THE GENESEE FARMER. 



121 



>ad branches and those which are interfering witii 

 .ch other. This is usually all the pruning that is 

 •ofitable. 



If not done before, pear trees may yet be pruned. 

 jt out all the last year's shoots that interfere or 

 e not wanted, and shorten in the others at least 

 le half, cutting back to an outside bud. 

 Ve hope our readers are not troubled with that 

 eat pest, chick-weed. If they are, no time 

 ould be lost in exterminating it. It goes to seed 

 rly in the spring, and should be pulled up at 

 ice. A few hours' labor now will save many 

 ys' work later in the season. 



GRAFTING APPLE TKEES. 



Eds. Genesee Faemer : I wish to graft a few 

 pie trees with some choice kinds, and should be 

 id of a few hints on the subject— the time, 

 3thod of grafting, &c. H. Bhight. 



The system of grafting best adapted for your 

 irpose is that known as ''cleft-grafting." Saw 

 ?■ the branch to be grafted, and make the surface 

 looth witli a sharp knife. Then,, with a broad 

 isel or an iron wedge, split it open, as shown in 

 a annexed engraving (fig. 2,) which we take 

 >m Thomas' American Fruit Gulturist. Cut the 



Fig. 1. Fig. 2. Fig. 3. 



Sift wedged-shaped, as shown in fig. 1, using a 

 ry sharp knife so as to leave a smooth surface, 

 mmencing the cut on each side of Ja bud. The 

 ift is then inserted and the wedge removed, as 

 own in fig. 3. The graft must be so placed that 

 9 bark of the stock and the bark of the graft 

 ist come in direct contact, as shown in fig. 4. If 

 B limb is large, put in two grafts, one on each 

 le of the limb. The end of 

 9 limb is then covered over 

 th wax, so as to exclude the 

 )a!idftd parts from the air. 

 le grafcing-wax is made by 

 iltijig tojrethor three parts of 

 iiu, three parts of beeswax, and two parts of 

 low. 

 The essoi;tial point ia grafting is to bring the 



inner part of the graft and stock together, so tliat 

 the sap can flow into the graft, and also that tl>e 

 forming wood of the graft can flow downward 

 into tlie stock and unite the two. Ordinary car© 

 and a little experience will enable any one to suc- 

 ceed. 



The time for grafting is in the spring, just as the 

 sap begins to flow. 



ARRANGING FLOWER BEDS. 



From the Boole of Garden Management^ by S. O, 

 Beeton, published in London, which irf full of in- 

 formation, we make an extract. It contains some 

 valuable hints for gardeners, who are now laying 

 plans for their flower beds, which are to be mira- 

 cles of beauty next summer, however great the 

 failure or success may have been the past year. 

 The remarks about gravel will not apply in this 

 country, as our garden walks are usually either , 

 grey or white, but even then, white borders are 

 quite effective : 



" To have a well-formed and-nicely filled garden 

 is not enough — it must also be nicely arranged. 

 Nay, tlie latter is even of mucli more importance 

 than the former. It is of the first importance that 

 the outline of the beds, and their relation to each 

 other, should be good ; but it is of much greater 

 importance that the colors with which they are 

 filled sliould either harmonise or contrast with 

 each other. * * Colors are separated into cool 

 or warm colors. The former should prevail in gar- 

 dens laid out on gravel, which is itself generally a 

 warm color; tlie latter in those laid out on grass, 

 which is invariably a cold color. For instance, ia 

 gardens on gravel, grey, lilac, yellow, wliite, blue, 

 green, &c., should predominate ; in those on grass, 

 purple, pink, scarlet, and orange, sliould prevail. 

 White, however, is equally suitable for gardens of 

 both descriptions ; and unless wliere the gravel is 

 very light, is alway striking and effective; and 

 nothing can be more chaste and beautiful than 

 beds, broad margins, or lines of white contiguous 

 to grass — it is equally striking in juxta-po ition to 

 bright red gravel. As a practical rule, the most 

 intense colors should be place<l in the centre of 

 beds, and the less decided tints used for contrast- 

 ing rings, or edgings. Generally, too, the smaller 

 the beds, the more liberally may the intense colors, 

 as scarlet, be introduced, and vice versa.'''' 



In the proceedings of the Cornice Eortieole de 

 Maine et Loire some statistics are given of the 

 trade in fruit trees and plants in Angers, which is 

 called the "Nursery of France." In the year 

 1860-61, the trees and plants sent by railway 

 weighed 1,476 tons The traffic in apples sent in 

 one season was 4,920 tons, of the estimated value 

 of $96,150.00, and of pears 684 tons, estimated at 

 $41,710.00. The common kinds of pears sold at 

 Paris, but most of those of superior quality went 

 to Havre, for shipment to England and Russia. 



