150 
The Peach Tree Grub. 
New-York , Sept. 17, 1839. 
I desire to add my mite to the stock of information 
communicated by Mr. Lancaster in vol. 6, No. 8, of the 
Cultivator, at page 133, in relation to the grub worm. 
There are two causes of decay in the peach tree: 
First. Over bearing, by which the tree is exhausted, 
arising from the unwillingness we have generally to part 
with any of the fruit, and neglecting to furnish the pro¬ 
per food for the tree. 
Second. The grub worm. 
When I resided in New-Jersey, I took great care and 
spared no expense to have good peaches, and while I 
did that I had great abundance. 
The course I pursued was, every spring and early in 
autumn to clear away the ground at the stem of the tree 
near the roots and near the surface of the ground, and 
put tobacco leaves round the body of the tree, then co¬ 
ver up the tobacco with the earth, the dampness of 
which round the tobacco caused an effluvia that no worm 
could penetrate the tobacco, or live in or near the root 
of the tree, if peradventure he had got in there. To 
prevent exhaustion I sent to the woods and procured 
the surface soil, which was decayed leaves, and is a va¬ 
luable food for the tree. 
This course I pursued several years, and while I did 
it I had every year a great abundance of the finest fruit, 
and as soon as I neglected it my trees failed and were de 
stroyed by the grub. I have recently discovered what 
I think will be a complete protection against the grub, 
and a manure that will furnish food for the tree far bet¬ 
ter than any thing yet tried. I have not yet tried it to 
the peach tree, because now I have no peach trees. I 
have recommended others to try it, and hope to do it 
another year myself. 
I would put around the roots of the peach tree, hav¬ 
ing first cleared away the earth from the roots, about 4 
quarts of poudrette as manure, and draw the earth 
over the poudrette in the spring of the year. It has 
proved the most valuable manure for grape vines, mo¬ 
rns multicaulis, and young apple trees, when they are 
first set out, of any other application whatsoever.— 
Next to, and around the body of the tree, and at the 
root, where the grub is sure to make his entry, I would 
put two quarts of urate, spring and autumn, and cover 
it over with the earth, and sprinkle it in a slight degi ee 
with water. Urate is similar to what hartshorn is some¬ 
times made of, and when damp produces as strong an 
odor as the strongest hartshorn, and you may judge 
how long a human being could live inhaling at every 
breath the smell of hartshorn, and then you can easily 
imagine how long it is possible for a worm to live in it. 
I have killed the grub by the application of boiling 
hot water, poured from a teakettle on the root and body 
of the tree where they were, and have seen the sickly 
leaves assume a healthy appearance for a time. 
A. DEY. 
Application of Salt to Trees—The Borer. 
Whalen’s Store, N. Y. -dug. 17, 1839. 
J. Buel, Esq.—Dear Sir—A communication has been 
going the rounds in the papers, recommending the ap¬ 
plication of salt to the roots of fruit trees. 1 would say 
to those disposed to try it, do so cautiously; saltin large 
quantity will destroy all kinds of vegetation, even the 
Canada-thistle itself, and if the application be a liberal 
one, I will venture to say, it will kill every tree, root 
and branch, that it comes in contact with. Permit me 
here to state a single experiment I made three years 
since, to free the yellow-locust from the borer. I had 
some half a dozen trees in mj r door yard, about four 
inches in diameter, that were in a fairway of being soon 
destroyed by this pest. I cleaned out the holes from 
whence the dust issued, and pushed lightly into each 
with a stick, a small piece of camphor about the size 
of a large pea; from that day to this the borer has en¬ 
tirely ceased its operations on the trees thus served. 
Respectfully yours, SETH WHALEN. 
Physiology—Improved Husbandry—Agricultural 
College. 
Hon. J. Buel —Dear Sir.—All vertebral animals cir¬ 
culate red blood, and all other animals below, and not 
vertebral, and all insects, have white blood. The blood 
of all animals is white at its formation, and from its 
passage from the absorbing vessels, which take up the 
nutriment and convey it through the lymphatic vessels 
to the blood in the large veins, from which it enters the 
right auricle of the heart, thence to the right ventricle, 
whence it is thrown by the heart into the lungs. There 
it is changed, with the dark colored venus blood, to the 
florid red color. It then is returned to the left auricle 
of the heart, thence to the left ventricle, whence it is 
thrown, with the power of a steam-engine, into the aorta 
which branch to the upper and lower region of the body, 
and the blood is circulated to every minute part of the 
body and skin, to nourish, invigorate and beautify 
the body. It then enters the capillary veins and is con¬ 
veyed to the larger veins, till it reaches and passes the 
great vena porta through the liver, to the heart, to per¬ 
form again the repeated circulation to nourish and sus¬ 
tain the body. Breathing air cannot be dispensed with 
for a few minutes only without the loss of life. The 
blood must be thus renovated and supplied with the 
principles of life, in the lungs, by the air, for new and 
constant nourishment of the body, or the heart will re¬ 
fuse to circulate it and sustain animal life, and the body 
must die. 
Death is the absence of life. The moment the body 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
ceases to live, the muscles become flaccid, and their full, 
round and beautiful appearance vanishes. The skin 
puts on her cadaverous habiliments, and decomposition 
of the body commences, and progresses rapidly if the 
weather be warm, and slower if cold. It is dissipated— 
earth to earth, dust to dust, water to water, air to air, 
&c. &c. So the various component parts of the body 
seek their native home in their homogenous elements. 
Many of them are taken up by the vegetable family, 
and become food for animals, forming new combinations, 
in vegetable and animal bodies, which die, and are again 
the sustenance of other vegetables and animals without 
limit. 
It is astonishing that the pagan tradition of the re¬ 
surrection of the body of flesh, it so strongly impressed 
on the mind in childhood, as to continue through life, 
when the common sense and truth of the fact is so 
plainly and forcibly illustrated by St. Paul to the Corin- 
tians, (I Corinthians, 15 chap.) in combating the same 
error in that day, of the resurrection of the body of flesh. 
The body is dissolved and scattered to the four winds of 
heaven: and if it were to rise again and live, it must be 
subject to a second death—to be burnt alive at the great 
and final conflagration—for flesh and blood cannot in¬ 
herit the kingdom of heaven, says Paul. The red blood 
of all animals is alike, and if viewed through a magni¬ 
fying glass, there appears little if any difference in it; 
and that apparent difference, probably, is more specu¬ 
lative than real. 
All animals that breathe air in a volume, have hot 
blood. The heat of the blood is derived from the air, 
which is suddenly decomposed on entering the cells of 
the lungs, and the latent caloric in the air is let loose, 
and enters the blood with the oxygen. This may be in 
some measure illustrated by slaking fresh burnt lime. 
If water is poured on stone lime, just enough to slake 
the lime suddenly and no more, the water is so sudden¬ 
ly absorbed by the lime as to become solid with the lime, 
leaving the calorie free, so that it may kindle and ignite 
wood and other combustibles. 
All animals that do not breath the air, have cold blood. 
I would not be understood to say, that there are any 
animals that do not breathe air; for all animals, and all 
vegetables, every thing possessing life, breathes air in 
limited portions. Even the oyster breathes air. It finds 
sufficient air in the water, where it is bred, feeds and 
lives. The film or fringe around the edge of the shell, 
is the lungs which inhale air from the water. If the 
oyster is shut up close, to exclude water and air, it will 
soon perish, as all animals must. 
So the foliage of vegetables are the lungs, and if air 
be excluded from them, they must perish. They must 
have light also; for without light a long time, the leaves 
die and fall off, and the plant stops its growth. House 
plants kept in a dark room or ceiler in winter, prove this. 
But some vegetables, like some animals, suffer sooner 
than others when deprived of air. The potatoe vine 
will drown almost as soon as many animals or insects 
will, when covered with water. If it is covered with 
water but a few hours, it lingers and perishes. 
Some aquatic plant find sufficient air in the water, 
where they grow, to sustain them, as fish do, and perish 
if placed in the air, as they cannot inhale air in a vo¬ 
lume. The fish are observed to be constantly swallow¬ 
ing water, which passes out at the gills, which are the 
lungs, and they inhale air from the water sufficient to 
sustain life. 
The large whale must breathe a volume of air, and 
must throw himself out of the water to breathe. Al¬ 
though he rolls head and tail out of water to breathe, 
which he does apparently in an easy and leisurely man¬ 
ner, yet, when he is seen to rise again, the distance he 
has made, shows that he moves with the velocity of the 
steam-boat, as I have noticed them in pairs, in the At¬ 
lantic ocean. Their tail is flat, or horizontal, like the 
porpoise and herring hog, all which rise above the wa 
ter to breathe air. The whale sails with the ta 1; and 
by bending it under water, and then extending the tail 
suddenly, can throw his huge body with great speed 
above the water to breathe. 
The farmer may, if he will, by contemplating these 
natural properiies and propensities of animals and vege¬ 
tables, learn how to preserve both in health and growth. 
He may learn that good air is indispensable to all ani¬ 
mals that live in the air. All animals of the farm stock 
are more healthy, and thrive better, if their places of 
feeding and sleeping are furnished with wholesome and 
fresh air. So the various plants cultivated on the farm 
require to be planted, some on the dry part of the farm, 
and others where the ground is more damp. Regular 
moisture suits potatoes. If their growth is suspended 
by drought for a while, and after the tubers are of some 
size an.i are again supplied by rain, they are apt to sprout 
again; certainly if the vines are dead; and when they 
do so, the potatoes are of inferior quality. Damp ground, 
where the water will not pond, is suitable. 
The public are convinced that there has been a great 
defect in agricultural management; particularly in this 
state Not many years past, the state of the harvest in 
Europe was anxiously inquired after, particularly Eng¬ 
land, whether there was a prospect of a market there for 
our surplus bread stuff’s. It is now within the know¬ 
ledge of all, and painfully by many, that, the popula¬ 
tion of the state of New-York has fed on European 
wheat, to the amount of many millions annually, for 
several years past; and that, too, when there was not 
a failure of the crops of wheat here. Pork and beef 
have also been scarce and prices high. These prove a 
faulty agricultural management. 
Your Cultivator furnishes many statements of great 
crops—double and treble product on the acre, by scien¬ 
tific culture, above the ordinary and ignorant mode of 
farming. 
It is notorious, that when the vegetable soil of the 
land in Dutchess county, in this state, had become ex¬ 
hausted by extensive culture, it was supposed that the 
land was of no value; and in some instances it was 
abandoned as not worth fencing for tillage. By scienti¬ 
fic culture, in the use of plaster and manures, it has, 
for many years, been called the garden of the State; 
and is really the most productive and richest county in 
the State, and the same lands sell for one hundred dol¬ 
lars per acre by the farm. All this has been accom¬ 
plished by scientific agriculture. 
Will our legislature continue to confine all their aid 
of science, to academic seminaries alone ? I ap¬ 
prove their aid to literature, for the benefit of the li¬ 
beral professions ; but would ask them equally to foster 
the great agricultural interest, by establishing one ag¬ 
ricultural college, that the sons of farmers, who 
desire to improve that profession, and raise it above the 
present state, called drudgery, may do so. 
For several years past the farmers in this region have 
purchased their bread stuffs, and that too at double the 
former prices. If farming shall become a science, as 
it will, if properly encouraged by an agricultural col¬ 
lege, the present impediments to the growing their own 
bread corn in all parts of this country will soon vanish, 
and we shall not again see an agricultural people im¬ 
porting their bread stuffs from a foreign country, when 
there is no calamitous loss of crops. 
Every county and town in the state should address 
their petitions to the next legislature, asking them to 
establish an agricultural college, that the farmers may 
improve and feel the first of the profit and blessing of 
good husbandry, and all classes will participate, as suc¬ 
cessful agriculture is the foundation of all our prosperi¬ 
ty. What a wide and interesting field do the animal 
and vegetable kingdoms offer to men of science in agri¬ 
culture ? It is inexhaustible in its pleasures and re¬ 
wards, both to the mind and the purse. An agricultu¬ 
ral college will render the profession of farming more 
scientific and more honorable, and induce a new class of 
men of wealth and genius to enter the agricultural field, 
and the riches and comfort of this country will soon 
approach nearer to happiness and content. 
Let not the demon of party politics prevent the mea¬ 
sure, for all parties must profit by improvement in farm¬ 
ing. Most respectfully. 
DAVID TOMLINSON. 
Schenectady, September 5, 1839. 
Hints on Building Farm Dwelling Houses—-Oil 
Cake. 
Mr. Cultivator —Sir—I am much pleased to notice 
the interest felt by yourself and some of your readers, 
on the subject of “Farm Dwelling Houses;” as evinced 
by the plans given in the last Cultivator. The subject 
is one of great importance in this country; and with¬ 
out attempting a criticism on the plans you have sub¬ 
mitted, I will offer one or two suggestions, which you 
may receive for what they are worth. 
1. Although cheapness and utility are the main re¬ 
quisites, in all plans for all country houses for the far¬ 
mer in moderate circumstances, yet as the humblest 
tenement has a moral, as well as an utilitarian effect, 
both on the incumbent and the beholder, some degree 
of expression, or architectural effect, should also be 
aimed at by the builder. The architecture of the cot¬ 
tage and farmery should be peculiar to themselves; and 
of that picturesque character which will best harmonize 
with the scenery and oc cupations by which they are sur¬ 
rounded. For this purpose, small country houses, or 
cottages, should never be of more than one story, or one 
and a half in height. The roof might be made very 
steep so that at least two good square ceiled rooms 
might be had, together with three or four with inclined 
ceilings, on the second floor; leaving still an upper gar¬ 
ret of dimensions sufficient for a drying room or lumber 
room. If a piazza and a lobby around the main door 
were added, (which no cottage should be without,) they 
Wi uld contribute equally to comfort and picturesque ef¬ 
fect. 
2. The house, instead of being placed on level ground, 
should always be upon a knoll; and where one does not 
present naturally, it may be formed by throwing the 
earth dug out of the cellar around the walls outside. 
This would not only save something in digging the cel¬ 
lar, which would not need to be so deep in the earth, 
but it would be drier, and better aired; at the same 
time that it would give dignity and effect to the general 
appearance of the building. 
3. The chimneys should never, where itcan be avoided, 
be placed in an outer wall. This is an important de¬ 
fect in most houses of this country. The consequence 
is, a very large quantity of heat generated by the fire, 
is lost. When they are all in the inner or partition 
walls, the heat of the back and sides of the fire-places, 
together with that of the whole chimney, produces a mate¬ 
rial difference in the temperature of the whole house. A 
still better plan would be to use Franklin stoves instead 
of fireplaces, in all rooms except the kitchen, and carry 
the pipe straight up through the ceiling into a drum in 
the room above and from thence into the chimney. This 
would save something in building; as the stoves would 
not cost quite as much as fire places, with mantels, &c. 
and greatly lessen the consumption of fuel. The fuel 
generally contained in a common fire place, is amply 
sufficient for heating two rooms in this way. This is, 
