bloom on the new growth, all at the same tame 
The cions take very easily. - 
Houston, Texas, Sept, 22. f 
__ 1 
GARDENING PEN-TALKS. 
BY MRS. ANNIE L. JACK. ! 
__ t 
The garden is now showing signs of its fin¬ 
ished work, and the chilly nights have dimmed I 
the glory of the cypress vine, and darkened i 
the stems of the portulaca. Maples are crim- : 
toning, and our special artist, came from the 
woods the other day with a spray of crimson 
and yellow perfectly gorgeous. “ If they would 
only stay fresh without pressing, how brilliant 
our sitting room would be”! wo said, as we 
placed them above a Chromo of Lilies. All 
our spare time is devoted to saving seeds, and 
gathering in the late vegetables, and soon we 
must plant the bulbs for spring flowering, for 
what would the garden be without the fragrant, 
stately Hyacinth, the jaunty Tulip, the sweet 
Jonquil and saucy Crocus? As these flowers 
are extensively grown for winter flowering, 
I may as well give to my readers the reply made 
recently to several friends who asked, "How 
do you make your Hyacinths grow and flower 
so well.” , , 
There is a great difference in soil but to in¬ 
sure success a part loam to the other of sand is 
necessary. The bulbs need to be covered with 
earth and placed in a dark place, a cellar if not 
too damp. Here they should remain for three or 
four weeks, at the end of which time they may 
be brought to an upper room, but still kept 
cool. The rootlets formed in the dark are uot 
yet strung, and heat lit first causes too quick 
a growth, before the roots attain their strength. 
As soon as the leaves appear dark, green and 
thick, aud showing the flower spike, they 
may receive more water, light, and heat; the 
main point, being not to Irttrry them before 
they are ready to make a strong growth. It is 
a pleasant thing in a family sitting-room to 
have a box and allow each child in a family to 
own one or more. 1 have found oven the little 
ones by this method, enjoy the possession, and 
yet never wish to spoil the bloom or pick the 
floweret from its stem, but inhalo its fragrance 
and admire Us beauty, content to say "It is 
mine.” 
At no season of the year are flowers more 
needed than in dreary November, when, in our 
northern climate, the flowers have faded and 
the bulb garden is not in bloom. A few plants 
potted in early summer, aud allowed to grow 
but not to bloom, may bo lifted now to ad¬ 
vantage, and will be more likely to give satis¬ 
faction than those that have bloomed all sum- 
Our Phlox and Pansies seem so faithful, 
when the others die; for then their beauty 
shows most, and I always think the 1 ansv is 
named as nearly correct as it. could be, unless 
it had been called " faithful” for its gold and 
purple and black lives till the snow covers it, aud 
it is the first to greet us when the white blanket 
is removed. Faithful and true, it is no wonder 
we hold them with a loving reverence, and 
treasure them in our heart of hearts. 
The leaves are opposite, triangular-ovate, deep- fo 
ly toothed, and smooth or nearly so. The inflor- w 
escence consists of numerous flat corymbs of si 
blue-purple flower heads, that are lasting and pi 
•pretty. It is one of our freshest-looking, most ul 
floriferouB and decorative of autumn-blooming m 
hardy plantH, and apparently requires no special w 
care beyond good soil aud a mulching in winter, di 
The plants in our garden are fifteen to 
twenty-four inches high and eighteen to 
twenty inches through, and are now (Sept. 
24th.) perfect cushions of green leaves and V 
Ageratum- like flowers; they come into 
bloom about the end of August, and will 
last, till frost destroys them. There is a ^ 
current O] .inion that the >list-Flower is not 
reliably hardy so far north as Massachu- . 
setts, and 1 believo there is truth in the 
Idea. Last winter, however, our plants re¬ 
mained unprotected in an open border, with¬ 
out even a mulching, and thus withstood, 
with impunity, 4° below zero, and a four- 
mouths’ winter, but the deop and long-lying 
snow of that season no doubt saved them 
materially. Just now these roughly-win¬ 
tered plants are our finest specimens, being 
richer ami thriftier than those transplant- 
ed from frames last spring. 
The sweetest combination I have seen | 
this plant used in, was in Nature’s garden, 
by the side of a little tributary of the Bra¬ 
zos, where, arm-in-arm with Malvaviscus 
Drummoudii, the bank was clothed in blue, 
scarlet and green. 
VENUS-HAIR FERN. 
The Adiantum Gapilhis- Veneris, or Yenus- 
Ilair Fern, is a pretty little species of Maiden- 
: Hair, a native of damp, shaded rocks in the 
Southern States . also in Europe. It is almost 
1 j hardy in New England, but is best grown as a 
' house, greenhouse or fern-case plant. 1 cople 
3 often get discouraged with it because it refuses 
' to grow in the summer time, but it repays that 
Htntibornness by extra luxuriance during the win- 
3 ter months. It begins to grow in September, and 
3 is in perfection till May. It should not be stint- 
0 ed of water during the period of its growth or 
d full leafage, neither should it be flooded, as too 
e much is worse than too little. Small pots com- 
0 pared with the size of the plants: effective ilrain- 
8 age, an open soil, as fibrous peat, and loam, 
with some clean, gritty sand, and a moderately 
0 moist atmosphere—away from gas or furnace 
r h ea t—are all conducive to the welfare of this 
^ plant. 
* gaillardia aristata. 
]. This beautiful hardy herbaceous perennial is 
j. a native from Missouri westwards, and has low, 
spreading stems and large, showy flowers, the 
rays of which are yellow and brown-purple at 
1, the base. Threo months ago Prof. C. S. Sar- 
y gent brought to me some flowers and stems ol 
is this composite, from his extensive gardens at 
as Brookline, telling me that it was then one of the 
id best perennials in bis garden, aud when I saw it 
id there a few days ago (end of Sept.), it seemed 
et in perfection, being one of the most profusely- 
er bloomed plants in the border. 
found a considerable distance from the tent or 
web. They move together, and spin a web of 
silk as they progress, until in a short time their 
path becomes carpeted with silk. They are reg¬ 
ular in feeding, going out twice each day, re¬ 
maining iu the web at night, and in stormy 
weather they do not leave their tents. They 
devour the entire leaves, and when many tents 
~ a and b caterplllars-c eggs-d cocoon. 
arc found on one tree, the damage is consider¬ 
able, since in one tent alone three or four hun¬ 
dred caterpillars may be found. 
The tent at first is small, but is enlarged as 
the worms increase in size. When the caterpil¬ 
lars are fully grown, which, with us, is about the 
first or middle of July, they for the first time 
disjierse aud, descending from the tree, crawl to 
some secluded place where they spin a cocoon, 
inside of which they change to a chrysalis. In 
this condition they remain but a short time, and 
about the last of July omergo as the perfect 
moth. . . 
The presence of a number of tents m an orch¬ 
ard does not indicate carefulness on the part of 
the owner, since there is no insect so easily do- 
| stroyed as this. Destroying the eggs during the 
winter will, of course, prevent the appearance of 
the post; but if any should escape observation 
and hatch, a wet broom applied to the nest while 
the caterpillars arc within, aud then thrust into 
a pail of soap-suds, will destroy them. The 
moths are more inclined to deposit eggs on the 
wild black-cherry tree than on the apple, aud if 
trees of this kind are planted sparsedly around 
the orchard, the moths will be attracted by them, 
and they are more easily fought when confined 
to a few trees. 
Scientific Assclatlon, Illinois. 
CALIFORNIAN POPPY (Eschscboltzia Cali- 
fornica). 
by william falconer. 
This very common garden plant is a herbace¬ 
ous perennial, a native of California, and iu 
Eastern gai dens treated as an annual. It self¬ 
sows itself abundantly, grows freely in almost 
any soil and situaiion. and blooms continuously 
from the middle of June till frost destroys it 
The flowers of the typical plant are large, aud 
tht petals rich yellow ami orange-yellow at the 
base. There are many named varieties, with 
saffron, yellow and white colors, aud some quite 
compacted in habit, aud all are good and desira¬ 
ble garden plants. Sown in spring, they seldom 
bloom before the middle of July, but sown in 
September, they bloom the following June. 
When they grow rampantly and thickly, heavy 
summer rains destroy them ; hence it is a good 
practice to cut away, now-and-again, some of 
the longest aud most exhausted of the " straw, 
and thus insure a continuity of young growths 
and fresh flowers. For fall suxings poor soil is 
preferable to rich, and Arm ground is better 
than loose earth,—I mean to dig the soil and 
tramp it firmly, not to sow on undug ground. 
Last fall I made a sowing in the open garden 
and another in a cold frame. The plants in the 
frame began blooming on the 4th of June, and 
those out of doors on the Kith of June, and in 
both cases they have sluoe continued and are 
still blooming freely and uninterruptedly. 
THE MIST-FLOWER (Conoclinium ccelestinum.) 
This beautiful herbaceous perennial is a nali - c 
of the South-middle and Southern States, where 
it is found bordering thickets aud in waste places 
in rich soil. It is nearest relative to Eupatoiiuni, 
and when iu bloom looks much like an Ageratum. 
(gulotnolaflital, 
THE WEB-CATERPILLARS.—I. 
BY MISS EMMA A. SMITH. 
The various kinds of forest trees have suffered 
more than usual, during the past summer, by the 
caterpillars known, popularly, as the web-cater¬ 
pillars. The webs made in early summer will, 
upon investigation, be found to differ in many 
particulars from those of the lutter part of the 
season. The kind which proves such an annoy¬ 
ance to orchardists is known as the Apple Tree 
Tent Caterpillar, or Olisiocampa Americana, 
Harris, and makes its web on apple and black- 
cherry. “ The moth is of a rusty, reddish-brown 
color, more or less mingled with gray on the 
middle and base of the fore-wings, which, be¬ 
sides, are crossed by two oblique, straight, dirty- 
white lines. It expands from one inch and a 
quarter to one inch and a half, or a little more. 
They are nocturnal iu their flight, and cau be 
captured almost any warm evening of the latter 
part of July, around the lamp to which they have 
been attracted. The eggs are deposited by the 
female moth, during the latter part of summer, 
on the twigs of trees, the leaves of which famish 
food for the caterpillars. These remain during 
the winter on the twigs, sheltered from the cold 
weather by a glutinous covering deposited by the 
parent moth. 
When warm weather approaches, the eggs 
hatch and if, as sometimes occurs, it is followed 
by cold, the young worms feed on this covering 
until the leaves expand, when they make a com¬ 
mon covering for nights aud unpleasant weather. 
This covering is of a silky nature, and made by 
the caterpillars. During the day they go ont of 
their homes seeking for food, and can often be 
% 
GRAPES. 
I have heard very little about Ricketts 
“ Secretary.” It fruited with me last year, 
bearing two hunches of medium size. This 
year the vine was so full that contrary to my 
practice, I cut out many bunches. They ripened 
about the tenth of September, though in appear¬ 
ance they were ripe two weeks earlier. The 
buncheB were as large as has been stated by 
those who deem that the Secretary is a bettei 
grape for general culture than the Concord. 
The berries are crowded in the buuches aud of 
medium Bize. They are more than firm- they 
are hard, though not tough. ’With many exec - 
lent qualities both of vine aud berry, the latter 
is in my judgment too acid ever to meet with 
general favor. 
Few vines with which 1 have had to do are 
possessed of its vigor. Its leaves are very distinct¬ 
ive, uot to say peculiar, for a vine bo vigorous. 
I have always thought that large leaves and 
thrifty growth go together. If so, the Hecretai j 
presents a marked exception. The leaves which 
are deeply lobed, are never large. Few are 
even of medium size ; many are email and some 
very small. Thus, ns I have said, the vine 
presents a distinct appearance. The season has 
been one favorable to mildew, but while other 
varieties, such as Salem. Lydia, and Diana were 
attacked, the Secretary entirely escaped. 
An experiment which, I doubt not others haxe 
tried again and again, has satisfied me of the 
utility of summer pinching. Two Concords 
growing within ten feet of each other iu the 
same soil, were the subjects operated upon. 
Or rather, one of them was not touched, the 
other was pinched occasionally throughout the 
whole season, as Bhoots grew beyond the arbor 
and laterals appeared. The effect was tins. 
The grapes upon the pinched vines were all of 
them larger than those of the other and as they 
ripened, were not so ready to fall off. 
Summer pinching is a tedious task aud takes 
time, but I am sufficiently convinced of its good 
effects to have determined to do more of it in 
the future than I have ever done in the past. 
An Old Gardener. 
.—- -*•-*-♦- 
SEEDLING GRAPES. 
I Send by express to-day a box, of Seed¬ 
ling Grapes, intended for your inspection. 
I have been some time engaged in raising 
Seedlings, and have a dozen, or so, of good 
quality. Bat they need testing. Two or three 
of these sorts ripen in August, and are of fail 
quality. I expect to be able to submit some 
valuable now varieties to you next year, and 
shall not forget the interest you appear to mani¬ 
fest in the matter. V. W. Smith 
Syracuse, Sept.., 29. 
Berries white, medium size with a thin 
white bloom ; flesh tender throughout; sweet, 
of a pecutiar and agreeable honey flavor. Seeds 
small. It resembles the Lady in general appear¬ 
ance. The quality, of which alone we arc de¬ 
sired to speak, is excellent. _ 
f jjt g^mrum. 
parthenogenesis. 
BY PROFESSOR A. J. COOK. 
In any business or profession, our success is 
generally commensurate with the love and inter¬ 
est we foci for the duties imposed. In this age, 
when the “ struggle for lifo ” is so intense, and 
when the " survival of the fittest applies o 
business, as well as to organic life, he who 
would scale the bights iu any calling, must ever 
be on the alert to ward off evil, and take the ad¬ 
vantage of opportunity; must bo quick to see 
and as ready to act; must have brain, senses, 
and muscle, each awako and trained by use, to 
supplement the efforts or the others. Now what 
is there that so stirs the brain, awakens the 
senses, or spurs on the muscle, as a rea love of 
our business ; a full, active interest m all its de¬ 
tails ? 
Thus it is that in the little work which I sent 
out to the publio ; “ Manual of the Apiary I 
stated that no oue who would persist in scientific 
apiculture, could fail to become au enthusiast, 
and as a result could hardly fail to win success. 
In sooth the marvels connected with bees, are so 
striking, that they can hardly fail to arrest the 
attention, and enlist the admiration and wonder 
of aU who engage studiously m the duties of 
apiculture. What, more cau be said of any pur¬ 
suit, than that while it fills the pockets it at the 
same Umo brings delight, thus mmistermg at 
once to body, mind, and soul ? 
Let us then look in upon some of these bee 
wonders :-One of the most striking tacts fa- 
miliartothe educated bee-keeper and onowlteh 
was it not so easily demonstrated, would hardly 
gain credence, illustrates what is known E scence 
as “ Parthenogenesis,” which may be defined as 
the development of the unfecundated egg ; and 
what seems almost as strange as the fact tha 
eggs that have never received the ma e element 
may and do develop and hatch, is the fnrthei 
fact that all such eggs produce only drone o 
male bees. Every observing apiarist is constan ) 
noting the proof of the above. A queen batches 
when there arc no drones in the apiary, or sue 
may have imperfect wings, so that she cann 
fly—for the queen always meets the drone hit 
open ah while on the wing; soon she wilicom- 
mence her exclusive life-work of egg- J 8- 
, From these eggs which, of course, are all unfe 
emulated, come forth bees, aud moreover, all 
, are drones or malet. 
Acaiu the eggs of a fecundated queen are 
‘ placed in different sized cells ; those to produce 
drones are placed in large sized cells, and from 
3 such male bees always issue. On the 
those which are to produce worker s-or uteri 
j females, the bees which do the gw 
the hive—are placed iu the small sized celh a 
as certainly produce the worker bees• 
the eggs in the large sized cells are ou eful1 ^ 
l a mined under a high-power microscope, no spei- 
” the eggs taken Iron t*. “°» u ““ J tSKjE- 
.. matozoa will Ire found in every • d 
: Pacing egg. — I 
tion by the queen, while the e 0 g 
: atrar. «•* *- ««■* *• 
„ oviduct. , 
“ We have .till other proof, but to »"*“«*”* 
>r it requires some knowledge of tbe an *‘ JL, 
s. the queen-bee. The queen is easily id 
