Vol. IX.— No. 25. 



AND HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



19^ 



)i Finally, you ask me whether I derive a profit 

 '\i from the culture of bees? The fact is, the idea 

 I of profit never occurred to me ; my first and prc- 

 n aent object, is to study them. — My hivo is now 

 •very large, and perfectly full, — having never 

 1 swarmed — whenever they exhibit indications of 

 it, I propose to insert another box, to ^ive them 

 room. In this way, I hope to liavc a formidable 

 hive. It has been thought that it now contains 

 •upwards of two hundred pounds, and so packed 

 -with beautiful (lakes of pure, white comb, inter- 

 sected by roads and paths, tliat every one, imac- 

 quainted with the peculiar, instinctive habits of 

 the bee, views it as a great curiosity. The addition- 

 al convenience now contemplated, is a glass floor, 

 to enable me to look upward, with a light at the 

 top ; I liope for some insight into their out-of-sight 

 economy. 



Without reference to theories, or, indeed the 

 facts of writers, I have given you the results of 

 Diy personal observations. If I have been de- 

 ceived, you will be able to make the corrections. 

 It would give me great pleasure to add something 

 to the stock of general knovvletlge, relative to 

 tlie cultivation of bees, as a source of profit, but 

 tat present, iny locality forbids an experiment, 

 Very respectfully and obediently, yours, 



JeRO.ME V. C. S.MITH. 



James Thacher, M. D. 



[Dr Thacher'3 Letter and Mr3 Giiiffith's remarks in coil- 

 tinuatioD, will appear next week.] 



M R 



COOK'S ADDRESS. 



(Continued from page 187.) 



The agricultual interests of New England have 

 oeen greatly iiromoted by the skilful, judicious; 

 and generous exertions of the society long since in- 

 Itituted in Massachusetts for that purpose. To 



;e ardor and zeal that has been unceasingly man- 

 ifested by the distinguished men who have directed 

 Its efforts, this section of our country is jiarticu- 

 larly indebted for the advances that have been made 

 in this department of national industry, and which 

 may not be inaptly termed a branch of the ' Ameri- 

 tan System.' They have given an impulse to the 

 mergies and the hopes of our yeomanry. They 

 lave instilled into their minds a portion of their 

 lentiments, and have e.xcited in tliem a spirit of 

 stuulation, uiid tlie advantages that have accrued, 

 ind still continue to follow tlieir labors, are legible 

 D every field, and are daily conspicuous in our 

 narket-places. 



The industry, and perseverance, and forecast of 

 he people of New England, is the basis upon which 

 heir prosperity and security must be sustained. 



Possessed of fewer natural advantages of soil 

 ind climate than are enjoyed in other sections ofour 

 •ountry, we are happily exein[)ted from many of the 

 |ie evils to which they are necessarily subjected, 

 ly circumstances they <;annot control. If we are 

 (enied the privilege of a milder atmosphere, and 

 more temperate climate, if we must submit to the 

 igors of our northern winter, and find no escape 

 rem the chilling colds of a protracted spring, we 

 •an do so without murmuring or repining. 



If Providence has been pleased to withhold 

 rem us, what in its wisdom it has seen fit to con- 

 er on others, it has given us much, and withheld 

 rom us much for which we should be grateful. 



The habits and peculiarities of trees and plants 

 i a subject which should interest our attention, as 



kaowledge of it will tend to prevent much of 

 he eonfusioD, and avert much of the disappoint- 



BBt, to which those are exposed who neglect it. 



The unskilful use of the saw and the prunirg 



knife, is fretpieutly detrimental to trees, not only in 

 the extent of their application, but in the unseason- 

 ableness of the operation. Winter pruning is 

 sometimes practised for the very cogent reason 

 that it is a time of comparative leisure. Similar 

 excuses have not been unfrequently resorted to, on 

 other occasions, and the reminiscences of by-gone 

 days may remind some of us of certain mischiev- 

 ous acts performed, for the equally commendable 

 reason, that we could find no more rational ein- 

 ploymeut for our time. It is thought by those 

 who have given much attention to the subject, 

 that the most appropriate time for such operations 

 is when the sap flows freely, or from the latter end 

 of April to the middle of May. This is undoubt- 

 edly true in relation to the apple and pear tree, but 

 in the opinion of some experienced, and distin- 

 guished cultivators, the peach, nectarine, apricot, 

 plum, and cherry trees, should not be pruned ex- 

 cept in August or September. The latter should 

 be subjected to this operation as sparingly as possi- 

 ble. Lopping off the leading shoots, or any other 

 of the principal branches, shotdd be avoided as 

 much as practicable, and while they preserve their 

 health and vigor, those parts should be suff'ered to 

 remain entire, and only the smaller, superfluous 

 branches removed. 



The wounds caused by the removal of the great- 

 er or lesser branches should be immediately cov- 

 ered by a composition of adhesive and healing in- 

 gredients, which will prevent the air and moisture 

 from penetrating, and as the juices are then in an 

 active state, little or no injury may be apprehend- 

 ed. If this were practised more generally than it 

 has been, we should not witness so much of pre- 

 mature decay that is seen so extensively in our or- 

 chards and gardens. 



I am unwilling to dismiss this subject without 

 urging upon you the necessity of avoiding as 

 much as possiiile, the removal of large and vigor- 

 ous branches from your trees at any season. To 

 secure success in the cultivation of fruit trees, and 

 to give them a tasteful and ornamental, as well as 

 useful form, with a view to productiveness, and 

 a simultaneous ripening of their fruits, pruning 

 should be comitienced the year after they are trans- 

 planted, and repeated every successive spring, by 

 cutting out from the exterior all the small, and 

 superfluous, and intersecting shoots, wherever they 

 appear, leaving the interior of the tree in the 

 form of a tunnel. By this method, the fruit, on all 

 parts of the tree, will be equally accessible to the 

 influence of the sun, and will consequently be more 

 equally matured, and of similar qualities on all its 

 sections. Trees, like children, should be taught 

 correct habits while they are susceptible of good 

 impressions, and as we are directed to train up the 

 latter in the way they should go, that in maturer 

 life they shall not depart from the precepts that 

 are instilled into their minds in youth, so is it de 

 sirable in relation to the former, that we should 

 cultivate the young jilant with reference to the 

 future tree, and prune and train it as we would 

 have it to grotv. 



But this is not all that is essential to give effi- 

 cacy to our labors. There is an evil to which 

 many kii»(k of trees and plants are subjected, that 

 demands our particular attention, and even when 

 that has been patiently and zealously exercised, it 

 has proved only partially successful. The numer- 

 ous kinds of insects which not only produce incal- 

 culable mischief to the health, and beauty, and 



productiveness of the tree, but deprive us of no among its benefactors, 

 inconsiderable portion of its fruit, have hitherto To bo coutinuad, 



eluded the vigilance and the ingenuity of man, iu 

 his eftorts to provide either a preventive or a re- 

 medy for the injury thus occasioned. The insid- 

 ious mode of attai-k m which they are gui<lcd by 

 an unerring instinct, would seem to require the 

 exorcise of almost super-human skill, to avert or 

 repress their ravages. 



Cleanliness is indispensable to the health, and 

 beauty, and usefulness of fruit trees. The moss- 

 covered wall is venerated as an object of anti- 

 quity ; but the moss-covered tree excites no such 

 reverential emotions. Nor is our respect for the 

 sentimental cultivator of caterpillars, elevated in the 

 ratio of success ho attains in the pursuit of his 

 favorite art. It were well enough while it ad- 

 ministers to his |)leasures, and gratifies his taste, 

 that he should enjoy the exclusive benefit of his 

 labors, and /ar better if he would restrain those 

 objects of his regard within the limits of his own 

 domain. If the i)ropagation of those ingenious 

 architects is an interesting employment; if he is 

 gratified by the exhibition of their industry, and is 

 impressed with the belief that it would bean act 

 of cruelty to demolish tlieir dwellings, and devote 

 the occupants to death ; that they would thus 



' in corporal sufferins 



Feel a pang as great as when a giant dies,' 



he must be indulged in the exercise of those kind- 

 red feelings, and in the unenvied possession of his 

 vitiated taste. But the criminal disregard of the 

 duties he owes to his neighbors, in the indulgence 

 of such propensities, whether they proceed from 

 choice or indolence, deserves the most severe and 

 unrestrained rebuke. 



Exudations, or any other unusual appearance of 

 uuhealthiness or unthriftiness in trees often indi- 

 cate the proximity of the enemy, although such 

 effects are produced 'sometimes by unskilful prun- 

 ing. An early and careful examination will lead to 

 the detection of the assailant, and, if seasonably 

 made, may preserve the tree. No effectual pre- 

 ventive against the injurious operations of the 

 borer upon many of our fruit, and some of our 

 forest trees has yet been devised. 



The cankerworra and the curculio are the most 

 extensively fatal, as they are the most crafly of the 

 insect race, and no certain means have yet been 

 discovered to induce the belief that .an effectual 

 preventive will be found to slay their annual rava- 

 ges. The time, and labor, and experiments that 

 have been devoted to the attainment of this desir- 

 able object, or employed in the investigation of the 

 subject, are deserving of more success than have 

 resulted from those efforts. Much useful and sat- 

 isfactory information as to their character and 

 habits, has, however been elicited, but that most 

 desirable end, the prevention of their devastating 

 effects, has been but partially attained. ' It is a 

 consummation devoutly to be wi.^hed,' that all who 

 are interested would unite their efforts in the en., 

 deavor to arrest the further progress of his scourge 

 of our fruit trees. The energies of the whole 

 agricultural world could not be concentrated in, 

 and applied to a more important purpose connected 

 with the cultivation of fruit. Should any indi- 

 vidual be so fortunate as to make the discovery 

 that shall prove an infallible antidote to the incur- 

 sions of this withering and blighting infliction, he 

 will have the proud and enviable satisfaction of 

 contributing much to the prosperity of his coun- 

 try, and will richly deserve to be numbered 



