Its 
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except the few days which may elapse be¬ 
tween the thawing out of the roots before 
the stem and branches. The sap may liqui¬ 
fy iu the roots before it does in the stem, 
and vice versa; for it is a well known fact 
that a large amount of water lerude sap) is 
always present in the living tree, whether 
it be frozen or otherwise; but it is not so 
abundant as to insure a rapid flow from 
wounds except iu early Spring. Of course 
we are now speaking of our northern decid- 
will be noticed by the corresponding let¬ 
tering of the station at B —the half current 
passing thence to the station at A. 
It is by this division of the electric cur¬ 
rent—one-half going to the ground and the 
other over the wire — that it is found possi¬ 
ble to send messages both ways at the same 
time, without any interference of the one 
with the other. 
It must not be understood, however, that 
any portion of the signals are conveyed by 
the ground current. All the siguals pass 
and repass over the one main wire. The 
philosophy of the thing is well understood 
by such electricians as have made the sub¬ 
ject a matter of study; but it is rather too 
abstruse to be clearly defined to the ordi¬ 
nary reader. 
In the practical working of the system 
two instruments are placed upon a table, 
at each end of the line, one of which re¬ 
ceives, while the other simultaneously sends 
messages — a low partition being placed 
across the center of the table, between the 
receiver and sender, to prevent the sound 
of the instruments from interfering with 
each other. 
Only one condition is requisite to the per¬ 
fect working of the system, and that is that 
the current must be equally divided at 1 
and 5. This result is secured by an ingen¬ 
ious adjustable arrangement at the two 
points of resistance, X and X. It would 
be difficult to explain this principle, or the 
adjustable nature of this resistance, or 
“rheostat'* as it is technically called; but 
the device is perfectly familiar to every 
electrician. If a wire, say 100 miles in length 
between two stations, is in perfect working 
order, the “rheostat’’ (-VI must be equiva¬ 
lent in its resistance to the resistance en¬ 
countered by a perfectly insulated wire of 
that length. But if by reason of unfavora¬ 
ble weather, or imperfect Insolation, a 
greater resistance is encountered on the 
main wire, making it equivalent to say 150 
miles in length, the extra 50 miles can bo 
instantly applied to X, and the balance be 
thus kept constant and equal. 
Slrkriculluntl 
IMPROVEMENT IN TELEGRAPHY 
THE BRAZIL NUT.-(Bertholletia excelsa.) 
The Revue Horticole says the fruit of the 
Berthollclin excelsa is commonly called the 
“Monkey’s Fot,” which name is also given 
to the Lccythis ollaria. This arises from 
the fact that Us form suggests that idea, 
and because the monkeys eagerly devour 
the seeds contained within it, drawing them 
out through an opening at the top of the 
fruit, which they enlarge if necessary. The 
fruit, which seldom reaches us entire, is 
surrounded by a kind of thin, green shell, 
at the bottom of which Is an exceedingly 
hard woody covering, enclosing a number 
of irregularly triangular seeds not unlike a 
slice of a melon cut away a little on one 
end. These seeds are shut up in a woody, 
wrinkled, brown coat, which, though rat her 
thin, is very tough. When fresh they are 
good to eat, having a flavor somewhat like 
that of the hazelnut or walnut; but as they 
become old the decomposition of the large 
amount of oil they contain causes them to 
taste rancid. 
According to HttMBOLnT and Bonpland 
the fruit is about the size of a child’s head, 
being from 3 to 5 inches in diameter. Some 
are oval-shaped and ot hers rounded but de¬ 
pressed above and below. The fruit con¬ 
sists of a woody capsule, valveless, covered 
with a thick, fleshy rind, which shows slight 
traces of four or live rounded angles that it 
had in its ovarian state. The lid at the 
top is very small, and unlike that of the 
fruit of the Lecythis, falls inside the capsule 
instead of outside. When the fruit is ripe, 
and the partitions of the cells have gone, 
there appear sixteen to twenty bony, wrink¬ 
led, kidney-shaped seeds, a little flattened 
on the inside. The kernel consists of a 
fleshy, whitish, inseparable, homogeneous 
substance. 
In December, 1821, “I saw the BerihoUetia 
flowering at Cayenne. This was the second 
time it had flowered, but no fruit arose 
therefrom, which was most likely due to the 
youth of the plant, although it was then 
twelve years old and 40 feet iu bight. There 
are but few homes at. Cayenne which have 
not some of these trees. The fruit which I 
have examined and drawn came from Bra¬ 
zil. The Portugese of Para send yearly a 
large quantity of the seeds of the Berthol- 
letla to Cayenne under the name of Touka, 
and this name has been also given to the 
trees which have sprung from them. These 
seeds are sold at the Cayenne market. As 
long as they are fresh they are equally us 
good as our sweet Almonds, but they turn 
rancid very quickly.” These fruits, which 
are called also Brazil Chestnuts, and to 
which the natives give the name of “iuvia,” 
furnish a very large amount of oil for 
burning. 
This is what M. Bonplanh has to sav 
about it:—“We have been very fortunate, 
M. Humboldt and I, in lindiug some of 
t hose kernels during our voyage upon the 
Orinoco. For three months we lived only 
on bad chocolate, on rice cooked in water, 
always without butter and often without 
salt, until at last we got a large number of 
the fresh fruits of the Berth (diet I a, It was 
in June, and the Indians had just made a 
harvest of them. These kernels are of a 
most exquisite flavor, especially when they 
are fresh. The tree canto originally from 
Brazil, but it is also to be found in Spanish 
America, where it forms forests upon the 
banks of the Orinoco.” 
Telegraphing Two Ways, Simultaneously, 
on a Single Wire. 
Not long since we announced that means 
had been discovered and devices made 
.—(ttertliolletia, excelsa.) 
whereby messages could be sent over a 
single wire, in opposite directions, at the 
same time, thus doubling the working 
capacity of present telegraph lines. We 
find in the Pacific Rural Press the accom¬ 
panying diagram and description, showing 
how this is done: 
In the ordinary manner of transmitting 
signals from one station to another, as from 
K to A", as shown in the accompanying 
illustration, when the key at K is depressed 
and contact made at a with the positive 
pole of the battery, E, a signal is made to 
pass on through h 1, and the relay At to 3, 
over the line A B, through 7 and the relay 
At' to 5, to b‘ and the negative pole, a\ of 
the battery, E\ The ground wires c <1 and 
e. <}' being adjusted to take the place of the 
return wire, which was employed, as above 
said, on the earliest telegraphs. On a main 
wire, so adjusted, a signal could he sent 
only one way at the same time. The modi¬ 
fication of the device by which it is made 
possible to transmit siguals both ways at 
the same time is as follows: 
Iu the ordinary device, the relays At and 
AT' were wound with single wires in one di¬ 
rection; but in the double transmission 
system, which we will now describe, they 
are wound with two wires iu opposite direc¬ 
tions. The second wire passes from 1 
111 rough 2 around relay M to 4, t hence 
through a “resistance coil,” X, to the 
ground wire, c G. 
A similar arrangement is connected with 
the opposite station at B, as shown, where, 
however, the positive pole of the battery is 
connected with the ground. 
The result of this arrangement is that 
uous trees. When a maple is gorged with 
crude sap in Spring, the flow will be in all 
directions into any wounds made. To prove 
that sap will flow crosswise of the grain we 
have only to cut out small sections of the 
wood alternately around the stem, and iu 
such a manner that every continuous line of 
cells from the root, upward is severed, and 
then we will find that the tree still has the 
power of sending up its crude sap to the 
leaves, where it will be assimilated and 
again returned downward, depositing or¬ 
ganized matter in the form of cells as be¬ 
fore. _ 
The Uses of Willow Wood are thus 
stated by the Cabinet Maker:—In Fugland, 
there is no wood in greater demand than 
sound willow: it is light, smooth, soft, tough, 
will take a good polish, and does uot easily 
burn. It will bear more pounding and hard 
knocks, without splinter or Injury, than any 
known wood, and hence.it is used for crick¬ 
et. bats, and whenever it cau be obtained, 
for the flouts of paddle steamers, “ strouds ” 
of water wheels, brake-blocks for luggage 
and coal trucks, the sides and bottoms of 
carts and barrows, where wear and tear are 
greatest. To the wood-turner it is invalu¬ 
able, and were it grown as timber, and ob¬ 
tainable, it would be used for many pur¬ 
poses to which foreign timber is now ap¬ 
plied, and that, too, with considerable ad¬ 
vantage both to producer and consumer. 
Winter Apples in Northern Indiana. 
—C. C. B. has an opinion that it will be 
found profitable to plant eight or ten hun¬ 
dred choice l'ruit trees—apples of best win¬ 
ter varieties, cherries and pears best adapt- 
USEFUL AND SCIENTIFIC NOTES, 
To Polish Oak. -Slightly oil the work 
with linseed oil, and then rub off: then 
make a paste of whiting and paraffine oil, 
colored with yellow ochre, or something 
darker if necessary for the color of wood. 
After the wood is well filled in with this 
paste, It must be well rubbed off clean, and 
let stand two or three hours before the pol¬ 
ish is applied. 
To Get Rid of Ants, the following mode 
is recommended:—“ Place a fresh meat bone 
where the ants can get at it, and they will 
flock to it in large numbers. When they 
are on dip it in hot water; repeat it a 
few times and the ants will have disap¬ 
peared.” 
POMOLOGICAL GOSSIP 
The Matthews Apple. — Dr. J. Stay- 
max, Leavenworth, Kan., writes as follows 
to the American Agriculturist, concerning 
this fruit: —“This is an apple of great 
promise, being very beautiful and perfect. 
It originated in Nelson county, Virginia, on 
the farm of Mr. Matthews, and was first 
introduced to the public byTrxucE Dollies 
of Albemarle Co., Va., from whom we re¬ 
ceived specimens at the meeting of the 
American Pomologioal Society at Rich¬ 
mond, Va,. September last. Tree, a stout, 
upright grower, with light-colored bark. 
Fruit, medium to average; weight, from six 
to ten ounces; form, round, slightly conic; 
skin, smooth, rich waxen yellow; dots, large, 
scattered, whitish or gray; stem, medium, 
slender; cavity, wide, deep, green; eye, 
small, closed; basin, rather narrow and 
shallow, furrowed; core, large, round, open; 
carpels, large, hollow; seeds, medium, ovate, 
plump, dark; flesh, yellowish, very tender, 
juicy, pleasant sub-acid; quality, good to 
very good; season, October to February.” 
ARBORICULTURAL NOTES, 
Flow of Sap in Maple Trees. — It 
would please a number of your readers, 
who have not had a very extensive educa¬ 
tion, but who, nevertheless, are wise in 
their own conceit, to have the following 
question answered“ I n tapping a maple 
tree, does the sap come from below or 
above ?” Will you be so kind ?— H. J. Page. 
As soon as the earth thaws iu Spring the 
roots imbibe water. This is carried upward, 
meeting in its course the elaborated sap of 
the previous season, which imparts to the 
crude sap the sweet taste observed in the 
maple and mauy other species of trees. 
Were it not for the presence of this elabo¬ 
rated sup of the previous season, we would 
get uo sugar from it by boiling. Now the 
liquid portion of the sap certainly comes 
from the earth in Spring, but it may have 
passed far above the point where the tree 
is tapped, and then descended again at the 
time this operation is performed. We are 
well aware that many persons believe that 
the sap of trees descend into their roots in 
winter; but this is an error, there being no 
more sap. either crude or elaborated, in the 
roots at one time than another, unless we 
Cranberry Culture. —Iu reply to the 
inquiry of T. M. Robinson of Colorado, in 
regard to the probabilities of successful 
Cranberry culture in that region of coun¬ 
try, we must refer him to the authorities 
on that subject. See our book list. 
Fig Culture in California. — W. IT. 
Haynie, in the Sacramento Farmers’ Club, 
said that the white Smyrna Fig could be 
grown and eurea as well in that State as iu 
Smyrna or any of the countries of the Med¬ 
iterranean. They cannot be imported at 
less than 28c. per lb. He estimates that an 
acre of fig trees 10 years old will produce 
30,000 pounds of figs. • 
TELEGRAPHING BOTH WAYS, SIMULTANEOUSLY, ON A SINGLE WIRE. 
that climate. We do not apprehend when a current is sent from the battery, E, 
my less fruit is to be eaten hereafter it is divided at 1, one-half passing through 
heretofore. And good winter fruit the relay, At. by the wire wound, say from 
to be as valuable iu Indiana as in any left to right, and vta 1 and 3 to the main 
in the Union. line of wire, A, and station at B; while the 
x» . m , , , other half passes through the relay bv the 
:s on Peach Trees are regarded by . * . , * , ” ‘ d •; LUO 
er in the Boston Cultivator as his best vvire wound from right to left and via 2 and 
Is. he asserting that they destroy the 4 through X to the ground wire c, G. The 
lat cover the young and tender leaves, same connection and division of currents 
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