No. 5. 



Chester County Farms. 



153 



but we now come to show how important 

 our text is to all who use wood — and who 

 does not? It will readily occur to the minds 

 of students, that when wood is filled with 

 this starch, that it offers strong temptations 

 to hungry insects, who are in search of food. 

 They readily bore into it, eating the starch 

 but unfortunately damaging the wood. This 

 temptation is particularly great, when the 

 starch by the addition of moisture and 

 warmth, assumes the form and sweetness of 

 sugar. It is then extremely liable to be at- 

 tacked by insects, and if we would avoid 

 them, we must cut such wood as we would 

 use for mechanical purposes, in the summer, 

 after the tree is in full leaf, and before Au- 

 gust. This is highly essential; the tree has 

 then but little or no starch in its cells, and 

 when the wood becomes dry, it becomes 

 very hard, and there being no temptation 

 for the insect it does not attack it, and thus 

 a great and often vexatious difficulty is 

 avoided. Wood intended to burn, would be 

 better cut in the winter, for then the starch 

 as well as the wood, may be burned, and 

 wood is easier cut when dry, when it is 

 filled with starch, than when not, for in the 

 latter case it is nearly as hard as iron. 



Starch decays more rapidly than woody 

 fibre, as it is more liable to chemical change. 

 Lumber, therefore, that is filled with starch, 

 or that has been cut during the winter, rots 

 much more readily than that cut during the 

 summer. 



¥/hen clearing land it is desirable that 

 stumps should not throw up shoots. This 

 they are very liable to do when the tree has 

 been cut during the winter, as the stump 

 and roots Jaave been well supplied with 

 starch, and this starch enables the stump to 

 throw up the shoots. If we would get rid 

 of this difficulty, therefore, we will clear 

 our land in the summer. 



There is but one other view that may be 

 taken of our text, that presents itself to my 

 view at present, although there may be 

 others that my attention may not now be 

 directed to. That view is this — when fruit 

 trees bear a very heavy crop late in the fall, 

 they are apt to exhaust their supply of car- 

 bonic acid in the formation of fruit, and 

 leave none for the formation of starch, for 

 the use of the leaves and roots of the follow- 

 ing year. Hence during the year after such 

 late and heavy bearing, they appear sickly 

 and weak, and although they often blossom 

 finely, the^ear little or no fruit. But du- 

 ring the faWaf the non-bearing season, they 

 again acquire their supply of starch and 

 gum, and the next year, if other circum- 

 stances are equal, they bear their usual fine 

 crop. On this account they are said to bear 



fruit naturally evexy other year, when if the 

 cause was understood and the tree supplied 

 well with lime, ashes, and ground charcoal, 

 so that it might absorb and assimilate suffi- 

 cient carbonic acid for its fruit and the form- 

 ation of its starch — the tree might be made 

 to bear every year — naturally. 



I have necessarily been brief in all these 

 points, Mr. Editor, but an intelligent mind 

 and good judgment cannot fail, when oppor- 

 tunity offers, to make a good use of these 

 hints, — and knowing you have many such 

 minds among your readers, I submit them to 

 you for publication. Chemico. 



Chester County Farms. 



It is one of the modes of ascertaining the state of 

 cultivation and mode of farming in a particular dis- 

 trict, to ascertain the price at which farms sell. The 

 following list is taken from a late number of the Vil- 

 lage Jlecord, published at West Chester, in this State, 

 and will enable one to form — even without knowing 

 the precise farms— a tolerably fair estimate of farm 

 land in the vicinity.— Ed. 



The farm of Levi A. Gheen, in West 

 Whiteland, near the Indian King, has been 

 sold for $;59 per acre. It was bought by 

 Richard White. 



The farm of Mahlon Phillips, deceased, 

 was put up and bid to S87 per acre, on the 

 3rd inst. It is located in Kennet township, 

 and contains 101 acres. 



The farm of Dr. Weeks, in the same sec- 

 tion of the county, was bid in at §^75 per 

 acre — 117 acres. 



The farm of Mr. John Climenson, Uwch- 

 land, was sold on t'ffe 20th inst. for $76 per 

 acre — 100 acres, $7,600 — to Mr. George 

 Pennypacker. 



The farm of John C. Dorat, in London- 

 grove township, containing 87 acres, was 

 sold last Tuesday, to Job H. Jackson, for 

 $6,500. ® 



The farm of Thomas Shortledge, sold by 

 assignee, in London Britain township, was 

 sold on the 18th ult., 68^ acres, to Thomas 

 Phelps, at $64 68|. 



The farm of Wm. Crooks, 126 acres, in , 

 Penn township, was bid to $33 12| on the 

 20th inst. 



The farm of Thomas Speakman, in Lnn- 

 dongrove township, 136 acres, was sold a 

 few days since to Mr. Cox, of Willistovvn, 

 at $44. 



The farm of Lewis Ferron, deceased, in 

 Londonderry, 52 acres, was sold about the 

 beginning of the present month, at $50 25 

 per acre, to Thomas Farra. 



The farm of Conrad Keeley, deceased, in 

 Uwchland, was sold by the executors, at 

 $46,00, 125 acres, bought by Jacob Keeley. 



