I 
liable to become diseased, and hence every pre¬ 
caution is taken by the Dutch cultivator to re¬ 
move any predisposing cause, whether that be 
in the composition of the soil or in any injury 
that may happen to the leaves. 
These, then, would appear to be the principal 
reasons which account for the success which 
attends the cultivation of the Hyacinth ui Hol¬ 
land. That our gardeners, were they to try, 
might be as successful as the Dutch, we have 
little doubt, but whether such success would be 
worth their while, or whether “it would pay,” 
is quite another matter. All that we have in 
view is to point out the cause of this success, 
namely, a mode of management founded on a 
knowledge of the laws of vegetable physiology, 
and on the peculiar nature and habits of the 
Hyacinth. 
In the above remarks we have drawn especial 
notice to the maimer in which the growth of the 
Hyacinth commences; how the roots are formed 
during the autumn and winter, ready to supply 
nourishment to the leaves as they arc put forth 
in the spring. This circumstance will explain, 
at a glance, the kind treatment which should be 
given to Hyacinths when they are grown in 
glasses, or vases, in water, for the decoration of 
of our windows or sitting rooms. At this sear 
son of the year, when our fair readers, in par¬ 
ticular, are engaged in this kind of Hyacinth 
culture, we cannot do better than repeat the 
advice which we have often given, namely, 
“keep your bulbs in a dark place until they 
have formed a good supply of roots to nourish 
and support the coming leaves and flowers.” 
nish the most favorable conditions for their cul¬ 
tivation, and until such conditions are met with 
in other countries, she is likely to remain with¬ 
out a rival in the market for such things. We 
buy them yearly of her; they bloom with us in 
perfection the first season, hut are afterwards 
thought worthless, and, in most instances, they 
arc thrown to the rubbish heap. All those mil¬ 
lions of Hyacinth bulbs which crowd or have 
crowded our seedsmen's shops and auction 
rooms, will have disappeared by this time next 
year, and their places will he filled by another 
importation direct from Holland. And so we 
go on year alter year; the bulbs are reared in 
the sandy plains about Haarlem, where they 
form and lay up in store a stock of organic mat¬ 
ter wbieh enables them to bloom well one year 
at least after they are sent over to England, and 
then they dwindle away, degenerate, and die. 
SOUP, CAKE, PUDDING. 
THE NURSERY BUSINESS OF ROCHESTER. 
Messrs. Eds. I want to do something for 
the Rural, so I send a few recipes, as they may 
interest some: 
Cabbage Soup, 
by r>. w. RAY 
THE reputation of Rochester as a city of Nur- uj 
series, and of Monroe county os the garden bj 
county of the State, has become national, yet ti 
few people are aware of the magnitude and di 
extent of the nursery business, and the vast ei 
amount of capital invested in this city and t: 
county in carrying on this gigantic branch of ft 
trade. It. employs a capital that can only be a] 
estimated by millions, and the amount is increas- w 
ing year by year. It. is little more than a quar- fi 
ter of a century since the trade commenced, 
and from small beginnings it has grown to mag¬ 
nificent, proportions, so that the aggregate yearly ^ 
sales of trees and plants from this city and vicin- t , 
ity now reach from one to two millions of dollars, g 
The commencement of the trade was with tl 
apple trees, upon the old system of stump graft- b 
ing. This system has given way before the p 
march of improvement, and in later years the n 
seedlings which have been raised by the million p 
have been grafted in the root. By this system I 
a single root can be divided into sections and c 
used for two or three scions, and their liability ti 
to thrive and do well is vastly increased. Soon p 
after, a demand sprang up for other varieties of o 
fruits, and the cultivation of cherry, pear, plum, gr 
and peach trees was added, until now our nur- g 
serymen cultivate trees and plants of every p 
variety of fruit that will thrive in a temperate i 
climate. For the past ten or fifteen years new p 
and finer varieties of all kinds of fruit have beeu 
introduced from seedlings, and the importation ]j 
of plants from France and England, until now t 
this country can boast of as extensive and val- t 
uable lists of fruit as the world affords. o 
DEMAND ROE NURSERY PRODUCTS. C 
There has been a steady and rapid demand for r 
nursery productions which has reached the remo¬ 
test sections of the country. As the trade enlarg- 51 
ed and expanded, the nurserymen here were r 
obliged to add to the cultivation of fruit trees c 
all kinds of ornamental trees, flowering plants, 8 
shrubs, evergreens, etc., aud they are now grown 
in endless variety. To the cultivation of trees has 
also been added green-house productions of every ' 
description, including all kinds of rare exotic * 
flowers, which have been gathered from every ( 
quarter of the globe. The green-houses of this I ' 
city will exceed in extent and quantity of pro- I ^ 
duction anything of the kind in the country. 
The system of dwarfing trees, so that an exten¬ 
sive variety of fruits could be grown even in ! 
small gardens, has done much to add to and 1 1 
extend the nursery business. ! 
By tiiis system of culture the possessors of 
even the smallest garden could cultivate dwarf 
apples, pears and cherries, thus producing fruit 
early and not shading the ground so as to prevent 
cultivation. About Dm yeurs since the demand 
lor these dwarf trees was so great that the nur¬ 
serymen here could not supply it, and many 
thousands of the trees were imported directly 
from Europe to supply the requirements of the 
trade. Now they are grown in sufficient quan¬ 
tity to meet the demand. 
WHERE THE TREE* ARK SOLD. 
In former times, trees from this city were ship¬ 
ped extensively to California, and as far cast as 
Nova Scotia—40,000 apple trees were shipped in 
one season a few years since from here to Nova 
Scotia. Kansas received her first supply of trees 
from our nurseries. They have been sold as far 
south as Texas, and are now distributed through¬ 
out the entire North. 
Previous to the breaking out of the rebellion, 
the South afforded an extensive market for 
Rochester trees, and the indefatigable agents 
from our leading nurseries found their way to 
almost every portion of the so-called Confed¬ 
eracy that could he reached by steamboat 
or railroad. This trade ceased at the com¬ 
mencement of the war, and some of the dealers 
lost heavily by their Southern customers. For 
the first year the war had a disastrous effect 
upon this business, but the trade is looking 
up, and last autumn it wag nearly as large 
as ever. Our Canadian neighbors have been, 
and arc still, good customers for trees and 
plants, and thousands of dollars worth find their 
way across the border annually, Our Nursery¬ 
men also receive large orders for trees and plants 
from Now York city and vicinity, to adorn and 
beautify the many palatial country seats around 
the great metropolis. 
It is estimated that there are from five to eight 
thousand acres of land in this county devoted 
exclusively to the culture ol‘ trees and plants, 
aud no soil on tho American continent seems to 
he better adapted to their growth and culture 
than the Valley of the (ienesee. Trees planted in 
it grow strongly and vigorously, with plenty 
of fibrous roots, enabling them to be transplant¬ 
ed with safety to any portion of the country. 
METHOD OK GROWING TREES. 
The apple seedlings arc grown about a foot 
apart, in rows with space between wide enough 
for a horse cultivator to pass through, to 
keep the ground free from weeds. To do 
well, the seeds should be planted In deep, rich, 
mellow soil. At the end of two years the roots 
iire large enough to graft. The seedlings are 
taken up in the autumn and packed in sand, in 
cellars secure from frost, realty for grafting. 
This operation is usually performed in the win¬ 
ter when other nursery operations can not he 
carried on. Au expert bund will set from 1,600 
| to 1,800 scions per day. After the grafting is 
completed the embryo trees are again packed in 
; moist sand in boxes, where they are allowed to 
remain until early spring when they are trans¬ 
planted into the nursery rows. Some nursery 
firms graft from 200,000 to 600,000 of these seed- 
f bngs annually. Next to apples, pears are most 
Take one head of cabbage, 
chop it fine, put on it about two quarts of water, 
boil about two hours, then add milk or cream, 
and season to your taste. 
CURRANT Cake. —Take j pound cleaned and 
dried currants; .j pound sifted flour; I pound 
butter; 2 yolks and 3 whites of eggs; both 
well beaten separately. Beat the butter to a 
cream, add the sugar, lb,,) then the eggs and 
flour, and beat them well for twenty minutes. 
Mix in the currants and bake as nice as you can. 
Plum Pudding.—W ill some Rural reader 
please inform me, through its columns, the best 
method of making a tip-top plum puddiDg, and 
oblige, Young Housekeeper. 
Trenton, Wis., 1864. 
The discomfort and annoyance of chapped 
hands is very great, and might be avoided if 
people would take proper care in drying their 
hands after washing them. Cold cream is a 
very good remedy for this and other cutaneous 
irritations, and the following recipe will enable 
any one to prepare it where the article cannot 
be procured at the shops:—Melt together in a 
water bath (that is, a vessel immersed in boiling 
water, like a carpenter's glue-pot) eight ounces 
of fine neat's-foot oil ot almond oil, three ounces 
of spermaceti, and one and a half ounces of 
white wax; when thoroughly melted pour the 
whole into a pan, which, in winter, must he 
kept very warm by the fire; then, with a clean, 
flat stick, beat the mass continually until it is 
aniform in body; pour in half a pint of rose or 
orange-flower water, and one-fourth of an ounce 
of spirit of bergamot, or any other perfume 
desired; then beat rapidly again until the whole 
of the water and spirit is taken up by the une- 
tous portions. If made in winter, all the mate¬ 
rials must be warmed as mixed, or the mass 
will be lumpy. Lard or sweet oil may be sub¬ 
stituted for the almond oil. If care is observed, 
the mass will be as white as snow.— Sti. Am. 
gufticultuntl 
The Fruit Growers' Association ok Upper Can¬ 
ada is to hold its next Annual Meeting at the Mechan¬ 
ics’ Institute, Hamilton, on Wednesday, the 20th day 
of January, 1864, at 2 o'clock F- M 
Death ok David IIaggekston. —We record, says the 
Magazine of Horticulture, with deep regret, thc'dcath of 
Mr. II ago hr? ton, in his 62d year, which occurred at 
his residence at Mt Hope Cemetery, Friday, November 
6th, one of the most skill fa 1 and practical gardeners of 
the old school, who has filled many situations of great 
resonsihility. and done as much, if not more, to devel¬ 
op a taste for plants and fruits in onr vicinity, than any 
other gardener of his time. An early acquaintance 
with Mr. H., when he was proprietor of the Charles¬ 
town Vineyard, which he carried on for some time, 
enabled ns to know him well; and daring a period of 
more than thirty years he has been devoted to the true 
interests of gardening. As a member of the Massa¬ 
chusetts Horticultural Society, be has served on various 
committees, aiid filled the office of Chairman of the 
Flower Committee for three or four years, to the entire 
satisfaction of every member. It has been our good 
fortune to act with him at various times, and we do no 
more than justice when we say, that to his good judg¬ 
ment and sound advice the Society is indebted for the 
success of many of Us exhibitions. Mr. Haggbrston 
was a thorough gardener, well versed in every branch, 
and a man of much intelligence The arduous duties 
of his recent position. Superintendent of Mt. Hope 
Cemetery, prevented him from taking the active part in 
horticultural matters which he formerly did, and his 
Is this result to be attributed to climate and 
soil, or to our mode of cultivation and general 
treatment of the bulbs ? Is it possible, or prob¬ 
able, that the day may arrive when we shall be 
able to cultivate the Hyacinth as successfully as 
our Dutch friends do now, and keep it in health 
instead of one 
Good Vinegar.— Noticing an inquiry in the 
Rural how to make good vinegar, I have a 
recipe which I have tried and know to "he good, 
and which is as follows:—Good vinegar may be 
made by adding three quarts of molasses to 
eight gallons of dear rain water, the same pnt 
into a good cask and well shook up a few times. 
Then put in two or three spoonfuls of good 
yeast, or two yeast cakes. Place the cask, if in 
summer, out-doors, at the warmest side of the 
house; but if in cold weather, near the chim¬ 
ney, where it may be kept warm. In ten or 
fifteen days place in the liquor a sheet of brown 
paper, torn into strips, dipped into molasses, and 
good vinegar will be produced. This is cheap. 
—Mrs. B. M. Smith, MoffiVs Store, CoL Co., 
V. T., 1864. 
and vigor for a number of years 
only? We fully concur in the opinion that soil 
and climate are somewhat in favor of those who 
dwell in the vicinity or Haarlem; and further, 
that it will always be more satisfactory for us to 
import our annual supplies of fresh bulbs than 
to attempt to grow them ourselves. 
But having admitted thus much, we, as good 
gardeners, ought not to consider such disadvan¬ 
tages insurmountable. With a little extra ex¬ 
pense and care it is not impossible to preserve 
the Hyacinth in health and vigor, and thus 
enable it to grow and bloom with us for many 
successive years. Let us endeavor, therefore, 
to direct attention to the system of cultivation 
which is practiced in Holland with such success¬ 
ful results. 
In the first place, the natural soil about Haar- j 
lem is composed chiefly of sand and decaying 
shell, which has been thrown up in former times 
by the ocean. It also contains a portion of veg¬ 
etable matter, and is enriched annually by a lib¬ 
eral supply of cow-dung—the only kind of ma¬ 
nure which Is used. The land which is to be 
planted with the bulbs is trenched two or three 
feet deep in spring, and manured at the same 
time. But it is not yet in a tit condition for the 
reception of the Hyacinth. And mark, partic¬ 
ularly, the next preparatory operation, .-t crop 
of vegetables, generally potatoes, is token off it in 
order to draw out any rankness or impurities 
which might prove injurious to the Hyacinth. 
This being done doring the spring and summer 
mouths, tbe land is ready for the reception of 
the bulbs in autumn, which is the proper season 
to plant them. Nor is this all; a careful system 
of rotation in cropping is also observed, so that 
these bulbs are rarely, if ever, grown on the 
same land two years in succession. 
When planted, in October, the bulbs are cov¬ 
ered over with three or four inches of soil, and 
are further protected during the winter months 
with a layer of reeds, some five or six inches in 
thickness. And now the process of growth im¬ 
mediately begins, and in a way to which we beg 
gmjuims ana 
Preserving Cider.—As I have seen in two 
or three late numbers of the Rural an inquiry 
and recipes for preserving rider, I will give one, 
which I believe to be flu: superior to any that I 
have seen. In the first place, I get the best 
cider I can, new, and let it stand about twenty- 
four hours. Then rack it off into another bar¬ 
rel, and let it stand three or four days; rack 
again, and let it be until it gets worked suffi¬ 
ciently, or to suit the taste. Then put iu 1J ifcs. 
of horse-radish (pounded middling fine) to the 
32 gallons of cider. Bung up, and in winter 
you will have a splendid beverage. I had some 
fixed in this way last winter, and it was the best 
I ever saw.— Wm. D. Clark, Jr., riibioru A 1. 
Bsev Localities for Grape Culture —May I ask 
of you l he favor to give me your ODlnlon of tbe hr*'. 
localities in die entire United States for the successful \ 
and profitable culture Of grapes — where they are, and 
to which too would give the preference ? And then, in 
the second place, and as » Jt- tinct question, wlicrc, in 
your j udsmenu is the beet locality, both hi reference to 
grapes and climate, for the health of one who has been 
prostrated In strength by southern fevers, (sedentary life 
and irritation of the bronchia or lungs, or both, aud is 
at present lacking in strength, nervous or otherwise, 
and afflicted with eaUithal tendencies. A climate that 
will invigorate the system generally, particularly the 
digestive functions, and at the same time not tend to 
provoke catarrhal irritation, is the one desired for a 
pmnitiunt residence. Have wc a good wine grape 
In our country which would produce wine that would 
compete successful'.v with foreign wine? Will the Ca¬ 
tawba grape answer this description f X grape that 
will be desirable for table use and also fur purposes of 
wine manufacture would, I think, bo an article to be 
sought after-—or a region of country where the two 
kinds could bo well grown—one adapted favorably for 
table use and another more particularly for wine, in 
this case, when the one purpose or kind may prove tin 
profitable for any reason, the other might be available 
to supply tho deficiency. Is there ntiy Wine Growers' 
Association of which yon know which presents favora¬ 
ble inducements, and with which it may bo to my ad 
vantage to become connected and interested y 
I am told that the vine is being cultivated near the 
sea shore of southern New .Tirsev.it Abseceu and vi¬ 
cinity. Would you think it coma lx? cultivated to ad 
vantage and with permanent success in such a locality * 
—Francis G. Cummings, Philadelphia, Pa. 
There are only a few localities in the United States 
where grape culture for wine making has made any 
considerable progress. These are—1st. A district of 
country in Ohio and Kentucky around tho city of Cin¬ 
cinnati. 2d, Kelly's island In Lake Brie, on tho north¬ 
ern shore of Ohio. 3d. Hermann, in Missouri, on the 
Missouri river some eighty miles west of St. Louis. 
4th, llammondspurt, at the head of Crooked Lake, 
Steuben Co., N- Y There may be others that are un- 
Recipe for Sausages.—As I have for a long 
time been a reader of the Rural, and found 
many valuable recipes in the same, I thought I 
would contribute one which many' of us have 
tried and know to be good:—Ten Bbs. meat; 2 oz. 
salt: 1 oz. pepper,—sage and other seasoning to 
suit the taste. — Mrs. II. Howell, RushviUe, 
Yaks Co., -V. Y. 
Removing Iron Rust.—S omebody’s wife 
asks how to take iron rust out, and I will give 
my way. I choose the warmest and sunniest 
day, and dip the spot in lemon juice, then dry in 
the sun. I have always succeeded thus without 
damaging the article. Some dilute oil vitriol, 
but as that is injurious, I have never tried it.— 
Mary, Port Byron, V. J*., 1364. 
The Hyacinth is a universal favorite. It 
commends itself to all by its early season of 
flowering in the spring, by the beauty and 
sweetness of its flowers, and by tho ease with 
which it may be grown, either In the garden, 
green-house, or in tho living-room window. 
There is one tiling about it, however, which 
cultivators understand, and that is, that while 
good, freshly imported Dutch Bulbs will pro¬ 
duce one good season's bloom, they will rarely 
do more, aiul that the propagation of this Bulb 
is to this day confined to a limited tract of coun¬ 
try in Holland. Why is tills? It evidently 
must be either that the soil of the Dutch grow¬ 
ers, or the culture, or both, are different from 
ours. The following article on the subject, from 
the. London Gardeners’ Chronicle, will be found 
instructive: 
The Bulb Farms of Haarlem have been 
sending us. during the l:ist few weeks, their 
annual consignments of Hyacinths, on which 
we depend so much for the decoration of mu- 
windows, green-houses, and gardens in the early 
portion of the year. Holland appears peculiarly 
well adapted for the production of such plants, 
lltii- moist air, sandy soil, and tho water which 
is always met with standing a few feet below 
the surface of the ground, would seem to fur- 
Good CORN Bread.—T ake one coffee cup of 
sweet milk, and the same of sour cream; half a 
cup of sugar and one teaspoonful of saleratus; 
two eggs and half a cup of wheat flour, 
Thicken to a stiff batter, and bake one hour and 
a half with a slow fire.—L ibbie. 
The small white sago, called pearl sago, is 
the best. The large brown kind has an earthy 
taste. These articles, and tapioca, ground rice, 
etc,, should be kept covered. 
Omelet. —Will some one please send a recipe 
for making an omelet, and oblige — A Young 
Housekeeper, Howell, Rich., 1864. 
[SPECIAL NOTICE.] 
Domestic Economy— No housekeoperorcook is fully 
prepared to enter successfully upon her culinary duties 
Without having the Ohnnical Saleratu* on hand. It 
relievos the mind of much of the care and anxiety ex¬ 
perienced by a Skillful cook. For sale by most mer¬ 
chants aud grocers. Coil fbr the genuine in red papers, 
and beware of the counterfeit put up in green. 
