391 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 
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WORMS ON QUINCE TREES. 
I heard various accounts of the disease 
now threatening the entire destruction of the 
quince tree, but they so conflict with each other, 
that they are entirely unsatisfactory. There is 
one matter, however, upon which they all 
agree, that it is the work of an insect or worm. 
The practice of grafting pears on quince 
stocks has become so common, that it is im¬ 
portant to know whether the stump on which 
the graft grows will in time be subject to this 
affection; if so, to endeavor to find a preventive. 
Many persons are in the habit of examining 
their quince trees twice a year, April and Oc¬ 
tober, and if they succeed in finding the worm 
in April, it has been eating Ihe tree all winter, 
and done all the harm it can; and if in Octo¬ 
ber, it has bored so far into the trees as to ren¬ 
der it almost impossible to get at it without 
cutting away large portions of the tree, and 
when accomplished seems “ like locking the 
door after the horse is stolen.” 
I have some trees which a few years ago 
bore smooth, large and round fruit. Three or 
four years ago they became unhealthy and 
gradually declining, the limbs and fruit be¬ 
came knotty, the latter entirely worthless, the 
trunk bored full of holes, almost destroying 
vitality. 
Determined if possible to stay their depre¬ 
dations, in the month of May of last year I 
carefully removed the earth from the trunk of 
the trees, together with the loose bark and de¬ 
cayed wood, that I might have this portion of 
the tree smooth, and thus be enabled to dis¬ 
cover at once any change that might occur.— 
In the fore part of June the wasps, hornets 
and blow-flies collected on spots over the tree 
nearest to the ground, and on the most healthy 
parts, and from which there was a slight dis¬ 
charge of moisture, that they fed on upw ard, 
and appeared to be very fond of, as they could 
not be driven away, and must have appropria¬ 
ted much to their use that should have been 
given to fruit The discharge gradually in¬ 
creased until the tenth of July, when it became 
dry, and instead of sap a substance resembling 
sawdust wa3 exuded. Upon examination L 
found just beneath the bark, in all the parts 
affected, from one to four worms of the order 
I^epcdoptera, with black heads, from half an 
inch to an inch in length. The bark over 
them had not been eaten; they prey exclusive¬ 
ly on the wood. 
The trees from which they were destroyed 
last year, exhibit no marks of the worm having 
wintered with them through last winter, but 
they have been again pierced, and within a few 
days I have taken many worms; but find the 
health of the trees much improved, and am 
satisfied that destroying these worms every 
summer will entirely restore the health of the 
trees and qualify of the fruit. The latter part 
of July and fore part of August is the proper 
time to destroy them. 
In addition to what is said above, it should 
be repiembered that the pear oil quince stock- 
may be secured entirely against the quince 
borer by burying the quince stock hi planting 
below the surface. The borer works only at 
the surface. The quince is not so readily in¬ 
jured by deep planting as other trees, and sends 
out lateral fibres on all sides .—Soil of the 
South. 
CALIFORNIA FIG TREES. 
When our citizens purchase figs in our mar¬ 
ket, they have but little conception of the size 
of the trees that have yielded the delicious fruit 
they arenow tasting. 
We have written this communication be- 
noath the magnificent fig trees in the fruit gar¬ 
den of E. L. Beard, Esq., of .San dose. We 
have just measured two of a group of ten fig 
trees, the least of which measures 2 A feet in 
circumference. The trees of the group are 
forty feet high, and the largest measures 5£ 
feet in circumference; the limbs eleven feet 
from the ground measure 2 feet two inches in 
girth; limb3 four feet from the ground 3 and 
3J feet in circumference. The leaves upon 
the trees measure 18 inches across. This may 
seem incredible, yet, these are facts. The 
fruit is now just ripening, and one specimen 
before us measures eight inches in circumfer¬ 
ence. Such fruit can be easily raised, and will 
be by those who make California their “ home.” 
The fruit gardens of Mr. Beard now present a 
cheerful sight. Pear trees are bending be¬ 
neath the weight of their fruit, which hangs in 
ropes and clusters, causing the entire trees to 
assume the appearance of weeping trees.— 
There are no grounds in the State that present 
a finer appearance than those we name; young 
orchards of acres, numbering thousands ami 
tens of thousands of trees, are coming into 
bearing, giving promise of future abundance — 
Surely such eilbrt on the part of our cultiva¬ 
tor, deserves a corresponding reward.— Cali¬ 
fornia Fanner. 
PROFITS OF PEAR GROWING IN ENGLAND. 
Bear growing, it will be seen front the fol¬ 
lowing extract, cannot be an unprofitable cul¬ 
ture in England, with all tho defects of cli¬ 
mate. If we were to go into some details in 
this way, says tho Horticulurist, in regard to 
profits of Pear trees here, we might make some 
statements that would surprise people: 
An observation of M. do Joughe, in one of 
your late numbers, to the effect that England, 
from mismanagement, is tributary to Belgium, 
for pears, induces me to remark the high price 
at which the fruit is retailed in Covent Car¬ 
den. I have seldom been able to purchase 
first-rate winter-fruit, such as Winter Nelis, 
Beurre Ranee, Easter Beurre, or No plus 
Meuris, under Gd. apiece, and never under 4d. 
Now let us suppose an acre stocked with pyr- 
iniidal trees, at six feet apart, there is room for 
1210. In good condition, they surely ought 
to produce two dozen pears each; but let us 
suppose that every other tree is absolutely 
attic Ills, h 
THE DIELYTRA SPECTAEILI3. 
The Dielytra Speclabilis was sent to Eng¬ 
land from China, about ten years ago by Air. 
Fortune, the collector of the London Horti¬ 
cultural Society, and since that time has bloom¬ 
ed among the finest European collections, eli¬ 
citing unqualified praise, wherever introduced. 
At first its cultivation was confined to the con¬ 
servatory and green-house, but recently it has 
been found well adapted to out-door culture, 
aud there has developed its native luxuriance 
and beauty', beyond all expectation. It is thus 
spoken of by the Horticulturist: 
“ What adds immensely to its value is its 
entire adaptation to either house or garden 
culture, and that it requires only the simplest 
treatment, out doors or in, to ensure perfect 
success. It is a plant for the million, in the 
garden it is as easily grown as a common 
Pa:ony, requiring no more than a good deep 
and rich soil—the richer the better. It is also 
one of the easiest plants to multiply—^ just as 
easy as a Dahlia. Wo propagate it exactly in 
the same way, viz., by cuttings of the young 
shoots, taken off in spring, and placed on u 
gentle bottom heat. Plants struck thus, and 
bedded cut as are Verbenas, Petunias, &c., 
will bloom finely a long time toward the latter 
part of the season; and by these succeeding 
the plants that are allowed to remain in the 
ground, it may be had in blossom nearly all 
summer. It can also be very easily increased 
by taking up the plants and dividing the roots 
in spring, before it commences to grow. AVe 
feel confident that it will make an excellent 
window or parlor plant. A large plant put 
into a pot or box in October, and kept dry the 
barren every alternate year; the average will 
then be a dozen fruit per tree. Let us now 
assume that even of this dozen one-half is 
cracked, pecked, rotten, or otherwise unsalea¬ 
ble; there will remain half a dozen in good 
condition. Let us halve these again, and sup¬ 
pose that only three can be retailed at the full 
price of 6d., and that the other three will only 
produce 4d. each. We have thus 2s. Gd. per 
tree, or £152 per acre. Wlmt the retailer’s 
profit is 1 know not, but assuming him to be 
content with 52 per cent., he will pay the 
grower £100. Now £100 an acre seems an 
enormous return, even after allowing that the 
tree, at Is. Gd. each, must have originally cost 
£90, and that annual expenses, such as rent, 
taxes, and labor, have to be deducted. Hence 
we may conclude, either that pear growers are 
driving a most lucrative trade, or else that 
amateurs must not, on an average of years, ex¬ 
pect a ceturn from their pyramidal trees of even 
six good fruit from each. The culture of 
ttandards is usually considered more profitable 
than pyramids. If so, market gardeners, who 
almost always plant standards, will actually 
realize larger profits than those I have indica¬ 
ted above.—S. B., Bromley, in Gard. Chron. 
The Strawberry. —There are many varie¬ 
ties of this fruit. The common, native straw¬ 
berry, however, is that to which 1 desire to 
invoke attention in this article. I have seen 
it grown in gardens of a size equal u» the lar¬ 
gest of the best foreign and imgroWl varie¬ 
ties, and of a flavor superior to either. All 
that is necessary in the cultivation of it, is to 
take up the plants in August, or September, 
and set them in beds of well prepared earth, 
in rows twenty inches apart, and from eight to 
ten inches in the rows. The next spring they 
will send forth runners, which should mostly 
be taken off us fast as they appear, and the soil 
filled with old compost. The second season 
after setting, they will be in full bearing, and 
the ground between the rows should then be 
covered with straw, to prevent the fruit com¬ 
ing in contact with the dirt. Frequent irriga¬ 
tion witli soap suds, will be necessary from the 
time they commence blossoming, till they begin 
to fruit.— Germantown Telegraph. 
(loon Gardening. —One of our fellow citi¬ 
zens who owms and cultivates half an acre of 
land, says that he has raised from it all the 
vegetables he shall want for his family use, and 
now has a surplus worth from thirty to forty 
dollars to dispose of. Besides, he already 
raises 'about fifty varieties of fruit, and says 
that in live years lie will produce one hundred 
varieties of fruit from this half acre. This 
man cultivates his land intelligently, and, con¬ 
sequently, to some purpose .—Bangor IVhig. 
early part of winter in a cool room, where the 
temperauire will bo about 40°, or just above 
freezing, and then brought into a temperate 
heat about the middle of February or first of 
March, will soon be a beautiful object 
The annexed wood-cut is given to illus¬ 
trate in some degree its habit of growth. We 
remember seeing in an English journal an ac¬ 
count of a plant that measured upwards of 
thirty feet in circumference and five feet high, 
with upwards of two hundred spikes of blos¬ 
soms at once. The shoots are succulent, al¬ 
most transparent and attain the height of two 
to three feet. The leaves are somewhat like 
those of the Pseony in form, and the flowers 
are produced on the young shoots in bending 
racemes, each having from ten to twenty flow¬ 
ers. These are a brilliant rose color, and in 
form resemble somewhat a small fancy work 
bag. 'rite corolla consists of four petals; the 
two large ones, forming tiie most showy part 
of the flower, are compressed and turned back¬ 
wards at the point, and the two small ones, 
which project below the others, adhere to each 
ot her, and cover the stamens. These latter are 
whitish. On close examination, the flowers 
are no less curious and wonderful than they 
are beautiful.” 
Air. Fortune described it as one of the most 
popular plants in China. It belongs to the 
natural order Fumerica:—F<”\ worts of Lind- 
i.ey’s “ Vegetable Kingdom" —and, as a French 
writer truly says, is the queen of them all. It 
has been variously called Dicentra, Dielytra, 
and Diclytra. In England and in this coun¬ 
try it is almost universally written Diclytra. 
Rkcipk for Washing. — Put two table- 
spoonfuls of spirits of turpentine to one of 
soft soap, and use the same as common soap. 
It will reduce the labor one-third and the soap 
will go further. 11 has been tested here to the 
satisfaction of those who have tried it. j. s. f. 
A Good Plain Curry. —Cut up undone or 
fresh veal, rabbit, or fowl—if the latter, take 
oft the the skin. Boll each piece in a mixture 
of a large spoonful of flour and half an ounce 
of curry powder. Slice two or three onions, 
and fry them in butter, of a light brown.— 
Then add the meat, and fry all together till 
the meat begins to brown. Put all into a 
stew-pan, pour in boiling water enough to cov¬ 
er, and simmer very gently for two or three 
hours. A little broth is used instead of water, 
for cooked meat. Serve with plain boiled 
rice. 
A pule J elly. —Wash and cut the apples in 
two or three pieces, to see if there be any 
worms in them; put them in a bright brass or 
porcelain lined kettle, and cook until the ap¬ 
ples are done; take out and strain the juice 
from them, and put them on the stove agaiD, 
and boil until they begin to look dark; then 
add one-third as much sugar, by weight, and 
boil until they become a jelly; put into cups 
or tumblers, and tie paper over the tops.— 
This is excellent for making jelly cakes. * Try 
it.— Ohio Cultivator. 
HOME-MADE FURNITURE. 
LIST OF PATENT CLAIMS 
Isimed from tho United Stains Patent Office, 
For the week ending Nor. 23, 1854. 
Aldcn Adam, Jersey ville, Illinois, improve¬ 
ment in hay and cotton presses. 
Gottleib Backs!,ein, Philadelphia, improved 
arrangement, of devices for applying power to 
fire engines. 
Jno. Cram, Boston, improvement in the towel 
stand, or clothes horse. 
A. B. Crawford, Wooster, O., improvement in 
clover hullers. 
Augustus Eliaers, Boston, improvement in 
seats for public buildings. 
Fletcher Felter, Perth Amboy, improvement 
in feathering paddle whecds. 
O. 13. Gallagher, San Francisco, improvement 
in converting reciprocating into rotary motion. 
Elias A. Hibbard, Winchester, Va., rotary 
cooking stove. 
Jos. Hollen, White Township, Pa., improve¬ 
ment in knitting machines. 
Whi ten E. Kidd, New York, improvement in 
moulds for pressing bonnet fronts. 
Daniel B. Martin, Washington, N. J., im¬ 
provement in steam boilers. 
Angus W. McDonald, New Creek Depot, Va., 
improvements in tanks and cisterns for supply¬ 
ing locomotives. 
Jordan L. Mott, of Mott Haven, N. Y., im¬ 
provement in stoves. 
James Newman, of Birmingham, England, 
improvement in making metal rods and tubes. 
Dated November 28,1854. Patented in Eng¬ 
land March 213,1854. 
A. D. Perry, Newark, improvement in breech¬ 
loading firearms. 
E. K. Root, Hartford, improved machine for 
boring chambers in the cylinders of firearms. 
Daniel H. Shirley, of Boston, improved piano¬ 
forte action. 
Nathaniel Spence, New York, improvement 
in moulds for pressing bonnet frames. Dated 
November 28, 1854. Ante-dated Nov. 10,1854. 
Win. Talbot, Sand ford, Me., improvements in 
looms for weaving bags. 
Win. Tinsley, Glenn’s Falls, improved mitre 
box. * 
Edward H. Tracy, New r York, inclined sli¬ 
ding valves. 
George Tugnot, New York, improved rotary 
lathe. 
Daniel Van Fleet, Sandusky City, planing 
machine. 
Win. Wakely, Homer, improvement in metal 
drills. 
Theodore E. Weed, Williamsburgh, improve¬ 
ment in sewing machines. 
Wm. Wheeler, Acton, Mass., improvement iu 
w r ashing machines. 
Henry Richards and Charles F. Winsor, Bos¬ 
ton, improvement in windlasses. 
Osgood G. Boynton, Haverhill, assignor to 
Nehemiali Hunt, of same place—improvement 
in binding guides for sewing machines. Dated 
November 28, 1851; ante-dated June 1, 1854. 
Thomas J. W. Robertson, New York, assign¬ 
or to himself and Alfred E. Beach, of same 
place—improvement in sewing machines. 
Arad Woodworth, 3d, of Boston, and Geo. 
Chamberlin, of Olcan—improvement iu machin¬ 
ery for making rope and cordage. 
IMPROVED GAS CHANDELIERS. 
Many attempts have been made to improve 
the general character and design of gas chan¬ 
deliers, by rendering them more ornamental 
and artistic, while, at the same time, their use¬ 
fulness should not be impaired. They have 
been made to assume various shapes, but still 
there was wanting in many of them a tasteful 
elegauce appropriate to the purposes of which 
they are intended. One of the most artistic 
efforts in this branch of manufacture is now 
on view at Mr. Odell’s ironmongery establish¬ 
ment, Bold-street, London. The chandelier 
is suspended by twisted c.rds, executed in 
bronze, and through these cords the pipes are 
ingeniously introduced. At the base is a fig¬ 
ure of Hercules, armed with his darts, in the 
act of slaying the Lermean, or many-headed 
hydra, which are represented by the branches 
of the chandelier. The effect of the figures is 
appropriately relieved by spreading leaves of 
burnished gold, introduced in various pari.3 of 
the design. The chandelier is of artistic 
bronze, and combines a degree of classic ele¬ 
gance and novelty of design of which an arti¬ 
cle of this kind could scarcely be considered 
susceptible. Two other chandeliers, wrought 
in antique bronze, complete the set. These 
are also beautifully finished to correspond with 
the principal. 
Water Filters. — O. Saulay has made the 
following improvement iu filters, for which lie 
lias taken measures to secure a patent. A 
suitable cylindrical vessel is divided into two 
filtering parts, one of which contains charcoal 
dust and the other clean sand, Sec., for purify¬ 
ing the water. The water is admitted at the 
bottom of the vessel, and flows upwards and 
over the top, and falls pure and limpid iu a 
reservoir. The impure and foreign substances 
cun in this manner be washed out at tho bot¬ 
tom in a concentrated state, with a very little 
water, thus affording an easy means of keeping 
the filter in a proper condition for purifying 
the water .—Scientifc American. 
Eggs, Convent Fashion. —Boil four eggs 
for ten minutes, put them in cold water, peel 
and slice thin one onion, put into a frying pan 
one ounce of butter; when melted, add the 
onion, and fry white; then add a teaspoouful 
of Hour, mix it well, add about half a pint of 
milk, till forming a nice white sauce, half a 
teaspoouful of salt, mid a quarter ditto of pep¬ 
per; when nicely done, add the eggs, cut into 
six pieces each, crossways, toss them up—and 
when hot through, serve on toast. 
In the present pecuniary troubles, many a 
wife finds an unusual necessity for practising 
tile,strictest economy in household matters.— 
Perhaps house-keeping is just to be commenc¬ 
ed, and the great problem is, how much fur¬ 
niture and how many conveniences can we af¬ 
ford to procure. A little money must go as 
fur as possible. Such would perhaps like to 
be initiated into the art of making cheap arti¬ 
cles of furniture, both useful and ornamental. 
Many a neat and comfortable sofa or lounge, 
chair, stand, bed, book shelves, &c., &c., have 
wo seen, that cost its owners almost nothing. 
A few boards, a little stuffing, and a few 
yards of shilling calico, put together with in¬ 
genuity, will give a tasteful and even elegant 
air to an otherwise bare and comfortless room. 
Most of the work we shall describe can be 
done by the females of tho household, and we 
are sure will afford them more pleasure and 
comfort than the so-called “ ornamental ” wors¬ 
ted-work, bed-quilt piecing, &c. And in al¬ 
most every family there is enough mechanical 
ingenuity among the boys, if not among the 
girls, to do the sawing and nailing. 
A simple Lounge can be made by taking 
a broad, thick plank, strengthening it by nail¬ 
ing on cross pieces underneath and inserting 
four short legs; add a cushion filled with any 
material you wish, and add a valance of the 
same to conceal the legs. A back and either 
one or two ends may be added, if desired, by 
nailing on boards and cushioning themiike the 
seat. 
A Cot Bedstead many of you know how 
to make. Take four sticks about four feet 
long and throe inahes square, boro an inch 
hole through the middle of each, and put a 
round stick, six feet long, through, and pins 
through the ends; arrange these like the four 
legs of a saw horse, then to form the sides, 
connect the head and foot posts by nailing a 
rod or strip of board on to their tops; take a 
piece of bagging 6 feet by 4, stretch it across 
and nail it firmly on to the side pieces. To 
strengthen this, make a narrow' head board, 
nail on a small rod at each end, and bore 
holes in the side-pieces to receive them. By 
lifting this head-board out, the bedstead can 
at any time be folded together and laid aside, 
if not wanted. 
A convenient Seat for children, or for the 
garden, is made like the cot bedstead, witli 
the head-board omitted. The sticks for the 
seat should be one foot long, those for the 
legs, one foot six inches long. Bind a bit of 
carpeting for the seat These are so light, 
and so easily folded and carried about with 
one hand, as to be very convenient 
Hanging Book Shelves are another article 
of furniture easily made, and very convenient 
For a small size, take three planed boards 
one-fourth of an inch thick, let the largest 
shelf be about 30 inches long by 8 wide, the 
others each one inch narrower a’d two inches 
shorter than the one below it. If convenient, 
paint or oil and varnish them. Bore a gimlet 
fiole in each of the four corners, take a stout 
cord and pasi it down through one hole in 
each shelf, taking care that it is at the 3ame 
corner of each, then pass it up through the re¬ 
maining holes in the same e nd, making a knot 
in the cord under each shelf for it to rest up¬ 
on. Pas3 a cord through the other end in the 
same manner, and tie the four ends of the cord 
together a foot and a half above the upper 
shelf, and hang it up.— Oeio Cultivator. 
Domestic economy is a Science—a theory 
of life, which all sensible women ought to 
study, ard practice. None of our excellent 
girls are fit to be married, until they are thor¬ 
oughly educated in the deep, and profound 
mysteries of the kitchen. See to it, all ye who 
are mothers, that your daughters are ull “ ac¬ 
complished ” by an experimental knowledge 
of good house-keeping.— Ohio Farmer. 
Carving Machine. — An improvement iu 
pantograph carving machines has been invent¬ 
ed bv E. Allen, of So. YVindham, Ct., the na¬ 
ture of which consists in the combination of 
two pantographs in such manner, that a tracer 
and cutting stool applied thereto may be capa¬ 
ble of moving, not only every point in a plane, 
as iu a single pantograph, but also perpendic¬ 
ularly to tlio plane, for the purpose of tracing 
over an undulating surface, and cutting a cor¬ 
responding oue. By this combination, statues, 
bas-reliefs, and ornamental combinations of an 
extremely complicated character, may be carv¬ 
ed to pattern with great accuracy. Measures 
have been taken to secure a patent 
The London Times and Gazette announces 
that the lecturers at the Charing-cross Hospi¬ 
tal school have sent to a candidate for the 
honor of becoming a colleague tai intimation 
that he could not be received until he had sac¬ 
rificed a favorite moustache. 
THE MINIE RIFLE. 
A correspondent of the London Times writes 
as follows relative to the effectiveness of tills 
rifle: 
The immense superiority of the Minic rifle 
and bullet, not only over the common musket 
but even over the common rifle, was incon- 
teslibly proved at Alma. Many of our fel¬ 
lows were slightly wounded, but none of the 
Russians were so. The Minie ball makes no 
slight ivound. The effect on the Russians, 
judging from their dead, seemed awful. When 
it struck, it tore all before it. Borne of their 
wounded told us that men were wounded by 
Minie bullets, after they had passed through 
the bodies of their comrades. The immense 
majority of the enemy were wounded through 
the head, generally struck about the throat or 
under the chin, for the men fired upward as 
they ascended the hill. The common musket 
ball at such a range would have done no great 
damage, but here the balls hail come out 
through the top of the skull, rendiug the bone 
as is done by a hatchet. 
Machine for Filing Saws. —The filing of 
saws by machinery in an accurate manner, aud 
to operate equally well on saws of different 
sizes, is a matter of no small importance. Va¬ 
rious machines have been invented to accom¬ 
plish this object, and some have been illustra¬ 
ted and noticed in our columns. An improve¬ 
ment on those heretofore used has been made 
by O. W. Buck, of Norway, Me., which con¬ 
sists in having a cross bur in the file tram© to 
which adjustable holders are attached, and 
which, by being moved laterally, (the bar) 
through slots in the frame which holds the 
saw, the teeth of the saw are filed with great 
exactness. Mr. Buck has taken measures to 
secure a patent for his improvement. 
Mortising Machine. —R. P. Benton, of 
Rochester, N. Y., has taken measures to secure 
a patent for an improvement in the feeding of 
the stuff into mortising machines, whereby 
mortises may be cut in stuff the required 
length and depth by self-acting devices, which 
receive motion from the shaft of the cutter.— 
There is a rotary screw rod operating upon a 
slide, and an adjustable crank which gives a 
reciprocating motion to tho bed on which the 
stuff is fed in, the latter being so adjusted that 
the cutter will operate upon the stuff to cut 
the required depth and length of morlise and 
no more. This mortising machine may be at¬ 
tended by a boy; in practice it has operated 
well.—Sc ientific A merican. 
K 
