SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
87 
A HINT TO ORCHAKDISTS. 
]\fr. Edilor : — Allow me to present you with a speci- 
men of the Lancaster Greening and New York Pippin 
Apples, with the compliments of James H. JBostwick, 
Esq., of Jefferson county, Ga., from whose orchard they 
were taken. Mr Bostwick has an Apple orchard con- 
taining one hundred and twelve trees, of eighteen varie- 
ties, planted in 1850, commenced bearing in 1852. In '55 
and ’5G he had an abundance of apples, some of which 
weighed a pound, of as rich flavor as any northern, eas- 
tern or western, and fairer were never seen — to both of 
which assertions you can testify, after you i;ave submit- 
ted those now presented to the usual ordeal. 
During my journeyings through Burke and Jefferson 
counties,! have wondered why so little attention has 
been given by the citizens to the culture of so great a lux- 
ury. 
My opinion was, that the soil and climate were as 
genial as those of New Jersey, where is grown the most 
delicious fruit, of the greatest varieties, in profuse abun- 
dance. To all suggestions I niade in relation to this mat- 
ter, I was met with that common phrase : “It canh be 
done but it has been done by Mr. Bostwick, and satis- 
factorily done; and he gives it as his opinion, based upon 
actual experiment, that Apples, Peaches, &c., can be pro- 
duced upon Jefferson county soil, that will compare 
favorably with that produced in any State in the Union. 
He has also a small Peach orchard whic'n produced, 
during the two past years, the finest fruit, in lavish quan- 
tities ; and I regret that I have no specimen to present with 
the apples. 
These orchards have produced large crops of cotton and 
potatoes, every year since the trees were set; and he 
says the trees have been materiolly improved by the ope- 
ration. 
His hogs are fattened upon the fruit, and good results 
from their rooting among the roots of the young trees. 
Now, I imagine the reason why so many have failed in 
their attempts at orcharding lies in the fact that when the 
trees were set, they supposed their work done. That was 
a mistaken conclusion ; for manuring, plowing and cross- 
ing, if you please, are as essential to the thrift of fruit 
trees, and the perfection of their fruit, as to that of cotton, 
corn, or any other product. Yours truly, 
A. SlIERMAN', 
Constitutionalist . 
SOUTHERN APPEES — MAKINC.; CIDER, &e. 
Editors Southern Cultivator — You ask my opin- 
ion in regard to the “best cider apple V' I feel prepared, 
after giving it a fair test, to pronounce Hughes’ Virginia 
Crab as standing a full head and shoulders above all other 
cider apples cultivated in the United States, and the Har- 
rison Long-Stem next to it. 
In my first practice in Pomology I followed Kendrick as 
my guide, and, of course, commenced an orchard out of 
Northern apples, including the Harrison Apple for cider. 
I failed utterly, all rny winter apples ripening and falling 
off the trees in autumn. Pell’s far-famed “Newtown Pip- 
pin” alone has cost me some thousands of grafts to re-top 
them with good Southern varieties of winter fruit. 
I have for years been positive in the opinion that South 
©f Maryland we must have a Pomology of our own, so far 
as apples are concerned. 
The labors of the l.rst 8 years of my life have been de 
voted to the examplification of the above opinion, and the 
result already is that my orchard now contains more than 
a dozen varieties of Win'er Apples — all Southern Seed- 
lings — which, in my opinion, cannot be equalled in point 
of fine quality by the same number of varieties of Apples 
grown at the North. As regards the Newton Pippin, 1 
can best it with Camak’s Winter Sweet. I, however, can 
take but little credit to myself for anything I have done in 
advancing the science of Pomology, as I have worked as 
noiseless as a mole, and on my own ground. It is to Mr. 
J. Van Buren that the South is more indebted than to 
any other living individual for giving an impetus to Po- 
mology by collecting, publishing and disseminating ail 
the varieties ofSoutiiern Seedling Apples of superior qual- 
ity heretofore discovered. 
You need have no fears in regard to Hughes' Crab suc- 
ceeding as far south as Augusta. I met witli it in the 
greatest perfection on a gentleman’s farm in Coweta coun- 
ty, Ga. The gentleman did not know any use he could 
put them to, as neither his negroes or hogs would eat 
them ! 
You would probably like to know my process for mak- 
ing fine cider. It is as follows : 
Let the crabs be thoroughly ripe ; then grind well and 
press close, and from the press put the cider in open-mouth- 
ed barrels, and to every 60 gallons mix in 5 pounds of 
maple coal-dust, and also two dozen eggs, and beat up 
shells and all. If the weather is very cold, it will take 
from 12 to 15 days before the coal will be precipitated ; if 
mild, not half that time. The next process is to press it 
through a large and deep hopper filled with the finest of 
sand and also 20 ply of the very finest flannel, having its 
vent, or outlet in a grooved plank, to catch it as it issues 
from the hopper. 
The coal takes up all acidity, and it comes from the hop- 
per in a stream about tlie ^ize of a rye straw and as pure 
as the morning devA. 
Another and more speedy way to purify it with the 
coal and eggs is, after it is mixed to put it in a large cop- 
per boiler, and so soon as it boils to skim it and pass it 
through the hopper. 
But cider made by the latter process is not so fine as 
the former, as it loses much of its aroma which passes oil' 
in boiling. Yours truly, S. McDowfxl. 
FrfmJclin, Mamv Co., N. C. 
Milking. — The Massachusetts Plovghmav says; — The 
milker should sit close to the cow, and should endeavor 
by all means to be on good terms with her; and if he 
scolds and kicks, she will be quite likely to return the 
compliment. Sit close, and let the left arm be in contact 
with the leg of the cow ; then she cannot set her foot in- 
to the pail if she is disposed to do it. She cannot kick 
while lier leg is in contact with your left arm, for a blow 
requires space between the agent and the object. The 
best milker is he who is quicke.st, for there will be a flow 
in less than a minute from the commencement of the pro- 
cess. Take advantage of this, and not let the milk flow 
back again. Milk out all that the cow will give, for the 
last of the milk, or the strippings, is worth more than four 
times as much for butter as the milk that first comes. 
Strength of Slavery. — A waiter in the A.ugwsta 
Chronicle Sentinel says : 
“The real strength of slavery lies in its adaptation to 
the relative capacity of the two races, in the eliecrful sub- 
mission of the slave, in the dependence of the civilized 
world on its productions, in the fa-vorable convictions o 
all who have any practical knowledge of it, in the instinc- 
tive repugnance of the whites to equality with blacks, 
and in the social and political ligaments which bind to 
getber all classes at the South. Thus fortifi''d, it needs no 
help from the officious schemers who now the 
land.” 
