332 



THE GENKS^.F, FARMFR 



October 22, 1831 



COM>H"«ICATIO\S. 



FOR THE GENESEE FARMER. 



DR. Si'AFFORD'S ADDRESS. 

 The New-York Farmer of Oct. 6, contains the 

 Address of Dr. SpafTord, before the Rensselaer 

 County Horticultural Society. Its length may 

 exclude it from the columns of this paper; but 

 whether or not, permit me to give it an introduc- 

 tion. 



Dr. Spafford's remarks on the application of 

 the word " science," are so very quizzical, that 

 were he unknown, or not known to be both learn- 

 ed and scientific, 1 should have suspected him for 

 some plain matter-of-fact-sort of a man, who meant 

 to cut every thing down to his own level. Du- 

 ring its delivery, every industrious but unlettered 

 cultivator must have felt comfortable, and have 

 looked up with pride instead of respect to his 

 learned associates. 



I have lately read of a barber who advertised to 

 cut hair scientifically ; and Dr. S. in his amusing 

 and caustic remarks on such words in the 

 mouths of pretenders, speaks of " the science of 

 house-keeping" — "the science of knitting" — and 

 " the science of pen-making." He shrewdly ad- 

 vises such pretenders to try their science, and if a 

 rio-ht-handed pen-maker, to make a pen for the 

 first time with the left hand!! "But why intro- 

 "duce the pen in speaking of Horticulture'? Be- 

 " cause in too much of our horticulture the pen is 

 "perhaps more used than an v implement of the gar- 

 " den, which is literary horticulture, and goose 

 "quill gardening"! ! Thisseemslike a fair hit; his 

 audience ought to be the best judges of their own 

 matters. 



Dr. S. has no high notions of the value of Bot- 

 any. He says, " The Botany of the Books is of 

 " little use to the Horticulturist — Botany with a- 

 11 bundant technical learning and hard names pre- 

 " sents labor enough — Here it is that we learn so 

 " much that is of so little future use — To the 

 "practical gardener it may afford some little a- 

 "musement, but as to instruction about as much 

 "as consulting the dictionary of his mother's 

 " tongue." 



Dr. S. is right if he only includes in his idea 

 of Horticulture, the prodiv tion of culinary veget- 

 ables and fruits. There is not much probability 

 that a gardener would correct many mistakes in 

 this department by a knowledge of botany. But 

 to the cultivator of ornamental plants, Botany is 

 necessary to the preservation of a fair character; 

 because it can scarcely happen that a nurseryman 

 in this line, unskilled in this science, can do much 

 business without making many mistakes in both 

 bis sales and hi; purchases, — without being 

 wronged himself, and without wronging his cus- 

 tomers. A person who lias closely examined 

 more than a thousand different plants, in the 

 present season, has :,'iveu Ins opinion that one- 

 third of the rarer plants sold bycommon nurserymen 

 are under wrong names. If it lie supposed that 

 this observation was made hastily without keep- 

 ing a full account, I will refer to a bill now lying 

 before me, sent last year i'rom the city of New- 

 York, in which .11 j plants on: oififteen (the whole 

 number) arc misnomers, and I suspect the genu- 

 ineness of some others. Instead of Dr. Spafl'ord's 

 discouraging tin' study of Botany, there is no 

 'greater benefit which he could do for the friends of 

 ornamental gardening, than to procure a commit- 



tee of Botanists with plenary powers to examine 

 every nursery of any reputation, and to affix cor- 

 rect labels to every plant intended for sale. In 

 this way Dr. S. would save many of his friends 

 from the expense, and from the vexation of buy- 

 ing many plants several times over. 



To one part of Dr. S's. address I should have 

 listened with intense interest. He is an eminent 

 and a successful cultivator of the vine, and there 

 is much originality in his management. I do not 

 recollect in horticulture a more beautiful applica 

 tion of theory to practice, than what the following 

 passage unfolds : " There is a certain time when 

 " the duly 'elaborated sap from the leaf, descends 

 " into til- fruit to perfect it in its full and peculiar 

 "richness and flavor. At this time, it is there- 

 " fore essential to the perfection of the fruit, that 

 " all this shall have been alike duly prepared, by 

 " the elaborating process of the leaves. This can 

 "only be secured, by some eare in pruning, and 

 " in the nipping off of the young and growing 

 " leaves, on the fruit branches, above the fruit. If 

 " the ends of these branches be sending out, wood 

 ' and young leaves, the supply of ripened sap is 

 ' scanty, and some of it will also be in a green 

 ' and crude state, the deposit of which in the ri- 

 :l pening fruit, retards its maturity, and injures its 

 ' quality. I therefore take care by a little season- 

 :| able attention, that such fruit bearing branches 

 " shall have no leaves on them above the fruit 

 " which are not of their full size, and of the co- 

 " lor of maturity. This enables me to perfect the 

 " fruit, the berries all ripening at the same time, 

 " rich, sweet and saccharine." 



A Practical Gardener. 



FOR THE GENESEE FARMER. 



CHERRIES ON PLUM STOCKS. 



I have said in my note, written in answer to 

 the request of A Young Farmer, " I have never 

 seen the plum tree growing on a cherry stock, 

 nor a cherry on a plum stock." This was literal- 

 ly true; but had 1 been asked if fair experiments 

 had been made to ascertain whether it would take 

 or not, I could only have given Coze asan author- 

 ity that they would nottake. He says " the plum 

 and cherry will not take on each other." P v}10. 

 On this point he was mistaken, although it is 

 most probable that he derived the notion from 

 some unsuccessful attempts. 



A subscriber to the Genesee Farmer, (I. J. of 

 Venice) mentioned a plum stock on which a cher- 

 ry had been successfully budded or grafted. 1 

 repaired to the spot, and found a limb of the com- 

 mon heart cherry about 6 feet in length with sev- 

 eral lateral branches, 3 inches in diameter at its 

 junction, and in a healthy state. It was set about 

 six feel from the ground on the common domestic 

 plum tree, and the limbs of tin; latter form a part 

 of the top. It has outgrown the stock. 



When cherry stocks are wanting, it is therefore 

 certain that we may resort to the plum tree; but 

 unless the grafts are set at the ground, the prac- 

 tice is not to be recommended. D. 'i'. 



FOR THE GENESEE FARMER. 



SMALL BEER. 



Formerly it was customary in the New Eng- 

 land stall's, for every farming family to be sup- 

 plied with a good bier barrel, of sufficient capacity 

 to contain small beer for their use. 1 fear that 



during the present reign of Temperance, more of 

 these casks have been condemned to the flames, 

 than is for the good of community. Now there is 

 something so pleasant in the association of ideai 

 connected with a beer barrel, like the " Old Oak- 

 en bucket," that one's blood becomes cool while 

 thinking of it. I know that hard labor, by in- 

 creasing perspiration creates thirst, — the laborer 

 must drink — and what must he drink 1 Water 

 — No! There is a very great proportion of the 

 best farming lands of the United States which 

 are not supplied with pure and wholesome water. 

 Cider is too strong for the common purpose of 

 quenching thirst — by adding milk or molasses to 

 water we do not free it from the impurities; and 

 to add whiskey, or any other kind of spirits, will 

 bring do.vn upon us the whole fraternity, and 

 we shall swallow the impurities into the bargain 

 I do not know of any thing that I can so safely 

 recommend for the use of laborers, as a common 

 drink, which we think will serve so well to quench 

 thirst, and be conducive to health, as small beer, 

 made in the good old way with moll, bran, hops 

 and pumpkin. Another advantage follows; the 

 good lady is always supplied when the beer bar- 

 rel is in full operation, with plenty of good emp- 

 tings or yeast, which is no small consideration. 

 A friend to Small Beer. 



FOR THE GENESEE FARMER. 



THE U. STATES AND ENGLAND. 



Accidentally taking up a small volume, one of 

 the Annuals for 1831, called The Pearl, publish 

 ed at Philadelphia, by T. Ask, I opened on a 

 little tale named " The Rustic Wreath, by Mrs 

 Hughes." It represents an American gentle- 

 man giving his daughters some account of his 

 visit to England, and to my great surprise, I found 

 the following passage: 



" You know I left our own dear land at a time 

 " when of all others it appears to the least advan 

 "tage; for the fervid heals of a July sun had 

 " scorched every blade of grass ; and a long and 

 "distressing drought had given an almost au 

 "nal tint to the foliage of the trees. The ■ 

 "habitants that remained in the city, looki I 

 "and languid, and crept along the streets asifdi 

 "prived of all the energy tht / q sfortht 

 "performance of the business oj 



Of this authoress, who has written some prett) 

 things, I happen to know nothing. As not itj 

 is mentioned, this picture may be applied to any 

 in the Union; but as the book was published at 

 Philadelphia, once considered the meLrcpolis of 

 these States, and nearly intermediate beti 

 North and South, it wil! not be unfair to inii 

 that this sketch yas designed for that city, 

 immediate neighborhood. As it stands, I feel' 

 confid-nt that no European, unacquainted with our 

 climate, would think of applying it elsewhere. 



It maybe remarked that in works ofFiction at 

 author is only allowed more liberty than the his- 

 torian, when he pourtrays imaginary seem 

 personages, The moment that he touches on this 

 world of realities, he is bound to describe it as it 

 is; or if fiction be intermixed, it must conform lo 

 what is real. Julius Caisar is not to he represent 

 ed a coward — bananas and oranges are not to 

 crown the frozen cliffs of Nova Zembla — nor an 

 sleighing parties to eoin.se the sands of Arabia , 

 and accordingly as this rule is disregarded orob 

 served, wc use the term false, or imas tuti 



