156 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



FIFTEENTH AGRICULTURAL MEETING 



At the State House, April 22, 1851. 



Hon. John C. Gray, of Boston, in the chair, — Subject, 

 "Fruit and Fruit Trees." 



At the last two meetings, it was very stormy, 

 and only a very few persons attended. This even- 

 ing, though it was bright and pleasant, the meet- 

 ing was rather thin, showing the propriety of a final 

 adjournment, when there is only a small attend- 

 ance. 



Mr. Gray addressed the meeting. He said that 

 the question had been started as to the decay and 

 decline of fruits. The fact that some fruits decline 

 seems to be well established. Some varieties pro- 

 duce good fruit for several generations, and then 

 they fail. We must raise new kinds from seed to 

 take the place of the old ones that fail. We have 

 some valuable seedlings. Among them is the 

 Downer cherry; and Mr. Hovey has raised seed- 

 ling strawberries that are among the first in the 

 country. 



Trenching the land for fruit trees has been re- 

 commended. But this is an expensive process. 

 Subsoil ploughing though not quite equal to trench- 

 ing, will answer a good purpose, and it is much 

 cheaper. When the land is once loosened by sub- 

 soiling, it will not become consolidated again. The 

 good effects last a long time. Our trees often suf- 

 fer from drought. There are two remedies. One is 

 the frequent stirring the soil; the other mulching. 



Mr. Cole, of the New England Farmer, said 

 that in cultivating fruit, there was one important 

 point not sufficiently attended to; that is the selec- 

 tion of apples that will keep late in spring and into 

 summer. The Baldwin Apple begins to fail in 

 March, growing mealy at the core. The Roxbury 

 Russet is uncertain, very liable to fail from unfav- 

 orable weather in spring, and the fruit is too dry 

 for the dessert, and it does not cook well. We 

 want good cooking apples late in spring and in 

 summer till new apples are ripe. Dried apple is 

 a poor substitute for green. He was not prepared 

 to recommend the best late apples, but the Table 

 Greening, Norfolk, Size, and Northern Spy were 

 worthy of experiment, and a great many are trying 

 the last. It is a fine apple, and if hard to raise, as 

 some suppose, it may pay well for extra pains 

 [Mr. Cole showed fine specimens of the N. Spy, 

 which were tried at the close of the meeting.] 

 Very early apples should also receive more atten- 

 tion. Almost every man who raises fruit for him- 

 self or the market is setting Baldwin apples; 

 and before a long time there will be ten times as 

 many raised as at present. He thought it was a 

 mistake as to there being a very great market in 

 Europe for our apples, for a great part of the pop- 

 ulation find it difficult to get bread, and next to 

 oread they will get meat if they can, before luxu- 

 ries. As to the decline of fruit, he thought it was 



generallyowingtothe exhaustion of the soil; andin- 

 discrimate manuring, without supplying the spe- 

 cific ingredients the tree needs. 



Mr. John Perrim, of Lymeborough, N. H., pre- 

 sented some specimens of the John's Sweeting ap- 

 ples, which he recommended as a superior variety. 



Hon. Mr. Hubbard, of Sunderland, recommend- 

 ed the cultivation of seedling peaches, as more 

 hardy than those that are budded. If seed be plant- 

 ed from good fruit the product will generally be 

 good. Some farmers have the finest of peach or- 

 chards foriTied in this way. 



Hon. Isaac Davis, of Worcester, remarked that 

 our finest fruit was from seedlings. At the horti- 

 cultural shows in Worcester, the premium peaches 

 are generally seedlings. He said that he obtained 

 much fruit from a small space. He treated his 

 trees as he did his children. He keeps them clean, 

 and takes good care of them. 



Mr. William J. Buckminster, of the Ploughman, 

 said that we did not raise fruit enough. Grapes 

 were sent to this market from New York and sold 

 at high prices. He thought that early apples 

 would not pay for raising, unless one was constant- 

 ly attending the market. He considered winter 

 apples more profitable. He recommended the cul- 

 tivation of more sweet apples. 



Hon. Dr. Gardner spoke of the importance of 

 good culture, and attention to fruit trees, in order 

 to succeed. He said that the Russet succeeded 

 well with him, and he considered it a good apple. 

 He thought there was no danger of raising too 

 much fruit, as had been apprehended. 



Mr. Cole explained that he would not speak 

 against raising large quantities of fruit, but against 

 all cultivators going very largely into one kind, as 

 was now the case. He would have more late, and 

 more early apples, that we might have a good sup- 

 ply through the year, and thus increase the 

 amount of fruit, by supplying it in a season in 

 which there is a deficiency. 



Mr. Davis mentioned an instance of an excellent 

 peach orchard, which lasted long and was very pro- 

 ductive, that was covered with meadow hay. In 

 some cases, the hay was opened and cabbages set, 

 which flourished finely. 



Adjournment without time. 



Leaning ofTrees. — Mr. Wm. G.Churchill, Deer- 

 field, N. H., says that the article in the Farmer of 

 April 5 does not express his views as to the leaning 

 of trees. It should read thus: "He observes that a 

 large part of the old trees in that vicinity lean in 

 a north-eastern direction, which he attributes to the 

 prevalence of south-westerly winds during the time 

 of their growth." 



Number of Grains in a Bushel of Wheat. 

 — A writer in the North British Agriculturist states 

 that the number of grains in a bushel of wheat 

 weighing 62 lbs., is upwards of 639,000. ' 



