IHWl&'V* n’-.irpwy 
R*a5?$ »• ’>'■■' • -•-X'_ ■> w’L 
. 
• vVakiWV-iK^tt 
, j'X) ffi&jCr ‘, , 
food surface applied. We have even seen 
grape vines, pear trees and others flourishing 
in wonderful luxuriance when manure 
heaps have been made about their stems.— 
Gardener's Monthly. 
Forests and Rain-fall .—At a recent meet¬ 
ing of the French Academy of Science, M. 
M. Fantra and Harguian stated they had 
found by experiments made in a forest of 
more than 500 hectares (a hectare is 11,960 
English square yards) and also on a plain 
Situated about 300 yards from the forest, 
tliat much more rain fell in the wooded part 
than on the plain. 
Grafting Pears on Apples .—Can pears be 
grafted on apples, with advantage?— h. e. k. r, 
7 ii ky can be. grafted, but with no satisfac¬ 
tory results. Don’t attempt it. 
nation. The common Garden Cress is most 
suitable from its great rapidity of growth, 
the easy and very quick germination of its 
seeds, and also on account of the little 
nourishment the plants require ; but it has 
several drawbacks ; first, it has a tendency 
to sink more or less, then to leave gaps, to 
show flowers very quickly, and then to 
wither away. The common Ryegrass is also 
suitable, but experiments with other seeds 
may be made. We ought to multiply and 
vary the experiments until satisfactory re¬ 
sults are obtained. The following kinds of 
plants migjtt prove suitable Crested Dog’* 
tail Grass, White Clover, Yellow Clover 
(Medieago lupul ina), Flax, but particularly 
the Timothy Grass (Phltumpralense.), which 
appears to be singularly appropriate for this 
mode of ornamentation.— E. A. Cairiere. 
Revue Horticolc. 
THE LAW ON TIMBER PLANTING 
THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE FAIR 
SOME OF ITS ATTRACTIONS AND INTETESTINO FEATURES. 
It is no marvel that the Fair of the Ameri¬ 
can Institute attracts its thousands of visitor 
each afternoon and evening, when we take 
into consideration that the price of admis¬ 
sion is the small amount of fifty cents, and 
that the exhibition is really more interesting 
and instructive and entertaining than most 
of the places of amusement that arc nightly 
visited by the inhabitants of this groat pleas¬ 
ure-seeking city. Here the artist, the mu¬ 
sician, the manufacturer, the mechanic and 
the genius of every branch of business can 
find something suited to his taste and come 
away feeling that he has learned something 
new. 
An unusually large display of sewing ma¬ 
chines is made the current year, and it is 
truly interesting to examine the marvellous 
specimens of stitching performed upon them. 
Among these none, so far as we are able to 
judge, can exceed in range and perfection of 
work the No. 0 Wheeler & Wilson. The 
other evening we were allowed to examine 
the specimens of both light, fancy stitching 
upon the thinnest of fabrics, and the stout, 
strong work through five plica of heavy 
beaver and thick harness leather. 
One astonishing piece of work performed 
was the making — without the aid of one 
stitch by hand—of a smoking jacket of red 
French beaver cloth, lined with satin and 
quilted in diamonds. Every portion of the 
garment was as smooth os if run in a mold, 
and every stitch of uniform length. Another 
example was upon a fine piece of muslin 
This is as fine as the tliin- 
CARNATIONS AND CACTI 
A LIVING VASE 
Tins process of ornamenting vases is by no 
means new ; but, as the thing is still far 
from being common, and as it may conduce 
Carnations ? Mine are nice plants, grown 
in a box. Will they do well in the cellar 
through the winter ? Also, do monthly Car¬ 
nations blossom the first year from ‘seed ? 
How often do Cactus plants need watering f 
Homer, N. Y. Constant Rkadek. 
If the Carnations arc well ripened—that 
is, not drawn up slender from being grown 
in the shade they may be plunged in a 
frame out of doors, and then covered with a 
little straw at the approach of cold weather. 
Mice will be very likely to destroy them if 
put in a cellar, if these vermin are about; 
besides, there is danger of mildew and rot¬ 
ting when kept in a, dark, warm place. The 
monthly Carnations arc almost hardy and 
can be readily kept in the open ground if 
slightly protected. You can make a cheap 
board frame, large and deep enough to hold 
your few plants, and then slip the roots out 
of the box and plant in the ground. In 
spring take them out and either set in the 
garden or put in pots. If Seedling Carna¬ 
tions are started very carJy they will some¬ 
times bloom the first year, but usually not 
until the second. 
No special directions in regard to watering 
Cacti can be given without knowing all the 
conditions under winch they are trrowincr. 
, with 800 cotton 
nest thread woven by the cunning spider in 
his delicate web, and next, by way of striking 
contrast, strong harness leather, where two 
or three thicknesses are placed together can 
be stitched firm enough to curb the six horses 
of a While Mountain stage. Fishermen's 
boots, of the very heaviest leather, were 
seamed with equal firmness. One thing 
peculiarly noticeable was the perfection 
with which stitching or embroidery upon 
patent leather is performed. Jt has been 
considered almost impossible for a needle to 
pass through this leather without breaking 
it away in places and leaving white specks 
peeping through from under the enamelling. 
A specimen of embroidering on a piece of 
patent leather the size ol a shoe vamp was 
in form of a peacock with plumage spread to 
utmost extent. No sign of the needle hav¬ 
ing passed through was visible—it really 
appeared to have been applied by magic. 
This, every one will understand, could only 
have been performed on a perfect machine. 
The use of a rotary hook and bobbin in 
place of a shuttle is one of the distinguishing 
features in the No. 6 machine. This and a 
“take-up,” the motions of which are inde- 
| pendent of the needle bar, render its action 
of superior merit and its management sim¬ 
ple to those at all accustomed to a sewing 
machine. For cotton or linen fabrics and 
the lighter wool materials the Willimantic 
thread is used by this Company. It is very 
smooth and even, and entirely void of the 
occasional rough and flaxy portions in the 
spools that constantly annoy the operator 
when using an inferior grade of cotton. 
This machine is constructed of the best 
materials to be obtained, and the workman¬ 
ship such as to defy competition. The Corn- 
pany have the advantage of an experience of 
a score of years, and meantime have spared 
no expense to perfect a first-class machine. 
It sounds its own praises in the wonderful 
feats performed by it and its wide dissemina¬ 
tion throughout the length and breadth of 
the laud. 
to other analogous applications, we have 
deemed it worth while to give a representa¬ 
tion of it so as to show the result, and to in¬ 
dicate the means employed to obtain it, 
which are most, simple. Though any kind of 
vases can be used indiscriminately, those in 
ungiazed terra cotta are preferable, being 
porous. In such vessels the water with 
which the vase is filled percolates constantly 
through the sides and moistens the plants 
which are fixed on its surface. This kind of 
vase is, however, not indispensable, for we 
can ornament all kinds, whether in glass or 
metal. In the latter case it is necessary to 
prepare the surface so as to convert it into a 
sort of soil, which it really represents—an 
operation which is easily managed by the 
aid of a piece of cloth or flannel which is 
fixed by means of a little pack-thread or 
thin iron or brass wire. This being under¬ 
stood, the means employed to grow the seed 
must next be described. 
If a porous vase be used it is filled with 
water or, better still, left in a pail of water to 
soak. After the lapse of twenty-four hours, 
when the water has thoroughly saturated 
the vase, it is laid on its side, and the seed 
sprinkled slightly over the surface, taking 
care to turn the vase in different directions, 
in order that the whole surface may be well 
covered with seed 
GLEANINGS FROM BEE KEEPERS 
Long or Short Frames.— Mr. Kellogg, in 
the same journal says “ I prefer the square 
frame, for the following reasons : — In hand¬ 
ling sixteen or twenty frame hives, if you 
use a long frame, you have to reach so far 
over the hive with one hand that it soon 
becomes very tiresome, whereas, in a short 
frame, you can stand at the back of the hive 
out of the bees’ flight, and handle most of the 
frames with one hand uud the smoke with 
the other. Then in extracting, the long 
frames that 1 have seen in use, the bees fail 
to fasten the combs securely at the bottom. 
The Queen at Swarming,— Feborier says : 
In swarming, the queen Is not always fore¬ 
most ; it is frequently, or rather generally, 
not till after the departure of a considerable 
number of workers that she makes her ap¬ 
pearance ; utid when she does come, it is 
with a timid, irresolute air, as if she were 
home along, almost agaiust her will, by the 
torrent that streams out of the hive—for she 
often turns on the threshold, ns if about to 
re-enter, and in fact fr equently does so, but 
cannot long resist the opposing crowd. 
Italian Dees Cross. — W. M. Kellogg 
handies a good many stocks of bees and says 
“ When you come to extracting, give us the 
hybrids or blacks in preference to the Italians 
every time. The Italians stick like burs, are 
harder to get off and take more time, while 
the blacks and hybrids are on the run for 
dear life and are easily jerked off, and the 
few remaining it is .short work to get off. 
The worst stinging we have had this summer 
has been by the Italians. 
Remedy for Insect Stings.— M. Dauverne 
l.o make affidavit 
He cannot make 
affidavit in New York aud arrange by an 
agent for the planting and core of trees,' He 
must travel a thousand miles, more or less, 
to make this affidavit, albeit he never goes 
near I lie land, but provides for the planting 
and care oi t.hc timber bv proxy. Mr. 
Clark’s point seems well taken— that, if the. 
object, of t he Government is to secure tim¬ 
ber culture on its lands, it should nrovidu 
This operation terminat¬ 
ed, the vase is placed in a dark closet for 
some time, and, if possible, under a glass 
frame, so as to preserve humidity and facili¬ 
tate germination. When the plants are de¬ 
veloped, and in case they get detached from 
the vase, they are secured by passing round, 
in different directions, a little packthread or 
fine wire, which soon disappears under the 
vegetation. 
If a non-porous vase, after having well 
IMPLEMENT NOTES 
soaked the cloth which covers it, the seed is 
sown upon it, ar»d the same care is given it as 
has already been indicated. When a porous 
vase is used it should be kept constantly full, 
us it is the water filtering slowly through it. 
that feeds the plants which cover the sides. 
If that be insufficient to ensure vigorous 
growth, the vase must be watered, taking 
care to pour the water cautiously, so as not 
to detach the plants. If glazed or metal 
vases be used, glass bottles for instance, they 
must be constantly watered ; the water 
should be poured from the top over all, so 
Mole Ditchers. — (C. T. C.)—Some years 
ago, in Ohio, Indiana aud Illinois, a good 
deal of draining was done with what were 
called mole ditchers or mole plows. We 
suppose it is to these you refer. Where the 
subsoil was a stiff clay, these drains did good 
work for several years. How permanent 
they have proven we are unable to say. Per¬ 
haps some of our Illinois subscribers can tell 
you. lu DuPage, Cook and Kane Counties 
we remember having visited farms, sections 
of which were so drained. 
The Grange Harvester —that is, one manu¬ 
factured by the Iowa Patrons, we suppose— 
having been pronounced a failure, it is assert¬ 
ed by one who worked it the past seasou that 
it “vvmked splendidly ” —that it “would 
elevate anythiug from short oats full of wild 
morning glory to the heaviest growth of 
resin-weed and slough grass.” The cause of 
complaint, it is asserted, lies with the 
operator 
ARBORICULTURAL NOTES 
Feeding Roots at the Surface.—One of the 
points we have most strongly insisted on in 
fruit culture is, tliat. (he outcry about the 
evils of “ over-luxuriance ” in trees only 
comes from those who bury manure in the 
soil. We have stated over and over again 
that we have never seen fruit trees suffer 
from any amount of manure, when the 
feeding roots weie at the surface and the 
