r 
mi 
APPLE TREES IN NEW ENGLAND AND 
EASTERN NEW YORK. 
In your report of the “ Discussion on Apples” 
at the recent State Fair (In the Rural of Oct. 
14th,) you give some statements of Mr. Solon 
Robinson about “ Apple Trees in New England 
and Eastern New York.” In that entire section 
of the country, he asserts that “ apple orchards 
are fast disappearing;” that ** apple trees, as a 
general thing, were fast dying off;” that “ we 
should bo. compelled to depend on 60 me other 
fruit for supply in the future;” that “the best 
cultivators lost their most thrifty trees;” that 
“the cause of decay was inexplicable,” and that 
“the treee begin dying at the ends of the limbs, 
and continue downward till tbetrec is used up.” 
There is so little in these statements that ac¬ 
cords with my own observation and experience, 
and so much that will exert an unfavorable in¬ 
fluence on the culture of apples, that will tend 
to check all interest in plauting orchards and 
hasten their disappearance, that it excited both 
surprise and regret. The Impression that his 
remarks will make, wc believe to be essentially 
erroneous and hurtful, — an impresaiou that we 
hope materially to modify, if not entirely to 
remove, by the few hints and facts that we oiler 
on the subject. 
It will hardly admit of a doubt, that apple 
trees in New England and Eastern New York 
die generally of old age. This is sometimes 
brought on prematurely by neglect of proper 
pruning, by failure in draining the land, by re¬ 
moval of protecting forests, or by poverty of the 
soil. There is no prevalent disease, nor symp¬ 
toms of one, among them. They reach a certain 
natural term of life now, as they did fifty years 
ago. This term of life, — their natural longev¬ 
ity, —is somewhat greater probably in Western 
New York than it is with us, whore the winds 
are more violent and the winters longer and 
colder. But they are nowhere long-lived trees, 
like the pine, the chestnut, the rnaplc or the 
oak. Here they live from fifty to eighty years. 
About a mile from me Is one veuerable orchard, 
well protected from winds, but now about used 
up, which is eighty-one years from planting, or 
abont eighty-four years old. Single trees from 
disease, or unfavorable circumstances, of course 
die younger. Our old orchards were planted 
many years before, those ol' Western New York, 
where, I apprehend, the natural term ol' apple 
tree life has not yet been reached, and of course 
few or no decaying orchards are found. But lot 
me warn fruit-growers in that section, that un¬ 
less new orchards are set out soon, they will 
witness in less thau forty years just what is seen 
now all over New England and Eastern New 
York, — whole orchards —those very ones now 
so prolific—decaying from old age; and as there 
will be none to supply their place, a consequent 
scarcity of fruit. To prevent this new orchards 
must be planted once ill thirty or forty years. 
That our apple trees “ begin to die at the ends 
ot th*. Umi.*, and con up no downward till the 
tree is used up,” does not scorn to us a marvel¬ 
lous thing. Where should they begin to die, 
if not at the ends of the limbs? Would Mr. 
Robinson have the roots and trunk die first, 
while the limbs are sound, and the leaves are 
greeu and the blossoms fair? Do other trees 
ever die in this manner? Did he ever hear of a 
man whose digestive organs died first, while 
the poor fellow was walking about the street 
lamenting the loss of so convenient an appa¬ 
ratus ? 
While old orchards have died, but lew new 
ones have been set out. This fact mainly ac¬ 
counts for the small amount of apples produced 
at present in New England and Eastern New 
York. When the temperance reformation com¬ 
menced, about forty years since, it spread rapid¬ 
ly through this whole region. An Immense 
amount of apples —mostly natural fruit — was 
then produced in every town and made into 
cider which was converted into cider-brandy, the 
favorite alcoholic stimulaut of the farmers of 
that day. As this whole bnsiness was incon¬ 
sistent with temperance principles, and the ap¬ 
ples were unsalable for other purposes, they 
either cut their trees down or allowed them to 
die prematurely from their ueglect. Within 
the last twelve years, we knew one orchard— 
healthy, productive and mostly of grafted fruit 
— that was thus wantonly destroyed by the 
ax. Not one in ten of these large, m-st growth 
orchards in the Eastern States, lias been replaced 
by new trees. Of course wc have little fruit. 
And yet it is not true, at the present time, 
that “apple orchards are fast disappearing.” 
This might have been said fifteen or twenty 
years ago. But since that time a new interest 
has been excited in the culture of apples, which 
we trust, the influence of an authority so respect¬ 
able as Mr. Robinson will not abate. Orchards 
have been on the increase for twenty years past 
in this region. Trees receive more and better 
care. And many young and thrifty orchards 
are coming on that will do something to supply 
the demand for this fruit in the future. And 
wherever they have been growing long enough 
to bear, they are healthy and productive. There 
are some dozen orchards in New Lebanon, and 
Stephentown, N. Y., and Hancock, M is-., which 
have;this year brought an income nearly or quite 
equal to that of the entire farms besides! Nor at e 
these oreLards large; yet one of them I am in¬ 
formed will produce nearly 400 barrels of fruit, 
worth:?4 peri barrel on the grouud. There might 
have been an hundred other orchards as good 
in these townB if they had been planted. 
At the same time we have some peculiar ob¬ 
stacles,to contend with iu the culture of apples. 
Our climate does not allow us to succeed with 
as many varieties as that of Western New York. 
None,but hardy kinds will endure well our severe 
winds and cold winters. But these are sufficient¬ 
ly numerous lor all practical purposes. The 
Baldwins, the Northern Spy, the Vandevero, the 
Seek-uo-further, the Alexander, and the Jentton 
never fail when they arc cultivated with ordi¬ 
nary care. In what part of New England Mr. 
Robinson found that, “the best, cultivators lose 
their most thrifty trees” of Baldwins, Spys or 
Vandt.'vcrcs, is the only real mystery that his 
remarks suggest. Farmers have, however, been 
disappointed in their attempts to raise the 
Rhode Island Greening, which is the favorite 
apple iu Um region. Bui it will not live, thrive 
und produce well,except in very rich soil and 
with very thorough culture and pruning. Those 
who have Greening trees may do much to im¬ 
prove them by the following process : Make a 
compost, one-half well rotted chip manure and 
onc-half from the barnyard and spread it liberal¬ 
ly uuder the tree —not up against the trunk, 
but over a circle at least teu feet in diumeter. 
Turn it uuder with a spade and mix it thorough¬ 
ly with the earth, over which sprinkle two or 
three quarts of slacked lime or ft half bushel of 
ashes. In pruning lor the first time adopt the 
heroic practice. Take from the tree such limbs 
as are too low and thus relieve it of too heavy 
foliage and make it symmetrical. Within the 
top remove all branches that cross and Interlace 
others, carefully selecting the smallest, poorest 
and most straggling ones l'or excision. Remove 
of course all dead limbs as well as twigs about 
the body. After the first season pruning may 
be comparatively light. It is best done tor such 
trees iu February and March. For waut of such 
pruning and culture, the largest orchard, mostly 
Greenings, iu this region, is almost entirely 
unfruitful. 
In some Instances orchards have failed, be¬ 
cause they have been exposed to the merciless 
blasts of our winters and springs — the result 
generally of carelessness or Ignorance. Scarcely 
a farm can be found that has not a good pro¬ 
tecting forest or hill behind which an orchard 
might be securely planted. The first settlers 
had some regard generally to this obvious and 
important requisite for a long-lived and fruitful 
orchard. Yet it is sometimes now entirely 
Iguored. In Rensselaer County, a farmer a few 
years since set an orchard in the most exposed 
and bleak part of a bill farm, although ho had 
au old one, still vigorous und bearing well, for 
the. reason doubtless that it was placed on the 
southeastern slope, and near the foot of the hill 
which he had crowned with his new and care¬ 
fully selected trees, which already show signs 
of a brief existence. 
Another and more serious difficulty is to ob- 
talu really good, healthy trees to plant iu “ New 
England and Eastern New York.” We have few 
large and well conducted nurseries, and depend 
largely for a supply on the great nurseries of 
Western Mew York, whose agent# do fleece the 
farmers so mercilessly as to discourage them be¬ 
yond measure iu attempts to enlarge their or¬ 
charding. This charge is not mere conjecture,— 
although we cannot say whether the agent or 
the nurseryman is the greater rogue. In noticing 
the deception practiced by agents In some of the 
oou<)t£uM ol' MiUMtaoliusetL*, so able null 
carefully conducted a journal as the Springfield 
Re,publican asserts that the greatest obstacle to 
the extensive cultivation of applcB in New Eng¬ 
land arises from the distrust and disgust that 
farmers feel respecting the whole nursery 
traffic.* 
But with these obstacles to overcome, I must 
not forget to meution that we have two advan¬ 
tages over Western New York, viz: laud is 
cheaper and our market for apples is better aud 
nearer. And these will at least counterbalance 
one disadvantage, so that farmers have every in¬ 
ducement to enter zealously on this important 
branch of agricultural industry. It is light, 
pleasant, and remunerative. There is no danger 
of overstocking the market, and will not be, if 
the business is Increased a hundred-fold. There 
is no mystery about the decay of apple trees in 
New England and Eastern New York. It is no 
more “ inexplicable” than their decay in other 
regions, or thau the decay of other trees. 
Stephentown, N, Y., Oct. 23. e. m. b. 
* This charge of onr vuluc.d correspondent we re¬ 
gard as uiijnr-t far too sweeping. Rochester is the 
headquarter* of the Nursery business of Western 
New York, \ad we do not believe there is a reputable 
fine In the locality that, would eithor deceive or em¬ 
ploy agents lii-ely to do ho. On the contrary onr 
leading nurserymen are extremely careful to be cor¬ 
rect iu naming ail their trees, and where there is any 
Uncertainty In regard to nomenclature prefer to dea- 
tioy rather than sell their slock, Wc refer to estate 
fished nurseries of reputation. Of course there arc 
swindlers in the business — especially speculating 
dealers who purchase poor trees at low figures, und 
label them to suit- their fancy or till orders, The best 
way is to order direct from reputable, reliable nur¬ 
serymen,—aud la all such eiu-cs wc will, fora very 
low premium, insure purchasers against fraud and 
deception.—E d. R. N. Y. 
COLD PITS. 
We copy the following clear directions from 
the Gardener’s Monthly : — Those who have no 
grccn-honse, and yet are desirous of preserving 
many ball-hardy plants through the winter, em¬ 
ploy cold pits. Choose the drycat situation in 
the garden, and sink about five feet in depth. 
It Is Important that no water can be retained at 
the bottom. The pit may be of any length re¬ 
quired, aud about five feet wide, so as to accom¬ 
modate six feet sash. The inside of the pit may be 
built bp of boards, or, if something more dura¬ 
ble and substantial is required, brick or stone. 
I lie body of the frame may be built up a few 
feet above the level of the surroundiug soil, and 
the earth which comes from the pit be employed 
in banking up to the upper level of the frame. 
Shelving should be made for the inside so as to 
extend tYoru the base of the front to uearly the 
top of tlic back, on which to place the plants 
in pots. In the space which will then be 
under the staging, hard wooded aud deciduous 
plants, as lemon verbena, fuschias, etc., may be 
safely Btorcd, while the more succulent kinds 
are shelved over head. The plants to be pre¬ 
served in such a pit should be potted early, and 
be well established and healthy before being 
If > 
in 
>*Caf 
r\ J 
ML 
ip 
»i Mr 
m 
:■ -by . 11 
Jr 1 
i 
T 
Sv 4 
( 1 
( ■ v ' 
< 
1 
THE CREYELING GRAPE. 
This variety originated in Pennsylvania. It 
has a repntation of being a good grower, hardy 
and vigorous. The fruit ripens with the Dela¬ 
ware, its color is black with little bloom, and 
the flesh is finely flavored. Our engraving, 
drawn from nature, gives a good idea of the 
size and shape of a perfect .cluster of medium 
size. At the meeting of the Western New York 
1* ruit Growers’ Society last yebruary, the Grav¬ 
eling received high commendation as an early, 
hardy grape of line flavor, | n d valuable for gar- 
pitted ; much of success drjponds on this. The 
less water they can be made to live on without 
withering through the winter the better they 
will keep. Straw mats tulist bo employed to 
cover the glass when free* og time commences, 
and when the thermomotq is likely to fall be¬ 
low vO , straw or litter alt ild bo thrown over, , 
Board shutters are also o.x ^ Kent, as it keeps the 
snow out trom the straw a, d litter, which some¬ 
times makes the mats very awkward to uncover 
when we would like to give air. Very little 
light or air will be required through the winter, 
when the plants are not growing. If a good fall 
of snow cuver the pit, it may lie on undisturbed 
for two weeks or more without injury. When a 
warm, dry day oilers, the sashes may be raised if 
convenient, to dry up the damp. Many kinds of 
border plants can be kept over in this way with 
little trouble. 
HORTICULTURAL GLEANINGS. 
Improving the Shape of Pear Trees, — Some 
good varieties uf pears make ugly shaped tops. 
This can be improved by grafting the bad-grow¬ 
ing but excellent sorts on good growing but 
worthless kinds. There are a great many pear 
trees In the country that will pay richly for 
grafting. 
Coal Ashes for Currants,— It is stated that 
coal ashes applied around currant bushes to the 
depth of three or four Inches, and over a dis¬ 
tance of several feet on effbh side, will prevent 
the larva of the worm from rising from the 
grouud underneath, and thus leave the bushes 
tolerably free from this pest. The application 
should be made between this time and spring. 
Fire Blight in Tear Trees. — A correspondent 
of the American Institute Farmers’ Club attrib¬ 
utes fire blight to the growth of the roots of the 
tree downwards until they come in contact with 
some water course or a cold, wet soil. As a 
remedy he suggests grafting the pear on to the 
mountain ash, the natural habit of which is to 
extend its roots in a horizontal direction. He 
has some four hundred trees on this stock which 
arc healthy. 
Packing Grapes .—Successful packers of grapes 
that are Intended for late keepiug first put the 
fruit in a close, moderately warm room for 
twenty-four hours to induce “sweating,” then 
expose it to the air long enough to remove the 
moisture from the stems and fruit. Next each 
cluster is inspected and all defective berries 
removed with sharp-pointed Bciesors, the fruit is 
then placed in shallow boxes without any pack¬ 
ing and the covers nailed on tight. If the boxes 
are opened from the under side the berries alone 
arc seen and present a splendid appearance in 
market. 
i Maine, will scarcely produce apples enough for 
home consumption this season, and grapes have 
proved a decided failure. 
JbnusHic IBcottontg. 
don culture. Soino’considored it the finest black 
grape grown. Mr.^HoOKER, while mentioning 
serious faults, would not exchange it for any 
other variety in his collection. Its worst delect 
is looseness and imperfection of the bunch ; it is 
not over productive. As a market, grape it can¬ 
not bo highly recommended, but for garden 
culture —for homo ubo— and perhaps for wine 
making in localities where it will succeed best, 
it is worthy of general attention from amateur 
cultivators. 
Horticultural N,otes and Queries, 
Heeling in Plants. —(P. H., Watcrville, N. Y.) 
Small plants, as grapes, currants, raspberries, roses, 
strawberries, c.tc., way be taken up fit the fall, “heel¬ 
ed in ’’ as the nurserymen phrase it, the ground cov¬ 
ered deep enough with manure to prevent its freezing 
hard above the roots, and then they can be removed 
earlier In the spring than if bound up by frost. 'I'iio 
tops of the plants should not be covered. Or u limit¬ 
ed quantity might be put in a cellar in earth, provi¬ 
ded it was cool and dry enough to retard their growth 
entirely. There Is some danger from front when 
plants are Shipped too early In the spring or latter 
part Of winter. Grape vine cuttings in the hands of 
inexperienced growers, should be made long enough 
to embrace two or three eyes. 
■ — > »< 
Catalochtkh, &a, Received.—Ellwanger & Bar- 
bt’s Descriptive Catalogue of Ornamental Trees and 
Shrubs. Howes, Flowering Plants, etc,, for 1807-S. 
This is finely Illustrated aud valuable for reference. 
Catalogue of the Pomona Garden and Nursery, 
naming a great variety of Htruwberrlea, Raspberries, 
Blackberries, Vines, &c. Address William Parry, 
CiiinaminHon, Burlington Co., N. J. 
Montclair Small Fruit Nursery, with a full descrip¬ 
tion of the Klttatinny Blackberry. Address E. & J. 
C. Williams, Montclair, N. J. 
Choice Pears.— We are indebted to Messrs. ElL- 
wanoer & Barry of the Ml Hope Nurseries, for a 
basket of excellent pears, of various popular and 
new varieties—which are pronounced (by those who 
place their pedal extremities under our mahogany, 
and some strangers,) superior In size, beauty and 
flavor. With snch evidence, we do not wonder at the 
Increasing reputation of Messrs. K. & B. as nursery¬ 
men aud fruit growers. “ Long may they wave ”— 
and thus remember ns annually, as aforetime! 
New Nursery Firm —As announced in onr adver¬ 
tising department the nursery firm of Gould, Beck¬ 
with &, Co., has been dissolved, and a new one-con¬ 
sisting of 8. H. Gould (senior partner of the old 
Ann) and E. P. Gould -haw been formed under the 
title of Gould Bros., by whom the extensive busi¬ 
ness of the late firm wifi be continued. The Messrs. 
Gould are intelligent and enterprising, aud cannot 
fail of achieving a goodly portion of the ^reat success 
wished them by hosts of friends. 
-- 
Peach Trees Hale’s Early.— A subscriber wri¬ 
ting from Independence,Mo , asks—“Can you inform 
mo where I can obtain trees of Hale’s early Peach,— 
described in the Rural of Sept. 21 ?” Our advertis¬ 
ing columns will give the desired iuformallou before 
the time for spring plauting arrives, 
-- 
A Monster Radish.— Mr. F Hubbkll, East Men- 1 
don, Monroe Co., recently left at the Rural office a 
specimen of the common long-red, table radish, which 
measured ov or two and one-half feet in circumference, 
and weighed nine pounds ! 
- ♦»» - 
Fine Quarks -Messrs F W. Lay and II.N. Lang- 
woktky of Greece, this County,—both successful 
fruit growers,—have favored us with lint specimens 
of the Delaware grape. 
m 
i 
CULINARY COUPLETS. 
BT A RHYMING EPICURE. 
Always have lobster sauce with salmon, 
And put mint sauce your roasted lamb on. 
Veal cntletH dip in egg and bread crumb— 
Fry till yon see a brownish red come. 
Grate Gruyero cheese on maccaroni; 
Make the top crisp but not too bony, 
In venison gravy, currant jelly 
Mix with old port—sec Franeatelli. 
In dressing salad, mind this law— 
With two hard yolks use one that’s raw. 
Roast veal with rich stock gravy serve; 
And pickled mushrooms, too, observe. 
Roast pork sans apple sauce, past doubt, 
Is “Hamlet” with the Prince left out. 
Your mutton-chops with paper cover, 
And make thmn amber brown all over. 
Broil lightly your beefsteak—to try it 
Argues contempt of Christian diet. 
Buy stallfcd pigeons. Whou you’ve got them. 
The way to cook them is to pot them. 
To roasi spring chickens Is to spoil ’em— 
Just split ’em down the back and broil ’em. 
It gives true epicures the vapors 
To see broiled mutton, minus capers. 
Boiled turkey, gourmonds know, of course, 
Is exquisite with celery sauce. 
The cook deserves a hearty culling 
Who serves roast fowls with tasteless stuffing. 
Smelts require egg and biscuit powder. 
Don’t put fat pork in your clam chowder. 
Egg sauce- few make. It right, alas I 
Is good with blue fish or with buss. 
Nice oyster sauce gives zest to cod— 
A fish, whou fresh, to feast a god. 
Shad, stuffed and baked, is moBt delicious— 
’Twould have electrified Aplcius. 
Roasted in paste, a haunch of mutton, 
Might make ascetics play the glutton. 
But one might rhyme for weeks this way, 
And still have tots of things to say. 
And so I’ll cIobc— for, reader mine, 
This is abont the hour I dine. 
COOKIES, FRIED CAKES, &c. 
Eds. Rural:—L ike every other housekeeper 
I am disappointed if the “ Domestic column” is 
omitted, therefore I send a few recipes which I 
know to bo good: 
Cookies.—T ake one cup of sugar, one cup of 
cream, half teaspoon salcratus; if your cream is 
sweet one teaspoon cream tartar will be required; 
mix with enough flour to roll easily. 
Fried Cakes.—I n the first place I take a 
piece of butter the size of an egg, half a tea¬ 
spoon salcratus, one of cream tartar and rub up 
with five teacups flour, then add one cup sugar, 
hull'teaspoon cinnamon, then wet up with one 
egg and one cup of milk, a little salt, and if 
these are not good you must blame yourself for 
not frying them right, they never fall with me. 
A Good Plain Tea Oakb,—T ake half cun but¬ 
ter and one cup sugar, rub together with a 
spoon, then hull' Leaspoon -uleratus and one of 
cream tartar; dissolve In half cup milk, beat two 
eggs arid mix with the sugar; then mix all to¬ 
gether with l Z}4 eupa of flour, season to taste. 
Inquiry.—W ill some of the lady rea-'ers of 
the Rural give a recipe to prevent a white scum 
from coming on pickles.—G. A. M., LeRoy , 21. Y. 
DRYING APPLES. 
Many Rural readers have, doubtless, a quan¬ 
tity of fall apples that are not suitable exeept 
for cider purposes or to be fed to stock, but 
which might be dried with profit. I will give 
my plan of drying them. Last year I built an 
ash houseof brick (stone willansweros well)and 
for the purpose of drying apples I tilled it with 
movable shelves made of lath, put a stove into 
It and was then ready for work. It is only four 
by five feet on the inside, and will hold from six 
to eight bushels, und the time usually required 
for drying a batch is three orfourduys. Mauy 
farmers have ash houses which are also used for 
smoking meat, and possibly these might give 
the fruit a smoky taste. But such can probably 
be made good by white wash lug. I see nothing 
to hinder this arrangement from being success¬ 
fully used for drying berries, as i t can be warmed 
to auy desired temperature. I give some ventil¬ 
ation at the tup to accelerate the drying pro¬ 
cess.—D. Wilcox, Springwater, N. Y. 
-- 
HOW TO MAKE METHEGLIN. 
G. W., Coham Co., Mich., asks for directions 
“for making the old-time beverage, called 
metheglin.” One way of making is to mix 
honey with water mi til it will float an egg to 
the surface, exposing a small section of it, above 
the liquid. Strain und raise the temperature 
gradually, and as the scum rises, skim it oil'. 
When the boiling point is reached take front the 
fire and let it cool. Barrel it, leaving the bung 
out until properly fermented — not so longn t o 
become sour—und then bung tightly, or if 
! tied, cork well. It may be used soou ;.'ier 
making, but age greatly improves the flavor. 
Some persons put warm water and bom y in a 
cask and after twelve hours or bo, sha .e well 
and add hops and yeast. Of the former half a 
pound, and of the latter one pint for about 
40 gallons. When properly fermented the air 
should be excluded as in the first case. 
Caramel— To Make.— Take the following in¬ 
gredients : 5 lbb. BUgar, 1 do. chocolate, 1 quart 
cream, not milk, 50 cents worth ol vanilla. Cook 
an hour and a-haP, and stir all the while, to pre¬ 
vent burning.— 11 Parson.” 
4 
► 
