PROCEEDINGS OF THE FARMERS* CLUB. 273 



the cane is fit for thq mill, in all warm and dry localities, and must be 

 ground as soon as possible; but where it is moist and cool, there is no 

 necessity lor haste, as the canes will not deteriorate for several niDUtlis. 



Some of the Sandwich Islands sugar planters are provided wi(h all uf 

 the most approved ajiplianees for the business known in any country, and 

 cane planting is extending rapidly. TIk; crop of 1803-4 will r(;acii ten 

 million pounds, and the incoming one will exceed tliat probably one-third. 

 AVith suflicient labor and capital, iliere is nothing to hinder the islands 

 from producing at once all the raw sugars required on the racilic coast. 



Currant Bushes — Do they need Renewing ? 



Mr. L. II. "Warren, Augusta, Oneida county, N. Y., says: "I have a row 

 of bushes of the common red currant, sixty years old, which has never 

 failed to produce a full crop, except in the cold season of 1810, and once 

 since when the blossoms were killed by frost. Last season they were as 

 thrifty and as prolific, as ever. During all this time the roots of these 

 bushes have not been disturbed in any manner, nor have they been 

 manured except by the application of a quantity of leached ashes about 

 once in five years, or had any tillage whatever; and during the last twelve 

 years a parallel row of maple trees on the south side, and not more than 

 eight feet distant, have grown to a height of twenty feet, shading them 

 completel}^ i'lonx five to six hours in the middle of the day; ^-et there is no 

 ^perceptible dillerence in the size or quality of the fruit. A picket fence 

 is near the bushes on the south side, and a garden which has been plowed 

 within three feet of the bushes every year for the same sixty years, and 

 but moderately manured, is on the other side. The soil is a naturally 

 strong'clay loam. But although there has been no tilling or resetting of 

 these bushes, the oldest wood has died out at a certain age, and new shoots 

 have come from the roots, as is the nature of this shrub, leaving no per- 

 ceptilile diniiiiutio!! or increase of growth from the stands. 



" Now, sir, from this evidence of the age, vitality and fruitfulness of 

 currant bushes, and from other experience and experimenting not neces- 

 sary to note here, I deduce as follows: That the currant is not only one of 

 the most healthful and economical of the small fruits, but the very hardiest, 

 longest lived and most trustworthy; and that one has only to set the slips 

 in a soil ordinarily good, till immediately around them two or three years, 

 and then let (hfm alone (except to keep off tlie vermin"), to insure a never- 

 failing supply for a lifetime. Tlioy may be planted close to a fence, or 

 stone wall, or building, and need not interfere with anything; and as they 

 cost next to nothing it ought to be held a misdemeanor for the owner of 

 land to be found without a fair supply fur his own famih', and for at least 

 07ie family more that is near by, poor and landless." 



Tar and Turpentine. — How it is Produced in Maine and New 



Hampshire. 



Mr. Solon Robinson. — We have had a number of letters of inquiry before 

 the Club, asking whether tar and turpentine could not be made from the 

 pines of New England. Lake, Hills & Co., Welchville, Oxford county, 



lAu. Ikst1 U 



