vol.. X\I. NO. 1«. 



AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER 



141 



licii tliis sonsDi) pioJiiccd a trooil crop of fruit. KED OR BLACK ANTS. 



in. Cobbed, also, in his valuable little treatise, Tq ,1,^ Editor oflhc New Enu'bmd Farmer: 



Plie .\morican Gardener," refers to a peaoh tree 

 [FruMce, in full boarinsr, as 50 years old. 

 Willi great regard, 



1 remain vonr friend, 



MOURIS LONGSTRETH. 



TO KILL WEEDS. 

 Is tiicre any inaiuire that will kill xvteds? is a 

 eslion not unfrequently put. Will nitrate of so- 

 , or nitrate of ammonia, or guano, or urates .' 

 lat sucli nueslions should be asked, proves one 

 at least, that there is a general desire to 

 n\v how to e.xlirpate weeds. We wish we could 

 d that they also indicate some acquaintance with 



rudiments at least of vegetable physiology. 

 Weeds, like other plants, have each their pecu- 

 r constitution, prefer certain kinds of food, and 

 rish on the application of others. We have seen 

 jouiul of nitrate of soda administered to a Sca- 

 le plant without visible eSect; half an ounce 

 luld probably destroy a Rhododendron. Com- 

 n stable manure is prejudicial to Coniferous 

 nts, and in overdoses will kill them ; an oak 

 ds greedily upon it. So it is with weeds. E-x- 

 •sivo doses of salt will destroy all ordinary vege- 

 ion, veeds included, but promote the growth of 

 oaragus in a most remarkable degree, thus prov- 

 ; itocll' to be a poison to one plant and a nutri- 

 as food to another. But salt cannot be used in 

 ^i^o doses to extirpate weeds generally, because 

 ne, like the asparagus, may flourish under its 

 ion, and most crops will certainly be destroyed 

 it. I'rofcssor Henslow succeeded in destroying 

 ss and weed.s on gravel walks, by means of cor- 

 ivo sublimate, green vitriol, and blue vitriol, cs- 

 ;ially ihe last. But corrosive sublimate destroys 

 >ry living form of vegetation, as well as the 

 cds ; and the two sorfs of vitriol have no perma- 

 it action, encouraging the subsequent growth of 

 aj sorts of plants, and so promoting the vegeta- 

 n of weeds rather than destroying it. 

 In practice, these chemical agents can only be 

 ployed for the destruction of weeds in certain 

 icial cases, such as the asparagus, which thrives 

 Jer doses of salt, which kill most other plants; 

 as tobacco, which feeds greedily upon quanti- 

 3 of nitrate of soda, which would destroy any 

 inary vegetation. In general, we must look to 

 er means for ridding ourselves of troublesome 

 edf, and we shall find those means in induslry 

 J common sense. The two separate are good 

 ngs, but they are better mixed together. The 

 .in and obvious rule is to pull weeds up as fast as 

 :y appear, and while still in the state of seed- 

 gs. Then every plant that is removed is effec- 

 lUy destroyed, and leaves no young ones behind 

 Any boy, at half-a-crown a week, can be taught 

 distinguish them ; and if the plan is persevered 

 there will very soon be nothing for the boy to 

 tilrict attention must, however, be paid to 

 !ir thorough extirpation when young ; it will not 

 to pull up almost all, and to leave the remainder 

 seed ; for in that case the labor has to be all 

 ne over again. — Loudnn^s Gardeners' Chronicle. 



Dear Sir — If you think the following remedy 

 for ants would be of any benefit to the " Young 

 Housekeeper" who complains of these " groat pests," 

 please allow it a place in your exceedingly valua- 

 ble paper. 



Take a h^v sprigs of green wormwood, and 

 place them in immediate contact with red or black 

 ants, and they will disappear. I have found this to 

 be eiVoctnal after using every other remedy within 

 my limited knowledge. 



Another remedy is to sprinkle chalk around the 

 places they frequent. It is said the chalk will 

 cause them to make their exit, but I have not had 

 occasion to prove it. G. C. 



We have heard before that the red ant will 

 not pass over broad and distinct chalk marks. 

 Take the sugar firkin and chalk a stripe around it 

 an inch wide, and they will not crawl over this 

 mark. — Ed. 



though not ono myself, I know, from the effects 

 produced at various times on a email fcale in mjr 

 garden, that animal matter in solution with lime, is 

 an active and [lowcrful manure; and what induced 

 me to think it might bo a preventive to the tly was, 

 that I had observed, however stale and foetid, ani- 

 mal life cannot exist in it." 



Chnosxng Bees. — Place your ear close to the 

 je, and give it a tap: if the inmates give a short 

 Id sudden buzz, all is right; but if it be a languid 



m, or rather a purring sound, the hive must be 

 jjccted, for the bees are weak. — If'righlon. 



1 



THE TURNIP FLY. 

 From a letter signed " A Tanner," in the Mark 

 Lane Express," wo copy the following simple, and 

 as is said, elficacious remedy for checking the rava- 

 ges of this destructive insect : — " In my constant 

 intercourse with farmers, I have frequently heard 

 their lamentations on the destructive ravages of 

 the turnip fly. A small patch of turnip seed was 

 sown in my garden some weeks since, and thought 

 no more about for a considerable time ; till one day 

 chancing to pass by it, I discovered, on closer in- 

 spection, that the young plants were swarming 

 with flies, and already half destroyed. I lost no time 

 in applying what I hoped would bo a remedy for 

 the mischief. This consisted of some stale liquid 

 from a lime pit, scattered over the plants with a 

 watering pot. On revisiting the patch next day, I 

 observed that the enemy was gone, and scarcely a 

 fly was to be seen, except one solitary little wretch 

 that was perched on a plant just unfolding; but 

 not one could be seen on any plant that had re- 

 ceived a sprinkle from the contents of the water- 

 iniT pot. The next apprehension was, that the 

 sprinkling might have injured the plants ; a few 

 days, however, removed all doubt, for rain came 

 and washed the sprinkling (of lime and animal 

 matter in combination,) from the plants down to the 

 roots, and they have since grown away in rank 

 luxuriance, have been thinned once, and require 

 the same operation again. Thus, by this sprink- 

 ling, the plants received protection from the fly 

 /?rsJ, nnd then, when the rain fell, wore nourished 

 by a highly-stimulating manure. It will, however, 

 be said, but of what avail is this information? Far- 

 mers have not access to the lime pits of the tanner ; 

 and if thoy had, the quantity to be procured would 

 be so small as not to be of any material benefit ; 

 which is very true, and therefiire the writer would 

 recommend every farmer to have his own lime pit 

 in his farm yard : if so situated as to take the drain- 

 ings of the yard, all the better; or whore water 

 may be obtained, a brick pit or tank, into which 

 should he thrown a few casks of lime, with a suffi- 

 ciency of water; and, when it can be procured, all 

 manner of refuse animal matter cut in pieces, such 

 as the carcases of animals and the entrails of what 

 may bo slaughtered. Sometimes, on the coast, a 

 load of worthless fish may bo obtained. Farmers 

 are little aware what an amount of rich liquid ma- 

 nure may be obtained at a very trifling cost. Al- 



WILL YOU TAKE A SHEEP? 



A valuable old farmer, about the time that tho 

 temperance reform was beginning to exert a health- 

 ful influence in the country, said to his newly 

 hired man : 



" Jonathan, I did not think to mention to you, 

 when I hired you, that I think of trying to do my 

 ork this year without rum. What shall I give 

 you to do without.'" 



" Oh," said Jonathan, " I do n't care much about 

 it — you may give me what you please." 



" Well, said the farmer, " I will give you a sheep 

 in the fall, if you will do without." 



" Agreed," said Jonathan. 



The oldest son then said — 



" Father, will you give me a sheep, if I will do 

 without rum ?" 



" Yes," was the reply. 



The youngest son, a stripling, then said — 



" Father, will you give me a sheep, if I will do 

 without ?" 



" Yes, you shall have a sheep too, if you will do 

 without rum." 



Presently the young one speaks up again — 



" Father, had n't you better take a sheep too?" 



This was a poser; he hardly thought that he 

 could give up what he had long boon accustomed 

 to ; but the appeal was such a home-thrust, and 

 from such a source, that it was not easily to be dis- 

 regarded. The effect was, rum was henceforth 

 banished from the premises, to the groat joy, and 

 ultimate happiness of all concerned. — Selected. 



ESPY'S VENTILATOR. 



Whether Mr Espy has found out the laws which 

 regulate storms on a great scale or not, he has hit 

 upon a little matter by which we think he will make 

 the laws of the wind, on a small scale, serve the 

 public, and fill his pockets. It is that thing so long 

 sought in vain, a remedy for smoky chimneys, and 

 a general ventilator. It consists of nothing but a 

 metallic cone placed on the top of a flue horizon- 

 tally with a vane, to keep the point of the cone to 

 the breeze. The direction which the wind gets 

 by passing over the cone, produces a vacuum at the 

 large end, which is the outlet, and so creates a 

 draft. The effect is altogether surprising. Some 

 places which were odious with foul air, have been 

 rendered perfectly sweet by this simple apparatus, 

 and chimneys which were given over by the doc- 

 tors as incurable, have been brought to regular ac- 

 tion Jour, of Com.. 



Responsibilit;/. — If a man is not fit to hold an 

 office before he is married, he is not fit to be mar- 

 ried. — Fitclibtirg Sent. 



True. And then a man who is married, already 

 holds as important an otfice as is to be found in any 

 of the united states. — Barre Gaz. 



To be sure he does : and the responsihilitics will 

 rest upon him. — Fitchburg Sent. 



Aye, and the way they '11 clamor for the loaves 

 anrf^s/ics will bo a caution to demagogues — Me. 

 Far. 



