388 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Aug. 



Which is the cheapest and most advantageous 

 fertilizer for sandy land, house ashes that are 

 good, at lo^cents a bushel, or a good load of 

 common manure, at $1,25 per load, both deliv- 

 ered in the field? {b.) 



Which impoverish the land the most, potatoes 

 or corn? (c.) 



Is chip manure, mixed vrith barn-yard manure, 

 a good fertilizer ? (d.) 



What is the relative strength of chip manure, 

 compared with barn-yard manure ? Or, in other 

 words, will one load of the latter produce the 

 same results as four of the former 1 (e.) 



Would you recommend the use of lime to sandy 

 and much worn soil? And if so, how many 

 bushels to the acre 1 At 25 cents per bushel for 

 good stone lime, would it be more advantageous 

 than a good load of manure at $1,25, both deliv- 

 ered in the field? (/.) 



Is good muck, without being carted into the 

 barn-yard, but simply spread on plowed, sandy 

 and worn land, in the fall, valuable? ((/.) 



By giving me information on these points, you 

 will much oblige a reader and Inquirer. 



Burlington, Vt., June 9, 1855. 



Remarks. — We should be glad to reply to the 

 queries of our correspondent at length, but an 

 affection of the eyes, probably occasioned by read- 

 ing in the cars, and the long-continued use of 

 them by lamp-light, has prevented us from read- 

 ing or writing much for several weeks. 



{a.) Coal ashes have been found valuable in 

 the garden and on the field crops. We have pub- 

 lished several notices of their highly beneficial 

 results. They should be sifted clear from all 

 coals and cinders. 



{b.) At $1,25 per load, 20 loads of manure, 

 at 34 bushels each, would cost $25,00. At 15 

 cents a bushel, 166| bushels of ashes would cost 

 $25. Now if the sandy land has, within a year 

 or two, received a dressing of barn manure, we 

 should greatly prefer the ashes ; if it has not, 

 we should prefer the manure. No definite rule 

 can be laid down, because circumstances vary so 

 much. 



(c.) It is a question not well settled. We 

 think corn does. 



{d.) Good, if the chips are well rotted, but 

 excellent, when air-slaked lime is added, to dig 

 in about fruit trees. 



(e.) Cannot answer it. You must experiment, 

 when you have opportunity, and let us know the 

 result. 



(/.) As a general thing, the manure is the 

 most valuable. If the land is acid, and as an oc- 

 casional use, the lime would be best. 



{g.) It would be very valuable if it had been 

 dug out a year or two, and overhauled two or 

 three times. 



PAY THE CniLDREN 



Six cents a quart for the plums that daily fall 

 from the trees ; burn them, and destroy the cur- 

 culio maggot deposited in every one of them. 



Watch the falling apples, nearly half grown ; 

 out of a bushel you can scarcely find one free from 

 the curculio worm. Could these be gathered up 

 by children or pigs, (I mean no invidious classi- 

 fication,) before the maggot goes into the ground, 

 his species would be lessened. 



"A jewel of gold in a swine's snout," or some 

 baser metal, would be required to protect the 

 land against his rooting propensities, but would 

 it not pay ? It is simply putting rings into the 

 nose instead of the ears. p. 



July 5, 1855. 



THE CUT WORM. 



A subscriber from Lowell inquires in your last 

 paper, "what is the best preventive for the grub 

 or cut worm, upon flower and other roots." I 

 was formerly much annoyed by cut worms de- 

 stroying plants I had transplanted, particularly 

 the tomato and cabbage ; in some cases a large 

 portion of them would be bitten off at the surface 

 of the ground. Some years since, I tried the ex- 

 periment of wrapping around the stem of each 

 plant, before transplanting, a piece of soft paper, 

 extending from a short distance above the root, 

 to the first leaf, and found it a perfect remedy. 

 It is done very quick, and the paper lasts until 

 the plant is large enough to take care of itself. 



Cambridge, July 11, 1855. o. 



REMEDY FOR GRUB WORMS. 



Mr. Editor : — "Verdant Farmer" wishes to 

 learn through the columns of your invaluable pa- 

 per .whether there is a remedy for the grubs,which 

 he says are destroying whole fields of corn, 

 pumpkins, and young hops in his vicinity. An 

 instance once came under my observation which 

 I will relate, as it proved an effectual remedy. 



A neighbor once had a field of corn that was 

 nearly destroyed by the grubs, and by way of 

 experiment, he applied plaster thoroughly satu- 

 rated with spirits of turpentine ; the result was, 

 the corn resumed its healthy color, (one shade 

 darker than the original) grew rapidly, eared 

 well, and was to all intents and purposes a good 

 field of corn. 



The plaster should be allowed to dry after hav- 

 ing been saturated, and care should also be used, 

 that it does not come in immediate contact with 

 the corn, or it may prove too strong. 



The al30ve was the white grub that eats off the 

 roots, and not the darker one, though I think it 

 would answer for both. c. r. s. 



New Canaan, Conn., July 3, 1855. 



VETCHES. 



Mr. Bethel, of Queeche,V^t., states that vetches 

 should be cultivated as we cultivate peas when 

 sown broadcast ; that a few oats sown with them 

 will prevent lodging, and that they remain green 

 for a long time and make excellent fodder. 



remedy for apple-borer trout and GOLD-FISn. 



Friend Brown : — My object in addressing you 

 at this time, is to inform your numerous sub- 

 scribers and readers of the Farmer, of a new rem- 

 edy for the grub or apple tree borer. Being near 

 the sea-shore one day visiting a friend, I noticed 

 the thrifty appearance of his young apple trees, 



