42 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



states. The subject is certainly of very great I course the lime sooner becomes mild. Besides, 

 importance, and deserves repeated exiJerlracnts. there is a great ditTerence in the strength of 



lime, and that of the United States miiy be, gen- 

 erally speaking, stronger than 'ho English lime. 

 In short, we should advise every farmer to u<e 



It will be oljJGcted against the u-e of lime, 

 1st, that it is too dear to be used for manure, 

 and 2dly, that our farmers do not know how to 

 apply it, and as it is a powerful substance it 

 may <lo mure hurt than good, unless in the 

 haiids ot a chemist, or one practically acquaint- 

 ed with its operation. With regard to the dear- 

 ness of lime, we are informed that there is no 

 want of lime-stone in almost every part of the 

 United Slates ; and probably, by proper search, 

 many more lime-stone quarries might be dis- 

 covered in New England than are at present 

 known. And the price of lime would doubtless 

 be dimin shed by increasing the demand, be- 

 cause if great quantitie'* were wanted for agri- 

 cultural purpose's, ii greater n'lmbcr of persons 

 would tind their account in making a business 

 of manufacturing it; improvements would be 

 introduced in the processes connected with its 

 nianulaclure, and of course it would be alTorded 

 cheaper. Besides, small quantities would alone 

 be needed for the ])urpose of furnishing that 

 calcarious matter which nature inclines (o in- 

 corporate into the substance of wheat, clover, 

 &c. and probably a top dressing of two or three 

 bushels to the acre would be of essential bene- 

 fit, though doubtless more would, generally, be 

 preferable. Mr. Young says a small quantity 

 of quick lime scattered on the surface of lands 

 newl}' cleared, will prove highly beneficial dur- 

 ing the whole length of time they remain un- 

 tilled. Thirty bushels of shells [lime fresh 

 from the kiln] to the acre, slacked into a tine 

 powder, will produce Ib.e most sur|)rising ef- 

 fects, if not on the first crop of wheat, at all 

 events on the verdure, luxuriance, and quality 

 of the future pasture."* A writer ip the Mu- 

 seum Rusticum^ an English work, says " that he 

 sows his wheat without laying on any manure, 

 but early in the spring gives a top dressing ol 

 twenty bushels of lime, pulverized, and mixed 

 intimately ivith forty bushels of sand, and if the 

 weather be dry, he doubles the quantity of 

 sand." We are disposed (o believe that at 

 least lime enough for light top dressings might 

 be easily procured by almost every cultivator 

 in the Union. And such light dressings, if our 

 theory is correct, would be all that is imUspcn- 

 taih to the production of wheat. 



With regard to the mode of applying lime, 

 nothing can be more simple. It should be 

 evenly spread, after being water slacked, on 

 the surface of the soil, and not jdoughed in, or 

 if ploughed in it should be with a very shallow 

 furrow, because its tendency is to sink below 

 the reach of cultivation. If used in a quick or 

 buin.ng state it will be safest to mix it with 

 about double its quantity of sand, loam, clay, or 

 some other material. The additional material 

 may be made to correspond with the wants of 

 the soil to which it is applied. Thus, if the 

 soil has too much clay, mix sand with your lime. 

 If too much sand mix finely pulverized clay, &,c. 

 It is said that British farmers apply lime in 

 great quantities directly from the kiln in its 

 most caustic state, even to land which is replete 

 with putrescent or vegetable manure, and run 

 the risque of consuming or wasting the manure 

 by its corrosive qualities. But the soil of G. 

 Britain is geoerally wetter than ours, and of 



quick lime as manure, in small quantities at 

 first, mixed with a large proportion of earth, 

 or some othi?r sub'.!:uice to dilute it, and thus 

 take care not to burn his seed, his fingers, or 

 his growing vegetables. And with these pre- 

 cautions we would niike use of it for wheat as 

 a top dressing in siiriiig. We would likewise 

 try it mixed with w(jod ashes, together with 

 earth, for we have been told by a practical far- 

 mer that ashes and l:ine form a union much 

 more valuable than either separate. 



We will now close our remarks with but one 

 further observation. The only use of burning 

 lime at all for manure is to make it easier to 

 reduce it to a very tine powder. It supplies 

 no food for vegetables while in its quick or 

 caustic state. Pounded lime-stones, the plaster 

 of old walls, &c. if made tine enough, are quite 

 as efficacious as fresh lime, in proportion to 

 the carbonate of lime, or limy substance they 

 contain. 



Letters of Aa-ricola. 



rOR THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



BLIGHT ON PEAR TREES, 



With a notice of an article on the same subject in 



the JVorthainijton Gazette. 



For twenty years past pear trees throughout 

 the United States have been subject, in mid- 

 summer, to a disease of a very extraordinary 

 nature. Somef-Mes one limb, sometimes nearly 

 the whole tree, has appeared, with all its fruit 

 standing, to 'perish in forty-eight hours without 

 any apparent cause. Gardeners called it " fire 

 blight,"' and attributed it to lightning, but as no 

 violence appeared upon the tree, as none of 

 these terrilic effects were perceived, which al- 

 ways accompany that powerful and destructive, 

 though probably highly useful insirument of 

 nature, I was led to doubt whether electricity 

 had any share in the mischief 1 was pleased 

 to see that some gentleman in Northampton 

 had ado[)ted Professor Peck's solution, because 

 it [iroved, that scientific researches, though not 

 iminediatehj noticed, are ultimately useful. 



As the pear tree is very valuable, and in all 

 its varieties fuiTiishes most delicious fruit from 

 .luly to May, I think it a duty to state the his- 

 tory of the discovery made by Professur Peck, 

 and the certainty of success which must follow 

 the adoption of his, I will not call it theory, 

 but discovery. My neighbors had long been 

 afflicted by this scourge. I had been fortunately 

 exempt from it. .^t last one of my mo-it healthy 

 and valuable trees was attacked — nearly half 

 the tree perished in a night. 1 could |)erceive 

 no violence, no symptom of electric force. I 

 was convinced that it was the effect of some 

 internal enemy. I instantly sawed off all the 

 limbs aflected, and proceeded to examine them. 

 I found at last the enemy, not at the point where 

 death ensued, but some inches below it. The 

 insect was very small, apparently incapable of 

 such extensive mischief, but the effect was cer- 

 tain, and the manner of producing that effect 

 was obvious. It had eaten a complete circle of 

 the alburnum or sap-wood not exceeding the 

 size of a knitting needle, so as compl.'teiy to 

 intercept the passage of the sap. I found the 



insect iu three different limbs, and not in th 

 larva but the perfect state. It w'as not howev 

 er prepared in point of strength to issue forit 

 and by its eggs to deposit the means of nei 

 depredations. I carried it over to Professc 

 Peck, and hence arose his account of the insec 

 which proved to be of the race of wood eaten 

 though a new and undescribed one. The moi 

 important jQ/ci however is, and it is hy fac\ 

 alone that gardeners and farmers must be goi 

 erned, that by steadily pursuing the system ( 

 cutting off the limb many inches below the a) 

 parent injury and burning it, I have extirpate 

 it from my estate. A FARMER. 



Roxbui-y, Sept. 102.3. 



lOR THE NKW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Mr. Editor — Within a few years 1 have di 

 voted some time and attention to the cultiv; 

 tion of an orchard, if I am correct in my vie 

 of the subject, a good orchard is the most vali 

 able part of a farm, and the f^rrmer who ne| 

 lecls to cultivate one may with [iropriety b 

 said to neglect an important brunch of goc 

 husbandry. 



Five years ago I selected a piece of land i 

 be devoted exclusively to an orchard. It hi 

 naturally a good soil, and descends a little I 

 the east. It was somewhat rocky ; many of Ii 

 rocks being so large and heavy as to render 

 necessary to blow them in order to reinoi 

 them. I cleared the rocks all off so that n 

 one was to be seen on the piece above the su 

 face of the ground. I enclosed this piece 

 ground with a substantial stone wall, and th( 

 ploughed and planted it with potatoes. Al'li 

 digging the potatoes, 1 again ploughed and ha 

 ro-.ved it, then marked out the rows for tl 

 trees, being very careful to have them exact 

 straight each way. I then dug the holes l' 

 the trees, m.iking them four feet in diametf 

 and 12 or 15 inches in depth, taking care 

 lay the top and bottom of what I took out eai 

 by itself. About the first of Novemlier I s 

 out my trees, being careful in taking them i 

 to injure the roots as little as possible. In 

 each hole, after jilacing the roots of the tree, 

 put three pecks of compost manure next tl ! 

 earth taken from the lop of the holes, leavii 

 that which was taken from the bottom to I 

 placed on the lop. On this piece of grouni 

 set one hundred and thirty trees, having the 

 exactly tweuly feet distant from each otRe 

 The spring ai'ter sotting the trees I planted ll 

 ground with corn, and the next spring sowed 

 with wheat, seeded it down to grass, and gfai 

 ed the trees. The grafts grew rapidly tlietn 

 first Tears after they were put in. 1 thenp 

 half a bushel ot manure around each tree, ai 

 tliev still continue to flourish, the largest 

 them being six inches in circumference. 1 hai 

 lately ploughed the ground, and intend tf 

 spring to plant it with potatoes in order toll' 

 ten their growth. 



The probability now is that in the conrtBt 

 five years more, my orchard will be quitej 

 dilctive, should it continue to fiourish. 

 farmer who has not a young orchard comiO 

 would do well immediately to choose a 

 of ground, and after thoroughly preparing 

 it out with apple trees. 



No one ought to be afraid of devotin^l' 

 much (iiii? or attention to an orchard, for 

 rightly mau.iged it will, after a few years, W 



ii 



