218 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



JANUARY 93, 1833. 





this law of the vegetable kingiioiii beautirnlly illus- 

 trated in our corn-fields. When there is but one 

 Idud jilanted, as the white, yellow, flint or gourd, 

 there will be hut one kind in the product. Where 

 there are two kinds in adjoining row.*, they will 

 ■intermix. The pollen of the male organ of the 

 blossom must come in contact with the pistil or 

 female organ, or the seed will be abortive. Cut 

 oft'flie tassels as they begin to develope, of a hill 

 of -corn standing alone, or cover or destroy the 

 silk of a particular ear, so as to prevent the con- 

 tact of the pollen, and you will find at harvesting 

 nothing but a naked cob. 



Upon this law of the vegetable kingdom florists 

 liave based their practice of multiplying the varie- 

 ties of the most esteemed flowers, as the rose, the 

 dahlia, the comelia, geranium — the new varieties 

 being the product of artificial or accidental fecun- 

 dation of the pistil of one with the ])ollen of another' 

 variety. And the experiments of Knight and other 

 pomologists have left no room to doubt upon this 

 subject. The distinguished gentleman I have 

 named has not only, by artificial crossing, produc- 

 e<l new and superior varieties of garden and 

 orchard fruit, but many new varieties of culinary 

 vegetables. I have in my grounds several of l^s 

 apples and cherries produced in this way, and 

 know the parents from which they were lymdnced 

 go far as I can now judge, the wood^rtake 

 more x>f the female, and the fruit of the male' 

 parent. The Faxley and Siberian HnrveJ|ai)ides, 

 from theseedof the Siberian crab, fecundated with 

 the pollen of the golden harvcy, resemble in liard- 

 iness of wood, shape of tree, and beauty of foliage, 

 the nude parent ; while the size of the fruit, in 

 the new kinds, is generally intermediate between 

 that of the parents. It is worthy of remark that 

 the wood of all the new kinds is remgjkably clean 

 and healthy, and would seem to strerigthen Mr. 

 Knight's theory, of the deterioration of old va- 

 rieties. 



In regard to the fecundating process, your cor- 

 respondent asks, by way of doubt of the generally 

 received opinion, " how did the first varieties ot 

 fruits originate ?" I am a yanke^and will ansu-cr 

 his question by asking, how did^first varieties of 

 animals originate ? A solution of my question will 

 afford an answer to his. 4L 



1 believe with Mr. Knight an^r. Van Mons, 

 that the seeds of young and healthy varieties will 

 be more apt to produce good fruit, than those ot 

 old and dccaj'ed varieties of the same quality ; be- 

 cause the progeny, as I have ol)served, will 

 ])artakc largely of the youthful vigor ot'if^ 

 juale parent — and I suspect your corrcs])oiWI«nt 

 has misapprehended Prof. I'oiteau ; and that the 

 Professor prefers seed of austere pears, not on 

 account of the quality of the fruit, which, I con- 

 ceive, is not likely to be perpetuated' llty the seed, 

 for the reasons l have stated, but because the 

 poorer sorts grow only upbn "Seedlings, or young 

 and healthy varieties — poor pears never beiug 

 perpetuated by grafting and budding. ^ 



Tliere is a fact in vegetable physiology which 

 to me is inexplicable, and which I should be very 

 much obliged to any of your correspondents for 

 an explanation, it is this : — It is well known to 

 nurserymen that the roots of a grafted or budding 

 tree take the habits of the scion, that is, they are 

 numerous and ramified, horizontal or deep, ac- 

 cording to the habits of the variety from which 

 the variety is taken, and generally conform in 

 their direction and volume to the shape and abun- 



dance of the top; and yet the sprouts which 

 spring from these roots invariably, I believe, take 

 the character of the original stalk. I will state a 

 case : bud a peach on a plum-stalk at the surface 

 of the ground, when it has but a few inches of 

 root, the bud not only gives a character to the 

 branches and fruit, but apparently to the roots 

 which succeed, and which are alone produced by 

 the sap elaborated in the peach leaves, and yet the 

 sprouts which shoot from the roots will be plum 

 sprouts. jMy wonder is why the roots should re- 

 tain the character of the stock, after they have 

 beeu enveloped and seemingly lost in the growth 

 produced by the scion. The quince and the 

 paradise apple are the only cases that I remember 

 in v\'hich the character of the roote are not materi- 

 ally changgtf^. the scions engrafted into them. 



The ^^^of obtaining good fruits from seed, 

 is tedious and uncertain. Perhaps not one in a 

 thousand will be worth preserving, and years 

 must ellipse ere the question can be solved. 

 Whereas by grafting good kinds may be obtained 

 with certainty. Our nurserymen make it their 

 business to collect and propagate all the good va- 

 rieties, whether native or foreign ; and any gentle- 

 man who is not acquainted with their relative 

 lerits, and vcrv few are, will find it his interest 

 f^i^nfide to th*n, partially or wholly, the selec- 

 'ion of his fruit trees. The difference in the 

 profit of eultiWling good or bad fruit is inunense. 

 A lu'ighbor this year sold pears from two trees 

 for §45 ; v^i^a od|^ neighbors did not realize 

 this amoun(B|PlpTmy trees of" bad or indifferent 

 fruit. ' 1^- 



Jlbanii, Jan. 12, 1832. 



made use of. We do not expect to see an exten- 

 sive lawn, or park, attached to every farm-house ; 

 this, we are aware would be impracticable : but 

 what we want to see, is a tasteful display of 

 skruKbery and flowers, which will cost little or no 

 expjBse, while it adds immensely to the value and 

 aMjff nmce of the place, as well as to the pleasure 

 of its owner. We anticipate a great retbrm in 

 this branch of rural economy from the influence 

 of om- Horticultural Society. It has already ac- 

 complished much, but still much remains to be 

 done. And as tcm])erance has banished from many 

 of our towns the use of ardi'it spirits, we think a 

 small portion of the money formerly expended in 

 the purchase of this destructive article, might be 

 more satisfactorily devoted to the embellishment of 

 houses and farms. J. S. M. 



Far lite New England Farmer. 

 RURAL TASTE. 

 Mr. Editor, — In riding through most of the 

 towns and villages of New England, I have been 

 surprised at the almost total want of rural taste 

 which is manifested by a large portion of our re- 

 spectable, and in many instances, wealthy farm- 



One would supiwse that the pronencss to rural 

 life among the higher classes of society, would 

 have a salutary effect in producing a taste for pic- 

 turesque gardening in the minds of our country 

 people. Nothing woidd be easier than to make 

 our villages appear like those of Europe, if the 

 owners of our soil were disposed to have them so. 

 A very little labor combined with taste and judg- 

 ment in decorating, might make the habitations of 

 om- farmers, equal those of die English yeoman- 

 ry. There the poorest laborer attends to the embel- 

 lishment of his little cottage. The green hedge, 

 the grass plat before the door, the little flower-bed, 

 the "rape or woodbine trained against the wall, 

 and covering the lattice with its cooling shade, the 

 pot of flowers in the window, all bespeak the in- 

 fluence of taste, refinement and industry. What 

 adds more to the appearance of a house than a 

 few trees tastefully disposed around it, or what 

 looks more repulsive, than one destitute of these 

 natural ornaments ? Trees planted along the sides 

 of our roads, would also greatly improve the ap- 

 pearance of our coimtry, and aflTord refreshing 

 shade and comfort to the traveller. When our 

 forests offer so many splendid varieties of trees, 

 ornamental as well as useful, at no expense, other 

 than the trouble of transplanting them, it is a mat- 

 ter of wonder that they are not more frequently 



Fm- the New England Farmer. ^ 

 AGRICUIiTDRAI. ESSATS, NO. XIV. • 



DrxG. There are several kinds of dimg, as 

 there are of soils on which to lay it. 



Ashes. Best for low, mossy lands, spread 

 evenly on the ground. A few bushels, sowed just 

 before a rain, a good top dressing for an acre — 

 fifteen bushjls a full dressing — it will be seen for 

 several yea-s — peat ashes best — fifteen bushels to 

 an acre. Door-dung for melons — cow-dung for 

 a warm, sandy soil. IIogs-dung for flax, corn 

 and potatoes, and for all kinds of vines. Horses- 

 DU.Nt; for a low, wet soil. Human-ordure mixed 

 with a jreat quantity of soil, for cold, sour land, 

 and tVr recruiting old pear-trees. Sheep and 

 Fowi,;-Dr.NG, for a wet sour soil. Slaughteu- 

 hous.-dung is very excellent. And beside these 

 sevexil kinds of dung, there are other manures, 

 suci as LIME, for a cold stiff' clay soil, 120 bushels 

 to ail acre — it destroys mo.ss, mixed with green 

 swurd, in layers, the composition will be fit for 

 use in six months, in summer. Urine, or stale 

 is also excellent manure, and when saved, of as 

 much value nearly, as the dung itself of the stock. 

 And to save it in summer, as soon as your bani- 

 yard is cleared out, in the spring, take the first 

 leisure hour, and take care to find such an hour, 

 to cai-t in a large quantity of loam, mud, clay, rub- 

 bish, broken peat or even sand ; which will absorb 

 the ijrine, and being mixed with the dung, makeu^ 

 most excellent manure. In winter, a great part ot 

 the Stale may be saved, if you have a tight floor, by 

 giving the cattle a jilenty of litter : every night a 

 fresh layer of chaff', flax-dressings, or what ever the 

 barn affords. Mun from ponds, in the opinion of 

 some Farmers, is equal to good dung for Indian- 

 coiTi, planted on a dry gravelly soil : sea-mud 

 Iso is very good ; but all kinds of mud are better 



when laid "in the barn-yard and trodden into the 

 liiAgand stale of the cattle. They should be 

 shovelled into licajis and lay a few days before 

 they are carried into the fields for use. Some 

 Farmers have long and narrow cow-yards by the 

 sidesof roads, or elsewhere, in which they yard 

 their cattle every niglit ; and evei-y two or three 

 days they plough thein deep. This mixture of 

 soil,dung and stale, is said to be equal to any ma- 

 nure which is made. It must be very good for 

 grass land, spread as soon as the crop is mowed 



off. 



Ewes. Breeders should have long and fine 

 wool. From October first, to November twentieth 

 keep the males from them— feed them well for 

 some davs before yeaning. Let them have good 

 feed from their first going to pasture, tiUthe mid- 



