NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



vlie composition ivcll into the iiperlnre iiiul 

 wounileil Cavities, as it will not only-'liielil tiieni 

 I'rom Ihfi injurious eft'ects ijf Ihu weatiier, bul 

 ileleni! tlictn against ;r variety ofiioxions in^pct< 

 vvliicli are in the lialiit of infesting the wouiul- 

 ^;d parts, and preventing the:n froiu henlinc:. 



Another cause of decay in pear Irces is the 

 insufficiency of the slocks on wiiich many of 

 tliem hiive boon grafted : this was the case with 

 several of mine, (lie tru,\ks of whicli liad ac- 

 •luired thrive times the dianieler of the stocks, 

 and llie consoipience ivas titat the roots were 

 wliolly disproportioned lo the brandies, &.c. and 

 iiiadeipiale to llieir support. Trees thus cir- 

 cnmslanceil must inevitaldy decline, unless Ihey 

 are closely pruued — and 1 here may observe 

 thai all the blighted and defective branches 

 ous'ht to be speedily removeil — the limbs 

 should he cut otr entirely, or id least 6 or 12 

 j'.ches below where the disease is manifested. 

 This is indicated I)y ihc appearance of the bark, 

 ivhich in the afiected part is always darker 

 coloured, an<l seems to adhere firmly lo the 

 limb which may be said to be hide-bound. Ap- 

 ple, Dear, and peach trees, ought not (o be 

 permitted to ascend too high, but should be 

 pruned above, and induced to spread. Moles 

 are also exceeilingly destructive to pear trees, 

 they not only eat the bark from the roots bul 

 soroelimes, by traversing bolh sides of the prin- 

 cipal rools, detach the earlh from them in 

 such a manner as lo leave them almost isolated, 

 consequently ihcy become dry and diseased, and 

 at length perish. 



But the great and o'f/icra/ error of our coun- 

 try in the cultivalion of fruit trees, is the per- 

 mitting grass to form an almost impenetrable 

 sod, over and about Iheir roots, suflTerii^g the 

 earlh to become so much indurated as Icf pre- 

 vent (heir expansion, and omilting to remove 

 in due lime. the su[ierabundant fruit. 



These and the worms are the causes of the 

 puny and defective condition ofourfruils. If 

 we are desirous of raising large, juicy, and pe(- 

 Tect fruit, we must abandon such an irrational 

 system, and plough ihe earth two or thre^ 

 times during ihe season ; keeping it clear fronj 

 grass, and applying occasionally manures of 

 which wood ashes is one of the best. 



The good effect of this method will soon be 

 apparent; the leaves will assume a darker 

 green, Ihe trees become more tiiriving and 

 healthy, and finally Ihe fruit will be larger, 

 more perfect and juicy, and the product of 

 course considerably greater. 



These are the prin:ipal facts which have 

 come to my knowledge, and as I have nearly 

 one hundred jjear trees growing in situations 

 greatly diver.-ified, I will carefully note every 

 phenomenon which shall present, and commu- 

 nicate with pleasure, any further information 

 which I may acquire In the course of future 

 observations and experiments. 



I am, very respectfully, S:c. 



EVAN THOMAS, Jr. 

 .T. S. Ski\ker. 



jN". B. The interrogatories of Ihe Neiv Jer- 

 sey correspondent, deserve particular atten- 

 tion — they certainly flow from an acnie and 

 penetrating mind; — as I have disclosed all Ihal 

 1 know upon these points in this letter, I shall 

 merely add that when there are no worms in 

 the roots, and the general aspect of the peach 



tree is sickly, that is, the loaves become small, 

 pale green, and then yellow, it will be found 

 to procerd from grass, and Ihe hardness or ste- 

 rility of the soil beneath it. This can be prov- 

 ed l)y a course of manuring and Ullage, which 

 will reclaim such trees surprisingly ; especial- 

 ly, if Ihe dead and defective limbs are removed. 

 Iiiilian corn and potatoes are the best crops lo 

 ciillivale in orchards; orchard grass is the most 

 pernicious. 



».wx 



GRAFTING AND BUDDING. 



Letter from .flhiicr Laiulnum, nf Edncjidd, S. C 

 to the Editor of tite American Farmer. 



1 made some experiments the preceding 

 year, on summer grafting, useful and new lo me 

 at least. At that lime I had never read, or 

 heard of this operation being performed in the 

 Slimmer, except with twigs cut Ihe preceding 

 winter. About the first of July, \vhen the 

 growth of some trees had become stationary, I 

 cut a twig of the pear tree, anil inserted it on a 

 nursery stock, which readily grow off. I next 

 tried almost every variety of orchard fruits. 

 >vhich succeeded perfectly well. I was induc- 

 ed lo make Ihis experiment from the rationality 

 of the theory, it having occurred upon Ihe 

 slightest reflection, Ihal failures in spring graft- 

 ing might originate from the dissipation of 

 moisture by ihe drying winds peculiar to that 

 season, before the sap of Ihe stock acquires suf- 

 licient motion to furnish Ihe graft with due 

 nourishment ; but from the rapid motion of the 

 sap in some stocks, with the general moisture 

 )i Ihe air during midsummer, the operation 



rs,.- 



" 1st. Be careful not lo loosen the b.irif of 

 the slock in splitting it ; and the s-.ti'V'^t way to 

 gusrd against that is lo split Ihe bark willi a 

 sharp pointed knife, before the splitting of the 

 stock. 



" 2d. As after the leaves are grown it is rot 

 expected to use scions from a distance, bul locut 

 them out of ihe orchard as wanted, be sure in 

 selecting the grafts lo cut ihem in such manner 

 as to always take the bulge, between Ihe 

 year's growth, to shave and set in the slock, as 

 in that joint or bulge, between the year's growth, 

 the wood is curled, open and j'orous, lo receive 

 the sap readily from Ihe slock, and such sci- 

 ons will grow and flourish — when if taken from 

 any other part of of the twig they would not 

 grojv. 



' M. The clay should he very fine and 

 tough, and pressed and boimd water light round 

 the ptock below the split In retain all sap that 

 oozis out to support the graft." 



.'itiportant Invention. — Mr. Brodie, foreman of 

 the Carpenter's Department in the Gosport Na- 

 vy Yard, has invented a machine which promi- 

 se^ greatly to facilitate the repairing of dama- 

 ges done to vessels. It is a box shaped to the 

 mould of the ship, reaching from Ihe surface of 

 tha water to the keel, and sufficiently wide to 

 coier the part to be repaired. It is sunk along- 

 side, and brought close to Ihe ship by ropes, and 

 tha water is then pumped out by means of an 

 eniine. The workmen then descend and exe- 

 cute their task •' with as much security as if 

 they were on terra firma." 



U launching Ihe Delaware 74, an accident 



would seldom (ail ; and the result fully proved occtlirred, by which Ihe copper, lo Ihe length of 

 this conclusion well founded. It next occurred ' ' ' ' " 



lo me that the walnut, fig, and persimon, which 

 will not succeed in the spring except by mere 

 chance, might now answer on Ihe same princi- 

 ple of reasoning, I accordingly made the exper- 

 iment and succeeded. 



To make the success of summer grafting cer- 

 tain, take the twigs lo be inserted from a tree 

 in which Ihe sap is, as near as possible, station- 

 ary ; and select a slock in which the sap has 

 the greatest possible motion. July is Ihe pro- 

 per time fir summer grafting, and indeed ihe 

 most suitable month of the twelve for that ope- 

 ration. However, the operation may be per- 

 formed with tolerable success, during the re- 

 mainder of the summer and fall months. 



REMARKS BY THE EDITOR. Tlie aboYC article 



should have been republished in our paper earlier in 

 tlie season, but we hope it is not too late to prove use- 

 ful. In the first volume of Ihe New England Fanner, 

 page 121 is an article furnished by Mr. Preston, of 

 Poun. giving an account of a mode of summer-grafting 

 practiced by a German of his acquaintance, from 

 which we will republish the following extract, for the 

 benefit of those of our readers who may not be in pos- 

 session of that volume. 



" He informed me that he had been bred to 

 orcharding in Germany, Ihal he had raised and 

 planted all his trees, and grafted the greater part 

 of Ihem, after they began lo bear, if he disliked 

 the fruit. 



" 1 observed that I thought the season would 

 be too short for grafting so many trees. He told 

 me that it might be performed any time in the 

 fore part of summer, if a wet, growing time, 

 and I would observe the following directions : 



3or l t'eet very low down and contiguous lo the 

 forefoot, was ripped up. Two summers passed 

 away before the casually was discovered, but 

 during the third, the worm so far perforated 

 Ihe exposed part as to cause the ship to leak 

 consideri\bly. All the skill in caulking, thrum- 

 ming, ht\ that could be exerted, availing noth- 

 ing, Ihe leak continuing to ii- rease. Finally it 

 is pronounced impracticable to overcome it 

 aoy olherway than by heaving the ship down, 

 in which operation an expense of ^25,000 or 

 30,000 must necessarily be incurred. It was in 

 Ihis dilemma that Mr. Brodie had his machine 

 conslrucled. The workmen descended with 

 tools and commenced operation. The injured 

 plank has been removed, and at tliis moment, 

 says a writer in Ihe Norfolk Herald of Monday, 

 " they are bolting the new plank nearly 18 feet 

 under Kater, to her side, in complete security." 



" Simple as the machine is," says Ihe Herald, 

 "such are Ihe important advantages that must 

 result from it, that it cannot but entitle the in- 

 ventor t) the gratitude of his country." — Pkil. 

 Ga^rette. - 



Cure for the Cholera Morbus. — After burning a 

 cork thoroughly, pour on it a teaspoonfull of 

 brandy, then mash it well with loaf sugar and 

 a little nutmeg or essence of peppermint and 

 water. This is a safe recipe which has almost 

 invariably been efficacious, in curing the chole- 

 ra morbbs and bilious cholic. — Boston Patriot. 



Tooth Ache. — This afllicting disorder can be im- 

 mediately relieved, by holding in the mouth a 

 mixture of salt, vinegar and spirits, in Ihe propor- 

 tion of a table spoonful of spirit, Ihe same quan- 

 tity of sharp vinegar, and a tea spoonful of salt. 



