270 THE YEAR-BOOK OF AGRICULTURE. 



ner above described, and if it is evidently suffering, or likely to suffer, for want of moisture, 

 bow is it to be applied, except tbrough tbe surface? Tbe mode is this: Draw away the 

 Boi] from around the stem of tbe tree with a spade or hoe until the roots are nearly reached, 

 and in such manner as to form a basin around it ; fill in water to tbe brim. An hour or so 

 afterwards, when the water has soaked thoroughly away, draw back the dry soil forming the 

 brim of the basin to its former position, as lightly and without pressure as possible. It is all 

 the water it will require that season, if properly performed. And now that we have seen our 

 trees well planted, and those that need it afterwards well watered, how shall we proceed to 

 aid the soil in retaining the moisture supplied to it? Simply by keeping tbe surface well 

 pulverized, and in the best condition of a non-conductor that we can bring it into ; but it is 

 necessary not to mistake what pulverization means. Stirring or "loosening up" a soil is not 

 pulverizing it, though often supposed to be. It is, however, the first step towards it. In 

 farming, the plow stirs up the soil ; tbe roller, or harrow, pulverizes. The hoe and the spade 

 are the gardener's plow; h\sfeet form his roller, or clod-crusher. The operations of plow- 

 ing and rolling, and of loosening and pressing, in gardening should always go together ; and, 

 in relation to tree-planting, whenever a soil is getting hard, or in a " cakey" condition, it 

 Bhonld not only be hoed or stirred up, but, as soon as the loosened soil has become a little 

 dry, it should be pressed with the feet and crushed to atoms. 



This is the whole secret of the business. Get the soil once well encased round the roots — 

 once well watered — and all that is necessary afterwards is to keep the surface soil well pul- 

 verized ; that is, its little atoms well divided, in perfect dust, if you will ; and there will sel- 

 dom be a failure, if the tree be healthy otherwise. 



The Tamarind-tree in Virginia. 



William M. Singleton, Esq., of Winchester, communicates the following to tbe Commis- 

 sioner of Patents : — 



"Of all the ornamental trees propagated among us, either foreign or native, there is none, 

 in my judgment, more desirable than the tamarind. Its growth is rapid, its form symmetri- 

 cal, its foliage beautifully delicate, and it is altogether highly ornamental; besides, it is per- 

 feetly free from blight, as well as from the depredations of insects. If cultivated on our 

 Western prairies, it would doubtless form a valuable acquisition. 



" From the growth of some tamarind-seeds which I obtained at a confectioner's shop some 

 eight years Bince, I have a tree standing in my yard eighteen inches in circumference. The 

 'ii it perfected its fruit, which in quality was equally as good as that imported. 

 The seed may he sown in drills, about four inches apart, and covered from two to three 

 inches deep with light, rich soil. They may lie sown either in the fall or spring. If 

 in tin- latter, they should be exposed to the weather during the winter previous, in order that 

 they may bfl acted on by the frost. When grown to a height of three or four feet, the young 

 trees may be transplanted to the sites where they arc permanently to remain." 



On the Tapping of the Sugar-Maple. 



Is the spring of I860, the following experiments were made under the direction of the 

 Agricultural Society of Bratleboro', Vermont: — 



A ■ imittee, consisting of three persons w us appointed to ascertain by actual ex| ta iment 



the proper sise and depth of the hore in tapping the BUgar-maplc. They accordingly pro- 

 led to test this question in the ui<>-t thorough manner, using all sizes of bits, from half an 

 inch to an inch and n half in diameter, each making his experiment independently of the 



i then ; and the result of all was tlmt no difference oould be perceived, the half-inch giving as 



h Bap U any other. Each one also tapped several trees. Mating two bucket- to B tree, 

 with a single spile to each, but bored to different depths, from one to three and B half 

 inches; and the results in this case were, in every instance when the weather «:e sufficiently 

 warm to thaw the tree through, that the flow of sap was in proportion to the depth of bore; 



