1884.] 
AMEEIOA]^' AG-EIOULTUEIST, 
103 
■down, attaching them with broad strips of cloth 
to avoid injuring the baric or contracting the 
growth. Let the limbs be drawn down gradually, 
-a little at a time, through the growing season. 
An Insect Enemy of Emit Trees. 
Next to the quince borer we have found the cat- 
cerpillar of the Handmaid Moth {Batana ministra) 
the most destructive. It is often found on apple 
and cherry trees, as well as on the quince. Entire 
ibranches of large trees, and even whole trees, if 
small, are rapidly stripped of all their leaves. The 
moth fastens its eggs on the under side of the leaf 
in rows (fig. 1), selecting leaves near the ends of the 
Eig. 2.— ^BEFORE THE Fig. 3.—BEFORE THE 
FIRST MOULT. SECOND MOULT. 
twigs where the foliage is tender. Each group of 
eggs contains about a hundred. They hatch from 
the latter part of July until late in August, varying 
somewhat with the seasons. When young they eat 
only the pulp, dissecting it very carefully from the 
veins. In a few days they are able to eat the whole 
leaf; and w'hen nearly grown they sweep every¬ 
thing before them. They feed gregariously, side 
by side in solid phalanx along the twigs and 
branches, resting between meals in the same order. 
In repose each holds its head and tail up in the 
air, or recurved over the body. When touched or 
otherwise disturbed they throw their heads spite¬ 
fully from side to side, at the same time jerking 
their tails and bending their bodies until their ex¬ 
tremities nearl 3 ' meet. Their bodies are sparselj' cov- 
■ered with long and soft whitish or light gray hairs. 
Up to the first moult tliej' are brown, striped 
with white, growing darker with age, and are 
marked more distinctly 
®^ch successive 
they are distinctly 
Eig. 4.— BEFORE THE Striped with bright yel- 
THiRD MOULT. low and black (fig. 6). 
The head is proportion¬ 
ally large and black. The body is cylindrical, with 
a spot on the top of the first ring. A black stripe 
runs along the back, and three black stripes alter¬ 
nate with fcjur yellow ones on each side. The 
whole length is one and three-fourths to two and a 
quarter inches. The legs are a dull orange-yellow, 
three pairs under the rings next to the head, then 
Eig. 5.— ^BEFORE THE FOURTH MOULT. 
■two rings without legs ; next four pairs under as 
many rings ; and then two rings for the tail with¬ 
out legs. 
When young they often drop from the leaves, if 
Fig. 6.—AFTER THE FOURTH MOUXT. 
"disturbed, and hang suspended by a fine silken 
•thread. In about five weeks they mature; and, 
■when ready for their transformation, the whole 
lirood leave the tree in a single night, burrow three 
or four inches in the earth, draw in at the ends and 
enlarge in the middle until in a single day they cast 
off their skins and become chrysalids (fig. 7) with¬ 
out making cocoons. They remain in this state 
until the latter part of the ^ 
next July, when they come 
out as perfect moths. The 
moth measures from one „ 
, ,, , , , Fig. 7.—CHRYSALIS, 
and three-quarters to two ^ 
and a half inches. In some points the sexes differ. 
In the male, the anteunse have two rows of fringe 
beneath, with very short hairs nearly to the tips .In 
the female, the antennae are bare. She is larger 
than the male. Their color is a light brown. The 
head, and a large square spot on the thorax, are 
dark chestnut brown. 
The hairs on this spot 
can be raised up so as 
to form a kind of 
crest. The fore wings 
are slightly notched 
on their hinder mar¬ 
gin, with four dark 
transverse lines in the 
males, and often five in the females, with one or 
two dark brown spots near the middle; and a 
short, oblique, dark line near the tips. One, and 
sometimes both, dark spots are wanting on the 
forewings of the males. In repose, the forelegs are 
always stretched out before the body. It is very 
important to destroy these moths before they la}’ 
their eggs on the leaves ; and if the broods are 
hatched and commence eating the loaves, no pains 
should be spared in destroying them as soon as 
possible. We have once seen a pair of files a little 
larger than the common house-lly (tig. 8j, busy 
Fig. 8.—PARASITIC FLY. 
that come with each spring, we give a few points 
that should be observed in successful lawn making. 
The Ground.— The lawn is to be permanent, and 
as several crops of grass are to be taken each year, 
the most important part of lawn-making, is the 
preparation of the soil. A small lawn should be 
perfectly level, but if it is several acres in extent, 
a gently undulating surface is desirable. Drainage 
being secured, the soil should be prepared as thor¬ 
oughly as if fora garden. This means deep work¬ 
ing, fine tilth, and as much well decomposed ma¬ 
nure as can be spared. After thorough harrow- 
ings, the surface is to be finished with rakes, to re¬ 
move all the stones that these will take off. If 
there is no use for the stones dig holes, and bury 
them in the soil of the lawn. 
Turfing the Lawn.— If good sods, from a well 
cropped pasture, a common, or the road-side are to 
be had, it is better to turf a small grass-plot than 
to sow seeds. Sods are to be cut a foot wide, 
using a board as guide, and a s^iade ground sharp 
to cut with. The sods may be made into rolls as 
large as can be handled, and laid down veiy raindly. 
Before laying the sods the surface should be made 
firm by rolling, or by beating it with a pounder 
made of a piece of plank. In laying the turf, bring 
the edges in close contact, fill u}! the vacancies 
with bits of the sods, and if the edges do not fit 
closely, fill all openings with fine soil. After it is 
laid, beat the sod down firmly with the pounder, 
or back of the spade. If the weather is dry, give a 
copious watering every few da}’s until rain falls. 
Grass Seed—What Kinds ?—Mqny years ago 
we paid a high price for “French Lawn Mixture,” 
which claimed to be the mixture used in the lawns 
THE JERSEY RED OR DUROC PIG. —{See JMge IXQ.) 
stinging the full-grown caterpillar. The illustra¬ 
tions will aid in recognizing the caterpillars in all 
the stages of their life history and so help to more 
effectually destroy them. Figures 2, 3 and 4, show 
the caterpillar before the first, second and third 
moults, respectively, figures 5 and 6 before and 
after the fourth moult, when ready to change. 
The Lawn, and How to Make It. 
It makes no difference how much may be ex¬ 
pended upon trees and shrubs to ornament the 
ground—by which we mean a large pleasure 
ground, or a small front yard—if these are not set 
off by a fine turf, the effect will be lost. In all im¬ 
provement, whether of a village front yard, or a 
home park, the groundwork should be grass. It 
has been well said, that the lawn is, outside, what a 
carpet is within the house, the setting which im¬ 
proves all the rest. The lawn is not merely a small 
meadow near the house, to be mown for hay. It is 
a piece of grass given up to ornamentation solely, 
and should be made and maintained with no other 
object in view. To answer the numerous inquiries 
about Paris. This was such an utter failure, that 
we have not tried any so-called “lawn-grass” 
since. What is known as the “ Central Park Mix¬ 
ture,” is recommended by good autliorities, but we 
have not tried it, beingcontent with one kind of 
grass, with a little White Clover, say a quart of 
white clover seed to the bushel of grass seed. For 
light soils, Ked-top—especially the variety called 
Rhode Island Bent, with the clover, makes an ex¬ 
cellent turf. For strong soils, especially those iu 
a lime-stone localitj’, June-grass, or as it is more 
generally called, Kentucky Blue-grass, is best. 
This with the White Clover, will make a perfect 
lawn. Several of the grasses so desirable iu the 
lawns iu England, perish under our hot suiis. 
How Much Seed ?—Sowhng. —Grass-seed varies 
so much iu quality, that it is not surprising that 
different authors recommend from two to eight 
bushels of seed to the acre. Two or three bushels 
are enough if the seed is good, and the larger 
amount is hardly sufficient if the seed is largely 
chaff. Blue-grass seed is often excellent, and 
again so poor, that it is difficult to find a good 
seed among the chaff. The price is variable. 
