18 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Jan. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 FENCE POSTS — HO"W TO SET THEM. 



A late number of the Farmer contains an in- 

 quiry by R. H. Davis, in regard to setting fence 

 posts in land that heaves with the frost. Being 

 desirous, some years ago, to erect a permanent 

 dooryard fence on similar land, I addressed the 

 same inquiry to the Farmer, to which several re- 

 plies were published, containing directions, most 

 of which had been previously tried, and found 

 unsatisfactory. These plans were to set the posts 

 so deep they would reach below the frost, or dig 

 large post holes, and fill with small stones, chip 

 manure, sand, &c., or securing the post by a ten- 

 on and pin to a horizontal timber laid below the 

 frost. 



Now all of these, and similar methods, will fail 

 of securing the object desired, because it is the 

 presence of water in the earth that causes the 

 post to rise with the frost. As the earth freezes, 

 and adheres firmly to the outer surface of the 

 post, it must of necessity heave with the frost, 

 however far it may extend below the frost, and of 

 course it would, with the same facility, be drawn 

 from a mortice. In the case of setting the posts 

 with small stones, &c., the spaces between the 

 stones will soon fill from the surface and sur- 

 rounding earth with water, which, freezing to the 

 post, will cause it to heave, and leave its proper 

 position. In soils that retain but little water, 

 posts may be set quite securely for a time by fill- 

 ing a proper space around the post, and as far in 

 depth as the frost extends, with gravel stones, or 

 refuse tan bark. But there is a better way. 



The practical adoption of the plan I now pro- 

 pose may look, formidable and expensive, but it 

 will prove satisfactory, permanent, and last a life- 

 time. The first step, as has already been sug- 

 gested, is to draw off the water. To do this, dig 

 a ditch on the line where it is proposed to make 

 a fence, two feet wide and three feet deep, or be- 

 low the frost. Set the posts in this ditch, say 

 eight or ten feet apart, as may be desired, and fill 

 around the posts and the whole ditch with small 

 stones. It is best to make the ditch wider, say 

 three feet, where the posts are set, and jam the 

 stones tight around. To this ditch now dig a 

 drain, without which all previous labor will be 

 vain, laying tile, or stones at the bottom, and fill- 

 ing above with earth, and the work is done. 



Having followed this plan several years ago, 

 with entire success, 1 confidently recommend it, 

 as the best way to set posts in frosty land. It is 

 proper to remark, that where the land is so sit- 

 uated as to preclude draining as low as the bot- 

 tom of the posts, so there shall he no standing 

 water around the posts, this plan will be imprac- 

 ticable, s. G. B. 



Essex, VL, Nov., 1860. 



ripened ; as there were but a few stalks, we paid 

 no attention to it. The seeds fell, and new sprouts 

 came up and ripened also, sufficiently to have 

 been lopped before the frost came ; two crops 

 could be easily raised, I think." 



Southern Illinois. — Mrs. Frances D. Gage 

 says in a communication to the Ohio Farmer, that 

 "the seasons are so long in Southern Illinois that 

 I am sure sweet potatoes planted here in April, 

 might be eaten by the first of August in good 

 seasons ; and planted the first of July, they would 

 ripen in October, for winter use. Some broom corn 

 came up in our garden in the middle of May, and 



CONCORD FARMERS' CLUB. 



The second meeting of the series for the sea- 

 son of this association took place on Friday even- 

 ing last, the subject for discussion being "Fruits, 

 and their Culture." It being the turn of John 

 B. Moore, Esq., one of the largest and best far- 

 mers of the town, to prepare an Essay, he read 

 the following on 



FRUITS AND THEIR CULTURE. 



Mr. President : — The subject assigned for 

 discussion this evening is a very interesting one 

 to me, but has so wide a range that I do not pro- 

 pose to examine it in detail, but to confine my- 

 self to the Pear and Grape, only. 



The Pear is a fruit worthy of more general cul- 

 tivation than it now receives. I am aware of the 

 extensive attempts to cultivate it, and also of the 

 fact that there has been a large quantity of pear 

 trees planted within fifteen years, and that of 

 these nine-tenths have failed from bad planting 

 and want of care. 



I think there is but one way in which pears can be 

 grown successfully, so as to equal the fruit raised 

 by Cambridge and Brighton cultivators — and that 

 is by high cultivation. The pear wants a deep, 

 rich soil, not too wet and never dry. The trees 

 should be partially sheltered, so as not to suffer 

 by high winds, which injure the young and ten- 

 der shoots early in the season, and blow off the 

 fruit at a later period. The pear wants in the 

 soil a plenty of manure, and also bone in some 

 form. One successful cultivator has plov.'ed in 

 heavy dressingss of sheep's feet with decided ad- 

 vantage, it being a manure that will last for years. 

 The common dressing applied by the best culti- 

 vators is about eight cords to the acre of horse 

 manure in a green state, spread on in the fall and 

 foi-ked in the next spring, with an occasional 

 dressing of ashes and bone. By this high man- 

 uring, with clean cultivation, and without raising 

 any crop among the trees, those persons have 

 succeeded in i-aising very fine fruit. 



The Cambridgeport cultivators have their trees 

 mostly on the quince bottom, planted about eight 

 feet apart, and trimmed in pyramid shape. After 

 the trees become established, they are summer- 

 trimmed nearly as follows: in July, shorten the 

 new wood one-half in length, and pinch back the 

 new growth the rest of the season ; this is con- 

 sidered the best way of pruning the pear on the 

 quince, by many intelligent cultivators ; on the 

 pear root they are allowed to extend more and to 

 grow into large trees. As to varieties, probably 

 no two persons would agree, precisely ; some va- 

 rieties do well in any location, for instance, the 

 Bartlett — others only in certain soils, as the 

 Beurre Bosc. For market purposes, not only qual- 

 ity but outward ap]K'arau(^e becomes necessary to 

 make them sell well. A pear with a handsome 

 1 yellow color, or yellow with a blush on one side, 



