4 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



return the compliment of presenting to our modern Eve the no 

 longer forbidden fruit, and under such circumstances and con- 

 ditions, that we may realize that the Paradise once lost is 

 regained. 



Who that has planted an apple-tree, grafted, trained and cul- 

 tivated it, protected and cared for it from its nursery grovrth to 

 its orchard maturity, does not love it with a paternal love ? 

 "With what pleasurable emotions he recognizes the friendly 

 greeting of its gentle nod on a Whitsunday morning, as he be- 

 holds it, one mass of rose and lily blossoms, filling the sunny 

 air with fragrance, and listens to the soft murmur of delight is- 

 suing from its branches. As he stands thus, what man can 

 avoid thanking his God for being allowed to aid in such a cre- 

 ation ? And again, in October, with what satisfaction he ap- 

 proaches his tree, with basket and barrels, to harvest those glo- 

 rious pippins that hang so temptingly within his reach, affording 

 ample means of profit, health and luxury. Who that owns an 

 acre of land can afford to dispense with so much happiness as 

 may be derived from an apple-tree ? Certainly no Essex County 

 farmer. My own experience is, that no part of my farm yields 

 greater income for the labor expended than the orchard. If 

 the crop is small, the price is usually large. Let us then con- 

 tinue to cultivate the apple as a source of profit, of health to 

 our families, and of growth to our social natures. 



Besides protecting our native songsters, that do so much to 

 aid the orchardist, I most earnestly recommend the importation 

 of English sparrows, whose principal occupation is to feed their 

 numerous progeny with insects. The experiment was tried in 

 New York three years ago, and proving very successful, led to 

 the introduction of these birds, last spring, into Philadelphia. 

 I know of no way by which a portion of the income of this so- 

 ciety can be so profitably expended as by the importation of 

 several thousands of these birds, to be distributed in different 

 parts of the county. 



It may be worth the notice of the curious observer, that of 

 the several varieties of apple and pear-trees, each grows with 

 form and feature peculiar to itself, and varies as much as do the 

 different kinds of fruit. No one familiar with them can mis- 

 take, for example, the Pickman Pippin, Ribstone Pippin or Kill- 

 hamhill, among apple-trees, or the Winter Nelis, Louise Bonne 



