THE GENESEE FARMER. 



129 



not only drain, but serve as a fence. I also cut the same 

 for line fences, calculating that what 1 throw out will pay 

 for the ditching for manure; and then the land, much of 

 it, is worth more than upland. D. Beebe. — Hillsdale, 

 Hillsdale Co., Mich. 



HORTICULTURAL. 



Our Apple trees in this county have been attacked with a disease 

 similar to the Pear tree blight. I have had nice and thrifty grafts 

 of three years' growth die down to the very stocks in a few days ; 

 likewise some of the natural shoots of the current year. The soil 

 is sand and clay, mixed; water soft in some places. Docs our soil 

 lack lime, or what is it ? Let us know. C. W. — Brimfield, Ohio. 



It is much easier to ask hard questions than to answer 

 them. Try lime and ashes, as recommended by Professor 

 KiRTLAND and others. The remedy can do no harm, and 

 may prove all-snfficient. If an insect does the mischief, 

 cut off all affected limbs as soon as discovered and burn 

 them. We have had Apple trees affected with this pecu- 

 liar blight, and after much doubt were inclined to believe, 

 in that ease, insects did the business. 



I HAVE Doitninir's Fruits and Fruit Trees of America, Thomas' 

 Fruit Ciilturisl, Barri/s Fruit Garden, the Coutitry Gentleman, and 

 four volumes of the Genesee Farmer, but they do not tell me 

 about the small hopping green bug that last season settled on the 

 buds of mj' grape vines early in the spring, from three to seven on 

 each bud. They remained there about three weeks, and almost de- 

 stroyed the vines. They were the worst on what is called the Con- 

 nectiait grape ; the Isabella and Sweet Water were not hurt so bad. 

 Now, su', if you can give the cure L shall be thankful. I wish to 

 know what whale oil soap is, how made, or where obtained. Wm. 

 H. Sherwood. — Portland, C. W. 



Whale oil soap is made by uniting the oil named with 

 potash or soda lye. This soap, dissolved in water, is 

 thought to be peculiarly offensive to insects, when thrown 

 with a syringe over the foliage and fruit of plants. 



iREiGATiOJf ANT) IxsECTS. — It is said that irrigation destroys 

 grasshoppers and all such vermin in meadows. Would it not de- 

 stroy the cui-culio, think j'ou ? has it ever been tried ? or would it 

 injure the Plum trees to flood the roots with water? I would like 

 to have your opinion as to the experiment, and the best time to try 

 it. Thomas Stewart. — Home, Indiana Cu., Pa. 



No irrigation will destroy grasshoppers, unless they are 

 showered down upon or otherwise wetted by impure water. 

 The ground under Plum trees is frequently " flooded " by 

 heavy and protracted rains, which do not probably destroy 

 the young of the curculio. If one were situated so as to 

 try the experiment fairly, we thinlv it highly probable that 

 a weak brine of common salt might kill all insects in the 

 earth and near the surface of the ground under Plum trees, 

 without injuring the latter. Too much salt will kill any 

 fruit tree, and all brine should be used cautiously. 



Cultivation of the Cranbeuut. (J. H., Dowing-ton, 

 Pa.) On upland soils, select a piece of cold, wet land, 

 that will keep moist during the year, and remove an inch 

 or two of the top soil, which will prevent weeds or grass 

 from growing. After making your land level by dragging, 

 procure jour roots in bunthes about as large as is con- 

 venient to remove with a shovel ; dig the holes about as 

 large as the bunches of roots, two to three feet apart each 

 way. If properly done, they will require no fiu'ther cul- 

 tivation. " 



Northern Spy Apple. (L. C. F., Springfield, 111.) 

 Here tfie Northern Spy is one of the most popular sorts, 

 and is thought by many to be the very best in its season. 

 It grows rapidly and upright. The tree is remarkably 

 productive, tliough not an early bearer ; therefore it attains 

 a large size before much fruit can be expected. 3Iany who 

 were not acquainted with the habits of this tree have been 

 disappointed, thinking it to be a poor bearer, as it did not 

 produce much while young. Its flavor is of the finest 

 quality, which it retains till June and July, if properly kept. 

 If in good soil, and the branches are judiciously thinned by 

 pruning, one can not fail to get good fruit from it. 



Grafting Grapes, Plums, &c. (J. C. R., Monroeton, 

 Pa.) Grapes can be grafted while in a dormant state with 

 success by either stock or cleft grafting, if upon large trees 

 an inch in diameter or more ; or by ichip grafting, if upon 

 smaller branches. [For method of performing the above 

 operations, see any one of the different treatises published 

 upon the cultivation of fruit, «fcc.] 



Plums may be grafted in March and April, or budded in 

 July or August. Either method succeeds well, if the stocks 

 are in good condition. 



Evergreen and Deciduous Trees from Seed, Hardy 

 Climbing Roses, &c. (E. B. E. D., Rochester.) Seeds 

 of the Holly and Thorn do not vegetate the first season, 

 but generally remain in the ground dormant till the second 

 year, though sometimes a very few will grow the first year, 

 if sown in the autumn as soon as gathered. The seeds of 

 White Pine are ripe in October, the Hemlock in Novem- 

 ber, the Scarlet and Soft Maple in September, and the Elm 

 in June. As soon as ripe they should be gathered and 

 placed in a cool cellar, mixed with dry sand, where they 

 will keep well till the ground is fit for sowing in the 

 spring. The seeds will thrive in any good soil, but it 

 should not be heavy or stiff. They might be sown in 

 long beds, if the quantity was not large, as one would 

 onion seeds, in drills, say six inches apart, excepting the 

 evergreen seeds, which make but little growth the first 

 year ; if the drills for these were two inches apart it would 

 be ample. Seeds of the deciduous trees noted above, when 

 about to vegetate, should be protected wholly from the sun, 

 which is quite eliectually done by procuring branches of 

 evergreen trees and covering the beds with them. This 

 protection is all important to evergreen seeds of all kinds 

 just beginning to shoot, for if neglected it is very doubtful 

 if one succeeds in raising a single plant. Where large 

 quantities are grown, experience has proved that it is as 

 economical and as well to obtain a cheap kind of sheeting, 

 which, sewed at the edges, can be made the desired width 

 (boards about a foot wide and an inch thick having pre- 

 viously been placed upon their edges on each side of the 

 bed, and at its ends, forming a complete box around it) ; 

 the cloth can then be stretched over the bed, tacking one 

 edge of the cloth to the edge of the boards forming one 

 side of it ; narrow strips can be fastened at intervals, con- 

 necting the boards at the sides, to support the sheet. 

 Duri ig cloudy weather and warm showers the sheeting 

 may be rolled up, thus exposing the plants to the weather, 

 which would be at such times of much benefit to them. 



