MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
MAY S 
$)htrg of a Buralifit. 
DAILY RURAL LIFE. 
From tho Diary of a Gentleman near New 
York City. 
CLEAN UP THE WALKS, 
April 23 .—In my first experience at hoeing 
corn and potatoes, I was very much inclined, 
like most boys?, to give tho last hill in the 
row, “a lick and a promise,” instead of fin¬ 
ishing it up in workman-likc manner, with 
one or two clean cuts of the hoe into the sod 
or weeds beyond. Well do 1 remember the 
look my father gave me at this attempt at 
slighting my work, os well as liis words, 
which were, “ boy, always hoe out your 
row.” 1 have never forgotten the lesson 
learned so long ago, and it frequently comes 
to mind as I see the grass and weeds crowding 
the first hills around the edges of com or 
potato field, in summer. These are pretty 
sure signs that, somebody has failed to hoe 
out their row. The neglected fence comers, 
half-plowed headlands, deep, barren, dead 
furrows to be seen upon thousands of farms, 
in whatever direction we may travel, show 
plainly enough that the owners or occupants 
were never taught and compelled to '“hoe 
out their row.” 
But the negligent habit acquired when 
young, of never hoeing out the row, crops 
out nowhere more conspicuously with the 
man, than in treatment of the ground, about 
his home. First of all, if he received proper 
instructions in his younger days, there will 
be a grass plot about the house, and through 
this, or along side, walks and a carriage way, 
in neither of which will grass or weeds be 
permitted to grow. 1 know that some farm¬ 
ers will say that this is all nonsense, and so 
is blacking your boots and putting ou a stiff 
collar when you go to church on Sunday. 
No one ever put ou such a thing as Sunday 
clothes in hot weather for comfort, but it is 
all for the looks, and that is just what folks 
clean up their walks and trim the edges of 
the grass for. A little polish on a pair of 
boots makes a wonderful difference in the 
appearance of tho man who wears them, 
just as a little hoeing and trimming of the 
carriage way and walks about a house re¬ 
flects beneficially upon all surrounding ob¬ 
jects. In addition to the look<, a well defined 
walk or carriage road has a wonderful effect 
upon the morals and habits of both mankind 
and animal kind that frequent them. We all 
know what is said about the two kinds of 
paths and where they lead, in that good Old 
Book, and the broad one with no well-defined 
limits, is typical of nine tenths of those seen 
about farmers' grounds, and I might add of 
the general habits of the owners. But it is 
scarcely necessary tor me to enlarge upon 
this subject, because every one who has seen 
well-trimmed borders and clean walks about 
suburban or country homes, is aware of the 
effect they have upon all tho surroundings, 
and that they lead to greater and better 
things. 
TRANSPLANTING ROSE BUSHES. 
April 25.—Daily! Rural Life— having 
long been a reader of r.ha Rural and noticing 
how kindly you answer the questions of your 
correspondents, I venture (lie following 
questions .—Being in possession of .t large 
rose bush, called Queen of the Prairie, a 
climbiug rose, and being desirous of (along 
up and transplanting (dividing in the mean¬ 
time) this bush, I should like to have some 
one tell me the best time and way of doing 
it and oblige— Mrs. U. H. Sweet, Mason 
City , Iowa. 
Doubtless you cherish that old rose-bush, 
and would very much dislike to destroy its 
beauty for even one season; but the safest 
system to adopt in transplanting is to cut all 
the stems down to within a foot or less of 
the ground. Then tako up the root, and if 
there is a chance for dividing so that a few 
roots can bo left upon each section, do so; 
then plant wherever desired. The. time to 
do thi3 is before the leaves appeal-, and the 
sooner after the frost is out of the ground 
the better. There will not be the least dan¬ 
ger of the plant dying if the canes are all cut 
away; but if left on, the plant may die. Of 
course if cut down as I have described, the 
plant will not bloom this reason, as this class 
of roses produce their flowers mainly ou 
spurs springing out of canes one or more 
years old. 
A very old rose bush, like «n old grape 
vine, is seldom worth transplanting, uuless 
it happens to be tho only plant of the kind a 
person has. and a very valuable variety. 
Young, thrifty plants are always preferable, 
and usually it does not require a great 
amount of skill or labor to multiply such 
things to an almost unlimited extent. The 
different varieties of the prairie rose can be 
grown from cuttings almost as readily as 
I currants, but in localities where tho wintei-s 
are rather severe the cuttings should bo 
taken off in the fall and kept iu sand in a cel¬ 
lar during the winter, or they may be made 
and then buried in the open ground. The 
canes of the present season’s growth should 
bo used for cutt ings, taken off soon after the 
| frost, has killed the leaves in autumn. Cut 
up the canes into sections of about six inches 
in length, and then put them away until 
spring, at which time plant out in rows in a 
light, rich soil, burying the entire cutting, 
except an inch or so of the upper end. The 
earth should be packed firmly about the cut¬ 
ting, and especially near the lower end; con¬ 
sequently tha too common method of stick¬ 
ing the cuttings into the. ground will not an¬ 
swer; but a narrow trench, of tho proper 
depth, should be. dug, and the cuttings plant¬ 
ed therein. If the. summer should happen to 
be a dry one, a little watering may be neces¬ 
sary; in other words, give care and atten¬ 
tion, and there is little danger of failure. 
Any rose which cannot be propagated read¬ 
ily from cuttings may be multiplied by lay¬ 
ers—a process which has, been frequently 
described in the Rural New-Yorker. It 
may be possible for you to make cuttings 
grow t aken off this spring, and it is worth 
trying, if more Prairie Queens are wanted. 
It is always well to experiment in propagat¬ 
ing plants by cuttings, layers, budding and 
grafting, because sometimes the knowledge 
derived therefrom becomes quite useful. 
Once upon a time. I knew a boy who was 
passionately fond of flowers, but his purse 
would not admit of many purchases, and he 
obtained almost everything desired by going 
to the florist and purchasing flowers, then 
making cuttings from the short stems at¬ 
tached. Of course lliis was before the mod¬ 
ern broom-splint stemming flowers came 
into vogue, and when roses, verbenas and 
similar flowers were cut and put into bou¬ 
quets uttaehed to their own stems, A 
twenty-five cent bouquet frequently yielded 
two dollars’ worth of plants by a careful use 
of a pot of sand and some common drinking 
glasses iu place of bell glasses. Sometimes 
buds upon the stems of roses were carefully 
removed, and inserted into stocks of the old 
Blush rose in the garden. 
It, must have been thirty or more years 
ago, that tho Madam PlanUcr was intro¬ 
duced into our gardens, and it being a white 
rose unsurpassed for purity of color as well 
as form, everybody was charmed with this 
novelty, and of course desired a specimen. 
The boy referred to above, walked several 
miles to see a plant in bloom, and upon in¬ 
quiring the price, was informed that none 
would be for sale until the following season, 
and the price of small plants $3. Well, said 
our amateur, will you sell me some of the 
flowers to take homo with me ? “ Certainly, 
said our Dutch florist,” and a twenty-five 
cent bouquet of the white June rose was 
soon in hand, and our boy amateur making 
rapid strides for home, counting the over¬ 
looked buds on the stems of his bouquet as 
he p&SBC-d along, as well as the chances of 
making one or more live. That some of 
them did live is certain, for the next Novem¬ 
ber thirty pretty fair Madam Plunder rose 
bushes were in ilia garden, all descended from 
that bouquet purchased in June. Of course 
it must not lie expected that every man or 
woman will be sufficiently fond of flowers to 
undertake the prolongation of the more diffi¬ 
cult kinds, but a little practice with the more 
common sorts may nut be without profit, 
especially when one desires to multiply a 
choice variety. Every tanner’s son and 
daughter should know how to bud and graft 
trees and shrubs, as well as to propagate 
other common kinds of plants by the usual 
methods of cuttings aud layers. These pro¬ 
cesses require no great amount of skill, but 
success generally comes through practice. 
--—■ 
TOADS EATING BEES. 
A Missouri correspondent writes the Bee 
Keepers’ Magazine :—I have read that toads 
do little or uo damage to the bee keepers, 
but l lately found several on rite front board 
of my hives, and oue I watched, and within 
fifteen minutes saw him eat four It alians and 
two flies; then I executed and dissected 
him, and found his stomach perfectly cram¬ 
med with Italian workers. This was a very 
small toad, aud 1 suppose could not have 
had less than twelve bees in his stomach. A 
toad twice as largo would likely cat twenty- 
four bees, amt three meals a day (l think 
I am right) makes seventy-two bees for one 
toad ill a day, and a small family of four 
would make* away with *J88 bees a day. 
Pretty stiff. Perhaps my calculation may 
be toil high about his three meals a day, but 
I am certain that when a toad Liuds how 
easy it is to get his meal- at the entrance of 
n Liee hive, he won't look for bugs or worms. 
But the most serious thing they can do is to 
gobble up the young queens returning home 
from their bridal t rip. Let those who have 
their hives near the ground look out for 
toads.* 
FROM SUMNER COUNTY, KAN8AS. 
In the Rural New-Yorker of March 21 
we find inquiry by Young Californian, re¬ 
questing information and advice as to in¬ 
vestments, occupation, etc., for the first 
year, for a young man, a mechanic, with 
about $3,G0fi capital, willing to work, and 
intending to settle on a farm, but without 
any practical knowledge of the business. 
Now we would say briefly, without entering 
I into details respecting the country, etc., that 
here in Sumner county, in the Arkansas Val¬ 
ley, is a fine opportunity for young men 
with small capita! to secure good and cheap 
farms in what is (in the state of nature) the 
most beautiful country, and with a soil and 
climate inferior to none in America, and 
destined, in a few years, to become the 
garden of the West. Good lands can be 
secured here for from $500 to $1,000 per quar¬ 
ter section, according to location, nearly 
every quarter of which has more or leas 
broken land, ready to be put into a crop at 
once, with tho assurance (from past ex¬ 
perience) of a good crop of any of the va¬ 
rieties grown iu any section of country from 
the Carolinas on the south to the lakes of the 
north. This country is adapted to a greater 
variety of products than any other portion 
of the United States—the principal varieties 
of which command good prices in our home 
market. 
We, therefore, would advise a new begin¬ 
ner to commence active operations iu agri¬ 
culture at once by putting in a crop, plant¬ 
ing trees and setting out hedge the first 
year. In a comparatively short Bpace of 
time—by the time a new beginner in a new 
country would ordinarily be prepared lo 
engage in stock raising, be will have a farm 
and fields enclosed with an everlasting fence, 
and will be prepared to operate systemati¬ 
cally. Although this is bound to bo u line 
grazing country we would not advise anew 
beginner to engage extensively at once, be¬ 
cause the hedge, low at present, protects the 
interests of the farmers, and at the same 
time operates against stock raising, and 
necessitates dose herding. 
Neither would vve recommend this country 
at present as a good field for mechanical 
operations, though it is very susceptible of 
maintaining u dense population, and must 
constantly furnish business for a large num¬ 
ber of mechanics and manufacturing estab¬ 
lishments. At present the country is new, 
and the inhabitants mostly men of small 
means, opening up new farms, that are not 
inclined to patronize mechanics to a greater 
extent than to meet their absolute necessi¬ 
ties. Then let me repeat to a new coiner, 
buy a farm and commence active operations 
and improvements at once, for which you 
only need sufficient capital to make the pur¬ 
chase and meet expenses of the first year ; 
and, then, as your farm and the country 
progresses, you will be prepared to take ad¬ 
vantage of every opportunity. 
- * * * 
FROM COLUMBUS, TEXAS. 
Editor Rural New-Yorker Properly 
speaking, I am in Western Texas, tho groat 
stock region, but the energy of Northern 
men is beginning to prove this to be quite 
an agricultural country. Farming here has 
been for many years pursued with about aa 
much science brought into requisition as is 
used by savages in conducting government. 
The march of immigration has unearthed 
this Eldorado and its vast scope of fertile 
lands that have felt the same stings that Cali¬ 
fornia did under Spanish apathy; but in¬ 
telligence, capital, industry, thrift and enter¬ 
prise coming to the rescue, will soon develop 
this portion of the State, and then immigra¬ 
tion will pour in, and bring flew ideas, and 
fast disabuse this country of the false doc- 
trues that have so long been fatal to the 
State. 
The lands are exceedingly rich, aud with 
but little labor are surprisingly productive. 
We can raise all the cereals produced in the 
Northern States. The great advantages we 
have in the farming line caused by the salu¬ 
brity of the climate are, that but little shel¬ 
ter is required for stock. The nature of the 
soil is known by the spontaneous grasses 
upon which the stock alone fatten. We can 
raise two crops; indeed, there is uot a month 
in the year but is favorable for farming ope¬ 
rations, and the crowning result of labor is 
that expenses are insignificant, aud by work¬ 
ing only half of the time a man can make a 
good living ; if he works all the year, he can I 
export one-half of his products, and in a few ! 
years be blessed with a handsome fortune. 
The climate is mild, and the gentle breezes 
from off the gulf purify the air, and rend¬ 
er the heat pleasant. Oppressive heat and 
sunstroke at e here uuknown. This Is surely 
the Eldorado the poor of the overcrowded 
cities of the North should come to ; for here 
they can secure rich lands for a song. There 
are millions of acres here awaiting the march 
of laboring men to make them produce an 
abundance that I might say, without being 
much Utopian, would almost supply the 
ports of Europe with food to keep her peo¬ 
ple alive, and raw material to keep factories 
in motion. 
This portion of the State has been not only 
misrepresented abroad, but go where you 
will, even in other sections of the State, it is 
misrepresented and discarded altogether, as 
a farming country; but facts speak loud, ond 
the abundance which, the soil a'most spon¬ 
taneously yields, proves its utility for farm¬ 
ing. Here, considering the cheapness of the 
lands, the abundance they yield, the variety 
of wild grasses, the richness of the fruits, 
easy access to the outer world by means of 
its proximity to sea coast, in this healthy 
climate, the poor man can, if he can any¬ 
where, make a fortune, by the hardest of 
toil and strictest economy. Here, by work¬ 
ing one-third of his time, and exercising a 
little economy, he can always have an 
abundance of the necessaries of life around 
him. b. w. t. 
-<>» 
Inquiries about California.— I have just 
read a communication in the Rural of April 
11th from San Luis, Obispo County, Cali¬ 
fornia, written by “ California Girl.’ Will 
you please request “ California Girl,” or her 
father, to give the following information 
through the Rural for the benefit of its 
readers ? if land or farms can be bought 
there ! At what price per acre ) What are 
the profits ol' keeping sheep ? How are they 
fed ? The healthfulness of the climate 1 
Advantages of schools, etc. '? This informa¬ 
tion will be thankfully received by many 
readers of the Rural New-Yorker.—Car- 
<£ntomoloqicnl. 
CECROPIA MOTH COCOON. 
Daily Rura l Life — Dear Sir: — Please 
give name Of the within specimen, found on 
a maple tree in my garden, and oblige. I 
have found several of them, hut do not know 
the name. Yours truly.— Henry M, Con¬ 
nell, Ottawa Co., Kansas. 
The large, grayish cocoon, some two or 
more inches long and an inch in diameter, 
tapering to both ends, is that of the Cecropia 
Moth (Mffacus cecropia). These cocoons are 
usually found attached to small twigs of tho 
plants upon which its larva feeds, such as 
the currant, apple, plum, or cherry. The 
moths usually make their appearance in 
June, depositing their eggs upon the leavea 
of various trees and shrubs. The young cat¬ 
erpillars are at first of a deep yellow color, 
with rows of minute black dots along the 
back. They are very voracious, feeding al¬ 
most incessantly until they arrive at ma¬ 
turity, in August or September. When full 
grown, these caterpillar* are as large as a 
man’s finger aud of a light green color, or¬ 
namented with two large coral-red warts on 
the top of the second ring; also two egg- 
shaped, yellow warts on the top of the fol¬ 
lowing seven ringB. These caterpillars spin 
cocoons like the one sent me, within which 
the pupa remains until the following spring, 
when it undergoes its transformation and 
comes forth a magnificent moth, the wings 
expanding five to six inches. The ground 
color of the wings L a dusky brown; the 
hinder margins clay-colored, but near the 
center of each there i - a kidney-shaped, dull 
red spot, having a white center and narrow 
black edging. This cecropia moth is quite 
abundant in Kansas, ana I saw, last sum¬ 
mer, the caterpillars stripping the leaves 
from trees in one of Mr. Elliott’s experi¬ 
mental nurseries on the line of the Kansas 
Pacific Railroad. They are also quite com¬ 
mon in the older States. 
-♦♦♦ -- ■ . 
Lime fop. Curoultos. —As the curculio ques¬ 
tion is being agitated in tho Rural New- 
Yorker, I give our experience. We have 
tried sweetened water, and other so-called 
remedies, but with no success. Some time 
ago a friend recommended lime. We hesi¬ 
tated to try ii for fear of injuring the trees; 
but after repeated failures to save our plum 
crop, concluded to try it. if it killed the 
trees we should be as well off as before. 
Having four trees isolated from the others, 
we made a thin whitewash aud applied it to 
the body of trees every week, commencing 
the middle of May. Upon these four trees 
not a single plum was found stung, while the 
others were ah nose all worth leas. Now, is it 
a remedy, or did it only happen so? I would 
state here that our treed are looking finely 
this spring, having received no injury from 
the lime.—Ru rax,. 
