280 



THE GENESEE FAEMER. 



im'M^iMiM^. 



FATLTTRE OF FRUIT CEOPS. 



We observe by the Genesee Farmer that the fruit 

 crops of "Western New York are as short as those 

 of Ohio. The peach trees suffer from the curl in 

 the same degree us ours, and cherries and plums 

 seem also diseased. We cannot, however, endorse 

 the opinion that the coldness of the soil and the 

 high temperature of the air are the cause of the 

 curl, and that thorough drainage would prevent the 

 occurrence of this disease, for we have a number 

 of peach trees growing in a very warm well-drained 

 soil, with no other crop beneath them, that are ir- 

 recoverably injured. This is the case in and around 

 Cleveland, where the soil is naturally warm and 

 well-drained. Drainage is excellent for trees, but 

 we doubt if it will prevent the curl. — Ohio Farmer. 



We did not say that " thorough drainage would 

 prevent the occurrence" of the curl in peaches. We 

 distinctly stated that "perhaps nothing can be done 

 to entirely prevent such losses ; but much may be 

 done to mitigate the injurious effects of adverse 

 seasons." And again : " The best means that could 

 be employed might have been found ineffectual." 

 And yet again : " While, therefore, the atmospheric 

 changes are beyond the control of the cultivator, 

 he may do much to mitigate their injurious effects, 

 by raising the temperature of the soil — and this he 

 is enabled to do by thorough underdraining, and 

 keeping the land loose and free from weeds, grass, 

 &c." It is one thing to " prevent " and another to 

 " mitigate " the injurious effects of a disease. That 

 the primary cause of the curl in peaches is the low 

 temperature of the soil, we have little doubt. The 

 case mentioned by the Ohio Farmer does not dis- 

 prove this. However " naturally warm and well- 

 drained " the soil may be, the warm weather in the 

 spring may come on so suddenly that the soil may 

 remain quite cold while the atmosphere is very hot, 

 and thus the equilibrium between the leaves and 

 the roots be destroyed, and an unhealthy growth 

 induced, which subsequent cold weather may in- 

 jure. This was the case the present season. Now 

 if the "low temperature of the soil " is the primary 

 cause of the curl, it is certain that thorough under- 

 draining will increase the temperature of the soil 

 some degrees, and consequently lessen the evil ; — 

 that it will '•'■ prevenV it we do not assert. 



That the curl is not an inherent disease is evident 



from the fact that peach trees growing in the green- 

 house of S. Mathews, Esq., near this city, the 

 present season, were exceedingly healthy, and pro- 

 duced a very fine crop. No signs of curl were ap- 

 parent, while trees exposed to the sudden changes 

 of temperature in the open grounds were affected 

 worse than in any former year. 



Every fact that has come to our knowledge indi- 

 cates that the chief cause of the disease is cold — 

 either severe weather in winter, or sudden changes 

 of temperature in the spring. Last winter was 

 unusually mild, and yet the peach trees this season, 

 suffered more than usual. The sudden changes of 

 temperature in the spring, therefore, combined with 

 the immature growth of last season, are probably 

 the principal causes of this result. If this is so, 

 the method of cultivation we have recommended, 

 by increasing the health and vigor of the tree, by 

 promoting the better maturity of the wood, and by 

 increasing the temperature of the soil and conse- 

 quently of the sap absorbed — will enable the trees 

 to withstand, with less injury, the severe cold of 

 winter and the sudden changes of temperature of 

 the air in spring, and thus lessen the chances of 

 injury from adverse seasons and other causes be- 

 yond our control. 



The soil around Cleveland, we know from a per- 

 sonal examination, appears "naturally warm and 

 well-drained." At the same time, it is not at all 

 improbable that in wet seasons of the year it con- 

 tains an excess of stagnant water. Such is often 

 the case with the lightest and the highest land. 

 This is a very unpopular doctrine, and few v,iU be- 

 lieve it, but it is true nevertheless. 



WEEPING OR DROOPING TREES. 



That there is a rapidly increasing taste for orna- 

 mental planting, is indicated by the annnally in- 

 creasing demand for ornamental trees and shrubs. 

 We fear, however, that it is in a great measure 

 confined to the residents of our cities and villages. 

 Few of even our best and most intelligent farmers 

 bestow more than a passing thought on this sub- 

 ject, while the great mass of farmers neglect it al- 

 together, A very little attention to ornamental 

 planting would in a few years change our gaunt 

 and glaring farm houses into home-like and attract- 

 ive residences. It has always been the aim of the 

 Genesee Farmer to infuse a taste for ornamental 

 planting among our rural population. We can do 

 this in no better way than by giving an occasional 

 illustration of such trees as are worthy of more 

 attention than they at present receive. 



Weeping or Drooping trees have within a few 

 years past received more than ordinary attention. 

 There is even in some instances a disposition to plant 



