Vol. X.-No. 42. 



AND HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



331 



niiicli fruit 9S the vine will sustain, antl much 

 moi-e, I tliiiik, than can be obtained by the usual 

 mode of Iriniining, as less wood and more fruit 

 buds are left. 



1 have had on one vine about four years old, more 

 than a hundred bunches of good size which ripen- 

 ed fully; but this is more tlian any vine ought to 

 bear, and therefore it would be better in such 

 cases to take off part of the fruit soon after it is 

 formed. Two or three new canes, Nos. C, 7, and 

 8, are now trained up as before; and the next 

 pruning season Nos. 4 and 5 are cut down to the 

 ground, and Nos. 2 and 3 take their places and 

 are trinimtd as were Nos. 4 and 5 lust sea- 

 son ; and the new canes, G, 7, and 8, are cut as 

 before. In this way 1 proceed from year to year, 

 cutting away the oldest wood and sujipljing its 

 place with new. 



It will be seen that the manner of proceeding I 

 have here stated, ajjplies to strong and thrifty 

 vines ; where they are not so, there may not be 

 a sufficiency of new and strong wood from below, 

 in which case a less number may be left and cut 

 shorter ; but there is generally enough new shoots 

 when the vines are rightly managed. 



Yours, &c, D. FOSDICK. 



May, 1832. 



yOB. THE NEW ENGLAND FARfllER. 



THE TOAD. 



This animal, so odious in its general appearance, 

 is nevertheless a most faithful and devoted servant 

 to the gardener. [ have had occasion to remark, 

 ■while opening and preparing tiie earth for seed, 

 the activity oPtlie toad in appropriating to its own 

 use the great variety of insects which infest our 

 grounds. From observations which I have made, 

 i have been led to the conclusion that it can dis- 

 tinguish its obje<-t at a considerable distance, upon 

 ■which it fixes its piercing eye and towards whicli 

 it rapidly advances ; and when near enough for 

 its purpose assumes a stooping posture whicli it 

 preserves for a moment, then, with the quickness 

 of thought, it darts out its long fiery tongue, tran.s- 

 fixing its prey, which it immediately conveys to 

 its'' capacious mouth. Espying some of those 

 ■\vorms used in angling, I occasionally threw them 

 to one of these animals near by, whose length 

 oonipelled it to use its feet for the better disposing 

 of the worm, in order that it inight be more easily 

 swallowed. 



On another occasion, I'observed upon the side 

 of an out-building one of the largest species of red 

 ants, six or eight inches from the ground, which 

 was noticed likewise by my friend, the toad, who 

 generally casts its eye downwards in search of 

 sustenance, but when self-interest requires, can 

 look up and jump too, which it actually did 

 with complete success. 



I have never discovered, neither been able to 

 learn, that they are injurious to vegetables, al- 

 though they frequently burow into and disfigure 

 our beds. I presume to say, that one half of tiie 

 labor of the gardener employed in the destruction 

 of bugs and worms, might be saved, if a number 

 of toads were placed in the vicinity of our vines, 

 with a shelter near, under which they could se- 

 crete themselves, from which they wojld issue 

 forth at the apjiroach of evening when our ene- 

 mies are out committing their depredations, and 

 devour them at their leisure. 



PIONEER. 



DIFFERENT' KINDS OF INDIAN CORN. 



Mr Fessenden — Should the following be 

 thought worth notice, please to publish it : — 



INDIAN CORK. 



' Perhaps few crops are of more im))ortrince than 

 this to the farmer ; although an exliuusting crop, 

 it still finds an advocate on almost every farm. 

 It is found in a great variety of sizes, colors, &c, 

 and it is of no small consequence to the farmer 

 to select the best. But how shall this he done ? 

 By what criterion shall we judge ? These are ques- 

 ticus I am ds^sirous of having answered. A few 

 years since, I thought I was fully satisfied on this 

 point, having planted for twentyfive successive sea 

 sons a particular kind of corn which I then thought 

 equal to any other, and without making a single 

 experiment by way of com])aring different kinds. 



I have lately compared by weight three differ- 

 ent kinds, as follows : — 



1st. White corn, 8 rows, weight of bushel, C]i Uis. 

 Cobs from which it was shelled, 14|- 



2d, Yellow corn, 8 rows, weight of bushel, ()2^ 

 do. cobs, 13^ 

 3d. Yellow do. 12 rows, weight of bushel, C3 

 do. cobs, 12. 



These kinds were all of them' what might be 

 called middling size. 



From this experiment it will appear, that of the 

 three kinds mentioned, the heaviest grain and the 

 largest cob were from the corn of twelve rows. 

 The quantity of cob being less, I have taken it 

 for granted that the fodder will , be accordingly, 

 and, of course, the land less exhausted in rearing 

 a given quantity of grain. Should any of your 

 correspondents, Mr Editor, think this subject 

 worth further notice, I should be gratified to learn 

 something of the corn, by some called Byffield 

 corn — ears of twelve rows, from which the husks 

 ftill before harvesting — particularly respecting the 

 quantity of cob to a bushel of grain. Also of yel- 

 low corn, generally, whether in reality it is more 

 nutritious (as many suppose) and of course more 

 valuable than white corn. Yours, respectfully, 

 E. F. WOODWARD, 



JVt'wion, March 30, 1832. 



To the Editor of the N. E. Farmer,— 



Sir— In one of the numbers of your valuable 

 publication, last year,* yon inserted some ])articu- 

 lars respecting parsnips, to which you will please 

 to accept, of the following, as a sequel. 



Your-s, respectfully, A. B. 



Extracts (from the General T'iew of the Jlgricul- 

 ture of Hertfordshire, draum up h\j order of the 

 Board of Agricidlurc, by Mr Arthur Young, its Sec- 

 retary ; printed in 1804 ; ) on the subject of- 

 PARSNIPS. 



" This plant makes a great figiu'e in the exper- 

 imental ground of the Marchioness of Salisbury ; 

 the crop is good and quite clean. Fatting oxen 

 consume them most advantageously ; their benefit 

 thus applied, is so great as to nearly equal, in the 

 opinion of Mr Stephenson, oil cake. They are 

 consequently excellent for all stock, but superior 

 in fatting bullocks." 



N. B. — Under the headotbeets, Mr Young adds, 

 "the common red beet and the root of scarcity, are 

 cultivated successfully in the experiment ground 

 of the Marchioness of Salisbury. The former an- 



' See volume ix, page 406. 



swer greatly in flitting cattle ; almost as well as 

 parsnips, and better than carrots." 



N. B. — The quantity of parsnips under cultiva- 

 tion in the above case was an acre and a half, and 

 the whole of the experiment ground consisted of 

 seventeen acres, pp. 11.5 and 2,32. 



Ill the second edition of the General View of the 

 Agriculture of the County of Kent, by Mr John Boge, 

 published 1804, we find that parsnips sliced and 

 kiln-dried, succeed very well as a sea-store ; but 

 by the Board of Admiralty it was decided, that 

 parsnips could not be substituted for any part of 

 the diet of seamen in the British navy ; and that in 

 other respects, it was more convenient to serve out 

 lemun juice in preference to vegetables, as occupy- 

 ing less, room. pp. 227, 233. 



SOAKING SEED CORN. 



Mr Fessende.'v — I have noticed in your paper, 

 remarks ii-om several persons on the utility of soak- 

 ing seed corn in copperas- water, to prevent worms. 

 A little experience and practice on any subject 

 connected with agricultural pursuits, is far better 

 than theorising. liast year I soaked our seed 

 corn in very strong copperas-water, as near as I 

 recollect, from twentyfour to tliirtysix hours ; ev- 

 ery kernel was made as black as charcoal ; the 

 man who planted the corn, called me a fool and 

 said it would never vegetate. But every hill 

 planted came up well, and during its growth exci- 

 ted the remarks of all who saw it, as being the 

 most even field of corn they ever saw. Not one 

 hill in the whole field of seVen acres was injured 

 by worms ; and we had often in previous years 

 been compelled to replant several times, when it 

 had been cut down by the worms. We liad over 

 sixty bushels to the acre. Yours, respectfully, 

 J. ELLSWORTH. 



Ketch Mills, Conn. April, 1832. 



HORTICULTUR.E. 



Perhaps no branch of cultivation, {says the Bos- 

 ton Couriei,) is so much neglected in New Eng- 

 land as this ; though much interest has of late 

 years been created in its favor. If gardens require 

 no exclusive attention, an hour at a time, and that 

 not daily, will amply repay the cultivator's care. 

 The earth is grateful, more grateful than all that 

 inhabit it ; and it will speedily reward a little at- 

 tention, a hundred fold. One half of a farmer's 

 support and more of his pleasure, should come 

 from a garden ; and his profits, too, might be 

 much increased by it. He need not raise mari- 

 golds and poppies, nor yet turnips or pimps, but 

 he can put in a vine that will give grapes to him 

 and his posterity. He may, with small expense, 

 plant a tree, that will for many years offer him the 

 best gifts of Pomona. There is no country under 

 the fruit ripening sun, in which horticulture is so 

 much neglected as this, except Russia ; and in the 

 South East, rich fruits are raised even there. — 

 We not only neglect fruits, but the esculent veg- 

 etables, that are so considerable and salutary a part 

 of food in other countries. To all those who, at 

 this season, ere it is too late, would turn over a 

 new leaf, we recommend a visit to the Messrs 

 Winship's nursery, at Brighton, where tliey will 

 see much both for profit and pleasure. 



If you would be rich, think ot saving as well as 

 getting. 



Handle your tools without mittens; as a cat in 

 ffloves catches no mice. 



