232 
THE RORAL NEW-YORKER. 
APRIL U 
A WOMAN’S ACRE, 
BT MBS. ANNIE L. JACK. 
No. 0. 
ANOTHER SPRING. 
*' Oh, Painter of the fruits and flowers, 
We thank Thee for Thy wise design, 
Whereby these human hands of ours, 
In Nature's garden, work with Thine. 
And thanks, that from our daily need 
The Joy of simple faith is born, 
That he who lights the summer weed, 
May crust Thee for the autumn corn." 
Often, during the winter that followed my 
gardening efforts, these words of the Quaker 
poet came to mind with a sweet, consoling influ¬ 
ence. My succobh had not been wonderful, but 
I felt encouraged to hope that the future bad 
still better things in store for me. My pa.Bt 
measure of success, however, hied not been ac¬ 
complished without toil and some weariness, 
while the over-bold sun had turned my checks 
to such a degree as to shook my city friends, 
who, with the same breath, remarked, “ .Such 
delicious strawberries and, “ My ! how you arc 
sun-burnt!” forgetting that one was a conse¬ 
quence of the other, and that but for the 
blessed sunshine, even strawberries would luck 
their flavor. But I had reveled In that year’s 
sunbeams, and only waited for the April days to 
commence once more my pleasant task. 
Oh! the charm of 1 he first seed sowing, how 
sweet and wholesome the smell of the freshly- 
harrowed earth; even the stones seem like famil¬ 
iar friends as we toss them into the cart, and 
find that tho children liavo increased in health 
and vigor by tho past year's labor, while a diet, 
consisting largely of fruit and vegetables, had 
kept the bloom on their cheeks through the 
dreary winter and added interest to their spring 
gardening. Then Felioite came back with her 
bright smile and sharp hoe, looking so cheerful 
and fresh that I often wished for the time and 
skill of an artist to transfer to canvas the true 
likeness of my French-Canadian peasant girl, 
with her picturesque costume and characteristic 
comeliness. 
Happy Felicite! Her winter had been one 
round of enjoyment; for while she spun and 
wove, or knit in her cottage home, did not Jean 
Baptiste step in at night-fall to escort her to 
the dance, or to some neighbor’s house, where 
singing and gay converse gave wiugs to the 
golden hours ? And when the old array of 
weeds made their appearance, and she came 
back with the sunshine and the apple blossoms 
to renew the fight with our persistent foes, 
there was an added zest to her endeavors, and we 
learned a lesson in protection and adornment 
when wo noticed that although her hands were 
gloveless, she land deftly improvised a fingerless 
mitten and covering for the arms from a pair of 
old stockings, and lmd relieved the darkness of 
her hair with a bow of scarlet ribbon. Then, 
when her work was done, she seemed in no 
burry to leave until Jean Baptise, who worked 
for a neighbor, had finished his chores, and in 1 
the calm evening hour, as she walked homeward 
by the winding river, they “ met by chance, the 1 
usual way." ( 
The spring was one of remarkable loveliness. 1 
from the fact that fruit trees of every kind or 1 
variety blossomed simultaneously, and the pyra- < 
mids of fragrant flowers, in every shade or pink 1 
and white, were marvels of beauty. My apple 15 
trees gave promise of a rich fruitage; nor was 1 1 
disappointed; for this crop, when harvested. > 
was sufficient to pay my rent, and amply repaid 1 
me for the cultivation of the previous year, o 
Mauy families from the city having selected our t: 
pleasant little village for a country residence, 
found out that I could supply them with fruits 
and vegetables, the consequence being, then and 
since, that these products are sought for, at the 
door, at remunerative prices. 8f 
Moreover, by keeping pure seed, and only one tl 
variety of each kind of vegetables, I found my- h 
self engaged in a new traffic, for I soon learnt G 
that all over-plus could be disposed of during it 
the following winter tu seedsmen of the city, lo 
who, having paid us a visit and observed my ewe £l 
in selection, offered to take all seed of squash, so 
beans, onions, corn, or any others that were se 
well-ripened and clean. My little venture in this be 
direction is still profitable, und in the matter of pr 
squashes especially we have a full supply for the »p 
table and a liberal balance for our two cows, ov 
while selling every winter from twenty to thirty of 
pounds of need at 75 cents per pound. It is my ly. 
custom every spring to purchase new seed from rol 
Gregort, of squash renown, and I feel cenfi- gr< 
dent it is of great advantage to change the seed pit 
often, eveu if one does not attempt to grow poi 
seeds for market. (jn < 
W ide rows and liberal manuring are a neces- to 
sity to the quick growth of squashes, and no gre 
melon or cucumber is allowed to blossom in the in i 
same neighborhood. The seeds are easily picked rat 
I out and dried, when a rub through a coarse wire 
sieve prepares them for market. We prefer to 
dry in small quantities, and find that they are 
such a dainty dish to mice that they (tbs mice) 
will eat throngh the tough shell of the toughest 
Hubbard or Marble-head and clean out the seeds 
—a fact which requires some little attention 
during the winter, when these pests abound. 
With a view to excellence, T have studied the 
catalogues of thediffercntBeedarnen, and find, as 
a rule, the choicest vegetables are grown from 
the most expensive seed, and by purchasing these 
from reliable dealers, ] am benefited, whether 
Bold as vegetables or seed. 
The “ sets" of top onions, although taking 
two years to mature, are always in demand, and 
a ridge of ground planted in these onions and 
careful ly,secured, will produce, with me, about 
three barrels, selling during winter to gardeners 
or seedsmen at $H a barrel. 
I would hero mention that, whether buying or 
selling, uniform kindness and just dealing, on 
the part of tho last- mentioned gentlemen, have 
been my experience through all iny gardening 
experiments, having always found them ever 
willing to impart valuable information, affable 
and liberal. 1 do not mention these little itcuiH 
as worthy of any special potice, except to show 
to others of my sex that by labor and fore¬ 
thought it is possible for any woman, whose 
husband is a landholder, to earn, in many ways, 
a little spare money, and of these none is more 
pleasant or healthful than that so freely offered 
by Mother Earth. 
-- 
CALIFORNIA TRUFFLES. 
A gentleman in this city, says the Stockton 
Independent, recently received a letter from a 
Iriend residing at Albany Flat, Calaveras county, 
relating the circumstance of the discovery of 
that delicious, edible, subteranean fungus known 
as the truffle. He sent a small package of them 
ky express, but unfortunately it was in the ex- 
>re»s box carried off by the road agent who 
stopped the Milton stage last week. The dis- 
just of the robber looking for treasure may he 
raagined when lie opened the package of black 
ungi, but if it should have turned his attention 
0 digging for them lio would doubtless make 
nore money in Ibis honest way than he has ever 
lono at bis unhallowed caliiug of stage robbery, 
or tho truffle is very valuable. So highly is it 
nized for its delicate flavoring qualities that it 
i worth in California at least £!> a pound. All 
f the article in use in this country is imported 
torn France, where it is found in abundance. 
The common truffle is of an irregular, globu- 
ir form, having a hard black or brown cracked 
lad, with an interior texture netted or veined or 
lottled like the nutmeg. It is found 10 or 12 
iches below the surface of the ground in calca- 
ious soil, covered with moist, light vegetable 
iold, in young woods or under the shade of 
rge oak trees. It has neither root, stem nor 
her appendage, and ranges in size from that of 
a bean to that of an English walnut. The flesh i 
is solid, somewhat juicy, and when ripe, of a < 
sharp fragrant odor. \Y hen the air is moist, and I 
just before a tliunder-shower they are said to i 
emit a peculiar odor, which facilitates the search, 1 
for them, aud such is the esteem in which they are t 
held that hogs are trained to hunt for them and i 
dig them out of the ground. Truffles are rarely c 
found io the United States, and the discovery of - 
an edible species in California will be hailed as 
one of the greatest importance. We are not in¬ 
formed as to the kind of soil the truffles of Cal¬ 
averas wore dug from, but the writer of the r 
letter mentioned the fact that the Indians were 
in the habit of digging them for food. He 
promises to send another consignment, which, 
on its arrival, will be submitted to the examina- ti 
tion of experts to test the identity of the truffle. gi 
should be covered to the depth of one-half-inch. 
When the onions can be seen in the rows, go 
through with the hoe and loosen the ground, in 
order to destroy the young weeds, which will 
make their appearance about the same time 
onions do. Then, again, when the onions are 
about, four inches high, go through and thin out. 
They should be left to stand about one to one 
and a half inches apart. No weeds or grass 
should he permitted under any circumstances to 
remain among the onions. Good judgment is 
needed to bo used concerning the manner they 
should be tended, being careful to disturb the 
onion sets as little as possible when hoeing. 
■ — ■- 
BUDDED RHODODENDRONS. 
Ed. Rural :—Noticing in your issue, dated 
Feb. 2-1, certain inquiries relating to the compar¬ 
ative advantages of budded Rhododendrons at 
two dollars, and plants without buds at one dol¬ 
lar, with your pertinent remarks thereon, we beg 
leave to submit the following result of personal 
experience. 
We agree thoroughly with tho Rural's posi¬ 
tion, that the purchase and removal of Rhodo¬ 
dendrons without buds insures absolute econo¬ 
my, and for the simple reason that the vital 
force of the first year is concentrated thereby 
into the growth of wood and healthy buds for 
the follow ing season. Under the strain of plant¬ 
ing and bloomiug the same year, this cannot be 
attained iu the same degree. 
Human nature, however, in its not unreason¬ 
able desire for immediate enjoyment of a coveted 
pleasure, will probably continue to demand Rho¬ 
dodendron flowers the same season the plants 
are purchased, and it therefore becomes neces¬ 
sary to meet the demand in a manner that shall 
cause the least dissatisfaction. The actual fact 
is that the flower does usually bloom well, delay¬ 
ing. only occasionally,J.he flower-buds intended 
for the following year. This affords, consequent¬ 
ly, a fair opportunity to secure a species of com 
promise, by selecting plants for a group, half 
with buds and half without, to the partial satis¬ 
faction of a human and pardonable craving, and 
at the same time thus insuring a sure develop¬ 
ment of enough buds to afford like pleasure the 
following season. 
Abstractly, the position of the Rural is unas¬ 
sailable, and it is only consciousness of the 
strength of natural desire and the uncertainty of 
life, that induces us to advocate the above com¬ 
promise. Samuel Parsons. 
very advantageously for making oil; in fact, we 
i find that it w r as extensively cultivated for this 
purpose in France and Spain nearly hal f a cen¬ 
tury ago, at which time, tho cyclopedias inform 
us, pea or ground nuts were “cultivated iu the 
West Indies for their nuts, which are oblong and 
grow beneath the ground. These are used by 
the negroes as food.” From this it may be seen 
that the position which the peanut crop holds 
among our agricultural products is the result of 
a steady growth, based upon its intrinsic value 
in the markets of the world. 
WHERE FOUNO. 
Authors disagree as to the native country of 
the peanut, some claiming it for South America 
and others for Africa; for it seems to have been 
know-n in both about the Bame time. Its botan¬ 
ical name is Arochix hypogcea, the name of the 
genus is derived from uracos or aracidna, a 
name applied by Pliny to some kind of a plant 
which he described as having neither stem nor 
leaves, hut which was all roots, and the fact of the 
peanut maturing its seed under ground, doubt¬ 
less suggested the name of Aruchis to Wildenow, 
who established this genus. The specific name. 
hypogazn, is from two Greek words, meaning 
under or below ground, alluding to the position 
of the seed on the plant. 
CLIMATE AND SOIL. 
The peanut, pinder, ground nut, or by what¬ 
ever local name it may be known, is an annual 
tropical plant, belonging to the pulse or pea fam¬ 
ily, and consequently is not adapted to cold cli¬ 
mates, but ly starting the seed in hot beds and 
transplanting when the weather becomes warm 
in spring, a small crop may he raised in almost 
any of our Northern States. But the nuts pro¬ 
duced in cool climates are seldom of good qual¬ 
ity ; hence we would not recommend any one to 
undertake the cultivation of peanuts, except as a 
curiosity, anywhere north of Virginia. They de¬ 
light in a warm, light, and moderately rich soil; 
clay, or any kind of land, the surface of which 
becomes hard, and cracks after hard rains, is not 
a suitable one for peanuts, as it must be borne 
in mind that the long, slender fruit stems, as 
soon as the flowers drop, bend over and pene¬ 
trate the earth, and in this position perfect their 
seeds. The plants also have long tap roots, 
which go very deep in congenial soils, or those 
broken up to a proper depth. 
TIME OF PLANTING. 
LILIUM AURATUM. 
YVe read of Lilium auraturn sometimes grow¬ 
ing ten or twelve feet high in England and bear¬ 
ing an incredible number of flowers. Is it that 
the moister climate of England or the soil or 
culture iB better suited to this grand Lily than 
ours? If the climate, we are helpless—but if 
the soil or culture, why is it that Our Golden- 
banded Lilies never attain to half that size ? It 
may bo that we do not plant the bulbs deep 
enough. English gardeners plant, them at least 
six inches deep—many ten-and we have lately 
read an account of their having been planted 
twenty-two inches deep ! Half-shady situations 
are preferred. This being the case iu England, 
much more should we give shade in our hotter, 
dryer summer climate. 
The time for planting in spring will vary some¬ 
what according to latitude, but March and April 
are the months iu which most of the planting is 
done. For field culture it is best to drop two to 
four pods in each hill, tho rows about three and 
a half feet apart, and the hills about two feet. 
Cover the seed two inches deep, aud when tho 
plants oomo up, thin out. leaving only two in a 
hill. If there are any vacancies, transplant and 
fill them up. In some localities it iB customary 
to plant on ridges, but, if the ground is worked 
deep, aud is of alight mellow nature, level cul¬ 
ture is best, as the plants will not be as liable to 
injury from droughts as when growing on 
ridges. 
AFTER-CULTURE. 
#dii Crop. 
THE CULTURE OF PEANUTS. 
ONION CULTURE. 
A correspondent of the Cincinnati Gazette 
says: I have raised nicer onions from the seed 
than I have ever seen raised from the sets. I 
have raised them from the seed of the new 
Giant variety so largo that they were over four 
inches in diameter. I regal'd the Danver’s yel¬ 
low as the best that I ever tried. The best 
ground is where it has been tilled for a few sea¬ 
sons, and is free from all kinds of grass and weed 
seeds. It should be rich, mellow and inclined to 
become hard if dry weather should set iu. Iu 
preparing your ground, plow as early in the 
spring as the soil will do to work in. Scatter 
over tho ground well rotted manure to the depth 
of an inch. Then harrow your ground thorough¬ 
ly. If there are any clods remaining, apply the 
roller. But don’t use the roller whenever the 
ground is anyways wet. Use the hand rake 
pretty freely. Always select ground as level as 
possible. As to the amount of the crop, I raised 
one season at the rate of four hundred bushels 
to the acre. But, like other crops, it depends a 
great deal on the character of the season. Plant 
in drills 14 inches apart, putting in seed at the 
rate of four pounds to the acre. The seed I 
Insignificant as the peanut crop of the coun¬ 
try may have been twenty or thirty years ago, 
says the Weekly Sun, it is of late becoming one 
of considerable importance, especially in the 
Middle and Southern States. Doubtless, many 
of our readers consider this member of t he pulse 
or pea family of plants of no great importance, 
and they may well think so, when so good a 
botanical authority as Dr. Asa Gray closes an 
extremely brief description of the peanut by 
saying, “ largely eaten by children, eit her raw or 
roasted,” assuming, as we conclude from his re¬ 
marks, that habits contracted in youth we not 
likely to he carried forward into middle or old 
age. But, notwithstanding the fact that our 
must eminent botanical authority thus cursorily 
dismisses the peanut, and a majority of the au¬ 
thors of books on gardening iguore it entirely, 
its cultivation is extending very rapidly, as our 
agricultural statistics show that previous to 1860 
the whole crop of the country aggregated scarcely 
100,000 bushels, while in 1875 it amounted to 
over 2,000,000, and the crop of 1870 exceeds that 
of the previous year. Aft this rate of increase 
we may expect to see the capacity of the chil¬ 
dren's stomachs sorely tried if they consume the I 
entire crop “either raw or roasted.” 
It is certainly true that our juvenile popula¬ 
tion, with some assistance from older people, do 
consume larger quantities of this pea; but after 
they are supplied, the residue can be employed 
* The only culture the plants require is to keep 
* the ground mellow and prevent the plantc be- 
* corning overrun with weeds. A one-horse har- 
t row or light cultivator will do most of this work; 
a little hoeing around the hills occasionally until 
‘ the plants come into bloom, is about all the at¬ 
tention necessary, unless the soil is so poor that 
dressings of ashes or plaster are needed to insure 
a vigorous growth. Lund plaster id an excellent 
fertilizer for peanuts as well as for all other plants 
belonging to the pulse family. A table-spuouful 
dropped on each hill, two or three times during 
the season, will often give very satisfactory re¬ 
sults. When the plauts begin to bloom freely 
and spread over the ground, it is time to “lay 
them by," a technical term for omitting further 
cultivation; but before doing this there should 
he a slight hilling up of the plants. This may 
he done very rapidly with a double mold-board 
plow, following with the hoe to smooth off the 
surface about tho hill. The plants continue to 
grow tho entire season, therefore the earlier 
they get started in spring the better tho chances 
for a largo yield, which varies from twenty-five 
to seventy-live bushels per acre. 
GATHERING THE CROP. 
The gathering of the crop may be delayed un¬ 
til there is likelihood of frosts, but not until one 
has actually come and killed the vines. The 
vines and nuts are either dug out with forks or 
plowed out with a plow arranged for the pur¬ 
pose. A better implement than either is the 
common tree digger used Lv nurserymen. This 
may be sc-t to run deep or shallow, cutting off the 
top roots of the vines, allowing them and the 
nuts attached to be lifted with ease. The vines 
are then spread out to dry for a day or two, then 
put up in small stacks, tho bottom of which 
should reBt on something to keep the bottom 
layer out of the dirtand it is wjeli to put on 
caps of straw, for if the puds get blackened or 
moldy it will greatly lessen their value in market. 
The vines should remain ten dayB to two weeks 
