1859. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



169 



tree from year to year. In March, April and 

 May, the sap is in the thin condition ; by the 

 middle of June it has become thicker, is a differ- 

 ent substance, and a wound judiciously made 

 during a month from that time will rarely bleed. 

 After a very happy allusion to the domestic, so- 

 cial, and moral advantages of a taste for horti- 

 culture, floriculture and pomology, the chair- 

 man closed, and invited other gentlemen to 

 speak. 



Mr. Lake, of Topsfield, was called upon, and 

 made some practical observations on the culture 

 of cranberries, strawberries and blackberries. 

 They generally coincided with those of the Pres- 

 ident. In relation to pruning apple trees, Mr. 

 Lake thought the greatest evil was priming too 

 much by the knife, and through suffering cattle 

 to do the duty without any rule, which was too 

 often the case. Cutting ofl" of heavy limbs was 

 always imprudent, as decay and disease was a 

 general consequence. July and August were the 

 best times for pruning apple trees. Mistakes 

 had been grossly made in the way by pruning 

 pear trees ; the nearer their natural condition 

 tiiey could be kept the better and more liberal 

 the produce. In regard to dwarf pears espe- 

 cially, this rule should not be innovated, Mr. 

 Lake went on to demonstrate that fruit grown 

 beyond a certain altitude on a pear, or any oth- 

 er tree, was not so good as that grown lower. 

 Fruit too much exposed to the sun, which was 

 one consequence of too much pruning, was never 

 BO good, or so sound, as that grown under con- 

 ditions where nature had her own way in pro- 

 tecting it from undue injury from storm and hot 

 sunshine. Mr. Lake wound up by attacking the 

 rage for planting what he called fancy sorts of 

 apple and pear trees, and commended only such 

 as were well known for their bearing and hardy 

 properties. 



Senator Metcalf, of Worcester, spoke of 

 cranberry culture — the great ease with which it 

 could be accomplished, and the profitableness of 

 its culture. He spoke of an acre of ground that 

 produced $500 in value. One person he knew 

 strove to sell a meadow of his for $500 an acre ; 

 but recently, the produce of the same meadow 

 gave him $700 to $800 yearly. This was only a 

 small portion of a farm that cost originally 

 $1700. Cranberry lands in Worcester county 

 were assessed higher than any other lands, on ac- 

 count of their productiveness. Careful cultiva- 

 tion had recently greatly improved the quality of 

 the cranberry. 



Dr. Carpenter, of Warren, spoke of the 

 peach, which, he said, was a native of Persia, and 

 in its native state was very poisonous, on ac- 

 count of its containing much prussic acid. It 

 was also bitter; and cultivation alone had 



brought it to its present very improved state. 

 What had been done for it could, he supposed, 

 be done for many wild fruits of native character, 

 which were more permanent in their existence 

 than the peach, which was short-lived. 



Mr. Hinckley, of Barnstable, made a few obser- 

 vations on cranberry culture on the Cape. The 

 prevailing idea in that district was, that the lands 

 on which it was grown should be flowed during 

 winter, and until June ; and wherever facilities 

 were favorable, this had been the practice. So 

 soon as the vine was exposed to the atmosphere, 

 the flower was subject to be attacked by a worm. 

 As soon as this was observed, the custom was to 

 reflow the land, when the worm was killed. This 

 was the secret of success in some instances. One 

 gentleman had taken $600 worth off a small lot 

 whose facilities for flowage were good. Another 

 had six acres, for the crop of which he had been 

 offered $1,000 ; but the worms came, and no op- 

 portunity having existed for flowage, they des- 

 troyed the crop, so that he had only two or three 

 bushels. In view of these facts, Mr. Hinckley 

 thought that, unless facilities for flowage were 

 always at command, the propriety of growing this 

 crop was questionable. 



Messrs. Hinckley, Lake, and other gentlemen, 

 discussed the subject of raking cranberries, as it 

 related to the injury of the plants, or the contrary. 

 Opinions were in direct conflict ; one party up- 

 holding the fact that damage was the consequence 

 of raking, and another, that the stirring it gave 

 the plants conduced to their healthier growth. 



Mr. Wetherell spoke in favor of taking 

 scions for grafting from young trees, and quoted 

 instances in favor of this position. He also allud- 

 ed to the matter of pruning ; holding that it ought 

 to be done intermediately, between the time of 

 the production of the fruit and the growth of the 

 wood. Further, he wished it to be noted that 

 the rules of pruning as laid down in England were 

 not generally applicable in this country. 



Hon. Richard S. Fay commended pruning in 

 the months of September (the latter portion of 

 it,) and October, as otherwise disease and de- 

 cay would almost certainly ensue. His experi- 

 ence extended over some time, and included the 

 treatment of some thousands of trees, and such 

 had been its teachings. As to the cranberry, he 

 thought it could not be safely cultivated unless 

 there was a privilege of flowage always at hand. 



There will be no meeting until a week from 

 Monday, when Ex-Gov. Boutwell will preside, 

 and the subject will be — ^'Market and Agricultu- 

 ral Fairs." 



Soap for Chapped Hands, &c. — Take one 

 bar of yellow soap ; cut it up small ; add to it 

 the gall of a beef; put it over the fire until ihe 

 soap is entirely melted ; (a farina kettle is most 



