1851 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
173 
sion years ago, from slaughtering cattle effected in this 
way; from examining the mouths of those and others I 
have known, I am confident that in every case like the 
one described by Mr. Todd, there was defective teeth 
against the tumor. To extract the defective teeth, 
when the tumor is first discovered, may, perhaps, effect 
a cure, yet I think it doubtful.” 
Cure for Scratches in Horses. 
A subscriber in Virginia sends us the following recipe, 
the efficacy of which he says he has proved: 
3 pints good vinegar, 
l pint spirits of turpentine. 
Mix thoroughly in a bottle, and it is fit for use. Ap¬ 
ply it with a swab. 
Foot-rot in Sheep. 
There are various modes of treating this disease, but 
we know of none more simple and effectual than an ap¬ 
plication of blue vitrol. R. Herrick, of Essex, Vt., 
describes his mode of treatment in the Boston Cultiva¬ 
tor, as follows: 
“ For one hundred sheep, from 2 to 2| lbs. oil of 
vitriol, 1 lb. blue vitriol, pulverized, 1 lb. burnt alum, 
dissolved in four quarts of soft water. But the main 
thing is yet to come. The hoof must be cleaned and 
pared; cut to the bottom of the sore, but be careful not 
to draw blood, for that will prevent seeing the diseased 
part. Clean and pare till the hoof is white all over; 
then dip it into the above preparation. Repeat the paring 
and dipping once in ten or twelve days, till all are sound. 
Three to five times will ordinarily effect a cure. The 
foot rot is much more easily cured in cold than in warm 
weather.” 
Initiraltitrnl Srfinrtnmtt. 
CONDUCTED BY J. J. THOMAS, MACEDON, N. Y. 
Lime for the Curculio. 
Much having been said in favor of lime as a remedy 
for the curculio, and as the time is approaching for its 
yearly assault on young fruit, the knowledge of past ex¬ 
periments becomes desirable. A near neighbor,—who 
is a distinguished fruit raiser,—tried lime in nearly all 
imaginable ways last year, and with the following results. 
Nectarines, plums, and apricots, were thoroughly 
syringed with thin lime wash; and as each successive 
rain and heavy dew carried it off from the smooth sur¬ 
face of the young fruit, it was re-applied as often as ne¬ 
cessary. Special attention was given to the nectarines, 
which for six years of blossoming had yielded no crop; 
and to be still more secure against this, the lime was ap¬ 
plied carefully with a brush to each young nectarine. 
About three days in the aggregate were spent in this 
way ; and the result was, that the full number of six 
entire specimens of the nectarine were saved from de¬ 
struction out of the whole orchard. But on further in¬ 
quiry it appeared that these six all grew on a tree under 
which a young calf was kept confined during the season 
of operation; and to whose presence, chiefly, these spe¬ 
cimens owed their escape. 
The lime was believed to have a repelling influence, 
and some hopes were at first entertained of its efficacy; 
but it was soon discovered that the coating was disregard¬ 
ed, and the eggs were thrust through it into the green 
pulp. The whole trees with their entire crop of leaves 
whitened with lime, did not present a very ornamental 
appearance. 
The application of lime appears to have been else¬ 
where in some cases quite successful—it becomes a sub¬ 
ject for inquiry whether any collateral influences assisted 
it; whether the favorable result was not owing to some¬ 
thing else, and was erroneously ascribed to the lime. 
--' 
Protecting Half-Hardy Plants. 
[Extcact of a letter from David Thomas, dated 3 mo. 1, 1851.] 
Evergreens are believed to afford a better protection 
to half-hardy plants than dry vegetable matter; and 
when thickly applied to shrubs and young trees, and 
banded, succeed remarkably well. But in this climate 
it is dangerous to remove the covering much before the 
close of the 4th month. Unless the plants be making 
vigorous and etiolated shoots, (as the Greville rose is 
apt to do) it will be better to let every thing remain till 
the danger from even severe white frost is over and past. 
A fine young tree of the Pride of India (Melia aze- 
darach ) 4 or 5 feet high, I once thoroughly and thickly 
encased with hemlock boughs; and though I have now 
no hope that a plant so decidedly southern will ever en¬ 
dure our winters without the most ample protection, 
yet when I removed the bandages early in spring, there 
were no traces of damage from the cold. A warm spell 
about the middle of 4tli month however, which tempted 
me to trust it, was succeeded by severe weather, and it 
perished. The sun had been allowed to shine on its frozen 
limbs, and the rough winds to chafe them. I have never 
repeated the experiment. 
For low evergreen plants, such as the Auricula or 
Primrose, a cabbage leaf answers completely; and noth¬ 
ing can be more conveniently procured. * * * * 
When walking in the garden after the snow went off, 
I w r as pleased to observe how slight a covering was suf¬ 
ficient to protect half-hardy shrubs. Late in autumn, 
I had laid the Chromatella, Souvenir de Malmaison, and 
Solfatare flat on the ground, covering them but slightly, 
yet sufficiently to prevent their radiating heat to the open 
sky; and there they repose, uninjured by more than 30° 
of frost. Without this intervention, as a correspondent 
remarked to me in a letter, “ they would have died 
half a dozen deaths.” 
-»- 0 .- 
Utility of the Cultivation of Flowers. 
The chaplain of the Utica Asylum for the Insane, 
writes, “ The Institution with which I am connected is 
flourishing. It is mournful to see so many persons bereft, 
in different degrees, of reason; and the more especially 
when we consider that very few of them have become so 
by the soverign providence of God; and that in the large 
proportion of cases, it is traceable to early misgovern- 
ment, intemperance, prodigality, mortified ambition, 8cc. 
Let us feel the importance of cultivating temperance, 
self-government, intellectual and moral sources of en¬ 
joyment, and above all the affections of religion,—as the 
greatest sources of happiness to our children and to all. 
