164 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



BfOV. 89. I>^:!7. 



(From the Genesee Farmer.) 



A SEKIES OF EXPERIMENTS, 



Together with their results, — accompanied tvith re- 

 marks. 

 1st. In order to ascertain, if practicable, an easy 

 iiiollioil of cleansing wlu;it intended for se(;il, es- 

 specially of separatin.ij outs (roin spring wlieal, 

 brine was made liy the solution of salt In water, 

 just strong enonpli to bear up an egj;, and c.iu.se 

 a very small part of it lo rise and float above the 

 surface of the brine. Into a pail, 'lied nearly full 

 of brine llius prepared, two or three handfuls of 

 well ripened and plump oats were droppeil at dif- 

 ferent times. None of them sunk — all lioaled on 

 the surface of the brine, and were taken otf 

 with a skimmer. S|iring wheat is apt !o be in- 

 fested with oats, and this e.\periinent sujigests an 

 easy and sure method of cleansing so much of 

 it as is intended for seed. It may be proper to 

 remark here, that a parcel of oats was droppefl 

 into water not impregnated with salt, and that all 

 of them sunk. That there is no danger of injur- 

 ing the seed, by dropping it into brine strong 

 enough to bear up an egg, will appear from c.\- 

 perirnents hereafter to he recorded. 



2d. A parcel of chess seeds \\'as dropped into 

 the brine used in theabov-^ experiment, and many 

 of them sunk. Frorji this it appears that chess 

 cannot be separated trow wlieat, as oats may he, 

 by dropping into brine. 



3d. 'J'weiity ki-rnels of spring wheat were put 

 into the grouTid, wliieh had been steepe 1 1,5 min- 

 utes in brine strong enough to bear up an egg. 18 

 of them came np. 



4th. Twenty kernels of the like wheat were 

 put into the ground, which had been steeped 24 

 hours in brine strong enough to bear up an egg. 

 Seventeen of them came up. Althottgh ni these 

 two experiments, there was a failure of coming 

 up, in one, of tw3, and in the other, of three ker- 

 nels, yet as tliese two parcels, diflering so much 

 as to 'III? time they were in tlie~stee(), came u|) 

 promptly and siniultaneonsly, came up too with 

 thrifty blades, and blades equal/y so, 1 ran scarce- 

 ly impute this small failure lo the eft'ect of the 

 brine. It is, 1 think, safe lo prepare seed wheat, 

 whatever may be the object, by stee]>ing it at 

 least 24 hours in brine strong enough to bear up 

 an egg. How much stronger the brine might be, 

 and do no harm, or how much longer the steep, 

 ing process might safely he continued, my exper- 

 iments do not show. Tliere can he no doubt, 

 that lie, produced by leaching ashes, and made 

 strong enough to bear up an egg, woviM answer 

 as well as brine for separating oats from spring 

 wheat. Nor can it, i think, be doubted, that, 

 whatever (night be the object of steeping, it would 

 be equally. safe, as well as ecpjally eflicacions, as 

 II steep for seed wheat. Many years since, to pre- 

 vent Btnut, I steeped a parcel of seed wheat in 

 very strong lie, taken from a pot-ashery. This 

 was loo strong. It destroyed the vital powers of 

 the seed, produced a failure, aiid rendered it nec- 

 essary to sow again. 



5th. If being reported that scalding seeil peas, 

 by the application of boiling water, would secure 

 the crop from ilamages by the pea-buff, the object 

 of this experiment, together with the three fol- 

 lowing, ■was to ascertain whether boiling water 

 conid be applied to peas, without endangering 

 their vital principles. For this jjurpose, 20 ker- 

 nels of peas were planted, on which boiling water 



had been poured and turned off immediately. 19 

 of them came up. 



6th. Twenty kernels of peas were planted, on 

 which boiling water had been poured, and been 

 ke[)t on them one minute. Nineteen of them came 

 up. 



7lh. Twenty kernels of peas were planted, on 

 which boiling water had been poured, and bad 

 been kept on them 3 minutes. 19 of them came 

 up. 



8th. Twenty kernels of peas were planted in 

 their natural condition, no hot water having been 

 appli d to them. The whole twenty came up. — 

 It will he seen here that, of the parcel of seeds 

 which had not been scalded, all came up, while 

 in connection with each of the other parcels there 

 was a failure of one kernel. Be this accounted 

 for as it may, the experiments have shown to my 

 satisfaction, thai boiling water may be applied to 

 peas, and be kept on them at least three minutes, 

 without any material detriment to the seed. It 

 shauld be remarked here, that the several parcels 

 came up siuudtaneously, and without any percep- 

 tible difterence as to tbriftiness, anil symptoms of 

 good health. The parcel which had not been 

 scalded, did not appear, in any respect, to have 

 the advantage of the others, except thall all came 

 up, while, in connection with each of the others, 

 there was a failure of one kernel. 



The manner in which these, and all my other 

 hot-water experiments were conducted, was to put 

 twenty kernels into a large cofTee cup, sufficient- 

 ly large to contain 1-2 pint or more, and then fill 

 the cup about half full of boiling water, taken itn- 

 mediately from a kettle hanging over the fire. — 

 The heat, I think, must have been as intense, as 

 would l)e that produced by pouring two pailfnis 

 of boiling water into a tub containing one bushel 

 of peas, or other grain. In each of my experi- 

 ments, the seed was planted immediately after the 

 hot water was turned off. If peas are to be scal- 

 ded for the use of field culture, it will doubtless 

 be prudent to spreiul them for cooling, as soon as 

 they are separated from the hot water. It may 

 be advisable too to sow them as soon thereafter 

 as practicable, though, if they are readily cooled, 

 as they may be by spreailing, I should hardly 

 think it necessary to be in a hurry to sow. 



9th. Twenty kernels of corn were planted, on 

 which boiling water had been poured, and turned 

 off immediately. 18 of them came np. 



10th. Twenty kernels of corn were planted, on 

 which boiling water had been poured, and kept 

 on one miimle. 15 of them came up. 



11th. Twenty kernels of corn were planted in 

 their natural condition, no hot water having been 

 applied to them. The whole of those came ii|). 

 In regard to those experiments of the corn, i am 

 constrained to remaik,tliat they proved to my sat- 

 isfaction that hot water is a dangerous thing to be 

 applied to seed corn. For, although thiee-fomih.>.i 

 of the parcel which had been kept in hot water 

 the longest, viz: one minute, eventually came up, 

 yet they came up very tardily, not so good by two 

 or three days, as those which had not been scald- 

 ed. The blades, when they came up were fee- 

 hie, and of sickly aspect, difl'ering entu'ely from 

 those to which no hot water had been applied. — 

 In regard to the othep parcel from which the hot 

 water was turned olf immediately, the .same indi- 

 cations were no less real and scarcely less percep- 

 tible, yet not quite so striking. Tliese two were, 

 in coming up, considerably behind those which 



had been scalded, and their Idades, when they did 

 come, were manifestly inferior. The residts of 

 these experiments were such as to leave no doubt 

 in my mind, that the seed had received an injury 

 from the hot water. Contrary to opinions here- 

 tofore entertained by myself, and perhaps l)y ma- 

 ny othirs, I now believe it dangerous to apply hot 

 water to seed coin. Instead of hastening the pro- 

 gress of its vegetation, as has been supposed, it 

 probably has the contrary effect, besides distem- 

 pering and debilitating its vital povvers. But that 

 it is not sf) in regard to ))eas, the experiments 

 above recorded show very satisfactorily. The scal- 

 'ded peas came np as readily, and were as thrifty 

 as those which had not been scalded. 



12th. Twenty kernels of fall or winter wheat 

 were put into the ground, on which boiling water 

 had been poured, and kept on one minute. None 

 of them came np — all failed. This single exper- 

 iment indicates danger in applying hot water to 

 seed wlieat. It will not endure the effect of boil- 

 ing water remaining on it one minute. Scalding 

 seed wheat at all slionhl, I think, be regarded as a 

 dangerous experiment. 



13th. Twenty kernels of wheat as badly blas- 

 ted, shrunk and slirivelled as I ever saw, were put 

 into the ground. Nearly all of them came up. — 

 This experiment proves that badly blasted wheat 

 will answer for seed, or that it will genriinnte and 

 grow ; but it by no means proves that ^uch wheat 

 should be used for seed, except in cases of neces- 

 siiy. It is unquestionably a true doctrine, and a 

 doctrine of universal application that the inm-e 

 perfect the parent is, the it.ore perfect the proge- 

 ny may be expected t.o be. No other than wheat 

 of the first quality should be used for seed, when 

 such can be obtained. 



Here ends a series of experiments, the whole 

 of which were commenced and finished by my- 

 self on the twentiety day of September last, re- 

 sults only remaining at that time to be longer wai- 

 ted for. Dan Bradlet. 



Oct. 27th, 1S37. 



fFrom llie Franklin Farmer.i 



THE BEE MOTH. 



Mr Editor: Having had some experience in 

 the management of bees, for several years past, 

 during a part of w hich time my apiary has com- 

 prised twenty hives; and having been a close ob- 

 serverof the bee -moth ever since its first appear- 

 ance in this vicinity, I am induced to present a 

 few facts which I have obtained by close obser- 

 vation, and which may probably assist some of 

 your reader.>i in checking the ravages of these de- 

 structive insects. 



During the past summer I have ke|)t a number 

 of the maggots and the files under glass tumblers 

 and small boxes, for the purpose of particular ob- 

 servation, and now write with one of each before 

 me. 



The moths are butter files or candle flies, of ii 

 |)ale ashy col.)r ; and when full grown, are about 

 half an in<-h in length, with reddish backs, small 

 sharp heads, short and delicate horns, and without 

 a proboscis. Their wings are small and double, 

 and when in a state of rest are kept close to the 

 body. During the day they may be found sitting 

 upon the retired |iarts of the outside of the liivi^s, 

 and may be easily taken with the fingers. About 

 the dusk of evening and morning, the females 

 may be seen sitting with their wings ex.tended, 



