On the mornings of the 13th, 14th, and 15th of May we were visited by
extraordinary keen frosts, which did much damage to our fruit and to our
grain, and somewhat changed the aspect of our whole fruit condition for
the season, which at one time promised to be a very unusual and abundant
general fruit crop. That cold snap fell most seriously upon our grapes
and strawberries, damaging both these very valuable fruits to the extent
of fully two-thirds of the entire crop. Both these fruits were at the
time just in the condition to be most seriously and generally injured by
a frost. In the case of the grapes, the young shoots were out from six
to twelve inches long, fully exposing the young tendrils covered with
fruit germs, and of course very tender and most easily affected. In the
case of the strawberries, the corolla and calyx were still pointing
upwards, placing the young and tender germs in the condition to be most
seriously affected by frost. In consequence, we shall suffer in both
these crops; and there is considerable complaining throughout the
country. Currants and gooseberries too, whose fruit was nearly grown to
full size, were severely injured also by the frost, I think fully to the
extent of one-third the entire crop, raspberries and blackberries not
being quite forward enough to be so easily injured, escaped the effects
of the frost. Apples, pears, cherries, plums, and peaches, although each
of them was slightly affected by the frost, yet in the case of each, the
promise at the present is for a most abundant and unusual crop. Every
tree nearing maturity was literally covered with blossoms, most of the
germs being fertilized and setting very thickly over the trees. But this
is not true of those trees that were defoliated by the Tent Caterpillars
last season; no blossoms whatever appeared upon them. I might mention
also that the effects of the frost were so severe as to totally kill
young Tent Caterpillars on the leaves of our young trees; also the young
and tender growths of Norway spruce and balsam fir were seriously frozen
and killed; so of black and white walnuts, chestnuts, hickory, &c. Our
grains, and our grasses, in their young growths, have also suffered, and
are severely injured in their leaves, and the stems of clover were
frozen. This is a very unusual occurrence, but then this whole season
has been a very unusual and remarkable one from the beginning.
With respect to insects, allow me to report that they are at the present
time very abundant, and very industrious and exceedingly destructive in
their effects upon our young foliage. The Winter and Spring has been the
most favorable for the preservation and development of insect life.
I wish to report that the Currant Worm, (_Nematus Ventricosus_,) is
unusually abundant this season, and even now many gooseberry and currant
bushes are totally denuded. We first observed them working April 25th,
and most abundantly on the gooseberry leaves; and by May 1st, the
numbers were so so great that many of the bushes were stripped, and they
threatened the entire destruction of the foliage in the whole
plantation, but not appearing to fancy currant leaves. I think I never
saw such large numbers gathered together; the bushes were literally
alive with them, and the foliage disappeared in a remarkably short time.
To check this wide-spread destruction, we applied powdered white
hellebore in pretty strong doses, say a heaped table-spoonful to one
pail of water, and sprinkled it over the bushes by means of a rose
sprinkler; but this appeared to have little perceptible effect upon the
insects. We then applied a second dose, stronger than before, which had
the effect of rendering them inactive, and finally brought the most of
them to mother earth. We also found that by shaking the bushes we could
bring them to the ground, and then by means of our broad feet crush them
to dust. I am sorry to say, however, that many allowed them to work away
unmolested, and effect a total defoliation of their bushes; people of
this type are to be found in almost every neighborhood. Present
indications are, that the Forest Tent Caterpillars, (_Clissiocampa
Sylvatica_,) are not so numerous or so destructive as they were last
season, but they may still come out in large forces. The beautiful warm
and summer-like weather we have had for the most part has had the effect
of bringing into activity a large and varied force of active and
devouring insects. What our developments may still be we are positively
unable at present to foretell, but we have every assurance that we will
have enough and to spare, for we have never yet seen a season when the
Divine promise has not literally been abundantly fulfilled, “Seed time
and harvest shall not fail.”
Yesterday, the 19th inst., a delightful, warm, steady, and refreshing
rain visited us, and has seemed to cheer the whole aspect of nature, and
give a bright appearance and renewed vigor to our needy vegetation.
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