14 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



July 30, 1830. 



£ri3N57 ssT(aaiisra) s*iii23iai2jij 



BOSTON, FRIDAY, JULY 30, 1830. 



Mr FEssEPfDEif — I beg leave to offer the fol- 

 lowing remarks for the benefit of that portion of 

 your readers, who have faith in most things which 

 they find in print, especially if found printed in 

 the New England Farmer. 



Respect is certainly due to the opinion of your 

 correspondents — greater respect is due to the dis- 

 cernment of the most er)lightened portion of your 

 aubscrihers, but I submit the fpiestion to your can- 

 did decision, if the greatest respect on the score 

 of usefulness is Jiot due to those who feel and 

 acknowledge their want of light, and seek it 

 through tho medium of your valuable paper. 

 Would it not therefore be well to let every un- 

 sound opinion, which is offered for publication, be 

 accompanied by some corrective editorial remark ? 



The cultivation of the wild cherry tree has been 

 recommended for the purpose of attracting the 

 caterpillar from apple trees. Let us reflect on 

 this a moment, and see if the preservation of seeil 

 caterpillars amounts to anything more oi less 

 than the encouragement of emigration from their 

 favorite cherry trees to the remotest part of the 

 surrounding orchards as is thair practice at the 

 time of dcpoait'mg their eggs.' 

 - The raising of orchards from cuttings has its 

 advocates, by placing the end of each slip in a 

 potato, then plant it out, and the whole business 

 is done. Who from their own reasoning could 

 have believed that there was such affinity between 

 various kinds of trees and plants and the juice of 

 a raw potato ? Surely no one ; but having faith 

 4n what is printed, many have witnessed the hope- 

 ful prospect of a blessed heri'alter, that is about 

 to be realized by a ijost of roses, I7iyrtles, gerani- 

 ums, and other slips at this present time, which 

 are gone, or going to their long homes.^ 



The great body of our farmers are not horticul- 

 turists. An erroneous opinion prevails among 

 them that orchards, young or old, should not be 

 ploughed. The article, which appeared in your 

 paper of the eleventh of June, which recommend- 

 ed hand hoeing, and top dressing with manure, 

 instead of ploughing and -planting for a crop, has 

 been misunderstood by some who consider grass 

 as no crop at all, particularly in pastures, and be- 

 lieve that to have h-^cn the impression of the au- 

 tlror of the piece referred to — Iiut his plan is to 

 permit uothing to grow under fruit trees, or vines, 

 which is correct, and should bo adopted by men 

 of wealth, or by every one in the cultivation of 

 nice and valuable fruits, near a good market. I»ut 

 orchards of cider apples, and even choice table 

 fruit, whore land is cheap, and no demand for it, 

 should always be set out in a rich moist pasture. ^ 



As there are but few farmers who can be in- 

 ci-H&ed to keep their orchards free of grass and 

 weeds, and be contented only with a crop of fruit, 

 would it not be well to tecommond to them the 

 next best course, which is to plough shallow, so as 

 not to cut off any small roots, manure as much as 

 can be effectual, cultivate annually a crop of some 

 kind among their trees. But be sure that neither 

 corn nor potatoes be planted within four feet of 

 any tree. To plant potatoes round the root of a 

 tree when it is transplanted, is as wi.se as it would 

 ■ be to set pig weeds in a cornfield, and grass is as 

 destructive to an orchard as weeds are to a garden. 



But grass is least injurious when closely fed off 

 on the ground. 



I am vour obedient servent. 

 Providenct, July, 1830. AN ORCHARDIST. 



NOTES BY THE EDITOR. 



1 We have heretefore endeavored to anticipate 

 objections, and prevent errors on this subject. In 

 the fifth volume of the New England Farmer, 

 page 358, column second, the following article 

 may be found recorded : 



CATERPILLARS AND THE BIRD CUERRY. 



In the current volume of the New England 

 Farmer, pago 3 1 4, an article was republished rec- 

 ommending to plant the Bird Cherry {Pruims 

 Padus) in orchards, as a place of resort for cater- 

 pillars ; as those insects have such a partiality for 

 the leaves of that tree, that they will congregate 

 on them and leave all other trees within one or 

 tvvo hundred yards distance untouched. A friend- 

 ly horticulturist has suggested to the editor that 

 the article alluded to might be the means of mis- 

 chief, by inducing cultivators to raise those cherry 

 trees and thus favor the multiplication of the in- 

 sects by furnishing them with the food to which 

 they are most partial ; — those gentlemen in the 

 neighborliood of Boston, who are friendly to the 

 pursuits of horticulture, have taken great pnins to 

 extirpate the bird cherry, endeavoring to procure 

 its entire destruction in fields and forests, as well 

 as in gardens and orchards. 



It appears to us, however, that the article, 

 properly understood, may be of service. The 

 cherry trees, as we comprehend the matter, are 

 intended merely as decoys, or traps to catch cat- 

 erpillars. — But yon must be careful to destroy 

 the caterpillars on the trees, when they are taken. 

 If you catch, and feed and let them go at large, 

 you become instrumental in their propagation. It 

 may be perfectly correct to destroy all the wild 

 cherry trees, except those which can be used to 

 allure caterpillars to destruction. But if we are 

 not misinformed, the timber of the wild cherry 

 tree is valuable, and the bark useful in medicine. 



- We have not seen any recommendation, from 

 any cultivator, whose authority can be relied on 

 for setting slips or cuttings in a potato, and plant- 

 ing them out in that position. But we are not 

 prepared to say that a process of that kind would 

 not succeed with some plants, in some cases,- 

 though we doubt whether that mode of propaga- 

 tion will often be found expedient. 



3 There are several articles in our paper of the 

 eleventh of June last, relating to the culture of 

 fruit trees, which concur in recommending to or- 

 chardists, when fruit is the principal object of cul- 

 ture on any particular piece of ground, not to 

 cumber the premises with other crops. In one of 

 those articles, a quotation is given from Vernon's 

 translation of a French treatise on the cultivation 

 of the Mulberry tree, in which the translator con- 

 demns the general usage of the farmers of our 

 country, in taking a crop of grain, of roots or of 

 grass from their orchards. And states that ' At 

 Montreuil, a village of nearly twenty thousand 

 inhabitants, all maintained by the cultivation of 

 fiiiit for the supply of the city of Paris, a ])ro- 

 prietor will not allow even a plant of lettuce to be 

 grown near fruit trees. Every particle of the sur- 

 face of the ground is there kept in a friable state 

 to the full extent of the roots of the tree; a due 

 proportion of manure is every year worked into 

 the soil' &c. [see p. 374, col. 1.] 



It is true that Nicol, a Scotch gardener, reco 

 mends a somewhat different mode of cultivatl 

 fruit trees, and allows an orchard to be laid do' 

 to grass after the eighth year, [same page abo 

 referred to.] Deane's New England Farmer, lit 

 wise, art. orchard, observes, that ' orchards whi 

 are laid down to grass last longest ; but it is i 

 cessary to keei) the ground clear of weeds a 

 grass for some little distance from the roo 

 When trees in an orchard are so large as 

 shade most of the ground, little besides grass v 

 grow under them. And the leaves which i 

 from the trees, together with their shade, will p 

 vent the sward from becoming too tough and m 

 ted for roots of the trees to penetrate it. We I 

 lieve, however, that the ground should always 

 stirred about young trees, but not so deeply as 

 injure the roots. 



MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIEl 



FRUITS. 



Silurilaj, Julj 24, 183 



Cherries. — From Gen. Dearborn, fruit of 

 Belle et Magnifiquc. The tree was received fr 

 Vilmorin's Nursery in 1823 or '25, and truly is 

 magnificent appearance ; color red, with wl 

 spots, or mottled, a valuable fruit from its lateni 

 The tree is very vigorous and a good beai 

 From Mr Robert Manning, a French Cherry 

 fair appearance, but rather acid flavor. 



Jlpplcs. — From Col. George Gibes, of Sa 

 wich, L. I. near New York, fruit of a fine .^p 

 that rijiens with him about the 1st of July. T 

 tree imi)orted from Europe thirty years since, ns 

 unknown. From E. Bartlett, Esq. of Roxbi 

 fruit of the early Nonsuch, (ripe July 10,) i 

 Juneating ; both in pleasant eating and good fi 

 Also fruit of the Winter Pearmain and Rock 

 pie, of the last season, in good presei-vation ; 

 latter has been kept four and five months into 

 second year. From S. Downer, of Dorchei 

 an apple well known in the market for some y( 

 past, under the name Queen, Ladies, &c. 

 original tree of this variety, we learn from C 

 Benjamin Williams, of Roxbury, was a Wih 

 which grew on his farm, which was blown di 

 some years since. This fruit is deservedly b 

 vorite as a summer apple. The color is a r 

 beautiful Red, varies from light to very darl 

 the sunny side. Shape oblong and very perl 

 medium size, sprightly, and very pleasant, riper 

 in succession, commencing about the 1st of Aug 

 The tree grows upright and thrifty, and is a ( 

 stnnt and good bearer. It is getting much ci 

 vated in this vicinity. The committee reco mm 

 that it be called the Williams Apple. Fron 

 Howe, from the garden of S. Downer, fruit of 

 Early River Apple. This fruit is said to h 

 originated near the Connecticut River, and 

 good summer fruit, over medium size ; cole 

 yellowish green, with red stri|)es on one 

 pleasant flavor, and saleable in the market, rip 

 in succession, also the Early Harvest Apple, ag 

 flavored, yellowish white, saleable fruit. 



Apncots. — From E. Phinney, Esq. of Lexi 

 ton, fruit of the Moor Park Apricot, of fine 

 pearance, measuring six inches in circumfeiei 



Pears. — From Mr E. D. Richards, of Dedh 

 fruit of the Madeleime (of Cox, No. 3,) CitroD 

 Canines, Green ChisscI, or Early Chaumonti 

 one of our best summer' Pears, and a good bea 

 Plums. — From R. Howe, from S. Down 

 Garden, fruit of the Jaune Hative, Early Yel 

 or White Primordian, called in our market Bil 



