DOMESTIC NOTICES. 



my father's farm, a little N.E. from the College, 

 the peach, cherry and plum buds are all killed. 

 The varieties of plum are Egg, Green Gage, 

 "Washington, Jefferson, Columbia,Coe's Golden 

 Drop, Huling's Superb, Frost Gage, Coe'sLate 

 Red, &c> Cherries, Elton, Black Tartarian, 

 Bigarreau, Mayduke, Knight, Early Black, 

 Downton, Downer's Late, Black Eagle, Bigar- 

 reau Coleur d* Chair. Belle d' Choisy, Coe's 

 Transparent, Dubois' Early Apricot, also 

 killed. The farm is about half a mile east of 

 the Mohawk, and about a hundred feet above 

 it, sloping to the west ; soil stiff clay with plenty 

 of slate stone, partly underdrained. Some 

 years ago I became satisfied that our tender 

 fruit buds were not only iiyured by the severe 

 cold of winter, but also by the sudden thawing 

 after hard frost. As a general rule after a very 

 cold night, we have a bright sun in the morn- 

 ingtill 10 or 11 o'clock.when it becomes cloudy, 

 I have observed here and there in our city gar- 

 dens, a peach tree, protected by some building 

 from the morning sun till 10 or 11 o'clock, 

 which will blossom and bear some fruit, when 

 the buds of trees exposed to early sun were 

 killed. It is so this year. Yesterday I examin- 

 ed the buds of an early Nectarine, in our gar- 

 den, and a peach in the garden of a friend, 

 (both protected,) and they were sound, while 

 on exposed trees they are killed. A few years 

 since, in the early part of September, I visited 

 one of the Shaker families, about nine miles 

 east of us, in AVatervliet, and their peach or- 

 chard had an abundance of fine fruit, although 

 the thermometer, the previous winter, was 

 down to 8*^ or 10° below zero, and our buds 

 were killed. The trees were on the west side 

 of a hill, just high enough to shield them from 

 the sun till 10 or 11 o'clock; soil sand. I have 

 kept a record of the weather for more than 20 

 years, and find tliat when we have the ther- 

 mometer a little below zero, say two or three 

 degrees in the early part of December, it is 

 more fatal than lO'' below zero in February, 

 if the cold has not been so great previously. 

 This year our buds were killed in Decem- 

 ber. 



In a nursery near our farm, soil similar, the 

 only variety of pear injured is the Bartlett, 

 badly, though the previous winter did not 

 them at all. Yours truly, Charles H. 

 ToMLiNsoN. Schenectady, Jpril 6, 1852. 



Cherry Trees Destroyed by Insects.— An 

 inqUry made by Mr. JohK Waters, of Ncw- 

 Mllford, respecting an insect which destroyed 

 his young grafts, reminds me of something that 

 I should have made public before this. 



For several years back I have been perplexed 

 and annoyed by the appearance of my young 

 cherry trees in the early part of summer; for 

 on the sprining of the sap they would appear 

 strong and healthy, and seem to promise an 

 early and vigorous growth; but as the buds un- 

 folded themselves, they would begin to shrivel 

 and to lose force, and after struggling for a few 

 days or weeks, would finally drop off entirely. 



For a long time, I supposed it to be the effect 

 of our very cold winters, and had almost aban- 

 doned the hope of rearing the finer varieties in 

 these parts; but as there was occasionally a tree 

 that did not show any such signs, although 

 equally exposed to the weather, and would 

 thrive exceedingly, I was led to believe it to be 

 the work of some insect or animal, which had 

 not yet been described as a tree destroying thing. 



I was soon convinced that it did not commit 

 its depredations in the day-time, for I watched 

 closely for sometime, without discovering any- 

 thing, and j-et the trees continued their sickly 

 appearance; but on watching by night, I readi- 

 ly discovered that the young leaves were eaten 

 as fast as they shot out, by an enormous beetle- 

 bug, that only gnawed by night. I also dis- 

 covered that these same beetles rose from the 

 ground immediately under the branches of the 

 trees; and by further examination by day-light, 

 I found that there were from one to fifty of these 

 bugs under every tree, either in the mulching 

 or in the mellow soil. Now, after having made 

 this, (to me,) very important discovery, I pro- 

 ceeded at once and deliberately, to knock each 

 one of these malicious beetles on their heads, 

 until their jaws were broken, and they were 

 thus incapacitated for doing any further injury 

 to the cherry trees. My trees at once began to 

 assume a fine foliage and to renew their health, 

 and since then I have had no difficulty in giving 

 them an early start. 



My practice is now to visit each one of my 

 small cherry trees, two or three times a week 

 during the first weeks of their annual growth, 

 and to hoe them carefully. In this way I keep 

 a fine nest for the bugs directly around the trees, 

 which they greatly prefer to any more distant, 

 and then I can, as I hoe, pick them out and 

 cripple them at my leisure. Now I am quite 

 confident that Mr. Water's trouble is occasioned 

 by this same great beetle, which is very common 

 in this whole country. 



It is a bug about three-fourths of an inch in 

 length, of a dark red color, and with a small 

 black head It is commonly noticed when it 

 gets into the house on a fine May or June morn- 

 ing — when, after having made a desperate pass 

 at the nearest candle or lamp, it brings up 

 against the opposing wall, and with scram 

 vain efforts to regain its lost equilibrium 

 pitates itself, sprawling, upon the floor 



