1849. 



THE GENESEK FARMER. 



73 



HORTICULTURAL DEPARTMENT, 



EDITED in P BARR1 



THE SEASONS CAliL. 



•• The works of a person that builds begin immediately to 

 decay — while those of him \\iu> plants begin immediately 

 to improve." 



Shenstone, the poet and lover of rural scenery, 

 was the author of the above truthful quotation. As 

 soon as the work of the builder is completed, from 

 that momenl commences the Blow, yel sure work of 

 decay. Every year, every day, its beauty diminishes 

 and its value lessens, until the new has become old, 

 and the costly edifice is a heap of ruins. But, lie 

 who plants may see the work of h;> bands constantly 

 improving until his eyes have become dim with age: 

 he raises a monument under the shade of which 

 future generations may repose, and bless his memory. 

 The acorn planted in boyish sport may shade and 

 shelter declining manhood, and sing its sad requiem 



while dust returns to dust. He who not only plants, 



hut takes good care of what he lias planted, does 

 much by his example to spread a taste for horticul- 

 tural pursuits, and to correct the bad habits of his 

 neighbors. 



"With this month commences the work of the Gar- 

 dener and the Horticulturist. The true lover of 

 fruits and flowers begins his work with increased 

 knowledge and new zeal, after the long repose of 

 winter. The " foliage, fruits and flowers," he loved 

 when he beheld their beauty, appear now even more 

 lovely, as he sees naught around him but leafless 

 trees and half-frozen earth — drear as a new made 

 grave. He considers how much even the violet and 

 the daisy, and their companions in beauty, add to 

 the happiness of man — and as he contemplates, sighs 

 for their return. To such we have nothing to say — 

 their inquiring minds — their cultivated tastes — their 

 watchful eyes — will note The Season's Call. 



But there are those, who when admiring the neatly 

 kept and productive gardens of their neighbors, and 

 contrasting them with their own, resolve that another 

 season shall witness an improvement in their own 

 practice. The rich pass the humble cottage of the 

 poor, and feel proud in contrasting its whitewashed 

 planks with their own stately walls — and yet, its neat 

 flower yard — its running roses, and honeysuckles, 

 covering its sides and shading its windows — give it 

 a look of beauty and a sweet-home air that all their 

 wealth, so lavishly expended, has failed to procure. 

 They thus learn that there are pleasures wealth 

 cannot purchase, and determine to learn that art 

 which can make a paradise of the poor man's cot. 



There are those too, who have considered them- 

 selves too poor to attend to aught save the neces- 

 saries of life. They pass the cabin of the poor 

 widow — the abode of the fatherless: they behold 

 her otherwise unsightly abode rendered pleasant by 

 the masses of white and scarlet runners that not only 

 hide its deformity, but characterize it as the abode 

 of refinement. The poor thus learn there are pleas- 

 ures of which povertv cannot rob them, and go 

 home in love with the art that can make pleasant the 

 abode of poverty, and beautify the widow's hut. 



It is such we would remind of The Season's Call. 

 Much depends upon commencing with the season. 

 The following matters « laim attention the present 

 month . 



PRl mm;. 

 Although this operation can be performed at any 

 time during winter, yet we consider the beginning of 



March the moel favorable season, particularly for 

 peaches and apricots. All gardening should be done 

 with neatness, but above all things, lei your pruning 

 be ueatlj dune. We have seen trees "pruned?' that 

 looked as though cattle had been "browsing" among 

 them. When you wish to remove 

 a shoot, do so by means of a clean 

 sloping cut, at the back of a bud, as 

 seen in the figure. A soon as the 



hud pushes this wound i.- readily hi 

 To do this, well, how 

 the operator must have a 

 keen knife. We give a 

 figure of a proper Pruning 

 Knife. "Those things." 

 says Thompson, of the Lon- 

 don Horticultural Society, 

 " which some men call pruning knives, 

 blunt and notched, a sort of cross between 

 a file and a handsaw, used for grubbing up 

 weeds, drawing nails and trimming roots, 

 are never seen in the hands of a man who 

 understands his business or attends to it. 

 To a gardener his pruning knife is as much 

 an object of solicitude as his razor. In- 

 deed, of the two, he would rather hacki 

 his chin than his plants." We give also a figure of 



Priming Scissors, so 

 well adapted topruning 

 roses, shrubs, and for 

 cutting flowers. We 

 would particularly re- 

 commend them as a 

 useful and convenient 

 implement for ladies.* 

 If trees are properly pruned from the beginning, 

 a pruning knife will perform all the necessary thinning 

 out, &c, annually, and the butchering system so 

 much practiced, of cutting off large limbs', will be 

 avoided, and the trees will not only present a more 

 pleasing appearance, but will produce a finer crop of 

 fruit. The "shortening in" system, recommended 

 by Mr. Downing, and others, and which we have 

 seen practiced in the South of Germany as long as 

 w T e can remember, answers well for Peaches. 



Grape Vines that have not already been pruned, 

 should be attended to first ; and nothing will repay a 

 judicious pruning better. The crop will be larger, 

 and the flavor of the grape much improved. Currants 

 and Gooseberries should be pruned rather close, in 

 order to get perfect fruit. Deciduous ornamental 

 trees, shrubs and roses should now be pruned. Orna- 

 mental trees only require the decaying and irregular 

 branches to be cut away. With few exceptions, 

 decideous shrubs and roses require annual pruning. 

 (For particular and specific directions for pruning, 

 see former volumes.) 



CUTTINGS. 

 Cuttings of hardy trees, shrubs, &c, should now 

 be made. The following will grow with proper 

 treatment, and will save much valuable time which 

 would be necessarily required in propagating them 

 by layers in the summer — besides, cuttings, as a 

 general thing, make the best plants. They may be 



* These implements may be obtained of Rapaljce & Briggs, 

 Rochester, II. L. Emery, Albany, S. T.. and at most of the Agri- 

 cultural Warehouses- 



