482 



DOMESTIC NOTICES. 



Magnesian Lime Injurious, etc. — I have been 

 a deeply interested reader of thy journal, and have 

 studied, with partieular interest, those articles on 

 manures in the late numbers, particularly the lead- 

 er in the January nnmljer, and the one on " Special 

 Manures for Fruit Trees," in the last. But where 

 is the point of safety, to a learner, when the mas- 

 ters in fruit culture disac^ree ? A few days since I 

 had the pleasure of a talk with the intelligent pre- 

 sident of our horticultural society, Jonathan Bald- 

 win ; in tiie course of which, he remarked, " what- 

 ever you do, don't lime your apple orchard ; for it 

 is certain death to your prospect of fruit ;" and, to 

 fortify his declaration, lie referred to several or- 

 chards which had been ruined byihe use of lime. 



I believe he spoke without making any exceptions 

 to the bad effects of lime ; still, he may have over- 

 looked one fact, which possibly will reconcile all 

 apparent differences, for explanations of which, has 

 been the chief motive of my writing. His farm is 

 a fine productive one in the " Great Valley ;" soil, 

 a rich, deep, mellow loam, ovei'laying immense beds 

 of limestone, of tjuality , if I mistake not, very highly 

 impregnated with magnesia. In regard to magne- 

 sia, it abounds in the lime of some portions of this 

 valley, while in other portions very little can be 

 detected. These considerations suggest two in- 

 quiries, viz. : 



1st. How are the mass of us, unscientific farm- 

 ers, to decide where it will do to apply lime to or- 

 chards, when we are told that its application does 

 so much for the apple on the " Pelham farm" and 

 other localities, — while it works destruction in other 

 situations ? 



2d. Why is magnesian lime, or lime highly 

 charged with it, less adapted to the wants of the 

 apple, than lime less marked with its presence? 



I am much obliged for thy answers to some of 

 my queries in the last number, and thought them 

 very satisfactory ; since which, however, I have had 

 opposite counsel on one point. I have just received 

 a letter from a distinguished cultivator of New- 

 York state, of whom I had also made the inquiry; 

 and his counsel is, not to remove the stock until the 

 bud has taken, in "spring budding." [By cutting 

 off the stock, we did not mean to cut it close down 

 to the inserted bud. Cut it one or two buds above : 

 leaving those buds to help draw up the sap till 

 the new bud has taken. Ed.] 



One or two matters further. I have been not a lit- 

 tle surprised, that in thy " Fruits and Fruit Trees" 

 no notice has been taken of several varieties of the 

 apple, widely disseminated in this state ; or that 

 some of our pomologists have not brought them to 

 the notice of the readers of the Horticulturist. 



There are the Knowle, Early Redstreak, and 

 Caleb apples, highly valued here, either because 

 they are good eariy varieties, or there is nothing 

 better to contrast them with. 



The Gibbons S mathehouse , an autumn apple, as 

 popular in the eastern counties of this state as the 

 Porter seems to be in New-England. Then, there 

 is Smith's Cider, a popular market, winter fruit ; 

 the Tulpehacken, or Pound apple, large and fine, 

 much resembling the Fallawater both in tree and 

 fruit ; the Indian apple and Betsey's Fancy, (or 

 White Vandevere,) both highly productive and 



great keeping varieties. These last, although de- 

 cidedly fine, are as yet but little disseminated. 



J. Baldwin informed me, that so fine were some 

 specimen Smathehouse considered, which he exhi- 

 bited last autumn at the horticultural meeting in 

 Philadelphia, that they were boxed up and sent to 

 some of the friends in Boston for their opinion and 

 judgment. [Shall be glad to receive specimens of 

 these fruits. Ed.] 



I am delighted with thy leading article in the 

 last number on " School-Houses." It has more 

 than a surface significancy ; which an inattentive 

 or careless reading might not detect. It is pro- 

 foundly philosophical, and instils a loftiness of senti- 

 ment which, if lived out practically, would make our 

 country, in truth, a land of liberty. Thine respect- 

 fully. J. F. Chester co., Pa., March \2th, 1848. 



Remarks — Mr. Baldwin's opinion, so adverse 

 to the almost universal testimony of those who 

 have used lime for apple orchards, is easily ex- 

 plained, if he or his neighbors have been in the 

 habit of employing viagnesian-Wme upon their land. 



This, as we have ourselves found by experiment, 

 is decidedly injurious to many kinds of vegetation. 

 The reason is supposed to he this : When a lime- 

 stone, containing much magnesia, is burned, the 

 lime, very speedily after exposure, loses its caustic 

 property, and becomes a carbonate, in which state 

 it is a beneficial manure. But magnesia does not 

 readily become a carbonate, and retains its caustic 

 quality for a Ions time, (absorbing carbonic acid 

 very slowly ;) and is thus injurious to vegetation, 

 when it is mixed and applied with lime, which it- 

 self is completely air-slaked (i. e., carbonate of 

 lime,) and beneficial. 



It wnll be remembered, that in our last we re- 

 commended oyster-shell lime, as always pure, and 

 cautioned our readers against magriesia. Most of 

 our limestones contain very little magnesia, and are 

 excellent manures, — but there are exceptions ; as 

 some of the Trenton limestone, in this state, has 

 been analyzed, and found to contain 24 per cent, of 

 magnesia. This would be highly injurious to or- 

 chards. 



As most of our states have been geologically sur- 

 veyed, the analyses of the different limestones will 

 be found in their geological reports ; and if a farmer 

 is about to use a lime, which has not been tried and 

 found serviceable as manure, it would be well for 

 him to ascertain by reference to such reports if the 

 lime is free from magnesia ; (that is, does not con- 

 tain more than 6 or 8 per cent.) As a common 

 test, we may mention that magnesian limestones 

 feel soft to the touch, will not scratch glass readily, 

 dissolve slowly in acids, and leave a creamy solu- 

 tion. 



As confirmatory of Mr. Pell's practice in liming 

 highly, to grow so successfully that rather difficult 

 apple — the Newtown Pippin, we may quote the fol- 

 lowing note, sent us by Prof. Kirkland of Cleve- 

 land, one of the first pomologists in the west : 



" Newtown Pifpin. — Trees thrive well only on 

 very rich soil, containing lime. On soils destitute 

 of lime, a bushel or two should be spread over the 

 ground under the tree ; and some animal manure 

 should be added. It will well repay the expense 

 and trouble.'' 



