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NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 NEWLAND'S STRAWBERRIES. 



Mr. Cole: — I am a constant reader of the New 

 Enjjland Farmer, am often instructed, and find ma- 

 ny tilings to approve. I am always happy to no- 

 tice your liberality towards the opinions and views 

 of others who differ from you, and who are undoubt- 

 edly most sincere and honest in their expression of 

 them. On perusing the last number of the Farmer, 

 I read a communication with the caption, "iVew- 

 land's Strawberries,'''' which seemed to me to be un- 

 fair, and altogether too severe. In my opinion, Mr 

 Newland did not exaggerate in the statements he 

 made of the strawberry to which he applied his own 

 name. He had the appearance of an open-hearted, 

 upright man; was somewhat sanguine, as most per- 

 sons are who suppose they have made a discovery, 

 and was evidently one of those men who drive their 

 business with earnestness and zeal ,be it what it may. 

 He came to my garden and assisted me in prepar- 

 ing the ground and setting two hundred and sixty 

 of his plants, on the 8th May, 1849. The follow"- 

 ing summer we gathered thirty-five boxes of as 

 sweet and handsome berries as ever grew; not so 

 large as some other kinds, but infinitely sweeter 

 and richer flavored than any other kind which I 

 have tasted. This year we commenced picking on 

 the 18th of June, and had them in profusion until the 

 24th of July — five weeks; after that time we picked 

 a few each day, until the 3d of August. No ac- 

 count was kept of the number of boxes; but a fam- 

 ily of six persons was constantly supplied twice and 

 three times a day, about a dozen boxes sold, and as 

 many more given away. 



That Mr. Newland supposed these strawberries 

 were a new kind, I have no doubt; but he was mis- 

 taken. I can take him to a garden where they have 

 been cultivated for twenty years, and from thence 

 taken to a city market, and pronounced the best ber- 

 ries that were brought into it. There they are known 

 as "the Old English," while many about here say 

 they are identical with the "Wood Strawberry." 



That they are the best kind for family use, I 

 think all persons, who like sweet, highly-flavored 

 fruit, will admit. Another merit which they pos- 

 sess is, that they continue some three weeks longer 

 than other varieties; they grow high up from the 

 ground, out of the dirt, and part from the hull in 

 picking. If people are willing to purchase fruit that 

 is acid and unpalatable, because it is large, produ- 

 cers will be quite likely to supply them with it; it 

 is easier to gather when quite large, and most kinds 

 are harder, and will bear more jostling than the 

 "Old English." But a sweet, finely-flavored fruit 

 must be more wholesome than one which is quite 

 acid; and altogether more economical to those who 

 have no sugar plantations about them ! 



Allow me to suggest that your correspondents 

 sign their articles with their own names. You do 

 not mean to be responsible for all your correspon- 

 dents say, I suppose. And without some paternity 

 an article loses half its force. 



I am truly yours, 



Simon Brown. 



Concord, Mass., Sept. 13, 1851. 



Remarks. — Friend Brown may find Newland's 

 strawberry a good variety for private use; yet as it 

 is the old Alpine, or a seedling from that which 

 is no better, it is a complete imposition upon the 



public. We have perceived no difference between 

 this and the old Alpine. A large number of in- 

 telligent cultivators around Boston purchased New- 

 land's strawberry, and gave it fair trial, and they 

 have universally, so far as we have heard from 

 them, decided it is identical with the old Alpine, 

 and that it is a great imposition upon the public. 

 We have no belief in Newland's sincerity; he was 

 informed by those who had tested his strawberry, 

 that it was an imposition, yet he has gone into oth- 

 er parts of the country and practised the same de- 

 ception. 



For the Neiv England Farmer. 

 THE RIGHT KIND OF FOWLS. 



For ten or twelve years I have paid considerable 

 attention to the raising of fowls. I have never 

 kept as many as most of my brother farmers; but I 

 have endeavored to keep and preserve the best kind 

 for laying. My object has been principally to 

 furnish eggs for the market, and not keep fowls 

 on which to speculate, as many have done. But I 

 must confess, that, like a thousand others, I have 

 had a little touch of the "fowl fever ;^' and this has 

 been brought on, in a great measure, from reading 

 the glowing descriptions in the different agricultu- 

 ral papers of the enormous profits to be realized 

 from particular breeds imported from foreign coun- 

 tries. Now, the fact is, the public have been aw- 

 fully duped, and I have shared somewhat in the 

 result. The fact is, the public have not had, gen- 

 erally, but one side pictured out to them, by wri- 

 ters on different breeds of fowls. It is evident 

 that nearly every article on the subject of fowls 

 has been written by those who fell a deep interest 

 in the matter; not an interest for the j^mJ/zc at large, 

 but an interest for their own pockets. Individuals 

 who have had the imported breeds of fowls to dis- 

 pose of, have actually overrated their good qualities, 

 inasmuch as they have only told half the story; 

 for while they have gone on to give an accurate 

 account of the weight of their fowls, the produce 

 of their eggs, &c., they have seldom said anything 

 about the cost of their keeping, the size of their 

 eggs, or the healthiness of the fowls themselves. 

 Now, these, be it remembered, are essential items 

 of account. It is true, the pure Shanghai fowls 

 will weigh down twice the number of pounds of 

 the common Yankee hen, and may perhaps deposit 

 as many eggs in 365 days as the Yankee hen; but 

 it is untrue that it costs no more to keep the former 

 than the latter; and it is equally untrue, that the 

 Shanghai produces as large an eg^, according to 

 their size, as the Yankee hen. It is certain, too, 

 as every one (who has kept both kinds) will, I 

 presume, testify, that our common fowls are more 

 hardy than foreign breeds. 



Before a person is prepared to decide which 

 fowls are the best for the farmer to keep for profit, 

 he must prove them in different ways. Now, sup- 

 posino a person buys a hen of the large breed of 

 fowls, and one of the common Yankee hens, the 

 former being twice the weight of the latter; the 

 one he pays six shillings for, the other two, (this 

 being about the price valued upon each in this vi- 

 cinity). The two fi)wls are kept in separate en- 

 closures and fed all they will eat; and from my ob- 

 servation, and from reliable statements by others, 

 the large fowl will consume twice the amount of 



