262 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



shrink in the pot; and if in the new it would 

 swell; and a great many good, honest farmers, 

 religiously observed her waxing and waning 

 quarters for their periodical packing. That some 

 meat shrinks, while other swells, is a fact too 

 notorious for cavil; but that the moon is to be 

 praised or blamed for this agency we most fully 

 deny. The true cause of these changes is to 

 be found in the manner of feeding the animals 

 before slaughtering. An animal that has been 

 long and well fed, till the fat cells have become 

 fully charged with solid matter, will, on exposure 

 to boiling water, absorb a portion of it, and con- 

 sequently swell the dimensions of the flesh; 

 while that which has been hastily^ or but par- 

 tially fattened, will diminish in cooking from the 

 abstraction of the juices which occupied the 

 cavities or spaces between the lean fibres. This 

 is the whole secret of the shrinking and swelling 

 of meals. It will thus be perceived that one 

 carcass of equal weight may differ materially 

 in value from another of nearly the same appa- 

 rent quality. This difference in value is equally 

 manifest in the quality of fish and poultry. — 

 Eggs from well-fed hens are also much more 

 rich and substantial than those which are pro- 

 duced by hens sparsely fed. The latter will 

 invariably be found meager and watery. — Ex. 



ASPARAGUS. 



Horticulturists say that the best way to kill 

 weeds on asparagus beds is to water them liber- 

 ally with beef or pork brine. The salt kills the 

 weeds, while it nourishes the asparagus, which 

 is a maritime plant, and grows the better for 

 having salt. 



TO REVIVIFY OLD PEAR TREES. 



In the Horticulturist we find the following re- 

 port of an experiment tried on two old pear trees 

 which had ceased to bear any thing but blighted, 

 miseable fruit, hardly worthy of the name: 



In the month of October, 1843, 1 took in hand 

 two large and thrifty Virgalieu pear trees, about 

 twenty or thirty feet in height. I first scraped 

 off all the rough bark, and coated the trunk 

 of the tree over with a paint brush. I next cut 

 out about one-third of all the poorest branches, 

 and shortened the head of the tree one-third, by 

 "heading back" the principal limbs, covering 

 the wounds after paring them, with the "shellac 

 solution," (the best thing I have ever tried,) re- 

 commended on page 32 of the " Fruits and 

 Fruit Trees of America." 



I then dug a trench, four feet wide around 

 the whole ball of roots, untouched about six 

 feet in diameter. The roots — all the roots, large 

 or small,-— that extended beyond this ball, I cut 



off ; and I should judge that I* cut off about 

 one-third of the roots ; or, as you advised me, 

 about an equal proportion to the branches re- 

 duced. 



The trench itself, which was four feet wide, I 

 dug twenty inches deep ; and carted away all 

 the old soil from it to another part of my gar- 

 den. I next carted in an equal quantity of soil 

 from a field of good pasture, where the sod had 

 not been broken up for several years. I drew 

 this earth, composed pretty largely of the sod 

 itself, and filled the trench around both trees. 



To each tree I then applied the following sub- 

 stances, viz: two bushels of refuse or scoria? 

 from a blacksmith's forge, two bushels of char- 

 coal pretty well broken, and two pounds of pot- 

 ash well pulverized. These substances I had 

 on the spot, and mingled them with the fresh 

 soil as it was put in the trench. After the 

 trench was full of soil containing these stimu- 

 lants, I had the whole of its contents thoroughly 

 intermixed, by turning them over and over again 

 with the spade. This is the whole of the pro- 

 cess. Now a word about the results. 



The first summer after the trees had been 

 operated upon — that of 1844, I was surprised 

 and delighted with the luxuriance and vigor of 

 the new growth. It was very healthy, and had 

 the appearance of that of a very fine young 

 tree. Suffice it to say, the tree had formed a 

 new and handsome head. 



Next season, 1845, it blossomed moderately. 

 But almost every blossom set, and gave me a 

 fruit. Every fruit, to my great joy and satis- 

 faction, was large, fair and smooth ; the growth 

 was clean and healthy, and the leaves dark 

 green in color. 



This year, I have had a fine crop : two bushels 

 from one tree, four bushels from the other. They 

 were superb fruit — genuine, old-fashioned Vir- 

 galieus; and I cannot doubt that my trees will 

 continue to bear such for many years. 



I need not say, that I and many others are 

 convinced by this experiment, that the pear tree, 

 of many sorts in my neighborhood, have failed 

 from a want of proper sustenance in the soil. — 

 Whether the receipt you gave me, may be im- 

 proved upon or not, I cannot say ; but I can say, 

 that, so far, it has answered perfectly; and it is 

 my belief that every old and enfeebled pear tree, 

 that bears cracked fruit, may be restored to good 

 health and a fine bearing condition by following 

 the same rules. J. B. W. 



A PORTRAIT. 



The following, says the Western Farmer and 

 Gardener, is the portrait of a genuine anti-book 

 farmer: 



11 He ploughs three inches deep, lest he should 

 turn up the poison that, in his estimation, lies 

 below ; his wheat land is ploughed so as to keep 



