No. 11. Art of Moiving easihj, — Preservation of Peach Trees. 



341 



ner as they should be. My practice is, to 

 hire one man for general work, at $20 to 

 $25 per month, also, two hands for out-door 

 work alone, who are capable to work at any 

 job of farming-; they have employment from 

 early spring till first of December, at 75 

 cents per day — these three find themselves. 

 Then, there are two men engaged constant- 

 ly, feeding and taking care of cattle, feed, 

 manure, &c., who receive from J^ilO to $12 

 per month, and found. By this arrangement 

 I have always a pretty strong force to act 

 on emergencies, and to avail myself of sea- 

 sonable operations. My work is generally 

 well done and timely done. 



I have thus given you a general insight 

 into the condition of my farm, and the sys- 

 tem by which it has been brought to its pre- 

 sent state of perfection. If substantial fences, 

 clean fields, well worked land, good crops, 

 good barns, and splendid cattle, be essential 

 to constitute a good farm, I trust you will 

 find none of those features wanting on mine. 



Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

 James Gowen. 



Mount Airy, Dec. 24th, 1844. 



Art of Mowing easily. 



John R. Pitkin gives the following directions for 

 moving, in a late number of the N. Y. Farmer and 

 Mechanic, which he says he has long practised to ad 

 vantage, and ease to himself.. .Ed. 



The scythe should hang natural and easy, 

 and it must be kept in first rate order. — 

 As you approach the standing grass, let the 

 point of the scythe move to the very point 

 of commencement, and let it stop the instant 

 it has done its work. Thus there is nothing 

 lost by a backward or forward swing. If the 

 grass stands up so as to admit of moving on, 

 measure the utmost capacity forward of your 

 scythe, take a quick easy gait, moving your 

 right foot well up towards the standing grass, 

 and your body with it, though leaning back, 

 by bending the knees a little forward, so as 

 to bring your whole weight to bear upon the 

 scythe, without twisting the body from right 

 to left, as many do ; thus giving ease to each 

 clip, and ability to repeat in an advanced po- 

 sition, without fatigue. 



If you swing six inches too far back, 

 and six inches too far in pointing out, it 

 makes twenty-four inches loss! Then ap- 

 ply the same strength to a proper forward 

 motion, and you will find it difficult for ordi- 

 nary mowers to keep up. 



Woodville, L. I., May, 1845. 



The Southern Planter says that Pennyroyal 

 mixed in with the nests of hens, will certainly 

 protect them from the annoyance of vermin. 



Preservation of Peach Trees. 



The Conversations at the New York Farmer's Club, 

 are generally of quite an interesting character. Some 

 valuable hints may probably be gathered from the fol- 

 lowing remarks made at its meeting on the 20th ult., 

 on a subject in which almost all have an interest. The 

 use of tobacco around the roots of peach trees was re- 

 commended by a corespondent of the Farmer's Cabinet, 

 in the 9th No. of our last volume, page 274.— Ed. 



Cheever Newhall, Esq., Vice-President 

 of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, 

 in the Chair. 



Mr. Wakeman — I present a paper on the 

 Peach tree, from my worthy friend Geo. F. 

 Hopkins. The well known havoc made by 

 its enemies upon that delicious fruit tree, 

 renders every suggestion for its defence and 

 preservation most acceptable. The letter 

 recommends tobacco tied around the bodies, 

 and the application of alkalies, of whale oil, 

 and of blacksmiths' cinders, to the roots. I 

 noticed a case in Philadelphia, of a tree oia 

 the roots of which hot water had been pour- 

 ed, and soot and lime applied, and the tree 

 bore good fruit every year for 20 years. I 

 refer to Mr. DePeyster's statement at a for- 

 mer meeting, of his success in consequence 

 of placing anthracite coal ashes around the 

 roots of peach trees. 



Col. E. Clark — Lime recently burned, 

 placed at the root of a tree, has the efi^ect of 

 killing worms; many of them are dissolved, 

 when in contact with the lime ; being moist, 

 they afford the means of their dissolution. 

 Common tansey, planted next to the roots, is 

 said to keep off the worms. When lime is 

 sprinkled at the root, it must be wet either 

 by rain or by hand. I know of no better 

 remedy. 



Mr. Wakeman — I ought to mention that 

 the tree in Philadelphia was annually white- 

 washed. 



Ethan Campbell, Esq. — I applied quick- 

 lime to the roots of 10 peach trees, annually 

 since 1839, and those trees are healthy. I 

 planted tansey at the roots of 20 peach trees; 

 they were not attacked by worms. The 

 worm bores a hole through the bark at the 

 edge of the ground ; its eggs are hatched in 

 June, and I have taken 30 worms out of the 

 bottom of a single tree. The trees protected 

 by tansey, give me full crops of fruit, and 

 fine too, annually. Ten peach trees to which 

 I applied nothing, all died the tiiird year. 



Col. Tr avers — I planted on my farm in 

 Jersey, 900 peach trees. I treated them 

 every way, ashes, lime, I cleared the roots — 

 and had 120 Ifeft. One near my home, I cul- 

 tivated as I would a cabbage, leaving no 

 grass or weeds near it, that one is a healthy 

 and vigorous fruit beaier — cultivation does 



