colored bark. A very beautiful lawn tree, and 
may be worked high or low as suits the fancy. 
Fou rth— The Weeping Black Ash.— A slender, 
drooping branched variety of our Black Ash! 
There is another variety of drooping habit* 
remarkable for a variegation on the bark. This 
is not so conspicuous, however, as to give the 
tree a particular value. 
Fifth -Tfle Willow Leaved Ash, (Salicifolia 
August ifolia, of J.nrDO.v.)—A remarkable and 
beautiful specie, with narrow', wavy, willow¬ 
like leaves. There is a variety of this with a 
distinct silvery vyiegation on the foliage, (ar- 
gentea,) a very fair tree. 
Sixth— The Aucuba Leaved Ash, (Aucubas- 
foliaj — Has large gold blotched leaves, re¬ 
sembling the Aucuba japonicu. There is a 
variety of this called punctata . with lar^c inri 
WHITE WILLOWS, AGAIN. 
Ens. Rural New-Yorker-—I have been leading 
your Vi 08 tern Editor's remarks, at various times, about 
the Gray, or W bite Willow. May I asa if he has ever 
examined the many plantations of it during his travels 
in Northern Illinois, certainly within a few hours' ride 
of Chicago, by mil. any day ho choee to go out for that 
purpose. IT ho has done so, ami then deliberately 
concluded I hat it is u humbug, he is the first and only 
person I know or have heard of, out of many hundreds 
who have visited them, that has come to each a con¬ 
clusion. 
How any true friend of the West, knowing the desti¬ 
tution of trces.on the prairies, 
ALL ABOUT A PIE, 
To Mrs. Everitt: 
■% Dear - 
Will you he kind enough to hear 
An old cook talk about a pie ? 
I have, in humble way, 
Made pics for many a dav • 
Yet, your recipe, (if I the' truth m 
Seems io be strangely lacking 
In just proportions;-well, 
If truth I'm going to tell, 
I see no use of farther backing 
Or going round the bush and beat 
Ti? just as well to say it here, 
So read and see if tis not clear, 
That cheapest pies may be too c 
If they're unfit for eating. 
cun persistently oppose 
any general efi'orl inakinufto remedy that great want, 
is more than I can understand, rtut. for the severe 
drouth the past spring, I am confident he would soon 
see and acknowledge his mistake. This I assert apart 
from all incidentals as io high prices, quality or gen¬ 
uineness of cuttings, &c.,—that here was in itself a 
meritorious effort to start general tree.planting on the 
prairies, and with the most hardy, enduring, valuable, 
soft-wooded tree, of easy propagation, general adapta¬ 
tion, availability and usefulness known for our prai¬ 
ries, and iliar Mr. Brao noN, against every other man 
I know of at. the West acquainted wiili the subject, 
opposed, cried down the effort per £e. [ mus t beg to 
renew my query;—Has Mr. Bragdon examined the 
growing plantations of the willow thoroughly? If 
not, let him do so, If he 1ms, then it is his judgment 
against Unit of hundreds of other, perhaps equally 
competent, judges. Truly, 
Bloomington, III., ISfrl. p. K. Phcenix. 
To “reckon ” up the whole,— 
And all the salt iu one small spoon, 
To me seems rather droll. 
Again, the way to make a crust— 
Butter preferred to lard 
With miik instead of water, must, 
Methinks, be nthei hard. 
To make the plainest kind of paste 
I do not think that I, 
No matter wh.tt the need or haste, 
Conld bring my mind to try— 
Unless I had one half, at least. 
Of some good short ning— the best. 
The kind that is the best 
That one can use, is lard 
That 's sweet and pure and very hard, 
With water for the rest. 
And as for chopping up the - plumbs,” 
Oh! shade of Johnny Horner 
Forgive the thought, and use your “ thumbs” 
As ever, in the comer. 
So now as I have had my say, 
I'll give you this advice — 
To make your pies just twice as rich, 
Then eat just hair a slice. 
The Rural Ed. objects, it seems, 
To letters lacking owners— 
And wishes all who contribute 
To give the name of donors; 
And specifies the reason why 
He asks the favor small; 
I “ see ” the reason, and comply— 
My name is 
Nobodee Atall. 
hAVE your Currant Bushes. — For sev¬ 
eral years I have been in the habit of setting out 
a few currant cuttings every spring. Three 
years ago, when the currant worm commenced 
its ravages in this region, I noticed that my cub- 
tings ami one year old plants were not troubled. 
Now, it takes but little foresight to see, that if I 
continue the practice as Jong as the worms con¬ 
tinue their ravages, I shall come out ahead, and 
those that have had their bushes nearly destroyed 
can probably find some sprouts of last year's 
growth, trom which to take cuttings this spring, 
and thus save their stock, n. H. Doolittt £ 
Willow speculator, nor nurseryman, nor ped¬ 
dler; nor were his expenses paid by any such 
person, wfiich cannot be said of certain other 
contemporaries which he might name, and 
which he will take occasion to name at the 
proper time. 
3. ilr. Bragdon has not concluded nor as¬ 
serted that the White Willow is a humbug. 
And it is highly probable that Mr. PhCknix 
knew ho had not when he penned the above 
specimen of special pleading. But lie has de¬ 
nounced, and Intends to denounce, regardless of 
the interests of Willow dealers, all efforts made 
to humbug farmers with this White Willow or, 
by means of it, any other Willow. 
■1. Mr. Buagdox has never opposed any 
"general effort, made legitimately, to remedy 
the great want of trees on the prairies. But he 
has opposed, aud intends to oppose, the effort 
which has been made and is making to take 
money out of th* pockets of the farmers of the 
prairies by false pretenses. He bas no objec¬ 
tion to fanners planting the White Willow. 
But he is determined they shall plant it for 
what it is, so far as lie can intluenee them, not 
for what it is not. And he is firmly convinced 
that the rascalities which have grown out of 
this White Willow excitement, have done, and 
M ill do, more to retard the progress of tree- 
planting on the prairies, than anything which 
has happened during the past ten years. 
•-""**•7./ 
THE EUROPEAN WEEPING ASH. 
which did not grow out of his convictions of 
duty to those whom his writings might influ- 
ence. He has bun offered a great deal more 
money to pursue a different course to that which 
he has pursued! The trouble is with Mr. P., 
will throw out vigorous shoots and occasion a 
rapid growth. Trim it in the summer mouths 
and it will check growth ou account of the 
removal of foliage—b very rampant growth may 
sometimes require to be thus checked to induce 
fruitfulness. It is proper to rub off in summer 
any young shoots that come out where they are 
not wanted. Make low tops; it is much easier 
to pick two barrels of apples standing ou the 
ground than one. barrel in the top of a high tree. 
Keep the branches open and spreading, for air, 
light and sun arc essential to color and flavor 
fruit. Save branches that have a Jinn union to 
the tree, and remove or shorten those that in¬ 
cline to split. Some trei.-s of mine that were 
badly broken by the snow, fall berore last, throw 
out vigorous shoots last .spring, and the wood 
seems to he very sound at the fracture—which 
would seem to show that fall pruning was right. 
Select your time to prime, and don't fail to keep 
your appointment. 
Third —Manure your trees with barn-yard 
manure, lime, plaster, ashes, muck, or charcoal. 
Keep the land as rich as the best com held. 
Fourth —Destroy all worms and insects. Pick 
up the fruit that prematurely falls, or let the 
pigs do it. 
Fifth— Leave no stone piles, brush, or old 
stumps, or any rubbish, to harbor mice, and 
especially where the snow drifts look well to 
the mice by treading the snow hard, banking 
up with earth, or using some wash like a mix¬ 
ture of com dung, soot, sulphur and water. 
Lastly —Guard against your own depredations 
with plows, harrows, cultivators, whiffletrees, 
gorticulfurat 
SUNDRY RECIPES, 
Bark Lice—W e have been troubled in oar orcaards 
by bark lice. I have thrown dry wood ashes on the 
trees when they were wet with rain or mist. repeating 
Lt at different times, and many of my trees that were 
mostly covered with lice are now nearly free from them, 
while trees that have not been ashed are mostly cov- 
ered with lice — Chas. M. Fowler. 
The writer has seen lousy, thriftless trees, standing 
in sward, made to shed their lice, and stimulated into 
vigorous growth, after years of thriftless existence, by 
the application of a mutch of leached (and unleached) 
ashes about their roots. 
mi? xvi-KALj ana which may be of use to some 
one. They are good and not expensive. 
An Excellent Liquid Blueing. — One 
ounce of Prussian blue. 1 ounce oxalic acid, 1 
quait rain water; dissolve each separately, and 
strain through a cloth. Shake before using. 
Pie-Plant Short Cake. -Make a short 
cake in the usual w ay; equal quantities of but¬ 
termilk and cream, aaleratus in proportion; 
when it is baked split it open and butter both 
sides well. Have ready some pie plant stewed 
in sugar sufficient to sweeten it nicely. Spread 
it on the cake, put on the top piece and it will 
make a nice dessert. 
t heap Lemon Pies.— Take one large lemon, 
squeeze out the juice, cut the peel fine; take 1 
teacup of sugar, 1 of molasses, 3 of water, 1 of 
sifted flour, 1 egg, stewed sour apple or pie 
plant, sweetened, suflieient for one pie; boil the 
peel till soft, then put in the flour after wetting 
it with cold water: boil till it thickens: then 
add the juice and other ingredients; this will 
make four medium-sized pies, to be made with 
UY0 erust >- Lizzie M. 
». a.cu is the best Strawberry '— A correspond- 
enr who neither gives his name nor place of residence 
asks the above and sundry other questions. We should 
not take any notice of him but for the fact that we 
want to impress him and all others who ask questions 
with the importance of giving the place from which 
they ask th cm. For a straw berry that may be “ best ’ 
for cultivation in one place Tor market maybe far from 
it in another. Again, we want to know who asks 
questions. The name and post office address should 
accompany all inquiries. We want them as evidence 
of sincerity on the part of the questioner, even though 
we use neither in our repiy. 
CARE OF FRUIT TREES. 
Leaving out all consideration of the African 
race, if there is one respect in which men are 
more illiberal than another, it is in their treat- 
You will generally 
some pretence of fair 
justice; but when fruit trees 
—- you had better expect uo 
meut of their fruit trees, 
see in human transactions 
play, some show of ‘ 
enter Into the account 
such thing. 
Do not men look disconsolate, border 
disgust, ii they have to eat gnarly or 1 
fruit, or if the trees fail to bear, or dl 
insects or other causes? Do they not 
look for large profits, or much pleasuri 
their trees ? 
M hat do they expect to render in ret 
speak now of nteu of average honesty. I 
m>chitf Ct and th ° y ex l ievt? " Ans. Litl 
It is well enough settled that abundan 
ot good quality is the result of careft 
thorough culture, It is well enough settle 
scarce any department of industry makes 
returns for all outlays than fruit raising, ai 
in view of all this, a large majoritv of th 
" KA1Ls fbom wearing Wood—S ome mouths ago 
(seepage 2T>, lastvol.,) we published an article under 
the head of “Western Editorial Notes,” in which 
talking of the propagation of the Delaware from bear 
mg wood, we said, Dr. T. Kenntcott asserted that he 
had two year old vines loaded with fruit, which he 
foe io were propagated from bearing wood by Charles 
Downing. This assertion, going the rounds of ex¬ 
changes, in various forms, has attracted TV K = 
ORNAMENTAL TREES, No. IH. 
lo cleanse good Kid Gloves.— I will 
git e you an excellent recipe for cleansing goekl 
kiu gloves: it may not answer for poor ones. I 
have tried it repeatedly with success. At $1.30 
per pair, gloves are worth saving. WTiite ones 
may be cleaned by this mode. Put the glove 
on the hand. Dip a piece of white flannel in 
Benzine, wring it very dry, rub the gloves all 
over. Blow in them to swell them out; pin up 
out of doors to dry. and to get rid of the detest¬ 
able smell. If once don’t answer, cleanse a 
second time. A nice article of Benzine is found 
at drug stoic-, but we can get such as painters 
use, being careful to get the best, at 23 cents for 
enough for a dozen pairs. It leaves the gloves 
as pliable as new ones if they are not moistened. 
—Susan P. Doubleday Crafts. 
Tuts genus contributes largely to our list of 
useful and ornamental trees, and we propose at 
tins time to notice briefly a few of the species 
and varieties best adapted to the embellishment 
of lawns and pleasure grounds. 
First —The European Weeping 
sior pendula .)— The oldest- ™,i 
gttQUims nurt ^usurers 
peneiula .)—The oldest aud most widely 
known of all the drooping branched varieties, 
originated in England more than a century ago. 
1 he branches have a drooping, irregular habit 
of growth, and when grafted at the height ol 
eight or ten feet, or better even at twenty feet 
if practicable, it makes a fine, graceful and 
remarkable tree, and a very appropriate cover¬ 
ing for a rustic summer seat. Thn 
Beef Soup.—F our pounds fresh beef; 4 quarts 
cold water; 1 large spoons salt, which makes the 
iat rise, and it should be skimmed first thing. 
Boil very slowly, as hard boiling tougheus meat. 
If it should be necessary to use more water, let 
it be boiling hot when added. When the meat 
becomes tender add a little rice. It will require 
four or five hours to make this soup.—A Sub¬ 
scriber. 
growth Is it proof against the attac 
Does u make a desirable hedge —\v. 
Wo know that it has boeo growu $ o 
in difi'ervnc localities !u the different S 
and with various results. The experie 
grow it seems to be about equally 
against it. We have seen splendid hi 
four or five years old. Again, when n 
old we have seen hedges that began to 
of die plants seemed to die ont, whet 
ing, or from the borer, or from what 
know. It requires a longer time—say 
to get an efficient hedge from it, than 
Osage Orange. It is hardy, a rapid gr 
mice trouble it wc are not aware. V 
judgment and opinions we respect, rec< 
shall be glad to publish experience fron 
tried it. 
To Make Good Vinegar. — Due pint of 
strained honey and two gallons of soft water. 
Let stand iu a moderately warm place, and I 
will warrant good vinegar in three weeks. I 
have tried it several times, and never had it 
tail—b. F. 
[SBECXAL notice.] 
Try it Once—T he manufacturers of the Chemical 
balcratns, Messrs. De Land A Co., show their readiness 
to have the merits of the article tested, for they author 
ize all who sell it at retail to refund the money when 
by fair trialdoes not prove to be as recommended. 
That is fair, and shows their confidence in the article. 
1 
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