266 



NEW ENGLAND FAR]\IER. 



June 



tier what occasioned its everlasting song of "Ka- 

 tydid," and pretends to have obtained for an 

 answer certain hints as to sundry interviews be- 

 tween a certain Miss Katydid and her lover. 

 He says : 



•'But never fear me, gentle one, nor waste a thought or tear, 



Lest I should whisper what I heard in any mortal ear ; 



I only sport among the boughs, and like a spirit hid, 



I think on what I saw and heard, and laugh out 'Katydid.' 



I see among the leaves here, when evening zephyrs sigh, 

 And those that listen to my voice I love to ms'stify ; 

 I never tell them all I know, although I'm often bid ; 

 I laugh at curiosity, and chirrup 'Katydid.' " 



The katydid is nearly one and a half inches 

 long, and its wings, when expanded, are about 

 three inches wide. Its wings are of a pale green, 

 and its wing-covers of a dark green color, which 

 fades away, and becomes brown when the insect 

 is dead and dried. 



It is a very singular fact, and shows the general 

 deficiency in entomological knowledge, that num- 

 berless thqugh they be, still very few persons can 

 say that they have seen this handsome little in- 

 sect. It dwells in trees and shrubs, and usually 

 conceals itself during the day under the leaves. 



The Pigeon Tremex. — This is a destructive 

 little insect, more than an inch long, and like the 

 whole family of them, is provided with a borer, 

 which is one inch long, as thick as a bristle, of a 

 black color, and always concealed within the body 

 when not in use. 



They feed exclusively on wood, making long 

 passages through it, and thus destroying much 

 valuable timber ; and as they grow very slowly, 

 and remain several years in the larva? state, they 

 often become injurious to whole forests of trees. 

 When fully grown, they are about one inch long, 

 when they make their cocoon ; and in a few days 

 after undergo their final transformation into the 

 perfect insect, 



Oats. — Quantity of Seed per Acre. — I see 

 by your paper that j'ou would be pleased to hear 

 from correspondents their experience in regard 

 to the quantity of seed sown per acre in oat cul- 

 ture. Two of my neighbors had each one acre of 



land, which they wished to seed down with oats. 

 Their farms join, and the soil was the same, and 

 treated alike, except that one neighbor sowed one 

 bushel per acre, and measured up forty, of as 

 handsome oats as I ever saw, as the result. The 

 other man sowed three and one-half bushels per 

 acre, and measured up but thirty-three bushels. 

 But he had a much larger quantity of straw. If 

 these results Avere to decide the question, I should 

 think that where the largest quantity of fodder 

 was the most of an object, the heavy seeding 

 would be the best. The man who has practiced 

 seeding with but one bushel per acre, has received 

 nearly the like results for tlie past two years. — 

 Geo. D. Foristall, in Country Gentleman. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 DRAININO- A MUCK SWAMP. 



Mr. Editor : — I have a muck swamp of about 

 two acres, and twenty-five or thirty feet deep. I 

 have drained the water off about three feet deep, 

 and want to drain deeper, and have thought some 

 of putting in a syphon ; I think that a 1^ inch 

 pipe will di'ain it through the summer season. I 

 wish to inquire through the Farmer, which will 

 be the cheapest and the best pipe to use for this 

 purpose. Perhaps that you, or some of your 

 correspondents, can give me the desu-ed informa- 

 tion. The object in draining this so deep, is, that 

 the muck may rot as it lays in the bed, that Avhen 

 it is dug, we shall have the use of it sooner than 

 we should if it was covered all the time. Per- 

 haps some of our farmers will say that it will not 

 pay to invest money in farming, but I think that 

 most of the farmers in this vicinity are too afraid 

 of improving their farms ; they had rather let their 

 money, and take slow notes, and stock in vessels, 

 banks, &c., Avhich I think is poor policy. I be- 

 lieve that farming will pay, when it is managed 

 as it should be. At least, I have more faith in it 

 than our friend, Mr. Pinkham, appears to have. 

 A. S. Wentworth, 



Hope, Me., April 7, 1860. 



Remarks. — We should think pine logs would 

 be the most economical. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 COFFEE EAISITsTG. 



In answer to the inquiry of "S. W. M.," in a 

 late number of your paper, concerning the success- 

 ful cultivation of Java coffee, I would inform him 

 that I procured a few kernels last season, and 

 planted a dozen hills. It grew vigorously, and 

 yielded Avhen harvested a quart or more, of what I 

 su])posed to be pure Java coffee. This experiment, 

 as far as it goes, proves that coffee can be raised 

 in our climate, but whether successfully or not, 

 needs further proof. After it is harvested, a prom- 

 inent difficulty presents itself, which I wish you, 

 or some of your readers, would obviate, and that 

 is, how shall it be prepared for use ? It has but 

 little resemblance to our imported article, and 

 must pass through some process to render it pal- 

 atable. Any information concerning this subject 

 will be gladly received thi-ough the medium of 

 your valuable paper. E. A, RoWE. 



Laconia, N. II., April 4, 1860. 



