THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



413 



which Mr. Weaver has not had time this year to 

 destroy, in consequence of his unusually heavy 

 crops, and the destruction of his iron establish- 

 ment, saw-mill, and a long line oC tence, by the 

 July (reshet. He fattens upon them a number o! 

 bulloclis, besides keeping a large diiry stock ol j 

 very pretty cattle. 



Mr. Weaver's stock of every kind, horses, of 

 which he has very (ew, mules, cattle and hogs, 

 are ol a very fine quality, and are all kept con- 

 stantly fiat— the most economical and profitable 

 mode, as Mr. Weaver contends, of keeping stock. 

 He crushes all his corn for stock-li^eding in the ear, 

 and he considers his crushing machine as the 

 most profitable upon his estate. Ploughbov. 



Rockbridge Co., Fa., August 29, 18.42. 



SALT FOR THE GRUB WORM. 



From tlie New Genesee Farmer, 

 3Ir. Caiman— In examining a neighbor's field 

 of corn, I perceived some of it cut ofi by the grub 

 worms, and deemed it best to examine my own. 

 To my surprise I found they had been destroying 

 ray own at a great rate ; and had made their way 

 into the garden and were engaged in cutting ofi" 

 the cabbages at the rale of four or five every ntght. 

 It appeared that they did not touch them by day ; 

 and when I went out in the morning I found my 

 cabbages gnawed oH close to the ground. I first 

 applied ashes to the hill, but without efi'ect ; then 

 soot, but it was Ii1<e the wind and did not affect 

 them. Scotch snufi was then recommended to 

 me, but it availed nothing against them. The June 

 number of the New Genesee Farmer, however, 

 arrived about this time, in which it was stated 

 that salt was so disagreeable to the grub that it 

 would effectually protect the corn and cabbages. 

 I had tried every other preventive which 1 could 

 hear of, and determined to make an experiment 

 with salt. I applied, therefore, about two table 

 spoonfuls of salt to each hill of corn or cabbacre, 

 and laid it so as not to touch the stalk or plaTii! 

 Not one has been molesied by the worms since, 

 though they have begun to eat the weeds in the 

 vicinity, to which I do not make any etron^' objec- 

 tion. ° •' 



I send you this statement for the benefit offarm- 

 ers. From a three years' subscriber. 



Yours truly, R. H. Jr. 



• East Bloomfield, Aug. 6, 1842 



* *■ * * » 



Lands in the vicinity of the sea, where sea- 

 weed and sea-wreck are easily obtained, are, with 

 lew exceptions, essentially benefited by the ap- 

 plication of sea-weed, rock-weed and kelp, either 

 simply spread upon the grass land or spread and 

 ploughed under. Much of the benefit in these 

 cases IS supposed to be due to the salt with which 

 these grasses are impregnated. We have often 

 applied them with the most decided advantacres. 

 One of the best farmers of New England, livln^ 

 near the sea, assured us that he estimated the va° 

 ue of salt hay, ihat is, hay cut upon lands cus- 

 tomarily flowed by the tides of the ocean, as equal 

 to five dollars per ton as a top-dressing for his 

 grass land. We have known, likewise, upon six 

 acres of and, dressed chiefly and most liberally 

 with rock-weed gathered on the sea shore, a crop 



of upwards of Iwenty-nine lone of hay, weighed, 

 when well cured, at the town scales, to be taken 

 in one year ; and we have been familiar for yeara 

 with a field of about forty acres, annually manured 

 with rock-weed, kelp and sea-wreck, where the 

 ordinary yield was estimated at 120 tons upon the 

 forty acres; and as this hay was almost wholly 

 carried to the market, there could be no essential 

 mistake in the estimate. 



These facts present the subject of experiments 

 with salt as a manure as matier of great impor- 

 tance ; and as the cattle in the interior, remote 

 from the sea influences and atmosphere, require 

 frequently this condiment or seasoning of their 

 food to be given to them, may it not be inferred 

 from analogy, that lands remote from the sea may 

 be in some degree deficient in this element of 

 fertility, and receive an equal benefit from its 

 application? 



The use of salt as a manure is not new at all ; 

 but while it has been fully settled that a certairi 

 amount is almost invariably beneficial, any excess 

 is directly pernicious. To determine the safe me- 

 dium is greatly to be desired and can only be as- 

 certained by repeated experiments judiciously 

 made ; and in which all the circumstances are 

 carefully noted.— iJrf. N. G. Far. 



Since sending to the press the communication 

 of R. H. Jr., on salt as a protection against the 

 grub worm, we have received the subjoined, con- 

 firmatory of the foregoing, which we have much 

 pleasure in inserting, and beg that we may a^ain 

 and often hear from our correspondent.— '^'a'. 

 N. G. Far. 



Extract.— London, Canada, 15th August, 1841. 



I should he glad, through your columns, to 

 thank the individual for his article on applyino- 

 salt to plants to kill the grub, (not the gentleman 

 who recommended a table spoonful to each plant, 

 but the one who applied it to the plants at the rate 

 of a bushel to the acre). Previous to reading 

 this article, I had tried several things and had 

 planted over and over again and again, but my 

 plants were as quickly destroyed, and I was about 

 to give it up as a failure, when your number came 

 (0 hand and I saw the article on salt. I immedi- 

 ately put about a pinch to each plant, which I re- 

 peated a second time, and 1 had no more grubs. 

 We had, however, at this time moist weather. 



On meniioning this retnedy to a friend, he said 

 he could then account for a fact, which before had 

 to him appeared a mystery. It was this : when he 

 set out his plants (cabbage) he watered them 

 with water from a salt-pork barrel daily, fbr 

 about a fortnight, during which he had no grubs ; 

 but thinking the cabbage plants had sufficient 

 root, he discontinued, and soon after he found the 

 grub attack his plants as much as his neighbors'. 

 The salt in season enabled me to have cabbages 

 in season ; and should I receive no other benefit 

 from the perusal of your N. G. Farmer than this 

 simple cure, I shall consider my half dollar well 

 laitiout. X Farmer. 



TO PROTECT LABIBS AGAINST POXES. 



We happened to be in a hardware store the 

 Other day, when a farmer came in and inquired 



