THE GENESEE FARMER. 



99 



Fruit growers and orchardists are seldom very 

 skilful propagators of trees. They have found that 

 division of labor is as profitable in this case as in 

 any other; and that to raise a man's own trees, 

 takes a long time, and would be as unprofitable as 

 t<) make his own wagons, instead of purchasing of 

 skiUul mechanics. Very few of them have given 

 or can give, that attention to the study of pomology 

 which will enable them to decide accurately as to 

 tJie correctness of varieties which they wish to 

 propagate, or gather and test so great a number of 

 varieties as a man should, and can, who is engao-ed 

 solely in supplying the public with trees. 



The fact is, that our nurserymen now comprise 

 the best informed class of men upon all the various 

 subjects of fruit growing; and fruit growers would 

 iind It as much for their interest to obtain this 

 Iqiowledge, as it is for the interest of nurserymen 

 that they should do so. It is equally necessary, in 

 the attainment of the greatest good from this soci-- 

 6ty, that men should be present and speak, who 

 devote themselves especially to one or more branches 

 ot fruit culture. The results arrived at by small ex- 

 periments, sucli as a nurseryman can make, are often 

 contradicted and modified by those of an extensive 

 planter ; and this class of men usually exercise a 

 very conservative influence in sucli a society. 



Societies being comprised of individuals, it is 

 plain that, however valuable the objects of the 

 feociety may be, the results can not be very good 

 unless there is individual ettbrt. Various plans 

 • may be adopted, and great effort made to gather in 

 the public, and by numbers secure money, and 

 ^parent prosperity. It must aU be superficial and 

 Rctitious, unless there is steady and intelligent aT)pli- 

 c^tion of individuals in the direction of the objects 

 proposed by its constitution. Attention to fruit 

 growing, and the careful gathering of information 

 throwing light upon this matter, is therefore the 

 prime business of our members; and it is the duty 

 of every member to see that, so far as he is con- 

 cerned, he brings to the meeting his best informa- 

 tion upon the subject proposed for discussion. It 

 »s on y when our meetings are made valuable, and 

 ,^'orth the trouble and expense of a journey, that 

 we can in all honesty ask the farmer and the editor 

 p^ leave his calling for a time, and hear and speak 

 Jfith us. ^ 



, We are in favor of individual eflfort, and thus 

 only can we prosper; but there is a degree of indi- 

 mhiality which we can not always admire. We 

 fcelieve in every man's preserving his own identitv 

 and_ not attempting to be somebody else. We are 

 not in favor of any one's rights being compromised ; 

 ;tut we are greatly in favor of courtesy in debate 

 l)revity of speech, decorum, and the careful observ- 

 ance of customary parliamentary rules; for thus 

 only can the rights of all be secured. In the 

 absence of these, wordy and discursive debate soon 

 assumes the whole field, and the true object of the 

 meetmg is lost. 



We do not consider it a certain thing that popu- 

 larity wiU follow merit, but we hope to see our 

 eociety merit popularity, and shall aim at securing 

 this desideratum through making the society useful 

 to tfie public; and in the hope of doing somethin'^ 

 to satisfy the farmer and the orchardist that thil 

 eociety IS really a valuable one to them, wo have 

 vntten these lines. w ,? » 



ll* A, li( 



PLANTS FOR GKAPE BORDERS. 



Editors Genesee Farmer:— Your correspond- 

 ent "Amateur," asks for information whether the 

 1 ortulacca and Verbena can be grown on the grape 

 border without material injury to the vines We 

 answer, they can if planted sufticientlv distant to 

 give the sun and air a chance to act on the soil — 

 ^ one but plants of an annual nature should be em- 

 r^oyed and those mentioned are as good as any. 

 With these we would recommend a few patches of 

 the Ice plant, {Mesembryanthemwn crystallinum,) 

 not tor Its flowers, liowever, but for its' sino-ularitv 

 which generally finds admirers. About the best 

 way to arrange these plants is to plant the Verbenas 

 about five feet asunder each way, allowing them to 

 occupy dl the ground but the last row, which 

 should be Portulacca and Ice plant alternate 

 eighteen inches apart. To give a striking ettect to 

 the Verbenas, and at the same time keep them 

 from spreading too far, tie up a few of the main 

 branches to sticks eighteen inches liiiih. These 

 instead of forming a dwarf mass in the ordinary 

 way, will then form bushes, which, if duly arranged 

 as to colors, will give the border a verv pretty eftect 

 We have used Mignonette alternately with the 

 Verbenas, taking care to keep them in compact 

 bushes, with very good eftect; and those who pre- 

 fer, can plant that way. For a purpose like this it 

 IS best to transplant the Portulacca from a seed bed 

 or at any rate to keep them quite trim, so that they 

 may continue in blossom over a longer period, of 



*™^' EDGAR SANDERS. 



Chicago, HI, FeVy, 1858. 



TRAINING OSAGE HEDGES -CORRECTION. 



Editors Genesee Farmer: — In the February 

 number of your paper, you give an article on 

 Irammg Hedges," and refer to an article written 

 by me for the Rural Annual of 1857; but in 

 abridging the same for your columns, you have 

 also abridged the time required for rearing the 

 hedge, one year. This is a species of abridgenient 

 which IS not safe, and I fear will result in the "in- 

 considerate hastiness " which you caution i)lanters 

 against. 



The hedge should not be summer pruned the 

 second year after planting, but allowed to make a 

 full growth; and if well cultivated, it will make a 

 growth of six or eiglit feet from the ground this 

 sea,son. The third summer, it should be summer 

 pruned about the first of July, cutting back to 

 within six inches of where it was cut in^April. 



I wish you would make this correction, because 

 1 know the Osage Orange will make a perfect de- 

 fence against man or beast, if well trimmed ; but 

 care must be taken to give it breadth and density 

 before height is attained. n. e. hooker, 



Iioc}^sUr,N. Y.,FeVy,l%bB. 



Raspberries on the Prairies.— These may be 

 grown profitably, to almost any extent, by trans- 

 planting the wild bushes from tlie groves, which 

 improves their quality and productiveness very 

 much, —especially if well cultivated. Every new 

 settler can have an abundance of this fruit the 



second year, if he will but try. Q.~Lee Centre, 

 111., Jan'y, 1858. ' 



