THE ge:n^esee farmer. 



287 



nnproductive for market, and the Genesee and Scott's 

 Eix'dliug are much less productive than many other 

 varieties. McAvoy's Superior, on the contrary, is a 

 Biost excellent and productive family berry, and ri- 

 pens next to the earliest varieties. It is never diffi- 

 cult to fertilize and unproductive when attended by 

 ft suitable staminate, and is only so where the culti- 

 vator thoughtlessly relies on the Early Scarlet as the 

 fructifier, whose blossoms expand much too early for 

 the purpose. The Hooker is a very good berry, 

 rather large, sweet, and of fine flavor; a very good 

 family fruit, but, hke most of the other staminates, 

 not suited for field culture to supply the markets. 

 Moyamensing is a seedling of the old Hudson, of 

 medium size, not sweet, and with but little flavor. 

 The Crimson Cone, which has been so abundant in 

 the New York markets for years, is too acid, and is 

 gradually yielding place to the other standard varie- 

 ties of better quality. W. R. Prince. 

 Flushing, JV. Y. 



CITLTIVATION OF STRAWBEEEIES: 



Messes. Editors : — I have been surprised to see 

 how little attention the majority of our farmers pay 

 to the cultivation of strawberries. No fruit is more 

 easily raised, and yet very many of our farmers have 

 sever seen a cultivated strawberry. They think it a 

 very small business to spend time with such things; 

 b^it I would say to those gentlemen that I can take 

 an acre of suitable land, and cultivate with straw- 

 berries, and make more clear money off of that one 

 acre than any of them do off of twenty-five acres of 

 corn. Now this may sound rather strong, but it is 

 true; and this is not the only consideration. The 

 small fruits, such as the strawberry, the raspberry, the 

 gooseberry, not forgetting the fine Ijawton black- 

 berry, are among the greatest luxuries we enjoy; but 

 too many of our farmers have not sufficient energy 

 to make one effort to partake of the choicest of 

 blessings with which a bountiful Providence has sur 

 rounded them. Elijah Thomas. 



fVarren Co., Ind., 1857. 



ANGLE WORMS. 



Messes. Editors : — In reply to the inquiry of ilr. 

 Edwards, of Little Genesee, I would state that the 

 trouble with his garden, no doubt, is attributable to 

 the " thousands of angle worms" spoken of by him in 

 bis inquiry. Many gardens in this vicinity are nearly 

 mined. Experiments of various kinds have been 

 tried to clear them from the ground, but to little 

 purpose. Land once light and dry soon becomes 

 heavy and wet where they take up their abode, and 

 altogether unfit for garden purposes. They delight 

 in a rich, wet soil. If the ground is too dry for them, 

 they soon fix it by boring thousands of holes up 

 through the surface, that the rain and dew may not 

 escape. They are no great, favorites of light and 

 heat. But at any time of night, or early mom, by 

 simply stepping over the ground, may be heard draw- 

 ing themselves down these holes to get out of harm's 

 way. The noise thus made resembles falling drops of 

 Fain. Thus, by ascending and descending, they draw 

 the soil together in such a way that it has the ap- 

 pearance of being baked. Having had some little 

 experience with the "crawlers," I would recommend 

 to impoverish the soil, by cultivating some crop that 



draws hard on the land. Keep of all manures uQtil 

 such times as they have left the diggings, as they are 

 not to be found in poor soils thtit I know of. Some 

 seed down for a few years, but it provr.^ to be of no 

 use whatever. J C. Adams. 



Sepfiour, JV. Y. 



COMPARATIVE BACKWARDNESS OF THE SEASOR. 



Messrs. Editors : — Much has been said about the 

 backwardness of the present season, and in support 

 of the general opinion, I make a few notes from ray 

 garden book, showing the time of maturing of some 

 of the leading vegetables for -five years. 



1S.53.. Sowed Veas March 28. Blossomed May .31. Picked June 18. 

 is:>4.. " " Aprils. " " " " »6. 



1*55.. « " " 10. " Junes. " " 20. 



1S5G.. « « "10. " *' 2. " '• 16. 



1857.. " " " 11. " " 5. " " 29. 



It will be seen by the above table, that this year 

 and 1855 were more backward than the others men- 

 tioned, and that this year is, at least, nine days be- 

 hind two years ago. 



We will take radishes, which I usually plant as 

 soon as the frost is out of the ground. 



1 S53 Sowed Eadishes At>ril 8. Pnlled Mav 89. 



1S54 " " "" 19. " June 8. 



1S55 " " " 12. " Mav 25. 



1S5G " " " 11. " "■ 24. 



1S5T " " " 11. " June 9. 



The growth of early radishes depends more upon 

 the temperature of the month of May than any other 

 time, while peas require a warm and not very wet 

 June for their early maturity. 



Cucumbers. — Picked full grown ones July 1st, 

 1853; the same time, 1854; July 9th, 1855; July 

 14th, 1856; July 13th, 1857. Last year my cu£THn- 

 bers were much retarded by late frosts. 



Tomatoes. — 1853 — picked first ripe ones Julv 24th ; 

 1854— July 23d; 1855— August 8th; 185G— July 

 28th; 1857— August 19th. 



If I should continue my extracts, they would bat 

 sustain the general opinion that the present is the 

 most backward season we have experienced in macy 

 years. P. C. Reynolds. 



JVear Palmyra, JV. Y. 



Grafting Pears on White Thorn.— In the Jnn« 

 number of the Genesee Fanner, I see "D. F. H."' 

 v/ants to know about grafting pears on the whi'fee 

 thorn. My experience you and he can have grati?. 

 Some twelve years ago I grafted my first on the 

 white thorn in the following manner. I selected a 

 thorn about three-fourths of an inch in diameter; cot 

 it off with a saw about one inch above the surfa©* 

 of the ground. Put in a pear scion, covered with 

 grafting wax, &c., and that svmmer it grew six feei 

 four inches. One week in June it grew six and a 

 half inches; and I have now a very handsome pear 

 tree well loaded with pears. I think it bore fruit m 

 four or five years. My reason for cutting off tb« 

 stock so low is, that a pear tree grows faster than th© 

 thorn, and therefore by raising a mound of earth up 

 above the stock, the graft forms its own roots, and 

 becornes a more permanent tree. 



I have a graft of two years old, doing well, on a 

 service, or as some call it, June berry. What th« 

 fruit will be, I cannot tell; but I should think that 

 it will do well. The berries, when ripe, have a little 

 oi the peiir flavor. Hugh Rainet. 



Cotjield, Mercer Co., Penn. 



