10 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



July 30,1830. 



wino, and after selecting those which appeared 

 most fit for the purpose, I IimI them thrown into 

 water, and well mashed wjtli the hands ; this 

 mash was then placed into a large copper boiler, 

 and boiled for some time, cooled, and strained. 

 While yet warm, I had sixty |)ounds of sugar dis- 

 solved in it, and when cold [)Ut into a cask with- 

 out a'.iy brandy, anil bunged close. Tliere were 

 twentynine gallons ; it remained so until the 

 spring of 1828, and proved to be a very delicious 

 wine ; its only fault appeared to be a great propen- 

 sity to ferment, which made it needful to keep it in 

 a cool cellar ; the cost of the sugar was $6,90. 



In England they make a very excellent wine 

 with an infusion of Walnut leaves, sugar, and a 

 small quantity of brandy ; it is of excellent flavor, 

 and esteemed to be a great stomachic. 



They make another sort of wine with cowslip 

 blossoms ; and in fact any fruit or blossom capa- 

 ble of imparting a pleasant flavor, with sufficiency 

 of sugar will make wine. Taking it for granted, 

 as I believe there is no doubt, that sugar, dissolved 

 in water and conducted through a proper fermen- 

 tation, with a small addition of pure brandy, will 

 procure a liquor possessed of all the cordial vir- 

 tues of the wine made of grapes. The occasion- 

 al rigor of our vvinters precludes a hope for our 

 present generations, to cultivate the foreign grape 

 for the purpose of wine making. The necessity 

 of covering over the vines for winter, the multi- 

 plicity of Ubor required for the due management 

 of a vineyard, would render the cost far more 

 than the price of imported wines. But our va- 

 rious fruits offer ample resources for making very 

 pleasant and cheap wines, which would have the 

 advantage of beingpure and wholesome, and would 

 save to the country immense sums, which now, in 

 our days, are yearly exported to foreign nation?. 



With best wishes, I am your friend, &c. 

 Weston, July 20. J. M. G. 



Apparatds to prevent the Ascent of the 

 Canker-worm. 

 To Gen. H. A. S. Dearborn — 



Since your publication on the canker-worm in 

 the N. E. Farmer of the 18th of June, I have 

 thought much upon the subject, and after thinking 

 of many plans to prevent the ascent of the grub 

 upon the trunk of the tree, I have succeeded in 

 perfecting a cheap, and I hope, certain remedy. 



I take the liberty of forwarding to you one or 

 two models, or rather the apparatus itself; the 

 small one is complete. — The mode of applying 

 and fitting to the tree I will attempt to describe. 



The first step will be to procure two strips of 

 sheet lead ; say an inch wide, and of suflicient 

 length to reach half roimd the body of the tree; 

 these are to get the circumference and any ine- 

 qualities in the body of the tree at the spot where 

 you wish to fix the board ; then put them edgewise 

 upon the board and with a lead pencil trace the 

 size and shape of the trunk of the tree; the next 

 step will be to make the circle with the gage for 

 the insertion of the inner or tin rim ; the circle is 

 easily and deeply made by the swe<>p of the gage 

 it should be made larger by at least an inch than 

 the one made by the pencil, — then split the circular 

 board by sawing, or lay on a strait stick and draw 

 a knife on each side of the board, cutting at least 

 one third through, and then split it. — With a com- 

 pass saw follow round the pencil mark, or perhaps 

 cut a quarter of an inch larger to allow for the 

 growth of the tree ; the space between the board 



the wooden hoop, thin edge up, or let the thin edge 

 come just to the lower edge of the board ; mark 

 how far it laps — then lower the hoop and nail it 

 with small nails, and clinch them ; lift up the hoop 

 to the lower edge of the board, and hold an iron 

 wedge, or some other solid substance on the upper 

 surface of the board, and drive up the hoop tack 

 with small nails; tlien insert the tin hoop by driv- 

 ing it down well into the groove ; let it lap by an 

 inch, put in a i)iece of flag and confine the lap by 

 a tin loop, and you then have a circular canal, 

 which, if not water tight, may easily be made so 

 by giving it one or two linings of hot tar, or thick 

 paint. 



The canal may now be filled with tar and oil, 

 oil, spirits of turpentine, lime water, or I should 

 think fish brine — or a brine made strong with com- 

 mon salt and nitre; this would not be likely to freeze 

 in cool nights, and a little winter strained oil on the 

 top would perhaps prevent the evaporation of the 

 brine, and make it more difficult for the grubs. 

 If the brine should become weakened by rain or 

 snow water, it might easily be strengthened by 

 throwing in a little salt. The tin should be an inch 

 higher than the wooden hoop — if they should swim 

 across they would find it difficult climbing up. 



I have never seen a canker-worm nor the grxih, 

 or female, but am under the impression that the 

 grub is a clumsy insect ; if that be the case, I think 

 they would not be able to pass the boundaries of 

 another more simple and cheaper defence than the 

 one above described. 



It is the circular board with only one rim, and 

 that of the thinest tin — to be put upon the outer 

 edge instead of the wooden one, and reversed, or 

 instead of rising above the upper surface of the 

 board it should hang down an inch or two ; thi, 

 would present an obstacle which I thinli they never 

 would be able to pass, for whenever they should 

 attempt to turn the lower edge of the tin they 

 would find themselves on terra Jirma instead of 

 being on the top of the tree. 



If upon examination you should be of the opinion 

 that either of the plans would answer any purpose, 

 no one could object to them on the score of expense, 

 for I would engage any required number to be de- 

 livered in Boston, the circular board and hoop, (of 

 this largest size) for 12 J cents each or the board 

 for the tin rim for half the sum. 



There is one other consideration, — if this will 

 stop the grub, it would also sto[) the ascent of 

 spiders, caterpillars, ants, slugs, and possibly the 

 curculio, if, as Dr Tilton says, they crawl up the 

 body of the tree, instead of flying. 



Bepleased to accept the assurances of my resard, 



LEVI BARTLETT; 

 Warner, A". H., July 2, 1830. 



some of which I hope will be found to be new ; 

 the Papaw and Tulip trees thrive here, and I trust 

 will ere long adorn your city and vicinity. Some 

 grounds here are very prettily ornamented ; the 

 ladies are tasteful in their flower gardens, and I 

 thinl they are more inclined to work in th6ra 

 than they are in Boston.' J. A. 



SEASON AT CINCINNATI. 



[Extract from a letter from a gentleman in Cincinnati, 

 Ohio, to the publisher of the New England Farmer.] 



' Wheat promises fair — also Oats and Barley, 

 there will be excellent crops of rye — Hay will be 

 light, though clover promises well — peaches are 

 abundant — plums are not much cultivated, and 

 apples are rather scarce — Corn is backward (so 

 far as I can judge from a twentyfive miles' jour- 

 ney after a good milch cow, the same being scarce 

 and dear) and markets are low for most kinds of 

 agricultural produce. 



' I hope to be able to forward to you this win- 

 ter a package of ornamental seeds which I am now 



LLST OF FRUITS. 



Mft Fessende.n — Will you or some other com- 

 pe:ent gentleman publish in the New England 

 Farmer a small Catalogue of the most approved 

 pairs, such as have fruited in our country and are 

 good bearers ; and show as near as practicable 

 tht precise time of ripening of each ; commenc- 

 inj with the earliest. Let the day of the month 

 be])ut down to show the comparative difference 

 of the ripening of each variety. I find the cata- 

 logues of our nurserymen disagree; and are rath- 

 er vague — Oct., Nov. and Dec. is not sufficient- 

 ly explicit. There is a time when each variety 

 isgenerally in the greatest perfection. That time 

 isimportant to be known, whether it be usually 

 01 the 1st, 15th or the 30th, of the month. It is 

 eipected that pears Will vary a short time in com- 

 ii^ to maturity from year to year : yet the time 

 wthin 10 or 15 days of ripening might be made 

 kiovvn, which would be very useful to the horti- 

 mltural community, particularly to those who are 

 jlst beginning to cultivate this valuable fruit. It 

 Tould also aid your readers in selecting those 

 ;arieties which will ripen in succession. 



The above information would be thankfully re- 

 leived and be very gratifying to at least one of 

 |our SUBSCRIBERS. 



Ql/'' A valuable article on Fruit Trees, the 

 nost esteemed sorts, and their times of ripening, 

 &c, written by the Hon. John Lowell, will be 

 found in Fessenden's New American Gardener, 

 page 128. 



FRUIT TREES. 

 Mr Fessenden — I have presumed to address 

 to you the following questions, and shall feel par- 

 ticularly obliged by an .early answer if consistent 

 with your engagements. 



1. What is the best wash to apply to apple and 

 other fruit trees, and what time in the year is 

 best for its application ? 



2. Has there ever been any method ascertained 

 to prevent the ravages of the Canker Worm ? 



Do you know what will prevent the small worm 

 from attacking fruit trees in the inonth of June 

 and Jidy ; this worm is much smaller than the 

 Caterpillar which appears and forms branches 

 in the spring. 



Our fruit trees in this vicinity seem to call for 



great attention to prevent their ««erdestruction,and 



it is an object of some imijortance to ascertain if 



possible any remedy for the depredations of insects. 



Yours Respectfully, 



JOSEPH ELLSWORTH. 



KitchMilU, Con., July 22, 1S30. 



and tree may be filled with oakum; then apply the collecting. I have seen several beautiful species, 



INSECTS ON INDIAN CORN. 

 Mr Fessenden*— In the Farmer of the 2d, 

 inst, I noticed your remarks on the wire worm, 

 which has been making ravages among the 

 corn in some parts of the state. I have noticed 

 many fields of corn in this vicinity, which were 

 of a rusty yellow color at the bottom — and in 

 searching for the cause, the roots were found 

 to be covered witti green lice. The bottom of 

 the stalk is almost dead, in most cases, from the 



