117 
THE SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
bution, and shall be happy to divide it among 
our patrons. 
Laurel Factory, June 24th, 1844. 
To the E Ufar of the A merican Farmer ; 
SiR^ — I send you a sample of Mediterranean 
Wheat, grown upon a field of about 20 acres; 
which, five yeans ago, would not have brought 
7 bushels o( oats per acre. I cut this wheat on 
the 12th of this month., and thrashed it out on the 
21st. I measured a piece as an average oL-the 
whole field of 133 yards by 33 yards — contain- 
ing 1 ll-lGO acres. The product, as ascertain- 
ed by three disinterested witnesses, was 46^ 
bushels or about 43 bushels per acre. 
This demonstrates pretty clearly, 1 think, the 
practicability of improving these “worn-out old 
fields.” The art of renovating these kind ot 
lands I may give at some future time, should 
you consider it desirable. 
Yours very truly, H. Capron, 
From the Massachusetts Plowman. 
THE SE.\SON FOR TRIMMING TREES. 
As soon as planting is over, we should look 
to our apple trees and cut off the surplus branch- 
es. We cannot recommend cutting large 
branches in any case; w'e usually do more hurt 
than good when we take off a limb that is more 
than two inches in diameter, for the wound will 
not often heal soon enough to prewent decay at 
the heart. A tree will sometimes look more 
thriftily, for a time, in consequence of lopping 
large branches, but the improvement will not be 
lasting. If trees are attended to annually, there 
will be no need of cutting large limbs. If they 
have been long neglected, we should content 
ourselves with trimming out the small limbs, 
and sufier the tree to continue in the shape that 
it has already formed. 
We may not be able tc give any .satisfactory 
reason for preferring May to March, for trim- 
ming apple trees. Most farmers, however, 
agree that the sooner the wound is healed, the 
better, and that it is not of service todraAv forth 
much sap at the wound. Now it is certain that 
a wound never begins to heal till the tree has 
put forth its leaf. It has no means of making 
new wood before it has leaves, for the sap that 
lorms the new wood passes through the leaf. 
From the time of trimming, then, to the forming: 
of the leaf, your wound is exposed to the weath- 
er, and the process of healing has not commen- 
ced 
We find that when a limb is cut in July, there 
will be about as much new wood made to cover 
the wound, during the season, as when the limb 
is cut earlier. There is a critical time, howev 
er, in July, between the first and second growth 
01 the season, when the sap will run from a 
wound, and will discolor the bark for a foot or 
more below it; we notice this in trimming nur- 
sery trees, and we think trimming in July is not 
judicious. 
As 10 the comparative waste of sap in March 
and May, we call the attention of our readers to 
the practice of tapping the maple for the pur- 
pose of gathering sap. All know that no sap 
can be gathered in May, and not much in April, 
in our latitude. Sap runs most freely in March. 
For this reason, we never trim grape vines in 
March. But after the leaf is formed, the vines 
will not bleed. 
You want a fine saw to trim with., to make as 
smooth a wound as may be, and if a knife is 
usfd after the sa\A% the wound will heal the 
sooner. Yet we often see trees trimmed with an 
axe! We also see the bark torn off of the 
limbs by the heavy boots of the trimmer. 
All will own this is barbarous. If you stand on 
the tree while trimming, you should wear slip- 
pers or thin shoes. 
When nolimbs larger than one inch in diame- 
ter are cut, the wound may be expected to heal 
over in a couple of years ; in a thrifty tree it will 
heal in one year. When only small limbs are 
cut, there will be no need of covering the wound 
w’ith clay, or with any kind of plaster. VYe 
cannot find that limbs which have been grafted 
and then covered over with any kind of compost, 
heal faster than limbs uncovered. A limb 
should always be cut in such a manner as to let 
no rain-water stand in the little cup that will be 
formed by the healing of the wound. 
THE DISEASE OF WHEAT-PREVENTIVE 
MEASURES. 
In his excellent report, (says the American 
Farmer,) as Commissioner of Patents, Mr. 
Ellsworth alludes to the methods of preventing 
the disease and attacks to which the wheat crop 
is exposed. He says that the time when the 
field is struck with rust, seems to be just at the 
time of ripening. A remarkable fact on this 
subjert is stated in a report to the New jersey 
Agricultural Society. An extraordinary field 
of wheat, supposed to be out of danger, on a 
hot day became drenched by a sudden shower, 
which came on between i and 3 o’clock, P. M. 
All was still; and on the passing away of the 
shower, the sun came out intensely hot. The 
owner went into his field to examine his wheat, 
which he found much pressed down by the 
shower ; he immediately perceived a continued 
ticking, or snapping noise, in every direction. 
The straw was fine and bright ; but. on exam- 
ining it, he found it bursting in short slits one 
quarter of an inch long, and the sap exuding 
from it. 
A day or two after, the whole field was dark- 
ened with rust, and the wheat nearly ruined. 
Another instance of the same kind is also relat- 
ed.. The conclusion staled i.s— that the loss of 
the sap, running out and becoming dried on the 
straw, occasioned the rust. The ancient Greeks 
and Romans attributed rust to the effect of the 
weather on the grain, as has been mentioned 
above, and had a prayer to the supposed Rubigo 
for warding off the disease. 
He says that, to avoid the fly, manuring high 
at seed-time and sowing late, were resorted to. 
But that this was attended by mildew and rust. 
The best means of prevention are— first, a good, 
dry, loamy soil, well prepared by cultivation, 
and not too recently manured. Secondly, cover 
the seed about two inches deep, either with drill 
or plow, that it may have good hold of the soil, 
and not be thrown out by winter frost. Allud- 
ing to the various expedients to protect wheat 
from smut, he says : 
“ One directs the wheat, after being thorough- 
ly washed, to be soaked 10 or 12 hours in salt 
water, as strong as it can be made. It is further 
said that no injury will result if it lies in the 
brine for several days, provided it can be in a 
cool place. After thus soaking it, let it be lim- 
ed. Another person recommends that the seeds, 
when placed in the brine, bestirred up thorough- 
ly, so that the light seeds may rise to the surface, 
and be skimmed off; afterwards, that the brine 
be drained into a tub, and the seed thinly spread 
on the floor, and sifted with quick-lime, at the 
rate of one gallon to a bushel 5 and, after care- 
fully stirring the lime through the seed a few 
times, it is allowed to remain a few hours, and 
then sown. The seed which underwent the per- 
fect cleaning gave a return of pure wheat — and 
that which was sown in its natural state was 
infected with smut, and had a mixture also of 
chess. 
“ In a Northumberland report on agriculture, 
it is stated that Mr. Gulley, who grew annually 
from 400 to 600 acres of wheat, had but one in- 
stance of smut in 40 years, and this was when 
the wheat was not steeped. Another experi- 
ment on seed, in which were a few balls of smut 
— one third being steeped in chamber ley, and 
limed ; one third being steeped in the same, and 
not limed; and the remainder without steeping 
or liming; and ihe result was, that the seed 
pickeled and limed, and that pickeled and not 
limed, were free Iroin smut, but the other had 
smutty ears in abundance. Another experi- 
ment was tried, by taking a peck of very smutty 
wheat, of which one-halt was sown in its natu- 
ral state, the other half washed as clean as pos- 
sible, in three waters, soaked two hours in brine 
strong enough to bear an egg, and dashed with 
lime; the result was, two-rhirds of the unwash- 
ed was smutty, but of the pickeled and limed 
seed there v;as a full crop, without a single ear 
of smut, A similar experiment, somewhat va- 
ried, is the following : Of four sacks of smutty 
wheat, one was soaked in strong brine only; 
one prepared with lime only ; one was soaked in 
strong brine, and then lay in lime all night ; and 
the fourth was sown without anything: the re- 
sult was, where brine only was used, now and 
then there was a smutty ear, but not many; 
where lime only was used, there was about the 
same quantity of smut ■; where lime and brine 
were used, not a single smutty ear could be 
found ; and where nothing was used, it was a 
mass of smut. In another experiment, howev- 
er, mentioned in the Southern Planter, wheat 
salted at the rate of a quart of salt •'o a bushel 
succeeded effe.ctually in preventing smut, 
THE BLACK BIRD. 
The black bird is one of the species against 
which the efforts not only of idle boys, but our 
farmers, are directed on account of its habit of 
attacking the Indian corn at the time of its 
sprouting from the ground. It is somewhat 
vexatious, to be sure, to have this injury done 
to our corn crops ; but before the farmer enga- 
ges in the warfare against these birds, he should 
take into consideration the fact, that they save 
ten times the amount of corn they destroy. 
They pick up thousands of insects that would 
do far greater damage. 
There are only two short periods while the 
black birds remain with us that they eat vegeta- 
ble food : in the spring, when the corn is sprout- 
ing from the ground, and in aiHunin, when it is 
matured. The remainder ol their summer’s so- 
journ is spent in rendering us the most essential 
aid. On opening the .stomachs of these and oth- 
ers, worms, bugs, small reptiles, sometimes as 
many as fifty or sixty of the.se may be discover- 
ed in the stomach of each bird. 
HOW TO CLEAN A FOWLING PIECE. 
Slop up the touch-holes by means of a little 
wmx, and then pour quicksilver into the barrels, 
and roll it along them for a few minutes. The 
mercury and the lead will form an amalgam, 
and leave the gun as clean as the first day it 
came out of the shop. 
Strain the quicksilver through a piece of thin 
wash-leather, and it is again fit for use, for the 
lead will be left in the strainer. 
“PRIDE OF CHINA.” 
It is not generally known, says the Hamburg 
Indagator, that the berries of the “ Pride of Chi- 
na,” or as it is commonly termed, “ China 
Tree,” will protect dried fruit from worms, ei- 
ther in the green or ripe state. 
When fruit is sufficiently dried lor packing 
away, gather a few of those berries, say one 
third in quantity to the fruit, and mix them ; or 
scatter a few of the berries on every layer ol the 
fruit. This precaution will keep out worms, 
and leave no disagreeable taste. 
The China tree is of more value to man than 
he is aware of. The leaves will also protect 
his cabbages from the ravages of worms — the 
berries make good soap, are rich manure, and 
the roots possess medical qualities. The trees 
are easily reared, and make a delightful shade. 
llS=For cleansing brass, take 1 oz. oxalic acid 
to a quart of alcohol. Rub with a woollen rag 
till dry. It has been tested, and with great sat-< 
faction to many. 
