NEW liMG-tAND FARMER. 



PUBLISHED BY J. B. RUSSELL, AT NO. 52 NORTH MARKET STREET, (at the AcnicuLTURiL Wareuouse.)— T. G. FESSENDEN, EDITOR. 



VOL, IX. 



BOSTON, FRIDAY^ AUGUST 13, 18SO. 



NO. 4. 



v^®^SiIW£rii^ii^3vS)^3o 



FOR THE NEW ENGLAND KARMER. 



Thomas G. Fessenden, Esq. — Yoii will perhaps 

 think it quite a strong remark for nie to make, 

 when I state that the object of this coininiinicatioii 

 is to show that Ike pear trees cuttivated at Boston 

 under the name of ' jyapoleoti,' are wrong — and 

 next, that all the ' Passe Colinar ' trees wliich are 

 not itlentical with the ' .Vapoleon,' there so called, 

 arc wrong also, as the one called 'Napoleon' is 

 identicall)' the ' Passe Colmar.' These assertions 

 are not ventured until after examinations made, 

 with that scrupulous exactness which doubts itself 

 until it attain to conviction past all doubt. I will 

 now give the description of the Passe Colmar pear, 

 as detailed in the London Pomological Magazine, 

 and to which 1 find myself enabled to add more 

 synonymes than the London Horticultural Society 

 have done. 



' PASSE COLMAR.' 

 SynoQjmes. 



Fondante de Panisel, 



Beurre cnlmar grise, dite Precel, 



Poire-Preeel, 



Colmar epineux. 



Passe colmar epineux, 



Passe culmar g'is, dit Precel, 



Chapman's. 



'A most abundant bearer, either as a sandard 

 or upon a wall ; the trees make fine clean »■ n,\, 

 and have not been observed to have the least can-i 

 ker. The fruit has the flavor and form of the 

 Colmar, whence its name. 



Wood fine, clear yellow brown, sprinkled loith a 

 few pale brotvn spots ; leaves small, oval, tapering to 

 both ends, erect, or spreading, nearly Jlat, not waved, 

 toith a finely toothed margin ; stalks rather slender, 

 ahout an inch in length, Sfc. The leaves on the fruit 

 Sfurs are almost entire, and in this as well as in 

 most other pears, arc narrower, with much longer 

 stalks than those on the young wood. 



Flowers middle size, with pointed petals ; fruit 

 middle size, obconical, fattened next the eye, tvhich 

 is open ; stalk about an inch long, moderately thick, 

 slightly sunk at its insertion ; skin green, when ripe 

 becomes yelloicish and sprinkled toith russet, and if 

 well exposed, having cf considerable tinge of red. 

 The surface is somewhat uneven, icilh some slight 

 longitudinal furrows running downwards from the 

 stalk end ; Jlesh yellowish, melting, buttery, juicy, 

 very rich, and most excellent. 



This is said on the continent to be in season 

 from December to February. It will keep till the lat- 

 ter period with us, but December and January are the 

 months in which it is in its greatest perfection.' 



To the list of synonymes I now add the follov/- 



Thc synonymous title ' Chapman's,' is said in 

 the Pomological JIagazine to have been given by 

 a market gardener of that name, near London; but 

 there are two other distinct fruits known in this 

 country under the name of Chapman pear, one of 

 which is cultivated in France, and enumerated in 

 the catalogues of that country, and was thence 

 imported by ourselves ; the other is a variety so 

 called, about Philadelphia, which we also have in 

 our collection. It is necessary, therefore, to be 

 watchful, or we may be led into error in adopting 

 this .synonyme. The genuine ' Napoleon ' pear, 

 which we imported about five years since, is thus 

 described in the Pomological Magazine, and by 

 comparing the wood and leaves, I find it exactly 

 to correspond. Ripe fruit I have not yet seen. 



' N.4P0LE0.N' PEAR.' 



Synonyme. 



MedaUle. 



Wood strong, dark yellowish green, moderately 

 sprijikled tcith whitish spots ; leaves tapering to a 

 point, ividely serrated ; fiowers remarkably large, ex- 

 panding late ; fruit large, form of a Colmar, an- 

 gular about the eye, a good deal contracted in thf 

 middle ; eye a little depressed ; stalk rather more 

 than half an inch long, slightly sunk at the inser- 

 tion ; skin smooth, bright green, in which state it re- 

 mains sometime after the fruit is gathered ; it finally 

 changes to a pale green, becomes very melting, &c. 

 It ripens in the middle of JVovembcr, and remains in 

 perfifction several days. It is necessary to hear in 

 mind that this pear is not fit to eat till its deep 

 green color become very pale ; as early as the be- 

 ginning of October, the fruit is sweet and pleasant.' 



By comparing these descriptions of the trees 

 themselves it will be perceived that two varieties 

 are very dissimilar in several points and readily 

 distinguishable by the most casual observer ; and 

 the Passe Colmar has a peculiarity of growth and 

 general appearance of wood and foliage, that give 

 to it a most marked distinction. In addition to 

 which it is a wittier fruit, while the Napoleon is an 

 autumnal fruit. 



With your permission, I shall indulge in some 

 occasional disquisitions on similar subjects, and 

 point out sosne errors into which the Pomological 

 Magazine has itself been led. 



With much respect, 



WM. ROBERT PRINCE. 



Linnsan Cotanic Garden, ( 

 July 30, 1830. j 



of various European 



and American 



catalogues. 



Colmar Reul, ^ 



Colmar Preul, j 



Passe colmar vineux, > 



Beurre d'Argenson 9 i 



Boston JVapoleon. 



It is singular how readily the three titles ending 

 with Precel, Reul, and Preul, may be confused 

 with each other by a partial variation in forming 

 the letters. 



FOR THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



THE POTATO ONION. 



This is indeed a very singular plant. The only 

 one, I believe, that bears no kind of seed. — It re- 

 sembles the Canada or Magic Onion, which like 

 this is viviparous, and like this has no sexual or- 

 gans. The Magic Onion produces its ofl^spring 

 along the side of the parent stalk, while the po- 

 tato onion spontaneously brings forth a numer- 

 ous progeny, from its matrix or bosom, below the 

 surface of the ground. 



When I began to propagate these roots, I found 

 it extremely difficult to preserve them in a healthy 

 state through the winter. A small degree of frost 

 will kill or injure them very much, and if kept in 

 a temperature above freezing, they vegetate, and 



.so exhaust themselves, as to produce very little 

 the next summer. For the last two years I 

 have managed them ditVcrently and have had 

 much better success. By the first of August or 

 as soon as the tops fall and wither, they should 

 be taken out of the ground and after lying several 

 days in the sun, should be put away in a dry 

 place mitil October ; they should then be re-set in 

 the ground like tulijjs. The beds intended for 

 them should be previously well wrought, and the 

 plants set in roAvs about a foot apart. The small 

 or young ones should be separated from the oth- 

 ers, for these grow larger but produce no offspring 

 the first year. Before the ap[)roach of winter 

 some coarse litter may be spread over them, 

 which should be removed in the spring — and they 

 will vegetate early and produce a plentiful crop. 

 Cultivated in this way I think this new plant a 

 valuable acquisition, and well deserving a place 

 in every garden. It is ripe earlj', and universally 

 esteemed upon the table for its mild and agreeable 

 flavor. S. R, 



Florida, July 3, 1830. 



ON REAraXG CALVES. 



To the Editor of the .New England Farmer. 



Dear Sir — I send you inclosed a letter from 

 GoRHAM Parsons, Esq. of Brighton, believing 

 you will think it well deserving a place in your 

 useful paper. The circumstance wliich gave rise 

 to it was this : In May last Mr Parsons sent me 

 as a T -c?e;;t, a very handsome heifer-calf of the 

 full i'looded, short horned and Alderney breed, 

 which, by the way, is only one among the many 

 assistances, which he has generously afforded me 

 in improving my little farm. And as I wished to 

 take that course in raising the calf, which jjromis- 

 ed the best result, I addressed a letter of inquiry 

 to him on the subject, and it was in reply to that 

 letter that I received the one I now transmit to 

 you. 



It ought in justice to be observed, though the 

 letter needs no apology, that it was not written 

 with the least expectation that it would come be- 

 fore the public, and it is now sent without his 

 knowledge. He will, I hope, excuse me for the 

 liberty I have taken, and tlie public, I know, will 

 be thankful that any circumstance puts them in 

 possession of the practical wisdom of a man who 

 has so much experience in the interesting and im- 

 portant business of agriculture, and the justness 

 of whose observations is supported by so many 

 successful experiments. 



I am, Mr Editor, respectfully yoin-s, 

 GARDNER B. PERRY. 



East Bradford, Jiugust 4, 1830. 



P. S. In support of this last observation, I 

 will just remark that, being a week or two since, 

 at the paternal estate of Mr Parsons, in Byefield, 

 in company with another gentleman, I walked 

 into a field of some 20 acres, where his workmen 

 were engaged in hay-making, who, upon inquiry 

 observed that they thought in some parts there 

 would be more than three tons of hay to the acre ; 

 and that the whole field would give an average 

 of full two and an half tons to the acre; which 

 estimate I am persuaded was not too high. And 

 it is my opinion, after having looked at the other 



