542 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Dec. 



plum trees had been accidentally covered with 

 earth that roots in great profusion had been pro- 

 duced from every part of the buried branch, as 

 healthy and abundant as would have been put 

 forth by willow cuttings, in a similar condition ; 

 being mucli occupied, I did not follow up the ob- 

 servation by making trial of j^lum cuttings. Those 

 who have leisure and opportunity, will, I hope, do 

 so. 



I have in view another experiment, which I 

 now announce in advance, trusting that I may be 

 anticipated by persons who have more energy and 

 perseverance than fall to m}' share. It is well 

 known that the quince is a useful stock for the 

 pear in situations where the soil is rich and moist, 

 but that it fails in dr_y and gravelly soils. A stock 

 that would dwarf the pear and induce fruitful- 

 ness, and also flourish in dry and poor ground, 

 would be an acquisition of value. Such a stock 

 may be found if I am not mistaken, in the small 

 tree called in this locality, Indian Pear, but 

 known in New England and other parts, by the 

 name of Shad Busii or June Berry. The bota- 

 nists' term for this tree is Mespilus Canadensis, or 

 Amelanchier Botryapium. It flourishes in every 

 soil ; our gravelly hills and dry banks are covered 

 with a spontaneous growth of it. Its develop- 

 ment being less than that of the pear, the grafts 

 should be placed low, so as to be readily .covered 

 with the ground, that the disproportion of stock 

 and tree raay not be seen. It attains to a size 

 equal to the quince however. In my boyish days, 

 I grafted these trees with pear scions which made 

 considerable growth during the first season, but I 

 lost sight of them, and know not whether they 

 continued to prosper. As the ti'ces were growing 

 among other wild bushes, they \vero probably cut 

 down ; and the scions having been inserted in the 

 branches had not much chance of becoming per- 

 manent ; but I consider the stock to be a very 

 promising stock for dwarfing the pear, and if life 

 and health be granted, I may yet make the trial. 

 I remain, Mr. Editor, yodr old subscriber, 



October, 25, 185-1. Far East. 



Remarks. — "We do not know but the old adage,_ 

 — "there is nothing new under the sun" — is true ; 

 but we do know that some most excellent things 

 in agriculture, whether new or old, are not prac-, 

 ticed. The above experiment is not only inter- 

 esting, but encouraging, and will not fail to lead 

 to valuable results. In confirmation of the fact 

 stated by our correspondent, we will, state an ex- 

 periment of our own. About the last of ]\Iarch, 

 in the spring of 1853, we cut healthy and vigor- 

 ous suckers, as they are called, from an American 

 Amber cherry tree, and immediately inserted them 

 in the ground to the depth of six or eight inch- 

 es, and directly under the tree from whence they 

 were cut. The ground was shaded through the 

 summer by tlie tree, and was occasionally wa- 

 tered with soap suds. The suckers then planted 

 are now, some of them, four feet high and per- 

 fectly thrifty. 



What need is there of grafting, if the cherry 

 and plum can be obtained so easily by cuttings ? 

 Cuttings from many trees, would undoubtedly 



take root and grow well, if they were properly 

 placed in the ground, and in proper situations. 

 The direct rays of the sun must be nearly exclud- 

 ed from them, and the earth in which they stand 

 be moist. We hope "Far East" will write us 

 often. 



GEMS. 



. GENTLE WORDS. 

 It is not much the world can give, 



With all its subtle art ; 

 And gold and gems are not the things 



To satisfy the heart ; 

 But 0, if those who cluster round 



The altar and the hearth, 

 Have gentle words and loving smiles. 

 How beautiful is earth ! 



A TINY POEM. 

 Little drops of water, 



Little grains of sand, 

 Make the mighty ocean, 

 And the beauteous land. 



And the little moments, 



Humble though they be. 

 Make the mighty ages 

 Of eternity. 



HEAVEN. 

 Heaven's gates are not so highly arched 

 As princes' palaces; they who enter there 

 Must go upon their knees ! 



IS FARMING RESPECTABLE ? 



Mr. Editor : — Some weeks since, I made a few 

 remarks in answer to the question, " is fiirming 

 profitable? " I propose to answer the query, " is 

 it respectable?" It may be, after all, that people 

 generally want money, for the purpose of making 

 themselves respectable. What is respectability ? 

 Or in what does it consist 1 Now I am not in the 

 habit of betting, but will venture to aj/irm, that 

 not one in ten of your readers have any distinct 

 idea, of what respectability is ; or what makes a 

 man respectable. If wealth makes a man respect- 

 able, the old " Gripus," with his hoarded thou- 

 sands, who walks the street with teeth shut as 

 though he had the lock-jaw, and who clenches a 

 fourpence, between his thumb and fore finger, so 

 tight that you could not pull it away with a pair 

 of pincers, is respectable. Yet, everybody hates 

 him. Nobody will say that wealth alone, es- 

 pecially in this country, constitutes respectability. 

 A " respectable man "'is one whom the multitude 

 delight to honor ; wlio is regarded with attention ; 

 who is esteemed by the community generally as a 

 trusty, a wise, or worthy man. Why, then, may 

 not a fiirmer be as respectable as a lawyer, doctor 

 or merchant] A man's reputation is, in some "re- 

 spect to be sure, controlled by the popular breeze ; 

 txnd a man may be despised to-day, for the very 

 qualities that will make him popular to-morrow. 

 In my estimation, a man with " a good name " 

 is a respectable man ; and therefore, as the wise 

 man said, " a good' name is rather to be chdsen 

 than great riches." No man should be despised 

 merely because he pursues a useful and honorable 

 business ; and if farming is disreputable, it is be- 

 cause tlio farmer despises his own calling. The 

 truth is, farmers in this country, and I suppose 

 it is so everywhere, do not sufficiently respect 



