432 
THE BUBAL HEW-YOBKEB. 
MARCH 4 
Cattle must have ample room to keep clear of 
the fence. When such fences are first erected, 
and before cattle have learned to respect 
them, there is considerable danger; afterward 
scarcely any.” 
what is asserted of the oviposition of severe 
Buprestid Beetles, but of the Grape-vine Leaf- 
hopper (op. eit. 286) the Raspberry Root- 
borer (p. 803) and notably of the Buffalo Tree- 
hopper (p. 46) and the Broad-winged Katydid 
(p. 292). Erythroneura vitis oviposits in, 
not on, grape-leaves; Algeria rubi on the 
leaves, not on the cane of Rubus; while the 
eggs of Ceresa bubalus and of PlatypbyUum 
concavum, as described by Mr. Saunders, 
are respectively those of the Snowy Tree- 
cricket (CEcanthus niveus) and the Oblong¬ 
winged Katydid (Microcentrum retiuervis) as 
shown in the fifth report on “The Insects of 
Missouri” (pp. 119-125). But my object in 
writing is simply to confirm Mr. Atkius’s ob¬ 
servation, and to point to the first published 
statement of the facts. It will be found m an 
article by the writer entitled “New Facts 
about the Round-headed Apple Borer,” in the 
New York (Weekly) Tribune, February 20, 
1878 and copied in the New England Farmer 
and other journals. I had already, in my re¬ 
marks before the Pomological Society last 
September, briefly called attention to the 
oversight in Mr. Saunders’s work (vide Rural 
New-Yorker, October 20, 1888), but will 
quote here the first paragraphs from the 1878 
article referred to, as of sufficient interest in 
this connection to be reproduced. The cut 
shown in Fig. 73 was prepared at the time for 
Mr. G. O. Bracket, of Lawrence, Kan., on 
whose extended observations and those of Mr. 
J. W. Robeson, of Tremont, Ill., and my own 
confirmation of them, the article was based. 
“The egg is pale rust-brown in color, one- 
eighth of an inch long, one-third as wide in 
the middle, flattened so as to have a depth 
about one-third the width. The shell is fairly 
tough and resisting, it is not sculptured, but 
is sufficiently plastic, when laid, to receive 
impressions from the wood-fibers between 
which it is pressed. The embryo lies straight 
within the shell, and the newly-hatched larva 
differs from the full-grown larva in size alone. 
The female beetle makes an incision in the 
bark, cau-ing it to split from one-fifth to 
in high form and grace of outline, whilst all 
admit its superiority as a mutton breed. Some 
sheep outweigh it, but none crowd so much 
flesh into so small a space, so that no sheep so 
well turns out in neatness on the butcher’s 
block; whilst its fine points, marbled flesh, 
and delicate flavor are not equaled by 
any sheep of equal weight. Five ewes which 
I sold lately to a gentleman of Wash¬ 
ington City, averaged 212 pounds gross; 
certainly weight enough; whilst one buck 
sold to an Indiana breeder, whicb was under 
six months of age, weighed 100 pounds. 
Their wool next in fineness of fiber to 
the Merino, averages in my flock in¬ 
cluding yearlings, over five pounds to the 
sheep, whilst it brings about three cents more 
than the wool of the scrub, and the large 
breeds. They are perfectly hardy; can be 
killed for mutton in first-rate order iu any of 
the Winter mouths, living here on grass and 
hay, and when snow is on the ground a ration 
of one gill of maize a head is cast on the 
ground and broadly strewn. It is only when 
there are severe storms or great cold that 
they seek the sheds, which they can enter at 
will. They average more than one lamb each, 
and are good milkers and careful mothers. 
MATURITY. 
At one period I allowed my lambs to go at 
will to the buck; the result was that they at 
times bore young before they were a year old. 
This stunted the mothers; and the produce 
was often feeble, especially wbeu the mothers 
were badly fed. Now I never allow the buck 
till the ewes may have lambs at two years of 
age. Bucks I think should not be used till 
they are one year old and over; to delay until 
they are two years old perhaps is better. The 
whole basis of improving stock is the keeping 
up of the animal forces to the highest point, 
after a pure breed is secured. This, of course, 
must depend upon a full observance of the 
natural laws, regular aud full feeding, shelter, 
water, and all that. The exhaustion of 
paternity is universal in animal and vegetable 
A new Rhubarb, the Paragon.— This is 
a new variety, originated in England, and now 
introduced here, says the American Garden. 
The stalks are bright red, very heavy, and 
produced in quick succession and wonderful 
abundance. It is early, of delicate flavor, 
aud decidedly less acid than any other va¬ 
riety. But its most remarkable and most val¬ 
uable qualification is that it does not produce 
flower stalks, to which fact its great produc¬ 
tiveness is mainly attributable, all the strength 
of the plant going to leaves. The plant is 
very compact. 
The Best Grapes. —“Which are the six 
best and most desirable varieties of grapes for 
home use and general culture—two black, two 
red, two white—quality, hardiness, and gen¬ 
eral healthiness considered ?” This q iestion 
was voted upon by the members of the late 
New Jersey State Horticultural Society with 
the following result: Black—Concord, Wor¬ 
den; red—Brighton, Jefferson; white—Pock- 
lington, Duchess. 
Grasses for Various Soils and Climes. 
—Prof. Knapp recommends for Iowa and 
similar soils and climates, for early and late 
pasture, the following mixture: 
FOUNDS, POUNDS. 
Blue Grass. a Orchard Grass.6 
TLuiothy. ti White Clover.I 
For Summer pasture: 
POUNDS. POUNDS. 
Timothy...6 Red Clover.1 
Orchard Grass.6 
For permanent dairy pastures on most 
heavy soils of the East, Sibley & Co. recom¬ 
mend: 
POUNDS. POUNDS. 
Perennial Rye Grass.... 5 Meadow Foxtail..a 
Blue Grass. 3 Red Clover. 2 
Orchard Grass.3 White Clover. 1 
Meadow Fescue.. 3 Alslke Clover.1 
For the lighter soils of the North and East 
they suggest the following: 
POUNDS. POUNDS, 
Timothy. .... 5 White Clover. 1 
Taller Oat Grass.10 Red Clover. 2 
Rhode Island Beut.4 Alslke Clover .1 
Orchard Grass.3 
For wet soils iu the North, they suggest: 
POUNDS. POUNDS. 
Blue Grass. ri Rye or Ray Grass. 4 
Red Top. 5 Alslke Clover. 1 
Fowl Meadow Grass.... 4 White Clover. I 
WORTH NOTING. 
The new tea rose “8unset,” a sport of the 
well-known Perle des Jardins, is well thought 
of by all who have seen it....... 
We have uow, ’tis said, a new tomato, 
yclept King Humbert, a Europeau novelty, 
that “closely resembles the flavor of an apple 
of fine quality.” Pardon us for doubting it. 
It is of a scarlet color—the size of a piece of 
chalk—no, of a large plum. 
There are conflicting opinions as to the 
value of crude petroleum as paint. Some say 
it lasts longer than lead or oil paint—others 
that the rain washes it off and that it never 
hardens so that it will not soil the hand. We 
should like to hear from our subscribers as to 
their experience... 
Not only the soil of the fields, but the mire 
of politics and the hard rock of monopoly, 
are likdly to be managed all the better when or¬ 
ganization enables the strong, firm hands of 
the too much isolated farmers to take hold of 
public affairs unitedly. So says the New 
York Tribune.. 
Why not have a climbing rose? Would it 
not improve the barn, wash-house, smoke¬ 
house, piazza? Most of the varieties are per¬ 
fectly hardy. They bloom in profusion for a 
long time..... 
Among climbing roses Prairie Queen (piuk), 
Bennett’s Seedling (white), aud Russell’s Cot¬ 
tage (crimson), would make a good selection. 
It should be borne in mind that these roses 
bloom on the old or last season’s wood........ 
A Dakota correspondent of the North¬ 
western Farmer, tells how his city-bred wife 
gained health and strength while helping him 
lay up the walls of sod for his farm buildings, 
says the Courant. But how rnauy feeble city 
wives would be willing to take such medicine? 
It is believed by many, remarks the New 
England Farmer, and probably not without 
reason, that if the best selections were now 
made from our best so-called common calves, 
aud the selection followed up for a few gen¬ 
erations, the result would he a better class of 
animals for productiou aud profit thau is ob¬ 
tained from the pure stock, where evex-y ani¬ 
mal, however inferior, is raised simply be¬ 
cause it has a pedigree. 
Have you a place suitable for water-cresses? 
The market price is always remunerative. 
W. Atlee Burpee & Co., of Philadelphia, 
speak as follows of the Rural Blush Potato: 
not in vain. We have always praised this 
breed. But, then, there are Plymouth Rocks 
and Plymouth Rocks... 
Bulls should work.—Boards (shelter) are 
cheaper in the long mu than corn.—Some 
people are never ready until afterwards Set 
any paper down as a fraud that goes into the 
lottery busiu«#s.—There are not over 10 life 
insurance companies in the United States 
that we should be willing to InveBt a dollar 
in ,—a nu ' berof silosin Dutchess Co., N. Y., 
are standiug empty this season. Th© Farm, 
Field and Fireside of Chicago is not recom¬ 
mended by the Western Rural. Too much 
lottery about it.— So says the Farm Journal.. 
Beware of commissions to stamp out infec¬ 
tious diseases, aud above all of putting men 
upon them whose bi ead and butter are of more 
consequence to them than the stock interest, 
vast as it is. Mr. B. F. Johnson thus speaks in 
the Prairie Farmer. 
The dangers to a Republican Government 
come not from the country, but from the 
cities. It wil 1 be better for our nation to have 
as large a portion as possible of the people own 
the laud they live on. Iu ownership of land 
lies the safety of the government.. 
A mono the novelties in Ellwauger& Barry s 
catalogue we notice many new Russian ap¬ 
ples, several new or rare pears and peaches, 
the variegated-leaved Tulip Tree, Japan 
Weeping Cherry, the Chinese Cork Tree, etc, 
Landrkth & Sons recommend the follow¬ 
ing wash for fruit trees: To a bucket two- 
thirds full of ordinary stone lime white wash, 
add one pint gas tar, one pound whale oil soap 
dissolved in hot water, or one-half pound 
potash, or one pint strong lye. Add clay to 
make the mixture thick enough to be applied 
with large brush. Apply in early Spring 
and late in Autumn. Remove the earth at. 
foot, down to the collar, and wash the tree 
from earth to as high up as can be reached. 
We think it would be too powerful. 
Sibley & Co., of Rochester, N. Y., speak 
iu their catalogue of the “Early French Mam¬ 
moth” Asparagus as being the “largest, eai 
liest und finest yet introduced.” It is said to 
have been tried by the Charleston (S. C.) gar¬ 
deners and given the earliest crops sent to 
New York. Is this the ArgeuteuiV?. 
, 73.— SAperda bivittata (Say); a, slit made by female in ovipositing; b, same in section, 
showing egg in place; c, same with part of bark removed, showing egg at one side of slit; 
d, enlarged egg; e, hole of exit of beetle; f, same iu section; g, same burrow before exit, 
showing pupa aud ungnawed bark.—(After Riley.) 
sometimes half-an-iuch. The incision is often 
made entirely through the bark, and the egg 
is thrust between the bark aud the fiber at 
right angles to one side of the slit, from one- 
eighth to one-quarter of an inch from the ap¬ 
erture. Sometimes the bark is but partially 
penetrated, in which case it is pried open to 
one side of the aperture for the reception of 
the egg. In either case the egg is accompanied 
by a gummy fluid, which covers and secures it 
to its place and usually tills up the aperture. 
In young trees with tender bark the egg is as a 
rale thoroughly hidden, while in older trees it 
is sometimes bo shallowly embedded as to be 
readily seen. The horny ovipositor of the fe¬ 
male beetle is withdrawn and invisible in re¬ 
pose, but may be exserted. It is broad, flat¬ 
tened, with a thin edge. It is probably strong 
and sharp enough to penetrate soft bark with¬ 
out any previous work of the jaws, as I can 
find no indication of mandibular action in the 
puncture examined.” 
life. Wlien the rose seed-pods are cut away, 
the bloom increases in size and beauty of color; 
and so many insects reproduce their species 
after long years of preparation, and then die. 
Bucks have been known to perish after serving 
100 ewes, more or les6; and, of course, their 
powers of vitality cannot be at all times at the 
highest degree. I would recommend then at 
least one buck to every 25 ewes, and more 
when it is equally cheap. The English method 
of marking the ewes, aud speedy separation, 
is not very generally practiced here because 
of the cost of labor. The time for practicing 
it is well-nigh at hand, I should think, owing 
to the high prices which begin to rale for 
first-rate bucks. It is well known that ani¬ 
mals over-fat will not breed; but it is well to 
use as the time of coupling approaches, some¬ 
what better fare than should usually be al¬ 
lowed, to stir the blood and compel speedy 
and even propagation. 
White Hall, Ky. 
OVIPOSITION OF THE ROUND-HEADED 
APPLE-TREE BORER. 
PROFESSOR C. V. RILEY, 
Barbed Wire Fences,— S. A. Knapp, 
president of the Iowa Agricultural College, 
thus sums up the case of barb-wire fences: 
“1. They are cheap, durable, easily con¬ 
structed aud not liable to get out, of repair. 
2, They restrain all kinds of stock better than 
wall, rail or board fences. 8. They are eco¬ 
nomical of space, do not harbor weeds or ani¬ 
mals destructive to crops. 4. The feuce can 
be removed without loss, or the wires may be 
attached to trees by the use of strips. Such 
fences cannot be used with safety for narrow 
roads or for barnyards, or through brash. 
I was very much interested in the recent 
communication of Mr. C. G. Atkins, of Ken¬ 
nebec County, Me., on the above-named sub¬ 
ject (Rural New-Yorker, January 12,1884) 
giving, as it does, an excellent and correct 
statement of the facts. Admirable as It is iu 
the maiu (for it is difficult, if not impossible 
to make Imch a work perfect in every par¬ 
ticular), Mr. Saunders’s recent work on “In¬ 
sects Injurious to Fruit” contains a number of 
inaccuracies which will doubtless be corrected 
