58 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



least equally with others ; nay, it must become j 



the DARLINf; FAVORITE. i 



There is another oppoct of this institution not ^ 

 unworthy of serious meditation. Men flllins; the 

 professions exclusively called the liurary, have 

 too great a preponderance in our political ma- 

 chinery. This neces-arily results from their 

 qiialitications, derived from a superior educa- 

 tion, sfiving them a superior power to accom- 

 plish their purposes, and which directed by an 

 tsprit de corps, as it unavoidably must be, can- 

 not be expected always to harmonize with the 

 afeneral interests of the conimunity. It has 

 been observed, and not alto<^etlier witiiout rea- 

 son, that in some places, the clerg-y have had 

 too much of a controling' inllucnce over the po- 

 litics of a state. Of such an aristocracy how- 

 ever, this state, we aie proud to say, has had 

 no reason to complain, and ha< nolhing to tear. 

 But the greatest evil of this ki[id, in our coun- 

 try in general, is most to be a[)prehended from 

 the profession of law. Every one on reflection, 

 must perceive the extent of the present exist- 

 ence of this evil, and may conjecture to what, 

 without a remedy, it will ultimately grow. 



The prolession of law is considered, more 

 than any other, as directly in the line of (iro- 

 niotion to the his-hest oliices, and therefore, 

 like lottery gamMers, aiming at the highcsi 

 I>r;ze,Tnost ambitious families destine some oi' 

 their branches for it ; but the profession becom- 

 ing thereby overstocked, numbers are neces- 

 sitated to intrigue for measures specially favor- 

 able to their imlividual interests, and whuh 

 may raise them to more fortunate static.-. 

 And thus are their superior acquirements, fir 

 want of a suffic'cnt counterpoise, successful!' 

 employed with other views than the promotion 

 of the public good. When markets are giulteii 

 with any commodities, the ingenuity of trader^ 

 will be stretched to the utmost lor discovering 

 ways by which they may dispose of them, an'] 

 r.''cessit3- too often urges them to the adoption 

 of unjustifiable means to effect their purpose. 

 Not a few of the lawyers of the inferior grades, 

 it is believed, are in similar circumstances, and 

 obliged to resort to a similar sinister conduct. 



These animadversions on the profession of 

 law, as at present existing in our country, are 

 by no means intended to di.-para'^-e the profes- 

 sion; on the contrary, it must be confessed that 

 to it we are indebted for tlie greatest blessings 

 of government, the due investigation and cor- 

 rect discrimination of the rights of the people, 

 and the execution of the laws for their security 

 and protection. An honest, well qualified law- 

 yer, with suitalde dispositions, in any communi- 

 ty, can be one of its most extensive public ben- 

 efactors. To him the oppressed may llee, with 

 a consoling confidence, as to a guardian angel, 

 and be sure of relief But the evil which has 

 been noticed, and which in its progress is con- 

 sidered to have an aspect sulficiently malign to 

 justify apprehensions of its dangerous growth, 

 arises from the superabundance of tlie numbers 

 annually added to the profession, and the want 

 of talents, elsewhere, to form a counterpoise to 

 its preponderating weight. But we cannot pull 

 up the tares, lest thereby we destroy the wheat 

 also. 



The most effectual, if not the only remedy 

 for this evil then is, to introduce more men of 

 accomplished education into the agricultural de- 

 partmcat, men who shall have di^ccrument suf- 



ficient to detect the tendency of sinister meas- 

 ures that may he artfully projected, and the 

 masked batteries that may be raised in hostility 

 to the public good, and be able to meet the 

 cliampions of them with their own weapons, 

 and with equal dexterity in the use of them. 

 It is believed that nothing better can be devis- 

 ed, for bringing about this most desirable refor- 

 mation, than the proposed agricultural college, 

 and the dissemination of similar institutions 

 throughout the nation: and if so, this view of it 

 urges, with additional force, the necessity of its 

 adoption, for giving a still higher finish to our 

 already most wonderfull}' improved political fa- 

 bric ; the most perfect existing model of govern- 

 ment ; the wonder and the envy of the world. 



In our or.linary institutions we have been the 

 mere copyists of foreign establishments. The 

 happy peculiarities of our country require some- 

 thing (iiflerent; and it would be an eternal blot 

 on the American character if we had not the 

 genius and the boldness to tread out of the 

 paths traced in barbarous times, and pursue a 

 course suited to this new world, so very ditfer- 

 ent from the old; especially in regard to the 

 matter now contemplated, which so eminently 

 •nvolves the highest interests of our country. 

 Let it then belong to the state of New-York, to 

 give birth to an institution, which, if the view 

 now taken of the subject be correct, will exceed 

 all others in immediate and most lasting sub- 

 sta-^tial utility. She will then have the praise 

 'if being the mother of ag-ricuharal schools, by 

 .vhich the cultivation of tlie earth, in the best 

 possible kiiczcn manner, will be taught, and ulti- 

 ;nately improved to the highest possible state of 

 jiertection. 



One other very important effect will be pro- 

 duced by such an institution. Comparisons will 

 lie made between the practice of those who are 

 educated in it, and those who are brought up to 

 farming in the ordinary way ; and thereby an 

 r'mulation will bo excited that will cause exer- 

 lions, which would not otherwise be made, for 

 makmg continual further appro.ximations to the 

 maximum of improvement. 



(to be conti.nced.) 



MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURAL REPOSITORY AND 

 JOURNAL, FOR .JUNE. 



(Continued from p. 43.) 



By a long article on the subject of cutting 

 rings in the bark of fruit trees and other trees 

 and plants, extracted from a foreign publication, 

 among other facts we learn that, 



'• All apple trees form an abundance of addi- 

 tional tlower buds, in consequence of ringing; 

 but it' the ring be wide, the ringed branches, 

 especiallv young ones, speedily become sickly; 

 it is therefore advisable, with them not to cut 

 rings of greater width, than what will be closed 

 up, at the end of the same season, or early in 

 the Ibllowing year; besides, it seems that the 

 improvement in size and beauty, is obtained 

 chiefly in the first year of the ringing, therefore 

 the rings of apple trees certainly should not ex- 

 ceed a quarter of an inch in width, on strong 

 branches, and they should be narrower on small 

 and weak shoots. Fresh branches on the same 

 tree, ought to be annually ringed, and thus a 

 sucession of produce be uninterruptedly kept 

 up.^' 



A Mr. Twamley found by experiment that 



•• the rings made in horizontally trained branch- 

 es do not so readily close up as those on upright 

 growing ones ; and he found an advantage in 

 protecting the exposed part of the wood at the 

 ring with grafting clay." Another gentleman 

 " made his rings a quarter of an inch wide, at 

 the end of April and beginning of May, and in 

 the winter covered the open rings with clav 

 and cow dung. The fruits of all, in comparison 

 with the produce of the unringed branches, 

 were, exclusive of the additional quantity, either 

 altered in size or in color, hut did not keep so 

 well, and were thought inferior in flavor, which 

 is the natural consequence of the increase ia 

 size." 



It appears that pear trees suffer less from 

 ringing than apple trees. " In healthy and 

 clear shoots, the bark of pear trees soon restores 

 itself over the ring, unless it is cut very wide. 

 The eflect of ringing them is a certain produc- 

 tion of blossom buds, so much so that even 

 3'oung trees may be brought into bearing by 

 this means." 



" The branches of plum and cherry trees 

 sustain injury and become cankered by ringing-; 

 but as tliey are always free hloivers, an increase 

 of blossom by artificial means is not wanted to 

 make them produce fruit."' " Vines are much 

 benefited bj' ringing; their blossom is produced 

 on the shoots of the same year, in sulficient 

 plenty : for additional blossoms, the use, there- 

 fore, of ringing, is not required, but increase of 

 size, early ripening, and improvement of flavor 

 in the grapes, all result from ringing." " The 

 practice may be extensively and usefully appli- 

 ed to ornamental shrubs and plants, which do 

 not readily blossom." 



It is observed by Sir John Sinclair that, " Iq 

 many cases, particularly in pear trees, cutting 

 out a narrow ring of bark, from one third to one 

 half of an inch, quite round the stem, has ren- 

 dered the crop abundant, which otherwise would 

 have failed. If the incision be covered with a 

 rag, the hollow is filled up with new bark, in 

 the space of a few weeks." Probably a small 

 wire twisted round a branch, so as to form a 

 ligature, might answer every purpose of cutting 

 away the bark, without any danger of injuring 

 the tree. 



A writer in the American Farmer, vol. iii, p. 

 .342, says that he has tried the experiment of 

 ringing or girdling fruit trees, and is satisfied 

 tliat fruit may be thereby produced, although 

 tlie operation injures the trees. He therefore 

 disa|iproves of it, and prefers scoring, that is 

 making incisions into the bark lengthwise up 

 the trunk, continuing, if necessary, along the 

 principal branches. Indeed the only important 

 use which, as we conceive, can arise from ring- 

 ing fruit trees is found in its forcing young fruit 

 trees to shew what sort of fruit they will pro- 

 duce, which will enable the owner to determine 

 whether it would be advisable to graft them. 



