Whatever may bo the value of the orange 
commercially, there can be no question of 
the pleasure it can give to the lover of trees. 
The few wanted for a family can be easily 
grown, and I think the time will come when 
all the beautiful wooded points on the lower 
St. Johns will be occupied by cottages of 
Northern gentlemen. When the railroad fa¬ 
cilities become such that a man can place his 
family in a parlor car with a supply of eata¬ 
bles and be in Florida in two days and one 
night, hundreds will go where one goes now. 
It will be as easy to take his servants and go 
to liis country home in Florida as to a coun¬ 
try home in Berkshire ; and once there the 
contrast will be strong between the dreary 
Northern winter aixl the pleasant Southern 
temperature—cold enough for hard exercise 
in walking, riding, or boating, and yet warm 
enough to give, him all the. bright foliage of 
Oranges, Oleanders, Olives, Palms and hun¬ 
dreds of other plants never seen at. the North 
in the open air, but in Florida growing with 
great luxuriance. I have much hope that 
tdie capabilities of Florida for ornamental 
plant culture will yet be appreciated and 
that I shall live to see results there infinitely 
finer than anything upon the beautiful shores 
of Lakes Como and Maggibre. 
Yours very truly, S. B. Parsons. 
Flushing, L. I., March If. 
remedy, I have tried mulching, also planting 
the bulbs much deeper than usually recom¬ 
mended, especially in light soils. I have 
found that even small bulbs, planted six to 
eight inches deep, gave better growth than 
those buried a less depth, in cold clay or 
heavy loam, the bulbs appear to be less 
affected by disease than in lighter soils. They 
also require moisture, and far more of it than 
usually supplied by summer showers. Keep 
the soil cool and moist for lilies, should be 
the rule. 
INSECTS F8R NAMES. 
March 12.—I have received a box of beetles 
from A. B. G., of Glasco, Kansas, with a re¬ 
quest that. I should give their names in the 
Rural New-Yorker. The specimens not 
being numbered, and as I presume that my 
correspondent has not retained duplicates, i 
do not see how he is to be Isenefited by merely 
the publication of a list of names without 
specimens before him for identification, un¬ 
less he is familiar with each and can remem¬ 
ber what ho hits written about the locality 
where they were found. The large, black 
beetle about an Inch long, smooth and shin¬ 
ing above and beneath, narrow thorax and 
head, found on an old cottonwood tree, is 
Nyctobates jjcnsylvanica, Leo. A smaller 
beetle of same color, thorax same width as 
the body but narrow in front, is Tencbrio 
te.ncbroidcs, Lko. These beetles are usually 
abundant in old logs and in almost all parts 
of the country. The bright red beetle about 
a half inch long, und not much thicker than 
a sheet of writing paper, which you found 
between the bark and wood or an old log, is 
the (hieujus clavipes, Fabr. The Cuc-ujM 
arc beetles with very thin bodies, conse¬ 
quently, just suited to their abode, which is 
between the bark and wood of old trees and 
logs. The beetles found in the ash timber 
are Clylus cap re a. Hay., the larva of which 
is very destructive in some localities Your 
remarks in regard to Ids habits in not attack¬ 
ing tlic live trees, but only the fallen t imber, 
are interesting, and I am happy to put t hem 
on record. There are many species of the 
ClytuH, but the habits or the tree which 
they attack arc not known except in a few 
iiist/inees. Ctvlus sneciosus, Say., attacks 
S. B. PARSONS IN FLORIDA 
DAILY RURAL LIFE, 
Eds. Rural New-Yorker : —The three 
weeks of my Florida trip were so closely oc¬ 
cupied that I was unable to write you en 
route. The transit was a rapid one from snow 
and zero cold to a temperature of 80°. I left 
New York on Thursday evening at nine 
o’clock by rail, and on Saturday evening at 
10 I was at the Screven House, Savannah, 
forgetting all fatigue in my enjoyment of 
the excellent table and soft lied of that ad¬ 
mirable hotel. After a rest here, fifteen 
hours took me to Jack: invijie, Florida, and 
after an hour’s call on a friend, the quick 
boat, “ Starlight” can ia i e to Tocoi, whence 
two hours travel in a New York horse car 
upon a wooden railroad, placed me in St. 
Augustine. 
This quaint old Spanish town still retains 
its charms of position and elimate, but does 
not increase in population. Without any 
sustaining resources of commerce or agricul¬ 
ture it relies for support upon the influx of 
northern population. Its best hotel—the St. 
Augustine—looks upon the sea and the smooth 
waters of the bay and the daily resort of 
numerous pleasure seekers. The orange 
groves are few, but sufficient for the local 
consumption. The vicinity to the sea is not 
bo favorablt; to the culture of the orange as 
the same, latitude on the St. John’s River. 
Home of the most striking trees to our north¬ 
ern eyes are the large Date Palms, the Sago 
Palm, of uusual size, and the Japan Medlar. 
This last tree is very useful, and its fruit 
forming in the Autumn and ripening very 
ear ly in the Sirring, gives a pleasant acid at a 
season when all fruits are scarce, 1 found it 
so great a favorite that 1 ordered some three 
hundred which have been sent to my planta¬ 
tion on the river to be planted out for bearing. 
One day' sufficed for visiting my' old haunts 
and seeing the new houses which have been 
erected and then the rapid mules and the 
wooden railroad facilitated my return to the 
river, where I euught the “ Hattie,” a high 
pressure boat of antique form and speed, and 
crept to Palutka, where I found the manager 
of my place with a boat. A row of two miles 
brought me to my little cottage on the banks 
of the river and my room with its bed of soft 
moss proved a welcome refuge after my rap¬ 
id travel. 
The “sweet, restorer ’ ’ required only a night 
to give me fresh vigor, and the morning found 
me ready to do full justice to the labors of 
my sable cook “ Nat. ” For good coffee, fresh 
boiled shad, light waffles, and sundry other 
good things, “Nat” must bear the palm and 
could give even M. Blot some lessons in the 
art. 
1 found my place looking as well as could 
be expected. The unprecedented cold had 
out dow'n some of the young trees, but they 
were starting again, and one summer would 
repair the damage. The Japan Medlar had 
grown luxuriantly ; the Araucaria imbrtcatu 
had found a home ; the Cupressus funebris 
had grown enormously and the Rhyncusper- 
nium -was covering the front of the piazza. 
Opposite my house, a point, of land running 
from the other side of the river to a short 
distance from my shore, was clothed with 
the fresh green leaves of the maple and every'- 
thing in view had the beauty of our May. 
All this contrast to the dreariness of our 
Northern Winter 1 thoroughly enjoyed for 
a week. I looked at my own trees; I exam¬ 
ined those of my neighbors ; I heard the va¬ 
rious accounts of successes end failures, and 
came to the conclusion that the advance in 
orange culture within two years had not been 
v cry great, wliile there were some instances 
of entire success. 
It is a great pleasure to sit on my piazza 
and look upon the river, or to walk among 
the luxuriant orange foliage; but I think I 
enjoyed as much as anything the comparison 
of the different varieties, many of which I 
have obtained from Europe. The broad, rich 
leaf of the Navel orange contrasts strongly 
witli the small, delicate one of the little Tan¬ 
gerine—that dessert orange so popular in 
Paris, the skin of which comes off so easily 
and the sections fall apart with a touch. 
That which I value most for its singularity' 
is still in my greea-house in the North—too 
small yet to be trusted alone in the grove. Its 
leaf is small and pointed, its habit is dwarf, 
its fruit is about the size of a cherry*, the fla¬ 
vor exceedingly delicate and the skin so free 
from pungent oil that the entire orange can 
be eaten whole, like a cherry. I suppose this 
to be the Kumguat of Japan. It is difficult, 
however, to grow it on the common lemon 
or orange, and I have y r et to find a stock on 
which to bud it. 
From the Diary of a Gentleman near New 
York City. 
THE OAR AS A LAWN TREE. 
March 10.—There is no better or more cer¬ 
tain method of obtaining a knowledge of 
things than by experience. Our opinions 
change in spite of all preconceived notions, 
and we are surprised at our own weakness 
in not being able to discern plants which 
experience has brought into view. The oaks 
of America have long been celebrated for 
their beauty as well as usefulness, and they* 
are worthy' of all the praise bestowed ; but 
their fitness for certain positions in ornamen¬ 
tation of suburban grounds, is a question 
that, will bear discussion. In the present 
advanced stage of Landscape Gardening, the 
lawn is really' the foundation, wliile the trees, 
disposed in groups, belts or single specimens, 
fill up and give variety, expression and tone 
to the picture. In grounds of considerable 
extent, a semi-wildness is not only admissi¬ 
ble but- desirable, and littering leaves and 
scattering clumps of wild grasses amid bar¬ 
ren rocks or hillocks are not out of place, 
but in small grounds limited to a few city 
lots, or even an acre or two, the surface of 
which is smooth und without natural ob¬ 
structions, cleanliness and neatness should lie 
preserved instead of making any attempt to 
produce un appearance, of wild ruggedness. 
To have both combined, or contiguous, is 
certainly desirable and usually attainable, if 
one seeks a wild, ragged spot, and then tames 
a portion artificially ; but there are objec¬ 
tions to this combination, as I have learned 
by experience in my own grounds, which are 
of a mixed nature, for the leaves, nuts, flow- 
era and othei cast-off garments of the trees 
become scattered over lawns and flower beds 
to the disgust of the owner of a well kept 
garden. Of course, it depends somewhat 
upon the kinds of trees adjacent to the gar¬ 
den, as some like the chestnut, which are 
constantly contributing something in the 
way of litter during the entire summer. 
First, the long catkins, like huge yellow 
worms, are scattered over walks, outbuild¬ 
ings and lawns, followed by more or less 
early ripening leaves in July and August; 
then September brings down the prickly 
husks, which tumble about to the discomfort 
of feet incased in thin shoes or the “sit>- 
down” of the lounger in the shade. 
A deciduous tree that, will drop its leaves 
all at one time, is far preferable to one that 
keeps up a continual scattering through 
the season ; there are several species of 
oaks which belong to the latter claas. 
Among them the AYhite and Pin oak are 
the most prominent of our Northern spe¬ 
cies. The AVI Lite oak is a most conspicu¬ 
ous example of a tree belonging to the litter¬ 
ing class, and the old leaves remain attached 
to the branches until forced off by t he winds 
of winter or the new crop in spring. The 
greater portion of the old leaves remain upon 
t he tree until the buds swell and new growth 
commences; and this occurring just at the 
time one usually desires to put garden and 
walks into their spring dress, they are at 
best a great nuisance. AVIdte oaks are not, 
therefore, as desirable as lawn trees or for 
planting near flower gardens. 
FAILURE OF LILIUM AURATUMS. 
March 11.—From every' side I hear of a 
scarcity of Lilium Aura,turns, or the Golden 
Lily of Japan. This scarcity cannot be owing 
to want of a large, stock from which to prop¬ 
agate, because they were imported a few 
years since in immense quantities, single 
dealers, in some instances, purchasing two to 
live hundred thousand bulbs for planting 
out; but with these great lots on hand two 
or three years since, the stock has ran very 
low, and more are being imported from 
Japan. I have heard of large lots being lost 
by disease, the bulbs rotting while in the 
ground, while, in other Instances a species of 
rust attacked the leaves, preventing growth. 
Probably, losses have occurred, mainly' from 
planting in unsuitable soil, or in not setting 
the bulbs deep enough, especially' where t he 
land was of a light, sandy nature. This lily 
appears to be one of the most hardy and f ree- 
growing of all the tribe, and multiplies by 
offsets very freely when grown in congenial 
soils and properly cultivated ; still, disease 
a ppears to have made sad havoc among the 
imported stocks in the past two or three 
\ ears. Having had considerable experience 
v ith Japan lilies, I would suggest to growers 
that the high temperature of the soil in sum¬ 
mer is the principal cause of disease. As a 
RANDOM LEAYE8 FROM MY NOTE BOOK 
BY THE WANDERING JERSEYMAN. 
Washington, D. C., Feh. 25th, 1873.— The 
mercury 6° below zero, again, yesterday', de¬ 
cided us in carrying into effect our long med¬ 
itated resolution of going South in search of 
a warmer climate, ami to avoid the disagree¬ 
able changes of a windy March ill Jersey; 
consequently this evening "finds us in this 
“city* of magnificent distances,” the capital 
of the nation, the politician’s coveted para¬ 
dise, the grand head-center of investigating 
or smelling committees, who give the public 
the private characters of oiu - public men, 
where honesty is at. a discount and patriotism 
and economy among the things of the past. 
Feb. 26th. —This morning we resume our 
journey via the Orange & Alex. R. R. The 
blanket of icc and snow that covers our Jer¬ 
sey home has been gradually disappearing as 
we have progressed southward and here has 
entirely disappeared, so that we can form a 
more intelligent opinion of the Boil and coun¬ 
try we pass through. A run of 96 miles brings 
us to Gordonsvillc, the only place of any* size 
leaving Alexandria, and through a 
as we have ever seen. 
since 
country about as poor 
From thence the country is more hilly and as 
we proceed, mountanous; the soil, in places 
a bright red clay, but producing a much bet¬ 
ter growth of vegetation. This morning the 
dwellings visible were chiefly’ log cabins of 
the poorest quality and poor surroundings. 
Swine of all colors were roaming at will in 
quest of food, with poorsuecess, judging from 
their slab-sided appearance. On reaching 
Lynchburg we encountered a storm which 
induced us to change our purpose of ly'ing 
over tillmorning, that we might; seethe coun¬ 
try us we pass along ; so taking another train 
we find ourselves at Bristol, Tenn., at five 
o’clock this morning. 
Feb. 27th.— This town is on the line between 
Virginia and Tennessee. The country' is roll¬ 
ing ; soil good. The staple crops of tins sec¬ 
tion arc corn and wheat; fruit does well; and 
many an emigrant might go much further 
and fare worse than to settle about here. In 
strolling about the town, a poster on the 
street fence induced us to hunt up an ama¬ 
teur farmer and fruit grower who proved to 
be professor in a school here who devotes his 
leisure time to cultivating the scriL His hob¬ 
by just now is Early Roses and Peerless po¬ 
tatoes, having raised the past season 400 bush¬ 
els of the lat ter on an acre of ground, and the 
quality so good as to merit liis highest appro¬ 
bation. He also finds cabbage a profitable 
crop and finds a ready market for all his pro¬ 
duce in Alabama and Georgia. 
Another amateur has experimented in a 
small way wit h strawberries. Ho far Wilson, 
Russell and Agriculturist have been all fairly 
tested. These do well and lie markets his 
crop in this town at 12)<j to 35o. per quart, 
the former price the result of competition 
with the wild fruit brought in by the freed- 
rnen. The winter has been severe here, and 
plowing has just, commenced—much behind 
the usual time. 
Resuming our journey* at five this P. M., 
we passed through a much more attractive- 
country than wc have yet seen. The declin¬ 
ing sun lent a cheerful aspect to the scene. 
Hlieep were grazing on the hillside; the 
lambs gambolled about in the sunshine as 
though they* were glad at the approach of 
spring. The swine looked better fed and 
farmers were preparing for their spring crops 
by speeding the plow. We gazed with inter¬ 
est on the evening landscape till night drew 
her sahle mantle “ o’er the e&rtll ’’ and closed 
the scene. 
HIVING BEES UNDER DIFFICULTY 
A curious incident, is related in a French 
paper as having occurred in a little village 
tot far from Paris. Home bees were swarm¬ 
ing on an oak tree, and a wood-cutter named 
GuiOT climbed the tree and cut off the extrem¬ 
ity of the branch upon which the swarm 
hung. Instead of falling to the ground, how¬ 
ever, the swarm dispersed and settled on the 
head of Guiot, who was still sitting on the 
branch, forty feet from the ground. The by¬ 
standers believed that, tortured by* the stings, 
he would fall to the ground. But, with great 
presence of mind, Guiot remained perfectly 
still till the swarm had formed two long 
wreaths hanging from his temples ; then, half 
bliuded by* the insects, which also covered Ins 
face aud bodyq Iso contrived to descend from 
liis elevated position, taking the greatest, cure 
not to irritate this living mantle. When he 
reached the ground a hive was placed on his 
shoulder, but three hours elapsed before the 
bees would take possession of their new home. 
When this happy change was effected the 
poor wood-cutter's wild delight testified to 
the intensity of the anxiety and discomfort 
he had endured. 
Honey for the City Market— Iu answer t.o 
an inquiry the Editor of the Bee Keeper’s 
Magazine says:—Extracted honey can be 
sold in the country for nearly the price of 
comb honey, but for the city market comb 
honey* pays best, because buy’ers cannot dis¬ 
tinguish extracted from Cuba honey, which 
is sold in every provision store as “New 
Honey, ” 
