season in which they bloom, and well merit a 
place in every garden. They are catalogued 
by all nurserymen at from 25 to 50 cents each. 
BLANCHING CELERY IN THE CELLAR. 
We are now (Dec. 23) using celery which has 
been blanched in a large packing-box in the 
the flowers are mostly four at each node, two 
on either side; while in Viridissima there are 
usually but two at each node. As, however, 
Viridissima sends out so many secondary 
branches, the flowers seem to be more in clus¬ 
ters at a little distance. We observed, also 
that they were more drooping. Much of this 
Brahma have done better, os also crosses of 
the Houdan and Brahma, they being the chicks 
that attained two pounds each when nine 
weeks old. For market purposes the best re¬ 
sults are obtained when Plymouth Rock, Wy¬ 
andotte. or Houdan cocks are mated with large 
hens of the Asiatic bl eeds. 
The great obstacle to obtaining the highest 
prices is, that chicks of certain weights must 
reach the market tit a particular period. II 
too soon, they will sell for but very little, and 
if too late, the same difficulty occurs. Just 
what that time may be cannot be stated, as 
something depends upon the severity ol the 
Winter. For instance, about the first of Feb¬ 
ruary, there is a demand for small chicks of 
less than three-quarters of a pound each. 
Should they reach the market too soon, they 
will get there ahead of the demand, and as 
each succeeding week a heavier chick is pre¬ 
ferred. if the three-quarter pound chicks arrive 
in market when the demand is for those 
weighing a pound each, the heavier ones may 
sell for 75 cents each, and the lighter ones at 
only 25 cents; but should the pound chicks 
arrive wheu the demand is for smaller weights, 
the spectacle will be presented of a half-pound, 
chick selling for double as much as those that 
are heavier. The greatest demand is usually 
when asparagus is in the market, but those 
STORING THIN ICE. 
The mildness of the weather during the first 
of the winter mouths has doubtless awakened 
apprehensions of a deficiency of ice next Sum¬ 
mer in the minds of many to whom ice has be¬ 
come a farm necessity. Perhaps it may not 
be known to some that ice four inches thick 
can be economically stored and kept all Sum¬ 
mer. My house, 10x10x10 feet, and almost 
entirely above ground, has kept ice through 
the last two Summers, at a cost of *10 each 
season for filling, not counting the labor of 
my own team and driver. The ice was four 
inches thick and was hauled two miles, and 
the house was filled in a day and a half. 
The plan is not original with myself, but 
common to the farmers of Ocean County, New 
Jersey, where- the mild Winters sometimes fail 
to make even four inches of ice. 
In filling with thin ice. we take it in irregu¬ 
lar cakes from the water, as large as may be 
conveniently handled, and throw it into our 
wagons. Having spread nearly two feet of 
sawdust in the bottom of the ice-house, we 
throw the ice into the house, and break it down 
as fast as possible by striking with the flat side 
of an axe all the projecting points of ice, so as 
to leave uo very large cavities, though there 
are many small ones everywhere. We fill 
from wall to wall, and in this careless way, 
disregarding all attempts to place it in layers, 
we fill as near the rafters as we can put it in. 
We now leave the doors open for about two 
weeks for the ice to settle a foot or two; then 
we apply three feet of sawdust—much more 
than where it is packed iu courses, for as it 
melts away from the w r alls we run the sawdust 
down near the walls, to preserve the ice from 
wasting. This we do twice a week; if the 
weather is very mild, for several -weeks; and 
then about once a week during all the Summer 
we tramp it down around the walls of the 
house. This method doubtless requires much 
more ice, but I judge less labor. It is only 
commended to those who are unable to get 
thick ice because of the usual mildness of the 
climate, or the exceptional mildness of a Win¬ 
ter like this. O. E. L. 
Ocean Co., N. J. 
ural (Topics 
(•Experiment (fmuuub' of flic |f«va( 
Worker. 
TO DESTROY THE PEA WEEVIL. 
We have been discouraged from trying to 
raise new varieties of peas by cross-breeding, 
for the reason that nearly every pea becomes 
so badly weevil-eaten as to be nearly worthless. 
Last Summer, we treated all ol’ our pons saved 
for seed to bisulphide of carbon. A few drops 
were put upon cotton and the cotton placed 
in covered tomato cans which contained the 
seed peas. Up to this time (Jan. 1), after a 
careful examination we do uottind any weevil 
holes. 
A few weeks ago, we received 54 bushels of 
the Alaska Pea from Cape Vincent, New York. 
These were measured out ink) 20,000 envelopes 
for our seed distribution, and but one weevil 
was seen. Were they treated in the same way, 
or were they grown in Canada where uo 
weevils are Seen ( Bisulphide of carbon is not 
costly, aud an ounce bottle, we should think, 
would suffice for a dozen bushels of peas. 
KOItSVTIUA OR GOLDEN BELL. 
The Golden Bell, considering that it is of 
comparatively recent introductiou, is very 
well known. This is because it is a beautiful 
shruli—beautiful iu flower, beautiful in foliage 
aud one eusily raised from euttings. It was 
sent to England from China by Ml*. Forsyth in 
1845, and a few years later was catalogued by 
the nurserymen ol! this country. Its switch- 
like branches remind one of willow shrubs, and 
its flowers of the Dog-tooth Violet. It begins 
to bloom here from the middle to the 21st of 
April before the leaf-buds unfold, wreathing 
the stems as if with yellow stars. The (lowers 
last until about the middle of May, when the 
bright-green, sturdy foliage is fully developed. 
Iu late Full the leaves change to a dark purple, 
and they do not fall until early Winter. We 
have referred to it before, but still it may not 
be generally known that this shrub is well 
adapted to being confined to a single stem, 
when, in two or three years, it forms a very 
pretty little tree, resembling, iti general ap- 
pearanee, an oleander. The suckers must, of 
course, be removed and the branches cut back 
as needed. 
Within a few years another Forsythia has 
been introduced—Forsythia Fortunei—which 
by some has been considered the same as the 
F. viridissima. Last year we compared them 
carefully, aud liud that they are really differ¬ 
ent iu many respects. The leaves of Viridis¬ 
sima are more lanceolate. The petals of the 
flowers of Fortunei*are a little longer and a 
third to almost a half broader, and of a lighter 
shade of yellow and a trifle thicker. The tube 
of the flower is also longer, while the calyx is 
a third longer. The orange stripes in the 
throat of Viridissima are of a deeper color, 
and t he pistil longer-in every flower than the 
two stamens; while the two.stameus in For¬ 
tunei are in variably * longer* than the (pistil. 
The limb of tlui’corolla in Viridissima is ob¬ 
scurely veined, while that of the other is dis¬ 
tinctly veined. The main^branehes of Fortu¬ 
nei do not have so many secondary branches; 
Cl: co no nui 
A HANDY CORN-HUSKING BENCH. 
FORSYTHIA FORTUNEI. From Nature. Fij 
To husk com all day, standiug or kueeling, 
is among the hardest works of the farm, and if 
one uses a stool to sit upon, or sits on a bundle 
of corn-stalks, the legs are so much in the way 
that fast work cannot be done. It takes but 
little lumber or time to construct a stool like 
that shown at Fig. 14. It, is made by procur- 
cellar. A small quantity of soil, was first 
placed iu the bottom, aud the plants set up¬ 
right upon this as closely together as they 
could well be packed. This was done Nov. 25, 
may be seen by a comparison of the two cuts, 
which are drawn from our own specimens 
(Figs. 12 ami 18). Both shrubs are quite haruy 
here; but how much further north they would 
ing two pieces 14x24 inches, and nine feet 
long of any light, strong wood. On the side 
in the middle of each, fasten a piece of one-inch 
board eight inches wide and five feet long, 
across these, four inches from each end, fasten 
a piece of 1.4x24, four feet long, and on these 
fasten five pieces of light wood ?■ t x 4 inches 
wide aud five feet long. Across the side- 
pieces six inches from each end. fasten an inch 
board eight inches wide and four feet long for 
a seat. To each side, 10 inches from each end, 
fasten a piece of tough wood 24' inches square 
and 104' inches long for a leg, halving it on to 
the side piece and bolting through with a 
4"-inch bolt. Crosswise under the side-pieces 
fasten to the legs a board of strong wood lx(> 
inches, which should be uotched on the upper 
edge so as to go snugly between the side-pieces. 
It will be 10 inches from the seat at each 
end to the corn platform. To use it, tip it up 
against the shock, and by taking hold of the 
band aud pulling down, the bench will be 
tipped up, carrying the shock w ith it. Two 
buskers can now take hold of the ends of the 
side pieces, which should be nicely rounded, 
and carry the shock whore desired. They can 
then sit down each on a comfortable seat and 
husk the shock much sooner aud easier thau 
they could kueeling on the damp, cold ground. 
Such a corn rack will puy for itself every 
week, if not every day. 
FORSYTHIA VIRIDISSIMA. From Nature. 
at which time the celery iu the garden had 
merely been “handled.” It is splendidly 
blanched, aud as tender as any celery we have 
ever eaten. The variety is Carter's Ivory, a 
half-dwarf kind, 
prove so we are not prepared to state. Per¬ 
haps some of our readers of the Northwest, as 
also in Canada, " ill kindly advise us. 
It needs ouly to be added that these Golden 
Bells are the showiest of all shrubs of the early 
A CONVENIENT MANURE SKID. 
Here is my plan of loading manure with a hay 
fork:—Agrapliugbay fork is fixed to one of 
the beams iu the basement, and the wagon is 
