198 
for fear of deleterious effects. Hogs I have heard have 
died of eating them. I have frequently seen a small, 
dark, mortified kind of spot, the size of a finger nail, 
on the potato, whence issued bubbles of matter; soon 
the potatoe would be entirely soft, filled with a yellow¬ 
ish matter, slimy, and somewhat resembling the rot of 
an egg. The touch of other potatoes would impart the 
disease, which would spread through the whole family. 
One man of my acquaintance took his up about the first, 
(many were raised earlier than common;) he had not 
heard of the disorder, nor did he suspect it from out¬ 
ward appearance, (thus many were deceived.) He 
placed them in his cellar, and when the talk arose about 
bad potatoes, he examined, found his potatoes spoiled, 
and threw them away. This disease stretches its bane¬ 
ful influence, so far as I have heard, in Pennsylvania, 
from near Philadelphia, westward beyond the Susque- 
hannah river to York county. I presume the inhabitants 
where good potatoes are, may take a hint from this, feed 
more sparingly, and find a good demand at good prices, 
at least in a considerable part of Pennsylvania. 
Tne causes attributed to the failure of the potatoe, are 
variableness of season, long and frequent heavy rains, 
with intervals of extreme hot sun. Their growth was 
evidently pushed very fast, and I have seldom seen more 
plentiful crops or larger potatoes. 
Chester co., Pa., Oct. 17. John M. Harlan. 
i)eumarii 
CURE FOR BOTS AND MURRAIN. 
A WRITER in the American Farmer, who signs him¬ 
self J. W. J.,” gives a number of instances in which 
he has been successful in curing the bots in horses by 
the use of lime, and in preventing the attacks of mur¬ 
rain by the same remedy. Having a few years since 
purchased a very fine horse, he soon found he was dis¬ 
eased, and in spite of the various remedies administered, 
grew worse. Finding he discharged some bots, he 
suspected the difiiculty might be found in them, and com¬ 
menced giving him a table spoonful of slaked lime 
three times a week, in bread mashes. Pursuing this 
course two weeks, the bots began to pass off in large 
quantities; his appetite began to improve, and in six 
Weeks he became well and sleek. Since this, he has 
continued the use of lime among his horses with the 
best effect, and though he had lost many before, he has 
lost none since from any cause. Spirits of turpentine he 
found produced no effect on the live voided bot, while 
if put into lime, they were perfectly dead in forty-eight 
hours. 
Mixed with salt, and fed to cattle two or three times 
a week, or rather by allowing them always to have ac¬ 
cess to troughs containing the mixture, he deems lime, 
and we think with very good reason, an effectual pre¬ 
ventive of murrain. Since he commenced its use, he 
has not lost an animal from this disease, though some 
of his neighbors who neglected this precaution, have 
lost nearly all their cattle by it. In one instance, a 
farmer living near him lost nearly all his stock by this 
disease, while the animals of a neighbor living within 
200 yards, and which ran daily with those that died, all 
escaped. The owner of those that escaped made it his 
rule to fling them a handful of salt and lime every morn¬ 
ing. At the west, where the murrain is very prevalent 
and fatal, lime and salt aic becoming to be considered a 
specific, so far as prevention is concerned; and when it 
is recollected that the disease once developed is rarely 
cured, it would seem advisable to adopt the use of this 
mixture wherever danger is to be apprehended. 
BLIND TEETH IN HORSES. 
We find the following in the Southern Planter. The 
facts stated appear somewhat curious to us, as we can 
find no allusion to such teeth in either Lawrence or 
Youatt. They indeed describe minutely the tusk which 
in some horses occupies the place of the one noticed in 
this extract, but no such qualities are ascribed to it by 
them, and examination will show it to be one of the 
firmest set teeth in the head. If any of our readers have 
noticed such teeth as are here described, and particular¬ 
ly if blindness has been in any case traceable to them, 
we should be glad to learn the facts, as every thing re¬ 
lating to that noble animal the horse must interest all 
engaged in agriculture. 
“ Mr. Editor—There occurs in some horses, between 
the ages of three and six, between the bridle tooth and 
grinders, a S7nall, long tooth, without i-oots, and not in¬ 
serted in a socket, but merely in the gum of the upper 
jaw. It has never been alluded to in any system of far¬ 
riery, but our planters can trace its existence in this 
state for more than half a century. 
“ It may and doubtless does occur in horses of any 
shaped head, but in the three cases on my own farm, it 
was in horses of dished heads. One had gone entirely 
blind before I was apprised of the cause, and the other 
two I relieved by immediately extracting the blind teeth. 
Hundreds of instances could be adduced of the existence 
of blind teeth, and the destruction of sight when not 
extracted. No horse has ever been seen with them at 
mature age, having good eyes. 
“ It is conjectured by some to be peculiar to Indian 
corn feeding; by others, to a hot climate. The three 
cases under my own observation were in horses raised 
on my own farm; and not having ever seen any allusion 
elsewhere, I am inclined to believe it is confined to the 
south.” 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
crnir 0rtl)arJi. 
CULTURE OF THE PEACH, &c. 
Messrs. Editors —In your present number, Mr. But¬ 
ler has an article headed “Culture of the Peach.” Speak¬ 
ing of the yellows, he has observed “ that when one tree 
was infected, other trees standing near would be, unless 
the infected tree was immediately removed.” Is it cer¬ 
tain that the trees adjacent to the one removed, would 
have had the yellows without the removal? Has he 
cured the first appearance of yellows, by the removal of 
a tree from which the disease was supposed to be com¬ 
municated? I have never removed a tree having the 
yellows, and I have as vigorous and as healthy trees with 
their limbs almost interlocked with trees having the yel¬ 
lows, and with others having died with the yellows, as I 
have ever seen or ever wish to have, and are open to 
the inspection of any person. The other part of his ar¬ 
ticle partakes of too much incongruity, to need any re¬ 
mark. He wishes to know how Peach trees can be 
grown to insure fruit? Cultivate your trees till they be¬ 
gin to bear fruit, by plowing or digging about them in 
the spring of the year, and at the same time give them a 
good top dressing of well rotted manure and ashes. The 
earth about them must not be disturbed during the sum¬ 
mer months. Indian corn is the best crop I know of, 
to cultivate with the trees, and you might cease to work 
the ground after the trees are three years old, and sow 
grass seeds. The grass should never be cut and carried 
off the ground. After you are done working the ground, 
spread some good long manure every fall for several 
years, over the surface of the ground, as far out as the 
roots are likely to extend, and in the spring cover the 
surface of the ground with straw to the depth of several 
inches, and if your trees fail to produce fruit, then I will 
admit myself in error. 
Your correspondent “ P.” says he planted his corn ac¬ 
cording to my directions and failed. I rather expect he 
is in error. My plan is to plant jUst close enough to 
keep in check all spontaneous growths after the corn has 
attained one-third its matured height; and to obtain 
this, the corn producing a short stalk, admits of being 
planted closer than that producing a larger stalk. P. says 
his peach trees where he now lives, are not diseased, and 
thinks they never have the yellows in new lands, “till 
one generation of peach trees has passed away.” This 
is doubtful language in regard to time; but without re¬ 
mark to what length of time constitutes one generation 
among peach trees, allow me to say, that upon a farm I 
once owned in the state of Arkansas, peach trees grew 
well upon one part of it, and upon another part they did 
not; that one of my then neighbors, complained that he 
could not grow the tree, and that his next neighbor had 
no difficulty in raising them. Now this was all upon 
new lands, and within two or three miles square. On 
those lands that I supposed held in combination more 
than the usual quantity of nitre, the tree did very well; 
but whether it was from this cause or not, I will not un¬ 
dertake to say, as there is another way of accounting for 
it. This, and all other trees and plants that I cultivate, 
are benefltted by preventing the earth in which the roots 
run, from sudden and rapid changes of temperature, and 
a new soil made up of light vegetable particles, would 
have the effect to produce a greater equality in the tem¬ 
perature of the earth, than the same soil would have af¬ 
ter being exposed and workeil for some years, and pos¬ 
sibly your corresjiondent’s fine trees are produced from 
both of these causes. 
While upon this subject, allow me to give to the so¬ 
ciety offering a premium for the prevention of blight, 
&c. in the Pear tree, my views, though I have no desire 
to take their premium; holding myself largely indebted 
for much information obtained through the aid of such 
institutions, I give what I know free of ail charge, and 
if I am right in these suggestions, they can appropriate 
the amount for some other public purpose. 
BLIGHT IN THE PEAR TREE. 
The blight in the pear tree is produced from one of 
two causes, or from both. 1st. The cultivation of the 
tree after a set of organs have been established and ma¬ 
tured for the production of fruit, and in situations where 
manure cannot be applied, it may be for the want of the 
necessary pabulum for the support of its organism and 
for fruit. 2d. For the want of protection to the roots, 
from sudden changes of temperature. 
To prevent thi.s disease, it is necessary to cease culti¬ 
vating the ground the trees occupy, after they commence 
bearing fruit; and cultivate the tree by top dressings of 
manure, to be applied in the fall of the year, and by cov¬ 
ering the surface of the ground with straw, litter, tan, or 
any other matter that will protect the roots, or rather the 
ground in which they run, from sudden rise or fall of 
temperature. If the soil is destitute of iron, this mineral 
should be added to it. I mention the iron from various 
observations made where it has been of vast importance 
in restoring to health diseased pear trees, and from ob¬ 
serving that pear trees grow vigorously and live almost 
entirely exempt from disease, upon soils containing iron, 
provided the trees are not injured by cultivation, after 
they have perfected a set of vessels for the formation of 
fruit, or in other words, after they commence bearing 
full crops of fruit; but the iron alone is no preventive, 
but seems to form an important ingredient to this tree. 
In no case, should the ground be disturbed by plowing or 
digging after the tree commences to bear fruit. 
All perennials with which I am acquainted, make pre¬ 
paration one year for the next year’s fruit. Whether 
this is the formation of organs annually, or the deposit 
of matter in the plant for fruit, or partly of both, is not 
necessary for me at this time to inquire; but that such 
preparation is made, is clearly shown by pulling the sum¬ 
mer powth of leaves from off a branch of a fruit tree, 
that is in full bearing, while succulent and before they 
become firm and hard. This branch, if the experiment 
is properly made, will produce no fruit the succeeding 
year. An injury inflicted on the roots with the plow, 
and particularly if done in July or August, will produce 
disease, and if any fruit should be formed on the tree 
thus injured, it will be defective. 
Writers upon orchards, tell us that certain kinds of 
pears are not worth cultii^ating on account of disease; but 
at the same time, admit that trees of these kinds are 
still in existence, and continue to produce good fruit and 
are to be found in cities, and I strongly suspect, in situa¬ 
tions where the ground around them is not cultivated; 
and where their roots are protected by brick pavement, 
or by something else, from sudden change of tempera¬ 
ture. 
A protective covering to the roots, is not only of ad¬ 
vantage to the pear tree, but to most if not all other plants 
we cultivate upon our farms: and for the want of it, can 
be attributed many of the diseases our plants are subject 
to. Upon a good soil, the peach tree is rarely if ever 
infested with worms, if the roots to their extremities are 
placed in a situation where the temperature of the earth 
about them is gradually raised anddiminishedby the ma¬ 
ny sudden changes of weather in our climate. I have 
five trees thus situated, about which a worm has never 
appeared, although my orchard has furnished them in 
thousands, together with a nursery I have kept for the 
purpose of inquiring into their history, still these five 
trees remain untouched by worms. 
The Plurn produces well and is exempt from disease 
when properly tilled, and its roots protected from sud¬ 
den changes of temperature. 
Nature’s plan is to protect the roots of the plants either 
by shade from the green foliage, or by decayed and de¬ 
caying vegetable matter, and by both. A tree standing 
alone, and not near other trees, and without artificial aid, 
grows but slowly till the ground becomes covered with 
decayed vegetable matter, and its branches extend suf¬ 
ficiently to produce a shading to the ground occupied by 
its main roots. Our forests are affected by the timber 
being thinned out and the undergrowth kept down; 
the trees become diseased; worms make inroads upon 
their trunks and branches, and a slow decay takes place; 
while the woodland next adjoining, left undisturbed by 
man, continues in fine health and as vigorous as ever in 
growth. Now if nature produces her work best in this 
way, (and that she does, every man of attentive obser¬ 
vation can see,) we certainly ought to follow her exam¬ 
ple ; then let us plow, and hoe, and dig, but ever bear 
in mind that our business is to aid nature in her products, 
and that too much plowing, digging and hoeing about 
plants is injurious, by preventing natui-e from perform¬ 
ing her work, or by undoing what she has already made 
an effort to do, and is in the continuance of doing. 
With much respect, Lyttleton Physick. 
Aararat Farm, Md., Nov. 13, 1843. 
WORM IN ONIONS. 
E. G. Johnson, Esq. of Derby, Vt., informs us that 
for three years past, the onion crops in that vicinity have 
been almost eniirely destroyed by a small white worm. 
After describing their ravages, he says, “ I have tried 
many experimeqts with little success as preventives. 
Sulphur, saltpetre, salt, vinegar, sti-ong lye, ashes, to¬ 
bacco juice, whiskey’’, spirits of turpentine have been 
tried, and the same worm lived through them all. At 
last I tried soot from the stove pipe, and it would seem 
to benumb the maggot, so that he was apparently dead, 
but he w'ould revive on being washed. However, I took 
the hint from it, and this season, as soon as the worm 
made his appearance, I removed the soil from the bot¬ 
toms, close to the root, and applied soot and powdered 
chai'coal, which arrested the progress of the maggot for 
the time, but after the application had lost its power, 
and the onions were full grown, they were again at¬ 
tacked, and I was forced to pull them to save them. 
“ Now has any other part of the United States been 
similarly affected? and if so, has any remedy been 
found? What is the name of the insect? Where and in 
what manner is he produced? and how does he get info 
the onion? These are inquiries, gentlemen, I should be 
most happy to have you answer. The maggot is a small 
white one, about the size of a cheese maggot, or rather 
larger, and sometimes hundreds will be found in one 
onion. At first, they were confined to a small portion 
of this county, but have spread rapidly’, until this year 
I know of no onions grown except my own.” 
Onions have been attacked by’ the worm in other parts 
of the country, but rarely to the extent noticed by our 
correspondent, and crops are sometimes lost which are 
attributed to other causes, when doubtless the true one 
is the worm. Kollar, in his valuable work on Insects, 
says the onion worm “ is the larvae or maggot of a small 
fly, the Anthomyia ceparum, which is only half the size 
of the house fly. The perfect insect or fly is entirely of 
an ash-grey color in the female, or with black stiupes 
on the back of the male, the wings clear like glass, with 
broad iridescent reflections and yellowish brown veins.” 
There are figures of the maggot, as it appears in the 
onion, and of the fly and the pupa, in the work referred 
to. There are several generations of them in the course 
of the season, which accounts for the second attack on 
the onions of Mr. Johnson. The description and state- 
