The sphere at the perihelion would envelop the sun, and as a noticeable reduction is sometimes found in its so-called tail, the cometic atmosphere may impart to the sun at that time whatever is necessary to its use.

That there is something in common between the sun's corona and cometary matter was shown by the last solar eclipse observed in South Pacific Ocean, where the spectrum of sun's corona was found to be the same as that of a comet's tail. Are we to attribute in any degree the different appearances of the sun's corona to the presence or absence of a comet at its perihelion? At the eclipse of the sun seen in Upper Egypt two or three years ago, a comet was seen close to the sun, but I have seen no account of the appearance of the corona at that time.

FURMAN LEAMING, M.D.

Romney, Tippecanoe Co. Indiana.

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FORMS OF IVY.

It is scarcely possible for us to bee too emphatic in our praises of the most distinct forms of ivy, since but few other hardy climbing plants ever give to us a tithe of their freshness and variety. A good long stretch of wall covered with a selection of the best green-leaved kind is always interesting, and never more so than during the winter months, especially if at intervals the golden Japanese jasmine is planted among them or a few plants of pyracantha or of Simmon's cotoneaster for the sake of their coral fruitage. The large-leaved golden ivy is also very effective here and there along a sunny wall, especially if contrasted with the small-leaved kind—atropurpurea—which has dark purple or bronzy foliage at this season. Of the large-leaved kinds, one of the most distinct is canariensis, or large-leaved Irish ivy, and Raegner's variety, with leathery, heart-shaped foliage, is also handsome. The birdsfoot ivy (pedata) is curious, as it clings to the stones like delicate leaf embroidery, and for shining green leafage but few equal to the one called lucida. The two other kinds sketched are hastata and digitata, both free growing and distinct sorts.



Ivy Leaves.—Common ivy is tolerably plentiful nearly everywhere, but it is not common to find a good distinct series of its many varieties even in the best gardens. Of all the different forms of ivy, I think the large-leaved golden one of the best; certainly the best of the variegated kinds. Raegner's variety is also very bold, its great glossy, heart-shaped leaves most effective. Algeriensis is another fine-leaved kind, the form dentata producing foliage even still larger when well grown. For making low evergreen edgings on the turf, for carpeting banks, the covering of bare walls and the old tree stumps, we have no other evergreen shrub so fresh and variable, or so easily cultivated as are these forms of the ivy green. Perhaps one reason why the finer kinds of ivy are comparatively uncommon is the fact that a strong prejudice exists against ivy in many minds. It is an erroneous notion that ivy injures buildings against the walls of which it is planted; it never injures a good wall, nor a sound house, but on the contrary, hides and softens the stony bareness of the one and adds beauty and freshness to the other.—The Garden.



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PROPAGATING ROSES.

In an article on this subject an English horticultural journal describes the method pursued by a London florist. After stating that out of a case containing 310 cuttings only five failed to root, the article proceeds: The case or box is made of common rough deal boards. It is five feet six inches long and one foot in depth. Within half an inch of the top a groove is cut inside the box, into which the glass is slid, after the manner of a sliding box lid. In the end of the third week in July the box was placed in the kitchen garden under the shadow of a high north wall; it was then about half filled with good turfy loam, to which had been added a little leaf mould and a good sprinkling of sharp sand. The soil was then pressed down very firmly (the box being nearly half full when pressed), and then thoroughly well soaked with rain water, and allowed to stay uncovered until the next day. The next day good stout cuttings were taken of all the roses, both tea and hybrid perpetual, which it was desired to add to the stock. They were then inserted closely and firmly in the soil, just over the bottom leaf, the glasses were slipped on and puttied down; the grooves in which the glass slid, and even the joints in the glass, being filled with putty, so as to exclude the air. The whole thing completed, nothing more remained to be done but to leave the box in its cool, shady nook for five or six weeks, when the growing points of the free starting kinds gave notice that the glasses might be removed, a bit at a time, with safety. Nothing could be more simple, or demand less skill, and the operation may be carried out successfully by an amateur at any time during the season, when good firm cuttings can be got, and when six weeks' tolerably fine weather may be counted on. The success of the whole thing depends on having the glasses fixed so that they may not be removed until the cuttings are rooted, and in placing the boxes in a shady place. So treated, carnations and many of our shrubs and herbaceous perennials may be propagated by unskilled persons with certainty, and without much trouble.

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A FEW OF THE BEST INULAS.

Of the fifty-six species of Inula described in scientific works, probably not more than thirty are at present in cultivation in this country, and those are chiefly confined to botanic gardens, notwithstanding the fact that many of them are useful garden plants. They are principally distributed throughout Southern Europe, although we find them extending to Siberia and the Himalayas; indeed, it is to the Himalayas we are indebted for the kinds that are most ornamental. Some of the low-growing species are extremely useful for the rockery, such as I. montana (the Mountain Inula), a fine dwarf plant with woolly lanceolate leaves and dense heads of orange-colored flowers, resembling in habit and general appearance some of the creeping Hieraciums. It is a handsome and desirable plant for the decoration of old walls and similar places, where it can be a little sheltered from rain and drip. Another very useful species for this purpose is I. rhizocephaloides, found plentifully in the Himalayas. It is one of the prettiest Alpine composites we have. It seldom attains more than from one inch to two inches in height, forming a dense rosette of short, hairy, oval leaves, in the center of which the bright purple involucres, in the form of a ball, are extremely interesting. It is easily cultivated, requiring, however, a rather snug nook, where it will not be allowed to become too dry. It is best propagated from seed. Then there is the woolly Inula (I. candida), a pretty plant with small oval leaves, covered with a thick, silky down, and much in the way of the white-leaved I. limonifolia, both of which are very effective when grown in masses, which should always be low down near the front of a rockery, or as an edging for a mixed border. The glandular-leaved Inula (I. glandulosa), of which a good representation is here given, is a beautiful hardy perennial. It is a native of Georgia and the Caucasian Alps, near the Caspian Sea. It is a rather robust-growing species, with large, bright, orange-yellow flowers, varying from three to five inches in diameter, the narrow and very straggly ray florets contrasting nicely with the rather prominent disk. The leaves, although quite entire, seem notched, owing to large black glands which form on their margins. They are lanceolate, and clasp the stem. The plant is very variable, both as regards robustness and size of flowers, and this may in a measure account for the confusion existing between it and I. Oculus-Christi.

The soil most suitable for the full development of I. glandulosa is a strong, clayey, retentive loam; it does not thrive well in the light shallow soils in the neighborhood of London, except in shady positions. I. Hookeri is a free-flowering perennial, with pointed lanceolate leaves, of a delicate texture, bright green, and very finely toothed. The flowers, which are sweet-scented, are not so large as those of I. glandulosa, and are produced singly, the ray florets being, however, much more numerous, rarely numbering less than thirty. It is found in abundance in rocky places in Sikkim, where it replaces the nearly allied I. grandiflora, a dwarfer species, with much shorter, shining leaves; both are very desirable plants either for rockery or flower border work. The Elecampane (I. Helenium) is an imposing, robust-growing species, having large, broad leaves a foot or more in length. It grows from four feet to five feet in height, and its thick, shaggy branches are crowned with large yellow flowers. For isolating in woods this plant, is very useful, and with the exception of Telekia cordifolia, it would be hard to find a rival to it. It is, I believe, pretty extensively used for planting in shrubberies, but unless they are thin and open it is seldom seen to advantage. It is found wild or naturalized in some parts of England. It flowers in June and July, and even into August when the season has been favorable.



For naturalizing in woods the following will be found useful, viz., I. salicina, I. Oculus-Christi, I. squarrosa, I. britannica, and many more, the true beauty of which can only be realized in this way. With the exception of I. rhizocepbaloides, they are all propagated by division with the greatest ease, or by seed, which is best sown as soon as it is ripe.—D.K., The Garden.

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FRUIT GROWING.

By P.H. FOSTER.

In the first place, if you contemplate appropriating a portion of your land for the raising of fruits, you should have the orchard so situated that no large animals can run at large on the grounds. Prepare your soil in the most thorough manner; underdrain, if necessary, to carry off surplus water; dig deep, large holes; fill in the bottom with debris; in the very bottom put a few leaves, clam and oyster shells, etc., then sods; above and below the roots put a good garden or field soil; do not give the trees fresh manure at the time of setting, but the following fall manure highly with any kind on top of the ground; dig it in the following spring; keep the soil frequently worked during the summer, and, if convenient, mulch with hay, straw, or leaves.

Now you are on the road to progress, provided you have made no mistake in the selection of your trees. The purposes for which you intend your fruit is highly important. You should well consider at the outset if for family or market use. This is a business which requires a long look ahead, for it is said, "He who plants pears looks ahead for his heirs."

Caution should be used in procuring your stock; little should be planted that is not fairly tested on the Island, purchased of parties who can be fully relied upon to give you what you want. Do not buy your stock of parties who carry labels in their pockets to make to order what you want out of the same bundle of trees.

Now, having your trees set out in a proper manner, of such varieties as you desire, the next important step is to bring the trees into usefulness. My plan is to use bone—fine bone—very freely about every three years. Another important matter is that of trimming. "Fire purifies," and the knife regulates the grand balance or equilibrium between roots and tops. In most cases the top outgrows the roots, the consequence of which is an ultimate weakness of the tree. It is thrown into excessive fruiting, disease, and premature decay. To avoid this result, use the knife when required. Thin out the inside branches when small, and if the tree does not make a satisfactory growth, cut back half way to the ground.

We will suppose that you have got your trees growing nicely, and they have begun to bear fruit. There are other important steps to be taken, which will be of little cost to you. Provide a wind-break for the orchard. Evergreens answer the purpose, being a protection against the wind. Having this matter attended to, there are other enemies with which we must contend. I refer to the apple and peach tree borers. The former will live in the tree for three years, if unmolested; the latter, one year only. They are very easily destroyed by looking over the trees and taking them out with a knife; or maybe prevented from touching the trees by wrapping a piece of felt paper, 8 inches wide, around the tree near the ground, the bottom being covered with dirt and the top tied tightly above. The pear is not generally disturbed by these insects—only the apple, peach, and quince. We have another insect very destructive to the plum, peach, cherry, and apple—the curcutio, or plum weavel. This season for the first time in twenty years we have gathered a small crop of that very desirable plum, the Purple Favorite. We simply threw air-slaked lime over the trees nearly every morning for from four to six weeks, from the time the tree was out of bloom. Peach trees should be treated in the same manner. Another method of fighting this insect is to spread a sheet under the tree, and with a blow jar off the little Turk and secure him on the sheet. But I consider the lime procedure the less trouble and more effective. The tent caterpillar, which is easily seen, should be destroyed at once. We have yet another insect to contend with which infests the apple and pear, commonly called the Coddling Moth, and the larva, the apple-worm (Garpocapsa pomonella). The loss by the ravaaes of this insect alone to the fruit growers of the United States fan hardly be estimated, as in many cases the whole crop is rendered worthless. Such a vast destruction of two of the most valuable fruits the world produces should stimulate scientists in this age of progress to discover an effectual remedy against such a gigantic evil.

I have never yet discovered nor tried an effectual remedy against this insect. The nearest I have approached his extermination is in the following manner: After it has entered the fruit and accomplished its damage, the time arrives when it has to leave the fruit and hide itself in a quiet, secure position to undergo the transition from the larva to the pupa state, which requires, in the early part of the season, eight or ten days; after this time the miller is hatched and is again ready to besiege the fruit with its sting. The insect, being two-brooded in this climate at least, if not disturbed, has an aggregating force to do mischief the second time. The progeny for the succeeding year have alone to depend on the security of this second generation of larvae. As they may often be found in bark of apple trees during winter, my plan of destruction is, about the first of July to take woolen rags long enough to wrap around the trees, and say four inches wide. Each week I look over the trees, and destroy the worms secreted under the rags and wherever I find them until the fruit is off the trees. I have all the green fruit, of every kind, carefully picked up as soon as it falls, thereby destroying many of the curculio as well as the apple-worms.

One word upon the grape—the insect part of the question. The Phylloxera vastatrix, or grape-vine louse, is already at work on Long Island. It is found very difficult to raise many of our fine, new grapes with us in consequence of the depredations of this very minute insect, it being almost too small to be seen by the naked eye. There has lately been discovered a remedy which is entirely chemical and as yet but little disseminated. Very soon, no doubt, a discovery will be made that will stay the progress of this destructive enemy.

We should plant aplenty of cherry and small fruit trees to yield feed for birds. In return they will assist us in our efforts to preserve a bountiful supply of this health producing element.

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COARSE FOOD FOR PIGS.

A recent subscriber wants advice how to feed pigs of 25 to 35 pounds weight, that are to be kept over winter and fitted for sale at about six months old—whether coarse food will not help them as much in winter as in summer. How roots and pumpkins will answer in lieu of grass, and what can be fed when this green food is gone? He has had poor success in growing young pigs on corn alone. He has a reasonably warm pen for winter.

The question of food is constantly recurring, and this is one of the best evidences of the advancement of the country in the feeder's art. When people are making no inquiry as to improved methods in any direction, no progress can be made. There has been more progress made in the philosophy of feeding during the last thirty years than in the century and a half previous.

In pig feeding in the dairy districts, young pigs generally grow up in a very healthy condition, owing to the refuse milk of the dairy, which furnishes the principal food of young pigs. Skim-milk contains all the elements for growing the muscles and bones of young pigs. This gave them a good, rangy frame, and, when desired, could be fed into 400 or 500 pounds weight. But the fault attending this feeding was, that it was too scanty to produce such rapid growth as is desired. It took too long to develop them for the best profit. It had not then been discovered by the farmer that it costs less to put the first hundred pounds on the pig than the second, and less for the second than the third, etc.; that it was much cheaper to produce 200 pounds of pork in six months than in nine and twelve months. When it became evident that profit required more rapid feeding, then they began to ply them continually with the most concentrated food—corn meal or clear corn. If this was fed in summer, on pasture, no harm was observed, for the grass gave bulk in the stomach, and the pigs were were healthy and made good progress. But if the young pigs were fed in pen in winter upon corn meal or clear corn, the result was quite different; this concentrated food produced feverish symptoms, and the pigs would lose their appetite for a few days, drinking only water, which, after a while, would relieve the stomach, and the pigs would eat vigorously again. Now, had they been fed a few quarts of turnips, carrots, beets, or pumpkins, to give bulk to the stomach, and separate the concentrated food, no harm would have come. This gives the gastric juice a free circulation through the contents of the stomach, the food is properly digested and applied to the needs of the body instead of causing fever by remaining in the stomach.—Live Stock Journal.

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METE KINGI.

Our engraving is a portrait of a familiar character in New Zealand, chief Mete Kingi, who recently died at the age of one hundred years. He was a fine specimen of the Maori race, the native New Zealanders, a branch of the Malayo-Polynesian family. The New Zealanders surpassed all other people in the art of tattooing, to which their chiefs gave especial attention. Mete Kingi, as our picture shows, was no exception. Tattooing on the face they termed moko. The men tattoo their faces, hips, and thighs; the women their upper lips; for this purpose charcoal made from kauri gum is chiefly used. It has the blue color when pricked into the skin, growing lighter in shade in the course of years. The subject of our illustration embraced Christianity, and was much respected. Our engraving is from the Illustrated Australian News.



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LAKE TAHOE.

Some very interesting information by Prof. John Le Conte, is given in the Overland Monthly, being the result of some physical observations made by the author at Lake Tahoe, in 1873. Lake Tahoe, also called Lake Bigler, is situated at an altitude of 6,247 feet in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, partly in California, partly in Nevada. The lake has a length of 22 and a width of 12 miles. As regards its origin, the author regards it as a "plication hollow," or a trough produced by the formation of two mountain ridges, afterward modified by glacial agency. The depth of the lake is remarkable; the observations taken at ten stations along the length of the lake gave the following depths in feet: 900, 1,385, 1,495, 1,500, 1,506, 1,540, 1,504, 1,600, 1,640, 1645. This depth exceeds that of the Swiss lakes proper—Lake Geneva, for example, has a maximum depth of 1,096 feet—but is considerably less than that of Lakes Maggiore and Como, on the Italian side of the Alps. A series of observations of the temperature of the water were taken between the 11th and 18th of August. The average corrected results are as follows:

Depth in feet. Temp. (C.) 0(surface).................................19.4 50..........................................17.2 100..........................................12.8 150..........................................10.0 200.......................................... 8.9 250.......................................... 8.3 300.......................................... 7.8 330 (bottom)................................. 7.5 400.......................................... 7.2 480 (bottom)................................. 6.9 500.......................................... 6.7 600.......................................... 6.1 772 (bottom)................................. 5.0 1506 (bottom)..............,.................. 4.0

The temperature, therefore, diminishes with increasing depth to about 700 or 800 feet, and below this remains sensibly the same down to 1,506 feet; or in other words, a constant temperature of 4 deg. C. prevails at all depths below about. 820 feet. This is in accordance with the theory, the temperature named being that of the maximum density of water, and it confirms the recent observations of Prof. Forel in Switzerland; he found, for example, that a constant temperature of 4 deg. C. was reached in Lake Zurich at a depth of nearly 400 feet, the lake being then covered with 4 inches of ice. The explanation of the observed fact that Lake Tahoe does not entirely freeze over even in severe winters is found in the extreme depth; and the fact that the bodies of drowned persons do not rise to the surface after the lapse of the usual time is explained by the low temperature prevailing near the bottom, which does not allow the necessary decomposition to go forward so as to produce the ordinary result.

The water of Lake Tahoe is remarkable both for its transparency and beauty of color. A series of observations made at the close of August or beginning of September showed that a horizontally adjusted dinner plate of about 91/2 inches diameter was visible at noon at a depth of 108 feet. The maximum depth of the limit of visibility as found by Prof. Forel, in Lake Geneva, was 56 feet. He showed, moreover, that this limit is much greater in. winter than in summer, as explained in part by the greater absence of suspended matter and in part by the fact that increase of temperature increases the absorbing power of water for light. The maximum depth of visibility in the Atlantic Ocean, as found by Count de Pourtales, was 162 feet, and Prof. Le Conte states his belief that winter observations in Lake Tahoe would place the limit at even a greater depth than this. The author gives a detailed and interesting discussion in regard to the blue color of lake waters, reviewing in full the results of previous writers on the subject, and concludes that while pure water unquestionably absorbs a larger part of the red end of the spectrum, and hence appears blue by transmitted light, the color seen by diffuse reflection is mainly due to the selective reflection from the fine particles suspended in it.

The last subject discussed by the author is that of the rhythmical variations of level, or "seiches," of deep lakes; he applies the usual formula to Lake Tahoe, and calculates from it the length of a complete longitudinal and of a transverse "seiche;" these are found to be eighteen or nineteen minutes in the first case and thirteen minutes in the second.

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