vi»i.. XX. Sio. :i. 



A N O H O 11 'I" I C U L T U R A I, R E G I S T K R . 



19 



fM'fli li irv'i's liaa bi-eii, nr wlioro llio Utlor la ; coii- 

 soiiiii'iilly, wliorc a iiLMfjIibortiocid nbuuiulH Willi 

 peart) trcfi<, llioie m ilmifrcr of lis boconiinjf ovor- 

 aprcail ^riili UiseaHO, without (;reater caru tliuii is 

 usually taken to prevent it. 



I tliink I liavo seen eviiicncea of ils bnintf in 

 lome ili'(jrce contagious. Riclmrd Cromwoll tlio ' 

 respcct.ibli' and worthy poach raiser, near Hnlti- 

 more, has Tor upwanls of thirty years supplied thai 

 city with I'oaches of the host ijuality, on n Urgo 

 scale. Some tunc since, when I was walkiiiji with 

 Mr Cromwell t.'iroiigh his poach orclianl, when the 

 trees were lianffinp full of ripe fruit. In; pointed out 

 t tree that ho said had the yellows, liaving a full 

 crop upon it, at that time worth one dollar per peck, 

 ijid to me It appeared lienllliy ; bul lie observed to [ 

 luc, " as soon as I take the fruit from the tree, I 

 shall dii; it up, in order lo prevent the disease 

 spreading any farther, for 1 expect the side of the 

 idjoiiiing trees next to it will be alfccted next sea- 

 son.'' 1 hail occasion lo pass throurjli Mr Croiii- 

 well's orchard the next fruiting' time, and the sickly 

 tree Jiad been dug up, but, as had been predicted, 

 |>arts of the four neighborin^j trees were evidently 

 much aiVected, but only the sides next to the dis- 

 eased tree, which made it the iiioru striking and 

 :onvincing of the contagion, if this is a proper 

 term. 



Oo another occasion, I had a favorite early pur- 

 ple peach, before F had a nursery, that I suspected 

 was p.irlially atTccted by the yellows, and being de- 

 jirous of pri->sfirving the variety, I cut the healthiest 

 branch I could get, and I had twelve buds inserted 

 ij heilthy peach stocks, but when tliry had grown 

 ibcut three feel, they showed ;he disease so plain- 

 ly that in order to prevent it from spreading, I 

 oullcJ up all the trees ami had them burnt 



From these cases, it seems lo me the disease 

 'Tiay be generated by planting old peach orchards 

 )r nurseries too soon after the removal of the old 

 rees, and also by planting too near those already 

 liffected with the disease ; and if cuttings or sci- 

 ins arc taken from disea-sed trees, their product 

 will be also diseased. I also think the yellows 

 Tiay be cominunicated to young trees by planting 

 ^eeds taken from diseased peach trees. 

 Respectfully, your friend, 



ROBERT SINCLAIR. 



Clairmont .Yarsery, March, 1841. 



From the Albany CaliiTtitor. 



FLOORED AND UNFLOORED STABLES. 



Messrs Gaylord if Tucker — Among the many 

 valuable articles in your Cultivator, I noticed one 

 ■ecentlv headed "Stables without Floors." 1 have 

 jcen in the habit, for a few years past, of using 

 loored and ground stables, and have concluded 

 l.hat in general for cattle, stables without floors 

 were the best ; but for horses I prefer a good plank 

 Hoor, and for this reason: I think that a horse can 

 ■)e kept more comfortably and cleaner on a floor 

 Jian on the ground ; and I think full as much ma- 

 lure can be made on a tight floor as on the ground. 

 Dne argument which your correspondent unes is, 

 hat " horses' hoofs are greatly benefited by stand- 

 ng on the ground." Now, I do not profess lo bo 

 Tiuch acipiainted with horse flesh, but 1 think it 

 ooks reasonable that the cleaner and dryer a 

 lorsc's hoofs are kept, the belter they will be pre- 

 served from disease ; and I am certain that they 

 ;an be kept as dry on a floor as on the ground. 



We are now using ground and floor slahlcs for our 

 emtio, and I don't know but llmt we niako ns much 

 maniiri" on our floor n» on nlir ground slnbles. Bul 

 M.s floor sliibles wiil be used by a good many, I 

 would rocomnuMid to all those who a'O about build- 

 ing, lo have iheir plank siwed of an even thick- 

 ness and joinli'il so ns to make it light. In laying 

 down the plank, l<>t them he laid so that lh« hinil 

 feet of the onttlo may rest an inch or two lower 

 than their foro feet. Lol there he, at the boltom 

 of the floor near the door sill, a trough sunk down 

 on a level with iho floor. This will serve to catch 

 all the liquids and juices ivhicli will fall on the 

 floor, and wiili a shovel, it can be put in and mixed 

 with the heap. In this way I think full as much 

 manure can lie made as upon the ground. 



With regard to spreading manure about the cat- 

 tle yard, I am of the same opinion of your corres- 

 pondent, that to let the cattle tread upon it, it 

 serves to mix it with other manures; if left lo lie 

 in a heap it is apt to burn, and become useless. 

 We have found too, upon trial, that one load of 

 manure housed, is worth two loads which are left 

 out to be drenched by the rains and to undergo the 

 action of the frost. It will pay as good interest to 

 house our manure as to house our cattle. 

 Yours, with respect, 



L. DURAND. 



POPULAR ERRORS— FARMING IN THE 

 MOON. 



The moon has given rise to abundance of super- 

 stitious observances, and from the very earliest 

 ages has been supposed to exercise a great influ- 

 ence over the earth and men. Many of these su- 

 perstitions have been exploded, while others still 

 retain no inconsiderable hold on the public mind, 

 and are pregnant sources of error. On no point is 

 this more perceptible than in farming. That the 

 moon can produce any perceivable influence on 

 crops, or deserves the slightest regard in their sow. 

 ing or planting, is a notion as false in philosophy 

 as it is contrary to fact. That the waxing or wa- 

 ning of the moon has any influence on the growth 

 of vegetables or their germination, is a noticm be- 

 longing to the same age as astrology and witch, 

 craft; and like these beliefs, should ere this have 

 ceased to exist. The celebrated Arago collected 

 from various sources all the well-authenticated 

 facts relating to the influence of the moon on ag- 

 riculture and the weather, and came to the conclu- 

 sion, "that there was no reason whatever to con- 

 firm the common notion that changes of weather 

 attended changes ot the moon, or that this lumina- 

 ry has any perceptible effect, or is in the least 

 worthy of notice in conducting the processes of 

 niiriculturc." Some of the old superstitions or 

 notions on this subject may, however, be worthy 

 of notice here. Tusser says, in his "500 Points 

 of Husbandry" — 



" Sow peas and beans in the w.ine of thejinoon ; 

 Who sowelli ihem Booni'r, he soweth too soon ; 

 That they with the planet may rise. 

 And flourisli with bearing most plentiful-wise.'' 



But though such was the general feeling, there 

 were some enlightened and intelligent enough to 

 perceive the absurdity of suc!i notions, and expose 

 these errors. Thus Weverfel, in 1748, in an Es- 

 say on Superstition, says — 



'■The superstitious man will not commit his seed 

 to the earth when the .»oi7, but when the moon re- 

 quires it. He will not have his hair cut when the 



inooii iH in Leo, lest liia lockn i.hould staro like > 

 lion's umii« ; nor when it is in Aries, lest they 

 should curl like a ram'ahoin." 



I would «By to the farmer, don't trouble your- 

 self about the moon. Sec that y<Mir land la in fine 

 tilth, well manured and drained ; your seed fresh 

 and free from foul matter ; and when you arc ready, 

 Sow, without consulting the moon or the almanac. 

 If nil is right in other respects, the moon, no mat- 

 ter what may bo its position, will not hurt you or 

 your crop ; and if your land is but half prepared 

 or tilled, rely on the moon as much as you please, 

 and you have no right to expect a crop. 



If you see at the present time, n man's fences 

 buried in briars, his fields overrun with bushes 

 and thistles, and his orchards neither trimmed nor 

 pruned ; thot man may be set down as a believer 

 in signs, one who governs his fanning by the moon, 

 and who will, in all probability, reap such a har- 

 vest, and experience such results as so irrational 

 and unphilosophical a course indicates. — Gtnestt 

 Farmer. 



From the Farmer's Cabinet. 



CULTIV.^TION. 



I have often thought that Dr. Johnson's definition 

 of the business of a schoolmaster, was particularly 

 applicable to that of the agricultur.:! journalist: 

 "To recall vagrant attention," and to "stimulate 

 sluggish indiff'erence." 



Every movement of the farmer — every step he 

 takes, is emphatically under the broad canopy of 

 heaven : he plows, he plants, he cultivates, under 

 a full persuasio:i of the fidelity of Nature's great 

 "Fruclifier." He throws broadcast his seed into 

 her bosom, nothing doubting the continued fulfil- 

 ment of the ancient promise, that seed-time and 

 harvest shall not cease while the earth remaineth. 



It is an appropriate duty of the periodicals which 

 the farmer reads and puts into the hands of his 

 cliildien, not only lo keep him informed of the im- 

 provements that are continually bettering the con- 

 dition of his craft, and every thing connected with 



his thrift but also to raise his views from his 



horses and his plow, to the magnificence of nature 

 that is around him, and from nature — as the poet 

 says — up to nature's (Jod ; and to remind him occa- 

 sionally of the fact, which his customary round of 

 duties may lead him to fiirget, that his vocation, if 

 properly followed, is among the noblest and most 

 ennobling, pursued by man. There is a progres- 



sivencss an onward course, in the efforts of the 



farmer, that render them delightful ; and why 

 should not this be continually accomjianied by a 

 conesponding improvement of the mind, and en- 

 largement of views, that would place Aisamongthe 

 most intelligent and respectable of the professions. 



There is great inducement for our farming popu- 

 lation to believe that the tendency of every thing 

 connected with their vocation is, like every thing 

 else in this great and wonderful republic, upward 

 and onivard. Let us then extend our views — let 

 us " look aloft"— let us aim, a.^ Sir Philip Sidney 

 advises, at the " mid-day sun." and who can doubt 

 but our judicious enterprise will render the result 

 correspondent with the aim .' — as advantageous to 

 the permanent interests of the country, as it will 

 be gratifyingand beneficial to ourselves. • Z. Y. 



Marriage is a feast where the grace is sometimes 

 better than ike dinner, — Lacon. 



