'V.u 
lies which I have, Bartlett, Swan’s Orange, 
Osband’s Slimmer, Tyson and Lawrence are all 
right,” and inquires what has done the mischief. 
“Several gentlemen present discussed the ques¬ 
tion. but no one could give any information 
worth anything." 
Now, Messrs. Editors, this shows that the gen¬ 
tlemen composing this Club are not wholly per¬ 
fect in knowledge, though I believe this is the 
Grst subject that has come before them that they 
did not know all about , and could assign cause^ 
remedy, Ac. Now the simple fact is in the early 
season's growth of such varieties os the Virgalieu, 
Belle Lucrative.Cray Doyenne.and others,having 
a tender, succulent growth, which will be chafed 
and whipped by the wind in any exposed situa¬ 
tion till the leaves and young shoots turn black 
at the edges, and some leaves die and fall off, 
while other varieties, like the Bartlett, Swan's 
Orange, Vicar of Winkfield, and others having 
thick, hard leaves, will be uninjured. I have seen 
more or less of this every year since I set my 
pear trees in their present exposed situation, and 
have seen the same on the Willow and other 
forest trees in the early stages of their growth, 
but they soon recover, and no ill effects are ap¬ 
parent except a slight check in their growth. 
Greece, Monroe Co., N- Y-, June, 1S63. F. W. L. 
Heine ITortense is a French cherry of the 
Duke family, and an excellent variety, the larg¬ 
est of its class. Fruit heart-shaped, and bright 
red at maturity. Flesh tender, juicy, sweet and 
popularly called quite ripe, than one is at first 
disposed to admit I was many years ago struck 
by this through accident. On a visit to a friend, 
he pointed out what he then considered ex¬ 
tremely rare, a most beautiful double orange 
African marigold. My friend wished to keep it 
to himself, — be would give no seed, but he pre¬ 
sented me with a flower. When this flower had 
faded, and was cast aside, seeing the seed looked 
black and good, I saved them, and at the Dext 
spring’s sowing I sowed them at the same lime 
with the yellow, which we had. They appeared 
several days before the others. Simple as this 
was, it led me to ponder on what we gardeners 
had always held inexplicable, namely, that on 
sowing hawthorn seeds some should come up in 
one year, while, of the same sowing, some should 
not appear till the second or third year; and I 
have since been led to the conclusion, by many 
similar observations and experiments, that, those 
which came up first were *• greener” when gath¬ 
ered than those which took a longer period. 
SAVING AND GERMINATION OF SEEDS 
CAKES, BREAD, &c. 
We continue the interesting article on this 
subject commenced in our issue of June 27. In 
another column will be found some good advice 
on this subject by a lady of Illinois. 
There is another class of seeds which preserve 
their vitality to irregular periods, without any 
extraordinary intervention. The seeds of the 
cucumber and melon will keep fresh so long 
that, gardeners say the longer they are kept the 
better they are; which, if true, would render 
them of remarkable value by “tbe end of the 
world.” Nevertheless, they certainly will keep 
fresh a great many years. The turnip, the bal¬ 
sam, or lady slipper of Philadelphians, and the 
parsley, are instances of easy vitality, though of 
a few years less than the gourd tribe; while the 
onion, the spinach, or lettuce, will seldom germi¬ 
nate over one year. 
In all these casee, their preservation is owing 
to their not being in a position to admit of the 
mechanical action of heat and moisture in pre¬ 
paring their integuments, or outer coverings, for 
the chemical action of the elements conducive to 
germination—an explanation that will be better 
understood after we examine what induces ger- 
It will be sufficient here to remark 
WESTERN EDITORIAL NOTES 
•‘THEY WERE WHITE WITH BLOSSOMS.” 
I have examined many orchards, and found 
the amount of fruit developing itself small; 
and in orchards whose blossoms gave great 
promise, the crop will be light.. Walking with 
a horticultural friend, recently, in an orchard, 
he pointed to the trees of a certain variety 
of apple, commending it highly, as being not 
only an excellent fruit, but a productive va¬ 
riety. Said he, You will flud those trees 
loaded.” I went to see, and could scarcely 
lind an apple. I reported the fact. "Why, 
there must be plenty of them.” he replied, “•for 
the trees were white with blossoms—never saw 
more bloom on trees in my life.” But he could 
not find them. The apples were not there; and 
had he not been an older man, with far more 
experience, I should have given him a reason. 
Mis trees were too white with blossoms. The 
blossom buds should have been thinned out soon 
after they appeared. The vitality of the tree 
would not then have been expended in develop¬ 
ing a mass of bloom. There would have been 
held in reserve a power to develop the remain¬ 
ing buds into fruit. But the fact that the treos 
were so extravagantly full of blooin, is a reason 
why the crop of fruit should be sparse. I have 
seen the farmer’s eye brighten as he has looked 
upon his orchard, -one sheet of bloom;” and I 
have seen his face lengthen as he made the dis¬ 
covery that his fruit “ was all blasted.” And he 
attributes the blasting to a strong east wind, or a 
blighting south wind, or a heavy rain, or some 
other weather occurrence to which he may be 
able to refer. Had he, with the pruning shears, 
cut out from one-third to one-half of the corymbs 
of buds, he would have saved his fruit from 
“‘blasting.” The tree would have been able to 
develop the remaining buds into fruit,; and the 
following season would not be so likely to be a 
barren one. The tree that blooms ftillest is not 
the tree that produces most, as a rule. And the 
cause being better understood, the “blasting” 
may in most cases be prevented. 
REINE HORTENSE. 
riel), with a slight acid. The tree is a vigorous 
and handsome grower of the sort, resembling the 
May Duke , and bears early. 
CHERRIES 
Cherries the present season have been re¬ 
markably fine in this section, never better we 
think. The trees are all loaded with fruit, and 
we see but very little rot, or defects of any kind. 
Iu every little yard or garden may be seen from 
one to three or four cherry trees, while growers 
for market pour in every day an abundant sup¬ 
ply. Shippers for distant markets are quite 
active, though the price is rather low, in conse¬ 
quence of this large supply. 
Having spent some time among the cherry 
trees during the two past weeks, we give our 
readers the benefit uf a few notes. 
Early Purple Guigne we never saw finer or 
larger. They seem to be improved by being 
grown on Mahaleb stocks. Knight's Early Black 
comes in just after this, and is one of the best 
black cherries, Money is a very showy cherry, 
a good deal like Napoleon , and a great bearer. 
mination 
that the vitality of seeds is entirely dependent on 
this relative position of heat and moisture. Some 
seeds require more moisture than others to tempt 
them to germinate; others must be indulged 
with more heat than water, in comparison; but 
every kind of seed requires its own due propor¬ 
tion of eaeli. Seeds of many plants, as the water 
lilies, will only grow in water; and of these, 
some, as the Victories must have an accompany¬ 
ing degree of heat of over 70 deg., while our yel¬ 
low pond lily will germinate at 55 deg. Other 
plants, as the balsam, thunbergia, globe amaran- 
thus. Ac., will readily grow in comparatively dry 
soil. In this class the same difference in the 
required degree of heat is apparent as in the last 
class; for while the Indian mallow (AbutUun avi- 
cenrurj will not germinate unless accompanied 
by a heat of over 60 deg., the garden speedwells 
( Veronica arvensis. l r . Buxbaumii, V. serphyl- 
lafolia , <£:c.J will readily appear through the 
soil with the heat anywhere above 02 deg. 
A knowledge of tbe separate requirements of 
each seed constitutes practical talent, and this 
cannot be acquired without extensive experience 
and observation; but, a few principles can be 
derived from these, which will do much to 
simplify the labors of those who have to go over 
the same ground. 
I have said that heat and moisture act me¬ 
chanically in the process of germination,— and 
they do so in this manner: — On the application 
of heat, the pores of the skin are expanded in the 
outer cose or husk of the seed; into these pores 
moisture is admitted; and then commences the 
chemical action which is to effect its germina¬ 
tion. An element of the water, which chemists 
call oxygen, seizes on one of the elements of the 
husk, carbon, the charcoal principle, and forms 
a new combination, and disappears in the shape 
bf a gas. carbonic acid, one of the chief sources 
of food for the young plant, as soon as it shall 
have produced perfect leaves. As soon as this 
combined force has eaten its way through the 
husk, it has to perform a similar duty for the 
“kernel” inside. When this portion of the seed 
has been in like manner operated upon, it re¬ 
ceives its commission to go forth, increase and 
multiply, and, in short, take upon itself all the 
duties and responsibilities of a living plant. 
“ But you have said nothing about air. Heat, 
air and moisture are frequently written of in 
treatises on germination. What office does air 
hold in the process?” None whatever, my good 
friend. Air is a positive injury in the case, 
though of immediate importance directly after 
the pushing of the embryo. Air, in conjunction 
with light, hardens the outer coat — chemically 
speaking, fixes the carbon—which it is the object 
of germination to destroy. I have no doubt 
seeds would •* swell ” iu distilled water, though 
I can thiuk of no direct experiment of the kind 
just now; but even water-plants must send their 
true leaves to the surface in search of air, imme¬ 
diately after germination. 
All these principles teach us that in preserving 
the vitality of seeds, or in accelerating their ger¬ 
mination, a great part of our attention has to be 
directed to their outer coverings. Seeds cannot 
lose their vitality while these remain perfect, 
while they will be in a condition to vegetate 
whenever this covering is prepared to admit 
moisture. The different results in the experi¬ 
ence of different parties in the time required by 
certain seeds to grow, is entirely dependent on 
this. If A preserves his Eeed during the winter 
so that tbe husk becomes hard and bony, while 
B guards his from such a contingency, the latter 
will arrive at much more speedy results than the 
former. Let us take an example, — the sugar 
maple will do. A gathers his at the fall of the 
leaf, preserves it in a dry seed-room, sows it in 
the spring, and — it does not come up till twelve 
months afterwards. But B gather it at the 
same time, puts it in the ground at once, and 
gets fine plants tbe next season; or, he gathers 
his seeds by the end of August, saves them in a 
cool room till spring, sows them, and then gets 
plants also ‘-right away,” in either case getting 
ahead of bis neighbor. “But where is the differ¬ 
ence? ” Simply that B never allows his seeds to 
get hard. He places them in the ground to keep 
their shells soft; or, to the same end, be gathers 
them, not before their embryos are fully formed, 
but before their coats have become indurated, 
and adds lo his precaution by keeping them 
cool tin gown. This is a simple experiment, 
which any one may test for himself. 
In successfully raising seed, there is more in 
What A iioirr thk Skvk.vtkkv-Vkar Locrsxs.—The 
locusts nr*now paying us a visit in this section, anti I 
wish to inquire what is the best method of treating young 
fruit trees that have been stung by them. We have tried 
to keep them off, bat in spite of all our vigilance, many 
of the twigs get punctured. Shall I cut them off and 
destroy them ? For I hehevo when they drop down and 
burrow in the ground, they get their nourishment from 
tin) roots of trees, which, if they were very numerous, 
would Injure them. Many of the slender twigs will break 
off id. any rate. 1» there any application that will destroy 
the egg* where they are deposited In the limbs? Any in 
formation m time to he available for this season will Very 
much oblige.—G. H Miu.sk, .\Hnvvh. Ohio 
CAKE RECIPES 
Thk Crx • Worm. — Will you please tell in the next 
numbered' the Kcrai, what will kill cut worms or prevent 
them from cutting or eating young tobacco plan!* or oth¬ 
er plants just set out, and oblige many in this section ?— 
SoiisoBiBKR, Paine*vide, Ohio 
The cut. worm Is very troublesome this season In West¬ 
ern New York as well as ill other sections of the country. 
To catch and kill them is the only remedy we know of, 
J. J. Thomas, who happened to be iu our office a few days 
since when a gentleman called to make a similar Inquiry, 
said the most effectual plan lie ever tried was to offer the 
children of the neighborhood a certain price per hundred 
for all they could capture. They would enter upon the 
hunt with great zeal ami capture the enemy by regiments 
and brigades. 
AHPAUAor* Brt>», &c.—Will some of the numerous 
correspondents Of the It Lit al inform me through its col¬ 
umns how to prepare a bed for asparagus, ami w hether to 
set the roots iu the fall or spring ?—F. L., Dexter, Melt 
How can WoODDHt'K8 KB 8owroi;ATKti v—The call of 
so many of our young men into tho army in quest of 
Southern rebel* Inis given our Northern ones an increased 
opportunity to multiply, and not the least of these Is the 
marmot, or meadow "oodehtult, which hag become of 
late a great, peal in eating and destroying gross ill this vi 
einity. In the Rckai,, or some other Agricultural paper, 
I once noticed the method of preparing a sulphurous 
match, which, when lit ami applied to the hole, would 
suffocate this animal, but am unable to recall or find it. 
Any one having this or a similar method of disposing of 
them, would greatly oblige myself and many others by 
communicating the same through the Rural.—D. C 
Low, Paris N. Y. 
P. 8.—My wife wishes to know- of your lady readers 
how to take iron-rust stains out of cloths.—D. C. L. 
Common Cake 
Three cupfuls of sugar; three 
eggs; one cupful of butler; one cupful of milk; 
one teaspoonful of soda. Make a stiff baiter and 
bake. 
Gold Cake. —The yolks of eight eggs; one 
cup of sugar; two cups of flour; one teaspoon¬ 
ful cream of tartar; one cup of butter; half a 
teaspoonful of soda. 
Silver Cake. —Half a cup of butter; one and 
a half cups of white sugar; half a cup of sweet 
milk; tile whites of five eggs; half a teaspoonful 
of soda; on® teaspoonful of cream of tartar. 
Sponge Cake.- Three eggs: mie cup of white 
sugar; one and a half cups of flour; one tea¬ 
spoonful of soda; two of cream of tartar. 
Soda Cake in Sheets for Jelly.— Half a 
cup of butter; two cups of sugar; four of flour; 
three eggs; one toaspoonful of soda dissolved in 
a cup of milk; two teaspoonfuls of cream of tar¬ 
tar; spread the jelly over them, then place one 
above the other, cut in slices. 
Johnny Cake.— Take one quart of buttermilk; 
one teacup of flour; two-tbirds of a teacup of 
molasses; a little salt; one teaspoonfnl of'suleru- 
tus; one egg well beaten. Stir iu Indian meal, 
but be sure and not get too much. Leave it 
thin—so thin that it will almost run. Bake in tin 
in any oven, and tolerably quick. Some prefer 
it without molasses. 
In a late Rural I noticed a recipe for making 
cone frames. 1 desire to say to those wishing to 
make such frames, that if they will use putty 
instead of glue they will find it a great improve¬ 
ment. Wblthie. 
hovey. 
It will make a popular market cherry. May 
Duke is au old favorite, and well deserves all its 
popularity. It is an exceedingly useful chewy. 
Following the May Duke is another excellent 
Duke cherry, the Late [Duke. It is large; when 
fully ripe, rich, dark red. Flesh tender and 
juicy, with a sprightly sub-acid flavor; not quite 
as sweet as May Duke. Ripens gradually from 
about the 10th of July, and hangs on the tree a 
long time. One of the very best of the Duke 
cherries. 
THE ARBOR-VITiE BORER, 
govticutturat 
At the meeting of Fruit Growers in Rochester 
the past month, attention was called to tho 
ravages of an insect upon the Arbor-Vita) trees 
and hedges about Rochester. The mischief had 
been observed in some gardens for a year or 
more past, but the cause of it had not been dis¬ 
covered until recently, and no one present at 
tbe meeting seemed to have any knowledge of 
the like having been observed elsewhere. I was 
at Buffalo a few days afterwards, undin agarden 
there, formerly occupied by Manley A Mason, 
1 noticed an Arbor-Vide hedge, eight or ten 
rods in length, completely ruined by the same 
insect, which had evidently been at work there 
for several years. 
If this evil should spread over the country, 
destroying the utility of this plant, especially as 
a screen, it would be quite a calamity; hence it 
is well to call the attention of horticulturists to 
the subject, in the hope that a preventive or 
remedy may be discovered. The presence of 
the insect may be known by little twigs or patches 
of the foliage dying and turning yellow. On 
examining carefully, a small worm or borer will 
be found (at this season of the year,) under the 
bark of the twig. 
I lind no mention in Dr. Harris’, or other 
works at hand, of any insect attacking the 
Arbor-Vitae; but from its appearance and mode 
of operation, it may prove the same as found 
sometimes infesting the Red Cedar, (see Dr. 
Harris,} the larva- of a very small bush beetle, 
Hylurgus dentatus of Say, or perhaps another 
species of the Barne genus. Dr. H. says these 
complete their transformation in October, ap¬ 
pearing then as a small, dark brown beetle, 
nearly one-tenth of an inchin length; the female 
burrows under the bark and deposits her eggs, 
then dies. Perhaps Dr. Fitch, or other ento¬ 
mologists, have already given attention to this 
insect 1 have not as yet seen any mention of it 
Columbus, O., July 1, 1863. M. B. Batuhaii. 
a* wheat, and at less than the usual expense. Asparagus 
requires a groat amount of heat; in told soil* it pushes 
slowly, and the quality is not so good as in warm ground. 
We must, therefore, iu unfavorable soils, have recourse 
to butting or earthing up, forming a conical heap On the 
base of each stool. 
Sowing .—The seed should be selected from tho plants 
that have been observed to give tbe fairest produce. It 
should bo gathered when ripe, which is generally in Sep 
tember or October; and It should be sowu immediately, 
in fresh, dry ground. The seeds should be lightly cov- 
ared with some good vegetable mould In the month of 
May following, the plants w ill have attained the height of 
some inches. They should then he planted, choosing the 
strongest of those that have their buds furthest, apart, and 
rather few roots. The plants, says M Gacthkr, which 
have their root* much developed, often yield small shoots. 
Planting .—If the soil is strong it must be trenched and 
abundantly manured with leaves, decayed vegetables, or, 
preferably,, with street manure, finishing with some good 
soil at top. Tbero are three wavs of planting. l»t. At 
six or seven Inches apart, for obtaining green asparagus, 
called cm* pHitt pots. 2d. At thirteen inches, for aspura 
gu», green or blauched, under glass. For tbe blanched, 
soil should be put in the frames, or in the beds, to the 
height of about twelve or thirteen inches; for tho green 
asparagus this is not necessary. 3d. At three feet three 
inches distant, in quiucuruc order, for the large blanched 
asparagus. When the plants ore sufficiently strong, gen 
erally when three or four years old, form over each stool 
a conical heap of soil, like a large mole hill, ten to twelve 
inches High, and which may be progressively augmented 
in following years, according to the strength of the plant-, 
to twenty inches. This work should be dune in a dry 
time in March, the finest soil being gathered together by 
means of a hoe. The asparagus is gathered when it push¬ 
es an iuch or two above the bills; and in doing tills great, 
care should be taken not to injure the crown*. The 
fourth year after planting, only a few shoots are gathered 
from each stool; this gathering should uot be continued 
for more than three weeks at most. Iu the climate of 
Paris the cutting of asparagus continues till the 16th of 
June; if prolonged beyond this period it will be at the 
expense ol‘ future crops. In the course of November we 
cut down all the steins to about, thirteen inches. In this 
country (England) they are at once cut down to the ground. 
We then uncover the stool* so as to leave on each only a 
very slight covering of soil. 
now TO Head the Bed-Boos.— Please in¬ 
form “Mr. Bachelor” that Mercurial Ointment is 
a sure cure lor Bed-Bugs. While teaching and 
“hoarding around,” I hail an excellent chance 
to learn all kinds of cures; I have seen almost 
everything tried to head the foul creatures, and 
all would fail except Unguentum or Mercurial 
Ointment. Thorrsughness in using is all Ihut Is 
necessary, for 1 have faithfully tried it in two or 
three houses that I lived in soon after marriage. 
Some plead expense. I say if too stingy to pur¬ 
chase one shilling’s worth of wluit will not fail, if 
properly used, they ought to he tormented now 
and ever.— Mrs. O. I. Lewis, Morrissvifte, V. if. 
How can I Make Beeswax White?— Will 
you or some of your correspondents be kind 
enough to inform me through the columns of the 
Rural how to bleach beeswax white? There 
are a good many bees kept in this vicinity, and 
considerable wax made, and we think our profits 
might be somewhat increased if we knew how to 
whiten the wax, as white brings more than double 
the price of yellow wax. Hoping yourself or some 
reader will give the information I desire, I 
remain, Yours, Ac. — Genesee, East Bethany , 
PONTIAC. RED JACKET. 
We give engravings of two of Prof? Kip.t- 
land’s seedlings, Red Jacket and Pontiac. Red 
Jacket is of an amber color, somewhat covered 
with light red; in form heart-shaped; flesh ten¬ 
der and juicy, but not high flavored. Stalk long, 
slender; is a moderate tiearer. 
Pontiac i3 of a purplish black color, rather 
large, obtuse heart-shaped. Flesh rather tender, 
juicy and sweet. 
Bigarreau, or YeUow Spanish, has been culti¬ 
vated in America about sixty years. It retains 
the popularity it acquired many years since, and 
is still one of the largest and finest of the light- 
colored, firm-fleshed cherries. 
Napoleon Bigarreau Is firmer in flesh than the 
Yellow Spanish, fully as large, and more heart- 
shaped. It Is of good llavor, and a showy, popu¬ 
lar market cherry, though the flesh is too firm to 
suit many. 
Downer's Bale Red is an excellent late cherry. 
Fruit large, roundish, slightly mottled, tender, 
juicy and sweet; an excellent late cherry. The 
tree is an erect, beautiful grower, bears well, 
and the fruit hangs for a long time on tho tree. 
Ripe generally from the 10th of July to the 1st 
of August. 
Rice Meringue.— Swell gently four ounces of 
rice in a pint of milk, let it cool a little, and stir 
one and a half ounces of fresh butler, three 
ounces of pounded white sugar, the rind of a 
lemon, and the yolks of five eggs. Pour the 
mixture into a well buttered dish, and Jay 
lightly and evenly over the top the whiles of 
four eggs beaten to snow. Bake the pudding 
for ten minutes in a gentle oven. The peel of 
the lemon should be first soaked in a wine-glass 
of white wine before it is added to the other in¬ 
gredients.— Arthur's Home Magazine. 
PEAR TREE BLIGHT-WHAT IS THE CAUSE? 
Eds. Rural New-Yorker 
■In looking over 
the proceedings of the American Institute Farm¬ 
ers’ Club, as reported in the N. Y. Tribune , I 
find that J. S. Woodard writes to the Club from 
Niagara county, in this State, and asks this ques¬ 
tion. He says:—“We have had a strong south¬ 
west wind, with a little thunder,” etc., and 
“being in my pear orchard, 1 have noticed what 
I never saw before. This morning my trees 
were all growing thriftily; to-night the Belle 
Lucrative, Virgalieu, Bloodgood, have all of 
them many young leaves and some of the young 
shoots black, wilted and dead. The other varie- 
By so doing the maturity of 
the plant j t» perfected. Every second year, soon after the 
“ariliing up Is takeu down, It is necessary to give Uie as¬ 
paragus plantations a good dressing of rotten dung. 
Those who prefer a different system of culture from that 
above indicated, should, however, »ays M. Gacthkr, use 
plants of one year old, when they begin to push.— Card. 
Chronicle. 
[SPBCJAL JfOTICB.] 
War Has its Triumphs, So Has Pback.— While the 
armies of the Union were winuiug brilliant victorle*, the 
Chemical Safer at at was enjoying a scries of uninterrupted 
triumph* over the popular aversion to all uvleratu* be¬ 
cause the common kind* in u-u were found to be de.truc- 
tive. Science had demonstrated that the Chemical Solera- 
tu» was uot only pure in its nature, hut wonderful In its 
effects, producing beUer bread and biscuit than any other 
kind of saleratus or soda known. 
Summku Work.—K eep the soil well worked and you 
will have little cause to complain of the drouth. A thor¬ 
ough hoeing is much better than water. Obtain uoat 
stakes for all flowers that need them, and provide prope 
support for climbing plants. Do this early. 
