1860. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



273 



bedrooms, besides a storage for trunks, &c. The 

 first story is 1 1 feet high in clear, and the second 

 9^ feet. 



Construction. — This dwelling is to be built of 

 wood, and should be finished in a thorough, sub- 

 stantial manner, inside and out. It may be cov- 

 ered in the horizontal manner with matched 

 sheathing or with clapboards, either method being 

 appropriate to this style of building, though the 

 former, which is also rather more expensive, 

 gives the appearance of a greater degree of finish 

 than the latter. 



The French roof may be covered with semicir- 

 cular patterned shingles. There should be a cor- 

 nice run through all the principal rooms. The ar- 

 chitraves of the windows and doors, and the bal- 

 usters, post and rail of the front staircase should 

 be of simple but heavy designs. The walls are to 

 be prepared for papering. 



Cost. — Such a building as the above could be 

 buill complete for about $4000. 



For ihe New England Farmer. 

 DKAINIWG A PEAR ORCHARD. 



Mr. Editor : — I have au orchard consisting 

 in part of pear trees, some of them some dozen 

 feet in height, the soil being a somewhat reten- 

 tive loam, resting on hard pan at about two feet 

 below the surface, which has never been drained, 

 and I would like your opinion as to the expedi- 

 ency of underdraining it now ? 



The trees are twenty feet apart each way, and 

 the land slopes to the north about one foot in 

 forty or fifty, afi'ording ample fall to carry off the 

 water, and the only doubts in my own mind are 

 in regard to cutting the roots so much as would 

 be necessary, and whether the drains would be 

 eff'ective without subsoiling, which would be im- 

 practicable now. The hard pan cannot be exca- 

 vated without a pick or crowbar, and it seems to 

 me that it would be nearly impossible for the wa- 

 ter to penetrate it so as to dry the land with any 

 degree of rapidity in spring, which is about the 

 only time when there is a superabundance of 

 moisture. I think, from an abstract of Dr. Fish- 

 er's lecture at Greenfield, that the soil which he 

 has drained for trees may be similar to mine, and 

 if he or any other of your readers can throw any 

 light on the subject, and in case I should under- 

 take to drain it, advise as to the best manner of 

 digging the drains, depth, &c., I would thank 

 them to express the same in your paper. 



Perhaps I ought to add that the land has been 

 plowed, with one or two exceptions, every year 

 since the trees were planted, and in plowing eight 

 inches the plow would strike, perhaps twenty fast 

 stones, many of which would require blasting to 

 remove them. 



I would also like to hear the experience of those 

 fruit-growers who have the following varieties of 

 apples : 



Red Russet. — This has been very highly puffed 

 by some, but, in reading pomological reports, I 

 never see any allusion to it. The few specimens 

 I have seen were finer grained and richer than 



the Baldwin, but a large portion of them were 

 badly cracked ; they were, however, grown in an 

 unfavorable location. 



Danvers Sweet and Seaver Sweet. — Are these 

 the l)est winter sweet apples we have in cultiva- 

 tion ? If so, I think there is plenty of room for 

 improvement. 



RamsdelVs Sweet. — I find quite a diversity in 

 size among these, and also a slight l)itter taste to 

 the fruit. Does the experience of others coincide 

 with this, and is this variety worth cultivating ? 



Maiden's BliisJi. — This I find quite productive 

 and very beautiful, but I think it deficient in fla- 

 vor. 



Cole's Quince. — The first single specimen that I 

 raised came fully up to Mr. Cole's description, al- 

 though it did not ripen till October, but I have 

 not raised any equal to it since. 



EarJij Harvest. — This seems to grow well, but 

 the fruit so far has been "scarce," and quite small 

 and gnarly. Is it sufliciently adapted to this lo- 

 cality to succeed without such an amount of care 

 and high cultivation as will eat up all the profit? 



Ashjield, 1860. Wm. F. Bassett. 



Remarks. — We have no doubt whatever as to 

 the expediency of draining your pear orchard. Iri 

 so doing, you need not injure many of the roots ; 

 when you approach a tree in ditching, work care- 

 fully, and if you find a root, work round it, and lay 

 it on one side and cover it with earth. The very 

 act of draining, if thoroughly done, would make 

 the whole subsoil porous in a degi-ee, and that hard 

 pan which you w^ould have to "excavate with a 

 pick and crowbar," would allow the water to pass 

 quite freely, after a while. Why ? Because when 

 you have removed the standing water by tailing 

 it off through the ditches, the whole subsoil would 

 contract, and thus fill it with innumerable littlt 

 cracks, or fissures, through which the -water would 

 find its way to the bottom of the drain. ITiis is a 

 natural, highly beneficial and beautiful operation. 

 If your drains are sufficiently near, say 20 feet, if 

 the land is quite wet, 30 feet, or 40 feet, if only 

 moderately so, they will operate in two directions 

 — in the line of the drain, and in a far greater de- 

 gree laterally. If the bottom of the drain h four 

 feet from the surface, and the drains are 20 feet 

 apart, you will secure a fall of four feet in ten — 

 that is, from the surface of the ground to tlie bot- 

 tom of the drain ! Such a fall, after the subsoil 

 is Avell cracked, will cause a rapid drainage. For 

 a full and clear statement of the whole matter, see 

 Judge French's work on Farm Drainage. A 

 careful perusal of this will save you ten times its 

 cost, if you intend to drain several acres. 



Red Russet. — We have never raised this apple, 

 and must leave an account of it to others. 



Danvers and Seaver Sweet. — Both excellent, 

 but it Avould be saying a great deal to pronounce 

 them the best winter sweet apples we have. 



The Ramsdell Sweet — Is highly esteemed by 

 many persons. Most of our apples have been de- 



