good points of the BeOrwspora group, and be¬ 
long decidedly to the most exquisite portion. 
Horticulture presents many strange anomalies, 
but there are few stranger than the utter want, 
in this country, of an adequate recognition of 
the uses and beauties of Retinonporas. If our 
few remarks will, in any way, increase their pop¬ 
ularity, we shall certainly experience the great 
pleasure always felt by those who obtain appre¬ 
ciation for the worthy. 
thirteen communes which surround Hrio Comte* 
Robert, the birth-place of “Noisette,’' more 
than 2,500,000 Roses are annually cultivated, the 
number of growers being about a hundred. 
Wiiat Constitutes a Fine Rose.— The first 
and most essential point to constitute a good 
Rose, according to Mr. John Cranston, is that 
the variety be hardy and of a healthy and mod¬ 
erately robust 1 j libit, combining ample foliage. 
Next are flno form, fullness, large size, good 
substance, fragrance, freedom to bloom, and de¬ 
cided and distinct color. The form of the flower, 
whether it be cupped, globular or expanded, 
mode are probably those of Messrs. LiAv* es ana 
Gilbert, at the private experimental farm at 
Rothamsted, Eng. 
Results of feeding vary with different kinds of 
animals, with different individuals of the same 
breed, and with surrounding circumstances. 
Chemical results, however, may be arranged, 
and are very accurate as affording a means of 
comparison. 
Mr. J. B. Lawes, who continued the investi¬ 
gations after Mr. Gilbert s death, has publish¬ 
ed the results in reports to the Royal Agricultu¬ 
ral Society, and besides they have been printed 
by themselves. 
The following figures, taken from one of Mr. 
idea of the relative 
ground, and layers may now be made and rooted 
by fall without hurting its appearance. Bettor 
this, than later in the season to make and strike 
cuttings in the usual way. By layering now, the 
plants will bloom in early winter. By the other 
method they will not bloom until spring. 
Konig Albert is a first-class novelty in its way, 
and must bo preferred to the single sorts wher¬ 
ever it becomes known. 
To Seocbe “Sports.” 
Observing persons may find now and then 
sports (i. e., shoots quite different from the 
reBt of the plant) growing upon Bbrubs, herba¬ 
ceous and bedding plants. 
The variegated section of Felargoniums is es¬ 
pecially prone to such variations. These may 
be secured upon their own roots with scarcely a 
chance of failure by binding the shoot or sport 
with moss or any other fibrous substance — first 
making incisions half-way through the stem to 
be bound. It is only thereafter necessary to 
keep tho bandage moist until roots make their 
way through. Then cut off below* the bandage, 
and pot. 
The Common Privet. 
The Privet and the Lilac are own blood rela¬ 
tions. The one may readily he worked Upon the 
other. The foliage of tho Privet is its first at¬ 
traction — the flower, the first charm of the 
Lilac. But we find that the flower of the Privet 
(Ligustrum uvnlifnlinm and vuhjan-') becomes 
very attractive, too, if the shrub be given a dry, 
sandy situation. In rich Roil it is all foliage and 
wood. This note w as suggested by a specimen 
now bloomiug upon a sandy knoll. Half of the 
shoots terminate in a panicle about five inches 
long of little, white, lilac-shaped flowers half an 
inch in length. 
The Privet is, after all, a good old plant, and 
we remember gratefully that w T e used it, years 
ago, here, there, and everywhere in the Rural 
THE MOLE QUESTION 
BY PROF. W. J. BEAL. 
Lawes’ tables, will give an 
feeding value of the roots named 
We are constantly hearing and reading con¬ 
flicting opinions in reference to the common 
mole (.Seafops aquations, Guv.). Opinions and 
theories are more or less valuable according &i 
they are sustained by facts. These facts musl 
be facte, and not errors made by imperfect ob¬ 
servers. --- 
with other animals which resemble him in 
respects. — 
behave alike, 
Pounds of Pounds of 
solid unit- lillroReu 
ter in lonir 1 in long 
ton. ton. 
Vabiett, 
No doubt the mole is often confused 
___' ‘ i many 
All "moles of the same species may not 
P One man, perhaps, injures a mole 
in catching it, for they are very tender, and it 
dies in six hours, or it eats no vegetable food, 
and he concludes that all moles would have died 
soon and refused anything hut insects and 
worms. 
I will give a few dates and numbers and de¬ 
tails or some recent experiments, and allow* each 
one to draw his own conclusion. This will show 
your correspondent, Mr. S. B. Peck, that not 
every one with “Prof.” before his name declares 
that the mole's only food is meat, worms, in¬ 
sects, and the like. Some reason from tho con¬ 
struction of the teeth or the food in the stomach. 
If we were to Judge from tho teeth alone, wo 
should conclude that dogs and cats were made 
to live solely on animal food; but we know that 
cats do eat other things, and dogs often live for 
months without such food and become very fat. 
About July 5,1 caught a mole and killed him 
at once. On dissecting the stomach the next 
day, tho main objects found ware half digested 
fragments of larva; of insects, some of worms, 
beetles, etc. There were some small pieces of 
Common Turnips 
Swedish Turnips. 
Mausu'l Wurzel 
Carrots. 
Parsnips....... 
Nitrogen is the important flesh-forming ele¬ 
ment of food. Fattening substances are of little 
value without its presence, yet the amount of 
nitrogen in food is not an unerring indication of 
the amount of flesh (and fat) that an animal wilt 
lay on. The quantity of digestible Bolkl matter 
would, in this case, be a fairer criterion. 
I am grading a lot, and 
a nice 
THREE WEEPING JAPANESE EVER 
GREENS. 
BY SAMUEL PARSONS. 
0. li. lieloit, Wilt. 
want to get a good thick turf that will make 
lawn. How can I do it ? Wiiat kind of seed ? 
etc. The lot is about 100 feet square, graded 
one-half inch to the foot, nearly. 
Mixed lawn-grass is sold by seedsmen. Sweet 
vernal and blue grass mixed with white clover 
and sown very thickly—say four bushels to the 
acre. 
it. TV., Vineland, N. J.—Will you please pub¬ 
lish tho address of S. L. Allen & Co., Philadel¬ 
phia, Pa., whose hand-plow was illustrated in 
Rural of June 23 ? I have looked in vaiu for 
their advertisement, as I wish to know* more of 
tho plow*. 
S. L. Allen A Co., 119 Soutli Fourth Street, 
Philadelphia, Pa. % 
Leonard Train's.—Please report, through the 
Rural, what the inclosed moth is, and what his 
business in this world may be. He appeared to 
be sipping the sweets from tho honeysucklo blos¬ 
soms when ! caught him. 
It is the Spliinx Carolina of Linn/bus, known 
also as tho Sphinx Quinquemacutatus, or live- 
spotted Sphinx-a name given it from the live 
round, orange-colored spots, encircled w ith black, 
on each aide of its body. Its tongue can bo un¬ 
rolled to tho length of five or six inches, but 
when not iu use it is coiled up liko a watch- 
spring. and nearly concealed between two large, 
thick feelers under tho head. Its office iu life 
We have not selected this trio because three 
greens, even though of Japanese ex¬ 
weeping evergreens, even tnongn oi aapautso ex¬ 
traction, are necessarily very noteworthy. Their 
real claim to our attention lies iu tho fact that 
they l*elong to a genus of Evergreens, native of 
Japan, but remarkably adapted to the peculiar 
climate of America. Tho IMi nonpar a* have a 
high Japanese reputation, one or two kinds being 
sacred to their deity, and the nati ves have exerted 
a great degree of ingenuity in producing and se¬ 
lecting the most curious variations from the 
original type, which some claim to he simply the 
old form obtusa. But whether this be the case 
or tho named species and varieties aa generally 
accepted hold good, the wido divergence of the 
different forms is truly astonishing. 
The real practical merits of these Evergreens 
are, however, unquestionable. They are hardy, 
both summer and winter, transplant readily, are 
per/nauent in color and form, and in fact, com¬ 
port themselves after the most satisfactory man¬ 
ner possible. Efforts have been made to furtusli 
them with names explanatory of tho curious 
similarity to American Evergreens they evince 
both in appearance and nature. ‘-Japanese Cy¬ 
press” is the best known; but Arbor Vitro would 
express the relationship more truly, especially a* 
all kinds of Jietinonporan graft w*ith perfect fa¬ 
cility on the American Thuja or Arbor \ ilas- 
The three varieties wo propose to introduce 
seem little, if at all known; hut tho names of 
two at least, denote correctly the nature of the 
variety, and the name assumed for tho last, if 
incorrect, is certainly descriptive. The first, 
whicn wo term Helinospora jiUfcra aurt-a , bears, 
as indicated by tho meaning of its specific name, 
thread-bearing, the weeping character of dishev¬ 
eled looks, but with a certain regularity peculiar 
to itself. Tho habit, of this tree is not large, hut 
compact and graceful. The golden color is 
strongly marked out by limits that include half 
ago, here, tnere, ana everywnere m mu ivuww 
Grounds, bo as at once to make a show of shrub¬ 
by foliage until rarer things could by degrees fill 
its place. 
NOTES 
Messrs. Vilmorin of Paris will shortly dis¬ 
tribute a new white Cineraria. 
A Boquet.— - A most brilliant and captivating 
little boquet iB one made simply Of Jean Sistyl, 
Pelargonium, Plumbago capensis, and a Fern 
or so. The intense scarlet of the first, the ex¬ 
tremely soft and delicate lavender of the second, 
form an exquisite contrast rarely seen in mixed 
boquets. 
Norwalk Seedling Raspberry.— We have to 
thank Messrs. Packer & Conover for a dozen 
baskets of the above Raspberry. It is a seedling 
of the Clarke grown by Mr. Downes of Norwalk. 
Mr. Conover made tho following test: one 
quart each of Brandywine, one of Antwerpa and 
one of Norwalk seedling were placed upon a shelf. 
The Brandywine softened first, the Antwerpa sec¬ 
ond, while yet the Norwalk was plump and good. 
To our taste and ovo the flavor, form and color 
were so nearly those of Clarke that we could 
not determine which was which. 
The Raspberries after remaining at the office 
for half a day were carried 21 miles by rail. 
Nymph/ba i.utea. —This Water Lily, recently 
discovered in the St. John’s River, Florida, 
blooms about tho 1st of May. The flower, as 
described by Mrs. Treat, in Harper's for August, 
is liko the white Pond-Lily in form, but the inner 
surface of the petals is plain yellow, while the 
outer surface is streaked with piuk. The upper 
surface of the new loaves is beautifully variega¬ 
ted with dark purple and light and dark shades 
of green, and sometimes yellow—the under sur¬ 
face is a deep purplish-rod. 
Mrs. Treat says, in her simple, forcible way: 
“ Iu a largo covo, ouly a few rods from home, 
this Lily extends over several acres. Tho beau¬ 
tiful loaves lie thick upon tbo water; and in May, 
when the flowers appear, it is one of the grand¬ 
est sights I ever beheld. It grows in water from 
one to five feet iu depth, the length of the leaf- 
stems and flower-scapes depending upon the 
depth of the water.” 
It seems that it grows in various other parts 
of Florida, and it is a mystery how it has been 
overlooked by hundreds of other more or less 
efficient botanists. 
Rose Culture in France.—S ome idea of the 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS, 
Angus McDonald .—Being in want of a small 
point of information, which I cannot come at 
from any source now at hand. I appeal for en¬ 
lightenment to the Rural. I want to ascertain, 
from some authentic record or report, the quan¬ 
tity of beef a bushel of turnips, carrots or beets 
will put upou an animal, Stall fed, iu a given 
time. If you have any books, reports or pam¬ 
phlets at baud, please inform me on this point, 
and you will very much oblige. 
—Our correspondent opens a subject which 
