ing utensils. A stock of provisions is laid 
in sufficient for two men, and the hunting 
begins with the first light fall of snow, 
which is necessary to the noiseless pursuit 
of the deer and the observance of its track. 
The hunter's dress is of a color not to at¬ 
tract attention in the woods. Several pairs 
of woolen socks, with moccasins, protect 
the feet from cold, and insure a light and 
noiseless tread. Equipped with the rifle, lie 
sallies forth day after day from the camp, 
for six or eight weeks, or until compelled to 
suspend operations by the weather or i]k> 
absence of game. The path of tho hunter 
lies through swamps, over hills, frozen 
ponds, anywhere, if perchance he mny find 
a fresh deer track. This lie must follow 
until he obtains sight of the game. The 
animal, unconscious of danger, is surprised 
by llie crack of the rifle,and his first spring 
, throws out a sudden spirt of blood oil Hie 
■ hush or the snow. Now, if only wounded, 
the trail must he followed until lie becomes 
the hunter’s prize—perhaps it. te not until 
after miles of pursuit. It is then dressed, 
hung up on a sapling beyond the reach of 
wolves and panthers, and is finally sought 
for and brought into camp at the end of tin- 
season. Often at the close of day the hunter 
begins his return toward the shanty. One 
would think that every day would find a 
wanderer lost in the woods. It seems almost 
an instinct which takes them back; hut 
they arc trained to thread the forest, and 
every ridge, hill, mountain or brook affords 
them indications of the direction of the 
camp. The number of deer killed by a 
hunter in this region is from ten to twenty. 
Fifteen would be a good average, and suffi¬ 
cient to pay for the labor, at a season when 
there is but little work to he done at home. 
In some parts of the woods, not hunted dm - 
the product is much greater. 
by watching the little Hies as they issued 
therefrom. 
Now I will try to explain the mode of ap- I 
plying the pipe around the tree. Procure a 
piece of sheet iron about the length of stove 
pipe, bend it around the tree at the bottom, 
turn up the edges, then have a piece of plank 
same length of the pipe, three incites wide, 
with a groove cut in it three-eighths of an 
inch wide, one-half inch deep, place the pipe 
around the tree, put the list in the joint, then 
slide the groove plank down the length of 
the pipe. Make the bottom fast in the 
ground, bank up around it, pack it hard, 
turn in a quart or so of water; let it stand 
twenty-four hours. By that time it will be¬ 
come firm; then fill with boiling hot water; 
let it stand until cool, nnd good-by to all 
worms for the season. This process will 
make a young tree grow beyond all imagi¬ 
nation. I have the pipes of different sizes to 
fit all my trees—apples, pears, plums, &c. 
Yates Co.. N. V. H. DEXTER. 
portsimm 
THE HEW YORK WEEVIL. 
CROQUET TENT. 
A correspondent asks if we know who 
makes croquet tents and their cost. We 
do not. We give an illustration of an Eng 
COLORADO POTATO BUGS, 
{ JUii/cervA Noveboracemis , Forster.) 
I send you by this day’s mail a box con¬ 
taining some insects that are doing consid¬ 
erable damage to my young peach trees. 
They commence at the top of the tree, work¬ 
ing downward, taking off the buds, young 
shoots and bark They have already killed 
several young peach trees planted this 
spring. What are they, and Jiow best to 
destroy?— J, C„ Neff, 'Dimmit, Fulls, Ohio. 
The name of this insect is given above. 
It was named and described by Forster a 
hundred years ago (1770), from specimens 
received from New York; hence the specific 
name, noveboracensis ; hut it is more common 
at the West than East. Nearly twenty 
years ago we remember that this pest did 
considerable damage to yottfig apple trees in 
Wisconsin and Illinois; and there have been 
few seasons since that it has not appeared in 
one or more localities at the West. Its 
preference is the young tender shoots of ap¬ 
ples, penis, plums and peaches, hut will at¬ 
tack other trees as well. The general color 
of this beetle is a light ash gray, marked 
with black, the scute! of a yellowish color, 
its leugth five-eighths to three-quarters of 
an inch, and about one-quarter wide. It 
belongs to the great curcnlio family (com- 
trachdu *), but differs from the common 
plum and apple curculio in being several 
times larger, ami having straight an tenure 
instead of flail shaped. These beetles are so 
large that there is no great difficulty in 
destroying them by catching by hand and 
killing, and wc do not know of a better way. 
We have received specimens of the Colo¬ 
rado potato bug (Doryphora 10 -lineala) from 
several of our Western correspondents. 
The last arrival came from C. H. Starr, 
Centreville, Mich., and they arrived alive, 
hut apparently very hungry, and as we had 
no inclination to introduce this pest, they 
were instantly immersed in alcohol. '\ e 
would advise those who may have occasion 
to send samples of noxious insects to differ¬ 
ent parts of the country, to kill them before 
packing, because n few or more might es¬ 
cape during transit, and localities now free, 
become infested in consequence of a neglect 
of precautionary measures. The Colorado 
potato bug will probably reach the Atlantic 
States all too soon, even if everybody is 
very careful in trying to prevent its intro¬ 
duction ; but it is every one’s duly as well 
as interest to keep them away as long as 
possible. 
J. C. K., Caslletou,O., writesIs there 
a sure remedy against the potato bug, or do 
we have to give up raising potatoes this sea¬ 
son, as they arc taking our potatoes all 
through this county. They are eating Off 
my potatoes as fust as they come, and we 
will not raise any potatoes unless there is a 
remedy applied.” 
We do not know of a better method of 
getting rid of tills pest than catching and 
burning or crushing. Lime, ashes, Faria 
green or cresylic soap may do on a small 
scale, but they are entirely impracticable 
where potatoes are cultivated extensively. 
The same may lie said of catching the 
beetles, and it is likewise true if one. waits 
until these pests have become very numer¬ 
ous. But Where hand gathering is com¬ 
menced early, there is a chance of reducing 
the number to within moderate limits. 
A correspondent of the Rubai, New- 
Yorker writes from Whitewater, Wis.; 
“ Potato bugs are very plenty, and have 
done much harm. Have seen several fields 
entirely destroyed by them before Paris 
green was used to drive them away or kill 
them. 1 have used it on fire acres with 
entire success, at the rate of one pound of 
Paris green mixed with three-fourths of a 
bushel of lime or plaster, dusted on the 
potatoes by using a tin can, holding about 
a quart of the mixture, perforated with | 
small holes. 
—--- - 
A BOY’S INQUIRIES. 
1 am a hoy seeking for information and 
wish to ask'n few questions:— First, wlval 
hook supplies the place In entomology that 
is filled in botany by Quay’s school and 
field hook? Second, the fourteen year lo¬ 
custs are reported to he here. Is there any 
such thing, and does it lake seventeen years 
to hatch their eggs? If there is any such 
thing, 1 would like to know how to preserve 
specimens.—E. D. IT., Freeport , 111. 
We do not kuow of any book on Ento¬ 
mology exactly suited to a beginner. Cam's 
Book of Insects is an interesting elementary 
work, and the same may be said of J agger's 
Life of North American Insects. Kirov A 
Spenck’s Introduction lo Entomology is a 
larger aud still better work than, either of 
the above. Packard’s Guide to Ihe Study 
of Insects is an excellent work for those 
who have acquired some previous knowledge 
of the science, but of little use to the novice. 
Yes, there are such things as Ihe “seven¬ 
teen-year locusts,” but it does not require 
that number of years for their eggs to hatch, 
but. seventeen years for the worms that hatch 
from the eggs to grow and change into 
what are called “ locusts,” but. in reality 
only large flics. The true locusts are nearly 
related to our common grasshoppers, quite 
distinct insects from these cicadas, or “ seven¬ 
teen year locusts.” When you have read a 
few hooks upon Entomology all these dis¬ 
tinctions will be readily understood. 
WOOLLY OAK GALL. 
Those of our readers who have read 
“Homes without Hands,” will probably re¬ 
member the many beautiful illustrations of 
oak galls and their inhabitants given by its 
author. We have, in this country many 
lish croquet tent which sells for about twen¬ 
ty dollars there. We presume, similar ones 
are made by tent makers here, hut we do not 
happen to know who. 
DEER STALKING, 
\\xmxl J&rrbitfrturt 
mg summer, 
Mpomineii Inquiries— JOHN Halt, asks us to 
inquire where a Shot ami cap and target gun 
can be procured, and at what cost. 
NOTES FOR BUILDERS 
FIELD NOTES AND QUERIES, 
(.'lover io Kaunnii. 
John Jones, Jefferson Co., Kan., writes 
the Rural Nkw-Yorkeu as follows“ The 
oldest inhabitant says ‘clover will do no good 
here.’ I have tried it for three years, and it 
is growing better every year. I have cut off 
from a piece seeded three years, two tons per 
acre this season, without plastering.” 
Iti'-Sn'itiiiK oil 01*1 PuMiivi*. 
A. II. Pomeroy.— We should apply lime 
to the mossy portions of the pasture, harrow 
it thoroughly this fall—early in Otetober- 
seed with led top, red and white clover, and 
roll it thoroughly after sowing the seed. 
Apply the bone also, if you please. It will 
answer to turn on your sheep in the spring. 
We have regenerated pastures in this way. 
ball for Out h. 
At a meeting of the Farmers’ Institute of 
Eastern Pennsylvania recently, P. Morris 
Fig. l.—O ak Galls. 
species of insects that produce for them¬ 
selves, or their larva,habitations in ihe form 
of galls, there being very few species of 
trees or slmtbs that are not infested by some 
one or more of these minute members of 
the animal kingdom. One of the most beau¬ 
tiful and showy of galls is found upon the 
young twigs of our common white oak, 
(Quercus (dim), and is produced by a very 
small insect called the sower gall fly (Opnips 
seminator— Harris). These galls are glob¬ 
ular in form, varying in size from three- 
quarters to an inch and a-lialf in diameter, 
and one to three, and sometimes more, 
occur upon a single branch, as shown in 
Figure 1. 
HOT WATER AND PEACH TREE 
B ORERS , 
In the Rural New-Yorker Mr. Chas. 
E. Neil inquires how to keep the borers out 
of his peach trees. If he is not afraid of a 
little labor and time, he can do it effectually 
by scalding them. Last year, in the spring 
of 1870,1 had a peach tree that set full of 
peaches; after getting about the size of hick¬ 
ory nuts, they began to drop off and the 
leaves curled badly and began to drop ofl 
until I thought they would all drop from the 
tree; the ground was covered with leaves. 
By examination 1 found the trunk ot the 
tree, just below the surface of the ground, 
badly bored by the worms, and a large quan¬ 
tity of gum oozed out on the surface. 1 had 
no idea I could save the tree, but I inclosed 
the trunk of the. tree with a pipe, and tilled 
it with boiling hot water; it was death to 
the borers, aud the tree had the best and 
most abundant foliage of any' tree on my 
premises—the largest leaves that I ever saw 
on any tree of the kind, also a good crop of 
peaches. 
Tell your correspondent, A. S. L., to sow 
his carrots in drills about twelve inches apart 
When they show the second leaf pretty wet, 
dress out between the drills, leaving ie 
weeds standing in tl.e drills till ihecarroh 
have three or four leaves; then dress o 
again, weed clean and thin out the p *‘n & 
two or three inches. Dressing out bet*c 
the drills while the carrots are sinntil,, saj " 
great deal of hard work, and give* pljjj 
a chance to grow strong instead oi hecoinu , 
drawn or slender, while the weeds leftl 
ririita keen the carrots from being scorclieu 
FiouaE 2. 
They are composed of a white woolly 
substance, the outside berry spotted with 
brilliant reddish scarlet. Their internal 
structure is represented in Figure 2 by a 
cross section of one of lliese gulls, showing 
how they are composed of little seed-like 
cells attached to the central portion of the 
gall. One of these little appendages is 
shown at b, Figure 2. The pupa is inclosed 
in the lower portion, and after undergoing 
its transformation, the fly eats a small hole 
through the upper portion and escapes. A 
few weeks since we inclosed several of these 
galls in a glass jar, aud lor the past few 
days have been both instructed and amused 
Architectural Inquiries.— T. R. C., New Creek, 
Va., writes;—“I am building a brick house, and 
wish to have my ice house between tiie meal 
room and coal house, and would be very glad of 
practical hints as to best mode of constructon, 
