100 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



April 



HINTS FOR APRIL. 



Pruning should all have been done last month, but 

 if any has been deferred it should be attended to 

 forthwith. In orchard fruit trees little is necessary 

 beyond thinning out the small branches to admit air 

 and light freely to all parts of the tree, and remov- 

 ing all straggling branches or those that cross each 

 other; spoiling the form and balance of the head. It 

 is too late for grapes, or stone fruits, unless it be 

 small limbs or twigs; if pruning be necessary defer 

 it till summer. 



Spade around and give a top-dressing of manure 

 to all fruit trees, if not done last fall. Use well 

 rotted manure; some decayed leaves from the woods, 

 and a portion of ashes and lime mixed with the 

 manure makes a good compost for any trees, particu- 

 larly for peaches. 



Grafting must be done, commencing with cher- 

 ries and plums, and finishing with pears and apples. 

 The grafts of last season should be looked over and 

 all shoots that have appeared below them cut away, 

 and weak shoots cut back to a good plump eye. 

 Suckers that appear around the roots of trees, and 

 all shoots on the trunks of standards should be care- 

 fully removed. 



Transplanting should be finished as early as pos- 

 sible. Some people cannot think of going into their 

 garden to see what trees should be planted in it, or 

 what care it needs until the ground is dry and clean, 

 the sun warm and bright, and the leaves and blos- 

 soms begin to appear — then gardening becomes so 

 charming that it can be no longer resisted — some- 

 thing must be done; and then it is so late that a 

 great many important little things must be deferred. 

 Don't be afraid of a little blustery weather; but get 

 every thing done in season, fair or foul, and when 

 fine weather comes, your trees and plants, your grass 

 lawns, your seeds, fee, will have but to grow. 



Roses should have a careful pruning and a liberal 

 dressing of good old manure. The rose cannot have 

 a soil too rich, and in a poor soil, or one half way 

 poor, you cannot expect a fine, first rate bloom. 

 Many people will buy a good rose, and plant it in a 

 miserable worn out border. It grows perhaps a very 

 little, and produces a small starved blossom. It has 

 neither the size, color or fragrance that was expected, 

 and then the poor nurserymen are blamed for over- 

 praising it. Well, sometimes they are too lavish 

 of their commendations, but cultivators are much 

 more frequently at fault in their treatment. All 

 roses should have a deep, rich and if possible a some- 

 what heavy soil. Climbing Roses should be cut 

 back a little; that is, remove the small weak ends of 

 the last season's snoots, and they will push more 

 vigorously afterwards. All straggling, superfluous 

 shoots should be cut out entirely. 



The Everblooming Roses that may have been pro- 

 tected in the borders should be uncovered, if not done, 

 and properly pruned and dressed. Those wintered 

 in cold frames may be turned out at any moment; 

 cut them back freely to obtain strong growth. 



Flowering Shrubs should be pruned, too, if the 

 heads have become dense: this, with a dressing of 

 manure is necessary to luxuriant foliage and a pro- 

 fusion of blossoms. 



Herbaceous Perennial Plants, if old and large, 

 will not bloom well. The roots cannot find nourish- 

 ment, and they will fairly wither away in midsummer. 

 They ought to be divided — (it ought to have been 



done last fall) — and re-planted in fresh good soil. 



Annuals may be sown in well prepared borders 

 towards the end of the month, when the ground is 

 dry and warm. If planted too soon they will rot. 

 If an old hot-bed could be had with a trifling heat, 

 they might be forwarded in it and a month of time 

 be gained. 



Lawns, Walks, Hedges, tyc, will all require at- 

 tention at this time. 



Those who wish to live well will" not forget the 

 Kitchen Garden. No doubt most people have 

 Peas now nearly in blossom, and Lettuce fit for 

 table. These are things that can be started early 

 in any sheltered corner. A little frost don't harm 

 them. The general crops may now be put in, such 

 as Potatoes, Beets. Carrots, Onions, Cabbage, Cau- 

 liflower, d/c. Beds of Sea Kale, Asparagus and 

 Rhubarb, three culinary plants that are really indis- 

 pensable to all good gardens, may be made now, and 

 old beds dressed and enriched. 



There are a multitude of other matters to be done 

 that cannot escape the attention of careful persons; — 

 what we have given are, of course, but mere Hints. 



The North American Pomological Convention 

 has appointed State Committees, and issued a plan 

 of operations similar to that of the Congress of Fruit 

 Growers. This body will meet with the New York 

 State Agricultural Society at Syracuse, next fall. 

 We apprehend that pomological science will not be 

 greatly benefitted by two such bodies in the same 

 field. Looking only to the general good, we conceive 

 that it would be better for the friends of this matter 

 to unite their labor and efforts and influence in one 

 organization. There cannot be two such bodies 

 without more or less rivalry being engendered ; and 

 if rivalry is at all admitted, we cannot reasonably 

 expect good. This view of the subject, we think, 

 will ultimately prevail. 



THE BAILEY SWEET APPLE, 



BY C. P. BAILEY. 



Dear Sir :— I owe you an apology for having so long 

 neglected your inquiry in regard to the apple called the 

 " Bailey Sweet." I have often, in its early history, con- 

 versed with the first settlers of this place, in regard to the 

 origin of this apple ; but could only ascertain that the orchard, 

 containing some twenty trees of this fruit, was transplanted 

 in 1814 or 15, and came into my possession in 1829, at which 

 time I commenced distributing the scions liberally through- 

 out the country. From this circumstance, it no doubt re- 

 ceived its name. I have learned its history, wherever intro- 

 duced, and can trace it no farther back than this orchard. 



The tree is of vigorous growth, bears abundantly; the fruit 

 ripens early, and deep red on the outside — size, large— shape, 

 oblong, tapering handsomely towards its summit. Its flesh 

 tender, juicy, sweet and excellent. A superior table fruit, 

 fine for baking or cooking, and decidedly the most popular 

 apple in this vicinity, and so considered wherever it has 

 •been introduced, as far as I can learn, both east and west. 

 With proper care will keep into the month of February.— 

 Perry, N. Y., February, 1849. 



VARIETY OF APPLES-CHAPINS ORCHARD, 

 There probably has not been an instance of the production 

 of as fine varieties of apples as are now grow n and originated 

 on the farm of the late Ileman Chapin. The " Early Joe" 

 ripe in August and September ; Water Melon, or " Norton's 

 Melon," November to February, and the "Northern Spy" 

 from March to 15th of June— a complete succession of apples, 

 the two first, particularly a desert fruit, and the " Spy" an- 

 swering for both table and cooking. Western New York can 

 boast of the three, and they cannot be too highly prized. 

 Let every one be advised to cultivate them, and when they 

 succeed, they will thank the writer of this for his advice. — 

 J. H. Watts. Rochester, JV. F.. March,, 1849. 



