405 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



ing, in the form in which I have discover- 

 ed it. Perhaps in your more extensive 

 investigations, you may have become ac- 

 quainted with it. 



It has occurred to me that it may possi- 

 bly be the disease known at the North, 

 under the name of the " Yellows," modi- 

 fied here by difference of climate. 



The seat of the disease is found in the 

 pith of the small branches of the tree, and 

 is most apparent where these branching 

 twigs united with the parent stock — by 

 tearing one of them off the disease is at 

 once exposed to view. The pith, which 

 in a natural and healthy state, is always 

 perfectly white and soft, will be found of 

 various degrees of brown discoloration — 

 sometimes almost black, and so hard as to 

 resist the edge of a knife like sand or 

 strong matter. 



The effect of this destruction of what 

 may be called the spinal marrow of the 

 fruit bearing twigs, is to dwarf their growth 

 to less than half their natural size, and 

 the leaves in like proportion, as well as 

 the buds at their foot stalks for future fruit 

 diminished also in the same degree. 



The consequence is the fruit is dwarfed. 



1 have known a Heath peach tree, what 

 formerly bore fruit as large as a man's fist, 

 of late bear a scanty crop of peaches not 

 larger than an English walnut — and after 



2 or 3 years decline and die entirely. 

 Sometimes the tree in the Summer the 



whole crop of leaves turning yellow. — 

 This has induced me to conjecture that 

 the disease may be a modification of the 

 (( Northern Yellows." But most of our 

 trees die in winter — especially during our 

 two last unusually severe winters. It may 

 be well to enquire of the Orchardists of 

 the North whether "the Yellows" there 

 is accompanied with the destruction of the 

 pith as described above. 



I believe this fatal disease is produced 

 »by an insect which deposits its egg at the 

 insertion of each bed in the embryo state 

 on the water sprout ; but if so, the insect 

 is so minute as to have escaped my detec- 

 tion. Be it, however, what it may, unless 

 some remedy shall be found out and soon 

 applied, I am satisfied" a few more years 

 will leave us destitute 6i the luxury of the 

 most delightful of all our fruits. 



I found this disease, this winter, rife in 

 # the peach trees of middle Alabama. 



JOHN H. COCKE. 



Cutting Wheat— Sheep. 

 Hanover Co., June 4, 1857. 



Dear Planter — May I presume to give 

 some advice in return for much I have re- 

 ceived from the Planter. 



You advise to cut wheat in parellelo- 

 grams, my experience condemns it. I 

 prefer the square or circle as is produced 

 by my process. One of the hands that 

 understands the use of the cradle is placed 

 at each corner, with a cradle by him, he 

 binds his allotment in both directions, and 

 when his corner needs it, he rounds it off 

 with his scythe. You are entirely right 

 about the rear delivery. I use Hussey's 

 Reaper with six mules, three at a time, and 

 have cut twenty-two acres per day. Af- 

 the reaper comes " Dewey's Patent Glea- 

 nor," which is the greatest implement I 

 have seen for its cost, sold by H. M. Smith 

 of Richmond. 



MY SHEEP AGAINST SOUTH DOWNS. 



I sheared my ram a few days ago and 

 weighed his wool, and am almost afraid to 

 risk my statement of the weight (but I 

 got a witness) ; he is a native, and was 2 

 years old, had not been sheared the first 

 season for experiment, the fleece promising 

 to be heavy ; it was accurately weighed, 

 bringing the scales down to. the 22 pound 

 notch, and not very coarse wool at that, 

 much of it was thrown away that was fil- 

 thy. Now would you not like to swap me 

 a South Down for one of his lambs ? • 

 Yours, with regard, 



Thos. G. Turner. 



For the Southern Planter. 



Colic in Horses. 



Dear Planter — The following receipt from 

 " Youatt" has been tried with great success by 

 Mr.'Geprge Earnest (proprietor of our omnibus 

 line) in many cases of Colic. I have used it 

 some two or three times with almost instanta- 

 neous relief to the poor sufferer. I give it to 

 you for publication, because I know many of 

 your subscribers have no copy of " Youatt on 

 the Horse/' 



Take of chloride of lime, one tablespoonful. 

 Put it into a pint bottle and fill up with warm 

 water, and drench the horse — the best way for 

 doing which is to raise his head high and pour 

 the drench down the nostril. This mode of 

 drenching prevents strangling. The great dis- 

 tention in flatulent colic is caused by a fermen- 

 tation of the food, producing "usually or al- 

 most invariably, a combination of hydrogen 

 with some other gas." Hydrogen, has a strong 



