NEW EiNGLAND FARMER. 



Published by Johw B. Russell at the corner of Congress and Lindnll Streets Thom^vs G. Fessk.vden, Editor. 



VOL. IV. 



BOSTON, FRIDAY, JULY 14, 1826. 



NO. .51. 



ORIGINAL PAPERS. 



INFLUENCE OF THE BARBERRY BUSH 

 IN BLASTING GRAIN. 



Mr Fessenden — The practice, so happily in- 'tolerably well 

 troduced, of commnnicatinf;, through the medium 

 of your paper, information, in answer to questions, 

 merits all possible encouragement. The tendency 

 is to accelerate, in a remarkable manner, the pro- 

 gress of useful knowledge. I wish, sir, to inqnire, 

 what are the views of farmers, in the old country 

 about Boston, in relation to the barberry bush, as 

 deleterious to grain crops ? Although the barberry 

 is not indigenous in this country, yet, within a few 

 years, jt has become fashionable to cultivate it as 

 a shrub. The fact seems to be, that, in the vicin- 

 ity of the villages where this shrub most abounds, 

 the wheat has been more subject to blast, since its 

 introduction, than it was before. The public opin- 

 ion is divided on the subject. Many condemn the 

 bushes as public nuisances ; some have destroyeil 

 them from about their premises ; but others con- 

 sider tiiis as superstition, and will not give up 

 their bushes. Now, the question is, Does the bar- 



THE SEASO.N. 



The season thus far has been, in some respects, 

 peculiar. The drought of May was, perhaps, un- 

 precedented. Wheat crops, in this county, look 

 Corn, in general, looks rather dis- 

 mally, though its fate cannot yet be decided. — 

 'Gardens are light, grass is light, all sorts of spring 

 grain light. From severe drought the season, has 

 passed to a condition of e.\treme humidity,and the 

 weather is too chilly for the growth of vegetables. 

 It is not unlikely, that the improvement of mar- 

 kets will be one of the efl'ects of this season. 

 I am, sir, respectfully yours, 



DAN BRADLEY. 

 Marcellus (JV. Y.j June 25, 1826. 



Remarks bv the Editor. — Dr Willich's Do- 

 mestic Encyclopedia says " The effect of the shrub 

 the barberry] upon wheat lands is truly singular: 

 and though well known to botanists, is not famil- 

 iar to every farmer. When growing in the hedg- 

 es near corn fields [fields of grain] it changes the 

 ears to a dark brown colour, and prevents them 

 from filling ; nay, its influence in this respect has 

 often extended across a field to the distance of 



gentlem&n, haviiig knowledge on the subject, ans 

 wer. 



DISEASE IN PEAR TREES. 



Within two or three years, nearly all the pear 

 trees, which abounded in tliis vicinity, have sick-, 

 ened and died. I myself have lost moi'e than 3C! 

 containing many varieties of choice fruits. AsmaJi* 

 bunch of dead leaves on some one of the limbs, is 

 the first indication of the distemper. Tiieie dead 

 leaves multiply, and, in a short time, appear on 

 several of the limbs. After the appearance of 

 these symptoms, the progress of the tree to des- 

 truction is rapid. It frequently lingers, however, 

 till the next year, and then partially puts out 

 leaves. At first, the hope was entertained, that a 

 cure might be effected by the amputation of the 

 distempered limbs. To this process I resorted, 

 but was soon discouraged, by finding tha:, in most 

 cases, the whole tree was affected, its body as 

 well as top. My general theory respec.ing this 

 malady is, that the mischief has been done by some 

 species of borer, at least this has been my theory ; 

 but I cannot say, that it affords me satisfaction — 

 If it be a borer, it is clear, that he does not al- 

 ways commence his operations in the body of the 

 tree, for in some few instances, the bodies of my 

 trees are alive and unaffected, while the tops are 

 dead. Although I have taken considerable pains 

 to examine, I have found no borer. I have in a 

 few instances, found, in some of my dead trees 

 that were cut down, the deserted path of a worm ; 

 but enough of this has not been seen, to satisfy 

 me, tliat this great mischief has been done by any 

 such insect. It may be, that some of your corres- 

 pondents can explain the cause of this destruction 

 of pear trees, and prescribe a remedy, and sug- 

 gest preventives. This will do good, though as my 

 trees are destroyed, I shall not be materially ben- 

 efitted. 



berry bush have a deleterious effect on grain, and 

 how far does its influence extend? Will the Ed- l^''*'*' "^ f"""" hundred yards ; it should therefore 

 itor'of the New England Farmer, or any other te carefully eradicated from lands appropriated to 

 - ° - - - - tillage." 



The Massachusetts Agricultural Repository vol. 

 7. page 176 contains the following article 



On the injurious injiuence of the barhern/ bush 

 upon ichcat and the other English grains. 



" This opinion, often deemed a prejudice, and by 

 othora considered as an unquestionable fact, has 

 lately received the most full and scientific inves 

 figation in France. The result of these imiuiiioo 

 comprised in no less than eighty-four pages of 

 Tessier's Annals of Agriculture, seems to settle 

 the question as to the injurious effect of this plant, 

 and that it is pretty uniformly, in France, England, 

 Switzerland and Germany, considered, and we 

 may say almost proved to be one of the causes of 

 blight. We ourselves were perfectly incredulous 

 to this subject, but we are compelled to yield to 

 the weight of proofs. 



It is no longer attributed to the influence or op- 

 eration of the farina of the flower of the barberry, 

 which is over and disseminated several weeks be- 

 fore the several species of grain are in blossom, 

 but it seems to be attributed to a parasitic plant 

 very abundant on the barberry, and which is con- 

 sidered to be the same which causes the rust upon 

 the stalk of the wheat. It would be beyond the 

 scope of this journal to give all the evidence on 

 this subject, but we can refer our readers to the 

 work above mentioned. We can assure them, 

 that though wholly incredulous, we have been per- 

 fectly satisfied with the evidence, patiently, coolly 



and fairly sought and furnished in that work 



France, being of all nations, perhaps, the most in- 

 terested in this inquiry, much respect is due to the 

 deliberate opinions thus formed after candid re- 

 search." 



Since writing the above we hare conversed with 

 some practical farmers in this neighborhood, who 

 are of opinion that the barberry has no percepti- 

 ble effect either on rye or barley. With regard 



to its influence on wheat, those whom we have 

 consulted on the subject can give us no informa- 

 tion, having never cultivated wheat in the vicinity 

 of the barberry. But rye, according to Sir Johu 

 Sinclair, and other agricultural writers is rarely 

 affected v/ith rust or mildew. 



Rust in wheat is by Sir Joseph Banks, attribut- 

 ed to a very sraall fungus, or mushroom, which 

 fastens on the stems, leaves and chaff of certain 

 plants, and robs them of their juices. The fungi 

 or mushrooms are found on the barberry and other 

 vegetable substances as well as in wheat, and pro- 

 duce seeds as well as more perfect and noble 

 plants. 



The seeds of the parasitic plant,which occasion 

 mildew are so small that they are taken up by a 

 damp atmosphere, and wafted about in every di- 

 rection, taking root in the stems, leaves, &c. of 

 such plants us are fitted for their reproduction. 



The remedies against rust, proposed by Sir John 

 Sinclair, are 1. Cultivating hardy sorts of wheat; 

 2. Early sowing ; 3. Raising early varieties ; 4. 

 Thick sowing ; 5. Changes of seed ; C. Consolid- 

 ating the soil (by a heavy roller or other means) 

 after sowing ; 7. Using saline manures ; 8. I m- 

 proving tlie course of crops ; 9. Extirpating all 

 plants that are receptacles of rust ; and 10. Pro- 

 tecting the wheat by rye, tares and other crops. 

 The last mentioned remedy is enlarged upon bv 

 Sir John Sinclair in the " Code of Agriculture ;" 

 but his observations are too voluminous to quote 

 in this place. 



Bordeley's Husbandry says " Mr Isaac Young of 

 Georgia, mixed rye among his seed wheat, and 

 thus rsnared the blast of his wheat. It was re- 

 peaieuly oi^a c;u Ho was convinced of its efficacy; 

 cud then he sow»,I fi, j ^ .^^ surround- 



ed xcith a list of ia Jen hreadlti oj rye ,- v..«„ 



succeeded : and being repeated is found a certain 

 security to the wheat."* 



With regard to the disorder in pear trees, ad- 

 verted to by Mr Bradley, something of a similar 

 nature has occurred in this vicinity, but we have 

 seen no accurate description of the appearance of 

 the trees while affected ; and have heard of no 

 remedy for the disease. We should be happy to 

 receive information from practical and scientific 

 farmers and gardeners on the subjects of the above 

 communication. 



GREEN VEGETABLES FOR MANURE. 

 [by the editor.] 

 'No good farmer or gardener will permit (when 

 he can well avoid it) weeds, nor indeed any other 

 vegetable or animal matter to dry or rot above 

 ground. In hoeing corn, it is better to bury the 

 weeds as you proceed, than to leave them on the 

 top of the ground. In gardening, when you have 

 collected a mass of weeds, throw over them a 

 sufficient quantity of soil to keep them from the 

 air, and to absorb the products of their decomposi- 



* We are sensible that some of the matter here 

 introduced has no immediate connexion with Mr 

 Bradley's inquiriea. But we hope a little eccen- 

 tricity may be excused when utility is the object 

 which induces the wandering from topics under 

 consideration. 



