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NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



APRIL 9, 1S34. 



From Goodselis Farmer. 

 CANKER WORMS. 



Mr. Goodsell, — Permit me through the col- 

 umns of your paper, to communicate ii simple and 

 easy method of destroying the effects of that great 

 enemy to our orchards, the canker worm. Six years 

 since, while walking in the forest and examining 

 the capsules of the Castanea Americana, or ('In s- 

 ljiit Burr, the idea struck me, that tiny might he 

 applied to advantage in preventing the effects of 

 the canker worm. I took a piece of strong twine 

 and sail needle, and made a hand of them, placing 

 all the hacks one way, which caused the spines to 

 project in all directions. I tied it round the trunk 

 of an apple tree in the centre of an orchard, that 

 was much injured the year before, which bore 

 abundantly without the leaves being injured in the 

 least, vvhiie those around, were all ruined for that 

 year. 



1 have since tried it several times with entire 

 success. A set of hands will last many years, if 

 taken oft' when the insects have done ascending, 

 and secured in a dry place. I have usually put the 

 hand on the trees about the middle of March. 



In sections of the country where chesnut hurts 

 are not easily obtained, I would recommend the 

 use of the Dipsacus fullonum or Fuller's teasel ; 

 although I have never tried it, I have no doubt it 

 would make a sufficient barrier to prevent the as- 

 cent of the canker worm. Nathah Ruggj.es. 



.Vcw Haven, (Ct.) Feb. 26, 1834. 



objects accomplished by heating milk, which can- 

 not be effected by heating the cream. 



First, the quantity of cream from a given quan- 

 tity of milk, is believed to be considerably increased. 



Secondly, the cream does not acquire that bitter 

 taste, so common with winter made butter, and 

 which will be communicated to the cream, before 

 the milk has stood long enough to have it all sep- 

 arate or rise. 



Thirdly, milk so managed can be kept sweet 

 much longer than in the ordinary way, which, 

 when milk is scarce, is an object deserving con- 

 sideration. Yours respectfully, 

 Springport, Feb. 10, 1834. Justus Gage. 



From the American Farmer. 

 NEATNESS IN GARDENS. 



Mr. Loudon states that the want of neatness 

 and cleanliness in gardens, often arises from cau- 

 ses, which, on first consideration, would seem to 

 have a contrary effect. One of them is, that the 

 g irdener is always at home — always engaged in his 

 garden. He becomes familiar and accustomed to 

 the forms, appearances, and condition of the beds 

 and plants; but if he should occasionally visit oth- 

 er gardens, his mind would be struck with the de- 

 fects or superiority of his own, ind thus be stimu- 

 lated to further efforts. 



From Goodstl's Genesee Farmer. 

 MAKING BUTTER IN WINTER. 



Mr. Goodsell, — I noticed in your 29th num- 

 ber, p. 229, some remarks on nuking butter in the 

 winter season, by heating the cream. The impor- 

 tance of the subject, will, I thiik, be readily ac- 

 knowledged by every one, who ikes to have " his 

 bread well buttered" in the winter as well as sum- 

 mer season. 



The objects gained by the process described in 

 the article to which I allude, are, an improvement 

 in the quality of the butter, and a saving of time 

 and labor in making it. 



Now from the experience which my family have 

 bad in making butter, I am well convinced that the 

 o! jects mentioned, will be more likely to be attain- 

 ed by the following method : Let the milk when 

 taken from the cow, be heated very near to the 

 boiling point, and then strained and set ; the cream 

 t,, be taken oil' and churned, as usual. I feel well 

 assured, that till prudent house-keepers who make 

 a fair trial of this method el' treating milk, will be 

 sure ever after in cold weather, to practise it. 



If, as our Vermont friend suggests, " the secret 

 lies in removing toe froth, which rises in heating 

 the cream," the same object is effected by heating 

 the milk. I am convinced that there are other 



STRAW WEAVING. 



We had the pleasure a few days since of wit- 

 nessing the operation of weaving straw for the 

 manufacture of bonnets, at the establishment in 

 this town under the direction of Mr. J. P. Golding. 

 There are now employed in this establishment 

 upward of 100 females till engaged in weaving the 

 straw into plaits or webs of about two inches in 

 width. The variety of patterns is large, many of 

 them very beautiful. In some the common rye 

 straw of this country is interwoven with the Tuscan 

 straw. The web or warp into which the straw is 

 woven is composed of silk, doubled and twisted 

 from the cocoons very fine, but yet sufficiently 

 strong for the purpose. This silk is prepared as 

 we are informed by Mr. G., by a sou of his who 

 is located in Mansfield, Conn, where for several 

 years past a considerable quantity of silk has been 

 produced. Mr. Golding was formerly a silk wea- 

 ver in Manchester, England, and his family under- 

 stood the culture of the worm, the manufacture 

 and weaving of silk, and are said to be in the ex- 

 clusive possession of this information in this coun- 

 try. Mr. Golding has already invented machinery 

 and woven several patterns of silk vesting and 

 webbing in this country, but at present this part 

 of the business cannot be profitably carried on 

 here. He intends, however, to prosecute the bu- 

 siness, and has set out trees for that purpose at 

 Dedham. 



We have no doubt that the production nnd 

 manufacture of silk will become a very important 

 branah' of American industry, as many millions 

 of dollars are annually paid for the imported arti- 

 cle. We have yet much to learn, but a fnw years 

 will put the country in full possession of all the 

 necessary information for carrying on successfully 

 every branch of silk manufacture. 



We notice by the papers that some silk hand- 

 kerchiefs have been manufactured in Dayton, Ohio, 

 under the superintendence of Daniel Roe, Esq. 

 the'product of the native mulberry. Their color 

 is the natural color of the silk, and they appear 

 to be a very durable article. — Bunker-hill Aurora. 



From Goodsell's Genesee Farmer. 

 CANADA THISTLE. 



Mr. Goodsell, — Having seen a communication 

 in your paper, over the signature ("., dated Wood- 

 hind, Dec. 16th, 1S33, recommending as the most 

 sure method of.extirpatingthe Canada thistle from 

 our soil, "to plough the ground, and sow it with 

 large red clover, which he recommends to have 

 in'owed the first and second years, without feeding 

 it, after which, the land may be ploughed, and 

 sowed with wheat, when it will be found that the 

 roots of the thistles are perfectly destroyed, so far 

 as regards vegetation." Having myself practised a 



melhc.d very similar, with complete success, 1 was 

 forcibly struck with the propriety and accuracy of 

 his remarks. I cannot account for the destruction 

 of the thistle in this case, otherwise than that the 

 clover grows earlier, and more luxuriantly than the 

 thistle, and by overshading it, the thistle is kept iu 

 a dwarfish and sickly state, until the clover is 

 mown, at which time the. stalks of the thistle will 

 be found hollow, and having a whitish, sickly ap- 

 pearance ; and they will not immediately send up 

 young shoots, unless the clover is fed off'. ]t is 

 advisable to mow them in a warm, clear day, and 

 remove the crop immediately, that the sun may 

 shine directly upon the emaciated stalks, which 

 will not only retard their growth, but accelerate 

 their destruction. I have written the above, as the 

 result of my experience, and feel confident that 

 any person who is troubled with Canada thistles, 

 may adopt the course recommended by your cor- 

 respondent C, without fear of disappointment, and 

 that lie will find his communication generally cor- 

 rect. Joseph Eddv. 



Williamson, March. 4, 1834. 



Note." It is a well known fact, that neither 

 plants nor animals, can enjoy good health, unless 

 they have the advantage of light. Light is imp'or- 

 tant'in the elaboration of the juices of plants, which 

 is furnished by the roots, and unless they are al- 

 lowed to produce leaves, and those leaves have the 

 action of light upon them, the juices continue thin 

 and watery ; circulation becomes languid, and the 

 plant dies of a disorder as near dropsy, as the na- 

 ture of the case will allow. — Editor G.F. 



POPULAR SCIENCE. 



Why can white horses bear the heat of summer 

 and the cold of winter better than those who have 

 (bilk colors ? 



The reason is, because in summer their white 

 covering reflects off* the rays of the sun, and in 

 winter it radiates oft" but comparatively little calor- 

 ic from their bodies. For the same reason also a 

 white dress is warmer in winter and cooler in sum- 

 mer than any other color. 



The pitch of a piano-forte is lowered in a warm 

 day and elevated in cold weather; — why? 



It is in consequence of the expansion of the 

 strings being greater in a warm day than the 

 wooden frame work to which they are attached, 

 and in the cold the reverse will happen. 



A cask filled with liquid in the winter, will force 

 its plug in summer or burst ; — for what reason ? 



It is in consequence of the expansion of the li- 

 quid being much greater than that of the cask 

 which contains it. Hence some very cunning 

 dealers it is said, endeavor to make their purchas- 

 es in very cold weather, and their sales in warm 

 weather. — Portsmouth Journal. 



CROUP. 



For the benefit of all classes of our readers we 

 give below in brief, the important part of an arti- 

 cle on croup. Dr. Dewees is an eminent pliysi- 

 ciam of Philadelphia, and is a professor in the 

 University of Pennsylvania. From th<> fourth 

 edition (1832) of his work we have made our ex- 

 tract : 



Direction and recipe. — Rub the throat with the 

 spirit of turpentine. Repeat this, if the first has 

 not subdued the hoarseness, so soon as the red- 

 ness occasioned by the turpentine, has nearly dis- 

 appeared. The turpentine must not be used so as 



