1855. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



389 



and upon inquiring the cause, he informed me 

 that he mulched them with rock weed, and that 

 the borer never troubled them. Having just set 

 out an orchard, I concluded to try the remedy ; 

 I have tried it for the last three years, and have 

 not found a borer around one of them during the 

 time, while my neighbors that do not use the 

 rock weed, are losing their trees by their ravages. 

 The mode of applying it is to dig the earth from 

 around the collar of the tree, and then for a tree 

 four or five years old, use from a peck to a half 

 bushel of the weed, laying it upon the top of the 

 roots immediately around the trunk of the tree. 

 For larger-sized trees use about the same propor- 

 tion. I would state that my trees are set out 

 upon greensward, and as a matter of course, the 

 borer would be more apt to trouble them than if 

 cultivated among. I have never known a tree 

 attacked by the borer, where the rock-weed has 

 been applied. 



I have an artificial pond that I wish to stock 

 with iish ; will you please inform me if trout and 

 gold-fish will live peaceably together. I have al- 

 ready trout in it, and wish to add gold-fish, if 

 they will do well together. 



Yours respectfully, 



Yarmouth, Me., Jurie2S, 1855. o. a. n. 



Remarks. — Will some one who has had experi- 

 ence reply to the queries about the fish ? 



Mr. Editor : — Being in possession of a small 

 lot of poor land situate in western Massachusetts, 

 consisting of stony hill and swampy intervale, I 

 would inquire tlirough the medium of your valua- 

 able paper the method of constructing drains of 

 small stone. 



What sized stone, liow many to the rod, how 

 deep, wide, and far apart the drains, and how 

 much fall to the rod? 



Is it indispensably necessary to use drain tile ? 



How long will they last if well laid ? 



What is the greatest objection to this kind of 

 drain ? A Tiller of Stony Soil. 



June 11, 1855. 



Remarks. — It would require an essay on the 

 subject to answer the above questions. They are 

 pertinent, however, and "A Tiller of Stony 

 Soil" ought to understand tliewliole matter, if he 

 intends to continue its cultivation. Being on a 

 stony soil, he has plenty of the best material for 

 the purpose of drainage. We will do better than 

 to answer his questions with our acccustomed 

 brevity by advising him to purchase Munn's 

 Practical Land Drainer, in which he will find 

 the most approved system of drainage, and the 

 scientific principles on which they ^depend, and 

 are explained, and their comparative lucrits dis- 

 cussed, with directions for making drains, and 

 the materials of which they may be constructed. 



ACID FROM OAK TIMBER. 



We are not able to give S. W. S. any informa- 

 tion whether the acid from oak timber where 

 staves are steamed, is good for anything or not. 



IXSECTS ON APPLE TREES. 



I have quite a number of young apple trees, 

 and have noticed numerous insects on them ; they 

 collect on the ends of the twigs in numbers, are 

 about the size and shape of a louse, and of a green 

 color, and the small ants or pismires are thick 

 around them. What I wish to know is, whether 

 they are destructive or not ? If so, by what 

 means can they be destroyed 1 



Exeter, N. H., 1855. J. d. 



Remarks. — Plant lice, or Aphides, are some- 

 what destructive. They may be destroyed, in 

 some measure, by an application of whale oil 

 soap, through a syringe, or by gently tapping the 

 limbs of valuable plants and shaking them into 

 bowls of water. The ants are among the aphides 

 to collect a sweet, sticky fluid which they eject. 

 See Harris on '■'■Insects Injurious to Vegetation,'''' 

 for a full and exceedingly interesting account, 

 pages 205 to 214. 



REMEDY FOR CHAFES AND GALLS ON CATTLE AND 

 HORSES. 



One ounce of blue vitriol (sulphate of zinc) 

 dissolved in four quarts of water. When horses 

 are chafed by the saddle, or oxen are galled by 

 the yoke, bathe the wounded parts freely several 

 times a day, and they will rapidly heal under its 

 use. In these times, when it is difficult to get 

 rum to wash animals that are chafed, it is well 

 for farmers and stable-keepers to keep a jug of 

 the above remedy ready prepared for use. It is 

 much better than rum, which is so generally used 

 for the same purpose. r. 



Coiicord. 



For the Ifew England Farmer. 



HAY CAPS. 



Mr. Editor : — Sir, — Permit me through your 

 respectable agricultural journal to advise my 

 brother farmers to supply themselves with a most 

 useful and economical article of covers to protect 

 their hay against rain and heavy dews, which I 

 have fully tested for the last five years to my en- 

 tire satisfaction. They should be made in the 

 following manner, namely : 



Stout unbleached cotton sheeting should be 

 purchased (such as is made by the Lyman Mills 

 Company at Ilolyoke) from 36 to 42 inches wide 

 — the latter is the best — which should be cut in- 

 to lengths of from 40 to 45 inches, — tlie latter is 

 the most useful — a much larger size would bo 

 objectionable, as they would exclude the air from 

 the hay cocks. 



To make 40 of them (and no extensive farmer 

 should have less than 1()0) would require a gal- 

 lon of linseed oil, which should be simmered 

 with 4 pounds of bees wax, and a quart of japan 

 should be added after it is taken from the fire. 

 When cold, the mixture should be al)out the 

 thickness of lard in summer, if not, more oil or 

 wax may be added. The cloths should then be 

 "payed over," to use a sea cxpressiuu, with the 

 hand or a small piece of shingle, on vnc. side on- 

 ly, and then dried in the sun. Wlien tliey are 

 dry, the females of the family will (•hi'orf'.'lly sew 

 into the corners a stone i)f tlie weight of about 

 seven or eight ounces, which completes the affair. 



