No. 6. Mode of putting in Wheat and Rye. — Sex of Strawberry. 195 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 Mode of putting in Wheat and Rye. 



Mr. Editor, — Opinions differ in regard 

 to the best mode of covering winter grain, 

 whether by ploughing in or harrowing, both of 

 which I have tried, and give the preference 

 to ploughing the seed under, when it is done 

 carefully and judiciously; but finding the 

 process rather tedious, I was induced to try 

 an experiment this flill, when I put in nine 

 acres of wheat, which I turned under with 

 the Cultivator, and which has succeeded to 

 my perfect satisfaction. The seed came up 

 with great regularity, and really looks as if 

 it had been put in with a drill. Independ- 

 ent of this, the work was done in less than 

 half the time it would have taken had it 

 been ploughed in, and the economy of time 

 and labour is a matter of importance to 

 every farmer. In using the plough for co- 

 vering wheat, I found it was not covered to 

 that uniform depth which is desirable, as 

 the ploughman will at times force the plough 

 to a greater depth in some parts of the field 

 than he does in others, in consequence of 

 which the seed is buried too deep in some 

 parts, and too shallow in others. But I do 

 not find this to be the case when the Culti- 

 vator is used, as no force is required, the 

 weight of the implement itself being suffi- 

 cient to carry it to the required depth, and 

 the operator has merely to guide the horse 

 in the proper direction and steady the im- 

 plement with his hands. 



I am induced to communicate this experi- 

 ment, trifling as it may be, for the informa- 

 tion of your numerous readers, and shall be 

 glad at a future day, to learn the opinion of 

 those who are much better informed than 

 myself on these matters, and who may be 

 induced to try it. J. T. 



Hamilton Township, N. J., 

 Dec. 16th, 1843. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 



Sex of Strawberry Plant— Peach Worm- 

 To Preserve Apples— Plough. 



Mr. Editor, — Not the least among the 

 benefits derived from your valuable paper, is 

 the suggestion of useful hints for the regu 

 lation of our affairs in their proper season 

 If you should consider the following re 

 marks worthy the room which they will 

 occupy, you can dispose of them accordingly 



Some discrepancies of opinion I find to 

 be still prevalent in regard to the sexual 

 character of the strawberry, which appear 

 to me to be perfectly reconcileable with the 

 well known habits of this interesting plant. 

 Some of the varieties, to which that of your 



correspondent undoubtedly belongs, (see last 

 No. of Cabinet, p. 139,) bear what botanists 

 call perfect flowers, which means that like 

 the apple, the peach, and the cherry, each 

 flower has within its own corolla all the 

 organs necessary to fructification, viz: pistils 

 or female organs, and stamens or male or- 

 gans. Other varieties again belong to the 

 Linnsean class, dicecia,* of which we have 

 familiar examples in the hemp, the hop, 

 and the spinach, bearing on one plant, flow- 

 ers with stamens only ; — and pistils only on 

 others. 



I have heard of a third kind, which by 

 cultivation has assumed a mixed charac- 

 ter, producing imperfect fruit, unless the 

 plants are intermingled with other kinds. 

 That variety of the strawberry which has 

 been cultivated in this valley for 30 years, 

 and by some called Chili, is strictly a 

 dioDcious plant; beds composed altogether of 

 either six being always barren ; whereas no 

 other sort is more prolific, where there is a 

 due proportion of each sex; one male to 

 ten or fifteen females is considered a suffi-* 

 cient allowance. The honey bee appears 

 a principal agent in the work of fecunda- 

 tion, by carrying the fructifying pollen from 

 flower to flower. 



It is customary with us to mark with 

 stakes the males in several rows when in 

 flower, at which time, they can be distin- 

 guished at a glance ; in order that we may 

 know whence to select in making new plan- 

 tations in the fall. The runners uniformly 

 producing plants of the same sex with the 

 parent root. 



For the w'orm in the peach tree we have 

 a simple antidote in boiling water. With- 

 out occupying too much of your paper with 

 the details of my experience with this re- 

 medy, suflice it to say, that if diligently 

 applied spring and fall as herein directed, 

 I have reason to believe that it will prove 

 efiectual. 



Scoop away the earth from around the 

 tree so as to form a small basin, reaching 

 down to the forks of the roots, into which 

 pour three or four gallons of boiling water, 

 drawing the earth again around the stock. 



This quantity will be sufficient for young 

 trees, but as they grow older, and the bark 

 proportionally thick, it is necessary to re- 

 peat the application of the water immediate- 

 ly, as too much of the heat of the first 

 bucket is absorbed by the cold earth ; this I 

 found to be the case, having occasionally 

 observed that the tree did not as usual re- 



* Diwcia; compounded of two Greek words, mean- 

 ing separate houses. 



