12 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Jan. 



For the Neto England Farmer, 



TRANSPLANTING APPLE TREES. 



THEIR M,\NAGEMENT AND PROFITS. 



Mr. Editor : — Knowing that you will accept 

 communications for insertion in your paper that 

 will be of interest to the farming communit}> I 



Every one having young trees, should have a good 

 pruning-knife and saw, so that when the proper 

 time comes, he may give the tree its right shape 

 and form, removing all Hmbs that may cross and 

 chafe each other, giving it the form of an inverted 

 umbrella as near can be. 



When any one has planted an orchard, he should 

 thought I would write and make a few suggestions j not get discouraged, but work with a will, and 

 under the above heading, from a little experience I keep the ground in good tilth among the trees, as 

 I have had in the business. jit is in the kitchen garden. He should not be sat- 



in the iirst j)lace, all those who have it in con- 1 isfied with a few inches growth made in a year, but 

 templation to plant trees for an orchard, should se- as far as lies in liis power, make a growth of from 



lect a good location, which should be land of a 

 gravely loam, sloping to the south as near as can be, 

 and if a little stony so much the better. Dig your 

 holes for the reception of the trees, at least twice 

 as large as -Hill be occupied by its roots ; a rod 

 from the fence and a rod and a half to two rods 

 apart each way in straight lines, according to the 

 dimensions of the field. The trees to be planted 

 should be of good size, two years from the bud, 

 with handsome, straight trunks, and the Hmbs 

 branching out four or five feet from the ground. 

 It would be well to procure the best, as in the end 

 they are the cheapest. With the help of an assis- 

 tant to hold the tree in a perpendicular position, 

 proceed to place the roots in a straight Hne from 

 the tree ; then put some fuie mould underneath 

 and around the small roots and fibres, leaving no 

 place not filled up as it should be ; and pressing 

 the dirt gently down with the foot. See that the 

 trees are set in straight Hues both ways, so as to 

 show some taste, as well as for profit ; for there is 

 something pleasing to the eye of a person passing 

 by, to see them coming into line in several direc- 

 tions. After a person has set his trees he should 

 take especial pains not to have them injured in any 

 way whatever, when working his cattle among them, 

 by breaking the Hmbs, jamming oft' the bark and 

 disturbing the roots. 



Having been to some labor and expense of pur- 

 chasing the best trees and planting them, he should 

 keep an eye on the best course to be pursued as re- 

 gards then- management. Now what is to be done 

 to insure success ? Why simply the observance of 

 a few rules that .must be strictly adhered to. First, 

 the ground among the trees should be kept in cul- 

 tivation every year with some kind of hoed croj) ; 

 and be liberal in the appHcation of some good ma- 

 nure, spread on and Avell worked in with the plow 

 and harrow. The trees should be washed every 

 year with strong soap-suds to keep the bark smooth 

 and healthy and free from moss. I would here 

 caution people against a wash for trees that I once 

 used, which was from a recommendation I saw m 

 some book or paper, and that was a pound of pot- 

 ash to two gallons of water. After I had washed 

 about a dozen trees it had eaten through the skin 

 of my fingers, and so I reduced it with more water. 

 It also turned the bark of the trees white, which 

 can be seen to this day. 



Now as to the best time of the year to trim trees, 

 there are as many minds as can be imagined. Some 

 think the wmter is the best, because they have 

 more time to attend to it. That should not be any 

 reason why we should take such a time for the 

 work, as the bark gets discolored below the wounds 

 occasioned by the removal of Hmbs, and induces 

 decay. The time in my opinion to trim trees, is 

 in the month of June, when the wounds will speedi- 

 ly heal, and be the least detrimental to the tree. 



one to two feet ; and he ynW have the satisfaction 

 in being rewarded for liis labor at a day not far dis- 

 tant. No man can give too much of his time, or 

 bestow too much care upon his trees. It is the 

 great secret in bringing them to perfection. What 

 satisfaction and delight it must be to the owner of 

 an orchard in full bearing, to see his trees, reared 

 by his own hands, bending under their loads of 

 fruit, rewarding him for his toil and labor, in profit 

 and pleasure ! 



In regard to the profits of raising fruit, it must 

 be admitted I think, that it is more profitable than 

 anything else a farmer can raise. The crops raised 

 among the trees while they are growing, will more 

 than pay the expenses of their culture ; and after 

 they have come into bearing, nothing need be done 

 but to keep the ground plowed every year. The 

 prices that good apples usually sell at, will keep in 

 ratio with the population at least for the next half 

 century. J. Underw^ood. 



Lexington, JVov., 1855. 



Remarks. — Mr. Underwood is a good farmer, 

 and understands the business he is discussing. If 

 we mistake not he has taken some of the first pre- 

 miums for oi'charding in Middlesex County. Will 

 he be kind enough to give us his reasons, why land 

 "sloping to the south," is better than any other as 

 a location for an orchard ? The reader will not 

 fail to observe the effect of a wash of potash water, 

 even of the reduced quaHty of a pound to two gal- 

 lons of water. 



THE SENSE OF SIGHT IN BIRDS. 



We copy the following interesting chapter, per- 

 haps from the pen of Prof. De Vere, from Put- 

 nam's Monthly for November : 



Audubon has written an anmsing book, I had al- 

 most said of fables, called Ornithological Biography. 

 By a number of cruel experiments, he has jjroved 

 to his own entii'e satisfaction, and that of many oth- 

 ers, that vultures are led to their food by the sense 

 of sight alone ; the sense of smell, which they were 

 supposed to possess in an exquisite degree, afford- 

 ing them not the slightest assistance. His experi- 

 ments prove quite too much for his purpose, for 

 they equally deprive the j^oor birds in question of 

 both sight and smell. It is certain that this bird 

 possesses both senses in great perfection, and equal- 

 ly certain that neither nor both are the sole means 

 it employs for obtaining its food. Though the 

 senses in animals are the means of obtainuig them 

 food, they are not the sole means, as we very well 

 know. 



It is a most curious question, and well worth 



