NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



217 



rel for six dollars, and for five dollars by the quan- 

 tity. We saw them selling and receiving the cash 

 at these prices. Those who are doubting whether 

 they will plant another apple tree this spring, 

 will "take due notice and govern themselves ac- 

 cordingly." 



For the New England Farmer. 



DANVERS WINTER SWEET APPLE. 



Mr. Brown : — I am sorry that Mr. Hyde should 

 feel himself called upon to spot the fair name and 

 fame of the Danvers Winter Sweet. That instan 

 ces may be found, in which this class of trees, as 

 well as the Russet, the Pearmain, and others, have 

 within the last half dozen years produced apples 

 less perfect than before, I do not doubt ; but that 

 such productions have been general, I cannot ad 

 mit. In fact, I know of trees, on which the Eppes 

 Sweet (as it is called with us) have grown as fair 

 and abundant, for three years past, as ever before. 

 I have one tree of the kind, that has yielded four 

 or five barrels of these apples, in each of these 

 years ; and this without any special care, except 

 keeping the soil well stirred about it; all of which 

 have been used in my own family. I feel, there- 

 fore, that I cannot mistake as to their quality. 



With this fruit, I have been familiar for more 

 than forty years. The stump of the original tree 

 still remains on the Eppes farm ; and as I am in- 

 formed by Mr. R. Osborn, who now owns this 

 farm, that a sucker or sprout from this stump, six 

 or eight inches in diameter, has the marked char- 

 acteristics of the original tree — showing it to be a 

 genuine natural fruit. I do not think this the best 

 of apples, but while the trees continue to yield as 

 well as they usually have, within my observation, 

 any attempt to change the character of the fruit 

 would, in my opinion, be extremely injudicious 

 I am assured that this apple has been most suc- 

 cessfully cultivated in the State of Ohio, for thirty 

 years, or more, and that it is there esteemed as one 

 of their best. A fame thus acquired is not to be 

 blasted by the failure of one man's trees, without 

 a thorough inquiry as to the cause of that failure. 

 Next to the Endicott Pear Tree — the Paris Witch 

 House, and Eliza Wharton's grave, — I consider 

 the stump of the Eppes apple tree the object most 

 worthy of notice, within the limits of 



March 13th, 1852. Danvers. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 CRANBERRIES. 



Mr. Editor : — Will you get from some of your 

 Massachusetts cranberry cultivators, an answer to 

 the following questions, viz. The best time to set 

 out cranberries? will they grow well if set out up- 

 on bog 10 to 40 feet soil 1 what proportion of sea- 

 sons do frosts spoil them ? or any insects destroy 

 them'? if so,_what? Do they do well to sow the 

 seed ? what is an average crop to the acre ? the 

 average price per bushel for 10 years past ? Some 

 people raised good crops on upland 7 years ago ; 

 do they continue to bear well yet 1 are there any 

 barren vines 1 what sort is best ? 



As the cranberry crop is becoming one of much 

 importance, we want more knowledge upon the 

 subject. Some people in your State have cultivated 

 them more than 20 years ; it seems that they could 

 give information upon the subject, and if they will, 

 it would oblige Many. ' 



ELEVENTH AGRICULTURAL MEETING 



At the State House, Tuesday, March 30, 1852. 



Subject for Discussion — The Subdivision of Lands 



and Fencing. 



Hon. John C. Gray, of Boston, presided at the 

 meeting on Friday evening, and on taking the 

 chair announced that there was present a gentle- 

 man, well known by reputation to many in the 

 audience, and who, he was sure, they would be 

 glad to hear from upon the subject of agriculture. 

 He then introduced to the meeting Capt. Par- 

 tridge, Principal of the Military School at Nor- 

 wich, Vt. 



Capt. Partridge- commenced his remarks by al- 

 luding to the great importance of the subject of 

 agriculture, and inquired what are some of the ob- 

 stacles which retard its progress. First he men- 

 tioned the prevalent custom of cultivating too large 

 farms. This evil he thought would never be reme- 

 died until our country becomes much more densely 

 populated than it now is, rendering land more 

 scarce, and cultivation more thorough. He next 

 spoke of the two grand principles of fertility, viz. : 

 — caloric and water — and said that experiments 

 had shown that of these two, water was the most 

 powerful. Water, he continued, is the grand gen- 

 eral manure, and said that we have evidence that 

 the utmost fertility has always existed where irri- 

 gation could be practised regularly. 



There is a good deal of talk about agriculture 

 by those who know but little of the labor attend- 

 ing it. Labor is the ground work of farming ; 

 still it is necessary that this labor should be di- 

 rected by wisdom in order that it be successful. 

 The farmer must calculate and examine his lands 

 in order to suit them to the different departments 

 of culture. Another important consideration is 

 the division of his lands into fields, because the en- 

 closing of them is expensive business — especially 

 in an old country. He gave several examples, 

 showing how by laying out his fields in different 

 shapes the farmer might save much expense in 

 fencing. Every farmer, he thought, should be a 

 practical geometrician. In this connection he al- 

 luded to the deficiency of our system of education, 

 in affording our farmers' sons a practical knowledge 

 in the duties of his calling. With the theoretical 

 education of our students in all the professions, 

 there ought to be a thorough practical education. 

 It is a mistaken notion that the educated man 

 must abandon labor. The reason why our farmers 

 are looked down upon, as they sometimes are, may 

 be found in the system which has too much ex- 

 isted among farmers, in educating one son at col- 

 lege at the expense of the education of the others. 

 He would remedy it by thoroughly educating all 

 the farmers' sons, for all the duties of his calling. 

 This he thought could be done in a short time by 

 pursuing a proper course. He would engage that 

 a young farmer of common intelligence, with a 



