5$7 
form a fine Winter and Spring feed until 
pastures fill the wants of the animal. 
As a hay crop or for ensilage purposes, the 
plant stands unrivaled. The difficulty of 
properly curing pea-vines into good hay, has 
deterred many from the effort. A plan of 
cutting and wilting the vines one day, and 
putting them alternately in layers of clean 
oat or wheat straw, a layer of straw and a 
layer of pea-vines in a pen or open barn has 
worked admirably. The evaporation of the 
vines is caught by the dry straw which it¬ 
self is scented by the sweet odor of the pea, 
causing stock to eat all greedily. The one chief 
difficulty with most varieties (as in the case 
of all the Legumiuosre family here), is to keep 
them over after warm weather. The crop is 
gathered best in the hull, and kept in the 
hull until needed, when it i9 thrashed and 
sacked; then in Spring and Summer the 
least warmth quickly develops weevils 
which soon spoil the whole crop, unless it is 
plauted. It is best, therefore, never to clean 
the pea until ueeded for planting, food or 
shipment in quantities to remain in bulk. 
This may in a measure account for the little 
traffic in this article from North to South, or 
the reverse. Shipments of early varieties 
(the most delicate and perishable) should be 
made from the South in Wiuter or early 
Spring, when a cooler air will keep dormant 
this fly, which is in the pea before maturity. 
The writer has attempted to ship these early 
varieties when perfectly sound here, but he 
has found that the warmth of shipboard 
ruins them before reaching their destination. 
As a manurial plant, the pea must enter 
largely into Southern agriculture before many 
years. The sugar cane growers of the West 
already appreciate the value of this humus 
restoring plant to their exhausted soils, and 
annually give large orders for the pea to 
broadcast and fertilize their cane fields. It 
furnishes the finest soil-food in rotation with 
all grain crops, and is the restorer of the cot¬ 
ton-field when ruu down by denuding culture. 
It is for the botanical and the inquiring stu¬ 
dent to determine much of the habits of the 
pea, and properly name such varieties as seem 
to make confusion when attempts are made 
by the producer to describe these varieties of 
early and late-maturing peas. 
Herndon, Ga. 
[The seed of the varieties of the cow-pea 
tested at the Rural Farm two years ago were 
procured from Dr. Jones.—Eds.] 
W. L. DEVEREAUX. 
Regarding the future continued value of the 
clover plant, the outlook at present is some¬ 
what discouraging. The misgivings are oc¬ 
casioned by the attacks of three insects—one 
fly and two beetles—all appearing almost in 
the same year and increasing in prodigious 
numbers in central New York. They are now 
spreading to every section where clover is 
grown. It must be allowed that already the 
importance of clover has been lowered by 
them 40 per cent. 
Over Beventy-five years have elapsed 6ince 
the clover plant was introduced and its merits 
brought to the notice of farmers. During that 
time it has grown rapidly in favor every, 
where. Its intrinsic value places it with the 
mainstays of agriculture. George Geddes 
has said: “Strike this plant out of existence 
and a revolution would follow that would 
make it necessary for us to learn every thing 
anew in regard to cultivating our lands.” 
Not only for grazing, but for hay it is held 
in high estimation. Gould says: “Nothing is 
better thau avcII made clover hay.” But, he 
also adds: “Nothing is worse than that which 
is ill made.” Still I do not remember ever 
seeing any clover hay so ill-made, or weather- 
stained—except by moldiness—that stock, or 
Bheep especially, would not prefer it to 
Timothy. The former good yield and price 
of seed made it a profitable farm crop, and 
not many years past, many farmers devoted 
the larger part of their farms to the growing 
of clover seed. Finally, iu the power of con. 
densing large quantities of nitrogen and 
lodging it iu the ground, by its roots, it is 
above all other plants pre-eminent. 
Leaving out of consideration its value as a 
green manure to be plowed under, let us note 
the management generally followed with it as 
a farm crop, which may be sketched as fol¬ 
lows: The seed is sown on the growing wheat 
field with but little labor in early Spring. 
The next Autumn it is growing quite high in 
the wheat stubble and may be pastured pru¬ 
dently. The following Summer it yields a 
bountiful crop of hay, and, later, a crop of 
seed, after which there will remain the stubble 
and the still continuous growth of foliage, 
added to the enormous production of roots in 
the soil. It has now by its mechanical and 
nitrogen-collecting powers—after all of the 
crop has been removed from its stems—even 
increased tbe fertility, and bettered the con¬ 
dition of the soil steadily since the wheat crop 
was taken off. In this management, usually 
maintained with the “little kind,” it is plowed 
under for corn or other grain in Spring after 
the seed has been taken off—two years from 
the time the seed was sown in tbe wheat. 
The “big kind” is esteemed to be even more 
beneficial to the soil. It is cut only once, aod 
then for seed. Partial failures of a full crop 
were occasional, in Central New York for over 
thirty years; but up to 1875 nothing like a 
serious, or general falling off in yield of seed 
or in vigorous growth of the plant, was heard 
of. It was not till 1877 that observing far- 
mere were aroused to a close inquiry into the 
cause. In that year the attention of Prof. 
Clover Seed Midge.— Fig. 257. 
Lintner, of Albany, was called to the ex¬ 
amination of the heads of red clover said to 
contain worms that devoured the seed. After 
giving more attention and stud / to this pest, 
he published several accounts of this 
clover seed midge. 
(Cecidomyia leguminicola,) in 1879, It is 
thought to be an American insect, and Mr. 
Lintnerwasthe first describer of It. To theeye, 
this little two winged fly, Fig.257 is quite like 
tbeHessiau Fly (Cecidomyia destructor); both 
in size and color. Its attacks ure now always 
expected, at least in New York. No field of 
clover escapes them entirely, and thousands of 
fields are not deemed worth cutting for seed. 
The little pink worms are nearly always 
found with the seed, as it runs from the ma¬ 
chine into the bags where they may be seen 
writhing about fora short time; they have 
been bruised too much to live. 
Often there are nearly equal divisions of 
yellow seed, “blue seed" and piuk larv®. Last 
year a farmer in Seneca Co. cut a piece of 
clover for hay, immediately after the first of 
June, before night he drew a small load a dis¬ 
tance of eight miles, to a neigboring village. 
After unloading he observed on the tight 
bottom of the center of the hay rack hosts of 
the midge worms; after gathering them up he 
found he had over four quarts of these 
“minute, maggot-like creatures.” 
cutting of clover for hay early, just as the 
heads are fully reddened, is one of the best 
checks. Where the pests are at work badly 
they often provent the head from coloring at 
all. I think they do not remain feeding in the 
head much over 15 days. Judging by tbe 
coloring of the beads, if we wish to catch 
them in this their first brood of the season, 
and when only partially grown, we can hardly 
cut the clover too early. 
APPLE APHIS. 
In the issue of the Rural for July 22 Mr. 
Nelson Ritter asks some questions about 
remedies for lice on apple trees. If the lice 
referred to are tbe green or shining black 
species found only in the tops, there is but 
little need of paying any attention to them, 
as their natural enemies usually keep them in 
check. This year has been, to some extent, 
an exception during the fore part of the sea¬ 
son. 
If, however, the aphis referred to is black 
or brown and woolly, then the question is a 
more serious one, as he has to deal with what 
is known as the Woolly Aphis of the Apple- 
tree (Schizoneura lanigera), which is to be 
found not only on the trunk and limbs, 
but on the roots as well. The specimens of 
this louse are about one-tenth of au inch long, 
reddish-brown to black, and covered above 
with a white cottony secretion. 
Space will not permit me here to speak in 
detail of what has been said of this insect, but 
suffice it to say that it is known both iu Europe 
and America a3 an injurious iusect that has 
done a great deal of mischief. It is more in¬ 
jurious to young trees than old, or at least 
the injury is more noticeable. When work¬ 
ing on the roots it causes knots or swellings, 
and these roots finally die of decay, causing, 
eventually, the death of the tree. If the lice 
are not to be seen on the trunk their presence 
may be suspected on the roots by the tree 
ceasing to grow with its usual vigor, its 
leaves becoming more pale and of a more 
yellow hue thau usual, while no apparent 
cause can be found for this change. In such 
case the roots should be examined for the 
aphis. As to remedies, I will briefly enume¬ 
rate a few that have been proposed. Dr. 
Fitch recommended to clear away the earth 
from the roots as far as it can be conveniently 
done and pour strong soap-suds upon them in 
such quantity as will be likely to reach all 
the lice. The soil taken out should be moved 
away from the tree and fresh soil put in its 
place. Another method is to remove the soil 
away from the trees as above, and drench the 
roots with hot water, putting fresh soil round 
the trees, as mentioned before. If the lice 
are on the trunk and limos I should recom¬ 
mend painting them with kerosene mixed 
with some other oil, G, H. French. 
Carbondale, 111. 
GARDEN TALKS. 
Waldo F. Brown. 
Fly (side view) and Larva.—F io. 25S. 
This year, in the first week of June, I saw 
great numbers of the females busily engaged 
in depositing their eggs, always on the heads 
which are just emerging from the leaflets of 
the pair of compound leaves just under the 
head. They do not lay egg* in heads already 
blossomed or colored. Before the head is 
matured or brown the larvae have quit the 
seed pod, and are found in the ground, under¬ 
going their transformation into the fly. Tbe 
second brood which does the iujury to the 
seed, remain much longer in the head, and 
when in the ground often remain in the larva 
state uutil the first of the following May. 
The extermination of the pest could be 
accomplished in one year were it possible to 
entirely stop the growth of clover in unculti¬ 
vated as well as in cultivated places. The 
Sweet Potato Growing, etc. 
“ Hello ! what are you doing ?” called out 
the Squire, as he was riding by the other 
evening. 
“ Come over and see,” I answered. I was 
lifting my sweet potato vines to keep them 
from rooting down to the ground, and train¬ 
ing the vines so as to leave every alternate 
space between the rows bare. The Squire 
hitched his horse and came in. 
“Now, what is this for K” he asked. 
“ Well, I can give three reasons for it:— 
First, I do not want too many of the vines to 
root down, as the roots divert the sap from 
the potatoes; second, a heavy growth of vines 
all over the ground keeps it from warming 
up, as it should, and the sweet potato, being a 
southern plant, needs a good deal of heat, and, 
third, it is much easier to dig the potatoes 
when one side of the row is bare, and in dig¬ 
ging' I can bury all the viues. You see I dig 
two rows at once, and draw all the earth to 
the center, and when I am done you cannot 
see a vine.” 
“ What have you got them in hills for i I 
always plant in ridges.” 
“ I have tried both ways, and find they do 
much better iu bills. One reason is, that the 
hill warms through better than the ridge, 
and another is that the hill cracks and loosens 
as the potatoes begin to grow, and they will 
grow thicker and of better shape, especially 
when the hills are small, as you see mine are. 
I always plow the laud shallow for sweet 
potatoes, and make my hills close together 
and not very high. These hills are just three 
feet apart from center to center, which gives 
4,840 hills to the acre, and if I get a pound 
from each hill it makes about 80 bush, per aenj." 
“It must be a big job to make the hills,” 
said the Squire. 
“Not if you manage right; a good hand 
will make and set 1,000 in a day. The way I 
manage is this:—I plow the land early in May 
and roll it down smooth; and then, if there 
comes a heavy rain, I stir it with the culti¬ 
vator, to break tbe crust and stop the weeds, 
and roll again or drag with the plank drag. 
Then, when it comes time to plant, which in 
this part of the country is from the 20th of 
May to the middle of June, I watch for a 
light rain, which puts the land just in the 
right condition to work, and I harrow it as 
fine as meal, and then, with my double-bar 
plow set just right, throw two furrows 
together, and with light hoes I soon make it 
up into hills. In planting I do not water, for 
I find puddling is much better, so I stir up 
some clay and fresh cow-manure together till 
the mixture is as thick as batter, so that when 
I dip the roots in it thf y will be well coated, 
and I find they hardly wilt at all. Set just 
one plant in a hill and crowd the soil so firmly 
to the roots that if you take hold of the leaf 
and give a quick jerk it will break a piece of 
the leaf out instead of pulling up the plant; 
but draw up fresh, loose earth round the stem, 
above the hard-pressed earth at the root." 
“ Do you buy your plants or grow them V' 
“ Grow them, by all means. I would do it 
if they cost me twice as much, but the fact is 
they generally will not cost a quarter as much 
to grow as to buy.” 
'' I tried sprouting twice and lost all the 
potatoes,” said the Squire. 
“Your experience is about the same as 
mine,” I answered, “ for I lost most of mine 
for six or eight years, but I never lose any 
more, and can tell any one how to manage 
always to secure a good sprout.” 
“That is certainly worth knowing,” said 
the Squire. 
“Yes, it would have saved me $50 if I had 
been told just how to sprout sweet potatoes 
when I first began. All the difficulty is to 
maintain the right temperature, and this I do 
by covering the bed. It is easy to get a bed 
right, but we are liable to cold, cloudy days, 
often with a penetrating wind, which makes 
it too cold; or we may get hot, sunny days, 
when, if the sun is allowed to shine on the 
bed, it soon heats it up so as to scald the 
potatoes and ruin them. Both these extremes 
can be avoided by covering the bed with 
straw or corn fodder laid directly upon the 
bed. 1 prefer to have the material bound in 
bundles for convenience in handling and to 
prevent litter, and so it can be arranged to 
shed water, unless you have boards for this 
purpose, which is the better way. Get the 
manure well heated before making the bed; 
then put iu not more than a foot in depth 
when pressed down; put four inches of good 
mellow soil on it and cover np till it heats. 
When warm enough to feel comfortable to 
the hand, place the potatoes on it just so 
they will not touch each other; press them 
firmly down, and cover with three inches of 
light earth. Press this down by laying a 
piece of board on and stepping on it, using 
two pieces, and moving one ahead as you 
stand on the other (the manure should be 
pressed in the same way before any soil is 
placed on it), and then cover closely with 
straw a foot deep. In all probability your 
bed will need no more attention till the 
plants begin to come to the surface, for the 
covering w ill not only keep an even tempera¬ 
ture, but also keep the bed moist. If it 
seems too cold uncover it some bright, sunny 
day from twelve to two or three o’clock 
and let it warm up, and then replace the 
covering. As soon as the plants begin to 
come up remove the covering and keep them 
well watered; but as soon as the plants are 
large enough to draw, stop watering, as it 
will harden the plants. The bed should be 
well soaked, however, & few hours before 
you begin to draw the plants. Two crops 
can be grown if you are careful not to dis 
turb the potato.” 
“Much obliged," said the Squire; “I be 
lieve I can sprout potatoes!" 
“Now, before you go I want to tell you 
a little about handling the crop after it is 
grown. Sweet potatoes when dug and eaten 
before they mature are not wholesome, and 
as usually managed will only keep a few 
weeks. If you can plant early, so as to have 
them ready to dig while we are having hot, 
sunny davs, and will handle them carefully 
and sun for three days, they will keep all 
Wiuter, and when well matured and ripened 
I believe them to be as wholesome as Irish 
potatoes. They can be dried on a kiln or 
in a dry-house, if there is not good, sunny 
weather to do it in.” 
“One question more:—Do you find them 
profitable ?” 
“ Uniformly, except when I have planted 
on black loam, for it, for some reason, does 
not suit them. Sandy land is generally 
recommended, but I have grown very proflt- 
I able crops on a stiff clay, by the use of a 
little fine manure, and I find the manure 
makes them some weeks earlier,” 
