THE CULTIVATOR. Dec. 
366 
Seed. The last of October is the best time to gather 
pine balls. Select those that are of the growth of the 
present year, spread them on a tight floor—a chamber 
having windows opening to the south is a desirable I 
place—and before spring the action of the sun and of 
frost, will open most of the cones, and the seed will 
drop out. The cones that remain closed may be put 
into pans and placed in a warm oven to open. Before 
planting, the wings should be rubbed off the seed, and 
all extraneous matter carefully winnowed out. A 
bushel of good balls will yield three pints of cleaned 
seed, which is a sufficient quantity for three acres. 
Cost of Planting .—Previous to 1842, I planted by 
plowing furrows, eight feet apart, lengthwise of the 
field, and dropping and covering the seed by hand, in 
the bottom of the furrows. Some little was planted 
with a hoe, without first plowing. Both of these 
methods are too expensive, if a large quantity of land 
is to be planted. In the spring of 1842, I had a ma¬ 
chine constructed, on the principle of a corn planter, 
with "which a man and a horse can plant six acres in a 
day. The machine is simple in its construction, and 
cost less than five dollars. It operates well in all soils 
where it is advisable to plant the Pitch Pine. The cost 
of the seed and planting with the machine is less than 
one dollar per acre. 
Growth , Profit , ^-c.—The first three or four years, 
the growth of the Pitch Pine is slow; but when it is 
planted or comes up in old fields, its increase in size for 
twenty years, will average for each year one foot in 
height, and one third of an inch in diameter. The 
value of land suitable for planting the Pitch Pine is not 
usually estimated at over two dollars per acre, and it is 
frequently sold for one. The cost of an acre planted, 
■will not on an average exceed three dollars. Where 
wood is worth three dollars a cord standing, if no acci¬ 
dent happens to the pines, the A alue of the annual growth 
for twenty-seven years may be safely estimated at one 
dollar for each acre. This rule will not apply to pine j 
woodlands, for the growth there is not half so rapid as 
in old fields. 
But there are drawbacks that must be taken into the 
account before the balance of the profit and loss sheet 
is struck. Interest on the capital invested, the risk of 
fire and the greater risk of destruction from the ravages 
of the speckled catterpillar, or pine tree worm. It is 
only a few years since these pesls first made their ap- | 
pearance in this region. Their ravages are principally 
confined to pines growing on lands formerly cultivated, j 
Wherever they appear, there are myriads of them 
They completely cover the branches and in a few days 
strip the tree of all its foliage.. Their name is legion. 
Very few trees survive their attack, and if they live, 
their existence is sickly and their growth siunteu. 
Their ravages have thus far been confined to the light 
sandy soils. Last year almost every tree on a twelve 
acre lot of mine was destroyed by this catterpillar. 
Others suffered also. This year they have again made 
their appearance, and in some places the ground and 
trees are literally alive with them. If their ravages are 
not stayed, it is not advisable for any one to plant the 
Pitch Pine, particularly on light soils and in the vicinity 
of places where the catterpillar has alread 3 r made its 
appearance. However there is no reason to be discou¬ 
raged ; if one species of trees do not succeed, we can 
try another. The curse of insects is chargeable to j 
the murderous sportsman. Birds were appointed to 
hold the insect tribes in check, and the destruction of 
the one is the increase of the other. But, gentlemen, j 
fear of the ravages of insects should deter no one in his 
.attempts to cultivate trees. With all its drawbacks, I 
am satisfied that it is more profitable than three-fourths 
of the crops now raised by the farmers. Nearly two 
centuries ago, at a time when Cape Cod was covered 
almost by one unbroken forest, our ancestors, year suc¬ 
ceeding year, in their town meetings, passed votes 
offering encouragements for the growth of timber, and 
imposing fines and penalties on him who should wan¬ 
tonly destroy a single tree. Then the value of timber 
scarcely exceeded the cost of carrying it to market; 
now the value is tripled; yet till very recently, no one 
has thought it a public duty to encourage the growth, 
or to adopt measures for its preservation. We have 
paid bounties for the destruction of birds—only another 
form for granting gratuities for the propagation of 
worms and noxious insects,—-we have converted our 
woodlands into pastures; and all that the cattle could 
not destroy man has deemed it meritorious to cut down 
and uproot;—nothing has been left for beauty or shade, 
and nothing to break the force of the sweeping gale. 
But there is beginning to be developed in this com¬ 
munity, another and a better feeling. It is perceived 
in the cultivation of trees; pleasure and utility may be 
combined; that our worn out and desolate hills may be 
covered with verdant and beautiful forests; that our 
village streets may be adorned with shady rows; and 
that our gardens and fields may be studded with fruit 
trees, without diminishing the pasturage or fertility of 
the farm. One object of the Agricultural Society, is to 
foster and encourage this feeling, and whatever aid I 
can render will be most cheerfully contributed. 
Amos Otis. 
Yarmouth Port, Oct . 6, 1846. 
BLACK WEEVIL —Curculio granaria , Linn. 
This insect, called by some <c black weevil,” Dr. 
Harris describes as being, in its perfected state, a 
slender beetle, of a pitchy red color, about one eighth 
of an inch long, with a slender snout slightly bent down¬ 
wards, a coarsely punctured and very long thorax, con¬ 
stituting almost one-half the length of the whole body, 
and wing-covers that are furrowed, and do not entirely 
cover the tip of the abdomen. This little insect, both 
in the beetle and grub state, devours stored wheat and 
other grains, and often commits much havoc in granaries 
and brew-houses. Its pow : ers of multiplication are very 
great, for it is stated that a single pair of these destroy¬ 
ers maj'’ produce above six thousand descendants in one 
year. The female deposits her eggs upon the wffieat 
after it is housed, and the young grubs immediately 
burrow into the wheat, each individual occupying 
alone a single grain, the substance of which it devours 
so as to leave nothing but the hull; and this destruction 
goes on within, while no external appearance leads to 
its discovery, and the loss of weight is the only evi¬ 
dence of the mischief that has been done to the grain. 
ee In due time the grubs undergo their transforma¬ 
tion, and come out of the hulls in the beetle state 
to lay their eggs for another brood. These insects are 
effectually destroyed by kiln-drying the wheat; and 
grain that is kept cool, w r ell ventilated, and is frequent¬ 
ly moved, is said to be exempt from attack.” 
Mr. Clark Ki.ch, of Shoreham, Vt., gives us an ac¬ 
count of the manner in which this insect attacked some 
stored grain in his neighborhood, and the means he 
took to destroy it. He states that the insect first made 
its appearance last fall, (1845,) in some boxes of wheat 
which had been standing for some time undisturbed in 
a mill. In the following spring, the insect became 
troublesome. It had been previously wholly unknown 
in that quarter. The insects soon became so numerous, 
that grinding w r as suspended for a time. He made ex¬ 
periments to kill the insects with smoke. He found he 
could kill them with brimstone smoke, by placing them 
in the farther end of a stove pipe, though so far from 
the fire as not to be hurt by the heat. He could also 
kill them in the same situation by tobacco smoke. He 
next tried to destroy the insects by fumigation. Hav¬ 
ing made the mill as tight as he could, he burnt a hundred 
pounds of brimstone in the course of twelve hours. 
After this, the insects appeared torpid, but on being 
taken to the air soon revived. He then tried tobacco, 
and burned about 150 lbs. This, to appearance, did not 
disturb them. From these unfavorable results, he deemed 
it of no use to continue the process any longer, though 
he thinks that in a brick or stone building, with a 
tinned roof, every insect or other animal might be 
killed by brimstone smoke. 
He then applied hot water, and gave the mill a tho¬ 
rough scalding, using- all the water that could be heated 
