1859. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



363 



ferred to my old neighbor and associate, Mr. 

 Bailey, of Wailuku, whom I had requested to 

 write you. On seein* it in print, I fear that 

 either Mr. Bailey or his friends will mistake my 

 meaning. I spoke of his having developed a 

 state of mind which foi-bids, I think, all hope of 

 his writing for any periodical. I should have al- 

 luded to the cause, failure of health, which af- 

 fected his mind, and I should have qualified my 

 hope of his writing for any periodical, by adding, 

 unless his health shall be restored. Just as 1 

 write of my own excellent wife at the present 

 time — she has developed a state of mind which 

 forbids her writing to her own relatives. With 

 Mr. Bailey I have lived many years on terms of 

 affectionate intercoui'se ; and I utterly deny hav- 

 ing written the paragraph from a wish of casting 

 a reflection on him as a man or a Christian; no 

 such thought entered my mind. He has lately 

 visited the United States, and I hear he is re- 

 turning to his island home in renewed health. 

 This I rejoice to hear, and I hope he will be 

 spared long to labor for his people and to aid in 

 developing the resources of the country. If you 

 think these letters worthy of being published, 

 please give your readers what I say of Mr. Bailey 

 in this closing communication, and greatly 

 oblige your unseen friend at Makawao. 



J. S. Green. 

 P. S. — I will give j'ou, if spared, something 

 more ere very long, concerning Pele, and the ef- 

 fects of the late disturbance on Hawaii from the 

 outpouring of the molten floods. Many from 

 Oahu and Maui had gone thither to gaze on the 

 wonderful displays of divine power now being 

 there exhibited. With respect yours, J. s. G. 



For the New England Farmer, 

 lilTTIiE THINGS: 



Or, a Walk in My Garden.... No. 18. 



I have been transplanting some tomatoes to- 

 day from the house to the garden. It has been 

 quite a little study with me to ascertain the best 

 method of starting different plants in the house, 

 and then transplanting them to the garden with- 

 out disturbing their roots. I have hit on a plan 

 partly original with me, or else I have forgotten 

 how I came by my knowledge of 



TRANSPLANTING PLANTS. 



Take common saucers, and fill them just full 

 with rich earth ; then cut circular slices of tur- 

 nip an inch in thickness, but not quite so large 

 over as the top of the saucer, cut a hole an inch 

 in diameter through the turnip, lay it on the 

 earth in the saucer, fill the hole with the same 

 soil as in the saucer, plant your seeds in the hole, 

 water the earth by pouring it into the saucer ; 

 capillary attraction will carry the water to the 

 plant. 



Now for the beauty of the thing ; when you 

 wish to transfer to the garden, prepare your hills, 

 and slip all the contents of the saucer with a 

 case-knife into the hill, slice down the turnip on 

 two sides, and let it remain, or take it away, as 

 you please. Squashes, cucumbers and melons 

 can be transplanted in this way without being 

 checked at all in their growth. The whole pro- 

 cess is so simple and so efifectual, that I recom- 



mend it with entire confidence. The turnip serves 

 to prop up the plant, while it prevents the evap- 

 oration of the water. You do less injury to the 

 plant by pouring the water into the saucer, than 

 by pouring it on the plant itself, while the fibrous 

 roots have so incorporated themselves with the 

 earth that it may be slid out of the saucers in a 

 mass. Try it next year. 



SPROUTING POTATOES. 

 I accidentally learned a new lesson the past 

 spring in sprouting potatoes. I put them into a 

 cask, and placed some earth on the top of them, 

 but did not mix it with them, and poured on a 

 little water and set them in a warm room. They 

 sprouted in a short time, and when ready to 

 plant, I sawed off the hoops and let the potatoes 

 out, when I found that although the sprouts were 

 quite long, the rootlets had not started at all, so 

 that I could place them in the hills without 

 breaking the sprouts, as is very apt to be the 

 case when they are sprouted in earth, where they 

 form a perfect matting of roots. 



PEAR AND APPLE TREES. 

 While walking in my garden the other day, I 

 was led to notice a half-dozen pear trees of as 

 many diff'erent kinds, that stood the winter per- 

 fectly well, while several seedling young apple 

 trees in the same situation were killed to the 

 ground. Why this in favor of the pear trees, I 

 cannot tell. 



GRAFTING. 



Apple trees that I grafted on a warm day, be- 

 fore the snow was off the gi-ound, have taken 

 finely, while those I grafted the last of April, 

 seem to have been aflfected by the extreme warm 

 weather the first of May. I believe there is no 

 danger of grafting apple trees, (I speak of large 

 trees,) as early in the spring as possible, provid- 

 ed there be weather sufficiently warm to make 

 the wax adhere to the trees.^. Such has been my 

 experience for ten years past. 'N. T. True. 



Bethel, Maine, 1859. 



For the New England Parmer. 



AW UNUSUAL PHENOMENON". 



Thursday, the 19th of May, was cloudy and 

 very threatening, a little rain falling at ten in 

 the forenoon, and at sunset. At sunset, there 

 was a very beautiful rainbow, the primary bow 

 continuing unbroken and very bright for about 

 fifteen minutes; but the secondary was quite dim. 

 Within the primary, were two distinct arches 

 of red, with a green one visible between them 

 at times. These arches, called in meteorology 

 supernumerary or supplementary bows, extended 

 the greater part of the length of the primary 

 bow, and were visible for ten minutes, even till 

 after the sun had passed below the horizon. — 

 This phenomenon is spoken of as occurring V(>ry 

 rarely by meteorologists. I have observed it but 

 twice before. On the 14th of August, 1857, there 

 was the most beautiful rainbow I ever witnessed, 

 occurring after a thunder shower. At about ten 

 minutes before sunset, these supernumerary bows 

 appeared, one after.another, till five were visible 

 in the highest part of the arch, within the primary 

 bow, continuing till after the sun was just below 

 the horizon. Those nearest the primary bow 



