vol.. XI. NO. 37. 



AND HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



213 



miA tender leaves of the apple and otliei' allied 

 trees. 



The caterpillars of the apple-tree, which are 

 hatched from those curious ring-like clusters of 

 eggs surrounding the young twigs, are, .ts you 

 well know, furnished with jaws, and devour the 

 leaves of this tree. They have also sixteen legs, 

 and, in crawling from leaf to leiif and branch to 

 branch, spin from their lijis a delicate thread, 

 which is a clue to conduct them back to the shelter 

 of their niany-contod, silken tents. From the first 

 to the middle of ,!une they descend from the trees, 

 and seclude thouiselves in various hiding-places. 

 Each one then weaves around its body a small 

 eilken shroud or cocoon, fills the meshes with a 

 yellowish powder, slips off^ and packs in one end 

 of its case its old coat, and appears in a new form, 

 that of a brown chrysalis or pupa devoid of prom- 

 inent legs and wings. Sixteen days afterwards 

 the i)upa-skiu is rent, a moth* issues from it, 

 ejects from its mouth a quantity of liquid matter 

 to soften the end of its cocoon, and then forces its 

 way out. In the moth state it is furnished with a 

 very short tongue, and subsists only upon the 

 honey and dew of plants. 



The common pot.ito-worm, when it ceases feed- 

 ing, descends into the earth, and is there changed 

 into a brown pupa of a cylindrical form, pouited 

 at one end and rounded at the other, whence pro- 

 ceeds a sort of stem or hook that passes backwards 

 beyond the middle of the body. This stem, 

 which is the only external member it appears to 

 have, is a case enclosing the tongue of the creature. 

 It passes the winter in the earth below the reach 

 of frost, and the next summer the perfect insectf 

 comes forth, its robust body decked with large 

 orange-colored spots, and its enormously long 

 tongue compactly rolled up like a watcli-spring. 

 In the morning and evening twilight hundreds of 

 these insects may be seen, now darting from flower 

 to flower with the voiocity and sound of humming- 

 birds, now poising upon their extended wings over 

 the fragrant honeysuckle, uncoiling in an instant 

 their slender tongues, and thrusting them with 

 unerring aim into the nectared tubes of the blos- 

 soms. 



It is unnecessary to multiply examples ; enou, 

 have been given to show that the forms, the 

 organs for taking food, the kinds of food, and the 

 pLaces of abode of the insects which unde-rgo a 

 complete transformation, vary essentially in the 

 larva and in the perfect state of these insects. 



It should be recollected, that the winged is 

 tlio ultimate stage of insect life ; that the last, and 

 in many instances, the only function performed in 

 this stage of existence is to provide for a succes- 

 sion of the species ; and that, after the eggs are 

 deposited in their appropriate situations, the parent 

 insects, having then performed the various tasks 

 assigned them, and having fulfilled the last injunc- 

 tions of nature, universally perish, most of thenj 

 without witnessing the birth of the succeeding 

 generation. 



[To be continued.] 



for the future ; and the latter should be of that 

 diligent nature as (willingly) " mver to defer thai 

 till to-morrow which may be done to-day." Pro- 

 crastination is of serious consequence to garden- 

 HiD- ; aiiJ neglect of times and seasons will be fruit- 

 ful of disappointment and complaint. It will often 

 liappen, indeed, that a gardener cannot do what 

 he would; but if lie does not do what he ca?i, he 

 will be most justly blamed, and perliaps censured 

 by none more than by himself. 



deeding. Weeding in time is a material thing 

 in culture, and stirring the ground about plants, 

 as also earthing up where necessary, must be 

 attended to. Breaking the surface will keep the 

 soil in health ; for when it lies in a hard or bound 

 state, enriching showers run ofl^, and the salu- 

 brious air cannot enter. Weeds exhaust the 

 strength of the ground, and if they are suffered to 

 seed and sow themselves, may be truly called (as 

 Mr. Evelyn speaks) garden sins. The hand and 

 hoe are the instruments for the purpose. Digging 

 where the spade can go, between the rows of 

 plants, is a good method of destroying weeds ; and 

 as it cuts oft' the straggling fibres of roots, they 

 strike fresh in numerous new shoots, and are thus 

 strengthened. Deep hoeing is a good practice, as 

 it gives a degree of fertility to the eartli. 



CAUTIONS AND DIRECTIONS IN GARDENING. 



E.\tracled from " Marshall's Gardening." 

 Gardening. The management of a garden (sum- 

 marily speaking) consists in attention and applica- 

 tion ; the first should be of that wary and provi- 

 dent kind, as not only to dwell in the present but 



• Bombijx castrtnsis. L. 



t Sphinx Carolina. L. 



On the Advantages of planting Fruit Trees on De- 

 clivities, in a letter from the Rev. John Walker 

 to Lord Kamcs, dated Moffat, Feb. 18, 1773. 

 DoDART first observed that trees pushed their 

 branches in a direction parallel to the surface ol' 

 the earth. If a tree stands on a steep, it pushes 

 both towards the hill and towards the declivity; 

 but on both sides it still preserves its branches 

 parallel to the surface. As there is an attrac- 

 tion between t)ie upper surface of leaves and light, 

 I am also persuaded, though not equally certain 

 of it from experiment, that there is an attraction 

 of the same nature between the under surface of 

 leaves and the surface of the earth. This I con- 

 sider as the cause of the phenomenon. 



I had long observed, that the most fruitfid or- 

 chards, and the most fertile trees, are those plant- 

 ed on a declivity, and the steeper it is, though not 

 quite a precipice, the more fertile will they prove. 

 But I was never satisfied as to the cause of it, till 

 I called to mind the above observation of Dodart ; 

 which occurred to me when I was in the town of 

 Jedburg. There is more fruit about that place, 

 and more fruit-bearing wood upon the trees, than 

 I have seen in any other part of Scotland : but its 

 orchards and fruit-gardens are mostly situated in 

 very steep places. 



It is well known that the spreading of trees al- 

 ways renders them fruitful. On a plain, however, 

 they incline to shoot upwards ; and therefore art 

 is called in by skilful gardeners, and applied in 

 various ways to check their perpendicular, and to 

 promote their lateral growth. But this point, 

 whicli can only be gained upon a plain by art, is 

 obtained upon a declivity by nature. There a tree 

 loses its tendency to slioot upwards, and in order 

 to preserve its branches parallel with the surface, 

 is constrained to put them in a lateral direction. 



Hence an in)portant rule in the choice of or- 

 chards and gardens. 



From tlie Boston Press. 

 THE NEW AMERICAN ORCHARDIST. 



We have not had leisure to examine as care- 

 fully as we ought to, a very neat volume of 400 



pages, just i)ublished by Carter, Ilendee & Co., 

 and Russell, Odiorne & Co., giving a practical 

 account of the valuable varieties of fruit adapted 

 to cultivation in the climate of the United States. 

 This work is by our ingenious fellow-citizen, 

 William Kenrick, whose name is often repeated 

 in connexion with the Horticulture of this State. 

 Sensible of our entire inability to do justice to the 

 real merits of a work of this description, we never- 

 theless can admire its arrangement, simplicity 

 and the apparent candor with whicli it throws oft" 

 all the idle pedantry which is so often substituted 

 by pretended horticulturists, for sound knowledge. 

 The sole aim seems to be practical results. To 

 tell the cultivator who wishes to ornament his 

 grounds, or enrich his orchards, such and such 

 are the results you may rely on from such and 

 such varieties of fruits. This is a difficult task, but 

 we cannot doubt that Mr. Kenrick has executed it 

 as a practical and scientific gardener. If he has 

 done it faithfully, his work is invaluable. Think 

 of the disapjiointment of nursing fruit trees, en- 

 grafting and re-engrafting them, waiting five or 

 six years for the glorious results, and then find a 

 crab-apple, where you looked for a fruit not in- 

 ferior to the Pomine Finale ; or a pucker pear, 

 where you expected a melting Colmar. 



Such disappointments have been abundant in 

 this country, and have greatly retarded the culti- 

 vation of exquisite fruits, and a general diflfusion 

 of horticultural pursuits. Mr. Kenrick under- 

 takes to obviate this dfliculty — to explode all ex- 

 hausted varieties, no matter how ])opular their 

 names have been, and to bring his researches 

 down to practical results adapted to climate and 

 circumstances. Such a work is invaluable to the 

 American orchardist, and if Mr. Kenrick's book bo 

 what we cannot doubt it is in this respect, it ought 

 to bo consulted by every man who is about to 

 ornament his grounds, or add a single tree to his 

 collection of fruits. Mr. Kenrick is throughout 

 modest and unassuming. He gathers the wisdom 

 of others whenever he can, and applies it patiently 

 and perseveringly to practical results ; always 

 ready to acknowledge obligations to others, and to 

 place his own merits in their shade. Among the 

 gentlemen whose aid he acknowledges in his work 

 we notice the name of Stephen H. Smith, Esq., 

 of Providence, a circumstance which greatly en- 

 hances our individual estimation of the value of 

 the work. From personal observation, we can 

 speak confidently of the value of this authority, iji 

 matters relating to Horticulture. It is not needed, 

 we are aware, and can add nothing to the practi- 

 cal reputation of that gentleman, but the little taste 

 beyond the mere admiration of the eye, which we 

 ever acquired for horticulture, was derived from 

 his plain, unassuming and practical observatioDB. 

 The science is greatly indebted to him, and the 

 more so, that in the midst of other pursuits that 

 would absorb almost any other man, he never ha* 

 neglected a practical attention to the garden and 

 the orchard. 



In a word, Mr. Kenrick's book appears to U8 

 an agreeable as well as useful production. .It is 

 full of instruction and intcrestmg facts, and will 

 ti.ach a man of taste bow to admire and value good 

 Iruit, as well as it instructs the practical orchardist 

 to fill his grounds with the choicest and most pro- 

 ductive varieties. 



It often costs more to maintain one vice tban 

 to biing up two children. 



