116 
CULTIVATION OF FRUIT. 
There is no denying the fact, that to most of 
the farmers of the present day, words of science 
are “ repulsive .” They are not understood by 
them, and although they have a desire, as occasion 
permits, to read for pleasure and instruction, it is 
irksome, and indeed impossible, to turn this pas¬ 
time into hard and severe study. They can derive 
no pleasure from reading in ignorance, not com¬ 
prehending the technical terms of their subject, or 
in spending most of the time which they can de¬ 
vote to reading, in hunting out the meaning of 
words. Hence it is, that not only boohs of science, 
but men of science are avoided by the farmers. 
They receive no pleasure when brought in con¬ 
tact with either. Thus they are induced to avoid 
them, and thus as a matter of choice, not necessity , 
they take a lower rank in society than the true 
dignity of their occupation requires. 
I trust enough has been said to demonstrate the 
true cause of the present situation of farmers, and 
that they have the remedy in their own hands. I 
Will now point out a practical mode of applying 
this remedy, which in less than fifteen years, (and 
this in the life of a community is a short period,) 
will create a class of industrious farmers, for whom 
it will not be necessary to abridge the works of 
scientific writers on agriculture, and to present 
their works in a form less repulsive , because less 
learned , and consequently , more generally intel¬ 
ligible. 
As that which is everybody’s business becomes 
nobody’s, I will take the liberty of designating an 
institution under whose direction the work of re¬ 
form should be commenced. In making this se¬ 
lection, I do not intend to reflect upon, or under¬ 
rate the utility of others. I name the American 
Institute , because if its objects are to promote na¬ 
tional greatness, it will never have a better oppor¬ 
tunity. It is an institution fast growing into im¬ 
portance if properly directed. It is now conducted 
by men of comparative leisure and much experi¬ 
ence. It has received much public patronage, and 
can not with reason object to incurring the slight 
expense required for the purposes I mention. Let 
then the American Institute, through their com¬ 
mittee on agriculture, or a committee of the Farm¬ 
ers’ Club, or a committee from the New York 
State Society for the diffusion of useful knowledge, 
ascertain from the superintendent of common 
schools, the names of all the town superintendents 
in the state, and their places of residence. Ad¬ 
dress a printed communication to each of these, 
setting forth the object in view, get from them as¬ 
surances that they will cause to be introduced and 
used in all their district schools, such text-books on 
agriculture, geology, chemjstry, anatomy of ani¬ 
mals, &c., as shall be recommended to them by 
the Institute, and also the number of such books 
required in each school, and in the district libraries. 
Let them also open a correspondence with all the 
county agticultural societies, &c, to aid in making 
up a suitable reward or premium to be offered for 
the best text-books. 
When this is done, let the same committee ad¬ 
vertise for the best elementary text-books on those 
subjects, to be selected for approval at such time, 
place, and in such manner, as may be deemed most 
advisable ; stating also the probable number of 
such approved books that will be required, and 
the premium or reward to be given, and I am 
satisfied that the certainty of remuneration to 
arise from said premium, and from so large, expe¬ 
ditious, and certain a sale of such approved text¬ 
books, would command the talents of competent 
men, and that geology, anatomy, agriculture, and 
chemistry, adapted to the use of common schools, 
would occupy the talents of many an Uncle Philip, 
Peter Parley, Mitchell, Davies, &c. 
Let whatever committees may be appointed to 
examine and approve of those text-books, be men 
of science in each department, who will carefully 
and honestly discharge their duty; let no undue 
influence be brought to bear in procuring recom¬ 
mendations of books ; let the town superintendents 
employ competent teachers , (a duty not sufficient¬ 
ly estimated at present,) and let the class-books so 
recommended and approved of, be thus introduced 
and used in all our common schools. Such an or¬ 
ganized and simultaneous movement in this state 
must inevitably spread through and be adopted in 
other states, and as I before said, in ten or fifteen 
years from this time, the compilation of Joseph A. 
Smith may be required in other countries, but in 
this, will be of little use. 
Thomas Addis Emmet. 
CULTIVATION OF FRUIT. 
Soil. —The hard gravelly soil of the eastern 
states, the sandy soil of New Jersey, the clay soil 
of Pennsylvania, and the rich alluvial bottoms of 
the west, all produce an abundance of the differ¬ 
ent varieties of fruit when proper attention is giv¬ 
en to the trees. Mr. Phinney, of Lexington, Mas¬ 
sachusetts, has ditched and drained one of his 
swamps, and has now on it a luxuriant orchard of 
apples-trees. The great point is to have a dry 
soil. If it is not sufficiently rich, make it so ; no 
man should expect to have fine crops of anything 
unless his soil is rich. 
Setting out Trees. —If by exposure the roots 
have become dry, immerse them in water for 20 
or 30 hours previous to setting them out. Prepare 
a compost as follows: Take 3 bushels of rich soil, 
or 3 bushels of swamp muck would be better, 1 
bushel night soil, 1 bushel fine charcoal, (if char¬ 
coal is plenty 3 to 4 bushels is to be preferred,) 1 
bushel slaked lime, 1 bushel of unleached, or 2 
bushels of leached wood ashes, and 1 peck of salt. 
Mix the above well together. 
Dig the holes 3ft.wide,2 feet deep, keeping the 
top soil by itself, fill in a portion of the bottom soil 
until nearly ready for the tree, then fill in half a 
bushel of the compost and set in the tree, spread¬ 
ing out the roots to their natural position, and fill 
in the top soil, gently shaking the tree two or three 
times to settle the soil around the roots. The tree 
should be set the same depth in the orchard, that 
it stood in the nursery* Leave the soil a little hol¬ 
lowing about the tree to catch and retain the rain¬ 
water. Put around each tree half a peck of fine 
charcoal, and half a peck of slaked lime. With 
these precautions, neither peach nor any other 
fruit-trees will be infested with worms at the roots 
