183 



TOE GEN"ESEE FARMER. 



spring of 1857, and the other part, from the same nur- 

 sery, in the spring of 1859. They were two years from 

 the bud. The principal fertilizer they have received is 

 the water applied by irrigation, as before described. On 

 some parts of the grounds the irrigation has been more 

 thorough than on others. Under such circumstances the 

 trees have made more than twice the growth of wood. 

 The difference between those which have been well 

 watered and those which have not, can be seen almost as 

 far as the trees can be seen — the size and luxuriance 

 being so much in favor of the former. The best trees are 

 where there is irrigation on the surface and drain pipes 

 laid directly under them, four feet below. 



"Strawberries I plant between the rows of pear trees, 

 in deep, light beds, three feet wide only. By this ar- 

 rangement the soil is never trodden down, either in 

 planting, weeding, trimming, or picking the fruit, and 

 they are much more easily kept free from weeds. The 

 beds are liberally supplied with strong manure, placed 

 in one deep furrow in the center of the bed, at least one 

 foot below the surface. One row of plants is set directly 

 over the manure, the plants fifteen to eighteen inches 

 apart. They are set in the month of M*y. The hole for 

 the plant is made with a tool like a marliu-spike, reach- 

 ing down well into the manure. The roots are let down 

 and the hole is carefully filled with fine earth without 

 pressing, then soaked with water, and dry earth placed 

 over the top to prevent baking. The effect of placing 

 the manure so deep, is to carry the roots of the plant 

 through the manure to the soil in a dry time, to entirely 

 cover the beds by autumn with the most vigorous plants, 

 and to keep the seeds of weeds and grass so low that they 

 will do no harm. The fruit is mostly grown on the new 

 plants, which have derived their vigor from the manure 

 chiefly through the roots of the original plant, the run- 

 ners of which are cut off in the spring for the purpose 

 of weeding, &c. 



"Most of my strawberry beds are watered liberally by 

 a constant flow of water along the channels, which have 

 been described. The results are, that the berries are 

 laro-e and fair; they do not ripen quite as early, but con- 

 tinue in bearing much longer; the crop is certain, even 

 in the dryest seasons, when those on dry lands are cut 

 off— sometimes before half the crop is matured. In fact, 

 I deem irrigation almost indispensable for the successful 

 cultivation of strawberries in dry seasons." 



Ornamental Tubs for Trees. — The Royal Horticul- 

 tural Society has offered a prize of fifty dollars for the 

 best ornamental tub for trees in pots. It seems that in 

 England they are as destitute as we are here of anything 

 at all elegant for such purposes, as the Gardener's Chron- 

 icle says that the trees in the conservatory of Capt. 

 Fowke, in the Garden of the Society itself, stand in 

 pieces of hogsheads and clumsy rectangular cases of 

 wood. There is quite a demand here for ornamental pots, 

 but there is no supply. It would seem to be an excellent 

 field for the young artists in our Schools of Design to 

 put into exercise the teachings which they have received. 



Gas is now being used in England to heat small con- 

 servatories, and it is said very successfully, and that it is 

 not more expensive thau coal, when properly managed. 



THE CURL OF THE PEACH LEAF. 



Evert spring after the peach leaf is about two-thirds 

 grown, it is attacked in some strange manner, and caused 

 to blister, curl, and eventually drop off. The cause is a 

 subject of various opinions ; some attribute it to an in- 

 sect, others to cold winds, others to other causes too 

 numerous to mention. To remedy this curl is an item of 

 interest to every one. One remedy recommended is, to 

 sprinkle the trees, just before the opening of the flower 

 buds, with a mixture compounded of equal parts of lime, 

 flour of sulphur and soot, dissolved in water. 



We have no faith in this or any other external remedy. 

 The cause of the curl of the leaf is undoubtedly owing to 

 a lack of vigor in the tree. This weakness in the tree 

 may be the result of a severe winter, or of immature 

 wood, or of overbearing the preceding year, or of ex- 

 haustion of the soil, or of sowing crops in the orchard. 

 One great cause, we think, is the coldness of the soil in 

 the spring as compared with the temperature of the at- 

 mosphere. The warm atmosphere starts the sap, and the 

 soil is so cold that the formation of new roots is pre- 

 vented, and the sap which should go to form roots is 

 thrown into the circulation of the tree and becomes dis- 

 eased. Underdraining and planting on the north side of 

 a hill, are remedies which suggest themselves, as likely 

 to correct this difficulty to some extent. 



ALOES FOR SLUGS ON CABBAGE, &C. 



Eds. Genesee Farmer :■ — In the last number of the 

 Farmer, L. De Volk inquires what to do with slugs on 

 cabbage, &c. I answer, dissolve two ounces of aloes in 

 a gallon of hot water, and give his plants a good sprink- 

 ling with the solution (when cool) occasionally. I have 

 used it two years, and find it to be a complete protection 

 to cabbage and tomato plants against insects, as also a 

 protection to squash", cucumber, &c, vines, against the 

 striped bug, rose bushes, &c, against slugs, and what 

 will please many house-wives, it is an "extinguish- 

 er" to that pest, the bed-bug. Boil your bed-cords in it, 

 and w T et the joints of your bedstead with it a few times, 

 aud you will certainly be rid of bed-bugs. The best way 

 to apply it to plants is with a garden syringe. If friend 

 De Volk is troubled with cot worms in his cabbage yard, ' 

 cut payer into pieces about two inches square, and wrap 

 a piece around the stalk of each plant before setting, so 

 that the paper will reach a little below the surface of the 

 ground when set out, and the worms will not cut off one 

 in a thousand plants. w. howe. 



Planting the Large Tree of California for Timbek ■• 

 in England. — The Wellingtonia gigantia seems to be, 

 very hardy in England. A correspondent of the Cottagtl 

 Gardener, speaking of one he had seen at Worsley Hall,j 

 near Manchester, planted by the Queen two or three} 

 years ago, as a commemoration of a visit she then madej 

 to the Earl of Ellesmere, prophecies that this "magnifi-* 

 cent denizen of California" will be planted largely by 

 the uext generation for timber purposes, and with every 

 prospect of success, as it has grown well, and stood the 

 frost of December, 1860, without being at all injured. 



Stop the Melon and Cucumber Vines. — As the vines 

 run, pinch off the heads. It will strengthen the vines 

 and throw the sap into the fruit. 



