NEW ENGLAND FARiMER. 



339 



J 'le flowing and ebbing of tides in the ocean, and the 

 tmosphere. The philosophers of antiquity, however, 

 eld very different opinions on this subject. To give 

 sketch of those opinions would be to fill a large vol- 

 me. We shall merely quote a short article on the 

 jbject from Rees' Cyclopedia under the head Timber. 

 The ancients had a great regard to the age of Iht 

 won in the felling of their timber. If their rules avail 

 u»ht they are these : Fell timber in the wane, or four 

 ays after the new moon ; some say let it be the last 

 uai ter. ?liny orders it to be in the very article of 

 I.' change, which happening ou the last day of the 

 .inter solstice, the timber he says will be immortal : 

 iiltimella says from the euth to the v!8th day : Cato 

 iiir days after the full: Vegetius from the 15th to the 

 ,ili, for ship timber ; but never in the increase, trees 

 h. 11 most abounding with moisture, the only source of 

 ■ uliefaction." 



Some modern scientific and practical men have like- 

 vise expressed opinions in favor of attending to the 

 (ate of the moon in cutting timber. The Farmer's 

 i"istant, p. 382, says, " We are assured from an ex- 1 

 iiifuced builder of some of the first rate bridges in 

 h'" northern part of this country, that such timber as 

 i to be exposed to the water, or to frequent wetness, 

 liould be felled during the m(rease of the moon ; and 

 hat such as is to be kept dry, should be felled during 

 he decrease of that planet."' 



Dr. Deane, Col. Pickering, and we believe nearly 

 .11 scientific agriculturist* of modtrn times, have deni- 

 d the agency of the moon in this and many other mat- 

 ers relating to rural economy, in which certain effects 

 re said to be produced by a certain occult influence 

 f that planet. We have always been of the anti-lunar 

 arty, and have thought that the man who was watch- 

 1^ the motious of the moon in order to ascertain the 

 roper periods for performing the important operations 

 fas^riculture, might rank with the person designated 

 y the inspired penman, who says, " He that observ- 

 t!i the wind shall not sow, and he that reg-ardeth tho 

 Umds shall not reap." J^till we think it improper that 

 ny preconceived theories or great authorities should 

 luhice us to turn a deaf ear or a blind eye to malttrs 

 f fact. If we should refuse to believe all which we 



, aanot comprehend, we must deny the powers of mag- 

 letism, electricity, gravitation, and many other impor- 

 .ant and daily occurring manifestations o{ Almighty 

 igency. — 



FOR THE NEW ENGI..4ND FARMER. 



INSTRUCTIONS FOR F,\RMERS. 



Hnving lived to the age of seventy years nnd 

 upwards, and having been the greater part of 

 that time a practical farmer, and by attentive 

 ebservation having- ac<^uired some valuable in- 

 formation with which the great body of farmers 

 are wholly unacquainted, the subscriber is im- 

 pressed with a belief that the following remarks 

 relative to the raising of Fruit Trees and clear- 

 ing New Land, may be useful te the rising gen- 

 tration and to posterity. 



1 was born at Taunton, Bristol county, Mass. 

 in the year 1750. in the spring of the year 

 1772, I came into the District of Maine, and 

 took up a lot of land at a place then called 

 Sylvester, now Turner, in the County of Ox- 

 ford, and was one of the 6ve first settlers. I 

 fell five acres of trees, and prepared them for 

 burning ; in the autumn following it appeared 

 on examination that a part of them had begun 

 to decay, the sap being considerably rotten, 

 while others in the same piece and ot the .«iime 

 kind of wood were perfectly sound. This was 

 a mystery, which at that time 1 could not ex- 



plain or understand. It seemed to be important 

 to ascertain the cause, inasmuch as whtMO trees 

 were sap rotten 1 had an excellent burn, and 

 where sound it was with great difficulty that 

 the tire could be made to run ; and it is from 

 observation and repeated experiments that I am 

 now enabled to explain, to the satisfaction of 

 any rational man, what I once thought to be an 

 inexplicable mystery. 



It is a truth that the Moon operates upon this 

 earth and every thing that grows upon it much 

 more powerfully than is generally imagined. 

 It is also true that the etfects of her operation 

 vary regularly as she passes through her orbit 

 or monthly course. Timber cut in the wane 

 of the moon will be much more durable than it 

 would be if cut between the new and full moon. 

 Her operations are so great and so diflcrent in 

 the various parts of her orbit, that by cutting 

 one tree three hours befoie the new moon, and 

 another of the same kind six hours afterwards, 

 and preserving them one year, a very striking 

 difterence in the soundness of them will be dis- 

 covered. If I had known as much at the age 

 of twenty-two years as I now do, relative to 

 the subject, I am conlident it would have benc- 

 titted me more than a thousand doliiirs, particu- 

 larly in clearing hard wood land, and in getting 

 durable timber for buildings of all kinds, and 

 for sleds, carts, &c. 



When a man is about to clear a piece of land 

 around which he is calculating to make a log 

 fence, he will find it much to his advantage to 

 cut the trees around the piece in the wane of 

 the moon, and if possible during the last quar- 

 ter, but the remainder should be cut after the 

 change. I have also found by experience, that 

 fiuit trees set out in the wane of the moon, and 

 particularly on the last day of the last quarter, 

 are more likely to live and be flourishing than 

 when set out at any other time. Pruning should 

 also be attended to when the moon is in that 

 fittiation, because the sap is then in such a state 

 of circulation that wounds made at the lime will 

 always heal without materially injuring the tree ; 

 but trees that are wounded between the new 

 and full moon are liable to bleed, as it were, 

 turn black, and frequently die. 1 would advise 

 farmers who wish to have flourishing and pro- 

 fitable orchards, to pay particular attention to 

 them in the month of May, annually, a day or 

 two before the new moon. I have proved by 

 experiments, for ten years in succession, that 

 an apjile tree limb or graft cut off in the month 

 of May, about three hours before the moon 

 changes, and carefully set out, will grow and 

 do well. On mentioning this circumstance at a 

 certain time to Deacon Chase, he said it made 

 him think of one Hancock, of Martha's Vine- 

 yard, who was in the habit, at that season of 

 the year, of going to his nursery and cutting 

 ofl' the small trees within about an inch of the 

 ground, and grafting the stumps, and setting out 

 the tops in other places. In one year from that 

 time the tops took root so as to be in good or- 

 der for grafting, which he was wont to cut oft', 

 graft, and set out as before. 1 inquired of the 

 deacon whether he was particular in grafting 

 with good fruit, and kept the secret to himself. 

 The deacon thought it strange he should be 

 supposed to be careless as to the kind of fruit 

 with which he grafted, and should be private 

 about it ; but I, being a Yankee, guessed he 

 meant to get his liviag by il. 



My mode of grafting is different from that 

 which is gen;*rally prnctised. I do not split the 

 stumps, but take a graft of the common size, 

 cut one side of it in the form of a wedge, as if 

 it were to be put into the stump, taking care to 

 cut the wood part considerably more thnn haH' 

 ofl, and from the other side take oil" the bark 

 only, making a square joint ; in this situation I 

 put the graft inio the stump between the wood 

 and the bark, thus giving. ;is will be perceived, 

 a free opportunity for the sap to circulate. I 

 then cover the stump with common eailli sev- 

 eral inches deep, in the form of a cone, in or- 

 der to have it shed rain, letting the top of the 

 scion extend above the cone about two thirds of 

 its length. I consider this a valuable impiove- 

 ment in the art of grafting. 



I have forgot (he time to stick limbs into the 

 ground, but I believe it is tl ree hours belore 

 the full of the moon, or three hours after ; yet 

 as I am not certain I would recommend that a 

 limb be stuck into the ground every day of the 

 moon, in order to ascertain the fact by experi- 

 ment. I have raised apples these thirteen years 

 by taking limbs Irom a grafted tree and sticking 

 them into the green sward, where they found 

 roots sufficient for growth and support. 



When you wish to procure durable timber 

 fall your trees in the longe-t days in June and 

 July, the day before the change of the moon ; 

 if you fall trees that you want should rot as 

 quick as possible, fill them in April, that being 

 decidedly the best in the year, and the first 

 quarter is better than the last quarter after the 

 change. The first day after (he change is the 

 best to cause the timber to rot quick ; after this 

 every succeeding day is less favorable to the 

 prospect of rotting, even up to the full. The 

 last day before the full it will not rot much 

 faster than the first day after the full. Timber 

 cut in the v/\nc of the moon will grow better 

 from the last day after the wane up to the full. 

 March is as good as May, and a great deal bet- 

 ter than June, for the purpose last mentioned. 

 DANIEL STAPLES. 



Livermore^ Maine. 



From the Albany Daily Advertiser. 



GOODSELL'.? FLAX AND HEMP MACHINE. 

 We the undersigned have attentively exam- 

 ined the operation of Goodsell's Flax and Hemp 

 Machine, at Greenbush, opposite to the city of 

 Albany, and are of opinion, from the simplicity 

 and solidity of its construction, and from ils 

 cheapness, and the rtipitlity with which one 

 man can perform three separate processes in 

 cleaning tlax perfectly, in less than a minute, 

 on so small a machine, not exceeding 20U lbs. 

 weight, that it will be of great public utility, 

 and will tend to promote the extended culture 

 of tlax and hemp, in a manner to become lead- 

 ing staples in the northern and western States. 

 We do therefore recommend to all farmeis to 

 cultivate largely both Hax and hemp the present 

 year, in a full belief that they may safely repose 

 confidence in the facilities they will derive by 

 the introduction of said machine into general 

 use. 6'. Fan Rensselaer, Elkttnah IFaf.soH, 

 Erasttis Root, E. C. Genet, 



Thos. H. Hamilton, Daniel James, 

 Henry fVager, Philip Hooker. 



Ate.r. O. Spencer, Aaron Clark, 

 Asa Jlclgate, Jokr. James. 



Albany, April, !823. 



