VOL. -Will. NO. 13. 



AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER, 



Ui 



left on tlie surface? Please answer when conve- 

 nient. M;iple trees used to grow on the land — 

 what is the best way to plant the seeds ? 

 Yours, triilv, 



WILLIAM AMES. 

 Mr Joseph Breck. 



Boston, Sept. ISIh, 1839. 

 Rfv. Morrill Allen — Dear Sir — As you have 

 had some experience in planting forest seeds, will 

 you be so good as to answer the above queries, as 

 I have never had any experience myself in this line: 

 by so doing you will not only much oblige me, but 

 a number of correspondents who have desired infor- 

 mation on the subject. 



Respectfully, yours, 



JOSEPH BRECK. 



Mr Breck — Dear Sir — It is not in my power to 

 give very definite answers to all the inquiries of 

 your correspondent, Mr Amea. I have had no ex- 

 perience in planting chesnut, walnut, ash, or maple 

 seed. Very little of the soil in this section of coun- 

 try is favorable to the growth of chesnut or walnut 

 trees : ash and maple will flourish very well in 

 some situations, but require better soil than we are 

 at present disposed to convert into forests. Acorns 

 have been planted by me to considerable extent 

 and always with less success than was anticipated. 

 A large portion of them have either perished in the 

 soil or been devoured by vermin ; — probably been 

 devoured, for it has always been noticed that the 

 greatest number vegetated in land that had been 

 recently stirred by the plough, where there was 

 neither grass nor any sort of rubbish to furnish the 

 field mice with materials for building habitations. 

 According to my experience it is a correct method 

 of planting to cover the acorns lightly with soil ; 

 covered with only grass or leaves they may vege- 

 tate, but the plants will not take so firm hold of the 

 soil. 



The growth of oak from the acorn is at first ex- 

 tremely slow. Whoever undertakes thus to rear a 

 forest must "exercise long patience" and labor, as 

 all ])hilanthropists do, for the benefit of those wlio 

 will live after him. 



Young trees from acorns are apt to be shrubby 

 and ill shaped: none of mine appear as if they 

 would ever grow to sightly and valuable trees. — 

 Some of them have been planted five years, and do 

 not exceed fifteen inches in height. My present 

 purjiose is to cut them down about the first of next 

 IMay even with the ground. 1 would not in very 

 positive terms recommend this course to any other 

 person. The efiect may be different from what is 

 anticipated ; but from observations on the origin 

 aiiil ])rogress of shoots in the forest, my expectation 

 ij, that from each of the stumps a sprout will imme- 

 duitely spring ; that it will grow more rapidly ami 

 111 more regular form than the seedling shoot. This 

 purpose is here disclosed in the hope that others 

 will make experiments, for it seems to me if oak trees 

 cannot be advanced to maturity sooner than seedling 

 shoots will naturally grow to trees, that the plant- 

 ing of acorns can benefit only those who may live 

 in a future century. It is, however, proper to re- 

 mark in this connexion, that the land planted by 

 me with acorns has always been of poor quality. — 

 Seedling shoots might grow much better in stron- 

 ger soils. My object has been to redtice to forests 

 plats of land which produced little herbage, and 

 which were considered too much exhausted for 



profitable cultivation. On such land some acorns acquire knowledge, he must come to the conclusion 

 have been planted, but the chief dependence for an that he does not know any thing ; then he will place 

 early growth of wood is on white birch and pine. — , himself in a situation to learn ; but if he thinks he 

 Birch will come to full maturity from the seed in has arrived at the top of the hill of science and can 

 about twenty years ; and white or yellow pine will learn no more, hd most assuredly never will, 

 do to cut in thirty years from the planting. | On the farm wliich I live a few years ago there 



The best time for planting any kind of forest was kept on it but five cows, one yoke of oxen, and 

 trees I suppose is at the season when the seed is ; one horse — cut 1.3 tons of English hay and made 

 matured and naturally falls on the earth, in the , from 50 to 75 loads of manure a year. JVoto it 

 montlis of October and November. Some writers will keep well 25 cows, 6 oxen, 2 horses, summer 

 recommend the spring as preferable, but it is pre- ] and winter. I cut 60 tons of English hay, and 

 sumed no other advantage can attend spring plant- ] make 400 loads of manure a year: and if I and my 

 ing than something of greater security against the | family live by the blessing of divine providence, I 



devouring jaws of vermin. 



After several unsuccessful trials in planting on 

 sward land, I have ceased repeating tlioin, and the 

 land where it is intended to sow fo.-est seed is 

 ploughed in June or July, winter rye is sown in 

 August, and then forest seeds planted'^'n the rye 

 during the autumnal months as the .seeds ripen.— f 

 Pine and birch seed are often saw^ broadcast on 

 the surface, but a light coverjuf no doubt woul4 be 

 better. «*" V 



Respectfully, &c. ■ 



MORRILL ALLEN.. 



Pembroke, Sept. 23rf, 1839. 



For the N, E. Farmer. 



Mr Editor — I have had the pleasure of reading 

 your paper as a subscriber for six years ; but while 

 I admit I have received great benefit from its peru- 

 sal, I have not cast in my mite for the benefit of 

 others. The reasons are these : I am one of those 

 illiterate farmers not capable of doing common busi- 

 ness in life, and much less for putting any thing on 

 paper for others to read. When at the age to have 

 acquired a good academical education I was not 

 permitted the privilege. When I consulted my 

 father upon going to school, " O," said he, "you 

 are going to be a farmer, and learning will do you 

 no good. I never ciphered farther than interest: I 

 could read and write : this has answered my pur- 

 pose, and it will yours." I say this with respect 

 for my father, (who is not living,) "for it was then 

 characteristic of the age.' 



I have, sir, read a number of pieces in your pa- 

 per headed "The Education ofFarmers": 1 always 

 read them with deep emotion of feeling, believing 

 that where we farmers lack the most in is, the want 

 of education : in my humble opinion then, just as 

 fast as farmers increase in knowledge, so fast will 

 increase the improvements in agriculture. Now, sir, 

 how shall this be done? I answer, through read- 

 ing, reasoning and observation. I do not believe, 

 sir, there is any occupation which offers so large a 

 field for the mind to work in as that of agriculture. 

 I heartily rejoice in the belief that this once neg- 

 lected occupation is fast rising in the estimation of 

 the community. The honorable title of a 'country 

 bushwhacker and ploughjogger,' is fast gaining 

 ground. In the town in which I reside, if I mistake 

 not, six years ago no more than three or four agri- 

 culturai papers were taken ; now I think I can safe- 

 ly say there are between thirty and forty. I take 

 two myself, and have them ready on the table, so 

 that when I come in to stay ten or fifteen minutes, 



will not stop till I have doubled the present amount : 

 at any rate, I will try. I acknowledge I have re- 

 ceived great benefit from reading agricultural pa- 

 pers and books ; but a man must also bring into ac- 

 tion his own reason. The kind of grain or quanti- 

 ty which will suit one piece of land will not anoth- 

 er, and so it is with grass seed requiring double the 

 amount on some land that it does on other land. — 

 And now, sir, when I read in your paper or any 

 other agricultural paper, the scientific and practi- 

 cal results of old and experienced farmers, I treas- 

 ure it up and make all the improvement upoi^ it_I 

 ican. More anon. P. F. 



f~.Southboro\ Sept. 18, 1830. 



[Rkiviarks. — We like the spirit of our corres- 

 ponffint much, and are heartily glad to learn that 

 he is'tegihning to feel it his duty to give as well 

 as receive. We think he does himself injustice, 

 however, in classing himself with those " not capa- 

 ble of doingcommon business." We do not like to 

 hear our noble hearted farmers express themselves 

 thus. What ! increase the products of his farm 

 four fold and meal(sto " try to double" that amount, 

 and not capable of ■doing common business ! Im- 

 possible ! it is not so, nor shall it be. Whatever 

 may have been his disadvantages in early youth in 

 obtaining an education, (and we have no doubt they 

 were great, in common with a large majority of our 

 farmers, and we will class ourselves with them,) it 

 is pretty certain he will not long remain at the bot- 

 tom of the hill, even if he places himself there. — 

 The expression " I will try," has, and will do won- 

 ders. He has tried and given us a communication. 

 Try again and give us some account of your farm, 

 your manner of operation, your success, your fail- 

 ures, &c. ; and we have no doubt but the eflfects of 

 your trying will stimulate others to try, and then 

 we shall have a pleasant interchange of feelings, 

 sympathies and opinions, as there should be among 

 farmers, through the press, as well as in a neigh- 

 borhood. Do not stop then, but try, try again. 



J. B.] 



[For the New England Farmer.] » 



Plymouth, Sept. 2;3rf, 1839. 

 Mr Editor — Dear Sir — I observed in the Far- 

 mer of tlie 18th inst. an account of some singular 

 aberratioTiS' in vegetable physiology, instanced in 

 the peach tree. In your remarks in reference to 

 the apple tree you say, " this of course is a stum- 

 bler to our faith, hut still we cannot give up the 



idea that witliout artificial means the thing is im- 

 I catch them up and read— (and I believe it does j possible." My object in this address, Mr Editor, 

 me more good than a glass of bitters did in old is to produce another stumbler to your faith, but at 



fashioned times) — and while my body is resting I 

 am feeding the mind. 1 am a young farmer : I 

 glory in the title : I have just commenced my ABC 



the same time you must excuse me if I add, when 

 undeniable facts are presented, however unsuscep- 

 tible of illu^ation, we should not be faithless but 



in agriculture, and if a young man would wish to I believing, for the improvement of science 



