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Collections and Recollections. 
This Vegetable Serpent has a skin resembling leaves, a white and soft flesh, and 
instead of a long skeleton, a cartilaginous frame, filled with yellow marrow. The 
natives consider it delicious food. 
OcMO, 1831. W. Me. M. 
The Raven. —The Raven is a bird of humour and sagacity. There was one 
kept a few years ago at Newhaven—an inn, on the road between Buxton and 
Ashbourn. This bird had been taught to call the poultry when they fed; and 
could do it very well too. One day the table was set out for the coach-pas- 
sehgeis’ dinner; the cloth was laid with the knives and forks, spoons, mats, 
and bread, and in that state was left for some time, the room door being shut, 
but the window open. The Raven had watched the operation very quietly, 
and, we may suppose, felt a strong ambition to do the like. When the coach 
was about arriving, and the dinner carried in, behold, the whole paraphernalia 
of the dinner-table had vanished! It was a moment of Consternation—silver 
spoons, knives, forks, all gone. But what was the surprise and amusement, 
to see, through the open window, upon a heap of rubbish in the yard, the 
whole array carefully set out, and the Raven performing the honours of the 
table, to a numerous company of poultry, which he had summoned about him 
and was very consequentially regaling with bread .—Juvenile Forget-Me-Not. 
RURAL AFFAIRS. 
The Weavil.—S alt is said to be an effectual preventive against the destruc¬ 
tion of wheat by the Weavil. Mix a pint of salt with a barrel of wheat, or 
put up the grain in old salt-barrels, and the Weavil will not attack it. In 
stacking wheat, 4 or 5 quarts of salt to every 100 sheaves, sprinkled among 
them, will entirely secure them from the depredations of this insect, and 
render the straw more valuable as food for cattle. 
Beans. —Observing in your Register the produce of one Oat. 1 take the 
liberty of stating the produce of one Bean. In one of my walks in the spring I 
picked up a Horse Bean, which I planted in my garden betwixt some gooseberry 
' trees, and took no further notice of it until the autumn, when I found it very 
full of pods, and have this day counted the produce, which is 170 good seed 
Beans. . • 
fVakejieldy Nov, 9, 1831. H. J. 
HORTICULTURE. 
Vines. —An idea beiug generally entertained that Grapes, cultivated in the open 
air, must from the natuije of our climate, be inferior to hothouse Grapes. We 
offer to our readers the following remarks, sent by a Correspondent, to prove what 
may be done by a proper cultivation of the Vine. “Through a superior method 
of training and pruning the Vine, Mr. Clement Hoare, of Siddlesham, has this 
year produced some of the finest Grapes, of the Black Hamburgh sort, which have 
perhaps ever been ripened on the open wall in this country. When the bunches 
were cut a few days since, many of the berries were found to measure upwards of 
three inches in circumference; and in point of quality and flavour they have been 
pronounced by several competent judges to be fully equal to those grown under 
glass.” 
Onions. —Mr. William Ramsay, gardener, Chanceloti, (Potland) has this sea-’ 
son, raised seedling Onions, which have excited the astonishment of all who 
have seen them. One which he pulled weighed 1 lb 5oz. and measured 16j 
inches in circumference.—this was the largest, but he has a number more, of 
nearly the same enormous size. 
