88 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Sheep Tick— Acarus reduvius . 
To destroy this troublesome and injurious animal, 
that infests so many of the flocks of sheep in all coun¬ 
tries, some writers have recommended a wash made of 
Arsenic finely pounded, one pound, 
Potash, twelve ounces, 
Common soap, six ounces, 
Rain or river water, thirty gallons. 
The ingredients to be boiled together for fifteen min¬ 
utes, and the liquid, in dry weather, applied by pouring 
through the spout of a tea-pot or similar vessel, on the 
wool, which is rubbed at the time, to facilitate the ab¬ 
sorption or passage of the fluid through it. This dress¬ 
ing applied twice a year is also security against the at¬ 
tacks of the fly, which by depositing their eggs on the 
skin produce worms and sores, often very troublesome. 
We have never found it necessary to resort to such 
applications to clear our sheep from ticks, and have 
at shearing scarcely found one for years. The flock 
is a small one, varying from one hundred to one hun¬ 
dred and fifty, yet the means to which this exception is 
attributed would be equally applicable to larger flocks. 
We have for a long time been in the habit of using com¬ 
mon soap pretty liberally at the washing of the sheep, 
and to this we think the absence of ticks is to be credit¬ 
ed. A large tub is used for washing, into which a small 
stream from a brook is conducted, and the time is cho¬ 
sen after a heavy spring rain, that the water may be as 
soft as possible. The sheep is put into the tub and a 
handful of soap is rubbed into the wool of the neck and 
back of each one put in. The grease, scum, and filth, 
floats over the top, and as the stream flowing in is not 
large, the water in Avhich the animal floats soon be¬ 
comes a strong suds, cleansing the wool most thorough¬ 
ly, and proving fatal to any vermin that may be about 
the sheep. The wool of sheep washed in this way will 
be very white and clean, but they should be allowed to 
lie in a clean grass pasture for a week or ten days, that 
the fleece may become again saturated with the animal 
oil so essential to softness and flexibility. 
Wool washed in this way will be free from ticks, and 
though it may not weigh quite so much as if one half of 
the dirt was left in it, yet its superior appearance and 
quality, will secure a compensating price. If there are 
ticks in a flock it is best to rvash or wet the lambs also, 
or the work will be but half done. 
Geological Survey of the State. 
The report of the select committee, to which was re¬ 
ferred that part of the Governor,s message relating to 
this subject, is before us; and is a document well calcu¬ 
lated to strengthen the impressions of the great utility 
of the undertaking we have always entertained. New- 
York has been justly celebrated abroad, and respected 
at home, for her great works of internal improvepaent; 
her system of universal education ; her plan of prison 
discipline ; and another ground of respect will be found 
in our Geological Survey of the State, should it be carri¬ 
ed out in the spirit with which it has been conducted thus 
far, embracing as the survey does, not only the geology, 
but the botany, zoology, mineralogy, and agriculture of 
the state ; the last, however, rather incidentally than as 
a distinct department. 
The original time assigned for the survey was four 
years, which will expire in the coming July. The ex¬ 
pense of the survey including the final reports was esti¬ 
mated at $104,000. Though the utmost diligence, con¬ 
sistent with the magnitude and interests of the under- 
tnking, has been used by the able body of geologists and 
scientific men employed, it is found impossible to com¬ 
plete the survey in the time indicated, and the commit¬ 
tee propose to extend the time until July, 1842. Most 
fortunately, however, time is all that is asked for, the 
original appropriation, being it is supposed, sufficient to 
cover the expense of the survey in the manner pro¬ 
posed. 
The geological department Avill embrace the history 
of all the rocks and strata of the state, their character, 
position, dip, order of succession, and their effect on the 
soil, or in other words their agricultural nature. The 
botanical part of the survey will include a thorough 
“ examination of the vegetable productions of the state, 
including the history and use of every tree, shrub, plant, 
grass, weed and moss.” The zoological part will in¬ 
clude a description of all the species of animals, birds, 
fishes, reptiles and insects, an account of their habits 
and rise, and their utility or injury to man. The de¬ 
partment of palaeontology, will include the figuring and 
description of the organic remains in the various for¬ 
mations in the state, thus furnishing an unerring indica¬ 
tion to the nature, structure and place of any rock from 
the granite up to the coal formations. The mineralogi- 
cal part will include a chemical examination and analy¬ 
sis of the metal, minerals, soils, mineral waters, &c. &c. 
To complete these several divisions, with the maps, 
profiles, sections, drawings and figures required, even 
after the field labor is furnished, (which is as yet far 
from completed) it is evident will require much time and 
attention. That two years should be allowed for these 
purposes, is perfectly reasonable, and the more so, as 
an abrupt termination at the end of the first term pro¬ 
posed, would in a great measure render the labor and 
time already expended lost to the public. The work is 
a great one, worthy of the empire state, and the minds 
that projected and authorized it; and when perfected, 
will be another honorable proof of that tendency to¬ 
ward the universal diffusion of knowledge, which should 
constitute the glory, as it ensures the perpetuity of a 
republic, 
The report before us points out some of the benefits 
already conferred on the state by the survey ; particu¬ 
larly the correction of the erroneous opinions entertain¬ 
ed with regard to the position of coal and salt, in search¬ 
ing and boring for which it is probable far more has al¬ 
ready been expended in this state, where it is now Avell 
ascertained there is not a possibility of their existence, 
than the whole survey will cost. Besides these things, 
the development of the hitherto little understood re¬ 
sources of the state in articles of prime importance, 
and of great economical and practical use and x-alue, 
has already exceeded the expectations of the best friends 
of the undertaking. By our readers, however, the in¬ 
fluence Avhich the survey will exert on the farming in¬ 
terests, will perhaps be the most anxiously looked at, 
and on this point Ave cannot perform a more acceptable 
service to our readers, than presenting that part of the 
report that relates to this subject: 
“ It is upon the relation which this survey sustains to ag¬ 
riculture, that your committee more particularly delight to 
dwell. Our colleges, academies and seminaries of learning, 
teach very litte that is of practical utility in the cultivation 
of the soil. All education doubtless strengthens the mind, 
and prepares it for continued progressive improvement in the 
knowledge of all subjects which fall under its observation in 
the various relations of life. ‘ But it has not been suffi¬ 
ciently understood that agriculture is a science as well as an 
art; that it demands the labor of the mind as well as of the 
hands, and that its successful cultivation is intimately allied 
with the most profound investigations of philosophy and the 
most elaborate exertions of the human mind.’ 
“ To give to this first and best pursuit of man, high intel¬ 
lectual rank in the estimation of public opinion, is now a 
great desideratum in human improvement. How can this 
be accomplished otherwise, than by placing within the reach 
of the sons of our farmers, the facilities for obtaining an edu¬ 
cation essentially agricultural. Being thoroughly acquaint¬ 
ed with the sciences of geology, mineralogy, chemistry, bo¬ 
tany and the other departments of natural history, the culti¬ 
vator of the soil would find abundant occupation for his mind 
within the sphere of his daily avocations. Thus the tame¬ 
ness of a rural life would be relieved by a succession of the 
most agreeable excitements. The book of nature would be 
ever open for his perusal, and from its pages he would learn 
lessons that would enlighten his understanding and improve 
his heart. Labor would cease to be a mere drudgery, re¬ 
quiring simply the exercise of brute strength. The exercise 
of the mind would lighten his toil. He would discover in 
the administration of the laws of nature, which is continu¬ 
ally going on around him, every thing to excite his imagina¬ 
tion and arouse his intellect. While roaming over his farm 
anu cultivating his crops, his sphere of enjoyment would 
embrace all the pleasurable excitements of poetry, and the 
severer contemplations of philosophy. 
“ The present time is most auspicious for directing public 
opinion to the pleasures and profits of agricultural pursuits, 
to the sciences connected therewith, and the wide field of 
honor and usefulness which is now open for improvement 
on those subjects. 
“ For many years past the current of business and of opi¬ 
nion, has been toward our large cities. Commercial pursuits 
and the inordinate profits of trade in all its ramifications, have 
been drainirg the country of the choicest of her youth, and 
of her best educated and most enterprising men. The slow 
profits of agriculture and the tameness of a country life, have 
not suited the excited temperament of the times. Hut a great 
change is now taking place in public opinion, resulting from 
a reaction in all the departments of trade. The prodigals in 
business, care worn and oppressed, shorn of their strength and 
subdued in their spirit, are beginning to understand that it is 
of more importance, so far as the great ends of human life 
are concerned, to secure a quiet and peaceful competency, 
with freedom from undue care and anxiety, than to hazard 
their peace of mind, their pecuniary prosperity and the wel¬ 
fare of their families, upon the uncertain ocean of commer¬ 
cial transactions. Herace the retired and peaceful occupations 
of the farm are beginning more than ever to elicit songs of 
praise from all men. Hsmce your committee believe there 
is at the present time a greater readiness than usual in the 
public mind to discern the moral and pecuniary advantages 
of an agricultural life, and to estimate more properly those 
studies which are calculated to enhance its profits and plea¬ 
sures, and elevate its intellectual rank among the A r arious oc¬ 
cupations of man. Your committee hope and believe that 
the Geological Survey of the State, from the amount of in¬ 
formation which it Avill disseminate on subjects about which 
very little hitherto has been known, will lay the foundation 
for a broad system of agricultural education, which they be¬ 
lieve to be very much needed, and which they think the pub¬ 
lic mind is fully prepared to estimate and cherish. The pub¬ 
lic munificence will be well directed in continuing to an ho¬ 
norable completion this undertaking, if it shall contribute in 
any degree to awaken a spirit of inquiry among the cultiva¬ 
tors of the soil, after knowledge in those departments of sci¬ 
ence which are intimately connected with the great art of 
agriculture, upon the successful promotion of which is based 
the best interests of our country. 
“ This survey presents itself to your committee in a most 
interesting point of view, when examined in the light of po¬ 
litical economy. If the legislation of our country is well 
directed, when it aims at advancing the national wealth, by 
protecting and encouraging any branch of industry, or pro¬ 
moting facilities for rapid and cheaper intercommunication, 
why not also well directed when it seeks to unfold to man 
the bounties of Providence which lie concealed within the 
crust of the globe. When it shall be ascertained in the pro¬ 
gress of our discoveries, that while one position of our state 
abounds in rich and verdant pasturage, another portion is 
remarkable for its successful ullage, another portion contains 
inexhaustible mines of valuable metals; one part yields its 
abundant supples of lime and marble, another part its con¬ 
tributions of gypsum, salt and coal, and every part its share 
in the great aggregate of our national wealth; and Avhen the 
whole shall be brought under the active control of the inge¬ 
nuity, the industry and enterprise of our citizens, and made 
subservient to the interest and happiness of man, who can 
set bounds to the extent of our resources, or sum up the total 
amount of our greatness. 
“ Great Britain is probably more indebted for her national 
aggrandizement to her mineral wealth than to all other cau¬ 
ses combined. Without her coal, her metallic ores could 
never have been drawn from the depths of the earth where 
they lie concealed; or if found near the surface they could 
never have been profitably refined. Without her coal, her 
Birmingham, her Sheffield, her Manchester and other manu¬ 
facturing towns would never have existed. Without her 
manufactures, her commerce would be prostrated. Without 
her commerce, her wealth and her influence among the na¬ 
tions of the earth would speedily pass away. 
“The Geological Survey of the State, and the results 
which your committee hope it will produce, cannot be con¬ 
templated in a moral point of view without the liveliest in¬ 
terest. The wisdom and benevolence of the great Creator of 
the Universe are everywhere displayed in his works; and 
the more the investigations of philosophy and science are 
brought to scrutinize those works, the greater that wisdom 
and benevolence appear. 
“In the formation of organized bodies, that is, in the 
structure of animals and plants, the most superficial observer 
cannot fail to discover a beautiful and refined mechanism; 
but if we cast our eyes upon the ground and look at heaps of 
gravel, sand, clay and stone, it seems as if chance only had 
brought them together; and that neither symmetry nor order 
can be discovered in their nature. But a closer examination 
soon convinces us of that, which reasoning from the wisdom 
and design manifested by other parts of creation, we might 
beforehand have very naturally been led to expect, viz: that 
in all the varieties of form and structure and change which 
the study of the mineral kingdom displays, laws as fixed and 
immutable prevail as in the most complicated mechanism of 
the human frame, or in the motions of the heavenly bodies; 
and if astronomy has discovered how beautifully ‘ the hea¬ 
vens declare the glory of God,’ as certainly do we feel as¬ 
sured by the investigations of geology that the earth ‘ show- 
ethhis handiwork.’ ” 
CANKER-WORM. 
In the second number of the current volume, Mr. Moore, 
of Berlin, made an inquiry respecting this destructive in¬ 
sect, and Avhether any preventive to its ravages had been 
discovered. We have received from a “ lover of good 
fruit,” a supplement to the Connecticut Courant, giving a 
history of the insect, its transformations, and the preven¬ 
tive introduced by Mr. Dennis, of R. I., with certificates 
of its efficiency, which Ave may at another time lay be¬ 
fore our readers ; at present Ave can only give an ab¬ 
stract of the most essential parts of the paper. 
This insect belongs to the Phalsena family ; the female 
of the perfect insect without Avings, while the male pos¬ 
sesses them, consequently to deposite her eggs on the 
tree, the female must craAvl up the body, and on this 
Avell known fact has been founded most of the plans 
adopted for preventing their devastations. If they once 
ascend, the eggs are deposited in thimble like clusters 
near the extremity of the branches, and these hatched 
by the warmth of the spring, produce the worms that 
do so much injury. Arriving at maturity in about four 
or five weeks, the worm descends to the earth, and un¬ 
dergoes transformation, and the perfect insect emerges 
to again run the same course of propagation and de¬ 
struction. The larvae of the canker-Avorm are knoAvn 
as inch worms, surveyors, or the geometridce of the na¬ 
turalist. To keep the impregnated female or grub as it 
is usualy called, from the tree, is the object of all pre- 
venlional measures. 
Tar has been recommended, and while soft or in a 
semifluid state it arrests the grub effectually. But when 
cold, or after rain, the surface becomes smooth and the 
grub passes without difficulty; besides tar, dried on 
the bark, must injure the tree. A trough made of tin 
and fastened to the tree has been recommended, the 
trough filled with oil, but tin is too unyielding, and cannot 
be enlarged, as easily as a material for that purpose 
should; and is too destructible by the weather. Flax hound 
round the tree tightly, will keep them doxvn for a time, 
but they will eventually pass, and the covering Avere it 
effectual would he too expensive from frequent reneAV- 
als. 
To obviate these objections, Mr. Jonathan Dennis, of 
Portsmouth, Ii. I.,invented,in 1836, a circular lead trough 
which is effectual, and has since been patented. “This 
trough and its roof is made of one strip of sheet lead, 
about three inches Avide, but in the form ot the top of 
the figure 2 inverted, Avith the foot cut oft’; thus forming 
a roof and trough in one strip, and then leA-eling it round 
the tree so as to conform to the shape of the tree. It 
is made so large as to leave a space of one inch in 
width between the trough and the tree. The ends are 
Then soldered together, thus forming a trough complete¬ 
ly around the tree with a roof over it. Three or more 
nails are tacked into the tree to support it; and the 
space betAveen the trough and the tree is filled Avith 
seamed hay, straw, husks, tew, cotton Avaste, or any 
other substance Avhich Avill prevent the insects from as¬ 
cending betAveen the trough 'and the tree, and can be 
evenly and easily pressed by the growth of the tree.” 
The expense is from 30 to 40 cents per tree, or according 
to the size ; and five gallons of fish oil that costs 40 cents 
a gallon was sufficient to fill the troughs for 115 trees, 
for one year. It is found necessary to replenish the trough 
about three times in the course of the year, and it is ot 
use during the periods Avhen the ascent of the grub is 
most common to sometimes stir the oil in the trough. 
The experiments made with this apparatus, the state¬ 
ments and certificates Avould seem to show have 
been very satisfactory ; and, indeed it is eA'ident thas as 
the grub cannot pass the oil, if other access to the tree 
is debarred, the tree must he safe. Whether the canlcer- 
Avorm is to be a permanent nuisance to our trees re¬ 
mains to he seen; in the mean time any preventive to 
