NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



[March 17 



many centuries. The general law oi nature 

 must he obe3'ed, and each must yield its place to 

 a successor. The art of the planter readily di- 

 vides a siiijle tree into almost any number that 

 he wishes ; hut the character of the new frees, 

 thus raised, is very essentially different from I ker 

 that of a young seedling plant. They possess a And what is there to disprove this theory .'- 

 preternatural maturity, and retain the habits and | Why. the opinion of Sfeechly former gardener 

 diseases of the tree of which they naturally ■• •' - t^-'- 



mii'ht be something congenial to the Iruits in 

 stocks of this kind. The grafts grew tolerably 

 and equally well in all ; but there was a want 

 of hardness and elasticity in the wood, and at 

 the end of three or four years all began to can- 



formed a part. 



" All efforts which have hitherto been made 

 to propagate healthy trees of those varieties 

 which have been long in cultivation [200 years 

 or more] have, I believe, been entirely unsuc- 

 cessful. The grafts grow well for two or three 

 years, after which they become cankered and 

 mossy, and appear, what 1 consider Ihem really 

 to be, parts of ihe bearing branches of old dis- 

 eased trees." — Treatise on the Jlpple and Pear. 



Such is Ihe theory of a man who has spent 

 half a century in studying the physiology of 

 plants, practically as well as scientifically; and 

 who is not probably surpassed by any one in his 

 correctness and usefulness in horlicnilural knowl- 

 edge. It is su[. ported by numerous and various 

 experiments, all tending to confirm its truth. — 

 But it is rather the confirmation of an old than 

 the prumujgation of a new doctrine. The de- 

 terioration "and ultimate decay of old varieties 

 of the a|)ple, was a subject of common observa- 

 tion in the old settlements on the Hudson, be- 

 fore Knight's opinions and experiments were 

 Unown, and where they are probably not yet 

 known. The Spitzenhurgh and the Swaar, two 

 esteemed varieties, have evidently passed (heir 

 prime, and the fruit and wood, propagated by 

 buds and grafts, are more diseased than former- 

 ly. A seedling Spitzenhurgh is coming into 

 notice, partaking of the good qualities of its 

 namesake, without its infirmities, which half a 

 century hence may pass as the progeny of the 

 old variety. We know that the jirogony of fruil 

 trees artificially multiplied, resembles the pa- 

 vent in foliage, and in the size, shape, colour 

 and flavour; and it is a sound priiicii>le of phi- 

 losophy to believe that diseases arising from 

 natural decay, are in like manner hereditiiry.— 

 The Rusticoat, the Spanish or Hog, and other 

 varieties of the potatoe, have disappeared with- 

 n a few years; and why, but because they 

 rvere so deteriorated by age, as to be no longer 

 v.;ortb cultivating? I subjoin another extract to 

 show the nature and variety of the experiments 

 made by Mr Ksight. 



"When I first observed," says he, " the un- 

 healthy state of all the young trees of these 

 Kinds, I suspected that it arose from the use of 

 diseased grafts taken from old trees; and that 

 I shoul.l be able to propagate all the valuable 

 varieties by buds taken from young newly grad- 

 ed trees, as these can scarcely be said to take 

 :;nv of the old slock with them; but lo remove 

 still farther every probability of delect which 

 tnight be communicated from the old trees, I in- 

 Kerled the young shoots and buds taken trnm 

 newly grafted trees in other young stocks, and 

 ) repeated this process six times in as many 



of Ihe Duke of Portland; who, not from any 

 obserralions or ixperiments of his own,_it seems, 

 (although H practical gardener,) but from hear- 

 say evidence of other--, avers, that the Golden 

 Pippin was '■ recovering from a disease, or can- 

 ker, which appears to have been brought on by 

 a succession of unpropitious seasons," and " that 

 the apparent decay of some trees was owing to 

 the unfavourable springs we have had for some 

 years." All this may be true, and this is the 

 purport of the quotation from Srr.ECHLY, and il 

 does not invalidate a single posilion of Kniuiit's. 

 Conjecture weiffhs but little against domon«lra- 

 tion. But the ivriler has added Ihe weight of 

 his own belief to Ihe equivocal authority ol 

 SpKECHLY, and cited the old fashioned Pearmavi 

 and Ribston Pippin as in point : But if these ap- 

 ples have survived Ihe natural pMiod assigned 

 lo a distinct variety by ivMcair— Quinte.^v and 

 Jon.N Lawrence, who wrote in 17 IG and 1719, 

 ami whose works were before him, would have 

 enabled lo have shown this fact, or at least that 

 Ihey were named in their catalogues. The pa- 

 rent of Ihe Ribston Pippin, he informs us, w;.s 

 standing in 17S7, and yielded six bushels ot np- 



appcars to affect quadrupeds, especially horses." 



The pages in Loudon's work to which " Rusticus," 

 refers, are, in (the second edition, from whic^ we made 

 our quotations alluded to) occupied in details relative 

 to the structure of hot houses, Sic. The admission of 

 llo'lit is a great object in these structures, and light from 

 the moon will probably have an effect in vegetation in 

 proportion to its intensity compared to that of the sun. 

 .Mr Loudon, however, says nothing about moonlight, 

 nor the influence of the moon, in that part of his Kncy- 

 clopedia. 



TO THE EDITOK OF THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



VARIETIES OF FRUIT TREES. 



County of Norfolk, March 11, 182G. 

 Mr Fe'senden, — The article in your paper, 

 pace 249, signed " Ji Lover of Good Fruit,''' is 

 enlilled lo attention. Your remarks on this ar- 

 ticle are made with your usual accuracy, and 

 knowledge of your subject, ll is true, sir, that 

 the names of many fruils, or rather varieties of 

 fruits " are derived from such capricious causes 

 or incidents, that a correct list cannot l)e easily 

 accomplished." But there are some fruils that 

 bear the same names no-^' that they bore a hun- 

 dred years ago or more ; and others Ihat have 

 from time lo time been so strongly marked by Eu- 

 ropean horticulturists, thai they cannot be easily 

 mii.'aken by an attentive observer. The misfor- 

 luue is Ihat even fruits which are best known in 

 Europe by judg-es, lose their name here in the 

 nur.^eries where Ihe young trees are raised; and 



■pies This is certainly not a very conclusive w ,[^j,, ^g.,^^ (},p g.^p^g variety will acquire dis 



evidence that the variety was ol more than 200 

 years standing. The remarks in regard to Ihe 

 pear and orange, are rather gratuitu.is, as I do 

 not know that Knight has given any opinion as 

 to the natural duration of their varieties. The 

 question is an important one lo those who are 

 about to put out orchards, if they errin fol- 

 lowing Knk.mt, they err on the sale side. But 

 if his theory is correct, they who scout it may 

 involve themselves in loss and disappointment. 

 One word in regard to your denying the 



iinct names in different places, and in some in- 

 stances in the same place, to the great annoy- 

 ance of the cultivator. As, for instance, in New 

 York, the whole class of " Doyennes" are cal- 

 led " Virgouleuse." Certain il is that the SL 

 Michael bears this name in that city, while the 

 •' Virgouleuse" is here called by many people 

 the " Cidmar." 1 could mention many instances 

 of a like kind, both in pears and in other iruits. 

 But as this would help to fill your columns with- 

 out answering any good objects, I will merely 



moon 3 influence upon the flow of sap. 1 have observe, that until some more allention is paid 

 no room to speculate on Ihe philosophy ol the I („ ,i,is subject generally by Horliculluralisls, 

 subject hut I will slate concisely Ihe result of j^^d nursery men, gentlemen will be conslanlly 

 my experience 1 have been in the habit of j ija^le to have fruils sent lo them under wrong 

 budding more or less for 16 years; and have, ,ames. It is, therefore, very diflicult to answer 

 uniformly found the bark to peel freer in the (he object of Ihe '• Lover of Good fruit,' even 

 first than in the last quarters of the moon. For i jf j y/gj-e able to give him a list of the best fruils 

 an evidence, undeniable, of Ihe moon's influence I j^r each season ; lor the chance is that he would 

 upon the atmosphere, 1 refer you to pages SlOjfinj ,he nursery-man's nations on this point, and 

 to 313 of Loudon's Encyclopedia, which I per- : ^jine did not agree at all; and when he asked 

 ceive vou quote. It has consequently an intlu- fgr a " Spanish Good Christian" he^ might get 

 ence upon the barometer, lis effects upon the ,^hat is here called Ihe " Iron Pear." 

 waters of the ocean, are universally acknowl- i^he " Lover of Good Fruit," who it seems' 

 rfjrpj,— Then why not also upon ^^'^ waters ^^^^ PniNCt.'s catalogue for his governmonl, asks 



lor a few varieties of each sort, suited lo the 

 different seasons, but wishes to have the best 

 only pointed out to him. " Who shall decide?" ^ 

 &c Some people are great admirers ol Ihe • 

 common •' bummer Catherine," while others 



which distend Ihe capillary vessels of planlsj 



KUb 1 It^Uh. 



Rtrnarks by the Wifor.-We did not mean to be un- 

 derstood as denying the influence of the moon on veg- 

 etation. The passage to which we presume our cor- 

 ruspondent alludes, (see pnge 250 of the current volume 

 of the N. E. Farmer,) is quoted from Loudon's Lncy- 



YCi'.ri 



::;;r:;^km:mygr;f;;i;di;;.dslr;m dopedi. Wcgave Uasthcoplnio. of MrLoudo„, 



think it good for nothing, because it is destitute 

 of juice. Some are fond of the common " Al 

 berg," or what is called br mauy the " Malaca 



