> 
r 
of other fruit districts in El Dorado Coun 
with Bawd us t as you nail them on. The 
doited spaces are sawdust walls. The in¬ 
telligent reader will understand my meaning 
without further designs being given. 
If made in tins way one need uot place the 
ice so far from the inner wall as before ; but 
it is far safer and better to pack it out a 
few inches —say four or five, as the pliant 
sawdust, or other good material, keeps the 
ice better than it it were packed close to 
the hard, solid wood. Now, if you waut a 
shed for wood, coal, or implements, make it 
on the sunny east and west sides, which will 
entirely ward of the hot rays of the sun, and 
do much good. 1 have one made in this 
way, and trees shading It on the south. Fif¬ 
teen wagon loads fill it. It did not cost $45, 
and it keeps ice belter than any house 1 ever 1 
saw. A circular shed made all around such 
a house, with the eaves coming down within 
four feet of the ground, would answer ad¬ 
mirably as wood and coal receptacles, or for 
farm and garden implements, or other things; 
besides entirely excluding Lbe rays of the 
sun from the walls of the ice-house. I ad¬ 
vise the readers of the Rural New-Yorker 
to try these plana and report success or 
failure. The house should be whitewashed 
outside every summer. 
Stanford, Ky. 
ry's attention was oalled to this fraud. He is¬ 
sued an order that they should ho classified as 
woolen fronds, and r>ny duty as such. Oil the 
18th of June, upon the representation of certain 
importer* of New York, that a pateut had been 
obtained for malting’ (hesn goods wholly from 
cow or calf hair, (which repnjwjniiitimi was 
false.) he modified the ord«i' of Juno Oth, saying 
Unit, a certain form Of affidavit should be made 
by the shipper of the goods, saying they were 
made wholly from cow and oalf hair, and if at¬ 
tached to each invoice, they Could be entered as 
calf or cow luiir goods; but made it incumbent 
on the appraiser to have each invoice examined, 
and if anything other than call' hair or eolfon 
were found in these (roods, notwithstanding’ the 
certificate attached to the invoice, that no wool, 
wool waste, shoddy, worsted or worsted waste: 
made by the shipper of the goods, they should 
he classified as woolen goods. This lost, order, I 
am informed, was not issued to either the |>cirt. 
of Philadelphia, Boston or Baltimore. 
In the fairly part of November a synopsis of 
decisions, issued by the Department at Wash¬ 
ington, wan received at the port of Philadelphia, 
which, after describing the character of the 
(roodsm question,says that if they [the invoices] 
are accompanied by a certificate of the shipper 
of the goods, that nothing but calf hair and 
vegetable fibre arc used in the manufacture of 
these goods, tbon they shall bo liable to duty at 
only 35 per cent.—making It absolute on the ap¬ 
praiser, no matter what the goods are made of, 
if accompanied with the above named certifi¬ 
cate, to pass them ns manufactures of calf or 
cow's hair. 
What is the result of this during the present 
year? Wo timl our market, for woolen shawls 
entirely destroyed; the mills which have beau 
making heavy coaling, losing money, and many 
of thorn have had to fail—simply because their 
own markets have been supplied with foreign 
made goOdS. 
In my letter of September 17th. T stated four 
hundred invoices had heen certified to by the 
American Consul at Huddersfield, during the 
our rent your. Since that time the Consul has 
called the Department's attention to the frauds 
being enacted upon the revenue by those calf- 
hair cert itleutre a it.uehed to invoices of certain 
Importers and shippers. It. should tie borne in 
mind, that nine-tenths of those goods are ship¬ 
ped by one house inHuddersfield. England, who 
nave nn agency In New York. The American 
Consul at that place (after giving his reasons for 
the grounds of suspicion of the fraud being 
practised by this house in question),says: My 
attention having been drawn to die fact that 
certain manufacturers of this district have re¬ 
fused to give calf-hair certificates to thti goods 
sold this firm in question, because they knew 
them to bo Oil so and did not wish to pet-lure 
themselves for the sake of gain, however the 
impression gained ground that the sworn Ccrlifi- 
citto was only a tnnli end' form. I wasiod to Infer 
that, this house in question must bo the house 
who had ho misled the manufacturer, and the de¬ 
velopments Imvo reached such a form that I fool 
it incumbent on me to call the nttontitm of the 
rovcuuo officers at. Noiv York 1,o all the invoices 
of tills firm, whioli have Massed through this 
Agency.” [Extraeta of a letter ot die united 
States Consul at Huddersfield, Sept. 30, 1870 ) 
After nil (Ida nnqiiosl jinoililo proof of the 
fraud being practised upon the revenue, what 
do we find since July 1st to November 7th, IH7U? 
There have been passed, as cult Imir goods, two 
hundred and olghty-ttvn invoices, aggregui iug 
in value liver £5tX>,0(M) sterling, or $2,:J0i).'HH) in 
gold. The duty ahum would Imvo boon, in ad¬ 
dition to what lias already been paid, one to two 
millions of dollars In gold. Between the months 
specified, we find seventy-seven invoices of 
wool, aslraelniii doth made wholly from worst¬ 
ed, no hair in them; then wc have sixty invoice 
carriage robes; tho balance, one hundred and 
thirty eight in voices, ure various kinds of goods 
—all of which nro part wool, part shoddy, part 
calf hair -all of them, if property entered, should 
pay a duty of fifty Oents per pound and thirty- 
live per cent. <UL culm cm. 
Those two hundred and oiglilv-flvo invoices 
are uot all that was imported. More than twice 
that amount lias been imported; but only that 
amount passed between the months of July and 
November. To make n rough estimate of the 
weight, oi those so-called calf Imir good*, they 
will weigh fully two pounds to the yard; and 
estimating tins average cost of these goods at 70 
cent* per pound, gold, we Ijftve 3,700,000 yards of 
calf htilr goods,- being four months’ importa- 
l ion. only lu weight, averaging two pounds to 
the yard—we have 7,100,000 pounds. Addon this, 
35 per cent, for Ins* in working the amount of 
ilttral Arrlntccturt 
usbttnbrn 
Column, tlnlontown, Kelsey and Georgetown 
have during the same time [four months] ship¬ 
ped about throe tons per day to Auburn : a por¬ 
tion to go over the mountains, Hie remainder to 
Sacramento and San Francisco by the Central 
Pacific Railroad, amounting to more than 640,- 
000 pounds, which, 1 um informed, yields the 
grower* a limit $40 per ton at their ovChonls. or 
some $ 10,800 g,ild. B. D. Brook sends aimimlly 
to San Francisco about 18.000 pounds ot fine 
clingstone peaches, which find a ready nunket 
ut $150 per tou. No one has yet been able to 
produce a pouch of the like size and flavor, not 
even when tho trees were taken from Mr. 
Brook’s nursery. The superiority of this peach 
Is accounted for only by the peculiar soil on 
which they were raised mid the manner ol cul¬ 
tivation, J. W. H. Dickson,near this city, raises 
some. 85 to 90 tons of grapes, several tons living 
flatuo-colorcd Tokay and White Muscat cir 
Alexandria. J. W. Foster & Son work Up some 
700 tona of grapes into whin and brandy ; SO.O00 
gallons of the former, and 3,000 gallon* of tho 
latter. Hubert Clmltncrs makes about 25.000 gal¬ 
lons of wine mid 1,600 gallons of brandy this sea¬ 
son. Mr. Chalmers has over 100,000 bearing 
vines. Two ot throe hundred tons have been 
commoted for ill Mud and Diamond Springs 
and White Oak Townships, mid nro nmv tiring 
shipped toSuCrttmcntoCity. In addition to tho 
above, there ts the dried and winter fruit, now 
in tho bins and storehouses of the owners, 
which may be counted by the hundreds of tons. 
A CHEAP I0E HOUSE 
ANOTHER GREAT FRAUD 
On Wool Growers nnd Manufacturers 
BY HENRY T. HARRIS. 
So many plans and specifications have 
been given by various persons, showing tlie 
“ bear way to build a cheap ice repository, 
it seems almost useless L<> give further plans. 
Yet, as there are many who still call for 
such, I send herewith two rude designs for 
your artist, who will, I utn sure, with the 
hints hero given, make I hose plans so plain, 
that a “ wayfaring man, &c.” 
know nothing of Mr. Dobson. He certainly 
writes like an intelligent man—like one well 
versed in the facts—and lie states specific 
facts aud details so easily disproved if un¬ 
true, that it is difficult, to suppose a man of 
common sense would have ventured to pub¬ 
lish them unless under the full conviction 
that be could sustain them by proof. His 
most remarkable statement concerns the ac¬ 
tion of the Secretary of the Treasury. That 
officer, he asserts, issued an order, June 6, 
1870, that calf or cow hair goods should be 
classed as woolen goods, and pay duly as 
such, under the provisions of the tariff which 
are quoted in his article. Twelve days af¬ 
terwards, he says, on the “false” represen¬ 
tation of New York importers “that a 
patent had been obtained for making these 
goods wholly from cow or calf hair,” flic 
Secretary modified his previous order allow¬ 
ing them to be so entered, (and thus escape 
all but 35 per cent, duly,) provided an affi¬ 
davit of flic shipper of the goods was at¬ 
tached to the invoice that they were com¬ 
posed wholly of cow or calf hair; hut not¬ 
withstanding such affidavit, the appraisers 
were to examine each Invoice and judge of 
the truth of the affidavit. Mr. Dobson 
states that he “ is informed” this last order 
(submitting lbe truth of the affidavits to the 
test of an appraiser’s examination) was not 
issued In the ports of Philadelphia, Boston 
or Baltimore ! and hestat.es it as a positive 
fact that a synopsis of the decisions issued 
by the Department at Washington, which 
lie says " was received at tiie port of Phila¬ 
delphia,” made it. “ absolute OH the appraiser 
“ to pass such goods tit only 35 per cent, 
tinty, solely on the oath of the shipper, “ no 
matter what the goods are made of!" 
This sounds incredible. There could be 
no shadow of propriety in establishing dif¬ 
ferent rules in the premises in different ports. 
And, in our judgment, there would be just 
as little propriety in establishing the rule in 
any port, that foreign shippers' affidavits 
shall be deemed conclusive, and preclude all 
official investigation as to their truthfulness. 
The falsity of custom house oaths made by 
foreign interested parties, lias passed into a 
by-word. Their falsity, in cases admitting 
of deception, is probably nearer the rule 
than the exception. And if they are allowed 
to be concluaiue in one class of imports, why 
not in another? 
We cannot believe that Secretary Bout- 
well has intentionally done what is im¬ 
puted to him by Mr. Dobson; and it would 
be a miserable compliment to him to sup- 
jwise the alleged facts are due to an official 
blunder or omission. But wherever the er¬ 
ror lies, it should be promptly exposed. In 
view of the very important results claimed 
by Mr. Dobson to have followed the action 
of the Secretary of the Treasury, the public, 
and especially the wool growers and manu¬ 
facturers of the country, have a right to full 
information on the subject, and we trust it 
will soon be given from an authoritative 
source. 
[From tho Practloal Farmer.] 
Wool Tariff.—Calf Hair vs. Wool. 
F.r>. Practical Farmer:—I p your issue for 
November, you had a letter of ntlne, copied 
from tho New York Economist and Dry Goods 
Reporter, in answer to a free trade letter of 
Edward Harris, on the wool and woolen tariff. 
It might, at. this time, ho of interest to wool 
growers and manufacturers-their In tores ts be¬ 
ing Identical to know why our woolen interests 
have not been attended with more prosperity 
during the past, t.wo yours. It has not been on 
account ol tho duties on woolen Roods being re¬ 
duced. uor the demand for woolen goods falling 
off. Wo have now one ol' the finest markets in 
t.he world at our own doors for all the products 
we can make: but during the above-named 
period we have a rival that, II not cheeked, will 
so far aft our wool growers are concerned, turner* 
sede our native wool clip. Daring i ho latter 
part of the year 1860, several involcesof foreign 
goods were Imported, as cow and call’s Imir 
cloth, but previously ns sealskin cloth —said 
goods) always paying a wool duty: it was never 
presumed that they were otherwise. Our wool 
tariff of 1867 shut these goods out entirely, and 
made room for goods of American production, 
the duty being fifty cents per pound and thirty- 
five per ceat. ad >xjl/trenu 
In section 2d of the wool and woolen act of 
March 3d, 1867. wo find these words:—” On wool¬ 
en Cloths, woolen shawls, and all manufactures 
of wool not otherwise provided for, a duty as 
above shall be paid.” Further it sa.\s, “ Onftun- 
uols, blankets, Imts of wool, knit goods, btdmo¬ 
ral, woolen and worsted yarns, und all manufac¬ 
tures of every dc.-cripilnu, composed wholly or 
in part ol wool, i lie hair of the alpaca, goat, or 
other like animat, except such as urc composed 
in part ut wool not. otherwise provided for," 
shall pay certain specific duties. This is tho 
woolen tanff. AVhiu do the importers undiniui- 
ufaotiirer.* do to e\ ole it? In the fir si place, 
t hey say that the Imir of the calf nod cow is not 
a like animal to the goat - consequently, they 
are now importing large quantities of woolen 
cloths under the assumption that they are made 
from cat! or cow's hair, and are entered of a 
duty of 35 per cent., when, in fact, they are made 
from wool and wool waste, with only au admix¬ 
ture of calf hair. 
On June Oth, 1870, the Secretary of the Treasu- 
LARGE GRAPE VINES. 
California claims to have I lie largest 
grape vine that is now in existence. We 
learn from a paragraph going the roumls of 
the newspapers, that there is a grape vine in 
Jonchecy, Pa nee, fifty-four years old, that 
yielded three tons of grapes last year. The 
stem is said to be one hundred feet in length, 
and the branches to cover a space of two 
hundred feet hi diameter. 
One California grape vine is claimed to 
have yielded 8,000 pounds, or four tons, of 
grapes in one season. Prof. Geo. Davidson, 
of the United States Coast Survey, visited, 
tho place, and took the measurement of this 
mammoth vine, in 1869—and this is his ac¬ 
count of it: 
“III looking over some of my memoranda 
books, I find the following measurements, made 
by me in November, 1809, of thu large grape vino 
growing at Mon tool to, near Santa Barbara: 
Circumference of the main trunkot the ground, 
three feel four Inohrs; circumference under thu 
spreading of the main trunk, throe feet four 
Inches; oirouuil'areimft where tho main trunk 
branches, live feet two |nelu‘«— this is about live 
feet six inches above the ground; extent of the 
arbor, twenty-three yawls by tweuty-one, nnd 
til these limits. Urn brandies are three indies In 
din meter, arid kept cut to prevent it covering 
more ground. The grape Ib that known n* the 
” Mission," and the yield is very great. A small 
trickling stream runs directly past tho mala 
roots of the vino, anil gives It a plentiful supply 
of water In the dryost Season. There is a young 
vine of fifteen years’ growth, near tho large one; 
it ts only two feet five inches lu olrcumterenoa 
at throe foot from tho ground.” 
Prof. Silliman, also, who visited this mon¬ 
strosity a few years since, pronounced it the 
largest lie had ever seen or heard of. 
This vine is from a enttiug (after having 
been used as a riding whip) planted by Dona 
Makoellina Felix dk Dominguez, about 
seventy years ago. Sim died some five or 
six years sinoe -having suppopted herself for 
many years, chiefly by the products of this 
marvelous vine. 
There must have been some wonderfully 
large grape viues in the olden time, if we can 
credit the chronicles of those days. It is said 
that the columns of Juno’s Temple, Meta- 
pout, as well as a stottnc of Jupiter, for the 
city of Appolonium, were made of the wood 
of the vine; and that the great doors of the 
Cathedral of Ravenna were made of vine 
planks, some of which were twelve feet long 
and fifteen inches broad. 
But in these modern times, we challenge 
tho world to produce a grape vine equal to 
this vino production of California; 
THE VINTAGE IN CALIFORNIA, 
The vintage of 1870 1ms been a prosper¬ 
ous one; from every direction we hear of 
abundant yield, and no serious drawback 
from disease or drouth; while in portions of 
the State, particularly in Southern Califor¬ 
nia, all the grain crops as well as grass 
ranges imvo suffered from drouth. But not 
so the vine. In the most arid regious of 
tho State, no matter how long or severe the 
heated term, t.lm grape flourishes and pro¬ 
duces a rich harvest. It must eventually , 
and at no disUmt day, he the staple product of 
California. At one cent per pound, or $20 
per ton, it pays Hie farmer or viniculturist 
heller than wheat at two cents, or $40 a ton. 
But this low price for grapes is only for the 
common Mission grape. The choicer for¬ 
eign varieties have sold readily through the 
season, in the San Francisco market, at 
from six to twenty-live cents per pound, 
some at a much higher figure ; und consid¬ 
erable quantities huve been shipped East at 
remunerative prices, where they have been 
judiciously selected, aud carefully put up 
and transported with care. 
There is no danger of prices ever falling 
below a compensating price to the producer. 
For, should tlie local market lie glutted, or 
if the high charges for transportation, com¬ 
missions, &c., make it. unprofitable to ship 
the fruit to an Eastern market, it can al¬ 
ways be made into wine, which will, of 
course, grow better and belter the longer it 
is kept; and when our vintagers shall take 
more care and use more skill, and profit by 
experience in manufacturing wines, we do 
say, that California can produce ns fine 
wines as any country in Lite world. But 
they cannot do it by using inferior grapes, 
of every conceivable mixture, nor from 
grapes raised among the foggy regions of 
the coast, nor on the low, rich adober lands 
of the interior valleys. Such grapes will 
MONEY FROM MUTTON 
The great secret of success in (be winter 
fattening and management of sheep is to at¬ 
tend to them yourself. A hired man who will 
feed at a given hour every day, and in the 
accustomed order, who will exercise a little 
judgment as to the amount, required—feed¬ 
ing a little more grain and hay during a 
cold, stormy day, than during a warm one ; 
who will see that the sheep never want for 
water, and that they never have to drink 
water that is reduced ah ansi to the freezing 
point by snow nnd ice, but who will, on the 
contrary, pump them fresh water three or 
four times a day, and always at a fixed 
hour; a man who knows how to fodder the 
sheep in such a way that t.ht'.v are tempted 
to eat as much as they can possibly digest, 
without leaving any to geL slide in the 
racks; a man that will litter the slc-ds and 
yards two or three limes a day, doing it with 
judgment, and never allowing any part to 
get dirty, but having at. all times a nice, 
clean bed for the sheep to lie. on; a man 
that will do all this, and who has a quick 
eye to detect the slightest symptoms of dis¬ 
ease or lameness, want, of appetite, derange¬ 
ment of the stomach and bowels, nervous 
restlessness, etc.; a man that can tell, from 
the eyes and ears, and general aspect, that a 
sheep is not doing well, aud who lias prompt¬ 
ness and energy to separate that sheep at 
once from the flock, and give it the re¬ 
quisite-attention; a man, I say, that will do 
l his, is a treasure indeed. I never hope to 
find such a man, ready made. Possibly by 
taking a bright, intelligent boy that is willing 
to learn, you can educate him up to it. 
This is the real reason why so few of our 
breeders of improved stock ever attain emi¬ 
nent success. They are generally men of 
otzmm 
To Cure Hcraceben* 
Somebody wants to know how to cure 
the scratches on his horse. I will give a 
remedy I have used for years with universal 
success:—'Take two pounds of Glauber salts, 
one pound of sulphur, and one-quarter 
pound of saltpeter; pulverize all finely to¬ 
gether, and give one heaping tablcspoonful 
once a day, thrown on the feed. 
Now for tho feet. Take one pint of neat’s 
foot oil and one-fourth pound of fine cut 
chewing tobacco, and simmer them together. 
Strain out the tobacco and bottle for use. 
Take Castile soap and warm wirier, and 
wash the parts affected clean, and dry thor¬ 
oughly before applying the oil. If the 
ankles are much sore it would be well to 
put cloths on them to keep tlie air from 
them while they are drying: when dry, 
anoint them well with the oil for a lew 
days; then wash as before, dry well, and 
apply tlie oil again. If thoroughly applied, 
it will effect a permanent euro. Keep the feet 
clean, and scratches vvill not be likely to re¬ 
turn.— Flketville. 
Fig. 3.—Sectional View of Walls. 
named (sawdust ov tan-bark is best) is 
crammed firmly between the ice and the 
wall—and so on, until the house is filled to 
the eaves. Over all put the same material 
two feet deep; close the upper, door; hank 
up dirt firmly all around outside a foot deep 
against the house, which prevents the air 
circulating under the ice. Tho meltings will 
sink in the ground. Tills is the cheapest 
house you can build, and it keeps ice per¬ 
fectly, even in Kentucky. 
This sawdust, can lie used several years. 
If one wish, to avoid handling so much of it 
every year, however, lie can nail on cross 
studs on the inner side, at top and bottom of 
tlie posts, and place two other studs vertical¬ 
ly , as shown in Fig. 2, at A, A; nail on com¬ 
mon rough boards horizontally, and fill in 
Docking Horse*’ Tails. 
Some one in the Rural New-Yorker of 
Dec. 3d, asks for the beat manner of docking 
the tail of a horse. We would say, to dock 
the tail of a horse at all, is the most infernal 
proceeding wc know of, and the most mis¬ 
erable thing that one brute can inflict upon 
another? So thinks and says one— Friend 
OF THE EqUINES. 
