434 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Sept. 



us ; they take up, use, and purify the air which has 

 been exhausted of its oxygen by man and the animal 

 kingdom, and give great beauty to the landscape. 



By meadow land we suppose our correspondent 

 means low land that produces the common upland 

 grasses, such as herds grass and red-tojj. The 

 prevalent opinion hes been for many years that 

 low and rather wet lands were not suitable for ap- 

 ple trees. The late Mr. James Brown, of West 

 Cambridge, who had extensive orcharding on almost 

 all varieties of land, informed us that the apple 

 trees on his low lands, had for many years pro- 

 duced a better crop than those on the hill lands. 

 They will not flourish long, however, where standing 

 water remains for any considerable time. 



On the gravelly land, mulching with hay, fine 

 chips, straw, saw-dust, or fine brush is of great ser- 

 vice. The latter affords a fine material, as, while it suf- 

 ficiently shades the ground to prevent excessive evap- 

 oration, it does not prevent the access of light and 

 heat. In the fall it is easily removed from the 

 stem of the tree, so as not to harbor mice, who love 

 to feed on the young and tender bark. After trees 

 have been well manured and dug about, perhaps 

 there is no better material for mulching than a coat 

 of two to four inches of old and fine meadow muck, 

 which should be spread about the tree in a circle of 

 six feet in diameter. Holes to receive the tree 

 which are six feet across, and eighteen inches deep 

 are liberal. On land with a hard pan three feet 

 deep is undoubtedly better, if one can afford it. If 

 manure is mingled with the earth in the holes, it 

 should be well decomposed. If applied after the 

 tree is set, it should be slightly dug under the sur- 

 face. 



We do not think it well to force the tree to an 

 excessively rapid growth ; in such case it grows 

 late in the season, so that the wood is not matured, 

 is liable to be broken by the winds or snows, and 

 is more susceptible to the cold. A regular annual 

 growth of from ten to twenty inches on the leading 

 branches is enough. 



There is considerable diversity of opinion as to 

 the distance of trees from each other. If too near, 

 the limbs soon meet and obstruct each other, and 

 shut out the sun ; and the difficulties of cultivation 

 are increased. On the other hand, if too far apart, 

 in order to get a desirable number of trees, they 

 would cover such an amount of land as few farmers 

 could find manure to enrich or to keep under cul- 

 tivation. 



At 40 feet apart, 27 trees would cover an acre, 

 and 18.i acres would be required for 500 trees. On 

 our small New England farms, where there is usu- 

 ally a lack of manure, the true course is to plant 

 trees at such a distance from each other as will en- 

 able the leading branches to meet when the tree 

 oomes to maturity ; the ground will then be cov- 

 ered, but not densely so, and the whole of it occu- 



pied. If at maturity the limbs mingle a little, it is 

 l)etter to shorten them in than to cover a large 

 space by setting the trees farther apart. At 29 

 feet, we get 51 trees to the acre, and this, in our 

 v>pinion, is better than to go over more ground by 

 setting them at a greater distance. However, all 

 (his may depend on circumstances. If land, and 

 (eams to plow are plenty, and manure is abundant, 

 •10 feet apart may not be too much. After trees 

 liave been set some fifteen years, the orchard crop 

 should be considered a distinct crop, and the trees 

 must not be robbed of their supplies by corn, pota- 

 toes, and especially the small grains. The soil 

 ought to be kept loose, and in good condition, by 

 [iroper applications of manure. Under such cir- 

 cumstances, the orchard will pay better dividends 

 than banks, railroads or manufacturing stocks usu- 

 ally do. 



Opinions vaiy, also, as to the best time for trans- 

 planting apple trees. If we were ready, we should 

 not hesitate to transplant in the autumn ; and we are 

 not aware by the condition of any trees which we 

 have observed, that there is any advantage in the 

 spring over the autumn, or vice versa. If the trees 

 are good ones, carefully taken up, and preserved if 

 kej)t out of the ground long, and then well set, 

 ninety-eight out of a hundred ought to live and 

 grow thriftily. 



We prefer trees grown north of us for trans- 

 jilanting, and those two years from the bud are 

 more certain, under the common management, 

 to live and grow, than those of a greater age. 



The Danvers Winter Sweet, Winter Green Sweet, 

 1 iadies' Sweet and Russet Sweet, are all good vari- 

 eties. 



HEALTH. 



Heaven never granted a richer boon than health ; 

 and without it, all other blessings are comparative- 

 ly valueless. Yet it is often lighly esteemed and 

 carelessly thrown away, and never fully appreciated 

 until it is gone. Ihave seen the mistress of a splen- 

 did mansion, surrounded by every luxury which 

 wealth can command, lying upon her couch, pale 

 and miserable, fretful and unhappy. Within her 

 reach were the most delicate viands and exquisite 

 fruits, yet she could partake of none. Health wap 

 no longer hers. She had parted with it for the sake 

 of gratiying her vanity, by wearing thin shoes, to 

 display the beauty of her foot, and now, when con- 

 sumption was preying upon her, she repented her 

 folly, but it was too late ; and though she would 

 willingly give all that she possessed, the priceless 

 treasure could not be recalled. The thin, ghastly- 

 looking gentleman, who reclines in his luxurious 

 easy chair, with his gouty foot upon a pillow, sighs 

 and groans in anguish, and thinks of the many 

 weary nights of pain, when the bed of down and 

 the silken covering could bring him no repose. — 

 How he envies the plough-boy who whistles on the 

 green fields, whose step is elastic, and whose heart 

 is light and gay at his toil, while his sleep is sound 

 and refreshing. 



