NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



327 



since that time it has not been worth cultivating. 

 As I had a hundred or more trees of that kind of 

 apple, I tried many experiments on them, but 

 could do nothing to make the fruit grow fair as it 

 formerly did. 



In 1805, I began to take care of the orchard 

 which my father had previously cultivated, and 

 from that time to 1847, I have had the care of an 

 orchard of from seven hundred to a thousand 

 trees, and have tarred seven hundred trees for a 

 fortnight to keep the canker worms down. As 1 

 had a great Dumber of old trees that did not pro- 

 duce good fruit, 1 began forty years since to graft 

 over large trees that would ta'ke from thirty to one 

 hundred scions, and sometimes more to each tree. 

 I think I may say I have never failed to be well 

 paid for my labor. 



I made an experiment some twenty years since 

 on an old apple tree ; the trunk was rotten and 

 hollow, and our girls used to go and get the rot- 

 ton earth from it to put in their flower pots. I 

 pruned and grafted it, and it has borne well to the 

 present time, although so far decayed as no one 

 would think it could be made to bear good fruit. 



The all important question is, to know how to do 

 it, how to manage these old trees, with some dry 

 limbs and full of sprouts, and perhaps on land 

 that never was cultivated at any time. With your 

 leave I will at some future time give you my meth- 

 od of pruning, grafting, &c, as I have not the 

 time now to devote to it, which is necessary. 



Yours respectfully, d. l. 



Sherburne, March 19, 1852. 



N. B. Since the above was written, I have read 

 Mr. Morrison's remarks, upon the same subject, 

 winch I consider generally correct. But in one 

 respect I differ from him, which, should I say any 

 thing further, I should take the liherty to state. 



Remarks. — We are strongly in favor of pruning 

 and scraping all the old apple trees, then of graft- 

 ing and cultivating them. Why, we would not 

 cut one of them down sooner than we would any 

 other old friend, so long as life was evident in its 

 familiar old trunk and limbs. Look at the old 

 representative of other years ! Your daughters 

 gathered the fine, rich 'mould from its decaying 

 trunk long before they were married, to support 

 the plants which decorated your parlor windows ; 

 and now their children are regaling themselves 

 upon fruit which drops from its new and vigorous 

 branches, and you enjoy their gambols while re- 

 clining in its shade. So long as there is a vigo- 

 rous shell of an inch thickness, do not give up an 

 old tree. We hope to hear from our correspondent 

 again. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 IS IT SO ? 



Mr. Brown : — I wish to call your attention to 

 an assertion in the Jan. No. of the N. E. Farmer, 

 which I think is an error. You say on page 10th, 

 "men and horses, only, sweat, so say the medical 

 men," &c. 



Now, sir, I am aware that "medical men" un- 

 derstand more about physiology than farmers gen 

 erally, but still they are not infallible. 



I have always believed that oxen and cows 

 sweat ; and the reason why I have believed so was, 

 I have very often in hot weather seen them entire- 

 ly covered with moisture ; sometimes to that de- 

 gree that the coat appeared completely saturated. 

 This could not, I think, be condensed vapor, for 

 the body of the animal at the time would be quite 

 too warm fur that ; so, that unless it can be proved 

 to the contrary, I shall affirm that oxen sweat as 

 well as "men and horses." l. b. p. 



Worcester, Vt., 1852. 



Remarks. — Dr. Vandenberg must settle this mat- 

 ter with our correspondent. 



SPRING WHEAT. 



This grain is already very important to large 

 farming districts in Pennsylvania, and may most 

 profitably be cultivated in many parts of the State 

 where winter wheat in a great measure fails. The 

 objections urged against it generally, are three. 

 1. That it is inferior in quality. 2. That it is lia- 

 ble to smut ; and 3. That it is an uncertain crop, 

 owing to its being so frequently blighted and 

 shrunk by mildew. But from an experience and 

 examinations of seven years I am convinced that 

 these objections are not well grounded. As in all 

 crops, the quality depends much upon cultivation. 

 With good cultivation the Italian wheat weighs 

 sixty to sixty-two pounds and yields forty to forty- 

 three pounds of superfine flour to the bushel. The 

 flour, although not quite as white, makes as good 

 bread as any winter wheat. It has usually a 

 slight yellowish tinge . K wheat were not too much 

 judged of by the whiteness of its flour, I doubt not 

 that good Italian wheat would soon rank as high 

 in the market as Mediterranean winter wheat. 



The second objection is entirely obviated by a 

 proper preparation of the seed. I have had no 

 smut for twenty years except where I have sown 

 wheat without washing and Uming. My process 

 is to wash my wheat thoroughly in strong lime, 

 which raises to the surface all oats and other light 

 seeds, which are skimmed off. While wet it is 

 thrown upon the barn floor and finely pulverized, 

 quick lime in small quantities is sifted over it. The 

 whole is so mixed that every kernel is coated with 

 lime. It may safely be left in this way for several 

 days before sowing. If sown immediately, the 

 lime is unpleasant to the hand, and to prevent its 

 injuring the sower a small quantity of gypsum is 

 scattered., over it. No smut is ever found in 

 spring wheat prepared in this manner. The salt, 

 lime and gypsum are all admirable manures. 



The third objection is obviated by early sowing. 

 In large districts in the northern part of the State 

 it is difficult to plow early. The soil is a heavy 

 clay and loam and retains the water very long. It 

 is absolute ruin to the crop to plow while wet, and 

 consequently the farmer who relies upon spring 

 plowing for his wheat will be unable to sow before 

 the last of April or the first of May — a month too 

 late here. The plowing must be done in the fall 

 and the sowing at the earliest practicable day after 

 the frost is out of the ground. The best spring 

 wheat in quantity and quality, which I have ever 

 known raised, was upon a green sward, which had 

 been turned under late in November and upon 

 which the wheat was sown without further plow- 

 ing, the latter days of March. A very light drag- 



