THE CULTIVATOR. 
43 
my next to wet the dry unleached ashes with a strong 
brine, and after standing a sufficient time to spread 
readily with a shovel, applied them as a top dressing to 
turnips and potatoes. In this last experiment the suc¬ 
cess met my highest expectations; the potato crop was 
quadrupled, and the difference in the turnip yield still 
greater; but the soil as in the application of all high 
stimulants, should have a moderate dressing of some 
kind of manure, and it will be found in excellent order 
for grass or grain afterwards. 
It may be observed of crops manured and dressed in 
this manner, that the leaves appear of a bright pea 
green, instead of the darker green, denoting too much 
top—whilst the tuber of the potato, and the bulb of the 
turnip, showed the whole strength of the plant to have 
centered there. To carry the analogy still further, I 
have given the land a liberal dressing of plaster after 
the ashes so prepared, but not the least benefit to the 
crop could be perceived, any more than if it had been 
used within a mile of the ocean—of course it was labor 
lost. 
The object of this communication, Mr. Editor, is not 
for the purpose of telling what I have done, or what I 
can do, to enrich and beautify this footstool of the Al¬ 
mighty, for I am but one amongst millions, and the least 
amons ten thousand; but to draw the attention of my 
brother farmers of our vast and limitless interior to the 
preparation and use of an article hitherto considered a 
drug and a nuisance. 
It is very desirable that some enterprising farmers of 
each county in the western part of yours, and of other 
states, where leached ashes are in abundance and use¬ 
less, to try the experiment of wetting them when dry, 
with strong brine, no matter how old or stale, (if the 
price of salt is too high,) and communicate the result in 
the Cultivator. The lands found best adapted to this 
kind of manure on Long Island, are the poorer descrip¬ 
tion of sandy and gravelly soil, and this agrees perfectly 
with my short experience here; so far, then, nature is 
true to her own laws, and no doubt every farmer in our 
wonderfully active climate and productive soil, will find 
•the same striking analogy verified by experience. The 
season is approaching for the proper time of trial—let 
it be upon corn, potatoes, grass, upon spongy wet land, 
or newly stocked down, turnips and wheat in autumn, 
and should it come up to the writer’s expectations, I,shall 
think my past life not wholly spent in vain. Yours re¬ 
spectfully, DANIEL EASTON. 
REMARKS. 
The experiments detailed in the above communication are 
worthy the attention of the farmer and the chemist. Two 
facts have long been known, the causes of which we have 
never seen satisfactorily explained. One of these facts is, 
that leached ashes are found to operate as beneficially upon 
Long-Island lands, as unleached ashes, or more so—leaving 
it to be inferred, that it was not the potash which the ashes 
contained that induced fertility. The other fact is, that leach¬ 
ed ashes operate more surely and beneficially within the in¬ 
fluence of the marine atmosphere, than they do in the interi¬ 
or—thus inducing the belief, to adopt the language of our cor¬ 
respondent, “that the saline matter in the soil and atmosphere, 
was more the cause of their wonderful effect upon vegetation, 
than any inherent quality,” which they possess. The expe¬ 
riments of Mr. Easton go to warrant this conclusion. But 
how they exert this agency, is a question worth investigat¬ 
ing ; and we commend the mat ter to the notice of some of our 
chemical correspondents.— Cond. 
Treatment of Wounds on Horses. 
Georgetown , D. C. February, 1839. 
Wash the wound morning and night with warm soap 
suds, and anoint immediately after washing, with whale 
oil. 
Having used this remedy for a number of years, at all 
seasons of the year, I can confidently recommend it to 
others. It purifies and heals the wound as soon as is 
desirable for soundness; protects it from cold and flies 
and the hair is always replaced, of the natural colour of 
the animal. J. A. D. 
Inquiry in regard to Lime—Ruta Baga, &c. 
New-York, February, 1839. 
Judge Buel —Sir—Being a subscriber and constant 
reader of the Cultivator, I have one request to make of 
you, or some of your able correspondents, for which I 
shall feel much obliged for an answer in your March 
number or as soon as convenient, viz —In what way can 
lime be applied in the spring, to a wheat field, or is it 
proper to apply it at all, after the wheat has made its 
appearance above ground? 
I have a farm in the northern part of Cayuga county, 
principally sandy, gravelly soil. Ruta baga have done 
well, on the dry parts of it, having been cultivated for 
four years past, and found to answer an excellent purpose 
for all kinds of stock. In looking over your correspon¬ 
dents’ experiment as applying different exhilerating pro¬ 
perties to the soil, I have frequently regretted, they 
were not more particular in stating the nature of the 
soil, whether clay, loam, sand or gravel. Several years 
since I had occasion to make free use of leached ashes, on 
a clay soil, which I found to answer an excellent pur¬ 
pose ; subsequently I have applied it on sandy soil, 
without an apparent great advantage. 
I was lately in conversation with an honest, intelli¬ 
gent man from the cabbage raising district in New-Jer- 
sey, to whom I was complaining that I could seldom 
get more than one in twenty cabbages to head. He at 
once gave me the reason; he says there is not much soil 
that will answer to raise cabbage over one year; that 
it requires new land, ploughed in the spring, replough¬ 
ed and made as tender as possible until the fourth of 
July, when the plants should be set out and a handful 
of unleached ashes thrown in and about each plant. 
AGRICOLA. 
Remarks —It is not common to sow lime upon a growing 
crop, though a small dressing, early in the spring, say three 
or four bushels an acre, would not, we think, do injury, and 
might do good. _ 
Accident to Horses. 
Rappahannock, co. Va. Feb. 26th, 1839. 
J. Buel, Esq.—Sir—Having been a subscriber to your 
valuable paper,(the Cultivator,) for some months; I find 
that it is designed for general utility and the public good; 
therefore I desire to make known, thro’ that medium, an 
accident to which horses are liable, perhaps little known 
to the public. In the year 1818,1 had a sick horse, and 
after using the usual remedies without relief, as the last 
alternative, I fixed a gag for the purpose of running a 
mop down the throat, for I believed the horse was parti¬ 
ally choaked. In this preparation, I accidently discover¬ 
ed part of a corn cob tight across the roof of the mouth, 
which had prevented the passage of any food to the 
stomach, save the juice occasioned by mastication from 
repeated attempts to eat. The cob was removed by a 
smooth stick as large as a man’s thumb, sufficiently 
long to extend into the roof of the mouth. I was then 
cautious not to let the animal eat much at a time, until it 
recovered. I have since relieved several horses from the 
same accident, and I have no doubt thousands of our 
most valuable animals have been lost from the same 
cause, without ever knowing of what they died. I will 
here remark, that it is sometimes very difficult to find 
the piece of cob, and remove it after found, for it will 
become very tight and nearly concealed by the swelling 
and inflammation. I trust this will find a place in your 
paper, which may be of benefit to some of your nume¬ 
rous readers. Yours, &c. 
_ JNO. D. BROWN ING. 
Beneficial effects of Draining. 
Springfield, Feb. 17th, 1839. 
Mr. J. Buel —Sir—In perusing the pages of the Cul¬ 
tivator, I have noticed frequent allusion to draining of 
wet meadows, and reclaiming of waste lands, a branch 
of agriculture which, as far as my observation extends, 
receives quite too little attention, from our agricultural 
community. 
I am induced to send you my experience, in this 
branch of practical farming, in the hope that the atten¬ 
tion of some may be called to this subject, who have 
hitherto overlooked the advantages to be derived from 
it. I am the more led to do this, under the apprehen¬ 
sion which, I believe well founded, that many, who are 
in possession of waste lands, have either not had their 
attention sufficiently directed to this subject, or having 
made a partial attempt to reclaim such lands, and hav¬ 
ing failed to realize their expectations, through want ei¬ 
ther of knowledge or perseverance, as in the case I am 
now about to mention, have given it up in despair, as 
impracticable. The first piece of meadow to which I 
would direct your attention, contains from four to five 
acres; it is eighty rods in length, and from eight to ten 
rods in width; it was abundantly supplied with cold 
springs, running in on either side, and when an attempt 
was made, some thirty or forty years ago, to bring it 
under cultivation, large drains were dug on either side 
to carry off the springs, and when that was done all was 
done, (as was then supposed,) that was necessary for 
the purpose of draining it sufficiently. The plough was 
then applied, and by great labor and perseverance, the 
whole meadow thoroughly subdued and mellowed, and 
sown with oats and grass seed ; but the experiment fail¬ 
ed entirely. There was no crop, either of grain or grass, 
the superabundant water having killed the whole, and 
nothing grew but weeds and various kinds of water 
grass, of no value at all, except it be to be mown and 
used as litter either for the hog-pen or barn-yard. 
Thus the meadow was given up entirely as irreclaim¬ 
able, and remained so for more than thirty years, en¬ 
tirely unproductive. My attention having been called 
to this subject by reading and observation, I determined 
on making a further experiment. Accordingly, in Au¬ 
gust, 1835, 1 caused a ditch to be dug through the cen¬ 
tre of the meadow, throughout its whole length, at an 
expense of twenty-five cents per rod, four feet wide and 
two feet deep, being fully convinced that superabundant 
water was the cause of its sterility. I then prepared 
one-half of the meadow for the plough, by scraping the 
banks of the ditches on either side into the low places 
where water would be likely to settle, &c. In Novem¬ 
ber following, I ploughed the land well, and in the fol¬ 
lowing spring, I planted it with potatoes, without 
ploughing again, after having harrowed in a very scan¬ 
ty portion of fine manure upon a portion of land. My 
crop of potatoes was four hundred bushels by measure. 
The next season, I planted the same land again with 
potatoes, together with the other half of the meadow, 
and my crop was seven hundred bushels. Owing to the 
distance of the meadow from my barn, and the difficulty 
ol access, I have been able to supply it with but a scan¬ 
ty portion of manure, and some of it none at all. 
The following season, I laid down the first half of the 
meadow to oats and grass, and pressed the surface well 
with a roller, (an article which every farmer should 
have,) and thus prepared the land for the successful 
operation of that important auxiliary in gathering hea¬ 
vy crops of hay, the horse rake. I confidently expect 
that this meadow will prove to be as valuable and 
productive as any land I have. 
Another piece of meadow, I have, which was supplied 
w _th springs on one side onlu I <»»»». U-r some 
forty years ago, that my father, at considerable expense, 
caused a large ditch to be dug to carry off those springs, 
but without effect. The meadow was still wet, full of 
bogs, and cranberries, &c. &c. and in some places a 
cart wheel would sink into the hub. It was thought 
sufficient if the ditch was dug deep enough to come to 
the hardpan. 
By reflecting upon the subject, I was convinced that 
the water, (there not being descent enough to allow the 
water to pass off quickly,) soaked down into the mea¬ 
dow, on the surface of the hardpan, and thus kept the 
soil saturated with water, and prevented its productive¬ 
ness. I caused the ditch to be sunk six or eight inches 
into the hardpan, and thus confined the water in the 
ditch, and by this means succeeded in laying the meadow 
dry. 
The obvious inference from the above facts is, that 
thorough draining is the first thing to be attended to, in 
cultivating wet meadows; without it, labor and manure 
are wholly lost. 
I offer you these hints, sir, for your consideration, and 
if you think the publication of them would subserve the 
interests of the agricultural community, you are at liber- 
ty to make what use of them you please. 
CHAUNCEY CHAPIN. 
The Grain Worm—Feeding Turnips—Legislative 
Engcouragement to Agriculture. 
Otisco, February 19th, 1838. 
Jesse Buel, Esq.—Respected Sir—I last evening re¬ 
ceived the last number of your excellent paper, and on 
looking it over this morning, observed a request that 
the wheat-worm of our part of the state should be de¬ 
scribed to you, by me, or some one else, and I have sat 
down to describe its appearance now, lest I should for¬ 
get to do it hereafter. 
The worm which is called the wheat-worm in western 
New-York, belongs to the genus Phalcerna of Latrielle, 
(Geometridce of Stephens,) and according to Wilson, em¬ 
braces above eighty species. By people in general, this 
class of worms is usually called surveyor, carpenter, or 
measuring worm, from the manner in which their move¬ 
ments are effected. The number of legs varies in the 
several kinds from ten to twelve; but in the wheat- 
worm, there are six pair, three at each extremity. 
Like most other worms of this genus, it has the power 
of spinning a web, as may be seen from the facility with 
which they, when disturbed, attach themselves to straws, 
sides of the threshing floors, fanning mills, &c. The 
v'orm varies in length, from three-eighths to five-eighths 
of an inch in length; and some may possibly a little ex¬ 
ceed the latter estimate. Between three-eighths and half 
an inch, may, however, be considered their aveiage 
length. The colour is very uniform : a yellowish brown, 
or what among farmers would perhaps be termed 
a butternut colour. Under the microscope, it appears 
studded with these yellowish brown spots, divided by 
lighter coloured spaces ; but to the naked eye the co¬ 
lour seems continued. That it is the larvae of a fly or 
moth, cannot be doubted; though of what particular 
kind, does not as yet seem satisfactorily ascertained. 
This worm has been known for years among wheat, in 
this part of the state. Three or four years since a far¬ 
mer assured me that in cleaning up a quantity of wheat 
threshed immediately after harvest, he gathered in the 
boxes of the fanning mill, nearly a bushel of these same 
worms. His wheat had of course suffered, and he was 
very apprehensive about his next crop : but that was 
entirely free, nor had he been injured by them since. It 
is not so much the new appearance of this worm, as its 
increase, which has created the present alarm respect¬ 
ing it. From experiments which I made the last year, 
by enclosing the worms with a quantity of carefully' se¬ 
lected grains of wheat, in a muslin covered vial, it is 
clear that the worm feeds not only on the kernel in its 
soft or milky stale, (though that is the time when the 
most serious injury to the grain is accomplished) but 
also after it has become hardened by ripening. It is 
probable, that, like other caterpillars, it continues to eat 
till it undergoes transformation, or dies. In none of my 
experiments, did I find a kernel perforated after it had 
become hardened; but they were gnawed off by the 
worm, and usually from the germinating end of the ker¬ 
nel. 
I have seen in wheat in this part of the state, but it 
was many years since, a worm or rather maggot, which 
perforated the kernel in the manner of the pea grub, 
and which apparently lived on the interior of the ripen¬ 
ed grain. In this case it seemed to me, the egg must 
have been deposited in the kernel while in a soft or milky 
state. However that may be, the worm was clearly a 
different one from that I have above attempted to de¬ 
scribe ; and which at this time appears to threaten the 
grain growers of this district. Unless I have forgotten, 
there is in the November number of the Cultivator, an 
account of the perforating worm, which struck me at 
the time, must be identical with the one I have alluded 
to; but it has not since 1824 shown itself to any extent 
in our wheat. 
It is certainly very' desirable that it should be deter¬ 
mined whether the worm of the western part ol this 
stale, is identical with that which has proved so destruc¬ 
tive in the valley of the Hudson, and overNew-England. 
I have been inclined to suppose, from some notices I 
have seen in the Maine papers, that the worm I have 
described was the one which was so injurious there. 
At any event, the size, colour, and habit, will, I think, 
be sufficient to enable us to come to a satisfactory so¬ 
lution of this point. As you have unquestionably had 
amnlp nunortunities for observation, I should be pleased 
