30 
COLLECTIONS AND RECOLLECTIONS. 
arbor vitre. Here is no furze or heath, no arbutus, no sweet bay, or 
laurel, or laurustinus, but snowdrops and crocuses bear the winter, 
hepaticas grow wild, also line azaleas, some cenotherias, and at this 
time abundance of. golden rod and Michaelmas daisy or aster. The 
apples excel, though many most wretched ones are grown, pears are 
not plentiful, but around Albany plums are most abundant, and some 
excellent gooseberries, but they do not answer, except in particular 
spots, currants do well, except the black, which are bad, no apricots 
or nectarines are seen, but peaches are sent hither from Jersey and 
Long Island Potatoes round us are good, but no where equal to the 
best English kinds in flavour or produce per acre. Green ears of 
Indian corn are a favorite dish here which you cannot have in Eng¬ 
land. Some things are very cheap; many pine apples were brought 
for sale from the West Indies; and one day in June, I bought in 
Albany, ten for a dollar, or five pence each; common apples noware 
only worth six-pence a bushel, common plums, now going out of 
season, four shillings a bushel, fine gages. See. have sold at sixteen 
shillings. I had some English apples and pears this spring which all 
lived, some sent me last November all died. Amongst others I lost 
of Ilacon’s pear, three trees. Some day I shall beg of you to send 
me one in the spring.” 
White Clover Harrowed into Grass Land. —It is mv 
intention, says Mr. Calvert, in a letter to Sir R. Sutton, in 1794, in 
March or April next, to sow upon an acre of land, in the centre of 
a grass field, about fourteen lbs. of white clover seed. The (-lose was 
well manured from the fold yard in November last, and has never 
vet been harrowed. After sowing and harrowing with a common 
harrow to scratch the soil a little, I mean to make it fine by means 
of a thorn harrow, and wait the result of my experiment, which is 
intended to show how far grass land may be improved without 
ploughing. Should I succeed, I shall have pleasure in communicat¬ 
ing it to you.— Nottingham, Surrey, 1794. 
Note .—I beg to ask, if you can give any information respecting 
the result of this or any similar experiment ? I would also invite 
your opinion as to its practicability and probable success. It seems 
feasible. 
Birch Plantations. —Birch is felling from November to March, 
though the sooner the better, as the sap rises early, and it bleeds ex¬ 
cessively, if not cut before March. 1 let the twigging to the Beesom 
makers, at so much a bundle of four feet girth. They ]i e till March, 
when thev are stacked like corn, and thatched. T hey must be dry 
before being stacked, or they will become mouldy. I cut out the 
