almost constantly being added, and the ground 
improved. I have seen this thing demonstrated by 
a neighbor ot mine with entire success. It was a 
secret of his. 
Plaster, ashes, and other fertilizers may be added, 
though the darker the coat the better, as color is the 
object. A few applications only are necessary, as 
that will let you into the summer, when there will 
be heat enough without. It is intended mostly for a 
start in the spring when there is a lack of heat— 
F. G., Starkville , N. V. 
Tins secret wo have given in the Rural, in our 
gardening notes, occasionally, for the last five or six 
years. 11 is particularly advantageous in the culture 
of the radish. Our correspondent, however, claims 
far too much for the plan, when ho proposes to dis¬ 
pense with the use of glass. 
be separated from the main body of the park by a 
wire fence, or movable hurdle fence, and kept 
mowed; and if embellished with a few flowering 
shrubs, and a few beds of flowers, all the better. 
But these, for economy's sake, can very well be 
dispensed with. When the planting is finished, anti 
the trees fairly established, the park might be pas¬ 
tured with sheep, as many parks are in Europe; and 
thus it would always have a closely cut surface 
without the expense of mowing, and the sheep 
would be an interesting feature in its scenery. 
When forest trees are not within reach, we would 
recommend the raising of them from seed, or small 
plants can be purchased at the nurseries for $2 or 
$3 per 1(X>, which, with a couple of years’ growth 
in nursery rows, will be (it for final planting out. 
Only go about it, and the means will not be wanting. 
ANSWERS TO INQUIRIES 
Tue following interesting article, winch we com¬ 
mend to the atientiou of every farmer who has chil¬ 
dren to educate, a wile to make happy, or a heart 
susceptive to nature’s beauties, is by P. Barry: 
The present is a time of agricultural improve¬ 
ment and progress without a parallel in this country. 
Improved implements, improved stock, better culti¬ 
vation, better fences and buildings, meet us every¬ 
where in the country; and farmers are growing 
“rich," in the common acceptation of that. term. 
We rejoice at this, and so must every man who feels 
a lively interest in our national welfare, because 
agriculture is our main stay. If it fails to prosper, 
we can have no prosperity. It is the produce of 
our (arms —the fruits of farm industry — that ani¬ 
mate trade and commerce, that build up cities and 
village 8 ) construct railroads and canals, and cover 
our lakes and rivers and the broad seas with fleets 
of vessels. What a calamity—what an universal 
panic and prostration of business -would the failure 
of even one crop over the whole country bring 
upon us! 
Agricultural progress and prosperity, then, are 
subjects that no man, whatever may be bis calling, 
can regard with indifference; and the agricultural 
classes themselves, as a body, by their Intelligence, 
industry, energy, and manly independence, com¬ 
mand universal admiration and respect These are 
our honest sentiments—not the fulsome flattery of 
a stump speech or holiday oration. Our sympathies 
are, and ever have been, and will be, with the tillers 
of the soil. Our own life, so far, has been spent in 
the country, and we have earned our bread by the 
cultivation of the soil. We can speak of both its 
toils and pleasures from actual experience. We 
know that some regard it as a vulgar and plodding 
pursuit, fit only for strong, rough, and uneducated 
men; but the number of those who think so is 
diminishing rapidly. Men of taste and intelligence 
are now ambitious of being agriculturists; and 
schools and colleges for training the sons of farmers 
are beginning to attract attention, and will soon 
work a change in public sentiment iu regard to die 
respectability and importance of the agricultural 
profession. 
This brings us to the point on which we proposed 
to make a few suggestions, when we took up our 
pen. We wish to see the farmer’s home —the 
farmer's life — made more attractive. Hitherto, as 
a general thing, the improvements which have been 
made are of t lie 'useful kind, having reference mainly 
to the supply of man’s physical wants. Most of our 
farms must be regarded as mere manufactories of 
food and clothing; very little has been done to 
gratify tbe intellect, taste, or feelings — the higher 
and nobler attributes of our nature. And this is 
was 52.G C \ The hottest noon was 77°, the 12th, and 
the coldest morning at sunrise. 41°, the 14th, but 
the coldest at 7 A. M. was 42°, the Sth. On the 13th 
the heat fell all day, being only 44‘ at noon, and 
less at night, and hence the frost of the 14th, as the 
sky was clear. The last eight days were clear, 
morning and evening, and nearly so in mid-day. 
‘ v So beneficent have been the orderings of Provi¬ 
dence that the season is full of promise of good for 
man and beast. The wheat arid grass fields gratify 
the eye and inspire hope, while the trees in flower 
and foliage are clothed in beauty.” 
The later Tours are now in flower, and the I 
display is veiy line, especially at the grounds of 
Ellwanger & Barry, who have a good collection. 
The Narcissus is just passing out of flower, though 
some of the later varieties are still iu bloom. This 
is a tine class of flowers, including the common and 
well-known Daffodil and Jonquil, the former being 
about tbe only variety found iu our gardens. They 
are mostly perfectly hardy; should be planted in 
the autumn, like tbe Hyacinth, but may remain in 
the ground a number of years, and until they become 
so thick and matted as to make a division of the 
roots necessary. Some of them are double, and are 
very showy, but the single sorts are more delicate 
and prettier. The Early Double Daffodil is of a 
bright yellow. Incomparable rieno , very double, 
light yellow or straw color, intermixed with dark 
yellow or orange. 
fmliatlfunU gotes 
Many persons now have the new grapes, obtained 
when scarce and dear, which they would like to 
increase. The grape roots very freely from layers, 
as all grape-growers know, and cuttings are suc¬ 
cessful under favorable circumstances. C. RemeliN, 
of Cincinnati, gives in the Ohio Fanner an account 
of what is called a new French method of propa¬ 
gating the vine, said to have been practiced success¬ 
fully by Dr. EsquOT, which we give below for the 
information of our readers. It seems to us, how¬ 
ever, there is but little new in the plan, as we have 
practiced something very similar scores of times: 
“ The labor falls into two distinct periods. During 
the first, grape vines of every length are carefully 
bent and stretched along the ground, and fastened 
by means of hooks or tbe soil, thus: 
second story of the proposed conservatory; and the main 
entrance to the edifice will therefore bo on that, story. Stairs 
ami balconies will give access to every portion of the build¬ 
ing. The contract provides that the grantees must erect the 
building entirely nr. their own expense, after the plans already 
agreed upon; that they must place in it nothing but flowers, or 
rare trees or plants; that they shall be allowed to sell bouquets, 
etc., to visitors; that the public shall always lie admitted free; 
that good order shall, always he maintained inside, at the 
expense of the grantees; and that the work shall he com¬ 
pleted by the first of January, 1 KH4. The grantees, on their 
parts, agree to pay a rent willcb will add considerably to the 
revenues of the Park. The conservatory will cost about 
$50.000.— Gardeners' Monthly. 
“ This labor must be performed toward the end 
of April, or sooner or later, according to locality, 
but. certainly before the development of the buds. 
These will develop soon after, and attain a growth 
of five to eight inches. It is obvious that all the 
buds, wherever they may be upon the vines, 
extended, as above, along the ground, assume a 
vertical position. The brunches having grown five 
to eight inches, the second period of the procedure 
arrives, and this consists in forming aloug the 
extended grape vine, little ditches, ubont three to 
five inches deep, and depositing in these the vines, 
fastening them again with hooks, and covering them 
with earth. While now each sprout which has 
grown as above stated from the bud, is held in its 
vertical position by short stakes about twelve to 
eighteen inches long, and progresses in its growth, 
there develop beneath tho vine, in the ground, a 
sufficient amount of roots to supply all the nourish¬ 
ment required, thus: 
The Quantities op Seed Required to Sow a Given 
Extent of Space. — Messrs. Drummond, seedsmen of Ster¬ 
ling and Dublin, in their very useful “ Directions for Sowing 
and Cultivating Vegetable Seeds," bate given the following 
quantities, which we recommend to the notice of our amateur 
readers as a safe guide to them at this season 
Peas. —1 pint, or X lb., will sow a row from 40 to 00 feet of 
a single row, in which way peas should always be sown. 
Kindey Beans — I pint, or 1 lb., will sow a row of about SO 
feet. 
Onions. —1 oz. of seed will sow a bed (broadcast) 4 feet by 
12, or 50 to 10O feet of drill. 
Leeks. —1 oz. of seed will sow a bed (broadcast) 4 feet by 
14, or about 100 feet of drill. 
Carrots. —1 oz. of seed will sow 60 to 70 feet of a row. 
Parsnips. —1 oz. of seed will sow 100 t'eet of a row. 
Turnips. —1 oz. of seed will sow from 100 to 120 feet of a 
drill. 
Cabbage. —1 oz. of seed will sow a bed 4 feet by 10. 
Savoys. —The same. 
German Greens , or Borecole. —1 oz. of seed will sow a bed 
4 feet by 12. 
Brussels Sprouts. Cauliflower, and Broccoli. —The same. 
Parsley. —1 oz. will sow SO feet of a row. 
Spinach. —The same. 
COMMON NARCISSUS. 
The engraving will give a very good idea of the 
form of the single flowers, ami the central cup, 
which being of a different color from the six petals, 
makes these flowers exceedingly attractive. Some 
have the petals of a light yellow, and the cup 
orange—others with the petals white and the cup 
yellow; while the Foci's Narcissus, sometimes 
called Pheasants Eye, is snowy white, the cups 
cream color, with a delicate fringed edge of rod, 
which gives its latter name. Then there are some 
varieties with the cups very large and long, in the 
form of a trumpet One of the best of these is 
called the Sulphur Trumpet, with the cup or trum¬ 
pet nearly two inches in length, and broad at the 
extremity. 
“The general mother vine—which, under other 
culture, has to maintain often, as many as a hundred 
and more grape-children, and to which, under the 
treatment here explained, are left only four to five 
on the parent vine, among which the nourishment 
is distributed—now receives additional food by the 
descending sap from the new formed roots, which 
enables it to produce new branches for next year’s 
use again. It is self-understood, that the removal 
of the superfluous branches, bo as to leave only four 
or five for next year, must not be omitted. During 
the summer, frequent hoeing is necessary. In the 
fall, tho vines covered with grapes and leaves will 
look thus: 
A Good Liqum Grafting Wax.— Hortieola " gives in 
the Horticulturist the following method of malting a good 
liquid grafting wax. It is said to be a French invention: 
11 Melt one pound of common rosin over a gentle fire. Add 
to it ait ounce of beef tallow, and stir it well Take it from the 
fire, let ft cool down a little, and then mix with it a tublespoon- 
fol of spirits of turpentine, and after that about seven ounces of 
very strong alcohol (95 per cent.,) to be had at any druggist's 
Store. The alcohol cools it down so rapidly that it will be 
necessary to put it again on the fire, stirring it constantly. 
Still, the utmost care must, be exercised to prevent the alcohol 
from getting inflamed. To avoid it, the best way is to remove 
the vessel from the fire when the lump that may have heen 
formed commences melting again This must be continued 
till the whole is a homogeneous mass s-imilar to honey. After 
a few days’ exposure to the atmosphere in a thin coat, it 
assumes a whitish color, and becomes as hard as stone, 
being impervious to water and uir." 
Hints for Clear Starching.— Collars, under- 
sleeves, or handkerchiefs, of very fine muslin or 
lace, will not bear much squeezing or rubbing when 
washed. They can be made perfectly white and 
clean without either, by the following process: — 
Rinse them carefully through clean water, then soap 
them well with white soap, place flat in a dish or 
saucer, and cover with water; place them in the sun. 
Let them remain two or three days, changing the 
water frequently and turning them. Once every 
day take them out, rinse carefully, soap, and place 
in fresh water. The operation is a tedious and 
rather troublesome one; but the finest embroidery 
or lace comes out perfectly white, and is not worn at 
all, where, in common washing, it would be very 
apt to tear; when they are white, rinse and starch 
in the usual way. 
Gardens and Trees i.v Seneca County. —The Agricultural 
Society of Seneca county has offered premiums for the best 
gardens, and also for the greatest number of siiude trees set 
out by any person. The following are tho committees to 
whom application must be made by those who wish to com¬ 
pete for premiums: 
On Gardens. — Wm. Knox, Waterloo P O.; P. P. Howe, 
H. F. Gustin, 
On Shade Trees .— Joseph Wright, Waterloo P. ().; N. N. 
Hayt, R L. Stevenson. 
The chairmen of the above committees, who arc the first 
named, should be notified by the lOtli of June, by those who 
desire to lmve tlieir farms or gardens visited, it Is not neces¬ 
sary to invite tho attendance of the Committee on Shade 
Trees, as the affidavit of persons applying for the premium is 
required as to the number of trees set out, and the number 
living on the 1st of September. 
‘•At, the end of the season, there will have formed 
themselves, at all the buds and branches imbedded 
in earth in the spring, as directed, new.individual 
vineH, which may he separated by the pruning 
knife, by cutting in twain tbe old vine between tbe 
new vines. In somewhat moist and too sandy soil, 
the result will always be a good one. The vines 
will in the fall, when the leaves and grapes are off 
anrl they are severed from the stakes, present this 
appearance: 
Burns or Scalds.— I send you a simple recipe 
for burns or scalds. Take spearmint or horsemint, 
pound to a pulp, and bind it on. If the mint is 
dry, soak it in a little warm water, then pound it 
Putrid Soke Turoat. —Also a recipe for putrid 
sore throat. Take halt a pint of good old rye 
whisky, pulverize one or two large spoonfuls of 
common salt, put it in the whisky, shake it well, 
and then gargle the throat. 
I have used both of the above recipes, and know 
them to be good.— T. R. Davis, Rock: Island, III., 
1862. 
A New Book on Grave Cultukjc. —We have just received 
a new work on grape culture ami wine making, by John 
Phjn, Esq . of this cit.v. It Is a very neat book ot 875 pages, 
well printed, and illustrated quite liberally with fine wood 
engravings. Mr. 1 ’hin lias devoted a good deal of time to the 
preparation of this work, diligently consulted tbe best works 
on the subject, both American and foreign, and has had the 
benefit of some experience. A few years since Mr. 1’. pre¬ 
pared an essay on open air grape culture, and seemed the 
prize offered by the American Institute for the best paper on 
the subject We have not time now to examine the work, but 
will give a more extended notice next week. C. M. Saxton, of 
New York, is the publisher, and T) M. Dewey, of this city, 
general agent, by whom it will be sent free of postage on 
receipt of one dollar. 
Coffee and Coffee Extract. —Inclosed you 
will find recipes for making cotfee and extract;— 
Take rye and boil until it becomes tender; then 
drain and put in a stove-pan; place in a stove, stir¬ 
ring every few seconds, until it browns; then grind 
it, and put iu a tablespoonful of rye to a pint of 
water. To three spoonfuls of rye put iu one tea- 
spounful of extract, and boil twenty minutes. This 
will not, as some say, taste exactly like coffee, but 
will make an equally pleasant drink. 
Extract. —Put sugar in a pot and boil down 
until it becomes bitter. Maple-sugar is preferable 
to any other kind.—E. P. W., IKusA. Co., Pa., 1862. 
POLYANTHUS NARCISSUS. 
The most beautiful class of the Narcissus family, 
however, is the Polyanthus Narcissus. The flowers 
are produced in clusters or trusses of from half a 
dozeu to three times this number. The engraving, 
which we had taken from a cluster of medium size, 
shows the habit. Like the others, they show every 
shade of color, from the purest imaginable white to 
deep orange—the cup of the white varieties being 
yellow, and of tbe yellow sorts orange. These are 
not as hardy as the other varieties, but arc suffi¬ 
ciently so for general culture in ibis latitude in a 
well drained soil. 
Some notes of tho early flowering shrubs we must 
defer until the next number. 
Wild Tomatoes. —la 1849, an overland party, en route for 
the gold diggings, while passing down the dry bed of a creek 
near the port of Comondn, found large quantities of tomatoes 
growing in (apparently) a wild state. They were small, red. 
and delicious—at least, to the taste of the famished travelers. 
Whether they are indigenous or not, I cannot tell, hut the 
land had no appearance of being cultivated. Tomatoes of 
fine quality, and very smooth., and less acid than ours, are 
found in most of the v illage markets in Mexico, and arc eaten 
raw.—C. W. C., in Country Gentleman. 
SEASONABLE NOTES 
For the past week or two the weather has been 
warm and dry, favorable in every respect lor the 
flowering of the fruit trees, especially tho more 
tender kinds, like the peach, that gutter extremely 
from cold rains and cutting winds. We have never 
known a season when everything looked so favor¬ 
able tor an abundant crop of fruit. Every tree is 
covered with flowers, and our gardens and orchards 
present a scene ot beauty we have seldom seen 
equaled. Of course we cannot tell what may be in 
the future, but unless we are visited by untimely 
frost or cold rains and wind, our trees will be loaded 
down with fruit, making thinning necessary to 
secure specimens of good size and fine quality. 
Our well known scientific friend, “ C. D.,” sends 
us the following notes of the weather for the first 
half of May :— tl This half month has given us much 
pleasant weather, more days nearly destitute of 
clouds than is common, and rain in small propor¬ 
tion. At the end of the first week the flowers had 
only slowly appeared, but the next week, except 
the good check of a day cooler, vegetation was 
rapid, and cherries, plums and peaches were loaded 
with flow ers, and the pear trees are promising soon 
to put on a while vail. The fruit trees are as for- 
Peas a Substitute for Coffee.— In a late 
Rural I noticed an article recommending “carrots 
for coffee!” We have used it, but think peas, nicely 
roasted and ground, are a better substitute. My 
husband is an old coffee drinker, but when I make 
a cup of pea coffee, and a little “extract of coffee” 
mixed with it, he does not know it from real Java, 
for I have tried it 
Making Paste.— Will some kind friend tell me 
how to make a sure paste for papering a smooth 
wall with thick paper? It troubles me by loosening 
after it is dry.— L. R. L., Lamberton, Wis., 1862. 
Plants Received.— We are indebted to C. B. MILLER, 
Esq., of New York, Secretary of tho Brooklyn Horticultural 
Society, for several new and valuable plants. In the note 
accompanying them. Mr. M. says:—'‘General McClellan is the 
best double yet produced, and for which the Brooklyn Hortl 
cultural Society awarded a speciid premium. Raised by John 
Cadness, of Flushing, L. 1. Daphne Cneorum, best hardy 
evergreen plant, flowering all summer, and very fragrant. 
Special premium awarded to A. G. Burgess, East New York, 
Long Island. ’ 
Jefferson County Floral and Horticultural Associa¬ 
tion.— The spring exhibition of the Jefferson County Floral 
and Horticultural Association is to be held at Watertown, June 
24th, 25th, 26tli, and 27th. Tin- premium Mst is very liberal, 
and no doubt, judging from what we observed last season, 
will call out a grand exhibition. 
A COAT FOB THE GABDEN 
Eds. Rural New-Yorker:—As now is the time 
for the opening of gardening, I have one bit of 
advice to give, which those who adopt it will thank 
me tor. 
When your beds are made, sprinkle them over 
with soot, or with powdered charcoal, or pulverized 
rotten wood, or all these together. The object is to 
have a black surface. Black is a conductor of heat, 
and will answer the purpose of glass,— without its 
inconvenience,—as well as enrich the soil, soot espe¬ 
cially. Rotten wood will do better on moist soils. 
At each dressing, this coat will he worked into 
the soil, and should be repeated after the hoe has 
removed the weeds and grass. Thus manure is 
Coloring Furs. — Some time ago I noticed an 
inquiry in your columns for a recipe for color¬ 
ing furs. If some of the Rural’s numerous corres¬ 
pondents would be kind enough to answer it, they 
would confer a favor on many others beside the 
Michiganders.—D. F. L., Newark Valley, N. Y., 1862. 
French Rolls.— Can any of the Rural’s numer¬ 
ous readers inform me how to make French Rolls? 
If so, they will greatly oblige—R., White Hall, 
Ohio, 1862. 
Fruit Growers’ Soctety of Western New York. — The 
June meeting of the Fruit Growers’ Society of Western New 
York will be held at the Court House, in Rochester, N. Y. , at 
11 o’clock A. M., on Wednesday, the 25th day of June. 
