Slandisll> of Cuyihoga Falla> 0Uo , „ 
Sweet Potatoes Again.— In answer to “ I. 
W., of Wyoming,” I would say:—Your hot 
bed should be made of stable manure and sand 
loam or pure sand. It may be covered with 
light canvas, instead of glass, and should be 
oiled in order to render it more transparent.— 
This mode is found to answer, I believe, equal¬ 
ly as well as glass, and is much less expensive. 
In transplanting, the sprouts should be broken 
off from the potato; 1st, because one sprout is 
sufficient for a hill, and a single potato of 
average size will send out perhaps 20 at a time. 
2nd, because they will produce a second groivtk 
of sprouts in time for transplanting, if the first 
setting is made as early as the 10th of May or 
thereabouts. They cannot probably, in your 
climate, be set later than the 1st of June, with a 
fair chance of maturing before frosts come. I 
cannot tell certainly where the seed can be pro¬ 
cured at this season, but probably in the N. 
Y. market.—S. T. W., Pultneyville. 
There are two modes of constructing the 
Ilotrbeds in common use,— in one it is placed 
upon, and in the other partially below the sur¬ 
face. The first of these is seen in the engrav¬ 
ing, and scarcely needs description, as with a 
few details anybody can make a similar one, 
after looking at it. The frame is usually made 
of plank, and is ten or twelve feet long, and 
five or six feet wide. The front side should be 
a foot or eighteen inches wide, the other double 
its width, to form a proper slope for the roof. 
A his is made of sash, of which there are, for 
the largest size, four, each three feet wide, and 
about seven feet long, made in the ordinary 
way, but without cross-bare, so that in glazing 
the panes may over-lap each other about a 
quarter of an inch, so as to carry off the rain. 
A strip of board, six inches wide, should be 
flistened across the middle of the frame just 
even with the top, for the sash to slide and 
rest upon. The planks forming the sides and 
ends may be simply nailed to a four inch post 
*.i each corner. Such a frame will last for 
| years, and soon be regarded as an indispen- 
! salj le part of the apparatus of the vegetable 
1 garden. 
To form the beds, select a dry situation con¬ 
veniently placed, sheltered from the north and 
west winds, by fences or buildings, but open to 
the south and east, so that they may enjoy the 
genial influences of the sun. Allowing' a space 
at least two feet larger each way than the 
flame, drive stakes to mark the corners, and 
then put on fresh manure from the horse stable, 
mixing it thoroughly and evenly, and treading 
it down gently, seeking to keep the pile level 
and of uniform quality. As much as three 
wagon loads of manure will be needed to keep 
up the heat, if the bed is made early in March 
—as it should be. 
Stump Machine. —In the Rural of Feb. 11th, 
I noticed a description of a stump machine, 
which the writer said cost him $25. Will the 
writer, by private letter or through the Rural, 
give his whereabouts, and whether lie manufac¬ 
tures the article ; and what would be the cost of 
one sufficiently strong for all practical purposes, 
(say as strong as the one figured in the Rural,) 
delivered at the Railroad depot, Maccdon, N. Y 
J. H. Barnum, Walworth, JY. Y„ Feb., 1854. 
Early Peas. —The moment the frost is out 
of the ground, and it can be worked to advan- 
. tage, is the proper time to put in peas for an 
early crop. 
For Hot-beds, placed partially beneath the sur¬ 
face, the frames are constructed in the same man¬ 
ner, but they are placed over pits dug in a dry 
soil, some two feet deep, and filled with manure 
prepared as in the first instance. Less manure 
is required, and less heat can be raised and 
maintained, but they answer every purpose of 
an ordinary vegetable garden, where early 
plants for transplanting are particularly desira¬ 
ble. They also require less care in watering, 
and in regulating the heat, which is inclined to 
be too great where large quantities of manure 
are employed. 
The mold should be laid on in two or three 
days—or as soon as the bed has settled, and 
has a lively and regular heat—the sashes hav¬ 
ing been put on with the frame, as soon as the 
substratum of the bed was properly prepared. 
It should be laid on six or eight inches deep, 
though for growing radishes and lettuce a foot 
is necessary. In two or three days the earth 
will become warm and ready for the seed. The 
mold should be well stirred to prevent the 
growth of young weeds which may be germin¬ 
ating, and the seed may then be sown in shal¬ 
low drills, and covered with earth. While the 
weather and heat is such that they can be kept 
constantly covered, but little watering will be 
necessary, but care should be taken to keep up 
a proper degree of moisture in one way or an¬ 
other. The heat may be regulated by the ad¬ 
mission of air, and shading from the midday 
sun as the season advances, and should it rise 
excessively at first,-it may be necessary to open 
holes for its escape, by running down stakes 
into the steaming mass. 
A smaller but very useful Ilot-bed may be 
made by those who have old window sashes, 
which may be used for roofing them. The size 
of the frame must of course correspond to the 
sash with which they are to be covered.— b. 
son, and very largely attended, though in ad¬ 
vance of the regular time. It was resolved to 
raise a fund of two thousand dollars, or up¬ 
wards, for the purpose of forming a permanent 
investment, the interest of which should be ap¬ 
plied towards the expenses of a Central Hall, at 
which the meetings and exhibitions of the So¬ 
ciety may in future be held. A committee for 
that purpose was formed, consisting of Col. 
Hodge, Charles E. Clarke, Esq., Lewis 
Eaton, Esq.; and the President of the Society 
guaranteed to raise a second thousand dollars 
as soon as the first thousand should be sub¬ 
scribed. 
The Society has a very fine library and 
many excellent members, with an abundance 
of material and horticultural taste to insure 
one of the best Societies in the State. Buffa¬ 
lo has many wealthy citizens, who take pride 
in ornamenting their grounds with choice trees 
and shrubs, as well as cultivating the finer va¬ 
rieties of fruits. h. c. w. 
FRUITS FOR GENERAL CULTIVATION. 
The following varieties of fruits were recom¬ 
mended for general cultivation at the North 
Western Fruit Growers’ Association: 
Apples.— Summer Rose, Early Harvest, 
Golden Sweet, Jersey Sweeting, Pound Sweet, 
(for stock and culinary purposes,) Hereford¬ 
shire Pearmain, Pomme Grisse, Roman Stem, 
American Golden Russet. 
Pears.— Bartlett, Flemish Beauty, (best,) 
White Doyenne, (best.) 
Peaches.’ 
Early York, Large White -Cling, Crawford’s 
Late, George Fourth. 
The following were recommended for farther 
trial. 
Apples. — Early Joe, Duchess Oldenburg, 
Mother, Hubbardston Nonsuch, Peck’s Pleas¬ 
ant, Spice Sweet. 
Pears.— Bloodgood, Dearborn’s Seedling-, 
Sheldon. 
The following pears were spoken of as very 
good:—Louise Bonne de Jersey, Passe Col¬ 
mar, YV inter Nelis, good, but will not succeed 
in all localities. 
signor to John Standish and Horace A. Miller, 
ot same place, for improvement in machines for 
pegging hoots and shoes. 
Robert Preston, of North Pownal, Vt., for 
improvement in drying cloth. 
Warren Robinson, of New Haven, Conn., for 
improvement in ships’ ventilators. 
Jacob Reese, of Sharon, Pa., for improvement 
in hanging the fore-plate to iron rolling ma¬ 
chinery. 
W. G. Sterling, of Bridgeport, Conn., for im¬ 
provement in planting hoes. 
Henry S. William, of Malta, Ohio, for im¬ 
provements in apparatus for controlling the pres¬ 
sure of steam. 
Jacob D. Woodruff, of Newark, N. J., and J. 
H. Butterworth, of Dover, N. J., for improve¬ 
ment in drop-bridges. 
Arcalous Wyckoff, of Wellsburgh, N. Y„ for 
improvement in machines for making links of 
jack-chains. 
Jno. Webster and Orson Spencer, of Cleve¬ 
land, Ohio, assignors to Jno. Webster, of same 
place, for improvement in gas- burners. 
Geo. B. Ambler, of Trumbull, Conn., for im¬ 
provement in saddle tress. 
Frederick H. Bartholomew, of New York, for 
improvement in -water-closets. 
Jason Barton, of Middle Haddam, Conn., for 
improvement in horse-bells. 
J. L. Burdick, of New York, for improvement 
in machinery for paging blank books. 
John YV. Newell, of New Paris, Ohio, for im¬ 
provement in machines for stuffing horse-collars. 
Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson, of Nor¬ 
wich, Conn., for improvement in fire-arms. 
Allen Goodman and Lyman Wheeler, of Dana, 
Mass., for improved machine for scraping and 
toothing veneer. 
Joel R. Bassett, of Cincinnati, Ohio, assignee 
to Caleb H. Williams, of same place, for improve¬ 
ment in ball valves for pumps. 
SOAP STONE. 
A MARVELOUS TREE. 
j— . There is a fine quarry of thi3 singular and 
s -—Crawford s I. wlv, Early Barnard, . useful material at Grafton, in the vicinity of Bel- 
rk, Large White ‘Cling, Crawford’s i lows Falls. The mill where it is prepared for 
use, and fitted for a finishing establishment in 
Boston, is at Cambridgeport, Vt, a small vil¬ 
lage near the line of Grafton. This quarry has 
long been known, as is seen from antiquated 
chimney pieces in the neighborhood, but was 
formerly worked upon a small scale, in part 
from the want of modem improvements in ma¬ 
chinery, but chiefly from the expense of trans¬ 
portation to the distant market. 
That obstacle is now removed by the rail¬ 
road. The freestone, as it is here called, has 
the “unctious feel” of the mineralogist, and the 
cognomen soap better describes the striking 
resemblance of touch to that article, although 
the ease with which the material is cut and fit¬ 
ted for use makes the word free a proper and 
significant appellation. The spectator at first 
is both amused and surprised to see huge blocks 
of granite-looking stone cut into slabs by a saw 
such as he has seen in use only for wood. 
The teeth are not so sharp at the point, but 
with this exception, one might think the work¬ 
men had borrowed from a saw-mill the well 
known instrument for transforming logs into 
lumber. The soap stone contains no substance 
harder than itself, and it cuts uuder the com¬ 
mon saw easier and faster than hard wood of 
the same dimensions. This I proved by ex¬ 
periment on a cubic piece, a part of which I 
carried away as a specimen of the quarry. 
The slabs are cut into various forms by cir¬ 
cular saws, which, from their rapid motion, 
seem not to perform a very hard service; and 
the facility of working the material is no incon¬ 
siderable item of its value. From the various 
| suse to which the soap stone is adapted, it must 
‘ soon find a greater demand. In the ordeal of 
heat, it seems to be cousin-germaiu to asbestos, 
for it endures fire without warp or crack, even 
to a red or white heat, losing only now and 
then thin scales on the inner surface. Hence 
it is fitted and is used to answer the purpose 
of fire brick in the lining of stoves and of 
forges. 
It is susceptible of a moderate polish, and is 
now fashioned into chimney pieces and orna¬ 
mental work exposed to fire. Nay, more, it 
begins to take rank with household' furniture, 
and is used for griddles, being found superior 
to iron, inasmuch as it needs not to be greased 
to give up the cakes, and does the work with¬ 
out the disagreeable odor arising from the same 
cooking upon iron. To what further and va¬ 
rious uses the soap stone may be destined in 
this age of progress, I know not, but even this 
brief notice of so important a quarry in its 
incipient working, may not be without interest 
to the public.— Cor. Jour. Commerce. 
S H 0 E M A RIN G. 
Shoes. —Next to agriculture the shoemaking 
business is the most important and profitable 
pursuit in Massachusetts, and has the largest 
number of persons engaged in it The Ando¬ 
ver Advertiser says that the aggregate value 
pf boots and shoes manufactured in this State 
is $37,000,000, or more than that of all the 
other States combined, and far exceeding that 
of any other manufacture in the Common¬ 
wealth. About one-third of the above amount 
is shipped to New York, and the remainder is 
sent to the South and NYest, to California, the 
West Indies, South America, Australia, the 
Sandwich Islands, England, and the European 
continent. Lynn is more extensively engaged 
in this business than any other town, making 
nearly five millions of pairs annually. Then 
come in succession, Danvers, Stoneham and 
Grafton. In the latter town a single manufac¬ 
turer uses one hundred bushels of shoe pegs 
every year. The pegs used in this immense 
business are mostly made in New Hampshire; 
they are cut by machinery, and one firm manu¬ 
factures nearly fifty bushels per day. Machine¬ 
ry is also now used to a considerable extent for 
sewing and stitching the leather.— Massachu¬ 
setts Ploughman. 
Grease for Carriage Wheels. —This com¬ 
position prevents friction to a great extent.— 
Its cost is not comparatively greater than the 
materials often employed for the purpose; it is 
not changed by heat, and hence does not lique¬ 
fy and flow away from its proper place. 
Black lead pulverized.... 50 parts by weight. 
Hog’s lard.50 do. do 
White soap.50 do. do. 
Quicksilver.5 do. do. 
Amalgamate well the lard and mercury by 
rubbing them together for a long time in a 
mortar; then gradually add the black lead, 
and lastly the soap, mixing the whole as per¬ 
fectly as possible. 
M. Hue, in his “ Travels in Tartary and 
Thibet,” found many wonders; among them, a 
singular tree called the Kounboum, or Tree of 
Ten Thousand Images, growing not far from 
one of the principal Buddhist temples in the 
latter country. The marvel of it is, that 
there are upon each of the leaves well-formed 
Thibetian characters, all of a green color, some 
darker, some lighter than the leaf itself. The 
characters are portions of the leaf itself, but 
are iu diflerent positions on the leaf, and are 
also found upon the bark of the trunk and 
branches. In removing a part of the old | 
bark, the indistinct outlines of characters were 
seen on the new bark under it, but different 
from those removed. The tree is of great age 
and size, and the Lamas informed M. Hue, that it 
was the only one of the kind inexistence, and that 
all efforts to propagate it by seeds and cuttings 
had failed. Our traveler made a most minute 
examination, and became convinced that there 
was no trickery iu the case.— b. 
The Horticultural- Review. —The West¬ 
ern Horticultural Review, for some years a 
welcome visitor, was suspended for a few 
months on account of the illness of its able 
Editor Dr. J. A. Warder. It now comes out 
as much improved in appearance and matter as 
we trust its editor is improved iu health and 
vision. James NY. ’Ward, Esq., is editor of 
the botanical department, and from his well 
known attainments in this science, cannot fail 
to add materially to the interest and extended 
usefulness of the magazine. 
Bakkd Aei'T-e Dumpling. —Prepare a rich 
| paste of sour cream and soda; roll them thin, 
cut them out and prepare the same as for boii- 
ing; place them [upon tins and bake until the 
fruit is thoroughly doue. To be eaten hot, 
with any sauce prepared.— l. 
Mr. Marsh, of Litchfield, Mass., has on his 
premises an apple tree which measures four¬ 
teen feet in circumference, and yielded twenty 
bushels of good fruit the past season. It had 
yielded, previously to 1835, about 100 bushels 
a year. It was carried to Litchfield from Hart¬ 
ford on the first settlement of the former town* 
and has borne delicious fruit for 130 vears. 
Proof that Flame is Hollow.—P our some 
spirits of wine into a watch-glass and inflame 
it; place a straw across this flame, and it will 
only be ignited and charred at the outer edge; 
the middle of the straw will be uninjured, for 
there is no igniting matter in the centre of the 
flame; or introduce into the middle of the flame 
one end of a glass-tube, when the vapor will 
rise through it, and may be lighted at the oth¬ 
er end of the tube. 
HINTS TO HOUSEWIVES. 
Britannia should be first rubbed gently 
with a woolen cloth and sweet oil; then wash¬ 
ed in warm suds, and rubbed with soft leather 
and whiting. Thus treated, it will retain its 
beauty to the last 
New iron should be gradually heated at 
first; after it has become iuured to the heat, it 
is not likely to crack. 
It is a good plan to put new earthen-ware 
into cold water, and let it heat gradually until 
it boils—then cool it again. Brown earthen¬ 
ware particularly, may be toughened in this 
wav. A handful of rye or wheat bran thrown 
in while it is boiling, will preserve the glazing 
so that it will not be destroyed by acid or salt. 
Clean a brass kettle just before using it for 
cooking, with a little salt and vinegar. ° 
The ofteuer carpets are shaken the longer 
they will wear; the dirt that collects under 
them grinds out the threads. 
If you wish to preserve fine teeth, always 
clean them thoroughly after you have eaten 
your last meal at night. 
NVoolens should be washed in very hot suds, 
and not rinsed. Lukewarm water shrinks them. 
Do not wrap knives and forks in woolens.— 
Wrap them in good strong paper. Steel is in¬ 
jured by lying in woolens. 
Suet keeps good all the year round if chop¬ 
ped and packed down in a stone jar and cover¬ 
ed with molasses. 
Barley straw is best for beds; dry corn busies 
slit into shreds are better than straw. 
NY hen molasses is used in cooking, it is a 
prodigious improvement to boil and skim it 
before you use it. It takes out the unpleasant, 
raw taste, and makes it almost as good as su¬ 
gar. _ When molasses is used much for cook¬ 
ing, it is well to prepare one or two gallons in 
this way at a time. 
Never allow ashes to be taken up iu wood, 
or put into wood. Always have your match¬ 
es and lamp ready in case of sudden alarm.— 
Have important papers all together, where you 
can lay your hand on them at once in case of 
fire. 
Use hard soap to wash your clothes, and 
soft to wash your floors. Soft soap is so slij>- 
pery that it wastes a good deal in washing 
clothes. 
It is easy to have a supply of horse-radish 
all winter. Have a quantity grated while the 
root is in perfection; put it in bottles; All it 
with vinegar, and keep it corked tight. 
The Pennsylvania Tunnel.— The tunnel 
through the Allegany Mountains, which has 
just been completed on the line of the Penn- 
sylvania Central Railroad, is 3612 feet lono-, 
2685 feet of which is arched, and 927 is cut 
through the solid rock where arching is unne¬ 
cessary. The sides of the arch, to a height of 
eight feet, are built of cut stone, 22 \ niches 
thick, resting on abutments of rock range work; 
the crown consists of five courses of hard burn¬ 
ed brick, laid in hydraulic cement. The tun¬ 
nel is 23 feet high, and 24. feet in the extreme 
width. Its greatest elevation above tide-water 
is 2161 feet. _ The height which is overcome 
by the track in a distance of twelve miles on 
the eastern side of the summit level, is 993 
feet—or a grade of about 83 feet to a mile. 
To Renew a Black Color. —Black gar¬ 
ments frequently lose their lustre, and become 
brown by use. Their original color may be 
restored by making an infusion of logwood, 
and applying the liquor with a sponge so as to 
saturate the rusty parts of the garment, when 
it may be dried and pressed off with a hot iron. 
