and 8 or ten inches wide. An ice-chisel is the 
best for this purpose ; but un ax will do. The 
holes should be at least 2 rods apart and in a 
lino. Bait your hooks with livo minnows 
and throw in your lines, letting tho cross¬ 
piece of the jade rest on tho ice on each side 
of the hole (see illustration) and the heavy 
end of the long piece on tho ice at the end of 
the hole. When a fish bites he will pull down 
the light end of the jack and pull up the 
heavy end, which is a signal for you to run 
and pull him out ; and when fish are in biting 
mood they will keep you pretty busy doing 
those received is a gigantic Prionus (Prionus 
Californicus , Motsch.) the females fully two 
and a-half inches long, with long, slender 
antenna?. It, resembles our Prionus brr.vi- 
cornis, Parr. ; and we presume its larva 
bores tho stems of trees in the same manner, 
and it is probably fully ns destructive. Then 
there is that beautiful long-horn beetle, the 
Monohouvin ns $nittdatus. Say, tho larva of 
which bores tho white pine, and probably 
other species, as it has a most extensive 
range, being found at various points entirely 
across the Continent. The largest Longicom 
REPLENISHING FENCE POSTS 
DAILY RURAL LIFE, 
To farmers and others who wish to keep 
their fences in good repair as possible, with 
small cost:—When you find n. post, rotted off 
at tho ground, instead of trying to remove it 
and put Id another in its stead, take a post, 
even if it be shorter and smaller than would 
do for a new fence, and set, it in the ground 
strong enough to hold tho old post close by 
its side. Boro a hole through both, large 
enough to drivo an inch or an Inch and 
a-quarter oak pin, or if you choose dress off 
tho top so that a large nail or two will hold 
as well and will be at less cost and labor. 
Now, it will cost you less to make the trial 
than to go all the way to Madison to seo a 
farm that has as many posts as you will caro 
to count upheld in this way, three great gato 
posts included. 
In addition I may say to those who have 
telegraph poles that they wish should stand 
as long as tho pole will last, take posts as 
large as common fence posts and twice as 
long, sharpen it at the foot with a long point 
that shall penetrate tho solid earth, filling a 
hole made by an iron bar ns much as six 
inches below the digger (this is essential for 
tho firm standing of all posts) ; set them on 
the side of the pole, not under tho wires; 
take a piece of cast off wagon tiro worth one 
cent a pound, bend it in the shape of tho iron 
that the horse-rake shaft turns In, with one 
bolt at the end. Make it wide enough to 
slide over tho pole and long enough to go 
over the post, which should be dressed some 
to fit both band and pole ; put this on ; then 
screw up as tight as you like, anti thank 
friend Mooiua that, he has told you and tho 
world how to save thousands of dollars. 
M. It. Burnham. 
Fro>*i the Diary of a Gentleman near New 
York City. 
CATCHING SUCKERS WITH A NOOSE, 
t his if you have a dozen or fifteen jacks sot. 
It is a good plan to have the heavy end of 
your jacks pointed black, so they will show 
distinctly on the ice or snow. T almost for¬ 
got to toll you that you Can catch your nun- 
nows in streams neat' warm springs, using 
worms or a bit of fresh meat for bait. 
CATCHING SUCKERS. 
Did you ever t ry to catch suckers with a 
hook ? Of course you could not, because they 
would not bite. But there is a way of catch¬ 
ing them, and it is not with a spear, but with 
a snare (see illustration) made by making a 
running noose iu a piece of small brass wire. 
This is tied to a short fish line, at tho end of a 
common fishing rod. When you see your 
fish, or lhe.fish that will lie yours if you man¬ 
age rightly, drop the noose gently into the 
water some little distance from him, and 
move it very carefully toward him. Get it 
around him, without touching him, till it is 
just back of his gills ; then give a smart jerk 
and you will have him kicking in the grass 
and wondering what brought him flying out 
of the water so suddenly. 
Sly old trout, too wise to be caught with a 
hook, are sometimes taken in this way. n. 
FISHING THROUGH ICE. 
beetle that I received from California is the 
Kr(Idles $piculatm, Dec., and the most beau¬ 
tiful one, the Pendrobiaa maculatit , from 
l-iower California. Tho leaf and (lower bee¬ 
tles, as well as those that live under stone 
and in old rotten wood and ot her decaying 
vegetable, that /ire received from the far 
West, show that, although in form, color and 
size they may tllffer from those known in the 
East, still their habits are very nearly the 
same. Farmers and fruit, growers will prob¬ 
ably have some insect enemies to contend 
with, even in such a land of promise as Cali¬ 
fornia. 
MAKING CUTTINGS. 
Jan. 4.—There are usually a few plants and 
trees overlooked in the autumn, of which it 
is desirable to make a few or more cuttings. 
Of course, the longer this is delayed tho more 
uncertain the success ; but with most hardy 
woody plants cuttings may yet be taken 
with a fair prospect of success. I am now 
trying to close up this kind of work by mak¬ 
ing cuttings of various ornamental shrubs, 
Currants, Gooseberries, Quinces, not forget¬ 
ting cions from choice varieties of Pears, 
Apples and si milar fruits. After t he cuttings 
are prepared, they aro buried in damp sand 
in a cool cellar until Spring. Winter Is also a 
good time to send cuttings and cions by mail 
to distant parts of the country, because if 
packed in damp moss no amount of freezing 
will injure them in the least, and there is less 
danger of the buds being broken off during 
transit than in Spring. Wherever cuttings 
of plants are received in a frozen condition 
they should be sprinkled with cold water and 
then placed in a dark place until thawed. 
Even many kinds of tender plants may bo 
saved after being frozen by a little care in 
thawing them. Moisture and darkness are 
the proper conditions for restoring vitality 
to frozen plants. 
Madison, N. Y 
MICHIGAN DOUBLE PLOW 
Can you give me any information of plows 
adapted to breaking prairie and at the same 
time turning the subsoil over the sod ; t hus 
rendeiing the ground fit, for immediate uso ? 
It may be called a double plow.—C. IT. W., 
Council Bluffs, Iowa. 
Tho plow you refer to is doubtless the 
Michigan Double Plow, wliich can probably 
be procured of or through the agency of any 
agricultural implement dealer near you. It 
has been a good deal used in some localities 
in the West for the purpose mentioned. But 
it by no means fits the ground for immediate 
use in all cases; for no plow will do that. It 
makes as good a seed-lied as any plow will; 
bub unless you desire to plant com or sor¬ 
ghum, or some rank-growing crop on land so 
prepared, such preparation of the soil in 
spring does not fit it for use. As a rule, it Ls 
better to break prairie in this manner for 
almost any crop except, com In tho fall, and 
give tho soil the benefit of the freezing and 
thawing of winter, and the sweetening and 
civilizing influence of the atmosphere. 
Again, it is doubtful in our minds whether 
the Michigan Double Plow is tho best imple¬ 
ment for so preparing land. Wo should 
rather break tho prairie with an ordinary 
breaking plow, and follow in the same fur¬ 
row with another team and a deep tiller or 
trench plow, sucli as are made at Moline, 111., 
and perhaps in your own State. We think it 
will bo found that the work will be done 
easier and more cheaply. 
(74T B. C.) was ft good fellow to institute the 
custom of making New Year’s gifts, and 
Numa was another in supplementing them, a 
few years later, with a feast. Let, us all re¬ 
member the feast of Janus, and consecrate 
something to Sthenia, the goddess of 
strength. 
AN HOUR IN NATURE S WORKSHOP. 
Jan. 3.—This was the title of a lecture de¬ 
livered in our public hall this evening, by 
Prof. John Phin, E<litor of the Handicraft; 
also author of Phin’s Grape Culture, etc., etc. 
The Professor gave us a very entertaining 
and instructive discourse, confining himself 
to chemistry and the various phenomena at¬ 
tending it, such as the correlation of forces, 
chemical affinities, electricity and its effect 
upon fluids and solids, aff plainly elucidated 
by carefully-conducted and successful exper¬ 
iments. To those who were familiar with 
the subject discussed, the experiments may 
have possessed very little interest; but it is 
uot everv man or woman that knows any¬ 
thing of the correlation of forces, chemical 
affinities, or that iron will burn under certain 
conditions fur more rapidly than tho dryest 
wood. In fact, there are thousands of phe¬ 
nomena of which it is well to know some- 
tiling of the cause and nature in order 
der to allay our fears, and prevent us from 
becoming ignorant bigots. A course of such 
lectures as the one given us this evening, 
could not fail to result in great good to any 
community. 
BEETLES FROM CALIFORNIA. 
Gold, silver and other precious metals have 
induced many persons to visit California and 
endure privations almost unbearable, while 
others make the journey for the purpose of 
enjoying the climate, or look upon the won¬ 
derful scenery, and study the people gathered 
there from ail parts of the world. Many a 
rich and racy book lias been written about 
California and the adjacent country ; but tho 
scientific naturalist finds very little in any of 
them that shows that their authors knew 
enough about nature to distinguish a rainbow 
from a cart wheel Every time I receive a 
package of insects or other specimens of nat¬ 
ural history from that far-off region, I cannot 
help thinking how little those who travel 
there for the purpose of writing books, know 
of the country or its products. A large col¬ 
lection of beetles received to-day from a cor¬ 
respondent gives me a glimpse of life among 
the insects of that State. The forms are sim¬ 
ilar to those found here, and we can make a 
close guess as to the habits of the different 
species ; but it will require close observation 
and patient watching before we shall know 
the true history of the various species. Among 
CHESTER CO., PA., SPORTING LAW 
The Germantown Telegraph says a special 
law passed for Chester county, approved 
1809, reads as follows:—“That from and 
after tho passage of this Act it shall uot be 
lawful for any person to shoot, kill or oth¬ 
erwise destroy, in tho county of Chester, 
any gray squirrel between the first day of 
January and tho fifteenth day of Septem¬ 
ber, nor any rabbit between the first day of 
January and the first day of November, 
nor any quail or partridge at any time for 
a period of five years.” 
SAWING DOWN TIMBER, 
GAME LAWS OF NEW JERSEY 
mm 
There has been much discussion in the 
Rubai. New-Yorker as to the best method 
of sawing down timber. For tho benefit of 
Frank Batchelor and others, let me say : 
First commence on the side of the tree you 
want it to fall, sawing in six or eight inches 
(according to the size of the tree), and take 
out the saw and chop in on the lower side of 
tho saw surf or stump as far as sawed ; then 
commence on the opposite side of the tree 
and saw in directly opposite the first sawing. 
When you have sawed far enough, commence 
driving a wedge, and drive until the tree falls. 
Thus you secure a square end for your logs. 
Orleans Co., N. Y. J. R. Finch. 
The laws of New Jersey provide that no 
pheasant or partridge, quail or rabbit, shall 
be killed before the first day of November. 
Any person killing any bird or animal out of 
season, or having the same in his possession 
after being killed, is liable to a fine of 815 for 
each violation. Trout can be caught only 
with hook and line, and from March 1 to 
Sept. 1. No shooting is allowed on Sunday 
under a penalty of 825. 
TWO WAYS OF FISHING, 
Boys, did you ever catch pickerel in Whi¬ 
ter '} This is the way it is done :— You have 
a contrivance called a “jack,” or by some a 
" which is a stick of pine or other 
“tilt-up, 
light, strong wood, about 2 feet long, t y, 
inches wide at on end, % of an inch at the 
other, and an inch thick, and crossed in 
the middle at right angles by another stick of 
the same length, or % a foot shorter If you 
like, 1 inch wide and % an inch thick. Where 
they cross they must be fastened together 
strongly. A common wood screw is a good 
thing to do this with, so that when you are 
not using the jack you can shut it up like a 
pair of shears and have it handy to carry. 
Now fasten 10 or 15 feet of stout fish liuet.o 
the small end of tho first stick of your jack, 
and at the end of your line have ft strong but 
not too large hook, and no sinker. Having 
rigged as many of these jacks as you like, go 
to your fishing ground and cut a hole through pJ.,Y 
the ice, for each jack, about 18 inches long j and 
THE MINK 
In accordance with the request of several 
correspondents who are trappers, we shall 
give an engraving and the natural history of 
the Mink in due time, under the head of “ Fur 
Bearing Animals,” a series of articles we are 
now publishing. We know of no published 
work on mink culture, for which wo have 
inquiries. 
APPLE POMACE FOR MANURE 
Can you inform me whether pomace is, or 
can be made of, any value as a fertilizer, or 
for any purpose.—s. n. l. 
Apple pomace, when thoroughly decom¬ 
posed, either alone, or lu compost with other 
materials, makes a very good fertilizer. It 
should be composted and a little lime or ashes 
added to make It available in a reasonable 
time, say within a year. 
TO CATCH BLACK SQUIRREL8. 
