3D2 
MOOSE’S RUSAL $£W-YORKER 
U©V. 6 
Siari) of a $untM 
DAILY DURAL LIFE. 
From tha Dtary of n Qer.tlemnn near New 
York City. 
" STEAL‘N3 TIMJER FROM OHCLE 8ANI.” 
Oct. 24 . _i notice ihat “New Mesioo” 
takes me to task for accusing the Colorado 
ranchmen of stealing timber of “Uncle 
Sam,’’ and ho asks, “ What would 1 Daily ’ or 
any other man d o if lis ithould take up a 
ranch without a stick of V'raber or truth 
upon it ?” Way, lie would do just as others 
do—steal Huber from Government land, if 
It could bo obtained in that way. I had not 
the lea c t idoa of blaming the pioneers in 
Colorado or elsewhere for stealing all the 
timber they wished for tneirown ute or to 
sell, for I ara quite sure I would do the same 
thing under like circumstances. If any of 
my readers or correspondents th'nk that 1 
have the remotest idea of holding myself up 
ns an example of honesty, they' never made a 
greater mistake ! Win n I become a politician 
1 shall expect to steal the same as the rest of 
my comrades, even to voting myself back 
pay, if there is a chance; but. I am not a poli¬ 
tic 1 an nor a ranchman, consequently it is my 
peculiar prerogative 1 ° preach, as I hove no 
oc ?asion to practice. Is not this enough for 
any one man to do ? la not preaching a dis¬ 
tinct and separata business from practie ng ? 
When our good old parson told us last. Sun¬ 
day of the poverty of Cnainr and his apostles 
did we, Ins parish oners, take it that ho de¬ 
sire 1 us to diminish he: *a : .ary to a few loaves 
and tishtc? not a bit of it; but that he 
wished ua to practice and at the same time 
pay him well for preaching. Because a man 
cabs public attention to a groat wrong, it 
raiut not be espeoted that he himself is im¬ 
maculate. or would not take a hand in the 
evil named, provided circumstacoos were 
dill. rent. 
My remarks in relat ion to the ranchmen of 
Colorado helping themselves to the timber 
on Government land was not intended us in 
any way censuring them, but merely to 
show how inconsistent our law makers are. 
On the plains or pru nes, where there is no 
timber, Government offe « one hundred and 
sixty acres of land to any one who will plant 
forty of it to forest, trees and take cure of 
them ten years; but where there now is an 
abundance, or even a small quantity, any¬ 
body and everybody is permitted, without 
let or hindrance, to cut, burn and destroy as 
much ae they like, I have traveled miles 
upon miles in Colorado and elsewhere, 
through region? which were, a half dozen 
years ago, entirely covered with most mag¬ 
nificent fore truer, 'out now there is nothing 
loft tout stumps, the timber all having been 
removed without the Government receiving 
one cent therefor. There are many silver 
ore reduction works hi Colorado which con- 
eume one to two hundred oerds of wood per 
diem, and every rtick of It is stolen from 
Uncle Sun. The laud fro a which this wood 
is taken is valueless after the timber is re¬ 
moved, and it occurred to me whiles noting 
this devastation whether it would bo more 
t. an right for the Government to ask the 
wood-chopper one dollar and twenty-five 
cents per acre for this land. This small sum 
would at least pay for the surveying of the 
l.md, which will have to bo done some of 
these days at public expense. Perhaps our 
wise men at Washington do not w ish to Jet 
their “right hand know what their left is 
doing.” If forests are worth offering a 
premium for raising, they certainly should 
be worth preserving. If the newly-cleared 
land was owned by bona lide settlers, some 
little care would be exercised in preserving 
the young growth which spring up after the 
large trees are removed ; but under the pr es¬ 
ent state of affairs there is no one to look 
after or care for either the lund or its pro¬ 
ducts. 
BRtlilQ OFF BULBS AND TUBERS. 
Och 27.—It is no small job to dry off a 
large quantity >f tender bulbs and tubers 
every full before putting them away for 
winter. Dahlias requi c only a slight drying, 
but Tuberoses, Ooiadiutas and Tigridias one 
cannot well get too dry, or keep them in a 
place too warm. If kept iu a damp cellar 
they are pretty rare to gather moisture and 
rot; and if placed in room® above ground, 
fire* may accidentally go out and freezing 
follow. Then, again, with such precarious 
things one needs to have them whore they 
can be examined frequently and still be se¬ 
cured against the attacks of rats and mice. 
Where one has but low tender bulbs that re- 
oulre a warm, dry place in winter, there is 
perhaps no better method of preservation 
than to get well dried off and then put iDto 
thin cloth bagB and hang up in a warm room. 
Safety depends, in n great measure, in get¬ 
ting guch bulbs thoroughly dried before 
packing away for winter. In taking up 
Gladiolus, remove the old bulb at the bottom 
either at the time or as fooii as the earth 
about them ie dried. If the small bulblet.s 
found at the base of the new bulbs are want¬ 
ed for increasing the stock, they rosy be 
taken off and kept in paper or cloth bags. 
Tuberoses that have bloomed this season 
may bo thrown away unless wanted for 
propagation, because the same tuber never 
blooms but once, a fact which a great many 
persons do not seem to know. The small 
offsets about the old tuber may be pulled off, 
if they ore wanted, and the center or old one 
which ha.® bloomed cast uride. The little off¬ 
sets require two and sometimes three years 
to become blooming tubers. They should 
be kept perfectly dry through winter, at 
least this is what we have to do in cold 
climates. 
IDLERS IH THE STREETS. 
Oct. 28.—I never go to New Ycrk, or in 
fact to any other city or village, without see¬ 
ing a greater or less number of rnen and boys 
doing nothing but loafing about the street*. 
Perhaps it is the same in the country to 
some extent; but the Inhabitants being scat¬ 
tered the idle dement la uot so apparent. I 
cannot believe, however, that there are so 
many idlers in the country in proportion to 
population as in cities, hence the result of 
wliich we all bear more or less — “ the suffer¬ 
ing poor of our cities,” As a general rule 
extreme poverty in America is the result 
of either wastefulness or idleness ; in fact 
the terms are almost synonymous, for a per¬ 
son might as well waste his time as to work 
.and then waste what he or she earns. Ycs- 
tuday, while m New York, I called at the 
Rnrui .N’ttyv-Vorteh office, as USttaJ, to get 
roy letters from correspondent;-', and found 
the wido half which loads up to the Editorial 
Rooms blocked up by a crowd of men and 
boys of all ages. Ac first I thought that 
there might be a. fire, a slight panic, or per¬ 
haps the employes of the Rural were on a 
strike, or the proprietor was distributing 
bread lo the poor; but a glance at the laces 
Of those who made up the crowd soon con¬ 
vinced mo that t)r*e conjectures of mine 
were all wrong. There were well - dressed 
men and boys, as well as some that were uot 
so well dressed, all intently looking In one 
direction and at something, but what no ono 
outside of the ring eotdd tell. Elbowing my 
way through the crowd iu order to ascend 
the Ft airs, I discovered that the center of at¬ 
traction was a painter re-lettering one of the 
many signs on the office directory. As I 
halted a moment I overheard oue young 
man say, “Don’t he do that nicely?” 
“Yes,”'said another, “I wish 1 could do 
that.” Buch crowds of men and boy's can 
be soen in our cities almost any day, show¬ 
ing how much more abundant are those who 
do nothing useful than those who do some¬ 
thing. How common is that wish as well. 
To Imo v how to do something seems to be a 
widespread desire, and still there is room for 
all who will try. Just across the street from 
the RURAL NflW-YOKKlifll OlfiCb tl)C UCW post- 
office building is going up, where hundreds 
of men are constantly employed ; and I have 
no doubt that scores of young, and perhaps 
oivl, men lo ik everyday upon the beautiful¬ 
ly-carved granite pillars, window rills, caps 
and cornices now being put into place, and 
front their very innermost souls say to them¬ 
selves, “ I wish 1 could do that.” But wish¬ 
ing is not enough ; it never raised a stone 
from its native bed or a grain of wheat. 
Bomething more is required, and that some¬ 
thing is a will which leads one to try, and 
keep trying. The desire to know and to do 
is as common as flies in summer, and just 
about as valuable to the world. The men 
who point signs or carve granite never 
learned their trades by wishing alone; they 
had to practice, make failures, blot out, l o¬ 
gin again ; perhaps be censured for their 
stupidity, and encounter various obstacles 
before accomplishing the object in view. 
When I hear y oung men and women wishing 
that they could do this or that kind of wr rk, 
this answer comes up involuntarily in my 
mind “ Why don’t you try ? ” There is no 
success v\ Ithout some trying ; but, alas! there 
are far too many who block up the stair ways 
and streets looking at others doing some¬ 
thing useful, while they spend their lives 
gazing and wisliing. 
--- 
Smith's Cider Arms.—The Sacramento, 
Cal., Record says We are not strangers 
to this excellent Pennsylvania seedling we 
not. only liave this excellent trait well-dis- 
f omfnated umong us, but we appreciate it 
' highly.’* 
SThft (Barden. 
I • L 
VARIOUS MODES OF PRESERVING 
CELERY. 
There are many ways of preserving cel¬ 
ery, all having their several advocates. The 
best plan, however, will vary according to 
each person’s circumstances. Bom-’, for ih- 
stance, advocate storing In cellars; but if 
one has no cellar the plan is no account to 
him. Others contend for the preservative 
properties of dry leaves ; but there are thou¬ 
sands who cannot obtain leaves to cover 
with. Without, therefore, contending that 
any one pla n is better than another, or rather 
better than our own, a few hints as to the 
various ways in which celery can be pre¬ 
served, may help f-otno of our readers. 
We suppose most people know by this time 
that water is a greater enemy than frest. 
As celery grows, water readily sinks to the 
heart of the plant, oral then the best part of 
the vegetable rots away. What we wish to 
achieve in regard to celery is lo keep it in 
such a manner that we can get at the plants 
readily whenever we wish to use them. 
In Europe they have a plan of digging 
them on the approach of severe weather, 
and setting them on sloping ground, the roots 
rather the uppermost. By this slope the 
water drains out of rather than Into the 
hearts. A double row is set along in this 
way—root* to roots—yet the roots several 
feet apurt from each other, just as one would 
start the shingles on each side of a pitch-roof 
house. Earth is then filled in the space be¬ 
tween the roots, and a few inches over the 
row of celery plants which arc laid side by 
side in the row. Another course of plants 
is then placed over these, just as the others 
were, except that the facing ends of the roots 
approach each other by perhaps six inches 
nearer than the course below. By this clos¬ 
ing IB of the rows of each layer the green 
leaves of the upper rows do not cover com¬ 
pletely the lower ones, and which are conse¬ 
quently not so liable to rot by being smoth¬ 
ered up. Other layers are then put on, ter¬ 
minating in a peak, just as In the illustration 
before used of a double-pitched shingled roof. 
After the whole is finished a quantity of 
straw ri put over, which keeps out the frost, 
uud Is uncovered whenever wanted during 
the winter season. We road of this plan In 
an old horticultural work some years ago ; 
and it appears to liRve hud considerable merit 
for climates net so severe as ours. But we 
have never known of Its being tried In Amer¬ 
ica. We suppose the 1 rest would get through 
the covering unless pretty thick, and then if 
thick no doubt the leaves would heat and 
rot. Still the plan Is open for experiment. 
At any rate, It illustrates well the principles 
we have regarded as essential in preserving 
celery—namely, the exclusion of water from 
the hearts ot tho plants. 
Those who havw cellars take them up and 
lay them ou their sides, packing them m sand. 
Wo do not recommend this however, in the 
cellars of dwelling bouses, as the decaying 
of vegetables under such circumstances is 
scarcely favorable to health. 
A plan was mentioned in one of our horti¬ 
cultural journals, u few years ago, as being 
in practice at Ghambersburg in this State. 
Flour barrels are procured at this season of 
the year, and an inch or two of soft mud 
formed in the bottom of the barrels. 'The 
celery plants arc lifted, the earth shaken out, 
and packed tightly In these barrels, so that 
the roots go down at their cuds in the mud. 
The} hints are packed tightly together during 
the process by the use of a spade us a sort of 
lever. After the barrel is lull, it is sunk Up 
to its top into the ground; a lid or board is 
then put over the top of the barrel, and the 
roots being so deep down are out of the reach 
ol frost, while the bool'd and the Blight pro¬ 
tection keep the water from getting into the 
barrel. The advantage claimed for this plan 
is that the root fibers being down in the nmd 
at the bottom of the barrel, growth is still 
kept up, especially with the aid of a little 
earth heat, and thus the blanching process is 
supposed still to go on while the plants are 
preserved from frost, and in a condition to be 
got at any time. We tried this plan, how¬ 
ever, for two seasons and found it to be no 
improvement on the old ones. 
Then there are some who do not dare to 
take all this trouble, who simply lay fiat, 
board® along o 11 the planLs as they arc already 
growing in rows in the garden, and then place 
some non-conducting material as lout os, ma¬ 
nure, cornstalks, shavings or whatever they 
can get, over the boards to keep out the 
heaviest of the frost, and thus trust to further 
good luck to keep out enough front to readily 
get at them, exoei/t in very severe t im es. 
The following is the plan we now pursus, 
and which preserved our last year’s crop of 
celery better than ever before, and enabled 
us to eat a good article the forepart of May: 
A trench is dug from twelve to fifteen inches 
in depth, and a* long as may bo suitable: tho 
roots arc placed in this singly Fide by side, at 
an angle, that is leaning somewhat; threo 
inches of soil are packed against them ; then 
another line of stalks, until the bed is a 3 
large ns may be convenient for covering, and 
another ifj equired can be made. Soil should 
then be added until within six inches of tho 
top of the stalks ; then a layer of straw, then 
a layer of dry leaves ; the whole to have a 
good broad covering to keep out water. Of 
course rather high ground for the bod or beds 
should be selected, and a trench should bo 
dug around the bed deeper than the bottom 
of the celery trenches, so made as to be sure 
to carry off all tho water. If this plan is 
followed strictly all others may be abandoned, 
us the celery will keep uot only until spring, 
but as long hi the spring as may be desired 
and it is not all eaten beforehand.— German- 
toim Telegraph. 
--♦♦♦--- 
GARDENER’S NOTES. 
Melons in Colorado Valley, Col. —F. E. 
Arnold writes from Yuma to the Rural 
Press, under date of Sept. 29, 1S73, as fol¬ 
io ws :—“ 1 can give you some proofs of the 
fertility of tho Colorado Valley'. From Lax 
Paz, Upper Colorado, came or.e boat load of 
melons to Yuma, and among them were 30 
over 70 pounds each, and some few over 80. 
1 hail cabbage In spring 12 to 14 pounds per 
head. 1 have now cotton 7 feet high ; okra 
14 feet high, with stem 7inches In circumfer¬ 
ence ; corn, 15 foot.; broem coni, 15 feet; 
green pepper, 4>£ foot, with irrigation.” 
Sowing Poaif in Autumn ,—The Rural 
New-Yorker has practiced sowing peas in 
tho fall, and obtained earlier pea than by 
spring solving. We recommend two pre¬ 
cautions :—Selecting a soil rather light, or 
else sprinkling compost or mold on tho sur¬ 
face along the row, if the soil is heavy, to 
prevent crusiing : and avoiding proximity 
to grass or litter which may invite mio©.— 
Country Gentleman. 
FROM WASHINGTON CO., PA. 
In a late Rural New-Yorker, I read the 
letter from “N., Windham, Coen.,” who 
offer* good improved farms for £10 to 812 
per acre, where a man if he has luck enough, 
eun raise JGO bushels of beans to the acre, 
(might not. a man raise 500 bushels to the 
acre if he had the tuclc ?) but he does not tell 
us a man ever had such “luck,” Then he 
says they can get so much for hay per ton 
and bo much for potatoes, (without tho 
“luck,”) but does not tell OS whether be can 
raise a half ton from tho aero or more. He 
evidently wishes some one to come and take 
his faim, at 810 or 812 an acre, and try for 
the “luck” that never was his. 
In our old county, we have no 810 laod ; 
ours rates from 850 to 4150 per acre, out) in 
the country, where we cun (without trusting 
to luck) raise 15 to 80 bushela of wheat per 
acre (according to providential blessing) and 
corn 00 to 70 bushels (shelled) ; potatoes, 100 
to 200 bush.; oats, 40 to GO bush.; hay, 1 to 
2 tons per acre ; uud this season 1 raised 
over 40 bushels of fall barley to the acre, ard 
am offered 41.25 per bushel, and 1 have raised 
ua bushels of oats pur acre. 
Well, Messrs. Editors, while the industrious 
farmer hero can succeed in uuy kind of grain, 
this is not all ; for pasture, our county is 
hard t<o excel. Every farmer lius his flock of 
sheep by tho hundreds, which are the most 
profitable, especially for fine wool and for 
mutton. Then our mixed husbandly takes 
in a dozen or so fat hogs on every farm ; a 
halt dozen fat cattle, annually ; 2 to ti milch 
cows, poultry, and a large amount of every 
variety of fruit. Washington Go. farmers 
are, to the greatest extent , independent: lor 
if an unpropiticus season (uot 111 “luck”) for 
wheat occurs, corn may make up ; and ii' 
com is a failure, (which very' seldom occurs,) 
we have our wool and many ptiu: available-. 
Then our strong limestone and black mold 
lands at e underlaid with 1 to <>',£ feet of ex¬ 
cellent coal, and our farms, every one, have 
acres ot the best, of limber—oak, hickory, 
walnut, sugar, poplar, &c. Wily, really, wo 
fanners think that it is not ou the 83 per acre 
land of Virginia, or 810 farm of Connecticut, 
or the *50 farm of our county, that is the 
best for money making ; but our 675 to jUU 
nor acre laud that gives tho best returns. 
BaMnEn Donaldson. 
Noble’s Mills, Washington Co., l’». 
