VOL. 6. 



GENESEE FARMER. 



103 



For tlie Genesee Farmer. 



THE LATE FROSTS. 

 (in a lktter from cavuga county.) 



The last spring has been ciiaracterized by great 

 heats iolluvved by severe frosts.* l\o visitation of 

 this iiind has been so intense and so hite in the sea- 

 son, as that on the morning of the 30th, since the year 

 18i7 : that frost (28 yeais ago) happened two days 

 later — on the fir.^t morning of summer ; and all the 

 apples and peaches in this neighborhood, exposed to 

 the sun uhilc the rime remained on them, perished. — 

 It was notced at the time, that an orchard on the 

 west side of a thick wood, retained its fruit ; and 

 that a peach tree on the east shore of the Cayuga 

 lake, protected by a hill from the morning sun, was 

 also undan)aged. These two exemptions from the 

 general calamity were ascribed to two causes : the 

 latter to the vapors oi the lake, and the former to 

 the exclusion of the ea?t wind ! 



Some of the earlier frosts of the present season 

 passed away with less injury, on account of the sky 

 becoming overcast and the air warmer before the sun 

 shone out ; but the morning of the 30th had no 

 clouds. Much damage, however, was doubtless 

 prevented by the spriniring up of a cold wind, which 

 rendered the transition to a higher temperature 

 more gradual. Still, notwithstanding this favorable 

 occurrence, all our grapes on the trellis are ruined, 

 and the vines are so stripped of their leaves, that a 

 long time will be required for their recovery. None 

 have escaped but such as were climbing on young- 

 trees, and not quite all of these. The leaves of the 

 trees doubtless afforded some protection. 



Previous to this great frost, the cherries had 

 grown thin on the trees, declining, and withering, 

 and dropping, so that some kinds lost all, and the 

 more hardy sorts, not less than one-half or three- 

 fourths. Many young apples and pears also strewed 

 the ground. In short, where in former years there 

 was abundance, we shall hardly expect more than 

 enough for home consumption. 



Corn, potatoes, and every tender plant, whether 

 from the hot-bed or grown in the open ground, have 

 been cut down or damaged, unless well covered from 

 the cold. Applied in this manner, it appears that 

 woolen cloth is less efficacious than either cotton or 

 linen. Paper has served a good purpose. It is Wor- 

 thy of remark, however, that when the covering was 

 fa-<tened several inches above the plants — not resting 

 on them, the least damage was sustained. 



There is a more efTectual way of preserving plants 

 from vernal frosts, however, which was suggested 

 by my son, who resides with me, and which we have 

 practiced with complete success : Cover them with 

 earth to the depth of one or in-o inches. One or two 

 sweeps of the broad hoe is sufficient to cover a hill 

 of corn or potatoes, a tomatoe, or an egrr plant ; but 

 beans, cucumbers, melons, and squashes, require 

 more care, as the leaves and stems are more brittle. 

 More care with the fingers will also be necessary in 

 removinf the earth from them ; but the whole affair 

 is a small job compared with rcplantinsr. 



D. THOMAS. 



Greaffield, Qith month, 1845. 



* 'I'lif! warnitli of summer-like mornin?s was suddenly absorbed 

 by winds spriiiciiif: up frniu thf north — north-eiisUrs cnmine up the 

 back way tlirniiph the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and becoruiug a little 

 changed iu their course. 



To keep good apples from rotting — place them 

 in a dry cellar with fourteen children. 



For th» Genesee Farmer. 



THE CURCULIO. 



Mr. Editor — In your last number I saw an arti- 

 cle copied f-om the Maine Cultivator, piofe-siig to 

 give a '"remedy again:-! the curculio," and nimes 

 the destructive as a '■^ green mrith,''{l\) 



It is not a matter of wonder that every person 

 does 7iot know what a curculio is ; but it is a matter 

 of wonder that constant readers of agricultural pa- 

 pers, most of which have again and again described 

 and treated of this insect, and given engravings sho- 

 ing size, shape, Stc, should not yet have "made his 

 acquaintance," or at least have known whether ho 

 was a ivorm or bug. It is not a moth, or other 

 worm, that does the mischief, as I have many times 

 watched the curculio and seen him perform the pro- 

 cess, and this he does with the skill of a professor of 

 surgery — first cutting a segment of a circle, and 

 then depositing the egg, after which the juice ex- 

 uding from the wound forms a " sticking plaster." 

 I am very skeptical as to the exterminating proper- 

 ties of the remedy he gives, (ashes, soot, and sulphur 

 sprinkled on the tree,) it cannot reach the egg ; and 

 as for the curculio, he inhabits a sort of coat of mail, 

 hard and resisting, and seems to care little for what 

 surrounds him, plums exct^ted. 



The remedy ichich ivill prove effectual, if the gar- 

 dener does his duty, is to anticipate I'im, and never 

 let him exist, which is done if all the punctured plums 

 that fall to the ground are burned, or given to the 

 hogs. 



Now, sir, one word in relation to copying the ar- 

 ticle into the Farmer. I shall believe it was done 

 without your supervision, as its erroneous descrip- 

 tion of the curculio must at once have satisfied yoiL 

 that the writer knew nothing of the insect of which 

 he wrote. Yours, obediently, 



Rome, June 5. J. H. 



Monroe Gardens, Greece, June 16. 



Mr. Editor — I have been enjoying a sight which 

 rarely occurs. At 11 o'clock, A. M., on looking in 

 a direction a little to the west of north, I was sur- 

 prised to see the whole breadth of Lake Ontario 

 spread out before me, together with a broad belt of 

 country adjoining, appearing I'ke a large inclined 

 plane descen ling quite to the water's edge. The 

 landscape view was so clear, that the lines between 

 the timber and cleared land were easily traced, and 

 even many single trees in cleared fields were visible. 

 A vessel passing near the north shore was distinctly 

 seen, and the whole appeared as within twelve or 

 fifteen miles. From the time I first looked in that 

 direction until the lands in Canada disappeared, was 

 from twenty to thirty minutes. 



At half past twelve o'clock, the surface of the 

 Lake from the position in which I saw the above 

 was not visible. N. Goodsell. 



No man is entitled to more than the honest pro- 

 ducts of an honest pair of hands, and no man's intel- 

 lect is bestowed upon him to overreach and beguile 

 his fellow ; and whosoever so uses it, violates the 

 law of God and Nature, and tramples on the rights 

 of man. 



The Western New Yorker says that .Tohn Wilder, 

 Esq., of Perry, Wyoming co., has a calf, which at 

 three weeks weighed 186 pounds, and at four weeka 

 old weighed 208 pound. He means to take the pre- 

 mium at the county Fair. Beat this who can. 



