1855. 



NEW ENGLAND FARAfER. 



231 



position, down they came, in a manner that has 

 somewhat cooled the ardor of persons afflicted 

 with the "Cobble-Stone Fever. "—i/eraW, S)th. 



EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. 



HOW TO DESTROY CATERPILLARS. 



Mr. Editor : — Take strong soap suds — that in 

 which clothes have been washed will answer — 

 provided it is strong — and a pole long enough to 

 reach the tops of the trees, and tie a bag of wool- 

 len rags on the end of it ; then dip the rags in 

 tlie suds, and hold directly over where the young 

 worm has just made its appearance and begun to 

 spin its web ; as soon as the suds touches them, 

 they will die instantly. This remedy is equally 

 effectual for currant and gooseberry bushes and 

 other shrubbery infested with these pests. 



Middktoivn, Vi., 1855. J. H. Roberts. 



A FINE HOG. 



Mr. Editor. — Being a reader of your excellent 

 paper, and noticing statements of your corres- 



Fondents relative to large cattle and large hogs, 

 send you the age and weight of a hog which we 

 slaughtered last week. Age 21 months 22 days ; 

 weight of round hog after hanging eight and for- 

 ty hours, 754 lbs. ; rough fat, 35 lbs. ; estimat- 

 ing the shrinkage at 11 lbs. for the time of hang- 

 ing, (it being very cold) would ma'ie the whole 

 weight 800, being a gain of 1 7-33 lbs. a day. If 

 any one beats this, we will try again. Breed, 

 half-blood Suffolk. S. & R. Farnswokth. 



Lyme, N. H., March 7, 1855. 



WASHINGTON? ROYAL APPLE. 



Mr. Editor : — I send you a specimen of apples 

 that I have raised six years. I cut the scions 

 from a seedling tree on the farm of Mr. Joseph P. 

 Hay ward, in Sterling. He says he opened a bar- 

 rel of this kind of apples on the first of June, and 

 they were as fresh and fair as they were when 

 they were put up, and there was not more than 

 one peck of defective ones in the barrel. 



I find the trees to be very prolific bearers. The 

 fruit is in eating from October, and it has been 

 submitted to many of the best judges of fruit, and 

 they pronounce it one of the best kind of apples 

 that has been offered to the public. 



I have given it the name of AVashington Royal. 

 Ephraim Robbin's. 



Leominster, March 19, 1855. 



Rem.\rks. — 'We have just eaten one of the ap- 

 ples alluded to above, and pronounce it most ex- 

 cellent. They not only taste well, but are "good- 

 ly to behold." xVbove medium size, flattish- 

 round ; yellowish-green, with numerous small 

 gray dots, and a clear red in the sun. Calyx in 

 a broad basin, stem slender, and half an inch 

 long. It is a valuable variety. Sec advertise- 

 ment- — 

 osiers. 



What is the weight of the crop of osiers the 

 first, second and third year from planting? I am 

 about planting a few acres and wish for all the 

 information possible before I am fiiirly in the sea- 

 son for it. Will some one please reply who has 

 the means of knowing ? G. F. Nutting. 



CARROTS AND WATERMELONS. 



What is the best time to sow carrot seed, and 

 the best kind to sow? {a.) 



I should like to know how the ground should 

 be prepared so as to yield the greatest amount at 

 the least expense, {b.) 



I wish to know how to raise watermelons by 

 any way to secure a good crop without fail, (c.) 



I wish to inquire if any of your subscribers 

 have succeeded in raising pears from scions set on 

 the mountain ash or thorn stocks. If so how 

 long-lived were theyl {d.) 



Observer on the Farm. 

 Oakham, March 19, 1855. 



REMARKS.-^(a.) Sow carrot seed as early inApril 

 as the ground is warm and mellow. They will do 

 well sown in May if the seed comes up promptly. 

 The orange carrot is generally cultivated ; the 

 white carrot bririgs heavy crops, but does not 

 seem to be a favorite yet. Then there is the 

 long red and the Altriugham. The latter we 

 have raised, but found no qualities to recommend 

 it more than are found in the orange carrot. 



(b.) To secure a good crop of roots of any kind, 

 the soil should be deep and fine. Sixteen inches 

 deep, will be found very favorable. Then man- 

 ure it well, and tend thoroughly, and you will 

 produce a crop in the cheapest manner. 



(c.) Watermelons love a high and dry soil ; 

 we have known them to grow luxuriantly on a 

 sand-bed where weeds of all sorts had refused to 

 vegetate. Manure with old compost in the hill. 

 The product can be wonderfully increased by 

 placing a shovel-full of good loam over the places 

 where the vine branches and pressing it down — 

 new roots will start out and impart great vigor 

 to the whole. 



(d.) Pear trees will grow on the mountain-ash 

 or thorn, but we think it better to engraft on 

 the quince for the earliest supply, adding annually 

 a tree or two on its own roots. 



R-i-E GRASS AND LUCERNE. 



Mr. Brown : — Will you be kind enough to 

 publish in the next number of the N. E. Farmer, 

 the qualities advantages and diffei'enec between 

 rye grass and lucerne ; their uses, and best mode 

 of cultivation, and the quantity of seed to an 

 acre. S. H. Colllns. 



Locust Lawn, New Albany, Ind. 



Remarks. — Lucerne is an artificial grass, stems 

 erect or somewhat reclining, and about two feet 

 high. The leaves are oblong, inclining to wedge- 

 shaped, more or less acute, sharply serrated to- 

 wards the end, clothed with close, silky hair on 

 both sides. . The flowers are in clusters, many, 

 and bluish- purple. It is best adapted to a good, 

 dry, warm soil, and will not flourish well on 

 heavy wet soils. It is a deep-rooted plant, and 

 requires a deep soil. It should be sown just as 

 soon as the ground can be made ready, and ought 

 to be without a crop of grain, in drills, 12 to 10 



