414 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[September, 
entirely prevent them. These are mainly done by 
hunters, pic-nie parties, brush burning-, sparks 
from locomotives, or depraved people, delighting 
in the wanton destruction of valuable property 
belonging to others. The preservation of sufficient 
areas of forest where now standing, and the plant¬ 
ing of others where needed, are important con¬ 
siderations, not only for our own United States, but 
for the whole continent of North and South 
America. This should now be made both a State 
and National subject, by passing such laws, and 
strictly enforcing them, as shall ensure their being 
properly cared for; and when we have done this 
for our own region of the Western hemisphere, let 
us use our influence to have the same thing ac¬ 
complished, where not already done, in all other 
portions of the American continent. 
Fire and lumbermen are annually making a 
shocking waste of our forests. It is fully proved 
now, that where reservations have been made of 
blocks from them by farmers, on the first settle¬ 
ment of their lands, the thinnings from these 
blocks for fire-wood, fencing, and lumber, have 
been more profitable to them than the crops gath¬ 
ered from the laud entirely cleared up for cultiva¬ 
tion ; and the wooded portions of the former now 
are worth and would readily sell for two to five 
times the price per acre of the latter. A. 
The Large-Flowered Plantain Lily. 
We have little sympathy, as our readers are 
aware, with those who sneer at botanical names, 
but at the same time we are desirous that plants 
should have, when the botanical term is not a con¬ 
venient or a popular one, a name that will be gen¬ 
erally accepted. Very few object to Geranium or 
Magnolia , yet they are purely botanical names, but 
are easily adopted into our language. It is quite 
different with Eschscholtzia and Zauchsneria, names 
that have been given to Californian plants, which 
have never become popular on account of their 
formidable titles. We advocate the use of botan- 
THE PLANTAIN LILT. 
ical names in their place, but when these happen 
to be of a kind which will not be readily accepted 
by people in general as common names, let us 
find others. The plant here engraved will illus¬ 
trate our meaning. Its botanical name is Funkia 
grandiflora. The genus was named after a German 
botanist by the name of “Funk.” However ex¬ 
cellent a botanist Mr. Funk may have been, or 
however estimable as a citizen, the name Funkia, 
in this country, at least, can never be popular. 
The plants have been called “ Day-lilies,” but, 
unfortunately, some very different plants are also 
called by that name. Mr. Robinson, editor of the 
“Garden” (England), not long ago called for a 
popular name for the Funkias, and, if we mistake 
not, offered a premium for one. At all events, 
“ Plantain Lily ” was suggested as a popular name 
for Funkia, as the leaves have a general resemblance 
to those of the common weed known as Plantain, 
and it was accepted as a name likely to be used. 
We are glad that so appropriate a name has been 
given, as the plants are among those likely to be¬ 
come popular. A few years ago, in going through 
the streets of a New England town, we noticed 
that almost every front door-yard had a clump of 
the plant here illustrated. This indicated that the 
plant had qualities which made it desirable, and 
that it was easily propagated or divided. There is 
some confusion among the species of Funkia, but 
the one here figured will answer for the general 
appearance of all. In this the broad, distinctly 
veined leaves are of themselves ornamental; the 
flower stems, about eighteen inches high, produce 
large funnel-shaped, pure white flowers, which 
have the odor of orange blossoms. The flowers 
appear in July, aud continue to be produced in 
succession until the autumn months. The “ Blue 
Plantain Lily,” called Funkia crvata, and F. ccerulea, 
has violet-blue flowers, which appear somewhat 
earlier than in the foregoing. There is one with 
beautifully variegated foliage, the leaves being 
edged with a broad band of white, which is known 
by the garden name of F. albo-marginata. There 
are some others, and all have qualities which must 
make them popular flowers, now that they have so 
popular a name as Plantain Lily. 
Storing for Winter. 
Those who have gardens should thus early con¬ 
sider the best methods of storing the crops that 
are to be kept through the winter. The old style 
farm-houses, w'here the cellar floor was of or¬ 
dinary earth, in which cabbages were planted out 
in rows, and vegetables stored in bins, are now 
happily rare. Stores of vegetables or of fruit have 
a direct effect upon the air of the cellar, and con¬ 
sequently upon that of the rooms above, and, as a 
matter of health, should not be tolerated in any 
considerable quantities. The method of storing 
vegetables practised by the market-gardeners is 
applicable everywhere ; and while it preserves the 
roots, etc., in excellent condition, it will relieve 
the farm house of oue source of discomfort, if not 
of disease. Large masses of our products, whether 
those we term vegetables, such as roots, cabbages, 
etc., or those commonly called fruits, as apples, 
pears, etc., are not dead, inert matter, but are con¬ 
stantly acting upon the air which surrounds them. 
As a rule, they take up oxygen from the air, and 
give off carbonic acid gas, a poison to animal life. 
No very large mass of vegetables or fruits should 
be stored in the cellar of the dwelling house for 
the winter. So far as roots are concerned, as well 
as cabbages and celery, they are much better stored 
outside. Of course, on farms where roots arc 
largely cultivated, proper cellars are provided for 
storing them ; but where moderate quantities of 
beets, carrots, parsnips, and other roots are to be 
preserved, to be taken out as needed for use, or 
for sale, the method of storing in trenches is to be 
commended. The place selected for the trench 
must be one in which water will not settle, or pro¬ 
vision must be made for complete drainage; other¬ 
wise the method will fail. A long pit, or trench, 
is dug, six feet wide and three or four feet deep. 
The roots are then stacked up in sections about 
two feet long, and as high as the top of the trench. 
One stack, or section of roots, being made, an¬ 
other is begun about half a foot from it, and the 
space between the two filled in with soil. The 
trench, when filled, will be two feet of roots, six 
inches of soil, and so on for its whole length. The 
roots are to be covered with soil, and before freez¬ 
ing weather comes on, enough earth should be put 
on, two feet, more or less, and so rounded as to 
shed the water from rains and to exclude frosts. 
This method is in reality a series of small pits, 
from which the contents of one may be removed 
without disturbing the next. For small quanti¬ 
ties, in family gardens, barrels are sometimes sunk 
in the ground, the roots packed in them, with a 
layer of leaves above, and a cover over the whole. 
But for family use, a small quantity of vegetables 
in the cellar need not be objectionable ; they may 
be placed in boxes or barrels, and covered with 
earth, and thus preserved in a readily accessible 
condition. Celery may be preserved in boxes, not 
over nine inches wide, and of any convenient 
length. Soil is placed in the bottom ; the edges of 
the box should be nearly as high as the plants. 
Blister-Beetles in the Garden. 
Mr. F. J. Priest, Grant Co., Dakota, sends us 
specimens of a beetle which is destroying his po¬ 
tato vines. He writes that they are very abundant, 
and that he caught a panful in a short time. They 
THE ASH-COLOKED AND BLACK BLISTER BEETLES. 
are eating the beets, peas, and cabbages ; in short, 
every green thing, but prefer the potato vines. 
This pest is the Black-rat Blister-beetle ( Lytta 
murina), shown at b in the engraving, and has been 
known to appear in swarms upon the potato and 
other plants, especially in the more Northern 
States. There is a member of the same genus ( L. 
cinerca), known as the Ash-gray Blister-beetle, 
which also attacks potato vines, the honey locust, 
and various sorts of the English bean. Tbis beetle 
is shown at a. The uniform ash color is due to 
minute gray scales or short hairs that cover the 
surface of the beetle. This Blister-beetle has been 
known to swarm on apple trees, destroying the fo¬ 
liage and gnawing into the fruit. The Striped 
Blister-beetle ( Lytta vitlata) is a more Southern 
species, but some years it has been abundant on 
the potato vines in Central and Southern Illinois. 
The most successful method of destroying these 
Blister-beetles is to place straw between the potato 
rows and set fire to it. The straw burns very 
quickly, and does not injure the potato vines. 
Pickle Farming. 
Some farmers find the growing of cucumbers 
profitable ; others, hearing that they are a paying 
crop, plant more or less land with cucumbers with¬ 
out a definite idea as to what they will do with the 
product. Each year we have inquiries as to what 
shall be done with an expected crop of cucumbers. 
It is not often that the same person can both pro¬ 
duce the raw material and manufacture it into a 
salable article. It will be found that those farmers 
who have made money from cucumbers, have con¬ 
tracted beforehand with a pickle factory to take 
their crop at a stated price. It is not advisable, as 
a general thing, for farmers beyond the reach of 
pickle factories to grow cucumbers. The smaller 
the cucumbers, the higher the price by the thou¬ 
sand. For small ones, the picking should be made 
every day, or at least every other day, and they 
should be delivered at the factory every few days, 
or before they become discolored. Those who 
have planted cucumbers in localities where they 
can not readily dispose of them, must either salt 
the product themselves, or lose the crop. In the 
factories the cucumbers are salted in large vats, 
but on the small scale, this must be done in bar¬ 
rels. Whiskey or alcohol barrels are the best, and 
where it requires the pickings of several days to 
fill a barrel, a wooden follower must be provided. 
Take out one head of the barrel, place in the cu¬ 
cumbers, sprinkling salt among them, place on the 
follower, with a heavy stone upon it, and add suf¬ 
ficient water to cover the cucumbers. Add each 
day’s pickings with more salt, and use more water, 
if needed, until the barrel is full, when it is to be 
headed up. Half a bushel of the best dairy salt 
is needed to each barrel, and if this quantity has 
not been used as the cucumbers were laid in, add 
the remainder before heading up. Two points 
must be observed : in gathering the cucumbers, 
cut them so as to leave the stem attached, and use 
only salt of known purity. In putting down the 
cucumbers, count them, as they are sold by the 
thousand. Salted in this manner, and properly 
