^2 



THE GENESEE FARMER 



The al:)Ove eleven sorts are freestone, and may be 

 •expected to last until the following later variety is 

 ready for market: 



12. O-awford's Late sells better in Rochester than 

 any other late variety that we have seen. Mr. Bar- 

 ky thus notices it : " Really a superb yellow peach, 

 vety large, productive, and good, ripening about the 

 close of the peach season — laijt of September." 



It is difficult to designpie, as requested, the number 

 of each sort that ought to be planted in an orchard 

 of one thousand trees. L. 



EiPESixG OF > uiTS AND VEGETABLES. — In Com- 

 pliance with your equest to " make rough notes of 

 fruits as they ripen," I send you a list, with dates, 

 taken from my pocket memoranda. These fruits and 

 vegetables grew on my own farm, which is an elevated 

 prairie loam — latitude 40 deg. 40 miu.— ground gently 

 descending to the Mest and south: 



Peas. — Early, June 10; ^Marrowfat, June 22. 



Potatoes. — Early, June 26. 



Strawberries. — Wild, June 10. 



Cherries. — May, June 12; Eigarreau, July 1 ; Mo- 

 relio, July 1. 



Currants. — Common Red (green), June 1; do. 

 (ripe), June 18; Black (ripe), June 15. 



Corn. — Early (green), July 10; Field (green), Au- 

 gust 10. 



Beans. — String, July 2; Shelled, July 21. 



Cucumbers — July 15. 



Grapes.— \^"\\^ of Comiecticut, August 20; Rheu 

 ish, September 8. 



Plums. — ^Vild, of Illinois, September 1 ; Horse, 

 of Illinois, August 10. 



I shall continue these "rough notes" for my own 

 satisfaction and reference, and shall take pleasure in 

 3?>uding a copy occasionally to the Genesee Fanner. 

 The list, though a meagre one now, will be increased 

 as my fruit trees come into bearing. I am anxious 

 to a'e a copious list from " Down East " published 

 in your paper. Amos Stevens. — Peoria Co., III. 



KEEPING FRUITS AXD VEGETABLES. 



The most profitalile part of farm iudustiy is that 

 which produces good fruits and vegetables; and to 

 extend this department of rural labor nothing will 

 contribute so much as improvement in the connnon 

 methods of keeping these perishable commodities. 

 At a recent meeting of the New York Farmer's Club 

 the following remarks were made by its members, 

 which are copied from the American Artisan : 



Dk. UKDEauiLt. — I think that ultimately we shall find 

 diat the disease is due to minute worms or insects. 



As to tli« subject of the dav — the Keeping of Fruits and 

 Vegetahles — suppose that there could he on sale, for a 

 great length of time, rich, sound, delicious fruits — how 

 vastly the sales would be increased ! The number of con- 

 sumers would be very great and the habit of using fine 

 fruit freely is of the highest importance to the health of 

 mankind — the well-known effect being a purification of the 

 system, a refining of the blood— all that tends to give us 

 pure health ! I speak now as a physician, as well as an 

 agriculturist. I speak for the multiplication of all fine 

 fruits — as the grape, of which I am a grower to some ex- 

 tent. Our peaches rush upon our people in sudden mas- 

 tas. Some dozea years ago, we bad in a day imported ten 



or twelve thousand baskets of them Into New York alone 

 Now we have got up to fifty thousand baskets in one day 

 If we could contrive to keep peaches a much longer time 

 the market would pay millions of dollars more for them 

 than it now does. It is the same with all the delicate small 

 fruits — the strawberry, raspberry and blackberry, one ol 

 our most delicate and wholesome fruits. Strange as it may 

 seem, we have not an adequate supply. Farmers ought ti; 

 turn their attention to it. I do most sincer'ilv hope that 

 discoveries may be made of the means of keeping and i)n - 

 serving our fruits, so that their use may become — not verv 

 partial, as it now is — but universal. West India fruit i- 

 supj}lied to us in good condition. A sound orange is al- 

 most always to be had, and at a price sometimes cheajier 

 than a fine apple ! This fruit business is a profitable one 

 to the islands. 



As to keeping fruits in good condilion, I believe that aji 

 even temperature, above frost, seems to be indisjJcnsaLle ; 

 also a store-house, double-sided, filled in with cliarci'al, 

 dust, or saw-dust, or air only — an air-jacket, as it is termed 

 all very bad conductors of heat. The fruits should 1 

 stored in them perfectly dry, and not too ripe. At tin 

 same time, immature fruit will not answer, No one woulii 

 take the necessary pains to keep any poor fruit. 



Mr. Lodge. — Air should be excluded from the stme- 

 house, and confcict between the fruits carefully avoiiic.l 

 Sweat apples first in the barn, by covering them over witi 

 straw ; then carefully spread them out to dry ; then put ;i 

 layer of dry sand in the bottom of the barrel ; on that, 

 carefully, one by one, place a layer of apples ; then an 

 other layer of sand — and so on, till the barrel is full. ] 

 have had in England, for apples so put up, /o?<r gtci/te." 

 fur one barrel of them. Much is lost by sending abr^. 

 poor or. even bad fruit, t used to make a profitable bi: 

 ness of sending fruit from England to France — and sdui,. 

 of the finest pears can bt sent a considerable distance, b;^ 

 due care as to their true cndition. Our A'twtow/i Pipp'n. 

 apples, both the green and the yellow kinds, can be kepi 

 well. All fruit grown upon high ground, keeps bett«i 

 than any grown on low ground. 



Mr. Lawton. — We see now large quantities of quitt 

 small red apples in our markets and stieets. c ailed i^pit- 

 zenhurghs. They were formerly of far laro-or ;Ize ; tlitii 

 diminution is probably owing to the po.'jitiuii oi the trees. 



Dr. Undkrhill. — Probably the trees were :il]( wed tr 

 be overloaded with their apples. That, of conr-;*^. renders 

 them generally small, not one-half the usual s:/c. 



Mr. Kellogg. — There are two distinct s')tis of the 

 Spitzenhnrgh apples. One is more tart tl-.aii the other, 

 and their colors differ. Grafting them on a diirnrent stock 

 improves them sometimes — and they keep better. 



Mr. Lodge. — I have grafted as nuich as most men of my 

 age, and the/ruit is no better and keeps no better on ac- 

 count of the stock on which I grafted. 



Dr. Underuill. — The best Spitzmhiirgh apple is thf; 

 famous one of Esopus, the flesii of which is yellow and the 

 peculiar and rich t;iste of which is never mistaken. Grafti" 

 are somewhat influenced by their stocks, as sweet or sour 

 or vice versa. And a difference appears when they are 

 grafted on natural stocks, and it is the usual plan to graft 

 on seedling stocks, the character of whose fruits we do not 

 know. 



jMr. Fleet. — Our widely extended commerce opens the 

 way for immense export of fruit, if we please to avail (Uir- 

 selves of it, and our farmers and gardeners ought to try >o 

 to keep choice fruits as to present them in perfect conditiun 

 in foreign markets as well as our home markets. The 

 knoweledge of the methods of keeping should be every- 

 where extended. It is said here that apples keep well in 

 bags made of linen. An elderly lady on Long Island us.d 

 to keep her best apples in her garret all winter, sound, by 

 merely covering them up close with linen, and when she 

 wanted some of them, »he lifted tiie covering as little and 

 as carefully as possible when taking out some of the ap- 

 ples. They icere tiever frozeii in this metlwd. 



!Mr. Solon Robinson. — We can grow peaches without 

 limit, and that we can preserve them, I present here the 

 actual proof. Here are good peaches, skins ofi', fine sugar 

 put into the middle of the half peaches, and by moderate 

 heat converted into an article very superior to raisins of 



