In my last, dated early in the spring months, when the opening season existed more in hope than reality, I stated the favorable condition in which our fruit-trees had passed the severe freezing term of winter. Then, our hopes of a plentiful supply of all delicious fruits were high; but we "know not what a day may bring forth." In our New England climate, we cannot prescribe the bounds to the occurrence of wintry winds and merciless snow storms 1 The very heavy snow of April (the heaviest fall of the season) came moist, and remained upon the trees for some four or five days; in many instances it broke down branches. After this snow had passed away, our peaches presented a very different appearance from that of the first of the month; the young shoots withered as though a fire had passed over them; of course they were dead, and gave us no fruit - not even blossoms. Many of the trees proved so nearly dead as to become useless; others revived, and now present a healthful appearance to inspire new hopes, perhaps to wither in another spring storm. Now, the query is, what was the cause of this sudden change in these trees? It could not have been frost, for vegetation had not started, and the temperature was scarcely below freezing.

Be this what it may, however, one thing is certain: it was the spring killed these shoots, and not the severity of winter.

The destiny of the cherry was very similar to that of the peach; many trees died, and others had the growth of last season destroyed. In both cases, the most vigorous growing trees suffered most. Do we not sometimes injure our trees by nursing them too much, and thus making them too tender? This is not likely to be the case, we are sure, but we have become convinced it may be done. No necessity, however, of cautioning the mass of cultivators on this point; for there are yet quite too many who manage their trees with the same degree of roughness as though harsh usage was the essential to a rapid and healthy growth.

Our peaches, then, were a total failure; cherries, a very moderate crop; apples (many apple-trees were broken down by the same sad, untimely snow storm), in some localities, and these are in a western exposure, bore well, but, as a general thing, trees are sparsely filled; pears produce the best of any of the fore-mentioned crops, and show their power of enduring a severe winter; grape-vines are well loaded, but, like Indian corn, the fruit needs a warm turn to give them maturity.

* See Frontispiede.