238 



NEW EXGLAXD FAHMER. 



Aug. 



FcT tie Sev Etigiaad Farmer. I enemies of this insect. The greatest preventtive 

 HOBSE HOE — COHX— POTATOES. ! of its increase is the protection of the birds, many 



Mr. Editor :— The farmer seems to have his ' ^^^^ °f ^^^^ ^^^^ extensively upon it. Some of 

 foil .hare of aU the improvements of the da\. and o"'". .^eed-eaUng birds, the sparrows and finches, 

 the last invention is the "horse hce," which'looks • Z^^"^"- ^''^^ Pf^P^^ suppose do but uttle good, or 

 like a thing of great miHtv, and far surpassing' ^^rm, to the farmer are very fond of them, and 

 the culH^^or or horse plow, the latter the only destroy mulntudes of them in autumn and spnng. 

 implemeat known to me when a boy for working ' I>a^^ 0"^° QOf'^^*^ ^^f ^^^ sparrow and the chip- 

 -amoag the com and potatoes. | P»°g ^P^"^ Vl^k^g them off the trees ; and for 



AU that seems to be needed now to complete Y^^,* ^^o"* the last of Octooer and the last of 

 the farmers Ust, is a perfect potato-digger, a com- ^pnl and fore part of May, the pme finches and 

 hii8ker,an apple -gatherer and a sheep-shearing ' f^^^ co°J"^° 7^^^°'^ >rds frequent the apple trees 

 machine. It mav net be too much to expect per- ^ ^^^f^ P^^^'- ^^^ seem to derive a large part 

 bans that the ume will come when a flock of °f ^^^F ^°^' especiaUv the pine finches, from 

 sheep mav be driven, full ran, single file, through ^hese insects. ^^ hen the buds are opening m 

 a machine, and all come out sheared from riplol ¥^-^' J^^^^ "^^^^ ^^\° dinging to the extremi- 

 tin Genius, machinerv and horse power, have I ^^ of the small branches, often head downwards, 

 ii^measurablv lightened the labors of the farmer, searching for and devouring the aphis. At these 

 and his hard'uo^k has almost become a pastime. ^^^ {^""^ ^0"°^ hundreds at a time m their 



Inre-ard to biUing com. or scarcelv making stomachs on dissecting them, and rarely much 

 thefon^of ahill,isitneeessarv? WUl not this "ther food. Many kinds of warblers destroy 

 farmers -horse hoe" do nearlv aU the work ? ^ t^^"" '^ great numbers, parucularly the yeUow- 

 See the com root* diverging from everv point, ««>«;°^d '^^^bler or myrtle brrd the Nashville 

 like so manv guvs, to hold it erect against heavv warbler and the blue yeUow-backed warbler, which 

 winds Homing' deep and hilling high, must cut ^!^ «« beneficial to our trees in May, when a va- 

 off manv rootsrand the holes that are made leave ""J" ^^ destructive insects are swarming among 

 a fine e»^pe for the water, without doing as much i ^b,«. oPt°*°g blossons and tender leaves, upon 

 good ais if the land was leveL 



which these species and many others exclusively 

 feed- J. A. A. 



Springfidd, Mass., June 20, 1864. 



What can we say of potatoes, with their long, ' 

 clinging roots ; the umbilical cord, connecting the 



Eotato with the vine, (tough as a whip-lash :j the 

 ttle bmsh-like roots around the vine, to give p.yr the Sea England Farmer. 



growth to the top, while the combined powers of bkEEDS AST) MAJS-AOEMEJTT OF STOCK, 

 earth and atmosphere contrive to give us our 



mother earth's best esculent vegetable ? Is hoe 

 inf deep and hilling high the better practice for 

 thL crop ? While we doubt it to some extent, 

 we would beg to ask the practical fanner what is 

 best. He ought to know. It would be a simple 



E«ad b*fore the Concord Farmers' Qab by Johs B. Moob£. 



The term breed, as I understand it, appHes only 

 to the distinct families of animals who have been 

 bred without admixture of blood with other ani- 

 mal?, for so long a period of time as to have their 



test to hill, half hill, and barely add a little fresh various points become so fixed and permanent as 



earth in weeding the third row, and at digging 

 time the experiment would be fairly tested. 



-These suggestions may be of no avail to your 

 readers, vet cultivation of these two most impor- 

 tant crops, cannot be too well understood. I 

 trust they may elicit a reply from some of your 

 thousands of readers that till the soiL 



Brooidyn, L. L, 1864. H. PooE. 



REatAKKS. — Excellent suggestions. We hope 

 some of our progressive fanners will give us their 

 views on the subject of hilling, with reasons for 

 and against. 



F'/r i'M -V«w Enghind Parmer. 

 THE APPLE THEE APHIS. 

 Me. Editoe: — The apple tree aphis mentioned 

 bv your correspondent /. J- Watsox, of Wash- 

 in<non, Vt., in the Fanner of June 18th, is not a 

 new tlAng under the sun. It has been known 

 here for a long time ; and though somewhat inju- 

 rious, to the apple trees, has not caused any such 

 painful evils as your correspondent fears. The 

 insect is most noticed late in autumn and early in 

 spring, being more concealed in summer by the 

 abundant foliage of the trees. It is most seen 



to render it certain that the offspring bred from 

 the male and female of such stock wiU always 

 show the same points possessed by the family to 

 which it belongs ; and if an individual animal said 

 to belong to any one of the different breeds should 

 produce an offspring not having the points be- 

 longing to that breed, it would be sufficient cause 

 for saying that the animal was not of pure blood. 

 The following distinct families of animals are 

 among the number usually designated as pure 

 bred animals, namely : — Durham, or Short Horns, 

 Hereforfls, Jjfxons, Jerseys and Ayrshires. The 

 term Soiite Bn/td, which we so often hear used, 

 is true in only one sense, that is, that the animals 

 to which it is applied are bom here, and the term 

 native could be applied with just as much propri- 

 ety to the Devons, or any pure-blooded animals 

 who have been bred in this country, through many 

 generations, as if they were also bom here, and 

 in some instances their parents before them. Per- 

 haps the term groule would be a better name for 

 all animals not of pure blood, and I will venture 

 to say, that no animal can be found in this vicini- 

 ty, called native, but that has more or less of 

 blood in its veins of one or more of »he breeds be- 

 fore named. And if you examine the best author- 

 ities upon breeds and breeding you will find that 

 those classes of cattle that I have named have 



in (summer on young sprouts growing from the 

 hedges and limbs of neglected trees, where the ' been bred for special purposes, and in each case 

 wood is new and tender, and new leaves are con- with a particular object in ^-iew. Thus the Dur- 

 tinually putting forth- I write to speak of the I hams and Herefords for beef certainly excel all 



