1855. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



551 



EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. 



A FINE SWEET APPLE. 



J. WiiitMax, Esq., of South Abington, Mass., 

 presented us a sweet apple the other day, which we 

 think is a new variety, and a very fine one. It is a 

 little above the medium size, oblong, of a greenish- 

 yellow color, on one side covered with russet 

 blotches, and the other side free from them ; stem 

 half an inch long, slender and deeply set ; calyx in 

 a shallow basin, and surrounded by mmute blackish 

 dots. 



The flesh is tender, crisp, juicy, fine grain, ha^^ng 

 a delicious sweet, without any bitter or astringent 

 flavor, and must be a good dessert, as well as baking 

 apple. He says it ripens in September, and will 

 keep through October and November. With the 

 fine crop of apples of the present season, it is diffi- 

 cult to procure, even in the country about Boston, a 

 barrel of good sweet apples. We do believe that 

 not more than one family in twenty, in Middlesex 

 county, where we reside, and know something of its 

 products, have, to-day, a barrel of good sweet ap- 

 ples, — whereas every farmer should have at least 

 two barrels, and three more of Baldwins, Hunt 

 Russets, or some other pleasant acid apples. 



We hope the "Whitman Apple," mil be sub- 

 mitted to good judges, and if found to be what we 

 think it is, will be brought into notice. 



AGRICULTUIl.\L SCHOOL — VALUE OF a\IlKOTS. 



Mr. Editor : — Will you, or some of your nu- 

 merous correspondents, please to inform me, through 

 the columns of your valuable journal, the value of 

 carrots, as compared with oats, for horses and sheep. 



And will you please to tell me where there is a 

 good agricultm-al school for those who wish to go 

 for a short time ? A. R. Pierce, 



West Townshend, Vt., 1855. 



Rem.\rks. — Will some of our correspondents 

 answer the inquiries of the writer above, who, we 

 suspect, is a lady ? 



KAHL-RABI. 



Through the politeness of Thoivus A. Smith, 

 Esq., of Westboro', one of our systematic and in- 

 telligent farmers, we have received a fine specimen 

 of the Kohl-Rabi, or Bulb-stalked cabbage, (Bras- 

 sica oleracea, or caula-rapa.) This curious variety 

 of cabbage is a native of Germany, where it is much 

 cultivated, and whence it was introduced into Eng- 

 land, by Sir Thomas TyrAvhitt. The stem is swollen 

 Hke a tuber, and, when destitute of the leaves, may 

 readily be mistaken for one. The produce is near- 

 ly the same as that of Swedish turnips, or what we 

 usually call ruta-bagas, and the soil that suits the 

 one is equally good for the other. It may be so^vn 

 in drills, or raised in beds, and transplanted like 

 cabbages; in this case the beds arc sometimes made 

 and the se9d sown in Autumn, in England, but it is 

 doubtful Avhcthcr tliat course would answer here. 



It might, perhaps, on a small scale, where the beds 

 could be covered with leaves or something else as 

 a protection. 



NEW APPLES. 



Mr. Editor: — I send you some apples raised by 

 Mr. Lysander Hollis, of this place. They are a 

 fair specimen of the product of a young tree — a 

 sucker from the roots of an old tree, which was re- 

 moved some years ago, and which must, therefore, 

 be a natural fruit. Please try them, and give your 

 opinion of their merit. Yours, s. 



South Weymouth, 1855. 



Remarks. — Well, we -will. They are below me- 

 diocrity in texture and flavor, — haAing a sharp, acid 

 taste, and at the same time coarse, crumbly and 

 mealy. Don't propagate them. You can find a 

 dozen varieties better. 



hops. 

 We are unable to inform our correspondent at 

 Lincoln, Vermont, what proportion of hops is used 

 for distillation, and what for other purposes. A 

 large quantity, certainly, are pressed into calces 

 weighing one or more pounds, and used for family 

 purposes, such as making yeast, beer, &c. ; but one- 

 half, probably, of all the crop produced, may be 

 used in distilling. 



PEARS on QUINCE^GOOSEBERRIES — GR.\ZrN"G MOW- 

 ING LANDS — COTTON CLOTH FOR HOT-BEDS. 

 ]\Ir. Brown : — The willingness which you mani- 

 ifest to reply to the queries of your correspondents, 

 encourages me to ask a few questions also, viz. : 



1. What are the best six vaiieties of pears for 

 cultivation on the quince, taking into account ^igor, 

 productiveness and flavor ? 



2. What soil and treatment do goosebenies re- 

 quire, and what are the best kinds to raise for mar- 

 ket? 



3. Is the common practice of grazing mowing 

 lands in the fall, a good one ? or, in other words, 

 does the benefit received in increase of milk, &c., 

 exceed the injury inflicted upon the land, the roots 

 of the grass, &c. 



4. I tlunk I have read of white cotton cloth be- 

 ing so prepared as to be a good substitute for glass 

 on hot-bed frames ; will it answer the purpose, and 

 if so, how should it be prepared ? 



By answering any or all the above inquiiies in the 

 Farmer, you will much oblige, 



Weston, Oct., 1855. A Young F.armer. 



Remarks. — 1. Col. Wilder, in an excellent ai-- 

 ticle on Fruits in the monthlj' Farmer, gives the 

 following list as those which succeed well on quince 

 stocks. 



Louise Bonne do Jersey, 

 Vicar of WinkfieUl, 

 Duchess d'Anguuleme, 



Glout Morceau, 

 Piisse Coliuar, and 



I'rljanisle. 



See his article, page 193, Monthly Farmer, for 

 1852. 



2. The gooscbcn-y requires a bright sim and 

 deep soil, made rich and kept light. See Cole's 

 Fruit Boo'.v for the varieties. He is probably as 

 near correct as we can come. 



