A 
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ORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
4S 
Jiarg of a |lurafot. 
DAILY ETJEAL LIFE. 
From the Diary of a Gentleman near New 
York City. 
FOR ONE YEAR ONLY. 
Jan. 2.—Many will be the resolves, proni 
ises, and declarations made and pledges 
signed in this, the. first week of the year. 
Some will be kept, and others hroken, just 
as it always has been with things human. 
But it is so easy to find excuses or substi¬ 
tutes for any bad habits that I never 
try to*exact a promise from a person, fear¬ 
ing that it may do more injury than good, 
as it has in several instances which I 
might name. As an illustration of the fre 
quent bad results of promises to break off 
from a had habit, 1 will relate, an incident 
which came under my observation a few 
years since. Two young men who were fast 
friends and much in each other'* company, 
had become much addicted to smoking both 
pipes and cigars, and their friends remon¬ 
strated with them for carrying the habit to 
excess, as they were almost constantly with¬ 
in a cloud of tobacco smoke. Ou New Year’s 
day the mother of one of these young men 
made them both promise not to smoke a par¬ 
ticle of tobacco for one year j in return for 
the loss of what to them was a great pleas¬ 
ure, they were to receive a handsome pres¬ 
ent. Did they keep their promise ? Certain 
ly ; but the next morning after making it, 
they both appeared with a paper of chewing 
tobacco in their pockets, and freely was the 
weed used in this way during the entire year 
and ever since. T have known men to sign 
the temperance pledge, promising to abstain 
from all intoxicating liquors, even to beer 
and cider, and still go to bed drunk every 
night, on opium or some equally as noxious 
and dangerous drug. Still, pledges are some¬ 
times beneficial and good things to take for 
those who need them. 1 did not think of 
writing a sermon on morality when I took 
up ray pencil, therefore will stop right here, 
and go back to the subject which was a few 
moments ago uppermost in my mind. 
I wish that I could persuade every person, 
and especially young men and women, to 
devote their leisure hours for this year, if no 
longer, in obtaining a knowledge of some 
special subject. I care not, what it is, pro¬ 
vided there is some good in it; therefore 
take your choice, make the selections and 
persevere to the end of the year 1874. If you 
think that you would like to learn French, 
German or any modern or dead language, 
procure the book or books indispensably 
necessary, and make the study of these your 
constant recreation for every leisure mo¬ 
ment. Not a day should be allowed to pass 
in which a few momenta were not devoted 
to tin- study of the particular subject in hand. 
No matter how much else you may have to 
do there will always be moments for your 
hobby. Carry the book, or a few pages care¬ 
fully transcribed In your pocket, during work 
ing hours, stealing a moment, now and then, 
to glance over the words to be remembered. 
If you arc a country boy or girl, and have to 
work as most country people do, and are too 
poor to purchase the requisite books for such 
studies, then take up something else. Per¬ 
haps you would like to know the names of 
all the plants on the farm, from the smallest 
weed to the stately tree of the forest; if so, 
commence this spring to gather each plant 
as soon as it comes into bloom, carefully 
pressing two or three specimens of each be 
tween the leaves of an old book, or what is 
better, some brown paper, The cheap wrap¬ 
ping paper to be had at the grocery store, or 
old newspapers will do, if nothing better can 
be had. The plants should be as perfect as 
possible ; and the smaller species—the roots, 
stems, leaves, flowers and seeds—may all be 
preserved. But with the larger species only 
a few leaves and flowers need be pressed. If 
you have no one near by who can give you 
the names of the plants, then send duplicates 
of each species to some one at a distance, al¬ 
ways numbering those sent away to cone, 
pond with those retained. Packages not 
weighing over 4 pounds can be sent by mail, 
at eight cents per pound ; and as dried plants 
are very light, a great number can be sent 
an 3 T distance for a very small sum. One year 
spent in gathering specimens and obtaining 
a knowledge of the botany of your neighbor¬ 
hood, will not only place you in possession if 
a good foundation for a herbarium, but add 
greatly to your botanical knowledge. Three 
years since a correspondent of the Rttp.a 
New-Yorker, residing in Texas, wrote to 
know if any one connected with the paper 
would name insects for him, as there were 
many species on his farm of which he would 
like to know more about and learn their 
names, if they had any. The letter was 
handed to me, and I wrote, promising the 
desired aid. The man also wrote me that he 
was a poor fanner and hmd to work very 
hard to make a living for his family, but he 
thought, he might work and learn something 
of the living creatures about him at the 
same time. 
Up to the beginning of this year I have 
named 530 species of beetles alone ; besides 
this, he also collects plants, fossils, and va 
rious other objects of Natural History. He 
has also discovered more than 30 new spe¬ 
cies of insects previously unknown 
to entomologists, and till on his own 
little farm or in the neighborhood. 
1 may also add that what at first 
was only done as a recreation and 
for the sole purpose of obtaining 
knowledge, has beeome a thing of 
profit, for all of his rare specimens 
bring him cash as readily as wheat 
or corn. 
1 might till a dozen columns with 
just such instances of knowledge of 
generally-considered useless things 
becoming of value in more ways 
than one to the possessor. If you 
have no taste, for such subjects as I 
have named, study beans, corn, 
wheat, potatoes, or anyerop raised 
on the farm for one year only, and 
then tell hie in 1875, if you have not 
only been made happier, but richer, 
mentally and financially. One year 
wiy only be a beginning, but it will test 
your capacity and powers for accumula¬ 
ting knowledge in any particular direction. 
Try it. 
A STAND FOR HOUSE-PLANTS. 
Jan. 3 .— I have frequently heard ladies 
object to the beeping of a few house-plants, 
because of the injury the pots were likely to 
do to the window sills upon which they are 
usually placed. This certainly is an objec¬ 
tion ; but it is easy t,o devise some means of 
protecting the wood-work of a window, or 
room either, by using false sills or, better 
still, keep the plants upon a small table or 
stand that can he moved about whenever 
necessary. A shallow, tray-like top, four to 
six inches deep, lined with zinc, would be 
preferable to any cheaper article; but not 
eveiy one can afford to pay for so expensive 
an article, and it is to such that 1 have a hint 
to offer, Take an old table, of the required 
size, or have one made of pine or other lum- 
THE PRICE OF INSECTS. 
Jan. 4.—Dqubtless many would take an in¬ 
terest in entomological studies if they could 
see some money in them. Not that any oue 
doubts the ability of a first-rate entomologist 
earning money bylds profession, but,it takes 
years of hard labor and study to reach the 
profitable point, and this is discouraging to 
those who look at the money value only of 
any kind of knowledge. But there is some¬ 
thing better in store for those who would 
hunt for specimens if they could be sold for 
cash at any price; for before mo Is. a “ Price¬ 
list of Choice Colooptera” (beetles), sent out 
by the Philadelphia Agency, which proposes 
to keep entomological specimens on sale. 
her and paint to suit your taste. Then make 
a box of the size of the table, four or five 
inches deep. Inch boards will answer, paint¬ 
ing the outside some dark color ; the inside 
may be left rough. Get a little cement, 
(water lime) and mix it up with water until 
of the consistency of thick paint, and apply 
a good coat to the inside of the box, fill¬ 
ing the joints to prevent leakage. If you 
wish to plunge the pots contain ing the plants, 
the box may be filled with pure sand ; but if 
it is more desirable to grow the plants in the 
box without pots, fill in an inch in depth 
with broken pots, bricks, or even coarse 
gravel, and then fill up with good, rich soil 
to within a half inch of the top. In putting 
iu i he plants set the tallest in the middle and 
1 the next in size around these, finishing with 
some low-growing vines or, better still Ly- 
j oo yodiunin or mosses. Plants, the pots of 
which are plunged in such a bed, will usual 
ly thrive much better when growing in a 
room tiian with puts exposed to the dry at¬ 
mosphere. I have at this moment a small 
bed n one corner of my greenhouse in which 
low-creeping Lycopodium*, Saxifrages, or¬ 
namental grasses, and Fuchsias have been 
growing for the past three years, never hav¬ 
ing been removed or disturbed in any man¬ 
ner, and they are ail healthy, and the 
Fuchsias bloom far more freely than when 
grown in pots. The mosses cover the entire 
surface of the bed, forming a most beautiful 
evergreen foundation, through which the 
steins of the taller-growing plants pro¬ 
trude. 
One such box. well filled, in a room, is not 
only more ornamental i ut will usually afford 
more pleasure than a score of sickly-grown 
specimen plants in pots. A little new, rich 
soil can be occasionally added, if necessary; 
but if of fiisi-ratu quality at, t he start, it will 
last for a half dozen years. Many appear to 
think that costly conservatories, stands, 
pots, vases, and other similar apparatus are 
indispensable to success in w indow or house- 
plant culture; but while sucli things may be 
convenient, they are not jxisitively necessary, 
any more than an elegant flat adds anything 
to the quality or quantity of brains under¬ 
neath, 
SCARLET-KLKHHKD MET Off. 
Those laggards who will not consider a thing 
of any value unless it cun be exchanged for 
cash may now lie induced to pick up insects 
as they would gold nuggets, simply because 
they can be exchanged for current funds. 
The first two beetles named in the list arc 
found in Oregon i nd Vancouver’s Island, 
and here are their mimes and prices:— Oinus 
Ih’ieani, 50 cents] each ; 0. Anduninii, 73 
cents. This may be interesting t,o the sub 
scribers or the Rural New-Yorker who re 
side in those regions. Among the high- 
priced beetles from California, I noticed 
Amphizou insolens, 81 each, and Megasoma 
tliersites (males only), |5, Then there are 
species from various parts of the cuuntry 
ranging in price fr om five cents up to the 
sum* named above. Now, there is no doubt 
but some of the species named arc as abun¬ 
dant as chestnuts in their native habitats, 
and many a boy or girl, yea ora.mun, might 
make a good thing by collecting them; but 
there is one litt le, circumstance which takes 
all the poetry out of. thy auticipatcd specula¬ 
tion, and it is simply the lack of the requisite 
knowledge of determining the species when 
found. A boy residing in Oregon might do 
a good busiuess for a while at least in gath¬ 
ering 0»mw and other rare species, if lie only 
knew them from the more co mm on kinds, 
but as few men, leaving the boys out, pos- 
sess this knowledge, the rare insects go un¬ 
gathered, except when some naturalist visits 
that region of country. 
'I he same rule holds good everywhere, and 
the five, ten and fifty cent pieces go rollick¬ 
ing along under the plodder’s feet, or hangs 
against his hat while he “confounds” the 
bugs, and shrugs his shoulders when science 
or scientific men are uumed in hi-, presence. 
Well, as we now have a market value placed 
on entomological specimens, perhaps a 
greater number will take an interest in the 
subject, and the money incentive may lead 
them to look, thereby opening the way to a 
higher and more noble purpose. 
WINTER SQUASHES. 
In sauntering through our city markets 
we obtain a pretty good idea of what is pro¬ 
duced in the way of fruits and vegetables in 
the country; for to the great cities the best 
of everything is usually sent for sale. Since 
the cold weather fairly set in we notice that 
in the way of squashes nearly everything lias 
disappeared except the Hnbbard and Boston 
Marrow, Both are of excellent quality and 
keep well, besides being of a Convenient size 
for handling and shipping In ban-els as well 
as storing when received iu market. 
The Hubbard is an irregular, oval shape, 
sometimes considerably ribbed, from eight 
to twelve inches long anil seven in diameter. 
The specimens from the same vine vary con¬ 
siderably in -hap©, sometimes terminating 
quite obtusely, while others taper to quite a 
long point. The color is somewhat variable 
but usually, if pure, they are of blue clay 
color, slightly mottled with orange. The 
flesh is a rich, salmon color and very fine, 
becoming sweet and dry when cooked. 
The. Boston Marrow, or Autumnal Marrow 
of some localities, is a light, creamy-yellow 
squash as secu growing on the vines, but 
changes to a reddish or salmon tinge after 
gathering. If well grown, the largest speci¬ 
mens will be eight to ten inches long and six 
to eight in diameter, the blossom end tipped 
with a wart-like excrescence. The flesh is a 
rich, salmon yellow, fluc-gxviined and very 
dry when cooked. 
i he two sorts are among the very best and 
most profitable of those which have been 
thoroughly tested ; and although maturing 
I early in autumn they are readily presoi'ved 
j during the entire winter. A warm, dry 
room, or a very dry cellar, answer best for 
storing. The skin of the Boston Marrow is 
so tender that it is necessary to handle them 
with care to prevent bruising and causing 
decay. Backing in barrels, with all the inter 
sticea filled with dry chaff, is an excellent 
plan to provent becoming frosted or bruised, 
| both of which hasten decay. 
-♦-*-♦- 
TURNIPS AND CABBAGES. 
Have any of the readers of the Rural 
tried the Golden Ball turnip# If so, what 
has been their success? 1 have tried them_ 
this is the third year; the first year 1 sowed 
them about the middle of August, and did 
Uvt get a very large growth, but they were 
very fine; last year* I sowed them again, and 
they rotted very badly ; this year we tried 
them again, and they are rotting again. I 
would like to know whether it is the turnips 
or the ground t hat is the trouble. I some¬ 
times think it may be caused by insects. 
Strap leaves have rotted a little this year. 
Gan you toll me what is the matter with 
i,he cabbages# Wo have a piece, of about, 
three-quarters of m acre, and about six or 
eight weeks ago, or about the time they be¬ 
gan to head, I noticed some of the leaves 
began to turn white. They were not the 
lower leaves, but anywhere half way ur> 
from the ground to where the bead was go¬ 
ing to form. Not long after this 1 noticed 
lu.a end* of tlir? l»mvn* begun to dry up 
Houio of tiir.ru would be dry clear down to 
the head and finally .til dropoff, and those on 
i tie head die. In the saute way others will 
hr dead an inch or no on tipi end of the 
leaves, and the head continue to grow a lit¬ 
tle. If anv one knows what to cull it, let us 
hear it; als6 a remedy, if there is one. It 
Has spread over nearly one-third 0 f t ,hc 
piece. A. B. Nash 
1*- any of our readers ha ve had experience 
m the eiUfcuro of Golden Ball turnip, perhaps 
they will give it for the benefit of others. 
We should suspect that some kind of insect 
was at. work on the cabbages, which caused 
tflem to assume the appearance you describe. 
NOTES ON VEGETABLES. 
Mr. Geo. R, Drake, Pittsfield, N. II. 
sends us the following notes on vegetables 
he has cultivated the past season : 
Early Blood Turnip (Improved) 
i 4 ** Egyptian Turnips are always good, 
the latter being one of the best varieties in 
cultivation. For winter use, iu addition to 
these. I would add Henderson's Pineannle 
and Long Dark Blood, 1 
< 'nulijhiu’ery not being a favorite dish with 
me, l Have cultivated only the Early Paris 
which is called very popular. 
Cabbage .—-Among the most desirable va¬ 
rieties are the Early VVymau, Early York 
and Wakefield; the Dwarf Winningstadt I 
prefer for market, ou account of its weieht 
and solidity of head. For winter use the 
American Havoy is most desirable forfiavor 
auil Marblehead Mammoth for size The 
Red Dutch is valuable for pickling, but can 
be boiled and served iu the usual manner. 
,. Lurro l. — For summer culinary purposes 
the Early Short-Horn is the best, and the 
Luug lor UttQT* Tim lurtfor and 
later varieties are more desirable for stock 
than trie table but are less valuable than 
turnips for that purpose. James’ Inter¬ 
mediate is a valuable acquisition to the list. 
It is a good table variety. 
Tv C<J ^lnr!’ erry ’ 8 . Bostou Market and the 
Dwai t White &ve the best for home or mar- 
ket use, Othervarieties may be valuable ac¬ 
quisitions, but I have never louud any to be. 
-“♦-*-*-- 
READ’S NEW SCARLET-FLESHED 
MELON. 
mL - 
The English are advertising this melon, to 
which the Royal Agricultural Society gave 
a first class certificate last, July. It‘is said 
to be a om-,s between Ward’s Scarlet Flesh 
and Sherburu Hybrid. It is claimed for it 
that, it is a perfectly distinct variety of 
beautiful globular form, unribbed. Thcskin 
is a dullYellow remarkably thin, but finely 
laced, lhe flesh is bright scarlet, of exquis¬ 
ite flavor, rich, and melting, it was awarded 
a first-class certificate at the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Hosiery’s Meeting in July last, when 
several or the most eminent fruit.-"rowers 
pronounced it the finest scarlet fleshed melon 
tdey hud ever tasted. W hy do not some of 
our American gardeners devote some atten¬ 
tion to the improvement of melons ' 
L 
