1848. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
149 
two feet apart in the row. ( d .) Results: Not a seed 
was ever seen to grow. Query: Was this ground too 
dry? I have sprouted these seeds in my house in a 
cup of black swamp earth kept constantly wet. Is 
this essential to their germination? 
4. Mountain Ash —I have twice sowed these seeds. 
In one case the seed has been taken from the fruit in 
the fall, and kept in the cellar through the winter; in 
the other, the berry was burned in sand in the garden. 
Result: Not a plant grew. Can some of your corres¬ 
pondents tell me how I failed? 
II. Grafting. 
1. Pears on Mountain Ash, in May, 1847. The 
stocks were procured in the fall of 1845, from a swamp, 
and were planted in a dry sandy soil, made rich with a 
compost of muck and manure. In the fall of 1846, 
nearly two-thirds of them were found fatally injured 
by the common white grub, which had penetrated the 
tree just beneath the soil, and had worked upward, in 
some cases nearly two feet. Of those that escaped, 
sixteen were grafted with the Virgalieu Pear in the 
spring of 1847. They all but one started finely, and 
grew well until the middle of summer, when seven of 
them died, somewhat suddenly, without appreciable 
cause. 
2. Grape Grafting in 1847'— (a.) Mode: I sawed 
off the stocks 3 or 4 inches under ground, cut the tops 
smooth with a knife, split, and then put in the graft, 
usually with two buds upon it, cut to a wedge. When 
the cleft was weak I tied it firm with bass. About 
one half were clayed, though with no perceptible in¬ 
fluence on the results. They were sheltered from the 
sun by a shingle. (6.) Kinds and Results: Black 
Hamburgh , two, in good Isabella roots—both died. 
Golden Chassela six, in roots as above-three lived, 
making wood from three to five feet; some with six or 
eight vines. Royal Muscadine , two grafts—one of 
which (a poor one) died. Wood too. Early Black 
July , about twenty-five grafts in Fox grape stocks, 
with strong roots. About one half lived, a few just 
living; but the most of them making four or five feet, 
one seven feet, of wood, with numerous vines, (c.) 
Error: I did not obey the instructions of those writers 
who say, “wait until the leaf is nearly fully expanded” 
in the ease of summer grafting. Nearly every stock 
bled profusely. I should undoubtedly have gained by 
waiting one week. As it was, I think the bleeding of 
the stock prevented granulation until its top, and the 
graft too, were dead. Query: Would it not be better 
in this northern clime to graft early in the spring; es¬ 
pecially when it is considered that the wood was, in 
this experiment, so immature that the first severe frost 
(Oct. 16th) greatly injured the young wood, killing it 
down almost to its origin. ( d .) Position: The three 
first sorts were under the protection of a high board 
fence. The last were in the open field. 
3. Grafting Grape cuttings in 1847. (a.) Ob¬ 
ject: The object is the same as in grafting, that is, to 
give vigor to tender grapes by putting them on strong 
native sorts. (6.) Mode: Take two cuttings, as the 
Catawba for the hardy sort, and the Sweet Water for 
the tender; have them of nearly similar size. Pare off 
one side of each, a little above the centre, on the side 
opposite the top bud of each, cutting the vines almost 
to the pith, making the wound very smooth, and about 
two or three inches long. Bring the flattened surfaces 
accurately together, securing them well with bass or 
yarn, either of wdiieh will rot soon enough. Then 
plant the cutting in the usual mode, (c.) After treat¬ 
ment : Let both buds grow for two seasons, at the end 
of which it may be presumed the union of the two cut¬ 
tings will be perfect if ever. Then cut away the wood 
©1 the strong vine, giving the tender one the enjoyment 
©f the double root. I have about thirty such grafted 
cuttings in progress. I have made no examination of 
them to ascertain whether there is an actual union of 
the two cuttings, (d.) Supposed gain of this mode: 
There is less difficulty in timing the operation than in 
grafting, and probably less danger of failure. But it 
will take another summer to settle the question of fea¬ 
sibility and utility. 
III. Purification of Melon Seeds- 
Few fruits are more acceptable in their season than 
melons. But if there be any other seed in the purchase 
of which the gardener runs so much risk, I know not 
what it is. And yet it requires but little labor, in the 
cultivator who has room, to keep melon seed pure, or 
to cleanse it when it becomes mixed. Those who have 
not abundant room, may raise a great variety of good 
melons the first year if they have good seed to start 
with, but they must not expect to do it the second year 
without a change of seed. It may be here premised, 
that melons kept pure exhibit very little change in 
shape and appearance, being, in this respect, among 
the most constant of fruits; nor yet do they change 
much in quality or flavor in successive years, if th© 
seasons are favorable. The names of melons occurring 
in this article are used as I find them here at Utica. 
I make no pretension to learned accuracy. 
Experiments with mixed Seed —' 1 st. In the spring of 
1844, I planted the Green Fleshed Citron Melon. A» 
it ripened in August it exhibited an intermixture of the 
Honey Melon. By carefully selecting my seed from 
such hills as seemed to have no Honey Melons in them, 
I have succeeded in perfectly purifying this seed. 2 d. 
In the spring of 1845, I obtained some seed of the 
Skillman Melon from Albany. It produced three sorts 
of melons—a large round, very early, and tolerably good 
Yellow flesh—a long oval Green flesh of fair quality— 
and a small flattened Green flesh of excellent quality, 
very nearly identical with the New Jersey Rock Citron, 
though a little earlier. 3d. I have tried another ex¬ 
periment, which is too long for detail here, in which I 
succeeded in separating from a single melon , presented 
me in the fall of 1845, three distinct varieties of Yel¬ 
low flesh, one of White flesh, two of Green flesh, and 
one of pumpkin or squash—in all seven, two of which 
I shall continue to cultivate. The others are not suffi¬ 
ciently valuable to be perpetuated, especially as I have 
others quite as good. 
I think it evident from the foregoing facts, that the 
intermixture of melons, and probably of all classes of 
plants called popularly vines, is not very intimate, since 
they are so easily separable. Persons who forward their 
vines under glass, and keep them covered until the 
fruit begins to set, may always secure good seed by 
artificially impregnating the early sets. I have done 
so, nearly invariably for some years. The labor is 
small compared with the advantages. The mode of 
doing this, though described in the books, is seldom 
practiced. It will bear repetition. In the morning,, 
as soon as the dew is off, collect a few staminate blos¬ 
soms, in such as have long stems, and never exhibit an 
embryo fruit below them. Then search your vines for 
the pistillate flowers, i. e. those with short stems, and 
having a small hairy fruit below them. Having found 
a pistillate flower just'open, take a staminate one be¬ 
tween the thumb and finger of one hand, while with 
the other you carefully pull off the leaves of the flower, 
being careful not to disturb the organs in the centre of 
it. Now take hold of the pistillate flower with one hand 
while with the thumb and finger of the other, you gently 
twirl the prepared staminate flower which you have at 
hand just within it. The object of this operation is to 
sprinkle the dust of the staminate flower, upon the 
central portions of the pistillate ones. This being done 
successfully, the pistillate flower will soon begin to en¬ 
large, while, if unsuccessful, it will turn yellow and 
