//^ 



CC-MSTOCX MEMOf 



1862. 



THE COUNTRY GENTLEMAN. 



81 



as 11 safe rule, both in Great Britain nnJ liere, tliat no 

 Society can expect to pay its way, witlioiU aid from the 

 loeitlilij in tcliich the Shows arc held — at least, if its 

 Premium List, and tlie accommodations it affords to ex- 

 hibitors, are at all commensurate witli tlie demands of 



tlie present day. ^_ 



As EiPKRiMKNT IN Hav-Makino.— A good deal of 

 discussion has occurred at different times as to tlie coat of 

 manufacturing liajtjuitli modern machinery. A few days 

 since, we peiformed an experiment, using a mowing ma- 

 chine, old-fashioned revolving horse-rake, and Cladding's 

 horse-fork. We report the trial made, because it was per- 

 formed without any view whatever, to sucli a report, most 

 of the hands being rather inexperienced, and without the 

 superintendence of the proprietor. In most cases, far- 

 niera would drive work much more expeditiously, even 

 for ordinary every-day business. Instead of unloading a 

 ton of hay in five or ten minutes, twenty was more com- 

 monly consumed in this experiment. The hay was drawn 

 over half a mile, which also required more time than 

 would be necessary in other instances. 



OultinR 6 ncres of clover, imld 60c. per acre $2.50 



8 men 2 hours eacli. rnklnu and bunching 0.60 



8 men and 1 team, X of a day, drawing 4.00 



Cost of making and drawing 8 tons, »7.00 



or 87^ cents per ton. The men were working by the 

 month, at a little less than a dollar a day, and the team 

 alone was estimated at over two dollars a day, which is 

 more than farmers would usually allow. We think it 

 would be safe to estimate the cost of manufacturing and 

 storing hay, with all the contingencies of weather and ac- 

 cidents, at a dollar a ton as the highest; and in many in- 

 stances, with the best management, it would cost but little 

 over hall this sum, by using mowing macliiaes, horsc- 

 rakes and horsc-iorks. j. 



Rni.ES FOR Good Farming. — In looking over a back 

 number of the Prairie Farmer, we find a set of " rules for 

 making farming profitable," contributed by a correspon- 

 dent, 0. A. Kcinble, of Schuyler Co., N. Y., and evidently 

 Mitended to be passed as original. They are copied word 

 for word from p. 330 of the Illustrated Annual Register, 

 for 18fi0. No blame, of course, is attached to the Editor 

 of the Prairie Farmer for publishing these excellent rules 

 without credit, which he had every reason to believe now. 



53^ Mr. noRACE L. Emkry, of the Albany Agricul- 

 tural Works, sailed for England on Saturday last, with the 

 view of establishing more direct commercial relations with 

 customers in Great Britain and her Colonies, and to intro- 

 duce his Machines, if possible, to more extensive use in 

 Europe. This journey has been for some time in contem- 

 plation, and we trust its results may more than equal the 

 anticipations that have been entertained. There is no 

 better field for the proper employment of American 

 energy and inventive genius. 



TiiK Grain Aphis Again in Duchkss Cohntt. — I no- 

 tice you speak of the Aphis not appearing where he did 

 last year, and sincerely wish we could bear you or rather 

 Dr. KiTCH out in the statement ; but, uulortunatcly, the oat 

 croj), which was seriously injured last year, will be dam- 

 aged much 7nore this. I do not know of a single field of 

 that grain in this neighborhood that is not peopled with 

 them. s. T. Thornedaie, July 24. 



The Grain Arms. — This insect, which did so much 

 damage last year to spring wheat and oat.*;, in some parts 

 of the country, has again made its appearance in this 

 vicinity. Some spring wheat belong to James Farrington 

 of Dedham, has been attacked in con.siderable force, and 

 will be more or less injured. We have heard of several 

 other cases. The amount of injury done by the in.sect 

 depends chiefly on the stage of the crop at the time of 

 attack. If it is quite green, the sap will be consumed by 

 the parasites to such a degree that the grain will not fill. 

 On the other hand, if the crop is considerably advanced 

 when attacked, the straw will soon begin to turn, and the 

 parasites will perish for the want of their natural support. 

 All species of aphis have been unusually abundant the 

 present season. The leaves of cherry trees, wherever new 

 shoot were put out, were soon covered by myriads of lice 

 which bred there — the full-grown ones shining like little 

 black beads. The new shoots of the currant were attack- 

 . ed in a similar way by a species peculiar to that shrub. 

 But the lice were soon found by numerous enemies, which 

 pursued them with a rapacity so unrelenting that in a short 

 time they were nearly exterminated. The various species 

 of ladybirds, Coccinella, the larva of several species of 

 Syrphi, and the larva of the lace-wiuged Hy, Chryfopa, 

 cleared the currant bushes from every louse in less than a 

 week, — Boston Cultivator. 



|3g- The First Number of a Nkw Voi.umk of the 

 Country Genti.kjian is here presented to its readers. 

 Wo need scarcely say how highly we shall appreciate any 

 ellbrts that may be put forth by its friends to increase its 

 present circulation. Subscriptions will be received on the 

 customary terms, either for Six Months or One Year, as 



may be preferred : 



Six Months. Osb Tear. 



One Copt •l.M ^-O" 



TlMiKc Coi'lBS, 2.60 6.00 



fAkCopikIs...:. 4.00 ,?00 



Tks CoplBS, '-SO lo.OO 



Those who subscribe for a year, and who prefer to have 

 their subscriptions date back to January 1, 1862, can still 

 be supplied with back numbers for the past six months. 

 Albany, July 3, IMl ^^ ^ 



Crops, &c. in Western New-York. 



Nkar Gkkeva, 22d July, 1»>2. 



Mkssrs. Editors — I suppose you are aware that many 

 men, when in trouble, like to let their friends know it, 

 expecting their sympathy. Our troulile here is — our wheat 

 has been ready for harvest for .some time, but it rains daily 

 and nothing can be done. We have a fine crop in Wes- 

 tern New-York of everything as far as I know, but should 

 it continue such weather for another week, as it has been 

 for the last, and is now, the damage to the wheat crop will 

 be very serious. 



I am told the grain aphis is very bad in the spring wheat, 

 and much sooner than it appeared last year, which will 

 make it more destructive. There is some in my bailey, 

 the first I have seen of that insect, but the bailey being 

 now ripe, they can do little harm. 



We have a very fine prospect for a corn crop in this 

 neighborhood — I think never better. I never saw it make 

 such a rapid growth. Mine was quite .small at 18th June, 

 I don't think any of it was a foot high, and on the 14th 

 of this month I measured considerable that was over six 

 feet in height. It is almost incredible, but so it is; and 

 although it is three and a half feet plump between the 

 rows, the ground at the above date was completely cover- 

 ed ; but I am told the corn that was frost-bitten at the 

 15th June, looks poor, but I have only seen three crops 

 of corn in the last month — the one north of me is still 

 larger than mine — the one south would be culled a great 

 crop in common seasons. 



A week ago today we had a tremendous blow. It was 

 a tornado in some places, only two miles from here, 

 breaking and uprooting large oaks, and those that would 

 neither uproot uur brtak were' twisted in two. The rain 

 fell in torrents. My barley was hid as if rolled, and my 

 corn laid as Hat as could bo. The corn has straightened 

 np fully, and the barley crept up a little. Strange to say, 

 the higliway only divided the wheat and corn fields, yet 

 my wheat stood as well after the blow as before, and that 

 is well enough. I notice by the papers the gale extended 

 some 60 miles west of us, or rather commenced there ; in 

 many places there was hail ; here a very little. It rains 

 while I write, 6 p. M. John Johnston. 



Crops in Illinois. — The following extract is from the 

 Illinois Farmer for July : The winter wheat crop in Egypt 

 is very fine, better than for years past, and in Central Illi- 

 nois it is much better than anticipated at the time of our 

 last issue ; the heads arc long and well filled, but we must 

 put in our protest against foul seed, Che.i^ and rye arc 

 altogether too abundant, in fact in some fields it is diffi- 

 cult to say which predomiiiates. The cheiis controversy 

 will continue so long as the farmers have no barns or good 

 fanning inill.i, but as the.se come in che.is will go out. In 

 good barns the seed wheat will be threshed with flails or 

 horses and not be injured by pa.ssing through the sharp 

 edges of the fast revolving thresher which is the chief 

 cause of so many poor stjinds, allowing the chess which 

 no beating can injure, to fill in the vacant space. By cul- 

 ling the rye out of that portion of the crop used for seed 

 this nuisance can be abated. 



The corn crop is backward, but, on the whole, promis- 

 ing. Our corn crop is the best that we have seen in our 

 late excursion through several states south. In Tennes- 

 see we saw a few fields, more favored, but the average 

 even there was below, and we again call attention to the 

 value of early planting, and that to follow the plow at 

 once and roll. The rye crop is fine, and oats give thus 

 far good promise. In Tennessee and Mississippi the 

 wheat and oat crops arc almost entirely ruined with the 

 rust. Not a tenth part of the seed sown will be harvested. 

 Of the crops in the north part of the State we know noth- 

 ing personally, but we trust the heavy rain and cold spells 

 have cheeked the ravages of the chinch bug. In the 

 other parts of the State the promise of farm crops and 

 fruit is all that could be asked. 



23^ The Posey County (Ind.) Agricultural Society will 

 hold its l'"ourth Annual Fair at New Ilarmony on the 7th, 

 8th, 9th (lays of October next. A letter from L. Pkliiam, 

 Esq. of that place, mentions the above, and adds that the 

 wheat crop in that section is fine, the oats rusty, and the 

 com promising a good crop. 



IIw (gtttomoloflisit. 



— — *•« 



(For the Country Genneman and Oulllvator.) 

 No. 32— THE ASPARAGUS BEETLE. 



The asparagus is justly characterised as " one of the 

 oldest and mo.st delicate of culinary vegetables, no less 

 praised In ancient Rome, by Pliny, Cato and other writers, 

 than at the present day." (Wood's liotavy.) This plant 

 grows wild in the maritime districts of the middle and 

 southern parts of Europe, and there, in its native locality, 

 are several kinds of insects which feed upon it, and which 

 are pests to the gardeners of those countries. Much the 

 most common and hence the most destructive of these 

 insects is known by the name of the Asparagus Beetle. 



Of the group or genus Asparagus, some two dozen 

 species are known to botanists. About half of these are 

 found in the vicinity of the Cape of Good Hope ; the rest 

 occur in southern Europe and the East Indies, 



Being thus numerous and widely diffused upon the 

 Eastern continent, it is rather remarkable that no plant of 

 the asparagus kind is found in any part of America. And 

 consequently, we have no insects here which feed on plants 

 of this nature. Therefore, when the garden asparagus 

 was brought hero from Europe, it was able to grow with 

 us without injury or molestation from insect enemies. It 

 is now in univeral cultivation, everywhere through tho 

 United States, north and south. Yet neither of the in- 

 sects which depredate upon it in Europe has ever been 

 met with in this country, nor do any of our American in- 

 sects attack it. Thus it has been our happy lot to grow 

 this one valuable plant, wholly free from the annoyance 

 of seeing it marred and mutilated by those insect depre- 

 dators which give ns so much vexation and trouble with 

 about every other kind of vegetation which we attempt to 

 cultivate. 



But an insect devouring the asparagus has at length 

 made its appearance on our shores. Daniel K. Yodngs, 

 of the Queens County Agricultural Society, in a letter to 

 the Country Gentlkman, dated Matioecock, June 16th, 



. (" .1.- 



send some insects which have been eating the aspar- 

 middle of May. and continue at this time in such num- 

 „y In Tor-v l-i'.-l"!"- noi-.ry hr.T th. crop. S:o:i aft'jr 

 the bugs made their appearance, they commenced depositing eggs 

 upon the young shoots. These eggs In a short time hatch out a dark 

 colored worm, which, as well as the parent bug, lives entirely upon 

 the young shoots, mutilating and In most cases destroying them. As 

 this Is the Qrst insect that has Injured our asparagus, we are anxloua 

 to know what It Is. •• * I hope you will give the Insect your at- 

 tention, as IT TliaEATBSS TO OKSTaOT THIS VALDABLR LoKQ ISLAHD 

 CROP." 



This remittance, forwarded from Albany, reached me 

 June 24th. In the box, with slips of a.sparagu3 which had 

 become moldy and semi-putrid, I found a dead beetle, 

 three living larva;, and several black grains which the mi- 

 croscope showed to be minute larvoe which had hatched 

 from eggs which had been inclosed in the box and had 

 perished. Tho three large larvtc, placed on a fresh slip 

 of asparagus inserted in a vial of water upon my table, fed 

 thereon with evident relish, until on the morning of June 

 30th they had disappeared — indicating that they do not 

 fasten themselves to the plant to become pupae, but leave 

 it and enter the earth — which in this instance, being with- 

 in doors, they would perish before they would find. 



The beetle in the box, on a moment's inspection, was 

 found to be the noted Asparagus beetle of Europe. It is 

 a species so peculiarly and plainly marked that any one 

 accustomed to examining insects will not be liable to mis- 

 take it. But that the reader may be more fully assured 

 that my judgment upon this important point is correct, I 

 may state that I have in my hands specimens of the Eu- 

 ropean A.sparagus beetle, received from Mr. Westwood, 

 London, and also from Andrew Murray, W. S., Edin- 

 burgh, which specimens enable me to bo positive that the 

 Long Island in.sect is the same. 



1 will now present a brief history of this insect, with 

 such a description of the beetle and its larva as will suf- 

 fice to enable any one to clearly identify them when found 

 upon the plant they inhabit. 



The Asparagus beetle is scientifically named Crioceris 

 Asparagi, its specific name having been given it by Lin- 

 najus a little over a hundred yeara ago. The generic 

 name, Crioceris, was suggested hy the horns or antennte 

 of some of the insects of this group, which have some 

 resemblance to a braid of hair or a twisted cord. They 

 pertain to the order Colkopteka and the family Criouk- 



