686 



FARMERS' REGISTER— FRUIT AND VEGETABLES. 



Is, one side south, the other north; this I {hceA with 

 the irregular masses of" puddinir stone wliich 

 abound in this vicinity, leaving spaces in which I 

 planted strawberries. My reasoning was, that 

 the stones, by preventing evaporation, would 

 keep the soil moist in which tiie roots grew, a 

 state very iiivorable to the swelling and si:^e of the 

 fruit; that the heat of the sun imbibed by the 

 masses of stone on the south side where the Iruit 

 lay, would ripen it earlier; particularly, being dry, 

 they would not so soon cool as the earth, the evap- 

 oration Irom which produces considerable cold on 

 the surface; that the berries reposing on the stone 

 would be kept free from dirt during heavy showers: 

 and lastly, that while the south side was ear- 

 lier, the north would be somewhat retarded; and 

 thus prolong the period of enjoying this wliole- 

 some Iruit. 



My expectations were however, only partly 

 fulfilled. I had a good crop, very clean, some 

 late, but not more than a dozen or two were in ad- 

 vance of my neighbors. On these results, I observe, 

 that my bank uifhough three feet high had no 

 additional shelter by pailings or fence behind it, 

 against the cold north winds, which prevailed far 

 in the siunmer of 1834, and which certainly pene- 

 trated the north side, keeping the temperature of 

 the earth round the roots of the soutli plants so 

 low as to check advanced vegetation. Again, 

 gardeners employed in forcing are aware that 

 those plants alone are fit for their purpose which 

 have gone earlier the preceding autunui into a 

 state of rest; consequently, it is probable that with 

 proper shelter, such a plantation would be some 

 days earlier the second year than the first, the 

 plants having gone sooner info the above state. I 

 will mention that by the assistance of a few hand 

 glasses and Russia mats, I have seen a south hank 

 of strawberries, well protected by a wall, in fruit 

 eight days earlier than tlie common crops. 



The fruit of the strawberry plant may also be 

 postponed by pinching off the fiowcr buds, as 

 soon as they can be discovered, but carefulhy", so 

 as not to injure the leavesor the heart of the plant, 

 until the second or third week in June, when they 

 must be left to fruit, always destroying the shooting 

 runners, and observing that in hot weather they 

 must be plentifully supplied with water or the. 

 blossoms Vv'ill shrivel and be steri!; this is an easy 

 task if the plan of a bank sucJi as I have described 

 is put in |)raclice, because the ridge at the top can 

 be made with a channel capable of being quickly 

 filled with water, which will then gradually soak 

 through the whole, without being rapidly evapo- 

 rated at the surface. 



With the deepest respect for Mr. Knight and 

 other vvriters on the subject, for well their labors 

 entitle them to this feeliiig from every cultivator — 

 I am yet inclined to think that theirexpression of 

 a state of rest for nature will prove somethins; like 

 that of the chemists of old, that "nature abhors a 

 vacuum," and the industrious researches now in 

 progress respecting the structure and uses of the 

 various parts of plants will probably prove that na- 

 ture does not inquire rest, but is, during this state 

 of hybernation or wintering, in silent and invisible, 

 but active preparation for the spring and summer 

 campaign, when she will inundate the earth with 

 her innumerable hosts of delicious fruits and flow- 

 ers captivating and leading into sweet bondage all 

 the dwellers thereon who come within reach of 



the bea,uty or incense of the latter, or the cool re- 

 freshing juices of the former. Similes are, howev- 

 er, little suitable to the tiller of the soil; he will 

 find enough to puzzle him in the general classes 

 of b )tany without meddling with the metaphoric 

 class of dowers of composition. 



The growers of seeds of culinary vegetables, 

 might easily experiment on a small scale whether 

 the seeds of plants forced one year would naturtal- 

 ly vegetate earlier than those not forced, both be- 

 ing afierwards sown under exactly similar circum- 

 stances, observing that if it only made a difference 

 of three or four days the first year, it might by 

 forcing and management increase progressively 

 the second yeai", and so on until by degrees this 

 diiTerence would at last become sensible. The 

 same may be done with potato sets and many 

 other plants. 



If the first crop of peas were sown at the foot of 

 a deep ridge formed by the plough lacing the south, 

 it appears to me that the young and tender shoots 

 just rising from the earth, would receive considera- 

 ble protection against the early north winds, as I 

 have often found plants growing on the south side of 

 a stone shoot and blossom earlier than the same 

 plant on the other side; any one may observe in a 

 |5iece of ground ridged by the jdough or otherwise 

 that the white frost appears on the upper edge and 

 perhaps half way down, vvhile the bottom of the 

 trench has not been touched. This is perfectly in 

 accordance with known principles in meteorology. 

 1 have tried the above method with complete suc- 

 cess, but not in this vicinity. Every person con- 

 versant with peach trees, must know that there is 

 adifft^rence of a full fortnight in ripening fiaiit on 

 the same tree, owing no doubt to aspect, original 

 earlier vegetation of' some blooms, shelter fiom or 

 exposure to the sun; all these and many other cir- 

 cumstances may furnish ideas for experiment to 

 the acute observer, and intelligent cultivator. It 

 is not improbable that if the l^loom buds, which 

 are late, were/ubbed off, previous to opening, those 

 in a more advanced state, might be strengthened 

 and forwarded. There remains indeed on this sub- 

 ject much scope for the application o{ ingenuity 

 and industry, which I should be extremely glad to 

 see in active operation. To delay the maturing of 

 gooseberries and currants and to preserve the f!-uit 

 in its natural state until September or October. I 

 should recommend the selection of those trees most 

 abundantly provided with berries; as soon as these 

 have attained their full size and are just beginning 

 to ripen, lay a clean Russia mat over the tree, 

 gatherittogetherroundthestem about an inchfrom 

 the ground and tie it firmly up wish astrinij;the 

 object being to shade it almost entirely li-om the 

 rays of the sun, it would perhaps be as well for 

 the first month or six weeks to p,ut on a double 

 mat, removing the upper one time enough for the 

 autunmal sun to |;enetrate that underneath. I 

 have eaten tine gooseberries [ircserved in this way 

 only with a single mat as late as December in 

 England, but tbat year no frost of consequence 

 had then taken place; here I fear we cannot pro- 

 mise ourselves exemption so late, and frost would 

 infallibly injure the flavor. 



I have said little in this communication respect- 

 ing hand glasses, or what are cheaper and nearlv 

 as good for mere protection during cold nights, 

 fr-amcs covered with oiled white paper; these are 

 easily made by sawing sugar boxes in halves hor- 



