the husks, and feed upon the corn itself, while others resort for food to the pollen of such weeds in the field as are at that time in blossom. In September and October the eggs are laid in the ground upon or about the roots of the corn, and most of the beetles soon after disappear from the field. They may ordinarily be found upon the late blooming plants, feeding as usual upon the pollen of the flowers, and also to some extent upon molds and other fungi, and upon decaying vegetation. There can be no further doubt that the insect is single-brooded, that it hibernates in the egg as a rule, and that this does not hatch until after the ground has been plowed and planted to corn in the spring probably in May or June.

"Although the adult beetles, when numerous, do some harm by eating the silk before the kernels are fertilized by the pollen, and also destroy occasionally a few kernels in the tip of the ear, yet the principal injury is done by the larva in its attack upon the roots. The extent of this injury depends not only upon the number of the worms, but also upon the soil and weather and the general condition of the crop, being worst on high land and in dry weather. Under specially unfavorable circumstances the loss due to the insect may amount to from one-fourth to one-half or even three-fourths of the crop; but when the conditions are generally favorable, it rarely amounts to more than ten or twenty per cent, and frequently even to less. Although the roots penetrated by the larvæ die and decay, thrifty corn will throw out new ones to replace those lost. The hold of the stalk upon the ground is often so weakened that a slight wind is sufficient to prostrate the corn. Under these circumstances it will often throw out new roots from the joints above the ground, thus rallying to a certain extent against serious injury.

"As the result of numerous observations and comparisons, it is clearly to be seen that little or no mischief is done except in fields that have been in corn during the year or two preceding, and a frequent change of crops is therefore a complete preventive. Beyond this, the life history of the insect gives us little hope of fighting it effectually except at too great expense, as the eggs and worms are scattered and hidden in the ground, and the perfect beetle is widely dispersed throughout the field."

California has about eighty thousand tons of wheat to ship to Europe. Besides this a large amount is already stowed in ships.

Patrick Barry.

Our portrait this week is of Patrick Barry, Esq., the noted nurseryman and horticulturist of Rochester, N. Y. Mr. Barry was born near Belfast, Ireland, in 1816. His father was a small farmer, but he gave the boy a good education, and at eighteen he was appointed to teach in one of the national schools. At the age of twenty he resigned this position, and came to America, where he began clerking in the Linnæan nurseries, at Flushing, L. I. During his stay of four years here he mastered the principles of the nursery business. In 1840 he moved to Rochester, and forming a partnership with Mr. Ellwanger, started the famous Mount Hope Nurseries. They began on a tract of but seven acres. In 1852 he issued the "Fruit Garden," which is to this day a standard work among horticulturists. Previous to this he had written largely for the agricultural and horticultural press. In 1852 he also began editing the Horticulturist, then owned by Mr. James Vick. Mr. Barry's second great work, and the one involving most time and labor was the Catalogue of the American Pomological Society.

Patrick Barry

Mr. Barry has long been President of the Western New York Horticultural Society. He is also a member of the Board of Control of the New York Experiment Station. He has served several terms in the city council of Rochester and in the Board of Supervisors of the country. Mr. Barry is an active business man and besides his great labor in conducting the nursery affairs, he discharges the duties of President of many corporate enterprises in which he has large financial interests. Mr. Barry was happily married in 1847, and the amiable sharer of his hardships and his successes is still living.

Compiled Correspondence.

Hancock Co., Dec. 31.—Weather very disagreeable; snow six inches deep, and from rain and sleet and thaw and freeze, has formed a hard crust, so as to make bad traveling—in the roads icy and slippery. To-day cloudy, damp and cool. A few days ago the mercury reached 8 degrees below zero, the lowest of the season. It is very hard on stock, and many of the cattle are without shelter, as usual. Accept New Year greetings for all The Prairie Farmer family.

L. T.

Mills Co., Mo., Jan. 8.—Since the first of January we have had hard winter weather. An old weather prophet says we are to have just such weather for forty days. I sincerely hope not. On Friday night, January 4th and 5th, all the thermometers commonly used by farmers went clear down out of sight. As they only mark about 30 degrees below zero it was uncertain how cold it really was. Unsheltered stock suffered terribly. A few farmers were caught without wood, and suffered from the storm in securing a supply. We have had five days of snow so that there is a heavy coat all over.

A. J. L.

St. Louis, Mo., January 13.—Advices from Mobile say the late cold snap caused immense damage in that section. The loss to the orange groves is estimated at nearly a $1,000,000, and the value of vegetables killed in Mobile county alone will reach the same sum. Great damage was also done to orange groves in Florida, but many orange growers profited by the Signal Service warning and built fires in their groves, and thus saved their trees. News from the Michigan peach belt is that the fruits are uninjured.

Strawberries are sold in New York city at fifteen cents each.

Illinois Tile-Makers.

The Illinois State Tile-Makers' Convention at Springfield, last week, was more largely attended than in any previous year since the association was formed. Nearly one hundred joined the association.

The convention was welcomed to the city by Governor Hamilton in an appropriate address in which he expressed his deep sympathy with and interest in all the manufacturing enterprises that are giving employment to the people and adding wealth to the State. He announced himself as in favor of protection and encouragement to the manufacturing interests. He thought the tile men were greatly adding to the wealth and productiveness of Illinois, and that they were also indirectly improving the health of the people.

The President's address was brief but full of information and good sense. He pointed out at length the improvements in tile kilns, and in various appliances, which have been made in recent years, and declared that valuable as these all are, they can not make up for the lack of skill and experience. He believed the increased interest in terra cotta, and in useful ornamental and out tiling points to the great source of supply as the timber of the country decreases in quantity. The