94 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



Recording Secretary — James Vick, Jr., of Roch- 

 ester. 



Treasurer — Jajies II. Watts, of Rochester. 



COMMITTKKS. 



On Fruits — P. Barry, J. J. Thomas, H. E. Hooker, 

 Johu Donellan, J. W. Seward, E. S. Hayward, L. A. 

 Ward, J. \V. Bissell, H. N. Langworthy, L. B. 

 Langworthy, Greorge EUwauger, Ahmzo Frost. 



0)1 Flowers and Flowering Plants — Jos. Frost, 

 AVm. Webster, J. Salter, J. A. Eastman, R. Donellan, 

 J. M. Whitney, C. F. Van Doom. 



On Vegetables — II. N. Langworthy, Jaa. Vick, Jr., 

 Horace Hooker, James Buchau. 



On Botany — Chester Dewey, Francis Trentman, 

 Moses Long, G-. H. Smith, P. Cooncy. 



On Finance — J as. Vick, Jr., J. A. Eastman, J. 

 P. Fogg. 



Executive Committee — H. P. Norton, P. Barry, 

 Joseph Frost, H. N. Langworthy, Jas. Vick, Jr., 

 Chester Dewey. 



-^-i ■ 



THE IMPORTANCE OP DRAINAGE. 



Editor Farmer — Dear Sir: — The importance of 

 thorough drainage has never Iteen more forcibly illus- 

 trated "than by the observation of failures in trans- 

 planting some of our forest trees the past year. On 

 one of the leading avenues of our city, the owners 

 of several lots planted forty trees, mostly Hard and 

 Soft Maples, two White Oaks, and four Elms. Tiie 

 descent of the street was about six feet in five hun- 

 dred. The soil of the upper portion consisted en- 

 tirely of a reddish clay hard-pan, below which, on a 

 lower level, was a bed of coarse gravel intermixed 

 with nodules of indurated clay. The holes of the 

 upper portion were dug three feet square and two 

 feet deep. Good mellow loam was applied about 

 the roots of the trees when transplanted ; guards 

 were planted immediately, and the trees were firmly 

 braced. Now for the result : Of about twenty-five 

 trees planted, but five are now living. The reason 

 of failure was this: The holes were reservoirs of wa- 

 ter, au'l there being no means of drainage the roots 

 were destroyed by the stagnant water. Hence, there 

 being no emission of spongioles, or little fibrous 

 threads, when the drouth of summer came the trees 

 were literally exhausted of their sap by the evapora- 

 tion from their leaves. The lower portion, comprismg 

 about fifteen trees, were planted in the gravelly bed, 

 below the level of the clay hard-pan, and all but 

 three are now living, and leaf-buds are ready to put 

 forth another season. 



The inference from the foregoing is self-evident — 

 soils must he. dry, or rather effectual means must be 

 provided for removing superfluous moisture, or plant- 

 ng trees is labor lost. A. D. W. — Rochester. 



Destruction of Ixsects. — Forsyth (very high au- 

 thority) says the leaves of Walnut, steeped in boiling 

 ■water, and that infusion mixed with lime water, soap- 

 suds and urine;, forms a most efficacious application 

 for destrojnng slugs and worms in the ground and 

 insecta on treea. 



GATHERING AND PRESERVING APPLES 

 FOR CIDER. 



Tue fruit should, if j^ossible, be gathered in fine 

 weather, in order that it may be dry when brought 

 in. The time of gathering varies from the end of j 

 August to the end of November, according to the 

 varieties and the locality. 



Before gathering, the fruit should have arrived at 

 a proper degree of maturity. This may be kuo\vii, 

 especially in early varieties, by the smell, by the col- 

 oring of the seeds, and also, when the weather is 

 calm, by finding fallen fruit which is neither wormy 

 nor in any way imperfect. The fruit is detached by 

 shaking the branches, either by getting up in the tree 

 or by means of a hook. Poles should be employed 

 as little as possil)le, and with great care, because they 

 break and destroy the fruit spurs. 



It is advantageous to keep each sort of apple sepa- 

 rate, in order to be able to mix them so as to pro- 

 duce the best quality of cider. 



It is of the greatest consequence to shelter the ap- 

 ples; for if left out of doors, the rain or melted snow 

 carries away part of their juices, and, in consequence, 

 cider of only middling quality can be obtained. We 

 know that in years of abundance there are, in manj 

 instances, insufficiency of buildings to shelter the 

 whole of the fruit; but it is neither difficult nor ex- 

 pensive to erect temporary sheds by means of straw 

 mats, from 2 to 2i inches thick, and made of long 

 straw squeezed between two pieces of wood, whici 

 are fastened with osier or wire. Two of these mats 

 leaning against each other hke a roof, form a sufficienl 

 protection against rain. Apples should be protected 

 from frost, for it deteriorates them as much as rair 

 does. This is so much the easier, as at the time of 

 the hard frosts nearly all of the apples are crushed 

 except those that ai-e not ripe, and we can therefore 

 put them in the regular buildings. If these build- 

 ings are accessible to frost, the best way to preserve 

 the fruit is to cover it vvdth straw and damp cloths, as 

 previously recommended. 



The manufacture of cider requires more attontior 

 and cleanliness than it generally receives. Not onlj 

 should all the instruments and vessels used in crush- 

 ing be free from smell, but the straw also on which 

 the pomace is laid should be fresh, clean, and above 

 all, free from mildew. It is said that the English in 

 Herefordshire, Somersetshire, and other counties, give 

 and preserve an agreeable taste to the cider by mix- 

 ing large turnips with it. We may with propriety 

 mix bitter and sweet apples; and provided the Ibrmei 

 are not present in too great proportion the cider is 

 sometimes improved by the mixture. But when we 

 wish to obtain cider that will keep long, we should 

 reject the sour apples, as the liquor they produce ie 

 very pale, and soon turns acid. — London Gardeners' 

 Chronicle. 



Profits of a Vixe. — A late paper gives a state- 

 ment of the cost and profits of an Isabella grape 

 vine. The cost is twenty-five cents in labor yearly, 

 in pruning and dressing, and one wheel-barrow load 

 of manure. The profits are five to six bushels of 

 grapes annually, and an ornamental effect in covering 

 an otherwise unsightly out-house. 



