twenty-one years old in the cask, and some from a 
cask that was par audience, called the “bride of 
the cellar,” and the opinion formed was that the 
quality of Jobannesberger is 6ueh that it cannot be 
described, and can be communicated only to the 
organa of taste, nor can It be understood or even 
imagined, except by those who are so highly favored 
as to have a taste of it. But this marvellous wine 
is bat the crowning product of the famous district 
of the Rhlnegan, or that portion of the valley lying 
just north of Mayence, a strip lees than ten miles in 
length, whose fruit yields a juice which surpasses 
all others of the world, combining richness with 
flavor and delicacy with strength. The soil of the 
Rbinegan seems to be of a red sandstone mostly, if 
not wholly. Johannesberg hill reminds one strongly 
of the soil of some parts of New Jersey and Con¬ 
necticut, and in the neighborhood of New Haven, 
in the latter State, the 
HORTICULTURAL NOTES 
injury to tub Cixkrry, — A correspondent of the 
Prairie Farmer says that the spring frosts have caused 
considerable injury to the cherry crop in iho neighbor¬ 
hood of Cincinnati; while further northward, where the 
buds were less developed, they suffered bnt slightly Hr. 
says’ that the Early May (by which name wo suppose he 
means the trne Early Richmond,) has suffered largely- 
nearly all the flowers presenting blackened germs. The 
Early Purple Gnigne, and all other varieties in blossom 
when the thermometer sank to 20" on April 4th, are com¬ 
pletely destroyed. More than half the buds of the May- 
flIrO hfllrn nnnn«/,J * 
to replant. We illustrated this enemy in the num¬ 
ber for July iSth, last year. If this be a fact, (which 
we believe entomologists have not disputed,) it is 
within the experience of every vine grower that the 
bug is scarcely more to be dreaded than when trans- in the latter State, the “basalt” is seen resting 
formed to a worm; in fact the bug can be most upon the red stone, just as it does npon the hills 
easily thwarted in his depreciations. that 6kirt the Rhine. Nearly all the German and 
Perhaps the surest means of keeping the bug, or Swiss wines, and, indeed, nearly all the grapes 
beetle, both from eating the leaves and laying his gfown in Germany and Switzerland, are white, for 
eggs, are boxes covered with muslin, set over the which the soil and climate of the former country 
hills. They should be large enough to allow of con- aeeniB peculiarly adapted, while at the same time 
siderable growth inside of them, and the sides ought nnsulted for ripening colored grapes to the tint 
to be made sloping, so as to admit sunshine to the needed in a true red wine. The peculiarity of the 
best advantage. Some cultivators get along very better sort of Rhenish wines is “ bouqnet,” and of 
well by using paper covers, and very thin cotton the inferior sort, acidity compared with them : their 
batting has also been recommended. Plaster or French rivals are quite negative, and so are those of 
oyster-6hell lime dusted on^the plants once a day, Switzerland. A French wine, white or red, must be 
when the dew is on, is also claimed to be a preven- very poor indeed if it shows any acidity, and must 
live, and some have used powdered white hellebore be very fine indeed if it possesses any easily-tasted 
with as good snccees against the cucumber bug as “bouquet.” Altogether, we must award the palm 
the currant worm. excellence to the white wines of the Rhine, as we 
Girons tN Strawberries. —Last year the white grub 
destroyed a great, many strawberry plants, and seriously 
injured the prospects of many growers. We think those 
beds suffered most on which manureespecially line 
compost —was freely used; and those least, perhaps, to 
which ashes were freely applied. There is no better fer¬ 
tilizer for strawberries than wood ashes, and we should 
prefer to nse them in abundance, even after the plants 
are set, rather than enrich the ground highly with ma¬ 
nure. Let every strawberry grower apply ashes freely to 
his beds. Manure in liquid form, put on before tho blos¬ 
soms open, is a safe and Important way of fertilizing. 
Tub Steel Bntns Beetle on Graph Vines.— There is 
considerable complaint In the vicinity of Rochester of 
the depredations of this Insect on the swelling buds of 
the grape vines. This is a long and well known pest t» 
the grape grower, bnt is not a general one, although in 
some seasons and places it doos great damage. • If .let 
alone they, entirely destroy the bud, and even continue 
their work until the fruit has set. The only remedy is to 
knock them off repeatedly and kill them. 
otka wherries.— uoiman e Rural World gives Southern 
Illinois the credit of sending ihe nrsi etrawberries to the 
St. Lonis market the present season. The first lot went 
off at $2 per quart, hut, the supply augmenting, tho price 
went down to 25 cte. This'was the rate on the 10th Inst. 
Last week I visited Delaware to look after the 
peach and berry crops, and on arriving at Middle- 
town found that the peach crop was badly injured. 
Mr. Shellcross, who is a large grower, informed me 
that they r could not calculate on over one-fourth of 
a crop, and his private opinion was that one-eighth 
would be nearer correct. The old orchards are so 
badly iojured that they cannot be counted upon with 
any safety, the fruit being confined to the young 
orchards. There are no berries grown for market in 
this locality. 
Dover was the next place visited, and the peach 
crop was about the same there as at Middletown. I 
conversed with several of the leading growers, such 
as Paris, Todd, Ridgely, Egle, and others, and 
they all agreed in regard to the quantity. Straw¬ 
berries are beginning to attract considerable atten¬ 
tion there, and they pay well, as a crop. Messrs. 
Richardson and Robbins have a very tine patch of 
Wilson’s; they were looking very thrifty, and 
promised a large crop. These gentlemen are doing 
quite an extensive business in canning fruits, thus 
making use of the balance of the crop not sent to 
market. 
At Camden, three miles Bouth of Dover, the pros¬ 
pect for peaches was the same, and the berry 
business increasing rapidly. Messrs. Wheat and 
Bennet, both New Yorkers, have started a steam 
saw mill and box manufactory, and are doing a fine 
business. They are manufacturing large quantities 
of crates for the Beecher baskets, at the same price 
Beecher does, thus saving all the expenses of 
transportation to the growers of that vicinity. 
At Fredrica, and Felton, the berry business is 
taking the lead; a large number of acres are in cul¬ 
tivation, and the area is steadily increasing. Mr. J. 
Emmerson has a very promising crop, and expects 
to pick from five to eight thousand quarts. Mr. 
Carter, at Felton, has a small farm, and Is planting 
it entirely in small fruits, lie has experimented in 
the different varieties of Strawberries, but found 
nothing equal to the Wilson; and that is the general 
opinion of all the growers I conversed with. 
I heard from other parts of the State not visited, 
and as far as could be ascertained the peach crop was 
about the same. I was greatly surprised at the rapid 
improvement, and increased value of farms; a per¬ 
son who had not seen them for two years could 
hardly realize it. Good farms are now valued at 
$150.00 per acre, and choice ones still higher. This 
rapid increase is owing to the introduction of 
Northern farmers, and the cultivation of small fruits. 
Mr. J. S. Collins of Moorestown, N. J., the well 
known nurseryman, has purchased a tine farm five 
miles from Dover, and is planting it all out in small 
fruits. His superintendent being from home I did 
not succeed in learning the particulars of his experi¬ 
ments. 
While at Camden I called on Mr. Lord, the 
gentleman who sent the bushel of Apricots which 
sold for $32,00 last year. I was surprised to find the 
tree so small; it is growing in his back yard, sur¬ 
rounded by buildings, and the ground closely packed 
by the tramping of his family. He informed me that 
it had on about two bushels in all, bnt not being in 
the habit of marketing them, the balance was con¬ 
sumed in his family, it was ouly through the 
persuasion of Mr. Bancroft, to try our market, that 
he was induced to send them. He was much sur¬ 
prised at the amount received for his fruit, and 
stated farther, that the tree seldom failed to yield a 
good crop. Now and Then. 
New York, May 21, 1868. 
All wrinkled peaa are superior to, and more delicate 
in flavor than tnose that present a fall and perfect form; 
like sugar corn, t.he saccharine matter which they contain 
causes them to shrivel when dried. 
Now begins 
The house wife’s happiest season of the year. 
The ground, already broken by the spade— 
The beds made level by the passing rake— 
The almanac consulted, and the signs 
Conspiring favor, forth with apron full 
Of choicest Beeds, the best the last year gave, 
She sallies to the garden, where all day, 
Breathing the pleasant odor of Hie mold, 
Sho bends and plants, while to her eye of hope 
Here springs tho early pea, and there the bean, 
The lettuce and the radish, and what else 
Her culinary providence requires. 
But chief of all, with careful hands, she sets 
The slips, the bulbs, and plants, which round each bed 
Shall make a bright embroidery of flowers. 
This fine pear is of American origin, and was 
growv from seed by the late TnADPEtrs Clapp of 
Dorchester, Mass. It must., of course, he classed 
among the newer pears, bnt it has been tested long 
and carefully enough to warrant the statement that 
it is one of the finest and most promising varieties 
on our list. The wood and foliage resemble those 
of the Flemish Beauty, and the fruit that of the 
Bartlett. It is supposed to have sprung from a cross 
of those two varieties, and the tree is hardy, vigor¬ 
ous, a fine grower, holding its foliage well, and the 
frnit is of large size, fair and plentiful. Its period of 
ripening is the last of August, generally about one 
week in advance of the Bartlett. It should be gath¬ 
ered before full maturity and ripened in the house. 
The surface of the fruit is a little uneven ; color, yel- 
Iowish-green, becoming clear yellow at maturity, 
and shaded with red in the sun. Flesh, greenish- 
white, juicy, melting, perfumed and of excellent 
quality. 
If some Rural reader could only give a recipe 
whereby careless and incompetent housekeepers 
could be made orderly and attentive, it would be 
a very desirable one indeed. For instance, one 
often see6 a heedless washer put an empty wash 
boiler on the top of a hot 6tove, and then leisurely 
proceed to pump a pail of water to put in it, thus 
running the risk of melting the boiler and filling 
the room with a disagreeable odor besides. Also, 
a hot fiat iron standing on the ironing sheet, while 
folding up a garment, scorching the cloth and injur¬ 
ing the table needlessly. The like want of care is 
from fifteen to twenty-five or thirty years, thriving 
vigorously, bearing abundantly, and which careful 
examination 6hows to he only growing upon the 
quince root, we are compelled to treat those writers 
as so many whose experience and observation are not 
of sufficient extent or duration to render them re¬ 
reliable. 
We confess we should advise pears on pear roots 
where only a light sandy soil can be had, bnt then 
we should plant close, say ten feet each way and 
root-prune the lateral, not the tap roots. If, how¬ 
ever, the planter’s soil be a stroog heavy clay or 
clayey loam we prefer the pear worked on the quince 
root, and when plantiog set so as to have about four 
inches of the pear beneath the surface.— f. b. b. 
B. H. Hart sends ns some observations about 
transplanting the wild orange trees, in Florida, from 
the forests to the groves where they are budded with 
the sweet orange. He says; — “The tenacity of life 
in an orange tree is surprising. Many trees are dug 
up, as large as four inches in diameter, with very 
few roots, and the whole top taken off, three feet 
from the ground, and yet these trees live. The 
proper way is this: select a tree about two inches 
throngh, make a circular incision about two feet in 
diameter, in the ground, around the tree, with a 
sharp spade or ax, severing the lateral rootB; then 
dig down and cut off the tap root, and the tree can 
be taken up. Then to cut off’ the top, don’t lay it 
on a log, or any hard substance, but lay it fiat upon 
the ground with the roots resting in the hole, then 
with a stroke of the ax inclining toward the top, 
sever the trunk three or four feet from the roots. 
You need not be afraid of dulling your ax, for the 
Boil, composed of mnek and comminuted shells and 
sand, would affect the edge about as little as an old 
cheese, In abont three weeks after these trees are 
set out the new Bhoots push through the hark, and 
when they have grown a foot or more are ready to 
bud with the sweet orange. Some of the trees that 
I procured in November, made shoots of a Toot in 
length and were ready to bud, by the first of March. 
“To show the endurance of the orange tree, and the 
indomitable pertinacity with which it contests the 
ground, with the trees of the forest, I will state 
that one of these trees, growing by the side of a 
large oak, had so attached itself to one of its roots 
that I was obliged to bring off a portion of it with 
the orange tree, the roots of the latter had evidently 
destroyed those of the former, and had grown into 
and around them so they could not be separated.” 
tea and coffee. When Americans consult French 
physicians, three times in four they are ordered to 
drink red wine as a habitual beverage, and one of 
the commonest daily events among Americans re¬ 
siding in Paris Is the cure of an obstinate dyspepsia 
by the same Bimple remedy, even in the un healthful 
air of that city. 
The German vineyards have hitherto escaped any 
very serious ravages from the “vine disease.” It 
is met as often as it appears, and successfully com¬ 
bated with sulphur. Three applications are made, 
the first as soon us the berries have grown to he as 
large as the head of a pin. Early in the day, and 
before the dew is dried off - , the flour is sprinkled on 
the lower surface of the leaves, where the moisture 
causes it to attach. The implement used is a tube 
of tin, perforated with numerous small holes at the 
lower end. At Rheims we were 6hown a large vine, 
trained to a wall, onc-half of which had been treat¬ 
ed as above in the spring of the year before, and the 
other half neglected. The latter had, as a conse¬ 
quence, lost all of its fruit, and we visited the place 
and saw it the following season. It showed yellow 
and falling leaves in July, and very little fruit, while 
the other portion was perfectly healthy, and was 
loaded with a good crop of fruit. This experiment 
was made by a French gentleman, who had recently 
returned from a long sojourn in America, and visit¬ 
ed that country for the purpose of satisfying him¬ 
self if the sulphur be really a preventive or not 
against the vine disease, of which he had heard so 
many doubts expressed while in America. 
ier ui a not stove ana pouring out the coffee at once, 
as if muddy coffee were a desirable thing. Coffee 
should be steeped, not violently boiled, and when 
the pot is filled up it should be taken off the stove 
and stand a few minutes, a little cold water poured 
in and it will settle nicely. The tea kettle need not 
he filled so full that it will not hold another drop, 
because when it boils it will run over. Neither 
should fried eggs nor meat be dished up on the din¬ 
ner plates as many cooks thoughtlessly do. Want 
of attention to such little particulars is a source of 
waste and discomfort iu a house, and it is just as 
little trouble to do things right as wrong, and a 
great deal more satisfactory. Aunt Rachel. 
Evergreen Cottage, 1868. 
In an essay on “Timber Culture a National 
Necessity,” D. C. Scofield, Esq., of Elgin, Ill., 
says “ Summon all the landholders of the coun¬ 
try, and demonstrate to them the profits of tim¬ 
ber culture ; produce facts and not theory ; tell 
them that from one acre planted with Tyrolese 
Larch, they may reap a harvest at the end of six 
years, of hop-poles, grape-stakes and trellis materi¬ 
als, worth more than two hundred dollars, and at 
the dose of another six years, they may reap a har¬ 
vest of fence-posts which will be comparatively im¬ 
perishable , and worth more than nine hundred dol¬ 
lars, In testimony, I adduce my forest in Elgin, 
which, ten years ago was a smooth prairie, and 
afterward planted with plants which then stood in 
the nurseries of Scotland, Let them measure the 
trees, both of pine and larch, of more than two 
feet iu circumference, and more than twenty feet 
in height; count the number on the acre, and esti¬ 
mate the number of fence posts that each tree will 
make; tell them that at the end of twenty years 
they may reap a third harvest by cuttiug one-half 
of the residue, or six hundred and five trees, now 
more than one and a half feet in diameter and forty 
feet in height. This timber may be used for ship 
spars and fence posts, building timber and railroad 
ties, worth more than fifteen hundred dollars. At 
the end of another ten years they may enter the 
forest again and gather a fourth crop, by removing 
three hundred and two trees, leaving an equal num¬ 
ber growing on the ground. Now, the trees have 
an average diameter of two feet and more, and are 
sixty feet iu height, each of which is worth at least 
ten dollars, or a total value of three thousand dol¬ 
lars, Tho amount of the proceeds already realized 
in thirty years is five thousand six hundred dollars, 
or an average of more than one hundred and eighty- 
six dollars annually. There are now left three hund¬ 
red trees standing on the ground, twelve feet apart, 
to grow undisturbed fifty or seventy-five years lon¬ 
ger, when each tree will be worth from twenty to 
fifty dollars, and in the total more than six thousand 
dollars.” 
Raised Fruit Cake.—T wo cups of raised dough,. 
2 of sugar, 1 of butter, 3 of raisinB, (stoned and 
chopped,) 2 of currants, half pound citron, wine 
glass of brandy, same of Hour, teaspoonful ealeratus, 
spices, 3 eggs. 
Cocoanut Cake — Vert Nice. — One pound of 
white sugar, half pound of butter, three-fourths of 
a pound of Hoar, 6 eggs, 1 grated nutmeg. 
Sponge Cake, or Diet Bread. — One pound of 
pulverized sugar, 6 ounces of flour, 10 eggs, flavor 
with lemon. 
Poor Man’s Pudding.—O ne cup of suet, chopped 
line, 2 do. of molasses, 1 pound of raisins, flour the 
consistency of cake, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg 
boil 2 hours; wine sauce. Rural Reader. 
CULTURE OF THE VINE IN EUROPE, 
STRAWBERRY CROP AT THE WEST. 
[Concluded from page 175 r last number.] 
MANURES. 
Guyot, arguing strongly in favor of manure, rec¬ 
ommends the French cultivator to put on at inter¬ 
vals of three years a quantity of manure that will 
be equivalent in weight to that or the fruit he has 
taken oil' at vintage, while M. Herzmansky, the 
steward at Johannesberg, who tills some fifty acres 
of vines, keeps about forty very large cows in his 
stables. 
BUT -WILL NOT MANURING HURT THE QUALITY OF 
THE WINE? 
In our former report we say that this is an open 
question as yet, and so it is in France, and M. 
Guyot treats It as such in arguing upon it. Of 
coarse none will doubt that were a vineyard to be 
treated in this respect, as we treat the soil of a 
grapery, very poor wine would he produced, and 
the only question is will a moderate quantity do 
harm? This is precisely the question the Com¬ 
mittee put to M. Herzmansky, the intelligent and 
thoroughly experienced director at Johannesberg, 
where the best wine in the world is made. His 
answer was, “ No. As we apply it on this soil it 
does not impair the quality of the wine in any 
degree; on the contrary, it improves the flavor.” 
Then he led the way to his well-ordered cow sta¬ 
bles, and pointing to the compost heaps remarked, 
“ There is the beginning of Jobannesberger.” Now 
Jobannesberger is tho most delicate of wine, as it Is 
indeed superlative in every respect. By the kind 
invitation of the Princess Metternich the Commit¬ 
tee were allowed to taste specimens of the best the 
castle cellar contained, including some that was 
The Prairie Farmer of May 80th says“ From all 
parts we get news of a poor strawberry crop. In 
Southern Illinois an early frost ruined the first blos¬ 
soms, but enough came out afterward to give prom¬ 
ise of the usual yield. Everybody was hopeful, but 
suddenly, and without apparent cause, the berrieB 
ceased to develop and the crop is pronounced a fail¬ 
ure. This is pretty general in all Southern Illinois. 
At Champaign, where large plantations have been 
made, the result is very similar. The ouly reasona¬ 
ble explanation we have bad of the phenomenon is, 
that just as the blossoms were ready to be fructified, 
a heavy rain prevented the distribution of the polleD. 
This we have heard given as the cause iu the South 
Pass region. On reference to our weather notes, it 
seems likely that the heavy rains at Champaign oc¬ 
curred when the blossoms were in a similar condi¬ 
tion of development. At the North, there is a very 
poor stand, generally, in the plantations, owing, in 
a great measure, to the drouth of last year. Alto¬ 
gether, then, we look for a small supply, and high 
prices for this fruit the whole season.” 
PEACH BORER AND YELLOWS 
Fiued Halibut. —Place in yonr fry-kettle half a 
dozen slices of fat pork; fry to a brown, then re¬ 
move them to a deep dish; add to the fat three 
tablespoonsful of fresh lard; when boiling hot put 
in your halibut, which should he cut in pieces about 
three inches square, and dipped in sifted meal, 
sprinkle over it a little salt. Fry a good brown. 
After the flsh iB all fried (it may be necessary to add 
more lard if it is a large one) put it In the dish with 
the slices of pork, pour the boiling fat over it, and 
add one tablespoonful of boiling water; cover with 
a plate tightly, and stand in the oven for twenty 
minutes. 
A correspondent of the Horticulturist writing 
of the attacks of the peach borer says; — “ Having 
tried all the plans proposed for the last live years — 
merely as an experiment npon neglected trees — I 
have found them all deficient in one thing, i. e., in 
preventing a renewal of attack. Nine .wars’ experi¬ 
ence fully proves to me that the waste water of salt 
works called ‘mother liquor,’ or ‘bitter water,’ is 
a sure preventive. I will not aver that It will kill 
the worm when once iu the tree, as my experience 
is not conclusive on that point, but I do assert that 
it has killed them by thousands when partly iu the 
tree and not entirely shielded by the bark. We ap¬ 
ply it any time during the summer, but when possi¬ 
ble, in June and last of August, patting about one 
pint of the liquid around the base of each tree. At 
the same time we wash the body and main limbs of 
the tree with the Bame liquid, which removes scales 
of dead bark and kills the eggs of insects. My ob¬ 
servations in the treatment of trees to this liquor 
leads me to declare it to be the most powerful agent 
in preventing the dreaded disease known as “yel¬ 
lows” that has yet been discovered. Trees in a 
rapidly declining state from the effects of this disease 
being treated to this liquor, took on a new life as it 
were, casting their yellow leaves and throwing out 
an immense healthy foliage.” 
Dried Beef Gravy.— Slice two teacups of dried 
beef very thin, add one quart of sweet cream; let it 
boil a minute or two ; then thicken with one table- 
spoonfnl of flour, one egg, and a little sweet milk, 
(beat well the thickening before pouring it in,) and 
stir until done, which will be two minutes. Sweet 
milk will do in the room of the cream by adding 
butter. This is a capital dish to serve with baked 
potatoes. ____ 
Apple Tree Suckers. —The Working Farmer 
says “ Many otherwise good orchards are allowed 
to become defaced, as well as seriously injured, by 
allowing a profusion of suckers to grow at the base 
of the trunks. Attempts are sometimes made to get 
rid of them by cutting them off down to the surface 
of the ground, and leaving considerable portions be¬ 
low in form of short stumps. These sprout again, 
and they soon become as bad as ever. A better way 
is to wait till they are in leaf, at which time they are 
loosened more readily, and taking each separately iu 
the hands, and placing a thick boot upon it near the 
tree, they are quickly separated. If done at that 
time they will uot be likely to sprout again. 
We are almost monthly reading of some dwarf 
pear tree grower who, after a few years of experi¬ 
ence, and that upon some piece of dry, sandy soil 
perhaps, condemns the practice of growing varieties 
of the pear upoM the quince root. It is fair to pre¬ 
sume that these writers present their views in full 
belief of their practical truth, but when we can go 
into grounds not only in the New Eugland 8tates, 
but of sections in New York and Western States, 
and find handreds of pear trees of ages varying 
Blackberry Pudding.— One pint of milk, three 
eggs, teaspoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of soda, 
and flour enough to make a thick batter. When 
this is well beaten add your berries, as many as you 
ean conveuieutly, and boil three hours. To be eaten 
With sauce. 
The fruit crops in Maryland and Delaware have been 
greatly damaged by the late inclement weather. 
