546 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
AU@. 20 
Orange Co. N. Y., where the soil is heavy enough 
and where flat culture is pursued with results 
entirely satisfactory, not on half-acre lots, as 
Mr. Mason seems to think, but on 50 and 100- 
acre lots. I ought, in fairness, to state most 
Change Co. farmers fully understand the ad¬ 
vantages of,underdrawing. Let us, again, go up 
into Columbia Co., N. Y., noted for its remark¬ 
ably stiff clay, and we find flat cultu'e to do 
exceedingly well there. In these heavy clays, 
where the surface is kept flit and well pulver¬ 
ized, corn sustains a drought without injury 
much longer than where it is hilled up. And 
all tbi6, as It seems to me. for very good rea¬ 
sons, Mr. Mason further says, " Hilling does 
not support the plant, and I never heard any 
one say he thought so.” HU experience on 
this point has been very different from mine. 
I have been “agitating” the question of flat 
culture for upward of 80 yearB. I have 
written about it. and talked about it at Far¬ 
mers’Clubs and at meetings of horticultural 
societies, and have always been met by the 
argument that corn will blow down unless it 
is hilled up, and I should feel warranted in 
saying that at least 80 per cent, of those who 
hill up corn do it for this reason alone, not 
thinking of any other. There are other points 
which 1 will notice hereafter. The space to 
which I am limited is already full, and I will 
only add, that Mr. Mason is evidently a man 
of bo much intelligence that he can well af¬ 
ford to do without that common, ponderous 
but weak argument of throwing a five or ten 
thousand acre lump of Western soil at our 
poor Eastern heads. The laws of plant life 
and plant growth m a one-acre lot and a 
thousand-acre lot are the same, whether on 
Long Island, in New York, or in Nebraska, 
and hence it is the Rural is prized as ranch 
in the West as in any other part of the U. S. 
The principles of economy in cultivation are 
not yet fullytstablished, and may be profitably 
discussed for years to come. Horticola. 
has also given much valuable experience and 
information directly to the people of this 
country. Indeed, it U doubtful whether with¬ 
in the last quarter of a century a Bingle 
standard work relating to agriculture has been 
published in which references are not specific¬ 
ally made to his experiments: and certain it 
is that in that time not only has no valuable 
work of the kind been published, but that no 
valuable number of an agricultural periodical 
has been issued which did not derive a fair 
share of its beet information frtm the scien¬ 
tific and practical lessons taught by the inves¬ 
tigations at Rothameted. 
The question in regard to potatoes “mixing 
in the hill ” is again undergoing diacnssion. 
Bow they do or can mix in the hill has not yet 
been explained in a manner that can be ac¬ 
cepted as in the least satisfactory. I will men¬ 
tion a fact that oihv serve to throw some light 
on the subject. Many years ago I grew an 
acre or so of the Early Dykeman Potato, now 
almost forgotten. The drills were opened 
with a double mold-board plow, and, as an ex¬ 
periment, horn shavings or turnings were 
sprinkled in the drills before the potatoes were 
covered, the latter operation being done with 
a drag. When the potatoes were dug I no¬ 
ticed that many of them were highly colored 
with pink or red, some more and some less. 
This might have passed for a case of “mix¬ 
ing in the hill;" but a little examination 
showed conclusively that the coloring had been 
done by the born shavings, the impression or 
form of single shavings being veiy distinct in 
many cases. I have noticed something sim¬ 
ilar many times since, but I have never seen 
anything that could be called mixing in the 
hill. Those Dykeman potatoes were Dyke- 
mans still, and nothing else. Artificial ma¬ 
nures or substances already in the soil may 
change the color or outward appearance of the 
potato, but its specific character remains the 
same. When a while-skinned and a red- 
skinned potato are put in the same hill, the 
white one may show some change of color, as 
in the case of the horn shavings; but no 
change occurs in the potato itself. As a rule, 
there can be no change except through the 
medium of seed. What is called a “sport” 
does not come under the head of “ mixing.” 
A gift berry box, to be given away with 
the fruit, has been demanded more or less fre¬ 
quently during the last 10 or 15 years. When 
at the Messrs. Hales’ last month I was shown 
a box designed for this special pnrpose, which, 
with some slight alterations, comes nearer my 
idea of “filling the bill ” tbaa anything I have 
yet seen. It is very simple, and ought to be 
cheaply constructed. It consists of three 
pieces onlyFirst, a piece of sufficient length 
and breadth to form the bottom and ends; sec¬ 
ond, one for the sides, going all round the 
I met in the cars lately a gentleman with a 
fine flower (closed) of .Oereus triangularis. I 
admired it, and then remarked, “This is a 
very fine specimen of triangularis,” to which 
he replied, “Oh no; this is the Lily of the 
Night.” A lady friend, who has a very fine 
p,ant of Cereus McDonaldi, calls it the Queen 
of the Night; a very pretty name for that 
grand flower. _ 
Judging from what I have seen of the 
Taylor Blackberry, I should say it was quite 
as productive as the Snyder and equally hardy. 
The fruit is larger, not quite so sweet, but more 
inicy and better flavored. It is later than the 
Snyder. They are sufficiently distinct to pre¬ 
vent any further suggestions that they are 
identical. The Taylor would Beem to have a 
prosperous future before it. 1 hud an unusu¬ 
ally fine specimen of the Ameden Peach which 
ought to be made ovar again into a free-stone. 
Pears are abundant. Melons are very back¬ 
ward, and might ripen a good crop next Sum¬ 
mer if they could be wintered over. And so I 
might go on and name a good many other 
things; but time is Bhort, and 60 is this col¬ 
umn. 
fig. 407? 
box, lapping on one side and tacked together, 
also tacked to the small ends forming the bot¬ 
tom, thus stiffening aud holding them in place; 
third, a top-piece the wings of whicn pass 
down over the ends and between them and the 
sides, holding and stiffening the whole struct¬ 
ure. The ends rise above the sides sufficiently 
to allow the berries to be rounded up and to 
bold the top off of them, affording ample ven¬ 
tilation. The illustrations, 407 and 408, will 
make this brief description readily understood. 
These boxes pack closely and i elp to sup¬ 
port each other, and if the demand should 
warrant their use, the only obstacle in the way 
would seem to be their cost, if this can be 
sufficiently low, and yet secure a good article, 
it will be a great relief to berry growers, sav¬ 
ing them the trouble of sorting, cleaning, and 
using all sorts of dirty and dilapidated baskets 
I am gladjo see Mr. Mason’s ciiticisms on 
the flat culture of corn. Discussion will only 
be the more certain to bring out its merits. 
He says, “ Hilling up is necessary in heavy. 
Bolid clay soils, as the only mode of letting the 
sun’s heat down into the cold soil around the 
corn roots. On snch boiIs flat cultivation 
would not answer." Again, “Flat culture is 
suitable to sandy land, as that is warmer than 
clay.” I do not agree with Mr. Mason’s prem¬ 
ise or his deductions on this point; but there 
are no arguments so convincing as good solid 
facts. Westchester Co,, N. Y., as a rule, is 
only moderately heavy, and i will let it pass. 
Portions of New Jersey are heavy enough, and 
fiat culture does well there. In fact, I know 
of about a hundred acres of corn and potatoes 
now growing on a day so heavy that it be¬ 
comes as hard as a rock when diy, or rather 
did before it was under drained. Both the corn 
and the potatoes are grown flat, aud the corn 
lookB as well as any I have seen. The soil, as 
I said, is underdrained; and thiB is what Mr. 
Mason ought to do instead of hilling np. The 
Rural will hear from the owner of these crops 
at the proper time. But let ns go np into 
that are invariably returned to them, and pur¬ 
chasers will have the satisfaction of having 
their fruit in clean packages. The crates, not 
having to wait for the empty baskets, can also 
be more promptly returned—often quite an 
important consideration. This box Is the in¬ 
vention of W. H. Earle, of Worcester, Mass., 
a practical fruit grower, and is what might be 
expected from a practical man who knows 
just what he wants. The great fault with in¬ 
ventors generally is that they are more the¬ 
oretical than practical. E. Williams. 
(Momotofliotl, 
THE CLOVER-LEAF MIDGE. 
In the report of the Entomologist to the 
Commissioner of Agriculture for the year 1879, 
Prof. Comstock speaks of this little insect as 
being found in considerable numbers infest¬ 
ing the White Clover (Tnfolium repens) on 
the Department grounds at Washington, but 
Bays he had not seen it elsewhere. Since my at¬ 
tention was called to it, I have carefully ex¬ 
amined the clover, both white and red, in 
several places in Southern Illinois, but do not 
T' . 
FIG. 409. 
find anything of the kind in this locality. As 
Loew found this species in Europe, the prob¬ 
ability is that it is another of onr importa¬ 
tions from the Old Country, especially as it 
seems to be fouud in only one locality in this 
country; and it appears quite probable that 
it has been brought over In hay that has been 
used in packing some articles brought to 
Washington. On the other hand, as Loew 
found his insect feeding only on Red Clover 
(Trlfolium pratense) instead of White Clover, 
future investigation may prove the European 
one and ours to be specifically distinct, though 
this is not very probable, as the two food 
plants are so nearly alike. If we have here a 
new importation, it would be well if it could 
be totally destroyed before it spreads over the 
country. 
Prof. Comstock’s description of this midge 
(Cecidomyia trifolii) is substantially this: 
About the middle of June the leaflets of White 
Clover may be seen folded upwards and fasten¬ 
ed together something like a small pod. InBide 
of these would be found from one to twenty 
small, pale, orange-colored maggots about .06 
of an inchin length. These little worms live 
in this leafy incloeure, appropriating the juices 
of the leaf very much as the Hessian Fly mag¬ 
gots (Cecidomyia destructor), an allied epecieB, 
do the juices from the stalks of wheat, and 
with the same effect to the plants. 
The figure accompanying this gives an idea 
of the insect in its different stages as well as 
of the way the leaves are folded. To the right 
is the perfect insect that deposits the eggs ; in 
the middlt a larva, both magnified; on the 
left a leaf, two cf the leaflets folded and the mid¬ 
dle one opened to show the lan re or puj re in¬ 
side. The perfect insect or fly is smaller than 
its relative, the Hessian Fly; but resembleB it 
somewhat in shape, as may be seen by compar¬ 
ing the figure here with one of that insect. In 
color this iB brown, while the Hessian Fly is 
black. As Prof. Comstock reports the flies 
appearing in June, there are probably two 
broods of them in a season. 
Carbondale, Ill. Prof. G. H. French. 
TWO GRASS INSECTS. 
Besides the Arm>-worm (Leucaniaunipunc- 
ta) and the Wheat-head Army-worm (L. Har- 
veyi), there are two other larvre of Leucania 
that are known to be grass-eating insects. 
Because they occur in smaller numbers 
than the first mentioned insects, they are not so 
destructive, and, as a natural result, they have 
not come so prominently into notice. I find, 
however, that the moths are pretty widely 
distributed, and as they must be destructive in 
proportion to their numbers, I will give a brief 
description of them here. 
The first of these, I.eucania Phragmitidicola, 
I have found a number of times in clumps of 
grass. It is a lighter-colored caterpillar than 
the Army-worm, the general color being light 
gray. When full-grown it is an inch and a 
quarter long, rather robust. Along the back 
is a fine, light line and a distinct dark brown 
line about mid we y from this to the breathing 
pores. Between these two lines are several 
fine, brown lineB that scarcely interfere with 
the general color, Just below the breathing 
pores is a flesh-colored line. Between this and 
the dark brown line are three pale brown lines 
and three pale buff lines. 
From this description one may easily distin¬ 
guish this caterpillar from its darker relative, 
the Army-worm. In eating It crawls upon the 
steniB and blades of grass and feeds like the 
Army-worm, but it hides itself mostly at the 
roots of the grass during the day-time and 
feeds at night. 
The other caterpillar, Leucauia Psendargy- 
ria, is found In similar situations, bnt is more 
slender in build and differs in color from the 
first. It Is somewhat smaller, being only 
about an inch long when full-grown. In color 
it is a fleshy-brown, rather light, sprinkled 
over with fine dark-brown dots, only seen dis¬ 
tinctly with a pocket lens. These dots form 
two rather broad stripes along the back and 
another along the sides, each one being very 
indistinctly divided in the middle as though It 
were two lines. The stripe along the sides is 
the lightest. The stripes along the back are 
darker in some parts than in others, making a 
faint V on each joint, the angle turned back. 
The head is grey, mottled with brown, but the 
top of the neck is dark brown. 
The moth that the first of these caterpillars 
produces has light gray fore wings with a dark 
mark through the center and white along the 
veins. It resembles the Wheat-head Army- 
worm moth, but is lighter. The moth of the 
second species resembles more the Armj -worm 
moth, though while the fore wings of the 
Army-worm moth are somewhat fawn-colored, 
these are drab with a row of black or dark 
brown dots near the outer end and a single 
larger black dot at the base of each fore wing. 
The hind wings are qnite dark. 
It is possible these may not become suffi¬ 
ciently numerous to be troublesome, aud, in 
that case, the above is merely a contribution 
to the knowledge of our grass-eating insects. 
If they should be troublesome I doubt not that 
the same remedies that are used for the Army - 
worms would be effectual with these. 
Carbondale, Ill. <*• 
-♦ »♦-- 
A Colorado Beetle Catcher. 
By using the bug catcher illustrated by the 
accompanying drawing, two persons can 
gather bugs very rapidly without stooping 
over the vines. It is a light frame eighteen 
inches wide and four feet long, including the 
handles. A piece of cloth is tacked over the 
frame, not tightly, but loosely enough to allow 
it to sag considerably and form a receptacle 
fig. 410. 
for the bug6 near the lower end. Oae person 
holds the trap as near the vines as possible, 
while another, on the other side of the row, 
bends the vines over with an old broom, and 
shakes the bugs off. Cross-piece No. 'J is only 
for the vines to strike against in jarring off 
the bugs. The cloth is not fastened to this, 
but hangs loosely beneath it. A handful of 
dirt will hold the cloth steady when the wind 
blows. ° 9 - 
Carroll City, la. 
[Would it not be as well to nse half of a 
shingle split lengthwise and cut narrow for a 
handle with which to strike the vines, thus 
throwing the beetles or grubs into the bag ? 
We have found that rapid and effectual woik 
may be done in this way.—E ds.] 
■- ♦ ♦♦- 
Handy “ Bug-Catcher.”— W. J., of God¬ 
frey, Michigan, referring to the illustrations 
of the above device, on page 501 of the Rural, 
says that a little coal oil in the pan will pre¬ 
vent the bugs, once they get in it, from crawl¬ 
ing np the sides. 
$«li) Crop, 
WHY BLUE-GRASS IS SO-CALLED. 
PROFESSOR F. H. STOKER. 
The question has repeatedly been asked by 
Northern farmers why the Kentuckians call 
Poa pratensis “ Blue-Grassin the same 
sense that your Pemsylvanian correspondent, 
W. G. W., inquired in a recent number of the 
Rural : “ But wLy do you call it ‘ blue" when 
it Is bo intensely green—the greenest of our 
grasses ?’* 
I am inclined to believe that the explanation 
of the matter really depends upon some super¬ 
iority of the soil, and perhaps of the climate, 
of the Middle States, in respect to this partic¬ 
ular grass. For, even In Massachusetts, 1 
have observed that when Poa pratenBls is 
grown under exceptionally favorable condi¬ 
tions its blossoms have a well-marked purple 
color such as would not unnaturally be called 
blue by persons unaccustomed to discrimin¬ 
ate carefully In respect to tints and shades. 
In one particular experiment, for example, 
which I made a few years sluce here at the 
Bussey Institution, a quarter-acre plot was 
Btaked out in the middle of a poor old mowing 
field the sod of which consisted largely of 
Poa pratensis,—“ June Grass" as we call it in 
this vicinity—and upon this plot a variety of 
chemical fertilizers were scattered, In large 
