NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



141 



Yes, it will pay better than to plant a nnrsery and 

 wait seven years with a waterin*? mouth for the first 

 blow bud; renovate the old injustice to our lathers, 

 and plant the yonng in justice to posterity, we may 

 be benefited by botli, but certainly by the old fast. 

 There are several ways to renovate old trees be- 

 sides tilling. Spread around them straw, brakes, 

 ferns, thistles, flags, leaves of forest trees, stuff too 

 coarse for fodder, shavings or chip manure, any 

 thing to kill the grasses and retain the moisture. 

 Irrigation is excellent; the waste from road-sides, 

 the suds from the wash-room of one family would 

 improve many trees. If you attempt renovation by 

 tilling, cut not the roots or crop the land of more 

 richness than you impart to it, or your improve- 

 ment will be very temporary. Pasturmg with 

 sheep or swine is very beneficial; drive stakes about 

 the trunk to prevent their being marred by knaw- 

 ing or rubbing. Take off not only all the dead limbs 

 and remove rot with a gouge and fill the wounds 

 with some suitable substance; clay mortar does 

 jvell, horse dung and clay, &c., but at a proper 

 time reduce the old top. 



I once had wonderful success with a tree so far 

 gone that it seemed worthless, except to experi- 

 ment upon. I cut off all the top except a few twigs 

 on the stubs of the branches; I left the stubs well 

 spread; I then on my passage down from the 

 tree stripped all the bark upon the branches and 

 trunk, except about three inches of the upper end of 

 each branch, the better to aid the sprouting of new 

 branches; peel about the middle of June to the first 

 of July, if I mistake not; at any rate, when the 

 sliver is grown, which must not be disturbed or 

 broken, neither sliould it be violently scorched by 

 sun, or washed by rains; dull cloudy weather is the 

 best. If hot, protect by the shade of a few tall 

 forest bushes in leaf, stick them on the southern 

 side so far off that their leaves will not disturb the 

 sliver. This old tree had a perfectly smooth bark 

 come upon it, the top is vigorous; at the age oi 

 three years and perhaps two, your branches may 

 be grafted with success; this mode of cleansing is 

 perfect. I have just been thinning out and pruning 

 it, and a more perfect graft top I never have seen. 

 The outside of the tree and its top are thrifty as a 

 nursery tree, yet the inside of the tree was going 

 to decay before peeling. How it may bear remains 

 to be seen; but, I think in a few years it will bear 

 me many bushels of fine Baldwins; if so, you shall 

 hear from me. I intend to try several more the 

 present season. I shall try the most worthless first, 

 and spread all the small boughs and leaves, bark, 

 &c., to rot under the tree. Some others, after 

 breaking the turf, I shall yard my sheep a few 

 nights around each, enclosed by four lengths of 

 light portable fence easily secured at corners. Try 

 it, brother farmers; perform the operation of peel- 

 ing about the longest days in June, dock off the top 

 first, and then peel carefully as you come down. 

 Select cloudy days when the sun does not -scorch. 

 It is a more effectual way to cleanse than washir.g 

 Try it on a small scale first; I have only told you 

 of my success. Try it, and let us have the results, 

 in three years from the stripping process. Your 

 scions may be grafted into healthy and vigorous 

 stocks, and their growth will be vigorous, so that 

 in three years the top will be larger than at six 

 years, when grafted into old limbs, so that nothing 

 is lost as to time, and much vexation saved in the 



way of seeing your scions perish and decay at two 

 or three years' stinted growth. 



As the case too often is when you graft into old 

 black-hearted limbs, far better that the old tree die 

 under the operation of skinning than to die after you 

 have grafted and wailed several years for the result. 

 Evelyn is correct; never graft till the old tree feels 

 thrift from your care. It cannot bear such an oper- 

 ation when prostrated by famine. Crops of apples 

 impoverish the tree; the best bearers first fail and 

 decay. 



Many of the choicest blessings of Heaven are 

 given us upon strict principles of reciprocity, thus 

 teaching man that industry tends to his physical 

 and mental health and happiness. If we would be 

 fed by our trees, (nu fields, or: our animals, we must 

 feed them in turn. Jesse Sm.\rt. 



Troy, April 5th. 



For the. New England Farmer. 

 PROFIT OF FOWLS. 



Mr. Cole: — As much is said in these days re- 

 specting the profitableness and unprofitableness 

 of keeping poultry, it is well sometimes to post up 

 the books, and ascertain how the account stands. 

 One of my neighbors, Andrew Chapman, a very cor- 

 rect man, has done this. He has kept an account 

 of debt and credit with his poultry, commencing 

 Feb. 1st, 1850, and ending Feb. 1st, 1851. Being 

 aware of the tact, and knowing that any statement 

 coming from him might be relied on with confi- 

 dence, I felt very solicitous to know how the ac- 

 count stood; and called on him for that purpose. 

 His son, a very worthy man, who took the princi- 

 pal charge of the turkeys, furnished me with the 

 following account. Thinking that it might be of 

 some service to many of your readers, and perhaps 

 interesting to more, I immediately determined to 

 forward it to you, (or insertion in the New Eng- 

 land Farmer. 



The account of his poultry establishment for one 

 year, ending Feb. 1st, 1851 stands thus- 



Balance, . . . $83,51 



Not included in the account, 4 Turkeys used by 

 family; 1 Goose, do. do.; also, dunghill Fowls and 

 Eggs, and several loads of manure. 



Leaving a net balance of $83,51 on an investment 

 of $91,08, which is ecpial to an interest of 91 2-3 

 per cent, for the capital employed; and had the val- 

 ue of the items above enuineiated been placed in 

 the account the profits would have equaled an in- 

 terest of 100 per cent, on the capital. 



