THE CULTIVATOR. 
95 
THE FIRE BLIGHT IN PEAR TREES, &c. 
Mr. Editor —Some time since, I visited, in company 
with an agricultural friend, the delightful place and well 
cultivated farm and garden of Mr. Jabez Jenkins, of 
West Whiteland, Pa., and witnessed his mode of preven¬ 
ting the fire blight on his young pear trees, as also the 
cure of the cause, from whatever source proceeding, of 
the shedding of premature fruit. It was nothing more or 
less, than paving around each tree to a good distance, 
with stones, which he assured us he had hitherto found 
to answer the purpose, entertaining the idea that the re¬ 
medy proceeded from the fact that the time of their 
blooming is thus very perceptibly retarded. Certain it 
is, at the time of which I speak, a good crop of very- 
healthy fruit was found on every tree. 
But my present purpose is, respectfully to request Mr. 
Jenkins to inform us through the medium of the Cultiva¬ 
tor—which I presume he reads, for, judging from the 
order, neatness and regularity exhibited around him, he 
must be held obnoxious to the charge of being a book 
farmer, and then he takes the Cultivator as a matter of 
course—if the mode he had adopted for the purpose con¬ 
tinues to afford him satisfaction, and if so, whether, reason¬ 
ing from analogy, he would not expect the same course 
to work the same effect on the disease of thepjum, as al¬ 
so that of the Morello cherry, the trees of which, in so 
many places, are afflicted with the rheumatic gout, and 
of consequence, subjected to the ravages of the curculio, 
according to the new doctrine which is gaining ground 
about it, that (f living blight is the effect, and not a cause 
of disease.” Remarking by the way, however, that this 
plan of paving around the trees, militates most strongly 
against the perpetual cultivating system, so long practi¬ 
ced by our large peach growers, for the express purpose 
of protecting their trees from the Yellows, &c. 
I remember also, that the soiling of cattle in their stalls 
hail claimed his attention; and the result was manifest in 
mountains of the richest manure, thrown up in the stable 
yards around. I recollect too, indistinctly I must con¬ 
fess, that he informed us, he had made some remarks re¬ 
specting the crop of wheat, sown on land from which a 
crop of oats had been cut for soiling, which exhibited 
different appearances on spots that had been mown early, 
middling, and late, as also on that part where they had 
been permitted to remain until ripe, but whether they had 
been plowed in, or cut and taken to the barn, I cannot 
say; however that may be, I can promise your readers a 
very interesting account, if Mr. Jenkins will oblige us; 
and to those who know him, I need not add, that 
may be depended upon. Am I right in the idea, that the 
racks, out of which the cattle were soiled, had the staves 
placed horizontally instead of vertically, by which they 
were enabled to pull out long fodder with much greater 
ease, and without the waste attendant on the practice of 
feeding in troughs. As the system of soiling seems to be 
gaining ground in many places, Mr. Jenkins has it in his 
power to confer lasting obligations on numerous individ¬ 
uals, who are only desirous of knowing the ground upon 
which to commence operations, and their probable re¬ 
sults, before starting, and although myself, not quite a 
stranger to the system, I should be glad to learn how the 
cattle are supplied in their stalls, after the crops, destined 
for their use, have become sufficiently high in growth to 
admit of a good bite, but not to allow of mowing, which 
must be delayed, else the productiveness of the crop is 
very much reduced. Where few cattle are kept, they 
might be tethered on the crops fora time, but on a sufficient 
scale to answer any good purpose, this plan would be 
found impracticable, and could not be denominated soil¬ 
ing. This, therefore, is a feature in the system that re¬ 
quires to be brought out; at the same time, I am prepared 
to find, that the addition to the manure heap and its su¬ 
perior quality, are sufficient to pay the extra expense in¬ 
curred; particularly if the attendant knows how to com¬ 
post the heap; and by pouring on the liquid contents of 
the cistern, built to receive it from the cattle, rendering 
it of more importance than the solid portions, according 
to late experiments, by which it was found, that one pint 
of urine from stalled cattle will produce an extra pound 
of wheat. Chester Co. } Pa. M. P. 
BERMUDA AND CRAB GRASS. 
Editor of the Cultivator — I have read an article 
in the December number of the Cultivator, in which 
some grasses from Bermuda are compared with others 
from Mississippi. The botanical name of the Bermuda 
grass is Cynodon dactylon, or DigUaria dactylon of Elliott, 
who places it in the same genus with the crab grass 
(Digitaria sanguinalis) so troublesome to planters at the 
south, and to our northern gardeners. Elliott, in hia 
Botany of South-Carolina and Georgia, remarks that 
although the crab grass is an annual, it is the best grass 
for hay at present known in our low country. The Ber¬ 
muda grass is perennial, and is already widely diffused 
through the low country of the south. I have seen it 
frequently in south Alabama; have received specimens of 
it from Prof. Carpenter of Louisiana, and according to 
Elliott, it is common in the low country of South-Carolina 
and Georgia, particularly in loose soils. 
Elliott says: “We have, two varieties of this plant, 
one coarser (perhaps a species) growing in damp soils 
and native; the other said to be imported, a tender, de¬ 
licate grass, growing over and binding the most arid and 
loose lands in our country, and apparently preferred by 
stock of all descriptions to every other grass. The cul¬ 
tivation of this grass on the poor and expensive sand-hills 
of our middle country, would probably convert them 
into sheep walks of great value; but it grows in every 
soil, and no grass on close rich land is more formidable 
to the cultivator; it must therefore be introduced with cau¬ 
tion.'” 
The crab grass of Bermuda (Rottboella dimidiata) is 
rare in the southern States, and apparently confined to 
places in the vicinity of salt water. I never met with it 
but once, and then it was confined to a small spot form¬ 
ing a dense mat. This was opposite Pilatka on the St. 
Johns river in Florida. Yours truly, 
Saml. B. Buckley. 
West Dresden , Yates co. } N. Y. 
BLACK SEA WHEAT. 
Mr. Tucker —This wheat is found to be so valuable a 
variety of spring grain in this and some other of the 
New-England States, that I am disposed to trouble you 
with another letter on the subject. It is evidently a very 
hardy grain, and not liable to suffer from the depreda¬ 
tions of insects. It will grow and yield a fair crop, on 
almost every variety of soil, rich or poor; on very rich 
land it fills well, even where it is inclined to lodge. 
It has been suggested that it would be profitable to in¬ 
troduce this wheat into those parts of Michigan and Illi¬ 
nois, where the winter variety suffers much damage, and 
yields poorly on account of the luxuriance in growth. 
Most farmers here fail by letting this Black sea wheat 
stand too long. It produces less bran, and the bread is 
whiter and sweeter, where the crop is gathered in a 
greenish state. When allowed to stand upon the ground 
till perfectly ripe, there is a black mould, or substance, 
which frequently may be seen between the lobes on the 
belly of the grain. 
I believe this grain was first shipped to Portland in the 
State of Maine, and it proved to be so valuable in that 
State, that the Kennebec County Agricultural Society 
have recently made two additional importations from the 
Black Sea, both of which have proved entire failures. In 
1841, they had forwarded through the agency of Thomas 
Cordis of Boston, sixteen bushels. It was distributed, 
and sown by different individuals in that county, on vari¬ 
ous soils in the different locations, and in all cases it mil¬ 
dewed. Some was sown again with no better success in 
1842. In that year, through the same agency, they pro¬ 
cured about the same quantity, which proved to be the 
same variety, and they met with equal bad success. They 
were in hopes to have obtained some of the Siberia*! 
wheat in the last attempt, but were disappointed. I un¬ 
derstand they are about-to try again their success in ano¬ 
ther importation. We have proved by actual experi¬ 
ment, that not only this, but other kinds of winter and 
spring wheat will produce better to change the seed back 
and forth every year, from east to west, and from west t« 
