NEW ENGLAND FAllMER. 



I'uohsliod by John B. Kusseli, 



VOL. V. 



_oijgi^sjiml UnOdl^Streots.— T1IOMA3 G. Fessbkdf.n, Editw. 



B OSTON 1 RIDA Y JULY 28. 182(5. 



NO L 



ORIGINAL PAPERS. 



THE EFFECT OF PLASTER OP PARIS 



NEAR THE SEA COAST. 

 Mr Fesse.ndk.n — Tbe opinion is so deeply root- 

 !, Uiat Gypsum, or Plaster of Paris, is of no use 

 1 lands ne;ir the sea-coast, that it requires some 

 ervo to brave the ridicule which may be excited 

 y contraiiictinsr it. 



Yet I am willing to incur this ridicule, because 

 bcheve that the evidence of ray senses is strong- 

 r proof than any opinions, and particularly than 

 ach as have been formed on very loose experi- 

 leiits, by persons who have not carefully inquired 

 n what descriptions of land, and on what plants. 



As soon ai the hay was in, I gave a dres:iing of 

 Plaster to the gravelly knoll 07ili/, at tho rate of 

 t.'ireo bushels to tlie acre. 



Tht' effect has been as great as has over been 

 represented to be produced by gypsum by persons 

 in the interior. The second crop on the gravelly 

 land iifar superior to that on a rich and depp soil 

 in the same field. It may be discovered at ten rods' 

 dist;ln;e ; and you can mark by your eyes precise- 

 ly the line of the groupd, to which the Plaster was 

 applieJ. Vou, sir, have seen this spot of half an 

 acre, ,ind can testify whether its eflects are not 

 very obvious. I shall not cut it for some weeks, 

 unless compelled to it by a second drought, and I 

 invite firmers to see the effect of this experiment, 



aster of Paris has been found, in other countries | ""t now, because it is but a repetition of an old 

 nd statos, to operate successfully. | one. 



I shall set out with the fact, that Plaster has been i I am induced to lay this subject before tho farm- 

 sed with success on lands on the sea-coast of 'ers of Norfolk, Bristol, Barnstable, and Essex, be- 

 'rance, where the southwest wind, the prevalent! cause I am convinced that the experiment of the 

 no in summer in that country, brinss with it the | use of gypsum in this quarter has not been fair and 

 cean air : .and in our country, in Massachusetts fu'h 



)r example, the prevalent winds do not bring' with It is of no service on low lands, or on good land, 



> lem an atmosphfere filled with saline particles. It nor of much use to any products except to clover 



anuot therefore be the vicinity to the sea which a-'id lucerne ; but on sandy and gravelly soils, and 



jnders gypsum inert and inetficacious with us. — appliet' to these plants, especially in dry seasons. 



'he cause of its inefiicacy near the seacoast must 

 erefore be sought for in something else ; in the 

 ature of our soil, perhaps already sufficiently im- 

 ued with the constituent parts of gypsum, or in 



I am convinced it will prove valuable. — I paid only 

 four dollars for ten bushels, ground ; and I applied 

 only sixty cents' worth to this land, and am con- 

 vinced, that the Plaster will increase the value of 



ur more free use of stable manure, vvhiflj^ furnish- :^g_secQnd crop to five times the cost of the appli- 

 s the plants Willi all tho food tbey require. 

 I have been in a constant and invariable course 



f experiments on Plaster, and these are tlie results. 

 t seems to be of no use, ever, to clover, on low 

 leadow lands — of no use to any plants on a good 

 ich, well manured soil. But I have three decisive 

 roofs of its utility on dry, hilly, gravelly soils. 

 The first I shall mention was an experiment 

 lade by the late Ralph Smith, Esq. of Roxbury 

 n a lofty hill of old pasture land. He applied it 

 Dr several years, and his own conviction ts«as, and 

 . was also the full conviction of many otiiers", t. tt, ; 

 : materially improved the condition of his pasture. 



t'on. J. LOWLLL 



Tho use of Plaster has been gradually spreading 



from Connecticut river towards the sea-coast ; but 

 I ha'e not heard of its application nearer than 

 Fraiiingham. 

 Rixbury, July 10, 1820. 



DISEASE IN PEAR TREES. 



Mr Fessenden — Some notice has already been 

 taken in the papers of this town, of a disease which 

 has recently appeared in the Pear Trees of this 

 vicinity, and upon my return from the city, 1 was 

 'rieved to find that it had become extensive, and 

 t was green at an earlier period, and the white j'"-'«=itens to be entirely destructive of that fine 

 lover came into it more generally and luxuriantly ' *"■■"'*• I» '■'"'. S^^riea of my friend, the Secretary 



han into other lands in the same situation 



Seven years since, I applied Pla.ster to a newly 

 aid down field of clover — one half of which was a 

 Iry gravelly knoll, with very little vegetable soil. 

 •Vhen it was fit for cutting, I shewed it to the 

 Trustees of the Massachusetts Agricultural Socie- 

 y, and without pointing out to them the part to 

 A'hich the Plaster had been applied, they at once, 

 )n sight of it, detected and pointed out the superi- 

 rity of the crop on the part to which the gypsura 

 lad been applied ; and their designation agreed, 

 )y metes and bounds, with the stakes I had driven, 

 ndicating the part to which Plaster had been ap- 

 olied, and which were then concealed by the grass. 

 This superior crop was on a pure gravelly soil, far 

 nferior to the rest, which was a deep rich loam. 



This year I had a piece of clover in its second 

 /ear of growth. It was similarly situated. Two 

 thirds of it was a gravelly thin soil. I cut tlie 

 i whole on the Iflth day of June. The gravelly part, 

 owing to the drought, did not yield more than half 

 I ton to the acre, — the rich part an excellent crop. 



of State, which was planted and cultivated with 

 great care and taste by his father, trees of large 

 size and which have been in bearing many years, 

 are wholly withered and sapless within a few 

 days. Among my own young and most thrifty 

 trees, large branches are seared, tho loaves appar- 

 ently scorched as by fire, and the smaller twigs 

 blighted and perished. 



I send you two small branches, which forty-eight 

 hours since, were green and vegetating, now dry 

 and shrivelled as from a year's decay. Tlie dis- 

 ease, so far as I have had opportunity to notice it, 

 ippears in the sudden discoloration of the leaf, 

 [vhich becomes sometimes uniformly brown, like 

 he effect of the winter's frost, and in other instan- 

 fes black in spots or parts, having the appearance 

 of being stained with ink or some dark liquid — 

 :ind the decay of the limb is rapidly downward to 

 the trunk. My Quince Bushes are attacked in the 

 same manner, branches of which I also send for 

 ,-our inspection. These trees were all imported hy 



e a few years since, from the excellent nursery of 



Mr I nnce, in Flushing on Long Island, were the.- 

 healthy and vigorous, and have hitherto flourished 

 in a remarkable degree. The soil in wliicli they 

 stand i-5 a deep and warm but a sufficiently moist 

 loam, cultivated witli ihe hoe, and occasionally 

 dressed with small quantities of compost manure. 

 Quince bushes Iioivever, in a drier and lightei' 

 soil arc affected in a similar way. 



I have also observed that small limbs and par- 

 ticularly scions upon tho engrafted apple trees, in 

 some iostancBf-, exhibit the same appearance. A 

 malady (for I cannot but regard it as such, rather 

 than the result of occasiional injury from the stin? 

 of insects, which it has been considered by some^ 

 of so alarming indication, calls for an immediate 

 and earnest inquiry into the cause, that if happily, 

 the moans may seasonably be discovered to arrest 

 its. rapid and ruinous progress. .», 



With the facts I have thus hastUy stated, and 

 tlic better information to be obtained from an ex- 

 amination of the branches and cuttings which I 

 send, I hope for that aid in the iiivesiigation, 

 which yo»r devoted and successful attention to all 

 subjects connected with the improvement of the 

 country, jffords. Should further observation ena- 

 ble me to present other facts, or to suggest any 

 hints worthy of consideration, I shall readily avail 

 myself of your indulgence in asking permission to 

 communicate them. 



With sentiments of respect, and of a sense of 

 obligation ior • our valuable labors, 



■">"■■. obed't friend a'hd serv't, 



LEVI LINCOLX. 



Jf'orcester, July 17, 1826. 



Remarks hy ihe Editor. — Immediately after re- 

 ceiving the above, we called on the Hon. Mr Low- 

 ell, President of the Massachusetts Agricultural 

 Society, wjiose opinions on this or on any other 

 subject, connected cither with the scientific or 

 practical part of agriculture or horticulture, are 

 worthy of the highest respect. Mr Lowell was 

 so good as to give that thorough and efficient ex- 

 amination to the object of inquiry, which he is ever 

 ready to afford, when he can thereby promote the 

 interests of those who cultivate the soil with a 

 view either to the pleasure or to the profit of the 

 pursuit. The following is the communication 

 which we received from Mr Lowell, relative to 

 the supposed disease of pear trees. 



T. G. Pessexden, Esq. 



Editor of the JVeio England Farmer. 

 Sir — I have examined the shoots of the pear 

 and quince trees, sent to you by His Excellency 

 Gov. L1NC01.N, the leaves and stalks of which 

 were in a blasted state ; and have read with in- 

 terest the letter addressed to you by him. At your 

 request, I now give the result of my observation 

 on this apparent disease. I have known such an 

 effect to be produced on the pear for more than 

 forty years, and although I have seen two or three 

 fine pear trees entirely destroyed by it (twenty 

 years since) yet its ravages have not been consid- 

 erable. There are now in sight of my windows 

 on my own, and my neighbors' grounds, upwards of 

 two hundred pear trees, and the disease in ques- 

 tion always appears every season on one or more 



