220 



THE GEKESEE FARMER. 



patches yield him, it would not take him long to 

 'cypher out.' " 



" For good fruits, Cincinnati, Louisville, St. Louis, 

 and scoi-es of smaller cities in this immediate lati- 

 tude, always present ready markets, in which high 

 prices are paid. And then there are scores of pop- 

 ulous towns and cities on the great lakes north of 

 us, easily accessible by railroads, which are always 

 desirous of receiving early supplies of the delicious 

 fruits of the Ohio Valley, and able and wiUing to 

 pay high prices for them. 



"So that every obstacle named, on being ap- 

 proached and looked in the face, vanishes like a 

 shadow, and leaves on the mind no doubt as to the 

 practicability of pursuing Horticulture, on an ex- 

 tensive scale, in the latitude in wliich we live. 



" If, then, it is profitable to go largely into fruit 

 culture in tljis region, and if a paying market is at 

 hand or within convenient reach, the next question 

 that arises refers to 



THE KINDS OF FRUIT. 



" Still, it may be assumed as a rule which will 

 be found to have but few exceptions, that the same 

 varieties of fruits^ generally, will be found equally 

 well adapted, 6v nearly so, to all that part of the 

 Ohio Valley which lies within two East and West 

 lines drawn through Lexington in Kentucky and 

 Columbus in Oliio. This embraces a large region 

 of rich, beautiful and healthy country, and is natu- 

 rallj', we have not a doubt, taken in all aspects of 

 the case, the lest fruit district of the United States^ 



THE APPLE. 



" Nearly every variety named in this list has been 

 amply tested here, and may be relied upon as good 

 — and as succeeding very well or tolerably well in 

 most parts of the geographical belt described in 

 a preceding division of this essay. 



LIST OF APPLES ADAPTED TO THE OHIO VALLET : 



Summer. — American Summer Pearmain, Bevan's 

 Favorite, Benoni, Black's Annet, Bohannon, Early 

 Strawberry, Early Oliandler, Early Pennock, Find- 

 ley, Harvest (Yellow Harvest, Early Harvest), Kes- 

 wick Codlin, Large Sweet Bough, Red Astrachan, 

 Summer Queen, Summer Rose, White June (June- 

 ating, &c.), Williams' Favorite. 



Fall. — Cooper, Fall Pippin, Gravenstein, Jersey 

 Sweet, Maiden's Blush, Pennsylvania Red Streak, 

 Rambo, Smokehouse, Smith's Cider. 



Winter. — American Golden Russet, Belleflower 

 (Yellow), Belmont, Broadwell, Carthouse, Dominie, 

 l)utch Mignonne, Fameuse (SnoWjApple), Fort Mi- 

 ami, Jonathan, Lady Apple (Pomme d'Apie), Lim- 

 ber Twig, Michfel Henry Pippin, Milam, Newtown 

 Spitzenberg, Ortley (White Belleflower), Philip's 

 Sweeting, Pryor's Red, Rawles' Janet, Rhode Island 

 Greening, Rome Beauty, Roxbury Russet, Vander- 

 vere. Willow Twig, Wine Apple, Yellow Newtown 

 Pippin. 



m I ^ 



Beicks about Melons. — The Prairie Farm.er 

 gives the following : Place four bricks about mel- 

 ons flat-wise, and a piece of glass laid over them 

 will hasten the vines and produce early fruit. As 

 the vines grow, turn the bricks up edge-wise. It 

 will also protect them from the frost. 



CHAECOAL AS A BLANCH FOR CELEEY. 



A WRITER in the Gardener''s Monthly says : "Pei- 

 mit me to Coin a noun expressive of a new use to 

 which I have lately put this useful substance. 



As a mulc\ its value is universally recognized. 

 As a Ma7ich, I find it superior to any material I 

 have ever tried, including earth, dry sand, saw- 

 dust, tan-bark, leaves, hay, litter, etc. Its advan- 

 tages are manifold : no slug or insect will harbor 

 in it; it drains perfectly; retains the solar warmth 

 without over-heating the plant; absorbs all the 

 amraoniacal gasses arising from the application of 

 liquid or other fertilizers ; will not rust the stalk ; 

 is easily washed out of the celery when dug, and 

 can be used many times over with little loss. By 

 proper management, also, two rows of celery may 

 be grown where one is by the old method. 



Dig trendies two feet apart, about eight inches 

 wide, and six deep, and fll up to the lecel of th 

 ground with a rich compost of loam, well decora- 

 posed manure, and tanners'' hair refuse., (the lattei 

 being the best possible food for celery, and obtain- 

 able at the same price as stable offal,) and set out 

 the plants about eight inches apart in single rows 

 On either side of the rows, about six inches distant 

 commencing at one end, drive two stakes, say thret 

 feet long, and one to one and a hdlf inches square 

 one inch apart, to allow a board to slip in betweei 

 them, and repeat the stakes at intervals of five feet 

 or thereabouts, the entire length of your rows ol 

 plants ; then between the stakes put boards twelvi 

 to fourteen inches wide, and a piece of board a 

 each end of the trench, connecting their ends. 



The young plants will need shading for a fevi 

 days after transplanting, if the trenches run nortl 

 and south ; if east and west, they will not require it 



Draw the earth slightly away from the base o; 

 the boards, to form a feeding trough., into whicl 

 pour liquid manure frequently during the growin, 

 season. When the leaf of the central stalk or hear 

 of the plant shows itself above the board, fill i; 

 the whole space with coarsely pulverized charcoE 

 (cinders from the smoke-stack of locomotives, o 

 the braise of old charcoal hearths), holding th 

 stalks snugly together in the left hand wliile fillin 

 in with the right. After a few days, place a se 

 cond set of boards, which may be connected b; 

 cross-pieces nailed on at intervals on the top of th 

 first, and repeat the blanching as before. I haV' 

 found two blanchings to be sufficient. 



For winter celery, the trenches should be duj 

 four feet apart, one and a half feet wide, and tb 

 plants in two rows nine inches asunder. 



They may be banked up in the usual way, firs 

 throwing a little litter on the top. Celery thui 

 treated will keep perfectly; the loose texture oi 

 the charcoal preventing its becoming solid by th* 

 action of frost. 



It may be objected that tlie above plan is men 

 expensive than the traditional method; but it wil^ 

 be productive of 'SO much higher quality, long^J 

 blanched stocks, greater crisitness and whitenesa 

 and certain exemption from rust and decay, as fullj 

 to warrant the wpparent increased outlay. If tlifi 

 boards are well coated with gas-tar or good boileo 

 linseed oil, they will last many years; and the chan 

 coal is worth, for general garden purposes, niore 

 than its cost, if not required again for blanchingj 



