THE GENESEE FARMER. 



51 



ently fine for the market, keeping through the 

 ran^e of two months. Few tlealers only are yet 

 able to get it; but those cultivators who were Avise 

 fifteen or twenty years ago, and were not suspicious 

 of a few foreign scions, are now measuring out 

 their fruit at three or five dollars a bushel, besides 

 taking the first premiums at the shows! This noble 

 apple likes a republican country, "however bonded" 

 and we ought all to exclaim, " Blessed is the man 

 who first raised the Gravenstein ! " Then we have 

 the Rkei\ Maiden's Blush, Harris Horn, Lyscom, 

 etc., and a variety of ordinary sweets, hut they are 

 secondary. Apples that are not now on sale, I 

 wait to speak of. 



Our crop of apples in this region is fine — better 

 than for the past four years. They, however, sell 

 readily (always east ;) and I have lately heard of a 

 man avIio has bought up 10,000 bbls'. (principally 

 Biildioins) at |2 to "$2.25, for the Cahfornia market. 



Suspecting that "brevity is the soul of agricul- 

 tural journalism," I pass to pears. There are three 

 autumn pears which stand out in bold relief in our 

 market. These are the Bartlctt, Flemish Beauty, 

 and Louise Bonne de Jersey. The Madeline, Jar- 

 gonelle, Sugar-top, etc., are the mere striplings 

 which precede the main array. "Without attempt- 

 ing to give "perfume to the rose," I will simply 

 say of the Bartlett, that in number and beauty it 

 is unequalled, and in size rarely surpassed ; some 

 dishes of them averaging ten ounces ai)iece — being 

 remarkably large this season. The Flemish Beauty 

 is a standard market variety, and generally grows 

 larger than the Bartlett, though not keeping so 

 well as tlie latter or the Bonne de Jersey, which is 

 superior and very valuable in this respect. Tlien 

 come the Secl'el, the Urhaniste, the Bujfum, the 

 Beurre Diel, tbe Maria Louise, the Duchesse d''An- 

 gouleme, etc. A few of the Beurre d'' Anjou 

 Swan''s Orange, and the Clairgeau, are occasionally 

 on sale, being from fifty cents to a dollar a dozen, 

 the latter some times far more. The Clairgeau 

 now caps the climax of foreign pears, but how long 

 it will hold this position, time can only determine. 

 The new varieties of Sheldon, Beurre Superjin, St. 

 Michael Archange are frequently .exhibited, and 

 promise well. 



For profit, it is evident that some horticulturists 

 cultivate too many vaineties. No doubt a dozen 

 Bartlett trees would pay better than a dozen of any 

 other kind or kinds. Nurserymen find their inter- 

 est in testing a greater variety; and frequently 

 are seen large boxes of varied kinds on sale, of all 

 colors, shapes, sizes and qualities. 



GanselVs Bergamot, a fine old pear, is cultivated 

 to some extent; and the Andrews and Heafhcot a.ve 

 increasing in public favor. The Belle Lucrative, 

 though unsurpassed when fully grown, is not very 

 common, perhaps from the fact that it drops pre- 

 maturely, and is not attractive. An important 

 characteristic of a good pear is its certainty to hold 

 on until matured, like the Bartlett and Jersey. 



Grapes, of out-door culture^f I may be allowed 

 to speak of them — are poor, because they are not 

 ripe, and there is but little hope for them. T have 

 not yet seen a ripe, sweet Isabella. The Concord 

 is expected to be a failure ; only two lots have been 

 exhibited at the Mass. Ilort. Society, iuiijerfectly 

 ripened. The Diana is rarely on sale, though it 

 may be matured, The new hardy graj^)e called the 



'■'■ Stra^oberry,'''' is admirably ripened, and I have 

 seen a few in market. It is a small purple grape, 

 with a ricli commingling of sweet and acid, perfect 

 strawberry flavor, great bearer, and sure. Those 

 on my own vine are now dead ripe. 



West Meiljbnl, Oct., 8, 1S5S. D. W. LOTHEOP. 



FRUITS & THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE IN FRANCE. 



In one of his recent letters to the Boston Culti- 

 vator, Saxfoed Howard thus alludes to the fruits 

 of Paris, and the Chinese sugar-cane : 



"The abundance and cheapness of fruits in Paris 

 is worthy of note. Not only in the markets are 

 they plenty, but they are carried about the streets 

 in carts drawn by donkeys, and by men and women. 

 1 inquired prices, at retail. A pound of fine white 

 Sweet- water grapes were bought for four cents ; a 

 pound of good wliite Chasselas grapes for sixteen 

 cents; three fine, well-fiavored peaches for two 

 cents; twenty-six fine Green-gage plums for three 

 cents. This latter fruit, as well as all kinds of 

 plums, is particularly plenty in France. The plum- 

 tree wart, which is so injurious in America, and 

 the destructive curculios, seem to be unknown here 

 — at least I have seen nothing of them. 



" Grapes are cultivated extensively in some dis- 

 tricts through which I have passed. The vines are 

 trained on stakes about four feet high, the spaces 

 between them four to five feet. The vineyards 

 present a rich and inviting appearance at this time, 

 as the crop is beginning to ripen. The vine dis- 

 ease — a fungus which has for several years occa- 

 sioned much injury to the grajJC crop — is much 

 less prevalent this season. The ditterence, it is 

 said, will be an immense advantage to the people. 

 The failure in the grape crop from this cause in 

 past years, has given rise to various substitutes for 

 the purpose of distillation — the production of su- 

 gar, raised the ])rice of the latter article, and in- 

 duced extensive si)eculations in Europe and Ameri- 

 ca. The Chinese sugar-cane came in as another 

 substitute, and statements confirm what I had ]>re- 

 viously heard, that it is for distillation that tliis 

 plant is chiefly cultivated here. Messrs. Vihnorin, 

 Andrews & Co., inform me that the difficulty of 

 obtaining sugar from it is so great that the plant 

 will not be grown in France for that purpose, though 

 they think it will be profitable for making alcohol." 



Profits of Dwarf Pear Trees. — Notwith- 

 standing the failure of the fruit crop this season, 

 my few dwarf pear trees — 120 in number, of bear- 

 ing age — true to their nature, and resisting all ob- 

 stacles which caused the peacli and apple trees to 

 fail of a crop, have given me six barrels of pears, 

 the best of which I sold at $25 \)er barrel, and the 

 second quality at $17. These trees, occupying less 

 than one-third of an acre, i)lanted seven years ago, 

 have borne over $400 worth of pears as sold ; and 

 besides, the same ground has yielded an annual 

 crop of beans, &e., till the present year, which 

 more than pays all expense of culture. I am now 

 satisfied that with well chosen varieties, on tlie best 

 of sto(!ks, and with fair cuhure and good pruning, 

 dwarf pears may be grown with as much certainty 

 as potatoes, and witii less labt)r after the trees have 

 been out five or six years. T. G.. Yeomans. — Wal^ 

 worth, Wayne Co., iV. Y., Oct, \m%, 



