1852 
THE CULTIVATOR 
403 
do not prey upon them. If they do, take as much arse- 
nic as will lie on a ten cent piece, mix it with a table- 
spoonful of Indian meal, and lay it on a piece of tile or 
board in the frame, where it will be dry , which will soon 
destroy them. 
-- 
Items in Horticulture. 
There are certain isolated subjects, about which we 
often have verbal or written inquiries, and it has occur¬ 
red to us that we might do some of our readers a service 
by occasionally giving a little condensed information un¬ 
der these various heads. 
FLOWERS. 
Moss Roses .—These require a richer soil than other 
roses, and a greater depth of earth, and they should, if 
practicable, be placed somewhat in the shade. A full 
hot sun is not favorable. Mulching is fine for them. 
Succession of Flowers. —Flower beds are often a mass 
of brilliancy during some portion of the season, and all 
the rest as dreary as a desert. This can be only pre¬ 
vented by alternate planting of different bloomers, one 
succeeding the other. They need not be promiscuously 
mixed, but may occupy respective belts. Squills, hya¬ 
cinths, tulips, gladioli, tiger flowers, lilies, and other 
bulbs, commencing with early spring and extending into 
mid-summer, may be followed by such annuals as Drum¬ 
mond’s Phlox, Gillia tricolor, Portulaccas, &c. and the 
perennial phloxes, verbenas, and other perennials. 
Hybrid Perpetual Roses.— These never bloom abun¬ 
dantly. Their great merit consists in their hardiness, in 
which they excel the Bourbons, and in the beauty and 
splendor of single flowers. The Bourbons and Noisettes 
are generally much more profuse in blooming, but need 
winter protection. The Hybrid Chinas, (perfectly har¬ 
dy,) although displaying their beauties for a short period 
only, exceed during that period all other roses. If the 
Hybrid Perpetuals are divested of their flower buds du¬ 
ring the early part of the season, they will make a more 
vigorous growth, and exhibit their blooms more freely 
later in summer and in autumn. 
FRUITS. 
Grapes for Grape Houses — The most reliable and 
best sorts, are Black Hamburgh, which stands first, Chas- 
selas of Fontainbleau, Muscat of Alexandria, and the 
White and Grizzly Frontignans. 
Borer in Jlpple Trees.-—These cannot be got rid of 
short of actual attack and extermination by war wea¬ 
pons. When they have not gone in far, they may be 
punched to death in their holes, but a surer way usually 
is cutting with the point of a knife. To prevent any 
more from entering, an offensive mixture, made by thin¬ 
ning soft soap with tobacco water, must be applied as 
paint to the lower part near the close of spring, about 
which time the perfect insect deposits its eggs. 
Manuring Trees.—It is a very common but mistaken 
and useless practice, to apply all the manure close about 
the foot of the tree. The roots have.shot off a long way 
from this narrow circle, and very few get any of the rich 
feeding intended for them. Others, with more judg¬ 
ment, but still erring, regard the circle of the roots as 
large as the circle of the branches, and apply accordingly. 
The circle should be still larger ■ for as a general rule, 
the roots extend as far as the distance from the bottom 
of the trunk, to the extremities of the tallest or longest 
branches; hence, in orchards, long before the boughs ap¬ 
proach each other above, the roots below have formed 
one continuous net work through the whole surface of 
the field. ——— 
VEGETABLES. 
Cauliflowers. —We have found the Welcheren cauli¬ 
flowers uniformly the best and most certain in heading. 
Plants sown late in spring, even if destitute of any heads 
in autumn, head very finely during winter if removed to 
a cellar before freezing. 
Striped Bugs. —This insect, which is properly a beetle 
and not a bug. is notoriously destructive to cucumbers, 
melons, &c. There are five or six remedies, some of 
which we have tried,and others not. The old fashioned 
way was to pass around two or three times a day, and 
pinch them to death. This is entirely effectual, but 
troublesome. A later mode is to cover the plants with 
cheap gauze stretched on wire frames. This is sure. A 
third is to place four bricks on edge about the plants, 
and cover with a pane of glass. This, if well done, can¬ 
not fail to exclude them. A fourth mode substitutes a 
wooden box, open above and beneath, for the bricks. 
A fifth is to fence out the insects by a wall a few inches 
in height, without any covering. This is done either by 
bricks on edge, or by open board boxes, the latter being 
best, as bricks are hardly wide enough. We have not 
tried this, but have heard it recommended as sufficient 
—it may be so where the insects are not abundant. A 
sixth is sprinkling with powdered air-slacked lime, or 
with powdered gypsum, which in some cases has been 
effectual. 
The Home of Taste. 
Give him a home—a home of taste .— Eixiott. 
My Margaret, our home shall be a home of taste, 
A sunny spot to nestle in amid the “ streeted waste; ” 
Though round our door no cool green grass, no cheerful garden 
grows, 
The window-sill shall blossom with geraniums an 1 the rose. 
Our parlor wall all up and down, for moral and delight, 
Will hang with pleasant pictures—of landscapes green and bright, 
Of portraits of 1 lie wise and good, the deathless sons of man, 
And, to teach us love for all that five, the good Samaritan. 
Of Burns, loo, and his Highland maid, much loved, lamented Mary, 
And by its side that aged pair whose love no tune could vary; 
For love upwclling, pure and deep, from youth to sober age, 
Shall be a light and blessedness through all our pilgrimage. 
A goodly book-case we will store with learning’s precious gold, 
A hallowed temple to enshrine the mighty deeds ol old; 
With a plaster cast of Milton decked, and one of Shakspeare too, 
And when my work is done, my love, I’ll sit and read to you. 
Some thrilling tale of olden time—love true in evil day— 
Some lofty song of holiest bard, some gentle minstrel’s lay. 
Or wondrous revelation of science deep and high, 
Or Christian theme, that we may learn in peace to five and die. 
And we’ll not forget your music, love, the songs so sad and sweet, 
You sang to me with tearful eye in your father’s calm retreat; 
That simple music of the heart, we’ll sing it o’er and o’er again, 
And link our days together still with its enchanting chain. 
Will not our life be happy, love? Oh ! yes, for we will seek, 
The spirit of the Spotless One—the beautiful, the meek ; 
All pure desires and high resolves, all lofty thoughts and true, 
And that which duty bids be done, our ready hands shall do. 
Will not our life be happy, love ? Oh! yes, for we will bow 
Together at the throne of Him “from whom all blessings flow,” 
And deep in his eternity—beyond the change of time— 
And deep within our inmost soul, possess a peace sublime. 
[Household Words. 
