AND H O R T I C U L T U {I A L U E G I S T E R . 



VOL. \IX.] 



POflLISHED BY JOSEPH BRECK & CO., NO. 52 NORTH MARKET STREET, (Agricoltubal Warehouse.) 

 BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, JULY ^9, 1840. 



[NO. 4. 



N. E . FARMER. 



For the New Ensland Farmer. 



DENNIS'S PATENT TROUGHS. 



Mr Editor — I desire through your columns to 

 thanl; Mr Dennis for his early reply to my queries 

 respecting his invention and the date of it; and 

 while I am happy to concede to him to him all due 

 credit for making and ap[ilying the lead gutter 

 round trees, for protection agiiinst the canker worn-, 

 I cannot allow his claim of originality. lie states 

 his invention to be "a circular metallic trough and 

 roof, made of one piece of metal, and bent to con- 

 form to tlie shape of the tree — using for that pur- 

 pose any metal that can be wrought into the prop- 

 er shape," and " first made by liini in the summer or 

 fall of 1836." Now, if [ shall show that there is 

 nothing material in this description which was not 

 invented and freely communicated to the public 

 long before, I trust that he will have the masna- 

 niniity to admit it, and to authorise his fellow citi- 

 zens to unite for the extermination of this pest, 

 without the fear of a prosecution, with treble dam- 

 ages before thi-ir eyes, and without applying to his 

 agents, (some of whom are far from admitting that 

 any other than skilful mechanics can make them,) 

 to do, what "any industrious young farmer may 

 learn to do in one day." 



In the N. E. Farmer vol. 8, page 2'25, under date 

 of January 25th, 1830, is a very intelligible descrip- 

 tion of a tin trough, to be one and a half inches 

 deep, with a cover or projection over it, filled with 

 water, to which is added a small quantity of whale 

 oil of the thinnest quality — the interval between 

 the tree and the trough to be filled up with swing- 

 ling-tow. This is the invention, or proposal, as he 

 modestly calls it, of Mr Lemuel VV. Briggs, of 

 Bristol, R. I. ; and here we have "the metallic 

 trough and roof." But, says Mr Dennis, (hty were 

 made square, and my invention is the circular form. 

 Now it happens, singularly enough, that Mr Briggs, 

 in his above-mentioned communication, in 1830, re- 

 fers to a:i invention of tin troughs, by Mr Irish, of 

 Rhode Island, mentioned in the N. E. Parmer, vol. 

 5, page 409, July 1827, to which he objects that 

 they are cjVcii/ar, or as he describes them, "fitted 

 to the shayie of the tree." Here then is the inven- 

 tion in 1827 and 1830, ofa " circular metallic trough 

 and roof" But Mr Briggs refers us a'.so to the in- 

 vention of Mr Haughton, of Lynn, (N. E. Farmer, 

 vol. 7, page 04, Oct. 1828,) which is a circular 

 trough, mnde of strong pasteboard, painted, with a 

 roof over it, filled with oil. Mere then we have the 

 idea of a circular apparatus stnmgly developed in 

 October, 1828. 



I shall now refer Mr Dennis and your numerous 

 readers to the very accurate and remarkable paper 

 of Gen. H. A. S. Dearborn, on the canker worm, 

 read before the Massachusetts Horticultural Socie- 

 ty, and published in the N. E. Farmer, vol. 8, pages 

 377-8, June 1830 — in which, after stating the dis- 

 advantages of tarring, he says — " If a vessel could 

 be formed of some chea)) material, such as Danvers 



pottery ware, or sheet lead, in two parts, in the form 

 of semi-circular troughs, placed on the ground and 

 filled with a liquid, &c. &.C., it would answer the 

 desired purpose." And a little further on he says : 

 " A sheet lead vessel, or one of some other material, 

 which could be secured to the trunk of the tree, a 

 few feet from the ground, and filled with a liquid of 

 the above named character, would be effectual." 



It is worthy of remark that these inventions and 

 suggestions, made from six to eight years before 

 the imaginary invention of Mr Dennis, were sub- 

 mitted to the public in the most free and liberal 

 manner, ami published in your useful paper. 



It thus appears conclusively that Mr Haughton 

 invented and used " circular troughs" in 1828, and 

 that Mr Irish used -'circular metallic troughs and 

 roofs, bent to conform to the shape of the tree," in 

 1827. Mr Dennis may say, perhaps, that they were 

 of tin and made of more than one piece of metal. 

 To the first allegation it would be sutBcient to re- 

 ply that his specificaiion, as he gives it, does not 

 claim the original use of any particular metal ; .nnd 

 if it did claim the introduction of sheet lead, I have 

 shown it was invented by Gen. Dearborn and pub- 

 lished to the world six years before. To the sec- 

 ond allegation, if made, it may be replied Ihat Gen. 

 Dearborn's second proposition of a "sheet lead ves- 

 sel which could be secured to the trunk of the tree, 

 a few feet from the ground," most obviously points 

 us to the very gutter or trough made and used by 

 Mr Dennis, of one piece of metal, unless the size 

 of the tree should make two pieces expedient. 



I feel confident that ftlr D., after reading the 

 evidence thus collected from a cursory examina- 

 tion of the N. E. Farmer, will candidly admit, that 

 in 1836 he only hit upon or invented, what was al- 

 ready either in use or suggested and proposed by 

 others. I can readily believe hiin if he asserts that 

 he was ignorant of these facts, and that the inveu- 

 vention was original, as far as regards his own 

 mind; but he must be sensible that, in such case, 

 all exclusive rights under the patent will fall to the 

 ground. 



I have not the slightest hostility to Mi Dennis, 

 and have no object in view, other than the promo- 

 tion of justice and of the interests of agriculturists. 

 If this remedy, which appears to have been the re- 

 sult of the conjoined application of several thinking 

 minds to the subject, can be thrown open to the 

 public, we may hope for the extermination of the 

 canker worm. On the other hand, if this is a pa- 

 tent remedy, many persons w ho have been acquaint- 

 ed with the expedient for ten or twelve years, will 

 be deterred from its use by the fear of "the 14tli 

 section of the law of 183(3." 



I am aware that the former volumes of your pub- 

 lication contain other facts applicable to the sub- 

 ject, which, should it become necessary, may be 

 laid before the community; and I beg leave to say 

 again, that I do not desire by this open exhibition 

 of them, to injure or wound the feelings of Air Den- 

 nis, but to call the public attention to the matter 

 tor the public good. H. 



P. S.— .My copy of vol. 8 of the N. E. Farmer is 



incomplete, not containing the No. for June 25th, 

 1830, in which, I have reason to think, will be 

 found a description of the use of lead gutters, oil, 

 &,c., by Mr P. G. Bobbins, of Roxbury : if so, will 

 you have the goodness to publish such part of it a3 

 you think material ? 



From the N. E. Farmer of June 25tli, 1830. 



CANKER WORMS. 



Ma Fkssendk.n — My apple trees have for some 

 years past been very much injured by canker worms, 

 and I have diligently endeavored to find out some- 

 thing to check their ravages. 



I thought of a plan for that purpose, last sum- 

 mer, and intimated it to a respected friend and far- 

 mer in my neighborhood ; but deferred putting my 

 thought into action, because experienced men said, 

 " the canker worm's career has always been limited 

 to just so many years. In 1830, you may rely on 

 it, the worms will not appear." Last fall, however, 

 the slugs began to go up. I faithfully tried the 

 old remedy, and tarred them autumn, winter and 

 spring. Vet they have been more numerous and 

 destructive the present year than ever. My apple 

 trees now appear as if a blazing fire had raged 

 among their leaves. 



On the third of this month I cut a strip of slieet 

 lead, 4 1-2 inches wide, and of sufficient length ; 

 formed it on the handle ofa pitchfork, like a tube, 

 and had it soldered ; then passed a piece of rope 

 through it and bent it around an apple tree, draw- 

 ing the rope tightly while bending, till the ends 

 met; cut the pipe open and lapped the ends past 

 each other two inches, that they might be hammer- 

 ed well together, and, by a proper cement, say put- 

 ty or something similar, be made water tight; then 

 brought it to a level and tacked the upper edge lo 

 the tree with small pump nails, about six inches 

 apart. Here was a complete circular canal around 

 the tree. I purpose to fill it early in the autumn 

 with winter strained oil, spirits of turpentine, or 

 some other liquid. If this should not lay an em- 

 bargo on their commerce, it must at least stop their 

 navigation, for no slug will dare to sail over it. A 

 piece of sheathing paper, cut in proper form and 

 oiled, may be fixed over it to keep out the rain. 



If the lead be rolled thin, the expense will not 

 probably exceed two shillings per tree. 



I beg leave through your useful journal, to sub- 

 mit the above experiment to my agricultural breth- 

 ren, for their consideration, with a hope, that if it 

 should not prove altogether successful, it may lead 

 to some better discovery to protect our apple trees 

 from the blasting influence of canker worms 

 Respectfully yours, 



P. G. ROBBINS. 



Roiburt), June \Qth, 1830. 



The greatest man is he who chooses the right 

 with invincible resolution; who bears the heaviest 

 burdens cheerfully ; who is calmest in storms, and 

 most fearless under menaces and frowns ; whose 

 reliance on truth, on virtue, on God, is most unfal- 

 tering. — Channing. 



