458 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Oct. 



For the New England Farmer. 



CHEMISTRY-No. 2. 



TRANSFORMATION. 



As every species of growth and decay consists in 

 the passage of water from one state to another, it 

 may not be amiss to glance at some of these chan- 

 ges, as they present themselves to the student of 

 nature. "All organized substances are composed 

 mainly of l)ut four elements, viz., carbon, hydrogen, 

 oxygen and nitrogen." — Yoimians. These, acted 

 upon by dilFerent agents, and under different cir- 

 cumstances, go to make up, in the main, the sum 

 total of the animal and vegetable world. 



But let us look at vegetable growth. Every per- 

 fect seed possesses in itself the rudiments of a new 

 plant. "In some varieties it is so complete that the 

 microscope reveals its structure, root, stem and 

 leaves." — Youmans. 



Encased in its coating, it awaits the action of ex- 

 ternal agents, \-iz., warmth, air and moisture. When 

 exposed to these, it awakes to life, absorbs water 

 and oxygen, swells in bulk, chemical action begins, 

 carbonic acid is given off, its temperature rises, and 

 a new sul)stance, (a kind of ferment,) is formed, 

 which possesses the power of changing starch into 

 sugar or gum, thus supplying the necessities of the 

 young plant. As soon as the germ appears, it first 

 takes root, and then the blade appears, and it be- 

 gins to provide for itself. Food in a liquid form is 

 taken up by the roots, and is, by capillary attrac- 

 tion, carried to the extreme of every branch and 

 leaf, there undergoing the change necessary to fit 

 it for food, for the growing plant, by being mixed 

 with carbonic acid absorbed from the air. And let 

 it ever be remembered that the leaf is the seat of 

 this important change. The leaf is an organ of in- 

 halation, digestion and resi^iration. Hales found 

 that a sunflower, weighing three pounds, exhaled 

 thirty ounces of water in a day. The pores are sit- 

 uated upon the under side of the leaf, and are valve- 

 like in their actions, opening when the supply of 

 water is abundant, and closing when it is small. 

 " They vary in size, on different kinds ; upon the 

 apple leaf it is said there are 24,000 to the square 

 inch." — Gray. Oxygen is returned to the air by 

 plants, while they retain the carbon, thus purifying 

 . the air ; for men and animals take oxygen from the 

 air, and return carbonic acid, while plants take car- 

 bonic acid and return oxygen ; thus acting in uni- 

 son, keeping the air in nearly the same state. "An 

 adult man exhales about 140 gallons of this gas per 

 day." — Davy. 



The wind, too, plays, its part in this grand drama 

 of nature, by keeping the air in never-ceasing mo- 

 tion. But the most wonderful part of all this com 

 plicated machinery, is the sun. He is the engine, 

 so to speak, that moves the whole. Nothing could 

 come to maturity, without the light and heat of the 

 king of day. How truly wonderful, that a few 

 gases mingled \vith a very small proportion of min- 

 eral elements, should compose all the varied form 

 of life, vegetable and animal, that we see in our 

 ever-changing world. But so it is, and these chan- 

 ges are, to my mind at least, a very appropriate 

 theme of study. S. Tennky. 



JVest Poland, Me., Aug., 1855. 



nary gravelly soil, measuring seven acres and one 

 hundred and twenty rods, Avhich yielded two hun- 

 dred and twenty-nine and a half bushels. It weighed 

 fifty-six pounds to the bushel. One hundred and 

 fiftv bushels of it were sold for $1,50 a bushel. 



Great Yield of Rye. — The Salem Observer has 

 a specimen of rye raised tliis season upon the town 

 farm of South Danvers, on a piece of land of ordi- 



For the New England Farmer. 



LIME AIJD CANKER WORMS. 



Mr. Editor: — As no answer has a])pcared in 

 your paper, to the inquiry of "Verdant Farmer," in 

 relation to a remedy for the grubs, which are de- 

 stroying whole fields of corn, ts:c., in his vicinity, I 

 take the lil)erty of requesting you to insert, for the 

 benefit of j'our numerous readers, the following ar- 

 ticle taken from the Evening Traiiscript, giving an 

 account of a remedy which has been very success- 

 ful in destroying the cimker worm, and which will 

 be found equally efficacious for the destruction of 

 grubs and worms of all kinds. 



Most respectfully yours, &c. 



Charlestown, Aug. \Wi, 1855. G. J. F. 



MuRL-VTE of Lbie AND Canker Worms. — Mr. 

 Editor : — The ravages of the canlier worm for the 

 last few years have been to me a subject of deep in- 

 terest and inquiry, and I have devised many schemes 

 for the destruction of this rapidly increasing pest. 

 While a resident of Cambridge, the experiments 

 above alluded to were tried; but my removal to 

 Lexington put a stop for the time being to all fur- 

 ther investigations, and I cannot judge how far 

 either or any of them would have succeeded. The 

 canker worms had not as then reached Lexington, 

 or that part of it iir wlaich I resided, and I really 

 hoped, that, as far as I was concerned, I had seen 

 the last of them ; but judge my horror, ^Ir. Editor, 

 when visiting my next neighbor's garden, to find his 

 apple trees, which by the" way hisd been purchased 

 that spring from a nursery in Cambridge, covered 

 with my old enemies. They were even now going 

 into their winter quarters, preparatory to a vigorous 

 campaign in the coming s^jring. 



It so happened that during thit season I had been 

 making some experiments with muriate of lime, 

 which my most esteemed friend, Mr. James Gould, 

 the manufacturer, had recommended to my notice 

 as a fertihzer. As a manure, the muriate exceeded 

 my most sanguine expectations ; and the thought 

 struck me while thus using it, why will it not an- 

 swer the double purpose of fertilizing the ground 

 and destroying the canker worms ? By my direction 

 therefore, the ground, to the extent of the branches 

 under the trees in question, was ivcll covered with 

 this muriate of lime ; late in the fall it was dug 

 thoroughly in. The next season, not a canlcer wonn 

 was to be found. The experiment had fully succeed- 

 ed. Now is the time, ]Mr. Editor, for your readers 

 to try the thing for themselves. I do not ask them 

 to piit faith in my exjjerimcnt alone, for I am hap- 

 })y to add, that the same thing has l)cen since tried, 

 both in England and in this coiuitry, and in every 

 case with perfect success. 



The canker Morms have now mostly gone into the 

 ground, and now, therefore, is the time to destroy 

 them. The experiment is well worth trying, for as 

 a fertilizer alone, the muriate will pay three times 

 its cost. I shall give my ])lum trees the same dose, 

 and have no doubt but there too it will do its work. 

 Yours truly, William Plumer. 



Lexington, June 21, 1855. 



