34 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Remarks. — la regard to the large fowls, which, 

 with their eggs, have been sold at high prices, 

 people have not only made a great mistake, in our 

 o^)inion, in running on large coarse birds, but they 

 have been sadly disappointed is raising chickens; 

 for, generally, they have not raised one-fifth so 

 many chickens as they have bought eggs. Another 

 serious evil, they have often, we are sorry to say 

 it, bought eggs that have not produced chickens 

 true to the mark. As an instance, a man who had 

 ©nly one pair of Shanghae fowls, sold one hundred 

 dollars worth of eggs the past season, and it was 

 supposed that the old hen had some assistance in 

 laying them. Verily, there has been a great deal 

 of humbuggery in the fowl business, and in our 

 poultry shows; and men, whose reputation, some 

 would suppose, would be a guarantee for fairness, 

 have had a hand in it. — Ed. 



MARKET GARDENING AND HIGH 

 FARMING. 



Editors of the Cltltivator : — I have been 

 taking a look at the market gardening and other 

 modes of cultivating the soil in the vicinity of 

 the city of Boston. The amount and profit per 

 acre obtained by the systems of culture there prac- 

 ticed, is truly surprising. 



I first visited the grounds of George Pierce, 

 Esq., in West C'anibridge. He cultivates twenty- 

 six acres of land, all told. At the time of his pur- 

 chase, his land was a light sandy loam, in a worn 

 out condition, and would have been called the 

 poorest kind of " plain land." He has spared no 

 pains to redeem it from sterility. ]\Ianure has 

 been largely purchased at the city stables, costing 



$7 per cord, when delivered on the farm. His cumbers are planted betw^een the rows of peas: 

 whole annual purchases of manure amount to ! the radishes get out of the way of the peas, and 



apple, Mr. Pierce last year sold twenty-four bai"- 

 rels of apples, so large, smooth, and fair as to com- 

 mand five dollars per barrel. Mr. Pierce is particu- 

 lar in so training the branches of liis young trees 

 as to prevent them from shading or otherwise in- 

 terfering with each other; and the branches are 

 encouraged to start out low on the trunk, to pro- 

 tect its sap from too high heat by the rays of the 

 sun. 



Four years ago, an apple orchard was planted 

 out, embracing four acres, the trees standing in 

 rows thirty-six feet apart, each way. At the same 

 time, about 1000 peach trees were planted between 

 the rows of apple trees, twelve feet apart each 

 way. The land, for several years previous, had 

 been devoted to market vegetables, under high 

 cultivation. The growth of trees is very remark- 

 able; and the peach trees are now bearing finely. 

 Being short lived, they will soon be out of the 

 way of the apple trees; and then, for a few years, 

 vegetables W'ill be grown in the open spaces. 



Nineteen acres are devoted to the raising of veg- 

 etables for the Boston market. As before intima- 

 ted, this land is highly manured ; it is also deeply 

 worked, as deep as the plows can be made to run. 

 A great variety of vegetables is here raised, in 

 order seasonably to supply the successive require- 

 ments of the market. For several weeks, in the 

 heiffht of the producing season, two and three 

 wagon loads are daily sent to market, embracing 

 12 to 15 varieties of vegetables. 



It is a leading and principal idea with Mr. 

 Pierce, so to adapt different vegetables to the land 

 and to each other, as to obtain at least two, and 

 often four crops in a season, from one and the same 

 piece of ground. For instance : on one plat of 

 land, early radishes are sown broadcast, and early 

 peas are sown in double drills, say five feet apart; 

 at the proper time, either squashes, melons, or cu- 



from $800 to $1000. In applying it to the soil, 

 the principal rule observed is to put on all that can 

 possibly do good. 



the peas get out of the way of the vines ; and thus 

 three crops are successively matured. Enough ma- 

 nure is put on the ground in the spring to afford 



Mr. PtERCE considers that a light warm sandy j full sustenance to all the crops. On other ground, 



loam is the most favorai)]e soil fur market garden 

 ing; and that although at first it may be compara- 

 tively unproductive, yet, wiien made fat by high 

 cultivation, the crops are sure, and the land is 

 more easily worked than heavier loam. 



Seven acres are princi})ally devoted to the raising 

 of fruit. In the apple orchard, the trees stand 39 



early potatoes are raised, and marketed in season 

 to sow turnips and obtain a full crop. Or perhaps 

 after the potatoes the land will be sown in Au- 

 gust to onions. In the fall they are covered with 

 swamp hay or other litter; they remain in the 

 groimd through the winter without injury; in May 

 tbllowing they are ready for market, and in June 



feet apart, each way. As they are mostly large! the land is ready for any other crop. Or perhaps 

 trees, the ground is pretty much given up to them, after the ootatoes. suinage is sown for greens, and 

 A moderate coat of manure is spread over the sur- 

 face each spring and plowed in, without particular 

 reference to the roots of the trees, but with special 



after the potatoes, spinage is sown for greens, 

 the next spring the land is clear. 



It is also a leading idea to get all kinds of vege- 

 tables into the market at the earliest possible peri- 

 care to prevent the barking of their trunks. AUiod; for any article appearing there a week or two 



weeds are kept down, that the trees may have full 

 possession of the soil. The apples are in conse- 

 quence large and fair, the product is large, and the 

 fruit brings top prices in the market. While the 

 trees were young and growing, heavier dressings 

 of manure were applied to the ground, and the 

 open spaces between the rows were occupied with 

 vegetables for the market. By means of this con- 

 stant working of the land, the trees begin to bear 

 some fruit in six years from the time they are set 

 out; ani in thirteen to fifteen years, they will pro- 

 duce, in favorable seasons, an average yield of five 



before its usual time, commands a very high price, 

 which richly rewards any extra labor or pains. 

 Mr. Pierce has extensive hot beds for forwarding 

 his various producti(Mis for an early market. He 

 lias 250 sashes, or some 1400 surface feet of glass, 

 under which all sorts of vegetables are started. — 

 Last spring he went largely into the production 

 under glass of early dandelions for greens. The 

 receipts from this source, in March and early 

 April,amountedto$3 per sash, or one shilling per 

 surface foot of ground. Tomatoes are sown under 

 glass ; and as it is important in early spring to 



barrels per tree. From four trees of the Porter ! economi.se the room in the hot beds, they are first 



