78 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Feb. 



Bcarcely conceive how the human race could exist 

 without farinaceous substances, and without that 

 nourishing juice which the breast of the mother 

 contains, and whicli is appropriated to the long fee- 

 bleness of the infant. The amylaceous matter of 

 com, the object of religious veneration among so 

 many nations, ancient and modern, is diffused in 

 the seeds, and deposited in the roots of vegetables ; 

 milk which serves as an aliment, appears to us ex- 

 clusively the produce of animal organization. Such 

 are the impressions we have received in our earli- 

 est infancy ; such is also the source of that astonish- 

 ment created by the aspect of the tree just de- 

 scribed. It is not here the solemn shades of for- 

 ests, the majestic course of rivers, the mountains 

 wrapped in eternal snow, that excite our emotion. 

 A few drops of vegetable juice recall to our minds 

 all the ])owerfulness of the fecundity of nature. 

 On the barren flank of a rock grows a tree with 

 coriaceous and dry leaves. Its large woody roots 

 can scarcely penetrate into the stone. For several 

 months of the }ear not a single shower moistens its 

 foliage. Its branches appear dead and dried ; but 

 when the trunk is pierced, there flows from it a 

 sweet and nourishing milk. It is at the rising of 

 the sun that tliis vegetable fountain is most abun- 

 dant ; the negroes and natives are then seen hast- 

 ening from all quarters, furnished with large bowls 

 to receive the milk, which grows yellow, and thick- 

 ens at its surface. Some empty their bowls under 

 the tree itself, others carry the juice home to their 

 children. — Humboldts Travels in the Equinoctial 

 Jiegioirs of America. 



THE SCALE INSECT OF THE APPLE. 



Nearly every person who grows an apple tree, 

 has observed that the branches of the older, and 

 stems of the younger trees, are frequently covered 

 with a minute scale, showing in general no appear- 

 ance of life, and resembling nothing so much as a j 

 mmiature oyster shell. This Httle scale is, however, 

 an insect, and one of the many enemies of the ap- 

 ple, belonging to a family that contains more an- ; 

 omalous forms than any other. It is the Homop- j 

 tera of Maclay. All this family are supplied with ^ 

 a suctorial mouth, arising so far back on the under 

 side of the head as apparently to come from the | 

 breast in some species. The present insect is inclu- ! 

 ded in the genus Coccus, and has for its near rela- ' 

 tions, some that have been useful to man from the 

 time of the ancients, producing valuable dyes, the 

 cochineal being one of them ; and it is calculated 

 that in one pound of this dye there are 70,000 of 

 these little insects. It feeds upon the cactus. 



Our apple scale has, however, no qualities to ren- 

 der it useful ; and a short account of its life and 

 habits will be all that is necessary. When first 

 hatched from the egg it possesses considerable am- 

 bulatory powers, and can crawl all over a tree and 

 select a situation. It then inserts its rostrum into 

 the tender bark and draws the sap, and such a con- 

 Btant drain, by the countless numbers found upon a 

 tree, must be very injurious. The insect remains 

 in this position until death in the female, undergo- 

 ing its transformations, which, instead of producing 

 a higher state of development, as in most other 

 forms, has a contrary effect, it becoming, in fact, a 

 paere inert, fleshy mass, in some allied species los- 

 ing even the rudiments of limbs and all appearance 

 of articulation. The male, on the contrary, how- 



ever, who is much smaller, in casting off his pupa 

 skin, obtains pretty large wings, and well developed 

 limbs, armed with a single claw, and his mouth be- 

 comes obsolete ; he then sallies forth in search of 

 his partner, of which he sees notliing but the pupa 

 envelope. The female afterwards becomes distend- 

 ed with eggs. She then gradually dries up, leav- 

 ing the shell of her body for a covering to the new- 

 ly hatched young, of which there are two broods in 

 a year. 



Preventive. — Harris, in his "Treatise on In- 

 sects injurious to Vegetation," recommends the 

 foUoAving as a preventive : To two parts of soft 

 scap, add eight of water, and mix as much lime 

 with it as will make a stiff white-wash, and apply 

 with a brush to the trunk and branches of the in- 

 fected trees in the month of June, when the young 

 insects are newly hatched. K. 



Remarks. — This is a capital description of the 

 apple scale, by one of the most promising entomol- 



ogists in Ohio. — Ohio Farmer. 



For the New England Farmer. 



APPLES. 



SEVERAL KlXrS IN ONE TREE. 



In grafting large trees, several varieties of scions 

 are frequently em])loyed in forming one new top ; 

 there are several objections to this practice. 



Every one at all familiar with fruit trees, must 

 have observed that each variety has a mode of growth 

 peculiar to itself, and those who have had much ex- 

 perience can often ascertain the kind, when not in 

 fruit, Ijy this circumstance alone. Some varieties 

 are vigorous and of rapid growth, others, are slow 

 and unthrifty, and others of short duration and sub- 

 ject to decay early. A tree combining these dis- 

 cordant elements can possess little of symmetry or 

 beauty, and the most judicious pruning cannot rem- 

 edy the evil. For instance, a tree may be grafted 

 with the Northern Spy, which is of remarkable uj)- 

 right growth ; the Roxbury Russet, which is hori- 

 zontal, or spreading, and the Spitzenburg, whose 

 branches are droo])ing, or pendant. In a few years 

 the scions clash and entangle, and it will be impos- 

 sible to give them the proper form or direction, 

 and when the tree comes into bearing the defect 

 will be still more apparent. There is another ob- 

 jection to having more than one variety in a tree ; 

 it creates confusion in gathering the fruit, and where 

 the kinds somewhat resemble each other, they are 

 liable to get mixed, causing dissatisfaction among 

 the purchasers. Where a person has but little land, 

 and a few large trees which he is desirous to graft 

 to other varieties for his own use, and who is wil- 

 ling to dispense with a good formed top, it may be 

 justifiable to put several kinds into the same tree, 

 but in extensive orchards it should be avoided. 



Leominster, Dec, 1855. O. V. Hills. 



Remarks. — We call especial attention to this 

 article. By observing its suggestions, a great many 

 errors in the name of fruits, as well as a great vex- 

 ation in the cultivation of them, may be avoided. 



Luxury of the Ancients in Roses. — To enjoy 

 the scent of roses at meals, an abundance of rose- 

 leaves was shaken upon the table so that the dishes 

 were completely surrounded. By an artificial con- 



