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or a star may be made of daisies and myrtle; 
or of blue and white larkspur. Verbenas as 
well as phloxes are prettiest when looked 
down upon. Many of the grasses mingle 
well with flowers, and they are so graceful 
that a whole bouquet of them is not to be 
despised. Ferns, too, all by themselves, are 
very pretty. I saw them in a church lately, 
so bravely green, so delicate and airy, that I 
doubt not other eyes than mine found them 
a rest after looking at the round bunches of 
terior elongate, triangular; bind margin 
repanded with oblique marks. 
Spilonota St .—Palpi short, sub-horizontal, 
clavatc; antenna* simple ; thorax not crested; 
wings deflexed, anterior rather narrow, inner 
margin with a white blotch in the middle. 
There are other synonyms. 
Mr. Ha thus proposes the name for the 
latter described caterpillar Penthina oculana 
—the eye spotted Penthina. The larva and 
moth described by llAimis were raised and 
sent him by John Owen, Esq,, of Cam¬ 
bridge. Insignificant as they seem to he, 
they can commit, a serious amount of dam¬ 
age to fruit trees, and should be known. 
Their habits are similar, infesting various 
kinds of trees, or they lurk in the flower buds, 
and canker them to the heart before they can 
spread their petals to the sun, and nip the 
fruit in the bud. 
Watch the moths flying about apple trees 
in tlio evening, when they lay their eggs, 
which hatch in a few days. They often lay 
a second brood. A lantern may be set in a 
vessel of oil or unctuous liquid, the light of 
which will attract and precipitate these 
moths into the liquid, often in great num¬ 
bers, and thus destroy the parent. To pick 
them may be a slow process, but the “ iron 
heel ” is a sure means to reduce their number. 
I have succeeded in capturing numbers of 
night-flying moths by means of cut or sliced 
apples, set out or spread over a hoard, will) 
a lighted lantern, the light of which would 
attract them, when they would alight to sip 
the juiee of the apple, and become easy to 
capture by hand or a small net. Some plan 
of this kind might be made serviceable. 1 
employed it simply as a decoy to collect 
specimens for my cabinet. J. Stauffer. 
Lancaster, Pa., Aug., 1870. 
lorirnltnrr 
Ijc Naturalist 
arirtnrr 
CELERY CULTURE, 
APPLE LEAF CATERPILLAR. 
Ltllum Supprbam. 
This is a native of our country which has 
not so far received as much attention from 
amateur florists as it deserves. Our corres¬ 
pondent, F. R. Elliott, seud us the accom¬ 
panying drawing, on a reduced scale, of 
one stem in a cluster grown by Prof. J. P. 
Ktrtland, and writes that on two or more 
of the stems there were between sixty and 
seventy flowers each; the whole cluster 
would have numbered over four hundred 
flowers in bloom at, a time. It is not as showy 
as LUium Auratum , or Japonioum , but its 
flowers are shown just when Auratum has 
gone and the Japans have not come. 
Those who plant it should remember 
that, like all the Lily family its beauty is 
naturally, by its growth, partially hidden; 
that because of its innate modesty and in¬ 
trinsic worth it droops its head, and if it is 
to be seen to the best advantage, it should 
be grown on some position where it will be 
elevated above the observer. A rocky knoll, 
or bank adjoining the entrance drive into 
one’s grounds, a raised bank in the rear of 
low growing, hardy flowering shrubs, or a 
mass of geraniums, ore all good positions 
for the planting of lilies. 
Llllum Auratum. 
Mr. Elliott also sends us a sketch of a 
stem of the LUium Auratum as grown and 
flowered by Mr. Oliver Alger, at Cleve¬ 
land this season. Mr. Elliott thinks it 
perhaps the best stem of flowers that has 
yet been grown in this eouutry, having on 
it, all in bloom, at one and the same time, 
thirteen full sized and perfect flowers. The 
drawing sent us is of course on a reduced 
scale, for the flowers, Mr. E. writes, meas¬ 
ured from nine to eleven inches in diam¬ 
eter. 
I wish to make Inquiry through your 
columns for the best, method of raising cel¬ 
ery, forcing the growth, bleaching, &c. t as 
some apply liquid manure, salt, &c., to make 
a rank growth, which forces it to sufficient 
The skeletonized leaves of an apple tree, 
together with the web and a few dried larvaq 
from Geo. K. Drake, Pittsfield, N. C.,came 
to band. He states that these insects have 
slowly increased in number annually,, and 
that they arc quite too plenty this year; that ! 
he never noticed them earlier than the month 
of June, when they attract attention by 
weaving a web around the extremities of 
apple tree limbs, having never seen them on 
any oilier tree. They feed upon the tender 
parts of the leaves united by them. Tie 
asks;—“ What, is their name? whence their 
origin? and what will prevent their depre¬ 
dations besides an iron heel ?” 
The insect is a small caterpillar, the larva 
of an. extensive family of nocturnal Lepldop- 
terous insects, called Tor trices, (Latin, torques, 
“ 1 wreathe,”) because they live concealed 
between the leaves more or less united by 
their webs. Westwooo enumerates forty- 
four genera of Lhis family, which, however, 
differ in their habits. 
The codling moth, or fruit moth of tho 
apple, called Carpompsa Pomonella, belongs 
to this tribe. The Apple Worm, as it is 
called, which infects the apple, ditto re some¬ 
what from those webbed up, that feed upon 
the leaves. The moths are of small size; 
they carry their wings like a steep roof over 
their bodies when they are at rest during the 
day time, as they only fly in the evening and 
night; most abundant in midsummer. Cer¬ 
tain species, however, appear in the sprifig 
or autumn. 
The caterpillars of several species nre 
found on the ends of the branches of various 
trees and hushes, in nests made of the young 
leaves drawn together in hunches, and fas¬ 
tened with threads. In these nests they live 
and shelter themselves singly or, in some 
cases, in numbers. Tho caterpillars are 
about half an inch long, having minute 
warts, beset with line hairs, rather short! 
When they come to their full size, towards 
the middle of June, they line tjio inner sur¬ 
face of the curled or united leaves with a 
web of sillc for a nest, in which they change 
to a chrysalids «f a, dark brown color. To¬ 
wards the end of June or early in July the 
chrysalis pushes itself half way out <>f its 
nest, and hursts open at the upper end, so 
that tho moth may come out. 
The moth of one similar, if not identical, 
with the specimens sent, closely resembles the 
LozoUmiu, or more correctly Loxotemia 
oporana, of Europe, which Harris figures 
and describes as the Loxotamia roxucmria, the 
oblique-banded moth of the Rose tribe, for 
to the latter the apple tree belongs as well as 
the rose. 
Rut a little caterpillar of another species 
is found in May and Jnne in the opening 
buds and among tho tender leaves of the 
apple tree. These live siugly In the buds, 
tho leaves of which they fasten together and 
then devour. These caterpillars are of a 
pale,dull, brownish color, warty atul slightly 
downy like the foregoing kind, with the 
head and the top of the first, ring dark, 
shilling brown ; and a dark brown spot ap¬ 
pears through the skin on the top of the 
eighth ring. They generally come to then- 
growth by the middle of June, and change 
to a shining brown chrysalis within the 
curled leaves, in a little web of silk, where¬ 
with their retreat is lined. The chrysalis 
has only one row of prickles across the rings 
of the back. The moths come out early in 
July. They very closely resemble the Eu¬ 
ropean Penthina conn tana —the Spilonota of 
Stephens. Westwood gives the generic 
character of these moths thus: 
NOTES FOR NATURALISTS. 
To Kill tlm Motlin or Utiierplllitrs. 
Take a wide board and put legs to it long 
enough to reach up to the sill of your sitting- 
room window; on this table place some 
pans partly filled with water; on the Inside 
place your lamp and leave up the curtain, 
amj your trap Is finished, and may be worked 
every night without cost. In the morning 
empty your pans, put away the tabb- until 
night, then set. the trap and t»y again. — R. 
Sansend. 
Hhj* Worms Fed on Ooage Ornngo. 
Albert K. Thuiibur writes the Depart¬ 
ment of Agriculture that his mulberry for¬ 
age failing, he fed his silk worms on Osage 
Orange foliage; that he is feeding 10,000 
worms on Osage Orange this year, and that 
they have thrived and fed as well as those 
kept on the mulberry. He sent some of the 
Osage Indian cocoons to Mr. Muller, Ne¬ 
vada City, California, to he reeled and tested, 
and he reports the silk, to all appearances, 
“ strong, and of excellent quality.” 
To Keep Moles from Entinsr Seed Corn. 
One of your subscribers inquires what 
will keep moles from eating seed corn after 
it is planted. Soak the seed twenty-four 
hours iu warm water, then put the com in a 
keg or barrel, take a pint of coal tar to a 
bushel of corn, and warm it until it gets 
tliill; put it in the corn and stir with a stick 
until it is all coated over with the tar, then 
sprinkle with dry ashes and plant before it 
gets dry. Squashes and pumpkins can bo 
treated in the same way, and neither moles, 
wire-worms, mice nor crows will touch it.— 
H. Slttlkk, Burlington, Iowa. 
ARRANGING FLOWERS. 
It is astonishing how very few people 
know just how to display cut. flowers to the 
best advantage. Everybody must have 
bright blossoms in the parlor vases nowa¬ 
days, but the combinations made are enough 
to vex the soul of a person with the least ar¬ 
tistic taste. What business has a blue lark¬ 
spur—beautiful though it may be in itself— 
by the side of a scarlet geranium? or by 
what law are marigolds and roses brought 
together ? 
In the first place, one must have the right 
kind of a vase, and I’ll give you my ideas of 
the fitness of things. Vases shouldn’t be 
very high, unless they are wide-topped, in 
which latter case branches of foliage and 
tall spikes of bloom should fill them; for in¬ 
stance, either a ground glass or a ruby ya.se 
a foot high is well furnished by common 
lily leaves, or leaves of mountain ash, with 
white petunias, or any long-stemmed white 
flowers. Parian vases of the many pretty 
patterns are beautiful always; so are those 
of engraved glass. I have a little one of the 
fern pattern about six inches high, which 
occupies a carved bracket over the sewing 
machine. This year it began very early to 
hold forest flowers—spring beauties and 
hepaticas; violets white and blue; then a 
handful of adder's tongues —orchis speetahilis. 
Then came the garden flowers, of which I 
notice some pretty arrangements, ribbon 
gnass, pear blossoms and tea violets, lily of 
the valley, with Its leaves and a single pur¬ 
ple pansy; a bit of white lilac and deilytra; 
roses during their season; and now, since 
the fragrant lilies of July are gone, 1 take 
very kindly to bright geraniums and verbe¬ 
nas, feathery sprays of gypsophila, a little 
mignonette and leaves of the rose geranium, 
which I always grow in abundance for bou¬ 
quets, not forgetting a stem of the varie¬ 
gated balm, which always harmonizes with 
scarlet or crimson flowers. A couple of 
fern fronds — aspidium aerosstichoides —and 
the delicate hair-bell are pretty together, or 
hair - bell and white spirea ; St. Peter’s 
wreath, bent so as to simulate a basket han¬ 
dle, and flowers of any hue filling the basket. 
A great datura may he put in a narrow¬ 
mouthed vase, and this natural vase, with 
water in it, may hold a cluster of delicate 
blossoms. 
A very unique vase —three hungry birds 
reaching up for food — seems to take almost 
anything gratefully ; it had larkspur, candy¬ 
tuft, and red roses on the Fourth. A rustic 
vase — two lovers at a well — is suited best 
with green ferns and moneywort, or occa¬ 
sionally a little bunch of candytuft with 
flowering grasses. A pretty pyramid for the 
dove may he built up with nappy, soup 
plate, bowl and teacup, and besides being 
, «o very easily made, the flowers are easily 
replaced by fresh ones. 
Some flowers show best in plates; saucers 
1 of pansies edged with musk, are lovely; so 
are balsams with plenty of their own leaves, 
^ Fill a pickle shell with caraway leaves, put 
l a white jonquil in the center, from which 
q_ let five sprays of lily of the valley radiate; 
Illton, N, V., July, 1870. C. P. Hunt. 
Our experience is that we get celery of 
the strongest growth when it is grown on a 
level surface (not in trenches) and the earth 
hauled to it. to bleach it. 11' t he trench is on 
the south side of a hill or inclination, so that 
a good deal of sun is obtained by the plants, 
they will grow stronger; hill, plants of any 
sort that have to grow in shade, will not be 
strong. 
FLORICULTURAL NOTES 
(JnlypMo Ilorcnli*. 
R. in Journal of Horticulture was disap¬ 
pointed at first sight of this rare native 
flower. He says it is very pretty and that 
is the best that can be said of it. lie re¬ 
gards it too small to he showy, and so diffi¬ 
cult of culture that, except as a rare botani¬ 
cal specimen it is not worth growing. 
Imuiirleei Answered. 
O. A., Blackinton,Mass., writes:—“ Please 
give me the name of the inclosed flowers. 
No. 1, the scarlet, is a biennial or perennial; 
grows in tall spikes four to five feet high ; is 
called here, ‘ cypress.’ No. 3, the white, is a 
perennial; grows four to five feet high.” 
No. 1 is Ipomopsis elegans, a biennial, and 
native of South Carolina. No. 2 is some 
species of GgpHophila, probably G. Steveni, 
native of Iberia. The specimen is too im¬ 
perfect to determine the species definitely ; 
hut it is in all probability the one indicated. 
SPINACH FOR SPRING GREENS, 
TnERE is always a desire in spring for 
something green and fresh to give a relish to 
other food. A majority of farmers, who 
make far too little preparation for such cheap 
luxuries, may easily supply this want by a 
few beds of spinach sown upon such grounds 
as have been used for summer crop's. The 
soil should be made rich, and the manure 
thus applied will be an excellent prepara¬ 
tion for the next spring’s crop, after the 
spinach has been removed. It will not pay 
sown on poor ground. Having the beds 
ready, they may be sown at intervals from 
the first to the end of September in rows far 
enough apart to be easily cultivated with the 
hoe, to keep the plants free from weeds. 
Two kinds of spinach are usually grown— 
the round leaf for spring sowing, and the 
pointed leaf or prickly lor fall planting. 
Either can be sown, though the prickly is 
the more hardy. 
By sowing at intervals a succession may 
ho secured for the table for some weeks. 
iSelect for the beds situations with little ex¬ 
posure to the prevailing winds, and on the 
approach of severe weather cover the beds 
moderately with clean straw, throwing over 
it the pea brush and orchard trimmings, to 
prevent the straw blowing off. They will re¬ 
quire no Anther care until spring, when the 
brush and straw may be removed, amt the 
surface lightly stirred with a spade-fork or 
prong hoe, when the gfiod housewife will 
have a supply of greens, which make a 
palatable addition to the family dinner, and 
the whole expense of time, seed and cultiva¬ 
tion will be richly repaid. 
i minis i novel iinmon uvi iiuvu 
had to sow u second time. Auotlu'i important 
effect of the Ilmo In the present drouth in to re¬ 
flect back the rays of tho sun. and line? tnuMure 
is preserved In (tie soil to meet tho roots of the 
infant plants. If evenly spread over the rows, 
the young plants will push through the eout of 
lime, and jireseut. a heaulil'ul green lino an tho 
white surface. Many of my neighbors have to 
sow a second time. Mine are ready l or 
the hoe. Several of my neighbors nave 
^ by this means saved their crop. Tho 
lime must he put on dry, and on a warm 
or hot and dry day; for If any dew or 
moisture bo on ihu plants, they will be 
destroyed. The lime must be ready to 
t put on the moment tho mischief tie- 
gins, for in the twenty-four hours of a 
TK hot season the tly can ruin nny crop; it 
J \ is of no use then going for the lime.'* 
^ Our experience is, a rich soil 
MW that will bring the young plants for¬ 
ward so fast that they will outgrow 
the attack, is an excellent, pre¬ 
ventive. The present season we have 
made a liberal use of superphosphate of 
lime, and tho fly has not troubled the cab¬ 
bage, cauliflower or turnip plants. Neither 
have the striped or other bugs, thus far, 
troubled the cucumber, melon or squash 
vines, and their growth has been unusually 
rapid and healthy. 
Tran*iiluntiutf Roses. 
H. C. Krz.MEii asks the best time to re¬ 
move rose hushes. We have succeeded well 
by transplanting in September or October, 
but we prefer early spring. We should not 
hesitate to transplant in the fall if we were 
ready to do so, however. All the leaves 
should be stripped off, the shoots pruned 
closely, and plenty of water given them. 
Any time after the terminal buds are formed 
before the buds start in spring transplanting 
can be safely done. 
LILIUXt 8ITTERBUM. 
Loxotamia St. (Tortrix p. curt.) 28 sp.— 
Palpi short, horizontal, or slightly ascending 
antennae, sub-pubescent; wings entire, au 
Inquiries for Trapper*.—J. C. R. asks how to 
catch the muskrat and mink; for directions for 
making and bulling imps; how to stretch tho 
skins, &o.—J. P. a sics if any one can tell him the 
usual number of chickens a prairie hen broo4s. 
Ploral Inquiries.—I should much like some one 
to tell me how to grow seedling carnations.— 
Emily. 
wfaihp 
