NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



P iSiished bv JOHN B. RUSBF.LL, at the corin-i ofCongr-ss and Lindall Slrpfls. (i-ix Hoors from the I'n?l Officp') -Bnstnn — THOVTAS G. FF.BSF.NnKX. Kditor. 



VOL. III. 



FRIDAY, MAY 27, 182r). 



No. 44. 



conxxaaincATzoN. 



TO THE F.DITOR OK THE NEW ENGLAND FAUMER. 



GRAFTING FRUIT TREES. 



Attlcborovgli, May 19, 1825. 



f,iP.,_I rc;ii! in yo'ir piip<*r, vol. iii. p-.)»e 329. 

 a conimmiiciUiun Irom Mr. Fi.sn of Gil«iim, re- 

 sprctiiig information with re2:a»il (o grsluii;)-. 

 I sliiill not In litis rommiinication, iiinlertnkc lo 

 dpciile posilirely 'he results cf this inqnipy, bul 

 ftoulH rrtilier enlarge and extend it. 1 sliull 

 nrvcrtheless, perh;i[is be alile lo decide, in a 

 short time the results siigirpsiod by Mr Fish, 

 as I engMl.ed, the e«l day of Mar i825, three 

 several trees, in a Hiflereiil stale «ilb rcg^ard to 

 (heir maturity. The first would have blossom- 

 ed very full, had its natural branches been suf- 

 fered lo remain with (he original slock. In 

 Ihis I inserted a cion, cut near tiie trunk ot Hie 

 tree from which it was laUen, whicii probably 

 would not have borne fruit for several years. 

 The next was a free, which had not come lo 

 its maturity or bearing sl.ile, in which I insert 

 ed a cion, which was cut near the ti>p of n 

 tree: and had it been sullerei to remain in its 

 original state, would most probably have borne 

 frnil this season. The next «nd lasl was a tree 

 jusi beginning lo put forth its blossoms, in which 

 I engrafted a cion that was Innkling. 



The subjects of the queries suggested in 

 vonr paper yet remain to me secrets ; bul 

 their ulilily and importance, appear to render 

 them worth investigation. 1 have therefore, 

 though not positised of any thforelical or prtic- 

 tical information with respect lo those objects 

 of inquiry, undertaken to investigate them by 

 experiments ; and I will faithfully transmit to 

 you their result, as soon as the facls are es- 

 t.iblished. 1 should, however, be inclined to 

 Uiiiili that cions, cut (rom any part of the tree 

 will all be brought back to the first or primi 

 live state. It appears from analogy that those 

 cions which were in bud. or would have borne 

 fruit had they remained in their pristine stale, 

 will not yield fruit any sooner than those which 

 are taken from the sprouts, because the sap 

 which they both receive in their new or alter- 

 ed state is the same which would have gone to 

 support and nourish the fruit. 



While speaking of engrafting (ruit trees, it 

 will not, I trust, be improper to m-ike a 

 few inquiries relative to another branch of the 

 subject. — If cions taken tVom one trpp lobe en- 

 grafted into the stock of another ought to be of 

 the same kind ? — that is, if the cions be summer 

 fruit, ought ihey lo be engrafted into the stock 

 of summer fruit ? And, on the other hand if 

 the cions are winter fruit should they be en- 

 grafted on the same ? If winter fruit be en- 

 grafted on summer fruit, the sap will cease to 

 flow belore the fruit comes to maturity, and 

 therefore the apple will lose much of its good- 

 ness, and be cf less value to the proprietor 

 and I'urchaser. Admitting this to he true, then 

 why is it not very improper to engraft young 

 trees before their I'ruit is known, as it is well 

 ascertained that (he seed of one apple will pro- 



duce a great variety of trees, or as many kinds 

 of fruit as as there are seeds in the apple which 

 germinate. 



Why will a tree when stripped of its bark, 

 about the middle of Juno grow the faster, and 

 at another season of the year, the same opera- 

 tion destroy the tree in a very short time ? 

 Respectfully yoiirs. 



JOSEPH W. CArRON. 



BY THE EPITOn. 



V\'itli regard to Mr Capron's 'first iiiqiiiry wbcljirr 

 cions taken from one tree to be engrafted into the 

 stoclj of anolher ought to bf. of tlie same kind' We 

 will give the opinion of Ur. Thacher whicli coincides 

 witli lliat of all other writers on the. same Fiihject, 

 whicli we have perused. ^^ In the cl^o^e of scions for 

 grafiiiig, the essential requisite is, that tijey are nf the 

 "arae genus and natural family with ttie stock which is 

 to 'lecome Iheir foster parent, and which it to afford Ihein 

 liiUire nourishment and support. The apple cannot 

 he adv.'intageously engrafted on a pear stock, nor will 

 a pear siirceed well on an apple slock ; for a'.tliough 

 it may flourish and bear fruit for a few years, it will 

 never prove a profitable tree, and will decline and de- 

 cay sooner than others. Scions from a winter ajjple 

 tiee should not be gral'ted on a summer apple stock, 

 becaase thesap in the sumnriur apple slock is liable to 

 decline aad dimiuisii before the winter fruit lias be- 

 come fully ripe. In the memoirs of the Aoneiican .A- 

 cademy of Arts and Sciences, vol. i. page 388, is a 

 coimiunicalion Irom the late Hon. Benjamin Lincoln, 

 relative to (he eiigral'ting of fruit trees, tc. in which 

 he says '^ I had observed, for a number of years an ap- 

 ple tree in my orchar'l. the natural fruit :.( which was 

 early, having been grafted with a winter "scion. 'pro- 

 ducing fruit very like in appearance to the fruit pro- 

 duced by the trees where the scion wa* taken, but 

 destitute of those qualities inherent in that i'ruit and 

 necessary to its keeping through the winter. . This led 

 me to question the propriety of grafting winter fruit 

 on a Slimmer slock." i:c. A |irar is occasionally en- 

 grafted on a quince, for the purpose of dwart trees, but 

 it is of smaller growth, and h ss vigorous and durable 

 than if nourished by its more natural paieut." 



As respects the second quere, ^^ why is it not very 

 improper lo engraft young trr es before their fruit is 

 known ? We ha^'e no doubt of its impropriety as a 

 general rule ; and that opinion bias been expressed in 

 our paper. Mr Preston of Penn. (Pee N. E. Farmer, 

 vol. i. p. 121.) says " From all (he experiim nts that I 

 have tried in raising orchartls, I would ad\ise setting 

 out (he trees, and seeing a sample nf their fruit before 

 grafting, as all the best kinds nf apples were at first 

 natural, and perhaps by such general trial some better 

 kinds may appear than have yet been known.'" 



As to decortication or stripping trees of their bark 

 it is somewhat of a hazardous and troublesome 

 process. But the reason why it succe*ds*better about 

 the middle of .Inne than any other time of the year 

 we suppose to be, because the tree is at (hat time in 

 its most vigorous state, and the sap circulating with 

 freedom enables the tree to renew its covering, which 

 is essential to its existence. 



HUHAI. ECOnOMV. 



[prepared for tbe n. e. parmeu.] 



on raising peach tp.ees from the seed. 

 It has been well observed, (hat all sorts of 

 ve^riables degenerate, unless occasionally re- 

 new vl from the «eed. Mr Knight (Edin. En- 

 cy. article horticulture,) says that " All the ex- 

 tensions by means of grafts and buds must nat- 

 urally partake of the qualities of tbe original. 



Where the original is old, there must be iiihor- 

 ont in the derivatives the tendency lo decay, 

 incident to old age. It is not to be understooi!, 

 however, that a graft cannot survive the trunk 

 from which it was taken : thi.? would be deem- 

 ed absurd. It may indeed be assumed as a fact, 

 that a ■varictij nr kind of fruit, such as the gold- 

 en [>ippen or the ribston, is equivalent only to 

 an indivi<hial. By careful management, the 

 health and life of this individual may be pro- 

 longed ; and grafts placed on vigorous stocks 

 and nursed in favourable situations may long 

 survive the parent plant or original un-rafted 

 tree. Still there is a progress to extinction, 

 and Ihe only renewal of an individual, the only 

 true reproduction, is by seed." 



We have heretofore, page 322 of the corrent 

 volume published an able and well written ar- 

 ticle, in which the same principles are incul- 

 cated and applied particularly lo the Peach 

 Tree. Indeed, those principles apply more 

 particularly to peach trees than to most other 

 fruit trees, because the former are more short- 

 lived, ;ind of course need renewing from the 

 seed more frequently. It is hoped, therefore, 

 that the fnljpwing directions for raising the 

 fijants may prove useful. They are extracted 

 from a work entitled " Valuable Secrets in Arts, 

 Trades, &c.'* We do not wish to be thought 

 rpsponcible for their'oaccuracy, but they appear 

 to us to bo correct. 



Select for your nursery a spot of ground, of 

 a light loam, rather inclining to sand than clay, 

 not hv.-y or Oal, but rather hilly, with gentle de- 

 clivities, riough this- to the greatest depth 

 po.s.<;ible, .ft less than twelve inches. Should 

 one ploughing fail to make it mellow, give it a 

 second or ihird. \Vhpn thus prepared, which 

 should be in the latter part of the summer or 

 aulnmn, gather your jieach stones or kernels, 

 (which should be the tinest kind of fruit, and 

 from middle aged, thrifty and flourishing trees,) 

 plant them about twelve inches apart each way, 

 and about three inches deep. Unless the fall 

 and winter has been uncommonly dry, peach 

 stones planted in September and October, will 

 sprout in the following April and May. They 

 are now to be attended to each month for this 

 and the following summer, all weeds and grass 

 are lo be kept from among them by hoeing, the 

 ground is lo be made and kept mellow, and no 

 branch must be sufiered to grow out Irom the 

 stem until it has attained the height of at least 

 three feet, nor is more than three or four 

 branches to be permitted to grow at any time 

 from th3 body, until the plant is removed from 

 the nursery, and those which are suffered to 

 grow should be the very top ones. Monthly 

 or oftener during the first and second years all 

 branches and wood-buds, or such buds as will 

 grow to branches should be taken off close to 

 the stem; where they are buds only, they may 

 be rubbed off with (he hand, but (be branches 

 should be cut with a sharp knife drawn up- 

 wards. So as to make the wound as smooth as 

 possible. 



" By the spring of (he third year, your trees 

 should have attained the height of at least 



