No. 3. 



Dcstrnction hy Grasahnppprfi — The Mulhrrry. 



07 



Destruction by Grasshoppers. 



It is ad iiitted by every tanner with wliom 

 we have conversed, tfuit the srrasshoppers have 

 been far more numerous and destructive the 

 present s^^son than any former one within 

 their rec illection. In former years their de- 

 vastation-! were principally confined to clover 

 fields, turneps, cabbages and the more delicate 

 vejjetablos, but since their visitation the past 

 summer and present autumn, their appetites 

 appear to have taken a more various range, 

 I so that nothing goes amiss with them; for 

 ) with their increased numbers their appetites 

 I have lost a large portion of that fastidiousness 

 which heretofore confined their ravages to a 

 I few plants. Among the plants upon which 

 I they have preyed, is the corn in this section 

 ' of country. A few days since, in walking 

 I through a small patch on our place, we dis- 

 1 covered that they had made free use with it. 

 : Upon one ear we discovered them at work, and 

 as the injury was extensive, we plucked it off 

 in order tlia we might hang it up in our office 

 as a memento of their inordiriate appetites. 

 About one-third of the hu.sk had been eaten 

 off, and as far as the husk was off they had 

 also eaten the the kernels and were then en- 

 gaged in penetrating the cob. This, as far 

 a.s we know, is a novel demonstration of their 

 destroying powers, and as they are by no 

 means an insignificant enemy, we record the 

 fact, with the view that the subject may elicit 

 the attention of farmers. 



We learnt a few days since from a friend 

 that an acquaintance residing in Carroll co., 

 Md., had assured him, that they had destroyed 

 about fifty young apple trees in his orchard. 

 What remedy is to be applied we cannot say, 

 for so subtle an enemy is not easily trapped. 

 We have .seen it stated that ducks placed on 

 patches of vegetables where they have been 

 at work have been found useful in some parts 

 of our country, and from the habits of ducks, 

 and the shyness of the grasshopper, we should 

 think they might be so. It is said also that 

 fires impregnated with the smell of tar or 

 brimstone, placed to the windward, so as that 

 the smoke will range over the field, will pro- 

 tect the growing plants. If either of these 

 remedies will answer, we think they are emi- 

 nently deserving of trial. 



[The above we copy from the Baltimore 

 Farmer and Gardener. A gentleman who 

 returned a few weeks since from New Jersey 

 informed us, " that the ravages of the gras.s- 

 hopper had become really alarming, especially 

 in some parts of Monmouth county. He says, 

 on one occasion, in company with some friends 

 they observed, what at first sight appeared to 



be an immense quantity of feathers floating 

 in the atmosphere, but contiiiiung for a great 

 length of time it excited their curiosity, and 

 on a close examination, the cloud of feathers 

 proved to be a cloud of insects. They were 

 going in a S. E. direction; two of them were 

 taken. They resembled grasshoppers, were 

 of a bright, green color, about an inch long. 

 During their flight, which continued about an 

 hour, the air appeared to be filled with a long 

 silken web, some pieces, perhaps 20 to 30 

 feet in length, app£^rently spun by the in- 

 sect.] 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 



TIic .TI 111 berry — Silk, Ac. 



For the information of those interc^stcd in the mul- 

 berry and silk business, we cheerfully give place to 

 the following letter from Mr. Chaiincey Stone, of 

 Burlington, N. J., to Dr. I. S. Naudain, of Delaware. 

 Mr. Stonk is a gentleman of intelligence, and has 

 had much practical experience in the business.— 

 We think liis statements worthy of consideration. 

 Burlington, N. J., Aug. lat, 1838. 



Your letter of the 11th ult. was duly re- 

 ceived, in which a number of interrogatories 

 on the subject of silk growing, &c. were 

 addressed to me, but by reason of other en- 

 gagements I have been obliged to delay an- 

 swering them until the present time. In re- 

 plying to your questions it will be necessary for 

 me briefly to recapitulate them. " Question 

 1. Have you been long engaged in cultivating 

 the mulberry ? 2. What species of morus do 

 you deem preferable, and what kind of soil 

 suits it be.st. 3. What is the best mode of 

 propagating, planting, and managing it^ 4. 

 What is the value, expense, and^profiton an 

 acre of mulberries for the fir^t five years in- 

 clusive ? 5. What kind of worm do you con- 

 sider the mo!=t valuable .' fi. What helpdoes it 

 require to raise one hundred pounds of silk? 

 7. What buildings, fixtures, &c. are necessa- 

 ry in this latitude to raise one hundred prjunds 

 of silk] 8. What bounty or bounties does 

 the Legislature of your state offer to encour- 

 age the growth of silk ? 9. Is there a ready 

 market for cocoons and reeled silk 1 Any 

 other information you may be pleased to com- 

 municate in accordance with the foregoing 

 questions will be thankfully received and^duly 

 appreciated." I will endeavor to jri-ve each 

 of the.se questions, in their order, a fair inves- 

 tigation. 



First. — " Have jou been long engaged in 

 cultivating the mulberry." I am one of the 

 number who first commenced the silk business 



