108 



Premiw7is for the best managed Farms. 



Vol. IX. 



fruit? Can any man point me to an apple 

 tree one hundred, or even seventy five years 

 old, that was grafted, as our present me- 

 thod is, on the stock, or that was grafted in 

 any way'? Every man knows that a grafted 

 tree is merely a continuation of the old one; 

 and, therefore, though its existence be pro- 

 longed by insertion into a new stock, it will, 

 notwithstanding, in a few years, put on all 

 the appearances of premature old age; and 

 the sooner, as the process of grafting has 

 been the more frequently performed with 

 the same variety. We have become so fond 

 of grafting and budding, that most men dis 

 dain a natural tree, however vigorous, except 

 for a stock to be tortured and murdered ; or 

 if success attends the transformation, to be 

 consigned to an early death. But is this 

 extreme, wise? Where did our delicious, 

 grafted fruit come from at first 1 And al- 

 though the seed will not all produce the 

 same variety, yet some of it will, or others 

 still more excellent. 



I will venture then to suggest, in conclu- 

 sion, that if we would cultivate more na- 

 tural trees, of all kinds of fruit, and let 

 them stand till "by their fruits ye can know 

 them," and then preserve the good and de- 

 stroy the bad, we shall not only obtain new 

 and improved varieties, but greatly prolong 

 the life of our trees. On the present pro 

 cedure, one thing is certain as the course of 

 nature — our finest fruits must soon fail. Of 

 this we have striking evidence in the gene- 

 ral failure of the Newton Pippin, which was 

 once as universally fair as oranges, and of a 

 large size, but now often small and knotty. 

 Other examples might be given, but I must 

 stop. 



Premiums for the best managed Farms. 



We are greatly in error if our readers do not relish 

 the lively statements of the followin;; letter. It is 

 well sometimes to see how it strikes a stranger, — Ed. 



To the Editor of the Marlhorovgh Gazette : 



Having already received notice fiom two 

 gentlemen, competitors, addressed to me as 

 first named of a committee to award the pre- 

 mium offered for the best managed farm in 

 the county, it seems proper that I should 

 state, in this, the most convenient fi^rm to 

 all parties, that it will not be in my power 

 to undertake the trust with which the Agri- 

 cultural Society of Prince George's has hon- 

 oured me. I am not the less grateful fijr 

 the compliment which such an appointment 

 conveys, for it ass-uredly implies a belief that 

 the persons so delegated have not only taken 

 a deep interest in the general subject of ag- 

 riculture, but that their fondness for it and 

 conviction of its paramount importance, have 



led them to inquire into and reflect upon, 

 what constitutes gccd mfinngemeut, both aa 

 to principles and practical details. 



It is not easy to imagine any duty that 

 requires better judgment or more unyield- 

 ing impartiality, than that of awarding such 

 a 2'i'('viinm.' How many things are to be 

 considered ! The extent of the farm to be 

 compared, not only with others, but with 

 the resources at the command of the pro- 

 prietor — such as capital in money, in labour, 

 in natural fertilizers, and in elements requi- 

 site for compounding manures, &c. The 

 time the farm has been in possession of its 

 present proprietor, with its original and 

 present condition, and in that connexion, 

 what have been his extraneous aids and fa- 

 cilities; and how far improvements have 

 resulted from his own sagacity and fore- 

 thought, or from the knowledge and experi- 

 ence of his manager ; for the manager 

 sometimes makes heavy crops under an im- 

 proving system of husbandry, not by the di- 

 rections, but in spile of the owner. 



All these and many other things are to 

 be taken into the account, and after all, 

 there will be liability to error, as well from 

 overlooking important facts, as from giving 

 undue weight to minor considerations; still, 

 with such colleagues as were on that com- 

 mittee, I would, if my duties here would 

 permit, most gladly have joined in the in- 

 spection of the farm.s to which they are 

 invited, expecting to derive, not only pecu- 

 liar pleasure in visiting their proprietors, 

 but much information from observing their 

 practice, and from being associated with 

 gentlemen of so much experience and judg- 

 ment. Indeed, it is difficult to conceive 

 any thing more agreeable and recreating to 

 a passionate amateur of the country, ^nd all 

 that belongs to country life, than would be 

 a comparison of the claims of competitors 

 for such 'premiums. The thorough sifting 

 that should be given to the candidate, would 

 be a caution to all indolent and unthinking 

 planters ! The catechism should be begun, 

 by a close examination of his personal 

 agency in the concern, to know how much 

 of the results were the fruits of his own 

 thoughts and directions. But that agency 

 is not always to be measured by the time of 

 a man's rising, or the constancy of his pre- 

 sence on the farm. There are some men 

 who have things so systewatised, that they 

 can manage better when sick, or occasion-^ 

 ally from home, than others who rise before 

 day and are "fretting and fuming" from 

 morning to night. The gentleman. Col. N. 

 Boslcy, of Hayfields, who took the premium 

 "presented by the hands of General I^afay- 

 ette," for the best managed farm cf that 



