CULTIVATION OF FRUIT TREES. 
15 
ments in February number, upon the production 
of cheap beef and tallow at the west, which has 
unfortunately got mislaid; and lest it may not 
turn up again, we make haste to state the gist of 
it, which we think we can pretty fairly do, from 
memory. It was not the great weight of the cow 
of which Mr. Robinson thought so much, but the 
large quantity of tallow which she produced for 
her carcase; and being pure grass-fed, and that 
upon land, which, as it is owned by Government, 
any one can have the free use of—the beef and 
tallow wonld consequently cost a mere nominal 
price, and thus give him the advantage of the 
argument in point of cheapness, to which, of 
course, we readily accede. 
From a private letter from Mr. Robinson of 8th 
of March, we extract one paragraph. 
Your description of the English mode of stack- 
• ing grain, I have never before seen in an Ameri¬ 
can paper. We are too unwilling to copy good 
methods of farming, because they are English. 
If this plan of stacking was universally adopted 
in this country, it would save great expense in 
barn building, and tens of thousands of bushels of 
grain every year. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
CULTIVATION OF FRUIT TREES. 
When the large profits attending the cultiva¬ 
tion of the finer fruits in the neighborhood of a 
market, and the great addition to the food, com¬ 
fort, and luxury, they afford everywhere is consid¬ 
ered, it is a matter of surprise they are not ob¬ 
jects of universal attention. I have had cognizance 
of the New-York markets for the last 15 years, 
and during this time they have borne the highest 
remunerating prices, yielding a far greater return 
to the farmer than any other crops he can raise. 
Early strawberries, early apples, and choice varie¬ 
ties of apricots, cherries, peaches, pears, plums, 
and grapes, have returned, it is believed, fourfold 
the profit of ordinary farm or horticultural prod¬ 
ucts. Even during the last season, while good 
mess pork was selling here for $7 to $8 a barrel, 
the best peaches, plums, and pears, brought twice 
that amount, and frequently more ! The Ber¬ 
gamot, Bon-Chretien, Seckel, Yirgalieu, and other 
choice pears being frequently worth $6 a bushel, 
while choice peaches would readily bring $5, and 
other kinds of rare fruits were equally high. Now 
in this calculating and all-absorbing money age, 
what prevents the supply of larger amounts of 
these delicious products ? We can conceive but 
of two or three reasons which appear to us to 
cover the whole ground. 
1st. The object is too remote; it requires from 3 
to 6 or 8 years to obtain a full return for the time 
and money expended. True, but if your land is 
for sale any time previous, it will bring several 
times the additional cost of this outlay, more than 
it would otherwise do, and when once it begins 
to pay, it will be a continued source of profit, with 
comparatively trifling expense thereafter. 
2d. The fruit does not thrive as certainly and 
rapidly as expected, owing to bad trees, or bad 
soil, or bad management, and the owner is dis¬ 
couraged from further attempts; or the trees be¬ 
come diseased, and he is too ignorant or shiftless 
to ascertain the cause and apply the remedy. 
3d. He does not make it his business, and con¬ 
sidering it but of secondary consequence, his trees 
are neglected, and soon fall into decay. But we 
have already stated sufficient inducements for him 
to make it his business, and justify any one who is 
near a good market in producing the best qualities 
of fruits in abundance, and when not able to sell 
at large prices, the farmer cannot procure food, 
medicine, or luxuries cheaper, and good fruit is 
cash, than by cultivating an adequate supply for 
the wants of his own family. I shall confine my¬ 
self in what I have to say at this time, to a few 
simple directions as to the choice of soil, mode of 
treatment, and remedies for diseases. 
The soil should be sufficiently dry and in good 
condition. It is a mistaken idea that very light 
or sandy soil is requisite to produce good fruits. 
A strong calcareous olay soil will yield as abun¬ 
dantly, and perhaps a higher flavored fruit than 
a lighter soil. But any land in condition to yield 
the greatest quantity of good wheat, may be safely 
taken as of standard quality for the different 
varieties of fruits. 
The aspect of the land, if there be an opportu¬ 
nity for selection, should be northward or west¬ 
ward, so as to avoid the injurious effect of prema¬ 
ture development of vegetation in the sprmg, by 
which the fruit is effectually cut off by late frosts. 
The transplanting should be managed with 
great care. If a strong clay soil is used, the 
ground should first be turned over by a heavy 
plough, with a double furrow occupying the line 
of the rows, by which not only is the ground 
raised higher and an opportunity afforded for the 
water to pass off in the plough drain between the 
two lands, but there is more soil thrown just where 
the trees require it for their own support. When 
not convenient to do this, and the land is not un¬ 
derdrained, I have found it most effectual for the 
rapid growth of the tree, to place the root on the 
upturned surface of the ground, by which they are 
free from the drowning effects of standing water 
in the spring, or excessive rains in any other por¬ 
tion of the year. 
The distance at which the trees should stand 
apart, must depend not only on the species of tree, 
an apple requiring at least four times the space of 
a peach, and sometimes much more, but also on 
the variety, twice as much room being neces¬ 
sary for the Baldwin or Seeknofurther, which is 
adequate to the full development of the Siberian 
crab. The holes dug to receive the roots should 
not be less than 4 feet square, whether the roots 
are half this size or less; the object being to pre¬ 
pare a rich mellow bed for them to develop in. 
The earth should be carefully trod around them 
when put in, and water added to settle the fine 
earth around the roots, will do much toward pre- 
