132 



THE LANCASTER FARMER 



[September, 



with a sharp pruning knife, and the chips 

 coniainiiig th- larvae or the beetles consigned 

 to the flames, whatever effect it may have on 

 future broods. 



SACK-BEARER. 



Atlanta, Aug. 18, 2884. 



My Dear Friend : "Will you pardon me for 

 begging your opinion on the inclosed article 

 from the Consiitutioyi of this city, and also 

 for asking you to accept, examine, and if of 

 sufficient value in your estimation, give us 

 some information about the name and charac- 

 ter of the specimen "worm" mailed to your 

 address this day. 



With kind regards to yourself and family. 

 Your friend, 



J. J. Sprenger. 



325 Peachtree street, Atlanta, Oa. 

 Destroying Insects. 



For some time past Colonel George W. 

 Adair has noticed that the arborvitae hedge 

 in his yard was not thriving as it had for 

 years. It is a hardy plant and its drooping 

 caused surprise. It was noticed that the 

 tops of the hedge were dying and yesterday 

 Colonel Adair endeavored to ascertain the 

 cause of the trouble. On examining the 

 bushes he discovered a great number of little 

 pointed sacs depending from the twigs of the 

 shrub. One of these he pulled off. It popped 

 open and revealed an ugly looking worm 

 about an inch long. He was spotted like a 

 rattlesnake and his glowing black eye gave 

 him a decidedly venamous appearance. The 

 hedge was found to be heavily burdened with 

 these marauders, and its drooping was readily 

 understood. There are complaints in all parts 

 of the city of the ravages of insects on flowers 

 and shrubs. Several remedies are suggested. 

 Carbolic acid will destroy any insect life, but 

 it is dangerous to the person who applies it. 

 If used at all it should be with great care. 

 Some persons who have had much experience 

 recommend a solution of blue stone as a sure 

 destroyer of pestiferous insects. It does not 

 injure the person or the plant. In some cases 

 smoking the afflicted flower or shrubs has re- 

 lieved it. Such creatures as Colonel Adair 

 discovered yesterday will probably need 

 pretty severe treatment. 



This is the famous "Drop- worm" or 

 "Sack-bearer," of Pennsylvania and other 

 Northern States, and now scientifically known 

 as Thyridopteryx ephemcp.reformis; but, de- 

 structive to the foliage of various trees as it 

 is, it is one of the most accessible and easiest 

 to extinguish, with only an ordinary share of 

 vigilance and industry. 



The follicles dangle from the branches of 

 the trees all winter, and, except in evergreens, 

 are very conspicuous. If they are then all 

 cut oft and burned, a repetition of them the 

 following season will be imposiible. Each of 

 those spindle shaped ha.bitacula, if that of the 

 female, may contain from 300 to 500 eggs, 

 each of which possess the possibility of be- 

 coming a sack-worm next season. See to the 

 matter between now and April, 1885. 



EXCERPTS. 



AN.ETHESIA was discovered in 1844. 

 The first steel pen was made in 1830. 

 The first air pump was made in 1654. 

 The first daily paper appeared in 1702. 

 The first lucifer match was made in 1798. 

 The first iron steamship was built in 1830. 

 Mohammad was born at Mecca about 570. 

 The first balloon ascent was made in 1798. 



Coaches were first used in England in 1569. 



The first horse railroad was built in 1826- 

 1827. 



The Franciseans arrived in England in 

 1224. 



The first steamboat plied the Hudson in 

 1804. 



The entire Hebrew Bible was printed in 

 1488. 



Ships were first "copper-bottomed" in 

 1782. 



Gold was first discovered in California in 

 1848. 



The first telescope was used in England in 

 1608. 



Christianitt was introduced into Japan 

 in 1549. 



The first watches were made at Nurem- 

 berg in 1477. 



Envelopes were first used in 1839, a Yan- 

 kee invention. 



The first saw maker's anvil was brought 

 te America in 1819. 



The first almanac was printed by John 

 Von Furbach in 1460. 



Percussion arms were used in the United 

 States army in 1830. 



The first use of a locomotive in this coun- 

 try was in 1829. 



Omnibusses were first introduced in New 

 York in 1830. 



Kerosene was first used for lighting pur- 

 poses in 1826. 



The first glass factory in the United States 

 was built in 1780. 



Glass windows were first introduced into 

 England in the eighth century. 



The first steam engine on this continent 

 was brought from England in 1 753. 



The first complete sewing machine was 

 patented by Elias Howe, Jr., in 1848. 



The first Society for the Promotion of 

 Christian Knowledge was organized in 1698. 



The first attempt to manufacture pins in 

 this country was made soon after the war of 

 1812. 



The first prayer book of Edward VI. came 

 into use by authority of Parliament on Whit- 

 Sunday, 1549. 



The first temperance society in this coun- 

 try was organized in Saratoga county, New 

 York, in March, 1808. 



The first coach in Scotland was brought 

 thither in 1561, when Queen Mary came from 

 France. It belonged to Alexander Lord 

 Seaton. 



The manufacture of porcelain was intro- 

 duced into the Province of Hezin, Japan, 

 from China, in 1513, and Hezin ware still 

 bears Chinese marks. 



The first society for the exclusive purpose 

 of circulating the Bible was organized in 

 1805, under the name of the British and For- 

 eign Bible Society. 



The first Union flag was unfurled on the 

 first of January, 1776, over the camp at Cam- 

 bridge. It had thirteen stripes of white and 

 red and retained the English cross in one 

 corner. 



The first telegraph instrument was suc- 

 cessfully operated by S. F. B. Morse, the in- 

 ventor, in 1835, thougli its utility was not 

 demonstrated to the world until 1842. 



When Captain Cook first visited Tahiti, 

 the natives were using nails of wood, bone, 

 shell and stone. When they saw iron nails 

 they fancied them to be shoots of some very 

 hard wood, and, desirious of securing such a 

 valuable commodity they planted them in 

 their gardens. 



Measurements of an Acre.— The fol- 

 lowing will be found useful in arriving at 

 accuracy in estimating the amount of land in 

 difterent pieces of ground under cultivation : 

 Five yards wide by 958 yards long contain one 

 acre ; as do also the following measurements: 

 Ten yards wide by 484 yards long ; 20 yards 

 wide by 242 yards long ; 40 yards wide by 121 

 yards long ; 80 yards wide by 50^ yards long ; 

 70 yards wide by 69^ yards long ; 60 feet wide 

 by 726 feet long ; 110 feet wide by 369 feet 

 long ; 120 feet wide by 563 feet long ; 220 

 feet wide by 168 feet long ; 240 feet wide by 

 181^ feet long and 440 feet wide by 99 feet 

 long. 



Why Lightning Strikes Trees.— The 

 ordinary attractive power of trees is materi- 

 ally increased by the fact that a column of 

 heated air and vapor arises from them, en- 

 velopes the trees, and passes upwards. As 

 this vapor is a better conductor than the sur- 

 rounding air, it tends to draw the lightning 

 to the trees. A single human being walking 

 along a turnpike road, unless tliere be trees 

 on both sides, is liable to be struck, being the 

 most prominent object, and, of course, an 

 umbrella, as ordinarily constructed, adds to 

 the danger. It is much safer to close the 

 umbrella and get wet. 



It is the fashion just now for agricultural 

 editors to advise you not to waste time pot- 

 ting strawberry plants. Don't believe them 

 when they tell you that layers are as good as 

 pot plants. Potting plants may not pay best 

 where strawberries are grown on a large scale 

 for market, but for the great majority who 

 plant enough for home use the thumb-pot is 

 just the thing, and now is the time to begin 

 setting them under the runners. 



In 1878 I cut a field of wheat that averaged 

 thirty bushels to the acre, when it was so 

 green that the bundles were very heavy to 

 handle, and a neighbor, who cut it for me, 

 seeing my miller, told him that I had ruined 

 the crop. The miller told me after the year's 

 crop was in that my wheat was the best sam- 

 ple received at his mill that year.— Waldo F. 

 Brown in National Stockman. 



It is a mistake to think that your grain 

 fields are the only place for your maunre. 

 Manure can hardly be put to better use than 

 as top dressing for meadow and grazing land. 



If grape clusters profit by being covered by 

 paper bags, why not secure the fine blossoms 

 of larger flowering roses from the attacks of 

 the rosebugs and other insects V Who has 

 thus protected the unfolding buds of the 

 queen of flowers ? These blooms do not need 

 the visits of any insects to secure polleniza- 

 tion because they are doubled out of the seed 

 bearing habit. 



The firming of the soil upon newly grown 



