316 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



APRIL, 16, 1834. 



1I1KD KILLING. 



The following notice to frontiers and hunters, 

 signed by nineteen individuals, appeared in a late 

 number of the Germantown Telegraph. — Far. &,■ 

 Median. 



" VVe, tlie subscribers, of Lower Merion town- 

 ship, Montgomery county, viewing with concern 

 the astonishing increase of insects, and the im- 

 mense damage done to our crops and fruit, for 

 several years past, and believing the cause to be 

 principally owing to the killing of birds, do most 

 respectfully admonish all persons to abstain from 

 shooting them or .destroying their nests or eggs; 

 and, for ourselves, we do absolutely forbid anj 

 person or persons trespassing on our places, break- 

 ing our fences, bunting or firing a gun on our re- 

 spective lands, or with dogs of any species; there- 

 fore any persons entering on our premises, contrary 

 to this notice, must expect to be dealt with accord- 

 ing to law." 



unlikely to be the case, the orchard ist may then 

 resort to the common methods for destroying the 

 few nests that may appear. 



From the Genesee Fanner. 

 NEW MODE OF DESTROYING CATERPILLARS. 



Thf. parent moth of the common caterpillar, lays 

 its eggs on the small branches of our fruit trees, 

 cementing them together with a gummy substance 

 which preserves them from the weather. The de- 

 posit has often some resemblance to an open-ended 

 thimble ; but its form is not always regular, and 

 sometimes it extends but little more than halt 

 round the twig. Our friend Charles Gilford oj 

 Ledyard, had observed that these are generally 

 placed on the lower branches, and for several years, 

 has been in the practice of [licking them from his 

 trees before the warmth of the season was sulli- 

 cient to bring forth the young insects. The de- 

 struction of every deposit prevents the ravages of 

 a nest of caterpillars. He is decidedly of opinion 

 that it is the most expeditious and economical way 

 of ridding an orchard of this nuisance ; and we 

 fully concur after having made a fair trial. Tin- 

 eye soon becomes practised in this search ; and 

 what at first seemed difficult to find, is readily de- 

 tected. 



This work may be done at any time previous to 

 the opening of the buds. From an examination 

 made on the lib ilist. with a microscope, we found 

 the eggs already hatched, though the young ani- 

 mals keep in their cells; and there is no dangi i of 

 their going forth till the leaves begin to expand. 

 We estimate from a slight inspection, that the eggs 

 will average about 300 to each deposit. 



We have no recollection of having seen a nest 

 of caterpillars in a pear. The cultivated cben \ 

 has a few ; the peach suffers more, perhaps not 

 h >s than the apple, or the crab ; but the wild cher- 

 ry is the gnat favorite. — We have seen the nests 

 on one tree, united for more than ten feet in 

 length. 



It may therefore be proper to examine some 

 trees more closely than others ; and though we 

 may care lint little about the wild cherry, we thusl 

 bear in mind that these insects, under the present 

 arrangement of things, tire our enemies; and that 

 if we allow them to multiply, the more of them 

 we shall have to war against, another year. — Some 

 fanners who seem to believe there is no use in 

 destroying insects, have had their orchards in a 

 few years partially covered with nests ; and we 

 have seen some trees in the last season that had 

 lost every leaf. 



We think it is better to be up and doing. Should 

 some of these deposits be overlooked which is not 



From the Maine Farmer. 

 RAISING WHEAT. 



A piece of land lying in Dixficld village, owned 

 and improved by Mr. C. T. Chase, after being im- 

 proved as a pasture some years, was ploughed up 

 three years ago last summer and sowed with rye, 

 without manure and without grass seed. The 

 erop of rye was rather small. The spring after 

 the rye WHS taken off, the stumps were taken out, 

 the land ploughed, and manured with about a 

 dozen loads of leached ashes to one acre and one 

 eighth of an acre. It was then sowed with wheat 

 and clover seed. The produce was twenty-six 

 bushels. The same tall after the wheat was taken 

 off, the clover, which had taken well, was plough- 

 ed under, and the succeeding spring (which was 

 the last) the land sowed with wheat, without any 

 manure. The product of this sowing was forty 

 and a half bushels, measured after it bad been 

 passed through the cleanser at the flour mill in 

 the village. Mr. Chase thinks that the crop might 

 have been injured from three to five bushels by 

 cattle which broke in while the crop was growing. 

 If we add three bushels, the smallest quantity 

 mentioned, to the forty and a half bushels, we shall 

 have forty-three and a half bushels of clean wheat 

 from one and one-eighth acres. Deduct then from 

 forty-three and one-half bushels, one-ninth part for 

 the eighth of an acre, and you will have something 

 over lliu ty-eight and a half buohels to the acre. 

 Is not this doing well? J. II. J. 



Ptru, March I7ih, 1834. 



CLOTHES CATCH1KG FIKE. 



Many affecting and fatal accidents have happen- 

 d, and are frequently recurring, particularly to 

 hildren, and females in the higher ranks of life, 



from their clothes catching fire, most of which might 

 lie prevented, were the two following simple tacts 

 universally known and practically applied, — that 



flame luts a tendency to mount upwards; and that 

 air is essentially requisite for, supporting it. When 

 the clothes of temales take lire, as the tire general- 

 ly begins at the lower parts of their dress, so low; 

 as they continue in an upright posture, the Sanies 

 naturally ascending, ami meeting with additional 

 fuel as they rise, become more powerful ill pro- 

 portion ; whereby the neck, the head, and other 

 \ ilal parts of the body are liable to be most injured ; 

 and, by running from one part of the room to an- 

 other, or from one apartment to another, as is 

 most frequently the case, the air, which is the fuel 

 ot lire, gains lice access to every part of their ap- 

 parel, and feeds the increasing flame. In such 

 cases, the sufferer should instantly throw hei 

 clothes over her head, and roll or lie upon them, 

 in order to prevent the ascent of the flames am; 

 the access of fresh air. When this cannot con- 

 veniently be effected, she may still avoid great 

 agony, and save her lile, by throwing herself at 

 lull length on the floor, and rolling herself thereon. 

 Though this method may not, in every ease com- 

 pletely extinguish the flame, it will to a certainly 

 retard its progress, and preveut fatal injury to the 

 vital parts. When assistance is at baud, t lie by- 

 standers should immediately wrap a carpet, a 

 hearth-rug, a great-coat, or a blanket around the 

 head and body of the sufferer, who should be laid 

 in a recumbent position, which will prove a cer- 



tain preventive from danger. During ihe year 

 1S13, the author noted down more than ten in- 

 stances, recorded in the public prints, of females 

 who were burnt to death by their clothes catching 

 fire, all of which might have been prevented, bad 

 the simple expedients now stated been resorted to, 

 and promptly applied. — Dick on Diffusion of Knowl- 

 edge. 



BITE OP MAD DOGS. 



A number of dogs have been killed, both in 

 town and in the- country, within lhe last few 

 weeks, which were believed to be in a rabid state; 

 and on Thursday last an individual was bitten a 

 short distance from the borough, by one supposed 

 to he mad. As there is considerable alarm in the 

 county, and probably some danger also, we copy 

 the following from the Press — which was furnish- 

 ed by a physician — directing the course proper to 

 be pursued in case of an individual being bitten, 

 who is not able to procure the immediate attend- 

 ance of a physician : 



" Let the person bitten immediately tie a liga- 

 ture very tight above the wound; then scarify the 

 wound deep, after which bathe the wound with a 

 strong solution of common table salt, very warm ; 

 sink the wound frequently with the mouth, there 

 being no danger if it is often washed out with salt 

 and water, or with a glass tumbler, which can be 

 done by putting a little lighted paper in the tum- 

 bler and then applying it .over the wound. After 

 this, apply a large poultice of very hot mush, as 

 warm as can be borne, and renew every half hour. 

 Take oft' the tight ligature after the first applica- 

 tion of sucking and bathing. Send for your Phy- 

 sician as soon as possible." — Mercer Luminary. 



NEW PROCESS FOR CLEANING LINEN. 



The Society for the Encouragement of Arts and 

 Manufactures ha\e rewarded Mrs. .Morris for a 

 method of cleaning silk, woollen and cotton goods, 

 without injury to the texture or color. — Take raw 

 potatoes, and lit them be well washed, and rubbed 

 on a grater over a \essel of clean water to a fine 

 pulp. Pass the liquid matter through a coarse 

 sieve into another tub of clean water; let the mix- 

 ture stand till the line white particles of the pota- 

 toes are precipitated ; then pour the mucilaginous 

 liquor from the fecular, and preserve the liquor for 

 use. The article to be cleansed should then be 

 laid upon a linen cloth on a table, and sponged re- 

 peatedly with the potato liquor till the dirt is per- 

 fectly si parat'd. The article should then he wash- 

 ed several tin es in clean water to remove the loose 

 dirt, ami may be afterwards smoothed anil dried. 

 The coarse pulp which docs not pass the sieve is 

 asserted to be of great use ill cleansing worsted 

 curtains, tapestry, carpets and other coarse goods. 

 The mucilaginous liquor of the potatoes will clean 

 silk, cotton or woollen goods of any kind, without 

 damaging the texture of lhe article, er alb cling 

 ihe ci, lor. It is further applicable to the removal 

 of the dirt from oil paintings or soiled furniture ; 

 and the dirty painted wainscots may be cleansed 

 by wetling a sponge in ihe liquor, then dipping it 

 in a little line' clean sand, and rubbing lhe wain- 

 scot. — London paper. 



Weight of live and dead Cuttle. The proportion 

 of live to dead weight, independent of offal is as 

 S to 5. — This rule is found to lie so correct that it 

 would he far more satisfactory if cattle were sold 

 by their live weight. — JY. T. Farmer. 



