1852 
THE CULTIVATOR 
191 
in some parts of New-England, or one nearly allied to it 
in habits. The reason of its spreading so slowly, is doubt¬ 
less owing to the female perfect insect having no wings, 
and therefore being unable to travel far in laying its eggs. 
This is the case with the canker-worm, which is most 
destructive early in summer—which causes an orchard 
to appear as (l scorched”—and which descends into the 
earth, undergoes its transformations, and comes out in 
the perfect insect late in autumn or early in spring, and 
lays its eggs by first crawling up the tree. 
The remedies consist in keeping the insects from ascend¬ 
ing the tree. The best is perhaps the following:—Take 
two pieces of board a foot wide and two feet long; hol¬ 
low out a space in each, so that when placed together 
they shall enclose the trunk of the tree. Smear their 
under surfaces with tar, place them to the tree, and a 
large nail or two driven through one into the other at 
each end, secures them to their place. The crevices be¬ 
tween the boards and the tree are stuffed with fine grass, 
wool, or swingling tow. Tar has been applied directly 
to the bark, but it injures or kills the tree, soon gets 
crusted in the h<5t sun, and the caught insects soon form 
a bridge, over which the rest pass. It is said that a sub¬ 
stance much better than tar may be prepared by burn¬ 
ing an old india rubber shoe over a dish, into which the 
melted substance will gradually drop, and form a viscid 
juice, which will not dry in a year. Perhaps a broad 
belt of worsted smeared with it, and placed round the 
tree, would answer the desired purpose. It should be 
applied by mid-autumn, and remain till the next sum¬ 
mer. 
In order that our correspondent may determine wheth¬ 
er this is the true canker worm, (which possibly may have 
been conveyed there by some unknown means,) we an- 
.nex Dr. Harris’s description of the caterpillar, or insect 
in the larva state:— 
A very great difference of color is observable among 
canker-worms of different ages, and even among those of 
the same size. It is possible that some of these variations 
may arise from a difference of species; but it is also true 
that the same species varies much in color. When very 
young, they have two minute warts on the top of the 
last ring; and they are then generally of a blackish or 
dusky brown color, with a yellowish stripe on each side 
of the body; there are two whitish bands across the head • 
and the belly is also whitish. When fully grown, these 
individuals become ash-colored on the back, and black on 
the sides, below which the pale yellowish line remains. 
Some are found of a dull greenish yellow and others of 
a clay color, with slender interrupted blackish lines on the 
sides, and small spots of the same color on the back. 
Some are green, with two white stripes on the back. The 
head and the feet partake of the general color of the 
body; the belly is paler. When not eating, they remain 
stretched out at full length, and resting on their fore and 
hind legs, beneath the leaves. 
Sowing Buckthorn Seed. 
Will it do to plant Buckthorn seed in the spring, and 
will it be necessary to scald them to promote their sprout¬ 
ing the coming summer. Farmer’s Boy. Platte City, 
Missouri, Jan. 10, 1852. 
Buckthorn seed should be treated precisely in the same 
way as apple seed—that is, mixed with sand in autumn 
as soon as gathered and washed out; exposed to the 
weather in winter j and planted early in spring as soon as 
sprouting commences, or before. This we have found 
uniformly successful. Perhaps exposure to the weather 
is not essential, as we have tried no other way. Old seed 
will not grow. We know not the effect of scalding, but 
would rather not try it. 
-- 
Burnt Clay. 
Messrs. Editors— I would wish to make the inquiry, 
if you know of pounded brick ever being used as a ma¬ 
nure for top-dressing, and what its effects had been. I 
believe that chemists maintain that burned clay has the 
power of absorbing ammonia. Perhaps old bricks have 
been tried in confirmation of this theory. Not wishing 
to take a “leap in the dark,” I would like to obtain 
some information through your paper. “ A Subscriber.” 
Petersburg, Fa., March 9, 1852. 
Burning clay soils, which has been found sometimes 
very beneficial, appears to operate, so far as the clay is 
concerned, more in altering its texture, and destroying 
its tenacity, than in any other way. Pounded brick could 
be of no use in any way but in affecting the texture of the 
soil, and would be a costly operation where some hun- 
dreds of loads would be required to produce any ma 
terial influence. There is enough clay in all soils to ab 
sorb all the ammonia they usually come in contact with 
It will be observed that the heat, in burning soils, operates 
in several ways, as for example in reducing the vegetable 
parts to ashes, rendering the lime caustic, &c. It ap¬ 
pears never to be of any use except on heavy soils, and 
is most so on thqse with a large portion of decayed vege¬ 
table matter. 
Applying Guano. 
You will confer a favor by informing me what quantity 
of Pemvian gxiano should be applied per acre to Indian 
corn, and also the most approved method of application. 
Very respectfully yours, Saml. D. Bowen. Coventry, 
Rhode-Island. 
Two or three hundred pounds to an acre is usually con¬ 
sidered enough—perhaps corn, which will bear much 
manuring, might have 400 lbs. We should, however, 
prefer not giving so much, and applying at the same time 
one-half the usual amount, more or less, of common 
yard-manure, more especially if the ground is not already 
well supplied with vegetable matter. 
The best mode is to mix it thoroughly with several 
times its bulk of peat, or with soil which contains much 
mould, and let it remain several days before applying, 
when it may be treated as rich compost. If from neces¬ 
sity, it must be applied alone, it should be sowed in damp 
or rainy weather, and well harrowed into the soil. It 
may be then plowed under to a moderate or slight depth. 
Wash for Brick Work. 
Will you be so kind as to inform me whether there is 
any kind of composition that can be put on a brick house 
in the place of paint, as has been formerly used, a com¬ 
position that is cheap and durable. Your obedient serv’t., 
Heman B. Hammond. Bristol, Ohio, March 12, 1852. 
On hard, well-burnt brick, simple lime-whitewash will 
adhere, become hard, and endure for many years, often 
quite as well as paint. The quality of the brick has much 
