THE GENESEE FARMER. 



Ten 



THS EARTH, OR ANGLE-WORM 



Messrs Editors; — Most olJ gardens, and rich soils 

 geueriilly, are inlestcd by the connuoii earth, or angle- 

 worm, much to the detriment of the appearance of 

 the former, where neat walks and alleys are always 

 desirable. These worms usually come to the surface 

 after rains, bringing with them a portion of the soil, 

 and leaving their casts and trails wherever they move. 

 They also come up in heavy dews, (and are hence 

 called dew-worm) with the same result. These facts 

 are generally noticed, but few have studied their uses 

 or sought out the part they perform in the economy 

 of nature. The following, in substance, is drawn from 

 competent authority. 



A very important creature in the operations of na- 

 tm'e,isthe common earthworm [hnnbricus terreslris.) 

 Destined to be the natural manurer of the soil, and 

 the rea.ly indicator of its improved state, it consumes 

 on the surface of the ground, where they would soon 

 be injurious, the softer parts of decayed vegetable 

 matters; and conveys into the soil the more woody 

 fibres, where they moulder and become reduced to a 

 simple nutriment, fitting for living vegetation. It is 

 also serviceable as furnishing the food of many ani- 

 mals, and is an example of an individual race being 

 Bubjected to universal destruction. The very aut 

 seizes it when disabled and bears it away as its prize; 

 it constitutes throughout the year the food of many 

 birds; fishes devour it greedily; the mole pursues it 

 ia the pastures aud along the moist bottoms of the 

 ditches, and burrows after it wherever it may hide. — 

 And, though inhabiting the earth, many aquatic ani- 

 mals seem acquainted with it, and prey on it as a 

 natural food whenever it falls in their way; frogs eat 

 it, and the great water beetle is sometimes drawn up 

 when it is the bait of the angler. Domestic fowls, 

 having access to gardens, pursue it unceasingly; but 

 with all the destroying agencies working against it, 

 they seem constantly to increase in suitable situations. 



These worms are tender creatures, and water re- 

 maining a few days over their haunts drowns them ; 

 they easily become frozen, unless they enter deeper 

 into the earth to escape the cold. In the same way 

 they go down to a depth of eighteen inches or two feet 

 in extreme dry weather. We have found them knot- 

 ed into a compact ball ia the dry, hard subsoil — so 

 hard as to require a pick to penetrate it. They are 

 thought to deepen the soil — to make it more permea- 

 ble, their holes serving as drains for surplus moisture. 

 No doubt more h known of their habits, uses and 

 abuses, but little or nothing is said of them by your 

 gardening coiTespondents. We hope this imperfect 

 attempt may call out something more satisfactory. 



J\'iaga7-a Co. B. 



— ■ ^^» tt * . • 



Peas Should be Sown Early. — Peas can be 

 sown much earlier than the usual time of making 

 garden in the spring. I have sown them sometimes, 

 in a warm spell in February, sometimes in March, 

 and never failed having peas proportionably early 

 from them. They need not be covered deeper than 

 in the spring, with earth, but should have a covering 

 of straw, leaves, or barn-yard manure. There is 

 little danger of frost, as they bear cold equally with 

 wheat, rye or the grasses. I once saw an esperiment 

 made of sowing peas in November; they grew well 

 the nc-xt spring, yet I think they vegetate as early if 

 sown in February as in November. M. W. 



Bradford County, Pa. 



BLACK KNOT-HOGS VS. CURCILIO, &c. 



Messks Editoks: — For many years a good plum 

 upon a fanner's table has been a rare sight in cen- 

 tral Now York, from the fact that the black knot 

 made such havoc with the trees as to induce culti- 

 vators to give up in despair. But as we have been 

 sulVered to eat our fill from newly jjlantod trees, for 

 two or three years past, wo will give our cxiicrionce 

 so that that those who are hesitating wholher to 

 set out plum trees or ntit, may take courage. And 

 here let nie say that the inost'formidable antagonist 

 to the i)lunis is not the black knot, but the curculio. 



We had given us a dozen nice young plum tre«s 

 some years since, and after jolting the dirt ofl" the 

 roots in a twelve mile ride, replaced them in tlic 

 soil, which was a good loam. They grew well and 

 in due time blossomed, but in a few weeks the plums 

 came tumbling from the tree. The next year we 

 saved a fev/ by sowing ashes and lime in the trees, 

 and made a ied in the yard for a favorite rooter 

 icho disposed of the u'ormy 2>litms as fast as they 

 came doicn. The result was that the next year, 

 despite the tumbling down of many, we had eight 

 bushels of green gage and blue sauce plums. 



Now if you have plum trees, or intend to set them 

 out, fix your arrangements if possible so as to give 

 hogs a chance to pick up all the wormy plums', 

 which I think decidedly the surest way to circum- 

 vent the curculio. 



Manure your trees with sink slops — they delight 

 in that kind of treatment. Give them a sprinkling 

 of salt, two or more quarts to a large tree, every 

 spring, which will usually keep the knots from ap- 

 pearing, but if they do appear, and on some part of 

 the tree Avhicli cannot he pruned off, then shave 

 close with a knife, aud rub on turpentine. It will 

 "jfic V??z." Now reader, if you can obtain some 

 thrifty young plum trees, plant them ; treat them 

 as above, and if you do not feel repaid in a few years, 

 I shaU be disappointed. N. D. C. 



CULTIVATIONOF CURRANTS. 



Messes Editoes: — The cultivation of currants 

 does not come under the head of " Subjects for the 

 Ladies," nevertheless, as it generally falls to their 

 lot to gather them, prepare them for the table, and 

 help to eat them, it is no more than just that they 

 should know something about their cultivation. 



Much has been written about growing currant 

 bushes as standards. My exj^erience goes to show 

 that, in these parts where we have deep snows, tliis 

 is not the proper mode, for two reasons : (1) the 

 weight of the snow splits down the branches. (2) 

 the insect often kills the hush outright by working 

 in the body. I can point to rows of bushes nearly 

 worthless from the first cause. One will say have 

 them dug out of the snow. I have seen that tried, 

 and the remedy was worse than the disease, for the 

 limbs were broken and barked. 



My plan is to place the cutting on rich, deep soil, 

 with all the eyes in, and let them grow as they will. 

 Every spring, after all the danger of mice is over, 

 cut out all old and decayed branches and keep the 

 sides of the rows raised on poles, which are let doWn 

 in the fall, and the snow bears doAvn the branches 

 but does not brenk them. Keep them well mulch- 

 ed with chijis or saw-dust, as that keeps the ground 

 cool and moist, and they need no other culture. 



Saratoga Co., JV. Y. Maby. 



