1859. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



141 



Farm Fences—Messrs. Sewall and Davis. ing them. The pear crop in this State was val- 



C'a^/Ze//«i^6«?icZr«/— Messrs. Lathrop, Tracy and ued at $100,000 per annum, and also demanded 



-Messrs. Grennell, Bushnell 



-Messrs. Bartlett and 



Brooks. 



Sheep Husbandry- 

 and Knox. 



Diseases of Vegetables- 

 Lewis. 



Improvement of Horses — Messrs. Atwater and 

 Marston. 



Grain Crops — ]Messrs. Bushnell and BulL 



FOURTH LEGISLATIVE AGRICULTURAL 



MEETING. 



■Reported by John C. Mooee, for the N. E. Fakmeb.] 

 The meeting of this Society in Representa- 

 tives' Hall, last Monday evening, was well attend- 

 ed. Hon. Marshall P. Wilder was called to 

 the chair. 



The subject for discussion was, — "Fruits, and 

 ilie Culture of Fruit Trees." 



The Chairman said it gave him great pleasure 

 to make a few remarks on the subject of discus- 

 sion, which was one of the most important that 

 could be debated. Fruits, as articles of market 

 value, were among the most important of the pro- 

 ducts of the farm, and as much so to the country 

 as to the Commonwealth. Their cultivation had 

 made great progress among us within the past fif- 

 ty years. The crop in 1835 was valued at $700,- 

 000. In 1845 its value was $1,300,000. In 1860 

 it could not be less than two millions of dollars 

 — more than the value of the wheat, oats, rye 

 and barley in the State, Such had been the re- 

 sults of pomological science in Massachusetts 

 that her exhibitions sustained the highest rank. 

 One gentleman who had had opportunity of judg- 

 ing said that he saw more choice fruit at one of 

 our exhibitions here than he saw at twenty in Eu 

 rope, where, as in Germany, the greatest encour- 

 agement had been given to pomology by the gov- 

 ernment. But great as was our credit here, it was 

 eclipsed by that of California and Oregon Terri- 

 tory, correspondence from which regions showed 



full share of attention, with respect to kinds 

 best suited to our soil, and to the most approved 

 manner of cultivation. We had among us many 

 varieties of pears adapted to our climate and soil, 

 and of these varieties the Bartlett, Vicar of 

 Winkfield, and others which he named, were well 

 adapted. 



The following were recommended as the six 

 best varieties of apples : — The Williams, Early 

 Bough, Gravenstein, Fameuse, Hubbardston, 

 Nonsuch and the Baldwin ; and if twelve varie- 

 ties were desired, the Red Astracan, Rhode Is- 

 land Greening, Ladies' Sweet, Porter and Tal- 

 man Sweet might be added. 



For pears on their own roots the following were 

 recommended as the best six : — The Bartlett, Ur- 

 baniste, Flemish Beauty, Belle Lucrative, Onon- 

 daga and Doyenne Boussock ; and if six were 

 desired on quince stocks, the Chairman recom- 

 mended the Louise bonne de Jersey, Urbaniste, 

 Duchesse d' Angouleme, Vicar of Winkfield, 

 Beurre d' Anjou and Glout Morceau. 



With regard to the conditions of proper cul- 

 tivation of fruits, no great success could ever at- 

 tend the labor of producing them unless it was 

 conducted with a care equal or superior to what 

 was spent on any other kind of production. One 

 of the primary and most essential conditions had 

 proved itself to be thorough draining, as through 

 its operation the more troublesome diseases and 

 parasitical affections were obviated. This thor- 

 ough drainage, Col. Wilder insisted, was an ab- 

 solute associate of success. He then made a few 

 remarks on the great necessity of keeping the 

 soils of orchards in a rich condition, by manur- 

 ing, and of planting the various descriptions of 

 trees in the soils best suited to them. He repu- 

 diated the fashion of adopting too many foreign 

 trees ; for, as a general principle, trees and plants 

 flourished better on the soil of their origin than 

 they did in localities foreign to them. Col. W. 

 recommended raising seedlings, as on them \ye 

 would ultimately have our surest dependence for 

 We had doubtlessly a 



that they were blessed with wonderful natural fa 



cilities for the growth of fruits of all kinds. Col. IgQod^ reliable fruit trees 



Wilder read a letter from a correspondent at number of fine fruits already native to the soil — 



Munroe, Oregon, stating that he had forwarded a 

 box containing an apple forty ounces in weight 

 and twelve others averaging a pound and a half 

 each ! Another correspondent from the same re- 

 gion informed him that ten millions of nursery 

 trees had been sold in Willimet Valley ; and Col. 

 W. added that at Washington, a few days ago, he 

 saw a pear from that place which weighed four 

 pounds ! Grapes, when their value was considered, 

 either as an article of luxury or commerce, had 

 important claims on attention in respect to the 

 best sorts to cultivate, and best modes of cultivat- 



at the head of which stood the Baldwin apple 

 of which 50,000 barrels were last fall exported, 

 from this city. At a late meeting at Rochester, 

 N. Y., the Baldwin had three marks of merit to 

 one for any other kind, and the others which re- 

 ceived the next highest commendations were the 

 Rhode Island Greening, the Russet and the 

 Tompkins' County King. Col. Wilder went on 

 to give the statistics of apple and peach culture 

 in the West and South, showing that it was much 

 more extensive than was generally believed. He 

 concluded by saying that he hailed with pleasure 



