NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



261 



commences perforating the leaves with innumerable 

 holes as soon as they appear. The vivacious power 

 of the plant surmounts the attacks of these petty 

 marauders, and holds on its way, in spite of the 

 insect's liabitual and continued depredations. Young 

 cabbage plants, however, have not strength to with- 

 stand them, but to a great extent die. As the time 

 approaches for potatoes to put forth blossoms, then 

 the yellow striped bug, leaving, in part, the cucum- 

 ber, melon, and squash, commences depositing clus- 

 ters of yellow eggs in various places upon the potato 

 leaves. 



These hatch out in successive groups, and the 

 insects attach themselves to the under side of the 

 leaf, and devour in succession leaf after leaf, or some- 

 times appear dispersed singly. They are great de- 

 vourers, and when the grubs have grown to maturity, 

 they seek some other resort, probably the earth. 

 Such were their ravages last year, that I passed 

 among my Mercers, in my garden, frequently to 

 destroy them with thumb and finger, having found 

 them unhurt by dipping them into brine, tobacco 

 juice, and lye. 



Another insect, a peculiar fly, stings the leaves at 

 the apex of the stalk, and they at once wilt and die ; 

 and generally, where I witness this, the stalk stops 

 growing, and early decay ensues. Nothing but a 

 sufficient number and activity of these flies can be 

 necessary for the sure destruction of whole fields. 

 The borer often perforates a stalk, and eating up and 

 down its centre destroys it. The same worm, in like 

 manner, infests corn, both when young and when 

 considerably advanced. I have found currant branches 

 likewise killed by this insect, by his eating into the 

 top and proceeding down the centre of the branch, 

 manufacturing it into a tube. 



Present observation of the garden plat I cultivate 

 convinces me of two things : first, that the fore-named 

 bug and its larvre, and the poisonous fly, are now 

 doing much and irreparable injury to my potato 

 plants by producing the decay and death of leaves ; 

 and secondly, that the stalks are likewise rendered 

 sickly, and preparing to shed their leaves, or to retain 

 them in a dry, black, crisped state — the sure precur- 

 sor of immature diseased tubers. The evidence is 

 satisfactory to myself, that so far as my own ground 

 is concerned, there are causes at work, viz., these 

 pestiferous insects — whose blighting power is quite 

 adequate to produce the potato rot. My reasons are, 

 that the blossoming of the plants and their natural 

 growth are prevented, and that the tubers must be 

 correspondently aff'ccted. They cannot live, grow, 

 and come to maturity, because the vines are pre- 

 vented from doing so. 



At the same time, the juice imbibed from the 

 earth, by the tubers, is prevented by the disease of 

 the vinos from being assimilated, and from having 

 its superfluous part conveyed oft'. Consequently it 

 is retained in the tubers, there to turn into a putres- 

 cent state, and thus at length completely to destroy 

 them. 



What would become of the fruit upon a tree, if 

 insects should consume or infest, at a critical period 

 of growth, the leaves and tender shoots around it ? 

 What would be the fate of an ear of maize, if, just 

 ■when its silk is expanding, the leaves and stalk above 

 it should be smitten with sudden, sure, and rapid 

 decay, and a lingering death ? And if, precisely at 

 that crisis when the potato plant is preparing to 

 blossom under the hot sun of June or July, the 

 attacks of such insects are discovered, as consume 

 and stunt the tenderest part of the plant, causing the 

 sure, successive decay and death of the remainder, 

 how is the conclusion to be resisted, that just to the 

 extent to which these causes operate, there must 

 ensue, by the righteous but mysterious visitations 

 of Providence, the blight and destruction of the 



potato crop ? How utterly impotent, too, is man to 

 avert the calamity ! 



J. LEE. 

 Salisbury, Ct., July 11, 1849. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 THE COMPOST HEAP. 



Mr. Cole : Wo have noticed, in all our excursions 

 during the sununcr, that farmers are taking unusual 

 care to increase their manure heaps. The general 

 course that has been pursued, was, immediately after 

 planting, to cast the surplus manure from the yard, 

 and such quantities of muck from the swamp as con- 

 venience permitted, and blend them in a common 

 heap. This is undoubtedly a wise course, and will 

 go to increase the productiveness of the land in a 

 remunerative ratio. A question, however, will arise, 

 whether an actual loss will not be realized bj' the 

 farmer beyond what he might necessarily sustain by 

 preparing tlie compost in the yard where the action 

 of rains would tend to more thorough and uniform 

 blending, and the trampling of animals be produc- 

 tive of good effect. At any rate, we should suppose 

 that when manure is hauled to the field in May and 

 June, when the warm season is just commencing, 

 and when, of course, decomposition is going rapidly 

 forward, and the gases in rapid action, a benefit would 

 be found in putting a thick covering of muck over the 

 heap, in order to arrest the volatile parts in their 

 hurry to escape, and convert them into available 

 stock. Let those who practise carting out maniu'e 

 thus early try a small heap in the last-mentioned 

 way by the side of one formed in the usual method 

 of letting things remain as they happen to fall, and 

 notice the result in such case, and the truth as to 

 which system is best, and the one which operates 

 most favorably is the one to pursue. 



But, after all, we would advise no farmer to neglect 

 making use of his farm-yard for composting. Scrape 

 it as clean as you can, and every rain will bring up 

 muck, which, if properly saved, will go to increase 

 the fertility of some patch which is beginning to 

 show the features of a desert. Muck and turf are 

 good retainers of water, and all perishable substances 

 may be thrown in to increase the quantity. By 

 gathering up fragments in this way, and blending 

 them in a common mass, almost every farmer may 

 collect enough, from June to October, to thoroughly 

 dress an acre of land, and thereby increase its product 

 fourfold, which is certainly better than to add two 

 or three acres of land of ordinary quality to his prem- 

 ises, at the cost of cash which may be otherwise 

 invested ; and the increase of taxes, cost of keeping 

 up fences, and all the et ceteras attendant on the 

 increase of premises. 



Yours truly, 



W B 



July, 1849. ^^' ■"• 



SIGNS OF THE VIGOR, MATURITY, AND 

 DECAY IN TREES. 



Signs announcing the Vigor of a Tree. — The branch- 

 es, especially towards the top, are vigorous ; the annual 

 shoots strong and long ; the leaves green, vigorous, 

 and thick, principally at the summit, and falling late 

 in autumn ; the bark is clear, fine, united, and nearly 

 of the same color from the foot to the large branches. 

 If at the bottom of the veins, or divisions of the 

 thick bark, there appear smaller divisions, which fol- 

 low from below upwards, in the direction of the 

 fibres, and live bark be observed at the bottom of 

 these divisions, it is an indication that the tree is very 

 vigorous, and rapidly increasing in size. If some of 





lilt 



