254 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[No. 4 



From the Southern Agriculturist. 

 OF THE SUCKERS ON CORN. 



Fonthill, May 2, 1838. 



Dear Sir ~\ made a trial last summer of re- 

 fainiiiii ihe suckers on a part of my corn, vvliich 

 was sufficient to convince me, that nothing is 

 gained hy takinij tliem away. From some cause 

 iast season, I saw more suci<ers shooimo; out from 

 the roois of my manured corn, than I think I liad 

 observed before; and at the request of a irentle- 

 man, (to whom I had shown them, with the re- 

 mark tliat I did not tliink that naiure would, in 

 relieving itself, do a substantial injury to any 

 plant,) I preserved them, and watched their pro- 

 gress to maturity. They grew along with the pa- 

 rent stalks, (ami becoming more and more detach- 

 ed as the season advanced, and as ihey acquired 

 support from the roots which theysentout,) tassel- 

 led at the same time, and a great many, though 

 not all, bore ears, at the proper places. And I have 

 satisfied myself, at least, from the experiment, 

 that by leaving the suckers, I made as much corn 

 — certainly much more fodder — and saved the 

 labor, in a busy season, of taking them away. 



Cotton. 



From the Southern Agriculturist. 



ON FEEDING HORSES ON PEASE, TO SAVE 

 BLADES. 



May 10th, 1838. 



Mr. Editor — Agreeably to my promise, you 

 will find below a piece on feeding horses on pease, 

 to save blades. In 1836, I believed that I had 

 not made as many blades, as I thought would 

 serve my horses the year; and I had a fine crop 

 of pease. I fed my horses on pease in the haums 

 at night, and at 12 o'clock, and in the morning, 

 on corn, I gave each horse half a bushel of pease 

 in the haums. My horses got fat on them, and they 

 did a great deal of work all the time. This piece 

 may benefit the up-couniry planter, more than 

 the down-couniry planter, as they have the ad- 

 vantage of marsh, that they can use by the first 

 of May. But if the up-country planter's blades 

 happen to give out liy April, he has nothing that 

 he can feed on in place of the blades, but oats, 

 and they do not come in until the middle of June. 

 I have been pursuing the same course with my 

 horses this winter, though I had a plenty of 

 blades, and I intend to continue to doit as long 

 as I am a planter. 



Hoping this may benefit some, planters, I am 

 yours, respectfully, 



Colleton. 



From the Genesee Farmer. 

 PRUNING trees. 



A most injudicious system with regard to prun- 

 ing trees appears to have been adopted by many 

 of our farmers. A tree is neglected until it is 

 comparatively old, and the top a dense mass of 

 brush rather than properly direeted branches, and 



then is attacked by the farmer with axe and saw> 

 and nearly all the top cut off at a single operation. 

 In the first place (rees ought never to be left so 

 long wiihout pruning, where it is ever to be ex- 

 pected or required. The pruninij should he made 

 annually, and keep pace with their growth. In 

 this way such ruinous lf)[)pings off of wood will 

 be prevented, and the injuries that result from 

 such a course be avoided. 



When a li^uii tree has grown with a thick 

 bushy top, the bark of the central branches is ten- 

 der, and when suddenly exposed to cold winds or 

 hot sun, the efi'ect cannot be otherwise than pre- 

 judicial. It" the pruning is performed gradually, 

 or annually, tlie bark is alike adapted to resist the 

 influence of the seasons, and is not apt to become 

 thick and tight, or tender and cracked. Perhaps 

 the peach sutlers more from injudicious pruning 

 than almost any other tree; and where any con- 

 siderable part of the top is cut ofl" at once, it is 

 most usually fatal. A mode which has been 

 adopted to a considerable extent in Ihe peach 

 growing districts of New Jersey obviates in a 

 great measure this difficulty, and also another se- 

 rious one, the danger of the branches breaking 

 when heavily laden with fruit. After the tree is 

 planted where it is to grow, it is allowed to stand 

 till it becomes well rooted, when it is cut ofl' near 

 the ground. Sprouts immediately spring up 

 around the root, and of these five or six of the 

 best situated ones are selected to remain, and the 

 rest are careflilly eradicated. These shoots are 

 either budded, or suffered to grow up the natural 

 fruit, according to the pleasure of the proprietor. 

 The advantages derived from this course are 

 these: these offshoots spread more laterally than 

 would branches from a single trunk, and of course 

 the sun acts upon every part of the branches more 

 fully; and when they are loaded with fruit, they 

 will fall to the ground in every direction, rendering 

 the gathering of the fruit easy, and preventing the 

 breaking down of the tree. 



The experience of the best fruit-growers of 

 the counliy, as well as the deductions of philoso- 

 phy, would seem to point out the summer as the 

 most suitable time to prune trees, as the material 

 for covering the wounds is already elaborated, 

 and will be immediately applied l)y the remaining 

 branches. Prolt-ssed nurserymen are more care- 

 ful in this respect than the coinmon farmer; prun- 

 ing is by them carried on upon more of a system, 

 and hence trees managed by them rarely are call- 

 ed to undergo such amputations of the top, as 

 those where less attention is given them, and per- 

 ha|.s no pruning attempted. Much of the excel- 

 lence of i)-uit, and the productiveness of the tree is 

 dependent on pruning, and by commencing early, 

 and following up a system carefully, such a shape 

 may be given to the crown, and such a direction 

 to the main branches, as most effectually to secure 

 the advantages of sun and air. 



From the Genesee Farmer. 

 BREEDING IN AND IN. 



The judicious breeder will not too long confine 

 himself to his own stock, unless it be very large. 

 The breeding from too close affinities — the breed- 

 ing in and in ae it is called, though it has many 



