in the case of the annual species. Possibly, too, a double phlox may one day be produced; and this would be an excellent acquisition. Perhaps we have begun at the wrong end of our theme; for what the amateur will probably most desire to learn is, not how to raise seedlings, but how to choose and cultivate the varieties already known. The following are twelve excellent sorts; there are none better among some two hundred which we have cultivated :: Rubra superba, deep Madame Marseau, Duguesclin, bright rosy crimson, very large flower. blood-red. D'argent, white, with a bright-purple eye. white, with a carmine eye, beautifully shaded. Malame Flandres, salmon. President Morel, deep purplish-red. La Reine Louise, slaty-purple, shading into a white centre. Triomphe de Twickel, striped red and white. Wilhelm Schule, rosy-purple, white eye. Mrs. Standish, pure white, bright-crimson eye. Madame Sueur, crimson centre, shading into a white edge. "Evening Star, purplish-rose, white and crimson eye. All these belong to the race of Phlox paniculata; that is, to the tall, lateblooming phloxes. Their time of flowering is various, extending from the end of July to the beginning of November. Nothing is easier of cultiva Planted in any good garden-soil enriched with well-rotted manure, or, what is better, with leaf-mould, they will grow vigorously, and produce masses of bloom. They can be transplanted, even when in full flower, by lifting them with a ball of earth attached to the roots. For out-door effects, they rival the hollyhock, and are far more easily managed. They are easily propagated by dividing the root, or by cuttings of the young stems, which strike root with the greatest readiness. When wanted in perfection, they should be taken up every year or two, divided, and reset in soil freshly enriched. The summer phlox, Phlox suffruticosa, forms a group distinct from those just mentioned. The varieties of this family bloom in July. They are not so tall or so robust as the autumn phloxes, and are easily distinguished by their long, glossy leaves. Their culture is equally simple, though some of them are better for a little winter protection. Their colors are less vivid, though perhaps more delicate, than those of the former group. Among the best are King Leopold, white, striped with pink; Alba magnifica, pure white; Madame de Brobêques, slate-color, shaded to white; Speculum, purple centre, shaded to a white edge; Madame Wagner, pink centre, shaded to a white edge; Cromwell, deep rose, very large flower; Madam: Doublat, light crimson; Van Houttii, purple, striped with white; Mrs. Forbes, bright purple and white. There is a still earlier phlox, blossoming in June, called Phlox divaricata. The flowers are of a slaty-blue color, and are produced in great profusion. The plant rarely grows above eighteen inches. Still earlier, and of still more humble growth, is the well-known species, Phlox subulata, popularly called "moss pink," which, in May, covers the ground with masses of pink-and-white blossoms. Thus, from spring to approaching winter, the phloxes yield an unbroken succession of bloom. -- These are all perennial, and all hardy; but, in a notice of this brilliant tribe of plants, one must not forget the Texan annual, Phlox Drummondii, which, in brightness of color, may be said to outshine them all. There are varieties, white, crimson, purple, violet, rose, and scarlet; and others variously striped, spotted, and marbled. The bloom is exceedingly profuse, and lasts a long time. Seed may be found at any seedsman's, and it germinates readily if sown in a warm border in May. Seed of the different varieties may be had in separate papers; and it usually "comes true,” —that is to say, produces flowers in color like the parent. No annual is better worth cultivating. F. P. -- VIOLETS FOR WINTER. The best plan is to take off the suckers or runners in May, and pot them singly in small pots in a compost of turfy loam two-thirds, and leaf-mould one-third. Place them in a cold frame, and keep close, moist, and shaded, until established. Remove the lights gradually, keep the plants well supplied with water, and, when the pots become full of roots, shift into six-inch pots, draining these well, and using the same compost as before. The plants require moisture and coolness during the summer, and they will grow well if the pots be plunged. In September they may be returned to a frame, and remain plunged in ashes, with the protection of a mat over the lights in severe weather, drafting them into the greenhouse as they are wanted to flower, and always selecting the most promising. AN INSECT DESTRUCTIVE TO SQUASH-VINES. DURING the month of August, the leaves of our squash-vines often present a riddled appearance, disclosing the presence of an enemy. If we examine the edges of the holes, we shall find the plump, rounded larva of a beetle, feeding sometimes on the upper, though generally upon the under surface of the leaf. It belongs to the family of Coccinellida, or lady-bugs; and although, as a general rule, the species of this group are of positive benefit to vegetation in destroying large numbers of plantlice which blight our fruit and shade trees, a few are herbivorous in nature, and among them the insects of which we are speaking. In the larval state, during which they inflict almost all the injuries of which they are capable, they are of a bright-yellow color, covered above with long, branching, black thorns, sometimes tipped with white, and arranged in six longitudinal rows. The space between the two middle rows is widened anteriorly by the more lateral insertion of the three first spines. Behind the thorns of the first segment, there is a transverse row of short, fine, black-tipped hairs. The head, the legs, and the under side of the abdomen, are covered with short, fine hairs; the tips of the legs are black. When fully grown, the larvæ are about three-eighths of an inch in length by a little less than half an inch in breadth. They crawl but sluggishly, using their terminal segment as an additional leg; and live in large numbers on the squash-vines, where their voracity is attested by the rapidity with which their cast-off skins increase in size and number. These skins are white, transparent pellicles, covered with characteristic thorns, and preserving in some measure the shape of their former inhabitants. Toward the latter part of August, or the first of September, the larvæ are fully grown, and begin to change to their pupal state: they stop eating, and crawl to a suitable place, generally upon the top of a leaf, where they can fasten themselves by their terminal segments to one of the veins; then slough their skin, and appear as pupæ. The pupa is of the same general color as the larva: the eyes are dusky, and the stumpy feet crowded together on the breast. The whole body, but more especially the head, thorax, and appendages, is covered with short, simple, black spines. The outer portion of the posterior edge of the first thoracic segment is bordered with black, as are also both edges of the elytra, or wing-covers; though the color fades away before reaching the tips. There are two other black bands upon the elytra, parallel to the first, and nearly uniting as they approach the tip. Between the elytra, at their base, are two little black dots. The edge of the first abdominal segment is marked by two black bands, nearly meeting in the centre, and having each end bent forward; the second, third, and fourth segments have a short black dash upon either side of the outer posterior edge; the fourth and fifth segments are darker than the others; the last segment is furnished with two long fleshy protuberances, by which the pupa clings to the old, wrinkled, larval skin which still conceals that portion of the body lying beyond the tip of the wing-covers. All the markings which have been described, excepting the two dots between the elytra, and the black dashes of the second, third, and fourth abdominal segments, are frequently wanting: out of a large number of specimens which I obtained in Connecticut, scarcely one had any of these markings, while they were invariably present in those examined at Cape Cod. No similar differences were apparent in the perfect insects reared from the different kinds of larvæ. The pupæ are about one-third of an inch in length by one-fifth in breadth and one-eighth in height, and remain but a few days in the pupal state. When they emerge, they do not seem to be possessed of a roving disposition, but may still be seen for several days on the plant where they have spent their lives, and for whose leaves they have still a relish. In the perfect state, these beetles are of the same general color as before, although the shade is darker. The elytra have two transverse rows of roundish black spots, five in number; the first row extending across the basal portion, the second transversing the central region: the middle spot in each of these rows is divided by the suture of the wings. In the centre of the remaining apical portion of each elytron is another larger, round, black spot there is a black spot upon the thorax, in the middle of the posterior border; and three other spots, smaller and sometimes fainter, are placed, one upon the middle of the anterior edge, and the others upon either side of the thorax. The eyes and end of the jaws are black, and the under side of the body is occasionally quite dusky. The whole body is minutely punctured and closely covered with short, fine hairs, invisible to the naked eye: its length is one-third and its breadth one-fourth of an inch. This beetle was first described by Thunberg, under the name of Coccinella borealis, but is now placed in the genus Epilachna. Being of so large a size, and affording such evident indications of its presence, this insect can be most readily destroyed by hand-picking. There can be no excuse for those who complain of its ravages if they fail to make use of this simple, rapid, and effectual expedient; the more rapid and effectual, the earlier it is put into practice. Samuel H. Scudder. PEACH-CULTURE. THOUGH the peach-tree is a native of the far-distant East, where the climate is quite different from that of many parts of this country, yet it has flourished, or still flourishes, in nearly every section of the United States. There is, probably, no country on the face of the earth where so many and so fine peaches are raised as in our own. Our bright sun and clear atmosphere enable us to ripen this fruit perfectly without the aid of brick walls or other artificial protection. It is true that the peach-tree does not thrive in some portions of the States as it did before the forests were stripped off ; but this fruit has not been affected much more than some other fruits have been. Within twenty years, the peach-crop was nearly as sure in the NewEngland States as the apple crop, and regarded as a much more profitable one than the pear. New Jersey was, years agɔ, famous for peaches; but when the disease known as the yellows swept over that State, as it did over many others, the trees were destroyed in immense numbers, and the culture of this fruit waned. The States of Delaware and Maryland have been, and still are, quite noted for their extensive peach-orchards. The Middle and Western States have all engaged, with more or less success, in the growing of this delicious fruit. In years gone by, peaches sold for quite low prices as compared with those that have been obtained for the last six years; while |