NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



197 



if the fruit is put up in cool, dry weather, and 

 stored in a cool room of the same temperature.] 



Mr. Wilder closed with some appropriate re- 

 marks upon the duty of setting out fruit trees, and 

 mentioned several instances in which persons from 

 70 to 90 years of age had sot out trees and lived 

 to partake of the fruits thereof. 



Hon. John C. Gray said that he believed the 

 French author quoted by the President preferred 

 the admission of the light to its exclusion, in 

 rooms for ripening fruit. He understood the 

 chairman to say that he preferred its exclusion. 

 He wished to ask if he was right in this opinion. 



Mr. Wilder replied that he considered the ad- 

 mission of the light not beneficial. By excluding 

 it the fruit attains a more beautiful color. 



Hon. B. V. French, of Braintree, next addressed 

 the meeting, and advocated, as the first matters to 

 be attended to in the cultivation of fruits, thorough 

 draining of the land, and its thorough subdivision. 

 He trenches his ground from 18 to 24 inches deep, 

 and lays drain pipes 24 inches apart. Much de- 

 pends upon setting out the trees. They should not 

 be set too deep. He had tried setting out on the 

 inverted sod, and out of 400 trees lost but two. 

 If the roots are covered to the depth of an inch it 

 is sufficient. They will work down themselves suf- 

 ficiently. Mr. French also spoke of the necessity 

 of having the orchard properly enclosed in order 

 to prevent the trees from being injured by the cat- 

 tle. When cattle rub against them the trees should 

 be immediately washed with ashes and water to 

 . remove the grease. 



Mr. French is a large cultivator, and the follow- 

 ing list, given as the result of his experience and 

 judgment, is deserving the attention of those about 

 setting out fruit trees. 



As the best early apple, Mr. French recommends 

 the Early Harvest. The best apple is the White 

 Seek-no-further. If he had but one apple tree he 

 would prefer the R. I. Greening. The best sweet 

 apple is the Seaver. For two varieties he recom- 

 mends the Porter and Rhode Island Greening 

 For the four best summer varieties, the Harvest, 

 Red Astracan, Williams Favorite, and Summer 

 Pearmain. Four best autumn varieties, Porter, 

 Fomeuse, Gravenstein, and St. Lawrence. Best 

 five winter varieties, R. I. Greening, White Seek- 

 no-further, Baldwin, Roxbury Russet, and True 

 Nonsuch. The best apple for stewing is the Haw- 

 thornder. 



If he could have but one cherry, it would be 

 Downer's Late Red ; the best of all cherries is the 

 Knight's Black Eagle. The earliest cherry that is 

 prolific is the May Duke— the latest, the Late 

 Duke. 



The Green Gage he considered the best of plums. 

 If one plum is to be selected, he would prefer 

 iViuce's Imperial Gage ; for two, add Smith's Or- 

 leans; for three, Coe's Goldon Dr -n. 



For strawberries, he would prefer Jenny's Seed- 

 ling, and next t© that, Willey's Seedling. 



Of currants, which he called the Prince of fruits, 

 he knows of none better than our old Red variety. 

 He also spoke of the need of caution in selecting 

 trees — not to seize upon every kind which is highly 

 recommended, before it has been fairly tested. In 

 1831 he said the London Horticultural Society had 

 upon its catalogue 1400 varieties of apples ; in 

 1842, it had reduced the number to 900 varieties, 

 and it would probably be still further reduced. 

 We do not want, he said, more than 30 or 40 vari- 

 eties. In conclusion, he called the attention of the 

 meeting to the currant, which he said he some- 

 times thought to be the Prince of fruits. He ap- 

 proved of trimming out the old wood, but would 

 cultivate the plant as a bush rather than a single 

 stem, as is done in the old country. There is no 

 fruit, he said, which requires so high tillage, and 

 so much care, as the pear — and which so well 

 compensates for this care. Unless this high til- 

 lage can be given it, there is but little use in at- 

 tempting to raise pears. 



Dr. Gardner, of Seekonk, said that farmers 

 ought not to be discouraged if they found them- 

 selves unable to practice such deep trenching and 

 thorough tillage as had been recommended. They 

 could raise fruit in land less thoroughly tilled, and 

 in grass land — though they might not get so large 

 crops. 



In regard to cultivating trees in a henery, as 

 suggested by a gentleman at the previous meeting, 

 Mr. French said that he had tried it, and found 

 that the hens appropriated the buds to themselves, 

 and he, of course, lost his fruit. 



John Milton Earle, of Worcester, spoke of 

 Coe's Golden Drop plum, and said that he had had 

 good success in ripening it. When it first came 

 into bearing his success was not so good, but after 

 a year or too, he had no trouble at all ; it bears 

 extremely well, and ripens as perfectly as any 

 plum he ever saw. It is a very valuable variety, 

 as it comes in after the plum season is nearly 

 over. Mr. Earle said that in discussing the mode 

 of cultivation of the pear the great diversity in the 

 character of this fruit ought to be taken into con- 

 sideration. Some varieties will do well with even 

 tolerable orchard cultivation. Still they would do 

 better with high cultivation, of which he approved, 

 and believed it to be cheapest in the end. He dif- 

 fered from the opinion generally entertained — that 

 many of our foreign varieties will never come to 

 anything here. He believed that when their pro- 

 per mode of culture and ripening is well under- 

 stood, they will be found to be here all that they 

 are represented abroad. The great trouble is we 

 do not understand their proper mode of culture 

 and process of ripening. 



Major WnEELER, of Framingham, spoke in fa- 

 vf.r of cultivating plwn treoc i ■' con- 



