lIIfiMM
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Davotcd to j£__rlcuUurc, Horticulture, JfXccUanics and tlie Useful Arts.
&hTi?£Z£&Zs.\    RICHMOND, APRIL 1, 185G.   .i1^^.*.0'-:^^
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COMHUNIGATIONS.
For thc Indirna Farraor.
"Maplewood, near West Milton, O., )
3d mo., 11th, 1856.     j
Dear Farmer :—In a preceding article
I introduced the theory that "like produces
like," that seed selected from superior kinds,
isolated or far removed from indifferent sorts
and well matured, often gave origin to very
excellent varieties, (a more successful  way
being   by  hybridization,   as  practiced  by
Knight, Briuckle, and others.) and that immature seed, or that from sorry   kinds, sur-
, rounded by such, will (produce weakly and
very indifferent  ones. \ I will endeavor to
give a practical illustration of this.
In an adjoining neighbor's orchard aro a
number of very good sorts of apples, which
are well deserving more special notice, wider
extended culture and enrollment on the annals of promology. Their origin was on
this wise : My grandfather and Mendenhall,
then living in Guilford co., North Carolina,
having determined to emigrate to this State,
(then North-west Territory,) in the fall of
1801, previous to his moving, selected seed
from a certain widow Sanders' orchard,
which was considered thc best thereabout,
of the very best kinds in it. These seeds he
planted in the spring of 1803, on the spot of
ground now occupied by one of the best of
those seedling trees. His orchard, planted
from the same lot, was long known as containing the best apples of any in these parts.
He and his brother Joseph, (who had also
emigrated,) afterwards received a lot of seed
from the same place, taken from the pomace
of the cider mill, and planted a nursery.
From this nursery the neighborhood and adjacent parts wero furnished with trees for
their orchards.
Now" for the result. When these came
into bearing, of all the most sorry, hard, late,
sour, and exceedingly indifferent fruit; these
orchards produced it. A greater fruit misfortune never happened to the. settlement.
Budding or. grafting being but little known
or pricticed here in that early day. Many
of these old orchards yet remain more or less "*■
entire; but the next generation were determined to be wiser than their fathers, and
have supplanted a greater number by younger ones, or changed them measurably by
grafting. Yet, notwithstanding the introduction of many foreign varieties amongst us, a
few seedlings in the old Mendenhall orchard
have not been excelled in their several peculiar qualities. In my next, I propose giving
a short description and outline of some of
these very desirable apples, believing, as
aforestated, that they are deserving of a
more extended cultivation.   I am very truly,
L. S. MOTE.
Luuar IiiUttenccs.
A friend has written us an article on Lunar Influences, concerning  which he says,
"if it is an exploded belief it would be foolish to publish, if hot, not."    Strange as it
may appear there are still not  a  few who
believe in the influence of the moon  upon
thc  growth  of vegetation,   and hence  are
j guided in their farm operations by its phases
i and position.    Such  men are probably not
| great readers of books or papers, and may
i not   see the Farmer, but should one person
| be induced to look for success to his  own
industry and skill, rather than to a mysterious planetary or lunar influence, this article
will not have been written or published in.
vain.   But here  is the letter, some of the
leading facts are taken from the lectures of
Dionysius Lardner.*
"Thc supposed influence of the moon upon the weather has been perhaps .almost
universally believed by people of all ages
and countries, and .although the particular
details of this influence have sometimes re-,
ceived an attempted description in ''weather
almanacs!" still the only general principle
seems to be, that a change of weather may
be looked for at the times of new and full
moon. That this is not one of the superstitions of BY-oq,NE days is made manifest
by the every day remark, "the moon changes, next week and then wo shall have different weather." Is this a fact, or are *we
giving credence to an old superstition?—
Scientific men have investigated this subject
and from carefully prepared meteorological   tables kept in   different countries for
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