AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
295 
beyond the grounds of the nursery; and 
while we have such thoroughly tried native 
fruits as the Bloodgood, Osband’s Summer, 
Buffum, Fulton, Lawrence, Seckle, Tyson, 
Kirtland, Lodge, Sheldon, Stevens Gene¬ 
see, together with the Doyennes, (White 
and Grey,) the Beurre d’Aremberg, Bartlett, 
Louise Bonne de Jersey, Flemish Beauty, 
Glout Morceau, and Winter Nellis, from 
abroad, in most instances equally hardy, and 
suitable to many of our localities. 
After all, the examination of this report 
more strongly confirms our long-standing 
opinion that, for the successful cultivation of 
any fruit, we must individually rely upon the 
thorough investigation of our own soils and 
localities, in their adaptation to the varieties 
we propose to cultivate; to a thorough ap¬ 
preciation of the knowledge and pains-taking 
which they require in their cultivation and 
perfect development; and that no amount of 
instruction which we can draw from pro¬ 
ceedings of Societies, or individuals, can act 
otherwise than as partial aids in establishing 
principles and data for our own practice. 
Upon ourselves must still rest the application 
of all these teachings, and upon our own ex¬ 
perience and observation we must mainly 
rely for the guide of our action. We look 
upon the proceedings of all these associated 
bodies as full of interest and benefit to the 
established fruit-grower, as well as to neoph- 
ites. They are full of suggestive matter, to 
which all who are in any way interested in 
their labors, either as cultivators or consum¬ 
ers, are under great obligation for the in¬ 
struction they impart. 
We right heartily rejoice to see a volume 
like this finally brought out as the result of 
the deliberations of this Society. We have 
long and earnestly labored, both with pen 
and tongue, for such a result; and are now 
under great obligations to the liberality and 
industry which has produced it. There 
have been, in the previous deliberations of 
the Society, equal zeal, intelligence and ef¬ 
fort exerted for the good of the cause, as in 
this last; but they have not been put in such 
available shape, although much that has 
proved useful, and lasting in their influences, 
has been preserved. We hope the future 
reports of the Society will improve, even 
upon this. 
In the newly elected officers and commit¬ 
tees of the Society we recognize men of 
great personal worth, high social position, 
and marked intelligence in pomological sub¬ 
jects ; and in the extended list of its mem¬ 
bers, an influence in the several sections of 
country where they belong, which can not 
redound otherwise than to the general bene¬ 
fit of the country. The establishment and 
continued well working of the Society is one 
of the gratifying landmarks of our progress 
in a most delightful and refining profession, 
which, in its continued labors, must diffuse 
a great measure of happiness and pure en¬ 
joyment among all classes of our rural popu¬ 
lation. 
The next meeting of the Society is to be 
held in Rochester, N. Y., in September, 1856, 
where, if life and health attend us, we shall 
hope to be a gratified spectator to its delib¬ 
erations, 
For tlie American Agriculturist. 
OSIE R WIL LOW 
1 venture to send you a few facts on a sub¬ 
ject which I think is of great importance to 
American farmers, and which I hope you 
will deem worthy of insertion in your valu¬ 
able paper. 
The cultivation of the European osier, or 
basket-willow, has drawn the attention of 
many cultivators within a few years; and it 
has been fully proved by the few that have 
been engaged in the business, that it will 
grow as well in this as in the old country, 
and that there is no crop that will pay a bet¬ 
ter profit than a crop of willows, even when 
peeled by hand, as they always have been. 
But now that there is a machine to peel them 
with, there is certainly no crop that offers so 
great inducements to American cultivators 
as this. The machine above referred to (my 
own invention) is very simple, and not liable 
to get out of repair; it is made principally of 
India-rubber, so that it adapts itself to any 
sized willow, and can not injure them in the 
least. It can be made to work either by 
hand or horse power. 
The only objection that there has ever 
been to cultivating willows in this country, 
to supply the immense demand of our own 
markets, is the great amount of labor re¬ 
quired to peel them, which has made it pos¬ 
sible for one man to cultivate only a very 
few, as they must be peeled in the short time 
that the bark will slip, in the spring. But 
with the help of this machine, any farmer 
may cultivate just as many as he has suita¬ 
ble land for. 
The land best suited to them is intervale, 
or meadow that is natural to grass. It 
should be plowed deep, and the cuttings set 
in rows, three feet apart, and one foot from 
each other in the rows. They should be 
cultivated the first years about the same as 
corn; after that they require no cultivation, 
only to be cut and peeled every spring. The 
Salix oiminalis is the best kind that I am ac¬ 
quainted with, after having tried several of. 
the most approved varieties. They grow 
from six to ten feet high during a season, 
and will produce, on good soil, from two to 
three tuns per acre, worth $120 per tun. 
GEO. J. COLBV. 
Jonesville, Vt., Jan., 1855. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
DISEASES OF FRUIT-TREES. 
It may be proper to add a remark or two, 
by way of explanation of my last. It is, that 
my experience has taught me that it is very 
easy to propagate (and I believe it is done 
every season extensively) the yellows. I 
have observed one phase of the peach-tree, 
just before a speedy decay, is to assume a 
very t’hrify, beautifully dark, and luxuriant 
green foliage, with the unerring signs of 
premature decay visible at the same time. 
Now, it is very easy to perceive how easily 
even experienced cultivators may be misled 
by this anomaly or seeming contradiction in 
the laws of Nature, and select their buds 
from those very trees, and thus nurse and 
propagate the worst enemy the tree has, 
wondering why so many of their trees should 
turn out so badly. 
And now as to the plum curculio. Every 
cultivator is familiar with this insect, or at 
least perceives the effect of its ravages, and 
I need not add much to the volumes already 
told. What I have to say is this : Though I 
have never seen my plan fully carried out, 
yet I draw my conclusions from actual ob¬ 
servation on a smaller scale. To master the 
ravages of the curculio, I would recommend 
a plantation of trees in an inclosure entirely 
by itself; then at the side of it, and in con¬ 
nection with it, I would have a poultry-house 
and piggery. I would have the ground as 
hard and smooth as a floor. Then you have 
the facilities for sweeping up the punctured 
fruit, or, what is an equal advantage, you 
have the ground and trees so by themselves 
that you can experiment at pleasure, with¬ 
out prejudice to other crops. All the culti¬ 
vation I would give the trees after setting 
out in good soil, would be with a heavy 
roller. 
Black knots or warts on the shoots and 
limbs of the plum, and of late years, the 
cherry, particularly the Morello class, is a 
disease more formidable among some varie¬ 
ties than others. Cutting off the diseased 
branches, several inches below the affected 
part, and burning them at once, seems to be 
the only remedy yet discovered, and this 
course must be pursued with the utmost 
vigilance. 
I believe this disease also may be very 
easily propagated, and that the utmost care 
should be taken by the cultivator in propaga¬ 
ting from those trees only which stand in 
localities free from the disease, or at least, 
where it is seldom seen. I may, at some 
future time, call the attention of your read¬ 
ers to a few invaluable varieties under culti¬ 
vation in our section of country—magnificent 
fruit, that can not, perhaps, be excelled in 
the United States, (which, I know full well, 
is a broad assertion,) and which seem to be 
remarkably free from these knotty excre- 
cences. I believe, therefore, the vigilant 
and shrewd cultivator has nothing to discour¬ 
age him in the cultivation of this luscious 
fruit, and that an intelligent and attentive 
culture will insure a remunerating crop. 
Lice on fruit-trees is another disease re¬ 
quiring, again, some intelligent skill. A high 
state of open culture, with a good rubbing of 
soft soap about the trunks and limbs, two or 
three times a year, and a change of soil and 
location when practicable, will, I think, be 
found amply sufficient to rid the trees of this 
pest. I may some time speak of what I 
shall call a “ curative mode of culture for 
fruit-trees," as connected with this subject. 
W. D. 
Morristown, N. J. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
PLANTING BOX. 
As the planting of box is always a trouble¬ 
some and tedious operation, I submit the 
following plan, as being much preferable to 
the one generally followed. 
The box may be taken up whenever the 
weather permits, and the roots laid in sand 
under a dry shed, and whenever convenient, 
may be trimmed ready for planting. Some 
laths about a yard in length, such as are used 
in building purposes, should be prepared, 
and having laid one down on the level earth, 
place a row of box on it evenly, and then 
place another lath on top, and tie them to¬ 
gether at both ends. The box being thus 
between the laths, the roots may be placed in 
sand until required to be planted. If the 
ground is already prepared in the spring, the 
earth may be pressed closely to the edge, 
and as evenly as possible, and then firmly 
about the roots, and the laths taken away. In 
this manner a man may plant more yards in 
a day than feet in the ordinary method, with 
the advantage of preparing the box in bad 
weather, when other work can not be as well 
performed. W. S. 
JENNY KISSED ME. 
Jenny kissed me when we met, 
Jumping from the chair she sat in ! 
Time, you thief, you love to get 
Sweets into your list, put that in ! 
Say I’m weary, say I’m sad, 
Say that health and wealth have missed me— 
Say I’m growing old—but add 
Jenny kissed me 1 Leigh Hunt, 
