192 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



April 



have taken froni this swamp, and the potatoes 

 which they have grown upon its surface, have 

 paid them for their hxbor from year to year, and, 

 now they have a valuable estate which will con- 

 tinue to yield them large crops, with but little 

 expense in its cultivation. How could they have 

 made a more profitable investment than this ? 

 But they did not invest money. They have cre- 

 ated this property by their own labors, and the 

 proper question is, in what way could they have 

 employed their laljor more profitably. The effect 

 produced upon such lands by draining is truly 

 astonishing. There are several reasons by which 

 the beneficial effects of draining may be account- 

 ed for. But we shall speak of only one of these 

 reasons at present. 



Draining elevates the temperature of the soil 

 many degrees, and thereby fits it to yield a vig- 

 orous growth to plants, which before refused al- 

 together to grow upon it. When a soil is satu- 

 rated with water, the most intense heat of the 

 sun can raise its temperature but very little. If 

 you place a kettle filled with water over the fire, 

 the temperature of the water will rise rapidly 

 until it reaches 212 degrees. The water then 

 begins to be converted into steam. You may 

 continue to add fuel, and apply the bellows, but 

 the water grows no hotter. All the caloric add- 

 ed is rendered latent in the change of form which 

 the water undergoes. In other words, the calor- 

 ic is carried oS" by the steam as fast as it is im- 

 parted to the water. Steam is water combined 

 with a certain amount of caloric. Abstract this 

 caloric from steam, and it becomes water again. 

 So the heat of the sun poured upon a wet soil, is 

 employed in converting a portion of the water 

 into vapor, and is conveyed away by the vapor, 

 just as the heat of the fire is carried away from 

 the water by the steam. Thus the temperature 

 of the soil of the swamp filled with water, is sev- 

 eral degrees lower than that of the soil of the ad- 

 jacent dry land, and you cannot by any possi- 

 bility raise the temperature of this soil until the 

 water is evaporated from it. When the water in 

 the kettle is all converted into steam, you may 

 heat the kettle to a red heat. So when the 

 swampy soil is freed from water, the heat of the 

 sun will warm it equally with adjacent lands, 

 and indeed its temperature will often be found 

 higher than that of other lands, for its ))lack car- 

 bonaceous soil absorbs caloric more rapidly than 

 brighter colored soils. Thus the first effect of 

 draining is to prepare the soil to be warmed by 

 the sun. It is equivalent to transporting it 

 many degrees south into a more genial clime. It 

 is the first step in the redemption of sucli soils ; 

 all other means without this will be of no avail. 

 You may level and plow and top-dress, and sow 

 grass seeds. But it will constantly tend to re- 

 turn to its natural state. Meadow grass will be 

 constantly coming in and the herds grass and 

 clover constantly dying out, because the soil is 

 not warm enough to produce any other kind of 

 grass. Many swamps and meadows overlie a 

 stratum of sand, or hard pan. Tiie draining 

 should, if possible, be siifiiciently deep, to carry of 

 the water from the whole depth of overlying 

 soil. Whetlier the water is carried off only to the 

 depth of a few inches and the soil is left wet and 

 muddy below this, the water is drawn up by ca- 

 pillary attraction to the surface, and the process 



of evaporation is then kept up, to such a degree, 

 that the temperature is not sufficiently elevated 

 to afford the needed stimulus to the roots of 

 plants. Hence the object aimed at is not attain- 

 ed. Deep draining, that shall free the whole 

 soil from stagnant water, is the only draining 

 that can be effectual, or that is worth attempt- 

 ing. In many instances border draining that 

 shall cut off the spring water fromt he surround- 

 ing highlands is the only effectual method. 



But enough for once. J. R. 



CULTIVATION OF THE PEAR TREE. 



In a recent number of the Farmer we gave 

 many minute suggestions about the cultivation 

 of the grape, with such plain outline illustra- 

 tions as would enable any one, however unskilled 

 in the practice, to proceed with success. We 

 propose now to do the same with the pear, avail- 

 ing ourselves of such help as we find in the 

 books — particularly Thomas's American Fruit 

 Culturist — and of suggestions gathered from con- 

 versations with some of the best pear culturists 

 in Massachusetts. But this article will be de- 

 voted to dwarf trees ; the standard trees being 

 those in which the natural form is developed, and 

 which attain the largest size, and produce the 

 most fruit with the least care. They are slow of 

 growth, however, and occupy a good deal of 

 space. 



The dwarfs, on tlie contrary, may stand within 

 ten or twelve feet of each other, or even less, and 

 will produce fruit abundantly, in the course of 

 three or four years. They require a deep, moist, 

 rich soil, such as would produce good garden 

 vegetables, with frequent cultivation during all 

 the growing months. Tuomas saj-s : 



Yov pyramids, (a form of training applied most 

 frequently to dwarf pears,) the early treatment 

 is quite different from that of standards. As the 

 sap tends to the summit of the tree, producing 

 the strongest side-shoots towards the top, and the 

 shortest and most feeble towards the bottom, the 

 natural form of the tree gradually becomes a 

 trunk or stem, with a branching head. To pre- 

 vent this result, and give a strong broad set of 

 branches at the bottom, a thorough and regular 

 system of shortening-down must be adopted at 

 the outset. The following is a brief outline of 

 the course usually pursued. 



After the single shoot from the bud has grown 



J 



!>*=, 



one season, (fig. a.) it is cut down so as to leave 

 not over one foot, and if the tree is weak not over 



