I 
wmm 
ittiii 
m. A 
IlIS 
kV.VTllV. 
PAPERING WHITB-WASHED WALLS. 
APPLE TREES DYING IN THE WEST. 
L. L. F., writes that a pound of glue dissolved 
in three gallons of paste, thin enough to flow 
rapidly, is used, while hot, to size the walls. 
Add glue to the paste used in papering, also. 
Washing the wall with salt and vinegar is also 
recommended by the same writer. 
Wm. IJ. Lagy, of Ohio, writes:—“Add to one 
gallon of good strong vinegar, four ounces of 
glue. Heat until glue is dissolved, then take a 
white-wash brush and wash the walls with it, 
and I will warrant the paper to stick.” 
E. Gillktt, of Iowa, writes:—“Take milk 
— skimmed milk will do if not sour — and 
whitening, mix and go over the walls with a 
white-wash brush. I have tried it to my satis¬ 
faction.” 
E. M. Whitmer writes:—" Scrape off all the 
loose white-wash. Dissolve one pound of alum 
in ten quarts of soft water. With a large brush 
apply it to the wall. When dry put on your 
paper, using rye flour for paste, and it is sure 
to stick.” 
Eos. Hun a i, New*Yorker:—W hat ails the 
apple trees at the West? The largest and 
oldest trees—those twelve to fifteen years old, 
that bore apples last year—are dying now. 
The proportion will average about one-third. 
A month ago they looked thrifty and good; 
but now the leaves are wilting and drying 
up. Some that were very full of blossoms 
four weeks ago, are now dead. The leaves 
first wilt, then curl up and dry up, as if there 
had been a lire under the trees. Where the 
trees are well cultivated, and where they are 
not, it is all the same—especially about grafted 
trees. 
Now what ails the trees? Is it the dry, hot 
weather, (for it is dry and hot here now,) or is 
it disease; or was It caused by the severe win¬ 
ter? Tf the latter, why not kill the young 
trees as well as the older ones? I set twelve 
acres two years ago; they are doing well; all 
cultivated alike. Is there any cure or remedy? 
Please answer an old subscriber. o. i>. v. 
Columbus, Wia., June!*, 1864. 
Remarks. We do not know what ails your 
trees. We hear of similar cases in other locali¬ 
ties. We shall be glad to receive full reports of 
the condition of orchards, from all quarters. 
U. S. Grant Cake. —Take one pound of 
flour; one of butter; one of sugar; ten eggs; one 
gill of brandy: two pounds currants; two and a 
half pounds raisins; half pound citron; half an 
ounce mace; half ounce cinnamon; two nut¬ 
megs; one spoonful ginger; half wine glass rose 
water. The currants should be washed and 
cleaned the day previous. Stone the raisins and 
cut them in halves; sprinkle the currants and 
raisins well with flour; mix the brandy and rose 
water into a cup, adding thereto the spice, 
pounded fine. If you use brown sugar dry and 
roll it; if white, crush it and pass through a 
coarse sieve, stir the butter and sugar together, 
beat your eggs very light, and add to the butter 
and sugar; to this add a part of the flour; then 
stir in the spices and liquors ; then add the re¬ 
mainder of the flour, and the currants and 
raisins alternately, stir the whole a few min¬ 
utes. Butter a large tiu pan, and cover the 
sides and bottom with sheets of white paper 
well buttered; then put into the pan -omeof the 
cake, as above mixed, and spread upon it a few 
strips of citron; then another portion of the cake 
and upon that some citron, and so on until the 
whole is in the pan. It will require four or fiv& 
hours baking.— Mkrttie Mac. 
THE HARDY MAGNOLIAS, 
Oe all the hardy ornamental spring flowering 
trees which embellish the garden aud lawn in 
our climate, the Magnolias, by common consent, 
take the front rank. There are two classes, one 
indigenous to North America, the other to 
Chiua and Japan. 
Of tlio former, Downing says-—“The North 
American trees composing the genus Magnolia 
are certainly among the most splendid produc¬ 
tions of the forests in any temperate climate; 
and when we consider the size and fragrance of 
their blossoms, or the beauty of their large and 
noble foliage, we may be allowed to doubt 
whether there U a more magnificent and showy 
genus of deciduous trees in the world. They 
attracted the attention of the first botanists who 
came over to examine the riches of our native 
flora, and were transplanted to the gardens of 
Englatul and France more than a hundred 
years ago, where they are still valued as the 
finest hardy trees of that hemisphere. The 
American Magnolias, which are hardy here in 
Western New York, are: 
1st. The Cucumber Magnolia, (acuminata,) 
indigenous to our own* forests; it attains the 
height oi fifty to eighty feet; growth regular 
and symetrical; leaves six inches long by four 
wide; in young plants nearly twice as large. 
Flowers pale yellow, tinged with bluish-purple, 
three to four inches in diameter; fragrant. 
Blossoms here about 1st of June. 
2d. The Umbrella Magnolia (tripetela) at¬ 
tains the height of twenty to twenty-five 
feet; has leaves eighteen or twenty inches 
long and seven or eight broad, arranged in 
threes and fours, like an umbrella, on the ends 
of the shoots. Flowers white; very large and 
fragrant; appear in the early part of June. 
Trees now (June 16) in full blossom at Roch¬ 
ester. In our climate this tree sends up a suc¬ 
cession of shoots from the root, which form new 
stems to take the place of the old ones as they 
decline. It is fatal to it to attempt to train it 
to a single stem or trunk. The magnificent 
tufted foliage of this tree gives it a semi-tropi¬ 
cal appearance, which few trees of our climate 
possess. 
3d. The Large-leaved Magnolia (macrophyl- 
la. )— 1 This tree lias not, w r e believe, been found 
indigenous farther north than North Carolina, 
and is not so hardy as the others; yet in shel¬ 
tered situations it endures our climate. It at¬ 
tains scarcely so large a size aM the tripetcla. 
The leaves on young trees are of enormous size, 
and the flowers also very large and fragrant 
We have a tree here about twenty feet high, 
from which we have taken a leaf two feet nine 
inches long and fifteen inches wide. It is just 
now (Juno 10) coming into blossom. Like the 
tripetcla, the leaves are grouped in tufts on the 
ends of the branches. 
Jth. The Swamp Magnolia, (rjlauca,) with 
deep green, glossy leaves, and white, sweet- 
scented flowers, about the size of a common 
tulip. The under side of the leaves is quite sil¬ 
very. A beautiful, small tree. 
5th. Thompson’s Magnolia, ( Thoinpsoninna,) 
said to be a hybrid between the glauea and 
some other. We think it is merely a variety of 
glauea. It has large foliage and flowers, and a 
stronger growth, than the species. This one is 
usually propagated by budding or grafting in 
the acuminata. All the preceding are grown 
from seed. 
There are several other species and varieties 
of American Magnolias, including the Ever¬ 
green one of the South, (grnndijhmt,) which is 
not hardy here. Those we have named are all 
propagated and sold in the nurseries. 
THE CHINESE MAGNOLIAS. 
These differ in one very important particular 
from the American. Their flowers appear be¬ 
fore the leaves, during the month of May. The 
American species flower in June and July, 
when in lull leaf. While the Chinese species 
do not equal the American in the size and 
grandeur of the foliage, they far surpass them 
in the profusion, beauty, and showincss of their 
flowers. Indeed, as floral ornaments in the 
garden or on the lawn in early spring, they 
have no rivals nor equals. 
They are perfectly hardy, and quite as easily 
• grown as the native species. They can all be 
FLOWER OF MAGNOLIA SOULAXGEANA 
grafted on the acuminata, which seems to im¬ 
prove them both in size and hardiness. They 
can also be grown from seed and from layers. 
The species and varieties in cultivation here are 
as follows: 
1st. The Purple Flowered, (purpurea, j which 
attains only the size of a shrub, some six to 
eight feet in height Has numerous stems, pro¬ 
duced from the root or collar. Flowers purple 
outside and whitish within. 
2d. The Chinese White Magnolia or Yulan, 
( conspieua, J —'This was the first of the Chi¬ 
nese or Asiatic species introduced to Europe 
by Sir Joseph Banks, in 17S‘J. It attains the 
height of thirty feet, and is of symmetrical 
growth, assuming a fine pyramidal form. The 
leaves are of good size; flowers pure white, 
about three inches in diameter; blossoms here 
in May. A large tree covered with these beau¬ 
tiful white, lily-like flowers, is an object of 
wondrous beauty. Loudon mentions a plant 
in England in 1835, trained ou a wall, having 
5,000 flowers on it. Downing mentioned one 
In the Ifortlulturist , in the year 1817, on his 
own grounds, which had on it 3,000 flowers 
open at once. This tree hud been planted four¬ 
teen years, and was twenty feet high, the 
branches spreading over a space fifteen feet in 
ble on the last day of May. Esquire Lowell, 
who prepared a history of this insect, says that 
he gathered some peas at 8 A. M. on the 1st of 
June, and that then there was not a bug to he 
seen on the vines. At 10 o’clock, on revisiting 
the viues, they were literally overrun with 
rose-bugs of both sexes, generally paired. He 
proceeded to_kili them by h a nd. Thre e hours 
afterward they_had_appeared upon some" rows 
of bunch beans, to the number of soma thou- 
sands._JThose_wereaUkiOed,_and then, on re¬ 
turning to the peas to see if any there had been 
overlooked, lie found the vines as full as before. 
The next day lie found them upon his corn, 
then only six inches high; twenty-five bugs 
were counted upon a single leaf, and one hun¬ 
dred and rive upon one of the hills. They also 
attacked his young cherry trees, and in twelve 
hours completely stripped them of their leaves. 
He says it would be but a moderate computa¬ 
tion to allow that they killed a hundred thou¬ 
sand of these insects on a quarter of an acre. 
They followed them up regularly every 
diameter. It was grafted, a foot from the 
ground, on the acuminata. 
3d. Soulange’s White and Purple, (Sudan - 
geana.J —'This is a hybrid between the Purple 
and Conspieua. produced by a French Horti¬ 
culturist many years ago. It is a little more 
hardy than the Conspieua, more, spreading in 
habit, and the flowers are a rich lilac purple 
outside. The accompanying wood cut is the 
portrait of a tree of this variety, about twelve 
feet in height, and the saute in diameter of 
branches. The blossoms on it this season might 
have been counted by the thousand. We annex 
a wood cut of a single flower. Several seed¬ 
lings have been produced from this variety, dif¬ 
fering from it in some unimportant particulars. 
Speciosa and Xorhertiana are now in our cata¬ 
logues. A new one named Lknne, lately fig¬ 
ured in the English Florist, is described as best 
of all the Purple Magnolias. 
The Magnolias are generally regarded as being 
somewhat difficult to transplant, unless when 
very young. Our experience is that the most 
favorable moment to transplant them is just as 
the leaf buds begin to open in the spring. 
This, however, is not always practicable. We 
have moved several trees of large size, almost 
fully in leaf, without losing one. 
Pickling Cauliflower.— T. Roessle, the 
proprietor of the Delevan House, at Albany, has 
long been famous for his fine celery. His work 
on the culture and care of celery is a valuable 
one. It is asserted he is equally unrivalled in 
the culture of cauliflowers, aud manages to keep 
his table supplied with this delicious esculent at 
all seasons of the year, and this is the way he 
pickles it:—He slits the stalk with a knife, in 
order that the brine may penetrate the interior. 
He then determines the strength of his brine, 
not as is usual, by making a potato swim in it, 
but by placing the potato in the bottom of the 
jar and pouring the brine on, increasing its 
strength as it (the potato) rises slowly to the sur¬ 
face. This will give the exact measure of the 
proper streugth. Most people spoil their pickled 
cauliflowers by making the brine too strong. IP 
took Mr. R. three years of experimenting to 
discover the true secret; and now that he is 
master of it, he is anxious that the public should 
reap the benefit of it. 
morn¬ 
ing for a week, and thus nearly subdued them, 
ou that piece of ground. 
They continue about a month, and then dis¬ 
appear. Toward the close of their lives, the 
females crawl an inch or more into the ground, 
where they deposit their eggs, about thirty in 
number, whitish, and almost globular. These 
hatch twenty days afterward, and the little 
grubs feed upon whatever tender, juicy roots 
they can find, and grow to their full size before 
winter; they are then three-quarters of an inch 
long, yellow, and polished, and six short legs 
beneath the breast. These worms descend into 
the ground for the winter; and in the spring 
come up near to the surface, and pass into their 
pupa state by crowding out a cell in the earth. 
* * * These latter have several natural ene¬ 
mies; the large Dragon Fly, and several other 
predacious insects, seize and devour numbers of 
them, but human aid is necessary for their de¬ 
struction. when very numerous. 
Water Color Painting.— For the benefit 
of Mary, I would say that I do not know the 
system of painting w itli water colors, as I never 
had a teacher; but I will give my experience. 
I bought one of Roger-’ boxes containing 
twelve different paints; also brushes, dishes to 
contain water, and pencils. I procured mine in 
Ithaca; price one dollar. Wet the brush slightly 
in the dish and brush on the edge of the paint. 
Always draw the flowers before painting them. 
Have one sized paper for all, and when done 
they may Vie bound.— Mrs. S. M. R ., Mecklenr 
burg, y. Y,, 1861. 
fmtirwltttral *tote.s 
Wetting the Broom.— The K <ral \eic- 
Yorker advises the women to wet the broom 
often when sweeping a carpet, so as to keep 
down the dust. Don’t you do it. Two or three 
such sweepings will fade a carpet more than a 
year of sunshine .—Buffalo Conner. 
To Drive Ants from Peonies.— Smoke them well 
with tobacco and pour a weak solution of the same 
around the routs. I have tried the above this summer, 
and now see my Peonies doing well.—Liz lie R. 
The Currant Worm —We know from repeated ex¬ 
periments the past week, that powdered hellebore, 
spnukled on the bushes in quite limited quantities, will 
clear the worms in double quick time. We have suc¬ 
ceeded in completely eradicating them from ours, and 
have the promise of a sttperl* crop.— Ithaca Journal 
DOMESTIC INQUIRIES. 
To Remove Grease from Silk.— Cun you, or any of 
your correspondents, tell what, will remove wheel 
crease from silk, without injuring its luster 0 —A. It. 
Hudson, Mich. 
Strawberry Short ache. —Will tho numerous 
correspondents of ihe Rural favor me with some reci¬ 
pes for strawberry shortcacke? and oblige—A Yottno 
Housekeeper. 
To Make Snail. Shells Transparent.—W ill some 
one tell me how to make snail shells transparent ■ [ 
have seen them almost as transparent as glass, but do 
not know how to prepare them - t am twry anxious to 
know. I have been told to boil them in saleratus water 
and it wonld make them so. I have tried it, but it 
would not do it- I can make them a chalk white by 
hoiling them in strong \ inegar, and then scraping o 
brushing them. If some one will tell me how to make, 
them transparent, they will greatly oblige—E liza C. 
P., Middlevill-e, Mich. 
Ripe Peaches in June.— A ripe peach on tho 15th 
of June! This is crowding the season, but neverthe¬ 
less the fruit is as luscious and palatable as though 
produced in the regular order in August. Mr W illiam 
Habradsnck, the skillful gardener at Smith's Nur¬ 
series, puts ns under obligations to hi in for a ripe peach 
raised in ihe conservatory of that, nursery. Several 
trees of this species are now bearing ripe fruit there.— 
Syracuse Journal, 
MAGNOLIA SOULAXGEANA. 
Portrait of a tree 12 feet high and 12 feet in diameter of branches, in the grounds of Ellwanoer & Barry 
troublesome from itsyabundaoee at others, and 
utterly destructive of some fruits, particularly 
of the apple in some parts of the West. One 
orchard, in Mercer county, 111., was entirely 
stripped of its fruit for seven years, in sucees- 
when there was some 
pon 'which it is crowded, and very imperfect fruit. 
•asionally. It is a small, bud- This beetle belongs to the family Melolon- 
a ith shining yellow legs, and tii in,K, the same group which includes a com- 
•k feet. It is very voracious, men insect of kindred habits —Jacknosterna 
criminating. The eider Is freely qutreim —which some years is so numerous in 
, though generally considered particular localities as wholly to destroy the 
iscets. it is singular that it fruit when iu its germ. * * * These in- 
•regularly distributed over tho sects make their appearance suddenly in incred- 
rnre at some points and most ible numbers. In 1826, not a rose-bug was visi- 
n.vRDY Apple Trees.— My soil is inclined to clay— 
my situation is near the edge of the prairie, and is well 
sheltered by groves of young timber. Tho lowest point 
I observed the thermonWler, the past winter, was 30* 
below /.two. The following varieties with no protec 
lion, except as named, passed the winter entirely tin 
harmed Vandevere, Rawle’s Janette, Keswick Codlin, 
Ram bo, Dutchess of Olden burgh, Seek no-further and 
Wine Sap. Some other varieties were but slightly 
injured. Those trees were three years from the graft 
and one year transplanted. Will your Wisconsin read¬ 
ers report the effects, in their localities, upon the above 
and any other varieties they may have in cultivation? 
—L. L. Pairouilh, Rolling Prairie, IFi.r. 
exec 
[SPECIAL NOTICE.) 
The Best Tree is Clubbed.— The venders of worth¬ 
less Saleratus make a point against De Land & Co.’s 
Chemical Saleratus, and have gone so far as to put ont 
a spurious article, hoping thereby to destroy its repu¬ 
tation. It is the best tree in the orchard that is moat 
Clubbed. Buy only the Chemical Saleratus. We have 
tried it- 
