408 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Sept. 



fruits instead of ten, each fruit vrill in the former I quite perfect, so far, at least, as regards outward 

 case have but half the amount of nutrition, which ! appearance. One of the eggs was accidentally brok- 

 it would have received in the latter case. [en, but the other has been carefully preserved by 



Gth. The period of ripening in fruit will be ac-]Mr. Charles Pillinger, clerk to Mr. George, slate 

 celerated by an abundant foliage, and retarded by and timber merchant, as a curiosity. The men 

 a scarcity of foliage. who made the discovery were sadly puzzled to 



Dr. Lindlej further states, that he considers, guess how the nest and eggs could by any possi- 

 these propositions as the expression of general jbility get into such a place, especially as it is a 

 truths, applicable in all cases, but especially to the 'fact well known that the wood-pigeon never builds 

 vi"6- in the hollows of trees, but in the branches. The 



If they are founded, as he believes, in well as- 'only manner in which we can account for this 

 certained laws, then the rigorous summer pruning phenomenon is, that the bird built her nest andde- 

 of the vine is totally wrong, He recommends, on posited her eggs in the fork of the tree, then desert- 

 the contrary, that not only should the whole crop ling them, whicli this bird often does, and that the 

 of leavesbe unpruned, but that the lateral shoots; | body of the tree, in its growth, closed around them, 

 always hitherto removed, should be allowed to re- .leaving the nest in the singular situation in which 

 main; because all those laterals, if allowed to it was found. An immense space of time must 

 grow, would by the end of the season have contri- have intervened since the eggs were thus deposited 



buted somewhat to the matter stored in the stem 

 for the nutrition of the fruit ; because the prepara- 

 tion of such matter would have been moch more 

 rapid ; and because the ripening of the fruit, which 

 depends on the presence of such matter, would 

 have been in proportion to the rapidity of its for- 

 mation. 



It is a mistake, continues he, to imagine that 

 the sun must shine on the bunches of grapes in or- 

 der to ripen them. Nature intended no such thing, 

 when heavy clusters were caused to grow on slen- 

 der stalks, and to hang below the foliage of branch- 

 es, attached to trees by their strong and numer- 

 ous tendrils. On the contrary, it is evident that 

 vines naturally bear their fruit in such a way as to 

 secure it from the sun ; and man is most unwise 

 when he harshly interferes with this intention. 

 What is wanted is the full exposure of the leaves 

 to the sun ; they will prepare the nutriment, of the 

 grape— M^y will feed it, and nurse it, and eventu- 

 ally rear it up into succulence and lusciousness. 



The same writer goes on to say 



considering that, since that time, the body of the 

 tree must have grown 30 feet or upwards in height. 

 — Hereford {English) Journal. 



however, the branches have grown for many weeks, 

 and are in autumn beginning to slacken in their 

 power of lengthening, theory says, it is then ricrht 

 to stop the shoots by plucking off the ends, because 

 after that season newly formed leaves have little 

 time to do more than organize themselves, which 

 must take place at the expense of matter formini^ 

 in other leaves. Autumn stopping of the vine 

 shoots is theref)re not only unobjectionable, but 



For the New England Farmer. 



A NEW SPECIES OF CANKER WORM. 



Mr. Editor : — We have noticed in this town a 

 new species of worm, whose first appearance, to 

 attract attention, was on apple and forest trees, 

 particularly the oak. Where they work, the leaves 

 of the trees lose their green appearance, as though 

 scorched by fire. They appeared about the first 

 of June, and by the last of the month had nearly 

 all disappeared, leaving the effect of their destruc- 

 tive habits sadly visible. Some call them the can- 

 ker worm, but they are quite a different worm from 

 the canker' worm which made such havoc in ap- 

 ple orchards about forty years ago. These worms 

 are, when grown, a little over half an inch long; 

 but the canker worm was full one inch long, and 

 " VVhen, 'much larger and darker colored, and moved differ- 



ently ; but both were alike in providing themselves 

 with a fine spun web, when they happen to fall by 

 the shaking of the leaf or limb of the trees where 

 they are eating. If the limb is jarred they fall sus- 

 pended by this fine web ; some fall one f(jot, some 

 two, three or four feet, and then commence climb- 

 ing up their rope like a good sailor, and regain 

 the r previous position. 



I find by the papers that this worm has been 



advantageous, for the leaves which remain after 'noticed in different parts of this State, and some 

 that operation will then direct all their energy tojother States. If it increases next year, our forest 



the perfection of the grape." 



Should the writer, by calling your attention t 

 this subject, succeed in awakening the interest of 

 the vine growers in this neighborhood, to the per- 

 nicious effects of summer pruning, he will be satis- 

 fied, and will conclude with a single remark 



If, as we are told, leaves are to the plant what 

 lungs are to the human body, we cannot wonder 

 that summer pruned grape vines resemble persons 

 in the last stage of consumption. 



T. M. WiLTBERGER. 



— West Philadelphian. 



Singular Circumstance. — One day last week, as 

 some sawyers were engaged in sawing up an elm 

 tree of extraordinary dimensions at the canal-wharf, 

 near this city, they found a cavity, or decayed 

 part, in the iniddle of the tree, and 30 feet at least 

 from the lop, in \v?»ich was discovered the nest of 

 a wood-pigeon, containing two eggs, which were 



and apple trees will meet with a destruction fear- 

 ful to contemplate. In this part of the State, some 

 forty years ago, the canker worm made such hav- 

 oc of apple trees that owners of orchards thought 

 the insect would finally destroy all our apple or- 

 chards. One farmer here, in the month ot March, 

 in order to get rid of the pest, cut off Kvtry limb of 

 his apple trets, so that the worm could have no sus- 

 tenance that year ! But behold that season none 

 were seen; they all disappeared, and have not made 

 tlieir appearance since. This was 39 years ago. 

 So it was entirely needless for him to thus muti- 

 late his apple trees at that time. 



Isaac Stevens. 

 Mansfield, July ^th, 1853. 



P. S. Destructive insects are very numerous 

 here this year. I liad growing in my garden a 

 nice patch of parsnips for seed. Looking at them 

 a week or two ago, I found the seed nearly de- 

 stroyed by a fat looking worm, that by the aid of 



