THE SOUTHEliN CULTIVATOH, 
53 
tailed will be applicable. Care should be ob- 
served in not loo suddenly exposing the patient 
to a strong light, high food, or active service. 
Thus 1 have given you, as our Buckeyes term 
the science, a chapter on “horse-doctoring,” and 
if you perceive anything in it that will repay 
you for the trouble, yon are at liberty to publish 
it, with the promise, if it meets your approba- 
tion, of resuming the subject in .some luture 
number. Andrkw C.a.vpbf.ll, M. D. 
Middletown, Ohio, February, 1843. 
A mericu » . 1 gricuU ttrist. 
SLIGHT IN PE.\R TREES. 
In the August No. of Vol. I., of the American 
Agriculturist, 1 find a notice of the blight in pear 
trees. 1 will give you my observation.s on that 
subject the past summer, and although very im- 
perfect, they ma}' throw some light on a subject 
that is enveloped in mystery, notwithsttmding 
all the numerous causes and preventives tliat 
have been published. On the 2;^ of May last, 
I was observing a jiear tree, some wf the branch- 
es of which were dead, others with the leaves 
turning brown, the fruit dropping off, and what 
is peculiar to this disease, the branches in an- 
other part of the tree appeared perfecily healthy 
and vegetation in full vigor. I commenced 
paring off the bark on the diseased branches, 
which presented quite a red appearance, and in 
places a reddish liquid was exuding through the 
bark. In these spots (alter taking off the outer 
bark) there Avas a very small hole about the 
size of a number 10 sewing-needle, and on re- 
moving the inside bark to the wood, there the 
little destroyer was ensconced, leeding on the life 
of the tree, to which they must be a deadly poi- 
son. They were near, and in the body, and for 
several feet up and down, the bark and wood 
were stained as above. I shaved the bark all 
clean Avhere the tree was affected, which was on 
one side from the roots to the branches. I found 
only six of the insects; they are inactive, about 
the size of the hole mentioned, and above the 
sixteenth of an inch in length. They have six 
legs, the sides a deep green, the rest part ol a 
brownish color. They insert about half the 
length of their body in the v^ood, I was pretty 
well convinced at the time, that these insects 
were the cause of the disease, but they may sim- 
ply be the efiect of it. They do not appear to 
be a migrator}' insect, tor there were other pear 
trees standing within fifty feet of this one, unaf- 
fected IwjO years ago. The tree which stood 
near this one died branch after branch, until the 
top Avas all cut aAvay. Noav this is one stage of 
the insect; and if we can find out its habits, there 
AV'ill be some chance for a remedy. 
Professor Main, in his excellent treatise on 
the Physiology of Plants, mentions this disease, 
called American blight, and .states the cause to 
be a A'ery small insect, Avhich, in its early stag- 
es, is not discernible witli the naked eye. He 
calls it the coccus, or Mcaltj aphis, or a s[)ecies of 
the Cochineal fly of commerce. The effect pro- 
duced coincides with my obserbations; but the 
insect as I saw it differs in color from the one 
he describes a.s doing the mischief. He says 
they are so light that they are easily wafted from 
tree to tree, Avhich.can not be the case Avith this 
one I speak of. Apple trees are subject to a 
similar disease, and 1 have discoA'ered the red 
juice, and the red appearance of the bark and 
Ai'ood, but not the insects. 
There is another insect that Avorks upon the 
pear tree, giving it the' appearance of blight, 
but it is not the cause of the destruction of our 
pear trees. The fly deposites its egg in the ten- 
der part ol the end of the tAvigs, and hatches into 
a brown grub. When full groAvn, it is about an 
inch in length. It eats out the Avood, and IcaA'es 
the bark entire for its habitation; of course the 
tAvig dies, the leaves turn broAvn, Avhich gives it 
much the appearance of blight. I haA-e cut off' 
these tAvigs and found that they AA-ere holloAv for 
six or eight inches. I can tell you nothing 
about the habits of this insect. 
To DESTROY Bros ON Potato "Vines. — An 
old gentleman informs me he has completely 
mastered the potato bug, by boiling up the roots 
of the mullen, and sprinkling the liquor on the 
tops early in the morning. He says it has the 
same effect on tomato vines. 
Remeda' for Sore Teats and Inflamed 
Udders. — W hite lead and sAveet oil are excel- 
lent for cracked or sore teats of milch coavs. 
Flax seed oil, Avell rubbed on the udder Avhen 
inflamed and cracked, Avill allay inflammation 
and soften the hardness of the bag. Rub Avell 
tAvicea day until the inflammation subsides. 
With much respect, 
E. Carpenter. 
American Agriculturist. 
CURIOUS METHOD OF TLANTING CORN. 
Mr, John W. SAveet, of Tyringham, Berkshire 
county, informs us that he plants his corn in the 
IblloAving manner, and has realized 110 bushels 
shell corn to the acre. 
He spreads Avhat manure he intends for the 
field on the surface of the green-SAvard; then he 
ploAvs the land into ridges about three feel apart 
in the fall — each ridge or row being made oftAvo 
back furroAvs turned upon a narroAv strip of 
sward Avhich is not disturbed. In the spring he 
rolls and harroAA's these ridges, and on the top of 
each ridge, 12 or 14 inches apart, he plants his 
hills of corn, three or four kernels in the hill, 
and cultivates the corn through the season Avith 
the hoe, cultivator and ploAv, as much as he 
deems necessar}'. In this method, he remarked 
that he Avas not troubled with Aveeds or the 
drought. 
In the fall, as soon as his corn is ripe, he 
gathers the ears, then pulls up all the corn stalks 
and lays them doAvn lengtluvays between the 
furroAvs, and then .splits the ridges Avithhis ploAA', 
and covers these stalks up completely. Thus is 
made his ridge for his .second crop of coin, to be 
planted the succeeding spring. The 110 bush- 
els Avas the second crop planted over the buried 
-Stalks. 
The above is sufficient to give the reader an 
idea of this system. He contends after the first 
crop he AA'ants no more manure for his corn ex- 
cept the stalks applied as we hav'e de.scribed. 
It is quite probable, the three sods and ma- 
nure being under the corn the first year, that 
Avhile these are undergoing decomposition, being 
the Avhole period of the growth of the com, the 
crop will sufl'er less from drought than it would 
were there no vegetable matter beneath it to at- 
tract and detain moisture till its decomposition 
is completed. 
As to the fact that cornstalks are the best ma- 
nure for com, the idea is strictly philosophical, 
and is fully sustained by chemical analysis. — 
The doctrine seems to be Avell settled, that each 
crop requires its oaa-u peculiar food, and unle.ss 
the soil contains this, the crop Avill not flouri.sh. 
Hence the nece.ssity of rotation of crops, or the 
Avell establi.shed fact, with practical men, that 
potatoes AA'ill not thrive for many years in suc- 
cession on the same niece, because the crop has 
already exhausted the soil of the peculiar food 
of the potato, while some other crop requiring a 
diff'erent kind of food from what the potato re- 
quires, will succeed Avell on the same land 
where the potato crop has failed Thus as the 
ox and the sheep, AA’hen put to the same stack of 
hay, the one will eat Avhat the other leaA'es; so it 
i.s Avith plants. 
Now, if you shoot a partridge, and cut open 
its crop, and find in it acorns and buds, you at 
once infer that acorns and buds are the natural 
food of the bird. So when by chemical analy- 
sis you ascertain the precise elements of which 
corn stalks are made, you have ascertained pre- 
cisely Avhat kind of food the corn crop requires. 
Noav as corn stalks contain the very elements of 
the food required by the com crop, and return to 
the soil all the substances of which they ex- 
haust the soil, the chemistry of agriculture 
teaches us that corn stalk.s, while undergoing 
decomposition, furnish the groAving crop Avith 
those very gases required for the elaboration of 
the solid stock and ears. 
But this is not only the conclusion of science. 
but a uniA'crsal laAV of the vegetable avoi Id, ly 
Avhich an all Avise and bountilul God has provi- 
ded that each jirecise sj ecics of plant.s shall fe 
reproduced and j.erpeluated. 'I'lius the forest 
land, for centuries subject to a mighty groAvt!:, 
from year to year, not only increases in lertility, 
by an annual top-dressing, fitted to the veiy pur- 
pose for Avhich it is Avanted, and composted 'Dy 
the unerring hand of Deity, but also, Irom year 
to year, has something to spare for the goot! 
of man and beast. 
Thus in the vegetable as in the animal Avorld, 
there is a Avise provision, that each shall be sus- 
tained and reproduced; and as thc.se natural Iraa " 
are more and more developed by science, aac 
may expect the purpo.ses ol Infinite Wi.sdom. a*- 
to the vegetable Avorld, Avill be less and less fni-- 
traied by the hand of unskilful culture. 
Boston Trurcltr, 
Manace.ment of Bees in the Spring. — li 
the hiA'es arc kept in the shade, and Avhere it is 
rather dark, bees Avill not attempt to go out till 
they can do it with safety; but if the sun shine" 
on the hive, it makes a milder climate in ar.’. 
around the hive, than there is out in the ffcsii 
and chilling breeze, and the becsAAill be induc- 
ed to go out when it is loo cold, and becoming 
chilled they lall on the snow or cold ground ar.d 
die by thousands; and by these revivals they 
Avill be more in action and consume more honey 
In the spring, when warm Aveather commet- 
G£s, or just before, if any one can guess aright 
in such a segson as lhi.s, take out the board en 
Avhich the hive sets, scrape off'all the dead bees 
&c. and Avash it thoroughly. Then let it dry 
and wa.sh it over with a AvhiteAvash of lime with 
a good lot of salt in it, even more than will di*- 
solve. WhitcAvash also the lower edge of the 
hiA'e, and up in the hive to the comb. The 
whitCAvash is very acceptable to the bees and 
they AA'illeat it freely. — Boston CuUivator. 
Manure. — P ut on your land .ajl the mtinure 
that can be scraped from your premises, or that 
you are entitled to from the road. LeaA'e not a 
particle in the barn yard. It matters not how- 
coarse or long it Is, if you can plough it in. -A.il 
you get from it before another .season is clear 
gain, for it Avill lose but little more under the 
ground with a crop OA'er it, than expo.«ed to the 
action of the sun and rains in the yard. If i: 
cannot be used, place it in heaps and cover i; 
two feet thick Avith earth, Avhich Avill inhale 
and retain most of its enriching gasses 
Avanted.— ffmcn'ccn Agricullurist. 
"Vinegar. — Get a good cask and put in into 
your cellar. Procure a gallon of good vinega; , 
and let it stand in your cask a day or tAvo, occa- 
sionally shaking Tt around the cask. You may 
then commence filling up your cask gradually 
Avith Avhiskey and AA-ater, in the proportion tf 
one gallf n of the former to eight of the latter. — 
It is best not to fill it up too fast at first. By thiw 
process you may ahvays keep an abundant sup- 
ply of the purest vinegar, — Alb. Cut/, 
In an experi.nent of soAving corn - 
cast, on the 1st of June, at the rate of one and a 
half bushels per acre, on rich land, Gen. Hai- 
mond, of "Wheatland, Monroe county, Ncav 
York, obtained 18 tons of green stalks per acic . 
The stalks aa cic small, and almost entirely Avith- 
out ears, and so full of saccharine matter, that 
the cattle ate them jierfectly clean Avhen dn', 
though they Avere not cut tip fine. The yield 
Avas estimated at six tons dry fodder per acre, 
Avas raised on a cloA cr .’^od mined over and sown 
the hist of May. and the corn cut September 15. 
The saccharine matter, Avhich goes to supply 
the com in the car, is retained in the stalk Avhtr 
not suffered to ear, and materially adds to its nu- 
tritive properties. — Am. Agriculturist. 
“In matters of business, il you can help it,r * 
far as po.ssible neA'cr commit yourself by speak- 
ing first; and on no account commit yourself '-y 
.speaking hastily."’ 
