346 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Aug. 



——"perforated sore, 

 And drilled in holes, the solid wood is found, 

 By worms voracious, eaten through and through." 



It is, also, we believe, generally supposed that 

 the losses which the farmers of our country sus- 

 tain from insect depredations are constantly in- 

 creasing. Tliis is certainly true of some insects. 

 The curcullo, for instance, which a few years ago 

 confined its operations to plums, has now become 

 so numerous as to be able to find almost every ap- 

 ple on every tree of many large orchards, and to 

 mark them unmistakably "for their heirs and 

 successors." 



Some farmers, when they consider how numer- 

 ous, how minute, and yet how powerful are the 

 foes which assail them, and then remember how 

 little they can do to protect their crops when at- 

 tacked by insects, are ready to give up all hope, 

 and sit down in despair. This is cowardly. "Do- 

 minion over everything that creepeth upon the 

 earth" was given to man in the beginning, and we 

 have no doubt will be retained unto the end. It 

 is possible that we shall be obliged to understand 

 their habits and the history of their lives better 

 than we now do. The study of Natural History 

 may become a necessity to success in the contest 

 with insects in America. And in this study, per- 

 haps unexpectedly, we may find some compensa- 

 tion for our losses, in learning that even insects 

 are but links in the great chain of universal good- 

 ness which unites the creatures of our common 

 Father. 



To show how well the humanizing efi"ect of the 

 study of nature was understood by one remarka- 

 ble reformer, we give the story of an American 

 entomologist — that Peter the Great, of Russia, 

 conceived the idea that the study of Nature would 

 contribute much towards the civilization and re- 

 finement of his barbarian subjects, and, accord- 

 ingly, he established, at an enormous expense, a 

 large Museum of Natural History at St. Peters- 

 burg ; and in order to induce his whiskey-loving 

 subjects to go there, he ordered a glass of brandy 

 to be presented to every visitor ! 



May the direct appeal which insects make to 

 our purses, prove at least as efficient, in promot- 

 ing a more intimate acquaintance with their his- 

 tory and habits, as did the Czar's toddy. 



Abortion or "Slinking" in Cows Produced 

 BY Smut on Corn. — The Belgian Annals of Ve- 

 terinary Medicine states that the Ustilago Madis, 

 or parasitic mushroom, which occurs on maize or 

 Indian corn, as ergot does on rye, produces abor- 

 tion in cows fed with it. In a stable where cows 

 were given corn with smut on it, eleven abortions 

 occurred in eight days ; when the cause was sus- 

 pected, and the food changed, there were no abor- 

 tions. Stock-keepers should make a note of this 

 statement. 



FLAX COTTON-. 



We learn that the Rhode Island Agricultural 

 Society has sent to Washington a memorial to be 

 laid before Congress, asking for an appropriation 

 to enable the society to prosecute its experiments 

 in the manufacture of flax cotton. Tliose who 

 have given most attention to the subject are con- 

 fident that the difficulties in the way of manufac- 

 turing flax can be overcome, and that with such 

 facilities as the appropriation they desire would 

 furnish, some of our ingenious men would very 

 soon accomplish the object which has been so 

 long sought. 



It may at first sight seem strange to some that 

 this matter should be now engaging the attention 

 of the society. But when justly viewed, it is seen 

 to have the most intimate connection with our 

 public aff'airs. For the want of cotton our mills 

 must soon stop. Many of them have already 

 stopped. How long they will remain idle, unless 

 some new material to take the place of cotton is 

 discovered, no one can say. And when the pro- 

 ductiveness of our mills is at an end, the "internal 

 tax" on cotton manufactures becomes nothing. If 

 a substitute for cotton is found, our mills may 

 continue their labors and pour in their quota to 

 the national treasury. New England and the 

 Middle States are of course peculiarly interested 

 in seeing the invention perfected for which the 

 society is laboring. 



But there is of course a much wider view of the 

 question, one which we have so often presented 

 that we need not enlarge more upon it now, but 

 which every day becomes more and more worthy 

 of consideration. The invention of macliinery for 

 spinning flax satisfactorily and cheaply would at 

 once depose and overwhelm King Cotton, whose 

 throne has been so essentially shaken this past 

 year. The efiect upon the proud and rebellious 

 temper of the cotton-growing South, upon the fate 

 of slavery, and so upon the prosperity of our 

 country is manifest. These facts explain the 

 persistence with which the intelligent and far- 

 sighted members of the Rhode Island Society are 

 endeavoring to complete the experiments requisite 

 for success in the manufacture of flax cotton. — 

 Providence Journal. 



Clearing a Debtor's Prison. — The Avork of 

 clearing the Queen's Bench Prison, London, of its 

 inhabitants is now verging toward a close. Strange 

 to say, it has been a very difficult task. Many of 

 the prisoners sternly refused to be made bankrupts, 

 though, by giving their consent, they could have 

 immediately obtained their release. The most cu- 

 rious case was that of Wm. Miller, who had been 

 in prison since July, 1814 — forty-eight years ! He 

 had lost all desire to go out, and would sign noth- 

 ing which would have the effect of making him a 

 free man. When at last he was absolutely forced 

 to acquiesce, he begged to be allowed to remain 

 in the prison a few days longer ; and wlien his 

 time was up he still lingered fondly within the 

 gates to bid the officials farewell, and to shake 

 hands over and over again. Until he passed the 

 outer gates of the Queen's Bench Prison, a few 

 weeks since, Wm. Miller, who Avas born nearly 

 eighty years ago, never saw a street gas-lamp, nor 

 an omnibus, much less a steamship or a railway. 

 — Bailway Exchange. 



