Puilished by Jou.N iJ. Russell, at jV». 52 JVorih Market Street, (at the Agricultural Warehouse) Thomas G. Fbssenden, Edito 



VOL. VIII. 



BOSTON, FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 1830. 



No. 40. 



ORIGINAI. COMMUNICATIONS, 



aliout 6 inches in depth. This bed hasflourished, icherry commonly called Xhe Yellow Spanish is a 



and heen thought ns productive as any whatever. Sicilian fruit of a chestnut color ; Sicula J'nictu 



ASPARAGUS. I f, at the same time, with a view of a more full i Castanei colons — Tourn. He does not recorn- 



Among the earliest and most valuable pro- and fair course of experiments, took a piece of | mend this variety in his selection for an orch 



lotions, which the opening spring presents for land in another place of opposite character, beiti, 

 r use is that nutritive and healthy plant Aspa- a thin light soil, and adopted a like course, and the 



gus. 



It is really a subject of regret, that this should 

 so universally acknowledged as a great lu.vury, 

 d on every account be so desirable — and yet 

 be more invariably had, aiid conveniently 

 iced near the door of the cultivator for family 

 :ort. 



There seems to be but one reason that can 

 th any degree of satisfaction be assigned for 

 s, and that is, the supposed intricacy, labor and 

 [)ense of bringing forward what has been terni- 

 an Asparagus Bod. The fact is, that most 

 rks on agriculture, are so loaded with the re- 

 isites for a good bed, that it is not to be won- 

 •ed at that some repugnance is had, and somy 

 lay suffered in the undertaking. 

 It is believed, that in our climate at least, most 

 the trouble and expense is needless ; and that 

 ;ood anil productive bed may be hail in so cheap 

 I simple a manner, that many who have been 

 couraged by the expense as well as the art and 

 ^stery of the process, will no longer be so in- 

 ;nced. 



But your readers have a right to expect some 

 Isfactory reasons for this undertaking before 

 y engage in it. 



The comparative results of several experiments 

 I be stated herein, and some few observations 

 iniitted to the good sense of your readers, thai 

 y may draw their own conclusions and govern 

 mselves accordingly. 



Due of my predecessors, in about 1765, from a 

 ih for the convenience of a good asparaeus 

 as well as a strong impression of the diiB- 

 ues of haviug a good one set about it in 

 nest. 



{y all report, there was trenching or deep dig- 

 paving with bricks at the bottom, a layer 

 nanure low down and much more dug into the 

 This certainly became a good bed, and it 

 i always so considered. 



n about 25 years, or 1790, its decay was very 

 ervable, and it soon dwindled away to little or 

 hing. 

 ',,; ''or some years, the privation was submitted to. 

 ; ill about ISOO, a new bed was made with 

 same labor and expense, except the paving. 

 8 too, proved a good bed. It lasted about the 

 e time with the preceding, and some 2 or 3 

 rs since, was allowed to grow to grass. 

 i™ kbout 12 years ago, whilst the last mentioned 

 was in full bearing, 1 was led to think that 

 ih of the trouble might be avoided in the pro- 

 fs and prepartion for its culture. A piece of 

 ;)und was taken on the game farm, of a deep 

 i' soil. After a common corn crop was taken 

 il the land was ploughed and manured in the 

 iial course. Holes were then dug 12 to 14 

 ties in depth, aiid about the same dis- 

 »:e apart, and 2 or 3 shovels of compost ma- 

 e was mixe<l with a part of the earth. The 

 « tts of a year's growth were then inserted at 



result has been equally favorable. The only differ 

 ence to be noted, was that the latter was more 

 early in coming forward from the nature of the 

 soil. 



However rare it may be, that there is any 

 over cultivation or preparation of soil for any veg- 

 etable |)roduction. It would seem here to be the 

 case. The old forms appear to have been kept 

 up, and to have discouraged a more general diffu- 

 sion of this valuable plant. 



Doctor Dean, in his husbandry, has somewhat 

 simplified this matter, but not sufficiently. The 

 proposed mode of placing at 6, 8 and 9 inches is 

 quite too near. The duration of 10 or 12 years, 

 is a mistaken one ; it lasts with us double that 

 period. 



The management of the bed may be given in 

 a very few words. In the fall of the year, it is 

 important to cover it with horse manure ; in the 

 spring it should be raked off and the bed lightly 

 forked over so as not to touch the roots. 



If the bed from frequent weeding becomes low, 

 it may be raised with dock-mud to advantage. 

 This produces no weeds, while the saline particles 

 are favorable to its growth. Where this cannot 

 be had, any rich loam may be taken. Three years 

 is agreed in as the mo-ft eligible period of cutting, 

 ffo reason is perceived for supposing it a marine 

 "lanL The lightness of the hull, containing the 

 seed, often may place it at high water mark 

 where it may thiive well. 



I am, &c, . J. WELLES. 



ard, but says the best kinds are the Kentish, the 

 Duke and the Lakcioard. 



FOR THE NEW ENGLAND FIRMER. 



YELLOW SPANISH CHERRY. 



Mr Editor — In my communication to the 

 New England Farmer, (vol. viii. page 162,) I ob- 

 served that ' the Yellow Spanish Cherry, described 

 in the yaluable "Treatise" of Mr Prince, and 

 which he had often highly recommended as a supe- 

 rior fruit, I was inclined to believe was injured in 

 the estimation of amateurs, by the name which 

 he had given to it. Every author that I had con- 

 sulted, who described this cherry, said it was not 

 of a rich flavor, and being an indifferent bearer, was 

 not much cultivated.' 



Mr Prince in his reply to this article, (vol. viii, 

 page 290,) has not contradicted this statement by 

 any evidence beyond the limits of the Linnaean 

 Botanic Garden, where I supposed the error, if 

 any, to have originated. He merely quotes from 

 Miller to show that a cherry, bearing this name, 

 was cultivated so far back as the year 1716 ; and 

 further observes, that ' in the American climate, 

 the tree is of a strong, vigorous growth ; the fruit 

 remarkable for its beauty and size ; that there is no 

 cherry in the New York market which commands 

 so good a price, and that he has no cherry in his 

 collection which is so much admired.' 



Miller, (2d Edit. 1733,) who borrows his de- 

 scription from Tournefort, briefly observes that the 



Forsyth, (7th Edit. p. 78,) who is considered 

 the best authority in England at the present time, 

 says the ' Yellow Spanish Cherry is of an oval 

 shape and amber color. It is a sweet pleasant 

 fruit, but not of a rich flavor. It ripens i it August 

 and September, [two months later than the Yellow 

 Spanish of Prince] but being an indifferent bearer 

 is not much cultivated.' 



If it not remarkable that a fruit which is spoken 

 of in such indifferent terms, and hardly noticed in 

 any Horticultural work of Prance or Great Britain, 

 should, when transplanted into this country, be- 

 come at once • distinguished for its beauty and 

 size, superior to any in the market, and the most 

 admired in the collection of the Linna;an Botanic 

 Garden,' a garden comprising above 100 varieties 

 of the Cherry, selected from almost every part of 

 the globe .' 



Some time ago, I suggested my doubts as to the 

 correctness of the nomenclature of this fruit, to 

 an intelligent member of the New York Horticul- 

 tural Society. He replied, without hesitation, 

 that he believed the true name for the Yellow Span- 

 ish Cherry of Prince, was the Graffian. Without, 

 however, giving thisasm_y decided opinion, having 

 only seen a colored drawing of the Graffion, I 

 will now compare the Yellow Spanish as described 

 by Mr Prince, with the Grajion as described by 

 some of the best siiithorities in Europe. 



The Yellow Spanish, {' treatise on Horticulture,' 

 page 28,) ' is a Cherry of the largest size, and at 

 the same time one of the most luscious. It is a 

 variety of the Duke, of a straw color, dotted on one 

 side with small red spots, and, added to its fine qual- 

 ity, it is a constant bearer.' It has also a blush of 

 red next the sun. 



The Graffion, or Cerie Amhriie of Duhamel, (n. 

 14, t. 11,) 'is a. large cherry, round at the head, 

 but flattened at the other end ; skin fine, a little 

 thick ; when exposed to the sun, of a bright red color, 

 and on the shaded sides spotted or raarhled with light 

 red and yellow ; when covered by the leaves it is 

 of a yellow amber color over the greater part, and 

 the rest bright red, and before ripening it is amber 

 all over. The flush a little transparent, white, 

 sprinkled with whiter veins, and voy slightly ting- 

 ed with red under the skin next the sun ; the juice 

 plentiful, sugary, and very excellent when fully 

 ripe ; stone white, with a very small sharp point.* 

 (Forsyth, 7th Edit. p. 78.) 



Brookshaw, who has figured and described the 

 Graffion in the ' Horticultural Repository,' says ' the 

 flavor is greatly superior to any other ; the flesh 

 has a pleasant firmness, and the stone is very small 

 for the size of the fruit ; it is a fine, handsome 

 Cherry, of a beautiful rose tint on one side, and light 

 yellow on the other ; it is cdso finely speckled.' 



So highly is the variety esteemed in Great Bri- 

 tain, that Mr Knight produced the Black Eagle 

 and Walertoo from the Graffion and May Duke, and 

 the Elton from the Graffion and White heart. 

 These remarks are made not from any hostility 



