NEW ENGL.AND FARMEll. 



Published by John B. Rdssell, at JVo. 52 JVorlh Market Street, (over llie .Igricullural Warehouse). — Thomas G. Fessenden, Editor. 



VOL. VI. 



BOSTON, FRIDAY, AUGUST 31, 1827. 



No. 6. 



AGRICULTURE. 



mIllet. 



Mr Fessenden— In Agriculture, as in all prac- 

 tical sciences, facts are much more important than 

 theories ; anO it is the duiy of every farmer to 

 communicate the result of his experiments. A 

 plain and exact history of hi. cultivation wil be 

 useful to himself and tooth :; and it would bo 

 -,vell for him to remember thv it may be as usetul 

 to record his failures as his successes.— I give you 

 'he history of a small Millet field. 



The land is a moist good soil ; and measures 

 seventy-two square rods. It was planted last 

 year with potatoes, very slightly manured with 

 rock weed in the drills, and yielded a poor crop. 

 It was manured this year with slaughter yard and 

 barn manure mixed, at the rate of 2| cords and 

 three fourths to an acre ; that is 33t5 cubic feet of 

 manure were put on the piece and ploughed in. 

 It was sowed with seed obtained at«he New Eng- 

 land Farmer office, and rolled on the 14th June, 

 :it the rate of 5 pecks of seed to the acre. The 

 field was mowed on the 19th inst. and carried in 

 yesterday weighing 309'0 lbs. at the rate of C900 

 lbs. to the acre. It was cut as soon as some of 

 the seeds would shake out when rolled in the 

 hand ; and from experience heretofore, I deem 

 it quite equal to my best English Hay for any 

 kind of stock. Yours respectfullyj 



Salem, August 25, 1837. H. C 



INSECTS. 



Mft. Fessenden. — With a view to confirm the 

 iicts, respecting the insect, which preys on the 

 out-worm, (partially described in the N. E. Far- 

 mer, page 313, vol. StflJ) the following remarks 

 are made. 



This season my plants were visited as usual, 

 by the cut- worm; hut not in such crowds, as in 

 the last year. They however, succeeded in de- 

 stroying many plants, until about the 10th of June, 

 at which time, their great enemy, the cut-worm 

 destroyer appeared, and in sufficient numbers to 

 nut a stop to further depredations. T had frequent 

 opportunities of witnessing the prowess of this 

 insect in the destruction of the larvse, which 

 ■prove so troublesome to the gardener. 



These new insects are of different sizes, from 

 half, to more than an inch in length. They are 

 provided with C small legs, placed near the head. 

 They arc quick in mrition, and their whole com- 

 plexion is black. They lie just beneath the sur- 

 face of the earth. When this insect seizes a cut- 

 worm, that lies near the top of the earth, the ex- 

 •jrtions of the latter to disengage the assailant are 

 such, as to bring both into view on the surface. 



On the I2th of June, P. M. one of these insects 

 of more than ordinary size was put into a glass 

 vessel, and three cut-worms were placed with 

 him. He not only killed, but nearly devoured 

 them in the course of the afternoon. The next 

 mornino-, the glass vessel was half filled w^th 

 earth and 14 cut-worms (none very small, some 

 large) were put into it. They soon crawled into 

 the earth. In the evening the earth was examm- 

 ed- and it was found, that Vac avenger had c!e- 



stlroyed 10 of the number, some of whicli he liad 

 considerably eaten. The next day he disposed of 

 the remainder in the same manner. lie was then 

 kept fasting, and after thirtysix liours had elapsed, 

 a very largo larva of the earth-beetle (called, 

 dorr-hug) was put with him. At first, he made 

 some faint attempts to fasten on the worm, but 

 did not, until forced by famine — he slew Uio vic- 

 tim, and feasted on the carcass. 

 .Mansfield, ./liigust 3, 1837. R. GREEN. 



Mr Pessenden, — Had not your correspondent 

 suffered severely by the ravages of the insects, 

 called rose-bugs, he never should have attempted 

 an investigation of their habits and mode of econo- 

 my. And now he regrets, that after much research, 

 lie is not able to present you with something, that 

 oiiglit prove an effectual antidote. 



Mansfield, May 28, 1827. R. GREEN. 



REMARKS ON THE SCARAB.iEUS ROSE- 

 US, OR ROSE-BUG. 



The writer will not trouble himself, nor the 

 reader with vague opinions, as to the origin and 

 final exit of the insects in question; but bring in- 

 to view such facts as have come under his obser- 

 vation: neither has he a wish to trespass upon the 

 province of the entomologist; but from several 

 considerations, having seen no specific name by 

 which they are called, he is disposed to depart 

 from the path generally pursued, and call the in- 

 sect, Scarabaius Rosens, a name sufficiently sig- 

 nificant for his purpose. If others prefer a differ- 

 ent name, they are at liberty to select, and to 

 make use of what they please. The insect, how- 

 ever, belongs to the Scaraba:us family, in the or- 

 der, Coleoptera, according to Liniiceus. More mo- 

 dern entomologists have subdivided this family 

 or genus, and given different names to the subdi- 

 visions, hut facts are the same. 



An individual rose-bug is unimportant, other- 

 wise than it regards science, but collectively they 

 are a potent enemy, and unavoidably arrest our 

 attention, especially, when they assail us on all 

 points, our interest, our comforts, our pleasures, 

 and intrude on our persons. 



These insects appeared in this vicinity some 

 time during the revolutionary war with G. Britain. 

 They were first observed on rose bushes, and 

 from this circumstance they were, almost univer- 

 sally, called rose-bugs. At first, their increase 

 wa£ slow, and the injury done was small; but 

 they have of late years greatly increased, and 

 their depredations have been great, extensive and 

 alarming. In many places their ravages were 

 such the two last seasons, as to warrant the con- 

 clusion, that, if they should increase for two or 

 three years to come, in the same ratio, as they 

 have increased for the two years past, scarcely a 

 green thing, on which they prey, would be left 

 unmutilated. They are voracious, especially when 

 they first appear, and not very delicate as to their 

 food. They prey upon many kinds of plants, 

 shrubs and trees, but especially on rose bushes, 

 the nice varieties of the cherry tree, grape vines, 

 plum trees, apple trees and almost all kinds of 

 young fruit as apples, peaches, apricots, nectarins, 

 &c. Indian corn, beans, clover, many forest trees 



and shrubs, not excepting the shvuh-oak, suffer 

 from their ravages. They are fond of flowers, 

 especially the flowers of the rose and grape, both 

 of which they soon destroy ; and by them the ver 

 dure an<l beauty of a garden sre laid in ruins. 



As to the time of their annual appearance, there 

 i.s some variation, depending on the warmth of the 

 season. In 1835, they appeared on the 8th day 

 of June, and by the 12th, they were very numer- 

 ous and so continued for several days. By the 

 38th, the number was comparatively few and de- 

 preciated daily, until the 8th of July, after whicli 

 none was observed. In 1836, a fov/ appeared on 

 tlie 3d of June, (weather warm, and dry,) and on 

 the 4lh, they were numerous. On the 8th, they 

 were more numerous than ever knov/n before. 

 The weather was very warm, the thermometer at 

 4 P. M. stood at 93^ in the shade. In the garden 

 of the writer, the atmosphere was literally alive 

 with the insects, which from their great numbers 

 made a general hum, similar to that of the swarm- 

 ing of bees. The wind was from the v.-est, but 

 the insects came from the cast, against the wind, 

 and none is recollected to come from any other 

 direction. The fragrance of the garden, (there 

 being at that time, many plants in flower) was 

 carried by the wind to some distance, and un- 

 doubtedly invited thum there. They were very 

 numerous for several days, but by the 24th, they 

 were less so, and decreased from day to day. By 

 the 9th of July very few were seen, and after that 

 time only an individual was now and then observ- 

 ed, and none after the 21st appeared. The coo! 

 weather and rains in the latter part of June, and 

 the beginning of July, undoubtedly, protracted 

 their continuance. It is probable, that in other 

 places, at some distance, there may be some dif- 

 ference of tinie as to their appearance and con- 

 tinuance, depending on local circumstances. 



They are greatly influenced by the state of the 

 v.'cather. Their progress is accelerated by heat, 

 and retarded by cold. In a warm day they are 

 active, but in a cool one, especially if it be wet, 

 they are languid and move but little. About 9 

 o'clock, A. M, in fair warm weather, they begin to 

 move from place to place in quest of food and 

 company, of which they seem excessively fond, 

 and by 10 A, M. or before, they are found in pairs, 

 and frequently collected in great numbers, from 

 2 to perhaps 20 or more on a single leaf. Eighty- 

 six of these spoilers were known to infest a single 

 rose bud, and were crushed with one grasp of the 

 hand. As the evening approaches, if it be cool, 

 they become still, but if the night be very warm, 

 they feed and occasionally travel a small distance, 

 but do not make use of their wings. If after a 

 rain the sun break out warm, they are very active. 

 When shaken from a tree in the cool of the even- 

 ing, or at any time when they are wet with dew, 

 they fall on the ground and crawl to the tree, or 

 anything else standing near, and ascend, as they 

 cannot under these circumstances make use of 

 their wings. In a scorching sun they seek a 

 shady place, and frequently collect where there is 

 a cluster of leaves. When they settle on a plant, 

 shrub, or tree, they seem generally, disposed to 

 stay on the same, until they have destroyed the 

 foliage, and then resort to others. They may no? 



