grarjr of n JjteraM 
DAILY RURAL LIFE. 
- From the Diary of a Centleman near New 
York City. 
WHAT DOBSON IS. 
June 30.Sanford Hartman of (Hen's 
Falls, N. Y., sends me specimens of the 
“ Dobson,” used for fish bait, and referred to 
in my diary, .Tune 8. As I exported, the in¬ 
sect proves to be an old and familiar ac¬ 
quaintance, and T can now answer the ques¬ 
tion, “ What is Dobson for it is nothing 
more nor less than the larva or pupa (for it 
is used for fish bait in both stages) of the 
well known Hellgranunite Fly, ( Corydulitt 
cornntue, Linn). It is no new thing for boys 
and older fishermen to use this insect, in its 
larva or pupa state, for fish bait. In the 
Western States they are called “crawlers,” 
or “ hcllgrammites," and we have now 
only to add another local or common name 
of this widely distributed insect, and say 
that in some localit ies it is called “ Dobson.” 
Now 1 would advise the boys who use the 
larva of this insect for fish bait, to drop the 
common names altogether and employ the 
scientific, for Co-ryd-a lis is just as easily 
pronounced as “crawlers,” “ hellgraimnites,” 
or “Dobson,” and then every entomologist, 
or other person who knows anything of the 
insect would know to what particular thing 
you refer. There is, however, one unfortu- 
tunate circumstance connected with this 
name and it is that we have a genus of na¬ 
tive plants also called (Jorydulix; but there is 
no C-cnrmduD among them, consequently if 
both names are used, confusion or mistakes 
in application will be avoided. 
The Corydolta cornutua is a gigantic fly, 
the male, from tip of horns to tip of wings, 
is nearly or quite four inches in length. The 
body is dark grayish or brown, the wings 
transparent, beautifully spotted with white. 
There are also numerous triangular-shaped 
black stripes running crosswise of the wings. 
The males have two very strong horns pro¬ 
jecting from the head, and crossing each 
other at the tips when the insect is at rest. 
The female liy deposits her eggs in clusters 
upon the stems of some aquatic plant grow¬ 
ing in the water, such as reeds and coarse 
grasses. When the eggs hatch the young 
larva- (worms) take to the water and there 
swim about, feeding upon the eggs and lar¬ 
vae of other insects, and themselves in turn 
are devoured by fish. Those which escape 
this fate grow to be three inches or more in 
length, have six logs, partially undeveloped 
horns, and small, sharp hooks at the end of 
the tail. Their color is dark brown, nearly 
black at this period, but when fully grown 
they leave the water, crawling out upon the 
banks, burrowing under old logs, stones, or 
anything that will give them a secure hiding 
place. After forming- a good resting place in 
the sand or mud, they gradually pass into 
what Is termed the pupa state, becoming 
somewhat lighter in color. The, partially de¬ 
veloped horns, wings, antennas, and other 
organs of the perfect insect can now bo seen 
through the transparent pupa covering. 
About the first of July the tly comes forth, 
having passed through its four different sta 
gesof existence, viz.: egg, larva, pupa, im 
ago, this last name being applied to the fully 
developed or perfect insect. 
Now, boys, when you are looking for fish 
bait, remember tl i.at the large, dark-colored, 
somewhat flat, and rough looking worms 
found under stones and similar places on the 
banks of streams, are Cn-ryd-a-tis larva*, if 
you happen to find something which you do 
not know, but would like to, please send it to 
Daily Rural Life, care of the Rural New- 
Yorker, But do not forget to writ e and tell 
me all that you know about it—such items 
as where you found, what it feeds upon, the 
common name, if it has any : in fact, do not 
be afraid to give all the particulars ; never 
presume that the one you address has ever 
seen or heard of it before, because it is more 
than likely that he never has. 
MILDEW ON GOOSEBERRIES. 
June 27.—For the first time in many years 
all of my native gooseberries are attacked 
by mildew. For two or three weeks after 
the plants were in bloom, we had very cold 
weather and frequent frosts in the low 
grouuds, accompanied with dry weather. 
The fungus which soon showed itself upon 
the fruit and leaves of my gooseberries was 
quite distinct from the species usually att ack¬ 
ing this fruit in summer, it being of a bright, 
orange color, growing in close tufts or 
bunches an eighth of an inch or more in di¬ 
ameter and of a cottony appearance. So 
abundant were these tufts on fruit aud leaves 
MOORE’S BURA 
that they gave the plants quite'a handsome, 
variegated appearance. The infested fruit 
has dropped otT, but the leaves remain, 
although they have lost their bright green 
color. A few warm days destroyed this 
orange-colored fungus, but us we have had 
no rain in the past month, the plants are suf¬ 
fering greatly for the want of it, and now T 
notice the ordinaiy mildew, which has a 
white, dusty appearance, has begun to spread 
over the fruit of nearly all kinds. Among 
the improved sorts of what arc usually called 
natives, the Mountain appears to resist the 
mildew best, although some wild varieties 
from Nebraska, which I have growing in my 
garden, are entirely exempt from mildew 
and do not appear to beat, all affected by the 
drout h. I have rend many an exhaustive 
essay upon the causes of mildew, some 
writers claiming that it results from too 
much moisture in the atmosphere, while 
others have taken the opposite ground, bring¬ 
ing forward an array of facts to prove that a 
dry atmosphere was most congenial for the 
propagation of fungoid plant*. To these theo¬ 
ries I may well add a third cause and put 
down cold as a promoter of mildew. It may 
be that each of the three conditions named 
gives rise to different species of fungi usually 
known as mildew on plants; but there is one 
thing certain, that, any extreme which weak¬ 
ens the plants invites the attacks or aids the 
development of such low orders of parasitic 
plants as arc designated by the common 
names of rust, and mildew. The foreign va¬ 
rieties of the gooseberry are the first to be 
attacked, but the natives will sometimes fail, 
U s they have in many localities this year. Tf 
we could only know in advance what kind of 
weather we were to have, then preparations 
could be made accordingly. Mulching the 
entire surface of the ground among the plants 
would save the crop in a dry, hot^eoson, but 
should it prove to be cold and wet, then the 
mulch would do more harm than good. For 
my part, I cannot sec how we are to avoid 
all extremes, still if farmers and gardeners 
would make preparation for irrigation when¬ 
ever it was required, they would frequently 
escape heavy losses. We must plow deep 
and underdrain our land to prevent an ex¬ 
cess of water injuring our crops, and a t the 
same time be prepared to apply water when¬ 
ever drouths occur. The time must soon 
come when 1 lie water which runs to waste in 
all our small streams throughout the country 
will be utilized in irrigating our cultivated 
fields. 
WATERING PLANTS IN TIME OF DROUTH. 
June. 28.—The only topic discussed in my 
neighborhood at present is the drouth. For 
nearly six weeks we have not had rain 
enough to lay the dust, and nearly every day 
the wind has been blowing as if determined 
to carry away what little moisture there 
might, accidentally fall in the form of dew. 
At the same time the weather has been cold, 
wind north or northwest, veering round to 
the south in the middle of the day. The 
strawberry crop in my neighborhood was 
almost a total failure; ami now the rasp 
berries are drying up without showing the 
least signs of ripening. The season is at 
least two weeks later than last, year, for we 
were in the flight of our raspberry crop the 
first week in July; but not a berry has shown 
color yet, and will not for a week to come, 
even should we have rain. Potatoes, corn 
and all kinds of vegetables are likewise suf¬ 
fering on account of a lack of moisture, and 
early sorts are in many instances past, re¬ 
covery. 1 am trying to keep my ornamental 
plants alive by watering them, although this 
is an irksome task where one has not made 
preparation for thorough irrigation. I think 
most persons make a mistake in giving too 
Little water at a time and applying it fre¬ 
quently instead of thoroughly souking the 
soil at once and then apply no more for a 
week or more. This sprinkling the surface 
does little or no good, for the water makes 
the soil bake a little harder each time, keep¬ 
ing out the air, forming an excellent con¬ 
ductor for the heat to penetrate the earth, 
driving out what little moisture it may con¬ 
tain. Water should be applied iu sufficient 
quantities to saturate the soil down to the 
lowest roots, and if this is done, there will 
be no need of giving frequent, applications. 
Around trees and all course plants a mulch of 
some kind should be applied after watering, 
to prevent evaporation and keep the soil cool 
as well as moist. Among small plants the 
hoe and rake must be kept in constant use, to 
keep the soil loose and prevent it becoming 
baked and hard. Heat will passthrough a 
brick and drive out every particle of moisture 
in much loss time than it will through the 
same quantity of loose soil. The particles of 
which the brick is made are pressed toget her, 
forming an excellent conductor for heat, aud 
NEW-YORKER. 
evaporation proceeds slow or rapid as heat is 
transmitted through the mass. A heavy, clay 
soil is usually very wet or very dry, because 
of its compactness, but to talk of breaking 
up deeply, aerating and draining a soil that 
gets as hard and dry as a brick in summer, 
may appear to some persons the bight of 
folly, but it is the cheapest and most expedi 
tious way of making it dry in wot weather 
and moist in the time of drouth. Hundreds 
of ornamental trees have died and arc now 
dying in my neighborhood simply for the 
want of moisture that has been driven out of 
the brick-like soil about their roots. A little 
water and a breaking up of the earth about 
them would have prevented their death. 
Trees that are worth five or ^more dollars 
each could have been saved by an outlay of 
from five to ten cents ; but there is little use 
of talking to those who will neither read or 
reason. 
“SWARMING AND HIVING.” 
The swarming season is at Itand, and al¬ 
though many are prepared for it, there are 
those, who will make uo provision for it 
until they hear the exclamation, “The bees 
a re swarming; ” then they must hunt up and 
get, a hive ready, or if a hive is not to be had, 
put them into some old box, and that’s the 
end of it. If asked how they are doing, the 
reply will very likely be, “well I don’t koow, 
but it was a large swarm, and must be doing 
well.” There have been but very few swarms 
cast for the past two years in this vicinity, 
and the winters being very severe on bees 
that received no protection, stock hives are 
scarce, and i think there are less stocks now 
than ten years ago. 
Where natural swarming is depended upon 
for increase of stock, hives should be ready, 
and where practicable young queens on hand 
ready to introduce to old stocks, as soon as 
they cast swarms. A young queen at swarm¬ 
ing time is considered worth as much as a 
swarm. Swarms generally conic off after a 
queen cell is sealed, or started, aud 1 think 
stocks will average from ten days, to two 
weeks, as the length of time they are without 
a laying queen, although, in case the swarm 
is delayed, the time would be less ; or where 
cells are destroyed and then the yield of 
honey from flowers becomes abundant, and 
swarm comes off soon after, time would be 
longer, but these are exceptions. Brood ma¬ 
tures rapidly during the swarming season, 
and where queens are introduced as soon as 
the swarm comes off, eggs will be deposited j 
in cells as fast o-s young bees hatch, and 
workers will soon be storing in boxes again ; 
but where a queen Ls not supplied, bees will 
store honey in cells as fast as young bees 
hatch, so that by the time the queen reared 
in the hive commences laying, at least two- 
thirds of the space occupied by brood when 
swarm came off will be filled with honey, 
so that not only is there much less box honey 
secured, but the colony will not recover its 
strength like one supplied with queen. 
If bee keepers would raise queens to supply 
hives, they would soon find that it paid for 
t ime and trouble. In Rural Nkw-Yoricer 
of Sept. 14th, 1873, directions are given, for 
making and stocking nuclei boxes for queen 
raising, also for introducing queens, &c. To 
those who make bee keeping much of an 
object, artificial swarming should be well 
understood in order to keep up stock. The 
Italian bee (although looked upon with sus¬ 
picion by some) 1 think is conceded by all 
who have given them a fair trial, far superior 
to the black bee, and after breeding them for 
the past twelve years, my experience is very 
much in their favor; and although they do 
stow more honey, swarm curlier, and do not 
seem to be troubled as much with the moth, 
the difference is more marked in poor seasons. 
A great many think that in order to get the 
Italian stock, they must buy a colony or 
swarm, when all that is necessary is to re¬ 
move native queen, and supply her place 
with an Italian. The whole apiary can be 
changed to Italians in a short time in this 
way, and at a great deal less expense than 
by buying full stocks. 
Having tried feeding again this season, I 
ajn well satisfied w ith the result. From one 
hive that 1 took four combs of sealed brood, 
(replacing with empty comb) to strengthen a 
weak stock, which had a superannuated or 
barren queen, the bees are now storing honey 
in fifteen surplus boxes. The honey-yielding 
flowers in this section so far have been, 1st, 
fruit blossoms, 2d, locust, which is now being 
succeeded by' clover. Stocks fed regularly 
were ill as good condition when the fruit 
blossoms failed, as others not fed were when 
the locust failed. 
The season has been very backward for 
bees, still I anticipate a good honey season. 
Opening a nucleus hive some time since, 
to cut out a queen cell for a friend who had a 
queenless hive. I found a queen had just 
hatched, and being aware that young worker 
bees are received by a strange colony, I re¬ 
moved a comb from a qneeuless hive, placed 
the queen on comb among the bees. She was 
well received aud is now in the hive. 
* 
-- 
WHAT IS HONEY? 
D. L. Adair says :—There is no distinct 
substance that, can be called honey 7 . Bees 
gather anything that has enough sugar in it 
to give it a decided sweet taste. Three kinds 
of sugar are recognized, fruit sugar, grape 
sugar, and cane sugar. They are all vegeta¬ 
ble secretions and differ but slightly in their 
constituent, elements. They only vary in the 
amount of hydrogen and oxygen (which are 
the elements of water) and are convertible 
into each other. As ordinai Uly gathered 
from flowers, honey 7 is a mixture of sugar 
aud other secretions of plants, and conse¬ 
quently differs widely iu its composition, 
depending on the source from which it is 
obtained. The peculiar scent and flavor of 
the honey is imparted to it in the hive by the 
alisorbtiou of the musky 7 part icles given off 
by evaporation from the bodies of the bees, 
a scent that all Vice keepers will recognize 
who have opened a hive or walked among 
them of a culm evening. 
entomological. 
SEED CORN MAGGOT. 
Corn in this vicinity is being destroyed by 
a minute worm which eats out the germ soon 
after it is planted. 1 have called it the min- 
nie worm for want of a better name, in¬ 
closed find kernels of corn containing speci¬ 
mens of the worms. Please give us light in 
regard to this new pest.—S. Cl. D ./East, 
Shelby, N. Y. 
Five years ago the corn in some parts iff 
New Jersey was attacked by 7 this insect, and 
wo sent specimens to C. V. Riley, State En¬ 
tomologist of Missouri, who named it An 
thomyla scan. The worms are found eating 
the kernels of corn soon after planting, and 
they 7 are a footless grub, about 0.25 of an inch 
long, of a yellowish color, blunt at the poste¬ 
rior and tapering at the anterior end. The 
perfect or imago insect is a two-winged fly 7 , 
of t he order Dipte.ru, where is also found t he 
parent of the onion maggot, Avlhnmyia ee- 
pui'um. We cannot suggest a better remedy 
than soaking the seed corn in tar-water, 
after which roll it in piaster. Of course we 
cannot say that even tills precaution would 
do any good, but it is worth trying. We 
have neither seen nor heard of t his pest be¬ 
fore, since 18158, hoped it would not. again ap¬ 
pear ; but in this it seems we are disappoint¬ 
ed, and the insect is no doubt more widely 
distributed than our entomologists supposed 
it to be. If it should become very abundant 
our corn crop would very likely 7 suffer to an 
alarming extent, unless some simple prevent¬ 
ive is discovered. 
Since writing the above we remembered 
this insect was 
described and il¬ 
lustrated in the 
Rural New- 
Yorker, Jan. 2, 
18 0 9, and we 
herewith give 
the illustrations 
used at that 
time. The niag- 
' got is shown en¬ 
larged ; the hair 
line at a showing 
the natural size; after having become full 
fed, these maggots usually leave the kernels, 
going into the earth, where they change into 
a smooth, brown pupa, of the size and form 
of b, and in a few days afterwards the little 
fly pushes open a cap at one end and- comes 
forth. Two of the eaten or infested kernels 
of com are shown at o. Wc hope our read¬ 
ers will look carefully for this insect another 
year. 
* -- 
ENTOMOLOGICAL NOTES. 
The Cotton Worm may he Destroyed, Chas. 
V. Riley thinks, in the same manner that 
the Colorado Beetle is destroyed in the North, 
by the use of Paris Green—the mode hav ing 
been repeatedly given in the Rural New- 
Yorker. 
