311 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



the bleak and ragged eminences, which form so 

 large a portion of every New England farmer's do- 

 main. But this is one of the numerous cases where 

 the popular belief, in horticultural matters, is at 

 variance with the well established results of close 

 and scientific observation. The peach loves an 

 elevated locality, and one nearly as rough and 

 rocky as the vine luxuriates upon on the banks of 

 the Rhine. It requires a soil of considerable 

 strength, and if it has a clayey subsoil, so much 

 the better. My own observation and experience 

 also go to overthrow the vulgar belief, that highly 

 manured grounds are the most favorable to the 

 peach. A part of my peach orchard occupies 

 ground, which has for half a century been used as 

 a garden, and which has been liberally manured. 

 The consequence is, that there is an excessive 

 growth of wood, and a consequently diminished 

 product of fruit. Such a liberal application of 

 manm'e is a sort of forcing, hotbed process, which 

 gives the tree a luxuriant growth, but diminishes 

 its capacity for fruit bearing. The peach tree re- 

 quires a cultivated soil, and indeed it is prepos- 

 terous to think, as many do, that it will flourish 

 in sward land, even if the soil be ever so good. 

 The soil about peach trees needs to be thoroughly 

 stirred by the plow and the hoe, at least as often 

 as every .other year, or they will do little or noth- 

 ing. Plant your peach trees then on your hills, 

 and among the rocks where there is a good depth 

 of soil, and let the soil be frequently stirred, and 

 enjoy only a slight quantity of manure, and you 

 will find that they will successfully resist the sever- 

 ity of our winters, load your table with most lus- 

 cious fruit, and enable you to send to market an 

 article which is always in demand, and which will 

 amply repay your toils for its production. 

 May, 1852. Waltuam. 



SOURCE OF THE NUTRITIOUS PROP- 

 ERTY OF VEGETABLES. 



The nourishing property of corn, wheat and oth- 

 er grains, is owing to the gluten contained in them 

 And this gluten consists, in great part, of nitrogen 

 It is of course an important object with the farmer, 

 to increase the proportion of gluten, and that is 

 done by supplying additional nitrogen in the ali 

 ment of the plant. Carbonic acid and water are 

 the chief sources of growth. Nitrogen is the prin- 

 cipal element constituting the nutritive quality 

 The atmosphere contains a large quantity of nitro 

 gen. It is not supposed to be taken up by vege 

 tables, however, from the atmosphere, in its sim 

 pie form, but, by combination with hydrogen, in 

 the form of ammonia. By the digestion of th 

 ammonia, the nitrogen is afterward separated in 

 the plant and used to constitute the peculiar pro- 

 duct, gluten, to which its nutrition is owing. 



Ammonia is produced by the decay of most an 

 imal substances. In this way it is that the appli 

 cation of manures is so beneficial to plants ; — by 

 the supply of ammonia furnished, which being di 

 gested in the plant, i-esults in a separation of ni- 

 trogen, which enters in the tissues of plants and 

 produces their nutritive quality. 



Ammonia is readily absorbed by water, and the 



rain and dew becomes impregnated with it, and it 

 is thus administered to vegetables, in small quan- 

 tities. This may be sufficient for their existence 

 and ordinary growth. But a greater supply of 

 ammonia is necessary to some plants on account of 

 their peculiar economy. This is the case with all 

 plants containing much gluten. And this sub- 

 stance may be greatly increased by a liberal sup- 

 ply of manures from which ammonia is more abun- 

 dantly provided. These plants can therefore only 

 be cultivated advantageously by a free application 

 of manure, or otherwise an equivalent provision of 

 ammonia in another form. Corn ordinarily, when 

 raised in vegetable mould, contains nine and a half 

 percent, of gluten; but raised on land manured 

 with blood or urine, has been found to contain thir- 

 ty-five hundredths of gluten. 



Gypsum has the quality of absorbing ammonia 

 from the atmosphere, and yield it again to water 

 which may soak through it. This is the mode in 

 which gypsum has a beneficial action on vegeta- 

 tion, while the gypsum itself held in solution in 

 water is considered to be injurious. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 CISTERNS. 



Mr. Editor : — In a late number of the Farmer, 

 Mr. B. II. Howard asks for information about cis- 

 terns. Such as I have I will give him, and the 

 readers of your valuable paper. 



The following table will give the contents of dif- 

 ferent sizes. 



3^ feet diameter will hold for every 10 inches in 

 depth, ----- 59 gallons. 



4 feet diameter, - - - 78 " 

 4£ " " - 99 " 



5 " " - - - - 122 " 

 5.J " " - 148 " 



6 " " - - - - 176 " 

 You will find by this table that a cistern G feet 



deep and G in diameter will hold 12G0 gallons, and 

 each foot you add to the depth will hold 210 gal- 

 lons. Therefore, one 10 feet deep and G in diame- 

 ter will contain 2100 gallons. 



I have one in my house cellar, entirely below 

 the bottom of the cellar, G.J feet deep and 5i in di- 

 ameter, holding about 1000 gallons. It was dug 

 G feet 8 inches deep and 7 feet in diameter. The 

 bottom being jnade smooth, was laid over with 

 brick. The mason then began the side with brick 

 laid in cement, leaving a space all round between 

 the brick and earth about 5 inches. After raising 

 the work about 18 inches, he carefully tilled the 

 space between the brick and side of the hole with 

 earth, well and carefully pressed down. If you 

 wet the earth or clay as you fill it in, it will be 

 more compact. 



When you get within about two feet of the top, 

 commence gradually to draw in the work towards 

 the centre, leaving, when finished, a space open 

 about two feet across. The next thing is to plas- 

 ter the inside with cement ; also, the top on the 

 outside, commencing where you began to draw in. 

 About two course of brick are laid round the 

 mouth of the cistern, forming a neck which adds 

 to the strength of the top. Now cover the whole 



