n.. x\ir. >'o. *«. 



AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER 



349 



ike Iheni to prevent their breikiii? down. 

 > wcTf a very fevr ciirciilios ivhich fdiiiiJ their 

 ip (he trees, but not a twenlUlli part enoii;,'h 

 n the fruit as they ougfit to have been, whjch 

 nted llieir attaining the size they otherwise 

 1 have done." 



tore. 'The draining of swiiinps furnishes abundant 

 materials which every consiileratc man will mix 

 wall warmer soiU and greatly enrich tliem. 



The premiums on grnin and root crops have 

 been followed with numerous and beneficinl re- 

 sults. There can exist no reasonable doubt that 



his land. It may he wise in the Society to encour- 

 age e.xperirnenlH in oflers of reward, but certainly 

 not as means of establislung rules of general appli- 

 cation. We properly keen before the people and 

 solicit attention to every Bubstance, which, in any 

 foil and under any circumstances, may conduce to 



,.ne effect has been followed with numerous bene- H'^ lucrease of vegetation. 



fMOUTlI .KGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Report of the Supervisor for 1843. 

 e commence below the publication of the first 

 al report of the Supervisor of the Plymouth 

 ;ultnral Society, Hon. Morrill Allen. It 

 rids with practical instruction and judicious 

 iel, and we wish our limits and other circum- 

 es, pcruiitted lis insertion entire in one paper, 

 ever, all will read it who are acquainted with 

 ithor by reputation or otherwise — and there 

 lit few of our readers, wo presume, who may 

 e embraced in the number of such. — Ed. 



Report. 

 le Trustees were pleased to introduce into the 

 .f premiums for the present year, several im- 

 nt alterations in relation to Produce and Im 

 :ments. 

 making this first report under a change, it 

 is proper to enter into seine review of the do- 

 in past years, that the Society and the public 

 possess the means of correct judgment wheth- 

 • not the change is improvement of importance 

 gh to justify the expense attending it, and 

 lirection of the attention and labors of compe- 

 s into new channels. 



''hen the operations of the Society commenced, 

 :ulture in ali its branches was in a state of 

 t depression in the county. Comparatively 

 towns produced a supply for it-? inhabitants, of 

 of the grains, or even of hay. The grain was 

 fly raised on the old system of alternating 

 3 of Indian corn and winter rye. Occasional 

 iS of oats, barley and wheat followed Indian 

 I or potatoes ; with those grains grass seed was 

 n, but two crops of grain with one light dress, 

 with manure, (or, as often happened, none,) 

 t be miserable preparation for a crop of grain, 

 wonder that under such management, both h-iy 

 grain were scarce. The first board of tnis- 

 corrcctly supposed the most proper means to 

 imployed in leading farmers to the knowledge 

 he real source of the evil which was spreading 

 iliwhting prospects overall their interests, would 

 to hold out efTeclual enconragements to the 

 itest products on single acres. Accordingly, 

 ral premiums were ofTerod for hay, grain and 

 ts. For grain and roots, offers have been con- 

 led, with some variations, to the present time, 

 the greatest crops of hay, premiums were dis- 

 tinued several years ago, probably because the 

 lure of grasses commanded more attention, and 

 i more successfully practiced than any other 

 nch of husbandry. The renovation of low 

 d, which the Society early and liberally encour- 

 ;d, and its conversion into English meadow, has 

 I the effect of almost doubling the quantity of 

 glish hay, and nothing more may be necessary 

 V, than a judicious continuance of similar en- 

 iragements. 



If we can persuade farmers to acquire the 

 jwledge necessary to the proper management of 

 lands, and the successful cultivation of the 

 it grasses there, little danger will exist of the 

 rmer soils being abandoned to the course of na- 



ficial results. There can exist no reasonable doubt 

 that one eflect has been great general improvement 

 in field culture. But we have never succeeded in 

 obtaining, though various means have been resort- 

 ed to for the purpose, so particular stateinants of 

 the nature and condition of the soils, or so minute 

 descriptions of the cultivation as it was supposed 

 would be most useful, and which it was the bound- 

 en duty of successive competitors to give. A new 



(To be conlinucil.) 



QUALITIES OF PLANTS. 



Will plants imbibe any thing prejudicial or oth- 

 erwise, if the matter contained in the soil exists 

 in a superabundant quantity in lieu of their proper 

 aliment — or are they sometimes driven, like ani- 

 mals, from necessity, to make use of unwh'ilesome 

 food, which alters the constituents of their bodies ? 

 All roots, fruits, &c., have their own peculiar uni. 



and somewhat expensive expedient is now adopted , ,-,^,,| ^.,gjg . ^ut they difTer occasionally in a re- 



fer the purposes of obtaining and dift'using the de 

 sired information, in the appointment of a person 

 to view the fields on which experiments are pro- 

 posed, and acquaint himself with the particular cul- 

 tivation. If such service be faithfully performed, 

 the information on some points must be more sat- 

 isfactory, still much will continue to depend on the 

 care and accuracy of applicants in detailing their 

 operations. 



The premiums this year, (as seemed proper un- 

 der a change,) are for experiments simple in char- 

 acter, and easily carried to completion. The re- 

 sults, it may be fairly presumed, will impart no 

 new views to many experimental farmers, but may 

 tend to convince those who have long been in bon- 

 dage to established usages, of some truths which 

 they have perseveringly refused to receive on any 

 authority that could with the shadow of reason be 

 questioned, — truths which may give a new direc- 

 tion to their labors, and essentially conduce to their 

 interest. 



In the department under the charge of the Com- 

 mittee on Improvements, several entries have been 

 made for reclaiming swamps: by the advice of the 

 Chairman of the committee, the lands have been 

 viewed. The Trustees will determine whether or 

 not, premiums shall be awarded to the merito.ious 

 operators next year. A claim has been entered to 

 the premiums otTered for experiments with lime 

 and salt. The final result should not now be anti- 

 cipated by any remarks on the indications which 

 the progress already made may seem to give. A 

 general caution, however, may properly be given 

 against attaching too great importance to the re- 

 sults of single experiments with any of the salts, 

 whether those results be favorable or unfavorable. 

 Some writers tell us the salts are condiments of 

 plants ; the constitutions of soils vary as do those 

 of men ; in some cases condiments may be iughly 

 conducive to health and vigor, and in others abso- 



iiarknhle degree. Grapes (of Tokay) on slate, had 

 a peculiar delici<iu3 rich flivor. Parsnips (Berlin) 

 on sandy soil, were very sweet flavored and highly 

 esteemed. Potatoes (Irish) grown on a gravelly 

 soil, and manured with sea-weed, were excellent, 

 and tasted like new flour. Celery (Sandwich) pro- 

 duced in deep sand impregnated with salt, ,was 

 verv different from that grown elsewhere. Catrots 

 on deep warm sand, with chalk bottom, were very 

 sugary. Strawberries (Huntingdon) raised in rich 

 moist loam, had a most nauseous flavor ; and Jeru- 

 salem artichokes on the same kind of foil, had a 

 watery, earthy taste. These have been brought 

 prominently under my notice, but other plants, 

 tree.'!, &c., are likewise affected by the soil in 

 which they grow. Firs, &c. grown on wet land 

 are valueless for timber, in being deficient of some 

 particular substance, and having too much of some- 

 thing injurious to them. Nemo. 



[Plants are unable to reject the fluid matters 

 that are presented to their roots, and consequently, 

 where such matters unsuitable to them exist in 

 land, they and their products are necessarily affect- 

 ed. — Ed. Chron.] 



PRUNING. 

 " Does the lopping off of a branch increase or 

 retard the general growth of a tree .-" The prin- 

 ciples of vegetable physiology that relate to the 

 growth of trees, are as follows: — The sap is ab- 

 sorbed by the roots, ascends the stem, traverses 

 the branches, is elaborated in the leaves, and de- 

 scends again towards the root, depositing a new 

 layer of wood, and also the peculiar secretions of 

 the species. If, then, we deprive a tree of one of 

 its boughs, do we not take from it a number of its 

 digestive organs — its leaves? and do we not there- 

 by impair its growth, at least its increase in thick- 

 ness ? A branch, inasmuch as it bears leaves, is 

 a means of productiveness, and not of waste, to a 

 tree ; I should, therefore, be inclined to answer in 

 the affirmative, and say that pruning, to any extent 



lutely injurious. This is obviously true with re- 



spect to common salt; we have applied it without ^ ^^^. ^^ ,^.^^^ ^^ j.^^ ^^ ^^ 



any visible effect: sometimes to the destruction o ' ,^ ^, J_^^^^^^ ^^_ , 



plants, and at other tunes with manifest beneficial I fa" " ... 



influences. We have been informed by one gen- 

 tleman in the county, of great and enduring effects 

 from salt, applied nt the rate of six bushels to the 

 acre. It is an article which should not be sweep- 

 ingly denounced, nor should it be sown on fields 

 generally, without previous trials on a small scale. 

 No general rules, we think, can properly be given 

 for the application of salt, lime, gypsum, and some 

 other kindred substances. Every farmer must 

 qualify himself, in repeated experiments, to judge 

 whether he can usefully apply such subslancfes to 



There is one point 

 connected with pruning which I do not think hag 

 yet been satisfactorily determined. It is this : 

 Does a tree absorb the the same quantity of sap 

 from the ground when deprived of several of its 

 branches, as it did while they formed integral parts 

 of it? The elucidation of this question would 

 throw some light on the effects of the operation of 

 pruning.— Corrfs;)orirft»!(o/ Gardeners' Chron. 



In farming, if you would outdo your neighbor, 

 two shovels-full of manure where he uses but 



use 

 one 



