1S63. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



75 



Fur the Xeic EnyUtml Farmer, 

 CULTIVATION OF NUTS. 



As the f^rowing of fruits, such as the apple, 

 pear, grape and others has been engaged in S(j ex- 

 tensively that there is danger of overstocking tlie 

 market, it may be jjroper to consider the expedi- 

 ency of planting the \arious kinds of nut trees as 

 a source of profit. We have every variety of cli- 

 mate and .soil, and some kinds of nuts, such as 

 the filbert, and others wliich are now imported in 

 large quaiitities, might as well be raised here. 

 The hazelnut of this region, of which there are 

 two species, is a true filbert, and no doubt some 

 of the foreign kinds would succeed equally as well 

 here. The Madeira nut, or English walnut, might 

 be grown in the States south of New England. It 

 will sometimes perfect its fruit in Massachusetts. 

 My father formerly had a tree, which he raised 

 from planting a nut, that produced half a bushel 

 in one sea-son, equid to any imported. It yielded 

 nuts many years, but the winters M-ere generally 

 too severe for it, frequently killing the best of 

 the branches. 



There are several kinds of native nuts which are 

 extensively consumed, and the sale of them con- 

 stitutes quite a branch of trade. The Pecan nut 

 of the Southwestern States is a species of the wal- 

 nut, of which vast quantities are sold annually, and 

 it is an excellent variety. The shelibark grows in 

 abundance in many places in this section, espe- 

 cially on the intervals of Nashua river. A hun- 

 dred bushels are sometimes gathered on a single 

 farm in a season, which sell readily at a fair price. 

 There is a large variety of this nut found in Avest- 

 ern Pennsylvania, and other i)laccs. Many trees 

 of the common hickory produce walnuts nearly 

 equal to the shelibark, but in general they are 

 much inferior in quality. The butternut grows 

 spontaneously. In some places in the Northern 

 States the nuts are consumed to considerable ex- 

 tent, and are much superior to the fruit of the 

 black walnut, which, also, is common in New York 

 State, as well as others. The chestnut is the pre- 

 vailing growth in many sections. In AVorcester 

 county it is abundant, forming nearly the entire 

 growth. In some wood lots, instances are known 

 where thirty or forty bushels of nuts Mere gath- 

 ered on a farm in a year. Chestnuts vary much 

 in size. Some varieties are nearly as large as the 

 Spanish, others are quite small. The Spanish and 

 other European kinds, some of which produce 

 fruit nearly as large as the horse chestnut, might 

 be grown here in many sections. The imported 

 walnuts and filberts alone, which are consumed in 

 the United States, amount to an enormous sum, 

 and if they can be produced here equally as well, 

 it would appear advisable to make the effort. 



Leominster, Jan., 1863. O. V. Hill. 



air. They have drank neither tea nor coffee, nor 

 lived on any other than plain and simple food. 

 Their dress has never been so tight as to hinder 

 free respiration. They have exercised every day 

 in the open air, assisting me in tending my fruit 

 trees, and in such other occupations as are appro- 

 priate for women." 



How many there are who would be benefited by 

 such a course, as well among our farmers as in the 

 city. The open air is a great panacea for many 

 diseases. It is cheap and ever present. Don't 

 refuse to take it. — A'. II. Journal uf Ai/ricullure. 



WHAT OUGHT TO BE. 



A gentleman travelling in New Hampshire, 

 within sight of the Monadnock, was struck with the 

 healthy appearance of a family where he called. 

 On asking his farmer host what might be the 

 cause, he receive<l this reply: "The girls are 

 healthy because! have avoided three great errors. 

 They have neither been brought up on miwhole- 

 some diet, nor subjected to unwholesome modes 

 of dress, nor kept from daily exercise in the open 



For the Xeic England Faniur. 

 FARMERS* CLUBS. 



Mr. Ebitor : — Some nine or ten months since 

 I informed you of the starting of a Farmers' Club 

 in this place, and gave you a sample of one of our 

 first discussions, from which I requested vou to 

 judge, and advise in regard to the advisability of 

 our " keeping up" the Club ; but as we failed to 

 receive the advice, we continued our weekly meet- 

 ings until about the middle of April, when we ad- 

 journed till fall, with about twenty-five members 

 to our society. We resumed our meetings again 

 November 24, and discussed the question whether 

 farmers' clubs were ])rofitable, after which it was 

 unanimously voted that they were, and that it was 

 advisable to continue our meetings this winter. 

 Several advantages had been derived by the mem- 

 bers. Messrs. A, B and C had found, to their as- 

 tonishment, that they were really good " jniblic 

 speakers," though before this they never so much 

 as thought of " speaking in meeting." D and E 

 found that F and G really did know something 

 after all, and one or two things that they had not 

 known themselves ! H found that I was not quite 

 so egotistical and proud, as he had always thought 

 he was before getting a little jnore acquainted 

 with him. J and K concluded that they might as 

 well make up and be friends again, and let that 

 pesky fence take care of itself through the winter. 

 L had learned more about raising calves than 

 enough to pay him for all his ti^ouble in attending 

 the meetings! M had raised "twice as many" 

 potatoes on the same amount of land as he ever 

 did before, all in consequence of the information 

 received at the club meetings. _N had valuable 

 experience in " reporting" the doings of the Club, 

 and keeping the minutes. O, P, Q and R, each 

 discovered their competency to fill the " chair," 

 and enforce parliamentary usage, in the absence 

 of the President. S was heretofore afraid of his 

 own shadow, but has now found out that it " won't 

 bite ! " T has learned that alcohol and water will 

 make a sow own her ))igs, as U has tried it. and 

 never knew it fail! V, whom everybody called a 

 " greeney," has convinced us all that verdancy is 

 able to hide a real genius. W has found out a bet- 

 ter way than liis " father did it." X has learned 

 that there are two kinds of manure deposited >)y 

 farm stock, of nearly equal value, and wonders 

 that he never tried to save the liquid before — lias 

 lost more than ten dollars' worth every year for 

 forty years ! Y, Z, and some others, just begm 

 to thiiik it might have been better for tliem if they 

 had taken and read a good agricultural periodical 

 for several years past. One man said he didn t 

 know as farmers' clubs did much good, as far as 



