THE GENESEE FARMER. 



345 



fit 



WALKS AND TALKS IN THE GARDEN.-No. VII. 



"A "Walk i n the garden at this season of the year, 

 i a warm sunny day, with a pleasant breeze laden 



ith the rich perfumes of autumnal fruits and 

 owers, is delightful indeed. An orchard of dwarf 

 jar trees when in full blossom, is a gorgeous spec- 

 icle; and I have sometimes thought they would 

 e wortli cultivating for this alone, but in the au- 

 nnn, when the trees are loaded with fine, large 

 >ecimens of golden fruit, I cannot but be thank- 

 d that we have not to cultivate them merely for 

 rnamental purposes. The fruit is beautiful to 

 >ok at. and not that alone, — a Seckel, a Buffum, 

 r a Duchess, is as pleasant to the palate as to the 



"Bad as is the blight "when it enters an orchard, 

 re cannot give up pear culture as yet." 



"A grape trellis at this season is no less attract 

 re. We have had no frost as yet, (Oct. 21) and 

 rapes are ripening much better than was expected. 

 Iven Dianas are ripening well, and when you get' 



good, perfectly ripe bunch of Diana, there is 

 othing superior to it. It beats even my little pet 

 he Delaware. But then the Delaware is sure to 

 ipen, while the Diana is not. I had bunches 

 f Delaware perfectly ripe on the open trelli* by 

 he middle of September. 



" I like the Rebecca with its rich golden fruit 

 nore than ever this year. Isabella, Concord, and 

 lartford Prolific, taste pretty well when you are 

 r ery 'grape hungry' — but eat a bunch of Dela- 

 vare, Rebecca, or Diana, and then try a bunch of 

 he former, and it will taste flat enough. 



" Since even the ' Revised Edition of Downing's 

 ^rui's and Fruit Trees' was published in 1858, we 

 lave made considerable progress in grape knowl- 

 edge. I fancy few would now endorse the remark 

 hen made — that 'no farmer's garden, however 

 small, should be without the Isabella and Ca- 

 :awba.' 



"It is pleasant to ' walk aud talk' in the garden 

 at this season, and behold the rich rewards of the 



spring and summers care and labor; but the 

 days are getting shorter, and there is yet much to be 

 done, and ' help' is scarce. "We must work and not 

 talk. This beautiful fuchsia must be taken up and 

 stowed away in the cellar, or Jack Frost will seize 

 it in his icy hand. It is hardly worth while to try 

 to save the verbenas. If they are well covered with 

 leaves they may survive the winter where they 

 are, and if they do not, we must set out new ones 

 next spring. 



" I like celery, and I wish some one could dis- 

 cover an easy way of keeping it for winter use. — 

 As yet there is no way that I know of that does 

 not involve considerable trouble. Perhaps the easi- 

 est way is to put it in the cellar in layers, with some 

 dry sand or sifted coal ashes between each layer. — 

 Another way is to dig a trench in the ground, two 

 feet deep and eighteen inches wide, and pack in the 

 celery plants close together, standing upright. A 

 trench ten feet long will hold over a hundred plants. 

 No soil should be mixed with them, though a little 

 may be left on the roots. The roots will continue to 

 grow a little, and the celery will bleach nicely in 

 the trench. A couple of boards are placed in the 

 form of a roof over the trench — a board on each 

 side. On dry days these may be opened to afford 

 ventilation. When cold weather sets in, the top is 

 covered with littery manure, leaves, etc. The cel- 

 ery can be taken out as it is wanted, by opening one 

 end and crawling in under the boards, closing it 

 up again carefully to keep out the frost. In mild 

 weather during the winter, it is well to open both 

 ends to afford ventilation. The soil when the 

 trench is made, of course, must be perfectly dry. 

 I have eaten celery in May kept in this way, that 

 was sweet, firm and delicious.- 



" I suppose the best way to keep winter pears is 

 in barrels like apples, but I have had no experi- 

 ence. They should be allowed to remain on the 

 trees till they are perfectly matured— as long as 

 they will hang on, and there is no danger of frost. 

 The trouble with most fruit cellars is, that the 

 ventilation is imperfect. Pears will ripen well on 

 shelves in a good, dry, cool cellar, if it is thorough- 

 ly ventilated — not otherwise. 



"The 'tree tomato' plants are loaded with large 

 fruit, and I am going to dig them up and put them 

 in the cellar, to see if they will ripen. It is said 

 that ordinary tomato plants, hung up by the roots 

 in a cellar, will ripen their green fruit. The 'tree 

 tomato' is stronger and full of sap, and may be 

 valuable for ripening in this way. Otherwise, I 



