1854. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



457 



visit at her house. This costs something; but 

 good cheer does so ease the burden of life, that, 

 after all, it is no tax, if not carried to excess. 



Now all I have to say about the matter, further, 

 is, that there is no such man as Thrifty, in the 

 list of fariuers or mechanics, whose wife is not en- 

 titled to as bright a feather in her cap as her hus- 

 band can wear. 



I have no fear that any of the women will get 

 angry with me for what I have said, for none of 

 tliem read the papers, only the wives of the Thrif- 

 ties. A. G. Comings. 



Mason, N. H. 



For the New England Farmer. 



THE CETONIA INDA. 



SmoN Brow.v, Esq. : — Dear Sir, — The insects 

 found by Dr. IIorKixs to be destructive to peachss 

 are described in my Treatise on injurious insects, 

 pages 35 — 3G, under the name of Cctonia Inda. 

 They have appeared a month earlier than usual. 



The precocious ripening of peaches, noticed also 

 by your coiTespondcnt, is one of the signs of yel- 

 lows. Another is the growth of slender shoots, 

 clothed with diminutis'c leaves, on the trunks and 

 branches. These symptoms will be follov>'ed next 

 year by yellowness of all the leaves. Experienced 

 cultivators recommend digging up the affected 

 trees and burning them, 



Yours, truly, 



Tn.\DDEUS WlLLI.\M Harris. 



Cambridge, Mass., Aug. 20, 1854. 



Remarks. — We are again indebted to the kind at- 

 tentions of Dr. Harris, in directing us to a descrip- 

 tion of the insect sent us and spoken of by Dr. 

 Hopkins, of Northamption, in his recent com- 

 munication. Dr. HoPKi.NS will please accept as 

 an apology, for not forwarding the insect as he 

 desired, that we have been deprived the pleasure 

 of visiting our office in Boston for two weeks, in 

 consequence of sickness. We are again grateful 

 for restored health, and are ready to labor in the 

 delightful field of agricultural progress wherever 

 work is to be done. Below we append the history 

 of the Cetonia Inda, from Dr. Harris' interesting 

 work on insects. 



"Two American Cetonians must suffice as ex- 

 amples in this group. The first is the Indian Ce- 

 tonia, Cctonia Inda, one of our earliest visitors 

 in the spring, making its appearance towards the 

 end of Aj)ril or the beginning of May, when it 

 may sometimes be seen in considerable numbers 

 around the borders of woods, and in dry open fields, 

 flying just above the grass with a hnid humiuiiig 

 sound, like a liuiuble-bee, (or which perhaps it 

 might at first sight be mistaken. Like other in- 

 sects of the same genus, it has a broad l)ody, very 

 obtuse behind, witli a triangular thorax, and a 

 little wedge-shaped on each side between the liind- 

 cr angles of tlie thorax and the shoulders of the 

 wing-covers ; the latter, taken togetlier, form im 

 oblong square, but are somewhat notched or wide- 

 ly scolloped on the middle of the outer edges. Tlie 

 head and thorax of this beetle arc dark copper- 

 brown, or almost black, and thick, and tliickly 

 covered with short greenish yellow hairs ; the 



wing-cases are light yillowish brown, but change- 

 able, with pearly and metallic tints, and spattered 

 with numerous irregular lilaek spots ; the under- 

 side of the body, which isvei-y hairy, is of a black 

 color, with the edges of the rings and the legs dull 

 red. It measures about six-tenths of an inch in 

 length. During the summer months the Indian 

 Cetonia is not seen ; but about the middle of Sep- 

 tember a new brood comes forth, the beetles ap- 

 pearing fresh and bright, as though they had just 

 completed their last transformation. At this 

 time they may be found on the flowers of the gold- 

 en-rod, eating the pollen, and also in great num- 

 bers on corn-stalks, and on the trunks of the lo- 

 cust-tree, feeding upon the sweet sap of these 

 plants. On the approach of cold weather they 

 disappear, but I have not been able to ascertain 

 what becomes of them at tliis time, and only con- 

 jecture that they get into some warm and sheltered 

 spot, where they pass the winterin a torpid state, 

 and in the spring issue from their retreats, and 

 finish their career by depositing their eggs for 

 another brood. Tliose that are seen in the spring 

 want the freshness of the autumnal beetles, a cir- 

 cumstance that favors my conjecture. Their hov- 

 ering over and occasionally dropping upon the 

 surface of the ground is probably ibr the purpose 

 of selecting a suitable place to enter the earth and 

 lay their eggs. Hence I suppose that their larvse 

 or grubs may live on the roots of herbaceous 

 plants. *• 



The other Cetonian beetle to be described is the 

 Osmoderma scaher, or rough Osmoderma. It is 

 a large insect, with a broad ovai and flattened 

 body ; the thorax is nearly round, but wider than 

 long ; there are no wedge-shaped piec(!S between 

 the corners of the thorax, and the siioulders of the 

 wing-cases, and the outer edges of the latter arc 

 entire. It is of a purplish-black color, with a 

 coppery lustre ; the head is punctured, concave or 

 hollowed on the top, with tlie edge of the broad 

 visor turned up in the males, nearly flat, and 

 with the edge of the visor not raised in the 

 females; the wing-cases are so thickly and deeply 

 and irregularly punctured as to appear almost as 

 rough as shagreen ; the under-side of the body is 

 smooth and without hairs; and the legs are short 

 and stout. In addition to the diflererice between 

 the sexes above described, it may be mentioned 

 that the females are generally much larger than 

 the males, and often want the coppery polish of 

 the latter. They measure from eight-tenths of 

 an 'inch to one inch and one-tenth in length. They 

 are nocturnal insects, md conceal tliemsclves dur- 

 ing the day in the crevices and hollows of trees, 

 wliere they feed upon the sap that flows from the 

 bark. They have the odor of Russia leatiier, and 

 give this out so powerfully, that their presence 

 can be detected, by tlie scent alone, at the dis- 

 tance of two or three yards from the jdace of their 

 retreat. This strong smell suggested the name Os- 

 inodirina, tliat is scented skin, given to tlicse bee- 

 tles by the French naturalists. Tliey seem par- 

 ticularly fond of the juices of cherry tind apple 

 trees ; in the hollows of wliich I have often dis- 

 covered them. Their larviV) live in the iiollowsof 

 these same trees, feeding upon the diswis'd wood, 

 and causing it more rapidly to decay. They are 

 whitisli fleshy grubs, with a reddish hard-slielled 

 head, and closely resemble t!ie grults of the com- 

 mon dor-beetle. In the autumn each one makes 



