oo 
t;tri) of a Putnilist. 
DAILY RURAL LIFE. 
From the Diary at' a (.'eiilletnuii near New 
Vorlt C’itv. 
At tlie Cupital of Vermont. 
Jill)/ 81.—A rainy day is gloomy enofigh 
at any time, unless one’s crops need mois¬ 
ture; but when away from homo, shut up 
in a hotel, and in a town like Montpelier, 
which is shut in by mountains on all sides, 
it’s a little too much for a nervous tempera¬ 
ment. With the assistance of an umbrella 
and l ubber shoes, I managed to reach the 
State House this afternoon, and see the few 
curiosities which it contains. In a small 
room on the first floor, some generously dis¬ 
posed person or persons have tilled a few 
cases of minerals, shells, skeletons and skins 
of birds. There were also a lew cases filled 
with insects, only a small portion of them 
named, and most of these incorrectly. There 
is no use of scolding Vermont for neglect ing 
to have a State Cabinet, where the fauna, 
flora and minerals found within her borders 
can be seen ami studied, lor she might ask 
which one of her forty sisters have really 
done any better. Every Slate should have 
sufficient individual pride to place samples of 
her productions where strangers, as well as 
her own citizens, could study them, and not 
he compelled to make separate collections 
for this purpose. Could I have found here a 
complete collection of the insects of Ver¬ 
mont, it would have been a guide lor me in 
searching for specimens. 
Uiik fluuliilB at Ridley. 
Aug. 1.—We left. Montpelier this morn¬ 
ing for Ridley, a small town on the Vermont 
Central Railroad, about twenty miles dis¬ 
tant. An hour’s ride brought, us to this 
quiet little place made up of saw-mills and 
a half dozen dwelling houses, all nestled in 
a lovely little valley at the foot of Camel’s 
Ilump, second only by one hundred feet to 
Mount. Mansfield, the highest peak of the 
Green Mountains. The “Hump” can be 
seen in pleasant weather from a great dis¬ 
tance in approaching it on almost any of the 
railroads that are located within twenty or 
thirty miles. Having arranged to make the 
ascent of the mountain on the morrow, pro¬ 
vided the weather would permit, we took 
our bug-hunting apparatus in hand, consist¬ 
ing of nets, hollies of alcohol and chloro¬ 
form, and stal led for the saw-mills and lulls. 
Our party was a small one, consisting of 
Pun.in S. Siut.vu tJlS, coleoplerisl, of the Bos¬ 
ton Society of Natural History, Mrs. Rit¬ 
ualist and myself. The limber worked at 
the mills being chiefly hemlock and spruce, 
wc did not expect to find many’insects in 
i Be vicinity, because there are comparatively 
few beetles, the larva of which infest, these 
trees. We were, however, quite successful, 
and our labor rewarded wilh several quite 
rare species. Mrs. Rukalibt caught two 
line specimens of 2'ragosomu llarrisii, Lice. 
Mr. Sprague one; hut J failed to make a 
single capture of this kind. My success 
with other species was sufficient to prevent 
disgrace, and altogether our collection at 
night was satisfactory. Catching insects is 
as exciting sport as fishing, especially in a 
strange locality, where species new to one’s 
Cabinet are likely to be found. The workmen 
about the mills were quite puzzled to know 
what wo were about, and enjoyed them¬ 
selves hugely at our expense. Some of them 
thought we were city folks looking lor spruce 
gum, and one look pity on us by' remarking 
that this article was not found under Hie 
bark of old, half-rol teu logs. Anot her asked 
What we were looking for. We replied, 
“ beetles,” “ Ami what are they' good for?” 
said he. 
“ Medicine,” replied Mr. Sprague. 
This puzzled our inquirer more than ever; 
but not willing to give it up, he ventured 
another question and asked what the medi¬ 
cine was used for. 
“ Brains, to he sure,” answered Mr. 
Spragujc, and our inquisitor walked oil 
about as svise as lie came, hut doubtless with 
a very low estimate of city folks’ intelligence. 
Up Ili<‘ Mountain. 
August. 2.—Mercury this morning at 5-T, 
with some fog hanging over the mountain, 
Mr. Sprague concluded that the weather 
would be unfavorable lbr ascending the 
mountain, and he returned to Montpelier. 
The fog soon began to disappear, and our 
host prophesied fair weather. We conclud¬ 
ed to try the ascent without farther delay. 
Our party consisted of Mrs. Ruraltst, a 
guide and. myself. We left the hotel at 9 A. 
M., with a good strong span of horses, a 
strong carriage made expressly for mountain 
roads, wilh saddles for the last half of the 
journey, axes to clear the path of trees that 
may have blown down since the best party 
went up, and other necessary trappings. 
On ilie Uunil. 
For about two miles and a-half ihere is a 
fair carriage road, but steep enough to keep 
one in mind that lie is constantly going up. 
I had my sweep-net in hand, and made 
good use of it along the road, brushing the 
wild raspberry and other hushes, often 
catching specimens of beetles that I desired 
A very minute species of curculio infested 
the raspberry, and a number of these were 
added to my collection. 
Leaving tliu Cnvrinee. 
Half way up the mountain the carriage 
road ends, and our guide said that pleasure 
riding was at an end. Here the horses were 
unhitched from the car¬ 
riage, and the saddles ^ 
"brought out from under 
the seats; but. a serious 
question came up for ifV’YN 
decision, to wit., should 'Wj 
Mrs. Kura list take her 
first lesson in “woman’s 
rights,” and mount a 
man’s saddle, man-fash¬ 
ion, or choose the more 
polite form and run the 
risk of breaking her c?* 
neck. A glance up- Y 
ward at the mountain 
path filled wilh loose 
stone tumbled about by 
water that came rush¬ 
ing down from the ^ 
summit, along with a j 
hint from Die guide that 
a clothes pin, with two mM | 
prongs was more cer- '■, jl 
tain to stay on a line I ft I 
than one with one 
prong gone, settled the J 'i 
question, and we were |jj|*.|| 
soon ready for a start. || 
A powerful young 
gray, named Ethan Al- llj mjw N ««e 
len, was given to me, w|jr 
and I soon found that I 
had enough to do to NqYrm 
keep my seat without 
attempting to look for 
other specimens of nut- 
ural history. In a dry 
time, walking up this 
mountain would cer- 
tainly he preferable to /£ 
riding; but in a wet lifc 
season, or just after f 
a shower, a horse is JjIIjII 
quite a convenience in 
going through the sloughs and rivulets. 
Words would certainly fail me if I nt- 
tempted to describe our ascent of “ Cam¬ 
el’s Hump,” hut if any one wishes to get 
an idea of the path, gully, ljvnlet bed, or 
whatever it may he called (for no attempt to 
make a passage has been made), be can just 
imagine himself ascending one hundred lent 
perpendicular to every one hundred feet ad¬ 
vance in a horizontal direction, with the 
These are all carefully stored away in vials 
of alcohol and labeled, “ Camel’s Hump,” 
where they must remain until I have leisure 
for examining them. 
Our Descent. 
Al 4 P. M. we again mounted our horses 
and prepared for a descent of the mountains. 
The horses now showed the first signs of an 
unwillingness to move, and we could not 
blame them, for to even look down the gorge 
v.jpfp 
m 
■ m 
LII.ITJM CQLUMBIANTJM. 
ivulets. f that we must travel was certainly frightful, 
f I at- Ellum rebelled as 1 reined him inlo the path, 
“ Cam- and for some tiiixe I was in doubt who would 
to get come oil'victorious. At last he gave a plunge 
bed, or over the first rock, w hich would have scut, 
•nipt, to me over his bead had 1 not had a good hold 
:an just on the crupper strap, and we were on our 
red feel downward journey. Mrs. Ruralist’s horse 
feet ad- had long been accustomed to these mottn- 
tli the lain paths, and it was a wonder to me to see 
path filled with boulders from the size of how carefully lie would step or slide over 
one’s head up to any imaginable size, some Die huge wet rocks without ever missing a 
fast, with a smooth surface, Others just ready step, or even giving a severe jolt to his load. 
to roll dowll the mountain. Two miles and 
a half of this kind of travel brings us to the 
“Summit House,” a little til unity where a 
man and two women welcome us to all the 
hospitalities the house affords, and we can 
afford to pay for, at tip-top prices. 
The Hcenorr. 
Mrs. Ruualist and myself have seen 
some wild country during our travels in the 
Ethan atul I lmd several tussle m our de¬ 
scent, and it is not, exactly clear to me which 
came out best, but we reached the foot of the 
mountain about half past six o’clock, well 
satisfied with our Dip, mid tired enough. 
My lliriInlay. 
Aug 3.—My better half reminded me this 
morning that it was my birthday. Strange 
incidents happen in one’s lifetime and these 
past twenty years, hut we are ready to give p|j.|]idays often recall them to mind. Twenty- 
“ Camel’s Hump” the preference. Here one 
can have a lull and unobstructed view in all 
directions. Lake Champlain on the west, 
the White Mountains of New Hampshire 
on the east, Mount Mansfield, and all the 
other high peaks in the State, vyit.li numer¬ 
ous cities and villages, are plainly in view. 
It’s a hard road to get here; but one is well 
repaid for all that it costs iu time, money 
and fatigue. 
Plants of Hie Mountain. 
When about. 3,000 feet up from the valley, 
we begin to reach a sub-Alpine flora. Every¬ 
thing seems to be dwarfed. The mountain 
asli grows only two or three feet high, 
Dwarf species and varieties of huckleber¬ 
ries grow in the "crevices of the rocks, and 
in every 1 itLie valley the wild red currant 
(ffi/M rubrum) was growing luxuriantly. I 
never found the wild red Currant in such 
perfection as here; the berries fully equaled 
the Cherry currant iu size, and their bril¬ 
liant color far excelled any of our cultivated 
sorts. I thiuk that it would not be a very 
difficult task to produce varieties of this cur¬ 
rant from our native stock that; would excel 
the best of the foreign. I gathered a quan¬ 
tity' of the largest berries and dug up a few 
plants to bring away. I found many other 
wilq plants of interest to botanists as well 
as Horticulturists, which will be of use to 
me ill the future. 
Insect** of the Hit tup. 
Our special object In visiting the Hump, 
was to capture insects, Jtnd the day' was a 
most favorable one, being warm and pleasant. 
1 did not expect to find any great number of 
species here, on this elevated position, but if 
any were found they would probably he quite 
rare. For three hours of almost incessant 
sweeping, dragging and turning over of loose 
stone, we were rewarded with about a hun¬ 
dred specimens of beetles, which was cer¬ 
tainly a greater number than we expected. 
Potato Ituc*. 
In several localities along our route of 
travel I had been told that the potatoes were 
badly infested with some species of bug or 
beetle, and farmers were alarmed, fearing 
that the dreaded Colorado beetle bud arrived 
in Vermont. 1 heard the same story on my 
arrival here, but after a diligent search for 
potato hugs in every field in the vicinity 
that report said was infested, I found nothing 
but old acquaintances, such as the Chelymor- 
plui eribraria , a few blister beetles (Lytta) 
and Uulticas , none of them doing any par¬ 
ticular damage. 1 am not surprised ut the 
anxiety of the Vermont tanners in regard to 
the advent of the Colorado potato beetle, be¬ 
cause Die home of the Early Rose and Peer¬ 
less will surely suffer when they do appear. 
Moving Iloniewuril. 
Aug. 5.—A I wo hours’ ride from the staid 
old town ofPoultney brought us to Albany, 
where we were soon aboard the steamer St. 
John, which will probably carry us safely 
to New York by to-morrow morning. 
five years ago this day I spent, on Thunder 
and Ilat Islands, in Lake Huron, gathering 
Die wild fruits and flowers and watching 
the fishermen draw their nets full of white 
fish and trout. Scarcely a day' has passed 
since in which 1 have not been hunting for 
specimens in some of the many branches of 
Natural History, or rending some work that 
would give me knowledge of the same. It 
is certainly' true that 1 have learned many 
things during this quarter of a century, but 
there are such wide fields into which I have 
as yet scarcely taken my first step, that 
twenty-five hundred years would not be 
sufficient time to make a brief survey. Well! 
it is bill little that a man can know, even if 
he is busy during the three score and ten 
years allotted to some in which they may 
work if they will; therefore, it will not do 
for me to sit here musing of the past, but up 
and attend to the present. 
On ilia Move A tain. 
Taking the way train at 9 A. M., we were 
soon moving along to new fields for explora¬ 
tion. Whenever we could get a chance to 
remain over at any station along the route 
for an hour or two, we availed ourselves of 
the opportunity, and spent the time sweep¬ 
ing for and catching insects. At Burlington 
we had two hours, and during the time cap¬ 
tured quite a number of specimens, among 
them a dozen Chrysobothris that were sun¬ 
ning themselves on the depot buildings. 
We reached Rutland, Vt., at 9 P. M., tired 
and hungry. 
At Poulruey. 
August 4. — This quiet old town 1ms 
changed hut little since We hist visited it, 
eighteen years ago. The Ripley' Female 
College has become a fashionable boarding 
house, and the Academy is now a hotel, 
where frequenters are taught billiards and 
other branches of modern civilization. 
LILIUM COLTJMBIANUM. 
Since botanists and plant collectors have 
been furnished convenient facilities for reach¬ 
ing the Pacific coast, many new and valua¬ 
ble things have been brought to notice. It 
is true that the lamented Douglass, and 
several co-laborers of his, spent many months 
in those regions nearly a half century ago; 
and their search brought to light many a 
rare plant; but it could not be expected that, 
they or others during a brief stay in such a 
vast wilderness of rare trees and plants, 
could explore the whole field. We are con¬ 
stantly' being reminded that California, Ore¬ 
gon and Columbia are prolific in novelties; 
and of no one genus have they been more 
productive than the lilies. One of the pret¬ 
tiest. species that we have seen is the L. Co- 
lumbianmn , shown in Die accompanying il¬ 
lustration. Tliis species is a native of Co¬ 
lumbia and Washington Territories. The 
plant grows one to two feet high, and of a 
most graceful habit. The leaves are produced 
in whorls resembling our common L superb- 
um. The flowers are small and of the form 
shown. Tlicir color is orange yellow, spot¬ 
ted with dark brown, The bulbs are as 
hardy as any of onr native lilies, and thrive 
in a good, rich, moist soil. But we will re¬ 
mark that upon no account must rank barn¬ 
yard manure ever be applied to lilies, as it is 
sure to cause disease. 
•-- 
FLORAL ROTES. 
Cnlysteuiu null TrnilcNcnnt io. 
The plants received from II. N. H,, Har¬ 
ford Co., Md., are as follows:—The wild 
climbing plant, with rose or white flowers, 
resembling the morning glory, is Calystegia 
septum. The low trailing plant is I’rctdescan- 
tiu procumbem , and is extensively used for 
hanging baskets. T. eebrina is another very 
popular variety of this plant, with striped 
leaves. 
Rose CUtlluBH. 
One of the best methods of securing the 
success of these, says a recent writer, is to 
stick the cifiling about an iucli deep into 
clean river sand with properly prepared soil 
about an inch below to receive the roots as 
soon as they strike. The clean sand prevents 
the roots from lotting. A correspondent of 
the Horticulturist succeeded with this when 
every other mode failed—and says he does 
not lose one iu twenty. 
Crprc*# (Jilin. 
1 send you the inclosed leaf and flowers 
of a perennial which has preceded its name 
in ibis neighborhood. It blooms the third 
summer; spike two feet long; bight five 
feet; seems half hardy. Its name and habits 
would oblige.—M ary A. Althouse, titrath- 
■ray, Ontario. 
The common name of this plant is given 
above. It is also called Ipornopm, but Dr. 
Gray places it among the Gilius , as Gilia 
coronapifjlia. It, was named for one Gil, a 
Spanish botanist. It is plentiful in the 
Southern States and westward to the Pacific. 
The leaves and flowers resemble the cypress 
vine, (Quamodit vulgaris ,) hence the name 
“Cypress Gilia.” This species of Gilia is 
quite hardy as far North as New York city, 
especially if cultivated in a light, dry soil; 
hut it is a biennial, and does not bloom un¬ 
til the second season, after which it dies. If 
the first seeds that ripen are gathered and 
sown immediately', they will usually produce 
plants strong enough to bloom the following 
season. 
Zinnia uml Aster Seeds. 
Will you or some of your readers tell 
how to save seeds from Asters and Zinnias, 
when to gather the flowers, &c.?—w. 
As soon as the petals have dropped off or 
dried up, the ripening head of seed should 
lie cut off and laid in an airy or shady place. 
It is not well to wait until the seeds in the 
center of the heads are ripe, because those 
in the outside rows will have dropped; but 
if a small section Of the stem is cut off at¬ 
tached to the head, the seed will usually 
ripen as well as when left on the pj ant 
After the chaff surrounding the seed is fully 
dried, it can be blown off, leaving the seed 
pure and clean. 
PhuitiiiGf Fall ItuIbs. 
The Gardeners’ Monthly says:—“ As soon 
in the fall as bulbs can be obtained, they 
should be planted—though this will not 
generally he the case till October,—but it is 
as well to hear in mind that the earlier they 
are planted, the finer they will flower.” The 
Seedsmen will soon be oil hand with their 
bulbs. There have been extensive arrange-, 
meats made by them for the fall trade, and 
announcements will soou be in order. 
A noi tier Opinion on IMnniinu Bulbs. 
The Germantown Telegraph says:—“Li 
setting out tulips be careful not to make the 
soil too rich. Hyacinths require heavy ma¬ 
nuring—tulips not, or they will not thrive 
well and produce inferior flowers. The be¬ 
ginning of November is the best time to 
plant bulbs generally.” 
Tim CliaiiKt'nble Forjret-ine-uot. 
The London Gardeners’Magazine says: 
All the Forget-me-nots have been tried as 
pot plants in the Alpine house, and only one 
of them proves to be well adapted lbr Hie 
purpose, and this happens to be the best of 
the Forget-me-nots for any purpose. Myoso- 
tis dmitiflora should be grown in pots one 
whole season out of doors to make a pretty 
specimen to flower in the house in spring. 
If well done, it forms a dense cushion of 
bright green leafage quite covered wilh its 
lovely flowers, which at first are of a most 
delicate pink hue, but afterwards acquire a 
tint of palest azure. If flowered early in a 
warm house, the flowers arc at first pure 
while. In either of these conditions it is a 
gem of the first water. 
A New Iiily al tlie I.onilon Show. 
A correspondent of the Dublin Record 
says: —“A remarkable hybrid lily was ex¬ 
hibited at the meeting of the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society on the 3rd Inst. It was a 
true hybrid between L. auratum and L. lan- 
cifolvnn s/im/Miim, and had petals similar to 
those ol the L. luncifolinm type, but broader 
and smoother, and consequently with the 
flowers much less reflexed. In color the 
flowers were white, and had not the golden 
rays peculiar to L. auratum, the flower was 
exquisitely fragrant, and the foliage was in¬ 
termediate between the two, though perhaps 
partaking rather more of that of L. auratum. 
It was exhibited by Mr George Thomson, 
Stanstead Park Gardeus, Emswortli, Hants, 
and awarded a first class certificate. 
be fearbenrr. 
BLANCHING CELERY. 
The last of August is the time to begin 
earthing up celery that ivill he wanted for 
use iu October or November. The crop de¬ 
signed for winter use need not he earthed 
up until later in the season, for if blanched 
too early it ivill he neither as good nor keep 
as well as that which is blanched in cool 
weather. In earthing up, some care is re¬ 
quired to keep the soil on the outside of the 
head, and to do this the operator should 
clasp the leaves and steins in one hand, 
holding them together, while with the other 
the earth should lie drawn around the plant 
and pressed firmly against, it. A very little 
soil will suffice for this purpose, and more 
can he added if required, when both hands 
are free to use the hpe or spade. II the 
plants are not growing as vigorously as re¬ 
quired, then give them ft liberal supply ot 
liquid manure a few days before the first 
earthing up. Of course, Die liquid should 
not he thick and rank, for tins would cause 
rust; bur let it be strong, and then dilute 
with considerable water, so that the earth 
about the plants may be well soaked, and 
not merely sprinkled. Celery intended lbr 
a bile crop should be frequently hoed during 
this and next month ; and if the weather is 
dry, water freely, adding some kind of stimu¬ 
lating manure if necessary. 
--- 
PROTECTING CAULIFLOWERS. 
In raising a crop of cauliflowers for family 
use, too great a number of heads are likely 
to he in a proper condition for cutting at the 
same time. If the heads are left exposed to 
the sun, they will turn green and become 
open, loose and tougb, and it is often a mat¬ 
ter of some importance to a family to pre¬ 
serve or retard a portion of the crop as long 
as possible. If one has an ice-liouse or other 
cool place, the heads with a portion of the 
stem attached, may he cut and stored <«>• :l 
week or two without injury. If they aie hit 
in the garden, the leaves should eithei l* 1 
broken down over the head or tied togeilwi 
so as to form a protection against the diiect 
rays of the sun, as well as rain- 
Later in the season, if there are plants 
