9 
JUNE 13. 
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MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 
fi’fimrtr sift toftra. 
WHAT BECOMES OP THE PEAKS? 
“For the last five, and even ten or twelve 
years past, everybody Las been planting pears, or 
talking about it, and yet they are so scarce that a 
bushel can hardly be procured in moBt. of onr 
markets, at any price. Now this looks as though 
the pear was not productive, or very slow in com¬ 
ing into bearing. If they bear fruit, what be¬ 
comes of it?” So writes a gentleman, who, last 
season, wished ns to send him, from Rochester, 
half a dozen bushels of pears, of as many varie¬ 
ties, some of them new and scarce. It istrnethat 
pears are scarce and dear in all parts of onr 
country. Our markets are almost, destitute of this 
fruit, and the few that are to be found are sold at 
almost fabulous prices. Every observer, however, 
must have noticed a great improvement within 
the last few years, and more, perhaps, in the quali¬ 
ty than the quantity. Last fall the market of 
Chicago was pretty well supplied with excellent 
Bartlett s and Burr re Diets, brought, we think, from 
the neighborhood of St. Louis. Twenty-five cents 
each, was paid for the best specimens. Here the 
retailers of fruit keep our people tolerably suppli¬ 
ed during the season, with Vergatieus, Bartletts, 
Serkets, Ac. But these varieties which are, per¬ 
haps, the most common, are not yet sniHciently 
plenty for exportation, so that it is in vain for our 
friends to send to Rochester for pears in large 
quantities. And there is nothing strange about 
this. Until within a very few years no one in this 
section planted the pear largely bb a market fruit, 
and, we think, the same is true of almost all parts 
of our country. Three or four trees, for family 
use, was all that any one thought of planting.— 
What pear orchards have been planted are, there¬ 
fore, young, and though the frnit iB scarce now, we 
may hope for a good time coming. 
Bat good pears are not quite so scarce as the 
appearances of the market would seem to indicate. 
Those who raise a bushel or two of pears, do so 
for pleasure and not for profit They are valued 
above price, for family use and presents to friends. 
We know several who annually make presents of 
bushels, who would look upon It as a kind of 
sacrilege to sell them for money. We have raised 
several bushels each season for many years, yet 
wo never sold a pear. We are too well pleased to 
he able to present the friends who call on us with 
the juicy fruit in Us season, and relish it too well 
ourselves, to be induced to part with it for any or¬ 
dinary price. 
->♦—*-- 
EKUIT TREES. 
Tns subject which I am about to remark upon 
is one that should interest your readers and the 
public generally—one that demands much atten¬ 
tion and will bear further investigation without 
becoming exhausted. Much has already been 
written and said in regard to tho cultivation of 
fruit and fruit trees by some of the most eminent 
Bornological men in the country, and yet the hor¬ 
ticultural field in still open for improvements.— 
Notwithstanding all that has been said, there is a 
great deficiency and lack on the part of amateurs 
and others, and when wo consider the many social 
enjoyments, tho luxuries, the great convenience 
and the profits there is to be derived from having 
a good supply of the different varieties of choice 
fruits, we may easily come to the conclusion to 
which I have arrived, that there is not one-tenth 
part of good choice fruit raised that there might 
and should be through the country. In the first 
place our soil and climate is welludapted to grow¬ 
ing many delicious kinds, in faetthere are but few 
varieties which we may not cultivate with entire 
success, and yet how few do we see grown to per¬ 
fection. There ib scarcely a month or a week or 
even a day of the whole year that we may not. be 
provided with some kinds. Apples may be kept 
the year round. Pears may be had from the first 
of August, until. February, making nearly seven 
months in succession. Grapes may be raised in 
abundance and kept fresh aa late as March, or per¬ 
haps later. Choice cherries may be had from June 
until August. Apricots are ripe in July and Au¬ 
gust. Peaches follow with many other kinds of 
summer fruits and may be had until early frosts. 
I lams arc quite hardy aud may be easily raised 
and had from August until late in the fall. There 
are many other kinds of small fruits I shall not 
attempt to mention at this time that deserve a place 
even In small gardens. 
Now I ask, is there not a great lack in producing 
the fruits above mentioned? I think I am not 
alone in this conclusion. The fact should be gen¬ 
erally understood that he who plants trees plants 
for himself as well as his heirs People ha\ e been 
deceived in the estimate of time required to pro- 
duoe fruit from young trees. With good cnltiva- 
tion wo may obtain peaches and grapes in three 
years from planting. Pears have been raised at 
the rate of one peck per tree in two years. Apple 
trees have produced one bushel each in five years 
from trees one inch in diameter when planted.— 
One hundred »ud twenty barrels of apples were 
picked from one hundred trees in six years from 
planting. Proper care and after-culture cannot 
be to strongly urged upon those that sot trees. It 
is an indispensable requisite that the ground should 
be kept rich and mellow for a few years until they 
become well established. 
The pecuniary profit of fruit is by no means an 
item to be overlooked in treating of this subject. 
The high price and great demand for choice fruit 
makes it still more of an object for tho producer. 
In fact many are not aware of the great profit 
there is in raising the most kinds, but for fear of 
making this too lengthy, 1 will not go into detail, 
but snllico it to say that no crops tho farrnor pro¬ 
duces pay so well as good fruit. Mauy Instances 
might be named where immense profits have been 
made from small orchards, and even from single 
tl-ees - J. B. Johnson.' 
Naples, N. Y., 1S57. 
* - 
Plums.— Those who would like to save their 
plums from the curoulio can do bo in a very aim- 
p o manner. Tread tho earth down under the tree, 
so that tho surface will bo hard aud smooth. 
JLnen j ar tho tree every few days, from the time 
mit begins to form, and sweep up all stung fruit, 
and every thing that falls from the tree and burn. 
THE I’EALl. 
This pear was bronght to the notice of 
the American Pomological Society at its 
last session, by Dr. C. W, Grant, of New¬ 
burgh. It was found at New Rochelle, 
N. Y., and is supposed to be a seedling.— 
It is of medium size, handsome, melting, 
juicy and buttery, aud with a delicate 
flavor. Stem half-inch or three quarters 
long, stout, sometimes a little inclined, 
slightly sunk, with a very distinct russet 
cap around the shallow cavity. In qual¬ 
ity very good. Ripens from the middle 
to the last of September. 
THE CHURCH PEAR. 
§ uraeistit fwimrag. Ifoljamt grtu, &t. 
mg* ( °ry !t 
Mk'f 
mm £ 
K 
m 
|i|, 
In the Rural of May loth we gave an ^ 
engraving and description of this pear, ^ % 
which has been supposed to be a seedling . 
of New Rochelle, N. Y. We then ex* 
pressed the opinion that it had been cnl- JwWSK/ ? $ ■/, 
tivated in Rochester for about twenty- * 'djm 
five years, having been obtained from \ 
Prince’s Nursery, as the Vtrgouleuse, MMm M ^ 
which on fruiting it proved not to be.— 
ItB name not being ascertained, it has not r a 
been much disseminated. We have just ^ lM» 
received the following note from Mr! W. HH „ jtiM'.j 
1L Prince, which throws some light on a J \MjMU 
its origin: \ ^ fWW 
“The pear described in yonr paper of ^HraS|jl||£. 
the l(5th nit., under the title of the 
‘Church Pear,’ is not an American seed- * 
ling. The original free was brought from 
Poris abont fifty yearsago by Col. Platt, tarsonage pear. 
of this town, without a name, and its form being 
similar to that of the old Bergamot pear, my father, lng ” tomediateiy. He repeated the process every 
for lack of its real name, called it • Platt’s Berga- few da Y 9 - 1111 his frnit was ripe. The result was, 
mot/ and it has been propagated and disseminated ^at l° st or n0 more fruit- and was, in due 
under that name by us and by other Nurseries time re warded with a fine crop of beautiful and 
in the vicinity of New York down to the present lll8ci ® us plums, &o.,—the only fortunate person in 
time. It will be found in the last edition (list) the neighborhood; and yonr humble servant had, 
of onr Descriptive Fruit Catalogue. It is an esti- the next autumn, ike pleasure of tasting, at his 
{ m 
* la 
, 11 piiS| 
J/U 
fm 
wF 
PARSONAGE PEAR. 
lug ” immediately. He repeated the process every 
few days, till his fruit was ripe. The result was, 
that he lost little or no more fruit, and was, in due 
mable frnit, well worthy of general cultivation. 
W. K. Prince.” 
■-- - 
NOTES ON PLANTS IN FLOWER. 
The late Tulips are just passing out of bloom, 
and the earlier P-eonies are in perfection. That 
pretty little border flower, the Double Daisy, now 
exhibits all it modest beauty. It deserves more 
attention as a border flower. 
the next autumn, the pleasure of tasting, at his 
hospitable board, fine, large apricots, nicely pre¬ 
served by his interesting wife, unfortunately a 
mute, but a highly creditable pupil of the N. Y. 
Institution for such. That visit will not be soon 
forgotten. 
With the insect I had been before, though im¬ 
perfectly acquainted. But for the effective part of 
the knowledge, and the easily practicable remedy, 
I am indebted to Mr. K. 
in Ei,lwanger Jr Barry's grounds. One variety, 
the Spedosa, we very much admired. The plant 
is of a compact habit, with large foliage, the 
flowers more red than the common Lilac, and the 
clusters enormously large and branching. Most 
of the other varieties were not, in our esti¬ 
mation, superior to onr common variety. The 
Thorns will bloom in a few days. The Japan 
Quince is just passing away, though we gathered 
a few fine branches. The Scarlet Flowering 
Currant is very pretty, but unfortunately onr se¬ 
vere winters kill tho blossom bads on the exposed 
parts of the plant. 
Tho Mountain Ash is now exhibiting its clus¬ 
ters of white blossoms, and the Horse Chestnut 
is arrayed in all its glory of foliage aud flowers.— 
J his tree rises in our estimation every time we ace 
it in blossom. The Scarlet variety is very fine and 
should not be forgotten by those who plant the 
Ilorsc Chestnut. Tho yellow variety is not so line 
as either of the above. We shall notioe all the 
trees and shrubs as they come into bloom. We are 
indebted to Mr. Wm. Kino for a bouquet of flow¬ 
ering shrubs, including most of the varieties we 
have named. 
THE CURCULIO —PEACH GRUB, &c. 
THE CURCULIO WHICH ATTACKS THE FRUIT. 
For the best part of the information following, 
I am indebted to my industrious and spirited 
young friend, John Klecklaer, of Tyrone, Schuy¬ 
ler Co., N. Y. 
Finding that ho and his neighbors wore in a fair 
way to lose not only all their plums, but all their 
HOUSE FURNISHING GOODS, 
8UPPLIED BY J. S. CHENEY & CO., ROCHESTER, N. Y. 
Some of our readers perhaps are not aware how 
much good taste may be exhibited in furnishing a 
house—we do not mean the parlor, aa this requires 
tho least thought, and generally receives the most. 
Half-a-dozen expensive articles usually make up 
the parlor furniture. We refer particularly to the 
furniture of the kitchen, the table, the bed rooms, 
and the cellar—all those thousand and one little 
conveniences that are at once neat and useful, 
and beautiful because so useful, so appropriate to 
the objects for which they are designed. When 
we pass out of a richly furnished parlor into a 
dining room or kitchen where there seems to be a 
lack of taste, we feel a chill creep over os, such as 
is experienced in passing ont of the bright sun¬ 
light into a cold and damp basement. Taste in 
the details of house furnishing is what is needed. 
We would not advise extravagance, or needless 
expense, but every article, from the fire-shovel 
upwards, should be neat. The great difficulty has 
been that these articles were made of uncouth pat¬ 
terns, by men who were alike destitute of taste 
and experience in house famishing and house¬ 
keeping. A new era is dawning—men and women 
of refinement are now employed in designing and 
executing all articles needed for family use. 
In the extensive store of James E. Cheney & Co., 
of this city, where may be found every tbfng in 
the house furnishing line, from an infant’s chair 
to a cooking stove, or a silver tea-set, an hour may 
be spent very pleasantly in examining the beau¬ 
tiful objects displayed. We shall call the atten¬ 
tion of the readers of the Bubal to these articles 
from time to time—as a semi-advertisement for 
the proprietor, and for the information of onr 
readers. We can thus give an interesting series 
of engravings, which are excluded from onr ad¬ 
vertising department. 
•*** luvuesi, ociiuLy. ii deserves more . ... ... ... . , 
attention as a border flower. As th,s s P ecies of the <^cuho ib propagated and 
n . „ . „ * reproduced in a manner similar to that of other 
n j a ew o e ear lest I owering shrubs are a p ec j e9j attacking the tree, it is obvious, that ifthe 
^n. m ) - J ,° 0ai ‘ , e . ‘ Pj rceas wo observe only the prematurely falling fruit is left to decay under the 
-umfo jo an e m eyana. The Tartarian tree, the eggs they contain will reproduce the evil, 
■nr ^ T, n °T- m a * ltS f lor ^' H >3 a very augmented by multiplication. To eradicate the 
vi ^ 0 4ifa '" v are JUat passing out of nuisance, therefore, gather and destroy all such 
bloom. We examined balt-a-dozen new varieties fruit M fast as it fana> 
in HITU' A V*/)Dn Fr n > rtr...*-,_X . . 
vV 5 
PRESERVATION OF PEACH TREES. 
Said a waggish triend to me, once on a time, 
“Every thing evil is laid to poor Satan!” So 
the hard winters of our climate have to “ catch it,” 
for mauy of the fruits of onr own neglect. It is 
not they, however, that kill all the peach trees, 
even in onr * Old Schoharie Co.” 
Often a prematurely warm Jane day, in March 
or April, starts the sap “spinning ” up the trees, 
glossing the twigs, and swelling the buds to beau¬ 
tiful promise. Then follows a sharp frost, or a cut¬ 
ting, cald, north-east storm, freezing the sap thus 
raised, blighting the buds, and killing the trees; 
and then “it’s of no use for us to try to raise 
peaches any more; the time is gone by.” And so 
it is, if we mean to fold our arms at it 
Remedy .—At the suggestion of my friend, Capt. 
Wm. B. Calkins, of Seward, I began, some years 
since, to try the following:—At a time in the win- 
ter, when we judge that the ground is frozen as 
deeply as it will be, we cover the roots of each 
tree, for some distance around, and to some depth, 
with some bad conductor of caloric, aa tan ooze, 
coarse manure, or chip manure, saw dust or the 
like. This prevents the catastrophe above, by 
keeping the frost about the roots, as late as we can, 
and I have peaches every year, not excepting the 
last—besides saving every tree alive. 
Another sinner, who evades destruction, by 
using the “hard winters” as a scape-goat, is the 
peach tree borer. “Be after him with a sharp 
stick ” aa soon as the frost is out of the ground.— 
He lies in, and under the bark of the large upper 
roots, bedded in a paddle of gum. Dig him out, 
CANE WORK CHAIRS. 
The Rattan or Cane Work Chairs are very 
light, pretty and easy. They are made of every 
form and style. Nothing is more appropriate for 
furnishing a hall or sitting room than this style of 
lurniture. Its introduction haa been rapid and 
satisfactory. 
TOILET SET. 
The Toilet Set above consists of a Can, Bath 
and Pail. These, as will be seen by the engravieg, 
are of very tasteful patterns, but the beauty of 
their finish is not shown in the picture. They 
are elegantly painted and very ornamental. 
SJ&5? 
BRONZED GARDEN SOFA. 
The Garden Sofa is made of iron, and nicely 
bronzed; it is therefore strong, not easily affected 
by the weather, and handsome. It is just the 
thing to stand on the lawn, or in any part of the 
garden, under the shade of a tree, or on the piazza. 
Seats are needed as much in the garden as in the 
house. AU love to sit in the garden and eitfoy 
its beauties. 
" uwu an num fUUins, UUl HU U1C1T * rvut, - 
apricots, nectaries, and all stone fruits but peach- ! fr® a ^ kirn with boiling water from a tea-kettle LEMON PIE, BOILED CUSTARD, &c. 
es. bv Ornmntlll-A itrntmini, ti. . I . . - .1_I snout. iHve him ll nf imnf nr lima- Knt 
es, by premature dropping, ho resolved to take no 
one’s word, but to scrutinize the matter for him¬ 
self. Mounting a fence bcBide one of hLs affected 
trees, there, at first, he could discover no cause 
for the difficulty—unless bo excepted a few specks 
of dirt on some of the plums. He (hen tamed bis 
spout, give him a comforter of soot, or lime; but 
dou’t “ leave him alone In his glory.” 
Schoharie Co., N. Y., 1857. Subscribes. 
--- 
Chickens in the Garden a Remedy for Bugs. 
—In your valuable paper I have seen many inqui- 
- -- J .IP, V tutiu tut ucu (1 in I - J -- -- ^ avvu AAAt*LA^ iu'^ur 
attention to these apparently inanimate specks of rie8 for a remedy for the destruction of the vine 
dirt, scari'.idv 1 HFffDP (Itan a Y>.. ..... 3 . ♦ Kn cr TTawirwy teia/l awAan T t.. v. - .^.1 c r 
dirt, scarcely larger than a hemp-seed. Keeping 
perfectly quiet, ho soon detected some of these 
specks of dirt in “ playing possum,” or “ feigning 
dead,” when alarmed. Ho now watched them 
closer. With a bill like a mosquito's, but shorter 
he observed them making, not stings, bat short’ 
curved scratches through the skin of the fruit, till 
tho liberated portion of the skin turned up; then 
turning their other end to it, the malicious litttle 
scoundrels, and depositing an egg in each punc¬ 
ture thus made. This suggested the disease. He 
now set himself to seek a cure. 
On suddenly striking the tree a pretty heavy 
blow, every speck of dirt dropped off. He now pro¬ 
cured C or m yards of sheeting, and ont it in two 
transversely in the centre, aud laying the two pieces 
together, side by side, his wife sewed them to¬ 
gether, nearly half their length. He next took 
three sticks, or pieces of suwed “ edging,” one 
bag. Having tried every mode I have heard of, I 
find none as good as the following. But hens with 
their chickens in the vino patch, in a coop so ar¬ 
ranged aa to give the chickens access to the patch, 
and not feed them a sufficient quantity, and they 
will search for food and will rid the vines of all 
these destructive bugs and not injure the vine.— 
When the vine becomes sufficiently large, and the 
bug season being gone, the chickens can be taken 
out, Auother remedy I will insert, which also 
proves a very valuable euro, and is worthy of a 
trial, viz.:—rut a sufficient quantity of hen manure, 
say ono bushel, in a barrel, and put on three pails 
of water anil let it soak a day or two, and with an 
old broom sprinkle the jnice on tho vines early 
every morning through the bug season. It will be 
very nourishing to the vines as well as poisonous 
to the bugs.—J. T., Sparta Centre, 1857. 
Remarks. —The liquid manure would be excel- 
. * v ****•»-»iaa nvuiu uc cjkuci 
long enough to reach across the two breadths, * or the vines, but we never found it to hurt the 
the joined end—-the other two half that length, to bugs. In fact we have tried almost all kinds of 
attach the unjoined ends to. Having tacked the offensive substances to keep tho bngs off, among 
Bhoeting to these three pieces accordingly, he ob- other things asafoctida, but all in vain, 
tained tho requisite assistance, and, approaching-_ 
each threatened tree in succession, drew the sep¬ 
arate ends " astraddle ” of the trunks, and had the 
three ends so held out as to spread a broad hori 
zontal lap under the boughs. Then, with a long 
handled mullet, suitably constructed, he struokthe 
tree a blow sharp enough to drop every insect, as 
well as every diseased plum. The sound fruit 
would not yield to such a blow. Under each tree 
he collected a few, only a few such vermin at a 
time each one ot which smelt “ something burn- 
F RUiT in Illinois. —Can you, or some of your 
numerous correspondents to your valuable paper, 
give me some information as to what kind of a 
oountry Illinois is for frlnt growing? Will Boars, 
Apples, Grapes, Ac., do well between the latitudes 
of J8® and 40° ? Can fruit be raised in that coun¬ 
try that will bo as good to ship to any climate, as 
that grown in Western New York ? Is the climate 
there such that a fruit crop will not fail more than 
once in ten years? —Subscriber. 
Lemon Pies. —Take 3 fresh geod sized lemons, 
the grated yellow of the rind and juice, 2 well 
beaten eggs, 2 spoonfblls flour, 1 pint molasses, mix 
all well together. Line 3 large-sized dining plates 
with paste, put in a thin layer of the lemon, add a 
second of good paste, then put another thin layer 
of lemon; add a third layer for the top and bake 
till the crust is done. 
Boiled Custards. — Set yonr milk on the (ire 
until it boils, then remove it and let it cooL Beat 
for each quart of milk, if liked rich, the yolks and 
half the whites of 6 eggs, with 3 spoonsful of pow¬ 
dered sugar, stir them into the milk when cool,— 
Season with nutmeg or rose-water—set it on a few 
coals and stir it constantly till it thickens and be¬ 
comes scalding hot. Take it from the fire before 
boiling, stii it a few minutes and torn it into caps. 
Beat to a froth the reserved whites of the eggs and 
pile on the top of the custards just before they are 
to be eaten. 
Rich Jumbles.— Rub to a cream 1 ft. of butter, 
1 ft. of sugar, mix with it a pound and a half of 
flour, 4 eggs and a very little brandy. Roll the 
cakes in powered sugar and bake. —Farmer's 
Daughter, Dryden, M. Y., 1857. 
Pcdhings. —Having noticed, in perusing your 
excellent paper, numerous recipes for cakes, (some 
of which I tried with satisfaction,) 1 thought I 
might suggest ono or two valuable ones in the line 
of puddings, which might tlnd agreeable accept¬ 
ance. Tae blossoming frnit trees promise us a 
good supply for pastry. 
Peach Dumplings. — Stew fine ripe Peaches 
(yellow preferable,) until thoroughly tender—en¬ 
close each in a rich paste, rolled "half an inch 
thick. Bake hall an hour. 
Indian Pudding. — l quart rich buttermilk, 2 
tablespoons thick cream, 2 eggs, teaspoon salora- 
tus, a little salt, 1 cap flour. Stir into a light bat¬ 
ter with Indian meal; tie loosely in the padding 
cloth and boil two hours. My favorite padding.— 
L. B, Ogden, N. Y., 1857. 
A GREAT CLOCK. 
The N. Y. Evening Post says the largest clock 
ever manufactured in this country has recently 
been constructed in that city for Dr. Tyng’s church 
in the Second avenue. The main wheels of this 
mammoth clock are about nine feet in circumfer¬ 
ence, and are composed of material harder and 
more valuablethan brass. The pendulum istwenty- 
onB feet long, and weighs about one hundred 
pounds. A new compensating principle has been 
applied, so that different temperatures do not af- 
feet, the clock, and it has retaining power, so that 
it does not lose time when being wound. It has 
eight dials, of eight feet in length, four upon each 
tower; the towers stand seventy feet apart. The 
teeth of the machinery are all cut. The clock can 
be wound in fifteen minutes. Its weight is about 
two tons. 
This clock is superior to the famous English 
Parliament dock, both in size and material. The 
history of the Parliament clock dates back to 1744. 
Ita large wheels are twenty-Beven feet in diameter, 
and are of cast iron, which material costa about 
five cents per pound, while the material of thfe 
clock costa forty cents per pound. The pendulum 
is fifteen feet long, but in this respect this exceeds 
it by six feet. 80 also In the time of winding, 
while two hours are required by the London clock, 
the operation in the New York clock is performed 
in fifteen minutes, 
-- 
IRON CASTINGS. 
It is surprising how little attention has been 
paid to the use of cast iron for fine castings of 
every description, not even excepting stataes and 
such like work* of art. It is the cheapest, of met¬ 
als, and will stand exposure to the weather for 
ages with a coating of oiL Why then is It. not 
more employed for such purposes? Why should 
it not take the place, at least, in a measure, of 
bronze, which is so expensive? Is it owing to any¬ 
thing in its nature whereby it cannot receive a 
clear impression from the mould in which it is 
cast? No. There is no metal superior to it for 
receiving a good impression from the mold. Cast 
iron expands in becoming solid, and therefore 
takes the impression of the mold with exactness. 
Its point of fusion is 3479® Fab.—a very high 
temperature—and this Is one great objection to its 
use for casting statues and such works. With care 
and attention and proper molds, however, we are 
of opinion that iron castings may be vastly im¬ 
proved, and very fine works of art executed. We 
are but on the threshold of iron casting as an art. 
Our iron molders have a boundless field before 
them for the exercise of taste, skill and genius.— 
Scientific American. 
AMERICAN NICKEL. 
The Philadelphia Daily News, in giving room 
to the circular of CoL James Ross Snowden, Direc¬ 
tor of the Mint, appends these editorial remarks 
on nickel:—“ As appropriate to the issue of the 
new cent, which, as the reader is aware, is compos¬ 
ed partly of nickel, we notice that a new method 
of concentrating the nickel and cobalt ores has 
been recently discovered by Theophilos Meny. It 
is claimed for the new discovery that, whereas it 
now takes several weeks to concentrate a hundred 
tuns of ore, producing 30 to 35 per ceLt, by it the 
same percentage may be realized in the same time 
from a thousand tuns. This is, without doubt, a 
most important discovery, and if found to be really 
practicable, will add immensely to the workB, as 
well as the stock, of the Gap Mining Company, 
from the mines of which the supply of nickel now 
being used at the Min: is derived. The Gap mines 
produce both copper and nickel in large quanti¬ 
ties, and being located within about fifty or sixty 
miles of our city, they possess a value far beyond 
any others known to us.” 
-•- 
Printing in China.— In Montgomery Martin’s 
work on Chius, be says:—“According the best au¬ 
thorities, t! e art of printing was known in China 
upwards of 900 yeare ago. In the time of Confu¬ 
cius, B. C. 500, books were formed of slipB of bam¬ 
boo; and about 150 years after Christ, paper was 
first made; A. D. 745, books were bound into 
leaves; A. D. 900, printing was in general use.— 
The process of printing is simple. The materials 
consist of a graver, blocks of wood, and a brush, 
which the printers carry with them from place to 
place. Without wheel, or wedge, or screw, a prin¬ 
ter will throw off more than 2,500 impressions in 
one day. The paper (thin) can be bought for one- 
fourth the price in China that it can in any other 
country. The works of Confncins six volumes, 
400 leaves octavo, can be bought for ninepence 
(IS cents.)” 
-#- 
Photographic Improvememt.— Wm. Mayall, of 
London, some time since obtained a patent for a 
composition of barytes and albumen, which the 
English photographic journals speak of in glowing 
terms. By the substitution of paper for the me¬ 
tallic plate the advantage that was gained in per¬ 
spicuity was lost in delicacy. Paper, from its 
fibrous nature, absorbs the middle tints; and hence 
in the case of colored works, the artist was forced 
by stippling, to supply the defects of the photo¬ 
grapher. The chemical properties of ivory render 
that substance inapplicable to the purposes of the 
art. But Mayall’s compound has the appearance 
and close texture ot ivory, without any of the re¬ 
sisting qualities. The artist executes a work equal 
in finish to the old ivory miniature, endowed with 
all the truthfulness proper to photography. 
-^—-- 
Tue Largest Chain in the Would.—I t is be¬ 
lieved that the largest cable in the world is that 
now about to be used in the operation for raising 
the Russian ships, sunk at Sebastopol It is 200 
yards long, each link of which weighs three hun¬ 
dred pounds, and each link baa been separately 
tested by a strain of five hundred tuns. It was 
manufactured at the Reading forge, Reading, Fa. 
The value of the material to be furnished by tho 
Russian Government to be used In the raising of 
this fleet will be about a million and a half of dol¬ 
lars, and the time occnpied In performing the con¬ 
tract will, it is thought, be about eighteen months 
or two years. 
w WWW... 
i/liftl'O' 
