JUNE 27. 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 
Ifrrijatft anti feututu 
EVILS TO BE REMEDIED. 
Tiikre are two evils existing which are Going 
much to retard tbe-growth of fruit, and all other 
horticultural improvements, especially in the vi¬ 
cinity of cities and villages. One of these is the 
stealiug of fruit. Boys, and even men, who 
THE HOLLYHOCK. 
All our readers are familiar with the Hollyhock. 
It is found in almost every garden, “lifting its tall 
and majestic stems above its more humble com¬ 
panions, defying, apparently, the roughest treat¬ 
ment, yet ever gay, attractive and conspicuous, by 
the grandeur of its habit and its massive plumes 
of crimson, white, or yellow hues.” Some may be 
disposed to think that this is altogether too corn- 
may be agieeably disposed in such in avenues, 01 
in groups near the boundary, filling up in front 
with dwarf shrubs, herbaceous, or summer flower¬ 
ing plants. It appears tons anyihing but difficult 
to effect such an arrangement with this plant aB 
shall relieve the flatness often so tiresome in small 
gardens. 
“ The amateur, who cultivates with the view of 
producing the flowers or spikes iu the highest 
state of perfection, will probably profer planting 
in square beds or rows. This is convenient for 
Bhadin/. and places the whole under his eye atone 
stealiug of fruit. Boys, and even men, who mon a flower to claim the especial notice of the j n 8 q nav(? beds or rows. This is convenient for 
would ns soon thiuk of drowning themselves as of Rural or its readers. Few, however, know how g^dinst. \nd places the whole under his eye atone 
piokinga stranger’s pocket, or entering a neigh- beautiful a flower the Hollyhock becomes, under time (f p|, l0 t e< i fo beds, set them three feet 
bor’s house in the night for felonious purposes, will proper care and culture. Look at the beautiful a p art; jf i 0 rows, three feet from plant to plant, 
not only steal the choice fruit of the farmer, but tall spikes of flowers shown in the engraving, as an( j tour feet from row to row, that one may walk 
often wantonly injure tho treeB without the least double and beautiful as tbe tobc. These are tar conveniently between them, 
apparent compunction. Many times have we different from the poor, single or semi-donble « In re gsrd to tbe soil suitable for the flower it 
watched anxiously, and for years, for the fruiting kinds generally seen, and there are few oi our n ** re 8 pec t. It 
of some new variety, until we were cheered by the large and showy flowers that excels them. The PP ^ fe(? Rg - te flc B » , 00ta and 
show of a few specimens which were prized above much-landed Dahlia, that has been an especial pet 8 f k with high per8 pi ra tory powers, 
money. They begin to ripen-in a few days more with florists for many years, we consider far in- a ^ mUy testify. It i3 found to thrive well in 
we shall be able to taste them, and compare them fenor in grace and beauty. ^ .u hn „.i, is at 
apparent compunction. Many times have we i 
watched anxiously, and for years, for the fruiting ; 
of some new variety, until we were cheered by the 
Bbow of a few specimens which were prized above 
money. They begin to ripen—in a few days more 
we shall he able to taste them, and compare them 
with some other variety which they much resem¬ 
ble, and with which we think it may prove synony¬ 
mous. Or, we have read of this variety for years, 
and have heard it described by intelligent cultiva¬ 
tors. Now we have an opportunity to see it for 
ourselves—to examine and taste it with our horti¬ 
cultural friends. It is a source of pleasure that 
those who have not felt it cannot realize. We 
conclude that our specimens are ripe, and go to 
pick them; but alas! they are gone 1 Some one to 
whom they are not worth more than a penny or 
two, has stolen from us that which we would not 
have parted with for many dollars. He could have 
bought more fruit for a shilling, perhaps, than he 
has taken from ns. We could not replace our 
specimens for any amount of money. He who 
would break a valuable pane of glass iu a neigh¬ 
bor’s window because he wanted a few pieces to 
Bcrape a whip-stock would bo considered a wanton 
scoundrel, but why more so than he who takes 
fruit or trifling value to him, yet which is invalua¬ 
ble almost to its owner, 
Scores of times, on going to our garden, have 
we found the beds and walks strown with pieces of 
unripe melons, and the vines almost destroyed by 
some ruthless marauders during the previous 
night If they had asked ua for a melon or two 
we would have selected them the ripest and beBt 
While such a state of things exist it is useless for 
theologians to argue against the doctrine of total 
depravity. 
This propensity for fruit stealing seems univer¬ 
sal. In England almost every respectable fruit 
gardenia surrounded with high walla or fences, 
capped with iron spikes, and in addition to this, 
conspicuously posted at every corner, may be seen 
a notice that “ all trespassers will be prosecuted ac¬ 
cording to law ,” or oftener, that “steel traps and 
spring guns ” are set in the grounds for the especial 
benefit of all fruit stealers. 
which is the moat, valuable part of tbe gnano.— 
You can easily test its effect by patting a little 
guano in the palm of the hand, and then putting 
with it a small portion of lime, and rubbing them to¬ 
gether. Very coarse manure would be betterthan 
lime for your clay land if you wish to use guano. 
-- 
Mattison's Scarlet. &c. — Inquiry. —Will you 
have the goodness to give me the character and 
quality of tbe following apples, which I have lately 
obtained in your city, but can find no account of 
them in any of the books:—Mattison’s Scarlet,” 
“Fall Jennetting,” ‘German Bough.” Your com¬ 
pliance will oblige—N\ MANj.y, Marshall, lit 1, 1837. 
Remarks. —Your trees, we think, from the varie¬ 
ties named, were obtained from the nursery of R. 
“ In regard to the soil suitable for the flower it Mattison <!k Co. Mr. M. gives us the following 
happily is not over fastidious in this respect. It description of the two first named: 
is a gross feeder, as its fleshy porous loots and Mattison's Scarlet is a seedling from the orchard 
large soft leaves, with high perspiratory powers, 0 f Asa Mattison, of Vermont, and is a winter 
abundantly testiiy, It is found to thrive well in BW eet apple. It is dark red, larger than Talman 
common garden soil, although, if a choice is at g w eet and superior in flavor, though it does not 
hand, loam, sandy rather than clayey, may be pre- keep quite as long. 
ferred. We need, perhaps, scarcely say, that a German Bough is an early green acid apple, 
situation airy, and freely exposed to the sud, is in- larger and earlier than Early Harvest, 
dispensable if we wish to carry culture to the ifc// Jennetting is described in Hovey’s Maga- 
highest pitch of success. zine as follows:—Fruit large, pale greenish yel- 
“In preparing tho ground for planting, it Bhould low, with blush in sun; flesh yellowish white, ten- 
be dug two-spit deep. Where spring planting is der aD( ] juicy; very good. Ripe in October and 
intended, throw up the earth in ridges in autumn, November. 
that it may become mellowed by the winter’s frost --«—•- 
In all cases, this practice is beueflcial, but it is How to heai > the Bugs and all the Vermin 
especially so where the soil is of close texture or that Destroy your Vines. —Take six inch sid- 
retentive of moisture. A good dressing of ma- fog. ^lit it into three inch strips, tack them to- 
nure, not too far decomposed, may be strewed over gether and place them around the vines, with a 
the soil previous to ridging, and mixed in during p ane 0 f glass over them. If the glass fits the 
the operation. One advantage of this is, the ma- frames on the top, all controversy is at an end 
nure will keep the clods light, and give the sun with the bugs; besides your plants will be much 
and air a freer entry: and, further, the soil will benefited by an increase of heat. I have just 
become more evenly impregnated with the nntri- placed fifty frames over my vines and find it effec- 
tious properties ol’ the manure as they are washed tual: while all other nostrums going the rounds, 
down by the rain. One point in planting, of too such as flour and pepper and other things not a 
great importance to be overlooked, is the state of little nasty. I have given repeated trials and found 
We give a spirited engraving from an English 
Horticultural Journal, showing the difficulties that 
sometimes attend frnit stealing in that country. 
With the ball in the field, the watch dogs in the 
yard, the water in tho pond, the steel traps in the 
garden, and the spikes on the fence, the transgress¬ 
or seems surrounded with difficulties. We wish 
that every fruit stealer would find himself in such 
a dilemma. 
Many frnit growers, after repeated attempts, 
have become discouraged, as they sec the reward 
of months and perhaps years of toil and care de¬ 
stroyed in one night, or perhaps day, for our fruit 
stealers are very bold. As tho first step in the 
remedy for this crying evil, we would have all pa¬ 
rents and teachers impress the factupon the minds 
of those under tlieir charge that fruit stealing is 
stealing as much as the stealing of money, or any 
other article. We would have the laws already 
existing strictly enforced, and a general effort 
made by all fruit growers and horticultural socie¬ 
ties to have such laws euacted as are required for 
tho better protection of this kind of property.— 
Then we would have a more general cultivation of 
frnit, for it is a fact that where fruit is the most 
scarce, fruit thieves are the most plenty. Boys like 
fruit, and unless they can get it at home they are 
strongly tempted to get it elsewhere. Those pa¬ 
rents who pray daily “ deliver us from temptation,” 
should take pains to deliver their children from 
this great temptation to sin by providing them 
plenty of good frnit at homo. We have thought 
that some parents calculate on having their boys 
steal what fruit they need, as they make not the 
loasteffortto supply this want, although possessing 
every facility. If every one who has the ground 
Although the Hollyhock has been grown in al¬ 
most all civilized countries for hundreds of years, 
yet no effort was made for its improvement, and it 
seemed to be entirely discarded bath by profes¬ 
sional and amateur florists, prized only by the 
most bumble cottage gardeners, until within a few 
years. “ Here, and there,” in the language of an 
English Journal, “ it has found a discerning pat¬ 
ron; bat, generally Epeaking. the floral world h s 
been influenced by a dahlia excitement, from 
which it is now subsiding, in sober disposition to 
judge all flowers by their respective merits. The 
rose is again the queen, and the hollyhock is again 
at court.” This improvement of the hollyhock 
was not commenced by any celebrated personage, 
or at the gardens of any of the great horticultural 
societies. The person entitled to this honor, is a 
shoemaker in England, a lover of Dowers, with 
whom the hollyhock was a great favorite, and pur¬ 
suing a course of culture, dictated by hia own ob¬ 
servation and experience, he succeeded in aston¬ 
ishing the world by producing flowers far more 
beautiful than had ever before been seen. “ This 
man,” (we quote from “ An Hour with the Ihlly- 
, hock,'') *' was Mr. Cmaulks Baron, a mannnveraod 
in garden-literature, unused to move among the 
skilled in the hidden and mysterious art, and 
probably knowing little of the vegetable kingdom 
beyond what existed within the boundary of his 
own small garden-plat The hollyhock was his 
favorite flower; to attend to it was his recreation; 
his labor was a labor of love. And thus the hum¬ 
ble shoemaker of Walden, by concentrating his 
attention on a single species ot plant, 90on dis¬ 
tanced all competitors, and originated those flowers 
which form one of the most striking and gorgeous 
features of modern flower-gardens. The distin¬ 
guishing characters of his kinds are their more 
perfect form, greater subtsmee, closer arrange¬ 
ment of petals, and greater proximity of the 
flowers on the stem. Hence, they would appear 
in advance of others in every important point-— 
But we must not suppose this improvement to have 
been tbe off spring of a single elYorL From month 
to month, and from year to year, did the indefati¬ 
gable cultivator toil, and the result is a monument 
of perseverance, as well as skill. As we look upon 
this flower in its improved condition, we cease to 
wonder at the rapid increase in the number of 
amateurs for what other surpasses it for warmth 
of coloring, symmetry, and magnificence. 
“We do not remember that we were ever more 
struck with the effective aggregating of this 
flower in garden scenery than by the introduction 
of a round clump among trees, shrubs, and dwarf¬ 
flowering plants at Uaddo House, Aberdeenshire, 
the seat of the earl of Aberdeen. It was in Octo¬ 
ber, and the foliage of the trees around was glori¬ 
ous: the leaves had assumed the tints peculiar to 
that season, and, ‘touched by autumn, seemed as 
they were blossoming hues of fire aud gold.' The 
Uower-bedB beneath were in dazzliug glow, scat¬ 
tered like so many separate pictures over the lawn, 
whose verdant and smoothly-shaven surface group¬ 
ed them in a neat but agreeable frame. Beautiful 
as wore these features, viewed individually, we felt 
a want of continuity, a sense of incompleteness, 
until the eye fell upon a group of hollyhocks, 
which, towering aloft, blended harmoniously with 
trees and flowers, producing a perfect whole. In 
this iuBtance, various colors were placed in the 
same bed, which was in good taste; but we can 
would plant fruit trees, our orchards and gardens conceive of circumstances in which several clumps 
would be far less frequently visited by thievish widely dispersed, each filled with a single color, 
hoys. Then learn the hoys to plant and cultivate would be more effective. 
trees for themselves, and when they learn the care “The hollyhock ia also a capital plant for the 
that is required to grow fruit they will not be apt borders of plantations or shrubbery walks: it forms 
to trespass upon their neighbors; besides, it will a fitter distant object In such situations than the 
identify them with tho Buffering class—the fruit dahlia, is less lumpish, and continues blooming to 
cultivators. We had designed to speak ot another a later period of the year. Again, it may bo plant- 
evil, but will defer it until a future number. 
--»«» 
Fruit Treks in Onkida County. —Fruit trees 
in this region are Bhowing unmistakable evidence 
of the past hard winter. Pear trees, as fur as my 
observation extends, are nearly ail dead, or as bad 
as dead. Those that have showed signs of vege¬ 
tating look as if a Are had run through them. 
Plum and Cherry trees, the same. The season is 
very backward, and we have incessant cold rains. 
Corn is miaarably small, and In some eases grow¬ 
ing ‘‘beautifully less.” Grass and graiu looking 
well.—0. S. C., Springdale, Oneida Co., June, 1857. 
ed to advantage in the back ground of an her¬ 
baceous border, so that the lower part of the stem 
is hid from view by the plants in front In both 
these situations they may be planted singly, l u ir¬ 
regular lines, or groups of three or five. And 
here, perhaps, the less choice kinds are ruoro iu 
character than the finest, as a high state of cul¬ 
ture is neither convenient nor expected. To be 
effective en masse is all that is looked for, and the 
showiest kinds should be chosen, and left to as¬ 
sume their natural form of growth. 
“ It is sometimes said that it is not a suitable 
plant for small gardens. We think, however, it 
the ground. To use a common gardening phrase, a 
the earth should ' move like an asti-heap’ at the c 
time this work is done: rather would we wait a a 
fortnight beyond the most advantageous season, 5 
than plant when the ground is wet or clammy.— I 
The plants 6honld he ret firmly in the ground, not 
too low, pressing the soil well round the neck by 
a gentle stroke of the foot. This done, watering 1 
must he attended to, if the season be dry, using 8 
weak liquid manure, breaking tae surface of the ! 
ground with a hoe the day after the water is given. 1 
Frequent loosening of the surface of the soil is 1 
indeed an important part of culture, and should ' 
be attended to throughout the whole of the grow¬ 
ing season.” 
Plants of the finest varieties of the Hollyhock, 
may be obtained at the nurseries here, aud we sup¬ 
pose in most other places, and may be planted 
either in the fall or spring. We advise all to get a 
few roots of the very best, and then save seed Irom 
tbe finest flowers and grow the plants. In this 
way this most beautiful flower may soon become 
spread all over the country. 
NOTES ON PLANTS IN FLOWEB. 
Vegetation tbe present season is more than two 
weeks later than usual. The Horticultural Society 
of the Genesee Valley generally holds its show of 
Roses, Strawberries, Ac., from the 20th to the 25th 
of June. This year it is proposed to hold the June 
exhibition about the 10th of July. The spring 
has been cold and wet, more than double the quan¬ 
tity of rain having fallen during April, May and 
June than in the same months lastyear. The past 
week has been so unpleasant that we have but few 
new plants in flower to take note of. There is 
every prospect of an abundant crop of fruit. 
Among the climbing shrubs now in flower we 
notice the Azure Flowered Clematis, a fine climber 
with beautiful blue flowers, more than three inches 
iu diameter. There are several varieties of the 
Clematis, pretty, Blender branching, climbing 
shrubs, of rapid growth. 
The Honeysuckles are now in flower. The 
Pale Flowered is a very beautiful straw colored 
sort. A new variety, Brachypode, is a little darker 
than the preceding, the buds being quite red, and 
the flowers show a tinge Of pink. The Small 
Flowered is a dark crimson sort, and contrasts 
beautifully with the light varieties. The Scarlet 
Trumpet Monthly, and a variety very similar, £«- 
jterba, with longer flowers, bloom all the summer. 
The shrub Acacias are now making their beau¬ 
tiful annual exhibition. The common Rose Acacia 
is adorned with its elegant clusters of rose-colored 
flowers, his an irregular growing shrub, aud it 
is almost impossible to get it into any respectable 
form. We have a dwarfish variety. Vino, with 
flowers of a darker rose-color, and more compact 
in its habit. The Grandijlora is a large shrub, 
with flowers double the size of the other varieties. 
The White Fringe is a small tree, and is now 
covered with its singular flowers, looking like 
shreds of white paper. 
-♦ *♦ 
Gum on the Cherry Tree, Ac.—W ill yon, thro’ 
the columns of yonv valuable paper, inform me 
what can be done to stop the flow of gam from 
Cherry Trees, which does them so much injury?— 
and also, if an application of lime to stiff clayey 
soil will assist guauo to produce a good crop of 
corn7—and oblige, A Constant Reader, Syra¬ 
cuse, N. K, May, 1857. 
Remarks. —The cause of the gumruiDgof Cherry 
Trees is now settled; and, indeed there are, very 
probably, several causes. The evil is much more 
serious at the West than in this State. It seems to 
be caused in some instances by a wet, uudrained 
soil. Severe winters and sudden changes from 
very cold to warm, is no doubt the great cause of 
the evil, fur the more hardy varieties, like the 
Mayduke are not often seriously affected by this 
disease. The cherry has a tough outer bark which 
sometimes does not grow fast euough to accom¬ 
modate the tree, particularly on the rich prairies 
of the West, and the consequonco is that this out¬ 
side bark is often raptured by the pressure, and 
the sap exudes, injuring and finally killing tho 
tree. As a remedy for this it is recommended by 
some to aliave of! this outer bark. Where the sap 
unreliable. Try the eight by ten frames, they will 
cost you les3 than sixpence, and you may leave 
and return home, without the mortification of find¬ 
ing your hopes of a crop of melons blasted.— 
H. N. L. 
To Fill Up the Flower Beds. — How can I 
best fill up the vaeant spaces in the flower beds ; 
such, I mean, as are left by the dying of the Tulips, 
Hyacinths, Crocuses, Ac. ? They leave very un¬ 
pleasant, barren looking spaces, which I have 
never been able to fill np to my satisfaction.— 
J. W., Kalamazoo, Mich. 
Remarks. —Those who live in the neighborhood 
of greenhouses can obtain Petunias, Verbenas, 
Phloxes, and other bedding plants in pots, at a 
very cheap rate, and the can thus at any time fill 
up such vacant spaces as may occur with these 
pretty and free bloomers. Those who have not 
this convenience can get along very well by having 
a reserve bed of annuals, such as Balsams, Asters, 
Ten-Week Stocks, Ac., from which to transplant 
as needed. As soon as the flowers of the Tulip be¬ 
gin to fall, an annual should be set in the open 
space between each plant. 
ftomestit Icflirnmy. 
CAKES AND COOKIES. 
Eds. Rural:—P ermit me to send you a few 
recipes, which I trust may be worthy of publica¬ 
tion: 
Gold Cake. —Two cups of white sugar, the yolks 
of 8 eggs, | cup of butter, f cup of sweet milk, 2 
cups of flour, i teaspoonful of soda, one do. cream 
tartar. 
Silver Cake. —Two cups sugar, the white of 8 
eggs, j cup butter, J cup sweet milk, 3 cups flour, 
one teaspoon soda, 2 cream tartar. 
Carolina Cake. —The white of 12 eggs beat to 
a stiff froth, 3 cups white sugar, one tablespoonful 
butter, li cups cream, 3 cups flour, a teaspoonful 
extract of lemon, a little soda. 
Cookies.—O ne egg, one enp thick cream, li 
cups sugar, one teaspoonl'ul saleratus, i of a nut¬ 
meg. 
Hard Gingerbread. —Three cups sugar, J cup 
fried meat fat, l.j cups water, 2 teaspoonfuls gin¬ 
ger, one tablespoon saleratus. 
Gypsum, Ont. Co., N. Y., 1S5T. Fasmbr’s Daughter. 
Cake 3 and Pies.—Eds. Rural:—I will try to 
awaken the minds of some of our Michigan ladies 
by giving them a few recipes, hoping that this may 
enoourage them to write. 
Loaf Cake.— 1.J cups white sugar, 3 egg9, 1 cup 
sour cream, i cup batter-milk, 1 teaspoon soda, i 
cup butter, spice with nutmeg; stir in flour and 
raisins. 
Dried Afulb Pies. —Mix the upper-crust with 
water and the under erust with buttermilk, take 
butter I'or shortening and sweeten with maple su¬ 
gar; mix cloves and cinnamon together for spic¬ 
ing; have the apple-sauce very juicy.—A. H., Atlas 
Michigan , 1857. 
TO KEEP BUTTEK HARD AND COOL. 
A writer in the Scientific American recom¬ 
mends to the ladies a very simple arrangement for 
keeping butter nice and cool iu the hottest weather. 
Procure a large new flower pot of sufficient size to 
cover the butter-plate, and also a saucer large 
enough for the flower-pot to rest in upside down; 
place a trivet or meat stand (such as is sent to the 
oven when a joint is baked) in the saucer, and put 
ftofmitif life, &t. 
CHEAP LIGHTNING RODS, 
X Fite years ago I erected, on my ham, a rod hav¬ 
ing three pointed branches at the top, which were 
No. 10 wire welded on cemmon drawn iron-wire 
one quarter of an inch in diameter. It stands 
abont 15 feet above- the ridge of tbe barn by means 
of a sawed piece of wood, tapered to an inch 
square at the top, and nailed to the barn. To this 
piece of wood the rod is attached by twists of 
annealed wire. 
From the end in the earth to the points of the 
rod above the barn, the distance is not less than 45 
feet. The cost, at eight cents a pound, must be 
less than a dollar, aside from the small expense of 
the erection. 
For all practical purposes this rod is as good as 
if it cost ten dollars and were pointed with gold 
or silver, and isolated with glass, and it is also as 
as durable. 
Freetown Corner?, Cort Co., N Y. L. D. Tasmer. 
Remarks. —We have given the above, as the 
practical part of Our correspondent’s letter and 
and hence of some importance. The theory Of elec¬ 
tricity, he gives, has been often given in the papers 
already. The rod he describes is simple and cheap 
and of easy constructi on, three valuable items.— 
Bat Mr. Tanner must know that iron, when rusted, 
will not receive electricity upon it, and must fail 
to do the work proposed, viz., protect the building 
from lightning. This is the reason for gilding^ 
silvering, or tinning, the pointed iron at the upper 
termination, that, being covered with a metal 
which will not rust, it may receive the electricity 
from the cloud and silently convey it to the earth, 
as he clearly states. Unless the upper points are 
made of metal that will not rust, they should at 
least be coated with tin. It would not he surpri¬ 
sing to find that the rod on his barn, on account 
of its rust, has for years ceased to be of the least 
service. 
Though lightning may rarely leave the rod at 
the fastenings, It seems to do so sometimes; and 
though our correspondent states that " scientific 
lightning never cuts any such pranks,’’ how shall 
the farmer know whether the lighting is the real 
scientific stuff, or an unscientific bolt that may rend 
or set on lire his building? We should prefer a 
lightning rod, silvered and insulated by glass, if 
it should cost double the other, which may not 
after all give the desired protection. There is 
quite as much humbug in cheap articles as in the 
more expensive. 
EXPERIMENT WITH GUNPOWDER. 
In bis seventh lecture, at the Smithsonian Insti¬ 
tute, Dr. Reid described the failure of an intending 
incendiary to do a great act of mischief by the 
very means he adopted to make his success more 
certain. Thus to ensure an explosion of gun¬ 
powder in a certain case, the fellow had covered 
it with a quantity of spirits of turpentine, but on 
igniting it, only the turpentine burnt, and the 
powder continued as before. Tbe philosophy of 
this the lecturer showed, by 3 striking experiment 
wherein, again and again, turpentine poured on 
a quantity of gunpowder was ignited and burned 
out, and the powder remained unburnt. This was 
explained on the principle of the candle, that the 
gunpowder acts as a wick to the turpentine, and 
will not itself ignite so long as any of the turpen¬ 
tine remains to burn. A piece of common cotton 
cloth, snch as ladies’ dresses are made of, was then 
burnt; and then a piece of similar texture which 
had been dipped in a solution of sal ammoniac, 
was exposed to the action of fire, bat would not 
burn. A similar piece, steeped in a solution of 
silicate of potash, wa9 also shown to be quite in¬ 
combustible.— Druggists’ Circular. 
-■*—*- 
TEMPERING STEEL BLADES AND DIES. 
Ip the blade is very thin, it may be heated in the 
flame of a spirit lamp, hut if somewhat thick it is 
heated in a clear fire until it assumes a dull red 
color. It is then taken out and plunged into a 
bath of oil, and while wet, held over the flame of 
a fire, until the oil begins to burn; it is then 
plunged again into the oil bath, and kept therein 
until it Is quite cold. This is a method by which 
steel tools receive au excellent-spring temper. 
Mr. Oldham, printing engineer of the Bank of 
England, who has had great experience in the 
treatment of steel for dies, sajs it should never be 
heated above the redness of sealing-wax. On tak- 
' ing it out, ho hardens it by plunging it in olive 
oil, or naptha, previously heated to two handred 
Fah. It is kept immersed only till the ebullition 
ceases, then instantly transferred into cold water, 
and kept there till quite cold. By this treatment 
it is stated the tools come out perfectly clean, and 
as hard as it is possible to make cast steel, while 
they are perfectly free from cracks and twists.— 
! This latter process deserves a trial by all who 
harden important c aat steel i ustruments.— Scientific 
American. 
. - *-»♦- 
Coating sheet iron with varnish, so as to protect 
- R from the action of the atmosphere, is a process 
r lately discovered by some English artizans. They 
- first take clean sheet-iron plates, aud dip them in 
> a solution of chloride of iroD. by which they be- 
- come covered with a thin tin scale; they are then 
; washed well in warm water, and dipped into a 
» melted composition of resin and tallow. After 
t this, they are allowed to dry, and then dipped into 
on this trivet the plato of butter; now fill the saucer a tot solution composed of three-quarters of a 
with water, aud turn the flower-pot over the butter, | pound of Bhellao and one-fourth of a pound of 
so that its edgo will be below the water. The hole 
In the flower-pot mast be fitted with a cork; the 
butter will then he iu what we may call an air-tight 
chamber. Let the whole of the outside of the 
flower-pot he then thoroughly drenched with water, 
and place it in us cool a place as you can. If this 
bo done over night, the butter will bo as “firm as 
a rock” at breakfast time; or, if placed there in 
the morning, the butter will be quite hard for use 
at tea hour. The reason of this is, that when water 
resin dissolved in two columns of alcohoL Finally, 
they are taken out and dried in an oven. Com¬ 
mon tin plates for roofing, exposed to sea winds, 
where tin is liable to rust, will, if coated iu this 
manner, stand exposure to the weather well. 
-a--*-- 
Among the recent French inventions, is that of 
a very ingenious and simple mode of cutting stone, 
me morning, me uuuer wm ue -. exhlbite( 7 bv M chevalier. He causes a wire to run 
at tea hour. The reason of this >* that when water J over ^ rorfl|Ce t0 be booted, 
evaporates it produces cold; the porona pot draws at a kigh . * f _a aud water 
_ .... _ ... oantiiar and bv dropping on it a mixture ot niaa ana water, 
is found oxuded it is well to scrape it off and cov- up the water, which in worm weather quickly an y • roppmj The hardest 
er the surface with grafting wax, or a preparation evaporates from the sides, and thus cools it; and operation - * tbe 
of gum shellac aud alcohol.--We would not use as no warm air can now get at the butter, it be- granites )U - with one-borse nowar 
lime with guano, as it throws off the ammonia, comes firm and cool in the hottest day. one s 1 uare 00 p r ’ 
- * - - 
of one square foot per hour, with one-horse power. 
