Vol. X. — Nn. i. 



AND HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



It is true tlie intercourse that must unavoidably take 

 place tliroiigli tlie day in going ont and in renders 

 such stal)lcs toleralily fresh aired ; yet in the inorn- 

 jng when the door has been slint for some hours 

 throngli Iho night, and especially in the summer, 

 the heat is intolerable, and the air so foul that a 

 man can hardly breathe in it, whilst at the same 

 time the shar[)ness of the suits, arising from the 

 horse's mine, &c, attacks his nose and eyes, and 

 occasions a copious discharge of tears. 



CATERPILLARS. 



Mr Editor — Among the many remedies ap- 

 plied to fruit trees for protecting them from llie 

 ravages of the caterDlllar and other insects, I have 

 never tried any with more success than strong 

 soap suds, which has been frequently recommend- 

 ed, particularly in your paper. Early last spring 

 I observed an uncommon indication of insects, 

 more particularly on apjile trees ; the first wliich 

 made their appearance were small green lice ac- 

 companied by ths black 'ant, which completely 

 covered the buds of appletrees as they were put- 

 ting out buds for blossotns and leaves. They 

 were soon followed by the caterpiHar, whose 

 combined efturts 1 liad great reason to c:;pect 

 would at least destroy all the fruit, if not the 

 trees. I immediately on discovery applied a 

 very strong snap suds with an old broom to the 

 bodies and limbs of the choicest trees, likewise 

 sprinkled it into the tops of the tree, as faithfully 

 as. practicable. A few days after I examined 

 them, and indeed found no insects ; but the buds 

 had the appearance of having been singed by fire. 

 They however shoilly came forward, and assum- 

 ed an uncommonly healthy appearance, and have 

 ever since been entirely free from any insect 

 whatever. 



I think it more nc('essary to notice the effect of 

 soap on insects, as its being made more generally 

 known, and within immediate reach of every far- 

 mer and horticulturist, it would not likely bo neg- 

 lected at the proper season. I would suggest that 

 it be applied to the liodies and branches of trees, 

 early in the spring, before the eggs fastened to the 

 bark are hatched by the heat of the sun. I have 

 no doubt but it would, if used several times during 

 the warm season on the bodies and about the 

 roots of ]ieach, cherry and plum trees, protect 

 them from the effect of the borer and other 

 worms which injure them. 



I have applied soap su<ls this summer to my 

 liills of cucumbers and melons, and have not been 

 at all troubled with worms, and very little by the 

 striped bug, while my neinhbors complain bitter- 

 ly of their ravages. 



I am respectfully yours. 



Almond Stephens. 



JVarsaw, Gtn. Co. June 13, 18S1. 



HESSIAN FLY. 

 This insect has made its appearance this season, 

 in this section, but to what extent they have dam- 

 aged the wheat wo have not yet learned. As the 

 Jiabits of this insect are well known, farjiiers 

 should guard against their ravages. They ma}' be 

 ibund, at the time the wliiat is in blossom, be- 

 tween the stalks and lower leaves, in the chrysalis 

 state, somewhat resembling a flax-seed. During 

 the time the kernel is in the milk, they hatch out 

 and become moths, and deposit their eggs upon 

 »be kernel, which is too small to be visible to the 



naked eye. When such wheat is sown, sliould 

 the autumn be warm, they hatch, and the larvte 

 ascend the young stalks, and locate themselves 

 among the leaves, as far down lis possible. In 

 this situation they may be fouml before and after 

 they are transformed to the chrysalis state, having 

 fed upon the juices of the young stalk, which 

 they materially injure. As the insect itself is not 

 a great traveller, it is easy to destroy the egg be- 

 fore sowing the wheat. For this purpose, [)lace 

 the wheat, intended to be sowji, in a basket over 

 a tub, and pour over it strong caustic ley, scalding 

 hot, after which the wheat may be sown, and 

 the increased vigor with which wheat so managed 

 will shoot, will compensate for the trouble, sep- 

 arate from the destruction of the egg of the hes- 

 siau fly. We recommend it to farmers to examine 

 their fields, and if any signs of the fly are to be 

 foiuid, to scald their wheat the coming season, be- 

 fore sowing, whicli will prevent them in the next 

 crop. — Genesee Farmer. 



Jf'atching the Swarming of Bees. — The hive is 

 placed upon a weighing beam, about three feet 

 eight inches long, with a board on the other end, 

 on whicli are put stones, of the weight of the 

 hive. 



When the bees begin to cast, (an ordinary top 

 swarm is between 4 lbs. and 5 lbs. weight,) and 

 when the first pound's weight of bees have left 

 the hive, the beam will turn back a little, the same 

 way ,13 a merchant's scale docs on the counter : 

 but before the scale rests it forces out a trigger 

 like the pin of a mole trap, which lets off a sni.ill 

 iron wire to a bell in the house, that gives suffi- 

 cient waining to the bee-mother, to go and take 

 care of the swarm. The above method has been 

 practised several years by Mr Duncan, gardener 

 near Ayr Glasgow Chronicle. 



Cider. — It is a matter of wonder, why, with the 

 exception of some part of New Jersey, and Duch- 

 ess and Orange counties in New York, no part of 

 tlie northern and middle states should have the rep- 

 utation of making good cider. By good cider we 

 mean that which will not become so sour as to be 

 unfit to drink in two or three months after it is 

 made. New England throughout, possesses a soil 

 which produces every variety of apples in the 

 greatest abundance, and yet we suspect that it will 

 be found that veryliTlle cider, comparatively, finds 

 its way from thence, either to the city of New 

 York, or other places still farther south. At any 

 rate, we hear of none from that quarter which is 

 held in repute, like that from New-Jersey. The 

 public tables in New York are not supplied with 

 good cider except at a cl^arge of 2.5 to 50 cents a 

 bottle. As cider forms a very considerable article 

 of export from our country, we take this opportuni- 

 ty to suggest, that establishments in the interior 

 might, wc doubt not, be made profitable by sending 

 Older to the city, either bottled, or fit to be bottled, 

 as an article of merchandize. — JV. K Slalesman. 



in ten or twelve hours they will be sufiiciently 

 dry for packing away. It will be said this is a 

 tedious process, but we go upon the principle that 

 it is best to save everything from the farm, that 

 will turn to cash ; therefore, instead of throwing 

 away the stones as useless, dry them also, and 

 they will always cormnaiid about half as much as 

 the cherries were worth before they were taken 

 out, which . will abundantly conijiensate for the 

 trouble, besides having the dried fruit altogether 

 more valuable. Those w!io save the stones for 

 planting, shoulil select the mazards, where they 

 can be had, as ihey make the most healthy and 

 vigorous stocks for grafting or budding upon, but 

 any of those kinds usually called English cherries, 

 will answer, but the common red or Kentish will 

 not ilo well, as ihey are of very slow growth from 

 the seed, but are equally as good as the others 

 fur making Noyeaus. — Genesee Farmer. 



Dried Cherries. — Few people know how to puze 

 dried cherries, and fewer still ever take the trouble 

 to dry them. As this is the proper season for 

 drying them, let those who have them attend to 

 it. It is customary to dry them without taking 

 out the stone. This is an expeditious way of se- 

 curing them, but is not the most profitable one. 

 Let the cherries be picked as soon as ripe, nnd the 

 stone taken out, and the fleshy parts spread upon 

 nlatos, and [lut in n moderately warm oven, and 



A meeting of Butler [Ohio,] County Agricultural 

 Society was yesterday held in the Court House 

 in Hamilton. A respectable number of farmers and 

 citizens attended the meeting. — A. I. Chittenden, 

 Esq. president of the Society, took the chair and 

 called the meeting to order, and the constitution 

 read by Dr Corey, one of the Secretaries, and 

 several aniendnients thereto proposed and adopt» 

 ed. A few remarks, were made by several mem- 

 bers, an<l an essay on the Weevil was read by 

 Taylor Webster Esq. After which the following 

 Resolution was offered by Mr J. Milikin, Esq. 

 and passed. 



Resolved, That the President shall appoint a 

 committee to report to this society at its next reg- 

 ular meeting rules and regulations for the annuaj 

 exhibitions of the society, and also to propose the 

 several animals, implements of husbandry and 

 other articles for which premiums shall be offered 

 with the anioutvt of ilie premiums to be given. 



We were pleased to see many of the substan- 

 cial farmers from different parts of the country 

 in attendance.. The next meeting of the society 

 will beheld on the first Wednesday of July at the 

 Court House in Hamilton. — Hamilton Int. 



Improved Plough. — Mr Barnabas Thatcher, an 

 ingenious mechanic of Barnstable, has invented a 

 plough in some respects superior to those in com- 

 mon use. — The improvement consists of a move- 

 able beam, to which a periiendicular motion can 

 bo given by means of two nuts on the end of the 

 coulter, (one above and tlie otiier below the beam,) 

 and the depth of the fm'row thereby regulated. 

 To the end of the beam inserted in the handle, 

 an iron, bent at right angles, is affixed. Tlie bent 

 part of whicli passes through the hanille, and has 

 a nut on each si<le, by which a horrizontal movt- 

 ment can be given to the beam, and the furrow cut 

 of any desirable width Barnstable Journal. 



management of pigs. 

 The following experiment was made by a gen- 

 tleman of Norfolk. Six pigs of the Norfolk breed, 

 and of nearly equal weight were put to ki^eping at 

 the same time, and treated the same as to food and 

 litter for about seven weeks. Three of them v/ore 

 left to shift for themselves as to cleanliness ; the 

 other three were kept as clean as possible by a man 

 employed for the purpose, with a curry-comb and 

 brush. The last consumed in seven weeks fewer 

 peas by Tire bushels, than the other three ; yet they 

 weighed more when killed by two stone and four 

 pounds [thirlysix pounds] upon an average, or six 

 stone .twelve pounds upon the whole. — Land. pap. 



