THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



175 



very well where llie lanJ is not pufficiently good I 

 to |)rodiicc liut a very lew busliels ol' corn to the 

 acre. 



ir the few followitij^ remarUs, in relation to our 

 uioile of culiiv;iiiii<r the peach, will interest your 

 readers, you can f^ive them a place in yonr pages. 

 I have an orchard of some extent, and have, in 

 some season.^, ijaihered a very large crop. 



When it is iniended to plant onl a good orchard 

 of trees, we generally select an elevated position, 

 entirely nnprotected h)' any timber or shelter of 

 any kind : if a situation can he selected near the 

 bank of a river, the crop is more certain, as the 

 trees better wiihsiaml ihe Iroets, which occasion- 

 ally do much damage. 



Plough, and put the land in good condilion for 

 corn or vejietables, and plant the trees twenty 

 feet apart etch way. Continue to till the land, 

 taking off' a crop of peas, beans, potatoes, or 

 something that does not grow too high : wheat, 

 rye, and oats are very injurious, and should not 

 be planted. Tlie land must not remain without 

 tillage, as the trees would soon be injured ; indeed 

 nothing will kill a fine peach orchard sooner than 

 to let it lie in sward. 



The trees should be two years old on the stork, 

 (from seed,) and one year (rom the bud, (the 

 year after budding.) This is considered as the 

 best age lor transplanting. If the water stands 

 nearihe suVlace of the soil, or if the land has 

 p'prings near the top of the ground, I should not 

 deem it advisable to plant with the expectation 

 of very certain crops. I have lost two orchards 

 planted in this manner, while, in an adjoining 

 field, where the land, or a part of it, was high, 

 with a dry subsoil, the trees flourished, and pro- 

 duced abundant crops. 



Light sandy soil, or light loatTi, we consider the 

 most prelerable lor planting out peach orchards, 

 and I should judge, that on many of the elevated 

 knolls, in the vicinity of Boston, the peach might 

 be cultivated to good .advantage, particularly the 

 earlier varieties. It is at least well worihy of 

 trial. Yours, respectfully, T, Hakcock. 



Burlington, N. J., Jan. 1841. 



We have already noticed Mr, Hancock's 

 nursery, and given some account of his peach 

 orchard, (Vol. V., p. 365.) In the season of 

 1839, when we passed through Burlinsion, the 

 peach trees were breaking down with the heavy 

 crops. Mr. Hancock's trees were literally loaded; 

 and so fast did they ripen, that the ground under 

 nearly every tree that we noticed was covered 

 with the fruit. The orchard contained about 

 seventeen acres, and was covered with healihy 

 trees, and the crop was estimated at two thousand 

 baskets (about fifteen hundred bushels,) which 

 commanded one dollar and upwards a basket, in 

 the New York market. The land was a light 

 sandy loam, and would not produce, as Mr. Han- 

 cock informed us, five bushels of corn to the acre, 

 unless very heavily manured. The ground was 

 not planted at all when we sav/ it, but it had been 

 tilled with the cultivator, to keep tfie surface free 

 ti-om the growth of weeds, &c. The trees do not 

 hiake a vigorous growth, and consequently do 

 not need but little pruning. 



The great error in cultivating peach trees, in 

 New England, has been in planting them iti too 

 rich soil, and encouraging them to make a rapid 

 and vigorou.s growth : the trees, in consequence, 1 



are overtaken by the cold weather, and the severe 

 frosts, of the early part of winter, before the 

 wood is fully ripe, destroy the young fruit buds, 

 oftentimes the young and tender shoots, and 

 occasionally the trees are killed completely down 

 10 the roots. The very opposite course should be 

 pursued : the trees should be set out on a light 

 soil, and not encouraged to make a vigorous 

 :rrowih ; the 5'oiing wood will then get fully rip?^, 

 and hardened before cold weather^ the frost will 

 have less effect upon the buds, and, unless the 

 situation is very unliivorable, and subject to lale 

 frosts in the spring, the chances are that the 

 trees will not be injured, and will produce good 

 crops. 



The cultivation of the peach hasatiracted more 

 ait^Mnion, within a year or two, in the vicinity of 

 Boston, than (or some time previous : to those 

 who are planting trees, we would recommend a 

 perusal of Mr. Hancock's communication, con- 

 vinced, from the success which has attended his 

 cultivation of the trees, that the inlbrmation 

 which he has given will be found the result of 

 experience upon the subject. — Ed. Mag, Hort. 



the sugar bket and white carrot. mr. 

 ronaldson's imported seeds akd im- 

 plements. 



Philadelphia, Feb. 16, 1841. 

 Dear Sir. — Your Register of the 134i shows your 

 labors are not lost, and that of the seed you have 

 sown, some has fallen on good ground. The 

 more 'he sugar and other beets are cultivated the 

 better their value will be understood, especially 

 if they suit our warm southern districts. I asked 

 a lady, to whom I had given some sugar beet 

 seeds, and persuaded to sow a large quantity of 

 I hem, (the farm was on the western shore of the 

 Chesapeake,) if the negroes stole them. To 

 which she replied "Oh, no, no," and I rejoined, 

 " I am sorry for that, as it is a proof that though 

 you have quantity, they must not be of good 

 quality." "By no means," was the reply, 

 "they, (the negroes) have no occasion to steal 

 them ; they would do it, but we give them 

 beets, and some of them are fond of roasting 

 Ihem. We have to feed them, and beets go in 

 for a share in doing this. No, no, — our negroes 

 shall not have occasion to steal beets, that they 

 may eat them, they will eat, and beets are cheap, 

 but I do not wish them to know this." 



My object in vvriiing is to inquire, (for I have 

 no memorandum of what I sent,) was whit6 car- 

 rot seed amonast what were sent to you; if so, 

 have you learned what was the success in your 

 warm climate'? They have grown to a surpris- 

 ing size here, are good (or the table, and carrots 

 have alwavs been celebrated as fine fiseding for 

 horses. This while carrot is to the common 

 carrot, what the mangel wurtzel is to the other 

 beets. It grows considerably out of the ground ; 

 and an observing friend of mine thinks, in some 

 circumstances, may give a heavier crop than 

 beets. If so, then it would be of more value from 

 the circumstance of the carrot being far the most 

 solid of the two. 



I sent you a small pamphlet noticing the 

 things I had brought from Europe, and giving 



