206 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



The mass of people suppose that the roots make 

 out from the lower buds. It is not so — they start 

 from between the bark and wood, at the place 

 where it was cut from the parent root. — Vermont 

 Chronicle. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 OSAGE ORANGE HEDGE. 



BY LUTHER GILBERT. 



Mr. Brown : — Sir — There has been some doubt 

 as to the hardiness of this plant for a hedge, in 

 the vicinity of Boston, and as I think I have given 

 it a fair trial, I will give you the result of my ex- 

 perience. It is the most beautiful and effectual 

 hedge plant I ever saw. It will turn anything, 

 from a chicken to cattle and horses, if well 

 trimmed for a few years. It has a most beauti- 

 ful green foliage, and sends out a thorn at every 

 leaf that is as sharp as a needle. I have left with 

 Messrs. Ruggles, Nourse, Mason & Co.'s very gen- 

 tlemanly and attentive seedsman, (Mr. Everett) a 

 few of the shoots that grew last year ; they are 

 about 5 feet long, and I cut them oiF one foot above 

 where they started last spring. It likes a deep, 

 rich soil, but will grow in any common field soil. 



1 have on my place about forty rods of it that has 

 been set from one to two years, and don't think 

 that a plant has been killed by the severity of the 

 winter — with the exception of a few that have been 

 thrown out of the ground by the frost. 



In the spring of 1849, I bought the seed of 

 Ruggles, Nourse, Mason & Co., and on the 28th 

 of April I sowed it in rows, (after soaking it in 

 warm water for 30 hours) 18 inches apart and from 



2 to 3 inches apart in the row. It came up and 

 grew one foot or more the first summer ; the root 

 running down about as long as the top, without 

 many side roots. In the fall, after the frost had 

 killed the leaves, I drew the earth up to them 5 

 or 6 inches high, and in the spring of 1850, when 

 the earth got so as to work well, I set them out 

 where I wanted my hedge, after cutting off one- 

 half of the bottom of the root so as to make them 

 send out side roots. I set them in double rows 6 

 inches apart and one foot apart in the rows — after 

 they were set they were cut off to within one inch 

 of the top of the ground ;, in the fall, I put some 

 compost manure about the roots to keep them from 

 getting thrown out by the frost. 



In the spring of 1851, they were all cut back 

 to within 3 inches of the ground and kept free 

 from weeds all summer, and they grew very fast, 

 as you will see by the shoots that I have spoken 

 of above. When they are cut as I have described, 

 they send out shoots in every direction. Last 

 fall they did not have any protection, and I find 

 them this spring all alive and looking well ; where 

 the soil was poor and shallow, some of them have 

 been started up a little by the frost. But I think 

 that may be remedied by drawing up the earth 

 about their roots for one or two seasons. This 

 spring, I shall cut them all back to within one 

 foot of the ground, which will make the hedge 

 very thick at the bottom. They grew so fast and 

 si i late, that the ends of the new wood does not 

 get ripe, which dies, but not near so much of it as 

 will be necessary to cut off. If it is not cut down 

 when it is set out, it will make a very handsome 

 tree and grow thirty or forty feet high. I have 

 set out some for that purpose, which I expect to 



see some very handsome oranges growing on in a 

 few years. Yours, l. g. 



Grantville, April 9, 1852. 



CULTURE OF SWEET POTATOES. 



Some two or three years ago a gentleman in 

 Hinsdale, N. H., sent us a box of sweet potatoes 

 in the spring, of his own raising, and in a letter 

 stated that he was in the practice of raising them 

 to considerable extent for his milch cows as well 

 as for family use ; that he found no difficulty in so 

 doing, and considered them a profitable crop. 



Sweet potatoes may be started by planting the 

 small potatoes in a hot-bed, prepared as for other 

 things. The potatoes are cut open lengthwise and 

 laid the cut side down, and when the sprouts are 

 up about an inch they are pulled off and trans- 

 planted as cabbage plants are. The other meth- 

 od is to procure the slips themselves and plant, 

 which is much the easiest and cheapest way to 

 those who have not the hot-beds, or do not wish 

 to go through the former process. Some persons 

 plant upon ridges, but we think that unnecessary 

 in our usually dry, hot summers. The soil should 

 be light, rich, and warm, a sandy loam being best 

 for them. The vines run upon the ground, some- 

 thing like the cucumber, the leaves are deeply ser- 

 rated, and their appearance in the garden is rather 

 ornamental. 



The slips ready for transplanting may be ob- 

 tained of L. Rand & Co., No. 84, Faneuil Hall 

 Market, Boston. 



SPRING WEATHER. 

 Following in the train of the winter weather, 

 the spring up to this time, April 17, has been cold 

 and stormy in the extreme. A snow storm began 

 at Philadelphia, on Sunday evening, the 11th, and 

 on Monday it reached New England in great fury. 

 The steamers in the Sound were detained and in 

 imminent danger. One or two wrecks occurred on 

 Cohasset Rocks, with dreadful fatality to life. 

 Snow storms, and hail and rain storms, accompa- 

 nied with high winds, have come thick and fast 

 upon the heels of each other. To-day the sun 

 shines brightly upon the snow drifts under the 

 walls, and on the sparkling waters as they dance 

 down the swollen brooks. Farm work will come 

 in a heap — the boys wont nap much after daylight 

 until the trees are set and the planting is done. 

 But we shall have fine weather yet, and there is 

 undoubtedly "a good time coming." 



Norfolk Co. Ag. Society. — At the late annual 

 meeting of this society, the elections were, 

 Marshall P. Wilder, President, 

 E. L. Keves, Corresponding Secretary, 

 E.M. Richards, Treasurer. 

 The Exhibition will be on the 28th and 29th 

 September next. 



