100 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
*1,356 WORTH OF PEAKS ON AN ACRE. 
The Ellsworth (Maine) American tells us 
that Mr. C. A. Nealey, of Eddington, Penob- 
scott County, recently took into the village, 
one morning, forty bushels of pears, and re¬ 
tailed them out in less than an hour, for two 
dollars per bushel, or eighty dollars. Twen¬ 
ty bushels of these pears grew upon one 
tree, making the product worth forty dollars. 
Now, we will allow that tree a plot of ground 
just twenty feet square, or four hundred 
square feet, which is all that a pear tree of 
anything like modest pretensions would re¬ 
quire. An acre, then, would contain one 
hundred and eight and nine-tenths such plots, 
and, of course, just that number of pear trees. 
The product of these, at forty dollars per 
tree, is at the rate of $4,350 per acre. 
Jf anybody is disposed to criticise this 
method of estimating, we shall fall back upon 
the example of the “ distinguished agricul¬ 
turist,” who raised such unheard-of crops of 
cabbages and potatoes, by the aid of some 
science and “some ” fertilizer. He produced 
one great cabbage that weighed ever so many 
pounds—six, we believe ; it. may have been 
ten or fifteen. Now, that cabbage occupied 
a plot of ground just two feet square, and 
since there are 10,890 such plots on an acre, 
of course his whole crop (one cabbage) was 
at the rate of 10,890 great, cabbages per acre. 
These, at ten cents each, amount to $1,069 
for an acre. Is not. this perfectly plain rea¬ 
soning 1 
But the pear man is ahead. Let us try 
the potato patch. One hill was dug which 
measured just sixquartsof splendid potatoes. 
With the hills three feet apart each way, we 
have 4,840 hills, or 8761 bushels to the acre, 
which, at $1 25 per bushel, is at the rate of 
$1,095 311 per acre. And as there were 
eight, acres in the field, the crop was, of 
course, 7,010 bushels, or$8,762 50 ! — all pro¬ 
duced by a few hundred pounds of a special 
fertilizer. But from eight acres the pear 
man would have realized $34,848. So he is 
still clearly ahead. 
If any persons wish for more specimens 
of great crops, at the rate of so much per 
acre, or per hundred acres, let them run 
over the Patent Office Reports—Agricultural 
Division— and the “ Transactions ” of sundry 
Agricultural Societies for a few years past. 
If not, satisfied with the examples there 
found, we can, perhaps, point them to some 
agricultural papers, or to the writings of a 
single individual, which will, we trust, satis¬ 
fy their utmost desires. 
But seriously, the yield of pears referred 
to above, which w r e have simply taken as a 
text for some allusions to a current species 
of humbug in crop estimates, was not an in¬ 
credible nor an uncommon yield. Hun¬ 
dreds of other pear trees have given as profit¬ 
able crops, and tens of thousands more will 
be required before our markets will be amp¬ 
ly supplied with this delicious fruit. It costs 
comparatively little to raise a few trees, and, 
as soon as grown, they are most productive 
mints for coining gold, with little further 
outlay. Neither Mr. N. nor any other sen¬ 
sible person expects to cultivate a hundred 
such trees upon an acre ; but enough of fair 
bearing paying trees can be raised to induce 
many persons to enter more extensively into 
pear cultivation. 
EXPERIMENTS IN RAISING SPRING WHEAT, 
Mr. J.V. M. Wyckoff, of Middlebusli,N. J., 
last spring sowed one acre with one and a- 
half bushels of Golden Drop spring wheat, 
upon a red shale soil. A corn crop, manured 
in the hill with ashes and hen manure, was 
removed the previous season. The ground 
was plowed in the latter part of March, and 
the first week in April 300 pounds of Peru¬ 
vian guano per acre was applied and har¬ 
rowed in. The wheat was then sown broad¬ 
cast and plowed in with a corn plow three 
to four inches deep, and followed with a 
light harrow. 
The crop came up well, and grew very 
rapidly until early in June, when it was at¬ 
tacked by the Hessian fly, turned quite yel¬ 
low, and remained so for nearly two weeks. 
It then recovered, assumed its green color, 
grew luxuriantly, bloomed out well, and bid 
fair to give a great yield. But it had been 
put back so much at first by the Hessian fly, 
that it was now attacked by the clear-winged 
fly (or midge—see vol. xiv, p. 369), and the 
full plump heads were so much injured that 
fhe ultimate yield tvas only seven bushels 
per acre. 
This experiment was interesting as show¬ 
ing the good effects of the method pursued. 
The crop was so vigorous that it withstood 
and recovered from the attack of the first 
brood of insects, and even produced some¬ 
thing of a crop after a second attack. 
Ice Houses. —There are few farms, of any 
size, but which will afford facilities for gath¬ 
ering a crop of ice during the winter ; or, 
perhaps more properly speaking, where the 
occupants of which can not obtain in the vi¬ 
cinity sufficient to fill a good sized ice-house. 
There are also few structures about a farm, 
that will prove more valuable to a farmer, 
as a matter of interest, and to his family as a 
matter of luxury, than an abundance of ice 
in the warm season. A house will cost, 
when its real value is considered, a very 
trifling amount, as it can be constructed 
mostly by the labor connected with the farm, 
with the help of a carpenter; and the filling 
of it is done at a season when the duties of 
the farm are light. All ice-houses, and es¬ 
pecially small ones, are better constructed 
under ground. There should be a wooden 
frame-work, with double boarding all round, 
and with a space of some six or eight inches 
between, filled with tan, or cut straw well 
packed in ; there should also be a double 
roof, admitting the free circulation of air be¬ 
tween them, as well as a double door. Clean 
straw should be put in the bottom and along 
the sides, when filling with ice. The ice 
would keep much better if sawed in blocks 
of one size and packed as bricks are piled. 
None but pure, solid ice should be taken, if 
it can be obtained ; and the lower the tem¬ 
perature is when cut, the longer the ice will 
keep. Even as a family comfort, no farmer 
should be without an ice-house, and once 
having it, he would find it indispensable. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
TRIAL OF VARIOUS SEEDS. 
Having received from different sources 
several kinds of seeds for experiment, T will 
state the result : 
Stowell's Evergreen Sweet Corn. —This I 
find to be a rapid grower; remarkable for its 
productiveness, two or three stalks spring¬ 
ing from a single grain, and each of these 
has two ears and sometimes more. (It is 
said that it can be kept green a great while 
by tying the husks together at the little end.) 
The grain is thin, and the ear is about six 
inches long. 
Imperial Watermelon. —I received seeds of 
this from Rev. Win. Cliff, of the Agricultur¬ 
ist. It is a viny plant, frequently covering 
a piece of ground fifteen feet in diameter, 
and bearing four or five melons from one 
seed. It has a very thin white shell of a 
quarter of an inch in thickness, full of seeds, 
light red flesh, and agreeable to the taste. 
Lady Bean —Is of a small size, very pro¬ 
ductive, pods three inches long, containing 
from six to ten beans a quarter of an inch in 
length. 
Hemp. —Why do not the farmers of' New- 
Jersey raise hemp. From a small trial I 
had with it I should think it a profitable crop. 
I sowed a pint of seed, and raised six quarts 
of seed and 50 pounds of stalks. 
Chiccory. —Will some one inform me if it 
is a bad weed—hard to eradicate when once 
started 1 
With this you will’ receive some of the 
seeds described above, which I hope you 
will try and give your readers the result. I 
would be happy to send some seeds to those 
wanting to try them, if they will send a 
couple of stamps to pre-pay the postage.— 
John Fleming, Readington, N. J. 
To Make Hard Water Soft. —Water is 
frequently hard from holding in solution a 
quantity of carbonate of lime. It may be- 
rendered soft by the addition of a little quick 
lime. The rationale of the process is this : 
Carbonate of lime is insoluble in pure water 
containing carbonic acid. Any water, there¬ 
fore, that contains carbonate of lime in solu¬ 
tion contains free carbonic acid. When 
quick lime is added, this free carbonic acid 
unites with it, forming the insoluble carbonate 
of lime; which, together with the carbonate 
of lime originally in the water, falls to the 
bottom of the ] vessel, and the supernatant 
water is soft. 
Bird’s Nest Pie. —.Take a deep baking tin, 
and set as many apples in it as will cover the 
bottom. Pare them and remove the core 
from one end ; make a custard and fill each 
apple, as it is placed in the dish. Then 
make a thick flour batter, pour over the 
whole and bake one hour. Serve with sour 
sauce. 
It is sufficient that every one in this life 
should do that well which belongs to his 
calling. 
