NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



blished bv JOHN B. Rt^SSEUL. at llie coincf of on?i- ''ss andj.infbll Streels, (Six doors from tho I'ost Offirr) I!r.;toii — THOMAS G. Fi.SSfNnr.N", T.r.T on 



"ORIOINAITOOMMUNICATION. 



T. G. Fessenden, Esq. 



Editor of tke A'ei» England Farmer. 



Counlij of .IVorfolk, JiHie 2 1 , 1 825. 



SiR,_Yoiir paper of the 17th inst. furnishes 

 two articles, in .nnswor to some queries in Iho 

 New England Farmer of tlie K-th ull. upon 

 "raflinii, to wiiich you have adiUul some iiotes 

 of yoii'r own, encouraginir a discussion o^f the 

 poims in question with a vievv to elicit Truth, 

 if it can be got at. 



Under this inviiafion I he^ leave to oiTcr some 

 observations on the subject, and if they are er- 

 roneous, they will be refuted ; and, as you ob- 

 serve, '■' truth thus sifted and bolted will at 

 leni^th be obtained free from chaff." 



The questions in your paper of the ISIhult. 

 are — 



" I. If a scion from a tree in full bearing i? 

 set upon a seedling stock that has never borne 

 fruit, will the scion thus set become productive 

 any sooner than the natural branches of the 

 stock upon which it is placed? 



" 2. If a scion I'rom a see-'ling tree that has 

 ticver borne fruit is placed on a tree in full bpar- 

 in?, will it become productive any sooner tlian 

 the tree I'rom which it is taken ?" 



Your remarks on these queries in the sime 

 paper wer.^, I think, just and correct upon gen- 

 eral principles ; but as you have now changed 

 your view of (he subject from some observatilins 

 iniule hv " Rusticus,"' in your pa[)er of the ITt.lj, 

 inst. I have been induced to trouble you with 

 mv crude notions in relation to it. 



Rusticus says that in May 1820,^he grafted 

 into seedling stocks 3 or 4 years old, a number 

 of scions taken from bearing trees ; "that they 

 are now in a flourishing state, but have never 

 yet shown any blossom; that in May 1821 he 

 also grafted sotne into stocks which had arrived 

 at a bearing state, and others into stocks not old 

 enough to bear; that the former blossomed the 

 third year, and ever since, but that the latter 

 had never blossomed ; that last year he grafted a 

 scion from a bearing tree into a bearing stocky 

 and the scion blossomed ; but that he removed 

 the blossom, and that it has not this year shown 

 any flower. 



From these experiments the author infers 

 that the matuiity of the scion is not wholly cor- 

 respondent to that of the stock from which it is 

 taken, but is affected in some degree, if not 

 wholly controlled, by the age of the stock into 

 which it is inserted. 



Mad Rusticus substituted the word " habits,'''' 

 in lieu of " o^f," I think he would have come 

 nearer to>the fact ; but as I cannot but distrust 

 my own notions on the subject, when they are 

 in opposition to other gentlemen of experience, 

 i submit them with deference. 



The experience of some years, however, has 

 led me to think thai the scion carries with it 

 all the " maturity," as well as all the other 

 properties which it possessed while on the 

 mother branch ; and that any deviation from 

 what it might have been, had it remained there, 



FRIDAY, JULY 1. 1825 



miji w.iijw.i.ii.iii W~itii 11— r>iw »— 'MiMiB— TW lilt ■r-ii»ni~i'ifT i 



arises from the habits of the tree into which it 

 is inserted, and by which it would Tiave been 

 equally affected in the parent stock, "had the 

 habits of that tree been changed. Dy hubils, I 

 mean the course given to it by cultivation, and 

 pruning. Some trees have hnurious habits ; — 

 some weakhj habits; some temperate nui\ fruitful 

 habits ; and some slovenly habits. Rank or ex- 

 cessive pruning will give a tree ?»,TU)'wt/s habits 

 in a rich soil ; but in a poor soil the want of a 

 free use of the knife will give it weakly habits. 

 A judicious use of the saw and knife, according 

 *o the nature of the soil and situation, will give 

 it fruitful habits; and the entire neglect of it 

 tvill soon give it slovcnh/ habits. 



But it is imi)ortant, in repi 'ing to Rusticus, 

 first to ascertain whether the scions transferred 

 to the seedling stocksin 1820 were fruit bear- 

 ing scions, or only scions from a fruit bearirtg 

 tree ? I'hese arc distinct things ; for on all fruit 

 bearing trees there are great abundance of sci- 

 ons that have no fruit buds on tliem. I shall 

 not therefore undertake to controvcjrt his posi- 

 tion, but rather give my views generally upon 

 the subject of tlie properties of scions when 

 transferred from one stock to another. 

 I Scions taken from one tree and placed in a- 

 nolher, will doublless preserve all the essential 

 properties they posspsscd while on the parent 

 stock. They may no doubt be made, by being 

 taken from a weakly tree and put into a ihrifty 

 luxuriant branch of a young and vigorous plant, 

 to grow more thrifty than they did in their 

 original situation, because they receive more 

 nutriment ; and in many instances this -very lux- 

 uriance of growth may prevent their l'orm;og| 

 their fruit buds until there are a sufficient num 

 ber of branches and buds lorraed on the tree to 

 consume the superabundant sap, and thereby 

 check its growth, and give to its wood more 

 hardness, and to a portion of its buds time to 

 form the germ of their fruit. While the vigor 

 of the tree is such as to force all its buds into 

 wood branches, they cannot obtain that maturi- 

 ty or state of virility if I may so express my- 

 self, which is necessary to the formation of its 

 blossom buds. 



On some frees — such as peaches — plums — 

 apricots SiC. the principal portions of the fruit 

 liuds are formed annually on the shoot of the 

 season ; a few only bear two years in succession. 

 These are called by English gardeners spurs. — 

 But in other trcpssuch as apples — pears — cher- 

 ries &c. the fruit generally proceeds from spurs, 

 which continue increasing in size and in hear- 

 ing, from two to seven years ; each, in their turn 

 resting from their labours during a season, until 

 the whole are succeeded by new buds, and new 

 spurs, to supply the deficiency. 



In whatever state the scions are transferred, 

 they will, I apprehend, remainif they receive 

 t'rom the foster parent the same degree of nu- 

 triment that they bad from the parent stock ; 

 but it they are too feebly nourished they will not 

 give existence to their fruit, if they do to the 

 tilossom; and on the other hand, if they have a 

 superabundance of sap, they »vill grow into vig- 

 orous wood br.inches, but in due season will set 

 their fruit at the base of those shoots or branch- 



No. 40. 



es ; probably this woulil be the case in some of 

 the buds of Iho scion, the first year of its inser- 

 tion : this is common. 



We must rot conclude that the scion alters its 

 character because it docs not show its blossoms 

 on the seedling at once ; for unless wc are sure 

 that it bear fruit blossoms when it is transferred, 

 we cannot say what its character is. 



I would not, hoftevcr, be understood to say, 

 that a young sapling tr^e is as good a stock to 

 obtain fruit from, as a well groivn vigorous fruit 

 bearing trer ; but / kuouj that a young stock that 

 has sufficier:; vigour to support its scions well, 

 will bring out the fruit (if there be any in the 

 scions') as «*el! as an old one. Whether it will 

 be able to bring that fruit to maturity, must de- 

 pend on the variety of circumstances to which 

 all trees are liable ; but we every day sec in 

 hot houses, where there is generally great care 

 bestowed upon them, peaches and nectarines, 

 raised in tubs, on stocks one and two years old. 



The diflicuity in setting fruit is not, however, 

 so much owir.g to the languid growth of the 

 tree, as it is tv the luxuriant habits it may have 

 acquired in a rich soil. As an evidence of this 

 you may retard the bearing of a tree by rank 

 pruning ; or you may bring a tree into bearing 

 by transplant :ng it, so as to check its growth ; 

 or by taking ■■/X a ring or section of the bark 

 down to the ; Ibtfi-nuro, from a limb tiiat has 

 never borne fruit. I have no doubt that a scion 

 taken from a very vigoroBS tree that has never 

 borne fruit, but th.it has attained a suitable age 

 to support it, if transferred to a healthy, young 

 stock grov«Ag in a good but less rich earth, will 

 rorrect Its Irfbjts, and be brought into a bearing 

 state much sooner than it would have been, had 

 it remained on the tiiotber branch. 



1 apprehend that the bearing state of a tree 

 does not depend so mych upon the age and size 

 of the tree, as it does npon the habits and mode 

 of culture which it is obliged to submit to. Hence 

 a scion taken from a luxuriant branch of one tree 

 and transferred to a tree in full bearing, will soon 

 acquire its habits, and probably come sooner 

 into a bearing state than il would have done 

 where it first grew, or if it had been transferred 

 to a voung luxuriant stock, in lieu of one that 

 had .already been brought to a statt- of discipline. 

 In many countries, and particularly in France, 

 this subject is perfectly understood; as, for in- 

 stance, the Qnenouillc, or Distaff training, which 

 is so much in use there, answers the double 

 purpose of preventing your grounds from being 

 shaded by extended branches, and is sure to 

 throw the tree into early bearing. This is prac- 

 tised on free stocks, as well as quince stocks ; 

 and the finest fruit that I have ever seen or 

 tasted was raised on these stocks. But there are 

 many causes which we cannot immediately ac- 

 count for, which contribute to the fecundity as 

 well as to the barrenness of trees. 



Almost every variety of fruit has a soil which 

 is most congenial to itself, and from which it 

 receives the requisite degree of nourishment 

 most conducive to its peculiar wants and habits. 

 In sucl>-soil3 the tree grows with vigour, and 

 tructifies at the same time ; producing those 

 fine samples of various fruits which we some- 



