18 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[February, 



tually, aud more cheaply accomplish the de- 

 sired end. Tt is true, he is not a very large 

 bird, but then it would only take the more of 

 them to make a "mess," and the process of 

 extinction would be more rapid. There are 

 "four and twenty" of them that infest our 

 premises, that we would sooner see "baked 

 in a pie," than to endure their spattering at- 

 tempts at ■whitcwasliinrj, especially wlien any- 

 thing valuable happens to stand beneath their 

 winter rookeries ; and yet, we rather like 

 their social presence. 



OURSELVES. 



"The fourteenth volume of the Lancaster 

 Farmer begins with the January number. 

 The industrious editor, Dr. Rathvon, has for 

 years given his time and talents to pushing 

 the agricultural interests of this grand agri- 

 cultural county ahead tlirough its columns, 

 and although ill requited for his laborious 

 work will still keep his hands on the helm. He 

 cordially invites contributors and correspon- 

 dents to render liim what aid they can in mak- 

 ing the Farmer a still more valuable vehicle 

 of^progvessive agriculture and pomology, and 

 there should be a generous response from all 

 sides to his invitation. We observe that he 

 alludes to the ungenerous and unjust charge 

 made against him" by a member of the Agri- 

 cultural Society, that he had suppressed, out 

 of jealousy, or for some other cause, the essays 

 of the offended member from the society 

 proceedings as published in the Farmer. 

 It was hardly worth his while to go to the 

 trouble. No one gave the silly accusation a 

 moment's thought. The charge that Dr. 

 Rathvon was unalile to answer the entomo- 

 logical queries of his captious critic brought 

 smiles to the face of every member of the so- 

 ciety present. All that individual ever knew 

 about insects is not a tenth part of wliat Dr. 

 Rathvon has forgotten about them." 



The foregoing from the columns of a recent 

 issue of the Daily New Era, needs no com- 

 ment from us, save the expression of a grate- 

 ful sentiment for the kindly recognition of our 

 labors, our integrity, and the status of the 

 journal we seem called upon to edit. 



which places the subject in the company of 

 probabilities, or inferentialities. If we Im, 

 I)erhaps we may be able to say more about it 

 six weeks later in the season, for which we 

 are content to wait. 



FEBRUARY SNOWS 



- The morning of February 1st, 1882, was ush- 

 ered in by an eight inch snow, followed by one 

 of about twelve inches on the 4ih, but it can- 

 not be said that the temperatnre was uncom- 

 fortably cold. On the morning of llie 2nd 

 (candlemas) the clouds had entirely dispersed, 

 and the sun shone out bright and clear. This 

 according to an ancient tradition (perhaps 

 confined to Pennsylvania alone) was ominous 

 of a prolonged winter, and a late spring. It 

 was ground-hog day, and the tradition is 

 something like the following : 



If the ground-hog comes out of his hole on 

 candlemas and sees his shadow reflected by 

 the sun, he immediately returns to his winter 

 lair,and resumes his state of hibernation for sis 

 weeks longer. But if the sky is clouded and 

 he is unaVile to see his shadow, he remains 

 out, and the spring will be an early one. We 

 are unwilling to say anything calculated to 

 undermine this ancient conceit, but really the 

 groundhog is not much of a prophet after all. 

 Si.v weeks from candlemas would carry us to 

 about the 17th of March, which is "St. Pat- 

 rick's day in the morning." Now, we are 

 nearly "three-score and ten," and yet we 

 never knew Spring to commence much before 

 the 17th of March, but have known it lo be 

 "bitter cold" ctfter that date on frequent occa- 

 sions, Besides, there is that quallifying "if," 



\A^OOD-WORMS. 



"An old experieiiced farmer says that hick- 

 ory cut in July or August will not become 

 worm-eaten. Oak, chestnut, walnut or other 

 timber cut from tlie middle of July to the 

 last of August will last twice as long as when 

 cut in winter. When oak is cut at this season, 

 if kept off the ground, it will season through if 

 two feet in diameter, and remain perfectly 

 sound for many years; whereas if cut in win- 

 ter or spring it will become sap-rotten in a 

 fbw years." 



Perhaps the most common worm tliat in- 

 fests hickory timber is the larva of the "Paint- 

 ed Clytus," [Clytus p/rtus) a longhorned Beetle 

 {Lonaicornia) of a dark mottled greenish color, 

 striped obliquely with yellow on the wing- 

 covers, and transversely on the thorax. Tlie 

 "Locust-tree borer" (Clytus rohinia) similarly 

 marked, is very nearly like the first named ; 

 so much so indeed as to be easily confounded 

 with it, and some entomologists are of opin- 

 ion that the species are identical, or at most, 

 only varieties. Be that as it may, the paint- 

 ed clytus is usually found in early spring — 

 even as early as the beginning of April, or of 

 May — whilst the locust-tree clytus is usually 

 found in early autumn. Many years ago, be- 

 fore coal was used as a houseliold fuel as uni- 

 versally as it is now, we laid in our supply of 

 hickory wod in autumn. This we had sawed 

 in convenient lengths to suit the size of the 

 stove. Invariably, almost every spring these 

 beetles would evolve by hundreds, and issue 

 through the cellar grate.s. After a week or ten 

 days the insects would entirely disappear, and 

 no clvtes would be seen until about the month 

 of September, or early in October, when the 

 different species of solidayo would be fairly 

 swarming with them. This, together with a 

 difterence in the length of their horns {an- 

 tenna) and other minor characters has been 

 deemed sufficient to establish two species of 

 these. Now, if hickory wood is cut before 

 these insect deposite their eggs in it, it is not 

 likely to be infested by these worms, and the 

 same may be said of oaks, chestnut, walnut 

 and other timber. More respect must be paid 

 to the season in which the mature insects are 

 abroad, pair and oviposit, whatever the month 

 may be. Cutting timber in July and August 

 might elude the attacks of the locust clytus, 

 because tlie sexes are usually found in cotu on 

 the bloom of the solidago in September, 

 and as late as October ; but we think it would 

 have to be cut in this latitude, before July to 

 elude the attacks of the painted clytus, or 

 whatever the woodboring insect may be. The 

 whole success of eluding the attacks of wood- 

 boring insects hinges upon their ovipositing 

 periods. If the substances which form niduses 

 for their eggs are removed before the eggs are 

 deposited they are likely to escape; always 

 provided the insects are indifferent whether it 

 is fallen or standing timber. These periods 

 the farmer has Ijetter opportunities to ob- 

 serve than the closet entomologist. When- 

 ever he finds beetles in cotu he may infer 

 that the next act after that, will be the de- 

 position of eggs. Separate from these circum- 

 stances, days^ weeks, months and signs mean 



nothing. The instincts of insects may lead 

 them to avoid fallen timber because of its li- 

 ability to be used before their progeny could 

 be developed therein, or because the eggs re- 

 quire some moisture to facilitate incubation ; 

 or because both the eggs and the newly ex- 

 cluded embryo might be sun-killed before the 

 latter could penetrate hard or dry timber. 

 Nothing is more fatal to the young larvie and 

 eggs of some insects than a hot sun. In per- 

 fect freedom insects would hardly deposit 

 their eggs on stone or iron. 



The foregoing has no relation to those wood- 

 boring insects that manifest a preference for 

 dead timber, whether standing or fallen, de- 

 cayed parts of living timber, or that which is 

 very mnch rotted; but even many of these 

 choose such parts of it as contain some mois- 

 ture, whilst others may be found in timber 

 almost as hard and dry as old bones. 



PLANTING TREES ON RAILWAY EM 

 BANKMENTS. 



In our sylvian enthusiasms, our theories of 

 tree replenishment may not be borne out by 

 practice. A writer in the Journal of Forestry, 

 for December, 1881, discourses on "some ob- 

 jections or restrictions which apply to plant- 

 ing and rearing timber on railway embank- 

 ments;" and briefly indicated, they are, '■'■First, 

 the risk of windfall; second, the risk of fire; 

 third, the lodgment of leaves against the rails; 

 and fourth, the hindrance of view over the 

 adjacent country." 



AVheii we reflect that the great storm which 

 passed over Leicestershire, England, last Oc- 

 tober, uprooted or ruinously damaged, on the 

 estates of Belvoir Castle alone, 319 oaks, 165 

 spruce, 266 larch, 162 elms, 124 ash, 70 span- 

 i.sh chestnut, 13 linn, 18 sycamore, 19 beech, 

 15 poplar, 16 birch, 6 cherry, 2 each of silver 

 fur and Turkey oak, 6 of Scotch fir, and 1 

 each of mountain-ash, bird-cherry, maple and 

 horse-chestnut trees, and that usually the 

 United States is more stormy than England, 

 we must admit a very serious obst cle to the 

 enterprise. 



Again, when we reflect upon the sorrowful 

 devastations of the forest fires of Michigan a 

 few months ago, the effects of which her peo- 

 ple arc still suffering, we are compelled to ac- 

 knowledge an other source of danger, especial- 

 ly if any of the resinous pinesshould be planted. 

 (The leaves of pines burn readily in conse- 

 quence of the turpentine they contain, even 

 when quite green). Although the third ob- 

 jection might be obviated by ''sweepers" in 

 front of the wheels, and at any rates would 

 only continue for a brief season each year, 

 yet the lodgment of these leaves in excava- 

 tions might become a source of danger for an 

 indefinite period, and moreover, would al- 

 ways be in danger of being ignited in dry 

 weathei. 



The hindrance of a view of the adjacent 

 country would be a serious objection to those 

 who travel for pleasure, and desire to see the 

 country they are passing through. However 

 beautiful the trees may become, to have them 

 on either side of a road for hundreds of miles 

 — or perhaps thousands — would he like pass- 

 ing through a long forest — or a deep cut or 

 tunnel— and hence it would become monoto- 

 nous if not a darli and gloomy avenue of 

 transit, 



