1853. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



243 



of strength. In the quince, apricot and peach 

 trees, this is very important, as these are very apt 

 to be luxuriant in leaves and destitute of fruit. 

 You may think this injures the trees, but it does 

 not ; fur you will find trees laden with fruit, which 

 formerly yielded nothing. Of course, all other 

 well-known precautions must be attended to ; such 

 as cutting out worms from the roots, placing old 

 iron on the limbs, which acts as a tonic to the sap, 

 &c. Try it, ye who have failed in raising fruit. — 

 Farmer and Mechanic. 



THE GOOSEBERRY. 



HOW TO RAISE THE HANDSOMEST PLANTS OF THE NA- 

 TIVE VARIETIES. 



In the early spring of 1849, when the buds of 

 the wild gooseberry began to burst, I took an 

 April sylvan excursion through damp places, and 

 with a sharp pruning knife cut as many vigorous 

 and clean shoots as I could find, from the different 

 kinds of the much neglected native gooseberry. 



Having made a large collection of cuttings for 

 the purpose of propagation in a nursery bed, I cut 

 them short — one foot long — rejecting the tender 

 parts and trimming all the buds off, except three 

 or four upper ones. Then I planted them in a 

 rich, well trenched, and rather moist soil, 6 inch- 

 es apart in straight rows. The soil around 

 them was kept loose and clear of weeds by fre- 

 quent hoeing, and in a good condition by occasion- 

 al waterings. In the fall they were found very 

 fine plants — strong rooted — fit for transplanting 

 the nest season ; they shooted from 12 to 18 inch- 

 es high the same season. To render the plants 

 more vigorous, I clipped the tender ends of the 

 limbs, trimming them in the form of miniature 

 trees. 



The second year they yielded a plenty of nice 

 fruit, of a double size. The third year all the 

 plants were heavily loaded with still larger ber- 

 ries of different colors and flavor. Last season I 

 picked fifty quarts of much larger gooseberries, 

 beside what were eaten by my friends and visit- 

 ors to my fruit garden. Some of my native goose- 

 berries seemed much larger than Houghton's seed- 

 ling gooseberry. 



I know of no sort of gooseberry which promises 

 so much, and seems so easy of cultivation, with so 

 little labor, and so well adapted to our climate, as 

 our native gooseberry. This gooseberry is, though 

 very sweet, delicious and rich in its wild nature, 

 much despised on account of its small size, in com- 

 parison to the pride of Lancashire Horticulturists, 

 who have, by their unspared of pains of per- 

 severence, improved the insignificant size and 

 inferior qualities of their wild European goose- 

 berry to a wonderful size and richness of flavor. 



Are we, American horticulturists, who enjoy 

 the blessings of undisturbed freedom on our virgin 

 soil beneath a bright sun, slaves dependent upon 

 a foreign nation for her horticultural skill in pro- 

 ducing a celebrated species of gooseberry, which 

 is so imperfectly suited to our climate \ Why do 

 not we try to do the same towards improving our 

 native gooseberry, which is not only perfectly 

 adapted to our soil, but also promises to pay well 

 for whatever attention we shall be wiHin<>' to be- 

 stow upon 111 If our American apples f«e far su- 

 perior to those of England, I can see no reason 

 why we may not produce American varieties of 



gooseberry, superior — even far superior to those 

 of far-famed Lancashire, by hybriddin^ our native 

 gooseberry with the choice sorts, and oy repeated 

 sowing of seed of fine kinds. — Farmer and Me- 

 chanic. 



For the Neiv England Farmer. 

 WHAT SHALL I DO ? 



Editors Farmer : — At the present prices paid 

 for farm labor compared with that of mechanical, 

 what inducement is there for a young man of tal- 

 ent and energy to follow farming^ 



In this section, bootmakers obtain for their work 

 from $1,25 to $2,00 per day, while the same men 

 could not command more than from $10,00 to 

 $15,00 per 7nonth on most of our farms, and that 

 only for the summer months. The old farmers 

 iiereabouts shrug their shoulders and complain 

 bitterly at paying over $13,00 per month. 



Now I would like to ask if you would advise me, 

 or any other young man, who can get $2,00 per 

 day at a trade, to learn it, or refuse it and work 

 on a farm. I want to be a farmer, but when I 

 consider that I am like thousands of other young 

 men, starting unassisted, without money or land, 

 I am almost discouraged. Most young men with 

 whom I converse, own, that farming is the best 

 business in the world, and say that they would 

 farm it, if they only had land of their own. But 

 as to working out by the month fur 50 cents per 

 day, they will not do it. 



Now I wish to know if you can blame them, or 

 call them unwise. c. w. a. 



S , Mass. 



Remarks. — If our young friend can actually earn 

 more money, and can keep it profitably and secure- 

 ly invested, in some other way than by working 

 on a farm, why, then, he had better spend a few 

 years, perhaps, in some other employment. But 

 if he intends to pursue farming after a while, he 

 must be a close observer, thinker, and reader of 

 farm matters during these years, and he will thus 

 qualify himself for his future business while he is 

 accumulating the means to engage in it. It is not 

 desirable that all shall be farmers, but those who 

 have a decided taste for farming should make all 

 their plans tend that way ; and there are, un- 

 doubtedly, various modes of obtaining a farm, be- 

 side working on one at fifty cents a day. If your 

 opportunities enable you to get $2,00 a day, do 

 so, until such time as you can invest your earnings 

 in the spot which you intend to make a permanent 

 home. But, the subject is an interesting and im- 

 portant one, and perhaps some of our correspond- 

 ents who have the leisure and inclination will 

 speak of it more at length than we are able to at 

 present. 



§^M. Eugene Sue states that in Savoy, all the 

 farm-work of plowing and drawing, instead of be- 

 ing done by horses or oxen, is perftn-med by milch 

 cows, which work eight or ten hours a day, with- 

 out the slightest depreciation of the quality or quan- 

 tity of milk. 



