218 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



is a (certain cure, and there is no necessity for grapes 

 ever being injured materially by mildew." 



" I have just been thinning out pears. The dwarf trees 

 bear so profusely that unless this is done the fruit will 

 not only be of small size and poor quality, but will 

 exhaust the tree. Look at these Seckels. There are five 

 pears on almost every fruit stalk, and two are as many as 

 should be left. Perhaps it would be well to leave more 

 on the lower than on the higher branches. The growth 

 of the trees is stronger towards the top, and by leaving 

 more fruit this tendency would be checked. Some think 

 it is too early to pinch in the shoots yet, but I cannot 

 keep my hands off. I do not like to see the strength of 

 the tree running into shoots that will have to be cut oft 

 at the next winter pruning. 

 Better nip in these young 

 shoots ( a. a.) now, ( at b. b.) 

 so as to leave only three or 

 four buds. This will con- 

 centrate the sap, and convert 

 the lower part of the shoot 

 into a fruit branch." 



" If done later, some 

 prefer to bend .down the 

 shoot (at a.) instead of cutting it off. This checks the 

 flow of sap without stopping it entirely, and prevents all 

 danger of the remaining buds pushing into wood." 



"Of course all superfluous shoots should be pinched 

 or nipped off at once. They only weaken the tree." 



" Nothing is easier than to propagate carnations by 

 layers. The process is simply to strip off the leaves 



LAYERING CARNATIONS. 



from a shoot as far as it is necessary to imbed it in the 

 ground ; then cut off an inch or so from the leaves at the 

 end of the shoot; then cut the stem below a joint half 

 way through, and turn the knife upward and slit the stem 

 to the next joint above. Then bend the stem into the 

 grouud, peg it down and cover it with soil, leaving the 

 head of the layer in as upright a position as possible. It 



should be done as soon as they have ceased blooming. 

 Roses may be layered in the same way." 



"You will find some admirable designs for summer 

 houses and for rustic seats in Mc Intosh's Book of the 

 Garden ; or if you have not that, in the Rural Annual for 

 1S58. Come in and I will show vou them." 



June 19.— "We have had a glorious rain. The ground 

 is well soaked. Now, if we have warm weather, things 

 will bound." 



"See how the aspect of everything is changed. The 

 strawberry leaves are full of sap, the peas have a green 

 hue, the lawn does not look 

 quite so parched and browu, 

 and even the drooping, fly- 

 devoured cabbages begin to 

 hold up their heads." 



" It is a splendid time to 

 transplant. Those cabbages 

 that have departed this life 

 under the combined attack of 

 grubs, insects and drouth shall 

 have their places refilled. It is 

 also just the time to set out 

 celery. I think those trenches 

 are too deep ; six inches below 

 the surface is deep enough. Set the plants a foot apart 

 and earth up as they grow." 



?:>•■ 



ill' «fevl 



l[i**t-<* r * . ,— r— — vt-t -- ^\:"'" > ~~-^ jK fc 



" Annual flower seeds have not come up very well. 

 Some, however, are too thick, and these can be. thinned 

 out, and the plants used to fill out vacancies." 



