418 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



.TILT 9, 1«3*. 



Mini nervines of the wings, usually of the color ot 

 brick dust or sealing wax. 



As to their inclination or ability to do hurra, these 

 Mre both very small. What they Ho while under 

 ground, as before observed, we know not. While 

 among lis, their only object seems to be, to pair, 

 and deposit their eggs. For this purpose they 

 live a merry day or two, subsisting on a few 

 drops of sap, and stunning our ears with their 

 noisy din, and then become a plentiful source o! 

 sustenance to many birds and beasts; I( is said 

 that the American savages have sometimes used 

 diem for food, but I am not aware that they are 

 ever employed as such by civilized man. It is 

 also said that life lias been destroyed by them. — 

 We can easily conceive them to have the power 

 of inflicting severe wounds when confined in a hat 

 or otherwise, by their powerful ovipositors, and 

 these wounds may even prove fatal. But, on the 

 whole, the Cicada is quite as harmless, and far less 

 annoMiig than the musquito. lis deafening din 

 is far more tolerable than the shrill and quiet hum 

 of the latter, and itshydraulic apparatus consumes 

 n far less vital portion of our precious substance, 

 than the sanguinary lance of the musquito. 



A short comparison of the Cicada with the 

 true locust (Gryllus), will at once show the differ- 

 ence between the two insects, and the little reason 

 there is to be alarmed at its appearance. The lo- 

 cust belongs to the order Ortiioptera, the cicada 

 to the order Hemiptera. The form of the locust 

 and its habits are the same as our grasshoppers, 

 which are, indeed, our locusts: — that of the cica- 

 da, as is well known, is very different. The two 

 grand differences, however, are, that the locust 

 attains its whole growth above ground ; and that, 

 too, in the space of a month or two, and conse- 

 quently requires a large amount of herbage to 

 maintain ils growth. While the cicada has ob- 

 tained its full size and development when it first 

 emerges from the ground, and requires little or 

 nothing to support it during the few days of its 

 existence. And again ; the locust is furnished 

 u ith powerful jaws for masticating his food, while 

 1 mc cicada has only a tube for taking in fluids, and 

 is utterly incapable of devouring any thing. Apol- 

 ogizing for tiiis long communication, I remain, 

 Yours, &c. Augustus A. Gould. 

 My 3</, 183 4. 



stopping them when necessary, and thus prevent- 

 ing the accidents that sometimes occur from their 

 rapid movements. — Boston Traveller. 



IMPORTANT INVENTION. 



Safety. The apparatus for checking carriage 

 wheels, invented by K. Jarvis, Esq. is worthy of 

 public attention. It can be lined to any vehicle; 

 old or new, for a moderate expense, and is easily 

 managed. 



It will be useful in confining horses, or prevent-; 

 illg them from running away, when harnessed to 

 vehicles and left standing without being tied. 



■\pplied to stage coaches, it will put the horses 

 under the command of both passengers and driver ; 

 the means for checking either fore or hind wheels 

 terminating inside of the coach, within reach ol 

 the former, and also forward within reach of the 

 latter. Should the driver in stopping leave his 

 iiorses untied, or should he attempt to race, or be 

 thrown from his scat, or should the horses att< mpl 

 ■o back over a bank or precipice, the wheels can 

 be instantly checked by the passengers. So 

 should the coach contain no passengers, and the 

 horses attempt to back or run, the wheels can be 

 Checked by the driver. 



1 will be useful on fire engines, in suddenly 



t',oi:i tli'- Cvltfrator. 

 CANADA THISTLE. 



The suggestion of our correspondent in the fol- 

 lowing communication, that frequent ploughing 

 will destroy the Canada thistle, is in continuation 

 of the practice of Mr. Hillhouse, as related in the 

 May number of the Cultivator. The object of 

 both gentlemen was the same — to prevent the 

 plant from vegetating; while the one used the 

 plough, the other substituted the hoe for that pur- 

 pose, and both it appears were effectual; these 

 communications contain important suggestions, and 

 we have no doubt they will be acted upon by some 

 of our farmers the coming season. 



We have this moment been called upon by a 

 neighbor to the gentleman who sent ns the above 

 communication, who says the practice of killing 

 the thistle in the above instance, as related by our 

 correspondent, was so completely successful, that 

 where any are now left, this plan to subdue them 

 is invariably resorted to — that a small farm in the 

 vicinity was sold a few year* ago at the moderate 

 price of not more than Sjjj2§ per acre, because the 

 <r round was almost covered with the thistle — that 

 the method of frequent ploughing was adopted 

 by ihe purchaser, and the thistles are so perfectlj 

 subdued that hardly a single one can now be seen, 

 and this same farm would now readily sell al 

 doubie the original price. We cannot for a mo- 

 ment doubt the correctness of the ahove statements, 

 and if frequent ploughing is the remedy to des- 

 troy the thistle, a knowledge of the fact ought to 

 be most extensively diffused. A. 



Iain happy to perceive the attention of a sub- 

 scriber is drawn to the destruction of the Canada 

 thistle. What he. writes is from actual experience, 

 the best school extant. The gentleman's mode 

 of destroying that most noxious of all weeds, (the 

 ( lanada thistle) 1 conceive to be hased on just prin- 

 ciples, viz : that of totally depriving it of a top 

 through one summer. This is an effectual mode 

 of eradicating them ; but I think we may pursue 

 a system of management, where there are large 

 quantities of this thistle in a more sure and effec- 

 tual way, than the one in your May number of the 

 Cultivator, signed by a Subscriber. — What I here 

 state is also from actual experience. For the lasl 

 four years I had two farms which were harassed 

 more or less by the above named thistle, one ot 

 them being a small farm, was almost overrun wiih 

 it, so much so, as to almost ruin both the grass and 

 grain crop. — My mode of treatment is, to plant 

 the field one year. That will subdue the sod. 

 The next year commence as soon as the thistles 

 come up in the spring to plough them, and con- 

 tinue to plough them, say once in two or three 

 weeks, or as often as they come up or appear, un- 

 til it is time to sow the field with winter grain. 

 By this time the thistles if attended to as directed 

 will be totally destroyed. I have killed last sea- 

 son full ten acres in this way; the season before 

 as many more, and three yeans ago from one to 

 two acres. Small spots may he wholly kept down 

 in pasture fields by sailing stock upon them, and 

 at the same time see to them (is often as once a 

 week, that there are no tops left. If there are, 

 strong brine, when the ground is moist poured 

 upon them, will kill them,, but if you kill all 

 that are in sight to-day, in one week examine and 



you will rind more, so that it requires attention or 

 else yon will lose your labor; there is no half-way 

 work about it; when they are bad in a stone wall 

 the best way is to remove it to some other place 

 ,,,,i infected with them. The number of times of 

 ploughing required to kill mine, has varied from 

 five to ten times, and when the ground is hare, 

 you can plainly see whether yon ha\e destroyed 

 them or not. 



If the above article should be the means of as- 



sisiii]"- the Hestructk none square rod of ground 



covered with Canada thistle, the writer will he 

 lully recompensed. 



A SUBSCKIRER. 



Chatham, CoVa to. X. Y. May 12, 1834. 



From GeodseWs Farmer. 

 INSECTS ON APPLE TREES. 



In many parts of the country apple trees are 

 much injured by small insects upon the hark, 

 which are commonly denominated lice. 



These insects soon after they are hatched from 

 the eir; construct a covering over themselves, upon 

 the bark shaped somewhat like the one-half of a 

 tlax-seed, of a light brown color, which is capable 

 of defending them from tiie weather, and also 

 from many external injuries which might other- 

 wise destroy them. — Beneath this shelter the pa- 

 rent insect supports itself, by perforating the bark 

 through to the sap or young and tender part id 

 the year's growth, upon which il feeds until the 

 season arrives for its metamorphosis, when it 

 changes shape, and deposites the eggs for the 

 next generation and dies. These eggs hatch about 

 the hist of May, or from that trtne until the mid- 

 dle of June, according to the weather ; after which 

 they emerge from the shell made by the parent, 

 crawl a short distance, generally upwards, fix 

 themselves upon a smooth place on the haik, and 

 in turn commence building each a shelter, lor 

 himself, perforating the bark and feeding upon the 

 sap as before. By cutting beneath them with a 

 sharp knife, a small brown speck will be discover- 

 ed, indicating their perforation, and when they 

 are very ihhk, the whole hark appears, when 

 cut much injured, and of a brown color. 



From the time of the hatching of the eggs, un- 

 til they have formed their covering, they are eas - 

 Iv destroyed, either by washing the trees thus in- 

 fected with soap suds, or by washing and at the 

 same time rubbing the tree with a brush, a coarse 

 raj, or something of the kind, by which most of 

 the insects will he destroyed by force, and those 

 detached without being injured by force, will be 

 destroyed by the solution.— Strong ley will an- 

 swer the same purpose. Soft soap is sometimes 

 Used alone, which answers the double purpose of 

 destroying the inserts, and acting as a manure for 

 the trees, as it is carried down to the ground by 

 continual rains. 



In applying soap or ley to fruit trees for the 

 destruction of insects, it should be applied as far up 

 the branches as possible, without getting it upon 

 the leaves, as when of sufficient strength lor the 

 desired purpose leaves would he injured by it. 



Some make use of lime instead of soap or ley, 

 applying it as a whitewash; this gives the bodies 

 of trees a very neat appearance, and no doubt 

 prevents the ascent of many insects as well as the 

 multiplication of others, but we do not think it so 

 effectually destroys the small insects alluded to, as 

 the other application. 



