172 



GENESEE FARMER. 



July. 



Horticultural Inquiries. 



Mr. Barry : — As the Editor of the Hort. Department of 

 the Farmer, you will confer a favor on me and others, who 

 value the paper scarcely less on account of information 

 found in the pages over which you preside, than of that 

 issuing more directly from your talenteJ colleague, by sat- 

 isfying the following queries . — 



1st. As to the most approved mode of propagating trees 

 -and shrubs, by layers, slips and seeds — especially the last. 



2d. As to the Rose, in particular. How to prepare the 

 3ccd — When and how to plant it — I'ime of germination. 



3u. As to what the dwarfing process consists in — and ns 

 to what kinds of fruit trees can profitably be made the sub- 

 jects of it. 



4th. Can the Fig be cultivated in the open air, and win- 

 tered in tliis climate, and how? Also, can the pea-nut and 

 sweet potato, or either of them, be brought to maturity in 

 this country? 



Your brief solution of these queries will, I am sure, grat- 

 ify many who look to your pages as their only source of 

 information in matters of this kind. 



While asking I should be happy to give. Possibly the 

 following may possess a trifle of interest. In your last Cat- 

 alogue, in introducing the Michigan family of climbing Ro- 

 ses you remark, among their other virtues, upon "their 

 rapid, vigorous growth" — adding that it measures 'Hm to 

 twelve feet in a season." My single Michigan has a shoot 

 of the last season which measures twenty-four feet. A 

 double — the same which, 1 suppose, you mean by "Queen 

 of the Prairies ' — obtained at your Garden, and only put 

 down the season before, exhibits this season a growth of 



sixteert feet. J. CHAMBERLAIN. 



Yates, Orleans County, 1847. 



ANSWER TO THE ABOVE. 



Rose seeds ripen at various seasons, from Au- 

 gust to November, and should be gathered when 

 fully ripe. The heps should be put away whole, 

 in sand or light earth, and allowed to remain till 

 the following spring, when the seeds may be taken 

 out and planted in fine rich soil. They should 

 be covered about half an inch deep. Some will 

 germinate the first season, and some will not 

 until the second. If sown in pots, in March, and 

 placed in a gentle heat in a hot bed or green 

 house, they will all germinate the first season. 

 When they have appeared above the ground fair- 

 ly, they may be pricked out and transplanted into 

 rows ; if tender sorts, into small pots. 



Roses are increased froin layers in June, July, 

 and August ; (see article on layering in this num- 

 ber;) also by budding during the same period ; 

 (see article on budding in July number, 1846.) 

 The various sorts of Boursault, the common Dog 

 Rose, and wild sweet briar, all make excellent 

 stocks for budding upon. The strongest and 

 most durable plants are obtained by budding near 

 the ground. Handsome miniature trees are made 

 by budding on strong stocks 5 to 8 feet high. 



Propagation from slips or cuttings requires to 

 be done at various seasons and in various ways 

 adapted to the character and habit of the species 

 to be operated on. For instance — the climbing 

 Roses, Prairie, Boursault, &c., as well as the 

 Hybrid Chinas, may be propagated from cuttings 

 of the ripe wood, taken off in the fall and buried 

 in the ground till spring, when they are planted 

 out. The cuttings are usually from 6 to 10 inch- 

 es long, and about two-thirds their length is put 

 below the ground. Such as are cultivated in the 

 house, in pots, are propagated from cuttings of 



young but mature wood, taken oif just after the 

 blossom falls. The cuttings may be made of two 

 or more joints, the leaves allowed to remain on 

 the upper part. A great number of such cuttings 

 may be put in one pot. The soil for cuttings 

 should be composed of equal parts of light peat 

 earth and sand. Cuttings made in this way, in 

 the spring, should be placed in a hot bed with a 

 mild heat, watered regularly and shaded well from 

 the sun. Those made at this season (July) may 

 be put in a cold frame and kept well shaded and 

 close. 



Pots in which cuttings are placed to root, should 

 be filled one-third their depth with material for 

 drainage, broken pots, in order to allow the sur- 

 plus water to pass off freely ; this is quite impor- 

 tant. Small pots, say 3 inches deep and 2 across 

 at the top, if they can be had, are the best, and a 

 single cutting may be put in each. If larger pots 

 are used, the cuttings should be placed around 

 the sides. 



Willows, Poplars, Currants, Gooseberries, 

 Quinces, Altheas, Honeysuckles, tS^c, &c., are 

 prepared, treated, and planted in a manner simi- 

 lar to that described for Prairie, Boursault, and 

 Hybrid China Roses. We will treat upon these 

 matters more fully and satisfactorily at another 

 time. 



"What does the dwarfing process consist in?'' 

 It consists mainly in propagating trees on such 

 stocks as are calculated to reduce their natural 

 dimensions, and induce early fruitfulness : for 

 instance — an apple, grafted or budded on a par- 

 adise stock, may not attain over 6 or 8 feet high, 

 and may be had bearing plentifully the third year, 

 when not over 2 or 3 feet high. The advanta- 

 ges are apparent. Small gardens may contain a 

 great variety, and an immediate return is given. 



The Pear, at the present day, is cultivated as 

 a dwarf, to a greater extent than any other fruit, 

 and chiefly on the quince stock. To this meth- 

 od we have frequently alluded in the pages of the 

 "Farmer," heretofore. The apple, pear, and 

 cherry, all of which, on free stocks, attain a large 

 size, may be profitably dwarfed to fit them for 

 limited grounds and other circumstances. 



We are not aware of any attempt having been 

 made to cultivate the Fig in the open air, in this 

 climate — nor do we think it could be done with 

 any profitable or pleasant results. We presume 

 it could be grown in cold houses, similar to those 

 constructed for the culture of the grape without 

 fire heat. 



We do not think that the pea nut could be cul- 

 tivated here. We can not speak positively, as 

 we have no evidence on the subject. It is a na- 

 tive of South America, and is produced abund- 

 antly in the open air as far north as Maryland, 

 and farther for aught we know. The French, 

 around Paris, raise it in hot beds and transplant 

 it into the open ground, where it ripens. With 

 similar culture, it might succeed here. We have 



