210 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
first crop of grapes from some choice vines. Be¬ 
fore fully ripe they began to disappear. As they 
were in a place not likely to be visited by out¬ 
siders, he suspected the domestics in his own 
house (a not uncommon source of fruit thefts, 
elsewhere, we presume). So putting on a very 
offended air, lie walked through the kitchen, bit¬ 
terly complaining of the thieves. The cook said 
she had seen the birds picking the grapes, and 
she guessed they were the marauders. “Very 
well,” said be, “I shall fix them, or whoever 
else takes the fruit. I have some bi-tartrate of 
antimony (tartar-emetic) in the house, and if I 
sprinkle a little of that on some of the fruit it'll 
be the last that any one will steal. Get me some 
flour to mix it with.” He took the flour into 
another room for a few minutes, as if for prepar¬ 
ing it, and then scattered some of the simple 
flour in sundry places on the vines, and upon 
other fruits in the garden. There was little far¬ 
ther disappearance of fruit during the Summer. 
However, a few mornings after, he chanced to 
leave the breakfast table just after beginning to 
eat, and going to a rear window, he saw the 
aforesaid cook carefully examine the vines, and 
then pick three nice bunches from the outside of 
the arbor, near the ground, where no flour had 
been applied. These she quickly wrapped in her 
apron and retired to an out building to eat them. 
When questioned afterwards, “she had niver 
tasted a grape.” Moral. —Don’t always attribute 
the loss of fruit to the “boys.” 
And here, we are reminded of a method prac¬ 
ticed some years ago by a down-easter, and 
of which a correspondent gave an account in 
a former volume of this journal. It is worth re¬ 
beating . “A tall, green-looking Yankee accost¬ 
ed me at a County Fair, having a fine-looking 
apple in bis hand, and begged me to tell its name, 
,tf I could. I tasted it—but, shade of Pomona ! 
of all the sour apples I ever ate, this capped the 
climax. It was worse than verjuice, or sour 
plums, or unripe persimmons. After I had re. 
gained my composure, I ventured to ask what 
might be his name for this invaluable fruit. 
Whereupon, with a sort, of satirical smile stealing 
over his otherwise sober features, he replied: 
“ Wal neow, stranger, that’s the most useful ap¬ 
ple on my hull farm. I call it the Yankee apple, 
’cause it can’t be beat : it looks so good, and yet 
is so ’tarnal sour, that I use it only to graff on 
all the lower limbs of my apple-trees standing 
near the road. The upper limbs I put to Green¬ 
ings, Swaars, and such like good apples. Neow, 
the boys seein sich good lookin apples handy, 
jump the fence, seize the fust fair one they can 
reach, take one bite,-but, I swow, after one 
bite, they never wait to take another, but run 
right off as fast as legs can carry them, to Deacon 
Simmons’ orchard, to get one of his good Bald¬ 
wins to take t’he seour taste out of their mouths. 
My orchard sartainly has a ’orful reputation with 
the risin generation, and so I save my fruit. Now, 
if this ere is not a very useful apple, I’d like to 
know what is 1” 
We adopt the suggestion of out old corres¬ 
pondent, and recommend that the Yankee apple 
be put on the list of approved fruits, at the next 
meeting of the Pomological Congress, as an ap¬ 
ple “worthy of general cultivation.” 
An extra Puff for Baltimore. — Parson 
Brownlow is reported to have said : “ If we were 
denied the privilege of going to Heaven after 
death, our next and last request is, that we may 
be allowed to go to Baltimore.”—A cotemporary, 
however, adds that “ Baltimore is a fitting place 
of abode for those spirits against whom the gates 
of Heaven have been closed. Of course we shall 
know where to look for Brownlow after ‘he 
shuffles off this mortal coil.’” 
look after the Borers 
The perfect winged insects of both the apple 
borer ( Saperda bioitata) and the peach borer 
(CEgeria exiliosa ) are now busy at work among the 
trees, providing for their future progeny. Select¬ 
ing the night season as best fitted for works of 
darkness, they flutter about the trunks of both 
peach and apple trees and deposite tiny eggs upon 
the bark close to the ground. If grass or weeds 
grow about the trees so much the better for them, 
as they seem instinctively to think that their 
eggs are more secure when partially screened. 
In this they are not amiss, as the young insects 
have a better cha'nce to escape the keen eyes of 
birds than when fully exposed ; hence clean til¬ 
lage and friendly birds check their increase. 
They usually select trees of three to six inches 
in diameter, and on this account a young orchard 
requires more care than trees of long standing. 
Examine the trees now, and if any sawdust 
like borings are seen upon the ground, search for 
the hole from which they have fallen, and either 
cut away with the point of the knife until the 
worm is found, or thrust a whalebone probe in 
and punch his ribs. Having killed the insect and 
put clay or grafting cement over the wound, wash 
the whole trunk of the tree with a pretty strong 
solution of potash and water to destroy any eggs 
upon it. This is the essential point now, as it is 
likely that the female has laid all her eggs and if 
destroyed, the future generation is cut off. Any 
alkaline solution will readily destroy the eggs. 
Potash, soda, or even soft soap may be used. 
There is another purpose served at the same 
time, viz. ; destroying the bark scale which has 
just hatched out. If this practice is followed up 
every season during the latter part of June, or 
early in July, there will be little danger from 
either scale or borers, and the trees will have a 
dark green and healthy bark upon which no moss 
will be found. If borers have been very trouble¬ 
some, it may be well to examine the crowns of 
the trees in September or October, and cut or 
bore out any insects which have escaped destruc¬ 
tion now. * 
- -q3>—a > i p »-- 
“Tyler’s Tree Permeating Powder Is it 
a Humbug ? 
CALOMEL $11.38 A POUND!-“SALIVATING” INSECTS. 
After our June number had gone to press we 
received from Mr. Thos. K. Fluke, of Scott Co., 
Iowa, an attractive circular, issued from New- 
York city, with a note from Mr. F., stating that 
such circulars are to be found in almost every 
family in the West, and inquiring whether it is a 
humbug or not. The circular offers dollar pack¬ 
ages of a powder.which “will save Thirty Trees.” 
It prescribes ‘‘7’yler’s Tree Permeating Powders,” 
“for the protection of fruit, forest and shade trees, 
“shrubbery of all kinds, field and garden seeds, 
“plants and vegetables of every description, from 
“worms, bugs, flies and insects that are known to 
“infest almost every orchard, field, garden, &c., 
“throughout the land.” It goes on to direct, to put 
a little of the powder (“ one or two parcels of the 
size of a small green pea,”) under the bark of trees 
through an incision; and to soak field seeds in 
a solution of one table-spoonful of Powder to one 
gallon of water. [Query. —Will the powder dis¬ 
solve in water at all 1 Calomel does not.] 
Among other things in the circular we read : 
“ One very important advantage of the Powder 
is, that it keeps the fruit entirely free from those 
worms which have heretofore proved so destruc¬ 
tive to Apples, Pears, Plums, Cherries, etc.” 
M ell, well, here must be a splendid discovery ! 
The fruit of thirty trees entirely freed from in¬ 
sects for $1 ! Why we would gladly have given 
more than one dollar a tree the present year could 
we have saved our cherry trees alone. Oh, Mr. 
Tyler, why did you send all your circulars away 
“out West!” Why did you not tell us here at 
home that you had such a boon for fruit-growers? 
Why did you not advertise it hereabouts and let 
us know where to find it 1 Fruit is not so plenty 
even here that we can afford to lose it. 
But seriously, let us look into the plausible 
statements of the circular. 1st, Can any pois¬ 
onous compound be infused into the sap of a tree 
in sufficient quantity to destroy insects without 
poisoning the tree itself? 2nd. If the sap of the 
fruit be impregnated sufficiently with the “ Pow¬ 
der ” so that the small quantity sucked out by an 
insect will prove destructive to animal life, will 
not the larger quantity eaten when the whole 
fruit is consumed, destroy human life ? Beware, 
Mr. Tyler, or you may involve yourself in the 
charge of homicide ! 3d. When seeds are plant¬ 
ed they die and new plants are produced ; how is 
it that soaking the old seeds renders the new 
plants poisonous to insects? But 
WHAT IS THIS WONDERFUL POWDER ? 
Immediately on receipt of the circular and note 
of inquiry, we dispatched parties to the head 
quarters in this city, as announced in the circu¬ 
lar. They were found in the same room occupied at 
present by the“ Agents" of the “Honey Blade Grass /” 
Having secured all information desired, and pur¬ 
chased some of the powder of the man responding 
to our inquiry for C. H. Tyler, we made sufficient 
examination to be convinced that it was probably 
simple calomel, or calomel mixed with common 
magnesia. A package costing us 50 cents, and 
labeled “sufficient quantity for 10 trees,” was 
taken to a leading drug store, marked, opened and 
weighed. It contained f- of an ounce avordupois, 
and 41 grains, or in all 205 grains. But the cir¬ 
cular promises enough for 30 trees for $1, and 
Mr. Tyler offered us three packages for $1, or 
one for 50 cents. So we will estimate for 3 pack¬ 
ages, or 615 grains for $1. As there are 7,000 
grains in a pound avordupois, any one will see 
that this material, as put up by Mr. Tyler, costs 
($11.38) eleven dollars and thirty-eight cents per lb ! 
Calomel is vow ivholesaled for seventy-five cents 
per lb ! This is a handsome profit surely. But 
we may be cruel in thus complaining of the profits 
derived from so wonderful a discovery. If our fruit 
insects are to be wholly destroyed it would cei 
tainly be mean to try to rob the discoverer of the 
remedy, of any of his profits, however great. 
While we think of it, we want to ask Mr. Tyiet 
how the calomel operates upon the insects? Does 
it physic them, as it does “ humans,” until they 
are so weak that they can not cling fast to the 
trees but fall off and break their necks ? Or is it 
sucked in with the juice in so small quantities 
that it “salivates ” them, as it does children,and 
thus renders their mouths so sore that they cau 
not bite the leaves or fruit ? We are curious on 
this point. Please enlighten us Mr. Tyler, and 
the public ; we will not charge you for the space 
you occupy. 
But enough on this subject, "We will only add, 
that wishing to be certain as to the composition of 
this wonderful Powder, we procured a package 
from head quarters, and forwarded it to Prof. 
Johnson at Yale College, for analysis, requesting 
him to mark the package, and retain a part for 
