5MB OH 
SWOOBE’S RURAL NEW-VOBKER 
|3o mo logical. 
CALIFORNIA PEARS. 
A few years since California pears were 
objects of much interest in our city, but 
during the past season there have been 
fifteen car loads of them introduced, and 
now they can be seen daily in our principal 
retail fruit stores; in fact, are the only fruit 
now in our market. Among the first ar¬ 
rivals of this fruit was a car load which 
arrived August 1st, consisting ot Bartletts, 
each box containing, on an average, eighty 
pears, which sold for about. ?4 per box. 
This fruit arrived in fairoondition, and sold 
readily, although our fruit of the same va¬ 
riety were cheap and very plenty. The ex¬ 
tremely choice fruit sold as high as ?6 per 
box: but the soft fruit reduced tho average 
to tho price named above. 
The next received was the Vicar, and 
they were the most, beautiful fruit of this 
variety that I have ever seen, being re¬ 
markably clear-skinned, and many possess¬ 
ing a most beautiful blu&h. A box contained 
about eighty pears, and sold, on an average, 
at ?4 per box. These arrived about tho 
bight of our Dutchess season, which inter¬ 
fered with their sale. The Glout Morceau 
is tho next on the list of arrivals, averaging 
about ninety per box, selling at the same 
price as Vicars. 
ir the California growers will permit, 1 
would liko to offer t hem a suggestion, which 
will add materially to their profits in send¬ 
ing their fruit to this market. That is, 
simply to send only the very best and per¬ 
fect. fruit, for two reasonsThe first is, we 
can grow enough common stock to meet the 
demand; second, the co3t of sending poor 
fruit here eats it. up, and the profit, if any, 
is made on the best quality. Every packer 
should forbid his men putting in any knot¬ 
ty or imperfect specimens in the boxes; by 
that means the dealer will be enabled to 
insure perfect specimens to his customers, 
who will pay a much larger price for it, 
knowing that there will be no culls to cause 
a loss to him in selling. 
I am aware that our native growers are 
looking with a deal of interest to t he pres¬ 
ent and future attempts Of the California 
growers to introduce their fruits in our 
markets, and, judging from the experi¬ 
ments made with pears, these attempts will 
prove successful; and although the experi¬ 
ments made with the grape have proved un¬ 
profitable, I think that in three years at 
most, they will succeed in furnishing us with 
much better fruit than is imported. 
Now and Then. 
New York City, Feb. 15th. 
-- 
POMOLOGICAL GOSSIP. 
Early Harvest Apple in Virginia.— 
The following letter from Daniei. F. Cock. 
Hampton, Va., was written by a gentleman 
who harvested one crop of Early Harvest 
apples in June last, and a second crop in 
November, from the same tree or trees. 
Concerning this variety of apple, as grown 
in Virginia, Mr. Cock says:—“ I see during 
the discussion, at the meeting of the Ameri¬ 
can Bornological Society, held at Richmond, 
that this variety was not recommended for 
cultivation in this State, I append a short 
statement of my crop for the Last five years. 
1 have only an acre of them, which were set 
out ill the winter of 1860; there were about 
sixty trees set out, full a dozen of which 
have since died, leaving less than fifty trees. 
I sold in the year— 
1807.41 bbls.,which netted, clear of exp’se..$123 09 
lSGS, 17 “ “ “ “ .. 102 20 
1369.54 “ “ “ “ “ ..100 80 
1870. 53 “ “ “ “ “ - • 207 43 
1871,64 “ “ “ “ “ .. 254 50 
‘‘This, remember, from one acre. The 
orchard has been manured broadcast, three 
times during the five years, which I do not 
count as expense to be deducted from the 
price obtained for t he apples, as 1 have had 
it sown with grain and clover for green food 
for stock, which will pay for all expense of 
manuring. This variety may not do as well 
iu other parts of the State; but this, I think, 
shows that it should not be condemned 
throughout the State.” 
Information about Strawberries.—Tf 
AmosW. W. will look over our booklist, 
he will find the title of a pamphlet on 
Strawberry Culture,costing only 20 cts., that 
will give him all the information he ap¬ 
pears to need at present on this subject. 
Strawberry culture has been treated pretty 
fully in the Rural New-Yorker, and we 
shall probably again refer to the subject 
whenever a good opportunity presents. 
We shall be glad to receive informa¬ 
tion concerning any new fruits of merit that 
are to be introduced this season. 
cdfiip tfcoitomir. 
G0TJX S ABSORBENT CLOSETS. 
Everything which tends to preserve 
health, promote economy, and increase the 
agricultural products of the earth, is wor¬ 
thy the serious attention of all. We have 
recently examined a patent 
absorbent, closet and urinal, 
introduced into this country, 
which is in extensive use in /^pi 
Europe, and has received pri- 
zes and medals iu Franco, no- /ttWw* 
tably at the Paris Exhibition j ? 
in 1867. TheGorx system of 
closets is so simple and effect- 
ive iu its operation, so scion- 
tifically correct, and of such 
practical utility, it only 
needs to be understood to bo \ 
appreciated. We do nob mBiM 
need, at this time, to enlarge 
upon the Import ance, as re- ~ wHS 
gards tho health of our popu- 
lation, and the saving of re- /• — 
sources to the agriculturist, ~~p f ' wE 
of the careful collecting of ' w 
all the animal excreta, much 
of which is now allowed to ~~—~y 
run to waste. Nothing is so 
rich in those salts and ele¬ 
ments upon which vegetation 
foods, as the refuse of our houses, and it 
would well pay any municipal government, 
or private individual, to put in practical op¬ 
eration a system like Gorrx’S, for tho pur¬ 
pose of converting all this rich material 
into a manure which can be used without 
difficulty. Our present system is as bad as 
it can be, since it is no system at all, and in 
many instances, notably at country hotels, 
public inst itutions, depots, offices, etc., is a 
disgusting promoter of disease, besides be¬ 
ing a waste which no community can afford. 
fitted by the country resident to any seat, 
and placed in any house, where they may bo 
used until tho cavity is tilled. This can be 
done by farmers at a trifling cost, far less 
than the expense of constructing a pool or 
cistern, while tho ease and comfort with 
which the tubs call bo removed, must give 
them popularity as fast as they become 
known. With this arrangement there is no 
danger of impairing tho health of the fami- 
Figijre 2. 
The system of dry earth closets has de¬ 
fects, which the Gotrx system entirely over¬ 
comes. In the former a holder containing 
dry earth, by a valve and lever arrange¬ 
ment, throws a small quantity of earth 
upon the excretion, thus deodorizing it. 
The practical use of this machine is trouble¬ 
some, and the closet is limited to dry earth, 
which must, be frequently renewed in the 
holder. In the Gorx system there is a tub, 
(Fig. 1,) which contains a layer of some dry 
substance, which has been packed around a 
mold, (shown in Fig. 2.) When the 
mold is withdrawn, a cylindrical 
space is left in the tub for the ex¬ 
creta. The fluids are absorbed by 
the dry substance, which prevents 
fermentation, and a shower of de¬ 
odorizing powder falling upon the 
excretion, completes the mechani¬ 
cal operation. The improvement 
consists in packing the tub, as 
shown in the cut. A, being the lin¬ 
ing, composed of some dry sub¬ 
stance. When the tubs are filled, 
they are removed, and their con¬ 
tents put upon the manure heap, 
a freshly-lined tub being substitu¬ 
ted. Tho whole operation is simple, 
and in iiu manner disagreeable. 
The absorbing material is lightly _ 
packed about the mold, and may 
consist of chaff, chopped or broken _ 
straw, damaged or refuse bay. 
coarse grass, dry street-sweepings, . 
dry horse-dung and litter, sweep- _ 
itigs of markets, hay and straw 
lofts’ refuse, wool and hair, wool >- 
shoddy, varec or seaweed, charcoal 
dust, dry peat, dry fern, etc., etc. 
Any or all of these to be mixed in 
such proportions as may be most conven¬ 
ient, together with a small percentage of 
sulphate of iron or sulphate of lime. The 
material is then ready for use. 
Excreta holders, or tubs, prepared after 
this simple and inexpensive plan, may be 
Figure 1. 
ly, and a source of profit arises from tho 
product. For tho best class of houses, and 
for use in sick rooms, hospitals, etc., an 
automatic closet has been devised, by the 
use of which the objections raised against 
dry closets in general are entirely obviated 
and done away with. They actually absorb 
and completely deodorize all the gases, 
which, under the best conditions, still es¬ 
cape from other dry closets. The mechan¬ 
ism is self-acting, and so simple that thcro 
is hardly a possibility of its getting out of 
order; and tho commode, by its com¬ 
pactness and reduced size, may be 
placed in any apartment without in¬ 
convenience, in sight or otherwise, to 
the most fastidious taste. 
A urinal, constructed on the same 
principles, as shown in Fig. 3, has been 
devised, which secures for use this 
most precious of fertilizing agents. 
The interior of the holder is filled with 
1& the absorbent earths, as shown in the 
cut, tho liquid being conducted 
• through the pipe, C, which is perfora- 
--S j ted at the lower end. This simple de- 
ISIp vice is very effective, and may be used 
f in dwellings and offices. 
After a protracted trial made at 
Aldershot during last season, tho 
British War Department, on the rec¬ 
ommendation of several sanitary com¬ 
missioners specially appointed, has deter¬ 
mined to adopt the system. Although the 
contract was made and arrangements pre¬ 
pared for about 4,000 men, yet the servico 
has extended, without difiiculty or incon¬ 
venience, t o about 11,000 or 13,000 men, and 
no complaints have been made. 
The large town of Halifax, Eng,, has also 
adopted tho system, and will soon be en¬ 
tirely fitted. The towns of Bradford and 
of Wakefield, after a close examination of 
the results obtained at Halifax, havo docid- 
Figure 3. 
She poultriHJaril. 
FEEDING POULTRY. 
r do not know of a single item in poultry 
keeping upon which I am so undecided as 
to the proper amount of feed for laying 
stock. As to the kind of food, we can take 
nature for our guide and believe that vari¬ 
ety is preferable to any one kind. 1 do not 
believe it policy to keep any kind of stock 
poorly. Yet we are constantly advised that 
we must avoid fat in fowls intended for lay¬ 
ers. 1 have generally accepted this idea, 
but of late have become somewhat, skopl ical. 
It has occurred to me that 1 woidd like to 
compare tho weight of eggs produced by 
some prolific “biddy,” or oven an average 
of layers with her own weight, in a given 
time. And when we know how much they 
will exceed our most sanguine expectat ions, 
the question comes to us, what should be 
the material used to favor this egg-produc¬ 
ing machine, and how supplied? 
In conversation wit h Dr. I’., of our place, 
upon this point, a few day s since, he claimed 
that It was perfectly' absurd that a fowl 
should not bo fat to lay well, and proved 
his theory Ivy his own practices. The Dr. 
keeps corn constantly before his fowls, and 
in addition gives them u warm breakfast of 
equal (pounds) of wheat bran and corn 
meal. Hero we clash again in keeping feed 
before them. 1 have never practiced it., 
believing it to be unwise and unnatural. 
But, I must confess that tho Doctor suc¬ 
ceeds In getting eggs earlier in the season 
than 1 do. I have never succeeded in get¬ 
ting a good supply of eggs any earlier than 
many of my neighbors, though 1 am always 
happily disappointed with the year’s pro¬ 
duct, as I find they pay well. 
Geo. Iv. Hawley. 
-- 
POULTRY NOTES AND QUERIES. 
Are Pigeons Quarrelsome? — I have 
bred fancy pigeons about three years, and 
have had a little time to notice their habits. 
Every night when they go to roost, they 
have more or less quarreling. J have a good 
many coops, and allow one of these to a pair 
of pigeons; but if one pigeon lties to an¬ 
other’s landing, a fight generally ensues. L 
have known two pigeons to fight half an 
hour; then they stopped because one had 
his leg hurt so that be (lid not get over it for 
about a week. In the day time, 1 have also 
noticed them lighting on the roof; also when 
they were being fed. —G. K. Tinker. 
The statement Mr. Rufus Peet, Castile, 
N. Y., refers to, was confined entirely to tho 
common tame pigoons, the writer wishing 
to convey the Idea that they (Um common 
tame pigeons) were very quarrelsome. How 
quarrelsome? As much so as Baltimore 
Orioles; and they, the Baltimore Orioles, 
would fight till they died, to obtain sole pos¬ 
session of a tree they had selected to hang 
their nests upon. Nothing was said of wild 
pigeons, or any other varieties. It is so 
many years since Mr. Pket visited the pig¬ 
eon roost in Otsego county, that l am sadly 
afraid you are, like myself, getting on the 
wrong side of seventy, and need a new pair 
of specks. The *‘C" was a mistake of tho 
printer, and the owl a creature of your own 
invention. I have nothing to do with eith¬ 
er.— g. 
Worms in Pigeons.—A writer in the 
Cottage Gardener states it as his belief that 
“worms are, in most cases, the cause of 
so many pigeons wasting and dying; also 
that the malady is contagious.” He adds: 
“ A short time since I went to see the stock 
of an old fancier—crouched in a pen was a 
good-bred Tumbler in the last stage of the 
so-called consumption. I told the owner 
what the bird was suffering from; ho 
laughed at the idea. The bird was exam¬ 
ined after death to convince him, and it 
\ contained upwards of one hundred worms, 
I some of them two inches in length.” 
Inducing a Hen to Sit.— Vincent 
Fraser says, “ if any one will take a ltiyin<i 
hen—Brahma or Cochin to be preferred— 
and will place her in a sitting-box, only just 
largo enough t<» hold her nest, into which 
have been previously placed half a dozen 
». eggs, and will keep her very warm, she will 
soon show a desire to sit . Her food must 
be stimulating, and should consist of Indian 
corn, raw liver chopped, buckwheat, hemp- 
weed, and a small portion of bread steeped 
in ale.” 
ed on adopting the system. For hospital 
pui-poses it is unrivaled. 
The Goux system is now being introduced 
in this country, and its practical operation 
may he seen at tho establishment of A. L. 
OSBORN & Co., 424 West Canal St., N. Y. 
“Sure Cure for Roup.”—On page 130 
we gave a “Sure Cure for lioun,” furnished 
us by a correspondent, which Frank Ford, 
Ravenna, O., claims is his own invention, 
of which he has a copyright. He cautions 
all papers against copying it from our col¬ 
umns. 
