1862. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



313 



tally impracticable. For English flowers, howev- 

 er beautiful in form or color, do not possess the 

 intensity of odor required for extraction ; and the 

 greater part of those used in the south of France 

 for perfumery ,would grow here only in hot-houses. 

 The one flower which might be had in abundance 

 would be the rose ; but the smell of it is very faint 

 compared with that of the southern rose. Add to 

 this the shortness of the flowering season, and the 

 high price of land and labor, and it may be safely 

 said that the cultivation in England of flowers for 

 perfumery would prove as bad a speculation as at- 

 tempting to make Avine from English grapes. 



The most widely-known of the toilet-waters hav- 

 ing an alcoholic basis is the eau-de-Cologne, in- 

 vented in the last century by an apothecary in 

 Cologne. In can, however, be made just as well 

 anywhere else, as all the materials come from the 

 south of France and Italy. Its perfume consists 

 principally of the flowers, leaves and rind of the 

 fruit of the bitter orange-tree. — All the Year 

 Round. 



Fur the Neto England Farmer. 

 SMITH'S PATENT FENCE. 



Mr. Editor : — The Farmer for May, 1862, con- 

 tains a communication from some one in South 

 Amherst, in relation to my fences, in which he ex- 

 presses the opinion that the patent can be evaded 

 by omitting the preparation of the posts. 



Even if this could be done, it would not be for 

 the interest of any farmer to do it, as unquestion- 

 ably the fence will last three times as long with 

 the ventilated posts, as it would without them. 

 But it is certain that no one can lawfully build the 

 fence by dodging that claim. I have the written 

 opinion of the ablest Patent Solicitors in the coun- 

 try, that the claims of my patent will give me all 

 the protection I shall need. 



Without wishing in any way to include my 

 humble self among them, I will say that scarcely 

 any class of persons have done more to advance 

 the material interests of our people, and to give 

 our country a name and fame among the nations 

 of the earth, than Ameiican Inventors. And yet, 

 there is scarcely one who is the author of any very 

 im])ortant improvement, but whose rights have 

 been questioned, and in many cases with about as 

 much of justice as the rights to the tempting car- 

 go of any vessel are liable to be questioned by 

 every pirate rover of the seas. 



If the gentleman is really "a farmer," and will 

 send me his name, I will give him the right to 

 build the fence, to keep him out of the way of 

 temptation. 



INJURY TO FRUIT TREES FROM MICE. 



For several years I have used shingles tied 

 around the trees, and when well done, have never 

 had a tree injured. The mice live in the ground, 

 and I think always begin their depredations close 

 to the ground, and work up, and the shingles will 

 prevent them from doing so. Strong twine will 

 last about two years ; small wire, put on loosely, 

 several years. A wash of cattle manure and clay, 

 made thin with water, and applied to the bodies 

 of the trees with an old broom, will prevent sheep 

 and calves from gnawing the bark for several 

 weeks. Charles R. Smith. 



Haverhill, N. E., 1862. 



PEABS — THE SLIMY SLUG. 



One of the Avorst enemies with which the culti- 

 vators of the pear have to contend is the "Slimy 

 Slug" — {Selaudria Cerasl.) They generally make 

 their appearance in vast numbers, locating upon 

 the upper side of the leaf, and eat it until it pre- 

 sents the appearance of a piece of coarse muslin, 

 nothing but the fibres being left. Consequently 

 they cripple the tree, and desti-oy the fruit if not 

 immediately checked. In appearance they very 

 much resemble the tadpole, are of a dusky brown 

 color, and from an eighth to half an inch in length. 

 Downing, on page 328 of his "Fruits and Fruit 

 Trees of America," and Kenrick, on the 55th page 

 of his "Orchardist," mention this insect, and both 

 recommend about the same means for its destruc- 

 tion. Whale oil soap, applied with a garden syr- 

 inge, is perhaps one of the most effectual remedies 

 that can be applied to pear trees infested with this 

 enemy ; but a writer in a late paper recommends 

 the following as the most effectual method of de- 

 stroying them : 



"Take a piece of very coarse cotton cloth, say 

 about twenty inches square, and tie up the corners 

 of it, enclosing one or two quarts of air-slacked 

 lime or unleached ashes. Make this fast to one 

 end of a long, light §o\e, and in the morning, while 

 the dew is on, elevate the sack of lime above the 

 topmost branches of the tree, striking the lower 

 end of the pole with a small mallet occasionally, 

 and moving the pole or sack about till every leai' ' 

 is finely dusted over with the lime or ashes. This; 

 operation need not be repeated if once thorough- 

 ly performed. The time requisite for a full-grown 

 pear tree is not over five minutes." 



It is an excellent plan to scrape the bark of pear 

 as well as apple trees early in the spring, and wash 

 them thoroughly after scraping with a mixture of 

 soft soap, ashes and green cow-manure. The 

 wash, however, should not be so thick as to form 

 a coat on the surface, as all obstructions of the 

 pores should be by all means avoided. Like the 

 human skin, the bark of trees has a very impor- 

 tant function to perform, and any interruption of 

 its natural offices will inevitably prove an injury 

 to the tree. If you can procure it, a few quarts 

 of the rubbish from the blacksmith's floor, consist- 

 ing of fine cinders and iron scales, will be of great 

 benefit to your pear trees. The soil should be 

 opened, and the rubbish scattered evenly aronnd' 

 the trunk, and in contact with it. Lime is also 

 beneficial. — Cor. Oermantown Telegraph. 



Hay Spreader and Turner. — Mr. Moses 

 Mandell recently showed us a model of E. W. 

 Bullard's Patent Hay Spreader and Turner, and 

 from examination given it, we came to the conclu- 

 sion that it is a machine of practical utility. It is 

 simple in construction, portable, and may be man- 

 aged without difficulty by any person capable of 

 using a common horse rake. Several fanners, of:' 

 the fine farming town of New Braintree, certify 

 that it will perform the work of ten men, and at 

 the same time do the work better than it is done 

 by hand. We have no doubt that it is an ex- 

 cellent machine 



