194 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



Inquiries and Answers. 



Preservixg the Color of Fruits. — I have not long 

 been a subscriber for your paper, but I am highly pleased 

 with it. It is filled with valuable information and sug- 

 gestions. I am engaged in the nursery business and fruit 

 culture, and am in want of iufurmatioii which you or cor- 

 respondents possibly can give me. Is there any mode of 

 preserving fruits (apples, pears, peaches, cherries, i)hnns, 

 etc.,) sound and in their natural color and condition? 

 I have thought perhaps putting them in alcohol would do ; 

 or that if the air could be exhausted from glass jars and 

 the jars .sealed, they might be preserved whole for one 

 Beasou. I shall be much obliged for any information on 

 the subject. — B. F. Tuanson, Wellwood, 'Tcnn. 



Alcohol dissolves the coloring matter of fruits — at least, 

 such is the case with strawberries. Mulder, the cele- 

 brated German chemist, sent apples to India in jars from 

 which the air had been exhausted. The apples retained 

 their natural color, but lost their flavor. We know of no 

 way of preserving pcri.^hable fruit without cooking it suffi- 

 ciently to coagulate the albumen. This, of course, destroys 

 the color. Some other method of coagulating the albumen 

 might be d-scovered, which would not desti-oy the color; 

 tnd then fruit might be preserved in exhausted vessels and 

 retain their color, flavor, &c. If any of our readers know 

 of such a method, we should be glad to hear from them. 



"UOW LONG WILL THE GrAPE ViNE LIVE?" — (T. A. B.J 



So long that we can not answer your question. It will 

 live as long as the Oak. Flint speaks of a vine which 

 had existed COO years. There are vineyards in Italy which 

 have been in a flourishing state for upwards of 300 j'cars ; 

 and JIiLLER states that a vineyard 100 years old is consid 

 ercd young. There is a vine at Hampton Court, near 

 London, of the Red ilavihwgh variety, supposed to b' 

 375 years old. It occupies about 120 square yards. On( 

 branch measures 114 feet in length. It has produced in a 

 single season, 2,200 bunches, averaging one pound each. 

 A vine at Northalleraton, (lately dead,) about the same age, 

 was even still larger. The stem near the ground, in 1785, 

 measured 4 feet in circumference. 



CANARY GRASS. 



Canart Seed.— (M. G. S.) A strong clay land is most 

 suitable for Canary seed. The land should be plowed in 

 the fall and again in the spring, and well scarified and 

 harrowed, to reduce it to a good tilth. Early in May, 

 drill in the seed to the depth of two inches. The drills 

 should be about ten inches apart. Two pecks is sufficient 

 for an acre. The after cultivation consists of keeping 

 down weeds by hand-hoeing. 



IlAr Unloading Apparatus. — (R. M.) The best appa- 

 ratus for unloading hay we are acquainted with is manu- 

 factured by C. E. Gladding, of Troy, Bradford Co., Penn. 

 For price and further information, see advertisement in 

 the last number, or send to Mr. G. for a circular. 



Peruvian Goano. — (W. A. MrssoN, Cdbourg, C. IF.) 

 You can get genuine peruvian guano from A. Lonoett, 

 84 Cliff street, N. Y. We have for several years obtained 

 a good article of him. 



Postage on the Genesee Farmer. — (N. G. T.) — Your 

 postmaster is in error in charging you 13 cents a year 

 postage on the Genesee Faiiner. The legal rates of pos- 

 tage on the Farmer are three cents a year in this State, 

 and six cents a year in any other State, paid quarterly in 

 advance. 



Horse-Hoe. — (John Turner.) You will find the Hyde 

 & Wright's Patent Horse-IIoe just the implement you 

 desire. We know of no better horse-hoe for cultivating 

 corn, potatoes, Ac. It is manufactured by A. Gordon, of 

 this city. For price, &c., see the advertisement of A. G., 

 in this numbei% 



House for Drying Fruit.— I have been a constant read- 

 er of the Farmer for several years, and will say that, in 

 my opinion, I have never invested money in any stock 

 half as profitable as the subscription price of the Gmesee 

 Farmer. 



I would like to have your own of some of vonr corres- 

 pondents' opinions in regard to a house for drying fruit 

 My means being light, I would like to make every dollar 

 count as much as possible. I have an idea of construct- 

 ing a frame house so as to answer two purposes — namely, 

 a wash-house and a house to dry fruit in. It would be re- 

 quired but a small pai-t of the year for the drying of fruit. 

 Jly plan would be to make the house tight by boarding 

 the outside with matched plank, or ceiling inside ; build a 

 furnace inside the house to hold two or three large wash- 

 kettles, so arranged that the kettles may be taken out, and 

 the openings closed, when you wish to use the building 

 for drying fruit. I have thought that riddles or frames 

 made of wire, similar to the coarse riddle of a wheat fan, 

 suspended from the ceiling, one over the other, like bunks 

 on the decks of a Western steamboat, would answer the 

 purpose well ; and when you had done drying, you could 

 put the frames away in a very small space. 



We have considerable fruit, and dry a good deal, in this 

 part of the State; but it is attended with considerable 

 trouble and unceitaintj' ; for it is mostly done on scaf- 

 folds in the sun, giving our better hiflves and ourselves a 

 great deal of trouble in rainy weather. 



Now if you or some of your accommodating correspond- 

 ents will tell us, through the Farmer, whctiier this plan 

 will answer, or give us a better one, they will confer a 

 favor on many. — Geohgk W. Masset, Pike Co., Ifid. 



Milk Sickness. — I would like to hear from your corres- 

 pondents in regard to the cause and cure of milk sick- 

 ness. Is the poison contained in water or vegetables, or in 

 the atmosphere? We have abundance of it here everr 

 fall, but cannot tell what it is. — G. W. R.,. Clinton Co., itL 



Cramps in Yoiwg Mules. — I wish to inquire of your 

 numerous readers if there is any remedy for cramps in 

 young mules. I have now several young mules, and OM 

 or more is afflicted with this disease. — A Reader. 



Coulters on Plows. — I wish to enquire from some of 

 your mathematical friends, the proper antrle that a coulter 

 should have with the beam of a plow. — II. R., Neicburgh, 

 New York. 



