I saw of them ; have increased very fast 
since then.—D. R. Amsden, Scranton, Iowa. 
This beautiful little beetle, with deep-blue 
body and wing-cases, and orange colored 
prothomx and legs and blue head, belongs to 
the “ Chrysomelian ” family; its name is 
Qastrophysa cyanea, Mels. These beetles, 
like hundreds of other species belonging to 
this family, feed upon the leaves of plants, 
and frequently do an immense amount of 
damage to farm and garden plants ; for 
instance the striped potato beetle, Lem a 
trilincata, the llalticas or Flea-beetle, and 
the well-known Colorado potato beetle. So 
long as this little Oastrophysa coniines itself 
similar seeds, covering about an inch deep. 
The following spring, if all has gone right, 
the plants will appear, when they must be 
well cultivated in order to insure a good 
growth. When they are one year old, trans¬ 
plant into the hedge row, prime and give the 
same care as with other hedge plants. 
NATIVE THORNS FOR HEDGES 
QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY DAILY 
RURAL LIFE. 
The enclosed are specimens of two kinds 
of thorns growing in this village. I am not 
aware of their having been used for hedges, 
but think they would be superior for that 
purpose. If I am correct, I intend to plant 
the seed of both this fall. They are botn ex¬ 
tremely hardy and ought, to beur any degree 
of cold. Please give me their names, and 
notice that 1 have labeled them No. 102 ; also 
give me the process of raising plants from 
seed, time of planting and how long it takes 
AH UNFORTUNATE FIT. 
Caught this flying around a lamp in eve¬ 
ning. Never saw one before. May be plenty 
as 1 am no “ buggist.” As he was about to 
stick fast to an unfinished oil painting con¬ 
cluded to plug him up and send him to you 
—Lucius (loss, BeUmore, Parke Co., Ind. 
Tine four-winged fly, about an inch long 
with a long, slender body, is known to ento¬ 
mologists as Myrmelon obsoletus, Say. f do 
not know at? it ha* any common or local 
names. It inhabits low, wet localities, and 
is frequently seen flying about our dwellings 
at night. Its wings are transparent, and 
marked with dork brown or black spots. 
EGOS UPON A STRINQ. 
Daily Rural Like Inclosed find a piece 
of cord covered with small eggs; look like 
little round balls of gold. The cord was tied 
up by the porch for a flower to climb. Can 
you tell me what they are i If so, answer 
through the Rural, as' a friend, that takes a 
great intcrest in reading “ Daily Rural Life” 
m the Rural New-Yorker, gave them to 
mo.—D. W. C., Helena, M. T. 
A large proportion of the eggs were 
hatched when received, and the dead larva; 
scattered about. The specimen was quite an 
interesting one, and I regret thut I could not 
have succeeded is raising the caterpillars. 
From the appearance of the minute dead 
worms 1 think the eggs are those of some 
small species oi' moth, but it would be mere 
guess work to attempt naming the species. 
INSECTS FROM MINNESOTA. 
Mrs. S. D. B.—The collection of insects 
sent arrived in good order, and was very 
acceptable. The worm with “ vegetable 
horns” is our common white grub, (the lar¬ 
va of the May beetle), which had been at¬ 
tacked by a species of funguB or mushroom. 
One of the spores, which answers the same 
purpose as seeds in higher orders of plants, 
having gained a lodgement in the mouth or 
throat of the grub, it sprouted, growing out 
in the shape found, In Prof Chas. V, Ri¬ 
ley’s First Report as State Entomologist of 
Missouri, page 15G, you will find a full de¬ 
scription of this curious freak of nature. 
The Carrion Beetles in the bottom of the 
box belong to the genus SUphidcE. If you 
desire the names of the different species, 
send specimens of each numbered, reserving 
duplicates corresponding therewith. The 
little snout-beetle, with red wing-covers and 
dark-blue ante nme and legs, which you found 
feeding upon roses, is AUelubux anatix, Illi- 
gkr. It is quite common both in the Eastern 
and Western States, and I found it a few 
days since on the wild roses in the Rocky 
Mountains. 
PARSLEY WORMS. 
Mrs. H. S., Banksville, N. Y.—The bril¬ 
liantly spotted worm found feeding upon 
your parsley, is the larva of the handsome 
butterfly, Papilio Ax ter inn of Cramer. You 
have, no doubt, seen this butterfly many 
hundreds of times, flying about your garden. 
It is nearly black, spotted with yellow and 
pale-blue, and one red spot on the inside edge 
of the hind wings. Like all the true papil- 
ios the hind wings are tailed. The insect 
which you refer to as a butterfly is a large, 
four-winged fly, belonging to the same fam¬ 
ily its the Devil’s darning-needles, seen so 
abundantly about swamps and small streams 
or ponds. 
REGAL WALNUT MOTH. 
Inclosed I send you a worm found on a 
lilac bush in our yard. Will you please tell 
what it is *—H. T. W., Lyman, O. 
The large worm is our native “Royal 
Horned Caterpillar,” or larva of a magnifi¬ 
cent moth known as the Regal Walnut 
Moth, CerataQampa regalis, Farr. This 
magnificent insect is found throughout a 
wide range of country, but is seldom abund¬ 
ant ; two or three may be seen occasionally 
about hickory or persimmon trees, but it is 
far from being a plentiful insect. The next 
specimen you find, please preserve it alive, 
feeding upon hickory or persimmon leaves 
until it spins its cocoon; then I would be 
pleased to have it carefully packed and for¬ 
warded to me, for I am desirous of trying 
my hand at breeding this insect in confine¬ 
ment. 
BEETLES ON WILD BUCKWHEAT. 
Inclosed I send you some beetles that 
have literally devoured the wild buckwheat 
in this vicinity which, by the way, we do not 
feel bad about, as it is a very troublesome 
weed in the West, I have never found them 
feeding on anything but the buckwheat. 
Would like to know their name. The larva 
UNFRUITFUL APPLE TREES 
What is the reason of apple trees (which 
are nine years old, healthy, apparently, in 
every particular, and have been pruned in 
the most approved manner every year), not 
bearing any fruit; at most, as in a few eases 
only, about six apples. They were “ root 
grafts ” purchased bv myself and all of good 
varieties. I should like to know if there is 
any means of remedying the evil i How 
late can I transplant strawberries with 
safety ?—Fred Cellkm, Kalamazoo, Mich. 
Did we possess the requisite knowledge to 
answers all such questions as the above, we 
should be wise beyond our generation. 
Sometimes a too luxurious growth prevents 
early fruitfulness ; then again some varieties 
are very tardy in producing fruit, while 
others will commence bearing very early. 
We have known the trees of such varieties 
as Northern Spy, to grow luxuriantly for 
ten years before bearing any considerable 
number of specimens, after which they were 
exceedingly' productive. In such instances 
as you name, we can only advise patience ; 
but do not neglect giving every requisite 
care, for when the trees do commence bear¬ 
ing, they will be capable of producing more 
fruit than if small and stunted. Perhaps a 
cessation of pruning may hasten productive¬ 
ness, as dispensing with this operation usually 
checks a superabundance of wood-growth. 
TRANSPLANTING MACHINE 
This machine (illustrated) will handle a 
tree weighing from 1,000 to 8,000 pounds, 
without probability of injury. It consists 
of a strong frame of wood and iron, sup¬ 
ported on wheels with two windlases in 
front and two at the back, llie back rollers 
being so arranged that they may be taken 
off aud the machine placed over the tree to 
be lifted. A glance at the illustration will 
be sufficient to give the idea of its use and 
the mode of operating it to every intelligent 
reader ; and it may be useful to those who 
purpose to transplant large trees this fall, as 
a suggestion. 
to the wild buckwheat, I do not suppose we 
need complain of its work. 
Another correspondent, Mrs. S. D. B. of 
Cedar Mills, Iowa, referred to above, also 
mentions the same fact that this beetle feeds 
upon the wild buckwheat, therefore should 
be considered a friend to the farmer. She also 
says that they are known in Iowa as “ buck¬ 
wheat bugs but the name “bugs” should 
be replaced by that of “ beetles,” because 
they are uot bugs in any sense, but belong to 
Coleoptern, sheath or shell-winged insects ; 
while the true bugs are known as Jl< ■mlptera, 
or half-winged insects, such as the common 
bedbug, chinch bug, and thousands of other 
kinds which are provided with a kind of 
beak for sucking up their food, instead of 
jaws for knawing and biting, as among the 
true beetles. 
MOLE CRICKETS. 
Please find inclosed, in the bottle accom¬ 
panying this letter, two bugs which I found 
in iiiy potatoes. They were eating the pota¬ 
toes in the hill. 1 have showed them to a 
number of the citizens here, but they could 
not give any name. Please examine aud 
give the name in your paper, and oblige—C. 
the same species, viz.: Cockapur Thom (Cra¬ 
taegus cruH-galli) ; the difference in appear¬ 
ance is probably owing to the character of 
the soil in which the trees are growing, one 
being more vigorous than the other. This 
species of thorn is quite common all over the 
Northern and Middle States, and forms a 
large shrub or small tree ten to twenty feet 
high. It is probably the best of all our nu¬ 
merous species for hedges, and has been tried 
hundreds of times with indifferent success, 
not because the t rees would not grow freely 
or the thorns were not strong and sharp 
enough to turn cattle, but insect enemies be¬ 
came too numerous. All these thorns belong 
to the same family as the apple, and the 
same insects which attack one are pretty sure, 
sooner or later, to prey upon the other. 
The common apple-tree borer of the East¬ 
ern States ( Superdu Candida), is our greatest 
enemy of thorn hedges ; and when they 
once muke a lodgment in a hedge it is diffi¬ 
cult to eradicate them. We can dig out the 
borers from apple trees which stand singly ; 
also prevent the beetle depositing her eggs in 
the stems ; but in a hedge the use or appli¬ 
cation of any of the well-known and practi¬ 
cal preventatives or eradioators is out of the 
question. We have seen most excellent 
hedges made of this very species of thorn 
but have never known one to escape an at¬ 
tack from the apple-tree borer, sooner or 
later. Were it not for this and several other 
species of insects which attack this thorn, 
when used as a hedge plant, it would have 
long ago come into general use for this pur¬ 
pose. It certainly possesses all the requisites 
of a first-rate hedge plant, and we are not 
surprised at having the question so frequently 
asked: “Why not use our native thorn 
apples for hedges V If you still wish, try 
this kind of hedge, save the fruit this fall and 
mix the apples with leaf mold and place all 
in what nurserymen call a “rot-heap;” l. e., 
where the pulp of the- fruit will decay, and 
the stones or seeds remain moist during win¬ 
ter and and through next summer ; for the 
seed will not germinate the following spring 
after gathering, A year from the present 
autumn, sow the seeds and earth intermixed , 
in drills as you would sow peas or other • 
GROWING MUSHROOMS ON OPEN LAWNS 
situations on lawns. The spawn should be 
inserted us follows:—Take a sharp spade, 
force it into the ground two or three inches, 
and withdraw it without disturbing the 
grass ; then place it at one end of, aud at 
right angles with the firtt incision, and force 
it into the soil in a similar manner, bending 
the handle backwards until au opening is 
made sufficiently large to admit a piece of 
spawn of about an inch square. When this 
is inserted, the spade should be withdrawn, 
the turf allowed to fall in its place, and 
firmly trodden down with the foot; the lat¬ 
ter is an important part of the operation. 
The months of July and August are suitable 
for performing this operation. The pieces 
of spawn may be inserted, say at a yard 
apart. In soils aud situations winch are nat¬ 
urally wet, this plan would not be successful. 
When the spawn is found abundantly in an 
old mushroom-bed, or runs freely through an 
old heap of stable manure, is the time to se¬ 
cure it for this purpose, or it may be bought 
in the usual way in the brick form and broken 
into suitable-sized pieces, us mentioned 
above.— E. h. 
S. B roust, Kewton Falla , 0. 
The insects are neither bugs nor beetles, 
but belong to “Orthoptera” (straight- 
winged insects) and to the genus Grylluti or 
crickets. The name of the specimens sent is 
HryUotalpa borealis , Burmeister, or, when 
translated into common language, Northern 
Mole Cricket, The scientific name is made 
up thus : Cry 11 us being the generic name 
of our common crickets, and ttdpa that of 
the animal called Ground-mole, we have, 
consequently, Gh'yllutalpa, cricket mole, or 
reversed, as usually rendered, mole cricket. 
The specific name borealis meaning northern, 
as this insect is found Only in cold or north¬ 
ern localities, its lcct aud legs arc very 
strong and large, resembling somewhat those 
of the common mule, which enables them to 
burrow under ground. They live upon the 
roots of plants and occasionally infest potato 
fields, doing more or less injury to the tubers. 
NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
During my summer vacation, or absence 
from home, a large number of letters have 
accumulated from correspondents, many of 
which still remain unanswered ; but they 
will be attended to as rapidly as possible. 
Hoping that my many correspondents will 
pardon delays, but keep up their contribu¬ 
tions of questious and specimens, I remain, 
as ever, Daily Rural Life. 
GARDENER’S NOTES 
Butter Beans. —“Progress,” in Farmers’ 
Advocate, saysDo you know the broad 
white bean which bears this name ? It is 
delicious eating and very productive. I 
planted a row of them along the bank of 
my house and trained them up all over it. 
Tliey will make, I should say, a vine of about 
twenty feet long, covered with broad, green 
leaves'and great clusters of very large pods. 
The beans are eaten shelled like peas, and are 
beautiful. The vine would be uice to cover 
an arbor, or to shade a house. 
Sowing Peas in the Fall. —R. S. : Yes ; 
we have tried sowing garden (teas late in 
fall, in ground well prepared, and we got 
earlier peas for doing so. We have the evi¬ 
dence of several of the readers of the Rural 
New-Yorker, that they succeeded in getting 
a good crop this spring by sowing their seed 
last fall. They are going' to try it again. 
