26 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Jan. 
acquired a great share of their knowledge in the hours 
not allotted to ordinary business. Your winter eve¬ 
nings are your own, and may be applied usefully. 
They may be computed at one-fourth of the day, or one 
entire month in a year. Time is money: and the young 
man who appropriates this month to the acquiring use¬ 
ful knowledge, does more to add to his future fortune, 
to say nothing of his intellectual wealth, than if he re¬ 
ceived pay for this month, and loaned it upon interest. 
Knowledge is in another respect like money: the great¬ 
er the stock of it on hand, the more it will administer 
to the respectability and enjoyments of life. But 
knowledge is not to be acquired without exertion, nor 
is anything else that is useful in life. It is the labor 
we bestow in acquiring an object that imparts to it an 
intrinsic value. It has been well said, that ‘ although 
we may be learned by the help of others, we can never 
be wise but by our own wisdom.’ It is the humble de¬ 
sign of this monthly sheet to excite a laudable ambi¬ 
tion to improve the mind as well as the soil.” 
THE FARMER’S NOTE BOOK. 
Transplanting Large Trees. 
In the spring of 1846, I determined on the removal 
of an elm tree that flourished in open grounds on rather 
wet soil of muck and clay. I chose a tree standing in 
this situation, believing there would be no tap roots 
to hinder raising it to the best advantage, and knowing 
by experience that the removal of the great majority 
of the different kinds of trees from low wet lands to 
those high and dry, does not retard the growth pro¬ 
vided proper caution is used in transplanting. 
A tree that is to stand out exposed to the winds and 
sun, like an elm, should be selected in the fields, where 
it has formed a natural low top and stout trunk, 
and where a vigorous growth of roots is attached, es¬ 
pecially if the tree be large, as this was—one foot in 
diameter at the butt, aud about twenty-five feet in 
height. 
A trench was dug about three feet deep around the 
tree, three feet from the body, cutting off all the roots 
that reached the ditch, leaving a spot of earth for the 
tree to stand upon of seven feet in diameter. The soil 
was all returned to remain through the season, that 
new and vigorous roots should spring forth in abun¬ 
dance to supply the wants of the tree. Last spring, in 
throwing out the earth again carefully, we found that 
new roots had appeared in all directions. After exca¬ 
vating well under the tree, it was easily upset by the 
aid of oxen and chains, attached to a limb that we de¬ 
signed to amputate, and cared not if the bark was 
marred a little. The earth was removed from the 
under side by bars and picks, which reduced the weight, 
as we judged, to about two tons; the diameter of the 
mass was seven feet, and over twenty inches in thick¬ 
ness. After rolling it on to the centre of an ox sled, 
the limbs extending backwards, with a stone-boat well 
secured under that part of the top which was most ex¬ 
posed, it was removed to a loamy soil on the church 
common, where a solid rock underneath laid within 
twenty inches of the surface. The tree was very easily 
uprighted, the top being much the lightest; a small 
portion of the ends of some of the limbs were cut off, 
and a few removed entire. We were careful to crowd 
earth and small stones under the roots into every un¬ 
occupied spot. The tree was not set so low by about 
eight inches as in its natural state, but after spread¬ 
ing around the tree the loose soil, and then about two 
tons of stones, it was able to take care of itself, as it 
proved to have received but little check, though the 
summer was dry and hot. 
The advantage of placing stones upon the roots, is 
to hold them firmly down, that they may not be acted 
upon by winds. These, with a load of chip manure, 
which was cast upon the stones, kept the earth moist 
and cool. The roots of the elm extend to a greater dis¬ 
tance than those of most of our forest trees. In trans¬ 
planting they are generally not well preserved, which is 
the reason of so many failures with this, the most beau - 
tiful of all the trees of America. By clipping off a 
portion of the roots in the spring, previous to moving, 
as in this case, the life of the tree is insured, and it is 
given one or two years’ start in growth. S. W. Jew¬ 
ett. Weybridge, Vi ., Dec. 1, 1847. 
Fall Plowing. 
November is the best time for plowing lands that are 
to be planted the next spring. I am aware that I am 
on the borders of controversy in making this statement j 
but it seems to me that the following advantages arise 
from the practice— 
1st. At this season the team is stronger, and the 
weather more favorable for breaking up grass land, 
than in the spring. 
2d. As the spring of the year is the most hurrying 
season to the farmer, it is a great help to him to have 
the plowing done the fall previous. 
3d. In turning the land over so late in the season, 
nothing green starts up, and the frosts of winter im¬ 
mediately following, the grass roots are killed —the 
surface also, exposed to the action of the frost, is mel¬ 
lowed, and in the spring the land will be divested of 
every living thing, and crumble down before the har¬ 
row as fine as a garden bed. The labor in planting 
and weeding the corn and potatoes is considerably les¬ 
sened by this means. 
4th. The winter arrangements of the worms are en¬ 
tirely reversed. I speak particularly of the cut-worm, 
my land not being infested with the wire-room. 
Fall plowing on my land is a complete remedy for the 
ravages of the cut-worm. Contrary to usual prac¬ 
tice, a small field, about one and a half acres, was 
broken up last May and planted to corn. In planting, 
I noticed that there were great numbers of small cut¬ 
worms in the land, and took the hint at once that there 
would be trouble in due time. By the time the corn 
was up, the worms were ready for operations, and al¬ 
though we went over the field three different times, 
destroying all that could be found, they still got the 
mastery, and at weeding time not one hill in two hun¬ 
dred was left standing. The field was replanted to 
the small, early Canada corn on the 15th of June, be¬ 
ing careful in planting to kill all the worms that could 
be found. Two days after this, two men destroyed be¬ 
tween 5 and 600 of these worms in an afternoon on the 
same field. The cut-worm does not usually work in 
corn-hills after the 20th to 25th of June, and as the 
second planting did not come up till after the 20th, it 
stood well. Twice as many hills were planted in the 
rows as were planted originally of the larger corn, 
and I harvested this fall over 80 two-bushel baskets of 
ears of ripe, sound corn from the field. The crop was 
rather too expensive; but as the land was very well 
