374 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Aug. 



researches of human chemists, as the formation of 

 living animals surpass the manufiicture of the im- 

 itations contrived by man to represent birds, beasts, 

 and men, or as the power of the Almighty to cre- 

 ate is beyond man who tries to imitate. 



Silas Brown. 

 'Wilmington, June 28, 1853. 



APPLE TREES KILLED BY POTASH. 



The ISew England Farmer mentions a case where 

 an orchard of one hundred and six thrifty Bald- 

 wins were washed with a solution of potash of the 

 strength of a pound to a gallon of water, which 

 killed the whole of them in a few days. In all at- 

 tempts to doctor seeds, plants, trees, or animals, 

 great caution should be observed. Guano is often 

 used in a way that destroys the vitality of seeds ; 

 and in soaking seed wheat in brine, blue stone or 

 copperas water, a similar disaster frequently re- 

 sults by steeping the seed too long. It is better 

 to spread caustic ashes, guano and urine too spar- 

 ingly than in excessive quantities, or in a too con- 

 centrated form. First and last, we have used a 

 good deal of liquid manure, and never add less 

 than five parts of water to one of urine. A pound 

 of potalh to five or six gallons of water instead of 

 one, will form a wash of sufficient strength to kill 

 moss on apple trees, and probably the cotton aphis 

 which so abounds at the South. The finest peach 

 trees that we ever saw in any part of our extend- 

 ed country, were treated frequently to a wash of 

 soap-suds after the servants had washed the linen 

 and other clothes for the week. Spent ashes from 

 which soap has been made, and the refuse wash- 

 water are of great value as manures, and particu- 

 larly to apply to the soil over the roots of all fruit 

 trees. Many thoughtful economical fiirmers at 

 the North, are careful to apply all soap-suds and 

 kitchen slops not suitable food for hogs, to their 

 compost heaps, which is an excellent plan, for the 

 alkalies in wash-water, in all cases where soap is 

 used, or ley, aids in rendering the silica in the 

 straw, corn-stalks, grass or weeds composted, 

 soluble manure. The object of composting coarse 

 vegetables, is to break down their tissues, and ren- 

 der them an unctious, soluble mass. The caustic 

 ammonia developed in putrid urine ; the alkalies in 

 ashes, and alkaline minerals, lime and magnesia, 

 all extract oils from plants and favor their decom- 

 position. — D. Lee, in Southern Cultivator. 



Remarks — That is good sound teaching, and 

 just such as we should expect from Dr. Lee. He 

 not only understands the chemical nature of pot- 

 ash, but by ample experience, its action upon veg- 

 etable life. If all agricultural editors could come 

 to the opinion that they not only do not know ev- 

 erything, but that many things which they think 

 they know should be dealt out sparingly to the 

 people, there would be less error in practice. We 

 were called a few days since to look at a beautiful 

 lot of plum trees, filled witli fruit, which had been 

 syringed with a solution of the salts of ammonia ; 

 nearly every leaf of them was as dead as they ev- 

 er are in December ; even the hardy currant and 

 strawberry leaves were as dead as though they had 

 been laid on a hot iron, wherever the solution had 



touched them. The proprietor of the garden in- 

 formed us that he found this nostrum recommend- 

 ed in the same paper where the "pound and gal- 

 lon" potash theory comes from. 



We do not doubt but either of these may be 

 used without injury to the tree, under certain cir- 

 cumstances, but the practice ought to be aban- 

 doned entirely, because we can never control those 

 circumstances. 



Fur the New Ensland Farmer. 



TRIMMING PINE TREES. 



25th 



Mr. Editor : — Sir, in your paper of the 21 

 inst., I notice an inquiry of G. F. W., about tri 

 ming pine trees, and in your remarks you ask for 

 information upon the subject. I have a piece of 

 land which has for the last twenty years been 

 coming into pitch pines, and as I use evergreen 

 boughs to shelter my strawberry beds, &c., in win- 

 ter, I have, annually, pruned the young pines in 

 November, for the last twelve or fifteen years. I 

 cut the limbs with a saw, close to the trunk; pitch 

 exudes from the wound, and becomes hardened by 

 spring, effectually protecting the wound from the 

 weather. I do not think any injury results from 

 the pruning; it has the same effect as upon decidu- 

 ous trees, making them grow less stocky ,vih\ch is an 

 advantage where the trees are not close together. 

 Where they grow in thick groves, the limbs die 

 while the trunk is small, leaving a clean trunk, 

 free from large knots. 



I have occasitmally cut limbs from them in 

 spring — a much larger quantity of pitch exudes, 

 and as the weather is warm, it does not harden 

 over the wound. Yours respectfully, 



F. W. Mason. 



Dartmouth, June 27, 1853. 



Remarks. — Mr. Mason has done the public a 

 favor in giving his experience on this subject. We 

 had made many personal inquiries among our best 

 farmers, but found none who had made experi- 

 ments. There is, indeed, very little known among 

 us in relation to the treatment which our forests 

 ought to receive. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 CANKER, OR SOME OTHER WORMS. 



Mr. Editor: — The canker worms, in countless 

 numbers and with astonishing rapidity, are almost 

 universally desolating our orchards. Many noble 

 trees, which a few short weeks ago enlivened the 

 scenery with their beautiful green, now look al- 

 most as brown as though the frosts of Autumn had 

 swept over them, and the rest will be likely to 

 share their fate unless speedy measures are taken 

 to cheek or destroy the little invaders — if they can 

 be called invaders, living, as they do, just where 

 they were born. 



Of course, all will depend upon your valuable 

 paper, for information upon this subject, and prob- 

 ably they will not be disappointed. I have heard 

 some express an opinion, that the insect now so 

 common, is not tlie real canker worm ; I think 

 it is; but should be glad to have some one wlio 

 knows, settle the question; anyway, they are bad 

 enough, and they seem almost exclusively to at- 



