u» 
- 
+*w4+**»*^ 
that they will devour one another. One day 
last summer I left an eel basket in the river 
with six eels in it, one of which was some¬ 
what larger than the others. It remained 
there for about a week, at the end of which 
time I found only one left. On cutting him 
open there were three of my lost eels still in 
hl3 stomach. On another day observing an 
eel of about half a pound under a stone, with, 
apparently a white head an inch long, I suc¬ 
ceeded in foul hooking the white part. On 
pulling I found I had hooked a dead eel which 
had not been completely swallowed, and 
when he disgorged it, it proved to be two- 
thirds as big as himself.” 
FLORICULTURAL NOTES 
A Plant Fumigator .—The fumlgator rep¬ 
resented in the accompanying engraving 
consists of a hollow india rubber bulb, into 
which a cork Is fixed, the cork being made 
tapering so as to fit into any ordinary-sized 
tobacco pipe, and it is covered on the end 
with cement, lo prevent its beiug burnt 
when in use. A tobacco pipe having been 
two-thirds filled with tobacco the latter is 
set light to In the ordinary way ; the fumi¬ 
gator is then fitted on the bowl, and a very 
gentle pressure on the india rubber bulb 
creates Sufficient draught to cause a cloud of 
smoke to issue from the pipe stem. It is cer¬ 
tainly sufficiently simple, and seems worthy 
of a trial. 
Earth Worms in Pots —The common earth 
worm is sometimes quite troublesome to the 
plant grower. A friend of Monroe Co., Mo., 
writes “ My house plants have suffered 
very much from earth worms. I tried many 
| things and they ouiy became more numer- 
i ous '? At last I put 10 drops of carbolic acid 
in a pint of water, and poured that on the 
earth in the pots, and It acted like a charm, 
killed all the worms, and the plants began 
to improve at once. It bus been three weeks 
since it was applied, and they are all in a 
nice, growing condition, and 1 think that is 
time enough to show wlint it will do>,— Vick’s 
Floral Guide. 
Roses for Ribbon Beds. — Au exchange 
recommends the following as best for this 
purpose White Daily, Louis Philippe, Her- 
mosa, Agrippina. 
THE PROPAGATION OF EELS 
WILD PLANTS FROM PENNSYLVANIA 
I send by mail a package of wild plants 
for name designated by numbers. Please 
answer through Rural New-Yorker.— 
E. H. Cocklin, Shepherdstown, Penn. 
We could not make out the numbers on 
the wrappers of each species, but you may 
be able to recognize them from our brief 
description. Plants sent us for names should 
W hoever is familiar with the success which 
has attended artificial fish culture, and knows 
its importance, will recognize that knowledge 
relative to the development and propagation 
of fishes i3 not only of merely scientific value, 
but also of the greatest practical utility. 
Students of natural history, from Aristotle, 
even to the present time, have sought to dis¬ 
cover among other characteristics of the fish 
tribe, the manner of propagation of the eel, 
without, however, being able to substantiate 
their views by actual indubitable facts. Nev¬ 
ertheless, it is surprising that heretofore so 
little has been decided by actual experience 
relative to the mode of life of so common a 
fish as the eel. Neither the relation of the 
female or male to the function of propagation, 
has yet been sufficiently determined. Indeed 
it has not been possible even to distinguish 
with certainty the male from the female. 
Through the observation of one of the 
pupils of our institution, named West.erndorf, 
I have had the good fortune to come into 
possession of a tolerably perfect brood of eels. 
Westemdorf, it seems, had informed Ids aunt 
who dwells in the same house with a woman 
whose business is the smoking of eels, that 
notwithstanding the great number of these 
fishes annually taken, their mode of propaga¬ 
tion was not fully understood. A few weeks 
ago the eel smoker, in opening an eel, found 
in the visceral cavity a very extrordinarv 
phenomenon, which she imparted to West- 
erndorf’a aunt. The latter, remembering 
what her nephew had said, took a portion of 
what was found, and through Wesberndorf 
sent it to me. Unfortunately by an accident, 
it did not come into my possession until sev¬ 
eral weeks later, so that it was imposssble 
for me to get possession of the remarkable 
mother eel. i learned from the eel smoker 
that the fish was of ordinary length, but of 
extraordinary thickness. In the body, in a 
sort of net-like purse, were found perhaps a 
thousand small embryos, like the portion 
that was sent- to me. They crawled about in 
quite a lively manner, some time after being 
taken from the mother’s body. I have pre¬ 
served twenty-seven of these eel ombryos 
in spirits. The accompanying cut is an an 
enlarged representation. The color is of a 
greenish white, that of the head and belly 
somewhat yellower. The length of the em¬ 
bryo was twenty-live millimeters. The black 
eyes seem surprisingly large, and the iris is 
indicated by a somewhat ill-defined ring. 
The under jaw projects somewhat beyond 
the upper. Upon the back, near the head, 
begins a delicate lin, extending the whole 
length of the back. Pectoral fins are also 
visible, but no ventral fin. The skeleton can 
be seen through the skin even with the 
naked eye. A sort of sack of tough, trans¬ 
parent skin containing a yolk-like substance 
is attached to the breast. The abdomen is 
prominent. 
That here is a fish is no less evident than 
that this fish is a young eel. The possibility 
that the old eel may have swallowed some 
of her kind, in an extremely youthful condi¬ 
tion, is combatted by two facts, namely, 
that the embryos are so numerous, and that 
they were alive after being taken out of the 
body of the eel, which had already been 
some time captured. 
I am inclined to the opinion, founded upon 
the above circumstances, that the eel brings 
forth her young alive and, moreover, to con¬ 
clude, from the presence of the yelk-sack, 
that the nutrition of the young, in the body 
of the mother, takes place in the same man¬ 
ner as within a shark, namely, from the con¬ 
tents of the attached yelk-sack, — Dr. K. 
Eberhardt, in Die Gartenlaube. 
Fish in Sullivan Co., N. Y.—Under the 
present game law, no one can catch fish in 
any of the Sullivan County streams, other¬ 
wise than with a hook and line, or spear, 
under a penalty of $35. 
Plant Fumigator. 
be carefully pressed between sheets of soft, 
thick paper, and when dried packed between 
slips of clean, white paper and a stiff piece 
of cardboard put between the outside in the 
form of a book. Specimens arriving in this 
shape are readily examined ; butin thesliape 
you sent them, rolled in moss, they either 
become rotten or so dried and entangled 
with the moss that it is frequently impossi 
hie to separate them from the packing mate¬ 
rials and at the same time preserve enough 
for recognition. 
Tile plant with a blotched, lanceolate leaf 
and nodding yollow flower, is the common 
Dog-tooth violet, or Adderstonnge ( Erythro- 
nium Americanum). 
The plant with three-lobed leaves and pale, 
bluish or purple flowers, is known as Liver- 
leaf (BepaUca triloba). 
Dutchman’s Breeches is the common name 
of the plant with broad but delicately-cut 
leaves and white flowers tipped with yellow. 
The two spurB of the flowers probably sug¬ 
gested the common name as well as the scien¬ 
tific, which is Dieentru cucullaria. Dioen- 
tra is from the Greek, meaning two-spurred. 
The common Bleeding-Heart of gardens, has 
the same form of flowers, but larger and 
more showy, hence Its correct or true name, 
Dicentra spectabilis. 
The small lanceolate leaf plant, with doli- 
cate pink flower, is our common Spring- 
Beauty (Claytonia Virginia), 
Another small plant of which you send 
scarcely a fragment, with small, star-like, 
white flowers, and no leaves except those 
surrounding the umbel of flowers is Rue 
Anemone (Thalictrvin anernonoideH). It is 
one of our earliest spring flowers, and you 
may readily recognize it from the absence of 
base or stem leaves except those around the 
flowers. There was one other plant in the 
package, but so badly broken and withered 
that wo could not make it out. 
PEACH CULTURE IN WESTERN NEW 
YORK. 
The traveler, while passing over the Au¬ 
burn division of the N. Y. Central Railroad, 
shortly after leaving Pittsford on the East- 
era-bound train, will scarcely fail to notice 
the remarkably beautiful stretch of fertile 
laud sloping away to the south and east. 
Especially will one acquainted with this sec¬ 
tion look with interest upon this pleasant 
sight, for within the range of his view lio 
the famous peach orchards of Monroe Coun¬ 
ty. The writer has just had the pleasure of 
a visit to some of these fine orchards. 
Quite a remarkable fact in connection with 
this section is this Within a radius of two 
miles at the most is contained alt of this 
peach-growing land, or at least all of the 
fine land which produces the peaches so 
noted in this region. The adjoining country 
is filled with fine farms, with plenty of fruit 
trees to be seen ; but the peach, which seems 
to need the bland atmosphere or congenial 
soil of tins section, is scarcely seen elsewhere. 
Among the heaviest growers here are Judge 
Buell, Mr. Daniel Benjamin and Col S. 
W. Hard. There is quite an extensive or¬ 
chard here, purchased recently by a gentle¬ 
man from Cleveland. From present pros¬ 
pect of this summer’s crop, the fruit on this 
place cannot help paying for it this season. 
The superior quality of the fruit grown 
here is noticeable and proved by many. 
Parties in Chicago, to whom Judge Buell 
consigned fruit two years ago, sold his Hill’s 
Chilis for ten dollars per crate, while St. 
Joseph and Southern Illinois peaches brought 
from four to five dollars. Some of the above- 
named variety, ready for shipment to the 
Boston market, were shown me by Judge B., 
and such handsome fruit I have never seen 
since. I have seen the peaches growing in 
Maryland, in the broad orchards of Delaware 
and in the fine peach section of the St. 
Joseph Valley, Mich.; but nowhere else have 
I ever seen such fruit as the southeastern 
town of Old Monroe can boast of. The com¬ 
paratively few who hove hit upon the grow¬ 
ing of the peach as a remunerative vocation, 
have our wishes for unlimited success. 
Warren Egkler. 
A HORSE IN TROUBLE 
Can you, or any one you may have with 
you, tell me what ails my horse, and also a 
remedy ? He is a fine seven-year-old gelding, 
owned by me the past year, has been in fine 
condition always. He was taken a little stiff 
and lame in the left hind leg last fall, with¬ 
out perceptible cause ; gave him rest during 
the winter till March ; then was used a little 
for a few days ; was not lame, but did not 
appear as active as he used to ; was then 
taken quite lame and very suddenly in his 
right hind leg, which was three weeks since. 
After a few days there was a slight appear¬ 
ance of bog or blood spavin coming, also 
thoroughpin ; but after mild treatment all 
have disappeared, but he has not stood on 
that foot for over a week ; husstood up with¬ 
out lying down for two days, but has been 
able to get up when down, with a little as¬ 
sistance, till to-day. Now we cannot get him 
up. He does not appear to have strength in 
his hind parts to get up, though he has tried 
a number of times. He is a remarkably 
strong, compact,-built horse. His appearance 
is the very embodiment of durability. Ho 
has been subject to the same feed and treat¬ 
ment as his mate, which I have owned for 
two years. Their stable is a common, well- 
finished horse and carriage house combined. 
Feed—A change of oats, hay, straw, and cut 
straw, with feed of oats and corn ; water iu 
barn from spring of soft running water 
brought in lead pipes about 38 rods, from 
which the house has beeu supplied for 25 
years at least with no apparent evil effect. 
Four years this present spring I had one very 
much like this which, though he did not die, 
was never worth auything. One year last 
fall I had another taken the same as this, 
which I doctored and nursed all winter, and 
Anally killed him, after he had beeu so that 
he could only once iu four or five days get 
up or down. If you cau solve the mystery for 
me I shall be very glad. Wo have no prime 
a veterinary doctor in this country, 
therefore I bother you. 
W. J. Couegrove. 
We are sorry to say we cannot 
help our correspondent with ad¬ 
vice. We publish his letter, how¬ 
ever, hoping some of our readers 
may be able to do so.—E ds. Ru¬ 
ral New-Yorker. 
PARSLEY FOR EDGINGS 
Parsley properly belongs to the vegetable 
garden, but it makes a beautiful edging for 
flower beds, the bright green of its finely- 
curled leaves giving a pretty finish to flowers 
that lack foliage. Last year, a few seeds of 
the Champion Moss-curled parsley sown in 
the hot-bed, gave us some strong plants that 
were set out in the border, and proved to be 
not the least of our possessions. 
Those ladies who decorate tlxeir tables will 
find parsley a valuable acquisition. The 
leaves, arranged on a plato or glass fruit 
dish, make a nice foundation for flat bou¬ 
quets of Balsams, Pansies and other short- 
ARBORICULT URAL NOTES 
Cutting Back Trees at Transplanting.— 
“ Daily Rural Life ” gives good advice in re¬ 
gard to cutting back treeB at the time of set¬ 
ting. My experience is this In 1857 I set 
a young orchard. I sent direct to Ellwan- 
ger & Barry for the trees ; they sent me a 
catalogue in which they advised cutting 
most of the tops off. Well, I must say it 
A correspondent of Land and Water 
furnishes that paper with the following 
strange information concerning eels:—“On 
the t welfth of December la3t, on pulling up a 
large mass of fibrous willow roots from the 
bed of the Usk, in a sandy place, I found it 
full of hundreds of small eels, from one and a 
half to three inches long; there were also 
three or four larger ones with them. The 
weather was very frosty at the time, the 
temperature of the air being sixteen degrees, 
and the water being at the freezing point. I 
send you this information, thinking it may 
throw some light on the breeding of the eels. 
These eels were of the size of the elvers which 
travel up from the sea in the river iu the 
month of May. I think the larger ones may 
have been feeding on the smaller, as I know 
Horse Switching the Tail.— 
This is a very bad habit iu a horse. I have 
never found but one way to effect a cer¬ 
tain cure. I herewith send it for the 
benefit of any who may wish to use it: 
Cut the tail off ; not as close as the Yankee 
cut the Indian dog’s tail, (just back of the 
ears,) but short enough to effect the desired 
result. Or prick and pulley him for four or 
six weeks and I think he will stop his bad 
habit.—A. F. M., Utica, N. Y. 
