“ Lightning Apple Parer." They are right¬ 
ly named, for the fruit is divested of its skin 
quicker than you can say Jack Robinson, the 
hoy’s standard of quickness, Thohandmoves 
six inches and the thing is done, aa if by 
lightning, it is so instantaneous. 
The t wo machines ure substantially alike, 
the only difference being that in the Peach 
Parer, the fork that holds the fruit is by 
springs made self-adjusting, so that it will 
grasp the stone, and the Apple Parer has a 
device that pushes off the apple when peeled. 
For the housewife, who dislikes to use un¬ 
necessary time, these machines are a boon— 
for the farmer, who desires to dry or can his 
apples or peaches, they are a necessity. Time 
is money, and no one can afford to waste it. 
Looking for good things to put on our 
Premium List for 1875, we have concluded 
to offer the two parers above described for 
so little effort that none will be without 
either. The price of the Apple Parer is 
$1.00, and we will give it. to any one who 
sends us two subscribers at $2.50 each. The 
Price of the Peach Parer is $1.50, and we 
will give it to any one who will send us three 
subscribers at $2.50 each. 
ture, leaves and roots soft and unripe, there¬ 
fore will not withstand the least neglect or 
exposure after being taken up without 
weakening their vitality more or less, many 
dying under conditions which in spring 
would insure perfect success. 
Having had considerable experience in 
handling strawbeiTy plants at all seasons 
we do not hesitate to say that, as a general 
rule, early spring is the best time for trans¬ 
planting. Let the ground be gut xeady in 
done without any serious check to the 
growth. Also in the Southern States where 
the ground seldom or ever freezes, sufficient 
to lift or otherwise disturb the roots of the 
recently set plants, fall may be as good or 
even better time than spring. But in all 
cold climates and for a general practice fall 
planting of strawberries should never be 
recommended. 
The object sought in fall planting is to ob¬ 
tain fruit the following spring, which, in 
MUSHROOMS ON A SMALL SCALE 
Almost everybody likes mushrooms. In 
the sauces served with various meats and in 
ragouts they add their own piquant flavor 
without detracting from that of the viands 
they may be said to embellish. By them¬ 
selves, prepared as entrees, or when suffi¬ 
ciently abundant, even as substantial vege¬ 
tables, stewed or fried or pickled in various 
ways, what have we more delicious? As 
food, they are as nutritious as beef ; as a rel¬ 
ish, nothing surpasses them ; and as the base 
of high y • flavored condiments — catsups, 
sauces and the like, they stand alone in their 
supremacy. 
YVe wish they were not; so expensive ; we 
wish more people knew how to distinguish 
and gutiier them in the Helds ; we wish Amei - 
leans knew how to make a better use of 
them. To secure the last desideratum we 
can take lessons of the French ; to make 
them le.<s expensive we must cultivate them 
ourselves and enjoy the fruit of our own 
labor; aud to extend the acquaintance of 
our people with it is the business of the Rural 
press. Much lias been published on the sub¬ 
ject, but wc have rarely, if ever, seen more 
simple and explicit instructions for the suc¬ 
cessful culture of mushrooms on a small 
scale than we find in the American Garden 
in an article giving “ Directions for such as 
win nriali)t‘ anv one having a warm cellar to 
THE TROUBLESOME GROUND MOLE 
JL,I&HTlsmsrGt APPLE 
nine cases out of ten, where fair success is 
Obtained, will not be sufficiently abundant 
to pay for gathering, besides early frultiug 
of newly-set plants is always more or less in¬ 
jurious to their strength, and frequently 
prevents a vigorons growth. If large, 
well-rooted plants can be obtained quite 
early in the season, say in August; and than 
transplanted during rainy weather, and into 
very rich soil, a small crop of fruit may be 
obtained the following spring without any 
serious damage to the plantation, but it is 
not always an easy matter to get strong 
plants early in the season, and the mouths 
of August and September are seldom 
“ rainy months," consequently the risks are 
greater than possible gains. There is also 
great less in taking up plants at this season, 
for the first one or two plants next to the 
okl stool •may be well rooted while the 
others on the same runner will have none, 
therefore must be thrown away in order to 
appear to discern tne trick very soon, i ou 
speak of ** a mole," but it u very likely that 
there are a dozen or more all living in the 
same burrows, although we have known 
writers to assert that no two males of the 
same sex ever lived peaceably in one burrow. 
But whether they live peaceably or other¬ 
wise, we are quite certain that more than 
one, or a half dozen frequent the same bur¬ 
row, having caught eight without moving 
our trai> and all within two weeks time. YVe 
have also a large bundle of letters received 
during the past four or fives years, the writ¬ 
ers of which give sure methods of poisoning, 
trapping, or driving away moles. Many of 
these letters have been published in the Ru¬ 
ral New-Yorker. Several of our corres¬ 
pondents claim that soaked corn poisoned 
with arsenie or strychnine, and then dropped 
into the burrows will be ate by the mole, 
which of course would cause deatlL Others, 
and we might say many, have asserted that 
moles would not remain in gardens where 
the castor oil bean was cultivated, which is 
all nonsense, as we know from experience. 
Probably as many more have written us 
that the dry castor beans put in the burrows 
would be eaten by the moles, causing death 
or at least drive them away. This we have 
tried time and again without the least ellect. 
We might till a page of the Rural New- 
Yorkek with recipes for killing oi dmtng 
away moles, none of which are worth re- 
P6 We are equally at a loss in recommending a 
trap, lor the only really good ones we have 
ever tested cannot be had at the present 
time, the manufacturers having ‘ , slmi up 
shop" for want of patronage, the 'e>y 
best trap we have ever seen is the Alle-. 
One of these traps has been m use tu oui 
grounds for several j ears and is still doing 
good work. The high price at which-this 
trap was sold $1.50, probably prevented its 
becoming well known, but its worth a cart 
load of the cheap dollar allairs called mol 
traps. The inventor of the Allen trap - 
forms us that be did not receive sufficient 
encouragement in the manufactmeof a fa 
article to continue in well doing, consequent¬ 
ly the “Allen" is not to be found m 
^Thtf" Fisk mole trap " is another excellent 
one but like the Allen, the cost has [in¬ 
vented its general use, and we believ 
are at present manufactured. It .any_ 
readers can throw any light od this J ^ 
we shall be happy to hear from then.. w 
we will state in advance that we do not p o 
pose to open the question as to • -' • 
these animals are more beneficial 
jurious, the information wanted is i . r n 
cheapest and most effectual method of km 
ing them. 
GOODELL’S LIGHTNING PEACH AND 
APPLE PARER. 
In this fast age there is nothing men will 
not try to do faster tbau has ever been done 
before. If a man was to offer a peach or 
apple that would ripen an hour earlier than 
any other kind, all the world would run 
after it, and those in every mechanical busi¬ 
ness stretch every nerve to acquire greater 
speed for their machinery, more directness 
and rapidity for their processes. Our friend 
D. H. Gcodell of Autriiu, New Hampshire, 
FALL PLANTING OF STRAWBERRIES 
PEACH LA.LMCR. 
has caught the infection, and various labor- 
saving machines have been the result, chief 
among which are those under notice. There 
were respectable apple and peach parers in 
existence before bis tiniB ; reliable, but slow, 
too slow for the needs of business, too slow 
for the impulses of the hour—the energy of 
the present day. 
So out of the need of the community, the 
ambition and the skill of the inventor, came 
the “Lightning Peach Parer” and the 
Li I Gr LI TINT I NT Gr 
obtain a few' suitable for transplanting. But 
if the runners are not disturbed at this time 
all the plauts upon them become well rooted 
before whiter, and no loss to the grower 
follows. Many nurserymen object to selling 
sti awberry plants in aut umn for this reason, 
and in view of the peculiar circumstance we 
think they are justified in their refusal to 
accommodate customers. 
Then, again, it should also be remembered 
that the plants in early autumn are imrna- 
YVe never could discover that anything 
was gained by transplanting strawberries in 
the fall, and there is certainly far greater 
risk to be run than when they are planted 
in spring. Of course we are willing to admit 
of the exceptions to the rule, for when one 
has the plants at hand with which he wishes 
to increase or make new plantations on his 
own grounds, favorable days or hours may 
be chosen for performing the operation, and 
removal from one bed to another may be 
