78 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



as far as Jt was then in his power to do, 

 SReras to mc that something more is desirable — 

 something- like the accurate care and attention 

 paid by Prutcssor Pecii to the insects above re- 

 ferred to. It is impossible to detect the char- 

 acter of insects in the worm, or as naturalists 

 call it, the larva stale. It is only in the perCoct 

 state they can be fully ascertained, viz : as ap- 

 plied to this insect, whether this worm is a new 

 penus, or species, or one already known. To 

 this end, it is necessary, that some of thom 

 should be taken, and kept in earth, till they 

 shall pass into the chrysalis, and from that into 

 the perfect state, whicli [>roba!)ly, and indeed 

 certainly, is that of a moth or butterfly. This 

 was the course Profes.^or Peck pur-ued. We 

 shall then know at what time, they rise, as but- 

 terflies, or moths — when they deposit their egg's 

 — when the larva or worm is hatched, and liuw 

 long it continues its ravages. To what depth 

 the larva descends, in order to undergo its 

 change. It is indeed very alarming, if it de- 

 scends three or four feet, as stated by Pi3mo- 

 theus — but we must doubt this fact, until we 

 kno»v, that the identity of the worm on the sur- 

 face, and that fotmd in digging post holes, has 

 been ascertained. Great credit is due to Ply- 

 motheus for what he has done ; but we vieiv it 

 only as a pledge, that for the public good, he 

 will do more, which we feel convinced he is 

 very competent, and very ready to do. There 

 is little doubt from his description of the cfl'ccts 

 of this insect, and of the mode of doing injiu'v, 

 that it is the same insect, wiiich appeared in 

 Worcester county, and the western parts of this 

 fetate, three years since, and pattially on some 

 estates, in lioxbury. The singular manner, in 

 which tiie grass sward was undermined, so as 

 to detach it trom the soil, and to enable you to 

 roll it up, seems to identify it, with the insect 

 so destructive, and alarming to us, at the period 

 referred to. If it could he conceived that such 

 an insect should he permitted to prevail over 

 the country generally, it might ju'oduce a fa- 

 mine, though we apprehend, "that there is little 

 hazard of such an event — but it is very impor- 

 tant, that we jhould trace its history with care, 

 and we shall doubtless be able to find means oi 

 destroying it. \\c should always remember, as 

 farmers, that this fertile earth is given to us on 

 the condition of our perpetual and never ceas- 

 ing care to preserve its I'ertility, and that all 

 the evils we eiicounier, dry seasons, devourinir 

 insects, and blights, are only intended |i> sharp- 

 en our intellectual faculties, increase our zeal 

 and industry in the eliort to surmount them, and 

 thus in tlie end to render the earth more pro- 

 lific, than it ivould have been if no such stimu- 

 lus had existed. A F.XKMER. 



dition. " These, O ! liomans, said lie, are my 

 enchantments. My watchfulness, diligence and 

 labor, 1 cannot display before you."' He was 

 acquitted by an unan.mous vote. Truly it is 

 labor, not expense, that makes a plentiful har- 

 vest ; and it is an ancient adage, that the best 

 manure is the eve of the master. 



Krom tlie .\merican rarmer. 

 THE ROLLEPi — lis vsc and Importance. 

 Mr. SKiNNEn — Looking accidentally into the 

 Encyclopedia Britanica, at the article .\gricul- 

 ture, 1 found the annexed passage, which you 

 may think deserves to be inserted in voiir pa- 

 per, as 1 do myself, because we suffer in this 

 part of the country, from frequent droughts, 

 and the reliel' alluded to in this article is not 

 generally known, though certainly no recent 

 invention or disco\er\'. 



Your obedient servant, 



THOM.\S W. GRIFFITH. 

 The Roller is an instrument of capital use in 

 husbanpry, though scarcely known in ordinary 

 practice. " In the (list place, rolling renders 

 a loose soil more compact and solid; which en- 

 courages the growth of plants, by making the 

 earth clap close to every part of every root, 

 Nor need we be afraid of rendering the soil 

 too compact : for no roller that can bo drawn 

 by two or four horses will have that effect. In 

 the next place, rolling keeps in the moisture, and 

 hinders drought to penetrate. This effect is of 

 great moment. In a dry season it may make 

 the dilference of a good cro]) or no crop, espe- 

 cially VI here the soil is light." 



0:7=.\llow mc to take this opportunity to re- 

 commend to all road makers, the use of an in- 

 strument of the kind alluded to, that is, a roller, 

 to press down the materials employed in mak- 

 ing roads, btfure tlie same is travelled — a practice 

 which was successfully adopted, on my sugges- 

 tion, by the President and Managers of the 

 Turnpike from Baltimore, towards York, in 

 Penn. some years ago. T. W. G. 



lioxbunj, Hept. 25. 



Extract from Plinfs A''aiural History, Book xviii. 

 [Translated for the New EnjlanJ Farmer.] 

 Caius Furius Cresinus, a freed man, was hat- 

 ed, and suspected of sorcery, by his neighbors, 

 because he raised m-re from his small farm 

 than they acquired from tlipir large possessions. 

 A day was ajipointcd for his trial, by Spurius 

 Albinus. Fearing condemnation, before the 

 ojjinions of the people were asked, he brought 

 into the forum his farming implements, and his 

 healthy family, well taken care of and neatly 

 dressed, (as Piso relates) tools excellently made, 

 epades and ploughshare^, and oxen in good con- 



Krom the Cooperstown, (N. Y.) Jouinnl. 

 IViishingion^s opinion of Agricultural Societies. 

 I like occasionally to converse witli the raigh 

 ty dead ; the results of their investigations, are ; ,o„.„ shewed another 

 so many beacons to guide and direct those who seventeen ounces, 

 them. Washington was indeed the ! 



the soil more and more an object of puidic pat- 

 ronage. Institutions for promoting it, grow u] 

 supported by the jjublic purse : And to what oIj- 

 jectscan it be dedicated with greater j)roprietv 'i 

 Among the means which have been employed 

 to this end, none have been attended with great- 

 er success than the establisliment of Boanls, 

 composed of proper characters, charged with 

 collecting and ditVusing information, and enabled 

 by premiums and small pecuniary aids, to en- 

 courage and assist a spirit of discovery and im- 

 provement. This species of establishment con- 

 tributes doubly to the increase of improvement, 

 by stimulating to enterprise and improvemenl. 

 and by drawing to a common centre the results, 

 every where, of individual skill and olx^ervation, 

 and spreading them over the nation. Experi- 

 ence, accordingly has shown, that they are ver\ 

 cheap instruments of immense national benefit.'" 



From th3 New-Hampshire Fatriot. 

 The corn, is at this time ripe in the fields just 

 fit for the harvest ; and New-Hampshire never 

 exhibited finer and heavier fields — it is believed 

 all was out of the way of " Jack Frost" when 

 he commenced his attacks. Potatoes, lurnip.'i 

 and almost every kind of vegetable, have been 

 attended by a growth, whose luxuriance was 

 scarcely if ever exceeded. But the apple trees 

 — we scarcely know how to describe their ap- 

 pearance : — it would seem as if the whole 

 growth of some trees could be intended to pro- 

 duce only one year's crop like the present ; 

 there appears to be, at least, a crop of three 

 ordinary seasons in one. Farmers, in laying in 

 their store of cider, ought to calculate for not 

 less than two years. And not only there are 

 more in number, but the size of the apple is in- 

 creased. To the south, larger fruit of most 

 kinds is produced than to the north: this may 

 be seen in the orchards of Massachusetts con- 

 trasted with those of New-Hampshire. The 

 largest apple we have had any account of the 

 present year was one at Marblehead, which 

 weighed about 2.) ounces. In the orchard of 

 Maj. Stark at Dunbarton last Thursday one of 

 the editors jiicked up four apples Iving side by 

 side as they fell from the tree, whicii weighed 

 more than three pounds ; and Mr. G'ale of this 



a little over 



weighing 



come alter 



father of this country, and he has left many tes 

 timonies of his wisdom and devotion to its best 

 interests. At this day, there caii be found no 

 man who has the temerity to impugn the mo- 

 tives by which he was actuated, or doubts the 

 policy of the measures whicli he urgeil upon the 

 consider.ition of the National Legislature. In 

 a speech at the opening of Congress, in De- 

 cember, 170G, I find he recommended .Agricul- 

 ture as one of the most proper objects of public 

 patronage. It will be seen by the following 

 extract from that paper, that Societies for the 

 encouragement of the parent art, were consi- 

 dered of ])rimary importance, and especially 

 deserving the fostering sup]iort of the National 

 Government. 



" It will not be doubted, that with reference 

 eilher to individual or national welfare, -Agri- 

 culture is of primary importance. In propor- 

 tion as nations advance in population and other 

 circumstances of maturity, this truth becomes 

 more apparent, and renders the cultivation of 



POT.VTOES were discovered in \'irginia, 

 by Sir Waller lialcigh who imported them into 

 England previously to 1590. In a manuscri|)t 

 account of the household expenses of Queen 

 .Vnne, wife of James 1. who died 1G18, the price 

 of potatoes is given at one shilling a pound. — 

 They now sell fourteen iioiinds for sixjicnce. 

 They were not introduced into Ireland till ItilU, 

 nor into Scotland until 1728, except in gardens, 

 ilow rapid and extensive has been the growth 

 and consumption of this root in the course of 

 one centur}'. 



Camp Meeting. — A camp meeting of the Me- 

 thodists commenced about five miles from Plats- 

 burgh, N. Y. on the 5th and closed on the 9th 

 ult. About 5000 were present. During its con- 

 tinuance, the whole country was in motion, and 

 every species of land and water transporalion 

 was in requisition. — The society numbers more 

 than 100 new converts at this meeting. 



