THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
JUNE SR 
^rhoritultural. 
1HE WEEPING BEECH. 
(Pages Sylvatlca Pendula.) 
The remarkable tree,of which wo give an illus¬ 
tration from life upon our first page, is one of 
world-wide celebrity; and justly ho, for it 
combines as many of the qualities for which or¬ 
namental trees are admired as any other spe¬ 
cimen of which we have any knowledge. En¬ 
gravings of this tree have been published be¬ 
fore, not only in this country but in Jiuropo. 
lint all represent it in full foliage. The outline 
is then so peculiar—the covering of leaves so 
dense, that one, as he approaches it for the first 
tamo, is ready to ask, “What is it?” A great 
mound of dark-green, gloHsy leaves j a gigantic 
bower of vinos will, perhaps, suggest themselves 
in answer. Few branches are seen through the 
foliage, which sweeps the ground about its en¬ 
tire oirown ft rence, and ho gazes in actual won¬ 
derment and admiration as the fact reveals it¬ 
self that, it is tho undirected, unaided growth of 
a single tree. Pushing away the branches and 
loaveB so as to effect nu entrance, he finds him¬ 
self bonoath a darkened canopy, through which 
only tho softened light, transmitted through 
several layers of foliage can outer. Then above 
and about ho sees something of tho framework 
which by our engraving, drawn in raid- winter, 
we have attempted to portray. Tb o following 
letter from the owner of tho grounds in which 
this tree grows, explains itself : 
Flushing, N. Y. 
Eds. hu it a. i. New Yorker: —The artist has 
certainly given a very faithful portraiture of the 
Weeping Beech, and must have bestowed upon it 
much labor. You arc certainly doing a good work 
in giving to tho reading public tho portraits of 
so many of tho finer trees and plants; and I 
am very glad to have presented in tho pages of 
The ltuu ai. New Yorkeb this faithful r< presen¬ 
tation of one which I so much admire. 
It was planted whore it now growB, on tho 
old grounds of tho late firm of Parsons <fc Co., 
at Flushing, in tho year 1848, and is now 
at least forty feet iu bight. It differs 
from many of tho plants of this variety, which 
are grown in Europe, In being worked near 
the ground, and thus having a different charac¬ 
ter from those grafted high, which possess the 
umbrella-form of tho ordinary Weeping Ash and 
Willows. Though not of slow growth, yet it, of 
oourse, doos not reach up as rapidly as when 
younger. Yet year by year we see an advance in 
its size and beauty; and among the many fine 
specimens hero, there is not one which so quickly 
attracts the gaze and admiration of visitors. 
Robert B. Parsons. 
Mr. Frank J. Scott, in his flue work, “Subur¬ 
ban Homo Grounds,” presents one of the best 
portraits of this tree in foliage we have ever 
soon, and speaks of it as follows: 
“ We consider this (Fagus sylvatica peudula) 
the most curious tree of our zone, and one that 
will commend Itself more and more as it becomes 
known. Tho original tree stands iu the park of 
Baron do Man, at Boorsol, Belgium*. The 
trunk is throe and a-half to four feet in diameter, 
and grows iu a twisted form to a hight of twelve 
to fifteen feet, with an appearance as if an im¬ 
mense weight were pressing it down. The 
branches cover an area nearly' a hundred feet in 
diameter. Its history is curious. Some sixty 
years ago tho baron's gardener was planting an 
avenue of beech trees, and the baron, observing 
a very orookod specimen, directed to have it 
thrown out; but the gardener planted it in a cor¬ 
ner of the grounds little visited, where it grew 
to he one of the most beautiful and singular 
freaks of sylvan nature." Mr. Scott then refers 
to his engraving of Mr. Parson’s tree as tho 
finest in thla country. It is impossible for any 
engraving to do justice to its eccentric luxuri¬ 
ance. It is tho very embodiment of all the odd 
freaks of growth that make trees picturesque, 
and the vigorous hoalthfulnoss of foliage that 
makes them beautiful. 
Mr. Meehan, to whom we sput a hand proof of 
our engraving, replies as follows: 
Germantown Nurseries, / 
Germantown, near Philadelphia, j 
Eds. Rural : I am glad to see your beautiful 
drawing of Parson’s Beech. 1 have always had 
a great admiration for Huh tree, but your draw¬ 
ing bightons it. 
I believe when it was first found among a lot 
of seedling Beeches in some nursery in Europe, 
tho attendant threw the scrubby thing away; 
and it was only Borne ignorant person, to whom 
a tree was a treo and nothing more, who 
snatched tho brand from tho burning. If that 
attendant is still living, I hope he will not see 
tho Rural New Yorker, for if ho is a true 
lover of treeB, it is enough to drive him to sui¬ 
cide to note how nearly we were deprived of a 
good thing by his stupidity. Very truly, 
Thomas Meehan. 
We have only to add that this beautiful vari¬ 
ety of Beech, which we hope our readers by thiH 
article may bo induced to plant in the choioeBt 
* P. J. Berckman, In Gardener’s Monthly.! 
situations about their homes, is of slow growth 
during several years after transplantation. Our 
best specimen was planted five years ago, and is 
now nine feet high. It is not until it is about 
ten years transplanted that it fairly beginB to 
show its beautiful eooontrioities. 
i) ineptIr. 
PROBABILITIES OF AMERICAN GRAPES. 
D. B. MARVIN. 
Tue history of our native Grapes would bo a 
theme full of general interest, but I cannot hero 
take it up for want of timo and space, further 
than to say that it would throw light upon what 
1 have to say of their future, and give a better 
understanding of the subject, and that the per¬ 
sistent attempts to utilizo Vitis vinifora, the 
European grape, for out-door cultivation npon 
our Atlantic seaboard, haB been a long history of 
disaster, for the olass is not adapted to our cli¬ 
mate. To obviate these difficulties, some twenty- 
five years since, horticulturists oonoeived the 
idea of hybridizing the European sorts with our 
wild and then despised natives. Much labor has 
been expended in this direction, and time enough 
has elapsed to enable ua to boo that this method 
is more or less a failure. Thcso hybrids arc 
only hoalthier than vinifora vines, Inasmuch as 
they are dominated by tho liighet vigor of our 
native classes. We can hardly say they are a 
succesa, or that they have met the hopes of their 
originators. The elements of weakness still exist, 
only in a less degree. 
It is therefore becoming generally recoguizod 
that we can rely alone upon our natives, and 
bring them up by Die ameliorating circumstances 
of improvement by cultivation, and the arts, ap¬ 
pliances, ami skill of the horticulturist, to the 
standards of European Grapes, and doubtless, in 
time, beyond these, in some respects. We have 
not far to travel even now. In the matter of 
health, we are ahead ; for wine aud table pur¬ 
poses, nearly equal; but behind for raisins: ours 
may never he well adapted to this purpose from 
lack of pulpiness. When we reflect that tho Eu¬ 
ropean has reooivod careful attention and culti. 
vatloo from tho earlioat records of profane and 
sacred history, and our own but for a single gen¬ 
eration, and when we further contemplate how 
much can be accomplished in this direction, how 
pliable nature is in tho hands of the skilled horti¬ 
culturist, we arc not without hope that our 
hoalthier classes and varieties may yet come to 
tho resoue, and rcclothe the Htmny hills of Eu¬ 
rope, devastated by Phylloxera vaBtatrix, Oidiurn 
Tuokeri, etc. 
The writer hereof, having made this subjoot of 
amelioration, in its several departments, as thor¬ 
ough a study as was in hiB power, has determined 
to publish tho story of his processes and their 
hopeful results, and to suggest such further pro¬ 
cesses as seem promising. To save repetition, he 
would rospcotfuUy refer tho reader to a partial 
reoord, in an article published in the Rural New 
Yorker for April 13th, last. This is done be¬ 
cause he considers the improvements already ac¬ 
complished important, aud the processes, Home 
of them, new and original, and pointing the way 
to more hopeful results hereafter. He is already 
past tho meridian and on the dowuward slope of 
life, aud although he is Bauguinoaud more hope¬ 
ful than ever in going on with the good work, 
still ho reoogiuzes that human life is a thing of 
a day; that the processes devised may be an 
aid aud euoourngement to others In their efforts 
aud achievements in tho same direction ; that 
there should be a brotherhood, an unselfish spirit 
herein manifested; that no one man knows it all, 
or should selfishly think he can monopolize, or 
make worldly gain to tho exclusion of others; 
there are, too, so much valuable time aud labor 
lost in repeating old and unhopeful experiments 
over and over again, and this would not he done 
if there were to be found an accessible public 
record of what had alroody boon done by oth¬ 
ers. 
There has been groat loss of effort for want of 
propor attention to tho great, I might say, pro¬ 
found and dominant, influence of tho stock upon 
the germ or seed from wbloh the now seedlings 
are to be grown. Wo know that normal seed¬ 
lings will repeat themselves over and over again, 
true to tho original; that tho only gain we may 
over expect is from rare occasional tendencies to 
sport, through changed circumstauous of soil and 
climate. Our whole effort must, then, bo con¬ 
centrated upon this one point —increasing the 
chance* of sporting under propitious circum- 
slarwv*. This is the alphabet, the beginning, 
aud must be more profoundly studied. Cultiva¬ 
tion, grafting, hybridizing, are but the accesso¬ 
ries. Too much study cannot be concentrated 
boro ; every means within Nature’s resources, 
and the skill of man, will bo needed. 
Europeans have not recognized the promise of 
our Grapes—old prejudices aud prepossessions 
are alow to givo way. Bo far they aro only using 
the roots of our vines, upon whioh to graft their 
own; they have not sufficiently tested the fruit 
of our finest varieties; there is Uttle wonder 
that the coarser Labrusca and oordifolia varie¬ 
ties disgust them; they should tost some of the 
more promising rostivalis aud vulpina sorts. 
Let the ingenious countrymen of Lafayette, who 
have the reputation of being skilled horticul¬ 
turists, look into this matter, and recognize 
the possibilities and capabilities of our best 
olassos and their varieties. Herein 1b a wide and 
profitable field for exploiting, and wo want their 
help. 
Our native resources aro far greater than those 
of Europe. They have bnt one botanical cIubb 
under cultivation; we have four or more already 
cultivated and adapted to widely differing cli¬ 
matic conditions. Advantage should bo taken of 
the choicest varieties of those several classes; 
their individualities moro dourly studied j their 
best features selected and concentrated. 
Grafting to vary the result, lias not, to the 
writer’s knowledge, heretofore been used in 
those operations, in hiB hands it has yielded 
the most surprising aud gratifying results. 
Every Hkillod horticulturist has observed the 
difference betwoon a seedling from an ungraftod 
apple and a grafted one. Hero is the most po¬ 
tent means to bo used to effect the desired result. 
I am amazed that so simple yet important a fac¬ 
tor has been so long uni bought of. It oniy 
shows how orude we still arc in this interest. 
By this means, as well as by hybridizing and 
inar ching, we aro enabled to blond the sap of all 
the known different botanical classes in the pro¬ 
duction of a singlo Hoed, and tho chances of 
forcing sports are greally multiplied. 
Horticulturists have heretofore taught that hy¬ 
bridizing war the great potent moans to he used 
to bring about the highest results. I have not 
found it so iu my limited experience. In skilled 
hands, its nse is great; the seedlings are gener¬ 
ally of tho mixed nature of their parentage; but 
they aro seldom an improvement over both, and 
their seedlings rarely yield seedlings of a mixed 
nature to carry on tho improvements, but go 
back to the strongest parent. The power that 
grafting yields by blending the sap, is wauling, 
(t is root power, not sexual force, that semis to 
give us high-bred seedlings, just as the good 
blood of the noted breeds of horses pei petuatos 
their qualitii ■. Tho hybrid between tho liorto 
and the jack is tho well-known impotent mule, 
totally unable to perpetuate its species—a useful 
animal, but noted for Its stupidity and intellect¬ 
ual inferiority to either of its parents. 
Success will depend very greatly upon the judg¬ 
ment, experience and skill of the operator, in so- 
locting tiio best olassos and tho best reprosi nta- 
tivos of each olass. I have long desired to go 
into our southern maratimo districts, where 
alone tho Bouppct'pong flourishes, to avail my¬ 
self of tho groat advantages of our Vilii,-vulpina 
class, whioh is reported to bo exempt from 
phylloxera, aud, by mixing, yields the genuine 
sparkling Catawba wine. This great field is al¬ 
most unexplored; splendid results doubtless lie 
at the very threshold of experimentation there ; 
but it requires a trained mind to see its advan¬ 
tages, and whore to operate. One human life is 
not long enough to do all that should bo dime. 
There aro few men so situated that they can 
learn processes that require bo many years’ expe¬ 
rience, because the business of most perilous so 
interested, must be made to maintain thorn while 
doing it. Borne well-endowed agricultural Insti¬ 
tution, or the general Government, should take 
tho matter in baud. The Grape is hut one among 
tho many of our fruits, vegetables, and cereals, 
requiring further developmi ut. There 1 h hardly 
any limit to the power of man over thoBo amelior¬ 
ating, developing, I might almost say, creating 
processes. Agriculture, which embraces, of 
oourno, horticulture, instead of being a seiies of 
bap-hazard processes, must become an applied 
Hcionoo, witn trained mindB, instead of boors, to 
do its work of developing our fruits aud seeds 
until they aro greatly improved in quality aud 
increased iu productiveness. 
Juhsirial ®o|us, 
THE EXPORTATION OF FARM PRODUCTS 
TO EUROPE. 
I'BOFEttSOB LEVI STOCK BRIDGE. 
From an early day in American history, farm 
products in the form of food supplies, or textile 
and other raw material for manufacture, have 
been to a considerable extent shipped abroud. 
But the volume of the ou going goods has rapid¬ 
ly increased in quite recent times, especially in 
food products, aud is now of gigautio propor¬ 
tions. Not only from all our leading Atlantic 
seaports, but also from our Pacific coast, many 
huge steamers and sailers aro weekly, if not 
dally, leaving for European marts with packed 
cargoes. They carry out cotton, corn, wheat, 
flour, barreled beef and pork, hams, baoon, lard, 
butter, choose, apples, canned fruits, moat aud 
vegetables, and live aud dressed boef and mut¬ 
ton. In tho aggregate, the value of these must 
amount to many hundreds of millions of dollais, 
and ho more than double that of all our other 
exports. 
This branoh of our foreign trade has increased 
ho rapidly of late as to awaken aud fix tho atten¬ 
tion of all classes of commercial aud financial 
men and associations, who unanimously predict 
that if it continues, it will lift tho nation in all 
its interests from their present embarrassed con - 
dition. dive employment to all desiring or will¬ 
ing to labor, and general thrift and prosperity. 
What, then, is the prospect for tho future? 
Will tho foreign demsnd for commercial food 
continno, or is it only temporary in its elm mo¬ 
tor, and soon to cease in consequence of borne 
supply? Id answering this question, we may 
throw out of the account the demands from 
South America, from Oh hi a mid other countries 
of the East, which are quite large and will prob¬ 
ably continue ; and diroct our attention only to 
Europe. 
The war between Russia and Turkey lias, un¬ 
doubtedly. decreased the grain product of those 
countries and made some disturbance in the 
general market of Western Europe. But pence 
there Is not likely to stay, or cause the ebb of, 
the present gri t grsin tide in that direction. 
With our vast, expanse of Aheap land whioh is or 
can be made feitile to the point of profitable 
grain production, with all our superior labor- 
saving machinery for tilling and harvesting farm 
crops, with such unparalleled facilities for quick 
and cheap inland and foreign transportation, 
just brought to systematic perfection, wo have 
nothing to fear from Russia, Hungary, or 
Austria in our present grain markets, and for 
tbo market in certain oilier great lines of our ex¬ 
port. they cannot compete at all. But, again, 
the demand in our present market, it is almost 
certain, cannot ho met by their home supply. 
Notwithstanding their intensive culture, largo 
yields, and large carrying capacity per acre, the 
lands of the British Islands, as now distributed 
and occupied, cannot supply their papulation 
with healthful food in sulRoient abundance and 
variety, and they must, from necessity and self- 
interest. continue largo purchasers from us. 
On the Continent, Franco, Germany and ad¬ 
jacent countries, whose agriculture, in many 
respects, is altogether superior to ours, es¬ 
pecially that of France, which country may bo 
said to be a nation of land.owners, of thrifty 
small farmers, the people Imve discovered that, 
there is a large class of American exports, par¬ 
ticularly of cattle and their products, which, 
owing to tho value of their land and tho size of 
their farms, can tic mere cheaply obtained here 
than by home culture. They will, therefore, buy 
Huch supplies of us. and turn their own farming 
largely into other channels. 
Here, thon, on the right hand and on the left, 
in the East and the West . arc. and aro to bo, tho 
demands our markets. Gan we produce enough 
to feed onr-elves, and a surplus to meet the de- 
mauds? Yes; wo undoubtedly cow, if we will. 
It is true that the general soils of the old States 
of the Union, for hundreds of miles inland, have 
boou robbed of their original store of plant- 
food by tho moBt improvident and thriftless 
methods of culture, and do not yield one-half as 
much per acre of many products as the lands of 
some countries to which we export But the soil 
is here full of tho elements of fertility ready for 
development into plant-food by JudlcioiiH tillage, 
the acres aro numberless and comparatively 
cheap, and we have the vast and almost un¬ 
touched West with its accumulated atom ready 
for immediate change into the form of crops, and 
tho bands and machinery needed to accomplish 
it. Yes. we ran, but will wo ? 
Out of tho very lowest depths of financial dis¬ 
aster and ruin, agriculture all unaided and unre¬ 
cognized, with hundreds of thousands of able- 
bodied idlers in all parts of the land, who aro 
useless asn laboring force, is even now lifting us 
to prosperity and giving hope and cheer to the 
d 1 spouding. The wild aud reckless actventuroB, 
tho fool-hardy schemes for aiqniring sudden 
wealth outside of legitimate labor and business, 
induced by tbo monetary disturbance caused by 
the late war, had a most demoializiug influence 
upon all our producing industries. But the 
babble has bum; fortupegreal and imaginary 
have disappeared ; aud now onr people are ready 
to engage in legitimate industiy, not for the pur¬ 
pose of acquiring wealth to i/e expended in 
ostentatious and extravagant display, but for a 
rational livelihood. Iu Hub emergency, to the 
land where there 1 h room enough, and labor 
enough, and food euongb, aud a sure compe¬ 
tence for all who seek it, their attention is turned. 
If wisdom now is onr guide, this tendency will 
be reinforced aud strengthened by wise and 
Judicious legislation of the Btates and nation, 
and by all the force of public opinion until tho 
desire becomes fact. 
If agriculture with tho depressing, discourag¬ 
ing influences which have been bearing upon it, 
is ovon now tlie main cause of our returning 
prosperity, what may wo not hope for and ac¬ 
complish, if it receive I he labor ami eooourngc- 
mont its importance demand* ? The changes 
taking place at the present time point in ttiis 
direction, and indicate that in the future we 
shall find this industry our great producer, its 
surplus above consumption tbo source of our in¬ 
creasing wealth, which surplus will seek itH 
market on the other side of the Atlantic. As¬ 
suming this to be the fact, the influence it may 
have on our soils and their future producing 
capacity, becomes a matter of serious import¬ 
ance. 
To eiport from a county grain, meat and otbor 
agricultural products, is simply to send away, to 
banish forever, those elements on whioh genii 
farming has ever relied to maintain the soil's 
oapaaity of production. And unless the same 
elements in kind, availability, and about tbo 
same proportion, aro^ubstitutod iu other terms, 
the final result must be dlsaatrons. With a 
knowledge aud full appreciation of this fact, 
however, such consequences may be avoided. 
For we have in every part of tho country, as 
natural or accumulated deposits, vast quantities 
Of material, both mineral and organic, rich in 
fertilizing elements, now going to waste or little 
used, whioh by care and intelligence can he util¬ 
ized for the purposes of plant food. Chemistry, 
too, is just, opening to us a ineasaroless mine by 
the manufacture of the salts of the elements of 
nutrition, whioh are as effective and permanent 
in the production of farm crops, as the refuse of 
the crops would bo if consumed at home. 
Tho conolusiou, therefore, appears io bo just, 
that whatever may ha tho foreign demand lor 
food-products, wo have the soil, the labor, the 
machinery, the means of transportat ion to supply 
it. Aud by the praetioo of an intelligent course 
of husbandry, by the use of our natii"al and arti¬ 
ficial advantages, tho present producing power 
of our soils may bo retained, and even increased 
ami nnequaled permanent national prosperity 
bo tho result. 
