504 



NEV7 ENGLAND FARMER. 



Nor. 



father works, votes and talks — where the mother 

 controls, educates, laliors and loves — where she 

 rears men, scholars and patriots." 



For the New England Farmer. 



THE CURCULIO. 



Friend Bnowx : — Now that the curculio has 

 done his work for the present season, it may not 

 bo out of place to give you my experience in the 

 war I have had witli that insect the past summer. 

 I have tried some of the many remedies that 

 have been recommended in the Farmer. Tree 

 No. 1, 1 kept well dusted with air-slaked lime; 

 No. 2, 1 put a hen and a brood of chickens under, 

 and shook ^the tree almost every day ; Nos. 3, 4 

 and 5, I syringed with a mixture of whale oil 

 soap, in the proportion of 4 pounds of soap to 30 

 gallons of water. I syringed often enough to 

 give the foliage of the tree the smell of soap. 

 Now for the result of the different plans. Tree 

 No. 1 is so full of fruit, that I had to sujoport it 

 with poles ; No. 2 there is not a plum on ; Nos. 

 3, 4 and 5, have in all about two dozen of good 

 fruit. By this you will see that, after a fair 

 trial, the air-slakod lime is the best. 



The mode of applying it is as recommended by 

 .1 correspondent in the Farmer last spring, viz : let 

 your liuie slake, and sift it through a flour sieve ; 

 take a piece of lace, make it in tlic form of a bag, 

 tnd make fiist to the end of a pole long enough 

 ti) reach over the top of the tree ; hold the pole 

 with one hand, and strike the end of the pole 

 with the other. In this way you can dust a tree 

 •ill over in two or three minutes. I think this is 

 tiie best way to save the plum from the curculio. 

 I have been informed this summer that coal ashes 

 will do equally as well as lime ; if so, it does not 

 cost so much ; but 1 think the lime is the best. 

 [ send you this as my experience with the cur- 

 culio the past summer, and, if it is worthy of 

 your notice, you have it at your service. 



Yours, Blytheavood. 



Swa?npscoU, Sept., 1854. 



P. S. I am in hopes of hearing from others on 

 this important subject, as no doubt many of your 

 readers have been trying experiments with the 

 plum. 



CURIOSITY REPROVED. 



The Persian Ambassador found himself so much 

 annoyed, while in France, by the insatiable curi- 

 osity of the fair Parisians, who came in crowds 

 to his residence, avowedly to " look at him," 

 that at last he revenged himself by the following 

 little scheme : 



On returning one day from a ride, and finding 

 as usual his apartments crowded with ladies, he 

 affected to be charmed by the siglit of them ; 

 successively pointing to each with his finger, and 

 speaking with earnestness to his interpreter, who 

 he well knew would be closely questioned as to 

 the purport of his remarks. Accordingly, the 

 eldest of the ladies, who, in spite of her age, 

 probably thought herself the most striking of the 

 whole party, and whose curiosity was particularly 

 excited, after his excellency had passed through 

 the suite of rooms, coolly inquired what might 

 have been the object of his examination. 



'•Madam," replied the interpreter, "I dare 



not inform you." " But I wish particularly to 

 know, sir." " Indeed, madam, it is impossible." 

 " Nay, sir, this reserve is vexatious ; I desire to 

 know." " O, since you insist, madam, know 

 then, that His Excellency has been valuing ycu." 

 "Valuing us! how, sir?" "Yes, ladies; His 

 Excellency, after the custom of his country, has 

 been setting a price upon each of you." "Well, 

 that's whimsical enough ; and how much may 

 that lady be worth, according to his estimation? " 

 "A thousand crowns." "And the other ? " "Five 

 hundred crowns." " And that young lady with 

 fair hair? " " Three hundred crowns." " And 

 that brunette?" "The same price." "And 

 that lady who is painted?" " Fifty crowns." 

 " And pray, what may I be worth, in the tariff 

 of His Excellency's good graces ? " " 0, madam, 

 you really must excuse me; I beg — " "Come, 

 come, no concealments." " The prince merely 

 said, as he passed you — " " Well, what did he 

 say? " " He said, madam, that he did not know 

 the small coin of this country." 



For the New Eng-land Farmer. 



AVERAGE LOITGEVITY-WAGES. 



In reading the remarks of Hon. Amasa Walk- 

 er, as quoted in last week's number of the i^m-mer, 

 in referring to the wages of fiumers as compared 

 with mechanics, it struck me that there might be 

 some error in the data upon which they were 

 founded. The statistics collected by the State on 

 this subject are of great value, still they are only 

 approximations. Much allowance is to be made 

 for disturbing caviscs which could not enter into 

 such tables. For instance the longevity of town 

 paupers is much above that of any other class. 

 But it would by no means be safe to expect a long 

 life from becoming a pauper. _ So in farming,which 

 is next in rank to the paupers. It is notorious that 

 the healthiest in the family are selected for the 

 farm,while if any one is predisposed to any disease 

 likely to weaken his physical power, or has evidence 

 of an enfeebled condition by his habits, he is 

 placed in some of the pursuits that require less 

 physical exertion. This makes farmers a body of 

 picked men, physically, while the other pursuits 

 take the second quality physically, and the refuse. 

 This fact materially affects the bearing of the 

 statistics on the healthiness of trades and profes- 

 sions. There is no doubt tliat farming is much 

 the healthiest employment, but were the same body 

 of men who compose the farmers put to either of 

 the other pursuits, it might affect the results ma- 

 terially. The habits and employment of the shoe- 

 maker doubtless favor certain diseases, especially 

 those connected with general debility, — yet how 

 common for those with just such difficulties and 

 predispositions to enter the shoe shop ! 



If this view of the matter be correct, then a 

 change must be made in Mr. Walker's conclu- 

 sions respecting the proportion of wages due to 

 the several pursuits. Strong and able-bodied 

 men will, of course, receive higher wages in pro- 

 portion to their number of years. It may, there- 

 fore, be questioned whether the conclusions which 

 he has assumed are not incorrect, and whether the 

 apparent inequality in wages be not on the wrong 

 side. I. M. Nutting, M. D. 



Orford, N. H., Sept. 12. 



