228 



s;^5 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



[Feb. 11, 



From the Mass. Agricultural Repository for Jan. 1825. 



JOHN LOWELL, ESQ. PRESIDENT OF THE MASSACHU- 

 SETTS AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Sir, — In the remarks I heretofore otTered, 

 upon Orchard nn<i Forest Trees, I pro;), 'ted to 

 place before 3'our readers, in an a|ipendix. 

 some observations on the age, and other cir- 

 cumstances in relation to them. Part of these 

 may have a tendency to support a general 

 theory as to their p;rowth and (hiration. But 

 most of them are of the n;\tnre of exceptions 

 to general rules, and to be considered rather i mer usefulness 



fniit. Us most flourishing condition was in 

 1798, when it produced upon one and three- 

 fourths acres over 160 barrels of fruit. The 

 mark? ol decay have been visible in it for se- 

 veral years, though the trees are still some- 

 what jiroductive. 



It would seem, therefore, from these instan- 

 ces, that the apple tree acquires its greatest 

 productiveness in a little over 30 years, and 

 that its continued state of vigor and of decay, 

 occupy about that period. Some, to be sure, 

 remain mutilated and solemn memorials of for- 



as " reminiscences," in which the curious may 

 perhaps find some amusement, than as offering 

 any instruction to the theorist. 



Before I proceed to speak of the general or 

 particular age of the orchard which 1 shall 

 take first in order, I cannot hut recur to the 

 advantage of the mode of practice I have fal- 

 len into, where it was wished to have an or- 

 chard on a particular spot, on a light soil or 

 plain, for local convenience, or domestic use. 

 This mode minutely set forth, may be seen in 

 No. I, Vol. VI. 



It was, in elToct, to lay aside and reserve the 

 two upper strata, and remove about a foot of 

 the gravelly or dead earth, and to replace that 

 depth with small stones. The experiment has 

 outdone expectation, and 1 have been induced 

 this season to set out an orchard where it caif 

 be best availed of, near the house, and on a 

 soil that under other circumstances, would not 

 have been so appropriated. 



I was much gratified to observe in an account 

 given in a late English publication, of some 

 trees which had apparently flourished, and at- 

 tained great age, " that at the root, the earth 

 was found paved with stones." The advan- 

 tages promised in this mode of culture, are, 1st, 

 'Phe nbeorf/tion and gradual distribution of mois- 

 ture by the stones when most w.inted ; 2(lly, 

 The equalization of the temperature of the 

 earth ; and 3dly, The preventing the roots 

 passing into the poorer under strata, by forcing 

 them into a better soil, in a horizontal direc- 

 tion. These seem to be resources of encou- 

 ragement in this mode of practice, at le.ist de- 

 serving of a trial. 



In considering the age and duration of the 

 orchard, Ine apple and pear trees first present 

 themselves. 1 have endeavored to arrive with 

 all the certainty which could be had at the 

 period when several of these were set out in 

 this neighborhood. The first instance I shall 

 notice, was about the year 1750, of a|)ples and 

 pears. These are principally decayed and 

 removed ; and for many years, those remain- 

 ing have given little or no fruit. But the pear 

 tree has proved the longest liver, and greatest 

 fruit bearer. In a second, the orchard was 

 set out in about 1760. This also is in a great 

 state of decay, and most of the trees have 

 failed, or very few only giving fruit. In this 

 latter instance the soil was very thin, and less 

 favorable, and the trees much smaller. But 

 the du-ration promised to be at least equal to 

 the one preceding. It may be mentioned as 

 the whim of an early cultivator. The gentle- 

 man who purchased this orchard, had it from 

 the man who set it out, that " he put a peck 

 of oats at tire, bottom of each tree." 



The third orchard to be noticed vvas set out 

 in about 17C7. This is altogether of grafted 



sures 12 feet 5 inches, and 4 feet above, 10 feet 

 4 inches, and i'* hollow from the ground up- 

 ward, 8 t'eet, and would contain within it a 30 

 gallon cask — abr ve, it is divided into three 

 large branches ; they are also hollow 2 or 3 

 feel from the truni' ; they then become solid, 

 and send forth nu'ubers of thrifty and vigor- 

 ous shoots which be ;r the fruit. Dr. Fisk, who 

 visiled me sometime since, who you know is a 

 noted arborist, observed it was the largest apple 

 tree he b.^d sverseen. 



" Of all trees for product, there is an ap- 

 ple tree oa the farm of Thomas \V. Ward, 

 Esq. our Sheriff, in Shr- wsbury, which is pre- 

 eminent. It stands norltioa?t from, and near to 

 his barns, is large, and gro»vs in a good soil — 

 and he has often assured me, he has made sev- 

 eral years ten barrels of cider from its fruit. — 

 The last year he made about eight barrels from 

 it." 



The pear tree is sometimes intermixed with 

 the apple in orchards, but oftener in gardens, 

 or favoured spots of smaller extent. It is doubt- 

 less of longer life than the apple tree, and bears 

 fruit for a greater extent of years. Many of 

 very ancient date have been known in thiscit3', 

 particularly one in the garden of Major Melville. 

 But 1 am enabled to give through the polite in- 

 quiry of the Hon. Mr. 8ilsbee, President of the 

 Senate, the particnlais of the celebrated Das- 

 rers tree of Gov. Endicott, in a letter from a 

 descendant of that gentleman. It can hardly 

 be expected to look further back. 



Salem, December 4, 1823. 

 Ho.v. Nathaniel Silsbee, 



DcAR Sir— The ancient pear tree in Danvers, 

 about which you particularly inquired, was im- 



The mode of practice by some, of cutting 

 off old limbs, to produce young wood and more 

 fruit, wherever 1 have seen it practiced, has 

 been of short lived utility. 



Some which stand preeminent, as exceptions 

 to all rules, are now to be mentioned. 



In the fruit bearing season of 1822, I visited 

 the garden of the Wyllis family in Hartford 

 Connecticut, to see two extraordinary trees. 

 The one an apple, sai<i to have been imported 

 before the middle of the nth century, by the 

 old Secretary from England. The appearance 

 of the tree was that of decay. It had been, 

 probably, long hollow. .\t this time, as near 

 as can be recollected, little more than one 

 third of the circumference remained; of this 

 the bark wan sustained by a thin layer of wood. 

 A few weak limbs at the top bore some dozens 

 of apples. Of these I brought and exhibited 

 at the anniversary dinner of the Massashusetts 

 Agricultural Society, at Brighton, a sample. 

 The fruit must be considered ordinary ; its fla- 

 vour was of a bitter sweet. It might have 

 been useful for baking. What has maile me 



lookback to this incident more particularly, _ . . 



was, that about the same time, an English tra- porled jrom England, and planted by Gov. En- 



veller was collecting a small box of the apples, 

 which he took with jhim across the Atlantic, 

 and presented to some Society, as I saw in a 

 journal of that country ; and the age and cir- 

 cumstances of this tree were noticed as quite 

 extraordinary. 



There is also a tree neap where the Indian 

 meeting house and burying ground in Natick 

 were formerly, standing on an acre of ground 

 given by an Indian to the Apostle Elliot, so call- 

 ed, which has been in bearing within a few 

 years, and is said to have been a favour- 

 ite apple with the Indians ; it has obtained 

 the name of the " Orange Svireeting." If this 

 tradition is correct, this tree acquired nearly 

 as many years ; for this celebrated preacher, 

 ! whose influence was so great among these 

 tribes, died in 1C90; and it was probably some 

 years before, that he received this testimony of 

 regard from his Indian admirer. 



Of the size of the apjile tree, 8 or 9 feci cir- 

 cumference occasionally occur. 



As to product, 1 have also seen mention made 

 of 50 bushels on a tree. 



But both these points are so well exemplified in 

 the county of Worcester, by a letter from W. 

 Sted.man, Esq. of Lancaster,that 1 cannot do bet- 

 ter than close this part of my subject by an ex- 

 tract therefrom. 



" I have an ancient apple tree which bears 

 every year a very large reddish and yellow 

 skinned fruit, which is not in eating till the lat- 

 ter part of winter. It stands about 12 rods east 

 of my barns. Its trunk near the ground, men- 



dicott on his farm in 1C30. Its stands on a 

 hard clay bottom covered with a rich soil more 

 than a foot deep, sheltered from the westerly 

 winds, hut exposed to the easterly. The ground 

 has been cultivated as a field ever since it was 

 planted, but no particular care has been taken 

 of the tree until the last seven years, since which 

 for antiquity's sake, it has been kept enclosed, 

 the ground dug and manured, new sprouts have 

 made their appearance, and will no doubt live 

 many years. It girts just above the ground 6 

 feel 8 inches, and tapers but little to the crotch, 

 which is 4 feet 6 inches iVom the ground. It 

 never was a tall tree ; the lop is now about 15 

 feet high, and is entirely hollow. It bore one 

 and a half bushel of fair fruit this year, 1823, 

 and always has been prolific. The fruit is good; 

 and there can be no doubt of its having been en- 

 grafted. Respectfully, 



SAM'L. ENDICOTT. 



I believe your readers will be too tired to ven- 

 ture into the woods with me, and the remarks 

 on forest trees had better be deferred to anoth- 

 er opporiunity- 



I am with Consideration and Respect, 



Yours, 4ic. JOHN WELLES. 



Lnbonr in Ireland. — Of the 6,801,827 souls 

 which constitute the population oflreland, 3,341, 

 926 are malts, and 3,459,901 are females. The 

 number of i)cr^on3 chiefly employed in agri- 

 culture is 1,138,069 ; of those engaged in trade, 

 manufactures and mechanic arts, 1,170,041. 



