1858. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



21 



drawing by their heads, and Avomen carrying bur- 

 dens on theirs, "that cattle and women are stiff- 

 necked enough for most j)ractical purposes," and 

 his consoling idea, when he lost his umbrella at 

 Waterloo, that the guide would probably "dig it 

 up next year and sell it as Napoleon's," are fair 

 specimens of his manner of adding a lively thought 

 to a sober subject. You and I have a right to 

 think well of the Judge's writings, and speak 

 well of them too, for did he not come to man's 

 estate und^- our eyes, and our bright examples ! 



Another chapter of contradictory opinions con- 

 tained in the number of the Farmer before me, 

 exists in the articles relative to that rascally de- 

 stroyer of fruit, the curculio. Mr. Underwood 

 thinks the keeping of fowls among the fruit trees 

 is a certain remedy, while, ^^e?- contra, Mr. "J. B. 

 G." thinks quite the reverse. There is something 

 Very curious in regard to the ravages of this in- 

 sect. i.Iy garden formerly contained quite a num- 

 ber of plum-trees, and year after year, almost 

 every plum was destroyed by the curculio. One 

 year, three or four years ago, not a curculio was 

 to be seen ; the plums grew unmolested, and ri- 

 pened beautifully, and 1 flattered myself that in 

 some miraculous manner, that pest of the orchard- 

 ist and plum-grower had got his quietus ; and the 

 foUoAving spring I entered with a hopeful spirit, 

 on the preparation of my trees for the production 

 of a harvest of fruit; but, alas, alas, I had crowed 

 too soon ; the bloom was superb, the young fruit 

 came in abundance, and so did the curculios ! 

 and not a perfect plum was left. 



From that time I gave up. I believe I have but 

 one plum tree left, "the Washington plum,'' 

 that blooms and produces young fruit in abund- 

 ance annually, which is annually destroyed by 

 that "ugly bug," and it is now some three or four 

 years since I have had the pleasure of eating a 

 fair ripe plum from my OAvn garden. I undertook 

 to console myself by raising pears, and had a half 

 a dozen trees planted, which grew and began to 

 produce as fine fruit as I ever saw. A handsomer 

 bloom than that of last spring could not be de- 

 sired, and the fruit set in abundance ; in June or 

 July, the ends of some of the limbs began to turn 

 black. I carefully cut them- off, the disease did 

 not stop, and I cut and cut, till I was tii'ed, and 

 of six as thrifty trees as you ever saw, there are 

 five as black and dead as if they had been cut off 

 at the ground in July. A single one remains, 

 which gave me a good crop of the Seckel pear, 

 and I expect that will "depart this life" next year. 

 I do not see why the others did, or why this 

 should not ! In September, I was at the house 

 of a friend in Ohio, and in passing around his 

 grounds, I saw pear tree after pear tree as black 

 as if its leaves had been made of ebony. I re- 

 marked, "you have the fire blight among your 

 ■pear trees, I perceive." "Yes," said he, "and fear 

 I shall lose them all." "Is there no remedy ?" I 

 asked, upon which he told me this anecdote. A 

 gentleman well known to him, who had a fine 

 pear orchard which was in the process of destruc- 

 tion, was asked what he thought of spiritualism. 

 He replied that he had heard much about it, and 

 of many wonderful revelations from the spirit- 

 world, but never any thing practical or useful. 

 "Now," said he, "if you will find a medium who 

 will ascertain, and inform me #hat will prevent 

 the fii-e blight among pear trees, and if it proves 



successful, I will give five hundred dollars." My 

 friend'added, "the medium has not yet made the 

 discovery, and therefore I know no remedy !" 



I have in my garden three crops that never fail, 

 grapes, figs and weeds! The Isabella and Cataw- 

 ba grapes ripen in perfection, and we have as 

 many as we desire to eat from August to Novem- 

 ber. We have two crops of figs every year ; one 

 in July, and another in October. They grow 

 large, ripen finely, and are delicious, and as yet 

 nothing has appeared to mar either my grapes or 

 figs. 



I believe I have commented on the Farmer suf- 

 ficiently for once, but my better half is anxious to 

 be informed, whether, when you give hens cay- 

 enne pepper to make them lay, the eggs will want 

 peppering when coohed! 



Notwithstanding the smashing and cracking 

 among banks and individuals. Uncle Sam goes on 

 in the even tenor of his way here. The extension 

 of the Capitol, the Post Office building, the Treas- 

 ury building, the Patent Office, the building of 

 the Aqueduct, and other public works, go on rap- 

 idly, and thousands of men, who would, were it 

 not for these works, be out of employ, are blessed 

 with "leave to toil," and are happy in the enjoy- 

 ment of that blessing. 



The new Hall of the House is progressing fast 

 to completion, and, it is said, will be ready for 

 the reception of the next House of Representa- 

 tives on the fu'st Monday in December. The new 

 Senate Chamber is not so forward, but is pro- 

 gressing, and both are perfectly magnificent 

 rooms. 



The first row of columns upon the dome is in 

 process of erection, about half of them are up. I 

 asked a workman the other day, while standing 

 on the foundation of the dome, how long it would 

 take to complete it ; his reply was, "seven years." 

 I do not think he fixed the time any too long, 

 and my belief is that in ten years the extensions 

 and dome will not more than be completed. All 

 the streets around the Capitol are filled with mar- 

 ble, and I cannot turn my horse and carriage at 

 my own door, so completely is East Capitol Street 

 encumbered with marble. From the eastern gate 

 to Third Street, this street, one hundred and six- 

 ty feet in width, is, with the exception of a nar- 

 row carriage way, completely blocked up, and so 

 are First Stree^ A Street, North and South, N. J- 

 Avenue, the space in front of the Capitol, and 

 the circular street north of it. I mention tliis by 

 no means in a complaining mood, but as evidence 

 of what is yet to be done. 



The times prognosticate a good deal of distress 

 among the poor here and elsewhere. I hope, for 

 their sake, we may have a mild winter. The 

 weather now is summer-like, thermometer indi- 

 cating seventy-four degrees, in the open air. 



Ever thine, B. B. Fkench. 



Washington, Nov. 9, 1857. 



CELESTIAL SUGAK CANE. 



The Nasta Beporter having published an ac- 

 count of a fall of sugar in that locality, from the 

 heavens, which called forth the doubts of a por- 

 tion of the press, thereupon that paper comments 

 on the phenomena as follows : 



"We repeat that our statements were correct. 

 Not only so, but on Friday night, 11th inst., the 



