since 
giarg of a pluralist. 
DAILY RURAL LIFE. 
FROM THE DIARY OF A GENTLEMAN NEAR NEW YORK CITY. 
Rural Club Pic-Nic .—August 18.—In 
company with some members of the New 
York Rural Club, I visited, to-day, the bulb 
farm of C. L. A lt.is.v & Co., at Queens. Long 
Island. It is not every farm that is adapted 
to the culture of bulbs, and unless a man is 
a pretty good judge of soil, he is very.likely 
to make a mistake, even if he knows the 
wants of the plants to be grown therein. 
The firm to which 1 have alluded is for¬ 
tunate in possessing land in which the (Glad¬ 
ioli and Lilies succeed most admirably, 
these being the plants cultivated in enor¬ 
mous quantities. Pailj.et, and other cele¬ 
brated French Cultivators of the Gladioli, 
will probably soon learn that they have suc¬ 
cessful rivals on this side of the Atlantic, 
not only in propagat ing the imported varie¬ 
ties, but in producing new seedlings of great, 
merit. The display of now seedlings at the 
Ai ,lex farm is only another example of 
what we might do in this country iu the 
way of producing rare flowers of ull kinds, 
provided the attempts were more generally 
made. Now, raising Gladiolus from seed is 
just as simple an operation as raising onions; 
and no one need be deprived of a garden 
full of the choicest sorts. All that is re¬ 
quired is a little cure and patience. Save 
seeds from choice sorts, keep them until 
Spring, and then sow in good, rich soil, and 
give water occasionally if the weather 
should prove dry. In the Fall, take up the 
little bulbs and store iu a dry, warm place. 
In Spring, plant out again, and give good 
culture, taking up the bulbs in the Fall, as 
before, if the plants have been well cared 
for, they will bloom the third season, and 
then comes the pleasure of watching the 
unfolding buds. 
Although we may have gathered all the 
seed sown from one plant, the seedlings are 
pretty certain to be of various colors. It is 
better, however, to obtain seed from the 
very best sorts, instead of the poor ones, as 
it costs no more to save them, and the 
chances of obtaining superior varieties are 
greatly enhanced thereby. It is worth all 
it costs to raise a few Riich plants from seed, 
if for no other purpose than to teacb us pa¬ 
tience. and what it is to be careful in hand¬ 
ling delicate plants, beside giving us some 
idea of what it costs in labor to produce 
many of the beautiful things which make 
I bis earth a Paradise to those who have the 
capacity and inclination to enjoy it. The 
happiest men and women are these who 
have learned to enjoy what they know and 
see. 
Cuttings of Bedding Plants.— Aug. 
14. — Within a month from this date it will 
be time to commence taking up bedding 
plants, if they are to be Recured against in¬ 
jury froiu frosts. The professional florists 
in the more Northern States have probably 
already begun to make preparations for 
securing their stock of plants to be pre¬ 
served through the Winter, and amateurs 
should take the hint and do likewise. Large 
plants of Coleus, Verbenas, Heliotropes, 
and the like, that have been growing in t he 
border during the Rummer are far too large 
and cumbersome to be preserved in the 
house during winter; besides, it is a diffi¬ 
cult matter to lift them and preserve all or 
any considerable part of their foliage. A 
far better plan, and the one usually' adopt¬ 
ed by' florists, is to take off cuttings and 
strike them either iu frames or in the house, 
thereby securing a sufficient number of 
small, healthy plants as a stock from which 
to propagate next season. Cuttings of 
nearly all of the half suculent bedding 
plants will strike very readily at this sea¬ 
son, without the aid of bottom heat. Small 
boxes filled with sand and covered with 
glass will answer every purpose, and plants 
sufficiently large and vigorous can be se- 
cured before cold weather. Much of the 
trouble experienced by amateurs in keeping 1 
bedding plants through Winter in a healthy * 
condition is due to the practice of lifting ^ 
tiie old plants instead of starting new ones ^ 
in time. Even layers from Verbenas, Ge- ^ 
miliums and Heliotropes are not as good 
for stock plants as those grown from small, 
healthy cuttings. I have commenced put- t 
ting in cuttings of such plants as I wish to 
preserve a stock of, and shall continue to j 
do so, as 1 have leisure, until the weather 
is too cold for striking without the aid of t 
artificial heat. 
sown in drills for fodder. It was sown 
early and is now fully as large as it should 
be to make good fodder, although some 
farmers would think me foolish to cut it 
before the lower leaves were ripe; but I 
have found that ripe cornstalks were about 
as poor feed for stock as ripe grass; and 
although it is a little more troublesome to 
cure while in this condition, than it would 
be a little later, the fodder is enough better 
to pay for the extra care required. If the 
weather is clear and dry at the time of cut¬ 
ting up drill corn, there need be no diffi¬ 
culty in having it well cured without de- 
st roving its nutritious quail ties; cut it down 
in the morning and spread out thinly over 
the ground; next morning turn it over, 
and either tie up into small bundles in the 
afternoon or the following day. The bauds 
on the bundles should not he drawn too 
tightly if the cornstalks are small and slen¬ 
der, but tied so that they will not come 
apart. Hot the bundles up in small shocks 
and put a band around the tops to hold 
them together. If the bundles or shocks 
are not made too large, the fodder will 
cure without any further care and it will be 
of a green color, not all bleached out as 
usual when allowed to cure as spread upon 
the ground. At the approach of cold 
weather the fodder may be drawn under 
are put in; and that is the principal reason 
why we have to learn how to five when we 
are too old to enjoy the fruits of our labors. 
Chttoinoloqiail. 
THE CABBAGE BUTTERFLY. 
The “cabbage butterfly,” Pieris rapes, 
Linn., has made its appearance in this sec¬ 
tion in great numbers, so that the cabbage 
crop is threatened with ruin. It is a white, 
or very light yellow butterfly, about two 
inches broad from tip to tip of its wings. 
The wings are tipped with black, and the 
males have one round black spot upon each 
upper wing, while the females have two and 
sometimes three such spots. The females 
begin laying their eggs upon the young 
plants, early in the Spring, one egg in a 
place. These soon hatch into green worms 
which feed upon the tender leaves of the 
cabbage, rendering it very filthy by voiding 
its excrement upon and around the head. 
They grow very rapidly until about one and 
a-half inches in length, when they begin 
spinning their cocoon, and in a little overa 
week are again transformed into a butter- 
liy, ready to repeat the operation, and so 
continue doing until Fall. 
rninrtJM. LEiCHTLINII-lMax .Leiolitlin’s TAly). 
cover; but it is not safe to place a very 
large quantity together in a mow, as it is 
very likely to become moldy and unfit for 
feeding. I do not know of any other plant 
that will yield so much fodder per acre as 
corn ; but to secure the crop in good condi¬ 
tion requires considerable care as well as 
suitable weuther while the operation is 
being performed. 
Harvesting Sowed Corn.— Aug. 16.— 
I have commenced harvesting my corn 
Budding Fruit Trees.— Altg. !(>. — I 
find budding fruit trees is quite often more 
convenient than grafting, because it can be 
done at a season when one is not so driven 
with work as in Spring, when grafting must 
bo done, if at all. A few buds can be taken 
from a choice pear or other fruit tree and 
inserted into the branches of some poor 
variety; and if they should happen to fail 
the branch still remains in good condition 
for grafting next Spring; thus we have two 
chances of ruccpss instead of one. If I were 
a country school teacher, or a superintend¬ 
ent of common schools, every boy and girl 
under my charge should lie taught how to 
bud and graft trees; and I am sure no 
parent would object to such practical les¬ 
sons in vegetable physiology. Boys, in par¬ 
ticular, like to whittle, and they should be 
taught how to do it to some purpose. A few 
budding lessons in August would not be 
half as dry or useless as some things which 
every scholar is obliged to learn. Suppose 
some of our school-masters who are trying 
their brains with mythological problems 
come down or up and try their hands at 
budding, and illustrate the operation in a 
scientific and practical manner. I know 
that it is not iu the school books, but that 
is no good reason why it should not be. I 
am inclined to believe there are more use- 
We have seen two dozen butterflies at one 
time on a piece of less than one-fourth acre 
of cabbage, and have seen them lay several 
eggs each in a minute’s time. They maybe 
seen flying arouud in the fields and streets 
everywhere, and as they make their trans¬ 
formations so often it seems of little use to 
kill them. 
According to the report of Townsend 
Glover, United States Entomologist, they 
were first introduced into Quebec in 185T, 
were found iu New Hampshire and Ver¬ 
mont in 18(56, and around New York iu 
1869. 
Now, what we wish to know is, what our 
prospect, of cabbage-raising will be next 
year? What is the experience in places 
visited by them several years ago? Ho 
they increase or decrease in numbers each 
succeeding year, and is there any effectual 
remedy known to stop their ravages? Can 
we not have a little light on these points 
through the Rural? 
Factoryville, Penn. I. F. Tddlinghast. 
You are certainly in error in regard to 
these insects spinning a cocoon, for the 
worms become chrysalids which are merely 
fastened to a board or side of a building 
with one thread. In the Rural New- 
Yorker, Nov. 25, 1871, page 833, and Hoc. 
9. 1871, page 365, we alluded to and gave a 
description of a minute parasite, which de¬ 
stroy sthe chrysalids of this cabbage pest. 
Its work has been so efficient in Northern 
localities where this cabbage worm was so 
abundant two years ago as to destroy the 
entire crop, that it is scarcely seen now. 
This parasite is the old and natural enemy 
of this same cabbage pest iu Europe, and 
has been for centuries; but in importing 
ful lessons left out of such works than there j the cabbage worm, Pieris rupee , (or its 
chrysalids) in seeds, its parasitic enemy, 
Pteromalus puparum , was left behind, 
hence its rapid increase without check in 
this country. We know of no efficient im¬ 
mediate remedy. This parasite wifi protect 
you after a little. 
LYTTAS IN KANSAS. 
I inclose two bugs; if they arrive safely, 
I would like to he informed what they are. 
There are t housands, yes, millions of them 
here. They eat beet leaves, and the leaves 
of some kinds of flowers and weeds; but 
where they do the most damage is among 
the potato vines. They have stripped our 
i each Blow potato vines, and some of the 
tops are entirely (load. They did some in¬ 
jury to the crop last, year, but not as much 
as they have this season. The weather was 
verv dry through the latter part of June 
and fore part of July, but since the 20th of 
.July have had plenty of rain. Is there anv- 
thing that will destroy these bugs? We 
would be very thankful to get rid of them. 
Perhaps some one can give us a remedy.— 
C. W., Washington, Knn. 
The ash-gray beetle, about three-fourths 
of an inch long, which you send, is one of 
the many species of Ufiater beetles (Lytta) 
which infest the potato and other garden 
vegetables. The specimens sent were ground 
almost to powder; therefore, we cannot de¬ 
termine the species positively, but think it 
Lytta cincrea, Lec. We do not know of a 
better way to get rid of fids pest than togath- 
or them from the vines with a net fastened 
to a hoop about a foot or more iu diameter, 
and this affixed to a handle three or four 
feet long. Scald the beetles as soon as 
caught. Tt is quite probable, however, that 
they will all disappear, and you will not be 
troubled with them next season. Three 
years ago they were abundant in our garden, 
but we have not Reen a half-dozen there 
ENTOMOLOGICAL NOTES. 
drape Leaf Galls.—Inclosed please find 
several leaves oil' of Taylor Bullet, grape 
vines. Please state in Rural New-Yorker 
what, is t ile cause of these leaves being in¬ 
fested as they are and a preventive of the 
same. A friend in Kansas has eight varie¬ 
ties of grapes growing on his place; nearly 
all of the leaves of the Taylor Ballet vines 
are affected like the inclosed; the other 
vines are, apparently, all right.— 1 >. a. v. 
The small galls on the leaf inclosed are 
caused by a gall-louse, known as Phylloxera 
vitijolla, Fitch. This insect was figured 
and described in the Rural New-Yorker, 
Oct. 21, 18,1, page 251, and in the two fol¬ 
lowing numbers, by C. V. Rllev. If you 
have kept a file of the Rural, which every 
subscriber should do, turn to the numbers 
named and you will find the most complete 
history of this formidable and rapidly' in¬ 
creasing pest ever published. The three 
numbers of the Rural New-Yorker con¬ 
taining the article to which we refer are 
worth far more than the subscription price 
for one year to every one who owns a grape 
c^Iorifjiltiu{itl. 
LILIUM LEICHTLINII. 
Max Lelchtlin’s Lily. 
We herewith give an illustration of a 
charming new Lily which we saw in bloom 
a few days since in the grounds of 0. L. 
Allen & Co., Queens, Long Island. We 
presume that it is not a distinct species, hut 
either a hybrid between the Tiger Lily and 
some other species, or it may be only a sport 
from this old favorite, its origin is un¬ 
known, further than Messrs. Ykitch & 
Sons, the well-known English nurserymen, 
found a bulb of it among some L. aura turns 
which they received from Japan a few years 
since, and J. D. Hooker, Curator of the 
Kew Gardens, named it after Max Leicht- 
lix of Carlsruhe, a gentleman who lias paid 
especial attention to the introduction and 
cultivation of lilies. 
This new lilvresembles, in some respects, 
the common Tiger Lily in the form of the 
flower,hut differs from it not only iu the 
Color but graceful habit of the plant. The 
stems are tall, slender, three to four feet 
high, with many long, slender branches, or 
(lower-stalks. Leaves, alternate, sessile, 
rather remote, linear lanceolate, acute, 
spreadingand recurved, three to four inches 
long and about three-fourths of an inch 
broad, pale bright green ; flowers solitary but 
numerous, four inches iu diameter, nodding, 
bright, light golden or lemon yellow, spot¬ 
ted or blotched with maroon. The bulbs 
appear to be perfectly hardy and the plant 
altogether a vigorous grower and profuse 
bloomer. 
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