28 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



AtTGTJST 6, 1834. 



From the Maine Farmer. 

 APPIiE TREES BEARING AliTERNATE 

 \E.VRS. 



Those wlio liave liail iiiiy thing to do will) or- 

 chanls, or wlio liave paid any attenlion to applt; 

 troes, know very well tliat some trees will not bear 

 ii full crop every year. The cause of this is proh- 

 ahly owing to tlje exhanstion ot' the trees during 

 the bearing years. In those years the tree hangs 

 very full indeed — all its powers are i)nt forth to 

 brio!; forth and ripen such a heavy crop ; and this 

 expense of sap or other matter, so exhausts the sys- 

 tem that it requires a year of rest to hring up its 

 energies. This may or may not he the true cause, 

 at any rate the fact is well known ; and many who 

 have good varieties of apples, have regretted that 

 they could not change this state of things in re- 

 gard to particular trees, and have a crop every 

 year. Mr. D. Longfellow, of Winthrop, well 

 known as a successful orchardist, informs us that 

 he has succeeded in changing this hahit in a vari- 

 ety of juneatings which he had in his orchard, 

 and which hore alternately. His manner of doing 

 it is tliis : 



Having olher trees which also hore alternately, 

 luit not in ihe same years with the Juneatings, he 

 conceived that engrafting the two together, the hahil 

 of one would counteract that of the other, and a 

 " nullification" of them he produced. According- 

 ly, on a hearing year of the juneatings, he took sci- 

 ons from them, and engrafted them into stocks 

 which would that year be barren. The result in 

 the cases which he has tried, justifies the conclu- 

 sion which he had drawn, and he has juneatings 

 every year. 



Whether it is necessary that the scion to be en- 

 grafted should he taken from its jiarent on the 

 fruitful year or not, we cannot say, or whether 

 this system will he attended with a similar result 

 in all trees which hear in this way, or have barren 

 ami fruiifid years, we are not able to say. It is 

 however, a subject worth attending to : and we 

 should he happy to learn any facts from those 

 who have had experience in these things. 



From the Maine. Farmer. 

 HEATH APPLE. 



Mn. Paine Wingati;, ofHallowell, presented us 

 with an apple of this kind on the 3d ult. which 

 was as fair, sound and pleasant, as if just taken 

 from the tree. This apple is of a large size ami 

 lias a pleasant, sweet flavor, and i\Ir. Wingate 

 says is superior as a baking ap[>le, and for making 

 apple sauce, or jelly. Ho also considers it a val- 

 uable variety to cultivate for hogs, not only be- 

 cause the tree is a good bearer, and swine like tlie 

 tiftte of them, Init because tliey will also keep so 

 long and so well. The fruit originated in New 

 Hainpshire. We have not a. great many kinds of 

 sweet apples which will keep so late, and tlii'se on 

 that account arc a valnahle variety. IMr. AVingate 

 will furnish grafts or buds, for setting or iunocu- 

 lating, to any who ap])ly. 



From Lite O'enesec Farmer. 

 IIIUIIW.VVS. 

 As far as I have observed, it is a melancholy 

 fact that the more candess and negligent the path- 

 master, the better is the condition of the roads in 

 Ills district, ])rovidcd there are no miry jjlaces, 

 nor bridges, nor culverts out of repair. I may be 

 asked, how can this be ? and I am ready to an- 

 swer, because the labor as it is commonly applied 

 in deep rich soils does more harm than good. I 



have just returned from an excursion ol several 

 miles, and wherever the roads have been totally 

 neglected (always excepting bridges, &c.) they 

 are in better condition by far, and will continue so 

 through the season. In wet weather the ruts are 

 neither so deep, nor so wide ; and in dry weather 

 there are fewer loose stones in the way. The 

 reason of this must be plain to any man who will 

 take the trouble to observe. Sods, and nmck, 

 and stones are now piled up in the beaten track ; 

 and so little is the kind of stuff regarded, that I 

 have seen chip dirt from the wood-pile, and even 

 manure frcnu the stable all he.nped promiscuous- 

 ly together ! In some places these hetero^'enous 

 materials have been levelled, and smoothened over 

 with the harrow, hut in many districts they are 

 left as rough as the waves. Tliis is called mend- 

 ing the roads I 



Some say that the road taxes are not high 

 enough ; and last year in this town our burdens 

 were increased fifty per cent. To what purpose 'f 

 That more sods, and muck, and stones might be 

 scraped into the road. Not a drag was ap[ilied 

 within the limits of my knowledge, and in most 

 of the districts I saw no appearance of any stones 

 having been thrown out. If one half of the tax 

 now assessed was properly applied, our roads 

 would be in fine condition. Our present taxes 

 are too jiigh by half, because it enables our path- 

 masters to do more (unintentional) iriischief. In 

 one district where a heavy tax has just been work- 

 ed out, it would be a great improvement if all the 

 stuff that has been carried into the road with so 

 much labor was thrown back again. The road 

 has been permanently damaged by their work. 



Although I am much disposed to complain un- 

 der the present system, I would most cheerfidly 

 consent to have our taxes doubled, if they could 

 be ap])lied in the right manner. For instance: 

 Where old " crossways" still remain we may be 

 sure that the ground was oi iginally miry ; and 

 the best thing to be done is, to remove not only 

 the logs, but the old muck that lies under them, 

 clearing it off down to the solid carlh. When this 

 shall be done, then fill up the place with gravelly 

 earth, and the difficulty is overcome. Let us 

 make the road good as iiir as we go, and it may 

 not want repairing in twenty years. Viatob. 



rnent or colony, yielding homy without the bees 

 being butchered or stifled, ad infinitum, or until it 

 should be a source of very considerable profit. A 

 loft ill a garret, or any out building partitioned off 

 and prepared, might save building. I would be- 

 gin by depositing a common hive or two in some 

 cool morning in the spring, inverted. 



1 do hope some of your corresponrlents will give 

 me their ideas on this hint, as to its utility or oth- 

 erwise. As the door may be kept locked, it would 

 be pretty sure to keep off thieves. 1 should like 

 jMr. Editor, to hear from you on tliis subject; be- 

 cause 1 am indebted to you for a hint in your first 

 volume, of somethiug similar respecting bees, 

 though not to much exteiit. Sweet. 



Fro7n the Maine Farmer. 

 BEES. 



I PROPOSE in answer to your correspondent who 

 signs A. r>. in the 2 Uh uumlier of your 2d vol- 

 ume on the subject of bees, to suggest a plan res- 

 pecting bees, to prevent their swarming, and still 

 have tlicin multiply as fast or liister than they do 

 by the practice of allowing them to swarm. I 

 would build a tight double boarded house, say 8 

 or 10 feet square, with a door for the proprietor 

 to go in at, with a narrow walk for him to 

 move in ; which building 1 would fill on the sides 

 in all parts except the door way, with shelves or 

 boxes, or both, with jiroper holes through them in 

 projier places for the bees to [lass and repass. 

 And when they had more honey than enough for 

 their use, I would enter the door, walk up the 

 aisle, and take away a box or some of the honey, 

 from any jiart I pleased, as bees are said not to 

 swarm until they fill the place where they are de- 

 posited. JJeing rather Ibnd of honey, I would so 

 share it with them that they should never get full 

 and of course never have the trouble of swarming. 

 Thus I see not why I might not have anestablish- 



PROPER TIME FOR CDTTIKG GRAIN. 



Wk hud an interesting article upon this subject 

 in the Farmer's Register, which details the result 

 of the writer's observation and practice for twelve 

 or fourteen years, on an extensive farm. The 

 length of the coniniunieation and our restricted 

 limits, necessarily limit us to a brief notice of this 

 commimicution. The writer admits, that if we 

 should be sure of good weather, it would be best 

 to omit reaping till both grain and straw are ripe ; 

 but as this cannot be the case, and as the crop 

 suftiiis and loses greatly if not cut and secured as 

 soon as it is ripe, he is sure that a great .saving 

 will be found in reaping wheat as early as the state 

 of the grain will jiermit. He considers that 

 " wheat is fit f'or the scythe when the grain is in 

 the DOUGH STATE — no matter how soft provided it 

 is clear of milk, or when no fluid conies out sep- 

 parate from the dough, when the grain is mashed 

 between the fingers. But no one square yard of 

 wheat can be found, in which all the heads have 

 reached this stale at one lime: and therefore, 

 when not more than one tenth part of the grain 

 contains milk, I ihink it safe to begin to reap." 

 "My green rea])ing when first commenced (in 

 1S21) was fully ni.ne days earlier than was usual, 

 and it was pronounced then that I was destroying 

 my crop by reaping it so green. My practice is 

 sliil condemned by many, who, however, have 

 gradually and perhaps unconsciously, advanced 

 the commencement of their harvest, until they are 

 not more than two or three days behind mine." 

 The saving made in one season by early reaping, 

 when d long spell of rainy weather followed, which 

 destroyed more than one-half of his neighbors' 

 crops, was enough to |)ay for all the loss incurred 

 by that plan in twenty years. The writer does 

 not believe that any thing is lost either in weight 

 or bulk of grain cut in Ihe dough state ; and as to 

 the ipiality of the grain liir making flour, he be- 

 lieves it generally conceded, that the wheat reap- 

 ed green is best. 



The truth of the foregoing remarks is corrobo- 

 rated by ih;; opinions and jiractice of many of our 

 best farmers. These observations apply equally 

 to other small grain, particularly to rye. The 

 great objection to the practice is, that the grain is 

 not fit to be bound, as it should be to prevent 

 waste and save it from rain soon after it is cut. 

 This objection is obviated by making small sheaves, 

 and putting them in " stooks" of about six sheaves 

 each, by setting the stubble end of the sheaves, far 

 enough apart to give sufliciont base, and letting the 

 heads of all lean together so as to form a point. 

 These throw oft' a light rain, and will dry as they 

 stand if made wet by heavy rain. When dry 

 they may he put into shocks. — JV. York Cultivator. 



