238 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



Teh. », 1832. 



in it the least aptitude to iiiteitial changes, such 

 as fermentation, or any change or state of the saj) 

 or juices. My reasons for this remark, are, in short 

 that every change of this sort is a ste]) towards 

 decomposition, the decay following dealli : that if 

 tliis be prevented, the wpod is in a state of absolute 

 ]irescrvation, in which it retains all possible lifo, 

 tliat is, life as timber, spoken of above. And 

 these remarks are founded no less on experience, 

 than on theory, general reasoning. Wood, in 

 which acetous fermentation has once commenced, 

 90 as to give it a sour smell, loses much of its 

 weight, strength of fibre, elasticity, and toughness ; 

 is even injured, very much for fuel ; and is totally 

 uniit for timber, in any case, or in any that has 

 come under my observation. The time, then, to 

 cut wood of all kinds, either for fuel or timber, is, 

 when it will have the least liability to this destruct- 

 ive process, a direct step towards decom])osition, 

 alisolute rottenness. And that time, I apprehend, 

 will be found to be when there is not only the 

 smallest possible quantity of sap in the wood, or 

 juices of any sort, but when what there may be, is 

 in its least degree of fluidity. This stale of the 

 sap occurs either when the new concentric ring of 

 the year is about to be, or is just formed; or in the 

 shortest days of winter, or in its greatest intensity 

 of long continued cold. There is, in the sap of 

 some kinds of trees, an abundance of saccharine 

 matter, the main cause of fermentation, ami of 

 what is called ' powder post,' at some periods of 

 each year, and almost none, or very little, at other 

 periods. The common walnut abounds in lliis, 

 while the sap is thin, and active, but has none in 

 its juices just after the new ring of wood of the 

 year is formed. If cut then, and stripped of its 

 bark, it never ferments, or gives out a sour smell, 

 and the wood never is assailed by the little worms 

 that cause ' powder post,' a common disease of 

 this invaluable wood, for many uses. In 1801, 

 or 2, the writer of these Nos. directed a cooper 

 who complained that his 'truss hoops' were all 

 powder-post, worthless, to adopt this idea in the 

 preparation of the walnut for that use; and he has 

 repeatedly told rac, years afterwards, that such 

 timber remained perfectly sound, of uncommon 

 firmness, aud life, as he called it. I Iiave 

 had many such evidences, aud all "ith Uke re- 

 sults. 



We do not seem sufficiently aware of the range 

 of expansion and contraction of green and growing 

 wood, or tlie cvtelrt of variation in bulk, expanded 

 and contracted by heat and cold. When occupy- 

 ing the least space, the wood is of coarse most 

 dense aud compact, and it has then its least 

 possible quantity of sap in it. More than 50 years 

 ago, my father had occasion for a barn floor, for 

 use in the winter, the British having been so man- 

 aged that the farmers of the north could return to 

 their farms, on doing which his was destitute of a 

 barn floor. In the depth of winter, as the oidy 

 alternative, he cut down — felled, as the pa])er 

 farmers say, large red oak trees, had then sawed 

 into 9| inch plank, and laid his floor, perfectly 

 green, expecting to lay them over again when 

 they got seasoned and shrunk, as he supposed 

 they would do. This was all done in the severest 

 cold of a northern winter, and that floor has never 

 yet been overhauled, nor have the planks ever 

 opened a seam ! The sap was all in its ' winter 

 quarters,' in the roots, under the blanketing of the 

 muck, and of course could not be in the tree 

 which was then compacted into its smallest possi- 



ble space. — The hoo])s of winter, in those days, 

 were driven with tremendous force. 



From all these considerations, and facts, — I 

 could cite nniltitudes of similar facts, — I come to 

 the conclusion, that the proper time to cut wood, 

 for limber, is when the sap is least in quantity in 

 such wood, and when this is least likely to lead to 

 fermentation. The more of saccharine matter it 

 has in it, the more likely it is to lead to this pro- 

 cess, as well as, generally, the more sap. The 

 sugar maple, which abounds in this quality, if cut 

 immediately after the growth of wood of the year 

 and stripped of its bark, becomes even very dur- 

 able as fence-posts, if not set till thoroughly 

 seasoned. The same is true also of the hemlock, 

 and several other kinds of wood, but they nuist 

 be well seasoned, before being set in the ground 

 as all fence posts should be. Charring is good, 

 but perfect seasoning is better, though this is 

 digi-ession. I should have said, also, that when 

 wood occupies its least possible span, is a good 

 time to cut it, both for fuel and tind>er, of 

 which I have adduced, I think, ])retty good evi- 

 dence. My object, however, is more to call 

 attention to observation, and thought, than to 

 assume the oflice of a teacher, for which I have 

 not the vanity to think myself quali/ied. 



sf3w asT^aiisriD iJiiasiasja 



Boston, Wednesday Evening, Feb. 8, 1832 



ITEMS OF HUSBANDRY FROM VARIOUS 

 SOURCES. 



Prepared by the Editor. 



An account of a welhod of ohiaining very early 

 crops of ^reen Peas. By Thomas Andrf.w 

 Knight, Esq. F. R. S. Sfc. Pres. of the Lond. 

 Hoii. Soc. 



Mr Knight having a heap of oak leaves unem- 

 ployed, which had been collected for the jjurposc 

 of making hot-beds, for melons, had them formed 

 into a bed in the nfiddle of January, iiUo which 

 pots of about 9 inches in diameter, were placed, 

 at the distance of about one foot from centre to 

 centre. In each of these pot.s a couple of dozen 

 peas were put in a circular row, and around them 

 was planted a row of slender twigs, a foot above 

 the surface of the mould. In the middle of 

 March they had become 14 inches high, aud near- 

 ly in contact with the glass roof, which had been 

 previously raised a little. They were then trans- 

 ferred to the open border, leaving an interval of 

 9 inches between each pot of plants ; some 

 manure was given, and numerous sticks were 

 employed to afford them some degree of shelter. 

 This removal did not appear to injme them in any 

 degree, and in the end of March many of their 

 blossoms were so far advanced that they shed their 

 pollen. On the second of April, a very severe 

 frost occurred, with a considerable fall of snow, 

 which however, did not seriously injure them, 

 although in a high and cold situation ; and on the 

 aOth of April some of the pods were about an 

 inch and a half long, and were at least three 

 weeks earlier than any Mr Knight had ever been 

 previously able to raise. 



Packins; Acorns for Transportation. — A writer 

 for the American Farmer, with the signature 

 'N. II.' says that in order to secure the growing of 

 acorns sent abroad, they ought to be packed in sand, 

 moss, or any other substance likely to keep them 



from drying, and this ought to be done very soon, 

 say within two or three weeks at farthest after , 

 they have been gathered. Without this precau- ] 

 tion not ten in a thousand will vegetate. This is 

 the case with many other kinds of seed, such as 

 chesnuts, walnuts, and other oily nuts. For want 

 of atteuticn to this object the kind intentions of 

 many persons are frequently defeated. 



Operations for accelerating vegetation. — Quick- 

 ening vegetation by the form of suri'ace consists 

 in forming beds or banks in an east and west 

 direction, and sloping to the south, forming an 

 angle with the horizon, which, in garden soils, 

 cannot well exceed 45 degrees, because if made 

 more steep, the soil would be apt to crumble and 

 roll down. On beds so formed early sown crops, 

 such as radishes, peas, turnips, lettuce, broccoli, 

 &c, will come much earlier, and suftbr less from 

 severe weather than those on a level smface. The 

 north sides of such beds or ridges may be used 

 for ret.irdiug vegetation, when it is wished to bring 

 crops to maturity late in the season. 



Hastening vegetation by shelter and exposure to 

 the sun, is the quickest and probably only primi- 

 tive mode of accelerating the vegetation of ])lants ; 

 and hence one of the objects for which walls and 

 hedges are introduced in gardens. A May-Duke 

 cherry, trained against a south wall, and anoth- 

 er tree of the same species, in the open com- 

 partment of a sheltered garden were found on 

 an average of years to dift'er a fortnight in the 

 ripening of their fruit. In cold, damp, cloudy 

 seasons, they were nearly on a par ; but in dry 

 warm seasons, those on the v^all were sometimes 

 fit to be gathered three weeks before the others. 

 It may here be remarked that though in cloudy 

 seasons those on the wall did not rijien before the 

 others; yet ifeir flavor was, in such seasons better 

 than that of the others, probably from the com- 

 parative dryness of their situation. 



Accelerating by soils is eflfected by manures of 

 all sorts, especially by what are called hot and 

 stinuilating manures and composts, such as pigeons'' 

 dung for cucund)ers, blood for vines ; ' and in 

 general as to soils, lime, rubbish, sand and gravel, 

 seem to have the power of accelerating vegetation, 

 to a mucli greatt^r degree than rich clayey or 

 loiuny soils, or bog or peat earth. 



Acceleration by previous preparation of the 

 plant is a method of considerable importance, 

 whether taken alone or in connexion with other 

 modes of acceleration. It has long been observ- 

 ed by cultivators, that early ripened crops of onions 

 and potatoes, sprout, or give signs of vegetation, 

 more early next season than late ripened crops. 

 The same has been observed of bulbs of flowers 

 which have been forced, which will grow nuich ear- 

 lier next season than those which have been grown 

 in the open air. It was reserved to T. A. Knight, 

 however, to turn this to actount in the forcing of 

 fruit trees, as related in a paper, accompanied as 

 usual by what renders all the papers of that emin- 

 ent horticulturist so truly valuable, a rationale of 

 the practice. 



' The period which any species or variety of 

 fruit will require to attain maturity, under any 

 given degrees of temperature, and exposure to the 

 influence of light in the forcing-house will be reg- 

 ulated to a much greater extent than is generally 

 imagined, by the previous management and 

 consequent state of the tree, when that is first 

 subjected to the operation of artificial heat. Every 



