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THE GENESEE FARMER. 



Cucumbers. — I can find no cause for cucumber 

 vines dying out, more or less in every hill, as they 

 have this summer. But enough were left to supply 

 us, and some for the neighbors whose hens were too 

 hungry to permit them to grow their own. 



Onions. — G^rew fdiily with me, but I nearly spoiled 

 one bed, by pulling them and letting them lie out 

 through a long rain. They ivarped badly, so that 

 instead of being round they are hollow-bottomed like 

 a glass bottle, and much more trouble to dress than 

 round ones. My "black seeds," were thick and rather 

 small, but I dried a lot in midsummer to start on 

 next year. 



To.MATOES — this year, have rotted con-siderably on 

 the vines, and frost came rather early, so I have not 

 had many more than my chickens wanted. I tried 

 the racks described in an early Xo. of the Farmer, 

 and my best tomatoes grew on them. 



Summer Squashes — were good, coming among our 

 first " garden sauce," and when we were longing for 

 more fresh vegetables. They were the crook-neck 

 variety and bore abundantly. I would not like to 

 be without this excellent table esculent, nor to fail 

 in raising a good store of the winter varieties. I saw 

 but three or four "Srquash bugs" on the vines, and 

 those I killed before they did any mischief 



TuRMi's. — Some insect pest, has put a quietus on 

 many ol my turnips, and so belated others that I shall 

 have but few good ones. It cares nothing for ashes, 

 as I sowed them on many times, hoping to drive off 

 the fly, without success. 



Sugar Cank. — There's a patch of " the Sorghum" 

 in one corner of my garden — and it hides all beyond 

 it, for the canes measure from ten to twelve feet high. 

 It does grow greatly when fairly started, but I have 

 my doubts of our getting much good of it, this year. 

 The frost came just as the seed was in blossom. 



Celery — I have commenced earthing up my celery, 

 but the stalks are so short I give up making much 

 of it this season. I'll try and get plants earlier next 

 year, for I think it a delicious vegetable. The cele- 

 riac is growing finely. 



Potatoes — have rotted con.^iderably in " ajy New 

 Garden," as well as in the field. The ground shaded 

 mo^t, gives the most spoiled potatoes — the row next 

 the corn i'' nearly worthless. 



Fruit T :ees — One pear, two peach, and several 

 cherry andj ;pple trees grow in and around my gar- 

 den. Ti ey do rather bet'er this year than usual. 

 I want three or four good plum trees badly, for I 

 have not tasted a plum this season. Our old stock 

 of trees have all perished from the black knot — all, 

 all least, worth anything. Good-bye, Mr. Editor, 

 we shall hardly ramble farther, this fall, in "My New 

 Garden." A Country Invalid. 



Maple Hill, JV. Y. 



CULTTJEE OF GRBJPES IN THE OPEN AIR. 



Grape Vines are raised in several ways. The 

 most common one is from long cuttings, which are 

 made at the time of the winter pruning, and consist 

 of three eyes each, the bottom enfl of which is cut 

 close to a bud, and the upper end is left an inch or 

 two above the top of the bud. 



These are put into the open ground as soon as the 

 weather will permit in the spring, in a slanting posi- 

 tion, with the upper bud an inch above the ground, 

 and by autumn these will make fine rooted plants. 



The next method as considerably practiced is frota 

 layers, which consists in bending down shoots of thfe 

 present season's growth, the latter part of July or ill 

 the spring, with wood of the previous year's growth, 

 into the soil, made light and fine by the spade and 

 rake, and with a sharp knife an incision is made al 

 the base of a bud, (on that part of the vine to be 

 layered) through the bark and partly through the 

 wood, slitting the shoot an inch or two in length, 

 and the shoot is laid in the ground with the cat 

 open, and kept down by means of a hooked peg. 

 The earth is then drawn in, covering it two or three 

 inches deep. 



A long shoot of the vine may be layered at seffe- 

 ral points, thus procuring several r oted plants in a 

 season. By autumn these will be strong, well rooted 

 plants. 



Another method of raising first rate vines is froln 

 single eye cuttings, made of one eye each, with haff 

 an inch of wood on each end of the bud. These 

 require artificial heat to start them; and the be^ 

 plan where persons have no hot house, is to make a 

 good tight hot bed, with plenty of bottom heat; and 

 in March take pieces of vines, which should be saved 

 for this purpose, from the land in which they have 

 been preserved, (which should be in a dry, cool cel- 

 lar) and cut them up into eyes and place these intt) 

 boxes of sand, far enough apart to allov/ them room 

 to root freely, and cover half an inch deep wilh 

 sand. 



The boxes after being filled, should be placed ih 

 the hot bed, and put on the sash. 



In this way many cuttings may be grown in a 

 small place. 



These require to be kept just moist, giving them 

 an airing when it is quite warm in the middle of the 

 day, and the sash covered with a mat at night. 



If the ground should not be sufficiently open to 

 make a hot bed in March, they can be planted thB 

 first of Aprii, and make fine, well rooted plants by 

 fall. As soon as they have nicely started and begaJl 

 to root, which will b:- about the latter part of May 

 or first of June, they can be turned out into the open 

 ground, taking the time to do it in a moist day. If 

 at this time any should be found which have not 

 struck roots, they can be put back in the hot house 

 awhile longer, until rooted. 



Where a person has a hot house, cuttings can be 

 struck in January, and turned out as soon as the 

 weather will permit. The soil, proper for cuttings 

 and layers of the grape vine, should be rich, mellow 

 and dry. 



Yines raised from single eyes are by far the be^, 

 as they contain more fibrous roots, and grow faster 

 than those grown from long cuttings or layers. 



We have vines planted the last spring, one year 

 old, from single eyes, which have now, August 20th, 

 a growth of ten feet. 



We now commence with the vine one year ol^ 

 from the cutting or layer. 



The requisites for proper grape culture must be a 

 proper soil, and all that can be said is, that it be 

 light and dry, deep and rich, so that if the land is 

 any way inclined to moisture, there should be a drain 

 of stones a few inches thick, two feet below the levgl 

 of the ground. 



In filling up, put in about one-half compost (matte 

 of equal parts rotten manure and muck,"to which 

 add a good share of leached ashes) and one ha^ 



