130 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



March 



The berries are smaller and more round than 

 the low vine. When prepared for sauce it is not 

 as acid, and has a peculiar rich flavor, and is very 

 highly esteemed by those persons who are able to 



{)rocure them. The vines are very much like our 

 ow cranberries, and yield more abundantly. If 

 they can be introduced into the Avaste, cold unpro- 

 ductive parts of the United States, they must be 

 very remunerative and valuable to the producer. It 

 is my intention to obtain some of the plants in May 

 of this year, and hope to be able to supply those 

 who wish to try the experiment. 

 jYew Haven, Ct. F. Trowbridge. 



EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. 



OLD PASTURES — BASKET WILLOW. 



Mr. Editor : — Is it best to plow old pastures 

 that are run out, or let them remain, provided no 

 manure is to be plowed in ? (a.) I believe here 

 the majority of farmers are against plowing, but 

 my own judgment leans to the other side Perhaps 

 Massachusetts men are better able to decide cor- 

 rectly than we, as their farms are much older. 



Is there any other variety of the basket willow 

 as profitable to cultivate for market as the Purpu- 

 rea, or bitter purple willow? (b.) Perhaps your 

 correspondent from Sherborn, as he is a manufac- 

 turer, can answer this question. 



Greenboro', Ft. Benj.vmin Comings. 



Remarks. — (a.) It is doubtful, certainly, wheth- 

 er it is best to go to the expense of plowing old 

 pastures, and re-seeding, without the application of 

 manure. It would be a contest for the mastery 

 between the weeds and grass, in which the former 

 would be quite likely to succeed best. Would it 

 not be better to take an acre, plow, manure and 

 seed it, and as opportunity presents, continue it ? 

 In this way what is done, would be well done, and 

 would afford a profit. 



(6.) The Triandra, Forbyana and Purpurea, 

 make a comi)lete assortment for basket-makers, 

 supplying all their wants, according to an article 

 on the subject prepared by Mr. Charles Downing. 

 He places the Purpurea last, but says it is valuable 

 in all respects as an osier. 



HOW TO get an asparagus BED. 



Mr. Editor : — I want to set out an asparagus 

 bed. Will you inform me, through your columns, 

 which time is best, spring or autumn, and how 

 deep it should be set, and how long after planting 

 the seed it should be set out ? After it is set out, 

 how many years should it grow before it is fit to 

 cut for use ? j. H. 



Marlboro', 1856. 



Remarks. — We cannot do better than to pre- 

 sent the following, from the Rural JVeiv- Yorker, 

 which we find at hand : 



The Asparagus Bed. — "How shall I get an as- 

 paragus bed ?" asks one of our subscribers. We 

 will try and give the information desired. 



To begin with the beginning — the seed may be 

 sown in autumn or early in the spring, in a good 

 loamy soil. Select good and ripe berries, putjthem 



in water, and when slightly fermented, the seed 

 can easily be washed from the pulp and dried. 

 One ounce will grow a thousand plants. Sow in 

 drills an inch deep, about one foot apart and cover 

 with fine soil, pressed down lightly. Keep the 

 weeds out, stir the soil often, and thin the plants to 

 six inches apart in the drills. At one year old se- 

 lect the best and thriftiest plants to form your bed. 



The asparagus bed should be open to the morn- 

 ing sun. And it is better if protected from the 

 north and east, yet open to light and air. It should 

 be very rich, and on this, more than anything else, 

 depends the amount and value of the product. Dig 

 uj) a loamy, porous soil two feet deep, intermixing 

 largely and thoroughly with manure to within six 

 inches of the top ; this should be filled with gar- 

 den loam. Then take the young plants from the 

 seed bed — injuring the roots as little as possible — 

 and carefully set out in rows two feet apart, one 

 foot apart in the row. Then cover the bed two 

 inches deep with dark colored soil, made by a 

 mixture of charcoal dust and muck, and sprinkle 

 salt until the surface is white again. This will keep 

 down the Aveeds and promote the growth of the 

 asparagus, which, it should be remembered, orig- 

 inated on the sta-shore. 



In autumn remove the dead stalks and cover the 

 bed three inches deep with stable manure, to be 

 forked in the spring, with another dressing of salt. 

 Let the stalks grow the first and second year with- 

 out cutting, that the roots may get well established ; 

 the third year the asparagus will be fit to cut, and 

 Avill, Avith similar treatment each fall and spring — 

 with perhaps a slight addition of earth to prevent 

 the roots from coming too near the surface — con- 

 tinue to yield well for many years* 



Remember, room, a rich, warm soil, moist, but 

 well drained, and salt enough to prevent the growth 

 of weeds, are peculiarly beneficial to the aspara- 

 gus plant. With these, and good care, one cannot 

 fail to have that inmate of all good gardens, an as- 

 paragus bed. 



fine yield OF POTATOES. 



Mr. Editor : — Noticing in your valuable paper 

 a report of a large jield of potatoes, by friends 

 Knowlton and Cross, I will give you my success in 

 raising the same kind, (the Jenny Lind,) in the 

 rocky town of Shelburne. The past season I have 

 dug from eleven rows, eleven rods long, (about 

 twenty-two rods of land,) seventy-five bushels of po- 

 tatoes- Although I did not weigh any of them, 

 yet I think I might have weighed some which would 

 fully equal Ashfield "whoppers." 



Shelburne, Jan. 7, 1856. Reuben Nims. 



TIME TO CUT TIMBER — WILLOW FOR FENCES. 



I wish to inquire the right time to cut timber 

 and not have it powder post ? Is the basket wil- 

 low good for fencing ? Has any one tried it, so as 

 to know how it ought to be managed between pas- 

 tures, or between pasture and meadow ? What 

 length of time, and what kind of willow is the 

 best ? What distance apart, and what kind of land 

 is the best ? How many years before it will make 

 a permanent fence, or will they be always browsed 

 so that they are not of any value. If you, or any 

 one of your subscribers, will give light on these ques- 

 tions, you will do a favor to many of your sub- 

 scribers. A. B. 



Salisbury, Ft. 



