be  Bynonymons  with  cultivation.  Wo  frankly 
docliu  o  that  thin  aBHortion  i9  crrouoouB.  A  ]iropg 
erly  pmnwl  true — that  is  to  say,  jirnned  with 
knowledge  and  eircnraupoction  of  which  our  best 
juaetitiouerB  give  every  proof— ought  oatdly  to 
satiBfy  the  wantH  of  all  amateur  cultivatorH ;  but 
ill  the  handfi  of  unpractiood  or  amateur  growers 
it  may  be  aftirmed  that  it  will  never  retmn  during 
the  whole  of  its  short  oxlatonoe  tho  half  of  tho 
BuiuK  laid  out  upon  it.  What  fault  could  we  not 
find  witli  tho  syslvni  of  reverBing  the  natural 
order  of  vegetation  by  curving  the  branohos 
downward  towards  the  soil ;  of  the  grafting  of 
fruit  budH ;  of  the  cutting  of  leaves,  and  of  tho 
twiHting  of  Mhoots  ?  'flioBo  modoH  of  procodiu-c 
are  looked  uimn  aH  constituting  a  real  progross 
in  fruit  culture,  but,  on  the  Contrary,  they  are  a 
mistake.  Without  in  any  way  wishing  to  iibollBh 
amatourH’  Hinall  gardens,  let  ns  mako  the  cultiva¬ 
tion  of  fruit  what  we  have  already  made  the  cul¬ 
tivation  of  tho  vino,  and  lot  ub  no  longer  he  afraid 
of  devoting  tho  Iwt  part  of  our  land,  oven  of 
onr  corn-growing  diatricts,  to  the  growing  of 
fruit.  It  would  Boon  Ixicomc  largely  renuincr- 
ativo.  Hut  it  muHt  not  bo  thought  that  it  is  only 
nocessary  to  cover  largo  Hiu’raoeH  ot  land  with 
fruit  treoH  well  litto.d  for  tlio  particular  soil  and 
climate  of  tlio  locality  chosen,  and  thou  fold  our 
arms  and  trust  in  I’rovidenco ;  far  from  it,  for 
an  orchard  of  only  a  few  acres  requires  the  as¬ 
siduous  care  of  au  cxporienced  and  laborious  cul¬ 
tivator. 
side  of  those  short  pieces,  bringing  the  upper 
edge  of  the  slat  even  with  the  square  end  of  tho 
short  pieces.  This  will  mako  a  compomid  bar 
witli  half  an  inch  between  tho  slats,  and  one 
slat  half  an  inch  higher  than  the  other  when  tho 
whole  is  turned  u[>on  its  edge. 
"riaoojthe  whole  under  the  lower  wuidow 
sash,  with  tho  higher  slat  on  the  ontaido.  nio 
air  can  tJicn  pass  under  tlie  outer  slat,  bidween 
tliO  two  slats,  and  enter  the  room  over  tho  toji  of 
the  insido  slat,  ha^ng  an  upward  motion  which 
will  cause  it  b.)  mingle  rapidly  with  tho  warm  air 
of  tlio  room,  '.and  tims  prevent  any  sensible 
draught.  T5y  thus  raising  tho  lower  sash,  a  space 
will  ho  loft  hfdwoen  tho  top  of  the  upisw  sash, 
through  which  another  thin  layer  of  air  may 
enter  the  room  at  somo  (Ustance  from  tho  layer 
at  tho  bottom  of  tho  window.  This  air  most  al¬ 
so  outer  with  an  upward  current,  causing  it  to 
speedily  mix  with  the  hot  air  in  tho  ujiper  por¬ 
tion  of  the  room. 
“This  arrangemont  is  especially  ailaptcd  to 
secure  safe  window  ventilation  in  bedrooms.  If 
properly  constructed  and  insorUsl,  it  will  never 
canso  soiiHiblo  cuiTents  in  tho  liody  of  a  room 
except  when  strong  winds  prevail,  whon  we 
iisuaJly  Hoenre  enough  vontilation  l>y  fiio  iinper' 
foot  oonstmetion  of  our  witidowwasings,  etc,” 
Srifiitific  aiib  alsfful 
THE  KENTUCKY  SHOWER  OF  FLESH, 
B])ring  at  once  or  hi  the  seconil  gonoration 
reverts  bi  the  grand-iiarciit  sisscies.  Jint  in  the 
few  authentic  instauctm  of  true  hybrids,  there 
was  no  blood  union  or  jntermingling  of  tho  dis¬ 
tinctive  characters  of  each  parent — but,  as  if 
budded  or  graftal,  different  jiarts  were  perfect 
reprcKluctions  of  one  or  f  ho  other. 
It  is  plain,  thoiiifore,  that  we  need  another 
term  b>  denob)  that  union  winch  is  induced 
natxu’ally  or  artilhially  between  varieties  of  the 
same  species  and  whuii  results  in  an  intimate 
and  i>ermanent  blending  of  tho  eliuracbiristics  of 
laith. 
If  tnio  hybrids  occurred  less  rarely  and 
assninod  a  uniform  reseiublanco  in  all  their 
jiarts  to  both  jiarcuts,  and  these  wore  again 
crosstxl  with  other  variv'ties  of  the  spocies  of 
eithor  jiarentr- neither  Cross-l.Teed  nor  hybrid,  it 
is  true,  would  accurabiy  express  the  relation¬ 
ship  ;  hut  it  is  not  the  less  true  that  the  union  of 
a  hybrid  with  either  of  its  parents’  spefies 
would  bo  nearer  br  a  cross-hroed  tlian  b»  a 
hybrid,  and  its  jiedigreo  could,  by  the  use  of 
both  words,  be  expressed  without  confusion. 
IJe  tliis  as  it  may— it  olTors  no  reason  for  the 
inbirchaiigo  of  those  bmus  which  are  as  delinibi 
as  any  terms  can  bo  that  are  aiipliod  to  orders, 
genera,  si>eeies  and  varieties  which  are  thom- 
selvos  indeHnite,  and  must  so  remain  until 
bobinical  allinitios  and  itistinctions  are  more 
aceurabily  ascertained  than  they  are  at  present 
or,  for  aught  wo  see— are  ever  likely  to  ho. 
'J'lie  wrong  use  of  these  words  originated  with 
those  horticnlturists  who,  having  produced 
crosses  iK-twcen  certain  fruits  or  Jlow'ors  of  va- 
vaiioties  of  same  siiecies,  prcfeireil  the  high- 
sounding,  rotiued  name  Hybrid  tho  eommon- 
plaoo  one  Cross-lireod.  'Jiiis  saciiiloo  of  accu¬ 
racy  to  sound  has  been  generally  ficquioscod  in, 
and  our  catalogues  Icern  w  ith  hybrid  roses,  peas, 
corn,  iiotatocB,  strawherries  (ul  iufinUum. 
If  horticulturists  are  willing  b)  continue  the 
confusion  of  those  words  there  is  nobody  to 
say  them  nay;  hut  they  thus  encourage  a 
liorversion  of  accepted  nomenclature  that  they, 
of  all  persons,  should  bo  the  lia’st  to  guard 
against. 
Wb  presnme  all  of  our  readers  have  heard  of 
tho  Hupisised  shower  of  llcsh  which  recently  fell 
in  Kentucky,  many  exiilanatious  of  the  cause  of 
tho  phenomenon  have  been  given,  but  none  of 
thorn  seemed  b»  come  nnywhi.Te  near  the  truth, 
Gxcojit  tho  following  by  I.eiqiolil  liraiideis  in  tho 
Sanitarian. 
It  apiiears  to  lio  a  law  of  nature  that  weeds  j 
should  gTOW  with  llowers,  taros  with  corn,  and 
that  superstition  should  almost  touch  truth. 
Showers  of  frogs,  of  lishos,  of  bloody  rain  and 
snow  have  fi'e<iuontly  ixicurred.  'J'he  last  sensa¬ 
tion,  however,  “  the  full  of  tlesh  in  Kentucky," 
offers  some  fc.atures  of  sisscial  inb-rost. 
In  15.37,  wliilo  J’araoelsuH  was  engaged  in  tho 
production  of  his  “elixir  of  life,”  he  came amoss 
a  very  strange  looking  vogcbible  mass,  to  wliicb 
he  gave  tlic  name  of  “  Nostoc.”  Tlie  want  of 
rapid  t.ranHi«irtation,  comliined  with  the  perish¬ 
able  nature  of  the  subsbinecs  fallen,  Inive  hither¬ 
to  prevented  a  complete  and  oxliiiustive  exami¬ 
nation.  '.Hic  itpecimens  of  tlie  “  Kentucky  show¬ 
er,”  reached  Now'  York  well  preserved  in  glycer- 
ino,  and  it  has  been  comparatively  easy  to  identi¬ 
fy  the  substance  and  to  fix  its  status.  'J'lie 
Kenlncky  wonder  is  notliing  more  or  less  than 
the  “Nostoc ”  of  the  old  alchemist..  1’>je  Nost-oc 
belongs  to  tho  conferva) ;  it  consists  of  translu¬ 
cent,  gelatuiouH  Isidies,  joined  together  by 
threadliko  tubes  or  seed  beurers.  'Jliore  arc 
alsmt  tlfty  species  of  this  singuln  r  i»huit  classifled ; 
two  or  throe  kinds  have  even  been  found  in  a 
fossil  state.  I.ike  other  eonfei'vic,  the  Nosbjc 
propagates  by  self-division,  ns  well  as  liy  seeds 
or  spores.  When  tliese  spores  work  their  W'uy 
out  of  the  gelatinous  envelope  they  may  be  waft¬ 
ed  by  the  wiiuLs  hero  and  thei-e,  and  t  hey  may  be 
canded  great  distances.  Wlierever  they  may 
fall  and  lind  congenial  soil,  riz.,  dampness  or  re¬ 
cent  rain,  they  will  thrive  and  spread  rapidly, 
and  many  cases  are  recorded  where  they  have 
covered  miles  of  ground  in  a  very  few  liours 
with  long  strings  of  “NoHb>c.’’  On  account  of 
this  rapidity  of  growth,  penjilc  almost  every¬ 
where  faithfully  believe  the  Nostoc  to  fall  from 
the  clouds,  ami  ascribe  to  it  many  mj-slerious 
virt.uoH.  'Hie  plant  is  not  eoufineil  to  any 
special  locality  or  to  any  climate ;  sown  by  the 
w'hiriwiml,  carried  by  a  current  of  air,  io  iieod  of 
moisture  only  For  existence  and  suiiport,  it 
tliiives  ovcrywliere.  Icehcrgs  nfloat  in  mid 
ocean  have  been  found  covereil  with  it.  In  New 
Zealand  >t  is  found  in  largo  masses  of  qinakiug 
jolly,  several  feet  in  circumference,  and  covering 
miles  of  damp  soil ;  and  in  onr  country  it  may 
bo  found  in  dnmi)  wootls,  on  meadows,  and  on 
marshy  or  oven  gravcll.v  bottom. 
AU  tlie  Nostoes  ore  couqioscd  of  a  semi-liquid 
colluloso  and  vegctalilo  proteino.  Tho  edible 
Nostoc  is  highly  valued  In  Hhi- 
na,  whore  it  foniis  an  essential 
iugrcdiiMit  of  the  edible  bird- 
nest  Bouj).  'J'iio  llesli  that  was 
sujqiosed  to  have  fallen  from  . 
the  clouds  in  KentuoUy  is  (he 
FRUIT  CULTURE 
Fiiom  a  very  interesting  ai'ticle  iniblisbed  in  a 
Troyes  (Franco)  horticultural  monthly  from  tho 
I>en  of  Hr.  I'kikaux,  we  extract  tho  following  : 
“  We  have  been  following  a  wrong  tack,  and  it 
will  l>o  both  wise  and  profitahlo  to  adojit  a  more 
rational  iwactico.  Jn  the  cnltnro  of  free  stocks, 
it  is  indisponsalUo  not  to  plant  tliem  in  soil  hav¬ 
ing  only  a  depth  of  16  or  Itt  inches.  Good  vogo- 
table  mold,  thrc'O  or  four  feet  in  doi)th,  is  not  too 
much  for  a  fruit  tree  which  is  to  live  and  Ixtar 
for,  lot  us  say  iifty  yeai's.  Witli  vigorous  trees 
to  choose  from-  trees  that  have  not  lioon  cimr- 
vatod  by  too  early  production,  that  have  come  of 
a  good  slock  and  that  have  been  jiropcrly  pruned, 
of  a  good  foriii,  witli  jilonty  of  room  for  the  pas¬ 
sage  of  tho  air  we  may  count  on  a  suHioient  ami 
lasting  yielil,  wliicli  is,  after  all,  the  most  desira¬ 
ble  point. 
“A  grave  error,  which  cannot  bo  too  clearly 
poiiitod  out,  csuisists  in  giving  the  worst  part  of 
the  laml  to  fruit  tree  gioxving.  the  l>cst  portion 
by  far  Ix'ing  devoted  to  llowers  and  vegetables. 
In  a  jioor  soil  trees  srsni  degenerate,  and  the 
most  careful  cultiu'c  will  not  uutlico  to  maintain 
the  iiroduelion  of  fruit  at  its  ])ro])or  level.  Wo 
must  resist  tho  toniptatioiis  to  introiluco  now 
variotioH  of  fruit  troos  into  a  plantation  except, 
indeed,  as  an  oxixtrimont.  For  a  similtu-  reason 
wo  must  avoid  tlie  wortliloss  variotios  w  liich  our 
forefathers  planted  in  tlioir  ignorance  of  what 
THE  ILION  WHEEL  HORSE  RAKE 
When  our  attention  Is  called  to  tlie  numerous 
improvonients  in  farm  machinery,  we  are  more 
than  ever  impressed  with  tho  fact  that  tho 
American  farmer  is  a  thinking  man.  Ho  i>or- 
forms  his  duties  with  his  eyes  open,  and  diKts  an 
amount  of  brain  labor  that  lifts  him  on  a  plane 
quite  almve  the  level  of  the  sanio  class  in  other 
l»nrts  of  the  world. 
Hence  iiivontors  can  offer  for  tho  farmer’s 
aiqiroval  any  new  idea  that  has  for  its  object 
the  mitigation  of  labor,  and  may  feel  confident 
that  his  auditor  will  graBji  all  tho  jHiints  in  its 
favor,  or  raise  pertinout  objections  tliat  leave  no 
room  to  doubt  his  having  long  Hinco  turned  the 
matter  over  in  his  mind  ami  Unit  he  apprcliends 
exactly  what  is  needed.  Among  such  inventions, 
probably  none  are  so  generaUy  appreciated  as 
the  hay  rake,  ami  Uint  there  can  be  many  sides 
to  the  same  subject  rwieives  ample  illusti’ation 
in  tho  number  of  rakes  of  voiious  patterns  tliat 
are  offorwl  for  sale.  No  intelligent  man  who 
desires  to  so  manago  liis  farm  that  it  shall  not 
bo  a  continual  round  of  manual  labor,  to  the 
entire  exclusion  of  all  mental  development,  hesi¬ 
tates  to  admit  that  tlie  hay  rake  is  a  very  necos- 
saiy  implement,  and  that  without  it  tho  waste  of 
hay,  otc.,  each  }'ear  would 
greatly  oioood  tho  cost  of  tho 
implemeut.  Tho  value  of  tlio 
-  time  ami  labor  savod  by  its  uso 
makes  It  a  foregono  conclusion 
that  it  is  iadisixiuBuble,  luid  it 
only  remains  a  question — of 
“  tho  many  rakes  offered — wluch 
^  to  buy.  Wo  give  this  week  an 
^  llliisti'ation  of  tlio  Hion  Wheel 
Horse  Uake,  nlknufoctured  by 
tlie  Reiuiugton  Agricultural 
Co.,  N.  y.  'rhi.  oM, i» ». 
famous  for  tlio  bigli  excollenco 
(  work  that  it  is  almost  un- 
/ necoBsary  to  say  that  the  mate- 
-  rial  and  woikmnnslup  of  this 
implement  is  as  perfect  as  can 
M  ^  ^  desired.  The  Illoii  Rake  is 
- distinguislied  fur  simplicity, 
_  ~jj  -  .y  durability,  ease  of  management 
and  effective  work.  It  is  self- 
disohai'ging  and  automatic,  can 
V  \  '  1  tlirown  iu  or  out  of  gear  at 
kl  1  ^  or  can  be  worked  by 
Ml  /  Jr  -  hand  without  any  changes. 
Tho  pieces  composing  it  are 
,  luado  in  duplicate,  and  can  bo 
L  ropliused,  wlieii  broken,  witliout 
■  trouble  or  much  delay.  This 
1  rake  is  quickly  adjusted  to  un- 
ovon  surfaces,  avoids  scratch¬ 
ing,  and  has  no  exposed  gears, 
"  ^  'Thero  are  20  steel  teeth,  oil 
tomjiered,  wliich  are  held  in 
place  laterally  by  a  metal  tooth  -  holder. 
The  pawls  are  cast  steel,  being  springs 
OTthiii  themselves.  W'ithoiit  extra  pieces,  and  as 
they  can  be  changed  from  right  to  left,  tliey 
wear  twice  as  long.  Tho  ratchets  are  housed 
A  CHEAP  WINDOW  VENTILATOR 
Pkofessob  Kbiizik  yvrites  as  follows  in  the 
London  Hanitary  Record : 
Home  one  lias  reconiincndcd  to  jilace  a  sHnp 
of  lioard  three  inches  wide  and  as  long  as  tho 
lower  window  bar,  nmior  the  lower  sash,  thus 
leaving  au  ojieiiing  hetween  Hie  top  of  the  lower 
sash  ami  tho  bottom  of  the  njiper  sash,  tlirough 
which  fresh  air  may  outer. 
“1  propose  a  mmlitication  of  this  plan,  by 
which  the  ah'  will  enter  in  two  thin  layers,  with 
an  upward  movoment  by  wliich  it  will  mingle 
HYBRID -CROSS-BREED. 
Wf.  need  both  of  these  words 
in  our  language,  ami  we  need 
them  to  express  just  what, 
until  witliin  a  few  yeai's,  they  -■ 
were  understood  to  express,  ;  — ^ 
x'iz.,  the  genital  union  of  ani-  _ 
mills  or  vegotJihles  more  or 
less  nearly  related.  To  those  ■ 
less  iicariy  related,  ilio  niuiie 
Hybrid  has  Iksou  adopted— and 
to  those  of  tho  nearest  reliitionsliip,  the  word 
Cross  or  Cross-breed. 
Hybrid  is  derived  from  the  Ijatin  hyhridn 
signifying  lawless,  unnatural,  and  was  used  in 
the  sense  of  half  man  half  beast,  or  to  “one 
born  of  a  Roman  father  ami  a  foreign  mother, 
or  of  a  freeman  and  a  slave.” 
Mongrel,  thereforo,  is  tho  true  spirit  of  tho 
word.  Tho  remotest  liotanical  relationship  be¬ 
tween  two  genera  or  spocies  that  is  capable  of  a 
fruitful  imion  is  that  which  produces  hybrid 
