354 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Aug, 



THE BEURRE CLAIRGEAU PEAR. 



The pear, finely represented above, was grown 

 and furnished us by Andrew Lackey, Esq., of 

 Marblehead, who has kindly supplied the subjoin- 

 ed description. 



Mr. Editor : — The Beurre Clairgeau, all things 

 considered, is without doubt one of the most prom- 

 ising pears that has been introduced into the coun- 

 try for many years. It was originated at Nantes, 

 France, by M. Clairgeau, and was first introduced 

 here in 1848. Its early bearing and wonderful 

 productiveness will make it a general favorite. It 

 is a rapid grower, either on pear or quince. On 

 the latter it is apt to overbear ; and unless the 

 fruit is thinned, and considerable pains taken with 

 the tree, its energies will soon become paralized, if 

 not exhausted. I have a tree of this variety which 

 has been in bearing four or five years ; have 

 thinned the fruit every year until the last, when I 

 neglected to do it ; the consequence was, I was 

 compelled to head it in very severely. On the 

 quince, it commences bearing the second year from 

 the bud, and a number of pear stocks engrafted 

 with it last season, (although they made a rapid 

 growth) have their tops covered with fruit buds. 

 One remarkable characteristic of this tree is, that 

 nearly every blossom produces a perfect fruit ; and 

 the stem clings with such tenacity to the tree that 

 it is seldom blown oft' by high winds. Two years 

 ago, I raised a crop of this fruit, part of which was 

 gathered October 1st, the remainder were picked 

 November 1st ; the latter ripened November 28th, 

 and were cut in the presence of good judges of 

 fruit, and pronounced by them first-rate. The oth- 

 ers kept till the 10th of January, and were not so 

 good. In Salem, last season, fine specimens of 

 Beurre Clairgeau and Beurre d'Anjou were eaten 

 at the same time, and the merits of each compared, 

 and the result was in favor of the former. Some 

 specimens raised in the vicinity of Salem did not 

 answer expectations. It was probably owing to 

 the overbearing of the trees. The best way to 

 treat this variety is to prevent its bearing for a 

 number of years, until of sufficient size. It will 

 then be capable of bearing good specimens ; and 

 the flavor will be much better than those grown on 

 trees two years from the bud. The pear from 

 which the engraving was taken, was one of four, 

 grown on a tree three years from the bud. It is a 

 very showy fruit, of a yellow russet color, with a 

 splendid red cheek on the sunny side. 



How it will answer for orchard culture, worked 

 on the pear, time alone will determine. It has 

 withstood the last winter remarkably well, and I 

 think is as hardy as most trees of this species. 

 Yours truly, Andrew Lackey. 



Williard Day, Esq., of Brooklyn, that these nui- 

 ances may be destroyed by once motvin^, if done 

 during a warm rain. Mr. Day has satisfied him- 

 self of this by repeated successful experiments. 

 The principle of its action, no doubt, lies in the de- 

 cay of the roots consequent upon the filling of the 

 hollow stems with water. — The Homestead. 



Finality on Canada Thistles and White 

 Daisies. — A friend informs us on the authority of 



For the Nete England Farmer. 



GRANITE BOWLDERS : 



A practical way to remove them. 



Many ingenious theories have been educed, as to 

 the time when, and the manner how, these frag- 

 ments of granite stones were scattered over the 

 New England States, and many other parts of the 

 world. 



Some geologists think they were brought at the 

 time of the flood ; frozen to large pieces of ice, 

 as we often see small stones in the ice of our riv- 

 ers. From the direction of the various strata of 

 the earth, they argue that a drift has sometime 

 swept over it, from north-west to south-east, and 

 at that time, the bowlders were taken from their 

 parent quarries, and scattered over the land. In 

 corroboration of this hypothesis, is the well-known 

 fact that granite bowlders are found in large quan- 

 ties to the south-east of quarries of that stone. 



But it is of little consequence to the farmer, 

 whose arable lands are encumbered with these 

 bowlders, whether this or other theories be true or 

 false. He wants to understand a practical way of 

 removing them. The following is a cheap and ex- 

 peditious method of breaking them, when large. 



First, remove all the earth from around 

 them, as low as the bottom of the bowlder ; this 

 being done, kindle a fire upon its top, or side, as is 

 most convenient. In a short time, thin scales of 

 the stone will be detached under the fire ; these 

 must be removed, and the fire kept burning. The 

 heat expanding the stone and converting the mois- 

 ture it contains into steam, will open one or more 

 seams ; now with a sharp crow-bar, the seams are 

 widened by well-directed and energetic blows, and 

 in a short time the mammoth bowlder is broken in- 

 to pieces that may be easily removed. 



This method is much cheaper, requires less skill, 

 and is less dangerous than blasting. Coarse and 

 refuse wood, of little value, may be used. Any 

 man can do the work, tending from six to ten fires 

 at a time, and will find it hard but exciting busi- 

 ness. Do not throw water upon the stone at all, 

 but keep up the fire, and you will not fail of suc- 

 cess. J. R. w. 



Springfield, Vt, 1856. 



Salting Hay. — This practice — we have reason 

 to think — is greatly overdone. Two quarts of fine 

 salt to each ton of hay, scattered through it, is suf- 

 ficient. It is a wasteful thing to get hay in half 

 made and then attempt to save it with salt. Too 

 much salt is as injurious to cattle as for them to go 

 without any. 



I^^ A decision has been made by the Supreme 

 Court of Alabama, by which every railroad, steam- 

 boat, or stage, is liable to the owner of any slave 

 absenting himself from his owner, who may be found 

 traveling with them under any disguise or conceal- 

 ment. 



