grant erf a lUmtlrat. 
DAILY RURAL LIFE. 
FROM THE DIARY OF A OENTIEMAN NEAR NEW YORK CITY. 
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Collection of Tropical Woods.— Jan. 
29.—A friend who has resided twenty years 
in Cuba sends me thirty-six species of the 
native woods. Of course t heao are very ac¬ 
ceptable, and as the scientific and common 
names are given, I am enabled to form a very 
correct, idea of the size of the trees from 
which they were taken, as well as learn 
something of their commercial value. The 
peculiar structure of some of the specimens 
affords me a pleasant study, especially while 
comparing it with those nearly related in 
our Northern climate. But wo need not go 
out of our own country to lirid a large, field 
in this direction worthy of investigation, 
because our native trees of the Northern 
States have scarcely been studied ufc all. so 
far as it relates to their structure and man¬ 
ner of growth. But suppose we leave what 
is generally termed science out of the ques¬ 
tion, aud come down to practical, every¬ 
day names and uses. How many persons 
will we find who are acquainted with the 
different species and varieties of the trees 
in their own immediate neighborhood ? 
With most of our people it is sufficient to 
know that a certain tree is an oak; its 
peculiar individual characteristic is of no 
account, and the same is true in regard to 
other genera. A collection, of small speci¬ 
mens of every species of tree and shrub to 
be found in any country of a wooded region 
will make a most useful and interesting cab¬ 
inet, aud one that every farmer boy might 
be proud to possess. 1 wish L could im¬ 
press upon the minds of our young men 
The importance of accumulating practical 
Knowledge in such a simple way as the col¬ 
lecting of specimens relating to the natural 
history of I lie region in which they reside. 
Farmers' sons often learn to be carpenters, 
but it is very seldom that their knowledge 
of wood extends further than that which 
they find in the lumber yard. They may 
know a pine or hemlock board without 
knowing whether the tree from which it 
was sawed was evergreen or deciduous. 
There is not a boy who reads the Rural 
New-Yorker who cannot collect specimens 
of every species and variety of tree known 
in America; and what a valuable cabinet 
they would make! Commence by making 
a collection of the kinds of wood 111 your 
own immediate neighborhood, preparing 
several specimens of each, aud then corre¬ 
spond with friends or strangers in other lo¬ 
calities, and open a system of exchange, the 
same as entomologists do with insects. 
Every letter written or received becomes 
an instructor of the most valuable kind, 
aud a young man would soon find himself 
gaining knowledge which he little thought 
could be so readily obtained. 
Patent Bee-llives.— Jan. .10.—The pat¬ 
ent bee-hive man is about, and, of course, 
with the best t hing of the kind ever offered. 
Now it is my candid opinion that these 
patent, movable - frame, moth - protecting, 
double-extra hives are uo better than they 
should be, if any better than the old, square 
box hive with movable honey boxes at the 
top. A few years since 1 was imluoed to 
purchase one of the many patent, movable 
frame hives, aud 1 was assured that the bees 
would construct the comb in them so that a 
frame of honey could bo taken out whenever 
desired. Whether my bees are a different 
breed from those kept by the patent bee¬ 
hive men or not, I am unable to determine; 
but it is certain they pay very little at¬ 
tention to the frames. Sometimes they 
construct the comb diagonally across the 
frames, aud wherever they attempt to fol¬ 
low one, they are pretty sure to make the 
cells on one side so much deeper than on the 
other that the comb will not pass the ad¬ 
joining frame, and the result is all the same, 
i. e., the movable frames become immovable. 
Bees are usually accounted very wonderful 
mechanics, but they certainly do make some 
great mistakes, provided there is any natu¬ 
ral rule intended for their guidance. Per¬ 
haps my bees are too old-fashioned in their 
notions to work in a modem structure on 
which some fellow claims “letters patent;” 
at least they have always done better in the 
old style hives. Why do not some of the 
great lights in hoe culture go back to the 
old Romans for instructions in making 
hives, and give us something new in that 
line,—such as hives lined with sheet cork; 
this would certainly be a good thiug, and not 
more than twenty-five hundred years old. 
The Harlequin Snake.— Jan. 31.—Mrs. 
A. B. N. of Brownsville, Texas, has sent me 
a specimen of the Harlequin Snake, (Flaps 
fulviu s, Ccv..) a beautiful reptile occasion¬ 
ally found in the southwestern portion of 
the ITnited States. Its body is of a light red 
or scarlet, annulated with black, margined 
with yellow. It is also called the coral or 
necklace snake, and is really a beautiful 
creature, in spite of all our inwrought su¬ 
perstition and hatred of t his order of highly 
organized aud intelligent reptiles. I am 
much pleased in adding this species to my 
collection. 
Citrculios.— Feb. 1.—One of the old 
members of the New York Farmers’ Club— 
large. I have some from the Amazon regions 
of South America, with bodies an inch in 
length and as thick as my finger. They are 
formidable looking beetles, aud their hard, 
horn-like covering, shows that it. would re¬ 
quire a powerful enemy to exterminate 
them. As we introduce tropical fruits into 
the more Southern States, we may also in¬ 
troduce the tropical species of the curculio. 
And iu a few years a thousand species 
caught within our boundaries will not be 
considered a very complete collection. 
PROTECTION OR NO PROTECTION. 
Tuts is a question that has long puzzled 
the brains of political economists as well as 
vegetable physiologists. We arc, however, 
perfectly willing that the former should 
work away at the problem they have in 
hand, being satisfied that its solution is 
fraught, with as many difficulties as it is 
when applied to the members of the vege¬ 
table kingdom. Perhaps some of the argu¬ 
ments offered pro and eon in regard to the 
protection uf plants may apply to com¬ 
merce, but of this wo will not be positive, 
merely hinting that there are vermin which 
infest custom-houses as well as barns and 
fields. 
Our rural population have of late years 
become greatly interested in this subject of 
protection of their fields and gardens 
against winds, especially those of winter. 
In many portions of the country it, appears 
to bo positively necessary that farmers 
should be thus protected. But we should 
also bear in mind that protection in many 
localities encourages ail kinds of depreda¬ 
tors suoh as rats, mice, rabbits, and in a 
level country, late spring and, we might 
add early autumn, frosts; for wherever the 
wind has a free sweep early or late frosts 
are never so frequent as where there are ob¬ 
structions. As a practical illust ration we 
may statu that within a radius of fifty or 
more miles of this city all tender plant> 
growing iu valleys and protected situa¬ 
tions, were cut down by frosts last, fall, at 
least one month before t hose on hills ami 
in exposed situations rn our own garden 
there was all this difference within an area 
of one acre, the portion which escaped | In- 
early frost being about twenty fuet higher 
than the other, and unprotected against tin* 
North and West winds. We agree with a 
certain English writer, who Hays“ Protec¬ 
tion seems to whet the curiosity of depre¬ 
dators, and they seem to fancy that such 
things must be better and more valuable {.» 
them on which they see extra care be¬ 
stowed.” This certainly seems to he t rue, 
lor we have often noticed that our beds of 
bulbs, when protected, offered a grand har¬ 
bor for field mice. 
If we protect our roses or fruit trees w ith 
manure, or any similar Coarse material, the 
mice take possession immediately, and gnir. 
away at our pet plants with a certain de¬ 
gree of immunity from danger. We are 
not, however, disposed to ignore protection 
of farms or plants, neither do we advocate 
a universal adoption of the system so strong¬ 
ly urged by some writers on this subject, 
but believe in allowing every one to be bl¬ 
own judge as to what extent protection L 
needed in his own particular locality. What 
are usually termed wind-breaks, at souu- 
distance from the. orchard or garden, are 
usually far more valuable than close hedges 
or belts of trees that prevent a free circula¬ 
tion of air. Neither is it a safe plan to al¬ 
low the leaves that fall from trees to remain 
undisturbed, especially if the grove is near 
A- PLAIN TRAVELING SLXIT.-(See 119.) 
who, by the way, has much to say about 
I be ourcullo — asked me, a few days since, 
how many different, species were known of 
this insect. Unremarked that ho had been 
informed that there were at least sixty na¬ 
tive of this country, it would be very dif¬ 
ficult even to make an approximate guess, 
because the cu/rcnltonidac of North Ameri¬ 
ca have never been carefully studied or de¬ 
scribed. 1 u Melsjiutmek’h Catalogue of the 
Described C'oleoptera of the United States, 
revised by Hatpemax and Ll: Conti; in 
1853, there are over 
three hundred species 
named; but this list 
has always been con¬ 
sidered very incom¬ 
plete. Many new spe¬ 
cies have been describ¬ 
ed since the above cat¬ 
alogue was published, 
aud there are at the 
present time several 
hundred more iu the 
cabinets of our ento¬ 
mologists and collect- 
ors, awaiting descriptions by some compe¬ 
tent authority. When we take into consid¬ 
eration the fact that there is scarcely a fruit., 
nut or seed which is not infected by some 
speoies of curculio, we can readily under¬ 
stand how numerous they must be. Black 
walnuts, hickory nuts, acorns, chestnuts, 
and from these down to the minute seeds 
of our gardens, are all preyed upon by some 
one or more species of the curculio. The 
great nuts of the tropics also have their cur- 
culios, and the species are proportionally 
Cutting Down Old Forest Trees.— 
Feb. 2.—To-day I have had some of the old 
oaks upon my place cut down for firewood. 
For several years past they have showed 
signs of decay, a few of the branches dying 
annually, while the stems appeared to be 
sound and healthy. But upon cutting them 
down I found not only the center of the 
stems decaying, but in some instances the 
great oak borers ( Prlonlam ) had made 
great tunnels through the heart wood for 
twenty feet or more from the earth up¬ 
wards. These trees 
would certainly have 
kept on decaying, no 
matter how much care 
they received, and the 
longer they remained 
the less would have 
been their value. Aa 
a general rule, those 
who own woodlands 
do not pay sufficient 
attention to the thin¬ 
ning out of old and 
feeble trees while they 
are sound and valuable, leaving the young 
and healthy to grow larger and better. 
VV henevera large tree shows signs of failing, 
it is far better to remove it and give the 
young saplings a chance than to allow tho old 
monarch to remain. By proper cave in re¬ 
moving worthless trees and species, a very 
few acres of forest will furnish a farmer 
with a constant supply of good timber, 
while if neglected, quite the reverse may be 
the result. And this practice will also en¬ 
hance the value of timber allowed to stand. 
tne rarm imimiug, because lire is another 
element that must be guarded against, and 
a far more dangerous one than a cold, 
Northerly breeze. 
ARBORICULTURAL NOTES. 
Preparing Tree Seeds for Planting. 
—As long as tho cold, freezing weather con¬ 
tinues, hard shell seeds aud nuts may be 
prepared for planting next spring. It. is 
very often the rase that a few nuts or other 
coarse seed have been laid aside iu the fall 
and neglected, until they have become so 
dry that there would be little chance of 
growing if planted iu the same condition 
next spring. All such seeds aud nuts de¬ 
sired for planting should be soaked for a 
few hours in warm ■water, then mixed with 
sand or soil, aud placed out, of doors whero 
they will not freeze, or at least remain cool 
aud moist until wanted for planting. Apple, 
pear, cherry, peach, plum, and other fruit 
t ree seed may be treated in this way with 
benefit. All the larger species of nuts, as 
well as Osage aud other hedge plant seeds, 
require similar preparation to make them 
grow readily. 
Value of Fifteen Years’ Growth of 
Locusts. Dr. Warder recently stated be¬ 
fore the Ohio State Horticultural Society 
that he had sold the produce of an acre of 
locust timber fifteen years old, for $1,000, 
the price of the fence posts being twenty- 
five dollars each. 
When to Cut Hickory Timber, is a 
question which bothers J. B. J. He cut 
some in December, and it became wormy 
and uuelastio within a year. He asks for 
the experience ol Rural readers. 
