262 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Tarrh 7. 1R28. 



JVEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



BOSTON, FRIDAY, MARCH 7, 1828. 



GRAFTING FRUIT TREES. 



Grat'tini; is the taking of a, shoot from one tree 

 and iiisertinfT it into another, in such a m; nner 

 that both may unite closely and become one tree. 

 Its nses are, 1st. To preserve and multiply varie 

 ties of fruit trees, endowed with particular qual 

 ities, which cannot be with certainty transferred 

 to their oftspring by seed. 2d. Tn acceler.-ite the 

 fruclititation of trees, barren as well as fruit-bear- 

 'ing; for example, suppose two acorns of a new 

 species of oak, received from a distant country ; 

 sow both, and after they have grown one or two 

 years, cut one of them over, and graft the part 

 cut off on a common oak of 5 or 6 years' growth ; 

 the consequence will be, that the whole Douri.<5h- 

 ment of thi.s young tree of 5 or 6 years' growth 

 being directed towards nourishing the scion of 

 one or tAO years, it will grow faster, and con- 

 sequently arrive at perfection much sooner than 

 its fellow, on its own root, left in the ground. A 

 French author found the advantage of this prac- 

 tice in a case of a new species of ash, to be as 

 five to one in point of heij;ht. (Cours Complcl d' 

 .Agriculture, Sfc. art. Greffc). I'he third use of 

 grafting, is to improve the quality of fruits ; the 

 fourth, to perpetuate varieties of ornamental trees 

 or shrubs ; and the fifth, to change the sorts of 

 fruit on any one tree and renew its fruitfulness.* 



Scions. Grafts or scions, should be shoots of 

 the former year ; of healthy fruit trees, and from 

 lateral fruit bearing branches, taking but one scion 

 from the same twig. • They should be cut off from 

 the trees before their buds begin to swell — or 

 about three weeks before the season for grafting. 

 As soon as cut, they should be buried in the 



of nourishment which is adapted to its nature, and be new painted at least every seconu year. This 

 that the specific characters of the engrafted plant applies as well to the iron as wood, which should 

 remain unchanged, although its qualities may be be kept coated with paint or oil as far as practica- 

 partially affected.''* ble. 



The proper season for grafting, is thus indicat- Particular attention should be paid to your cat- 

 ed bv M'Mahon. '• Grafting is always most sue- ' t'e. especially to cows which have lately calved, 

 cessful, when done at the period that the buds of or are about to ciilve. If cows are lean when 

 your stocks are swelled, so as to be nearly ready calving, no management afterwards will bring 

 to burst into leaf: this is the time in which the them to yield, for that season, any thing like the 

 greatest success may be expected, and should be quantity of milk they would have yielded had 

 very particularly attended to ; however, if done a the> been kept in good condition during the win- 

 few days before, or even when the stocks display ter and early in the spring. The Germans in 

 several e.xpanded leaves, there may be a loler.nble Philadelphia, who supply the m.irket with milk 

 good hit, provided the operation is judiciously per- regularly feed their cows at mid-night with short 

 formed." feed during the winter. The disease called the 



Kinds of grafting. These are very numerous. 'hollov\' horn, or horn distemper, is owing to scan- 

 Loudon observes, that, "Professor Thouin has re- ty feed. Roots, such as sugar beet, mangel wurtzel, 

 fined so much on tne subject as to have produced and carrots, should be given them during winter 

 or enumerated above forty modes of grafting, be- and early in the spring, with their dry food, and 

 sides a great many kinds of bud<ling and in irch- they will serve both for food and medicine. The 

 iiig ;'' and another writer, M. Louis Noisette, has quantity of roots allowed to each cow or ox, should 

 published the description of 137 modes of graft- be varied according to circumstances, and the 

 ing. Those kinds which are most common in this quantity and quality of the dry faod consumed by 

 country are described in Thacher's Orchardist, them, and the apparent keenness of the appetite 

 M'Mahon's Gardener, &.C.; likewise in the New of the animals. Cattle, especially if fed with 

 Englan<l Farmer, Vol. II- pages -^42, 250, 258. 265, roots, should have a proper quantity of salt. Some 

 and 313 ; Vol. IV. 2t<l, and 29l>. Perhaps rteft advise to place salt under cover, and to let cattle, 

 arafling is as much used as any ; and the follow, and sheep always have access to it and eat as 

 ing as important rules as any relating to it. "Be much as their appetites crave. Dr. Cooper, editor 

 careful not to loosen the bark of the stock in split- of the Philadelphia edition of the Domestic Ency- 

 ting it ; and the safest way to guard against that, clopedia. says, "a quarter of an ounce of salt per 

 is to slit the bark with a sharp pointed knife, be- day to sheep, and one ounce per day to cows and 

 fore spliting the stock. The clay should be very oxen, is an allowance ample enough." 



fine and tough, and pressed and bound tight round] 



the stock below the split, to retain all the sap that R''hbits in England.— The. proprietors of some 

 oozes out to support the graft." 



of the sandy soils of England stock them with 

 rabbits; and these rabbit pastures are called war- 

 rens. The extent of warrens varies from 100 



SPRING A\ ORK. 



Mr. Preston, of Stockport, Pa. recommends to 3000 acres. They are enclosed in walls of 

 ground in a cellar, or out of the way of frost, half | setting posts with the top part placed in the stone or turf. The varieties employed as stock 

 their length, and their tops covered with dry lit- I ground; and intimates that they will, in that po- are the common grey, and silver grey breeds. In 

 ter; or if they are to be transported any dis- i sition, last three or four times as long as when severe weather in winter they are fed with hay, 

 tance, their cut ends should be covered with ' the butts are placed dow-n. The same judicious turnips, oats, &c. There are twenty warrens in 

 grafting clay, or wax, or stuck into a potato, and ' and experienced agriculturist advises, in making the East Riding of Yorkshire, which contain to- 

 the wliole scion may be enveloped in swamp moss, i fences always to place the rails with the heart g-ether 10,000 acres. One warren at Brandon in 

 If a small part of the former years' wood be cut | side up. The posts should be set at least Suffolk returns 40.000 labbits in a year ; 20 rab- 

 off with the scion, it will keep the better. Mr. j two feet in the ground. If those parts of the bjtg per acre is the usual produce ; the carcase 

 Pres.ton says, "be sure in selecting the grafts to posts which are to be placed in the ground are defrays the rent and taxes, and the skin is profit, 

 cut them in such a manner, as to always take the i burnt in a hot fire till quite black they would last One gentleman in Berksi'ire raises rabbits of a 

 bulge between the years' growth to shave and set [ rruich longer than they would otherwise. Some pure white, the skins of w hich sell high. Many 

 in the stock, as in that joint or bulge, the wood is [farmers cut their posts so long and mortise them of the silver grey skins are dressed as furs, and 



curled, open, and porous to receive the sap readi- 

 ly from the stock. f 



Slock.-i. The best stocks are such as have been 

 allowed much room in the nursery ; those planted 

 very close, have the wood soft ; and the grafts on 

 them,, though they shoot strong, are not fruitful. 



in such a manner, that when the lower ends have exported to China to be worn by the Mandarins, 



become rotten they can turn them upside down, (Abridged from Loudon.) — Hamp. Gaz. 



and it is said that they will last nearly as long 



again when managed in that manner. Improvement in the management of Bees.— The 



Get your agricultural implements, such as improvement, is that of h^.vmg double skeps or 



,.., ......^ _ „.„ ,, .ploughs, harrows, carls, hoes, &c. in readiness for hives, the one -m the top of the other. When the 



The nature of the fruit is to a certain extent use. These vou have doubtless kept under cover lower skep is filled with honey, it is to be remov- 

 affected by the nature of the stock." Miller says, | during the winter, and they will last longer .f e<] after the bees are admitted [through the pas- 

 "that crab slocks cause apples to be firmer, to : they are painted or covered with some suitable saffe which is made to oi,eii]-in»o the upper 

 keep longer, and to have sharper flavor ;" and ho composition. "Dr. Lewis," says the Domestic sk^P : mto "'is skep food must be put and the 

 "is equally confident, that if the breaking pears i Encyclopedia, "advises all wood that is exposed hees will remain there, and go on with their work 

 be grafted on quince stocks, the fruit is rendered i to the inclemency of the weather, to be coated m it. When it is filled vMth honey, the former 

 gritty or stony, while the melting pears are much I with a preparation of pulverized pit coal and melt- skep, with food in it, m:.y be replaced and the 

 improved by such stocks." This, according to I ed tar, reduced to the consistence of paint, which ^^^s again admitte.l into it. The full skep is 

 Neill, is scarcely to be considered as inconsistent he has found by experience to be very efficacious " then to be taken away. 1 .us change ot the skeps 

 with Lord Bacon's doctrine, "that the scion over- Covering wood rejeatedly with train oil, or other m"st always be made about mid-summer : and by 

 ruleth the graft quite, the stock being passive greasy substance will have a tendency to preserve i thus annually removing the full one, more honey 

 only;" which as a general proposition, remains it. Or if more convenient, use some cheap sort j will be collected than is ..sual, and the bees will 

 true ; it being evident that the scion, bud, or in- \ of paint, such as Spanish brown, or red ochre.— Mt be iest roy^-A.—Eng. pubhcalio^. 

 arched shoot, is endowed with the power of draw- , Where machines are necessarily exposed in the ] £,i„ig necessary for raising Peas. — It is observ- 

 ing or forming from the stock that peculiar kind j field, a great part of the season, they require to j ^j^ jj^^^j ^^^ common pea, whether white or gray, 



' Ed, Encvc. art. Hort. 'cannot be reared to perfection in any field which 



" Encyc. of Gardening 



t N, E. Farmer, Vol. i, page 121. 



