18^5.] 



NEW ENGLAND FAUxMER. 



4n^ 



of biniling wheat with single lengths ot" straw. 

 In slowing wheat or rye, some persons depos 

 it the sheaves on a mow of hay ; but this is a 



Bristol County, July a, 18-25-. 

 Mr Fessksden,— I wish lo inquire (liroii-jh (he me- 

 (iiiiin of your useful paper, if engrafting fruit trees tan 



The most proppr place lor inserting the cion or 

 hud, is at llic joint a little above; the cross shoot. 



bad plan, as the grain presses .-he hay so that it be successfully mnnus.a during 'this rr?.ent „ontl,rit bofi'^is wI'll''l"n?«n"r''7cr-','°"' "V"""'"'«'^ •■>■ 

 is apt to become mully, and communicate a i I'PP'i"^ '<> "- •"•^t "-v^ -—vlure read that it can TZe'uo^,,}^^^^^ "'=*'' '" 



musty or mouldy taint to .he snper-,nc,,mbent I ""^•'J^;!^'"' "<>'." "',r ^^'f '' "'^"-M XV; - 

 . •' . • I -i, . , , ', , , .,.M°"i'""lormation, as sijnng gralting has been so unsut- 1 '0"OWS 



gram; which will be harder to .hresh than Jt cessful in this community, the present season 



it had a more dry and airy location. It may be theoretical or practical ' " 



placed on a scaflold of rails, laid on the beams, ^'"'^ also, " 



and over the floor of a barn ; thotijh it is not so I '<^">"s are 



eq 



:in 

 if any 



it is made as 



Take one bushel of fresh cow dung, 



half a bushel of lime rubbish from old building? 



easy to procure it for thrashing as il' it were laid 



the 



spring. 



- „„ iv n „f I 1 .• " n . .1 ■ J- I ^"'' 'a>Qic:Hi-«t, ly cnnveycd to llie stock, into which 



on a sca.lold of less elevation. But this disad-,ti,ey are to be inserted. Such iuforniation is greatly 

 vantage may be more than compensated by iis I desirable, should you he possessed of it, or any ef your 

 being in a si. nation favorable for drying.- If j correspondents. I am truly yours, 



;al or practical information can be elicited, (that from the ceilings of rooms is preferable,^ 



', I would trouble your patience to know, what |,„if„ i,,,„i,„| .<-,„„„ .,^1..^ „ , -^ .u ' 



e best to be nsed, those thni were preserved iu "?" l""" , ?■ •'^°'"^ ^.''"^'' ''"^ ^ f 'Xteenth part 



ig, or those immediately taken from the tree ; °' '.' '"'^hel ot pit or river sand. 1 he three last 



trying. 

 there is a deficiency of barn room, the sheaves 

 may be stored in slacks. In that case " care 

 should be taken that the grain may not draw 

 muisture Irom the ground, by laying board--, 

 straw or nibhish under the stack. A better way 

 still is to hav^' a (ighl (Inor of boards mounied 

 ■on four blocks, set in the ground, and so high 

 from the ground as to prevent the entering of 

 Tennin. 



" In building a stack, care should be taken to 

 keep the seed ends of the sheaves in the middle, 

 and a little higher than the outer ends. No 

 fowls can then comn at the grain ; and the rain 

 that falls on .he outer ends will run otf, and not 

 pass towards the centre. The stack should be 

 well topped with straw, that the rain may be 

 complelely turned oflf." 



Oats. — It is advised to harvest oals before (he 

 straw has wholly turnod yellow. The straw 

 will be of little value if permitleil to s.nndtillit 

 becomes white and dcslitute of snp. Though 



A BaiSTOL COUNTY FARMER. 



lirmari.s htj the Editor. — In Cohbet.'s .American 

 edition of l"or«y.h's Treatise on the" Culturcand 

 Mann^Fincrit of Fruit Trees,'''' page 137 are .ho 

 following" Ohservalions on Grafting.'''' In a long 

 continuance of dry wea.her the grafts very frc- 

 qocnlly fail of taking; sometimes no doubt, ow- 

 ing to the improper choice of the grafts, as well 

 as the dry weather. Great care should always 

 be taken not to graft with weak shoots, particu- 

 larly by those taken from near the top. Always 

 take your grafts from the lower end of the shoots, 

 and observe .hat the wood is plump and fresh ; 

 for such as are shrivelled seldom or never take. 

 Where any have missed in the spring, I would 

 advise to cut off about the miildle or lat.er end 

 of June, (in America the middle of July) some 

 line healihy grafts of the sort you wish to graft 

 with, open the grafts in the same manner as you 

 do for budding, and insert the graft wilh a piece 



oals should be well dried on the ground, after! of the former year's wood on it: After you 

 cutting, they should not be raked nor handled have done this, rub in, with a brush, some of 

 when they arc in the driest state. They should <be composition in a liquid s.ate ; then wrap 

 be gathered mornings and evenings, when the your bass round it, as is done for spring grafting, 

 straw is made limber and pliable by the moist- leaving about three eyes on the shoot, which 



ure of the air. If they are housed while a little 

 damp, there will be no danger il they have been 

 previously thoroughly dried. 



Bari.f.v. — AVe are .old by .he wise men of ag- 

 rlcul.t:rc that some of the rules which should 

 be observed in harvesting wheat, rye, and oals 

 will not apply to barley. Willich's Domestic 

 Encyclopedia slates that " Wilh respect to the 

 time when barley is lit to he mowed, farmers 

 frequently fall into the error of cutting it before 

 it is perfec.ly ripe ; thinking it will attain to 

 perfect maturity if it lie in the swarth. This, 

 however, is a very common error, as it will 

 shrivel in the field, and afterwards make but-an 

 indifferent malt; it also threshes with more dif- 

 ficulty, and is apt to be bruised under the flail. 

 The only certain test of judging when it is fit 

 to mow must be from the dropping and falling of 

 the ears so as to double against the straw. In 

 that state, and not before, it may be cut with all 

 expedition, and carried in without danger to the 

 mow." 



Dr Deane's New England Farmer states that 

 '• Some have got an opinion that barley should 

 be harvesled before it is quite ri|ie. Though 

 the flour may be a little whiter, the grain shrinks 

 so much, that the crop seems greatly diminish- 

 ed and wasted by early cutting. No grain, I 

 think, requires more ripening than this ; and it 

 is not apt to scalter out when it is very ripe. — 

 It should be threshed soon after harvesting; and 

 much beating, after it is cleared from the straw 

 is necessary in order to get off the beards. Let 

 it lie a night or two in the dew, after it is cut. 



should be tied on with the bass as tight as you 

 can ; then cover the outside of the bass, thus ti- 

 ed up, with the composition to the thickne.ss of 

 about one eighth of an inch, observing also lo 

 cover the end of the shoot with the same to ex- 

 clude the air and wet. In about three weeks 

 or a month, look over the grafts to see if they 

 have taken. When the graft begins to swell. It 

 will throw off the composition: When that is 

 the case always remember to apply more to 

 prevent the air from penetrating the incision. 



In the month of September, you should ex- 

 amine whether the wounds are all healed up 

 and the two barks perfectly united, and if they 



articles are to be sifted line before they are mix- 

 ed ; then work them well together with a spade, 

 and afterwards with a wooden beater, until the 

 s.ulTis very smoo.h, like line plas.er used for 

 the ceiling of rooms. Where lime rubbish can- 

 not conveniently be procured, pounded chalk, 

 or common lime, afler having been slacked a 

 monlh, maybe used. If ;my of the composition, 

 after using it, be left for a future occasion, it 

 should be kept in a tub or other vessel, and 

 urine of any kind poured on it, so as to cover 

 the surface." 



The mode of applying this composition is as 

 follows: " AH dead and injured parts must first 

 be taken away, and the sound fresh wood laid 

 bare, leaving the surface of the wood very 

 smooth, and rounding off the edges of the bark 

 with a drawknife, perfectly smooth ; then lay on 

 Ihe plaster j of an inch thick ; and take a quan- 

 tity of dry powder of wood ashes, mixed wilh n 

 sixth part of the same quantity of the ashes of 

 burnt bones, put it into a tin box with holes in 

 the top, and shake the powder on the surface of 

 Ihe plaster, till the whole is covered over with 

 it, letting it remain for half an hour, to absorb 

 ihe moisture ; then apply more powder, rub- 

 bing it gen.ly with the hand, and repealing the 

 application of the powder till the whole plaster 

 becomes a dry smooth surface." 



The best way of using this coropositioti is 

 found to be in a liquid form, lo which it may be 

 reduced by mixing it with a sufficient quantity 

 of urine and soap suds to make the compound 

 assume the consistence of a pretty thick paint, 

 which should be laid on wilh a painter's brush. 

 The powder of wood ashes should then be ap. 

 plied as before directed, patting it down with the 

 hand. 



Dr Thacher, say? (see Orchardist, page 64) 

 "It is immaterial whether we employ Forsyth's 

 composition, or the clay as prepared for graft- 

 ing, or an ointment composed of rosin, bees-wax, 

 and turpentine. Some prefer a composition of 

 tar with a little bees-wax, simmered together, 



are you may slacken the bass, and if they are i ,o „ hich some red ochre is added." For a par- 

 perfectly healed up it may he taken off; but if j ,ic,i!a,. description of the mode of forming this 

 not. It must again be tied on, and covered with { i„si mentioned composition, see Gen. Dearborn's 

 (he composilion, as before directed; letting It re- communication page 369 of the current volume 

 mam fill the following spring. _ You may then of the N. E. Farmer. There is danger, how- 

 take the bass off; and, it you hnd that the two ever, in the use of tar, or turpentine, unless it 



barks have separated during the season, with 

 the point of a sharp knife, cut out all the brown 

 part of the bark (which if left would infallibly 

 bring on canker,) and rub the composition into 

 the wound. If your grafts have produced strong 

 leading shoots, the tops of them should be pinch- 

 ed off wilh the finger and thumb; but if^ they 

 have not shot strong they should not be cut till 

 the spring, when they should be cul to three or 

 four eyes, according to their strength, to m.ike 

 them produce horizontal shoots, and form hand- 

 some heads. This grafting should always be 

 performed in moist or cloudy weather. 



Grafting or budding should be performed as 



be combined with ochre, or some other absorb- 

 ent substance to prevent its penetrating the pores 

 of the scions, (see a communication signed " Rus- 

 liens'''' in the p.ige above referred to, and the 

 remarks on it in the next (lage). Budding or 

 inoculation is an eligible substitute for grafting 

 in the summer season. For notices of the man- 

 ner of performing this process we would refer 

 our correspondent to the. New England Farmer, 

 vol. 11, pages 253, 266. See likewise some ob- 

 servations on grafting by Mr Preston, N. E. Far- 

 mer vol. I. page 121. 



j£nd the beards will come off' the more easify." aear to the upper side of a bud as possible.- 



(fcJ-Owing to the leugth of several articles this weei^ 

 we inust d«ier sojue valuable commanicatious, && 



