284 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



June 



equally -well witli apples ; but it will be recollec- 

 ted that most varieties of pears improve by being 

 gathered before they are quite ripe and allowed to 

 ripen off the tree ; if this course is pursued, the ob- 

 jection fails. 



A very popular method of cultivating the pear 

 is by working it upon the Angei's' quince stock ; 

 by this means tlie tree is dwarfed and thrown into 

 bearing at an early age. 



Some varieties succeed better on the quince than 

 on the pear stock, while others refuse to grow up- 

 on the quince unless they are double worked ; that 

 is first work a free growing variety upon the quince, 

 then the refractory one upon the free gi-owing 

 pear. 



Many persons appear to mistake the term ' 'Dwarf 

 Pear," thinking small fruit is what is meant. It 

 it is not the fruit, but the tree that is dwarf. 



The best stock for dwarfing the pear is the An- 

 gers' quince. The apple is made dwarf by being 

 worked upon the Paradise stock ; and cherry upon 

 the Cerasus IMahaleh. 



For the orchard we prefer to grow the pear on 

 its own stock, but for gardens and small enclosures 

 we would select the best varieties that are known 

 to succeed well upon the quince, and grow them 

 as dwarfs. 



Varieties of the pear that are late in producing 

 fruit Avhen worked on pear stocks, maybe brought 

 into early bearing by judicious pruning and pinch- 

 ing. 



If the tree is permitted to branch, say three feet 

 from the ground, and pruned into a pyramid form, 

 leaving the lower branches the longest, and cut- 

 ting back those above, it will not only bring the 

 tree into a handsome shape, but the pruning that 

 it gets to keep it in this shape tends to throw it in- 

 to bearing. Pinching the ends of the growing 

 branches the last of August or first of September, 

 so as to stop the growth and ripen the wood, will 

 cause the formation of fruit buds. — Farmers'' Com- 

 panion. 



THE TOMATO. 



This vegetable has now become a universal f\xv- 

 orite, and is considered wholesome as well as pal- 

 atable. It is as easily raised as a hill of potatoes, 

 after the plants are tv^-o or three inches high — but 

 the seeds being small, they require a little care to 

 get them well started. They flourish on any soil 

 where Indian corn will, and require nothing pecu- 

 liar in the mode of cultivation. Tomatoes may 

 be prepared in the autumn, as they usually ai-e for 

 the table, then bottled, corked and sealed with 

 sealing was, and kept through the year. It is 

 not absolutely necciisary to go to the expense of tin 

 cans. 



In speaking of the tomato, the Work'mg Farmer 

 says : this plant requires shortening in for early 

 fruiting. Ninety per cent, of the tomatoes grow 

 within ISinchesof theground,and ninety percent. 

 of the vine above that point. As soon as the low- 

 er tomatoes are the size of a hen's egg, the small- 

 er ones with the upper part of the plant should be 

 cut off. This will cause the main part of the crop 

 to swell rapidly and pi'oduce abundantly, Avhile 

 the portion removed is of no value, as their ripen- 

 ing would have occurred late in the season, and if 



permitted to remain, would have lessened the 

 amount of the main crop. 



* * * Early planting is true of most crops. 

 Great mistakes are sometimes made as to depth. 

 There are very few seeds that benefit by deep 

 planting. Many are very scaly and light, and so 

 foeljle that they cannot emerge from the ground if 

 placed below the depth of ~ half an inch. This is 

 particularly true of the carrot. Half an inch 

 seems to be the greatest depth at which the car- 

 rot can be planted with certain success as to ger- 

 mination. When planted early they are more 

 likely to germinate readily than when sown later, 

 because the seed is so slow in germinating that 

 the sun is likely to bake it, and in many cases the 

 seeds-man is blamed, when, in fact it is the fliult 

 of the cultivator. We find, therefore, that car- 

 rots have to be planted early, or c^uite late, to sue 

 ceed well, and it is preferable, of course, to plant 

 early. 



IMPOETANCE OF EOOTS. 



Many consider roo^ culture an absurdity ; but 

 the following table, compiled from reliable datix, 

 will show the fallacy of such a conclusion, so far, 

 at least, as the nutrimental character of the sev- 

 eral products enumerated in the list are con- 

 cerned. The object is to exhibit the comparative 

 value of the several vegetables, as ascertained by 

 a series of experiments by Boussingault. He re- 

 marks that in comparing the results of his inves- 

 tigations with the results of the practical experi- 

 ence of farmers in feeding cattle, he found a most 

 remarkable coincidence between the theoretical 

 and practical deduction : — 



Wheat 1.91 



Rye 2.00 



Farina of Uarley 2.02 



" Cabbage 1.48 



" Carrots 1.70 



" Potatoes 2.25 



Potatoes 1,096 



• Carrots 1,351 



Cabbage 1,440 



Turnips 2,383 



The table from which we take the above, em- 

 braces a number of other vegetables, which, how- 

 ever, as they are not and probably never will be 

 cultivated in this country as food, we have deemed 

 proper to omit. The influence of climate, season, 

 manure and mode of cultivation, doubtless has a 

 tendency to vary, considerably, the value of many 

 vegetables. Hence the results of an analysis con- 

 ducted in France, might not tally, in all respects, 

 with the results of a similar process instituted 

 hei'C, or in England. 



But we rely more on the results produced by a 

 careful feeding of roots and the grain to a stock 

 of cattle through the winter, than upon tables so 

 isolated and barren of explanation or accom- 

 panying circumstances, as are the above. Bous- 

 singault made eight or ten experiments with 

 roots upon several working horses, and came to 

 the conclusion that 100* pounds of timothy hay 

 may be taken, as ascertained by experiment, to be 

 equivalent to 



