254 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



June 



For the New England Farmer. 



BEST APPLES. 



Mil. EniTuR : — Tlie best varieties of fall and 

 winter appU-s which 1 have cultivated for the mar- 

 ket, arc the Baldwin, llubardston lioxbury Ilus- 

 tict, K. I. fireening, Seaver Sweet, Pound Sweet, 

 and Green Sweet. Other varieties I have which 1 

 think should be ranked among the best of fall and 

 winter apples, Hunt or English Russet, (the qual- 

 ities of -wliioh the editor of the Farmer, can better 

 describe,) Red Russet, Lyscomb, Red Favorite and 

 Thompson apple. Russets require strong and 

 moist soil. For early apples, Williams Sweet 

 Bough, (for -which I received $60 for 26 bushels) 

 the past season, and Porter. I have 15 or 20 of oth- 

 er varieties,some of them seedlings which I am cul- 

 tivating in order to test their qualities and pro- 

 ductiveness, before recommending them for prop- 

 agation. N. P. Morrison. 



Somervillc, 1854. 



comparatively small expense. They should be 

 made in such a manner that the glass will slip 

 easily up or down, when it becomes necessary to 

 give the plants air. To protect the frames from 

 weather they should be well painted. 



S. P. Fowler. 

 Danvcrsport, March 13, 1854. 



A PLANT PEOTECTOR. 



The cut above represents a cover made of tin 

 and glass, which is portable and convenient for the 

 protection of young plants, such as squashes, mel- 

 ons, cucumbers, tomatoes, &c., and will prove as 

 effectual against frost as against bugs. The glass 

 may be easily raised in the grooves so as to ad- 

 mit the air, which, when closed, admits the 

 heat, and light, but excludes the bugs. 



The description below and one of the protectoi^, 

 from which the cut was drawn, were furnished 

 by friend Fowler, of Danvcrsport. He says — 



Feeling tlie want, several years since, of some- 

 thing to protect and bring forward early and ten- 

 der plants in our variable climate, I was led to 

 construct a Hand Glass, tliat would combine cheap- 

 ness with utility. One of these contrivances for 

 the protcct'o 1 of plants or flowers in a garden, I 

 now send you for examination. The English 

 Hand Glasses are made, by placing in an iron or 

 zinc frame, small pieces of glass, fastened together 

 by narrow strij>s of lead. To make or repair these 

 covers, much of the glass is required to be cut to 

 conform to the frame. The difficulty in repairing 

 the broken glass, together with tlieir expense, has 

 probably prevented the more frequent u.so of the 

 Hand Glass-in garden operations in New England. 

 The one I send you to-day, as you will perceive, 

 will require no cutting of the glass, the frame be- 

 ing made to correspond to the size of tlie pane. 

 This being window gla88,when accidentally broken, 

 can easily be replaced. Any tin plate worker can 

 make thLS'! glass covers from sheets of tin, of the 

 * size you desire, and they can be furnished at a 



For the New England Farmer. 



LIFE OF RICHARD BAGG, Jr. 



BY. J. N. BAGGE. 



jMr. Editor : — I know not how to render Agri- 

 culture a more essential service, than by sketch- 

 ing the life of one of the most noted farmers of 

 Hampden County. Although his namesake and 

 fellow- townsman , there was no consanguinity be- 

 tween us, consequently no one can accuse me of 

 partiality. 



Besides, I lay claim to advantages, in treating 

 of his character, possessed by few others. Joined 

 to a general neighborhood acquaintance, may be 

 added, that of pupil and member of his family. 

 Once, he was my teacher, and thrice my employer. 

 I thus had facilities for seeing much of him in 

 private life, and knowing some of his virtues. The 

 subject of this article was born in 1812, and died 

 in 1852, in West Springfield, his native town. 

 His parents, who are still living, are farmers of 

 the old school, and are in good circumstances. 



The boyhood of our subject was remarkable for 

 an activity and intelligence beyond his years. 

 His promptitude and youthful manliness, made 

 him the pride of his parents and the villagers. 

 His was no mediocrity of attainment. He was 

 first and foremost, both in the scliool-room and 

 play-ground. He was a leader rather than a fol- 

 lower. He was bold, -without being impudent, — 

 punctilious without being mean, andslirewd with- 

 out being cunning and treacherous. 



His love of books and study were very great. 

 Everything within his reach was read with aston- 

 ishing avidity. In those days, one or more terms 

 at some incorporated academy -were considered 

 necessary, to give character and finish to a young 

 man's education. Young Richard was according- 

 ly sent to Monson. Here he made groat profici- 

 ency and rapidly fitted himself for college. But 

 now a new difliculty obstructs his path. Ill 

 health, brought on by close application to study, 

 prostrates his corporal system, and he comes home, 

 in the opinion of his friends, to die with con- 

 sumption. But he would not be idle. Activit;^, 

 which had always characterized him, was his 

 ruling passion now. He went to work in his fa- 

 ther's garden. He extirpated every weed, and made 

 great exertions to augment the growing corps. 

 Ho procured glass frames and made hoi-)jcds, 

 (tlie first that the writer ever saw,) till his father's 

 garden glittered like a crystal palace. 



His mysterious movements attract public at- 

 tention, and the neighbors stop and examine his 

 works, and ask him questions. But he was a 

 man who kept his own counsel. His replies were 

 always terse, sensible and cautious. No unguard- 

 ed answer escapes his lips. He communicates 

 nothing important to be reserved, and reserves 

 nothing important to be known. His health be- 

 gins to improve under a rigid system of diet and 

 exercise', and he assists his father in the lighter 

 duties of the fiirm. He is entrusted with the aale 



