126 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



OCTOBER 29. I!i34. 



NEW KNGLANU FARM Ell. 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING. OCT. 29, 1834. 



wli 

 pear 



For the New /■England Farmer. 

 WEEVIl. IN CORN. 



Thos. G. Fesse.nden, E.sq. — Sir, As Editor of 

 the N. E. Fiirmer, I setid .yon two ear-s of corn of 

 tlie frrovvih of 1833. Tli«se are some of llie cars, 

 I'll were liuiig U|) for seed corn, and from a|)- 



[irances will give yon a jfond idea of the maimer 

 in wliicli we have lost aliout 15 hnsliels, whicli 

 are in the ear; at least I should sn|i|iose the corn 

 useless for hread stnH'. The insect which esca|ie.< 

 from thegrain'is a small insiiinificant looUin^' moth 

 or miller. Yon will |)rohahly find it in the grnh 

 or clirysiilis state in the ears which I send yon. I 

 cannot learn that any of the farmers abont liere 

 ever saw corn in this condition hefnre. If it is a 

 new enemy, the sooner we are made accinaintcd 

 ■with it the hettcr — that we may be able to ^niiUil 

 or provide against its ravages. There has been 

 the most inisebief done in wliat was the toftest 

 corn. Respectfully yonrs, 



Samuel Plam'. 



The Weevil in Indian corn is very common, and causes 

 much damage in the Southern States, but we do not re- 

 collect, previous to the receipt of the above, to have 

 heard of this insect's having been naturalized in New 

 England. 



A writer for the Southern Agriculturist, with the sig- 

 nature Z. observes as follows : " 1 suffered for many 

 years, from the destruction of my corn by weevil, and 

 the total absence of them now is in consequence of the 

 use of a very simple remedy. The land which I plant 

 in corn is low, and requires almost as much draining as 

 the river lands, but is productive and yields abundant 

 crops. Whether it is owing to the location of the land, 

 or other (to me) unknown causes, I am unable to say, 

 but the fact is, that the corn is often taken from the field 

 with a great many weevil in it. No injury seems to re- 

 sult from their residence iri it while in the field, or dur- 

 ing the cold weather, but as soon as the summer's sun 

 had shed his genial warmth upon us, these intruders 

 gave notice of their existence, by commencing the work 

 of destruction. Upon several occasions my provisions 

 were materially injured, and much complained of by the 

 consumers. I tried a variety of remedies without effect- 

 Late planting and early planting were both suggested 

 and tried ; the land was all broken up deep in the winter 

 with a jjlough ; the seed was coated with tar and soot, 

 and finally was brought from one of the sea-islands, at a 

 distance, and planted. The crops, 1 think, were improv- 

 ed by each of the remedies in quantity, but the enemy 

 still retained his position unmoved, and apparently im- 

 movable. I was one day mentioning the circumstance 

 to a friend, who told me that he had understood that the 

 wild myrtle" (Myrica cerifera) was a sovereign remedy 

 for tliis seemingly incurable disease. At this time the 

 destruction had commenced, and the insects were to be 

 seen in every direction j a quantity of myrtle was pro- 

 cured, and spread over the top of the corn, and directions 

 given to follow it up, if any effect was visible. My re- 

 moval to town for the summer prevented my attending 

 to the business any farther, and 1 learned upon inquiry 

 in the fall that " il seemed to check the weevil in some 

 degree." Tliis was not satisfactory, and as the corn in 

 tire field was apparently more than usually infested, 1 

 determined to give the experiment a fair trial. The corn 

 house was emptied, and swept, and washed with boiling 

 water ; the floor was then covered with myrtle ; a layer 

 6fDofn about nfoot deep wa^ then brought in, and then 

 t. layer of layhle, and this ro«tiagwient i ooniii»l»fl4 

 throughout itlffit<»hale bareeat^i Ojiaeoving,' t9nR9v^,i(h^ 



top of the corn with a bed of these little bushes. During 

 the winter I several times examined the corn near the 

 door, and saw no weevil; yet I was fearful, that in the 

 body of the house the mischief might still be going on- 

 Late in the spring we began to use the corn freely, and 

 still found no weevil ; the crop was eventually consumed, 

 and was to the last entirely free from insects of all and 

 every kind. 



This was to me satisfactory, and the rule has been uni- 

 formly observed of strewing the house with myrtle, and 

 no weevil have since been seen. My corn house is di- 

 vided into two bins, and an entry ; and this year I had 

 planted a small field alone, and desired that it might be 

 kept separate. Into this entry it was thrown, and no 

 myrtle was put with it, but the two bins « ere as usual 

 well supplied. Upon my examining the corn house, I 

 found the corn in the entry filled with weevil, while that 

 in the bin was perfecdy free from all insects. The corn 

 was immediately removed, and though filled with insects, 

 was divided between the two bins, and myrtle plentiful- 

 ly strewed over the top of each. I am now eating the 

 corn, and the weevil are no where to be found. 



This last accidental experiment is more convincing 

 than either of the others ; here the two bins were free 

 from weevil, and the corn which was separated from 

 them, only by a loose board partition, was filled, and I 

 have little doubt would have been rendered unfit for use 

 before the summer was over." 



We are not certain, but believe that weevil in Indian 

 corn is the same insect which is called by that name, 

 and is often found in wheat. With regard to the weevil 

 in wheat, M. Duhainel, a French writer of celebrity, has 

 observed that considerable heat is necessary for hatching 

 the eggs of the weevil, and that this insect cannot breed 

 in granaries which are well ventilated. To prevent this 

 he made repeated experiments, the I'esults of which made 

 it evident that this insect cannot multiply in grain that 

 retains a proper degree of coolness, which it may be wel' 

 to do, by frequent ventilation. When grain is agitated 

 in a sieve fine enough to retain it, the weevils contract 

 their legs, and are, in that position, so much smaller 

 than the grain that they drop through the sieve. 



Mr. L'Hommidicu, of New York, found that a sprink- 

 linir of lime on wheat infested with these insects, in the 

 bin, soon drove them away. The Farmer' s .Assistant as- 

 serts that " sulphur or snuff, put up in little papers or 

 hairs, and properly distributed among the wheat in the 

 bin, will keep them out, or drive them out when they 

 have got possession. A plant of henbane has the same 

 effect ; and so have the wood and leaves of the Lombardy 

 poplar. A bin made of boards of this wood will never 

 have a weevil in it." 



[Jj'Several articles, communicatiLn.i,&c. intended for 

 this day's paper are deferred, for want of room to our 

 nex~t. 



Erratum.. We have been requested to correct a mis- 

 take which occurred in the New England Farmer of Oct. 

 8, 18'34, page 9!t,lstcoluran, for " title of Vice President," 

 read title o? first Vice President. 



LARGE CUCUMBER. 



A note from Mr. M. P. Wilder, Esq. informs us that 

 Samuel L. Wilder, Esq. of Rindge, N. H. has, this year 

 raised a Cucumber measuring 18 inches in length, 13 1-2 

 inches in circumference, and weighing G lbs. 7 oz. 



MILI. WASTED FOR GRINDING PLASTER, AND 

 BONES. 



Mr. Fesse.sdbn — Is there any mill in this vicinity 

 where Plaster of Paris and Bones can be ground ? Per- 

 haps some of your correspondents can tell. I cannot 

 find any, even for Plaster, except one in Boston, where 

 the price is very extravagant. Would not one be well 

 encouraged, which should grind both these articles, both 

 very useful in agriculture .' 



LETTER OF JUDGE LOWELL,. 



RoxBURY, Oct. 25, 1834. 

 To the Committee of the Hort. Society, on Frvits : 



I send you one or two specimens of the lately 

 introduced Flemish and English pears. 1. The 

 Beurre Kno.x. This I kimvv to be certainly the 

 name, by which Mr. Knight sent it to me, being 

 taken from the original tree. It is an enormous 

 bearer, but is subject to rot, liefore it is ripe. It 

 should be remarked, however, that in soils less dry 

 than mine, it may be free from this defect. Be- 

 siiles, I am not sure, that I Imve, us yet, discover- 

 ed the proper season for gathering it. 2. The 

 iVlnrie Louise, from ttie original tree, sent by Mr. 

 Knight. On this, I slionid remark, that the tree 

 was nearly killed in 1832, that tlie fruit is not of 

 HALF its/ormer size, and is no yair specimen. It 

 is now a viiserable fruit. 1 have never been fully 

 satisfied tliat it was the true Marie Louiise. The 

 Flemish fruits liad not been well examined when 

 Mr. Knight sent \V\»Jirst trees to this country, in 

 1823. But my tree is so diseased, that I do not 

 think its frtiit a fjiir sample. I have bad very fne 



formerly. 1 send you a speeiinen of the last 



donation of Mr. Knight, nimibered /our in his list; 

 as I have not that list in my possession, Mr. Heard 

 or Mr. Parsons will be able to give its name. 4. 

 is a specimen of No. 10 in Mr. Knight's last dona- 

 tion, the name of which must be obtained by ap- 

 plication to those gentlemen. It is evidently a 

 winter pear. Respectfully, yours, 



J. Lowell. 

 P. S. We must exercise the patience and cau- 

 tion of the European cultivators, before we decide 

 upon the names of our fruits, or we shall be in- 

 volved in a confusion, which we can never unravel. 

 Convinced of this, I imported, Inst year, from the 

 Chevalier Parmentier, twenty-seven varieties of the 

 new Flemish peais. I was iiulueed to select him, 

 because the London Horticultural Society had 

 awarded him a premium, as having furnished the 

 most correct catalogue of fruits, of any man in Eu- 

 rope. My trees are from his nurseries, named by 

 liimself. I was particularly careful to order those, 

 of ivhose nomenclature ive had doubts. This will 

 tend to correct the mistakes (if they exist), in trees 

 derived from sources less aulhentic. They are all 

 alive, and grafted in old trees, and I hope to he 

 able to afford specimens, which will go much far- 

 ther in settling names and synonimes, than by 

 propagating from each other perhaps incorrectly na- 

 med fruits. 



There is one general remark, that I think very 

 important to make. Holland, Flanders, and Great 

 Britain are more congenial to the pear, than our 

 coimtry, even as far north as New England. Even, 

 in tho.se /avored countries, the pear is often grown 

 on walls, and carefully thinned out, while we rare-> 

 ly afford any protection, and suffer our trees to ex- 

 haust themselves by over-bearing. So long as we 

 pursue this avaricious system, we must be utterly 

 incapable of judging of the merits of European 

 fruits. At best, the pear is impatient of the ex- 



Uj'Subscribers in Maine who have heretofore settled 

 their abwunts with,MPS?r9t Cfilm»n.*^ Co, of Portland, "'eme heat and drought of our summer, and we 

 «i8,irfounedU.»t«ht ugf'^tf.mmAf 4iwwtiW9d..H ,i ' '='?''?,WyWr,.'^,^, 9yi'i(.„!]y.-W?^"«,?'W .'R .S'^*. "'" 



