306 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



he already shows a great degree of intelligence and 

 discriminatiou, which would.do honor to a veteran 

 pomologist. 



He has preserved the even tenor of his way in 

 retirement and silence, but he should be known, and 

 his information, which he freely communicates, 

 should become public property for the general good, 

 and he himself ranked with the distinguished culti- 

 vators of fruit. We intend no flattery or exaggeration, 

 as we deal in facts. 



We are under obligations to Mr. Lackey for several 

 fine specimens of plums, which we shall occasionally 

 figure and describe ; and he has promised to furnish 

 us with results of experiments and his opinions after 

 the season is past. 



Mr. Lackey has about twenty-five bushels of plums 

 this season, on about one fourth of an acre, (a small 

 part of his trees being in a bearing state,) which is 

 probably a larger crop than any other person has 

 raised in this section, on the same extent. 



His land is a moist, heavy soil ; it was too cold and 

 wet for tillage, until a large quantity of sea-sand was 

 hauled on to it. His trees are vigorous and pro- 

 ductive, and they are remarkably healthy, and his 

 plums have generally been free from the cureulio. 

 He heads in his plum-trees, as the peach, by cutting 

 off", in the spring, about two thirds of the previous 

 year's growth. He considers heading is as necessary 

 to the plum as to the peach, if not more so. 



He has raised about six hundred plum seedlings, 

 from the Green Gage, which he is putting on trial 

 with a view of procuring new and superior kinds ; 

 and we have no doubt that from so extensive an ex- 

 periment, some valuable new varieties will be pro- 

 duced. We need a plum of the high quality of the 

 Green Gage, that is larger and a better grower. 



CURCULIO. 



Mr. L. Burt, of Walpole, N. H., informs us that 

 the cureulio used to sting his plums very much until 

 he adopted the following practice. He fixed spouts 

 from his house to his trees, and the soap-suds and 

 wash from the kitchen were directed around the 

 trunks and roots of the trees ; and while he pursued 

 the practice, his plums were untouched by the cur- 

 eulio ; but when this was neglected, his plums were 

 destroyed. Other persona had tried this preventive 

 with the same success. 



The cureulio will not sting plums when there is 

 not a suitable place for its young to burrow in the 

 ground below ; hence the advantage of paving under 

 trees ; but this is an expensive preventive. The wash 

 from the house is not only good to prevent the 

 operations of the cureulio, but it forms a valuable 

 manure for the trees, and supplies moisture, a good 

 share of which is essential in the successful cultiva- 

 tion of plums. 



SMUT IN WHEAT AND OATS. 



You will please to indulge me until I can com- 

 municate some facts to your farmer friends — facts 



which, in all probability, the most of them are not 

 aware of. The subject to which I allude, is smut in 

 wheat and oats. It has become a universal rule, 

 almost, for farmers to reap their wheat and oats be- 

 fore ripe. Wheat, for the reason, most of them say, 

 because it will make better flour, and oats for the 

 purpose of making better seed, both of which is a 

 mistake, in my opinion ; but I shall not trouble you 

 Avith any arguments of mine on the subject at pres- 

 ent: my object in this communication is to show 

 some cause for smut. The true cause of smut in 

 wheat and oats, in my opinion, is because the seed 

 that is sown was not ripe when cut. By the seed 

 not being fully ripe when cut, the proper qualities to 

 produce good wheat or oats again are not properly 

 matured in it. Although at the same time that there 

 is not sufficient substance in the seed to produce the 

 wheat or oats, there is sufficient substance in it to 

 bring forth the blade or stock ; but there is a mate- 

 rial diff'erence between the substance that produces 

 the stock, and the substance that produces the grain. 

 What more fully convinces me that the above is the 

 true cause of smut, is, that I bought some seed oats 

 from one of my neighbors this spring, and sowed 

 them ; when they headed, there was at least one 

 third of them black heads. I was svirprised and 

 sorry, and made some inquiry of my neighbor what 

 was the cause of so many black heads. He told me, 

 the reason of it must be by a mistake that was made 

 when he threshed his seed oats. He cut about one 

 half of his crop quite green, the other half quite ripe, 

 for seed, stacked them side by side, and when he 

 sent his son after them, he took the wrong stack. 

 Another of my neighbors sowed some old seed and 

 some new ; the old seed was ripe when cut, the new 

 was green ; he sowed them in the same field, the 

 same day. There were no black heads in the old oats 

 sown, but the new seed were about one third black 

 heads ; so much diff'erence in them that you could 

 tell them to the very land sown, and almost to the 

 furrow. Now, if this is the true cause of smut in 

 oats, it undoubtedly must be the true cause of smut 

 in wheat. If it is not, I would like very much if 

 some of your subscribers would inform me what is 

 the true cause. F. S. H. 



Gaston Co., N. C, 1849. 

 — Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper. 



Remarks by Editor N. E. Farmer. — The sub- 

 ject suggested by the above article, is worthy of con- 

 sideration and experiment, and for this purpose we 

 j)resent it. The case named in which new and old 

 seed were sowed side by side, and with diff'erent 

 results, is not conclusive evidence of the superiority 

 of late cut seed, as the writer infers ; for its excel- 

 lence might depend on its age, which might destroy 

 the cause of smut existing in the seed. We hope 

 that experiments will bo made to give a fair illustra- 

 tion of this subject. 



PORTABLE RAILWAY. 



Dr. Spurgin favored the council with the inspec- 

 tion of a model for a rotary railway, on the j)rinci- 

 ple of the simple roller, for use in farms, docks, 

 warehouses, and other places where ho;;vy weights 

 were to be conveyed short distances without the aid 

 of horse power ; as manure from yards, corn from 

 stack-yards, timber from woods, turnips or mangel- 

 wurtzel from flat, heavy land. He considered that 

 this mode of conveying would prove fully efficient 

 in its action ; combining great simplicity with ready 

 adaptability for the purposes required, at a cost not 

 exceeding ten pounds. — English Pa2)&r. 



