1850. 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



145 



ground, and pegged down with a crooked wooden peg, 

 to keep it in its place and to keep the cut open ; the 

 earth is drawn around it. carefully placing it in an 

 upright i)Osition ; a good watering will then finish. 

 For all layers the soil should be well prepared, and 

 light and sandy. All ordinary layering is performed 

 on the same principle. In two or three months, most 

 plants will have rooted and be ready for transplanting. 

 When a branch is layered, it is in most cases well to 

 cut off a portion of its top, particularly if growing 

 fast, as it checks the flow of sap to the point, and 

 hastens the granulation and formation of roots at the 

 cut. Wliere the shoots are soft and tender, great 

 care is necessary to avoid breaking them off, and in 

 such cases it is sometimes better to make the cut on 

 the upper side, and twisting the branch a little to 

 keep the cut open wlien pegged down. Roses are 

 usually layered after they have gone out of bloom, 

 and the other shrubs. Sic, when the wood is suffi- 

 ciently grown and matured to work well. 



GRAPES AUD PEARS. 



Mr. Editor : — Allow mo to state a fact in relation 

 to pruning the grape, which argues strongly in favor 

 of the thorough use of the knife. Gustavus Clark, 

 Esq., of Clarkson, has recently practiced cutting dose 

 to the main branch every side shoot. He suffers two 

 or three shoots to grow from the root, training them 

 in different directions and tying to stakes four or five 

 feet high. His crops of fruit are splendid — equal 

 to any I ever saw. New shoots spring along the 

 whole length of the old vine, on which grow the rich 

 clusters. This fact should encourage timid pruners 

 to a bolder and more thorough application of the knife. 

 Have you ever eaten a good Summer Franc Real 

 pear? I have a tree of that variety — and genuine 

 too — which has borne fruit three years, and not a 

 specimen but proved worthless. Of the Duchess 

 d'Angouleme, which has fruited the same length of 

 time, the same remark is true. Not one pear have I 

 liad that was even tolerable. In the same soil, B. 

 Diel, Ananas, Louise Bonne de Jersey, Bartlett, and 

 White Doyenne, have produced delicious fruit, and 

 B. Brown very good, H. P. JSi.— March, \S50. 



We have eaten the Summer Franc Real, not first 

 rate, but second at least. Yon may have let it hang 

 too long ; it ought to be picked soon. Duchess will 

 be all right yet ; uait a little. 



ANSWERS TO C0P.RE3P0NDENTS. , 



HtoriES. — (F. A. R.) \Ve suppose yuu mean the common 

 native tliorn. which raakes a good hedge. Locust — Put the 

 seed in scalding water, and let it remain for 24 hours before 

 sowing. Sow in drills three feet apart, and three or four 

 inches apart in the drills. .\t six feet apart, about 1200 will 

 plant an acre, and a couple of pounds of seed will produce 

 plants enough. The Honey Locust will make a good hedge 

 in fo!]r years from the seed. The seeds should, if possible, 

 be all sowed in April or May — June will do. Ditches by 

 hedges of this sort are not only unnecessary, but improper, 

 subjecting the hedge too much to drouths. 



Oleandkks. — (Msrcellus.) Don't use arsenic to kill 

 worms in the pots : lime water is safer and better. We 

 would advise the ladies to plant their Oleanders out in the 

 garden during summer ; tliere they will form fine new roots 

 and get rid of worms. 



Names of Flcwers. — (O. A. A., Hemlock Lake.) We 

 have no doubt your seedsmen have acted honestly. The 

 Gilta tricolor and Luphnts Crjiikshankii aro well known 

 annuals ; but you will not tind them, or mere varieties of any 

 species, in botanical works. 



Mr. Editor : — I have recently visited tnany fitie gar- 

 dens and orchards in different parts of our country, 

 and in no one thing am I so much dispo.sod to find 

 fault, as in the gross neglect to prune fruit trees. 

 The long, thrifty shoots, are allowed to extend them- 

 selves to an unnatural length, and the lower branches 

 become exhausted, sicken and die — the tree looses its 

 symmetry and beauty ; and if it jiroduces any fruit 

 worthy of its scion, it is in spite of bad usage. Not 

 only this, but many seern to think that pruning a 

 young fruit tree sets it back just to the extent of the 

 pruning, and consequently they thus lose, as they 

 suppose, a good share of a seasons growth. 



Vou well know that the orchards of our country 

 suffer severely for the want of judicious pnuiing, and 

 I would inquire if there is not some more efficient 

 .vay to arouse the attention of our I'armers to this all 

 important subject ? I am glad to see that this neglect 

 is no fault of the Genesee Farmer. Wayne. 



This is quite correct. From actual observiition we 

 know that a great majority of all bearing fruit trees 

 in most parts of the country, are suffering seriously 

 for want of a little pruning ; but the matter is re- 

 ceiving more attention. 



Effects of thf, Wintrr on Vegetation. — The 

 frequent frosts we had towards spring, when the 

 snow was gone, had an injurious effect on strawber- 

 ries and other plants with small roots near the sur- 

 face, not protected : they have been drawn out. Ex- 

 cepting this, we have seen no ill effects of the winter ; 

 no trees, not even tender ones, are winter killed in 

 the least. The Deodar Cedar and .'}uracaria have 

 stood quite safe without protection. The Cryptome- 

 ria, very slightly protected, quite safe, and will prove 

 hard)'. Taxodium sempervirens had its foliage burnt 

 off, but the wood and buds are uninjured. Abies 

 Smithii and Dou^lassi, Picca. pinsapo, Pinus excelsa, 

 cemhra and pumita, all quite hardy. Mahonia aqui- 

 folia stands the winter well, retaining its foliage 

 fresh and green ; it is now finely in bloom, and is a 

 beautiful lawn shrub. Spima prunijlolia and Budo- 

 lea Liiidleyana are as hardy as can be desired. 



We see by the Horticulturist for May, that all 

 these plants have stood the winter at Newburgh, 

 some unprotected, and others covered with boards. 



PROCEF.DINGS OF THE SECOND CONGRESS OF FRUIT 

 GROWERS, convened under the auspices of tile American 

 Institue, in the city of New fork. 1849 



The proceedings of this body have at length appeared 

 in a very handsome, well printed pamphlet, of up- 

 wards of 100 pages ; and we are indebted to the 

 President of the Congress, Hon. M. P. Wilder, for 

 a copy. It is impossible for us to say anything 

 about it, or to give any extracts from it, until next 

 month, as the whole of this number of the Farmer 

 was ready for the press before it came to hand. 



The Season. — Our spring here has been unusu- 

 ally cold and backward ; up to the middle of May we 

 had rarely a warm spring day ; but it has been a fine 

 season for planting, and all have had a long and 

 favorable time for completing their improvements. 

 The weather now. May 16th, is fine, and fruit trees 

 are loaded with blossoms, promising a most abund- 

 ant crop. The thinning process will very generally 

 have to be resorted to, if no untimely frost or other 

 accident occurs after this date. 



