214 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



[Jan. 28, 



season and mode of laying down lands lo grasi ; 

 whether Spring, Summer or Fall seeding- be pref- 

 erable, and with or without grain on different 

 soils ; for proving to the sutisfaclion of the 

 Trustees the best mode of rearing, feeding, and 

 fattening neat Cattle ; and proving- to the satis- 

 faction of the Trustees the utility and compara- 

 tive value of the Cobs of Indian corn, when used 

 with or without the grain itself, ground or brok- 

 en — no claims for premiums have been exhibit- 

 ed. For the Committee, 



THOS. L. WINTHROP, Chairman. 

 Boston, Dec. 15, 1824. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



FRIDAY, J.iNUARY 28, ia25. 



Salem, 2bth January 1825. 

 Thomas G. FesSenden, Esq. 



Editor of Ihc A'ac F.npiUnd Farmer, 

 My Dear Sir. — Called upon for information 

 relative to the Buckthorn Hedge on my farm, 

 bv the repeated notice of It in your valuable 

 paper of December 17th and also in that of .Tan- 

 uary 21st, I with pleasure furnish you all ihe 

 inlormation in my p )wer respecting it. 



The plant is the Rhanuivs Calharliais, (Purg- 

 ing Buckthorn) which the latest edition of Mil- 

 er's Gardener's Dicli.>nary describes as follows : 



<■<■ Rhamnus cathartl'- 1:. (Purging Buckthorn.) 



Spines terminaling, ft:"''s guaru/td diorcoiis, leaves 

 ovate, stem ere-:, berry four-seeded. 

 'The purging or cummon buckthorn rises 



(S'orrcsponticnct. 



TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Fhjmonth, .January 25, 1825. 

 BUCKTHORN HEDGE. 

 Mr Fessenden, — In your valuable repository 

 of Agricultural improvements and intormation, 

 of the 22(1 inst. 1 observed a communication from 

 Professor Drown, of Brown University, on 

 Buckthorn hedge fence. The Professor has 

 reference (o the hedge planted by that very in- 

 telligent agricNlturlst, Gen. Derby, of Salem, as 

 reported by (he Committee on Farms iorethe 

 county of Essex ; and his object appears to be tp 

 ascertain the particular species of llie genus 

 Rhamnits employed by that gentleman. Pro- 

 fessor DR0w.^^ is an accomplished botap-si, and 

 well qualified to dislinguisb the characters ol 

 the species of Rhamjius, being not less than 18 

 enumerated by authors. From its peculiar pro[i- 

 erties, he is led to suppose that the species em- 

 ployed by Gen. Derby is the Hippoplue, or Sea 

 Buckthorn, but in this supposition he is incorrect. 

 It is the Rliamnus Catharticus, or Spina Cervini, 

 of the Materia Medica, long known in medicine, 

 .IS a syrup made from its ripe berries is used as 

 ;i drastic cathartic. 



Several trees of this species are in view of 

 •ny windows, one of which has attained to the 

 size of more than 2 feet in circumference, and 

 about IC or 18 I'eet in height. These trees in 

 I'.ultivated ground are le.=s spinous than the Eng- 

 lish or American While Thorn, but their branch- 

 es and twigs are so numerous and closely entwin- 

 ed as to form an impenetrable hedge, as 1 have 

 bcfen assured by an obliging letter from Cen. 

 Derby, with whom Ihe idea first originated. — 

 The Buckthorn bears- a black berry about the 

 size of a dry pea; taken from the tree at this 

 season, (heir juice imparts to white ()aper a pur- 

 ])le colour, and each berry contains, sonic two 

 and others three seeds, instead of tour, as men- 

 tioned by amhors. The tree may be propagated 

 by the seeds or I)y cuttings made from the young 

 twigs ; in either case they should be planted in 

 a nursery of rich soil in Autumn or Spring; the 

 former season is preferred. The particular me- 

 thod of culture and of forming the hedge, we 

 have reason to hope will be aimounccd by the 

 respectable gentleman with whom the experi- 

 ment originated. Yours, very truly, 



.lA.MES TMACIIER. 



if was formerly much employed as a hydragogue, 

 from this quantity to (wo ounces : liut it is now 

 falling info disuse, and is rarely prescribed ex- 

 cept in conjunction with other medicines of this 

 cU"s. It is sai<lthat the flesh of biids which feed 

 upon these berries is purgative. 



Propagation and Ciltur:^. 

 " The purging Buckthorn shrub is so cnmmoii 

 in the hedges of many parls of England, that it 

 is seldom cuUivaled in gardens. It rises easily 

 from seeds, if they are sown in autumn soon af- 

 ter the berries are ripe ; but if they be left out 

 of the ground till spring, the plants \vill not come 

 uji till the year after. These will require no 

 articular treatment, but may be managed ir; the 

 same way as young Crabs, or any other hardy 



with a stron? womly stf-u. to the height of 12 or j deciduous tree or shrub. It may also be propa 



14 feet, sending out maay irregular branches:- ' '' ' "'' 



the young shoots have a smooth greyish-brown 

 bark"; but the older branches have a darker and 

 rougher bark, and are armed "vith a few short 

 thorns. Leaves two inches and a half long, by 

 one and a qitarter broad, dark green above, but 

 pale or light green beneath, having a pretty 

 strong midrib, and several nerves proceeding 

 from it, which diverge towards the sides, but 

 meet an-ain near the point: they stand upon 

 pretty long slender footstalks. The flowers come 

 out in clusters from the side of the branches: 

 those of the male have as many stamens as there 

 are divisions in the petal ; those of the female 

 (or herma|dirodi(c) have a roundish germ, 

 which afterwards becomes a pulpy berry of a 

 roundish form, inclosing four hard seeds. 



" Branches rigid, alternate, round, smooth, 

 with a thorn at the end. Leaves in bundles, 

 smooth, the serralures glandular ; the younger 

 ones pubescent. Stipules nwl-shaped, in pairs, 

 the length of the petiole. Fl.nwers from the same 

 bud with the leaves, aggregate on axillary one- 

 flowered peduncles, whicii are of the same 

 length with the petioles; they are of a pale or 

 yellowish green colour, four-cleft, and dioecous, 

 or polygamous commonly, but not always. Stig- 

 ma fourcleff. Berries black, Ihe size of a small 

 pea, four-celled^four-seeded. Native of Europe, 



gated by cuttings or layers. If the young shoots 

 be layed in autumn, they will put out roots by 

 the following autumn, when they may be taken 

 off, and either planted in a nursery lo get 

 strength for a year or two, or where they are 

 designed lo remain. This is not so proper for 

 hedges as the Hawthorn or Ctab." 



You will perceive that Miller represents it as 

 a shrub growing about 12 or 14 feet high. The 

 tree from which my plants were raised, formerly 

 stood In the garden of Ihe venerable Dr Holyoke 

 of this place, who used the berries for medicinal 

 purposes, and was as large as any of our common 

 apple trees. He assures me he was induced at 

 last to cut it down, as it shaded so much of his 

 garden. I was so pleased with the healthy and 

 clean appearance of the tree, and the next Spring 

 observing several young plants in the adjoining 

 garden belonging to my brother, raised from 

 seed dropt in ihe Autumn, (hat I was induced to 

 (ransplanl them to a nursery, where they grew 

 with great rapidity. 



After trying several kinds of trees for Ihe pur. 

 pose of making a hedge without much success, 1 

 was induced to try this, which has afforded a most 

 beautiful fence, so much so as lo altract the at- 

 tention of every person who has seen it. It di- 

 vides my garden, is about three hundred leet in 

 englh, Ihe plants set nearly a foot apart, is five 



in hedges and woods: flowering from Ihe end of | feet high, and two feet wide at top, which is 



cut nearly level. It shoots early in the Spring, 

 makes a handsome ajipearance and continues ils 

 verdure till very late in the fall. It has not so much 

 spine as either the English or American haw- 

 thorn, but I think sufficient to protect it from 

 cattle. The plant bears the knife or shears re- 

 markably, and makes as close and light a fence 

 as either of the others, and is not subject to blight, 

 as both of them have been with me. You will 

 observe that Miller speaks of it as not so proper 

 for hedges as the Hawthorn or Crab, vvhich may 

 be the case in England, but 1 cannot agree with 

 him as it respects America. 



The tree furnishes a large quantity of seed, 

 which rapidly vegetates ; and 1 make no doubt 

 it can be propagated by cuttiugs, vi-hich mode I 

 shall adopt in Ihe Spring. 



I am, Sir, * 



Yours, with much respect, 



E. HERSEY DERBY. 



April to June, and ripening ils berries about the 

 end of Sej'tember. 



" Acccordingto Pallas, (he Eucklhorn is com- 

 mon in the champaign arwl temperate parts of 

 Rus'iia and Southern Siberia, but scarcely be- 

 yond the Irtis. The trunk is often thicker than 

 a man's arm, and (he wood very hard, of a red- 

 dish colour. The flowers are for the most p;irt 

 hermaphrodite, and clustered; iu the gardens 

 fewer and nearly solitary. 



"The juice of the unripe berries has the col- 

 our of saffron, and is used for staining maps or 

 paper : these are sold under the name of trench 

 berries. The juice of Ihe ripe berries, mi.xed 

 with alum, is the sap green of (he pain(ers ; bu( 

 if (he berries be gadicred late in Ihe autumn, 

 the juice is purple. The bark affords a beauti- 

 ful yellow dye. The inner bark like that of 

 Elder, is said lo be a strong cathartic, and to ex- 

 cite vomiting. The berries operate briskly by 

 stool, but occasion (birs(, and dryness of (he 

 moulh anil (hrdaf, accompanied frequcndy wi(h 

 severe griping of the bowels, unless some dilut- 

 ing liquorbe plentifully taken with (hem. The 

 juice made into a syruji is (he oOicinal prepara- 

 tion. About an ounce is a moderate dose ; and 



Drilling Rocks. — A machine I'or drilling rocks 

 has been invented by Cyrus Alden, Esq. of Rox- 

 bury, by which a boy may drill as much in one 

 day as three men can do in the fame time, in 

 the usual mode ofdriFliug. 



