280 



®h4 §mkw'% JflontMg. 



least seventy-five bales. My opinion is, that if 

 every planter would commence burning a lantern in 

 each five acres, from the latter part of June to the 

 middle of September for a few years in succession, 

 both the boll and cotton worm would be destroyed. 

 The boll worm destroys about one-half the crop 

 with us. This year none of my neighbors raise 

 cotton. I have planted about five acres, and shall 

 burn one lamp and inform the department of the 

 result. — Correspondent of Journal of Department 

 of Agriculture. 



CuRCULTO AND Gas Tar.— A correspondent of 

 the Wisconsin Farmer^ alluding to a paragraph 

 going "the rounds of the Press," that corn-cobs 

 dipped in' Gas Tar, and hung about through the 

 branches will keep away Curculio, says, "that ex- 

 perience shows it to be no preventive." He is 

 right. It has been tried over and over again. The 

 smell of Gas Tar is not offensive to his nostrils. He 

 walks right over the dried tar, and laughs at the 

 experimenter. — Something better than this must 

 win the $10,000 offer. 



Dr. Hull's Orcbtard at Alton, Illinois. — 

 A Committee of the Alton Horticultural Society 

 reports as follows, which we extract from the 

 ''Rural World 



"That they find on the farm of Dr. E. S. Hull, 

 a great variety of orchard fruits, comprising 1,500 

 peach trees, 50 nectarine, 200 plum, 100 cherry, 200 

 pear, and 450 apple, besides a few apricot and 

 quince. Most of these were planted on newly 

 cleared land, in the spring of 1859, or eight years 

 since. Special attention was given to planting, the 

 holes being dug very deep and wide. The result 

 was unusual vigor, beauty, productiveness, and ex- 

 emption from diseases, especially in the stone fruits. 

 The peach trees in 1863 were the finest we ever saw, 

 and produced the finest specimens of fruit. The 

 cold weather of January 1, 1864, however, injured 

 them greatly, and owing, your committee think, to 

 a lack of thorough cultivation, and moderate 

 shortening in, during the following summer, they 

 did not speedily recover. 



With this exception, the cultivation of all orchard 

 fruits appears to have been thorough and sufficient. 



In pruning, your committee believe Dr. Hull has 

 trimmed up his apple trees too much in the first 

 setting, inducing disease in the exposed and un- 

 shaded trunk. His method of pruning the peach, 

 in such manner as to obviate the necessity of short- 

 ening in, to thin the fruit, encourage the growth of 

 young wood, and avoid the common error of cutting 



out the leader, your committee think worthy of 

 careful study and general imitation. It m.ay be 

 questionable, perhaps, whether Dr. Hull has not 

 carried the practice too far ; but of the truth of his 

 theory there can be but httle doubt. 



In this connection, the thinning of fruit spurs on 

 the cherry trees is also of interest and value. It is 

 claimed by Dr. Hull and others, that blooming is 

 one of the exhausting functions of fruit trees, and 

 that by thinning the spurs previous to the time of 

 blooming, we both thin the fruit and avoid exhaus- 

 tion. Others state that the process of seed-forma- 

 tion is the one most injurious to the tree. This 

 raises the question, How exhausting, absolutely and 

 comparatively are the functions of bud-formation, 

 blooming and fruiting to the tree? a question to 

 which there has notbet'U given, your committee be- 

 lieve, a quite satisfactory answer. 



Dr. Hull's root pruning of the pear, as a preven- 

 tive of blight and inducement to early fruitfulness, 

 is still successful, and is worthy of trial by all our 

 members. Nothing seen by your committee this 

 year, compares favorably with the show of pears in 

 this orchard." 



The Jersey Peach Crop.— At Clinton, eight 

 miles beyond, are something like 250 acres ; but 

 several large orchards are in a declining condition, 

 and the total yield will be about the same as at 

 White House. Around Flemington, the county 

 seat, the number of acres is equal to those of the 

 two other places. Here are many fine orchards, the' 

 cultivation is thorough, and the yield may be put at 

 about seventy thousand baskets. On the line of 

 the Camden and Amboy Kailroad is an extensive 

 peach region, but as it has been longer planted many 

 of the trees are about done bearing, and generally, 

 orchards are on the decline. From estimates, based 

 on inquiry, the yield there is not likely to exceed, if 

 it equals the Hunterdon regioa. Add to this the 

 peaches from a few other localities, a few of which 

 are up the Hudson, the Jersey peach crop may be 

 set down at about 200,000 baskets. The general 

 estimate among growers is, that there is only about 

 half a full crop. In June, the cold wet weather 

 caused the curl of the leaf, and a fall of large 

 quantities of peaches. 



The best peach orchards in Jersey are put in corn 

 till they begin to bear ; after that, they are plowed 

 and harrowed without the planting of any crop, and 

 bone-dust applied, in one instance at the rate of four 

 tons to 25 acres. Some say it is better than any 

 other manure, while others deny this, and say they 

 use the bone that they may have their manure to 



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