The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1870-07-30
:farm-@araen Rousebolo.

of no small moment in the interests of agri- |
culture has been made by DR. George. B. Wood,
and communicated by him to the American
Philosophical Society, Of which he is Presi-
dent. Peach trees in this vicinity, after pro-
ducing few crops, not only cease bearing but
perish themselves in short time; whereas,
their. natural life Is so or 60 years, or more.
The cause Of this defective power of growth
is believed by DR.. Wood to be owing to de-
6ciency Of potash in the SOIL and he assures
Vi. that if this alkai be supplied to the tree so
that it shall reach the small roots and be al
sorbed the fruit-bearing is restored, and the
tree itself, fprematurely perishing, Is revived.
Believing with most persons that the cause OF
the decay lay in worms at the root OF the
peach tree, he put in operation a plan which
he had seen his father perform more than fifty
years before viz: of digging around the base
OF the stem hole four or hve inches deep,
scraping away all the worms that could be
found burrowlng at the junction OF the stem
and root, and filling the hollow thus made
with fresh wood ashes from the fire, which, Of
course, retained all their potash. This was
done in the autumn of 1865; and with result
in the following spring, at which he himself
was astonished. The trees appeared to have
been restored all their early freshness and Wig
or they put forth bright green leaves, bios
somed copiousy, and bore crop OF fruit such
as they had never borne before, many of the
branches breaklngldown under the load OF the
peaches. DIR. Wood, in rejecting on these re-
suits. and noticing that several of the peach
trees treated had no worms, come to the con-
clusion that we must look for an explanation
to some other cause than the destruction OF q
few worms, and this cause he believes to be
the ashes, the potash of which being dissolved
by the rains, had descended along the roots to
the rootlcts, and presented to them the very
TODD for the want of which they were dying.
Decaying apple trees bearing stinted and
inedible fruit have been revived by similar
process, and with the like results. All OF DR..
Woods orchards gave promise OF An album
dant supply of fruit this season.-Phtlade!phtd
Ledger.
COMPARATIVE VALUE OF HAY, CoRN AND
RooTs.-An acre Of ground retained express
ly for hay, yields on an average not more than
one and one.half tons Of vegetable food: an
equal space planted with carrots or rutabsgas,
will yield from ten to twenty tons, say fifteen
tons, which is by no means high average,
and has often been attained without any extra.
ordinary cultivation. 1t has been ascertained,
by careful experiment. that three working
horses, fifteen and oae-half hands high, con-
sumed hay at the rate OF two hundred pounds
per week, or five tons and one thousand and
torty-eight pounds per snnum, besides one
and one half bushels Of oats per week, or
seventy-eight per annum. BY repetition OF
the same experiment, it was found that an un.
worked horse consumed hay at the rate OF four
and e-Quartcr tons per annum. The pro-
duct, therefore, of nearly six acres of land is
necessary 10 support q working horse for one
year but half an acre of carrots, at six hun
bred bushels an acre, with the addition Of
chopped straw while the season for feeding
them lasts, will do as well. if not better
These things do not admit OF doubt, for they
have been the subject OF exact trials, as some
Of our agricultural friends can testify.
1t has also been proved that the value of
one bushel of corn. together with the fodder
upon which it grew will keepa horse in good
working order Tor week. An acre planted
with corn, and yielding sixty bushels, will be
ample to keep good sized horse in working
order for one year.
Let the farmer consider il better 70 main
tain horse on the produce Of half an acre Of
rutabagas or carrots, or, upon the produce OF
an acre OF corn : or on the other hand, upon
the hay and grain from six acres Of land-for
it will require six acres of good land to pro-
duce the necessary gram and hay as above.
The same reasoning might be made use of in
the feeding OF cattle and sheep. Stock Journal.
SURE CURE FOR BED.BUGs.-"Aun Hattie
says, in Western Hurdl: -Four years since
moved into house which was swarming with
bed bugs. l whitewashed the ceiling, paper
ed the walls and secured the floors with boil
ing hot suds. Yet enough survived to estab-
lishcd good sized colonies in every beadstead.
! then took teaspoontul of quicksilver, cost
ing ten or fifteen cents, which beat up with
the whites OF two eggs just as ! would make
frosting for cake. or till the quicksilver was
thoroughly miXed with the egg this applied
with q feather TO every crack and crevice
where bcd.bug could hide, after washing the
bedsteads in cold water. This ! repeated
three or four times during the first summer.
and about three times during the second sum-
mer The result is. have not seen bug for
two years. As the bugs will not stay where
quicksilver is applied tathfully,i it is necessary
to overhaul the bedding frequently, to capture
stragglers who are seeking q more hcalthful
abode. | have never known it TO fail when
faithfully applied.
GAPEs IN CHICKENS. A correspondent of
the Cincinnati Gazette gives the following as
a cure for gapes in chickens The remedy
seems so simple that we give it for the benefit
of our readers:
Put one tablespoon of wheat into a vial
and pour spirits turpentine to cover the wheat,
and keep the vial we'll corked. Whenever
van find Sy,,NtnmS of ,o,,as in "a ,hicl- oman