1853. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



251 



agents, Messrs. Putman and Chase, are doing a 

 great business in that line. With the immense 

 business of other establishments turning out thou- 

 sands of improved implements yearly, perhajfs I 

 might say, daily, it shows the throbbing pulse of 

 an advancing people for improvement. 



Experiment ox a Tree. — Late in April, in the 

 spring of 1852, two men paid a visit by night to 

 an orchard which is subject to my care, and grati- 

 fied their propensities by cutting down, &c., a 

 large number of fruit trees. I discovered what 

 had been done very early the next morning, and 

 upon one tree, some ten or twelve inches through, 

 which had been completely girdled for the dis- 

 tance of about two feet, I put a light, single cov- 

 ering of white cotton cloth, without any other 

 protection. The tree lived through the season 

 and bore fruit. The woody growth of the tree 

 was very good, the twigs having extended from 

 six inches to two feet, in the formation of a new 

 growth. This spring, the tree puts out fair and 

 bright, promising fruit, and yet there is not any- 

 where that I can see any connection of the bark, 

 nor of the newlj formed wood of last year. No 

 new bark has been formed over the girdled part of 

 the tree, nor is there any new formation of wood 

 over that. The new layer of wood above and be- 

 low the girdled part is of about the same thick- 

 ness, and is about one-fourth of an inch in thick- 

 ness. On some spots where the bark was not 

 taken entirely oif, but where it was taken off all 

 around, there a new formation of wood is seen, 

 but less in thickness than it is above or below the 

 girdle. 



I chose a clear white cloth in preference to any- 

 thing else, because the white would reflect the 

 rays of the sun, and therefore keep the surface 

 from being much heated. I would not bind it on 

 with any bandages, or strings, lest they should 

 bind on the peeled surface too tightly; and there- 

 fore put the cloth around and fastened it with 

 some small nails. The experiment is giving me 

 much instruction as to the growth, maturity and 

 life of trees. It teaches, I think, the following 

 truths : — 



1. That the life of a tree does not absolutely 

 depend, for the time being, upon its having a cov- 

 ering of bark. 



2. That the sap circulates in other ways than 

 directly lengthwise of the wood. 



3. That trees, which would otherwise certainly 

 die, may be preserved in this simple manner, so as 

 to give ample time to take other measures to pre- 

 serve them completely. 



How long the above named tree will live and 

 grow remains to be seen. a. g. c. 



Mason, N. H. 



health and condition, and I should be happy to 

 see any persons interested in agricultural matters, 

 and let them judge for themselves. 



Cob Meal. — Mr. Tuomas Motley, Jr., of West 

 Roxbury, says, in the Boston CuUivalor : — I have 

 fed out over Ave hundred bushels this winter to 

 horses, working oxen, milch cows and pigs — in 

 fact, I have used no other grain. My horses 

 have never been in better condition than at pres- 

 ent, and have worked hard all winter ; they have 

 been fed regularly upon the following feed : 12 

 lbs. out hay and 8 quarts cob meal to each horse 

 per day. Horses, oxen and cows are all in good 



For the New England Farmer. 

 SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. 



Friend Brown : — I am about taking a trip to 

 Lancaster, Pa., and if any of your readers will run 

 the risk of getting their heads broken by collision, 

 or open draws, or from other infernal machinery, 

 such as our railway managers know how to use, 

 and seem determined to use, for the destruction of 

 what few people remain, let them jump on and go 

 along with me. 



Well, here we are in the depot of the Baltimore 

 and Susquehanna Railroad, leading to Harrisburgh, 

 Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. Fare through only fif- 

 teen dollars ! Think of thai, ye "solid men of Bos- 

 ton," who want to go to the West by the safest and 

 cheapest route, and see all the world and the rest 

 of mankind. 



The steam is up and we are off through the sub- 

 urbs ; no, I mistake. Baltimore has no suburbs. 

 Out of the city and you are in the country, and a 

 ratherish poor country at that. Those suburban 

 villas and princely residences M'hich cluster about 

 the purlieus of some cities, are not found, but to 

 a v.ery limited extent, about Baltimore. ■ It is much 

 like the approach to Washington, where you grope 

 your way for a long distance through a goose-pas- 

 ture, till of a sudden you come upon a huge 

 Dutch barn, with a cupola on it, which proves to 

 be nothing less than Uncle Sam's capitol. 



So, ho! what now? bridge gone, burnt down 

 yesterday- Wonder they didn't run us all into 

 the creek. After two hours detention, we are un- 

 der way again. Here's Texas, not the "valley of 

 rascals," though a hard looking place. It is built 

 wholly o/ limestone and upon limestone. Houses, 

 barns, fences, gardens and roads, all of the same 

 material. The sole occupation of the people 

 seems to be to quarry, burn and haul limestone. 

 And, judging from the color of their dresses, one 

 would suppose them also made of limestone. They 

 have no visible means of support but upon lime- 

 stone ; and I know not but they substitute it for 

 flour. Certain I am, that they breathe it, for 

 they can't do "nothing else" while they remain 

 there. 



From these quarries comes a large'portion of the 

 lime used in Baltimore. It is sold at the kilns for 

 three fips* a bushel. Look first on this, and then 

 on that. This is the dividing line between Mary- 

 land and Pennsylvania. Geographers teach that 

 mathematical and political divisions are merely 

 imaginary. But in this case the dividing line is 

 scratched upon the surface of the earth, so indeli- 

 bly, that he who rides in the cars may see and per- 

 ceive. 



We Marylanders are loth to admit that slave 

 labor curses the soil as well as the people. But 

 facts are stubborn realities ; and any one who 

 passes from Baltimore to York, his eyes open, need 

 not be told where the dividing line is. 



Here is York, the shire town of York County, 

 a right smart place,— population good, — well built, 

 and a place of considerable business. It contains 

 a poor-farm and an almshouse, where all the poor 



* A "fiji," is our four-pence, half-penny. 



