6oo 
IHE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
September 22 
by a long rest in which the root system may be formed, 
will certainly increase the chances of obtaining these 
delightfully fragrant flowers at the time they are most 
appreciated. 
September is the month of crowning glory for the 
cannas, and truly the later productions of the florists 
in this line are magniflcent. The virility and florifer- 
ousness of the newer cannas are almost without paral¬ 
lel. We are always impressed with the annual marvel 
of the growth of maize—our common corn—which 
produces within a hundred days a towering, leafy 
shaft, often twice the height of the tallest man—a ver¬ 
itable giant among the Graminaceso—but the iargest 
corn stalk is a small affair in actual bulk compared to 
the summer’s growth of a vigorous canna. It is in 
deed a remarkable plant, from the big, black, bony 
and assertive seed, which I have—with indifferent 
success, however—really used, when in distant Brazil, 
as a substitute for bird shot, to its extensive system of 
roots and fleshy rhizomes, by which the plant may be 
preserved out of the soil for many months; its mas¬ 
sive, luxuriant, yet softly gi aceful foliage, which car¬ 
ries the mind irresistibly to the tropical home of its 
origin, and Anally the brilliant and never ceasing 
bloom which has passed in a few short years the suc¬ 
cessive stages of comparison denoted by the terms 
“ Strelitzia-like,” “Iris like” and “Gladiolus-like,” 
until now no synonym is left to indicate the dazzling 
individuality—the size, color and markings of its in¬ 
florescence. 
But few of the really good new Cannas have as yet 
reached the general public, and little is known of the 
possibilities of the dwarf forms as winter bloomers. 
A rooted sucker may be easily detached now from a 
“Madame Crozy ” or “Star of ’91,” by means of a 
spade or strong knife, without injury to the parent 
plant, and potted in a four-inch pot, using the same 
soil in which it has grown. Cut back the leaves until 
it forms a mere stub, water well and place in a warm, 
partially shady place. It will soon begin to weave 
its lace work of flbrous roots throughout the ball of 
earth, and quickly send up a new shoot, when the old 
stub should be cut away. This vigorous young plant 
must not be checked by cold, but should be removed 
to a sunny window at the approach of chilly nights, 
and shifted to a seven or eight-inch pot as soon as the 
growing roots cover well the ball of earth. For this 
repotting, use a soil made richer by a thorough ad¬ 
mixture of one-sixth fine old manure, or one-fiftieth 
(in bulk) of ground bone. They will usually bloom 
well in an eight-inch pot, which will sustain them for 
some months. When this pot becomes filled, the 
clumps may be turned out and divided in halves or 
quarters, and replanted in pots of similar size, or, bet¬ 
ter still, shifted to a well-drained box containing about 
a cubic foot of good compost. This will hold them 
until planting time next spring. These cannas love 
warmth, sunlight and moisture ; their only enemies in 
winter are coal gas and occasional attacks of “ red 
spider,” in case they become dry or checked in g^rowth. 
The insects are easily avoided by giving plenty of root 
room and frequent shower baths. Cannas take lots of 
room, filling the greater part of a window in late win¬ 
ter, but they make a brave show of green, and a pro¬ 
fusion of brilliant, yet delicate blossoms. The cannas 
now in the border will appreciate the gardener’s at¬ 
tention in keeping the bloom trusses free from faded 
florets and seed pods. Remove the clusters as they 
begin to lose freshness, and when the branches of a 
particular stem have bloomed out, cut it away neatly 
at the surface of the ground. The trim appearance of 
the clumps will repay one for these trifling attentions. 
FAIBFAX. 
APPLE GATHERERS. 
I notice the apple gatherer illustrated in The E. N.-Y. 
of September 1, with “ patent applied for.” In 1876, 
we had a large lot of apples to gather on our fruit 
farm near Cynthiana, Ky. The apples were fine, the 
price low and the help scarce. So we, from necessity, 
had to draw on our wits for help. On the place was a 
low-wheeled feed wagon with a bed 18 feet long, very 
wide, with sides flaring out. On this, we constructed 
a light, strong frame with top rails 18 feet long, nine 
feet wide and when on the wagon, about five feet high. 
We made a strong canvas cover and tacked it securely 
all around on the top rail, cut a slit in the center the 
long way except about two feet at each end, bound a 
twine on this edge, and about every three feet tied the 
two edges together with a bit of twine. One man at 
each end could set the frame, canvas and all, on the 
wagon or off on a set of trestles. 
With this equipage, one man drove a strong, gentle 
team along the rows on one side, stopping as close as 
possible to the tree ; a boy in the tree shook half the 
apples into the canvas, and of course they ran to the 
center and through the slits into the wagon bed. The 
man meanwhile picked a few from the lower limbs, 
picked up some good ones that fell overboard, while 
another boy stretched out his limbs, helped a little, 
and scrambled into the next tree in time for the on¬ 
coming wagon. The wagon was driven up one side 
of the row and back on the other side, with the result 
that one man and two boys gathered four loads of 50 
bushels each per day, hauling them a quarter of a 
mile, sorted them and put them away, part for keep¬ 
ing and pare for the cider mill. I never saw apples 
come in in better condition, or keep better. We used 
that device for a number of years, and hundreds of 
persons saw us at work with it. 
About 10 years ago, we let our wagon go down, but 
bought at Cincinnati for $18 a circus tent about 30 feet 
in diameter. We used the body of the tent to patch a 
tarred roof on a tobacco barn, but inverted the top, 
cut it from the center to the circumference on one 
side, fixed a twine on each side at the center and eir- 
cumference, and tied the center around the tree. We 
cut poles about eight feet long, and sharpened them 
at one end, so that the point would hold in the eyelet 
holes around the eircumference, tied a small rope in 
the same eyelet, drew it back in a direct line over the 
pole from the tree and fastened it by a large spike 
driven in the ground. We cut a few slits two feet 
from the tree but outside of the circling rope, shook 
the apples, and found them ia a pile ready for assort¬ 
ing and in fine condition. j. a. mckee. 
Kingsville, Ky. 
What Say? 
Ibbigatins Celeby. —I contemplate subirrigating a 
piece of ground to grow celery and onions by the new 
culture. The following is my plan, and I would like 
to have any suggestions from The R. N.-Y. readers if 
they think it can be bettered: 1. Size of tile, 23^ 
inches in clear. 2. Depth to bottom of the trench, 14 
inches, which will leave 10 inches of soil over the tile. 
3. Distance of trenches apart, five feet. In an average 
season, would it be necessary to keep the tiles full of 
water all the time ? If not, how often should they be 
flooded, and for what length of time ? Is 10 inches of 
soil on top of the tiles too much ? G. e. k. 
Carey, O. 
Gasoline Engines. —What is the experience of the 
readers of The R. N.-Y. in regard to the practicability 
of gasoline engines, for running farm machinery such 
as thrashers and grinding mills, cream separators, 
pumps, etc. ? What is the best size and make ? s. b. 
Mt. Holly, N. J. 
[Eyer^ query must be aooompanled by tbe name and address of the 
writer to Insure attention. Before asking a question please see If It Is 
not answered In our adyertlslng columns. Ask only a few questions at 
one time. Put questions on a separate piece of paper.] 
INSECTS THAT DESTROY WOOLEN CLOTH. 
What is the natural history of the insect that is so 
destructive to woolen clothing in summer ? It would 
be interesting to know if there is more than one brood 
each season; also at what time in the year the eggs 
are laid, how soon they hatch, and the time of year 
when the deposit of eggs has ceased for the season. 
What is the best means of destroying the vitality of 
the eggs and the larv® ? c. w. s. 
Riverpoint, R. I. 
AN8WKBED BY M. V. SLINGEBLAND. 
There are three different kinds or species of clothes 
moths in this country. The adult insects are minute 
moths scarcely one-fourth of an inch in length. All 
three species are of European origin ; we probably 
have no native clothes moth. The species which is 
the commonest in Canada and the South is known as 
Tineola biselliella, whose caterpillar makes no case, 
but simply a silken path or tube over the surface of 
the article attacked. The moth is pale yellow with¬ 
out spots, and when at rest, its wings are held in a 
slanting position; they are extremely active, flying 
and running rapidly to hide when disturbed. The 
moths fly from May until September, and there are 
possibly two broods during the year, especially in the 
South. 
Most of the minute, yellowish eggs are laid in May 
and June ; there seems to be no record of how long 
the egg state lasts in this or the other two species. 
The eggs will be scarcely visible to the unaided eye 
unless laid on some very contrasting colored material. 
Immediately upon hatching, the tiny caterpillar spins 
a silken path upon which it travels in search of food. 
It never forms a case, until it is full fed, which usually 
occurs in the fall, when it makes a cocoon, generally 
of portions of the material upon which it has been 
feeding. Its food is varied, but consists mainly of 
fabrics composed of animal hairs. Soiled clothes are 
more liable to be attacked than those that have been 
shaken and brushed before laying them away. Carpets 
are often attacked in darkened rooirs and beneath 
heavy furniture where dust collects. This little enemy 
once cut off the woolen cord by which a large and val¬ 
uable picture was suspended ; the picture fell and 
was injured, and other objects beneath it also suffered. 
The caterpillar remains unchanged, snugly encased in 
its close cocoon, until spring. Then it probably spends 
about two weeks in the pupa state within the cocoon, 
finally emerging as the delicate, beautifully-fringed 
moth which soon lays its eggs on the material which 
is to furnish food for its offspring—the destructive 
caterpillars. Thus far only one brood has been ob¬ 
served in the North, but a second may, and probably 
does occur, in the South, the eggs for which are laid 
by moths emerging in July. This second brood has, 
however, never been demonstrated, and I doubt if we 
have but one brood throughout the country. 
Tinea pellionella is the name of the clothes moth 
which some writers regard as being the most common 
species in the Northern States. Its caterpillar from 
the very first lives within a case, which it carries 
about with it. The moth is darker in color than the 
preceding, and has a few black spots on its wings, 
which lie flat on the back when the insect is at rest. 
These adults begin to appear in May, and are occa¬ 
sionally seen flitting about as late as August. After 
pairing, the female works her way into dark corners 
and deep into the folds of garments which seem to 
form the most suitable places for the reception of her 
minute yellowish eggs. The eggs are laid at night, 
the moths lying concealed during the day. Prom 
these eggs hatch the minute white larvae, each of which 
begins immediately to make a case for itself from the 
fragments of the cloth upon which it fe^ds. This case 
is in the shape of a hollow roll or cylinder, and the 
interior is lined with silk. As the caterpillar grows it 
enlarges this case by adding material to either end, 
and by inserting gores down the sides which are split 
open for this purpose. One entomologist records the 
following interesting experiment which any one can 
repeat; it will prove of interest and profit. 
He confined a pair of the moths in a glass jar with a 
piece of blue flannel. Eggs must have been laid (they 
were so small that they were overlooked) for in a 
short time there were about 60 minute larvae, each 
with its tiny Vue case, crawling about and feeding 
upon the flannel. When the caterpillars were about 
three-fourths grown, the blue flannel was exchanged 
for a piece of scarlet. As the larvae grew, an enlarge¬ 
ment of their cases was of course necessary, and the 
enlargement had now to be made with the scarlet 
fibers instead of the blue, as heretofore. The enlarge¬ 
ment was done by splitting the case on one side from 
the middle to one end and putting in a gore of the scar¬ 
let; the opposite side was similarly treated. Then the 
other end of the case was enlarged in the same way. 
When the enlargement was completed, the scarlet 
stripes which had been thus pieced in were plainly 
visible. Material is also added to either end, and by 
providing the young caterpillars with different col¬ 
ored materials, cases have been made showing rings 
formed from scarlet and black wool, blue peacocks’ 
feathers, and white lambs’ wool. The caterpillar 
reaches its full growth toward winter, and then, 
crawling into some more protected spot, there remains 
torpid through the winter in its case, which has been 
thickened and fastened at either end with silk. In 
the spring, the transformation to a pupa takes place 
within the case, and soon afterward the moth emerges 
to reproduce her kind. There is only one brood each 
year, eggs being laid in May and June, the destructive 
larvffi working during the summer and early fall. 
The third species. Tinea tapetzella, seems to be quite 
rare as yet. Its caterpillar spins for itself a silken 
gallery mixed with the fragments of the material it is 
attacking, and remains always hidden in this gallery. 
The moth is easily distinguished from the others by 
the front wings, which have their basal half black, 
and are white or gray beyond. But little has been re¬ 
corded of the habits of this species ; probably its habits 
and life history are very similar to the other clothes 
moths, except that the caterpillar forms a silken gal¬ 
lery mixed with fragments of cloth, wherever it goes, 
and thus destroys much moie material than it uses for 
food. It keeps hidden in this gallery, retreating to 
another portion when alarmed. The transformation 
to a pupa takes place within the gallery. Dr. Riley 
says that this is probably the species mentioned by 
Pliny and referred to in Holy Writ. 
It will thus be seen that all the species have similar 
habits and life histories. Each species can, however, 
be readily recognized from its larval habits, or by a 
glance at the moths. In the Northern States, there is 
probably but one brood each year of either species. 
All feed in all-woolen cloths, hair cloth, furs and 
feathers. Probably none of them feeds during the 
winter. Dr. Fernald says that he has bred pellionella 
repeatedly, and finds that it feeds during the summer, 
but not in the winter, even when kept in a room 
