THE GENESEE FARMER. 



95 





rEANSACTIONS OF THE OHIO POMOLOGICAL 

 SOCIETY FOR 1857. 



At the meeting of tliis Society in September last, 

 j} President, A. H. Ernst, of Cincinnati,— avIio, 



the by, is re-elected for the ensuing year,— made 

 'valuable address, reviewing the eifects of the 

 I jather during' the past two years on fruit trees, 

 id the diseases of fruit trees and their causes, and 

 imy other interesting topics, which our limited 

 lace will not admit of inserting. We give the 



lowing extracts: 



•' Destruction of Trees in the Winter of 1855-6. 

 This destruction was as remarkable as it was severe ; 

 some instances, the same varieties, standing in 

 >se contact, and seemingly similarly situated, were 

 ferently affected, some being destroyed, while others 

 ;aped unharmed. This was especially the case with 

 3 grape, some vines of the same varieties being cut 

 ; while the next escaped ; this was more particularly 

 servable in parallel rows, one being mostly destroyed, 

 lile its next neighbor was little harmed, so that we 

 imed nothing of the hardiness of one variety over 

 other," 



" Mildew and Rot of the Grape. — In this eonnec- 

 in I would especially call your attention to the mil- 

 w and rot of the grape, which proved so destructive 

 the crop this season, and which will, if not arrested, 

 Eiterially interfere with the culture of this healthful 

 xury. Whether this is owing to the adoption of the 

 iropean method of culture and treatment by our 

 ne-dressers, as not suited to our soil and climate, or 

 the result of other causes, are matters on which 

 ere is much difference of opinion, and is worthy of 

 )ur serious consideration. It cannot be that in a 

 untry where the grape abounds and flourishes in a 

 ild state, it should not also flourish in a state of 

 iltivation, if the method of culture is correct, and not 

 3Structive to the health of the plant. The fact that 

 irieties which were healthy, and perfected their fruit 

 jgulai-ly and uniformly, do not do so now, or at least 

 recariously, is certainly suggestive of something 

 •rong in their treatment. It cannot arise from a worn 

 ut soil, from which all the substances for their 

 .ealthy action have been abstracted, or they would 

 till maintain their former healthfalness, when trans- 

 3rred to new soil. This is not the case; all share 

 like in similar soil and location. Is the plant not 

 ifeebled in its power to produce fruit by the severe 

 nining to which it is subjected in our climate ?" 



•'The growth of large cities is so rapid ; the facilities 

 afforded for transporting fruits from point to point 

 with great rapidity by railroad, which gives the culU- 

 vator a choice of markets, and the immense quantities 

 of perishable sorts wliieh are now being annually put 

 up in cans for further use, all tend to an increased 

 demand and enhancement of prices, so that they are 

 likely to be placed beyond the reach of a large class pf 

 persons who would be consumers if prices were witliiu 

 their means." 



A letter received from A. L. Benedict, of Mor- 

 row County, "in answer to a request for informa- 

 tion in regard to the elfect of the two pa*t winters 

 on the ditferent varieties of Apples," contains a list 

 of 73 varieties in the orchard of Mr. Benedict, of 

 which all the trees of 17 varieties were " entirely 

 destroyed," 31 varieties were "partially injured," 

 and the trees of 25 varieties were "not injured, or 

 but very sUghtly." Of the kinds " entirely destroyed, 

 and those "partially injured," all bore a full or 

 partial crop the previous season. 



Of the kinds not injured, 84 per cent, of them 

 bore a full or partkil crop the previous season, and 

 16 per cent, were barren. The number that bore 

 a partial crop was gi-eater than in the other two 

 classes. Mr, Benedict says, "it will be seen that 

 those kinds which fruited fullest in 1855, suffered 

 most by tlie frosts of the winter following." 



If we can conclude from the above, that those 

 trees that bore fruit the previous season, were 

 thereby rendered more susceptible of injury by 

 cold, we may infer that if all had borne alike, all 

 would have received the same injury ; thus corrobo- 

 rating the remarks of the President, which w^e have 

 previously quoted, in reference to our ignorance of 

 the hardiness of varieties. 

 Mr. J. L. SniNKLE, of Brown Co., in a letter savs: 



" I will also state, that those trees which were Ir^Aei 

 with fruit in the fall of '55, made but little growth, and 

 suffered less than those that bore no fruit, and were 

 growing thriftily." 



In an interesting letter from W. 0. Hampton, of 

 Hardin Co., we find the following : 



" The Sap.sucking Wood-peckers have caused more 

 loss in fruit trees in this region than any of the 

 severest winters. The young birds usually select the 

 thriftiest tree in the orchard, and will continue to feed 

 on the tender alburnum until the tree is destroyed, 

 unless timely aid is rendered in the use of powder 

 and shot ; and it must be timely indeed, for a few 

 short hours are sufficient to destroy a tree of twenty 

 year's growth. My loss by them, in spite of my vigi- 

 lance has amounted to from $50 to $150 worth of 

 trees yearly. Nutall says that it is not clearly under- 

 stood whether this bird feeds on insects or the sap of 

 the tree ; there can be no doubt but that it feeds on 

 the young and tender sap wood, and thus it becomes 

 a great pest to the orchardist in wooded districts. 

 Other wood-peckers take a portion of the fruit, but 

 this we can spare for tlie services rendered by them in 

 the destruction of worms, but we cannot so well spare 

 thrifty .and vigorous trees which we have watched and 

 nursed for twenty years." 



