318 



frigate for the very important services reiulcrcd 

 liis son. The frigate visited one of ilie West In- 

 dia islands before she returned to Engliuid, and 

 the horse liaving been put on shore fnr exercise, 

 fell over some timbers in a lumber-yard and broke 

 three- of liis legs. In this state be was given to 

 tlie captain of a Connecticut vessel, who bound up 

 his fractured limbs, brought iiim to this country, 

 and succeeded in putting him on a goo<l footing. 

 The horse was known in Connecticut as the Ran- 

 ger, and in Virgiida as Lindsey's Arabian. 



GODOLPHIN. 



FOR THE NEV 



*D FARMER. 



DESTRUCTION OF FRUIT TREES. 



Ma FessemdeiN — I have been repeatedly applied 

 to by cultivators, since the ascertainment of the 

 deep and extensive injm-y to fruit trees during the 

 late disastrous winter, for advice as to the course 

 to be pursued in a case so singular, and, as I be- 

 lieve, wholly unexampled in this country or in 

 Europe, I have no doubt, that the destruction 

 occasioned liy the late winter, whatever may be 

 the causes of it, is as wholly new as the Asiatic 

 cholera, which is spreading itself throughout the 

 world. I have been extremely embarrassed by 

 these applications for advice, as much so as medi- 

 cal men seem to be as to this new disease so 

 alarming to human life. It would be the highest 

 presumption for one so conscious of his own ig- 

 norance, to undertake to give advice in such a 

 new and unexampled case. But there are certain 

 general rules and principles, and certain fads 

 which are of more moment than rules, because 

 they lie at the foundation of all sound practice, 

 which may guide us in this case. 



The mischief, in the present instance, has been 

 extended to trees and plants which have for two 

 hundred years, uniformly eudirred the severity of 

 the climate of Massachusetts. The peach tree is 

 the only exception. I think it may be affirmed of 

 the tender varieties of that tree, that it suffers from 

 frost in our Massachusetts climate, more or less 

 faiidly, in about one year in five. It suffers from 

 other causes more frequently, and I think, I haz- 

 ard nothing in saying, from fortyfour years' per- 

 sonal experience, that a good crop of tine and per- 

 fect peaches cannot be fairly relied upon, in more 

 than one year out of four. Ilappilv, the rapid 

 growth of that tree and its early coming into bear- 

 ing, is some recompense for its great tenderness. 



But although the hardier fruit trees have always 

 withstood the severity of our winters, we have at 

 all times had among us trees and plants of a more 

 delicate and tender nature, which frequently suffer 

 by our too severe climate, such are the Madeira 

 nut or English walnut, the Bignonia, Catalpa, the 

 Bignonia raflicans, and many others. These are 

 often deeply and seriously affected by our winters, 

 and the treatment applied to them may be some 

 guide as to the course to be piu-sued with the 

 peach, nectarine, apricot, plum, pear, and apple, 

 in the i)resent disastrous condition of these trees. 

 Now, what is the most judicious course in such 

 cases? Not to prune before the tree shows the 

 e.'stent of the injury done to it. When the buds 

 break, (if they shall break, which is this year 

 doubtful in many cases,) to prune back to the first 

 vigorous and healthy shoot ; to disregard all feeble ] 

 shoots which have a sickly appearance; to cut oflf 

 fearlessly all limbs, however large, which exhibit 

 the appearance of decline or feebleness ; to en- i 



NEW ENG LAND FARMi:il, 



courage only those shoots which give promise of 

 future vigor ; to abandon the wish to preserve the 

 next year's fruit, at the expense of several years' 

 disease. 



I am well aware that these rules arc loose and 

 so are all general rules. The good sense and 

 sound judgment of each individual must govern 

 at last. But this I would say, that where the new- 

 shoots are feeble, the bolder the jiriming the great- 

 er will be the success. I infer this from experi- 

 ence as to semi-hardy plants, which suffer every 

 winter with ns. Agricola. 



Boston, March 31, 1832. 



Note lo the nbove. 



Curious and anomalous facts for the consideration 

 of philosophical fanners. 



1. The semi-hardy plants have stood the 

 late winter better than the hardy ones. The 

 Magnolias, the Calicanthus florida, the -Bignonia 

 Catalpa, have not sufflsred ; while the roses of the 

 hardiest descri])lions have been cut down to the 

 surface. The Maclure Aurantiaca of the Arkan- 

 sas, has not suffered. 



2. The slightest possible protection has secur- 

 ed plants, though the ground under that protec- 

 tion has had eighte<-n inches of frost. 



3. Potatoes have been dug up at four inches 

 depth, in a finer and fresher state than those gath- 

 ered and stored in cellars. 



These certainly are curious facts ; that they are 

 facts, the readers of this article may be assured. 

 They are not exceptions; they are nearly universal 

 on my estate. How are they to be ex[)lained ? 

 First, then, as to the i)lants of southern climates ; 

 they lost their leaves and soon after all their cir- 

 cidation.s, early in October ; cohl which was not 

 hurtfid to the pear leaf, was death to them ; their 

 Inids were cased in their wintry coating; thev 

 were not moved by the comparatively in\iting but 

 chilly warmth of November. Simide cold is rarely 

 destructive to a thoroughly well ri[)ened stalk or 

 bud. Hence all the Magnolias, the Calicauthas 

 and Biffuonias having no freexahle fluids in their 

 vessel.s, escapcfl ; while the ap])le, p(\-u-, cherrv 

 and i)each, continuing in a state of circulation till 

 the tremendous cold of early December, perished. 

 Such is my fancy. 



2d and 3d. As to the two other facts referred 

 to, they have often excited my astonishment ; they 

 are not new but perfectly familiar to most of us. 

 They have never been ex[)lained, and what is sin- 

 gular, there never has been (so far as I know) even 

 an attempt at explaining them. They seem to 

 me to have been abandoned, as among the facts 

 above, or beyond our reach, as much so as the 

 cause of vitality and heal in animals and vegeta- 

 bles. It is undoubtedly owing to some power 

 like that which preserves animal heat in living 

 bodies, when dead flesh will freeze solid ; but we 

 are ignorant of the cause. That a potato should 

 be kept fresh, when the ground is frozen one foot 

 below it, is a matter, though certain, above our 

 reach. 



SEEDING. 



There are a great variety of opinions concern- 

 ing the time and mflnner of seeding lands with the 

 different kinds of cultivated grasses, as also with 

 regard to the grasses theioselves. Our object at 

 this time is not to combat those various opinions, 

 knowing that many fanners are in the practice of 



Anril 18, 1832.- 



sowing their grass seeds in the lettar jiart of win- 

 ter, while yet sufficient snow remains upon the 

 ground to indicate where it has been sown and 

 where not. 



With regard to tlie varieties of grass seed which 

 are the most profitable, much depends upon the 

 soil u[)on which it is to be sown. In wet or low 

 grounds where they are unfit for ploughing, the 

 common red-toji, mixed with timothy grass (Phleum 

 pratense) is found to be very profitable, making a 

 tough and even surface, and enduring many years- 

 wiihout decreasing in (|ualily or quantity. There 

 is a material advantage to the farmer in having 

 some of this kind of mowing ground, that is, the 

 red-top does not arrive at perfection imtil after 

 wheat harvest, which enables him to cut more hay 

 with fewer hands ; but red-top should never be 

 sown on lands intended for ploughing, as it is very 

 diffii-idt 10 sididue, and the sods i-emaining green, 

 are apt to render the surface uneven when it is 

 again stocked down. For plough lauds, under a 

 proper rotation of crops, we believe Ujere are no- 

 grasses so generally apjnoved as timothy and red 

 cloM-r (Trifolium pratense.) These two grasses- 

 combine the properties of making excellent hay,, 

 and restoring strength to the soil ; for the last pur- 

 l)ose, red clover is better calculated than any other 

 grass in conunon cultivation, as from the shape and 

 construction of the leaves, it is ca],al)le of absorbing 

 a larger quantity of carbon from the atmosphere, 

 than almost any other grass. The major part of 

 seeding that is done at this season, is upon grounds 

 that were sown in aiuimin, with wheat or i-ye. It 

 sometimes happens when grass seeds are sown in 

 this manner, that there is an entire failure. This 

 happens when our first Wiirm weather in May is 

 succeeded by a drought, by which the roots of the 

 young grasses are dried, and the seeds or young 

 plants undergo the same jnocess as malting, which 

 entirely ])revents all after vegetation. To prevent 

 this is desirable, and one of the surest ways is, as 

 soon as the giound becomes sufficiently dry to al- 

 low a team to travel over it without sinking deep 

 in it, to i)ass a light drag or bush over the ground, 

 after which, roll it with a modeiatcly heavy roller. 

 This may be objected to by those who have not 

 tried the experiment, as being likely to tear up the 

 wheat or rye ; this will be the case to a small e.x- 

 tent, but the renjaining part will he sufficiently bet- 

 ter to (-ompen.snte ft)r those lost. When the ground 

 is intended for mowing, the rolling process should 

 never be dispensed with. There has been much 

 pid)lished respecting other varieties of Trifolium, 

 besides 1 he |)ratcnse of the Shamrock clover (T.. 

 procunibens,) and the Italian clover, (T. incarna- 

 tum,) bin the red and white ap[)ear to be the only 

 varieties which arc counted profitable with us. — 

 There are various other plants which belong in. 

 the same class, which bear so strong a resemblance 

 to the clovers, that we will refer to them as they 

 are frequently mentioned. Both the Inccrn (Me- 

 dicago .sativa) anrl saint fain or holy hay (Hedysa- 

 rimi onobrychio) are grown in France, but we do- 

 not consider them calculated to suijjilant the red 

 clover and timothy in this country, for common 

 farming purposes, although they may be found 

 profitable near large towns, wheic early grass is a 

 greater object. Neither of the.se last form an 

 even sward, but as a manure crop they would be 

 like other clovers. 



At the working man's bouse hunger looks in, 

 but never enters. 



