1852 
121 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
cheap and accessible a form. Nothing is wanted in Vir¬ 
ginia but the spirit, to make her the very first in agri¬ 
cultural states. Her soil is capable of any degree of im¬ 
provement ; her climate is all that can be desired. She 
has all the means at hand, and only requires the will, to 
put the willing hand to the plow", and the strong arm to 
the reaper, and then to gather the largest harvest of any 
of her sisters. - 
Vermont State Ag. Society. —We notice by the 
Middlebury Register, that at the late meeting of the Ad¬ 
dison County Agricultural Society, a discussion arose as 
to the propriety of sustaining their State Agricultural 
Society. It w T as stated that fears were entertained that 
the existence of the State Society would prove injurious 
to the County Societies. Such has not been the result 
in this state. On the other hand, our State Society has 
given new vigor to the county associations previously ex¬ 
isting, and has led to the organization of others in almost 
all the counties in the state. In no one particular has the 
State Society’s influence been more beneficial, than in its 
favorable effects upon the county societies; and we are 
glad to see that a resolution, in favor of sustaining their 
State Society, was adopted • and we trust that the 
other county societies in Vermont will do all they'can to 
aid in carrying into effective operation their state associ- 
tion. —- 
Insects on the Plum Tree.-— We have been kindly 
furnished by John Lloyd, with specimens of an insect 
which he supposes to be the cause of what he terms the 
“ canker,” or black knot, on the plum. We hope he will 
excuse us for differing from him as to this insect causing 
this disaster, as in a multitude of instances the excres¬ 
cences arise without the slightest external injury, while 
the punctures of this insect, which appears to be allied 
to the Cicada, or American Locust, are quite conspicu¬ 
ous. He will, however, please accept our thanks for the 
results of his observations, as examinations of this kind 
are always interesting, and if pursued, cannot fail to lead 
to useful results. We have observed the punctures of 
other species of this order of insects upon the plum and 
cherry, more formidable in appearance, which never pro¬ 
duced any disease or excrescence, whatever; and indeed, 
it is rare that injuries of this kind ever produce anything 
of the sort, with the exception of those like the gall in¬ 
sect, which are of a very local character. 
The Locusts. —Dr. Gideon B. Smith, of Baltimore, 
says the Seventeen-Year Locusts will appear this year in 
Connecticut, east of the river, in portions of Tolland, 
Middlesex, and Hartford counties, and probably other 
counties north ; and in Massachusetts, in Franklin, Bris¬ 
tol, and Hampshire counties, especially about Fall River. 
They will leave the earth early in June, and may be found 
any time in May, by shoving off the top soil in places 
wdiere trees or shrubbery grew in 1835, in those districts. 
The Connecticut district is not connected with the Massa¬ 
chusetts district. There is also a district in Massachu¬ 
setts, in which they will appear in 1855, (about Barnstable, 
for example,) and another in Connecticut in which they 
will appear in 1860. This district extends westwardly from 
the Connecticut River to New-York,and north-westwardly 
east of the Hudson River, to Washington county, N. Y. 
Downing’s Country Houses.— -A friend, in a private 
letter, says, “Your correspondent, ‘ C. L.,’ wishes to 
build a farm-house, costing from $800 to $1000, and Re¬ 
quests a plan. I would suggest to you the propriety of 
informing him that Downing’s Architecture of Country 
Houses, would be a valuable work for him in the present 
exigency. Even if he does not find apian exactly suited 
to his taste, he may find information and suggestions that 
would be worth ten times the cost of the book, while 
building his house.” The price of the work, is $2, and 
no man should undertake to build a house without con¬ 
sulting it. -- 
Hasty Conclusions. —Men are too apt to draw general 
conclusions from particular and local facts. We observed 
lately an example in an exchange paper, where a corres¬ 
pondent had tried the mode, strongly recommended, 
of hanging up his cabbages by cords in his cellar for fresh 
keeping through winter. They withered, shrunk, and 
became worthless. The fault was in his cellar—like most 
other cellars, it was too dry for this purpose—with some 
which are quite damp, it succeeds well. We have kept 
cabbages through winter in fine condition, in a cellar not 
moist, by placing them closely together in one layer on 
boards laid on the bottom, and under the apple shelves, 
which occupied the central portion. They were in a 
moist part of the cellar, and the circulation of air, as 
when suspended, could not dry them rapidly. With 
other cellars, perhaps, this mode would prove a failure. 
Dissolving Bones with Sulphuric Acid. —The re¬ 
ceipts for this operation, direct to use aproportion of 
sulphuric acid equal to half the weight of the bones: 
Professor Anderson, chemist to the Highland Agricul¬ 
tural Society, thinks this quantity of acid is larger than 
is needed. He recommends, where the preparation of 
bones for manure is carried on to much extent, that a 
cistern lined with lead, (though wood only will answer,) 
should be provided, and a watering-pot, made of lead. 
The proportions of materials are—one ton bones, one- 
quarter ton of sulphuric acid, one-quarter of a ton, or 
60 gallons boiling water. A small quantity of bones 
should be spread on the bottom of the cistern, and the 
sulphuric acid gradually poured on from the watering- 
can. Throw in more bones, and more acid and water, 
managing the process so as to mix the bones, water and 
acid, as uniformly as possible. The mixture should be 
allowed to stand for some days before it is used, and 
should then be mixed with dry peat or soil, to render it 
sufficiently dry for use. It may he kept any length of 
time under cover, without loss. 
Devon Cattle. —We saw recently, on their passage 
through this city, two very fine Devon heifers, purchased 
by Mr. L. H. Colby, of Scipioville, Cayuga county, of 
of Mr. Lewis Trall, of Torringford, Conn. They were 
bred by Mr. T., from the stock of the Messrs. Hurlburt, 
of Winchester, whose herd of Devons is so well known 
throughout the country. 
0“ The attention of those who wish to engage largely 
in farming operations, and other matters connected with 
it, is invited to an advertisement in our present number, 
from Illinois, which appears to afford a fine opportunity 
for an expert business man. 
