1855. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



215 



mostly those who till a hard soil? If so, the rea- another, growing romarkably fost, aivl the flow 

 son is plain that they use the best tools. Are 'grs which first appear in June are delieiouslyfni 

 not a large proportion of the farmers of Massa- 1 ™^jj^ 

 chusetts and other States tillers of stony soil? ° ' 



stony 



Why, then, are they overlooked? Is the soil, or 

 tools, incapaMe of improvement, or are its own- 

 ers unwilling to accept of improvement ? 



jMy olijcct, at this time, is to ascertain if there 

 is at the present time, in the whole world, a 

 plow manufactured for the express purpose of 

 tilling stony soil. If there is such a thing in 

 existence, you or any one would confer a favor, 

 not on one merely, but on many, to let it be 

 known, through the medium of your valuable 

 paper, Avhere it can be found. Until I know of 

 something better than I now do, I shall for one 

 beg leave to follow the good old way of my 

 fathei'S in this respect. 



And again, when agricultural writers recom- 

 mend deep plowing and subsoiling, do they in- 

 tend it f(jr a soil filled with stone, the soil itself a 

 little softer tlian the stone, and supported by a 

 hard pan not quite as high as the third rail of 

 the fence ? Or is it for the soil along river banks 

 and the plains of the west? If the former, we 

 must have different tools, or request the gentle- 

 men to come and show us how to use those we 

 now have. What we want is, a plow that will 

 not be frightened at the sight of a few stones, as 

 the power to move it is easily supplied. Any in- 

 formation concerning the above will be thanb 

 fully received by 



A Tiller of Hard and Stony Soil. 



New Marlboro', Jan. 20, 1855. 



CLIMBING PLANTS. 



Among our readers there are thousamls of per- 

 sons who are not farmers, but who, at some day, 

 intend to be, and who are earnestly interested in 

 all that pertains to rural employments. They 

 are active businessmen, with intelligent families, 

 partaking largely of their tastes for country life, 

 and not enjoying that, beautifying the town or 

 city home with such fruit trees, shrubbery and 

 climbing plants as the limits of their crowded po- 

 sition will allow. Our suburban towns are an- 

 nually increasing their attractions through this 

 taste for the beautiful, and something of it is 

 finding its way into the country, where grim la- 

 bor alone has heretofore held undisputed domin- 

 ion. 



All persons, of all ages and conditions, express 

 admiration on beholding a noble vine bending 

 with its ripening fruit, — or a porch or piazza 

 covered with the rich foliage of flowers of the 

 climljing roses, filling the room, whether of cot- 

 tage or palace, with their rich perfumes — or the 

 repulsive walls of a building, covered with the sil- 

 ver or golden striped ivy or Virginia creeper. 



Tiie Scarki Trumpet Honeysuckle, the Yellow 

 Trumpet Monthly, and the Evere/rccn Scarlet 

 Monthly Ihiuysuchlc, are hardy and beautiful 

 climbers for the pillars of piazzas, summer-houses, 

 or trellises. The Chinese tioininy Jloncysuclck is 



The Purple or Crimson Boursault rose is quite 

 a wonder of beauty in the latter part of May, 

 when trained on the wall of a cottage, being then 

 literally covered with blossoms — and it is so har- 

 dy that scarcely a branch is ever injured by the 

 cold of winter. 



The Queen of the Prairies is a superb variety, 

 and known by some as the Michigan Rose. The 

 flowers are of a deep rose color, with a white 

 stripe in the centre of each petal. This variety is 

 the most luxuriant grower of its class, making a 

 surprising growth in rich soil. The Baltimore 

 Belle is another perfectly hardy plant ; the flow- 

 ers are a pale, waxy- blush, almost white, very 

 double, and in large clusters. 



The Virginia Creeper or American Woodbine, 

 is a hardy, rapid growing, and exceedingly orna- 

 mental plant. It is a native of our woods, and 

 climbs rocks and trees to a great height. The 

 flower is of a reddish-green, and not showy, 

 which is succeeded by clusters of dark-blue, near- 

 ly black, berries when mature. At the same pe- 

 riod the fruit-stalks and tendrils assume a rich 

 crimson or red color. The leaves are not ever- 

 green like those of the ivy, yec in autumn, they 

 far surpass those of that plant in the rich and 

 gorgeous colors wliich they then assume. The 

 reader is referred to Emerson's work on the 

 Trees and Shrubs of Massachusetts, fur a full de- 

 scription of this interesting and beautiful climb- 

 er. 



We have now spoken of eight varieties of 

 climbers, all hardy and exceedingly ornamental 

 when vigorously grown. These would give char- 

 acter to any garden of considerable pretensions, 

 and any three or four of them would render our 

 rural gardens or lawns highly attractive. They 

 require no uncommon skill in their cultivation — 

 the soil that would produce a good hill of corn, 

 will sustain any one of these climbers. They 

 slwuld be pruned cautiously, always being care- 

 ful not to use the knife and scissors too much. 

 The dead wood should be removed. lu his ex- 

 cellent "Book of Flowers," Mr. Bre.k says that 

 "in pruning climbing roses, the operation must 

 be different from that of the common roses, as it 

 is necessary to retain the whole L.iigth of the 

 most vigorous shoots, cutting out all the old 

 wood that will not be likely to produce fine 

 flowers, and pruning down the lateral branches to 

 one eye.'''' But after all, the manner of pruning 

 must be left to the good taste and judgment of 

 the cultivator, rather than to any strict rules — 

 the proper way will generally suggest itself. 

 Roses may be pruned in this climate early in the 

 spring, before many warm days have come, or in 



