DEVOTED TO AGRICULTURE AND ITS KINDRED ARTS AND SCIENCES. 



VOL. III. 



SATUKDAY, JULY 19, 1851, 



NO. 15. 



RAYNOLDS & NOURSE, 

 Proprietors. 



OFFICE, QUINCY HALL, BOSTON. 



S. W. COLE, Editor. 



THE CROP OP APPLES. 



According to the present prospect, there will be 

 a rather light crop of apples in New England, this 

 season, or at inost not more than a medial crop. 

 This is an odd year, 1851, and we never have large 

 crops in odd years, and seldom a middling crop, 

 but generally a light one. We have our large 

 crops of apples in even years. This is the result 

 of more than 30 years' observation. Our natural 

 trees as well as most kinds of grafted varieties bear 

 mostly in even years. 



Since we introduced this subject to the public, 

 many observing men have confirmed our views. 

 But a few persons have been disposed to ridicule 

 hem without making observations to see whether 

 they are correct or not. There are a few individ- 

 uals, in this world of variety, who are too obsti- 

 nate or stupid to learn, and they remain ignorant in 

 spite of long experience, because they will not open 

 their eyes to the light that is around them. 



The fact that we have our largest crops of ap- 

 ples in even years (1850, 1852, &c.) and our light- 

 est ciops in odd years, (1849, 1851, &c.) is of 

 great practical importance both to the growers and 

 consumers of fruit. For by proper management 

 the apple crops will be more equal. liCt the raiser 

 of fruit cultivate more extensively some of those 

 few varities that bear annually, or yield their prin- 

 cipal crops in odd years. And in cultivating those 

 varieties that bear mostly in even years, select 

 scions from those trees that bear invariably in odd 

 years; for such there are. We know a farmer 

 who, w'hen he commenced setting his orchard, 

 grafted all his Baldwin trees from a tree that al- 

 w-ays bore well in odd years. The consequence is 

 that he gets about two-thirds of his crops of Bald- 

 wins in odd years, when they are scarce, and 

 bring a good price. One of the most extensive 

 cultivators of fruit in this region remarked, in con- 

 firmation of our views on this subject, that he gen- 

 erally sold his Baldwin apples in odd years for 

 about twice as much as in even years, owino- to 



their scarcity in odd years. His orchard produces 

 twice or thrice as many in even as in odd years; 

 and he said it was the same with others, else the 

 price would not be generally affected. 



WATER FOR STOCK. 



In many situations cattle and other animals suf- 

 fer for want of pure water in summer, especially 

 in a dry time. In some cases they are supplied 

 from a small spring or very small stream, and the 

 place for the animals to drink is nothing but a 

 mud hole. A {evj of the strongest creatures 

 drink and disturb the water so that most of the stock 

 have a poor supply, both in quality and quantity. 



With proper management, a large stock can 

 have a good supply of pure water from a small 

 fountain or stream. Conduct the water into a 

 large trough, and cover the spring so that the cat- 

 tle cannot disturb the water or drop their manure 

 in it; and if the trough will not hold water enough 

 to supply the whole stock when thirsty, add tubs or 

 other vessels. After the animals have drank, 

 wash out the trough and other vessels, as often as 

 once a week scrubbing them with a broom, or 

 brush, as water standing in large vessels, with only 

 a small supply, will soon grow foul in hot wea- 

 ther. When water is supplied from a pump or 

 aqueduct, there should be the same attention to 

 cleansing the vessels. 



SUMMER PRUNING OF GRAPES. 



As very erroneous notions generally prevail as to 

 the summer management of grapes, frequent hints 

 to cultivators are necessary. We have noticed that 

 in many cases already the main shoots have been 

 cut back to the fruit, thus depriving the fruit of the 

 nourishment and support which without this muti- 

 lation would be given by a vigorous shoot, in the 

 foliage, of which the sap, with other matter taken 

 up from the atmosphere, would be elaborated into 

 suitable food for the growth and maturation of the 



