120 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Bun. He picks up the -windfalls of apples, which 

 prevents the fruit from being wormy. He had kept 

 Russet apples a year and a half in dry sand. 



Hon. Mr. Brooks, of Princeton, inquired for the 

 best method of removing large trees. He thought it 

 was a favorable time to destroy caterpillars when 

 they first formed their nests, as it was but little 

 labor. 



Colonel Wilder said, that he removed large trees, 

 with success, by digging a trench around them in 

 autumn, leaving a sufficient ball of earth to protect 

 the roots, and remove them when the earth becomes 

 frozen. It is an expensive way. 



Hon. Mr. Calhoun, secretary of state, said, that 

 fruit was tlie farmer's most ijroiitable crop. He 

 thought that this country would supply England 

 with fruit. He said, that in almost every section 

 there were valuable native fi'uits worthy of attention. 

 In Springlicld was the Congress apple, which was 

 an excellent kind. 



Mr. Brigham, of AVestborough, said, that he had 

 prevented the effects of curculios by placing a hen 

 and chickens under the tree to devour them. 



Mr. Cole, of the New England Farmer, exhibited 

 fine specimens of the Northern Spy, Ladies' Sweeting, 

 Shawraut, and Red Russet apples, and made some 

 remarks on their qualities, habits, &c., observing, that, 

 in order to keep apples late, the better way was to 

 cultivate late varieties. These kinds were all late 

 and excellent, but not well tested. These fruits were 

 tried at the close of the meeting. 



Dr. Bardwell, representative from Whately, rec- 

 ommended, in the raising of fruit trees, to begin right, 

 and select only the largest and most vigorous stocks, 

 as many were small, and unsuitable for setting. 



March 21. The discussion of this subject was 

 continued, Mr. Wilder presiding, who opened the 

 meeting with general remarks on soil, its preparation 

 and manures. He said, that all kinds of trees suc- 

 ceeded well on a good mellow loam. Some require 

 a warm soil, others a cold soil ; and some Avill flour- 

 ish in any soil, and in different sections of the coun- 

 try. The soil should be prepared by draining if the 

 land be wet, and soils generally are improved by 

 subsoiling and trenching. ^luch depends on appro- 

 priate manures. In some cases, specific manures are 

 necessary. By the analyses of the ashes of various 

 trees it was shown what manures are required for each 

 species. Lime and potash are necessary for the 

 apple, and potash and bone-dust for the pear. 



Mr. Bartlctt, of the Boston Cultivator, made some 

 remarks on the appropriate manures. He said, that 

 new lands furnished proper food for trees, but in the 

 process of time the orchard fails, the food is taken 

 up in the production of trees and fruit, and the soil 

 becomes exhausted. The leaves are blown away, 

 the fruit carried off, and the pomace wasted. Spe- 

 cific manures must be applied to renovate the soil. 

 Kirtland says, that a tree requhes specific food as 

 well as an animal. 



Mr. Rice, of Newton, said, that where cows ran in 

 a pasture and devoured the fallen apples, the fruit 

 was not wormy ; but worms were very destructive to 

 apples in orchards where fruits remain under the 



trees. He said that there was a great profit in graft- 

 ing our old trees of worthless fruit. He puts litter 

 around newly set trees, and stones on it to support 

 the tree, but uses no stakes. He had applied urine 

 around peach-trees for the yellows, and he thought 

 it had a favorable effect. Mr. Rice said, that his 

 peach buds were killed, excepting a few trees on the 

 back side of the barn. 



Major Benjamin Wheeler, of Framingham, said, 

 that his soil was not well adapted to raising peaches. 

 His soil was low ; the buds were killed about three 

 years in four. On high lands, in that town, poaches 

 succeeded well. One man said, that he had not failed 

 of a good crop for thirty years. He thought, that the 

 buds were killed bj' severe cold, not by sudden 

 changes from warm to cold weather. In low land, 

 the cold weather is more severe. He had prevented 

 the operations of worms in apple-trees, by washing 

 the trees in a solution of potash, about strong enough 

 to bear up an egg. Some will not set trees, as they 

 say that they are too old. Others think there will 

 be a superabundance of fruit ; and yet not one 

 farmer in four has a good orchard : the demand for 

 good fruit is increasing ; and nearly half the apples 

 in our market are from the state of New York. 



Col. Wilder thought, that extreme cold weather, 

 and not sudden changes, caused the destruction of 

 fruit buds. 



Mr. Buckminstcr, of the Ploughman, said, that 

 trees should be taken up very carefully, so as not to 

 break the roots. Many persons are apt to set too 

 deep. The roots should be near the surface, and no 

 deeper than they were in the nursery. Some litter 

 should be laid around the tree, to make the soil light 

 and moist. This, with some stones laid on it, will 

 support the tree, and no stakes will be necessary. 

 Then the trees will need no hoeing, and but little 

 watering. Muck is a good manure for trees. 



Samuel Walker, Esq., of Roxbury, said, that he 

 would dispense with all manures, rather than with 

 the preparation of the soil. Trenching is good, 

 and a tree will grow in a good soil Avithout special 

 manures : these maj'- be useful after a while. Trees 

 should be adapted to the soil ; and it is important to 

 get the best varieties. The apple is a noble fruit, 

 and of more importance than other finer kinds. The 

 amateur may have his hundreds of kinds, but the 

 cultivator for the market should have but few. He 

 recommended the Rhode Island Greening as the best, 

 the Gravcnstein next, and then the Baldwin, which 

 were sufficient for the market. 



Hon. Mr. Russell, of Princeton, presented Russet 

 apples, of fine condition, of 1847. His mode of 

 keeping is as follows : When he gathers his apples, 

 he puts them into barrels, and places them in a cold 

 place, in a shed, or somewhere under cover, tiU cold 

 weather, and then puts them in a cool cellar. 



At the close of the meeting, Mr. Cole presented 

 for trial fine specimens of cranberries, from Mr. 

 S. P. Fowler, of Danvers, lately picked, which were 

 raised and preserved as detailed on the twenty- 

 second page of this volume. 



The same subject was continued, a report on which 

 will appear in our next number. 



