noaiiy  quite  intivct.  It  is  not  sn  absolute  pre¬ 
servative,  for  at  the  end  of  this  time  the  tint 
was  slightly  altered.  It  seems  that  the  only 
way  known  at  present  of  keeping  collections 
ahaolntely  intaot  is  to  keep  them  in  darkness. 
This  is  so  well  known  to  entomologists  that 
those  of  the  United  Rtatca  would  not  risk  Uieir 
collections  in  inaldng  an  exhibit  at  the  (hjnten- 
nial.  Our  Uaniwla  neighbors  however  have  made 
a  good  show,  but  on  our  rc<?ent  \'i8it  to  Phila¬ 
delphia  we  noticed  that  tlie  colors  of  many  of 
the  butterflies  and  moths  were  disappearing, 
owing  to  the  strong  light  to  which  they  had 
been  exposed. 
M.  Boucherio  has  denied  in  a  note  to  the  d.ca- 
demw,  the  oflicoey  of  tins  process,  contending 
that  the  attempts  already  made  to  preserve  tim¬ 
ber  from  dry-rot  by  injecting  it  with  iron  salts 
have  yielded  only  partially  successful  results, 
while  Kleejiers  treated  by  sulphate  of  copper  have 
lasUnl  2.'i  years  and  more.  Iteply  is  made  hi  these 
objections  by  quoting— not  the  experiments  of 
the  laboratory  or  the  workshop,  but  those  made 
by  time  iteelf ,  It  Is  not  a  rare  cir<.‘amstance  to 
encounter  in  earth  of  a  forruginou»  natmo  the 
trunks  of  very  old  oaks,  blackened  and  jierfecUy 
preserved ;  at  Ilouen,  in  1830,  some  old  oak  pal¬ 
ing  was  discovered  as  black  as  elsiny,  and  dating 
back  to  the  Middle  Ages.  Not  very  long  ago, 
too,  a  Norman  vessel  built  of  oak  was  discovered 
in  an  almost  perfect  state  of  preservation  in  the 
neighborhood  of  an  iron  mine  in  Norway.  It  is 
more  than  probable  that  the  preservation  of  the 
oak  under  these  circiunstanct'S  is  due  to  the 
taimiu  contained  in  the  wood ;  it  follows,  there¬ 
fore,  that  by  Introducing  a  substance  rich  in 
tatuiln  Into  timber  that  does  not  naturally  pos¬ 
sess  it,  its  resistance  to  decay  is  increased. 
and  I  wondered  if  such  would  be  the  case  were 
the  display  of  millinery  or  new  costumes. 
The  bringing  forward  of  these  seedlings  will,  I 
trust,  be  of  value  to  the  ooutitry,  as  many  of  the 
old,  long-valued  sorts  are  dying  out,  and  if 
among  the  seedlings  are  found  some  combining 
hardiness,  productiveness  and  first-class  quality, 
we  may  thank  the  great  incentive  to  tlieir  dis- 
BEURRE  HARDY  PEAR 
This  is  one  of  onr 'good  autumn  varieties 
which  succeeds  over  a  tolerably  wide  range  of 
country,  the  tree  being  very  hardy, 
vigorous  and  productive.  It  is  a 
largo  variety  atid  of  the  form  shown 
in  the  acfjompanylng  outline  illus¬ 
tration.  The  skin  is  greenish,  cov¬ 
ered  willi  light  russet,  considera¬ 
bly  shaded  with  brownish-red  and 
sprinkled  vvith  brown  dots.  Stalk 
about  an  inch  long,  curved  to  one  , 
side,  as  shown,  and  insortod  in  a  / 
small,  uneven  cavity,  riosh  buttery.  / 
melting,  juicy,  brisk,  vinous,  and  / 
highly  i)ei‘fnmed,  but  sometimes  j 
slightly  astringent  next  the  akin.  / 
In  tlte  Northern  Htates  tliis  variety  / 
ripens  in  fioptember  and  October,  / 
and  is  well  worthy  of  being  placed  in  / 
choice  lists  of  autumn  varieties.  / 
LIME  FOR  WEEVIL 
A  ooRBESpnyDEXT  of  the  Conntiy  Gentleman 
writes  as  follows  : — “  Some  yeai's  ago,  heai'ing 
complaint  of  weevil  in  wheat  aliout  the  close  of 
harvest  when  I  was  ricking  my  wheat,  I  got 
fresh  slaked  lime  and  threw  it  over  the  rick  hi 
building  It,  laying  two  courses  of  sheaves,  then 
lime  sutViclout  to  whiten  the  stack.  'J’here  was 
no  wf'evil  in  my  wheat.  A  ncighlior  who 
threshed  liis  wheat  from  the  shock  came  to  me  a 
few  days  after  and  said  ho  should  lose  his 
wheat,  for  it  was  alive  with  weevil.  I  told  him 
to  throw  lime  over  it,  and  shovel  it  through  his 
wheat,  which  ho  did.  Two  days  after  there  was 
not  a  weevil  to  be  seen  in  it.” 
Onr  farmers  will  do  well  to  remember  the 
above  and  try  it.  As  a  precautionary  means  it 
should  be  trieil  in  every  stack,  and  can  as  well  bo 
trietl  in  the  cleaned  wheat.  An  intelligent 
gentleman  has  informed  ns  that  twenty-five 
years  ago,  when  the  brewers  in  New  York  had 
large  quantitiim  of  barley  on  hand,  they  found 
that  the  grain  put  up  in  largo  bins  was  almost 
safe  from  the  weevil ;  the  little  creatures  worked 
a  little  in  the  top  of  the  bins,  but  did  not  extend 
down  much  ;  hesidos  a  dust  accumulated  whore 
they  worked  and  destroyed  them  in  a  few  days. 
SOME  WONDERFUL  STORIES  BY  DR 
DOREMUS. 
The  celebrated  chemist,  Ur.  Doremus,  showed 
in  the  following  manner,  in  a  recent  lecture,  how 
extremes  meet :  Eggs  can  be  cooked  by  the  ex¬ 
treme  of  boat.  Butter  can  he  made  like  ivory, 
so  that  it  can  bo  turned.  We  may  by  the  agency 
of  this  solidify  many  of  the  otLer  liquid  sub¬ 
stances,  and,  indeed,  many  of  the  gaseous,  but  a 
more  intense  degree  of  cold  is  used,  and  wo  em¬ 
ploy  laughing  gas.  This  laughing  gas,  wliich  is 
heavy,  is  the  carbonic  acid  wc  have  shown ;  when 
squeezed  forcibly  by  the  pump  it  becomes  as 
lieautiful  and  pellucid  a  liquid  as  carbonic  acid, 
and  if  allowed  to  remain  produces  a  most  intense 
degree  of  cold.  We  can,  however,  show  the 
liquid.  Let  me  ask  you  to  observe,  prior  to 
making  that  experiment,  a  vor>'  curiously  inter¬ 
esting  one  in  regard  to  the  siihoroidal  state  of 
matter.  We  have  here  a  glass  lamp,  and  wc  place 
over  this  laui])  a  platiua  dish.  In  the  platina 
dish  we  place  some  of  the  mixture  of  solid  car¬ 
bonic  acid,  and  in  tlio  middle  of  it  introduce  the 
mercury,  and  wo  shall  find  that  the  mercury 
would  freeze,  showing  that  wo  have  a  cold  at 
least  forty  degrees  below  zero.  Wo  used  to  make 
an  experiment  such  as  melting  lead  intensely  hot 
and  then  putting  the  hand  In  and  ladling  it  from 
one  vessel  to  another ;  for  if,  in  lieu  of  this,  you 
take  a  ijiiautity  of  mclUsl  iron  you  can  plunge 
your  baud  into  it  with  impunity,  an<l  workmen 
iiave  even  been  able  to  walk  on  a  bed  of  melted 
iron.  Take  a  poker  and  put  it  iu  a  hot  coal  fire, 
get  it  very  hot,  and  you  may  lift  it  or  wipe  it  on 
tile  tongue  wiUi  impunity.  We  may  have  it  so 
hot  that  the  vajwr  actually  protects  us. 
Here  we  shall  have  a  more  extraordinary  illus¬ 
tration  of  it,  for  we  cannot  only  inske  ice  but 
freeze  meisjury.  Wc  will  fill  this  little  thimble 
I  with  merem-y,  and  as  soon  as  it  is  intensely  hot 
wo  will  introduce  the  mixture,  and  will  show  this 
curions  illustration  and  attempt  to  freeze  the 
mercury.  Those  who  make  the  experiment  of 
the  1  mated  lead  please  remember  to  have  tlie 
lead  iiiUmsely  hot  and  you  will  find  that  it  gives 
out  cold. 
PERSIMMONS  IN  VIRGINIA 
In  answer  to  your  inquiry  about 
Persimmons,  I  will  state  that  nearly 
all  the  wild  fruit  riiiens  after  frosts, 
or  aliout  Clu-istmas.  Small  quanti¬ 
ties  of  Persimmons  are  found  in  our 
maikets,  as  they  are  used  for  making 
pies,  puddings  and  a  kind  of  beer, 
though,  for  my  part,  I  greatly  prefer 
the  natural  fruit.  On  my  father’s 
farm  there  Is  a  tree  called  the 
“  Honey  Persimmon.”  and  the  tree  bears  a  crop 
evoi7  year.  Tliis  vaiiety  begins  to  ripen  the  last 
of  August  and  lasts  until  about  the  Ifith  of  Octo¬ 
ber.  1  do  not  know  of  any  tree  the  fruit  of 
which  rii>ons  so  early  as  this.  The  fruit  is  quite 
large,  t  wenty-five  to  thirty-live  weighing  aisnind. 
Color,  light  yellow,  and  each  fruit  contains  from 
five  to  eight  seeds.  There  are  several  varieties 
in  this  neighborhood,  some  light,  others  dark 
colored  ;  some  vei'j'  sweet  and  others  quite  tart. 
Norfolk,  Va.  John  G.  D.  Baun. 
OUTLINE  OF  THE  BEUKRE  HABUY  PEAR. 
play  —  tlie  Americau  Centennial  ExjxiHition. 
Annie  L.  Jack. 
It  is  a  'matter  for  congratulation  that  our 
Canada  friends  liave  taken  such  an  interest  iu 
the  Centennial  Exhibition,  wlien,  to  use  a  com¬ 
mon  expression,  "  ’tis  none  of  their  funeral.” 
Still  they  have  come  forward  nobly,  and  in  many 
departments,  notably  in  the  way  of  farm  pro¬ 
ducts,  have  beaten  us  all  out  of  sight.  The 
Entomological  Society  of  Canada  is  the  only  one 
making  any  display,  our  own  “  Bug-hunters”  not 
even  rnnking  ail  attempt  to  sliow  what  they  have 
been  doing  in  tliis  branch  of  natural  science.  In 
the  Butter  and  Cheese  dejiartments  Canada  is 
also  ahead.  We  can,  therefore,  retiu-ii  Mrs. 
Jack's  compliment  and  say,  “  Blessed  are  the 
Canadians,  for  out  of  their  abundance  they 
CLOVER  AS  A  FERTILIZER 
'WHIFFS  FROM  CANADA— A  POMOLOOICAL 
FURORE. 
The  Horticultural  Bociety  of  the  City  of  Mon¬ 
treal  has  caught  the  Centcmiial  fever,  and  with 
a  laudable  and  unwonted  energy,  its  more  active 
momhers  have  collected,  within  a  small  circuit  of 
countrj%  nearly  three  hundred  varieties  of  apples, 
many  of  which  are  new  and  valuable  seedlings. 
The  coutribiitiou  of  one  fruit  grower  was  eighty 
seedlings,  oliielly  from  Fameuao  seed,  and  of 
every  variety  of  excellence.  Some  of  them 
showed  all  the  cbaractoristics  of  the  parent  fruit ; 
others  were  to  bo  classed  us  “  Itunettes”  and 
some  as  “  Itussets,”  while  yet  ethers  were  Fa- 
meuse  in  outwaid  apixjarance,  but  hard  and 
quite  acid,  totally  unlilco  the  rich,  white,  melt¬ 
ing,  tender,  fine  gi’aiu  of  tlie  Pameuse,  which  is 
often  called  Pommo  de  Neige,"  on  account  of 
its  white  fioKh,  which  contrasts  strongly  with  the 
deep  rod  of  the  skin.  Sixty  seedlings  from  this 
orchard  were  wont  to  Pliiladelphia,  and  with  oth¬ 
ers  of  that  ilk  and  our  named  varieties  will  make, 
let  us  hope,  a  respectable  show  for  the  cold,  ice¬ 
bound  Province  of  Quebec. 
A  part  of  the  fruit  selected  was  on  exhibition 
in  Montreal,  and  Uie  aroma  of  apples  pervaded 
the  room  when  tlie  long  tables  were  aglow  with 
ruby  and  russet  Iwauties. 
The  iiears  wore  chiefly  from  city  gardens,  and 
the  Flemish  Beauty,  witli  its  golden  russet  cheek 
and  fair,  smooth  surface,  was  a  real  queen  among 
them.  Tliere  wore  also  about  sixteen  varieties 
of  out-door  gi-apes,  of  fair  proportion,  although 
not  BO  large  as  usual,  the  dry  weather  having 
affected  them  as  well  as  the  apples.  The  ^Hart- 
ford  apiicared  to  me  of  unusual  excellence — rich, 
daik,  close  clusters,  and  the  reddish-brown 
Delawaio  conld  easily  rival  the  boxes  of  this 
fruit  imported  that  we  see  in  the  markets.  There 
was  the  Benasqua,  small  and  sliiny ;  the  Adiron- 
dac  and  the  Crovelliug,  of  ordinary  merit ;  the 
good  old  stand  by,  “  Concord, ”  of  large  berry, 
ripe  and  sweet,  but  not  so  Ann  and  large  iu  bunch, 
as  usnal,  and  a  plate  of  Isabella,  grown  by  an 
Indian  of  Cauquawaga,  that  excited  some  inter¬ 
est. 
It  pleased  mo  to  see  a  show  so  cosmopolitan  in 
its  collection  for  the  product  of  tLe  French  Can¬ 
adians.  A  poor  man's  tree  stood  side  by  side  and 
often  compared  well  with  the  fruit  from  the  gar¬ 
den  of  a  millionaire,  for  hero  all  men’s  apples 
were  wjual ;  and  1.  seeing  this,  said  to  myself : 
“  Blessed  he  the  Centennial  Exiiosition  that  has 
caused  this  to  come  to  pass!” 
It  stnick  mo,  however,  as  a  matter  for  regret, 
that  so  few  ladies  came  in  to  see  the  exhibit 
while  I  was  there,  although  it  was  printed  in 
large  letters  in  the  doorway,  “  Admission  Free 
THE  PRESERVATION  OF  TIMBER 
Any  information  relating  to  the  preservation 
of  timber  and  the  most  durable  kind  is,  or  should 
be,  interesting  to  those  who  are  engaged  in  the 
various  industries  wherein  wood  is  used.  The 
Journal  of  the  Society  of  Arts  in  speaking  of  the 
preservation  of  timber  says : 
“  Buried  in  tlie  earth  or  exiKisod  to  the  air,  tim¬ 
ber  rapidly  deteriorates,  aud  undergoes  the  spe¬ 
cies  of  decomposition  known  as  dry-rot.  This 
decomposition  may  bo  retardeii  by  the  applica¬ 
tion  of  a  coat  of  paint  to  the  timber  exposed  Ui 
the  air,  or  by  carbonising  the  surface  of  that 
which  is  intended  to  be  simk  in  tno  groimd. 
Dining  the  last  2U  years,  several  methods  have 
been  tried  for  making  timber  more  durable,  the 
principle  of  which  consists  in  expelling  the  sap 
remaining  in  the  ligneous  fibres,  iu  order  to  re¬ 
place  it  by  chemical  soluUonu,  such  as  sulphate 
of  copper  and  creosote;  but  these  processes, 
comparatively  costly,  and  only  partially  success¬ 
ful,  do  not  entirely  accomplish  their  object. 
Starting  from  the  fact  that  oak,  chestnut,  and 
certain  Americau  trees  resist  the  action  of  air 
and  damp  better  than  others,  and  tliat  they  owe 
this  projifirty  to  the  taumu  which  they  contain,  a 
obemist  proposes  to  tan  the  timber  by  substitu¬ 
ting  for  the  sulphate  of  copper  aud  creosote  a 
eompotmd  of  tannic  acid  and  hen.  The  object 
of  injecting  various  substances  into  wood  is  to 
poison  Uiem,  so  that  germs  and  microscopic 
growths  may  no  longer  Uve  and  propagate  either 
on  the  surface  or  in  the  interior.  Now  tannin  is 
one  of  the  most  active  and  certain  destroyers  of 
germs  both  vegetable  and  animal,  which  fact 
accounts  for  its  preservative  agency.  Besides,  It 
is  to  tannin  that  is  due  the  almost  indefinite  pre¬ 
servation  of  leather.  One  peculiarity  to  be  no¬ 
ticed  in  this  process  is  tliat  timber  treated  with 
this  compound  of  tannin  and  iron,  that  is  to  say 
a  composition  similar  to  ordinary  writing  ink,  is 
turned  black. 
The  process  of  injecting  timber  with  tannate 
of  protoxide  of  iron  is  due  to  M.  Hatzf  eld ;  the 
Eastern  Railway  Company  of  Prance  has  experi¬ 
mented  with  it  on  some  sleepers,  and  the  Tele¬ 
graph  Department  on  some  posts. 
CHLORIDE  OF  CALCIUM  FOR  SPRINKLING 
STREETS. 
Aocoiuiing  to  a  statement  recently  made  be¬ 
fore  the  Academy  of  Bcieuces  of  Paris  by  M. 
Houseau,  great  advantage  arises  from  the  use  of 
chloride  of  calcium  instead  of  water  in  laying 
the  dust  of  public  thoroughfares.  The  salt  is, 
as  well  known,  highly  deliquescent,  and  is  ap-' 
plied  in  solution,  one  application  sufficing  for  a 
period  of  from  five  to  seven  days.  Thus  a  road¬ 
way  of  1  kilometre  iuleugtli  by  5  metres  in  width, 
wliicli  would  require  in  hot  di-y  weather  four 
waterings  per  diom  with  water,  at  a  cost  of  sixty 
francs  per  week,  supposiug  the  water  to  be  sup¬ 
plied  free,  would  require  only  one  apiilication  of 
the  chloride,  at  a  cost  of  4fi  francs  only,  that  is 
to  say  a  difference  of  *20  francs  iu  favor  of  the 
chloride. 
We  oommeiid  the  above  to  the  Street  Commis¬ 
sioners  of  N.  Y.  city.  Besides  laying  the  dust  it 
might  prove  serviceable  as  a  disinfectant  in  some 
of  our  putrid  streets  where  diseases  generate, 
thiive  and  run  riot  during  the  sultry  months. 
COLORED  GLASS  FOR  ENTOMOLOGICAL 
CASES. 
At  a  meeting  of  the  Entomological  Society  of 
Belgium,  some  time  ago,  M.  Capronnier  was 
charged  to  make  experiments  as  to  the  influence 
of  different  colors  of  glass  on  insect  collections ; 
the  object  being  to  preserve  culleetions  from  the 
decoloration  which  green  aud  carmine  parts 
especially  undergo  in  daylight.  He  operated 
with  four  tints  of  glass — yellow,  violet,  green 
and  blue — also  with  uncolored  glass.  It  was 
found  that  yellow  is  the  best  preservative ;  after 
£M)  days  it  was  the  only  color  which  left  carmine 
