37G 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Aug- 



a stick of about eighteen inches in height inserted 

 by its side, to tie up its branches to ; as it advan- 

 ces in height, the leaves and young branches being 

 kept stripped off from the lower part, so as to form 

 a stem to the height required, this stem will be- 

 come sufficiently hard and woody to endure the 

 winter, by being placed in a green house or the 

 window of a sitting room, and may be preserved 

 for several yeass, if air is given to it whenever the 

 weather will allow, so that the young branches do 

 not become too delicate. As soon as the seed 

 vessels begin to form, they should be cut off, wliich 

 will cause the plant to throw out a fresh supply of 

 blossoms ; but these plants should never be suf- 

 fered to perfect their seed, as it would greatly 

 weaken them, and generally cause their entire de- 

 cay ; for the sweet Reseda is an annual in its prop- 

 er climate, and therefore naturally decays when it 

 has ripened its seed. It is frequently observed 

 that the seeds of the mignonette which scattered 

 themselves in the autumn produce finer plants 

 than those that are sown in the spring, which 

 should teach us to sow a part of our seed at that 

 season of the year in pots or boxes, kept iu frames 

 through the winter, or in a green house. 



while the black knot insect appears as yet unknown 

 to him. 



I have made the above remarks more to arouse 

 a spirit of inquiry and investigation, than to arro- 

 gate to myself any superior knowledge of the sub- 

 ject. For the study of Entomology is one so intri- ' 

 cate and difficult, that one short life is too little to 

 )btain a thorough knowledge of it ; it appears, 

 therefore, to be the duty of students in the science 

 to assist each other, although they may differ for 

 a while in tlieir opinions ; patient investigation 

 will, in time, bring them to the same conclusions. 

 Very respectfully, 



Mrs. Notes Darling. 



New Haven, June 18/A, 1853. 



For the Neio England Farmer. 

 BLACK KNOTS AGAIN. 



Mr. Brown: — Respected Sir, — I have read with 

 considerable interest the communication Cor rath- 

 er the postscript) of your correspondent J. Lee, of 

 Salisbury, Conn. My object in noticing it at this 

 time, is not so much to convince Mr. L. by my 

 words, but to put him as well as others in a way 

 to convince themselves. It is no wonder that he 

 did not find very distinct traces of insects in old 

 knots of last year's growth, for the grubs leave 

 early in August, and the knots enlarge and alter 

 their shape very mueh after that time. But now 

 is the time, the present month of July. Watch 

 carefully the first swellings, (they will be difficult 

 to find, for they do not turn black until late in au- 

 tumn,) mark them well, and dissect them from time 

 to time. The grubs are so minute at first that it 

 will require a lens to discover them, but will in 

 a short time become visible to the naked eye, then 

 cut out sections of the limbs, and follow the prac- 

 tice described in my communication published in 

 the March number of the New England Farmer . 

 And if the result does not prove the same, Black 

 Knots must be different, in different localities. 



I stated in my communication to the March 

 number, that the warts had almost entirely disap- 

 peared in New Haven, and its vicinity within three 

 or four years. Such was the fact for two or three 

 years, but I find, upon examination, that they were 

 as numerous as ever last year in some locations. 



I have perused, also, with much interest, the ar- 

 ticle on black knots, copied from the Horticulturist, 

 published in the June number. The writer 

 has evidently paid much attention to the science of 

 Entomology, and has folk) wed a very judicious 

 course in his war of extermination. But in my 

 opinion he has carried on his operations against 

 three distinct species of insects, instead of one. 

 The one that punctured the twigs with a sting or 

 Ovapositor, must have been a species of Cicadae, has the usual appearance of grain that js sown 



For the New England Farmer. 

 PROSPECTS OF THES SEASON. 



BY A. G. COMINGS. 



It is well sometimes to take a look ahead, and 

 see how things are likely to turn out. We are 

 now, [June 25,] sufl5ciently near the top of the 

 hill, in the season, to desire to see what our ag- 

 ricultural prospects are. 



Grass. — Never during May and June, in any 

 season remembered, have our New England pas- 

 tures been clothed with a garment of more beauti- 

 ful green. In the mowing fields grass has come 

 forward early, and in this vicinity it now appears 

 as though the crop would be light. Old fields 

 require a cool, wet May, for the best product of 

 mowing grass. The month was not dry ; but 

 much warmer than usual, this year. The grass 

 shot up readily and rapidly, but not thick. On 

 old fields, where the soil was not wet and cold, 

 grass is thin, and the crop will be light. On new 

 ground, much of what was sown to grass last 

 year failed to "catch" well. Such ground will of 

 course give but a light crop. Ground newly seed- 

 ed with clover, in some parts of this county, has 

 suffered much from the absence of the ueual cov- 

 ering of snow, during the winter. Many fields 

 show an entire or almost entire loss of the clover, 

 by winter killing. I have seen acres together 

 where the surface of the ground was covered with 

 the roots of clover which had been thrown out of 

 the gound by freezing and thawing. The season 

 is now forward, and much grass, in this vicinty, 

 is losing vitality, for want of more rain. The 

 prospect is not favorable to the idea of a very 

 heavy hay crop. 



Indian Corn looks remarkably well for the time 

 of year. If the latter part of summer should be 

 as favorable as the first part has been, the corn 

 crop will be very fine this year. But while we 

 ought always to hope, we ought never to presume. 

 Our expectations may be cut short. 



Potatoes have not reached their critical time of 

 life. There has been a great planting, and if there 

 should be a great rotting before the twentieth of 

 September, it will not very much surprise some 

 people. But we hope for the best of potatoes. 



Spring Grain has mostly suffered somewhat 

 from the forwardness of the season. Much of it 



Locust, for such is the course that species of iu' 

 sect follows. The cluster of eggs, covered with 

 varnish, was probably that of the tent caterpillar, 



when the season is so far advanced that it comes 

 on too rapidly. It grows up tliin on the ground, 

 is light strawed and light headed. 



