thrifty branches are cut out if they be in the 
way of the ideal form, and (ho sagacious 
primer removes every little side branch ns 
far as he can reach up on these main branch¬ 
es, by which they are weakened, instead of 
growing thicker and stronger down to the 
base, where they start from the body of the 
tree, The first heavy crop bends them out 
and downwards ; the unprotected bark gets 
hard and scorched by the sun, causing the 
circulation of the sap to stagnate, and nu- 
“ Among the newer pears there arc two, the 
praises of which have been widely uttered ; 
but one is going up, the other has gone down. 
The first is Doyenne du Cornice ; tho last is 
Baronnc de Mellfi. The London Hardener’s 
Chronicle says of the first named, that in Ad¬ 
dition to its great excellence, it is so large as 
frequently to weigh a pound ; and adds, ’ It 
is not only the best pear of its season, but 
the best pear in existence at any time.’ We 
have long since found, on the other hand, 
IIOW AN OREGON LADY BINDS THE 
RURAL. 
ON THE CRACKING OF FRUIT 
M. Bousslvgault has recently communi¬ 
cated to the Academy of Sciences, at Paris, 
some observations on the cracking of fruits, 
whieh are of some interest to the horticul¬ 
turist. The phenomenon is unfortunately 
too well known. The cracking is undoubt¬ 
edly attributable to an accumulation of 
water in the tissues, the epiderm not being 
sufficiently clastic to yield to the pressure, 
thus causing cracks. It cannot, says Bous- 
singault, be duo to an arrest of evaporat ion 
alone, because absorption by the roots is 
checked in wet weather. It cannot, there¬ 
fore, be admitted that the water which ac¬ 
cumulates in the fruit, and causes it to crack, 
is derived from the sap ; but there is reason 
to think it occurs from the absorption of 
water t hrough tho skin of the fruit by cn- 
dosmose. 
In order to test tin's .latter point, M. Boiis- 
singault experimented with various fruits 
by weighing them and then immersing them 
in pure water for some horn's, till cracking 
resulted. When removed from the water 
afterwards they were found to have gained 
in weight. That proved t.ho absorption of 
water. That this absorption was due to en- 
dosmose was shown by the circumstance 
that the water in which the fruits were im¬ 
mersed contained sugar. Boussingaulfc ac¬ 
cordingly concludes that, the cracking of 
fruits which occurs after or during continu¬ 
ous heavy rain is the consequence of an in¬ 
crease of volume occasioned by 1 he introduc¬ 
tion of water : and, moreover, that by en- 
dosmnse the fruits yield to the water a por¬ 
tion of their saccharine matter. Leaves sim¬ 
ilarly treated yielded sugar to the water in 
which they were immersed, although the 
skin of the leaf did not crack. In the case 
of roots, however, although they contained 
sugar, aud although they, of course, absorb¬ 
ed water, no sugar was exuded into the 
water in which they were immersed.— Gar¬ 
deners’ Chronicle. 
L have six volumes of the Rural New- 
Yorker, bound. I will tell how I bind 
them. I get pastehoard boxes and form 
backs a little larger than tho papers, then 
take solid black calico and cover the backs, 
leaving a space between them wide enough 
for the papers. After they aro neatly cov 
ered I spread them out on a board block or 
uncarpeted floor, where they will bo solid, 
then lay the volume in and shut up as a 
book. I then take a nail (hat has been filed 
sharp and with a hammer drive the nail 
through four times—the first holes about one 
inch from the ends, the other two about, two 
and a half inches further in ; then have two 
slats of neatly-dressed wood, three-fourths 
of an inch wide and just as long as the backs, 
with holes to correspond with the ones that 
are driven through the papers ; then with a 
strong cord run through the first hole in one 
of the slats then through the volume and 
through the second slat, then back again 
through the second holes, and tie. Do tho 
other end of sinks and volume the same way, 
and you will have a book that is handsome, 
strong and convenient; then, with the aid 
of the Index (for which I fear none of us 
thank you near enough), ioati find any piece 
I wish to refer to in a few minutvs. T do not 
know how we could get along without the 
Rural. It seems to have, just what we 
need, and always just when we need it, and 
causes us to have higher and nobler thoughts 
and to form attachments for its intelligent 
contributors whom we never saw or expect 
to see. 
Often when I read the encouraging words 
of some of your lady contributors, 1 think I 
will write and thank them and you, if noth¬ 
ing more; but as often put it off, because I 
am not gifted with the pen. 1 feel that 
many of the Rural’s friends are not stran¬ 
gers, that I would almost know them at a 
glance. I have had hearty laughs enough at 
your illustration of setting up the stove, in 
Rural of April ‘30, 1873, page 273, to pay for 
the paper one year. I had seen a friend of 
mine almost act it out just a short while be¬ 
fore we got that paper. I show that picture 
to her quite often. n, m. 
Benton Co., Oregon. 
CRACKING OF PEARS. 
“X.” writes the Gardeners’ Monthly: 
“Pears do not crack when the soil is suffi¬ 
ciently supplied with lime and potash ; and 
they crack most where those salts are defi¬ 
cient. Common wood ashes contain those 
salts, nearly in the quantity and proportions 
that pear trees on such soil require—40 per 
cent, of potash and 30 per cent, of lime. 
Reasoning from these facts, I applied wood 
ashes at (he rate of ton bushels to the acre, 
after the fruit had formed and cracked. 
Many of them healed up and made perfect 
fruit tho same season, others not until the 
next season. A friend, at my suggestion, 
applied it heavily to a favorite Butter pear 
tree ill his own garden for several years in 
succession, aud lias had for several years per¬ 
fect and delicious pours, and I will guarantee 
it to cure any case, where the ashes are fairly 
and abundantly applied, i was told by an 
experienced hand that 1 would kill the trees, 
but on tho contrary, 1 cured them. There¬ 
fore, do not be afraid ; if one application will 
not suffice, give them a larger dose next year. 
A moist atmosphere undoubtedly encour¬ 
ages tho growth of the tree and fruit, while 
tiie insufficiency of proper food prevents the 
perfection of either ; hence, cracked fruit 
and “rough, old bark.” 
HOW TO VARNISH 
Varnish should always be applied in a 
warm room, as warm as a person can work 
in comfortably. At a lower temperature 
there is always moisture In the air, an in¬ 
visible dew, which gives tho varnish a milky 
and cloudy appearance. This will happen 
even on a fine summer day, and the only pre¬ 
ventive is to employ artificial heat to produce 
n temperature of at least 75* F. At this 
temperature the moisture is not precipitated 
until the alcohol of the varnish has suf¬ 
ficiently evaporated to leave a thin and 
smooth film of shellac. The gloss and 
durability are entirely dependent upon this. 
The. article to be varnished should be brought 
into the workshop a few hours before the 
work begins, so that it may get warm. The 
surface is smoothed, washed and rubbed dry 
with chamois leather or a piece of silk, and 
every trace of dust, moisture and dirt re¬ 
moved with a clean, soft brush, but no oil or 
grease must be used. The varnish is now 
lifted lightly with a fiat brush not immersed 
too deeply in it., and a thin coating applied. 
It is well to begin in the center or at the 
highest part, and approach the edges with 
long, straight, rapid aud even strokes and a 
gentle pressure. Care must be taken at the 
corners and edges. The film of varnish 
should be about as thick as a sheet of paper. 
When finished it should be exposed to the 
sun’s rays or artificial heat and carefully 
protected against draft and dust. Cold air 
or a draft over the article gives the varnish a 
dull look. When this happens, the only 
remedy is to apply a second coating, and 
hold it near the fire so as to dissolve the 
previous coat but not so near as to blister it. 
—Journal of Applied Chemistry. 
ELA-SHION ILiX/USTRjATICnsr— (See page 351.) 
that the Baronne de Mello, although a fine merous sprouts to spring up, to the great 
bearer and very juicy and melting, is so poor annoyance of the form primer, and the battle 
and sour in flavor that it cannot be eaten, with the life of the tree has begun, 
and this is the experience of many.” I do not wish to be understood to be 
■ — against all artificial forms or certain desira- 
cultivated garden trees, but I 
ble shapes in 
am much against the attempt to produce 
them in the orchard, planted for profit by 
mere rude pruning. Any form that necessi¬ 
ty or fancy may dictate, can bo produced 
hy constant attention, and applying all the 
principles and rules given for that purpose, 
and this only by an experienced hand. 
Your well given answer to an inquiry in a 
late number of the Monthly :—“ Why prune 
at all if they are growing finely,” should be 
written on largo labels and stuck up in every 
young orchard ; and if duly respected, would 
do more good than ail the tons of paper used 
for pruning directions. Applying the knife 
to thrifty young trees does about as much 
good as giving medicine to a healthy and 
robust person to make him still more so. 
PRUNING TO FORM 
Godfrey Zimmerman, Buffalo, N. Y., 
writes the Gardeners’ Monthly on this sub¬ 
ject as follows: 
So much has been said and written about 
the form of the apple tree, that it seems al¬ 
most as a universally acknowledged law 
that trees mu.st have an open vase, or like an 
upturned umbrella shaped form, ana ho who 
undertakes to say the contrary must appear 
like a heretic. Nevertheless, since every¬ 
thing has two sides, I venture to make a few 
objections to it. 
1. It is natural for that tree, if left to it¬ 
self till it comes to maturity, to never assume 
that form, but ever the reverse. 
2. The idea to give the tree in that form 
more light and air, seems to be more imagi¬ 
nary than real ; for the natural roundish 
shape brings more surface to the sun than 
the hallowed out form. 
3. After the tree is cut out to this form, it 
is constantly taxed to Jill iq> the gap, and 
the industrious primer must be always on 
the alert to clear out. This 1 call a murder¬ 
ous war on the vitality of the tree, under 
which it successfully succumbs. Instead of 
pruning to assist nature, this form of prun¬ 
ing is with most pruners the ai’-absorbing 
idea of the operation. Stunted branches of 
which the tree ought to be relieved by re¬ 
moval, are left, if it happen that they be in 
the circle of outward standing branches, se¬ 
lected to make the frame ; and the most 
POMOLOGICAL NOTES 
The Species of the Strawberry.— Lamber- 
tye’s “Treatise on the Strawberry” gives 
the names of eight distinct species, viz.— 
Fragaria vesca, the common European sort, 
found wild in the mountainous parts of Eu¬ 
rope, ripening 5,000 feet high in the Alps in 
August, and giving many varieties and hy¬ 
brids in cultivation ; F. elatior, or Hautbois, 
a native of Central Europe ; F. UoUina, from 
Central Europe and Asia, and cultivated to 
a limited extent, as the Bargemon straw¬ 
berry. Three American species are named : 
F. Virginian a, the origin of the scarlet 
strawberries, and known in France as far 
back as 1621 ; it has been abundantly hybrid¬ 
ized, until it is hard tu identify the varieties; 
F. Chile mis , or Chili strawberry, distin¬ 
guished for its large growth, and consider¬ 
ably cultivated near Brest; and F. Ur ay ana, 
or Gray’s strawberry, closely allied to F. 
Virginiana. Two Asiatic species are men¬ 
tioned— F. Daltonia and F. Nilgerrensis , 
only known in Europe in the condition of 
dried specimens in herbariums. 
Doyenne du ('amice and Garonne dn Melr 
lo Pears, —The Country Gentleman says: 
ARBORICULTURAL NOTES, 
Girdling Trees lOith Cotton and Ink in 
Portland.—A lady in Portland, Me,, halted 
in front of a garden the other day and ac- 
oosted a man at work on some trees with : 
“What are you doing to those trees?” 
“Girdling them, madam, with printer’s ink 
and cotton to prevent canker worms from 
ascending.” “How much does it cost?” 
inquired the lady. “About twenty-five 
cents,” was the answer. “What’s vour 
name?” was the lady’s next question. “Hill,” 
said the man. “Weil, l wish you would 
come and girdle burs.” The man gave un 
evasive answer, and the lady went home and 
told her husband, who went iuto convulsions 
of laughter. “ Why, what on earth are you 
laughing at ? ” said she ; and as soon as the 
amused husband caught his breath he told 
his wife that the man die had asked to 
girdle her trees, WOS no less than the Rev. 
Dr. Hill, late President of Harvard College. 
SCIENTIFIC AND USEFUL NOTES, 
Yeic Method of Preserving Meat. — Ac¬ 
cording to Endemann, meat cut in slices and 
placed in a room the air of winch is heated 
to one hundred and forty degrees, and only 
allowed to enter and escape through cotton 
filters, becomes so dry in three hours that it 
can be ground, and since the albumen and 
fibrin arc not coagulated, it loses none of its 
nutritive properties. 
