4 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
332 
Iphnjg of a Jluralist. 
DAILY RUEAL LIFE 
From the Diary of a Centleman near New 
York City. 
SHADING EVERGREENS. 
Nov. 23.—There are many of the broad¬ 
leaved evergreens, such as Rhododendrons, 
Hollies, Kalmias, aud various species and 
varieties of the Box, which frequently be¬ 
come badly scorched in winter, especially if 
planted in exposed situations. The sudden 
changes of temperature to which plants are 
subjected in our Middle States, and fre¬ 
quently under a bright, clear sky, oven in 
winter, is very destructive to their leaves, 
causing them to turn brown and assume a 
sickly hue, even if not killed outright. The 
bright, glossy green of our native broad- 
leaved evergreens, as seen in their native 
habitats, under the partial shade of larger 
forest trees, shows us that it is the sun that 
is far more injurious to their foliage in winter 
than the low temperature to which they are 
subjected. 
Tiie experienced horticulturist is well 
aware of this fact, aud plants his groups and 
beds, if possible, in situations where the 
plants will be partially shaded during the 
winter months. But amateurs, having only 
limited grounds, cannot always avail them¬ 
selves of such natural means of protection, 
hence must frequently resort to the more 
artificial, or see their evergreen shrubs perish 
or lose much of their beauty during the 
winter months. 
To preserve the foliage on such plants, it is 
only necessary to give them shade during 
the coldest weather, nud this may be done 
by spreading coarse bags or loose, open sacks 
over them. 1 have already had stakes driven 
about my beds of small evergreens, also 
some single specimens of Rhododendrons 
and Mahoninx, for the purpose of keeping 
the coarse bay in place when it is spread 
over them a little later in the season. 1 like 
this method of giving protection much bet¬ 
ter than putting straw around the plauts 
and tying them up singly, as usually prac¬ 
ticed by florists. A sheet of common browu 
wrapping-paper would usually be ull the 
protection such plants require, If such mate¬ 
rial could be kept in place and would not be 
destroyed by the wind and rain. 
A little time spent at this season in pro- 
tectiug plants of the kinds named will be 
well repaid in their improved appearance 
next spring, as well as in the increased 
growth during the summer. 
DISEASE AMONG THE HUES. 
Nov. 24.—It is not ofteu that, disease at¬ 
tacks our hardy ornamental plants, although 
the agriculturist frequently suffers severe 
losses from rust, smut aud mildew in his 
grain Gelds or rot among the potatoes. Ten 
years ago Lilies were an especial favorite of 
mine, and I would scarcely dare tell of the 
investments made in rare kinds imported 
from abroad. But the Holden-banded Lily 
of Japan at $20 per dozen and IAllum 
Browni , at no less price, were two that came 1 
in for a goodly share of attention. But it is 
not necessary to consult my cash hook iu ' 
order to arrive at the facts which I desire to ' 
place ou recoiil at this time. I will say, 
however, that at- a certain period, not more 1 
than a half doKen years since, 10,000 lilies ’ 
bloomed in my garden, and of the various 1 
species and varieties found in different parts 1 
of the world. There were in one bed 5,000 1 
of the Golden-banded ( L-ouratum ) ail in 
bloom at one time, and in another 1,000 of 
the Long - flowered white ( L4ong iflorum) , 
also about the same numoer each of the 
showy Speciosums, or, as more usually 4 
termed, Laneifoliumx. Then there were 1 
half-dozens and dozens of the more or less 1 
rare kinds scattered about to make the col- 1 
lection complete. 
My success iu the culture of this showy | 
family of plants was so great that I began 1 
to think strongly of devoting my entire 1 
grounds to lilies und eventually enter the *■ 
market with the product: but, alas 1 there 
is usually an end to “air castles,” a3 well as 
those of more substantial structure. Ths 1 
next season, after my grandest display of . 1 
lilies, I noticed that some few varieties 1 
showed signs of disease, the stems and s 
leaves assumed a rusty appearance, and ° 
small, black spots appeared on the bulbs, as P 
well as on parts above ground, such affected 
plants failing to bloom, find the bulbs in au¬ 
tumn were soft and immature. I lifted the It 
bulbs aud replanted iu new beds, applied c: 
ashes, lime and various other things, in order tl 
to stay the progress of this disease, if possi- e: 
ble ; but all to no purpose. It continued to 
spread, taking in its course even the old 
Tiger lilies, as well as the common wild 
species which had been transplanted from 
the fields aad swamps near by into the gar¬ 
den, Bulbs taken up from the garden and 
placed in my greenhouse Immediately as¬ 
sumed their wonted vigor and health, and 
not a sign of disease has ever appeared upon 
a plant grown in pots ; but out of my fine 
collection left out not a half dozen bulbs 
survive. The bed once occupied by Aura- 
turns has been planted with evergreens, and 
iaat summer 1 saw two or three stray plants 
blooming, half hidden among the dense foli¬ 
age of some arbor-vit®, and these, with one 
lone Double Tiger Lily, are the only repre¬ 
sentatives loft, in my grounds of the noble 
family of plants which a few years since 
made large demands upon my purse and 
time, as well as excited my admiration and 
pride. 
Now, it is not pleasant to recount one’s 
failure in such matters ; still, it is just pos¬ 
sible that by recording the disaster which 
followed my “lily fever” some novice in 
floriculture will be put on his guard, not to 
count chickens until they are out of danger 
of the “pip.” Perhaps it may be well to 
state that my land is a light, sandy loam, 
well under-drained naturally ; consequently, 
if the lily disease was caused by in congenial 
soil, it must have been on account of its 
being too warm and dry. But the lilies did 
thrive remarkably well for a half - dozen 
years or more, and I think the rust was in¬ 
troduced among the imported Japanese 
sorts, os no sign of any disease was ever 
seen among my lilies uutil the latter were 
purchased and planted out. 
Iu making up the account of this Uliacioui 
transaction, the bulbs were charged under 
the head of “Money in the Garden” (Pat¬ 
rick Qcinn’S), but when disease took them 
off, I balanced my ledger by entering the 
loss under “Gardening for Pleasure” (Peter 
Henderson’s latest). 
There is nothing in farming and gardening 
so promotive of good health and a serene 
temper as keeping one’s accounts square, 
and a man who is made unhappy by losses 
is pretty certain to become unduly excited 
over unusual successes ; hence likely to be in 
hot water most of the time. 
lifiricultiuie. 
KEEP THE TURNIPS COOL. V 
Nov. 25.—Almost every winter i lose more 
or less roots, or have them somewhat dam¬ 
aged through keeping them too warm. Tur¬ 
nips in particular soon grow and become 
spongy if placed in large heaps in the cellar 
or buried in the ground. It is quite difficult 
to keep the temperature just right in our 
variable climate ; but there seems to be more 
danger of losses from heating than freezing ; 
at least this has been my experience. If one 
has a root cellar in which turnips, beets aud 
carrots can be kept alone, then by proper 
ventilation they may usually be carried 
through the winter quite safely ; but a tem¬ 
perature which would be required for pota¬ 
toes would be altogether too warm for tur¬ 
nips. Last year I tried an experiment in 
keeping turnips, the result of which was so 
satisfactory that I have repeated it this year 
on a larger scale. 
Huving an unused ice-house, I put into it 
50 bushels of yellow’-stone turnips when the 
crop was gathered iu the fall. The door was 
left open until the turnips on the top of the 
heap were frozen solid ; then they were cov¬ 
ered with a light coat of straw and left in 
this way until spring. A few baskets were 
taken out during the winter, just to learn 
their condition, these being thawed out 
slowly iu the furnace room of the green¬ 
house, all of which were found to be sound 
und as fresh as when first taken from the 
field, aud those left in the ice-house came 
out in spring in equally as good condition— 
not a wilted, spongy or rotten specimen 
could be found in the lot. They were kept 
frozen during the entire winter, or so near 
it that no change iu their condition was 
possible. Once freezing does not seem to 
injure turnips or change their flavor, espec¬ 
ially if thawed out slowly and iu the dark 
but a repetition soon breaks down the cells 
and hastens decay. 
This season I have put my entire crop of 
turnips where they cau be kept cool, or even 
frozen, if necessary to prevent a change in 
their quality. Beets and carrots have been 
stored in the cellar, while they will be fed 
out first and the turnips kept for the latter 
part of winter or early spring. 
BE00K TEOUT. 
The Pennsylvania Fish Commissioners’ Re¬ 
port gives these facts, suggestions and recom¬ 
mendations about Brook Trout: 
The fish which affords the most delight, 
both to the epicure and sportsman, of any 
which are found in the waters of our State, 
Is the brook trout. Their value consists in 
the fact that they haunt the shallow moun¬ 
tain brooks which could not be made to 
yield any other variety of fish. Their gamy 
qualities, and the. picturesqueness of the 
scenery generally surrounding the waters in 
which they are found, have made them 
eagerly sought after by those in search of 
their health or pleasure, to such a degree, 
that in waters which once abounded with 
them, they are now found with great diffi¬ 
culty. The trout Is not a fruitful fish, they 
neither multiply or grow rapidly. This spe¬ 
cies, while they do not exercise the care for 
their young, do not yield near the quantity 
of eggs that the bass do. A mature or full- 
grown pair of trout will yield from eight 
hundred to three thousand eggs, while a like 
pair of bass will yield from twenty-five to 
forty thousand eggs. The work of re-stoek- 
Ing the large number of streams throughout 
the Commonwealth, which were or have 
been the natural haunts of the trout, is a 
work of such great magnitude, that we do 
not deem it advisable at this early period of 
our labora to undertake it. We would re- 
oomraend, however, the enactment of such 
Jaws as will give a greater amount of pro¬ 
tection than those now upon our statute 
books. It ha well known among those who 
have given the subject any attention, that in 
early Spring the fish are almost ravenous 
from hunger, and take with avidity any bait 
which may be thrown to them, so that by 
persistently fishing the narrow mountain 
streams, it is possible to utterly exterminate 
them ; at this season of the year, too, they 
are hardly lit for food ; Ibov are weak and 
thin on account of their Winter starvation. 
We would urge, consequently, the adoption 
of such legislation as will coniine the fish¬ 
ing for them to a later, and a shorter pe¬ 
riod. 
Another cause of their decrease, besides 
that of their being so much sought after, is 
the establishment of tanneries and saw-mills 
upon the banks of the streams which are in 
habited by them. Tanneries utilize the 
mountain streams by converting them into 
sewers to carry off their refuse. Lime and 
ammonia, which are largely used in the pro¬ 
cess of tanning, are both virulent poison to 
the fish. The result is that whenever upon 
our trout streams a tannery is once estab¬ 
lished, the fish very rapidly disappear. This 
destruction is wanton and unnecessary, as by 
making surface pools or by sinkiug wells in 
a manner similar to that which our iron 
miners adopt in order to get rid of the sul¬ 
phurous mine water, it is possible for these 
tanneries to so conduct, their oppe rations as 
to leave the water of the stream upon whose 
banks they are erected, unpolluted by their 
refuse, and to thus enjoy their rights with¬ 
out infringing upon those of others. We 
consequently recommend the enactment of u 
statute that will make it illegal for propri¬ 
etors of tanneries to pollute with their 
refuse, not only trout streams, but any of 
the waters in the State. 
“tried-out” for the oil contained, the Co¬ 
lumbia river salmon being unusually fat. 
The second Chinaman takes the decapitated 
fish and cuts it into thick slices, which are 
thrown into large vats or tubs of clear 
water, where the blood is soaked out. The 
fish is then put into tin cans holding one and 
two pounds, care being taken to fill the can 
with the fish. The cover is soldered on, 
and a 6mall hole pierced in it. Tlie cans are 
then placed on racks in kettles of boiling 
water and suffered to remain until the air is 
exhausted, wheu the nimble Chinese ta£o• 
them out, cover Hie hole with a drop of 
solder, and they Eire ready to label aud 
pack. The precision and rapidty of the 
workmen is astonishing—more like ma¬ 
chinery than human labor. The yield of the 
present year is from 225.000 to 335,000 cases, 
in round numbers. This year’s business is 
not equal to that of the last, owing to a false 
panic as regarded the supply of fish, gotten 
up by speculators last spring. Last year the 
canned fish sold for §<5 per case of four dozen 
cans. This year the price has not gone above 
14.35 per dozen, while the demand for ex¬ 
port is constantly increasing. The salmon 
©f the Columbia river is of a peculiarly fine 
flavor, more delicate and still richer than 
Einy other in the market. Salmon fishing is 
earned on at the mouths of the Rougue, 
Umpqua, Coqville and other Oregon rivers, 
but the fish are not as fine as those of the 
Columbia. 
THE CEEVELING GEAPE. 
No variety of grape with which we are 
acquainted varies in quality so widely as 
this. We have usually spoken of it as good, 
or very good ; but this year does not fulfill 
the promise of even mediocrity. The grapes 
have a flat, insipid taste, entirely different 
from the usual flavor. We noticed this infe¬ 
riority two or three years ago, but at the 
time attributed it to some ill-smelling ma¬ 
nures stored close by the vines while the 
grapes were ripening, and the odor of which 
wo thought had affected the flavor of the 
fruit Since then there has been no such 
cause, and the poor quality of Groveling 
grape* this season shows that this variety is 
liable to bad spells occasionally, without any 
cause which we have been able to guess. 
The Graveling is an early-ripening grape 
and a very poor keeper. Tt cannot be pre¬ 
served at its best for more t han two or three 
weeks before becoming insipid ; but this year 
we found no time when it was really excel¬ 
lent. Its insipidity commenced as soon as, 
or before, it was fully ripened. Perhaps our 
taste has been educated to demand a richer 
grape than the Groveling ; but remembering 
how good it used to seem, as it is one of the 
earliest sorts, we think the change is in 
the grape and not in ourselves. Almost ull 
grapes are somewhat inferior this year, pos¬ 
sibly from the cold summer, not securing the 
proper degree of sweetness even when the 
fruit colored and nominal])’ ripened. Most 
kinds of fruit vary in quality with different 
seasons, au<J our experience is that this vari¬ 
ableness is even more noticeable in grapes 
than in fruits needing a less degree of heat 
to mature them. 
--- 
WHAT CONSTITUTES A BUNCH OF 
GRAPES 1 
SALMON FISHING 
THE PACIFIC. 
Diphtheria.—D r. Rkvillout states that 
lemon juice, used as a gargle, is an effica¬ 
cious specific against, diphtheria and similar 
throat troubles. He has successfully thus 
employed it for eighteen years. 
A CORRESPONDENT of the Cincinnati En¬ 
quirer, writing from the Pacific coast, de¬ 
scribes the salmon fisheries as follows : 
As we returned to Portland we found the 
salmon fisheries thickly set along the river 
above Astoria, closed for the season, For¬ 
tunately, we had been dovvu the river while 
they were in operation and made ourselves 
familiar with iheir method of working. The 
Beason begins iu April aud closes in July. 
The fish tire taken in tide-water by means of 
traps and nets as they ascend the river. 
They are brought in immense quantities to 
the warehouses, which are merely boarded 
over and set on wharves projecting to the 
river. The labor of preparing and packing 
is almost entirely done by Chinamen. The 
fish is thrown on to u table before a wiry 
little Chinaman, who, with quick, accurate 
strokes of a knife cuts off the head, the fius 
and tail, with one stroke lays open the 
abdomen, removes the viscera, and passes 
the fish along to an adjoining table ; the 
refuse dropping into the river, where it is 
greedily eaten by myriads of small fish, who 
throng in masses around the fishery, or is 
received by scows and earned away to be 
It would seem that knowing what a Grape 
is, it should not prove such a difficult matter 
to determine what constitutes a single bunch 
of Grapes ; and yet this question is exciting 
a good deal of warm discussion in England. 
At the recent Fruit Show in Edinburgh 
where two of the largest bunches of white 
grapes ever raised were exhibited—an illus¬ 
tration of one of which was given in the 
Rural, p. 300 —a Mr. Cursor was awarded 
the first prize, and a Mr. Nixon the second. 
Mr. Nixon now claims that the first prize 
bunch was two bunches, or twins, and pub¬ 
lishes letters iu the Horticulturist from six 
well-known grape-growers to support his 
claims. 
These gentlemen state that they under¬ 
stand one bunch to mean “ one stem from 
the wood,” and that Mr. Curror’s has as 
much as “ inch of clear space between 
the two stems.” In this view of the ques¬ 
tion, the first prize ought to have been 
awarded to Mr. Nixon. IVe trust, however, 
that this weighty question as to what con¬ 
stitutes the difference between one and two 
as applied to bunches of grapes, may be 
authoritatively settled—else there is danger 
that the fundamental principles of arith¬ 
metic thus mixed up, may lead to wide¬ 
spread mathematical confusion ! 
