274 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



good show of pears in that region, but the crop of 

 apples will be light. 



NEWLAND'S STRAWBERRY HUMBUG. 



A few years sinee, George Newland, from Pal- 

 myra, N. Y., was in this region, and sold plants 

 of what he called a new seedling strawberry, under 

 the pompous name of ^^ Newland'' s Celebrated Mam- 

 moth Alpine Strawberry.'' A large number of cul- 

 tivators purchased plants, gave them a fair trial, 

 and condemned them as worthless. They were 

 the old wood strawberry, or something very nearly 

 resembling it. So the whole aifair proved to be a 

 great humbug. This being known, Newland left 

 this region, and has been operating in parts where 

 he and his strawberry were not so well known. 



We see by a late number of the Pennsylvania Farm 

 Journal, the editor has received a present of some 

 vines from Newland's agent, and before waiting to 

 give them a trial he is commending them to the pub- 

 lic; thus aidingthis impostor in deceiving the farm- 

 ing community. We think notice should be given of 

 this imposition throughout the country, in order to 

 put a stop to the operations of this great impostor. 

 Editors should check rather than aid him. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 MR. WHIPPLE'S DEEP PLOUGHING. 



A striking instance of the benefits resulting from 

 continued deep ploughing was brought to our no- 

 tice yesterday, on viewing the cultivated grounds 

 of A. M. Whipple, Esq., on the banks of the Con- 

 cord river, near Lowell. This land was natural- 

 ly a sandy and light soil. His men were engaged 

 in gathering in the crop of hay from an extensive 

 field, which had yielded more than two tons to the 

 acre. The inquiry arose, by what means was the 

 crop made so abundant, on land so shallow? His 

 answer was, deep ploughing, mainly. That for eight 

 or ten years past, he usually ploughed twelve inches 

 deep. That he put on his grounds but a light 

 dressing of stable manure, — made no compost 

 whatever — but relied almost entirely on the im- 

 provement of the soil, by turning the furrows deep. 

 His crops were quite equal to those we have been 

 accustomed to see on strong land, highly manured. 

 He has literally made more than two blades of 

 grass to grow, where but one grew before, and 

 this with no other expense, except the labor of his 

 teams. Similar benefits were apparent in the 

 growing crops of corn and oats, in the lots adjoin- 

 ing. 



As we were looking at the luxuriant fields of 

 oats, on which will probably be cut more than two 

 tons of fodder to the acre, Mr. Whipple explained 

 how he saved his potatoes on this field, in the sum- 

 mer of 1850, when in most other fields in the neigh- 

 borhood they decayed. He planted his corn and 

 potatoes in alternate rows, so that the potatoes 

 were constantly shaded, after the first of July, by 

 the corn. Whether this shading was beneficial or 

 not he could not say. Here he had sound potatoes, 

 and where his potatoes were not shaded, they 

 rotted. Mr. W. has also been very successful in 

 bringing his adjoining swamps and wet meadows 

 into good English mowing. He first cleared off 



the surplus water by ditches properly arranged, 

 and then applied to them his system of deepplovgh- 

 ing. In no one case does he presume to have his 

 ground ploughed less than twelve inches deep. He 

 was first led to adopt this mode of ploughing, by 

 seeing the explanation made by the late Elias 

 Phinney, Esq., of the vast quantity of vegetable 

 matter to be found on an acre of grass land, within 

 one foot of the surface — twelve tons. I think he 

 proved by analyzing a single cubic foot of earth. \i 

 Hence he reasoned, if all this vegetable matter could '" 

 be decomposed and brought into active operation, 

 crops would be in need of no other manure. Mr. 

 W.'s abundant crops are a striking illustration of 

 the soundness of his reasoning. We, who have 

 been accustomed to value highly the products of 

 the compost heap, should have thought some 

 of this mode, which could also have been Ijeneficial- 

 ly applied; for when we can find a full crop of 

 two tons to the acre without them, there seems to 

 be no need of such application. p. 



August 1st, 185L 



For the Neiv England Farmer. 

 CRANBERRIES. 



S. W. Cole, Esq.: — Dear Sir, — You will par- 

 don me for making a simple request. I observed 

 in an article on the cranberry in the "American 

 Fruit Book," that this fruit is found growing in 

 some cases spontaneously on high lands, &c., &c. 



You will favor by informing me by mail at your 

 earliest convenience, where I could examine them, 

 and the nearest place to Albany that I would be 

 likely to find them. I have been quite successful 

 in cultivating the cranberry on upland, and think I 

 have a variety perfectly adapted to upland cultiva- 

 tion. Li my researches I have found several va- 

 rieties of the cranberry, and know of but one wor- 

 thy of cultivation in upland. 



1 should be happy to send you a specimen of the 

 fruit in the fall, and I think that you will acknow- 

 ledge that it is ahead of anything of the kind that 

 you have met with. 



My method is to plough deep or remove the top 

 soil or sod previous to setting the plants, and the 

 poorest kind of soil is the best, provided it will 

 stand a drought tolerable fair, and mulch the first 

 year, stirring the soil well with the cultivator, or 

 hoe between the drills. 



By returning an answer to the above you will 

 oblige a friend to all worthy improvements in fruit 

 culture, and I will favor by using my influence in 

 circulating your (to me) valuable works, which 

 are well adapted to the wants of many in this vi- 

 cinity. Yours truly, 



F. B. Fancher, Horticulturist. 



Lansinhurg, N. Y., Aug. 1, 185L 



Remarks. — Although the preceding communi- 

 cation was not intended for publication, we give it 

 to the public, as it contains some valuable hints on 

 the cultivation of the cranberry. We shall be hap- 

 py to receive in the fall a specimen of fruit as pro- 

 posed. We know of no cranberry of spontaneous 

 growth in the region of Albany. 



We have seen a patch in Lincoln, some 16 

 miles from Boston, on the farm of Major Daniel 

 Weston, on a very dry, poor, gravelly knoll. They 



