a— No. 15 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



115 



To Silas Diidloy ofSntlon, for his yoljc of oycara 

 old oxen the fil'th preniiiini of 8 



All which is rospeotfnlly submitted. 

 By Older of tlie Committee, 



E. PHINNEY, Chairman, 

 tirighlon, Oct. 17. 1^97. 



rUEMIUM FOR FOREST TREES. 



The Trustees of the Mnssnchnsetts Society for 

 l)romotinir Agriculture liMVe offered a premium for 

 raising white oak trees expressed in (lie following 

 terms : for the best plantation of White Oak Trees, 

 not less than one thousand trer.<i per acre, to he 

 ifu.verf from the acorn, and which trees shall be in 

 the most Uiriving stale on the 1st of September, 

 1827." 



I apprehend, that the pnrport of this premium 

 has been misunderstood. Two npplications (it is 

 said) have been made for it this year — one from 

 Salem for trees, which have only had the growth 

 of the present year, and another from Princeton 

 for 3500 trees on one acre and twenty-two rods, 

 which are certified to be from two inches to 5 inch- 

 es in height. 



Surely no person could reasonably conceive, that 

 seedlings of this size were "Trees" in the common 

 acceptation nf the term — They are technically cal- 

 led seedlings — In using the term "plantations of 

 trees," the Trustpes intended trees planted out 

 from a nursery of the size, at which trees are usu- 

 ally planted — say from six to ei?ht feet high — or 

 if sown on the ground, in which they were to stand, 

 that they should have attained that height. It 

 would be a great waste of the money given by the 

 State for this purpose, if the Trustees should i 

 award a premium of 1(10 dollars equal to the aver- 

 age value, through the State, of four acres of land, 

 for one year's growth of oik seedlings, which it 

 would be for the interest of the raiser to plough 

 in and make another applicotion the succeeding 

 year. This hint may explain to future applicants 

 the nature of the Premium, and show them that 

 they can have no hope of success, until their plan 

 tations shall have arrived tt a si-.e to entitle them 

 to the appellation of trees, and to secure to the 

 State their future growth as such. 



It will be recollected, that when this premium 

 was first offered in 1820, (Are? years were allowed 

 for claiuiiug the preuiiiira, indicating the opinion 

 ef the trustees, that no judgment could be formed 

 in a less period. ^ FARMER. 



On the importance of Liquid Manure in Horticul- 

 ture, and the peculiar advantages of Soot as an 

 Ingredient for that purpose. 

 By Mr John Robertson, F. H. S. Nurseryman, 

 Kilkenny. 



Amongst the many advantages which horticul- 

 ture has derived from Mr Knight's enlightened 

 application of science to its practice, we may reck- 

 on as not the least important, his earnest and re- 

 psated recommendation of liquid manures. In gen- 

 eral liquid manures have not had that importance 

 attached to them by gardeners which they merit. 

 They may at all times be resorted to with advan- 

 taj,'e; but in a number of instances, and particu- 

 larly where immediate effect is required, no other 

 manure can be so well applied. To enumerate 

 their uses and pre[i;iration, however, would demand 

 more cuusideratioii tiiau I ain,able to bestow; — my 

 present object being solely to point out a material 



for the purpose, which I have long availed myself 

 of with success, though it seems to be ovcilooked 

 by most gardeners — it is soot. 



Sir II. Davy characterizes soot as "a powerful 

 manure, possessing ammoniacal salt, empyreuma- 

 lic oil, and charcoal which is capable of hein? ren- 

 dered soluble by the action of oxygen, ur pure vi- 

 tal air ;" all which compenent parts rank high as 

 nutricions or stimulous manures. On meadows I 

 have used soot with groat advantage in substance, 

 nnd though sown by the liand, one dressing gave 

 me always heavy crops of hay for two successive 

 seasons; hut this is a wasteful mode of applying 

 it. a great proportion of its ammonia, one of its 

 most active ingredients, beinj volatilized and dis- 

 sipated in the atmosphere. When dissolved in wa- 

 ter, there is no waste : it is all available, and for 

 horticultural purposes I have mostly used it in that 

 state, mixing it up in the proportion of about six 

 quarts of soot to a hogshead of water. Asparagus, 

 peas, and a variety of other vegetables, I have ma- 

 nured it with as much effect as if I had used solid 

 dung ; but to plants in pots, particularly pines, I 

 have found it admirably well adapted ; when wa- 

 tered with it, they assume a deep healthy green, 

 and grow strong and luxuriant I generally use 

 it and clean water alternately, and always over- 

 head in summer, hut except for the purpose of 

 cleansing, it might be used constantly with ad- 

 vantage; and though I cannot speak from my own 

 experience, never having had either scale or bug 

 on my pines, yet I think it highly pr»hahle, as the 

 ammonia it contains is known to be destructive to 

 these insects in a state of gas or vapour, that in 

 a liquid state, if it does not totally destroy them, 

 yet that it will in a great degree check their pro- 

 gress. 



Other materials for liquid manures are often dif- 

 ficult to procure, and tedious in their preparation; 

 but soot, sufficient for the gardener's purposes, is 

 almost every where at hand, and in a few mi- 

 nutes prepared. 



Were gardeners more generallly aware that no 

 manures can be taken up in a state of solidity by 

 plants as food, and that they can only be absorbed 

 by them in a gaseous or liquid state, to which all 

 the solid manures applied must be previously re- 

 duced, before any benefit can be derived from them, 

 they would in many cases facilitate the process by 

 using them in a liquid state. In houses where the 

 rain has not access, it appears to me superior to 

 any other mode of administering manure to trees. 



Kilkenny, Aug. 4, 1826. [Lou. Mag. 



We insert the following statement. It would 

 be dilBcult to contradict it perhaps in any part. — 

 We submit it as an ingenious conjecture, and shall 

 be happy to correct any supposed errors that may 

 be suggested in it. It met our eye in some pub- 

 lication from which we extracted it. 



An etymologist has lately published the follow- 

 ing analysis of the English language. "Its voca- 

 bulary," he says, "is composed of t5,G91 words of 

 Latin origin — 4,361 of French — 2,068 of Saxon — 

 1,283 of Greek— 660 of Dutch— 229 of Italian— 

 117 of German — 83 of Spanish — 11 of Gaelic — 

 81 of Danish — and 18 of Arabic ; besides many 

 other ot ancient Teutonic, Hebrew, Swedish, Por- 

 tuguese, Flemish, Russian, Egyptian, Persian, 

 Cambrian, and Chinese. 



Gardiner Lyceum We are gratified to learn, 



that Mr. John H. Lothrop, has been appointed 



Principal of the Gardiner Lyceum, and will short- 

 ly enter upon the duties of his office. Mr. Loth- 

 rop has been for several years tutor at Yule Col- 

 lege, a situnliun which he filled with ability and 

 with siitisfarlion both to the trustees of the insti- 

 lotion and to the scholars that were under his 

 charge. We are happy to sny that the Lyceum 

 was never in bettor order. The scholars are re- 

 markably correct in their deportment, and atten- 

 tive to their studies Gardiner Intel. 



PEAKS. 



Albai.j Nursery, Oct. 13lh, 1827. 



Mr. Skinnkr, — The imf 'ovement of this 'X- 

 jcellent tabic fruit has for many years been psose- 

 ciited with 7eal, in Flanders. Genl'^men of for- 

 tun<', :imateur8, and nurserymen, have vied with 

 each other in producing superior varieties ; and 

 every year brings us acquainted with the names 

 of new kinds possessing uncommon merit. The 

 Flemish gardeners are now enabled to furnish a 

 succession of pears for the table, during the whole 

 year, surpassing in excellence most of the old 

 varieties. 



Dr. Van Mons, professor of agriculture in the 

 University of Louvain, has taken the lead in this 

 branch of horticultural improvement. Some idea 

 of the extent of his labors may be formed, from 

 his manner of improvement, and the extent to 

 which it h'ls been carried. His method, is, to se- 

 lect seedlings of promising appearance, bearing 

 analogy in wood, foliage, &c. to some good known 

 variety, and when they fruit, to select seeds of 

 the best, phnt them, cull the best plants, and 

 when these bear fruit, to select the best for plant- 

 ing again ; and so continue to the fifth and sixth 

 generation, culling the best plants and best seeds 

 for propagation. In this way he has produced an 

 infinite number of fine varieties. It is stated, that 

 in these opprations, which have been continued 

 nearlv forty years, he has raised eighty thousand 

 seedling pears. When we consider that the same 

 have been employed by him to procure new and 

 valuable varieties of the apple, peach, apricot, and 

 other fruits, we cannot but admire the industry 

 and patience which have distinguished his labors, 

 nor avoid the expression of our gratitude for the 

 benefits which he has conferred on society. 



Dr. Van Mons' labors have had the further ben- 

 eficial effect of stimulating others to imitate his 

 example ; and we find among the propagators ol 

 choice new varieties, the names of the Duke d' 

 Aremher?, of Brussels ; Count Caloma, Chevalier 

 Neilis. and M. Stoffles, of Malines, &c. The hor 

 ticultural periodical publications of Great Britain 

 and France, canvass the relative merits of these 

 new pears, and furnish lists of the choicest varie- 

 ties, drawn up by amateurs and experienced nur- 

 serymen. T find them all, with partial exceptions, 

 enumerated in the collection in the London horti- 

 cultural garden, from which I have received and 

 propagated about thirty kinds, and taken measures 

 to obtain the other most esteemed varieties in the 

 spring. J. BUEL. 



**The experiments of Professor Von Mons at^brd a hint of in 

 aluable importance to the garfiener and farmer; that if seed i^ 

 selected only from the best plants, a progressive improvement 

 may be depended on. This truth was amply demonstrated by 

 the late Mr Cooper, of New-Jersey . It furnishes another sinking 

 analofry between tlie veeetable and animal kingdoms. Bake- 

 well and other dlslin^ished breeders, surceedea in Iheir great 

 improvement of live stock, by breeding only from the best indi- 

 viduals. Loudon pays you a great compliment in calling youi- 

 Farmer the best agricultural paper published in any country 

 and I believe a just one ; but lou^ht not to say this^ as you have 

 been in Albany twice without calling on me.--Am. Farm. 



