NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



67 



Editors of the N. E. Farmer. 



Gentlemen : — I have taken and read the pa 

 per under this name, from the commeneement ; 

 when conducted by the sagacious and witty Fes- 

 senden — the industrious and discreet Putnam — the 

 persevering and obliging Cole — and others, too 

 numerous to be specified. I am quite surprised that 

 any one should take exception to your notice of its 

 character fr< im the beginning. I read with much 

 interest the remarks of Mr. Holbrook, on this 

 point, and, as is the case with all he writes, in 

 whatever columns it appears, I was instructed by 

 it. It seems to me much better for each one to 

 take care of himself, instead of attempting to 

 jostle others off the track. Very truly yours, 



J. W. Proctor. 

 Danvers, Jan. 10, 1852. 



FIRST AGRICULTURAL MEETING, 

 At the State House, Jan. 14, 1852. 



The first meeting of the Legislative Agricultural 

 Association, for organization, took place at the 

 Representatives' Hall, in the State House, on Tues- 

 day evening, Jan. 14. 



Mr. Whitaker, of Needham, called the meeting 

 to order and invited to the chair Hexry W. Cush- 

 max, who briefly stated the objects of the meeting, 

 and announced it as open for the transaction of 

 business. 



On motion or R. B. Hubbard, that a committee 

 of five be appointed to nominate an Executive 

 Committee to arrange business for future meetings, 

 the chair appointed R. B. Hubbard, of Sunderland, 

 Joux W. Proctor, of Danvers, Simon Brown, of 



Concord, E. K. Whitaker, of Needham, and 



Austin. 



This committee subsequently reported for this 

 committee the names of Hexry W. Cusiiman, of 

 Bernardston, Amasa Walker, of North Brookfield, 

 M. P. Wilder, of Dorchester, Jonxsox Gardner, 

 of Seekonk, Allen Putnam, of Roxbury, and John 

 W. Proctor, of Danvers, who were elected. 



There being no stated subject before the meeting 

 for discussion, Mr. Hubbard improved the moment 

 to express his own interest in these opportunities 

 for exchanging opinions. He hoped formal speeches 

 would be dispensed with as much as possible, and 

 that those who attended might have the pleasure 

 of hearing from practical men. 



Mr. Brown, editor of the New England Farmer, 

 fully agreed with the last speaker, and believed 

 that if the meetings are to be prosperous and suc- 

 cessful, they will be so because of the interest the 

 fanners themselves take in them. He was not op- 

 posed to discussions of, and speeches upon, scien- 

 tific subjects occasionally, but the time of the 

 meetings, to be interesting, must be mainly occu- 

 pied by practical farmers. 



S. N. Stockwell, the accomplished reporter of 



the Boston Journal, offered the following resolution, 

 which was unanimously adopted. 



Resolved, That we recommend that the number 

 of meetings the present session be limited to not 

 exceeding twelve, and that this recommendation 

 be referred to the Executive Committee, to be re- 

 ported on at the next meeting. 



Mr. Whitaker, of Needham, was appointed 

 Secretary until the Committee should make a re- 

 port. 



Mr. CusmiAN, Chairman of the Executive Com- 

 mittee, reported as the subject for discussion at the 

 next meeting, — 



The best mode of advancing the interests of the 

 fanner. 



FRUIT CULTURE IN THE UNITED 

 STATES. 



An orchard of fruit trees in this country, even 

 when well attended, does not require as much 

 care and labor in five years as it does in one in the 

 greater portion of Europe. A single peach tree in 

 England or France receives more actual hard labor 

 in one season, than an orchard of one hundred 

 trees in western New York ; and the price of a 

 single fruit or at any rate half a dozen in the mar- 

 kets of London or Paris will buy a bushel in New 

 York or Rochester. We complain of a curculio 

 destroying our plums and apricots, and this is one 

 of our greatest drawbacks here, but, notwithstand- 

 ing, I have seen more plums and apricots on a 

 single tree here since I returned than on any dozen 

 I saw in England. Wo have the aphis on our 

 cherry trees here, but they are easily destroyed. 

 In both France and England I saw both orchards 

 and nurseries of cherry trees almost ruined by them, 

 and they were said to be unconquerable. We have 

 fire blight and leaf blight here, and both are sad 

 difficulties, but in France and England they are 

 not without both these maladies. I saw apple trees 

 very seriously affected in England, with what we 

 designate fire blight ; the ends of the branches 

 black and dead, and there, as here, the real cause 

 is quite unknown to the most skilful cultivators. 

 In France, I saw as bad cases of our leaf blight on 

 the pear as I have ever seen in America. The 

 ravages of birds in Europe are tremendous. It is 

 almost impossible to save a crop of cherries. Nets, 

 scarecrows, and a thousand expensive and trouble- 

 some devices are practiced, that in' this country, 

 where labor is dear, would not be attempted, even 

 though the culture should be abandoned. 



In horticulture as in agriculture, the United 

 States of America has a great destiny to fulfil. 

 Our territory is not only immense, but so diversi- 

 fied in soil and climate that all the most valuable 

 grains and fruits can be produced in such abun- 

 dance as will enable us to supply other countries 

 less favored in these respects. The intimate con- 

 nection now established between all parts of the 

 world has removed the barriers which distance 

 heretofore created, and we have now a clear course. 

 Cultivators may redouble their energies with a 

 sure prospect of reward, and if our government, in 

 its wisdom, should see lit to lend a helping hand, 

 all the better.— Letter of P. Barry, {of Rochester y 

 N. Y.) — Western Hort. Review. 



