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tH J 
MOOBE’S RURAL ISEW-YORKER. 
<§mrg of a Utoralist. 
DAILY RURAL LIFE. 
From the Diary of a Centleman near New 
York City. 
TESTING NEW FRUITS. 
April 14.—To ascertain the value of a new 
f ruit in a particular locality, requires the prac¬ 
tical experience of some man who not only 
knows how to cultivate It, but determine its 
relative value in comparison with other va¬ 
rieties of the same species, ft has become 
far too common a practice to c en<] out new 
varieties upon the recommendation of the 
village minister, doctor, or lawyer, who may, 
or may not, know the difference between a 
Newtown Pippin and Rhode Island Greening. 
If these worthies, who maybe good judges 
of matters- in theirown professions, are ready 
to indorse neighbor Brow.v’k uew currant as 
t he best thing they ever : aw, why the thin* 
is settled, and Brown sends out his bantling 
as the greatest boon ever vouchsafed to his 
fellow man. If one happens to drop the re¬ 
mark that the thing is neither new or of any 
more, or even equal in, value to scores of old 
sorts, the indorsement of Brown’s minister 
or doctor is Haunted hi your face as an evi¬ 
dence of your donkoyish disposition. 
Most persons have learned how much value 
i to he placed upon such local and unprofes¬ 
sional indorsement s, arid an occasional origin 
ator of new varieties denin;s the recommenda¬ 
tion of men known as authorities in horticul¬ 
tural matters, and to secure this they will 
send a plant or two for testing. Whenever 
a man accepts such favors, he is supposed to 
be placed under obligations to the originator; 
at least the latter look upon the I ransuctiun 
in this light, although, in fact, the favor is all 
on the other side. Suppose, for Instance, a 
man accepts of a vine of some new variety of 
grape ; he must plant and cultivate it two or 
three years before he can decide upon its 
merits ; in the meantime, the originator, or 
the one owning the stock, will be boring him 
with letters during spring, summer and win¬ 
ter. hirst, he wants to know how the vine 
passed through the winter ; then, if it shows 
signs of mildew in summer, suggesting, per- 
haps, that a little sulphur is a good remedy 
for this disease ; and in fall, a string ol ques¬ 
tions arrive, all about the quality, size, color 
and prospective value of the fruit. If all 
these questions are not satisfactorily an¬ 
swered, you will probably b3 accused of 
treating somebody very shabbily. 1 have 
often thought, while visiting the grounds of 
our noted horticulturists, and examining the 
new fruits being tested by them, what heroic 
dispositions these'men must possess, to be 
able, under all their severe trials, to preserve 
their temper in equipoise. 
These remarks were provoked by a letter 
asking me to accept of a few plants of u new 
fruit, the. donor hoping that 1 would “find it 
worthy of commendation.” That last re¬ 
mark expose- the motive, which is merely to 
get the thing indorsed, and, perhaps, men¬ 
tioned in this Diary, or, in other words, ad¬ 
vertised free in the Rural New-Yorker, I 
beg to decline the honor ; having pretty nea r¬ 
ly escaped such inflictions in my younger 
day s, I do not now propose to enter the arena 
a nd be shot at for telling the truth, or false¬ 
hood either, if' such men as Downing, 
it kicks, Meehan, Elliott and Fuller can 
i .• coaxed into trying every new fruit that is 
-■ it to them, well and good ; for they have 
l - > m fired at so often by disappointed origina¬ 
te s of new varieties that no ordinary shot 
takes effect oil their well tried armor. 
GOING TO LAW. 
April. 1.1. — If all men were like me, the 
lawyers would have a sorry time in trying to 
get a living by practicing tlieir profession. I 
have never had a lawsuit, or paid a penny of 
costs, and in this respect consider myself for- 
tuu . Occasionally, however, 1 am called 
tip . a v i. ness, as 1 was to-day, in a suit 
between two neighbor.-;, who have been fee¬ 
ing lawyers for the past year, merely to de- 
t ermine who should pay or lose the immense 
surn of seventeen dollars. 'Of course, a man 
can never know at what moment liis partic¬ 
ular case may be brought tip for trial, al¬ 
though it is set down to be tried at a certain 
term of the court. He may have to attend 
court every day for a week or two, and keep 
llis witnesses there in readiness, else find him¬ 
self beaten, in the end, for non-appearance. 
When I reached our county seat this morn¬ 
ing, after a drive of seven miles, and seated 
myself in the court room, 1 could not refrain 
f. an musing upon the absurdity of men carry 
ing all their petty disputes into court. Here 
were at least five hundred men spending 
their time—for what? Well, let us see. 
Here were three judges upon the bench, and 
about them, lawyers, constables, clerks and 
jurymen by the dozens ; and when the court 
closed in the evening, I added up the amount 
in dispute in the various crises tried and dis¬ 
posed of, and found that it amounted to just 
one hundred and twenty-seven dollars, or 
about twenty-live cents .a day for each of 
those in attendance. Now, the actual cost 
of the courts, and the time lost by these live 
hundred men, was certainly more than one 
thousand dollars ; and this same thing goes 
on week after week, and the masses believe 
that law (sometimes tnis-named justice), as 
dispensed in our courts, is a great tiling, and 
an evidence of our high state of civilization. 
Then, how noble it is to be tried, or have our 
disputes settled by a jury of twelve men, 
who are supposed to have common sense ; 
alt hough, under the present system of selec 
t ion, the chances arc against it. For instance, 
the twelve dignified Jerse.ymen who deliber¬ 
ated upon the case in which I was a witness, 
brought in a verdict against the plaintiff, 
but added, “ the defendant, must, pay the 
costs,” because they hail learned he was the 
richer man of the two. Who would not be 
willing to risk his life, or property, in the 
hands of twelve such intelligent men ?—men 
who may be called upon any moment to de¬ 
cide whether one of their fellow citizens shall 
live or die ; still, are so ignorant of law as 
not to know that they have nothing what¬ 
ever to do in the matter of who shall or shall 
not pay the costs of a suit, or are so mean as 
to wish to make a man who defends his rights 
pay an extra sum for doing so, simply be¬ 
cause lie possesses the wherewith to do it. 
Now, tin's .Jury system lias become, a per 
feet farce everywhere, and in the country 
especially ; for politics, religion, and all the 
“isms” imaginable influence jurymen in 
giving their verdicts, and a man stands a bet 
tor chance of justice from the hands of a 
man qualified to be a judge than from twelve 
men picked up at random. Again, the jury 
to which 1 luivc referred showed a despicable 
meanness in trying to make the man having 
the most money pay the cost s ; and this same 
spirit is wide-spread throughout the entire 
community. If one man works eighteen 
hours of every twenty four, and by careful 
saving of w hat he earns accumulates prop¬ 
erty, all his lazy neighbors who will not work 
but eight hours a day, spending another eight 
ut the corner grocery or lounging about the 
streets, think him ft legitimate, object of 
plunder. 1 spoalc feelingly upon this subject, 
1 awing boon through the course myself, and 
know that the little property I have accumu¬ 
lated is 1 he result of extra labor beyond eight 
or even ten hours per day. 
FORMING AN ENTOMOLOGICAL CABINET. 
April 19.—1 lmve received several letters 
from young men who say they are anxious 
to commence forming an entomological cab¬ 
inet, The one thing which seems to puzzle 
them all is liow, or in what form, the cases 
for holding the specimens should be.made. 
Now, these inquiries remind me of the hun¬ 
dreds of magnificent grape trellises which 
maybe seen iu every village and city, not 
one in a. hundred, however, are covered with 
vines. The first thing our would-be grape 
cult ui'ist.s do after building a house, is pi have 
a showy grape arbor or trellis erected, usual¬ 
ly leading from the kitchen door, or along 
and over the main walk to some outbuilding, 
after which the grape vines are obtained and 
planted. The old recipe for cooking the hare, 
which began, “First, catch your hare, 7 ’ is ap¬ 
plicable to the building of grape arbors or 
cabinets for entomological specimens. The 
safe plan is, first to get your insects—then it 
will be t ime enough to talk of having a costly 
cabinet. Anything in the form of a good 
cabinet., with fifty or more drawers, will cost. 
$ 10 !) or more, and a young man who lias this 
amount of money to expend had far better 
invest it in books, and get along for a while 
with cheap cases or boxes. Perhaps few of 
my young correspondents are aware of the 
fact that not more than one boy or girl 
who starts out with a determination of mak¬ 
ing a collection of specimens in any branch 
of natural history, ever gets together a 
respectable cabinet. A few persevere to the 
etui, and their names become household 
words the world over. Now, iuy young 
friends, if you have made up your minds to 
possess an entomological cabinet, begin by 
purchasing some good work on the subject; 
then commence collecting specimens. For 
cases, use very small boxes that are no more 
than three inches deep ; ordinary shallow ci¬ 
gar boxes will answer every purpose, und the 
hds can be fastened down with small hooks 
made of vvire. Go into the cornfields and 
collect a lot of the pith of the. stalks and put 
into a kettle and boil long enough to extract 
whatever saccharine matter it contains ; a 
half hour or hour’s boiling will be sufficient 
dry t his pith and it is ready for use. Across 
the bottom of these boxes glue pieces of this 
pith, and into this stick the pins upon which 
your specimens are mounted. In the South 
there arc scores of other plants the pith of 
which or sections of the stems may be used 
for the same purpose, if cue does not care 
for expense, then shoot-cork or German felt 
made expressly for this purpose, may be used 
instead. At the start tlic collector may put 
his beetles into one box, butterflies into an 
other, and so on, merely separating the or¬ 
ders. W hen further advanced, the families 
may be separated, then the genera and so 
on gradually changing, labelling each speci¬ 
men as its mime is determined. A little 
piece of camphor should be kept in each box 
to prevent small mites and ants getting in 
and destroying the specimens. If one lias 
boxes made for that purpose, it is Avell to 
ha ve them of a uniform size; Oxl2 is a con¬ 
venient size, although some prefer them much 
larger; but this is only a matter of taste 
The principal object of the collection should 
be to get the specimens properly mounted 
and preserve them, and then know as much 
about the history and habits of cachaspos 
sible. 
NEW YORK WITHOUT A STATE ENTO¬ 
MOLOGIST. 
It is sincerely to be hoped that the place 
left vacant by the resignation of Dr. Fitch 
will be filled, as you suggest, by some young, 
active entomologist. Those familiar with 
New York politics are, perhaps, aware of t he 
manner in which the appropriation—albeit it 
was so trivial as to bo of little use—was 
“ withdrawn,” As I learned from President 
White of Cornell, while at Ithaca last fall, a 
certain member who was unusually loud in 
liis cries for retrenchment and reform—and 
with whom Tom Nakt has so familiarized the 
public that lie needs no other introduction— 
made it one of his loudest, boasts that he had, 
at all events, done, one good thing, and hud 
succeeded in killing “that, ’er bug bill !” In 
the earlier years of his appointment, Dr. 
Fitch labored hard and successfully, and his 
work brought honor and good to the State. 
As years rolled on and valuations increased, 
without a corresponding increase iu his sala¬ 
ry, it is not surprising that, as old age fast¬ 
ened its enervating hand upon him, he be¬ 
came more indifferent to the work of the of¬ 
fice ; but it, is to be regretted that a great 
State like New York, under such eireuin 
stances, should so easily forget past services 
rendered. I hope, with you, that the proper 
steps will be taken to re-establish the office 
on a footing commensurate with its impor¬ 
tance ; for New York, having been first to cre¬ 
ate the office, should not now fall behind Mas¬ 
sachusetts and Connecticut, and some of the 
younger Western States. There is not want¬ 
ing the material. Mr. .7. H. Comstock, a 
young and energetic member of the entomo¬ 
logical class at Cornell, would do good ser¬ 
vice ; and Mr. J. A, Lint nth, who is too 
modest and retiring to speak for himself, and 
who, in his connection with the New York 
State Museum of Natural History at the Cap¬ 
itol, has already won an enviable reputation 
in the entomological field, would bring honor 
and credit to such a position—could he be in¬ 
duced to accept of it. c. v. b. 
St. Louis, Mo. 
P. 8.—Permit me to say to “Daily Rural 
Life”—who, 1 am pleased to see, is doing 
such a good work in drawing the attention 
of his leaders to the beauties of nature and 
the advantages of close observation—that 
there need be no question as to the habit, of 
the magnificent rUotrodera uvula tor (Fa hr,) 
Its larva is tolerably common in the roots of 
the Low Bush or Scrub Willow (Sulix humil- 
is) here in the Mississippi Volley. 
--*-*♦-- 
ENEMY OF THE TOBACCO WORM. 
In Santa Clara Valley, Cal., it is stated that 
the “Yellow Jacket” is the faithful ally of 
the tobacco grower, since lie carafully scru¬ 
tinizes the plants for the worms, which, 
when found he immediately kills; and scarce¬ 
ly one escapes his vigilance. A Mr. Culp, 
during 15 years growing tobacco, has never 
expended a dollar for labor to destroy the 
worm. It would be interesting to know 
something more about that “Yellow Jack¬ 
et.” Is it a bird, reptile or insect ?—for we 
believe there are “ Yellow Jackets” among 
them all. Doubtless tobacco growers in oth¬ 
er localities would be glad to get hold of 
some Of them. 
MAY 3 
ENTOMOLOGICAL NOTES. 
The Coloratlo Potato Beetle in Ohio. —M. 
B. Bateham writes us that it is pretty certain 
that the central portion of the Lake Shore 
region of Ohio will be infested with the Col¬ 
orado Potato Beetle the. coming season, and 
that their ravages will be felt in the eastern 
borders of the State and Western Pennsylva¬ 
nia, while the advance guard will be pushing 
into Western New York. It is proper to say 
that this beetle has been sent us from West¬ 
ern New York and Western Pennsylvania the 
past two years. 
A Black Grub which lodges in the ground 
eats through the stems of young cabbages, 
after being transplanted, causing the heads 
to drop off. Whenever that is observed, 
search around the plants cut off, and find the 
grub and kill It. It i» only a quarter of an 
inch under the surface. After it cats off one 
plant it gets to another, so that you must 
search among the neighboring plants, if not 
found where it has been devasting. 
(.'ankev B onus and Treat. — Minot Pratt 
of Concord, Mass., prevents the moth ascend¬ 
ing trees from November to April, by apply¬ 
ing to the bodies refuse printer’s ink, which 
he says does not injure any tree, young or 
old. When the bark is rough, on an old tree, 
it, is smoothed with a drawing shave. The 
ink is applied once in ten days In fall and 
spring. Tur should never be used. 
Harrowing Potato Buys .—It is stated that 
the purchaser of a Thomas harrow cultivated 
his potatoes entirely with this harrow, and 
found that by passing it over the potatoes 
at least twice a week there was not a potato 
bug to bo found, while in his neighbor’s ad¬ 
joining field the crop was destroyed. 
“ The Grass on the Thames Embankment ,” 
says the London Garden, “ has been attacked 
in a serious manner by the larva; of the com¬ 
mon ‘daddy long legs,’ which seem to be 
unusually destructive this season.” 
|lunil Architecture. 
ARCHITECTURAL NOTES. 
Ventilating Dwellings. —Will some of the 
readers of the Rural New-Yorker give, 
through its columns, to those about building, 
and others, the best method of ventilating a 
dwelling house in general, and especially tho 
kitchen ? Also to those living in cities aud 
elsewhere, beyond the reach of sewers, the 
best mode of disposing of kitchen refuse— 
ashes, chamber slops, &e., Ac., so as to have 
and keep the back yard in “ apple pie” order ? 
Please give plain, practical directions — in 
short, the “ just-how-to-do-it,” and oblige 
nine out of every ten readers of the Rural, 
in the estimation of—J. W. L., Binghamton , 
N. T. 
To Prevent Damp Walls. —A Liverpool 
company supplies a solution of a quality 
which justifies the appellation of “petrify¬ 
ing liquid.” It can be used on outer or inner 
walls. The solution can be obtained quite 
colorless, and does not, therefore, interfere 
with the appearance of the building to which 
it is applied. We are informed that a brick 
covered with the liquid has been subjected 
to the severe test of forty-eight hours’ im¬ 
mersion in water, and at the end of the ex¬ 
periment the weight was unaltered—a suffi¬ 
cient proof of the impervious character of 
the “petrifyingliquid.” 
An Estimate W anted. —In the first num¬ 
ber of the Rural New-Yorker for 1873 ap¬ 
pears, on the first page, an illustrated de¬ 
sign for a farm-house, described by J. E. S. 
of Syracuse, N. Y. Will Mr. J. E. 8. be so 
kind as to estimate the cost of tho house, if 
built of brick ; also, the cost of other mate¬ 
rial, and what if the roofing is composed of 
shingles, slate or tin ?— H. P. F,, ■ Jasper , Oa. 
A Pla/n of a Laundry Building is wanted 
by D. S., Char don, O.—one to be built as 
convenient aud witJi as little expense as pos¬ 
sible, washer and wringer to be run by steam, 
the water to be pumped from the river a dis¬ 
tance of fifteen rods ; asks also the capacity of 
the engine required for the work and its cost. 
Ventilation. —In building a house or barn, 
make it a point to secure to each room the 
means of thorough ventilution — especially 
should sleeping rooms be so arranged as to 
secure an abundance of fresh air without a 
draft on the sleeper. 
A Plan of a Frame House is wanted from 
some of the Rural New-Yorker’s corres¬ 
pondents, by J. P. Stewart— said house to 
cost about $3,000. 
For a Hat, and Mouse-Proof Filling for 
Walls, dry sawdust is said to have been used 
with great success, and it is an excellent 
guard against cold. 
