242 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Mat 



generally, lor some years after being produced 

 from seed, do not ripen fully. During this period, 

 they are less desirable for cooking. This was the 

 case with the long reds, the blacks and the Dan 



HOW TO USE FERTILIZERS. 



We advise farmers to make all the manure tliey 

 can, on their farms, by every fair and possible 



vers reds. As tiiey grow older, they become bet- contrivance ; and when made it will require as 

 terfor table use, ripen earlier, and as far as 1 ' much skill to expend it judiciously, as it did to 



have been able to ascertain, are more liable to ,, . .. o n • i j-u- t»+ 



. ' collect it. Save everything — lose nothing. Let 



The idea that a plant feeds more from the air! every leaf, straw, chip, every sort of droppings 

 before maturity, and more from the soil while from the animals, from the sink-spout, from the 

 producing seed, seems to be disputed. How can | clouds, every bone, old boots and shoes, rags, all 

 we know ? Take an English turnip and set it in manner of offixl, and every ditch that leads and 

 moist sand, with no carbonaceous food, and iti , ■! . a -.i ^ „^^„„^i +v.n 



■^.•11 ™..^., Ill -^1 1 I „.v> stream that flows, either across or around the 



will grow and blossom with nearly as much prom-i ' 



ise as though set in a good soil. ' When fully in; farm, be directed to some appropriate place or 

 bloom, an examination will show that the root isi reservoir, where it shall be collected and preserved 

 but slightly changed in its condition. After the | from loss as carefully as though it were gold 

 blossoms are closed, the root will change very 

 rapidly, and become used up, before seed is ma- 

 tured. Let the turnip be set in a soil whore it 



can procure a supply of carbonaceous food, and it 

 will mature seed. As the blossoms fiiU from short- 

 lived plants, a new process in Nature's economy 

 begins. 



Every man who knows the chemical composi- 

 tion of a tree, knows that it must take the prin- 

 cipal part of its sul)stance from the air. After 



dust. 



When this is done, we advise to one thing 

 more, and that is to purchase all the wood ashes 

 he can find that shall cost him not more than fif- 

 teen cents a bushel, and all the charcoal dust he 

 can obtain at a cost of not more than ten cents a 

 bushel. We advise no man to purchase what are 

 called the specific manures for the general purpos- 



trecs Itlossom, the fruit makes but little progress] es of farming. That they can be used with ad- 



in growth until the woody formation for the year 

 is at an end. 



If, in the latter part of July or the first of Au- 

 gust, the supply from the roots is cut short, 

 either by the work of borers, or by shortening the 

 roots, the supply of mineral elements will be less 

 than the supply of carbon which had been taken 

 in through the leaves. The natural effect will be 

 that the tree will form fruit-buds instead of con- 

 tinuing the growth of wood. This is a well-known 

 fact. 



Note explanatory. — The above was mostly writ- 

 ten about the first of January last, and it was 

 my intention to add several items to it ; but ill 

 health has prevented. I have waited a good 

 while with the hope of being better able to think 

 and write, but I cannot now write much. 



A. G. Comings. 



Pea Weevils. — Few persons, (says Dr. Har 

 ris,) while indulging in early green peas, are 

 aware how many of these insects they swallow. 

 When the pods are examined, small discolored 

 spots may be seen within them, each correspond- 

 ing with a similar spot on the opposite pea. If 

 this spot on the pea be opened, a minute whitish 

 grub, without feet, will be found therein. It is 

 the weevil in its larva form, lives upon the mar- 

 row of the pea, and arrives at its full size by the 

 time the pea is dry. This larva then bores a 

 round hole, from tlie hollow in the centre of the 

 pea, quite to the hull, but leaves the germ of the 

 future sprout untouched. This insect is limited 

 to a certain period for depositing its eggs. Late 

 sown poiis escape its attacks. Those sown after 

 the 10th of June are generally safe. 



When the peas are green, the Baltimore Ori- 

 ole splits open the green pods, for the sake of the 

 grubs contained in the peas, thereby greatly con- 

 tributing to prevent the increase of these noxious 

 insect^s. The instinct that enables this beautiful 

 bird to detect the lurking grub, concealed as it is 

 within the pod and hull of the pea, is worthy of 

 admiration. — Harris's Insects, <5fc. 



vantage in many instances, by those who know 

 how, and are willing to take the pains, we have 

 no doubt. But the losses arising from their use 

 last year, in this State, were of no mean magni- 

 tude, and we fear they will not be the present 



year. 



Q'he only way in which we can learn the value 

 of fertilizing substances at our command, is by 

 experiment, and not by analysis, and with this 

 idea we shall continue to use guano, bone-dust, 

 poudrette, superphosphate of lime, gypsum, salt, 

 saltpetre, and such other articles called fertilizers 

 as we can readily procure. 



There are thousands, however, who have not 

 yet used any of these, who are desirous to do so, 

 and are constantly inquiring how, and in what 

 quantities, they shall be applied. In order to aid 

 such inquiries we have prepared, with a good 

 deal of care, the following remarks upon several 

 of the articles commonly used. 



Peruvian Guano. — There are several kinds of 

 guano, and the value of each is fixed by the price 

 asked. 300 pounds is not too much on soils 

 moderately fertile — more on poor lauds, and less 

 on those naturally rich and recently well ma- 

 nured. 



Application. — Pulverize it finely and spread 

 broadcast upon the surface, if the land has been 

 well plowed ; if not well plowed, harrow once 

 before spreading, then cultivate the guano under 

 from one to three inches, according to the nature 

 of the soil ; shallow in wet, and deeper in dry 



soils. . 



If Peruvian guano is to \fQ used in the hill, it 

 should receive six to ten times its own bulk of 

 muck or loam, be thoroughly mingled, and when 



