r'VfVl 
plant He saw some Dahlias near Guaxaca, and 
described them as having large aster-like double 
Qowers, stems as tall as a man, and leaves like an 
elder. 
In 1789, Dahlia variabilis wa9 discovered in 
a wild state in Mexico by Humboldt, and sent by 
him to Madrid. Seeds were the same year sent 
from Madrid to the Marchioness of Bute. 
A seedling, semi-double, flowered in 1790, and 
waB figured in leones Planiarum, when the genns 
was named Dahlia, in honor of Andrew Dahl, a 
Swedish botanist, and the plant (now Dahlia vari¬ 
abilis) called Dahlia pinnata. In the same work, 
Dahlia rosea (now lost) and Dahlia coccinea were 
afteward figured. 
Plants and seeds were sent to Paris in 1802, with 
the idea that they might be edible. The seeds 
sent to the Marchioness of Bute, though vegetat¬ 
ing, never produoed any results of importance, 
and the plants were soon lost 
In 1802, an English gardener, named Fraser, 
obtained seed from Madrid, which produced 
orange flowers, (probably seedlings from Dahlia 
coccinea.) 
In the autumn of 1803, Dahlia rosea flowered in 
England. In 180A, a paper was published in the 
"Annales d'Histoire Naturelle," by M. Thouin, in 
which he suggests propagation by division of the 
roots, and allowing them to rest duringtbe winter, 
growiug the roots in rich soil during the summer. 
In 1801, Lady Holland sent seeds of Dahlia vari¬ 
abilis and Dahlia rosea and coccinea from Madrid 
to England. These were sown in hotbeds, and a 
few flowers were produced; these, by much care 
and nursing, ripened a few seeds in 1805, (the first 
ever prodncod in England,) which produoed 
plants the next year. All the experiments thus 
far had been made in the green-house. In 1807, 
Dahlias were first grown in the open ground. 
About this time an attempt was made to change 
the name from Dahlia to Georgina. About 1808, 
it was cultivated around Paris, aud line seedlings 
raised. Fine varieties wero raised in Berlin soou 
after; and in lull, there were many tine double 
flowers in cultivation, and since that time the 
plant has been successfully cultivated in England. 
We are unable to state at, what time this plant 
was introduced to our gardens, but till after the 
year 1830, it was not grown to any extent, if an 
inhabitant of our gardens. 
Every florist has been at some period attacked 
by the Dahlia fever, aud the plant has in the past 
been a great favorite. It most, from its many de¬ 
sirable qualities, always be popular, though at, l.ho 
present time it seems to bo a little out of favor. 
Dahlias are of every color and all shades, except 
blue, which has never been obtained. In estimat¬ 
ing a modern Dahlia, form, color, and size are the 
requisites: in form, the flower should he round, 
without a center, the large flowerets at the edge 
gradually growing smaller. The color should ho 
bright and clear. The size should he up to the 
averago of Dahlias of the variety of that ex¬ 
hibited. 
Soil. —My experience is in favor of a compost 
made of old black garden mould, Btifi’ loam, and 
sandy peaty loam; trench the bed twenty inches 
deep; the finest flowers arc produced with the 
least trouble in a rich soil; for the Dahlia is a 
gross feeder, though not fond of unrotted manure. 
Any garden soil will grow this flower; but by a 
little attention to the soil, a groat improvement in 
both the quality and quantity of the bloom will 
be produced. 
Plants and Planting. —My experience has 
shown that plants struck from cuttings produce 
the most perfect flowers, the blooms being less 
inclined to become semi-double than those borne 
on plants grown from tubers; the latter often pro¬ 
duce vexy coarse flowers, and are always of a 
stronger growth. The cuttings should not be 
rooted so early as to become pot-bound before 
the time arrives to turn them into the border; if 
the roots are strong and numerous enough to keep 
the ball of earth from breaking, it will bo suffi¬ 
cient. By the autumn, the tubers become large 
and solid enough to keep well during the winter, 
and in the spring the eyes break more freely. 
The plants should he set three feet apart be¬ 
tween the rows, and two and a half in the rows. 
Shade of every kind in injurious to (lie plantn. 
The ground being prepared by trenching as 
above directed, choose straight Bprucc poles 
(which are the strongest and most durable,) and 
stake the whole bed; let the poles be seven and a 
half feet long, and be driven into the ground one 
and a half feet; then plant your Dahlias, one 
plant to each Btake; the plant should be set about 
one inch lower than the surface of earth in the 
pot, if the plants have been struck from cuttings; 
if from tnbers, place the crown of the tuber two 
inches below the surface, 
shall, however, only mention a few of those which 
prove most destructive in our climate. 
The grasshoppers (Grjllidae-,) do mnch dam¬ 
age to the blooms by eating off the lips of the 
petals. To remove them by hand Is difficult and 
wearisome; the beat remedy is to turn some tur¬ 
keys or domestic fowls into the Dahlia plantation 
about the middle of August. 
The striped squash bug (Ualeruea vittata) and a 
small oval bug(Pcntatour« 
Unfermkntkd W ixr —Will you, or some of your 
rnaders, Inform me liow to make unferraented wine from 
the Isabella Gropa, such as in madi* in Germany Tor sacra¬ 
mental puipotM )#?—azko Gokf, Eric, i860. 
A sirup may be made from grnpsK, or any other fruit, 
that will not ferment. The fermentation of the juice of 
the grape may he prevented, in a measure, by the same 
meanB used to keep cider from workiug. We were not 
aware that this was ever attempted iu Germany, or In 
any of the wlnu countries. 
■) destroy many flow¬ 
ers; they live in the bloom and cat holes in the 
floral rays, seldom leaving the (lower till it ia 
ruined. The remedies for these latter are un¬ 
known, for the flower is destroyed by the applica¬ 
tion of lime, Ac, Fine blooms, or those which 
promise well, may he protected hy a covering of 
ganzo or luce; but this ia too expensive and labor¬ 
ious an operation to be performed In a large 
plantation. • 
Watering —Is never beneficial to the plants, 
not even in dry weather, unless persistently con¬ 
tinued ; for it has a tendency to bring the roots to 
the surface, and when the water is withheld the 
plantB sutler from the change. If the Dahlias are 
to bo watered, the ground should be mnlched 
with coarse litter of some kind, or sea weed; this 
will better retain the moisture, and will prevent 
the earth around the plants from becoming hard¬ 
ened. By ringing the tops with soft water is of 
advantage; let, it always be done in the evening; 
care should he taken not to nae very cold water. 
Ski.kcting Blooms for Exhibition.— This ia 
often a difficult task to the most experienced, aud 
often one or more points have to he sacrificed. 
To my mind, diversity of color should ho a matter 
of attention, with, of course, a due regard to form 
and size. A stand of flowers of similar colors 
never shows us well as one where some attention 
1ms been given to a selection of dissimilar varie¬ 
ties. The general rule, as before laid down, is 
form before anything; next, color, which should 
be bright and clear; and, lastly, size. The blooms 
should never he handled or exposed to rough 
usage more than necessary, us the dead appear¬ 
ance thus produced can never be removed. 
Fancy Dahlias. —These have lately become 
popular, as many fine varieties have been pro¬ 
duced. Miss Church, Loveliness, Lady Popham, 
and many others, are quite as fine as any of the 
seifs; they are perfectgems, and creditable to any 
stand of show blooms. 
It seems to mo that the best effect is produced 
when the two classes are exhibited in the same 
stand; the contrast is pleasing, and each cause 
the other to appear to greater advantage. 
Degeneration. —A double flower being a mon¬ 
strosity, there is always more or less tendency to 
revert to the primal state. With Dahlias this 
disposition Is particularly marked. It has always 
been my practice to keep a good old variety, if 
possible, till a better of its color or shade was 
produced; yet among a collection of 250, not 
more than five, new five years ago, can now be 
found. 
A striped, or mottled, or other fancy Dahlia, 
will often produce self-colored flowers, arid all, 
both fancies and seifs, will in time so far ran out 
as to produce single self-colored flowers. 
Seedlings —Are grown largely by florists in 
England and on the Continent Much attention 
has been given to hybridization daring the lust 
fifty years; but, as in other plants, many of the 
seedlings are worthless, and most not superior to 
those already grown. About six very liuo seed¬ 
lings in u thousand is considered good success. 
These flue Dahlias, when brought to this Coun¬ 
try, are often worthless, prodneing poor flowers 
on account of the difference of the climate. 
In this country very few good seedlings have 
been produced, probably because there is less 
attention paid to hybridization, and no encour¬ 
agement is offered hy our Horticultural Societies. 
Wintering, —Take up the tubers soon after the 
frost haB killed the tops; do not separate them, 
but pack them away in a dry cellar in dry loam, 
out of reach of the frost, till wanted for propaga¬ 
tion in the spring. 
In taking a retrospective view of the Dahlia 
fancy, we find a gradual improvement up to tho 
present time. Of late years many of the finest 
varieties have been produced, and a really fine 
seedling commands as high a price now as at any 
former period. 
The Dahlia is eminently worthy of attention, on 
account of its cheapness, its ease of cultivation, 
and the rich display it makes in the garden when 
other flowerB are gone. 
1’RorAGATisa Tim Graph.—P lease inform me the bent 
lime lo cut grapo culling*, how to plant, Ac., and oblige 
—O. A. B, 6 
The beat time to nave grape cuttings is at the winter 
pruning. Tho strongest and fl nest shoots of the previous 
season's growth are selected, and cut into pieces from 
twelve to eighteen Inches long, with two or three eju» 
or buds. They are cut close to an eye at the lower end. 
The cuttings are buried In dry earth, until time to plant 
in the spring. Iu planting, the whole catting, except 
one eye, is buried in the ground, as shown in the en¬ 
graving. 
KITCHEN SCIENCE. 
SEASONABLE NOTES, 
In the course of a very graceful little speech 
made by Archbishop Hughes, at the recent exhi¬ 
bition of the St. Vincent Academy of Young 
LadioB in New York, ho made the following very 
sensible suggestion: 
“Although it is of the utmost importance, 
young ladies, that, you should have a good 
education, should bo accomplished, cultivated, 
graceful, and refined, yet there are other things 
that cannot bo lost sight of. Before another 
year rolls rouud I purposo to arrange with the 
Sisters for a now branch of study in the Acad¬ 
emy. That branch of study ia what tho French 
call tho science of cuinine. It is the science 
of keeping house, aud thut wo all know com¬ 
mences with the kitchen. Every yonng lady, I 
don't car# if she lie a Queen’s daughter, ought to 
understand that department of life. Even though 
she may not have to practice it, though she may 
be able to hire her cook, yet she should under¬ 
stand it herself, for it may happon some day that 
tho cook will dismiss her. [Great laughter.] 
Whitt a predicament she would bo in then. Well, 
what I was going to say was, that tho Sisters 
should urrungo it so that all the girls over 13 
years of age, should be enabled to spend a portion 
of the time in the kitchen, and become acquainted 
with cooking anil house keeping. Here will be a 
new bureau of education. [Laughter.] Wo shall 
then have the theory and some practice too. 
Another point and I will close. At tlie end of 
another year, if living, and my purse is long 
enough, I am going to give a gold medal, of not 
less than $50 in value, to the youug lady who will 
write tho best essay, not exceeding five pages 
in length, upon this groat new science I have 
spoken of.” (Laughter and applause.) 
Tho Archbishop shows that lie is as wide awake 
to the creature comforts, as ho la to the spiritual 
direction of his (lock. Ilia miggestiou is one of 
great importance,— especially in this country, 
where young ladies are lamentably ignorant of 
the plainest duties of house keeping. Though 
thousands aro passed through tho fashionable 
schools annually, and furnished with certificates 
of a liberal education, very few, if any of them, 
acquire a practical or well defined notion of any 
department of science; und most especially are 
they ignorant of about the only science that can 
fully equip them for the dutieB and economies of 
the households over which they might naturally 
he expected to preside—hut the evil ia fortu¬ 
nately about to work its own cure. The parents 
of the young bwlion, who aro so unprepared for the 
plainest duties of their sex, are beginning to find 
tho demand for them is rapidly diminishing. Tho 
head of a household is certainly not their place, 
and prudent young men—tho only ones worth 
having—cannot uffurd to form any alliance with 
them. It is high time for those interested to con¬ 
sider tho matter, and a reform cannot bo com¬ 
menced too early. 
The present Beason has been unusually favora¬ 
ble for the flowers. We have been favored with 
plenty of showers, and cool nightp, while the 
days, with one or two exceptions, have not been 
uncomfortably warm. The result has been very 
pleasing to the lovers of flowers, for many varie¬ 
ties tbat luxuriate in the moist, cool climate of 
England, but are never seen In perfection in our 
usually hot, dry summers, or are at best but 
short-lived, have given ua aspeeimen of tbeirbome 
beauty and endurance. Many have thus ascer¬ 
tained the reason why English florists speak so 
enthusiastically of flowers that have appeared 
altogether unworthy of the praise they were re¬ 
ceiving. The Heliotropes never before appeared 
so fine as bedding plants; and the Stocks and 
Asters, and Dahlias and Carnations,— in fact, 
almost everything we have had in unusual perfec¬ 
tion and profusion. 
The fruits, too, of all kinds, were never more 
abundant, and never before of Buch mammoth 
proportions. If, is no nnnsnal thing to see baskets 
of peaches exposed for sale, every one of which 
will measure over eight inches in circumference, 
and some of the specimens even nine or ten. 
Pears are almost equally fine. Bartletts are novr 
ripe, and the abundance of the crop has somewhat 
reduced the price. Growers find it necessary to 
ship them, or become satisfied with much Icbs 
than the prices of the laBt and previous years. 
Some of the growers are contracting their apples 
for $1 and $1.25 per barrel. This is too low. 
Good, sound winter fruit, we think, will be worth 
double tbat price. Those who carefully pick 
and select their fruit, will be sure of u remunera¬ 
tive price, while those who take no care In these 
respects may have to suffer for their carelessness. 
Plums continue abundant. We counted to-day 
(Sept. 6th) Borne fifteen excellent varieties ripe, 
among the number Lawrence’s Favorite, Ghis- 
borne, Golden Sage, Diaper Rouge, Nelson’s Vic¬ 
tory, Goliath, Gen. Hand, and Jefferson. 
It is better to put the cutting in tho noil obliquely, as 
it keep* the roots nearer the surface. During the sum¬ 
mer, the earth must be kept mallow, and all weeds 
destroyed. In tho autumn or spring, tho vinca will bo 
ready to transplant, though they may remain nntil two 
years old, in which case they should bo cut buck to two 
or three eyes. 
“ Black Raspberries.’’— “ W. F. S.“ asks—1st. If 
Black Raspberries will pay for general cultivation, Ac. 
Thu answer must depend upon so many local circum¬ 
stances, (as conveniences Tor marketing, Ac,) that It must 
bo general; but their adaptability to so many useful pur¬ 
poses, ns drying, preserving, and making wine, and 
their capacity to hoar distant marketing, renders them a 
sale aud profitable fruit. Years, like the present, when 
a perfect deluge of cherries aud whortleberries are 
thrown upon the market at the same time with the rasp¬ 
berries, priced must favor tho poor of the ciliuii, and it is 
well that it should be so; but such years as tho present 
are few and far between. Ilia second inquiry, ns to com¬ 
parative value of wild or improved plants, I should con¬ 
sider sottled by tho entire failure of all attempts at the 
profitable culture or thu wild berry in years pait, till 
attention wu* called to the trim nature arid habit of the 
root. 3d. They will r.ome Into hearing, if BOt In April, in 
one year from the July following, and no earlier, if set 
In the fill; but the germs are lean liable to get broken, If 
transported In the fall, aud the liability of their germs 
withering, and, iu consequence, an unhealthy, barren 
growth, or ol their entire failure to grow, in case of a 
spring drouth before the roots become established, wifi 
be avoided. From 1.000 to 2,000 quarts per acre for the 
first crop, and from 2,000 to 3,000 after tbat. is a fair esti¬ 
mate of yield,—II. II. DoolitTLM, Oaks Corners, IS. I'. 
Seeds of the American Hot- Thee.—C an you inform 
me, through the Rural, tho best time to plant the seed 
of the American Hop tree-tho fall or spring; where the 
seed can Re obtained, and at what price? —A Constant 
Reader, Chautauqua Co, IS, y , i860. 
horticultural Notes. 
Fruits Received,—F rom C. R. Hbrrkndee.y, Macedon, 
N. Y., a splendid Crawford peach, rauttauring nearly ten 
inches in circumference, and weighing over nine oudcbs. 
— From l’rof. Cutting, RocLeider, fine Bartlett pears. 
— From Joseph Maooiiiikr, of Farmington, specimens 
of the Summer Pippin, Primate, und Mosher Sweeting 
apples—all fair, and of good size and quality. The Sweet¬ 
ing is largo and line flavored—said to liavo originated in 
Dutchess county. 
— From a U. Northrop, of Perrinton, flue specimens 
of tho Crawford peach —including one which measured 
Just 10% inches in circumference, and weighed about as 
many ounces; a trifle larger than any previously received, 
— From Mr. WlLLta WiLMoT, of Webster, very largo 
and luscious Early Crawford poaches — one of them 
measuring 10 inches, and weighing 9}* ounces. 
The shrewd Archbishop has 
done a good service in calling attention to the 
subject 
MOTHS IN CARPETS—IRON RUST. 
Eds. Rural New-Yorker:— Having long read 
and been highly benefited by the Domestic De¬ 
partment of your excellent paper, I will now 
answer some inquiries, and also make one myseir. 
I would inquire of MrB. J. M. J., of Canton, Ohio, 
who scuds a washing compound, if soft soap will 
not do in the place of hard Hoap? 
To Kill Moths in Carpets. — Spread a wet 
cloth on the oarpet, and iron with a hot flat round 
the edges and places where you suspect them to 
he. Do this a few times ia the coarse of the 
summer, and you will save your carpet from the 
moths. 
To Drive away Ants. —I have seen several 
remedies for this, but none so good, I think, as 
mine. Pat leaves of sweet elder where the ants 
come, and they will soon disappear. 
To Make Crullers.— One teacup sugar; 3 
eggs,—mix hard and fry in lard. 
To Remove Iron Rust.— Wet the spot in 
lemon juice, put on salt, and lay It in the sun. 
Tartaric acid or cream of tartar will do in the 
place of lemon juice, by wetting it. 
It will not hart hop or potato yeast to 
freeze it. A Farmer’s Wife. 
Boston, Mich., 1860, 
Away keoji nOMic.—The Horticultural Editor is on a 
tour cast to attend the Session of the American Pomo- 
logical Society at Philadelphia, and to see and take notes 
of whatever tnay be interesting to our readers on the 
route. 
JEFFERSON PLUM. 
The Jefferson is one of the most beautiful 
fruits that can be seen or imagined, and as good 
as it is beautiful. A branch containing a cluster 
of these plums is a moBt charming sight. But, 
unless our readers should consider ns extrava¬ 
gant, we quote what Mr. Downing says of this 
fruit:—“If we were asked which we think the 
most desirable and beautiful of all dessert plums, 
we should undoubtedly give the name of this 
new variety. When fully ripe, it is nearly—shall 
we not say quite —equal in flavor to the Green 
Gage, that unsurpassable standard of flavor. But 
when we contrast the small und rather insignifi¬ 
cant appearance of the Green Gage, with the 
unusual Bize aud beauty of the Jefferson, we must 
admit that it takes the very first rank. As large 
as the Washington, it is more richly and deeply 
colored, being dark yellow, uniformly and hand 
somely marked with a fine ruddy cheek. It is 
about ten days or a fortnight later than the 
Washington, ripening the last of August, when 
it has the rare quality of hanging long on the 
tree, gradually improving in flavor. It does not, 
like many soiIb, appear liable to the attacks of 
wasps, which destroy so many of the light-colored 
plums as soon as they arrive at maturity, 1 ’ 
Cooper’s Mammoth Peach —The poach growers in 
this section have a poach they call Cooper’s Mammoth. 
It resembles tho Early Crawford very much, but perhaps 
is a little flatter and smoother. It is thought by some to 
bo tho same. If it is not the Crawford, who can give us 
its history. 
Rahpherky Plants by Mail.— In tho advertisement 
of Mr. H. H. Doolittle, in our last number, the printer 
made Mr. D. say ho would for$l send “ to any post-office 
within 1,000 miles (except Canada) 19 perfect plants’’ 
of the American Black Raspberry—wheruas the oiler waa 
Ten plants. See corrected advertisement in this paper. 
Black Raspberries, —You will bear me witness that 
I did my part towards feeding the hungry with good, 
Wholesome fruit, during the mouth of July. Throe years 
ago I publicly made my boast, or promise, as you please 
to call it, that 1 would furnish the million with an abund¬ 
ance. I have this year sent 2,500 quarts to Rochester, 
the same to New York city aud to Buffalo, besides from 
200 to 1,200 each, to all the Intermediate cities. I estimate 
that, in Western New York, 200,000 quarts were grown 
from plants sent out hy me; and everywhere the report 
1* that they exceed what I claim for them. I have now 
eight acres near New York, and shall enlarge a plot of 
two acres at Alusny to twelve Or fifteen next spring, and 
in this way continue i > fulfil my “ manifest destiny,’’ till 
pork aud beef disappear from our tables, at least for that 
oue hot month of July,-II. II. Doolittle, Oaks Cor¬ 
ners , IS. Y„ 1800. 
Railway Traveling and Mushrooming. — “I was 
traveling lust week,” writes a correspondent, “ by a rail¬ 
way on the Ilnglish side of tho borders of South 
Wales, when we happened to pass a field spangled with a 
most luxuriant growth of mushrooms, I had hardly 
remarked tho circumstance to my companion, when we 
felt tho train suddenly stop, and looking out to the 
front, we saw, to onr astonishment, the driver jump off 
the engine, vault the fence, and proceed to fill his hat 
with the treasure. In a moment the guaid was over the 
fenco, following his example, which, ns may ho supposed, 
was infectious, for in less than half a minute every door 
was thrown open, and tho field covered with tho pas¬ 
sengers, every one of whom brought back a pretty good 
hatful. Not till this desirable result was obtained, aid 
we proceed on our journey, some of us wondering 
whether we had been dreaming, and whether, instead of 
the Welsh border land, we were not traveling by some 
newly constructed forest line in the fur West of America. 
We begged the guaud, who didn’t seem quite comfortable 
about the joke, to have the place entered for the future, 
iu hifl line of route, as the ‘ Mushroom Station.’ ”— 
Guardian. 
Inquiries anb Answers. 
Dahlias nifty be planted 
from the first of May to July; those latest planted 
give the best flowers, though, of coarse, do not 
afford as early or profuse a display. Dahlias may 
flower loo early, and the blooms be burned op hy 
the hot summer’s sun; then beforfc autumn the 
plant is exhausted, and no good flowers ai’e pro¬ 
duced. A Dahlia Bhould not begin to flower 
before the latter part of August; for cool nights 
are essential to the production of fine flowers. 
The plants should he tied to the poles with 
soft bass matting, and should he carefully and 
frequently examined for this purpose; a high 
wind will often break the plant and destroy its 
symmetry and beauty. 
Pruning. —No arbitrary rule can he prescribed; 
the plant should never be allowed to become 
bushy with small branches, nor should severe prun¬ 
ing at aDy time be resorted to. Prone little hut 
often, is a good rule. Varieties differ as to the 
amount of pruning required, and experience 
alone will teach the amount beneficial to each. 
.Some varieties produce too many flower-buds, 
and consequently all the flowers tire small or im¬ 
perfect; when the buds are small many may be 
removed to advantage; after they have attained 
any growth, however, this operation is of little 
benefit; in this, experience must also be the 
teacher. 
Insects. — There are many insects injurious 
both to the stem, leaf, and flower of the Dahlia; I 
Quince Stocks.—(0. L. J., Waynmille , Ohio .)-Raise 
stocks from cuttiDgs, and not from seed. 
Planting Gooseberry Seeds —"Will you. or some of 
your correspondents, please inform a subscriber, through 
the Rural, when gooseberry seed; should be planted?— 
W. D , Kendall, TV. 1'., I860. 
Gooseberry teed* xuay be planted as soon as fully ripe, 
in beds of Uuely prepared, mellow earth Or they may 
be reserved until Uie following spring Tho planting of 
seed Is done to obtain new varieties. For obtaining fruit, 
it Is bettor to buy plants at the nurseries. 
BOILED PUDDING AND CAKE. 
Messrs. Eds.: —The Rural being my favorite 
paper, I will contribute to its valuable columns 
some recipes, which I think to be good: 
Boiled Pudding.- Two and one-half cups of 
sour cream; 1$ teaspoons soda; mix well together, 
roll out, then add 1 teacup of fruit Pin it good 
Into a towel, put in the water while boiling, boil 
one and one-half hours, and serve with cream 
und Bugar. 
Fruit Cake. —One pound of 3ugar; 1 pound of 
butter; I pound of Hoar; 3 pounds of raisins; 2 
pounds of currants; 1 pound of citron; 10 eggs; 
1 paper of cinnamon; half ounce of mace; 5 nut¬ 
megs; 1 tablespoon of cloves. One half of the 
flour to be reserved, and mixed in with the 
raisins. Bake three hours. 
Pork Oakb. —One-half ponnd of pork, (chop¬ 
ped;) 3 teacups of sngar; 2 teacups chopped rai¬ 
sins; 1 teacup boiling water, (poured on the pork 
and to stand over night;) 1 teaspoon of soda; 
fruit to taste. Bake two hours. Libijie. 
Oakland, N. Y., I860. 
DAHLIAS AND THIER TREATMENT. 
Apple I’ie Melon. —Will you, or one of your numer¬ 
ous correspondent*, give mu a little Information In regard 
to the I’ie Melon? Will they do to use before fully ripe ? 
Also, a recipe for making them into pies.— DUDE, Kirk- 
■vitte, Iowa, 1860. 
The Apple Fie Melon is a poor substitute for apples, 
and we think ia hardly worthy of the name. We tried 
it several times, and gave it up, but where apples cannot 
be had, perhaps it is better than nothing. The fruit 
must be ripe, or nearly so. A little apple, cut up with 
the melon, improves it, but a good punipkiu, cut up with 
apples iu the same way, is about as good. 
History.— The first account wo have of this 
flower is its mention in Hernandez ’ History of 
Mexico, printed in 1051, in Madrid, in which two 
species are figured under the name of “ Acocotli;” 
both are single flowers,— one probably Dahlia 
crocata, the other variabilis. 
An Italian work on the Natural History of 
Mexico was published in Rome about the same 
time, in which two dahlias—one single, the other 
double—were figured under the name “Cocoxo- 
chitl.’ In these works the roots are described as 
tuberous, and of a bitter taste. 
The next notice is by Thiery Mtnonville, who 
was sent to Mexico hy the French Government, 
in 1787, to procure the cochineal insect afld its 
Apfi.e Pickles. —Will some one please give a 
recipe for Apple Pickles?—E. E. A., Mt. Sena, O. 
