’■BU ' J.'J CS 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
339 
cate the substance of Mr. Baughen’s remarks made 
to me on that subject a few days since. 
1st. The Lombardy poplar is a tree of quick and 
rapid growth,—few more so. 2d. Is adapted to ei¬ 
ther dry or wet soil. 3d. May be propagated with 
great ease from cuttings, from the size of a riding 
switch to that of a large wagon tongue. 4. Sends 
forth abundance of limbs, which may be amputat¬ 
ed without injury to the tree. 5th. Splits kindly 
even through knots, and when well seasoned makes 
good fuel ; and, in the opinion of some, it is nearly, 
if not quite equal, to chesnut for rails. 
I imagine the tree might be turned to very great 
advantage by farmers, especially in districts of 
country where wood is scarce. In a few years 
whole forests would be produced from cuttings, 
which could be applied to the foregoing purposes. 
And let them be planted from 10 to 12 feet apart, 
where you want permanent fencing, and in a little 
time you will have substantial posts, into the side 
of which you may introduce your rail slightly, and 
one year’s growth will bind them tight enough. 
I am, dear sii*, ELI HENKLE. 
Note. —The above suggestions address themselves parti¬ 
cularly to the prairie west. There is probably no tree which 
would be made to furnish a forest belt around a prairie farm 
so soon as the Lombardy poplar, and none, certainly, could 
be so easily propagated. As a shelter for crops, for farm stock, 
for a growth ot other timber, for fencing and for fuel, it 
would soon become highly valuable. Cuttings almost enough 
for a forest, might be transported in a dearborn, or one-horse 
wagon.— Con. Cult. 
Millers’ Tolls—Crops. 
Burlington Co. N. J. 8 mo. 27th, 1838. 
Friend Buel —I perceive in the last number 
of the Cultivator, that a correspondent over the sig¬ 
nature of William A. Stone, accuses me, with a 
certain John Westley Luff, of justifying millers in 
taking extortionate toll, which, on my part, I deny 
being the fact; nor would I, upon any considera¬ 
tion, support them in taking more than one-tenth by 
measurement; neither can ne thus make it appear, 
unless he can show where you have stated that they 
have taken more than the above proportion in like 
manner ascertained. And as I apprehend my pre¬ 
mises have not been clearly comprehensible to his 
understanding, I will endeavor to state them as ex¬ 
plicit as possible, viz. that the tenth, as above de¬ 
termined, with what millers in t his district of country 
extract in the process of cleaning, (and that too with¬ 
out the waste of grain, as will be shown to your cor¬ 
respondent, or any other person at any time,) would, 
with the escape of fixed air, amount to more than 
the tenth-part of the original iveight of the grain 
when taken to mill; and until he proves that there 
Is no unavoidable diminution of weight in the grind¬ 
ing of grain, or that it can be attributed to some 
other cause more certain than the departure of fixed 
air, the which he has not even attempted to do, my 
statements remain sound and unrefuted. 
And in reference to G. W. Luff, he says, “ that if 
he gets more loose air, (I suppose he means atmos¬ 
pheric air, and presume the term to be his own, as 
it is not marked as a quotation, nor can I find it 
used in Blair’s pneumatics,) in any species of grain 
than its circumference will contain, he will have to 
employ some artificial power to aid nature in her 
wonderful and mysterious works of its germina¬ 
tion,” thus substituting his own for the philosophy 
of Martin, who expressly says, ££ that this fixed air 
as it is roused, expands itself into about a million 
times more space than if filled before in the form of 
a dense body or in other words, in the position in 
which nature placed it ££ in her wonderful and myste¬ 
rious works” of formation, and whose philosophy is 
as worthy of credence as the Rev. Dr. Blair’s. And 
whereas, your correspondent appears better versed 
in the science of weighing air, according to the stan¬ 
dard of Blair, than in correcting insinuated false 
principles, I will leave him to calculate what his 
wheat will lose by fixed air, for I do not compre¬ 
hend by his communication, what atmospheric or 
loose air has to do with the just or unjust tolling of 
grain ; and I will also just inform him, through your 
columns, that if he will favor me with the grinding 
of some of his wheat, I will toll it both scientifically 
and lawfully, as nearly as I am capable of regard¬ 
ing the weight after manufacturing. 
Respectfully, DAVID WALTON. 
P. S. We are extremely parched up by the 
drought; our corn in very many places nearly kill¬ 
ed, and what little there is will soon require husk¬ 
ing. There is no appearance of any buckwheat 
worth naming, neither can we prepare our ground 
for sowing wheat. Our pastures are assuming the 
appearance of winter, and what little there is of 
green herbage the grasshoppers destroy, and some 
fields of corn are considerably injured by them ; 
they far exceed in number any thing of the kind we 
ever saw. Some farmers are, and have been for 
some time, feeding their cattle, and report says, 
cows may be obtained in the Philadelphia market 
for ten dollars per head. We had an abundant crop 
of grass, and an excellent time to gather it, or we 
should indeed be in a deplorable condition for our 
stock, as our ruta baga and beets are also very far 
short of an average crop. Hay, which in Philadel¬ 
phia market but a short time since, would not bring 
more than fifty or sixty cents per cwt. will now 
command from eighty cents to one dollar. We 
have had no rain of any considerable consequence, 
for about two months. We have had one or two 
very trifling showers during the time, that seemed to 
revive vegetation for a day or two, and then it would 
again languish as before. D. W. 
ILjp The vexed question, as to the loss of a bushel of clean 
grain in grinding, might be easily settled by experiment.— 
Will some gentleman see a bushel ground, weighing it before 
and after grinding, and send us the result ?— Cond. Cult. 
Tolls Again. 
Moorstoivn, Aug. 8, mo. 16, 1838. 
Friend Buel —The communication of William 
A. Stone, by way of refutation to an article under 
the head, ££ Miller’s Tolls,” in the May number of 
the Genesee Farmer, and June number of the Cul¬ 
tivator, I consider not quite correct, or at least not 
strictly adapted to that article. If he is dissatisfied 
with their deduction for toll, or standard of tolls, I 
conceive him perfectly right in communicating the 
censure. But, with all respect, I must tell him, in 
rejoiner to the individuals, (D. Walton and J. W. 
Luff,) he has fallen into an egregious blunder, by 
asserting that 60 lbs. of wheat contain no more than 
one bushel of loose (denominated fixed) air; and 
which, he says, cannot be proved by practical phi¬ 
losophy. And, says the writer, I further contend, 
that if these gentlemen get more loose air in any spe¬ 
cies of grain than its circumference will contain, he 
will be obliged to employ some artificial power to 
aid nature in her wonderful and mysterious works 
of its germination. Here I dissent with the writer, 
and cannot reconcile it with principles of the philo¬ 
sophy he has quoted. Blair, the author he cites, 
only says, 1,000 cubic inches of air weigh 324 
grains, and it is 900 times lighter than water. The 
weight of the air being variable, a great number of 
experiments have been made by different individu¬ 
als, with as many different results, but the above 
would probably represent nearly the mean. 
Now it is a determinate truth in philosophy, that 
solid bodies contain a certain quantity of air in a 
solid or fixed state, which quantity differs in diffe¬ 
rent species of matter; hence it becomes a conse¬ 
quent truth that this air constitutes a proportional 
part of their weight; and, according to Oliver Evans’ 
observation is variable in different species of wheat, 
from 4 lbs. to 12 lbs. in 60 lbs. or one bushel of 
wheat. Again we have from the experiment of 
David Walton, a practical miller, the loss of weight 
in grinding rye, to be 3| lbs. per 56 lbs. or 1-16 of 
the quantity ground. Can we, without a knowledge 
of the composition, analysis, and organic action of 
vegetable substances, conceive that this quantity of 
air exists in one bushel of wheat or rye, other than 
in a solid or condensed state, greatly exceeding its 
original density ? Hence it appears evident , that the 
degree of heat generated by grinding with great 
pressure, disengages this fixed air, ana causes it to 
leave the flour, thus greatly lessening its weight.— 
Now if the statements of these practical men gave 
the true aggregate amount of loss in weight during 
the process of grinding, I think it cannot be ac¬ 
counted for any way better than supposing the loss 
produced by the escape of the fixed air. Yet I admit 
no treatise on philosophy is better established than 
that quoted by our friend from Rahway, but unfor¬ 
tunately, where he would wish to apply it, it has no: 
application. Now, if he will brush up his ideas a 
little, he will discover that his philosophy and Oliver 
Evans’ sustain little or no relation to each other.— 
The mere circumstance that the Rev. David Blair 
says, a bushel measure, or 2,150 2-5 cubic inches 
of air, will weigh a little more than 1 oz. 9 dwt. is 
no proof that one bushel of wheat does not contain 
fixed or condensed air. 
These extortionate tolls (as he calls them,) may 
be a subject of controversy with the miller and the 
farmer, which I wish not to engage in, by bringing 
into requisition an unnecessary multitude of words ; 
much less do I intend to dispute with our agricultu¬ 
ral friend. He may tell us of our faults freely, but 
we will be careful not to see any of his if there 
should any exist. Most respectfully, thy friend, 
SILAS WALTON. 
Hard Times. 
J. Buel, Esq.-—I have a number of periodical 
visitors, with whom I like to hold sweet converse ; 
and no one whose return is anticipated with more 
pleasure than Mr. Cultivator from Albany. He is 
punctual, desirous of communicating all that is use¬ 
ful ; and above all, frequently tells me what my 
neighbors say. When I last saw him he presented 
to my view the thoughts of ££ An Agriculturist” on 
“The Times,” a title so full of meaning that my 
attention was more than once directed to the sub¬ 
ject. I fully agree with the writer, that the times 
have not so much affected the farmer “as other 
causes.” I would commend his views on extrava¬ 
gance, improvement of the mind, &c. to all with 
whom my visitor comes in contact. 
It is fashionable, in some places, with agricultu¬ 
rists, to pursue just the same course that has been 
pursued the last half century ; and if perchance any 
one deviates from the old trodden path, by way of 
experiment, the “ cruel fashion” makes him a sub¬ 
ject of ridicule, and damps the ardour of others, 
who might otherwise be inclined to think and act 
for themselves. Could not then “ this trouble” be 
avoided by the “tillers of the soil,” if they were 
not “ under the dominion of this hydra fashion ?” 
I hope to hear again from “an agriculturist” in 
reference to his crops, mode of ploughing, &c. and 
indeed anything that his experience may suggest on 
the important subject of agriculture. 
I believe the stigma of being a “ book farmer ,” 
has shut the doors of many in this vicinity, against 
the visits of the Cultivator, and other kindred works ; 
but light is dawning, and as it increases, hard 
times with the agriculturist will decrease. W. 
Westborough, Mass. Aug. 27, 1838. 
Blight—Crops, &c. 
Newark, Aug. 15, 1838. 
Dear Sir —I have long been making observa=- 
tions upon the fire blight in trees ; and although the 
public has been much bored by ridiculous theories, 
and mine may be as much so as any one, 1 will ven¬ 
ture to lay it before the public, through the medium 
of the Cultivator. To entitle a theory to the atten¬ 
tive consideration of the public, it should be based 
upon facts sufficiently numerous and varied, to 
make it plausible. To give all the facts upon which 
I have founded mine, would require more than the 
space of a single letter. But I may give sufficient 
to call the attention of pomologists and horticultu¬ 
rists to the subject. 
I impute this singular effect to the aphis, and I 
think its ravages are by no means confined to fruit 
trees, and that other shrubs and trees infected with 
these vermin, are victims ofits influence, in a greater 
or less degree. The monthly roses in my greeu 
house, small shrubs in my garden, my quinces, par 
radise apples, as well as pears and common apples, 
are subject to the blight; and I have not yet noticed 
an instance of blight upon any tree that was not 
very much infested with aphides in the months of 
May and June. So satisfied was I upon this subject, 
that in those months I visited several gardens and 
orchards, and pointed out to those in company with 
me, trees that would be blighted, distinguishing 
those that would be slightly trom those that would 
be severely affected. The event has justified my 
predictions in every instance. A seckle pear, of a 
friend of mine, has suffered much from this cause, 
in the three past years. I found not an aphis upon 
it this year, and there is nothing like blight upon it 
up to {his time. This tree may die from a disease 
which is preying upon its root, but its top is yet vi¬ 
gorous and full of fruit. Now the question arises, 
how can this insect produce this effect ? In various 
ways. By its minute puncture it may destroy the 
vessels of the tree and leaves, its excrement may 
form a varnish impermeable to the air, and thus de¬ 
stroy the absorption and exhalation of the part; or 
it may be poisonious, when taken into the circu¬ 
lation of the juices. Referring this disease to such 
a cause, will account, in some degree, why it is 
not constant. We well know that the prevalence of 
insects is variable. Some years more and some less, 
or for a series of years more and again less. 
One other fact I will mention. I have an apple 
tree that has in years past been severely injured by 
the blight, which stands within a few feet of the flue 
of my green-house. Last spring, when the buds 
were swelling, they were covered and black with 
the aphis. When the wind was in the right direc¬ 
tion, I threw tobacco stems and leaves into the stove 
of my green-house, and the smoke passing through 
the tree soon caused them all to disappear Not k 
leaf or limb is touched with the blight this year. 
The present has been a most remarkable year for 
vermin of every kind. Striped squirrels, birds, ca- 
terpillers of every known and many unknown kinds, 
worms and bugs, have infested plants and herbage of 
almost every description. The curculio has been 
very abundant. I have lost all my plumbs, notwith¬ 
standing I killed hundreds of them. Do you know 
of any preventive to their ravages ? How would 
it do to sprinkle salt, ashes or lime around the roots 
of the trees, to destroy their larva ? 
The extreme heat of July will very much injurfe 
