NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



99 



a woman who could learn them how to farm it with 

 profit. Her husband bought a farm and paid for 

 it lacking $600. His health was poor, and he died, 

 leaving three boys, and the estate in debt about 

 $800. She had cleared the mortgage, repaired the 

 house, and educated the boys; and the farm would 

 sell for 50 per cent, more than it cost. 



Mr. Barrett remarked that where a man failed 

 from intemperance, another bought the place, and 

 succeeded well, making a good profit on his invest- 

 ment. 



Subject for the next meeting, Agricultural Ed- 

 ucation. Hon. Marshal P. Wilder will preside, 

 and address the meeting. 



meadow land, in improving the grass in kind, in 

 quantity, and in quality? 



Mil. 



For the New Ensland Farmer. 

 REMARKS ON FRUIT. 



Cole: — Much has been said and written 



AGRICULTURAL QUESTIONS. 

 No. 3. — Subject, Grasses and Meadow Lands. 



I. What grasses have you cultivated, and what 

 kinds have you found to be the most profitable for 

 mowing and for pasture, keeping in view quantity 

 and nutritious quality 1 



n. What kinds of grass are best for different 

 kinds of domestic animals'? 



HI. What soil is best suited to heids grass? 

 What to clover, red or white? What to red top ? 

 What to blue grass, &c. &c. 



IV. What have you found to be the best time 

 for sowing grass seed, and under w'hat conditions 

 should it be sown, and in what quantity of the 

 sward kinds ? 



V. What kinds of grass seed can be advantage- 

 ously sown together upon the same field, and in what 

 proportion 1 



VI. How at the least expense can the greatest 

 quantity of grass be raised on a given quantity of 

 land for a series of years ? This question is intended 

 to bring up to view the comparative advantages of 

 a rotation of ciops with manure under the furrow; 

 and of top-dressing; and of fall-seeding, with ma- 

 nure on the inverted sod? 



VH. What is the comparative value for fodder 

 of a large yield, say three tons of coarse rank grass, 

 and of a smaller quantity, say two tons, of finer 

 grass raised on the same field without forcing ? 



Vni. In what stage in the growth should grass 

 be mowed, having reference only to the value of 

 the single crop for fodder? 



IX. What effect has feeding off or mowing the 

 aftermath upon the quantity and quality of the crop 

 the succeding year ? 



X. What is the value of the aftermath or i-owen 

 in comparison with hay of the first crop, ton for 

 ton, for the purpose of nutrition, or of fattening, or 

 of milking? 



XI. What kinds of manure are best adapted to 

 meadow land in general, and to the several varieties 

 of grass in particular ? Thus Gypsum is peculiarly 

 adapted to clover. 



XII. What effect has thorough draining upon 



on the different kinds of fruit, their culture, their 

 quality, and their value; so much so, tliat a fruit 

 fever was said to prevail through the country, a few 

 years ago; and now, after it has prevailed and spread 

 over the land, let us see whether the effects of the 

 fever have operated beneficially, or otherwise, upon 

 the country at large. That it operated beneficially 

 to the nurserymen, for a number of years, I pre- 

 sume there is not the shade w of a doubt. That it 

 has operated injuriously, in many cases, to those 

 who purchased the trees, I have still to learn; while 

 those people who improved their trees of natural 

 fruit, by grafting and budding, I know have expe- 

 rienced a benefit; and those people who, amid all 

 the rage of the fever, have gone on in their former 

 course, and have made no improvement in the qual- 

 ity of their fruits, have not been "humbugged," as 

 a Boston paper lately represented people had, who 

 favored improvement. 



By the way, Mr. Editor, several circumstances 

 favored the spread of the fever. 1st. In consequence 

 of the temperance movement, there has been, in 

 many parts of New England particularly, less de- 

 mand for cider than formerly, and in numerous in- 

 stances the farmers have nearly abandoned the use 

 of cider as a common drink, consequently natural 

 or unimproved fruit has declined in value, and be- 

 come unsaleable. 2d. At the same time the increas- 

 ed demand for improved fruit, in our cities and vil- 

 ages, seemed to second the efforts of tlie temper- 

 ance movement, for as the demand fo'- cider decreas- 

 ed, the demand for improved fruits increased, and 

 still coniinues to increase, far beyond the powers of 

 producers of improved fruit to supply the demand. 

 This is the case so fiir as my information extends. 

 The result of this state of things is this; natural or 

 unimproved fruits, which formerly sold at good 

 prices, noic, since the prevalence of the fever, will 

 not sell for one-third of their former value; while 

 improved varieties of fruit sell readily at former 

 prices, with an increasing demand. Thus it will 

 be seen that the /"^crrasa/ demand for /«?;'rorcf/ fruits 

 on the one hand, and the decreased price and de- 

 mand for natural fruits on the other hand, prepared 

 the way for, if it did not produce, the "fruit fever," 

 of the last 8 or 10 years. 



In corroboration of the above remarks, I will pro- 

 duce some cases that have fallen under my obser- 

 vation; Mr. Daniel B. Morgan, of this town, in 1845, 

 grafted a young and thrifty orchard, of about 100 

 Trees, with soine of the most approved varieties ol' 

 apples he could find. For a number of years, that 

 orchard has been the subject of much comment in 

 the neighborhood, many people saying he had done 

 the orchard more hurt than good, by grafting it; 

 tliat he would not be likely to see as nuich value 

 as he had cut offin grafting, and sucli like remarks. 

 Well, time has passed away, during which Mr. 

 Morgan "looked well to the ways" of his orchard;, 

 and the last year, being the first bearing season 

 of any amount in his orchard, has fairly settled the 

 question, in that neighborhood. I speak within 

 bounds when I say, that his crop of api)]es this last 

 season has paid the u-Jtole expense of grafting and 



