USE OF LIME AS A PREVENTIVE. 205 



to deliver what he considers an argument in support 

 of his ipse dixit, and there are a hundred chances to 

 one that he persists in it to the day of his death. 



JAMES M. GARNETT. 



Fredericksburgh, Va., June) 1839. 



EFFICACY OF LIME IN PREVENTING INSECT DEPREDA- 

 TIONS MILDEW OF THE GOOSEBERRY. 



In the Cultivator for May, 1839, page 57, 1 noticed 

 a communication which stated, among other things, 

 that a piece of corn, on ground where fragments of 

 wall, &c., had been strewn for manure, was exempt 

 from the ravages of worms. This recalled to my 

 recollection some facts which were communicated 

 to me in conversation some time ago by an intelli- 

 gent old gentleman, who was for many years a farm- 

 er in Columbia county, in this state, and which were 

 in substance as follows : He once applied what he 

 supposed at the time was plaster or gypsum, but 

 which was afterward ascertained to be lime, to a 

 number of hills of corn, potatoes, cucumbers, mel- 

 ons, &c. It was used at the time of planting, about 

 a handful being thrown directly over the seeds in 

 each hill previous to their being covered with earth. 

 He remarked that the corn to which this application 

 had been made was entirely exempt from worms, 

 while other pieces in the vicinity suffered severely 

 from their depredations. The cucumber and melon 

 vines, &c.,thus treated, were also exempt from their 

 attacks, neither were they troubled by the striped 

 bugs or flies with which they are generally attacked. 

 My informant farther assured me that he had after- 

 ward repeated this experiment a number of times, 

 and always with a like satisfactory result. It would 

 seem from this that lime is to a great extent a pre- 

 ventive of the ravages of the grub and other insects, 

 when applied at or previous to the time of planting. 

 The mode practised by my informant may not an- 

 swer for all soils and situations, but the same result 



T. X 



