THE CULTIVATOR. 
9 
“ We took the colt into a smooth pasture, where it 
was familiar with every object, and led him around the 
pasture very gently; then, when standing, Dowd put his 
deft arm over the colt’s back, and let it feel some of his 
weight; stood a few minutes in that position, the colt 
quite uneasy at first, but soon became pacified by kind 
treatment. I then took hold of Dowd's ancle, vvhen his 
foot was raised, and assisted him to pltlce himself across 
the back of the colt. After remaining in this position 
some five or six minutes, he then gradually put his right 
leg over, and raised himself to a perpendicular posi- 
tion. 
“We let the colt stand thus till it showed a disposition 
to walk forward. At first, it would take but one or two 
steps, but soon found that it could move with a man 
upon its back. In one hour’s time, Dowd rode the colt 
'to the house without difficulty. During the whole time. 
We were careful to treat the colt kindly; to make no 
sudden or quick motions to frighten it; and by all means 
not to vex it. This colt, though extremely spirited, 
proved a safe animal to ride. So much, we said, on our 
return to the house, for kind treatment; and so much I 
have found to be correct since in breaking colts, steers, 
or heifers. If an animal shows a disposition to fight, it 
must be conquered; after this is done effectually, kind 
treatment is the best.” 
©ariren anir tlje dDrcljarir. 
THE PEACH TREE. 
From Mr. Downing’s new Catalogue, we select the 
following “ Remarks,” which he has attached to his list 
of Peaches. They should receive the attention of every 
grower of this delicious fruit: 
“ For beauty and delicious flavor, the Peach is ac¬ 
knowledged to be unsurpassed by any other fruit. Until 
within a few years its culture has been of the easiest and 
simplest kind in all parts of the Union south of the 43'’ 
of latitude. The most abundant crops were everywhere 
obtained in common orchards, and so congenial is the cli¬ 
mate of the Middle States, that the finest seedling varie¬ 
ties were frequently seen springing up by the road sides 
and in the smallest cottage gardens. Of late years, ow¬ 
ing to the appearance o?tioo diseases in our orchards, the 
Peach has become comparatively short-lived and unpro¬ 
ductive. These diseases are yet scarcely at all under¬ 
stood by the majority of cultivators. We therefore of¬ 
fer the following suggestions, with the knowledge, thnt 
if appreciated and carried into practice, this fruit will be 
found as healthy, fine and productive in our gardens now, as 
at any previous period. 
“ I. The Yellows is the greatest malady of the Peach. 
It affects the whole tree, and the seedlings reared from 
it are also more or less diseased in the same manner. ^ 
“11. The Yellows is a contagious disease, spreading 
from tree to tree gradually, and it may be propagated by 
grafting or budding from the infected specimens. 
“III. This malady may be infallibly known by the 
following characteristics; a decidedly yelloicish color in 
the whole of the leaves of the tree; short and slender branch¬ 
es growing here and there, clothed with small, half-starved 
harrow leaves, one-fourth or one-half the usual size; and 
mottled, small fruit of inferior quality ripening before 
the proper season. 
“ IV. A single tree with this disease will, by its conta¬ 
gious influence; gradually destroy a whole orchard of 
healthy trees. No p uning or mode of treatment, hith¬ 
erto discovered, will* restore to a healthy state a tree tho¬ 
roughly diseased with the Yellows. 
“ V. It is absolutely necessary to destroy all trees hav¬ 
ing the Yellows, in order to insure a sound condition in a 
young plantation yet healthy. In small gardens, where 
there are diseased trees contiguous, the neighbors must 
be prevailed upon to enter into the plan; in farms, and 
larger places, it will generally be sufficient to destroy all 
victims of the Yellows on the premises, as the disease 
spreads slowly. In trees received fi-om nurseries, there 
will frequently be found an infected subject, and it should 
be at once rooted up, and its place supplied by a healthy 
tree. It is much better to destroy a single tree, though 
young, at once, than by allowing it to stand, in the vain 
hope of its recovery, to spread disease among all in its 
neighborhood. 
“ If we direct our attention to this matter, we shall find 
in almost every neighboi-hood, a number of sickly and 
diseased trees, which, although worthless, are allowed 
still to occupy the ground. Very frequently an old and 
favorite tree, now lean and jaundiced, occupies, year after 
year, a corner of the garden, more from the recollection 
of the fine fruit it once bore, than from any present value. 
If we desire healthy and thriving Peach trees, all these 
diseased specimens, old or young, must be entirely exter¬ 
minated. 'While these are allowed to stand in any gar¬ 
den disseminating a contagious disease on every side, it 
is idle to hope for healthy and long-lived trees. 
“ The second enemy to this tree, is the Peach worm, or 
borer. This insect (JEgeria ca;itios«,)deposits its eggs in 
the soft part of the trunk, just at the surface of the ground. 
These, on becoming borers or grubs, perforate and con¬ 
sume the bark, and in time girdle and destroy the tree. 
To maintain an orchard in good health, so far as regards 
this insect, it is only necessary, every spring, to remove 
the earth for three or four inches at the base of the tree, 
and to cut out and destroy with the knife every one of 
the borers. Their presence is generally indicated by gum 
just below the surface of the ground, and a little prac¬ 
tice will enable a man to go over an orchard of an acre 
in a day. 
“ The productiveness and longevity of the Peach tree, 
will be greatly promoted by shortening or pruning-in the 
extremities of the branches of bearing trees, from one to 
two feet in July, every year. This will keep the tree 
full of bearing buds and healthy wood.” 
INQUIRY—FRUIT TREES. 
Messrs. Gayloro & Tucker —Can your friend Tho¬ 
mas, or any of our horticulturists, inform us of a sure and 
effectual way of preserving young fruit trees, during win¬ 
ter, from the outrageous depredations committed by the 
mice, which we call the meadow mole? We, in this 
section of country, sustain very many losses in conse¬ 
quence of these little depredators, which run about on the 
surface of the ground, under the snow, in the winter, and 
eat off the bark for several inches, so that all effort to 
save the tree is ineffectual. I prepared a small nursery 
last year, and in the summer inoculated with the choicest 
fruit; but scarcely a tree is now alive. During winter I 
stamped the snow about them, to prevent the mice from 
approaching them, but snow falling to an unusual depth, 
and drifting over them, they were soon out of my reach; 
and as the snow wasted away beneath, the little marau¬ 
ders spared not a tree. 
Stamping the snow about them when it is but a few 
inches deep, is an effectual remedy; but is there nothing 
that may be put around the tree to repel them, which 
will not be detrimental to it? Has any one tried pure 
swine manure, placed aroimd them; and has any one 
known mice to work in it, or under it? What effect 
would ta.n bark produce on the free, and will the mice 
work in it? S. E. Todd. 
Lansing, Tompldns co., N. Y., May, 1843. 
DESTRUCTION OF CATERPILLARS. 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker —Having been exceed¬ 
ingly annoyed for many years by the leaf devouring cat¬ 
erpillar, I have at various times tried several expedients 
to destroy them, and among other things turpentine, sul¬ 
phur, &c., but have invariably failed, until I discovered 
that the spirits of Hartshorn, applied by means of a sponge 
attached to the end of a pole, and thrust into the midst of 
the web, caused instantaneous death to all living matter 
coming in contact with it. 
I am now sowing charcoal dust on my wheat, at the 
rate of fifty-two bushels to the acre, and will give you 
the result of the experiment in the fall. 
Yours, truly, Rob’t L. Pell. 
Pelham, Ulster co.. May 16, 1843. 
iUoinestic QErotioms 
BUTTER MAKING. 
We have been favored with three replies to the inqui¬ 
ry of “ The Neighbors,” on the subject of making but¬ 
ter, published in our last number. We annex two of 
them—one from a lady of Vei-mont, to the superior qua¬ 
lity of whose butter we can testify, and tbe other from a 
lady of Orange county, -whence comes the best butter 
found in the New-York markets. In our next, we shall 
give the reply of “ L. B., a farmer's wife,” of Madison 
county. 
Messrs. Editors —A request has been made through 
the medium of your paper, for some practical dairy wo¬ 
man to give a minute description of the process of mak¬ 
ing good butter—the kind of pan, churn, ladle, &c.; but 
my own experience is all I shall attempt to relate, and 
that will not comprise information with regard to im¬ 
proved materials, or any great variety; for I used the old 
fashioned brown earthen pan, and a churn that might 
have been manufactured from some of the first timber 
ever felled in "Vermont, and the only ladle used was my 
hands. 
The process of setting and skimming the milk—remo¬ 
ving the cream preparatory to churning, and separating 
the liquid from the butter, after having been thoroughly 
churned, demands great attention. Great care should be 
taken to have the pans perfectly cleansed. Never hav¬ 
ing practiced making butter to any extent in mid-sum¬ 
mer, there are some items in my experience that would 
not be applicable to those who are engaged in the busi¬ 
ness for the whole year. My practice was to place the 
pans, after cleansing, around the fire, keeping them warm 
till wanted for the milk, which was strained while warm 
into the pan, and placed immediately upon a shelf, where 
it should by no means be disturbed until the time of re¬ 
moving the cream, which varied from two to thi-ee days, 
depending upon the heat, cold, or dampness of the wea¬ 
ther. The milk was not suffered to become acid,* or at 
all thickened; and the cream when taken from the milk, 
was separated from it as entirely as possible, and churned 
in three or four days, and always at evening in cool wea¬ 
ther. Cream was removed from the milk into a stone 
jar, and kept closely covered until a sufficient quantity 
for making twelve or fifteen pounds was obtained. The 
churn was prepared for the cream by the application of 
boiling water, suffered to remain in it thirty or forty mi¬ 
nutes, when it was i-emoved and the cream put into stand 
a little time before churning, and occasionally stirred by 
raising the dash. It was then churned moderately at 
first, the rapidity of motion increasing as the cream 
* A little acidity of milk will not at all impair the sweetness 
of butter. 
103 
thickened; nor was the labor suspended until the butter 
was collected into one mass; it was then removed to a 
Wooden tray or bowl with the hands, pressing out all the; 
buttermilk possible, and a little s.alt added, when it was 
removed to a cool place to remain until the following 
morning; then thoroughly worked and a little salt well 
mixed, and again placed in the (lairy for several hours, 
when it was again carefully worked, and if necessary, 
salt added, and a lea spoonfull of salt petre with twice 
the quantity of white sugar i)ulverized, to every six 
pounds of butter. It was then nmde into small rolls, anil 
carefully iiacked in a firkin. If to be kept through the 
summer, brine should be made to cover it. 
If I have not been sufficiently definite in relating my 
expei’ience in butter making, to enlighten one person, 
to say nothing of “ The Neighbors,” it may have a ten¬ 
dency to elicit some other person's experience which 
shall be deciiledly beneficial not only to “ The Neigh¬ 
bors,” but to the community. MartHA. 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker —In the May No. of 
the Cultivator, “ The Neighbor’s” propound some ques¬ 
tions as to butter making. Living as I do in Orange Co., 
which ranks A, No. 1, in the manufacture of butter, I 
felt an anxiety to give the desired information, and for 
this purpose have obtained the following directions from 
an aged female friend, who for upwards of 40 years, has 
had the management of a large dairy, and has probably 
made and packed down 1500 firkins of the very choicest 
Orange Co. butter, with her own hands. 
Here you have it “ verbatim et literatim. 
Newburgh, May 15, 1843. T. M. Niven. 
One of the first requisites is perfect cleanliness in eve¬ 
ry utensil and implement used about the dairy. The but¬ 
ter should always be made and worked in a cool cellar. 
The milk pails (wood is preferred,) should never be 
used for any other purpose; they should be thoroughly 
cleansed daily, and be well aired and dried after wash¬ 
ing. Immediately after milking, the milk should be 
strained into tin pans usually holding 12 or 14 quarts— 
the pans of course being clean and sweet—a little cold 
spring water being put into each pan before the milk is 
put into them. 
In warm summer weather, the milk should stand in the 
pans about 24 hours, or until it becomes thick. The milk 
is then thrown into the churn, filling it about half full, 
(always remembering the first requisite of cleanliness and 
sweetness,) and is permitted to stand about half an hour 
before the churn is started. Care is to be taken that the 
churn works moderately, as too great rapidity of motion 
is injurious both to the flavor and color of the butter. 
Dissolve one table spoonful of saltpetre to 15 gallons 
milk, and put it in before the churn is started, adding as 
little water as possible during the process, merely to pre¬ 
vent tlie milk frothing. As soon as the butter is formed, 
the churn should be stopped. A pail full of cold spring 
water may now be added, as it will assist the gathering of 
the particles of butter. The wooden butter ladle and tray 
are now required; they both need scalding with boiling 
water, and are then kept in cold water until the moment 
they are needed. The butter is gathered with the ladle 
and put into the tray, where it is worked with the ladle 
for some time, until the milk is all expressed from the 
butter, a little cold water being used for this purpose. 
Too free use of water at this stage is injurious, as it tends 
to destroy the rich flavor of the butter. 
The salt may now be added, (best Liverpool fine salt 
is preferred,) and as a general rule I would say one quart 
of salt to 15 gallons of milk, but a little experience will 
enable every person to judge of this for themselves;, the 
salt should be thoroughly worked through the butter. In 
very warm weather it may be necessary to let the butter 
stand in the tray 12 to 18 hours, in a cool dark cellar, 
frequently working it over during this time, and express¬ 
ing the brine until it becomes cool and solid; it is then 
in a situation for packing away in the tub or firkin, and 
should be carefully excluded from the atmosphere until 
used. 
LARD FOR LIGHTS, &c. 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker —One of my neighbors 
last summer got a lard lamp at Oswego, with a wire at¬ 
tached to heat the lard, which proved a “no go.” Even 
some of our oil we buy at the stores is ditto, to my cer¬ 
tain knowledge. "What then do you suppose I thought 
when one of the family told me that two of the neigh¬ 
bors burnt lard in common lamps, and she should try it 
in om-s. Why I thought the manufacturers of lard oil 
would not have so good business after all, if folks should 
generally find the plan to work well. Ilowever, I did 
not feel much afraid of its injuring their business much. 
Our lamp was filled with melted lard, and it burned so 
that I pulled down one of the wicks, and then it gave 
nearly as much light as common oil with two wicks. 
Just before using, we fill up the lamp with melted lai'd, 
and if it is liquid at the bottom of the tubes, it will burn 
well in our store room, though pretty cool, till it gets 
one-fourth of an inch below the tubes, and give a brighter 
light than any oil I ever saw. 
Making Cows milk easy, with a penknife, was a thing that 
seemed about as strange to me when I first heard of it, 
as burning lard in a common lamp. However, experi¬ 
ence proves that a penknife blade of a proper shape, ora 
harness awl, which is better, inserted in the hole of the 
tit that milks hard, improves the milking process very 
much. Fill the tit full of milk, and put in the instrument 
the proper length, without touching the sides of it, and 
