THE GENESEE FARMER. 



251 



merous than common. There were few May-bugs, but 



pects a great many of them next year. There are few 



se-bugs. The curculio is also scarce, and there are also 



v apple-tree caterpillars. 



Mr. Ellwanger had observed that where nightsoil was 



ed, there you would always find plenty of white grubs. 



should be composted for four years before using. 



Mr. Herendeen had tried to kill them with salt, but 



thout success. Had put them in salt, and they lived 



;ht along! 



Mr. Nelson had noticed that they were abundant where 



w-dung was used. 



QUESTION VIII. 



Has the use of salt been found to be beneficial to quince or 



Tin trees t 



Mr. Ellwanger uses salt and ashes for plum trees, and 



e growth is splendid. Applies it in February, scatter- 



l it between the trees till the ground looks as if it had 



d a sprinkling of snow. 



Mr. Downing thought salt a good manure, but it will 



t kill insects. 



Dr. Beadle said a neighbor of his had a quince tree 



it bore no fruit. He read in the Genesee Farmer that 



It was good. He applied a peck to the tree and it has 



rne ever since. 



Mr. Townsend had applied salt to quinces with good 



ect. 



Dr. Sylvester believed in salt, but there is danger of 



plying too much. Asparagus liked salt, but he had 



lied even asparagus by putting on too much. 



H. N. LANGWORTHYhad used salt for the currant worm 



killed the caterpillars — andtlce bushes also ! 



QUESTION IX. 



Wlt-at new varieties of the straivberry have been found to 

 omise well in the experience of this society ? 



L. B. Lanqworthy— "Wilson's Albany and Triomphe de 

 ind. 



Mr. Ellwanger said these were old varieties. 

 Dr. Sylvester mentioned the Fillmore, a Baltimore 

 .riety, which promises well. Cutler's Seedling, a Boston 

 irry that beats the Wilson in that city. Austin, large, 

 irdy and productive. A desirable variety, but somewhat 

 anting in flavor. 



The regular subjects being exhausted, Mr. Langworthy 

 ised the question whether the increase of birds was 

 isirable to the fruit growei ? 



Mr. Fish had taken pains to encourage the birds on his 

 •ounds. They destroyed some fruit, but on the whole 

 s thought them advantageous. 



Mr. Ellwanger thought that they did more good than 

 irm. He liked to see them. Should raise fruit enough 

 be able to spare them a little. 



L. B. Langworthy asked if any man knew a bird that 

 ould eat a curculio, or a rose-slug, or a squash bug, or 

 ,her injurious insects. He did not. They destroyed 

 amense quantities of fruit, and he thought the law for 

 ieir preservation " unconstitutional ! " 

 Mr. Gavitt thought they did more harm than good, 

 fould not eat a worm so long as they could get fruit. 

 Dr. Sylvester — We raised the fruit and missed it; but 

 e do not miss the insects. Open a bird, and you will 

 nd the insects. Watch a nest, and you will be surprised 

 ) see how many worms and insects the old bird brings 

 > her young. 



The following named gentlemen were appointed as 

 delegates from the Society, to attend the meeting of the 

 American Pomological Society, to be held at Boston, 

 Mass., on the 17th and lSth of September next: — Joseph 

 Frost, of Rochester ; W. P. Townsend, of Lockport ; E. 

 W. Sylvester, of Lyons ; S. N. Holmes, of Syracuse ; T. 

 C. Maxwell, of Geneva ; E. Moody, of Lockport. 



The following delegates were appointed to attend the 

 meeting of the New York State Agricultural Society, to 

 be held on the 30th of September next: — E. Moody, of 

 Lockport ; H. N. Langworthy, of Rochester ; S. B. Gav- 

 itt, of Lyons. 



The Society then adjourned to meet in this city on the 

 first day of the Fair of the New York State Agricultural 

 Society, Sept. 30. 



m i ■' 



EXTERIOR SIGNS OF THE QUALITY OF PEARS, 



Pears, pyriform, uneven or gourd-shaped, with 

 thick skin, sometimes wrinkled, of green color, 

 with more or less russet, passing to golden yellow, 

 and tainted more or less with carmine on the sun 

 side : • with skin entirely hrown, russet or green 

 bronze, or yet burnt earth of sienne color, (rich 

 brown ) light or pale green united or relieved and 

 tinted with vermillion or shaded with sienne, are 

 generally those which may be judged to he buttery, 

 melting, and of the best quality. 



Pears oviform, stem slender, long, with fine skin, 

 shining, very finely and thickly studded with small 

 brown dots, are usually melting fruits, acid, astrin- 

 gent, ripening very quickly, and finally of the 

 second or third order, passable or bad. 

 ! Pears with thick skin, dark or raw green, shining, 

 thickly dotted where the reddish hrown is placed 

 in patches on the side which is struck by the rays 

 of the sun, passing or not to ochre yellow and red 

 at the latter end of the season, indicate generally 

 fruits capable of long preservation, and suited for 

 cooking. 



Observation has enabled us to state these facts-, 

 which have very few exceptions according to us. — 

 j. de liron d'airoles, in Revue Morticole. 

 » » 



Loss of Fruit by Insects in England. — Under 



the head of " The Want of Small Birds,'" the 



Worcestshire Chronicle mentions the great damage 



done to plum, cherry and other fruit trees in that 



section by the green caterpillar. " In some places," 



it says, "the trees are quite shrivelled up, and 



sapless and withering, as though a blast from a hot 



furnace had swept across them." 



Screens on the Prairie. — The Illinois Farmer 

 recommends the oottonwood, tree willow, and 

 silver leaved maple for planting on the prairies. 

 In a few years they will make an effective screen 

 for orchard and farm crops. 



Guano for Grapes. — A correspondent of the 

 Gardeners Chronicle has used guano for grapes, 

 and speaks of its effects in the highest terms He 

 sowed it broadcast on the border and forked it in-. 



