THE CULTIVATOR. 
389 
not think I send them presuming them superior to pro¬ 
ductions of your fine country, but simply to show you 
that we can raise fruit and of a fine quality. 
Yours, &c. Charles C. Hamilton. 
Cornwallis, Oct. 14, 1844. 
The box of apples spoken of above, came safely to 
hand. Several of the specimens are quite large—all are 
of fine shape, and some of them of superior flavor. In 
point of quality, we think the Gravenstein, No. 6, stands 
at the head. The sample sent is the first of this noted 
variety we have seen. It is in all respects a very supe¬ 
rior apple—excellent in flavor, and beautiful in appear¬ 
ance. The sample marked No. 10, Scotch Apple, is like¬ 
wise a highly flavored and fine apple. The Ribston Pip¬ 
pin , No. 11, which in former years has been a favorite 
apple with us, is a good sample, and fully sustains the 
character of the variety. The same may be said of the 
Norpareil, No. 20. The Native or Wine, No. 18, is a 
good flavored apple, and would probably make superior 
cider. The Pomme de Gras, No. 16, we should think a 
fine fruit. The sample marked Greening, No. 15, is not 
the apple commonly known by that name in the United 
States. The sample marked No. 7, £< supposed to be the 
U. S. Spitzenburg,” is not that apple. The Spitzenburg 
here cultivated, has a yellowish flesh color, is crisp, and 
is of a brighter red color than the sample sent. The 
Long, or Bishop's Pippin, No. 12, we think is identical 
with our Bell-flower . 
Considered in all respects, the lot of apples sent by Mr. 
Hamilton, shows that the people of Nova Scotia have no 
need to send abroad for that description of fruit, but that 
on the contrary, the soil and climate of that country, will 
admit of their producing fine qualities for their own con¬ 
sumption and exportation.— Eds. 
SHADE AND TIMBER TREES. 
I was glad to see the remarks in a late No. of the Cult, 
on “ Trees for Shelter and Ornament,” with which I en¬ 
tirely agreed, with one exception. This is in attributing 
great benefit to shade for cattle in pastures. In saying 
this, I would be the last to foster the spirit of vandalism 
which unrelentingly sweeps from the farm, those beauti¬ 
ful and magnificent and refreshing objects of creation, or¬ 
namental trees. There are reasons enough to induce any 
man who has any refinement or civilization about him, 
to preserve a sufficient plantation of trees about his dwel¬ 
ling and farm yard, without urging what he may doubt 
as fact, and which indeed may be incorrect. We often lose 
as much by urging too many or untenable reasons, as by 
saying too little. 
I very much question the propriety of allowing trees to 
stand along the borders of cultivated fields, or in pastures 
where the land is smooth, fertile, and dry for culture. 
The difficulty they cause in even and neat cultivation, is 
obvious to most farmers; and the loss of crops they occa¬ 
sion beneath their shade is much greater than many sup¬ 
pose. But besides these, it may be questioned if they do 
not often prove detrimental to the comfort and thrift of 
cattle, rather than otherwise. “ But the cattle dread the 
scorching rays of the sun!” So do the horse-flies, and 
blood-suckers, and musquetoes. Hence they all seek the 
shade together; and there the cattle stand, for the com¬ 
fort of the shade, and fight flies, till gnawing hunger 
compels them to seek for pasturage in the sun. 
Experiment, of course, ought to settle this point; I 
know of but one, however, correctly performed, which 
permit me to state, as it first appeared in the New Gene¬ 
see Farmer. Arthur F. Bill of Indiana, who milked fif¬ 
ty-five cows, had two pastures, of seventy-five acres each, 
both seeded with the same kind of grass, the feed equally 
good and both well watered. One had no shade in it; 
the other had scattered trees, and a small piece of wood¬ 
land. The cows were confined to each pasture, each al¬ 
ternate week. When the hot weather of summer came 
on, the proprietor noticed that when the cows were in 
the shady pasture, the weight of the daily cheese was 
from 15 to 20 lbs. less than during the week they were 
in the other pasture. Such was the eagerness with which 
they sought the shade, that they were noticed to feed on¬ 
ly half as many hours during the day when they could 
find it, as when wholly in the sun. 
But if trees are not allowed in arable fields, where then 
shall we have them? I answer, first, about your houses. 
Every man who has a wife, or children, is bound by ev¬ 
ery reason, selfish, humane, moral, and religious, to ren¬ 
der home pleasant to the former, and attractive to the 
latter. How many young men might thus have been pre¬ 
served from bad company and dissipation and ruin. 
Secondly, along hill-sides, gulleys, and other uneven 
pieces of ground, according to the excellent directions in 
the article just alluded to, and where the growth of valu¬ 
able and well selected timber might in a few years prove 
of great value. 
And with the hope of answering, in part, some of the 
inquiries of that article, permit me to say a few words oi 
the Larch. 
The European Larch has been very extensively plant 
ed in some parts of Scotland as a timber tree, its grea. 
excellence having been thoroughly proved. The rapi 
dity of its growth is remarkable. Some trees planted oris 
the fertile grounds of the Duke of Argyle, grew to 3 
height of 120 feet in fifty years, averaging nearly two 
feet and a half each year. Other trees, eighty years old* 
produced six loads (300 feet) of timber, each. The Dukt 
of Athol had the satisfaction of seeing a British frigate 
built at Woolwich in 1819 and 1820, of timber planted by 
himself and his predecessor. The durability of thisspe 
cies is very great. Posts of oak, on the river Thames, 
which were placed so as to be alternately covered by 
water, and left dry, by the rise and fall of the tide, were 
twice renewed from decay in the course of a few years; 
while those made of larch, in precisely similar circum- 
stances, remained wholly unchanged. 
In speaking of its value and rapidity of growth, the 
Duke of Athol said, « It may vie in growth and profit 
with the Huntington willow, which has deen said to buy 
the horse, before any other tree could buy the saddle.” 
It has been remarked, in connexion with its durability, 
that while the heart wood is not formed in other resin¬ 
ous trees till after many years,—the larch begins to make 
it soon after it is planted; branches only an inch in dia¬ 
meter containing as great a proportion of heart wood as 
the largest trees of the forest. 
This is not the case with the Amsrican larch, a con- 
jsiderable portion of sap wood existing in small trees, 
which soon decays. The heart wood however is dura 
ble; but to what degree I do not know. 
The European larch appears to be a native of moun¬ 
tainous districts, and of course succeeds well on poor and 
hilly regions. It grows well when planted in common 
soils in western New-York, but to what size or with 
what degree of rapidity*, more and longer experiments 
are required to determine. There can, however, be 
scarcely a question of the propriety of its introduction as 
a timber tree, provided the young plants can be easily 
obtained, which is not now the case. For ornamental 
beauty, it has scarcely a rival of its kind. 
The American larch exists in great abundance in many 
swamps in the northern portion of western New-York, 
where it is commonly called Tamarack, perhaps corrupt¬ 
ed from Tamarix, which it slightly resembles externally, 
but to which it has no affinity. It may be easily transplanted 
to dry upland when small, where it flourishes, especially 
if care is taken to remove with it a portion of the muck 
adhering to the roots. For ornament, it bears no com¬ 
parison with the European. For durability, as fence 
posts, timber, &c., it is not enough examined or known, 
and I hope those who have tried it, will commuunicate 
their experiments, for I see I have not given much in¬ 
formation, after all, on the subject. J. J. T. 
GRAPE VINES. 
Messrs. Editors — I saw an article in the 10th No. ot 
the present vol. of the Cultivator, stating that a grape 
vine, left to its natural habits, will bear as well as if it 
were dressed in a proper manner. No doubt it will bear, 
but who will be able to give sufficient proof to a person 
acquainted with vegetable physiology, or With horticul¬ 
ture, that a grape vine or any fruit-tree, left to ifself, will 
