jLjTiwvivvy uii,i\ ii,s{<;i^ r aj4M1!:k, 



Vol. 2, 



Cherries. 



Lnst season we took aoine notice of our cberrics, 

 (vol. 1, page 11 !) and we now resume the suhject. 



Some fine Borta nre found in this county ; but we 

 doubt if one freeholder in ten ever eat a fine cberry of 

 his own cultivating ; and wo believe it migbt be as- 

 eertcd without much risk, that many grown people in 

 this land have never eaten a ripe one. Tbia sugirea- 

 tion may seem rnlber startling ; but %vben we consi- 

 der that this fruit is generally taken to market in a 

 half ripe state, we may comprehend how the owner 

 feres with a few trees in the most public part of his 

 grounds, who keeps off the boys and the birds with 

 one hand— as it were — while bs plucks his scanty 

 portion with the other. 



It is enough to sadden the heart of a pomologist to 

 behold the old " English cherry," and the upright sour 

 cherry, casting their shadows over the highway ; for 

 it tells of a deplorable neglect to take advantage of the 

 fine climate of the Genesee country ; why such fruits 

 are not worth the trouble of guarding against the 

 birds — not worth even the labor of gathering. 



Now according to our experience — and we have had 



a reasonable shore — the iest cherries grow on trees 



quite as hardy, and quite as easily cullivaled as the 



tcorsf. How then comes it that such apologies for 



fruit are tolerated ? We leave this qucsiion for our 



readers to answer ; but we can inform them that 



»rees of first rate kinds may be had for Cfiy centi a 



piece ; and that tho annua! interest on the outlay 



■■would he three or ifiree flpd a half cents— just the 



-'-•of 8 small paper pf tobacco. In two or three 



years, such trees, VitL the trtatmtnt that we havs 



recommended, would coirltf into beoring ; and we 



are strangely deceived if the proprietor would lake 



less than many times that sura for the crop. ! ,, 



Two causes have conspired to maU? most of tho 

 eherries on our old trees this seoson inferior in quali- 

 ty. The steady cold in the £pri:ig, kept the bloBSoms 

 back, and none of the youag fruit was injured by the 

 frost, so that there was a siiperabundnnce ; wliiie the 

 severest drought in the early part of summer, that has 

 occurred in many years, withheld the usual nouriuh- 

 ment. On several trees that were hung with fruit, 

 like onions on a string, the leaves withered in iLe lat- 

 ter part of the day, and some thought they were dy- 

 ing ; however there was no diacaee but that of starva- 

 tion — too much frnitand too many leaves. The fruit 

 gave way first, and the leaves are now recovering. 



It has satisfied us however, that old cherry trees 

 ehould be pruned when we v/ant thi finest fruit ; and 

 that to adopt the old English* custom of brealting 

 off the twigs with the cherries on them is no great 

 proof ofVandalism. On such trees as are in danger 

 of overbearing, like the White Tartarian, or Trans- 

 parant Guigne, it is a positive improvement. 



All the " white" cherries of England that we have 

 Been, become red under the glowing skies of this 

 land. Well, an old White Heart (eo called) which 

 had borne abundantly, was unproductive far several 

 years; but by cutting oft'a few of the leading branch- 

 es, it was rouzed .'rom its torpor — vigorous shoots 

 sprung lorth, and again it has become fruitful. 



We have never known the cedar birds so scarce as 

 they are this season. Young cherry trees have been 

 mostly allowed to ripen their fruit in peace; and whe- 

 ther we ought to say with the poet 



— Joy to tile tempest that wIieImM them Iter.cftth 



And made their destruction its sport ; 



or ascribe their diminished numbers to some other 



* We aUude to Lydgatc's account of the London cri(S 



(about the, year 1130) wliere he mentions " cherries in the 



ryse." ''Jiyse," says the New Edinturgh F.ncyclopocdist, 



Is a word not y»; obsolete in Scotland, eiffnlfvinB enrny or 



twljf." 6 . . 1 J 



cause, we know not ; but wo should estimate them 

 at not more than one-tenth of what usually appear in 

 other seasons. We have not had opportuniliog to 

 shoot half a dozen. 



Tho crow however, made some predatory demon- 

 strations; but on our stretching oloft two pieces of 

 twine between some of the trees, they suddenly dis- 

 covered they had no further business in that quarter. 

 The manner in which ornithologiits occasionally 

 epeak of the characters of different birds, is amusing. 

 According io Nuttall, the crow is "troublesome," 

 " gormandizing," "voracious," "audacious," "pir- 

 atical," "pillaging," "guilty," "injurious," and 

 "formidable;" while to the cedar bird is ascribed 

 "gcntlenosa of disposition," and "innocence of char- 

 acter," besides being entitled to the adjectives, 

 " friendly, useful, and innocent." Now all the 

 charges that we have selected against tho crow, apply 

 as well to the cedar bird, with tho exception of two ; 

 and "innocent" as he is mode to appear, the oame 

 acts committed by some other bipeds (without feath- 

 ers however) woidd entitle them to a lodging in the 

 county jail. 



It is often extremely difficult to determine the trut 

 name from the books, when two varieties are much 

 alike. The time of ripenivg is an impoitant charac- 

 teristic ; but as this will vary with the climate as well 

 as with the season, the most exact way to fix this point, 

 would be to compare the ripening of the variety under 

 examination, with thot of soma well known sort. — 

 Unfortunately, pomologiets have generally chosen the 

 May Duke for this pur|)03e— the most unfit of all the 

 cheri-y tribe that we have ever seen ; for it goes on 

 ripening and to ripen for several weeks in succession. 

 All such references are but of little t olue. 



Our young trees have made ub acquainted this 

 season with three more fine varieties of the cherry. 

 Tho first is the Elton which Lindley calls " very ex- 

 cellent," and which ripens with the Black Corone. 

 Niel says "it is distinguished by the extraordinary 

 length of tho fruit-etalks;" and so we have found it, 

 after comparing it with seven or eight other varieties, 

 all of which have ehortcr stalks. The fruit is large, 

 a wa.tcn yellow, mottled or dashed with red next the 

 srin. We think it will bec/ime a genersi favorite. 



Another kind has been called the Black Eagle: 

 but Lindley repreeenls tho genuine sort as r'pening 

 at "the end of July or beginning of August" in 

 England, while ours ripens with the Elton, " the be- 

 ginning or middle of July" in liiat countiy. He 

 continues ; " the fpurs of the Bl«ck Eagle produce 

 bunches of ten or twelve cherries each ;" but ours 

 were mostly single. Again: "juice very rich and 

 high flavored ;" but ours, though bw< et and rich, 

 and much admired, could scarcely be entitled to that 

 epithet. Ani.iher yaax however, may throw more 

 light on tho oubjcct. 



The third sort is the Elkhom — a very rpmBrkab'e 

 variety. Wo agree with Piince that it is one of the 

 largest black cherries that %ve have ever seen, and 

 when fully ripe a superior fruit, as it then loses most 

 of its bitterness. li is very firm, and must be fine for 

 transportation or culinary purposes. t 



For th£ New Geneeee FeTmcr. 

 My ov,'a Espersence. 



Mkssp.s. EniTOKS — Last year wos my first at- 

 tempt at farming. I commenced by subccribing for 

 the New Genesee Farmer, and Albany Cultivator. 

 By these valuable papers, every number of which is 

 worth three limes its cost, 1 learned thot Canada 

 Thistles, of which I had a very promising crop, 

 could be effectually subdued, by repeated ploughings. 

 Accordingly I commenced about the first of June, and 



floBghed them about once a month, and harrowed 

 them as often, alternately, (with Wilber's improved 

 harrow,) till about the first of October. The result 

 is their entire destruction, except a few places where ■ 

 the ploughing could not be well done. 



I planted one bushel of Rohan potatoes, and raised 

 seventy bushels ; four acres of corn, and harvested 

 two hundred; sowed ten bushels of wheat, and shaU 

 not harvest any. So much for the first year. 



Yours truly, V, YEOMANS. 



Waliaorth, July 9, 1841. 



From the Farmer's Ooiette. 

 tTRder-Drainiog. ', 



The past month hcs been very unfavorable for out- 

 door biisiness, in con8e<juence of the almost continu- .• 

 ous rains. It has, however, afforded me an excellent 

 opportunity to wiines* the benefits derived from tinder- 

 draining. This branch of agricultural improvement 

 is wholly neglected by most of our farmers, while 

 there are no twenty-five acres of ridge-lsnd lying con- 

 tiguous, to say nothing of low or swampy grounds, 

 but what some parts of it nt least would be materially 

 improved by draining. 



With many persons, the discovery is yet to be made, 

 that a supor-abundance of water is as detrimental to 

 the growth of most plants, ns a stinted supply of this 

 fluid. They admire thot elevated lands should be 

 wet ; the reason is, they do not look deep enough, — 

 if they did, they would discover that the soil of most 

 of our ridges rests upon a sub soil which is very tena- 

 cious, and as impervious to water, as a dish ; conse- 

 quently there is no way by which the water foiling 

 upon the surface can escape, e.xcept by the slow pro- 

 cess of wending its way through the soil to some less 

 elevated place, or by evaporation, except it is by ditch- 

 es, either covered or open. My remarks regard the 

 former. After recommending a system, the inference 

 will be that I have derived some benefit from it. I 

 answer in the affirmative, and will state briefly my 

 experiments. 



I have an orchard, one Bide of which is wet, stifT 

 land : rarely any water stands upon the surface, but 

 for several months in a year the soil is completely sat- 

 urated, — 60 much ?o, that a hi.le dug a few inches 

 deep will immediately fill. The trets did not flourish 

 as well aa on the more elevated parts ; it occurred to 

 me that it might be owing to the roots being so im- 

 mersed in water. Accordingly, two years ago I 

 caused thirty rods of ditch to be made, in different di- 

 rections, all in the compass of half nn acres arid termin- 

 ating in one, and that in a low place, where I could 

 witness the discharge, and the quantity surprised me. 

 The favorable influence of the drains upon the land ly- 

 ing some distance off, as well as thot in their immedi- 

 ate neighborhood, also e.xcecded my cxpcctniion. The 

 effect upon the trees is decidedly favorable, and Iho 

 grass is much sweeter and more abundant. 



Again, 1 have a field often acres, in which I have 

 made one hundred and fifty rods. This lot had al- 

 ways been occupied for grazing ; some part of it was 

 so wet (made so from springs) as to produce but little, 

 and by far the greater part of a kind of knot gross, 

 which indicates tho coldest of land ; will only keep 

 animals, but not fatten them. The ditches had 

 so l'avoral>le on effect that I determined to pal the lot 

 under the plough, — ihot being my intention fiom the 

 beginning, provided I could drain it. I have had two 

 crops from it, and my experience is, that those parts 

 of the lot, which were the most wet, have become by 

 means o! the drains tho driest, and the soonest fit to 

 plough after a rain, and producing the best crop. It 

 would enrptise any one to witness the quantity of wa- 

 ter discharged, and that it is not interrupted in the ' 

 coldest weather. 



Now as to the size and oxpcnee of making. That 

 will v.iry according to circumstances. I have made 

 mine two feet v.-ide, from eigluern to twenty-four in- 

 ches deep. The depth, however, is to be determined 

 by the nature of the ground, and the kind of water to 

 be drown off. If surface woter, when yon meet the 

 obstru"iion, (hard pan,) that is sufficient; if spring, 

 deeper cutting may be necessary. The most expeditious 

 way of lining the ditches is to dump the stones in: 

 but the best way, and the one which I have practised, 

 is to lay them in by hand, leaving sn aperture or fonr 

 or five inches square, just as the stones seem to favor. 

 As to C03!, I colculaied twcnly-five cents a rod ; this 

 is whot I pay for digging ond stoning. The drawing 

 the stones I count nothing, as they can be disposed 

 of in that way at a less expence than to draw them 

 .nto the hijhwoya, or to some disWuit ledge or broken 



