THE GENESEE F^VRJfER. 



378 



CONDUCTED BY JOSEPH FROST. 



CULTIVATION OF WINTER PEARS. 



To cuLTivATB successfully most kinds of winter 

 pears that are propagated in the niuvci-ies, neeils 

 great care and actentiuu in the ripening of the fruit. 

 It is true there are some kinds which will jierfect 

 themselves under treatment not much better than is 

 generally given winter apples ; but such sorts are 

 very few. 



One wishing to plant a number of Pear trees would 

 not be likely to receive much satisfaction in seeking 

 information in regard to winter pears, even should he 

 apply to indi\iduals quite conversant with fruits, as 

 there appears to be much diversity of opinion con 

 cerning them. 



One fruit-grower would be apt to say that he has 

 never eaten or seen a good winter pear — and what is 

 more, "never expects to " — which leaves no doul)t as 

 to his opinion; while another's views may so far differ 

 that he dechires that in Jauuary and March he has 

 eaten the most delicious pears, rivaling in flavor the 

 tender and melting If'hi'e Doyenne, and the richness 

 of the Seckd in autumn. 



Both would undoubtedly be correct in their opin- 

 ions; but because a person having something of a 

 knowledge of fruit should condemn all winter pears 

 simply for the reason that he has not seen good fruit, 

 is no argument whatever. He too might possess 

 really good winter sorts, and the other might cultivate 

 the same, or no better varieties, and the conclusion 

 would result in astonishing differences. The fact is, 

 that one would know how to ripen them, while the 

 ather would not. 



Owing to want of knowledge upon this point, most 

 persons who are now planting winter pears will be 

 sadly disappointed, as the fruit will be utterly worth- 

 less. Should this information be extended to eveiT 

 one, not one-fbuilh of them would give the necessary 

 attention, though the conveniences be at hand; there- 

 foi'e we would say to all, do not plant winter pears 

 unless you will take the necessary care to ripen the 

 fruit. The vaiieties which most can ripen well, with 

 ordinary conveniences, are those which are in perfec- 

 tion during early winter — say in Novemlier, December 

 and January ; but later sorts it would be best to do 

 nothing with. 



Early winter sorts should be picked soon after the 

 tree ceases growing, and before the commencement 

 of the fall of the leaves ; then plai'eii in tight boxes, 

 and kept in a cool room or out-building as long as 

 the weather will admit, w^hen they may be removed 

 to a cool cellar, where the atmosphere should not be 

 too damp. If they were exposed upon shelves in a 

 dry room, or where a current of air would pass 

 through it, they would at once shrivel and become 

 worthless; but being in boxes, and in a cool and not 

 very moist place, they would remain fresh and plump. 

 When the season arrives for them to ripen, they 

 should be brought into a warm room and placed in 

 drawers, where they would soon ripen, and the flavor 

 be of the finest quality. 



CROSS' PATENT GRAPE-FRAME. 



Wk have received from S. Oscar Cross, of Sandy 

 Hill, AVashington county, N. Y., a circular containing 

 a figure and description of a grape-frame, for which 

 a patent was granted to him on the '2Tth o" June, 

 IS.j-l. The claim is for an '• adjustable elevating and 

 depressing grape-frame," made of any material. 



The frame is movable, and can be raised or de- 

 pressed at the will of the operator. The inventor » 

 designs leaving the fiame in a horizontal position 

 with the ground, and about one foot from it, till the 

 grapes get their giowth, for the reasons, as he contends, 

 that it shades and enriches the ground — that the rose 

 bug is not as injurious to the fruit and fblingc — that 

 the fiuit is not as liable to mildew, and the vines are 

 not so much exposed to blasting winds — and that the 

 fruit sets in gi-eater abundance, ami grows larger and 

 faster, because it receives warmth from the earth, and, 

 in consequence, ripens earlier in the season. When 

 the fruit has attained its size, the frame to which the 

 vine is attached is raised and turned back again.st 

 posts or supports, thus bringing the foliage on the 

 under side, and giving the fruit a full exposure to the 

 sun and air. 



Mr. Cross says that he is not yet ready to offer it 

 to the public; but we presume that we shall luive an 

 opportunity of witnessing its success the coming sea- 

 son, as it is within the means of every jierson having 

 a grape vine, and is attended with but little expense. 

 Then we can judge better of its merits. 



SAXE-GOTHtEA CONSPICUA. 



This remarkable plant, to which his Royal High- 

 ness Prince Albert has been ])leased to permit one 

 of his titles to be given, and which will prolxibly rank 

 among the most highly valued of our hardy evergreen 

 trees, is a native of the mountains of Patagonia, where 

 it was found by Mr. AVi .i.iam Lobh, forming a beau- 

 tiful tree 30 feet high. In the nursery of Messrs. 

 Veitcii, of Exeter, it has lived in the open air four 

 years without shelter, and has all the appearance of 

 being well adapted to the climate of Ijigland. The 

 country in which it grows is, indeed, more stormy and 

 cold than any part of Great Britain, as is shown by 

 the following account of it, given by Mr. Lobb in one 

 of his letters to Messrs. Vkitch: 



"During my absence I visited a great part of Chiloe, 

 most of tiie islands in the Archipelago, and the coast 

 of Patagonia for about 140 miles. I went up the 

 Corcobado, Caylin, Alman, Comau, Reloncavi, and 

 other places on the coast, frequently making excur- 

 sions from the level of the sea to the line of perpetual 

 snow-. These bays generally run to the ba.«e of the 

 central ridge of the Andes, and the rivers take their 

 rise much further back in the interior. The 'whole 

 country, fi-om the Andes to the sea, is formed of a 

 succession of ridges of mountains gradually rising 

 from the sea to the central ridge. The whole is thickly 

 wooded from the base to the snow line. Aseenffing 

 the Andes of Comau, I observed from the; water to a 

 considerable elevation the foi-est is coinposed of a 

 variety of trees, and a sort of cane so thickly matted 

 to"-ether that it formed almost an impenetrable jun- 

 gle. Further up, among the melting snows, vegetsk- 



