1853. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



351 



one ton of meadow gras3, skunk cabbage, hard- 

 hack and hassock grass grew ! 



Where stones are plentiful on the farm, they 

 are the material we ought to use in underdraining. 

 If stones cannot be had, draining tile, which can 

 now be obtained at most of our Agricultural ware- 

 houses, are far more preferable than wood, and 

 will be found more efficient, as well as more profit- 

 able, in the end. 



For the Neto England Farmer. 



"INDIGENOUS FRUITS AND SHRUBS"— 

 IMPROVING FRUIT. 



Mr. Editor: — I noticed in your last week's pa- 

 per that one of your correspondents wants "in- 

 formation on the rearing of our indigenous fruit 

 trees and shrubs." 1 have no doubt that a great 

 deal might be done in the way of improving our 

 native fruits ; but is there any necessity of going 

 back to the crab apple, when we have got so many 

 fine, and perfectbj hardy varieties of the apple ? To 

 effect any great change in the character of a fruit 

 is the work of a long lifetime ; but this should not 

 deter us, if there is need of it. Van Mons did a 

 great dp;il towards improving pears ; he found that 

 the fifth generation were nearly all of good quality. 

 He selected the seed from some young, healthy 

 seedling trci^, and p1;inted ; the fruit of most of the 

 first generation proved of inferior quality, but he 

 selected seed from the best, and planted again and 

 so on. Now this would lie the way in wliich your 

 friend might improve the crab spoken of, (Pyrus 

 coronoria,) so perhaps with the choke cherry. 

 {Cerasus Virginiann,) though we think it would 

 be a waste of time, for the same may bo said of 

 cherries that was said of apples ; there are so many 

 and good varieties that it would seem hai-dly prof- 

 itable to go over the same or nearly the same 

 ground that has already been traversed. It prob- 

 ably would not take so long to improve the cherry 

 as the pear or apple. Do not understand me to 

 say, nor do I thiuk that there is no room for im- 

 provement in the fruits I have spoken of; I think 

 there is, though many say we have arrived at per- 

 fection in soaie of the fruits, such as strawberries, 

 raspberries, &c. Allowing that there is nothing 

 to be done towards improving some of the fruits, 

 still there is a broad field open before us. We 

 want some good varieties of the gooseberry, those 

 that will flourish in almost any location and yet be 

 free from mildew which so much troubles the Eng- 

 lish sorts ; we have none now that can be depend- 

 ed upon except Houghton's Seedling, and that is 

 quite small compared with the foreign kinds. And 

 then we want some better, and earlier, hardy 

 grape, and whoever succeeds in obtaining just the 

 thing, will, if he chooses, make a handsome sum 

 out of it. 1 have spent considerable time in this 

 way, and have now a good many seedlings of dif- 

 ferent fruits, some of which are very promising ; I 

 have tried pears, apples, cherries, plums, peaches, 

 grapes, rasjiberries, gooseberries and others. We 

 shall meet with disappointment, but never mind if 

 we fail once, try again, keep trying. 



Your friend speaks of the whortleberry, and says 

 he iia.^ been unsuccessful in producing them from 

 the seed ; I have never tried them, but think tliere 

 is no trouble in doing it ; the seed should as soon 

 as washed from the pulp',' be put into moist loam, 



or sown, and if the latter is done, they will prob- 

 ably come up early the next spring ; if the former, 

 they should be kept through the winter scmiewhat 

 moist, and planted ae soon as the ground will an- 

 swer ; they may not come up the first year ; it takes 

 two yeai's for some seeds to vegetate, among which 

 is the mountain ash, but they come well the second 

 year. 



I think something might be done towards im- 

 proving the whortleberry, and some other native 

 fruits which have been hitherto neglected. _ I have 

 not done the subject justice, for want of time, but 

 shall refer to it again. J- f- c. h. 



Newton Centre, July 9th. 



THE DROUGHT. 



It was said by one of old that men would not leave 

 certain habits and practices, even though one from 

 the dead should warn them of their errors. We 

 suppose there are those living at this enlightened 

 day, whose practices in agriculture could not be 

 changed by any amount of evidence, ocular or 

 oracular, that could be adduced. But we ask eve- 

 ry man to observe now, for himself, whether, in 

 nearly all lands that have been deeply plowed and 

 highly cultivated, there has not been a heavy crop 

 of grass, or grain, and there is not promise of good 

 crops of corn, potatoes and vegetables. We have 

 been close observers, and certainly such is the 

 case throughout the range of our observation. 



Is there any better evidence needed, then, that 

 the true way to manage our land is, to cultivate 

 only so much as we can plow, manure and tend 

 in the most thorough manner, and giving each 

 crop such attention as it requires at any moment? 



There has been but one season within our ree- 

 collection where a fair return could not be had on 

 lands cultivated in this manner. Indeed, there is 

 no surer return for the money and labor invested 

 in any business, than there is to the farmer on such 

 lands as these. 



A too great expansion of business with the far- 

 mer operates in its results precisely as it does 

 with the mechanic or merchant. A man may re- 

 move several ton's weight in a day, and deposit it 

 safely at the desired point ; but if he undertakes it 

 at once, he sinks beneath its weight and is buried 

 in the ruins. 



For the New England Farmer. 



IMPORTANCE OF THE LEAF TO THE 

 PLANT. 



Mr. Editor:— Seeing you have appreciated the 

 few extracts that 1 sent and given them a place 

 in your excellent journal so well suited to the 

 wants of the present day, I think it is the duty of 

 every man at all conversant with the elementary 

 principles of agricultural science to contribute 

 whatever mite of information he has got for the 

 good of his fellow-man. I consider that the man 

 who can make two blades of grass grow where on- 

 ly one grew formerly, is a greater patriot to his 

 country than tlie blood-stained hero. With these 

 few remarks, I beg leave to give you a few more 



