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LEGISLATIVE AGRICULTURAL MEET- 

 IKG. 



[Reported for the Farmer ut H. E. Rocxweli.] 



The Thirteenth regular meeting of the Legisla- 

 tive Agricultural Society was held Tuesday even- 

 ing. The subject for considei'ation was — "Insects 

 injurious to vegetation." 



Mr. W. J. BucKMLNSTER was called to preside, 

 and on taking the chair he announced the subject 

 which was to be the topic for consideration, and 

 spoke of it as being of great importance. He re- 

 ferred to the labors of Dr. Harris in his researches 

 in regard to the habits of insects, and characterized 

 his work published as being of great value. Every 

 farmer should know what are the foes he has to 

 meet, in order that he may, if possible, destroy 

 them. 



Dr. Sanborn, of Andover, was then introduced. 

 The evils which most stand in the way of the suc- 

 cess of agriculturists, he said, are insects, and seeds- 

 men who furnish spurious or worthless seed. There 

 should be a town horticultural society in every 

 town in the State. There is one in Andover, which 

 has been of great value, and tended more than 

 anything else to beautify the town. One person 

 belonging to the society plants beets, another car- 

 rots, others some other vegetables, for the purpose 

 of supplying the members of the society with fresh 

 and surely germinating seed. 



In connection with the subject of injurious in- 

 sects, Dr. S. said that the services of foxes, crows, 

 owls, &c., as destroyers of beetles and noxious in 

 sects, had never been fully and properly apprecia- 

 ted. It is a matter of astonishment to find how 

 few agriculturists have any practical knowledge of 

 insect-habits, and how few really know the names 

 of some of the most common and most injurious 

 Very few ever saw the common plum weevil, or the 

 curculio. A friend of his, last summer, was one 

 day congratulating himself with his success in 

 catching curcuHos, under some of his plum trees 

 in open-mouthed bottles containing sweetened wa- 

 ter. Dr. S. said that he examined his collection 

 of insects that he had thus destroyed, and he found 

 that he had common house flies, bluebottles, but- 

 terflies and millers enough, but not a single curcu- 

 lio ; and when one was shown to him a few days 

 afterwards, he said that he never saw one before, 



Two methods of diffusing truth on the subject of 

 insects were suggested. One was to show up the 

 noxious insects in books with plates representing 

 them, in the manner that pickpockets are showed 

 up to the community, and the people are put on 

 their guard against them. Such a work ought to 

 be introduced into every family. Perhaps some en- 

 couragement ought to be given by the Legislature 

 to extend a knowledge of these noxious vermin. 

 Every school in the State, should be instructed in 

 the subject of entomology. The second method of 



extending a knowledge on this subject is to catch 

 an preserve specimens of every insect with which 

 farmers become acquainted, and bring them togeth- 

 er at agricultural exhibitions. There should be 

 premiums offered to those who will present the larg- 

 est number and best preserved specimens of insects 

 in their different stages of the larva, pupa and per- 

 fected state. The insect in the larva state may be 

 best preserved in alcohol ; in the pupa state, they 

 may be preserved by drying. When in a perfected 

 state they are killed most easily by applying spirits 

 of turpentine to their heads. If they are very bright 

 and easily injured in their plumage, they should be 

 placed under a tumbler, and chloroform applied. 

 Dr. S. spoke of Fast Day as being a fatal day to 

 birds that are the greatest friends of the farmer. 

 He had prayed to have that day three or four weeks 

 earlier in the season, before the singing birds have 

 made their appearance, to become the objects of 

 pursuit and destruction by wicked boys. 



The American caterpillar was spoken of particu- 

 larly, as being at present one of the most injurious 

 of insects. He thought the Legislature should offer 

 a reward to those who prove themselves most ef- 

 ficient as destro3-ers of insects ; and perhaps there 

 should be a penalty for those persons who keep 

 wild cherries and worthless apple trees, apparently 

 for no purpose but to propagate caterpillars to de- 

 stroy their neighbors' orchards. One man in An- 

 dover, last year, offered a reward of 85,00 to the 

 boy who would destroy most caterpillars' nests ; 

 and there were probably 20,000 nests destroyed by 

 the boys. This year, the Andover Agricultural So- 

 ciety had offered a reward of $ 15,0ft for the same 

 object. 



Mr. WetherelI/ said that at the present time> 

 there is no evil with which the farmer has to con- 

 tend, so great as that of the insect world. Those 

 which infest apple trees are numerous. Many ap- 

 ple trees, when taken up from nurseries, are found 

 to be affected with a kind of blight upon the root, 

 which is really a small insect. It may be destroyed 

 by dipping the young tree when it is transplanted, 

 in soap-suds. Then above the root comes the bord- 

 er, which can be most effectually destroyed by hunt* 

 ing them out with a knife. When they can be 

 reached with a wash of lye, hot water, or some- 

 thing of that kind, they may be destroyed in that 

 way. Then there is another borer in the form of a 

 snapping hug, that injures apple trees ; and next 

 come the bark lice. These may be destroyed with 

 a wash of lye, or a weak solution of potash. Some 

 suppose when they see ants ascending trees, that 

 they are injurious ; but they go up the trees to get 

 a kind of nourishment from an injurious insect up- 

 on the tree ; and therefore, when they are seen to 

 go up trees, the owner should look for the insect 

 from which they seek nourishment, and which is 

 deriving its sustenance from the tree. The latter, 



