[yjOCBE’S BUBAL WEW-YOBKEB 
SEPT.19 
giarn of a Pluralist. 
DAILY RURAL LIFE. 
From th« Diary of a Gentleman near New 
York City. 
BUC-HilMTERS' HARVEST. u " 
Sept, 7.—It. is uot. to bo supposed that 
there is any time during the. year when 'he 
entomologist cannot find something in the fr< 
insect world worthy of. his attention; still fo 
there arc seasons in which the bilg huuter, at 
as he Is called, finds a special harvest of cer- an 
tain kinds or species. sp 
In spring, the ground beetles (Curabldae) Fi 
under stone, bark of logs, sods and various tu 
kinds of rubbish. The butterflies and moths, fr 
which have passed through the winter hid w 
away in garrets, I err ns and hollow trees, like or 
the bats, emerge, as well as those hyberaa- R v 
ting under stones and leaves in the forests, oi 
The little gall flies also appear at this season, ol 
puncturing the leaves and twigs of various 01 
troos, depositing their eggs therein—the re- w 
suit of which may be seen in the almost in- fc 
numerable kinds of galls seen later in the o' 
season, although some species mature in a b 
few weeks. But* the principal harvest of m 
the bug-hunter commences in August and ti 
continues until winter. a 
A field of thistles in bloom is a land of U 
promise to a butterfly hunter, for these c 
plants are very attractive to the diurnals or 
day-flying kinds, the flowers furnishing them 
with an almost inexhaustible supply of food 
during the autumn months. Capturing but- b 
terflies is rare sport to one who loves it, just n 
as fishing or hunting is to those whose taste t 
runs in that direction, and it would be difli- r 
cult t,o say what party have the best of it in .j 
the way of skill in the hunt, or in the beauty j, 
a nd value of tho game captured. A great 0 
Turnu- butterfly ( Papilio turn us), with his c 
golden wings glittering in the sun as he sits r 
perched upon tho top of a thistle, is neither 0 
small nor homely game, nor unworthy of 
the skill of a marksman, who oan bag a spe- r 
cimcn without ruffling a feather. Our great ( 
Turnus butterfly wilt bo found in company c 
with many other species of the same genus, { 
all beautiful aud worthy of admiration nnd I 
st-idy. Thou there are scores of other ( 
genera containing many brilliant and showy ^ 
species, the names and habits of which are ^ 
familiar to entomologists. It is true that ( 
there are those who look upon the capturing ( 
and study of Insects as rather small business { 
for a ra m tobe engaged in, just as the people j 
of a neighboring city looked upon Franklin, ( 
with hi- Lite and key, when trying to capture 1 
and bottle a little of that subtde fluid knowD 
as electricity; but the accounted folly ef one 
roan, as iu this case, frequently becomes the 
fountain of wisdom to those who succeed 
him. Sneers and epithets are the only 
woaoous which ignorance can command, 
hence their frequent use is possibly 
excusable. 
I lately heard a story of a bug hunter, six 
feet two iu height.'who was collecting in the 
wilds of the Rocky Mountains. Tho miners 
in those regions were strongly inclined to 
mob this gentleman, because they said it 
was so degrading to such a fine specimen of 
the genus homo lo spend his t une collecting 
butterflies, bugs anrl simi.hr insignificant 
creatures. Even the secretary of a great- 
would-be trans-eon tinea tal railway company 
boosted that he gave the bug-hunter a piece 
of his mind and advised him to put on petti¬ 
coats, as these would he more appropriate 
than pants for a man who spent, his time 
catching butterflies. The sneers and free 
advice of ignorant critics, however, failed to 
convince our entomologist that he had mis¬ 
taken his calling. Had he been butchering 
buffaloes, which requires scarcely any more 
skill or courage than to slaughter an equal 
numb -y of our domesticated animals, he 
would doubtless hrvo hero complimented 
for his talent, bravery and the value of his 
captures, although in regions where the 
buffalo are plentiful hundreds and thousands 
are killed for their hides, worth two or three 
dollars each. 
WHICH IS THE MOST PROFITABLE. 
By glancing over the price lists of dealers 
in entomological stock we can readily deter¬ 
mine which would be likely to bring the 
hunter most money, “bugs or buffaloes.” 
Our "six feet two” bug-hunter probably 
found no difficulty in disposing of his butter¬ 
flies, captured on tho mountains, at prices 
ranging from twenty-five cents up to five or 
ten"" dollars each, according to rarity -and 
perfection of specimens. If he chanced to 
find a lew or many of those rather rare 
1 beetles known to bug-hunters as Ainbly- 
chlla cylindriformis, Plusiolts gloriosa and 
— 
Omus seguoaensis, it would be like picking d 
up five-dollar gold pieces, for they readily r 
command this price in the entomological _ 
market. Then again there is a great advan¬ 
tage in tho way of carriage cn the bug side 
of the question—for a hundred five-dollar 
bugs could be conveniently carried in one’s 
pocket, but not so a two-dollar buffalo t 
hide. ] 
COLIECTIHQ HEAR H3ME. 1 
We need not, however, go so far away ^ 
from home, as the Rocky Mountains, or to ' 
foreign land 3 , to find pretty and even valu- ( 
able specimens for our cabinets. Every farm 
and neighborhood abounds in interesting ^ 
species in the various orders and families. f 
From the thistle patch in the fields we to.iv 
turn our attention to those insects which ■ 
frequent our gardens during the day. and 
when the evening approaches the Sphinges 
or Humming-bird moths come up to sip the j 
sweet nectar from phlox, verbena and vari- ■ 
ous other cultivated and wild plants. Many ; 
of the largest and most beautiful species , 
only appear in autumn, and may be taken 
with a net us they are hovering over their . 
food plants during the twilight of a warm 
evening. A case tilled with these f-pbinges, ^ 
handsomely mounted, makes a picture not 
surpassed in beauty by any of the produc¬ 
tions of the “old masters” with pigment 
and canvass—and, what is more, each has a 
life history as strange and wonderful as 
creatures of higher orders. 
CATOCALAS. 
Among the Noctuldue (night flying) which 
appear in autumn the Cnlocalas are a most 
beautiful genus. The species are quite nu¬ 
merous, and many of thorn of largo size, but 
their peculiar shyness has been a great bar¬ 
rier in the study of their habits and history. 
The larvae uro long, slender, gnu ish caterpil¬ 
lars, almost identical in color with tho bark 
of trees, where they rest during the day, as¬ 
cending to the leaves to feed at night. The 
moths are also exceedingly shy, coming out 
only during the night and hiding in dark 
places during the day. At this season they 
may be occasionally found resting under the 
eaves of buildings or upon the bark of some 
old dead tree which is well shaded by live 
ones. Iu such positions these motlis look 
more like an old knot in the. timber to an 
unpractised eye, than live insects, for their 
front wings are either of adark or light gray¬ 
ish color and completely hide the beautiful 
colors of the hind wings of most of the spe¬ 
cies. The hind wings of some of our largest 
species are of a beautiful rose color, with a 
1 broad black band on the outer margin and a 
broad medial band of the same color across 
' the center. Others havo wings of a golden 
1 color, ornamented with black, wavy bands 
and irregular-shaped patches. When these 
elegant moths are mounted for the cabinet 
and their wi ngs spread out, their great beauty 
r is brought to light. I presume comparatively 
1 few of the readers of the Rural New-York¬ 
er ever saw a Catoeula; still they are to be 
found in almost every part of the country, 
c especially iu heavily-timbered regions. As 
5 an illustration, how easy it is to find, when 
5 one know* how and where to look for a 
3 thing, 1 may mention (ho case of oue of my 
t men who saw me a few days since taking a 
f Galoot da from under the cornice of my barn. 
S I asked him if he thought he could find such 
t moths about his home, some two miles dis- 
/- txnt. He did not know, hut would look, 
y never ha ving seen such things before. I gave 
e him a cyanide bottle and showed him how 
i- to use it.; tho next, morning he brought two 
e specimens, the next three, and tldt morning 
■ e thirteen, his eyes appearing to improve with 
‘ e practice. 
BY THE EVENING LAMP. 
As I write this by the light of a lamp, with 
tho windows and door of my office open, hun¬ 
dreds of moths come in and flutter around 
tho light and alight on the paper before me. 
What a field for study i* here !—and who but 
those who know would imagine that those 
little, delicate and handsomely-figured moths 
are the parents of ugly, greasy-looking cut¬ 
worms which played such havoc, with cab¬ 
bages, raspberries and other plants set out 
last spring ) But it’s a fact, nevertheless, 
aud to know it strengthens one’s thumb and 
Anger as he crushes their he«d<. Down comes 
a most lovely little moth, with wings as thin 
I as gossamer, marbled and ornamented with 
black upon an ashen-grav ground. When it 
alights its wings are outstretched to their 
fullest extent, and its body is so small that 
the entire insect, does not appear to be thicker' 
than a sheet of writing paper,—and these 
peculiarities indicate that it belongs to the 
geometer* or measuring worms, which are 
sometimes so dcstruerh e to our shade trees. 
But this great Book of Nature, constantly 
spread out before us, no matter where our 
abode may be. Is too voluminous for perusal 
in a day, 'evening or lifetime: yet it i 9 full 
to overflowing with tales instructive aud 
l amusing to those who have even learned to 
1 read its A, B, C. 
fatbitss of Husbandry 15 
— . ■ . | w; 
WHAT PATRONS HAVE DONE. w- 
-— nc 
Let us see. Some months ago, twenty or m 
thirty plow manufacturers in the North and I th 
West took up the erroneous idea that, the ot 
Patrons were leagued together for the ex- hi 
press purpose of injuring their business, and th 
as a retaliatory measure, they refused to sell d< 
to or have any direct dealings with the w 
Granges. The result was as might have been b< 
expected ; the Grangers were driven to the 
necessity of establishing their own plow m 
factories and now plows that formerly cost n< 
$13 cun be had for *7.50. The principle ex- w 
tended to other agricultural and household nc 
implements, effecting a like reduction, viz: aj 
Fannins Mills from.* SI?* H I J? 
w heat Drills from. J# "J k 
Threshers from . ‘iw t<» " 
Sewing Machines from. 7a to t ] 
But the greatest single achievement, was in f. 
the purchase of the patent of the Warner „ 
Harvester by the Iowa State Grange. The a 
enterprise was met with obloquy by the 
manufactures*, ;.ud predictions of inglorious 
failure were numerous ; but the result has at 
once demonstrated such auguries fallacious 
aud justified the undertaking. That useful 
implement which formerly sold for ?300 (X) I ^ 
is now furnished for *140 00 . j 
In following up the policy of self-reliance I ^ 
forced upon them by the mistaken views of f 
outside mechanical and other corporations, ^ 
the order has become proprietors of the { 
following items. t 
Grain elevators, Iowa, 0 ; Minnesota 5; 
Illinois, 1 ; Kansas, 2 ; Nebraska 1. , 
Manufacturing establishments, chiefly agri- I ^ 
cultural implements, Iowa, 7 ; Minnesota,! ; 1 
Illinois, 1 ; Kansas, 2 ; Nebraska, 1 ; Wiscon- ( 
sin, 2 . 
Grist Mills, Kansas, 5 i Wisconsin, 2 ; Mm- ^ 
nesota, 5; Iowa 2. 
These are a few of the practical results I 
t hat have already been attained by our noble 
Order. Still greater ones are even now being 
worked out to our own and our country’s 
benefit. 
---♦♦♦-- 
THE SPHERE OE THE GRANGE. 
The Grange contemplates three several 
relationships in life. ; and it comprises three 
general departments of labor. 
The first relationship presented is that of 
the family, which implies a common broth¬ 
erhood and sisterhood, and presupposes mu¬ 
tual respect., love and confidence. In this 
important sphere is developed the heart- 
graces and social accomplishments that give 
strength to character, and value to life. 
Society is wont at this time to accord Its 
respects to individuals, with reference much 
more to the amount of their property than 
to the purity and usefulness of their lives. I 
’ As integrity is the only proper test of true 
manhood arid womanhood, it should be made 
the passport to this sacred realm. 
To this social department of our Order, let 
1 each brother and each sister contribute of 
fertility, and that the graces of a more, ex- 
1 alted nature may here grow luxuriantly, 
j The second relationship we notice is that 
of the school, of which the lecturer is 
constit uted head and teacher. In this farm- 
' c ers’ school should be taught the laws of bus- 
v „ iness, the laws of health, tho way to happi- 
0 ness, the way to manage a farm, how to pre- 
,v serve and how to restore the fertility of the 
h soil, the best crops to grow for profit and 
how to cultivate them ; in short, the science 
of life, and the science of agriculture. 
Last and most apparent we have the farm, 
h Here the Master is head, while the member- 
jj ship, without distinction of sex, are equals 
» and co-workers together, 
it The Master, in devising work for the la¬ 
te borers, should provide as fully for the moral 
j. 8 culture and social enjoyment as may have 
0 [ been dote for business. Sunshine should be 
it let in upon our councils, and the altar fires 
s. should be made to burn brightly. 
ld In the symbols of farm labor, we should 
find lessons for life work.— Patron's Helper. 
grand wreck of matter. Because the rail¬ 
roads oppi ess us, it won’t answer to declare 
a general war of extermination against the 
whole system. These roads are a great good ; 
we can’t get, along without them, and it will 
not do to attempt their suppression. We 
must only labor coolly nnd sensibly, to rid 
them of their swindling elements. Because 
our retail merchants sometimes charge too 
high for goods, we must, not conclude that 
they are a nuisance, and work for their 
destruction. We need the home stores, and 
we should, while insisting on our own rights, 
be ready to do them justice. 
Wc shouldn’t wage a general war oil com¬ 
mission men. We need them ; but we should 
not use their services when wc can do as 
well or better without them. In all our 
movements we should work to reform present 
agencies, rather than originate new ones. 
Because we see an evil, we must not conclude 
that there is nothing good in its neighbor¬ 
hood. It. is nonsense to throw away your 
whole crop of wheat when it leaves the 
thresher, because you detect chaff. Use the 
fanning-mill before you decide what to do 
with your crop. Give present institutions 
a thorough investigation ; then discard what 
is bad and retain the good.— N. ,J. Granger. 
GRUMBLING. 
It is easier to tear down than to build up : 
to find fault with existing institutions, than 
to suggest better. So-called reformers are 
too often only destmetionists. They pitch 
iu and smash things, and then leave the 
rubbish for some one else to clear up. There 
is danger that the Granges may commit this 
error. Because we see great wrongs that 
need righting, we arc in danger of assuming 
(■hat everything is wrong, and going in for a 
GRANOE NOTES AND ITEMS. 
It should he known to Patrons that one of 
the principal planks iu the platform of the 
Patrons of Husbandry is to buy only for cash. 
We acknowledge that there may be, and are 
many cases in which it will bo found a great 
trial to abstain from buying on a credit. We 
know that many a luxury, and even some of 
the necessities of life, will have to he dis¬ 
pensed with for a time, for want of cash to 
buy them, but, brother Patrons believe us, 
it is better to do so, and thus pave the road 
to prosperity, than to persist in remaining 
in debt. 
The Michigan Grangers adopted a resolu¬ 
tion that their attempt to establish business 
relations favorable to the pecuniary interests 
of the Patrons be and is hereby regarded as 
an important secret of the order, and that 
any members of the order who shall willfully 
reveal, or in any way make known to any 
not a Patron, the name or place of business 
of the firm or manufacturer, or individual 
with whom the said committee have rela¬ 
tions, are hereby regarded as having violated 
their obligations, and subject to expulsion. 
The Patrons of Henry Co., Ky., have de¬ 
termined to buy and sell through their Coun¬ 
ty agent whenever practicable to do so, in¬ 
structing him not to buy of manufacturers 
and others who will not sell to members at 
wholesale prices for cash ; and believe that 
the best interests of the Order demand that 
in its business operations the transactions 
shall be kept strictly Becret. 
The State Grange of Nebraska is putting 
in machinery at Plymouth for the manufac¬ 
ture of plows, cultivators, headers, harvesters 
and other agricultural implements. The 
building is a two-story brick, forty by one 
hundred and forty feet. Thirty heads of 
families are employed to commence with. 
Steam and blast power of tho necessary 
quantity will be furnished. 
Keep your Grange free from the toils cf 
political'managers, and yet, as citizens, do 
not hold yourself aloof from politics, any 
more than you would keep out of the army 
if your country called on you to do duty as 
soldiers. It i 3 just as essential that the gov¬ 
ernment be kept pure in time of peace, as it 
is that the shores be kept free from Invading 
armies in time of war. 
The Patrons of Husbandry are not opposed 
to railroads or eny other public institution, 
• so long as such institutions are not used as 
» implements of oppression. But like men of 
all classes, they will tolerate no robbery or 
- oppression, in any form, or any guise, witb- 
1 out at least a strenuous effort to preserve 
3 their freedom. 
3 Masters and Secretaries should not) neglect 
3 to inquire at their respective post offices for 
B letters addressed to their Granges by nante 
1 and number, or numbers alone. We know 
* that much matter is so sent, and unless 
special inquiry is made much of it will never 
reach its destination. 
The Grange has been peculiarly happy in 
: uniting the whole family— father, mother, 
° sens and daughters. This makes the Grange 
® a home-the social feature winch has con- 
h tributed so largely to the almost miraculous 
;® growth of the Order.— ToothUl Tidings. 
is The Patrons of Lornine Co., Ohio , are 
it taking the necessary steps for establishing a 
ie cheese warehouse at Wellington, for the p 
a pose of marketing their own cheese. 
