PROFITS OF FRUIT CULTURE. 



305 



shall possibly be disappointed. It is to the 

 carbonic acid, and the aqueous vapor held 

 in solution, that we must refer : the first 

 acts directly upon the foliage ; the second 

 indirectly, in the form of rain, or dewey 

 moisture — agencies forming no part of the 

 subject now treated of. Whatever tends 

 to decompose air by the abstraction of oxy- 

 gen deteriorates it, as we have seen ; but 

 is there any reason to suppose that plants 

 decompose air ? If they do not, then is air 

 to be regarded only as a vehicle or medium 

 to receive and transmit gaseous matters. 



This view of the subject is very materi- 

 ally elucidated by Mr. Ward's experiment. 

 Air so impure as that of many parts of 

 London, is deadly to vegetation ; butthat 

 which penetrates through the soil in Mr. 

 W.'s cases, or the almost sealed glazing of 

 his fernery, is purified by filtration, and the 

 plants are as verdant as in their natural 

 habitats. Do not these facts prove that we 

 are too liberal in our applications of air ; 

 and would not the major part of our tender 

 plants thrive equally well with closed glass- 

 es, and even with puttied laps ? Moisture 

 would be more regularly maintained and 

 distributed : the most brilliant light would 

 be better supported, and vegetation be con- 

 sequently far more luxuriant. A fig tree 



in full foliage has been removed from a 

 stove to the open air, and within twelve 

 hours had not a single living leaf upon it. 

 Air checks but does not harden ; it ripens 

 the wood, and therefore promotes bloom : 

 hence its great use to pelargoniums, heaths, 

 and man}' hard-wooded plants. But it is 

 prejudicial to luxuriant growth, and there- 

 fore should not be permitted to enter any 

 house in the form of a current, and espe- 

 cially as it is a known fact that plants sup- 

 port uninjured a much higher as well as 

 lower temperature in close situations. To 

 ascertain the true agency of air in plant 

 growing, experiments should be widely in- 

 stituted ; for, after what we have seen, it 

 becomes an important question whether, as 

 a general thing, we are not at infinite pains 

 to ventilate our plant-houses, with no other 

 or better result than incurring much trouble 

 without any sort of advantage. 



Wm. W. Valk, m. d. 



Flushing, L. I., Nov. 1S47. 



[Our correspondent does not, we suppose, 

 deny the superior growth and luxuriance of 

 plants in houses heated in the " Polmaise" 

 mode, now so popular in England, in which 

 a stream of warm air is continually intro- 

 duced, over those heated in the old way 

 with little ventilation. Ed.] 



PROFITS OF FRUIT CULTURE. 



BY B. G. BOSWELL, PHILADELHHIA. 



Having seen in a late number of the Hor- 

 ticulturist, an account of a cherry tree that 

 produced ten dollars worth of fruit in one 

 season, permit me to give a chapter of facts 

 on fruits, most of which are within my own 

 personal knowledge. 



C. A. Cable, of Cleveland, has an or- 

 chard of an hundred cherry trees, now 22 

 Vol. II. 39 



years old. In the year 1845, his crop sold 

 for upwards of one thousand dollars. Mr. 

 C. manages his orchard better than any 

 other person in the Union, so far as my 

 knowledge extends. The trees are planted 

 out twenty-five feet apart, the ground kept 

 properly enriched and cultivated, but no 

 crop is put in. 



