1853. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



121 



be produced yearly at first and from the apparent 

 difficulty of getting rid of the superfluity. But 

 that inconvenience will be utterly surmounted if 

 the foregoing instructions are attended to, and the 

 continuance will be the possession of both healthy 

 and fruitful trees." 



For the New England Farmer. 

 HARDY FRUITS FOR THE NORTH. 



Mr. Brown : — As fruit raising is becoming a fa^ 

 vorite pursuit, the question arises, what kind of 

 trees shall we select to set, what varieties best for 

 market, Avhich the most hardy, and best bearers ; 

 what kind of soil and location best suited to the 

 different varieties of trees, &c. These are all 

 very important questions to be investigated, before 

 setting an orchard. But as the different varieties 

 of fruits vary in different climates, locations, and 

 soils, we cannot adopt any general rule. For in- 

 stance, the Esopus SpUzanburg apple, so beautiful 

 when grown in its native soil on the Hudson River 

 valley, becomes poor and insipid here. The Bald- 

 win, so delicious in New England, becomes an or- 

 dinary fruit in many of the western States ; this 

 seems to be the case with many choice varieties, 

 more especially of pears than most any other fruits. 

 Every well-established fruit-grower is aware that 

 certain fruits 'succeed in one place and fail in oth- 

 ers ; and that the same sorts are more likely to 

 succeed in contiguous districts, than in such as are 

 widely separated. But as a general rule, the 

 known native fruits of any country, are best adapt- 

 ed to that country; and why? because out of 

 many thousands of seedlings, they have been se- 

 lected as the best fitted to that soil, or peculiar re- 

 gion ; experience shows them the best adapted to 

 it ; but there might have been many others among 

 those thrown aside, better adapted to other parts 

 of the world. This opinion is proved by the fact 

 that some foreign fruits are actually better here 

 than in their native locality. Still there are some 

 kinds well adapted to almost all climates and soils, 

 and those are generally our hardiest varieties. 



From our experience of locations and soils, we 

 believe high lands or swells, are generally pre- 

 ferred to valleys, and a good loam soil, — as hills 

 are less liable to early and late frosts. I have had 

 some experienee"in fruit and trees, and having ob- 

 served them carefully for many years, I will name 

 a few varieties that prove hardy and good in the 

 climate of this region. 



Summer Apples — Red Astracan, Sops of Wine, 

 Williams's Favorite, Early Joe, Sweet Bough, 

 Golden Sweet, and Bemis Sweet.- 



Autumn — Fall Pippin, Gravenstein, Jewett's 

 Fine Red, Porter, Maiden's Blush, Jersey Sweet, 

 and Pound Sweet. 



Winler — Baldwin, Blue Pearmain, Hubbardston 

 Nonsuch, Red Canada, R. I. Greening, Seek-no- 

 further, Northern Spy, Peck's Pleasant, Tolman's 

 Sweet, and Ladies' Sweet. 



Summer Pears — Bartlett, Doyenne d'Ette, Iilad- 

 eleine, Osband's Summer and Tyson. 



.4?</M»i«—Buffum, White Doyenne, (St. Michael) 

 Flemish Beauty, Fulton, Heathcote, Louise Bonne 

 d'Jersey, Napoleon, Stevens's Genesee, Swan's 

 Orange, Beurre d'Amulis, Duchess d'Angouleme, 

 Oswego Beurre, Seckel and Stearlino-. 



Winter — Beurre d'Aremberg,Vicarof Winkfield, 

 Lewis and Winter Nelis. 



All the above mentioned fruits have been well 

 tested, in this high northern latitude, and canbj 

 recommended for general cultivation Avith safety. 



I have one thousand or more standard fruit 

 trees at the present time, with two hundred or 

 more varieties. But many of them have not borne 

 yet so as to be fully tested in this climate. But 

 we hope to make a report by and bye, that will 

 enlarge our list, and gladden the hearts of northern 

 cultivators. L. Burt. 



Walpole, N. H., Jan. 3, 1853. 



Remarks. — The adaptation of particular fruits to 

 particular localities, deserves more attention. The 

 Rhode Island Greening produces an abundance of 

 fine fruit in some places, while in others the fruit 

 grows largo, but is cast early, and is very wormy. 

 So it is with other varieties. The Baldwin does 

 not flourish equally Avell in all parts of New Eng- 

 land. So that the inquiries of our correspondent 

 deserve attention. 



THS DOLLAR MARK. 



In the Merchants Magazine were published sev- 

 eral statements as to the origin of the dollar ($) 

 mark. A correspondent of the New Orleans Com- 

 mercial Times publishes the following from a cor- 

 respondent, and expresses the opinion that it is 

 the most likely to solve the difficulty. Here it 

 is : — 



"I have observed in the several prints, lately, 

 some amusing attempts to make a mystery out of 

 a very simple matter — I mean the dollar mark, or 

 prefix. One paragraph derives it from an abbrevi- 

 ation of a representation of the pillars of Hercules, 

 which are supposed to be represented upon the 

 Spanish dollar. Another makes it an abbreviation 

 of the U. S. The true derivation of it is the figure 

 8. The Spaniards from whome we derive the 

 dollar, counts by reals — as the French do by francs. 

 A real is in value twelve and a half cents, or one- 

 eighth part of a dollar. Any one who has read 

 Gil Bias or Don Quixotte will recollect the phrase 

 ^'piece of eight" which is frequently used by the 

 authors of those works. This term, then, means 

 nothing more than a dollar, or 8 reals. When, 

 therefore, the dollar became generally used, the 

 figure 8 was prefixed to express dollars, and in the 

 process of time the 8 has been changed to the pre- 

 sent mark. It has been asserted, but I know not 

 whether correctly or not, that Gen. Hamilton first 

 used this mark, soon after the adoption of our 

 currency of dollars and cents. However this may 

 be, the figure 8 is, no doubt the original of the 

 mark, and the derivation I have given above, the 

 correct one." 



VANDALISM. 



I have learned with astonishment that the town 

 authorities of the town of Hingham have caused 

 to be cut down a row of venerable and beautiful 

 elms and ashes which stood in front of the man- 

 sion house of the late Gen. Benjamin Lincoln, and 

 which is still in the occupation of his descendents, 

 and, what makes this act of vandalism still more 

 extraordinary, is the fact that these trees, or most 

 of them, were planted by General Lincoln's own 

 hands, and thus have an historical interest, in ad- 

 dition to their beauty and grateful shade • and 



