k 1850. 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



71 f 



labor involved for them to adopt it. To such we 

 would say, that system in this, as in all things, is 

 necessary. To train a vine over an arbor or trellis 

 properly, nothing short of labor will do ; and we 

 know of no system requiring less labor than that we 

 haie in part described. 



Those who wish their vines to grow 

 . without training, should plant them near 

 ^'J''%4 'he ''ool o' some old tree or in the corner 

 '^-Iw^ of a rail fence — they liave no business 

 S with walls or trelli»cs. A modification of 

 this method may be adopted ; but in any 

 'jij C!!se it must be remembc'red that leading 

 [ ||j[ shoots must be trained at proper distances 

 for the frame-work, and these must be fur- 

 nished with the material for bearing ; and 

 the training at random is neither satisfac- 

 tory or safe. 



In pruning the vine, and indeed all trees, 

 the knife should be as sharp as a razor, to 

 make a clean cut without the application 

 1 f a great dragging force, and owing to the 

 softness of its wood and large pith, nearly 

 hair au inch should be left between the cut 

 i-nd the bud cutto, (see figure 4 ;) and in 

 '■" ' he case of horizontal shoots, the cut 

 should s ope downwards. These precautions are 

 necessary to guard the bud from injury. 



NOP.rH .'MBRIOAN P/.OLOGICAL CONVENTION. 



Thf. proceedings of this Convention, held at Syracuse 

 September 14, 1849, have been published in a neat 

 pamphlet of some sixty pages, containing the dis- 

 cussions on fruits, with reports from J. A. Khnni- 

 COT of Illinois; Dr. Herman Wendell of Albany; 

 J. W. Knkvbls, Esq., ■>{ Fishkill, M. Y.; Jno. W. 

 Bailey, Esq., of Platlsburg, N. Y.: \V. R. Coppock, 

 E^-q., of Buffalo : F. R. Elliott, Esq., of Cleveland ; 

 F. K. PiiiENix, Esq., of Wisconsin ; J. C. Holmes, 

 Esq., of Detroit ; and C. H. Goodrich, Esq., of 

 Vermont. 



Dr. Kennicot's report occupies about one-fourth 

 of the pamphlet, and contains a great amount of 

 local information regarding soil, climate, nurseries, 

 orchards, Jic. This, and the very agreeable style of 

 the Doctor, makes it not only the most valuable, but 

 the most readable paper of the whole. Some of his 

 statistics of nurseries in Illinois are certainly surpri- 

 sing, and, as he says, afford the best evidence of what 

 the people of this region are doing in the way of 

 planting orchards. On this point the following 

 extracts will be interesting. He says that "within 

 a space of from fifty to sixty miles north, west, and 

 south of The Grove, (his residence,) there are not 

 less than 50 nursery establishments, twelve of which 

 are in this county an I most of the others within 

 twenty-five miles of me." * * "In Kane Co., six 

 nurseries are already established, setting annually 

 10l),C0O grafts or more." Mr. Harkness of Peoria, 

 writes him — "Wo have started 31,000 grafts, 80,- 

 000 seedlings for budding, 40,000 stocks for grafting, 

 200,000 Virginia thorn plants, 350,000 wild orange 

 plants, &.C." A Mr. Slater of St. Albans, propa 

 gates all his fruit trees, except peaches and nectar- 

 ines, by lai/ering. and sells at 6^ cents a piece " all 

 round." To these statistics the Doctor adds — 



'* It strikes me thai we are, at lenat about here, as they 

 say soiitli, ''running the thing into the ground ;' and yet. 

 this one fact speaks volumes for tlie good taste and inteUi- 



gence of our inhnhitiints, and the adaptation of our soil and 

 ehmate to the cultivation of fruits. Nurserymen are, I 

 behove, always intelligent men, and should be ahruwd 

 observers, though I fear we are not alt good ' business men.' 

 Our ■ bunip.s' of benevolence grow with our trees, and «o 

 are very apt to lliink thai we are bencJiling ourselves when 

 we are doing good to others . Our ' hope is large ;' our frui- 

 tinn small. We create the plant ; others eat the fruit, or 

 enjoy the proliis. But the practice of our benificent profes- 

 sion humanizes us, and simplilies and refines our tastes, and 

 makes us better and happier, if not riiher and wiser men. 

 Why tiien sliould we not be satisfied with our share of the 

 good \\e create V 



There are many points in this report to which we 

 may refer hereafter, when treating of the subjects to 

 which they relate. 



NEW FRUITS. 



Kirlland Pear. — We find a. colored drawing and 

 description of this new pear, by Prof. J. P. Kirt- 

 LAND of Cleveland. It was raised from seed of the 

 Seckel, and i'^ stated to be of medium size, color 

 varying from a dull green to a rich crimson russet. 

 " 111 point of hardiness and productiveness it far 

 excels the Seckel, and in flavor is esteeined by many 

 as superior." This is a high character, and Prof, 

 KiRTLAND is good authority. 



Kingsley Jipple. — Dr. Wendell, in his report, 

 gives an account of a seedling apple originated near 

 Pittsford, in this county^ and brought to notice by 

 Dr. MosKS Long of this city. It is called "Kings- 

 ley," having originated on the farm of a gentleman 

 by that name. The tree is stated to be hardy and a 

 profuse bearer. In 1848, the original tree, growing 

 in a pasture lot, produced thirty bushels of fruit. 

 The spcciiuens from which his report was made 

 " were eaten oti the 10th of June, and were as fresh 

 and free from defect as when taken from the tree." 



Sliiianon Ckerri). — Mr. Elliot gives a description 

 of a valuable Morello cherry originated with Prof. 

 KiKTLAND twenty years since, but never before 

 described. It is described as larger than the May 

 Duke, of a dark purplish red color, ripening 12th to 

 15th of July. We have several excellent cherries 

 of the Morello class, ripening long after this. 



DECAY OF FRUIT AT THE TIME OF MATURITY. 



Mr. Elliott, after speaking of several causes, says 

 that it is not improbable that it is induced by the 

 same causes that produce leaf-blight in tho pear and 

 plum, viz : " a want of some material in the soil." 

 Mr. Elliott is so taken with "special manures," that 

 his imagination begins to run wild on the subject. 

 It is very far from being a "fixed fact" that the leaf 

 blight is owing to defects of the soil. We find it a 

 wide spread malady, appearing in various soils, and 

 it is said, in some parts of Europe as well as in this 

 country. We know of no experiments that have 

 established anything of the sort. It is a matter that 

 yet requires careful investigation. But if it were 

 established, how can we suppose that tho same cause 

 could affect the ripening fruit of the cherry. A pear 

 tree leaf and a ripe cherry are of very different 

 materials. 



A great deal of successful culture depends on 

 giving to particular species of trees their appropriate 

 soil and manure as far as sound experience teaches 

 us ; but cultivators must guard against falling into 

 the same error on the "special" manure subject that 

 a large portion of the community have suffered them- 

 selves to be led into, by "special" or patent medicine 

 compounders and venders. 



