THE GENESEE FARMER. 



31S 



fortiniliural J^P^^^'^^^^^^^^- 



MEETING OF THE "WESTERN NEW YOEK FRUIT 

 GROWERS' ASSOCIATION. 



Thk exhibition and meeting of this Society was 

 held in this city Septembt r 18th anil I9t"h. There wa^^ 

 a fine show of fruits and a fair attendance of fruit 

 ^roA-ers. The foliowino; t^ubjects were recommended 

 for discussion, and adopted: 



I. Pea hfs. Can the culr.ivatton of the Peaih exteii- 

 sivelv t'or market lie recoimneiideH as protitahie ? If pro- 

 fitahle, Nflint varii--tiesi can I'e lecommerided ? 



'2 'What is the cause "f thp riMukiiit;- nf the Pear — and 

 of the leaf hliyht (so ciilledt ? What varietifs anionjj <iu • 

 be-t Pear* are most subject t<* it. and what inosr eieniin ? 



y. What are t e cuni|>arative advuntaeps of raismsi; 

 nnrserv trcf-s on fresh soil. previou<lv unoccupied with 

 the n. over cul'ivatiiiyf them on soil which ha-* lieen repeat 

 e<ilv occupied with «nch trees, and the fertility niainrarned 

 l)v heavy tniinuriiig? 



■'• Can t e Pear i n Quince stock be adTantageoiKly 

 eultivared ou a larsre scale for market ? 



5 What form of tree is best for the standard Pear in 

 orchards ? 



fl. Cin the Raspberry, Currant and Gooseberry be 

 hr^ely cultivated profitablv for market, and in what, way? 

 What pro luct per acre could be obtained ? lu what way 

 pfep'iFc-d fur market ? What varieties aie hest? 



7. Wh^t are the best modes of preservins: fruit in cans, 

 jars or bottles, arid what sort* are be.st for the purpose ? 



8. What age is best for planting Apples and Pears from 

 murseries to oi-chards to insure the best success? 



». Can land naturally wet be made suitable for raising 

 fruit P And how ? And at what expense per acre ? 



in. E ich member is requested to hand in, in the form of 

 a ballot, a list of tweW* best Apples for marketing exclu 

 sively — and twelve h#.st Pears and six best Peache*— each 

 member to append his name to his list. 



First Day — Morning Sesgion. 



H. P. Norton, of Brockport, in the Chair. 



The gubject first taken up for discussion was the 

 leaf' blitrht, and crackin? of Pears. 



H. E. Hooker, of Rochester, remarked that some 

 varietie-< were much more subject to crack than oth- 

 er>J, under prt^ciaely the same circumstances. 



W. P. 'I'ow.tsKNn, of Lockport, said that up to 

 tJie 6th of the pre-^ent month, (Sept.) the season had 

 Ijeen favorable to the growth and healthy develop- 

 ment of both fruit and trees. At that time a change 

 occurrfd in the atmosphere, and much of the time 

 aince, it has been close and damp, causing mildew on 



P. Barry, of Rochester, stated that the Virga- 

 lieu was cracking this year on the grounds of Mr. 

 Yeo.mans, of Walworth, and in the town of Urcijc©, 

 and in other localities of Western New York. II« 

 would, however, state, on the authority of a gentle- 

 man present, that Mr. Ykomans h;nl sold some of 

 these very trees to his neighbors which were entirely 

 free from leaf bliglit, and the fruit from cia/king. 

 lie believed the leaf blight and cracking to be cau-v 

 ed by the same or analagous causes, and that to be 

 fungi or a fungus, tjome varieties buffered badly 

 some seasons, and again others were attacked that 

 had never been before. Wiiy thi.n was, no one had 

 been able to tell, any more than they had why these 

 phenomena occurred at all. 



Mr. Smith, of Geneva, thought it might be an ia- 

 sect, as it appears to spread most rapidly after rain, 

 succeeded by warm weather, which is tavorable to 

 the propagation of insects. 



Mr. Hooker said that if he remembered right, th» 

 soil of Mr. Yeomans, in which these trees grow, is a 

 heavy clay, with a hard pan, which has been under- 

 drained, but is not now a good pear soil, and that 

 none but a naturally well drained soil would ever be 

 found to be favorable to a healthy condition of the 

 Pear. 



Mr. Barry would state the Duchesse d'Argouleme 

 as in fine condition on Mr. Yeomans' ground?. 



J. J. Thomas, of United Springs, had made many 

 observations in reference to this subject, but the nc-e 

 he ma le the less he thought he knew respecting it ; had 

 examined it with powerful microscopes, and believed it 

 to be a fungus. The leaf blight and cracking usu- 

 ally accompany each other, but not always, as some- 

 times there is leaf blight without ciackiug of tlve 

 fruit. A small Yirgaliea Pear tree, planted soisie 

 years since, prod -.ced its first crop badly cracked, 

 but ever after it has been fine, and the cause cnnLot 

 therefore be, as some have thought, the e.i.hausiica 

 of the soil. Thrifty varieties are opt to be exempt, 

 such as Beurre d'Amalis, t>sband's Summer, Binrtlett, 

 &c. On the contrary, Oswego Beurre sometimea 

 cracked. Ananas d'Efe sehlom crocks. The whole 

 >!ubject was enshrouded in darkness. 



Mr. Smith, of Geneva, would enquire where t^ 

 fungus commences its growth ? 



Mr. Thomas had examined the rust of wheat, and 

 was satisfied that it was propagated by pacing 

 through the sap pores, and that the fungus under 

 consideration was produced in a similar manner, aiid 

 largely increased by budding and grafting, the seed 

 being much smaller than the pores of the wood. 



W, P, TowNSENP would state that he had a smaM 

 bed of pear seedlings, through which ran a furrow 

 which v/ag wet, and he noticed that the blight at- 

 tacked only those stocks standing in the furrow, dis- 

 tinctly marking the water cours-e. 



Mr. Thomas said that several years since many at- 

 tempt's were made by numerous parties, among whon| 

 were Mr. Hovky, of Boston, and Mr Zkra BtRR, of 

 Perriuton, to eradicate this disease by ti;o n^e of va- 

 rious solutions, but all had proved unsucco£»ful, 



Mr. Barry thought that the practical qucstJDO 



the grapes. On the evening of the 6th inst. the j was, how this disease waste be avoided? lie knew o( 



leaves of the Beurre Diel, on his grounds, turned 

 black, and soon after, those of the Virgalieu and 

 Oswego Beurre, and the fruit commenced to crack. 

 Other varieties growjng in the same rows with these, 

 uot affected. 



no way. If any varieties are known to be particu- 

 larly liable to it, they should not be planted. 



The Chair would ask if there was any difference 

 in the cracking of the Virgalieu on the Quince ao4 

 OH the Pear stQck? 



