316 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



furrow-slice in a gentle and easy manner, laying it 

 smoothly over into its proper place, with an easy 

 draught by the team, and -with little assistance from 

 the ploughman. It has also a space of eighteen 

 inches between the beam and the sole of the cast- 

 ings, which prevents all clogging. The roller is at- 

 tached to the side of the beam, instead of being 

 placed under it, and consequently it can be made 

 ten to twelve inches in diameter, thus avoiding that 

 constant groaning and laboring iijjon the axis which 

 are liable to occur where small rollers are used. The 

 dial-clevis and draught-rod, by which the team is 

 attached to the plough, is an improvement, I think, 

 upon the common clevis. Besides being a stronger 

 and more durable attachment, it enables one to set 

 his plough with entire accuracy in any desired fur- 

 row, from the shallowest and narrowest to the deep- 

 est and widest, that it is capable of taking. 



The largest size of the greensward plough is in- 

 tended for the draught of four cattle. I have used 

 it, and it works well in furrows all the way from six 

 to twelve inches deep, but it delights especially in 

 deep furrows. When set for ploughing a foot deep, 

 the most proper width for it to take is sixteen to sev- 

 enteen inches ; and the width of course lessens with 

 the lessening of the depth. The next size is a three 

 cattle plough, to be used in furrows not exceeding 

 nine or ten inches in depth. The smallest size is a 

 two cattle plough, designed for furrows not exceed- 

 ing seven or eight inches in depth. The height of 

 beam is the same in all the sizes, and the general 

 form and principles of working are the same ; the 

 variations being in the amount of work done, and 

 the force of team necessary to do it. 



The accompanying cuts show the general form of 

 these ploughs. 



F. HOLBROOK. 



Bkattleboro', Vt., Auff. 12, 1850. 

 — Albany Cultivator. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 PEACH-LEAF CURL. 



!Mu. Cole : I perceive, in the last number of the 

 N. E. Farmer, that Dr. Brown attributes the curl of 

 the peach leaf to the " cold northerly and easterly 

 winds in the month of May." These views, you say, 

 coincide with your own. 



Now, gentlemen, with all due courtesy, I would 

 beg leave to differ from you as to the cause. This 

 peach-leaf curl is no new disease ; it has existed for 

 several years, and has shown itself about the same 

 time, (from the middle of May to the middle of 

 June,) and we always have more or less cold north 

 and east winds in the spiiiig of the year ; and, for 

 aught we know, these may be an inciting cause; but 

 how does it happen, if thej- are the immediate or 

 sole cause, that the trees are not more universally 

 art'ccted ? For so far as our observation extends, not 

 more than one tree in twenty has shown symptoms 

 of the blight, and those rarely contiguous, but scat- 

 tered about in all ])arts of the orchard ; and then 

 there appears to be little or no difference in the prev- 

 alence cf the disease in any location. If your theory 

 were correct, we might expect to find trees more 

 all'ectcd in elevated positions, or near the sea-shore, 

 exposed to the most chilling blasts ; and yet we find 

 those trees no more affected with the curl than trees 

 more remote, and in a sheltered position, or even 

 trees trained to a high board fence, with a southern 

 exposure. 



\Ve should think the curled leaf described by Dr. 

 Brown was more virulent than we are accustomed to 

 in this region, and somewhat anal(|gous to the " yel- 



lows," for he says, " The leaves have been gradually 

 dropping from the trees to this time, (Aug. 1,) and 

 those now on the trees are from new shoots," &c. 

 The curled leaf has not thus affected trees that have 

 come under our observation ; and we challenge any 

 one now, having no knowledge of the fact, to desig- 

 nate a tree in our orchards (and we have more than 

 three hundred trees) that has been affected with the 

 bUght. M^e know of no instance in which the dis- 

 ease has proved fatal ; it undoubtedly retards the 

 growth of the tree in a measure, but it is of short 

 duration, and the trees put forth new foliage, and the 

 second growth is vigorous. 



The " yellows," if we understand it, (for we have 

 no experience in the matter,) causes the fruit to ripen 

 prematurely, sends out new shoots, causes a general 

 decay, and speedy death ensues. 



There seems to be but little analogy between the 

 yellows and curled leaf; but as to the cause and rem- 

 edy, we are as much in the dark as we are of the 

 present locality of '< the lost tribe of Israel." C. 



Pembroke, Sept. 7, 1850. 



Remarks. — The "yellows" in peaches is a per- 

 manent, and generally a fatal disease, which may be 

 propagated by contagion. The "curled leaf" is a 

 temporary disease, that affects the foliage. It is of a 

 transient nature, and it only affects the tree as would 

 the destruction of the foliage from any other cause. 

 This season our most healthy trees were severely 

 affected with this leaf disorder, and it came upon 

 them suddenly, like a blast. We think it comes too 

 suddenly, and operates in too cool and stormy 

 weather to be the effect of insects ; hence we infer 

 that it is a blast from unfavorable weather. 



On our grounds, which are near the sea, almost 

 every tree was affected with the curled leaf, and 

 among them many healthy young seedlings, that are 

 very hardy against cold weather. The few that es- 

 caped were evidently more hardy against the blast 

 than others ; for one kmd, that was peculiar in this 

 respect, escaped in several situations, though amidst 

 others which were much injured. We had several 

 early varieties, that were only one year from the bud, 

 and yet they blossomed full ; among them Avas Hall's 

 Down-Easter, a very hardy kind against cold weather. 

 The effect of the curled leaf was the destruction of 

 the fruit on all but Crawford's Early Melocoton : this 

 escaped the disease, though in a row beside those 

 affected, and it bore fruit. The fruit on older trees 

 was not so much affected, though the curl was 

 equally destructive to the foliage. 



The views of correspondents on this subject are 

 very acceptable. We may learn important facts by 

 investigation and the expression of various opin- 

 ions. — Ed. 



For the New Emjland Fartner. 



SPENT TAN BARK. 



Mr. Editor : Will you, or some of your corre- 

 spondents, inform a young farmer whether tan bark 

 can be made valuable as a manure ; and if so, what is 

 the best mode of applying it ? 1 sliould think to pile 

 it up into a heap, and mix swamp muck, ashes, and 

 ])ut on all the sink-water and soap-suds ; every 

 farmer has a large quantity of this material. One 

 of my neighbors is a tanner, and has a large quantity 



