MY FARM OF EDGEWOOD 



the mischiefs of the arch-enemy, the curculio. 

 The few trees which I found suffering under 

 black-knot in its most aggravated form, I am 

 sorry to say, died under surgical treatment. 

 Others have been planted to supply their 

 places; — planted in the poultry yard — planted 

 in positions where the earth would be hard 

 trampled, — planted in shelter and out of shel- 

 ter; but although showing fair vigor, and a 

 pretty array of blossoms, no device thus far 

 adopted has succeeded in arresting the spoli- 

 ations of the curculio. Paving the ground is 

 vain; the forage of poultry is vain; under- 

 lying water is vain; and there remain only 

 three resources— to jar off the vermin, gather 

 them and kill them; or second, to deluge the 

 young fruit with a wash that shall measure 

 the enemy ; or third, to shield the trees or fruit 

 with a gauze covering, that shall forbid at- 

 tack. They are good devices against any 

 enemy; but extermination is a slow process; 

 if you nauseate the enemy, you are nauseated 

 in turn; and the gauze protection involves 

 a greater sacrifice than the sacrifice of the 

 fruit. 



These reasons, though counting against the 

 plum as a market product, do not, of course, 

 forbid its growth as a luxury, — which, like 



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