Cheraw gazette and Pee Dee farmer. [volume] (Cheraw S.C.) 1838-1839, August 16, 1839, Image 1
CHERAW GAZETTE
AND
PEE DEE FARMER.
_
m PURR AW SOUTH-CAROLINA, FRIDAY EVENING, AUGUST 16, 1839. NUMBER XI*.
VOLUME IV. cti^ttAvv, p -r
TH ? ????r?^
EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.
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IMPORTANCE OF PROPER SELECTION OF SILKWORMS'
EGGS. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN EGGS.
In the last number, we stated that it was
of great importance to a successful result in
rearing silk-worms to have eggs of a good
and healthy stock, and especially of home
or southern, in preference to a northern
source of supply. Later and numerous facts
have so much confirmed that opinion, that
we deem if proper to repeat and to en eavor
to enforce it.
The recent and now demand for silkworms*
eggs in this rgion, induced sundry
orders to be sent 10 ihe north, the point to
which our countrymen send for every tlrug
wanted, even when a little search might provide
better ariicles nearer home. The supplies
of northern eggs were furnished to Petershurg.
rrdther.ee to the adjacent country,
from sundry dliferent Sources, through
rt iF^rmit nhannpls. and were of uifForent va.
rieties of worms. There were also several
small parcels of Virginia eggs, and a larger
sto?k from East Tennessee. Ten ounce*,
of tiie latter sto<*k ha dual prematurely (beg
nnmgon April 13 n.) and being ui.salable,
the eggs were given away to all persons who
would take them, for rials of rearing. By
this accidental loss to the owner, a most
important gain has been made by the public
; fo*, in this maimer, perhaps fifty or
more individuals, who would not otuerwisc
have thought of feeding worms, have been
induced to make experiments. Nor were
thes1 experirnon s confined to this neigh,
borbood ; for the batching worms were carried
to points nearly 100 miles apart. So
far as we have hearJ, (and careful inquiry
has been made,) every person who experimented
in feeding these worms, and other
parcels from home laid eggs, (with a single
exception which w 11 be nereafter nanus/,)
was successful in the rearing, unless with
such gross neglect, or bad treatment, that
success was impossible. And ( n the other
hand, ol all the many previously designed,
and mostly more careful and befer conducted
renrings, from northern eggs bought in,
or for this town, not one has been successful,
so far as wo have learned; and there
are but few that may not bo considered
equivalent to total failure. The great difference
has b? cn in eenenl if not universal
h- althiness and hardiness of worms of southern
stock, and general and someiimes universal
feebleness, disease, a.id finally death,
of the northern broods. Such likewise
have been ih?; general results elsewhere that
we have he.ird from, but with some few exceptions
of healthy and good products from
particular feedings of northern w orms.
In the various cases under our own observation,
or derived from neighboring gentl?men
with whom wo have frequent inter?
~ ? ? ** !* Knon f Ko rvxr\l*P
cuursc, HI 9 iia?g uvvu iuv u?v* ^
strking, because in some instances the
same individual was eminently successful
witli worms of southern stock, and as emL
nently unsuccessful with northern. Some,
times these cliff rent results were found in
different broods hatched at the same time,
kept in the same apartment, and through,
out treated alike. Wo could st ite particulars
of many such experiments, on the most
unquestionable authority, which would fully
sustain these general statements; but it
would be an unne cessary extension of this
article, and is not cull-'d for, unless the state,
ments should be questioned. Upon the
whole, it may bo safely asserted, that if the
roarings hereabout had been mado altogether,
(as they were mos ly,) from northern
eggs, and if there had been no other experience
to show diff'rent results, that all confideoce
in the cul ure would have been lost,
and every new beginner would have been
discouraged and disgus'ed, and probably
would have abandoned all thought of prosecuting
the business. But luckily, there
were enough, though smaller and less careful
trials, from home-raised stock, to show
entirely different and highly successful re.
subs ; and more especially was it fortunate
for the cause of silk-cul:ure, that the acci.
deutal hatcning of what seems to be the
most hardy and valuable s'ock, should have
spread that stock, and established its value,
through an extensive region of our country.
One of the most careful and best provided
of oil the new culmrists, T. S. Pleasants
of B' i'ona, was one of those who obta
ned, and reared with entire success, some
cf these sou hern eggs ; and he lias since
lost totally, by disease, the worms of three
ounces of fggs, ("mamraoih*white,") of
a?r m mnna??
northern product. In communicating this I
and other such facts to us, and stating his d
concurrence in our opinion as to the general ti
worthlessness of eggs received hero from t
the north, he expresses his astonishment at c
the strangeness of the facts, and asks s
whether the change and differenco of clim- t
ate can produce the effects. We think not. a
Our opinion is, as before stated, that to s
have a healthy brood of worms, it is essen. t
till that the parent stock should nave been n
healthy ; and we infer that the northern It
eggs, seut here, produce uuhealthy worms,
not merely because they come from the It
north, but because they are generally also J
the product of feeble or diseased parent tl
stocks. Deeming the climate of Virginia I
to be much better for silk.worms than that tl
of the States north of Maryland, we ahouid g
expect that eggs of the same kind, and the >
broods treated alike, would produce a bet- t
ter progeny, and better eggs from them, I
here than there. But that would be but a r
trivial circumstance compared to others c
which probably are of very extensive if not I
general operation. Every rearing of worms, I
even if among the most healthy and pro. a
dujtive in general, has many individuals c
compnratively feeble, which spin cocoons a
of little or no value, and scarcely worth the t
attempting to reel. Being ft for nothing
else, it is probable that these worst cocoons "
are usually selecied tofurnish eggsfor sale; c
and that to this mode of selection the south, t
ern purchasers from northern dealers are t
indebted for the general wortnlessness of *
the eggs obtained. And if the worst stock is
chosen to furnish eggs, we may be supplied c
with worthless eggs even near home, wi:h- f
out resorting to the north. Even if such I
selection of the worst and most diseased has I
not been actually made by design, it is cer- (
tain that lhe recent and present great de- 1
mand for eggs, has cuused the worst as well <
as the best of every brood to be suffered to *
produce eggs for market; and thus if a '
p.,reel of eggs contained any that were from f
good and suitable stock, it ulso necessarily {
contained a large proportion of the worst c
description. *
The applications of these facts is obvious. I
and should by no means be neglected by <
any one who hop s for success. After ob. i
taming a first *tock, as carefully as may be, (
c verv one should raisi his own eggs, and t
only from the best cocoons, and the most
health) of the worms. And those who have s
t? buy, ought if possible 10 obtain their eggs
from those on whom they can rely for some s
care and honesry in the manner of produ. t
c,?g *'Kgs for sale, and for truth in the char. <
deters and descriptions reported. t
A si gle exception was named above to *
the otherwise universal healthiness and sue- t
ess of worms of sou'hern origin. These I
were from eggs of one particular rearing of
1638. Of a portion of these we lost every 1
one, (by the contagious disease called "the I
yellows,") while tno worms of two other
kinds, (also both sou.hern,) in the sain"
house, did as well as very bud arrangements
and rough treatment permitted. Throe '
other persons who were supplied with eggs
from that same stock, also lost every one *
of ti.eir worms. These exceptions, so far t
nc tiw?v ?rn. seem to confirm the opinion i
**"* O -7 - ,
of suehjresults being caused by the eggs s
being obtained from u diseased stock. For
though less likely to occur, a southern stock
may be as feeble, or diseased, and as unfit
to breed from, as any of the northern.
But even when there is not much diseaso
exhibited in a brood, and when the rearing,
if taken alone, might be deemed quite suecessful,
vve have found much difference in
the lime of feeding worms of southern and
northern origin ; and a few days added to
the time required for rearing, is alone a very
serious objection, 01 account of ;he greater
expense of labor, of food, and the longer exposure
to the ri>k of injury. We have just
finished the rearing of four small broods,
for experiment and comparison, of the following
different kinds of silk-worms.
No. 1. Southern. Large gray worms,
producing orange cocoons, a second hatching,
from the eggs of one female, laid this
season, and of ihc kind which had hatched
first prematurely in Aprd.
No. 2 Southern. Smaller white worms,
producing sulphur-colored cocoons, also a
second hatching of this season.
No. 3. Northern. "Yellow mammoth."
No. 4. Northern. "Pea nut" kind.
All were hatched from the I8;h to the
20th of June ; and the worms were k'-pton
the same table, fed and attended to by the
same persons, and treated throughout with
equal care ; ann ihe results were as follows:
The two southern kinds did very well;
some few (not exceeding 2 per cent.,) in
tii?lr latfpr stnaea Hnnnnred vellowish and e
? o ri j
diseased, and were.1 thrown away as soon as <
observed, for fear of infecting a highly t
prized sfock ; and one or two others of each t
j parcel died after beginning to spin. The I
1 earliest of the largo gray, (No. 1,) began t
1 to spin at 23 days old?and the last on the i
29th. The smaller sulphur.colored (No. t
2,) were about a day later in beginning, and ?*
the most sluggish of them were more be- (
i hind the slowest of ihe gray. The "mam. 1
moth" worms (No. 3.) were not only slow- i
er in progress, but smaller at the same 1
limes, than the southern gray worms (No. I
1) though they finally reached about the {
same size. Three-fouiths of their num^r t
were thrown away, as diseased. The first i
beginning of th'm to spin was at 29 days i
old. The "pea.nut" eggs (No. 4,) were t
known to have been of a heulihy stock, i
(raised by S. Whitmarsb, Esq., Massachu- t
setts,) and the parent worms had been r
properly ^elected for breeding; and from s
part of the same eggs, T. S. Pleasants at j
lellona, has raised this season, and has
lone well. In our smmler trial, though
he losses by disease were very considerate,
still the rearing may bo considered sucessful
as to final product. But these were
ix days later in beginning to form cocoons
han the large gray worms, (No. 1,) and
it 29 days old, the first weie beginning to
pin, with the latest of the others. This is
he only case knaum with certainly of
torthern eggs of best quality, and of a good
iind. v;
The first mo:hs from the cocoons of the
arge gray worms, came out on the 24'h of
uly, (the 37th day from the hatching of
he eggs.) and therefore, from the 1,3th of
Vpril, to July 25th, when the first of the
hirJ were laid, there wefshhreejygessions
4 eggs in eiitteoce, wfrnin lfl&3>ya* Of :
his parcel (No. 1.) the egg9 were not couned,
but i> is believed that all hatched, and
hat the after losses did not exceed, if th?*y
cached, 4 per cent. Tho product was 204
:ocoons, neurly all very firm, and ofexcelent
quality. Of the 4ipea nut,Teggs, 1297
>y actual count, about 1100 hatched, and
ill made from them were 485 good co:oons,
and ~J7 soft and imperfect?showing
i loss by disease of about 50 per cent., of
he hatching.
The greater slowness of growth of the
pca-nui" kind we expect to diminish in
?ur climate, and probably may disappear
>y another year; and in nil oiher respects
hey seem to be an excellent kind, inferior
inly, as we believe from our little experi.
;nce, to the hardy gray worm. The co
- - /? i ..
ootis of this second brood ot ine lauer are
irmer and better than those of the first
latching. If the eggs of these should again
?atch, making three successive rearings
rom tne same stock in a year, there will
>e good reason to believe that this quality
>f repetition in hatching will have become
i fixed quality and thereby a new two-crop
mriety produced. The pea-nut cocoons
ire remarkably firm. The sulphur colored
No. 1.) we would reject, (even if it has be.
:omea two-crop worm,) on account of its
imail size. The "yebow-mammoth," if to
>e judged by the result of this rearing, we
ronsider as feeble, unproductive, and worth.
nud not possess.tig in any considcrubl
iegret*even the very douotiul merit of un
jstially large size.
Since the above was in type, wo have
leen in Morris's Silk Farmer of July 22nd,'
hat the current price in Philadelphia of
idk-worms' egj..s wa9 4,$20 the ounce, on
he muslin, equal to $40 the ounce of net
fggs." Sundry persons m ***
own havo raised eggs, and have them for
ia)e, and have riot yet sold for more than
it $5 the ounce (actual and honest weight,)
"or one-crop, und $10 for two-crop eggs.
Hie latter kind can scarcely be prevented
rom hatching in summer, and therefore
lave already been mostly lost.
Farmers' Register.
A Looking*Gla*s (or Farmora. . ?
To J. Duel, Esq., editor of "Tho Culiir???r." *
Dear Sir,?When I was a boy, I can
veil remember how I used to be induced
o wash my smutty face, by having a look,
ng-glass held beiore my eyes. For the
tame purpose, I have extracted the follow,
ng picture of "a farmer," from the writings
)f that most eccentric and excellent writer,
Samuel Slick," in the hopes that if any of
four readers should happen to see any part
ifhimself therein, that he will improve by
he view. Here it is.
* * That critter, when he built that
vreck of a house, they call 'em a half house
tere, intended to add as much more to it
tome of these days, and accordingly put his
shimbley outside, to sarve the new part as
veil as the old. lie has been too busy'
:ver since, you see, to removo the banking
iut there the first full, to keep iho frost ou*
if the cellar, and consequently it has roited
h; siils off, and the h use has fell away
rom the chimbley, and lie has hud to prop
t up with great sticks of timber, to
ceep .it from coming down on his
<nees altogether. All iho windows are
!* !? nnn ori.l fhftt mitrlif ;io ivpll
JUCIIunu u|i uui wu*4 in*** mw
jv, for little light can penetrate them olc huts
inl red flannel petticoats. Look at the
aarn ; its broken back roof has let the gable
- ends fall in, where they stand staring at
?ach other, as if they would like to come
:Ioscr together and no doubt they soon will,
0 consult what is best to be done to .gain
heir standing in the worlJ. Now look at
he stock, there's your improved short horns.
1 hem dirty looking, halt starved geese, and
hem dragglo-tailed fowls that are so poor
he foxes would bo ashamed to steel them
?that little lairem-jawed, long-leg'ed, rabit
jared runt of a pig, that's so week it cant
;url its tail up? that old cow fraim standing
here wiih her eyes shut, and looking lor all
lie world as iho' she's con emplating h<r
alter eerid, and with good reason too, and
hat other redish-yHlow, long-wooled varmint,
with his hocks higher than his beily,
hat looks as if ho had corne to her funeral,
md which by way of distinction, his ownir
calls a horse, is all the siock, I guess, this
armer supports upon a hundred acres of
is good natural soil as ever laid out door.
Now there's a specimen of *N<t'ive Stock.'
[ reckon ho'll emigrate to a warmer ciim.
ite soon, for you see while he wus waiting
o finish that thing you see the hen's rt>osL
ng on, that he calls a sled, he's had to burn
jp all the fence round the house, but there's
10 danger of catties braking into his fields,
inJ his old mulcy has larnt how to sneak
ir und among the neighbors' fields of
lights, looking for an open gate or bars, to
match a mouthful now and then. For if
rou mow that meadow with a razor and
rake it with a fine tooth con.b you couldn't ft
get enough to winter a grasshopper.? A
'Spose we drive up to the door and have tl
a word of chut with Nick Bradsl aw, and ?
tee if he is as promising as outside appear* 0
ances indicate. a,
"Observing us from the only light of glass si
remaining in the window, Nick lifted the p
door and laying it aside, emerged from the g
kitchen parlor and srnoke house, *o recon. ei
oitre. Ho was a tall, well built, athletic d
man of great personal strength, and sur.
prising activity, who looked like a careless, ft
good.narured fellow, iund of talking, and ?
from the appearance of the Utile black pipe 6
which stuck in one corner of his mouth, e
equally so of smoking ; and as he appeared U
to iancy us to be candidates, no' doubt he r
4P4A already enjoying in prospective the
neighboring tap-room. Just look at em.? p
Happy critter?Ins hat crown has lost the v
top out, and the rim hangs like the bail of f'
a bucket. His trowscrs and jacket shew ii
clearly that he has had clothes of other ti
colors in other days. The untan'd mocas. n
son on one foot, which contrasts with the
old shoe on the other, shows him a friend ti
to domestic manufactures; and his beard is ti
no bad match for the woolly horse yonder, h
See the waggish independent sort of a look c
the critter has, with his hat on on" side, n
and hands in his breeches pockets, contem- ti
nlatinf? the beauties of his farm. c
I wgO "You
may talk about patience and forti- n
tude, philosophy and christian tesignation, v
and all that sort of thing till you get tired, fa
but?ah, here he comes, "Morning Mr. fa
Bradshaw?how's all homo to Jay ?' 'Right c
comfortable,'?here that, comfort in such a t
place?'I give thanks?come, light and v
come in, I'm sorry can't feed your boss, but u
the fact is. 'tan't been no use to try to raise n
no crops late years, for body don't git half a
paid for their labor, these hard times. I raised tl
a nice bunch of poiatoes last year, and as i ii
couldn't get nothing worth while for 'em in p
the fall, I tho't I'd keep 'cm till spring. But s
as frost set in while I was down town 'lec.
tion time, the boys didn't fix up the old eel d
lur door, and this infernal cold winter froze c
'em all. It's them what you smell now, r
and I've just been telling the old woman t
that we must turn too and carry them out t
of the a liar 'fore long, they'll make some c
of us sick like enough, for there's no tel'ing r
what may happen to a body lato years.? i
And if the next legislator don't do some, s
thing for us, the Lord knows but the whole <
country will starve, for it seems as tho* the t
land now days wont raise nothing. Itsactwllyrua
out.' '
"Why, 1 should think by the look of t
things around your neighbor Horton's that J
his land produced pretty well." "Why, f
yes, and it's a miracle too, how he gets it 1
?for everybody round here said, when he <
took up that track, it was the poorest in it ese i
parts. There are some that thinks he has I
dealings with tlw black art, for't does seem <
as tho' the more he worked his land the bet- t
ter it got." i
* was a mystery ; but an easy i
explanation of Mr. Slick, soon solved the <
matter, at least to my mind. "Tho fact
is" says Mr. Slick, "a great deal of this i
country is run out, and if it warnt for <
the Imo, marslumud, sea.weed, salt sand, <
and w! at not, they've got hero in such
quantities, and a few Horton's to apply it, I
.u? ilKoIo oniintrv u/nn!<l run nut. nnd d win- I
UIG niwiv wu...v ,
die away to just sich great good natural i
good*for-nothing do nothing fellows as (his t
Nick Dradshaw, and his woolly horse, and i
woolless sheep, and cropless farm, and com- 1
fortless house, if indeed such a great wind \
rack of loose lumber is worthy tire name of i
a house. (
Now by way of contrast to all this, jdo t
you see that neat little cottage looking *
house on yonder ham nock, away to the \
right there, where you see those beautiful t
shade trees. The house is small, but it is y
a whole house. Thai's what I call about *
right?flanked on both sides by an orchard
of besi graft fruit?a tidy flower garden in <
front that the girls see to, and a most grand (
saree garden jist over there, whero it takes I
the wash of the buildings, nicely sheltered t
by ttiat bunch of shrubbery. i
rr'1 ?1 aiiArlnatinif K!(T KnPTQ. I
** I lien sue llinm gucimoiiiig K.g .1,....,
and, by gosh, there goes fourteen dairy I
cows, as slick as moles. Them flowers,
honeysuckles and rose bushes, shows what
sort of n family lives there, just as plain as
straws show which way the wind blows.
'Them galls nn't tarnally racing round
to quilting and husking frolicks, their feet
exposed in thin slips to the mud, and their ?
honor to ?a thinner protection. No, no, 11
take my word for'l when you see gals busy a
about such things to home, they are what c
our old minister used to call right minded.' t
Such things keep thern busy, and when c
folks are busy about their own business, c
they've no time to get into mischief. It c
keeps them healthy too, and as cheerfuU ns r
larks.. I've a mmd w'fl 'light here, and t
view this citizen's improvement and we c
shall bo welcomed to a neat substantial i
breakfast, that would be worthy to be taken t
as a pattern by any farmer's wife in Ameri- i
ca." (
Wo were met at the door ofMr. Horton, >
who greeted my friend Sliek with tho warm I
salutation of an old acqu aintance, and ex- i
pressed the satisfaction natural to one ha hi- I
fually hospitable, for the honor of my vi-it. i
He was a plain, healthy intelligent looking i
inan about flfly, dressed as a farmer should i
be, with the stain a of "Homespun," legible 1
upon every garment, not forgetting a very i
handsome silk handkerchief, the work I
throughout of his oldest daughter. i
The room into which we were ushered, i
boro the same stamp of neatness and com-11
>ri that the outside appearance indicated.
l substantial liome made carpet covered
le floot, and a well filled book, ase and
Tiling-desk, were in the right place, among
le contents of which, I observed several
gricultural periodicals. I was particularly
truck with the scrupulously neat and apropriate
attire of the wife and two intelli.
cnt interesting daughters that were busily
ngaged in the morning operations of the
airy.
After partaking of an excellent breakfast,
Ir.. orton invited us to walkover his farm,
rhicii tno' small, was ev-ry part in such a
ue state ot'cultivation, that he did not even
xpress a fear of starving unless the legis
iture did something to keep the land from
uaning out.
We bade adieu to this happy family, and
rdceeded on our journey fully impressed
nth the contrast between a good and bad
irmer, and for my own part, perfecdy satdied
with the manner that Mr. Slick had
ttken to impress it indelibly upon my own
aind.
Mr. Slick seemed wrapped in contemplaion
of the scenes of the morning for a long
ime. At length he broke forth in one ol
... i i ?r ?i.:?
lis lutppy btraiutf. - a no uuuc ui (ins
ountry, Squire, and indeed of all America,
i having too much land?they run over
noro grojnd than they can cultivate, and
rop the land year after year, without maiure,
till it's no wonder that it runs out. A
ery large portion of land in America has
een run out, by repeated grain crops, and
ad husbandry, until a great portion of this
ountry is in a fair way to be ruined, Tiie
wo Carohnns and Varginny are covered
villi places that are run out und are given
ip as ruin d, and there are a plagey site too
nany such places all over New England
md a great many other states. We havn't
he surplus of wheat that we used to have
a the United States, and it'll never be so
lenty while there are so many Nick Bradhaw's
in the country,
"The fact is this, Squire, education is
leucedly neglected. True we have a sight
if schools and college, but they nin't the
ight kind. The same Nick Bradshaw has
teen clean through one on 'em and 'twas then
hat he learnt that iufernul lazy habit ol
Irinking and smok:ng, that has been the
uin ot htm ever sii.ce. I wouldn't give ar
>lo fashioned swing tail clock, to havo m)
ton go to college where he couldn't worl
tnough to am his own living and lam how
0 work it right tu.
MIt actilly frightens me, when I think hovt
he land is worked and skinned, till thej
afce the gizzard out on't, when it might b<
growing better every day. Thousands o
icres every yoar are turned into barrens
while an everlasting sircam of our folks ar<
breaking it off to the new country, when
ibout ha if on 'em ufter wading about amont
.he tadpoles to catch caLfish enough to liv<
an a year or two, actilly shake themselvei
to death with that everlasting cuss of al
new countries, the fever and agur. It's i
melunrholy fact. Squire, though our peopk
dun't seem to bo sensible of it, and you no
1 may not live to see it, but if this awfi
robbin' of posterity goes on for another hun
dred years, as it has for tho last, amon,
the farmers, we'll be a nat.on of paupers.?
Talk about the legislature doing somethinj
I'll teilyou what I'd have them do. Piiin
1 great parcel of guide boards, and nail 'en
up over every legislature, church, an<
ichool-housedoor in America, with the?
word's on Vm in great letters, *The bes*
land in America, bv constant cropping
WITHOUT MANURE WILL BUN OUT.' And IV
mvo 'em, also, provide means ro larn everj
:hild how to reud it, cause it's no use to tn
o learn the old ones, they're so sot in tliei
vays. Th'-y are on the constant stretcl
vi.h the land they hare, and all the firm
vying fo git more, without any on't. Y? s
, es, yes, too much land is the ruin of u:
dl."
Although you will find a thousand mori
jood things umong the writings of"Thi
JIockmaker,"I hope you will not look for*
iteral copy of the foregoing. And if eve
his meets the eye of the writer of the "Say
ngs and Doings of Samuel Slick," I b< [
linr, to excuse mc for the liberty 1 have ta
ten with his own Ianguag?.
I remain your agricultural friend,
SOLON ROBINSON.
Tbc Chinch Bag in Surry*
From tho Farmers' Register.
Surry county, July 1*/, l-39.
Perhaps it may not bo uninteresting t(
lome of your readers, to learn the sad, anc
amentable news, that the chinch-bug is nov
ipreadingrapidly over every part of ou
:ounty and on some few farm3 destroyinj
;very thing before it, and I am afraid, it i:
iestined at no very distant time, to be on<
>fthe greatest calamities that ever befel thi
rounfry. Many farmers (and indeed ver
easonably so,) are very much alarmed a
he visitation of this great destroyer, no
>nly of the farmer's hopes, but in fact o
nan's principal and main support of exis
ence. We are now harvesting our whea
trop, in which they got rather too late t<
JesToy it entirely, but on many farms havi
seriously injured it, many places in th<
folds being quite destroyed. On followinj
ifier the scytnes, you may see millions n
lie bugs, of all sizes and colors, red, blacl
and gray, running in the gn atest constern
nion in every possible direction, se^kinj
shelter under tho sheaves of wheat, an<
bunches of grass, which may happen to b<
near. But all those on the borders of thi
fold, and indeed on every part of if, ver;
soon quit the dry and hards ubble for th<
more tender and juicy com or oats, which
soever may bo nearest at hand ; and nov
commences their havoc and dreadful devas*
tation- We see the healthy, diirk green,
luxuriant oat, which a fr* days before look*
ed so beautiful and rich, turn pale, wither
and die, almost at their very touch. It
would seem exaggeration and almost in*
credible to state how very prolific this devouring
insect is, their increase being so
prodigiously great, as to appear to be tho
work of magic.
In one day and night they have been
known to advance fifteen or twenty yard*
deep in n field, destroying as they proceed.
Unless some kind dispensation of providunce
delivers us from this ru hless enemy
10 the farming interest, it is impossible to
say to whauexteul their ravages and
may extend, in the course of a year or two.
To us farmers, who are dependent on iho
productions of the earth, for our every thing,
it is truly awful. And if their increase in
future is commensura:e wi h. the oast, it
must be but a short Jim'1 before this section
of country will be laid waste hy this dread,
ful depredator, and its inhabitants, reduced
to want and misery. Every attempt hiih.
erto ntadeto arrest their progress, or destroy
them, has proved abortive. Some havo
attempted to drive them from their corn hy
pouring boiling water over them ; a remedy,
for the corn, as bad as the disease, 0 hers
try to stop their ingress to the corn fit-Ids
by d'gging ditches around the fields; but
with no avail, as they are furnished with
wings in a short time after they are hatched,
and of course can easily fly over the ditches.
Would it not be advisable always to sow
clover, or some other tender grass, with all
small grain toinduco die bug to remai t in
i the field after ihe grain is taken away long
? enough, to enable the corn crop to g<*t sizo
and age, so as not to bo seriously injured by
1 them. I have observed that the older thio
plant the much less liable it is to be cither
1 injured or attacked. The wheat crop,
where it is not injured by the bug, is as pro.
mising, and bids fair to yield a9 plentiful a
; harvest, us I have ever seen. In fact, thi9
crop is gradually increasing, more having
i been sewn last fall, than for several years
i past ; this desirable change, may perhaps
i be attributed partly to the use of marl. The
f growth of the corn crop is very fine ; oats
i likewise ; cotton but little, and that very in*
> different. An Old Subscriber.
L From the American Farmer.
t Mr. Skinner?Dear Sir: On going in.
" to my piggery, some ifmrtn me first part
j June las', I discovered one of my Berkshire
t sows to be uil ng. She appeared in great
? distress and could not rise, having lost tho
f use of her hinder parts. This was about
11 o'clock. In tho morning she went to
I the trough, and ate as usual; she had a
, litter of pigs, which I caused to bo token
, from her immediately, and administered
3 eight ounces of glauber salts, dissolved in
, lukewarm water. The following day gavo
I her a tnble spoon full of sulpher.
a I considered her a "gone case," for I
Q never knew one to recover from one of
r these attacks. Mr. Lassing, of Albany,
,1 had a very superior Berkshire sow, attack.
ed in the same manner, a few years ago.
rr Afer trying every remedy he could think
1 of, gave her up and fattened ner. one wcign*
g ed, under these unfavorable circumstances,
i over five hundred pounds. He always sup.
1 posed she hud been struck across her loin
j by some unfeeling wretch, but I have every
reason to believe it was caused by some
r sudden strain.
Some tew days after my sow was taken,
j your paper of tho l*2th of June came to
f hand, in which I found, copied from the
> Tennessee Farmer, a s milsr case with tho
r treatment described. The writer sa\s?"I
i poured warm far upon bis loin ; when this
? dried I repeatt d it?pulling out the hair ad.
jacent ; simultaneously w.th this, I mixed
3 one ten.gpoonful of arsenic in corn meal
dough, which he eat freely. He is now on
? his feoi and doing well."
I. I caused warm tnr to be rubbed on her
j loin several times, and in a few days was
r much pleased too see her rise and stand on
. her legs once more, although but for a few
, moments at a tiino. She has now so fbr
? recovered as to feed in the pustnre with my
o her hogs.
Now, sir, whether it was the talis, snU
pher, tar, or all these combined that caused
the cure, 1 am unable to determine, and it
is of but liitle consequence, as they are
generally at hand and cost but a trifle.
Respectfully yours,
. Caleb N. Bemevt.
TT'71 tj ? - ?? i w/i.ll JulII 0.2(1
i nree nuts carm, nruA
r To restore fainted Jieot,
, if your meiit bo tainted, take it out of
I 'he p*i< klc, wash it so as to cleans? it ol ;ho
a offensive pickle,then wash your bnrr I well
^ either with a solution of lime or ashes ; ofY
tor which repack it, and between every lay.
t er of meat put a layer of charcoal until
, your barrel bo full; then make a fresh
f pickle, strong enough to bear an egg or po.
. tato, and (ill up your barrel. As you re*
I pach your pieces, it would be well to rub
, each w i h salt. Let it remain a week or
9 ten days and the taint will nave disappeared,
e and the meat be restored to its original
,y sweetness?Farmer and Gardner.
* .
>f RECEIPT TO CURB AN EGG-AUCIftNO DOG.
{ From th? Franklin Farmer.
Many a brave and good dog has lost his
t life by too great a fondness for egg3, to
:i avoid which hereafter, take three grains of
e tartar eme ic and a teasponnful of grated
e or scraped Indian tun ip, s if them well to.
y getl er m an egg, give it to your dog an ha
p will er r afterwards turn off in disgust if you
- offer him ao egg?a tinpie, safe and certain
v remedy. W. P. IIabt#