292 -^1 Wai/ to keep a Record of Trees. 



If the SO or 90 trees add so much to the vahie of Mr. H.'s 

 farm, how shall I cipher up the worth of mine ? I have not 

 told you any thing of my plums, cherries, figs, quinces, walnuts, 

 peccans, &c., &c. I can only say, in the way of slipping in 

 an advertisement, that, if any one Avill give me his price per 

 acre, I will throw in some 5000 buds and grafts of all sorts of 

 fruit, together with a few Berkshires, grade Durhams and 

 Devons, Saxons and Southdowns, Bantams, Bremen, Polands, 

 with horses and mules, to help along, and my corn fodder and 

 tools thrown in. 



As to labels, I think I mentioned, some time since, that I 

 had tried cedar and zinc. I have now a little more experi- 

 ence with them. I split the cedar about one eighth of an inch 

 thick, three to four inches long, and about two wide. I put 

 them into my pocket ; and, whilst at leisure in the field attend- 

 ing to my hands, or in the shade, I smooth them with my 

 pocket knife, and cut them into some fanciful form. I then 

 write, with a lead pencil, the name, No. of row, and No. of tree 

 in the row : with a sharp-pointed implement I scratch this in, 

 then follow with my pencil. I have some of these over one 

 year old, and the wood has blackened so much, by stain of 

 trees, &c., that the name is not intelligible ; others, that I 

 gave a coating to of linseed oil, and then one of copal varnish, 

 are as clean, bright, and neat, as the day they were placed on 

 the tree. 



My zinc labels, with the preparation your correspondent 

 gave me, are rusty already, except where I gave a coating of 

 varnish : these are bright and plain ; and so are the labels that 

 were written on with a lead pencil ; and to this period of time, 

 [ would as lief have the lead pencil, as both do best with the 

 varnish, and the lead better than the preparation — if no var- 

 nish be used. 



I have now 1000 zinc plates, and a lot of copper wire, cut 

 for the purpose of labelling my trees, and only wait for the 

 idle time of summer. I wish to learn the name of every tree 

 I have, and can only do so by having the name and the tree 

 in my mind at the same time : and, the labor being my own, 

 it is my loss. 



May 10, 1847. 



