•i  ii(' 
cula,  <fcc.),  has  been  noticed.  These  belong  to 
the  order  llemiptera,  or  half-winged  insects,  and 
deposit  their  eggs  in  patches  of  thirty  to  fifty. 
When  the  yonng  are  hatched,  they  puncture  the 
leaves,  and  suck  the  juice  of  the  plant.  When  a 
fence  to  the  ground  ;  and  all  the  new  inventions 
of  cross-pieces  on  the  surface  with  braces  at¬ 
tached,  while  they  are  about  as  expensive  as  a 
good  board  or  post-and-rail  fence,  are  found  to 
last  but  a  very  short  time.  Farmers  may  there- 
looks  well,  and  is,  we  think,  except  for  outside 
fences,  to  be  preferred  to  hedges. 
THE  CONCUSSION  THEORY  AGAIN 
TOBACCO  CULTURE  IN  PENNSYLVANIA 
John  A  Witmee  in  writing  to  the  American 
Journal  of  Phannacy  about  tobacco  culture  gives 
some  hints  which  may  be  of  service  to  our 
readers,  as  it  will  soon  be  time  to  commence 
making  preparations  for  sowing  seed,  if  strong 
and  %igorous  plants  are  to  be  obtained  for  early 
sjiriiig  planting  in  the  Middle  and  Southern 
States. 
The  seeds  which  have  been  collected  the  pre¬ 
vious  autumn  are  sown  in  early  8i)ring  in  cold 
frames.  Those  frames  consist  of  large  oblong 
boxes,  without  bottoms,  two  or  two  and  a  half 
feet  deep  by  three  feet  wide,  and  covered  with 
glass.  They  arc  prepared  in  autumn  by  being 
filled  with  rich  earth  and  fertilizers.  In  select¬ 
ing  a  site  for  these  frames,  a  sheltered  spot  hav¬ 
ing  a  southern  exposure  is  profoiTcd.  They  are 
ailditloually  protected  from  the  weather  by  being 
covered  with  straw.  Ac.  Persons  making  “plant 
raising  *'  u  njiccialty  sow  as  early  as  the  15th  of 
Fehrmuy.  After  sowing,  the  frames  are  covered 
with  glass  alone  during  the  day,  and  sheltered  at 
night.  Thft  oartli  being  kept  moist,  the  seeds 
soon  sprout,  and  the  little  plants  apjiear.  Ad¬ 
ditional  care  niiisl.  now  he  talten  to  admit  the  sun 
during  the  day  and  to  protect  them  from  the 
frosts  at  night.  Persons  not  desirous  of  having 
plants  early  oi-  for  sale,  do  not  iako  the  precau¬ 
tions  above  enumerated,  nor  do  they  sow  as  early. 
A  warm,  sunny  spot,  having  a  rich  soil,  or  one 
enriched  by  fertilizers,  is  sullicient  for  their  pur¬ 
poses. 
When  quite  young,  the  plants  are  frequently 
infested  by  the  “plant  louso,”  an  insect  belong¬ 
ing  to  the  genus  aphis. 
When  tho  plants  have  attained  the  bight  of 
several  inches  they  are  transplanted  to  the  fields. 
This  is  rarely  done  before  tho  15th  of  May  to  the 
Ist  of  Juuo.  Tho  fields  ore  ploughed  the  pre¬ 
vious  autumn,  as  by  so  doing  it  is  thought  that 
some  of  the  insect  enomios  are  destroyed.  In 
the  spring  the  soil  is  loosened  and  then  )ilonghed 
in  such  a  manuor  as  to  form  ridges  one-half  to  a 
foot  high,  at  a  distance  of  two  to  three  feet.  A 
wet  day  is  chosen,  as  the  plants  require  much 
moistm’o  to  continue  their  growth  without  inter¬ 
ruption 
IKDOK. — See  lirnt 
fore  make  up  their  minds  that  the  old  method  of 
hedges,  with  hoard-and-rail  fences,  are  better; 
and,  in  the  long  run,  arc  cheaper,  than  any  of 
the  new  inventions. 
Where  there  is  plenty  of  timber,  the  old-fash¬ 
ioned  Virginia  wonn  fence,  though  a  little  im- 
sightly,  is  as  good  and  as  cheap  as  any.  Next  to 
this  in  economy  and  durability  is  tljo  hoard  or 
the  post-and-rail  fence.  These  feno^cs  need  not, 
wheie  stock  is  proi)erly  managed,  be  more  than 
three  feet  and  a  half  to  four  feet  high,  and  usu¬ 
ally  four  rails  or  boai'ds  to  a  panel  will  he  suffi¬ 
cient;  and  three  will  answer  to  turn  any  kind  of 
Avell-l>ehtiveil  stock  except  swine.  The  less  lum¬ 
ber  wo  have  in  tho  fence,  the  better  it  will 
stand. 
In  making  these  fences,  tho  great  and  impor¬ 
tant  consideration  is,  to  cut  the  timber  at  the 
proper  season— say  August  or  September,  or  in 
mid-wititer ;  and  it  is  believed  that  if  the  posts 
are  seasoned  when  put  in  the  ground,  it  will  add 
one-half  t:o  their  durability. 
These  fences,  with  posts  of  moderate  size,  set 
18  to  20  inches  in  the  ground,  with  three  to  four 
boards  or  rails  in  the  panel,  may  he  found  in  the 
neighborhoods  of  all  our  largo  cities,  and  in  the 
most  highly  cultivated  agricultural  districts, 
proving  conclusively  that  experience  has  demon¬ 
strated  that  no  bettor  or  cheaper  methods  have 
been  discovered. 
Besides  these  considerations,  wo  nave  added 
PATENT  FENCES 
;  for  at  best  a  lai-ge  percentage  die, 
owing  to  want  of  sufficient  care  in  planting  or 
the  ravages  of  the  “cutworm  ”  (different  species 
of  the  genera  A groAs,  Gortyna,  Ac.),  which  is  the 
principal  enemy  at  this  period  of  thoir  gi-owth. 
They  are  concealed  in  the  earth  duritqj  tho  day, 
and  go  on  their  errands  of  destruction  at  night, 
cutting  off  the  plant  while  it  is  young  and  succu¬ 
lent.  Tho  only  means  of  preventing  the  ravages 
of  this  enemy  is  to  seek  for  him  in  his  hiding- 
place,  and  when  found  kill  him.  Those  belong 
to  the  order  Lepidoptera,  or  scale  wiiigcdinsocta. 
After  the  plants  Irave  been  thoroughly  rooted 
one  of  the  principal  objects  is  to  keep  down  the 
weeds,  which  grow  luxuriantly  in  the  rich  soil. 
This  is  accomplished  by  hoe  harrowing,  and  the 
hand  Jioo  until  the  plant  grows  too  large  to  admit 
the  passage  of  a  horse  and  harrow  without  in¬ 
jury  to  the  leaves,  after  which  the  plant  is 
sti-ong  enough  to  suppress  tho  weeds,  when  it 
grows  very  rapidly,  soon  attains  tho  bight  of 
three  or  four  foot,  and  iiuts  forth  tho  flowering 
head.  This  is  broken  off  when  loaves  are  the 
object  of  the  cultivator,  but  w’hen  seeds  are  de¬ 
sired  the  infiorcsoonso  is  left  to  develop.  CulU- 
vators  differ  as  to  tho  proper  time  to  “  top  ”  or 
break  off  tho  flower  head.  Some  prefer  to  top 
when  the  stem  has  six  or  eight  leaves,  while 
others  think  ten  not  too  many.  After  being  topped 
axillary  branches  are  put  forth,  which  are  popu¬ 
larly  known  as  “  suckers."  These  are  broken  off 
as  soon  and  as  often  as  they  appear.  The  whole 
plant  is  now'  covered  by  a  viscid  resinous  sub- 
which  renders 
Thebe  are  probably  very  few  of  our  readers 
residing  on  a  farm  who  have  not  had  a  visit  from 
the  dealers  in  “  Patent  fences,”  and  to  this  class 
the  following,  from  the  National  Live  Stock 
Journal,  will  doubtless  bo  interesting,  and  per¬ 
haps  iiiRlructive : 
The  large  and  annually  increasing  cost  of  en¬ 
closures  will  account  for  (he  readiness  with 
which  fanners  are  imposed  upon  by  every  new 
invention  that  is  Inaugurated  under  the  plea  of 
economy.  Most  of  the  recent  inventions  are  for 
working  up  the  old  rails  la  our  worm  fences  into 
panels,  and  fastening  these  together  and  so  brac¬ 
ing  that  they  will  stand  in  a  straight  line  w  ithout 
sinldug  posts  into  tlm  ground.  By  some  of  these 
methods  fences  are  constructed  which  appear 
quite  substantial  and  firm  when  first  put  up,  but 
in  a  short  time  some  of  the  nails  or  w  ires  used 
in  attaching  the  braces  begin  to  give  way  and 
AN  OUNCE  OF  PREVENTION 
For  obvious  reasons  moie  farm  property  is 
destroyed  by  fire  in  winter  than  during  any 
other  season,  and  since  the  appliances  for  con¬ 
trolling  fires  after  they  break  out  are  few  and 
naarly  always  inadequate,  extreme  and  constant 
vigilance  should  bo  c-xerciMod.  The  most  fre¬ 
quent  causes  arc  defective  flues,  esiiecially 
where  the  stove  pipes  are  inserted,  or  where 
ceilings  are  pierced  for  pipes  ;  and  ertrelcssness 
in  the  use  of  matches  and  kerosene.  Where 
pipes  enter  brickwork  a  large  sheet  of  tin  or 
iron  closely  fitting  the  pipe  should  be  naiicd 
firmly  to  the  brickwork  and  the  lower  part 
turned  up  to  fonn  a  gutter  in  which  casual 
apaj'ks  may  fall.  Kerosene  is  always  a  treach¬ 
erous  article,  nearly  as  dangerous  and  destruct¬ 
ive  as  gunpowder,  and  should  he  used  only  In 
sfiitionary  lamps  sot  into  brackets.  Its  use  in 
portable  lamps  of  the  usual  pattern  is  a  perpet¬ 
ual  menace  to  life  and  property.  This  is 
especially  true  of  the  ordinary  lantern  with  thjn 
glass  sides  and  chimneys  used  in  baj-ns  and 
stables.  Tho  old-fashiojied  tin  cylinder  pierced 
with  small  holes  and  lit  with  a  bit  of  tallow  can¬ 
dle  does  not  give  as  much  light,  but  has  the 
merit  of  perfect  safety.  Mrs.  OXeary's  famous 
cow  might  have  kicked  one  of  thorn  to  atoms 
without  ondangiTing  tho  city  ol  Chicago.  The 
common  match  is  only  less  dangerous.  They 
should  be  kept  in  tin  boxes,  nailed  to  the  wall  so 
high  that  neither  children  nor  mica  can  obtain 
access  to  them.  The  foi-mer  like  them  just  a 
trifle  more  than  any  other  dangerous  and  forbid¬ 
den  article,  while  the  latter  have  a  strange  avid¬ 
ity  for  the  phosphorus  with  which  they  are 
usually  tipped. 
stance,  commonly  called  “  gum, 
it  very  unpleasant  to  liandlc. 
After  this  time,  tobacco's  greatest  enemy 
makes  its  appearance,  namely,  tlie  “  tobacco 
worm’’  (Splmix  Carolina,  Linn.)  This,  the 
larva  of  the  grey  American  hawk-moth,  is  a 
green  worm,  sometimes  as  large  as  a  man’s 
finger.  Allied  to  this  is  the  Sphinx  quinquemaou- 
lala  of  Stevens,  the  larva  of  which  sometimes 
infests  tobacco,  hut  more  frequently  the  tomato 
and  potato.  These  moths  hide  themselves  and 
sleep  during  tho  day,  and  at  night  tliey  go  forth 
to  deposit  thoir  eggs  in  patches  on  the  leaves. 
During  the  early  horns  of  eumincr  eveu- 
ings  they  may  he  seen  hovering  over  the  flowers 
of  the  “Jamestown  weed"  (Da/ura  Slramo- 
niuni),  from  wldch  t.liey  extract  the  exuding 
juice.  By  the  iiitroduclion  of  some  virulent 
poison  into  these  flowers  numbers  of  them  might 
be  destroyed.  Those  also  belong  to  the  order 
Lepidoptera.  Tho  larvfc  are  very  destructive  to 
tho  leaves,  and  I  have  known  instances  in  which 
one  worm  has  eaten  an  entire  plant  in  a  single 
night.  They  are  watched  very  closely,  picked 
off  by  hand,  and  destroy'ed. 
Of  late  years,  a  very  destructive  enemy,  in 
different  species  of  Amia  (Arrna  niodesla,  Ma- 
m 
