:^8S 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



JUNE 14, l-IT. 



(f-'or t.'ie New England Tanner.) 



IMu Ff.ssf.nden : — I scnil you by llie bearer, 

 tliu sIipII of a Clitysalis, "11(1 tlie fly that lialclieil 

 tUtTcfiotii, that came out of my co« 'shack. I 

 put it into a decanter with some dry sand in April, 

 and it came out on the 20th nit. Prehaps you can 

 hand it rft some naturalist, who would like to ex- 

 amine it. I think 1 saw several of tliese flies in 

 the street a few days since: tliey flew about two 

 feet from tlie ground. Had 1 been at leisure, I 

 sho^ild have driven some cattle within their reach, 

 for the sake of seeing their activity. 



I saw one chasing my cows about a year since, 

 — they seemed to be in an agony of fear from the 

 insect. C. E. N. 



South Berwick. 



We are nmch oblignl to onr correspondent, for 

 the abo\e communication and sprciinen, and sliail 

 always be hap[)y to receive like favors li'oin our 

 euhiprib'^rs. 



'J he fly is the Oestrus Bovis, ami is salisfaitorily 

 described as follows, in the new treatise on Cat- 

 tle, by \V. Youatt, page 574, under the caption of 



WARBLES. 



" Towards the latter part of summer, and the 

 beginning of autumn, and especially in fine and 

 warm weather, cattle are frequently annoyed by 

 a fly of the Diptera order, and tlie CEstrus genus, 

 tliat seems to sling them with great severity. The 

 animal atiacke<l, runs bellowing from his compan- 

 ions, with his head and neck stretched out, anil 

 his tail extending straight from his limdy, and lie 

 seeks for refuge, if possible, in some pool or 

 stream of water. (The fly seems to fear, or to 

 have an aversion to the water, and the cattle are 

 there exempt from its attack.) 



The whole herd, having previously been e.x- 

 posed to the same annoyance, are frightened, and 

 scamper about in every direction, or, one and all, 

 rush into the stream. 



The formidahle enemy that causes this alarm, 

 and seems to inflict so much torture, is the CEs- 

 trus Bovis, the Breeze or Gadfly, which at this 

 time is seeking a habitation for its future youn:r, 

 and selects the liides of cattle for this |iurpose. It 

 is said to choose the younger beasts, and those 

 that are in high condition. 



Naturalists and agriculturi.-ts are indebted In 

 Mr Bracy Clark, for a very accurate account of 

 thi.s fly. 



The astnis hovis, is the largest and most beau- 

 tiful of this genus. Its head is while and covered 

 with soft down — its thorax yellow anteriorly, with 

 four black longitudinal lines — the centi-e of the 

 thorax is black, and the posterior part of an asher 

 color, with a white black band in the centre, and 

 covered posteriorly with yellow hail'. It dors not 

 leave its chrysalis state until late in the summer, 

 and is then eagerly employed in [iroviding a hab- 

 itation for its future [irogeny. It selects the back 

 of tlie o.x, at no great distance from the spine on 

 either side, and alighting there, it sjieedily pierces 

 the integument, deposits an egg in the cellular 

 substance beneath it, and jirobably a small qiiiin- 

 tity of some acid, which speedily produces a little 

 tumor on the part, and accounts for the apparent 

 suft'ering of the animal.* 



* The weapon by means of which the perfora- 

 tion is efliecled, is a very singular one. In seems 

 to be formed of three difl'erent |)ieces, encloseit 

 the one within another, like the divisioRS of a tel- 



The egg seems to be hatched befcre the wo"nnd 

 is closed, and the larvre or maggot occupies a 

 small cyst or cell beneath it. "I he tail of the lar- 

 vae jirojects into this opining, and the insect is 

 thus supplied with air, the principal air-vessels 

 being 'placed posteriorly ; while with the mouth, 

 deep at the bottom of the abscess, it i-eceives the 

 pus, or other matter that is secreted thei'e. A 

 fluid, resenibling pus, can always be srpieezed 

 from the tumor, and inc-easing in quanlily as the 

 animal approaches his change of form. In its 

 early stage of existence, the larvBe is white, like 

 that of most other flies; but as it approaches ma- 

 turity, it becomes darker, and at length almost 

 black. These little tumors form the residence of 

 the larvte, and are recognized by the name of 

 icar6/e*. 



The abscess having been once formed, appears 

 to be of little or uu inconvenience to the beast on 

 whose back it is found, it ce'tamly docs not in- 

 terfere with bis condition, and tho biiichtr re- 

 gards the existence of these warbles even as a 

 proof of a disposition to thrive. The injury to the 

 skin, however, is another affair, and the tanner 

 would probably tell a difl'erent story. 



The larv;e, if undisturbed, conlinups in his cyst 

 until tlie month of June or July, in the following 

 year, and then forces itself through the aperture 

 already described, and the accomplishment of 

 which occupies two days. It is soft when it first 

 esi^apes, but it soon hardens ; and if it is fortunate 

 enough to escape the birds which are on the look- 

 out for it, or if it dofs not full into the water, 

 wiiich the cattle seem now instinctively to seek, 

 as it were to destroy as many of their enemies as 

 possible, it conceals itself in the nearest hiding 

 place it can find, where it remains motionless un- 

 til It changes to a chrysalis, which is speedily ef- 

 fected ; it continues in its new form about six 

 weeks, and then bursts from its shell a perfect 

 fly. 



Some fanners are very careless about the exis- 

 tence of these warbles ; others very properly en- 

 deavor to destroy the crub that inhabits them. — 

 This is effected in various ways — a little corrosive 

 liquor is poured into the hole, or a red-hot needle 

 introduced, or the l.irva? is crushed or forced o\it 

 by pressure with the linger and thumb. Although 

 the existence of the warble is a kind of proof of 

 the health and condition of the animal, yet there 

 is no reason why the best beasts should be tor- 

 mented by the gad-fly, or the strongest and best 

 hides be ])erforaied, and, in a manner, spoiled in 

 their best parts. Although when the larvte es- 

 capes or is expelled, the tumor soon subsides, the 

 holes made are scarcely filled up during the sea- 

 son ; and even a twelve month afterwards, a weak- 

 ness of the hide, and a disposition to crack, will 

 show where the hot has been. 



Lime as a RIanure. — In 1820, and during the 

 three siibsequentyears, M. Dubuc, a French chem- 

 ist, made a series of experiments for the purpose 

 of ascertaining the eflect of muriate of lime, ap- 

 plied as a manure to various descriptions of plants 

 — a briel account of which was published in 1824, 

 in the Boston Journal of Pliilosophy and the Arts- 

 He prepared his "vegetable slimulant" as he calls 

 it, in the proportion of about one pound of "chlor- 

 ide of calcium " to seven gallons of water. The 



escope, and from the farthest and smallest, the 

 true auger, or perforator, proceeds. 



solution is sprinkled upon the earth designed for 

 PX|)eriniPnts, in the ordinary manner of watering; 

 the seeds are then sown, or the plants set, and af- 

 terwards the s|iriiikling three or four times repeat- 

 ed, at proper intervals. 



M. Dubuc sowed some Indian corn in a light 

 soil sprinkled six or eight days before, with the 

 solution of chlorirle of lime. At a distance of six 

 feet, in the same soil moistened with common wa- 

 ter only, anil with the same aspect, .seed of the 

 sarne kind were sown. The first, sprinkled from 

 time to time with the above pre|aration, attained 

 to double the size of the second. Other vegeta- 

 bles, plants and trees were subjected to like ex- 

 |)erimeiits. Onions, potatoes and poppies, grew 

 to double their ordinary volume; the sunflower 

 was increased to a prodigious size; and the ac- 

 tion of the chloride was found very sentibly to 

 hasten and favor the development of ornamental 

 and fruit trees of various descriptions. 



The application of chloride of lims as an excit- 

 ing agent in the vegeti.iile kii.gdom, we believe, 

 has been but occasionally attempted in this coun- 

 try ; so that we are nualile to judge with certain- 

 ly, of all its probable lesnlts, especially in regard 

 to its ultimate eftects on the vigor and duration of 

 plants. There can be liitle doubt, however, that 

 very important benefits may be derived from a 

 general use of this substance. \Ve yestertlay ex- 

 amined two grape vines growing in front of the 

 residence of Hon. Mr Folgerin Pleasant street, on 

 one of which Mr F. has tried the process in ques- 

 tion. The vines were both of the sjieciee called 

 Isabella, having the same ex|)Osure, and situated 

 only eight or ten feet apart. That which had 

 been left to " unassisted nature," was just bursting 

 into leaf; the other, subjected last season to tlio 

 action of chloride in the manner above described, 

 was not only in full leaf, but the fruit was plainly 

 developed, and new wood formed to the extent of 

 several inches, in numerous shoots. Moreover 

 the whole vine exhibited indications of health and 

 cleanliness manifestly superior to those of its 

 neighbor. We trust that nn experiment so sim- 

 ple, and so easily tested, will be [lursued more ex- 

 tensively ; and would particularly recommend its 

 thorough trial in the gardens of our island. 

 — j\'antuckit Inq. 



ViRTCES OF Lime. — The usual application in 



India to a fresh wound, is that of slacked lime 



A late traveller in that country, who sojourned 

 some time among the natires of the interior, 

 says : — 



" A Mussulman, who was in our employ, was 

 breaking wood, the head of the hatchet came off, 

 and the sharp edge fell with considei-alile force 

 on the poor creature's foot ; he bled profusely and 

 fainted ; lime was unsparingly applied to the 

 wound, the foot carefully wrajiped up, anil the 

 man conveyed to l;is hut on a cliarpoy (bedstead) 

 where he was kept ipiiet without disturbing the 

 wound ; at the end of a fortnight he wa'ked about, 

 and in another week returned to his labor. Lime 

 is an article of great service in the domestic ecan- 

 omy of the natives. I have experienced the good 

 eftects of this simple remedy for burns or scalds: 

 equal proportions of lime, water, and any kind of 

 oil, made into thin paste, and immediately applied 

 and repeatedly moistened, will .'-|>eedily remove 

 ihe effects of a burn, and if applied later, even 

 wi.en a blister has risen, the remedy never fiiils; 

 1 cannot say how it might act on a wound, the 



