64 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



after year, in appearance so comfortless and uninvit- 

 ing as almost to defy its owner to call it his home ? 



It is easy for farmers to give here and there a 

 touch of beauty to the surrounding landscape. It 

 is directly in their line of business, and nature is 

 always ready to assist them. Every farmer has 

 fences to build.- Give the soil a little cultivation, 

 and it ■will support a living hedge of hemlock, or 

 Norway spruce, as readily as a rail fence ; and do 

 something more towards keeping it in repair. The 

 shelter -which a good hedge affords, is by no means 

 its least recommendation. For the sake of protec- 

 tion alone, it deserves to be brought into general use 

 by those who till lands in bleak situations along the 

 Atlantic coast. 



I know but little of the difFerciit kinds of c\'cr- 

 grcen trees ; but from what I have been able to learn 

 of those who do know the habits and peculiarities of 

 each, I have come to the conclusion, that the Norway 

 spruce is the most valuable as a hedge plant for the 

 Easten\ States. It is open to the objection that it 

 must be procured in Europe. It does certainly seem 

 that we might find a suitable evergreen in our native 

 forests; but be that as it may, it will be decided by 

 those who are qualified by experience to judge 

 rightly. According to the statements of Robert 

 Nelson in the Horticulturist, (vol. ii.,) the Norway 

 spruce combines all the most necessary qualities for 

 a hedge plant. He speaks from experience, and 

 his remarks are therefore valuable. He speaks 

 of it as being so perfectly hardy, that it may be used 

 in very exposed situations for a protection against 

 high winds. It will flourish on almost any soil, but 

 much the best on that of a poor, gravelly nature. 

 It is well known that evergreens do not usually bear 

 pruning well ; but of this, Friend Nelson says, 

 " It may be cut into any shape, and after a few years' 

 tiimming, it presents a strong green Avail of great 

 power of resistance." He gives also full directions 

 for raising from seed, planting, and trimming, Avhich 

 will be of great value to beginners. 



Farmers, as well as others, are beginning to see 

 that beauty and utility may sometimes be united 

 without loss to the nature of either. I am confident 

 that if an effort be made by nurserymen and 

 amateurs, the Norway spruce may be grown so 

 cheaply and extensively as to come into general use 

 for hedges. As Yankees possess such a. penchant for 

 "going ahead" with any thing that they undertake, 

 it is important that they should start aright. To do 

 this in hedge planting, much information is required 

 which farmers do not yet possess. For the purpose 

 of introducing the subject, and getting some infor- 

 mation for myself and others, I will ask two or three 

 questions which I should like to have inserted in the 

 columns of the New England Farmer. 



"Will the hemlock {Abies Canadensis) flourish on 

 poor, gravelly soils ? Will it boar pruning sufficiently 

 well to serve as a hedge plant? Can we import 

 the seeds of the Norway spruce from England, as 

 readily as we can the plants ? If so, wliat is the 

 proper season for sending ? — Any information in 

 regard to the expense of procuring plants, planting 

 and raising hedg-cs, would no doubt be gladly received 

 by many subscribers to the Fanner. 



Thine, with respect, N. 



Danvers New Mills, First Mo. llth, 1850. 



For the New England Farmer.. 

 GRAFTING THE PEACH TREE. 



Mr. Cole : I perceive that you, with many others 

 of extensive experience in the cultivation of fruit, 

 recommend the raising of peaches from the pips, or 

 stones, thus securing the natural fruit. I also ob- 

 serve, in your valuable "Fruit Book," that when 

 any desirable variety is reqixired, budding is the prop- 



er method. But I wish to inquire, ^Vhat shall wc 

 do with a young, healthy tree, that bears poor fruit ? 

 Shall we graft ? And if so, where ; on the principal 

 branches, or on the main stock ; above, or below the 

 surface ? It seems to me, with my limited experi- 

 ence, that the better way would be, to graft about 

 a foot or eighteen inches from the gi-ound, letting 

 two scions grow. I have noticed that writers say 

 that stone fruit should bo budded rather than gi-aft- 

 ed, as with the latter they are more liable to gum, 

 or bleed, and that gumming hurts them. I think, 

 however, that Lord Bacon says that gumming does 

 them good. I should be happy of your oiDinion. L. 



Remarks. — The peach is- propagated by stones 

 or by budding. In njany cases the stones produce 

 the same as the parent tree ; but this can only be 

 depended on when a variety is shown by experience 

 to bo a fixed variety, yielding fruit after its kind.. 

 The peach is propagated with great facility and 

 success by budding. Grafting the peach, or propa- 

 gating it by layers or cuttings, is so difficult that 

 these modes receive but little attention. Lord 

 Bacon is often quoted in relation to fruit trees ; but 

 we think that he had but very little pi-actical knowl- 

 edge of the subject, judging from his absurd remarks. 

 He says, that the scion overruleth the stock quite ; 

 but practice shows that the stock has some influence 

 on the scion. — Ed. 



LONGEVITY OF THE HORSE. 



It has long been an impression that the ordinary 

 duration of a horse's life is much shorter than it 

 ought to be, and that the excess of mortality is the 

 result of carelessness or ignorant management. The 

 great error consists in regard to the temperament and 

 general constitution of a horse as altogether dif- 

 ferent from those of a human being ; whereas they 

 are precisely the same in all important respects- 

 Disease arising from excessive fatigue, overheating, 

 and exposure to air, want of exercise, improper diet, 

 both as respects quality and quantity, and from 

 many other causes, aff'octs the horse and his master 

 alike, and neglect in either case must terminate fatal- 

 ly. Indeed, when a man or a horse has acq\iired, by 

 a course of training, a high degree of h,ealth and 

 vigor, the skin of each is an infallible index of tke 

 fact. It has been often remarked in England, that 

 the skin of the pugilist, who. has undergone a severe 

 course of training, when lie prepares himself for the 

 fight, exhibits a degree of beauty and exceeding fair- 

 ness, that excites the admiration as well as the won- 

 der of the spectator. So with the horse : his skin i» 

 the clearest evidence of the general state of his health. 

 Even the common disease of foundering is not pecu- 

 liar to the horse, but is merely a muscular affection^ 

 to which many men, who have overstrained them- 

 selves at any period, are subject. Li fact, the medi- 

 cal treatment of the horse and his rider ought to be 

 the same ; and we confidently believe that if this 

 principle were acted upon with a moderate share of 

 attention and resolution, the average age of this 

 usefid animal would be much longer, and the profit 

 derived from his labors proportionably greater. - Nor- 

 folk Beacon. 



Horses poisoned. - - Will castor beans kiK horses ? 

 So it would seem from the Des Moines Coui-icr, which 

 says that eight horses were killed at Agency, in Iowa, 

 a "little time since, from eating a few castor beans» 

 accidentally mixed with their food. The castor bean 

 is a common production in parts of Southern Illinois ; 

 and there can be no doubt about the truth of it^ — 

 Prairie Farmer^ 



