800 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



MARCH »S, 1843. 



REPORT ON ORCHARDS. 

 The CommiUee appointed by the Trustees of 

 the Massnchu-etts Society for tho Protriotion of 

 Aoricultiiri', to award the preminm.=i for the best 

 orchards, have attended to that duty and report as 

 follo>vs : 



Two persons only have made application for 

 premiums, viz : Charles Brigham, Jr., of Grafton, 

 and Zncheus Reed, of Westford, both skillful 

 orchardists. When within a ccmvenient distance 

 from the market, no crop is more profitable to the 

 farmer than his apples. The soil and climate of 

 New England are generally well adapted to the 

 growth and maturity of this valuable fruit, particu- 

 larly of the winter varieties. No apples are said 

 to keep as well, and of course, none so valuable 

 for the purpose of shipping to foreign ports, as 

 those which are raised between the latitudes of 

 41 and 43 degrees North. .Apples produced in 

 more snuthcrn latitude may be of more delicate 

 texture and of higher' flavor, but will not keep as 

 long ; while those of a more northern climate, 

 though well adapted to keeping, are generally de- 

 ficient in size and flavor. Taking all its proper- 

 ties into consideration, this fruit is produced, per- 

 haps, in as great perfection in Massachusetts as in 

 any part of the world. There is no soil or cli- 

 mate better adapted to the health and vigorous 

 growth of the apple tree tllan may be found here 

 With the exception of the winter of 1831 and '3"2, 

 the apple tree has never been known, since the 

 settlement of the country, to sustain injury from 

 the severest cold of our winters ; and although 

 they are liable to be attacked by borers, canker 

 worms, caterpillars, &c., these are but temporary 

 evils, and may be overcome by a little skill and 

 attention. 'J'here is, then, every inducement offer- 

 ed to the farmer, to encourage him in the cultiva- 

 tion of this most valuable of all fruits. 



An orchard, to be made profitable, will require 

 as much practical skill, and as careful an attention 

 to circumstances, as are required in the successful 

 culture of other crops. 



In tho first place, the variety of apples should be 

 few, and these of well known character in oUr 

 markets. The Porter, Gravcnstein, Hubbardston 

 Nonesuch, Rhode Island Greening, Baldwin and 

 Roxbury Russet, constitute a siiflicient variety for 

 autumn and winter purposes. These come in eat- 

 ing in the order in which they are named, — are all 

 suited to our climate, arc of well established char- 

 acter, and will alv/ays command a high price in 

 our markets. Many orchards in this vicinity are 

 comparatively worthless, from the circumstance of 

 their having almost as many kinds of apples as 

 there are trees, the .qualities of whioli are untried 

 and unknown, and therefore unsaleable to those 

 who buy to sell again. The only remedy for this 

 defect in orchards having this unprofitable mixture 

 of kinds, is to cut them ofl" at once and engraft 

 them with some one or more kinds of well known 

 and established character. This should be done 

 not by [rrafting a part of the limbs only, and leav- 

 ing others to rob the newly set scions of their 

 nourishmi-'nt, but by engrafting every limb of suffi- 

 cient size at the same time, and all at equal dis- 

 tances and as far from the centre of the tree as 

 conveniently may be, and then removing every oth- 

 er branch. This will cause the scions to shoot 

 and grow vigorously, and the wound occnsiimed by 

 grafting, to heal speedily. In this way the growth 

 of the tree will be equal in all its parts, and soon 

 be restored to its former shape and size. No inju- 



rious consequences may be apprehended from a re- ment to his trees. And although, from this cause, 



and by digging about them and manuring and 

 washing them, ihey appear in a very healthy and 

 thriving condition, it will not be pretended tliat 

 they would not appear 6(i(er by the aid of the plow, j 

 Mr Brigham's trees are set 30 feet apart. In a 

 good soil, we think they should not be set nearer 

 than 40 feet from each other. If, however, he al- 

 lows the grass to grow among them, it will proba- 

 bly be some lime before they will sutler for want 

 of room. 



His apple trees appear quite as well now as Mr 

 Pvcad's, and considering the circumstance of their 

 being all in one enclosure, which we think renders 

 them of more value than if scattered over a con- 

 siderable part of the farm, and also that he has a 

 larger number of trees than Mr Reed, your com- 

 mittee have concluded to recommend that the first 

 premium of $50 be awarded to Mr Brigham. 



To Mr Read, who has exhibited much skill in 

 the culture of apple trees, and furnished some very 

 fine specimens of fruit, the committee recommend 

 that the second premium of $30 be awarded. 



Respectfully submitted by the Committee. 



E. PHINNEY. 



iindency of sap. Nature will make ample provi 

 slon against this evil, by throwing out just as many 

 sprouts or suckers as are necessary to absorb it. 

 The correctness of this theory has been fully es- 

 tablished, in numerous instances, by the best prac- 

 tical orchardists in this vicinity. By leaving a 

 part of the limbs, the nouri.shment which would 

 otherwise go to promote the growth of the scions 

 and to heal the wound, is diverted from its natural 

 course, and the 8c;ion, if it live, will languish and 

 become rusly and stinted, and the wound, for want 

 of sufficient nourishment to carry on the healing 

 process, will become cankered, and the whole tree 

 ultimately destroyed. 



In the ne.xt place, the kind of apple tree should 

 he adapted to the soil on which it is intended to 

 set an orchard. The apples most common in this 

 neigliborhood require different soils. The Russet, 

 for instance, wants a strong, moist and clayey soil ; 

 the tree will neither grow nor produce fruit in any 

 considerable degree upon a warm, dry and loamy 

 bottom. The Baldwin flourishes best in a shelter- 

 ed location, and upon a ledgy, dry and warm soil, 

 while the Greening does best on a deep loam, 

 moderately moist, and in an exposed situation. 



The pruning, also, is an important part of the 

 process in forming an orchard. This is often be- 

 gun wrong in the nursery. Thf tap-root, intended 

 by nature for the support and nourishment of the 

 tree, by penetrating deep into the earth in search 

 of moisture, is generally taken oft', and the top 

 headed down, as it is termed, before it has acquir- 

 ed sufficient height, and thereby giving it the shape 

 of an inverted umbrella. This may appear hand- 

 some, but is illy adapted to sustain its burdens. 

 The centre shoot should be allowed to rise until 

 the tree has attained a sufficient height, and the 

 lateral branches, which are to bear the fruit, should 

 be made to grow as nearly at a right angle with 

 the trunk as possible. These will sustain a great 

 weight of fruit without injury, while those that 

 grow up at an acute angle, (which will be the case 

 where the top has been^headed in,) are pretty cer- 

 tain to be split down by the weight of fruit. The 

 native trees of our forests suggest a useful lesson 

 on this subject. Could the pine or other ever- 

 greens, whose branches are liable to be burdened 

 with the snow and ice of winter, sustain their 

 heavy burdens without injury, if these brandies 

 were not thrown oft' at a right angle with the trunk .= 

 Many, otherwise valuable apple trees have been 

 mutilated and destroyed by this injudicious prac- 

 tice of cutting out the centre and thereby encour- 

 aging the growth of limbs in such direction as to 

 render them entirely incapable of supporting their 

 burden of fruit. 



The gfoiin'd too on which an orchard is set, 

 should be well and thoroughly cultivated. The 

 farmer who plants his corn in grass land, may quite 

 as reasonably calculate on a good crop, as he can 

 that his young apple trees will grow and flourish 

 when placed in ground in similar condition. The 

 occasional breaking of a root by the plow, will no 

 more retard the growth of the tree, than the cut- 

 ting out a branch from the top. We have known 

 many orchards to suff'er from the want of the plow, 

 but never knew one to be injured by a too frequent 

 use of 



The land on which Mr Brigham's apple trees 

 are set, was recently covered with a growth of for- 

 est trees, the decaying roots of which, may for a In marriage, prefer virtue before beauty, ar 

 time keep the ground loose and furnish nourish- the mind before wealth. 



From the Central New York Farmer. 



ASHES ON CORN. 



Messrs. Editors — I have been in the habit o( 

 using ashes and plaster on corn, and believing that 

 ashes are worth the most, I thought last spring that 

 I would ascertain the fact. I therefore left sis 

 rows through the middle of my field No. 1 withoul 

 plaster or ashes; six rows do. No. 2 ,with plastei 

 in the hill on the corn ; do. six rows No. 3 witl; 

 ashes in the hill ; six do. No. 4 with ashes and 

 plaster in the hill ; six do. No. 5 ashes and plastei 

 in the hill, and on the corn after the first hoeing 

 the quantity used was about Ja table-spoonful t( 

 each hill. The rows were long enough to contaii 

 a quarter of acre, each 6 rows. The result was— 



No. 1 had 22 bushels ears. 



' 2, 24 



' 3, 2t; 



' 4, 26 



' 5, 31 



The field marked out three feet each way, am 

 the cultivator used each way, and hoed twice 

 Thus you see No. 1 would yield at the rate of 4' 

 bushels per acre, and No. 5, f;2 bushels per acre 

 which I should think about an average with th 

 rest of the field. The soil is a sandy loam, mixe 

 with limestone gravel. 



I do not wish to be understood that plaster is o 

 no benefit to land, for I believe it is very benefi 

 cial ; I believe if farmers would apply their ashe 

 to their land, it would net them nearer JOO pe 

 cent, than 10 or 12. 



A Friend or Agriculture. 



Little people sometimes perform great and noti 

 ble deeds ; and great folks are often guilty of litl. 

 and mean actions. 



The water that flows from a spring, does iv 

 congeal in the winter; and those sentiments i 

 friendship which flow from the heart, cannot t 

 frozen by adversity. 



