122 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



March 



stead of ruta-baga, a poor, pnrple-topj)ed, tap- 

 rooted varictn of early turnip seed had been sold 

 to me. A small quantity of seed purchased ear- 

 lier in the season was mixed with this, and proved 

 true. Whether the seedsman or his agent was 

 in fault I cannot say, but the fact that farmers 

 are occasionally imposed upon in this manner, 

 should induce them to raise their own seed, es- 

 pecially such varieties as are soAvn in considera- 

 ble quantities. t 



In due time the ground was hoed three times, 

 and the plants thinned, and in the fall 150 bush- 

 els were harvested. Had I not been cheated in 

 the seed a good crop would have been raised. 

 However, I may as well make the best of it. — 

 lily main object was nearly accomplished. The 

 ^^ Quack" was so well subdued that but little ap- 

 r.'^ared in the fall, and I think good culture next 

 year will subdue it entirely. 



KING PHILIP CORN. 



I planted two ears of this variety last spring 

 from which I raised not less than two bushels of 

 sound, shelled corn. I took the first premium 

 at our .County Agricultural Fair, a merely nomi- 

 nal gratuity, however, as Indian corn was riot 

 enumerated jn the list of articles for specific pre- 

 miums. I would advise all who plant corn to 

 try the "King Philip." 



BUGS ON VINES. 



Thoy attacked mine last spring, as usual, but 

 a mixture of about four parts ground pepper and 

 one part flour, sifted on when the leaves were wet 

 proved too strong for them. If rain washes it 

 off, repeat the dose. What will destroy the corn, 

 fclug or "cut uiorm ?" L. Varney. 



Pictou, PrUnce Edicard County, C. ff'., ) 

 lit Mo., 1S58. j 



For the New England Farmer. 

 BOKEKS. 



Do borers winter in the ground and ascend 

 the tree again in tha spring ? In the fall of 1856 

 I noticed that my young peach trees were at- 

 tacked with borers ; I examined their holes with 

 a sharp knife and a wire, but co^ild not find a 

 single borer. 



In the early part cf May, 1857, 1 again looked at 

 the trees, and was surprised to find, under the 

 bark where they worked the year before, so many 

 borers of all sizes, from full-grown ones to those 

 hut just hatched ; they all appeared to be going 

 lip the tree, and I took twenty-five or thirty from 

 some of the trees. 



This fall the trees were not affected by them. 



Barre, Dec, 1857. w. A. P. 



Remarks. — We make the following extract 

 from Prof. Harris's 'Tnsects Injurious to Vege- 

 tation," which explains the habits of the Borer. 



"The pernicious borer, which, during many 

 years past, has proved very destructive to peach 

 trees throughout the United States, is a species 

 ct' JEgeria, named exifosa, or the destructiv€v.by 

 Mr. Say, who first scientifically described it in 

 the third volume of the 'Journal of the Academy 

 of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia,' and' subse- 

 quently gave a representation and account of it 

 h, iiis 'American Entomology.' In the fifth vol- 



ume of the 'Netv England Farmer' I have given 

 the history of this insect, have mentioned the 

 principal authors Avhb have noticed it, and recom- 

 mended preventive measures, which have been 

 found effectual in protecting the peach tree from 

 its most serious attacks. The eggs, from which 

 these borers are hatched, are deposited, in the 

 course of the summer, upon the trunk of the tree 

 near the root ; the borers penetrate the bark, and 

 devour the inner bark and sap-wood. The seat 

 of their operations is known by tUe castings and 

 gum which issue from the holes in the tree. 

 When these borers are nearly one year old, they 

 make their cocoons either under the bark of the 

 trunk or of the root, or in the earth and gum 

 contiguous to the base of the trees ; soon after- 

 wards they are transformed to chrysalids, and 

 finally come forth in the winged state, and lay 

 the eggs for another generation of borers. The 

 last transformation takes place from June to Oc- 

 tober, most frequently, however, during the month 

 of July, in the State of Massachusetts, Here, al- 

 though there are several broods produced by a 

 succession of hatches, there is but one rotation 

 of metamorphoses consummated witiiin a year. 

 Hence, borers, of all sizes, will be found in the 

 trees throughout the year, although it seems 

 necessary that all of them, Avhether more or less 

 advanced, should pass through one winter before 

 they appear in the winged state. Under its last 

 form, this insect is a slender, dark blue, four- 

 winged moth, having a great resemblance to a 

 wasp or ichneumon fly, to which it is sometimes 

 likened. The two sexes differ greatly from each 

 other, so much so, as to have caused them to be 

 mistaken for two distinct species. The male, 

 which is much smaller than the female, has all 

 the wings transparent, but bordered and veined 

 with steel-blue, which is the general color of the 

 body in both sexes ; the palpi or feelers, the 

 edges of the collar, of the shoulder-covers, oftha 

 rings of the abdomen,' and of the brush on the 

 tail, are pale yellow, and there are two rings of 

 the same yellow color on the shins. It expands 

 about one inch. The fore wings of the female 

 are blue and opake, the hind wings transparent, 

 and bordered and veined like those of the male, 

 and the middle of the abdomen is encircled by a 

 broad orange-colored belt. It expands an inch 

 and a half, or more. This insect does not con- 

 fine its attacks to the peach tree, I have repeat- 

 edly obtained both sexes from borers inhabiting 

 the excrescences which are found on the trunk 

 and limbs of the cherry tree ; and moreover, I 

 have frequently taken them in connexion on the 

 trunks of cherry and of peach trees. They some- 

 times deposit their eggs in the crotches of the 

 branches of the peach tree, where the borers will 

 subsequently be found ; but the injury sustained 

 by their operations in such parts bears no com- 

 parison to that resulting from their attacks at the 

 base of the tree, which they too often compbtely 

 girdle, and thus cause its premature decay and 

 death. The following plan, which was recom- 

 mended by me in the year 1826, and has been 

 tried with complete suctess by several persons in 

 this vicinity, will effectually protect the neck, or 

 most vital part of the tree, from injury. Remove 

 the earth around the base of the tree, crush and 

 destroy the cocoons and borers which may b« 

 found in it, and under the bark, cover the wound- 



