NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



191 



Mr. Proctor says the Fall Harvey originated on 

 the same farm with the Darners Sweeting. In a 

 conversation with the elder Mr. Manning, some 

 years previous to his death, upon the subject of 

 the origin of this fine apple, he said lie thought it 

 originated somewhere in Essex county, but he 

 could not trace it to any particular town. We 

 have always supposed that it might have originat- 

 ed in Danvers, from the fact of its having been 

 known there during a period of nearly one hun- 

 dred years. Mr. Manning says in his fruit book, 

 it is without question the finest fall and early win- 

 ter apple, a good bearer, and deserving extensive 

 cultivation. Yours, &c, 



Dancers, Feb. 22. S. P. Fowler. 



P. S. — I have ascertained since the above was 

 written, that there must be some mistake in Mr. 

 French's account of the origin of the Baldwin, 

 which I copied from the Horticulturist. Mr. F. 

 says it originated in Wilmington, near Boston, in 

 that part which now makes a portion of the new 

 town of Somerville. Now in point of fact, the 

 town of Wilmington, in our maps of Massachusetts, 

 is several miles distant from the town of Somerville. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 FARM SCHOOLS. 



BY JOHN GOLDSBURY. 



Mr. Editor: — I am a constant reader of your 

 interesting and instructive paper. I have read, 

 with much interest, all that has been said in it, 

 upon the subject of agricultural education ; and I 

 have reflected much upon the different plans which 

 have been proposed for promoting it. To all the 

 plans which have hitherto been proposed, there 

 are insuperable objections in my mind, if I except 

 the plan recently proposed by Mr. H. F. French, 

 of Exeter, N. H., which so nearly accords with 

 my own views upon the subject, that I wish to be 

 indulged with a few remarks upon it. Mr. French's 

 plan of establishing a model farm school, located 

 near a sufficient market, with suitable buildings, 

 apparatus, stock, tools, and other appurtenances 

 to be tried as an experiment in one place, before 

 similar schools are established in other parts of 

 the commonwealth, appears to me to be less ob 

 jeetionable than any other plan with which I am 

 acquainted. It certainly is a simple, practicable, 

 and an economical plan ; and I believe, if it were 

 once thoroughly tried, it would prove to be a sue 

 cessful one. This is more than can be truly said 

 of any other plan which has yet been suggested. 

 All other plans appear to be complex, impractica- 

 ble, and expensive. 



Take, for instance, the two plans which now 

 stand the most prominently before the public. 

 One is, to establish in all our colleges, academies 

 and high schools, an agricultural department for 

 the instruction of the young in agriculture. The 

 other is, to have this same instruction given in our 

 common schools. Now, there is no person who 

 is thoroughly acquainted with these different in- 

 stitutions, and knows what is going on in them, 

 but he must see at once, that agriculture would 

 not be successfully taught in either of them ; in 

 *other words, it would not be successfully learned. 

 So that, after the expenditure of vast sums of 

 money, there would be an entire failure in the end. 



This is true of the higher institutions for various 

 reasons. Some of these I will mention : — 



1. Because our young men goto college, not for 

 the purpose of learning the science of agriculture, 

 but to qualify themselves for some of the different 

 professions. 



2. Because the other college studies, duties and 

 attractions, would take up so much of their time, 

 as to leave them but little for agricultural pursuits. 



3. Because none but the most wealthy farmers 

 would feel themselves able to send their sons to 

 so expensive institutions. 



4. Because a great many farmers, entertaining 

 a strong and decided prejudice against these high- 

 er institutions, and believing that a kind of antag- 

 onism exists between them and common schools, 

 would never send their sons there to be educated, 

 if they could. The same is true of common schools. 

 Agriculture could never be successfully taught or 

 learned in them. The reasons are obvious. Most 

 of the scholars that attend our common schools 

 are quite too young to understand scientific lec- 

 tures on chemistry, the different kinds of soil, the 

 composting of manures, — on natural philosophy, 

 natural history, veterinary medicine and surgery, 

 &c. They are not only too young to understand 

 these studies, but, as yet, they are quite too ig- 

 norant to have their attention profitably directed 

 to them. Scientific lectures to them would be 

 something like scientific lectures to a foreigner, 

 who does not understand a word of our language. 

 They must first learn to read, write, spell, &c, 

 before they attend to scientific lectures. Our 

 schools are already burdened with too many stu- 

 dies ; our scholars have a general smattering idea 

 of almost everything, but do not thoroughly under- 

 stand anything ; so that, the effect of introducing 

 the study of agriculture would be worse than use- 

 less. Besides, who, and how many, are to be 

 employed in giving these scientific lectures in all 

 our public schools 1 and at whose or what ex- 

 pense? j. g. 



Warwick, Feb. 9, 1852. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 THE BALDWIN APPLE. 



Mr. Brown : — I have ascertained from an intel- 

 ligent observer of facts in Wilmington, county of 

 Middlesex, that he knows the position in which 

 the tree that bore the original of this apple form- 

 erly stood. It was on a farm owned by James 

 Butters, of Wilmington, near the boundary be- 

 tween Wilmington and Burlington. About twen- 

 ty-five years since, Mr. Butters himself showed him 

 the place in which it stood ; and, said he, the hol- 

 low, from which the stump was removed, is now 

 distinctly to be seen. 



About five years since a statement was made in 

 the Horticulturist that this tree originated on the 

 farm of Col. Jaques, of Somerville, and hence the 

 mistaken position of the tree. Col. Jaques is a 

 native of Wilmington, — whether he owns the 

 ground on which Col. Baldwin first noticed the 

 tree, I cannot say ; — but that this is the true po- 

 sition of its origin, I have no doubt. When first 

 noticed, the tree was distinctly marked by the op- 

 erations of the woodpecker, — hence the name of 

 Pecker apple. But the name is now well settled 

 as Baldwin. And it seems to be admitted by all, 

 that this apple is equal, if not superior, to any 

 other grown in New England. 



Very truly yours, J. W. Proctor. 



Danvers, March 10, 1852. 



