The Pennsylvania packet, or, The general advertiser — Lancaster, Pa.;Philadelphia, Pa., 1779-03-23 00:00:00, page 1

To the Printer of the P ENns y LvA nI A PAeKe t.
SIR
Not doubting but that the fame motive that inclined
me to fend you the following experiments, will also induce
to give them a place in your public paper ; 1 t^e
more chearfuliy transmit them to you, being witri great
Sincerity a true friend to you and to the great Repuolic
of North-America. Benjamin Mifflin.
- N tie Fill of 17?6, I moved from Philadelphia into
I Kent county in the Delaware Hate, where observing
the deftruaion the fly made on the wneat, it recalled to
memory, having read in an Enghfli Magazine feme
twenty or thirty yeats since, a like calamity in France,
which nearly brought on a famine, and the method the
French tookto flop the devaluation. Accordingly Lift
forint I bespoke my year's consumption of t at grata of a
neighbouring farmer, to be delivered to me immediately
after harvest ; but I did not get it until two weeks after it
was cut, in w Eich time I observed the fly had began his
depredation. , ,
I then puta blast into the oven but not fufficient to
heat it for baking; when the wood was burnt down, 1
raked out the coals with what allies the rake would bring
&ut witn them, and having previously prepared a tub of
water and a large mop, alternately I rinsed the mop and
swabbed out the remaining allies, until the hearth was So
cooled that I could bear my ringers on the bricks nemy
ten seconds.
Immediately I thqn tumbled in my wheat, and having
dofely flopped up the oven, I let it remain therein twen
ty-feur hours—This process, I find, has totally deftroy
td the iufed and its embrio. Titus, while the neighbour
hood around me are obliged ^o eat their maggotty, pu
trid grain, we have as good bread as heretofore. At urn
I was fearful of one or other of three evils attending the
process, either it woul! khl the vegetation, or it would
prevent fermentation, or it woul- give toe four a brown
cast, and perhaps all three ; but I nave the pieafure to Sad
neither is the case, for we have as light and as white bread
as formerly --and on trying a final! nandful of the wheat
in moist earth, I foun. T take- root and Sprout in about
' three days, and I could not perceivesgrim miscarry.
By the best accounts Ic>ulJ gather, the farmers here-
of^^
O R
TDAT
La 1^
about have loft near two-tnirds of their present ciop by
the fly, and what remains is light, very disagreeable to
the taste, and I believe very unwaolefo'me. A common
sized oven will, atone operation, kiln dry sixteen or eigh
teen bushels, nd matter how full the oven is, which may be
teemed in at the hole left to carry off the fmoak in heating.
Thus, one oven, in one week, will secure one hundred
bushels from the voracity of that deftruftive infeft. Grind
ing it into flour immediately after reaping, will answer
the fame end, but this is an advantage that but few can
ebtain, and i. tne whole could, the mills must lay idle
the remainder of the year.
Perusing the London Magazine for the year 177 b
since I wrote the above, in the month of Ma, for that
year, I found the following experiments, addrefted to a
Member of the Royal Society ; and as I apprehend the
republication may be of great public utility, I shall be
much pleased t? fee it in your ufeful paper.
" On the EfF£c T s 0/ ELDER,
" In preferring grooving Plants from bfess and Ries.
" 1. I was led to my firft experiments, by considering
how disagreeable and offenfive to our olfactory nerves the
effluvia emitted by a brush of green elder leaves are, and
from thence reasoning how much more so they must be to
those of a butterfly, whom I confider as a being as much
Superior to us in delicacy, as inferior in size Accordingly I
took some twigs of young elder, and with them wbipt the
cabbage plants well, but so gently as not to hurt them, just
a^ the butterflies firft appeared; from which time, for
these two summers, though the butterflies would hover,
and flutter round them, like gnomes or sylphs, yet I could
never fee one pin h, nor was there, I believe, a single
•atterpillar blown, after the plants were so whipt, though
an adjoining bed was infe&ed as usual.
" z. Reflecting on the effects above-mentioned, and
•©nfidering blights as chiefly occafion^d by small flies
and minute infers, whose organs are proportionally finer
Phan the former, I wh pt tne limbs of a wall plumb-tree
as high as I could reach ; the leaves of which were pr^-
served green, flourifhmg and unhurt, while those not fix
inches higher and from then e upwards, were blighted,
shriveled up, and fell of worms. Some of these last I af
terwards restored by whipping with, and tying up elder
amongst them. It must be noted that tins tree was in
full bloom at the time of whipping, which was much too
late, as it ihould have been done once or twice before the
blossom appeared. But I conclude from the whole, that
if an inflation of elder was made in a tub of water, so that
the water might be strongly impregnated therewith, and
then sprinkled over the tree by a hand engine, once #ve
wy week or fortnight, it would effectually answer every
,urpofe that could he wished, without any poiTible rifque
es hurting the blossoms or fruit.
" 3. Whatt? efarmers call the yellows in wheat, and
which they con^der as a kind of mildew, is in fa€t occa
fiened by a fra Jdydlow fly with blew wings, about the
TUESDAY,
(Price Fifteen Pence tingle, One Shilling by the quantity. Published every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.]
size of a gnat: This blows in the ear of the corn, and pre
duces a worm almost mvifible to the naked eye; but be
ing seen through a pocket microscope, it appears a large
yellow maggot, of the colour and gloss of amber, and is
so prolific, that I las t week diftin^ly counted forty-one
living yellow maggots, or infests, in the hulk of one single
grain of wheat—a number fufficient to eat up and destroy
the corn of a whole year. I intended to have tried the
following experiment sooner but the dry hot weather
bringing on the corn fafter than it was expelled, it was
got, arid getting, into fine blbffoms ere I uad ah opportu
nity of doing as I did. But, however, the next morning
at day break. ,two servants tool: two bullies of elder and
went one on each fide of the ridge from end to end, and
so back again, drawing the elder over the ears of corn of
such fields as were not too far advanced in blossoming ; I
conceived that the disagreeable effluvia of the elder would
effectually prevent those flies from pitching their tents in
so noxious a fitumtion: Nor was I disappointed ; for lam
firmly persuaded that no flies pitched or blowed on the
corn after it had been so ftrhck ; but I hal the mortifica
tion of observing the flies, the evening before it was struck,
already on the corn, fix, seven or eight on a finale ear,
so that what damage had accrued was done befori th^ ope
ration took place; for on examining it last week, I found
the corn which had been struck pretty free of the yel ow^
very much more so than what w^s not struck: I have
therefore no doubt but that had the operation been per
forated sooner, the corn would have remained totally clear
and untouched. If so, Ample as the process is, I fytter
myfelf it bids fair to preserve fine crops of corn from de
firuaion, as tne small infects are the crops greatest ene
my. Oneof those yellow flies laid at least eight or ten
egg s °f an oblong ihape on my thumb, only while carry
ing by the wing arrofs three or four ridges, as appeared
on viewing it with a pocket microscope.
"4. Crops of turnips are frequently destroyed when
young, hy being bitten by some infers; either Aies or
fleas. This Isl hter myfelf may be effectually prevented,
by having an elder bulk spread, so as to cover about the
breadth of a ridge, and drawn once forward and back
ward over-the young turnips. I am confirmed in this
idea by have struck an elder buffi over a bed of young
colliflower plants, which had begun to be bitten, and
would otherwise have been deflroyed by these infests, but
after that operation it remained untouched."
In support of my opinion, I beg leave to mention
the following fa& from very credible information. That
about eight or nine years ago; this country was so
infefted with cockchaffers or oak-webs, that in many pa
rishes they ate every green thing but elder, nor left a
green leaf untouched but elder bushes, which alone re
mained green and unhurt amid the general devaflation of
so voracious a multitude.,
On reflecting on these Several circumflances, a thought
suggested itfelf to me, whither an elder, now efieemed
noxious and offenfive, may not be one day seen planted
with and entwining its branches am mgft fruit-trees, in
order to preserve the fruit from deflruCtion of infers ;
and whether the fame means which produced these several 1
effects may not be extended to a great variety of other
cases in the preservation of the vegetable kingdom 0 .
\" The dwarf elder (ebulus) I apprehend, emits more
offenfive effluvia than common elder, therefore must be\
preferable to it in the fevebal experiments."
* A bujb of elder laid on frefo neat or fifo in the furnmer,
prevents ibe fl, from blowing on them. And it is not tm
provable, jrcm the foregoing experiments, b, C riflopber
Gullet, that water ftrongy impregnated therewith, and
cure a eek or fo^rghtfprinkled o^uer cabbages, will pre
fer roe them from being leufry.
MADEIRA Wine by the pipe; Sugar
by the hapfhead and bafret; Coffee by the bar
rel, and two cases of best Jefnits Bark, to be S OLD by
JOHN B E NEZ ET,
Who gives the bigheft price for Brils of Exchange drawh
on the Commiffi ners at Paris, for mtereft due on Loan
Office Certificates.
Philadelphia, March iz.
WHEREAS feme villain did p.fte up, or cause
to be pasted op, in th^ public market of this ci
ty, a libellous paper, in which he made a scandalous use
of my name. As these are the tff<& of some malicious
dirt? Tory, of whom I have good cause of fulpicion,
These are therefore to inform the fcousdrcl, that Should
I discover him he may expe& to have little favor fheun
him, but he shall be treated as his crime deserves. And
I do hereby off r a reward of Forty Dollars to any per
son who will difeovef the perpetrator.
GEORGE F£LCKER.
N. B. I hereby also call upon the author of the fail
fc^ndalcus libel to make known his name.
^r^iTCT^^^^ ^^^^
I MM
. +, fcCTCT m-.W c
THE
Q THE
ADVERTISER
J E REM lAH CRESSO N,
In Chefnut-street, opposite the Carpenters Hall,
SU N DRY joiners or Cabinet and Chair-makers
TOOLS, among which are the following, V ^.
one large iron screw damp for chairs; cuej,inter [1 me;
one plow, qwo hand, two pannti, three tenon, and one
d.'vetail saws; one fmxll iron bench vice; one double
iron fore plane; three iron hold-falls; <,ne bracket
moulding or bale plane; one skew rab at plane, one up
right rabbit plane; one small aftrigal, tfro fidefters;
on: large balle^tien, and to o smaller ditto ; two pifture
ba^e planes, one puir heff-inch growing planes, one
growing rabbit plane, one frame cbmpafs Dw, one fm^il
irih plane, one small ogee, one small beed, tw»n y
three iron screw clamps, one railing plane, twelve pairs
rounds and ha!low% one pair rule joint table plants, a
brace and one do^n bitts, forty-one chizzels a^d
gauges, a double iron fore plane, several sets of bench
pilots, a double iron imaothing plane feraight block,
and fun^cy other tools. If they are not fold by private
fate before Wednesday the ^h of this present month,
they will then be fold by public sale at the house of the
fubisriber; with funcry other things. The money will
be expe^ed on toe ce iv rv of the goods.
JEREMIAH CRESSON.,
NO TICE is hereby given to all perlons that have
any demands ot the tftate of A„son Dzpdi, Efqj
deceased, .;re requ.ft.d to ernz in their accompts be
fore the rirft day of August next, tbi* they may be rd
jetted: Likewise all persons indebted to said tft^te are.
defied to in^ke s peedy pa mtnt to
JEMIMA DEPUI, Administratrix.
Lower Smithfield tewnfaf, Northampton
county, Pennfylroania, Feb 18, 17 9.
WANTED IMMEDIATELY,
A NU MBE Ros able bodied Men, that can be we!
recommended, to serve on the Nightly Watch, and
engage with the Wardens for twelve months certain ;
they shall receive good wages. Any such willing to serve
in that Ration, are desired ta apply to Alexander
Carlisle, Cenftable.
Cumberland County, ff.
WHEREAS sundry tracts ' of unseated
laads have been duly retell and valued by the
Assessors of said county, and the owners have neglected
to pay the txes thereof . •This is therefore to give r.o^
tice, that unless the said owners do pay or cause to he
paid unto John Agnew, Elq; of the town of CariitT,
the furns due on their unseated lau s, before the fi 11
day of May next, they may exp\& to be dealt with a*
the law direds. JOHN M.'CLUREJ,
JOHN CARBON, jComm^onem
Carlifte, March 1, 1779.
Philadelphia, Marib 12 I
AL L per sons indebted to the estate of Wil
liam Wilson, late of Whit-relay Creek hun
dred, Newcastle county, deceased, or for goods bought
at the vendue of said deceafed's estate, are once more
desired to difeharge the fame before the fi.ft day of April
next, otherwise they will be dealt with as the law di
rc&s, without refpea of persons : And all those who
have any juf t demands against frid eflate are requefted
to ring them in, properly attested, to the fubferiber,
at the Prothonotary's Office in Yhdadelphia, or to Wil
liam M'Clay, merchant, and James Coupar at
Chrittirna B idge, in Newcastle county aforelaid, in
whoft care the books, &'c. of the deceased are, and Who
are impowered to fettle the fame,
JAMES WILSON, Executor.
ROBERT C OC K S,
Has removed from Market street to the east fide of Se
cond street, the third door below the corner of Arch
fbeet, Philadelphia, whe^rf n^y be had,
BEST old Spirit, Weft.lndia Rum, Mufeovado
Sugars in hogfl: ids and barrels, Madeira Wine,
Gin in tafes, good Cheshire and Gloucester Cheese, and
a few Tamarinds.
NOTICE is hereby given to John
M'Murray, and Patrick M'Marray bis for, sap.
posed to be in Sherman's Valley, Cumberland counts.
That Starret M'Murray, ion of said John M'Murray
and brother of said Patrick M'Murray, died the tenth
day of September, 1778, and that there is fom^thing of
value coming to them, which they may be informed of
by enquiring of C HARLES GREER, Butcher,
living in Eighth ftrect, at the corner of Arch street,
Philadelphia
MAR CII 2fo %'M
Philadelphia, March 13.
TO.BE SOLD Bri