414 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
of a UtoraM 
DAILY EUEAL LIFE 
Prom the Diary of a Gentleman near New 
York City. 
MISSINQ A FORTUNE. 
Dec. 8.— Probably few men reach the age 
of fifty without looking back at some period 
in their lives where they have made a mis¬ 
take in not grasping opportunities presented 
for making a small or large fortune. If a 
man has not been successful in money mat¬ 
ters, he is all the more ready to dwell upon 
these lost opportunities, and frequently they 
exert anything but a soothing influence upon 
his temper. Of course there are few who 
are williug to admit that they grieve over 
lost opportunities; still the frequency with 
•which we hear men speak of them, shows 
that there are more secret misgivings than 
outspoken regrets. But to strike a happy 
balance between the lost and found, one 
should not forget the many close escapes 
from financial disasters as well as the times 
an apparent fortune has been missed. 
In my own journey through life, I have 
not only missed the many fortunes offered 
but escaped financial disasters, hence can 
take a somewhat impartial view of this mat¬ 
ter all through, from the beginning of my 
humble career up to the preseut time. Every 
few weeks I hear of the success or failure, as 
the case, may be, of some of the many grand 
projects started years ago for making for¬ 
tunes, in which 1 came near taking a hand, 
and of course these are to me, at least, more 
or less interesting. One of the latest “re¬ 
minders” I have received of fluctuating for¬ 
tunes appeared in the Philadelphia Times 
under the heading of 
"VEXATIONS Of CRANBERRY CULTURE." 
Some fifteen years since I happened to be 
one of a large party of gentlemen who were 
invited to visit the celebrated swamps of At¬ 
lantic Co., N. J., which was soon to bo trans¬ 
formed into one grand cranberry bed. Of 
course expectations were high, and prices of 
“bogs” were rising rapidly through the in¬ 
fluence of men who will persist Sn ' counting 
their chickens,” &<?., even in the face of 
many wurnings in the history of fruit cul¬ 
ture given us of such foolishness, I confess 
that the prospects of cranberry culture at 
that day did appear very favorable, espe¬ 
cially in the light thrown upon the subject 
by interested parties. It was estimated that 
an acre of cranberry plants the third year 
after planting would yield about 400 bushels, 
aud at the then i uliug figures ($4 per bushel) 
it was plain as a pikestaff that a man would 
get a return in gross receipts of $1,000 for 
each acre in full bearing. Now, in the face 
of this grand prospect, who would refuse to 
purchase land at twenty-live up to one or 
two hundred dollars per acre, and then ex¬ 
pend one or two hundred more for clearing, 
planting and culture for a year or two when 
the first crop would surely pay for all y 
It was well known that- frosts and insects 
do sometimes attack the wild and cultivated 
cranberry ; but when, as proposed in these 
Jersey plantations having an abundant sup¬ 
ply of water to flood the plants whenever 
desired, no great loss could possibly arise 
from causes named. Well, the prospects 
were so good for making fortunes that the 
bog lands sold a while, and large sums were 
invested in this branch of l’ruit culture. It 
is said that New Jersey produces about one- 
half of the cranberry cropB of the United 
States, and that the area of land uuder culti¬ 
vation with this fruit is not less than five 
thousand acres. But in the last few years a 
kind of blight has attacked the berries, sadly 
lessening the crop, in many instances, and in 
others entirely destroying it. A great variety 
of mnodies have been tried to prevent t he 
spread of the blight or rot, as the disease is 
termed, but with rather poor success, judg¬ 
ing from the correspondence referred to 
above, in face of all the increase of area 
through new plantations conning into bear¬ 
ing, it is estimated that the present season’s 
crop will not be more than one-half that of 
1873. 
Now' the lesson to be learned from this 
partial failure of the New Jersey cranberry 
crop is that upon the long run the products 
of this earth, taken as a whole, from gold and 
other precious metals down to cranberries, 
cost nearly the price they command In mark¬ 
et, leaving but a small margin for profit. 
Cranberry culture will doubtless continue in 
New Jersey as elsewhere ; but the enormous 
profits frequently put upon paper will seldom 
be realized. 
ABUTILON BOULE DE NEIQE. 
Dec. 9.—The common striped Abutilon 
(-4. striatum) or, as it is sometimes called, 
“Flowering Maple,” is about as well known 
throughout the country as the Oleander. One 
can scarcely go amiss of these plants any¬ 
where from the smallest country cottage to 
the conservatory of our millionaires ; hence 
there will be no need of an elaborate or mi¬ 
nute description of the above-named sort in 
order to have it recognized as a valuable ad¬ 
dition to our list of half-hardy, free-bloom- 
ing window plants. This comparatively- 
speaking new Abutilon, produces its large, 
snow white, bell-shaped flowers in great pro¬ 
fusion throughout, the entire year if kept in 
a moderately warm atmosphere. 
The ladies especially will welcome this 
white abutilon, far we have very few plants 
that grow as vigorously or bloom more 
freely in winter than this, and 1 think they 
will agree with me when 1 say that white 
flowers during the winter months are never 
too abundant. The plants are facilely propa- 
gated and in the same way as the older aud 
more common sorts. Cuttings struck in 
summer will bloom freely during the follow¬ 
ing winter, in iact if they happen to have 
flower buds upon them at the time th c y are 
taken from the parent plant they will usual¬ 
ly mature and open even before, or as soon 
as new roots are produced. Plants of this 
really superb sort are already plentiful in 
our floral establishments and can be had 
for twenty-five to fifty cents each, conse¬ 
quently the price need not debar any one 
who desires u specimen from obtaining it. 
The A bullions as a class are gross feeders, 
requiring rich soil and plenty of pot room 
and moisture especially during their season 
of most rapid growth. To keep the plants 
low and stocky with plenty of side branches 
it is only necessary to pinch off the leading 
shoots whenever they appear to be growing 
too tall and slender. Old plants which have 
been neglected may be cut back to the bight 
required at. almost any season, but when 
used for “bedding out” in summer it is 
probably best to do whatever severe pruning 
that, may be necessary at the time of lifting 
the plants in autumn. 
SEEDS AND ROOTS OF WATER HUES. 
Since referring to the water lilies in my 
" Diary ” a few weeks ago 1 have received 
a number of letters asking for seeds and 
roots of the A T elumblum luteum. As long as 
my stock of seed held out I sent them to 
those who desired them, cheerfully, but 1 
am now compelled to announce that the 
supply is exhausted and I have no more 
plants or seeds to spare. 
crevices of the hive, which will hatch out 
and probably destroy the swarm. Nothing 
is more to be dreaded by the bee-keeper 
than the moth, and when they once gain an 
entrance to the hive, the bees appear as if 
powerless to expel them, although they will 
seize them savagely at the entrance. When 
moths have once established themselves in a 
hive, and the maggots begin to eat their way 
t hrough the combs, the sooner the bees are 
fumigated and;put into another hive the 
better, as for them to remain with the moth 
maggots will be certain destruction to them. 
" Moths, as well as the large slug, may be 
taken in great, numbers, late on summer 
evenings, by spreading a mixture of sugar, 
home-made wine and rum, on walls or the 
stems of trees.” 
ENTRANCE TO HIVES. 
“Do not have a large round entrance to 
the hive, making the admission of mice, large 
slugs and other enemies an easy matter ; but 
have an entrance of only about a quarter of 
an inch in hight, and from an inch in winter 
to four inches in length in Rummer, But a 
watch must be kept on the entrance, as 
sometimes the weight of the straw hive w ill 
press it,down, stopping the entrance alto¬ 
gether. I have known many swarms des¬ 
troyed from this cause. 
“Should wasps or robber bees attack a 
hive, the only plan is to narrow the entrance, 
so that only one or two bees can pass at tin? 
same time ; this enables them the better to 
defend their gates and generally to hold their 
own against ail invaders. 
“ A very simple and easy plan of doing this 
is to saturate a piece of woolen rag with 
spirits of turpentine, and put it into the 
entrance of the nest, leave it there for the 
night, and the next, morning every wasp will 
be dead. A wasp’s neat, when removed un¬ 
broken, is very extraordinary and beautifu 
in its construction, and a curiosity quite 
worthy of preservation.” 
lit Dntepnl. 
HINTS ABOUT THE EOT IN GRAPES. 
CARE OF BEES IN WINTER. 
PROFITABLE MANAGEMENT FOR BEES. 
An English writer J. W. Dagden of Sussex 
has published a book relating how he made 
from bees commencing almost without 
capital. He says : 
“ Four years ago, I recommenced keeping 
bees, and without any other outlay than 
three dollars, excepting what has boon pro¬ 
duced from the sale of honey, 1 have now 
nearly one hundred stocks, remakably strong 
and vigorous, independent, of a considerable 
balance in money in their favor. 
“ In almost all bee gardens you will notice 
that the hives of bees are ranged close under 
ft south wall ; this I have found to be the 
worst situation possible, the heat sometimes 
being so great that all work is entirely sus¬ 
pended for some of the most valuable hours 
of the day, and moreover, they are exposed 
to all the storms of wind and rain which pre¬ 
vail from that quarter. I have made a trial 
of almost every point of the compass, and 
find east, or a point north or south of this, to 
be the best. A straw hive will last three 
times as long in this as in the first named 
position, 
“It is not at all necessary or advisable to 
place the hives under a wall or hedge. The 
most convenient plan is to range them two 
or three feet apart, with the back of the 
hives to a garden path ; this much 
factihtides all operations that are required 
to be performed, such as patting on or re¬ 
moving super-top hives, feeding, etc. 
“Bee houses are worse than useless, as 
they afford shelter and a nursery for all their 
worst enemies, aud generally in attending 
on one hive you cause annoyance and con¬ 
fusion to the whole household. It is iruport- 
tant in practicing the depriving system to 
have every hive on its own stand, detached 
from others. 
BEES' ENEMIES. 
“ Never put a new swarm of bees in an old 
hive, as there will almost certainly be the 
eggs of the honey-moth deposited in the 
A correspondent, writing to the Ameri¬ 
can Bee Journal, gives the following as one 
of the most successful methods of caring for 
bees during the winter. What is most need¬ 
ed is a warm, dry temperature, which he 
describes in the following manner : 
1. By placing the hive In a good, warm, 
dry cellar, or a house built exclusively for 
I that purpose. And when deposited 1 always 
raise the lid a quarter of an inch on one side 
or end of tile hive, partially closing the fly- 
hole so as to exclude mice. The mercury 
should range at 45“ Fah. When the proper 
season rolls around, put them up immediate¬ 
ly after they have flown out, or in a very 
few days after, and leave them undisturbed, 
in midnight darkness, and all will be right in 
the spring. 
2. To secure the desired end out doors in 
winter if the hive is large, holding more than 
the requisite amount of winter stores, it must 
be contracted to a proper size, and ventilated 
at the top, so as to let the surplus moisture 
escape, and yet secure the auimal heat of the 
bees. This is easily done. Remove the sur¬ 
plus frames from one side of the hive, slip¬ 
ping in a dividing board, filling in between it 
and the outer wall with leaves or straw. 
Cover the frames with a piece of cloth of any 
description, first laying a few small strips of 
board across the frames to give the bees a 
pass or passes over the tops of the frames 
under the cloth. Now, put the second story 
on, and fill it with leaves, straw or some 
other fine, warm materia], and place the lid 
on, contracting the fly-hole to about one 
inch ; and if the swarm is very strong, raise 
the lid one-fourth inch on one side to dry up 
the moisture that collects rapidly on the top 
of the straw. 
Hives should be placed near the ground, 
and underpinned with straw, to secure the 
heat of the earth. Bees cannot be success¬ 
fully wintered out of doors, and empty combs 
prevented from molding, where the hive is 
not contracted to a proper size. The arrange¬ 
ment is in conflict with the laws of success, 
and disastrous results must follow'. The 
moisture thrown off in animal respiration is 
in fine particles like steam when exhaled 
from the lungs, and never will condense into 
drops until it reaches a stratum of atmos¬ 
phere colder than the blood. When it can¬ 
not escape from the. top of the hive, it settles 
in drops at the furthest aud coldest part of 
the hive, and w hen lodging on empty combs 
they are blighted with mildew, and »u a few 
years worthless, whereas they should last 
good ten or fifteen years- When the size of 
the hive corresponds with the size of the 
swarm, the whole internal air of the hive is 
kept warm, and t.lie particles of moisture are 
borne upon the atmosphere, and condense in 
the top of the hive above the straw, where 
they will never get back, leaving the bees 
dry and warm, in which condition cold sel¬ 
dom affects a good swarm. 
Most, persons engaged in vineyard culture 
have adopted the dictum of Father Rentz r 
“ The more I know about the grape rot the 
more I don’t know.” The writer of this, 
after twenty years of experience in wine¬ 
making, has come to the conclusion that 
there is a remedy for this disease. Root- 
pruning has been recommended by some • 
manuring by others. The former properly 
done is entirely too costly, while the latter 
in the usual mode of applying it does not 
give satisfactory results, Manuring, broad¬ 
cast and plowing in, results In an increased 
crop of weeds without a corresponding yield 
of grapes, and this simply because it is mere 
chance work that, the manure reaches any 
of the roots. A new vineyard has little or 
no rot the first, years, but. year by year the 
rot increases, till finally the owuer'becomeB 
more or less disheartened, and disgust, neg¬ 
lect, and the gnibbiijg-hoe closes the scene. 
Except in cases of late frost, like the pres¬ 
ent season, there are few years that an acru 
of vineyard does not on the 1st of July show 
the promise of from 490 to 500 gallons of 
wine. The critical time now sets iu ; a few 
hot days and the thing is done. Instead of 
full ripe bunches von go painfully to work 
about the first of October, picking out a few 
good berries out of each withered bunch to 
make an inferior wine. The natural con¬ 
clusion of most persons would be that the 
grapes, having reached their full growth 
suddenly experience a want which the roots 
have faded to supply. They are unable to 
withstand the great heat usual the first ten 
days of July, and wilt ami wither before it 
Hie grubbing out of some old vines and 
the appearance of the roots led the writer to 
try an experiment that proved very satis¬ 
factory. The grape root is a feeder aud 
traveler. It thrusts out its leading shoot 
ofteri thirty feet, while its laterals slough off 
till finally the root resembles a long whii>- 
huih more than anything else. Thus, what. 
Is extracted from the soil goes mostly to sup¬ 
ply its own growth, and the vine receives 
only the most diluted portion It elaborates 
In consequence, the berries, so to speak, be¬ 
come dropsical- It occurred to the writer 
that if new roots could be started they would 
produce good results. Early in November 
the ground around the collar of the vines 
was removed, leaving a dish of about a foot 
in diameter and six inches deep, and a pitch- 
fork of good rich manure applied. This was 
done to some 1,800 vines, or three-fourths of 
an acre. The manure then gave out. The 
uext season the rot was very great, but the 
vines so treated escaped it almost entirely 
making some 200 gallons of wine while the 
h OOO vines remaining yielded but 50 gallons 
all told. On opening the manure it. was 
f ound to be pierced with roots a loot long 
A deep furrow was then plowed between 
the rows, and partly filled with manure and 
S2W These vim* have averaged their 
~uo gallons for four years in succession. 
Io ascertain the best time to apply the 
manure, experiments were tried monthly 
till the 1st of June. All the vines so tested 
after the beginning of March, showed no 
benefit, whatever, while those done the fall 
before gave the best results. 
To start new roots into an exhausted soil 
would -Show but it transient improvement 
J Ins many have tried. But followed up by 
a covered deposit of manure the result wil* 
be more lasting, — DincirmaU Uazette. 
- » ♦ » - 
BUNCH OF SYRIAN GRAPES. 
A correspondent of the Journal of Horti- 
tultuie describes a big bunch of grapes 
grown in a hot-house in Scotland, weiglumr 
over 25 pounds : ret, 
“ Tfi 0 vine that carried the bunch of 25 lbs 
l.i oz when weighed in Edinburgh, but 
which Mr. Dickson states weighed 28 lbs. 8 
oz. when cut, has only been planted four 
years. It was grown from an eye taken 
from an old vine, which had produced very 
large bunches. The second year it was 
planted a bunch was cut from it that 
weighed 14 lbs ; the third year, one that 
weighed 18 lbs. 8 oz., and this year the same 
as given above.” 
This variety Is supposed to be the same 
as that which Joshca and his companion 
brought to the Israelitish camp after their 
visit to the land of Canaan. Ir, and other 
foreign grapes can be grown in cold graperies 
in all northern portions of the United States 
and in the open air in California. 
--- —. 
GRAPES AND CORN. 
It has long been a favorite belief of ours 
that good grapes could be ripened wherever 
the weather was warm enough to ailow a 
com crop to be grown. This belief is con¬ 
firmed by the present season, which in some 
localities was about as cold as would mature 
corn. Yet even here we find good, delicious 
grapes of all the early-ripening varieties. 
Catawbas and other late grapes have done 
poorly everywhere this year, and even when 
colored have lacked their usual sweetness ; 
but luckily there are other grapes every way 
as good as these late varieties, with the great 
advantage of earliness. There is no excuse 
wherever the earliest com ripens for not 
having a bountiful supply of grapes for 
every family that has a plot of ground. 
After this season's experience we feel safe 
in recommending grape planting in some 
localities where com is a failure. 
Vtf 
