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It was ill the spring of 1334 that I first put iato active oxieration my long-desired 

 gardening experiments. Tlie soil -xms a warm sandy loam, favorable to vegetables, 

 and I set out my cabbages — the Early Jersey Waketields of Peter Henderson — near 

 the end of April, there being about 400 plants. The season was exceedingly rainy, but 

 toward the middle of June, as well as I can recollect, there came quite a severe drought, 

 and at about this time the cabbage-flies began to appear. I had amused the neighbor- 

 ing farmers, who believed in ''the good old ways of our fathers, sir," very much by my 

 study of the Rural Xew Yorker and the reports of the Department of Agriculture, 

 which, with Peter Henderson's " Gardening for Profit," were never out of my hands in 

 mj leisure mo nents ; and the cham]3ions of ruts were gleeful over the anticipated 

 failure of the "book-farmer," who, moreover, had only spare hours for his hobby 

 and no help save his own hands. But I was not at all worried hy their opinions. As 

 soon as I saw the little white fellows makin or their staggering vet swift flights over 

 my cabbages, I caught one, and recognizing him at once by the j)icture furnished in 

 the report for 1383, as Pieris rapce, I lost no time in preparing to give the enemy a 

 warm reception. Not having a cow on the place, I varied Hubbard's formula by sub- 

 stituting common soap-suds for milk, and at dusk began to shower it upon my cab- 

 bages through an ordinary large-sized watering-pot. Owing to inexperience on my part 

 and to the imperfect mixing of the two elements, I killed a few plants on this appli- 

 cation, but the next evening I had learned better what to do and found myself suc- 

 ceeding well. In short, so complete was my victory — owing to prompt action a jd an 

 early use of the remedj' — that, apart from the cabbages spoilt by the first trial, I did 

 not lose a plaut. The only damage done by the worm was to a few outside leaves. 

 Aa a consequence, I believe that kerosene as a destroying agent rests on a sound 

 basis. All persons know how fatal any oil is to insects. Let a fly fall into bacon 

 grease, for example, and though he may escape seemingly unhurt, follow him up and 

 in a few seconds you will see him drop. The medical men remove beetles from the 

 human ear by pouring in sweet oil. While I am no scientist, if I might venture a 

 reason I would say that I believe it is deadly because it clogs up the breathing-pores 

 of the insect. Kerosene well and carefully applied will do the same thing. Hence 

 my opinion. If the application has injured plants it has been, I should judge, more 

 through the ignorance or carelessness of the operator than through the fault of the 

 formula. 



Of course my experience is inconclusive of the matter, as I experimented on early 

 cabbages, which are never so destructively assailed by the Pieris rajjcv as the later va- 

 rieties are, and since I was appointed to a clerkship in "Washington before the season 

 for fall cabbages was well under way ; but I have tried to follow what I conceive to 

 be the scientific method, namely, to state facts rather than fanciea, no matter what re- 

 sults spring from them. If, in my rough way, I have gratified your wish I feel fully 

 satisfied, for your long-continued kindness and that of Professor Riley (to say noth- 

 ing of others who have shown me j)olite favors in your Department) have rendered 

 me subject to obligations which I can only in part repay by signing myself, 

 Very sincerely, your friend, 



Frank E. Axdeusox. 



P. S. — Notwithstanding my " book farmin' " you will be gratified to learn, doubt- 

 less, that I had the finest garden in my neighborhood, excepting only one, that ot a 

 rich man who could apply more fertilizer to the soil than I could. 



SWARMING OF HACKBERRY BUTTERFLIES. 



We have, in past years (3(1 Rep. Ins. Mo., pp. 151-2, Sc. American, 

 April C, 187S), treated of the nu<i^ration of butterflies and of the excep- 

 tional s\varmin<^ in iinnienSe numbers of several species, but have not 

 known of a more strikin;^ case of exceptional abundance of a certain 



I 



