1847, 
THE CULTIVATOR 
29 
ever take the pleasure I now do, in cultivating a small 
garden. 
From my earliest recollection, it was said, li there 
is so much salt in the atmosphere, it is impossible to 
raise good fruit on this Island. 5 ’ There were some or¬ 
chards on this Island, but the fruit was small and knotty. 
Many of the farmers had got almost discouraged. I 
examined some of the orchards, and concluded that the 
bad fruit was the result of bad culture, or rather, no 
culture at all. 
Fourteen years ago, I set out a few apple, pear, 
quince, cherry, and plum trees, grape vines, &c. I 
have never seen better fruit in Boston or New-York 
markets, than I now raise. Our people are now con¬ 
vinced that good fruit can be raised, and they begin to 
show their faith by their works. Last year, the inhabi¬ 
tants bought about $700 worth of trees. I do not 
think that one-half that sum was ever before expended 
for fruit trees, since the white man first came here. 
It has been said, that Newtown pippins would not 
do well so far North. I have but one tree of pippins ; 
last summer that tree bore the largest and handsomest 
fruit by far, that ever I saw. 
For fourteen years, I tried to raise peaches, but the 
few I raised were miserable, and I had become almost 
discouraged. In the spring of 1844, I selected three 
trees, and put about a peck of fine charcoal around 
each. It was a benefit, but not so great as in the fol¬ 
lowing years. In 1845, they bore some good fruit. In 
1846, the three trees bore a tolerable crop of excellent 
peaches. Those around which there was no charcoal, 
bore no good fruit, and if nothing is done to prevent it, 
will soon die. 
For ten or eleven years, my grape vines were pruned 
sparingly. My grapes moulded, they Were small, they 
ripened late, and but few T were fit to put on the table. 
Three or four years ago, I bought Hoar’s treatise on 
the cultivation of the grape. I pruned according to 
his direction. I can now raise excellent grapes, free 
from mould, (or mildew ;) they ripen early, and are as 
good as heart can wish. 
The reason why our vines require so much more pru¬ 
ning than yours, is because the climate differs so widely 
from yours. We are 90 miles south from Boston, yet 
we find it eleven degrees colder here in the summer, 
than it is in Boston. In order to satisfy some of my 
neighbors, I left four vines without pruning, on each side 
of the four I pruned close. On the four vines there was 
not one bunch well filled. On each side, the grapes 
were excellent. Here, and to the north of us, I am sat¬ 
isfied the vines require much more pruning than they do 
to the south of us. The last summer the apple trees 
throughout this Island were infested with aphides in 
such abundance as was never known. The fruit became 
worthless. When I first perceived them on my trees I 
diluted some oil soap, and with my syringe sprinkled 
the trees. Five days afterward I wet them again. I 
have not been troubled with them since. 
I have a pumpkin sweet apple tree, set out fourteen 
years ago ; eight years since the ends of the limbs be¬ 
gan to die ; I commenced pruning, and cut about six 
inches below the dead part ; they continued to die, till 
I eventually cut off the whole head. The trunk appears 
to be perfectly sound. A new thrifty head formed. The 
last spring, the ends on the northwest side began to die, 
and I again commenced cutting, and have cut off about 
one-third of the top. I have examined the roots and 
they appear perfectly sound. As it has borne no fruit, I 
think I must cut it down, as a cumberer of the ground. 
As it is in a row of trees, I do not like to cut it down. 
Can I do any better than cut it down and set out an¬ 
other ? Allen Coffin. 
P. S. I planted six rows of potatoes ; when they 
were five or six inches high, I put half a pint of un¬ 
slacked ashes on each hill, of every other row. Where 
I put ashes there was nine bushels ; without ashes, there 
was seven bushels and a peck. I planted 12 rows of 
potatoes, July 12th I cut off the tops of alternate 
rows ; the cut hills produced twelve bushels, the rows 
that were not cut produced fourteen bushels. 
BUDDING FRUIT TREES. 
Eds. Cultivator— I notice in your October num¬ 
ber some remarks by R. T., on Budding Fruit trees : 
desirous of adding my limited experience, I think it 
suggests a still further improvement. -In August 1845, 
I budded in the usual manner, one dozen Peach trees : 
they were very small, about the size of a goose-quill 
near the ground, and the sap so sparing that only half 
of them took ,• these were transplanted in March, cut 
off, and grew about five feet in height j the remaining six 
I concluded to experiment on—as soon as they had 
shown half an inch of green sprout, I inserted buds 
from old trees in the usual way, tying them neatly with 
bass matting, and then with the finger, covered the 
whole insertion, except the point of the bud, with a lit¬ 
tle moist adhesive clay ; part of the top was then dipt 
off, the buds adhered and started in ten days, and in a 
few weeks attained a foot in length, when I cut the old 
wood off smooth to the inoculation. On measurement 
this day, there is from seven to eight feet growth from 
the bud inserted, in height, and as clean, straight and 
thrifty trees as one could desire to transplant into an 
orchard, far superior indeed, to the six transplanted in 
the spring, whose buds had taken the autumn previous. 
This method requires little more care and watchfulness 
as to time, but is preferable, inasmuch as you have the 
whole summer before you in case of failure ; you get a 
fine growth, as much so as from the natural wood, and 
that without injury to the stock, whilst trees budded 
and cut off in August, sometimes die ,• and if they live 
and the bud starts, they attain but little growth, the 
stock becomes stunted, the bark hard and dry, and the 
growth the following year no more, if as much as you 
would have obtained from the same bud left until spring. 
N. P. Crowell. 
Bluffton, S. C., Nov. 21, 1846. 
Yellows in Peach Trees. —A correspondent of 
the American Agriculturist, recommends cutting off 
peach trees thus affected, even with the ground, and 
then the roots will sprout up and make new trees. 
Now it happens that so contagious is this disease, that 
if the axe or saw used in this proposed operation "were 
applied to a healthy tree, it would communicate the fatal 
malady ; and that proposed method would be as inef¬ 
fectual as to build a post-and-rail fence to exclude the 
cholera. 
Grafting Grape Vines. —A correspondent of the 
Ohio Cultivator, grafted exotic grapes into twelve new¬ 
ly transplanted Isabella vines, by the mode of cleft- 
grafting, about three inches under ground, using no 
plasters, but pressing the earth tightly round them. 
Every one took. They bore well the second year. 
11 This year,” he adds, which was the third year, u they 
are growing with wonderful vigor, and are covered 
with fine bunches of grapes, while the young ones 
planted at the same time will not be ready to bear 
these two years. Since then I have grafted every 
month from February to June, with equal success, and 
therefore conclude that if grafted under ground, there 
need be no difficulty.” 
Apple-tree Borers.—A correspondent of the Mas¬ 
sachusetts Plowman thinks he stifled the borers which 
attacked one of his apple-trees last summer, by plugging 
their holes air-tight with soft pine. This is a kind of 
experiment which seems not likely to do injury, and 
we see no objection, therefore, to its being tried. T. 
