130 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



Wb hope none of our agents will forget that the time 

 for competition for our April Premiums expires on the 

 15th of April. There is yet time to secure a prize. Do 

 not neglect to ask your neighbors once more to subscribe. 

 Every additional subscriber increases your chances. The 

 Premiums are worth trying for. There is little competi- 

 tion. Farmers are as likeW to subscribe now as a month 

 or two ago. Gire them another opportunity. The Gene- 

 «M Fanner is not a «<!««-paper, and the back numbers are 

 as good now as ever, and are always useful for reference. 

 There arc thousands of farmers who are taking no agri- 

 cnltural paper the present year who would subscribe for 

 ttie Farmfr if its claims were presented to them. Give 

 &em an opportunity. 



^ The Gen'eskb Yallet Horticultural f^ociETT. — In 1828 

 or '29, au association of gentlemen in this city, consisting 

 of Isaac Hill.s, L. B. Langwokthy, E. B. Strong, A. Rey- 

 liOLDS, W. WuiTKET, n. Hooker, N. Goodsell, and others, 

 made up a purse for the purchase of choice varieties of 

 fruit and ornamental trees, flowering shrubs, etc. Some 

 of these were obtained from Mr. Prikce, of Flushing, and 

 others, through him, from Europe, together with a choice 

 eollection of flower and vegetable seeds. On their arrival, 

 Wiey were distributed among the members, and planted. 

 Many of these trees are now growing in a flourishing 

 condition in this vicinity. 



This praiseworthy enterprise has led to astonishing 

 results, alike beneficial to Rochester and the whole coun- 

 try. It was from these trees that our nurserymen obtained 

 many of their scions. They formed a nucleus around 

 which hare sprung up those magnificent nurseries for 

 which Rochester is so justly celebrated, and which Jiave 

 done, and are now doing, so much for the prosperity of 

 fthe city and for the improvement of our extensive country. 

 The same association also organi;:ed, in 1830, the " Hor- 

 ficultural Society of Monroe County," and projected the 

 publication of the Genett* Farmer, the first number of 

 which was issued on the let of January, 1831. In 1847, 

 the name of the Society was changed to the " Horticul- 

 tural Society of the Valley of the Genesee," the object 

 being to enlist the sympathy of horticulturists not only 

 in Monroe County, but throughout the whole "Genesee 

 country." 



It IS pleasant to look back to the period when this 

 society was first organiied, and to examine in the bud the I 

 ideas of an association which has done so much for the 

 •ause of horticulture. In an address, delivered at the 

 meeting called for the purpose of organizing the society, 

 ^September 20, 1830,) we find the following interesting 

 paragraph : 



"Novel as the suggestion of a Horticultural Society is 

 t53 as, aa inexperienced and as untaught as we feel in its 

 weience, yet we are favored with a prospect of at least a 

 partial success in our undertaking, by the goodness of our 

 «limate, soil, and location. Our soil is mostly a warm 

 tight, pliable, and fertile looai, the chosen kind for gardens i 



and fruit orchards. The marine atmosphere of Lake Onta- 

 rio renders our climate nearly as temperate as that of New 

 York and Long Island; and our village market promises 

 a reasonable remuneration for a part of our labors, to bo 

 divided between profit and enjoyment. 



" Gentlemen, shall we attempt the undertaking?" 

 The society was formed, and the undertaking proved mtHifh 

 more than " a partial success." The " village" has becomo 

 a large and flourishing city ; the exhibitions of the Society 

 rapidly improved, and they are now surpassed by none ia 

 the United States. The magnificent collections of fruit 

 shown at these exhibitions call forth the admiration of the 

 best pomologists of the country. And yet, strange to saj, 

 the citizens of Rochester manifest so little interest in these 

 exhibitions, that, at the last annual meeting of the as.socia- 

 tion, a prominent member proposed to disband the Society! 

 This proposition has had the effect of calling the atten- 

 tion of those interested in horticultural pursuits to the 

 subject ; spirited meetings have been held, the Constitu- 

 tion and By-Laws have been revised, efficient officers have 

 been elected for the coming year, and the Society bids fair 

 to be even more useful in the future than it has been ia 

 the past. The following are the officers of the Society for 

 the present year : 

 President— ^m^KR MATHEWS. 



Vice Presidents— W. A. Rbtnolds, H. G. Warnhe, B, 

 Farrar. 



Treasurer— J. A. Eastmax. 

 Secretary— C. W. Sbbltu. 



»•« . 



Summer-fallowing an old sod tor "Whbat.— In a recen* 

 conversation with John JonvsTON, Esq., of Geneva, N. T., 

 he observed that in an experience of thirty-six years, h« 

 had never had a good crop of wheat after summer-fallow- 

 ing an old sod ; but when he planted it first to corn, or 

 sowed oats, he never failed of getting a first rate crop of 

 wheat after fallowing the land the next summer. He get* 

 plenty of straw in the former case, but very little grain. 

 Summer-fallowed corn ground has always produced gre«» 

 crops of wheat. 



..»« 



Orchard.? in Exposed Situations.— Our esteemed cos- 

 respondent, I). Edwards?, of Little Genesee, Allegany Co., 

 N. Y., imforms us that the severe winter of 1856-7 des- 

 troyed most of the fruit trees in that region, and adds, 

 "There are very few pear or plum trees left. Of the 

 apples, some orchards are half dead, and these are gen- 

 erally on flats, or creek bottoms, while orchards on hills 



even on the west side of hills and greatly exposed to tb* 

 westerly winds— very few have died." 



Verbenas bt Mail.— We are indebted to Dexter Snow, 

 " the great verbena man" of Chicopee, Mass., for a select 

 collection of his seedling verbenas. They were sent by 

 mail, and arrived in admirable condition. Those in want 

 of verbenas should send for one of Mr. Snow's new cata- 

 logues of his "unrivalled collection, numbering near 350 

 famed varieties." 



We are informed by the President of the Americ« 

 Pomological Society, Hon. M. P. Wilder, that the Seventh 

 Session will be held in New York, on the 14th day of Sep- 

 tember next. Circulars will be issued in due season. 



The Wheat Crop never looked better 'ihan at the 

 present time. In some sections, on good land, it look* 

 too well. On the whole, the prospect for a good wheal 

 crop never wm more favorable. 



