v.— Xo. 2.1 



NEW ENGLAND FA113IER. 



195 



from a I'c7\7\sijlva>iiii paper. 



Iiis Imppy conversion to a truth that will increase 

 I hi.i wijalUi. 



I. Se sure tliat the roots of tlic tree be not bc- 

 !ovv the soil. If the soil is shallow, bring it from 

 ^rJ has stood, a young one will not thrive." anollier place, anil tliiow it round the tree, in suf- 

 ' ' I f'tient circumference for the roots to grow in. 



It. Prune the superfluous limbs and branches 



ORCH.VRDS. 



become proverbial, that ' 



where imd old ; 



been so frcfi>ientiy reiterated, that maiw 

 good agriculturalists have subscribed to tile 



n, without takia? the trouble to o.-camine ii- and keep the bank "smooth and clean from moss. 



and have acconlinijly neglected « very iiji 

 lit source of protit and convenience. 

 J a fact much to be regretted, that the culti- 

 u of tVuit trees in this country was much 

 attended to half a century since, than at trie 

 nt time — consequently with our increased 

 ation, fruit htis become scarce and a belief 

 t positively e.vists. that fruit trees will ijot 

 3 on old land. This question needs seriqus 

 deration, that our yeouianry may no longer 

 hvpothesis for fact, when but one experi- 

 would dispel the illusion. 



III. Suller no grass to grow within ten feet of 

 the tree, and twice in the year, spring and fall, 

 loosen the earth in circumference, and mix into 

 it a full wheelbarrow load of rich manure. 



The author is happy to state that a few years 



cation of the sea-wuu»r, beUer than the young 

 plants do. 



" Sea water might be carried from the sea some 

 distance on the laud, to advantage, in the following 

 m;innor :— Take a one horse cart, and suspend a 

 tight box, rightly shaped, under the axletree ; the 

 box having a valve in the underside; drive the 

 cart into the water, and the valve opens, and lots 

 that fliiiil into the box ; and, when the carl is driv- 

 en out, the valve closes and holds the water. 



" When the cart is driven out to the ground on 

 which the water is to be spread, this operation may 

 be perlbrmed in the manner we shall next des- 



experiment upon this plan on the ground of an cribe : A tube is to be provided, say, twelve feet 

 old orchard, has convinced hiju that the principle in length, with small holes bored into it at the dis 



opposed to this rule is without foundation. 



SEA WATER AS A MANURE. 



Sea water besides water and particles of com- 

 mon, salt, contains, according to Dr Russell's ac- 

 ;, however, admit the fact, that trees planfed I count, sulphur, nitre and oil. 



w laud thrive uncommonly well, and maly -Vs it undoubtedly contains much of the essence 



of animal and vegetable substances, by means of 

 the perishing and consuming of both in it, it is 

 filter than mere salt to be used as a manure, wheth- 

 er by itself, or in compost. 



In the year 1786, one hundred hills of potatoes 

 near the shore were watered with sea water, a- 

 bout two quarts on a hill, being one hour's work 

 of a man. The crop was half as much again as in 

 the same number of hills adjoining. The water 

 was applied to the soil just aUnr planting the sets, 

 which I suppose to be the best time for domg it, 

 as there can be no danger of burning the young 

 shoots, and as the salt will be mixed with rain and 

 the moisture of the earth, before shoots are pro- 

 duced. 



In the year 1787, alternate rows were watered 

 in the same manner with sea water. The result of 

 this experiment was uncertain; because by plough- 

 ing oil' and on alternately bet'vef:n the rows, the 

 earth of the watered and uiiwatered rows was 

 blended together. But altogether, a good crop 

 was obtained. 



The same year a piece of flax was, in the month 

 of June, very short and yellow on one side of the 



3m grow to a great size, while those planted 

 nd that has been much cultivated and wcrn 

 been tardy in their growth, and as yet tre 

 warfs in comparison with the former. Now 

 ill endeavor to explain the reason of this >d- 

 on which we trust will at the same tiine 

 ,• some light on the art of cultivating f|uit 



Trees, planted fifty or one hundred ye^rs 

 , were generally set on new land highly en- 

 d by the decayed vegetable productions, 

 *i had been accumulating, perhaps from time 

 emorial. The richness of the soil would, 

 out doubt, enable the trees to grow rapidly, 

 •ery abundantly explains the reason of thbir 

 trous growth. 



An orchard set on the ruins of an old oje, 

 lot this vegetable manure to lend the i\S 

 its predecessor had; consequently, it is slow 

 ; growth, small and unproductive when grown, 

 ines mossy, dwindles and dies or is neglected 

 iworthy the husbani'man's attention ; and the 



pillar destroys what the axe has spared 



climate and soil are every way calculated for 



I tance ot six inches apart, and the ends of the tube 

 closed; attach this to the under side of the box, 

 crosswise, at either end, so as to be out of the 

 way of the wheels of the cart. 



" When you come to where the water is to be 

 let out of the box into the tube', by an aperture for 

 tlie purpose ; and as the cart moves along, the 

 water runs out of each of the small holes in the 

 tube, and thus sprinkles over a piece of ground of 

 twelve feet wide, till the whole is exhausted. 



" With the next load ; begin where the water 

 ceased running before, and thus continue the wa- 

 tered stripe across the field. Then take another 

 stripe of twelve feet wide, adjoining that already 

 watered, and thus proceed till the whole has been 

 gone over. 



" In this way a man would carry out, say, forty 

 cart loads a day, at the distance of half a mile, or 

 half that number if a mile ; as but little time need 

 be spent either in loading or Muloading. About 

 ten loads of a hundred gallons each v.-onld proba- 

 bly be sufficient for an acre at any one time." 



[Farmer's Assistant.! 



FUEL. 

 iUuch complaint is made at the present day of 

 the great expense of fuel. It is a great and a hea- 

 vy burden. But I doubt whether it is greater than 

 it was sixty or seventy years ago. I have lately 

 come across a bill of fire-wood, purchased and 

 consumed by a respectable family in Hartford, in 

 the year 1757 and '58. The account gives the date. 



iroiiuction of fruit in its perfection and abun ! piece : hut of a good colour on the other, and 



e, when only assisted by the fostering hand | much taller : This induced the owner to water the | the price of each load, (excepting a few) and the 

 id it is unreaso'jable to antivina^e a ! poor side from the sea. In ten days it was equal | name of the persons from whom purchased. The 



est without previous cultivation. — In the ear- 1 in length and colour with that on the other side, 

 lys of our country the earth needed only the ] through very little rain fell in the time. At pull- 

 to be sown to produce a rich harvest, for its j ing, the watered side was evit'ently better grown 

 m was enriched and softened by natural ma- than the other. This was a sutlicient demonstra- 

 Tbe case is now different — it has been • tion of the advantage of sea Vv-ater, when the land 



by grand father, father and son, twice 



rice repeated until its face is sadly wasted. — 



D is there among us, that would suppose a 



would grow when unassisted by art, on land 



impoverished .' The farmer who thinks of 



ng a good crop of corn knows w-ell the uc- 



ity of softening, manuring, and frequency 



ing the earth — on this depends his success. — 



pose he should say, with regard to his corn, 



e does in fact of his trees; my great grand 



er planted without hoeing or manuring, and 



sure of the increase, and I will do likewise — 



Id he not be styled a mndman or a fool ? Let 



husbandman bestow the same care on an or- 



rd, that he does on a field of corn, and he will 



ilest with the same abundant harvest. 



'o him who doubts the possibility of makintr a 



d orchard on old land these few simple rules 



enjoined, and we doubt not, upon experiment. 



lies adjoining to the sea shore ; so that the la- 

 bour of applying it is inconsiderable. 



The above experiments were made in a clayey 

 soil. 



In a sandy soil, the same year, watering the 

 ground where French turnips were just sown, 

 had an excellent effect. Thougn it was a spot 

 where the turnips had been destroyed by insects, 

 several years successively, they generally escap- 

 ed this year. Not more than one pailful was ap- 

 plied to a drill row two rods in length, wetting the 

 ground over the seeds, soon after sowing. 



Salt water applied to tenrtel- plants most com- 

 monly proves too strong for them, if applied when 

 the ground is dry. But if it be wet, the strength 

 of the water is abated by mixing with the juices 

 in the soil, before it is taken up by the roots, and 

 thus it is rendered innocent and safe, as I have 

 found by experience. The seeds bear the appli- 



most of it was purchased in Nov. and the three 

 winter months, but some for each month through 

 the year. The number of loads in 1757 was 43. 

 Five have no price annexed. Putting these on an 

 average with the others, the amount is $46 21, or 

 6s. 5^d. per load. For 1768 there are 45 loads, 40 

 of them with the price annexed, at 6s- C^d. per 

 load, the whole amounting to $48 94. I)o the 

 families in this town pay much more than this for 

 fuel now ? These sums would have purchased 

 from 16 to 2(t cords of two feet wood at the high 

 prices during the last year. And let it be added 

 that, at the time referred to, the price of labour of 

 of all kinds and most articles of provisions was not 

 more than one half of the present value. A. B. 

 Hartford Courant. 



CARROTS. 



There is reason to believe that carrots will ans- 

 wer on fen or mossy land, if a sufficient quantity 

 of ashes be spread on the ground where they are 

 sown ; and it is probable that lime and other ma- 

 nures may raise that valuable crop on peaty soils. 

 Farmer's Magazine, (Scotland.) 



