422 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Sept. 



the side of the valley below. Above us, fire had 

 done its work of destruction, and the bodies of 

 the scattered spruce forest were strewed over the 

 barren and broken rocks, far above the rich foli- 

 age of the valley below. But where did these 

 monarchs of the forest grow? There was no 

 soil save here and there a crevice, filled by the 

 torrent formed by some mighty shower; and 

 carried from the realms above. Here, perhaps, 

 the lightnings of heaven have spent their fury, 

 and sent their thunderbolts among this rocky 

 mass. 



Ascending about half way up the rocky emi- 

 nence, and looking down, we saw one of the 

 pigmy inhabitants of jhis lower world, travelling 

 down the mountain turnpike in a one-horse bug- 

 gy. Huge rocks grew steeper at every step ; we 

 clung to the decaying arms of the giant but pros- 

 trate spruce, and climbed the rotten trunks over 

 the rocky defile. At last the summit of Mount 

 Horrid was beneath our feet. With a telescope 

 we saw farms and farm-houses, scattered far to 

 the eastward, while in the distance lay the im- 

 posing outline of the White Mountains of Nevv 

 Hampshire. South of us, and across a deep val- 

 ley, stood another mountain of equal height with 

 Mount Horrid, clothed in the most beautiful fo- 

 liage. The woodman's axe had apparently never 

 rang through its solitudes, and its beautiful foli- 

 age will prol)ably bloom there for many years to 

 come. 



The rocks are of a coarse, granular texture, 

 composed of several ingredients, of which silica 

 is one of the principal ; liornblende and felspar, 

 I think, enter into its composition, with a very 

 minute o,uantity of mica. They appear to be un- 

 stratiiied, metamorphic rocks, ground down to 

 small particles, and again cemented in a solid 

 form. Here was a delightful region for a bota- 

 nist. Thousands of wild flowers beautified the 

 scene, and such a carpet of soft, velvety moss, 

 does not exist in the lower regions of earth. 

 This might with propriety be called the region 

 of moss, for it was the most luxuriant growth I 

 ever saw. It was above the region of maples, 

 and the principal growth of timber was spruce 

 and birch, with a small variety of shrubbery. I 

 gathered a few wild flowers, promiscuously, for 

 samples, but they were dead and withered before 

 I arrived at home. As near as I can judge from 

 the withered specimens, the little modest flower 

 dedicated to the immortal Linnaeus shone con- 

 spicuously upon Mount Horrid — the Linnea Bo- 

 realis or twin flower. It is the flrst time, I think, 

 I ever saw this little modest flower, and it brought 

 to mind the memory of the celebrated founder of 

 the Linniean system of botany. 



I left the summit of Mount Horrid about 

 three, P. M., and wended my way in a south- 

 westerly direction, toward the foot of the moun- 

 tain. When part way down, I came to an open- 

 ing in the forest, where with the telescope I had 

 a splendid view of the landscape far to the west- 

 ward. Yonder, in the distance, lay Lake Cham- 

 plain, with its bright and shining waters, like a 

 long white ribbon of silvery brightness, stretched 

 on the verdant la'idscape, while nearer lay Lem- 

 onfiine, like a bright gem, amid the surrounding 

 seen' ry of green foliage. In the far-off distance 

 .ay the blue and rugged forms of the Adirondack 

 Mouiitains, whose lofty summits have an impos- 



ing look, as they lay piled up beneath the dark 

 canoply of heaven. Long ere this the sky was 

 overcast with clouds, the token of an approach- 

 ing storm, which had gathered gradually through 

 the day. They wore a smooth aspect, like the 

 approaching nimbus, but did not entirely obscuie 

 tbe sun, when I left our beautiful station on the 

 mountain's side. I then started homeward, but be- 

 fore I arrived, a few sweet drops fell in advance 

 of the ajjproaching storm. My journey was de- 

 ightf'ul, l)ut far too short to study into the mys- 

 teries of nature. Every flower had but a pass- 

 ing notice, and every rock a cursory examina- 

 tion. My time was far too short for the purposes 

 of scientific investigation. D. Buckland. 



Brandon, Vt., 18o9. 



THE NIGHT BEFORE THE MOWING. 



All shimmering in the morning shine. 



And diamonded with dew, 

 And (juivering wiili the scented wind 



Tl)at thrills its green heart through — 

 The little field, the smiling flelil 



With all its flowers a-blowing. 

 How happy looks the golden field I 



The day before the mowing ! 



And s'ill 'neath the departing light — 



Twilii;ht — though void of stars. 

 Save where, low westering, Venus sinks 



From the red eye of Mars ; 

 Huw p. aceful sleeps the silent field, 



With all its beauties glowing, 

 Half s'irring— like a child in dreams — 



The night before the mowing. 



Sharp steel, inevitable hand, 



Cut keen — cut kind ! Our field 

 We know full well must be laid low 



Before it fragrance yield. 

 Plenty and mirth, and honest gain 



Its blameless death bestowing — 

 And yet we wtep, and yet we weep, 



The night before the mowing ! 



For tlic New England Farmer. 



A NON-BEARING ORCHARD. 



I suspect, Mr. Editor, that your correspondent 

 "E.,"' who complains, in the Farmer of July 16 

 that his thrifty orchard of apple trees docs not 

 come into fruit-bearing, is like too many fruit- 

 growers — too impatient. If his trees are, as he 

 says, twelve inches in diameter on twelve years' 

 growth, they are, indeed, very thrifty trees, and 

 the reason why they do not bear is to me very 

 plain, llmi are making wood, instead of mak- 

 ing frtiit. When they have come to ih* ir growth, 

 or nearly so, they will bear all the better for not 

 bearing now. It is the opinion of experienced 

 nursery men, and I fully coincide with it, that 

 early fruiting is, as a general rule, an indication 

 of disease in a tree. Some varieties, it is true, 

 come into bearing earlier than others, without 

 showing indications of disease, but, as a general 

 thing, early bearing trees are smaller in size at 

 maturity, and shorter lived, than those of more 

 tardy development of fruit-bearing qualities. It 

 is often the case that a young apple or pear tree 

 will "take to fruiting" for a number of years, and 

 for the time, nearly cease its growth of wood ; 

 then it will stop fruiting, "take to growing," and 



