mmMs » 
is to give birth to the young which she her¬ 
self is destined never to behold, upon the 
tree whose leaves are to nourish those young. 
All her life-energy is centered in the ac¬ 
complishment of this one object, and she 
immediately makes for the tree upon issuing 
from the ground. Consequently, anything 
that will prevent her ascending the trunk 
will, in a great measure preserve the tree 
from the ravages of the worm. 
Numerous indeed have been the devices— 
patented or unpatented — which have at 
different times and in different parts of the 
country been used to accomplish this desired 
end, and every year our agricultural journals 
report individual experiments with some one 
or other of these devices — some favorable 
and others adverse. Tar, applied either di¬ 
rectly around the body of the tree, or on 
strips of old canvas, or a sheep-skin, or on 
stiff paper; refuse sorghum molasses, or 
were well for the owners of young orchards, 
in neighborhoods where the Canker-worm is 
known to exist, to keep a sharp look-out for 
it; so that upon its first appearance the evil 
may be nipped in the hud. In the same man¬ 
ner that it is exterminated in the individual 
orchard, in like manner, it. may, by concert 
of action, he exterminated from any given 
locality. When once the worms are on a 
free, a good jarring will suspeud them all in 
mid-air, when the best way to kill them is 
by swinging a stick above them, which 
breaks the web, and causes them to fall to 
fhe ground, when they may he prevented 
from ascending the tree, by the method 
already described. 
I will close this article with a few words 
in commendation of late fall plowing and 
the use of hogs. The hogs and the birds 
devour great, numbers of the pupae when the. 
ground is thus turned up, and there is good 
testimony in this part of the country ns to 
the efficacy of the measure. Among others, 
I will mention the experience of Jonathan 
1 Iugoins, of Woodburn, Ill., who affirms 
that he has entirely extirpated the Canker- 
worm by this means alone. 
is a thorn, and after the foliage appears in 
the spring, the hedges are so thick that a 
bird can scarcely get, through them; and an 
Illinois hog that would be small enough and 
tough enough to get through one of our 
hedges would be too small to be seen and 
too tough to be eaten. 
Pence timber in this country is not high 
because nearly every one uses hedges; and 
yet, to make a rod of good post and rail 
fence costs over one dollar, with rails and 
posts at twelve and a half dollars per hun¬ 
dred; it will bust, about fifteen years, and 
then want resetting. To make a rod of 
first-rate thorn fence costs about fifty cents, 
and I would take a large contract at, that 
price. After being made at one-half the cost 
of the wooden fence, 1 believe they will last 
a life-time of one hundred years and longer, 
if properly treated. The oldest, hedges hero 
are about twenty years old, and now look 
likely to live and make good fences for sev¬ 
eral more twenties. 
Our hedges are about five feet, high and 
about four feet wide, and certainly are 
“ ornamental as well as useful,” for nothing 
is more beautiful than nicely kept hedges. 
We till as close up to them as we do to a 
fence. Our people divide their fields with 
them on farms where the land will com¬ 
mand, any day, two hundred dollars per 
acre; and if they injured the grain twenty- 
five feet on each side, they certainly would 
not. do it. I purposed giving our mode of 
growing and beating hedges, but. find 1 have 
already consumed too much of your valua¬ 
ble space, and must defer that, to some sub¬ 
sequent period. 
“ Northwest's"” remarks on wire fence 
may be both sensible and valuable; but Ids 
experience mul mine certainly do not agree, 
on Osage Orange hedges. 
Middletown, Del., May, 18G9. e. n. c. 
Wc shall be glad to hear from our corre¬ 
spondent concerning the culture and treat¬ 
ment of hedges. Such information from 
practical men who speak from experience is 
very much desired by many of our readers. 
a mistake in doing so. The Dutchman grow his 
potatoes in rldgoa filled with compost. They 
grow short and chubby. Taking the hint, Thomp¬ 
son threw Ids land in ridges, pounded the. inter- 
space between the Iiiitows hard, and planted in 
compost. The potatoes were short, and chubby. 
Had planted On plunks laid between the furrows, 
and found he could thus grow the tubers a yard 
long. He said short, chubby sweet potatoes 
would bring from twenty-five to fifty cents 
irvoro tier barrel in the Now York market than 
The Him; to plant is from t he rnid- 
--e of Juno. Plants may 
or setting from almost any seeds- 
He prefers growing this 
The potatoes are sweeter, and 
-roy tho crop. They 
— fore the frost 
r carefully, and pack 
Keep warm and dry, and at 
[Qukrttonk to bo nnswpred in this Prpartment, whan accompanied 
by specimens, tfhould bo sent directly to C, V- Kilby, 2130 Clark 
Ave., St. Louis, Mo.] 
THE CANKER-WORM 
(Aniaopteryx verncUa, Peck.) 
lOUg OUC8. T' 
die Of May to t he middle 
bo obtained f 
man or nurseryman 
tuber In bills, r " 
mice are less likely to destr 
should always bo gathered"bet’ 
touches the vines. Gatin 
as yon would eggs. 1" 
a uniform temperature. 
The Valley of Walla Walla.—H. 
read a paper giving some action 
sources of this valley, lie had 
Pacific COast for the last seventeei ___ _ 
the Valley of Walla Walla since 1NH. This valley 
is located between 4ft*’ and 48“ north longitude, 
and40" ond 18 ° west longitude from Washington. 
There the stock-owners provide no shelter tor 
their cattle more than one-third of the winter. 
During the winter there Is on abundance of 
bunch grass for stock. The coldest weather is 
from t he middle of December to the lust of .Jan¬ 
uary. The snow seldom remains on the ground 
more than eight or ten days at a time. This is alt 
the people of the Atlantic Stales would call real 
winter. The valley is well watered bv mountain 
streams. 1 f people arrive heal l by, they have not 
much to fear from disease—only death from old 
ago. They have never known a person locon- 
H'liot. any pulmonary disease in that climate. 
Their on I let, is by steam on the Columbia diver. 
I lie Union Pacific Flail road la making prelimin¬ 
ary surveys for a branch road which is to run 
through the valley. Apples, peaches, pears, 
plums, grapes, and all the common fruits do 
well. The mines of Oregon, Montana, and Idaho 
consume surplus products. Improved choice 
lands can he purchased in quantities from forty 
to one hundred and sixty acres from $5 to $8« 
per acre. There are thousands of acres yet, open 
to actual SCI Hers under t he homestead and pre¬ 
emption laws. An abundance of timber is or 
easy access in tho niotintiiins, and some on 
streams through the valley. There are four 
churches in tho city Of Walla Walla, besides 
many other places of religions worship through¬ 
out the valley. There aro t wo district schools 
besides an academy and seminary; and there 
are more than u dozen public schools In tho 
valley. The population is between seven 
and eight thousand. The grazing and stock- 
raising facilities In the valley cannot be sur¬ 
passed. There are two papers published In tho 
city. Parties wishing further particulars relat¬ 
ing to tills and other sections cast, of the Cascade 
Mountains, can obtain the same by addressing 
Mr. Park leu. for the next eight weeks, care of 
Messrs. Harper Moot hicks, this city, and after 
that, Walla Walla City, Washington Territory. 
Agricultural ('duration. R. H. WtbniAMS 
read a long paper en Agricultural Education, 
the substance of which, but for his Rip Van 
Winker sleep, he might have mid twenty years 
ago in the agricultural papers. What was good 
wasn’t new, and what was new was too crude 
and undigested to be good. Mr. Peters attempt- 
od to criticise the paper, but, the Club’s Com¬ 
mander, who treads the quarter dock with un¬ 
approachable dignity,silenced him peremptori¬ 
ly, giving ns a reason the t.remenduous respon¬ 
sibility which rests upon his shoulders hi view 
of the multitudesof Ignoramuses waiting to be 
enlightened by the wisdom which Hows only 
from the Farmers’ Club of the American Insti¬ 
tute. It was a tremendous crisis In l,lie history 
of r.lieClub. The power vested in the distin¬ 
guished Commander was distinctly defined by 
him, and It, was more than Intimated that, insub¬ 
ordination would be promptly pot down, no 
matter in wlmt quarter It appeared. Poor Pe¬ 
ters was silenced, and the bravo and graceful 
Commander won the applause of his urdent ad¬ 
mirers. 
The A xe* of the Marl Men were again put on 
the grindstone, and the distribution of their 
gil ts made the subject of discussion. Mr. Van 
Horten Informed the Club that many things 
were said hero which led people to spend vast, 
aams of money for things which yield them no 
benefit . Discussing the application of a barrel 
or two of marl to land as a test of Its virtue and 
value as a fertilizer, he said that a friend of his, 
who was known as an excellent, farmer, applied 
one hundred and fifty loads of it, to the acre; 
amt In* (Van II.) thought the application of a 
barrel or two of it would bo much like testing 
the virtue of muck by spreading a barrel or two 
on an acre. 
Hotter Worker.—Borne enterprising Professor 
of the Art. of Grinding had sent, the Club a 
patenbbutter-worker, which tho noble President, 
tried to induce the venerable and sagaeious 
Geo HUB Geodes, of Onondaga countv. who ««■ 
In your issue of April lOtli you mention 
having received several inquiries from dif¬ 
ferent parts of the country asking for an 
effectual mode of preventing the ravages of 
the Canker-worm, and you call for practical 
experience. No one seems to have respond¬ 
ed to this call, and I have a suspicion that 
you expect me to “ toe the mark ” and send 
you a few words on the subject. 
rWrmtltttrf 
The Canker-Worm.— Anisoptcryx vcmata, Peck. 
rd Canker-worm has printers’ ink, applied in a similar manner; 
if so many articles in tin, lead, and rubber troughs to contain oil; 
iral and Horticultural tin-plate collars sloping downwards; belts 
ist ten or twelve years, of cotton-wool, etc., etc., have all been used, 
jry has been so fully and with both good and bad results, very 
work of Or. Hah nts, much according as they have been used in- 
l reports of your State, telligently or otherwise. Now, all these 
tTcrr, that one almost appliances, of whatsoever character, are di- 
?-an be a reading farmer visible into two classes; first., those which 
ow properly to fight it. prevent the ascension of the moth by on¬ 
ions are ever replacing tangling her feet, and trapping her fast, or 
my, so that the same by drowning her; and, second, those which 
have to be repeated to accomplish the same end by preventing her 
•’acts in Nature will getting a foothold, and thus causing her re- 
g, however, and as it peatedly to fall to the ground until she he¬ 
ft maxim that no in- comes exhausted and dins, 
successfully combated The first el.-iss of remedies are thoroughly 
nowledgc of its habits effectual when applied understandingly and 
will first, recount those persistently. And by this I mean, that the 
and afterwards state orchardist must know that many of the 
moths issue in the fall of the year, and that 
nsect are very minute, the applications must, in consequence, be 
and are deposited close made at least as early as the latter part of 
ning batches such as October, anil that they must be kept sticky, 
>ve figure, a represent- through all hut freezin, 
PRIDE OF CHINA 
WrrrLK so much inquiry as to trees for 
planting is made lately through the Rural, 
permit me to mention the Pride of China, or 
East Indian Bread Tree ,—Media (tx.edu rack. 
I cannot speak of its qualities far North, but 
with us it is a most, rapid grower and one of 
the easiest of trees to propagate, from seed, 
I know of. As a, wood for cabinet work, Its 
fine grain, rich cherry color, and the brilliant 
polish it Ls capable of receiving, render it 
most valuable. As a shade tree, its rapid 
growth, clean appearance, freedom from in¬ 
sects, line foliage, and the perfume in early 
spring of its lilac blossoms, place it in gen¬ 
eral requisition with us. 
Tin; drupe is oval, about the size of a 
cherry. The pulp which surrounds the, nut 
is said to lie poisonous; but the- berries when 
ripe are eaten by cattle, horses, and birds 
without any ill effect, with t he exception of 
birds, I have seen the mocking bird rend¬ 
ered so stupid as to become an easy prize. 
Taking all things into consideration, I 
think, all who know the. tree will hear mo 
out in the assertion that it is the shade tree 
par excellence of this latitude. How it would 
do further North I cannot say; perhaps 
some of your readers who have had experi¬ 
ence can. 
From the door near which T sit. look with 
me at some of our Southern trees. Here 
directly shading the door is the Pride of 
China with its drupe just forming. There¬ 
to the front, and left, towering above its 
neighbor, is the Pecan, the favorite of all 
Southern nuts; beyond this is a row of the 
Miilberry ,—Morm rubra. There, just in 
front, extending away to the east, is a row of 
the Fig, the most luscious of Southern fruits, 
scarcely ever failing to yioid an abundant 
crop. Nor must I omit to mention, although 
not in immediate view, the Jujube plum, 
Pomegranate, Orange, and Lemon—though 
the last two do better further South, on the 
low lands bordering the Mississippi and 
Lafourche. 
Here to the. right, beyond the grape trellis, 
is the flower garden, which will serve to 
show you how the season is with us. The 
Larkspur, Drummond Flower, Pinks, Zinnia, 
Hollyhock, and fragrant Honeysuckle, are in 
full bloom, while the Dahlia and Gladiolus 
are just beginning to open their gaudy 
flowers. F. W. Hekoman. 
Baton Rogue, La., May 11, 
Lombardy Poplar as a lightning Rod.— Can 
any one say, 1'roin experience, that the popular 
idea that the Lombardy Poplar, placed around 
a house is ns good or better than a lightning rod 
to prevent electric shocks, has any basis except 
In Hie imagination?— Northwest. 
ig weather, till the 
leaves have well put out, in the following 
spring. Furthermore he must know that 
many of the moths—frustrated in their efforts 
to climb the, tree—will deposit their eggs 
near the ground or anywhere below the ap¬ 
plication, and that, the young worms hatch¬ 
ing from them are able to puss behind the 
slightest crevice or over the finest straw. 
Thus, if troughs are used they must be 
fitted over a bandage of cotton-wool, so that 
when the trough is drawn tightly around 
the tree, it will do no injury and will at the 
same time cause the cotton to fill up all 
inequalities of the bark; the joint must 
likewise be kept smeared either with tar or 
molasses, and then the worms will not be 
able to pass. In the neglect to thus fasten 
them, lies the secret of failure which many 
report who use such troughs. The second 
class of contrivances are of no avail what¬ 
ever, for although the moth is unable to 
travel over a very smooth surface, I know 
from experience that the young worms can 
march over the smoothest glass by the aid of 
the glutinous silken thread which they are 
able to spin from the very moment t hey are 
born. 
It cannot be denied that it requires a great 
deal of time, labor and expense to continu¬ 
ally renew the applications of tar on every 
tree in a large orchard during so many 
months of the year; while Us application 
directly to the hark is more or less injurious 
to the t rees. For these reasons, refuse sor¬ 
ghum molasses will he found much better 
for the purpose, as it does not harden so 
rapidly, and is said not to be injurious to the 
tree. In neighborhoods where sorghutn is 
grown, it is also much cheaper. That it will 
pay to do this work in orchards where the 
Canker-worm is known to he numerous, 
there cannot, be the least doubt. The old 
adage, “ What is worth doing at all is worth 
doing well,” was never truer than in fighting 
this insect. Apply the remedy thoroughly 
during two successive years, and you have 
utterly routed the enemy, and this is more 
especially the case where an orchard is not 
in too close proximity to the timber, or to 
slovenly neighbors. Fail to apply the reme¬ 
dy, and the enemy will, in all probability, 
rout you. The reason is simple. The female 
being wingless, the insect, is very local in its 
attacks, sometimes swarming in one orchard 
and being unknown in another which is but 
a mile away. Thus, after it is once extermi¬ 
nated, a sudden invasion is not to be expect¬ 
ed, as in the case of the Tent caterpillar, and 
of many other orchard pests; but when it. 
has once obtained a footing in an orchard, il 
multiplies the more rapidly, for the very 
reason that, it does not spread last. 
Vigilance Ls the price of reward, and as it 
Ls always easier to prevent than to cure, it 
tsatssicms 
NEW YORK FARMERS’ CLUB 
the elm, and a variety of other trees. The 
full grown worms vary greatly in the depth 
of shading and in the ground-color; different 
shades of ash-gray, green and yellow almost 
always occurring in different individuals of 
the same brood. This same variation in 
color is common to most other span-worms. 
After it has attained its full size the Can¬ 
ker-worm either crawls down the tree or 
lets itself down by means of a silken thread, 
and burrows into the ground. Here, at a 
depth of two or three inches, it forms a rude 
cocoon of particles of earth intermixed with 
silk, as shown at d. Within two days after 
completing the cocoon the worm becomes a 
chrysalis of a light brown color. The sexes 
are now distinguishable, the male chrysalis 
(represented at e) being slender, pointed in 
front, and showihg the wing-sheaths; while 
that of the female is much larger and desti¬ 
tute of wing-sheaths. 
In the New England States the worms 
descend into the ground during the last of 
June, and most of them remain there till 
early the following spring, though many of 
them change to moths, and issue during the 
mild days of early winter. The moths (/, 
male; g, leinale,) show great disparity of 
sex, the male being fully winged, while the 
female is entirely destitute of these append¬ 
ages. It is this apterous condition of the 
female, which gives us complete control of 
the enemy, and which indicates 
The Proper Remedy. 
The sole object of the female, after she 
leaves the earth, seems to be to provide for 
the continuance of her kind, and she in¬ 
stinctively places the precious burden, which 
OSAGE ORANGE HEDGES 
In a late issue of the Rural I notice an 
article from “Northwest,” criticising and 
condemning Osage Orange hedges. Were 
he to visit New Castle Co., Deleware, I 
think his opinion would be very different in 
regard to them. This county (New Castle) 
contains as valuable lands for agricultural 
purposes as any in the United States, and 
we think has some as intelligent and enter¬ 
prising farmers as can be found in Illinois or 
any other State. Yet they are so ignorant 
as to plant Osage Orange hedges extensive¬ 
ly; and we frequently hear the remark, 
“ What would we do without Osage Orange 
hedges?” I have several miles of them on 
my own form, and there Ls not a farm that 
I know blit has more or less of such fence. 
We have only been planting them here 
about fifteen years to any extent, and now 
in ibis little county of four hundred and 
twenty-tour square miles area there ure more 
than one thousand miles of hedge. 
” Nor(h west ” says that not one out of five 
hundred hedges he knows will turn cattle; 
and not one out of ten thousand will turn 
hogs. It must be that he needs enlighten¬ 
ing on the subject, for in this country we 
have no fence equal to this hedge either for 
strength or tightness. To every leaf there 
Palm Le«I Fiber.—H enry Cowan exhibited 
several samples of fiber prepared from the leaf 
of a Southern palm. 
4’o(lIl*h.—Appreciating the vast resources and 
wonderful perceptive qualities of tho Club, A. 
E. Post, Seneca Castle, N. Y„ sent a sample of 
codfish, with worms in it, which Mr. Fuller 
moved hi; referred to the Entomological Pro¬ 
fessor. But that gentleman refused to aid sci¬ 
ence by even smelling- of the fish, much leas 
taking it home with him to examine. 
Weight Power. Last week a weight power 
was exhibited and referred to a committee to 
test and report upon. A long report was made, 
the substance of which is that, tho committee 
think it. might he advantageously used to work 
the dash of a revolving churn, drive sowing ma¬ 
chines, pump water, where It is desirable t<» have 
it drawn up In a small, continuous stream. The 
report, recommend , however, that every person 
tost such, a power one month before purchasing 
il. The learned and accomplished Professor of 
Wit and Humor proposed ilmt. the Club purchase 
one of these powers to aid members in grinding 
their axes. Tho proposition was not entertained 
by the Club’s Commander. 
