344 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



APRIL 13 



every wormy pear that fell from the tree : this has 

 effected a very esseiiual improvement in tlie condi- 

 tion of the fruit. I collected some of the worms 

 taken from these pears and put tlieni into a box of 

 earth in the cellar : they lived through the winter a 

 few inches below the surface, but in the spring 

 they either died or made their escape: thu expen- 

 nient is worth repeating'. 



There is another process to be recommended, in 

 which I have g-reat confidence, as a part of our war- 

 fare against the curculio. It is, to make a direct 

 attack upon the female beetle while she is about to 

 puncture the fruit to engender her young brood. 

 This may be done by throwing from a garden rn- 

 giue or Willis' excellent syringe, a liquid substance 

 that will create a sort of deleterious atmosphere 

 which will compel her to quit the tree, and will de- 

 stroy the vitality of her eggs, should they have been 

 deposited. I will name the following articles for 

 this purpose : — the composition of sulphur and lime 

 recommended for grapes in MrKenrick's Orchard- 

 ist, page 3^8 ; a strong decoction of tobacco or 

 snuff; chloride of lime ; a weak solution of potash 

 or even soap-suds. These materials, if showered 

 over the trees and fruit, would prove so offensive as 

 to force the female visitor from her generating pro- 

 cess. The most proper time for this operation is 

 in the evening, in order to meet the enemy, whose 

 attack is supposed to be during the course of the 

 night. This operation should be repeated several 

 times during the week, from May to August, and 

 the tree should frequently receive a thorough shak- 

 ing, by which the insects will be greatly disturbed 

 and made to fall to the ground. Should my plan 

 be deemed too onerous, tlie cultivator who 5«ay 

 adopt it in full or even partially, may be assured 

 that (in my opinion) he will have no cause to regret 

 his labor. 



Respectfully, yours, 



JAMES THACHKR. 

 P. S. — In the Farmer of Oct. -Jd, 1839, 1 conmiu- 

 nicated a sure method by which bees may be se- 

 cured against the depredations of the bee moth. It 

 should arrest the atteniion of bee cultivators at the 

 present season. 



periodical in the country. Simio farmers sow ashes I So also the Berkshire marls have not proved so 

 upon their turnips (and have good success thereby) beneficial as was anticipated, from the great amount 

 because their fathers did so before tliem, without of carbonate of lime they contain. 



knowing the rea>-on why or wherefore. 



Allow me to recommend to rny brother farmers, 

 whom I may be allowed to call so, though pent up 

 in ihi.s great city for the present, (but for the pre- 

 sent only,) to ask a reason for every thing that 

 comes under their observation, and we .'hould go 

 ahead in agricultural improvement faster than we 

 ever have done. Opinions are worth nothing with- 

 o.ut the reasons, to my mind. In my religion, my 

 politics, and my profession, I must have reasons : 

 opinions are useless lumber to me without. 



« * « « * * « 



By a recent notice of the ' borer' of the locust, 

 I observe that it docs not like shade or smooth 



bark. Hint May it not lay its eggs in the rough 



bark, and may not the sun be necessary to hatch 

 them ? Would not scraping the b»rk be beneficial, 

 and some artificial shade answer as well as large 

 forest trees ? 



I presume all that is necessary to obtain a reme- 

 dy is, to study the habits of the animal, and by con- 

 centrating the information of all observers in the 

 agricultural papers, we shall soon be able to find 

 out the ways of the aTiimal, and as I have quite a 

 large number of young locusts to cultivate, shall 

 feel under great- obligation for information, and 

 shall not fal to give any facts that I can obtain. 

 Respectfully, yours, J. G. 



For thi: N. E. Farii 



For the N. E. Farmer. 



ON ASHES AS A REMEDY AGAINST THE 

 TURNIP FLY. 



A'etv York, March 28, 1840. 

 Mr Henry CoLMA.f — Dear Sir — Referring you 

 to " W. B." in the N. E. Farmer of March ISth, re- 

 specting the Black Fly, I will suggest the common 

 and effectual remedy as far as my experience has 

 gone, viz. : sow ashes (dry) broadcast, a peck or 

 half bushel to an acre, when there is moisture or 

 dew on plant, whether turnip, radisli, melon, cucum- 

 ber or any other aiticle that the lly may attack: 

 the best time is the second ' or third day from the 

 time they make their appearance — the sooner the 

 better after they are out of the ground ; but as 

 they will not all appear at once, it is as well to 

 wait a day or two; but if the fanner happens to 

 wait six days, he will not find a single turnip in a 

 field of acres, and will insist that the seed was bad. 

 I have known seed ti5 fail with some and prove 

 good with others, when this was the only seed. — 

 This specific I will call 1% though commonly known 

 among farmers, may not bo known to all ; therefore 

 before the season of sowing turnips each year, I 

 think it should be published in every agricultural 



LIME— RUFFIN ON CALCAREOUS MA- 

 NURES. 



Mr Colman — Sir — T have per-used with very 

 greai interest your weekly reports of the agricultu- 

 ral nseetings during thje ses.sion of the legistature; 

 and as i.-^^ost of the gentlemen that have spoken up- 

 on the subject of agriculture are practical farmers, 

 their experience is of great value to the farming 

 interest generally. They pursue some different 

 courses, and have different views in the cultivation 

 of their corn and other crops, but upon the whole it 

 will have a good effect, and excite to inquiry and 

 investigation many fanners, and stimulate thein to 

 step aside from the old beaten track they and their 

 fathers fiaye pursued, and imitate the courses point- 

 ed out at your meetings. 



Upon the use of lime, there seems to be much 

 difference of opinion. In my own vicinity, within 

 four years past, there has been much money ex- 

 pended in the purchase of lime for agricultural pur- 

 poses, at from §2 50 to $3 per cask for Thomaston 

 lime : it has been applied in various ways, and as 

 far as my knowledge extends, no one can tell wheth- 

 er he has derived any advantage from it or not. 

 'I'hey have not been careful to malie and note ex- 

 periments, but in true Yankee style, g-iiess it is good 

 as a manure. Some farmers have applied it to 

 their growing wheat, and have raised good crops, 

 which was mostly attributed to the lime: others 

 have grown equally as large without it. Dr Jack- 

 son, 1 believe, thinks it of great importance in agri- 

 culture. Dr Dana s.Tys, '' a bushel of ashes is equal 

 to a cask of lime." B. V. French, Esq., in his re- 

 marks upon the cultivation of wheat, at the" eighth 

 agricultural meeting, stated that he used 1,50 bush- 

 els lime per acre ; his own experience was unfavo 

 rable to it, and some others had not derived tnuch 

 if any advantage from its use. 



I have lately had the perusal of a work on the 

 calcareous manures of Virginia, by E. Ruffin, Esq., 

 who after many years' experience, and with the 

 most careful, accurate and numerous experiments, 

 has proved, I think beyond all ([uestion, their great 

 value in agriculture; and as the shell marls of Vir- 

 ginia, the Berkshire marls and the lirne from the 

 State of Maine, are almost the same thing, that is, 

 the carbonate of lime, I car. conceive of no possible , 

 reason why lime and marl may not be as useful and 

 as ])rofitably employed in Massachusetts as in Eu- 

 rope or Virginia or New Jersey. But I think every 

 farmer who purposes to use lime or marl, should 

 procure Ruffin's Essay on Calcareous Manures, and 

 carefully peruse and study the work, which will 

 enable him to apply his labor and means more un- 

 derstandingly. There is, without doubt, many 

 soils upon which lime would be of but little or no 

 use, but if there is any reliance to be placed upon 

 chemistry, it must be of much use upon soils con- 

 taining oxide of inm and sulphur, as the lime will 

 combine with the sulphate of the iron, and form the 

 sulphate of lime, or gypsum. It may be equally 

 useful upon acid soils, or such as grow sorrel and 

 pine luxuriantly. B. 



March mth, 1840. 



We shall venture no opinion in this place on the 

 subject of lime, referred to in tlie above letter of 

 our esteemed correspondent ; but we perfectly 

 accord with him in the estimAtion in wliich he holds 

 Mr Ruffiin'swoik on calcareous manures. It is an 

 essay of much merit, showing great intelligence 

 and carefulness of observation. Whatever conclu- 

 sions on the subject of the work the intelligent 

 reader may form, he cannot fail to entertain very 

 high respect for the tact and talent of the author. — 

 Mr RufUn's book on calcareous manures and his 

 Farmers' Register, published monthly, and edited 

 with distinguished ability and knowledge, and emi- 

 nent fairness (if mind, ought to be possessed and 

 read by every ijiquisitive turmer in the country. 



H. C. 



MASS. AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Aitsioers of Ichabod R. Jacohs to the Interrogatories 

 of the Committee of the Society, as presented in 

 their proposals. 



No. 1. My farm consists of one hundred acres. 



2. The soil is gravelly and rocky, loamy, and 

 lowland or bog meadow. 



3. I think the best management to be this: to 

 plant corn and sow rye at the last time of hoeing, 

 and after reaping the rye, take another crop of corn, 

 and then lay it to grass with oats or summer rye. 

 I plough up some of the rocky land and plant" with 

 potatoes one year. 



4. I till and sow ten acres a year, and put about 

 ten loads to the acre. 



5. My mode of applying my manure is, to apply 

 a part manure and a part in compost. 



6. 1 spread and plough in one-half of my manure 

 and put the other half in the hill. 



7. My mode of cultivating green sward is, to 

 plough it in the summer or early in the fall, and 

 again in the spring and harrow it. 



8. I mow sixteen acres of grans and obtain about 

 a ton to the acre. 



