448 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



within the county. I have seen many fields of 

 potatoes, hut no appearance of what is generally 

 understood as the rot. Mr. Colman is an intelli- 

 gent farmer, and therefore I have reason to be- 

 lieve such a report •would not he circulated from 

 his place, unless it were well founded ; though I 

 cannot understand why the malady should have 

 thus suddenly struck upon his fields, to the neglect 

 of all others. If he will favor the public with an 

 exact statement of the facts, as to the loss of his 

 potatoes, he will confer a favor on many anxious 

 inquirers. 



Yours truly, J. W. Proctor." 



For the New England Farmer. 

 A FINE FARM. 



Gentlemen : — Passing through the rural part of 

 Roxbury the other day, in the midst of that high- 

 ly cultivated region, I spent an hour in looking at 

 the farm where the city poor are located. It is 

 managed by Mr. J. II. Meserve, and shows what 

 practical and scientific skill combined may accom- 

 plish. The farm consists of 200 acres, and the 

 labor upon it is performed by the poor of the city, 

 with the exception of two persons, who are team- 

 sters. In passing over it I found everything in a 

 condition indicating system, neatness and order, 

 in the highest degree. He has a piece of corn of 

 seven acres, upon which I should judge there would 

 be at least ninety bushels to the acre, and all the 

 other crops equally promising. . u. 



Remarks. — In a lively fit of gratitude, Sancho 

 Panza called down "blessings on the man who in- 

 vented sleep ;" and in a fit of that kind we call 

 for blessings on the men who are instrumental in 

 taking our unfortunate brethren from the auction 

 block, and placing them in such comfortable homes 

 and amid such delightful scenery as the suburbs 

 of the city of Roxbury affords. There are some 

 towns in New England still, where the poor are 

 annually sold at auction, or at least their support 

 is. Mr. Meserve is in a responsible station, and 

 we have no doubt fills it well. At any rate, if the 

 farm appears as it is described by our correspon- 

 dent, it is pretty certain that its manager has a 

 good heart, and will make those under his care as 

 luippy as circumstances will admit. 



PLASTER ON WHEAT IN THE FALL. 



As many farmers in this vicinity are putting 

 ] saster on their wheat in the fall instead of the 

 spring, as heretofore, I have taken pains to inquire 

 t! e reason of the change ; and believing the in- 

 formation obtained important to wheat growers 

 generally, I take this method of giving it to the 

 million, if you think proper to place it in your 

 v iJely circulated journal. 



Wheat, when plastered in the fall, obtains more 

 r o% and is thus enabled to stand the frosts bet- 

 ter; it has the assistance of the plaster at a season 

 of the year when it is almost impossible to go over 

 t e fields, and when it is most needed — namely, 

 the very early spring; it gets its growth and ripens 

 in good time ; whereas, when applied in the spring, 

 the wheat continues to grow late, sometimes to 

 the injury of the crop — a superabundance of straw, 



falling down, rust, &c. &c., oftentimes being the 

 consequence. — Genesee Farmer. 



For the New England Farmer. 



CAN THE BEARING YEAR OF APPLE 

 TREES BE CHANGED ? 



Mr. Editor : — I have no hesitation in saying the 

 bearing year can be changed, though to what ex- 

 tent I am not fully prepared to say. It is well 

 known that the even years are our bearing years ; 

 this, I think, is because the Baldwin bears even 

 years with few exceptions, and there is probably 

 as many Baldwin apple trees in New England, as 

 all other kinds put together. A very intelligent 

 gentleman from Germany asked me a short time 

 since why the even year was called the bearing 

 year, and I gave him the same explanation that I 

 have given above ; he said there was no such 

 thing in Germany. Trees and plants, as well as 

 animals, need rest, they must and will have it ; it 

 is true, you may by artificial means over-work 

 them, but the subject suffers to a greater or less 

 extent for its extra exertions. Take, for instance, 

 a Baldwin apple tree that has borne its fifteen bar- 

 rels of apples — and I have now in my mind one 

 that bore that number in 1850 — and could we ex- 

 pect it to bear the next year 1 Certainly not ; it had 

 spent all its energies in perfecting this great crop, 

 and it stood in absolute need of time to regain its 

 lost powers ; now, 1852, after having rested one 

 year, it is again very full of apples, and probably 

 will produce as many or more than it ever has be- 

 fore ; and so it will go on as long as it lives, bear- 

 ing and resting alternate years. This is also the 

 case with some trees of the Hubbardston Nonsuch 

 that I have noticed bearing very full, odd years, 

 and resting even ones, while other trees of the 

 same variety that bear small crops, bear every 

 year ; take the Roxbury Russet, that bears almost 

 every year, but bears small crops ; the same may 

 be said of other kinds. Now what I mean to prove 

 by the above is, that — and it is well known to all 

 fruit growers — if a tree bears very large crops one 

 year, it will not bear the next, but if it bears small 

 crops it may bear every year. As I have before 

 said, the Baldwin bears large crops evtry other 

 year and those the even years with few exceptions ; 

 and now we may again ask the question, can we 

 change the bearing year of a part so as to equal- 

 ize the crop ; and again I answer, I think we can, 

 and will give my reasons why I think so. In front 

 of our house stand two apple trees, Siberian 

 Crabs, one of which bore the even year, the other 

 the odd ; this they have done ever since they com- 

 menced bearing until last year, when one of the 

 trees was blasted, both leaf and blossom ; new 

 leaves came out, but it bore no fruit; this year 

 both trees are full, nature thus doing what I think 

 art may do, changing the bearing year of apple 

 trees, and I see no reason why the same may not 

 be done with other kinds of trees. I now ask, have 

 we not some cause to believe that the bearing year 

 of our Baldwins can be changed; and if it can, 

 should we not give it our attention, and this for 

 various reasons ; first, it would be more conven- 

 ient for the producer to have the crop equalized, 

 the apples would be larger, fairer, of better qual- 

 ity — I mean higher flavored — handsomer, &c. ; — 

 second, the consumer would be especially benefit- 

 ed, for the price with the crop would be equalized; 



