582 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Oct. 



hatched in the course of one month. The hxrvtE 

 are slender, somewhat flattened gi'ubs, of a yel- 

 lowish color, banded with black, with a small 

 reddish head, and six legs. These grubs are very 

 active in their motions, and appear to live upon 

 tine roots in the ground ; but I have not been able 

 to keep them till they arrived at maturity, and 

 therefore know nothing further of their history." 



The insect sent by Mr. Brown is named Cantharis, 

 atrata, and is coal black. It is about half an inch 

 in length. It appears about the middle of August, 

 and into September. Mr. Harris says "it feeds on 

 potato-vines, and also on the blossoms and leaves 

 of various kinds of golden-rod. In some places it 

 is as plentiful in potato-fields as the striped and the 

 margined Cantharis, and by its serious ravages 

 has often excited attention. These three kinds, in 

 fact, arc often confounded under the common name 

 of potato-flies ; and it is still more remarkable, 

 that they are collected for medical use, and are 

 sold in our shops l)j' the name of Cantharis vittata, 

 without a suspicion of their being distinct from 

 each other. I have repeatedly taken these insects, 

 in considerable quantities, by brushing or shaking 

 them from the potato-vines into a broad tin pan, 

 from which they were emptied into a covered pail 

 containing a little water in it, which, by wetting 

 their wings, prevented their flying out when the 

 pail was uncovered. Or they may be caught by 

 gently sweeping the plants they frequent with a 

 deep muslin bag-net. They should be killed by 

 throwing them into scalding water, for one or two 

 minutes, after which they may be spread out on 

 sheets of paper to dry, and may be made profitable 

 by selling them to the apothecaries for medical 

 use." 



Mr. Harris gives the following description of the 

 family to which the blistering beetles belong. To 

 compare one of these insects in some of the par- 

 ticulars of his description, a magnifying glass will 

 be necessary. 



"The head is broad and nearly heart-shaped, and 

 it is joined to the thorax by a narrow neck. The 

 antenmc are rather long and tapering, sometimes 

 knotted in the middle, particularly in the males. 

 The thorax varies in form, but is generally much 

 narrower than the wing-covers. The latter are 

 soft and flexible, more or less bent down at the 

 sides of the body, usually long and narrow, some- 

 times short and overlapping on their inner edges. 

 The legs are long and slender ; the soles of the 

 feet are not broad, and are not cushioned l)encath ; 

 .and the claws are split to the bottom, or double, so 

 .that there appear to be four claws to each foot. 

 The body is quite soft, and when handled, a yel- 

 lowish fluid, of a disagreeable smell, comes out of 

 the joints. These beetles are timid insects, and 

 when alarmed they draw up then- legs and feign 

 themselves dead. Nearly all of them have the 

 power of raising blisters when applied to the skin, 

 and they retain it even when dead and perfectly 

 dry." 



HOW 8HAXL I RESTORE EXHAUSTED SOILS ? — ROT- 

 TEN PLACES. 



Last spi'ing I broke up ten acres of an old field 

 that did not produce 200 pounds of hay per acre, 

 and planted to corn and potatoes, using on the 

 whole, one and one-half tons superphosphate, and 

 three-fourths ton plaster in the hill, — nothing else. 

 Crops look well now. What I want is to get it 

 into grass. The soil is a sandy loam. Will it pay 

 to draw gas lime three miles, spread this fall after 

 tlie ground is ploughed, then in the spring put on 

 plaster, ashes, and salt, sow to barley and seed 

 down ? 



The farm is one I bought last fall, and is badly 

 run down. How would you advise me to go to 

 work to bring it into grass again ? 



When I was ploughing the ground last spring 

 there were several places where the earth looked 

 black, and there was no sward at all. We called 

 them the rotten places. You can see those spots 

 now in both corn and potatoes. The.y have not 

 grown at all. What is lacking in the soil ? 



I intend to break up about twenty acres more of 

 an old field tlii.> fall, sow rye and seed down, then 

 in the spring sow plaster. Would it be better to 

 sow the plaster when I sow the grain ? I have 

 tried five kinds of phosphates. When I harvest I 

 will let you know which does the best. 



H. W. LORING. 



Leiciston, Me., Aug. 14, 187]. 



Remarks. — The plan which you propose to re- 

 store your exhausted lands to fertility, seems to 

 be a good one, provided the gas lime is valuable. 

 We do not know enough abeut it to give an opinion 

 as to its merits. Reports which have come to us 

 in relation to it are contradictory. Test it on an 

 acre or two, and gain the information you seek by 

 your own experience. In the mean time, the 

 plaster, ashes and salt will enable you to get pay- 

 ing crops, provided you plough and cultivate 

 thoroughly, keeping the soil light and porous all 

 the time, and allowing no weeds to grow. Wlien 

 you have brought up the soil so as to produce a 

 fair crop of clover, you are then "master of the 

 situation," and can produce about what crops you 

 please. If possible, however, encourage every 

 crop with a sprinkling at least of stable manure. 



Little can be said about the "rotten places" of 

 which you speak ■without of an examination of the 

 soil. We have known spots to become barren by 

 heaps of acid muck being placed upon them, — so 

 thoroughly barren that no vegetation would grow 

 upon them for several years after the muck was 

 removed. Sometimes water finds its way to the 

 surface, in particular places, that is impregnated 

 with sulphur, or iron, to such an extent that 

 nothing will grow upon the ground saturated with 

 it. Dress one or two spots with quick lime, or 

 some strong alkali, and note its effects. Perhaps a 

 liberal dressing of wood ashes would restore them. 



A LAME HORSE. 



As I see you allow farmers in trouble to ask you 

 questions, I wish to ask one about my horse. He 

 is lame behind, and has been for nearly a year, but 

 I can find no sore spot, neither docs he favor it in 

 the least while standing. He limps when he first 

 starts, but by travelling he seems to get over it in 

 a degree, but is now growing woj'se. Sometimes 

 in turning, if he happens to twist his leg a little, he 



