374 



THE GENESEE FAEMER. 



Wineswp, Bullock's Pippin, Pi-yor's Bed, eastern Vande- 

 vere, lameuse, and others. The Benoni proves excellent, 

 the tree, as elsewhere, being a very fine and symmetrical 

 grower. The Broadwell and Bleii'htim I'ippin are excel- 

 lent sweet varieties. We saw a Nortkeric ,Spi/ bearing a 

 few fine specimens. The Jonatlutn appeared to be doing 

 well — the Esopus Spiitzenhurgh exhibited its peculiar and 

 rich flavor, but the apples were not of very fair appearance. 

 Hubbardston Nonsuch appeared to be as good as in New 

 York. The Yellow Beilflcnver, although good; is rather 

 declining in character. The Wiite Belljioiver, or Ortletj, 

 very fair, and showing little of the scabby appearance so 

 prevalent in other places, and especially at the east. The 

 White Pippin proves one of the most valuable sorts. 



" Dr. Moshbr's vineyard occupies about six acres, on 

 the side of a high ridge of land, in a most picturesque 

 position, facing the south. The vines are chiefly the Ca- 

 tawba, are planted in the quincunx form, four feet apart, 

 and trained to single stakes about five feet high. The 

 cultivation is effected by hand labor, and in spring tiie 

 soil is loosened up by forking. An excellent contrivance 

 is adopted to prevent the washing down of the soil on the 

 steep hillside and the formation of gullies. Open ditches 

 are cut at distances of about five rods, directly down the 

 hill, and are walled at the sides, and paved on the bottom 

 with flat stones set across the channel on edges. These 

 ditches are placed at the lowest places, so that the surface 

 water flows readily into them from each side, in slight 

 channels between the horizontal rows of vines. Although 

 large and rapid currents flow down the hillside through 

 these drains, no injury whatever can be done. 



The Catawba grape is becoming considerably affected 

 by the rot, and other sorts are looked to to supply its 

 place. Ur. Moshbh thinks the Delaware is going to prove 

 one of the best substitutes. The Venango he thinks will 

 be one of the best wine grapes, being entirely free from 

 rot, hardy, and productive. It is of no value for the table, 

 being essentially a brown Fox, but as late as the Cataivba. 

 The Herbemont ripens admirable here, and proves very 

 delicious— about as good as the Delaware, and possessing 

 all the characteristics of an exotic in quality." 



Of the Osage Orange hedges in Ohio and Indiana, Mr. 

 T. says : 



" Many of them appear to have been carelessly planted, 

 and remain uncultivated and uncut. They are conse- 

 quently good for nothing. On the other hand, many 

 others are well managed, in the manner we have occasion- 

 ally recommended, and form dense and perfect barriers. 

 Some are left too broad at the top, which tends to make 

 them thin and open below. The best hedges were usual- 

 ly cut to a sharp ridge at top, and but little sheared 

 ou the sides near the bottom, causing the latter to grow 



thick inside." 



^•-♦•^ 



GtJANO FOE Grapes. — In a prize essay on the 

 cultivation of grapes in the Colony of Victoria, it 

 is stated that guano had been used on grape vines 

 with much benefit. "The first year of its applica- 

 tion it had no visible effect on the stocks ; the se- 

 cond it produced much wood and large berries, but 

 no increased quantity of bunches ; but in the third 

 year it was astonishing to observe the great differ- 

 ence between 12 rows that had been manured with 

 guano, and other 12 rows that had not been man- 

 ured at all — the former looked healthy, dark green, 

 had long strong branches loaded with large bunches 

 of fruit, and far more advanced than others in their 



neighborhood," 



m I » 



Fob Geove Planting. — A Wisconsin correspon- 

 dent recommends sowing chestnuts for groves, or 

 rails, in rows, 20 feet apart; the next best is 

 Yellow Locust, plant same as Chestnut; fit the 

 land as for corn, and plant the seed fresh. 



Sulphur foe Geape Mildew, — M. Meeoieul, of 

 France, states that he has found flowers of sulphur 

 buried among the roots of grape vines to be a cure 

 for mildew. He applied the sulphur on the 16th of 

 August, two weeks after the mildew had attacked 

 the vines, and it arrested the further spread of the 

 mycelium, (fungus,) while other grapes adjoining, 

 that were left without sulphur, were in a most pit- 

 iable condition, and he thought that " not a single 

 grape would be saved." He thinks it would be 

 better to put the sulphur in the soil during the 

 winter, as he says "the sulphur would then be 

 ready to act on the sap at the moment of its as- 

 cent in the spring." The plan is worth trying, but 

 it seems to us somewhat doubtful whether the 

 plants can take up the sulphur, as it is in an insolu- 

 ble form. 



FEIJIT TKEES IN MICHIGAN. 



In travelling lately over portions of Kent, Ionia, 

 and Montcalm Counties, I noticed in a good many 

 thrifty growing apple orchards, that a considera- 

 ble portion of the trees were dead and dying by a 

 disease which seemed to be in the trunk. Before 

 inspecting closely the trees, I judged from the 

 amount of thrifty suckers thrown up from the 

 roots, that it was the work of the borer, but find- 

 ing none of the marks left by that insect, I was 

 totally at fault as to the cause of such a general 

 mortality, but I kept my eye on the orchards as I 

 passed them, and when I had an opportunity went 

 into them. I soon noticed that the disease was in- 

 variably upon the west side of the trunk, inclining 

 a little to the south. The bark seemed first to 

 crack perpendicularly, about midway of the 

 body. This had let in the rain ; that side of the 

 bark and wood had died and turned black, and 

 eventually the tree breaks and turns over to the 

 east, leaving a bunch of suckers at the root, I 

 also noticed, that those orchards which were shelt- 

 ered from the west winds, by woods or hills, were 

 not affected ; and I eventually discovered that no 

 tree that stood erect was unsound. 



From these evidences, I drew my conclusions as 

 to the cause, and the remedy. The soil in these 

 parts is sandy or a light loam, and the roots do not 

 readily get a firm hold ; the trees have generally 

 grown thriftily, and being pruned but little, have 

 formed thick, bushy tops ; the prevailing winds 

 are from the west, as can readily be seen by a 

 majority of the trees leaning to the east. In strong 

 winds the small roots on the west side break. 

 This is the cause of the suckers. These rob and 

 weaken the tree, and in the next strong wind, and 

 it may be when the trunk is frozen, the bark splits, 

 the tree is soon over, so that the weight is beyond 

 the center of gravity. Hence follows its destruc- 

 tion. Probably the plowing closer on the west 

 side, after the tree is swayed, facilitates the pro- 

 cess. 



Being a new comer into this State, I do not know 

 whether the trouble has long existed, or whether 

 these has been but one season in which it has oc- 

 curred, but I judge from the frequent thinness of 

 the orchards, that the former is the fact. 



