No. 10. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL. 



1 53 



From Caiman's Second Report 

 Experiments niid Improvements. 



The improvement of ngricultiire, ns a ecicnce nnd 

 » an, deponds greaily upon facis. Experimcnle, il- 

 luotrnling what can or what cannot be done, are ol 

 groat value. Farmers object to agricultural experi- 

 ments, as involving cipendiiures beyond their means: 

 but an experiment on a small •scale, within the means 

 of the humblest farmer, may be as instructive and con- 

 clusive, in reference to the point sought to bo ascer- 

 tained, as an experiment of an extended and expen- 

 aive character. The point to be mainly insisted upon, 

 and that, in which farmers commonly fail, is exact- 

 ness of observation. Without this, no experiment 

 is of any value. In this matter I have been so often 

 disappointed, that my importunity will, I hope, be 

 excused, when 1 urge upon formers attempting, or at 

 all disposed to attempt, experiments, to pay the most 

 pointed attention to the mode of conducting them ; 

 iheir progress ; the circumstances under which they 

 aie begun and carried on; and their actual results. 



I believe it must be admitted, that there is no class 

 of men of business so little attentive to exactness, in 

 all their operations; and none more ready to draw has- 

 ty conclusions, or to deal in what are mere guesses, 

 than farmers. 



I certainly design no disrespect to the farmers, 

 when I give an example of a conversation to which 

 ] am too often a party. Indeed I should be almost 

 willing to give offence, if I could by any means in- 

 duce to more precision and carefulness. 



Thus : if I ask a farmer, if he has used lime on his 

 land or his crops 1 he answers, yes. In what quanti- 

 ty to the acre ? be did not measure the lime or the 

 land. Could he see any difference where he limed, 

 and where he did not lime ? he limed the whole field 

 equally. Did he apply it with or without manure, 

 single or in compost, or did he apply it to a part of 

 the field with or without manure ? he applied it to 

 all parts of the field in the same way. Did he per 

 ceive any good effects upon the field thus limed and 

 manured 1 yes. How were these effects ascertained ? 

 did he measure the crop ? no, he measured nothing, 

 but he was of opinion that the land was benefited by 

 the application : he tluiught there was a difierence in 

 the result from what would have been, had it not been 

 limed. But was this difference attributable to the 

 lime or the manure? it was all limed and manured 

 alike ; but he supposed it was the lime. I might go 

 on, but this will suffice. This is a true account of 

 the manner in which my inquiries are often answer- 

 ed ; and shows how what farmers call experiments 

 are often conducted. But can anything be plainer, 

 than that by such experiments no certainty is reached. 

 Whether any advantage was obtained from liming 

 alone, or liming with manure, cannot be determined, 

 because the field was all solved alike, ond there were, 

 therefore, no means of comparison. Again ; if the 

 crop is not measured and compared with a crop not 

 thus managed, how can it be determined what has or 

 has not been gained ? Again ; if neither part wae 

 served with lime alone, and neither with manure 

 alone, and neither part separately from the part with 

 lime and manure in combination, how could any 

 thing be determined in regard to the comparative val- 

 ue or use of lime or manure singly or in conjunction ? 

 Then again, if any thing has been eH'ected, yet, il 

 nothing has been measured, neither lime, nor manure, 

 nor land, nor cr,^^BK can it be ascertained whai 

 has been done, a^^^^K efficacy or utility is to be 

 accredited to the lim^i 



I state this case, which is not in any respect exag- 

 gerated, to illustrate the difficulty of arriving at cor- 

 rect resulis solely from the neglect of intelligent and 

 exact inquiry and experiment. But I shall be an- 



swered, that it would bo too much trouble to be as 

 exact and particular as I propose. This is ah answer 

 which an inquisitive and intelligent farmer, if he 

 means to respect himself, will bo very shy of giving. 

 Inmost cases, however, it costs scarcely more pains to 

 conduct and observe on experiment with exaciuess, 

 than to do it in the uncertain way in which it is com- 

 monly done. But in the latter ease we may bo pro- 

 perly eoid to determine nothing; in the former we 

 reach the object of our inquiry, which is generally 

 much more than a compensation for any pains- taking 

 It may cost us. But in no matter whatever is knowl- 

 edge of any subslaniial value acquired without labor 

 and careful inquiry. Wo might as well complain that 

 we cannot obtain the harvest witbouteowing the seed, 

 and tending and cultivating the growth. But the 

 constitution and lawsof the divine providence in these 

 eases are inviolable, and not to be turned aside for our 

 convenience or indolence ; and as far as concerns 

 man's moral benefit, the benevolence of this un 

 chnngeobleness corres ponds with its infinit e wisdom 

 For the Neio Genesee Farmer. 

 The Orchard. 



The cultivolion of good fiuil is of such importance 

 to ths-^arnier, that it cannot be too often nor too strong- 

 ly recommended to hisotlention. I have lately trav- 

 elled through a considerable portion of the country, 

 and have taken some pains to ascertain the quality 

 ond condition of the orchards particularly. I have 

 found many excellent apple orchards, loaded with the 

 finest varieties of fruit, but these would not average 

 one in fifty. 



The greatest number are of the most worthless 

 character, and the trees miserably taken care of. — 

 Suckers are growing up for several feet around the 

 trees, and ihe heads or tops have never been pruned 

 or thinned out. This neglect would in a few years 

 deteriorate the very best of fruit. 



Besides the neglect with which Farmers themselves 

 have trcoted this subject, there arc other couses to 

 which the scarcity of good Iruit may be very justly 

 ascribed, viz ; the peddling of apple trees around the 

 country by persons possessing comparatively no 

 knowledge of fruit culture themselves, and caring as 

 little, if they could only moke a profitable business ot 

 it. The praclice of such persons, I find, has gener- 

 ally been to recommend such kinds, whatever they 

 might be, as they had in greatest abundance. 



Extensive frauds have been practised throughout 

 the whole country, by persons who make a business 

 of engrafting. They generally represent iheir scions 

 us some of very excellent and popular kind, when in 

 fact they know nothing of their character whatever. 

 Scarcely a farmer with whom I have conversed, but 

 has been thus deceived. These gentlemen and their 

 scions arc well worthy of notice. 



Every person who plants a fruit tree, or propagates 

 one in any way, should spore no pains to get iheliesl 

 kind, and from a reliable source. No confidence 

 should be placed in those itinerants who have no char- 

 acter at stake, for disappointment will he the result in 

 nine cases out of ten. 



Pears, plums, peaches and cherries, are ten fold 

 more deficient than apples. There have been very 

 few, if any, good pears in market this season ; those 

 that have been brought in, have sold at .$2,25 to $2,50 

 per bushel ; but you might travel 20 miles in many 

 jorts of the comitry, ond not find a single pear tree 

 with fine fruit in use at this season. Plums are plen- 

 ty, but of poor quality, and mostly the common blue. 

 The green gage is to be found in mony gardens ; 

 -,ome fine yellow egg, ond Ruling's superb, and Bol- 

 ;noi's Washington, &••., have been selling at 12J to 

 25 cents per quart, while the common sorts would 

 I scarcely sell for so much by the bushel ; and so with 



peaches ; fine, large, good flavored peaches command 

 $i per bushel, while the great bulk of those brought 

 to market, aro sold for 37i to 75 cents. In tact, 

 persons who have been in the habit of eating fine 

 peaches, would scarcely consider the great bulk of 

 those that come to market at all palatable. Such 

 fruits only cucumber the ground, for they will never 

 sell for enough to pay for picking them. 



Quinces are well worthy of cultivation, and yet ore 

 exceedingly scarce. This region is well adopted to 

 their growth— they bear abundantly wherever they 

 aro to bo found, and sell readily in market for $1,50 

 to $2,50 per bushel. 



The culiivotion of the small gorden fruits, such aa 

 strawberries, raspberries, currants, gooseberries, &c., 

 is much neglecied ; they are cosily procured, easily 

 cultivated, and add greatly to the comforts and luxu- 

 ries of the family boord, at a season of the year when 



fruit is generally scarce^ P- B, 



Transplanting. 

 The fall is decidedly the best ecason for transplant- 

 ing all kinds of hardy trees, though this is contrary 

 to the general opinion throughout the country. Many 

 say they have never succeeded so well in the fall as in 

 the spring. The'rcason of this is that their fall plant- 

 ing has not been performed in due season. If trees 

 are carefully planted and secured from being blown 

 about by the winds, any time in the latter half of the 

 month of October, or the first week in November, 

 they will gain nearly a year's growth over those plant- 

 ed the following spring. Besides the spring is always 

 a busy season with the fanner, and ihe planting of 

 trees, shrubs, &c., if deferred till then, is too fre- 

 quently forgotten entirely. 



Persons who intend planting orchords or making 

 improvements around their dwellings by planting or- 

 namental forests trees and shrubs, &c., should avail 

 themselves of the very earliest period of the present 

 month suitable for doing so. It is also the only pro- 

 per time for transporting trees, &c., to the interior of 

 the country. Trees can be carried safely by canal f) 

 the most distont west, if shipped early ; in spring it 

 ia quite impracticable, as vegetation is invariably too 

 far odvanced before canal navigotion commences. 



Many persons possessing a heavy clay soil, havo 

 become quite discouraged from their trees dying year 

 after year : several have told me thot it is no use for 

 them to plant more, as they will not live. The diffi- 

 culty is, they have taken no more care in planting 

 ihan is requisite in the finest sandy loom. 



In stiff odhesive soils, the subsoil should be dugou 

 ot least one foot deeper and two feet farther in circum. 

 ferenee than the roots of the tree require, and good 

 friable surface soil filled in ; and the sui face should 

 be kept as well hoed as a flower border, during th e 

 first year at least after planting. Let those who have 

 a heavy clay soil, pursue this practice ond they will 



be successful. ^^^ !'• B. 



Orchard Caterpillars. 

 Attentive observers will doubtlesa have noticed that 

 these insects have been on the increase for a yeor or 

 two past, and it would he well if eflectual measures 

 were laken to destroy them while their numbers are 

 yet small. The perfect insect deposits its eggs, du- 

 ring the latter part of summer, in the shape of belts 

 or cylindrical rings on the smaller branches and near 

 their extremeties. These rings are then covered wilU 

 a resinous substance which excludes moisture and they 

 remain uninjured till the following spring, when the 

 young caterpillars hatch, grow, and devour. Each 

 ring of eggs produces a nest of caterpillars. 



At this season of the year, these nests of eggs are 

 easily seen, and if cut oft" ond burned, the operotion 

 will save the more tioublesomj; task of destroying the 

 insects next spring, and at a season when less time Is 

 allowed for its faithful performance. }, 



