NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



221 



ison of hurry and harvest, for the harvost 

 Bivs no hours, iinii a m.in must then work, 'till 

 I o'clock at night if s:itely to his crop requiros 

 Let him save five dollars out of his g^in ami 

 n, anil cider brandy, and hny that amount o( 

 )d booUs this year, and as many the next, and 

 on. and then let him read them in the lonof 

 iter evenings, that pass from October to 

 rch, ivhen he is neither sowing nor planting, 

 attending to his cattle, and when he wo\ild 

 erwise be dawdling about, drinking ginger 

 I cider, and doing nothing. He will find there 

 time enough ; he will increase his capital 

 h the least disbursement ; he will give dignity 

 is occupation, and best secure himself against 

 ptations to intemperance. God requires 

 •n every man, the best use of his time and 

 ats. It is only by an intellectual and reh- 

 us cultivation of our people, ihat we can rcs- 

 our country from the deep dishonor, under 

 ich we lie, in being called a nation of drunk- 

 i. Let us scorn those base maxims of the 

 Id. by which it has been held, that a labor- 

 man, m'ist of course be vulgar and ignorant, 

 ow-citizens, consider your blessings, corn- 

 id with any other people. Look at that 

 itry from whence we came, paralized by 

 mrthcns that h.ive followed war and evtrava- 

 •,e, showing at once the most frightful of all 

 radictions, a nation sinking under the 

 jht of riches and poverty ; look at mnlti- 

 s of their laborers, patient, self-denying, 

 Derate, at sun rise the man is in the field, at 

 t o'clock he breakfasts upon bread and wa- 

 P his dinner is bread and water, and his sup- 

 fciothing more. Compire this with your own 

 and luxuries, and endeavor to make the 

 requital to God in your power, by the 

 est moral, intellectual, and religious culti- 

 m of yourselves, and your laborers." 



■ om the Massachusetts .Agricultural Repository. 



1 >! THE MANAGEMENT OF FRUIT TREES, 

 this is the branch of agriculture least nn- 

 ood in our country, it has seemed to me 

 no number of our Journal should be issued 

 out some hints on that subject. No sensi- 

 nan would pretend to place it in competi- 

 in point of importance, with either the 

 ral cultivation of the soil, or the raising of 

 Stic animals of improved breeds. The 

 object undoubtedly is, to produce the great- 

 uantity, and the best quality of articles of 

 (or the support of the inferior animals, and 

 an. The second to improve the races of 

 Stic animals which furnish us food and cloth- 

 Butwhen these have been brouglit to per- 

 on, and indeed while we are endeavoring 

 •ing them to that sla'e, we ought not to 

 ct those luxuries which our own country 

 lable of producing, and which contribute 

 fially to our enjoyments. So long as we 

 some millions of dollars for exotic fruits and 

 uctions, for foreign wines, oranges, figs, 

 nds, raisins, and'olives, we ought not to neg- 

 ruits which our own climate will produceand 

 h are invariably preferred to those which 

 port. I hesitate not to say, that in any des- 

 nthe most sumptuous tables, native apples 

 Dears if of exquisite qualities, are always 

 |i and consumed in preference to the finest 

 c fruits. So long as we can jd.ice on our 

 5 delicious native grapes, peaches, apricots, 



nectarines, strawberries, raspberries, apples and 

 pears, the exotic fruits will be only used as orna- 

 ments to give splendor to the d(!sscrt. 



With these views we think it our duly to en- 

 courage our own horticulture, and to lay before 

 our readers the remarks of foreign cultivators 

 of greater experience. 



The article herein inserted was extracted 

 from a work of Mr. Hayivard, and which met 

 ilie approbation of the Horticultural Society of 

 London. It is one of the latest works on this 

 subject, and is certainly entitled to high res- 

 pect. 



We would simply remark that to those who 

 read it carelessly it may soem to militate with 

 the opinion expressed above in noticing the 

 rommunication of Mr. Howard, of Bridgewater, 

 a< to the policy of heading down trees — but on 

 further examination it will be seen to be in en- 

 tire accordance with if. 



The reasons why injudicious and extravagant 

 pruning of trees is injurious is, that the roots 

 remain uninjured and calculated for the tree in 

 its full vigor. They will therefore send up a 

 superabundance of sap, which finding no limbs 

 or leaves to receive them overflows, and des- 

 cends down the bark, is there decomposed and 

 forms a black mass which we denominate "can- 

 ker." 



But when trees are transplanted, the reverse 

 of Ibis takes place — the roots are exceedingly 

 diminished, and are not sulTicient to supply the 

 requisite nourishment to the plant. It is al- 

 most incalculable, the quantity and number of 

 minute fibrous roots, which are destroyed in all 

 trinsplantafions. 



Hence there is no sort of discordance in these 

 opinions, as to the propriety and necessity of head- 

 ing down or severe pruning in cases of trans- 

 plantation, and the danger of doing if, when the 

 roots remain entire. One thought may be sug- 

 gested, and we believe it to be new, resulting 

 from this discussion, which is, that when you 

 prune or graft a large tree or cut off its princi- 

 pal limbs, it may be useful to diminish its roots 

 in nearly the some proportion. I am induced to 

 mention this, because the Green and Hot House 

 Gardeners are in the constant practice of dimin 

 ishing the roots, when they head down their 

 plants. 



COMMENTS ON THE GENERAL MODE OF RAIS- 

 ING AND MANAGING FRUIT TREES OF THE 

 NURSERYMEN. 



In the removal or transplantation of trees, 

 gardeners and nurserymen are generally very 

 careless and inattentive in taking them up, and 

 care not how much the roots are broken or les- 

 sened in number, provided they have enough 

 left to keep the tree alive ; the consequence is, 

 that although the branches left on may remain 

 alive, there is so great a deficiency of sap, from 

 the loss of roofs, that the vessels cannot be fil- 

 led the following spring, therefore they contract 

 and become inflexible, and after one or two 

 seasons are incapable of extension ; so that 

 when in the course of time the roots are re- 

 stored, and the sap supplied in the usual quan- 

 tify, if is, from being restricted in its former 

 course, impelled through the nearest vertical 

 and accommodating buds that ofiTer. 



Hence it will be seen, that in almost all trees 

 trained in the common way, the first branches 

 which were trained in, and are the most hori- 



zontal, are the smallest and weakest, and in con- 

 sequence incapable of bringing fruit to perfec- 

 fion; and as these occupy the best part of the 

 wall, the strongest and most luxuriant shoots, 

 by being trained erect, quickly grow out of 

 bounds, and are annually cut away. 



Thus the strength of the tree is wasted, and 

 the continued ell'orts of nature to produce fruit, 

 in proportion to the age and capacity of the 

 roots, is obstructed, instead of being forwarded 

 and assisted. 



It is this effect that induced the practice of 

 heading back young trees, on transplanting; 

 and under such circumstances it is certainly a 

 proper and necessary method. 



Trees that are not headed back, after the usu- 

 il mode of transplantation, such, for instance, as 

 half trained and full trained trees from the nur- 

 serymen, are found to throw out their strongest 

 shoots immediately about the stem or trunk, 

 and notwithstanding these are removed, this 

 and every other attempt to force the sap into 

 the old brandies is vain, its nature will remain 

 the same ; and a vigorous bead cannot be re- 

 stored, but by a removal of the old branches. 



This shews the impropriety of the present 

 practice of heading back and training trees in 

 the nursery ground. 



As it is a general custom for those who plant 

 fruit to rely on the nurseryman for the produc- 

 tion of their plants, it becomes an object of the 

 greatest importance to enquire, how far their 

 general practice is adapted to public utility. 

 And I feel no hesitation in stating, that this busi- 

 ness is conducted upon such imperfect princi- 

 ples, that it is almost impossible to find one 

 plant in twenty that is worth transplanting. 



If is obvious, that unless the original plan or 

 foundation be good, a perfect superstructure can- 

 not be i'aised. 



From the deformity and disorder produced in 

 the nursery ground, almost all our gardens and 

 orchards exhibit in their frees a complete con- 

 trast to the beautiful simplicity and bountiful pro- 

 duce provided for by Nature. 



Before, therefore, any thing like perfection 

 can be attained by the gardener, a reformation 

 must take place in the practice of the nursery- 

 men. 



The first operations of the nurseryman I will 

 consider to be the transplanting his stocks for 

 engrafting and budding, and in performing this, 

 his only object is, that they grow and produce 

 some kindly luxuriant branches ; but as to how 

 or where, or in what manner, either these or 

 the roots may grow, he is perfectly indiflerent. 



Whether the bud or graft produces one or more 

 shoots if matters not, the whole are cut offsbort, 

 or, as it is termed, headed back the following 

 winter, and such as accidentally produce four 

 or five branches, so placed as to be fastened, to 

 form a flat side, are fixed to stakes or a wall, 

 in the form they are usually trained; and as if 

 further to insure premature old age, decrepitude, 

 and deformity, they are afterwards several times 

 taken up and transplanted in the same careless 

 manner. 



The roots are broken or cut off at random, 

 and generally either diminished more than one- 

 half, or they are doubled back and distorted, 

 and if there be enough left to keep the plant 

 alive, it is thought quite sufficient; and by these 

 means the appearance of blossoms and fruit 

 being prematurely produced, those stinted and 



