& 



m 



THE GENESEE FAKMEE. 





button overhead, like the hook of a baby-jumper ; and any 

 convenient number of hoops may be hung successively 

 under the first. The center of the fruit room may be tlius 

 occupied ; and the walls may be covered by passing hori- 

 zontal wires around the walls, and about a foot from them, 

 to receive the hooks for the suspension of the bunches. 



This will be found much more perfect than the more 

 common practice of keeping grapes upon shelves or in 

 drawers. It is hardly requisite to remind those accustomed 

 to the successful keeping of grapes, of the necessity of care- 

 ful picking, the removal of imperffect or decayed berries, 

 and of avoiding too much moisture in the fruit room on the 

 one hand, and of such a degree of dryness on the other as 

 to cause wilting. The former may be prevented by chloride 

 of lime, which absorbs moisture rapidly ; and the latter by 

 keeping the fruit room (which may be only a few feet 

 square,) fiernielically sealed — opening the door but once a 

 week to examine the fruit and remove any bad berries. 

 The necessity of excluding frost is of course obvious. 





Salt ojt "Wheat. — What is the value of salt as a manure 

 for wheat? U.— Rochester, N. Y. 



If a soil is deficient in soda, common salt (which 

 ia a chloride of sodium) .will supply it ; and in 

 thus supplying an actual deficiency, will be of 

 great benefit. But soils, unless under uncommon 

 management, are never exhausted of soda; for 

 such is the constitution of most soils, and that of 

 most plants grown on them, that phosphoric acid 

 and potash would be exhausted long before soda ; 

 and as plants will not grow at all without phos- 

 phoric acid and potash, the soil could not be ex- 

 hausted of soda, unless these elements had been 

 artificially applied ahne. Salt, then, as an actual 

 fertilizer, we believe will do no good ; — in other 

 words, it will do no good as supplying an actual 

 constituent of the plant. It will cheek over hix- 

 uriousness of growth, giving a stiffer and brighter 

 straw. Prof. Wat thinks it probable that the 

 good effect of salt, as recorded by some experi- 

 menters, is owing to the fact that the double salt 

 of silicate of alumina and ammonia is more soluble 

 in water impregnated with salt, than in common 

 rain water; and that on some soils, therefore, 

 an application of salt will be attended with con- 

 siderable benefit, by rendering the silicate of 

 ammonia available to the plant ; so that an ap- 

 plication of salt IS equivalent, on that crop, to 

 an artificial supply of ammonia. Further exper- 

 iments, which are now bemg instituted, will 

 doubtless throw considerable light on this inter- 

 esting subject. 



• 



Sheep Rack. — Mr. Bainbkidge, of Romulus, 

 wishes to know the best form for making cattle 

 and sheep racks, and by your request, I will give 

 yon my plan of a sheep rack. Take a plank 12 

 feet long, 2 inches thick, and 16 inches wide, and 

 draw a line 4 inches from the edg.i all around the 

 .plank; then space it 3^ inches apart, and with 

 a f-inch augur bore your holes l-J inches deep 

 in the center of the soaces you have made in 

 the line; then mtx&e your slats or rounds 15 inches 

 long, and put them m t'ne no.es around the piank; 

 then take two more plank 12 feet long, 12 inches 



wide, and li thick, and bore holes in the lower 

 edge 1^ inches deep, to correspond with the lower 

 holes ; then put the plank on the top of the shits; 

 let the slats continue around the end of the rack 

 aa the sides ; nail the ends to the side. The bot- 

 tom will be eight inches wide and the top 16 

 inches ; and if you please, you can put a cover on 

 the top of your rack, to prevent the snow and 

 rain getting on your fodder. This will make a 

 rack for 25 sheep. You will see that the line is 

 drawn 4 inches from the edge of the lower plank. 

 This is done in order to form a manger. Take a 

 strip of board 4 inches wide, nail on the edge of 

 the plank all around, and this will form a good 

 feed box. Take two pieces of timber about four 

 inches square, and 3 feet long, pin them to the 

 bottom of the rack about two feet from the ends, 

 frame in the ends of your cross pieces a post 1 5 

 inches long to stand on, and so that it can be 

 moved when you wish. J. F. Hopkins. — Cath- 

 arine, N. Y. 



« 



HORTICULTURAL. 



(J. J., Gait, C. W.) Mazzaed Cherry. — Neither 

 of those described is the Mazzard; that of which 

 you give a sketch, is the Frumis padus, or bird 

 cherry. The Mazzard resembles the cultivated 

 heart cherries in both tree and fruit, and is there- 

 fore easily distinguished from those you refer to. 



Buckthorn is quite different from the common 

 thorn found in your forests, belonging to a differ- 

 ent genus, (Rhamnus.) We would most decidedly 

 prefer a good Buckthorn or Osage Orange hedge 

 around a ten acre field, putting expense out of the 

 question, to any wooden fence. We lately saw 

 some fine samples of Honey Locust hedge, that 

 convinced us of the practicability of making first 

 rate farm hedges of this plant. The Osage Orange 

 stood the last severe winter here very well in a 

 hedge, and we have little doubt of its entire 

 success. 



Books. — Gray's Genera of the Plants of the 

 United States ; rather an expensive work, but 

 complete, and just what you want, as near as it 

 can be had. 



(H. B. C, Alleghany county. Pa.) The wild 

 rose, well managed, will make a good hedge ; but 

 an objection to it is, it throws up too many suck- 

 ers. The seed of this and thorn should be buried 

 a foot deep, or so, in dry, loamy soil, and left 

 there for a year before sowing. They do not 

 generally vegetate the first season. 



The Fruit Garden can oe sent by mail. Price, 

 $1.25 



(J. W. n., Saratoga.) We are not acquainted 

 with wnat you call " Cape Gooseberiy," but may 

 Know It oy another nam<? Will be glad to see 

 t'nem. 



