178 



NEW ENGLA^JD FARMER. 



Dec. 2y, 18'-!G. 



now covered with a good coat of yrui^, almost en- 

 tirely by reason of planting ami jir^rinittinnf a 

 irrowtli of locust trees upon tlie Jund. Thia is 

 easily done, after a few trees have liisen root, 

 either from the seed or by being- tran3i)lanted, and 

 taking care that horned cattle do not go upon the 

 land while trees are young. In addition to the in- j 

 crease of feed, the tiees themselves are well wor- i 

 thy of cultivation. No growth is more rapid, and 

 none more in demand or of greater value when ar- 

 rived at maturity. It may be doubted whether an 

 acre of land can be made to yield more in the 

 course of 35 or 30 years, without the application 

 of any manure, than by planting it with locust 

 trees. On a fair computation, the number of ser- . 

 viceable posts that might be obtained in this time 

 would be from three to six hundred, worth from : 

 50 cents to $1 each. The increase of feed and ^ 

 surplus wood would fully pay the labour of culti- ] 

 vation ; so that the proceeds of the timber would 

 be the profits of the land. 



" An objection to the cultivation of the locust- 

 tree is often brought from the fact that they are 

 sometimes destroyed by worms. This is true ; 

 but the ravages of this insect axe found to be 

 greatest, where the trees are few and scattered. 

 In the grove on this farm, which extends over a 

 number of acres, and in the other groves in the 

 vicinity, but very few of the trees are at all injur- 

 ed by worms. This objection is by no means suf- 

 ficient to authorize the neglect of their cultivation. 

 It certainly is of the highest importance to the 

 farmers of Essex, to inquire ho.v they can improve 

 their pastures, or rather how they can save them 

 from ruin ; for it must be obvious to all, that as at 

 present maniioed, they are constantly growing 

 worse, and many of them have already become of 

 very little value. If by planting them with trees, 

 by ploughing, by applying plaster as has been 

 done with good .success on the farm of Mr F-irt- 

 iett, or in any other way, they can be rpclaimed, 

 it surely is wortliy of the experiment." 



cities, Kut if no such gardens had existed, what. POULTRY. 



would have been the state of botanical knowledge? j We are told that fowls are fatter and more p' 

 Confined, most certainly, to the live or six thousand ty this season than usual. Tlie C4use assijrned 

 plants of Europe, instead of being, as it now is, this: — The swarms of grasshoppers which ocstrj 

 extended to the forty thousand plants of Asia, | ed the crops and desolated the fields of the hi 



Africa, America, and Australasia. 



In our country, the nation has done nothing to- 

 wards the advancement of botanical science by 

 extensive collections. The effort of the great 

 state of New York was aborti\e, and the noble 

 collection of Doctor Ilosack has been suffered to 

 go to destruction. Massachusetts has done better: 

 — Her little collection has been fpstered, and 

 posterity v/ill one day thank her statesmen for the 

 feeble and limited support she has given to a 

 science which is every day gaining ground in 

 public favour. It was, indeed, a curious and hu- 

 miliating reflection, that thirty years since we 

 were obli-red to resort to European writers to |8n0 pounds of broom brush, and 80 bushels of 

 know the names of the trasses which we trampled ' to the acre, but the average was not probably i 

 under our feet, and of t°he trees which furnished than .500 pounds of broom and 40 bushels of 



bandman, furnislied an abundance of rich food 

 the fowli ; thus verifying the old proverb — •' Ift 

 an ill wind that blows nobody good." 'One fa 

 in Plainfield has brought more than 3000 pouni 

 poultry to this market ; and great quantities } 

 been sold by others. — jYorthampton Oazetfe 



BROOM CORN. 



The quantity of land devoted to the cultivatic 



broom corn in this county the past season, ' 



much greater than in any preceding year. It 



been estimated at 1700 acres, of which 14 or • 



re in Iladley and Hatfield. Some lands yie 



PRINCE'S FRUIT TREES. 

 Copy of a letter from the Hon. John Lowell, of Rox- 

 buri/. President of the Massachusetts Agricultural 

 Society, to Ifilliam Prince, Ksq. proprietor of the 

 Linncean Botanic Garden, Flushing, Long Is- 

 land, near JVtw York. 



Roxhury, jVor. Ifi, 1S2G. 

 Messrs. William Prince and Son, 



Gentlemen — I have recently received the last 

 edition of your catalogue of fruit trees, flowering 

 shrubs, bulbs, and hardy and tender flowering 

 plants. I thank you for it most sincerely. — It is 

 what I never even dared to hope for in our coun- 

 try during my life. It is, after comparing it cace- 

 tully with the catalogues which I have received 

 from Holland and France, a richer and nobler col- 

 lection than can be found in any one catalogue 

 Irom the most celebrated florists and nurseries of 

 those countries. 



Botany, as a science in America, is scarcely 

 thirty years of age, and it could never attain, even 

 with your importations of European Herbaria, 

 any thing which could enable us to take rank 

 with the botanists of Europe, without the advan- 

 tage of extensive collections. In Europe these have 

 been furnished by the munificence of princes, or 

 the taste of men of overgrown fortunes. The 

 gardens of Paris, of Upsal, of Kew, and of Liver- 

 pool, are all of tlicin cither national works, or the 

 production of the united exertions of ouu^enl 



us shade and fuel, and materi:>ls for architecture. 

 That day of disgrace is passing away, and to you 

 gentlemen, we owe no small tribute for the part 

 which you have taken in effecting this change. — 

 Your collection of plants of all sorts both American 

 and foreign — your catalogues, witli tlie scientific 

 names, afford facilities which can be no where 

 else found. 



So far as I have had occasion to import flower- 

 ing plants from you, I h.ive found them correct ; 

 and every man who is desirous of forming a col- 

 lection of native or exotic plants, may be assuied, 

 that thoy will receive them from you with th^ir 

 right names. 



As to the fruit department, I can say less ; be- 

 cause I have imported of late years but few trees. 

 It is true, as you admit in your catalogue, that iJi 

 former days some of your fruit trees were misnam- 



per acre. This estimate will give for the co 

 8.50,000 pounds of the former, and 08,000 bus 

 of the latter. Owing to the great quantities ra 

 and to other causes, tiie price of the brush, we 

 derstand, is lower than for some years past ; I 

 sales have been made at from 3i to (3 cents, 

 pound, according to the quality. The seed is w 

 25 or 30 cents per bushel. Broom corn, it sei 

 is like other agricultural products — any mat 

 increase of the quantity usually raised reduces! 

 price of the whole crop. When the cultivation 

 any article has reached the amount of consunipti 

 an increase of the crop will lower the price 



We are informed that the first broom corn so|| 

 in this part of the country was raised by the 

 Rev. Samuel Hopkins of Hadley, about the 

 1778, from seed obtained in the vicinity of Bost 



Our good mothers and grandmothers, we suppi 

 ed; they did not always correspond with European j l:>'l't Hieir bouses clean with brooms made of 

 fruits of the same name. I observe you have of | or birch, and sometimes of husks. — Ibid. 

 late cautiously and severely corrected those er- 

 rors, and the fruits which I have recently tes- 



ted from your garden, have been correct 



Feeling as I do, that the taste for flowers, or 

 rather to speak more extensively, the relish for the 

 beauties of nature, is gaining ground in our coun- 

 try, as it must do ; I could not refrain from ex- 

 pressing to you my thanks, as an individual, for 

 the great share you had in promoting this inno- 

 cent and delightful taste. , I am afraid you have 

 gone ahead of your age, and have expended a 

 capital in this ornamental part of gardening, which 

 will be very slowly reimbursed, if ever, but it is 

 clear that we should never make any advances 

 without an establishment so convenient and so 

 necessary as yours. There is one advantage 

 which your garden enjoys, and which cannot readi- 

 ly be taken from you : the climate of Long Island 

 is ono which is adapted to furnish plants for all 

 the .Vorthern, and most of the Middle and Atlantic, 

 as well as Western states. I most sincerelv wish 



If'ar in Africa. — A great batttle was fouglii 

 the 7th Aug. between 11,000 native and ot 

 troops under the British Governor, and 

 Ashantees, and their allies, in which the L 

 for yourselves success and remunerations ; and, vvere defeated 

 for your counti-y your steady and spirited continua- 

 tion of your efforts. 



I have the honour to be 

 Gentlemen, 



Respectfully yours, 

 Am. Farm. J. LOWELL. 



Massachusetts Venison. — Over 100 Deer have 

 been killed this season in the Plymouth and Sand- 

 wich woods. They arc unusually plenty and very 

 fine. 



GROWTH OF A SYCAMORE. 

 In the year 1781, Mr Joseph Smith, of Had 

 brought from Hockanum a sprout of button-bal 

 sycamore, not so large as his finger, and set it 

 the earth near his house, where it lived and flc 

 ished. He cut it down on the 12th inst. and fo 

 by measuring, that what was only a ridini; ^l 

 45 years ago, was now a tree 94 feet in !ioi. 

 and four feet in diameter about a foot from ^ 

 ground, where it was chopped off. — Ibid. i 



According to some reports from the West Ini 

 the British Officers seem to act with harshnei 

 executing the order for excluding American 

 sels from the Colonies. It is probable this will 

 disapproved at home. 



I 



Unprecedented sale of a ninepenny pamphlet 

 We are credibly informed that tiicre have bd 

 already printed and sold, of the " Parmer's AliJ 

 nack," by R. B. Thomas, Esq. published by Riii 

 ardson & Lord, for the next year, upwards 

 J^inety Thousand copies ! [Boston Statesman*! 



There is a project on foot in Germany to ur 

 the Weser and the Rhine, by means of acanaK 



