OCT. 28 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
274 
^kricultitral. 
TOD MANY VARIETIES. 
Ninety persons out of every hundred who 
set out fruit trees for home use or mark® t 
indulge in too many varieties. This one fatal 
error has ruined more fruit growers than all 
other causes combined. Nurserymen prop¬ 
agate their hundreds and thousands of sorts 
simply because a majority of their customers 
do not know what they want and will not 
take the advice of men who do. The pre¬ 
vailing passion with the novice in fruit cul¬ 
ture is to try as many varieties as possible ; 
and wo have known men who had “just be¬ 
gun,’’ and with very little capital, to go into 
a nursery aud undertake to make a short 
purse go a long way by purchasing a tree or 
two of each variety instead of actiug the 
wiser part, selecting from a number of trees, 
a few of the very best. 
Wo have also seen the same thing done in 
purchasing flowering plants, and our llorists 
try to accommodate their customers, hence 
the immense number of varieties kept for 
sale. It is well enough for nurserymen to 
try all the new sorts, to find out which are 
the best, as it is a part of their business ; but 
the man who cultivates fruit.* for profit, had 
bettor confine himself to only a few, and 
those known to be adapted to his soil and 
climate. Our pomological, horticultural and 
agricultural societies are perhaps somewhat 
at fault in this matter, for they invariably 
offer the largest premium for the greatest 
number of varieties, and it is not strange 
that there should be some strife for the high¬ 
est prize. The man who only exhibits a 
dozen variet ies of pears by the side of another 
who spreads out a collection of two or throe 
hundred, appears to bo rather “small pota¬ 
toes,” although he may bo in reality the 
more extensive c iltivatorof the two, and do- 
serves more credit for possessing wisdom 
enough to avoid such indiscriminate planting 
of second-rate sorts. The great number of 
varieties certainly make a good show on the 
exhibition tables, and sounds well in print, 
but this is all that can be said in its favor. 
We have been all t hrough this variety fever, 
from a thousand pear trees down to a thou¬ 
sand sorts of strawberries, therefore can 
speak from experience. If our own was not 
enough to convince us of the folly of planting 
too groat a number of varieties, that of hun¬ 
dreds of others who have had a similar expe¬ 
rience would staud out as a warning against 
it. 
Now the novice in fruit culture need not 
be misled if be will only seek advice from 
those competent to give it, and none offer a 
better article in this line than the very mon 
who have cultivated the greatest number of 
sorts. After a man has become bewildered 
over the immense number of varieties of 
fruits frequently exhibited by such pomolo- 
gist3 as EiiLWAN-aan & Barry, Hon. Mar¬ 
shall P. Wilder, Hovey & Co., Moody & 
Son, and others noted for their extensive 
collections ; let him attend one session of the 
American Pomologieal Society, and he will 
learn that these very men are careful to 
warn him to let about nine out of ten of all 
the sorts they have exhibited severely alone. 
In other words, as scientific pomologists, 
they place themselves “ straight on the re¬ 
cord but in business they are compelled to 
pamper to the foolish whims of their cus¬ 
tomers. 
FOREST-PLANTING IN MINNESOTA. 
Many people who contemplate moving to 
the Northwest are not aware that thousands 
of acres of the richest Government lands, 
uearaline of railway too, may be had by 
simply occupying them, under the Home¬ 
stead or Tree-Planting Act, or of the railroad 
companies on almost os easy conditions. The 
St. Paul and Pacific railroad penetrates one 
of the richest parts of the State, and is doing 
a great work in opening up to settlement 
those vast prairies and woodlands, furnishing 
land and homes to thousands of settlers al¬ 
most without price, certainly requiring very 
little ready money. All the time required 
for payment is given and at a low rate of 
interest. Olio of the objections—perhaps the 
only one—to habitation on the prairies west 
of the timber belts has been that they are 
without timber. This disadvantage is being 
overcome by planting trees—an enterprise 
which was initiated in that section by Presi¬ 
dent Becker, and is bow under the supervis¬ 
ion of Hon. L. B. Hodges, who introduced 
tree planting into the State twenty-five years 
ago, and has demonstrated it* entire feasi* 
bility by repeated experiments. It was com¬ 
menced aloug this railway in 1870 for the 
primary purpose of creating a snow-break, 
the trees being set in rows on either side of 
the track ; in places most liable to drift, two 
rows, to form a more effective break. The 
experiment has proved a decided success, 
and the work is MOW prosecuted with vigor. 
This company has set out over 1,000,001) trees; 
CO,000,000 have been planted on the treeless 
prairies of the State. Mr. Becker, to encour¬ 
age private enterprise, opeued a farm on the 
prairies, and is planting on a large scale at 
ilia own expense. Many kinds of trees grow 
very rapidly—often 50 to 00 feet high, and 
525 to !’>U inches in diameter, in from 15 to 20 
years’ time ; hard woods, six to eight inches 
in diameter, in from seven to ten years’ time. 
It is claimed by Mr, Hodges that trees can 
be planted at, a cost of less than one-third of 
a cunt each the first year. This device will 
prevent the snow drifting on the track, sup¬ 
ply timber and fuel for the use of the road, 
besides enhancing the (.esthetic effect.— L. 
II. Powell, in Harper’s Magazine for Oc¬ 
tober , 
-»♦» , . 
ARBORICULTURAL NOTES. 
The Mountain Ash in Enyland.— The 
Gardeners’ Chronicle says:—We never saw 
the Mountain Ash more boaut'ful than it ia 
this season, never so heavily laden with its 
largo clusters of scarlet fruit. It is a hand¬ 
some tree at all seasons of the year, in foli¬ 
age and in llower, as well as in fruit. This 
and its congener, the White Bean, should not 
bo forgotten in forming an ornamental plan¬ 
tation, especially os they will both succeed 
Oil a great variety of soils. 
Wash For Fruit Trees .—The Practical 
Parmer, speaking of a wash for bodies of 
fruit trees, recommend* the following One 
ounce of copperas to eight or ton gallons of 
water, forma a good wash, and is advised 
for trial as preventive against blight. One 
pound of bleachers’ soda and one gallon of 
water forms a wash that cleans off all 
insects, and leaves the trees with fresh, 
young looking, healty bark. 
<§mne*ith{ (ftqoitomg. 
VARIOUS USEFUL RECIPES 
The Housekeeper, an excellent “ Jour¬ 
nal of Domestic Economy," published in 
this city, gives among others the following 
recipes under appropriate headings : 
BREAKFAST. 
Veal Sausages, —Chop equal quantities of 
lean veal and fat, pork, a handful of sage, a 
little salt; beat all in a mortar and roll out 
like doughnuts and fry them. 
Sausages.— Forty-six pounds of meat, 
three-fourths of a pound of salt, three ounces 
of black pepper, half an ounce of sage, and a 
tablespoouful of red pepper. 
Corn 0 riddle Cakes.-— To one pint of grated 
corn, add two eggs and a piece of butter 
half the size of an egg, a little milk, salt and 
flour; they may be baked on the griddle or 
dropped into hot lard. 
Baked Fish. —Take a middling sized fish 
or a very large blaekflsh, make a stuffing of 
broad, a little pork chopped fine, sweet 
herbs, an onion, salt and pepper ; place the 
fish in a bake pan with a little water, suf¬ 
ficient to keep it moist ; add a glass of red 
wine, a little flour and butter. 
Veal Cutlets. —Pound the veal well, cut it 
into small pieces ; beat up two or three eggs, 
into which dip the veal, then into crumbs of 
bread or pouudod cracker (add, if liked, 
herbs with the eggs and pepper and salti. 
Fry the cutlets brown in la.d ; whan done, 
take them out and pour into the pan a little 
milk or cream, dust in, also, a little Hour ; 
pour this gravy over the veal and send to 
table; stew some tomatoes, seasoned with 
popper aud salt, pour them into the gravy 
and let it stew together a few minutes ; 
pour over the cutlets and serve. 
To Cook Codfish. —Cut up your fish, put it 
on the tire iu cold water aud let it heat, very 
gradually, but it must not got too hot; in 
about an hour scrape the fish very clean and 
got off all the skin, thou put It iu clean, cold 
water ; peel your potatoes and put them on 
with the fish and plenty of water iu season 
for them to get to boiling in time to bo douo 
for dinner; the potatoes are much better 
for boiling with the fish. I have seen fish 
soaked until it was quite tasteless. It should 
be served with drawn butter or pork cut 
fine and fried a light brown, boiled eggs, 
onions, beets and squash, or stewed pump¬ 
kin, 
DINNER. 
To Sluff a Fillet of Veal. —Take a slice or 
two of the fillet and a few slices of pork, 
chop these very fine, add sweet herbs, 
pepper and salt ; if the pork does not make 
it soft enough, moisten it with an egg. 
Chicken Celery.— Boil twochiekens ; when 
cold, take the meat, from the bones, chop it 
fine with the yelks of nine eggs boiled hard, 
two heads of celery chopped, add sweet-oil, 
musturd, cayenne, a little salt ; mix it well 
together, 
Indian Pudding — Boil a quart of milk 
and stir in four tablespopnaful of Indian 
meal and four of grated bread or crackers, 
three tablespoon fills of sugar, four eggs, a 
piece of butter as large as a walnut, aud a 
little salt. Buko it three hours. 
Rice Pies. —One quart of milk, six eggs, 
one cup ol’ sugar, one cup of ground rico. 
Cook the rice a little in the uiiltc, stirring it 
constantly whilo on the fire, and put the 
egg in when hot. The rind of two lemons 
and the juice of one, or any flavor you 
choose. 
Hasty Pudding. —Boil some water and 
thicken with flour, as you would for thin 
starch ; sift some coarse meal and stir in 
until it is quite thick : keep it boiling all the 
time you are putting in the meal, which 
must bo done gradually ; salt to the taste ; 
boil it well; put it, in a bowl and turn out. 
Eat witli cream and molasses, 
Indian Dumplings. —Mix your nioal with 
water that almost boils ; make them up aud 
put them In to boil about twenty minutes 
moderately; they will come to pieces if 
they boil hard. Some prefer to stir up tho 
meal with hot water and put it iu a clean 
cloth, as they arc apt to break if not properly 
managed. An hour will cook it in this way. 
Corn fioup. —Boil Hix ears of corn in just 
water enough to cover them ; after boiling 
until quite tender, take out the corn and cut 
it from the cob, put the cobs into the water 
again and boil an hour, tako them out and 
put in the corn, a little red pepper aud 
some salt ; then add a quart of milk, make 
it boil and add a piece of butter rubbed with 
flour, 
SUPPER. 
Doughnuts. —One teacup of sour cream or 
milk, two teacups of sugar, one of butter, 
four eggs, one teaspoonful of saleratus ; 
spice to taste. 
Graham Soda Biscuit. — One quart of gra¬ 
ham fiour, one teaspoonful of soda dissolved 
in two-thirds of a teacupful of molasses ; 
mix with milk and water. 
Jumbles.— One and one-fourth pounds of 
flour, threo-fourths of sugar, three eggs, a 
little nutmeg, three-fourths of a pound of 
butter. Roll them in sugar. 
Hard Gingerbread. —Four pounds of fiour, 
three of sugar, one and one-half of butter, 
one-fourth of a pound of ginger, ten eggs, 
one teaspoonful of saleratus ; seeds, if you 
like. 
Citron Cake. —Eight eggs, their weight in 
flour, the same of sugar, the weight of five 
in butter, a little mace; chop some citron 
fine and put in a layer of cake and a layer of 
citron alternately. 
Rye and Indian Drop Cakes. —One pint of 
Indian meal, one-half pint of rye meal, two 
eggs, two spoonfuls of molasses, a little salt; 
work it with cold milk so as to drop from a 
spoon into hot fat; be sure to have a smooth 
batter. 
Poor Man's Cake.— One cup of sugar, one 
cup of milk, one tablespoouful of butter, 
one teaspoonful of dry cream of tartar, 
one-half a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in 
the milk, one egg, a little cinnkmon, and 
flour to make it as stiff os pound eako. 
Gingivr Cakes. —Two and one-half pounds 
of flour, throe-fourths of butter, one pint of 
molasses, five tablespoonsful of ginger ; rub 
the butter and sugar together ; thou roll 
them out very thin and cut them into round-, 
place tnern on tin sheets and bake them 
well, and they will keep good a year. 
Ginger Snaps.—One-quarter of a pound of 
sugar, one-quurler of a pound of butter, the 
same of lard ; beat them well together ; one 
pint of molasses, two tablespoonsf ul of ginger, 
one ceaspoonful of soda dissolved in a wine¬ 
glass of milk, Hour, sufficient to roll them 
thin, and bake quick. 
C old Custard. —Take three pints of milk, 
stir in threa or four tablespoonsfnl of rennet 
wine, stir it and strain it through a sieve into 
dishes ; keep it iu a warm place until It 
hardens. For sauce, take half a pint of 
cream, acid a few spoonsful of white wine 
and sugar: grate nutmeg over both sauce 
and custard. 
iggiqnfy Jnfanratimt. 
REQUISITE AMOUNT OF FOOD. 
The absolute amount of food required for 
the support, of the human body in health va¬ 
ries with the age, sex, constitution and hab¬ 
its of the individual, and with the circum¬ 
stances in which he may ho placed. No 
fixed standard can ho made applicable to 
every particular case. Tho appetite is the 
chief guide for tiie supply of tho wants of 
tho system, but its indications arc so often 
misunderstood, or rather, imposed upon by 
many. We are naturally disposed to eat 
when wo are hungry, but lb would be very 
unwise to eat as long as we are hungry at 
times, for this would he going beyond health" 
fill indulgence. Too often persona eat as if 
their hunger depended upon the state of ful¬ 
ness or emptiness of the stomach alone, 
whereas it depends chiefly on the condition 
of the gcneial system, the wants of which 
are often fully supplied ere hunger ceases 
Thus tho food taken into tho stomach will 
not satisfy hunger at once if the necessary 
quantity be ingested, but will do so without 
fail after a little whilo. But how may we 
know when the requisite amount of food has 
been taken i It is when we experience those 
pleasant sensations of gratification, case and 
calmness of body and mind, or when tho 
stomach utters “enough;" and not to con 
tinue swallowing until the appetite is gone, 
when unpleasant feelings are realized and 
the stomach is heard to cry, “too much.” 
Properly masticating the food before swal- 
lowiug it will prolong the meal, and thus tbe 
system will have ttm® to realize that the 
supply is in progress. Hence, by following 
up these rules, a better guide is selected than 
by observing any standard amount to be 
taken daily, which must uoods vary so much 
with circumstances, as already intimated. 
It is of the utmost importance that no 
more than the necessary amount of aliment 
be taken, as every particle of surplus not 
only proves useless, but highly injurious 
by giving rise to numerous distressing dis¬ 
eases. Jas. M, Anders, 
Worcester, Pa. 
-»»» ■ 
“WHY WERE MOSQUITOES CREATED." 
I was somewhat suspicious that the arti¬ 
cle in the Hygienic Department of the Rural 
New-Yorker for Sept. 25th, “Why Mosqui 
toes were Created," {.was intended l’or a 
'■ sellbut I will give my observations on 
the subject and risk being sold. 
In investigating a subject under considera¬ 
tion it is well to bring all the truths to bear, 
which may throw light upon it. I will 
therefore speak of a section of country, 
where I once spent a few hours, which furn¬ 
ished an abundance of fever and ague, and 
mosquitoes by the thousand. I was but a 
traveler then, going to a new country, and 
often made a minute of what I saw, bub 
when at ft little town on the Illinois River, 
some thirty-five years ago, I did not need to 
jot down what 1 saw there, as it fastened 
upon my mind in such a way that I could 
not forget it. The landlady was a pale, 
sickly woman. The Doctor in attendance 
was giving powders to stop the next chill, as 
well as inquiring about the time and severity 
of a former one. A babe was shaking in the 
cradle—a boy of seven or eight years, in bed 
with a chill—two or three older boys, wore 
drawing around the table, looking much as 
if the ague had followed them, night and 
day, till it had given them up in disgust, and 
they were left only for “a season" to enjoy 
a few meals. While these observations were 
being made tho mosquitoes were testing the 
thickness of my apparel, in order to further 
test the nobility of my blood, which nettled 
me exceedingly, as there were so many that 
when I drove them from my face and neck 
they would try my hands. In fact, there 
were enough of them to try all available 
places at once. I confess, it puzzles me to 
see why this family had the ague if the vi¬ 
rus of the mosquito is an antidote for mala¬ 
rious diseases. A. S', 
Fat Women.— Why do so many ladies who 
had slender forms when young, between the 
ages of thirty-five and forty grow so dispro¬ 
portionately large about the hips f As the 
sensation is not pleasant, and it is not de~ 
siraole for locomotion, can it be prevented ? 
aud how t 
Ans* It is the tendency of some tempera¬ 
ments to grow stout at this age. Where 
this teudeuey is in excess the remedy is to 
eat moderately, eschewing fats, sugars and 
butter largely, and to take a daily bath with 
much exercise. Gymnastic training has 
relieved many cases. 
