04 



THE GENESEE FAIIMER. 



grow first-rate corn, will grow good grapes. 

 Another member says, any soil that will bear good 

 winter wheat, ^\-ill produce grapes. It should be 

 worked twenty inches deep — the deeper the bet- 

 ter — and made rich with manure, swamp muck, &c. 



Mr. ArNswor.Tn, who largely cultivated the Isa- 

 Iclla vine, gave an interesting account of his mode, 

 as follows : 



The ground should lie favorably, with southern 

 inclination, and woods to shelter from unfavorable 

 winds. Three hundred and twenty vines to the 

 acre places them twelve feet apart each way. Year- 

 lings, with plenty of roots, are the safest planting, 

 and, as the roots are more fibrous, will, by the 

 third year, produce abou-t ten pounds to each 

 vine — as much as if two years old when set out. 

 Out back to three buds, and plant as deep as they 

 stood in the nursery. Trellises should run north 

 and south, end posts well braced, and with five No. 

 8 wires, the lower one a foot from the ground, and 

 the top one six feet. Practices the renewal system. 



One member, wlwse vines had come into full 

 bearing, reported his present profits as at least fif- 

 teen hundred dollars per acre — but this is under a 

 high system of cultivation. Other reports were 

 not quite as favorable as this, but none, even of 

 large vineyards, were less than five hundred dollars 

 per acre, net. 



Judge LAWGWORxnT. — Isabella will not make 

 wine to make glad the heart of man — has not 

 enough tartaric acid — is like refined and superior 

 cider. If sugar enough be put in, it will make 

 what the French call liqueur — assort of cordial, 

 but not wine. Clinton grapes make a wine with 

 tartaric acid enough to be " wine as is wine," 



Dr. Farley used to think that good grapes could 

 not be grown on a clay soil, but had found that 

 they could. Cultivates five acres of Isabella vine- 

 yard. Is now beginning the Diana, which is as 

 hardy as the Isabella, and, to his taste, is superior 

 to even those celebrated sorts, the Delatiare and 

 Rebecca. Said he : "I had rather eat a Diana half 

 ripe, than the best-ripened Isabella I ever saw. 

 That the Diana is the most valuable grape that we 

 have, is perfectly clear to my mind." The Concord 

 grape is almost as good as the Isahella — ripens 

 fully two weeks earlier, and holds its fruit well 

 after ripening. 



Dr. MufKR was full in tlie faith of the Diana be- 

 ing one of the best grapes, both for abundance of 

 bearing and for the table, Wherever the Isabella 

 wUl not ripen, the Concord is valuable. 



Dianas are very sweet, without much pulp, and, 

 in the language of a member, are " perfect bags 

 of juice." Therefore, they promise to be a most 

 valuable wine grape. 



PRUXIXO DWARF PEAR TREES. 



On motion of Prof, Coppock, the subject of 

 Pruning Dwarf Pear Trees was now taken up, and 

 Messrs, Tkomanp, of "Wayne, and Barry, of Mon- 

 roe, gave very interesting practical illustrations, 

 with the tree before them. But as our readers can 

 find this, with engravings, on pages 45 and 46 



of the Rural Annual for 1868, we omit the full 

 report. 



OUI-TIVATION OF APPLES AKD PEARS, 



On motion of H. N. Imnowoetity, the Society 

 returno<l to the regular order of suVyects, viz.: 



Qaestion 7. — Mr. IIookbk would not allow ma- 

 nure to touch the roots of ti-ees when planting, 

 but ap|)lies it to the .surface of the ground, and the 

 rain will carry tlie soluble matter to the roots, 

 wliile the balance acts as a mulcli, preventing bad 

 eff'ects of severe tros-ts or droutlis. 



Messrs. Lanqwop-thy, Smith, Boardman, Ran- 

 ney, Coppock, MjVTtibon, and otliers, concurred 

 with Mr. IIooKEE as to the injurious eftects of fresh 

 manure upon the roots of young trees. 



E. BoAKUMAN covered a piece of la-nd with a 

 heavy coat of manure, which he plowed in, and 

 then planted trees, and three-quarters of them died. 



Question 8. — Mr. Mattison, of Monroe, has al- 

 ways seen that when a farmer wants a fine calf, he 

 feeds it. Equally necessary is it to an orchard to 

 feed the trees and make them fat. As to how often 

 to apply the manure, and in what quantities, each 

 man must judge — only keep the land in good 

 heart, and cultivate it well. 



Another member said no crops should be grown 

 on the land of the orchard ; but to sow clover, and 

 plow it in while green, was a capital mode of ma- 

 nuring. 



Question 9. — There seemed to be no difference 

 of opinion — all grafting should he seedling stock 

 grafting, and the roots of old trees should never 

 be used. But the theory of Terra-culture Comstock 

 as to the collar of the plant being the seat of life 

 is exploded, and a seedling stock can be divided 

 into two or three parts, and used with success in 

 grafting scions. Experiments had been tried, and 

 no diiierence was seen as to " growth, durability, 

 or productiveness." 



Question 10.. Apply the manure in any way su 

 that its soluble portions can come t-o the roota 

 through earth ; apply over the whole orchard, or 

 to a large area around each tree. Members who 

 had tried liquid manure quite thoroughly, were 

 now rather out of conceit with it. 



The hour for adjournment having arrived^ Mr. 

 Smith, of Onondaga, moved that the next meeting 

 be held at Rochester. Passed, in spite of the efforts 

 of several Rochester gentlemen, who wished it 

 held at Buffalo next June. Adjourned, 



Japan Apple-pxe Melon. — I have grown this 

 melon the past summer, from which excellent pies 

 are made, hardly to be distinguished from good 

 apple pies. It is as easily grown here in Illinois a.s 

 the cucumber, and produces abundantly. It is an 

 invaluable addition to our list of vegetables, as it 

 will keep all winter, if fiee from frost, and is ready 

 for use at any time. W. II. Gardner, Sublette,. 

 Lee Co.y III., Januofry, 1859.. 



