130 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



CULTIVATIOW OF FOREST TREES. 



On Tuesday evening, at tlio agricultural meeting, 

 Mr. William Parker in the chair, this subject was 

 discussed. 



Mr. Buckminster, of the Ploughman, recommended 

 raising forest trees by the road side, affording a 

 grateful shade, a growth of timber, and shelter from 

 winds. By the use of evergreens, the drifting of 

 snows would be prevented. He recommended Avhite 

 pine for this purpose. The rock maple is excellent 

 to set on the south side of roads. In transplanting 

 pine trees, it is not important to take up long roots, 

 but a sod of earth with the roots insures success. 



Mr. Sheldon, of AVilmington, said, he thought that 

 the white pine perfected its seed only once in three 

 years ; and all in the country, as far as his observa- 

 tions had extended, ripened their seed at the same 

 time. He found that in Massachusetts, New Hamp- 

 shire, and Vermont, all the cones were small the 

 next 3'ear after the seed had come to perfection. 

 Some lands that sold thirty-five years ago, three 

 years after the Avood was cut off, at four dollars per 

 acre, are now worth one hundred and ten dollars 

 per acre. Forest trees will grow on poor land. 

 In saving pines for seed, it is best to leave them in 

 clumps, as single ones may blow over. 



Dr. Bardwell, of Whately, said, that there were ex- 

 tensive tracts of land in some parts of the state that 

 produced only about six bushels of rye to the acre, 

 which would hardly pay for cultivating. On these lands 

 good crops of pines might be raised, and with profit. 

 He thought that pitch pines were the most profitable, 

 as they would grow on poorer lands than white pine. 



Mr. Cole, of the New England Farmer, said, that 

 the seeds of forest and fruit trees, generally, would 

 not vegetate if sown dry in the spring. They should 

 bo sown in the fall, or put into moist earth, and buried 

 in the ground, or placed in the cellar. In the latter 

 case, it was necessary to keep up a moderate degree 

 of moisture only, as wet or dryness would be injuri- 

 ous. It is the least trouble to keep them buried in 

 the earth, if the land is not prepared for sowing in 

 the fall, as they are liable to dry in the cellar ; but 

 this may be prevented, in a great measure, by put- 

 ting them into tight vessels. Stone, earthen, or iron 

 vessels are good, as they do not absorb the moisture 

 from the earth. Some writers speak of certain kinds 

 of seeds that will not vegetate till the next season : 

 this opinion is probably the result of sowing dry seed 

 in spring. 



Mr. Jones, of AVayland, thought that raising forest 

 trees was the most profitable part of farming. He 

 purchased a wood lot, and paid ten dollars an acre 

 for it and interest on that sum during the time the 

 wood had been growing on it. He thought it was 

 best for a farmer to cultivate a little land well, and 

 raise forest trees on the rest. 



Mr. Sheldon said, that he had transplanted pines 

 in the middle of summer with excellent success. 



Prosperity is no just scale ; adversitj' is the only 

 true balance to weigh friends. 



NOTICES OF PUBLICATIONS. 



Manval of Morals, for Common Schools, adapted 

 also to the Use of Families. 212 pages, 18 mo. Pub- 

 lished by John P. Jewett, Boston ; "William E. Ward- 

 Avell, Andover. 



This is a work of sterling merit, on a subject too 

 much neglected in the education of youth. Great 

 pains are taken to give the child instruction in science 

 and literature, but little is done to give him sj'stem- 

 atic instruction in morals, and show him how to 

 make his acquisitions in knowledge available in dis- 

 charging his duty to his God, his fellow-beings, and 

 to himself. These important duties are taught in 

 this neat little work, in a clear and pleasing manner, 

 particularly from the numerous historical and anec- 

 dotal illustrations. No person, young or old, can 

 read this manual without improvement, unless he is 

 so far advanced as to need no amendment. 



The AVisconsin Farmer, is a new paper, which 

 we neglected to notice in our list of agricultural 

 journals in our last number. It is a neat octavo, and 

 ably conducted ; published monthly, by Mark 

 Miller, Racine, Wisconsin, at 50 cents a year. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. 



Of Messrs. S. and G. Hyde, niirsery-men, Newton, 

 the fruit and^ scions of the Philadelphia Pippin 

 apple. This fruit is small, very fair and handsome, 

 and remarkable for its freshness and fine flavor after 

 late keeping. Whether this is the true name or not, 

 we do not know. Among numerous collections of 

 scions from some friends, and distributions to others, 

 were some under this name, which we furnished to 

 these gentlemen. This is the first fruit which we 

 have seen of it, and we are pleased to find it so 

 promising. 



Messrs. Hyde go mostly for the well known and 

 excellent varieties of fruit, cautiously introducing 

 and giving a fair test to new kinds. Thej' have in 

 their nursery a large assortment of fruit-trees of 

 standard kinds, well adapted to the climate. 



Of Samuel Walker, Esq., Chelsea, some noble 

 specimens of the pound pear, as fresh as when they 

 were gathered. This variety is a great grower and 

 bearer, the fruit very fine for cooking, and it is in 

 use from November till Maj'. 



Of Mr. Jacob Noycs, Abington Centre, specimens 

 of several kinds of seedling potatoes, which he rec- 

 ommends as excellent. We shall try them, net by 

 eating, but by planting them, for experiment in 

 comparison with other kinds. The samples are 

 fine, and we are much obliged to Mr. N. 



We are indebted to Samuel P. Fowler, Esq., Dan- 

 vers, for plants of Houghton's Seedling Gooseberry. 



Dr. J. W. Francis, who commenced life as a 

 printer, in some remarks at the Franklin festival in 

 New York, alluded to the singular fact that, when 

 he afterwards became a lecturer in the medical 

 college of that metropolis, one of the text-books 

 which he employed was a copy of the proof sheets 

 of a work every type of which had been set by his 

 own hand, when a printer. 



