NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



285 



about June or July, in -which, state it presents rather 

 an interesting appearance ; the calj'x being of a straw 

 color, the petals of a clear yellow, beautifully striped 

 with red, the filament purple, and the anthers brown. 

 The timber of the tamarind-tree is heavy, firm, and 

 hard ; sawn into boards, it is converted into many 

 useful purposes in building. The pulp contained in 

 the pods is used both in food and medicine. The 

 tamarinds which are brought from the East Indies 

 are darker, and dried, but contain more pulp ; being 

 preserved without sugar, they are fitter to bo put into 

 medicines than those from the West Indies, which 

 are much redder, but, being preserved with sugar, are 

 more pleasant to the palate. 



The use of tamarinds was first learned from the 

 Arabians. They contain a larger proportion of acid 

 with the saccharine matter than is usually found in 

 acid fruit. The epicarp of the pod is thin, and the 

 acid pulp for which they are esteemed is the sarco- 

 carp. Tamarinds are preserved in two ways ; com- 

 monly by throwing hot water from the boilers on 

 the ripe pulp ; but a better method is to put alter- 

 nate layers of tamarinds and powdered sugar in a 

 stone jar. By this means the tamarinds preserve 

 their color, and taste more agreeably. Preserved 

 tamarinds should be fresh and juicy, and should 

 have an agreeable acid taste ; they should not have 

 a musty smell ; the seeds should not be soft and 

 swollen, and tlie blade of a knife should not get a 

 coating of copper by being immersed among them. 

 Tamarinds contain sugar, mucilage, citric acid, super- 

 tartrate of potass, tartaric acid, and malic acid. In 

 medicine, the pulp of tamarinds taken in the quan- 

 tity of from two to three drachms to an ounce, or a 

 little more, prove gently laxative and purgative, and 

 at the same time, by its acidity, quenches thirst, and 

 allays immoderate heat. 



T. occidentalis, or West India, is a tree of much 

 magnitude and beauty, attaining, in a full-grown 

 specimen, the height of from thirty to forty feet, 

 with branches in proportion. Its blossoms, which 

 are produced in February, so much resemble the 

 T. indica, that it will be unnecessary to mention 

 them here. The difi"erencc in the two species is in 

 the pods ; in the West India species they are shorter 

 and redder than those of the East Indies. They are 

 propagated with great facility by cuttings, but better 

 plants may be obtained from seeds. 



BERNARD REYNOSO. 



For the Neio England Fanner. 

 CURL IN THE POTATO. 



Mk. Euitor : The new potato disease, of which 

 your correspondent speaks, has affected some vari- 

 eties of the potato in this vicinity, much longer than 

 the potato rot. I do not now recollect when it first 

 made its appearance, but I think it was about fifteen 

 years since, that we procured a few potatoes of a 

 neighbor, which he called table potatoes, and which 

 were of excellent quality, and, when we first ob- 

 tained them, tolerably productive ; but after phmting 

 them a year or two, a part of them gave a stinted 

 growth of stalks, and a small yield of small jjotatoes, 

 and the number of curled hills gradually increased, 

 until we threw the variety aside as worthless. 



Since tluit time we have had no curly potatoes 

 until we commenced planting the Carter variety, 

 which, with us, is more liable to curl than the I'cach 

 Blow. But these are not the only varieties which 

 arc affected in this manner. I have seen it to some 

 extent in the Early Blue, the Long Red, and several 

 other varieties. 



The disease, I think, is caused in part by the 



nxature of the soil, and is partly peculiar to particular 

 varieties. 3Iy reasons for attributing a part to the 

 soU. are, that in the south and west parts of this 

 town, where the soil is of a dark color, resembling 

 muck, and rather moist, the curl has not been seen ; 

 and potatoes raised on such land will remain healthy 

 for a time, even when planted on different soils. 



If your correspondent will examine the potatoes 

 produced from the curly hills of the Peach Blow, I 

 think he will find them of a pale, dead color, while 

 those which are healthy are of a bright, lively red ; 

 and the Carters, if he has them, instead of ihe clear 

 Avhitc, natural to this variety, will exhibit a scurfy, 

 yellow appearance. I have noticed, also, that when 

 planted on the same land several years in succession, 

 they were much more affected than when they fol- 

 lowed some other crop. I do not know whether Mr. 

 Lee intended to convey the idea that the curly hilis 

 were free from rot, or merely that the rot did not 

 necessarily accompany the curl. If the former, 1 

 think he is mistaken, for although this is not always 

 the case, still, I think generally the curly potatoes 

 are more exposed to the rot. 



The best way to avoid the curl is, undoubtedly, to 

 cultivate hardy kinds ; but if we wish to preserve a 

 particular variety, it may be kept mostly clear by 

 planting tubers selected from the best hills, of a clear, 

 bright color, free firom scurfj and taking care not to 

 plant the same ground two years in succession. 



^V. F. B. 



AsHFiELD, Aug. 5. 



Rem.^rks. — Our correspondent's opinions are in 

 accordance with our own experience and observa- 

 tion. Our Peach Blows have been affected with tlie 

 curl, while many others on the same piece of land, 

 and under the same treatment, were sound. Wo 

 once planted several varieties of potatoes imported 

 from England, nearly all of which were affected with 

 the curl. None were diseased excepting the foreign 

 kinds. These facts prove that some varieties are 

 more liable to the curl than others, or that some arc 

 very liable to it while others escape. 



Our remarks on the 236th page of this volume 

 confirm the opinion as to potatoes being less liable to 

 curl on moist land, and more liable to this disease on 

 land that has been in tillage several years. 



BEES. 



To the naturalist, this insect presents an object of 

 delightful contemplation, and even to the casual 

 observer, it is not entirely devoid of interest. 



Perhaps a slight description of this little busy in- 

 sect, in connection with a few facts, may be perused 

 with interest and profit by the readers of your amus- 

 ing and valuable sheet. When a hive becomes very 

 full, by the increase of young bees in the spring, the 

 old queen leaves it to seek a new homo, and suCli of 

 the other bees as choose to follow her fortunes (led 

 by their great regard and affection for their sover- 

 eign) quit the hive at the same time, the rest re- 

 maining at home. This is termed sicanninfj. 



The bees which leave the hive, led by the queen, 

 alight upon some neighboring bush or tree, entirely 

 surrounding and covering up her majesty. Here, 

 clinging to each other, in the form of a large ball, 

 they will remain, if undisturbed, for a longer or 

 shorter time, according to circumstances. Imme- 

 diately after they have thus alighted, if carefully 

 watched, a small number may be seen to leave the 

 mass, and iiy ott' in various directions. These would 



