WATERING GARDENS. 
Eds. Rural New-Yorker: —How would it suit 
you to give us in the Rural the condensed and 
aggregate wisdom of Horticultural sages about 
watering gardens? I have been nearly all my life 
a western farmer, and, like many other western 
fanners, have been trying to carry on a somewhat 
extensive business with very limited help, conse¬ 
quently the garden fared as the urgency of the other 
business permitted, and watering was out of the 
question. Now that I am released from these more 
extensive cares, l have been trying to call to mind 
what periodicals have taught about watering gardens, 
and I believe, unless my memory is at fault, that the 
record is not very complete. 
Recently, in a time of drouth, I spaded up a bed of 
early radishes, about four by eight feet in size, for 
turnips; and finding it very dry, I determined to 
drench it with water preparatory to sowing the tur¬ 
nip seed. I applied with a watering pot 30 gallons 
of water, which wet the soil two inches deep. Twenty- 
fonr hours after, I found it to be moistened, in nice 
order for working, spade deep. Thia experiment 
serves to show bow large a quantity of water is 
required to moisten soil in time of drouth. Some 
pet spots in my garden that have been watered every 
evening for a long time, are slightly moist at the 
close of each day. 
In relation to the use of water in the time of 
drouth, many questions might be asked:—How often 
should it be applied? In what quantity? Is a little, 
daily applied, or an occasional drenching best? Well 
or cistern water? Is it important that the water be 
warmed, or may it be need right from the purnp? 
What time of day is best? What trees and plants are 
most benefited? Are some injured by watering? 
Why Is continuons watering more necessary, as it is 
alledged, when irrigation is* artificial than when it is 
natural? In time of severe drouth, if hills are watered 
while the adjacent soil remains dry, is there an 
abstraction of fertility by the surronnding absorption ? 
Docs irrigation invite or repel insects? Are plants as 
healthy and their fruit as well flavored with frequent 
waterings as without? Docs underdraiuing and deep 
culture render artificial irrigation unnecessary, oris 
water in drouth still beneficial? Inasmuch as drouth 
occurs almost every year, more or less, may we con¬ 
sider it always as an evil? Or does nature require Its 
aid to perfect her designs, and do wo frustrate her 
operations sometimes by too offleions waterings 
whenever the soil becomes dry? It seems to us, but 
perhaps the seeming iB somewhat because of our 
ignorance, that of both wet and dry we have some¬ 
times too much of a good thing; and yet if we had 
exactly enough of both to suit us, it may he that the 
aggregate result would not bo aB well as it is now. 
Milan, Eric Co., Ohio, 1861. Fktkk Hatbawav. 
We will do what we can to respond to the call of 
our venerable and respected correspondent. In 
another column we give an interesting article by 
P. Harry, Esq., written some time since, and soon 
after his return from a trip to Europe, and also some 
facts from the British Gardener's Dictionary. 
Quantity ok Water.— In watering plauts, we 
would give enough each lime to soak the ground 
thoroughly as far as the roots extend, in all directions. 
If a little water is given jnst around the plant, the 
fine roots that extend far and wide in search of food, 
receive no benefit from it, but a crust is formed 
around tbe main stalk that does positive injury 
unless occasionally broken and mellowed. The roots 
will accommodate themselves to circumstances. If 
the snrface is dry, they go down deep for moisture; if 
the surface Is the more raoistand mellowand best fitted 
for their growth, and the fulfillment of their office— 
feedingthe plant —then they will form acomplete net¬ 
work near the top of the ground. If a plant grows 
near the side of a hard road, nearly all the roots will 
be found on tho side of the plant next to the border, 
and few on the road side. If then the surface is 
watered Blightly every day, the roots are coaxed to 
the surface; and if watering is omitted for a single 
day, they become Injured by the drying of the surface, 
when if they had been deeper in the soil no injury 
would have been received. Again, constunt watering 
causes the surface to become baked, and the roots 
by noon each day are imprisoned in an Impenetrable 
crust, where they must remain until the next water¬ 
ing. This crust is not likely to be broken up every 
day. Indeed, it would be difficult to do so without 
injuring the roots. Tbe best way, therefore, is to 
give a good soaking, and after ahout tweenty-four 
hours, lighten the earth on the surface with the hoe. 
One good watering will answer for several days. 
Hard or Boft Water —Warm or Cold. — Boft 
water is the best for all plants, yet bard water may 
be used without injury to most things. Those who 
grow tender plants know the difference, hut iu ordi¬ 
nary gardening it would not be perceptible. If well 
water is allowed to stand during the day exposed to 
the sun and air, it can be used lor all purposes. A 
little manure, occasionally thrown into the tank or bar¬ 
rel containing the water, is of great benefit, and no 
additional trouble. Cold water from the well should 
never be used. Hardy plants may endure such treat¬ 
ment, bnt tender things would Buffer materially, and 
all receive more or less injury. When the air and 
soil are warm, plants make a rapid growth; but when 
both are cold, the growth is very slow. To apply cold 
water when both air and earth are warm, gives the 
plants a sudden shock. When the human system is 
heated, it is dangerous to put the feet in cold water. If 
cold water 1s used on plants in glass houses, the 
leaves soon become a sickly yellow, hence in every 
such house a tank is kept for warming the water. 
Time kor Watering.— The besttime for watering is 
evening. This giveB the earth an opportunity to 
absorb the water applied before the hot sun can 
evuporate any considerable portion. 
Injury prom Watering.— Some plants can endure 
drouth better than others, but judicious watering 
will injure none of our hardy plauts. Foreign plants 
grown in conservatories, brought from hot and dry 
countries, reqaire little or no water at particular 
seasons, hut to study their habits and wants is the 
work of the skillful gardener. An excessive use of 
water causes a succulent growth of wood and large, 
poorly flavored fruit. Thus, the English growers of 
gooseberries for prizes, raise them as large aB hens’ 
e Kg8, but fur Inferior in flavor to those grown with 
ordiuary culture. We are not likely to err on this 
side at present. Every climate is adapted to particu¬ 
lar fruits, vegetables, &c., and this adaptation is 
shown by the perfection to which they arrive, and 
the little labor required in their culture. What 
grows almost spontaneously in one country can be 
giowu in another only under the most favorable cir- 
C'lmstanoea a,lt * the exercise of the nicest skill. 
Hot, dry weather is necessary to the maturity 
of many of our crops. In the moist, cool climate of 
England, neither corn, nor tomatoes, nor peaches 
will ripen, except in peculiar situations, and with 
special treatment. At the same time they eau excel 
us in. growing cauliflower and turnips, and many 
flowers that we try to grow, such as the Pansy and 
Carnation. From such facts we may learn that while 
our corn and tomatoes are benefited bv hot, dry 
weather, our cauliflower, turnip, and the flowers 
named, and other things of like character, would be 
benefited by a little shade and plenty of water—treat¬ 
ment that would make something like an English 
climate. 
Underdrawing and Deep Culture. —We cannot 
say that underdraining would in all cases render 
watering unnecessary, but we do say that nothing we 
can do to our soil will have such a beneficial eflect in 
preventing injury from drouth. 
We have endeavored to give a little light ou a few 
of the points of oar correspondent, and will with 
pleasure publish any further information which may 
be furnished by our readers. ThiB is an important 
matter, and the letter of friend Hathaway is very 
suggestive. 
IMPOST AN CE OP WATER IN GARDENING. 
There can be no successful gardening without an 
abundant supply of water. So true is this, and so 
general, that we may regard it as an axiom among 
practical cultivators in every part of the world. Tt 
has been always bq. The history of gardening, back 
to the earliest period of which we have any record, 
even to the fabulous gardens of antiquity, shows that 
one of the first objects of solicitude in the formation 
of gardens has been to provide for an ample supply 
of water. In all stages of civilization, under every 
system of gardening, it has been regarded not only 
as the basis of good culture, bat an indispensable 
element of beauty. Our purpose at present, however, 
is to treat of it in a useful point of view only. In a 
country like ours, with summers intensely warm, and 
drouths severe and protracted, oconrring generally at 
a seasou when active and rapid growth is most 
wanted, a supply of water is peculiarly important. 
Yet on the whole it receives comparatively little at¬ 
tention. It is a portion of garden economy either 
not well understood or sadly overlooked. 
How oo sum on it is to hear people say, “ Everything 
is dried up”—“We have not had a shower in a 
month.” The lawn is brown, as though scorched by 
fire. Flowers and fruits are dried and shriveled on 
their stems before maturity. In the kitchen garden, 
the seeds are lying dormant in the ground, or the 
plants are parched and withered;—nothing fit for"the 
table; the drouth has made a complete wreak. Yet 
tho gardener, he says, has been busy with bis water¬ 
ing-pot early and late; but he had some distance to 
carry the water, and a sprinkling each morning or 
evening was all he could afford. And what good has 
it done? His parched and stunted perishing crops 
answer, that all such watering Is a mere mockery. 
It is not an occasional sprinkling that growing culi¬ 
nary plants require in dry weather, but a daily 
drenching that will penetrate to every root and root¬ 
let. These plants, to bo worth growing at all, should 
be grown rapidly. The/ must be succulent and ten¬ 
der, which they cannot be if stunted. Every one 
who has traveled through Holland, Belgium, or 
France, in the summer season, and paid any atten¬ 
tion to garden products, must have remarked the 
excellence of all these esculents; and if they have 
gone further, and looked into their gardens and 
modes of culture, they must have seen that water 
played a most important part in the production of 
thia excellence. Their system of watering is not a 
mere sprinkling In the morning aud evening. We 
see it tlowing in rivulets through and uround their 
garden plots, iu the form of an irrigation; or depos¬ 
ited in barrels at every corner, conveyed in pipes 
from a general reservoir; and from these barrels it is 
taken in watering-pots, and applied at all hours of 
the day, if necessary, until every plant has jnst as 
much as it requires, considering its nature, the soil, 
and the weather. Under such a system, a warm and 
dry climate is an advantage instead of a drawback; 
anil it actually enables the Dutch, tbe Belgians, and 
the French, to supply Covent Carden market, in Lon¬ 
don, with garden products both earlier and better 
than the very skillful and energetic English market 
gardeners, with their abundant resources, cau pro¬ 
duce. Our summer climate is similar In many 
respects to that of France and Belgium; and we are 
well persuaded that a general adoption of their thor¬ 
ough hydropathic system would work such an im¬ 
provement on our garden esculents as would greatly 
iucreaae their consumption, and enebanee the pleas¬ 
ure and profit of that most useful branch of garden¬ 
ing. Another great advantageof an abundant supply 
of water, is the facility it affords for the application 
of liquid manure — a species of food that every good 
gardener regards as indispensable to the proper 
growth of kitchen garden plants, aud of great im¬ 
portance to every branch of gardening. 
Let us look at the question in an economical point 
of view. Under the present system, a very small 
garden la a dry time will consume the labor of at 
least one man in watering. He probably has to raise 
it with a hand-pump, and carry it in a common wa¬ 
tering-pot from the barn-yard, or a least a consider¬ 
able distance, to the place where it is applied. The 
gardener is probably short of help, and many other 
things are suffering, so that he is compelled to stop 
watering as soon as he has given the most needy 
eases enough to keep them alive till next day. All 
his watering, all his labor and time, are expended iu 
“ keeping things alive.” Now suppose that two or 
three liuudred dollars were expended at once in pro¬ 
viding an efficient means of raising water into an 
ample reservoir, from which it could be conducted in 
pipes to the various quarters of the garden. One 
man could do more watering than five by the com¬ 
mon system, and it could be applied in such quanti¬ 
ties as would accomplish the desired end. The 
actual gain of time and increased products in two or 
three years would offset the original cost, to say 
nothing of the convenience and the satisfaction that 
the gardener and proprietor both would derive from 
it. Under such an arrangement, dry weather would 
lose the terror with which it is now regarded, and 
the kitchen garden would assume an entirely new 
aspect. 
We shall not at this time attempt any minute 
description of the various modes of raising water 
now practiced. The natural facilities that every man 
finds on his own grounds, or under his control, must 
guide him in the choice of means. Some may have 
access to streams, lakes, or other unfailing sources 
of supply on the surface of the ground, easily raised 
by a ram or force-pump, and conducted in pipes to a 
suitable place or reservoir. Otbere may be compelled 
to sink wells, and raise the water with buckets or 
putnps. In such cases it is economy to sink the well 
in a place suitable for a reservoir, that the water may 
pass directly into it from the bucket or pump. Tbe 
French market gardeners and florists in the neighbor¬ 
hood of Paris, whose arrangements are the most 
economical aud convenient we have seen, invariably 
have a well in their garden, located on the highest 
ground. Beside the well is an ample reservoir, from 
which the water Is conducted to all parts of the gar¬ 
den. Some of the more old-fushioned among them 
raise the water by means of buckets. A wooden 
frame is erected over the well, to support an upright 
shaft, on which is fixed a drum. This shaft turns on 
a pivot at both ends, and the rope that raises and 
lowers the buckets is wound on the drum. The rope 
passes over pnllies fixed in the frame immediately 
over the well, and there is a pole and whiffle-tree at¬ 
tached to the shaft, for the purpose of applying horse 
power. But among all the better informed and more 
enterprising cultivators, pnmps are used propelled by 
horse-power. The water is received from the pump 
in a cistern or reservoir. From this reservoir into 
which the pump discharges, the water is carried over 
the garden in lead or cast iron pipes, and deposited 
in barrels or tanks at different points of the garden. 
These barrels are all sunk in the ground to within a 
foot or so of the top. Fig. 1 represents this arrange¬ 
ment. Fig. 2 shows the arrangement of pipes and 
barrels, which are situated ho as to be convenient for 
use and near the garden walks. 
This is but au imperfect sketch of what we regard 
as the best system of supplying gardens with water 
that we have yet Been practiced extensively and with 
complete success. If our ingenious countrymen will 
turn their attention seriously to this subject, we have 
no donbt they will work out u system as well adapted 
to their wants us tho French maraichers (market 
gardeners) find this is to theirs.—F. Barky. 
NECIH3ITY AND USE OIT WATER. 
A copious supply of water is essential to a good 
kitchen garden, and, from whatever source it is fur¬ 
nished, it should be distributed either In reservoirs 
or open cisterns, or in pipes, properly protected, 
over the garden, aud in hot-houses. If the supply is 
from a pond or river, a syeWq of lead or cast-iron 
pipes maybe adopted, and We delivery effected by 
cocks at proper distances ; but if from wells or 
springs, the delivery should be into open stone or 
cast-iron cisterns; or, in defautt of theae, into tubs 
or butts sunk in the earth. In Tuscany, where the 
inhabitants excel in tbe manufacture of pottery, 
immense jars of earthenware are frequently adopted; 
in the Royal Darden at Paris, sunk barrels, and 
cisterns of masonry, liued with Cement, are general 
in the best gardens on the continent. In these gar¬ 
dens, a system of watering is adopted, which, though 
rendered more necessary there by the climate than 
it can possibly bo in this country, yet in various 
respects deserves imitation. 
Many kitchen crops arc lost, or produced of very 
inferior quality, for want of watering. Lettuces and 
cabbages are often hard and stringy, turnips and 
radishes do not swell, onions decay, cauliflowers die 
off. and, in general, In dry seasons, all tho Crucifer© 
become stunted, or covered with insects, even In 
rich deep soils. Copious waterings iu the evenings, 
during the dry seasons, would produce that fullness 
and succuleuey which we find in the vegetables pro¬ 
duced in the Low Countriss, in the Marsh Gardens 
at Paris, and in thia country at the beginning and 
latter end of the season. 
The watering the foliage of fruit and other trees, to 
destroy or prevent the increase of insec.ts, and of 
strawberries and fruit-shrubs to swell the fruit, is 
also of importance; and though the climate of Boot 
land is less obnoxious to great drouths than that of 
the southern counties, yet we find that excellent 
horticultural architect, John Hay, adopting a system 
of watering in various gardens lately formed by him 
in the neighborhood of Edinburgh. 
Water in a garden is absolutely necessary, accord¬ 
ing to Justice; well water is far from being proper, 
but that which is impregnated by the sun’s rays is 
highly conducive to vegetation. He recommends 
forming a large pond or basin in the center of the 
garden, which shall at the same time contain fish.— 
NEW .FOREIGN STRAWJ3EKKIES. 
Eds. Rural New-Yorker:— It may prove interest¬ 
ing to your subscribers to have precise descriptions 
of the new Flemish, French, and English varieties of 
Strawberries, which have fruited the present seuson 
for the first time in America, aud I now annex them: 
Bouts de St. Julien, (Carre,) — Early, large, round, 
very sweet, fine flavor, perfumed, very productive. 
Due de Malakojf, (Gloede,) — Conical, very large, 
often monstrous, deep scarlet, round or coxcomb, 
firm, sweet, apricot flavor; plant vigorous, produc¬ 
tive, superior for forcing; has weighed lg ounces. 
Empress Eugenie, (Tvnevett,) — Monstrous berry, 
has weighed 1) to lg ounces; ovate or coxcomb, 
deep glossy crimson, rdd flesh, juicy, sweet, delight¬ 
ful flavor, exquisitely perfumed; vigorous, very pro¬ 
ductive, forces well. 
English Ladies' Finger —Oblong form, orange 
scarlet, white flesh, sweet, high flavor, vigorous, pro¬ 
ductive. 
Itnperalrice Eugenie, (Gauthier,)—Large, conical, 
bright glossy roseate, handsome, firm, sweet, per¬ 
fumed. 
La Constante, (De Jonghe,)—Berry perfect in all 
respects, large, regular cone, brilliant scarlet, very 
firm, sweet, perfumed, exqoieite flavor, ripens late; 
plaut dwarf, vigorous, very productive, succeeds in 
all soils and BituationB, forces well. 
La D elide use, (Lorio,)—Large, round or flattened, 
apricot color, yellowish flesh, very sweet, perfumed; 
plant vigorous, productive, very late. 
La Grosse Lucree, (De Jonghe,) — Large, oblong, 
crimson at maturity, flesh white, solid, sweet, highly 
perfumed, vigorous, very productive, quite late. 
La Sultane, (Nicaise,)- Magnificent fruit, large, 
conical, often too seemingly united, brilliant scarlet, 
glazed, flesh white, solid, juicy, sweet, highly per¬ 
fumed; plant veiy vigorous, productive. 
May (fuecu, (Nicholson,)—Very early, round, rather 
large, pale scarlet, sweet, fine aroma, excellent; earli¬ 
est of its class, vigorous, productive, forces well. 
Mrs. D. Neil son, (Stewart A*. Neilson,)— Large, vari¬ 
able in form, orange scarlet, juicy, sweet, high flavor; 
plant vigorous, ripens very late. 
Napoleon HI, (Gloede)—Large, round, or flattened, 
bright roseate, flesh white, solid, sweet, delicious 
flavor; plant very vigorous and very productive, 
ripens late. 
Oscar, (Bradley,)—Large, often monstrous, round¬ 
ed, flattened, sometimes coxcomb, deep scarlet, firm, 
very Rweet, aromatic, exquisite flavor; plant ex¬ 
tremely vigorous, very productive, ripens early, 
forces admirably. 
Princess Frederic William, (Niven,)—Earliest of the 
Pine family, rounded, sometimes coxcomb, large 
size, brilliuut scarlet, solid, sweet, high flavor, very 
vigorous, productive, forces admirably. 
Wizard of the North —Very large, variable form, 
bright red, firm, sweet, high flavor, vigorous, pro¬ 
ductive. 
Wonderful, (Jeyes,)—Large, oblong, flattened, 
bright roseate, solid, sweet, fine flavor; plant vigor¬ 
ous, very productive, ripens late. Wm, R. Prince. 
Flushing, N. Y., July, 1861. 
lofttcnltural got^iss. 
Tine Rome Boo.— Contrary to our expectations, and, we 
may add, pant experience, the Rose Rug ia thia season more 
abundant than we remember to hare Been them for a dozen 
years past. They have usually boon comparatively scarce 
after a very severe winter; bnt the past, winter, though one 
of almost unexampled severity, seems to have had no effect 
in lessening their numbers. About, Now York It, may be 
said, almost literally, that, there are no eberriea for them to 
eat; hut the grape, the rose, aud the leavea of the vine and 
the cherry tree, are suffering terribly, aud tbe woods swarm 
with them, Every horticulturist ought to declare a deadly 
war against them. Organize A 111 1-Rohm Kng Sueietiee; arm 
yourselves with n basin of water and a stick: give the limb a 
geutte tap, and tliey will drop iu tbe basin; you have then 
nothing to do but crush the life out of them with yonr foot. 
A less tedious plau is to spreud a sheet uuder the viuo or tree 
to catch them as they fall; but it ia not so sure, since, after 
falling three or four feet, they often take to the wiug. Their 
destruction must be aecured in Borne way; their existence 
cau only he tolerated at the expeuae of half our crop of 
Cherries aod grapea, to say nothing of minor evils .—Marti 
culturist. 
Floral Kxhibition at Watkrtown.—T he committee 
charged with the general arrangement* and decoration of 
Floral Hall at tho State Fair, to he hetd at Watertown, com¬ 
mencing on the 17th day of September, have offered a Hat of 
premiums for tlio most desirable ent flowers, bouquets, floral 
ornaments, pot plants, Ac. After being exhibited tbe day 
previous to the State Fair, and examined by the committee, 
the flowers are to be used for decorating the building. A1J 
liowerB and bonqnots inuat be the production of Jefferson 
county, and arrauged by the exhibitors. 
A Rival to tub Wilson.—T he strawberry Bont St. Julien, 
which we have seen Tor the Aral lime thia spring, promises to 
rival tho Wilson in productiveness, and it ia certainly much 
superior to it in flavor. We have only seen It In one place, 
and its wondnrfnl yield may have been the result of Homo 
peculiar fitness in the soil. I,a Constante. which came to us 
as the most productive of foreign varieties, has, wherever 
wii have Been it, borne only a moderate crop; tint the berry 
Is large, and the quality very fine.— Horticulturist. 
Frdit in Erik County.— No eberriea, plums, peaches, or 
pears, thia year Apples a very few. (trass fair. .Spring grain 
very backward, as indeed everything else is.—8. I,., Eden, N. 
Y., July, 1861. 
» ■ ♦ • ♦- 
ana 
Cultur* op Pansies.—C an any one tell me how to culti¬ 
vate Paualea successfully? I have several times procured line 
varieties, but they soon degenerate.—L ouisa, Hebron, Venn., 
1861. 
Pansies can be grown from seed about as easily a« any of 
our common annnals, and good seed can now he obtained. 
They flower the Unit season; in fact, all through the season. 
They strike easily from cuttings out-of doors, and in this 
way choice plants can be propagated for tho season. Pansies 
grow and flower best If somewhat shaded. A border on the 
north side of a fenen or building is the heat, and if they have 
a good, mellow soil, wo think they will not degenerate. If 
planted nnt so as to receive the full force of the sun, in a 
stiff or poor soil, aud receive but little care, they will soon 
become worthless. If the soil is high and dry, so that the 
water will not lay on the surface, they will not suffer much 
in the winter, especially young plants. Plant cuttings in a 
cool, shady spot. Wo never found any benefit from covering 
pansies in the winter; indeed thoy often come out In worse 
condition than those left unprotected. Where manure is 
needed, we always use cow manure, if we can obtain it. 
Gas Tar nor Roofs, &o,—A certain wise man of old, when 
interrogated us to tho source of his vast fund of knowledge, 
replied that he obtained what little he knew hy not being 
ashamed to ask for information. Now my sphere of obenrva- 
tiou has been small, and my experience less yet, and wishing 
GINGERBREAD, COOKIES, &c. 
Eds. Rural New-Yorker: — Seeing an inquiry in 
a lute number of your paper for Baker’s Gingerbread, 
I send you mine which 1 know to bo good. 
Gingerbread. — One cup of cream: one and a half 
of molasses; one of butter; two teaspoons of soda; 
three of ginger; mix until glossy, and roll half an 
Inch thick. 
Water Cookies. — Three cups of sugar; one of 
water; one of eggs; one of butter; one teaspoon of 
soda; half nutmeg, gruted. These are best when 
they have been baked about three weeks. 
Crackers. — One teacup of sweet milk; half tea¬ 
spoon of soda; one tablespoonful of the white of an 
egg; three of butter. Mix very stiff and pound; roll 
thin and bake quick.— Ollik Decry, Viola, HI., 1861. 
» « » ■ ♦- 
Chicken Salad — An Inquiry, — Some one has 
reqnestod, through the Rural, a recipe for making 
chicken salad. I send the best one 1 have ever used. 
This recipe makes enough for twenty persons. Two 
heads of celery, two chickens, ten eggs, six Binall 
cucumber pickles, one tahlespoonful mustard, a little 
Cayenne pepper and half cap of butter. Wash the 
yolks of the eggs, put in tho seasoning with a little 
vinegar, chop the whiieB of the eggs, the pickles, 
chicken and celery, then mix. Eat it and say it is 
the best yon have ever tasted. 
Cau anybody tell me how to wash brown linen so 
as to keep the color? 
Tho ladies who furnish so many good recipes for 
the Rural are leuding a helping hand to all house¬ 
keepers. — Julia Joy, “ The I/ive," Gulesburgh, 
Mich., 1861. 
♦ » ♦ » ♦- 
Moldy Lard. — I saw an inquiry in the Rural of 
June L r ), how to recover lard that was getting moldy. 
I never had any, but I can tell how to keep It. I keep 
my leaf fat separate from tho other, and cook it 
until It Is a little brown, put it when tried out in 
clean, dry, tight vessels, keep in store room until 
spring, then remove it to cupboard in cellar and keep 
it from the air as much as possible. I keep the leaf 
for summer use. 1 think scalding it would help it, 
at least it would do no harm to try. I have followed 
the above for 35 years or more; average ahout eigh¬ 
teen hogs per year.— C. H. W., 1861. 
Marble Cake. — Whites of eight eggs; two cups 
of white sugar; two and a half cups flour; one half 
cup butter; one half cup sour rnilk; one half tea¬ 
spoon soda; one teaspoon cream of tartar. Then 
take the same proportions, using red sugar sand in 
place of the two cups of white sugar; put it in pans, 
first a layer of white and then tho pink dough, and 
you will have a beautiful cake. When cut it will be 
in waves of pink and white.— E. A. VV., Monmouth, 
III., 1861. _ 
Currant Jelly. — Having seen no recipe, iu the 
Rural for making currant jelly, 1 send mine, which 
I know to be good. To one pound of sugar take a 
pint Of juice; boil the juice by itself for five minutes, 
the sugar meanwhile being placed in the oven and 
heated very hot. Whon the live minutes are up, add 
the sugar to the juice, and let them boil together one 
minute. Then the jelly is done aud rendy to pour - 
into tbe moulds.— Hkttik, New York, 1861. 
Cider Wine. — In tho Rural, of July 13th, I saw 
a recipe for making cider wine, or whisky wine. In 
the fall of 1869, I made 13 gallons of cider wine, the 
cider all from sweet apples. I put 20 pounds of 
granulated sugar to the 13 gallons of cider, warmed 
enough of tho cider to dissolve the sugar, put it into 
a keg and kept the keg full while it was working. 
Nothing else put into it, and it is as nice to day as 
can be.— E. P., Rome, N. F., 1861. 
Coloring Kid Gloves. — Noticing an inquiry for 
coloring white kid gloves, I send you ray recipe which, 
I think very good. For coloring a royal purple, two 
ouuces extract logwood, two ounces rock alum, one 
and a half pints soft water. Let it boil and skim, 
then cool, then brush the gloves over witli it. When 
dry repeat. Beat up the white of an egg and rub it 
over the leather.— M. S,, Newport, Minn., 1861. 
Washing Flannels. — Make a hot suds with good, 
soft soap; put iu the flannels and let them lie a few 
minutes; then wash thoroughly with the hands. 
Have ready some boiling water; dissolve n little blue¬ 
ing, or indigo, and pour it on sufficient of the hot 
water to prove the goods; put them in, and let them 
remain until cool enough to wring. Dry in the air, 
and iron when slightly damp. Iron on tho right side. 
To Destroy Flies. —To one pint Of milk, add a 
quarter of a pound of raw sugar and two ounCCB of 
MIL' UUCM nilllll. UM'l IIIJ H UHU M HI- J • W* RUU ” 
to avail my self of ton experience of those that know whereof ground pepper; simmer them together eight or ten 
they affirm, I submit tho following questions:—First, Cau old <notpi| „ . > Cft it ft y on + i n nhallow dishes The 
leaky roofs be renovated by applying pa* tar gravel, ami ‘ 1 "' 1 P ,ace 11 at,0Ut ln BnaU0W ,U8,U58 ' inL 
»and, to tho shingles? If no, bow applied, cost. An., . ? Is flies attack it greedily, and are soon suffocated. By 
said composition u*ed oo flat, roof*? Second, Would not gas ... .,, 111 . 1 , , „ .. . . ... „ 
tar make a Rood aud cheap-paint fer rough-planked buildings? this method kitchens, Ac., may he kept leai of flies 
—Stephen I. an don, Eden, N. Y, 1861 all summer, without the danger attending poiBon. 
thoy affirm, I submit the following questions:—First, Gao old 
leaky roofs be renovated by applying gas tar gravel, and 
sand, to tho shingles? If so, how applied, cost. he... Ac ? Is 
said composition used on flat, roof*? Second, Would not gas 
tar make a Rood aud chuMp paint fur rough planked buildingsV 
—Stephen Landon, Eilen, N. Y, 1861 
Gas tar is tin excellent material for fences, barns, sheds, 
&c. It is used for this purpose very extensively iu some 
partH of England, and for aught we know in all parts. There 
some material is mixed with the tar, which gives it a dark 
chocolate color, but here tho tar is so black that we have 
not succeeded In chauglog the color, unlexs a very large 
amount of coloring matter is used. Wood covered with tar 
Is almost Indestructible. Have never tried tar and sand on 
leaky roofs. Perhaps others have, who will give the neces¬ 
sary information. The better way, we should Judge, would 
be to apply the tar and then throw on the sand. Tar can be 
obtained at the gaa workB at a very low price. 
Lawn Mowhrs.—W here can a good lawo mower be obtain¬ 
ed, such ns I have seen used in the neighborhood of New 
York city? Are they made in this country?—T. 
Tho first machines of the kind used here were of English 
make. H. W Sargent, Esq., of Fishkill, we believe, suggested 
some improvements to a mechanic of that town, H. N. Swift, 
who now manufactures a mower as good as the best of the 
English, if not better. 
Growing Tomatoes. — Ar water constitutes 95 per cent, of 
tomatoes, should they, while growing, be liberally watered 
(with kitebeu slops, Ac.,) or left to the free influence of the 
sunshine?—C. W,, Norwich-, Conn., 1861. 
If you want fine, large tomatoes, late iu the season, water 
with any fertiilxiog mixture. Soap suds are excellent, and with 
a little manure water occasionally, will make tomato plants 
grow as large as grape vines; but if yon desire fruit early, 
grow in a poor soil, and withhold water aud manure. 
Early Richmond Chbrky Tricks.— Where can the Early 
Richmond cherry trees be had, and what price, or the stones? 
E. Pukdby. 
Trees can be obtained at the Rochester nurseries at about 
$25 per hundred. The fruit is not grown here to any extent, 
and the pits could not be obtained in this section. 
Knots on Red Cherry Trues.— Can any of your sub¬ 
scribers inform me through your paper what will destroy the 
insect that infests red cherry trees, making large bunches or 
knots all over tbe trees, and killing it in two or three years? 
—A. B. T. 
Preserving Pink-A pules.- If Aunt Libby desires 
to preserve “ pine-apples,” let her take the fruit and 
peel it, pick it with a fork, then to every pound of 
the picked or grated fruit, add one pound and a half 
of crushed sugar. A layer of fruit, then a layer of 
sugar, thus to the end of tho chapter. It spoils it to 
cook it.— Ruth, New Valtz, N. V'., 1861. 
— — ■ - - ♦ •■♦* • 
Starching Curtains. — Thin curtains, in doing 
up, should have white glue put in the starch, a piece 
two or three inches square to six yards of stuff. The 
glue makes them difficult to iron, hut curtains done 
so will keep their stiffness, if muslin, they need to 
be very damp and the iron very hot.— P. Terris, 
Hamilton Co., ft, 1861. 
Removing Mildew prom Muslin.— Will any one 
he so kind as to inform me, through the Rural, what 
will take mildew out of white muslin? I aru very 
desirous of knowing, and if any one will, they will 
confer a lasting favor upon — II. M. W., Pa., 1861. 
Removing Iron Rust.— Noticing a recipe in a late 
Rural, for removing iron rust, I send the following 
one, which I think far superior:—Dampen the spots 
and apply some tartaric acid, and lay in the sun to 
dry.— Sarah J. Qua de, Zittles Corners, N. Y., 1861. 
Coloring Cotton Rki> for Carpets. —Will some 
one please give through tho columns of the Rural, a 
recipe for coloring cotton a red that will not fade, 
and much oblige the old ladles that deal in rag car¬ 
pets.— Jarv, Lamoille, Bureau Co., Ill,, 1861. 
Wa fflk8. — Will some one please give a recipe 
through the Rural for making Waffles, and oblige — 
Inexperienced Housekeeper, Illinois, 1861. 
