No. 2. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL. 



35 



leaeon, nnd some the Bummer. Bolh seasons are fa- 

 •orable, but the sooner it is done the better. If any 

 armer from indulging in theory should prefer the lat- 

 er period, let him first consider how it will agree 

 •iih bis other business; and if it should appear clear- 

 • that he will have nothing to interrupt him when 

 jmmer conioa, well and good — let him defer it till 

 )at lime. If on the contrary, should his corn-field, 

 ■ potatoes, mending roads, or any other service, be 

 iely to interfere, — let him make up'his mind at once, 



do it now before the sap begins to flow, if possible; 

 id remember that a coat of paint over the stumps of 

 e larger limbs when amputated, is worth more than 



the theory that has been invented^ 



Now a few words in regard to the manner. Cut 

 3 under side of large limbs yir»<, to prevent them from 

 lining down; and in cutting of all limbs, whether 

 1 ge or small, be careful to have as little naked wood 

 I possible, — leaving it very smooth, neither jagged, 

 ir split, nor haggled. For this purpose, the saw is 

 t proper instrument on most of the large limbs; 

 t ugh a broad chisel on the end of a pole, and even 

 t axe in dextrous hands may be used in some situa- 

 1 19 ; but then let none but dextrous hands touch it. 

 8 at of the trimming in our orchards, is miserably 

 ie. t 



For the Ifcu) Genesee Farmer. 

 Experiments In Feeding Beetx. 



tisSRS. Editors — Every writer who intends his 



lee for publication, particularly in giving experi- 



tfl which may induce others to make a similar trial, 



Id be very careful in giving the detail; oleo, that 



108 not been deceived himscff, lest he deceive 



•8. It frequently happens, that different indi- 



ils arrive at difTerent conclusions in making the 



experiments, (I mean experiments like the one 



! head of this article.) For instance, my friend, 



. stated to me, some one or two years since, that 



nsidered mangel wurtzel a valuoble crop for win- 



; swine. He said, "he bad fed them to bis ss 



principal food. They were very fond of them, 



iept in good condition through the winter." 



sost fall and present winter, I have endeavored 



t the value of various kinds of beets as food for 



hogs, and am fully convinced that they are the 



', mi |»(, and, at the same time, as good keep as can 



led for wintering swine. I fed them to my fat 



ogs, for their first feed in the fall. I washed 



liled them, masbcd them fine in the liquor they 



wiled in ; then, after standing a few days, fed 



my hogs. They ate them with great avidity, 



i ined flesh as fast as they afterwards did, fed on 



)rn in the ear. I did not, however, feed them 



lough (some 8 or 10 days) fairly to test their 



as food for fattening porkers. 



uel Guthrie, in an article headed, " Experi- 



n feeding Sugar Beets," (Cult. & Far., Vol. 1. 



13,) says, " I washed and boiled the beets, and 



m profusely for two weeks. The hogs devour- 



n most ravenously; but^ on making a careful 



jj, ,lei B ation at the end of this time, to ascertain 



O'jifil' J gfess I had made in fattening them, I learned, 



,. I is; J arprise, that they evidently had gained nothing. 



fj ttct' rge sow put on an appearance so wo-begone, 



[iiitiliduced a charitable friend to take her off my 



-ill ee gratis." The experiment was carried still 



ic by adding a peck of potatoes to a bushel of 



It itind tried two weeks longer, but the improve- 



iji,,i(iial'a8 barely perceptible. Then potatoes and 



r, III equal quantities, were fed one month more. 



f; J,'ji(;<> eyhad gained about as much as the potatoes 



jBdiiPT''! 3uld have improved them. " I had now," he 



17 hogs left, including two beautiful Berk- 



• •f full blood, &c. As I had provided little 



t\ be«t] fcr their lustcnace?, and as I had ie- 



lit 

 It, 

 It- 

 iiei 

 ttv 

 irt* 

 ief 

 wnii 



sS- 

 » m I 



Kulii 



iiiilm 



, ill re- 

 nliiij.t 





lermined to give the root a fair trial, I continued to 

 feed them, adding corn and bran, as seemed indispen- 

 sable, through the winter. This spring I have 14 left, 

 having lost three during the winter; all of which, ex- 

 cept the two Berkehires, are miserably poor. These 

 Berkshires, without, to my knowledge, having fared 

 better than the rest, have not opparcntly sufTered at all, 

 but are in fine condition. I attribute this, in some 

 measure, to their domineering spirit, ond to their 

 greKter industry; for they are intolerable monopolists, 

 and in perpetual action." Something then depends 

 on the breed ; for had they all been Berkshires, we 

 may infer they would all have been " in fine condi- 

 tion" in the spring. Three died during the winter I 

 Did they starve to death 1 Or may we infer that they 

 were diseased, or had not a comfortable shelter to keep 

 off the pelting storms and drifting snow of winter ? 



"Much depends on the breed, as every farmer 

 knows; much on the health of the animal; something 

 on the season of the year. I failed in attempting to 

 fatten several swine in one case, though they were 

 carefully attended, and various kinds of feed tried; 

 nnd the failure was totally inexplicoble until they were 

 slaughtered, when the intestines were found corro- 

 ded with worms, resembling those found in the human 

 stomach; and this, I have no doubt, prevented their 

 thrift. The same fact has occurred in another in- 

 stance, and with the same result. I failed in attempt- 

 ing to fatten some other swine, which had been driv- 

 en a considerable distance and exposed (probably not 

 half fed on the road) to severe cold and storms."* 



My store hogs were fed for some weeks on beets 

 alone. Not having a fidl supply, I have fed them, of 

 late, alternately with beets, potatoes, and corn, all in 

 the raw state. The beets nnd corn they eat with tne 

 same greediness, but the potatoes are a drug. They 

 squeal over them for some time, and then reluctantly 

 eat about half their ration. Another fall I intend to 

 lay in largely for mangel wurlzel and sugar beet, and 

 shall, the coming season, cultivate them accordingly. 



I had supposed it to be an established fact, that cat- 

 tle would fatten if fed sufficiently on beets. But 

 Samuel Guthrie's experience (in the article above 

 referred to) is in the negative. He says, "To one 

 cow, designed for slaughter, I fed some forty bushels 

 in thirty days, and this without making any percepti- 

 ble improvement in the condition of the animal." I 

 shall have to refer to my friend D. T. again. He tells 

 me he has fattened a beef, this winter, principally on 

 beets. " For the fattening of a bullock, forty or fifty 

 pounds of beets per day, mixed with five or six pounds 

 of dry fodder, will accomplish the object in four 

 months. Care must be taken to give it in three sepa- 

 rations, since by feeding often and in small quantities 

 at a time, the same amount of nutriment goes far- 

 ther." t 



Since writing the above, the 1st No, of the 2d. vol. 

 of your valuable paper has come to hand. I was 

 much gratified to find an article [page 11, copied from 

 o" Western paper"] on "Beets for Cattle." The 

 comparative value of beets and potatoes, as food for 

 cattle, I am of the opinion, is rightly estimated. The 

 writer says, " In feeding the same animal with beets, 

 it was easily told that one third lees than of turnips or 

 potatoes, would make them give the same quantity of 

 milk of better quality, and they showed heller keep." 

 The same writer also says, " Young animals [cattle] 

 are peculiarly found of the raw beets, and thrive as- 

 tonishingly on them." Exactly the same with swine. 

 Farmers, store well your cellars with beets, and make 

 a fair trial. Feed your store hogs and cotlle on them' 

 one winter, and you will be convinced of their value, 

 and cultivate them accordingly. 



J. B. BOWEN. 



.Aurora, Cayuga Co., January 20, 1840. 



* Gen. Far., Vol. 4, puge 261. From the transactions of 



the Essex Agricultural Society on ewine. Henry CoLMAfr- 



t Gen. Vol; Vol. », page 3. Bib. Uuiv, for IfiSJ 



To the Editors of the New Genesee Farmer: — 



Gentlemen — On reading on article in the Januory 

 number of your paper, headed Effects of tlie Stock on 

 grafted Fruit Trees, in which you comment on remarks 

 contained in a late number of the Yankee Former, by 

 the editor of that Journal, on the above subject, in 

 which he loys down the following propositions, viz:^ 

 " 1 Stocks have an effect as to bearing years. 



2. Stocks affect the scion in hastening or retarding 

 the ripening of the fruit. 



3. Stacks produce defects on grafted fruit. 



4. Stocks affect the color of fruit. 



5. Stocks affect the quality of fruit. 



6. Stocks hove on influence in increasing or decrea- 

 sing the size of fruit." 



And, as you observe, the subject is not new to hor- 

 ticulturists— Dr. Mease, of Philadelphia, affirming 

 such influence some years ago, and reviewed by you 

 at the time, in the 3d vol. of the old Genesee Farmer; 

 and not thinking the evidence conclusive, and having 

 seen nothing since to change your opinion, you ex- 

 press your willingness to examine the subject anew 

 with candor and fairness; and you commence in the 

 right woy, by etoting the results of yoiu own practice 

 and observation. 



In addressing you on this subject, I beg to inform 

 you it is one I have been closely connected with up- 

 wards of sixteen years in England and this country, 

 the greater part in the former, and the result of my 

 conclusions are the reverse of yours. 



In quoting Professor Lindley in support of your 

 opinion, I think the statement quoted does not go far 

 enough in support of the subject under consideration. 



Though the fodd communicated from the alburnum 

 of the Quince to the Pear, is in nearly the same state 

 as when it entered the roots of the former, it does not 

 follow that the quantity received would be equal to 

 that communicoted through the alburnum of a Pear 

 stock, and hence the austerity of the former, and the 

 luxuriance of the latter. Before I quit this partof tha 

 subject, it will be well to state, though it is a fact 

 known to most horticulturists, that in all English nup- 

 series, a certain number (sufficient to meet the de- 

 mands ol the establishment) of Peors are worked on 

 the Quince annually, and Apples on the Paradise stocks 

 (a sort of dwarf opple or crab, used as stocks, espe- 

 cially for the premature fruiting of the apple, and the 

 influence it has on the scion to form a dwarf tree or 

 bush) for Espaliers and dwarf. Standards, to plant 

 in the borders of the principal walks in the kitchen 

 garden, where they form a counterpart to the trees 

 trained on the garden walls and add much to the gen- 

 eral effect of the garden, Jind are to be seen in most of 

 the gardens of England; and I never knew an in- 

 stance of their failing to exercise the desired influence, 

 namely, dwarf habits, premature fruiting, and prema- 

 ture ripening their fruit. Consequently, (though the 

 fruit is mostly fine, if attention is paid to pruning the 

 trees and thinning the fruit when too thick,) the spe- 

 cimens are never so fine as those obtained from trees 

 worked on the thrifty Pear stock, and common Apple 

 or crab stock — which trees are generally reserved for 

 the orchard, with occasionally something choice for an 

 open space in the gaiden. Instances are not rare in 

 England, (where the climate is not so favorable to the 

 maturing of the finer varieties of the Flemish Pear aa 

 the United States, &c. &c.) when trees are not fertile, 

 (I mean Pears,) although in a flourishing state of 

 growth, scions have been taken off and worked on the 

 Quince Stock, and they hove assumed fertile habits 

 ond bore plentifully. I believe the above includes 

 proposition 2, 5, 6. 



By the first proposition is meant (aa I understand it) 

 bearing in altenxate years, a subject which I think the 

 stock has no influence whatever. On thie head I b». 

 UeT« weajnee. -id «< tou oU»r«. • « - ^'■■' -^•-••' 



