V01>. XVm. NO. 14. 



AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER. 



121 



peculiar construction and habits, that the females, 

 hew -'csititute of wings ami under tlie necessity of 

 ascending the trunks of the trees, any apparatus 

 that would prevent them from ascending in case 

 they laid theireggs below, would prevent the young 

 worms from ascending. It is also obvious that this 

 appal jfus must be of a durable character, so as to 

 be a preventive seven months in a year, as will be 

 seen by the foregoing description, that the grubs 

 begin to ascend in September and continue until 

 the May following. The remedy that I shall first 

 notice, is tarring the trunks of the trees. This, 

 undoubtedly, would be effectua.] if the tree could be 

 always kept in a proper state ; but this is extremely 

 difficult, if it is possible; a large portion of the 

 time the tar would want renewing every day, if not 

 twice a day. Sometimes oil or water is mixed with 

 the tar, that it may remain soft longer. One gen- 

 tlemen of ample experience informed me that he 

 lost a crop of apples by mixing oil with the tar. It 

 appeared to render it so smooth that it did not ad- 

 here to the feet of the insects. When tar is used, 

 and the insects are numerous, the dead bodies of 

 those that are caught, pave a path for their succes- 

 sors to pass ; and if a tree is tarred, and it rains 

 upon it a few minutes, the water will glaze the tar 

 so that the insects pass over with impunity. And 

 they are more lively to ascend when it rains than 

 at otlier times, as the water softens the ground and 

 facilitates their escape. If but few of the grubs 

 ascend the tree, the worms from their eggs would 

 be liable to destroy the trees. If tar is used, it is 

 very injurious to the trees, if applied to the bark, as 

 it destroys the outside bark. Those who use tar 

 and do not wish to injure their trees, put a bandage 

 of paper or canvas around the tree, and apply the 

 tar upon that. Some are of the opinion that if the 

 tar was applied directly upon the bark, that it 

 would, in time, kill the tree. Very few persons 

 who use tar have been able to save their fruit for 

 the first year, but they generally calculate that if 

 they apply it closely, to destroy most of the insects 

 in two or three years. Heaping a little sand 

 around the trunks of the trees, so that the insects 

 in crawling, loosen the sand with their feet, and it 

 rolls down, carrying them down with it. When the 

 sand is moistened with rain or dew it will not roll 

 down ; hence this remedy is almost or quite useless. 

 If the sand keeps them down, they might lay their 

 eggs below and the young worms would ascend 

 over the sand, wet or dry. 



Heaoing the sheaves of flax around the tree, 

 which is sometimes done, is liable to the same ob- 

 jections as sand, and one other is that there is so 

 little raised that it would be hardly possible to pro- 

 cure sheaves. 



Putting circular tin troughs around the trees and 

 filling them with a decoction of tobacco. This was 

 tried by George Irish, of Middletown, R. I. and 

 found to be very expensive, as the liquor evaporated 

 and required to be filled very often ; and when it 

 rained the water collected in them, and freezing, 

 burst them, leaving them very leaky, and as the 

 trees grew, they burst them and rendered them 

 quite useless, and they were abandoned in one or 

 two years. 



Putting a square tin trough around the treesi 

 with a roof over it, the trough to have a little cheap 

 oil in it This was found to answer better than any 

 the foregoing remedies, but it is very expensive, and 

 requires so much care, as it is necessary to make a 

 platform of boards to support the trough, and pre- 

 vent insects from ascending between the trough 



and the tree. As the tree grows, it separates the 

 platform, and the trough is required to be made 

 larger. In making the trough larger, it is neces- 

 sary to unsolder or cut it open, and put four pieces 

 into the trough and four into the roof. And the tin, 

 by being continually ex|)oscd to the weather, soon 

 rusts through and becomes worthless. 



I have noticed in some parts of the country, a 

 piece of tin put round the trees, in the form of an 

 inverted tunnel.; this apparatus must have been 

 contrived by some person who was ignorant of the 

 entomology of the Cankerwork, as it has been as- 

 certained by experiment that the grub, when put in 

 a glass tumbler, will ascend the side, and if during 

 her ascent, the tumbler is turned down and rolled 

 over, she will adhere to the glass, and walk about 

 upon any part of it without any apparent regard to 

 the rolling of the glass, and appears to walk as well 

 upon the under side of the glass as upon the top. 

 Hence all wlio have used these inverted tunnels, 

 have found them useless, or will if they continue 

 to use them. 



A circular leaden trough and roof was invented 

 by Jonathan Dennis Jr. of Portsmouth, R. I. in 

 183(3, and has since been patented. This trough 

 and the roof is made of one strip of sheet lead, about 

 three inchds wide, but in the form of the top of the 

 figure 2 inverted, with the foot cut off; thus form- 

 ing a roof and trough of one strip, and then bending 

 it round the tree so as to conform to the shape of 

 the tree. It is made so large as to leave a space of 

 one inch in width between the trough and the tree. 

 The ends are then soldered together, thus forming 

 a trough completely round the tree, with a roof over 

 it. Three or more nails are tacked into the tree to 

 support it, and the space between the trough and 

 the tree is filled with seaweed, hay, straw, husks, 

 tow, cotton waste, or any other substance that will 

 prevent the insects from ascending between the 

 trough and the tree, and is easily compressed by the 

 growth of the tree. These troughs were put on to 

 three orchards, belonging to Jonathan Dennis, of 

 Portsmouth, R. I. father of the inventor, in the autumn 

 of 1837, and it has proved to be the cheapest and 

 most effectual remedy ever discovered. The three 

 orchards contained one hundred and fifteen trees, 

 varying in size from three inches to upwards of two 

 feet in diameter. The expense was about 35 or 40 

 cents per tree. Five gallons of cheap fish oil, that 

 cost 40 cents per gallon, was found to answer for the 

 115 trees for one year. \ very little oil was put 

 into the troughs the last of September. After it had 

 remained several weeks it was stirred, and in a few 

 weeks afterwards a little more oil was added ; and 

 from the time the oil was first put in until Ihe first 

 of May following there was a little oil put in twice 

 and the oil also received two or three stirrings. 

 Putting the oil in three times and stirring it, giving 

 the trees all the attention necessary, was less labor 

 and occupied less time than it would have taken to 

 tar the trees for one week. This apparatus destroy- 

 ed the insects so completely, (which for a number 

 of years previous had been so numerous as to de- 

 stroy the fruit,) that it was difficult to find one upon 

 the trees, and the crop pf apples was so large as to 

 render it necestary to prop the trees. This appa- 

 ratus has many properties to recommend it. It is 

 more effectual, more durable and cheaper than 

 tin troughs ; it also takes less oil to fill a circular 

 trouffh than it does a square one, for a tree of the 

 same size. The packing is more easily put in, as 

 the space is of a uniform width around the tree. Tit 

 is also less liable to get out, and if the top of the 



packing was daubed with a little tar, it would stick 

 it together, taking care not to put any of the tar 

 upon the tree or the trough, but only upon the 

 packing. This trough will last many years with- 

 out being made larger, and when the tree has 

 grown so as to fill the space that was left between 

 the trough and the tree, the trough can be cut 

 open and a piece soldered in so as to make it 

 large enough for several years more. And if the 

 troughs are ever taken off, the lead will be worth 

 two tliirds as much as it was when it was put on. 

 I'ut I should not consider it safe to take it off 

 while there were any cankerworms in the neigh- 

 borhood, for they have been in some neighborhoods 

 for the las< fifty years without intermission, accor- 

 ding to the accounts of the inhabitants. Being in 

 conversation with an oil merchant, I inquired what 

 kind oil would remain longest exposed to the air 

 without drying upon the surface, he replied that 

 cod fish oil would never dry perceptibly, and for that 

 reason was never used for painting, and of course 

 would bo the best to put in the above-mentioned 

 troughs for the destruction of cankerworms. 



J} Lover of good Fruit and flourishing Trees. 



MANURES. 



Sen Weeds. — .'Ml sea-shore plants, especially 

 those which grow below highwater mark, and which 

 belong to the natural families of Alga and Fuci, &c. 

 contain more or less mineral alkali (carbonate of 

 soda,) and have long been used as manure by the 

 farmers in the neighborhood of the sea. They are, 

 however, so succulent and mucilaginous, that their 

 effects are by no means lasting ; even when placed 

 in heaps and allowed to ferment, they produce but 

 very iittle heat ; in fact, appear rather to dissolve 

 away. They consist chiefly of water, mucilage, a 

 small quantity of woody fibre, and saline matter: 

 accordwg to the analysis of of Sir Humphrey Davy, 

 nearly four-fifths was water, which contained no 

 ammonia, and consequently the plants possess no 

 azote. When applied to land, their effects are felt 

 almost immediately, as the mucilage dissolves as 

 soon as the outer covering of the plants is destroy- 

 ed by fermentation ; but from its soluble nature, its 

 effects are but slight, and after the first year, are 

 no longer perceptible. The alkali they contain 

 must also act as a chemical solvent, which wiH 

 hasten their consumption. It has been proposed to 

 collect the sea-ware and dry it by spreading it like 

 hay, by which means, of course, nothing but water 

 will be lost, and at the same lime, the bulk will be 

 reduced to one-fifth, in which state the author con- 

 siders it to be a very valuable manure, and calcu- 

 lates that it can be procured and carted off at half 

 the price of straw. This suggestion, I think, might 

 probably be useful in some of the farming districts 

 which aie situated near the sea, but still not close 

 enough to use the ware in its fresh state, as un- 

 doubtedly the manure is a good one as long as it 

 lasts. The drying, also, will prevent the decompo- 

 sition from taking place so rapidly as if applied 

 when fresh. 



Dry Straw of wheat, barley, and other grain 

 crops, and spoiled hay, are always useful manures. 

 Sir Humphrey Davy, in speaking of these adheres 

 to the opinion which pervades the whole of his 

 work upon Agricultural Chemistry, namely, that 

 they should be applied fresh, and that if allowed to 

 forment, a large quantity of nutritious matter is 

 \osL— Quarterly Journal of Agriculture. 



