62 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Feb. 



Mode of placing the boards for boxes. 11. Scaf- 

 folding. 12. Width of walls and their solidity. 

 13. Door and windo'sv frames. 14. The top of 

 the wall. 15. Chimneys, ventilation, &c. 16. 

 Outside and inside linish. 17. Cost of the gravel- 

 wall. 18. The quality of this gravel-wall, and, 

 19. Vermin are excluded from it. The work is 

 not confined, merely, to the subject of construct- 

 ing buildings on this plan,but sjwaks of the requi- 

 sites of a good, comfortable home, and some of its 

 embellishments. Those who intend to build may 

 find this book valuable to them. 



For the New England Farmer. 



PLOWING LANDS IN AUTUMN. 



Mr. Editor : — I was surprised to see my name 

 in your paper under a private communication 

 requesting you or some friend to write, (if you 

 thought best) against a prevalent practice which 

 I considered detrimental to good husbandry, viz.: 

 Plowing lands on which corn and all hoed crops 

 had lieen raised the past summer, and which had 

 been highly manured the previous spring. I re- 

 gret that 1 was understood in that communica- 

 tion to be against fall or autumn plowing, ex- 

 cepting the lands aliove named. I know that all 

 grass or stubble lands should be plowed early in 

 the fiiU, before the frost kills the vegetation. 

 The difference between plowing such lands before 

 or after the vegetation is killed is similar in point 

 ot economy, to plowing in a field of clover in its 

 grean state, or letting it remain until it is noth- 

 ing but dry straw. 



I was as much surprised at the remarks of 

 your correspondent, "A. K. P. W.," as he was 

 at mine. I did not believe there was one farmer 

 in New England who had given the subject due 

 consideration, that would say the manure left on 

 the surfiice by the last hoeing, say in the middle 

 of July, and remained there until the middle of 

 November, (four months) would retain much if 

 any of its fertilizing properties, or that it would 

 be good economy to plow up a fresh supply of 

 inexhausted manure to cover the little that re- 

 mained on the surface which had been already 

 exhausted in promoting the growth of the last 

 crop. Such a course would expose that fresh 

 supply to be exhausted by inhalation for the en- 

 suing six mouths, without a particle of benefit to 

 the next crop. "Money makes money," it is 

 the same with manure. 



"A.K. P. W." says that fall plowing kills 

 the insects which destroy tlie crops. It may be 

 80, but a New England farmer who will not hus- 

 band his manure to the best advantage, will not 

 long have crops for himself or insects to destroy. 

 Ho also says that lands plmved in the fall stand 

 the drought better than if plowed in the spring. 

 If so, that must be attributed to some peculiarity 

 of his soil. 



As manure is the great desideratum, I would 

 ask, what is the best method of rendering one 

 dressinr/ of manure the most valuable for the sev- 

 eral succeeding crops ? 



Yours respectfully, 



II. S. Pekrin. 

 OrfordviUe, Dec. 18, 1854. 



For the ISew England Farmer. 



SELECTION OF APPLES. 



In grafting or planting an orchard, it is of the 

 utmost imp(jrtance to obtain the best varieties un- 

 der cultivation, those which are productive, the 

 fruit of the first quality and the trees hardy, and 

 vigorous growers. In selecting, we should ap- 

 proach as near as possible to this standard, al- 

 though there are but few varieties that unite all 

 these qualities. Varieties are so numerous at the 

 present day, that recommending a selection for 

 cultivation is rather perplexing and difficult. 

 There are many kinds which rank as first-rate, 

 although there is a difference of opinion with re- 

 gard to some of them ; this is not surprising' as 

 tastes differ. An apple which one might pro- 

 nounce first-rate, and which, indeed, might be so, 

 another, perhaps, would call second-rate : yet 

 there are kinds with respect to which nearly all 

 are agreed, and which are universally known aa 

 first quality ; these should be extensively propa- 

 gated. Having been engaged in grafting, many 

 years, I have had an opportunity to learn some- 

 thing by experience and observation of many va- 

 rieties. Although my knowledge of the subject is 

 limited, compared with many others, I propose to 

 name a few varieties for cultivation, having been 

 familiar with them all for years, and found them 

 all things considered, among the best. I can with 

 confidence recommend the following list, nearly 

 all of which may be found described in Cole'a 

 fruit book. 



Early Williams, 



American lied juneating, 



Gravenstein, 



Shirley Apple, or Foundling, 



Spice Sweet, 



Ilubbardston Nonsuch, 



Willis Russet, 



Minister, 



Motlier, 



Baldwin, 



Leominster, Dec, 1854. 



Early Bough, 

 Leland Pippin, 

 Porter, 



Superb Sweet, 

 Danvers Winter Sweet, 

 Rhode Island Greening, 

 Roxbury Russet, 

 Seaver Sweet, 

 Jewett's Red, 

 Priest Sweeting. 



O. V. Hills. 



For the New England Farmer. 



THE DIANA GRAPE. 



Mr. Brown : — In the "Transactions of the 

 Middlesex County Agricultural Society for the 

 year 1853," which I had the pleasure to receive 

 from you, I find the following, speaking of the 

 fruit exhibited : "Ilovey & Co. had a plate of 

 the famous Diana Grapes. They seem to be a 

 cross between the Sweetwater and Hamburg. 

 We understood that they are ripened with diffi- 

 culty in tlie open air." Let us examine this 

 statement and see if it is correct. When I first 

 saw the above I was inclined to think that it was 

 a mistake of the printer — that unfortunate class 

 who have to shoulder so much blame — but if it 

 was, why did not the proofreader find it out and 

 correct it, or did he not know but what all that 

 was said would apply to this variety of grape ? 

 That the Diana is a famous grape I will not de- 

 ny ; it is bound to become more so : l)ut that it 

 is a cross between the Sweetwater and Hamburg 

 I do deny, as it boars no relation to either of those 

 varieties in any respect. It was raised from a 

 seed of the Catawba, by Mrs. Diana Crehore, of 

 Milton, Mass., who received the grapes from 

 Squire Seaver, of Koxbury, who had a very flour- 

 ishing vine of that variety, which, though its 



