74 



THE farmers' cabinet. 



VOL. I 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 Mr. Editor,- — I herewith send you ex- 

 tracts of a correspondence between John 

 LoFLAND, Esq. favorably known as the Mil- 

 ford Bard, and Mr. A. Webstkr, a distin- 

 guished horticulturist, both of the state of 

 Delaware. The subject is one that, at the 

 present time, excites considerable attention 

 throughout tlie country, and as the questions 

 propounded and the answers given will, no 

 doubt, interest the great mass of your read- 

 ers, you are requested to give them a place 

 in the Cabinet. 



The Moms Miilticaulis. 



MiLFORD, Del., Aug. 11, 1836. 



My Dear Sir, — In the very first place, I 

 return you my sincere thanks for the beauti- 

 ful present you made me of the Morus Mul- 

 ticaulis. During the first five or six days, 

 it did not grow in any preceptible degree ; I 

 nursed it with great care, and fed it well 

 with soap suds, manure juice, and a small 

 portion of plaster, when it suddenly took a 

 start and has grown with great rapidity ever 

 since. A new leaf, the size of a quarter of 

 a dollar, has put forth, and another smaller 

 one as large as a fip has made its appearance. 

 Upon the whole, it lives, and bids fair to be 

 a beautiful tree. 



The cuttings T took out of the box a week 

 after I had received them. They were all 

 rotten but two ; one of them has budded and 

 put forth roots in a considerable degree ; but 

 the other, though somewhat greenish, shows 

 no signs of vegetation. The other three 

 were rotten, the bark having fallen oft" in a 

 slimy state. 



My object, my dear friend, in writing to 

 you at this time is, to ask some information 

 on practical subjects: you have had practice 

 in the propagation of trees which I never had. 

 You will do me a great favor and gratify my 

 ■curiosity, by answering the following ques- 

 tions : 



From what part of the tree do you get 

 cuttings'? 



How old ought the tree to be when such 

 cuttings are taken ! 

 Do you cut the whole tree up into cuttings'! 

 Suppose I have five or six small trees of 

 Morus Multicaulis next spring, and wished 

 to propagate many, could I get cuttings from 

 them, or siiould I be under the necessity of 

 making layers of them ] 



Were tiie cuttings which you sent me 

 taken from the six trees your father sent you, 

 or how were they obtained? 



Do you make cuttings and plant them any 

 iime during the spring and summer ] 



How late in the season may they be cut 



and planted? 



How long, generally, are they in coming 

 through the ground ? 



Is it necessary 1o have leaves on the 

 cuttings when planted ? 



Can the leaves alone be calculated on as 

 a means of propagation ? I mean a single 

 leaf buried in the ground. 



Is this year's growth, or last year's growth, 

 best for cuttings? 



Can cuttings be taken from a tree during 

 the fall and kept till the spring ? 



If so, how are they kept? 



How do you obtain cuttings from the east? 

 and what do they cost per hundred or thou- 

 sand? 



Does one cutting with two buds never pro- 

 duce but one tree ? 



At what age of the Morus Multicaulis do 

 the stalks spring up around it ? 



Were the cuttings you sent me cut in the 

 spring, or since } 



Is it now too late to obtain a parcel of cut- 

 tings and plant them ? 



If it is not, who will sell me some ? 



In a word, how shall I proceed now or 

 next spring, to multiply the Morus Multi- 

 caulis in the fastest possible manner from a 

 given number ? 



I have reason to know, my dear friend, 

 that you are acquainted practically with the 

 above processes, and from your liberal dis- 

 position, I believe that you are willing to 

 communicate to an ardent fellow-student, a 

 part of your practical knowledge. Your 

 compliance in answering the above questions, 

 will greatly oblige your friend, who ever 

 holds himself ready to reciprocate. 



You spoke, in your last letter, of going to 

 the Valley of the Mississippi. I should sup- 

 pose that if you were to establish a large 

 nursery there, you might, in a very few years, 

 realise a fortune and well-earned fame. You 

 are every way qualified for such an under- 

 taking ; and there in the finest country in 

 the world, you might have a pattern farm, 

 and make yourself and all around you what 

 you pleased. 



Believe me, I am, with the highest respect 

 and esteem. 



Your sincere friend, 



John Lofland. 



Camden, Del., Aug. 22, 1836. 



Respected friend John Lofland, 



Sir, — Yours of the 11th inst. was duly 

 received. Pardon my delay ; a multiplicity of 

 engagements has hitherto prevented my re- 

 plying. Am pleased to learn thattlie Morus 

 Multicaulis flourishes, and bids fair to sur- 



! 



