380 



From the Lancaster Gazette. 



TRANSPLANTING TREES. \ 



Thougli the seasou I'or transplanting trees has i 

 elaiJsed,^your paper of last week may become a j 

 source of uijury, loss, and (lisappointment to some 

 of vour readers, when that season shall return. 

 The extract from the New York American, if not 

 very attentively read, will not correct, Init confirm 

 and strengthen the erroneous opinion, too preva- 

 lent among fanners, that when a tree is trans- 

 planted, not only its hfe, but its health and vigor 

 may be preserved, with all its top, or head, what- 

 ever loss it sustauis in its roots. Su- Henry Stuart, 

 referred to ui tlie extract, speaks of trees trans- 

 planted with all tlieir roots retained. Being a 

 gentleman of fortune, the expense (if movmg a 

 valusifele tree was not considered ; the proper ap- 

 paratus must be prepared, and the tree, with all 

 its roots, must take the station his fancy points 

 out. The roots being preserved, the lop requires 

 no diminution. 



As trees ordinarily are transplanted in this vi- 

 cinity, the price, the cost of mo\ing them, is a ]iri- 

 mary concern. A tree is taken from the forest, it 

 is brought to the destined spot, the groiuid [ire- 

 pared, and the tree is set, for one shUhng, and the 

 laborer makes high wages, and seeks employ 

 in thus transplanting trees ! What is the conse- 

 quence ? what is the labor ? Having broken the I 

 ground at the tree with his hoe, the axe is sturdi- 

 ly applied-i-every root of considerable size is cut] 

 offwithm a foot or two of the body, \viiil.- a few' 

 smaller ones are left to sustain and noiuisli the 

 whole tree. Not unfrequently, nine-tenths of the j 

 roots are left were the tree stood. Now I ask, ' 

 can the remaining tenth part furnish a current of: 

 sap, sufficiently strong and active, to spread over 

 the whole surface, which all the roots did but sap- 

 ply as nature required ? Can tliis' tenth part per- 

 form, not only its own part, but also that of the 

 other nuie ? It cannot. Let the wliJle top re- 

 main, and ill this case, there can be but feeble, 

 very feeble fohage, and probably none. The sap 

 that rises uiill be dried vp by the sun. 



Whatever tlieorists may allege to the contrary, 

 my opinion is sustiiuied by various indisputable 

 facts. The vigorous heahliy apjjle tree, from 

 which the wliole to]) is removed for the insertion 

 of grafts, frequently dies of plethora. The food 

 is |)repared and brought forward for tlie nouiish- 

 aient of all the natural branches — there are no 

 mouths to druilc or receive it. Here and there a 

 Utile scion rehslies and enjoys a very small quan- 

 tity, the remainder stagnates — the stock is drown- 

 ed, turns black, and perishes. This I have often 

 seen. Exjierience has convuiced observing men, 

 that where scions are set in a vigorous tree of 

 cousideralile size, the farmer sliotdd be three 

 years in removing the natural branches. Tliis 

 reasoning is .strictly applicable to the transplanted 

 tree. The roots which take a new station, should 

 not be taxed above their means. If half the roots 

 are cut oft", why oblige tliem to support more than 

 half their branches ? It appears to me rational to 

 let roots and branches be proportioned, in the 

 second position, ;is nature proportioned them in 

 tlie first. 



Having paid much attention to this interesting 

 subject, I am satisfied there is litl'.c danger of re- 

 moving too many branches from a tree trans- 

 planted, if dejiredation has been boldly made up- 

 on its roots. If it needs more receptacles for the 

 sap furnished, it provides tliem without labor. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



It is pecuharly gratifyuig to the observing trav- 

 eller in this vicinity, to see tiie taste, tlie enter- 

 prjze, hberality, and patriotism, which a few spir- 

 ited and benevolent individuals have displayed, in 

 lining so many of our streets and villages with 

 double ranges of rich and well chosen forest trees. 

 But little exertion is now necessary, to render 

 each of oui- pubhc roads a dehghtful promenade 

 in a very few years. When in future, the weary 

 traveller, after being scorched and broiled in an 

 open road, on a sultry sununer day, shall reaUze 

 the refreshing air of a long, smooth, and shady 

 street ; he will bless the memory of that pubUc 

 benefactor, whose liberality jirovided such a pros- 

 pect and such an innocent luxury, for public and 

 private enjoyment. 



From Loudon's Encyclopedia. 



THINNING CROPS. 



7Vje thinning of seedling crops, Marshall ob- 

 serves, " should be done iii time, before the young 

 plants have drawn one another up too much. — 

 All plants grow stronger, and ripen their juices 

 liLtter, when the air circidates freely round them, 

 and the sun is not [irevented from an immediate 

 influence : an attention to which should be paid 

 from the first ap))earance of plants breaking 

 groujid. In thinning close crops, as onions, car- 

 rots, tiiriiips, &c. be sure that they are not left 

 tqo iiLjir, for uistead of reaping a greater produce, 

 tfiere would be a less. When they stand too 

 close, they will make tall and large tops, but are 

 prevented swelling in their roots ; better to err on 

 the wide side, for though there are fewer plants, 

 they will be finer and better flavored," 



Thinning the leaves of fruit-trees. " The leaves," 

 Abeicroinbie observes, " have too essential an of- 

 fice as organs of growth tp the entire plant, to be 

 lightly parted with ; and where the climate is not 

 deficient in heat, compared with the habitat of 

 the plant, or the portion of the year in'which its 

 season for vegetating falls, their shade is more 

 likely to be serviceable than detrimental, even in 

 the last stage of fruiting. Thus, cherries, rasp- 

 berries, strawberries, ciu-rants, and other species 

 whose full term of fructification is more than com- 

 prehended in our summer, reach perfect maturity, 

 and acquire the color proper to each, though e^ er 

 so fnuch covered with leaves ; whereas for those 

 kinds which ripen with difticiilty here, because 

 the direct rays, and most intense reflection of the 

 sun, is scarcely equal to the heat in the shade dur- 

 ing the full summer of their native cUmate, — it is 

 proper, when the fruit has nearly attained its fuU 

 size, and is naturally losing its absolute greenness, 

 to remove some of the leaves which shade it too 

 much. Were the leaves thinned sooner, it would 

 prejudice the growth of the fruit ; and should 

 they even now be swept oflT unsparingly, the 

 growth of the year's shoots might be arrested. — 

 The leaves which cover the fruit, whether peach- 

 es, grapes, late pears, or other exotics, must be 

 removed gradually ; that is, at two or three times 

 in the course of five or six days ; otherwise the 

 unusual full heat of the sun darting upon the fruit, 

 would occasion the rind to crack." 



JVicol says, " My practice has been, as the fruit 

 begin to color, to pick off" every leaf that may 

 overhang them ; thus very much enhancing their 

 beauty and flavor. In late seasons, if the leaves 

 of wall-trees hang longer than usual, they may be 

 brushed oft", in order to let in the sun and an- the 

 better to ripen the wood. Tliis brushing, how- 



.(itne 20, 1828. 



ever, should be cautiously perforiiicfl, never brush- 

 ing much at a tune. The leaves should not be 

 forced off violently. Some use a common stable 

 broom for this purpose.; but a better instrument 

 is a hazel, or strong willow whhe, or a small 

 smooth cane. The shoots from which the leaves 

 are to be displaced, should be gently stroked up- 

 wards, and outward ; but never the reverse way, 

 else there is danger of Inirting the buds. Trees 

 exposed to the wind seklom require this care ; 

 but sometimes espaliers may, and if so, the same 

 course is to be pursued as above." 



Thinning stone-fruits — Thinning the over- 

 abundantly set fruit on apricot, nectarine, peach 

 and plimi trees, is a necessai7 duty ; as many of 

 these, in good seasons, set more than they can 

 nourish or bring near to perfection. This thin- 

 ning, however, must be cautiously performed, and 

 by degrees. If the trees have set their fruit very 

 thick in particular parts only, such parts should 

 be moderately thinned out now, and the other 

 parts not yet. But if the fruit be very quickly set 

 all over the tree, let it be generally thinned of? to 

 half its extent at this time ; deferring the final 

 thinnhig till the stoning be over ; that is, till the 



shells be quite hard, and the kernel be formed. 



For most trees, especially those anywise un- 

 healthy, drop many of their fruit in the time of 

 stoniijg ; so that the thinning had better be per- 

 formed at two or three different times ; always ob- 

 serving to reserve the fullest, brownest, and best- 

 forined fruit. Stone-fruits must be again looked 

 over in June, and a few more fruit thinned oft" 

 where too thick ; and the final thinning must take 

 place in July, when the stoning of stone-fruits is 

 ovei-, and jireviously to their beginning to swell 

 off'for ripening Aficol. 



IMPORTAm;E OF ROTATION OF CROPS 

 IN GARDEN GROUND. 



Garden ground in general, being successively 

 cropped with vegetables very near akin in nature 

 to each other, and from the fiequent apphcation 

 of manure, soon becomes a receptacle for worms, 

 maggots, and other vermin, which prove destruc- 

 tive to the roots of carrots, onions, cauUflowers, 

 and other tender vegetables, fiom which they are 

 always free in new soils, or ground that has never 

 been cropped before with such vegetables. The 

 garden ground at Errol has been occupied as a 

 garden for upwards of a century, and consequent- 

 ly is subject, in coinnion with other old gardens, 

 to the attacks of several species of vermin. This 

 first induced me to try to remove this evil by a 

 rotation of cropping ; and the most rational meth- 

 od that presented itself was, to follow strawberries 

 that had been four or fiw. years planted, whh 

 onions ; and artichokes that had stood the same 

 time, with carrots ; for the cater|)illars do not 

 choose to attack either the onion or carrot. This 

 plan I finuid to succeed, and I have now practis- 

 ed it with uniform success fiir nine years. 



Cauliflower and lirocoli roots may l)e presei-ved 

 from the effects of worms l>y watering the drills 

 well with soap-suds before planting, and occasion- 

 ally afterwards; this not only prevents the worm, 

 but encourages the growth of the plants, and in 

 some measure prepares the ground for other veg- 

 etables subject to the game sort of attack Cal- 

 edonian Horticultural Society. 



The Secretary of the State of Penn.sylvania has 

 issued proposals for a five [>er reist. loan of two 

 millions of dollars, for Canal and Rail Road pur- 

 poses ; the principal to be redeemable after 1852, 



