502 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



full of fruit. Among other interesting facts in the 

 practical experience of Dea. Mitchell, is his suc- 

 cess in growing the Sweet Potato, a specimen of 

 which may now he seen on his land. 



Let us here record one fact, for the henefit of 

 farmers, especially on dry and sandy land. Mr. 

 Mitchell sub-soiled his ground 13 or 14 inches deep 

 and thoroughly pulverized the soil, some portions 

 of which he spaded; and in all this severe drought, 

 of which farmers are complaining, he has suffered 

 scarcely the least injury. 



The profits of this acre cannot be much less than 

 $100 per year, and this, too, when no profit is 

 derived from the fruit trees, as they are all from 

 the seed or bud within four years. We hope to 

 see Deacon M. at our county meeting at Weare 

 on Thursday, and to hear him speak of the profits of 

 fanning. — Granite Farmer. 



For the Neiv England Farmer. 

 DISEASE ON QUINCE BUSHES. 



Messrs. Editors : — While journeying a few 

 weeks since, I noticed, in several places near the 

 Connecticut River, a peculiar appearance on quince 

 bushes — many of the leaves on the ends of branch- 

 es had changed to a reddish brown. On examin- 

 ation, I found the ends of these branches withered 

 and black, as if burned with a slow fire, and of 

 course quite dead. In some cases only a few 

 inches, and in others a foot or more, was blighted. 

 By a close examination of the wood and bark, I 

 could find no trace of an insect, or any apparent 

 cause for the decay. On some branches fruit was 

 growing within an inch of the blighted part, ap- 

 parently uninjured, and the rest of the bushes ap- 

 peared healthy. On my own bushes I have found 

 a wart, somewhat similar to the black wart on 

 plum trees — the inside of which has bright orange 

 spots, which may be the egg or deposit of some in- 

 sect. I send a small sample of the wood. Both 

 these diseases are new to me, but j^ou or some ol 

 your readers may be familiar with them, and may 

 be able to point out a remedy. l. t. s. 



BrookUne, Sept., 1852. 



Remarks. — The blight on the quince bushes 

 mentioned above has been noticed by us for some 

 seven years, existing in a greater or less degree. 

 Within a fortnight, we have passed through near- 

 ly all parts of Middlesex county, in this State, and 

 find the same appearance in every direction. No 

 one could answer our inquiry, "what causes this 

 blight upon the quince bush 1 ' ' Upon examination 

 we could find no insect or trace of one, nor any 

 cause for the numerous dead ends of the branches 

 upon nearly every bush. Perhaps some of our 

 correspondents can enlighten us upon this point, 

 as well as upon that of the wart mentioned. 



For the New England Fanner. 

 EARLY YIELD OF APPLES. 



In the case of the apple tree grafted with Bald- 

 win scions by Sylvester Newton of Southboro', 

 Mass., in 1848, which bore nine barrels of market 

 able apples in 1850, the top was not all cut off. It 

 was grafted in May with scions cut from trees and 

 set t 1 le same day. 



VEGETABLE REPRODUCTION. 



The reproduction of vegetables is very analogous 

 to that of the animal kingdom. The organs of re- 

 production are the stamens and pistils. These are 

 situated within the colored leaves which, together 

 with these interior and essential parts, form the 

 flower. Sometimes both stamen and pistil are 

 found in the same flower, which is then called a 

 perfect flower. Sometimes the flower has only a 

 stamen or only a pistil, and then it is called an 

 imperfect flower. It is necessary that the stamen 

 and pistil should communicate in*>rder to the re- 

 production of the plant. In a perfect flower tliis 

 communication is effected by the contact of the 

 stamen and pistil. When, however, the flowers are 

 separate, and communication cannot be had by 

 contact, the fecundation is effected by the agency 

 of the w 7 ind, which carries the pollen or dust of the 

 stamen and deposits it on the pistil of the other 

 flower. Sometimes the male and female flower are 

 not on the same plant, but a different one, as is 

 the case with the strawberry, the hemp and hop. 

 Sometimes they are on the same plant, but a sep- 

 arate stem, as the melon. In plants of this kind, 

 having imperfect flowers, the fecundation is ex- 

 posed to be incomplete or to fail ; and is sometimes 

 assisted by the hand of the gardener. In this way 

 the varieties of certain species of plants are chiefly 

 produced. 



These hybrid plants can be produced only when 

 the parent species are nearly allied to each other. 

 If the hybrid bear flowers which become fertilized 

 by its own pollen, it may pi'oduce seeds from which 

 similar plants may be raised. This may be repeat- 

 ed for two or three generations by agency of its 

 own reproductive organs, or by intermixture with 

 those of the parent stock or species. In this last 

 case, however, it will be a new variety. If the 

 several parent stocks from which the variety pro- 

 ceeded are of distinct species, the new hybrid race 

 becomes soon extinct, unless it be continued by in- 

 termixture with one of the parent stocks ; in which 

 case it becomes merged in the stock. 



Those flowers which contain the pistil are called 

 fertile flowers, because they are capable of repro- 

 duction if fecundated by the stamens bearing flow- 

 er. The sterile flowers may be easily distinguished 

 from the fertile by the knob or bulb at the top of 

 the stamen ; which becomes covered with a fine 

 yellow dust called pollen, which is the fructifying 

 element of the stamen, and which must, in order 

 to reprodution of the plant, be brought into con- 

 tact with the stigma or expanded head of the pis- 

 til in the fertile flower. 



This knowledge is valuable to gardeners, as by it 

 they are enabled to select the suitable sets for 

 strawberries and other fruits, to assist in the pro- 

 duction of melons by placing the pollen on the stig- 

 ma, and, by selection of pollen from different spe- 

 cies, to produce new varieties. 



