No. 12. 



Influence of the Stock on the Graft. 



369 



17 bushels per acre : the former, a very clean 

 crop, the latter full of weeds. The next year, 

 the whole was sown with winter tares, or 

 vetches, 2J bushels per acre : on tiie burnt 

 part they were, in the sprinir, 14 inches hijrh, 

 on the other, six inches only; tiiey were then 

 folded off by sheep. The second crop which 

 sprung' up was 12 inches hic^h on the burnt 

 part, and 4 inches on the other, and a third 

 crop with the same dillerence was eaten also; 

 thus the field was folded with sheep three 

 times for this single crop of tares. The land 

 was then dunf^^ed and sown with turneps; the 

 burnt sifje was by far the most tlourishino', but 

 at Christmas, there was no material differ- 

 ence ; they were carted off and housed for 

 winter food. Barley succeeded, which was 

 considerably best on the burnt side ; clover 

 was sown with it, and was fed off by sheep; 

 the burnt side was closer eaten than the fal- 

 lowed side, as if preferred by the sheep on ac- 

 count of its superior sweetness. The field 

 was then left, to po to jrrass, and is now very 

 good, but better on the burnt side by the whole 

 of the rent, being free from moss, and a far 

 sweeter pasture for cattle. Liming after pa- 

 rinsf and buriiintr is excellent management. 



This operation turns the sod upside down, 

 and where it is thickly covered with long 

 grass or dwarf bashes, it is kept up by them 

 a few inches from the ground, so that it rea- 

 dily dries sufficiently, and is frequently burnt 

 in that state; this is a saving of much labor 

 and expense, not only the piling of sods into 

 heaps, but also in carrying abroad the ashes 

 after the burning is over: the fire should be 

 applied when the wind is in the direction of 

 the furrows, and be commenced on the wind- 

 ward side of the field. 



Paring is generally pnrfjrmed by hand, 

 with what is called the breast plough, but there 

 is no doubt the work could b^ done most effi- 

 ciently by " Prouty's sod plough," if the irons 

 were kept sharp by frequent grinding. This 

 would be an immense savin? of expense and 

 time, which is of far more importance. Lands 

 which are overrun with the wild onion, are 

 effectually cleared of this pest by paring and 

 burning, and the best and easiest method of 

 cleaning the corners of fields, which hive be- 

 come overgrown with weeds and bushes, and 

 tiie lands adjoining old fences, &c., is to pare 

 them, if it he only with the spade and mat- 

 tock, build the sods into large heaps, with a 

 little brushwood in the centre, and fire them, 

 leaving them to slow combustion. The ashes 

 will pay the cost of labor ten times over, but 

 they must not be left too long exposed after the 

 fire is extintjuished, as the alkali which they 

 contain is quickly washed away by rains. 



When I am on the wharves of the city, and 

 see the very small loads of leached ashes 

 which are carried away by barge loads for 



manure, I feel inclined to remind the pur- 

 chasers that, with half the expense, they 

 could make ton times the quantity, by gather- 

 ing up the rubbish around their houses and 

 setting fire to it; thus saving the cost and la- 

 bor of cartage also, a serious item at busy sea- 

 Isons, and adding greatly to the neatness and 

 respectable appearance of tiieir homestead. 



J. R. G. 

 Uiick's County, June 1st, 1839. 



Iiiflneuce of the Stock on tbe Graft* 



To llio Eililor of the Fanners' Cabi not. 



Sir, — [n my paper on this subject inserted 

 in Cabinet, No. 10, page 311, I state in fa- 

 vor of the position (argument 10) that [ had 

 read in some British publication, of " the or- 

 ange grafted upon the pomegranate at Malta, 

 giving fruit wliich was red inside." This sup- 

 posed fact was repeated tome ten years since 

 by a commercial friend who had resided at 

 Malta for some time, and I stated it to Mr. 

 Loudon, of London, editor and author of many 

 useful publications on agriculture and horti- 

 culture, who declared the circumstance im- 

 possible, by reason of the two trees being of 

 different genera.* As I deemed it important 

 to ascertain the truth on the .subject, I re- 

 quested Mr. Winthrop Andrevvs, Consul of 

 the United States at Malta, to inquire into the 

 subject, and T am pleased to state that he has 

 been enabled to dispel all doubt on it, by a com- 

 munication dated July 12, 1838, from Professor 

 Terafa, of the University of Malta, and author 

 of some works on Botany. This gentleman, 

 after noticing the general prevalence of the 

 error in question, says "our blood or red 

 colored orange is nothing more than a species 

 of our common orange, as botanically called 

 ' citrus aurantium,' derived from a tree acci- 

 dentally planted in earth abounding in oxyde 

 of iron, which, in a part of the island is not 

 uncommon, and the same being afterwards 

 propagated by grafting, served to preserve the 

 variety of the species, while it has not the 

 power to chantre its nature." 



The general prevalence of the error may 

 be known from a fact mentioned to me by Mr. 

 Andrews, " that in three publications which 

 recently came under his observation, two in 

 Italian and one in English, the authors have 

 entertained the same opinion on the sub- 

 ject in question, the origin of which is now 

 satisfactorily explained. 



The weight which I wished to attach to the 

 supposed botanical anomaly (in argument 10) 

 must now be given up, but I think enough 

 more are adduced of undoubted authority to 



* I was aware of the objection which, for the reason 

 stated above, might be made against the alleged fact, 

 and quoted two analnijotis facts from the correspon- 

 dence of Linnxus, published by Sir James Edward 

 Smyth. 



