Indiana American. [volume] (Brookville, Ind.) 1833-1861, 1855-07-06

Thirteen years ago, | purchas-.
ed an establishment, consisting
Of q dwelling-house, barn, car
rage and wood-house, calculating
to makeit a permanent residence.
There was attached a little land
for a garden, on which were just
five apple trees, and in front Of
tho house were three trees OF the
Balm of Gilead the trees we're
all about six inches in diameter
al that time; but two Of the ap-
pie trees we're hollow, and | cut
one Of them down, after trying
to make it do something and
finding / could not.
Well, all the apples trees bore
something for fruit, but so crab
bed and sour they would make a
pig squeal. For amusement, /
grated all the four gradually, or
year BY year, cutting off the old
branches and grating the limbs
with Roxbury Russets, New
York Russets, Baldwins, &C., all
the best ! could End. Now, ]
have had about ten barrels of
good apples, annually, to put up
for winter, for three or four years
past, besides all we have used in
the family of five, and we have
used them freely all we wanted
till time to gather the winter APP
pies.
Ihave a yard in front Of my
house, about 40 feet square, in
front of which are two Of the
Balm Of Gilead trees before men,
toned, which are now large trees,
and have been left outside of the
front fence; but inside Of the
fence / set out, about ten years
ago, three pear trees of the COM
mon summer pear, which now give
US all the pears we want, for they
have borne we'll FOR about four
years. From the pear trees to
the house, I filed the space with
flower beds, and have many vari-
cites, say twenty kinds Of roses,
AID nearly one hundred kinds Of
other flowers.
Ihave planted on the south
side Of my buildings next to the
passage to the barn, plnms, peach
es and grapes. The peaches have
not succeeded well, nor the plnms,
so | cut the plum trees, and graft
ed them with tho Green and Pur-
pie Gage, only three or four years
ago, and now | have plenty Of the
finest plums / ever saw, so | have
toprop the small branches. My
grapes began to bear last year ;
/ had abouta bushel, and l should
think about double the quantity
this year. / have set out some
ounce trees, but they do not
bear yet.
Besides the trees and grape
vines, ] have annually raised about
ten or fifteen bushels Of potatoes,
six or seven bushels Of beets and
carrots, some English turnips and
ruta bagas, and a few cabbages
and onions, as many as our folks
wanted to use. We have also had
beans, peas and corn, what we
wanted to use green; and | have
annually had about three or four
bushels of dry corn, one bushel OF
pop corn, and sweet corn enough
to plant and supply all my neigh
bors. Also i have annually rails
ed cucumbers, water and musk
melons, summerandwintersq squash
es, one or two hundred, or one
thousand pounds Of pumpkins
All this has been raised on less
than half an acer Of ground, inclu-
bing buildings and driveways-
and have had more vegetables
for years in my family than some
men who cultavate one hundred
acers-all on poor, gravelly, New
Hampshire land, without any helT
but my girls in the flower depart
ment. And, as Goldsmith says
1--WE make rod of ground support
its man. Cor. ". Il: Farmer