aoC) 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



APRII. 5, lg^7. 



tiiral Socioty in it, town ami country. But the 

 answers received were few and imperfect, coni- 

 parorl with wliat was desired anil oxiierted. 



"There can l>e no dotdn that tlie agriculture of 

 Massachusetts is very far from being as improved 

 br productive as it may be rendered. Nothing 

 will tend so directly and ett'ectually to its improve- 

 ment, !S intelligence and zeal among the farmers; 

 to which it is believed, such a survey as is pro- 

 ])Oscd, if properly executed, w6uld more certainly 

 conduce than any other measure which has ever 

 bi'en undertaken in the commonwen!!!). 



The publication of such survey, would no doubt 

 much more than pay for itself, should the Slate 

 not choose to publish it on its own account. It is 

 hoped that the Lcsislatu/e will in its wisdom, pro- 

 vide for the survey. The expense will he trifling; 

 the advantages to be expected tVom it will ho im- 

 portant and permanent. 



'J'he Resolve providing for a new and thorough 

 Geological Survey, has passed the House hy a 

 large majority. 



[From the A'ankee Farmer.] 

 TREES. 

 The time is fast approaching, when the people 

 of this country will devote more attention to the 

 culture and transplanting trees ; upon few sub- 

 jects have they now less int'ormation. In trans- 

 planting fruit and other trees, the common prac- 

 tice is to violently pry up or pull up the young 

 trees, breaking off or cutting oft' the main roots, 

 and most if not all the small fibres extending from 

 the ends of the roots, the jiruning-knife is so thor- 

 oughly applied to the branches, as often to leave 

 the main stock almo.«t entirely denuded. 'Ihe 

 stock with a few remaining roots, is then often 

 get in chip, door-yard or barn-yard manure, so 

 that small cavities remain around the roots. By 

 the exertions of nature, a yomig tree, after a year 

 or two, may push forth new roots and branches, 

 and after being stinted in early growth, sometimes 

 live. That all this process is tuinatural and wrong 

 will appear cviilent to those who will reflect upon 

 the subject. Like others equally ignorant, we 

 formerly atlopted the sa'me erroneous practice. — 

 But to show its errors, let us attend to certain 

 facts. All the nutriment which the tree derives 

 from the soil, is, in the first instance, received 

 through the medium of the fibres, many being so 

 small as not to be perceptible to the t^ye, and 

 thence conveyed to the main roots ; thence to the 

 stock, thence into the leaves of the tree, where 

 the sap is elaborated, and finally converted into 

 wood, except that parr, which, in fruit-hearing 

 trees, is converted into the frnil. If then, the fi- 

 bres are all destroyed, how can the tree grow ? — 

 We answer, it never can, uidess a new set of fi- 

 bres shoot forth from the roots, 



The circulation of the sap is as necessary to the 

 tree, as the circulation of the blood is to the hu- 

 man body. And the leaves have an oflice some- 

 what similar to that of the human Itings. The 

 amputation of the liujhs, therefore, stops the cir- 

 culation of the sap, and its preparation by a pe- 

 culiar process, which we canuot explain without 

 resorting to chemical terms. A tree derives an 

 essential part of its ntilriment from the atmos- 

 phere. This is susceptible of the clearest demon- 

 stration. 



For the sake of brevity, we will not justify 

 these positions by offering fuither reasons. But 



we will lay down the following positions as cor- 

 rect. 



[n transplanting young trees, in the Fall or 

 Spring, all the roots with their fibres, so far as 

 practicable, should be taken up with great care, 

 anil set in a large deep .space in rich earth or 

 motdd, and fully pressed down compact or hard 

 round the routs. No manure. should be applied, 

 exce|)t on or near the surface, as it tends to make 

 cavities and to prevent the natural uutriment en- 

 tering the fibres, or often to render the roots too 

 dry. The tree should be placed in a firm posi- 

 tion, so as not to be turned one side by the winds. 

 The tap-root, which has no other use in penetra- 

 ting downwards into dead earth, serves as a stake 

 or main support, and shouid not be cut oft". Should 

 it be cut oft", a new tap-root for support, will gen- 

 erally grow out in a course of years. 



In respect to fruit trees, it may be judicious to 

 prune in transplanting, so far as to give them a 

 gooil form or symetrieal proportion, and uo fur- 

 ther, except where by carelessness, much of the 

 root has been broken off. In the latter case, there 

 should be some proportion between the roots and 

 the branches, always leaving on enough of the 

 latter to support the eirculalion of the saji. Young 

 trees tnuch mutilated at top or bottom, should they 

 survive at all, remain several years before they 

 can have a r.ipid growth. 



In Kngland, transplanting trees has been re- 

 duced to a science. There ftiU grown trees are 

 now transplanted with ease and little danger of 

 their loss, and thereby small groves and forests 

 suddeidy formed, and their pleasure grounds or- 

 namented. The machine used in removing is of 

 as simple construction as a pair of common cart 

 wheels, with a long tongue. About three years 

 |)revious to removing the tree, a deep trench is 

 cut round it, in order to cut off the ends of the 

 main roots — a cart load of rich nioidd is tljen 

 placed witldn the circle around the stock on the 

 sinface — new sets of roots and fibres shoot forth 

 upwards, receiving ntitrinient from the motild thus 

 deposited. 



The new fortned fibres and roots, with nearly 

 all the top or branches, are finally removed to any 

 convenient ilistance, aud it is said that not one 

 out of fifty die. 



If the fact is not generally known, it ought to 

 be, that a tree transplanted from a thick forest to 

 cold open exposure, is very hable to die — often 

 dies. The reason is, that the bark as well as the 

 interior wood is more tender than that of a tree 

 taken from a i)asture or open exposure. 



Thus the majestic oak, in open spaces, which 

 bids defiance to the rude blasts of the winds, is of 

 far sujierior value for ship-building, than the for- 

 est-oak. Agricola. 



young horse at Windsor, Vt. Would it not be 

 well to refjucst particular information from him, 

 to respect to the process and degree of tempera- 

 ture, which would not injure the horse ? 

 Yankee Far.] E.nquirt. 



How TO UEMOVF. A Potato from the throat 

 OF A CHOKING Cow. — Fasten the head of the ani- 

 mal, standing, firiidy to a post. Let a strongman 

 with his hand, contpletely stop the windpipe by 

 his grasp just above the potato, and keep a firm 

 hold for a minute or two, until the animal gives 

 an involuntary spring forward. Shoidd the first 

 experiment not succeiul, let more be made. Rea- 

 son — the wind ohstrueted in its passage through 

 the wind-pipe, expands or largely opeus the other 

 pipe below the potato, anil when the animal makes 

 a violent effort, the potato goes downwards. This 

 is a fact worth knowing to farmers, and upon in- 

 quiry I find that a few do know it. I had a fat- 

 ting cow thus choking with a potato. .After try- 

 ing in vain several methods commonly known, I 

 sent for a butcher to kill the cow at once. He 

 came, but instead of killing, in a few moments re- 

 lieved the creature in the manner I have describ- 

 ed ; and informed me that in the same way he had 

 saved a number of cattle before. A Farmer. 

 Yankee Far.] 



BoTS I.N Horses. — Mr Editor :— I have read 

 various theories upon thissubject. 1 will suggest 

 quite a novel mode of destroying them — by hot 

 water. No one will doubt that its a]>plication 

 woidd cause immediate death to the bots, hut 

 some would suppose that it would kill the horse 

 also. I confess that such would be my fetrs. — 

 Therefore, due regard should be had to the quan- 

 tity as well as temperature of thj water. JMy pres- 

 ent object is to mention the fact, that Rlr William 

 Rich, of Maidstone, Vermont, is in the practice of 

 destroying Bots, hy pouring hot water into the 

 horse's stomach. I learned this fact from \\'un, 

 and 



Improved Churn Dasher. — .An improvement 

 in the dasher of the common Churn has been 

 made, by which that kind of churn is considered 

 by many to he, for commou puri>oses, equal if 

 not superior to any in use. 



The dasher turns on the handle by being fixed 

 to it by a pivot. The dasher is merely two cross 

 pieces, say three inches square, put together by 

 being let into each other, which then form four 

 wings. 'J'hese are cut beveling on each side, av 

 an angle of fortyfive degrees, so that they stand 

 diagonally, the whole being very similar to the 

 wings of the little windmills (so called) which are 

 set up on poles to be turned by the wind. 



As this dasher goes down in the ndlk, it turns 

 one way on its [)ivot iu the lower end of the han- 

 dle, and as it comes up it turns the other way ; — 

 and this produces an agitation of the milk better 

 calculated for producing the butter than any meth- 

 od ever yet known. It is so efficacious in its op- 

 eration, that the chinning must be performed mod- 

 erately, or the hulter will come too soon, and be 

 swelted, as it is technically called by some. — lb. 



Shocking. — Two children, daughters of poor 

 aud destitute ])arents, the one 7, and the other 10 

 years of age, died suddenly at Trenton last week, 

 from eating the root of the cicuta, or hemlock. — 

 The children were employed in the calico factory, 

 and the root is found on the road which the chil- 

 dren travelled, where they undoubtedly obtained 

 it to satisfy the cravings of himger. On a post 

 mortem examination of the bodies, the stomachs 

 were foimd to contain little food, btit were princi- 

 pally filled with liemlock root and lemon peel. 



Tbe Hollow Horn. — As this is the season of 

 the year when we may expect this disease to 

 make its appearance among the horned tribe, we 

 would remind their owners, that by pouring a 

 tea spoonful of the spirits of tur|ientine in the 

 cup or cavity in the back of the head of cattle, 



they may save them from the effects of this al- 

 was also present when he thus saved a fine i ways unpleasant, and often fatal diease. 



