no 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



efFectuul remedy for the blight upon the berry, that I 

 know of, is trausplantin";. It had been the practice 

 of my hue husband, for the hist eighteen years of his 

 life, to transplant one third of his gooseberry- trees 

 annually. The lirst thing done in the garden, as 

 soon as the frost ^^•as out of the ground in the spring, 

 was to prepare a piece of ground very rich, (as no 

 other shrub requires, or will even bear, so much ma- 

 nure as the gooseberry,) take up the trees designed 

 for transplanting, take off the shoots that had grown 

 up around the trunk, and the trees planted out in 

 the newly-prepared ground ; the trees were set as 

 near as possible the same depth that they had stood 

 before, and when the holes were partly iiUed with 

 earth, water poured in to settle it closely around the 

 roots ; then filled up, and the earth pressed down 

 firm with the feet. If the work was well done, the 

 fruit was pretty good the first year, splendid the 

 second, and by the third it generally began to wane ; 

 but by adhering to the above-named plan, he was 

 able to have an annual supply of perfect and deli- 

 cious fruit. He had eomr^ old trees that had been 

 transplanted as many as eight time?, and it had 

 become so much a matter of course, that they seemed 

 to have prepared for it; their roots had become inter- 

 woven like mats, and so flat on the bottom, that 

 when taken out of the ground they would stand 

 erect upon its surface without support. If the shoots 

 could be taken off" with a little root attached, they 

 would live, and make new trees, if well planted out. 



As the gooseberry thrives best in moist situations 

 and climates, and as a few hours' exposure to the hot 

 Kun at midday, in our climate, frequently scorches 

 the fi-uit so as to make it drop from the tree, or be- 

 come insipid, shaded situations are recommended ; 

 and the general remark is, that the shade of build- 

 ings or fences are preferable ; but I take the liberty to 

 press the subject, that it should always be an artificial 

 shade, if any — for in dry seasons, large trees, whose 

 roots strike deep into the earth, will of course absorb 

 all the moisture, and leave the more feeble shrubs in 

 their neighborhood to perish. 

 Ilespectfully, 



MRS. NOYES DAKLING. 



New IIaven, Conn., March 15, 1850. 



For the Xew England Farmer. 

 AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. 



Mil. Cole : I have noticed with interest the dis- 

 cussions on the great subject of a contemplated agri- 

 cultural school, as those proceedings have been faith- 

 fully recorded in your valuable paper. Since this 

 subject is discussed, — since, moreover, that no two 

 persons ever saw the same subject in exactly the same 

 light, — an individual of even narrow and contracted 

 views may suggest. something of some importance by 

 proclaiming his views, whatever they may be. I 

 think an agricultural education can hardly bo called 

 a new thing even in this country, for it is a fact, and 

 a happy one too, that the greatest portion of New 

 England's rural students are acquiring the above- 

 mentioned kind of education on their own or their 

 fathers' farms ; and they are doing it in such a man- 

 ner, that they never can forget the rules, that is, by 

 practice and experience. 



An agricultural school was established at Hofwyl, 

 in Switzerland, by a certain philanthropic gentleman, 

 which combined manual labor and the improvement 

 of the mind ; but there is a class of people in all 

 European countries — the peasantry — who are in a ser- 

 vile state, and it is a very easy matter to better their 

 condition ; but there arc none in this free country 

 who will acknowledge themselves to bo peasants. 

 If all the students of such school could be of the 

 same stamp, that is, indigent students, the plan 



would be far more practicable ; but manual labor has 

 always been despised, or at least underrated, by the 

 majority of students, wherever it has been adopted 

 in our schools. 



I can conceive of no better plan to instruct gen- 

 erally the young agriculturists (and old ones too) 

 of our country, than by means of good agricultural 

 papers ; and such I believe there are. Instruction is 

 given in this way in a general and widely- diffused 

 manner ; all can choose or refuse, at their option. 

 The instructors (the editors) are, or ought to be, 

 learned men, who have theory and practice com- 

 bined; who understand botany, chemistry, geology, 

 &c. ; the nature of domestic animals ; the nature of 

 various soils, and the proper manures for them ; the 

 proper manner of cultivating fruit trees ; the manner 

 of constructing drains and ditches, barns, and rural 

 dwellings ; who can baffle the diseases of our domes- 

 tic animals, and all the ills incident to the farm ex- 

 cept the potato rot, which we can hardly ask of any 

 editor. 



With such a one (and I have not named half his 

 requisite good qualities) to manage an agricultural 

 papei, and niQuns to diffusc them, bearing intel- 

 ligence to everj' part of the country, cannot the me- 

 chanic who is disgusted with his trade, learn whether 

 he must plant corn two, three, or ten feet asunder, 

 in hills, drills, or broadcast ? Every farmer can 

 afford to take an agricultural newspaper, but the 

 indigent cannot afford their sons a scientific educa- 

 tion, which is necessary for the gentleman farmer, 

 laying aside the great disinclination to unite manual 

 labor and study ; and the latter is not so unreason- 

 able after all, for I know by experience that it is dif- 

 ficult to study when fatigued by labor, and generally 

 it is unprofitable to do more than one thing at a 

 time. Yours, W. 



MiDDLEBURY COLLEGE, Vt., Feb. 22, 1850. 



Remarks. — Our correspondent should give the 

 greater part of the credit for a good agricultural 

 paper to the correspondents, for they are numerous, 

 and many heads are better than one. They are 

 among the very best farmers in the country, and it 

 is a peculiar trait of American farmers to freely com- 

 municate the result of their experience, instead of 

 keeping it secret for the purpose of monopolizing the 

 advantages of discoveries and improvements. — Ed. 



For the New E^igland Farmer. 



EFFECTS OF THE BARBERRY ON GRAIN 



CROPS. 



S. W. Cole, Esa. Dear Sir : My attention has 

 lately been called to correspondence in your valuable 

 paper, respecting the barberry bush, and the in- 

 jurious effects it has upon the wheat crop. I write 

 to obtain from you any facts that may have come to 

 your knowledge, in reference to its injurious effects 

 on wheat crops. 



Have there been any siiits at law growing out of 

 their having been destroyed, or otherwise ? ^Vo 

 have some of these bushes in this county, which 

 causes considerable anxiety on the subject ; and at 

 the request of Mr. T. Whitson, and others formerly 

 of your city, I Avrite you this, trusting that we may 

 have your views, &c., at length on the subject, as 

 soon as convenient after the receipt of this ; and 

 oblige, very respectfully, 



Yours, &c., 



R. C. VAN RENSSELAER. 



Lin-LE Fort, Lake Co., III., Jan. 23, 1850. 



R,EMARKS. — As to our own experience on this 



