NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Ill 



For the New Ens/and Farmer. 

 THE BALDWIN AND DANVERS SWEET. 



Mr. Editor : — Mr. Fowler, in his remarks upon 

 apple trees in a late paper, speaks with distinct- 

 ness, of those excellent varieties, the Baldwin, and 

 the Danvers Sweet. Of these, Massachusetts has 

 great reason to he proud, as they are, all things 

 considered, among the varieties most worthy of cul- 

 tivation. 



In speaking of these, there is danger of confu- 

 sion as to their original locality. Mr. F. says, 

 that a monument has been erected at Somerville, 

 where the Baldwin was first discovered. Is this 

 so? I had always understood that the Baldwin 

 was first brought into notice by the late Col. 

 Baldwin, of Woburn, father of Loammi Baldwin, 

 the eminent civil engineer ; and that it was found 

 by him in the town of Burlington, adjoining Wo- 

 burn. I have heard those speak of this fact who 

 said, they had seen the original tree in bearing 

 condition. Possibly, it may have been otherwise, 

 but quite certain am I that such has been the tra- 

 dition. If Mr. F. has seen the monument, of which 

 he speaks, and can show it with an unmistakable 

 inscription thereon, I shall be satisfied. You, sir, 

 who have your home in the country that gave 

 birth to the Baldwin, are called on to define its 

 precise locality. It is no less important to the 

 grower of fruit to know this than it was in olden 

 time to determine what city should have the credit 

 of producing a Homer. 



As to the Danvers Sweet, we know the town 

 and the farm on which it originated. I have been 

 familiar with it from my earliest years. It was 

 owned by Daniel Eppes, Esq., at th,e time of the 

 discovery of the tree from which so many good ap- 

 ples have proceeded, and which now continue to 

 refresh all lovers of apples and milk, (than which 

 few better dishes can be found.) This apple holds 

 its original character with great distinctness. It 

 has not the variety of shades that mark the Bald- 

 win — it is unmistakable. Perhaps, like all other 

 fruits, modified somewhat by the strength of the 

 soil, or exposure to the sun ; for all fruits are 

 benefited by a fair exposure to light and heat, as 

 well as the animal creation. How far these fruits 

 have been, or are liable to be modified by the 

 stocks on which they are budded or engrafted, is 

 an inquiry beyond my power to answer. If the 

 stock does not have some influence on the quality 

 of the fruit, I should think it very strange — hut 

 that it does, I am not prepared to assert. If it 

 does, then we can never be certain of continuing 

 any particular variety of apple for any considera- 

 ble length of time. It would seem from Mr. F.'s 

 observations, who resides near where Gov. Endi- 

 cott's orchard was, and where his pear tree now is, 

 that there still remains one variety of apple that 

 was cultivated by the governor. I have seen the 

 apple ; it has nothing of aristocratic character, but 

 the fact that it came from the governor's orchard. 

 There is one other apple that originated on the 

 same farm with the Danvers Sweet, but little 

 known to fame, commonly called afall-harvey, lit- 

 tle less worthy of celebrity. Wherever known, at 

 the time of its maturity, it has a preference to 

 most other apples for table use. I remember to 

 have seen in the mill of one of the largest farmers 

 of this place, who died about one hundred years 

 since, that a bushel of Harvey apples should annu- 

 ally be given to his wife so long as she remained 



his widow. Presuming, I suppose, if she married 

 again, that her husband would supply her with 

 good, apples, as well as other comforts. p. 



Danvers, Feb. 8th, 1852. 



Remarks. — The question is still unsettled as to 

 where the Baldwin originated. Cole's Fruit Book 

 says "Wilmington andTewksbury seem to have an 

 equal claim to its origin." Some further notice 

 will be taken of it at another time. 



VARIETY IN OCCUPATIONS. 



One of the broad marks of distinction between 

 this and other countries, is found in the readiness 

 with which our citizens adapt themselves to chang- 

 ing circumstances. The fact that we can turn our 

 hands to anything, gfres full assurance of perma- 

 nent prosperity and independence. It results most- 

 ly, perhaps, from education. In England a seven 

 years' apprenticeship is required, before one is al- 

 lowed to exercise a trade, and this arbitrary re- 

 quirement, tending, as it does, to keep men in ig- 

 norance of every thing but this one occupation, 

 holds them in a sort of bondage. 



He who knows only how to ivcave, must, of ne- 

 cessity, be the dependent of the owner of the loom; 

 and he who knows only how to use the spade, has 

 ever been the serf of him who owned the soil. The 

 spirit of unrest with which we Yankees seem in- 

 spired, has doubtless been, in some respects, pre* 

 ductive of evil. It has drained New England of 

 many of her enterprising sons, who might have re- 

 mained at home, and by a more thorough cultiva- 

 tion of her soil, gained the comforts and luxuries 

 of life which they have in vain sought, in their pur- 

 suit of the setting sun. Cooper, in one of his nov- 

 els, says, "The prospect of Heaven itself would 

 have no charms for an American of the backwoods, 

 if he thought there was any place farther West." 



Still, the consciousness, that the world is open 

 to him, to go where he pleases, and do what he 

 pleases, for a business, gives strength and manli- 

 ness to the character of the American. 



The idea is fast becoming obsolete, that a man 

 has capacity but for one pursuit. It has been as- 

 certained that intense application to one study, or 

 constant straining of the mind in one direction, 

 like the continued exertion of one set of muscles is 

 injurious to the whole system. This is true of sci- 

 entific pursuits, as is well illustrated by the case of 

 one of our own countrymen, who recently became 

 deranged, upon the discovery of a new method of 

 taking the longitudes. His mind had been over- 

 tasked, and lost its balance, at the moment of suc- 

 cess. 



It is true of mercantile pursuits. x\ counting- 

 house clerk, or merchant, who has no other object 

 of interest than his books and ledgers, becomes a 

 one-sided man, a man of dollars and cents, who, to 

 use the language of another, "can see nothing very 



