NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



PUBLISHED BY JOHN B. RUSSELL. ROGER5' BUH.UIAGS, CONGRESS STREET, BOSTON.— THOMA:- G. FESSE^DEN, EDITOR. 



VOL. III. 



FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 1825. 



No. 34. 



(©rt'stnal (Eoinmuutcatton.s. 



T. G. Fessende.v, Esq. 



Editor oflht J\'tiv England Farmer. 



GR.XFTING FRUIT TREES. i 



IVorcester, March Q, 1?23. j 

 Peak Sir, — In tlie " Farmer's Cidendiir," a 

 valiKible anil »veli conducted department of yonr| 

 useful paper, you noticed (page 216) the opin- 

 ions of scientilic and practical men on the timei 

 and manner of aeleclinar scions tor griifiiny. As; 

 llicories are valuable so far only as tliey aresiis- j 

 lained by facts; and it beinof tlie duty of every j 

 one 10 communicate such information a.s he may | 

 pos.^ess, as may have a bearing; u|)on any unset- i 

 tied theory in question, I ofToi' no apolngv for j 

 the few remarks and elucidations vvliich 1 ad-; 

 dress to you on the subject. j 



From early lite 1 have been conversant with 

 grafting, not only on my own grounds, but occa- 

 sionally in devoting my leisure to this pleasing 

 exercise and amusement for the benctit of my I 

 friends and neighbours. March I have supposed [ 

 the best month for taking the scions ; and that' 

 part of the month, uhether early or late, when 

 the branch has acquired some lustre from the 

 distension of the sap vessels, and the bud begins 

 to be enlarged by renewed circulation. The 

 precise time, however, n hether earlier or later, 

 I apprehend is not so material as the keeping of 

 them in the condition they are cut to the time 

 of using thera. They are kept suspended in thja 

 state until the sap in the stock is in free motipri. 

 The growth of the preceding year is decidedly 

 best ; yet I have had recourse to an older twig 

 on some S[)ecial occasions, with success. I have 

 been successful with scions cut about (be time I 

 useci them. Before they are set, thev should 

 be a iittle esiiausted of (heir moisture ; but not 

 enougli to cause the vessels to collapse. In this 

 state they more readily imbibe aonrishmont 

 from the stock. They should be nliUle hungry 

 when placed in a situation toycec/ from the juic- 

 es of the stock. The succulent substance, of a 

 quick growth, I reject, as too tender fur the 

 pressure of a close contact with the stock. The 

 top-bud in a mature scion, if uninjured, need not 

 be discarded, unless there be a supply of the cuts 

 of the last year's growth, which, for reasons ! 

 shall offer, are preferable. My practice is — to 

 sever the scion from the tree in the old wood, 

 leaving enough, including the bulb which sepa- 

 rates the two last years' growth, after being 

 prepared for insertion, to form the wedge. The 

 shoulder of the scion, which comes inclose con- 

 tact with the upper surface of the stork, is form- 

 ed by cutting through the bark into the wood, 

 near the upper part of the bull). As the wood in 

 this part is hard and more easily &, neatly fitted to 

 the cleft, and admits of stronger pressing with- 

 out injfiry ; and as the tubes are less rectilinear 

 or parrdlel with each other, their orifices are 

 more in contact with the circulation of the stock. 

 Being in the practice of inserting two scions in 

 a stock (for the purpose of doubling the chance 

 of success, and for the more expeditiously and 

 firmly covering the head of the stock) the cur- 



vature at the bulbs causing them to diverge; 

 and particularly in a small stock, renders the 

 process of inserting them more easy. In hori- 

 zontal limbs, if the upjier scion takes, its course 

 is already determined, and it grows with less 

 restraint. If both scions on a stock grow, it will 

 readily be perceived which ought to remain. 



A failure most commonly arises from one of 

 two causes, or from both combined, eitiier the 

 scion is too much com[>ressed by the stock, or 

 by the composition which surrounds it. Three 

 parts of garden loam to one of clay, made moist 

 enough to be adhesive, liberally supplied and 

 well secured will imbibe moisture; and when 

 dry will not become hard. With this, or some 

 other mild dressing, the head should be covered 

 until a substitute is formed by new wood and 

 bark. I may add another cause which retards 

 or destroys the growth, — the undue length of 

 the scion. The farther it extends from the 

 stock, the more leeble is the circulation ; — of 

 course ills more liable to become shriveled and 

 dried by exposure to the sun and atmosphere. 

 It the extremity becomes so, it generally ad- 

 vances tiirough the whole extent. 



Your obedient servant, 



O. FISKE. 



TO THE ECITOR OF THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Worcester, March 10, 1825. 



D.-JAR Sir, — Having noticed the account of an 

 Rfpie tree, of sip^ular production, by Lovf.t 

 •i-i.it?'', Esq. pulrfJ'shed in your pap. r, I am in- 

 duced to give a statement of one in my garden, 

 which manifests a different, but perha|)s a more 

 unaccountable deviation from the known laws 

 of the vegetative kingdom. 



About thirty years ago, having hut few trees, 

 anil desirous of a variety of fruit, I very in- 

 judiciously grafted them with different kinds. — 

 In the tree in question I put the Sweet Winter 

 russet, the Roxbury russet, and a Greening. — 

 The two lowest limbs are the greening and 

 sweet russet. The first three or four branch- 

 es of the Sweet russet limb, from four to six 

 leet from its insertion, have, 1 believe, invaria- 

 t>ly, since I lirst noticed it, perhaps tiventy 

 yeiirs since, produced a sweet apple ; but re- 

 sembling in colour, polish, shape, and size, the 

 greenin,'. Further removed from the greening 

 limb, the apples are perfectly rough, dark skill- 

 ed russets. The tree was prostrated in the 

 September gale, in 1815. Before replacing it 

 I lightened the branches to increase the chance 

 of its living. Those which produced thi> 

 change of fruit were cut away. Other shoots 

 have appeared in their place, exhibiting the 

 same peculiarity. If influenced by the farina 

 of the greening, why should it be confined to 

 particular branches? Many gentlemen have 

 witnessed this curiosity ; but no one has attempt- 

 ed to exidain the cause. 



Should the tree be in bearing the ensuing 

 season, I will endeavour to give it a more mi- 

 nute description. If any thing more satisfactory 

 appears, I shall take pleasure in communicat- 

 ing it. I am, .Sir, respectfully Yours, 



O. FISKE. 



TO THE EDITOK OF THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



CULTIVATION OF MILLET. 



Milton, March 7, 1825. 

 Mr Fessf.nden, — Having been requested to 

 prepare for the New England Far.mer a descrip- 

 tion of my crop of Millet, raised last year, I ac- 

 cordingly forward it to you with pleasure. 



From th<? lOih to the 23d of June I sowed 

 about 12 acres of Millet, at about 16 quarts per 

 acre. About one third was on land planted the 

 year before, and I think produced nearly 3 tons 

 per acre ; the other two thirds was on green- 

 sward, plnngbed and harrowed but a few days 

 before being sown, — and on very light land with- 

 out any manure on either. I had not much over 

 one ton per acre on the green sward, — the land 

 being soiight that it did liot bare more than two 

 or three bundled of hay per acre. I mowed my 

 Millet from Ibe 1st to the 12th of September ; 

 and I found ibe tojjs of heads perfectly ripe and 

 fit for seed. 



I think Millet well worth the attention of Far- 

 mers in general, for horned cattle. I believe all 

 cattle prefer it to any other fodder. But I think 

 that hay for iiorses is belter than Millet ; but for 

 horned ealtio I should certainly prefer Millet. 



Farmers who may wish to procure any Millet 

 seed, will fm I a supply at French & Weld's, No. 

 713 Washington slicet, Boston. 



^i our~, with much respect, 



N. DAVENPORT. 



TO nr.VEbiTOR tfF THE rtliW ENOXakij SJLT^vr"^ 



CULTURE OF ONIONS. 



Salcn, March 13, 1825. 

 Mr Fessenden, — In one of your late papers, I 

 observed some remarks upon the subject of rais- 

 ing onions. The method of preparing the ground 

 by him recommended, ajipears to me not the 

 host. As far as I have had experience, the land 

 should be i)longhed about four inches in depth, 

 and harrowed so as to make it very tine ; the 

 manure, which should always be a rich compost, 

 should be ploughed in and thoroughly mixed ; 

 the land should then be rolled with a heavy roller 

 to Ibrtn a close bottom for the bulbs to form up- 

 on, and at the same time not so hard as to per- 

 vent the small roots of the plant from penetrat- 

 ing. The best onions and the largest crops are 

 produced where the bulbs grow almost entirely 

 on the top of the ground, Alter the ground has 

 been rolled and before the seedi are sown the 

 beds should be raked with a sharp iron rake, to 

 firepare a finely pulverised drill for reception of 

 the see ; and after the seeds are sown, the drill 

 should be pressed with a board and sufficient 

 weight to bring the earth in clos^e contact with 

 the seed. Care should be taken in selecting 

 seed, none should be sown but such as will be 

 sure to vegetate, and it "ctild he well if no more 

 seed were to be sown iliauyou wcnl 1 have pl.ants 

 (0 rffmain and grow in the drill. It will be «nper- 

 tluons to add that if you wou;il have a good crop 

 of onions, you must not permit a crop of weeds 

 to grow in the same bed ; they will not do wel! 

 together. Yours respectfully, 



L TUCKER. 



