270 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Iptrtr of it |UtraM 
DAILY RURAL LIFE. 
PTom tho Diary of a Gentleman near New 
York City. 
A FEW CHOICE, TENDER PLANTS. 
Oct. 10.— In taking up specimens of desir¬ 
able bedding plants to-day, I am reminded 
that there are a few among the number 
which are, comparatively speaking, quite 
now. For instance, the White Flowering 
Sage, a variety of the common scarlet, or 
Salvia aplendens, was sent out last spring as 
a novelty. The habit of growth and the 
entire plant has the appearance of its parent, 
but the flower® aro white, slightly tinged 
with straw color. It is a very free blooming 
variety, and when planted in masses makes 
quite a handsome, show in tho garden. Not 
long since 1 found one spike of flowers a part 
of which were bright scarlet and the others 
white, showing that this new variety is truly 
a sport of the old scarlet , and an occasional 
flower runs back to the parent species. Per¬ 
haps some of our florists will yet produce a 
variety where this mixing of the two colors 
in each spike of flowers will be a permanent 
characteristic, as it is with our Mottled Dah¬ 
lias, Petunias, Phloxes and many other well- 
known garden plants. 
ORAPHAIIUM IANATUM, VAPIEOATUM. 
This new variety of an old and well-known 
plant is certainly quite an addit ion to our list 
of variegated-lea veil plants. The loaves arc 
small, a little over an inch long, of a pale 
yellowish-white, splashed with green in the 
center. The florist from which* I procured 
my plants last spring described it in his cata¬ 
logue as a very compact, bushy - growing 
plant, and probably under certain circum¬ 
stances it may assume this form ; but last 
spring I plunged a few plants close to the 
wall of my gx-eeu-hou»e, and up this the stems 
have climbed several feet, more like a vine 
than a “Btocky, bushy plant.” It is a very 
pretty plant, and no doubt, can be trained to 
grow in almost a ny desirable form, and this 
is a merit instead of a fault. 
COLEUS CHAMELEON. 
This new Co leu* is a magnificent variety 
when grown in the house, but it loses its 
beautiful pink and violet shades when planted 
out in the open border. At least, mine did ; 
but a few plants left in the green-house dur¬ 
ing the summer have shown some of the 
richest leaf-colorings that I have over seen. 
By growing the plants under different condi¬ 
tions, aspects, and in n variety of soils, one 
can practice ehameleonizing with a certainty 
of producing very satisfactory results. 
JEAN SISLEY PELARGONIUM. 
Among the new Scarlet Zonale Pelargo¬ 
nium, this pleases me best. The flowers of a 
large size and the color a vivid scarlet, with 
a clear, white eye. It may be possible to 
beat Jean Sisley as a single Scarlet Pelargo¬ 
nium ; if so, I hope to bo here to see it. 
Among the double sorts, I have found none 
better than our good old 
TRIQMPHE AND MADAME LEMOINE. 
But there are many other excellent new 
sorts of different colors than those already 
named, which deserve even more than a 
parsing notice, although I cannot spend time 
to do them justice. There is Master Chris¬ 
tine, with his monstrous truss of brilliant 
pink flowers, looking out from the dark green 
leaves os much as to any, “Have you no 
word of praise for me, considering that I 
cost §2.50 last spring, utid a very small speci¬ 
men at that ?” Mrs. J. C. Mapping puts in 
her claim for a notice not only because she 
ranks among the high-pricod novelties, but 
adds, “look at my beautiful white flowers 
and then at my green dress (leaves) all bor¬ 
dered with white point lace.” But it is diffi¬ 
cult to discriminate where all are so fine, and 
I might as well stop right here. 
A CHRYSALIS ON A GRAPE. 
Oct. 11.— “Daily Rural Life Inclosed 
find something which I found attached to a 
bunch of grant**. Please nnnm and describe 
in Rural New-Yorker.— Irving J. Van 
Marten, Lyons, N. Y. 
The beautiful green chrysalis with a neck¬ 
lace-like row of golden dots, and a few of the 
same scattered over the lower part, is that of 
the common red butterfly {Danuis Archip- 
pus of Fabiucus). The caterpillar you have 
doubtless seen many times feeding upon the 
common milkweed, (Asclepias Cumuli,) 
which is quite abundant in your neighbor¬ 
hood. The caterpillar has a pair of thread¬ 
like, black horns on the top of the second 
segment, and a shorter pair on the eleventh, 
and its body is marked with alternate trans¬ 
verse bands of yellow, black and white. 
When fully grown, it is nearly two inches 
long ; it then crawls away to some conven¬ 
ient place, fastens itself to a rail of a. fence, 
stick, or anything that is suited to its 
purpose, and then changes to a chrysalis. 
This is the first time I ever saw one attached 
to a grape, and it is no wonder that it attract¬ 
ed your attention, although you could have 
found them plentiful elsewhere. 
KATYDID EGGS. 
"Daily-Rural Life I send you an 
orange Je.af with a nest, of eggs. What are 
they ?—Hugh A. Corley. Okahumka, Fla. 
The small, oval, rather flat, grayish-colored 
eggs, placed in such regular order around the 
edge of the orange leaf you send, are those 
of the oblong-winged katydid (Phyllolera 
oblonyifolia of Dis Geer). We frequently 
find them placed in rows of t wenty or more, 
lengthways, of a small twig ; but up in this 
cold country they know better than to trust 
their eggs to u leaf ; but it. is quite probable 
that Florida katydids know that, orange 
leaves hang on all winter in Florida. The sys¬ 
tematic regularity with which these katy¬ 
dids deposit their eggs is really surprising. 
The first egg is laid fiat upon its sides, one 
end of the next upon this, and the other end 
is stuck fast to leaf or twig, this imbricated 
system being preserved without deviation 
through the whole series deposited. No car 
pen ter ever laid the shingles upon a roof 
with more regularity than does our female 
katydid lay her eggs upon a stick. 
HICKORY LEAF GALLS. 
“Daily Rural Life — Inclosed please 
find a collection of little green balls on a hick¬ 
ory leaf. 1 cut one of them open, and it con¬ 
tained a small larva or worm. Will you 
please tell me what they are ?— Djmon Knurr. 
Litchfield, Mich. 
There Is a limit to every man’s knowledge, 
and T regret to own that, the little circle 
within which I swing embraces very little 
information about galls and their architects. 
The “ small round bads,” as you call them, 
upon the hickoiy leaves sent, are caused by 
some one of the many species of gall flies 
(cyn ip.*) which attack this tree, but I do not 
know its specific name. There is said to be 
160 distinct kinds of gall-flies which attack 
the oak, and 60 of these have been already 
described as infesting our native oaks, and 
no doubt there are many yet unknown to 
science or scientific men. There is scarcely 
a tree, shrub or plant that is not the home 
of one or more species of gall-fly, and from 
this you may readily sec how extensive is 
the field for investigation in this particular 
line. Baron Qsten-Sacken worked faithful¬ 
ly for many years studying the habits of 
these minute insects, and every man who 
takes any interest in natural science regrets 
that he did not remain here to pursue his 
investigations in this direction instead of re¬ 
turning to his home in lDussiu. 
The Smithsonian Institution published the 
“ Monographs of the Diptcraof North Amer¬ 
ica,” by R. Obtkn-SaCKXN, which contains a 
vast amount, of information on this subject, 
but there is much more to be known. Young 
men who are sighing for fame need not look 
long or far away from home to find the field 
wherein their labors are needed. The liar 
vest is ready, but the laborers few, weak and 
timid. 1 might suggest that there was also 
room for woman, and plenty of men who 
would gladly help her, but I fear some Neal 
Newton (see Rural of August 23, page 181,) | 
would tell me to mind my bugs and beetles, 
“ and let woman alone.” 
- 4 -*-*- 
HOUSE PLANTS. 
“ Oh ! how beautiful your plants are ! 
Only see, Charles, what splendid leaves and 
flowers ! 1 never saw house plants grow so 
luxuriantly before, and I never could moke 
min i-, look half so well. What can be tho 
reason ?” 
I will tell you. You do not give them 
enough light and sunshine, which they de¬ 
light in, and without which they could hard¬ 
ly exist. You partially close the blinds that 
your carpet may not become faded nor your 
complexion tawny ; and yet you do this at 
the expense of your own health and cheer¬ 
fulness, and real beauty, too; and at the ex¬ 
pense of your flowers and plants which you 
cherish so tenderly, and without which your 
home would seem very dreary. Now, I do 
not love darkness better than light, except as 
God has made it, and I would not live in a 
home, however grand its surroundings, 
where the blessed sunlight was excluded, lest 
it should drive out tho sunshine from my 
heart, which the good Lord intended I 
should “ hold fastfor it is indeed “good.” 
I admit all the air and sunlight into my 
home that I can, consistently with comfort, 
and if furniture and carpets are faded there¬ 
by, it is of minor importance compared with 
health and real home cheeriness. 
Minnesota. Hope Evermore. 
<£hc g^dfsmim. 
INFLUENCE OF SOIL ON STOCK. 
[Concluded from page 231, last number. J 
Mr. Curtis, in reply to a question, gave 
it as liis opinion that neither Duchess county, 
nor the Genesee Valley, were as well adapt¬ 
ed for the raising of Bhort-Horns as the val¬ 
ley of the Mohawk, at Now York Mills. In 
all that he said he merely wished to corrob¬ 
orate the view expressed in the paper of the 
evening, that it was necessary not only to be 
careful in the selection of stock, but also in 
stock suited to the locality for which they 
were designed, in concluding his remarks, 
Mr. Curtis took occasion to protest against 
the popular notion that animals to be in good 
condition—in condition to show at the State 
Fair—had to be fat and sleek. He thought 
that the prevalence of such a nation, or pan¬ 
dering to it, had mined a great many head 
of fine cattle. Time and again stock was 
Injured by over feeding, and the over feeding 
resulted from a desire to present animals in a 
sleek, fat condition. A reform was needed. 
In answer to a question as to what condition 
he would have stock in, Mr. Curtis said that 
so far as dairy stock was concerned, all that 
a cow needed was bone enough to travel on, 
and that milky qualities ought not to be sac¬ 
rificed to mere carcase. 
Mr. L. F. Allen (author of the “ Short-Horn 
Herd Book,”) did not quite agree with the 
last speaker. He wus inclined to think that 
some of the best milkers lie hud ever known 
had been fat cows. A cow should always be 
well fed, otherwise a generous flow of milk 
was not to be looked for. lie hail no sympa¬ 
thy whatever in the starvation theory, As 
to tho sale at New- York Mills, he thought 
that Mr. Campbell had sold some of liis st ock 
very cheap. From $800 to 83,000 was the 
range of prices at w hich part of t he herd was 
sold. As for the stock that brought the top 
prices, it wus to be said that there was no 
stock in the world that could dispute with 
the Dutchess. Fur perfection of qualities 
and concentration of blood they had no 
equals. As for New York Mills he did not 
consider it any better adapted for Short- 
Horns than Genesee Valley or the volleys in 
Ohio and Mississippi. Tho important theory 
was to secure a soil with lime on it. 
Harris Lewis of Herkimer, thought that 
the fact that the bidding at Now York Mills 
took the shape of a triangular contest In 
which England bid against the West, and 
Canada against both, had a good deal to do 
with the liigh prices obtained. 
Mr. L. F. Allen begged to correct the gen¬ 
tleman. Canada did not take part in the 
sale. 
Mr. Lewis continued that in any event that 
that family of Bhort-Horns which had passed 
through the hands of Thorne, Sheldon and 
Campbell had no superior anywhere. It was 
a peculiar characteristic of the Dutchess that 
whatever they invariably touched they Im¬ 
proved, hence the almost fabulous value at¬ 
tached to them. As for himself, he and his 
friend, Mr. Curtis, valued a cow solely ac¬ 
cording to the number of pounds of milk she 
would yield, and he had been trying to figure 
up what milk ought to sell for coming from 
a cow costing §40,001). 
Mr. Curtis said he was glad to notice that 
the breeders of Ayrshire cows wore begin¬ 
ning to alter their- programme. A few years 
ago the hading idea was handsome cattle. 
For his part he thought Providence had never 
intended that un Ayrshire cow should be a 
handsome, round, well-made creature. I 
hope we have reached a time when wo are 
contented with cow point and can dispense 
with beauty. And as with Ayrshire# so with 
Jerseys. A little while since and if was con¬ 
sidered necessary that a Jersey should have a 
black tongue, anil switch. The stock had been 
much hurt by such a mistaken notion. The 
best Jersey cow ho had ever owned had a 
white face. 
Harris Lewis What soil do you think is 
best calculated to furnish Ayrshire with 
teats t (Laughter). 
Mr. Curtis—We have been trying to give 
them beauty and have left the teats alone. 
It is time we looked at teats. 
Mr. H. Lewis—You cat’t see them. (Laugh¬ 
ter. 
Mr. T. J. Hand of Bing Sing remarked that 
the English stock authorities hud nothing to 
say about black tongues or black switches 
being “points” for Jerseys. He considered 
such things as merely extrinsic and having 
nothing to do with the intrinsic value. As to 
the effect of soil on stock he would say that i 
soil had a wonderful effect which was often i 
too subtle for analysis. In certain vineyards | 
in Fx-ance a certain plot in a particular field 
would yield a better grape than land sur¬ 
rounding it on all sides. He had found in his 
own experience that feeding with his own 
hay in winter to ills stock tho butter he ob¬ 
tained was golden. If he bonght hay anil fed 
it, even in connection with carrots, the butter 
was whit©. He cured his hav when young, 
which perhaps went to account for the dif¬ 
ference. 
Mr. B. H, Andrews of Waterbury, Conn., 
thought there was a breed that combined all 
the good qualities which were found singly 
in the breeds which had been the subject of 
comment. For milk, beef, work, beauty of 
form, and uniformity of elm rioter, the Devon 
was without a rival. Henry Coleman who 
was sent out to Europe by the Massachusetts 
Board of Agriculture to inspectnnil report on 
stock, reported that the Devon cow was su¬ 
perior to all others as milkers. The speaker 
thought that Ayrshire butter was apt to have 
hu oily, animal taste, and was not tube com¬ 
pared to the Devons. Again, it was an im¬ 
portant consideration that no breed equalled 
the Devon for oxen. You could rely on the 
uniformity of their color. In a herd of seven¬ 
teen which he lately saw, any two could be 
hitched up and the result would be a matched 
team. 
Mr. Dexter of Newport, Herkimer county, 
stated that a neighbor of his who does not 
run to fancy stock, but took particular pains 
in selecting his cows, had made as high as 
14,200 lbs. of choose per annum from twenty 
cows. The speaker thought that a cross of 
Short-Horn with native produced the best 
milking stock. He himself had made 600 lbs. 
of cheese from one cow. Ho was not pre¬ 
pared to coincide with tho views of Mr. Cur¬ 
tis on one point— he, the speaker, thought 
that cows ought to have some flesh. The 
rule .was, poor cows, poor milk—poor not 
alone in quantity but in quality ns well. 
Mr. Curtis thought that on a given amount 
of food, the Ayrshire would lead any other 
breed for beef and milk. 
D. P. Chapman of Unaudilla considered 
that for oxen, milk and general use, the 
Devon was tho best of all. He would like to 
see the relative merits of the different breeds 
subjected to a ^thorough test. He himself 
was willing to make such test during next 
year with Devons and lay the result before 
the Society at its next meeting. He proposed 
to accurately record the weight of messes 
given to the animal experimented upon, tho 
yield of milk, the animal’s weight, &c. 
-- 
COW GIVING BLOODY MILK. 
Will you or some of the Rural readers 
be kind enough to give uh a remedy, (through 
the ROKiL New-Yorker.) for the following : 
We have a nice young cow that began giving 
bloody milk out of her two front teats, (the 
hind ones have never been affected,) about 
the middle of July. The milk would look 
pure until nearly done milking, when it would 
begin to be slightly colored, and the last strip 
or so it would be very red, not clotted, but 
having the appearance of pure blood. We 
milked lior until the first of August, when 
we put her dry. She now has a fine calf two 
weeks old, and the milk from the front teats 
is the same as when we put her dry. She 
has always been healthy ; has been well kept, 
and is in fine order now. We do the milking 
ourselves, and know of nothing in the way 
of a kick or hurt that could have caused it. 
Another cow, receiving the same treatment., 
is not affected. Please answer as soon as 
convenient, and oblige G. S. Brock. 
lielmont Co., Ohio. 
- +++ - 
NOTES FOE HERDSMEN. 
Pumpkins for Cows, —A correspondent of 
the Germantown Telegraph says: — “ We 
usually raise about ten acres of corn yearly, 
and we have enough pumpkins among this 
corn to feed the cows and young stock some 
each day lrotn the time they come into use 
till about the time snosv begins to fall, say 
about two months. AVo feed regularly, once 
a day, from one to three pumpkins per head, 
never more, and find them greatly conducive 
t.o heahh of stock, besides greatly increasing 
the quantity and quality ol the butter made. 
Pumpkin-made butter will readily pass for 
“golden” or “gilt-edged” without the use 
of “coloring.” 
To Make a Coic Milk Easy .—1 find in the 
Rural New-Yorker of Aug. 2, page 75, a 
method “to make a cow milk easy.” Fran- 
sana Lohr of Frederick Co., Md.,-says: 
“ Let your cow-, or cows, go dry in the down 
sign of the moon ; that is, when tho moon is 
taken off, and a sure result follows.” Will 
she please state if she means during the 
waning of the moon i or state in which of 
the moon’s quartering# the drying off should 
take place ¥ The expressions "down sign” 
and “ taken off ” are local, and not used here. 
—D. T. H., Topeka, Kansas. 
