72 



GENESEE FARMER. 



Mar. 



a month fror.i that time, tlie trees were thoroughly shaken 

 almost every liay, anil ocuii.sionally until tiie loth of .Inly, 

 though in llic latter part of the time very few were eaught. 

 During the first month, the number killed from fifty trees 

 .sometimes .inionnted to ."lOO each day ; in July hardly a 

 dozen. 'J"he manner of taking them was efleetuai, tliough 

 .somewhat laborious : a large white cloth was spread under 

 the tree, reafhing as far a.s the foliage extended , the Ixxjy 

 and the larger brunches were then repeatedly jarred with a 

 l»ole about ten leet long, the end of wiiich was covered with 

 thick cloth, and an old india rubber shoe to prevent injury 

 to the barli, anii the insects as they fell were killed \ulh the 

 fingers. .Shaking the tree or the branehes violently with 

 the hand, slopped the operations of the Curculio for a short 

 time, but they would not quit their hold ; to make them do 

 lliut, required the sudden jar, such as was given by the pole. 



This is the mode of operating against the cur- 

 culio that we recommend ; and beside this, to 

 pick up carefully, and destroy all the punctured 

 fruit that fall from the trees. 



QuES. 2d. We do not know what diseases our 

 correspondent alludes to. The principal disease 

 of the plum is the black knot, or toarl, the cause 

 of which is not yet clearly determined — soine 

 supposing it to be caused by the stings of the 

 curculio, or .some other insect, and some to be 

 owing to a deranged state of the sap. For our 

 own part, we have found no difficulty witli this 

 disease, and we think none others will, if the soil 

 is properly cultivated, and these excresences re- 

 moved as soon as they begin to appear. Salt is 

 highly recommended by some experienced culti- 

 vators as a remedy for tliis as well as for the 

 curculio. .\so. M. Ivks, of Salem, says in the 

 Horticulturist : 



I may fairly claim to have had some experience with salt, 

 a% 1 have probably used as much or more of this article in 

 the cultivation of the plum, as any inilividual, having ap- 

 plied in February, \M^>, Jive hogsh-mh (of 8 bushels each.) 

 on an acre, -and the year previous about one-tlnrd of this 

 quantity ; and for the last two seasons my trees have pro- 

 duced greatly, particularly the Green tiage." 



Dr. SHunTLEFi.', of Boston, who excels in rais- 

 ing fine plum.s, says in a cotnmunication to the 

 Horticulturist : 



In 1831), my plum trees were covered with the black fnn- 

 .C{us, commonly known as the hlurk kiwi or war/. At the 

 .same time they cast their fruit, so that I did not get speci- 

 mens enough to decide the genuineness of the kinds. Ob- 

 serving in several gardens that had l)een made on salt 

 marshes, that the plum trees, in every case, were unusually 

 vigoroas and healthy ; that they jiroduced full cn)pa, and 

 did not cast their fruit ; I was led to the conclusion that 

 salt was a preventive of the disease, and that it also destroy- 

 ed the curculio. 



The next winter I gave each of my plum trees a dressing 

 of about two quarts of salt. 1 directed my man to put it on 

 in a circle, about twelve inches from the tree. [We pre- 

 sume, meaning tliat the circle of salt did not come nearer 

 the tnnik than twelve inches. — Kn. ] It being salt that was 

 the rcsidum of a pork bairid, I cautioned liiin not to put on 

 the brine. He did, however, put about a gaiiiin arounil one 

 tree, and it killed it. The otliers blossomed well, and tlie 

 fruit remained on the trees until fully ripe. In the spring I 

 cut oH' all the fungi or warts, !)nt put nothing on. 'I'lie 

 wounds healed up nicidy, and fn):n that time, 1 have been 

 in the habit of luiiting on salt annually: and the only troulile 

 now is, th;it my trees bear too much fruit, so as to destroy 

 its fine quality, unless a portion is thinned out. 



In 1840, I set out some trees, (]uite covered w ith the fun- 

 gus or warts. I treated them in the same manner as just 

 described, cutting the trees deeply wherever any disease 

 was found, and the next year the wounds were all healed, 

 and no excrescences liave since appeard. 



Mr. Downing says : 



The Plum is naturally a marine tree, and it is surprising 



how much salt it will assimilate and thrive upon. We have, 

 ourselves, given a single large tree a half bushel of salt itt. 

 a season, applied to the surface of the ground in the spring, 

 over an area as wide as the extent of the branches. Tlie 

 tree was in a sickly and enfeebled state, and it had the ef- 

 fect of restoring it to a healthy and luxuriant condition. — 

 l!ut we consider tliis an extreme case, and should not re( - 

 oinmend the abundant use of salt every year. 



(iuKs. ;^d. Time and process of grafting th-' 

 Plum. — The time for grafting is just as .soon a* 

 \ egetation starts in the spring, which is known 

 by the swelling of the buds. In Virginia we 

 suppose this occurs about the beginning of March 

 — here, the latter end of that month, or beginning 

 of April, as the season may be. The Cherry 

 and Plum require to be grafted earlier than any 

 other fruit trees, such as the Pear, Apple, &c. 



The process is the same in all trees, and for 

 this we mu.st refer to back numbers of this paper, 

 or to some of the books we have mentioned. 



Ilorticullural Premiums for 1847. 



TuR Horticultural Society of the Valley of the 

 (Jene.see offers -^400 in premiums, for the ensu- 

 ing year, as follows: 



Vegetables, .'?;40 : Fj-uit, %-200 ; Flowers and 

 Plants, $124 ; Ladies' premiums for annual tlow- 

 ers, )J;25 ; Native flowers, ^11. 



PREMir.MS FOR 184^. 



Herbaceous plants, best display, ,$!"> 



Flowering shrubs. do. lit 



Tulijjs, do 5 



Hyacinths. do. .5 



Herbaceous Pa'onies. do. r> 



Tree " do 5 



The Northern Spy. — John .T. Thomas says 

 in the last number of the Horticulturi-st — 



The rule may he laid down as nearly invariable, that in 

 all cases the fruit of the Northern Spy ^vill b.» large, fine, 

 and hand.'rome, provided the pruning and cultivation are 

 sufficient to mriintam a vigorous ^^ron-tli of tlie t/oiiii;: hranrlie-i. 

 Cultivation which does not produce tiiis effect, will not ac- 

 complish the desired object. 



With regard to the value of this fruit for "market," I 

 need only slate, that it commands a price two or three times 

 as great as the Spitzeiiberg. Rhode Island (Jreening, and 

 other tuie winter \arieties. One cultivator sold his entire 

 crop the past season for !}:•.'. ■')U i>er liarrel. wliile most of our 

 best winter fruil has sold consider.ibly less than a dollar pei- 

 barrel. 



It will be seen that this corresj)oiids pi-ecisely 

 with tlie opinions advanced by us in our last vol- 

 ume, page 108, in noticing some statements made 

 by Mr. W. R. Smith. 



To Correspondents. — Communications have 

 been received from .1. H. Wright, Esq., New 

 Haven, and A. W., of Marcellus. They will 

 will receive attention in our next. 



C. Pierpont, AUru's Hill, N. Y. The apples 

 you sent us are the Northern Spi/. Your re- 

 marks as to late blossoming, hanging long on the 

 tree, and keeping till July, are certain character- 

 istics of this variety. 



Precioi s beyond rubies are the hours of 

 youth and health, — Let none of them pass un- 

 profitably away. 



