NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



1 



out the opinion of others versed in the cultivation 

 of this luxurious production. We think that the 

 flowing of meadows from the time the cranherrics 

 are taken off, (or by the first of Nov.,) until the 

 first of May, or until the frosty nights are over, is 

 of great advantage in the management of the cran- 

 beiry. MiddijEsex. 



Winchester, 1851. 



Remarks. — It is a well-established fact, we 

 think, that flowing cranberry lands is beneficial. 

 There may be exceptions, but they do not disprove 

 this general rule; for this rule is according to na- 

 ture. In numerous places, in Maine, we have no- 

 ticed on the margin of ponds, where the land was 

 flowed in winter, and from which the water reced- 

 ed in summer, yet remaining moist from its near- 

 ness to the pond, cranberries grow spontaneously; 

 but they did not grow above high- water mark. 



all cases where it makes its appearance in a tree, 

 or a tree has the appearance of being affected, it 

 should be eradicated at once. 



For the Neiv England Farmer. 

 PEACH TREES. 



Mr. Editor: — It has been a general complaint 

 in our vicinity, that peaches cannot be raised with 

 success among us on account of the liability of the 

 trees to disease and failure. 



I have known of several cases where healthy 

 trees have been transplanted into fertile soil and 

 subjected to good cultivation, and yet after luxuri- 

 ant growth they have suddenly failed, much to the 

 disappointment of their owners. After close ob- 

 servation I have concluded that most of the failures 

 among peach trees are occasioned by that insidious 

 enemy of the peach-tree, the peach-borer. 



On my premises are some 200 peach trees of 

 from 2 to 8 years' growth; from among them four 

 have been removed on account of the yellows; the 

 others are in a healthy ,flourishing condition; this has 

 been preserved only by great care and exertion. 



I have tried various remedies to prevent and de- 

 stroy the insect, yet few of them are sure in their 

 operation. The following is the most effectual 

 remedy I have tried. 



In April I remove the earth to the depth of 2 or 

 3 inches immediately around each tree, then with a 

 sharp knife carefully examine the trees, laying open 

 every cavity under the bark of the tree where the 

 borers may have secreted themselves. This having 

 been done, pour two or three quarts of boiling soap- 

 suds around each tree, and the insects are destroyed 

 ■while it injures not the tree in the least. Let the 

 trees be examined again during the season, and in 

 like manner each ensuing year, and little need be 

 feared from the ravages of the peach-borer. Some 

 of my most flourishing and productive trees are 

 those which have been reclaimed in this manner. 

 Yours most respectfully. 



Pus. M. Augur. 

 Middlctown, Ct., April 21, 1851. 



Remarks. — There are many places where the 

 peach-borer is not found. In other regions it is 

 very destructive; the better way is to take some 

 effectual means to exterminate them wholly, and 

 then with little attention they may be destroyed, as a 

 few make their appearance afterwards. 



The yellows is a very destructive disease, and in 



CLEANSING THE BARK OF FRUIT 

 TREES. 



This operation should he performed in early 

 spring, as well as in mid-summer. The rough, 

 loose parts of the bark should be scraped oil', as 

 well as moss and other parasites. The bark should 

 then be covered with the following mixture, as high 

 as the operator can reach, with an ordinary long 

 handle whitewash brush : 



5 pounds whale oil soap, 

 1 pound fine salt, 



1 pound fine sand, 



2 pounds potash, 



2 ounces nitrate of soda, 

 dissolved or mixed with water to the consistency 

 of cream, and thoroughly rubbed upon the bark. 



Many kinds of insects are kept from trees by a 

 solution of whale oil soap alone, and many such as 

 are resident in the crevices of the bark, are des- 

 troyed by salt. The fine sand is intended during 

 tire rubbing to scratch the outer coating of the baik 

 and thus assist the other ingredients for more per- 

 fect action. The potash and nitrate of soda will 

 decompose or soften the dead parts of the bark, so 

 that during the summer they will be thrown off by 

 the healthy action of the growing bark. If the 

 above mixture be applied in dry weather, it will 

 become so hard as to remain daring several show- 

 ers, and thus have time to perform its office. Trees 

 with smooth bark, such as the plum, many of the 

 cherries, &c., should be rubbed with a wet rough 

 woollen cloth in a few hours after applying the 

 mixture; this rubbing will cause the sand to clean 

 the surface so perfectly as to give the bark an im- 

 proved and more healthy surface. Trees so cleansed 

 are not as likely to be revisited by insects as those 

 left with their natural surfaces, nor are they as 

 likely to become bark-bound. Indeed we have 

 never known a tree to exhibit the disease called 

 bark-bound, the surface of the trunk of which had 

 been softened by a soap wash in early spring. The 

 cherry, apricot, peach and nectarine are subject, 

 when left to their natural state, to this disease, and 

 it has usually been attributed to too rich or too 

 moist a soil; and under-draining and slitting the 

 bark lengthwise with the knife are the usual rem- 

 edies. The one is expensive and often impossible 

 where choice trees are planted, and the other is 

 barbarous and unsightly, causing exhalation of gurn 

 and consequent canker. In any case, a few appli- 

 cations of soap to the surface of the part hide-bound 

 will remove the dilficulty, and the mixture before 

 recommended may be applied, slightly warmed, 

 when required to soften the bark of a hide-bound 

 tree. — Prof. Mapes. 



Ashes AND Plaster for Manure. — J. Johns- 

 ton, of Geneva, says that on his soil, which is a 

 gravelly clay, one bushel of plaster will do more 

 good to his clover than forty bushels of ashes — and 

 that on muck soils he never perceived any benefit 

 from plaster, though ashes may be useful. All the 

 experiments we have tried on sandy and gravelly 

 loam show the superiority of plaster to ashes, ap- 

 plied to grass lands. J. Johnston also says, that 

 he has found the best way of applying stable ma- 



