404 



NEW ENGLAND FARMEE. 



Sept. 



and seeds ; somewhat analogous to the propagation 

 of sugar cane, currants, &c., by cuttings. Here 

 like produces like, and will so continue unmixed, 

 so long as these conditions are observed — there be- 

 ing thus no means for changing the variety of roots 

 or cuttings. "Hence the idea," as I stated, "that 

 roots and tubers mix, is without the slightest found- 

 ation. As corn can only be mixed by the pollen 

 falling on the stigma, thus fertilizing the ovule ; so 

 of the potato, the turnip, and all tubers and roots" 

 — it not making the slightest difference whether 

 the species under consideration, be annuals, bienni- 

 als, or perennials, so far as mixing is concerned. 

 It is by mixing the pollen of varieties that hybrids 

 are produced, and multiplied indefinitely, as stated 

 in my communication of the ISth inst.,it not mak- 

 ing the least difference relative to this physiologi- 

 cal law of propagation, whether the pollen comes 

 from the flower of an annual, biennial or perennial. 

 The mixing takes place in the ovules, or plant 

 germs, at the time of flowering, and not in the 

 roots nor tubers, as I said in my former communi- 

 cation, to which the reader is referred. I do not 

 yet see how the reader can get a wrong "impres- 

 sion" from this view of the subject. L. W. 



LETTER FROM MR. BROWN. 



COUNTRY RAMBLES. 



Chester, jV. K, July 13, 1857. 

 Dear Sir : — I find my rambles delightful — the 

 country is still fresh and green, the July suns not 

 having yet overcome the influences of the spring 

 and early summer rains. Vegetation is now pro- 

 gressing rapidly ; corn is low, but looks quite as 

 well as in the region about Boston ; spring grains 

 promise well ; the potato crop never appeared bet- 

 ter ; there is little fruit of any kind, and although 

 this vicinity usually produces large quantities of very 

 fine apples, there will scarcely be as many as there 

 were last year. There was a generous blossom, but 

 that implacable destroyer of fruit, the curculio, has 

 visited nearly every apple, and left upon it the 

 germ of its destruction. What is to be the result 

 of the operations of this insidious foe? Is the 

 whole apple crop to be exterminated, together with 

 most of our other fruits, or will that good Being 

 who has provided for us, as well as them, put it 

 into the head of man to devise some way to arrest 

 that calamity, or himself check their onward ca- 

 reer of devastation ? I have recently spent some 

 fifteen days in the tops of apple trees in, pruning 

 and shaping, and have carefully examined the young 

 fruit, and in going over some four or five hundred 

 trees I did not find one dozen apples left untouched 

 by the curculio ! There was the unmistakable evi- 

 dence of his visit in the crescent-shaped puncture, 

 and the egg nicely sealed over with gum, while-the 

 ground beneath the trees was strewed with unnum- 

 bered scores of the fallen and slain. It is impossi- 

 ble to gather all the fruit that falls, as thousands of 

 trees are in grass ground, and in other places where 

 collecting would be impracticable. 



To-day there is a general commencement of the 

 hay-harvest in this region. The shoe-maker is 

 called from his seat, the smith from his anvil, and 

 the storekeeper from his counter and ledger, to as- 

 sist in securing it, and it is considered of so much 

 importance, that the custom of inviting the young 

 women into the fields is not entirely abandoned. 

 It is certainly pleasant to see them sometimes thus 

 occujMed, and the employment is not unbecoming, 

 as an occasional help and encouragement to the 

 father and brothers. Hay will be abundant, and 

 the price must be reduced. Will it afi"ect the high 

 price of corn and of flour ? 



Lounging the hot noon away in the cool store of 

 Messrs. Richards & Green or gh, both cultivators, 

 and zealous in the cause of agriculture, and active 

 friends of the JV. E. Farmer, ^ve discussed many 

 interesting matters relating to the farm. These 

 discussions elicited some remarkable facts. Many 

 years ago, they stated, a considerable portion of 

 their trade consisted in an exchange of their goods 

 for nearly all the products of the farm; all the 

 grains, and butter, pork, lard, &c., were a quick 

 currencj'. But this sort of barter has nearly ceased, 

 butter and eggs being nearly the only articles pre- 

 sented. About the same quantity of corn, wheat, 

 rye and barley is raised now, but a much less 

 amount of oats. Most of the farmers then raised 

 the corn and wheat for the family, with the exception, 

 perhaps, of a single barrel of flour, during the year, 

 purchased at various times, when the Thanksgiving 

 or some other pies demanded flour supposed to 

 be finer and whiter than the home-made article. 

 Now they state the remarkable fact, that, without 

 any increase of population, and with nearly the 

 same quantity of grain, there is annually sold in 

 the town twelve hundred barrels ofjlour ! and that 

 they, alone, sell about four thousand bushels of 

 southern corn meal ! The population of the town 

 is thirteen hundred, so that here is about one bar- 

 rel of imported flour, and a little more than three 

 bushels of meal, for each individual in the town ! 

 I ought to state that there is not one-half the quan- 

 tity of potatoes or oats produced that there was 

 twenty-five or thirty years ago. 



Now what becomes of the grain and flour they 

 formerly produced ? It is not sent to market, be- 

 cause no profitable exchange could be made with 

 it for corn and flour again. This is a question 

 which, if properly answered, would show some rad- 

 ical and important change in the rural population 

 of all our New England towns. The amount of 

 flour for this town — large as it is — is probably not 

 more than the average will be in all the towns of 

 the New England States. 



What would become of us without the South and 

 West ? The bread question alone, if there were no 

 higher consideration, ought to make us placable 

 and just towards our Southern brethren, and cause 



