DAILY RURAL LIFE. 
FROM THE DIARY OF A OEHTIEMAH HEAR HEW YORK CITY. 
Laurel-Leaved Willow. — Dec. 11. 1 
have just received a note from a friend In 
Northern Wisconsin, who, speaking of the 
great destruction among tender plants in 
Winter, sava that our common Laurel- 
leaved Willow is perfectly hardy there, 
withstanding 30 to 40 degrees below zero. 
This speoies of willow Is one of the pretti¬ 
est in cultivation, the leaves being large, 
fcreen oil both sides, but the upper surface 
shines ns though varnished. Ido not think 
it makes a large tree, and would probably 
not be valuable for timber, but for a hand- 
gome hedge or windbreak it could scarcely 
bo excelled, especially in very Northern 
locullt ios. It certainly would be preferable 
to tho poplars now being extensively plant¬ 
ed along the Hue of the Northern Pacific 
Kail road, to protect the track from snow. 
Perhaps Mr. It. S. Elliott of the Kansas 
PaclHo Railroad has tried this plant on the 
plains, and can tell us all about its value for 
the purposes named. If not, and he wishes 
to try it, bo can obtain cuttings of Eastern, 
if not Western, nurserymen. For orna¬ 
mental culture the plants should be severe¬ 
ly pruned every year, as thiscauses new and 
vigorous shoots to be produced, the leaves 
upon wbloh will bo nearly double the size 
of ttmse on unpruued plauts. Au old speci¬ 
men in my gardeu has been treated in tbit 
manner tor the past eight or ten years, aud 
is still as vigorous as when first set out. 
Tne plants grow very rapidly while young, 
and outtings will grow live or six feet high 
the first season, if planted in rich soils. 
Willows and poplars are not the best kiud 
of trees to cultivate for firewood, but they 
would probably be better than, corn, and 
somewhat cheaper; besides, there udauger 
of the corn supply giving out, especially in 
unfavorable seasons, and then a little poor 
wood would bo better than uono. 
For a rapid-growing tree, with hard, firm 
wood, we have nothing that excels the But¬ 
tonwood (PI mtanm occidenUdla), and 
lr, may be grown from cuttings almost 
as readily as the willow. Tho advantage 
of this tree is that the wood of tlm young 
shoots and branches is very hard, conse¬ 
quently make good fagots. Of oourse 1 do 
not recommend this tree for largo timber, 
because a man would have a sorry time try¬ 
ing to split his Winter's firewood out of a 
large tree. 
bloom almost continually; even small plants 
struck from cuttings bloom when only a 
few weeks old. We may have more showy 
varieties, but there are few that will please 
amateurs better than the Countesse de 
Bertha. 
Invited to Lecture.—Dec. 14.—I have 
reoeived several invitations, of late, to visit 
Rural Farmers* Club3 aud Societies, and 
lecture or read an essay upon certaiu sub¬ 
jects abont which l am supoosed to be well 
informed. Or course I appreciate the In¬ 
tended honor; but paying one’s own ex¬ 
penses and traveling hundreds of miles in 
Winter is not half so agreeable as studying 
botany in a green-house, or entomologj in 
a good, comfortable ofhoe. Then, I might 
disappoint my would-be admirers more by 
talkiug to them verbally than with my 
pen, consequently I must deoline attempt¬ 
ing to gain ihe honors of a public lecturer 
at such a cost to myself. There is one man 
whoetands in need of all the time l have to 
spare, and that is myself. There are scores 
of subjects of which I am as ignorant as a 
Hottentot, and it would be a great pleasure 
to me to study them while I have the time 
and Inclination. As it is said that “charity 
should begin at home,” I beg to be taught 
before attempting to teach. 
PIG-PEN PAPERS. 
Turnips for Breeding-Sows.—A cor¬ 
respondent of the Michigan Farmer writes: 
” Fed my b r eediug sows most of tho time 
on turnips—the Sweet Russia, or Jenny 
Linds, as they are called here. This was 
their food during the latter part of tho 
Winter and until grass grew, when they 
entered Into the clover. They eat them 
readily and thrive on them. 1 consider 
oorn very injurious to breeding sows, es¬ 
pecially to the finer breeds. Potatoes and 
slops from the house are also good. I con¬ 
sider sugar beets very valuable for feeding 
breeding sows and store hogs, aud 1 ahull 
raise an acre for that purpose.” 
\c (Sarto. 
Tigridias and Mice.— Dec. 12.—Proba- < 
bly most persons who have cultivated TL- t 
t Indian are aware that both field and house r 
mice are very fond of the bulbs. I have al- < 
ways had more or l«iss trouble with these i 
pests during the drying of the bulbs in Fall, i 
for the mice will oome from all directions ' 
to obtain this, to them, delicate morse). 
And after putting away tho bulbs, one needs , 
to be constantly on the watch to provent 
t he depredations of mice. I have been more 
troubled this season t han ever, for the mice 
would climb the rafters of my furnace 
room where the bulbs are hung up to dry, 
and then descend a wire to the bags con¬ 
taining them; but I beat them at this game, 
by covering the rafters with new tin, and 
then commenced a crusade against the 
whole tribe, by baiting traps with the bulbs. 
Mice aud rats will venture further for a 
taste of Tlgrldla than for cheese, or any 
other substanoe for which these little crea¬ 
tures are supposed to have a liking. From 
present appearanoes, I am likely to be suc¬ 
cessful, and rid my greenhouse of mice, for 
they are daily growing scarce. Perhaps 
some housekeeper may put this hint to 
praotical use when all others fall in ridding 
the house of mice, although Ti/jrUlUi bulbs 
may be rather costly bait, if one has to pur¬ 
chase them for that purpose; but they can 
be grown almost as oheaply as onions after 
the first stock is secured. 
A Beautiful Koae.— Dec. 13.—About a 
year ago my gardener purchased from one 
of our large florists a dozen plauts of a 
Countesse de Bertha rose, which has proted 
to be one of the best perpetual blooming 
sorts that I have seen. The flowers are of 
a deep pink color, quite largo, double, and 
elegant in form, and the fragrance is most 
exquisite, being entirely uudescribable, but 
may be called a spiced-s nreotenod tea. A 
bud cut off when it begins to open, aud 
placed in a room, will perfume the entire 
atmosphere within, for one or two days. 
The plants are very vigorous, not being 
subject to mildew in the house, aud they 
KEEPING TOMATOES FRESH- 
I have this day, Dec. Oth, taken to the 
store of a friend a basket of ripe tomatoes, 
fresh and as nice as they were last Fall 
when pulled from the vine. They were ad¬ 
mired by a good many persons. A lady 
present asked if they had the same flavor 
that they had in their season, when on tho 
vine. 1 handed her one and tasting it, re¬ 
plied : “ Oh! how delicious and fresh! and 
such a rare treat. They taste just as they 
do in the Hummer when fresh from tho 
viee." Now these tomatoes sold out at re¬ 
tail at 15 ceuts p«r pound in a few hours. 
The next thing after tasting the tomatoes 
was, “ liow did you keep them?” I did 1*. 
in this way: In the Fall, before the Host 
hurt them, 1 pulled the largest tomatoes 
aud put them in my cold green-house; theu, 
when there was danger of their freezing. T 
removed them Into another green-house in 
which fire is kept, and lay them with the 
stem down on damp sand. Hero they rip¬ 
en slowly, and the moisture from the sand 
keeps them fresh. In pulling them. I leave 
a stem on them about two inches long; thiB 
is put into the sand when I place them 
on it. 1 used the Trophy tomatoes. I have 
tried other kinds, but they rot badly. The 
Trophy tomato being a late variety and very 
solid, I think Is tho best for keeping. This 
is the second season of my trying to keep 
tomatoes till Christmas and New Year. 
Those that l sold would havo kept till Jan 
1st, 1813, very well, I thiak. Has any one 
else tried to keep tomatoes? How, aud with 
what success ? 
Amount of Pork from a Bushel of 
Corn.—Mr. Milton Bhigos of Kellogg, 
Iowa, says, in tho Homestead, that various 
experiments have proved the fact that corn 
fed to hogs has produced all the way from 
two to twenty pounds gain a bushel, ac¬ 
cording to the different modes of preparing 
feed, and the age, breed or condition of 
hogs fed. He is satisfied that over one-half 
of all the hogs fed in Iowa do not produce 
over five pounds gross weight for each 
bushel of corn fed, which, counting hogs at 
$3 per hundred pounds, gives fifteen cents 
per bushel for corn. 
Kidney Worms and Carbolic Aeid.— 
A correspondent of the Farm Journal 
treated a sow as follows: — Dr. Brown 
handed me a bottle of cavboiio acid aud 
told me to use it as follows:—Ten drops 
onoe a day in drink; then put thirty drops 
in one gill of hot vinegar and bathe the 
back over the kidneys onoe a day. I gave 
her tho first dose on Thursday, March 21. 
On Sunday, the 24th, when I went out to 
feed her she raised her feet and took two 
or three steps to moot me. By Saturday, 
the 30th, she was as well and sound as ever. 
Boiled Pumpkin for Swine.—T. R. 0. 
asks if ” there is any virtue in boiled pump¬ 
kins for food for swine.” There certainly 
is. The pumpkin contains a good deal of 
saccharine matter. We do not happen to 
have at hand an analysis of tho pumpkin to 
show just what its fattening qualities are, 
but there is no doubt that it is a valuable 
food for swine, to which we have fed hun¬ 
dreds of loads boiled; also to cattle for the 
purpose of making beef. 
and Useful. 
SCIENTIFIC AND USEFUL NOTES. 
Hall* Snakes.— I havo just road your 
article on “ Hair Snakes,” and, being one 
of those “ ignorant people ” that still be¬ 
lieve In hairs turning Into snakes, I will 
give you one of my reasons for the belief. 
A few years ago I found a look of hair, from 
a oow’b tail, lying In the mud, where oattle 
were In the habit of crossing a ditch. Fart 
of tho hair was dry, lying out of the water, 
and the remaining part—that nearest the 
roots, about six inohes long—was alive; 
that is, had motion, swam In the water and 
aoted just as hair snakes usually do. Now, 
Mr. Editor, 1 don’t say that the hair 
turned into snakes; they (the Binikes) may 
have got into the hairs, just as that one got 
into your orioket; but I know, and am 
willing to be qualified, that tbe whole was 
originally a plooe of a cow’s tail.— Thomas 
P. Dickson. 
To Color Sheep skins with, the Wool 
ou, the Country Gentleman gives the fol¬ 
lowing reoipe:—" Uuelaoked lime and lith¬ 
arge, equal parts, mixed to a thin paste 
with water, will color buff —several coats 
will make It a dark brown—by adding a lit¬ 
tle ammonia and nitrate silver, a fine black 
is produced. Terra japonioa will Impart a 
‘tan color* to wool, and tho red shade is 
deepened by sponging with a solution of 
lime and water, usiug a strong solution of 
alum- water to ‘set’ the colors; 1 part, crystal¬ 
led nitrate silver, 8 parts carbonate ammo¬ 
nia, and Ibi parts of soft water, dyes brown 
—every additional coat darkens the color 
until a black is obtained.” 
OTmTi 
A NEW F QUASH. 
See© of a new kind of squash were 
handed me last June, which I planted; 
of these one came up and Horn this vine 
and vines running from the side of the 
main vine, I took 20 good marketable 
squishes, and nine or ten unripe ones. They 
are fiat and shaped like the Turkish Tur¬ 
ban squash. They weigh about from six 
to ten pounds; skin soft and a cream yel¬ 
low; flesh thick and deep yellow, it is 
sweet, flue grained aud dry; as good almost 
as a sweet potato when baked; a good 
keeper in a warm cellar and a handsome 
squash. During the Fall 1 sold a number 
of them from 26 to 30 cents each. Persons 
who bought them from me speak very 
highly of them and say that they excel the 
Hubbard squash for table use. I think so 
myself. They are certainly a very fine 
squash. 1 shall plant them next year alto¬ 
gether. The seed were presented to me by 
a friend who received them from the De¬ 
partment of Agriculture. J. F. Haas. 
Meadville, Pa. 
Does not our correspondent know the 
name of this squash, and where it origi¬ 
nated? 
---- 
NOTES AND QUERIES. 
Inquiries fox* Gardeners. —A corres¬ 
pondent asks our correspondents to name 
the best early beet aud early cabbage for 
market; also, whether the White Apple 
tomato is early or late. 
The First American Cent.—“F. 8.," ^ 
in the Rural, New-Yokkek of Dec. 7th, is 
wrong In regard to the first American Cent. f 
Tho BO-oaUed ” Washington Pennies” were * 
mere models or medals, and were not is- 
sued by tho Government. The 1793 penny j 
is the first of the American series, and 
there were plenty of those made In 1799; 
they can be found iu any collection of note | 
in this country.—C. W. I., N &w York oUy, , 
Dec. 5. i 
I have just noticed an inquiry made by 
a correspondent in the Rural New-York¬ 
er for Oet. 20, in regard to the United 
States cents. As 1 have made Numismat¬ 
ics a special study. I will answer his. ques¬ 
tion. The copper cent was not Issued for 
circulation until tho year 1793, although 
several patterns had been struck off pre¬ 
vious to that time. This cent of 1793 was 
very similar to those of later dates; but in¬ 
stead of the wreath, it bore around the 
words “one oent” a chain having thirteen 
links. This type was changed during tbe 
same year. Cents wore issued annually 
until tho year 1867, with the exception of 
1815, when none were coined. In 1857 the 
small nickel cents made their appearance. 
Iu consequence of their issue, the greater 
part of the lavge copper oents of that year 
were returned to tbe Mint. Home of the ! 
cents art: qui:e rare, and bring high prices 
when in good condition. It Is difficult to 
collect a complete set. The cent of 1799 is 
the rarest of the series. It is said that the 
scarcity of centB of this date is owing to 
this fact:—A firm in Salem, engaged in the 
slave trade at that time, obtained a largo 
quautity directly from the Mint, drilled 
- holes in them and shipped them to Africa, 
j to exchange them for slaves. The African 
r chiefs would string them aud wear them 
3 around their necks, prizing them very high¬ 
ly.—L. A. L., Canton, N. Y. 
ODDS A NO ENDS. 
How to Make a Medley Picture.—I 
have been much interested from time to 
time, with descriptions and plans given in 
the Rural New-Yorker for making arti¬ 
cles for the adornment of our homes; and 
as I never saw the above work described, 
will tell your readers how to make a very 
nice picture at little expense. First, pro¬ 
cure a piece of paste-board, (18 x 22 is a 
good size) the size that you wish your pic¬ 
ture to bo; then with some small steel en¬ 
gravings, taken from old magazines, or 
ladies book*, select the prettiest or most 
prominent picture for the center, and with 
a weak solution of gum arable, paste it in 
the center of your board, and proooed with 
the rest, matching the shade and figure as 
much as possible; and by trimming the 
blank from some, and placing it over the 
edge of others. Put those that buvo a view 
of tho sky for tho top of your picture, and 
those of ground, Tor the bottom; get of a 
milliner some white ribbon paper two 
inohes wide, which paste on tho edge of 
your board for a margin; cover with a 
glass and frame. 
It requires some taste, and patience, to 
arrange the pictures nioely ; tbe principal 
object being to arrange them so an not to 
show where they were put together, but to 
look like one picture.—M rs E. S. Bower. 
Remedy for Gold Feet.—Soak the feet 
in warm water, with a little Cayenne pep¬ 
per in it, two or three times a we< k. Try 
this for a mouth, or longer. If necessary, 
and you will find it an excellent remedy for 
oold feet. 1 do not know why rubbing the 
back with the same would not bring J. J. 
B. relief. Sprinklo the inside of your stook- 
lngs, lightly, with Cayenne pepper in the 
ouldest weather, and your feet will keep 
warm during the day and every day until 
you ohange your stocklngB.— Scbborxber. 
Ill Mil R^i.n 1 I IT 1 
TV ax Flowers. — la the Rural New- 
Yorker of June 23d, N- A. N.” tells how 
to make wax flowers. I would like to 
know what kind of paint she usee—whether 
she means tho tube paints, or any sized 
bottles, of dry powder (as she merely >-aki 
bottles); also, why one would uoed to imy 
two dozen sheets of white wax, when &he 
instructs one how to sheet it.—A lice. 
fudtr. 
PUZZLER ANSWERS.-Deo. 14 and 21. 
Problem No. 9.— 
84.3f>385>8707 rods, 
cn.vfwflifiwf “ 
45.877148486 “ 
Charade No. 1.—Madder. 
Curious queries No. 1.—Because it Is ma¬ 
tured by falling due (dew.) 
Illustrated Kurus No. 19.—The chains of 
habit arc generally too small to be broken. 
Biblical Enigma No. 1.—Think and say all 
you can of tbe good qualities of others; forget 
and keep silent concerning their bad qualities. 
ee. / 
