No. 9. 



Orcharding. — The late James Ronaldson, Esquire. 



303 



obliged to depend upon a new generation, the 

 trees being old and the trunks generally de- 

 cayed, more or less, and covered with canker. 

 But having accidentally met with "A Trea- 

 tise on the Culture and Management of Fruit 

 Trees, by Wm. Forsyth." I found such as- 

 tonishing results from the process recom- 

 mended, of renovating old decayed trees, and 

 these, too, so plausibly detailed, and apparent- 

 ly so well authenticated, that I looked upon 

 it as a treasure, and studied it with fervency, 

 determining to give a fair trial to the process 

 as soon as the season would permit me to 

 commence operations. I have since been 

 continuing to gather all the information I 

 could find on the same subject, and have re- 

 ceived many (which appear to me) valuable 

 hints from your Cabinet, of which I (as every 

 one interested in agricultural pursuits should) 

 have a complete series from its commence- 

 ment. 



At page 295 of the first volume, I observed 

 an article "On Pruning Orchards," from 

 " Coxe on Fruit Trees," in which it is said, 

 " It was a common practice some years since 

 to apply Mr. Forsyth's celebrated composi- 

 tion to large wounds produced by pruning: 

 that novelty, like many otliers, had its day 

 among us; and finally lost its popularity from 

 a general belief in its insufficiency. Mr. 

 Forsyth, at a later period, announced a new 

 discovery, which had been long known in 

 tliis part of our country, that cow-diing and 

 urine was more efficacious in healing the 

 wounds of trees than his plaster, even in the 

 moist climate of England. In America our 

 winter frosts decompose it, and our summer 

 heats dry it up so completely, as to render it 

 useless for the purposes intended." 



Now I am loth to give up my old trees, 

 which I know to be of the very best kinds — 

 and therefore am still anxious to follow For- 

 syth's directions, in hopes of the results pro- 

 mised — but should wish very much to have 

 tlie experience of some who have tried the 

 method recommended — and it is with the 

 hope that this will meet the eye of some one 

 who is able to give me information on this 

 subject, that I apply to you. 



The above article from Coxe, would have 

 more weight with me, had I not tried the com- 

 position late last fall on some beautiful young 

 maples, which stand in front of our house, 

 and had been very much injured by the wood- 

 peckers or sap-suckers, which had cut the bark 

 around them, so that they were almost gir- 

 dled ; — hoping to save them, I put on the com- 

 position, under very unfavourable circum- 

 etances, as the day was wet when I applied 

 it, and heavy frosts set in very soon after — so 

 that I did not think it would stand, but, to 

 my surprise, it did, and has, all winter, aftbrd- 

 ed a perfect protection to the injured bark. 



Thus, from experiment, I am inclined to be- 

 lieve, that our winter frosts do not decom- 

 pose it. 



Further — it is said, that at a later period, 

 Mr. Forsyth announced a "new discovery''^ 

 — whereas I find that his after discovery, as 

 Coxe calls it, is only a recommendation to 

 use his composition in a liquid state, made so 

 by the addition of urine and soap-suds, as the 

 best way of applying it, and with the least 

 trouble — it being also, used in this way, more 

 likely to adhere closely to the wood. 



From the remarks quoted from Coxe, one 

 would suppose that the novelty (Forsyth's 

 composition) had been afterwards superseded 

 by himself by a new " discovery," which 

 would be calculated, if true, to weaken our 

 confidence in liim, — whereas the latter was 

 nothing more than an improved method, in 

 making use of the same composition. 



The very favourable results promised by 

 Forsyth, make me anxious to know more 

 about him. Should any of your readers have 

 tried his system of management, I would be 

 thankful to hear from them what success it 

 met with, — and if it failed, why it was sup- 

 posed to do so. V. 



We would direct the attention of our correspondent 

 to tlie article on Pruiunf; Fruit Trees, at page 117 of 

 our present volume. By judicious jjruiiing, careful 

 cleansing, and a liberal use of the medicated or Kyan- 

 ized Tar, together with a pretty general system of in- 

 grafting anew the healthy branches, we have no doubt 

 he may recover, in a very great degree, the health an4 

 vigour of his plantation. We would hesitate long be- 

 fore we would remove a single tree, until we had as- 

 certained, by experiment, that there was no hope of 

 resuscitation. To dig about, and manure them with 

 an addition of fresh mould to their roots, and a copi- 

 ous admixture of lime, would be, we conceive, an al- 

 most certain mode of causing them to throw out new 

 wood; and in the hands of our correspondent, we 

 should consider that to be about the only thing necd- 

 fuI.-ED. 



The late James Ronaldson, Esqnire. 



It is with much concern we notice the death of this 

 useful and indefatigable man ; he expired at his house, 

 in Philadelphia, on the OTtli of March, in the 73d year 

 of liis age. His last bequest to the Agriculturists and 

 Horticulturists of his adopted country, was a variety 

 of the choicest seeds, rool.i, and implements for the 

 field and the garden, which he had selected with th« 

 greatest care while in Europe the last summer, and at 

 which time he visited his native country for the last 

 time. Many of these seeds he has distributed gratis, 

 with an unsparing hand ; the Implements are deposit- 

 ed at the Franklin Institute, of which he was the Presi- 

 dent, for inspection as models, and from one of these, 

 the Deanstone Subsoil Plough, we hope to obtain a 

 drawing for our next number of the Cabinet. By the 

 practical agriculturist and horticulturist, as well as by 

 the benevolent societies around, the name of JjlHem 

 RoNjkLDsoK will long ba held in grateful remetQbranc«. 



