102 



^[]t jTavmcv's iHoiiti)ii) IPisitor. 



our correspondent " W." very properly remnrked 

 in lust week's paper, it is not the mere nunilier 

 of leaves that determines I he lieullh of niosi 

 plants, but the superficial area of foliayu exposed 

 to light and air ; a material difference. For ex- 

 ample, suppose ihut one bianch has hut 10 leaves, 

 the whole area of which shall be e.\prested by 

 the number 100; and that another branch has 

 20 leaves, the area of which shall be equal to 120 ; 

 the inference would not be ihat the latter would 

 conduce to the health of a plant more than the 

 former, unless it could also he shown that the 

 20 leaves were each as well lighted and aired as 

 the 10, which in the head of a tree would be im- 

 probable. And if the 20 leaves had ordy an area 

 of 90, it is clear that they would be less effective 

 than the 10 having an area of 100, all other cir- 

 cumstances being equal. Of course we do not 

 mean that a gardener is to calculate the exact su- 

 perficial contents of a leaf before he can tell 

 whether to remove it or not; we only put the ar- 

 gument into ibis form for the sake of illustration. 

 Such being the general facts connected with the 

 operation of pruning scientifically, we shall pro- 

 ceed to details, and commence with the pear- 

 tree, the most important of all our hardy fruit 

 trees. 



PRUNING THE PEAR TBEE 



May be considered under the following heads:— 

 first, when it is grown as a Standard ; second, as 

 a Dwarf; and third, as trained against a Jfalt, or 

 Espalier. 



In pruning it is always necessai-y to bear in 

 mind the natural disposition of a tree, in order to 

 foresee the probable consequences of every cut 

 that is made. When left to its natural growth, 

 the Pear-tree, generally speaking, aspires to a 

 height of 30 to 40 feel, or more, with a stem oc- 

 casienally of considerable length ; but frequent- 

 ly subdividing at less than 6 feet^bove the sur- 

 face of the ground ; and the lower the. subdivi- 

 sions take place, the greater their tendency to 

 assume the naked character of stems to a distance 

 of several feet from their bases. Ultimately the 

 top is formed of a roundish, spreading, or pyra- 

 midal Ibrm, on the outside of which the fruit is 

 for the most part produced, and hence it occu- 

 pies the best position for enjoying the beneficial 

 influences of light and air. 



An example will put in a clear light the heces 

 sity of studying the natural disposition of this 

 tree. Suppose a person were required to keep 

 a tree within certain prescribed limits far short 

 of its natural height, an<l that, regardless of its 

 incessant tendency to attain that height, he cut 

 annually with reference merely to the assigned 

 limits. Year after year he would find these lim- 

 its exceeded by a shoot or shoots disposed to 

 mount as stems, and he might consume a life- 

 time in vain attempts, by direct opposition, lo 

 subvert the natural tendencies of llie tree. A skil- 

 ful pruner, on the other hand, would attempt no 

 such thing. He would not labor to waste thus 

 the energies of his tree; hut by gentle and sci- 

 entific means, he would direct them towards the 

 production of fruil, as will be hereafter explain- 



ed. 



These remarks serve to show that the Standard 

 form being the most natiual, requires the least 

 opposition of growth by the knife, and therefore 

 its pruning may be first detailed. 



If we commence with the young tree, haying 

 one shoot or sunnner's growth from the graft or 

 bud, technically called a " maiden" plant, ihe first 

 object is to rear a stem of the requisite height, 

 and of suflRcient sliength; (J feet clearof sti in is 

 n usual height for orchards. It is possiblr lo have 

 every stem of this height, or within an inch of it 

 more or les.". The shoot above alltided to, and 

 indeed every shoot will bi- seen furnished with 

 buds from boltom to lop ; and every one of these 

 buds is capable of produr.ing a shoot under fa- 

 vorable circumstancis ; but the uppermost bud 

 generally lakes the lead, whilst many ol'llie low- 

 er do not break into shoots, and friipiently none 

 of them do so, unless iiiduciHl lo push by artifi- 

 cial means. Now, it luUht be especially borne in 

 niinil, that if ihe sho(.t b«^ cut back some portion 

 of its length at the winter pruning, the sap which 

 otherwise would have gone lo the other portion 

 of the shoot, is appropriated by those buds that 

 are led; and it acts with greatest force on those 

 immediately below ihc wound, three of which 

 are almost invariably stimulated so as lo produce 

 •tioolf. Therefore, when ili» plant hoi attained 



the height of not less than 6i feet, take a six-feet 

 rod, place it by the stem, cut above the third bud 

 beyond Ihe toj) of the rod ; and ihus the height 

 of the stem will he determined. The three buds 

 immediately above the (J feet, being those next 

 the cut, will seldom liiil to push shoots, from 

 which others must be made lo diverge in a regu- 

 lar manner, forming the principal limbs of the 

 tree. 



Care should be taken lo have the young steins 

 of sufficient strength ; in fact as strong and like- 

 wise as straight as possible. They are loo fre- 

 quently seen of almost an equal thickness, tall 

 enough, but flexible as a willow, and straight only 

 when lied to a stake. Such is invarialily the csite 

 when the stem, in shooting up, is divested of 

 leaves, with the exception of a few at the top. 

 The reverse of this burbarous practice should be 

 followed. An abimdant foliage should be en- 

 couraged. A long, naked, slender rod, bearing 

 only a few leaves, is not that natural mode of 

 growth by which the wild pear-tree forms a strong 

 erect stem without the aid of slakes. A yoimg 

 stem with 50 leaves will increase in, substance, 

 at least five limes as much as one with only 10 

 leaves, all other circumstances being the same. 

 Again, if these 50 leaves grow on a shoot all 

 along from its base, that shoot will be found an 

 elongated cone, a form of growth more sid>slan- 

 tial than would result from the same number of 

 leaves, or even more, situated on branches at the 

 to|i of an elsewhere naked stem. The same quan- 

 tity of substance may be deposited by the latter 

 arrangement, but more equally along the stem, 

 and the stem itself may be compared to a stream 

 which receives no iril)uturies in its course. 



Clean steins are desirable, but in endeavoring 

 to obtain such their strength must not be sacri- 

 ficed. If laterals push from the shoot of the 

 same summer's growth they must not he cut 

 clean off; they may be stop|;ed after tnidsunnner 

 where they appear insubordinate to the leader ; 

 and instead of being cut close to the stem at Ihe 

 winter |)runing, if one or two buds are left, these 

 buds will furnish leaves on small shoots in the 

 following suiinner, w liich will contribute much 

 towards strengthening the stem ; these shoots 

 ought, however, lo be stopped in summer. 



VVIien ihe soil is good and the variety of vigor- 

 ous growth, standard pear-lrees may be reared 

 without culling back the leader till it attain Ihe 

 required height of stem. But under less favora- 

 ble circumslances a somewhat different mode of 

 proceeding is advisable, especially where stakes 

 caimot be afforded. If the leading shoot is found 

 weak, head it back to near its base ; a stronger 

 shoot will result, which must be kept as strictly 

 upright as possible for a leader. Take care lo 

 check almost entirely the growth ofihe two 

 shoots likely to proceed fiom the buds situated 

 next lo that which furnishes the leader. The 

 latter may be a little shortened in Ihe following 

 season, and in every season, till it attain the pro- 

 per height. By the time it does this the base of 

 the stem will have acquired considerable thick- 

 ness, and although great care is necessary lo keep 

 the .'■hoots erect while young, no slakes are after- 

 wards requiied. This mode of rearing stems 

 should he exclusively adopted in all exposed sit- 

 ualioiis, and in many other cases it will be li)und 

 obviously advantageous. 



" Profits of Farming." 



The subject is familiar lo ourreailers, as it was 

 discussed no less than six evenings at the late 

 Agricultural meeting. Wo will give an instance 

 of' the profits of fanning, not a single instance, 

 from unusual circumstances, hut fiom a course 

 of several years, 



A short lime since we visited the farm of N. I'. 

 Morrison, Somerville. Ho is about four miles 

 lioiii Boston. Has 20 acres of land, which he 

 bought five years a!;o for five ihoiisand dollars. 

 lie has ruatle great improvemeiils by sulxluing 

 and (•iiriching Ihe soil, reviving old liiiit trees and 

 selling out new, building a barn at the expense 

 of one thousand dollars, and making various im- 

 provements in fi.'iues, iVc, so that with the im- 

 provements and natural rise of land, which has 

 not been small, his estate there would douhlless 

 sell at some 12 or U! thousand dollars, at the 

 usual price of property in ibis vicinity; lor his 

 soil is exrelleiil, and now in fine condilion, his 

 fruit trees flourishing and productive, oi)d his lo- 

 cation plengant. 



Besides this and considerable other properly, 

 Mr. M. has a good liirm in New Hampshire, of ItJO 

 acres, well slocked and supplied with implements. 

 All this has been iheresidt of industry and intel- 

 ligence, or the profits of farmini!; ; for the owner 

 remarks that he was a poor boy, and he was mar- 

 ried and commenced ihe world at twenty-one 

 years of age without properly. He has gained 

 all his properly by farming — by a regular course 

 of industry. He attended to trade long enough 

 to lose a thousand dollars, and he lost another, 

 thousand by lending money. 



As a cultivator Mr. M. is remarkably skilful. — 

 The first year after he bought the place, he had 

 only 45 barrels ol apples: the second year, 55 

 barrels ; the third year 180 barrels, the founh 

 year 183 barrels, the russets tiiHing short, w hich 

 was generally the case with this fruil. 



He keeps his fiuit in fine condilion in a cellar 

 having a ledge for the bottom, and walls of stone 

 and lime, made very light. It is mostly below 

 the ground. He puis his apples in the cellar as 

 soon as they are picked, and while the warm wear 

 iher conlinues in the fall, he keeps the doo^ 

 open, excepting when the wind is south, whel 

 they are kept closed. In winter he occasionally 

 opens the doors when the wind is northwest, and 

 the weather mild. 



When Mr. M. went on the place, he found ma- 

 ny of the fruit trees so low that no person or team 

 could get under ihem to cultivate the soil, so he 

 sawed ott" the lower limbs that were in the way, 

 and new ones started higher up, so that good tops 

 have been formed, and the trees are sufficiently 

 high 10 allow fiee passage fi)r man and beast un- 

 der ihem ; a thing of great importance, as Mr. 

 M. cultivates highly in his orchard, and raises 

 abundant crops of vegetables, which pay in a 

 great measure for the manure and labor. 



He has taken great pains to collect a choice 

 list of fruits, and his orchard is among the niosjj 

 flourishing in the country. Some varieties noted 

 for their slow growth, exhibit the vigor of a Green- 

 ing or Baldwin, so that we did not know them liy 

 their growth ami wood. He has sold the apples 

 from two Baldv\ in trees in one year for 27 dol- 

 lars. One cpiince bush pays him annually the in- 

 terest on $100. 



Knowing that Mr, M. wasa hard working farm- 

 er, and that he accomplished a great deal by his 

 own industry, practically using his hard hand to 

 execute, as well as a wise head to plan, we were 

 grei\tly surprised, on taking s seal in the parlor, 

 lo find a farmer wiih his '•huge paws" upon the 

 keys of a piano, and performing in a masterly 

 style, that would put lo shame many young lailies 

 who have, or rather do little else than attend to 

 music; and our surprise was greatly increased 

 when we learned that he was playing tunes of 

 his own composing, as appeared when he pre- 

 sented us with a copy of the "Conference Psalm- 

 ody," mostly of his own composition. 



Mr. M. remarked tliat he somelimes finds him 

 self placed in rather an awkward situation, as he 

 is going about in his liirmer's garb, handling po- 

 tatoes with his hands, as he Is dealing them out 

 lo his customers, and is compelled to take a .seat 

 at the piano in ihe p.irlois of people of litsliion 

 and dislinciion. — Boston Cultivator. 



The above Mr. Morri.son, if we do not niisluko 

 his christian name, was an old friend of ours he- 

 fore he hit the Granile Sl.ile, with whom we 

 have talked often on the matter of agricultural 

 improvements. — Ed. I'isitor. 



Vr.r.mya Tiknips.— When inileh cows are fed 

 with lurnips, the milk frequenily has a disagree- 

 able flavor. To eradicate \\w. lasle co lUliica- 



led by the Iiirni|is, dithiciil siibslanci's have been_ 

 recoiiimeiulcil to be put iii liie milk, such as salt- 

 petre, chloride of lime, &c. IMr. .1. McI). Mdn- 

 tyre, of ibis city, who is in the liabil of feeding 

 fiis cows during wuiliM- with biitii lurnips and 

 brewers' grains, iiilorms us that while both these 

 articlrs are used, no uiiplc.isaiit taste is given lo 

 the milk ; bin that if the grains are omitted, llie 

 flavor of the milk is afl'octed by the liiriii|is. HlsJ 

 rule has been to li'rd each cow with ahi.iit hall a 

 bushel of Swedish lurnips, and half a bushel ol 

 grains per day, and il has been repeatedly iioliccd 

 that when the turnips are stopped the milk is 

 considerably decreased in quantity, and the cows 

 appear 10 hr less healthy.— .4/6(in.v CiiJt, 



