1858. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



39 



and an ample supply of green food — chickweed, 

 gi'oundscl, Ralids of all sorts, and fruit in the sea- 

 son ; and plethnra may be kept in cheek effectual- 

 ly. I would allow a grain or two of hemp-seed 

 now and then from the master's or mistress's own 

 fingers, but only seldom, and as rewards for good 

 behavior. 



EXTBACT3 AND KEPLIES. 



A CURIOUS APPLE TKEE. 



In the garden of J. C. Stebbins, of Charles- 

 town, N. H., stands an apple tree that was graft 

 ed some fifteen years since, near the ground. It 

 has now a straight, handsome body, some six or 

 eight inches in diameter. It bears abundantly, 

 but what is singular, a part of the ajiples are yel 

 low Bellflowcrs, and a part English russetts. 



All over the tree may be seen bellflowers and 

 russetts gi'OM'ing upon the same limbs, often with 

 in a few inches of each other. I can account for 

 the phenomenon in no other way, than by sup- 

 posing the tree to have been cleft-grafted with 

 two scions, one a bellflower and the other a rus- 

 sett. The tree being small, the scions came in 

 contact and grew together. From this union the 

 top is formed, and, as I stated above, bears two 

 kinds of fruit upon the same branches. Should 

 any doubt the story, the tree stands there, "a liv- 



s witness !" j. R. w. 



Sprin^eld, Vt, Nov. 19, 1857. 



GETTING TREES BY CUTTINGS. 



I noticed in the Farmer of October 31, an 

 "Inquiry about Fruit Trees," by an "Honest Far- 

 mer Boy," the substance of which was, "does it 

 make any difference whether apple and pear cut- 

 tings, be planted in October or November, to pro- 

 cure fruit in five or six years ?" In my opinion, 

 it makes no difference in which month they are 

 planted, or whether they are planted at all. I 

 have been more or less engaged in propagating 

 fruit and fruit-trees for several years past, and 

 have tried many experiments with cuttings, with- 

 out success. If pear and apple trees could be 

 propagated by cuttings, nursery-men would have 

 found it out ere this, and adopted the plan. Yet 

 they raise their trees from seeds or by root-graft- 

 ing. J. R. W. 



THE CROW. 



Most farmers hate the crow, and give as a rea- 

 son that he pulls up the young corn, and that is 

 the only substantial reason that can be given. 

 For twenty years of my life, as a farmer, I think 

 I never had a peck of corn destroyed by the crow. 

 AVe may let our fields remain unprotected from 

 our cattle and they will destroy our crops, — place 

 a good fence about them and they are safe. I 

 have always found it as easy to protect my fields 

 of corn from the crow as from my cattle, by put-' 

 ting twine around the field. It is but a few days 

 that he does us any damage at all, but lie is al- 

 ways devouring that which will prevent disease. 

 I think there is a generation wiser than this to 

 come, that will impose a fine on any person that 

 destroys the crow. My boys obtained a young 

 crow last June which we completely tamed, and 

 found that he would eat almost anything rather 

 than corn in ita dry state ; and wto ever saw a 



crow destroying our corn in the fall ? My corn 

 was where they could get Avhat they pleased, but 

 seldom if ever did they disturb it. 



There is a singular circumstance respecting 

 our crow ; he seldom, if ever, left home unless 

 some of the family went with him ; but .ibout the 

 first of November, he suddenly disappeared ; we 

 supposed he was dead, killed by some evil-dis- 

 posed person ; but on Thursday, May 7, the first 

 that met my eye in the morning on going to my 

 barn was our crow, sitting on one of my maple 

 trees. He appeared as glad to see me as I was to 

 see him, rather shy at first, but in less than twen- 

 ty-four hours the boys had their hands on him ; 

 on Saturday he went with us to the field and saw 

 us plant corn, and soon became as tame as he was 

 before he left. He was gone over six months, and 

 then returned. Does the crow go South in cold 

 weather? A Subscriber. 



Ware, Mass. 



Remarks. — This communication was mislaid 

 with some other papers, or it would have been 

 published before. The crow is not, like the swal- 

 low, a migrating bird, but has its own locality 

 where it probably passes its life. The crow, howev- 

 er has great power of wing, and often travels con- 

 siderable distances in search of food, probably 

 fifty miles at once in order to reach the seashore, 

 or the margin of large rivers. 



CARROTS. 



The best crops of this vegetable I have seen the 

 present season were grown by Daniel Buxton, Jr., 

 of South Danvers, 16 tons, on a lot of 75 rods of 

 land ; and 15^ tons on one-half an acre, by E. 

 Brown, of Marblehead. Most of the crops in 

 Essex county have fallen short of expectation 

 nearly one-third. P. 



November 19, 1857. 



STOCKS FOR DWABF PEARS, 



Is it generally kno-n-n that the Ameloncliier 

 Canadensis is a good stock for dwarfing the pear? 

 I know that it is so, and was induced to try it by 

 reading Emerson's report on Woody Plants of 

 Massachusetts, page 443. It is the shad bush or 

 planting bush of the aborigines. s. T., JR. 



Swampscott , Mass. 



A FINE APPLE. 



The large and very beautiful apple sent by Mr. 

 Charles Newcomb, of Quincy, is new to us ; it 

 does not come uj) to the term of best, in flavor, 

 but is far better than a great many varieties cul- 

 tivated. 



LAWTON blackberry. 



J. A. F., of North Clarendon, Vt., will proba- 

 bly obtain the information he wants by consult- 

 ing our advertising columns next March or April. 



PROFITS OF SHEEP. 



Will "P. J.," Randolph, Vermont, please send 

 his whole address to A. Littlefield, Boston, who 

 desires some commumcation with him on the 

 subject? 



