164 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



continue at the same rate for four years longer. So 

 the action of ashes must be chemical in its nature, 

 giving a capacity to appropriate other fertilizers, 

 -wliirh it does, perhaps, by imparting to the soil its 

 pota-^h, -which dissolves the silica or flint of the soil, 

 produfing silicate of potash, Avhich, according to 

 Liebig, is required by all plants of the grass kind, 

 in large quantities. 



On Vet ground, it should be borne in mind that 

 aslics produce no effect ; and in wet seasons, the 

 benefit is much less than in dry. — Rural Neio- 

 Yorker. 



THE PEACH-TREE. 



Many years ago, in viewing the fruit garden of a 

 New England friend, I noticed the bodies of his 

 young peach-trees were securely bandaged with 

 straw. The straw was tall, straight, standing upon 

 the ground around the bodj' of the tree, being wound 

 around with a cord. It was so thick as to prevent 

 any insect from having access to the bark. Where 

 the buts rested on the ground, earth was placed 

 around them, two or three inches high, and rendered 

 compact and firm by the pressure of the foot. In- 

 quiring the object of this fixture, he replied, it was 

 to prevent the grub at the roots. He said a certain 

 kind of fly jnerced the bark at the surface of the 

 ground, or, if the ground was light, a little below the 

 surface, and deposited a nit, which produced the 

 grub. That from the smallest beginning it often 

 attained a large size, and sometimes girdled the 

 vhole stock below the soil, thus wholly preventing 

 the ascent of the sap, and causing the death of the 

 tree. He remarked that the fly rarely injured the 

 body at any considerable distance from the ground, 

 its instincts leading it to the root, at or near the sur- 

 face. He took me, however, to two trees, where the 

 fly had made its perforations at the top of the straw, 

 about three feet from the ground. The punctures 

 were small, but distinct and visible, and on one tree 

 were several in number. Most of them were en- 

 larged, by cutting out with a small penknife the little 

 deposits, but with no damage to the tree. It was 

 not freijuent, however, that the fly ascended so high. 

 Put at any rate, if the damage must be sustained, it 

 •was better to have it in plain sight, where it might 

 be speedily remedied, than below the surface, where 

 it might destroy the tree. 



I intend to exan\inc all my young trees this spring, 

 cutting out the grub whenever found, and flUing the 

 wound with grafting wax, to prevent the escape of 

 the sap, and to incase the bodies with straw, as 

 above ; persuaded that, as a precautionary measure, 

 it will be wise and profitable. E. D, 



— Rural Neic- Yorker, 



THE ROLLER. 



Mr. Editor : I am anxious to call the attention of 

 your agricultural readers to this valuable implement, 

 as, in my humble opinion, it is one no farmer should 

 over be without. On almost all farms there are sec- 

 tions where small stones exist in variable quantities ; 

 sometimes the number is so great, and the si/e so 

 small, that the labor of " picking," always a tedious 

 and irksome one, is either neglected, or biit imper- 

 fectly performed ; and when even all the stones are 

 removed, the soil is not so well adapted, constitution- 

 ally, for the production of most crops, as they ai-e 

 where a portion of the stones are left near the sur- 

 face — especially the smaller ones. By removing 

 those of large size, say all down to the size of a 

 man's fist, unless the number " is legion," and apply- 

 ing a cylmdrical roller, of suitable size and weight, 



the residue will be pressed down even with the sur- 

 face, and as effectually removed from the reach of 

 the scythe, as though they had been picked and 

 removed to the lines, or deposited in heaps. Expe- 

 rience during a course of many years has satisfied 

 me that light, loamy soils are deteriorated to a great 

 extent, by the removal of all the stones they contain, 

 although their presence on or near the surface is a 

 serious obstacle to successful cultivation, and one 

 which most farmers, who study ease and efficiency, 

 are anxious to avoid. The roller, however, is im- 

 portant for other purposes. Sandy soils can never be 

 properly cultivated without its aid, as there is requi- 

 site a degree of compression which no other imple- 

 ment known in modern husbandry will confer. The 

 extreme lightness and excessive porosity of such 

 lands, while it renders them light and easy to work, 

 prevents the retention of moisture ; without a liberal 

 and equable supply of which, no soil, however 

 affluent in humus, or the elements of vegetable nu- 

 trition, can be made to exert its maximum force. 

 Manure, applied to such soils, becomes, in dry season, 

 but little better than so much wood ; it cannot fer- 

 ment, but dries up, and lies entirely inactive, an 

 injury rather than a benefit to the soil. The consol- 

 idating action of the roller, therefore, is indispen- 

 sably necessary to induce fernientation, and produce 

 that compactness in the arrangements of its constit- 

 uent particles, which enables the roots to assume and 

 preserve a strong and reliable hold for the mainte- 

 nance of the peculiar position nature has assigned, 

 and the securement and approi^riation of their spe- 

 cific food. The cost of the roller is a mere trifle, 

 compared with the advantages resulting from its 

 application. Stubble lands, which from the uneven- 

 ness of the surface, often broken by slight inequal- 

 ities, the presence of stones or turfs, which no action 

 of the plough can effectually inhume or cover up, 

 cannot be laid down with that degree of smoothness 

 so desirable and important when contemplated in 

 connection with subsequent agrestic details and oper- 

 ations, may, by the application of this instrument, 

 be rendered perfectly even, and so smooth that the 

 scythe will easily be carried sufficiently near the sur- 

 face to take all the grass, without extra trouble to 

 the mower, or injury to his scythe. B. 



Bens.vlem, April 2, 1850. 

 — Germantown 'Telegraph. 



FRUIT TREES. 



As the season for setting out fruit trees has arrived, 

 we wish to throw out a few hints, by the way of cau- 

 tion, against the folly of purchasing southern trees. 

 It is a well-established fact that trees brought from 

 the south will not succeed in New England, and the 

 reason why they will not succeed must be obvious 

 to every rational mind ; for being raised in a more 

 congenial clime than ours, they are forced into an 

 over-luxuriant growth, and the consequence is, that 

 when they are removed to a colder clime, the change 

 will as sensibly affect them, as it would to transport 

 an inhabitant of Africa to the northern regions of 

 Russia. For proof of these statements, we would 

 refer to orchards in this vicinity, whicth have been 

 set thirty years, and now present no better prospect 

 of rewarding the possessor for his trouble, than when 

 planted. Whereas, if northern trees had been set, 

 they would now pay the owners one hundred per 

 cent, on the capital invested. 



Thousands of southern trees are yearly brought to 

 our cities, and sold under the assumed name of west- 

 ern trees ; and thousands are deceived in this way. 

 I am aware that it is hard to make many believe 

 that these are facts ; but the time is not far distant 

 when tliey will be acknowledged by every one, and 



