7 252 
CORE’S RURAL WEW-YORKER. 
gm% of a ^uralist. 
DAILY RURAL LIFE. 
FROM THE DIARY OF A OENTLEMAH HEAR HEW YORE CITY. 
Rapid Growth of the Chestnut.— 
Oct. 1.—Seven years ago, while taking down 
the old rail fence in front of tny place, pre¬ 
paratory to erecting a new board one, 1 
found several small chestnut seedlings 
among the shrubs, briars and weeds which 
the former owner had allowed to grow 
along the roadside in the true shiftless 
farmer style. The road being quite nar¬ 
row, I placed the new fence three to four 
-feet inside of the old one, and wherever a 
promising tree or sprout occurred in the 
proper place it was preserved for a shade 
tree. One llttlo Chestnut tree, not. more 
than live or six feet high, I uoticed in par¬ 
ticular. because it had been twisted or 
grown in naturally among the rails and was 
very crooked; but, as it stood in the exact 
place where a shade tree would be desirable, 
I carefully disentangled the stem and re¬ 
marked to my workmen that it would yet 
be a handsome tree. I have just measured 
that tree and it is 28 feet high, stem at the 
base 30 inches In circumference, and at six 
feet from the ground 20 inches. The stem 
is as straight as a reed, except a slight crook 
near the ground. Last season it produced 
a few nuts and this year the ends of the 
branches bend with their load of large clus¬ 
ters. This tree haB received no care, ex¬ 
cept pruning, the soil about its roots being 
covered with a tough sod. Other trees upon 
my place have made equally as good growth, 
and I only mention this one for the purpose 
of showing what might be accomplished in 
a few years, if a man will only make a be¬ 
ginning. This treo cannot be much more 
than ten years old, and probably would 
have been considerably larger under more 
favorable conditions. An acre of such trees, 
even in this neighborhood, where chestnut 
timber is quite plentiful, would be worth 
more than our farmers ask for their culti¬ 
vated land. There are plenty of farms 
within a hundred miles of New York City 
that would pay their owners fifty per cent, 
greater profit if planted with chestnut and 
other forest timber trees, than they do now 
under cultivation. If I was living at the 
West, or in fact anywhere else where the 
chestnut, will flourish, I would certainly 
plant a few trees, if for no other purpose 
than the pleasure of gathering the nuts. If 
one is too old or dyspeptic to enjoy the eat¬ 
ing of chestnuts, he will not be very likely 
to forgot the time when it was one of the 
greatest of pleasures. I have sent a small 
bag of chestnuts by mail to a friend in Mon¬ 
tana, and although I doubt if the trees will 
thrive in that region of country, still the 
sample sent will make my friend think of 
old times at home. 
Boxes for Insects.— Oct. 2.—There are 
many persons who would like to preserve 
specimens of insects if they only knew how. 
A few may be kept in almost, any tight box, 
but unless one is very watchful mites will 
get in and quickly destroy all; or in damp 
weather there is danger of moisture caus¬ 
ing mould and rapid decay. Of course our 
professional entomologists have expensive 
cabinets made expressly for this purpose; 
but the amateur and novice in this branch 
of natural science does not feel inclined, 
even if he is able, to expend several hundred 
dollars for a cabinet, before being oertain 
that a collection will be obtained that will 
warrant such a large outlay iu cash. Besides 
this, when a man begins to collect, he can 
form no idea of where he will end—it may 
be with a few hundred specimens, but. more 
likely, if he is a worker, it will be up among 
the thousands. Then, again, if he follows 
any of our great authorities, he will want 
his families, genera, and species arranged 
according to the published lists; and should 
he commence putting his insects into a cab¬ 
inet without any system in their arrange¬ 
ment, he would soon be perplexed to know 
where to look for, or find, any particular 
species. If a man expects to accomplish 
much In any branch of study or business 
he must systematize his work, so that there 
will be the least possible waste of time. I 
use quite a large number of what I call store 
boxes for ray insects, and as they answer 
the purpose very well, and, in fact, are as 
good as a far more costly case, I will tell how 
thev are made, and the cost, for the bene¬ 
fit of those who may feel an interest in en¬ 
tomology and desire to preserve specimens 
11 in as cheap a way as possible. I send to a 
pK cabinet or box manufacturer, and order 
boxes made of dry pine, three-eighths of an 
inch thick, twelve by fifteen inches, and 
three Inches deep, inside measure. The 
last fifty I had made cost but twenty-seven 
cents each at the manufactory; they were 
dove-tailed and glued at the corners, and 
top and bottom nailed on. These boxes 
were put away in a dry room, and whenever 
I want any for use I prepare them myself 
in the following manner:—First, I re-nail 
both top and bottom, using good, strong, 
one-inch brads, or finishing nails, for this 
purpose. Sand-paper and smooth the boxes 
the subject was apparent from the moment 
he began his sermon. I do not know but 
we expect too much of those who3re called 
learned men; but to one like myself who 
plods along through life earning his daily 
bread by hard manual labor, it does seem a 
little strange that they will talk about 
things of which they know nothing, even to 
asking for Peanut trees , and at the same 
time tell us poor farmers that we are very 
ignorant and ought to come to them for 
light. Perhaps it is all right, but I am too 
blind to see it. 
the RICKE'J’TS peach. 
if they require it; then proceed to cut them 
open, one inch and a quarter from the top. 
Two lines should be made as a guide for the 
saw, an eighth of an inch apart, either with 
a double-spurrred gauge, or two single-spur 
gauges can be used iustead. 
After sawing open the box, I plane the 
edges smooth and down to the gauge marks 
on both top and bottom. Then I take some 
thin strips of pine, two inches wide and a 
quarter thick, and cut them in around the 
sides and ends of the bottom portion of the 
box,’the edges extending above the edge a 
quarter of an inch, forming a rabbet which 
fits closely and tightly against the in¬ 
side of the cover. The top and bottom 
should be marked before ■'the box is cut 
apart, so that it can be put together 
the same way that it was at first. 
Jf the boxes are sawed apart carefully 
and the rabbet formed as I have described, 
your cases will be air tight. The bottom 
of the box is lined with sheet cork, made 
for the purpose, costing $1.25 per dozen 
sheets; each sheet beings twelve inches 
long, about ‘6)4 wide and a quarter of an 
inch thick. The cork is glued in and placed 
under a slight pressure until the glue is 
dry. I then give my boxes a coat of shellac 
varnish inside and outside, with the bare 
exception of the bottom where it is covered 
with cork. Gum shellac is dissolved in 
strong alcohol and in sufficient quantity to 
coat the wood thinly. Moisture or even 
water has no effect upon this shellac varnish, 
and boxes treated in this mauner will not 
shrink and swell with every change in the 
weather. Over the cork-lined bottom Iput 
good strong white unglazed paper fastened 
with paste made of pure starch, and then 
consider the box finished. Boxes made in 
this form and manner can be stored upon 
Rhelves'or in any jilace convenient for exam¬ 
ination, and they are readily moved about 
from one part of the country to another— 
as circumstances may require; and if a 
man does the fitting up himself as 1 do they 
are not expensive, lu uppearence they 
will not compare with a beautiful black 
walnut or rosewood cabinet; hut they will 
keep specimens just as safely, and that, is 
the main point with the working naturalist. 
The Peanut Tree— Oct. 3.—This even¬ 
ing’s mail briugs me a letter from a New 
Jersey divine who asks me to send him 
specimens of various nut-bearing trees, 
among them one Peanut tree! Now it is 
my candid opinion that a pastor of a 
church who has not seen enough of this 
world and its products to have learned that 
peanuts do not grow on trees or shrubs is 
not fit to guide souls through this “ vale of 
tears to mansions in the skies.” The ridic¬ 
ulous phase of this request was equalled a 
few weeks since by the pastor of a church 
in my own neighborhood, who preached a 
spirited sermon against Darwinism, and 
then, a few days afterwards, acknowledged 
that he had ucver read Dakwin's works; 
but the acknowledgment was entirely su¬ 
perfluous to every one his hearers who had 
read them, inasmuch as his ignorance of 
My Raspberry Crop.— Oct. 5.—In mak¬ 
ing up my accounts for the season I chanced 
to come upon the receipts from about an 
acre of black-cap raspberries. For t wo or 
three years past this berry lia9 been almost 
a drug in the market, and hundreds of acres 
of good, healthy plants have been destroyed 
in consequence. This season prices im¬ 
proved a little^ or I might say considerable, 
and 1 find that after paying all expenses of 
picking and marketing, I have two hundred 
and forty dollars left for the crop on a little 
over one acre of land. They were sold to 
commission men, although not in New 
York City markets, but in two smaller 
cities not far distant. The land upon 
which these berries were grown is a light., 
sandy one, and not very rich, and I doubt if 
J could have made any other orop pay mo 
as well. The small fruit culture has been 
slightly overdone, in years past, but it is 
improving and will continue, as those who 
expected great profits go out of the busi- 
jJontoloijtal. 
FRUITS IN NORTHWEST MISSOURI. 
Some years ago, when fruit growers worn 
discussing the possibilities and probabili¬ 
ties of growing fruit in the Missouri Val¬ 
ley, the “Noi'thwest Missouri” was set 
down as one of the unfavorable sections. 
But if such persons, who so represented it, 
would come here the present season, they 
certainly would be convinced of the error 
of their ways. At our annual Holt Co. 
Fair the fruit department display exceed¬ 
ed the expectations of those most interest¬ 
ed. The tables were loaded down with over 
200 varieties of apples, besides pears, peach¬ 
es, plums and grapes. At present apples 
are the principal fruit grown—mostly of 
the old sorts; but each succeeding year 
new sorts are added to the list; and such 
specimens of fruit exhibited I never saw ! 
Were it not for some of the peculiar char¬ 
acteristics, the size would make them un¬ 
recognizable. Our County Society is quite 
proud of such fruits, and is determined 
that they shall be 6een by others, as it in¬ 
tends to exhibit them in competition at 
some of our District and State Fairs, in¬ 
cluding that of the great fruit-growing 
State of Kansas at Topeka. So far the So¬ 
ciety has been quite successful. At the St. 
Joseph Horticultural Society Exhibition, 
Sept. 12, they carried off the premium for 
the largest and best collection of apples; 
also several other premiums upon differ¬ 
ent varieties. M. J. W. M., Oregon, Mo. 
-- 
KEEPING APPLES IN PLASTER. 
I have been experimenting the past feiv 
years with apples, and find those packed in 
plaster keep much longer than any other 
way 1 have tried. I use flour barrels, and 
find them preferable to apple barrels, as 
they are made tighter. I first cover the 
bottom of the barrel with plaster, then a 
layer of apples, then cover with plaster, 
and so on till the barrel is full; then put 
the head in and drive the hoops tight. The 
plaster being of a cold nature, keeps the 
fruit at an even temperature, and being 
fine and dry, packs so close as to keep the 
apples air-tight. I had Northern Spy and 
Swaar almost as fresh in May as when they 
were picked, and found no decayed ones, 
and think they would have kept till early 
anples were ripe, bad we not used them. 
Shall put up several barrels for next 
Spring and Summer use, as I am satisfied 
that our best varieties, such as Steel’s Red 
Winter, Wagner, and Seeknofarther will 
keep several mouths longer than putting 
them up without plaster, and will retain 
their flavor much better besides. 
Oakland Co., Mich. Lyman Cate. 
POMOLOGICAL GOSSIP. 
Lists of Plums.—The Country Gentle¬ 
man Rays:— A fruit grower wishes two lists 
of plums—one or the large, showy, market 
sorts, and the other of those of high quality, 
and excellent flavor alone. For the first 
list, we may name these: Bradshaw, Col¬ 
umbia, Duane’s Purple, Victoria, Washing¬ 
ton, and Coe’s Golden Drop, where it will 
ripen well. We might add t he following, 
which, although not very large and showy, 
are remarkable for their productiveness 
and reliability; Prince'B Yellow Gage, 
Lombard, Monroe Gage, Smith’s Orleans, 
and Heine Clauda de Bavay. Among those 
which are particularly recommended for 
their excellent quality, are Lawrence, Mc¬ 
Laughlin. Grecu Gage, Schenectady Cath¬ 
erine, Jefferson, Red Gage, Purple Gage, 
and Red Diaper. The last is a handsome, 
showy plum, but the tree Is a very slow 
grower. The Yellow Egg, sometimes class¬ 
ed with large showy market plums, rots 
badly, bears sparingl.v, and ia coarse and of 
poor quality. Huling’s Superb, a large, 
good plum, is so poor a bearer that it never 
gives us a dozen good plums from a large, 
tree, and it should be placed on the rejected 
fist. The preceding selection of desirable 
sorts will be modified by every fruit grower, 
according to his preferences, and the pecu¬ 
liarities of soil and locality.” 
Remedy for Yellows in Peach Trees. 
—The St. Joseph (Mich.) Herald announces 
that a remedy appears to have been at last 
discovered for the yellowB in peach trees. 
The proof, it says, “comes simultaneously 
from the East, South and West." The 
remedy is hot water and ashes at the root 
of the tree. The disease is fungoldal at the 
root, and hence the application there. The 
parties attesting to the disease as being 
fungoldal are John Whittlesey of St. Jo¬ 
seph, Thoa. Meehan of the Gardener’s 
Monthly, and Prof. Kedzie of the Michigan 
Agricultural College. It is confident that 
the ri ht direction has been reached in the 
investigation and the remedy, that the ap¬ 
plication of hot water and ashes has saved 
many trees, but “ certainty has not yet 
been taken in the eradication and cure of 
the evil." ____ 
Ricketts Peach.—We received, a few 
days since, a few specimens of this new 
peach, raised by James H. Ricketts, Nesv- 
burg, N. Y. The accompanying illustra¬ 
tion is a fairly correct representation of 
one of the specimens. The color is yellow, 
with more or less red on the sunny side; 
flesh yellow, sprightly acid, but rich, very 
much like Crawford’s Late, and the Rick¬ 
etts is probably a seedling of this old and 
well known sort. Whether this new peach 
M ill prove to be of more value to the coun¬ 
try than some of the older ones, can only 
be known through experience in cultiva¬ 
tion ; but it is certainly a large, handsome, 
and promising variety. 
The Date.—Please tell me if the date is 
grown in this country, and are they pro¬ 
duced upon a tree or vine.—SunscRrm.ft, 
Sussex, Wis. 
Dates are the fruit of a Palm tree ( Pho '- 
nix dactylifcra ). The Date Palm, as it is 
usually called, is cultivated in many of our 
conservatories, but we do not think it suc¬ 
ceeds anywhere in the United States, al¬ 
though it may thrive iu some portions of 
the State of Florida. 
The Hailey Apple is attracting the at¬ 
tention of Maine pomologists. A corre¬ 
spondent of the Maine Farmer says it orig¬ 
inated in the orchard of Peletiah Hailey, 
Topsham, Me.; that the tree is thrifty, 
hardy, productive, and an annual bearei. 
The quality is said to be good, but we have 
no description of the fruit. It is a fall ap¬ 
ple, and iu eating condition iu October. 
