CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 



able depth, be dug up and carted away to a distance 

 from any trees the canker worms are in the habit of 

 feeding upon ; and let there be returned an equal 

 quantity of compost, or rich earth intermixed with 

 manure. The earth taken from the trees will make a 

 substantial ingredient in compost. If a few straggling 

 canker worms appear on any of the trees the spring 

 following, let such trees be marked, that the operation 

 may be repeated the succeeding summer. The pro- 

 cess proposed will not only accelerate the growth, 

 and increase the fruitfulness of the trees, but will 

 prove a considerable guard to them against the depre- 

 dations of moles in the winter following; advantages 

 which will abundantly outweigh the whole expense. 

 But the pre-eminent advantage obtained, will be to 

 have captured those destructive invaders, broken up 

 and completely destroyed their encampments. An- 

 nual tarring, the only remedy in general use, instead 

 of being beneficial to the trees, is allowed on all hands 

 to be injurious. The seasons being variable, it re- 

 q.uires considerable care and skill to know when to be- 

 gin ; if one day too late, some of the canker moths 

 will have ascended the trees ; if four days too early, 

 so much labour and tar are lost. The same difficulty- 

 occurs in knowing when to cease tarring. The busi- 

 ness must be attended to exactly in the right time, 

 whether it rain or shine, and the operation repeated 

 considerably more than twenty times in every season ; 

 and the average of various estimates of the annual ex= 

 pense of tarring each tree amounts to full ten cents* 

 The method 1 have proposed, says Mr. K. appears to 

 be perfectly adapted to the convenience of the prac- 

 tical farmer. He will avoid the trouble and expense 

 of purchasing and applying tar, lime, or any other ar- 

 ticle ; he can perform the operation when most at 

 leisure, and with a certain prospect of ample reward 

 for his labour, even if no damage were apprehended 



