1857. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



113 



exercise our wits in extracting the juices so as not 

 to incur heavy expenses in machinery for that pur- 

 pose. 



Seed will be plentifully found at the agricultu- 

 ral warehouses before planting time, and the pres- 

 ent high prices of molasses and sugar ought to 

 stimulate large numbers to test the merits of this 

 new plant. 



The cut which we have introduced illustrates 

 Mr. Hyde's Manual, which is published and for 

 sale by Jewett & Co., Boston. Price 25 cents. 



For tlie New England Fanner. 



REBOTTOMING A PEAR TREE. 



Mk. Editor: — A few years ago, I grafted a 

 large quince tree with the Duchess d'Angouleme 

 pear. Not understanding then, as I now do, the 

 importance of working the quince below the surface 

 of the ground, I grafted it 6 or 8 inches high. The 

 growth of the scion, the first two or three years, 

 was very rapid and vigorous. In examining it the 

 third spring, the quince stock was found to be crack- 

 ing, and showing signs of "giving out." As an ex- 

 periment, I took a thrifty pear stock of the second 

 year, set it out as near the tree as the roots of the 

 quince would allow, and budded it into the pear 

 scion, just above where it was grafted, confining it 

 with matting, and covering it well with grafting 

 composition. Before autumn, the more vigorous 

 growth of the side of the graft in which the pear 

 stock was budded, plainh' showed, to my great sat- 

 isfaction, that my experiment had succeeded. Late 

 in the autumn, the composition and matting v^ere 

 removed, exhibiting a most perfect and beautiful 

 union of the pear stock and the graft. 



I then set out on different sides two more pear 

 slocks. As the bark of the graft would not peel, 

 these stocks were fitted into grooves or mortices, 

 and fastened as before" with matting and composi- 

 tion. The next autumn showed that these had al- 

 so united. Now the original quince, with its roots, 

 is entirely dead ; and my fine, tall, thrifty Duchess 

 d'Angouleme, having been reiottomed, stands on 

 three legs, on pear stocks ! The quince stock has 

 not yet been removed, as it still renders some sup- 

 port, though no nourishment, to the tree. The 

 tree has become flattened in the centre, directly 

 above the quince, where it gets no nutriment, being 

 quite thin. It has fruited two or three years. As 

 this tree is quite a curiosity to those who have 

 seen it, and believing that a similar process would 

 save many dwarf pears that would otherwise be 

 lost, I have ventured to communicate my experi- 

 ment for the benefit of any who may not know of 

 this remedy. 



I have two other trees that were grafted at the 

 same time with the above, a Beurre Diel and a St. 

 Ghislian, now growing and bearing finely, which de- 

 rive their nourishment both from their original 

 quince stocks, and from a fine large pear stock that 

 has been budded into them as above. The quince 

 stock of the Beurre Diel begins to exhibit signs of 

 decay, and will, probably, die in a year or two, 

 leaving the tree well supported on its new founda- 

 tions. A. B. 



Dana Hill, Cambridge, Jannai-y, 1857. 



OLD CUSTOMS IN NEW ENGLAND. 



In most families, the first exercise of the morn- 

 ing was reading the Bible, followed by a prayer, at 

 which all were assembled, including the servants 

 and helpers of the kitchen and the farm. Then 

 came the breakfast, which was a substantial meal, 

 always including hot viands, with vegetables, apple- 

 sauce, pickles, mustard, horseradish, and various 

 other condiments. Cider was the common drink 

 for laboring people ; even children drank it at will. 

 Tea was common, but not so general as now. Coff"ee 

 was almost unknown. Dinner was a still more hear- 

 ty and varied repast— characterized by an abun- 

 dance of garden vegetables ; tea was a light supper. 



The day began early ; breakfast was had at six 

 in summer and seven in winter ; dinner at noon — 

 the work people in the fields being called to their 

 meals by a conch-shell, usually winded by some 

 kitchen Triton. The echoing of the noon-tide horn, 

 from farm to farm, and over hill and dale, was a 

 species of music which even rivaled the popular 

 melody of drum and fife. Tea — the evening meal — 

 usually took place about sundown. In fam.ilie3 

 where all were laborers, all sat at table, servants as 

 well as masters — the food being served before sit- 

 ting down. In families where the masters and mis- 

 tresses did not share the labors of the household or 

 the farm, the meals of the domestics were had sep- 

 arate. There was, however, a perfectly good un- 

 derstanding and good feeling between the masters 

 and servants. The latter were not Irish ; they had 

 not as yet imbibed the plebeian envy of those above 

 them, which has since so generally embittered and 

 embarrassed American domestic life. The terms 

 democrat and aristocrat had not got into use ; these 

 distinctions, and the feelings now implied by them, 

 had indeed no existence in the hearts of the people. 

 Our servants during all my early life, were of the 

 neighborhood, generally the daughters of respecta- 

 ble farmers and mechanics, and respecting others, 

 were themselves respected and cherished. They 

 were devoted to the interests of the family, and 

 were always rehed upon and treated as friends. In 

 health, they had the same food ; in sickness, the 

 same care as the masters and mistresses or their 

 children. This servitude implied no degradation, 

 because it did not degrade the heart or manners of 

 those subjected to it. It was never thought of as a 

 reproach to a man or woman, in the stations they 

 afterwards filled, that he or she had been out to ser- 

 vice. If servitude has since become associated with 

 debasement, it is only because servants themselves, 

 under the bad guidance of demagogues, have lower- 

 ed their calling by low feelings and low manners. 



At the period of my earliest recollections, men 

 of all classes were dressed in long, broad-tailed 

 coats, with huge pockets, long waistcoats and breech- 

 es. Hats had low crowns, with broad brims — 

 some so wide as to be supported at the sides with 

 cords. The stockings of the parson, and a few oth- 

 ers, were of silk in summer, and worsted in winter; 

 those of the people were generally of wool, and blue 

 and gray mixed. Women dressed in wide bonnets, 

 sometimes of straw, and sometimes of silk ; the 

 gowns were of silk, muslin, gingham, &c., general- 

 ly close and short-waisted, the breast and shoulders 

 being covered by a full muslin kerchief. Girls or- 

 namented themselves with a large white Vandyke. 

 On the whole, the dress of both men and women 

 has greatly changed. 



