1848. 



GENESEE FARMER. 



290 



dwarf trees are more costly than standards grown 

 on free stocks, raised from seeds obtained at little 

 or no cost, at the cider mills ; but by and by our 

 nurserymen will no doubt propagate their own 

 stocks, and the trees will consequently become 

 cheaper. 



Dwarf Apple Tree, on Paradise Stock. 



The Paradise is a species of apple that repro- 

 duces itself from seed, but is usually propagated 

 for stocks by layers. Seedlings, however, are 

 preferable as they have a tap root that holds them 

 firmly in the soil, while those raised from layers 

 have but fibrous roots that remain near the sur- 

 face. There is another stock used for working 

 on where trees are intended for pyramids; this 

 is called by the French the Doucain, and is con- 

 founded by some authoi-s with the Paradise. — 

 Trees grown on this attain a considerable size, 

 while those on the Paradise seldom reach over 4 

 feet in height. The culture is the same as on 

 free stocks as regards budding. 



When plants are removed from the nursery, 

 one year's growth from the bud, they should be 

 invariably cut back til] within '^ or 4 buds of the 

 stock ; and they should never be planted so deep 

 as to place the bud or graft in the ground, as in 

 that case it will emit roots, and the effect of the 

 Paradise stock will be lost. We have heard peo- 

 ple complain of their dwarf apples not bearing, 

 but growing up vigorously like those on free 

 stocks, and this was the cause. The soil should 

 possess considerable firmness for dwarf apples as 

 the roots remain so near the surface. Annual 

 pruning is necessary to give the trees a good 

 shape as well as to keep up their vigor, and they 

 should also receive an annual dressing with com- 

 post. With this attention every one may suc- 

 ceed in raising crops of large and beautiful 

 apples on their dwarf trees. Indeed the same 

 care that a good cultivator would give a goose- 

 berry or currant bush will suffice for these little 

 trees. 



The above figure is the portrait of a tree in 

 the garden of Aaron Erickson, Esq., of this 

 oity, some 6 years old, and has borne large crops 



of immense fruit, measuring 10 to 15 inches in 

 circumference, for the last three years. The 

 variety is the Alexander. Large apples, such 

 as the Alexander, Twenty ounce, St. Lawrence, 

 Gravenstein, Hawley, &c., will give the most 

 effect on dwarf trees. 



Tlie Stevens' Pear. 



This Pear was r lised from the seed by 

 Francis Stevens, Esq., of Charleston, now 

 Jiima, in the County of Livingston. The late 

 Mr. Guernsey, of Pittsford, in this county, be- 

 coming acquainted with and admiring the fruit, 

 procured scions and propagated it, bestowing 

 upon it the name of " The Stevens' Pear," 

 and through him it was first introduced to 

 notice. This history of this excellent variety, 

 which may be relied upon as correct, was re- 

 ceived from GusTAvus Clark, Esq., of Clark- 

 son, who knew the original tree as long ago 

 1810, and who in 1815 transplanted trees ob- 

 tained from Mr. Guernsey in his own garden, 

 and has ever since cultivated the fruit. The ac- 

 count of this pear given by Mr. Downing, in his 

 "Fruits and Fruit Trees," is incorrect. There 

 is no propriety in appending " Genesee" to the 

 name. The only objection to the variety is its 

 liableness to the fire blight, being more subject 

 to that disease, Mr. Clark states, than any other 

 within his knowledge. H. P. Norton. 



Brockport, Nov. 3, 1848. 



Remarks. — We are much obliged to our cor- 

 respondent for the above facts. With regard to 

 the liableness of the trees of this variety to the 

 " fire blight," we have to remark, that as far as 

 we are able to judge from our own experience 

 and observation, it is an erroneous conclusion. 

 It may have happened with some, or with many, 

 tliat this tree has suffered from this blight more 

 than others. The same objection was laised to 

 it at the Buffalo Pomological Convention, but 

 after discussion was shown to be in general un- 

 founded. In our own and neighbor's grounds 

 we have not been able to discover in any variety 

 a peculiar liability to blight. In one season, 

 and in some localities, we see varieties seriously 

 and sometimes very generally affected, that in 

 other seasons and localities escape altogether. 

 In the New York Pomological Convention one 

 gentleman said the only objection he had to the 

 Glout Morceau was its liability to this blight; 

 nearly every other member who had experience 

 with its culture agi'eed that it was peculiarly un- 

 susceptible to it. 



Facts like these, which we have collected all 

 over the country, warrant us in expressing the 

 opinion that no particular variety is, more than 

 another, susceptible to the blight. Certain con- 

 ditions of growth or vigor may tend to induce 

 this liability. The Seckel has been very gen- 

 erally considered as least liable to it ; but in a 



