163 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
facts I should be led to believe that it lies in its chrysalis state during the 
winter, and appears the fly in June or later, according to the temperature 
of the air. The chrysalis probably is formed in grass or other vegetable 
matter near the ground, and an exposure to light and heat is necessary to 
bring forth the insect: perlfaps ploughing in the stubble may be a pre¬ 
ventive, by burying the chrysalis in the ground and excluding it from 
light and heat; this was my management in 1833, the stubble was plough¬ 
ed in and sown to winter wheat; the worm did not appear next season. 
As to this being a new species of insect I must differ from others, as I 
suppose I have seen it in small numbers at certain periods for more than 
thirty years, and I am led to believe that it is the same which is frequent¬ 
ly seen in the pea pods preying upon the tender pea. I do not recollect 
ever seeing it in barley or oats, but think I have seen it in rye. As to 
the destruction of the worm entirely, I suppose it is as impossible as it 
would be to subvert- those laws of nature, which brought it into, and 
keeps it in existence; for when God cursed the ground for man’s sake, 
he not only produced briers and thorns, but put in requisition the insect 
tribes, that he who cultivates the ground should not only have scope for 
bodily exertion, but that the energies of his mind might also be put in 
requisition to obtain his daily bread. Having made these observations 
and already suggested the propriety of ploughing as a preventive, I should 
like to be informed whether the worm has committed equal ravages on 
wheat sown on stubble grounds as on summer fallows: this may be thought 
needless, as the worm is said to prey upon spring wheat; but I think it 
is probable if the worm lies in chrysalis during the wfnter, that it comes 
forth early in the spring, or it may be assumes the bug form before it ap¬ 
pears in a flying insect, like the dragon fly, and the locust. If this is the 
case probably spring ploughing would not be early enough to prevent its 
appearance. As to early sowing of winter wheat, and late sowing of 
spring wheat, perhaps it is worthy of an experiment; but it must be as a 
matter of consideration, that insects generally are produced only by a cer¬ 
tain degree of heat, and that they vary in coming forth ten or twelve 
days, in the same temperature and even the same species. This is known 
to be the case with the silkworm. And there is another consideration; 
harvest does not come to maturity at the expiration of a certain number 
of days every year, but may vary fifteen or twenty days, as it did this 
year. Therefore I would say, with the inspired penman, “ in the morn¬ 
ing sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand, for who 
knoweth which will prosper, either this or that, or whether they both will 
be alike good;” that is give all diligence to be prepared to sow at the 
proper season, if the weather and other circumstances permit, but re¬ 
member the old adage “ better late than never.” One observation more; 
insects generally are periodical in their appearance and depredations; 
not that they fulfil a certain number of years exactly, or that they appear 
but one year at a time; sometimes they continue several years in succes¬ 
sion, and then disappear for a season; at other times they will appear and 
bear destruction w'ith them for one season, and not be seen again for a 
number of years, as was the case with the Palmer worms, (so called,) 
that appeared in thi3 vicinity, in 1831. With these facts before us, let 
us use every exertion to find a relief from the ravages of those insects we 
cannot destroy; relying on the blessing of a bountiful Providence.' In¬ 
dustry and perseverance will do much, so much indeed, that “ seed time 
and harvest will not fail;” and the poor of our land will be satisfied with 
bread. Yours respectfully, 
ASA CARTER. 
Champion, Jefferson county. Sept. 28th, 1837. 
GRAIN WORM, &c. 
Stamford, Delaware county , October 1. 
The grain worm, about which you inquire in the September No. of the 
Cultivator, has made its appearance in this vicinity, but it has done so 
little harm, that I probably should not have noticed it, had I not seen its 
ravages in Schoharie, and examined several pieces of wheat in this neigh¬ 
borhood, to ascertain whether it was here or not. I found but very few 
of the worms, and those were in spring wheat, some of which was sown 
about the first of May, and some as late as the 15th of the same month. 
There was very little winter wheat sown in this place last season; but 
spring wheat and oats are uncommonly good. The latter are becoming 
an important crop to the farmers in this county, owing to large quantities 
being kiln-dried, ground, and the oat-meal made into hasty-pudding, 
which I believe is generally considered fully equal, if not superior, to 
that kind of “ hasty pudding,” whose praise was so well sung by Joel 
Barlow. Yours in haste, 
A. COWLEY. 
COTTON. 
J. Bcel, Esq.—Dear Sir—Although cotton, as we learn from Pliny, 
was cultivated at an early period by the ancients; yet it is scarce thirty 
years ago since this valuable plant began to be grown extensively in the 
United States. But now our cotton commands the highest prices, both 
at home and abroad. Besides the increasing demand for domestic con¬ 
sumption, thousands of bales are exported annually, especially to Great 
Britain, and returned in those beautiful fabrics for the production of 
which her ingenious manufacturers are so justly famed. Hence the rais¬ 
ing of cotton has, in the southern section of our Union, become an exten¬ 
sive and a lucrative trade. 
I have read several articles on the subject, but they have all appeared 
unsatisfying; partly because they were confused, but principally because 
they were not founded on practical data. My object, therefore, in ad¬ 
dressing you is, through your widely circulated journal, to solicit from 
some of your experienced cotton-growing correspondents, clear and con¬ 
cise ansvyers to the following queries, viz.: 
1. What soil and climate is the most suitable for the culture of cotton? 
2. What kind of seed is found in the southern states to be the most 
productive and profitable ? 
3. What is the best method of, and the best time for planting? 
4 What tillage must precede and succeed the planting? Can two crops 
be obtained in a season ? 
5. When, and how should it be gathered; and how can it be most ex¬ 
peditiously cleaned, pressed and prepared for manufacture or exportation? 
6. What is the fair average yield, the cost of culture, of bagging, of 
machinery, &c. and the nett profit per acre? A numerical statement is 
desirable. 
7. To what dieases is the cotton plant of our country liable; and how 
may they best be remedied? 
8. Is the soil and climate of East Florida, say 50 miles southwest of St. 
Augustine, adapted to the growth of cotton; and what kinds? 
Should the above queries meet the eye of any practical and experi¬ 
enced planter, he will, by answering them, not only confer a favor on 
many of his brother planters, but will, at the same time, encourage the 
growth of an invaluable domestic staple. 
Each succeeding number of “ The Cultivator” I peruse with increas¬ 
ing interest and gratification. The contents are alike varied and instruc¬ 
tive—pertinently illustrating its excellent motto, "to improve the 
soil and the mind.” It should, therefore, be the manual of every 
farmer—the directory of every gentleman who would cultivate the soil. 
Yours respectfully, L*. 
Princeton, (N.J.) 1 6th Nov. 1837. 
SIBERIAN SPRING WHEAT. 
Utica, November 10th, 1837. 
Mr. Boel,— The lively interest that you have heretofore manifested in 
relation to the wheat crop, which holds such an important rank in agricul¬ 
ture, induces me to furnish you with some additional remarks, which I 
have gathered from another year’s experience with the Siberian spring 
wheat. 
The first week in May I sowed six bushels of clean seed upon four 
acres of ground, which had lain to pasture four or five years, and planted 
with corn upon the furrow the preceding spring—the corn gave a poor re¬ 
turn, on account of the unpropitious season—the character of the season 
past, and the condition of the ground, were both favorable—the growth of 
the crop corresponded. I saw it several times during the summer, and 
was (perhaps too much) gratified with the prospect of the final result. I 
was at the farm about the middle of July, when the process of vegetation 
was in its pride, and the kernel in that stage which the farmers denomi¬ 
nate the milk; a cloud cameover the field with heavy thunder, much rain 
and more wind, which prostrated the whole crop, and that in all direc¬ 
tions. From this disaster (occurring when in fullest leaf, and perhaps 
heaviest head) it never recovered but partially. We however harvested 
some of it with the cradle, but much more with sickles, and with all a sad 
and wasteful gathering necessarily resulted, and from its long prostrate 
condition, much of it over the whole field was shrunk more or less, ac¬ 
cording to the degree of prostration. From waste and shrinkage I appre¬ 
hend we could not have suffered less than ten per cent loss, besides it 
was all threshed during the rainy season of the last week in October, and 
the first week in November, by which we suffered some further loss; 
and yet amid all these drawbacks, we obtained between thirty-six and 
thirty-seven bushels to the acre. The seed, when sowed, was remarka¬ 
bly clean, berry full and perfectly dry, and weighed sixty-eight pounds to 
the bushel. So much for. the productiveness. 
By way of experiment as to time of sowing, and different strengths of 
soil, I reserved a small quantity of seed, and sowed one part of it the mid¬ 
dle of May, on the side of my pea-field, on land originally good, but much 
exhausted by at least ten years’ tillage, without a holiday. This was a 
fair growth, bright straw, and fair berry, and was, I should judge, equal to 
twenty-four bushels to the acre. 
The remainder of the seed I sowed adjoining my white bean crop, on 
land not long in tillage, but naturally thin and unproductive. The straw 
grew well, and I began to think the Siberian wheat would grow on any 
soil, and might be sowed at any time, but at the harvest I was corrected; 
the straw, although not rusty, yet totally destitute of lustre, and the heads 
were poorly filled, and kernels badly shrunk. 
The foregoing comparisons are Siberian with Siberian. I will now add 
a few observations, comparing Siberian with Italian and other kinds of 
wheat. 
The proprietor of the farm adjoining me on the south, took much pains 
