410 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



Jt'NEau, 184 3. 



bier, addin'f a lillle wnlcr to ilio curlh. niiH socurcd 

 ihe vesitel by cuvcrinij it wit]i paper so that mi in- 

 sect coiilil (lel access to tli« intrrior. Tlie p^iper 

 was sufficiently perforated with pin holes lor the 

 adinisdiun of air. The tiirnblcr with its contents 

 was diiily watched by inysplfto discover the hatch- 

 ing of the epiis. About thu middle of the fifteenth 

 day from the deposit of the ej;^'s, I «a8 so fortu- 

 nate OS to discover a very snuill inangol or «orin, 

 of a reddish cast, niakini; its ivay with considerable 

 activity doivn the blade, and saw it till it disappear- 

 ed between the binde and stcni of the plant. This, 

 I have no doubt, was the produce of one of the 

 eggs, and would, I presume, have hatched much 

 sooner, had the plant remained in the field. It 

 was my intention to have carried on the experi- 

 ment, by endeavoring to hatch out the insect from 

 the fl.ix-secd state into the perfect fly ai;ain ; hut 

 being called from home, the plant was suffered to 

 perifh. The fly that I caught on the blade of the 

 wheat, lis above stated, I enclosed in a letter to 

 Mr John S. Skinner, the editor of the " American 

 p'ormer," of Baltimore, who pronounced it to be a 

 genuine Hessian fly, and identical in appearance 

 with others recently received from Virginia." 



The best modes of preventing the ravages of the 

 Hessian fly, arc thus stated by .Mr Ilerrick : — "The 

 Btouler varieties of wheat ought always to be cho- 

 sen, and Ihe land should be kept in good condi- 

 tion. If fall wheal is sown late, some of the eggs 

 will be avoided, but risk i>f winter-killing the 

 plants will bo incurred. If cattle are permitted to 

 graze the wheat fields during the fall, they wtll de- 

 vour many of the eggs. A large number of the 

 pupa! may be destroyed by burning the wheat stub- 

 ble immediately after harvest, and then plowing 

 and harrowing the land. This method will un- 

 doubtedly do much good. As the Hessian fly also 

 lays Its eggs, to some extent, on rye and barley, 

 these crops »hould be treated in a Bimilar manner." 



InUrtsling to Entymolofriats and Botanists. — 

 The editor of the Southern Literary Messenger has 

 lately received from the American Consul ut Malta, 

 W. Winthrop .\ndrews. Esq , a preserved hutterlly, 

 ninetysix years old, and in a perfect state of pre- 

 •crvaiion. The specimen sent to the editor is 

 spread out between two thin plates of isinglass of 

 mica, and the edges are glued firmly together to 

 exclude tho air; the insect is perfect and the col- 

 ors are as bright as when in the original state. 

 We do not recollect of ever seeing this mode of 

 preserving insects or plants adopted by any of our 

 entyniolopists, and we publish the fact for the in- 

 formation of Ihose who are dfsirons of having a 

 healthy cabinet. — Host. Eve. (Jaz. 



Selecting Cnblmfce Plants — A correspondent of 

 the New Genesee I'ariner advises thoso who, on a 

 rainy day, take from a bed of cabbage plants, some 

 for transplanting, to select the blue slixirtlff;/reil 

 ones, because tho long-lep:i;ed ones arc mostly 

 tculliont, ond won't have any heads ! 



" When I came hero to settle, about forty years 

 ago," says a western farmer, "I told 'my wife I 

 meant to be rich — but all «/ie wonted was ' enough 

 to miko her comfortable.' I went to work and 

 clcar>d my land — I've worked hard ever since ; 

 and hive got rich ns I wont to be. Most of my 

 children have settled about me, and ilicy all have 

 good farms ;— bul.my wife u'nt comfortable ycl." 



For ihe N. E. Fanner. 



PKACH TURKS PRR.SKIIVED FROM THE 



WOUM WHICH (ilRULES THE ROO I S 



AND KILLS THEM. 



Mr Editor — Like nnny other persons, I am a 

 great lover of good peaches; but I have heard 

 many complain that their peach trees were destroy- 

 ed by a grub or worm, which girdles the trees at 

 the surface, or at a very short distance below the 

 surface of the ground ; and I have seen several 

 method^j (loo numerous fur iiic now to mention,) 

 intfcluallij tried to prevent it. But for the bene- 

 fit of the fruit-loving public, I have now the plea- 

 sure of slating to you a preventive which I have 

 used with unfailing success for many years, and 

 which when fairly tried, I have never known to fail 

 of destroying the worms, so as to protect tho trees 

 from their depredations. 



First — 'i'ake unslacked lime, slack it with wa- 

 ter, and wet it up aliout as tliick as common paint. 



Second — Dig away the dirt around the roots of 

 the tree, to the depth of 5 or (J inches, or till you 

 get as low as where the lateral roots begin to 

 shoot oflT from the main stem of the tree, and lay 

 the dirt up in a ridge all around the body of the 

 tree, and at the distance of a few inches from the 

 main stem or trunk of the tree, thus forming the 

 earth around the body of the tree, into a dish which 

 will hold the lime water. 



Third — Fill the dish or cavity around the stem 

 of Ihe tree, with the lime and water. 'J'his, if 

 properly prepared and applied, will infallibly kill 

 the worm.?, and will probably convert the worms 

 into a kind of soap ; and soap, you know, is said to 

 be a good manure for trees. 



Fourth — Select a wet time for this operation, 

 for then the gum about the roots of the tree will 

 be so soft, that it will be easily scraped away from 

 the tree, and will leave tho worms exposed to the 

 proper operation of the lime; and the ground be- 

 ing well saturated with water, will not so soon ab- 

 sorb the lime and water, which is put into the cavi- 

 ty, or dish, which has been formed around the tree, 

 and this will occasion the lime and water to bo 

 longer in immediate contact with the worms. 



If this operation is properly performed in the 

 spring, and again in the fall of each year, I con- 

 sider it as an infallible remedy, or preventive, of 

 injury, from the worm or grub which girdles, and 

 thus kills the peach trees. Some of my peach 

 trees have lived to be more than thirty years old. 



Whether we reckon time, or money, or both, the 

 eipnxsc of this operation is very trifling. 



'i'here arc other causes winch occasion peach 

 trees to die or to become sickly, but the lime, pro- 

 perly ajiplied, according to the foregoing direc- 

 tions, will, I think, infallibly prevent tho destruc- 

 tion of the peach trees by that kind of worm which 

 destroys by girdling the trees just below the sur- 

 face of the ground. 



If I find lime and opportunity, I may hereafter 

 send you and the lovers of good peaches, an essay 

 on tlie mildew in peach trees. 



In the mean time 1 remain, dear sir, very ro- 

 sppctfully, yours, ASA M. HOLT. 



East Jladdam, CI., June 17th, l&l'i. 



We shall be happy to receive the essajr Ed. 



Tho way to get credit is to bo punctual. The 

 way to preserve it is not to use it much. Settle 

 often. Have short accounts. 



From the Farmer's Caliinet. 

 ANOTHER "FARMER IN DISTRESS." 



How many are the ills ihat "flesh is heir to!" 

 The account of the Farmer in the last numb 

 of ihe Cabinet, who had at last u-aktd up, and 

 improved his land willi lime, attention lo his n 

 nure heaps, good tillage, iic, as to find his mii 

 ers in the spring without ;)fM<urf, as all his lid 

 were now mowable, reminds me of a couple of i 

 neighbors, who had also Iheir troubles. Th. 

 were similar in character to kis, to whom I ha 

 just referred, all having their origin in the hone.- 

 of old mother earth, and in her strong disposal 

 to repay, with interest, the labour used in coaxii 

 her to pour forth the exhaLStless riches ot h 

 bosom. 



" Heiglio — neighbor G," said E., one fros 

 morning, as he passed through his neighbor's cor 

 field, and found him beating his hands against h 

 ribs to keep up the circulation — " how is the co 

 crop on your side the fence this fall ? Mine 

 very fine ; I calculate upon 70 bushels to tl 

 acre." " Oh," said his friend, " I shall have qui 

 that much: indeed, if you look at the heaps, wi 

 three or four baskets in them, you'll say I'll ha< 

 60 or 8.) bushels. But, dear me I I don't kno 

 what upon earth I shall do with my hogs ; I ear 

 fat them : it seems as if there was always son 

 trouble or other in store for me ; somecrooi fallif" 

 to my lot; my pumpkins are all gone, and I bh»> 

 have no ojful corn to fit mj porkers tvllh! I m- 

 nured my ground well in the spring, and gave ii 

 corn a good sprinkling of ashes and plaster wht* 

 I first harrowed it, and then it looked so well, tb( 

 I couldn't help tending tt nicely all summer, art '' 

 now, it's all sound and hard, and I'm h.irrassid 

 a little to know how to get my hogs fat 1" 

 well, neighbor G," said E., " you're not sohi .r. 

 your troubles, for I've been brooding over inii 

 ever since harvest. I've limed and marled n 

 land, and picked up so many hints from the ' CaL 

 net,' that Cousin Humphrey persuaded us both, yi 

 know, to subscribe for, that last summer I cut i 

 much more first-rate hay than I have been us. ,1 i 

 that my barns would not Indd more than halt • ( i 

 if I go on this way, I shall be obliged to put i, 

 more hay houses, and buy more stock ! 1 'mo 

 wish we had let that Farmer's Cabinet alone ; it 

 got us both into trouble, you see." I came alon 

 just in time to hear this conversation, and we a 

 made ourselves merry over the "distresses" of n> 

 neighbors, and they concluded I should be nj'nhi: 

 man and have it put in print — with this sai:r a. 

 vice to oil brother fanners who can't ofl'ord to pi 

 up additional buildings for their inrreased ( ropi 

 nor to fatten their porkers on sound corn — imnd' 

 to be careful how ihey enrich their farms, t" : Im 

 id honest, and will pay : and by all mcaiii i. >: t 

 subscribe for the Farmer's Cabinet I 



Hi Mriiiii 1. 



Occupation. — No human being, however fn. .rr> 

 ho may be by fortune, however exalted his ali.:.ii'i 

 can be haj>py without a pursuit. In preference t: 

 idleness, the most trifling object tiiat has power tl 

 fascinate the hopes of man, is worthy his attentiv 



JVoble Reply- — .\rislollc, being censured 

 bestowing alms on an unworthy mendicant, rcpllv 

 " I did not give it to the man — I gave it to hxat 

 Uy." 



