Vol. IV. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



881 



TO THE EDSTOri. Of THE NEW E.VCI.AND FARMER. 



IRON HUBBS. 



havinij passed a fiery trial, tlioy nrc ready to bo I 

 now stocked nnd reoea.t their labours. ,1 



I have had in use, for five ycarf=, wheels of the 

 above descri|!tion, working on iron axles of a^i 

 inches riiametrr. earryinj^' from one to three tons, ! 

 with hoop tires, as sound as when built. I think 

 I sliould not be easily persuaded to set up a car- ! 

 riage of any descrijilion, for my own use, with 

 wooden hubbs. Yours truly, .1. MEARS. 



Dunhtsler, May 4, 1836. 



Mr F.-.ssenpfs — Permit me, throng'h the medi- 

 um of your useful paper, to sngpest to the consid- 

 eration of my agricultural brethren, an improve- 

 ment in the manufacture of carriage nheels (some 

 time since introduced by Hfr Oliver Ames of East- 

 on, Bristol county, Mass.) wliich consists in substi- 

 tuting for the common huhb a cast iron cylinder or 

 pipe box, of suitable pi/c for wood or iron axles ; 

 Eurrounded by a flaniie of the same metal, corres- 

 ponding to the back face of the mortice of common 

 liubbs, and a wrought iron collar corresponding to 

 tlie front face of the mortice ; the spokes being 

 plated between these plates, their ends well ad- 

 justed to the pipe and secured by bolts pn..<'dng be- 

 tween each pair of spokes, with nuts, which are 

 hove up, on tlie face side. The advantages of the 

 iron hubbs v,e consider to be as follows : 



1. They are not subject to the action of tlie 

 weather, in swelling, and shrinking, and splitting, 

 spokes setting on to the axle, — lioops and boxes 

 ■working loose and casting tiros, &c. 



2. They admit of a greater number of spokes, 

 gay 14 to 18 ; consequently sliorten tiie felloes, by 

 which the grain of tlie wood is preserved through- 

 out. 



3. They admit of an easy and expeditious mode 

 of greasing while loaded, by a bolt hole through 

 the box, by which the oil does not come in contact 

 with the spokes. 



4. They admit of a diminished diameter by in- 

 creasing tiie length of bearing in tiie box tnrough- 

 out, — thereby diminishing the intensity of the Iric- 

 tion and wear of the axles, causing the carriage to 

 be propelled by one-fiftli less power. So say most 

 persons who have used them. 



.'i. They admit of the body of carts being made 

 from 10 to i'i inciies wider ; extending nearly to 

 the spokes, — an object of some importance on side 

 hill lands, whereby they can have a less elevation 

 with the same weight. 



t>. Having wora down tires, rims and spokes, or 



CUT WORM. 



Ma FsssENnEN Your correspondent has been 



in years past much troubled with tlie worm, called 

 the Cut Worm, or Grub Worm, which proceeds 

 from the eggs deposited by a dark, ashes-coloured 

 miller. TJie worms when full grown are more 

 than an inch in length, and of a dark rusty colour. 

 They, in the night time, eat off the stems of young 

 plants, just above the ground, as peppers, cucum- 

 bers, cabbages, &c. When the stems become too 

 solid for their jaws, t'ley ascend, and prey on the 

 leaves. In the day time th.?y are generally found 

 just under the surface, near where they last feast- 

 ed. 



Tiie only way the writer has defcnled his 

 plrints, is to search out the spoi'er, and kill him; 

 or to place pieces of old tin, bent into a tub-,dr.r 

 form (3 inches long, and 2 in diameter), round 

 thf plants, pressing the tin about one inch into the 

 earth. 



Now, if any of your correspondents know of a 

 bet'er way of contending with the enemy, they 

 will confer a favour, not only on the writer, but 

 mnny others, hy making it public through tlie me- 

 dium of the New England Farmer. 



HORTICULTURIST. 



Mansfield, May 1836. 



FOR THE NEW ENGLAND PARMER. 



MOSCHETOS. 



This tribe of insects are numerous, bold, blood- 

 thirsty, and persevering. They are peculiarly 

 troublesome in warm evenings, especiclly in situa- 

 tions near lowdand and stagnant Water. These as- 

 sailants drive away quiet sleep, inflict wounds, 

 frequently causing swellings and intolerable itch- 

 ing. The following prevention is cheap and effec- 

 tual. Make light frames of the sire of the lower 

 sashes of the windows in the bed chamber : cover 

 them with niilliuet, and place them in the place of 

 the lower sashes about .'> o'clock, P. 51. and shut 

 the doors. The air will sufficiently circulate thro' 

 the millinet to keep the apartment cool. 



Bristol County, May 182.5. 



STATE OF THE SEASON. 

 Mr riALr, I shall continue a practice, which I have 

 followed for many years, of comp.aring the present 

 season with past ones. It is a very innocent amuse- 

 ment to all. and interesting to many. The gener- 

 al impressfon seems to be, that the present is a 

 very backward, or late one. It is a mistake, as I 

 shall show. I was amused with the statement of a 

 cultivator, in one of the Hampshire papers that he 

 was able to put in his wheat crop forty days earli- 

 er the last year, than the present. Farmers could 

 not be deceived by such a fact, but citizens of the >' 

 metropolis might be led to infer that the present 

 season was a very late one. The seasons of 1824: 

 and 182.5 were very early, and followed, as such sea- \ 

 sons usariUy are, by late frosts, wliich retarded vog- I 



etiiiou. The di I'erv'nre, iiO'vevcr, !>' i-.'e';i; lijoso 

 very early seasons and the prcscni. did. no!: e.\c?ed 

 one week. I shrill now compere the present .state 

 of vegetation with ordinary seasons, oy which it 

 will be seen that it is not a late one. 



'in 18vJ3 Asparagus was cut on May .'ith. 



■in 1820 Asparagus was cut May 4th. 



In 1822 Cherries opened their first fiowers M.iy 

 1st. 



In 1823 Cherries began to blow May 7th. 



In lS2t) Cherries began to blow May 4th. 



In 181t) Cherries began to blow May (ith. 



In 181(i the blossoms of the Pear opened May 

 12th. 



Ill 1822 the Pear opened May 5th. 



In 1823 the Pear opened May l.'lth. 



In J82G Pears are opening this day. May ."Sth. 



In all these cases tlie observation is made upon 

 the same trees in the same situ.ation. From four 

 to six days' uifi'ercnce will be found in trees of the 

 same kinds in different gardens, aftected by ex- 

 posure and soil. 3Iy own is a warm :uturition, and 

 a warm soil, though others are still more so. 



Now let us take shrubs whicli are less affected 

 by t?ie weather. 



Gooseberries and Currants fiowered in 1816 Blay 

 5th. 



■ " " in 1823 May 8th. 



" « in 1826 May 4th. 



The season m.iy therefore be pronounced a me- 

 dium one, and it could be more clearly proved so 

 to be, by extenidiig the comparison further. 



We are unable to compare the present sefison 

 with former ones as to the earlier fruits, because 

 we are compelled to say with deep regret, a re^iret 

 in which we shal have the sympathy of our friend.^ 

 the consumers in the city, that the whole crop of 

 apricots and peaches is nearly destroj'ed. We 

 speak of cotirseof our own experience and inquiry. 

 Never have we known so universal a ri«.itiu..ti,j« 

 of the blossom hxAs of these delicate exotic fruits. 

 We have heard that some persons have seen a few 

 blossoms on the peach trees. We have not seen 

 one. Whether this is to lo attributed to the open- 

 ness of the winter and tlie unexampled cold of 

 the early part of Febrnarr, or to the still more 

 unusual severity of April, f,fter the great fall of 

 snow, or to both causes combined, we are not able 

 to sav. The last severe spell in April was very 

 injurious even to the hardy gooseberry, and des- 

 troyed the Antwerp raspberry, where it had been 

 unfortunately raised from the ground, in which it 

 it usual to bury it for the winter. 



The strawberries stood the trial admirably, and 

 are very promising. The grapes look well. The 

 clover is not more injured than usual, and all the 

 grapes nre as forward as usual. They now want 

 only constant showers, for the sudden heat of the 

 last three days, averaging at noon nearly SO" of 

 Fahrenheit.has produced a rapid and tender growth, 

 to which a few days of hot sunshine will be fatal, 

 or at least highly injurious on warm and early soils. 



The apple trees promise a great show of blos- 

 soms, and so do the pears, and we ought not to re- 

 pine when these most valuable fruits are abundant. 



Rorhnry, May 5th. A FARMER. 



A friend remarked, that he heard the note of 

 the Rice bird, "the Bob o'Linkhorn" yesterday, 

 and it was 7 days earlier than he had ever heard 

 it before. This also is against the opinion of the 

 lateness of the season, as is also the arrival of the 

 migratory pigeon. — [Boston Daily Advertiser.) 



