NEW ENCJL.AN® FARMER. 



PUBLISHED BY J. B. RUSSELL. AT NO. 52 NORTH MARKET STREET, (at the Agbicultural Warehouse.)— T. G. FESSENDEN, EDITOR. 



VOL. IX. 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, JUNE 29, 1831. 



NO. SO. 



vs © sa sa I? sr a ® ii s a o sr s a 



FOR THE XEW E^fGLAND FARMFB. 



CULTURE OF INDI.^N CORN. 

 Mk Fessewpkn. — M_v reniarUs, pulilislipd in yom- j letting it lie in grass 3 yeai's after, I can get good 

 p.Tper, No 30 of (he ciiiient volume, not No. 33, jrro[)s of each, and at the end of the 5 years tlie 

 as .Mr A. K. has it, were intended for persons I land \^ ill lie in better order for another erop of 

 ohliged, like myself, to cultivate hilly, rough stony I corn, than it was wlien 1 commenced : by following 

 land, situateil at n distance from rivers, sea shores, this rotation continues to improve. When if plough- 

 cities, or large towns, where plenty of manure ed 3 years in succession, as it must be or left in 

 cannot readily lie obtained. I the hill, if any other than green sward were plant- 



I did not vei\tMre to hazard an opinion as to the ^'^ ^vith corn, it must be twice manured or become 



I plant no other, because I wish to improve as , formation I hope to receive tliroii'di the iiiGdinni 

 much of my land as possible, with the least ox- '" '" ~ " 



pcnse of iTianure, and 1 find by manuring and 

 planting a piece of green sward one year, laying 

 it down the ne.xt with oats and grass seed and 



best mode for farmers that occupy largo level 

 farms where manure i.s plenty. My i)rincipal ob> 

 ject was to draw the attention of the middling 

 class of farmers in the interior of New Englanii 

 who are obliged to till rough land, to the improve- 

 ments made by thosu who are able and willing to 

 try experiments and communicate the results for 

 the benefit of others. Of this latter class, I con- 

 si<ler Mr Phiuney and Mr A. R. Eut most of oar 

 farmers on reading or hearing of successful ex- 

 periments and improvements made by such fir- 

 mers, at once object and say, ' this is nothing to i\s, 

 our lands cannot he managed as those gentlemm 

 lo theirs.' True my friends, but I would say ,o 

 ou in the words of MrR. not to be discouragel, 

 onsider what is the great object to bo obtaineJ, 

 «nd see if you camiot some how obtain it. Tie 

 jreat object is to save and apply in the best possi- 

 •k manner, the manure carried on to the land 

 lad the vegetable mould of the turf. They ac- 

 lohiplish this by placing both manure and turf 

 ut of the reach of winds and sun, where they 

 rill ferment and rot and nourish the com when 

 lie ears are setting and growing and thereby ren- 

 3r the greatest benefit to the crop. Our lands 

 ill not admit of turning over the turf and hav- 

 >g it smooth and level, but I think by ridging in 

 e manner I described, nearly the same advantage 

 [11 be obtained. I knew it would be objected 

 r farmers not accustomed to this mode, that it 

 tas four times the work to take care of corn 

 anted in this way, to that done in the other, of 



toughing, harrowing, cross-jdoughing &c I 



ought and said the same at first myself, but my 

 eighbors jiersuaded me to persevere, and expe- 

 PDce has satisfied me that it is a saving of labor 

 id better for the crops and the land. Being 

 iDsible how discouraging this mode would appear 

 the outset, both as to labor and crops, I almost 

 sspaired of convincing any one, not accustomed 

 it, to the contrary. But after reading and re- 

 Bcting on iMr Phiniiey's experiment and success 

 d considering the effect to be nearly the same 

 both methods, I ventured to communicate my 

 3WS and experience, in hopes that some others 

 ightbe induced to give ita fair trial. Notonce 

 ly, on a single rood of ground, but from year to 

 (ar, till they had fully tested the advantages, and 

 sadvantag-es and learned by practice how to do the 

 rk in the best and easiest maimer, as every kind 

 ilabor requires experience to make it perfect, and 

 5 all know that often what is hard and difficult 

 first, becomes easy by habit. As to its being 

 visable to plant any other than green sward 

 th corn, I did not mean to give any opinion. 



impoverished. Potatoes perhaps are a gooil 

 preparation for corn, when the same land is intend- 

 ed for tillage several years ; but in the country 

 where we have no market for potatoes, except in 

 our families and with our stock and of course 

 plant more than ten acres of corn to one of po- 

 tatoes, our corn land coulii not all be prepared in 

 til at way, and if so prepared, would need two 

 successive manurings. j 



1 feeil my land close before idoughing for corn, 

 because I find it easier ploughing and hoeing, the 

 svvard not being as tough and the grass not star- 

 ting and growing as much before hoeing, and be- 

 cause experience has taught me that on my land 

 with such a sward and such grass as it produces, 

 it is better for the crop. No doubt on different 

 soils a different course would be better. An ob- 

 serving neighboring farmer, first informed me, 

 that he had found it best to feed close before piougli- 

 1 „'■ I doubted it at first, but tried it and am 

 satisfied. 



Mr. R. says my manure has been spread on the 

 surface from before ploughing until hoeing and 

 thereby exposed to a great loss of virtue. He is 

 mistaken, for by ploughing into ridges as 1 stated 

 at least four fifths of the manure is covered with 

 the furrows turned over for the ridges, and is col- 

 lected and kept in the very place where and to 

 the very time when, it will do the most good, on 

 the principle advocated by him and Mr Phinney, 

 that is, not to make a fine show of stalks but a 

 good crop of large ears of corn. And it strikes 

 me that Mr Phinney has erred a little upon his own 

 prin.-iple, in putting on and spreading his manure 

 aftei ploughing ; would it not be better to spread 

 the manure before ploughing and cover it with 

 the furrows? It would not aid the corn in the fore 

 pari of the season as much, but would it not make 

 a b>tler crop of ears .' 



Plymouth, Conn. June ISih, 1831. B. 



FOa THE NEW ENGLAND FARMHB. 



INSECT ON PEACH TREES. 

 T. G. Fessenden, Esq. 



Dear Sir — I send you a small vial, containing 

 ^voof our (worst) peach destroyers. I had sev- 

 eral varieties of the peach, which appeared prom- 

 sing a few days since, and now they have mostly 

 fallen. The dejiredator deposits in the peach what 

 shortly becomes a maggot. As I have never suf- 

 ered much from their depredations until the pres- 

 mt season, and am now in a fair way to lose all 



ny crop, I feel desirous to be made acquainted 

 A'ith the name of the insect, and the time and 

 Cleans of preventing its depredations ; which in condition, entirely secure from the wentlicr Tills 



of The A'cw England Farmer. I have; taken 

 several of these creatures in the very .-u-t, and 

 shall not have to call witnesses to prove them 

 guilty. I likewise send a peach, which they have 

 wounded. Very respectfully yours. 



J. Cranston. 

 RcmnrJis ly the Kdllor. — ^We believe the insect 

 referre<l to in the above communication is the 

 great enemy to fruit for whoso destruction 

 premiums have been proposed, and a Report of a 

 eomiidttee of the Mass. Hort. Soc. relative to 

 means of jirejjeiiting its ravages was published in 

 the New Eftgland Farmer, vol. viii. p. 382. It 

 is a small bug or beetle, which perforates Uie 

 young fruit of the pear, apple, and all stone fruits 

 and deposits its eggs in them. These soon hatch 

 and a small maggot isjiroduced, which feeds cither 

 on the pulp of the fruits, or on the kernel of the 

 seed; for the tastes and habits of the different 

 species are not similar. In the stono fruits tiiis 

 injury destroys their growth, and they fall with 

 their little enemy within them. The insect re- 

 treats into the earth, pa.sses the winter in the chrys- 

 alis state, and comes forth just as the young fruit is 

 forming or the petals of the flowers are falling, to 

 renew its mischievous labors and continues its dep- 

 redations from the firstof May till autumn. 



Dr James Tilton of Delaware in an article on 

 this subject published in t!ie American edition of 

 It'illkK's Domcitic Enajclopedin, and republished in 

 in the JV. E. Pnnnpr, vol. ii. p. 69, observes that 

 ' Our frints, colle.fively estimated, must thcruby bg 

 depreciated more than half their value ;' and adds 

 in his directions for destroying the insect, 'AH the 

 domestic animals, if well directed, contribute to 

 this purpose. Hogs in a special manner are quali- 

 fied for the work of extermination. In large or- 

 chards, care shoidd be taken that the slock of hogs 

 is sufficient to eat up all the early fruit, which 

 fiillsfrom May till August. This precaution will 

 be more especially necessary in large peach or- 

 chards ; for otherwise, when the hogs become clog- 

 ged with the pulp of the peach, they will let it fall 

 out of their mouths, and content themselves with 

 the kernel, which they like belter ; and thus the 

 curculio, escaping from their jaws may hide under 

 groimd till next spring. 



' The ordinary fowls of a farm yard are great 

 devourers of beetles. Poultry in general are re- 

 garded as'carniverous in the summer and therefore 

 should be cooped some time before they are eaten. 

 Everybody knows with what avidity ducks seize 

 on the tumble-bug, (Scarabcnus carnifer) and*it 

 is probable the curculio is regarded by all fowls, 

 as an equally delicious morsel. Therefore it is that 

 the smooth stone fruit, particularly succeed much • 

 better in lanes and y.-rds, where poultry run with- 

 out restraint than in gardens and other inclosures, 

 where fowls are excluded.' 



Dr Thacher remarks of this insect, that instead 

 of retreating into the earth, a part of the worms, at 

 least abandon the apple before it falls from the 

 tree, and locate themselves under the scales of the 

 bark and in the crevices of trees. In making 

 search this day, 25th September, I have detected 

 a considerable number of ajiple worms, in that 



