TOl,. XVIII. NO. i'i. 



AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER. 



399 



For Ihe New England Farmer. 



PROPER TIME I'OR PRUNr.NG FRUIT 

 TREES. 

 Mr EniTOK ; — Observini; in several agricultu- 

 ral journals, queries respecting the proper time for 

 pruning fruit trees, I wish to offer, through your 

 valuable p:ipei, tlin result of my e.xperience on 

 this subject, about which there is uiuch diversity of 

 opinion. 



I have more than throe huiulreil fruit trees on 

 my farm, the growth of which I note with some- 

 what of the interest and pleasure of a parent 

 watching the progress of his children. Some of 

 these treo-! are young, and others are in full bear- 

 ing, and I have pruned thorn at different periods, 

 to learn by e.\perience the best time. I am de- 

 cidedly of opinion, that the last week in June is 

 the very best time for pruning. I have made the 

 experiment of pruning the same tree in May and 

 June. The wound made by amputation of the 

 limb at the close of June, healed much more rap- 

 idly than that made in May. This experiment I 

 have repeated till I am confident that the latter 

 part of June is the proper time for pruning fruit 

 trees. ] made the e.\periment because of the va- 

 rious and even contradictory opinions of writers 

 on this subject, some of whom could never have 

 enhanced the value of their opinions by first sub- 

 jecting them to the test of experience. 



Perhaps it will be asked, why should the time 

 proposed be a more fit time than April, or May, or 

 any other month ? Tiie answer is, it is well 

 known to the student of vegetable physiology, 

 that the sap in trees flows so slowly for a short 

 period after the close of the longest days in June, 

 that it may be sai.l to be stationary, and therefore, 

 when a limb is taken off at this period, the sap 

 pours out slowly and remains around the orifice of 

 the wounded bark, forming a cicatrice of a rapid 

 growth. If you remove a limb early in the season, 

 April if you please, the wound heals slowly and 

 the tree is injured, and why ? Kecause in the 

 opening Spring the sap flows in so rapid a current 

 that It forces itself out at the wound, runs down 

 the tree, and thus seriously injures, and perhaps 

 destroys it. All this injury to the tree is avoided 

 by pruning the last week in June, because, as I 

 before said, at this period the sap is almost sta- 

 tionary. 



Some of your readers may say, I have pruned 

 my trees at such, or such a time, and they have 

 done very well, and therefore it is not material 

 when we prune. But, Mr Editor, this only proves 

 how nature will survive all our mangling and mar- 

 ring her beautiful works, and continue to pour out 

 to us her bounties, after all our neglect, or injuri- 

 ous interference. We sho; Id .study her operations 

 and learn her laws by careful and long continued 

 observation ; and when we have lo.irned them, we 

 should mould our opinions and conform our prac- 

 tice to them. D. P- W. 

 Dedham, May 92, 1840. 



PLYMOUTH AGRICULTUR.AL SOCIETY. 



REPOBr 0>- INVE.NTIOXS. 



We award to Fobo.-, Crane & Co. of West 

 Bridgewater, for an improvement on Cooking Stove, 

 $.5, and 1 vol. New England Farmer. 



To John A. Conant 2d, of East Bridgewater, for 

 an improved Leather Roller, .§4, and I vol. N. E. 

 Farmer. 



To William Turner of Bridgewater, for Corn 

 Shellor, $1, and 1 vol. Yankee Farmer. 



To George W. Pratt of Bridgewater, for a new 

 constructed Straw Gauge, .§]. 



To Jonathan Whipple, of Grafton, Leather Cut- 

 ter, $2. 



To Sproat & .Andrews, for a Patent Board Saw 

 Reliever, $3. 



To Seth Pratt, Jr., of Bridgewater, for a Bu- 

 gle, $2. 



Most of the articles are ii! a highly finished 

 state, and give evidence of increased improvement 

 in the mechanic arts. The bugle, by Air Pratt, 

 we consider, though we are no musicians, to be 

 particularly an article of superior workmanship. 

 All of which is submitted, 



SOLOMON HAYWARD, 



Per Order. 



REPORT ON FRUITS. 



To George Thompson, Middleboro', for a fine head 

 of Cauliflower, .$1 00 



" Abram Washburn 2d, Bridgewater, a sam- 

 ple of large Rohan Potatoes, (having raised 

 from 3 lbs. of seed, "29 lbs. of potatoes, 2 00 



" .\bram Washburn, Bridgewater, for large 

 Sijuashes, {having raised 59.") lbs. from 4 

 seeds, 2 00 



" William Smith, East Bridgev.-ater, for 

 Squashes, 2 00 



(He received 21 Su'eds from Providence, 

 from which he raised nearly a ton of 

 squashes. i he acorn squash was the va- 

 riety.) 



" Sylvanus Barrow, Middleboro', for large 

 Squashes, (the largest weighed 91 lbs.,) 8 00 

 Respectfully submitted, 



A. COLLAMORE. 



CHOPPING HAY. 



The following is a statement of Benjasitn 

 Hale, proprietor of a line of stages running be- 

 tween Boston and Newburypoit. It is a correct 

 statement of <he saving made by the use of Straw 

 Cutters in preparing the food for his horses. 

 " The whole amount of hay pur- 

 chased from April 1, to Oct. 3, 



1836, (si.x months,) and used at Tons cwt. qrs. Uis. 



the stage stable, wai 32 4 00 



At $25 per ton, (the lowest price 



at which hay was purchased in 



1816,) 

 From Oct. 1, ISlti, to .April 1, 



1817. whole amount of hay and 



straw purchased for, and ton- 



sunied by the simc number of 



horses, viz : 



$800 00 



§510 23 



Deduct on hand, .AprU 1, 

 1817, by estimation, 

 four tons more than 

 there was Oct. 1, 1810, 

 at .?25 i)er ton, $100 00 



Saving by the use of Straw Cut- 

 ter, four months of the last six 

 months, or the diflerence in ex- 

 pense in feeding with cut fod- 

 der, and that which is uncut, 



Whole amount of hay used for 



$060 00 



the horses of the Salem stage, 



twenty five in number, from Tons cwt. qrs. II « 



April 1, to Oct. 1, 18K1, viz: 92 



At thirty dollars per ton, (the low- 

 est price in Salem,) 



Whole amount consumed by the 

 same nu.mber of horses, from 

 Oct. 1, 1810, to April 1, 1817, 

 Tons cwt. qrs. Itis. Cnsi. 



Straw, \ri 13 $187 80 



Hav, 2 ir> 81 00 



268 80 



Saving in using chopped fodder 

 five months, 391 20 



Total saving in using the Straw 



Cutter nine months, viz : at 



Ncwburyport, four months, 



389 77 



At .Salem, five months. 391 20 



Total, 



$788 97 



winf;. 



.j;410 23 



389 77 



I think if my fellow citizens would consider the 

 great expense, risk, and uncertainty, of being sup- 

 plied with wine from the usual source under the 

 present prospect of affairs in Europe, and with what 

 ease and trifling expense a wholesomer and better 

 wine (if Ihe^ should discard prejudice) may be 

 made from the materials of our own country, they 

 would use greater exertions for that purpose than 

 heretofore ; and as I have heard of many who have 

 tried, and had their wine spoil, I will give you 

 a brief account of my method, which has always 

 succeeded well. 



I gather the fruit when dry and full ripe, viz: — 

 currants, gooseberries, morella, cherries, (I make 

 no doubt but the common red pie cherries would 

 do as^ well, but have not tried them,) mash them 

 and extract the juice, using as little water as is 

 really necessary for that purpose ; then add sugar 

 to the juice till it is agreeable to the palate. I 

 find that a pound or pound and a half is sutTicient 

 for the tartest fruit; when the sugar is dissolved 

 put it in a clean sweet cask for fermentation, fill- 

 ing it up two or three times a day, till it dischar- 

 ges a clear froth, then check the fermentation grad- 

 ually by putting the bung in slack ; when the fer- 

 mentation has nearly subsided, rack it off into a 

 clean cask, or return it into the same, after rins- 

 ing it well with gravel, or something with the wa- 

 ter to scour off the yeast which adheres to the 

 inside. Before the liquor is put in, I burn a sul- 

 pher match in the cask ; then put in it one or one 

 and a half pints good apple or French brandy to a 

 gallon, the former is best. In about a month it 

 should be racked as before, and repeated several 

 times in a year ; and if it is left to dribble slowly 

 each time of racking, it will facilitate its age, as, 

 passing through the atmosphere, gives an oppor- 

 tunity of evaporation. — Farmers' Cabinet 



Manure is the great agent for the increase of 

 crops — we desire to know how we shall employ 

 this agent to allord us the greatest yearly income. 

 A good direction is furnished us in the maxim of a 

 very useful agriculturist of our own time and country 

 in this particular, which is, " to extend a given 

 quantity of manure over as great a portion of the 

 field cultivated as possible, so as to cause the field 

 to yield an improved quantity of crop, the ground 

 beinf left better after the crop than it was before." 



