MOOSE'S B 0 BAL WEW-YOBKEB. 
/ 
Jrarg of it pluralist. 
DAILY RURAL LIFE. 
FROM THE DIARY OF A GENTLEMAN NEAR NEW YORK CITY. 
Ruralizing on Snake Hill.—July 7.— 
I presume that almost every one who has 
passed out of New York Oil t he Erie Rail¬ 
road has noticed a high bluff or hill to tile 
left of the track about one mile from 
Bergen Tunnel. This hill is surrounded by 
what are known as the Newark Meadows, 
which are nothing more than ft deposit of 
black mud covered with sedge grasses, wild 
rice, cat-tails and other similar plants 
which are indigenous to the salt marshes of 
the Atlantic coast. Snake Hill is an im¬ 
mense pile of rocks which were probably 
standing in their present form long before 
the Hackensack and Passaic rivers had 
tilled up the surrounding bay with mud. It 
is certainly quite evident that this bald 
point of rock was in ages past, a sort of 
haven for the drift-wood which came down 
from the northwest freighted with stray 
seeds, plants and insects; for upon this 
hill, comprising probably not more than 
oue hundred acres, can be found a greater 
number of species of plants than upon any 
other spot of the same size in America. It 
has been celebrated for the richness of its 
flora ever since Mtchaux and Punsu, some 
sixty or seventy years ago, botanized among 
these rocks: and. in fact, it is to this day a 
sort of Mecca for botanists who may want 
to ruralize about New York city. It has 
not only been a rich Held for botanists in 
days gone by, but entomologist s have picked 
up many a rare specimen, the ancestors of 
which probably floated down from the 
Ohio valley upon some old log or other 
kind of drift material. 
The county poor house was located here 
a few years since, and t he tramp of hun¬ 
dreds of paupers is not only frightening 
away the birds and insects, but crushing 
out many of the rare plants. The natural¬ 
ist, however, is always loth to give up a 
good hunting ground, even if choice speci¬ 
mens are rarely found ; for hope still 
lures him to the spot where treasures were 
once to be obtained. It must have been 
either a hope of gathering a few more rari¬ 
ties. or a desire to please me, f hat caused 
Mr. J. Akhurst, the well known Taxiderm¬ 
ist and Entomologist of Brooklyn, to accept 
of an invitation to join mo in spending a 
day at Snake Hill, N. ,1. For the past thir¬ 
ty years fie has visited this spot, several 
times annually, and what he docs not know 
about the birds and insects of this pile of 
rocks, would not be of any great loss to 
mankind. 
Now, an old hunter of insects who is well 
acquainted with the ground and habits of 
the game, is just as valuable a companion as 
a well informed hunter of any other game, 
and I found my guide to-day an expert in 
his line. When we started across the mead¬ 
ows this morning, I arranged my sweep- 
net, boxes and bottles for immediate act ion, 
allowing my guide to give directions, as he 
had swept the ground many times and had 
caught plenty of f be game likely to he found 
in this place. Thai he was familiar with 
the Insects to bo found in these salt marshes 
1 was soon made aware from t he contents 
of my net as it. passed over and among Cer¬ 
tain weeds ami grasses. 
Chclymorphacribrarla, Fabh, Ucloyala 
and VoplocJycla of various species literally 
swarmed along the banks of th6 ditches. 
These insects sometimes attack the potato, 
but their natural feeding ground is our low, 
brackish meadows near the sea coast. As 
we approached the high grounds I caught, 
several Buprestians, which had evidently 
left the woods to feed upon the ilowers of 
the weeds and sedges; Tuphi'OCerus f/m- 
cilis. LffiC., were quite ubundaut. The wild 
roses at the base of t he hill furnished us 
several specimens of Slrarnjalia, among 
them N. velutina, ()uv„ and S. luteicomis, 
Fabk. To give-the names of all the insects 
caught to-day would require too much 
space, even in a lluraliat’s Dairy; but I 
must not omit to mention that magnificent 
and rare beetle, the Clylus sjtcciosus, Say., 
or Beautiful Clytus. The larva of this 
beetle feeds upon the sugar maple, often 
doing considerable damage to these trees. 
The beetle appears ill this vicinity in July, 
usually during the tirst, few days of the 
month; but further North I have known it 
to be taken in August. 
Currant Worms.— July X.—For several 
years the currant bushes in Central New 
York have been infested with worms, the 
larva of a species of saw-fly known as Nciu- 
itm vesirlcoms. Klug; but they have not | 
appeared in this vicinity until the present 
season. 1 have only found five specimens 
in my own garden; but as they are abun¬ 
dant in the neighborhood, I must expect to 
light next year for my currants. This im¬ 
ported post has destroyed many t housands 
of currant bushes during the past fifteen 
years, and is still at work, although it might 
be annihilated in one season, if everybody 
who lias currant bushes attacked would de¬ 
stroy those in their own gardens, and not 
leave such work to some more enterprising 
neighbor. Tt. is for the want of concerted 
action among farmers and gardeners that 
we are indebted to the wholesale destruc¬ 
tion of plants and fruits. Of course, we shall 
need more entomological knowledge dissem¬ 
inated among the masses before they can 
work together understanding]}-; but this, 
I fear, will never be, so long as our common 
schools and colleges are controlled by theo¬ 
retical visionaries, instead of practical 
men, who love this world for the good 
therein. 
Planting Late (Jubbajges.— July 0.— 
'I'Imre are always more or less vacant places 
in the garden which answer very well fol¬ 
iate cabbages. 1 sowed a quantity of seed 
several weeks ago, and the plants are now 
large enough to set out. We have frequent 
showers of late, consequently it has been a 
good time for transplanting cabbages, 
cauliflowers and similar plants. A dozen 
cabbage heads will more than supply my 
family during the Whiter, but the vacant 
places may as well bo occupied with this 
vegetable, and my workmen and cattle will 
not object to a few hundred crisp heads 
next Winter, if there is no other market 
(u which I can profitably send them. There 
is no danger of having too much of any good 
vegetable in Winter; and a cabbage head 
is far better tha n a k iek t o make a cow gentle 
and allow you to milk her in cold weather. 
I have had the handling of animals all my 
life, but never yet owned one that would 
not come to me with pleasure instead of 
going the ot her way with fear, Cabbages, 
beets, carrots and turnips arc excellent 
medicine for vicious animals, and it is not 
too late even now to plant for use next 
Winter. 
The First Cicada.— July in. This eve¬ 
ning the first harvest fly of the season (Cica¬ 
da prulnosa , Sa y, I appeared near my office, 
and trilled forth liis harsh, unmusical note. 
This fly, often called the locust, does not 
usually appear until the last, of this mouth, 
or first of August; and to hear one thus 
early in the season is quite a rare occur¬ 
rence. Mr. (’has. V. Itii.icv has accumula¬ 
ted a vast amount of data in regard to the 
appearance of the seventeen year and thir¬ 
teen year cicadas (locusts) but there is much 
yet to he learned about t he different annual 
species. California, and other parts of the 
Pacific coast furnish us with some interest¬ 
ing species and varieties of these harvest 
flies. 
mat §li[thitei1iti’i'. 
A RUSTIC ARBOR, 
Wn last year had a quantity of old crock¬ 
ery crates which were much in the way; 
and as we were in want of a trellis for vines 
concluded to utilize them, and succeeded so 
well that we thought the idea might be of 
use to Others. We first selected three of 
the same size and cut oil’ the ends of two 
of them and set them on the edge, as shown 
in Fig. 1, the two facing inwards and at the 
ends about two feet apart, so as to leave a 
passage, driving three stakes to each, as 
represented in Fig. 3, securing the crates to 
the stakes with nails. Then we out, down 
the corners of the third one and partly 
straightening it (see Fig. .3) placed it on tin- 
top and nailed it firmly, making a bevel or 
French roof over the whole. The corners 
Of the top were then filled in, with willows 
interwoven, which completed tin- whole and 
made a very respectable arbor, six-sided, 
and about six feet by eight. We planted 
Cobca scan dens around the outside, which 
covered it completely and bloomed pro¬ 
fusely. The whole was much admired by 
all who saw it. It is strong and durable, 
being this season, to all appearances, as 
sound and good as ever. D. C. McGbaw. 
Riverside Gardens, Binghamton, N. Y. 
TWO-HOOK TROUT-WORM TACKLE. 
-I-Hook tackle 2-Honk tackle Imited 
baited. and unbaited. 
was not a success is said to in- tin- impossi¬ 
bility of properly concealing so largo a num¬ 
ber of hooks in a single worm. Then again 
time was wasted in getting so large a num¬ 
ber of hooks out of Hu- fish’s mouth when 
landed. But the advantages are that the 
worm is more quickly baited than with the 
single hook; that if lived much longer; that 
it presented a more natural appearance to 
the fish, and that owing to the superior peu- 
et.ral Jng tendency of small over large hooks, 
much fewer fish escaped after being once 
hooked, while it became possible to use the 
finest gnl,, which could not be safely done 
with large, heavy hooks. 
The author above alluded to, after experi¬ 
ment with Stkwaut s 1-hook tackle bus de¬ 
vised a tackle similar in principle but differ¬ 
ent in detail, which combines, he claims, the 
foregoing advantages without the disadvan¬ 
tages. We give illustrations herewith of his 
device tin* 3-hook tackle, baited and uu- 
baitod. lie uses a tritie larger hook, thick¬ 
er in the wire, varying the size of the hooks, 
«kc, slightly, according to the size of the 
stream or of the worms. 
He claims the following advantages for the 
3-hook over the 4-hook tackle: 1. 11 is bait¬ 
ed in less than half the time. 3. The worm 
lives much longer. 8. Its appearance is 
much more natural and lively. 4. The books 
are comparatively unseen. 5. They are dis¬ 
gorged in half the time. I k- claims also that 
there is little difference in the killing pow¬ 
ers—if any, it is in favor of llie 3-hook tackle. 
It is also more easily made. In baiting, he 
puts the upper hook quite through t he worm 
laterally, about half an inch below the head, 
just above the knot and the second hook 
similarly about an inch below it, according 
to the size of the worm, as shown in the en¬ 
graving. 
lie adds:—“It will be found that the 
worm, especially when unscoured, is very 
apt to wriggle itself off the hooks, or into 
pieces, and the most effectual remedy for 
this inconvenience, and one which a very 
little practice will make easy, is to put the 
two hooks through the worm as quickly as 
possible and then drop the worm instantly 
into the water; the cold partially numbs 
it, and prevents it twisting off,” 
lie thinks this kind of tackle will be 
found as useful for all kinds of worm fish¬ 
ing as for trout. The trace should consist 
of about two yards of finely stained gut, 
one or two shot, according to the depth and 
rapidity of the stream, being placed, on the 
line fourteen inches above the hooks. The 
object of this is to weight the bait so as to 
bring it close to, or touching, the bottom 
without checking or sticking fast; but in 
broad, shallow water no sinkers at all will 
be found necessary. 
For bait, any well scoured worms which 
arc not much smaller nor larger than repre¬ 
sented in the cut will do; hut for worm 
fishing for trout, and most other species of 
fresh water fisli, he prefers the brandling 
or dung-hill worm, it probably being best 
because of its peculiar pungent smell and 
red color. 
Our sporting readers will be glad of the 
following suggestions made by the author of 
the modern Practical A ngler. lie gives (and 
we give herewith) Mr. Stewart's tackle, 
composed of four small hooks, w ith w hich he 
(Stewart) says he could catch larger fish, 
but fewer in number, thap with the single 
hook. One reason why the 4-lmok tackle 
®he Oincnanl. 
I 
AMERICAN GRAPE VINES IN FRANCE. 
Chas Y. Riley, State. Entomologist of 
Missouri, w rites to the Rural World as fol¬ 
lows :—Our grape vines are at last beginning 
to be appreciated in Europe. One of my 
correspondents, L. La LIMAN", of Bordeaux, 
who has cultivated with commendable zeal 
many of our American variet ies, is not only 
getting his reward in the possession of some 
which resist the ravages of the dreaded 
root-louse ( Phylloxera wslatrlx) better 
than any of the European variet ies, but in 
the production of a superior wine. In a late 
letter he writes: 
“ The wines which I obtain from certain 
American varieties age very rapidly, and i 
may tell you that the .1 aoques [ I do not know 
this variety], the Lenoir, the Clinton and 
the Long [known to us as the (’unningham], 
mixed together, give mo a wine much su¬ 
perior to those I get from our own French 
varieties. The Delaware, also, mixed with 
the Taylor, makes a very agreeable wine.” 
In an article written by him last April* 
he further says:—“Certain vines of the 
cordlfolia [rlparta ) species make a very 
good wine, and certain hybrids, as well as 
some varieties of (I'sticalls, produce wines 
so like our own that w r e shall find it to our 
advantage to cultivate them, not only from 
an alcoholic stand-point, but for an abund¬ 
ance, color and taste which will astonish 
those who are acquainted with the lahrusca 
only. * * * The Americans have made 
such rapid strides in horticulture of late 
that, wo repeat, they have entirely changed 
the character of their vineyards. Certain 
grape growers have succeeded, by hybridi¬ 
zation, in so improving their wild vines that 
their grapes to-day equal our best products 
of the kind.” 
This is not bad for a foreigner! And when 
we reflect that such of our varieties as have 
been found to resist the Phylloxera here 
will be in demand there for grafting pur¬ 
poses, we may hope that our trans-Atlantic 
brethren will finally get to understand that 
we iHin grow good grapes. 
It is t.o lie regret ted that more caution is 
not taken by those who write upon the sub¬ 
ject of the Phylloxera. 1 lately noticed in 
one of the monthly reports from the De¬ 
partment of Agriculture t lie statement that 
variet ies of lahrusca are freest from the at¬ 
tacks oft lie louse; whereas lahrusca, as a 
species, suffers most. Such careless state¬ 
ments mislead, and may account for the fact 
that the varieties imported by the French 
minister have been mostly of this species. 
* Ueponse a lu Soc. Linneenne. 
■ - 
ABOUT GRAPES IN KENTUCKY. 
Two years ago we had a wet spell in June 
of about a week, and the grapes rotted with 
me for several days. Last year they rotted 
awhile in dry weather. This year the 
weather has been very dry, hut the rotting 
season lasted about two weeks. It did not 
amount to any thing serious. Part of the 
hunches on a vine, occasionally, would rot 
considerably. 
Present prospects:—Concord, (the main 
crop) vines lull, of fair bunches, doing well. 
Rotted a little, liartfords, a good crop; 
sound, healthy grape and vine. Ives seed¬ 
ling, u lino sight. Perfectly healthy, full of 
large bunches, a few begining to change col¬ 
or. Dracut Amber, full of line bunches;all 
sound. Norton’s Virginia, full of fine bundl¬ 
es. No disease; grapes good. Diana, well 
tilled, almost entirely free from rot this year. 
Delaware, slow but sure. Entirely healthy, 
leaves well after the vines are well establish¬ 
ed. Crevoling, good but scattering. Rogers 
No 15, fine and healthy generally. Nos. 4 
and 13 good, but rot some. Robecca, good 
but. slow. Iona, good grape but not healthy. 
Clinton, better this }'ear than common. Ca¬ 
tawba and Isabella, rather [healthier than 
usual; rot some. Perkins, line, perfectly 
healthy. Altogether, prospects good for 
good crop with me. B. D. s. 
Henderson Co., Ky„ July 13. 
Lycoming Drape.—This is the name of 
a Grape known locally in the neighborhood 
of Williamsport, Pa. The fruit is described 
as a large bunch, broad shouldered; berries 
oval, like Isabellas and nearly as large, but 
light pink in color. A pale wine made from 
them is very agreeable in flavor. The canes 
are distinct in their manner of growth; 
grayer in color than the common; they are 
close jointed, and the buds are round and 
prominent, looking as if of foreign origin, 
but the vines have proved quite hardy. 
