From the Diary of a Gentleman near New 
York City. 
BOULDER CITY, COLORADO. 
A ugust 8.—This region.of country is a beau¬ 
tiful one, and must eventually become thick¬ 
ly settled by an enterprising class of people. 
The town (or city) of Boulder is situated just 
at the mouth of the famous Boulder Canon, 
through which access T.o the rich mines in 
the mountains is obtained. Near the town 
there are some excellent farming lauds that 
eve rapidly being brought under cultivation, 
ns there are numerous small but never-fail- 
i i g streams which can be and are used for 
irrigation, and when applied to these rich 
soil;- they yield abundantly. It would be dif¬ 
ficult to determine which have the hot pros¬ 
pects. the farmers or miners ; for the success 
of either depends only on his energy, the 
) materials being at hand in inexhaustible 
quantities. These towns, among or near the 
foot-hills, are' just to my liking ; and if 1 were 
a young man, 1 would locate somewhere in 
this region, whether rich or poor. If rich, 1 
could en joy the climate and scenery, for of 
the latter there is a never-ending variety ; if 
poor, l think there would be a good chance 
of getting rich, provided one had patience to 
wait a few years and not be in too great a 
1 1 uny. At present, there is abundance of 
timber for building and fuel in the moun¬ 
tains near by ; coal of good quality abounds 
in the foot-hills, a luilf-dozen mines being 
Worked in the immediate vicinity. With 
such inexhaustible wealth in the. earth, only 
requiring labor and capital to make, it avail¬ 
able, Boulder has a great future before it. 
A PRAIRIE CAMP. 
Last night we pitched our tents a few 
miles from Boulder and near the Marshall 
coal mines. The broad plains were spread 
out before us on the east and the rugged 
foot-hills and mountains ou the west. The 
air was cool and refreshing; no “pent-up 
Ut ica” here ; no panting for breath or sigh¬ 
ing for a cool breeze on this August night. 
As our camp was, as usual, near a stream, 
we found plenty of driftwood for our even¬ 
ing bouiirc, around which wo gathered, and 
had our heads examined by H. R.. Wells, 
the phrenologist of the party. Of course, 
the jokes passed freely during the exainina- 
11on, and we. all retired as usual, in the hap- 
pie.st of moods and the best of spirits. 
RETURNING TO DENVER. 
August 9.—A ride of some 25 miles across 
the prairie but close up to the foot-hills, 
brought us again to Denver, and right glad 
we all were to get once more where baths 
and clean clothes could he indulged in, at 
least to a limited extent. Our tour among 
the mountains of Colorado is a,t an end for 
this season, and 1 think no one of the. party 
has any reason to regret the time or money 
spent ; for it has been one continued series 
of happy surprises from the day we passed 
up Clear Creek Canon, some two weeks ago, 
until we emerged again from the mountains. 
Saratoga, Newport, Long Branch, Catskill, 
or even the White Mountains, are rather 
tame summer resorts in comparison with 
ManitOU and the mountain springs and ca¬ 
nons within a few miles of Denver. When 
our Eastern people, who have money and 
leisure, learn what there is to be seen here, 
as well as the pleasures to be derived in a 
sojourn in this cool, pure mountain atmos¬ 
phere, they will be glad 1;o exchange the 
discomforts of Eastern crowded watering- 
places for those of this region of country. 
GREELEY, CULORADO. 
Auuust 11.—After spending a quiet Sunday 
at Denver we started for Utah this morning, 
passing through Greeley, a place which has 
become familiar not only on account of its 
name, but for its rapid growth. The town 
is situated on a level plain, therefore there is 
not much to boast of in the way of scenery 
in the vicinity, unless one believes that “dis¬ 
tance. lends eneliuntment,” &c ., for the Rocky 
Mountains can be seen in the distance, but 
too far away to be considered as suburbs of 
the down. The crops about Greeley look 
well, and 1 learn that the colony is a prosper¬ 
ous one ; but I should want a home for some 
time before T would pitch my tent here, 
course, this is only an individual opinio 
based upon my own individual taste in i 
gard to selecting a home ; others may, ai 
do think differently, und act according] 
We stopped a few moments at the static 
and were pleased to have an opportunity 
shaking hands with many an old friend wl 
had located here. All appeared to be pleas; 
[jWn-.. 
with their new homes, and I concluded from 
the style of buildings being erected here, that 
the greater portion of the inhabitants of 
Greeley have come to stay. 
FIGHTING THE GRASSHOPPERS. 
Grasshoppers again appeared at Greeley, 
last spring, and threatened to destroy the 
crops ; but the people turned out m masse, 
before these pests had acquired their fully- 
developed wings, and by perseverance, the 
greater portion were driven into the ditches, 
and either drowned or burned, by scattering 
straw over and among them. The farmers 
think they have learned a lesson which will 
be of value to them in the future. It is said 
that this is the first instance in which this 
greatest pest of Colorado farming has ever 
been completely mastered. 
CHEYENNE, WYOMING TERRITORY. 
At this place we strike the Union Pacific 
R.R. proper, although the road from Gree¬ 
ley to this point is a branch of the same. We 
are still ascending towards the mountains to 
the westward ; hwt at Sherman, 211 miles 
west of Cheyenne, we oomc to the back bout) 
of the cont inent. 8,242 feet above the level of 
the sea. and then commence descending the 
Pacific slope. The country along the line 
becomes more broken and barren as we ad¬ 
vance, there being very little farming land, 
although in some of the valleys a man might 
select a good stock ranch. 
EVANSTON, UTAH. 
From Evanston, westward, the country 
improves in appearance ; at least, the soil in 
the valleys is richer, and the little that is 
cultivated produces fair crops of grain and 
grasp. We here entered the Wasatch range 
of mountains, and pass down through Echo 
and Weber canon, reaching Ogden, where 
we take the Utah Central R.K. for Salt Lake 
City, where we arrived in the evening, and 
put up at the Townsend House, a large and 
commodious hotel kept by one of the pioneer 
saints of this saintly city. 
MORMON WELCOME. 
August 13.—This morning vve were up in 
good time, knowing that our stay here must 
necessarily be short; and curiosity, if noth¬ 
ing else, prompted us to keep our eyes and 
ears open. The first visit among the nota¬ 
bles of Kale Lake City mast, as a matter of 
etiquette, be to the greatest of thorn all— 
Vi's., President Brigham Yon; no. As we had 
breakfasted far too early to think of calling 
upon church dignitaries, either in Utah or 
elsewhere, we took carriages and rode out to 
the Hot Sulphur Springs, one of the many 
natural wonders of this valley. Tins spring 
issues from the base of a great muss of rocks, 
and the water is so hot that one can scarcely 
bear to hold his hand hi it for any consider¬ 
able time. It is also strongly impregnated 
with sulphur, and probably comes from the 
“bottomless [fit,” to which place the inhab¬ 
itants of this great and prosperous city are 
duly “ticketed,” according to the belief of 
the saints in far more wicked townB else¬ 
where. I thought our two parsons who ac¬ 
companied us to the spring looked a little 
happier than usual as they snuffed the sul¬ 
phurous atmosphere that floated over and 
away from this boiling, seething pool. Their 
faces were radiant with smiles as they dip¬ 
ped their fingers into the water close up to 
the point where it issued from the rocks, 
doubtlessly thinking that the plane of pun¬ 
ishment for Utah saints and other sinners, 
was very near at hand. It is said that these 
waters are excellent for purifying and heal¬ 
ing souls in the body, and I judge, from the 
large and commodious bath house near by, 
they are well patronized. On our way back 
into the city we called at President Young’s 
mansion, a very modest establishment, Bur- 
rounded by a atone wall, but not very for- 
rnidablo or exclusive in appearance, although 
it has Usually been referred to as such by 
newspaper correspondents. A good Osage 
orange hedge would be far more efficient in 
keeping human beings in or out than this 
wall, if it were built for that purpose, which 
I very much doubt. Unfortunately, Presi¬ 
dent \ Ol’.vu was indisposed, suffering from 
a severe attack of rheumatism ; consequent¬ 
ly, we did not have the pleasure of meeting 
him. We were, however, welcomed by 
several Mormon elders and bishopB, whose 
names are well known throughout Christen¬ 
dom. After spending an hour in conver¬ 
sation with these gentlemen in President 
Young’s reception room, we again entered 
our carriages, fully satisfied that men may 
be Mormons and still be gentlemen. 
- 4 --*-+- 
A Lord Palmerston peach, weighing over 
eleven ounces, “ one of seven produced by a 
small standard tree grown in a 11-inch pot ” 
is acknowledged by the editor of the Garden. 
QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY DAILY 
RURAL LIFE. 
Two mails ago T sent a “Big Bug” to 
“Dally Rural Life,” addressed to Rural 
New-Yorker on the outside; do not know 
but it is a very common one, hut if is the 
first I ever saw. Cou'd send uny number of 
“hugs and things,” but am afraid of troub¬ 
ling with common ones. Would like to 
know what the big bug is.— Rout. F. 0., Jr., 
ImUanoUt, Texas. 
The gigantic water bug came to hand in 
good order, and is quite an acceptable addi¬ 
tion to my cabinet, it being the first speci¬ 
men of the kind which has been sent; me by 
any of my numerous correspondents. This 
gigantic water insect, which is over two 
inches in length and one broad, is a true bug , 
belonging to the order Heteroptem■ Like 
the rest of the family, it lives upon small 
aquatic, insects. Its scientific name is Bclos- 
toma grand,is, Linn, or Gigantic Belostoma. 
Never fear of sending “common things;” fur 
one specimen new to my collection would 
amply repay me for examining a thousand 
that were not. The Rural New- Yorker is 
supposed to be a kind of “schoolmaster 
abroad,” and a public instructor upon all 
rural subjects; therefore do not fear asking 
questions. 
COTTON WORMS FROM TEXAS. 
By this mail i send you a vial of cotton 
worms in the various stages of their growth. 
They are now ravaging my Sea Island cot¬ 
ton patch, and 1 hope they may lie of some 
pleasure to you, as they are the reverse to 
me. I am trying Prof. Riley’S remedy— 
Paris green, but have little faith m it, and 
picking by hand is more than tedious—too 
much on the Bisyphus order of things.— 
George Gordon, Trinity River, Texas. 
The specimens sent are the. true cotton 
worm of the Southern States (Anoints 
xyli/na, Say), and one of the greatest pests of 
the age. We hope you and your neighbors 
will not only give Prof. Riley’S remedies a 
fair trial, but all others that may lie suggest¬ 
ed by your constant light with these worms. 
All the chrysalids found after gathering the 
crop should be gathered and burned, and 
every practicable means employed to lessen 
the number next year. 
A YOUNG ENTOMOLOGIST. 
Mr. Ruhalist : — I am a little girl, but 
large enough to read your Diary. I saw 
where you advertised for a beetle. I send 
you some, but doiiot know whether they are 
the kind or not.— Carrie Wires, Bruns¬ 
wick, Mo. 
1 am always pleased to hear from the little 
girls and boys, especially when they show a 
desire to learn something of the many beauti¬ 
ful creatures which God has made and placed 
around them. No girl or boy need ever fear 
of finding this world a lonesome or gloomy 
one if they will only learn to see and know 
something of the thousands of beautiful 
flowers and happy creatures whlell will con¬ 
stantly attend them through life. The rare 
beetle to which you refer as advertised in the 
Rural was not among the three species sent 
by you. The large, lazy, black beetle, with 
a horn on his pose, is called the Horned pas- 
salu8. The brown, rather flat beetle, a little 
over an inch long, with powerful jaws, is a 
Lucanus damn, sometimes called pinching 
bug, because it will pinch one’s fingers pretty 
sharply if it gets a chance. The other beetle 
is a VolosQtna scrutator. Its w Log-covers are 
a beautiful green color and its head and 
thorax black, the latter margined with 
bright, reddish-bronze. You m ill probably 
remember this handsome beetle; but as it is 
a friend to the farmer and gardener, feeding 
upon cut-worms and other injurious insects, 
you should not kill them. I wish every little 
girl and boy could be taught enough about 
insects to enable them to distinguish friends 
from enemies, or, in other words, to spare 
the beneficial species while destroying the 
injurious; but so long as parents remain in 
ignorance of this most valuable knowledge, I 
fear for the wisdom of the children, I hope, 
Miss Carrie, that you will grow up a wise 
woman and leum to watch the habits of the 
beautiful creatures which all of us meet in 
our journey through life, not forgetting that 
each was created for some good purpose. 
UNHEALTHY MAPLE LEAVES. 
Inclosed please find maple tree leaves for 
examination. Our maple trees ure losing 
their leaves now, same as in the fall, and we 
find steal! white lice on them—the same as in 
the envelope. How can we remedy the evil } 
Do the lice cause it, or is it in the sap ?— L. 
Swift, New Brwiswicli , N. J . 
The maple leaves came to hand, but I could 
find no insects on them or in the package. It 
is quite probable that some species of Aphis 
or plant louse had been at work on the 
leaves; but I think the leaves are unhealthy 
from some cause which proceeds from the 
roots of the tree. The drouth early hi the 
season may have had something to do with it. 
FIVE-SEOTTED SPHINX. 
Daily Rural Life :—Find inclosed an in¬ 
sect, which please name and give its habits, 
ft, is the third one that 1 have ever noticed. I 
saw two last year, and caught this one to¬ 
day, sucking some flower. - W. J. Enbank, 
Ilvnninghain, Ala. 
The insect is the well-known Five-spotted 
Sphinx (Sphinx, quinquenmeulatus). The 
larva of this large moth is probably very fa¬ 
miliar to you a* the potato or tomato worm, 
a long, smooth, green catterplllar, which 
sometimes is very abundant upon the plants 
named. After these worms reach their ma¬ 
turity they come down the steins of the 
plants upon which they have been feeding, 
and bury themselves in the earth, soon, 
changing to chrysalids, these remaining in the 
ground until the following spring, when the 
moths come forth. 
-- 
SEED CORN MAGGOT. 
I noticed in Rural New-Yorker of re¬ 
cent date an article about seed corn maggot. 
W e had an insect hero that conics very near 
your description, only it works in the stalk 
instead of the kernel. It is about half an 
inch long and is white. It is found just above 
the brace roots in the center of the stalk 
when the corn is about four or five inches 
high. I used coal tar—about three table- 
spoonfuls to the half bushel—and plaster 
enough to prevent it sticking to the hands 
when planting, and it Stopped them in a 
measure ; and, as far us a crow is concerned, 
they will not fly over the field. I tarred my 
corn and did not have a hill pulled, while my 
neighbors lost a great deal. One of my 
neighbors had an acre pulled, with two or 
three scare-crows, some hoop-skirts and um¬ 
brellas banging in the field, while mine was 
back from the house, out of sight, and not a 
scare-crow there. Please tell us what, you 
think tho worms arc and what you th ink 
will stop them. The corn wilts down just 
as it does when cut-worms eat it; and it was 
a long .time before I discovered what it was 
that did the mischief. —A Subscriber, (ileus 
Falls, N. Y. 
The worms found in the stalks are not 
those of the Anthumyia sens, Riley, but 
what they are wo cannot tell without speci¬ 
mens for examination. If they appear next 
season, send some, carefully packed in a tin 
box, with some pieces of corn stalks for food. 
-♦♦♦■ 
MUSCULAR FORCE OF INSECTS. 
M. l’Abbe Plessis, in au article in Les 
Mnndx.s, on the above subject, says that, by 
way of experiment, he placed a large horned 
beetle, weighing some fifty grains, on a 
smooth plank; and then in a light box, ad¬ 
justed ou the carapace of the insect, added 
weights up to 2.2 pounds. In spite of the 
comparatively enormous burden, being 315 
times its own weight, the beetle managed to 
lift it and move it along. A man of ordinary 
muscular power is fully a hundred times 
feebler ir] proportion; and had an elephant 
such comparative strength, it could run away 
with the Oebliskof Luxor, a load of 5,090,000 
pounds. Similarly, the flea, scarcely .03 of 
an inch in hight, manages to leap without 
difficulty over a barrier fully 500 times its 
own altitude. For a man, six feet is an un¬ 
usually high leap ; imagine his jumping 3,000 
feet in the air—over three fifths of a mile ! 
-♦ •*-*- 
ENTOMOLOGICAL NOTES. 
Locusts and Tea Plants .—A curious fact 
in natural history, important to tea planters, 
has been discovered — namely, that locusts 
will not eat, tea leaves. A Darjeeling paper 
tells us that very large flights of locusts re¬ 
cently settled ou tho tea gardens, reddening 
the surface of the ground by their numbers ; 
but in a few hours they passed oil, having 
devoured every blade of grass, blit leaving 
the tea bushes absolutely intact ! 
Worms Infesting Grape Leaves. — The 
box containing grape leaves infested by 
some insect, sent by A. J. Thomson, Reading- 
ton, N. J., came to hand, but the worms and 
flies had ail escaped, the box having been 
smashed in the mails. Bend other speci¬ 
mens and we will try to give the name and 
something of their history. 
Frogs Eating Potato Beetles. — An Iowa 
boy has accidentally discovered in the stom¬ 
ach of a frog sundry Colorado potato beetles 
—hence he concluds if frogs were more plen- 
ty, potato beetles would be less troublesome. 
M 
i 
