1861. 



NEW ENGLAND FAHMER. 



203 



the services of a set of hired men for a few 

 months, should, just before their pay-day arrived, 

 enter a suit of damages against them, and send 

 them all to prison, to escape paying them their 

 wages ? The corn and fruits which are devoured 

 by the birds are the wages of their labor, and 

 probably the amount is far less than we should 

 be willing to pay for the services they perform, if 

 the service was conditional. Audubon remarks, 

 in another part of his work, that whole forests are 

 sometimes destroyed by grubs and caterpillars 

 which had multiplied on account of the sudden 

 scarcity of certain species of biids that feed upon 

 them. 



Birds are often killed, from the ignorant belief 

 that they are guilty of mischief which could nev- 

 er truly be laid to them. In western Virginia, 

 some years since, when the forests were much in- 

 jured by a species of borers, the farmers employed 

 themselves in exterminating the woodpeckers, 

 supposing these harmless and useful birds were 

 the cause of the mischief, by perforating the 

 trees with their hard beak. An intelligent trav- 

 eller convinced them that the woodpeckers de- 

 voured these borers when they were hammering 

 upon the trees, and that their security from these 

 pests must depend on the multiplication of this 

 race of birds. A year or two since, a correspon- 

 dent of one of our agricultural papers stated that 

 a neighbor of his expressed a wish to destroy the 

 yellow birds, which he in common with other 

 farmers, supposed were in the habit of destroj'- 

 ing wheat. By the correspondent's suggestion 

 the farmer opened one of these birds which he 

 had killed, and on examining its crop, he found 

 that the bird, instead of eating the wheat, con- 

 sumed the weevil, the great destroyer of wheat ! 

 He found as many as two hundred weevils in the 

 bird's crop, and but four grains of wheat, each 

 containing a weevil ! The nam.e of this species 

 of bird was not given ; but it was described as a 

 fine singer, and bearing resemblance to a canary. 

 How often does ignorance thus defeat its own 

 ends, by mistaking the cause of certain evils 

 which it seeks to prevent ! 



We might pursue this subject, until we had 

 written a volume ; but our present object is 

 merely to make a few suggestions, that may lead 

 our people to pause and reflect upon the conse- 

 quences of their actions, when they are wantonly 

 destroying the birds, either for game, or to punish 

 them for stealing fruit. The inhabitants of old 

 countries understand the value of birds, and ap- 

 preciate their services better than we do, because 

 the experience of former generations has proved 

 their utility. In Japan it is said that birds are 

 regarded as sacred, and no person is allowed to 

 kill them under any pretence ; and when the late 

 treatY between the Unircd States and that coun- 



try was concluded, a condition was inserted to 

 protect their birds from the guns of our sports- 

 men. We have not the least doubt that the in- 

 creased ravages of borers, curculios and other 

 pests of our orchards, during the last ten years, 

 may be attributed to the greater disproportion 

 between the numbers of the birds and the num- 

 bers of our orchards, the increase of birds not 

 having kept pace with the multiplication of fruit 

 trees. It is important, therefore, that every citi- 

 zen, who is convinced of these facts, should use 

 energetic methods to prevent others from destroy- 

 ing the birds, and to cause their multiplication. 

 It is a sacred duty which he owes to his country. 



SUPEE-PHOSPHATE OF LIME. 

 As the subject of agriculture is of the greatest 

 importance to the country, we hold ourselves in 

 readiness at all times to publish whatever may 

 tend to its advancement. The following commu- 

 nication, coming from a distinguished gentleman 

 and agriculturist, is of high value as testimony 

 in favor of Coe's Super-Phosphate of Lime : 



I have used Coe's Super-Phosphate of Lime for 

 three years past, principally upon corn, applying 

 it to the crop in various ways. It is my usual 

 practice to spread compost manure broadcast, and 

 put the Super-Phosphate in the hills, about a 

 table-spoonful to each. Its effect thus applied is 

 very apparent and striking, causing the corn to 

 shoot ahead with great luxuriance. The deep 

 green color of the stalks is at once noticeable, at 

 as great a distance as the eye can distinguish col- 

 ors at all. The rapid, healthy growth of stalk in- 

 duced by it, helps to insure a large growth of 

 ears, and well matured grain upon them. 



I have also used this Super-Phosphate broad- 

 cast upon land sowed to oats and other grain, 

 with grass-seed, putting on about 250 pounds per 

 acre. The crop of grain and of straw was consid- 

 erably increased thereby, and a superb catch of 

 grass obtained. Finally, I have never known the 

 instance where Coe's Super-Phosphate has not, 

 on trial, proved to be an excellent article. 

 Very respectfully yours, 



F. HOLBROOK. 



Brattlehoro\ Vt., March 14, 1861. 



Pruning Roses. — The Gardener's Monthly 

 says : — "The fall-blooming kinds, which flower 

 on the new growth, may be pruned as severely as 

 we wish — in fact, the 'harder' they are cut in the 

 better. In this class are the Noisette, Bourbon, 

 Tea, China, and Hybrid Perpetual, and Perpetual 

 Moss. Without considerable experience it is dif- 

 ficult for the amateur to distinguish these classes; 

 the best way to get over the difficulty is to obtain 

 the catalogues of the principal rose-growers, in 

 which each kind is usually classified." 



Rain-Fall. — With an average annual rainfall 

 of thirty-one inches, the quantity of water thrown 

 down upon each acre of ground is nearly three 

 thonsnnd tons. 



