856 
e 
MAY 2 7 
cise juncture. Preventive work should have 
been done during the Winter. 
This insect seldom appears coetaneously 
with the Army-worm in the same regions, for 
the simple reason that the two species thrive 
most under opposing * conditions—the one 
flourishing best during drouthy weather, the 
other during wet weather. 
Anent the Army-worm I have obtained 
many interesting facts during the past Winter 
and present Spring, which all go to confirm 
the correctness of my previous conclusions and 
inferences, especially those of 1880 as pre¬ 
sented to the American Association for the 
Advancement of Science, viz., that it hiber¬ 
nates principally in the worm or larva state. 
From the fact that the worm of all sizes has 
been found throughout the past Winter not 
only around Washington hut in various parts 
of the South, whenever it has been looked for 
carefully, and from the further fact that the 
moths have lately been very numerous and 
active in laying their eggs in this immediate 
vicinity, I drew the inference, some weeks 
since, that we should have in most parts of 
the country serious attacks of the insect 
during the present year, and sent an item con¬ 
taining this inference to the American Natur- 
worm of the Northern States. Am I correct? If not, 
tell me what It is and the remedy. If there is one. An 
early reply will oblige. Yours truly, W. O. Conner. 
about a foot thick. The vines readily grow 
through this and the bugs cannot hurt them. 
Last season I tried only a small plot, but this 
year I have planted about half an acre in this 
way. The tubers form between the straw 
and the ground. Has this plan been tried at 
the Rural Farm ? y. z. 
[No, we have not tried it, but we have seen 
the same method tried in South Carolina. 
Col Curtis, a year or so ago, gave the Rural 
an account of his own trial of this method.— 
Eds.] 
orsnmm 
Remedy for Rosebuge. 
During last season when the roaebugs cov¬ 
ered the trees I tried successfully the follow¬ 
ing remedy. The bush was completely wet¬ 
ted with water aDd then showered with flow¬ 
ers of sulphur which adhered to the leaves un¬ 
til the next rain which put the bugs beyond 
doing Iurther damage. Trees treated in this 
way showed a marked gain during the bal¬ 
ance of the season over those not treated, and 
this Spring are putting forth earlier and 
more vigorous shoots than ever before. p. 
POINTS OF THE HORSE, 
TH3 CHESTNUT A TREE FOR THE 
FARM. 
Chestnut wood is so easily worked, and so 
superior for neat, durable, strong, light, and 
quickly made and set fence rails and pickets, 
to say nothing of its excellence for oven 
wood, or the neatness and beauty of the trees, 
or of the showy midsummer blossoms, or the 
October nuts—the mer^ sight and expectation 
of which will keep the boys iu good cheer 
over their chores—that every farmer who 
lacks a supply aud has a spare corner of dry 
soil, no matter ho%v sandy, rocky, or slaty, 
should plant some chestnuts. Like some other 
nut trees, chestnuts are so averse to being 
transplanted, unless the entire sprout cau be 
moved unbrokeu, that the only way to secure 
free growth is to plant a fresh, unshriveled nut 
in the spot where the tree is to grow. As 
mice and squirrels are very fond of the seeds, 
and skilful in finding them, it is a good plan 
to keep the nuts in slightly damp sand, in a 
covered box out-of-doors, to be set in the 
Spring as they begin to sprout. Cover them 
very slightly with fine mold and fence each 
hill in with a picket of sticks, all around 
which a wide and liberal mulch should lie 
spread before weeds get up, or dry, hot weather 
occurs. 
Some of the European chestnuts are very 
much larger than ours, but not as sweet, nor 
are the trees so neat aud handsome, or the 
wood so easy to work or so useful. The trees 
of the European species are tender in the 
Middle States and further south efforts to 
introduce them have not been attended with 
any known success. The sorts intergraft 
readily. The little Chinquapin of York 
County, Penn., and further south, is a dwarf 
species with downy leaves (underside), and 
very sweet, agreeable nuts. 
In an article on chestnuts in Forest and 
Stream, A. W. Roberts gives some interest¬ 
ing information from a market-man’s i oint 
of view—credited to R. I. Suflit, of Washing¬ 
ton Market. The large foreign chestnuts are 
TOBACCO-GROWING NOTES. 
When tobacco plants have been grown 
under glass the sashes should be entirely 
removed a week or two before they are large 
enough for setting. This will acclimate them 
to out-door conditions of weather, and cause 
them to extend their rootlets so that they will 
better bear removal to the field. It is well 
also to allow the surface of the soil in the 
seed bed to become dry occasionally for the 
same object. 
There is nothing gained by seating tobacco 
plants which are small and weak. It is much 
better to let them remain in the plant-beds 
until they are of sufficient size. A plant is 
not large enough to transplant until it has 
leaves as large as a common tablespoon or a 
silver dollar and with roots in proportion. 
Such plants if carefully drawn from the bed 
and set in the field, will commence growth 
much quicker than those set with small leaves 
and poorly developed roots even if the latter 
are planted several days in advance. 
D^baft Horse’s Head, Well Set.— Fig 160. 
alist for publication. In confirmation of the 
correctness of that inference the Department 
of Agriculture has just received accounts of 
alarming injury to small grain in Northern 
Alabama aud Georgia as well as in Arkansas. 
If the Spring and early Summer prove in any 
way wet (as is likely in the country which 
suffered so much from drought last year) the 
precise conditions will recur that have in the 
past marked all great Army-worm years. 
r Observations which I have recently been 
making with one of my assistants, Mr. A. 
Koebele, fully establish the fact which I in¬ 
ferred to be the case in 1877—that the moth 
secretes her eggs b}- preference in old grass 
and stubble and even in corn-stalks; and this 
explains two facts that have long since been 
recognized by practical men, viz., that the 
worms in destructive numbers are apt to 
originate from old stacks or piles of corn¬ 
stalks, or coarse manure, to which the early 
moths are attracted for purposes of oviposi- 
tion. In short, a field will be free from the 
worm in proportion as it is kept clean of old 
stubble and straw, and in proportion as it is 
distant from such, or from neglected pastur¬ 
age, or low, rauk grass inaccessible to cattle. 
Believing, therefore, that serious id jury 
now threatens meadows and grain fields, from 
this insect, and that we shall hear of it farther 
and farther north with the heading out of 
wheat, and knowing, from experience, that 
an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of 
cure, I recommend that farmers generally 
take the precaution to burn up or plow under 
at once, wherever it is possible to d© so, any 
neglected meadows, old grass or straw upon 
their farms; further, to roll the grain in the 
vicinity of old stacks where these may not be 
burned. Let me add, further, that one must not 
be deceived by appearances. The worms may 
not be visible to an ordinary observer, or 
even to a careful one, and may yet abound in 
myriads, for they secrete themselves within 
old stalks, or folded leaves when very young, 
and hide under matted grass or grain, when 
larger. Yet a field that shows none now may 
in a fortnight be overrun with full-grown 
worms, so rapidly do they grow. 
I send you the last letter which I have re¬ 
ceived, as of sufficient interest for publication, 
with the statement that the worms were cor¬ 
rectly determined by Mr. Conner, and that 
the parasitic eggs mentioned are those of a 
Tachiua-fly. 
Washington, D. C., May 8. 
Cavs Sprinos, Ga. ) 
M»y (Itfi, 1SSA ) 
Prof. C. V. Riley, Washington, D. C .: 
Dear Sir : I send you for Identification, l.y this mall, 
three caterpillars that are preying upon the wheat, 
corn anil cottou, by the millions, about eight miles 
north of this place, on Coosa River. 
The first notice taken of them was In a Held of mixed 
grass (Orchard, Herd’s, Timothy and clover) about 
three weeks ago,which they destroyed entirely, except 
leaving the clover untouched. From tills they began 
In an adjoining wheat field of twenty acres, which 
they have also ruined. In the host of the day they 
conceal themselves aud seem to feed at night and In 
the early morning. Accompanying them are vast 
numbers of an Ichneumon fty, eggs of which you will 
find on the caterpillar sent you. 
Our oldest farmer* say we have never had anything 
like it before, and although confined, so far, tonne or 
two plantations, yet considerable alarm Is felt at the 
prospect of its Increase and spread. 
I pronounce It Leucania unlpuncta, or the Army 
Saddle Horse’s Head —Fig. 162. 
teristic indications of the head and adjacent 
parts are very important. There are of 
course, numerous differences of conformation 
characteristic of different breeds rather than of 
merits or defects, but there are also certain 
beauties which should be sought for in all 
breeds. Of these smallness of the head is one, 
for a small head is always preferable to a 
large one in the same breed. The eyes, too, 
should be large and wide open indicative of 
good sight. A large forehead is a desirable 
beauty, and large, well opened nostrils show 
the nasal aud respiratory organs are- in good 
condition. The lips should be firm, nob flabby, 
and the lower jaw should be set easily in the 
larynx to permit the head to move freely from 
the neck. The accompanying diagrams re- 
engraved from the (Loudon) Live Stock Jour¬ 
nal well illustrate various points in this con¬ 
nection. 
The head is well set in a draft horse when it 
makes an angle of about 45 degrees with the 
horizon, as in Fig. 160, while for a saddle horse 
it should be more verticals iu Fig. 162. When 
the head approaches the shoulders too closely, 
the defect is known by the name of rain-bow 
neck, as in Fig. 163. On the other hand,)when 
the head Is carried more horizontally, as in 
Fig. 164, the defect is greater, as the rider has 
le*s control of his horse, for the bit rests on hia 
teeth aud there is danger of his “taking it 
between them.” Fig. 165 illustrates a sheep- 
face head whose curved and prominent 
outline is found very frequently in pictures 
and sculptures of former days. The opposite 
of this is the flat nosed head shown at Fig. 166, 
in which, instead of a concave curve between 
the nose and the brow, there is a depression. 
When the depression is in the middle of the 
nose, where the nose-band rests, the confor¬ 
mation is known as a rhinoceros head. 
Small ears set straight on the head and parallel 
to each other, are a beauty, while long, diver¬ 
gent ears, which bang more or less flabbily, 
are a defect, showing unsounduess and ex 
haustion. These as shown at Fig. 168, are called 
pig’s ears and the bearer of them is lop-eared. 
The best time for setting seed-leaf tobacco 
in the Northern States is from the first of 
May until the 20th of June. I have seen good 
tobacco mature later than this time, but there 
is always danger that tobacco planted after 
the extent of this time will be injured by early 
Autumn frosts before it becomes fully ma¬ 
tured; anl if the crop should mature and 
become safely housed a heavy freeze before 
the leaves vere cured would greatly injure 
the quality of the tobacco. Tobacco set before 
May 1st grows slowly and for some reason 
does not produce a heavy or large growth of 
leaf. 
The manner in which tobacco plants are 
set out has much to do with the success or 
failure of the crop. Time should be given to 
Points of a Horse.— Fig. 161 
cci la mom 
the work so that it may be done well. I pre¬ 
fer to set the plants before rather than after 
a rain-fall. Especially is this true in a heavy 
clay soil, where if the work of setting is per¬ 
formed immediately after a heavy rainfall, 
the soil becomes packed about the stems of 
the plants and bakes and hardens when the 
weather becomes dry, which prevents the 
young plants from making rapid growth. It 
is better to commence setting as soon as the 
plants are of suitable size aud not wait for 
ram. It requires a little more labor to set the 
plants in a dry soil and water them by hand, 
but in this way a successful planting is secured 
and the plants will grow enough faster to pay 
for the difference in the expense of setting. 
Elmira, N. Y. o. a. g. jr. 
difficult to carry in good condition. They 
always become dark and dull in color, and 
are very apt to heat, or to become wormy. 
The chestnut of our Southern States is one- 
third larger than the Northern nut, handsome 
and good, but also difficult to transport on 
account of a singular proclivity to heating, 
and so suddenly spoiling. The wholesale 
dealers in New York are said to handle from 
ten to twelve thousand bushels of chestnuts 
amiually; but this, compared with their sale 
and manifold uses in Europe, is a very small 
figure. Many different dishes are made of 
them there, aud besides what are eaten raw, 
quantities are roasted, parched, boiled, and 
dried, aDd these last are ground into meal for 
the making of bread, pies, puddings, and 
cakes. It is not known whether any of our 
French or Italian resident farmers have made 
trial of the American nut in any of these lines 
of culinary service. But, aside from the value 
of its fruit, the chestnut tree deserves special 
culture for its own great value and distinctive 
beauty. w. a. w., jr. 
We have received the following important 
communication from Mr. J. Troop, of the 
Michigan Agricultural College. The sor¬ 
ghum halapense (or halepense) is the John¬ 
son Grass, Means Grass, Guinea Grass, etc., of 
which much has been suid in the North during 
the past few years. It was imported from 
Turkey by Gov Means, of South Carolina, in 
1835. It is of rapid growth and continues 
growing until frost. The roots tuke full pos¬ 
session of the ground aud it is hard to confine 
them to any given area. We were told in the 
South by several farmers that they would not 
have it on their farms. Others were planting 
it. The roots are relished hy hogs as we know 
from observation. In the South on good land 
we learn It may be cut three times during the 
Summer, yielding a ton or more at a cutting. 
Here is Mr. Troop’s note: 
“In the Rural for May 6 I notice an 
Growing Potatoes under Straw. 
For potatoes I plow the ground and harrow 
it smooth and then place the potatoes on the 
top of the ground and cover them with straw 
