291 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



niARcii as, IS35. 



I^SgW ^S-/^l£>ASra> 22'ASiS2Jliaa 



IJOSTON, \VED.\ESDAY EVENING, MARCH 23, 18Sa. 



'■ O.v Sto( K FOR THE Daiuy, BY 11. C — AVe liavp, in 

 l!ic present [inper, re-publislied from tlie iN'. Y. Farmer 

 an cxcellont article, headed as al)ove. To this we invite 

 tlie attention, not only of every one who is a fanner by 

 vocation, but of every individual who considers himself 

 PS having a i;o!K'ern in tiie i)rcsi)erity of his country, 

 and the welfare til" mankind ; wliicli are intimatel}' con- 

 nected with tlie advancement of that art, which fur- 

 nishes the materials fur all that stamps value on sublu- 

 nary existence. 



It is well for tlie interests of Agriculture, that the 

 author of the article alluded to, is possessed of every 

 requisite advantage for prosecuting his pursuits as a 

 cultivator, and of benefitting mankind with clear and 

 accurate statenients of the results, not only of his in* 

 tjniiies, but also oClus experiments. All the avenues of 

 information nre open to H. C. He is apriietkal as well 

 as a scientific farmer, and his zeal for improvemcnl in 

 every branch of ruial economy is as enlightened as it is 

 ardent and unremitting. It is a happy circumstance 

 tliat H. C. is not in the predicament of the unknown 

 worthies, celebrated by the poet, who would have been 

 eminent, 



" But Knowledge to their eyes her ample page 

 Rich with the spoils of time, did ne'er unroll ; 



Chill Prnuri/ repressed their noble rage. 

 And froze the genial current of the soul." 



We leain that H. C. possesses a large agricullural 

 library, a fine farm, and every other advantage for con- 

 stituting as well a practical and experimental as a 

 scientific cultivator. These, together with the ability 

 and disposition to avail himself of such means, cannot 

 tail to render him highly distinguished as an agricultu- 

 rist, whose eminence has utility for its basis ; the most 

 desirable, if not the only foundation for distinction, 

 which can be wislied for by a real philanthropist. 

 There are seven! other well written and useful articles 

 in the last number of tlie N. Y. Farmer, from the same 

 pen, which we shall from time to time lay before our 

 readers. 



Different sorts of Walsuts. — A correspondent, 

 whom wc are solicitous to oblige, wishes " to learn if 

 there is any certain rule by which the true Shell Bark 

 or Hickory nut tree, while young, can be distinguished 

 from the I'ig or Bilter Walnut tree. The occasion is, I 

 have about fourteen acres of young growth of the wal- 

 nut tree kind, and wish to transplant the Shell Bark 

 kind for fruit, and do not know them apart in tlie grove " 

 He wisliis. therefore, for " the rule to distinguisli the 

 two kinds of trees, when young, if any rule exists." 



Authors differ very widely in tlieir descriptions of 

 this genus of trees. Loudon, in his Kncyclopedia of 

 ' Gardening, treats of but one kind— the English Walnut, 

 of which he mentions several varieties. The Farmers' 

 Assistant asserts, that •' there are but four species of 

 tliis tree in this country, which are indigenous. The 

 enumeration of these, by M. do Witt, which is believed 

 to be the only correct one, is as follows: Tlie bl.ick 

 wilnul (Jiigliins nigra), thKbaHetnul(Jug!(wseincrca). 

 the Illinois nut ('/«i,''/aftSo//»(i'/urm/,s-J, of eachof v.'hicli 

 there are no varieties, an<l tlie hickory nut (Jui'liiiis 

 «.///rtJ, of which there are several varieties, ^ch as the 

 liliag bark, the smooth bark, iVc. The nuls of the three 

 Jirst mentioned, and of the shag bark, are good ; some 

 of the varieties of the smooth bark are tolerable, and 

 tome are bitter." 



Michaux's Treatise on the Forest Trees of North 

 America enumerates many more varieties of the walnut, 

 with descriptions too long for our insertion ; and such, 

 we apprehend, as would not enable our correspondent 

 to distinguish the diiTcrent variet.es in young trees ol' 

 tliat genus. Sweet's Ilyrtus Britlanicus very much 

 enlarges the list, and gives us five varieties of the wal- 

 nut tree, and twelve varieties of the hickory nut. i'ut 

 his descriptions, we fear, would furnish our friend with 

 but little information, which could enable him to select 

 such young walnut trees as would prove most pro]ier 

 and profitable for transplanting. Still, we will quote 

 his distinctive terms, as given in Knglish, which will 

 seiveas a sample of the infinite diversity, as well as 

 utility, of Nature's productions. 



Under the head Walnut Tree, we have the common, 

 double fruited, black, shell bark, cathartic [butternut], 

 ash-leaved, and wing-fruited. Then under the head 

 Hickory nut are given. Pecan nut, narrow leaved, shell 

 bark, shag bark, mocker nut, large-fruited, pubescent, 

 small-fruited, bitter nut, pig nut, smooth-leaved, water, 

 and entire-leaved. Thus, in.stead of Mr de Witt's four 

 species of the walnut, \ie have Mr Sweet's seventeen 

 varieties of the Juglans or walnut genus. We have, 

 however, never seen half as many varieties ; but always 

 have supposed that the fruit and timber of that which had 

 a rough or shaggy bark was the most valuable for culti- 

 vatK n, and that the roughness of the bark presented a suf- 

 ficient criterion for distinguishingbetween those sorts that 

 are, and are not, to be recommended for cultivation. 



O.N THE Culture of Indian Cous. — Mr Chandler's 

 article on this subject, given in this day's paper, is a 

 valuable present to the agricultural community. His 

 directions are founded on actual and often repeated 

 experiments, and of course may be relied on ; and 

 sIiDuld be rules of practice by every farmer who wishes 

 to make the most of his land and his labor. 



[Fortllu New EniiliHid t'arint-r.] 



Mr Fessenden — If you lliink llie following slati;- 

 inent of facts will cnrii:li your weekly paper, and place 

 in every farmer's reach an additional luxury, I shall look 

 for il in your next number. 



In consequence of a suggestion dropped in my hear- 

 ing by an ehlerly farmer's wife, I took a quantity of 

 string beans from the poles, last siimini'r, (the Agricultu- 

 ral,) prepared them entirely for the pot, spread them on 

 a large table-leaf in the sun, and dried them precisely as 

 apples are dried. When perficlly divested of moisture, 

 tliey rattled like nut-shells, and excited no small degree 

 of ridicule. I bore it quite pliilosopliically, and laid 

 the supposed treasure aside for winier. In February, I 

 ordered a handful put into water at night, to be kept 

 warm till the ni:xt day, dropping into them a little pearl 

 ash. The next daf 1 lound them ^rfcn and swollen al- 

 most to their size on the pole. They were boiled tlirec! 

 hours, and tasted almost as if taken fresh from the gar- 

 den. 1 had so pleasant a dish of iliem today, that I 

 wished it possible for you, sir, to have shared the luxury 

 with inc. 



I'ermit me to say, aeamin would find thrni no less, 

 and ! believe more valuable on long voyages, than dried 

 apph.'S, and llin process of drying is the same. 



LcncasUr, March 12, 1835. Sekex. 



SiiiNr.LK Maciiise. — Charles Stearns, Esq. ofSpring- 

 field, M.ass. has a shingle machine which, willi one 

 horse, will cut and shave sixttj in a minute. Mr S. has 

 obtained a patent right for making and .vending the 

 same. 



BiiCKiHORN Heiioes. — lu OUT advertising columns 

 may be seen a notice that the plants of the Buckthorn, 

 grown by E. H. Derby, Esq. may be t^d by application 

 to the publitiier of the ^ew England Farmer. We are 

 glud to perceive this, as it is well known that the Buck- 

 thorn is, in every particular, as a material for hedges, 

 superior to any shrub or tree which has ever been need 

 for this purpose. 



MASS. HORTICULTURAI, SOCIETY. 



Patiird.iy, Marcli 14. 



Bouquet from Thomas Mason, Charlestown Vineyard; 

 Camellia myrtifolia, do. atrorubens, do. Midleinist's red, 

 Illicium floridanum, Vcnello Tea Rose, Blush do. do. 

 Undulate Rose, Sanguinea do. Azalea phcenicia, do. 

 indica albo, do. do. purpurea. Iris sinensia. Cineraria 

 elegans. Pelargonium Miss Maitland, do. graveolens, 

 Correa alba, Polyanthus of sorts, Cyclemon persicum. 



Bouquet, from Mr Sweetser, Cambridge Port : Phlo- 

 mis fruticosa, Peonia moutan. Cyclamen persicUm, Iris 

 sinensis, IXubus rosafolius, Iberis purpurea, Enpatorium 

 speciosum, Alonsii speciosa. Viburnum tinus. Cineraria 

 elegans. Verbena aubletia, varieties of Palargoniuras 

 and Hyacinth. 



From Eben. Putnam of Salem, a fine specimen of the 



new yellow Noisette Rose. 



IVIarth 21. 



From Messrs Winship,Lady Bank's white evergreen 



rnultiflorii rose, new, superb, and thornless ; a climber. 



Double Yellow Banksian, or yellow evergreen multiflo- 



ra Rose, a climber ; from a friend's conservatory. 



By order of the Committee. 



JOiNA. WINSHIP, Chairman. 



ITEMS. 



Great 0.\en. — Col. Timothy Cowlesof Farmington, 

 Ct. sold recently in New York, a yoke of oxen that 

 weigiied on the hoof 5490 pounds, at about ^10 per cwt. 

 — IVoitJicld Journal. 



Weather in Georgia. — The Southern Spy, a newsr 

 paper printed in Washington, Wilkes county, Georgia, 

 dated March lOtli. observes that "The farmers of the 

 country will be greatly retarded in their agricultural 

 opiralions: il has heretofore been the cnstum to com- 

 inenc e liic planting of corn by this lime of the year,, 

 but in all probability several days will yet elapse, ere! 

 the ground becomes in a condition to receive it. The 

 crops of wheat and oats, &c. we think will be verjr 

 short. 



Geomicv. — A paragraph in the French journals, 

 tlioiigli not siifiieiently explicit to admit of our full un- 

 derstaniling of tlie case, appe ira to describe a matter of 

 considerable gcograjihical interest — namely, the discov- 

 ery in a sand pit, near Chateaudiin, of a petriliiction re- 

 sembling the top of a palmtree, about S^ feet in length, 

 and 1^ in girth at the base, v. Innce itgr;idu;il!y tapers to 

 the other pwi — altogetlier resembling a club. The wood 

 is almost as sonorous as bell-metal ; and iA the same pit 

 are found petrified hones of animals, and shells, belong- 

 ing, it is said, both to liver and sea formations. 



Walking upon Water. — " Le Volenr" quotesa par- 

 agraph from a German paper, which states that a 

 Swedish fisherman has made several experiments with 

 complete success, of walking upon the water, which he 

 does with as much ease as upon land, by means of slight 

 thin shoes. These shoes are made in tlie shajie of a 

 small canoe, and are attached together, so that they can 

 only be separated so fir as to ensure the power of walk- 

 ing with ease. 



A Western Editor says of a contempcrary, that he 

 '■ drinks so much beer, that he turns sour every time it 

 thunders." 



