No. 3. 



Visit to the Farm of Elias Phinney, Esq. 



87 



til he learned the importance of the ditch 

 around tlie margin, which produced the de- 

 sired effect, and now it ranks among his most 

 productive grass lots, and a loaded team may 

 be driven without difficulty over it. 



DIGGING PEAT. 



We were pleased witli his system of dig- 

 ging peat, of whicii he has an ample supply. 

 Where peat is generally dug, the grounds are 

 left in the roughest state, and present an un- 

 pleasant and unsightly appearance, and re- 

 main an unproductive waste : but it is his rule 

 to have the top split, a depth of ten inches or 

 a foot, (the portion unfit for the fire,) thrown 

 over and levelled as the work of digging pro- 

 ceeds : in this way it soon becomes covered 

 with grass which answers very well for stock 

 hay, 



STONE FENCE. 



One peculiar feature of this firm is the 

 massive stone walls by which it is enclosed 

 and divided. It would seem a Herculean 

 task to build the wall that has been put up 

 under tlie care of the intelligent proprietor. 

 In the measurement of the length of wall up- 

 on the farm, we may safely say there are 

 miles of it, — we know not how much there 

 may be ; on this subject we are not informed ; 

 one piece of considerable length is ten or 

 eleven feet thick, seven feet high, and cov- 

 ered with grapes, which have been set out on 

 the south side of it : a fine native variety, 

 found on the place. The vines were loaded 

 with fruit, and bring by the quantity from eight 

 to ten cents per pound : we should judge there 

 might be a ton of them. All the other walls 

 are double, from five to ten feet thick and 

 five to six feet high, and must have consumed 

 an enormous quantity of stone. We noticed 

 grapes upon many other portions of the wall. 



ORCHARD. 



The orchard on this farm is equal if not 

 superior to any we have seen. It contains 

 from four to five hundred trees, principally 

 Baldwins, Russets, and Rhode Island Green- 

 ings. It produced a very abundant crop last 

 3'e^r, but this year there is scarcely an apple 

 upon it. It was planted somewhere about 

 fourteen or fifteen years since. The soil is 

 generally a light rich loam, upon a gravelly, 

 and in some places a rocky foundation. The 

 trees ware taken from the nursery m autumn, 

 and placed in trenches until the following 

 sprincr. They were planted near the surface, 

 and in many instances, upon the surface, with- 

 out digging any holes, and the dirt placed up- 

 on the roots. The orchard is situated on a 

 side hill, having a south and south-east expo- 

 sure. Many of the trees were severely in- 

 jured by the hard winter of 18o5 and '36, 

 which caused the destruction of some of 

 them. Their places have since been sup- 



plied with young trees. The mice injured 

 some of the trees a number of years since, 

 by gnawing the bark, so that in some cases 

 the trees were completely girdled, and to all 

 appearance lost. An ingenious method was 

 devised to save them. Having prepared some 

 large scions, five or six of them were inserted 

 in each tree below the wounds in the bark, 

 and then connected with bark above by the 

 common operation of side grafting : in this 

 way the sap was conducted trom the roots to 

 the" top, and the trees saved. We saw some 

 of the trees thus operated upon ; the scions 

 had increased to the diameter of three or four 

 inches, and had nearly come in contact with 

 each other: we should doubt, however, whe- 

 ther the trees would be long lived, as the old 

 wood must be unsound, and an early decay 

 must be the consequence. The trees appeared 

 now as vigorous as any of their neighbors. — 

 The orchard has never been laid down to 

 grass, but kept in constant cultivation. The 

 trees are finely shaped, having been pruned 

 with a skilful hand, and just high enough from 

 the ground to work under without inconveni- 

 ence : the trees are about two rods apart : in 

 some places they nearly cover the ground. — 

 We do not remember how many barrels were 

 gathered for the market last year, but the 

 quantity was great. Beside this orchard 

 there is another that has been set out only 

 two or three years, of two or three hundred 

 trees, all of which are sweet apples, designed 

 expressly for swine. All the refuse apples 

 are fed to the hogs, and considered much 

 more valuable for that use than for cider. 



VARIOUS FRUITS. 



The farm is abundantly stocked with pears, 

 plums, peaches, grapes, &c. There are more 

 than two thousand fruit trees of various sorts 

 upon the place, and all have been reared and 

 pruned by the hand of the proprietor himself. 

 One of the most pleasant sights is a trellis, 

 thirty rods in length, covered with the Isabella 

 grape, from which was gathered last year two 

 tons of grapes, which found a ready sale in 

 Boston market at ten to twelve cents per 

 pound. The crop was said not to be so 

 heavy this year, but to us it appeared very 

 great. There is also a small house where 

 the more delicious foreign grapes are grown. 

 The plums had suffered severely from the 

 curculio, and most of the trees had lost their 

 fruit. There is a disease upon the currant 

 bush, which we have noticed in many other 

 places as well as on this. The bush loses its 

 leaves prematurely, and the fruit becomes 

 withered and worthless. We have in vain 

 sought for the cause. Can any of our readers 

 inform us, and prescribe a remedy 1 The 

 vegetable garden is large and well stocked 

 with every variety : what is not consumed in 

 the family is marketed or fed to the swine. 



