1855. 



NEW ENGLAND FAEMER. 



211 



with one thousand fru't trees which he obtained' 

 from a nursery at Duxbury, close by the se'aJ 

 and which he transplanted to Fitchburg and set! 

 out during the time between the 1st of May and I 

 the 3d of June. The only remarkable thing' 

 about it, he observed, was that they all lived. 

 He also stated that by driving four or five nails 

 into a tree infested by the borer, just below the 

 surface of the ground, with some perhaps on 

 parts of the tree most affected, he had complete- 

 ly destroyed these worms ; and in his opinion, 

 the iron would not injure the fruit in the least. 



Mr. Davenport, o£ Mendon, said that in set- 

 ting out an orchard it was best to apply manure, 

 and dig about the roots. He would mis potash 

 with muck and put it about the roots — the pot- 

 ash being dissolved, and about a pound to sis or 

 eight bushels of muck used. To preserve trees 

 from borers, he recommended strips of common 

 tarred paper put around the trees near the ground. 

 Care should be taken in transplanting trees, to 

 have roots spread in all sides. In trimming, the 

 first limb to be cut is the top, in order to get a 

 growth of limbs as near the ground as possible. 

 By this means abetter crop of fruit is secured, the 

 tree is less liable to be injured by the wind, the 

 fruit is more easily gathered, and the tree is much 

 less esposed to the effect of a drought, because the 

 ground beneath is sheltered from the sun and re- 

 tains moisture longer. 



Mr. F.vRXUM, of Boston, made some well-chos- 

 en remarks in regard to the great beauty which 

 ornamental shade trees add to towns and villages, 

 and the enhanced value which estates derive from 

 them. He urged the formation of tree associations 

 in every town in the commonwealth, whose ob- 

 ject it shall be to adorn the streets with shade 

 trees. Several such societies already esist. 



Mr. BucKMixsTER, of the Ploughman, followed 

 in some excellent observations in regard to apply- 

 ing the principles of a correct taste to the matter 

 of setting out ornamental trees, as well as the ne- 

 cessity of consulting the adaptation of the tree to 

 t!ie soil where it is to grow. He also referred to 

 the subject of fruit trees, and sjioke at length in 

 regard to their management, varieties, &c. 



ers (as they are very improperly called,) in order 

 to supply leaves which may prepare the sap to 

 carry on the usual work of the tree, that is to go 

 on with its regular habits. Scions themselve s 

 will grow better where there are some "suckers," 

 becauae the natural vigor of the tree is kept up. 



Remarks. — (a.) If the tree-grower, everywhere, 

 will alwaj's keep in mind a single fact, it will 

 save him from the commission of many errors. 

 Leaves arc the lungs of the tree. To take away 

 the leaves from a well-l)alanccd tree so that the 

 fruit shall ripen earlier and better, would be like 

 cutting away a portion of the lungs of a well-pro- 

 portioned boy, so that his body might bo more 

 rapidly developed and matured. In this climate, 

 particularly, we need an aliundance of leaves. 

 So after cutting away nearly all the small limbs in 

 grafting a tree, nature throws out numerous suck- 



For the New England Farmer. 



EXPERIMENTS WITH POTATOES. 



Mr. Editor : — Hoping to contriI)ute my mite 

 towards the stock of general information on the 

 culture of potatoes, I send you my experience 

 the past summer. I cultivated one patch of po- 

 tatoes and assisted at two more patches. 



No. 1. Had raised potatoes several successive 

 years — was covered slightly with chip, hen and 

 sheep manure, and refuse straw and hay unrotted, 

 land moist, plowed clean about 20th of June, 

 and planted without harrowing ; seed, smaller 

 than fit for table use, dropped without any hill, 

 in rows far enough to plow between one way ; 

 and from 12 to 16 inches in rows, and covered 

 with hoe. A man may plant one-fourth of an 

 acre in a day in this way ; seed were Sand-Lakes ; 

 yield two hundred bushels to the acre. 



No. 2. Plentifully covered, say 50 loads to acre, 

 with stable manure ; buckwheat on the ground 

 year before with manure ; plowed clean, har- 

 rowed then ridged and hills made with hoe ; 

 planted about 1st of June , seed mostly Pink- 

 eyes ; small and refuse potatoes ; plowed shallow 

 and hoed once, hilled very small and steep ; yield 

 250 bushels to acre. Land was wet, hilly land. 

 Average weight of potatoes from 6 to 8 oz. ; some 

 of them weighed 1 lb. 3oz. 



No. 3. Half turf, half sowed to turnips year 

 before, turfy, slightly manured, plowed clean, 

 shallow furrow struck with ploAv ; seed 3^ feet 

 apart ; seed very small, dropped in furrows 14 to 

 16 inches apart, and planted 16th of June at 1^ 

 bushel of plaster to acre ; variety of seed, Sand- 

 Lakes ; plowed between rows and hoed once in ■ 

 very broad flat hills ; yield 130 bushels to the 

 acre. It is my impression, if more plaster had 

 been used a larger crop would have been se- 

 cured. I submit it to every one, which way of 

 tillage is superior ? For myself, on good moist 

 ground, with small-poin*'ed hills and Sand-Lakes 

 for seed, I think I can get more potatoes to the 

 acre, than of the other kind spoken of, although 

 for goodness, I consider Pink-^eyes equal, if not 

 superior, to any other variety I am acquainted 

 with. H. Ball. 



Bristol, a., Feb. 17, 1855. 



P. S. If 3'our correspondent "W. D. B." is 

 not yet "posted up," I can inform liim that the 

 peanut and popped corn supper referred to was a 

 matter of fact, occurring in Now Britain at the 

 "Ilumjihrey House," and was a season of unu- 

 sual hilarity. n. b. 



"Where Cork comes from. — Cork is nothing 

 more or less tlian the bark of evergreen oak, 

 growing principally in Spain, and other countries 

 bordering tlie Mediterranean ; in English gardens 

 it is only a curiosity. AVhen the cork-tree is 

 about fifteen years old, the Ixirk has attained a 

 thickness and quality suitable for manufacturing 



