VOL. XI. NO. 3R. 



AND HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



221 



main in this form until the iioxt sprinsr. In gardens 

 «n(l fields infested by these cater))illni-s, hoanls 

 .shonld be ])laceil hoiizontalh' an inch or two 

 .iliove the surface of the ground ; thesa woiihl 

 ■ rni a temi)ling shelter for the pupa;, and r&der 

 it easy for tlie farmer to collect and destroyrthem. 

 Another American butterlly,* originally appro- 

 priated to onr native umbellate plants, has discov- 

 ered the natural affinities of those of foreign origin, 

 .•;inl made them subservient to the support of its 

 progeny. The carrot, i)arsley, and celery of the 

 garden appear now to be more subject to its at- 

 tacks, than the coniuni and cicuta of the fields, 

 tliough these troublesome and poisonous weeds 

 are suffered to grow in unchecked abundance. 

 This butterfly is one of onr most common species ; 

 it is of large size, of a black color, ornamented 

 above with yellow, and beneath with tawny spots; 

 and the caterpillar, from which it proceeds, is a 

 pale green, smooth worm, checkered with black 

 and yellow spots. When irritated, this caterpillar 

 has the power of projecting from the fore-part of 

 its liody a pair of orange-colored feelers, which ex- 

 Iiale an intolerably nauseous odor, and hke tliose 

 of the snail, can be withdrawn and concealed at 

 pleasure. This scent-organ is given to it for re- 

 pelling its enemies, and it has, undoubtedly, made 

 the insect.kuown to many of you. Like the cater- 

 j)illar of the turnip, this retires from the plants 

 when fully grown, suspends itself in the same way, 

 and, in process of time, becomes a butterfly. The 

 only nieans that occur to me for destroying this 

 insect, consist in carefully picking it, in the cater- 

 pillar state, from the plants which it iphabits. 

 It is evident, however, that this can be done only 

 to a limited extent ; and, fortunately, it can be 

 necessary only with respect to the parsley, (ox the 

 abundant foliage of the other plants renders them 

 less liable to sufter by the loss of a portion of it. 

 [To be continued.] 



From the Albany Argus. 

 AGRICtJIiTURAL, MEMORANDA FOR 1833. 



Adapted for the Couuty of A!ban_v. 



The last winter was remarkable for the long 

 continuance of severe cold weather. During nearly 

 fifty successive days the tliermonieter scarcely rose 

 above the freezing poii^t. Its influence was mipre- 

 eedentedly severe upon fruittrees, destroying thou- 

 sands, and seriously injuring the fruit buds of many 

 which survived. Our peach, plum, and pear crops 

 were consequently trifling; yet of apples there has 

 been an ordinary yield, and cider is abundant at 

 fair price. 



As the severe cold was preceded by mild weather 

 and snow, the ground was not frozen when it set in 

 and the sap vessels were consequently distended 

 with sa]). The cold was so sudden and severe 

 that it is believed the sap froze ere its volume was 

 diminished, and that the expanding influence of the 

 frost burst the vessels asunder. In many instances 

 where the trees were of some size, the injury 

 extended only to the descending sap vessels, and this 

 sometimes but on one side of the bole; while in the 

 other cases the sap vessels in the alburnum a|)|ieared 

 to be rupttired, and the vitality of the |)lant de- 

 stroyed. I had several trees which put forth their 

 foliage, bore fruit, and appeared to be healthy till 

 towards autumn, when their leaves became yellow 

 and prematurely fell. On examination, I found a 

 ring of bark about where the surface of the snow 



* PapUio asterias. F. 



hail lain, completely dead and separated from the 

 truidi. The Iruits which sufliered most were the 

 peach, pear, apricot, and quince. AVhat renders 

 this circumstance njore singular are the facts, that 

 many tender trees, as the ailanthus, catalpa, &c. 

 which dropped their folitige early, and had probably 

 assinned their winter habit, suftered less than in 

 ordinal^ winters; and that the injury, to all, was far 

 less severe upon clay than upon sand soils. 



IFheat suffered less from the winter than was ap- 

 prehended. The crop has been a fair one, and the 

 quality of the grain good. This staple, I am afraid 

 will continue to decrease among us till we adopt a 

 better system of manuring, and appreciate more cor- 

 rectly, the utility of a rotation of crops. This grain 

 exhausts an o<;dinary soil of \1JM(t I term specific 

 food, or aco©r(ilng to Lindley and Macaire, deposits 

 a poison, which unfits the soil for another crop until 

 the specific food is restored, or the poison removed. 

 i?!/e has been rather a light crop, and the grain 

 inferior to that of common seasons. 



Barley. From the high price which this grain 

 commanded last v/inter, large quantities were sown 

 and the crop has been more than a medium one.- 

 Although the price has greatly fallen, yet I think 

 upon our soils it still pays better than wheat. , It ex- 

 hausts less, and yields upon light loams aboj^^ou- 

 ble the quantity that wheat does. 



Coni, the farmer's main dependence for kitchen, 

 barn and sty, proinised very unfavorably, but finally 

 turned out pretty well, where it escaped the early 

 frosts, which in some districts did great injury. The 

 wet spring did not admit of early planting, and the 

 simimer being backward, it was much later incom- 

 ing to maturity than usual. There are two maxims 

 which my experience in the culture of this crop has 

 suggested, wiiich I venture to recommend : — one is 

 to plant only on manured, warm and well drained 

 grounds; the other, to cutand stock the whole crop 

 as soon as the grain is well glazed. An observance 

 of the first has insured me good crops, while the se- 

 cond has ever saved them from the effects of auttmi- 

 nal frosts, and materially increased my stock of fod- 

 der. There is another suggestion which I will make 

 in regard to this crop, and that is, to plant double the 

 quantity ofseed usually ]iut into the ground, and to 

 reduce the plants at the first hoeing, which will en- 

 sure a full complement of stalks in each hill. This 

 is seldom the ease in a field of corn. If we allow 

 fourlo bcaprojjernumber, we shall find that in most 

 cases there is a deficiency of one-foia"th, and olteM|,i 

 a half of corn-bearing stocks in d field. There aye J 

 always more or less feeble or sickly plants that 

 never produce grain. These may be distinguished 

 and thrown out in the weeding process. Few 

 fanners appreciate the advantage of close planting, 

 when the habits of tbfi grain and the strength ol' 

 the ground will admit of it. It is common to 

 plant here at the ^istauce of three feet each way. 

 I place my bills, at 3 by 2 J. At the South, and 

 East, it is usual to plant at 4, 5 and 6 feel. The 

 following exhibits the diSerence in the number of 

 hills, and consequently in the product of the 

 diffiirent modes: — 

 An acre planted at 6 ft. by 6 will give 1210 hills. 



do. do. 5 by 5 1742 " 



do. do. 4 by 4 2722 " 



do. do. 3 by 3 '■ 4840 » 



do. do. 3 by 2i 5S08 " 



By this scale it appears that if the product at 4 

 feet would be 27 bushels, at 3 feet it would be 45, 

 and at 3 by 2.-^; 58 bushels, or more than double 

 the first; while the product at 5 feet would be to 



that of 3 by 2J, nearly in the diminutive ratio of 

 one to three and a half, or about two sevenths. In 

 September I measured 33 feet (4 rods) square in 

 the best part of my cornfield, which embraced 11 

 rows one way, and 13 hills the other, and contained 

 143 hills and 572 stalks. The corn was picked, 

 busked, and after rejecting some half a dozen smutty 

 ears carefidly weighed. Its weight was 232i lbs. 

 A seventh part of this product, (33 lbs. 2 oz.^ was 

 immediately shelled, and the grain found to weigh 

 23 lbs. 7 oz. This, at GO lbs. to the bushel, gave at 

 the rate of 109 bushels i)er acre. The indication 

 by metisuremettt, was still higher, the memoran- 

 dum of which I have mislaid. 



Potatoes have been a bad crop, especially on 

 moist grounds, where they generally do best. 

 Those late planted were particularly light. 



The smmner having been wet and cool, Oals 

 are pretty abitudant and heavy. The increased 

 consumption of this grain, however, has sustained 

 the price above those of ordinary years. 



Hay has been more than an ordinary crop; though 

 it is principally manifest in recently stocked grounds. 

 The experience of some years would seem to 

 strengthen the opinion, thatthe practice of keeping 

 grounds in perpetual meadows, is manifestly bad so 

 far at least as profit is concerned. Grasses do and 

 wilt alternate ; the cultivated or finer kinds will run 

 out; coarse kinds and mosses will come in ; the solo 

 of the grass will become thick and tough, and 

 impervious to heat, air and the other agents of veg- 

 etable nutrition. Meadows begin to deteriorate, 

 generally, the third or fourth year after they are 

 laid down, and by the sixth, their product is often 

 diminished to one-half, or one-third of a fair crop. 

 JVew meadows ought to average 3 tons of hay per 

 acre ; old ones seldom exceed half that quantity. 



The productions of the garden have been abun- 

 dant, with partial exceptions. On account of the 

 backwardness of the season, which retarded vege- 

 tation two weeks later than usual, tlie grape did 

 not ripen well, and the hardier kinds, which were 

 left uncovered, suftered severely from the winter. 

 Sulphur is successl'ully applied, in a dry state, to 

 this fruit about Boston, to prevent mildew. Melons 

 like most o^er vegetables, came on late; and but 

 few that ripened well v/ere eaten, on account of 

 the Cholera. 



On the whole, the products of the soil have 

 ecu abundant, and aflbrd great cause of gratitude 

 lUiid thankfulness, to the beneficent God of the 

 harvest. ■ 



THE MONARCH OP THE WOODS. 



A FKW weeks ago we accompanied a friend on 

 a visit to Upper Darby Township, Delaware coun- 

 ty, where we were shown a large chcsnut tree, 

 on the plantation of Jonathan Owen, the circum- 

 ference of which, three feet from the ground, was 

 thirty-two feet seven inches. The tree was at 

 the time full of chesnuts. We remember having 

 seen the large walnut tree that was exhibited in 

 this city a few years since, the dimensions of 

 which we forget, but do not think it was so largo 

 as the tree on Mr. Owen's property. The poet has 

 truly said, 



■ Tli.il Nature revels in the land that's free, 

 And here lier greatness shows, in man, in stream, and tree." 



Penn. Inquirer. 



Repair all your farming utensils, now yott 

 have leisure. 



