/armiJfs Jflmitljla l^isit^t. 



*THrt.SE WHO L«.ItOR IK THE EARTH ARE TH 



CONDUCTED BY ISj\AC HILL. 



E CHOSEN rEaPUE OF GoD, WHOSE TiBEi.TS HE FliS MAUE HIS VECULlAlt DEFOSITE FOR IUBSTaNTIAL ANU CINUINE VIRTUE." 'c ffcTSOn. 



VOLUME VI. 



CONCORD, N. H. OCTOBER 31, 1844. 



NUMBER 10. 



THE FARMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR, 



PUHLISIIEl) BT 



ISAAC HILL, & SONS, 



ISSUED ON THE LAST DAT OF EVERT MONTH, 



At Athenian Building. 



- tSenerai. AnEST3.— a. Coor., Kecne, N H. ; Thomas 

 U liAMHioN, VVasliinstoii (;ity, I). C. ; John Marsh, VVasli- 

 in'stuiiS'- Bost""i »)as»-l Charles VVarees, Hruiley Row, 

 Wi'fcester, Mass;. 



TERTtis To singlo subscribers, Fifty Cnits. Ten pur 



ctiil. will be all(.u-(.-(l to Ihc pi^rsoii wlio shall sond more than 

 one siib'Jrrihfr. Twelve copies will be sent for the advance 

 uavmentof Fa:c Dullai-s : twenty-five copies for 7ta Dollars; 

 si.'Lty copies for ■J'wcnty DMiin. Tlie payment in every case to 

 lie made in advance. ^ , „ , .r - 



IK^-jVunci/ md stibscriptirms; bijaregitlalwn of the Past Masar 

 CImral, miuj in all cases lie reiiiMed by Uie Past Master, free aj 



^ ncf \'ll Rentlenipn who have herctofori; acted as Agents are 

 requested to continue tlieir Agency. Old subscribers who 

 come under the new terms, will please notify us of the names 

 already on our liooks. 



OTiy¥lS!T51> 



COBBETT OPT GARDENING. 



CHAPTER l— Continued. 



r K N U I M G . 



30. llerfi, as in tliu case of siturttion, I am siip- 

 )iu!-iii^ llie ;:nnlen about to lie made. Those who 

 iih-(ja(ry have gavJeii,-', have fences. They may 

 iin|irove Ihem, indeeil, upon my phm; but 1 am 

 supposing the case of a new g:anye?i ; and I am al.^o 

 supposing a i;ai-ae.n to he made in what I dcpiii 

 peifedioii. Tliose wlio cannot, from wliatever 

 cii-ciiinstance, attain to tliis pcrtipotion, may, nev- 

 ertheles-s profit from these instructions as far as 

 circumstances will allow. 



31. The fence of a garden is an important mat- 

 ter: for we have to view it not only as givini; 

 vrokcHoJi asainst intruder.?, two-legged as well as 

 fciur-leirsed, hut as affording s/ifWer in colli weath- 

 er, an crs/if((/e in hot, in both which respects, a 

 fence may be made of great utility in an Ameri- 

 can fardeu, where cold and heat are experieDCed 

 in an extreme degree. 



33. In England the kitchen-gardens of gentle- 

 men are enclosed wilh u'alts, from ten to sixteen 

 feet high; luiithis, though ills useful, and indeed 

 necessary, in the way of protection against two- 

 legged iutrudei-s, is intended chiefly to attbrdihe 

 means of niising the fruit of peaches, neclaiines, 

 apricots and vines, which cannot, in England, be 

 bi'ought to perfection without walls to train them 

 agaiiTst; for though the trees will all grow very 

 well, and though a small sort of apricots will 

 soil etimes ripen their frifit away from a wall, 

 these fruits ctmnot, to any extent, be obtained in 

 England, nor the peaches and nectarines even in 

 France, norlh of the middle of that country, 

 without the ai<l of walls. Hence, in England, 

 peaches, nectarines, apricots and giapes are cal- 

 led ivali-J'niii. Cherries, plums, and pears also 

 are- very frei|iiently placed against walls, and they 

 uie always the finer for it ; but a wall is indis- 

 pensably" necessary to the four former. 



33. In America a fence is not wanted for this 

 purpose; but it is very necessary for protection, 

 for sheller, and for shade. As to the first, garden- 

 ers may scold as long as they lilease, and law- 

 makers may enact as long as they please — man- 

 kind will never look upon taking fruit in an or- 

 chard or garilen as felony, nor even as a trespass. 

 Besides there-are, in all couatries, such things tis 

 hoys ; and every man ieiuembei-s, if he he not 

 very forgetful, that he himself was once a boy. - 

 So that if you have a mind to have for your own 

 use what you grow in your giirden, the only ef- 



fectual security is an insm-mountable fence. This 

 prevents the existence of lemptalion, in all cases 

 dangerous, and particularly in that of forbidden 

 fruit ; therefore the matter reduces itself to this_ 

 very simple alternative: share the produce of 

 your garden good-humoredly with the boys of 

 the whole neighborhood; or keep it for your own 

 use by a fence which they cannot get through, 

 under, or over. Such a fence, however, it is no 

 trilling matter to make. It must be pretty high, 

 and must present some formidable obstacles be- 

 sides its height. 



34. With regard to the second point, the shel- 

 ter ; this is of great coaisequence ; for it is very 

 well known, that on the south side of a good high 

 fence, you can have peas, lettuces, radish, and 

 many other things, full ten days earlier in the 

 spring, than you can have them in the unshelter- 

 ed ground. Indeed, this is a capital considera- 

 tion; for yon have, by this means, ten days more 

 of spring than you coidd have without it. 



35. The slutde, during the summer, is also val- 

 uable. Peas will thrive in the shade long after 

 they will no longer produce in the sun. Currant- 

 trees and gooseberry-trees will not do well in 

 this climate unless they be in the shade ;— 

 and raspberries also are best in the shade ; — 

 during the heat of summer, lettuces, radishes, 

 and many other things thrive best in the shade. 



30. It will be seen presently, when I come to 

 speak of the/orm of a garden, that I have fi,\ed 

 on an oblong square, twice as long as it is wide. 

 This gives me it long fence on the north side, and 

 also on tlie south side. The former gives me a 

 fine, warm, extensive border in the spring, and 

 the latter a border ecpially extensive and as cool 

 as I can get it, in the heat of summei-. Of the 

 various benefits of this shelter and this shade, I 

 shall, of course, speak fully, when I come to 

 treat of ihe cultivation of the several plants. At 

 present I shall confine myself to the sorf of fence 

 that I would commend. 



37. 1 am aware of the difficulty of overcom- 

 ing /oig- habit, and of introducing any thing that 

 is new. Yet amonst a sensible people, such as 

 those for wdioee use this work is intended, one 

 need not be afraid of ultimate success; and 1, 

 above all men, ought not to entertain such fear, 

 after what I have seen with regard to the ruta ba- 

 ga. The people of this country listen patiently, 

 and if they be not in haste to decide, they gener- 

 ally decide wisely at last. Besides, it is obvious 

 to every one that the lands, in the popidons parts 

 of the country, nnist be provideil with a different 

 sort of fence "from that which is now in use, or 

 that they must be, in a few years, suffered to lay 

 waste. 



38. Yet, with all these circmtislances in my 

 favor, I proceed with faltering accent to propose, 

 even for a garden, a live fence, especially when I 

 have to notice, that I know not how to get the 

 pliints, unless I, in the outset, bring them, or their 

 seeds, from England! However,! must suppose 

 this difficulty surmounted ; then proceed to de- 

 scribe this fence that I would have, if I could. 



:3y. In England it is called a quick-set hedge.— 

 The truth is, however, that it ought rather to be 

 cMvd an everlasting hedge ; for it is not, as wdl 

 be seen by and by, so very quickly set ; or, at least, 

 so very quickly "raised. If 1 cgtdd c;irry my 

 readers into Surrey, in England, and show them 

 quick-set hedges, "l might slop here, and only 

 provide the seeds or plants. But not being able to 

 do that, I must, as well as I can, describe the thing 

 on paper. The plants are those of the ivhite thorn. 

 This thorn will, if it be left to grow singly, attain 

 the bulk and height of an apiile-tree. It beiu-s 

 white flowers in great abundance, of a very fra- 

 grant smell, which are succeeded by a little ber- 

 ry, which, when it is rii)e in the fall, is of a red 

 color. Within the red pulp is a small stone ; and 

 this stone, being put in the ground, produces a 

 plant, or tree, in the same manner that a cherry- 



stone Joes. The red berries are called hatvs ;— 

 whence this thorn is sometimes called the haw- 

 thorn ; as in Goldsmith's Deserted Village: — 

 " The haw-thorn Inisli, with scats beneath the 

 shade." The leaf isjirecisely like the gooseber- 

 ry leaf, only a little smtdler; the branches are 

 every where armed with sharp thorns ; and the 

 wood is very flexible and very tough. 



40. The haws are sown in drills, like jieas, and 

 they are taken from that situation and planted 

 very thick in rows, in a nursery, where they stand 

 a year or two, if not' wanted the first year. Then 

 they are ready to be planted to become a hedge. 

 In "England there are two ways of planting a 

 hedge, as to position of ground — one on a bank, 

 with a ditch on the side ; the other on the level 

 ground. The latter is that of which I have now 

 to speak. 



41. The ground for the garden being prepared, 

 in the manner before described under the head 

 of soil, you take up your rpiick-set plants, prune 

 their roots to within ibur inches of the part that 

 was at the top of the ground ; or, in other words, 

 leave the root but four inches long, taking care 

 to cit( auwj all ihe fbres, for they always die; and 

 they do no harm if they be left. Make the ground 

 very fine and nice all round Ihe edges of the piece 

 intended for the garden. Work it well with a 

 spade, and make it very fine, which will demand 

 but very little labor. Then place a line alongve- 

 ry truly ; for mind, you are planting for genera- 

 tions to come ! Take the spade, put the edge of 

 it against the line; drive it down eight or ten 

 inches deep ; pull the eye of the spade towards 

 you, and thus you make all along a little open cut 

 to receive the roots of the plants, which you will 

 then put into the cut, I'e;-^ upright, and then put 

 the earth against them with your hand, taking 

 care not to plant them deeper in the ground than 

 they stood before you took them up in the nurse- 

 ry. The dist.-mce" between each plant is twelve 

 inches. When this line is done, i>lant another line 

 all the way along by the side of it, and at sixinch- 

 es from H, in exactly the same manner; but, 

 mind, in this second line, the plants are not to 

 stand opposite the jilants in the first line, but op- 

 posite the middle of ihe intervals. When both 

 lines are planted, ircnrf gently between them and 

 also on the ontsides of them, and then hoe. the 

 ground a little, and leave it nice and neat. 



42. Tbis vifork should be done in the first or se- 

 cond week of October, even though the leaves 

 should yet be on the plants. For their roots will 

 strike in this fine month, and the plants will be 

 ready to start oft' in the spring in a vigoi-ous man- 

 ner. If you cannot do it in the liill, do it the mo- 

 ment the ground is fit in the s|>iing; because, if 

 you delay it too long, the heat and drought comes, 

 and the "plants cannot thrive so well. 



43. in both cases the plants must be cut doum 

 almost close to the ground. If you |ilant in the 

 fall, cut them down as soon as the Irost is out of 

 the ground in the spring, and before the buds begin 

 to swell; and if you plant in the spring, cut down 

 as soon as planted. This operation is of indis- 

 pensable necessity, for without it you will have no 

 hedge. This cutting down to within half an inch 

 .jf the grnimd vvill cause the plants to send out 

 shoots that will, in good ground, mount up to the 

 leneth of three or lorn- feet during the summer. 

 But" you must keep the ground between them and 

 all about them very clean and frequently hoed; for 

 the quick-sets love good culture as well as other 

 plants. 



44. Some people cut down agairt the next spring; 

 but this is not the best way. Let the plants stand 

 two summers and three winters, and cut them all 

 c^ose down to the ground as you can in the 

 spring, and the shoots vvill come out so thick and 

 so sti"ong, that you need never cut down any 

 more. 



45. But you must, this year, begin to clip. At 

 I midsummer, or rather about the middle of July, 



