No. 15. 



Mvice of a Farmer to his boys. 



267 



every year, and have them well cultivated 

 to hasten their maturity, and when arrived 

 to a bearing state, (which for some kinds 

 would require several years,) all such as 

 were not of a superior quality should be re- 

 moved to make way for others ; but such as 

 were found on a full trial of superior quality, 

 ehould remain to propagate from, and grafts 

 or buds freely given to such as applied for 

 them. Thus, in time, tlie whole country 

 would receive an extensive benefit in the in- 

 creased value of its fruits — if it should be 

 thought advisable, a portion of the ground 

 might be appropriated to the culture of such 

 of the present varieties as are well known 

 to possess superior qualities, thereby increas- 

 ing the facility of acquiring the desirable 

 kinds, by nursery men and farmers, in setting 

 out orchards. The primary object, however, 

 should never be lost sight of, to wit, the pro- 

 pagating of neio varieties, as common expe- 

 rience has taught us that nearly if not quite all 

 kinds of fruit degenerate, some sooner, some 

 later; the trees becoming sickly, and fruit 

 decaying much sooner than it did originally 

 — every person who has given attention to 

 the subject for 50 or 60 years, must have 

 observed that many varieties, in the course 

 of that period, have so far run out as not to 

 be worth planting, and that a few new kinds 

 have come on the stage which have been of 

 great public and private benefit. If the fore- 

 going plan, or something like it, should be 

 adopted, I trust that succeeding generations 

 would have a greatly increased variety of the 

 different kinds of fruit, and some of them 

 probably far surpassing any which we at pre- 

 present have ; whereby they would be ena- 

 bled to plant with a good degree of cer- 

 tainty of reaping to advantage, instead of, as 

 at the present time, taking much care to 

 grow trees that, after all their care, soon de- 

 cay without by any means recompensing 

 for the trouble. Under these views and con- 

 sidering that the seeds of most kinds of fruit 

 do not produce the same as the parent tree, 1 

 think our being supplied with good fruits has 

 been too long left to chance, such as seeds 

 dropped by the sides of fences, or ditch banks, 

 &.C. and one occasionally chancing to be of 

 some new and excellent variety from which 

 we propagate ; such I believe to ba the his- 

 tory of the Seckel pear, and mo.-t others of 

 our favorite fruits. When individuils plant 

 they wish as speedy an increase as possible, 

 therefore will not plant from seed, and wait 

 several years, and then very likely have to 

 remove all of them. The foregoing hints 

 are thrown cut for consideration by a 



Montgomery County Farmer. 



2d mo. 24th, 1838, 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 



Advice of a Farmer to Iiis Boys. 



Come boys, let us see if we can't farm a lit- 

 tle better this season than we did last. I 

 think we can if we make an effort; and if eve- 

 ry succeeding year we outstrip the preceed- 

 ing one, I think in a few years you will be 

 able to set up for yourselves. We have al- 

 ready sown our grass seed this spring, thick- 

 er tlian heretofore, which there is reason to 

 believe will amply repay us for the additional 

 seed, as we have heretofore always had more 

 or less bald places in our grass fields, or had 

 them filled up with weeds. We have some 

 seed oats which weigh ten or twelve pounds 

 a bushel more than the common kind we have 

 usually sown ; this cannot fail to be an ad- 

 vantage of at least 25 per cent over the light 

 stuff we have had in former years, and if it is 

 found to become lighter by being re-sowed ; 

 we must change our seed again at a future 

 time. As for Indian corn, the "Button," of 

 which we have plenty for seed, i think will 

 answer our purpose the best of any kind I 

 have seen, if we put it in handsomely and 

 give the strictest attention to the dressing of 

 it with the cultivator ; let us give it a couple 

 of extra dressings during the summer, and 

 keep the ground as mellow as an ash-heap; 

 this is the only way I know of to make a 

 good crop of Indian corn. It suflers more from 

 neglect than any other crop we cultivate; 

 but stop — let uscollect our ashes together and 

 put a handful of it, with as much Plaster of 

 Paris, on each hill as soon as the corn is fully 

 up; this pays well for expense and trouble. — 

 But I am getting wrong end foremost with my 

 plan ; be sure when you go to the city next 

 week, to buy a pound of salt-petre to make a 

 steep for the corn before it is planted ; this is 

 said to be an excellent plan, as the corn comes 

 up much more vigorously afler being soaked 

 in saltpetre, and is sooner out of the way of 

 the birds and grubs, which is a matter of great 

 importance. We'l, we had forty bushels to 

 the acre last year ; now can we go fifty 

 or sixty this, if the f^eason is favorable, 

 and we pay strict attention to it; let us try 

 for it any how ; and one thing I am certain of, 

 that our success will be in proportion to our 

 exertions, other things being equal. We 

 must increase our potatoe crop, and raise an 

 acre of sugar beet, and the same quantity of 

 ruta-baga for winter food for our cattle and 

 sheep; the attention to these root crops is 

 light work, and I think need not interfere 

 with our other business; besides, I intend to 

 buy neighbor Jones' old still, as he has quit 

 making whiskey with it, since his two fine 

 promising boys have gone to destruction by 

 the use of that vile article. I think he will 

 sell it cheap, as it sickens his heart to think 



