1862. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



437 



where they have long been destitute of this escu- 

 lent. 



Thus as we become acquainted Avith their hab- 

 its, we may in a measure get rid of the most 

 troublesome insects. There are some which still 

 trouble us, such as the spindle worm in our corn, 

 the currant worm, and the little maggot that eats 

 the roots of cabbage and turnip plants, and a fly 

 that eats off the beet as soon as it appears above 

 ground. A word here in regard to the 



BLACK KNOT. 

 This is not produced by the curculio or any oth- 

 er insect. If it was, I should be overrun with it, 

 whereas it never apjicars in my garden. It is un- 

 questionably a specific disease, which communi- 

 cates its poison from tree to tree and which fur- 

 nishes a welcome nest for certain insects. Gar- 

 dens where trees are badly crowded together, are 

 usually affected the M'orst. 



LITTLE MISTAKES. 



I must stop here to correct a little mistake in 

 my last article. I spoke of the Editor of the Far- 

 mer as an advocate for August pruning. It should 

 have been summer pruning. Things as trivial as 

 that have brought on desolating wars. IIow im- 

 portant that we should take care of little things ! 



ST. CATHERINE'S PRUNE. 



I noticed a fact that the curculio does not touoli 

 this plum in my garden at all. Is the plum worth 

 cultivating? I received the scions from France. 

 N. T. T. 



Remarks. — We have not raised the St. Cathe- 

 rine. Downing says that "among the fine old va- 

 rieties of late plums, the St. Catherine is one of 

 the most celebrated. In France it is raised in 

 large quantities, in some districts making the 

 most delicate kind of prunes. It is also much es- 

 teemed for preserving, and is of excellent quality 

 for the desert. It bears regularly, and abundant- 

 ly in this part of the country, [that is, along the 

 Hudson,] and deserves a place in every good gar- 

 den." 



It is not yet well settled whether the black knot 

 is occasioned by insects, or is a disease. High 

 authorities are of different opinions. 



Cleaning Milk Vessels. — A correspondent 

 of the Cincinnati Gazette truly says, there is no 

 product of the farm that presents so much differ- 

 ence as butter. This arises chiefly from using ves- 

 sels for holding the milk, and utensils in making 

 the butter, which are soured. In my notice of the 

 effects of having soured troughs in sugar-making, 

 I stated that acidity was fatal to good sugar-mak- 

 uig. It is not less so in butter-making. ^lilk has 

 a peculiar acid very easily formed, which entirely 

 takes away that rich, sweet, fine flavor, belonging 

 to good butter. A very little soured milk or cream 

 on vessels rapidly generates enough acid to take 

 it away. To avoid this great care is requisite. 

 Dleanliness only is not sufficient, in having the 

 vessels well washed, but they must be carefully 

 %vashed in boiling hot water, and should be boiled 

 in it also. But as the cream is very apt to stick, 

 even in good washing, when the vessels are boiled 



in water, some pearlash or soda should he put in 

 it, which destroys any acidity that may be about 

 the vessels. They should then be well sunned. I 

 have known some good butter-makers who dis- 

 pensed with the sunning when soda was used, but 

 both are to be commended. 



AGBICULTUKAIi EXHIBITION'S FOB 1862. 



Time of exhibitions by the Agi'icultural Societies in the State, 

 and the Delegate from the Board of Agriculture to each society. 



SOCIETY. COMMENCES. PELEGATE. 



Essex Sept. 30 P. Steilman. 



Middlesex Sept. 18 Jabe/ Kif^her. 



Middlesex South Sept. 23 Levi Stnckbridge. 



Middlesex North Sept. 25 Samuel llartwell. 



Worcester Sept. 18 Joseph White. 



Worcester West Sept. 25 D. A. Cleveland. 



Worcester North Sept. 30 E. W. Bull. 



Worcester South Oct. 2 II. Stebbins. 



AVorcester South-East Oct. 14 \sa Clement. 



Hamp, Franklin aud Ham. Oct. 2 H. IL Peters. 



Hampshire Oct, 9 Tohn Brooks. 



Highland Sept. 11 Paoli Lathrop. 



Hampden Oct. 7 S. B. Phinney. 



Hampden East Oct. 14 S. H. Biishnell. 



Franklin Sept. 25 George B. Loring. 



Berkshire Oct. 1 M. P. Wilder. 



Housatonic Oct. 7 C. C. Sevrall. 



Hoosac Vallej' Sept. 23 C. G. Davis. 



Norfolk Sept. 25 Henry Chapin. 



Bristol Oct. 7 Freeman Walker. 



Plymouth Oct. 2 John B.Moore. 



Barnstable Oct. 14 J. S. Grennell. 



Nantucket Sept. 30 Henry Colt. 



Martha's Vineyard Oct. 21 Matthew Smith. 



State Fairs for 1862. 



Below we give a list of State Fairs, as far .is we have been 

 able to learn the time of holding them. We shall publish this 

 list, with additions and corrections, from time to time, until the 

 season is over. 



Vermont Rutland Sept. 9—12. 



Canada East Sherbrooke Sept. 17—19. 



Kentucky Louisville Ssi)t. 16 — 19. 



Illinois Peoria Sept. 29 — Oct. 3. 



New York Rochester Se])t. 30— Oct. 3. 



Ohio Cleveland Sept. 16—19. 



Iowa Dubuque Sept. 30— Oct. 3, 



Michigan Detroit Sept. 23 — 26. 



Pennsylvania Norristown Sept. 30 — Oct. 3. 



Indiana Indianapolis Sept. 30 — Oct. 3. 



New Jersey Newton Sept. 30 — Oct. 3. 



Connecticut Hartford Oct. 7 — 10. 



Dark Rooms. — Florence Nightingale, in her 

 Notes on Nursing, says : "A dark house is almost 

 always an unhealthy house, always an ill-aired 

 house, always a dirty house. Want of light stops 

 growth, and promotes scrofula, rickets, etc., among 

 the children. People lose their health in a dai'k 

 liouse ; and if they get ill, they cannot get well 

 again in it. Three out of many 'negligences and 

 ignorances' in managing the health of houses gen- 

 erally, I will here mention as specimens. First, 

 that the female head in charge of any building, 

 does not think it necessary to visit every hole and 

 corner of it every day. How can she expect those 

 who are under her to be more careful to maintain 

 her house in a healthy condition, than she who is 

 in charge of it ? Second, that it is not considered 

 essential to air, to sun, and to clean rooms while 

 uninhabited ; which is simply ignoring the first 

 elementary notion of sanitary things, and laying 

 the ground ready^or all kinds of disease. Third, 

 that the window, and one window, is considered 

 enough to air a room. Don't imagine that if you, 

 who are in charge, don't look to all those things 

 yourself, those under you will be more careful 

 than you are." 



