22 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
For the American Agriculturist. 
CLIMBERS. 
Spring has come with its gentle influences, 
and its balmy breath, and is inviting us to 
leave our warm rooms and enjoy the open 
air. The bluebirds have given their first 
concerts, and right gladly have they been 
welcomed. The buds are swelling; and 
every thing indicates that a busy time is 
near. 
I have been out examining the vines that 
clamber around the porch, and away up al¬ 
most to the point of the gable, and which 
makes our cottage so cheerful in the sum¬ 
mer, and are an ornament even in the win¬ 
ter. 
I cannot deny myself the pleasure of re¬ 
commending to others who have hitherto 
neglected the planting of vines, to neglect 
it no longer. There is nothing, that with so 
little expense, will aid so much to the beau¬ 
ty of a place, and give it such a home-like, 
comfortable air. It requires a long time for 
trees to grow, but a honeysuckle, or a rose, 
will, in two years, nicely shade the windows, 
and prevent that bare look which a house al¬ 
ways has that is not surroundedjoy trees, or 
embowered in climbing plants. 
It is not necessary to have an expensive 
trellis for their support. A cedar shorn of 
its limbs to within a few inches of the trunk, 
answers every purpose, and, in most situa¬ 
tions, is far prettier than anything more ar¬ 
tificial in its form. If ced;ir can not be ob 
tained, any wood which does not readily de¬ 
cay will answer. 
The honeysuckles are among our prettiest 
and most hardy climbers. They have 
abundance of foliage, which is of the great¬ 
est importance, and their flowers are very 
ornamental. There are many varieties. 
The scarlet and the yellow trumpet honey¬ 
suckles are extremely beautiful, and flower 
through the whole of the summer, and in 
autumn their bright red berries are decidedly 
ornamental. The hummingbirds love to 
visit them, and many a delicious sip do they 
enjoy in the deep cups of the brilliantly-col- 
o-ed, trumpet-shaped flowers. Their want 
of fragrance is their only deficiency, but still 
I should be very unwilling to part with them. 
I never weary looking at the exquisite beauty 
of these flowers. They are unrivaled in 
grace of form, and in their rich and per¬ 
fect hues. 
The sweet-scented monthly honeysuckle 
is very desirable, and, like those I have 
mentioned, continues in blossom through 
the summer, and until late in autumn. The 
coral honeysuckle is very pretty, and so is 
the white. 
The Chinese honeysuckle is my especial 
favorite. It is a sub-evergreen. In shel¬ 
tered situations, and in a moderate winter, 
it retains its foliage through the year—even 
the long, cold winter, to which we have just 
said good bye, has not entirely stripped 
mine of their leaves—it is perfectly hardy, 
grows rapidly and to a great height. Its 
mode of flowering is unlike the trumpet 
honeysuckle, being in pairs or threes. It is 
exceedingly fragrant, filling the air with the 
most delicious perfume. It blossoms in 
spring and autumn, the whole plant being 
then almost completely covered with flow¬ 
ers. Its greatest recommendation, however, 
is its foliage, which is of a dark green, and 
more abundant than that of any other variety 
with which I am acquainted. I have some¬ 
times planted this, and the scentless trumpet 
honeysuckles together—thus securing the 
foliage and fragrance of the one, and the 
showy flowers of the other. 
These honeysuckles may be obtained of 
gardeners at low prices—the trumpet at not 
more than a York shilling a plant, the others, 
I think,.are a little higher. 
Climbing roses are of great beauty, though 
they are short-lived. The multiflora blos¬ 
soms early and profusely, it is a red rose. 
The Queen of the Prairie and Baltimore 
Belle are both very beautiful—one blossom¬ 
ing a little later than the other! The 
Crevell rose is larger and fuller, but does 
not run so high. Their are a great variety 
of Prairie roses, very handsome, and deserv¬ 
ing a place around every dwelling, where 
there is room for them to grow. The stems 
of the higher climbing roses are apt to be¬ 
come somewhat bare ; for this reason, when 
wishing to shade a porch, I have planted the 
Chinese honeysuckle near them. 
The Wistaria is another vine which de¬ 
serves mention. It runs high, and is loaded 
in summer with long racemes of purple 
flowers. I purchased one of these plants 
four years ago, this spring, expecting to see it 
immediately reward my care by running up 
over the bay window. But it did not grow 
more than a few inches the first summer; the 
second season it did no better, and I became 
entirely discouraged, supposing it never 
would be a vine, and purchased another 
plant. The third year my Wistaria grew 
twelve or fifteen feet, and the coming season 
I hope to see it laden with blossoms. The 
other Wistaria grew well the first year. 
The Madeira vine is a pretty annual climb¬ 
er. The leaf is thick and glossy, and the 
flower is finely perfumed. The tubers cost 
only a few cents. 
There are many other valuable climbers, but 
I have mentioned only such as I have planted 
myself, and can recommend from personal 
knowledge. The American woodbine, the 
Nunipet creeper, and the Ivy, do well on 
stone or brick houses, but are rather objec¬ 
tionable on those made of wood, on account 
of the way in which they attach themselves. 
The daughters in families can do much to 
beautify their houses, if they are interested 
in doing do, and can most of them doubtless 
obtain what assistance they may need, from 
a father, or elder brother. I am sure they 
can accomplish the planting of vines and or¬ 
namental shrubs if they attempt it. It re¬ 
quires only a little determination and a wil¬ 
lingness to exert themselves. If they can 
not have" help, they can use a spade, or a 
hoe with their own hands. They would feel 
abundantly repaid for their labor by the im¬ 
provement they would effect. 
Morning-glories and scarlet runners are by 
no means to be despised, if nothing better 
can be obtained. If I could get nothing else, 
I would train Lima-beans over the windows 
and about the porch, before I could consent 
to have my dwelling entirely unadorned by 
nature. Anna Hope. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
AN INFALLIBLE REMEDY FOR THE LOCUST 
BORER. 
“ Prone on his grievous deadly scathe, dauntless 
We’ll beard the victim in his very den.’’ 
In many localities in central and western 
New-York, the yellow locust has been entire¬ 
ly destroyed by the borer; so that many farm¬ 
ers have abandoned the idea of growing it, 
either for timber, or ornament. The yellow 
locust is a beautiful tree for ornamental 
purposes, and valuable for timber—being very 
durable. It grows very rapidly, and makes 
a fine, clean shade-tree about "the dwelling. 
It flourishes remarkably well in our climate, 
both on the hard and barren uplands, and in 
the fertile vallies. But, since it is so liable 
to be destroyed by the borer, it seems, in a 
measure, incumbent on those who have been 
successful, in repelling or destroying the 
borer, and protecting their trees from his 
ravages, to communicate the facts, through 
the medium of agricultural journals to the 
public, that those who have the yellow locust 
on their premises, where the borer has not 
yet made his appearance, may be prepared 
for his aggressions ; and that those who have 
been so unfortunate, as to have them all de¬ 
stroyed, which is the case in many parts, 
may again plant the seed, with the assurance 
that they may be secured from destruction 
by the borer. 
The locust borer springs from eggs, which 
are deposited by a beetle, in the bark of the 
living tree, in the month of July, where they 
remain until the ensuing spring, when they 
hatch, and commence their depredations, in 
the shape of a little white grub, at first not 
more than one-twentieth of an inch in length. 
The beetle seldom ascends a tree to depos¬ 
it eggs, more than from six to ten feet in 
height. Two or three warm days in April, 
and some times in May, according to the lo¬ 
cality, will hatch all the eggs which have 
been deposited ; and the little grub, or borer, 
may be examined by any one, between the 
epidermis and the parenchyma, or the outer 
and middle layers of the bark of a tree. But 
they increase in size very rapidly ; and if 
the weather is warm, they will, in a few days 
work through the parenchyma and the cor¬ 
tical layers, into the living wood, where they 
are, in a measure, beyond our reach, unless 
the tree be very much haggled and wounded 
in getting at them. After they have been at 
work a few days, we can readily discov¬ 
er the exact point, where they may be found, 
by observing where the sap oozes out, and 
by the very fine bark and wood-like saw¬ 
dust, which they work out of their holes. 
Many have endeavored to exterminate 
them, by thrusting the blade of a penknife, 
or pointed wire into their holes ; and have 
recommended the practice as effectual ; but 
their course is often so tortuous—many times 
turning at a right angle—that it is often im¬ 
possible to touch them, even when they may 
be within reach of the instrument. Many 
have recommended washing the trees with 
spirits of turpentine, and injecting it into their 
holes—which is, probably just about as ef¬ 
fectual as the oft-recommended application 
of human urine. 
Should it reach them—which is a matter 
of doubt, on account of their course being 
almost always upwards, seldom or never 
downward—such fluids might cause them to 
squirm and writhe in great agony, but would 
not destroy them. 
Those who have expdHmented with in¬ 
sects, know very well, that in almost every 
state of their transformation, they are ex- 
