1849. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
215 
lost in a few hours, a fine crop of early pears by their 
depredations; and a neighbor, nearly his entire supply 
of superb cherries, consisting by estimate, of twenty 
bushels. Various remedies have been tried. Flags or 
strips of muslin, hung in the tree, will repel some 
birds for a time, but cedar birds are not of the number. 
Covering with nets is costly, and unless the covering is 
strong, the birds will break through. The suspension 
of fragments of looking glass, so strongly and repeat¬ 
edly recommended by horticultural journals, we have 
found about as efficient as to try to frighten a locomo¬ 
tive with an umbrella; or as the scare-crow, covered 
with old clothes, the birds building a nest in one of the 
pockets. The only remedy is shooting, which if stea¬ 
dily pursued for a few days, will drive away entirely the 
whole flock of cedar birds. If any of our readers have 
discovered a better remedy, it would prove of great va¬ 
lue to the public if made known. 
Time for Transplanting Evergreens. 
The following observations on this subject, we copy 
from the Prairie Farmer; and after various experi¬ 
ments which we have witnessed, upon thousands of 
transplanted evergreens, we have arrived, on nearly 
every point, at the same conclusion. It is true, the 
object of the writer has not been to give every es¬ 
sential requisite to success, such as keeping the roots 
wet from the very moment they are taken up, till they 
are plunged in mud and replanted; or still better, cut¬ 
ting a large cake of earth with the spade, to be remo¬ 
ved with the roots; but as far as the remarks go, they 
are undoubtedly founded on correct practice:— 
u As to the best time for transplanting evergreens, 
there has been much said first and last; nor do we think 
the public mind clear on the subject as yet. We do not 
pretend to understand as well which is, as which is not, 
the best time. A class of writers have uniformly di¬ 
rected to move them in early summer, when they were 
in full growth; affirming that then the tree will best 
overcome the debility caused by a removal. We have 
learned this much, that such a time is probably the 
worst that could be selected. It is certainly very far 
from being the best. Evergreens removed at that sea¬ 
son, will exhibit the wilting of the tender shoots, even 
on a wet cloudy day . nor will a ball of earth removed 
with the roots, serve to mitigate the difficulty. Such 
trees can only be saved by the most unremitting care 
and labor. 
“ We are of opinion at this , time, that evergreens 
are no exception to the rules which regulate the remo¬ 
val of deciduous trees—and that the best time to move 
them, will be found to be that in which other trees are 
moved. Transplanting may, perhaps, be continued la¬ 
ter than with others, because they do not begin their 
growth quite as early. But as soon as the new shoots 
begin to appear, it is time to stop work among them. 
11 Another standing error regarding evergreens is, 
that they must not be pruned on removal. All the rea¬ 
son we have ever heard given, is, they exude gum. If 
any body should ask— c What if they do exude gum V 
we should only be able to give the answer made by the 
Speaker of the Legislature of Hull. The said Speaker 
had found his fellow legislators disposed to be unruly. 
His only mode of quelling the disturbers was to threa¬ 
ten 1 to name them. 5 This was, for many a year, suf¬ 
ficiently potent. Finally, a member ventured to ask 
the Speaker what would be the effect if he did ‘ name 
one ?’ £ Heaven only knows/ said his dignity, ‘I don’t.’ 
“ We do not suppose evergreens any exception to 
other trees in regard to the practice to be followed with 
them, either as to the time of removal, or as to the fact 
of trimming. The mode of cutting should be some¬ 
what different from that practiced with deciduous trees. 
They do not push out shoots so easily from the trunk/ 
and it would not be safe to cut them as close. The best 
mode of trimming, would be that of shortening the 
branches; cutting off half or two-thirds their length, ag 
should be preferred. This is also the best mode of 
trimming small deciduous trees; but in removing larger 
ones, such as are taken from the forest for shade, it is 
necessary to practice cutting much more severely; un« 
less they are taken from open ground, and dug up with 
extra care, so as to save as many roots as possible. If 
carelessly dug, such trees should be shortened from thd 
top one-third or more, and all the side-limbs entirely 
removed, leaving them like bean poles. 
“ This mode of treatment would probably be impro¬ 
per for evergreens, though we have never made any 
experiments with a view of ascertaining how much cut® 
ting they would bear. 
“ In removing evergreens, or any other forest tree, it 
should be remembered that those which grow in opea 
grounds, or near them—exposed to sun and air, will b© 
much the best—supplied as these are with many more 
small roots than those grown in the shade of others .'* 
Clean Culture. 
W. S. Wait, of Illinois, remarks in the Prairie 
Farmer , “ relative to clean culture for apple trees, I 
am entirely satisfied, and can assure every man who 
owns a tree, that cultivation w'ill not only double his 
crop, but add at least one hundred per cent in value to 
the quality of his fruit.” 
Accuracy among Nurserymen. 
F. K. Phoenix, an intelligent and accurate cultiva¬ 
tor, residing at Delavan, Wisconsin, gives the follow¬ 
ing just remarks :—“ Let me tell nurserymen that if 
they would live and flourish in this age, they must be 
correct. The fog that has been so long and so thick 
about their business, and that shielded them in the per¬ 
petration of many of their errors, is fast being dissipa¬ 
ted. The time is coming, and indeed now is, when a 
good reputation in their business will be worth more 
than anything else. Not a reputation for integrity of 
purpose alone, but for that perfect knowledge and pre¬ 
caution and care throughout, that make mistakes almost 
impossible, from the getting of the sorts, down through 
all the changes and manipulations, to the last one of 
labelling and selling the trees.” 
Orchard of E. Phinney, Esq. 
I have been highly gratified with the u Sketches” of 
the Lexington (Mass.) farm. But will you allow me 
to gratify my inquisitiveness, by asking the writer of 
these valuable sketches, one or two questions. 
What are those “ one or two varieties of sweet ap¬ 
ples, which are worth all the rest ?” 
I think it is stated that the land around the trees is 
kept under constant cultivation. In this case, is it not 
necessary to place something around the trees to pro¬ 
tect them from injury during the plowing, harrowing* 
&c.? If so, what kind of fixtures are found most effi¬ 
cient and economical ? S. W. 
The Scarlet-Flowering Currant. 
The following fact, stated in a letter from DavI© 
Thomas, will doubtless be interesting to all those who 
have cultivated this beautiful shrub, but from its tender 
character, have been compelled to give it winter pro¬ 
tection:— 
“ Ribes sanguincum has proved entirely hardy in the 
south (shady) border, though it has always been tender 
where the rays of the sun could strike it when frozen. 
This is a fact worth knowing; and I can ascribe it to no 
other cause,” 
