U RURAL L1F£ 
ROCHESTER, S. T.-FOR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, JANUARY 29, 1859, 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
AN ORIGINAL WEEKLY 
RURAL, LITERARY AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 
CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. MOORE, 
With an Able Corps of Assistants and Contributors. 
mentary florets at the base of the perfect one, 
which latter is concealed inside of a pair of glumes, 
each of which is furnished with a broad wing at 
its base. The grain is eventually closed within the 
valves of the floret, at which period it is hard and 
tough. The plant is an annual and is a native of 
the Canary Isles, from which it derives its name. 
In the early growth of this plant it so strongly 
resembles oats or wheat, as to Ye scarcely distin¬ 
guishable from these cereals, except to the practiced 
eye. When well cultivated, if s usual height is 
from three to four feet; each head contains up¬ 
wards of one hundred seeds, and the produce 
ranges from thirty to forty bushels per acre. In 
our engraving may be seen the form of the ears, 
and also that of the straw. The stalk or straw is 
hard, woody, and of little value for fodder, but the 
husk is considered good food for horses, and is used 
for this purpose in England ;u?d on the Continent. 
In reference to its culture, we must draw from 
foreign journals for the knowledge obtained, and 
on this point the Cyclopedia of Agriculture remarks 
that a deep and adhesive soil is most suitable; 
still a crop of it can be procured wherever a good 
yield of wheat maybe expected; on poor and ill- 
conditioned soils it is useless to plant it. In some 
parts of England it follows oLlier grain crops in the 
lotation, and is frequently sown in the place of 
wheat or barley, when the husbandman fears that 
through the richness of the soil these would prove 
too strong and become lain. The ground intended 
for this crop is usually plowed in the fall, and as 
early in the spring as possible the'surface is thor- 
oughly harrowed to the depth of two inches, thus 
providing a fine seed bed and firm bottom, or root¬ 
ing soil, two essentials tJ^^Ressful cultivation. 
The quantity of four gallons -er 
acre, drilled in bet mil Ml two inches d#». 
England presented a bill for Oatmeal of $3,305. 
No one will believe there is any necessity for pur¬ 
chasing ground oats. Was the demand greater it 
would no doubt be generally manufactured in this 
country. It is principally consumed, we presume, 
by Europeans who prefer it to corn meal. It is 
ground pretty extensively in Canada, in some of 
the Scotch settlements. Germany and Holland we 
paid over $10,000 for Barley. 
Many of the Dye Stuffs that we import might be 
grown to advantage here, such as Madder, for 
which we paid last year $721,786, Woad, and Weld, 
or Dyers’ Weed, of which we may speak more par¬ 
ticularly hereafter. 
Of fruit we talk sufficiently in our Horticultural 
Department, and will here only remark that we 
exported last year 27,711 barrels of Apples, which 
brought us $74,363, of these 941 barrels were sent 
to England, 14,570 to Canada and 858 to Australia. 
Boston shipped 7,000 barrels, Genesee, (Rochester,) 
5,425 barrels, Niagara 3,931 and New York 2,886. 
1 hat the raising of our fine, long-keeping apples, 
for exportation might be made profitable, we have 
not the least doubt. 
If the Hungarian Grass is as valuable as feed for 
horses and cattle, and produces from four to eight 
tuns per acre, as our friends at the West represent, 
it seems to us it might be profitably grown in some 
localities on our strong, deep soils, for pressino- 
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Figure 1. — Gastrophysa, Ciievb. Cyanea, Mels, a, 
the hind leg; b, the antenna;; c, the head. There are 
five described species. 
Fig. 2.— Gastrophysa, female depositing eggs, e, on 
the llumex obtusiolius. 
Fig. 2. — Graptodera, Ciievr. Chalybea, Illig. The 
Grape Vine Flea-Beetle, d, the attennse. Six 
species. 
Fig. 4, — Phyllotreta, Chevr. Striolata, Illig. Crio- 
ceris, Fab. Galleruca, El. Turnip Flea-beatle. f, 
antennte ; g, hind leg. 
Fig. 5.—The Cucumber Flea-Beetle, and its lower side, 
in part. 
Fig. b.—Calligrapha. Nine species are described. 
Fig. 7. Jps quadrimaculata, or 4 signatus. There 
are ten species described. This belongs to the family 
Nitidulidae. j, the clavate antenna;; k, the hind 
E3?"A1I communications, and business letters, should be 
addressed to D. D. T. MOORE, Rochester, N. Y. 
For Terms and other particulars, see last page. 
Fig. 8 .— Hispa, (Saturnalis) eight species. 
Fig. 9.—Family Cassidadae—a deloyala, natural size, 
upper and lower side. Two species. 
Dear Rural :—I avail myself of your columns to 
give a short account of a small, steel-blue beetle, and 
its family connections, which was submitted to my 
inspection, with a view to learn its name; its per¬ 
nicious habits were made lamentably manifest to 
Mr. G. P. Pepper, of Wisconsin. Mr. P. sent several 
specimens of the small creatures, so brilliant in 
their coat of lustrous metallic blue, to J. B. Garber, 
Esq., of Floral Retreat, in this county, taken from 
his grape vines, on which they had made sad havoc, 
by eating out the undeveloped fruit clusters, and 
otbi r tender parts of the vii e . early last, spi ing- 
I know Mr. G. is a subscriber to the Rural, and 
for the benefit of its readers generally, and Mr. P. 
in particular, (who is, no doubt, also a subscriber,) 
I submit the following : 
The little beetle in question belongs to an exten¬ 
sive family of leaf and bud-destroying insects, 
comprehended among the Chysomelians, including 
the Flea-beetles and Galerucians, formerly consid¬ 
ered distinct families. There are a number of 
genera each, embracing a greater or less number 
of species, which it is difficult, in many cases, to 
distinguish apart, owing to their close resemblance 
and minute size. Fig. 1, illustrates the Gastro¬ 
physa cyance; a, the hind leg; b, the gradually 
thickened antenna;; c, the strong jaws. Fig. 3 is a 
female, as I have seen them so early as the 5th of 
May, with their abdomens enormously swelled, 
prior to laying their eggs, which those did, on the 
underside of the leaves of the dock, ( llumex obtusi- 
folias.) I was not aware of their damaging anything, 
yet they are by no means free from suspicion, and 
it is well to have an eye on them, they so nearly 
resemble Fig. 2, the Graptodera chalybea, as to 
be readily taken for the same insect. This latter 
is the insect in question; its antenna; Fig, 3, d, are 
of a uniform thickness in the 11-joints, and its 
thorax has a transverse depression, which the other 
has not. Fig. 1, I copied from a specimen found 
January 2d, two inches beneath the soil, near a 
grapevine, “alive and kicking,” certainly not be¬ 
low the frost line. I considered the little fellow 
rather early in making his way out of his winter 
quarters, and if so, likely to meet with a cold recep¬ 
tion—so I humanely gave him a place in my cabi¬ 
net, in company with his “ kith and kin.” 
The colors vary greatly in the same species, as Mr. 
Harris also remarks, from a dark purple, violet, 
Prussian blue, greenish blue, to a deep green color, 
and not always steel-blue, as the specific name 
chalybea implies. 
Notwithstanding their hard names, long enough 
for a Polish count, they are not entitled to rank 
among the “ big-bugs,”—but the wee creatures are 
not without notoriety, and are found to afford mat¬ 
ter for history, like other depredators; and such 
was their importance in Europe that they were 
made a matter of especial investigation by the Dun- 
caster Agricultural Association. A report by Mr. 
Ridgway was published in 1834. Mr. H. Le Keux, 
Some vines were entirely despoiled of their fruit 
buds, so as to be rendered barren for the season. 
In 1830 and 1831, he found the vine leaves infested 
by “small chestnut - colored smooth worms,” and 
suspecting these to be the larva; of the chrysomela 
vitivora, he fed them in a tumbler, containing some 
moist earth. “ After a fortnight or so,” some of 
the beetles were found in the tumbler. Hence, 
there is no doubt that the former were the larva; of 
this beetle, and that they undergo their transfor¬ 
mations in the ground. Koller recommends a 
strong tea or decoction of wormwood, as plants 
wetted by it will not- be touched by the flea-beetles. 
Perhaps a decoction of walnut leaves would be 
equally well, as suggested by Mr. Harris A de¬ 
coction of tobacco I know is good where it can be 
applied. 
The Turnip flea-beetle or Turnip fly, as it is often 
called, is known as the Haltica and Crioceris, now 
called Phyllstreta Striolata. Fig. 4. /, the an¬ 
tenna;, g, the hind leg. This may be found on the 
turnip, horse radish, mustard and cruciferous plants 
generally, from May throughout the summer.—• 
1 hey cut the seminal leaves, as do the cucumber 
flea-beetle, Fig. 5, showing the top and hind legs 
beneath, enlarged. These are very injurious in 
gardens. Fig. 4 are more oval or oblong in shape, 
each wing-cover has a buff, wavy line, while Fig. 5 
are of a uniform black color. The lines on Fig. 4 
are sometimes reduced to mere dots, when they 
were supposed to be a different species and called 
bipustulata instead of striolata. 
Fig. 6, a species of Calligrapha, of which there 
are nine described. Fig. 8, the little Hispa (satur¬ 
nalis ?) I, the antennae gradually elavated; m, an 
enlarged wing-cover, showing the ridges and cren- 
atures on their external margin. Fig. 9 is a beau¬ 
tiful little insect of the finest gold and purple, like 
a minute tortoise under its shell, which has a trans¬ 
parent border. The larva; of those are dirty little 
fellows; they form for themselves a covering of 
excrement, which they bear over their backs by the 
assistance of an elongated forked appendage on the 
extremity of their body, reaching nearly to the 
head when bent over. This belongs to the Cassi- 
didoi, and is one of two species of Deloyala, I 
think. There are a number of other genera belong¬ 
ing here. 
Fig. 7 is a species of Ips, ( quadrimaculata?) 
found very destructive to the tomato. This is 
copied from one found embedded in the fruit; j, 
the antenna; with its club-shaped end; k, the hind 
leg. The genus Irs belongs to the family Nitidu- 
lidat, embracing a number of equally mischievous 
little scamps that require seeing to. 
Not to burthen your readers with too long a 
yarn, I will close with the few here touched upon, 
but the subject is by no means exhausted, trusting 
that I shall be excused by those who have no taste 
in this line, as it may be highly interesting to others 
who are curious in such matters. J. Stauffer. 
Lancaster, Pa., Jan. 6,1859. 
TIMELY HINTS, 
Ihe winter is fast passing away, and soon it will 
be numbered among the long array that have gone 
before. Its departure will cause regret to but few, 
for while we love the winter, its quit ^and rest, its 
sociid heart-life, its leisure for readinplmd thought, 
we rejoicA at the approach of thejify, blooming 
spring, when the birds return with -^eir sweet mu- 
sie, the trees begin to array themselves in their 
summer vestments, and all nature puts on a smiling 
face. But we had not the least design to be poeti¬ 
cal, and only now purpose to make a few sugges¬ 
tions that may be of service at this time. The 
failure of the wheat crop in many sections of the 
country, has caused farmers to look about them for 
the best substitutes, and considerable forethought 
and planning is necessary to determine the best 
crops to plant, the best way to procure the seed, 
and the best mode of cultivation. A desire to aid 
oui readers in arriving at proper conclusions, has 
caused us to give considerable thought to this sub¬ 
ject, and in the present and previous numbers we 
have described plants not generally grown in this 
country, that perhaps may be introduced to advan¬ 
tage. Of late we have examined the importations 
of agricultural products to ascertain what we were 
purchasing from foreign countries that might bet¬ 
ter be grown at home, and we will give a few 
facts for the consideration of the producers of 
the country. 
During the last fiscal year, ending June 30,1858, 
there were imported into this country nearly 
$100,000 worth of potatoes. Most of these were 
what are known in eastern cities as Bermudas. They 
are similar to our Western Bed, but being raised 
in the warm climate of the British West Indies, 
are ripe about the time we plant, and find a ready 
sale here, as new potatoes. The Secretary of the 
Treasury, however reports importations amounting 
to $7,000 from Ireland and $2,000 from England. 
Last fall we saw a statement in the Boston papers 
that 20,000 bushels of potatoes had been received 
CANARY SEED. 
Report on Commerce and Navigation, all “Seeds” 
are included under a general head, and their ag¬ 
gregate value is several hundred thousand dollars. 
The consumption of this city and vicinty, may be 
taken as a fair estimate of the Middle and Eastern 
States, and here, from the best figures we have 
been enabled to make, we may safely place the 
value of the annual sales at from $4,000 to $5,000. 
One of our heaviest dealers remarked “that there 
were twenty persons engaged in the traffic who 
sold to the amount of $200, and upwards, and 
quite a number whose sales run downward from 
these figures.” For the past year the transactions 
will be much above the sums stated, as the seed 
has been scarce and high. It usually costs, in New 
York, $2,00 per bushel, but now brings $4,50; and, 
though subject to fluctuations in price, the amount 
disposed of is regular, with a tendency to increase. 
“ These things being so,” we have thought a brief 
description of the plant, its habits, culture, &c., 
might prove of interest to Rural readers, more 
especially as a large number are just now scanning 
the products of both the Old World and the New, 
for something that will, in some degree, aid in sup¬ 
plying the loss caused by the devastations of the 
midge. At all events, if this crop be suited to our 
climate, it is useless to send abroad for that which 
may be produced at home. 
RAISING PIGS. 
My neighbor, John Skaats, of Darien, is the 
most successful producer of pig pork in Western 
New York. Helias just slaughtered a litter of five, 
at ten months old, some of which average four 
hundred pounds, dressed weight! I am sorry I 
have not the exact figures to give you, but I will 
get them. Last year his pigs outweighed, weight 
for age, any recorded in the Rural. He raises a 
cross between the Suffolk and the Byefield. One 
neighbor, quizzing him, said, “Skaats, I don’t 
like the marks on your pigs.” 
“ I do,” says Skaats ;” they are all marked four 
hundred at a year old!” 
“ What breed are they?” asked a neighbor. 
.fattening Beef on Potatoes—A correspondent 
of the New England Farmer writesAbout 
twelve years ago I fattened a heifer for beef wholly 
on potatoes. My plan was to feed small potatoes 
" hole, w ithout cooking, with as much hay as was 
wanted, and but little water, and I had as good 
beef as those fattened on corn meal.” 
CANARY GRASS—FORM OF HEAD. 
Botanically, Phalaris canariensis is the common 
representative of a genus of grass allied to Phleurn, 
but distinguished by its possessing a pair of rudi- 
