ON FRUIT TREES. 95 



five cords to the acre in the spring, and ploujliing in immedi- 

 ately, being careful at each time of ploughing not to hijure the 

 roots. The two first years I planted the ground with hoed 

 crops, but since that time the ground has been sown with some 

 small grain in the bearing years, and planted with hoed crops 

 every other year. By this method the windfalls are kept from 

 the ground, and the apples are not so liable to bruise from fall- 

 ing. For the last ten years the trees have been scraped and 

 washed with potash water or strong soap suds, every other 

 year. The crop of fruit has been as follows : — In 1840 and '42 

 there were a dozen barrels each year ; in 1844 there were fifty 

 barrels of picked apples ; in 1846 one hundred barrels ; in 1848 

 one hundred and twenty-five barrels picked, and thirty-five of 

 good windfalls that brought in market from a dollar to a dollar 

 and a quarter per barrel, also a large quantity of poor apples 

 that were sold for cider apples. The apples that year in this 

 county were unusually wormy. This year there were two 

 hundred and sixty-seven barrels of picked apples^ and thirty 

 barrels of good windfalls. 

 Dan vers, Nov. 7, ISoO. 



JOSHUA II. ORD WAY'S LETTER. 

 ■ The following letter, that came to hand after the report was sent to press, is 

 deemed sufficiently valuable to be published entire. 



West Newbury, Nov. 23, 1850. 

 J. W. Proctor, Esq,. 



Dear Sir, — Yours of the 16th inst. is before me. You right- 

 ly understood my suggestion, at Salem, in regard to the impor- 

 tance of raising new varieties of fruit. They should be raised 

 firom the seed of fruit, — not from highly cultivated kinds, — but 

 from nature's healthy seedling trees. 



I can see no special benefit to accrue, from continuing prem- 

 iums for pear or apple orchards, that are already set out with 

 existing old varieties. They will grow just as well without 

 aid from the Society, as with. 



