©ft* $htiti;ali;it 
for blooming in Winter. I tried this plan 
last Winter and bad splendid spikes of 
flowers during the holidays. Wben one 
wants to make a showy bouquet, this Sage 
works in splendidly. My pets, however, 
are the Monthly Roses, and in this I am not 
likely to have much opposition, for of all 
flowers the Rose is certainly queen, and I 
am only surprised that she does not receive 
might think a hog had been at large there. 
Like its near relative, the bear, the raccoon 
hibernates only occasionally on warm, sun¬ 
ny days, leaving its retreat during Winter. 
It usually produces from four to six young 
at a litter, about the first of May, though 
the time varies with the latitude. 
To Trap the Raccoon.—It being a very 
strong animal it needs a stout trap to hold 
him; the large double-spring trap, com¬ 
monly known as “box trap," is the best. 
When his den is known, the trap is placed 
at its mouth, either fastetfted to a stake 
driven firmly into the ground, or to a clog, 
that the animal can drag slowly. When 
set with bait it is placed in water, or else 
covered with moss. I f there is more than 
one way of approaching it the bait is sus¬ 
pended over it. They are also frequently 
caught in dead-falls. For bait, use fish, 
fowl, the carcass of the muskrat, and, as 
some advise, burnt salt cod-fish. Audu¬ 
bon speaks of one in captivity crazy for 
honey, and, without doubt, that would 
make a good bait. Some use oil of anise to 
scent the bait, but musk of the musk rat 
is as good as anything to attract the ani¬ 
mal. 
The most sport, however, is to be got by 
hunting the raccoon with dogs, at night, 
when he is committing his depredation up¬ 
on corn fields. The dogs are taken out to 
THE RACCOON. 
CProcyou lotor-AUDUBON.' 
DAILY RURAL LIFE 
FROM THE DIARY OF A QENTLEMAK NEAR NEW YORK CITY 
The raccoon has an extensive geographi¬ 
cal range, being found in all the United 
Grapea Ripening.— Axaj. 20.—A few of 
the earliest varieties of grapes begin to 
ripen, although they will not be in their 
best condition before the first of next 
month. 1 wish we had a greater variety of 
good table grapes, for at present there are 
very few that can be classed as first-class 
which will succeed, except in a very few 
localities. The Concord is certainly one of 
the best suited to general cultivation, but 
it is a little too lute ill ripening for the ex¬ 
treme Northern States, while in quality it 
s not first-class. The Delaware is cert ai nly 
best in quality, but its success is only local. 
The Hartford Prolific is very early, the 
vino hardy and prolific, but in quality a 
little below the Concord. Rogers’ Hybrids 
are all uncertain, although in a few locali¬ 
ties some of them do passably well, and arc 
from second to third class In quality* Mil¬ 
dew and rot make sad havoc among them 
in most localities. Allen’s Hybrid is our 
best white grape in quality that has boon 
geuei’ally disseminated, but there are so 
few localities in which it will succeed that 
it is now seldom placed in any select list. 
I had great hopes of the Martha* when it 
was first brought out, but thus far it has 
not proved to be of any great value as a ta¬ 
ble grape, being of a rather rank llavor, and 
the flesh tough aud almost indigestible. 
Catawba is too late and liable to rot. Diana 
is a failure almost everywhere, and the 
much lauded Walter is scarcely better, while 
the Earn clan promises well in some gardens, 
but mildews badly in others. Arnold's Hy¬ 
brids are too small, with the exception of 
Othello, and this fails on account of mildew 
and rot. Iona is a fine variety of most ex¬ 
cellent quality, but unfortunately not gen¬ 
erally a success, although I have seen it in 
gx-eat perfection in Central New York aud 
in a very few other localities. 
In villages aud city yai’ds, almost any of 
the above varieties eau be successfully cul¬ 
tivated; but when it comes to vineyard cul- 
tux'e, we are still sadly in want of good, 
hardy, aud disease-proof sorts. Tt is more 
than likely that such varieties will never be 
pi’oduced, and that grape culture iu this 
country must be conducted the same as 
other branches of fruit culture, favored lo¬ 
calities and soils taking the lead ; suppling 
the markets aud making the business prof¬ 
itable. A xuau may thoi'oughly understand 
the culture of any particular kind of fruit, 
but unless nature is with him his success is 
uncertain. The soouer our people recognize 
this fact the better it will be for those who 
think they are going to make a fortune out 
of grape culture without regard to the adap¬ 
tation of varieties to soil and climate. 1 
have had my little experience iu ti'ying to 
do the impossible, and suppose others will 
have theirs, even with all the warnings 
givexi them. 
A Walk About My Garden,— Aug. 20.— 
As the mouth wanes, I begin to look about 
to see wbich plants among the many set out 
this year shall be saved, or seed therefrom, 
for next. As 1 cultivated them for my own 
pleasure, I am not disposed to consult the 
fashion or popular tastes in this matter. 
Here, for instance, is the new Amaranihus 
saUcilollusxoux.il nsively puffed last Spring, 
with its long, string-like leaves, possessing 
no beauty to my eye -at least not enough to 
work iu the corn. The hounds, let loose, 
range the field and give notice by their 
melodious cries if they find the trail. The 
hard pressed animal betakes itself to the 
nearest tree, to which, stumbling over logs 
and through brush and briar, the hunters 
are led by the buying of the dogs. If the 
tree can be climbed the most agile of the 
party ascends it, and by dint of hard shak¬ 
ing dislodges the closely clinging victim, 
which, falling to the ground and attacked 
by the dogs, is usually dispatched by them 
and the hunters; but sometimes he elude* 
them and escapes to the woods or his den, 
or to the nearest stream, which is a favor¬ 
ite method of his for baffling the dogs, if 
the tree cannot, bo climbed a lire is built 
under it. If that does not reveal him 
among the branches, so he can bo shot, day¬ 
light is Whited for. He is hunted in the 
same way when out in marshy places hunt¬ 
ing frogs, or visiting white oak trees for 
their acorns, of which he is very fond. 
Another method of hunting him, is to 
follow his track during the thaws of late 
Winter and early Spring, when he comes 
from ills Winter quarters as before men¬ 
tioned. If he is tracked home to a tree, he 
is got by chopping down the tree, if to a 
den in rocks, he may be trapped. 
Tlie raccoon and skunk are skinned by 
slitt ing up the belly, instead of strippiugoff 
the skin from the hind legs as in the case 
of most other fur-boariug animals. Iu 
skinning all animals, as the raccoon, whose 
tails form a part of the fur, the bone and 
flesh must be carefully removed from the 
tail. It is no small job to do this, though it 
is necessary to render the skin salable. 
Turn the skin from the roots of the tail as 
far as possible, then put it back in place 
and pull the skin off towai’ds the tip of the 
tail. All fat must he removed from the 
skin, when it must be stretched to dry, 
with the flesh side out. Raccoon skins 
make handsome sleigh-imbes and servicea¬ 
ble overcoats, and are in good demand, 
Northern skins bringing seveiit.v-live cents 
or a dollar a piece. 
The flesh of the young is tender and well 
flavored, and if kept some days, furnishes 
an excellent meal. The raccoon has a quick 
sceut and sharp hearing. It is easily tamed 
and makes an interesting though some¬ 
times, from his inquisitiveness, a trouble¬ 
some pet. He is a good fighter, and when 
attacked by the dogs he makes a spirited 
defense. 
H, A C <J O O N.~(I J roeyon lotor.) 
States, and as far North ns the fiftieth de¬ 
gree of latitude. It is found in the greatest 
numbers in the Southern States. 
The body of the raccoon is from twenty 
to twenty-nine inches iu length; the tail, 
with hair, about nine inches. The body is 
stout, with legs of moderate length, strong 
and muscular; head roundish; nose sharp 
and tapei'ing; snout naked and movable; 
canine teeth, long; eyes, round, of moderate 
size; whiskers, scant, strong, and very 
low, erect, with tips much 
T II It 
the deserved adoration. The first and last 
tribute of affection to the gentler sex is 
always symbolized by a rose-bud; then why 
not keep the chain complete, instead of 
dropping a link at the beginning of life 
and another at the end. A rose-bud for the 
bride and another for the dead wife are the 
only roses seen in far too many families. 
rigid; ears, 
rounded. In the feet it is partially' planti¬ 
grade; soles naked; nails strong, hooked, 
and sharp; the tail of moderate length, 
thick and bushy; the body is densely 
clothed with two kinds of hair, the outer 
longer aud coarse; the Inner softer and 
more like wooL Though clumsy in appear¬ 
ance, he is capable of maintaining respect¬ 
able speed, aud be is a good climber. The 
general color is blackish-gray, which results 
from the long hairs being alternately ringed 
with black and dirty white; Che belly is 
lighter colored; the face whitish, W’ith a 
black patch surrounding the eye, and de- 
scendiugto thclower jaw. and a dark-brown 
line descending from the forehead between 
the eyes; point of nose, eyes, aud soles of 
feet, black; the soft under fur, pale brown 
throughout the whole body; the tail has 
about six distinct black rings, and is tipped 
with black; these alternate with five light 
yellowish-brown rings. 
Their favorite resorts are retired swampy 
lands covered with lofty trees, through 
which are small water-courses, on whose 
banks frogs aud muscles are found, though 
they' are by no means confined to such lo¬ 
calities, as they are frequently found on 
rocky hills, living iu holes in the rocks. 
Their nest or lair is usually made in a hol¬ 
low tree. The raccoon is not strictly a 
nxcturnal animal, though he commonly 
sleeps in his nest during the day and seeks 
Lis food at night. Sometimes, on warm 
days iu the Fall, in this latitude, he is 
found asleep iu the branch of a tree or the 
sunny shelf of a ledge. 
lie feeds on frogs, mice, muscles, oysters, 
birds’ eggs, and sometimes on domestic 
fowls and their eggs. He is said to destroy 
many more animals than he is able to con¬ 
sume, merely suoking their blood and eat¬ 
ing the brain, lie is very fond of Indian 
corn, when it is “in the milk," aud it is 
from his havoc in fields of this, that he 
renders himself most obnoxious to farmers. 
He breaks down the .-talks, tears off the 
husks with his fore-paws and feeds on the 
rich, millcy grain, tearing down aud de¬ 
stroying much more than he eats. When 
a party of raccoons has visited a corn-field, 
a person unacquainted with their habits 
KEEPING MELONS 
An inquiry was madein the Rural New- 
Yorker, Aug. 10, about keeping water¬ 
melons till Winter. My plan is to take the 
perfect melons (not the first nor the last to 
ripen), being careful not to bruise, press or 
scratch them; lay them iu a cool, dry room, 
and let them alone. Cut them off the vine 
as soon as ripe enough to use. I have kept 
such until they froze in Winter, when, of 
course, they were worthless; but nearly all 
were good that wo used, until they froze. 
We keep them good till in the Winter; who 
can tell how to keep them till Spring? 
My mother keeps pumpkins on the above 
plan till Spring, and sonxetimos longer; and 
grandmother, when she was living, was still 
more successful—kept them till tlie next 
crop got ripe. Who comes next on the 
pumpkin? John Weesner. 
Morgan Co., Ind. 
GARDENERS’ NOTES 
Fertilizing Melons and Cucumbers.— 
The artificial fertilization of the female flow¬ 
ers of cucumbers aud Melons constitutes a 
most important article of faith among prac- 
t ical hort iculturists. The “ setting " of the 
crop by hand is insisted on iu all garden 
calendars; if it is not necessary, the im¬ 
mense amount of time consumed thereby is 
wasted. In the thousands of gardens where 
handsome and well-flavored fruit is every¬ 
thing, and seed of no consequence at all, we 
believe the operation to be altogether un¬ 
necessary. At all events, we have managed 
to secure for our own use for many years 
past cucumbers and melons in sufficient 
plenty, without putting ourselves to the 
trouble of applying the pollen, aud have 
long since been satisfied that, except for the 
production of seed, it is labor wasted.— 
Gardeners' Magazinc. 
HOW RATTLESNAKES POISON. 
I noticed an article in the Rural New- 
Yorker entitled “ Ilow Rattlesnakes Poi¬ 
son.” As my companions through boyhood 
were mostly of that, class of reptiles, I 
thought I would give you my version of the 
modus operandi. Their poison faugs, two 
in number, are in the upper jaw, not at¬ 
tached to any hone, but controlled bv mus¬ 
cles, by which they are protruded or re¬ 
tracted at pleasure. These fangs are hol¬ 
low the whole length, sxs may plainly be 
seen with the microscope. On striking, the 
fangs protrude, and as they enter the flesh 
t he sacks at their roots are depressed, caus¬ 
ing a flow of the venom through the cavity 
into the wound. The teeth, or poison fangs 
of the yellow rattlesnake of this region 
are about the size mid shape of the claw 
of the cat at six months of age. n. a. R. 
Devil’s Lake, Wis. 
Tilden Tomatoea.—Among a quantity 
of large Tilden tomatoes, gathei'ed in my 
mother’s garden a few days ago, there was 
one weighing 22 oz., and measuring 15j£ 
inches in circumferenoe.— Octavia Finley. 
