1865.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
271 
Cranberry Caltare.— After the August 
number went to press we had a note from Dr. Ross, 
whose article on cranberry culture we published, re¬ 
questing us to supply an otnission. In his article he 
omitted to state tliat wlicre the vine worm was trouble¬ 
some, flowing the bed in winter would prevent its 
attacks. Where the locality admits of it, It is well to 
have arrangements to flow the bed at pleasure, as after 
the fruit is set it is sometimes attacked by an insect from 
which it may be protected by covering with water. 
Crrape Trellises upon a llilbsicle.— 
J. McMurray asks if trellises upon a steep hill should 
run up and down the hill, or across. The trellis should 
be at right angles with the slope, for unless the arms be 
horizontal, it.will be impossible to equalize the growth 
of the canes: the earth will wasli less if they run across. 
Aslies lor Fruit Trees.— E. Presser, Al¬ 
leghany Co., Penn., inquires “ What kind of manure the 
ashes from furnaces of tanneiies will make for fruit 
trees. Tanners burn their spent tanbark, which makes 
vast quantities of aslies, which they throw away.” 
Ashes from bark are excellent manure and certainly 
good for fruit trees ; and unless the ground is covered 
with them so deep as to kill vegetation, there is little 
danger of applying too large quantities. Still, such ashes 
are not so valuable as wood ashes, for they contain but 
a small amount of alkali; hence soap makers consider 
bark ashes as of very little or no value to make lye. 
Saving' Tomato Seeds. —M. B. Pratt 
gives the following as his method of treating tomato 
seeds : “ Lay the seeds and pulp upon a dry cloth, spread 
them with a knife, then lay another cloth over, and roll 
all up tight, then scrape off the seeds into a pan of water 
and wash out with the hand all the pulp that is left after 
rolling, and lay them in the dry cloth for a few 
minutes ; place them in a paper, and in course of the day 
they are clean and dry, and ready for sale.” Another 
subscriber spreads the pulp, containing the seeds, thinly 
upon newspaper, without washing, and allows it to dry 
there. The paper is then rolled up and put away until 
spring. When needed for sowing, the paper is cut into 
strips and planted (seeds, paper and all) in the hot bed. 
A great Year for Toadstools. —Every 
where around New York City the months of July and 
August have been remarkably favorable to the growth of 
the different forms of Fungi, not only of the larger kinds, 
which are popularly recognised as toadstools and mush¬ 
rooms, but of the more minute ones, known as mildew, 
rust, etc. A friend informs us that he found the edible 
mushroom growing as finely and as abundantly in an old 
orchard in July, as it usually does in October. Various 
kinds of toadstools have been so abundant in the garden, 
as to make it necessary to hoe them up like weeds, and 
such is the rapidity of their growth, that the process had 
to be repeated the next day. Flower-pots and rustic 
baskets, placed out of doors, have borne large crops of 
these fungi, to the detriment of the plants tliey contained. 
We have in another place alluded to the general pre¬ 
valence of mildew, which is a minute fungus growing 
upon living plants. This has not been confined to the 
grape alone, but has appeared upon plants not usually 
affected by it. We had a nice patch of cucumbers in a 
rather sheltered spot, and the mildew appeared upon the 
leaves of these and swept them off as if by fire. The 
rust upon the raspberry, which is still another fungus, 
has been prevalent and fatal. Indeed all plants of this 
low grade seem to have perfectly revelled this year. 
Cvarden. Fdgings — InibrmatioM 
Wanted. —W. S. Gridley and several others have 
written to know of a good substitute for box. We do 
not know what to recommend. Box is not hardy far 
north of New York, and there is a great need of some 
other dwarf hardy plant to use in its place. Grass will 
do, but it is very troublesome on account of its propensi¬ 
ty to run, and it is very difficult to keep it clear of weeds. 
We. have tried Cratmgus Pyracantha, and Privet, but 
they are naturally large shrubs and do not succeed well 
when kept as dwarf and close as is required for an edg¬ 
ing. The dwarf Iris and some other herbaceons plants 
are used, but they have not a good green color. An¬ 
nuals are too much trouble, as by the time they are large 
enougli to look well they are cut down by the frost. We 
shall be glad of any suggestions on this subject. 
Tlae Wistaria.—“ T. H.” It is not unusual 
for the Wistaria to flower a second time, especially in 
such a damp season as the past summer has been. The 
flower clusters are, however, never as full, nor as abun¬ 
dant as in early spring, its usual flowering time. 
Altont 1^'aines. —“Inquirer” askes if he 
should say Whortleberry or Huckleberry. The best 
American writers use Huckleberry, and English authors 
say Whortle-and Hurtle-berry. All these words are de¬ 
rived from Myrtle-berry, and we prefer to follow good 
usage affll call it Huckle-berry. With regard to Tomato, 
it is pronounced both Tom-ar-to and Tom-ay-to. Though 
we were taught to give the broad sound to the a, analogy 
with potato would show that the long sound is most 
proper. Where the botanical name, which follows the 
rules of the Latin language, becomes the common one, 
it is often difficult to decide whether the name should be 
Anglicised or not. There has been much discussion 
whether one of our beautiful bulbs should be called Glad- 
i-olus or Gladi-o-lus, and an equal discrepancy e.xists 
with regard to G/em-atis or Cle-ma-tis, though the best 
authorities adopt the' former. Stilt more puzzling is it 
to decide what shall be the common name of a peren¬ 
nial, likely to become popular, named from the botanist 
Michaux, whose name is pronounced Mee-show. The 
plant is Michauxia. Shall its common name be Mee- 
show-e-ah or My-chorx-eye-a ? 
A>ou1>le Apple Ifilossom. —The London 
Gardener’s Chronicle figures a double apple blossom as a 
novelty. Scarcely a year passes that we do not see them. 
They usually appear after the general blooming is over. 
Plants Named.—Irene Cole, White Co., 
Ind. Lamium maculatum, the spotted Dead-nettle ; a 
plant from the South of Europe that has been in cultiva¬ 
tion for nearly two centuries, and is quite as handsome as 
some of the “foliage plants” now sold.E. A. G. 
Wellington, O. A red-leaved Polygonum, which has 
been dropped from the catalogues and we have forgotten 
the species.W. W. Matthews, Wis, The leaf of 
Celastrus scandens, the wax-work or Climbing Bitter¬ 
sweet, figured and described in August of last year. 
W. H. Johnson. Some plant of the Borage family w hich 
can not be determined from leaves only .J. Barnard. 
Hibiscus Moscheutos, sometimes called American Jute ; 
an account and figure wall be found in the Agriculturist 
for Feb. 1863 .Louisa Van Tassel, Wood Co,, O. 
Specimen not recognized from leaves only ; it looks like 
some species of Baptisia .S. C. Larkin, Worcester 
Co., Mass., sends a Helichryum, or Straw-flower, in 
which the head of the flower bears a cluster of smaller 
heads. This is notan unusual thing with plants of this 
family, the Hen-and-chicken Daisy is an old and well 
known example of the same thing. No other plant seen. 
Insects upon Insects.— Several have sent 
us specimens, and others have sent us descriptions of 
caterpillars of various kinds, which were more or less 
covered by small while oval bodies, that some of the 
writers recognised as what they really are—the cocoons 
of a parasitic insect. It is one of the wise provisions for 
preventing the undue increase of insects, that most of 
them have insect enemies Among the most destructive 
of these are the Ichneumon flies, a term applied to a 
large class of four-winged insects, which deposit their 
eggs in the larvae or pup-ae of other insects. The maggots 
hatched from these eggs, feed upon the living animal in 
which they are enclosed, and by the time it dies, they 
have attained a sufficient size to undergo their trans¬ 
formation. The number of parasites that are nourished 
by one caterpillar is sometimes astonishing. A few day^ 
ago we took from our tomato vines the larva of a Sphinx, 
which was almost completely covered with tlie cocoons 
of an Ichneumon. From counting a portion of these, we 
estimated the whole number at between three and four 
hundred. It is quite remarkable that this number of 
maggots could have lived within the caterpillar, attain 
their full growth and spin their cocoons, without killing 
it. Though still alive, the caterpillar was evidently 
much weakened by rearing such a large unnatural family, 
and will probably in a short time die from e.xhaustion. 
Insect Clneries. —We have of late received 
an unusual number of queries in respect to insects. 
While we try to keep the run of those which serious¬ 
ly injure cultivated plants, there are many sent to 
us which are merely curious to the Sender, or are not 
known as enemies to the cultivator, which we have not 
heretofore had the means of determining Finding spe¬ 
cimens of this kind to accumulate upon our hands, we 
have made such arrangements with competent entomo¬ 
logists, as will in future enable us to determine the spe¬ 
cimens sent. The field of Entomology is so large, that 
our best naturalists in this line usually confine themselves 
to a single order. VVe must request those who send in¬ 
sects to put them in boxes that will not be crushed in the 
mail. Very small ones go readily in a quill, and a turned- 
wooden, or tin pill box, or even a stiff pasteboard pen or 
other box, answers well for larger ones. There are many 
grubs, caterpillars, or larvs, which are not known in the 
perfect state, and on the other hand there are beetles, 
butterflies, etc., the grub or larva state of which is not 
known. As a general thing, insects are the most destruc¬ 
tive, as caterpillars on grubs, and it is well for those who 
have the opportunity, to watch the transformations of 
these, and find out what they become in their perfect 
state. Tho.se caterpillars tliat spin are easily fed and 
managed ; those which burrow should be provided with 
a box or flower-pot of earth, in which to make their 
transformation IMr. G. C. .Morris, of Pldla. Co., Pa., 
writes to know if his potatoes are troubled by the 10- 
lined Potato beetle, figured in August. This beetle has 
not yet been found far east of tlie Mississippi valley, and 
we have not heard of its doing any mischief below 
ground. From our correspondent’s description, we 
infer that the trouble is done by the grub of the common 
May-bug ...I. Coburn, Columbiana Co., 0., sends us a 
very common pest of the vine, Philampelus Achemon. 
Tlie “eggs” are cocoons of a parasite and are alluded 
to in another item. This insect does not appear in great 
numbers, and is readily removed by hand picking_ 
Eddie A. Popenoe, McLean Co., Ill., sends us some 
galls from a grape vine. The remains of the grub were 
found there, but so much dried as not to be recognised. 
Milliiagf Insects. —A Ely wishes to know 
the best way of killing insects for entomological speci¬ 
mens. Butterflies and moths are almost instantly killed 
by letting fall upon their bodies a few drops of chloroform. 
This rapidly evaporates and leaves the insect witli its 
colors unchanged. Beetles may be drowned in alcohol. 
It is said that Benzine will kill insects very promptly, but 
that it renders their limbs so brittle that limy break with 
the least toucii, and it is necessary to let them remain for 
a few days, to become flexible, before setting them up. 
Still another Ciivcnlio Keme<ly.— 
Mr. B. B. French of Washington, D. C., writes to the 
N. E. Farmer, that he has succeeded in keeping the cur- 
culio away from his plums by putting a “ cartload of gas- 
lime” around each tree. It appears to us that the gas- 
lime must have been very poor, or the plum-trees very 
tenacious of life. We mention this as an item of current 
news, but do not advise our readers to try the experi¬ 
ment upon any tree which they are not ■willing to risk. 
A mew View of tlie Caterpiliai* 
Question.—It is well known tliat the tent caterpillar, 
which is such a scourge to our orchards, is very fond of 
the wild cherry. A progressive farmer friend of ours, 
who lias a constant battle with the old fogy notions of his 
less wide awake neigiibors, Imd some wild cherry trees 
b.adly infested with caterpillars, and proceeded to cut 
tliem down. Some of his neighbors, on seeing what he 
was at, came to him and implored him to save the trees, 
as otherwise the caterpillars, being deprived of these, 
would destroy the neighboring orchards. Our friend kept 
on with his work, informing the anxious ones that wlien 
they set apart a particular field for weeds, with a view to 
keep them from the rest of the farm, lie would keep a 
grove of wild cherry trees especially for the insects. 
How to nia.l£:e didor Vimeg'sis”.—M. 
Kelly, Fayette Co., Ind., writes to the Agriculturist: 
“ I have twenty-four barrels of cider, that has had 
sulphite of lime put in it to keep it sweet. It is now too 
sour to drink, and not sour enough for vinegar. Do tell 
me how to make vinegar of it.” Procure a lot of cheap 
molasses, and mingle one gallon of molasses, or 12 to 14 
lbs. of sugar with ten gallons of water. First rack off 
the cider from the sediment, then add five gallons 
of such liquid to every barrel of the cider. Fill each 
barrel not more than % full, and place them by the side 
of some building, covering them with boards to prevent 
the sun warping the barrel-staves. Leave the bung hole 
open. A bung hole 4 inches square is better. Or put the 
cider, after adding the sweetening into large open tubs 
under a shed, covered with loose boards. It will make 
excellent vinegar in a few weeks. Then fill the barrels 
and put them in the cellar, until wanted for market. 
Analytical Cliemist.—Prof. F. F. Mayer, 
whose card appears in our advertising columns, is a gen¬ 
tleman well known to us as a competent chemist, and is 
one to whom we should not hesitate to commit any 
investigation requiring thorough chemical knowledge. 
Catalog'ues, etc., licceivetl.—B. L. 
Ryder, West Franklin Nurseries, Loudon, Franklin Co., 
Pa. Catalogue of Fruit trees and general nursery stock. 
_I. W. Hicks & Co., Bridgeport (Conn.) Nursery. 
General catalogue and special li.«t of vines-Francis 
Brill, Newark, N. J. An abridged list of Nursery Stock, 
including new Strawberries and 20,000 Japan Lilies_ 
Andrew S. Fuller. Woodside Nursery, Ridgewood. Ber¬ 
gen Co., N. J. Descriptive Catalogue of small Fruits, 
Ornamental Shrubs, etc , with numerous illustrations- 
The twelfth Report of the Ohio Ponu.logical Society, an 
interesting volume, containing among other useful mat¬ 
ter a revised catalogue of fruits suitable for Ohio. 
