tic, is a seedling Elm fifteen years old and 
forty feet high. Midway is a cluster of trees 
of the second size, consisting of the Kilmar¬ 
nock weeping and Rosemary Willows, a 
Gleditechia Bujoti pendula, twelve years 
old, though now advertised in catalogues as 
a “new variety with graceful, drooping 
branches, very distinct and fine,’’ a mourn 
tain Ash, ard a European weeping Birch. 
Conspicuously alone, and with beauty 
enough of its own not to suffer for want of 
near companions, is a grand specimen of the 
Yellow-wood, or Virgiha lutea (Cladrastis 
t inctoria of some authors). Gracefully curv¬ 
ing, sufficiently but not densely foliaged, 
airy, clean, shapely though informal ; as be¬ 
tween the weeping trees that seem osten¬ 
tatiously sorrowful and the upright trees 
that, seem pompously unbending, the Virgilia 
is the happy medium. 
Contiguous is an elliptical plot of the dwarf 
Evergreens, to which “ Rural Life” has often 
referred. Among twenty or thirty speci¬ 
mens we need only particularize a Juniperus 
echinoformia, or Hedgehog Juniner f.WPTi t.xr 
DAILY RURAL LIFE, 
A VISIT TO THE ROME OF “DAILY 
RURAL LIFE.” 
From the Diary of a Gentleman near New 
York City. 
IAYERINQ SQUASH VINES. 
August y. —Both squash and pumpkin 
vines appear to have more natural insect ene¬ 
mies in ray neighborhood than is really nec¬ 
essary to compel the cultivator to fulfill the 
commandment in regard to the “sweating 
brow.” These insects represent the various 
orders of bugs, beetles and moths and, un¬ 
fortunately for th* grower, they are addicted 
to “ ways that ere dark,” hiding under the 
leaves where it is difficult to reach them with 
poisons or other exterminators. The most 
troublesome of the “ bugs” is the common 
gray squash bug, ((’onus trlstis,) which de¬ 
posits its eggs under the leaves in small patch- 
glued fast, and from which the vountr 
Oveb a hill that might be termed 
a moun¬ 
tain in a less hilly country, through a rich 
meadow valley that spreads out on either 
sideof a central brook, whose winding course 
may be traced by dense masses of shrubs 
until shut, out from the circuitous range of 
hills we have just left behind, we skirt a 
lovely wood alive with swamp Azaleas, and 
a quarter-mile’s drive over an indifferent 
turnpike to a rocky ridge, brings us close 
upon an unobtrusive, finished, happy-look- 
ing dwelling, the home of “Daily’Rural 
Life.” 
If a stranger had lost his way, and was 
seekirg to be righted, with little hesitation 
he would straightway “inquire within,” un- 
solicitous in the meantime of a bull-dog’s 
“smelling his blood,” bouncing out upon 
him, arid catehing him by the leg. The tout 
ensemble of a country house and grounds 
paints a very reliable sign us to the benevo¬ 
lence of its proprietors. 
This dwelling is located at the base of and 
protected from the north winds by a grove 
of old hickories, chestnuts and oaks'that find 
support upon this rocky ridge. 
In another portion of the lawn is a large, 
circular bed cut out—as, indeed, are all the 
others—of the sod, in the middle of which 
are several noble American Arbor Vita from 
twenty to twenty-live feet in bight, while 
other Conifers are arranged towards the peri¬ 
meter somewhat, according to size. Among 
them are several sports of the Spruce, a 
Chinese Juniper five feet high, a variegated 
Savin, a Picoa Nordmanniauu, and a seed¬ 
ling Hemlock ; the last as dense as a Yew, 
having a leaf twice the width of the type’ 
and an uninterruptedly oval form, though 
its natural growth has never been checked 
or directed. 
In a comucopia-shapcd bed nearly oppo¬ 
site is a Picea Cilicica five feet high, a mass 
of Dpphne cn orum blooming profusely, a 
seedling Austrian Pine resembling P. Laricio, 
a Piuus eembrapumilu two feet high, and a 
clump of “Tom Thumb” Arbor Vitm occa¬ 
sionally revealing by a coarser shoot its 
mippurc upon uns rocky ridge, running at 
right angles to and across the road, quite 
precipitous toward the house, though sloping 
gradually upon the other side to the northern 
limits of the grounds. In this grove, as 
cosily picturesque as possible among these 
venerable old trees, is located “Rurai Life’s” 
sanctum, a plain, substantial cottage where, 
with a window open north, south, east and 
west,, one need not suffer from heat let the 
thermometrieal midsummer record be what 
it may. A choice, well-selected library, a 
rare entomological collection, and many 
literary curiosities, afford evidence of a life 
studious aud energetic. 
THE DROVE. 
But this grove, beautiful by nature, at¬ 
tractive by art, interesting as are many other 
features of these remarkable grounds, is the 
one zenith charm that blends with and seems 
t,o spread its influence over every other I 
thing, and that fiually draws you back to 
and other similar kinds of vines. It h espec 
ially fond of watermelons, and I have seen 
several hundred peeling a big watermelon 
after they had finished the vine upon which 
it grew. In the fall they, like the Corem 
trist/8, crawl away among old rubbish, or 
outbuildings — and hibernate during the 
winter. 
The larva of this Northern Epiluchna is a 
small, hairy worm of a yellow color, and 
when fully grown about three-eighths of an 
inch long. It is a, difficult pest to manage, 
for one does not care to poison his melons in 
try lug to kill the worms. But the king of 
sqilush and melon pests is the 
SQUASH VINE BORER, 
a near relative ol the Peach tree borer (AEge- 
rla exftiosa of Say). Jt is, however, a dis¬ 
tinct species, and by some of our late author¬ 
ities placed iu a separate genus. Pack A an 
places it. among the Meliltias, but Dr. Haii- 
ri.s, who first described the Squash Vine 
Borer, named it AEgeriu cucurbilct, or Cu¬ 
cumber JEgeria, probably having found it 
boring into cucumber vines. The perfect 
insect is a beautiful little moth of an orauge- 
colored body spotted with black and its hind 
legs heavily fringed with long, orange-col¬ 
ored and black hairs. Its hind wings are 
transparent, the fore wings almost black 
with a metallic, bluish luster. 
In the mouths of July and August these 
moths appear, the female laying her eggs 
upon the vines dose to the ground, where 
t hey soon hatch, and the little grubs boring 
into the stems, feeding upon the soft, interior 
parts. These grubs or boners grow very rap- 
idly, and when mature are about an inch i 
long and as thick as a goose quill, after which 1 
they crawl into the ground, forming a co- 1 
coon by gumming together particles of soil ( 
These grubs cut off the sap vessels, conse- l 
quently the first indication of their presence 1 
is the yellow, sickly appearance of the leaves B 
and usually long before any' fruit is ripe the s 
vines die. I have found to-day in a space of 15 
three inches in a Butman squash vine, seven 1 
of these grubs, alt hough ashes and plaster f 
have beeu applied freely to the hills and the 
base- of each vine has been dusted several 
times with the usual preventives. Trouble¬ 
some as these insects are, the crop—or a 
greater portion of it—can be saved by Ii 
LAYERING THE VINES. Sl 
This should be done us soon as the vines C ' 
have made a growth of four to six feet ; a ' 
small portion, say a foot or two from the hill p 
is merely covered with good, rich soil. New ' f 
roots will soon be produced on the boned k 
part, which become the support of the vine 
beyond, even if the borers should cut off the w 
supply of sap from the first or original roots, tli 
This is the only practical method 
August L. 1 he almost uriivenal practice 
among farmers is to sow their grass and clo¬ 
ver seed with some other kind of larger grow¬ 
ing grain sueli as wheat., rye or oats, la my 
first experience in farming 1 followed this 
system, supposing that others probably had 
been tried aud found not quite satisfactory. 
Then again, almost everybody said the young 
grass and clover needed shade tor the first 
lew months and tins the taller growing grain 
supplied, Still, I have always noticed that 
both clover and the grasses seemed to suffer 
more from drouth when growing under such 
conditions than when occupying the soil 
alone. But, upon further thought and inqui¬ 
ry, I came to the conclusion that it was not 
so much on the account of its being the best 
way to seed down land, but afforded the 
fanner an opportunity of robbing the earth 
of its fertility a little faster than when only 
one crop was grown at a time on the same, 
field. I u other words, the grasses ami clovers 
could be made to grow when sown amonir 
IniViiil* Irinrlr. .-. 4 * __ : _ 
is u nail sphere m form, resting closely upon 
the ground, and so dense that oue might sit 
upon it as upon a cushion. The marvel is 
that, no attempt has ever been made at prop¬ 
agating these singular and distinct seedling- 
Conifers. 
A little further on is an Abies inverta, or 
inveried-branched Spruce, eight feet high, 
unusually lawless and picturesqne in its 
growth and appearance. 
THE LAWN BORDERS. 
Leaving the lawn with many worthy ob¬ 
jects slighted, we hasten along the wide, ir¬ 
regular border which separates it from the 
public road. A perennial Buckwheat, Poly¬ 
gonum cuspidatum, at once attracts us. It 
is ten feet in diameter, of a roundish, rather 
loose habit, with great, branching stems 
seven or eight feet high lhat droop grace¬ 
fully from their own weight. Tt is a native 
of Japan, quite hardy, of rapid growth, and 
easy cultivation. 
1 ho bilpkium laoiuiaium, or Compass 
plant, is so culled from its disposition to turn 
iuenower is pure white, and the crimped 
petals are. so formed as to render the name 
of “Shellflower,” which “Rural Life” has 
suggested for it, very appropriate. It is in 
every way one of the most desirable shrubs 
we have ever seen. 
Hydrangea panieulata and H. quercifolia 
grow side by side ; the first beautiful for its 
gigantic trusses of flowers, the second for its 
luxuriant oak-leaved foliage, and both for 
their hardiness. Hydrangeas of the less 
hardy sorts, a plot of Verbenas, Epimedium 
Japonieum, Chelone, Phalangium liliago, 
Clematis erecta aud iutegrifolia, Asdepia 
tuberosa, Ltatris spicata and scariosa, Sal' 
vias, Lillies of the Valley, hardy Geraniums, 
Gillenia trifoliata, Philadelphus nana, and 
many others, interspersed among the larger 
shrubs, till out the margins and add variety 
and interest to the whole. 
Across the lawn diagonally to the northern 
-1 have ever 
found to get ahead of the vine-borer, for the 
moths usually have departed before the vines 
