vol,. MX XO. 44. 



AND HORTICULTIJKAL REGISTER 



849 



that the work of destruction may be tliorouglily 

 accomplished, the same operation may be repeated 

 two or three times. If this act is perforincd prop- 

 erly, I feel confident that the canker worm will be 

 effectually destroyed ; and as the operation will 

 not be attended with much loss of time, labor or 

 expense, it will be well worth the trouble of the 

 lovers of delicious fruit and yood cider, to try the 

 experiment. Yours, VIATOR. 



Hogs Treading Clay. 

 P. S. — Some years ago, I had occasion to use a 

 large (luantity of clay mortar. I was so circum- 

 stanced that I had not, and could not hire oxen to 

 perform the labor of treading the clay ; but it oc- 

 :urred to mc, that my own and my neighbors' hogs 

 night be inilured to perform that labor. I accord- 

 ingly prepared the bed with clay, and threw over 

 it the necessary qiinntity of water to render the 

 clay plastic, and llien strewed over the mass a 

 peck of shelled corn and drove the hogs on to the 

 bed. In pursuit nf the corn, they commenced with 

 avidity the labor of rooting up and treading out 

 the clay, and in the course of a very little time, 

 the entire bed of clay was thoroughly reduced into 

 the most uniform and plastic mortar. When the 

 hogs flagged a little, a few more handsfull of corn 

 were strewed upon the clay bed, and they resutned 

 their labor with renewed vigor. This hint may 

 prove useful to brick-makers and others who may 

 have occasion to prepare large quantities of clay 

 for making bricks or other purposes, and who have 

 not oxen to perform the labor. 



[nT"" Viator" is mistaken if he supposes that the 

 canker worm does not descend to the earth until 

 the cold of autumn drives him down. These worms 

 bury themselves as early as the first of August, 

 and undergo their transformations from worms to 

 grubs and moths, belore the arrival of winter. Many 

 of them ascend the trees in the warm nights which 

 sometimes occur late in Nov. and Dec. If resort- 

 ed to in Aug. and Sept., the plan propnsi'd by our 

 correspondent might be of some service in lessen- 

 ing the number of these destroyers of our trees. — 

 This communication leads us to allude to a process 

 employed by Satnuel P. Fowler, Esq., of Danvers, 

 for the destruction of this worm, which we hope to 

 lay before the public in his own words, in the 

 course of a few months. He removes all the earth 

 that is within the distance of four or five feet of 

 the trunk of the tree, and to the depth of five or six 

 inches. This earth is carted away in August. 

 Other earth mixed with some manure, is substitu- 

 ted in its place. This pmcoss has protected his 

 trees from the worm and been highly conducive to 

 their growth Ed. N. E. Far. 



For the New England Farmer. 



CURE FOR BLIND STAGGERS, &c. IN HOGS. 

 Mr PuTNAJi— Sir — I noticed in No. 3!) of your 

 paper, a communication under the signature of " K. 

 L.," taken from the Albany Cultivator, in which 

 the writer says he has " lost twenty valuable pigs 

 by blind staggers, consumption, and many without 

 any apparent cause, within the last six months;" 

 and asks, " is there no remedy ?" The writer says 

 he has " looked to books in vain for information;" 

 and, as he still asks for " pig and cattle remedies," 

 (as he calls them,) I thought I would try to gtve 

 him some information through the medium of your 

 valuable paper. 



As to blind staggers, I consider the dijsea^c! easi- 

 ly cured. How the disease originates, I cannot 

 positively state ; but I lliink from what I have seen, 

 it may originate from a filthy sty, where there is 

 not a free circulation of air ; or in keeping hogs 

 alwaysshiit up in a pen, without giving them fresh 

 dirt, or letting them out where they can get it 

 themselves. I have come to this conclusioi:, as 

 more than three I'ourths of those I have seen afi'ect- 

 cd, were those who were not permitted free access 

 to the air and earth. Again: this disease may 

 originate by the issues upon the inside of the legs 

 getting slopped up. 



The editor of the Cultivator rcoomnionds giving 

 hogs charcoal as a preventive of disease. This 

 may do, I think, much good ; but as there are but 

 few who have fully learned the truth of the old 

 adage, "Prevention is better than cure," I will 

 now give a remedy. When it is found that one 

 of your hogs has the blind staggers, no time should 

 be lost; but you should proceed to give your hog, 

 as soon as possible, something that is warming 

 within. The first remedy I ever tried was a mix- 

 ture of sulphur, hen manure and Ciyenne pepper, 

 with milk eiioU;/h to make it about as thick as por- 

 ridge — given to the hog as warm as he can bear it. 

 Late years, I have used nothing but new rum and 

 pepper, giving as much as I could make them take 

 with a spoon. Bei'oie you give them any thing, it 

 would be well to take some soft oil and pour upon 

 the issues on their legs and give them a smart rub- 

 bing with a cob. With these medicines I have 

 cured those who seemed to be almost dead, and if 

 I were near, I would agree to cure all entirely of 

 the blind staggers for 25 tents apiece. In case 

 after taking this medicine the hog should remain 

 blind, his head should be cut open with a sharp 

 knife, between the ears, to the skull bone, and the 

 wound filled with fine salt, taking care not to bring 

 the knife so far back as to have it slip off the skull 

 bone into the back of the neck. I once cured a 

 shoat for a Mr K., in Hillsboro', N. H., in the man- 

 ner 1 have described above, who thought I was 

 very cruel to cut such a large place in his pig's 

 head, and more cruel because I charged him a shil- 

 ling for my services. 



" R. L." says many of his pigs died without any 

 apparent cause. It is impossible to tell him what 

 to do in this last case ; but a thought suggested 

 itself that they mij hthave died of the " black tooth." 

 'I his disease may be easily known by examining 

 the tushes, which will be very black ; and to cure 

 the hog so affcctod, they shoi Id be immediately 

 drawn out with a pair of pincers. 



Yours, &c. J. M. HARTWELL. 



Medford, Mass 



For tile New England Farmer. 



THE WEST. 

 The valley of the Fox river and the country 

 around Lake Winnebago, have from the earliest 

 times been justly celebrated for the beauty of t'leir 

 scenery, the fertility of their soil, and great natural 

 resources. All travellers, from Father Margrette 

 down to those of this day, have been enraptured 

 with its beauty of forest and river, prairie and lake ; 

 its forests where the bears and deer are still nu- 

 incrous ; its prairie, where the buffalo once roamed 

 in vast herds, now gone hundreds of miles west of 

 the Mississippi ; the rivers and lakes, abounding in 

 fish ; the tall wild rice stalks shooting up from the 



pebbly bottom through the clear and bright waters, 

 wavinir their richly loaded heads in embattled ranks 

 — the resort of vast numbers of the feathered tribes, 

 who feed and fatten on the rich spoil ;— the beau- 

 tiful shores, the long slopes of prairie and open- 

 ings, or the forest rising like an amphitheatre al- 

 ternately on either hand, the richness of the soil, 

 abounding in wild fruits. Almost all kinds of 

 fruit trees and limestone are found every where in 

 the Territory (Wisconsin.) All these advantages 

 combined, make it a paradise for the poor and un- 

 fortunate of this chosen people whom God has ap- 

 pointed to build up the waste places of the new 

 world, and make " the wilderness to blossom like a 

 rose." 



'T is here in the midst of this beautiful region, 

 1 have located myself. My "log cabin" was built 

 last season, a few acres of land broke up and en- 

 closed, in western parlance. Connected with my 

 farming establishment 1 keep a small stock of such 

 articles as find ready sale in so new a country. — 

 If the plough and any articles that I may order, 

 should meet with favor, a market for other things 

 from your house may be found. In the meantime, 

 Yours, respectfully, 



J. J. R. PEASE. 



Though well pleased with our native New Eng- 

 land as a home, and persuaded that our young far- 

 mers may do well in Yankee land, yet we find 

 pleasure in well written descriptions of the beau- 

 ties and riches of the far west, and willingly in- 

 dulge our readers with a perusal of the above ap- 

 pendage to a business letter to Messrs J. Breck & 

 Co. — Ed. 



p'or the New England Farmer. 



CANADA THISTLES. 

 Mr Editor — Sir — If you think this worth a 

 place in your paper, insert it if you please. 



To Extricate Canada Thistles. — Pasture your 

 land with neat cattle, horses, or sheep, and mow 

 the thistles three times in a season ; — the first 

 time as soon as the first blossom appears; also the 

 second and third times, and in most cases you will 

 have very few to mow the third year. 



A SUBSCRIBER. 



Tim Two Farmers. — Two farmers, who were 

 neighbors, had their crops of early peas killed by 

 ihe frost. One of them came to condole with the 

 other on their misfortune. 



" Ah !" cried he, " how unfortunate we have 

 been, neighbor! Do you know that I have done 

 nothing but fret ever since. But, bless me! you 

 seem to have a fine, healthy crop coming up just 

 now. What are these .'" 



"These?" cried the other, " why these are what 

 I sowed immediately after my loss." 



"What! come up already!" e.vclaimed the frel- 

 ter. 



" Yes — while you were fretting, I was working." 

 " What, and don 't you fret when you have a 

 loss ?" 



" Not until I have repaired the mischief." 

 " Why then you have no need to fret at all." 

 " True," replied the industrious gardener, "and 

 that 's the very reason: in truth, it is very pleasant 

 to have no longer reason to think of misfortune, and 

 it is astonishing how many might be repaired by 

 alacrity and energy." 



