322 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



APRIt. 33, 193S. 



Mr Pickering treats the notion, that the moon has 

 an influence upon timber or vegetation as vis- 

 ionary. 



I have before said, that it is not yet well settled 

 whetlier the moon has any influence upon vegeta- 

 tion. It is, indeed, a singular fact, that this sub- 

 ject sliould remain unsettled even to the present 

 day : anil yet it is so far unsettled, tliat probalily 

 one half of our fanners who have occasion to sow 

 a field of turnips, would prefer the old of the 

 moon. I have never had any belief in the sup- 

 posed influence of the moon, and iiave generally 

 adopted the opinion, that industry and sunshine 

 will do very well without any aid from the moon. 

 I have generally ranked this opinion of the moon's 

 influence, with those sui)erstitions which would 

 give importance to the circumstance, whether the 

 moon was first seen over the right or left shoulder 

 or whether an enterprise would be successful 

 •commenced on Friday. And yet some men of 

 great science and experience are firm in the be- 

 lief of its influence. 



It would be an amusing exercise to collect the 

 various opinions and facts, both ancient and niod- 

 t-rn, upon this subject, but it would far exceed the 

 limits of this discourse. I will however remark, 

 that the ancients paid great regard to the age of 

 the moon in the felling of their timber. Their 

 rules ai)pear to have been to fell timber in the 

 wane of the moon, or four days after the new 

 moon ; some say let it be the last quarter. Pliny 

 orders it to be in the very article of the change, 

 which happening in the last of the winter solstice, 

 the timber he says, will be immortal. Columella 

 nays, from the twentietli to the twentyeiglith day. 

 Cato, four days after the full. Vegetius, from the 

 fifteenth to the twentyfifth for ship timber, but 

 never in the increase : trees then much abound 

 with moisture, the only source of putrefaction. 



Commodore Porter, we liave seen, is of the 

 opinion that tiinber should be felled in the old of 

 the moon to give it durability, and he expressly 

 says that its influence is nearly, if not quite as 

 powerful as the suu. The commissioners of the 

 French forests require such timber to be cut in 

 the old of the moon, and such has been the stand- 

 ing regulation from the year 1669. 



Mr Staples, of Turner, in the County of Oxford 

 and State of Maine, in a communication in the 

 New England Farmer, describes himself as above 

 the a^e of seventy years, and during the greater 

 part of that time has been a practical farmer. He 

 removed to this place at the age of twenty wo, when 

 the country was new, and was among tlie five first 

 Kcttlers, and has given particular attention to the 

 moon's influence on tiinber, vegetatioi], &c. lie 

 says, that it is a truth, that the moon operates upon 

 llie earth and everything wliich grows upon it, 

 much more powerfully than is generally imagined. 

 It is also true, that the effects of litr operation 

 vary regularly, as she jiasses through licr orbit or 

 monthly course. Timber cut in the wane of the 

 moon, will be much more durable than it would 

 be if cut between the new and full njoon. Her 

 operations are .so great and so difl'crent in the 

 various parts of her orbit, that by cutting one 

 three hours before the new moon, and another 

 of the same kind six horns afterward.'), and pre- 

 serving them one year, a very striking diftercuce 

 in the soundness of them will be discovered. -11' 

 I had knov^'ii, says Mr Staples, as much at the age 

 ■of twcntytwo yeari^, as I now do, relative to this 

 subject, I am satisfied it would have benefitted 



me more than a thousand dollars, ])articularly in 

 clearing hard wood land and in getting durable 

 timber for buildings of all kinds, and for sleds, 

 carts, &c. 



He says, I have found by experience that fruit 

 trees set out in the wane of the moon, and partic- 

 ularly on the last day of the last quarter, are 

 more likely to live and be flourishing, than when 

 set out at any other timo. 1 have proved by ex- 

 periments, for ten years in succession, that an ap- 

 ple tree limb or graft, cut oft' in the month of May, 

 about three hours b fore the moon changes, and 

 carefully set out, will grow and do well. 



Another writer says, that in the months of May, 

 June, and July, oak trees, iu the new of the moon 

 will readily part with the bark, when, in the old 

 of the same moon, the bark will adhere closely. 



Such are some of the o])inions and facts to sup- 

 port the affirmative of this question : but opposed 

 to these opinions may probably be found most of 

 the scientific and practical agriculturists of the 

 present day. Doctor Dean and Colonel Pickering, 

 men of great experience, practical knowledge and 

 accurate observation, consider these notions of the 

 moon's influence as visionary. There are certain 

 operations of the moon upon the earth, which are 

 obvious and admitted by all. It afl'ords us light 

 by night, it turns the earth in some degree from 

 its elliptical orbit, it occasions a small oscillation 

 in the earth's axis, it causes the ebbing and flow- 

 ing of the sea, and a like effect upon the atmos- 

 phere. But heat which is the cause of vegetation 

 has never yet been discovered in the collected 

 rays of light from the moon. Experiments, made 

 at the Royal Observatory in Paris, have proved, 

 that the light of the moon condensed by a power- 

 ful lens, had no effect whatever in altering chemi- 

 cal products, though very sensibly and easily af- 

 fected by the light of the sun. Another fact is, 

 that the most opposite weather in different parts, 

 take place at the same instant of time, and of 

 course under the same ])hases of the moon. 



It was proliably from opinions prevalent in the 

 days of Solonian of certain influences in the 

 heavens, that he was led to make the mild rebuke. 

 He that observeth the winds shall not sow, and he 

 that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. 



I now come to a topic, which, although more 

 immediately connected with the department of 

 horticulture, is still within the objects of this so- 

 ciety. I refer to the cultivation of fruit trees. 

 We are told that man, in his primeval state, as he 

 came fresh from the hands of his Creator, and, 

 arrayed in purity and innocence, was placed in a 

 garden of fruits to dress and till it. This employ- 

 ment so congenial to the purity and perfection of 

 his original character, has lost nothing of its favor- 

 able influence in leading the mind to virtue and 

 happiness. It has often been a matter of sur]irise 

 to me, that the attention of our farmers has been 

 so little directed to the cultivation of fruits, and 

 es])ecially, when we consiiler, that they are strongly 

 urged to a consideration of this subject, by every 

 motive of profit, health and pleasure. There is 

 nothing which a farmer can raise upon his farm 

 with so little trouble and so great profit as valua- 

 ble fruit trees ; and yet nothing is more rare than 

 to see a (arm house with a variety of valuable 

 fruit trees attached to it. The most that we 

 usually fiiul is ])erhaps a few old apple trees, 

 which show the nuuks of long neglect, and per- 

 haps one or two decaying pear trees, bearing hard 

 and crabbed fruit. With but a few hours' labor 



every year, a great variety of the best fruits may 

 be obtained. Our climate is exceedingly favor- 

 able for the cultivation of apples, pears, cherries 

 and plums. These are trees usually of long life. 

 The apple tree will continue in bearing fifty or 

 sixty years. But a few years since there was nn 

 apple tree in the garden of the Wylly's fandly in 

 Hartford, Coimecticut, which was set out by the 

 old Secretary, before the middle of the seventeenth 

 century. The pear tree is usually of longer life 

 than the apjde. The old Endicott jicar tree in 

 Dauvers was planted by Gov. Endicott in 1630, 

 and is more than two hundred years old. Al- 

 though much decayed it still bears fruit. The 

 cherry and plum tree often live to a great age. It 

 is therefore not one of the least considerations in 

 planting these trees, that we are rendering a valu- 

 able service to the generations which are coming 

 after us. 



As to the matter of profit, I would inquire ii 

 what manner an acre of ground, iu the ordinarj 

 course of cultivation, can be made so profitable as 

 in the cidtivation of fruits. Good fruits will c;l- 

 ways find a good and ready market. After th( 

 trees are set out the ground nuiy be cultivated foi 

 many years, with little or no injury to the crop 

 and with great benefit to the trees. The trees 

 themselves will require little other labor thai 

 pruning, and this may require one day annually 

 If the fruit be judiciously selected, it would sell 

 iu the market for more than the whole crop o 

 corn, potatoes or grain, and pay for gathering am 

 marketing. Even in the Newburyjiort market 

 good peaches will bring from three to four dollar 

 a busliel, cherries and plums from four to fivi 

 dollars, pears from one dollar fifty cents to twi 

 dollars, and ap])les one dollar a bushel. Take fo; 

 instance a premium crop of corn or any othei 

 grain, af\er deducting labor, &c. fifty dollars wouk 

 be a liberal amount for profit, and yet I canno 

 but think an acre of good fruit would yield i 

 profit of four times this amount. 



Fruit is also one of the greatest luxuries whici 

 God, iu his providence has given toman. Havi 

 you not been at the festive board loaded w.itli al 

 the dainties which wealth and taste could collec 

 from this and other climes? And have you no 

 seen that those ripened in oiu' own sunshine hav( 

 always been preferred? What foreign fruit can com 

 pare with the mellow blushing apple, the luscioul 

 pear, and the peach which fills the room with itt 

 fragrance ? And yet all these we may have wit! 

 very little labor a«d very little expense. If I an 

 told that accidents often attend the cultivation o 

 fruit, which disappoint our expectations, I wouldi 

 inquire what crop of the farmer is not liable t< 

 accident ? Frost, and drought, which ofVen injun 

 fruit, are no less injurious to tillage crops. 



Ri|)e fruit also contributes greatly to health, 

 have seldom known a family of children, accu* 

 tomed 10 the daily use of ripe fruit, who hav< 

 nmch occasion for a i)hysician. It prevents il 

 both old and young dysenteries, cholics, am 

 various other ills which flesh is heir to, and givf 

 the form of health and strength so essential t( 

 our happiness. This is a cheap medicine, fnucl 

 cheaper than that presented by a i)hysician, whicI 

 we must pay dearly for, and liis visit beside. 



Every farmer shoidd be well accjuainted wit) 

 the operations of grafting and budding. It is 81 

 art attended with no difficulty and may be lcarne( 

 in one hour. A little practice will enable an; 

 person to perform the operations with great rapid 



