180 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[December, 



cal, it is palpably ahsunl. We do not deny 

 tliat the " neighbor who digs out the grub 

 with a knife always has a poor crop," nor yet 

 that the writers " method gives good crops," 

 for we know nothing about it. But this we 

 know; the "Peach-tree borer" does not de- 

 posits its eggs iu tlie spring, much less does it 

 deposits thera in the soil around the tree. Nor 

 is tlie grub in the soil in the spring, nor any 

 other time, it is in the base of the tree itself. 

 Neither plowing with a one or a two-horse 

 plow, nor yet drawing away the soil with a 

 hoe will dislodge, it. It would be pretty safe 

 to assert tliat that " Delaware man" did not 

 know what a " peach borer" was, when he 

 wrote to the New England Homislead. It is 

 much more dangerous to expose the lower 

 part of the trunk and roots of tlie peach ti-ee 

 to the hot sun during summer, than to let 

 them remain covered ; because, when the 

 proper time came for the insect to deposit its 

 eggs (July and August) the parent insect 

 would have free access to them. And yet, 

 there is a possibility that the eggs of the 

 Peach-tree borer, or even the newly hatched 

 grubs would suffer, if their vitality was not 

 destroyed by the hot rays of the sun, but that 

 could not occur in the spring, because the in- 

 sect does not deposit them in the spring. 

 Doubtless, advanced specimens of the "Peach- 

 tree borer" (yEgeria exitosa) may be found in 

 the latter part of June ; but we liave always 

 found them most frequently in July and Au- 

 gust, and on the buckwheat when it was in 

 bloom. It is a Lepidopterous insect, (moths) 

 but, in company with various species of 

 Hymenoptera (wasps) and other small moths, 

 we have found both male and female plenti- 

 fully on the buckwheat bloom. 



Various kinds of protection to the base of 

 the tree have been recommended to prevent 

 the moth from depositing her eggs there, but 

 when the grub is once located, there seems to 

 be no other remedy but to cut them out care- 

 fully; the injury the tree may sustain can 

 surely not be worse than to let them remain. 

 Attempting to destroy this borer with a plow, 

 is akin to plowing under the "canker worm." 

 People are too proue to look for some easy 

 wholesale method to destroy insects in cases 

 where a careful and persevering manual effort 

 is required and that alone. 



EXCERPTS. 



In beating butter always use the back of 

 your spoon. 



Pour coal oil in the entrance of ants nests ; 

 it will completely destroy them. 



Paint splashed upon window-glass can be 

 easily removed by a hot solution of soda. 



Fish may be scaled much easier by dipping 

 them into boiling water about a minute. 



Pickles or vinegar will not keep in a jar 

 tliat lias ever had any kind of grease in it. 



When soaking salt fish before cooking, add 

 a little vinegar to the water ; it improves the 

 fish. 



Milk which is slightly turned or changed 

 may be sweetened and rendered fit for use 

 again by stirring in a little soda. 



To SCOUR knives easily mix a small quanti- 

 ty of baking soda with your brick-dust, and 

 see if your knives do not polish better. 



Salt will curdle new milk ; hence, in pre- 



paring milk porridge, gravies, etc., the salt 

 should not be added until the dish is prepared. 



Cream cures sunburn on some complexions, 

 lemon juice is best on others, and cold 

 water suits still others best. 



Kerosene lamps if kept full will never ex- 

 plode, as there is then no room in the lamp 

 for the accumulation of explosive gas. 



Paint spots may be removed from any 

 kind of clothing by saturating with equal 

 parts of turpentine and spirits of ammonia. 



The best of a potato is just under the skin ; 

 therefore, pare very thin. Cover with cold 

 water and boil gently till done. 



TuE excellence of baked potatoes depends 

 upon eating thera as soon as done, and not 

 before. They are worthless till cooked, and 

 dry rapidly as soon as baked through. 



A MONSTROUS earthworm— six feet five 

 inches in length and proportionately thick- 

 has been sent from Cape Colony, Africa, to 

 the Koyal Zoological Society of England. 



The following rules are commonplace 

 enough, but we can assure our readers that 

 if they will observe every one of the rules 

 they will be anything but commonplace men 

 and women : 



Don't stop to tell stories in business hours. 



If you have a place of business be found 

 there when wanted. 



No man can get rich sitting arouud stores 

 and saloons. 



Have order, system, regularity, and also 

 promptness. 



Do not meddle with business you know 

 nothing of. 



Pay as you go. 



A man of honor respects his word as he 

 does his bond. 



Help others, but never give what you can 

 not afford to, simply because it is fashionable 

 to give. 



Learn to think and act for yourself. 



To REMOVE white lead paint from worsted 

 goods of any kind scour the spots with a nail 

 brush and sponge dipped in spirits of turpen- 

 tine. The process is tedious but sure. 

 When one has had a fever and the hair is fall- 

 ing off, take a teacup of sage, steep in a quart 

 of soft water, strain it off into a tight bottle. 

 Sponge the head with the tea frequently, wet- 

 ting the roots of the hair. 



For "greasing" the griddle, cut a white 

 turnip in halves, and rub the griddle with it. 

 It causes no smoke, smell, taste or adhesion, 

 and is better than butter or grease. 



Fish may as well be scaled, if desired, be- 

 fore packing down in salt, though in that 

 case do not scald them. Salt fish are quickest 

 and best freshened by soaking in sour milk. 



Lemons will keep better and fresher in 

 water, than under any other conditions. Put 

 in a crock and covered with water, they can 

 be preserved in winter for two or three 

 months." 



Many experienced housekeepers, in order 

 to prevent the formation of a crust in the tea 

 kettle, keep an oyster shell in it. The shell 

 attracts all the stony particles to itself. 



If a rat or mouse get into your pantry, 

 stuff in its hole a rag saturated with a solu- 

 tion of cayenne paper, and no rat or mouse 



will touch the rag for the purpose of opening 

 a communication with a depot of suppUes. 



Don't waste your time scouring your 

 bread pans; bread never bakes as well in a 

 bright tin. Indeed, the best bread pans, if 

 one can afford to have them made, arc oblong 

 ones made of Russia sheet-iron. 



Flowers may be kept very fresh over 

 night if they are excluded entirely from the 

 air. To do this wet them thoroughly, put in 

 a damp box, and cover with wet raw cotton 

 or wet newspaper, then place in a cool spot. 



Stale buns may be made to taste as nicely 

 as when fresh if they are dipped a moment or 

 so in cold water, then put into a hot oven for 

 five or ten minutes. They will turn out <as 

 light and crisp as when first baked. 



Beeswax and salt will make your rusty 

 flat irons as clean and smooth as as glass. Tie 

 a lump of wax in a rag and keep it for thaj 

 purpose. When the irons are hot rub them 

 first with the wax rag, then scour with a 

 paper or cloth sprinkled with salt. 



When coffee beans are placed upon a hot 

 plate, the flavor arising is one of the most 

 eft'ective and and at the same time agreeable 

 disinfectants. If no heat is obtainable, even 

 the spreading of ground coflee on the object 

 to be disinfected is most satisfactory. 



Hartshorn applied to the stings of pois- 

 onous insects will allay the pain and stop the 

 swelling, or apply oil of sassafras, which is 

 better. Bee-stings should be treated in this 

 way. 



Steel knives which are not iu general use 

 may be kept from rusting if they are dipped 

 in a strong solution of soda, one part water to 

 four of soda; then wipe dry, roll in flannel and 

 keep iu a dry place. 



Moths will infest carpets in warm rooms in 

 winter as well as in summer. A sure way to 

 remove them, says the Ohio Farmer, is to 

 pour strong alum water upon the floor to the 

 distance of half a yard around the edge, be- 

 fore the carpets are laid down. When sweep- 

 ing, once in a while sprinkle dry salt upon the 

 carpet. 



The Scientific American says, if a bottle of 

 the oil of pennyroyal is left uncorked in a 

 room at night, not a mosquito, or any other 

 bloodsucker, will be found there in the morn- 

 ing. Mix potash with powdered meal, and 

 throw it into the rat-holes of a cellar, and the 

 rats will depart. 



Electric Insects.— General Davis, of the 

 British army, who was a famous insect col- 

 lector, once picked up a wheel-bug in the 

 West India Island, and received a blow that 

 paralyzed his arm for some time. As he 

 shook the insect off he noticed, where it had 

 stood on his hand, six red marks, tlie impres- 

 sion of its feet. Kirby and Spence also refer 

 to this peculiarity of the insect, and other 

 naturalists have received shocks from certain 

 of the luminus beetles. Captain Blakely took 

 up an unknown caterpillar, and immediately 

 received such a shock that his entire right 

 side became paralyzed and for a long time he 

 was dangerously ill. 



The Dish Rag.— Whatever is worth doing 

 is worth doing well. I have known women 

 who keep all their best and most comfortable 



