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MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
OST. 2 
^iaUB of a lUtralist. 
DAILY RURAL LITE. 
From the Diary of a Centloman near New 
York City. 
TAKIMO IN THE TENDER PLANTS. 
Sept. 18.—The time fa near at hand when 
“ hoar frosts ” will spread destruction among 
the tender plants of our gardens. It will 
not avail to wish for a “ stay of proceedings” 
hence, wo may as well prepare for the com¬ 
ing of frosty nights, gathering in the tender¬ 
ed plants first, risking the more hardy a few 
days longer. To-day wo have been busy 
saving cuttings and potting a specimen or 
two of each choice variety of Geranium, 
Heliotrope, Coleus and similar plants,leaving 
the greater part of the stock to perish. To 
know that all these beautiful plants which 
make the garden at this lime so gay will 
perish ere many days elapse is enough to 
make one gloomy in advance of the catas¬ 
trophe which cannot bo averted. 
The beds of rich-colored Coleus, brilliant 
Geraniums, Petunias and Verbenas, with 
the fiery Scarlet Sago, and tropical Cannas, 
will all fade into one blackened mass, victims 
Of the first frost of autumn. But next spring 
we will want to repeat the operations of 
planting, hence the necessity of preserving 
enough seeds and roots for a stock with 
which to make our surroundings once more 
beautiful. 
Those who have greenhouses can keep 
plants through winter with comparatively 
lit tle trouble ; still, many a choice thing may 
be preserved in ordinary dwellings and 
cellars. The half shrubby plants like the 
Abutillons, tender roses, Douvardias and 
Lantanas may be taken up after the first 
frost, then severely pruned and the roots 
packed away in boxes of moist soil and then 
kept in a light, dry cellar until spring. But 
care will be required to prevent their becom¬ 
ing too dry, or too wet, very little water 
being necessary to keep them alive, still 
they should not become so dry that the 
steins and roots wither. In potting similar 
plants for the greenhouse, or for window 
culture in winter, it is well to cut buck the 
stems quite severely at the time, else they 
are likely to droop, look sickly and grow 
very little for months hence, even if no 
worse fate befalls them. If lender plants, 
warned for blooming in winter, are taken lip 
early and pruned severely, they will usually 
come forward by the time cold weather sets 
in. Wfien lifted from the garden and put in 
pots, they should be well watered, t hen set 
away in a dark place for a few daj a, or until 
the roots become well established in their 
new position. After such treatment, they 
■will soon commence growth when brought 
out again into the light and a warm atmos¬ 
phere. Amateurs are prone to leave too 
many leaves and branches on their plants 
when transplanting them. No matter wlmt 
kind it may be this cutting off the top is a 
“distressing operation” which they try to 
avoid ; henen their many failures. Tender¬ 
ness in handling such subjects is frequently 
disastrous. A sharp kuife and low cu ting 
is better than attempts at entire preservation, 
HARDT PLANTS FOR VONDOWi CULTURE. 
There are many hardy or half-hardy 
plants .vhich are far preferable for window 
gardening than the most delicate or tender. 
This is tspecially true, where the tempera¬ 
ture of rooms cannot be regulated during 
the coldest weather with any degree of cer¬ 
tainty, as is usually the case in houses not 
heated by a furnace. 
To keep up a succession of flowers during 
the winter, a number of the hardy, free- 
bioomiDg plants may bo potted and placed in 
the cellar and only a portion brought for¬ 
ward as required, and when one set is out of 
bloom, carry them bajk to the storeroom 
and bring forward another. Tho Dwarf 
Graceful JJeutsia [D-gracilis) is un elegant 
little 6hrub for forcing in winter ; the flowers 
are pure white, and produced in long, com¬ 
pact, spikes. The double plum-leavod .Spiraea 
(S prunifolta) is another pretty shrub for 
this purpose, although growing rather tail, 
unless cut back in summer preparatory to 
potting. Double-flowering almonds, both 
white and pink, also do weil in the house 
and b'oom freely. One can scarcely imagiue 
a more beautiful plant than a double white 
almond blooming in midwinter. Among 
hardy herbaceous plants the Bleeding Heart 
(Dicentra speciabilis), Lily of the Valley and 
Japan Asti I be (A-Jupanica) are general 
favorites for forcing in winter, and are so 
readily propagated that there, is scarcely a 
limit to the supply to be obtained from one’s 
own garden after the first stock plant is se¬ 
cured. Of course there are hundreds of 
other similar plants which may be employed 
for this purpose, but a hint in this direction 
will doubtless be sufficient to direct attention 
to them. 
HARDY EVERCREENS FOR HOUSE CULTURE. 
There are many of the lately Introduced 
dwarf evergreonn which look well when 
grown in pots, and these may be used where 
more delicate plants will not thrive. Any¬ 
thing which looks green and fresh in winter 
is far better than nothing in keeping up 
cheerful surroundings. The Tom Thumb 
Arbor-Vital-, is an elegant little plant, with 
soft, deep green foliage, and a first-rate sort 
for pot culture. 
The golden plume Itetinispora ( R-aurea 
plumosa) Is an excellent, companion for the 
above, as its leaves are of a light green and 
the ends of the branches of a delicate golden 
color. It is a superb evergreen for either 
garden or house culture. Small plants of 
the upright and trailing junipers, Chinese 
Arbor-Vitms. Golden and green-leaved yews, 
or dwarf box, may also be employed for this 
purpose in rooms unsuited to the culture of 
more delicate kinds. In fact, there is no 
lack of plants With which to make our sur¬ 
roundings pleasant, but there is a lack of 
taste or inclination to cultivate ornamental 
plants indoors or out, 
PRESERVED TENDER BULBS AND TUBERS. 
If there is any secret in connection with 
keeping tender bulbs and t ubers in a dormant 
and sound condition through winter, it is in 
properly drying them oil at Llie start. If 
taken up in wet weather covered with mud, 
and this is not removed before packing away 
they are pretty certain to decay. Gladiolus, 
Tuberoses, Cannas, Caladiums, Tegridias 
and other tropical tubers and bulbs usually 
planted out in summer and kept in a dry 
state during the winter, are very sensitive to 
cold and moisture, and there is very little 
danger of keeping them too dry and warm. 
If kept in a greenhouse, there is little danger 
of loss if spread out upon a shelf or put in 
bags and hung up in some convenient, dry 
place, but, when placed in a cellar they are 
likely to become moldy and rotten, unless 
considerable care is given to thoroughly 
drying them before packing away. There is 
probably no better way of preserving In 
cellars than to dry thoroughly and then put 
them into coarse cloth bags and hang up 
where they can be frequently examined 
during cold weather. If at any time the 
bulbs show signs of moldiness they can be 
readily taken into the kitchen or elsewhere 
and dried off. If a person has an upper 
room warm enough to prevent freezing, it 
will be a better place to keep such tilings 
than a cellar. Dahlias usually remain sound 
if packed in kiln-dried sand in right barrels 
or boxes and placed in a warm cellar. The 
barrels or boxes should be raised some 
distance from the bottom of tho cellar, in¬ 
stead of being placed directly upon it.. Dry, 
pulverized charcoal is also an excellent 
material in which to keep delicate tubers 
through winter. 
REMOVING! LAYERS OF PLANTS. 
Sept. 14.—Layers of vines and shrubs which 
were put down early in the season and have 
become well rooted should now be severed 
from the parent plant and heeled-in for the 
winter. It is better to do this in the fall 
than to wait until spring, b.-cause in layering 
it is seldom that, any considerable depth of 
soil is put over the point from which roots 
issue, consequently there is danger of the 
frost lifting and breaking the roots loose, 
but when removed and heeled-in, this may 
be readily avoided. Perhaps this hint will 
remind some of the readers of the Rusal 
New-Yorker that they have neglected to 
make layers of choice vines, shrubs and 
various other plants of which an increase of 
stock would be desirable. 
♦ « » .. - ■■ 
Growing Horseradish. —Around the city 
of New York gardeners grow it H3 a second 
crop. The ground is plentifully manured, 
and marked off into rows 1 foot apart. Ev¬ 
ery alternate row is planted with early c»b- 
bugbs, and after the plants are set out the 
horseradish Bets are planted in the interme¬ 
diate rows, at the distance of 18 inches apart. 
If the horseradish starts too soon it is cut off 
iu hoeing the cabbages, which does not in¬ 
jure the horseradish roots iu the least. In 
July the cabbages are liar vested and sold, 
and tliegrouud is left entirely to thi horse¬ 
radish, As the farmer i3 supposed to produce 
only one crop from his land each year, he 
can manage the crop without so much labor. 
The soil must he deep, so as to allow the roots 
to penetrate a foot or more if possible. The 
sets which are planted consist of the small 
roots which are taken from the lavge ones, 
and are from 4 to 0 inches iu length. 
dhtfamolortiful. 
THE ARMY WORM IN MASSACHTN 
bETTS- 
The Springfield (Mass.) Republican an¬ 
nounces the arrival of the army worm in 
Worcester County, Mass. 
At. Uxbridge, over an acre of Hungarian 
grass was stripped of leaves and seed in a 
single night, next followed a field of oats, 
etc.; at Southbridge, too, sad havoc is being 
made. The ground, in sections, is literally 
covered with armies of these larvae of the 
night-flying moth, L&ucania Unipuncta; 
they emit an exceedingly nuuseous odor, 
which is noticed quite a distance from the 
fields suffering from their ravages. Oats 
that have been harvested and placed in 
stacks are alive with worms, and are to be 
burned as ebon as the rain will allow. They 
mat ch in a regular way, myriads of them in 
long, deep columns, side by side, steadily, 
over every obstacle, wherever their food or 
instinct may lead them. They feed in the 
forenoon aod evening, and may be seen scat¬ 
tered over fields of grain or grass, either de¬ 
vouring the leaves or cutting off the heads 
and letting them fall to the ground. They 
wifi thus cat their way across a field, appar¬ 
ently wantonly mowing off the heads of the 
grain. During their ravages in 1881, in 
Plymouth County, they destroyed an acre 
and a half of wheat, in one night and then 
attacked a corn field. 
In dealing with this plague, the best rem¬ 
edy, as with all other*, is of a preventive 
nature. If the grass lands and wheat fields 
arc burnt over iu autumn, multitudes of the 
moths or chrysalids will be destroyed. Tho 
natural enemies are birds and ground beetles, 
which collect about the. rear and van of the 
i moving army ; several varieties of flies also 
prey upon them. The most, common and 
probably the easiest method to arrest their 
ravages is that of plowing a double furrow 
around the field or across any part of u> field 
that they are marching toward. It is nec¬ 
essary to have the steep side of tho furrow 
next the unharmetj crop, so that, when the 
worm attempts to climb over, it may fall 
back into the furrow. Running the plow 
once in the furrow is not sufficient; twice, 
and e ven three times, is better, audit requires 
to be renewed if washed down by rains. If 
the soil is stiff or stony, the worms wljl 
climb over the steepest ridge ; it. is on light, 
friable soil only that, the ridge will suffice to 
protect, t he field. The foothold of the worm 
must give way, thus rolling it back into tho 
furrow ; and even, under the best, conditions 
of soil,it is best to have two furrows,one about 
the width of a row of corn from the other. 
The worms thus trapped should be destroyed. 
Laying dry straw in the furrows and then 
setting fire to it is a good way, for by this 
means the soil of the furrow is made more 
friable, and, of course, efficient. Thousands 
of army worms may he crushed In a meadow 
by running a heavy iron roller over it. A 
very small pressure is sufficient to burst their 
skins, and the slightest injury of this kind 
will kill them. If the meadow or field ia 
level, few worms.can escape the roller, and 
thus a stop will be put to them at once. The 
time to roll is when the. worms are feeding 
and up among the leaves, for then they are 
sure to be crushed. At other times they are 
sheltered, and a great number will e-cape. 
As soon as the crop is removed from an in¬ 
fested field, turn in all the hogs possible, and 
also chickens, turkeys and ducks. Sheep 
turned into the field will kill many of the 
worms by trampling upon them ; and if 
crows and blackbirds are visiting the field 
tfiey should not be disturbed. 
A NEBRASKAN'S EXPERIENCE 
THE TEN-LINERS. 
WITH 
It is quite interesting to us at the Center 
(Nebraska) to witness the stir caused in the 
East by the advent c.f the Colorado potato 
beetle. I notice one writer nervously queries 
if a famine is not imminent. 
We are only one or two hundred miles 
from the point, of starting of the beetle, have 
watched them in their march and long ago 
ceased to fear them. In fact, we have a foe 
to contend with that distances the Colorado 
beetle by a long way ; yes, two of them 
the Black Rat Buster Beetle and an ash gray 
cousin, also a Cantharides. These two last 
mentioned foes are rapid runners, making it 
most difficult, sometimes seemiugly impos¬ 
sible, to clear the vines by hand picking, yet 
I have no fears of a potato famine. I would 
much rather go East to raise potatoes, now 
that the oeetles are there, than to have gone 
before they came. 
A few dimes expended in Paris 'green, a 
few mornings’ extra labor, and all is safe, I 
have a three-quart pail in which I put, two 
quarts of flour, then add Paris green, stirring 
the whole until i t has a greenish cast. A large 
siied pepper-box is used with which to 
sprinkle or dust the vine3. The dusting is 
done in the morning while the dew is on. A 
single dusting suffices until a rain washes it 
away. I have never known a person to bo 
injured by applying the Paris green or using 
the potatoes that have been thu3 treated, 
but a great many to suffer with a want of 
potatoes who were too lazy or careless to use 
the remedy. 
There is one thing quite remarkable to me 
about the Colorado beetles. They seem to 
be first-class botanists, discriminating in their 
foraging iu favor of the Night shade family. 
Some years since, in Michigan, I noticed 
them (the beetles) feasting on tomatoes. 
Over a window a matrimony vine ( Lycium 
barbarmn) was growing. This was being 
stripped to the extremity of the branches. 
I proceeded to investigate and found them 
on the Ground Cherriep. On coming to 
Nebraska L find growing a plant that tho 
Colorado beetle prefers to potatoes. It is 
Solanum restratum, the plant on which tho 
bestle fed iu Colorado before potatoes were 
brought within their reach. R, H. Crane. 
FARMERS LOOKING AHEAD. 
No branch of Industrial business demands 
a wiser foresight than farming. The farmer 
who is always looking at the present, regard¬ 
less of future results, is sure to lose. This is 
illustrated by a writer in the Ohio Farmer, 
a portion of whose article we copy ; 
A dollar in the eyes of eoibr men is an 
“almighty” big thing, and they would 
regard it as suicidal to expend it for such a 
thing as manure. I don’t know of any farm¬ 
er in my neighborhood who ever expended a 
single dollar for farm fertilizers. The prin¬ 
ciple ad pt.ed is, “get all you can and keep 
all you get’’—and whenever and wherever 
this principle is applied to land, the owner is 
cheating lumself. This miserly, mistaken, 
suicidal yay of treating soil was forcibly 
illustrated to mo in my own neighborhood, a 
few years ago. I and a neighbor bought a 
ten-acre field that bad Ween badly run down 
by its previous owner. This field was original¬ 
ly a rich clay loam, of uniform quality 
throughout, as fur ns could be judged. We 
divided it in the middle, one t aking th-i east 
and the other tho west half. The course I 
adopted with my half was as follows :—Sow¬ 
ed buckwheat in the latter part of May, 
applying ail flic manure 1 could spare. Plow¬ 
ed the buckwheat under, top-dressed with 
manure heavily, a-nl 6owod wheat the last 
of August. Seeded to clover in the spriDg, 
which caught well. Plowed the clover 
under in July. There was a splendid growth 
and my neighbor declared it was wicked to 
plow it under—“perfectly wasteful.” The 
land remained undisturbed till September, 
when it was manured again,and cross-plowed 
—very shallow, however—and again sowed 
to wheat. It produced one of the best crops 
I ever raised, and, being seeded to clover and 
timothy, it stood for several years the most 
generous soil I owned and a standing witness 
to the wisdom of generous treatment. 
My neighbor adopted a different policy. 
Ho manured, it is true, but he plowed 
nothing under. He had determined to make 
the field pay for itself, and he continued to 
crop it as it had been before, only supplying 
more manure, perhaps; and at the end of 
three years his land was in no better condi¬ 
tion than he found it, if as good. The one 
wheat crop I got the third year brought me 
more money than he got from his three 
years’ croppings. The crop of ciover I plow¬ 
ed under was worth, in hay, about seventy- 
five dollars, at that time. It looked like a 
waste to plow it under, and but few would 
have had the courage to do it; but I am con¬ 
vinced that it brought me double as much, 
as manure, as it was worth for hay.” 
Wtrr Farmers Grow Poor.— The cause of 
most poor land and bad farming is that 
farmers too often sell off all the valuable 
patts of the crops and do not return enough 
to the soil. Very good farmers sell the grain 
and keep the straw to make manure. But 
manure made from straw ia of little value, 
either tor nitrogen or phosphates, find unless 
these are supplied the soil must deteriorate. 
Clover furnishes nitrogen, but the phosphat a 
have to corns from so air othar source, geie- 
raliy by purchasing commercial fertilizers. 
