188 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



April 



The planting of shade trees in East Boston is be- 

 lieved by the owners of lots there to have added 

 very much to their value. Where a church is sur 

 rounded with beautiful trees, a good congregation 

 may be expected, rather than where there are no 

 such embellishments. He had somewhere seen a 

 statement in favor of planting evergreens thickly 

 by the side of the deep cuts on railroads, to prevent 

 the snow from drifting into them. If that would 

 accomplish the object, he hoped experiments would 

 be tried. 



Mr. Hyde, of Newton, said there was no difficul 

 ty in raising walnuts, chestnuts and oaks from the 

 seed, but there was a difficulty in making them live 

 when transplanted. He had tried the plan of dig 

 ging down about three feet, and putting a board in 

 the ground at that depth, and then filling the trench 

 and planting walnuts, so that the tap root should 

 not run so deeply ; but he had found that the root 

 would run off when it reached the board, and then 

 go down again. Lately he had tried digging down 

 by the side of the row of walnuts, and some other 

 trees, to the depth of a foot and a half, and then 

 running a spade under them so as to cut ofif the tap 

 root. This had had a good effect, preventing the 

 roots from running too deep, and causing a thicker 

 growth of fibrous roots. Chestnuts should not be 

 covered more than a half an inch, and may be trans- 

 planted when two years old. They often grow scrub- 

 by when planted from the seed. To make a straight 

 tree he had found it best to cut off the shrub close 

 to the ground when two years old ; they then start 

 up vigorously and grow straight. He had not raised 

 pines from the seed, though he intended to hereaf- 

 ter. He had been accustomed to take the small 

 pines that come up in pastures, when very small- 

 from two inches to a foot or more in height. 



Hon. J. W. Proctor stated that Mr. Fat — he 

 had then left the hall — offered, about eight years 

 ago, premiums of $1000 from his own purse, to be 

 paid at the rate of $100 a year to those who would 

 grow an acre of oaks most successfully on common 

 pasture land in Essex county. It was believed 

 that the farmers would be interested in the subject, 

 and that they would many of them try the experi- 

 ment. But at the end of the second year, the 

 Committee of award found that nobody had plant- 

 ed any trees except Dr. Nichols, of Danvers, on his 

 farm in Middleton, and the farmer of Mr. Fay him- 

 self, on his farm in Lynn. Dr. Nichols planted 

 the acorns on a hill, in rows about four feet apart, 

 putting several acorns in a hill, as we plant corn. 

 They came up, and at the end of three years were 

 from six inches to two feet in height, very general- 

 ly throughout the land. Some of the acorns were 

 of the English oak, and some of the common white 

 oak, and the English oak grew much the best. The 

 premium was awarded to Dr. Nichols. On the 

 land adjoining the field planted by Dr. Nichols, 



there were many white birches, among which the 

 squirrels had planted acorns, and the conclusion to 

 which I came, said Mr. Proctor, T7as that they 

 knew much better how to cultivate them than men 

 did. 



Mr. Sheldon then spoke of his experiments in 

 cultivating apple trees. He said that many believe 

 there is no profit in an orchard. Perhaps when 

 all take as much pleasure in cultivating fruit trees 

 as he did, it may not be profitable to cultivate fruit, 

 because it will be so plenty; but so long as only one- 

 third of the trees in an orchard are good for any- 

 thing, as is the case in many places now, there was 

 no danger. Several instances were related by Mr. 

 S. to show how profitable the cultivation of orch- 

 ards may be. He recommended plowing the 

 ground in an orchard as kie as possible before the 

 frosts of winter set in, that the worms may be des- 

 troyed. He concurred in the belief that the setting 

 out of evergreens near railroads would tend to 

 prevent drifts ; and he also thought that railroad 

 corporations would save themselves much expense 

 in consequence of damage from fire in swamps, if 

 they would set out willows thickly near their track. 

 A growth of willows would check the sparks from 

 the engines, he had no doubt- 

 Mr. J. W. BuCEMlNSTER, of the Ploughman, 

 spoke earnestly in favor of setting out shade trees, 

 and rather controverted the idea of Mr. Wetherell 

 that it was difficult to induce people to do it. He 

 spoke highly of the hemlock when cultivated as an 

 ornamental tree ; it might be trimmed, and would 

 make a very thick and beautiful hedge. As to the 

 time of setting out evergreens, he thought they 

 should not be set out in the fall, but in summer, 

 when the buds are beginning to start. The life or 

 force of the tree is then most active. 



Mr. Ward confirmed the idea that the time for 

 setting out evergreens was when the sap was 

 starting, and related the results of his own experi- 

 ments in transplanting some firs from a swamp at 

 that season. Not one in ten died. 



The President, Mr. Brooks, then announced the 

 subject for the next evening to be "Farm Imple- 

 ments." He expressed the thanks of the Execu- 

 tive Committee to Mr. Upham for the honor he 

 had done the meeting by consenting to preside 

 over it. 



Mr. Upham, in response, thanked the President 

 for the sentiment he had expressed. He regarded 

 it as a very interesting circumstance that it happen- 

 ed to fall to his lot to participate in the delibera- 

 tions of this evening, considering the subject. It 

 was tiis happiness to live in one of the oldest towns 

 of the State — the old town, now the city of Salem 

 — once the mart of the East India commerce of 

 the country. But her commerce, to a great extent, 

 has deserted her wharves ; once the great centre of 

 the accumulation of capital in several branches of 



