318 



Osage Orange. — Remedy against Moths. 



Vol. XII. 



hill. Those produced between the corn were 

 all sound, and continue so to the present time, 

 and were abundant in their yield ; whereas, 

 the others, planted by themselves, were more 

 or less affected with disease. A portion of 

 the ground was subsoiled to the depth of 16 

 inches. On this part, the produce was one- 

 third greater. 



From my experience, as above, I would 

 recommend potatoes to be planted among 

 Indian corn, before the 15th of May, in a 

 light, sandy loam, or some other dry soil, 

 subsoiled sixteen inches deep, with a gill of 

 newly slacked lime, applied to each hill. 



D. 



Orange co., N. Y., March 27th, 1848. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 Osage Orange. 



Mb. Editor, — By inserting answers to the 

 following queries you will oblige some of 

 your subscribers. 



1st. Is the Osage orange preferable to the 

 common thorn for hedges? And if so, why? 



2nd. How many years must elapse from 

 the time of planting the seed, before it will 

 make a sufficient fence? 



3rd, Is it liable to be attacked by insects? 



4th. Does it impoverish the soil any more 

 than the thorn ? 



5th. Does its roots extend so as to offer an 

 impediment to the plough? 



6th. Do suckers arise from the roots, or 

 does the seed germinate and grow where it 

 falls? ^ 



7th. What is the process employed in 

 raising it from the seed ? 



8th. Where can the seed or plants be pro- 

 cured, and at what price? And lastly, — 

 where is there a complete hedge of the kind 

 to be seen ? W. D. S. 



To the above queries we have been kindly furnished 

 with the following replies, from a friend who is famil- 

 iar with the subject. — Ed. 



1st. The Osage orange is held to be pre- 

 ferable to the common Hawthorn for hedge, 

 on account of its being better adapted to our 

 climate, and because the spines or thorns are 

 more formidable. 



2nd. Under proper management a pretty 

 good hedge of the Osage orange might be 

 produced from seed or cuttings, in eight 

 years. 



3rd. It has not been known to be obnox- 

 ious to insects. 



4th. From its proneness to running, it 

 might be inferred that it was a considerable 

 consumer of soil, but have heard no com- 

 plaints against it on this score. 



5th. The roots extend considerably from 



the line of the hedge through the adjacent 

 ground, and of course, will, to a certain de- 

 gree, impede the plough or spade when com- 

 ing in contact with them. 



6th. Suckers will spring up of course from 

 the portions of the roots cut asunder by the 

 plough or spade, if left in the ground covered 

 to a depth favourable to their sprouting. A 

 well trimmed hedge could hardly be expect- 

 ed to produce seed. 



7th. The process of raising from the seed is 

 one, we suppose, similar to that generally 

 practiced, — soaking the seed a short time 

 before planting, covering up one to two 

 inches in fine mould, in a frame, or in open 

 ground, having a south or south-eastern ex- 

 posure. 



8th. Most of the nurserymen of Philadel- 

 phia can supply quicks or sets — the price 

 varies as to size, and can, it is said, be had 

 at from $10 to $15 a thousand. Mr. Land- 

 reth may have a supply of the seed; of this, 

 or the price it is held at, we can give no cer- 

 tain information. 



James Gowen, of Mount Airy, is said to 

 have several hedges of the Osage orange 

 upon his farm, and doubtless would take 

 pleasure in affording an opportunity to those 

 who take an interest in such matters, to ex- 

 amine the hedges and judge of their utility. 



Remedy against Moths. 



It is an old custom with some housewives 

 to throw into their drawers every year a 

 number of fir cones, under the idea that their 

 strong reisonous smell might keep away the 

 moth. Now, as the odor of these cones is 

 due to turpentine, it occurred to Reaumur to 

 try the effect of t\m volatile liquid. He 

 rubbed one side of a piece of cloth with tur- 

 pentine, and put some moths on the other; 

 the next morning they were all dead, and 

 strange to say, they had all voluntarily aban- 

 doned their sheaths. On smearing some 

 paper slightly with the oil, and putting this 

 into a bottle with some of the grubs, the 

 weakest were immediately killed ; the most 

 vigorous struggled violently for two or three 

 hours, quitted their sheaths and died in con- 

 vulsions. It was soon abundantly evident 

 that the vapor of oil of turpentine acts as a 

 terrible poison to the grubs. Perhaps it may 

 be said that even this remedy is worse than 

 the disease, but, as Reaumur justly observes, 

 we keep away from a newly painted room, 

 or leave off for a few days a coat from which 

 stains have been removed by turpentine, why 

 therefore, can we not once a year, keep away 

 a day or two from rooms that have been fu- 

 migated with turpentine? 



