1 1854. 
THE CULTIVATOR 
I 
Answers to Inquiries, 
Lime ok Meadows. — {fflm. &texrer, West Hart¬ 
ford, Ct.) We need experiments to determine the va¬ 
lue of lime as a top-dressing for grass lands. In some 
localities it has been considerably used, with some ad¬ 
vantages to the -grass, bat chiefly with the intention of 
becefitting subsequent craps. It often aets beneficially 
on meadows, like .ashes, in destroying mosses, and would 
probably in the case referred to. It should be first 
slaeked, to admit of even spreading. Oyster shed lime 
is equal to any for this purpose. It would be best for 
our correspondent to try the experiment on a moderate 
scale, with 5Q or 100 bushels per acre, applied early 
in spring; not trusting his eye, nor guess-work, for the 
results, but submitting them to weighing and measur¬ 
ing. It is not probable they will be very striking, if 
decidedly perceptible. In some particular instances, 
or peculiarities of soil, lime may be of much advan¬ 
tage, but as a general thing there is nothing like ni¬ 
trogenous manures. If the laud needs underdraining, 
as a part appears to in the case reported by our cor¬ 
respondent, this operation will greatly benefit the crop 
both in quantity and .quality ; after which, and not be¬ 
fore, manure will produce a decided result, or exert its 
full powers. -j— 
Peat Ashes. —I have a pretty extensive swamp 
which I am endeavoring to bring into cultivation. I 
wish to be informed if the ashes obtained from burn¬ 
ing the bogs, cut on it, will be of benefit to the soil if 
spread over it, or if there will be more advantage in 
spreading them on the surrounding upland. 
I had supposed that these ashes would be good for 
all kinds of soil, and yet I have been led to have 
some doubt about it, arising from an experiment on a 
very small scale, which I made some 3 or 4 years since, 
and which did not seem to give so favorable a result 
as I had been led to expect. 
I shall be much obliged if you, or any of your cor¬ 
respondents, who may have experience in this matter, 
will give ine the information which I seek, it being of 
considerable importance to me to be put on the right 
track,—the quantity being large. Yours, <&e. Hen- 
£Y Sheldon. Tarry town, Westchester Co., Sept. 13. 
We have very few if any accurate experiments in 
•this country in relation to the subject. Peat ashes are 
inferior in quality to.common wood ashes. In England 
they have proved uiseful to elover, lucerne, and similar 
.crops, apparently from the amount of gypsum they 
were found to contain. We should think these ashes 
would be decidedly more beneficial if applied to the 
soil of well drained bogs, than in upland. But experi¬ 
ment will be the best test. On wet bogs, they could be 
of very little use, as they would be soon dissolved, and 
carried cff. Can any of our correspondents furnish any 
facts on the subjeet 1 
Millet. — (W.,Stoner, West Hartford , Ct.) Mil¬ 
let is a good crop, but the fact of its introduction long 
since without extensive culture at the present time, 
does not speak strongly in favor of its superiority to 
other crops. It will afford one or two tons of fodder 
per acre, and sometimes more, which is fully equal to 
■good hay. The seed, which is a capital food for poul¬ 
try, and valuable for other animals, usually amounts 
to about 25 bushels per acre. In rare instances 60 or 
70 have been produced. Like other crops, it does best 
on rich soils, and will succeed on such as will raise 
good corn and barley. A neighboring farmer, who has 
raised it to some extent, thinks a peck of seed enough 
for an acre, but we observe that some authorities re¬ 
commend over a bushel—quite a difference certainly. 
We are unable t® say what amount would be likely to 
yield the greatest amount and best quality of fodder, 
and the largest crop of grain. The results with Indian 
corn and timothy indicate that a large quantity of seed 
yields not only a larger crop, but jqf better quality, 
being of finer, softer, and more nutritious growth. Mil¬ 
let should be sown about the time of corn planting, but 
will ripen a crop if somewhat? later. 
Prices of Pears. —Can you inform a subscriber to 
your useful paper, where to find a market For pears, 
nnd what priees such kinds as the Virgalieu, the Sekel, 
the Buerre-Bose, Buerr§ Diel, Bartlett, and others, 
will bring 3 I have about twenty hearing pear trees 
of the above varieties and others—some large size and 
fine juicy fruit—the names of which we have lost. 
Such fruit, in the country here, brings no better price 
than the common pears, which are sold at from 50 to 
75 cents per bushel. Otsego , N. Y. Sept. 21, 1854. 
The price of Pears in this city, as well as in New- 
York and Boston, depends in a great measure upon 
the manner in which they are brought to market. In 
answer to -our inquiry of several fruit dealers, as to 
what they would .pay for such pears, they say—We 
never buy pears without seeing them—they may be 
worth $1 or $4 per bushel.” Well known varieties, 
like the Bartlett and Virgalieu, of good size, if proper¬ 
ly picked and assorted, and sent to market in a sound 
statej will readily command $3 to $5 per bushel. We 
refer our correspondent, and all others who have pears 
to send to market, to an article published in the Coun¬ 
try Gentleman of last week, (p. 187.) 
Hedges. —(A Subscriber, Troy, N. Y.) There is 
no kind of thorn, properly so called, thatcan be wholly 
relied on for hedges. The English has succeeded well 
in some places in this country, and appears to do bet¬ 
ter in the extreme northern portion of the Union than 
in the Middle States; but every where it is occasional¬ 
ly liable to a sort of disease or blight, that may des¬ 
troy it after it is grown to a hedge, and occasion severe 
loss and disaj.ipoint.ment to its owner. The American 
species, known as the Washington and the Newcastle 
thorns, succeeded well for many years, but they too, 
were found to be attacked by diseases and enemies, and 
they are at present given up. 
There is but one plant that now appears to be just 
the thing we want for Hedges. This is the Osage 
Orange. Although somewhat liable to be winter-killed 
at the tips of its branches, we have never £nown the 
roots and larger branches to suffer; and in a thick 
hedge, with the moderate growth that such a thick 
growth must have, our severest winters will scarcely 
affect it. And it so happens, that nipping the tips is 
only beneficial to the hedge, operating in the same 
way as a shearing—an operation too often neglected i 
