1859. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



279 



Fur the New England Farmer. 

 APPIjES-.-'WH SAT— PEARS. 



Mr. Editor: — Doubtless you have heard of 

 a small town out here among the hills and moun- 

 tains, called Lyndeborouf^h. On the eastern 

 boundary of the town we have a romantic spot 

 called Purgatory. Hundreds of people visit the 

 place yearly, and they make the liill!^ and woods 

 resound with shouts both loud and clear. A 

 short distance from this place, can be seen a lit- 

 tle old house, a good barn, and as thrifty an 

 orchard as can be found in these parts, accord- 

 ing to the care and attention which it has re- 

 ceived. This latter place is the rural home of 

 your humble servant. If ever you come into 

 these parts, call, and you shall be welcomed and 

 shown the wonders and curiosities of Purgatory. 

 At some future time, I will, with your permis- 

 sion, furnish you with a written history of this 

 Purgatory of the woods. We have as good farms 

 and farmers as are to be f )und in any section of 

 the State. The soil is hard and rocky, but -when 

 subdued by the liborer's arm, it affords a large 

 profit to the husbandman. 



Two facts : Mr. Holt shows by figures, that his 

 profit per acre on wheat is $35,33. He also 

 raised, last season, 30 pears, on a small tree 

 which was seven years from the seed. The 30 

 pears weighed 25 lbs. The soil and climate are 

 peculiarly adapted to raising corn, wheat and 

 other English grain, vegetables and fruit, espe- 

 cially the apple. Of the apple, over $1000 worth 

 last fall were sent to market from this town. 

 Farmers are waking up and taking hold of the 

 business of fruit culture in earnest. They are 

 renovating their old orchards and setting out a 

 large number of small trees. Many have set out, 

 during the past ten years from 10 to 300 young 

 apple trees. A few cry out, "you will glut the 

 market — apples wilj not be worth raising — no 

 sale." Such do not stop to consider how small 

 a portion of the world they themselves inhabit, 

 and that they live on a soil that is well adapted 

 to growing fruit which is remarkable for its long 

 keeping qualities, beauty of form and high flavor. 

 A few farmers here are cont'U'edto follow in 

 the footsteps of their grandfathers, and year af- 

 ter year, gather natural fruit from their trees and 

 convert it into cider — not realizing, that if their 

 trees were grafted and well taken care of, they 

 would yield them ten-fold more profit than now. 



Lyndeborouyh, N. II., 1S59. L. G. Broavn. 



For the New England Farmer. 



THE SEASON IN" IOWA. 



This has been the wettest winter and spring 

 ever known in Iowa. A gentleman lately told 

 me that he had seen twenty-two Marches in 

 Iowa, and that there had been more rain during 

 the last, than in all the others together, except 

 March, 185S, which was also wet. It continues 

 to rain and snow in April, thus far, as much as 

 in March. The ground is perfectly saturated. 

 From, six inches to three feet of water in almost 

 everybody's cellar. Scarce a blade of grass, or 

 other green thing, ventures to show itself. Last 

 night it cleared off with a very strong and cold 

 wind, and we awoke with frost on our windows. 



The farmers are, of course, sorely tried. There 

 has t)een no suitable time to sow their wheat, or 

 prepare the ground, which is generally done in 

 February and March. But there is a glorious 

 promise on record, and time enough yet for its 

 fulfillment. 



The accounts of returning prosperity at the 

 East do not hi Ip us any, at present ; except to 

 encourage the hope that it may reach us, some- 

 time. VVe do not look for entire relief in one 

 year, with never so good crops. Property is very 

 greatly depreciated ; and those who are in debt, 

 are in a sad case. 



Many are joining the insane caravan for Pike's 

 Peak. Teams go by here by the dozen, some 

 days. Good will come, no doubt, of this move- 

 ment, in the future ; but at what cost ? Suffer- 

 ing and disappointment to nine-tenths of those 

 who go expecting to get rich and happy ! 



Your readers will think that I love to write in 

 a lugubrious strain. I don't ; but lam bound to 

 tell the truth. Perhaps the whole tnUh would re- 

 quire me to add, which I do very cheerfully and 

 thankfully, that this is a rich and glorious country, 

 after all. VYe have remarkable health ; and if we 

 only had a few more of your conveniences, and a 

 few more right, honest, industrious and Christian 

 people, we should be about as well off as this 

 mundane sphere will admit. M. K. C. 



Tipton, Iowa, April 14, 1859. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 DOYENNE PEAR. 



In a criticism on Col. Wilder's list cf pears, 

 the writer, I apprehend, is mistaken in consider- 

 ing the Doyenne Gris and the Boussock to be 

 identical with the St. Michael; the Boussock is 

 an entirely distinct variety; and as for the Doy- 

 enne Gris, all I can say is, that this fruit remained 

 fair with me for many years, while the St. Mi- 

 chael, particularly upon the pear root, cracked 

 and blasted. At this time my neighbor Manning 

 commended the Doyenne Gris as the best substi- 

 tute for the St. jNIichael. In a recent article 

 which I forwarded for the Farmer, I remarked 

 that Rogers is the only writer who has given us 

 scarcely anything as to the importance of soil for 

 the various kinds of pears. I would say, farther, 

 that from the "New England Book of Fruits," 

 which I published some years since in connection 

 with Mr. Manning, down to the recent work by 

 Field, there has been but little on this desidera- 

 tum of soil, for with the exception of the Bartlett, 

 there are few varieties, if any, that fruit equally 

 well in all good soils. It is remarkable how the 

 Bartlett will assimilate itself to almost all soils 

 and localities ; more so than almost any other 

 fruit, not excepting the apple. I hear of its fruit- 

 ing well throughout the country. J. M. I. 



Salem, Mass., April, 1859. 



Hogs in Ohio. — We learn from an exchange 

 that the number of hogs in Ohio, six months old 

 and over, on the first day of April, 1858, were 

 2,554,914. In 1857, there were 2,333,778, thus 

 showing an increase of 223,136 in the year This 

 prosperity should make that State bristle up. 



