UMASS/AMHERST
312066 0333 3000 2
|§^^#V'' • '.' ■■■.■■■
ft
'0y<'
mii
r- . ;
LIBRARY |e-^,
OF THE 3^/ -
NO,
SOURCE
MASSACHUSETTS
AGRICULTURAL
COLLEGE
_3B5_3i)_ DATE JS,r^3r.l31?
>rper
^r ^ , (/[p e^t'\/\/\Aj^ ,
jfl^HJ^^f.
^iir0l Jrl and fiural fasle.
f
(ESTABLISHED BY A. J. DOWNING, 1846.)
DEVOTED TO
Horticulture, Landscape Gardening, Rural Archi-
tecture, Rural Embellishments, Pomology,
Floriculture, and all subjects of Rural
Life, Literature, Art, and Taste.
Edited by
Vol. XXri., fTASVAJtr 1o JiECEMBIilt, 1871.
liew-^txrk :
PUBLISHED BY HENRY T. WILLIAMS,
5 BEEKMAN STREET.
1871.
Vex
Ht3
INDEX TO VOLUME XXVI.
A.. PAGE.
Abies Albertiana 198
Amaranth 230
Bicolor Ruber 245
American Pom. Soc 242, 325
Apples, big 95
dried 250
in the Northwest 158
for market. 102
Rochester Pippin 208
Grimes' Golden 156, 312
trees, bandaging 360
most popular in California market, 367
crab 371
Arbor Vitae Screens 318
Arbutus Trailing 348
Ashes leached, value of 123
Asparagus, how to raise 49
Conover's Colossal. 92, 248, 345, 346
beds 123
cutting 251
big 192
Aster — Truffants 67
Atheist g,nd Acorn 26
Azaleas 295
B.
Balsams, double 317
Beauty of American climate 31
Beautifying country homes 150
Beet, Egyptian 374
Berry trade of New York 108
Bedding plants 120
grafting 3)0
hne example of 139
Big beet crop 62
Birds, troublesome 247
Blackberries 10, 129
need cultivation 95
cutting down 119
cultivated 223
for market 239
mulching 265
bushes, killing 349
Lawton 10
"Wilson 10, 118, 344
Kittatiimy 10, 280, 344
Bouquets to preserve 93
PAGE.
Bouvardia Yreelandii 80
scarlet 224
Jasminoides 245
Blue glass for hot houses 349
Bulbs, time for planting 286
Cactus as a window plant 62
California successes 63
fruit fs. Eastern 248, 312
Camellia Japonica 219
Cherry trees in grass 24
new, " Black Republican " 127
marketing 169
market value of. 249
Chestnut, profits of 156
Clematis for decorative purposes 332
Clianthus Dampierii 70, 153
Colored glass for hot beds 96
Condition of Western trees 10
Cottage, model suburban 132
gardener's notes for 218
design for 357
Country, love of 229
Cows for small fruit farms 119
Cranberry culture 94
on upland 214
Crown Imperials 318
Curculios 185, 222
Currants 10, 126, 367
for profit 250
worms, killing 159, 196, 256
cutting 286, 373
Curiosities of plant life 157
in the market 252
D.
Dahlias 2
new seedling 38
Downing's selected fruits 315
Drainage for orchards 24
best tiles 92
E.
Erianthus Ravenna3 74, 245
Evoigrcens, small 156
Of
8239
IV
Index.
PAGE.
Evergreetif:, frrowing from seed 172
mulching 251
in orchards 110
trimming 188
keeping in Winter 374
Everlasting Flowers 71, 161
Eiical3'i)tus, new use for 248
Exochordia Granditlora Ill
F.
Fall planting of trees 287, 315
setting of small fruits 311
trans jJanting 348
Fernery, interior of 359
Floral vases 15
clock.. 279
Flower Garden, plan for 21
hints for ^ 167
table, design for 35
glasses 58
seeds, list of 105
stakes, preserving from rot 372
Flowers, love of 26
sleeping 27
everlasting 145, 161
stimulant for 165
whence they come 214
language of. 229
on the table 229
the wild 230
a beautiful farm 293
Vick's farm 344
prairies and mountains, of the. . . . 353
arranging for bouquets 376
Forest Leaves 124
raising, profit, etc., 177
trees , 144
planting on the great plains 321
Fountain for a conservator^' 80
Fruit growers, useful hints to 216
picking and maiketing 236
cabinet at AVashington 276
low prices of 278
in Iowa 288
in Kansas 290
at the AVest 305
too early 313
canning 316
trees, selecting 1 22
trees, the planting of 376
strawberries among 122
lime for young 122
soil for 1 25
cool surfiicc for 247
inducements to plant 248
biggest in the I' . S 312
suckers on 316
young 60
Eastern in California 366
California iu New York 307
PAGK,
Fruit trees, manuring in the Fall 370
trees, soil for 376
improvement in Southern 376
Fuchsias, care of 168
double Howering 77
best new 165
G-.
Gardens, Home 1, 65
of Milwaukee 40
notes 9
vegetables 91
value of good v 196
flowers 240
walks 368
Gardening for ladies... 16, 55, 82, 145, 299
in Germany 157
North Carolina 215
profits of, in New Jersey 365
for women 306
Gardener's soliloquy 221
Garden architecture 42
rustic seat 5
Stevensdale Institute 6, 7
bird house 11
floral vases 15
gardener's cottage 76
garden chairs 109
city garden, how to make a 375
Geraniums for the garden 125, 245
a fine bed of. 285
Gladiolus, soil for 195
bulbs 34, 252
choice 320
for small gardens 11
Good culture pays •. . . . 345
fruits ; keej) them 62
Grafts, best time for cutting 62
Grape vines, grafting 157
distance for 158
keeping qualities 218
vine leaves, i-ipening 244
summer pruning 250
culture 266
note 281
cost and profit 94
notes from the Parsonage 22
grafting 343
culture in Missouri, profits of 373
Grapes 2, 10, 19
in Iowa 42
in the West 89
Brant..... 22
Cornucopia 22
Cottage 22
Croton 22, 47, 52, 282
Eumelan 22, 94
Lorain 22
St-nas.iua 22, 282
Queen of Shcbu 22
Index.
PACK.
Grapes, Salem 00
New Seedling 61, 371
A<iiron(lack 101
Cynthianji 201
the nc\r kinds in Mo 288
Martha 314
season of 1871 342
grafting 343
Israelle - . • . 344
Wilder 344
in Western N.Y 350
Graperies, borders for 155
Gravel as a mulch 72
Grasses for lawns 93
Green house, a fine 30
Grubs, kilUng 195
H.
Hanging Baskets and Pots 37
Hawthorns, for ornament 277
Herbs, bed of 185
Hibberd, Shirley, letter irom 202
High training for fruit trees 29
Home Gardens s 1,65, 193
Home decorations in winter 36
Home among the evergreens 152
Home plants
keeping clean 90, 189
frosted, to restore 105, 166
Horticulture, American. . 27
in England 27 1
intheFarWest 289, 321
in Colorado 291
on the Del. Peninsula 306
Horticultural novelties 244
societies 141
Humbugs, two of the 360
Hyacinths 56
beds in the lawn 1 26
Hybrid fruits 231, 339, 358
I.
Insects in orchards 158, 217
concussion, new method of killing, 366
Tpomcea, Star 99
I ron for Pear trees 32, 186
Iron clads 87
Ivy, English 37, 66
L.
Labels 184
Lawns 1
how to make 71
Lawrence pear 12
Lilies, new 158
Japanese 190
Speciosum Prjecox 244
Tigrinnm Flore Pleno 119, 244
Tigrinum Splendens 244
PAGE.
Lilies, Tigrinum Fortuneii 244
Ledehtlinii 244
Humboldtii 244
Washingtonianum 244
Columbianum 289
Lime for orchards 23
Liquid maimre for the garden 68
Loudon, the Great Gardener 26
Low headed trees 344
M.
Madeira vine 319
Manuring for Currants 91
Maples, pruning 284
Marketing fruits 91,141, 236
Melons, Musk 187
Mignonette, Parsons' 123
Morning-Glories 196
Moth, codling 90
apple 90
Mulching 265, 317
trees, thickness for 32
amount per acre 120
a protection against drought 193
Evergreens 251
grape vines with straw 340
for the fall 344
barn-yard manure 63
gravel 73
as a manure 183
Mj-^rtle, Eugenie Ugin 349
N.
New fruits 53
News to Florists 153
Nursery trees, Northers vs. Southern, 30, 174
how to start a 365
Night-blooming Ccrus 372
o.
Orange tree Nursery, a profitable 127
Orange blossoms 214
Orchards, young, cultivating 277
Dr. Hull's 283
Mr. Peters' 343
Oyster Shell Bark Louse 217
Ornamental trees, colors 275
P.
Pansies, for bedding 46
Parsley, champion, moss curled 113
Peas, early 2
bug 252
Peaches, big crops 121
four good 123
cure for the borer 154
borer, carbolic soap for 181
for 1871 278
blood leaved 282
VI
Index.
Peaches, The Plowdcn
j)roHts
leading varieties
how they grow on the Delaware
peninsula
Pears for the garden
will it paj- to grow
in Maryland
profitableness of raising
blight 80,
blight, iron for
trees for the West
cheap
ripening
trees, how to plant
plant more standards
dwarf 182, 222,
iion for 32,
the best
in 1870
How to market
near Montreal
new
sales in New York
choice summer
})est market
^Ir. Peters' orchard
Winter, examining
trees, culture and prunmg of
Varieties :
The Winter Nel's
The Rostiezer
Vicar of Winkfield 96,
Bartlett
Bloodgood
Rutter
Lawrence 12,
Flemish Ikauty 222,
Clapp's Favorite
Mount Vernon .. 314,
Pencil marks by the way 88, 297,
Periwinkle
Petunias
Pcnn. Fruit Growers' Society
Phlox for garden cultui e
perennial
Plants, how they spread
line foliage 2S1,
Planting, economy of
Plant trees
Pleasant thoughts 20,
Pomologjr
Porte Cra3'on's vermin
Portulacca
Potash fertilizers
Potato, Early liose
Potomac Fruit Growers' Association
Potting strawbcrr}' plants
I'ractical hints to fruit growers
Primroses for in-door culture
AGE.
288
310
340
374
4
33
48
ISO
301
02
250
121
153
157
370
IrO
187
191
200
221
3G8
267
284
319
343
350
301
60
01
1S8
183
300
185
252
312
312
301
300
282
190
59
188
08
278
284
7.^
30
220
"02
88
283
180
320
257
23:5
o;>
125
PAGE.
Professor of horticulture 282
Profits of horticulture in Penn.sylvania. . 115
chestnut raising 15G
small fruits 97, 129, 178, 211
market gardening 217
Propagating plants 110
Prospects of fruit 186
Protect the roots of new trees 24
Pruning, Summer 219
clo.<e 222
Spi raeas 154
shrubbery 200
for pear blight 25
or not 314
Pyrfeantha as a hedge 124
.. . . K,.
Raisins, California 191, 313
Raspberries 9, 91, 211
Kirkland 10, 345
Improved Black Cap 10
Brinkle's Orange 10, 345
Mammoth Chester 10
Woodley 10
Monthl_> Raspberry 10
Red Antwerp 10
The Clark 121
Ohio Ever-bearing 159
Davison's Thornless 177, 317
Wauregan 184
Susqueco 1 85
Naomi 185
Bell de Fontenay 223
Ontario Black Cap 279
Catawissa 312, 345
DooHttle 312
Ilerstine and Saunders 315
Hornet 345
Philadelphia 345
for the South 216
smnmer pruning 240
value as a market crop 253
how to grow successfully, 286
and strawberries 306
purple cane 308
Rhodode\ulrons 297
Hardy 95
Rhubarb, soil for 4
Roses, mouthly, <;elect list 2
for llo wer garden 05
Lady Banks 154
in South Carolina 105
Ever-blooming 187, 213
lists of 218, 309
gossip about 331
bushes, remarkable 251
bushes, old 282
enemies of the 371
Rural Art, designs of 234
liurnl Club of New York 184, 257
Ruslic seat and canopy 5
Index,
s.
PACK.
Goliah 9
Salvia Splcndcns .* ' 154 Stravrbcrrics, Kitlcy's
SaxitVaoa I'iO InomphdcGu
riculturi.st 9
Scott's suburban home grounds 238
Screens of Arbor Vitse 318
Sensitive plants 12a
Shade trees, rapid growing 2S4
Shrubs, selection of hardy 43
Small fruit funn 194
Small fruits among trees 344
Small fiuit,s for 18^7 1 225
sunuuer pruning 195, 219
curious eil'ect 250
success in 228, 209
Soot as manure 447
Spiraeas 124
pruning , 154
Subtropical ganleiiing 335
Subtropical plants 10 i
Sumach, cut leaved 248
Supports for climbing plants 170
Summer pinching 27 J
Stcvensdale Institute (J, 7
Strawberries 9, 14, 155
for family use ,, 3
profitable culture 61
how to grow big crops G3
forcing 73
profits 97
how to market 112
early 120
how to grow 121
for profit 121
among fruit trees 122
how to pack plants 181
mowing off leaves 182,220, 313
garden, culture of, 184
atti-activeness for market 192
beds 193
forcing 217
produce per a«re 220
to grow successfully 222
guano for 224
polling 233
picking 369
a profitable garden 249
nevr seedling 249
magnitude of the business 251
exhibition 251, 252
in Ohio 256, 278
Nevv^ York as a market 258
at Rochester 282
on bushes 288
culture in rows or hills 311, 319
beds, irrigating 309
Mexican ever bearing 252
Hovey 's seedling 9
Ladj^ finger 9
Wilson's, Albany , . 9, 14
Philadelphia 9
Jucunda. 9
Green Prolific 12
Chas. Downing 14
Kentucky 14
F rench 14
Downer 14
Barnes mammoth 29
Pies. Wilder 30, 47
Leiinig white 79
Komeyn's seedling * I55
Ciieen prolific 160
How to pack plants 181
the Matilda 1^3^ 264
1 'eak 's Emperor 183
tlic Florence 183
I) r . Warder 250
Svroet Williams 347
1 iraber culture 54
for profit 170
Transplanting, frozen ball method 25
Tree agents, dishonest 45
I>ianting, benefits of. 03
for our Western prairies %^
culture in Iowa 173
rapid growth of 173
^wer 319
h«lges 307
Trees, noted American 134
care of roots 181
treatment of cherry 307
Tomatoes, sowing ,. 194
trellis for 195
Trophy 159^ 342
Tuberoses 319
Tulips, no manure for 168
Turnips, experiments with 33
for in-door culture 308
Turk's Turban 114
u.
Umbraculum for garden decoration 107
V.
Vegetables, fine 223
Verbenas, ho w to grow 28 1
Violets, sweet 3 19
w,
Wardian cases, plants in 371
Wash for plants 250
W^atering newly set trees 310
Willow, laurel leaved 318
Window gardening 156
plji»ts 16, 36
plants for 214
VIU
Index.
PAGE. I P.AOE.
"Window gardening, Chinese primroses . . 125 | Woodward's gardens 1H5
the t'iutus G2 Worms in pots 124
best temperature for 92
Violets 95
Wine question 89
Wines, American 2»0
Wistaria, double purple 150
Chinese 372
Y.
Yuccas as ornamental plants 102
Zinnias, double S47
INDEX TO ILLUSTEATIOlSrS.
PAGE
Abies Albei-tiana 199
Aster — Truttant's Pceony Uowered 07
Bedding, fine example ol" 139, 140
Bird cage and flowers 257
Bird house, design for 11
Clematis for decorative purposes. .. 289, 333
Clianthus Dampierii 70
Cottage, gardener's 70, 77
model, suburban 133
farmer's 321
Dahlias, America and river 39
Derby gaiden seat and shade 5
Design for flower garden 21
Design for Hower table 35
Erianthus Ravonnie 75
Exochordia Grandillora Ill
Everlasting flowers 144-149
Floral vases 15
Floral scene 241
Flower jrlasses 58
PAGR.
Flowers dried and preserved 300-304
Fountain for conservatory 81
Fernery, interior of 353
Garden chairs 109
supports for climbing plants 171
architecture
rustic bridge and stream 6
lake and observatory 6
ornamental grounds 7
Summer house 235
rustic seat 235
Tpomoea Coceinea 09
Lawience pear trees 13
Parsley, moss curled 113
Poite Crayon's vermin 11
Rochester Pippin 208
Stcvensdale Institute 0
Turk's Turban 114
Umbraculum 107
Yucca Filameutosa 103
lE^DEX TO COXTEIBUTORS.
PAGE. '
Abemcthy. W.J 42
Andrews, C 87
A.C. B., Mrs 121
Bailev, John W 101
Bateham, M. B LSI
Bohemia 52
Campbell, Geo. W 47, 3;'.8
Cavanagh, Thomas 134, 200
Copeland, Robert Morris 104, 335
Cowper, Alexander W i58
Downing, Charles 208, 204
Edwai ds. Samuel 80
Evans, D Z., Jr 48
Elliott, T. R 110
Foster, Suel 8, 305
Hale, Anne G 10, 82, 145, 101, 299
Ilibbord, Shirley 202
llerstjne, D. W 73
PAGE.
Idell, C. W 19, 112, 109, 210
Miller, S 47
Moore, Jacob 53, 2.31
Myers, D. S 101
Xansemord 174
O.-tidentalis 88, 297, 300
Parry, Wm 97, 129, 178, 2 1 1
Powell, E. P 79, 177
Quinn, P. T 33
R 73
Ritz Louis 250
S. 0. J 55
ScoMeld, D. C 170
Smith, Joh:i Jay 78
Strother. David II 11
W. 11. W 23
Willoy, O.S 41
Woodman 13, 110, 233
Cm
— 1
Ll
VOL. 26.
JAJN'UAEY, 18T1.
E'O. 295
Home G-ardens.
BY THE EDITOR.
WHERE the occupants of country cottages have not the time or the taste to select
and plant out a list of good ornamental shrubs and trees, we think certainly the
simplest and easiest method of home ornament is in a good, handsome, well-kept lawn.
They are the promoters of taste. We believe that if a single individual can once be
induced to go as far as the preparation of a really handsome stretch of lawn, he can be
induced to attempt further improvements. Mr. Barry, in his recent address on Lawn
Making, before the Geneva Horticultural Society, makes this worthy remark :
" I observe where people succeed in making a piece of lawn around their dwelling,
their gardening taste improves rapidly; disagreeable ol'jects become more so, in contrast
with the smooth grass, and must be removed ; some choice trees and shrubs are added,
perhaps a vase or a basket, or beC of flowers — one object of taste suggests another and
another, and thus we make real progress. I see much of this change going on in our
own city of Kochester. All around our streets I see charming bits of grass, with bril-
liant beds and vases of flowers, where a few years ago thei-e was a tangled and unsightly
mixture of fruit and shade trees, flowers, long grass and weeds. This change has added
immensely to the beauty of our city, and has doubtless added largely to the comfort and
enjoyment of the owners, as well as to the money value of their property."
In one of the back numbers of The Horticulturist, Mr. Saunders, of "Washington,
gives a very practical recipe for the mixture of grass seed for lawns, and we herewith
repeat it.
One bushel Red Top [Agrostis vulgaris).
Two bushels June grass {Poa pratense).
One quart Timothy {Phleum pratense).
Two pounds White clover (Trifolium repens).
These quantities to be mixed and applied to each acre of land.
The usual time of sowing is in March and April, as all well know. We have seen,
however, many soils either so poor in vegetable matter, or unsuitable to form a sod, that
no amount of grass seed could raise a handsome lawn. In this case it will be far more
Some Gardens.
simple to dig up grass sods from some old pasture field, or the roadside, to cover the land
completely over. If this is done late in the fall, by the next spring the grass will start
up fresh and luxuriant, and delight every eye. This is certainly the simplest and least
vexatious of all ways of making a small lawn, and it also has the merit of supplying an
immediate want. A grass sown lawn can hardly be made perfect under two or three
years, but a sod lawn is complete the very first season. Liquid manure will be best for
use on lawns, pretty thinly diluted. Sulphate of Ammonia, dissolved at the rate of one
pound to a barrel of water, is a capital fertilizer. The grass will grow of a rich, dark
green, and very luxuriant.
Early Veas.
An experience of several years finds our mind completely satisfied with but one variety
as an early pea, and that is the Landreth Extra Early. Nothing can as yet equal it in
earliness, productiveness or sweetness. The quality is excellent, and no foreign sort
has yet proved any better adapted to our climate.
J>ahlias,
Our lady readers may desire to plant some good dahlia roots the coming spring. Here
is a good selection of twenty-four varieties, sufficient to form a good beginning for any
amateur. In our cool fall months the dahlia is our most showy flower, and we esteem it
worthy of a place in every flower garden. By some it is considered too gross and coarse,
but it has never appeared so to our tastes. It may lack the delicate beauty of the rose,
and also its exquisite fragrance, yet its showy bloom and free, flowering habit, with
comeliness of plant, are great arguments in its favor.
Prince Albert, Lady Cathcart, John Bright,
Fanny Purchase, Magpie, Princess,
Silene, Warrior, Mantz Saville,
Mr. Burgess, Wacht an Rhine, Triomphe de Picq.
Rembrandt, Lord Derby, Fair Maid,
Leah, Caleb Mix, Charles Turner,
Celestial, Duke of Roxbury, Golden Ball,
Madame St. Laurent, 'Madame Maria, Mezard.
Countess de Chambord,
So many new and desirable varieties appear yearly, that doubtless many in this list
would be found surpassed and forgotten in a year or two ; but a really choice variety
will always deserve planting.
Select TAst of Monthly Hoses.
The following is a good list of select Monthly Blooming Roses, recommended by the
Rural Messenger :
Souvenir de la Malmaison, Marshal Niel, Gloire de Dijon, Caroline Merncire, Her-
mora, Appoline, Purple Crown, Archduke Charles, Queen of Lombardy, Bougere, Mrs.
Bosonquet, Pierre de St. Cyr, La Pactole, Imperatrice, Eugenie, Blanche Lafitte,
Madame Nerard, Prince Eugene, Isabella Sprunt, Marshal Villars, La Choice, Leteria,
Gloire de Bordeaux, Sir Joseph Paxton, Triomphe de Luxemburg.
Grapes.'i
We suppose every cottage gardener has got some grapes well planted in his garden ; if
not, it certainly is one of the most important subjects that need early attention. It is
just as easy to grow a good grape as a poor one, the room occupied is no greater, while
the value is often double. For instance, who would grow a Union Village, Scuppernong
JBoine Gardens.
or Adirondac, when the old standard sort, Isabella, far surpasses them ; and then, too,
this is superseded by the good old Concord or Delaware. A well ripened Isabella is not
by any means to be despised. And those dainty palates who declare the Concord is too
poor to be worthy of encouragement, can hardly act as judges for the tastes of a million
others of their countrymen. The Concord is the best and most reliable family grape we
have yet found. Not equal, it is true, to some of more delicate or spirited flavor, but
good enough for average palates.
If we were planting a new garden, we would line the garden path with at least a dozen
good vines. The Concord would be first on our list, then we would try one vine Dela-
ware. It might do well, and still might prove a failure. But it is worth the trial. We
would have room for a luscious Salem, and also for the Eumelan, beautiful in its growth
and flavor. We would not forget the Walter, and the Senasqua we know would prove a
good occupant of our ground. Here then we have the cream of all, both old and new.
We could always depend upon a good dish of fruit from the Concord, and our selection
of this variety would be 07ie-half the whole list. Then follow with the new and improved
sorts, and the garden owner will have all the best worthy of reasonable recommendation.
strawberries for Family Vse,
It is customary for writers on small fruits to say that any good garden soil will grow
strawberries. True to some extent ; but if we want quantity it is useless to try sandy
land. A cold, heavy clay bed is also to be avoided as the other undesirable extreme.
On sandy land the berries will be early and usually sweet, but there will never be any
heavy crops. On heavy land the crops will usually be late, the fruit will be large, and
if the soil is moist or undrained, the berries will be watery and acid. A good soil is a
deep, rich loam well drained, and even a sandy loapa with considerable vegetable matter
is very desirable, since it is warm and early. Let your plants stand not less than eighteen
inches apart, and even two feet will be still better. We have tried the plan of three
and a quarter by one foot, but became fully satisfied that it was too close, and the more
room we gave our plant the increase in vigor and fruit would more than recompense for
the diff"erence in distance.
Use old well decomposed barn-yard manure every fall, and cover the bed over com-
pletely. Wood ashes, too, are excellent; they contain potash, which is one of the most
invigorating of all species of nutriment for the strawberry vines. Fertilizers are occa-
sionally worthy of trial as stimulants. Bone meal is always good. Superphosphates
and bone flour are also efficient ; scatter them broadcast over the field at the rate of ten
pounds to the square rod. Just before winter cover the beds with a mulch of hay, corn-
stalk or straw; the last is the best, cleanest, and most free from weeds. If the mulching
should happen to be omitted during the winter, put it in the rows between the plants
early in the spring, just as the plants are blossoming. We have found the mulch to help
forward the ripening very materially, and at the same time by supplying moisture it
increases the size and color of the fruit.
Remove all dead leaves from the plants when they are to be planted out; and after
every season of fruiting it is well to do the same thing. Many skillful growers cut all
the leaves off, both living and dead after fruiting season, and permit new leaves to
form. The plants often produce crops the next year far superior to the usual average.
In planting use a small trowel or dibble, and give abundance of room to spread the roots
Some Gardens.
out. These simple directions will enable any amateur to grow strawberries to perfection
and keep his bed in good order the year through.
Pears for the Garden.
A good list of pears for a dozen trees for the garden we would name as follows :
Dearborn Seedling — A good, sure, and abundant bearer ; fruit fair, sprightly, and of
an excellent flavor.
The Rostiezer — hardy habit, with sweet and pleasant flavor.
The Bartktt — handsomest of all autumn varieties, and popular from its fine quality,
free growth, and sure productiveness. These trees are good summer varieties; the first
ripens in July, the second August 1st, and the last August 14th to 15th.
Of Autumn Pears we would choose six. First, the Belle Lucratiie, because of its
most delicious honeyed flavor, and so well liked at the dessert.
Louise Bonne de Jersey (as a dwarf) for its sprightly, juicy fruit, and its productiveness.
Beurre d'Anjou, for its exquisite, aromatic, juicy taste and productiveness.
Duchesse d^ Angouleme, for its magnificent size and reliability as a dwarf.
The Seckd, unapproachable in quality and long lived.
The Hoivell, bright yellow, a handsome tree, early bearer and excellent flavor.
For Winter we would plant the Beurre Clairgeau — fine size, early bearing, handsome
color and good keeping qualities.
Lawrence — hardy, sure, excellent bearer, fine flavor and a fine keeper.
Vicar of Winkfield — the very best for preserves or cooking, extremely productive, and
keeps until January or even March. When well ripened it is also a good eating variety.
The cottage gardener can plant from one to three trees of each variety upon his
grounds, according to their extent, but he cannot go amiss in the selection of the whole
list in some one or other proportion. •
Soil for Jthtibarh.
No garden vegetable requires a richer soil than Rhubarb. Sandy land is almost use-
less. We had the pleasure once of trying it as a market crop to the extent of an acre*
but at last became convinced the amount of money absorbed in providing manure enough
to raise a good crop, was larger than the crop itself after harvested. It is a bulky
material to ship to market, and very often varies greatly in price. In family gardens,
however, the gardener can well aff"ord to devote a good border to it, and dress in annually
from a bushel to a barrel of good manure. The more liberal the supply of nutriment,
the larger the stalk and the better the quality. The soil should be dug deep, at least
eighteen inches, and well mixed with surface manure.
The best time for planting is in the fall, still it is successfully attempted in the spring.
Plant the hills not less than four feet apart. Put the crowns fully three inches below
the surface, and cover with mulch during the winter. Manure is best applied also in the
fall, directly to the crowns, for the shoot starts early, and are up above the ground very
early in the spring. After the roots have grown several years, examine them and see if
there are any signs of decay in the centre of the plant. If so, take them up, divide
them into three or four more pieces, and transplant them. Every piece will form a new
crown and a luxuriant hill.
Be careful of whom you purchase rhubarb plants originally, for it is quite a common
deception for tradesmen to take up their large crowns, and divide them into four or six
Derby Garden Seal and Shade,
smaller plants, and then sell them to customers. It is better to go personally and
examine the stock you wish to purchase, and stipulate specially for plants undivided, and
and not less than Uvo years' old, otherwise a purchaser hardly knows what he will get.
The Linnaeus is still one of our most productive varieties, and also of best quality,
although somewhat small. The Victoria is enormous in size, and also quite productive
being very profitable as a market crop. We have seen beds of the Downing Colossal,
which seemed to meet our idea of a perfect amateur variety better than anything else yet
brought to our notice.
Derby Garden Seat and Shade.
Hustle Seat tvith Canopy.
tration represents the seat uncovered ; the other covered.
rpmS is a new seat for Park
J- or Lawn use now qaite pop-
ular in England, and really quite
pretty. The awning is support-
ed by the iron frame work which
is firmly fastened to the arms
and back of the chair. A little
pulley winds up or lets down the
awning at convenience. The
seat is best made of fine native
wood, and neatly varnished. In
this way the natural veins or
markings of the timber are
brought out. If made of iron,
either paint, or grain it in imita-
tion of timber, or use some light
pleasant paint, but do not use
green. There should be some
color to contrast agreeably with
the greenness of the surround-
ing grass and foliage. One illua-
Both are exceedingly pretty.
Jtustic Seat tvithout Canopy,
Stevensdale Institute,
Stevensdale Institute.
FOR the sake of illustrating; what we have so often urged in behalf of rural embellish-
ments and ornamental home architecture, we introduce, this month, three exquisite
engravings of the Stevensdale Institute, South Amboy, N. J. The frontispiece repre-
Jiustic liriilge and Streutn.
Ziithe €1)1(1 Observatory ,
sents the view of the building as the observer approaches from the street. The view
down the bank toward the streamlet, and the over-arching trees, with the rustic summer
house in the back-ground, make a picture cozy-like and very tempting.
Stevensdale Institute.
3 Condition of our 7t^estern 2'rees for ynnter.
The Observatory and the Lake furnish still another rural scene of more than custom-
ary elegance, while the arched bridge and placid stream beneath, complete a sketch of
one of the most inviting of all suburban retreats. The Institute is a seminary for the
education of young ladies, and who that examines these artistic illustrations can fail to
admit that scenes of such rare beauty must have their influence in the minds and hearts
of the dwellers within their precincts.
We have often advocated the extensive adorning of the grounds of public institutions,
and especially of those devoted to educational purposes. They invariably inspire taste,
gentleness, care, and good deportment among scholars and students. And we doubt not
more than one has found, in later years, his appreciation of the beautiful in Art and
Nature dates back to the well remembered sights of ornamental shrubs, trees and flowers
in the home grounds of the old college or academy. We have seen few engravings of
rural ornament better worthy appreciation than the elegant little trio in this number.
Condition of Our Western Trees for Winter.
IN August I very much feared that our trees would make a late fall growth, as they
did last year, and be in bad condition for winter ; but although September was a very
growing month, October was very favorable, cooling ofi" gradual, and up to this time (2d
of November) the frosts have been so light that the tenderest twigs have not been
injured. The weather has been just cool enough to check the growth and ripen the wood.
The summer, up to the 7th of August, was so dry as to check the growth of most of
the trees, when suflicient rain came to start the young cultivated trees into growth, but I
could not see that the older fruit-bearing trees made any unusual growth. By cultiva-
tion, I mean those that were cultivated in the fore part of the season, but not after mid-
summer.
The summer drouth had prevented the weeds from growing, and all the seeds of weeds
lie dry in the ground, and when the rains came, all the weeds of the season came up and
grew yes, grew ! for who would dare to go into the orchard or nursery and cultivate, or
attempt to destroy the weeds after mid-summer 1
W^e have so seldom had a year favorable for peaches, that we have but very few trees ;
those few bore a fine crop this year. The leaves have fallen from the peach, and the
fruit buds are very numerous. I have not examined the apple and pear, to ascertain
whether they promise a crop next year, and doubt whether I could determine whether
the apple buds were for fruit or wood. The crop of fruit being very light this year, and
the trrowth of the trees so checked by the drouth through mid-summer, that I should
think it was very favorable for a crop of fruit next season. Sdel Foster,
JVotes from vty Garden.
Notes from My G-arden.
TN this region, the past season has been unusually favorable for horticultural experi-
-^ ments, as we have had abundance of rain and no lack of heat or sunshine.
I had this spring eight varieties of strawberries under cultivation in the same soil, and
receiving nearly the same treatment, being mulched winter and summer, and kept scru-
pulously clean of weeds.
Hovey's Seedling and Ladyfinger, intermingled and grown in matted rows, yielded a
fair crop of delicious berries, but as this was their fourth season, I observed a decline
both in the size and quantity, and therefore turned them under.
Wilson's Albany Seedling, planted in the spring of 1867, gave a very handsome yield
in 1868. The next year it grew spindling and bore only half a crop. Although treated
with the greatest attention, its decadence was more marked this season, and I obliterated
the bed. A neighbor makes a similar report, and we have agreed to discard this variety
as a failure here.
The Philadelphia, in a matted bed and with less attention than the other varieties,
grew lustily and yielded a plentiful crop of large and well-flavored berries. I have
extended this bed and shall cultivate it in matted rows hereafter.
Jucunda, grown from Knox's potted plants, set out in the spring of 1869, has borne
about two dozen berries, and at the end of this season the vines had nearly perished. I
transferred the remains of the plants to another carefully prepared bed, to give it another
chance, but I apprehend it will not grow here.
Kiiley^s Goliah and Triomphe de Gand, from the same source, and set out at the same
time, have grown a little better, but have as yet done nothing to justify their reputation.
The Agriculturist, grown in hills, is beyond all comparison superior to any variety I
have tried, for thrifty growth, productiveness, and the large size, firmness, and high
ffavor of its fruit. Our berry eaters are unanimous in giving it precedence over any
strawberry we raise, especially for its superior flavor, and I have gathered gallons with
none less than an inch in diameter.
My plantation has been extended each season, and this year the three-year old hills
gave the heaviest fruitage, and those in their second year their largest berries.
After the regular crop in June, this bed slept through July and commenced blooming
and fruiting again about the first of August, and has continued to blossom and mature
small quantities of fruit up to this date, November 8th. From this record, I think it
will be conceded that most disputes about the merits of diff'erent varieties of strawberries
are questions referable to soil and climate, and that I, at least, have the right strawberry
in the right place. I am the more impressed with this belief from the fact, that when I
planted my Agriculturists, four years ago, a very skillful amateur, living not fifty miles
off, told me I was wasting my time and labor, as he had persisted in trying to grow them
for several years, putting both zeal and experience into the effort, and had utterly failed.
From my strawberry experiences I have concluded that an amateur should, with due
regard to flavor and productiveness, cultivate only the largest sized berries, and always
in hills or rows. Especially, if he undertakes to do the picking himself, will the wisdom
of these conclusions be manifest.
Unspherries,
I have seven varieties of raspberries, which shall be named in the order of their
ripening.
]^() JVotes from my Garden.
The Kirtland showed its first ripe berries on the 13th of June, and yielded good pick-
ing every day or two for a month. The berry is small, very sweet, and hangs on the
bush until it dries. Its hardihood, good quality, productiveness, and long season here,
make it a valuable family berry. About the 20th of August the new canes began bloom-
ing, and I have continued to bloom and ripen fruit up to this date.
The Improved Black Cap ripened eight days later than the Kirtland, and ceased bear-
ing a week earlier.
Brinkles Orange was nearly burnt out last year, and, notwithstanding winter protec-
tion, summer mulching and a very favorable season, has grown very feebly. Some of
the stocks, however, have shown fruit delicious in flavor and fair to look upon.
The Mammoth Cluster plants, obtained from Knox's nurseries in 1869, fruited fairly
this season. They are almost identical with my other Black Caps in size and habit —
fruiting two weeks later, and the berry neither so clean-looking nor so well flavored. I
presume the only merit of this variety will be to prolong the season of Black Caps in
localities where better raspberries cannot be grown.
The Woodley, an old red raspberry, hard and poorly flavored, was dug up and cast out.
The Monthly Raspberry commenced fruiting in June, and continued in bearing until
a severe frost nipped its clusters of bloom, immature and ripe fruit. This variety is
very prolific, and, although of inferior quality, its constancy should induce every amateur
to plant at least a dozen or twenty stocks.
The Red Antwerp, with protection and mulching, has grown lustily and fruited con-
tinuously during the month of July. The produce was not quite satisfactory in quan-
tity, but in quality surpassed anything of its kind that I have ever tasted. My deside-
ratum now is to find a raspberry equal in quality to this, but more hardy and produc-
tive. Can you name one ?
Blackberries,
Of blackberries, we have the Lawton, Wilson and Kittatinny, besides some fancy vari-
eties.
My Wilson^s showed wreaths of blossoms an inch and a-half in diameter, and so
doubled that they resembled white roses. The fruit was nothing extra. The Kittatinny
ripened earliest, and bore clusters of fruit, handsome as the pictures in the Illustrated
Catalogues; yet, as our mountain thickets and fence corners so superfluously abound in
wild blackberries, quite as large and of better flavor, we will scarcely trouble ourselves
to extend their cultivation.
We hawe the white and cherry currants, grown tree-fashion, which produce very large
and beautiful fruit for the table, but for the substantial stock of jelly and wine, the good
wife prefers the Old Red Dutch, grown on the old-fashioned thicket bushes, which yield
enormously every season for us.
Grapet,
I have filled my assortment of grapes with Rebeccas, Maxatawneys, Delawares, and
Catawbas, none of which are in bearing yet. Meanwhile, the eighteen vines of Concords
have yielded about ten bushels of fruit, showing the heaviest clusters and largest berries
of this variety that I have seen outside of the picture-books.
Gladiolus for Small Gardens.
11
l^orte Crayon's Troublesotne " Vermin,"
For the last two seasons my small fruits —
especially those near the ground — have been dis-
turbed by certain animalculse, not mentioned
either by Darlington or Darwin. As they seem
to be increasing and becoming more destructive,
I send a drawing in the hope that some of your
horticultural philosophers may suggest a remedy.
David H. Strother.
Berkley Springs, Morgan Co., West Va.
Design for a Bird House.
OUR artist is a great lover of birds as well as
of flowers, and has happily combined the two
ideas, the one surrounding the other. Here is a
Bird Cage, neat, simple, full of the beautiful
warblers within. Upon the outer edges of the
stand are little flower pots full of clioice plants,
and here and there some pretty climber attempts
to work its way toward the top. On the ground
underneath is collected a few more flower pots of
larger size, [with plants of ornamental foliage,
and in the distance, just on the outer edge of
the grassy lawn, are the forms of the evergreens
and shrubs which bring out the whole picture
into still more charming relief.
G-ladiolus for Small G-ardens.
THE Canada Farmer names the following six
varieties as a good choice for a small selec-
tion, viz :
'^'^^'-''^A^T^'r^!^' ''■ ' Shakspeare, which is a beautiful white flower of
fine form with large rose spots, possessing a good constitution and forming a " model of a
spike."
Adolphe Broug?iiart, which is not known to us.
Meyerbeer, with a spike not easily excelled, very showy, brilliant vermillion, orange
flamed scarlet, and spotted with amaranth.
Thomas Methven, which we have not seen.
Ulysse, fine rose color, unsurpassed in form.
Madame Furtado, a rosy white, flamed with deep carmine rose, a large flower.
22 Good Strawberries.
Popular Pears — The Lawrence.
ANOTHER noble fruit of American origin, too, worthy of special note. The Law-
rence is a native of Flushing, Long Island, but we have no statistics or facts to guide
us, when, where, or by whom. It is a variety as yet not generally planted by the mass
of cultivators, but highly appreciated by all who have become aware of its special excel-
lencies. The tree itself is but a very moderate grower while in the nursery, but once
established in the orchard it grows freely, and comes into bearing at an age of from six
to ten years. The tree itself is handsome, symmetrical, branches spreading, admirably
adapted for pyramidal culture, and entirely exempt from the blight. We have yet to hear
of a single instance where it has been seriously attacked by this insidious disease. It
possesses also another excellent qualification, viz., holding its leaves the entire summer,
often in seasons of extreme heat or severe drought its foliage remain untouched and
never withers. This adapts it extremely well to cultivation in our Southern States,
where but very few sorts are able to withstand this most rigorous test. The tree is hardy,
able to stand severe cold, is long lived, and when once in bearing seldom fails, and grows
more productive year after year. Still another qualification must be noticed, better than
all the rest. It is a splendid winter variety and an excellent keeper. It ripens usually
from November 1st to December 1st, and keeps well until February and March. It
possesses the valuable property of keeping without shrivelling, and ripens off gradually,
with ordinary care, as well as any good winter apple.
A good idea of the manner of growth of the tree is gained from the accompanying
illustration. Its habit is vigorous, upright, regular branches, with slender, annual
shoots, and small, thick, oblong leaves, of a dark, glossy green. It succeeds upon either
the pear or quince root, but as a standard is by far the most valuable. We have seen
trees six years of age which would bear fully twice as much fruit as the Bartlett or
Beurre d'Anjou, and from the fact that it ripens at a time when nearly all other pears
are gone, or few are left, it proves to be fully twice as profitable. The flavor is rich,
juicy, sugary, aromatic ; flesh, yellowish white ; color, lemon yellow, marbled with dull
green, with traces of russet, or sometimes covered thickly with minute brown dotd, with
often a tinge of red on the side exposed to the sun.
Its size is only medium, but the fruit is often found in clusters of two or more to-
gether, and what is lost in size is made up in productiveness. As an orchard sort it is
unsurpassed among all winter varieties, and we esteem it now the very best and most
profitable late variety that any cultivator can select as a standard. It seems to be with-
out a fault, save that it requires considerable age to reach its full productiveness.
T
Good Strawberries.
HE past season, with us, was one of the best for this excellent small fruit, and I pro-
pose here to give the result of my experience with the following named varieties :
Green Prolific. — All large— medium in time of fruiting — excellent. Enormous bearer ;
pale red. Foliage large, rank, and foot-stalks hold the fruit up firmly from the ground.
With me, all that any one could desire for a home fruit ; but for transportation it is too
soft. I prefer it to any other that I have ever tried thoroughly.
JyCiH'rence "Pear 2rees.
13
14 Good Slratf berries.
Charles Downing. — These also are all very large, beautiful red, of a dark, fiery, crimson
color ; fine bearer ; firm enough for distant market ; flavor very excellent. Every gar-
den should have it. It is a native of Kentucky, having been propagated by that prince
of strawberry propagators, Mr. J. S. Downer, of Fairview, Todd county, Kentucky.
Kentucky. — This is a new seedling, also from Mr. Downer. It has not yet been much
disseminated, having been sent out only this season ; but its great merits, chief among
which is its being very late^ yielding the bulk of its crop when all others are gone, will
soon spread it far and near. On twenty-five spring set plants, which I received direct
from Mr. Downer, I gathered several pints of very superior fruit, and from them I pot-
ted over 500 in two inch pots, and have from the original twenty-five, a matted plat,
containing many hundreds. In color, shape, and habit of growth, it much resembles the
Charles Downing ; but is a better berry, and more desirable, which is saying a " great
deal."
French. — Early, medium size, excellent. "Mrs. Woodman" would eat no other as
long as it lasted. Resembles the Green Prolific in color ; but its tendency to produce
so many runners renders it troublesome to one who cultivates strawberries as I do — only
in stools and matted rows.
Dowiver. — Another seedling by the gentleman for whom it is named — early, very pro-
ductive, and good quality. It gave us our first mess of berries, making the stools red
all over with large, fine fruit, May 18th.
Wilson's Albany. — Any article written on strawberries, which did not say a good word
for this variety, would exhibit either a lack of good taste, or betray a woeful ignorance
of the most remarkable strawberry ever propagated in this or any other country. Very
large ; enormoudy prolific ; medium and early, both ; firmer than any known variety,
except, perhaps, Jucunda ; and equally as firm as that variety. Wherever anything else
will — so will it. In every soil, every climate, it astonishes all who see it. Grown in
stools, two feet apart each way; on my grounds this spring, a plat of 640 stools yielded,
on an average, a quart to the stool — in all, 160 gallons. I never saw a plat, however,
so finely cultivated. Not a single runner or weed was ever permitted to grow ; the
ground was constantly kept loose the season of planting, and mulched all over in winter
with wheat straw two inches deep, which was removed from the crowns only early in
spring. Not a particle of manure was added. Other varieties, similarly treated, did
not bear half such a crop. Many persons condemn this kind because it is, a,s they say,
too acid ; but I think it an excellent berry, and its other good qualities place it the
king of the strawberry kingdom.
Other Varieties. — Space will not allow me to say much in detail of many other excel-
lent kinds worthy of all praise — such as " Hooker," " Peak's Emperor," " Triomphe de
Gand," "Russell," " Fillmore," " Lennig's White," etc. Nor, indeed, is it necessary to
dwell upon the merits of fruit so well and so favorably tested as these. By all means,
if you have none planted, do so next spring, selecting a few of the above named kinds,
and with a little labor your reward is sure and valuable.
Stanford, Ky. Woodman.
J^loral Vases.
15
Floral "Vases.
THE illustrations of Floral Vases and Stands,
which we here introduce, are intended to show
what may be accomplished with taste and a very
little expenditure of money. They are made of
silicious stone, found in the vicinity of Ipswich,
England, and molded into all manner of forms for
architectural and garden decoration. These vases
are for either out-door or window use, and are
suitable for the growth of almost any flower or
ornamental plant. Tulips, Crocuses, Fuchsias
and Lilies grow up in profusion, and are sur-
rounded with dozens of other delicate yet beauti-
ful annual flowers, while the ornamental Dracaena,
Maranta or Begonia, with brilliant foliage, over-
shadow all with their crimson glory. Nothing
can be more charming for window culture
than a coterie of such lovely gems of winter gar-
dening.
16 AmoHff the J^lowers, or Gardenmff for' Zadies.
Among the Flowers, or Gardening* for Ladies.
BY ANNIE G. HALE.
IV.
Fneofite IViiitlow Plnnts.
IN the paper entitled Hanging Baskets and their Plants, which appeared in the Hor-
ticulturist for Feb., 1870, mention was made of several species of herbaceous
plants that are generally included among those of standard growth ; and the best method
for their management was stated. But, if those plants be reared in standing pots, and
individually, they will need no different treatment from that which they should receive
in a basket group; except that some slight support must be furnished them during their
first few months, and frequent and close pruning given.
Among the many other soft-wooded plants that are considered suitable for house-cul-
ture, not more than a dozen can really be called desirable, after we have selected ias our
first choice geraniums, heliotropes, stevias and eupatoriums ; — and those are the following :
The Calceolaria, — its name comes from the Latin for shoe — the blossom resembles an
ancient Roman slipper, — singularly beautiful with its heavy clusters of golden, crimson,
maroon, or rose-colored flowers — sometimes plainly tinted, at others curiously mottled
and flecked. It needs a sandy soil — garden earth and common sand in equal propor-
tions ; should be kept rather warm, in an atmosphere of 60^ to Qb° by day, and 50° at
night ; and be sparingly watered. Give liquid manure once a week after the flower-buds
start. Pot old plants in May, in the same manner as eupatoriums (see April No.), and
keep them in a warm but shady place, out of doors, till September, with only water
enough to prevent them from drooping. Before potting cut them in closely ; and make new
plants of those cuttings by rooting them in moist sand under a glass, in the sunshine ; or
plant the seed in a sunny and sheltered spot. In August pot them and tie carefully to a
light trellis till they are two feet high, then trim off the most slender branches — in fact
r^ut them in pretty close and let them stand alone. This is a delicate plant, but may be
strengthened and hardeiied by this close trimming and a careful management of its sup-
plies of heat and moisture. It needs a good deal of air — does best when wide breathing
space is allowed.
The Lantana requires similar soil and treatment to the Calceolaria — except that it is
of a stouter, a more woody nature, and needs no support. Its compact head of flowers of
different and changing hues — white, crimson, scarlet, orange, and yellow, sometimes all
in the same spike, is always an object of great interest, though its peculiar perfume is
not universally agreeable.
A very desirable window plant is the Pyrethrum, sometimes called Mountain Daisy ;
it is found in great profusion in the mountainous regions of Asia. This will grow in
ordinary soil with very little care, and its delicate light green foliage, crowned with dense
clusters of snow-white blossoms, contrasts finely with the deeper colorings of Calceolarias
and Lantanas, Old plants should be cut to their roots, and both roots and cuttings be
set in a garden-bed in May or June, and treated as common out-of-door plants. Pinch
out all flower-buds till they are taken to the house. In September pot them with the
same soil in which they have been growing. Keep them in the shade, with occasional
watering, for a fortnight; then bring them within doors. The Pyrethrum does best in a
moderate temperature with scanty watering.
A.niong the I^lowers, or Gardening for J^adies. \ 7
The Chrysanthemum (it gets its name from the Greek words for gold and flower —
many species bear yellow flowers), though commonly classed with out-of-door plants,
should be made to lend its beauty to every parlor through the mouths of October, Novem-
ber and December. After flowering, Chrysanthemums must be set in a dark, cool place —
a cellar, or any damp, dark place where they will not freeze — till May. Then give them
the same treatment as Pyrethrums, with which they are often classed ; but they require
free watering. Soap-suds will make them grow stout and strong through the summer.
After they are potted give liquid manure twice a week till the buds begin to unfold, then
withhold it entirely.
Another splendid flowering plant, which has been supposed, until recently, to expend
all its energies during the autumnal months, and to require the open air for the perfec-
tion of its beauty, is the Salvia. Salvia angustifolia, with its elegant foliage and long
spikes of clear blue flowers, is particularly fine ; so is S. patens, bearing blossoms of a
still more " heavenly hue ;" yet none are so attractive, nor so hardy, as S. sphndens, with
its plumes of dazzling scarlet. Any of the Salvias are easily raised from cuttings ; trim
all the foliage from these slips and set them in damp sand to root. Start them in May.
When rooted set them in the garden, but keep them shaded from the sun with a paper
screen till the new leaves are well developed. Water freely. In September pot those
you wish for the house, and pinch out the buds. If then left to themselves they will
store up strength for the winter. But before the frosts come, be sure to take them within
doors, and give the fertilizer once a week till in bloom. Cut them to the root in May,
and set the \\>ot in the garden. It is best to start new plants every year for the house.
Salvias need a light loamy soil, and a temperature of 60° by day, and 45° by night.
The Mimulus — its seeds resemble the face of a monkey, and hence its name, which
comes from the Latin — is a very thirsty plant, does best in a mixture of leaf-mould and
garden earth, with just enough sand to keep the soil from being heavy, and frequently
needs watering twice a day; but it thrives in the atmosphere of any family room, and
with its gorgeous blossoms of gold spotted with maroon and crimson, is a great addition
to any collection. Propagate it from cuttings rooted in water. The young plants should
be kept in the shade all summer out of doors.
Aloysia citriodora — called by some Lippia, in memory of a French botanist — ought to
have bad mention among arborescent plants. This is the lemon -scented or sweet verbena.
The flowers are of small account, but its elegant fragrant foliage and generally neat
appearance gain much admiration. Trim old plants and re-pot them in the spring. Root
the trimmings in wet sand, under a glass ; then give those young plants a soil of garden
earth, vegetable mould and gravel in equal proportions. Set the pots in a garden-bed,
plunged to their rims, till September ; then stir the soil often with an old table-fork,
water sparingly, giving liquid manure once a week ; take them to the parlor in October,
let them have the sun six hours every day, keep the atmosphere moist, and not above
65° by day or 45° by night, and they will flourish wonderfully.
Matthiolas, stock gilliflowers, or the old-fashioned wall-flowers, are fine winter-flower-
ing plants for the parlor windows. Their heavily-clustered spikes of purest white, yel-
low, crimson, purple, or rose-colored double blossoms, make a grand display. Sow the
seed in a sunny garden-bed in May, and in August pot the plants in good soil and keep
in the shade a fortnight. At the end of that time give more sun, water freely, and allow
liquid manure twice a week for two months, then once a week through the winter. Cut
2
A.inotig the JF^lcfers, or Gardening for Z,adies.
old stocks to the roots in May — sometimes good plants may be obtained of those cuttings
rooted in moist sand, but it is surer to depend entirely on seed for new plants.
Pinks — Dianthus Chinensis, the China Pink, and Dianthvs caryophillus, the Carna-
tion— are well known parlor plants. The China Pink, though not fragrant, is so beau-
tiful and so easy to manage, no collection should be considered complete without it. Plant
seed in June in good garden soil ; pinch out all flower-buds till September ; then take
them, with a ball of earth about their roots, to pots of the same soil. Keep them in the
shade a fortnight. Water sparingly till more flower-buds appear, then give moisture
generously — weak liquid manure twice a week, also. It will bear great heat, 65° to 70°;
but 60° suits it best. In that temperature in an open, airy situation, it will put forth its
deep crimson, velvet, very double, flowers in great profusion all winter.
D. caryophyllus — the Carnation — with its enormous blossoms of rose-color, scarlet,
yellow, white, either in plain colors, flecked, blotched, or banded, makes always a fine
appearance, while its exquisite perfume never wants admirers. This should be raised
from cuttings rooted in sandy soil under glass, or by layers — the layers are the more sure.
For these select stout branches on a well-matured plant. Omit watering the plant for a
day, or until the selected branches have wilted a little — they will be less liable to break
during the process of layering. Dig and stir the soil in the pot pretty thoroughly with
an old fork. Then trim off all the leaves from the shoot or branch to be layered, except
those at the tip. Cut half through the joint to be rooted, in a slanting upward direction,
with a sharp penknife, and bend the branch, taking care that it does not break at the inci-
sion, till the joint lies more than an inch beneath the soil, and confine it there with a hairpin.
Then cover with the loosened soil all but the last inch of the stalk, pressing the earth
carefully and securely over all. Water the soil sparingly — there is always danger to
carnations from over-watering — and in five or six weeks you may remove the young
plants thus formed to separate pots. Sand, garden soil and stable refuse, in equal pro-
portions, is the best ground for carnations. Some cultivators mix a little salt, and others
soot, or charcoal, with this compost. When the flowers are partly opened it is well to
to strengthen their calyxes (which are liable to burst) with a slender rubber ring.
A few words now in relation to the insects that annoy the flower-fancier and often
prove so destructive to parlor plants. Of these, the most to be dreaded is the red spider,
a creature so minute as to appear like the merest brown speck to the naked eye, but
when crushed shows its guilty color. When the foliage or young shoots look yellow and
begin to curl, you may be sure this pest is eating the under coat of the leaves, and hiding
in every crevice. Unless prompt measures are taken to "ows/" him, every one of your
plants is doomed. Some persons find syringing with carbolic soap-suds a sure death to
this insect. Others recommend the same use of sulphur-water. But the old way of
fumigation, by placing the plants under a barrel, together with a dish of burning tobacco
stems and leaves, is always effectual. This also closes the career of ^the aphis, or green
fly, the mealy bug, and the brown scale. But the smoke must be nearly strong enough
to suffocate human beings, and the plants, after being confined in it an hour, look pitiful
enough. It is better to try drowning first; and so having prepared a quantity of warm
suds in a large deep vessel — a bathing tub or something similar — cover the surface of the
soil with a circular piece of pasteboard fastened on with a stout cloth bandage, to prevent
dislodgment of the soil by the water, and lay the pot lengthwise therein. Every part of
the plant must be completely submerged, and remain thus half an hour. Except in the
yt'ho Suys all the. Trapes. \ 9
worst cases, this effects a cure. Yet, after all, the old adage, "An ounce of prevention
is worth a pound of cure," is amply proved in the case of plants. A careful washing of
them once a week with a bit of sponge or a soft tooth brush, particularly the under sur-
face of the leaves, and every axil which syringing may not reach, if your room be well
ventilated — its atmosphere moist and temperate — will insure freedom from their depre-
dations. The ground aphis sometimes preys upon the roots of verbenas, causing the
plant to appear as if mildewed. Those insects are destroyed by washing the soil with
a tepid decoction of tobacco, about the color of strong green tea, every day for a week or
ten days.
The importance of guarding plants against the extremes of heat and cold has been
stated ; but if, by any accident, they become frost-bitten, they may be restored by
immersing them immediately, while they are stiff, in cold water, and keeping them thus
in a darkened room for an hour or two.
Who Buys all the G-rapes.
I HAVE frequently been asked the question — "Who buys all the grapes that come to
the New York market?" and I am induced to give your readers some information
on this point, in order to explain many of the differences in sales as reported by the
various commission merchants.
Some growers think that beause a dealer can get one price for one mark of fruit, he
ought to get the same price for all, particularly when the quantity closely resembles each
ther. They appear to forget that the purchaser has any voice in the matter at all,
when in fact, as a general thing, they are masters of the situation.
In the first place, the parties who receive the fruit are known as commission merchants,
whose business it is to receive all that comes, be it much or little, and then are expected
to know the value of everything when it arrives. When fruit is scarce the dealers com-
mand the position, but in years of plenty he can only use discretion in disposing of the
stock sent him, and in order to dispose of all that he receives, he must have a variety of
customers, who demand various grades, varieties and qualities for their customers, and
it is this class that I propose touching upon.
The first in order, in regard to the quantity and quality they purchase, are those
known as "jobbers," that is, they buy in large quantities to sell again. In many cases
these men secure a large trade from persons living in the outside cities and country
towns where the grapes are not grown, or, if at all, to a very limited extent. These
retailers send their orders to these jobbers for such fruit as they may want, and in this
way the fruit is scattered all over the country. The jobbers also supply the other classes
known as retailers. There are jobbers in distant cities that procure their supply direct
from the commission merchants.
The retail trade is divided in about the following order for fruit and character. The
first in order are those grocers and fruit dealers who transact their business in all the
most prominent and wealthy parts of the city, and deal exclusively with the wealthy.
These are known as our "first class " customers, and those unacquainted with the trade
would reasonably suppose that they were a very desirable class of customers, but that is
20 y^ho :Suys all t?ie Grapes.
an error, for they buy in small quantities, are very particular as to the quality, and will
not pay any more for it than some of the lower class of dealers. In plain words, it
amounts to this, what they will buy any one will, and pay as much for it ; these persons
prefer to purchase the three and four pound boxes.
The great mass of good sound fruit is sold to the grocers and those persons doing
business in the various markets, public and private, throughout the city. The grocers
are mostly Germans and Americans, and prefer purchasing their fruit in bulk, without
the loss arising from the weight of the small boxes. The river box, containing from
twenty to forty pounds, are their favorites, as they weigh all their grapes to their cus-
tomers. The Germans, in particular, are prejudiced against the small boxes ; they are
not particular about the name or color of the fruit if it is cheap, but would prefer having
them black, as then they think they are ripe. The marketmen generally prefer the
small boxes, as they do not weigh out their fruit.
The next in order is the female street venders. To strangers they present a novel
appearance, who frequently pauzing to gaze, are induced to purchase. In order to com-
mence business they purchase a large oval basket with flaring sides, closely resembling a
clothes basket, which will contain a hundred pounds or more ; then they make a board
platform to fit down in the basket from six to eight inches, and on this false bottom they
place the fruit, piled up so as to give it the appearance of being a large bulk. They
select the most public thoroughfares, where they will place their baskets, and then begin
their cry, " Yer's your nice fine grapes, only ten cents a pound." In some of the most
public places around Washington market, quite a number can be seen in a group, and in
some instances they will extend their baskets half way across the street, and their united
voices, in soliciting your patronage, is really annoying. Most of these women are of Irish
birth, and possess remarkably well developed muscular bodies, and it is an easy task for
many of them to carry ofi" on their heads one of the 100 lb. cases of grapes ; and I have
known some of them to march ofi" with two 60 lb. cases at once. This class is very
valuable to the commission dealer, for they buy the inferior grades of fruit, and when
damaged but slightly they will pay more for it than the lower grades of wagon peddlers,
which come next in order among the dealers. There are also grades among this class of
persons; the better class are generally respectable men, and drive good establishments,
their wagons being always neatly and sometimes very tastefully ornamented. The horses
are in good condition, and many of them of the fancy order.
The lower class in this line of business are mostly young men and boys of doubtful
reputation and small means. Their establishments correspond with their finances, and
are a sight to behold. Many of their horses are of the order known as '• Herrings," and
although they possess the usual number of bones belonging to a horse, you often find
them without the use of one, if not two legs, and it must be a fortunate creature if it
possesses both eyes. In regard to the flesh of the animals we will say nothing, as it is
seldom they possess any.
The wagons and harness never disgrace the animals, and should the entire concern be
set up at auction, it would be sorry fun for a man to bid $10 on it, if he did not want it.
They will buy anything you have to sell, their principal object seems to be to get the
largest quantity for the least money, and the dealer must be careful to get his pay before
loading, for if he does not, the chances are that they will cheat him in some way or another.
^ian /'or a I^lower Garden.
21
We have anot'".er class of buyers of grapes, known as wine men, who, for prices, com-
pare with the lower grades of wagoners. Thus, by and with the aid of these parties,
they are enabled to dispose of the large quantities of grapes sent to market.
l^Qio York. C. W. Idell,
Plan for a Flower Garden.
ENGLAND possesses many flower gardens of extensive and elaborate designs, on the
grounds of her lords and royalty, and some of them evince artistic skill and superior
arrangement. The accompanying plan is taken from an English design, by Messrs.
Hovey & Oo., of Boston. It represents a garden 162 feet in length, and 72 feet in
width. The walks are of gravel, and the beds are all edged with box. Bedding plants
or annuals may be used in planting ; or, if the amateur desires a mixture of the two,
the following will be an appropriate list ; the best bedding plants being Scarlet Gera-
niums and Verbenas :
I'lan for Flotver Garden.
1. Verbena (blue).
2. Verbena (white).
3. Pansies, of the fine showy sorts.
4. Portulaca (white).
5. Tom Thumb Geranium.
6. Verbena (striped).
7. Portulaca (golden).
8. Campanula Capartica, with Tree Rose in the centre.
9. The same.
10. Tom Thumb Geranium.
11. Portulaca (white).
12. Verbena (striped).
13. Portulaca (erolden).
14. Pansies, of the line showy sorte.
15. Verbena (white).
16. Verbena (blue).
17. Ageratum.
18. Heliotrope.
19. Tom Thumb Geranium.
20. Verbena, Sunset (rose).
21 Portulaca (golden).
22. Portulaca (scarlet).
23. Same as No. 8.
24 Geranium, Lucia Rosea (pink).
26. Tom Thumb Geranium.
26. Tom Thumb Geranium.
27. Geranium, Lucia Rosea (pink).
28 Portulaca (scarlet).
29. Tom Thumb Geranium.
30. Heliotrope.
31. Verbena, Sunset.
32. Portulaca (golden).
33. Ageratum.
34. Same as No. 8.
35. Vase, or Statue. If a vase, to be filled with Verr
benas. Petunias, etc. If a statue, to be surround-
ed with a circle of Oxalis rioribun4a.
But, when it is intended to be filled with annuals, this may easily be done by substitut-
ing Candytuft, Alyssum, Eschscholtzia, Lobelia, Agrostemma, Petunias, Dwa??f CpR?
volvulus, Clarkias, etc.
22 Grape A'hies from f?ie 'Parsonaffe.
Grape Notes from the Parsonage.
THE past season has been peculiarly favorable for the grape crop in New England. Our
remarkably warm and dry summer and autumn, though in some instances rather
trying to the vines, have yet, on the whole, ripened up the fruit considerably earlier than
is usual, and brought nearly all kinds to an unusual perfection. A few notes in regard
to some of the newer varieties may be of interest to the readers of The Horticultu-
rist, and possibly of some benefit to those who contemplate purchasing.
1. Brant (Arnold's Hybrid No. 8). — This variety fruited with nie for the first time this
season. It is a strong, healthy grower, but did not this year give any such evidence of
productiveness as I should have been glad to see. The clusters and berries both remind
one of the Clinton, though the fruit is superior to that variety both in quality and earli-
ness. It was one of the first in the garden to color, but the birds did not allow me to
discover its time of ripening. Every berry was taken before one of them was fully
mature. Next season I hope it will bear enough for the robins to allow me to get a taste.
2. Cornucopia (Arnold's No. 2). — My vine of this variety gave me several fine clus-
ters. Both bunch and berry are larger than I supposed, several of the former being six
inches long. It is also a much better grape than I had thought. When fully ripe it is
very delicate in flesh and very spirited in flavor, making one of the best varieties in my
grounds. I should think it would prove a very valuable grape for wine. I look forward
to a farther acquaintance with it, with a great deal of hope. If it continues to improve
with the age of the vine, it will make a grape to which, thus far, few superiors have
appeared. Vine strong and healthy.
3. Cottage. — This is a seedling of the Concord, introduced two years since by the
originator of that. It was announced as much superior to its parent, and in various
respects a most desirable grape. I have eaten it for the first time this season, and in all
candor must say that it is by no means equal to the Concord. It has a hard, tough pulp,
is decidedly foxy, and in my judgment not worth growing. The vine is a good but not
particularly strong grower, and has proved, with me, entirely free from disease.
4. Croton. — It takes a long leap to carry us from the last to this. For the Croton is
one of the most superb grapes that has yet been grown in the open air. It is a white
variety (a hybrid between Delaware and Chasselas de Fontainbleau), the berries of me-
dium size, but the clusters very large. In texture it is as delicate as any foreign grape,
while in flavor it is as pure and refined as the most fastidious taste could demand. It
lacks somewhat that positiveness of character which is such a peculiar excellence in the
best foreign varieties. I do not consider it quite equal to a well-ripened lona. But this
is a point on which tastes will diff"er. In a recent letter from Mr. J. B. Grarber, of
Penn., he says: " I have grown and tested over three hundred varieties of grapes during
the last twenty years, and I unhesitatingly say that the Croton is the be^t out-door table
grape that has yet been grown or tested by me, and a dozen of my horticultural friends
who tasted them with me fully agreed with me in this opinion." And Mr. G. W. Camp-
bell, of Ohio, says: "I regard the Croton, all things considered, the most promising
new grape that has yet been introduced." There is no question that it is a splendid
fruit. My vines for two years have been entirely healthy, and have grown (with one
exception, the first year) as vigorously as could be desired. The fruit ripens early, about
with the Delaware. If any one wants a magnificent grape, that is a feast both to the eye
and the palate, I advise him to send at once for a Croton.
'Practical Shits to JFridt Growers. 23
5. Eumelan. — Another year's experience with this has increased my admiration of it.
I have quite a number of vines planted, and every one of them has "been as healthy as
could be desired. It is a vigorous grower and a very prolific bearer. The clusters are
quite large enough, and very handsome in form. The fruit is about the size of the lona,
and is in quality superior to any black grape I know, except Senasqua. It ripens, too,
as tarly as anything. Miles colors before Eumelan, but the latter ripens first. This
for a black, Delaware for red, and Croton for white, gives us almost all that can be
desired.
6. Lorain. — This is another white variety that has attracted considerable attention in
Ohio, having taken one or two first premiums for quality. My vine was set last spring.
It grew well, showed a good healthy leaf, very short jointed wood, and appeared in all
respects quite promising. Of course, no fruit.
7. Se7iasqua. — This is a black grape (a hybrid between Concord and Black Prince),
originated by Mr. Underhill, who also gave us the Croton. In my judgment it stands
at the head of all out-door grapes I have ever eaten. It is not pulpy, like most of our
native varieties, but meaty, plum-like in flesh, like the Black Hamburg. In delicacy and
character it is more like the foreign grape than any other hardy variety that I know.
It ripens, I am sorry to say, rather late; too late, I fear, for our latitude. Mine was
one of the last in the garden to mature this year. But this was its first crop, and as the
vine acquires age we may reasonably hope that the fruit will acquire earliness. The vine
is a very strong grower, with a thick, tough leaf that promises to withstand mildew as
successfully as any native.
8. Queen of Sheba. — This was sent me a few years' since by a friend in Connecticut,
as a new and very promising variety, and on the basis of his strong commendation I have
sent cuttings to various horticultural friends. But this year it fruited and proved to be
nothing more nor less than Diana. W. H. W.
Reading, Mass.
Practical Hints to Fruit Growers.
Ijinie for Orchards,
THE most successful apple orchard in the Eastern States owes its success entirely to
the application, yearly, of liberal quantities of lime broadcast over the land. Very
few farmers seem to realize the benefit of such a course, yet here are results not to be
overlooked. The trees are large, handsome, thrifty, free from disease, productive, yield-
ing crops every year. The fruit is of large size and handsome in appearance, and sells
at remarkably good prices, being in great demand for shipping to England. The sales
are uniformly made at rates of $6 per barrel, while common fruit rarely ever reaches
above $3. An intelligent writer in the Western Rxtral remarks that the trees require
lime as a necessity for building up their trunks and branches, and in the formation of
their foliage and fruit. It may be applied at any time, but late in the fall or early in
the spring, is the most suitable period. It should be put on in the shape of dry dust,
and be spread evenly over the surface, an! harrowed in. You may give a good dressing;
there is no fear that you will apply a large quantity. A bushel to the square rod may
be safely applied, but a peck or even a quart will be better than none at all. TV^ood oy
24 l^ractlcal ITints to JP^ruit Gi'owet's.
peat ashes are excellent manure ; they should be spread evenly over the surface, and
should not come in contact with the trunks of the trees f6r fear of damaging the bark.
Lime from well-burned limestone is the best for your purpose. It should be slacked by
pouring water upon it, and when it has crumbled into dust, it should be applied before it
becomes heavy and damp by extracting moisture from the atmosphere. If a compara-
tively small quantity of lime is mixed with muck or rich soil of any kind, allowed to
remain in the heap for a considerable time, and then applied to the orchard, etc., it will
be more beneficial than a much larger quantity used without mixing.
I'rotect the Jtoots of your JVeit' Trees.
Many cultivators and gardeners, as soon as a lot of trees or shrubs are received from
a nursery, are apt to leave the roots exposed for several hours, or even days, to the cold
winds or to the dying rays of the sun. It is hardly necessary for us to repeat here, as we
have often done before, that it is a pernicious species of negligeJice. Plant them at once
as soon as opened, and do not leave them more than an hour unplanted. The roots,
unless soon placed in the earth in their proper place, shrink up, are dried, and never
recover their proper vigor of growth. Neither is it well to use too much water in plant-
ing our trees. A little to settle the earth closely around the root is well enough ; but
to insure perfect and permanent moisture, apply a good mulch of hay, straw, etc., over
the ground for three feet around. When this is done the tree will need no further
watering, for the shade of the mulch is itself attractive of moisture.
Drainnge,
Every piece of ground, before planting, should be well drained, or else planting must
be sooner or later a failure. Where trees have been already planted on undrained land,
and the water stands around the tree in pools, or the soil seems unduly wet, the best
method to adopt is to throw up a hillock of dirt of eight inches or more in height,
extending out three feet from the trunk of the tree. This will keep the water away from
the roots; in summer you can spread this soil again out flat. There is no surer way to
induce blight than neglect in drainage. Those who are too anxious to plant out largely,
are reminded that a few trees well treated will pay more than ten times their number who
are invariably stunted, because they lack all the condition of successful growth.
Cherry Trees in Oriiss,
As a rule, it is not best to cultivate cherry trees, by which we mef),n stir the soil
around the trunk and roots, the same as we are accustomed to do with other orchard
crops. The reason is very simjile. Cultivation is stimulation ; this induces exti-a groiuth.
This, in the cherry, results in the bursting of the bark and the oozing of the gum. When
once this commences, we cannot long depend upon the good health or permanent liveli-
hood of the tree.
We have seen so many instances lately where cherry trees planted in grass, and kept
in grass, are so bright, and clean, and healthy, and vigorous, that we think it may be
fairly set down as a rule, that for cherry trees, cultivation in g7-axs is decidedly an excel-
lent course The ground should not be stirred. No other crop or tree should be grown
between, and the grass should be constantly mowed and left to rot upon the ground. No
manure need be applied, save at the outset. All that the cherry tree needs is a good
mulch for its roots, and something to prevent its too rapid succulent growth.
"Practical Mints to I^ruit Growers, 25
Almost any nurserymen now knows that young cherry orchards should be well mulched
immediately after planting, and kept so. If not mulched during a long, hot, dry sum-
mer, fully one-half will dry up and die. Still another thing must be remembered by
cultivation — never plaid a cherry tree after the huds have started; in fact, never take up
one unless for immediate transplanting. In our Southern border States, cherries might
be made a good, healthy, profitable crop, and to those who do not care to plant an orchard
exclusively into cherries, we think if they would plant a row in the grass border around
the fences of their farm, they will find not the slightest trouble in successful culture.
Ex-Gov. Koss, of Seaford, Del., in a letter, a year ago, said that he never succeeded
in cherry culture until he planted his trees in grass, and left them to take care of them-
selves.
We would not advise this policy for pear trees, and must not be understood as advising
the grass theory for any other trees than cherries, and that, too, principally south of the
latitude of New York.
Pruning for fear JSliglit.
I observe there has been great complaint the past season about pear blight. Now if I
can point out a remedy for this ruthless destroyer, I know I shall receive the thanks of
many. If I have not found the root of the matter, I am not far from it.
In my garden I have a number of trees that have been repeatedly attacked. Some-
times I have let the disease progress until the tree seemed almost hopelessly destroyed.
I did this in order that my theory and practice might the more thoroughly be tested. I
never have failed in any instance to check the blight and restore the tree. My theory is
that the disease is in the root, and grows out of the disproportion between the root and
the top. When I discover the disease, I top or prune freely ; sometimes this operation
has to be performed with the nerve and resolution of a regular army surgeon. When
the disease is stubborn, and yields not kindly to amputation of limbs, I mulch and water
with soapsuds, to revive and quicken the roots. This practice has never failed in any
instance.
In my yard, where the trees are more shaded and the roots never molested, and the
ground covered with sod to retain moisture, no blight has ever occurred. In the garden
the ground is regularly worked, the roots more or less interfered with, and the sun has
full power to dispel the moisture from the roots ; hence I think there gets to be a dis-
parity between the roots and top, and blight is the result. Let every one who reads this
contrast it with his own experience, and the facts and observations of others, and I
think we will be able to manage the blight. I prefer, if not a moist, at least a retentive
soil for pear trees, and think constant cultivation among them will sooner or later pro-
duce blight. I think my diagnosis is correct, and I know my practice is. — Country Gent.
The froixen Bull Method of Tr<inspl<tnting.
The frozen ball method of removing ornamental trees is preferred by many to all
others for some purposes. It is well adapted to evergreens growing wild, if they are of
much size. In order that it may be easily and expeditiously performed, preparation
should be made in autumn or before the ground freezes hard, by digging a trench in the
shape of a circle about every tree a foot deep, or as far down as the frost penetrates, and
then filling these trenches.with dead leaves, which are always abundant at this time of
year in the borders of woods or wherever these tre^ are sought. The leaves will prevent
26 Pleasant Thouffhts.
the trendies from freezing in winter, and the earth within them from being frozen hard,
the trees are easily loosed and tipped over, and may then be readily transferred to sleds
and conveyed to their place of destination, where holes, dug at the same time that the
trenches were made, and similarly filled with leaves if convenient, or left open and
frozen, may receive them. If holes and balls are both frozen hard, and are nearly equal
in size, the first thaw will soften the ball and give it a close fit. But it is rather better
to keep the hole unfrozen, so that the ball may be snugly embedded in the mellow earth
when placed there. For well rooted nursery trees this mode is not applicable ; but we
have found it well adapted to the removal of evergreens from the borders of woods in
winter, when the work could be more deliberately attended to than during the busy
period of spring. — Ex.
Pleasant Thonglits.
ILove of JTlowers,
WHEN Bishop Hough visited Archbishop Sancraft after his retirement to Suffolk, he
was discovered working his garden, and immediately said to his visitor, " Almost
all you see is the work of my own hands, though I am bordering upon eighty years of
age. My old woman does the weeding, and John mows the turf and digs for me ; but
all the nicer work — the sowing, grafting, budding, transplanting, and the like — I trust
to no other hand but my own, — so long, at least, as my health will allow me to enjoy so
pleasing an occupation ; and, in good sooth, the fruits here taste more sweet, and the
flowers have a richer perfume than they had at Lambeth."
The Atheist and the Acorn,
An atheist, cold and cheerless in his creed, was one day resting himself beneath the
branches of a spreading oak. It was autumn, and the golden acorns gleamed among the
green leaves. He looked up to the oak tree and then surveyed his garden which lay
before him. "I always thought," said he to himself, "that this world is the result of
mere accident, and now I can no longer doubt it. There is no evidence of any skill any-
where ; all is bungling and confusion. For instance, there is that large round pumpkin,
whose stem is so slight and feeble that it cannot raise it from the ground. Now, above
nie is a sturdy oak, whose branches could support p-impkins even twice as large, whereas
they hold nothing suspended but the tiny acorn. This is sufficient evidence to me that
the world cannot have been created by a superior intelligence." Thus far had he pro-
ceeded in his soliloquy, when the wind loosened a ripe acorn from the topmost bough,
and the little nut falling down, hit the self-conceited scoffer in the eye. " Ah !" said
he, as he smarted with the pain, " I think I must reconsider my opinion. Had pumpkins
grown on oak trees, and this acorn been one of them, I rather fear my philosophizing
would have been finished forever."
T^oudon, the Great Gardener.
Loudon, the great English landscape gardener, was a man possessed of an extraordi-
nary working power. The son of a farmer near Edinburgh, he was early inured to work.
His skill in drawing plans and making sketches of scenery, induced his father to train
him for a landscape g4.rdener. Purigg his apprenticeship, he sat up two whole nights
American horticulture as Seen by an JEJngtis?iinan, 27
every week to study ; yet he worked harder during the day than any fellow-laborer.
During his studious hours he learned French, and, before he was eighteen, translated a
life of Abelard for an Encyclopsedia. He was so eager to make progress in life, that
when only twenty, while working as a gardener in England, he wrote down in his Note-
Book : " I am now twenty years of age, and perhaps a third of my life has passed away,
and yet what have I done to benefit my fellow man?" An unusual reflection for a youth
of only twenty. From French he proceeded to learn German, and rapidly mastered that
language. He now took a large farm for the purpose of introducing Scotch improve-
ments in the art of agriculture, and soon succeeded in realizing a consideral)le income.
The Continent being thrown open on the cessation of the war, he proceeded to travel
for the purpose of observation, making sketches of the system of gardening in all coun-
tries, which he afterwards introduced in the historical part of his laborious " Encyclo-
paedia of Gardening." He twice repeated his journeys abroad for a similar purpose, the
results of which appeared in his Encyclopajdias — perhaps amongst the most remarkable
works of this kind, and distinguished for the immense mass of useful matters which they
contain, all collected by dint of persevering industry and labor, such as has rarely been
equaled.
Sleeping Flowers.
Almost all flowers sleep during the night. The marigold goes to bed with the sun,
and with him rises weeping. Many plants are so sensitive that they close their leaves
during the passage of a cloud. The dandelion opens at five or six in the morning, and
shuts at nine in the evening. The goat's beard wakes at three in the morning, and shuts
at five or six in the evening. The common daisy shuts up its blossom in the evening,
and opens its " day's eye" to meet the early beams of the morning sun. The crocus,
tulip, and many others, close their blossoms at diff'erent hours towards the evening. The
ivy-leafed lettuce opens at eight in the morning, and closes forever at four in the aftei--
noon. The night-flowering cereus turns night into day. It begins to expand its mag-
nificent sweet-scented blossoms in the twilight ; it is full-blown at midnight, and closes,
never to open again with the dawn of day. In a clover-field not a leaf opens till after
sunrise. These are the observations of a celebrated English author, who has devoted
much time to the study of plants, and often watched them during their quiet slumbers.
Those plants which seem to be awake all night, he styles " the bats and owls of the vege-
table kingdom."
American Horticulture as Seen by an Englishman.
MR. W. Robinson, of London, England, an associate editor of The Field, and the
author of that successful volume, " Parks, Promenades and Gardens of Paris,"
visited us the early part of October, and spent a few hours of pleasant conversation. He
is now visiting our principal American cities, wherever our best examples of American
park, garden or landscape work can be seen, and hence to California. In an article writ-
ten to Hearth and Home, on his impression of the character of our horticulture, he
expresses himself delighted with the wonderful abundance and size of our fruit.
"It is difficult for me to say how much I like your noble country. I think I am more
enthusiastic about its capabilities than most Americans. Your fine scenery, vast tracts
28 American Sbrtlculture as Seen by an £!ngUskinan.
of fertile and -well-cultivated land, noble rivers, and beautiful hilly tracts, such as those
in many parts of Pennsylvania, and your fine flora, from oaks to gentians, have afforded
me much pleasure and interest.
" Although I heard many grumble in America, at the climate as unfavorable for gar-
dening, I think it a beautiful one for this purpose. You complain of having endured the
hottest summer known for many years, and folks say to me, ' You have come the worst
possible time to see our gardens;' but to my surprise, I see your forest trees retaining
their verdure as late as, if not later than they do in 'green England.' And I have fre-
quently seen lawns in England, in dry seasons, browner than any of yours."
luack of Gardens . — He complains, and with perfect justice too, that with all our facili-
ties of fruit culture, and an admirable climate, we have lost the love of gardening. " I
am nearly disheartened to see the houses in nearly all parts of the country I have visited,
as bald and bare and uninviting, from the absence of any trace of a garden, as the flank
of any grim sea-rock. Along the banks of the Susquehanna — a region that seemed to
me one of the noblest and sweetest of Nature's own gardens — I saw numbers of what
appeared to be farmers' or respectable mechanics' houses, with hateful, tall green-flowered
weeds leaning over the path to the door, and no trace of any plant useful to man, or
beautiful. Sometimes the walls started stark-naked from hard and not clean pathways.
Sometimes a few insect-worried cabbages approached even the door-step. What a differ-
ence between what Mr. Carlyle calls ' an umbrageous man's rest, in which a king might
wish to sit and smoke, and call it his,' with its roses and honeysuckles and fuchsias
clambering in through the very windows in crowds, and the dreary, arid prospect round
thousands of American houses.
" I have been told more than once that the climate discourages people from attending
to gardens ; but that this is not the real cause, I know ; for I have seen not a few villa
gardens in this country as fresh and beautiful as any with us. I notice the old flowers
of English gardens thriving here and there, and even if such subjects should ' burn up'
.in summer, have you not sub-tropical plants wherewith to embellish your gardens with
deep and graceful verdure ? Everywhere I have been sub-tropical plants thrive better
than they do with us, and Cannas and Caladiums ought to be as easily preserved through
the winter here as the dahlia of an English garden."
Here, at last, we have a candid opinion from an unprejudiced person, and behold how
well it confirms the very words we wrote to the English Gardener's Magazine, on the Char-
acteristics of American Horticulture. Every word of ours is fully proved by the best of
witnesses. In that article we deplored the lack of gardening in America. We deplored
the exclusive attention to fruit. We said that the great mass of the people had little
love for horticulture for its own sake, save as a means to make money, while home gar-
dening had never been as fully encouraged and developed as it ought. Our friends of
the America7i Agriculturist and Gardener's Monthly, who felt we were doing injustice to
our side of the Atlantic Ocean, can now see what others tliink of us, and find that our
position is sustained after all.
Editorial JVotes. 29
Editorial Notes.
Success.
NEVER was a word so cheerfully written, and never did any enterprise deserve so
worthy a compliment as the good old Horticulturist. Its Twenty-fifth Anni-
versary has been indeed a Silver Wedding in its financial career. The past year it has
paid its proprietor a dividend of 70 per cent vpoa ils capital, while its good will and
privileges, under a very moderate valuation by others, has increased 130 per cent.
Is not this a record worthy of mention? After twenty-five years of chequered for-
tune— sometimes up and sometimes down — its twenty-fifth year at last is its most suc-
cessful one, and to-day it is stronger than ever in the memories of its friends. Give
thanks, friends, to Providence, who remembers the efforts of those who " try to help
themselves.'^
High Tra.ining for Fruit Trees.
Dr. Swasey, of the Southern Horticulturist, gives up the pyramidal system of training
pear trees, and now advocates high training altogether. He explains the system as fol-
lows : " Lat spring we received from New York a lot of' the finest pear trees, both
standard and dwarf, that we ever saw. They were two and three years old, and had
been cut back and pruned on the most approved pyramidal system, with low heads
branching widely at bottom and tapering off beautifully to the leader at top. They were
models of symmetry; and had we designed them fir the garden, lawn or avenue, we
would have gone into ecstasies over them. But we wanted them for the orchard, to
replace other trees that had died or been removed, and so, with a sharp knife, a steady
hand, and eyes closed to their pyramidal beauties, we began a vigorous onslaught upon
their nether branches ; nor stayed this seemingly unwise warfiire until every standard
showed a clean unbranching stem of four feet, and every dwarf one of two feet. At
these respective heights, we commence the formation of the "head," by leaving three or
five — always an odd number — equally-distributed main branches, cutting out the
" leader " immediately above them. These branches were [cut back to about 6 to 12
inches, according to strength; and, in cutting, were careful to cut to an outside bud, or
to one that should throw the future shoot from it into the widest unoccupied space.
"The object in the high training was to give free access under the head of the tree for
light, air, whitewash brush and team — in cultivation — and the cutting out of the leader
and confining the base on the head to three or five main branches, as well as the cutting ,
to an outside bud, was designed to give us an open, round-headed tree that should give
every leaf and fruit an equal chance to the vivifying influence of sunlight and air.
" Our only training through the season has been to rub off all shoots that have sprung
from the roots or trunk below the main branches, and all that cross or crowd each other
in the centre of the head, as well as all those that have a downward tendency on the
outer side of the branches. This same treatment will be pursued a couple of years more,
after which, if the trees continue to make a good growth, we never expect to touch them
with either knife or pruning saw."
Note. — Mr. Swasey's theory of exposing all the branches to air and sunlight is cer-
tainly excellent, and undoubtedly, for a Southern country, high training would be most
beneficial. Here in the Middle and Border States, fruit-growers are in such love
with the pyramidal system, it is impossible to induce them to change. The system allows
of closer planting, they are easier handled, easier pruned, and, if well pruned, the
branches have all the sun and light they actually need, and yet the fruit is quite as
abundant, more easily picked, or less injured in falling to the ground. Besides this, fine
sturdy branches are developed, which will bear any weight of fruit without breaking
down. We have not yet seen the first disadvantage from pyramidal training, and would
be glad to have any one point it out.
The names Mammoth Stratoherry.
In the East, it has been a failure this year, yet, in the West and South, it has been
exceedingly successful. We apprehend it does best in a moist season.
30 JE^ditorial JVotes.
The Wilder Straivberi-y .
In the West the foreign variety is succeeding better than the native ; the latter dying
out, at least only a moderate grower, while the other is large, showy, of high quality, and
very firm. It would certainly be a singular fact if Mr. Wilder was to be indebted to a
foreign source for the most successful of the two varieties bearing his name.
Northern vs. Southern Nursery Trees,
A leading nurseryman informs us of the reason why pear trees are so generally pre-
ferred from Central New York, instead of from further South, for Southern planters.
Because in the North fully eighty-five per cent of all the trees grown in the nursery are
good and reliable, well formed and vigorous ; while in the South not over fifty per cent
can be depended upon as trees of the first class. In other words, a Northern nursery-
man who buds 100,000 trees can generally feel sure of 85,000 good, first-class, saleable
trees ; while in the South fully one-half would be too poor to sell.
We believe the remark a very just one, from what we have seen of Southern nurseries.
So we think none should complain of our northern-grown trees when they are furnished
uniformly at fair prices, in good condition and superior averag'e quality. But we will
give credit, on the other hand, to Southern growers by saying that they can raise better
pears — larger ones — than any one can produce here. So the advantages of each section
are thus harmoniously balanced. We say this much because we observe an attempt
among some Southern nurserymen to discourage the purchase of trees of our Northern
nurseries, by argument that Southern trees are better in every respect. We do not find
their arguments well verified.
J'lant Trees.
We esteem tree planting hereafter to be a more profitable undertaking than either
fruit culture, gardening or farming. Our American forests are being destroyed at a
rate perfectly startling to the ideas of any one not familiar with the facts. The United
States Department of Agriculture states that during the decade from 1850 to 1860,
twenty millions of acres of timber land were cut down and put under cultivation, and
during the decade from 1800 to 1870, it is estimated the census will reveal not less than
one hundred million acres so cleared. Not a single acre has come into bearing to supply
this enormous deficiency, and unless our American farmers are alive to the necessity of
replanting their waste fields in useful timber, we will have an actual famine for wood
within thirty years.
Were we the possessors of 100 or 1,000 acres of land in Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska or
Kansas, we could not put it to a more profitable use than to plant in larch, chestnut, oak
and other woods, and wait ten, twenty or thirty years. AVe believe it would be a sub-
stantial inheritance to our children and a benefit to posterity, while the value per acre
could not well be less than $200. The planting of forests is also an amelioration of
climate, and were the West once freed from its cold winds, and an agreeable, uniform
temperature induced, without dangerous extremes, the occupation of gardening and
fruit culture would be fraught with less hazard, and give more abounding and regular
returns. Plant trees, then, for your own health and prosperity.
A. Jh'ine Green Mouse.
The new Green House at Washington, for the erection of which Congress made appro-
priation at its last session, is nearly completed. It is 470 feet in length, and presents a
very fine appearance. One section of this building will contain grape cuttings, now on
the way from Europe, embracing every variety grown in that country. Another section
will be devoted to the propagation of medical plants derived from foreign points, with a
view to their future culture in the United States. Still another division will receive
assignments of choice imported floral productions, and yet another to experiments in the
growth of fruits, native to Russia and other powers, now exchanging with this department.
Wisconsin Horticullurnl Society Tro.nsnctions.
We have received from the Secretary, 0. S. Willey, the Annual Report for the year
1869, containing the Addresses of the President, Reports of the Secretary, and descrip-
tion of new fruits, together with discussions thereon. The Society seems to be in excel-
lent condition and progressing rapidly.
JEIditorial JVotes. 31
J^lensnnt Valley Fruit and Wine Reporter.
This is a new semi-monthly, published at Hamniondsport, N. Y., by A. L. Underbill,
directed especially to the interests of grape culture and wine making in the grape
regions of Central New York. It is printed in a most superior manner, has a pleasant
general look, and bears evidence of good editorial talents. It starts with prospects
of becominfif a permanent success, for we know it will be supported with the necessary
capital and enterprise.
Huml Home Visitor.
This is a new weekly published by T. A. Bland; $2 per year; devoted to rural affairs
and home economy. It has a very pleasant, inviting appearance, and contents are well
selected.
Seauttj of our American l^arhs.
Mr. Robinson, whose article we refer to in another column, says : ^"^ Your public parks,
as far as regards desigti, are not surpassed by those of Eurcpe. I have been much
surprised at the beauty of surface of such parks as those of Philadelphia and Baltimore."
Heauty of Atnerican Climate.
Mr. Robinson says : " 0 Americans ! never blame the climate, for it is an admirable one.
The succulent vegetables of the old country grow here, with very few exceptions, and by
their sides you gather the ears of the stately and graceful maize — most useful of its won-
derfully useful family. Mushnelons better than those which cost an English country
gentleman six dollars each to produce on hot-beds and in glass houses, grow side by side
with your delicious sweet potato, which I used to grow as a curiosity in a hot-house.
Our old and popular Williams pear (you call it the Bartlett), larger, sweeter and more
golden than with us, falls by the side of egg-plants, with fruit so large as to be a con-
stant source of surprise to me, who had often grown the fruit to the size of a turkey egg
in hot-houses in England. Rosy-cheeked English apples are seen above the quaint,
large-flowered of the okra, which to us is an impossible exotic. Blessed by every variety
of climate, and with its peoples not hedged out from each others' improvements by strange
tongues, I look forward to the time when this vast country shall be more famous for
rural beauty than for the wealth of her many cities."
The Small Fruit Jtecorder.
lis is to be enlarged to dou
It is
The Small Fruit Jtecorder.
This is to be enlarged to double its present size, and published at $1 a year, for 1871.
, is a wide-awake, entertaining little sheet.
Can't Do Witliont It.
Hosts of our subscribers write us that they cannot do without The Horticulturist.
This is exactly the point we have been aiming at for the last two years — to make the
magazine so good that every one will welcome it heartily to a permanent place on their
library table. We are greatly encouraged. Every one has a good cheerful word, and
we feel at last like one who has overcome all obstacles, and stands on the grand plane of
success. The friends of The Horticulturist admit it is every thing we have claimed
for it — dignified, yet popular; practical, yet not di-y or tedious; lively and piquant, but
not sensational. Our rivals generously admit it is the most abundantly illustrated of any
of its class in the country. Every one of our exchanges have given it hearty notices of
good will. Our advertisers have patronized it splendidly, and we feel as though we had
gained the old vantage ground it once held under Downing as the best and most popular
journal of its character in America. We have yet to hear a word of fault. Every one
gives genuine testimonials of appreciation for the vast improvement which has been
accomplished. And yet we have not had the opportunity to carry out one-tenth part of
our plans. Stand by us, friends ; do not miss a single number, and we will yet produce
a journal worthy of your highest respect and regard — the ne phis ultra of its profession.
Our February and March numbers will be equal in merit to this number. We have
got so much excellent matter on hand we cannot find room for it all now.
32 MorticuUural JVotes,
HorticTiltural Notes.
ThicUness for JUiilching Trees,
AN amateur cultivator of fruits inquires the proper thickness for mulching, remarking,
"a large apple or pear will, I suppose, bear three or four inches; not so small fruits.
I think half an inch is about enough for them ; also for small trees. I've seen folks mulch
strawberries four inches thick — enough to kill them, for the air cannot well get through
it. When mulching is rather scarce, if we lay it around our young trees, as far a^ the
rootlets extend, will not this answer pretty well, or must it be spread still further ?
Would you recommend hay or straw over half an inch thick, packed close, for trees only
three to seven feet high?"
The thickness must vary greatly according to the object in view, and with various cir-
cumstances. We have been in the practice of mulching more heavily than our corres-
pondent. For the winter protection of strawberry beds, he is correct in recommending
caution against deep covering the whole surface to prevent smothering the plants. The
depth may, however, vary much according to the nature of the material. Soft hay or
oat straw quickly packs solid when drenched with wet, and an inch or two would be
likely to kill the plants. Rye straw is much stiffer, and might be safely laid on more
heavily. Evergreen boughs are still more rigid, and the stiffer spruces and pines, if not
cut into very small branches, can scarcely ever do any injury. A winter mulching, even
if quite thin, is of much service in protecting the bare surface of the earth and small
plants from sharp freezing winds. Any one may satisfy himself on this point, by examin-
ing the various depths to which the ground h«s frozen with a bare surface and with dif-
ferent thicknesses of mulching, as the earth is freezing at the beginning of winter.
When a bare surface, exposed to the sweep of the winds, has been found frozen six inches
down, a thin covering of grass in another place has prevented it from freezing more
than an inch or two, according to observation and measurement. The mulch, in this
way, retards the freezing and retards the thawing again ; and thus preventing sudden
transitions, affords great protection.
For the winter, mulching of half tender trees, we should not fear to apply litter
copiously ; as, unlike the green plants of the strawberry, they cannot be smothered. Mice
are excluded by a previously clean field, and a small smooth mound previously embanked
around each tree. — Ex.
Iron for I\-ar Trees.
I had a very fine pear tree (Flemish Beauty) that became affected, first by blight in
one limb, which I removed, and then another and another was affected in the same way,
until I had removed a considerable portion of the top of the tree. Early next spring 1
resolved to try the application of scrap iron to the roots. I procured my iron, removed
the soil from the roots carefully, deposited the iron between them, and replaced the
earth. There was no further progress in the blight, the tree continued to grow that
season, and the next leaves and blossoms came out vigorously, no black spots appeared
on the leaves and the tree bore finely, and no appearance of disease was seen in the
tree afterward. In subsequent conversations with friends I found that some of them
had become informed on the same subject, and had tried the remedy wi'Ji perfect success.
Some told me they had procured turning and drilling chips from the machine shops and
had used them, as they thought, with much advantage to their trees. — Cor. Ktiral
Messejiger.
The »»t' York Trihtitie,
Horace Greeley's Essays, "What I know of Farming," which have been published in
The Tribime every week during 1870, are to be printed in Pamphlet form, and a copy
will be sent, post-paid, to each subscriber who sends SIO for The Daily, $4 for The Semi-
Weekly, or $2 for The Weekly Tribune, and requests the book at the time of subscribi'ig.
This will enable old subscribers to secure the Essays for preservation, on renewing their
subscriptions, and new subscribers will, of course, be glad to obtain them, free of cost.
See advertisement on opposite page for club terms.
JErrntn.
The article on p. 365, December No. last, should have been credited to Edgar Sanders
instead of Dr. Hull. On p. 302, read inusky instead of musty juice.
VOL. 26.
FEBRLTAEY, 18T1
l^O. 296.
"Will it Pay to G-row Pears?
rilHE past year's experience in growing pears as a source of profit, diflfers widely in
-L many respects, from that of any other season, since I have been engaged in the busi-
ness, and some of the facts developed are worthy of the attention of practical fruit
culturists.
Although the winter of '69 and '70 was unusually mild, and open from December
until the first of April, the eai'ly and continuous fine settled weather of the spring
months favorably disappointed everybody, and brought about conditions, during April
and May, or through the critical period in fruit culture, the blossom time, that were
satisfactory to those interested in the production of small as well as large fruit.
The first week in May our pear orchard was in full blossom, and from the moment the
first blossom appeared until the last petal fell to the ground, there was not an unfavorable
or harsh blast to disturb the "wedding in the orchard." The customary cold north-
eastern rain-storm failed in this instance to put in an appearance, and the result was,
the most uniform and largest "set" of pears, through the whole orchard, that we ever
had, on the same number of trees in a single season.
Notwithstanding this heavy set of fruit, the younger trees started a vigorous growth of
wood, and both trees and fruit gave striking evidence even as early as the first of June,
that there would be a large crop, and only with careful and radical thinning — the speci-
men or individual fruit could be brought to the full size.
At this time reports came from all parts of the country, that the fruit crop was very
large, the apple especially. The markets were then abundantly supplied with Straw-
berries, followed by Raspberries, of which there were thousands of quarts sold in New
York market for six cents a quart, and under. At one period the market was so over-
stocked with Blackcap raspberries, that there was no established price ; they were sold
for anything offered for them.
This condition of things was not in the least consoling to a person having a large crop
of fruit ; a well supplied market and corresponding low prices seemed almost certain to
fruit-growers who watched the market reports closely.
34 ?^^'^^ ii ^(^y fo Gro7P Tears.
Being fully alive to the fact, that in such fruitful years, when every fruit-bearing tree
or bramble was overladen, the markets would, judging from the past, be overstocked
with medium to small sized fruit, and this class of fruit would sell at very low prices.
About the middle of June, we went to work with a determination to thin out from
every tree in our pear orchard, a certain portion of the crop. It was hard work, and at
first appeared sinful to deliberately take off so many fair specimens of fruit, for strange
to say, the entire burden of fruit then was almost uniform in size, being free from insect
marks. From hundreds of trees more than half the fruit was taken off, and very few,
less than a third, of what then was on the trees. In places, the ground was fairly
covered, as far as the branches extended, with the pears that were pulled off.
When the job of thinning was finished, the effect in a few weeks began to show itself.
The rapid and uniform increase in the growth of the crop of pears, was plain to be seen ;
the only mistake or blunder made, was in some instances leaving too many on the trees.
In such cases, the bulk of the fruit grew only to medium or small size.
The orchard was cultivated during the spring and early part of summer. About mid-
summer it was mulched with salt marsh hay, cut and cured for the purpose. This
method we like better the more we practice it in pear culture. It serves a double pur-
pose, of saving the fruit from being injured when falling from the trees, besides, the
ground underneath is kept moist and loose, and the weeds prevented from growing.
The peach crop was very large, and prices ranged low. Thousands of baskets were
sold in New York market for less than the expenses in transporting them from Dela-
ware. Early apples were abundant and cheap, with a full supply of Raspberries and
Blackberries.
On the 13th of August, we sent our first Bartletts to market and they brought $10
per barrel, or that amount for two and a half bushels. During the following two week's
they fell to $8 per barrel, for good fruit, and they sold from %1 to $8 until the first of
September, when prices advanced to SIO, and from then, until the Bartletts left the
markets, prices advanced steadily. The 13th of September, we sold the last of our crop
of Bartletts at $18 per barrel. At this time choice, early apples were selling for $1.50
to $2 per barrel, and fine plums from $8 to $12.
All kinds of pears, owing to the protracted drought and intense heat, ripened two to
three weeks earlier than usual. We commenced marketing Duchesse d'Angouleme as
early as the 10th of September. These, however, were " drops," but falling on the hay
under the trees were not injured.
These drops carefully put up in new half-barrels brought $5 per half (1^ bushels), with
a good demand, considering the quantity and low prices that other kinds of fruit were
then selling for in New York market. Good sized fruit of the Duchesse, carefully
packed, ranged from $8 to $20 per barrel through the season, and like the Bartletts,
late in the season prices advanced, so that on October 25th, second class fruit brought
higher prices than first class did a month before. No. 2 fruit (Duchesse) sold readily at
$12 per barrel, in the latter part of October.
Our crop of Duchesse was large, and the fruit large and uniform in size.
During the past season we sold of the Duchesse d'Angouleme 1,155 bushels, which net
us a fraction more than $4 per bushel for the whole crop ; that is, deducting the price of
packages, freight, cartage and commission.
The apple crop was unusually large, and of very fair quality. Cider makers in one
Desiffii for a J^loffer 2'abte,
35
district of New Jersey bought thousands of bushels of apples for from ten to twenty-five
cents per bushel. Towards the end of November, a few of the makers paid for sound
choice fruit 50 cents per bushel. Peaches, grapes, and all the small fruits were plenty,
more than an average crop, all over the country.
The crop of pears in districts where the}'^ are cultivated for market, was larger than
usual, and the markets were well supptied ; still prices ranged higher than for any other
kind of hardy fruit, and growers need entertain no fear of " overdoing " the pear for the
next ten years, at any rate. P. T. Quinn.
■ ♦>-
Design for a Flower Table.
As an appropriate accompaniment to the subject of Home Decorations in Winter, we
introduce this charming design of a new flower table. It needs very little explana-
tion. In all our large cities there are wire makers who manufacture flower stands, hang-
ing baskets and other simple objects for household use and ornament. This stand may
be entirely circular, or in the form of a semi-circle, in which case it will fit easily into
the alcove of any window, and the circular portion will project out into the room ; or, if
the window should be circular, like that of a bay window, and project out from the build-
ing, then this table will easily fill the space, and gain the benefit of an abundance of light
and the warmth of the sun's rays. It may be constructed entirely of wire, or the lower
part may be made of wood, and the upper part of wire, with a tin or zinc pan for holding
the earth. Soil may be used for growing the flowers, or, still better, wood mold from the
forests. Moss also can be used appropriately and kept constantly moist. Sand also, if
convenient, can be used for such flowers as thrive best in it. Care must be taken to
allow somo means of drainage, to remove the superfluous water. The size of the table
is about four to five
feet in diameter,
and stands about
two and a half feet
from the floor, the
upper railing not
being over three ft.
high. It can be
adapted in winter
and early spring to
tulips, hyacinths,
and other bulbs,
and in later spring
or summer to plant
of ornate foliage.
The design is really
elegant, and will
be found a most
graceful ornament
for floral decora-
tion.
36 Some decorations in Winter.
Home Decorations in Winter.
MANY pleasant and suggestive papers have been written on the subject of house deco-
ration, and the arts of design have been put to useful purpose in the cultivation of
refined tastes. It is so simple a matter to make a dwelling bright and cheerful in all
seasons, to fill a corner here and a niche there \^ith objects upon which the eye gladly
rests, to displace sharp angles by curves, to place upon the walls a bit of rich color, or to
set a branch of ivy climbing, that it is a cause of wonder that so little is done in this
direction. The busiest man or woman could spare an hour or two for the labor of mak-
ino" such inexpensive and beautiful decorations.
A contributor to the Springfield Eepublican — Annie S. Downes, of Andover — offers
some timely and sensible hints concerning the uses of house plants in winter, showing
what can be done with a few common flowers. The writer says :
For Siiniii/ Vindoivs.
If your window is sunny there is no limit to the flowers you may have from Christmas
until the wild ones come again. With two maurandias, one white, the other purple, with
a hioh colored dwarf nasturtium, or tropaeoleum, as it is properly an English ivy, and a
vigorous plant of German ivy, or senecio scandens, you can make a screen for your
window more beautiful than any Raphael or Da Tinci ever designed, for yours is the per-
fect original of their defective representation. The vines should be at the ends of the
box, so as to be trained on the sides and over the top of the window frame. Then close
to the glass, for, true to its name, it loves the sun, put a heliotrope or two, a trailing
winter blooming fuchsia, a scarlet geranium, and for the sake of contrast, a white one,
whose flowers have a bright eye in the centre. Do not be afraid of crowding the plants,
but sow mignonette and sweet alyssum seed, as well as the tiny ones of Linaria Cym-
balraria or Coliseum ivy. If not intending to have but one box, do not forget a plant
or two of the neat, handsomely marked petunias, for they will give you a mass of flowers
from the first week of blooming until put out in the garden in the Spring. Yellow
myrtle, and the plants commonly called Wandering Jew, and ice plant, as well as a
variety of saxifrage known as beefsteak geranium, may be made to droop over the front
of your box, and their graceful sprays will reach even to the floor if you wish.
Fov Shndy Windotrs,
But you have no sunny window. Well, then, for a shady one. A box of the same
kind must still be your resort. In one end insert a healthy tuber of madeira vine, and
in the other a well started German ivy, for sun or shade it seems to like equally. Then,
instead of the flowering plant I have enumerated, go out into the woods, and take up
before the frosty nights have enfeebled them, clusters of fern roots, and put them in the
centre. You will find so many varieties that you will be bewildered, but select over all
others the lovely Dicksonia so common by walls ; the tiny spleen wort, the enchanting
maiden hair, and the piquant polypodiums or rock crosses.
Under the shadow of these ferns you may set rattlesnake plantain, both varieties of
which are common in our woods, mitchella vine, the odd pitcher plant, and hepaticas.
The leaves of the latter are pretty and interesting all winter, and very early in Spring
its lovely blue flowers will gladden you. If you shower this box of wild plants once a
week, and do not keep your room too hot or let them become too wet, they will form a
Some 2)eco7'afio}is in Ji^ inter. 37
never-ending source of interest to you and your whole household. The manner in which
the young ferfronds push their way to light, the singular hairy furze that envelopes some,
and the intricate folding of others, will afford food for thought and topics for conversa-
tion when new books are scarce and the weather too bad for friends to visit you. The
delicate, wonderful beautiful ferns from the tropics, will, with the same care, do nearly
as well; but they are of high cost, and I have sometimes thought when I have succeeded
in domesticating these shy people of our woods and swamps, that they put me more
immediately in sympathy wiih nature.
Hanging Pots,
Besides these boxes, you may have one, two, or even three, hanging pots in every
window, almost without reference to sun, for many plants, suitable for this situation,
seem indifferent to his presence The exquisite blue lobelia is very impatient of his
beams. Smilax, too, popularly supposed to flourish only in hot-houses, does well in sun-
less situations, and is as valuable as beautiful ; for no daintier adornment to a lady's
dress can possibly be desired, than its shining leaves and graceful sprays. Be careful
and keep off its deadly enemy, the red spider ; for so certain as he touches those perfect
leaves, their beauty is gone. Remember that eternal vigilance is the price of handsome
smilax, as well as liberty, and shower early and late, whenever you can find the time.
The freely flowering pink oxalis cannot be praised too highly for a hanging pot. I never
knew the bonny, cheerful, little creature to harbor insects ; and its way of falling asleep
at night, and waking in the morning, is irresistibly attractive. Its first cousin, the
"oxalis flava," is very handsome and should be cultivated at all costs ; but it is chary of
its flowers, and demands far more cai'e of its possessor. The less common varieties of
oxalis, sold by florists, arc many of them very desirable, both in size and color ; but they
are comparatively delicate, and perhaps in unskilled hands might fail.
English Ivy,
The use of English ivies for the purpose of decorating living rooms, is more extensive
every year, and cannot be too highly commended. Being very strong they will live
through almost any treatment ; but study their peculiarities, and manifest a willingness
to gratify them and they will grow without stint. Most houses are too hot for them, as
indeed they are for their owners. Neither plants nor people should have the average
temperature over sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit. Take care and not enfeeble your ivies
by undue heat or excessive watering, and you will find that they will not seem to mind
whether the sun shines on them or not, or in what position or direction you train them.
Indeed, so much will they do of themselves to render a room charming, that I would
ratKer have an unlimited number of them to draw upon, than anything else in nature or
art. Do you wish the ugly plain doors that shut off your tiny entry from your parlor
to be arched or curved, like those in the drawing rooms of your richer neighbor ? Buy
a couple of brackets, such as lamps for the burning of kerosene are sometimes placed in,
and screw them on the sides of the door. Put in each a plant of English ivy, the longer
the better, then train the plants over the top, against the sides, indeed, any way your
fancy dictates. You need not buy the beautiful but costly pots the flower dealer will
advise ; common glazed ones will answer every purpose, for by placing in each two or
three sprays of Coliseum ivy, in a month's time no vestige of the pot itself can be dis-
cerned through their thick screen.
38 '^^^ Seedling Dahlias.
Experiments "with. Turnips.
IN October, 1869, I planted on rich, sandy loam, good Sea Island cotton land. Yellow
French and German Tultowa turnip seed ; both grew vigorously ; very soon the Tul-
towa had got its full growth, and was entirely under the ground ; it is a small root, but
for flavor is the best of all turnips. The Yellow French grew partly in and partly out
of the ground ; it is larger than the Tultowa, but very inferior to it in flavor.
This Fall, seeds of the Yellow Stone and Flat Dutch turnips were sent me ; both
planted on a sandy loam, and have done well. The Dutch has grown almost entirely out
of the ground, the Yellow Stone under the surface. The Yellow Stone is every way the
best table turnip. From this, I learn that where there is a variety of the same root, that
which grows under the surface is the best for the table.
A fruit tree is never to be taken up to be placed elsewhere, after having been trans-
planted once. If it takes root the first time, ninety-nine times in a hundred, it will keep
on growing ; if you transplant it a second time, it may grow again or it may not ; no
wise man will accept a chance for a certainty ; time is money ; if it takes ten days to
transplant a thousand trees, it will take twenty to do it again in this case ; by doing over
what has already been done, you accept a chance for a certainty, you lose time, and
above and beyond all you demoralize yourself ; in place of having a fixed purpose, you
waver and lose confidence in your own judgment. The precept of divine writ is, "no
man having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God."
Alexander W. Cowper, Ga.
New Seedling Dahlias.
MR. GERHARD SCHMITZ, of Philadelphia, for the past twenty-five years has
occupied a large part of his time in the improvement of his favorite plant, the Dahlia,
and has in past years produced some very creditable specimens. They are noticeable
particularly for their dwarf habits, yet full blooming qualities, and have the following
general characteristics : globular form, short, round, well cupped petals, full to the very
centre, and are far superior to any of the European varieties usually imported into this
country. The first Dahlia ever known was introduced from Mexico, by Baron Humboldt,
in 1789, a flower then of very little value, with only a single row of petals around a
large centre or disc, and producing seeds very freely. Since that time florists have
improved it so vastly that from twenty to thirty rows of petals can now be counted
around on the disc, and there are shades innumerable to satisfy the finest fancy. The
last two productions of Mr. Schmitz are the America, with white ground, striped and
splashed with crimson, and River, deep scarlet, shaded with crimson and maroon. Florists
now find the Dahlia again becoming one of the most popular of garden flowers, and the
above now in the possession of Mr. Dreer, of Philadelphia, are among the latest novelties.
^eff SeedUnff Dahlias.
39
Sehniitz'a New Seedling J>/ahlias Ajmeriea and Jtiver.
40 Wisconsin State Sorticultural Societj' J^xhibltion.
■Wisconsin State Horticnltnral Society Exhibition.
WITHOUT very great anticipations for a fine show at our annual exhibition, we went
forth to duty. We were constantly reminded that this had been a precarious
season, — the "oldest inhabitant" never saw any thing like it. Fruit had prematurely
ripened ; early fall fruit was all gone, or fast decaying, and even many early winter sorts
showed signs of immature ripening. Grapes were nearly gone — pears ditto. Plums a
very light crop, so that the basis for building a very large expectation was poor. But in
this we were happily disappointed. Fruits came in early and in large quantities, so that
before the time for opening the exhibition, the room was all taken, and nearly 2,000
plates of fruit were on the tables. I cannot name the exhibitors, but the competition
was very lively. A marked feature here was the Society exhibition, viz. : Waukesha
County and the Milton Farmer's Club, both ambitious for the fifty dollar premium. The
exhibition by county or local societies is provocative of much good, and results in bring-
ing out the influence and interest of a much larger class as exhibitors than it otherwise
would. Another marked feature of this show was the exhibition of new fruits. G. P.
Peffer showed a chance seedling crab, which had many points of excellence, and 1 think
will make its mark and be heard from hereafter with interest. The Pewaukee, also
shown and originated with Mr. Peffer, and recently described in The Horticulturist,
surpassed the expectations of its friends, being about one-third larger this year than ever
before, and in every other respect equal to the past. The Janesville grape (also figured
in your Journal) was much better than we have ever seen it before. The vine is grow-
ing in favor every year, proving well adapted to our changeable climate — hardy — and the
fruit much the best as here exhibited, we have ever seen. The Worden grape was also
riper than last year, showing its character to better advantage, and cannot be thought
the same as the Concord, as was the case last year.
There was also on exhibition an ever-bearing raspberry, an accidental seedling, from
Jefi'erson county, where it fruited for a number of years. The bushes on exhibition
were well filled with fruit, similar in appearance to the Doolittle, claimed to be as pro-
lific as any raspberry, not surpassed in quality or size, perfectly hardy, rapid and
vigorous grower. " The last crop begins to ripen last of August or first of September,
and continues to blossom and ripen fruit up to freezing weather."
The exhibition of both fruit and flowers was almost entirely by professional growers ;
the amateurs seem to have forgotten that they had a chance.
But the fruits were by no means the important feature of this show, though the grapes
from Alexander Mitchell, from good sized bunches to very large, weighing over seven
pounds to the bunch, did take their full share of all eyes; still the Florists filled an
important niche in this hall.
Milwaukee GardC'iis.
Milwaukee is somewhat noted for its Florists, having some fine private residences with
green houses attached, but its market gardeners and plant houses are of no mean propor-
tions. As prominent as any here, are Whitnell and Ellis, who have nine houses mostly
for cut flowers, and if the sample they bestowed upon your humble servant is a represen-
tative of their labors, the city of their adoption may be proud they are there. Then
there are Dunlop and Middlemus, Thomson, Heisler, and others, all doing a thrifty and
well regulated business, showing that though we are " out West," and this in a city
Ifisc07isin State Morticulturat Society £^xhibition. 4 1
scarcely out of its swaddling clothes, our better natures were not all left in New England
hills, and " we," the " people," do think of something else than money. Think of it !
you at the East, who suppose Wisconsin is a wilderness, inhabited by Indians and wild
men, that here in Milwaukee we have a city, scarce thirty years of age, equaling in busi-
ness many towns on the Atlantic coast of three times its size, a century or two old ; that
during this short space of time it has been reclaimed from the Indian tfibes, and which
still shows the landmarks of Jernean, the then trader of the West. And here it is that
now upon one of the prominent streets of the city, high, and orerlooking a greater por-
tion of the town, upon less than an acre of land, there is a large mansion for the family,
and 20,000 square feet of glass for the accommodation of the conservatory — cut flowers,
roses, Orchidcan grapes, peaches, &c. ; such in brief is the place of Alexander Mitchell,
of Milwaukee.
During our visit at the State Exhibition, I accepted an invitation to visit these
grounds, and a treat it was ; pen cannot do justice to the pleasing emotions one has in
walking among the choice and rare plants here found. The gardener, Mr. Pollard,
assured me that "jiiany of his choicest and rare plants, to the amount of three to four
thousand dollars worth, were on the fair grounds ;" but enough was left for our purpose.
Passing through the hall of the dwelling house, we enter the conservatory, now full of
plants. This is 100 feet long, with a serpentine walk passing the whole length. Here
we have Azaleas, century plant twenty years old. Date Palms, Auracarias and Colocasia
odorata, its body nearly ten inches in diamater, with its enormous l»af, measuring about
sixteen square feet, said to be from Cuba ; Camelias seem to be at home ; but without
mentioning each plant or species, we cannot refrain from noticing the rery excellent use
to which the common Abutilons had been used. We here find it trained upon the back
wall and densely covered with bloom ; a more pleasing effect we seldom see. In the
centre of this room, and yet not in the way, for the walk gets out of its way, is a foun-
tain; the fine, beautiful spray came jetting forth from shelving rocks, quickly filling some
large imitation shells, cut from marble, these then dripping from their fullness, add
their mite to beautify the scene.
A practical point here is that of the walk. Its serpentine form gives a pleasing effect,
and standing at one end of the house the look through is broken, as it is partially at any
point of the house. Walk is formed by first excavation, then boards are laid fiatways
in the bottom, then brick, on this groit, and one-half inch cement, which is|finally sanded
with lake-shore sand, using irregular stones for the edging, all combining to give it a lake-
shore appearance, firm, tidy and good. Passing from this room we enter the green house,
seventy-five feet long, stocked with tender plants. Prying around, for we like to find
practical points, we espied back of the flower stage, everything tidy and neat, as a well
kept kitchen as compared to the best room of the house. And instead of the usual dirt
and rubbish, broken pots, &e., attendant upon similar places, I found some well adjusted
mushroom boxes. A walk paved the way, and here we are under the stage, and a tidy
place it is. The mushroom beds are about sixty feet long, divided into three or four com-
partments to obtain a succession of mushrooms. A bed is productive five or six weeks,
so that by making up a bed or section at these regular intervals, a succession of these
esculents, so highly prized by epicureans, is kept up the entire season. Mr. Pollard
explained the whole manner of production, and constant care required to regulate the
42 Hogers' Sybrids in loipa.
heat from sixty to seventy degrees, how it is communicate.l [through small pipes in the
boxes, the care necessary in the construction of boxes, circulation of air around them to
assist in maintaining an even temperature, compost used, &c. ; but it is unnecessary here
to allude to them in detail, and pass to the tropical house, fifty feet long, filled with the
choicest plants from tropical countries. Bananas are here fruiting, apparently quite at
home. Water jets forth in all parts of this house from numerous little rockeries. Here
we find a beautiful hollow cone-shaped rockery, the outside supporting choice plants, but
within a beautiful constant dripping was going on ; this was lined or rather sealed with
the most brilliant shells. From all parts of this house are rustic hanging baskets with
plants thrifty and fine.
We next enter the grapery where he "has grown a half ton per year," of such as are
on exhibition. We partook of such as was left, and passed to the rose house for winter
bloom, fifty by twenty feet, and thence to the Peach, Apricot and Nectarinc^^rooms, 100
feet long. The fruit was all gone, but here are trees nine years old, ten feet high, and
some still wider top, in pots sixteen inches square, and more thrifty and healthy trees I
never saw. The average crop is 2,000 to 2,500 specimens from twelve trees. Passing
through, and we are once more in the open yard. The clear, beautiful sky is our
cover, a mantle of green our footstool, dotted all over with masses of choice roses.
Verbenas, Geraniums and Coleuses, a few weeping trees, old native oaks, and a fine
majestic golden willow. We have been thus particular, not that we think this place can-
not be bettered, but in hopes to induce others of like means to go and do likewise, and
BO shall your children call you blessed.
0. S. WiLLEY.
Rogers' Hybrids in Iowa.
HAVE set over 40 varieties of grapes in my garden and among them 10 difi'erent
numbers of the above Hybrids. The latter very pleasantly disappointed me in their
behavior during the summer, which in the West has been so exceedingly trying to the
foliage of most kinds. Not only did they pass through the drouth as well as the Con-
cords, growing without interruption through the entire season, but they ripened up their
wood fully as well. The "Wilder " seems to be the most vigorous, though not a great
ways ahead of the Salem. If the latter only comes out safely next spring, I see no
reason why it may not be safely placed alongside the Concord and Delaware as one of
the leading grapes. A few of us here, having heard so much of this kind, determined to
try a box of the fruit this fall, and so, sent on to Messrs. J. H. Babcock & Co., of
Lockport, N. Y., who claim to be " Headquarters " for this variety. The clusters were
not so large as we expected ; but the size of the berries and most excellent quality of the
fruit made up for all other deficiencies. For a market grape, I should think nothing
would equal it, for its appearance is magnificent,]] and flavor not much below the
Delaware.
Of the many vines which will be set in our State next spring, I think a larger pro-
portion of these Hybrids will be selected than ever before.
CecLar Rapids, Iowa. W. J. Abernethy.
^ Selection of JETardy Shrubs. 43
A Selection of Hardy Shrubs.
A S the season will soon be at hand when most sorts of hardy trees and shrubs can be
-^ transplanted, we give a selection of twenty-five species and rarieties as a guide to
such of our readers as may desire to beautify the surroundings of their homes. A few
of them are comparatively well known, but most of them are of recent introduction, none
of them are coarse-growing or of uncivilized appearance, and all are hardy as far north
as Albany, at least.
After planting them a mulching two or three inches thick of salt hay or lont^ stable
litter should be spread over the soil for two or three feet around each plant, according to
its size, and allowed to remain the succeeding summer.
Amygdalus pumilla, fl. pi. — the Double-flowering Almond. This plant is especially
desirable on account of its early and profuse blooming. It grows about thirty inches
high, and spreads somewhat. There is also a double white variety.
Kerria japonica, fol. var. — A variegated-leaved variety of the well-known Corchorus.
It is of recent introduction from Japan. The foliage is edged with white ; the plant is a
slender grower, not being more than two feet high, and spreads freely, causing the plant
to assume a tufted appearance.
Calycanthus floridus — Allspice Flower, or Sweet-scented Shrub. This is a well-known
plant, yet it is not seen nearly as often as it should be. This species is the best, as it is
very fragrant, and not as strong a grower as some of the others.
Ribes gordonii, a beautiful hybrid variety of the Missouri Currant, having large racemes
of fragrant red and yellow flowers. It blooms very early in the spring.
Deutzia gracilis is a dwarf-growing species introduced a few years ago from Japan
and much grown as a green-house plant, although it is perfectly hardy. It produces a
profusion of pure white flowers, and grows about two feet high.
D. scabra is a stronger-growing species, growing four or five feet high, and bearing a
profusion of pure white flowers.
D. crenata, fl. pi., is one of the finest shrubs in cultivation. The flowers are double,
white on the inside, and red^on the outside. It is a most profuse bloomer, and requires
plenty of room, as it is a strong-grower — when well established attaining a height of over
six feet.
Forsythia viridissima, a well-known shrub, whose bright, deep golden-yellow flowers
appear with the first unfolding of its leaves. Of all the early-blooming shrubs it is the
finest and most desirable. Two other species have been recently introduced, but neither
of them is equal to this species.
Exochordia grandiflora, a most beautiful shrub, growing about six feet high, blooming
in May. The flowers, which individually are about an inch in diameter, are white with
a green centre, and are produced in long, loose panicles. Unfortunately this elegant
shrub is very difficult to propagate, and is therefore not readily to be had except of our
principal nurserymen. It should be found in every garden.
Hydrangea quercifolia, the Oak-leaved Hydrangea, has strongly-marked handsome
foliage, and produces large panicles of white flowers during the month of July. It
makes a handsome specimen plant for a lawn.
Hydrangea deutziafolia, or H. paniculata grandiflora, is a species of recent introduction
from Japan, with leaves resembling those of some species of Deutzias, and during August
44 ^ Selection of Hardy SPirubs.
bearing immense panicles of pure white flowers, which afterwards change to pink, and
finally to a purplish-brown color. It is one of the most valuable additions to our list of
shrubs that has been made for many years.
Syringa persica, or Persian Lilac, is of a more delicate, twiggy growth than the com-
mon lilac, and produces larger heads of flowers of irregular shape, and is more suitable
for small gardens. There is also a white variety that is very desirable, and is of still
dwarfer habit. Both should be in every garden.
Magnolia purpurea, or Chinese Purple Magnolia, is an elegant shrub with bright
glossy foliage and large, purple, tulip-shaped flowers. It is the better for being strawed
up during the winter north of New York city, until it has attained some age, and the
wood has become hard.
Prunus sinensus, fl. pi., or Double-flowering Chinese Plum, resembles the Double-
flowering Almond somewhat, but is of stronger growth. It is a lovely, ever-blooming
shrub with a profusion of snow-white flowers.
Cydonia japonica, or Scarlet-flowered Japan Quince, is a well-known early-blooming
shrub, producing a profusion of deep scarlet flowers. It is indispensable in every
collection.
Spiraea prunifolia, fl. pi., S. reevesii, fl. pi., and S. callosa, should be in every shrub-
bery. The first two have pure white flowers, and the third, briglit pink flowers in large
flat corymbs. The first also makes a beautiful screen hedge, being of upright growth
and throwing up its shoots thickly from the bottom, and bears clipping well.
Philadelphus inodorous, a species of what is generally known as the Syringa, or Mock-
oraage. This species is of more delicate growth than any of the others, and bears its
large pure white flowers in threes and fours along the somewhat slender drooping
branches, giving them the appearance of garlands.
Viburnum plicatum is a species of Guelder-rose, or Snow-ball, introduced some years
ago from Japan ; it is a robust growing shrub, with strongly-marked foliage, somewhat
horizontally; these produce at each bud a globular head of pure white flowers, which are
so thickly set upon the plant as almost to hide the foliage. It is a very beautiful shrub
Weigela rosea is a well-established favorite, but not seen as often as it should be, for
nothing can exceed its lovely apple blossom-colored flowers intermixed with its lively
green foliage. There is a variegated-leaved variety which has lighter-colored flowers ; it
is one of the best variegated-leaved shrubs we have, retaining its variegation through the
heat of summer, and at the same time being free from that sickly appearance which
many such plants have. Another variety has lately been introduced under the name of
W. nivea, which produces pure white flowers ; it is very beautiful and useful in bouquets.
It must not be confounded with another variety known as W. alba, the blossoms of
which, as they become old, change to pale rose-color.
Stuartia virginica and S. pentagynia are highly ornamental shrubs, but somewhat
scarce in the nurseries. They grow from five to six or more feet high, blooming from
July to September. The first has pure white flowers, with bright purple stamens ; the
other has cream-colored flowers. The flowers are very large, from two and a half to
three inches in diameter, and very much resembling those of the single White Camellia.
The above collection of twenty-five deciduous flowering shrubs comprise the creme de
la creme of the catalogues of our leading nurserymen, and we feel assured that such of
our readers as may obtain them will be well satisfied with them. — Harpers' Bazaar.
S>ishonest Tree cigents. 45
Dishonest Tree Agents.
THE following article is communicated to the Massachusetts Ploughman, by a corres-
pondent who is evidently posted in the secrets of the Nursery Trade. It contains
some facts of a startling nature, enough to alarm all fruit-growers throughout the coun-
try. We are very glad to see the swindle exposed, and trust the community at large
will^hcreafter gire tree agents a wide berth, save only when they arc endorsed with writ-
ten authority of their employment by responsible Nurseries. We believe newspaper
readers will be better served by reading and patronizing those who advertise and are well
known, than to swallow the assurances of some glib-tongued but unscrupulous tree
swindler :
" In a recent visit to the city of Rochester, the great centre of tke nmrsery business, we
gained some information as to the manner in which this great business was conducted,
and which we thought would be valuable to your readers.
" We were surprised and somewhat astonished to learn that probably nearly three-
fourths of the nursery stock sold throughout the United States, is sold by personal solici-
tation of agents or dealers, and a large number of these dealers are irreeponsible and feel
their mission is ended when they have received an order, delivered the trees, and got
their pay. And so it is on their part, but the customer would have to wait several years
before he would know if he had been swindled, or not.
" There are many honorable and reliable men engaged in this business, and it is aston-
ishing there are so many well informed persons who will allow themselves to be swindled
by irresponsible dealers, when the remedy is in their own hands, by ordering directly
from some well known nursery firm. These irresponsible dealers can and do obtain
catalogues from some responsible nurseries, and travel to solicit orders, and showing their
catalogue lead the purchaser to believe they are obtaining their trees from the firm they
are supposed to represent. As a general thing they are selling from Rochester Nurse-
ries, when there are over twenty different nurseries in and around Rochester.
" We will cite an example: a dealer obtains a catalogue from Genesee Valley, Mt.
Hope, Commercial or Monroe County Nurseries, and any of these catalogues can be had
by asking or writing for them, and he represents he is going to canvass for the sale of
trees, and would like to purchase his wholesale bill of them when he has obtained his
orders. The catalogues are sent. The man takes his retail orders, but when he comes
to purchase his bill, he might not go near the party whose catalogue he sold from, but go
elesewhere and buy a cheaper or inferior article and regardless of the trees being true to
name.
" For instance, a dealer would sell from some responsible Nurseryman's catalogue, and
purchase his stock from some other equally reliable Nurseryman. His sale, amongst
other things, would in the aggregate amount to 5,000 Apple trees; 1,000 of them to be
Baldwin, and the Nurseryman said he could furnish but 500 Baldwin, but could give
some other good variety. Well, do so ! Some kind you have plenty of, a good grower
that looks like Baldwin.
" The Nurseryman puts in 500 Talman Sweet and labels them so. But when the dealer
comes to Mr. Smith's order or some other man, for 100 Baldwin, he perhaps may give
him fifty Baldwin and fifty Talman Sweet, but he removes the name from the Tallman
Sweet, and puts all in for Baldwin, and the customer pays for his trees, and does
4.6 jBedding jPansies.
not know he has been swindled until he finds his Baldwins, as he supposed, are
bearing sweet apples. He then remembers the firm, or the catalogue he bought
from, and blames them for furnishing trees, which they knew nothing of, or the
purchaser or agent either. We were informed that many sales had been made of the
Ilussian crab, and the variety known as such, Tetofi"sky, a valuable, hardy, Summer
Russian Apple (not a crab however) not yet being grown sufficient to supply the demand.
Other varieties were substituted for the above, by these dealers, and in some instances
three or four different varieties for one ; the Duchess of Oldenburg, a valuable hardy
Autumn Russian Apple (but not a crab), the Transcendent Crab, Hyslop and Soulard
Crab all have been sold for the above.
"A responsible nurseryman will not fill his customer's order unless he has all the varie-
ties ordered, but leave out such as he cannot supply, unless his permission was obtained
to substitute. We heard of an instance of an agent's sale of 10,000 trees, apples, pears,
peaches, cherries, plums, etc. The nurseryman told him he could furnish the trees, but
not all the varieties. He took the order, but substituted some of the varieties. The
agent went into a shop or room and wrote off 10,000 labels, one to each tree, direct from
his book, and where lady apple was called for, the greening apple tree bore the name of
the lady apple.
" Again, there are but few that know the great difference there is in the growth of dif-
ferent varieties of trees. A Baldwin at four years is as large or larger than a Spitzen-
berg at six or more years, and a Baldwin is of straight upright growth, while the Grreen-
ing is very crooked. Suppose the agent or dealer had orders for a quantity of Spitzen-
berg, Swaar, Newtown Pippin, Early Joe, or other excellent varieties, and upon seeing the
trees he finds them so much smaller and poorer-looking than other strong-growing varieties,
he would say those trees would not deliver well, would lose money on them, and would prefer
stronger and straighter trees, which would be furnished and substituted by him, for these
weaker growing sorts ; whereas the upright nurseryman would decline to furnish these
sorts genuine, unless the purchaser was informed of the difi"erence of the quality of trees,
or allowed the privilege of substitution. This is greatly the fault of the purchaser, for
they prefer the timber and growth and si«e of trees to getting genuine varieties.
" If persons want varieties of fruits or other articles genuine and true to name, they
should go direct to some responsible nursery, and there are some in and around Roches-
ter, and then, if any mistake occurs, they will rectify it. In some of these firms of long
standing, they have many persons employed who can generally tell by the eye from their
long experience whether a tree is genuine or not, where the customer could not distin-
guish any difference."
IBedding Pansies.
npHOSE who have never seen Pansies massed, have no idea of their great beauty.
J- They are thorough wet weather plants, i. e., they are not destroyed by wind or rain,
as most bedding plants are ; and not only that, but they are so easily grown. We planted
last season about 7,000 difi"erent violas. One border, about 400 yards long, and 24 feet
wide, planted with pansies and cerastiums, and having a single row of pyramidal-shaped
zonale geraniums in pots, at intervals of ten feet, was the admiration of every one who
saw it. — Cor. Gard. Magazine.
TAe i^resideni Wilder Sirawber7-y. 47
The Croton G-rape.
LAST summer, in an article on grapes, I expressed an opinion on the Croton grape,
and styled it a pure blooded Foreigner. After more mature growth I was convinced
that I was in error, which I deem a duty to retract, lest it might cause distrust in the
variety.
It is a hybrid, and one that has ripened its wood perfectly ; and now' after the
mercury was down to 14° below zero, find it unharmed, although in an exposed place.
The fruit of Croton and Senasqua I have not seen, but the vines certainly promise
health and hardiness.
I have them growing on the rich low land, as well as at an elevation of three hundred
feet above the river, and so near, that a stone can be thrown from the cliff into the water.
We have many new ones, which may fruit the coming year, that will be reported on.
Bluffton^ Mo. S. Miller.
The President Wilder Strawberry.
EDITOE, Horticulturist : In your Editorial Notes for January, you speak of the
native strawberry bearing the above name as only a moderate grower in the West .
while the foreign variety of the same name is large, showy, of high quality, and very
firm. I have no knowledge of the foreign kind ; but my experience and observation with
the native President Wilder, are directly at variance with the above statement. I set a
few plants in the fall of 1869, also a few more in the spring of 1870. They occupy three
different positions in my garden — one in clay, one in sandy soil, and the other in black
loam. I think I did not lose a plant of those set out ; and although the past season has
been one of unusual heat and drouth, I must say I never grew any variety of strawberry
which was more perfectly free from sun-burn or " dying out," than the President Wilder.
Indeed, its habit of growth has been, so far, all I could desire, I had a few berries, the
flavor of which was excellent, having a good deal of the character of La Constante. I
noticed particularly the bright, lively color, fine size, and great firmness of the berries,
and formed the opinion that they would bear carriage fully as well as Jucunda, or even
Wilson. Should it prove, upon trial, to be sufficiently productive, I venture to predict
for this variety great popularity and real value ; worthy of the honored name it bears.
I will add that I have taken some pains to inquire of my brother horticulturists of Ohio,
both north and south, as to the performance of the President Wilder, and, with a single
exception, their experience accorded perfectly with my own.
By the way, I notice "Porte Crayon" asks a remedy for "certain animalculae" which
seem to be in ;reasing and becoming more destructive among his strawberries. As I sup-
pose he couldn't think of using powder and shot in this case, I venture to suggest that
he treat them as we should the other " birdies" — bless their hearts by planting enough
for himself and them too. Geo. W. Campbell,
Delaware,, Ohio.
48 A'bfcs Oil ^ears m Maiyland.
Notes on Pears in Maryland— Our Most Desirable Sorts.
IN your notes on the pear, Mr. Williams, in the October number of The Horticul-
turist, you ask pear culturists for the names of the pears which proved to be the
best and most remunerative to the planter, as well as the methods of cultivation resorted
to, to obtain the best results. As I come under the head of pear culturists, I will try
to detail our experience, and the results, with the names and descriptions of the sorts
which prove the best for profitable planting, so that any one who wishes to know our
paying market sorts can do so.
The soil in which the orchard is planted, is a clay loam, the clayey nature being rather
a predominant feature, although of not so hard or stiff a texture as to materially interfere
with the cultivation. It lies rather level, but most parts have a gradual descent, giving
it a natural drainage. The trees in that part of the orchard which had no drainage,
either natural or artificial, did only middling well for some time, owing to an excess of
moisture ; but, since we thoroughly drained the whole piece, the trees have grown sur-
prisingly, producing good crops and thoroughly ripening a large amount of wood annually.
So much for drainage. The trees now present a really fine appearance, rivalling almost
all orchards for several miles around, the good growth and productiveness of the trees
being due to careful attention, thorough and regular cultivation, judicious pruning, etc.
The trees were planted in the ordinary way, by stirring the ground deeply with a
heavy, two-korse plow, harrowing properly, digging good sized holes, planting carefully,
and using extra care to have the soil made firm around the trees, the latter a very im-
portant point.
In reference to the cultivation : We plowed the orchard deeply every spring, and then
planted the different vegetables, such as potatoes, tomatoes, peas, beans and the different
kinds of roots, in the orchard among the trees, manuring as heavily, and cultivating as
deeply and thoroughly as if the vegetables were planted in a separate piece. And we
attribute, in a great measure, the success of our plantation to care in these particulars.
The pruning was not done by any set rule ; but we were guided in such matters by
common sense; for, as almost every different variety of our very long list of pears has an
independent growth or shape of its own, two varieties very seldom being alike, we tried
to give each one its own natural shape, as near as we could do so without impairing the
growth, productiveness or shape of the tree. Our idea was to have a moderately full
and compactly formed head, giving the sun and air free access to the middle and through
the tree.
Of varieties we have many , but I only intend to give those which, after a good trial,
have proved a success, reserving my opinion on the others until we have seen their fruit-
ing and tasted their fruit for two or three seasons, at least, as I consider that length of
time necessary to return a true verdict on the merits or demerits of the variety or varie-
ties under consideration.
The varieties which succeeded well with us this year were, Bartlett, which does well
almost everywhere, Flemish Beauty, Duchess D'Angouleme, Osborne, Belle Lucrative,
Seckel, Lawrence, etc. I might mention a few others, but will reserve my opinion upon
them until I see how they carry themselves another year.
Chesapeake City, Md. D. Z. Evans, Jr.
How to 'Raise cisparagus. ^9
How to Raise Asparagus.
FOR more than twenty years I have been accustomed to hear about the same class of
questions asked by consumers, why it was that Asparagus, a vegetable that was
always in good demand, and usually commanding high prices, wap. not more generally
cultivated by farmers, as well as gardeners, situated favorably, and accessible to good
markets ?
During these twenty years I have been engaged, more or less each year, in growing
vegetables for market, and at different times have known each and every kind of vegeta-
ble grown to any extent for market to be a " dru^," with the single exception of
asparagus, which so far has always been in good demand, and that too at paying prices.
There are few persons who have been engaged on an extensive scale in "trucking"
who have not been compelled to sell, in "bad seasons," a part or the whole of a crop
for less money than it cost to produce it. This would apply to the whole list of vegeta-
bles, leaving out asparagus, which during such dull seasons and poor markets is generally
made use of by those who grow it to work off other kinds of vegetables, that is, in case
a grocer wants two or more dozen of asparagus, to get it he would be obliged to buy a
portion of whatever the grower had on his wagon at the time. In this way the gardener
who had an abundance of asparagus would not lose so much in the sale of his crops in
dull seasons as he who was not so situated.
Within the past few years more attention has been given to the culture of asparagus,
and it is not rare now to find fields 'of from two to seven acres in different sections
devoted to asparagus for New York and other large markets. Some of these new plan-
tations have already begun to yield, and still prices are not in the least affected, but on
the contrary have advanced. The past season growers estimated the yield was above an
average one, and still prices ranged higher than they have for many years. This condi-
tion of matters is quite encouraging for those who have young beds, or are about to
embark in this branch of gardening with a view to profit.
To be successful in the culture of asparagus for market, there are a few essential
points to be fully considered and carried out before any hopes of success can be enter-
tained.
The first is a selection of the most suitable soil and situation. The second, a thorough
mechanical preparation of the soil before planting, and third, heavy manuring.
The location of the bed is important, from the fact that when asparagus first comes
into market, it sells briskly at from $5 to $8 per dozen bunches, and frequently as high
as $12 per dozen, if the spears are large and the bunches carefully made. From these
prices it gradually falls, as the supply increases, until it reaches $2 per dozen, and very
seldom goes below this price, although at $1.50 per dozen asparagus will pay a handsome
profit.
When the soil has only been indifferently prepared, and poorly manured, earliness of
the crop and large sized spears cannot be expected, and as a matter of course, under
such circumstances a large share of what would be the profits are not realized by the
producer.
Sowing the Seed.
Asparagus seed should be sowed in the Spring, in a bed made deep, mellow and rich.
When the surface of such a bed is raked over, removing any stones»or other obstructions,
4
50 Sbru to Hialse Asparagus.
then shallow drills should be opened about one inch deep, and a foot apart. The seed is
strewn thinly by hand in these drills, and then covered by raking the bed with wooden
rakes, drawing them in the direction of the drills. Fresh seed will sprout in two weeks
from the time of sowing, in favorable weather. Seed older than one year will take
longer to germinate, .-.nd if more than three years old, is unsafe to sow with any certainty
of its ever coming up.
It is a good plan to scatter some radish seed in the drills at the time of sowing the
asparagus seed. The radish will germinate and come up in a few days from the date of
sowing, marking the lines of the rows. This will give a chance to run a scuflBe hoe
between the rows, destroying any weeds that may appear, and keeping the surface loose
until the asparagus plants are well up. Then the spaces between the rows should be
disturbed frequently and no weeds or grass allowed to grow. Under favorable circum-
stances well grown one year old plants will be strong enough for transplanting in the
permanent bed. In case the plants are weak, it is better to let them remain in the seed
bed another season before making the bed. Plants older than two years should not be
planted, for more than likely they will fail to give satisfactory results. Those who only
want a few hundred plants to make a family bed, will find it cheaper to buy them from
some responsible person than to raise them from the seed. One pound of seed will sow
a bed 20 by 100 feet, and if the seed is fresh will give about 15,000 plants.
I'repurinff the Grotmd.
When properly made, an asparagus bed will produce paying crops for a quarter of a
century, under good annual treatment. There should be no short-sighted economy
practiced in putting the ground in order. If the ground selected is naturally wet, or
likely to become so, then by all means have it thoroughly underdrained. Asparagus can
only be grown to the highest point of profit on soil that is free from stagnant water,
thoroughly pulverized to a depth of at least twenty inches, and then heavily manured.
There will be more satisfaction in planting only a quarter of an acre on this thorough
scale, than in planting an acre under indifferent preparation and poor manuring. The
ground should be thoroughly plowed and subsoiled both ways, and then plenty of well
rotted yard manure plowed under. The more manure that is applied, the more produc-
tive the yield will be when the plants are fairly established. Barn yard manure, com-
posted with the salt and lime mixture, will be found an excellent manure for asparagus.
I'lantitig.
It has long been a mooted question whether the Fall or Spring was the best time to
plant an asparagus bed. In most cases more will depend on the condition and tilth of
the soil than the time the roots are planted. Where the soil is heavy and retentive of
moisture, and long and severe Winters, undoubtedly the Spring is the best time. But
on sandy or clay loam, and as far south as Delaware or Virginia, Fall planting will do
just as well, and often better, than Spring planting under similar circumstances. When
the ground is prepared by frequent plowings and subsoiliug for field culture, or the
garden spot thoroughly trenched with the spade, then the furrows should be run but
three inches deep, and three feet apart each way. A single plant is set at each intersec-
tion, being careful that every root of the plant is stretched out to its full length, and
then covered with not more than four inches of earth, if planted in the Fall, and only
about two inches w'icn set iu the Spring. This light covering at first, or until the plants
Sbrf to ^aise oisparagus. 51
have started to grow, is the safest plan to follow. When the young shoots are three or
four inches above the surface, then, by running a cultivator between the rows, the loose
earth will fall toward the row of plants, adding a couple or more inches' of covering above
the crowns of the plants — making in all from four to five inches ip «lepth.
In garden culture, this second covering may be drawn over the lows by the hand hoe,
any time during the Summer. A cultivator should be kept going between the rows
often enough to prevent the growth of weeds in the bed. This will be found the cheapest
method of culture. When planted in the Fall, the rows should have a light mulch of
barn-yard manure put on in November, and in the Spring, following this mulch, with an
additional quantity of manure, either barn-yard, fish, guano, bone dust, or superphos-
phate, should be applied, and all turned under early in April, or as soon as the ground
is dry enough to work.
Annual dressings of common salt will improve the quality and increase the size of
asparagus. There need be no apprehension of danger from the application of salt to
asparagus. I have frequently put on as much as two inches in thickness, on different
spots, on an asparagus bed, and then the young shoots came through this coating of salt
without apparent injury. A dressing of twenty-five or thirty bushels of salt to the acre
on an asparagus bed every second year, will be quite enough, in connection with the
annual coating of barn yard, a compost to be applied in the Fall or Spring, as circum-
stances may dictate.
No asparagus should be cut from the bed the first or second year. Some growers
carry this so far as not to cut any until the fourth year from the time of planting. In
case the plants have grown vigorously, a third of a crop may be cut without at all injur-
ing the plantation the third year. The amount taken off the third year depends
altogether on the condition and vigor of the plants. In case they are weak, it would be
poor policy to weaken them still more by cutting for market or home consumption too
soon. In the Fall of the first year it is a good way to throw a shallow furrow from
either side toward the rows, and then rounding them off with a hoe or a rake. This
slightly elevated ridge will dry out sooner in the Spring than a flat surface, and aspara-
gus treated in this way, will often make a difference in earliness of five or six days,
which is an important item to those who grow it for market.
Early asparagus always brings higher prices than what comes in late in the season,
and, therefore, every advantage by locating character of soil and treatment, should be
taken into consideration by those who are about its culture for profit.
Yarieties.
There were only two varieties generally cultivated for market purposes until quite
recently. These were the green and purple-topped. The identity of these two were
frequently doubted by intelligent gardeners, and the size and difference in color attrib-
uted to location, soil, and heavy or light manuring. Two years ago, S. B. Conover, of
New York, introduced a variety under the name of " Conover 's Colossal." For this
variety Mr. Conover claimed extraordinary size of spears, and that it was equal in
quality and productiveness to those varieties that were in general culture for market pur-
poses. This claim had to be tested by practical growers before discarding old and tried
for new and untried kinds. Many doubted that it was any other than what was cultivated
on Long Island, and other asparagus producing sections. I have watched the "Colossal"
RO ^he Ci'oton Again.
closely for two years, and firmly believe it is the best variety of asparagus that we have
for field or garden culture. The spears will average twice the size of the common kinds,
and the "Coloss?!" is equal, in my estimation, in quality and productiveness to any
variety that I am feimiliar with. Plants at one year old will average as large as plants
two years old grown on the same soil and under the same treatment, of the green or
purple. In another article on this subject I will have something to say on the profits of
asparagus culture. — By F. T. Quiim, in N. Y. Tribune.
The Croton Again.
WHILE enjoying the leisure conferred by a rainy day, I have been looking over the
back numbers of The Horticulturist and find much to instruct, as well as many
subjects of interest. Observing that several of the numbers have contained remarks
upon Underbill's new grapes, especially the Croton ; I cannot refrain from adding my
testimony and experience, of as little value as it may be.
My first acquaintance with the Croton was at the Pomological Exhibition in Phila-
delphia, in September, 1869. Like other grape growers, I had been longing for a really
fine and perfectly hardy white grape, one that in taste and appearance need not hide
itself from its foreign relations. I did not see that the Martha possessed the requisite
qualifications by far, but when I beheld the Croton in the delicious bunch and berry^
and tasted the fruit, my hopes were raised to the highest pitch, and I succeeded in the
following Spring (1870) of procuring from Mr. Underbill a fine one year old vine, as also
one each of the Senasqua and Large White.
Being anxious to give them a fair vineyard test only, I planted them in a row of a
Salem vineyard, then being set out, together with a couple of Walter plants furnished
by Ferris & Caywood, with the fruit of which I had also been much pleased. The
entire vineyard was planted on a medium quality, pebbly loam, without any manure, and
all the vines have received precisely the same treatment.
The Croton has made a growth of about four feet, making in that space 36 good and
well ripened buds, being about equal in length of cane to the average of the Salem vines,
but of much shorter joints. I do not think I am extravagant when I say that those three
vines of Mr. Underbill's were this last year, the healthiest vines in a vineyard of twenty-
five acres, the larger part being Concords in full bearing ; but representing almost all of
the popular varieties of any worth. The closest daily scrutiny from the time the bud
started until the wood matured, failed to discover the slightest sign of mildew, leaf
blight or any other disease ; while, owing to a very unfavorable and wet June, there was
scarcely another vine in the whole vineyard that was not more or less aifected by mildew.
The Walter, alongside, was completely defoliated, having made through the whole season
but about 8 inches of wood ; one vine dying back to the ground entirely, and the other
vine ripening only the two lower buds. The Salem and Wilder vines were considerably
affected, and the Goethe but slightly. July was very hot and dry, ripening the wood up
very rapidly and thus curtailing the growth.
The Large White is evidently a ranker grower, with a coarser leaf than either the
Croton and Senasqua, which arc very similar in their growth. Of the fruit of ths Large
White I know nothing ; but, suppose it must be something promising but not as well
tested as the others.
JVew JF'ruUs. 5^
Should the Croton make a good wine (and I understand that the must has tested 100
on the scale), I think all grape growers and grape eaters owe a hearty vote of thanks to
Mr. Uuderhill for the success that has crowned his efforts in pi ^ducing a White Grrape
of the finest quality.
From the experience of the past year, I believe that a grape, to become a successful
candidate for vineyard cultivation, must be of attractive appearance, good eating quality,
and last but not least, a good wine grape ; for the past season has fully convinced me
that all grape growers of any extent must become wine makers or sell their fruit to wine
makers, as the markets generally were completely broken down and glutted. We will
then become the most active agents for the abolition of those vile, poisonous drinks, that
now bring so much drunkenness and consequent misery upon our people, and we can
put within the reach of all, what so few have ever tasted, a pure, unadulterated and
innoxious drink, one that maketh the heart glad without currupting and degrading the
man.
For general cultivation the appearance and size of the bunch must be attractive ; as I
believe the tendency will be for consumers to buy by the pound weighed out, bunch by
bunch, and the Croton will certainly answer to this call, as no one who has seen the fruit
will doubt.
I do not think the hardiness of the vine can be doubted, and I shall do nothing to
protect mine during the winter, and shall as certainly expect to see the last bud start in
the spring as I should of any Concord vine. Bohemia .
Town Point, Cecil Coimty, Md.
New Fruits.
BY JACOB MOORE, ROCHESTER, N. Y.
IHAYE a large number of crossbred seedling grapes, some of which have fruited this
year for the first time. A number of these are promising, but further trial is requi-
site in order to select the most valuable. Two of the best varieties I propose to name
the Rochester and Grolden Cluster, and I give this information to secure the names. A
brief description of some of these new grapes may not prove uninteresting. There are
three yellow or white grapes from seed of the Hartford crossed, separately, with Miller's
Burgundy, Muscat, B. Hative, Gr. Chasselas. Those, from the two first named foreign
parents, are large iu berry and cluster, dissolving in flesh, with a rich, sugary, foreign
flavor. They ripen early, and the vines are vigorous, healthy and hardy. The other
variety is also large in bunch and berry, tender fleshed, with rich, spicy flavor, which, to
my taste, is superior to that of the Chasselas. Seedling No. 3, from the Hartford, by
Muscat Hamburgh, is a black grape of medium bunch, and large, slightly oval berries.
The flesh is dissolving, with a rich Muscat flavor. Ripens early. The vine is vigorous
and hardy. The bunch may prove to be much larger another year, as this is the first
season the vine has borne. No. 1, from the Hartford, by Bowood Muscat, is a large,
long, compact bunch of large, oval berries of a light yellow color ; flesh somewhat
meaty, with a decided Muscat flavor ; ripens late. The vine is a prodigious grower,
making large, strong shoots, and think, pubescent leaves, which mildew to some extent
during the latter part of the season. The vine, however, when exposed to the winter,
has proved hardy. A seedling from the Concord, by Diana Hamburgh, had a small twig
54 A'ew JFruits.
of six or seven berries which were oval, black, of medium size, tender fleshed, rich and
sweet. Ripened early. The vine has large, moderately pubescent leaves, and is a ram-
pant grower. It has two arms, from each of which, several shoots have grown nearly
twenty feet in length, each. A seedling from the Concord, by B. Hamburgh, bore a few
berries which colored very early, but were so damaged by the birds that they could not
ripen. The berries were large, and I judge, from the size of the tendril, that the cluster
will be large. The tendril is merely an undeveloped cluster, and often indicates its size,
according to my observation. No. 3, from the Oporto, by Black Hamburgh, is a large,
shouldered bunch of medium sized berries. The flavor resembles that of the native
parent, but is sweeter. Color very dark. Requires to hang a long time after coloring
to ripen fully, and even then it is rather too sprightly to suit most tastes. If eaten
shortly after coloring it is apt to make a hole in the tongue. The flesh is red, and juice
very red, staining the hands purple and red, so as not to be washed out easily. The
other varieties of the same parentage possess this quality in greater or less degree, and
derived it from the Oporto, the flesh of which is purple, and the most acid of all grapes.
The scriptural expression " The hlood of the grape," applies to them, certainly. Nos.
9 and 14 are medium, or large in cluster and berry, and much sweeter grapes than No. 3.
These and other of the best sorts abound in sugar, as well as acid ; they are sweet, yet
sprightly, with a rich, refreshing flavor. Nearly all the varieties from the Oporto are
vigorous growers, healthy and hardy. I have noticed the fruit of several among them
to rot for the last two years, and it is, doubtless, their habit. A variety may have this
habit as well as any other. From the Dartmouth by the Muscat of Alexandria, I have a
number of varieties which are of about the same quality as the Rogers Hybrids. The
Dartmouth is a large, black native grape of the Labrusca species, originally brought
from Connecticut. It is precisely of the same character as the variety Mr. Rogers
raised his Hybrids from, diff"ering only in color. Several of the seedlings from it are
red grapes, one of them as large as Isabella in berry and cluster, and sweeter. Another
has a medium sized bunch, and large, elongated, oval berries ; flesh meaty, very sweet,
with flavor of the native. The seeds resemble those of the Muscat, and the foliage has
little pubescence. Two of the varieties are black grapes, with a trace of the Muscat
flavor ; and one of these has a thick, woolly leaf, more like that of the native parent than
any other among them. Most of them are healthy, hardy vines, and vigorous growers.
They afford the skeptical an additional evidence that the Rogers grapes are true
Hybrids. As for myself, I have no respect for the intelligence of any man who, at this
late day, denies that they are so.
I have many other new grapes, but none that I think superior to the best of those I
have mentioned. The greater part of my seedlings (all are crossbred) are yet to fruit ;
especially those from crosses of native varieties. A portion of these will bear next year,
probably. I have experimented with other fruits, also, and have two new varieties of
apples this year. These were raised from seed of the N. Spy crossed with the Golden
Russet. The operation of crossing was carefully performed by me, and there can be no
doubt about the parentage. I mention this circumsiance for the reason that it has
become fashionable, lately, to claim new fruits to be Hybrids or crossbreeds, when it is
not certainly known that they are so. One of these apples looks more like the R. I.
Greening than either parent. It is as large as the N. Spy, yellowish, with a dull blush
cheek, faintly striped. The skin is smooth, with no trace of russet, and the flavor is
Gardening for Z,adies. 55
tart and aromatic like the N. Spy. The tree, too, is an erect grower like that variety ;
but the leaves and shoots look more like the E-usset. The other variety is a handsome,
red striped apple, nearly as large as the N. Spy, of a deeper red color. This also, has
no trace of russet except around the stem. The quality I cannot yet determine. The
tree resembles the Russet in habit and appearance. Both varieties appear to be good
bearers, and long keepers. I have a barrel of fruit of both together, and can test their
keeping qualities.
In conclusion, it may be as well to observe that the production of new and valuable
fruits, by crossbreeding, is an interesting occupation, and very profitable, also. The
originator, you know, if he produces a variety of great value, can make a fortune. He
is sure to do so. Not that the fortune will be his. Not at all ! I would not be so mis-
understood. The forttme which he makes is divided up among the principal nurserymen
throughout the country. The originator's part of the fortune is the cost of producing
the variety, its propagation and introduction. The latter cost — the cost of advertising,
principally — the first sales, on which he must rely for compensation, may enable him to
pay, possibly. In addition, the originator, we are told, has the name of a public bene-
factor (what a pity that such a name will supply none of the necessaries of life), and the
thanks (?) of the public.
Gardening for Ladies.
The hyacinth,
THIS plant, though a native of the desert, has been domesticated for many centuries,
and is aptly styled the ^'Domestic Flower ^^ for it is closely enshrined in the hearts
of all lovers of flowers. Haarlem is the great focus of bulbous cultivation, and its soil
is gifted by nature with the requisites for Hyacinth culture. The surface consists of
light vegetable mould, formed by the decomposition of leaves and other vegetable matter
mixed with sand, and under this is a substrata of sand which acts as a drain to free the
upper surface from the surplus moisture with which the heavy spring rains and melting
snows of winter inundate it, often to the destruction of the roots. Florists of other
countries have learned the secret of the Haarlem florists' success, and have imitated the
soil, thereby producing as good results. By paying careful attention to the preparation
of the soil, as good bulbs can be raised in this country as in Holland ; yet, while the roots
can be prociired every year, on such moderate terms, as at present, it is hardly worth
taking the trouble to propagate new varieties. Much patience and care is needed to
raise them from seeds, and often but half a dozen good flowers are found in a thousand
seedlings. At first, the single flowers were considered superior, and they are still for
" Wi7idow Gardens; " but at length, a double flower was produced of such rare beauty,
that it brought the whole class into universal estimation.
" The King of Great Britain " was sold for an incredible sum, when it first appeared.
In preparing a bed for Hyacinths, the soil should be deeply stirred, for the roots often
penetrate from eight to ten inches into the earth, and unless it is mellow, their growth is
checked. A location must be selected which is well drained, and protected from the
56 Gat'dening for Zadies.
heaviest snows and drenching rains, and well sheltered from northerly winds. When
the finest blossoms are desired the soil should be removed at least one foot, and the earth
well stirred up ; then spread a layer of three or four inches of leaf-mould, thoroughly
sprinkled with sand, and fill up with compost of one-third well rotted cow-manure, and
two-thirds sandy loam, well mixed together. The soil obtained under the pine needles
of the forests, will make all bulbs thrive perfectly. It is usually a dark, sandy loam,
excellently fitted for their culture ; we have used it, and can speak from experience of its
beneficial results. If the ground is too heavy, the bulbs are apt to decay. Silver sand,
such as is found in nearly every kitchen for domestic uses, is also of use in planting bulbs
of all kinds. When the beds are prepared, and made higher in the centre, so that the
water can drain off readily, then the bulbs should be planted, and the earlier in Novem-
ber the better for them ; but always select a dry day for the work : Plant in concentric
circles, straight rows, or clusters, taking care to cover the tops of the bulbs at least four
inches under the surface. A liberal top dressing of sand, will draw the sun's rays early
in the season, and prevent mould or decay from attacking the bulbs.
When the ground freezes, it is well to cover the beds with four or five inches of coarse
manure, straw or leaves, with slats laid over them to prevent them from blowing away;
but don't cover too early in the season, else the ground mouse may make her winter nest
under the soft bed.
This covering must be removed early in the spring, or as soon as the first tiny green
sheath is seen. Then the soil can be slightly stirred up on the surface and pressed
tightly around the bulbs, as they often crack the earth.
Bulbs are store-houses of prepared pulp. Linnaeus styles them " the hybernacle or
winter-lodge of the young plants." They in every respect resemble buds except in their
being produced under ground, and include the leaves and flowers in embryo, which are
to be expanded into glorious bloom in the ensuing spring. By carefully cutting through
the concentric coverings of a tulip bulb, longitudinally from the top to the base, and
removing them cautiously, the whole cup of the next summer's tulip is disclosed. In all
bulbs, the miniature flowers exist, but the individual blossoms are not so conspicuous to
the naked eye, nor so easily dissected as in the tulip. ^A Hyacinth bed, once planted, can
remain undisturbed for two or even three years ; but most gardeners desire their beds for
other flowers, and the bulbs are dormant from three to four months at least. The seed-
pods should be gathered when the plants have flowered, as ripening the seed would partly
exhaust the strength of the bulb, but the leaves prepare the pulp for maturing the bulb
for another season, therefore the roots must not be lifted until they are wholly dried and
withered. Take them up on a dry day and spread in the shade to harden. When quite
dry separate the offsets, and put them in paper bags or boxes, keeping in a place where
no moisture will reach them until another autumn, when they can be replanted.
The offsets can be planted by themselves in a dry, sunny situation ; if they attempt to
flower the first season, pick off the buds, for the root needs all its strength ; the following
spring they will flower well, and after that can be treated as grown tip bulbs. If the
beds are needed before the large bulbs are fully matured, the plants can be taken up,
and laid in ridges, covering the roots with earth, but leaving the stems and leaves fully
exposed to the air; thus treated, the leaves decay rapidly, and the bulbs swell to full
maturity.
€rardeni7ig for Zadies. 57
In the selection of bulbs, choose those that are compact, solid, and firm at the base of
the root. Light colored bulbs are always white or cream colored ; dark skinned ones,
blue, purple, pink or crimson.
The Florists' catalogues offer us a large variety to select from, with many high-sound-
ing names. As we have said before, the double varieties are more suitable for out-door
culture ; and they cover at least half of the stem with full, horizontal bells, forming a
compact cone terminated at the top by one upright bell ; and are fully worthy of all the
labor which their cultivation demands. A bed of Hyacinths in the early spring is a
glory and a joy ; but in their selection we must pay due deference to their height, and plant
the tallest varieties in the centre of the bed, else the whole effect will be spoiled ; also to
choose those that will blossom at the same time, for there are early and late bulbs; and
some catalogues very properly mention not only the names, but the seasons and height of
the flowers.
Double Ulue, very Dark.
"Albion," late, low; a very beautiful spike of flowers. "King of Wurtemburg,"
early, tall, very fine. "A la Mode," early, low, a bright blue. " Pasquin," early, tall,
a light blue. " Globe Terrestre," late, low, perfect bloom.
Double White.
" Sceptre d'Or," late, low, an exquisite flower. " La Yirginite," early, low, very
lovely. " La Tour d'Auvergne," early, tall, beautiful. " Gloria Florum," early, low,
perfect bells. "Due de Berry," late, tall, very fine.
Double Hed'of Various Shades.
" Lord Wellington," rose colored; early, low, of finest bloom. "Bouquet Tendre,"
dark crimson; early, low, very superior. " Perruque Royale," rose ; late, tall, especially
lovely. "Gen. Von Ziethen," deep crimson; late, low, fine. " Eclipse," dark rose,
early, low, beautiful. " Honneur d'Amsterdam," bright pink; early, tall, extra,
" Comtesse de la Coste," rosy pink; early, tall, very double. " Alida Catharina," dark
rose ; early, low, fine bloom. " Belle Marie," rich crimson ; late, tall, very superior.
Double Yellow; Various Shades.
"Bouquet d'Orange," bright orange ; early, low, very superior. " Jaune Supreme,"
fine yellow; early, tall, fine. "La Grandeur," canary yellow; late, low, new. "Louis
d'Or," bright yellow; late, tall, a beautiful spike. "Pure d'Or," golden yellow;
early, low, extra. " Ophir d'Or," perfect yellow; late, tall.
The single varieties are earlier, and their colorings are frequently more brilliant.
They excel the double in fragrance ; and can be mingled with them in beds. Among
the white varieties which are most sought for are :
"Alba Maxima," pure white, of splendid spike and showy bells; tall, and late.
" Grand Vainquer," pure white ; extra, with great profusion of flowers, tall and late.
"Hannah Moore," snowy white, very handsome; low and early. "Blanchard," extra
white; tall and early. "Alba Superbissiraa," pure white, extra large spike; low and
early. "Queen Victoria," perfect white; low and early. "Semiramis," rosy white ;
tall and late.
58
Aeu^ J^loH'er Glasses.
Space would fail us to enumerate the hundreds of varieties offered for our choice ; we
hope that our readers will be induced to plant some of them whenever occasion requires,
and we feel assured that they will be richly rewarded for both the money and time ex-
pended upon them.
" Well they reward the toil.
The sight is pleased, the scent regaled ;
Each opening blossom freely breathes around
Its gratitude, and thanks us with its sweets."
S. 0. J.
New Flower Glasses.
THE old style of hyacinth and flower glasses, with long necks and small bases, are
gradually giving place to the newer and more handsome styles of Tyes' Pate?it. The
new glasses have a shorter neck, but wider mouth, and very much broader base, render-
ing them less liable to be overturned or broken. After they have been used for hyacinths,
and the blooming time of the bulbous flower has gone by, the glasses are still of admira-
ble use as flower stands for bouquets and stray sprigs of flowers, which can be kept fresh
and sweet for many days. The glasses are either single or compound, three joined
together, and are beautifully figured, of various colors — green, blue, red and purple. If
placed where the light can strike them, they form a handsome window ornament for their
colors alone.
The above design represents them as filled with some stray sprigs of roses and other
flowers, placed there for temporary ornament. They are now in general use, and for sale
by the principal florists and seed houses.
.Editorial JVotes. 59
Editorial Notes.
Change in Size,
OUR readers Lave noticed, perhaps, a slight change in size. "We found, soon after our
enlargement, two years ago, that our size was then one half inch too long, and one
half inch too wide for previous volumes of the series, and at the end of the year 1869,
in binding, we discovered that the margin had to be trimmed down so close to make the
height uniform, that it displayed the border around the reading matter in an awkward
shape. As soon as our paper supply was exhausted, we determined upon a change, and
have just adopted it with our January number. We have left off the old border, reduced
the size to correspond with the earlier volumes of the series (from 1850 to 1860), and
yet we have not curtailed our reading matter. Our readers will find, by measurement,
that we give precisely as much reading matter now as last year, while the $300 per annum
formerly spent in maintaining a useless border and extra margin, we shall hereafter
devote to increasing our fund of illustrations, together with a better quality of paper,
and other improvements.
JPetmsylvania Fruit Orotvers' Society.
The Annual meeting for 1871, held January 18 and 19, 1871, at Chambersburg, Pa.,
was an eminent success. We had the fortune to be present, and take part in the pro-
ceedings. Admirable addresses were delivered by Josiah Hoopes, the President;
William Parry on Small Fruits and the Peach ; Edwin Salterthwaite on Pears, and
other gentlemen on important subjects. The attendance was large and the interest
on the part of the citizens was displayed by the generous hospitality which they extended
to all. We have not space this month to present a full report, but will print extracts
from addresses in the next number.
Profitableness of Raising Pears.
At the last meeting of the Oshkosh Horticultural Society, Wis., this subject came up
for discussion. Mr. Brainard remarked that his faith was very strong in its success;
he thought that a man could raise a bushel of pears as easily as a bushel of apples, while
they would bring in the market three times as much.
A member asked if there was any danger of overstocking the market, and the answer
was given, " Yes, if too extensively cultivated.''^ From which we are to infer that even if
pears can be raised as cheaply as apples, still the people would not eat them as freely, a
state of circumstances we are loth to believe.
Dr. Kezertee remarked with respect to the falling from the trees, that they were not
half so liable to fall as apples, while the Flemish Beauty in particular, sticks very fast
to the limb.
E. Chase said that even if the more extensive cultivation of pears should result in so
overstocking the market, as materially to reduce the price, they would nevertheless pay
well to raise for our own faviilies.
Dr. Kezertee — We may safely reckon, I think, that pears will always be worth twice as
much in the market as apples, and inasmuch as with proper care, the trees will grow
equally as well, their profitableness must be apparent.
A significant fact elicited from the discussion of the Society, was this, that the Bart-
lett cracked badly so far North, and was not considered a reliable variety, but on the
other hand, indorsements beyond number were given in behalf of the Flemish Beauty.
One member says, " It should be placed first on every list." Another says, " It is the
only variety I care about cultivating."
And Mr. I. J. Hoile finally expresses the general sentiment of all the members with
this terse opinion : " While some other variety might be planted to a limited extent, and
with gratifying success, in small well sheltered gardens, I do not think that it would be
safe to recommend any other variety than Flemish Beauty for general or orchard cultiva-
tion." The readers of The Horticulturist will note that the success of this variety
is only for one section of the country. It would not do to plant it either in the Eastern,
Middle or Southern States. We are glad to learn it is so successful in Wisconsin and
other Northern latitudes.
QQ ^dUorial J\rotes.
Tounff I'miit Trees.
In the Spring of 1868, we transplanted a lot of trees, mostly two years old. We had
eight small yearlings that did not average over a foot and a half high. All were planted
with the same care, and in the same manner. They grew off the first seaso.i, and did
very well — the small ones gaining perceptibly on the large ones. Last Fall they were all
about the same size. Now the younger ones are decidedly the larger, and in every
respect are superior trees. We have noticed the same thing repeatedly before. There
is no advantage in planting even two-year old trees. You have better trees, and fruit
fully as soon, by planting yearlings. — Playitation.
[The Winter Nelis Pear.
Twenty years ago, at the recommendation of some friends, I planted thirty standard
trees of the Winter Nelis, on the assurance that it would prove on trial a profitable
market variety. The tree makes a long, slender, and irregular growth of wood. We
waited patiently from year to year, always hoping for better results. It proved, how-
ever, a very shy bearer on our heavy clay soil, and at the expiration of sixteen years the
thirty trees were grafted over with Bartletts and Beurre Clairgeau, which have given
me better satisfaction. During that time those thirty trees did not produce fifty dollars
worth of fruit, all told. Some seasons the Winter Nelis is quite astringent, but gener-
ally the quality of the fruit will be found first rate, and a good keeper. The tree should
always find a place in the amateur, if not in the orchardist's list of varieties. Its season
of ripening is from the middle of December until the middle of January. I have seldom
been able to keep any specimens, even with extra care, as late as the first of February. —
JV. Y. Trihcne.
The Salem Grni>e.
The Oneida Circular says : "A superb grape, the best of these seedlings that we have
tested. This is the first time we have fruited this grape, and if it does as well in the
future as it has this season, it will become a popular variety with us."
The same Journal says of other varieties :
Adirondack. — Ripening a part of its fruit as early as the 25th of August. It is a
pretty good grape when in perfection ; rather watery, and the vine a weak grower, and
subject to mildew ; when the leaves fall, leaving a good share of the fruit unripe on the
vine, of little value for the vineyard.
Hartford Prolific. — A good early grape, bearing uniformly large crops; ripens its fruit
evenly, and a little later than the above named variety.
Delaware. — Ripe this year from the 1st to the 15th of September; quality first rate,
though the berries cracked badly this season, causing the loss of twenty per cent, of the
crop. Nearly one-half of our vineyard is made up of this variety.
Israella. — A good sweet grape, ripens with the Delaware, is rather tender in leaf, and
if allowed to bear more than a moderate crop, the leaves fall, and the fruit becomes
worthless.
Creveling. — This is a hardy grape, of good quality; vine a straggling, rampant
grower; clusters loose, which renders it unsaleable in the market; ripe September 15th.
Rogers No. 4. — Not equal in quality to Salem, though a very desirable black grape,
and the next best perhaps of this class ; ripe from the 15th to the 20th of September.
Rogers Nos. 15 and 19, are also good varieties, and have uniformly done well with us,
though the latter requires attention in thinning out, as it is liable to set more fruit than
it can carry, and thus fail to ripen well ; a little later than No. 4. The last three num-
bers arc most desirable on account of their keeping qualities. In a suitable store-room
they doubtless may be kept quite fresh during the winter.
Concord. — All right as usual, though in quality it was much better than ever before,
owing to its being thoroughly ripe when cut. No one, I think, would refuse a dish of
Concords as grown here this season. Only once before since my acquaintance with it
have I tasted the Concord grape in perfection. Having plenty of earlier varieties to cut
from, the Concords were allowed to hang on the vines until late in September, when they
were found to be tender and palatable. Ripe this year as they usually are when gathered,
about the 15th of September.
JSditorial JVoies. ^\
Rebecca. — A nice white grape that ripens with the Concord, and proves to be a good
keeper.
Io7ia. — A superior grape in quality, the best perhaps of our native grapes, in districts
where it can be ripened. This is the only season we have succeeded in ripening it, and
even now only a portion of the crop. Were it early enough for this district, and I was
confined in my choice to one variety, I should give the preference to lona ; but we are
compelled to give it up.
N'ew Seedling Grape.
AVe have received specimens of a new seedling grape raised in the grounds of Ellwan-
ger & Barry, Rochester, N. Y. As the bunches had suffered in ti-ansportation, we could
not figure it ; likewise many of the berries had soured owing to the warm weather. A
few specimens enable us to speak highly of its quality, being of a rich, sweet, juicy
taste ; the only fault seeming to be in the seeds, which are larger than in any native
variety we know. Color, amber, and berries quite as large as the Catawba. The vine has
borne for six years steadily, never failing once in bad seasons to mature well.
The Itostiezer Pear.
Although this tree is very straggling in growth, having long, irregular branches, yet it
is a fine little pear in quality and of superior flavor. They are finally colored, also with
bright rosy cheeks, helping out their delicious, inviting appearance. Among the earliest
of our autumn pears, it is welcomed by all who appreciate it and take the trouble to cul-
tivate it. It is a vigorous grower, and the fruit grows in clusters, numbering a half
dozen or more. A good, moderately moist soil and careful cultivation are all that is
needed in its culture. In trimming, it is much like a grape-vine — does best if left alone.
Prune oflF those branches unusually long, and let the rest grow. A few trees will do
well for every collection, but we could not advise it for general orchard cultivation for
market.
A-inerican Rural Home,
The first number of this new Journal, which takes the place of the American Farmer,
at Rochester, N. Y., is very neat indeed. It is pleasant in looks, in contents a
thoroughly social home paper. Western New York is a grand good field for supporting
" Rural Home " papers, and a grander one for raising good practical men and editors.
Wisconsin State Agricultural Society.
The Report of this Society for 1869, sent us by the Secretary, Mr. J. W. Hoyt, has
some very valuable papers in it. We may mention particularly the Essay by 0. B.
Galusha, of Illinois, on " Timber growi?ig.''^ And the report of F. Q. D'Aligny on the
Beet and Beet Root Sugar; other papers of interest are frequent, but we esteem the
above alone worth the cost of the volume.
Report, Department of Agriculture.
The Commissioner of Agriculture, in his Report for 1869, has favored the public with
much the best yet issued from the department. We are pleased to see the eminently
practical nature of its contents, and we have observed many facts in agricultural interest
new to us, and destined to develop important industries in our country. There are many
valuable statistics, and considerable information is given in the agricultural capabilities
of our new States and Territories. The Commissioner in his forthcoming report could
not please the popular taste better than by devoting increased space to good reliable
information about our lands favorable for settlement West of the Mississippi River.
Profitable Straivberry Culture.
Mr. Knox succeeded in making his land, devoted to the Jucunda strawberry, pay from
$1,200 to $1,500 per acre, and frequently sold fancy berries at the rate of one dollar
per quart. They were done up in little fancy boxes, and also in small cases of five to
ten quarts ready to send ofi" to any address. These quart baskets often held but eighteen
berries or but nine to the pint. From two and a half acres last year he realized net
$3,600. He is the only strawberry grower of our acquaintance who makes more money
62 Editorial J^Totes.
from Vx^ fruit than the plants from the same ground. The reverse is generally the rule
with nurserymen ; sell all the plants possible, and if any fruit is left, sell that too —
Lence the display of fruit is very small, and inferior in size or quality.
If You Have Got Good Frtiits, Keep Them.
The Germantoicn Telegraph says : When you have a good strawberry or raspberry
which suits your soil, don't throw it aside for any new sort with a high-sounding name
and a high-sounding price ; but stick to it. If the new sort turns out to be a real
acquisition, you can grow it if you like quite time enough to enjoy any good qualities it
may possess. We know of persons who are always changing their varieties of small
fruits — always experimenting — and are nearly always without a good supply. In our
experience of a series of years we have found the " let-good-enough-alone " policy to be
the best.
JSest Time for Cittting Grafts.
The Germantown Telegraph thinks that the advice to cut grafts in the Fall, " before
the sharp cold of winter injures their vitality," to be packed away in "boxes of fine
damp moss, damp saw dust, or buried in earth or sand," all nonsense, and says: We
never cut our grafts before February, and if the ground is not frozen, stick them in at
the foot of the tree, then the variety is known without labeling. If the ground is frozen
they are tied up, the bunch labeled and buried under a shed or in a rather dry place.
We have set seventy of these grafts (pears) at one time, a7id every one of them grew.
Once on a time we employed a professed grafter, who brought his own scions (plums), and
set thirty-two for us, every one of ivhich died. The following Spring we thought to try
our own hand at it, and set sixteen (plums) on a tree fifteen years planted, the grafts cut
as usual in February, and eleven of them grew. This we thought was doing pretty well
with plums. If the grafts are carefully preserved and properly set, it makes no differ-
ence whether cut in Fall or Spring.
The Phrenological tTournal,
We have always been much interested in many of the departments so well filled by
the editor of this Journal. It is always liberal and generous in its treatment of any
social, literary or political question, still thoroughly orthodox on religious topics. It is
a specialty in Journalism, has become very successful, and fills admirably a niche in
literature of the greatest importance. Some of the best practical views of life we have
gained from its pages, and it seems to reflex the very nature of its genial editor, Mr.
Wells, who "w always doing good.^^
Big Beet Crojt.
The famous " Winchell " Nursery at San Jose, California, has raised Sugar Beets at
the rate of over 50 tons per acre, and Dr. J. C. Cobb, of the same place, has raised 60
to?is per acre. They must have grown straight up and down and all round each other ;
this is 3 lbs. to every square foot of surface.
Jfotnology.
A large portion of pomologieal literature is dry reading, to say the very least of it.
This is the principal reason why we have not devoted as much space to a detailed list of
new and unknown varieties of fruit, as some others. It is useful to a certain extent,
but we know from experience, that there is a growing interest in home gardening, the
ornamentation of home grounds, small fruit, cultivation of standard orchard fruit, and
we find that these subjects are much more profitable to us and welcome to our readers.
Since we adopted this change of programme from Pomology to Home interests, our new
subscribers have flocked in by hundreds.
The Cactus as a Window Plant.
The Farviers' Advocate says this is much used as a window plant, and is very pretty
when in bloom. To keep them through the winter, they should be allowed to get quite
dry in the autumn, and remain so all winter, placing them away from frost. In the
spring bring them into a warm room, and use very little water, which increase as the
J^dUorial JVoies. 63
season advances. These plants will bear the greatest extremes of dryness and moisture.
Without proper attention is paid at the season of rest to keep them cool and dry, they
never will bloom properly. Do not throw them out, thinking they are dead, in the
spring, for they will come all right, and bloom well.
California fiiiccesse.9.
The aggi-egate value of the fruit crops of California, for 1870, was $2,371,612. (The
crop of Ohio alone, for same time, was $7,000,000.) Cotton is a great success there,
and Col. Stresy, its pioneer, is preparing to put out an 800 acre plantation. Beet
Sugar is a success. The Alvaredo factory is clearing 100 per cent on its capital, and
other companies are forming with large capitals to engage in the same enterprise ; verily,
California is not poor ; we are amazed at her wonderfully recuperative power.
Jloiv to Grow JSiff Crops of Stratvberries,
Give room ; do not plant too close together ; 2 feet apart is better than 1 foot ; 2^ by
1^- to 2 feet, is just right for field culture ; put a good shovelful of manure under each
hill at time of setting. Put out no more plants than you have manure for. We are
satisfied that the big crops depend only on the liberality of the food. One strawberry
grower plants 2 feet by 1, and gets 2,000 quarts per acre ; another plants 2^ by 2 feet,
keeps the runners cut, and gets 4,000 quarts per acre. The former cannot understand it,
why with twice as many plants he gets only half the crop. We assure our readers,
strawberries are like the colossal asparagus, biggest, when they have the most room and
best feed; a crop of 1,000 quarts per acre will prove a failing business to any grower.
It is better to reduce plantations one-half and manure double.
Tlie California Morticultiirist and Floral 3Iaf/azlne,
This is the first horticultural journal really established on the Pacific Coast. Its first
issue is with the November number, and announces its Editor as F. A. Miller, a well-
known landscape gardener, of San Francisco. When we look at the numbers of a new
journal, we judge of its prospective success by three points : 1st, is it practical. 2d, is
it genial. 3d, has it got a good publisher. We frankly express our faith in this new
Pacific namesake of ours. It combines all the qualities needed to conduct it tastefully.
And we learn that, in that limited horticultural field, it achieved a circulation of 1,000
paying copies before it issued its second number. Each number contains 32 pages, well
filled with appropriate matter, and is published by F. A. Miller & Co., San Francisco,
Cal. Price, 84 a year.
Benefits of Tree 'Planting.
It is said that in arid Egypt, formerly desolate and sandy, irrigated alone with the
overflowing waters of the Nile, there are now regular rains, owing to the forest trees
planted by the Government. A Western writer begs our Eastern papers to throw all
their influence to help devise some plan by which our Government can induce forest trees
to be planted on the great plains beyond the Mississippi. Unless it is done, thousands
of settlers must suff"er both in crops and in their families for the lack of sufficient water.
Vich's New Catalogue,
Vick's new Catalogue for 1871, is far more profusely embellished with engravings than
ever. The rapidly increasing extent of his business has demanded more room and better
accommodations for the transaction of it. He has lately moved into a new building forty-
feet wide, five stories high, and 200 feet deep, and most conveniently arranged for the
purposes designed. We are astonished at the magnitude of his correspondence. In
busy times the mails will average 2,000 to 2,600 letters per day, and there are 125 hands
kept constantly at work. Is not this a great success for ten years constant effort ? And
the cause of it all is, liberal advertising.
Sam-yard Jilanure as Jffulcli,
The Rural Neio Yorker says : We do not like to use fresh manure from the barn-yard
as a mulching for strawberry plants, for two reasons. First, it is usually full of weed
seeds, and these will grow and injure the plants unless destroyed. Second, if the
g4 JSditorial JVotes,
manure is applied early in Fall, or before the ground freezes, all sorts of cut-worms and
grubs will gather under it for protection from cold, and be on hand to attack the plants
in Spring, Still, if we had no other enriching materials at hand, and our plants required
it, we should apply even fresh horse manure, without fear of consequences.
Tltnher Culture for Shelter, Ornament or Fro/it.
Recognizing the vast importance of a subject of so great a necessity to our "Western
people, we will hereafter devote special attention and considerable space in each number
to Timber Culture, and particularly its profits, as inducements for general planting. We
invite correspondence and articles from all Western arboriculturists or planters. Any
notes, small or large, will be acceptable.
Profits of Horticulture.
Commencing with the March number, we will print a series of communications on the
Profits of Horticulture, showing what has been done, giving actual examples of successful
experience. In these dull times we do not expect every one to be carried away with the
idea of making large profits from small pieces of ground, still it will be entertaining read-
ing, and we shall introduce it as such only.
miss's Xew Seed^Catuloffue.
Mr. Bliss's new seed Catalogue for 1871, has swelled beyond its original proportions
of past years, and is now a volume of dignified size, as well as practical contents.
Several new engravings have been added this year ; we may name Truffant's Poeony
flowered Aster, and the Ipomoea Coccinea. Four colored plates are introduced — English
Pansies, the new Beet, Dark Red Egyptian, the Lilium Auratum, and the Trophy
Tomato. Our lady readers often speak highly of the good quality of everything obtained
from Mr. Bliss's warehouse, and hence we feel a pleasure in commending his enterprise.
N'eto Cataloffues.
The new seed Catalogues of Messrs. Henderson & Fleming, are unusually well printed,
while the size has been doubled, and the number of illustrations have been largely in-
creased.
The Pla7it Catalogue of Mr. Henderson is the richest of its class in the country, and
exceedingly profuse in its engravings.
The Catalogue of J. M. Thorburn & Co. has also reached us, being of a neat, dainty,
tasteful appearance, printed on tinted paper.
JVejo Subscribers.
We are now receiving clubs very freely, and would remind all club agents that they
may add other names as often as they choose, at the same rates, after the first full club
has been formed and paid for; any subscriber who has remitted for one, two or three
subscriptions, and afterwards has been able to get up a club of five or ten, may have the
money previously paid credited toward his club.
We give the Eumelan Grape or Lilium Auratum as a premium for all clubs of two,
three or five, and for all clubs of five or over, an extra copy of The Horticulturist,
free.
Patience.
Our correspondents who have clubbed other papers through us, must allow us a rea-
sonable time for transacting the business. Their letters often are a week behind in reach-
ing us; then we must have three or four days here to make out lists; other publishers in
the hurry of the season are sometimes delayed, and then time must be given for the mails
to carry the papers back to the subscribers' post offices. Fully two weeks tmist be
allowed, and sometimes three are unavoidable. Subscribers who would avoid interrup-
tion of their papers must remit us, two or three weeks before their subscriptions expire.
We aim to be prompt as far as we are able, in our correspondence.
VOL. 26.
MAECH, 18T1.
]SrO. 29T.
Home G-ardens.
BY THE EDITOR.
Koses for the Floiper Garden.
IT is difficult to name a list of roses suitable for out-door gardens in all parts of the
country. We find that roses bloom and grow far more vigorously the farther
southward they are cultivated. A rose garden in the New England States would
make but a poor show in comparison with some of the overwhelming examples of
bloom we have seen in modest little Delaware flower gardens. Delaware is truly the
home of the rose as well as the peach. But for latitudes like that of New York,
and southward, we know no list combining so well the best of the old and the new
varieties, as this, made out by James Stewart, of Memphis, Tenn.
The Griant of Battles with its gorgeous deep crimson, is popular everywhere. The
ladies have always liked the Devoniensis for its delicate cream tint and pure odor,
while the Baltimore Belle and Prairie Queen, as climbing roses, can hardly be dis-
placed by the boldest of all new comers.
12. White, and near approaching to tvhite. — Sombrueil, Clara Sylvan, Gloire
d'Dijon, Woodland Marget, Juno, Queen Victoria, Pumelo, Airaee Vibert, White
Moss, Nyphetos, Lady Warrender, Musk Cluster.
6. Yellow, and approaching to yellow. — Marechal Niel, Isabella Gray, Madame
Charles, La Boule d'Or, Juan Hardy, Celene Forester.
6. Lemon. — Lays, Augusta, La Pactole, Cloth of Gold, Isabella Sprunt, SalFrano.
2. Clear strata color. — Lutea, Flavescens.
4. Cream. — Devoniensis, America, LaMarque, Madame Faleot.
6. Flesh colored. — Queen of Bourbons, Mme. Bosanquet, Lee's Blush, Louia
Odier, Souvenir de la Malmaison, Madame Massott.
6. Salmon color. — Bougere, Ophire, Phaloe, Triumph of Luxemburg, Imperatrice,
Josephine, Viscompte de Cazes.
6Q Home Gai'dens.
8. Feadi blossom colors. — Golconda, Homer, Trioraphe de Thumeniel, Sallett,
Kubens, Adam, Victor Verdier, Alfred d'Dalmas.
3. Distinct rosy lilac. — David Pradel, Belle Charronnaise, Leveson Gower,
4. Nearest to purple and black. — Jupiter, Joseph Gordon, Prince Camile de
Rohan, John Ingram.
6, Crimson. — Beauty of Waltham, Emperor Napoleon, Mount Carmel, Giant of
Battles, Charles Wood, Gen. Jacqueminot.
6. Dark and rosy red.—^'xx Joseph Paxton, Dr. Arnel, Leon des Combats, Rivers,
Gen. Druot, John Hopper.
2. Best rumiing roses. — Prairie Queen, Baltimore Belle.
The IriJ Flnnt,
One of the most beautiful rural sights can be seen any day by the traveler, as he
passes St. Paul's church, Fourth avenue corner Twenty-second street, in this city.
Five or six years ago, some attentive gardener planted cuttings of the English Ivy
in the soil just at the base of the sides of the church. For several years they
seemed merely to have devoted their strength to the gaining of a foothold in the
grass which grew so close and luxuriant around, — hence did not make a vigorous
growth upward. But of late they have pushed their long slender green arras upward
along the glistening sides of the pure white marble surface of the church exterior,
and are covering it thick and deep with a most luxuriant coat of deep green foli-
age. The base is already covered, and the tiny frondlets are fast working their way
upward over the doors and windows, well on to the roof itself. Was there ever a
more tasteful sight ? The contrast between the pure white marble and the vivid
green of the ivy, constantly excite the attention and remark of every passer-by, and
we note the out-cropping of this insensible lesson of rural taste. We see ladies
everywhere decorating their windows with little pots and baskets of flowers, while a
choice corner is reserved for the "ivy green," where in its rapid growth it is care-
fully trained up the window sides, or on the curtains that hang so charmingly around.
A Philadelphia correspondent of the Journal of the Farm, asks : " Why is it
that the Ivy plant is not more generally appreciated, or at least cultivated in this
country, for I do not think I ever knew a person who did not admire it? It will
thrive almost anywhere, is a rapid grower, needs little or no care, is always beauti-
ful, and a thing of joy forever. It will ascend unsightly walls, and cover them with
a leafy green that is always refreshing to look upon. It may be the means of hiding
the unpleasant aspects of stumps, and even where it is not required as a mantle or
cloak with which to cover up that which is not pleasant to the eye, it is pretty.
I know of no more refreshing sight than that of the gable end, or even the front
of a house, densely covered with the rich foliage of this fine plant. It appears to
me that the commissioners of Fairmount park, might introduce it more extensively
in that splendid place. In fact the ivy is pretty almost wherever it is met with ;
■whether trailing over ruins, clambering up the walls of modern residences, or run-
ning over the ground, where it will form a fine verdure in locations so shaded that
grass will not grow well."
Home Gardens.
TruffnnVs J\>jp Vwotiif t'lowered Aster.
67
The Asters have been so much improved of late years by foreign florists, that they
have developed into flowers and shrubs of exceeding beauty of habit and color.
They are profuse bloomers, and seem to thrive in ordinary soil and moderate care,
Truffawt's I'oeony Flotvered JiSter.
but are best in a warm, light soil, mulched lightly in too hot or dry weather ; an
occasional supply of manure water is a benefit, helping their size, beauty and dura-
tion of the bloom of the flowers. The floral world is indebted to Truffaut, the cele-
68 Home Gardens.
brated florist of Versailles, France, for the production of what is now considered
the " ^ew " of all varieties, his new " Pteony flowered" Aster (see illustration).
The habit of the plant is flue, about one and a half feet high, flowers very double,
round in shape, resembling a ball, and surpassing all others in size and brilliancy of
color. Among other new varieties worthy of memorable note are the following:
New Giant Emperor. — It bears only a few flowers on a robust, strong stem, from
which the side shoots grow in the form of a Candelabrum ; the flowers are very-
brilliant, double, and immense size. In favorable cases the side shoots produce as
many as five flowers, of which the chief blossom is four inches in diameter.
The Imbrique Pompone, with its numerous miniature flowers, is equally attractive,
and particularly suitable for large flower beds or intermingling in the borders with
dahlias, gladioli and roses. Of the dwarf varieties, the principal are the Chrysanthe-
mum, its large flowers almost hiding the foliage, and the Bouquet Aster with its
profusion of blossoms ; this last, when well grown, will produce perfect plants, each
of which forms a bouquet of from 150 to 200 flowers, completely hiding the foliage,
and producing a fine efl'ect in mixed borders.
Perenitinl I'hlox.
The ladies who have abundance of room in their gardens, will not be apt to over-
look them the coming season. Here is a list of the best varieties worthy of culture :
Admiral Heinneis — Bright rose ; deep carmine centre.
Ball of Fire — Dark crimson ; finely formed flowers.
Cross of St. Louis — Lilac and white striped.
La Candeur Pape — White ; crimson eye.
Madame Rollisou — Bright crimson. n.
Madame Mason — Lilac, with white centre.
Mrs. Punch — Salmon scarlet ; dark eye.
Rosedale — Deep rose color ; violet eye ; immense truss.
Surprise — Large cherry-red centre; outer edge pure white, shaded with scarlet;
extra.
Silver Star — Pure silvery white, with distinct scarlet eye, and large truss.
Sunshine — Rich salmon scarlet ; deep carmine centre.
Van Houth — Pure white, with crimson stripes ; extra.
White Queen — Pure white ; of dwarf habit.
JAquid Manure for Gardens.
No one doubts the utility of liquid manure, but we cannot get enough of it, and
it is, after all, some trouble to make it ; perhaps no more trouble with it than it is
■worth. A Pennsylvania gardener gives the following directions for making a liquid
manure of right strength, suitable for use in flower beds and around the garden :
" I have used, for several years, a liquid manure which is very efi"ective in pushing
on the growth of vegetables, strawberries, roses, grass, etc. My first test of it was
the pouring of a stream from a watering pot across a piece of poor grass opposite a
post which served as a mark. There was soon a distinct wave, as bold and as green
as the line of a fairy ring. This season I show half a row of peas and half a bed of
strawberries, very superior to the other half, to exhibit the application. It is
Some Gardens.
69
eliicfly, t suppose, sulpKate of ammonia, and is made thus: To one gallon of stale
urine (at least one week old) in a deep wooden vessel or crock, add two ounces of
sulphuric acid. Next day put iu a coupla of ounces of chalk or lime, to take up any
acid remaining free. Stir. Put a pint of this into a pail of water, and use once or
twice a week on growing plants, and preferably when the ground is wet, as it diffuses
them among the feeding points of the roots better."
The St<tr IpoiiiW'a.
For training over old stumps of trees, or against walls and trellises, or as a happy
contrast among other climbers, the Star Ipomoea is justly a favorite. Many of the
varieties of the Ipomoea are very beautifol ; their fine foliage and graceful form
reader them indispensable ornaments for green house, conservatory or garden decora-
Iponioen Coceinea.
tion. The Star Ipomoea is honored as the finest of all varieties of this class ; the
flowers are scarlet, small, aud form in great profusion ; introduced from the East
Indies.
70
Home Gardetis.
Among other new varieties are the Bona Nox, of a violet color, very large, fragrant
blossoms, which expand in the evening; grows to the height of ten feet. The Mexi-
cana grandiflora alba is white, with immense flowers and long tubes ; introduced
from Mexico.
Clifinfhtis Dnmpierii.
One of our lady readers writes us: " You cannot say too much for that most beau-
tiful of all garden flowers, the Clianthus Dampierii or "■ Glory Pea^ My children
call them " Scarlet Birds.'' Mr. B. K. Bliss favors us with an illustration of it,
and says : " It is one of the most beautiful plants in cultivation, about three feet in
height, with neat, compound leaves, and drooping clusters of large, rich scarlet,
long petaled, pea-shaped flowers, three inches in length, something similar to the
splendid blossoms of the Coral tree, each flower being picturesquely marked with a
large black, cloud-like blotch in front ; introduced from New Holland. It has
Home Gardens. 71
hitherto been considered difficult to cultivate, but lately has proved agreeably the
very reverse. When sown in the open air, on a dry, warm sunny border in May,
it will grow luxuriantly and bloom profusely all summer. It requires but little
watering, for when too much water is used, it will damp off."
How to MaJie a X,aten.
Mr. P. Barry, in his excellent address before the Greneva Horticultural Society,
says the following is the simplest and best way to make a handsome lawn: "The
ground should be entirely free from stagnant water. It must be trenched or trench-
plowed to the depth of eighteen or twenty-four inches. A week of hot, dry weather
•will be sufficient to dry up the grass on a thin soil, whilst on a deep, well-prepared
soil, a whole month of drought will fail to destroy the verdure. The depth, what-
ever it may be, should be uniform, for if it be deeper in some places than in others,
the deep places will settle and make the ground uneven. Evenness of surface is of
great importance. I do not mean level, for an undulating surface is quite as desira-
ble for a lawn as a level one, but whether level or undulating it must be smooth and
free from even the smallest stones, as these interfere with the operations of the
mowing machine.
Red top is the best grass for a lawn, about fifty or sixty pounds to the acre. Fifty
pounds will be sufficient if the seed be clean and good, which it seldom is. Some
people recommend white clover, say one-fourth, to be mixed with the red top, and
this does very well, but I pi-efer the pure red top. Early in the spring is the best
time for seeding a lawn. All prepai-atory work should be performed in the fall, so
that during winter the ground may settle, and any defects that may be developed can
be corrected before sowing. In spring, at the fitting moment, give a light plowing, a
good harrowing, pick off the stones, sow the seed, and give it a good rolling, which
finishes the work. By sowing early in the spring you may have a respectable lawn
before midsummer."
The Double l-'lowering Fuchsia.
Nothing in the floral world can be more beautiful than a well grown plant of the
Fuchsia, ether double or single, studded all over with its bright wealth of pendant
floral gems — so elegant and beautiful, so easily grown, and now so well appreciated.
The Fuchsia delights in a light, rich soil, and requires a partial shade to succeed well
through the hot weather of summer ; above all, to be kept free from the red spider,
which is the worst pest it has to contend against. They may be grown in pots
(taking care they do not suffer at any time for want of water), or planted out in the
open ground in a partially shaded place, where they will succeed and bloom finely, if
the soil has been prepared to suit their wants.
Everlasting Flowers.
F. R. Elliott recommends for indoor ornament during the winter, when many
flower-lovers are not able to maintain a green-house, the use of Everlasting Flowers.
These flowers are grown out-doors, and in the fall, at the right season, they can be
cut, dried, and preserved for ready use. They retain their freshness and color
through the entire winter, as bright as when first gathered. In the large cities quite
a trade is carried on in the way of " Immortelles," or everlasting flowers, even to the
72 Grciyel as a Mulch.
importation of thousands ; and there is no reason except that of neglect why every
home fireside throughout the country should not in winter be made gay and beautiful
with them. Their culture is no more difficult than that of any other hardy annual,
while at all times during winter their flowers are invaluable to make gay the festive
room, to deck the church or the school house, or in wreaths entwined to offer as
tribute of memory, respect, and love on the bier of the dead.
In the cemetry, at all seasons of the year, no flowers are more appropriate where-
with to decorate than those of this class, for neither rain nor sun injures them when
well prepared ; and while they in their brightness and bloom shadow the effulgence
of a future world, their very name on earth is that of eternity.
The Rhodanthe is, perhaps, one of the very prettiest of all, its flowers being bell-
shaped before fully expanded ; and it is in that condition that many prefer to gather
and dry them, as they then work in most charmingly with others of full-expanded
form.
The centre fit^ure should be a Waitzia, a variety of the Everlastings that blooms
in clusters, very delicate, and of a beautiful clear yellow. These should always be
gathered just as soon as they are fairly expanded ; for, if left on the stems exposed,
they are liable to become dingy and the centres much discolored. The Xeranthemum
is one of the easiest cultivated of any of the annuals — its seeds germinating freely,
the plants transplanting well, and when grown to about one foot in height, blooming
freely. They are of different colors. The Helichrysuvi, as well as the Gomphrenas,
the latter sometimes called English Clover — are also varieties of the Everlastings
which should be grown by every one. The Helichrysum is one of the easiest to
grow — any good soil will suit it; and the plants are vigorous and very showy even
for the border in summer, and exceedingly valuable for the winter.
Gravel as a Mulch.
IN the spring of 1870, I had the superintendence of planting some 200 trees of
various kinds in and around our public grounds. The spring and succeeding sum-
mer was one of unusual and excessive drouth. About eighty of these trees, White
Elm, Soft Maple, American Linden, Catalpa, etc., were planted on the side-walks
for street trees ; they were on an average ten and fourteen feet high. They were
planted in a rather poor clay soil (mixed in planting with a rich, black, sandy loam),
and within a few inches of the curb stones ; the gutters being shallow and well
bouldered. The walk was covered with about four inches of gravel. Every one of
these trees grew finely, many of them making a growth of branches two or more feet
in length. Some of the elms when planted, seemed almost dead, but they started
and grew well. None of them were watered artificially. The same kind of trees
planted within the enclosures in much better soil, but without the gravel mulch,
grew very little ; many of them, probably half, died, notwithstanding constant care
in watering, deep and well drained soil, shortening in mulching with grass and litter,
etc. The same fate attended more than half the trees planted by others all over the
country. Hence, I conclude that gravel and small stones are unsurpassed as a mulch.
li^orchiff Stran'beri'ies. 73
They allow the rains to readily penetrate the soil, retain moisture, absorb heat and
equalize the temperature. The practical utility of gravel as a mulch, where it can
be easily procured, should be tested by all tree planters. It will not injure heavy
clay soils, at least, but will be beneficial. R.
Forcing Strawberries.
AT the annual meeting of the Pennsylvania Fruit Growers Society at Chambers-
burg, Pa., last January, in the course of the session, the subject of forcing
strawberries under glass was discussed. The most important facts were elicited
from the remarks of D. W. Herstine, the substance of which is as follows :
I doubt very much whether greenhouse culture in pots or boxes could be made
profitable, even if they could be ripened in February and March and sold at five to
six dollars per quart. But what I term hot-bed and cold-frame culture, is so simple
and attended with so little expense and labor over that of open air culture, that I
hold they can be made profitable, aside from which is the satisfaction to an amateur
of raising an abundance of that delicious fruit for his own table for from two to
three months (from April to July), instead of as many weeks, as is usual (in June).
For the hot-bed I layer the earliest and strongest runners in small pots, and when
well rooted, transfer them to six inch pots, the soil to be of such a character as to
encourage the most vigorous growth during the fall. I give them sufficient protect-
ion to prevent hard freezing during early winter, and during the mild weather which
usually occurs in January, I prepare the hot-bed with a view of getting only moder-
ate heat that will last the longest time, and have found about equal parts of stable
manure and forest leaves to answer this purpose admirably. The soil should be very
rich, six or eight inches deep being sufficient ; I then knock the plants out of the
pots very carefully so as to disturb the roots as little as possible, and set them about
four to every square foot, then put on the glass ; they will start at once without
drooping a particle and make a surprisingly vigorous growth ; they require careful
attention as far as airing is concerned, and an occasional watering, unless there are
plenty of warm rains in February and March, during which the sash can be pulled
down. I have planted January 15th and ripened fruit by April 1st. The Wilson's
Albany is the variety above all others suitable for this mode of culture, and in fiict
is the only one which has given me a satisfactory result. For the cold-frame I
prepared the ground about as an amatuer would for open air culture, trenching deep
and manuring heavily. Set the plants in the spring, one to every foot square, keep-
ing clear of weeds and runners during the summer, cultivating moderately. Before
hard freezing commences, or at any time during the fall, set the frames, which should
not be over 15 inches high on the one side and 10 to 12 inches on the other, giving
only sufficient slope to carry ofi" the water. The most convenient width for the
frame is eight feet, and sash four feet wide. The plants should receive about the
usual winter mulching, as in open air culture, of leaves or clean straw. About the
middle of February or as soon after as the weather will admit, the mulching should
be removed and the sash put on ; a healthy growth will soon commence, and the
74 2'fi'^ JE^rlauthus 'Rarennce.
only care they require after that is the proper airing, an occasional weeding and
watering. I let them have all the warm rains that fall during February and March.
I have always succeeded in ripening' fruit about the first of May, or four weeks
before it ripens in the open air, and of the largest size and finest flavor, much larger
than I have ever grown the same varieties out doors. From a frame 8 by 16, I
picked the first crop 25 quarts, the second 22, and the third 15 quarts. From a
frame 100 feet long, 8 feet wide, I picked the first crop 120 quarts, which I sold at
an average of about two dollars per quart, starting at five dollars and down to one
dollar, netting two hundred and twenty dollars, and the whole cost of the sash and
frame was one hundred and fifty dollars, and they will last for ten or more years.
Not more than two full crops can be taken from one bed ; in growing for profit it
would probably be advisable not to depend on more than one ; that would only
involve the necessity of shifting the frames every season, which is a small matter.
The varieties I have found best adapted to this mode of culture, are the •' Wilson's
Albany," "Russell's Prolific," " Jucunda," and "Stinger." I tried various others
without any success ; Triomphe DeGand, Agricultuiist, Fillmore, and others, and
in growing for profit I would discard all but the two first named. The " Jucunda,"
and " Stinger" attain to an enormous size, are moderately productive, but not
sufiiciently early for profit.
The Erianthus Kavennse.
LOVERS of ornamental grasses must not omit this season to find room in their
flower garden or lawn borders for that gem of gigantic grasses, the Erianthus
Ravennaj, or Ravennas Woolly Beard Grass. When in full bloom it attains a height
of from nine to twelve feet, after two or three seasons growth from seed. It resem-
bles at a distance the well known Pampas grass, but is far more curious and ornamen-
tal. Its leaves beneath are narrow, its flower stalks are numerous, and rise grace-
fully from its base, and at their top bear a very showy tufted plume. In a light
breeze, the stalks sway easily to and fro, and the tufted bloom rustles and bows
gracefully, making a very picturesque appearance. In the latitude of New York it
has thus far proved perfectly hardy, although it is best to protect it during the
winter. It has one great advantage of flowering freely, and produces seeds abun-
dantly. If the seeds are started in a hot-bed in March, they will produce plants
large enough to throw up the first season flower stems as high as four feet by
October. When well established for two or three seasons, fine plants will send up as
many as thirty flower stalks, and increase in height until they reach ten feet. We
knovr of no novelty of genuine merit better worth an introduction to the homes of
our citizens than this beautiful plant for lawn or garden decorations.
7'he Ji^ria?it/fus liarennce.
ib
Tlie JSriatithtis Mnecniiai.
76
^ Gardener's Cottage.
A G-ardener's Cottage.
THE illustration of a gardener's cottage on the opposite page is taken from a
model building erected at Wimbledon House, England, now the residence of H.
W. Peck, Esq., a member of Parliament, for Mid Surrey. The object was to pro-
vide a cheerful, tasteful home for the gardeners or laborers of the place, apart from
the mansion itself, having commodious rooms and every accommodation for their
comfort and health.
The design is one which many of our wealthy American landed proprietors may
copy to great advantage. Hitherto our dwellings or villas have all been constructed
'^U
Vlan for a Gardener's Cottuge.
with the purpose of accommodating under one roof, not only all members of the
family, but all servants, male as well as female, and all laborers employed upon such
place. This is sometimes very inconvenient, and often disagreeable to have all
clustered together in so close quarters, and we have often heard the wish expressed
that the custom might be early introduced of providing separate buildings for
accommodating the male help, where they can enjoy a liberal freedom in their own
living, dining and sleeping apartments, without annoyance to the family.
^ Gardener's Coftctge.
77
This gardener's cottage is admirably constructed for this very purpose. It will be
seen that there are separate bed-rooms (E), one for every laborer or gardener, with
passage ways, B, for ingress and egress without entering the other rooms or creating
any disturbance. At (il/) there is a lavatory and towel racks for washing purposes.
F is used as a sick room in case of accident, injm*y or sickness, with a cheerful fire-
vl Gnrdener's Cotttij/C' .
place at the side. C is a large room for eating, and the free use of laborers in their
usual conversation. D is intended as the sitting-room or parlor, and neatly fitted up
in a cheerful and tasteful manner. Ample closets (H, H) are found opening from
every room or the passage ways, while at K, there is a store-room for boxes and
78 Some Hints on t//e H^conowry of 'Planting, etc.
other material. L is for the skylights, and N, trap. The building is about forty-
five feet square. Here we have a model building, substantial, yet not costly. And
with the accompanying surroundings, indicative of flower gardening and ornamental
improvements, we doubt not the lesson of rural taste is well instilled into the hearts
and minds of all laborers, making them better men and happier citizens.
Some Hints on the Economy of Planting, etc.
Jiy Johti Jay Stuitit, I''ornier liditor of the "Horticulturist."
i STRIKING illustration of the progress of refinement in America might be
-^ drawn from the improvements made in planting, in the kind of ornamental trees
and shrubs which we assemble now around our homesteads, as compared with half a
century ago. In our fathers' time, European and other voyages were too slow to
insure the probable safety of evergreens and other valuable novelties. Our grand-
mothers, when they moved from the Atlantic coast to distant Ohio, traveled on
horseback and carried in saddle-bags apple seeds for planting, and hence the new and
often good varieties. The trees themselves they could not carry. So of the European
and Asiatic, and other beautiful productions. Steam stepped in just in time to
benefit a growing taste for the beautiful in arboriculture, and all China and Japan
yielded, in the time of persons still living, the wonders of other lands. Think for a
moment of the riches sent home by l^rtune alone, and but yesterday was actually
discovered the great trees of California, and we found such valuable adjuncts to our
arboretums as the Cupressus Lawsoniana. Steam now enriches every land with the
valuable products of every other. Acclimatization, known and practiced from great
antiquity, has cut its art; we now possess such a range of beautiful botany as would
have astonished the dwellers of the North but a short time since.
What will grow in certain climates is an interesting study. Just on the limits of
a [frozen region, we, of Philadelphia, have the Ivy and the Cedar of Lebanon, with
little or no care or attention, while but a few miles north of us their successful
growth is impossible. I began my planting experiments forty or more years ago,
when I was fascinated with Loudons' writings, and lost of course about one-half of
every importation, for then we had in the United States no Downing, in short no
teacher on this and kindred topics.
And here let me remark that the literature of gardening and planting is leaving
out, for other and important topics, that grand feature of home adornment, ornamen-
tal tree planting. We see too little published on new evergreens, and very few, if
any, instructions as to their hardiness are now promulgated. Climates should be
studied and information given more copiously on these matters, for a new race of
amateurs grows up rapidlj^ and they will not always turn to older authorities.
It may be said that the best trees, like the best people, are the scarcest ! The
pleasure of variety, even in small grounds, is little understood ; it is very common
to have half a dozen or more of one kind of trees on half an acre; six Norway firs
would be better supplied by two, and a few of the finest Magnolias substituted ; and
who wants a dozen Wiegelias ? as we often see them. But here is a wide field for
2'he Zennig W/tite Strawberrj. 79
discussion, and I turn to the main object of this paper, which is to advise frequent
and moderate importations.
It is a fact that the climates of France and England admit of the seeds of SA'en
our indigenous trees to be sent thither, and young trees to be returned to us at a
cheaper rate than we can produce them here ; this is partly owing to cheapness of
labor and the employment of women. Take for an instance the general favorite, the
Norway Fir, Abiesexcelsa. I have been for thirty-five years in the habit of importing
them for the use of Laurel Hill Cemetery, a few thousand say every other year ;
yearling plants are sold by Andre Leroy of Angers, France, as low as $3.50 per
thousand, and two years old, and transplanted trees, at only five dollars, say half a
cent each. These are so packed as to be prepared for reaching even our Western
States in good health, where they would make the best shelter. Everybody knows
what they will be worth in five years, more or less, and I therefore recommend a
trial to all who have a little money or a great deal, and who have patience to wait
the transformation of one cent into a green-back. In each importation I include
one or more specimen of some new and rare conifer or deciduous tree, and always a
few hundred small Rhododendrons, etc. In this way Laurel Hill and its successor,
" West Laurel Hill," now rising to great beauty, is regularly enriched, and thus I
am able to exhibit fine mature cones, for instance of the Cedar of Lebanon, planted
by myself in 1836. But one of several trees has come into bearing ; it is curious,
as illustrating the eff"ects of exposure and warmth, that these cones grow only on the
southern side of the tree now thirty-five feet high.
With such a resource as these nurseries afford, there is no occasion of sending to
distant points for trees ; they are on the spot, and removed to proper places without
the delay which attends a long transportation. Add to these a nursery always in
progress of plenty of American Arbor Vitees and Hemlocks taken annually from
the forests of Maine or Pennsylvania, and every one fond of planting, whether for
private grounds, parks or cemctries, will be in possessession of an inexpensive
resource. Our public parks started in a hurry were without this resource, but it is
never too late to begin, for trees and shrubs will always be in request.
As an instance of what may be done in this way, a landscape gardener assured me
that my importation of three years ago would be worth to him this and next spring
five thousand dollars. Its actual cost all told, delivered and planted, was three
hundred dollars ! England and Scotland afford fine fields for importers, and France,
we may hope, will soon offer its former facilities.
The Lennig White Strawberry.
-1 few Choice Fruits for Hiiral Homes.
IF we seek a strawberry for market we shall certainly pass by Lennig'-s White. It
is confessedly not a rival for the Wilson in producing a sure crop on all soils ;
nor of the Jucunda in size and evenness of berry ; nor of Russell or Agriculturist,
or whatever else in localities may be the best berry for profit. But for an amateur
garden — no, I mean a ko?ne garden — when you seek to have the choicest, the most
80 Sourardia Vreelandii .
delicious fruits, Lennig's Strawberry has won a right. Tliere are many becoming
so educated in taste that they cannot endure a grape anyway inferior to the Dela-
ware. The Concord, with all its acknowledged advantages, is not welcome on their
tables. They have an ideal in flavor as an artist has an ideal in his art ; or the
florist an ideal for his dahlia or rose. The pressure in strawberry culture has thus
far been toward size and solidity for carriage. We have been bewildered with the
facts of fifteen to a pound, or seven inches in circumfrence, and fabulous profits per
acre. The Wilson and Jucunda can fight out this battle. What we need now is a
berry that, with other qualities at least average, can establish a standard of flavor ;
a berry that we do not care to sell but to eat. My object in writing this article is
to claim for Lennig's White the nearest approach to this taste test. If there be a
8eckel or a Delaware among strawberries, this is it. I have seen it often compared
with a dozen of the leading varieties, but never heard but one opinion, " this, for
exquisite flavor, is un urpassed." It is a moderate sized berry not remarkably even
iu growth, nor a very productive bearer. It is, however, not a poor bearer, nor by
any means small in size. Its color is a delicate blushed white, a sort of fleshy pink
on the sunny side. We sometimes speak of a blush on a pear or apple, or peach ;
I think if a fruit can blush, this strawberry does it. A dish of them looks like
childhood in its purity. Every eye will seek them, and be gratified with the sight
before the palate pronounces judgment. The vine needs careful culture, but is a
rampant grower, spreading as rapidly as any of the red varieties. The shoots are
strong, do not sunburn, or easily winter kill. There is a decided tendency to per-
petual bearing. You can be very sure of finding a few berries at any time from
June's first crop until the snow falls. I picked most luscious specimens the last of
October, in 1870. The flavor is contained in a kind of aroma that seems to reach
the sense of smell as well as taste. I am now experimenting with seedlings and
hope to get an improvement — perhaps not. Let the readers of the Horticultu-
rist who wish to find just the nicest things to make home charming, remember
Lennig's White Strawberry.
»-♦
Fountain for a Conservatory.
THE illustration of a fountain upon the opposite page is selected from among a
large variety of designs in the possession of the Composite Iron Works Co. of
this city. It is simple, yet tasteful ; the jets are well disposed in an artistic manner,
while the figure, its base, and the spray descending into the basin, make a beautiful
and appropriate display for either the parlor or conservatory.
Bonvardia Vreelandii.
ui VTiueuvme, ^, .j., iruiii lue n. xiogarin, auu possesses aii inc auiuirauie (][uamies
of the former in hardiness and vigor of growth, but is especially noteworthy for its
profuse blooming, bearing large trusses of pure white flowers, from two to three times
the size of any from its parent. It can be readily propagated from either top or
root cuttings, and will be acknowledged by all florists as a valuable acquisition long
needed in our Conservatories and Greenhouses.
£c^^
M i:iE::lJiiiil
Fountain for a. Conservatory ,
g2 Amoiiff the F'lotpers, or Gardeiiinff for Zadies.
Among the Flowers ; or, G-ardeiiing; for Ladies.
BY ANNE G. HALE.
"V.
I'repamtions for Out-of-iloor Gardening.
WHY is it that so many ladies of taste, who love to adorn their persons with flow-
ers, and to decorate their rooms with floral designs or collections of flowering
plants, have so little desire to enhance, by the same means, the beauty of the external
view v.'hich those rooms command, and to add similar attractions to the outside of
their dwellings ? It must be from the prevalent, yet mistaken, idea that gardening
is too hard work for them; for, those who can claim brothers, husbands or fathers,
who, possessing the taste and having the leisure for horticulture, exemplify it, or,
those who can aff"ord to pay for the making and care of a garden, are always quick to
perceive its advantages, and to enjoy them to the utmost. But there are many
household occupations which ladies are expected to perform, and which they do per-
form without injury or complaint, that are much more wearisome, and more difficult
to accomplish than gardening.
It is true, spading and hoeing — the heaviest operations of horticulture — are labo-
rious ; but these are the preliminary steps, and should be taken slowly and prudently ;
or, if one chooses, a man or a stout boy can be hired to do those jobs for a small
compensation. Still, I know from personal experience, that one hour a day, for five
or six successive days, at spading or hoeing, so far from being too hard — even for
those who are considered the most delicate of the weaker sex — is invigorating and
healthful exercise ; especially when those who take it spend the remainder of the day
in sedentary occupations — as those who are dyspeptic, low-spirited and languid will
quickly discover. But we are all apt, in any pursuit, to let our ambition, or our
fondness for the employment, get the better of prudence ; so, ladies who attempt
gardening should govern themselves by the following rules :
1. Never itwk a moment after ymi begin to fed tired. 2. Never work in the rai7i,
nor in a cold wind, nor under a hot sun, nor directly after a meal. 3. Never work in
unsuitable clothi?ig.
And this brings me to an important point. Gardening is earnest work ; it will
not do to poke here and push there, and potter around anyhow and anyway — there
must be thorough and well-directed effort. As a means toward this, every lady who
looks for success in gardening will provide herself with a proper dress for out-door
■vvork — garments which, while allowing freedom of movement to every limb, will
aff"ord sufficient protection fi-om the weather, are not injured by dust, mud, or sun-
shine, and can withstand frequent contact with stump and stake, and brush and briar.
Trains, panniers, flounces and peplums are inadmissible. Nothing but a plain,
round, one-skirted dress, made rather short, and no sashes, no bretelles, and no Lady
Douglass sleeves — only a neat fitting waist, loosely belted, and coat sleeves. A
broad-brimmed hat, a pair of rubber or buckskin gloves, and thick leather shoes or
boots — without heels — should complete the costume. There need not be wanting a
simple, white linen collar and cuffs, with a plain brooch and buttons, or a fastening
of pretty ribbon, and the suit is as becoming as it is serviceable. Then, with borax
Amonff the J^lon-ers, or Gardening for Zadiei, 83
water to remove all soil and stains, and to heal all scratches or chafes, she is pre-
pared to take gardeninc matters comfortably and easy.
This borax water should be a saturated solution^ as it is called. To make it, put
crude borax into a large bottle, and fill in water. When the borax is dissolved, add
more to the water, until at last the water can absorb no more, a residuum remains at
the bottom of the bottle. To the water in which the hands are to be wa;shed, after
gardening, pour from this bottle enough to make it very soft. It is very cleansing
and very healing. By its use the hands will be hept in excellent condition — soft,
smooth and white.
There are few dwellings without land enough to support a small number of plants.
But the situation may not be suitable for flowers ; they need a sunny, sheltered spot.
If you have reason to think that flowers will not thrive on your premises, you may
try vines or shrubs, and gain a great deal of pleasure in rearing them ; or, if you
must be contented with a mere grass plat, its velvety greenness will be so refreshing
in the glare and heat of the summer sun, that you will feel amply recompensed for
all the time and pains spent upon it.
Still, you may have a favorable situation, and are in doubt about the soil. The
best soil for flowers is the loose, light brown loam ; but you may be sure that where
weeds will grow, garden plants will do well. If the ground about your house is
sandy, it can be improved by mixing with it meadow soil, or by covering it with
loam to the depth of eighteen or twenty inches. If the land is low and damp — a
long time in drying in the spring, or after a rain — it should be drained. To do this
a trench should be dug, along its lowest side, if it have any depression. It must be
two feet wi'de and three feet deep, and so arranged that one end is lower than the
other, to allow the water to pass off". This trench must be filled, to the depth of a
foot or more, with large stones, a la3'^er of brush next, and then light, rich mould, to
make it even with the soil of the surface. This should be done as soon as the frost
has left the ground in the spring ; better still, before the rains of the pi*evious
autumn.
If your land is rocky, or if you have a square corner that is shady, you can
arrange rocks and other rubbish there, and take much delight in beautifying the
place with the plants that thrive best in such sequestered and unpromising situations.
Now for the tools. Get a spade, or a digging fork, and a hoe — those that are
manufactured for ladies' use, if you can. A weeding hoe, a coarse-toothed rake and
a fine-toothed one ; a trowel, a pair of shears, and a good, stout knife — what is called
a pruning knife — a watering pot and a syringe. Procure good tools, use them care-
fully, and keep them in working order. After using iron or steel tools, it is well
to wipe them with a bit of clean paper, and then to rub them a minute with an oiled
woolen cloth before laying them aside ; this prevents rust, which ruins all such imple-
ments.
Some of our horticultural sisters may wish to try their hand at raising vegetables,
but as most ladies turn more readily to the cultivation of flowers, these must receive
at ention fii-st ; perhaps, at some future time, we will take up that branch of garden-
ing. We must also have some regard for the season in our plan of operations. If
84 cimojtff the I^lowers, or Gardening for J^adies.
we are now commencing a garden, we must do without crocuses and snowdrops,
and the hardy kinds of tulips, narcissuses, and iris, that bloom in the early spring;
their bulbs, and those of the lily of the vallc}', and other hardy lilies, peonies, daffo-
dils, polyanthus, and primrose, must be planted next autumn. We can set out vines,
and trees, and shrubs in April and May, if we choose, though they will not bloom
this year. When re-set, or transplanted, in October, they get so well started that
they will blossom the next spring as well as if they had not been removed ; but it is
frequently necessary, in laying out and arranging a garden in spring, to do this then.
In order to procure plants (annuals) for early flowering, it is a good plan to make
a bed in a sunny, sheltered spot, some day in October, and to sow it with flower
seeds ; then to cover it with dead leaves, and to place boards upon it, for protection
through the winter. In May remove the boards and rake ofi" the leaves. After a
few days the young plants will have started, and if covered at night with a shallow
box, or a screen (made by nailing together pieces of board three or four inches wide,
to form a frame the size of the bed, and stretching and tacking over this an old
shawl or blanket), they will grow rapidly, and, when the ground is ready, will be
large enough to transfer to the place they are to occupy through the summer.
Another excellent and easy way of getting flowering plants in advance of open-
ground sowing, is to fill boxes, that will rest on the window sills, with good soil, and
plant in these the seeds. The soil should be secured in the autumn, and kept in the
cellar, or some place where it will not freeze, till February. Then have ready cigar
boxes, or boxes of pasteboard, or of birch bark. These last may be easily cut and
sewed by an}'^ child of ten years. Moss, or a thin coat of cotton batting or wad-
ding, should be placed within these boxes, as a lining, to prevent leakage. Put the
soil into an iron or tin pan to heat in the range or stove oven, and when it is com-
fortably warm to the touch, and of equal temperature throughout, fill it into the
boxes, scatter the seed sparingly over the surface, and then sift over it a little of the
soil. The smallest seeds should be mixed with some of the soil, and then sifted
upon the surface ; they will need no further covering. Set the boxes in the sunniest
windows you have ; at night keep them where there is no danger of chills, and the
young sprouts will soon peep out. They will need no watering until just before they
are] transplanted, unless the air of your room is very dry. For this reason they will
thrive best in the kitchen, where there is plenty of steam. If the soil should crack
or look ashen with dryness, a very slight sprinkling of tepid water from a hand
broom, or from a watering pot with an extra fine nose, may be given them.
Reared in this way they will be strong and stout. While the garden is being put in
readiness for them, they should be gradually accustomed to the open air, by setting
the boxes out of doors in the sunshine, for an increasing length of time. Begin this
' at noon ; then take an earlier hour as they get hardier.
February is none too soon to start these boxes ; but if sown in March, they will
have made good progress by the middle of May, when, if carefully transplanted and
■tended, they will pass rapidly on to blossoming. Zinnias, asters, balsams, celosins,
clarkias, candytufts, petunias, portulaccas, verbenas and mignionette are greatly
hastened by this method. Phlox druminoudii, the daturas, salvias, salpiglossis,
Amoifff f?te PloH'ers, or Gardeninfffor Zadles. 85
schizanthus and the cypress vine (quamoclit) slioulJ either be sown in a hot-bed and
afterward transferred to the garden soil, or else treated in this manner. Tomato,
pepper, martynia and egg-plauts, and lettuce, cabbage, cucumber and melon plants
for the family garden gain much time by being started thus early in these boxes.
The making and management of hot-beds must be deferred till we take up the
cultivation of vegetables ; but by the use of this simpler method of forcing, they
may be dispensed with in all gardens except the very largest, or where mature
growth is desired early.
Don't be in a hurry to open the ground; wait patiently till the soil has lost its
dark, dull hue, and can be easily crumbled by your fingers. Then you may com-
mence operations with a good prospect before you. This will seldom occur before
the second week in May — is frequently later in New England. If you start earlier,
the soil, being cold and damp, will cause the seed to decay before germinating, and
whatever young plants are set in it, to shrivel and die, or else to get stunted b}' the
sudden check it will give them. And then, too, we are not wholl3^ exempt from
frosts till after May comes in; one frosty night may undo the work of many days
and destroy man 3'^ promising young plants.
In the meantime, decide what plants and how many you will have of early growth,
and get them started as suggested above ; and what for later growth ; and be sure
your seed is good. Look over your bulbs, and in April set them in moist sawdust
or moss, in a moderately warm place ; if you have a furnace in the cellar, near that ;
if not, in the washroom, or in a similar place, for the sprouts to get well started
before the garden is made. Then decide what trees, bushes and shrubs you will set,
and make arrangements for them. And write on bits of shingle or of thick card-
board the botanical and the familiar names of these, and of your bulbs and annuals;
also of the biennials which you mean to plant. These are for tallies, which you will
have all ready for use when needed : the wooden ones, with a strong twine to tie
them to the trees and bushes ; the cards fastened to little stakes, for insertion in the
soil tear the plants they designate. Have ready, also, a number of stout stakes for
the support of dahlias, and smaller ones for gladioluses {gladioli is much easier to
pronounce and is really the correct word). Decide whether you will have an arbor
or a trellis for your vines, and get this made. All these little matters must be
attended to beforehand, so that when you commence operations there need be nothing
to delay the work.
Having proceeded thus far in your preparations, make a drawing of your plot of
ground — just a plain outline of its shape — and divide it into beds, and those of the
most desirable shape that its size will admit, and write in the different divisions the
names of the plants that you intend to place or to raise there. Make this as accurate
as possible — according to a scale of one inch to a yard will be a convenient measure-
ment— and in planning the beds and borders, allow a good generous space for walks.
When all these preliminaries have been finished, gardening time will not be very
distant. You can begin to think of your fertilizers, the best of which you will find
to be the rakings and clearings up of the various rubbish that gathers unaccountably
on the grounds about every dwelling. Before using, this is left to decay some
m9nths ; a littl? lim^ is added, and the whol? stirred together pcc&sionally.
86 Tree ^lanthiff for Our Western 'Prairies,
Tree Planting for Our Western Prairies.
liy Sanitiel Edwards, I'resident Northern Illinois Horticultural Society.
ON my first visit to the prairies, in 1841, this was adopted as a golden text in ma-
terial things for residents : Screens from bleak winds, tue great need op
THE PRAIRIES.
A residence here since then has served to increase my faith in this gospel, and,
according to my ability, has manifested itself in woiks. First planting was ten acres
black locust, which, for many years gave promise of being very valuable, though
the rapid growth at first is soon checked by its profuse crops of seed, and but few
varieties of the scores tested do not attain as large size in twenty years. Some ten
years since the locust borer appeared in gerat numbers, and all trees of that variety
not cut down were killed outright or rendered worthless. By cutting last of winter,
when first attacked by borers, they are valuable for stakes or posts, superior for fuel,
and sprout again freely from the root; in my opinion, where land is well stocked
with them, they pay, as they grow four or five years vigorously before the borers
iniure them. I would not advise planting locust, even if Dr. J. A. Warder has
recently sold the timber at Cincinnati for Nicholson pavement at §1,000 per acre.
White willow, set a cutting in 1845, on bank of a sod fence, never received any
cultivation, is now over three feet in diameter; when seasoned and kept up from the
ground, is durable for fencing ; for posts or stakes in the ground, is full}- up to sec-
ond rate. Fences are now being made of it, using stakes five and a half feet long,
two to three inches in diameter. These are pointed, set early in spring, with crow-
bar and maul, in well prepared ground, or heavily mulched, a foot apart, from centre
to centre, eighteen inches in the ground. Six inches from the top an inch strip,
three inches wide, is secured with tenpenny nails annealed and clinched. If wanted
for immediate use, a few Osage orange bush hanging on the stakes ward off cattle
and horses. Silver leaved. Balm of Gilead and Lombardy Poplar are nearly worth-
less as timber trees. Silver-leaved maple is attacked by borers to such an extant as
to discourage experienced planters here from extending its culture. Sugar maple
grows very slowly, and suffers to some extent from borers.
Cottonwood is planted in many localities for ease of propagation by cuttings and
its rapid growth ; lumber is used for inside finishing of houses, where no better can
be had, and, as fuel for steam, it is valuable. Bed elm is a good grower, valuable
durable timber. Black walnut, butternut, burr and white oak, red and white ash,
hickory and chestnut, in clay soils here, are desirable. The tulip tree and magnolia
acuminata are among our finest deciduous ornamental trees, and succeed finely.
All hardy evcrgreecs and larches make themselves perfectly at home, as we ought
to have known in advance of a trial, for on much of our region of country a large
part of the primitive vegetation was the Indian's compass, and other plants having
resinous sap. White pine has here made a growth of over four and a half feet, and
European larch averagxjd, for a dozen years, three and a half feet annually, though
standing most of the time with tough sod of blue grass over its roots.
The number of our people who are realizing the imperative duty of beginning for-
est culture iu earnest is increasing, as evinced at the recent meetings of State and
'Iron Clads." 87
Northern Tllinois Horticultural Societies, where this important interest was the
leading topic for discussion. A bill is now before our Legislature to grant State aid
to this branch of industry, and among thinking men the question now is, how to best
accomplish the work.
A plan, meeting with general approval by those who have had most experience, is
to set the white or Scotch pine twelve feet apart ; European larch, for balance of
plantation, rows three feet each way or three by four feet ; cultivate both ways with
horse, two or three years. Long experience in Europe has demonstrated the neces-
sity of close planting to induce rapid, upright growth, and to effect pruning by
nature's own method — shading.
Lumber from a single black walnut tree was recently sold in this county for $100,
and a neighbor refused $60 for a standing oak. What prices may be estimated
for those now being planted, when matured, with the lumber famine which seems
certain to overtake us ere the world realizes fully our duty to live, not to ourselves
only, but to honor God and bless humanity ?
Tht Ecergreens, La Moille, III.
"Iron Clads."
BY C. ANDREWS.
THE peculiar necessities of the Northwest have been the means of developing a
peculiar class of fruits, which on account of their hardy character in tree, have
acquired the soubriquet of " iron clads." Of the common apple we have now quite
a list, that are classed under this head. The Morello Cherries, the Native Plums,
the Wild Crab of the country, the Siberian species of the apple, the grape and the
small fruits have each given us varieties, which appear to be proof against the
peculiarities of our climate, and which are giving us an abundance of valuable fruit
that. in many respects more than replaces the tenderer sorts of their class.
Most of the old-time favorites among apples have either been wholly abandoned
or have failed to give us paying returns for the trouble of rearing the trees. This
is also true to some extent, of the pear and the plum, while the sweet cherries, the
peach, apricot and quince have almost entirely disappeared.
Yet in the face of those facts, there are a few fossil theorists in adjoining sections,
who stoically regard with disfavor the new acquisitions of the warlike title. They
allege that coarseness of texture in the apple and plum, acidity in the cherry and
crab, and small size in the Siberians, are objections sufficient to discard them from
cultivation. In connection with this the idea has been persistently and somewhat
plausibly brought forward, that the public should be educated to grow and consume
none but the best fruits. That to plant coarse fruits was little better than pander-
in; to popular prejudice, checking the growth of correct taste and the increase of
good fruits. As an argument in favor of true horticultural progress we are willing
to give to this idea its full force and value. If we could grow the best fruits in
abundance, no new sorts not equally good should be recommended for the reasons
above claimed. But since yjq caijnot, there is no reason why we should give up our
88 i*encn MarXrs by ffte Way.
hardy fruits because our neighbors can grow better ones, and which, forsooth, they
wish to sell us with railroad tariffs and commissions added I Wo wish to grow our
own fruits, for use, for profit, for pleasure, for sjcial and aesthetic culture, fine fruits
if we can, coarse ones if we must. Aside from the incidental advantages of fruit-
growing, which can scarcely be calculated, the money value of our coarse culinary
fruits (admitting that they are nothing more), will be just so much saved with which
to buy finer fruits grown beyond our limits, and we have yet to learn that a taste for
costly fruits is diminished by a supply of cheap ones. On the contrary, the habit
thus formed is the initial measure by which a taste for the best fruits is created.
But the point involved in these objections will bear examination. We do not
admit that our hardy fruits are so much inferior to the tenderer sorts as to render
them unworthy of cultivation.
Some of our hardy cherries, plums, crabs and Siberian apples, have developed
traits — either in healthiness of trees, productiveness, or richness of fruit — that are
causing them to be largely sought after even in our best fruit districts. The Early
Richmond Cherry is unrivalled as a cooking and canning cherry. The Miner Plum
is in size, quality and productiveness, perhaps superior to any of our market
varieties. The Soulard Crab is a formidable rival of the quince, for the same pur-
poses, and can be grown with far less cost. The Transcendent, Hislop, Marengo,
and other Siberian apples, are richer cooking fruits than any of the common apples,
besides furnishing superior fancy dessert fruits. In apples of the common species
we have now no hardy sort equal in texture to the best old sorts. We cannot grow
greenings or oranges to perfection in our climate. But that forms no reason why we
should not grow an abundance of Oldenburgs, Codlings and Crabs. In the mean-
time we intend to grow all we can grow of better sorts, and improve upon these, and
if any benevolent savan will show us some feasible plan by which we can grow green-
ings or oranges in the latitude of Chicago, we will thankfully "rest his debtor."
Marengo. III.
Pencil Marks "by tlie "Way.
BY OCCIDENTALIS.
Oreeting !
YOUR volume for 1871 opens splendidly — is brim full of rich and racy matter for
the horticulturist, — for everybody who loves rural life and has a taste for the
beautiful. 0, that its readers could be counted by the million ! And not so much
for your sake as for theirs. To say nothing of its contents, its beautiful green cover
and its illustrations, are good for sore eyes, and ought to be peculiarly attractive to
the pent-up denizens of the cities on the one hand, and the inhabitants of the broad
prairies on the other. Glad of your ability to write the word success !
I'orte Crnyon's Dilontna.
In turning over its pages, my eye is attracted to Porte Crayon's sketch of the
" animalculae" that are destroying the fruits of West Virginia. The picture is a
true one, and will be readily recognized by all horticulturists. They ai-e on the
^encU .Ifarls by the Way. 89
increase the country over, and are likely to continue so. Their ravages can be
checked, however, by a judicious application of " birch bark ;" but perhaps the best
" philosophy " is to treat them as we do the birds — allow them their share.
Vear Iili<jht.
This disease has been very prevalent the past year throughout the West. The
varieties most subject to it have been the Flemish Beauty, Vicar of Winkfield,
Louise Bonne de Jersey and Easter Beurre; White Seckel, Ott, Tyson and Stevens'
Genesee, have generally escaped.
All theories of cause or cure, or prevention, have most signally failed, so far as
my observation goes. Root pruning, the favorite remedy of Dr. Hull, of the
Prairie Farmer, certainly has not always succeeded ; neither has top pruning, as
recommended on page 25 of Horticulturist. Well cultivated trees, trees that
have had only moderate culture, trees grown in sod and grass, trees pruned and trees
unpruned, mulched and without mulch, drained and uudrained, — have all been more
or less aflfected by the disease. So that, having no theory of my own, 1 have grown
quite distrustful of all theories on the subject.
Grapes in the West.
From the report of the grape committee of the Warsaw (111.) Horticultural
Society, made in December, 1870, I arrive at the following facts, viz :
The Catawba seems to have been the leading grape this year, setting and perfect-
ing its fruit even better than the Concord. One vineyard of nine hundred vines
made thirteen hundred gallons of wine, nearly six quarts to each vine.
Delawares did only tolerably well.
Clintons rotted a good deal in some vineyards.
Concords did well, as they always do ; and where the shoots were pinched to two
bunches, they were very large.
The Norton's Virginia perfected a very heavy crop where the fruit was grown on
spurs.
All of Rogers' Hybrids that have been fruited here, have given good satisfaction.
Ives' Seedling also did well.
The Wine Question Discussed.
At the late meeting of the Illinois State Horticultural Society, held at G-ales-
burg, Dr. C. W. Spaulding of St. Louis, read an able and interesting paper on the
"Influence of Domestic Wines." He took the position that their use will greatly
tend to the lessening of intemperance throughout our country. His positions were
at once assailed by the more radical members, and a lively discussion ensued, result-
ing in the appointment of a committee to investigate and report. That committee
has a work before it of no small magnitude, and if it should make a thorough
inquiry into the whole question, its report will be received with a great deal of
interest. The forthcoming volume of the Society's Transactions, embracing proceed-
ings of the meeting above mentioned, essays and reports from district societies, is
expected to be a very valuable one.
90 Pencil Marks by the Hay.
Our Gretitest Enemy.
The Codling Moth is likely to be, if it has not already become, the most formid-
able enemy the Western orchardist has to contend with. For several years past they
have been largely on the increase in this region, and last year were particularly
destructive. Some orchards have lost fi*om fifty to seventy-five per cent, of the crop,
and almost all from ten to thirty per cent. Various remedies have been tried with
partial success. The bands of straw, tow, rags, or other material, have been found
useful ; the introduction of fowls into the oi'chard has checked them somewhat ; the
turning in of hogs and sheep, to consume the falling fruit, has been practiced with
some success, and the frequent washing of the trees with lime, soapsuds, or other
alkaline substances, has been beneficial. But, as a rule, they go on increasing. All
do not fight them with like energy and skill. While one orchardist is energetically
battling against their ravages, others of same neighborhood, are idly looking on. So.
that, even should some inftiUible remedy be found, we shall probably fall short of
complete success, for want of the united eff"ort of the whole people.
Yet there is reason for hope, that, like the army worm, the Colorado potato bug,
the chinch bug, and other enemies, their irruptions will prove to be periodic, and
that they will some of these days suddenly disappear. I am sometimes ready to
conclude, that with all our theories, and after all that has been said and written in
regard to insect life and depredations, our advance upon the enemy's lines has been
slow. It is certainly true that the great mass of the people are possessed of very
limited knowledge in the matter; and what is more, are totally indifferent. Much
of what we know, or think we know, is the merest guess work. The theory of to-day
is frequently upset by the experiment or observation of to-morrow. Here and there
is a man, or a woman, who, by patient labor and investigation, is acquiring that
knowledge which is to benefit the race. All others are only lookers-on — most
tmheeding and many despising their labors.
This apple moth is not even known to very many of those who are sufferers from
its ravages; and its "ways are dark" to many moi-e. A neighbor, in speaking of
them, stated that the larva will leave the apple, after packing in the barrel, and cat
into and hide in the wood and under the hoops. I laughed at him — supposing that
he was confounding this insect with the borers. But another neighbor showed me
pieces of the scaly bark from an old apple tree, underneath which, entirely embedded,
were numbers of these worms, whither they had sought protection for the winter.
He also exhibited portions of pine board, split from a bin in his apple cellar, in
which were numbers of them similarly imbedded.
These are new facts to me, I confess, in regard to the habits of these pests ; and I
give them because I presume there are other readers of the Horticulturist as
ignorant concerning them as I am.
Another Item on the Jiird Question.
Many specimens of apple tree bark, beneath which (as stated above) were the
recesses of the apple worm, were perforated with holes, pecked by that naughty bird,
the Sapsucker I These holes were made, with an vinerring judgment or instinct,
right through to a worin, which had disappeared. These insects were, in all cases,
hid from sight, as the bark stood upon the tree; so that his knowledge of their
presence must have been obtained from some other source. This fact goes to show
that these birds, in this particular at least, may do man a friendly act. It also
brings up that oft-mooted question, " Do Sapsuc/cers suck sap .?" " Which the same
I am free to maintain " they do not,
Ba?ik of the Mississippi, 1871,
Bdltorlal Azotes. 91
Editorial Notes.
Ulnvketing Vriiits,
We pay special attention to this subject, often visiting the markets of this city to
see the arrivals of fruit, and see the different methods of packing and shipping.
We have the aid of good commission men in giving us suggestions, and we aim to
lay all their excellent ideas before the readers of the Horticulturist, in order
that they may be well posted. We think that every fruit grower in the country will
get more than his money's worth, regularly, who will stick firmly to the Horticul-
turist, and learn each year what our contributors have to say on the proper way to
grow and market fruit and vegetables.
Fore.tt Tree Cntnloifiie.
We have received the wholesale circular of Robert Douglass & Sons, which con-
tains a valuable extract of A. J, Downing's letter in favor of the Larch tree, and
also the testimony of Loudon.
The catalogue of Pinney & Lawrence, of Sturgeon Bay, Wis., is very full of notes
and practical suggestions as to the best methods of planting, culture, and is a good
aid to anyone in making his selection of evergreens or timber trees.
Garden Vegetables.
At the Ohio Horticultural Society Meeting, Urbana, a discussion was held on the
best ?iew vegetables worthy of trial.
Mr. Elliott commended the Yorkshire Hero pea ; and of sweet corn he said Brill's
was the earliest, next Crosby's ; of seven varieties tested, he gave the preference to
Brill's.
Mr. Ritz, of Plainville, said the White Grerman Dwarf Wax Bean was a decided
acquisition. He had brought from Europe seeds of a new red sugar beet which he
would distribute gratuitously to members of the society. He regarded Crosby's
early sweet corn as the best early of good size.
Mr. Campbell thought the Black Dwarf Wax Bean, the best he had tested; the
white might be pi'eferable on account of color.
Col. Richmond spoke of the Brazilian sweet potatoe as an excellent variety ; also,
the Southern Queen — five specimens exhibited.
Mr. Elliott called attention to the Student Parsnip as the best in flavor ; the
Hollow Crown next. Several other members commended the Student variety ; it
does not grow quite as deep or long as the common. He inquired about the
Egyptian dark red beet.
Mr. Bateham said he received seeds of this and several other new beets from the
Agricultural Department at Washington, the past spring, but from last year's trial
he would not plant one of them again ; he prefers, the Bassano to all others fur
summer use, and the Long Blood for winter.
Mr. Ritz spoke of the value of sugar beets as winter food for milk cows, making
the butter as fine in color as that of summer.
Mr. Elliott commended the Early Horn Carrot as deserving more general culti-
vation.
Jtfanurinff for CurrantS'
AVe apprehend that currants do not need manure as much as they need mulching
and moisture. A resident in Canada says that the best currants he ever had, pro-
duced in great abundance, were obtained in a dry season, by covering the whole
surface of the ground with cow manure as a mulch, three inches thick. On looking
under, the soil was always moist. Heavy pruning has to follow the luxuriant growth
thus produced.
Raspherries,
Dr. Hexaraer stated at the New York Farmers' Club, that the excellence of the
Mammoth Cluster consists in its holding the good size of its berries to the end
92 JSditorial Azotes.
the Ellisdale he regarded as earliest, the Davison's Thornless three days later ;
Doolittle and Seneca ten days later still. These are among the best out of many
sorts.
TicKt Tetnperature for Wlndoiv Plttnts,
The Gardener\'i Monthly says that a temperature of 55 deg. will give more flowers
to the common window plant than a higher temperature, and names such old
fashioned sorts as Mignonette, Sweet Alyssum, Zonale Geraniums, Cupheas, Fuchsias,
Violets, Roses, Chinese Primrose, &c., as among the best for this purpose.
J^eiir Trees for the M'est,
Parker Earle, at the last meeting of the Illinois State Horticultural Society, thinks
that the Flemish Beauty has proved the most generally hardy in the north, and
although it blights badly, that it and the Bartlett have given the greatest satisfac-
tion in crops ; but the Flemish Beauty entirely fails in health of foliage in most
places 'u the south, and it is rare to find a crop perfectly ripened on any tree; still
it often bears immense crops, which in some cases have yielded more profit to the
tree, than any other sort, and it is widely, if not largely, planted. Tlie Bartlett is
not reliably hardy either north or south, but its great merits of tree and fruit over-
balance all its faults, and it is pre-eminently the pear of the State as of the wliole
country. The Howell is better known in the south than in the north ; not often
seen north of Alton, but it is well worthy of wide planting, for while it may fail
oftener than some others from too early Idooming, yet its vigorous and hardy habit
as a tree, with the superb nature of its fruit, should place it in every list.
The Belle Lucrative is extensively planted and apparently well adapted to the
climate everywhere. It is one of our most prolific bearers, and has few equals in
quality ; and it is one of the three or four best in respect to health of foliage ; it is
one of the two he would prefer on quince stock, the other being Dnchess d' Angoul-
eme. This last kind possesses great value for market under favorable circumstances ;
finds it everywhere regarded as one of the healthiest of trees. It rarely blights in
the worst soils ; it bears young and is our largest pear.
Jiost I'iles to Use for Draining an Orchard.
A writer in the Coiaitry Ge7itleman says; "My experience with two-inch sole
tile, in the orchard, has been that the fibrous roots of the trees, within three years
would enter the joints and fill and clog the bore so completely as to defeat the whole
object contemplated. In examining tile that were three feet below the surface, I
pulled out sections of matter composed mainly of fibrous roots, which perfectly
barred the water, and which so startled 'Pat,' as to cause him to drop his spade and
exclaim, 'By my sowl ! What kind of a snake is that, and how came his liide off?'
On the whole, I have come to the conclusion that the least objectionable kind of
drain for an orchard of bearing trees, which fill the entire ground with roots, is the
old-fashioned blind drain, well secured at the top by small stones and such other
material as will prevent the earth over the drain from breaking through."
The Itiirnl Mcssenricr.
This is a new agricultural and rural paper, published weekly at Petersburg, Va.,
at $2 per annum. It is printed in excellent taste, edited with better care than most
Southern papers, and the handsomest of any of its kind south of this city.
Conover's Colossal Asparayiis.
Wm. Parry, of Cinnameinson, N. J., who has experimented with it for two years,
says : " Previous to growing the Colossal, we doubted there being any variety bet-
ter than the one generally cultivated, and thought the viammoth principh'. claimed,
was due to manure and treatment ; but since fully testing the Colossal here, we are
so well convinced of its superiority over all other kinds, that we shall not only plant
it exclusively ourselves but take pleasure in recommending it to othei's, for it is
Editorial JVoies. 93
unrivalled in point of size, quality and productiveness, and it is a loss to occupy the
ground with an inferior or common article, when better can now be so easily obtained.
Xinntcnse Snle.
The seed catalogues of the Landreths' of Philadelphia, were printed last year in
the J^nglish, German, and Swedish languages, and over 500,000 copies of the
English edition were called for and distributed.
The Nutional l<\trmer.
We have received copies of this new agricultural weekly, published by Brincklee
& Marat, Philadelphia, Pa. It is given free to all subscribers to the Gardeners
Monthly.
To I'reseri'e Jioitqtiets.
To preserve a bouquet, a correspondent of the Western Rural says :
" Sprinkle it lightly with fresh water, and put it in a vase .containing soap-suds.
Each morning take the bouquet out of the suds, and lay it sideways in clean water ;
keep it there a minute or two, then take it out, and sprinkle the flowers lightly by
the hand with water. Replace it in the suds, and it will bloom as freshly as when
first gathered. Change the suds every three or four days. This method will keep a
bouquet bright and beautiful for at least a month."
Grtisses for T^mviis,
We are requested to call attention to the new catalogues of J. M. Thorburn &
Co., page 27, which contains a very complete and descriptive list of grasses ; and
information much needed by parties who are laying out new places, and improving
pastures, lawns and meadow lands.
yl Cotnplitnent,
AVe are indebted to the Rural Messenger for the following handsome expression of
good will for The Horticulturist:
" The Horticulturist. — Among the journals specially devoted to the promo-
tion of rural art and taste, the Horticulturist occupies a prominent position.
Its labors have been extended through nearly a quarter of a century, having been
founded by the late A. J. Downing in 1846 — a name illustrious in the annals of
American Horticulture. After his death it was continued for a time by his brother,
Chas. Downing, and now the mantle is worthily worn by Henry T. Williams, who
serves up monthly to his subscribers a journal of rare merit and of varied contents.
Mr. Williams has large experience, is an elegant writer, and independent withal of
the influence often sought to bear upon a popular editor by interested parties. Keep-
ing up to the spirit of the age, and containing a fund of valuable information on all
the subjects coming within its scope, we cordially recommend the Horticulturist
to all interested in surrounding their homesteads with the comforts and elegancies of
this age of progress and refinement."
Ati Zrnfort}innte Calatnltij.
We hear with great regret of the loss by fire of the residence of M. B. Batehatn,
Painesville, 0. Mr. Bateham came very near losing his life by the falling through
of a floor, while engaged in his efforts to save as much of his property as possible
from the flames. He had but just opportunity to jump through the window. A
large collection of agricultural and horticultural books, papers and manuscript, the
result of thirty years collection, are a total loss, besides his furniture and other
personal property.
Jfnaific Itiirnl Press.
This is a new weekly in the interests of rural pursuits on the Pacific coast, started
by Dewey & Co., of San Francisco, also publishers of the Scientific Press. It is a
pleasant paper, very agreeably edited, and gives much the best and most practical
94 Editorial J\'oies.
infonnation on Pacific coast agriculture of any Journal we haA'c yet seen. It devotes
considerable space to the Sugar Beet culture, and the Eucalyptus as a timber tree
fur profit.
The Cost and i'rofita of Grnxte Cultitre.
Hearth and Home, \\ a late issue, gives an account of the cost of growing and sell-
ing the production of grapes from 2 73-100 acres of vineyard. The cultivator puts
down the cost of cultivation from the time of gathering the grapes the previous
autumn to the commencement of picking them this year, at 8-33.51. This includes
cultivating, hoeing and pruning, and 8(jO pounds of ammouiated superphospate of
lime applied to parts of the vineyard. The cost of picking, packing, and market-
ing, including freight and commissions and wear and tear of crates, he gives at
^227.88, making total cost for the year $461.39. His crop of grapes was 14,500
lbs., for which he received $1,096.70, so that he received ^^635. 37 profits. In this
he does not make any charge for rent of laud nor taxes, nor for taking the grapes
from the vineyard to the railway station. His vineyard contained 2,000 vines iu
bearing and 250 younger vines. They are mostly Concords, a few, about one-tenth,
Dclawares, and some Hartford Prolific, Diana, &c. His first Delawares sold at 20c.
per pound ; his first Concords at 10c. ; his Delawares falling to 10c. and his
Concords to 6c. before the close of the season. He had about 12,000 pounds of
Concords and 1,200 pounds of Delawares, the remainder being divided by some eight
or nine other sorts. By this it would seem that it cost him about 3 1-5 cents to
grow and market a pound of grapes ; that the average gross receipts were about 1^
cents per pound, and the net proceeds about 4J cents per pound ; or $232 per acre.
These grapes were marketed in the city of New York.
Cranberrtj Culture.
The cranberry interests of New Jersey are now far ahead of her strawben*y cul-
ture, and on a decidedly safer footing. The crop of one county alone, (Ocean Co.)
last year was 25,000 bushels, valued at §100,000, while the entire production of
the State is near 40,000 bushels.
Growers have to contend with two enemies of the cranberry, viz : two kinds of
worms and grasshoppers ; a flock of turkeys will kill the latter when small, and
timely flooding will prevent the ravages of the former.
The JCutnelun Ompe,
At a recent meeting of the American Institute Farmer's Club, a correspondent
having asked for an expression of opinion about the Eumelan grape, Mr. T. 0.
Paine, of East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, said :
" My Eumelan grapes began to color about the middle of August, and were good
to eat on September 10th, and even before that time they would have been called
ripe by many. They grew better all the month. I set their time of ripening before
the Delaware, Israella, and Allen's Hybrid. AVith me the Hartford Prolific got
its greatest goodness a few days before the Eumelan. But the Hartfords grew on an
old vine, while the Eumelans grew on a vine only three years old, and I doubt if the
HaTtfords would be any earlier upon a vine of the same age. The Hartford Prolific
ceased to grow better, and began to flatten in taste and to drop its berries, while the
Eumelan kept on improving. My Eumelan vine (three years old), set seventy-nine
clusters.
" I picked off sixty-five, leaving but fourteen to ripen, which I thought sufficient for
a vine of that age, but the vine grew too vigorously, and could have ripened twenty
or twenty-five bunches with advantage. The vine had not work enough to do. In
quality nothing is to be said against the Eumelan, and everything for it. It is the
only black grape I have seen that is worthy of being put on a plate with the lona
Delaware and Allen's Hybrid. A friend of mine has twenty Eumelans growing.
JSdttorial JVo^es. 95
row two years old, as liealtliy and handsome vines as I have ever seen, I consider
the greutt'st danger the Eunielan is likely to suffer from, is over-bearing, which
grape-growers will consider a good fault."
JIa vdy Jill ododendrons.
At a late meeting of the West New York Horticultural Society, the information
was elicited that the Rhododendron Catawbiense was the only sort that proved per-
fectly hardy. In the latitude of New York, however, the Messrs. Parsons of Flush-
ing, will be glad to show hundreds of varieties, perfectly hardy here, never as yet
requiring any protection, or receiving any injury.
lilachberries A'eerf Cultii^ation.
We think some nurserymen are responsible for helping to spi'ead the erroneous
opinion that blackberries will grow any where, and will thrive well on poor soil with-
out much attention. We find this not the case. Generous treatment with the black-
berry pays as well as with the strawberry; plenty of manure and good cultivation
will surely result in big berries and big crops, but if the manure is wanting and the
soil is poor, we would under no manner of means neglect the cultivation once at least
each week with the cultivator. Mr. A. M. Purdy, of the Small Fruit Recorder,
gives an account of his first experiment with blackberries. Twenty-five years ago
he bought at South Bend, Ind., a piece of land that was said to be too poor to grow
white beans. The blackberries planted on it made a moderate growth, but subse-
quently bore enormous crops, being literally loaded to the ground. A richer piece
of land was also planted, the bushes grew rank, but bore modei'ately, and winter
killed badly. Blackberry bushes, like the large growing American grapes, do not
want rich soil. But the most important part of the preceding statement must not be
omitted — the poor ground was thoroughly cultivated, or, in the words of the narrator,
he "gave it a regular commotion that season with hoe and cultivator."
Tiolets ns IVhidotv I'latits.
"The Violet," says a correspondent of the Gardener^ s Monthly, "has ever been
one of my favorite window flowers. In former years, when brought into the house
from the cold pits to flower, they were placed at once in the sitting-room window,
where we had a regular temperature of about sixty degrees ; but the stalks Avere
always slender, and the flowers rather small. Thinking it was too hot, I kept them
other years in a cooler room, where the heat might perhaps not range over between
45 and 55, and the result has been much healthier looking plants and finer foliage.
Besides this, they were not much behind what I have had in warmer places in other
years. I am sure they want very little heat to do well. Another fact: I have
learned that a manure water made of rotten wood is a capital fertilizer for them.
Once I thought, as shady places were the natural places where violets grow, rotten
wood would be a good thing in the soil, but they sometimes get sick in it ; but the
liquid of steeped wood does not seem to have this efi'ect ; on the other hand, a lively
green is the result. We never water them except when they show signs of drying ;
in our room this is about twice a week. This may not be new, but it is true."
An Oregon visitor at the Farmers' Club, New York city, lately stated in a meet-
ing of that august body, that he had gathered a basket full of apples from one short
limb of an apple tree in Oregon, the united weight of the whole, exclusive of the
basket, being twenty-four pounds. Upon counting them he found but twelve, the
average weight being but two pounds each, and he left still larger on the tree.
Kansas, where are thy laurels now !
The Western JPoniolofjist,
This is now changed from a quarto to an octavo, and price increased from $1 to
$1.50 per year. The January number contains some very excellent contributions
from distinguished horticulturists.
96 Editorial A'otes,
Colored Glass for Hof lieds, J^'orcinff Hoti.ses and Conaervntoriea.
One of the most successful cold graperies near Philadelphia, is said to lru,vc every
third section of lights made entirely of blue glass. It is an important fac. worthy
of the special notice of our florists, gardeners and amateur horticulturists, that
colored glass does aff'ect ver^' materially the growth of vegetation beneath. More
than ten years ago, Mr. R. Hunt, Secretary of the lloyal Polytechnic Society, Eng-
land, said : " The light Avhich permeates colored glass partakes to some considerable
extent of the character of the ray which corresponds with the glass in color; thus
blue glass admits the chemical rays to the exclusion, or nearly so, of all others;
yelloiv glass admits only the formation of the luminous rays, while red glass cuts off
all but the heating rays, which pass it freely. This affords us a very easy method of
growing plants under the influence of any particular light which may be desired.
The fact to which I wish to call particular attention is, that the yelloio and red rays aie
destructive to germination, whereas under the influence of violet, i?idigo, or blue
lights, the process is quickened in a most extraordinary manner; indeed, it will be
found that at any period during the early life of a plant, its growth may be checked
by exposing it to the action of red or yellow light."
Keepiitf/ JIoti.se I'lnnts Clettn.
The London Cottage Gardener relates an experiment showing the advantage of
keeping the leaves of plants free from dust. Two orange trees, weighing respect-
ively eighteen and twentj' ounces, were allowed to vegetate without their leaves
being cleaned for a year ; and two others, weighing respectively nineteen and twenty
and one-half ounces, had their leaves sponged with tepid water once a week. The
first two increased in weight less than half an ounce each, while of the two latter,
one had increased two and the other nearly three ounces. Except the cleaning, the
plants were similarly treated.
Vicfir of Winlifivld fear.
Cultivators say that the quality of this fruit improves yearly with age. One
writer says, " when the tree was young, the fruit wa^? poor, and not considered of
any value for cooking, but as it grew older, the fruit improved, and was now care-
fully saved for winter eating."
IHenne \otice the A-dvertlnements.
Our readers are indebted to our extensive advertising patronage for the many
excellent illustrations we are giving the public this year. We spend yearly upon the
Magazine $2,000 more than we receive from subscriptions, and this sum has to bo
provided for from the advertising receipts. Hence we wish all readers who arc in-
terested in our well-doing, to please notice the advertisements, and, if writino', to
mention the name of The Horticulturist as the Journal where they noticed
them. In this way our patrons will feel encouraged to greater liberality and con-
stancy, while our readers will get increased benefit in more illustrations and better
matter.
It is customary for some to look upon the advertising or business part of the paper
as so much waste matter, and the reader deprived of so much space that ouyht to be
filled with reading matter. They do not reflect that more than one-half the papers
of to-day owe their success directly to tlic help which their advertising patronage
gives them, and if that was taken away many a worthy journal would be compelled
to suspend. So we say it is the duty of our readers, who wish to see excellent jour-
nals devoted to special subjects Avell maintained, to encourage the advertisers and
aid the Publisher as far as they can in giving due credit for his efforts.
VOL. 26.
APRIL, 18T1
E"0. 298.
Profits of Small Fruits.
An JEastiy delivered before the Annual Meeting of the Petinsylvania, I^ruit Growers' Society ,
at Vhanihersburg , ifan, 18, 1871'
BY WM. PARRY, OF CINNAMINSON, N. J.
SMALL fruits, not small in value, but so-called because they are found growing on
small bushes, vines and plants, were formerly considered as properly belonging to
the garden, but now are grown in such large quantities as to require broad acres for
their cultivation, and on some farms more land is devoted to their culture than to
any other crop.
'Strawberries,
The first fruits of the season, and the most healthful and delicious in cultivation,
are strawberries, which are easily grown, and when sent to market in good order
command fair prices : the varieties of which have become so numerous that it is very
difficult for one who has had no experience, to determine which to plant, by merely
reading the descriptions of those offered for sale. After testing over one hundred
kinds, I have come to the conclusion that for profit, a very few varieties are suflScient for
any one section, so as to keep up a succession from the earliest to the latest ripening.
Some varieties do remarkably well in some locations, with certain treatment, when in
other sections they are of but little value. The high reputation that some straw-
berries have obtained, where the soil, climate and surrounding circumstances were all
congenial, is a great recommendation in selling plants, but it does not follow that
they will succeed when tried in different circumstances, which may suit some other
varieties better.
What Kinds to Plant. — There is probably no variety that has yielded more profit to
the growers generally than Wilson's Albany. We have grown over 200 bushels
per acre of them, or six thousand and four hundred quarts, which, sold at an average
7
98 Tro/ifs of Small J^rnits.
of ten cents per quart, gave over six hundred dollars. Althougli not as pleasant \.o
the taste as some others!, they arc good size, firm berries, carry well, and look well in
mnrket, and consequently sell well.
We should bear in m'nd that for ^rnfil the fruits which yield well and look well
are the most profitable to grow, — that the fine qualities and rich flavor of fruits are
but secondary considerations with salesmen who dispose of the most fruits in large
quantities. If the fruit looks well on the stall, it will have a readj' sale, but not
otherwise.
There are a few others that have generally given good returns with us, such as
Downer's Prolific, Charles Downing and Kentucky, all originated by J. S. Downer,
of Kentucky. Perhaps no other person has succeeded so well in raising seedling
strawberries, or produced a trio of such value as these three, ripening with the
earliest and continuing through the season till after most other strawberries are
gone. Three others of great value are the Green Prolific, Agriculturist and No. 30,
all grown by Seth Boyden, of New Jersey. They arc strong, vigorous growers,
hardy and productive, and the last two named the largest berries we grow; and from
their monstrous size and attractive appearance, command the highest price, and
brought one dollar per quart in market the past summer, when common strawberries
were plenty and cheap.
In growing fruits generally for 'profit , it is not necessary to cultivate many varie-
ties, but rather be confined to a few of the best that will give a succession of fruit
throughout the season. I have seen plantations of from eighty to one hundred acres
of strawberries on single farms, where there were not a half dozen varieties in culti-
vation,— the kinds best adapted to each location, paying the largest profit. One of
the proprietors informed me that he had received a check from his commission sales-
man of ten thousand dollars at one time, on account of his strawberries.
Time to Plant. — Strawberries should always be planted early in spring, the sooner
the better after the frost leaves the ground, while it is cool and moist. Perhaps
there is no greater error in strawberry culture than planting in summer time, after
taking-a crop of vegetables from the ground, in hope of getting a crop of berries the
next summer. The ground being warm and dry, most of the plants will die, and the
few that survive will make but a feeble growth, and it will require more care and
labor, the next spring, to fill up vacancies and get a good stand of plants, than to
commence anew on a separate piece of land that had been freshly ploughed on pur-
pose to receive them.
Soil and PrepaTation. — Almost any ground that will bring good corn or wheat,
and is well drained, cither naturally or artificially, is good for strawberries. Corn
that has been well tilled the year previous, is an excellent preparation for them, as
grass and weeds are less troublesome after corn than most other crops. The ground
should be well ploughed and harrowed smooth, and marked out with small plough the
desired distance, according to the variety and mode of culture. A very common
mode is to open the furrows five feet apart, and spread manure or compost along
them, and plant earl}' corn, one grain in a place, fifteen inches apart, and a straw-
berry plant alternately between the corn. lu that way the strawberries get but
Troftts of Smqll Fruits. 99
little culture, except while dressing the corn, which being cut for market early,
usually brings from fifty to seventy-five dollars per acre ; and the strawberries will
spread sufiiciently to form good beds for fruiting the next year.
Another plan that has given good satisfaction with me, is to open furrows two and
a-half feet apart, and spread a preparation of equal parts of marl, ashes and ground
bone along the furrows, after it has been mixed and incorporated together for ten
days or two weeks, until the heat generated by the action of the ashes and marl has
mellowed and softened the bone, so that the particles will crumble like chalk when
rubbed between the thumb and fingers. Using one ton of the ground bone and the
same quantity each of ashes and marl on five acres, will give a vigorous growth of
dark green foliage to the strawberries.
Cultivation. — The ground being frequently stirred with horse and cultivator, close
to the rows, leaves but a small portion of the ridge between the plants to be loosened
with the hoe. As the runners extend and widen the beds, the cultivator is made
narrower ; and care being taken to pass along the alleys every time in the same direc-
tion, drawing the runners always in one way, will leave them more even and regular
than if drawn both ways, by going back and forth in the same alley. The plants then
form ridges about eighteen inches wide, with alleys one foot wide between them.
This plan is more certain and reliable than keeping the plants in hills and cutting
off the runners. There is less hand labor, most of the cultivation being done by
horse-power. And if some of the plants should be destroyed by grubs or insects,
there will be enough left to produce a good crop of fruit.
Mulching. — At the approach of cold weather, or beginning of winter, give them a
good coat of stable manure, spread evenly all over the plants. If the rows are two
and a-half feet apart, a horse and each cart-wheel will follow along an alley without
injuring the plants. The covering with manure is of great importance, as it protects
the buds and embryo fruit from severe freezing, and prevents the roots from lifting
and heaving out as the frost leaves the ground.
The rains soaking the strength of the manure into the soil, gives food and nourish-
ment to the roots. The straw and coarser materials being bleached and beaten close
to the ground by the winter snow and rain, does not prevent the 3'oung growth from
coming through in the spring, but serves to keep the fruit clean in the summer.
Hoiv many Baskets are Wanted. — Crates and baskets should be ordered in time to
be on hand before commencing to gather the fruit. Quarts and pints are the most
suitable sizes. It will be necessary to procure at least three times as many as will
be needed at any one time for picking, so as to allow for one set to be in market
while the second lot is going, and a third in the patch being filled. Allowing the
crop to yield 2,500 quarts, or seventy-eight bushels per acre, to be gathered at six
pickings of about four hundred quarts each time, it will require twelve hundred
quart baskets, which, with crates of the best make, may be rated at about fifty dol-
lars per annum. But as the same baskets and crates will answer for raspberries and
blackberries, and with proper care will last for several years, ten dollars per acre is
sufiicient to charge each crop for the use of baskets and crates.
IVhat Kind of Baskets. — There are now so many varieties of baskets and boxes
100 Tro/fts of. Small l^ruits.
made, that almost every grower can have his choice ; but to carry fruit in the best
condition, they should be made of thin splints, light, strong, and well ventilated, to
allow a free circulation of air to carry oif the excess of heat and moisture, as the
berries are not always dry and cool when put up for shipping. The splints should be
so strong that the bottom tier will bear the weight of all the berries, baskets and
divisions above them, or the fruit will be mashed as the sides yield to the pressure
of the upper tiers of berries,
Havin<^ used and tested many kinds within the last quarter of a century, I prefer
the Beecher veyieer baskets to any others with which I am acquainted. They possess
all the properties requisite for arranging fruit in good condition ; are light, strong,
and durable, lasting several years with proper care.
Picking. — There is no part of the business that requires closer attention than
gathering and preparing the fruit for market. It should be assorted as picked, the
prime berries put together, and the cuUens kept separate. The baskets should be
be well filled and rounded up — the berries placed close and even, with stems down,
so that when in the crates the divisions above will press gently upon and keep them
steady in place.
As the fruit grower is "no respecter of persons," but in the busy season employs
men, women and children of all ages and denominations, whose object is to make the
most they can, and as they are usually paid by the quart, every berry picked,
whether good, bad or indifferent, will help to fill up the measure, and would be a loss
to them if not put in the basket ; so that it requires some moral courage for the
pickers themselves to put the fruit up in the best condition for sale. To assist in
this matter, we provide them with baskets of a different size, in which to put the
imperfect and faulty berries, so they will measure as much as if all were mixed
together.
As the berries are brought in for packing, ten or twelve baskets on a tray, they
are carefully examined, and at least one emptied in the presence of the pickers ; if
they turn out all right, they are paid in white tickets, — but if small, green and
faulty berries are mixed among the prime ones, or they are not put up as directed, a
blue ticket of less value is given, which has a salutary effect, as it is mortifying for
them to receive a blue ticket, which is the signal of bad work, in the presence of
others.
The system works beautifully ; it is a constant stimulant for right doing. It don't
hurt the best of hands to look after them, but is rather gratifying for them to know
that their employers are aware of and appreciate their worth. And work that is not
well done does not receive full pay.
Yield and Profit. — There are so many circumstances connected with strawberry
growing, such as varieties, soil, climate, location, markets, and the skill and manage-
ment of the grower, that the results of a few cases cannot be relied on as a general
rule. The premium crop iu Burlington Co., N. J., was at the rate of 263 bushels
per acre, yielding a profit of upwards of $1,000. But one-third that amount would
be nearer our general average.
The jidirondack Grape. 101
For ten 5'^ears past oui- whole crops have averaged about 2,500 quarts per acre, and
averaged twelve cents per quart in market — giving the following results :
2,500 quarts, at 12 cents $300
Commission, 10 per cent $30
Picking, at 2 cents 50
Interest on land 10
Manure 25
Use of baskets 10
Cultivation, etc 30
Net profits 145
$300 $300
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
The Adirondack Grape.
BY JOHN W. BAILEY, PLATTSBURGH, N. Y.
I OBSERVED your remarks in the January number of The Horticulturist in
regard to the Adirondack. I am fully aware that it has proved variable in dif-
ferent localities. With mc it takes the lead, and my vineyards of this fine grape
have been much admired by all who have visited my grounds when the fruit was
ripe. It is early, prolific and delicious ; as free from disease as any variety I culti-
vate, and the most profitable grape I grow, selling always for the highest price. Last
fall I had a visit from Charles Downing, Esq., who saw the fruit ripe on my vines,
and he freely expressed his approval of its merits for this section.
Messrs. Ellwanger & Barry, who grow this variety in their vineyards, are well
known as among the leading pomologists of this country ; they say of Adirondack —
" One of the best of the newer grapes ; bunch, large ; berry, large, tender and sweet;
quite as early as Hartford Prolific ; vine similar in wood and foliage to Isabella, but
less vigorous."
Last fall we were invited to exhibit our fruit at the grape fair of Messrs. B. K.
Bliss & Son. I sent samples of Adirondack ; they arrived there one day too late.
Messrs. B., in acknowledging the receipt of them, said, " we consider it one of the
three best on the table." This is no small recommendation when we consider that
there were over 120 varieties on exhibition.
In a late number of the Boston Journal of Chemistry, I find the following:
" Among the new varieties of grapes, the Adirondack is worthy of praise. We have
fruited it three consecutive seasons, and it is the earliest and sweetest of all the
varieties. It has also proved to be a good bearer, hardy, and the fruit holds well on
to the stem. It is a magnificent grape for wine, afl"ording a variety resembling true
Malaga. It is so exceeding saccharine that it needs to be closely watched and Intel*
ligently handled in manipulating for wine,"
Dr. James B. Bell, of Augusta, Me., writes me under date of February 27, 1870,
as follows ; " I believe the Adirondack to be a great success here. * * * J jj^ve
102 l\tccas as Oftucniental 'Plants.
never tasted so fine a fruit grown in the open air, either here or in Middle or North-
ern Europe. I have sent cuttings to Vienna (Austria) this -winter."
It is needless to accumulate evidence ; I could furnish it abundantly from this
locality, Vermont, Canada and elsewhere.
The " Union Village " is a grape of splendid appearance, and could I grow it suc-
cessfully, I would give it room; but it is too late. The Isabella is too late ; it sel-
dom fully colors with us, and is never sweet.
If The Horticulturist were designed to circulate only in the immediate
vicinity of New York, its opinion would do very well in regard to Scuppernong and
Adirondack, for I do not suppose that the former would ripen its fruit or stand the
climate of New York ; it certainly will not here. Having spent some years at the
South, I well know the value of this variety in Southern Virginia and North Caro-
lina, and I believe that judicious experiments in hybridizing with this for the parent
vine, will produce the most valuable varieties for those States. At present it stands
their hot summers and drouth without the slightest injury ; never exhibits the least
sign of mildew, and bears most abundantly without much trouble, and is used exten-
sively in the manufacture of wine. I think that the fruit growers of North Carolina
will hardly care to throw by the Scuppernong grape. I know that thousands of the
vines are annually planted all over the South, and will continue to be, until some new
and improved variety of this species is introduced, and fortunate will be the man
who finds it.
Yuccas as Ornamental Plants in the G-arden and Lawn.
THIS class of flowering plants is, as yet, a great novelty in all our gardens. We
doubt if over one in a thousand who keep flower gardens, have yet seen or
thought of growing one of these charming, yet exquisite flowering plants. Ihe
Yucca Jilamentosa is one of the best for general use. Fuller describes it as follows :
" Leaves evergreen, long and rather stiff', spreading occasionally ; slightly recurved.
Flowers usually pure white, but in some specimens are slightly tinged with greenish
yellow. They also vary in size from one to two inches long, and are nearly as broad.
Flower stem four to eight feet high, branching, carrying several hundred blooms,
each of which is succeeded by a large, six-celled pod, filled with smooth, flat, dark
colored seeds. After the plant blooms, the centre of the crown dies, numerous
suckers spring up from below, and these will bloom as soon as they are large and
strong enough, which is usually in two or three years ; but if taken off and planted
separately, they will bloom the second season. The seeds grow very readily if
planted in autumn or early spring, and transplanted at the end of the first season.
Seedlings usually bloom when three years old.
"Although this species is a native of the Southern States, it is quite hardy even
in tjie Northern border States ; and we have known it to stand a temperature of 24°
below zero, uninjured."
The plants are very cheap, beipg .sold by ipost florists as low as fifty cents each.
2 'i/cca IiUamcnf-osa.
103
Yucca, Jb^latnentosa.
104 Subtropicals.
Subtropicals Especially Valuable for their Contrast of
Leaf and Form.
BY ROBERT MORRIS COPELAND.
HOW country places ought to be laid out, or whether it is best for men to do their
own work, or employ artistic advice to guide their eflforts, seems at first rather
aside from the questions which suggest themselves to the mind when we think of the
uses and values of subtropicals ; but it is not because unless we agree upon some
standard of fitness and efi'ect, it is not to be expected that real merit of any kind of
planting can be understood ; and if men are to be influenced in their use of trees or
plants by ignorant guides, they can hardly hope to rise to any supreme excellence.
The gardeners who make most country places are especially fitted to propagate and
develope Subtropical plants ; their education has generally been got in greenhouses
and conservatories, and they would like 'always to induce their employers to build
glass houses for their use, as from them they would be able to send out flowers and
plants in abundance ; but what to do with them after they are grown, they know
very imperfectly, except so far as they may follow in the traditions of their teachers.
Here is just where they are blind guides, for hitherto all the best decorative plants
have been believed useless for summer, and only desirable for winter culture, and as
inmates of greenhouses and conservatories. I have briefly shown how a stock may
be got up, and how they may be made to live through the cold weather. How to
use them in the summer will depend on the size and character of the grounds to be
ornamented, and their situation. If one lives in the country, surrounded by many
acres, with wide landscape views, pleasant drives — owning, as it were, all the sur-
rounding country — he needs but little local decoi'ation to give variety, for certainly
the family pleasure will come more from riding, walking, boating and vigorous pur-
suits, than from the plants which ornament the lawn and flower garden. In such
places we should seek to produce strong efi"ects and bold contrasts, and use hardy
rather than tender plants. At the same time to eschew all but the hardy plants, to
despise the color and fragrance of flowers, to confine our planting to the trees and
shrubs, which will live neglected ; to make the home grounds as blank of interest as
any piece of grass land moderately diversified with trees and shrubs can be, is a waste of
opportunity, and cuts off" part of the pleasure which the country may properly aff'ord.
There should be as much culture, color, fragrance, beautiful and picturesque form,
as will make the house a marked contrast to the surrounding country, and thus keep
up a healthy activity of mind, and give one, when at home, something to think about,
look at and enjoy. Starting from the house, the display of flowers, flowering shrubs,
rustic ornaments, shaven grass, should lead the eye insensibly to the rough pasture,
the rocky and wooded hills, the broken and ferny banks of streams, and as we move
from the cultivated to the wilder parts of a place, or to the adjoining country, such
varied forms of vegetation might be introduced as would constantly stimulate the
interest in the home demesne. Where we propose to introduce uncommon or pic-
turesque plants in the wilder parts of the grounds, we should, nearer the house, have
some of the purely subtropical forms, which would not only contrast with the flowers,
Subtropicats. 105
grass and shrubs, but which would give tone to the eye, and prepare it to welcome
the hardy, coarser perennials, which have been selected to create effects at a distance.
To define exactly where and how to use the plants whose foliage is remarkable for
form or color, would require a great deal of time, and the necessity of putting many
assumed cases or conditions, which could rarely be applied in detail to any man's
wants. These plants, like trees and shrubs, give the best effect when used exactly
right; but how to use them so as to secure their full benefit, requires a skill on the
part of the planter only to be got from practice, and one wishing to use them should
make a collection .and try them singly, and in combinations, until he feels as sure of
their peculiar effect as of roses, rhododendrons, or of any kind of shrub or tree, A
group of cannas, of one or several colors of leaf or flowers, is beautiful in a circular
bed in the lawn, or rising out of a group of mixed shrubbery, relieved by evergreens
or blended with dahlias, hollyhocks, or other tall perennials. Caladium esculentum
is better as a fringe to a bed of cannas, or on the outside of any group, because their
large leaves are set at such an angle to the stem that they turn down and seem like
shields protecting the interior of the group. Pampas grass and many of the other
grasses are most pleasing in single tufts in the curve of a walk, or at some point
where paths meet. These grasses are more fully developed by a back ground of dark,
tall, growing plants. Coarse leaved plants, like the Castor-oil bean Ricinus, should
be either in the centre of a group, or so combined with tall perennials and shrubs,
that the rather stiff and awkward stems and leaf stalks shall be concealed ; and yet
the color of the stem and foot stalk are in some species the principal merit.
The Solanums and Wiegandias offer a great variety of large leaves and stately
plants. As their lower leaves are large, they should stand alone, or at the outside
and points of groups. The colored leaved Caladiums are more tender than the Escu-
lentum, and are rare and at present too costly for general use, which would test their
endurance of sun and wind. Until the stock is large we should use them singly in
places where they would be sheltered from the wind and from the direct rays of the
sun, although full light would be important for their development. A nearly allied
family, the Marantas, are very rich in color, and they have hitherto been too scarce
to give them a full trial, and should be tested like the colored Caladiums. Many of
the Yuccas are hardy and beautiful both in leaf and blossom. The Yucca filamentosa
has a short blossoming period, but is always picturesque for its leaves, and may be
used to emphasize any point of a group or a mass of rocks, or rock work, and is fine
as a single, lawn, or garden plant. Other Yuccas, such as the Gloriosa filamentosa,
Variegata recurva, Recurva pendula, etc., are tender in the latitude of Boston, but
will endure the wind and sun, and like Yucca filamentosa, should be used at particu-
lar points where it is desirable to get strong contrasts of form.
The Tree Ferns are tender but very beautiful and uncommon, so that they must be
used sparingly ; but alone, or combined with our hardy ferns, are the best ornamen-
tal foliage plants. I would urge the amateur to familiarize himself with our native
ferns first, and use them freely, and then combine the tender kinds with them. The
number of species of native ferns is small considering the great number of individ-
uals, but they vary a great deal in size, shape and habit. From Woodsia ilvensis, a
106 ^^i'^ UmbracHhwi,
small fern two to six inches liigh, which seams the ledges with its green fronds, and
is easily transplanted, to Struthiopteris germanica, the Ostrich fern, which, six feet
high, is a long reach in size; and the contrast in form between the Ostrich fern and
the Maiden Hair is as great as between any of the ferns of the conservatory. As all
plants thrive best when in their natural circumstances and habitation, we should
make plantations of ferns in shaded and moist places, and generally where they will
be sheltered from high winds. The Evergreen ferns especially are rarely found in
the open country ; they require some protection and plenty of moisture. When the
beauties of the fern fronds are fully recognized, many persons will.be found to make
them a specialty, and though deficient in blossoms, the delicacy of their fronds, and
the great variety they offer in size and shape, the rich green and bronze of their
foliage, and their persistence when once planted, will make them permanent favorites.
The contrast between the fern frond and all other kinds of foliage, gives them a
value equal to any other family of plants, and makes their want of flower of little
consequence. Ferns that are grown in tubs and pots for conservatory and house
decoration, may be grouped in the summer about the corners of rustic or garden
buildings, near the porches of the house, the doors of the greenhouse, etc., or may
be set singly near a flower bed.
The Umbracnlum., for G-arden or Lawn Decoration.
AVERY curious yet simple structure is illustrated in these two engravings. Set
firmly in the ground a rustic pole of say ten feet high, and on the top of this
place a tasteful bird-cage. Around the base of this pole remove the natural soil so
as to form a circular area some twenty feet in diameter, and to the depth of ten or
twelve inches. This excavation is filled to the level of the surface of the soil around
it with broken stones or brickbats, and these covered neatl}' and graded with gravel.
This forms a good garden floor, out of which lead paths in opposite directions.
Around this circular area are prepared eight fertile borders, in which eight varieties
of strong growing, running vines are planted, and a post firmly set by the side of each
plant. These posts project but a few inches above the surface of the ground, and to
them are attached eight chains, which extend up and are attached to a hoop made of
three-quarter inch gas-pipe, twenty feet in diameter, which is suspended on eight
similar chains attached to the pole beneath the cage. Wires arc then woven into the
umbrella-shaped top, forming a good support for the vines, which are trained up the
chains and over the head, on which the difi"erent varieties of foliage and flowers are
mingled and entangled, forming a mammoth bouquet, which perfectly shades the
graveled space beneath. The chains leading from the ground to the head have a
little slack, thus allowing the whole head to wave or vibrate in the breeze, giving it
a very pretty effect.
As it is diflicult to get runners of the choice flowered varieties to cover the struc-
ture fully for two or more years, hops can be planted on one side of each of the bor-
ders, and trained up the chains and over the head, covering it perfectly the first
year. Strong growing roses may be also used in place of the running vines.
The Umhracuhtin.
107
iPig. 1.
\
I'iy-
108 The Serrj' 2'rade of A'cw Tot^k.
The Berry Trade of New York.
I'ricea of Small Fruits in the New York Market.
THE last season was a peculiar one. The berries from Virginia, as a general thing,
arrived in poor condition, and sold at low figures. If I mistake not, only about
four shipments from Norfolk, of large quantities, sold at remunerative figures ; the
larger portion arriving in such poor condition that they sold for about the cost of
transportation. The loss arising from this condition of the fruit was very heavy ; so
much so that one or two large operators overdrew their accounts, leaving large
balances against them in the hands of their commission dealers. Southern growers
have been too eager to secure a large number of acres, and in so doing have lost
sight of the grand secret of fruit growing — that is, quality ; and they have paid
dearly for it.
The Delaware growers were unfortunate this season, in having a succession of
heavy rains during almost the whole time of harvesting their crop, which was large,
and those persons who sent hard fruit to market realized a good price for it. In fact,
good hard fruit was in demand all the time, but soft fruit was abundant, and sold at
low figures. I do not remember a year when the difference in price between hard and
soft fruit was so great. The cause of this was, that the hard fruit was wanted for
shipping, while the soft was confined to the city trade, and was sold mostly to the
street peddlars.
There was another hindrance to getting high prices, and that was the general
ripening of the crop throughout the country at the same time, so that on the first of
June we had berries from all sections where they are grown for the market ; and yet
hard fruit sold well, but the larger part being poor, made the sales average very low.
The New Jersey crop was as large as usual, but not so generally sent to this mar-
ket as in former years. The Long Island, Staten Island, and River crops were also
good, and sold at fair prices.
Black raspberries were very plenty, and prices ruled low. Although this berry is
not very popular in our market, the demand for it is largely on the increase, and I
think will soon become a general favorite among the poorer classes, as the demand
for them this season was principally therefrom.
Red raspberries were scarce, and when received in good order sold for remunera-
tive prices.
Blackberries were abundant the whole season, and considering the quantity thrown
on our market, did well ; but at the close of the season the demand for them died
out, owing more to their arriving in poor condition than any other.
Gooseberries came in early from Delaware ; the growers being eager to realize from
their sales, sent them to market when about half grown ; and as strawberries were
plenty, there was little demand for them. Some which were sent, large size, sold for
$5 ; but the small or half grown ones were sold as low as 61 per bushel. Those
coming from New Jersey were larger, and sold at better prices. A few from this
State were sent entirely too small, and on remonstrating with a grower for so doing,
he said they were compelled to, for the worms had attacked the foliage, and were
gating it all off, consequently the fruit had to be gathered.
Garden Chairs,
109
Some growers insist upon sending this fruit to market in berry cases. This is
wrong. They should be sent in barrels, slightly ventilated, or boxes, subjected to
the measure of the dealers, to those who purchase them for retailing.
"Whortleberries sold well the entire season; the first arriving from New Jersey about
the first of July, sold for §10 per bushel; in a few days prices fell to SS, at which
figure they remained about ten days, when they fell to 84.50 for hard shipping
fruit ; and the soft was sold from S2 to S3 per bushel. Owing to the extrenie heat,
this fruit has been scarce, and was received in poor condition. In many instances
the pickers refused to go in the woods, as they could not stand the heat ; and this
season the carters have experienced another difficulty in securing pickers, owing to
the demand for hands to work among the cranberries, which they say pays better than
gathering whortleberries.
The past season an experiment was made of making this fruit into wine and bran-
dies for medicinal purposes, and an experienced manufacturer has given it as his
opinion that it is better than blackberries ; in fact, in every case where it was tried,
it proved to be good. — C. W. Idell, in Rural New Yorker.
Garden Chairs.
AT first glance the chairs in the accompanying illustration seem to be carelessly
placed around a small centre table, as though left for a moment by the occupants ;
yet on close examination it will be seen they are all securely fastened to the pedestal
of the table, and all really are joined together to form one piece of furniture. This
style of garden chair was exhibited in Paris, France, and at Oxford, England, last
year, and is known as the Tridininium.
110 Propagating 'Plants.
Evergreens in Orcliards.
OF the advantages accruing to the orchardist who mingles evergreen trees occasion-
ally with his pears, apples, etc., I have before written, and it is, I rejoice to
know, gradually becoming an acknowledged item toward success. The ameliorating
influence of the evergreen extends really but about fifty feet ; yet within that distance
the bodily action of man feels it perceptibly, and so, reasoning with careful observa-
tion of animal and vegetable life, each year tells me more and more that to ensure
success and perfect development of cither, certain warmth and shelter, etc.,
must be had. In the animal it is by means of artificial shelter and clothing in
which they can be placed ; but in the vegetable it must be by the subduing action of
one plant upon another, and the evergreen, from long experience, is proved the safe-
guard, ameliorating nurse of the deciduous tree.
It has been during the past year asserted that evergreens soon grow so large as to
displace other trees ; let me say that if they are pruned each year from the time they
are three feet high, by cutting out in spring time the heading shoot of each branch,
there will be no trouble in growing the White Pine, Norway Spruce, etc., in and
among pears or other trees at distances of twelve feet each ; but should it ever occur
that the evergreen overspread its bounds, it will bear the shears, and not object to
having its head sheared from bottom to top, so that it shall resemble a cone of six
feet at base and fifty feetliigh, provided the cutting be done in April or May,
F, R. Elliott.
Propagating Plants.
IN order to have flowers early in tlie season, from seed, you will find the following
brief hints of value to you, if taken. At the Pottery you can buy small two-inch
pots for a cent each. Get a hundred, or more if you like; make a hot-bed in the
usual way, and fill your Httle pots full of the richest, lightest earth you can find, and
that which is free from foul grass or weed seed. Plant a few seeds in each pot — the
number to be governed by the size of the seed — sowing them quite shallow, and
pressing the soil lightly with the back of your fingers. Then plunge the pots in
your hot-bed soil up to the rim of the pot ; water occasionally with a very fine rose
sprinkler, and your planting is done. Give plenty of air on warm, bright days, and
when your plants arc several inches high, either thin them out to two or three, and
throw the other away, or transplant them to other pots and place in a cold frame. When
all danger of frost is passed, turn out your plants icith the soil or ball of earth
attached, wherever you want them to grow. If treated in this way, no shading will
be necessary, and your plants will grow as well as if thc}"^ had never been transferred.
Cucumbers, melons, squashes, etc., etc., can all be treated successfully in like man-
ner, and you will thus be enabled to eat fresh vegetables in advance of your plodding
neighbors, some three or four weeks. This advice is given after several years of
practical testing, and is no mean theory suggested by an idle brain.
Stanford, Ky. Woodman.
The £Jxoc?iordla Grandijlora.
Tlie Exocliordia G-randiflora.
Ill
THIS pretty shrub is still but little known in this country, only one or two nur-
series keeping it as a specialty. It reaches the height of about six feet, and has
a peculiarly graceful habit ; when covered in spring with its large, pure white flowers,
it is described as an object of deserved admiration. It is also hardy and well
adapted to this climate. It was introduced into England by Robert Fortune, about
fifteen years since, from China, and at first was supposed by English botanists to be
a remarkable species of the Spirrea, but afterwards it exhibited marked characteris-
tics, which entitled it to a separate name ; hence christened Exochordia grandiflora.
The engraving is taken from a shrub now eight years old, in the possession of
Andrew S. Fuller, Woodside, near New York. It was described recently in the
Uural New Yorker as being difficult to propagate by the ordinary method, yet layers
will strike root the second, if not the first season, after being buried. Plants have
also been grown from green wood cuttings taken from plants grown under glass ; this
will probably be the only rapid and successful method of multiplying it. This diffi-
culty in propagation has prevented it from becoming as popular as it should be.
112 Ho}i^ to Market Strawberries.
How to Market Strawberries.
T is a question with some growers which size basket should be most preferred,
I
quarts or pints. This depends upon the kinds of berries to send to market,
strawberries, raspberries or blackberries. If strawberries, it makes but little differ-
ence which size is used ; but if raspberries or blackberries are sent, the pints are
preferable, as the quarts are too large for these last varieties. The baskets most
preferred in New York are the Beecher and the American ; the former round and the
latter square.
The crates should be neatly marked, with a stencil-plate, with the names of the
owner and of the firm to whom the fruit is consigned ; all of which the dealers will
furnish to every one who has a reasonable sized crop.
The practice of nailing cards on the crates is a bad one, for they are easily torn
off, and occasion a considerable amount of trouble to the railroad company and the
dealers.
All berry growers should provide a suitable and convenient shelter, easy of access
to the "patch," to protect the fruit from the heat, as well as storms. And those
having their fields of berries near their houses, might make use of their cellars for
that purpose, as they are far preferable to any open shed ; for one hour in a cool,
dry cellar will cool and harden the fruit more than three hours in the open air, and
will make them stand a night's transportation in a hot car, and preserve them in a
more perfect condition.
The lids of the crates should never be closed until the last moment, and care should
be taken while loading and carting them to the depot, to see that they receive no un-
necessary rough handling or jolting before they are delivered to the transportation
company.
Should the road be dusty, have them carefully covered to prevent the dust from
penetrating the crates, thus spoiling the fruit ; and always protect them from the
heat of the sun. If they are shipped in cars, see that your fruit is always placed
together, so as to enable the dealer to get it at once ; for sometimes it happens that
the crates get scattered and mixed up in the cars, and a loaded team must be kept
waiting a long time in order to find a single crate, even if the detention causes a loss
in the sales of several crates of fruit.
The baskets should be filled rounding full, in order that they may look well upon
opening, and to allow for the shrinkage and settling of the fruit during transporta-
tion, and those on the top should be filled fuller than the others, for the space
between the lid and the fruit is greater than between any other layer, and the heat
from the others rises to the top and causes the fruit to soften, which permits it to
become displaced, and injures the sale of it.
It is a noted fact that the top layer of berries, which should always be as good as
any, is generally the poorest ; and it frequently happens that it is so badly damaged,
that the dealers are compelled to take them off, and place them in a crate by them-
selves, and sell them for just what they are — damaged fruit. But this changing
requires time, and, when the quantity is large, more than can be spared ; conse-
quently, the fruit is sold for less than it is really worth.
Champion Moss Curled Parsley,
113
"While securing the crop, it should be the duty of one person to see that the ripe
berries are all picked clean as they go, and that the pickers begin where they left off,
thus securing a uniformity in the ripening that will secure a good article in the mar-
ket. Some pickers arc very careless, and retain a larger quantity in the hand
than they ought, consequently bruising the fruit, and although the damage is not
observed at the time, nevertheless it is done, and shows very plainly on its arrival iu
the market.
This one point is just where so much injury is done to the fruit, and yet some
growers cannot understand why it is that the dealer is constantly complaining of the
quality of their fruit, when the whole grand secret lies just with the growers ; tliey
damage the fruit before it leaves their possession, merely through careless handling.
A word in regard to the topping or dressing of the fruit. I think it pays to do it,
but it should not be overdone, and I think the safer rule is to dress just as you would
wish it if you were the buyer.
Before your fruit ripens, make an arrangement with some good, responsible dealer
about the selling of it, informing him of about the quantity you expect to market,
and require from him the terms upon which he will sell it.
The general custom of dealers is to charge ten per cent commission over the sales,
and pay a stipulated price for those ci'ates and baskets that they fail to return to the
line from which they received them. C. W. Idell.
'New York City.
Champion Moss Curled Parsley.
nriHIS is a new variety, imported from England, and represented to be a very fine
J- sort of curled parsley ; by some described as being the perfection of a parsley
for garnishing purposes, and not to be surpassed.
lU
7'he Turk's Turban.
The Turk's Turban.
A VERY striking example of the effectiveness of ribbon gardening was seen last
■^ year on the grounds of Peter Henderson, at Bergen, N. J. A circle of nine
feet in diameter was laid out, upon the outer line of which was planted Centaurta
gymnocarpa, a plant with whitish gray, fern-like foliage, growing about one foot in
height. The next line was planted with Zonale Geranium, with scarlet flowers,
growing about eighteen inches in height. The thii-d line contained golden-leaved
Coleus (C. Cociniatus), and the centre the well-known crimson-leaved Coleus (C.
Verschaffeltii). The diameter of the outer two circles is about two and a-half feet
each; the third, one foot at the centre, six feet across.
Several other effective styles were successfully carried out ; for instance, a crescent,
arranged as follows : The outer lines, all around the edge, were planted with the
golden tri-color Geranium, "Mrs. Pollock"; leaves yellow, crimson and green.
Immediately inside this was the Achyranthus Gilsonii, with carmine or purple leaves,
and in the very centre was put the Coleus Verschaffeliii ; leaves deep crimson, yet vel-
vet-like texture.
A border, six feet wide, parallel to a walk, was planted first with a row of Lobelia
Erinus, having flowers of the richest shade of azure blue ; next, the zonale geranium
"Bronze Queen", leaves of golden bronze, with scarlet flowers; then a line of
Mountain of Snow Geranium, leaves white and green. The fourth line is Achyran-
thus Gilsonii, and the fifth, or last marginal line is variegated Sweet Alyssum ; leaves
white and green, with white flowers.
The Turk^s Turban is a circular flower bed, ten feet in diameter, the centre of
which is a crimson Coleus ; next to this is a strip of white ribbon grass, and the outer
strip is of the crimson Achyranthus. The two last each occupy strips about one and
a-half feet, and the crimson Coleus the rest.
The effect is most gorgeous, presenting a blaze of brilliant beauty to the eyes of all
visitors. The same arrangements can be made use of indefinitely throughout the
country ; and as the materials for bedding plants are so cheap, we expect to see rib-
bon gardening become more and more fashionable.
IProftts of SorticuUui''e in ^emtsylyania. 115
Profits of Horticulture in Pennsylvania.
Extracts fro»n, Adxircss of pfosiah Moopas he/ore A.nttual Meeting of f'ennsi/lvania Fruit
Growers' Society at Chamhersbargh, fTnmmry 17, 1871-
THE cultivation of small fruits with us is necessarily accompanied with considera-
ble expense, owing in a great measure to the character of our soils, which are
remarkably adapted to the growth of weeds ; but I always regard weeds as blessings
in disguise, to teach men lessons of cleanliness and thorough cultivation. What we
lose by extra expense in labor, we certainly gain in the size and beauty of our fruit,
and this is decidedly an important auxiliary. Strawberries in my native county of
Chester, pay well in the majority of seasons. We are near a good market, and quick
transportation speedily delivers them to the consumers, fresh and handsome.
A successful strawberry grower for the Westchester markets, reports his experience
with that variable variety, the Triomphe de Gand, as follows: "In the spring of
1864, 1 planted 4,800 Triomphe de Gand on ground previously planted with potatoes,
which were but slightly manured, the ground receiving nothing whatever when
planted to strawberries. They were set two and a half by one foot apart, and all
runners kept off, and worked by a horse. In the year 1865, I sold 778 quarts for
$174.73.
After the crop was gathered, the bed was merely cleansed from weeds, and run-
ning the year 1866 again without manure, yielding 437 quarts, selling for $151.44;
the latter year a very bad one for strawberries. I consider the care I gave them
but ordinary, and am satisfied the yield would have been greater had I given proper
attention. I believe had the quantity been large enough to have warranted shipping,
I could easily have realized fifty cents per quart, as I have since wholesaled the same
variety for forty cents, with prices not so high as a general thing.
You will observe the distance I plant will require 17,424 plants per acre; we have
therefore for 1865, 2,824 quarts, selling for $634.24; for 1866, 1,586 quarts selling
for 8549.72.
I have since cultivated by the acre, and have had very good success ; have never
yet had sufiicient to supply the demand. I consider the above statement as applying
to field culture, and am sorry my time will not permit me to dissect my account so as
to give my larger experience;
An extensive cultivator for the Philadelphia markets, states that he sells straw-
berries annually to the amount of from $2,000 to $4,000, from about three acres,
but as the cultivation is attended with considerable expense, he is of the opinion,
that good opportunities for disposing of the crop, is a requisite to insure adequate
remuneration. AVith him they are a paying crop. The same grower says in regard
to raspberries, that "they pay well, for although they do not yield as much per acre,
they are less expensive to cultivate than strawberries." He furthermore remarks .
" I have about two acres of raspberries, and they will average one year with another
about $500 per acre. Currants and gooseberries about the same." Other cultivators
are in favor of the production of small fruits here, with reports of greater or less
amount of net profit on the same. Any one who is at all acquainted with the
extensive Knox plantations at Pittsburg, in this State, needs not to be told, that
yiQ profits of HoriicuUtcre in 'Pemisylvania,
tinder the system of cultivation pursued there, suiall fruits are exceedingly profitable.
In the orchard, pears have generally been discouraged as about the poorest crop
we could possibly grow ; some entertain now a very different opinion, as the follow-
ing extracts from a recent letter, written by a prominent Pennsylvanian pomologist
will show. He says : " It is about twelve years since I commenced planting pear trees,
with a view of growing the fruit for market, and since that time I have set out near
5,000 trees. They are spread over near thirty acres, but in most of this ground the
rows of trees are wide apart, and all t!ie ground is constantly occupied with other
crops ; the rows themselves being filled up between the trees, with currants, goose-
berries, raspberries, rhubarb, or other things, and for any thing that I can see, the
ground has produced as much as if there had been no trees there. So that although
I cannot base the cost of my orchard on this account at much more than the original
price of the trees and outlay for planting, the latter of which not being heavy, as I
went to no extraordinary expense in preparing the ground. All the manuring my
pears have ever had, is the annual dressing I give the ground for the other crops.
As I have generally had a fair crop of pears, and have always been able to obtain
good prices, I consider them remunerative. I am not able. to give any data except-
ino- for the current year, and that without being very exact. At least 1,000 bushels
have been disposed of during the present season, with a portion remaining unsold,
the average price ranging about two dollars per bushel. Owing to the extraordinary
warm weather, all varieties ripened quite early, and even the best keepers had to be
disposed of, or they would have rotted. From this cause the price was considerably
reduced."
One of the most productive pear orchards in this, or any other State, is the cele-
brated collection of Tobias Martin at Mercersburg^ Pa., now ten years planted.
The cost of the land was forty dollars per acre, and the expense of preparing the
same was ten dollars per acre more ; this, with the additional cost of 400 trees to
the acre and planting the same, makes a total outlay of §150 per acre after the trees
were set. The trees were planted ten feet apart each way, alternate rows having
alternate standards, making the standards twenty feet apart, with dwarfs between
them in either direction.
For the first three years, the orchard was devoted to the growing of potatoes, two
rows between each row of trees ; the average annual yield of which was 6100 per
acre. Afterward the ground was used for cabbage and tomatoes, with a much
smaller yield, say fifty dollars per acre.
Durinty the fourth and fifth years the trees commenced bearing, and the product
was fifty dollars per acre. The sixth and seventh, $100 per acre, and the eighth,
ninth and tenth years, an average of §200 per acre.
The annual cost of labor and for fertilizers, was fifty dollars per acre. The above
statement does not include the amount of fruit used, nor that given away, which was
very liberal.
The following will give some little idea of the prices received for the fruit. Bart-
lett extra fine, from %\ to $1.50 per dozen ; first class Bartlett pears, %\ per bushel ;
secoud class, %1 per bushel ; Vicar of Wiukficld, Lawrence, and Easter Beurre,
"Projits of Horticulture in 'Peu^isylpania.- 117
sold for S24 per barrel ; Duchesse d'Angouleme and Beurre Clairgean (extra speci-
mens) from S3 to $5 per dozen.
The peach crop in Pennsylvania, until the past few years, was a decided failure,
owing mainly to the prevalence of the dreaded "Yellows;" fortunately, however,
this has in a great measure passed away, and at the present time we are enabled to
turn our attention to growing this fruit with profit. But in this connection I desire
to impress upon fruit-growers in this State, that as the climate of Delaware and
Maryland is so well adapted to maturing the earlier varieties in advance of us, it is
prudent in us to turn our attention to the later kinds, which we are capable of pro-
ducing of unexcelled size and beauty. For instance the Crawford's Late, a magnifi-
cent peach, is perhaps as profitable with us, and will pay as large a percentage on
the capital invested, as any fruit that can be grown. I know of one instance where
the crop of this variety alone sold for %\ per bushel. Taking into consideration the
length of our seasons, late peaches will very generally succeed satisfactorily. One
orchardist informs me he has disposed of 8700 worth of peaches from one and three-
quarter acres, mostly of the Smock variety, although the "rot" of the past year
reduced the amount considerably. Another neighboring orchard consisting of 1,000
trees, realized the sum of S900, and, says the owner, "had all the varieties produced
as well as did the Crawford's Late, it would have brought four-fold more."
All the larger fruits pay with varying success, depending greatly on the vicissi-
tudes of a changeable climate. That apples will pay has been abundantly proven,
if sufficient attention be given the trees. Insects have to be fought, and diseases
counteracted, but success will surely follow a systematic course of careful culture.
One branch of pomological industry has not received that attention which its
merits desire. I allude to the forcing of fruits under glass. Many are deterred
through ignorance in regard to the management of such structures, believing that
they are at best, but expensive luxuries, and calculated for amusement alone. That
this view is fallacious, I am enabled to prove from a statement kindly furnished me
by the owner of an extensive structure, designed wholly for profit. The statistics
here offered were carefully compiled from an unimpeachable record, and therefore
may be implicitly relied on. One of the buildings referred to, consists of a ^'■lean-
to " house, 100 feet long, and seventeen feet and four inches wide, including a four
feet walk along the back. The rafters on the same are sixteen feet long. The other
structure is built in the " double-pitch " style, on the north side of the former, and
to which it is connected. The latter is fifty feet long, twentj^ feet wide, with twelve
feet rafters. The whole range is heated by one of " Myers' Upright Tubular
Boilers," using 800 feet of iron pipe, that will hold one gallon of water to the foot,
In addition to this heating apparatus, the smoke flue is carried along the whole
length of the house, and a stove is placed in the extreme northern end to be used
only in excessively severe and \yiudy weather.
The original cost gf these bouses is not definitely known, but as they were erected
during the late war, when material and labor was at the highest point, one may judge
that it was very expensive. The heating apparatus was placed in working order at a
co§t Qf gpinething over $700. The following is an extract from the statement of the
118 Trouble with the li ilson Early blackberry.
owner : "For two years I had no fruit; the third year I think about 150 pounds ;
the fourth year a nice crop of 800 pounds. No account has ever been preserved of
the quantity used, but only what was sold ; neither have I the amount produced by
any single vine, with one exception — a large vine in the South House (Black Barba-
rosa, or a closely allied varied), which has fruited four years; the product of this,
however, has been carefully weighed each year, and is as follows, viz. : The first two
seasons forty-nine pounds, fifteen ounces each year ; the next, seventy-two pounds ;
and the last, forty-nine pounds, eight ounces ; but I am satisfied we have several
Black Hamburgs that have produced forty pounds each for the past three years.
Bowood Muscats that produce regularly from fifteen to twenty-five, and perhaps
thirty pounds. If I was obliged to have only three kinds of grapes in my houses, I
should select the above named varieties from such as I have any knowledge. If
there are any more profitable I do not know them. Beside the above we grow
Golden Hamburg, Muscat Trouvernon. Grizzly Frontignac, &c.
" The Muscat Trouvernon is a very constant bearer, with handsome bunches, but
does not equal the Bowood in character. So with the Golden Hamburg, it is very
elegant, but the Bowood is still more beautiful, and here, is as reliable as the Black
Hamburg.
" Another objection to the Golden Hamburg is, it must be cut as soon as ripe, and
still another, it bears full crops only in alternate years ; but I should not like to do
without it, as it ripens several days earlier than the Bowood.
" The Grizzly Frontignac is not a popular market grape, the objection being to its
color, which is neither white nor black ; but on account of its earliness, a vine or
two is no objection in a collection. We have discarded Mitchell's St. Peters, and
cut out fifteen or sixteen Muscat Hamburgs. There is no objection to the last
named on account of flavor, but the manner in which it ripens is very vexatious."
These vineries commenced bearing full crops during the summer of 1868, when
the amount sold was 1,078 pounds, twelve ounces, and realized $1,367.44; the
expenses for the season, for coal, labor, marketing the fruit, incidentals, &c., was
about $670, leaving a net profit for the year of nearly $700. The year 1869 pro-
duced a crop of 1,097 pounds, eleven ounces, and sold for $1,147.20, at a net profit
of $583.93.
The past year's profits was but about $367.86 ; these expenses include all repairs
and additions to the buildings, as well as commissions paid for disposing of the
fruit, &c.
Trouble with the Wilson Early Blackberry.
I FEAR this variety will be a failure. I have noticed an enlargement on many of
the canes for the last two years. By cutting into it I find there has been a worm
going through the heart or pith. I find that the canes die before the fruit is devel-
oped, and my neighbors the same. I have noticed nothing of the kind on the Kit-
tatinny, or other kinds growing beside ^the Wilson. The canes are pierced all
through from near the top to and into the roots. We have had two very dry seasons ;
perhaps that cause may have helped the difficulty. D. S. Myers,
Bridgeville^ Del.
JSditoiHal JVotes. 119
Editorial Notes.
A. Ne\o liooU on J'^orest Tree Culture,
"We have the pleasure of announcing the early publication, from the office of the
Horticulturist, of a valuable new book, entitled, "■Forest Trees a?id Native Ever-
greemfor Shelter, Ornament and Profit, by Arthur Bryant, Sr., President of the
Illinois State Horticultural Society." Mr. Bryant has bestowed upon this work close
attention, aiming to make it complete in all its information, and a handy, practical
manual for all tree planters or tree growers. The detailed descriptions of trees are
by far the most complete and accurate of any work now extant on Timber Culture.
It is written in a plain, simple, condensed style, that will be liked by every
farmer, and we know it will be highly appreciated by Western readers, as it is
specially adapted to Western necessities. We have good reason to believe that it
will be acknowledged and accepted by all, as the best on the subject ever published
in this country. It will contain over 200 pages, be printed in excellent style, and
price not over $1.50.
Every Gnrdener and Small Fruit Grower SJioultl Keep Cows.
Manures are the secrets of success in small fruits and gardening. Mineral ma-
nures are excellent to add where the soil is already supplied with vegetable mold.
"We believe small fruit growers should not spend their money off the farm for ma-
nure, but should make it at home ; hence, we recommend them to keep cows — say
two to every acre they have in garden operations. See the rich bank of manure
they will accumulate in tlie course of a single year. A cow of the average size will
void about sixty pounds of manure in a day, measuring about 1 1-6 cubic feet, which
is more than three cords — weighing over ten tons — in one year. The urine alone, in
the course of the year, amounts to 900 pounds. — worth fully double the solid matter.
It has been proved that stable or barn-yard manure, composted with two or three
times its weight of muck, is still as valuable for application as if kept by itself.
Keep this under shelter; work it over until fully decomposed, and at the end of the
year we have from every cow a pile of twenty-four cords of good compost. This is
enough to fertilize two acres of land yearly, and keep up in highest productive con-
dition. The sales of milk will pay all expenses of food and keeping, and leave the
manure a clear profit. These twenty-four cords of manure could not be purchased
of any farmer for less than $3 per cord. Here, then, we have a clear value of $16
per year, for every cow from manure alone, and as much more from milk.
Cutting Down Jilnchherry] J^atches.
The fruit growers of Hammonton and Vineland, N. J., are cutting down their
Blackberry bushes and ploughing up their Strawberry beds, convinced that, in their
locality, their culture does not pay. The past three seasons have been very unfor-
tunate for them, and, on Blackberries particularly, there have been two total fail-
ures. This last season, Blackberries could not be sold nor made into wine, and
no one cared to dry them ; so, they were left to hang on the vines unpicked. The
Blackberry fever has gone its full length. We are reducing our own area devoted
to its culture, and advise all others to do the same. There is a short period of about
one week, just before Peaches come in, when Blackberries sell pretty well ; but after
that, it is generally unprofitable to ship them, save in favored_localities.
Tjiliuin Tif/riuum Flore Fleno
A beautiful novelty was introduced here last year, and flowered for the first time.
It has the habit of the old, well known and popular Tiger Lily, but is very distinct
from it, in t';e fact that it contains double blossoms. The stems reach three feet high
or upwards, and the individual flowers are about four inches across. In the ordinary
Tiger Lily there is usually but one series of petals around the centre disc, but with
this new variety there s^ve six series-^one lapping regularly over the other to the top.
It is certainly ^ gre^t novelty, and is, as yet, scarce.
120 Mlitorial JVotes.
Early Strawberries,
A correspondent of the Country Gentleman pleads earnestly for the Downer's
Prolific :
Perhaps there is no Strawberry grown that will color a few berries earlier than
the Wilson, while its main crop, or picking, is fully four to five days later than many
other sorts.
The Downer's Prolific ripens lap a few picliings with me before the Wilson's
Albany, if not grown on too rich soil; and, too, the bulk of the crop ripens up
early, which is not the case with the Wilson.
This same thing is noticeable in the Raspberry or Blackberry. The Philadelphia
will turn a feio berries as early as the Kirtland, but the last yields all of its crop
early, at three or four pickings, while the Philadelphia extends along for weeks and
months. Just so with the Miami and Doolittle. The first will ripen up a feiv ber-
ries as early as the last, but the last will all be gone by the time the first is yielding
full pickings. The Wilson and Kittatinny blackberry show the same characteris-
tics. The last will ripen up a few berries as early as the first, but not its general
crop. Now, what are the adavntages of one over the other ? Simply, that the
Downer, Doolittle, Kirtland and Wilson's Early are all marketed when the price
is high, while the other dwindles along late and brings less price — that is, in the
markets where earliness is a requisite for profit.
Another point. The Downer should not have rich, heavy soil. If grown on such
it grows rank, sending up long leaf stalks and large leaves, which cover and shade
the fruit, and which detract from the fiuitfulness of this variety and make it fully a
week later. The same with the French. They delight in a light, sandy soil, of only
medium richness, and, when planted on such, seem to run wonderfully to fruit and
yield their crops very early. Rich soils do not seem to aifect the Wilson so much iu
that way. This is an important matter, that all should consider. That some varie-
ties are afi"ected more than others by soil, especially in earliness, and in order to test
the earliness of different sorts, the soil that is best adapted to them, and that affects
the earliness and lateness of each, should be taken into consideration. Give the
Downer a light sandy soil, and not over rich.
A.inotint of_, Mulching for Each Acre.
We use from three to five tons of salt hay per acre on our field, spreading it evenly
over the surface of the ground. If applied before winter comes on, the tops of the
plants are covered one to one and a half inches deep. Sometimes we do not cover
at all during the winter, but spread it between the rows during blossoming time next
spring.
We find our fruit ripens up much earlier, while, when picking time comes, the coolness
of the mulch and the consequent moisture fill out our berries to good, large size, and
brio'ht, handsome, crimson color. By manipulating our mulch rightly, we can direct
the ripening of our fruit either a week earlier or a week later; but, in every case,
we find it adds heavily to the product over lands not mulched, at the same time pro-
ducing berries of better size, color, and fi'ce from sand or grit. No small fruit farm
can afford to do without a good and liberal use of muck. In the West, three tons of
prairie hay will be sufficient.
Jiedding Plants.
The California Horticulturist raises the question, why such beautiful flowering
plants as the Cineraria^ with its endless varieties of blooms ; the Salvia Splendens,
with its magnificent scarlet spikes ; or some of the Begonias, with their exquisite
drooping clustei-s, are not cultivated to a greater extent, as bedding plants in the
open ground, during the summer. , When we inquire the reason for this, we are told
that they would perish during the winter, thereby occasioning a great deal of trouble
and expense consequent upon their replacement in the spring.
£^(Utoriat JVotes. 121
How to Oi'Otv Stratvherries.
Mr. John B. Moore, of Concord, Mass., in a recent lecture on market gardening ,
gave his method of cultivating Strawberries for the Boston market. He said that
there were several methods of treating the Strawberry plant, and he had tried the
following, with great success :
Set out the plants in rows, four feet apart, and about fifteen inches apart in the
rows ; the spaces between the plants must be cultivated with a hand cultivator until
about the first of July; then take a runner from each side of the plant and lay it in
at right angles to form a new plant ; after the new plant is well rooted, the string
which attached it to the old plant must be cut; in this way three rows of plants are
produced, where there was only one before, each row lying about a foot apart from
the others.
Mr. Moore, in illustration of the profitableness of Strawberry culture, referred to
an experiment recently made by R. W. Emerson, his townsman, at Concord, Mass.
Mr. Emerson has seven or eight acres of land, and, as his hired man was unem-
ployed a considerable portion of the time in summer, he inquired of the speaker as
to the most profitable crop he could set him to raising. The speaker advised him to
try Strawberries. He did so, and planted an eighth of an acre with Wilson's
Albany seedling. Thesecond year after planting, or in 1869, he raised 1,000 boxes
of Strawberries, which sold for §300. Last year he also had a good crop, but not so
large as the year previous, on- account of the unfavorable nature of the season.
Sig Fencli Crops,
The large Peach shipments of 161,968 packages of Peaches from St. Joseph,
Mich., during the season of 1870, hare been quoted by Western papers, and also
some foreign ones, as the " largest known to the present generation." We must give
better credit to little Delaware, by saying, that from one station alone, on a railroad
175 miles long, there were shipped from Middlctown, Del., last year, 175,000 bas-
kets and packages of Peaches, and from the town of Dover, there were shipped, both
by railroad and steamer, the enormous amount of 460,000 baskets. The produce of
the entire Peninsula of Maryland and Delaware was 3,000,000 baskets, and the
value net to the growers about §1,200,000. Is there any other section of the world
that can make as favorable an exhibit as this ?
StfdU'bervies for Frofit.
Mr. Louis Eitz, of Plainfield, 0., who has grown 207 American "and European
varieties, has made out a select list of sorts which he esteems most profitable, and
they are herewith arranged in the order of their desirability : Barnes' Mammoth,
G-reen Prolific, Boyden No. 20, Fillmore, Agriculturist, in light soils ; Boyden No.
30, Lady of the Lake, and Jucunda, with heavy clay soil and high culture. All
these varieties are placed ahead of the W^ilson.
XJie Clarh Maspberry .
This, on our ground, is all that can be desired — beautiful, delicious, fine size, good
bearer, and fine perfunie. They sprout badly, as some would say ; but until I get
enough plants to re -set the space occupied by P.,ed x\ntworps, I will be gratified.
The Philadelphia is also to be recommended. — Mrs. A. C. B., Richviond, Ky.
Hlpening Pears.
A correspondent of the Farmers' Club, New York, says that he had tried many
ways to ripen pears, but had found the best plan to be to pack thein in close boxes,
and keep them in a cool, though not too dry atmosphere. He had ripened up the
Vicar of Winkfield in that way very successfully. Pears so ripened come out with
better flavor and cooler than if exposed to the atmosphere to ripen. One gentleman
stated there that he had known pears buried right in the soil, out of doors, to come
out in perfect condition in the spring.
122 JEditorlal JVotes.
Selecting Fruit Trees from the Nursert;.
Two year old trees are as large as any orchardist can safely select ; if older, it is
more than probable the trees will sacrifice a large portion of their roots in the ordeal
of digging and transplanting. At two years, the nursery trees are stocky, have
begun to form a good head, and their roots are not too large to be wasted in digging.
They receive less check when put out in the orchard, and require less pruning, and are
better prepared to commence a steady, onward growth. In many localities one year
old trees are very suitable. A box containing 500 two year old trees will hold three
times that number of one year old trees ; hence, as the trees cost less, and the freight
is so much less, there are many arguments in favor of their use. But they will not
suffice for all sections. For instance, in the South, we think one year old trees are
very unsuitable ; two year old trees, we believe, will be far more successful. One
year old trees, also, are very far from being of uniform growth in the nursery.
Some years they are of splendid appearance ; at other times they are small and
spindling, and hence cannot be depended upon. Many varieties are slow growers in
the nursery, and at one year of age are totally unfit for transplanting. It is abso-
lutely money thrown away to plant such trees. A safe guide will be for every
orchardist to visit the nursery himself, and thus see every variety as it actually ap-
pears. We recommend no one to select one year old trees for the orchard of a less
height than three feet. We prefer budded trees to grafted ones, and they are well
worth a difference of twenty-five per cent, higher price. Budded trees are of more
rapid growth. A two year old budded tree put out at the same time with a two
year old grafted tree, will, in five years' time, be fully fifty per cent, stronger,
thriftier, larger and more productive. For other fruits than the Pear, we would
select: Apples, two years old; Peaches, one year; Cherries, one or two years;
Apricots, two years ; Plums, two years.
Straivberries Among Fruit Trees,
Keep them out. We believe it is the general testimony of all growers that the
practice of growing small fruits among standard trees, is detrimental, if not ruinous,
to both. The Strawberry is a moisture-living plant, and absorbs all it can secure.
If cultivators must grow trees in their small fruits' beds, let them see to it that all
Strawberry vines are removed for a distance of three feet from each side of the trunk,
then manure the ground near the tree freely every fall with stable manure, and in
summer keep the ground mulched. This will secure plenty of moisture and fertiliz-
ing material, not likely to be robbed by the rapacious roots of the Strawberries. As
the trees grow older, the circle should be widened from three to four, five and six
feet. When the tree comes into bearing, the small fruit should be removed entirely.
Undoubtedly, the presence of the Strawberry beds between the trees will retard their
growth somewhat. If the trees occupied the ground entirely by themselves, they
would gain ten to twenty-five per cent, annually over any system of gardening which
admits the cultivation of other crops upon the same ground and at the same time.
lyime for Yottr Fruit Trees.
It is a good plan for all fruit growers to apply lime freely in their orchards every
two or three years. A half bushel to each tree, or 100 bushels broadcast, per acre,
will suffice. Upon lands particularly tenacious, we have known as high as foui hun-
dred bushels per acre ; but this was used for a truck garden. Light loamy lands
will be best benefited by the lime, and shell lime is better for fruit trees than the
usual stone lime.
Quinces on Snndg Soil.
^ The Country Gentlema7i says that Quinces will thrive on a dry, sandy soil, pro-
vided it is kept rich enough, and is deeply and well cultivated. Plant about ten
feet apart ; let them occupy the whole ground j keep the soil cle^.u and mellow.
Editorial JVoies. 123
Sensitive ]'lants.
The shrinking Mimosa is -well known to be one of the~most sensitive of all curi-
osites of the A'cgetable creation. A mere nothing makes her tremble ; a small cloud
hiding the sun disturbs her ; the lightest wind makes her uneasy, and quickly she
folds herself up. She rolls up her leaves when night comes on, and opens herself
again with the first dawn of morning. In the tropics there are vast plains covered
with these sensitive plants, which are affected at the slightest circumstance. The
gallop of a horse frightens them ; the nearest flowers close themselves, and the
rest, warned by their sentinels, follow immediately. They hang their heads, most
anxiously, when a wanderer approaches them, and should he insult but a single
flower by touching it, an electrical movement seems to go over the whole field ; they
all take alarm, and all feel the attack. They are as susceptible as human beings
are to the use of narcotics. A few drops of tincture of opium scattered over them,
is sufiicient to quiet and make them go to sleep. The botanist, Desfontaine, once
placed one of these sensitive plants in his wagon, and it folded itself quickly. How-
ever, the wagon went on, and as nothing further was done to the plant, it became
quiet in time. When the wagon, however, at last stopped, and the moving ceased,
the plant once more got frightened, and carefully shut itself up.
Jfiti-sonn' X'eic White Mignonette.
This is a new variety, recently imported from Europe, and described as being
vastly superior to anything yet grown. It is nearly pure white in color ; the spikes
are large and beautifully shaped, and in odor exceedingly strong — one pot of it will
perfume a whole house. At four of the European Exhibitions for 1870 it received
the highest premium awarded to flowers. It has just been introduced into this coun-
try, and is now sold at fifty cents per packet. We will present it free to any one
bringing us a new subscriber or a club.
Asparagus Seds.
Hitherto our family gardens have allowed but small space to the Asparagus bed.
The plants have usually been put out in rows, two feet apart, one foot in the row,
and the beds have been limited to about G 4-10 feet. The new variety — Conover's
Colossal — has, with its introduction, also brought a new system of culture — viz : wide
planting. The originator now puts his plants 4^ by 4 feet, and grows entirely in
hills. By this method larger shoots are obtained, and more shoots from every hill ;
so that in the end, the culture is much easier; the produce is fully as ample; but
being of larger size, the profits are far greater. The roots of the Colossal will grow
in one season, from seed, to the length of two and a half or three feet. ■ If we were
to plant them two feet apart, or even three, would they not overlap each other, and
in time, as they enlarge, year after year, would not the ground become one entire
net-work of roots, sucking and robbing one another as much as possible ? But, if
the plants are put at right distances apart — say four feet — each plant forms a hill by
itself, controlling exclusively the nutrition immediately around, and hence we have
a greater success and more permanent plantations.
Foitr Good Peaches.
The Country Gentle7na7i names the following: 1. For the earliest, Hale's Early,
or, Serrate Early York. 2. Large Early York ; or, George the Fourth. 3. Craw-
ford's Early. 4. Olmison Free ; or. Ward's Late Free. Our cotemporary has
left out the Crawforci's Late, which is among the very first of Peaches in Delaware
for profit.
Value of IicncJied AsJics.
Before .ashes have gone into the soap-maker's hands, they are estimated to be
worth 39c. per bushel. After they have been leached, it is estimated that they are
worth but 9e. The 30c. or 75 per cent, of their value has gone.
124 £JdUoriat JVotes.
The HorHculttirist.
This good old stand-by of the horticultural interests of the country, more than
tnaintaitis its well-earned and widespread reputation. Under the spirited editorial
and business management of our genial friend Williams, it has been improved in all
its departments. The illustrations are numerous and excellent, while the contribu-
tions of an able corps of correspondents, and the racy articles of the editor-in-chief,
give to it a freshness and value found in no other periodical of its class. Those who
desire a first rate horticultural journal, should, by all means, secure the Horticul-
turist,— From the Journal of the. Farm.
Forest T^eaves.
Forest leaves are invaluable to every gardener and horticulturist. They act not
only as a mulch for growing plants, but are capital for incorporation in the manure
heap. If decomposed by themselves, they form a natural mould, admirably adapted
for the successful culture of flowering plants in pots. All our florists are glad to get
wood mould. The question has been asked as to their manurial value. The answer
has never been fully satisfactory. Owing to their bulk, they are not as valuable, in
proportion to time occupied in gathering, as if the same time had been spent in cart-
ing muck. But, for the successful propagation of plants in green-houses, decom-
posed leaves are always worth the trouble to secure.
Wornts in JPofs,
In reply to a query about a remedy for white worms in plant pots, a correspondent
of the Neio England Farmer says that lime water will kill them, or a little slaked
lime sprinkled on the surface of the earth, and in the saucer of the pot. Lime water
can be made easily by slaking a large piece of lime in a pail of cold water, letting it
settle, and then bottling for use. Give each pot a tablespoonful twice a week.
Spirens,
Of all the hardy shrubs the class of Spireas is one of the most beautiful, and each
year growers are producing new and improved varieties. Some of the best among
the new and good ones are Spirea aimirensis, with large panicles of white flowers ;
Spirea Cal/for?nca, a drawf-growing sort, but a free bloomer ; Spirea callosa and
Callosa alba — the former having umbels of red flowers, and the latter a drawf-growing
sort, with umbels of greenish-white flowers, produced in great profusion and long
continuance. Spirea ezimea, Reeve!>ii Jlore plena, pru7iifolia Jlorc pleno, Douglasii,
etc., are well known ; but Ariefolia, although a native, is not so well known as its
delicate and graceful habit and small heads of white flowers merit. — Rural New
Yorker.
How to Grotv the Fyrteanthn as n Medffe.
If properly planted, ninety-five out of every one hundred cuttings will grow, and
that vigorously. I know no plant that grows more readily from the cutting, and
have planted with equal success in October, November and February. Several have
planted here, and have nice hedges, with but liitle trouble. The following is the
course adopted :
Prepare the ground intended to be planted, by digging deep, and if poor, enriching
with vegetable mold, as nothing will flourish in a poor soil or clay ; take the cuttings,
the growth of tlie previous season, and in pieces of a foot long set in the groudn
eight inches, slanting a little, and leaving four inches above. They must not be
disturbed the first year, by hoeing or weeding, and if planted where they arc intended
to stand, any that don't grow can be replaced with some taken from one end of the
row, and the others will have furnished cuttings enough to make several strings of
fence of the same length. It makes a useful as well as ornamental hedge, and if
trimmed at the 1st of June, and any time from November 1st to February 1st,
cutting it well back each time, it will, in a few years, make a fence impervious to
stock or anything else.
Editorial JVoles. 125
Chinese JPrunroses for In-door Culture.
For a neat, flowering plant in the window, there is nothing which will repay so well
for the space occupied, as one or two of the Chinese Primroses. They are natives
of China, and are not adapted to out-door culture. They bloom freely under glass,
but unlike the other classes of primroses, require sun, and if properly managed,
flower all the year round, although their most flourishing season is during the winter
and early spring. All that is necessary for their cultivation is a moderately warm
situation, close to the glass, medium moisture, and good drainage, which is secured
by filling in the bottom of the pots with broken pieces of crockery. It is not well
to sprinkle the plants with water, as the leaves and flowers will be speckled easily
and soon decay. The leaves and flower stalks seldom grow higher than about six
inches, and if the plant grows top-heavy, it should be supported by a few little sticks
placed near the collar of it. As the plants do not flower so well after the first year,
it is therefore advisable to procure young plants every year, or to raise them from
seed. This, however, is not easy; the seeds being very fine, if carelessly watered, or
allowed to dry out, they will be lost.
In sowing the seeds, care must be taken to cover them lightly with the soil, or
what is better, not to cover them at all, but to press them gently into the surface of
the soil with a smooth piece of wood. The watering should be done by saucers
placed underneath the pots, or by very fine sprinklers, so as not to wash the soil; but
even after the young plants have developed two or three leaves, they require careful
watering ; if the soil is permitted to get dry, the very tender roots may be dried up
in a few hours. Our way of treating the seed is this : We water the lower body of
earth in the pot by a saucer, and cover the surface from time to time with a wet
cloth, so as to leave the seeds undisturbed.
Of the Chinese Primroses, we have now some most beautiful varieties, double and
single ; the double white is certainly a beautiful plant, although it does not bloom so
continuously as the other. The fringed flowers are considered the very best. —
California Horticulturist.
Gernnunns for the (Snrilen.
A correspondent of The Rural New Yorker finds the following a good selection :
First, then, is Attraction or Greneral Grant, which everybody now wants. Its
flowers are bright scarlet and very abundant. Next, Beaton's Indian Yellow, with
flowers of an orange scarlet, decidedly a yellow tinge. Cybister, with flowers of a
crimson scarlet. Donald Beaton, somewhat like Beaton's Indian Yellow, but with
immense trusses of flowers. Leonidas, a fiery scarlet and flowers of immense size.
Le Grand, also, with large truss but more of a crimson scarlet. Phoenix and
Provost, both bright scarlet. Godfrey, very brilliant, and a profuse bloomer.
Hector (new), a free grower and bloomer. Village Maid, with bright, deep pink
flowers. White Perfection, with, as its name indicates, flowers of pure white, and a
free bloomer.
These are some of my bed, not obtained because of their special novelty or newness,
but for their beauty ; and then I have gone back again to my early love, and got me
an old ivy-leaved Geranium, and also, to compare with, one of the new ones of its
class, called Bridal Wreath. The flowers of this class are not conspicuous, but there
is such a richness in the foliage, that I always love to look at it, and everybody wants
a little of it whenever I make a bouquet to give away.
I find pinching and pegging down all classes of bedding plants, such as I have here
named, with many others, pays well for the trouble, in the great addition it gives to
appearance, and in the greater profusion of bloom and added vigor and beauty of
foliage.
Soil for Fruit Trees.
Fruit trees should never be transplanted to a poorer soil than that in which they
formerly grew before removed. Most nurseries have very rich soil; hence their
126 £ililorial J^Totes.
trees are developed to a fine healthy size when ready for sale. Unless the purchaser
pa3's as much attention to their after-treatment as they received before, he certainly
cannot expect good results.
All land for orchards iinust be well enriched, not necessarily with stimulating ma-
nures, but, at any rate, with good phospates, bones, lime, ashes, muck, marl, or
stable manure. We believe it a good practice to give every fruit tree, every year,
a good application of a peck to a bushel of manure. If the farmer's orchard is too
large for his manurial resources, then let him be content with less trees, and take
good care of those he does own,
Snx ifvngrn..
A same correspondent of The Rural New Yorker says :
Among my perennials none are more satisfactory than the varieties of Saxifragra,
with their broad leaves and large compact clusters of bright pink or red flowers
showing in great profusion all during the months of April and May. In a little
piece of rock work, where much of the planting is vines, etc., that do not leaf or
flower until late, these Saxifragra plants make a most capital effect. I wonder they
are not more commonly used.
Hyacinth Seds in the T.awn.
A correspondent of The Rural Neto Yorker, last year, recommended the planting
of Spring Flowering Bulbs, in masses, on the land, after the manner of summer
bedding plants, and describs the great delight which all visitors felt in the display :
Since the middle of April we and our friends and visitors have been greatly
delighted with a bed of Hyacinths on our front lawn. It is circular in form,
measuring twenty feet in diameter, the centre raised some two feet above the ground
level. The Hyacinths arc planted in ribbons, which consist of two rows of bulbs;
each ribbon runs clear around the bed, and is wholly of one color. The colors
employed are red, white and blue, planted alternately, and the effect is charming.
The outer ribbon, next the grass, contains 180 flowers; the next, 166; the others,
respectively, 125. 102, 96, 66, 50, 25, making a total of 810.
The Hyacinths in this mass were all single. At a short distance from it is another
of about the same dimensions, planted in the same way, but the colors not being so
bright, the bed has not been so effective as the other.
How well nature has fitted the Hyacinth to endure the variations of spring weather!
Since our Hyacinths commenced to bloom, we have had sharp frosts, heavy rains,
high winds, etc., yet they have retained their freshness and beauty through all, for
a period of nearly a month.
Cui^ants.
In the last report on the Fruit Crop, the Fruit Committee of the Massachusetts
Horticultural Society, say that of currants, " La Yersaillaise has uniformly taken
the first prize, and is first on the list. Red and White Dutch are still standard
kinds. In view of the growing scarcity of this health-giving fruit, and its enhanced
price in our markets, our culturists would do well to extend their plantations,
remembering to provide a generous supply of manure retentive of moisture ;
cultivating the ground as carefully as for pears, and guarding against all approaches
of the currant worm. Nearly all our gardens are infested by this pest. The eggs
of this worm are deposited singly on the branches and near the buds. As soon as
hatched, the worm penetrates to the pith, on whicli it feeds, until the month of June,
when it escapes as a moth to deposit another batch of eggs. It is manifestly
impracticable to reach the borer when burrowed in the stem secretly destroying the
heart of the bushes. But it has been asserted that the application of air-slacked
lime, plaster, ashes, or even superphosphates, and whale-oil soap upon the foliage
and stems of the bushes, have been found to be destructive of the pest. Without
having had experience, we suggest that these remedies are probably effectual only
j^ditoriat JVbtes. 127
against the winged moth, which appears about the middle of June, and she may be
prevented from depositing her eggs, either by the oiFensive odors, or by the gritty
dust of the lime and plaster when fixed by the dews. Whether these remedies are
effectual or not, of this we are confident, that good culture will insure good results."
Ketv Cherry — "JBlnck Jtepitblicnn."
The Willamette (Oregon) Farmer says that President Snelling, at a meeting of
the Oregon State Pomological and Horticultural Society, at Portland, July 23d,
submitted for examination a seedling cherry of his own raising, which he calls the
" Black Republican." This cherry is of a very dark color, and is rich and solid.
Many of the cherries measure three and one-third inches in circumference each, and
an inch and three-eighths in diameter. Some specimens of the branches of the
tree with the fruit on them proved it to be an immense bearer.
A. I'rofitable Orauge Tree Ifufsery.
In March, 1869, Mr. C. A. Hutchinson, of Jacksonville, Florida, planted a plat
fifty feet square, with orange seed. In February next the plants were twelve to
eighteen inches high, when S200 worth were sold at the rate of twenty dollars per
.hundred. The remainder were transplanted, and are now two and a half to three
feet high, and occupy a space of fifty by one hundred feet, and number about 8,000
plants. They are worth an average of thirty dollars per hundred in the market,
making the product of the lot, within two years, $2,600. The expense of seed and
cultivation is estimated at about sixty dollars.
Illustrated rTourtml of' A.gricultHre>
This is an old candidate under a new name. The Journal of Agriculture, pub-
lished weekly, by R. P. Studley & Co., of St. Louis, has been purchased by Wol-
cott & Marmaduke. and changed to a monthly, with the above title. Its issue for
the new year amounts to 10,000 copies. It is devoted more to Southern agriculture
and stock than formerly.
Xhc Tjdncaster Farmer.
This monthly publication is edited with practical talent, and its articles, we are
glad to say, are right to the point, without any waste words. Very few can claim to
be superior in quality of information. Its price is very cheap — only SI. 25 per
year — and, as it is under the auspices of the Lancaster County Agricultural and
Horticultural Society, it undoubtedly is able to command a good local support from
the people of that splendid farming country.
Catalogues' Itcccived, from
Michel Bros. ^ Kerii, St. Louis. — The new Catalogue of this firm is abundantly
illustrated, and contains much valuable floricultural information ; is devoted especi-
ally to flower culture and plants for ornamental gardening.
Hovey 4* Co., Bosloii — is now given away to all applicants. The new issue for
1871 contains a colored frontispiece of the Verbena Hyhrida Auriculceflora.
C. L. Allen Sj' Co., Brooklyn — This firm, formerly devoted especially to Bulbs,
have now enlarged their facilities, to include Bedding Plants, Flower and Vegetable
Seeds. The new Catalogue has a noticeable feature in the introduction of the botan-
ical derivation of the names of flowers, and little bits of history connected with each.
jilg Captivity A.>nong the SiotiJC Indians, liy Fannie Relly.
Mrs. Kelly was captured by the Sioux Indians, in 1864, while crossing the plains.
Her husband escaped. She was kept in bondage for five months, during which time
she underwent a great variety of hardships, and saw the wild scenery and life of
those remote inhabitants of the far Northwest. The story has an intense interest,
because of its truth and the thrilling incidents related. It is told in a plain, read-
able style, and abounds in illustrations, among which is a steel engraving of the
author, who must have been a lady of uncommon nerve, and quickness of thought
and action. Published by Wilstach, Baldwin & Co., Cincinnati, Ohio.
128 JSditorial A'biices.
Editorial TTotices.
The .Ircrill Chemioil J*(iint,
During an experience of over three years we have had ample opportunity to use
for ourselves, and see the merits of this wonderful paint. It is really a remarkable
production, and deserves to be ranked as one of the great discoveries of the time.
It is a paint of more than usual durability, gloss and permanence of ccrtor. We
have seen it on buildings three to eight years of age, as bright and firm as the day it
was applied, while it has never shown the sligditest sign of wearing, washing or flaking
oflf. The word " Chemical" must not confound it among the numerous humbugs of the
day. [t is by no means a humbug or imposition, but an article of real merit ; as
good a thing as ever was manufactured, and is sold by as honorable men as ever con-
ducted a fair business. It is prepared in a liquid form, ready for use ; is cheap, con-
venient and lasting. A house painted with Averill Paint will last two to three times
longer than any other paint we have yet tried. We speak thus unhesitatingly from
personal experience, for we have used it thoroughly, and are unwilling to permit our
name to be associated with any enterprise but what is perfectly good, responsible and
meritorious.
Twister's Bone Meal.
For the past three years we have used on our fruit grounds large quantities of bone
meal, which has proved of admira1)le efficacy in stimulating a rapid but healthy
growth of all our fruit trees and Strawberry vines. We have increased our use of
it from year to year, and now consider it the best staple article ever used upon our
place. During this time we have never found any evidence of adulteration, and we
have found the manufacturers so honorable in their dealings, and always bound to
keep up the standard of their integrity, by supplj'ing only a pure article, that we
take pleasure in thus commending the name and enterprise of Lister Bros., Newark,
N. J. All our fruit growers, gardeners, and farmers will find in their bone just the
article they need for their orchards and gardens.
Their vitalizing compotind or bone float, is a new article intended specially for
florists and all who cultivate plants in the window, in the green-house, or in the
flower garden. It is immediately soluble in water, and is not only a wonderful
stimulant to all plants, but is a good protection against insects. We assure our
readers that the firm are straightforward ; claim no more than they perform, and really
are worthy of their cordial notice.
3Iot\cy in the Garden.
In this new agricultural treatise Mr. Quinn has aimed to give a good, practical,
comprehensive manual on gardening, for either the family garden or the market gar-
den. It suits our ideas exactly. There is no waste of words, nor material ; every-
thing is pointed, direct ; tells at once, in the shortest possible words, all that is
needed to cultivate garden vegetables successfully and profitably. One admirable
feature is the publication of a select list of varieties of family seeds, worthy of
special recommendation, with other items concerning the quantity of seed, vitality of
seed, and table of distances. There are 268 pages, and about 100 illustrations, and
is published at the very cheap price of §1.50. Issued from the Tribune office.
Ach noivledfjein en is.
The Editor of The Horticulturist would acknowledge with pleasure the
receipt of the following favors : One collection grafts of Russian Apples, from Com-
missioner of Agriculture; Report Iowa State Hort. Soc, from Jas. 3Iatthews; Re-
port Department Agriculture, 1869, from Hon. Horace Capron ; Vick's New Illus-
trated Catalogue for 1871; The California Horticulturist, Nov., 1870; The Adver-
tiser's Handbook, from S. ]M. Pettengill & Co. ; The Phrenological Annual, for
1871, Reports Pennsylvania Fruit Growers Society, 1867-1870; Floral Guide and
Gardeners' Manual, for 1871, from Phelps & Reynolds, Rochester, N. Y. ; Fruit
Catalogue, for 1870, from J. S. Downer & Sons, Fairview, Ky.
1*.^ M
RT
^^ac^U«—
VOL. 26.
MAY, 18T1.
l^O. 299
Profits of Small Fruits.
A.tt Essay delivered before the Jinnual Meeting of the Fennsylvatiin Ft~uit Growers'' Society, at
Chanibersbtirg, J'an. 18th, 1861.
BT WM. PARRY, OF CINNAMINSON, N. J.
(Continued.)
BZA CKJiERRIES.
BLACKBERRY bushes, formerly considered a nuisance, are now highly appre-
ciated and extensively cultivated, many farmers growing more acres of them than
of corn and wheat together.
It is somewhat remarkable that in this age of horticultural progress, there have been
no seedlings raised better than those found growing wild on the commons, without
care or culture. Attempts have been made to get blackberry bushes without thorns,
and some have been found with canes nearly smooth, which created quite a sensation
for a time, and the plants sold readily at five dollars each, until it was ascertained
that the fruit was as much deficient as the thorns. Various colors have been brought
out, White, Red and Purple, which were novelties in their way, but of no practical
value in point of profit to fruit growers.
After carefully cultivating and testing twenty-six varieties, in addition to a large
number of seedlings which were no better than parent stock, I have retained four,
which are all valuable as field crops for market.
Wilson^s Early. — At the head of the list I name Wilson's Early, the largest black-
berry in cultivation, ripening early, close after raspberries, before peaches are in
market ; when fruit is scarce it commands the highest price. Two years since, we
sold the principal part of our crop from ten acres, at fifty cents per quart wholesale,
which were afterwards sold in smaller quantities as high as one dollar per quart.
This variety is being extensively cultivated. One fruit grower in West Jersey,
having seventy-five acres of them in bearing, received the past year $20,000 for the
130 Tro/its of Small IJ'rints.
fruit, realizing a clear profit, after deducting expenses, of §14,000, gathered within
the space of three weeks' time.
Dorchester. — Next in point of profit to the Wilson's Early is the Dorchester, which
has an upright, strong growing bush, tall, erect and perfectly hardy. For twelve
years past they have done well with me, never being injured by the winter even when
the New Rochelles were mostly destroyed. They have always yielded good crops of
fair sized berries, long, shining black, sweet and firm, so as to carry well to market —
and being early, they sell higher than the Kittatinny, New Rochelle, or any other
late ripening blackberry which follows them.
This variety is well adapted to planting in orchards of apple, cherry or peach
trees ; being straight, upright growers, the bushes are less in the way of cultivation
than other varieties that curve out from the rows and obstruct the passage between
them. The protection afforded by the trees, both in winter and summer, is
beneficial.
In 1863 I planted an apple orchard, forty feet apart each way, then a row of Early
Richmond cherries each way between them, requiring three times as many cherries
as apples, then a row of Dorchester blackberries in the rows of trees and between
them, which left them at the proper distance of ten feet apart. They have all done
well ; the apple trees have made a fine growth and borne some fruit ; the cherries and
blackberries have yielded fine crops of fruit every year since old enough. The cher-
ries ripen first, and are out of the way before the blackberries commence, so that the
draft upon the land is not so great as if both crops ripened at the same time. The
earliest and finest Dorchester blackberries raised in our section are grown in old
apple orchards.
In the spring of 1864 I sold a fruit grower near Burlington, N. J., Dorchester
blackberry plants for two and a half acres, which were set among peach trees on new
land, light and sandy, from which the pine timber had been recently removed. In
1865 they commenced fruiting, yielding about enough to pay tillage — the space
between the rows being profitably occupied with tomatoes and other vegetables for
market.
In 1866 they produced, exclusive of commissions $600 00
In 1867 1,300 00
In 1868 2,057 64
Total in three years $3,954 64
Deduct cost of picking 287 64
Leaving 83,670 00
clear profits above the cost of picking and commissions ; or an average of §480 per
acre for each of the three years in bearing.
In addition to the sale of fruit, large quantities of plants were dug and sold, more
than enough to pay for the original stock to commence with. This is a better aver-
age for profit than usual ; and one cause of the large returns was, that blackberries
in many places were badly winter killed, the Dorchesters standing the cold better than
other varieties, and especially when planted in orchards and protected by the trees.
Trqflts of Small Fruits. 131
The Kittatinny comes next in order as a profitable berry to grow for market. It is
perfectly hardy, large, luscious, and very productive. And last.
The New Kochelle, which has been in cultivation longer than the others, but is
now superseded by them.
Blackberries are among the most profitable fruit crops ; their easy culture, hardi-
ness, productiveness, and the high price at which the fruit sells, gives them a great
advantage over others requiring more expensive cultivation. They are not particular
as to soil or location, but will yield well where ordinary crops will grow.
It is not necessary to select the best land for a plantation, as the canes would there
grow so large and rank as to require much time and labor to trim and keep them
within bounds. They need but once planting, as the bushes renew themselves annu-
ally thereafter, by sending up a spontaneous growth of young suckers to bear fruit
the following year ; and with an occasional dressing of manure, they will continue to
give large returns for many years.
I have grown on ten acres, for several years, from 650 to 700 bushels, and one
season 800 bushels, being an average of over seventy bushels per acre, while land
adjoining, equally good, planted with corn, did not yield fifty bushels per acre.
Preparation of the Ground. — The land should be ploughed and harrowed smooth ;
then open furrows eight feet apart ; if muck is convenient, it is valuable to spread
along them ; then set the plants about four feet distant, on the muck. The roots
will mostly follow along the row to feed on the muck, and grow more vigorously than
lateral or side roots. Hence, the strongest and best plants will come up along the
row, nearly where they are wanted to produce fruit the following year. They should
not be left to stand closer together than an average of one plant to a foot in length
in the rows.
Pruning. — The plantation should be gone over several times during the summer,
and the tops of the young canes, as they appear above the bearing bushes, should be
shortened in, so as to keep them at a uniform height of about three to five feet,
according to their strength. This will cause the side branches to grow vigorously
and develop fruit buds near the ground, and interlocking with each other, the bushes
will support themselves, and avoid the necessity of stakes and wires to prevent high
winds from injuring them. The side branches should be shortened in the following
winter or spring.
Plants thus trimmed will yield more fruit and of better quality, than if left to grow
tall and slender, as by nature they are inclined to do.
I have sometimes left a few rows without pruning, and others pruned but little,
which fully illustrated the great importance of shortening in the branches. The
unpruned bushes would bear more fruit than could be ripened on them ; it would
remain red a long time, and finally dry up, being of no value. The best and earliest
fruit would be on the bushes well pruned so as to throw the whole strength of the
roots into fewer berries.
Price of Berries and Profit. — The average price for ten years past of the blackber-
ries we have sold of all kinds, has been fifteen and six-tenths cents per quart, which
gives about the following result per acre :
J32 -^ Jfodel Subzerban Cottage.
2,000 quarts per acre, at 15.6 cents $312
Commissions, 10 per cent c ^31 20
Picking, at \\ cents per quart 30 00
Interest on land 10 00
Use of boxes 10 00
Pruning, cutting, &c 30 80
Net profit per acre 200 00
$312 00 $312
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
A Model SulDurbaii Cottage.
BY GEO. E. HARNEY, ARCHITECT.
THIS house was designed for a lot sixty feet wide on a village street, and should be
placed quite near the line on the left hand side of the lot, leaving the wide open
space on the other side for a road or paths, and grass and trees.
It is designed to be built of wood, with a cellar underneath it, the cellar floor
being only three feet below the surface of the ground, on account of dampness, mak-
ing the principal floor about five feet above the grade. A part of this five feet is
banked up, forming a grass-terrace all around the house, and the balance is made up
by the brick under-pinning.
The veranda is reached by steps, as shown in the perspective, and from it we enter
the front door.
The rooms on the principal floor are : a parlor. No. 2, fifteen feet square, not
including the bay window ; No. 3, a kitchen of the same size ; No. 4, a bedroom 10
by 13, having in it a closet at the side of the chimney; No, 5, a pantry or sink
room ; and No. 6, a store room. The pantry has a pump and sink, and the store
room is fitted up with shelves and cupboards. The stairs are in the front hall, and
under the principal flight is the stairway to the cellar. The second story has three
bedrooms, two good sized dressing rooms, and a convenient bathing room.
The frame is made of hemlock, the walls are filled in with brick laid on edge in
mortar, and the side with narrow, clear pine siding. The roof is covered with hem-
lock boards, and shingled with sawed cedar or pine shingles.
The projection of the eaves is three and a-half feet, and the gables have sawed edg-
ings or verge boards. The inside is lathed and plastered and hard finished through-
out. The floors are of pine floor plank.
The bases are six inches high, moulded, and the window and door trimmings are
four and a-half inches wide, moulded. The doors are all four panelled, one and a
quarter inches thick, moulded on the exposed side, and all have locks and brown
mineral trimmings. The closets all have shelves and drawers and clothes hooks.
The principal story is nine feet high, and the chambers nine feet high in the centre,
and flve feet in the eaves.
The cottage can be built fur $2,500.
Des(^nfor a Suburban Cottage.
133
Design for a Suburban Cottage.
First Floort
Second Floor.
134 JVoted American Trees.
Noted American Trees, Past and Present.
BY THOxAIAS CAVANAGH.
A N interesting volume might be written upon this subject, full of romance and stir-
•^ ring incidents, connected with the early days of the colonies. Many of the old
landmarks have passed away ; time, or the axe of the modern improver, has laid them
low, and in a few years the remaining ones will have departed and be soon forgotten,
or only thought of in traditions of the past. Europe boasts of her lordly trees, and
the skill of her scientific horticulturists is taxed to the utmost to invigorate and
prevent from decaying some noted and historical tree. The oldest tree in Europe is
the Cypress of Somna, in Lombardy. It flourished in the reign of Julius Caesar,
and is, therefore, nearly two thousand years old. It is one hundred and six feet in
height, and twenty feet in circumference. Napoleon, who had no great respect
for sacred things, in his march through Italy, altered the plan of his road over the
Simplon, to avoid injuring this tree; this, in our estimation, atones for many of his
acts of vandalism. A few years ago we could boast of a still more ancient tree, the
Wellingtonia Gigantica ; or, as it should more properly be called, the Washingtonia
Gigantica, the famous big tree of Calaveras county, California. This mighty mon-
ster of the forest has passed away. The Indians had, for ages, been in the habit of
assembling under this tree upon their return from the chase or foray, and while relat-
ing their exploits, the squaws were cooking their food at its base. In course of time
it became so much decayed that it was cut down, in 1850. It measured, in length,
300 feet, a portion of its top having been blown off some years previous. It meas-
ured, in circumference, over 90 feet. One section of it was hollowed out and sent to
the London Exhibition. In this section a party of six sat down and partook of a
repast. The bark of this monster tree was eighteen inches in thickness. Among
the trees now standing in the valley, may be mentioned the Sentinels, 300 feet high
and 69 feet in circumference, and the Pioneer's Cabin, 318 feet high and 73 feet in
circumference. In contrast to this noble tree is the Stunted Pine, called by travel-
ers the One Thousand Mile Tree, from the fact of its being the only tree between
Omaha and Salt Lake City. On this account it is celebrated.
At Roxbury, Mass., an Elm tree one hundred and fifty years old was cut down a
few months ago, it having become so decayed as to be considered unsafe. All means
should have been used to preserve this tree, for on one of its limbs the lamented
Warren hung his scythe when he left his swarth to lay down his life fonhis country.
The past year an Elm tree was cut down in Vermont, with a trunk measuring seven feet
in diameter, two feet from the ground. It was three hundred years old, and made
thirty-six cords of wood. The historic old Elm of Boston still stands, the pride of
the Hub. The storm of 1860 shook it severely, and still later, in 1869, it lost sev-
eral of its limbs. This is supposed to be the oldest tree in New England, it having
been found there a sturdy and vigorous tree, by the founders of the Colony. This
tree would, no doubt, have perished long since, but for the care bestowed upon it.
In front of the City Hall, New York, stood an old Elm tree, not much larger than
its fellow trees, but interesting, from the fact that it had been the gallows upon which
several patriots had met an ignominious fate during the reign of Provost Marshal
JVoted :A.merican Trees. 135
Cunuingbaiii, of infamous memory. This tree was surreptitiously "removed one
niglit, a few years ago, on account of its interfering with the movements of the mil-
itary, when being reviewed by the civil dignitaries of the city. Within a short time
the city has lost another old landmark, the old Varian Buttonwood, which stood on
the sidewalk on Broadway, near Twenty-sixth street. This tree was planted between
the years 1625 and 1630, thus making it two hundred and forty years old. It was
the only surviving one of a row which had been planted by one of the old Dutch set-
tlers. This part, of what is now the centre of the city, was then considered
almost as far in the country as Yonkers is at the present day. The old tree became
decayed, in consequence of its roots being confined by pavements and stone walls,
and was cut down, much to the regret of the old citizens, and the relief, no doubt,
of the proprietor of the house before which it stood. If proper care had been taken
of this tree, it would probably have stood for another century.
The most interesting tree in New York was the Stuyvesant Pear tree, planted by
the sturdy old silver-leg Governor of New York, or New Netherlands, as it was then
called. What is now one of the great thoroughfares of the city, and within a stone's
throw of the noble Cooper Institute, was then the Bowrie farm of Peter the Head-
strong. This tree was imported from Germany in 1647. It blew down several
years ago, and its place is supplied by a scion taken from it. This tree possessed
great vitality, and was sufficient proof that fruit does not degenerate through age.
We have seen it filled with snowy blossoms and fair-looking fruit up to the year of
its fall. hX the corner of Twenty-fourth street and Third avenue, stood, until the
year 1860, a celebrated Willow tree, which had a romantic history attached to it.
A friend of Pope's sent him a box of figs from Smyrna. Upon opening the box he
found a small twig, which he planted. It grew, and in course of time it became a
vigorous tree. When the Revolution broke out in this country, and King George
sent his hirelings to crush it, some of his officers came to make a long stay, calcu-
lating to take possession of some of the conficated estates of the rebels. One of the
officers brought a few twigs of this Willow from Pope's garden at Twickenham.
Upon arriving in this country he soon saw the situation, and as there had been no
confication of land, nor, in fact, any likelihood of there being any for some time, he
presented his cutting to Mr. Curtis, Washington's step-son. They were planted by
him, on his demesne in Virginia, and grew finely. After the war, General Gates
came to New York, and settled on a farm at a place then called Rose Hill. He
brought slips from these trees, and planted one of them at the entrance to his
grounds, and there it stood for eighty-four years. This tree was, no doubt, the parent
stock of a large portion of what is commonly known as the Weeping Willow of this
country.
All readers of American history will remember the romantic incidents con-
nected with the capture of Major Andre. When the brave men, who scorned to
be bribed, seized Andre, they took him under a large Oak tree, that stood by the
side of the post road leading from New York to Albany, and there searched him,
with what results history has told us. Arnold, the principal, escaped to England,
and died without a friend. The very day the news of his death reached this
13$ JVoted Atnerican Trees.
country, this silent witness of one of the most stirring incidents of the Kevolution
•was struck by lightning and killed.
Long Island is not particularly noted for any celebrated trees. The remains of
an old Oak, under which George Fox, the celebrated Quaker, preached, stands
nearly opposite the entrance to Mr. Parson's nursery in Flushing. The trunk of
this tree measures fifteen feet in circumference, and is supposed to be about 300
years old. The old mansion in which Mr. Parsons resides was built in 1661. I*"
was then a large and vigorous tree.
At Stony Brook, Long Island, there is a Buttonwood tree, which one of our friends
measured ; it is thirty feet in circumference. The oldest inhabitant of that village
died some time ago, and, unfortunately, neglected to leave a record of its age.
On Fulton avenue, in the city of Brooklyn, stood, up to a few years ago, a mon-
ster Buttonwood. It was one of the noblest specimens of the Platanus that we ever
saw. This variety of tree was held in great favor by the ancient Romans, and,
underneath its umbrageous branches, Aristotle, Plato and Socrates held forth to the
multitude who assembled to hear the words of wisdom which they uttered. Pliny
tells us of one of these trees, that was of such a size, that one of the Governors,
with eighteen of his retinue, feasted in the hollow of its trunk. One of these trees,
growing near Marietta, Ohio, some years ago, was forty-seven feet in circumference,
four feet from the ground. Our Brooklyn tree was not quite so large when it was
cut down ; it measured eight feet in diameter. Mr. Debroise, upon whose estate it
stood, stated, in 1848, that when he was a boy, it was seemingly as large as it was
at that time ; he was at that time nearly ninety-nine years old. The concentric
rings, by which a tree's age is determined, were two hundred and seventy-five, as far
as we could count ; but we should judge it to be at least three hundred years old.
This tree was, no doubt, the next largest to the Sycamore, which stands on the
Seakonnet channel, and is the largest tree in Rhode Island. It measures thirty-two
feet in circumference, and is the sole survivor of all the trees which were in that
vicinity during the Revolution. The only large trees now standing within the limits
of the city are three Buttonwoods, on the Jamaica road, near our residence. They
are fine trees, measuring twenty-one feet four inches in circumference. These trees
were planted by some of the ancient proprietors, years before the city was ever
thought of, and when the inhabitants lived in blissful ignorance of political rings.
There are two Oak trees in Salem county, New Jersey, which are noble specimens
of this kind of tree. The original growth of timber in this county is nearly gone,
but these Oaks remain to show the wonderful fertility of the soil. One of these
trees, standing on the outskirts of the town, measures twenty-six feet in circumfer-
ence, and is over one hundred feet in height; the other stands in the centre of the
village churchyard, and its branches cover the graves of those who, no doubt, sought
its grateful shade hundreds of years ago.
Among the most celebrated trees of this country, that have passed away, was the
Charter Oak, of Hartford ; the sanctuary of the charter of the good old State of Con-
necticut— in late years celebrated for its wooden nutmegs and hams. This famous
tree was twenty-five feet in circumference, and was, no doubt, over six hundred j-ears
JVoted American Trees* 137
old. Shortly after its fall, relics of it were eagerly sought after, and candor compels
us to say, the supply was equal to the demand. The Cape x\nn Cedar is one of
the noted trees of which New England boasts. Fine specimens of the Cedar are to
be found occasionally along the line of the New England coast ; but this one, in par-
ticular, is worthy of mention, growing among a mass of rocks, with nothing more fer-
tile than sea sand, stunted in form ; but what it lacks in height is more than com-
pensated for by its strong trunk, of over six feet in circumference. The storms of
centuries have passed over it, yet there it stands, a silent monitor to us, of what can
be done under the most adverse circumstances.
At Shiloh, Cumberland county, New Jersey, there is an American Holly — Hex
Opaca — over one hundred years old. When we take into consideration that the
Holly, on account of its slow growth, is rarely used as an ornamental tree, this tree
is remarkable. We hope the day is not far distant when the Holly will be sought
after as a hedge plant.
Many tourists, in passing up the Hudson, have, no doubt, contemplated with inter-
est the ruins of Fort Edward, a portion of which was destroyed by fire in the year
1756. Close to the water gate, on the banks of the Hudson, stood a Balm of Gilead,
or Populus Candicans. It was, up to a few years ago, one of the finest specimens of
this variety of tree in the country. It measured, in 1850, twenty feet in circumfer-
ence at ten feet from the ground. This noble tree was spared from the ravages of
the fire when the fort was burnt. Fort Edward, it will be recollected, was also the
scene of the massacre of Jane McCrea. The tree under which this took place is
passing away. It was formerly a noble pine of five feet in diameter, but the storms
of a century have left it but a shattered relic of the past.
In connection with celebrated trees, it may not be out of place to give a passing
notice to the celebrated Liberty Tree of Boston, which was destroyed by the British
during the siege. It stood on the corner of Washington and Essex streets; a
fac simile of it is sculptured in stone, and placed in the niche of the house which is
built on the spot where it grew. When it was cut down, a soldier, who happened to
be up in the tree, was killed by the fall — a just retribution. The following lines
were written upon the affair :
" Now shined the gay-faced sun with morning light,
All nature gazed, exulting at the sight,
"When swift as wind, to vent their base-born rage,
The Tory Williams and the Butcher Gage
Rush'd to the tree, a nameless number near,
Tories and negroes following in the rear ;
Each, axe in hand, attack'd the honor'd tree,
Swearing eternal war with Liberty;
Nor ceas'd his stroke tiU each repeating wound
Tumbled its honors headlong to the ground;
But ere it fell, not mindless of its wrong,
Avenged, it took one destined head along.
A Tory soldier on its topmost limb ;
The genius of the shade look'd stern at him.
And marked him out that self same hour to dine
Where unsnufTd lamps burn low at Pluto's shrine;
Then tripped his feet from off their cautious stand;
Pale turn'd the wretch — he spread each helpless hand,
But spread in vain — with headlong force he fell,
Nor stopp'd descending till he stopp'd in hell."
138 JVo^ed American Trees.
The old Oak at Long Meadows, Massachusetts, under which, tradition tells us, the
oldest inhabitants made their treaties, thereby securing valuable tracts of land, for
the consideration of a few pewter buttons and elegant strings of pearls and gold
beads, made of glass. This noble old tree succumbed last year to the ravages of
time and want of care on the part of the civil dignitaries of the town. It was prin-
cipally interesting on account of its great age. It measured twenty-four feet in cir-
cumference, and was supposed to be at least 300 years old.
Massachusetts has been particularly favored in the matter of big trees, if in noth-
ing else. In front of the Watson House, at Spencer, there stood, for one hundred
and twenty.-nine years, a noble old Elm. It was so badly damaged by fire when the
hotel was burned, that it had to be cut down. It was interesting from the fact, that
for a number of years a pair of foxes took up their abode in a hollow of the trunk,
and resided there without fear or molestation ; a fact which speaks volumes for the
ubiquitous small boy and the curs of the neighborhood.
Newburgh prides itself on having a big tree. It is a noble specimen of the Balm
of Gilead. It stands on the road to Marlboro. It measures, at two feet from the
ground, nearly twenty-four feet, and its branches extend over one hundred feet.
There is no record as to whether it grew [there spontaneously, or was planted by the
grandfather of that celebrated individual who, it is said, has no memory of when
celebrated local events took place.
An old relic of the memorable battle of New Orleans was cut down a few weeks
ago. This was the historic Pine, on the Isle Aux Pois, and well known as the Eng-
lish look-out tree, from its having been used as a post of observation by the English,
on their retreat from that disastrous field, where seven hundred brave men found,
instead of beauty and booty, only a grave. This tree, being on the line of a new rail-
road, was sold to the proprietors of a saw-mill. It was over one hundred feet in
height, eighteen feet in circumference, and supposed to be two hundred years old.
The Rebellion has furnished us with a few trees which are interesting, from some
event transpiring near them. At South Mountain, on the spot where General Reno
fell, is a noble specimen of the Chestnut. The trunk of this tree is perforated by
hundreds of bullets ; yet there it stands, seeming uninjured, marking the spot where
a brave man fell.
"When Sherman commenced his celebrated march to the sea, he found it necessary,
at times, to make observations of the country, and his scouts always selected some
large tree for this purpose. At Atlanta, there is a large Pine tree, which is. now
called Sherman's Signal Tree. To make it easier of ascent, there are cleats nailed
to the trunk, from the ground to the extreme top — a height of some one hundred and
seventy feet. It measures about fifteen feet in circumference. Many of the trees in
that section are decorated with what the boys in blue called the JeiF. Davis neck-tie.
These were formed by twisting red hot railroad iron around the trunks of large trees.
These collars are not easily removed, and in some years' time, when many of the
incidents of the war will have been forgotten, it will be a matter of much specula-
tion as to the object for which they were placed there. The most celebrated tree of
the present day is the Apple tree at Appomattox Court House, under which Generals
^ JP'tne JExample of Seddlng.
139
G-rant and Lee met to settle the terms which were to send to their peaceful homes
thousands of men who had gone to battle for their country.
A Fine Example of Bedding.
,^^^
IN the Royal Gardens at Kew, near London, England, there was exhibited, last
summer, a remarkable example of arrangement in bedding plants. The illustra-
tion represents a large round bed, at the end of the broad central walk. The central
vase(l) was of a very elegant design, and filled with Pelargoniums, with a tall
140
^ JF^'me £Jxaniple of Seddinff.
Humea Elegans in the centre. Around the base of the vase was a circle of
Perilla(2). This was enclosed within an octagonal-shaped mass of Pelargonium
AValtham Seedling(3). This octagon was again bounded by a double belt of Cen-
taurea Candida inside(4), while the semi-circles extended outward(5) were planted
with Coleus Verschaffeltii. The concave spaces(6) within the semi-circles were filled
with beds of Mrs. Pollock Geranium, which, in themselves, surrounded another
JPlan for a Jf'lower Garden.
small circular bed of Iresine Lindeni(7). A circle of blue Lobelia(8) came next,
and ran around the whole bed, broken opposite to the centre of the semi-circle by
plants of Sempervivum Canariense and S. Arboreum Altropurpureum(9), which
proved too large for their position. Outside the circular bell(8) are a series of con-
centric semUcircles, with their convexities directed outward. The centre of those
Ifestern JVeiv Toi'k MorticuUurat Sociefjf, 141
semi-circles(lO) consists of Echeveria Metallica, and an undergrowth of Alternan-
thera Amabilis and Sempervivum Urbicum, This is surrounded by a belt of Golden
Feather Pyrethrun(ll), which, in its turn, is encircled by a belt of Echeveria
Secunda glauca(12), next to which comes a brilliant and eiFective zone of Alther-
nanthera Paronychioides(13). The sides of the triangular recesses(14, 15) left
between the contiguous semi-circles are composed of Golden Feather Pyrethrun,
while the base of the triangle is formed by the edging(16) of Echeveria Seounda
glauca, which runs round the entire bed, inside the moulding. In the centre of the
triangle(15) are plants of Echeveria Metallica, Sempervivum Californicum, Senecio
Pyramidalis, S. Sempervivum Arachnoideum, Althernanthera versicolor. In alter-
nate beds, Pachyphytum Roseum is substituted for the Senecio.
It is hardly necessary to say that the display was most striking, and would have
been, undoubtedly, more effective, had not the lower and outer portion of the rim
been so crowded. An arrangement a little more simple, with a less variety of plants,
would have produced a more splendid coloring and contrast.
The diameter of the mound is 40 feet, and circumference 120 feet.
Western We'w York Horticultnral Society.
THE Annual Meeting was held at Rochester, N. Y., Jan. 18 and 19, at which
interesting discussions took place. We are able to present condensed reports of
the most interesting topics brought up and discussed. Special attention was paid to
T/ie Marketing of Fitiits.
Judge La Kue thought that fruit growers were often at fault in the quality of fruit
they ship, and recommended the division of all fruit into extra first class and second
class, with the name of the grower upon each package.
Mr. Brooks said Western New York apples were superior to those grown in any
southern locality, and it would pay us to make a selection of the very best and
demand fancy prices for them. He did not believe in the present tendency of run-
ning to Baldwins, Greenings, Twenty Ounce, apples and others that are not of the
highest quality. We should encourage paying a higher price for Spitzenbergs and
fancy apples. He thought second quality apples should be largely in demand for
cooking purposes.
Mr. Hay ward said packing apples was a very difficult process. He had taken great
care in packing, and yet had not always succeeded in satisfying shippers. We had
no encouragement in making extra first class apples. The dealers and consumers will
not take them at a price that will pay for doing it.
Judge La Rue thought that fruit growers who had large quantities of apples should
be their own shippers, the same as grape growers did. He frequently had orders for
brands of grapes which consumers liked. The fruit interest in Western New York
is increasing so that it will in a few years be greater than all other interests. When
he first commenced raising grapes he could not get any market for a ton. Next year
he sold at nine cents, and in two or three years the price went up to thirty cents a
pound. Last year, owing to the increased production, he got only fifteen cents a
142 Western J^ew lor/: horticultural Society.
pound ; but he could grow them for two cents a pound. The cost of production was
not more than one cent per pound.
Mr. Quimhy thought that apples were often much injured by carelessness in pick-
ing. Mr. Robert Bell, on the Hudson, has the largest orchard of Newtown pippins in
the State. The apples are picked with great care, and assorted carefully. His best
apples are packed in small casks and shipped to England, where they sold at 88 and
^10 per half barrel. The 2d quality were sold in New York. The refuse apples
were made into cider and sold for $8 and $10 per barrel to champagne manufacturers.
^Yha^ fruits shnll tve now jtlant extensively for profit ?
Mr. Moore said the Roxbury Russett was one of the most profitable varieties of
apples.
Mr. Beadle said apples were most profitable. He thought there was more money
in apples than in any other fruit.
Mr. Hoag thought that this Society should not confine itself to one single variety.
He had grown all kinds of fruits with profit except the plum. There are very few
varieties of apples, especially in old orchards, that are really profitable.
Mr. Wagner thought that apples and all kinds of fruits could be grown with profit,
but with him grapes were most profitable. He sold at home from four to eleven
cents per pound, and those he shipped, sold from eight to sixteen cents per pound.
The yield averaged four tons per acre.
Mr. Quimby said he raised about 10,000 pounds of Isabella grapes from two acres
which were not in full bearing, and he sold them in Rochester for $500, which he
thought paid well enough.
Oliver Chapin only netted two cents per pound for grapes on the vines. This hardly
paid expenses. His apple orchard had not paid very well. His apple trees planted
thirteen years ago had never brought a crop worth picking. Baldwin trees twenty
years old had only borne three good crops. He had forced the trees as fast as possi-
ble so as to get them out of the way of the borers and of mice. It cost about $1,000
an acre to cultivate an apple orchard twenty years without cropping. He hoped his
apple orchard would pay some time, but it had not yet.
Mr. Chapin had made considerable profit from Bartlett pears — more than he could
have made from ordinary farming or grapes. He only grew the Isabella ; one-half
the seasons he got a good crop. The profit had been good. This year, at two cents
per pound, it paid as well as a wheat crop. The average. price, until this year, was
five cents per pound as they hung on the vines. The profit had been at least one
hundred dollars an acre, which was better than any other crop.
Mr. Barry, of Rochester, thought much depended on the marketing of fruit.
Grapes sold last fall at one and a-half or two cents per pound, while if they had
been kept a month later they would have brought five or ten cents a pound. He
thought Mr. Chapin's apple orchrad was exceptionally unprofitable. He averaged $9
a barrel for pears, which was very profitable. He sold two barrels of Lady apples
at $15 each, and if he could have kept till Christmas, he could have got much more.
He had sold Josephine De Malines pears in winter for as high as $25 a barrel.
Mr. Brooks thought the apple was worth all other fruits, but other fruits should
not be neglected. Fruit growers should not be discouraged by a few failures.
[ "hestern JVen> Tork SbrticuUural Society. 143
Mr. Quimby said the demand for grapes at this season of the year was very great,
and they would command an extra price. He wanted to know how they could be
kept.
Mr. Babcock kept grapes for family use, but not for market. Some varieties would
not keep well. The Delaware and Concord were of this class.
Isabellas, Catawbas, lonas and Rogers' Hybrids are mostly good keepers. If
packed in boxes they should be kept in a cold room — not freezing — and covered with
something to absorb the moisture.
\ Mr. Jones, of Geneva, thought we should study the tendency of the market, so
that we could forecast the probable demand. We are to compete with California
fruits grown at low rates. Here we should turn our attention to long keepers. The
perishable varieties of fruits have not been profitable. The Bartlett is so poor a
keeper that it is very liable to over-production. We should rather select some varie-
ties of pears that were better keepers.
Mr. Quimby said he had succeeded well in growing pears on sandy soil, with sandy
sub-soil. When he bought the place, five years ago, the pears on the place were
rapidly drying from blight. He checked the blight by applying one or two bushels
of leached ashes around each tree. Others had received the same benefit from
leached ashes.
Mr. Craine said that the pear blight had not been so destructive for two or three
years.
Mr. Hooker thought fruit growers should be patient and wait. If Mr. Chapin had
not kept his trees so thrifty he would have realized riiore profit from his apple
orchard. The fruit crop was liable to glut, but the glut could never last long.
Charles Downing said if he could have but one pear it would be the Beurre Bosc.
His second pear would be the Beurre D'Anjou. With him pears had succeeded bet-
ter than apples. The Lawrence and Dana's Hovey were named as additional pears.
Mr. Barry, Jr., said the Josephine De Malines was a very profitable winter pear,
and sells now in New York at $20 a barrel. The tree is a good grower and bearer.
Its fine glossy skin makes it more valuable, though many other winter pears were
nearly as good. He thought a committee should be appointed to test winter pears.
Everybody was planting Bartlett pears, which came into market just at the same
time with Southern peaches, and sold at a low price.
Mr. Moody, of Lockport, sold Beurre D'Anjou at home for the Boston market at
$20 a barrel.
Mr. Beadle said these same pears sold in Boston at $34 per barrel. The tree is a
moderate bearer, and succeeds best on the quince.
Mr. Yeomans said the Beurre D'Anjou did best on the quince. He sold his best
at $20 a barrel.
Mr. Chapin sold all his Bartlett pears last year for $9 a barrel, for his entire
crop. The Duchess D'Angouleme, carefully selected, sold at $20 a barrel. He
thought the Bartlett pears were a profitable crop.
Mayor H. T. Brooks said that apples for marketing should be divided into at least
three classes. Our northern species should sell for twice as much as some other
144 Western Aletp York horticultural Society.
varieties which are not so good. Dealers should pay more for Fameuse and Spitzen-
bergs than they do, and make them as profitatble as the Baldwins and Greenings, By
throwing away all the poor apples, we could get twice or three times as much as we
do now.
Mr. T. G. Yeomans, of "Walworth, said, while buyers paid as as much for poor as
for good, no one would take the trouble to sort them. A fruit grower must either
cheat or suflFer. He never had sold any apples in the local markets. The farmer who
has his apples once opened in the village market can never after get a full price for
them. He believed in mixing two qualities of apples. This year apples are so cheap
it would hardly pay to sort them carefully, as the first quality paid a little more than
the second quality. He shipped to New York, and got better prices for first-class
apples there. Each producer should put his name on the barrels.
Express and railroad companies should be required by public opinion to handle
choice fruits carefully. He had hired a through car to have grapes and pears carried
to New York, but it was overhauled at Albany and the fruit seriously damaged.
Mr. Quimby said that the fruit growers' trials from express companies were such
that he had almost despaired. He had to desist from sending grapes to New York
city on this account. He hoped this Society would pass resolutions.
Mr. Moony — After we have packed fruit more carefully we should insist that it
must be carried better. The trouble was in the method of packing, which was unfair
and dishonest. When the Lake Ontario Shore road is put through, railroad agents
will be more careful and accommodating.
Mr, Thomas suggested putting up fruit in smaller packages, and packing more
carefully. He would pack in half barrels or even smaller measures. He thought
that the discussion on apples was discouraging to those who proposed planting.
Forest Trees,
Mr. Harrison, of Painesville, Ohio, was asked to discuss the propagation of forest
trees. He is largely engaged in propagating the American chestnut.
Mr. Lay thought the subject of cultivating forest trees was not of much impor-
tance here. In the western praries the growth of forest trees was important,
Mr, Thomas thought that crops and fruit crops were benefited by shelter of
woods. At present prices of locust posts an hundred acres planted twenty years
would be worth one hundred thousand dollars. He thought the planting might be
made profitable.
Mr. Harrison said that chestnut trees planted only ten years would grow to a
size of one foot in diameter and a proportionate height. The wood is used for furni-
ture and finishing inside work in buildings. The trees will begin to bear nuts six
years after planting.
Mr. Downing had chestnuts in bearing five years from planting.
Judge Warner said he had planted the Spanish chestnut, which bore in four years
after planting. The common chestnut will grow in twenty years to a diameter of
fifteen or sixteen inches. The common chestnut is not so rapid a grower as the birch
or silver-leaf maple. Trees from a nursery are better for transplanting.
A.mong the If lowers, or Gardening fo7' ladies.
145
Among the Flowers ; or, G-ardening for Ladies.
BY ANNE G. HALE.
Everlasting Flowers and Their Manttgvment.
NO flower garden should be considered complete without an assortment of ever-
lasting or eternal flowers. For their retention of life-like appearance long after
the season of growth, and, if properly gathered and dried, their ability to endure
great exposure, are qualities valuable enough to entitle this modest sisterhood to as
much attention as we pay their more beautiful, yet fragile and fleeting, relatives.
Though devoid of fragrance and of such harsh tissue as to be unsuitable for hand-
bouquets, they are very desirable as vase-flowers, and for wall-decorations and other
ornamental purposes, especially when living flowers cannot be procured, or, from
their susceptibility to decay, would be inappropriate. On festive occasions, within
doors, during the winter and early spring, and in all seasons out-of-doors, the contin-
ual brightness of their presence is always agreeable ; while, for cheering funeral
solemnities, or for adorning the burial-places of the dead, their unwithering proper-
ties, typical of the unchanging love of the bereaved, and also reminding us of the
imperishable glories of the eternal world, seem peculiarly fitted.
The foliage of these plants, of a more succulent nature than their blossoms, with-
ers in drought, and falls at the touch of frost ; hence, its place must be supplied with
other verdure when the dx-ied blossoms are taken for decorations. This the ever-
greens furnish ; the club-mosses — Lycopodiums — suiting well the character of the
everlastings. Lycopodiujyi selago, the fir evergreen, and L. dendroideum — boquet-
green, as it is called, because of its extensive use in making bouquets of fresh flow-
ers— arc the best for this purpose. They grow in damp woods, particularly among
pine trees, and among the roots of hemlocks and spruces. If gathered at any sea-
son, and kept in a damp, shady place, they retain their liveliness of hue as well as if
growing in their native soil ; but the autumn is the best time to secure them — then
they are at maturity. They adapt themselves well to cultivation in moist soil,
in shady situations, if covered with dead leaves through the cold weather.
Great quantities of lycopodium are in demand in
early winter for Christmas decorations, both of
churches and dwellings, and the manufacture of
memorial devices for the cemeteries. These are
generally made entirely of evergreens, or sparingly
illuminated with the dried everlastings ; as in this
crown, where a few immortelles are introduced amid
the green with fine eff'ect. Emblems like this can
be obtained at the flower stores; or their uncovered
frames — wreath, half wreath, cross, crown, anchor,
and other shapes — can be procured at the same place,
and the evergreen and flowers easily arranged upon
them at home by any lady, who will doubtless find it a pleasant task to weave with
her own fingers the verdure she has gathered and the flowers she has herself
10
146 Anionff the J^towers, or Gardetihiff for Zadies.
raised into these oiferings of reverent affection for the last resting-place of her loved
ones.
The frames are of stout wire, or of light wood, sometimes overlaid with silver
paper or tin-foil ; but a coating of green cambric or paper is preferable. To cover a
frame, hold it in the left hand ; place a few sprigs upon it, in a row, and keep them there,
while, with the right hand a cord is passed over their stems, binding them close to
the frame; then arrange another row, in such a manner as to hide this cord and the
stems of the first, as well as the material of the frame ; and so add row after row,
mingling flowers with the green, when desired, till the design is completed. Care
must be taken to place the sprigs in such a position that the surface presents an even
and slightly convex appearance. To effect this it is best to use the lycopodiums in
pieces about two inches in length, and to place but few in each row.
For some floral designs, the everlasting flowers alone are needed. This is the
case with the French memorial wreaths and crosses, which are made entirely of
graphaliums. Adopting the French familiar name, we call the flowers immortelles ;
but they are the same with our common life everlasting, that abounds in rocky
pastures and along country roadsides. Autennaria and Filago, branches of the same
family, flourish in meadows and sterile fields. The most beautiful of these are,
Antennaria margaritacea, the pearly everlasting ; Filago germanica, the cotton
rose ; and Graphalium deairrens, white life everlasting. These all bear transplant-
ing to the garden when in bloom, and, if allowed to remain till the autumn winds
scatter the seeds, multiply abundantly.
The flowers should be gathered in August — ^just before they are fully expanded —
by cutting the stalks of the plants two or three inches below each cluster of blos-
soms. Then, to dry them : knot them, three or four inches apart, head downward,
along a strong cord, and hang this cord across a dark, closed room. The cup-like
form of the pretty rose-shaped flowers is thus preserved, and also their pearly white-
ness. In a week or ten days they will be perfectly dry, and ready to shut away
from the dust and dampness, in some tight box or basket, till wanted. Proceed in
the same manner when gathering and drying any species of everlasting or eternal
flowers, or their buds, and they will be of proper shape and color and retain their
beauty for years. When used, their stems, being naturally too flexible to manage
easily, must be strengthened by binding to broomstraws or small sticks or wires,
with a strip of soft paper or a thread. If the flowers are to be taken singly, the
clusters should be divided, and each individual stem improved in this way.
So prevalent is the custom of decorating graves with memorial emblems made
mostly or entirely of immortelles, that large quantities of the dried blossoms are im-
ported, and can be purchased at any flower store. They can be had in their natural
hue — white ; or, dyed — black, lavender, purple pink, green, orange or yellow — for
they readily take any common dye.
The forms for making this style of crosses, and other designs of immortelles, are
usually of wirework, convex or plano-convex, in the interstices of which the stems
of the flowers are placed, the whole presenting an even surface — as in this cross and
wreath combined. Sometimes two or more colors are used in the same form, being
Groiep of JSyerlastinff I^lowers.
147
Group of Evcflasting Flowers.
148
jimo7iff t?ie I^lo7fers, or Gardening for Zadles.
arranged to suit the fancy, in bands, rings, spirals, or any other shape — as shown in
the annexed figure of a white cross, having a smaller one
of black in its centre. On some forms letters, monograms,
or other designs are made of silver paper, and so con-
structed as to rise above the flowers, appearing as if em-
bossed thereon. All of these designs are for sale at the
florists' stores, and any person can easily fill them.
Acrodiniums — A. roseum, A. albuvi, and A. altro-ro-
seum, producing respectively dark pink, white, and light
pink blossoms, are very pretty for the garden, or for winter wreaths or bouquets.
Plant the seed in May ; buds will be seen in August. These are to be gathered
and dried before fully expanded, and in the manner directed above for all ever-
lastings.
Ammobmm alatum — the winged ammobium of the gardens — needs good soil and
a sunny situation. Gather and dry the same as the acrodiniums. It is a very
desirable plant.
These species of eternals, or everlastings, are excellent flowers to use with im-
mortelles in the fabrication of designs presenting a flat surface, as shown by this
cross. A design of this sort is a fine ornament for
the parlor wall, or for the church at Christmas, or for
a burial-place at any season. If it is intended for
out-of-door use the frame should be of wood, and the
Burface exposed to view covered with lycopodiuiii, or
the bright, green wood-moss ; the French moss, dried
and dyed a brilliant green, may be bought at flower
stores. The lycopodium for this purpose should be
of the most delicate sort— just its tips about an inch
in length — and this or the moss glued to the wood ;
then, immortelles in clusters, cut from their stalk
and glued among the evergreens or moss ; and acroc-
liniums and ammobiums the same, as represented in
the cut. The bits of lycopodium should be overlaid
neatly.
When such a design is intended for in-door decora-
tion, or can be kept from dampness, the evergreen or
moss and flowers can be pasted or gummed to the
frame, which will be sufficiently substantial cut from
book or box board. Any design requiring great
precision and neatness of woikmanship, as this anchor — the emblem of hope — the
beauty of which depends greatly upon the nicety with which its points are finished,
is most properly made of box board, and pasted or sewed, the flowers being immor-
telles, both separate and clustered ; ammobiums and acrodiniums, buds and blossoms.
Gomphrena globosa, the old-fashioned globe amaranth, is as good and as pretty as
it ever was for the garden, as a window plant — growing all winter if taken within
A.inong the J^lowers, or Gardeninff for Zadies.
149
doors before the frost comes, and not kept too warm — or
as a dried flower for bouquets, garlands, and other embel-
lishments. Complaint is often made that gomphrena seeds
do not germinate. This is because of their cotton-like
envelope, from which they should be set free. The best
way to do this is to open each envelope with the point of
a fine needle. The seed then drops out, and should be laid
on warm, mellow soil, a little soil sifted upon it and plenty
of sun given it. If started in window-boxes, these ama-
ranths gain time for abun-
dance of bloom. This should
be done early in spring, and
the young gomphrenas trans-
planted to a garden bed in
May. Set them a foot apart.
Gomphreyia globosa rubra,
with deep crimson flowers, is
the most common, and a fine
variety. G. g. alba, pure
white, is very handsome ; also
G. aurea superba, with orange
yellow flowers. But the white
should be planted some distance— several yards — from the crimson or the- orange, or
its blossoms will get discolored and dingy. The blush-colored and red and white
variegated are sometimes clear and distinct in their hues, but they cannot be depend-
ed upon.
The gomphrenas, especially Gr. globosa rubra,
form an elegant contrast with clusters of im-
mortelles in Christmas or in memorial wreaths.
The accompanying engraving shows how they
should be disposed among the greenery. This
style of wreath, its foundation being a ring of
stout wire, bamboo, ash, or other light wood,
is made in the same way as the crown. (See
illustration near the commencement of this
paper.) The flowers, however, may be either
bound in with the lycopodium, or, after the
frame is finished in evergreen, sewed among
the sprigs. Letters, monograms and long gar-
lands, or " festooning," are made in the same
way. for church or parlor walls
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
150 Seauttfyhiff Country Somes.
Beautifying Country Homes.
MR. WEIDf]NMAN has done excellent service to the public in his superb work
on Landscape Gardening. He remarks, with truth, that "all cannot enjoy the
privilege of a stroll in the king of parks, the Central Park of New York. Com-
paratively, few can view its extended lawns, or its bold cliffs and caves, admire its
triumphs of architectural taste, or note how the skillful artist has converted a vast
plain into hills and dales, and varied it with lakes and cascades, shady founts and
open lawns. But all can make their country homes attractive and lovely, and enjoy
the beauties of nature about their own house and fireside."
The present volume is intended by the author specially to show how -to lay out a
good plan of grounds, with the cost of carrying out necessary improvements, and
the yearly expense in keeping them in good order. Connected with all this are
the details of choosing a good location ; then how to secure a perfect drainage ; next,
the construction of roads, and their grading, and finally how to plant the shrubs or
trees, and how to seed or dress down the lawns. All these points occupy forty pages
of the work, which is divided somewhat as follows :
Seedi7ig down Lawns gives the best varieties of grasses, and he advises selections
as follows :
For Fine Z,aii<ns Frequently jYToivn,
Crested Dogs Tail 10 pounds.
Hard Fescue 4
Slender Leaf Sheep's Fescue 2
Perennial Rye Grass 10
Wood Meadow Grass 2
Rough Stalked Meadow Grass 1
Yellow Oat Grass 1
June Grass 8
White Clover 8
Total 46 "
For Feriunnent Zatvn Fastures.
Meadow Fox Tail . . , 1 pound.
Sweet Scented Vernal Grass 1 "
Orchard Grass 3 "
Hard Fescue 2 "
Sheep's Fescue 2 "
Meadow Fescue 2 •'
Italian Rye Grass 6 "
Perennial Rye Grass 4 "
Timothy 7 "
Red Top 3 «'
Rough Stalked Meadow Grass 3 "
Yellow Oat Grass 1 "
Red Clover 2 "
Perennial Red Clover 2 "
White Clover. 4 "
Total .,..., , , 43 "
!Seautifying Country Somes. 151
This, we suppose, he intends to be the application to each acre, to be sown early
in the fall, say September. As an illustration of a beautiful lawn the enclosed
sketch is introduced, representing the pleasure grounds of H. E. Sargeant, Esq.,
Southampton, Mass.
One of the most valuable chapters is devoted to Drainage, excellent plans being
given for the position of the drains and their outlet. Suggestions are given on the
making of roads, drives and walks, and plans for laying the curves or grades properly.
We are glad to see a chapter on fences, walls and hedges-
He expresses great favor for wire, fences. " They have been rapidly adopted in
Europe, and special attention was paid to them at the late Universal Exhibition in
Paris. Their durability, lightness and little cost, place them above all others.
Being almost imperceptible, they do not obstruct the view on ornamental grounds,
while they possess all the desirable qualities of a good fence. They will soon gain
the favor here they merit."
" Picket fences are objectionable for truly ornamental purposes. They are costly,
requiring, if well kept up, annual painting, frequent repairs, and rebuilding; and if
kept in the best order, are repulsive as well as stiff and unnatural."
We can hardly endorse his objection on picket fences, for there is a kind of orna-
mental architecture in their construction and appearance which more than makes up
for the often time barrenness of duration inside. Wire fences are very suitable as
side divisions of land and lots, but not for frontage purposes. The best of all fences
is a neat, well-trimmed hedge, and we can heartily join him and his commendation
of their use.
Six pages of the work are devoted to a list of trees and shrubs, deciduous and
evergreen, very convenient for reference. Some practical examples are wisely given
upon the important subject of grouping. One of the most beautiful illustrations
of the entire work is that of a vase with a dense back-ground of low shrubs and
latter evergreens, neatly grouped together.
After a few practical directions about transplanting trees and shrubs, he intro-
duces some charming views of water scenery, rustic seats, rustic pavilions, plans
for flower gardens and burial lots. The larger part of the work is occupied by colored
lithographic plates of plans for laying out places of small or large extent, exceedingly
well executed, numbering twenty-four in all. This work fills a special field in vol-
umes devoted to rural ornament. Its colored illustrations are attractive, new, and
representative of many existing examples of landscape gardening. The author esti-
mates and hints — given in a better form than can be gained elsewhere — some prac-
tical idea of what will be the cost of improving and adorning one's home grounds.
We are indebted to the publishers. Orange, Judd & Co., for the accompanying
illustrations, which are selected from the pages of the book.
152 £JdUorial JVbtes.
Editorial Notes.
A. Some among the Evergreens.
A pleasant visit of an hour or two was afforded us lately at the farm and nursery
grounds of Robert Douglass & Sons, Waukegan, Illinois. Mr. Douglass' residence
is surrounded on all sides by evergreens, and windbreaks of various descriptions, and
the contrast betwixt the roaring piercing wind without, and the calm mild air within
the charmed hall, gave a feeling of great comfort. We see here specimens of the
Larch, Norway Spruce, and numerous Pines as ornamental trees. Some of them
are of remarkable growth. The Larch is particularly noticeable for the circumference
of its trunk close to the ground, and the Norway Spruce for its stateliness and
graceful drooping habit.
The firm occupy four farms of twenty-three acres each, in their nursery operations,
of which sixteen acres are under shade, covered over with evergreen boughs sus-
pended by cross bars and timbers nailed to posts set fifteen feet apart over the entire
seed bed. Here were seen young trees one year old of Norway Spruce, Scotch Pine,
Austrian Pine, Larch, &c., in great profusion. The firm raise 10,0U0,0UU plants of the
European Larch every year, and other plants by the millions also not to be counted.
The largeness of their trade may be estimated from the fact that they import and
plant yearly 2,700 pounds of tree seeds.
One peculiarity of the tree trade, which is now assuming vast proportion, is that
so much trade is sought for from the East. One lot of 50,000 plants of the Moun-
tain Ash was ordered as far east as Lowell, Mass., while shipments are frequent as
far as Geneva and Central New York.
This looks as though our Eastern people must have skipped beyond our Eastern
nurseries and found it more advantageous as well as economical to send to the dis-
tant West for their supplies. It indicates, however, a growing taste for tree planting
all over the country, which is very encouraging.
Still another peculiarity we learned, and that is. Pear seed can be imported from
Europe, planted on the Western prairies, and plants raised and sold at about one-
third cheaper than the same can be done in the East.
This nursery of Messrs. Douglass & Sons is the largest in the country, and they
inform us that the trade develops with astonishing rapidity every year.
Western farmers seem to have settled quietly down to the conviction that fruit
trees cannot be successfully and profitably grown without first planting a cordon of
timber trees, belts and screens to protect them, while others seem to recognize the
Tnoney value of trees, and enhance the worth of the property a hundred fold, by the
free planting of ornamental as well as useful trees.
The Messrs. Douglass are doing an excellent work.
Sarry'a Fruit Onrden.
A new edition of this old standard volume will be issued the coming summer.
Mr. Barry has revised it and added much new matter and illustration. It is a work
we have always held in high appreciation, and are glad that its author has at last
been induced to re-issue it in an improved form.
Beautiful Floral Plate.
The new Catalogue of Mr. John Saul, of Washington, D. C, contains a colored
plate of two new Geraniums, Lady Edith and Coleshill. The plate is superbly
colored and printed, and is by far the finest specimen of floral lithograph work we
have ever seen in this country.
Pacific Rural Press,
Messrs. Dewey & Co., of the Scientific Press, San Francisco, Cal., established a
Weekly Family and Rural Joui'nal, in California, about six months ago. Mr. W. H.
Murray, one of the firm, informs us, while here on a visit, that it is a complete suc-
cess, having attained the largest circulation of any Agricultural paper on the coast,
Editorial JVotes. 153
aiid is in a prosperous condition. Without flattery, we express our candid conviction,
that it is the best edited Agricultural Journal of that State, and alive to the impor-
tant subjects of the times. Its pages are always pleasant and instructive. Price
four dollars per year.
Fniliire of Agficttlturnl Journnls.
The Rural Gentleman, Baltimore, Md. The American Farmer, Baltimore, Md.
Changes.
The Southeim Horticulturist is now changed from magazine to quarto form, its
name to Swazey^s Souther7i Gardener, and its price to two dollars per year.
Sfiggs' Colored, Chromo,
sent us by Briggs & Bro., Rochester, N. Y., contains forty-three varieties of flowers.
Some of them exquisitely colored. Really a fine and desirable colored plate. The
new Floral Catalogue of this firm contains 112 pages of closely printed matter, and
is embellished with over 400 illustrations entirely new. It is not generally known
that this firm does the largest business of vegetable seeds in packets for country
stores, in the entire United States. Their business is very profitable.
CUnntlitis Dampierii.
John Saul says, in his Catalogue, that "the seed will be found more satisfactory
than plants. Sow in a warm situation out doors, about the middle of May ; do not
transplant nor attempt to grow in pots. If sown in a moderately rich, dry soil, it
will spread considerably over the ground during the summer, giving a constant suc-
cession of its beautiful flowers, which are large and gracefully drooping clusters of
brilliant self-crimson scarlet flowers, marked with a rich black boss-like blotch in
front."
Nexvs to Florists,
A writer in Harper''s Bazar says, "the florists of this country devote but little
attention to this branch of floriculture (roses.) " This is certainly news to us, for it
is well known that roses are always a staple stock in trade in every well regulated
green-house or floricultural garden. Some even make the culture of roses a lead-
ing speciality, with eminent success. And all admit that roses form one of the most
favorite purchases of ladies, and usually at very remunerative prices.
The same Journal adds: " We would, however, caution our amateur gardeners not to
buy grafted roses, whether as standards, half standards or dwarfs. In Europe it is the
universal practice to bud or graft roses in this way ; the florists do this in order to
multiply a new variety more rapidly than they could otherwise do it, as every bud
will produce a plant. The standards and half standards have a miserable existence
for two or three years, and then die, our hot sun making the tall stem so hide-bound
that at last the grafted top can get no supply of sap through it. Tying moss around,
and similar devices have been tried to obviate this difficulty, but they do injury in
another way, by excluding the air from the stem, which is almost as injurious as the
heat of the sun. Roses budded as dwarf, are as a general rule, a nuisance, for the
stock has a constant tendency to throw up suckers, which, if not immediately
removed, rob the graft ; and even with this care, the continual endeavor of the plant
to expand its energies in this way, is a great drawback to the proper development of
the graft. Some say that many varieties produce finer flowers or stocks than they
do on their own roots, to which we have only to say, that a rose which, with good
cultivation, will not produce fine flowers when grown on its own roots, is not worth
having for general cultivation."
Sow to Ilia tit Pear Trees.
The holes should be a foot deep and three feet across ; they may be mostly made
by the plough or by the spade, as each person finds handiest. For standards twelve
to sixteen feet, and dwarfs ten feet apart, gives sufficient room for them to grow in
154 ^dltoi'ial JVotes.
ordinary soils. It will require 226 trees of the former, and 435 of the latter, at these
distances for an acre. Two persons are required to set trees where there is any
number, one to hold the tree upright ; shake it gently up and down to settle the soil
around the roots, and when the hole is half filled, to tramp it firm ; the other to
shovel in the earth, the fine top soil around the roots, the subsoil on the top ; broken
bones and ashes may be mixed in, but no manure should be allowed to come in con-
tact with the roots ; if it is used, place it on the surface, around the tree. If the
roots are broken or bruised, trim them with a clean cut from the underside, and if
the roots are not entire, prune the top so as to establish the balance in favor of the
roots. Standards should be set two and dwarfs four inches deeper than they stood
in the nursery, so that in the latter case the pear stock may throw out roots and
become standards. — Waterlown Times.
Ctire for the J'eacli Sorer.
M. B. Batehara says, that after two years trial of Carbolic Soap, he feels quite
safe in recommending its use as the cheapest and best method yet found for the pre-
vention of injury by the peach borer, and presumes that it will be equally as effica-
cious for the apple borer. His method of using is as follows: "Take a five pound
can of the soap (costing only $2), and turn it into a barrel one-third full of hot
water ; stir it occasionally and let it stand a few hours, or over night, for the soap to
dissolve ; then fill up the barrel with cold water — or I sometimes use soapsuds from
the kitchen for this purpose. The liquid is now fit for use. It is of a milky appear-
ance, and pungent but not offensive odor. It is too strong for using on plants, but
will not hurt the bark or wood of trees, applied with a paint brush around the base
of the trees, taking care to have the liquid enter all crevices ; it immediately destroys
all the insect-eggs that have been deposited, and any young worms which have not
penetrated further than the bark ; and I believe that for some weeks at least, unless
heavy rains occur, the odor prevents the moth from depositing eggs. One applica-
tion in July or early in August is sufficient. The barrel of liquid described is suffi-
cient for a thousand trees of bearing size, and an active lad can do the work in two
days."
Mr. Bateham's suggestions are valuable, and we endorse his method, but think five
pounds is too much for one barrel ; it had better go over two barrels. If this strong
liquid, in one barrel only, comes in direct contact with any tender roots, it will surely
kill them ; but if dissolved a little more, then it will do the same work of destruc-
tion to eggs, with less danger to the trees.
Snlvin Sx>lendens,
Mr. Henderson says, "this is perhaps the most gorgeous plant of our gardens;
single plants often attain a height of six feet, and nearly as much in diameter, hav-
ing a hundred scarlet plume-like flower spikes ; the color is so intense when seen
against a green background, that it is often visible at the distance of half a mile.
Seeds sown in April in the green-house will flower in July and August."
TjfKly Hanks' Mose.
The Agriculturist says: " The Banksian Rose was so named in honor of the wife
of Sir Joseph Banks, upon its introduction from China into England in 1807. The
plant is a vigorous climber, attaining the height of thirty to fifty feet. Unfortunately
it is not hardy in the Northern States, but our friends at the South can avail them-
selves of it as a most charming plant with which to ornament the pillars to their
verandas. The flowers are only about half an inch across, and grow in clusters,
■which are produced most profusely. It blooms only once a year."
Fritnina Spiraeas,
It may not be generally known that the difi'erent varieties of Spiraeas must not be
pruned at the same period, and that the success in bringing their blossoms to great-
JEditorlal JVoies. 155
est perfection will depend on the time chosen for this operation. We therefore give
the following list, noting the time when to prune, compiled by Mr. Billiard, the best
authority for this species of shrubs :
1. Varieties to prune in early spring : Spiraea Salcifolia Alba, Rosea, Laciniata,
Billiasdii, Longiflora, Canadensis Rosea, Canadensis Alba, Douglasii Floribunda,
Corymbosa, Regeliana, Semperflorens, Fortuni (Callosa), Paniculata, Alba, Folis-
varieg, Excinnia, Californica, Tomentosa, Rosea Grandiflora, Pachystachys, Noblena,
Gontieri, Californica Species Nova.
2. Varieties to be pruned after they are done blossoming : Spiraea Thalictroides,
Sorbifolia, Picowensis, Ariaefolia, Nicondertii, Aquilegifolia, Sinensis, Expansa
Nivea, Lindeyana, Opulifolia, Laevigata, Bella Rosa, Prunifolia, Prunifolia Flora
Pleno, Lanceolata (Reevesii), Reevesii Flora Pleno, Reevesii Nova, Ulmifolia, Pubes-
cens, Crenulata, Cana, Adiantifolia Cbamaedryfolia, Blumii, Kamoon, Kamoon
Spicata, Rupestris, Alpina, Oblongifolia, Amoena, Hypericifolia, Procumbens,
Grandiflora (Exocordia), Speciosa, Confusa, Thunbergii, Hookeri. — The Ruralist.
Stmivherries.
Louis Ritz mentions the following as the best of his collection, and also prescribes
the soil best suited for their culture :
Fillmore, P. — Large to very large ; productive ; dark color ; showy ; sweet ; rich
apricot flavor; rich stiff clay.
Boyden's No. 30, H. — Large to very large ; very healthy plant ; productive ;
sprightly; acidulate; juicy; rich sandy or clay loam.
Chas. Doioning, H. — Large, productive, juicy, sweet, excellent ; rich clay loam,
rather compact.
TriumpJi De Gantl and Jtonieyn's Seedling.
I place these two, as similar in every respect, under one heading ; the only differ-
ence is, that the Romeyn proves a better bearer, under every treatment, than the
Triumph. Large, productive, juicy, with a rich, peculiar, aromatic flower ; rich clay
loam.
Kentucky, H. — Very^ late ; productive ; large ; acidulate ; not high, but good
flavor; clay loam.
Napoleon 111., H. Large; productive; slightly acidulate; very aromatic; rich
clay loam.
I speak thus far of amateurs who want to plant several varieties. Some of our
readers, however may only be able to allow a small space to a strawberry bed, and
they may do better with one variety. If their soil is sand with sandy loam, they
may plant the Agriculturist or the " Green Prolific," the former being of rather
better flavor, the latter more acid, but at the same time more showy and immensely
productive. Pistillates should be planted among hermaphrodites, and the proportion
should be ten of the latter to one hundred of the former. It is immaterial whether
they stand close or ten to forty feet distant, as the wind will carry the pollen. — Louis
Ritz.
Borders for Cold Crrnx>eries,
Dr. Nichols, of the Boston Journal of Chemistry , made an analysis of the ash of
home cuttings of a Black Hamburg Grape vine, with the following results : Potash,
29 parts in 100 ; phosphate of lime, 19 parts in 100; carbonate of lime, 13 parts in
100; soda, 3 parts in 100 ; magnesia, 4 parts in 100 ; with small quantities of iron,
manganese, silex, etc. The fruit evaporated to dryness, and ignited to obtain the
ash, gave of — potash, 34 parts in 100 ; phosphate of lime, 11 parts in 100 ; carbonate
of lime, 9 parts in 100, with small amounts of earthy substances. From these results
he finds mineral food, which the vine and its fruit require in the largest quantity, is,
first, potash ; second, phosphoric acid ; and, third, lime. For a border of thirty vines,
at least a barrel of bone dust and six to eight of ashes should be used ; about three
156 .Editorial JVbtes.
pounds of Epsom salts (sulphate of magnesia) and five of sal-soda (carbonate of soda)
will be required for each barrel. A layer of soil should be placed between each two
layers of the bone, ashes and lime. The layers of ashes should be thicker than of the
bone dust.
Windo%v Gardening.
A lady gardener says : " No plants ever gave me more pleasure, for winter flower-
ing, than the maple geranium and the crocuses and hyacinths I had last winter.
I place part of my hyacinths in glasses, with well water enough to just touch the
bulbs, and let it remain until the roots reach the bottom of the glass, unless it begins
to look woolly, when I change it ; then I bring them out of the dark cellar and keep
them in a room that will not freeze, changing the water once a week, and being care-
ful to have it of the same temperature put in as that removed. The remainder of my
hyacinths and crocuses for winter I put in boxes, small pots, etc., containing sandy
soil, and let them remain until the roots are well started ; then bring them up ;
water occasionally with liquid manure, and after the hyacinth trusses appear, sprinkle
daily."
Grimes' Golden A^pple.
This is growing immensely in popularity. Nurserymen tell us that the stock is
rapidly sold and orders are unlimited. This is very flattering to the introducer, and yet
not more than it deserves. The fruit is certainly excellent — a good keeper, and of
good quality. Those who want to plant a tree sure to bear had better look after this.
Profits of Chestnut liaising for H'uts nnd Timber.
An acre of chestnut trees planted for timber will accommodate about 1,600 trees.
In ten years' time they will be worth from $1 to $3 per tree, or 61,600 to $5,000 per
acre. But if planted for nuts, at 20 feet apart, there will be 100 trees, each good to
yield one-half bushel to each tree, or, at $5 per bushel, $250 per acre. Add to this
the value of each tree for timber purposes, and in less than ten years' time a fortune
is available for any enterprising timber planter of 50 or 100 acres, of from 825,000
to S100,000. Why are our people so slow to appreciate the necessity and profits
of forest tree culture ?
Select Small, in Preference to'^Tiorge, Evergreens.
The growth of small as compared with large trees, transplanted at the same time,
produces some very curious results, which might puzzle those not suflUciently familiar
with horticultural science. We have a good example at hand. An experienced hor-
ticulturist says : " About twelve years ago a large evergreen was transplanted by a
friend of ours into his garden. It was about twelve feet high, and great care was
taken of it. At the same time we set out a small one, about eighteen inches in
height. Now, what do you think is the difference between the two trees at the pres-
ent time ? The large tree has grown about four feet. The small one is twenty feet
high. The large one has become the small, and the small the large. It is a good
illustration of the imprudence of selecting too large trees. If we could plant seeds
of the trees we desired, in the places where we wanted them to form an orchard,
such trees would be more healthy and much longer-lived than transplanting trees
can be ; but this is a condition of things not easily attained. We should, therefore,
adopt the nearest approach to it, and set our young, thrifty plants, with all their
fibrous roots untrimmed, that will adapt themselves to the conditions in which they
are placed, and that will, in the coui'se of time, form a valuable orchard. Could we
take up large trees with their roots, and a ball of earth with each tree, then such
trees would not meet with a check, and a gain of time would be the result; but this
is seldom the case, and the better course is to plant out small specimens."
Double Purple Wistaria,
Francis Parkman says, in The Journal of Horticulture: "Several years ago we
received from Japan a small plant in a pot. It was without name, but was evidently
£^ditoi'iccl JVotes. 157
some species of Wistaria. It grew with the greatest vigor, till its longest shoots
measured more than thirty feet from the ground. Last season it bloomed for the
first time. From the character of its foliage we had supposed it to be the white
variety of W. sinensis, and we were almost as much surprised as gratified when we saw
it hung with long pendent clusters of perfectly double flowers, a shade deeper in color
than the common single Wistaria. In short, we found ourselves in possession of a
novelty of the first order, which, so far as we know, has not yet appeared in the cata-
logues of any European nurseryman. The depth of the color of the flowers, the
compactness and length of the clusters, and the vigorous, hardy character of the
plant — which has stood three winters totally unprotected, and without the slight-
est injury — make it an invaluable addition to the list of hardy climbers."
Grnfthiif Grape Vines.
At a recent meeting of the Horticultural Society of Western New York, D. S.
Wagener gave a description of the method he adopts in grafting the grape vine. He
grafts from early spring till last of June. The grafts are cut early the previous
winter and packed in saw-dust. He grafts a little below the ordinary surface of the
ground and covers with earth. The moisture of the soil is preserved by two inches
of mulching. The cleft is sawn in without splitting. He has set the Delaware and
Isabella roots with good success, and in one instance had a erop of grapes the same
year. A strong stock desirable, such as Isabella, Catawba and Diana .The Rebecca
does better on a strong stock than on its own roots.
I'lant More Standard JPears) and I^ess Divarf.
A correspondent of the N. E. Home^stead writes as follows : "I was told that
Louise Bonne and Duchess were better on quince, with some others, as Napoleon,
d'Amalis, Belle Lucrative, etc. I purchased them and set them carefully, mulched,
hoed and pruned, and ate of the fruit. I set at the same time standards of Bartletts
Flemish Beauties, d'Anjous, Seckles, Virgalieus, Winter Nellis, Vicars, etc. Now,
after fifteen years, where are the dwarfs, and where are the standards ? Most of the
dwarfs have gone under, and most of the standards are doing well, and one of the
standards is worth to-day more than all the dwarfs I ever planted, and I have set
hundreds. I have budded dwarfs, and bought dwarfs, and fine ones, too ; have given
them the best ground and best care, yet failed almost entirely. I say, Mr. Editor,
I have no patience with a dwarf in fruit culture or mind culture ; the return is
meagre and unrequiting. I have tried dwarf peaches, cherries and apples; all are
delusive. Apples dwarfed might pay if the fruit would bring |5 per lushel, for they
seem hardy. Now for the standard pears. I have had some seventy-five or eighty
varieties in my garden. The Bartlett, Flemish Beauty, Napoleon Rostiezer and
some others are scarcely more tardy in coming into bearing on their own stock than
on quince. Just give them a good start and they will go ahead, outlive us and the
next generation."
Editorial Note. — Dwarf Pears in the Middle and Southern States are a great suc-
cess, and very profitable. In the Eastern States, we have no doubt, standards are
far more satisfactory than dwarfs.
Gardening in Germany.
Erfurt is called the " Garden City of Germany." The area devoted to horticul-
ture in and around that city is 1,200 acres, of which 400 are market gardens. There
are twenty-seven men who do a wholesale trade, besides 120 market gardeners, who
employ, in all, over 500 hands. Over 300,000 catalogues and price lists are annu-
ally printed.
Cariosities of Plant Iiife.
A farmer once noticed that some elm trees, growing by the roadside, sent their
roots into his wheat field, and robbed it of its best fertility. To obviate this, he
dug a deep trench between the elms and his field, and all the roots running in the
158 Editorial JVotes.
latter, were chopped through. However, in vain. The severed roots now struck
downward on this side of the trench, reached the bottom, and undermining it, passed
through the clay and came up on the other side of the loam, and thus regained for
themselves their former domain, the wheat field. The farmer did not make a second
attempt ; the elm trees with their knowledge amazed him, and he resigned to them
exclusively that strip of his field.
New Iiilles.
The Florist and Poniologist speaks of several new lilies. " One of them is the
L. tigrinum Fortunei, introduced by Mr. Fortune from China. This is remarkable
for its vigorous growth, and its immense head of flowers, which branches out in three
successive series from the main stem, by which the blossoming season is prolonged.
Another is the L. tigrinum Splendens, introduced to public notice by M. Van
Houtte, and which in its taller stature, and ample branching inflorescence, bears
considerable resemblance to the Fortunei, but is said to difi'er somewhat in color,
and in the fewer and more prominent spots on the perianth. Both are grand addi-
tions to the groups of bulbous plants."
Apples hi the North-Wcst,
A correspondent of the Chicago Tribune says : Last week I spent half a day in the
Chicago apple market. The result was that, out of more than 2,000 of known named
varieties, two varieties stood prominent, nearly monopolizing the market ; the Baldwin
and llhode Island Greening, or Grreening for short. Esopus, Spitzenberg, Northern
Spy and Roxbury Kussett, came next. Five varieties composed the list. An occa-
sional barrel of Yellow Bellflower, Black Gilliflower, etc., composed the entire col-
lection ; not twenty in all. I did not see an Illinois grown apple in the market,
Michigan and New York supplying the market. In those States the crop was an
unusually good one the past season, while west of the lakes the crop was of an
inferior quality, and has been used to supply the local demand. The prairie orchards
would have shown Jonathan, Winesap, Ben Davis and Willow Twig. If the great
apple regions of New York and Michigan can afford to grow only tine varieties for
market, we can certainly be content with what we have, until others shall have been
tested. The man who plants the new varieties, as a general thing, must buy his
apples. It is this mania for new varieties that has done more to ruin A\ estern
orchards than all other obstacles put together.
Mow to destroy Insects in your Orchards.
The address of J. W. Robson before the Jo Daviess County (Illinois) Horticultu-
ral Society, has some excellent points relating to orchard culture, and especially the
depredations of insects, and he recommends every orchardist to observe these few
details every season :
" 1st. P^ncourage the black-cap titmouse and the hairy woodpecker, which destroy
the insect in the pupa state.
2d. Light small bonfires in the orchard, on dark nights, after the sun has set.
This will destroy the moth.
3d. Pick up wormy fruit as soon as it falls, run it right through the cider mill, or
throw it to the hogs to be eaten.
4th. Strips of woolen cloth tied around the trunks when the trees are in bloom,
and examined twice a week, will destroy those that have escaped and crawled there
for shelter. They will be found generally in a transformation state, between worm
and pupa.
5th. Place a bunch of weeds or soft hay in the crotch of the tree at the same
time, and examine frequentl3^ Y^ou have only to look at these dishes of beautiful
fruit, to see how this insect destroys the appearance and lessens the market value of
the apple.
Brother Horticulturists, up and be doing, bearing in mind that eternal vigilance
is the price of handsome, perfect fruit ! "
jE^ditorial JVotes. 159
Distance for Grape Vines.
The proper distance apart to plant grape vines will depend very much upon the
system to be adopted in pruning and training. We think that eight feet by six is
enough room to give any variety ; but others think diiferently, and advise planting
sixteen feet apart. If a man owns plenty of land, and wishes to count acres of
vineyards instead of tons of fruit per acre, then wide planting is just the thing for
him to do. But we have always noticed that the more experience a man has, both
in study and practice, the less likely is he to spread a few vines over a great deal of
land. Plant close, and prune close, and thereby receive an early return on your
investment, and at the same time keep your vines under control. This advice is
given because asked for ; but it would be well for you to expend a few dollars in
books on grape culture, and study principles as well as the practice of the various
writers on this subject. — Ex.
Ohio Everhenring Maspberry.
A writer in The Country Gentleman vindicates the Ohio Everbearing Raspberry.
He says: " Its habits of bearing moderate crops during the latter part of summer,
caused it to be designated 'Everbearing.' The everbearing varieties have not
generally given satisfaction to profit-seeking cultivators. Had it been known simply
as the ' Ohio,' and been planted and cultivated for one crop early in the summer, as
with the Doolittle, Philadelphia and others, it would have made for itself a reputa-
tion second to no other variety for hardihood and productiveness. We have grown
it for some fifteen years, and it repeatedly yielded at the rate of one hundred bushels
per acre, and then carried a moderate crop later in the summer on the current sea-
son's growth of cane. We planted three feet apart in the row, and rows seven feet
apart ; cut the canes back in the spring to three and a-half feet, and secured to
horizontal poles. For their yield during the regular raspberry season we put them
against all others — then we have the summer and autumn yield beside."
Another writer in the Ohio Farmer says: "I was reading somewhere an opinion
expressed that the everbearing raspberry is a poor bearer, but my experience does
not accord with this, because for the last ten years I have had a full supply for three
Successive months, save the season just past, when the crop was greatly injured by
the drouth. I believe that twenty hills of the everbearing raspberry will supply any
common family. I have tried eight or ten other kinds, but find none so good as this.
The fruit is black, well flavored, and bears from the last week in June until the
middle of October."
Xhe Trophy Tomato.
Greorge W. Wilson, of Ohio, writes to The Rural New Yorker: " Last spring I
received a package of the Trophy Tomato seed, which were planted in a hot-bed,
and the plants grew vigorously. The fruit ripened very early. One tomato, not
the largest on the vines, measured sixteen inches in circumference. Most of the
tomatoes are smooth as an apple and very solid, containing few seeds, and cutting
like a round of beefsteak. To sum up — the vines are vigorous growers and enor-
mous bearers, while the fruit is large and smooth, ripening unusually early and
being very solid, so that little goes to waste in cooking ; and in flavor it is all that
can be desired."
Killing Currant Worms,
Mr. J. L. Stickney, of Wauwatosa, Wis., says a neighbor applied Paris Green to
his bushes. It was mixed with four times its weight of flour, and very thoroughly
applied ; it killed the worms, sure enough, but it killed the plants also. He adds,
however, the following comments :
Should I have occasion to again use the Green, I should mix with ten or fifteen
times its weight of freshly slacked lime, or if this was not at hand, with fine ashes,
and apply more sparingly. The Green should, of course, only be applied to young
plants where there is no fruit.
When circumstances are favorable, very good execution may be done by shaking
160 Editorial JVhtices.
tlie worms on the ground when the sun is shining very bright and warm, say from
eleven to one o'clock on a cloudless day. The heat of the soil and of the sun will
quiet them in one minute. This can only be done where the soil is free from weeds
or grass, and where the currants themselves do not shade too much. The worms are
very delicate and tender, and the heat of the soil and sun is intense — decidedly more
than they can bear. With heat, Paris Green and Hellebore, and with early and
earnest attention — this last most important of all — we have little to fear from cur-
rant worms.
When we recall our currants from the fence corners and neglected places, and plant
them as they should be, in a block by themselves, we may easily confine fowls among
them before the fruit matures and after it is gathered. These will effectually
destroy all injurious insects.
The Green Prolific Strtnvberry,
The credit for this should have been given to Seth Boyden, of Newark, N. J.
Our October article had one too many varieties in its list. The Green Prolific Straw-
berry is one of our favorite varieties, grows finely on sandy soil, and we have never
heard of an instance where it failed to yield a crop. Sometimes its flavor is quite
Bour, but when well ripened, it has sub-acidity very agreeable. It is one of the
most creditable of the Boyden seedling, and, with the Agriculturist, and No. 30,
he might well feel proud of having introduced some new and worthy fruits in the
horticultural world.
Todd's A.i)ple Ctilturist,
With the exception of a few instances of unnecessary prolixity of description, and
the habit of giving fi-ee notices, or advertisements of sundry agricultural implements
and warehouses, which no author ought to introduce into his works, this volume — The
Apple Cidturist — is not only the best of Mr. Todd's works, but is the most practical
work on Apple culture yet published in this country, and well adapted to the use of
every farmer. The publishers (Harper & Bros.) have done their work handsomely,
filling it with a profusion of engravings of great interest, and a material help to the
body of reading matter. If the faults we have named could be corrected, we see no
reason why it should not be acknowledged of a meritorious rank with any of the
standard agricultural publications of the day.
Editorial Notices.
Every JFoinnn ller Own J'^lower Gardener.
A charming little book on Flowers and Out-door Work for Ladies, has been writ-
ten by " Daisy Eyebright," and the manuscript placed in our hands for publication.
The author, within a space of fifteen to twenty chapters, talks pleasantly of Gera-
niums, Fuchsias, Ribbon Beds, Bulbs, Ornamental Grasses, Roses, Flowering Shrubs,
Climbing Vines, Ornamental Plants, Garden Vegetables, and a variety of other sub-
jects. It is intended especially as a help to ladies in out-door gardening, and can
hardly fail to be universally liked. Printed in excellent taste, and will be issude
from office of The Horticulturist, June 15th. Price, 50 cents.
Tich's Flornl I'Uite.
We have been favored with an elegant Colored Floral Plate, handsomely framed
in black walnut, from the cordial hand of James Vick, Esq., Rochester, New York.
It is the finest of all his achievements in this direction to the present time, and most
admirable in conception and execution. The flowers are brought out into startling
distinctness, and grouped in the most tasteful positions. It hangs in our office in a
prominent place, and attracts the special attention of every visitor. It is no wonder
that the public are so liberal patrons of so liberal a man. His issue of Catalogues
for the Spring campaign was 185,000, and 125 hands were employed in filling orders
for seeds. Next year he expects to issue 250,000 catalogues.
%
%
'VY
^■^KSfvCv^
Sfft^-
YOL. 26.
JUNE, 1871.
]^0. 300.
Among tlie Flowers ; or, Gardening for Ladies.
^ BY ANNE G. HALE.
(CONCLUDED.)
Eoeflastin,g\ Floioers and Their 3Lnnageiuent.
Helichrysum (called by some Grafhalum apiculatum) is the golden eternal flower,
which, with the globe amaranth and white satiny seed-pods of the honesty — Lzaiaria
hieyinis — formed the whole list of flowers for winter decorations when our grand-
mothers were girls. Now, besides the old Helichrysum hracteatum, whose sunny
face is as radiant as ever, we have over a dozen varieties, in all shades of yellow,
and in yellow and brown, yellow tipped with crimson, crimson-, rose, white, white
tipped with rose, and white with yellow centre ; single, semi-double and double —
some very large and full — like great balls of gold. Of these, H. composituni mori'
strosum is the most elegant variety, with its large and full blossoms, some plants
bearing pure white, others rose, and, others still, red or yellow. These make a fine
show in the garden. They need a rich soil, and, like the gomphrena do best started
in the house or in a hot-bed. Seeds produced by the florets of the ray (the outer
row of petals), as in all composite flowers, are more likely to yield double flowers.
This variety grows to the height of two feet.
The dwarf helichrysums, from half a foot to eighteen inches high, are, in general,
less hardy and of delicate colors. H. nantivi atronangiLineum is, however, an excep-
tion, with its brilliant crimson flowers. H. minimum and H. brachyrrhincum are
exceedingly bright, but of tender habits. H, chrysocephalum stricimn is a splendid
plant, with an abundance of gorgeous orange-yellow flowers, rather small, but very
desirable. This variety stands three feet high at maturity. The Helichrysums need
the same treating as gomphrenas. Their buds are particularly beautiful if dried in
several stages of growth. Both these and gomphrena buds are very cfi"ective, in con-
11
162
Amojiff the If'towers, or Gardening for JLadies.
nection with their blossoms, for wreaths or for baskets, as may be seen in these little
Swiss flower baskets, where
several species of dried
everlastings are prettily
grouped with green moss.
This is the wood^moss,
that grows on the bark of
old trees, near their roots,
and on rocks in moist situations, mostly in the shade
of trees. GHet this in May or June^ wash it from all impurities, and spread it to
dry in the dark ; then keep it from light and air till used ; but, even with the
greatest care, it will fade in the course of a few months.
Its color can frequently be restored when faded, and also that of the faded
moss that is found in autumn or early spring, by subjecting it to a hot bath of weak
" crystal blue," such as is used for laundry purposes. But to brighten any amount
of moss, it should be thoroughly cleansed from dust, etc., then partially bleached, by
lyino- an hour in a solution of chloride of lime (an ounce to a pailful of water), hot,
rinsed immediately in clean, cold water, and passed through a hot bath of crystal
blue, to which sufficient (a few drops) muriate of iron has been added to make it a
good green. French moss already dyed can be obtained of the florists, but our own,
thus treated, is excellent.
Pretty pictures — bas-reliefs — are made by cutting these small baskets in halves,
and gumming each half to card-board, then filling them with moss and everlasting
flowers, and gumming those also to the card-board. Thus two baskets are repre-
sented as if resting against a white back-ground. The body of such baskets may
be filled with soft paper or cotton, the moss and everlastings resting upon and glued
or gummed to the rim, and also at the back to the card-board. Glassed and framed,
these pictures arc cheerful ornaments for the mantel or the walls of any room.
Helipterum, the " sun's wing" of
our flower-border, is a favorite with
many, because it grows with as little
care as a daisy. Low in growth — less
than a foot — but thickly studded with
bright yellow or white blossoms, that
hold their color well. H. Saiifordii has
clusters of golden yellow ; H. anthe-
moides has white, and a recent variety,
H. coTynibifiorian, is said to produce
particularly fine white star-like flowers.
The helipteruras are used in com-
pany with gomphrenas, helichrysums
and other eternals in the annexed
illustration. The combination of so
many species, when their various colors arc properly contrasted, makes a very
oimonff the JPlowers, or Gardenhiff for Ladies.
163
handsome display. A wreath of this sort, made like that on the previous page, is
suitable for a grave, or for a parlor window at Christmas.
If small and delicate sprigs of lycopodium be used for verdure, or if moss be sub-
stituted for it, and the wreath be made in the manner directed for covering the
anchor, it serves admirably as a frame for a picture — a photograph likeness, for
instance.
Rhodanthe., though rather a tender plant, is considered by most cultivators the
handsomest of all everlasting flowers. Its half-blown buds are bell-shaped, and its
colors, varying from purple and violet to white, sometimes with deep purple centres,
at others with a golden disk, give it a charming appearance. The seed should be
started within doors, and the young plants set in rich, mellow soil. Rhodanthe
Manglesii, an Australian variety, has many admirers ; is often kept as a parlor plant
through the winter, growing well with the goraphrenas. R. at ros an guinea hsi?, hand-
some foliage, and blossoms with claret centres ; in some flowers dark violet and
maroon, the rays — the outer scales — being of a brilliant crimson. R. maculata is a
a hardy variety, with light purple, and R. maculata alba has elegant silvery white
ray-scales, with yellow disk — very desirable flowers to be used in the making up of
winter flower-baskets, the beautiful colors and graceful forms of their buds and half
open flowers being a charming addition to any collection, as we see in this handsome
Christmas basket — a very appro-
priate gift for an invalid's table,
or a fine ornament for a corner
stand in the parlor. These bas-
kets, lined with silver paper or
tin-foil, and then filled with saw-
dust or dry sand, hold the stems
of eternal flowers, mosses and
dried grass-flowers in a steady
position, just as they are arrang-
ed, for any length of time. If in a situation exposed to dust or wind, they should
be kept under glass.
Polycolyvina Stuartii is a trailing everlasting, quite hardy for garden growth ; is
used with others of the same class on account of
its showy white flowers, in these winter baskets.
Some baskets are mounted on stands. Our illus-
tration shows the polycolymna, its trailing
branches drooping from the brim. Any neat
basket, such as ladies use for sewing materials,
looks pretty, and is a very convenient receptacle
for winter flowers and grasses, with lycopodium
or moss to bring the various forms and hues into
good position ; the color of brown baskets dis-
plays the white and yellow tinted blossoms to
better advantage than the ordinary neutral tint of wicker-work.
164
^nionff the F'lowers, or Gardenhiff foi" Zadies.
^^&MkM.
Waitzia aurea and Waitzia grandijlora — new varieties of this class of flowers —
though tender, requiring a start in the hot-bed or in a window box, are elegant
plants for the garden ; and, if the blossoms are cut from the parent stock early, are
of a clear, golden yellow. W. grandijlora produces an abundance of very handsome
clusters of flowers, that must be gathered before they are fully expanded, and dried
as directed for graphalinms.
Xeranthemum amnium, the purple everlasting, is always wanted for winter wreaths
or bouquets, and seems never out of place in a funeral garland, for its exquisite purple
tints harmonize well either with white or gold color. All the varieties are easily reared
every summer, from seed that germinates quickly in a warm, light soil. Though
growing only to the height of ten or twelve inches, they yield a profusion of flowers,
large and double. X. alia, the double white variety, is very handsome ; also
X. coBndenvi, with pale blue blossoms.
From these difi'erent species of everlastings and their several varieties, when nicely
dried, a most elegant bouquet can be made. Examine carefully this representation,
and note what variety of form and figure from bud
and blossom, clustered or singly, the comparatively
small range of everlasting or eternal flowers supplies.
With the simple greenery of lycopodium and wood
moss adding their peculiar charms, a more tasteful
ornament for the mantel or a corner bracket cannot
be devised. To arrange a bouquet like this, present-
ing only a front view — a flat bouquet, as it is styled —
a number of wires or bare twigs, of various lengths,
must be provided, to each of which the evergreen
and the flowers are bound, as the fancy directs, in
small portions of each, beginning at the top with the
most slender moss and finest lycopodium. Cover
the twigs (if forked and branching, so much the bet-
ter), for an inch or two with the green; then fasten
them together securely at the base, spreading them,
to make the group somewhat fan-shape ; then proceed
with the smaller buds and blossoms for the outer
flowers of the bouquet, and the larger and more showy for the centre ; tie
each securely ; and, filling all vacancies with moss, its delicate fronds also edging
the outlines of the group, as you weave in and tie the stems, you will at last have
the result here portrayed. Fill a vase with sand, and insert the bare ends of the
\r^\g^ — two inches should be left uncovered — and your bouquet has a firm support.
Ornamental grasses are frequently introduced into bouquets of eternal flowers, and
the airy grace of their delicate blossoms has a most charming efi'ect ; but we must
reserve their consideration for another paper.
It has been shown that all these articles of decoration can be made at home, and
that all the materials used in their construction can be easily procured, while the
flowers, after beautifying the family garden, can be preserved a long time in these
Jf'loral JVoies. 165
tasteful designs. But there is no dangci- of this being done to the extent of inter-
fering with tlie trade ; were greater interest awakened in tliis, as in other horticul-
tural matters, our florists would have occasion to renew yet oftener their orders to
England and France for floral designs, as well as for seeds and plants.
Floral Notes.
stimulant for Flowers,
ONCE a week it is well to use a little stimulant. Eain water, so refreshing to
summer flowers, contains considerable ammonia, and can be used freely. A small,
two or three ounce bottle of spirits of ammonia may be dissolved in a large pailful
of water and this applied to the plants. Another plan is to dissolve an ounce of
pulverized carbonate of ammonia in one gallon of water ; this is very stimulating.
Once in two weeks, guano water may be used (one table spoonful to a pail of water),
and the plants will grow more thriftily. Chicken manure dissolved in water is
excellent. It is weU to keep the soil in the flower pots loose and open. A common
hair pin, used daily, will stir the earth sufiiciently.
To Restore Frosted House Flants.
An exchange says: "Don't hurry them into a warm room, as you would a frost-
bitten chicken. Let them remain where they were frozen, close the window shutters
or drop the curtains, so as to make the room quite dark ; then sprinkle the plants
with cold water, direct from the cistern, and wait the result.
" Do not allow the room to become warmer than forty-seven degrees for twenty-four
hours. If a few drops of the spirits of camphor are thrown into the dish before
sprinkling, it will be all the better. Plants treated in this way, though frozen so
badly that water will freeze in drops on the leaves when sprinkled, yet by keeping
the room dark and cold for an entire day, they will come out unharmed."
Hoses in South Cnrolina.
P. Barry, writing to the Rural New Yoi-ker^ from Aiken, S. C, says : "I thought
that St. Augustine bore the palm for roses, but Aiken is not behind. Although the
soil is very light, sandy and apparently poor, roses of all kind seem to thrive and
bloom remarkably well. 'Fortune's Yellow,' which we rarely see, is superb here in
several gardens."
Tilsts of Flower Seeds.
The following lists were made out this spring by Henderson and Fleming, for
the information of members of the Farmers' Club :
First: List of annuals suited to rather poor ground and earth thrown up from
cellars :
Adonis autumnalis, Nasturtiums,
Bartonia aurea, Nigella (Love in a Mist),
Candytuft, Lupins,
Clarkia, Prince's Feather,
Collinsia, Morning Glory,
Giliq. tricolor, Antirrhinum, or Snapdragon,
166 J^toral JVotes.
Mignonette, Amaranthus tricolor (Joseph's Coat),
Nemophila, Sweet Alyssum.
Nolana laneeolata,
Second: Flowers that will grow well on prairie when first opened:
Asters, Evening Primrose,
Calliopsis, Leptoriphon,
Callirhoe, Lininanthes Douglasii,
Cape Marigold, Linum Grandiflorum,
Campanulas, Musk Plant,
Cypress Vine, Palafoxia,
Delphinium, Sanvitalia,
Eschscholtzia Californica (California Sweet Sultan,
Poppy), Sweet William.
Third: List for the average village door-yard in the latitude of New^ York :
Amaranthus, Phlox Drummondii,
Cacalia, or Tassel Flower, • Portulaca,
Clarkia, Saponaria,
Catchfly, Scabiosa, or Morning Bride,
Chrysanthemum — annual, Sweet Peas,
Dianthus of sorts, Venus's Looking-Glass,
Ipomeas, Virginian Stock,
Marvel of Peru, Viscaria,
Pansy, Whitlaria,
Petunia, Zinnia Elegans.
Sest Nmo IhichttUis.
" So many new ones are good, it is hard to choose the best. But Madame
Deproost is good ; it has a bi-colored corolla. Starlight and Marksman are also two
very good varieties." — GardeJier^s Mo?ithly.
Hotise Jflaitts.
There are some plants that appear specially adapted to window-culture. Among
the finest of these is the geranium It sports almost innumerable varieties, in colors
ranging from pure white through pink, cerese, cherry, and crimson, to the most fiery,
intense scarlet. There are spotted ones, striped ones ; varieties with white eyes, and
double kinds. These double kinds are a late acquisition, but remarkably fine. Of
several varieties of the double geranium, 1 have found the Gloire de Nancy (bright
soft scarlet) and the Madame Lemoine (beautiful rose-color) to be the best. They
stay in bloom a long time, have large and handsome trusses of flowers, and blossom
profusely. The Tom Thumb double is worthless. In color and profusion it is fine,
but the central blooms fade and wither long before the outer ones open, and give
the whole truss an appearance of a ball of scarlet and black rags tied together. Its
habit of growth is good, but not so its blossoming. For single varieties, the Herald
of Spring is the most perfect flower I have ever had. It is bright crimson with white
eyes; has large flowers opening uniformly on the truss, and these flowers are circular
in shape — much like a pansy. The Virgo Maria is pure white, and has immense
clusters of blossoms. Rose Rendatler is bright pink, spotted with white. For
variegated geraniums, the Mrs. Pollock is unsurpassed. It has bright green leaves,
l)g,ijded with golden-yellowy and belted with brown. Where the belt streaks up into
J^loral J^otes. 167
the band, it is bright crimson. The Lady Plymouth is the old rose geranium with a
white variegation.
Heliotropes are beautiful in growth; in flower, very fragrant, and a profuse bloomer.
Almost any kind is good. One cluster of these flowers will scent a whole room in
winter, with its spicy, summer-like fragrance.
Carnations are valuable for house flowering. They blossom profusely, and are splen-
did flowers. Added to their beauty, is their fragrance. La Purite (bright rose),
Defiance (scarlet), and Flatbush (white), are three good varieties.
Monthly roses are too well known to need any extolling, Hermosa (pink) and
Louis Phillippe (dark crimson) are free bloomers and good growers.
Fuchsias are fine for summer-flowering, but seldom blossom in winter.
Begonias do well in the house, and are valuable for their unique foliage, if they
never blossomed.
Bouvardias, especially Hogarth, are nice plants for the window. Their scarlet
and pink clusters are produced in great profusion, and are extremely showy.
The Calla, or Egyptian lily, does well in some rooms. Its large leaves give one a
great deal of pleasure from their luxuriant, tropical appearance, and when its creamy,
white blossoms appear, it is always admired.
Hanging plants ought never to be omitted from any collection. They have a grace
peculiarly their own. Any old basket will do, but a sort of ox-muzzle, made of wire
and lined with moss, is better than the usual make-shifts seen suspended in windows.
The terra-cotta baskets or pots, sold for hanging plants, are pretty, but not as good
as the moss baskets are. Moneywort, Trandescantia, Gleehoma, or Wandering Jew,
called in some places "Jill-over-the-Grround," "Cats-foot," or, more properly, ground
ivy, English ivy, Maderia vine, petunia, and ice-plant, are good plants for hanging
baskets. In watering plants in moss baskets, immerse them, plants, basket, and all,
in a pail of water.
Cannas, coleuses, and other plants used for lawn purposes in the new sub-tropical
style of gardening, will do quite well in the house. For spring flowering, I always
have a lot of hyacinths and tulips. Nothing goes beyond them in showiness, and
they are easily grown, — Western Rural.
Hints for the Floiver Garden.
The Soil. — Flowers need something more than dirt. A dry warm loam, rich, fine,
with a large admixture of sand, is the soil for flowers. Thousands of dollars' worth
of fine flower seeds are lost every year by being planted in cold, hard, wet or half
pulverized soil. The utmost care should be taken in this matter. It is but a small
space that you grow the flowers in and that should be the best and the most thoroughly
prepared.
Arrangement. — Many persons who have large quantities of flowers fail in arrang-
ing them in the flower-bed so as to produce the best efi'ects. In selecting flowers
consider for what purpose you wish them. If you want showy masses of flowers
select Verbenas, Phlox, Candytuft, Petunias, etc. If a tall, showy group is desired,
Zinnias, Balsams, Poppy, Marygolds, Calliopsis, etc., will produce the desired eff"ect,
Paasies and Verbenas make beautiful beds without other flowers.- -iV, E. Homestead,
168 jFloral JVbtes.
Aq English paper describes a case of a yellow primrose which, when planted in a
rich soil, had the flowers changed to a brilliant purple. It also says that charcoal
adds great brilliancy to the colors of dahlias, roses, and petunias; carbonate of soda
reddens pink hyacinths, and phosphate of soda changes the colors of many plants.
Tulips tlo Not Heed Mutiure,
The California Horticulttirist quotes the following experience in illustration of the
above statement: "Two years since a gentleman residing in this city, imported a
parcel of Holland Bulbs, consisting chiefly of Hyacinth, Tulips, and Anemones. He
prepared a bed for them in a sunny exposure, and added sufiicient of old cow manure,
to make it half manure and half soil. In this bed he planted his Hyacinth and
Tulips ; we called his attention to the fact that Tulips do not requii*e so much manure,
and we expressed fear for his ultimate success. "We have never seen a finer lot of
Hyacinths in bloom in California than his, but the Tulips were a complete failure.
This example vindicates an old-established rule, that ' the Tulip will not thrive well
in heavily manured soil, and even if it does the flowers will exhibit much inferiority
in the various shades of color.' ' The best v/ay to manage Tulips is to procure
healthy bulbs, plant them without delay in deep loose soil, neither too sandy nor too
clayey, selecting a sunny exposure, more so if possible than for the Hyacinth. They
can grow with less moisture, too much of which promotes decay.' ''
Fuvlisias.
S. 0. J., in her admirable articles on gardening for ladies, gives directions for the
management of the Fuchsias.
"Fuchsias are among the most beautiful of our 'bedding-out' plants — but they
require careful treatment to grow and bloom in perfection. They love a cool, shady,
moist situation, and the noonday sun will wither their lovely bells. It is well to take
them from the pots and plant in the most sheltered nook of the garden ; the morning
sun is favorable to them, and its last rays are not injurious. The Fuchsia is a gross
feeder, and demands a vast amount of plant tonic — thus treated, their roots will
strike deeply into the soil. Watering twice a week with liquid manure water, either
of guano or stable manure, will increase their beauty and bloom. Cuttings should
be struck at this season for spring blooming — and the large plants can be wintered
either in dry sand or in boxes of earth. At the far south they will require no cover-
ing— can be allowed to remain in the open border all the year round. At their first
introduction into England they were treated as ' stove ' plants, but now they wander
at their own sweet will over trellis or porch, and are as luxuriant as our trumpet or
monthly honeysuckles ; the birds build their nests in their boughs, and rustic seats
are made from their stout stems ! They love moisture, should be watered twice a
day in a hot, dry season, at morning and night, never at noonday. If planted under
trees, the boughs should not be lower than ten feet, as it would impede the free cir-
culation of the air. To make them grow bushy the tapering stems should be pinched
off, and two branches will start forth. The difi'erent species possess diff"erent habits.
One that naturally grows in a bushy form, cannot be forced into the shape of an
umbrella, while the Speciosa and the Souvenir de Cheswick, etc., cannot be made to
grow bushv. Plants will follow their characteristics unless very rigidly pruned and
h
Cherries, Markethiff, etc. 169
trained. With those of a busliy form, care must be taken to pinch off the innumer-
able side shoots which spring from nearly every leaf; these retard the blooming of
the plant and weaken its growth. We have a Speciosa, six feet in height, which has
bloomed constantly since February, and still puts forth new shoots and blossoms.
Among the new varieties of the season are Marksman, a double variety of great
beauty, Vainque de Puebla, a double white corolla veined with scarlet, which is
rarely beautiful, and Carl Halt, whose crimson corolla is striped like a carnation.
Thanks to our unknown friend, we have fine specimens of the three in full bloom.
Heliotropes require all the sun and air they can receive. They are natives of the
Himalaya Mountains, and grow like rank weeds in a rich, sandy soil. They demand
a generous culture, and frequent watering with liquid manure. The richer the soil,
the more luxuriant the plant. They can be made to grov?- ten to twelve feet high."
Cherries, Marketing, Etc.
CHERRIES are one of the most perishable fruits that grow in our country, so much
so, that many persons have relinquished the growing of them for marketing pur-
poses. While others, thinking they can succeed with new varieties, have undertaken
the growing of them for the purpose of making money by so doing.
One of the greatest difficulties in the way of these persons, is how, or in what way,
or what package can they make use of in order to get the fruit to market in good
order.
Before speaking on this point, permit me to draw their attention to one very essen-
tial point, and that is, to handle it with the greatest of care before placing it in the
package for shipping. They should always be picked with the stems on, and in clus-
ters, if the fruit will permit, and never be packed in a damp condition.
If they are much spotted, showing a disposition to rot, sort them carefully, and
not ship any of the damaged ones, as they will affect the others.
When they are picked off the stems, the juice runs from the fruit, and dampens it,
which also causes it to spoil on the route, particularly if the weather is extremely hot.
In regard to the package to be made use of in shipping. I am not prepared to
say which is the hest ; for the distance the fruit is to be sent, and the mode of trans-
portation, must be taken in consideration. Where the distance to market is short,
and the expense of returning the package is not heavy, they might make use of
small oblong baskets, containing from 10 to 15 pounds. By having these baskets
twice the length of the width, they can be packed in square skeleton cases, two in a
layer, reversing the top ones, so the bottom of these may rest on the top of the
lower ones.
Handles steady them, so they will not move; but to economize space, the handles
of the top layer might be removed, to permit the lid of the case to close down on the
baskets.
Where the grower has large-sized berry crates, they might procure baskets to fit
them, even if they did contain a trifle more or less in bulk. When baskets cannot
be procured, the better way is to have boxes made to fit these cases, containing
170 Timber Culture for Profit.
about the same quantity ; but, in order to ventilate the fruit, have the ends or sides
of the boxes made a trifle higher than the other, to suit the package they may be
placed in.
Tiie above style of packages are also convenient for Currants, and even Grapes,
when the owner has only a small quantity to market. Some growers of the very
finest and choicest of fruit, make use of a case containing a chest of drawers; but,
these are very expensive to purchase, and also to retui-n empty.
For growers living at a distance too great to make use of these packages, on
account of the expense of returning them, they will find that a small crate, contain-
ing from 15 to 25 pounds, will be as convenient as anything they can procure. LQ,t
them be made very light, and slightly ventilated. This style of package is generally
used by the cherry growers living in the central part of the State, who send to
this city.
Always weigh the packages, and mark their weight on them. With a stencil plate,
have your initial letters, and the address of the consignee, placed on each, and if the
package is to be returned, the name of the depot to which it is to be returned.
C, W. Idell.
Rustic Supports for Climbing Plants in the Garden.
THE designs on the opposite page are from the pen of L. D. Snook, who has pre-
pared them specially for the help of ladies in training their roses and climbing
plants. He states in his remarks in the Country Gentleman, where the designs
appeared some months since, that " the proper height is from four and a half to five
and a half feet. The centre piece of each support should be at least three-quarters
of an inch thick, and from an inch and a quarter to an inch and a half wide. Attach
the lower end to a sharpened strip of cedar or chestnut, which can be driven in the
ground, and when decayed replaced by a similar piece without injury to the support
proper. Supports for climbers of the character here shown are universally painted
white. To relieve the monotony and sameness, a pleasing and permanent effect may
be produced by painting certain portions of them green on the side only, leaving the
other parts white. Any farmer handy with tools, or any carpenter, can make them
easily."
0
Timber Culture for Profit.
TJR farmers both East and West must soon awake to a realizing sense of an
impending necessity. From 1860 to 1870, over 10,000,000 acres of wood land
were cut down, and not one acre is found to replace them with bearing wood. Our
best timber fields are fast disappearing, and those that remain far away in the
remotest recesses of the Rocky Mountains, or in Oregon, will be too far off for
economical and profitable transportation. Where shall we obtain our supplies ?
How much will we have to answer for, when with a stripped country, the cold winds
sweep down iiom the North, with unrestrained and boisterous fury, and destroy with
Rustic Siqtpoi-fs for CUmhing 'Plants.
171
±ia- 1
i'ig .3.
yiy. 5.
J<'ig. 6*.
172 Timber Culture foi- Trqfit.
their sudden changes our fruit and ornamental trees, and imperil our crops, while
one extreme will soon follow another, and unparalleled drouth cut off all encourage-
meut for agricultural effort ?
We must plant timber lands, both for shelter and for climatic preservation, as
well as for future need and profit. Begin now. Every season lost is but increasing
the danger of delay. We believe that if one-fifth of all land in cultivable farms
throughout the United States, were to-day to be planted in timber, the remaining
portions of each farm would be so much better tilled as to yield fully as good crops
as the whole farms did previously, while in the ameliorations of climate, a vast
good would be accomplished. We cannot too strongly urge this subject upon all
cultivators both East and West, and hence throw in the influence of our Journal to
help forward so noble a movement.
Groivltif/ Evergreens frout Seed,
At the last meeting of the Kansas Horticultural Society, Mr. Robert Douglas
related his experience in growing evergreens from seed, his mode of culture, trans-
planting and pruning. He saw no reason why evergreens cannot be successfully
grown here. Other trees grow here that are quite as difficult to transplant. He
was of opinion that the principal cause of failure is in planting too late. The idea
has got abi-oad that the best time to move an evergreen is just as it is starting into
growth. Such is not his experience ; thinks the notion originated in the fact that
nurserymen who have a large amount of work to do in the Spring, must put off
something, and evergreens will bear delay better than deciduous trees ; the latter are
pretty surely killed by transplanting late, while the evergreen is only stunned.
Since he came in, a gentleman had called his attention to a fact of gi*eat importance :
The growth of an evergreen just transplanted, is no evidence of its vigor or of the
formation of new roots and a good hold of the ground. The growth which it makes
is entirely dependent on the buds formed the previous year. In these buds are
stored up all the elements of the shoots made this year. Now, a tree planted out
eai-ly will finish its growth early, and afterward go on making roots, and perfect fine,
plump buds for a good growth next year; while a tree set late, although it makes
the same growth this year, and appears vigorous, will next year only make a feeble,
stunted growth, because its terminal buds were weak and imperfect.
Another important point is, to pack the ground thoroughly about the roots. A
vast number of failures occur from this cause. Many think they have tramped the
earth thoroughly, but if they will observe they will discover that the first heavy rain
settles it still more. It is difficult to get the earth back into the same space with
the closest packing; hence, it must be done with exceeding care. Loose earth
should be thrown on the top to prevent baking. Last Summer was a very trying
season for transplanting trees, and he took a trip through the country, among his
customers, expressly to observe the effects of different i»odes of planting, and in the
large majority of cases where evergreens had failed, he found the earth not firmly
packed about the roots, Sometimes it will be made firm at the top, but a cavity left
underneath. This is the most dangerous fault' of all; a tree so planted is almost
eertaiu to die, Wheu ooe has but few to set aud plenty of time, it is better to raise
Timber Cut here /or Tro/it. 173
earth iu the centre of the hole, in the form of a low cone or pyraniid, and spread the
roots carefully over it ; but by all means avoid a bowl-shaped hole, lowest in the
centre. The earth will settle most in the centre, and leave a cavity just under
the stem, which is fatal. Never wait for a rain to plant evergreens; would not
advise to plant in the mud, though he himself was often obliged to do it. Did not
himself shade small evergreens when transplanted, but it is better, especially in this
hotter climate. A good way is, after the growth is finished and the weather grows
hot, go over the rows and shake a little prairie hay loosely upon the trees, not enough
to cover them, but to break the force of the sun's rays. He imports nearly all his
seed, simply because he can get it cheaper ; sows broadcast in the Spring, in his
shaded bed, and rakes in ; sows thick enough, so that the little trees will soon cover
and shade the ground. At one year old he sells off a part, thinning out the beds ;
runs a thin, sharp spade a few inches under the plants, and then they are easily
pulled out. Those left in the bed, having the tap roots cut, will make fibrous roots,
and are the same as transplanted trees.
The number of seeds in a pound varies from 15,000 to 320,000, so that no fixed
value can be given as to the weight to be sown per rod.
Very small trees are most conveniently transplanted with a dibble, larger ones by
digging a trench, laying the trees in, and lightly covering. Tramp them firmly with
the foot, then throw on more fine earth. Evergreens may be trimmed just as safely
as other trees, to thicken up or to change their form.
Progress of Tree CiiHure in loira.
There is said to have been planted last year in Iowa, not less than 15,000,000
trees. And a still larger number will be planted this year. Two farmers in one
township have set out 25,000 trees. Progress like this is encouraging. Here we
have an average of five trees to each inhabitant in the State planted out every year.
A hundred to each inhabitant would still be only a moderate beginning. There
ought to be an acre on the average to every resident of the State.
Itupid Growth of Trees.
The Larch tree is unanimously acknowledged the most rapid in its growth, and
most speedily profitable. The European excels the native American variety both in
height and breadth. Mr. Douglas, of Waukegan, 111., has upon his grounds two
trees fifteen years planted, each of which now measure forty-five inches in circumference
at the collar. One tree nine years from seed, transplanted at one year old, measures
twenty-seven inches ; and one in its fifth year from seed accidentally left in the seed
bed, measures nine inches in circumference at the collar.
Trees upon the grounds of E. Y. Toys, Richmond, Ind., and John C. Teas, Rays-
ville, Ind., ten years planted, are upwards of thirty feet in height, and ten to twelve
inches in diameter. D. C. Scofield, of Elgin, 111., and Samuel Edwards, of La
Moille, 111., have trees of the same size.
Mr. S. T. Kelsey, of Ottawa, Kansas, has been planting very extensively the most
rapid growing trees. He set out at first but twenty acres, fifteen of which was with
black walnut, and the remaining five with several other sorts. They were planted in
rows twelve feet apart, and about eighteen inches in the row, with a view, we sup-
174 JVbrthern vs. Southern JVursery Trees.
pose, of thinning the rows as they become older. The ground is kept as well culti-
vated as a nursery, and the young trees are growing with great vigor. Among the
trees under experiment are American Arbor Vitse, European Larch, and Red Cedar,
the latter under good care and on rich soil, we are informed, with' a growth that
would be surprising to any one that had only seen the native scrubby appearance.
Mr. Kelsey has lately purchased in connection with J. H. Whetstone, 12,000 acres,
which they have inclosed with a wire fence, at a cost of seventy-five cents a rod, and
with No. 8 wire, Osage hedges will supersede much of the wire barrier, and the
ground is ready for 100 miles of hedge to be set next spring. The tract is to be
divided into forty-acre lots by hedges. Several miles of forest trees are to be
planted in the spring.
The trees on the twenty acres already mentioned, were planted in 1867, and the
present measurements are given as follows : Black Walnut, five to eight feet high, one
to two inches in diameter ; Soft Maple, eight to twelve feet high ; Cottonwood, twelve
to sixteen feet high, one and a half to three and a half inches in diameter.
Northern vs. Southern Nursery Trees.
THE Southern Planter and Farmer, of Richmond, Va., in its last February No.,
contains a critique on extracts from The Horticulturist, on this subject,
which we propose to notice, although the Editor is perhaps able to row his own boat.
First, The Horticulturist states the "reason why Northern pear trees are pre-
ferred, is because a larger percentage of all the trees grown in the nursery are good
and reliable, well formed and vigorous, while in the South not over fifty per cent can
be depended on as first class." This the Editor reports as coming from a reliable
nurseryman, and says the remark is a very just one so far as personal observation has
enabled him to judge of Southern nurseries. But on the other hand, the Northern
Editor concedes the fact that we, of the South, " can raise better pears — larger ones —
than at the North."
The Editor of the Planter says the above-mentioned nurseryman knows more than
anybody down South, and adduces as a reason for the deficient supply, the events of
the war, and claiming that better trees, at least larger for their age, can be grown
South than North, because of a longer growing season. After some remarks as
regards climatology affecting trees, he closes his critique with the remark " that it is
time this matter was perfectly understood, and is tired of hearing any such superi-
ority claimed."
Having planted about one thousand pear trees (and more of other fruit trees),
many of which were obtained from Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland, the
majority from Rochester, N. Y., and having had abundant opportunities of personal
observation of all the larger pear orchards of our State, containing at present many
thousands of trees, perhaps the writer might not be regarded as an incompetent wit-
ness to testify in a court of inquiry on the question mooted. First, there have been
no pear trees grown of any consequence on Virginia soil, either before or since the
war ; and many sent from Virginia nurseries were purchased North. A few really
JVorthern vs. Southern JVursery Trees. 175
good, first-class pear trees have been grown at Staunton, Fredericksburg and Rich-
mond, but not one-tenth enough to supply the demand which originated soon after
the war, from Mrs. W.'s success, near Norfolk, with her 5,000 dwarf trees, now
thirteen years old, grown by Ellwanger & Barry, at Rochester. The facts in regard
to the matter of transplanting trees from a Northern climate to Virginia, appear to
be as follows, in regard to certain kinds of trees : Apple trees remaining in Northern
soil and climate beyond two years, and having a fixed Northern habit, are almost
worthless transferred to our soil ; on the contrary, one and two year old of any of
our esteemed Southern varieties appear to bear earlier and fruit better.
This is the experience of the largest apple grower in tide-water, who sold from 200
Yellow June's (E. Harvest), Northern grown, nine years' planted, in 1867, $2,000
net worth of fruit.
Yearling peaches, grown in New Jersey, do well, "fruiting some weeks earlier than
the same variety North. With pears there is a marked diiference in the subsequent
health and thrift of the trees as to their birth-place, growing and training, and man-
agement of the stocks. The soil appears to impress a vigor of constitution or a
feebleness ; the one a stocky growth of well-ripened wood, the other, of the same age
and variety, a slender, whippy, succulent wood growth, that falls an easy prey to the
enemy, blight. I have seen a majority of the latter grown South, and of the former
grown North, and many of the latter from both sections, of both dwarfs and standards.
In regard to the longer season which the writer claims as a decided advantage, it
might be of utility, provided the same character and fertility of soil, with stocks,
heavy strong English or French, transplanted, were used in both sections, but unfor-
tunately when all goes pleasantly in mid-summer, with frequent evening showers at
Rochester, Richmond and Fredericksburg, we have to contend with a hot, dry July and
August, prematurely arresting the^rs^ and most important wood growth which the
young trees make in the season, which more than compensates for any length of
growing season claimed. If there are any two year old Virginia grown apple or pear
trees as large as the three year old Northern trees, as the Editor claims, your cor-
respondent has not seen them.
The village of Staunton, 120 miles above Richmond, beyond the Blue Ridge,
heavy clay soils and colder climate, shorter season than at Richmond, exhibited at
the last fair, larger two year old apple and pear, and yearling peach, than any grown
at Richmond or Fredericksburg. Fertility of the soil and strength of stocks, with
cultivation, have more to do with the size or growth attained in a single season, than
a slight difi"erence in length of growing season. Virginia has a great diversity of
soil and climate, and while I verily believe there is as good soil for growing pear
trees and other nursery stock, here as North, our nurserymen either have not found
it, or they have failed in obtaining the best stocks.
We find the Pippin family of apples, and many of the esteemed Northern winter
varieties, succeeding well in the valley and Piedmont country, all along the Blue
Ridge. We grow the trees well in tide-water, but the fruit all prematurely drops
diseased, with copper-colored spots. Our best winter apples are natives to the manor
born, and very little disseminated. Early fruits for the Northern market, ripening
before the last of August, only, are profitable. Nansemond.
176 Profit and Method of J^oresi 'Raising.
Profit and Method of Forest Raising.
THE net profits of one acre of timber plantation, in fifty years, exceeds Fifteen
Thousand Dollars.
This proposition I will demonstrate by facts and figures.
First. — In my estimate I will use the White Pine and European Larch, as I re-
gard them the most valuable varieties for forest culture. It is a fact that a pine
or larch plant, of six inches in length, set on rich or moderately rich soil in forest
form, will attain a height in twelve years, of 30 to 35 feet, and a diameter at the
collar of 8 to 12 inches. This is demonstrated on my ground in Elgin, in both
pine and larch. Pine trees attain the height of 100 (one hundred) feet in fifty years,
and a diameter of 3 (three) feet. We have abundant facts in proof in the Eastern
and Middle States. The larch being a native of Europe, we have to go there for
facts.
" Twenty years from planting of plants of 12 inches in length, trees were cut
from which saw-logs of 18 to 20 inches in diameter were cut and drawn to the mill
for lumber purposes. Gr. Marshall."
" Thirty years from planting, the forest was being manufactured into lumber by
the steam-saw mills located in their midst, from trees of two feet and more in dia-
meter and 80 to 100 feet in height. Wm. Hill."
" We find by the Duke of Athol's measurement that trees planted by him in 1748,
were nine feet and three inches in circumference when measured, four feet from
the ground, in 1795, a growth of 52 years. Sir T. D. Lauder."
Let me here remark, that the larch trees planted in 1743 here referred to, now
stand 126 years from planting, 120 feet in height and five and one-half feet in dia-
meter, as measured last summer (1868) by E. Y. Teys, of Richmond, Indiana. A
pine or larch tree, therefore, of fifty years in forest plantation, is 100 feet in height
and three feet in diameter, and will make 2,600 feet of lumber. This lumber, of
cither larch or pine, at the present price, would be worth not less than one huudi-cd
dollars.
I will therefore plant the larch or pine for my Model Forest.
Second. Method. — Prepare the ground the same as for corn, and a similar soil.
Mark it with a plow for rows, three feet apart at right angles, and set a tree in each
angle. To set one acre will require 4,820 trees. If you would have a pine forest
there, set every fourth tree of that kind, and the balance with larch. This would
require 302 pine and 4,418 larch. When the larch are all removed to give place for
the pine forest, the trees will stand 12 feet apart, which is sufiicient room for the full
grown tree.
The cultivation should be sufficient to keep the ground clean from vegetation until
the young forest will protect itself, wliich will be two or three years. When this
has been planted six or seven years, every alternate row should be removed, leaving
them three feet by six. These 2,410 larch, thus removed, are sufficiently large for
grape stakes ; their great strength and imperishable character rendering them of
great value for that purpose. At the end of another seven years there should be cut
every alternate row across, leaving the rows six (6) feet apart each way, which
leaves 1,204 trees. These trees now removed are at least thirty feet in height, and
^ few Choice Fruits for Country Homes. Wl
ten to twelve inches in diameter, and will make not less than 4,000 fence posts. At
the end of another seven years, take away another alternate row of the larch through
the plantation, or GOO trees, leaving the remainder 6 by 12 feet apart. These 600
trees, now 21 years in the plantation, are twenty inches in diameter and fifty feet in
height, valuable for posts, railroad ties, spars of vessels, etc., and worth at least
three dollars each. At thirty years from planting, remove another three hundred
trees, leaving the "forest proper," the trees standing 12 feet apart, and 300 trees.
If the entire plantation were made of larch, then a larch forest will remain, and if
every 4th row were set with pine and the remaining trees were larch, then a pine
forest is the rcsulti One consideration worthy of notice, resulting from the larch
plantation, is the enriching of the soil by the formation of at least a quarter to
one-third of an inch of vegetable mold annually, from the falling foliage.
Tiddly > Profits, — Seventh year cut, 2,400 grape stakes, net value at 5 cents
each, $120; 14th year, 4,000 fence posts, at 25 cents each, net value, $1,000; 21st
year, 600 trees, at three dollars each, net value, $1,800 ; 30th year, 300 trees at
twenty dollars each, net value, $6,000. Total, $8,920.
In this estimate we have noted the net proceeds of the timber cut from the
" forest proper." Three hundred trees now stand to grow on for future forest. Cut
them away now and they are worth six thousand dollars. Let them remain ten
years longer, and their net value is $9,000. Let them grow on twenty years, and
they are worth $15,000. Making the total income from a single acre of timber
plantation to be not less than Twenty-five Thousand Dollars in fifty years. A
snug fortune to the young man who plants, and a rich inheritance to his children.
There is scarcely a man in the country who owns forty, or even twenty acres, but
who can plant one acre. Nor one who owns 160 acres but could plant 10 (ten) acres.
These estimates are based on present values. Thirty years hence, they will doubt-
less be doubled. D. C. Scofield.
A Few Choice Fruits for Country Homes.
Tlw. Davison's Thornless JiUteli-Cap tlaspherry.
THPv.ee years ago I was persuaded to tfy Davison's Thornless Black-Cap. My
object is not to find fruits first fof profit, but for enjoyment, and, possibly, profit
afterward — fruits that vfill contribute to make a rural home delightful.
I have tested scores of all kinds of berries, and generally found it necessary to
discard them, or else provide a doctor for each variety, whose whole business should
be to study its whims and watch its ailments. But Davison's Thornless Raspberry
I put down as about every way a good satisfactory hotne fruit.
In the first place it is hardy — as hardy as a Black-Cap that meets the sharp frost
with sharper thorns. It is a superb bearer ; if not equal to Doolittle, it is equal to
any ordinary emergency, and after a good summer's crop, it inclines to be generous
quite into autumn. For growth of canes, on my soil, it surpasses all other varieties.
Before the crop of 1870 was completely gathered, the new canes had shot up clear
over our heads ; many of them twelve feet high. These were reduced to a proper
height for stakes, and the side shoots reduced from time to time, and now the planta-
12
178 Trofits of Small JP'ridts.
tion looks like a dwarf grove. The canes in size and strength were maximum. But
what has all this to do with the fact that any one can crowd through, and under, and
handle the bushes without one serious scratch. There are a few small thorns at the
jointure of the leaflets, but they are only imitation. A lady's dress is safe, and the
gatherer's hands are safe. Just contrast your experience with any of the thorny
varieties — clothes torn, hands bleeding, and temper worse off" than either clothes or
hands. You are caught and twitched at every move. No sooner has one plague let
go with a bit of your skin, than another takes you by the coat-tail ; till you feel fairly
whipped and afraid to enter. All well enough when urchins are hired to do the pick-
ing, and you never see a berry till they sit beside the cream bowl. But I want a
berry that I can visit at its home, and eat out of hand, and not have to run for my
life, as if I were a thief, for touching it.
I set the Davison about twice as closely as any thorny variety, and then mulch the
whole surface of the soil with a thick covering of long manure and saw-dust. Rasp-
berries naturally crowd together, and in their native condition shade their own roots.
Of course thorny varieties must be set far enough apart to allow of free passage.
The Thornless can be allowed to stand in hills far enough apart one way for the
pickers, and far enough the other way to work between with a hoe, Of course I
speak now of patches cultivated for home use, and not of large fields, where the
object is the market. Alongside of Lennig's White Strawberry, therefore, set down
Davison's Thornless Black-Cap, as a fruit for our country homes.
E. P. Powell.
Profits of Small Fruits.
An Essay delivered before the jlnmlal Meeting of the I'eniist/lmnin Fruit Grtiii'era^ Society, at
Chambei'sbiii-ffi Jan. isth, 1S61.
BY WM. I>ARtlY, OP CINNAMINSON, N. J*
(Continued.)
Strajvberries , Raspberries and Blackberries are usually included under the head
of Small Fruits^ the profits of which are generally good when markets are convenient
and care is taken in the selection of varieties and in giving them proper treatment.
Sometimes we hear of extravagant reports, calculated from the product of a small
lot up to what a ten acre field under similar circumstances would yield. A safer
rule is to take the acres and see what they have produced annually. We kept a debtor
and creditor account for several years with twenty-two acres in small fruits, which
averaged, after deducting expenses, $262 per acre.
By reference to the Third Annual Report of the West Jersey Fruit Grrowers' Asso-
ciation, page 21, who appointed committees to collect the returns from all the fruit
growers in the neighborhood, it will be found that 776 acres of land in strawberries,
raspberries and blackberries, produced the sum of nearly $200,000, or about $250
per acre.
S*rqfits of Small J^ruiis. 179
Cranberries. — My remarks on ** Profits of Small Fruits " would not be complete
without referring to the cultivation of cranberries, which is a very profitable branch
of small fruit culture, where the soil is adapted to their growth — and must eventu-
ally assume proportions and importance scarcely second to any other fruit crop grown
in the State of New Jersey. We have thousands of acres unavailable for other pur-
poses, but specially adapted to producing cranberries.
Low, marshy lands, and old ponds that can be drained and flooded again at pleasure,
which in their natural state would not be valued at more than ten to twenty dollars
per acre, after being cleared and planted, will often yield two to three hundred dol-
lars per acre in cranberries annually, and sometimes more.
A fruit grower in Burlington county recently cleared up and planted twenty acres
of moist land, which five years since was valued at five dollars per acre. Last year
he had two acres in full bearing and eighteen acres only two years old ; yet he real-
ized from the cranberries grown there, a net profit of three thousand and two
hundred dollars.
Another farmer and his sons, residing near by, have two hundred acres planted
with cranberries — about one-third of which are in fruiting and yielded last year
3,300 bushels of fruit, worth over $13,000. Six acres of which averaged one hun-
dred bushels per acre, and were sold at four dollars per bushel.
Another farmer in the same county had, in 1869, twenty-four acres in fruiting ; six
and a-half in the tenth year of bearing, and seventeen and a-half in the first year of
good bearing — which yielded 2,692 bushels of cranberries, and sold at three and
a-half dollars per bushel, brought $9,422 ; and after deducting $2,222 for expenses,
taxes, superintendence and commissions, left a net profit of seven thousand and two
hundred dollars on the twenty-four acres : Averaging three hundred dollars per acre.
The six and a-half acres in the prime of bearing yielded more bushels of fruit than
the seventeen and a-half acres just commencing.
The Forge Company, near West creek, in Ocean county, N. J., have about one
hundred acres planted, fifty of which were in fruiting the past season, and yielded
3,400 bushels of cranberries, worth, at four dollars per bushel, $13,600. Three-
eighths of said tract was recently sold at one thousand dollars per acre.
I might mention the names of those parties, if necessary, but the object in refer-
ring to them was merely to enforce the principles and facts illustrated by their suc-
cessful operations, which many others are pursuing ; and hundreds of acres are
annually being redeemed from a primitive, unproductive condition, and devoted to
cranberry culture.
There are now in New Jersey about two thousand acres in fruiting, and produced
last year 150,000 bushels of cranberries — and 4,000 acres more land have been pre-
pared and planted and will be in fruiting hereafter. New Jersey now supplies more
than two-thirds of the whole amount of cultivated cranberries marketed in the United
States.
The late reports by the Agricultural bureau at Washington, for the year 1869,
gives as follows, viz : to the
State of Maine 1,000 barrels.
Massachusetts 8,000 "
1§() "Profits of Small J^ruits.
State of Connecticut 2,000 barrels.
and New Jersey 50,000 "
This amount of. 61,000 barrels
was derived principally from cultivated fields. All other States and Territories,
including wild and cultivated cranberries, produce about 14,000 barrels ; making a
total of 75,000 barrels for the year 1869. The crop for 1867 was estimated at 62,-
000 barrels, of which New Jersey produced 35,000 j New England about 12,000, and
the West 15,500 barrels. The average price for 1807 was $16 per barrel — giving a
total value of one million dollars for the crop that year. The crop of 1869 com-
menced to sell at picking time, in Philadelphia, for nine dollars per barrel, and
gradually advanced in price until spring, when the market value was twenty-four to
twenty-six dollars per barrel ! One grower in Burlington county, it is reported, sold
a lot of six hundred barrels for fifteen thousand dollars.
The price of cranberries during the present winter has been about twelve dollars
per barrel in Philadelphia.
For seven years, from 1862 to 1869, the price ranged from fourteen to fifteen
dollars per barrel, except in 1868, when the price was from twenty-two to twenty-four
dollars per barrel, owing to the light crop.
The counties of Burlington and Ocean yield the greater part of the cranberries
grown in our State ; and in 1869 they produced 31,700 barrels; and all other coun-
ties in the State yield 18,300 barrels. The yield of cranberries last year was not so
large per acre as in 1869, on account of excessive rains, with intervals of intensely
hot sun during the time of blooming. But the quantity of land in fruiting was more^
so that the yield for Burlington and Ocean counties amounted to 38,300 barrels, and
the State producing about the same as in 1869 — say 50,000 barrels — which, at the
present value, gives $600,000.
In embarking in the cranberry business, one of the most important matters is the
selection of suitable land. The most productive cranberry region in the State is a
belt of land underlaid with white sand, much of it pure silex, the upland covered with
pine and scrub oak, the lowland and borders of streams with white cedar and an
undergrowth of whortleberry burshes. The soil is light, a thin coat of vegetable
mold covering the surface. The climate as well as the soil of this part of New
Jersey is well adapted to the cultivation of this vine in the highest perfection.
The picking is usually done by men, women and chidren, at a cost of about fifty
cents per bushel ; many of the hands will gather three to four bushels each per day.
In sections of the country where strawberries, raspberries and blackberries are
extensively grown, a good portion of the pickers come from the rural or cranberry
districts, commencing with strawberries in June, and after finishing them, enter the
raspberry fields in July, and in August the blackberries are gathered ; after which
they return home in time to commence in the cranberry fields in October, and fre-
quently have steady work there until cold weather, thus having a long continuous
harvest. Such of them as are industrious and frugal, may soon provide homes for
themselves, and become proprietors of berry fields, and in turn give employment to
others who are pursuing the same course of honest industry — a sure passport to
wealth and competence.
Editorial Notes.
Cnrbollc Soap for Peach Jiorers.
In The Horticulturist for last month, in speaking of my remedy for the peach
boi-er, the editor suggests that five pounds of soap to a barrel of water will make the
liquid too strong, and prove injurious to tender roots if it reaches them. I have
only to say that I have found no injury to result to bearing trees from this cause ; but
for young or small trees I would use about eight gallons of water to the pound of
soap. Here I will answer the inquiry of a friend in Tennessee, who writes to ask me
the capacity of a " barrel," or how many gallons of water I use for five pounds of the
soap? The usual barrel, as a liquid measure, is thirty or thirty-one gallons; but in
this case a few gallons more or less is not material — but safer more than less. I am
using this liquid on apple trees with evident good efi'ect. Will not other orchardists
experiment with it and make known the results ? M. B. Bateham.
How to Pack. Straivherry Plants for a J^oiimey ,
Take up good, sound, young and well established runners; remove all decayed
leaves, tie them in bunches of twenty-five or fifty, with their crowns evenly arranged;
wrap in moist, swamp moss; pack tight in an open box, with the crowns upward, and
nail slats across the top to keep them in, and yet allow free access of air. Thus
shipped, they will go long distances without injury. The best season for shipping in
spring, is the last of April, and in fall, middle of September. Nurserymen some-
times take up larg-e quantities and heel them in during the winter, and thus are able
to ship very early the next season to Southern localities, or more distant points. In
New Jersey it is a common practice to pack in barrels with the tops out, slats cut
open for ventilation, and the roots turned toward the centre, and the vacant space
filled in with wet sand. If the weather is cool they will go reasonable distances
without any injury, although we are of the belief that in warm weather such a prac-
tice would be unsafe, and might cause fermentation. Plants should never be packed
loosely, nor shipped in an unarranged mass. It is better to charge a little higher
price and do the plants up more neatly.
He careful of the Moots of \e^vly Dug Trees.
No newly-dug tree should have its roots exposed to the sun or drying winds for a
single hour. We have seen instances of ill success where roots dug from the moist,
cool earth, are exposed to the sun and drying winds for a full half day, or even two
days ; and it seemed as if all the arts of the planter could not coax life and energy
into the tree. In transplanting trees the roots should be kept cool and moist, or as
near the original temperature or condition of the soil they formerly occupied ; other-
wise evaporation takes place, which is hard to restore, and life gradually dies out. It
is safe, then, for any one to refuse to take trees from any peddler or nurseryman which
have been exposed to the air for over a half day.
182 JEditorial JVotes.
Nowing off Strnivbert^y Xenves nfter ffuiting.
Quite a number of strawberry growers have expressed incredulous opinions of the
practicability of this plan, to which we reply that in every case that has come under
our notice, it has been a complete success. Indeed, one gentleman in Central New
York stated last fall to us that he had practiced it uniformly for eight years, and had
never been obliged to reset his plants or renew his bed ; while the luxuriance of his
plants, and size and quality of his berries were matters of great notoriety in his own
neighborhood. The propriety of cutting off all the old and exhausted stems, leaves,
etc., after fruiting, will not be questioned, we think, by any one. We would only
add, by way of caution, that wherever the plants are thus mown, and tops cut off, it
is imperatively necessary to protect the crown with some mulch, until it shoots out a
sufificient quantity of fresh green leaves to enable it to take care of itself. The fol-
lowing letter, confirmatory of our ideas, was written recently by Ira Smith, of Peoria,
Illinois, to the Farmers' Club, New York City:
" Observing frequent inquiries made of the Farmers' Club regarding the propriety
of mowing strawberry plants after fruiting, and that the members have been rather
shy in giving an opinion, I offer the following experience of my own : About ten
years ago, noticing, as had frequently occurred before, that after fruiting, the weather
being hot and dry, many of my plants apparently fresh and healthy in the morning,
would lie flat on the ground, withered, and seemingly nearly dead at night, as though
something had severed the roots and cut off the supply of moisture. This being often
repeated for a month, half of the plants would sometimes be dead, and the rest
greatly injured. All strawberry growers have witnessed the same. It is called here
sunscalded. On examination I found the roots whole, sound, and in good order,
except as dry as a chip. The following hypothesis was then suggested to my mind
as the probable cause : after putting forth their utmost strength in the production of
a bountiful yield, the plant now, like all else of animated nature, including man, and.
from accounts, divinity itself, requires a season of rest, and cannot at once replace
the exhausted energy of the rootlets so as to gather in sufficient moisture to meet the
excessive demand for evaporation from the leaves. The roots thereby being sucked
dry, death necessarily follows from starvation. The remedy, then, must be in remov-
ing the demand for evaporation. The test was made by mowing a portion of the
patch close down, and was attended with perfect success. Since then my practice has
been, after fruiting, to mow them close to the ground, and if the weather is hot and
dry, scatter the leaves evenly over the beds, and after thanking them for their nice
acid fruits, bid them rest in peace until August and September showers come with
their life-restoring influences. Under this treatment I never lose a plant, however
hot the weather may be. After August rains they recommence to grow, putting out
no new runners, but covering the ground with large, dark, thrifty foliage, and the
largest and freshest new crowns for the next year's crop, and never fail in giving
a first-class yield for the season."
Dwarf Pears.
At the Farmers' Club, N. Y., in answer to a question whether " Dwarf Pears can
be converted into Standards by planting rather deep and hilling earth around the
stem?" Mr. A. S. Fuller remarked, that they will nearly all become standards if the
junction of the pear stock upon the quince root be put four inches below the surface.
It is a good practice to remove the earth and cut several gashes at the swell of the
graft, then replace the soil, and new roots will come out upon all sides, and the tree
is therefore less liable to be upset by heavy winds.
Mr. Quinn remarked, in answer to a question about distances, '* that twelve by six-
teen feet is, I find, by long experience, the best interval for pear trees. Being thus
near together, they protect themselves to a certain extent. I adopt the practice of
having the fruit as near the ground as it can be well induced to grow. I prune to a
pone or Lgmbardy poplar shade, so as to get a slim, tapering tree with fruit near the
£:dU07'ial JVotes, 183
stem and near the ground. The only objection to this style of pruning is, that you
cannot use your pear orchard as a pasture. But that is seldom desirable. If the
trees are twelve by sixteen, they will tax the ground heavily enough without requir-
ing it to grow grass. My success has come from four practices — rich manuring, close
planting, open top pruning, and mulching."
MuTch as n Mantire.
An experienced farmer once found, by experiment, that where he mulched his
wheat land with veitch, he had an increase of crop of twelve bushels per acre ; and he
invariably found that laud which had been sheltered during the previous winter from
the action of the atmosphere, frost, cold, etc., was always more fertile than any por-
tion of his adjoining land, even under a high state of cultivation. Our use of mulch
upon small fruits, also confirms the above theory, for a good mulch invariably
increases the production from fifteen to twenty^five per cent, as well as contributing
very materially to the size, color and cleanliness of the fruit. We believe that
mulching will always pay.
Roio Tjong ivill A.sparngus Seds last ?
As long as they are well taken care of. On the Mt, Pleasant property, in Amherst,
Mass., there is an asparagus bed which has been in bearing for lully thirty years
past, and in other sections of the country beds have been known to live for fifty and
seventy-five years. In the vicinity of London the gardeners renew their beds every
twenty years.
The Sartlctt Tear.
The sale of the Bartlett Estate, on Boston Highlands, recalls the history of this
pear. Mr. Enoch Bartlett, the former owner, was Vice-President of the Massachu-
setts Horticultural Society for many years, and was quite a noted horticulturist.
Forty years ago he brought from his estate a choice pear, never before seen by the
members. Mr. Bartlett and the members of the society supposed it to be a seedling
pear, and out of regard to Mr. B., was named the " Bartlett Pear." But, in point
of fact, this was an old English pear, well known there as "William's Grood Chris-
tian," and had been imported by Mr. Brewer, who built the Bartlett house and laid
out the grounds, some time about the year 1815. But the estate being, after a few
years, sold, and passing into other hands, the history of this tree was not known until
Mr. B.'s introduction of it to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society made it famous.
The Matilda, Stratvberri/,
Mr. A. S. Fuller, in his report in Horticultural Annual, 1871, at last confesses
that this variety does not maintain its promise — " it is splendid in every respect except
quality, and in this I fear that it ivill disappoint those ivho have better so?-ts.^'
Our readers will please notice that this variety of strawberry is the very one
exhibited at the Fruit Growers' Club, three years since, and for which the Editor of
The Horticulturist received some entirely unnecessary criticism, because a pre-
mium was not awarded to it. It is gratifying at this late date to find the opinion of
the Editor, who was then one of the judges, thus confirmed by one who was at that
time among the very first to express dissatisfaction.
Feah's Ettpperor.
Mr. Fuller says of this: ■' There is a possibility of this proving to be the Agri-
culturist, or a seedling therefrom, so closely resembling its parent that good critical
judges cannot tell the difference. It is claimed, however, that it was raised prior to
the introduction of the Agriculturist ; but this has not been proved to the satisfac-
tion of all parties, and until it is, I shall consider them one and the same variety."
Florence Strawhet'ry,
Mr. Fuller thinks this is •' so nearly like its parent 'Wilson,' " that I do not think
it ehpuld be disseminated as a distinct yariety,"
184 Editorial J^otes.
The Jiiifdl Cltih of Netv Yorh:
"We have not had space hitherto to notice properly this new and strong association
of rural character. It numbers nearly 50 persons of prominent literary connections,
or gentlemen of wealth, taste, and a love for rural life and subjects of horticultural
progress and refinement. Two meetings have now been held at which an association
of guests and members participated in a fine collation, after which there was discus-
sion upon Flowers, Seeds, etc. It will, when fairly at work, have considerable
prominence, as New York has never, hitherto, maintained a purely Horticultural
Society successfully for any great length of time. This club hopes, by bringing in
more of the social and festive element, as well as all branches of rural discussion, to
create and keep up a society of high character, and realize a wide spread influence.
At the last meeting, speeches were made by Horace Greeley, Hon. Geo. Geddes, S. B.
Parsons, A. H. Green, J. S. T. Stranahan, Andrew S. Fuller, N. C. Ely, P. T:
Quinn, Dr. F. M. Hexamer, J. B, Lyman and others. The officers are : Horace
Greeley, President; J. B. Lyman, Ilecording Secretary; A. B. Crandell, Corres-
ponding Secretary; H. T. Williams, Treasurer.
The association meets only quarterly, and the next session is about June 15th ; dis-
cussion both practically and esthetically of Strawberries.
Gurilcn CultufC of Strawberries.
We find by experience that if cultivators will allow more room for their plants to
form good strong hills, the produce will be much greater and the berries much larger.
Two feet apart is near enough for large hills, and just before setting out the plant
we would throw down a big forkful of well-rotted barn-yard manure. It is well
also to add a couple handfuls of bone meal or superphosphate. This has an admi-
rable eff"ect in producing large quantities of berries. The bed system of growing
Strawberries, rarely is satisfactory ; it is an immense trouble to keep it clean, free
from weeds, and almost impossible to control the plants and prevent the too free
formation of runners. Where the parent plants are neglected, and runners allowed
to form freely, depend upon it, the bed is beginning to run down. The hill culture
of Strawberries and careful clipping of runners is the only judicious system of man-
agement. An item worth noticing is this, that on heavy lands your berries will be
late, but the produce will be very heavy, while on light lands the produce will be
light, and also very early. For family purposes we recommend the very richest part
of the garden ; yet we would not stimulate them too much with ammoniacal manures.
In fact the best crops we ever had were grown upon land where bone meal had been
used with great liberality. There are some soils upon which must be grown particu-
lar varieties. For instance, the Triomphe de Gand must be grown upon clay land ;
Jucunda upon shaly clay; Bussell's Prolific and Wilson's Albany will always do well
on light loamy land ; La Comtante must have a cool Northern climate and heavy
land. Of the later and most desirable varieties, Boyden's No. 30 and Charles Down-
ing will grow well almost anywhere; Barnes' Mammoth variable, but does well on.
light land, if runners are allowed to spread moderately around the parent vine. There
are few or no soils we have yet heard of but will grow one or more varieties of deli-
cious Strawberries, but rareful culture every week during the season is the only way
to be successful, no matter what may be the soil or manure.
Labels.
Wooden labels for plants to be inserted in the ground, may, it is said, be preserved
for an indefinite time by first dipping them into a solution of one part vitriol and
twenty-four parts water, and subsequently immersing in lime water, or a solution
of gypsum.
Wtiuregan Jlnspherry,
The same authority regards the Wauregan as " no more or less than the old J^elle
de Fontenay, a hardy, perpetual bearing sort, well known among nurserymen and
fruitgrowers.",
Editorial JVbtes. 185
Woodward's Gardens, San Francisco.
Mr. R. B. Woodward the proprietor of these famous Gardens, has Ijeen lately
adding some new and choice botanical specimens from foreign countries ; orchidaceous
plants are well represented. In the green houses is a superb specimen of the Banana
plant, just in flower and forming its young fruit. The Pine Apple is represented in
20 or 30 plants now in fruit. A fine collection of Azaleas in full bloom is represented
there, as also plants of the Draccena fragrans, the Phormium tenax {New Zealand
Jlax)^ the Ramie plant and a score or more varieties of the Acacia. In the new Mam-
moth Pavilion, 5lr. Woodward gave a fine entertainment to 10,000 Sunday School
Scholars recently, which was one of the most enthusiastic and delighted audiences
ever gathered together in that city.
Curoilios.
The easiest way undoubtedly to kill the Curculio is to spread a sheet on the ground,
then jar the trees, and destroy the fallen fruit. The jarring must be done in the cool
of the morning, while the Curculio is dormant and before the sun warms him up. A
correspondent of The Ohio Farmer tried this plan on four choice trees that had been
set fifteen years from which he never got a dozen perfect plums. " The first morning
that I spread the sheet, as I had never seen the critter, I did not know what to look
for. I picked up what I supposed to be a plum bud, but on giving it a slight pressure
found it was alive. The first morning I caught one hundred and three ; second,
ninety; third, fifty-one; fourth thirty; fifth, eleven; and sixth, one."
The Jttittcv Fears,
Mr. Satterthwaite in his remarks about Pears at Chambersburg, Pa., last January,
commends specially the above Pear. It is one of which fruit cultivators generally
have heard very little, and hence we quote Mr. Satterthwaite's remarks in full. "A
splendid, large and exceedingly productive pear of first-rate quality, very remarkable
for bearing enormous crops from the time the tree is first planted, and the tree all
the time is making the most vigorous growth. It is also an excellent keeper. I con-
sider this a fruit of great promise."
A. TAttle Bed of Herbs.
Every family should have its little patch of "Herbs." They are easily obtained;
some of them are perennial, and require replanting only once in several years. The
seed can all be found at our agricultural and horticultural stores. The list is as fol-
lows: Sweet Marjoram, Marigold, Thyme, Winter and Summer Savory, Coriander,
Aniseed, Rosemary, Lavender, Sweet Basil, Caraway, Fennel. Thyme, Winter
Savory, Fennel, Lavender and Sage are perennial ; the others require the seed to be
sown annually. — Germantowii Telegraph.
Snsqueco Jtaspherry.
Mr. Fuller says, in his notes on Small Fruits for 1870, "it is a dwarf-growing
variety, resembling the Pearl, a native red raspberry, cultivated to some extent by
small fruit growers in the vicinity of Philadelphia. It is one of the very best of our
native sorts, and by keeping the plants well mulched in summer, they will continue
in fruit for at least two months. Like all our native red raspberries, it produces a
great many suckers, but the canes are perfectly hardy, and generally quite productive."
A.merican fotnological Society.
The Biennial Meeting of this Society will be held at Richmond, Virginia, Sep-
tember 6th and 7th next. This meeting will be an unusually interesting one, and is
likely to draw a large number of fruit growers together from the South especially.
We think that there will be but a small attendance from the North.
Naomi Jtaspherry.
TSe same authority states : "I am confident that it is nothing more nor less than
the Franconia."
186 JSditorial JVotes.
The might in l^ear Trees,
Several nurserymen in Greneva, New York, are now using salt freely in their Pear
Nurseries, at from 200 to 400 lbs. per acre yearly, and say that it has a wholesome ten-
dency to correct the disposition to blight, as also to prevent it for the future. Certain
it is that where used there have been less indications of its prevalence than in other
parts where it was not used. We believe that salt is yet to play a very important
part in our agriculture and horticulture as a top dressing or for mixture with con-
centrated manure. It is now, together with lime, the very best of all applications to
mix with muck and reduce it to a friable condition. Iro?i shavings, copperas in
solution have also been used, as also Potash manure, and been found of special
efficacy in restoring the trees to full health and renewed vigor. An instance in point
is just related by a correspondent of the Rural Messenger :
" I had a very fine pear tree (Flemish Beauty) that became affected, first by blight
in one limb, which I removed, and then another and another was affected in the same
way, until I had removed a considerable portion of the top of the tree. Early next
sprino- I resolved to try the application of scrap iron to the roots. I procured my
iron, removed the soil from the roots carefully, deposited the iron between them, and
replaced the earth. There was no further progress in the blight, the tree continued
to grow that season, and the next leaves and blossoms came out vigorously, no black
spots appeared on the leaves and the tree bore finely, and no appearance of the dis-
ease was in the tree afterward. In subsequent conversation with friends I found
that some of them had become informed on the same subject, and had tried the same
remedy with perfect success. Some told me that they had procured turning and
drilling chips from the machine shops and had used them, as they thought, with
much advantage to their trees.
Prospects of Fruit.
In Delaware the prospects for Peaches promise the largest yield ever known.
Strawberries will be a moderate crop, about $ to g^ have been injured by a frost in
the latter part of April.
In New Jersey there will be but few Strawberries, serious frosts having damaged
them severely.
Around Cincinnati, nearly all the Strawberry blossoms were destroyed by frost.
In Central Illinois, the prospect for fruit is excellent, although some sections have
suffered severely from late frosts.
Pears all over the country will be only a moderate crop, not over ^ or 3-5 of last
year. We think that the prices of all fruit will be well maintained, this year, — and
less gluts than usual.
Iron for Pefif Trees.
A correspondent of The Country Gentleman says that if copperas and saltpetre
water are used around Pear trees, the trees will show the effects in a large yield of
fruit. He tried this on a Bartlett Pear tree that had yielded no fruit for two years
previous ; that very year it yielded 155 large fine pears, and the following year 250
equally fine ones, and is still doing finely. " If Pear trees want iron, which most of
our soils is deficient in, sulphate of iron or copperas is a good way to supply the
deficiency."
I'otash Fertilizers.
These German Salts of Potash have been introduced into this country, and some
sales have been made. We are informed that these salts now sold here are not gen-
uine Leopoldshall Kainit, but adulterated or calcined and ground with other mate-
rials. Only one person. Otto Radde, has the exclusive privilege of exporting these
salts from Germany, and a guarantee goes with each lot sold, from him. We are
experimenting with the lot now imported and sold here, and will investigate the
yaJue of theWj
J^dUorial J\rotes, 187
JEver-hloonilng Jloses.
Cohyna^i's Rural World says that many persons are disappointed because their
roses do not bloom constantly all summer, expecting from their title of Perpetual that
they should do so.
Now, the class of roses called Hybrid Perpetual, or Remontante, is not exactly
rightly named — that is, they do not bloom perpetually, but only at intervals. They
bloom full in June, and then give a few scattering blooms along during the summer, and
a good display again in Sept., doing better or worse, according as they are illy or liberally
treated. This class, however, possesses the most brilliant colors, largest sized flowers,
and fullest and finest shapes, and is deservedly very popular. But the true and real
ever-blooming roses belong to those classes usually called tender roses — the Bengal
or China, Tea, Bourbon and Noisette ; these, though more tender, and less robust
than the other classes, are not absolutely tender, but, in our latitude, by selecting
the hardier varieties, may easily be preserved through the winters by necessary pro-
tection.
The simplest and surest method of protecting these classes of roses, is to peg them
close to the surface of the ground, then cover with a few inches of coarse litter.
Strawy stable manure is best, in our opinion. Throw on a little soil to keep it in
place, and do not fail to cover the crown of the plant. Even if such manure is drawn
up around their stems six or nine inches high, the roots and lower branches are saved ;
and if the tops get killed, they can be cut down, and they will bloom as freely as
though all the top had been saved. This latter plan can only be adopted where the
plants stand closely together in beds, which, indeed, is the most effective way to grow
these, as well as the Remontante roses. Beds should be prepared exclusively for
their benefit, and if the soil is a clay loam, well rotted manure may be added, and
the beds spaded deeply, raising the surface of the bed a few inches above the natural
level of the ground.
The plants of these dwarf-growing varieties may be distributed about three feet
apart over the beds, and a vigorous growth should be kept up by clean culture, stir-
ring the soil often, top-dressing and digging in annually.
The following would comprise a dozen good varieties for such a bed ; some one
would choose other varieties, doubtless, but these are believed to be as good as any.
Hermosa, pink ; Duchess de Thuringe, waxy, clear white ; Cels, creamy white ;
Gloire de Dijon, blush and yellow ; Eugene Beauharnais, deep crimson ; Madame
Breon, rosy crimson ; Bougere, bronzed rose: Amie Vibert, pure white ; Daily Pink,
a profuse bloomer ; Agrippina, rich velvety crimson; Triomphe de Luxembourg, sal-
mon buff; Saffrano, fawn color shaded rose.
Xhe Hest Fear.
We notice that the testimony of experienced fruit-growers now points to the Beurre
d^Anjou, while the Lawrence fully equals it in popularity. It is hard to decide
between the two, but we believe there is more money to be made by planting the
latter, as it is a much more prolific tree when full grown. The Beurre d'Anjou
loses its size very much if allowed to hang too full on the trees. It needs thinning
more than any late Pear we have. As a Dwarf it is superb ; and we think in time
will be found quite as profitable as the Duchesse d'Angouleme. The Beurre Clari-
geau is acknowledged to be the very handsomest of all our winter varieties ; but
somewhat unreliable as to dropping both leaves and fruit before it matures ; hence
cultivators are planting it very cautiously.
Soiv to groiv Canteloupes or Mtisk jilelons.
The public seem to be inclined to drop the familiar name of Musk Melons, and are
adopting the old style cognomen of Ca?iteloupe. The Germantown Telegraph says
that the culture of this garden fruit is becoming more general. Almost every per-
son having a garden of any size is beginning to try his hand at it, and it can be done
with almost as much success as raising a crop of corn. The ground should have a
188 .Editorial JVotes,
warm exposure and be friable — clay mould not being adapted ; the hill ishoulJ be
dug out eight to ten inches, two feet in diameter, and filled with well-rotted manure,
rich soil and sand — turnpike dirt is excellent as a substitute for the latter. Five or
six seeds should be put at equal distances about an inch in depth, and the "hill"
should be even with the other soil. The hills should be about six feet apart each
way, and the plants, when they have passed all danger, should be thinned out to two
or three in a hill. The beds must be kept clear of all weeds and grass, and when the
vines commence running they should not be disturbed, as the rootlets connected with
the vine, and by which it is largely supplied with nourishment, will be broken. The
ground, as the vines begin to extend, should be gone over with an iron rake, espe-
cially after a heavy shower, to loosen it and give these rootlets a chance to take hold.
The seed should be planted at the time of corn-planting.
Sowing round the hill, a few inches distant, early radish seed, will sometimes pro-
tect the young plants from the bugs, and always will be more or less beneficial.
Should bugs appear, a sprinkling of weak whale-oil soap and water will soon send
them adrift.
The best variety of canteloupes to plant, in this section, is the " Citron," the
" Jenny-Lind," and " Cassaba." The Nutmeg is too late for us. There is a ivMte
canteloupe, which is remarkably fine, but it seems only to be a "sport," and not a
distinct variety.
There is no reason why all our farmers should not have a patch of canteloupes for
family use. A plot of ground 40 by 20 feet would be enough for a moderate-sized
family.
Trimming JSverf/reens.
I am often asked the question : Can evergreens be trimmed, and if so, when is the
best time ? After quite a number of years' experience, I have found the best time
for trimming pines is after they have made most of their growth, that is, the White
Pine, Austrian, Scotch and Corsican.
Evergreens grow in the first part of the season, and after they are nearly done
growing, before the wood becomes hard, pinch the new wood off with the thumb and
finger, or cut it with a knife. This, I think, is the best way to trim pines.
For Norway, Spruce, Balsam and Fir it is best to trim early in the season, before
they commence growing, say from the first of March to the last of April. The Bal-
sam does not require much trimming, unless it is cut off the side limbs, so as to keep
the tree in good shape. If the top is cut ofi", the growth will be retarded very much,
in some cases for two years or more. But this is not the case with the Norway and
Spruce, if the top is cut off, it will make a vigorous growth in the same season. As
the wood is hard, it is best to use a sharp knife. Hold the knife so as to cut from
the underside, then it will not show.
For Junipers, Arbor Vitge and Bed Cedar, the best tool to trim with, unless large
limbs are cut, is a pair of sheep shears.
Persons wishing their trees trimmed will find this way very good, and resulting
from experience. A very little time spent will keep any tree in good shape. — Cor.
Medina, 0., Gazette.
Ticnv of JVinkfield I'cnr,
John Jay Smith says in The Gardener^s Monthly, that he priced Vicar of Wink-
field Pears in one of the Philadelphia fruit stores, last January, and the modest
price asked was 75 cents each,— -they were very large and fine.
Phlox for Garden Culture.
We know of but few varieties of hardy plants that better repay the grower than
this very beautiful and desirable diversified genus, that will afford such variety of
colors and prolongation of bloom. In colors, we have them from pearly white to
deep crimson, with all the intermediate shades and variations, many of which are
highly fragrant, They will grow well and bloom profusely in sunshine and in shade,
Bditoriat J^/btes. 189
making them well adapted to any location, and one of the most useful plants we have
for shrubberies or gardens — are especially to be relied on for the flower garden,
because they require but little care, in fact they care for themselves ; are of the
easiest possible culture — growing and blooming well in any good garden soil — and
are easily grown from seed. Seedlings blooming the second year are easily propa-
gated from cuttings ; also, by division of the roots. Every eye with a bit of root
will grow readily. Division of the roots should be performed early in the spring as
they start into growth, or in the fall, immediately after they are done blooming.
When stirring the soil around them in the spring, they should be examined, to see
that they are not too high out of the earth, as there is a tendency with them, as with
most herbaceous plants, to grow out of the ground, or be heav-ed out by frost. When
this is found to be the case, take up and re-set the plants before their growth is too
far advanced. You will be amply repaid with a finer show of bloom and a greater
luxuriance of foliage by forking in a little well-rotted manure around the plants each
season ; also, by pruning out the weaker shoots. An occasional watering, should
the season be dry, pays well. This splendid genus has undergone great improve-
ments in the past few years under the eye of the florist, in the size of its trusses and
the brilliancy of its many fine colors, as well as the prolongation of its time of bloom-
ing from spring to autumn. — Kx,
Botise Plants.
At a late meeting of the Rhode Island Horticultural Society, there was some
pleasant talk about House Plants.
Mr. Levi Metcalf said he had been quite successful this and previous winters in
raising varieties of hyacinth, and other plants, in pots, in a Wardian case at a
window, where the plants had the sun about two hours and a half every day. The
case should be kept open, or they need expect no blooming plants. The hyacinths
would look, after the sun had shone in on the closed case, as if they had been dried
or steamed. At night, however, when he lit the gas, he would always close the case.
He would recommend everybody to have a case of the kind, rather than to grow
plants in or upon a window. The case had better be laid on a table, lined with zinc.
Fill the case half full with good clean sand, put the sand in dry ; the moisture would
go through the pots and the glass would be wet in the morning, sometimes too much
so. The general trouble in growing house plants was that people lived in too warm
rooms. Most plants were best suited by a temperature of about fifty degrees, while
some plants grew better in a higher temperature. About fifty degrees was best for
japonicas, geraniums and carnations, while most people like to have their rooms at a
temperature of about seventy degrees.
Where a person had but a few plants, they could be cleared of insects at any time
they chose, but he thought it indispensable to take out decayed matter from the case
as soon as convenient. He was in the habit of re-arranging his plants once a week
or so, as a means of refinement.
The president thought there was very little difiiculty in growing hyacinths in the
house in pots. He begun ten years ago, and soon arrived at one result, that for
plants to flourish in the house there must be moisture in the air. He lived in a large
house, heated by a furnace, the air was very dry, the furniture cracked with the heat,
there were seams in the doors, and the skins of the people residing in the house
appeared parched and dry. He introduced a system of ventilation, and found that
a great change followed for the better. The furniture no longer cracked, the seams
in the doors closed up, throat and lung ailments ceased to trouble the inmates of the
house, and the plants began to flourish. From this experience he drew the inference
that the air necessary for plants was also necessary for the good health of men,
women, and children. He had been led more lately to believe that lack of ventilation
aff"eeted plants even more than lack of moisture. Sulphuric acid accumulated in
rooms kept closed for some time, and that acid was fatal to plants. With his rooms
190 Editorial JVoies.
properly ventilated, however, he had found that the plants flourished as well as in
the old-fashioned houses with fire-places. Plants needed occasional washing, and to
be kept carefully clean of insects. He had carried one hundred plants through
winters, on all sides of the house, north, east, south and west, without losing any of
them, and having flowers all the time. Another gentleman said that epsom salts
were eff"ectual in removing insects from plants.
Petunias.
This old, well known, popular bedding plant, has been most wonderfully improved
during the past ten years ; from the small, single, self-colored varieties have been
produced the most gorgeously and elaborately marked varieties ; beautiful double
ones with the sweetest fragrance.
Coquette — Changeable ground colors of purple and white, with distinctly defined
bars of blue radiating from the centre outward.
Fascinatio7i — Clear, fine rose, with white centre.
Lady Douglas — Purple and Violet, shaded white.
Striata Superba — Pure white, blotched -and striped carmine; beautiful.
Wa?-rior — White lilac, striped carmine.
Above are single varieties ; the following are double :
Inimitable — Flowers blotched, the centre petals are richly flaked with white and
violet.
Margiiiata Monstrosa — Flowers four inches in diameter, beautiful mauve flower,
tipped and splashed with green.
Edioard Beech— Clear white ground, striped dark chocolate ; fine.
Queen of Whites — White, very double, fragrant, and the best white yet produced.
Albert Victor — Double ; lilac purple ; good.
Heiress — Solfcrino, mottled and shaded white.
Duke of Ar gyle — Lilac and purple, veined white.
President Lincohi — Imbricated carmine and white with deeper shade ; very sweet.
Annie — Brilliant white, blotched and spotted violet and crimson.
Atalanta — Rich crimson ground, shaded rose, with inner petals edged green, and
outer ones with dark green belt ; very fine.
Sherman — Scarlet and crimson, with distinct blush shade, one of the best.
The Petunia is easily handled, its great requisites are light and a good soil. It
will not prosper in a shaded situation. Succeeds well on mounds, where it should
be pegged down to give it a good bedding form. Cut away most of wood when lifted
in the fall to bring to conservatory, or for keeping in cellar over winter. — Thompson
in Rural World.
J^npnnese Tjilies.
The Japanese Lilies are so hardy, as well as beautiful, that they should become as
common as the Turk's Cap and Tiger Lilies. They are now all moderately cheap,
and if one only has a bulb or two to start with, the stock may readily be increased.
If left to themselves, the bulbs become large clumps by natural subdivision, but this
is a slow way of multiplying them. If a lily be taken up in autumn, after the
leaves have withered, there will be found upon the stem, just above the old bulb, a
mass of small bulbs intermingled with roots. A dozen, and even more, are frequently
found. The little bulbs may be removed and planted out separately, or the stem to
which they are attached may be cut ofi" just above the old bulb, and set out with the
cluster of bulbs and roots attached. They should be covered the first winter with a
few inches of litter. The next season they will make strong bulbs.
Another method of propagation is from the scales, of which the lily is mostly made
up. These scales arc attached to a solid portion at the base of the bulb, and they
are broken off close to this, it being important to get the very base of the scale.
The outer scales of a bulb may be removed without injury to it. Indeed, the
majority of those off"ered for sale by florists have first been deprived of their outer
JEditorial JVotes. 191
scales, which makes the bulb look better, and at the same time gives them material
for propagation. The scales are set out in an upright position in boxes of sandy
compost, pressing them down into it until the point is about level with the surface.
The boxes are to be placed in a room where they will be at about the temperature
of 50 or 60 degrees, and kept just moist enough to prevent shrivelling. In about
two months a small bulb, sometimes two, will be found at the base of each scale.
In spring the boxes are plunged in the open ground, and the bulbs allowed to grow
all summer; in the following autumn cover them with litter, and the next spring if
too thick, they are to be planted out separately. — Exchange.
fears in 1870.
P. Barry, in his Notes of Pears for the Horticultural Annual, states : " The crop
of Beurre cfAiijou was lighter than I have ever seen it, but what there was of it was
very fine. Josephine de Malines were extraordinary in size, and generally marked
with red in the sun as they have very rarely been before. Clapp's Favorite was very
fine, showing it to be as reliable as the Bartlett. Prices were well maintained.
Summer varieties were sold at Rochester at from $2 to $3 per bushel ; autumn varie-
ties at $4:. Some that we sent to Philadelphia were sold at $S to $10 the half barrel,
of nearly one and a half bushels. In one case eighty pears — Duchesse d'Angou-
leme — filled the half barrel, making 12| cents a-piece."
Jthododendrotis nnd A.mericnn Flnnts.
Mr. Edward S. Rand, Jr., has issued the above new book, from the press of Little,
Brown & Co., Boston. It has been a favorite subject with him, and as yet but little
referred to in the horticultural literature of the day. His collection of Rhododen-
drons is believed to be the largest in the entire country, and increases yearly. He
says: " These plants are attractive at all seasons ; in flower they are magnificent ; in
foliage they excel any evergreens. They can be grown as easily as lilacs, and bloom
quite as freely."
Considerable space is devoted to Azaleas and Kalmias. The list of varieties is
very full and complete, and we are glad to find that he has compiled several hardy
lists of best varieties most suitable for the general planter. The publishers have
done justice to this excellent work by excellent type and paper. Price, $1.75.
California Raisins.
A correspondent of the San Fra7icisco Pioneer, writing from Southern California,
savs : " Mr. Smith, of Ancheim, six miles from this colony, showed us raisins of his
own curing that were equal to any that are imported ; and he informed us that he
had simply cut them oft" and thrown them on the ground to dry. He plants about
1,000 vines to the acre, and says, when in good bearirg condition, say five years old,
they produce about twenty pounds of raisins to the vine." Orange trees nine to ten
years old yield 1,000 oranges per tree. English Walnut trees, ten years old, yield
$10 per tree each year ; twenty-six are planted to each acre.
JKTr. Wilder's Z,ecture on California.,
The citizens of Philadelphia had an excellent opportunity, last April, to listen to
Mr. Wilder's lecture on California. It was exceedingly interesting, and the audience
were well entertained. A reception was given after it, as also an entertainment by
the officers of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society.
Wire Fences and Trellises.
Mr. Philip S. Justice, of Philadelphia, has invented a very cheap and convenient
wire fence, for either the front of pleasure grounds, or as division lines, or as trel-
lises for vines. The cost is so cheap, and the convenience so great, that we shall not
wonder if they meet with general favor from the public.
192 Mdif.orial JVotes.
yeiospaper Changes and News.
The Rock River Farmer is a new agricultural monthly, published at Dixon, 111.
Price, ^1 per annum.
Sloan'' s Architectural Review is a failure, having suspended last November.
The Western Gardener, through a fire and the burning of its office, has lost its
subscription books, causing considerable trouble in mailing numbers to its subscribers.
The publishers request all who notice this fact to write and send their names at once
to them for correct entry upon a new book.
Our Home Journal, a new Illustrated Agricultural and Home Weekly, from New
Orleans, $3 per annum.
Tennessee Agriculturist, McMinnville, Tenn., weekly, $2.50 per annum.
Attractive Strawberries for Market.
I would say that fruit that has a high color — glossy and bright, always sells well,
even if but of ordinary size ; hence, it behooves every grower to give his fruit this
peculiar lustre or gloss. This can only be done by heavy mulching with coarse litter-
like straw or hay. This keeps the surface moist, and prevents the sun's reflection
from burning the fruit, and giving it that dull, dead appearance that too much fruit
on the market stands have, and which so operates against their ready sale at paying
prices. And, too, vines that are well mulched are not so apt to produce fruit that is
knotty and hard. Here, then, is one important requirement to grow first-class fruit.
I could not but note the appearance of fruit on the stands in New York last spring,
and could tell at a glance, from that peculiar glossy appearance, which came from
plantations that were mulched properly ; and those who purchase fruit soon learn this;
hence the quick sale of certain brands. — Small Fruit Recorder.
What Apples to Grow for Mnrlcet,
Dr. Hull, of the Prairie Farmer, visited the Chicago markets last fall, to ascer-
tain the relative value of the different varieties of apples. Here is the results of his
tour :
" One house visited by us in February last, which purchased and stored upwards
of twenty thousand barrels. of apples the past fall, for the winter trade, were then
putting them on the market. Ben Davis, and other handsome, but inferior apples,
were selling at $3.75 to $4 per barrel. Baldwins, $4 to $5. 50. R. I. Greenings,
SG, while a variety known as Pomme Grise, a small gray apple, not better looking
than medium sized lloxbury Russets, but possessing qualities superior to any variety
known to us, were selling to regular customers at $8 the barrel. And, we are
assured, six times as many R. I. Greenings, at the price named ($6) could be sold as
of any other, because of its well-known, good eating and cooking qualities. In other
words, people had come to know it, and would rather pay these extra rates than take
the risk of getting the beautiful, but greatly inferior fruits."
liiff Asparaffus.
Shirley Ilibberd, in the London Gardenei'"' s Jifagazine, thinks that all the Giant
and Colossal character in asparagus comes simply from "diflference in culture, rather
than difference in seed." Wide planting will undoubtedly give large shoots and
more of them from each hill ; but how is it that when two beds are put out side by
side, one will be large and fit for cutting a year before the other ? This is the way
Conover's Colossal acts here, near New York.
Editorial Acknotvledgrncnts.
To Miller & Hayes, for one package of plants. To C. A. Reeser, for one box of
flowers. To Marshall P. Wilder, for 100 plants of the President Wilder Strawberrj^.
For American Agricultural Annual, 1871. For American Horticultural Annual,
1871. For Transactions Massachusetts Horticultural Society, 1870.
£.s£f^-
TOL. 26.
JULY, 18T1.
1^0. 301.
Home G-ardens.
Strmvberry Seds.
THOSE beds which have done yielding their fruit should now be carefully over-
hauled and thoroughly cleaned out, old leaves should be clipped off, weeds pulled
Out, and the ground made clean, clear and mellow ; the success of next year's crops
depends entirely upon the care of this year's plants from now until October. If
neglected the fruit will fail. If any are too skeptical about the efficacy of removal
of all the leaves from the tops of their plants, let them try but a few plants this
year. Select a dozen and clip off all leaves, old and new, cover them with a moder-
ate sprinkling of mulch, so as to keep off the hot sun, and let the mulch remain for
a couple of months until the new leaves have been formed. If this plan should prove
a success on first trial, the cultivator can thereafter extend the systen to his entire
bed. The philosophy of the practice is simple, being to clear off all incubus and
draft upon the plant, such as old leaves, stems, &c., and to permit the roots to form
a new top or breathing vent and new and more healthy and vigorous fruit sets. We
have yet to learn of a single failure where the work has been properly done. The
mulching is indispensable to perfect success.
Mitlching a Protection Against J>routJi.
Our article on mulching published two years since, was widely copied throughout
the United States, and has had an effect in drawing the attention of fruitgrowers to
this practice as the only true and sound one for the successful cultivation of fruit and
the preservation of trees through varying seasons of dry and hot weather. Straw-
berries are now generally mulched, and less gritty or sandy fruit is now seen in our
markets than ever before.
A sagacious small fruit grower near New Brunswick, N. J., mulches his place
heavily dnd never removes it from one year's end to the other. His soil is always
13
194 Jlome Gardens.
cool, mellow, and his trees and vines never suffer from heat, his fruit is large, fair and
delicious, and his produce is extraordinary in quantity.
For all newly planted trees in the spring of the year, mulching is the only safe
guarantee of their success, — without mulching many will fail; with it, not one should
he lost. The practise is also a saving of labor, and if the mulch is applied two to
three inches deep, it will keep down all weeds.
Mulching can also be used to retard fruit three to ten days in time of ripening.
Upon sandy light soil, currants can not be grown without it.
Pears dropping from the tree are safe from bruises. Tomatoes mulched with it,
will double their produce. We scarcely know of a single objection to mulching, and
in our experience it has proved one of the most economical and efficient aids to fruit
culture ever brought to the notice of the public.
Soivhiy Tomatoes.
We have uniformly found that where tomato seed has been sown in the hill where
the plants are to remain, and they are not transplanted, we can obtain more than
double the quantity from plants that are transplanted. They will be somewhat later,
but larger and finer fruit. Transplanting has the effect of inducing early ripening
at the sacrifice of an abundant quantity and large size.
How to Mtihe a Stnnll Fruit i'nriii I'ny its Wny.
First. — Never run in debt for land or improvements or stock. Interest to pay will
eat up all your profits.
Second. — Spend on manure all you can spare. Manure is like judicious advertis-
ing, sure to come back again with double interest. Keep cows, and make manure ;
keep a good compost-heap under way. Never spend a cent off the farm for fertilizers.
Third. — Do not depend upon fruits exclusively for a living, but have some extra
land to give you corn, potatoes, beans and other farm produce for home support and
comfort. Raise enough hay, grass and grain for your horse, cows, and keep some
pigs and poultry. Eggs, chickens and butter will help pay your store bills. The
sale of your calves and hogs will help give you a good winter outfit.
Fo2irth. — Do not depend upon one kind of fruit, but have a variety ripening from
the earliest down to the latest of the growing season — aspargus — strawberries, rasp-
berries, blackberries, early pears, late pears. Do not attempt too much ; two
acres of each will be enough to succeed well with on a moderate capital.
Fifth. — Be prepared for a good many disappointments — bad seasons, late rains,
at times unprofitable markets, sometimes untrustworthy agents. Choose a farm near
a good thriving town and work that up. Market your own fruit yourself as far as
possible.
Sixth. — Be prepared to invest considerable capital in small fruits before it becomes
successful. Your first crop of strawberries will rarely ever pay more than enough
for the expense of plants and planting; the second crop will hardly pay for the berry
baskets, and the third crop will only give a margin for making up deficiencies here
and there. It is only after the third year that profits can be counted.
Seventh. — Small fruit culture is only profitable to those who start with capital,
no debts, plenty of manure and can " hang on " to the very last.
Some Gardens. 195
JCillinff Grtiba,
The following cheap and effecacious method is given in a late number of The Gardeners^
Monthly : *' Dissolve a coffee-cup full of salt in hot water, then put into a common
sized watering pan, and fill up with cold water. Just give each plant a gentle switch
over with this mixture, and they will disappear in a moment, and the salt and water
will nourish the plants wonderfully. All greens arc fond of salt and water. Some
people would be afraid of killing their cauliflowers ; but it must be borne in mind
that the salt and water will not penetrate the leaves. It runs off to the roots, kill-
ing every caterpillar in its way."
Soil for Glndiolus.
The Riu-al Messenger says, that a deep mellow soil with an abundance of sun and
air, yet light and rich from the previous year's manuring, is far better than soil in
which fresh manure has been just applied. The former will give immediate and con-
tinuous stimulus to the bulb, while the other will afford an overdose in June and
early in July, failing therewith as dry August and early September comes, and it
will not recover until the bloom is over and gone.
Bulbs planted in light, dry, thin soil, or with fresh manure, for support, generally
burn up and die out in midsummer with the heat.
If bulbs are ready on hand in the springtime, and the soil is not ready, pack them
in moss, wet with tepid water, and lay them, not in the sun, but in a warm room a
few days, or until the ground is fitted for them. The earlier a hill is started the bet-
ter its bloom.
"When planting, it is a good practice to surround the bulbs with clean soil ; but
unless the soil is of a rather heavy or clayey nature such practice is not absolutety
essential to successs. Plant the bulb two to three inches deep — the latter depth for
heavy soil — and at distances of eight inches apart each way.
Trellis for Tomatoes,
Over each hill of tomatoes place a four-square frame made as follows : Let the
upright pieces be about two and a-half feet high, one inch square. Select three pieces
of lath one foot to one and a-half long and nail crossways. One across the top of
the upright sticks and the others at distances of nine inches below. Place this over
the hill before the plant has grown a foot high, and train the stems upon the lateral
supports ; thus the fruit is kept from the ground and will double in size and perfection
of quality.
Sumtner Pruning Small Fruits.
Summer pruning does away with the necessity of staking and tying raspberries
and blackberries. It does more than this ; it increases the amount of fruit, makes
it of better size and flavor, and gives the canes a form and a degree of hardness which
enables them better to resist the severity of Northern winters. Without summer
pruning these small fruits cannot be grown with profit or with any degree of certainty
as to yield. A plantation neglected in this particular would soon run out.
The Black Cap Raspberries should be checked in their upward growth when about
two or two and one-half feet in height. The work may be done either by pinching
or cutting. If the patch be large, a convenient method is to clip the tops of the
196 JSbme Gardens.
young canes with a common corn knife, and the work can be done about as fast as a
man can walk along the rows. The upward growth being thus checked, the side
branches start vigorously, and push out long and assume a drooping form. A new
upward growth usually will not begin again, but in case it should, the cutting or
pinching must be repeated. We should not check the growth of the side branches,
unless they interfere with cultivation the first season, but shorten them in early in
the spring of their bearing year.
The Antwerps and their class should, also, be summer pruned when the shoots
are about the same height. It is an object to promote the growth of side branches,
as on these most of the fruit will be borne. Thus shortened the canes become stiff
enough to support themselves in an upright position without the use of stakes.
Blackberries must be shortened in as above described, if the grower gets any
profit or comfort in trying to produce this fruit. It produces the same effect as on
the raspberries, viz : causing the side shoots to grow with vigor, and these must be
severally shortened next spring. With this management staking may be entirely dis-
pensed with, as, indeed, it is in plantations where these fruits are cultivated on a
large scale for market.
Too many new canes should not be allowed to grow in a hill. Three or four of
the Black Caps are sufficient ; four or five of the Antwerps and this class, and two
or three of Blackberries. If more appear they should be cut away. — American
Rural Home.
The Vnlue of a Good Garden.
A writer in The Prairie Farvier, says : — A man of my acquaintance, who follows
a professional life, more than half supports for six of the spring, summer and autumn
months, a family of five from the products of a spot of land considerably less than a
quarter of an acre. The outside is set with the hardier small fruits, which, coming
each in their season, furnish a luscious desert for the table ; then comes peas, separate
plantings, that gave of this delectable dish a supply for three months ; and best of
all, green corn, the first planted in April, the last in August, ripening from July to
November, and giving a larger amount of palatable and wholesome food than can be
produced in the same area, whatever other crop is planted.
Jilorning Glories.
A floral contributor to the N. E. Farmer, says, she put some morning glories on
the east side of her house last spring, and from nine vines, obtained seventeen hun-
dred and fifty blossoms.
Currnnt Vorins. •
As usual, these pests have re-appeared this spring in many places, but mostly in
the Northern and Middle States. One cultivator says, "he tried whale oil soap, but
the worms grew fat upon it; tobacco soap rather subdued them ; strong soap-suds*were
only a grateful shower, and water made strong and dark with droppings from the hen
roost had much more effect upon the user than upon the worm."
The editor of the N. E. Farrner, says, "white hellebore" proved the most effec-
tive of all methods he tried, still there are some objections to it. In the first place,
it is a poisonous article, and in careless hands might be the means of much suffering,
Sbine Garde7is. 197
or prove fatal to humau life. In a small way, in private gardens, its cost might not
prove burdensome, but where currants are raised for market, it would be objection-
able. Again, it is a slow, disagreeable, and tedious task, to apply it to the bushes
so as to prevent the ravages of the worms. The fly comes from the ground and
deposits its eggs on the under sides of the leaves, and at first usually on that part of
the foliage near the ground. If the hellebore is sifted on the foliage it must pass
down into the centre of the bush quite freely, and cover most of the leaves, or the
■worms will continue their work. We made careful use of it last year, and found it
efficacious in some degree, but not a certain preventive. Carefully searching for the
leaves containing eggs or worms, picking them into boxes and crushing them under
feet, accomplished more than anything else resorted to. But that process was tire-
some, and to some is a disgusting one, and unless the bushes were quite vigorous,
the leaves could not well be spared. Carbolic acid in solution was tried, but did
not prove satisfactory. That is also poisonous, and therefore a dangerous article to
have about.
The carholate of liive is another article used to destroy the currant worm. It is
in the form of a fine flour, has a disagreeable odor, and we should think would be
quite objectionable if any portion of it should touch the fruit. Dr. E. Worcester, of
Waltham, Mass., informed the editor of the Boston Journal of Chemistry, that "he
tried this powder in many instances last summer, and found that while it was fully
as effectual as hellebore, it was less disagreeable, less costly and perfectly safe. The
method of using it is to sprinkle it over the vines as soon as the worm makes its
appearance. One or two applications was found sufficient. Neither the foliage nor
the fruit, he stated, was injured by the carbolate of lime."
In the Religious Magazifie for March, 1871, the Rev. E. H. Sears, after relating
several experiments to destroy the currant worm, which proved ineffectual, says :
" Soon after these disastrous experiments, I was on a visit to a friend who is an
amateur gardener. I was surprised to find his currant bushes green and flourishing,
and pretty well loaded with clusters ; while looking over the fence into his neighbor's
garden, the bushes were stripped entirely bare. ' How in the world did you save
them ? ' was a very natural, and in my case a very eager inquiry. Take a pound of
copperas and dissolve it in seven gallons of water, and sprinkle it over the bushes with
a watering pot. My bushes were getting covered with the worm, but one application
dosed him effectually. I advised my neighbor over the fence to do the same, but
neighbor's wife objected, fearing the copperas would poison the currants, and so he
sprinkled them with lime ; and you see the result. My friend found a second appli-
cation necessary a few weeks later when the pest re-appeared ; and the result was ^
large and beautiful crop of ripe currants."
198 ^ Handsome Ornamental Tree,
A Handsome Ornamental Tree. The Abies Albertiana.
THIS beautifnl evergreen has not as yet been cultivated in this country, and we
doubt whether it is even known upon the catalogues of our most extensive nursery-
men. The plant is a native of Oregon and British Columbia, and was introduced
into England by Jeffrey, who sent home some seeds while on his Oregon expedition,
and from these, has been raised this fine specimen of a variety of the Hemlock spruce.
It was at first called, Jeffrey''s Abies taxifolia, then afterwards named by Gordon in
his Pinetum, as the Abies Mertensiana. Murray, however, pronounced the two
species entirely distinct in foliage, cones, and other particulars, and describes it as
altogether a new variety, and gives to it the name of Abies Albertia, in honor of
Prince Albert, and by this name it has since been known.
The accompanying illustration of a fine specimen was taken from a photograph of
a tree growing on Mr. George Pattou's property of the Cairnies, in Perthshire.
This was raised from the first consignment of seeds received from Jeffrey, in 1851,
and at the time of the sketch was eleven years of age, and fifteen feet high. The
place where it was growing is on the southern slope of the Grampian hills, about ten
miles west of Perth, and consequently in a much worse climate and more exposed
district than will be found in three-fourths of the whole of Great Britain.
Another specimen, very beautiful, fourteen feet six inches high, is to be seen at
Hafodums, the property of H. R. Sandbach, Esq.
Specimens of the cones and leaves of Abies Mertensiana and of the Abies Albertiana,
are in the collection of the Boyal Horticultural Society, Loudon, England. Mr.
Murray gives the following botanical description :
"A tree of 100 to 150 feet in height; branches, flexible and weeping; branchlets,
slender, with a dirty, brown bark, pubescent; pulvini slightly angularly decursent,
thickened at apex, wholly, and pressed to the branchlet ; phyllulse semi-orbicular ;
buds, small, surrounded at the base by pulvini, and enclosed by one row of about five
scales ; leaves, from three to seven lines long, perennial ; subdistichous, petiolate,
linear, somewhat pointed, entire, above glabrous and without stomata, below with a
midrib, on each side of which, are about nine or ten irregular and inconspicuous rows
of stomata ; inflorescence, not observed ; cones, fawn colored, about an inch in length,
elongate-ovate with five rows of scales in the longitudinal spiral, amounting to about
twenty-five scales in all ; scales elongate, oblong, oval, about six or seven lines in
length, and three and a half lines in breadth; coriaceous, somewhat glabrous, and
substriated on the outside where exposed, tomentose inside, and where covered by the
neighboring scales, stipitate, eared at the base on one side, rounded on the other ;
margins, slightly irregular ; bracts linear, blunt at the point, with the margins entire,
about three lines in length, and three-fourths of a line in breadth ; seeds, small,
inequilateral, easily separated from the wing, which is about three times the length
of the seed, and one and a half times its breadth.''
The Abies Alhcrllana.
199
T/te Ahies AXhertianat
200 l^uninff ShtmbbcT^y,
Pruning Shrubbery.
T^HERE is, perhaps, no subject in horticulture so little understood by amateurs as
-*• pruning. The gardener, when he prunes trees and shrubs, does it for the pur-
pose of regulating the crop of fruit or flowers. Besides forming the shape of the sub-
ject he operates upon, he has learned to form a limb or branch where they are wanted ;
also to check the growth so that it will conform to whatever space it may be con-
venient to confine it. This the amateur may easily learn, if he will but try. Of
course he will have to make himself perfectly familiar with the different varieties of
shrubs, and their seasons of flowering and habits of growth. All shrubs do not grow
alike, as, for instance, the Azaleas, Daphnes, Rhododendron and Poeony, Moutan or
Shrubby Poeony; these are slow growing shrubs, and seldom require any pruning, just
sufiicient to keep them in shape. If a person, ignorant of the characteristics of
these plants, should undertake to prune them the same as we prune Altheas, why the
natural consequence would be total loss of bloom. There are diff"erent opinions as
to the proper time for pruning. It has been settled as a fixed fact that early in
February or March is the best time ; but facts are not always correct, although they
are said to be stubborn things. Some varieties do not flower until late in the sea-
son, such as the Rose of Sharon and some of the Spireas. These may be pruned any
time early in spring, as they produce their flowers on wood of the same season's
growth, wiile the Spirea Prunifolia produces its beautiful wreaths of delicate white
flowers on slender shoots of the last season's growth. If these shoots are pruned at
the usual season, when all other pruning is done, the crop of flowers is diminished in
proportion to the amount of wood taken away. This applies to most of the shrubs
which bloom earl}'^, and particularly to the Syringa Persica, or Persian Lilacs ; these
produce their flowers on the extreme ends of the wood of the last year's growth. If
these are cut ofi^, the flower§ are lost for that season. Our practice has been, of late
years, to let all the early blooming shrubs flower, and immediately after to prune
them ; by adopting this course we h£ive a full crop of flowers, and there is plenty of
time to make flowering wood the balance of the season. Some varieties of shrubs
are very straggling in their habits of growth, as the Forsythia, Cydonia, Japonica
and Philadelphus Inodorus — these require very close pruning to keep them in proper
shape. The double flowering Almond is another of the shrubs that ought never to
be pruned until it is done blooming. Pruning for modifying the form of the shrub
embraces the management of the plant from the first year of its growth. If it is
attended to at this period, it is a very simple matter to have beautifully shaped
plants. For small grounds, shrubs are more suitable than trees, on account of the
beauty of their different colored flowers and the ease with which they may be kept
within bounds. As an article for hedges, to divide different portions of the garden,
we would recommend the Cydonia Japonica, Wigelia and Spii'ea Reevesii. Deutzia
Scabra grows quite high, and makes a capital hedge.. They are easily kept in shape
by the judicious use of the pruning shears,. Thomas Cavanagh.
The Cynthiana Grape. , 201
The Cynthiana G-rape.
GEO. HUSMANN, of Hermann, Mo , in his Grrape Notes in his journal, The Grape
Culturist, stated recently that the Cynthiana Grrape gives '^the best red ivine yet
produced on the American Co7iti7ient.^' An opinion of such unqualified praise de-
serves raore than usual notice ; hence we reproduce here his more extended remarks,
lately written in The Prairie Farmer:
" There are so few American wine grapes that are wholly free from objections of
some kind, that we naturally prize very highly one having so many excellencies as
this one possesses. The following, written more than two years ago, are equally
applicable now that this grape has been much more widely tested, and we ven-
ture a reprint, particularly as many of our present readers have probably never
seen the number containing the illustration and description of this very valuable grape.
"Received by us in 1868, from Wm. R. Prince, Flushing, Long Island, N. Y.,
Origin, Arkansas, where it was probably found growing wild. It is a true ^Estivalis
in all its habits, and resembles Norton's Virginia so closely that it is nearly impos-
sible to distinguish the wood or leaf, although the bunch is generally somewhat more
shouldered, and the berry more juicy and somewhat sweeter.
"Bunch of medium size, modei'ately compact and shouldered. Berry below me-
dium, round and black, with blue bloom; sweet, spicy, moderately juicy. Juice very
dark red. Weighs very heavy on the must scale, even higher than Norton's Virginia,
and makes, so far, our best red wine. It has as much body, or even more, than Nor-
ton's Virginia, but is of exquisite flavor, being much more delicate than Norton's and
can safely enter the lists with the choicest Burgundy wines.
" Vine, vigorous, healthy and productive, as sure in its crops of well ripened fruit
here as any variety we know, but very difficult to propagate. Since it bore its first
crop in 1859, we have never seen a rotten berry on it.
"The fruit ripens a few days earlier than Norton's and about a week earlier than
Catawba. Specific gravity of must, from 98 degrees to 180, according to the season.
" While we can confidently recommend the true Cynthiana as the best for redwi7ie
which we have tried, we must, at the same time, caution the public against spurious
vines which have been sent out under that name. A variety resembling the Clinton
but not as good, has been sent out under that name from Illinois by unscrupulous parties,
and another variety closely resembling it in wood and foliage, from Hermann, by
parties who honestly thought they had the true Cynthiana.
"This latter spurious variety we have not yet been able to identify. It makes a
darker wine than Norton's, of a peculiar flavor, resembling parched coffee, which may
be useful for medical purposes, but does not resemble the exquisite wine of the true
Cynthiana in the least. The close resemblance of the Cynthiana to the Norton, and
also to this spurious variety, will make it very easy for unscrupulous parties to
deceive their customers ; and as we introduced it here, and look upon it, so far, as
our best and most reliable grape for red wine, we consider it^our duty to warn the
public against these deceptions."
202 • Zetter from S?nrlej> Slbbe7'd.
Letter from Sliirley Hibberd.
Stoke Newington, London, Eng., Jan. 6, 1871.
EDITOR Horticulturist: Dear friend, permit me to make an experiment in
order to ascertain if a subject which is of the most common-place order in this
country has any interest for your readers. It will depend very much on my mode
of submitting it to their attention ; but, of necessity, a bad advocate of a good cause
ought to make something of it, and I shall first endeavor, while I have an hour to
spare, to say something of a great social institution which I believe to be peculiar to
this country, but for its intrinsic merit, worthy of attention, however, men do con-
gregate, and the domestic arts are encouraged for the edification and solace of the
industrial throng. Pardon me if I assume, for mere whim's sake, that you know nothing
practically of our autumnal exhibitions of chrysanthemums. In a most striking manner
do they represent the inner life of our crowded cities. I cannot go through one
of these exhibitions without indulging in meditation on the initial impulses of races,
for in these displays I seem to find an expression of that earnest love of nature which
has made our language rich and our race strong, and our influence universal. Love
of the country is certainly not peculiar to the Anglo-Saxon, but it is an abiding pas-
sion of his, and if he must be shut up in a great town to guide a steam engine instead
of a plough he will have a garden, and some time in the autumn a contest in chry-
santhemums. In all our great towns this noble flower is cultivated with greater
devotion than any other flower, and yet, strange to say, it cannot be properly
described as pre-eminent in popularity, for I think the pelargoniums and the rose fairly
share with it the proofs of future esteem. I know not how to communicate to your
readers the exact position of the chrysanthemum in our gardens except by saying
that although it is not the most important subject that claims our attention in the
development of floriculture, yet it is, jpar excellence, the people's flower. But we shall
get at the case presently perhaps. In the first place, then, let it be understood that
in great and grand gardens the chrysanthemum is scarcely known. This is strange,
but true. Now it is known in connection with the fashionable promenade or place
of great public resort, as witness, that the Royal Horticulture Society and the Crys-
tal Palace have made many attempts to establish chrysanthemum exhibitions, and
have signally failed from first to last. Our wealthy amateurs delight in orchids,
palms, ferns and hard-wooded plants, but, as a rule, they despise the chrysanthemum.
Our humblest amateurs grow pinks, picotees, pansies and auriculas, but have only a
small regard for the chrysanthemum, because to enjoy it in this country it must be
flowered under glass, and that doubtless is the sole impediment to its adoption by
workingmen as one of their best floral pets. You will begin to ask how it
can be a " people's flower." Well, it is so in this sense, that it is equal in favor
with the geraniums with our middle class folks in all great towns. It is, I may say,
a tradesman's flower, and those who really take an interest in its cultivation throw
so much heart into the pastime that they render this autumnal flower representative
of great social necessities, and the deep, underlying characteristics of the Teutonic
blood vhich yet flows in the veins of Englishmen. For full twenty years past I have
attended \x^ the course of every November some twenty to thirty exhibitions of this
Letter from Sfiirleo' ITibberd. 203
flower, duty sometimes calling me, and at other times mere curiosity and the love
of the thing, and the desire to shake hands with friends at a season of holiday. It has
been my privilege to see the institution developed from small beginnings to its pres-
ent splendor and completeness ; and when I contrast what I saw in St. George's
Hall, Liverpool, on the 22d of November last, with the modest displays in my own
village twenty years ago, the contrast astonishes me, for it is as if a flea should grow
to an elephant in the course of an hour before one's eyes, as may have happened to
many a one in a dream.
Let us go back to the beginning, in order to claim for this rural suburb of Stoke
Newington whatever renown it should have as the home of the first chrysanthemum
society. Picture, if you can, one of our own old-fashioned wayside hostclries, and call
it the " Rochester Castle." Go back five and twenty years, and picture the low-roofed
parlor wherein every evening a number of the better class of tradesman and small
gentlemen of toe village enveloped themselves and each other in clouds of tobacco
smoke, and while stirring their toddy discussed the politics of the day and the
latest scandal of the district, and the personal predelictions of the most prominent
members of "the parlor." There you shall see a big handsome man, of generous,
rosy face, and the complexion and expression of true Anglo; or if not that, at least
as fine a typical Englishman as a searcher after ethnological types could desire.
That is Robert James, the landlord of the "Rochester," a first rate host, an enthu-
siastic and able florist; a man of broad sympathies and healthy tastes. The chrys-
anthemum has become a pet of his, and he has formed a collection of some five and
twenty sorts. The talk of the parlor turns upon floriculture quite acording to
custom, and an exhibition of chrysanthemums is determined on, and Robert James
takes the lead as treasurer and advocate; and, of all the workers in the movement,
best of all lays claim by his activities to be forever after known as the Father of the
first Chrysanthemum Society. Thenceforward, for full ten years, Stoke Newington
stands almost alone in its public vindication of the flower, and the annual exhibitions
of the society create a local stir and exercise a little influence beyond, through the
reports that appear in the public prints. Almost as if by magic, there is an out-
break of chrysanthemum societies in London; and in the month of November the
exhibitions constitute an important subject of conversation, and if the weather
happens to be favorable when the shows are held,- they are visited by thousands of
people, to whom just then any kind of daylight entertainment is a perfect godsend,
for the public gardens have ceased to attract, and the general scheme of public
amusements is somehow out of joint, and this very entertainment is the thing the
middle classes want to drive dull care away. Did I say " daylight ?" By all that's
true and good I had nearly forgotten them. During November we rarely have any
daylight, and by a peculiar and blessed dispensation, for which God be praised, a
good show of chrysanthemums presents a magnificent appearance under gaslight, and
at all our London exhibitions there is more money taken and consequently more
company present at a show during one hour after 6 P. M., than during all the pre-
vious hours of the same day. At the present time there are in London no less than
twenty societies formed and maintained expressly for the representation of the
204 Jjctter from Shirley Hibbei'd.
chrysanthemum, and many of those who love the flower put business aside when the
season of display recurs, and go from show to show and from garden to garden
inspecting, criticising, joking, and winding up with a "bit of dinner" at the house
of one of the fancy, or at some hostelry, such as the Rochester, where chrysanthe-
mum growers are wont to congregate. It would follow as a matter of course, that
many English towns would be stimulated by the example of the metropolis, and con-
sequently the queen of the autumn has received formal homage in every one of our
great trading centers, so that it may with truth be said that chrysanthemum societies
abound in the land. In two of their number the institution has attained to an
extensive development. Bristol is great in chrysanthemums, but Liverpool is
greater. In fact our great Lancashire trading port has outstripped the Metropolis
in the production of one annual exhibition, which in artistic finish and splendor, in
completeness and extent, far surpasses any one of the London shows, but then Liv-
erpool customary has but one exhibition and London has twenty.
It is necessary now to refer to one who in his day exercised an enormous influence
in the popularizing of this flower, not simply as a cultivator and an artist, but as a
true philanthrophist, who never wearied in the noble endeavor to win the working
classes from a love of debasing pleasures to pursuits that ennoble and domesticate
and cheer the heart of man. Dear old Samuel Broome ! Please God, I shall never
forget him. For four and thirty years he occupied the post of head gardener to the
honorable society of the Inner Temple, and exerted himself far beyond the ordinary
obligations of his office in making the great city garden of the temple lawyers a
place of renown in the annals of English horticulture. He, too, was a typical
Anglo, but not so fine a man in physique as James. He had but one arm, but he
had two good eyes and a pair of rosy cheeks and a merry pair of twinkling eyes and
a perpetually pleased expression of homely content. He was a persistent button-
holder. Let him get hold of you and your day was gone. He was one of the home-
spun sort, rich in anecdote, heavily charged with experiences of man and things, a
keen observer, and a rustic wit withal. Dear old Broome, the grave has but lately
closed over his remains, but his works do follow him. Some fifteen years ago, when
voyaging up the river Thames, Broome saw in the gardens of Messrs. Colville, an
unwonted display of flowers, on a bleak November day. His curiosity was aroused,
and he began to inquire. The result was a grand fit of chrysanthemum fever, which
lasted to the day of his death, but never hurt him.
He took to growing the chrysanthemum, of course, and established in the temple
gardens an annual exhibition, free to all comers, enjoying from the first the liberal
support of his employees in this ministration to public enjoyment. The temple
gardens have probably contributed much more toward the present popularity of the
chrysanthemum than the competitive exhibitions; or if not, they have at least con-
tributed largely, and Broome was perpetually going about stirring up the people,
making curious homely speeches in school rooms, and taking plants and flowers with
him to show the folks how they should be grown. At the risk of being prolix, I
must here say that there are in London two haunts of lawyers known as " Temples,"
and in the gq.rden of the middle temple Mr, Dale has, for many years past, provided
Zetter from Shh'tey Mibbei'd. 205
a public display of quite a different character to that of Broome. The last-named
veteran had a long order, filled with the finest show varieties, all correctly labeled
and covered in, when in flower, with canvass sides and a glass roof. But Mr. Dale
treated the plant as a strictly out-door or parterre subject, and won golden opinions
by his gigantic masses of porapones and his great sweeping orders of large and
small varieties mixed indiscriminately and allowed to weather all storms, so that in
the event of an early frost his display might collapse at the instant of expected
triumph; but in a genial season it outshone Broome's by its vastness and splendor
and that peculiar charm which all flowers have when displayed in the open air with
surroundings of green turf and trees still leafy, though deeply tinged with their
autumnal colors. Friend Dale is hale, and tall and strong; may heaven preserve him
to us long. We used to meet as three to judge at shows here, there, everywhere;
now we meet as two, and the tears tremble in our eyes as we shake hands in the
exhibition tent, for we cannot do so without missing one of the most genial florists
and generous hearted of men.
The annual displays in the Temple Gardens have exercised enormous influence in
extending the sphere of the cultivation of the chrysanthemum. The London exhi-
bitions, by societies, have done their part. The best house displays are in the gardens
of thriving tradesmen, who grow collections and contribute to the exhibitions as
competitors. It would not be fair to you to give particulars of these private collec-
tions, because this story must have an end, but I should do wrong to history were I
to omit mention of two special exhibitions of a semi-public nature which have
co-operated with others in fostering and improving the taste for this flower. In the
very early days of chrysanthemum growing, Mr. John Salter, of Hammersmith,
devoted himself to the raising of new varieties as a trade enterprise. When he
began there might have been five and twenty sorts in cultivation, mostly importa-
tions from China. When he left off in 1869, there must have been — how many?
I do not know, for I write this in a place far removed from my books and cannot
refer to his catalogue for data. But I know that before I broke up my collection I
had about three hundred varieties, and since then about fifty, mostly of the Japanese
tasselled class, have been introduced. Mr. Salter appropriated every year a great
old lean to conservatory to a display of chrysanthemums, which was visited by hun-
dreds of people, and constituted, during the three or four weeks when the flowers
were in their prime, a rendezvous for the florists, not of London only, but of all
parts, for amateurs would come from far north and far south, hundreds of miles, to
see the flowers.
The Salters, father and son, were men of rare, good taste, immense experience
and extensive knowledge, and had the best collection ever formed near London, of
interesting, hardy plants of all kinds, more especially pyrethrums, pentstemons,
phloxes, poeonies, saxifragas and succulents, and their "winter garden," in which
the chrysanthemums formed the principal feature, was always enriched with groups
of curious and beautiful plants of whatever kind happened to be in presentable con-
dition in the month of November. It was in this winter garden that Dahlia
Imperialis first presented its flowers in this country, and from the same place went
206 Zetter from Shirley Hibberd.
forth every season to the world at large, a batch of new chrysanthemums, nine-tenths
of all we now possess having been raised or purchased for sale in the first instance,
from the raisers, by the Salters. A railway company swallowed up the Hammer-
smith nursery, and the Salters retired a year ago, greatly to the regret of the London
florists, by whom they were beloved as men and greatly respected for their horticul-
tural labors. The other exhibition deserving of mention in this connection is that
of my friend Mr. Adam Forsyth of Stoke Newington, who holds his ground bravely,
and is the first trade grower of the day. He, too, has sent out a number of valuable
varieties, and. may claim to rank with distinguished raisers; but I must reveal a
psychological fact which these two exhibitions made manifest. Fiat Justitia ruat,
SfC. The Salters were raisers and nothing more; they never could, if judged from
a high floricultural standard, grow a chrysanthemum. Perhaps they never tried.
Certain it is that they never brought up their plants to sufficient perfection for a
fair development and a splendid display, so that when visiting their exhibitions one
could criticise with advantage the characteristics of the varieties, but they never did
present their visitors with a single example of real specimen growing, and we had to
go to public exhibitions to see the full capabilities of the lower. On the other
hand Mr. Forsyth is a cultivator in the highest sense of the word, and a raiser, as it
were, rather by accident than design. His display consists wholly of grand speci-
mens; he furnishes the amateur with the model of a perfect plant; he trains and
trims, and thins and coaxes, and at last puts upon the stage gigantic plants, evenly
convex in outline like the crust of a pie, with the flowers as symmetrically disposed
a.s if put on simply by hand, and averaging four to five feet in diameter. I do not
pretend to know how you stand in reference to this flower, but I imagine that if we
could carry over a few of such specimens as Forsyth makes every year, your amateurs
would be (pardon the vulgarism) flabbergasted. Mr. Ball, of Chelsea, succeeds the
Salters as a distributor of new varieties, but he makes no exhibition; and whenever
Forsyth gives up (and may the day be distant), it is not likely he will have a
proper successor, for the trade growers here fight shy of the flower, except as an
article of sale, because of the immense amount of labor and the peculiar kind of skill
required to do it well enough to make an exhibition. But the amateurs kept it going,
and the societies never flag but increase in number and strength every year, and the
peculiar adaptabilility of the plant to middle class gardens will insure its continued
and ever-extending popularity for many a year to come. Perhaps if you sink the
old ship on account of Alabama claims, we shall forget our flowers in trying to save
ourselves amid the wreck, but not until some catastrophe strikes at the very founda-
tion of our social joys shall we cease to dote on this grand autumnal flower.
During the earlier years of the exhibitions they consisted of chrysanthemums
only. Nothing else was admitted on any pretense whatever. To whisper of
expansion was to incur the risk of excommunication from the charmed circle. Yet
whispers arose, and in spite of the men of one idea, the thin edge of a new wedge
was deftly driven in, and fruits and ferns were mingled with the flowers. A sort of
small war was carried on for ten years, but the war is over, peace reigns, and at
nearly all the shows miscellaneous products are admitted to increase the attraction
Zetter from Shirley ITibberd. 207
and the instruction, though, of course, the chrysanthemum is always the 'piece de
resislance. Strange to say. Stoke Ncwington, which laid the first stone, was about
the last to submit to the crowning of the edifice. But this hyperborean region of
England's metropolis has put the lands of the Medes and Persians under foot, and
in the beautiful assembly rooms where the shows are now held, fruits make a promi-
nent feature, and a few ornamental plants of the palmy and ferny kinds, with ele-
gant odds and ends, are admitted. The best exhibition in the metropolis is that held
at Brixton, where fruits and fine foliage plants are quarterly presented. The best
exhibition in all England is that held in St. George's Hall, Liverpool, where, ia
November last, there were upwards of three hundred grand specimen plants, five
hundred dishes of fruits, and many hundred miscellaneous subjects, such as poin-
settias, primulas, orchids, ferns and berry-bearing shrubs. One exhibition in London
made a profound impression on the public mind. It was that held in the Guildhall
of the city in aid of a charitable fund, in the year 1865. It was a grand aff'air. The
emblems of medieval life brought the grim past face to face with the blooming
present with its life and bustle, and Godfrey's Coldstream Band dinned the ears of
Gog and Magog, while thousands gazed in admiration and wonder on the hundreds of
magnificent specimen chrysanthemums and cut flowers that overspread the hall and
made as rich a feast of flowers as the most abandoned poet could hope for after prov-
ing the futility of trusting to fancy instead of appealing to fact. Shall we ever
forget it? I mean "we " of the fancy? No! The tree ferns or pedestals that lined
the hall on each side were worth a thousand pounds. The chrysanthemums were
startling in their perfections, even to those who understood them best. Yet there
was not one penny offered for prizes ; it was all done for love and honor and duty,
and all the profits went in a glorious lump to the charity in behalf of which the
affair was undertaken. The growers of chrysanthemums are mostly Angles — men of
fair complexion and sanguine temperament, and nor yet dare we change the spelling
to make angels of them. But they are good enough for this world according to my
way of thinking.
Now let me reveal another psychological curiosity. It is a big task to grow this
flower as we see it grown, more especially in London, Liverpool and Bristol. Hence
few professional gardeners can afford the time required to do it justice; hence also,
perhaps, the reason why we rarely see it in the gardens of the wealthy, or even in
our first class nurseries, except as an article of sale and not as a subject of display
I have taken careful note of this fact, that no man, however devoted, can keep a top
place in the exhibitions for more than seven years on an average. Every season
young stars arise in the firmament, and every season old stars go down. To bring
the plants up to exhibition pitch, however able, according to the high standard that
prevails, requires daily devotion the whole year round, but from May to August the
tax on one's time is enormous. Upon an average, seven years is as much as a man's
brains and fingers can endure of this work. So at least it appears, for the names of
winning exhibitors come into these ports as new, shine for a few years and then
pass away ; and so on, and so on, like the revolution of the constellations in the
zodiac, but with this difference, that the old names are replaced by new ones; no
208
Rochester pippin.
man gets up out of his grave to begin the battle again and win afresh the conquests
of his youth. After about seven years a competitor before the public appears to have
had enough of it, but he may still plod on at home and enjoy his flowers as household
pets as long as God spares his hands to train them and eyesight to behold them, and
his mind to appreciate the beauteous boon of this floral glory of the autumn.
Shirley Hibberd.
Kochester Pippin.
BY CHARLES DOWNING.
AT the winter meeting of the New York State Horticultural Society in January
last, there was a plate of seedling apples presented and raised by Jacob Moore,
of Rochester, N. Y., who said it was a hybrid between Grolden Russet of N. Y. and
Northern Spy, yet it does not seem to partake of either of its parents in appearance,
but it has the juice and lively refreshing flavor of the Northern Spy. The brittle
crispiness of the flesh, its juice and fresh, brisk, rich flavor reminds one of the old
Green Newtown Pippin, as we had it a half century since, and to my taste is the
best new apple I have seen in a long time. I know nothing of the habits of the
tree, but if it proves hardy, healthy, vigorous and productive, and the fruit fair and
handsome as the specimens presented, it will be a great acquisition to the amateur,
and also as a market variety for winter use.
Fruit rather large, roundish oblate, nearly regular ; skin smooth, pale greenish
yellow, shaded with light brownish red in the sun, and sprinkled with a few greenish
dots ; stalk short and small, inserted in a large smooth cavity, a little greenish ;
calyx closed; basin medium or rather large, regular; flesh whitish, fine grained,
crisp, tender, very juicy, with a refreshing vineous flavor, slightly aromatic and rich ;
core small.
Sow to Market !Pears. 209
Hew to Market Pears.
IN looking through the columns of your beautiful monthly, I have been very much
interested in the different articles on the culture of the Pear, and I also learn
that you, with a number of gentlemen, are growing this fruit largely in the State
of Delaware ; consequently, in a few years, there will be a large quantity of thia
fruit to market. And, as many of those growers are without experience in this line,
I thought a few suggestions in regard to packages, etc., might not be uninteresting
to them.
The present mode of the Delaware growers is to make use of the peach crate and
baskets, and, I will admit that they are very convenient, but, among the poorest,
consequently, the dearest packages that can be made use of.
The crate is one of the worst packages ever made use of, for they expose the fruit
to all changes ; bruises them by coming in contact with the slats, and exposes every
defect that the fruit possesses, and in addition to this, will not aid the fruit in
coloring.
Baskets are worse than the crate, for in handling they become bruised, and, when
exposed for sale, are open to the handling of every customer, who often find it im-
possible to resist the temptation to try the quality of a fine ripe one. And even
frequent handling will soon spoil any choice variety ; and where the fruit is so
exposed, the dealer cannot prevent it.
Where persons have but a few pears to market, and are compelled to make use of
the basket, I would suggest to them, that they fill it rounding full, cover with paper,
then take a little fine hay, which, place upon the top, then draw the cover down tight
over all and secure it by sewing with a coarse twine. The hay will prove a good pro-
tector in case the basket is upset or is handled carelessly ; and it will also assist the
fruit to color.
In the first place, the pear is a very delicate, tender and valuable fruit, provided
it is placed in market, sound, perfect in form, bright and beautiful ; and in order to
do that — admitting it is sound and perfect — it must be handled with the greatest
care, and kept from too much exposure to the atmosphere ; for there is no fruit in
this country so sensitive to changes in the air as the pear, and just here is where the
difiSculty lies in marketing this fruit.
Therefore, every grower should provide for his use a sufficient number of new half-
barrels to market his entire crop; for they are considered the best package for this
fruit, and are used by the largest and most successful growers in this State. Should
those which have once been used be procured, the greatest care should be used in
the removal of all dust, or any foreign substance that has a tendency to injure the
fruit.
These packages can be ventilated, to suit the judgment or taste of the grower by
boring a sufficient number of holes in them. The number of holes necessary should
be governed by the ripeness of the fruit, and the heat of the weather.
It may be that the fruit is so green and hard that the owner may desire to hasten
the ripening process ; in that case, it may be prudent not to ventilate at all.
The half-barrel has this advantage : that the grower can control the ripening of
14
210 jBow to Market Tears.
his fruit, better than in any other package. And, the real lemity of the fruit, after
the size and perfection is considered, is produced by this sweating process, ■which
produces a clearness of the skin which makes them so desirable for first class custom-
ers, and consequently enhances their value.
In addition to this, when carefully packed they will bear transportation as well as
any other mode, and the dealer is enabled to handle them to a better advantage.
In order to pack in the most approved mode, take out the end you design for the
bottom ; begin packing by placing the fruit in rows around the bottom, standing it
on the blossom end. Be careful that this tier is packed tight with a good average
quality of fruit ; when completed reverse the order for the next layer, chambering
the stems so as to make all tight ; then continue to fill in irregularly, until the pack-
age is full ; then, on the top place a few imperfect ones that may be bruised with im-
punity, pressing the head down on them hard enough to hold the entire contents of
the package so tight that none of it will move. Nail this head strong, and on the
other head place the variety, with your initials and the consignee's address, so it
may be opened in order to show the fruit to a good advantage.
Almast any one can succeed, after a few efforts, in becoming a good packer, and I
would advise young beginners to open the head a few times so they can see the
result of their labors, and
" If at first, they don't succeed,
Try, try again : "
until they do, for good packing is very necessary to realize good prices.
In handling this fruit, always avoid breaking the stems, for they add to the
beauty and value of it.
There is another very essential point to be observed in packing, and this is, to
have all the fruit in one package as near one degree of ripeness as possible ; then
part of it will not perish before the other ripens. The grower must also take in
consideration, the time it takes to get his fruit to market.
In regard to sorting of qualities of the fruit, I should be governed by the charac-
ter of it. If the general quality is even in size and of a fair average quality, I would
reject the culls and make but one quality of the remainder; but should a great differ-
ence exist, I would make three. And be careful to mark the package showing the
quality of the contents, so there may be no mistake made in selling. And in the
invoice that you send, state the number of packages, and the contents. It is a very
neat plan for growers to procure stencil plates to mark their packages with.
The pear growers of the Eastern States make use of a tight box with holes in the
opposite sides large enough for handles ; the fruit is carefully wrapped in paper,
doubtless, for the purpose of safe carriage — to aid the sweating process and hide the
imperfection of the fruit.
This fruit is seldom sent to our market until the fruit from the central part of the
State has been disposed of and the weather is cool. How it would answer for the
hot months, I cannot say ; but, I think this is a much better package than the crate
or basket. And when the growers cannot procure the half-barrels, I would advise
them to try these boxes. C. W. Idell.
Trolls of Small JFruits. 211
Profits of Small Fruits.
^« Essmy delivered, before the A.nnical Meeting of the Fennsylvnuin Frttit Grovrera^ Society, at
ChumliersOttrff, tTatu 18th, ISGl-
BY WM. PARRY, OF CINNAMINSON, N. J.
(Continued.)
RASI'IiERRIES.
THE raspberry, coming next to the strawberry, is a fruit of great excellence,
usually sells higher than strawberries, and is really worth more to the consumers.
The fruit is heavier, richer, and will go further as a dessert. There is no waste of
time and labor in preparing them for use, as the hulls are left on the bushes when
picking the berries.
Our markets have not generally been well supplied with raspberries, owing to the
difficulty in getting hardy varieties that would stand our changing climate ; most of
those that succeeded well in more northern latitudes, and were highly recommended
for genez'al cultivation, would not carry their foliage through our warm summers;
and the canes would be injured before the approach of winter ; and whether protected
or not, they were of but little worth in the spring.
An erroneous impression has to some extent prevailed, that raspberries which are
called tender at the North, may do well at the South, without protection. But
raspberries do better in a cool climate, and many that succeed at the North are of
no value at the South.
Although some few native kinds, distinguished by their color as Red, White and
Black, have been grown time out of mind, it is but recently that much attention has
been given to growing improved varieties.
Imported Maspherries.
For many years strong efforts were made to introduce the fine English and French
varieties, and to grow seedlings from them, thinking they would be more easily
acclimated — but with no better results than have followed the foreign gooseberries
and grapes that have been tried in open field culture. At this time there is no
foreign variety worth growing in the open field, that is generally adapted to our soil
and climate.
The Hornet and Antwerps are berries of superior excellence ; and it is to be
regretted that the locations in which they succeed are so very limited. But when
all the surrounding circumstances of soil, climate and treatment are exactly con-
genial, they yield large crops of the finest fruit, which commands the highest price
in market.
A fruit grower in Camden, N. J., about three years since had one-eighth of an
acre, mostly of the Hornet raspberry, which produced three hundred and thirty-six
quarts, sold at ninety cents per quart, yielding at the rate of two thousand and four
hundred dollars per acre. The following year the crop was all taken by one dealer,
at seventy cents per quart. Last year, when 1 was there to examine the plantation,
which is much larger now, so that they were picking about one hundred quarts daily,
the owner informed me that the same person had engaged the crop again at sixty
cents per quart for the season. That is the only instance in my knowledge of perfect
212 Trofits of Small JP'ritUs.
success with the Hornet. Other plantations near by made from the same stock, are
all failures.
KiitivK Jtnspherries.
Owing to the great diificulty attending the cultivation of foreign varieties as a field
crop for market, the attention of fruit growers has been turned to the improvement
of our hardy, native raspberries, of which there are two distinct species : the Rubus
Occidcntalis, which is propagated by the top end of the canes bending over and
striking root in the ground, forming a new plant, which in turn sends out shoots
reaching still further from the original stock, and thus in a migratory manner soon
spreads over a considerable space of land.
The Purple Cane and Ellisdale are of this order, and the Catawissa to some
extent ; the White, Yellow or Golden Cap, Golden Thornless, and Cream raspberries,
also the different varieties of the Black Caps, such as the Doolittle, Miami, McCor-
mic or Mammoth Cluster, Davison's Thornless, Seneca, Garden, Great Western,
Hamilton, Yosemite, Ohio, Canada, and Lum's Everbearing, and many others of less
value.
I have not met with an English variety grown from tips, nor a black raspberry
grown from suckers.
Seat SlaclccaxyS'
The Doolittle and Mammoth Cluster are the most profitable black raspberries with
which I am acquainted. The former is early, firm, and carries well to market ; the
latter is larger and later. Both are strong, vigorous growers, hardy and very pro-
ductive. Having thirty acres of them growing, I have found them to pay well, pro-
ducing more bushels per acre than corn, with less care and culture — and after being
once planted will continue for seven or eight years, yielding annual crops without
renewing.
Hetl Varieties,
The other species to which allusion was made is the Rubus Strigosus, an upright
grower, which is increased by suckers from the roots and by planting root cuttings,
but not from the tips. Our native Red raspberries are all of this class, and seem
quite local in their habits. Many of the finest will only succeed in certain sections
where the climate and soil are just suited to their wants. It is sometimes hard to
account for the conflicting reports made in reference to the same raspberry from
different sections of our country.
The Allen, a beautiful and delicious Red raspberry, yields good crops in some
locations, and from its fine appearance and excellent qualities, always commands a
high price ; yet in other places it would not produce fruit enough to pay for the
ground occupied.
The Kirtland, a bright red raspberry, firm, early and very desirable for market, is
highly spoken of in Northern Ohio, but with me it is worthless ; having tried it on a
variety of soil, from that which is moist and sandy to a rich clay loam, but in all
cases the greater part of the leaves would fall off before the end of summer; the
canes would be injured before winter, and they would produce but little fruit the
next year. The Franconia, Naomi, Clarke, Wauregan, Elm City, Prosser, Red
Queen, Duhring, Liudsley's Fastolfi' Seedling, Downing. Linton, and all of Dr.
£^verSloominff Ptoses, 213
Brinckle's choice Seedlings, the celebrated Orange Gushing, Col. Wilder, Cope,
Vice President French, Walker, Woodward, and others were affected in the same
way. Also, the Hornet, Antwerps, Fastolff, Knevett's Giant, Northumberland,
Fill-Basket, Rivers' Large Fruited Monthly, Thunderer, and all other foreign varie-
ties that I have tried, excepting the Belle d'Fontenay, and that is not of much,
value.
Ever-blooming Roses.
COLMAN'S Rural World says, that many persons are disappointed because their
roses do not bloom constantly all summer, expecting from their title of Perpetual
that they should do so.
Now the class of roses, called Hybrid Perpetual or Remontante, is not exactly
rightly named — that is, they do not bloom perpetually, but only at intervals. They
bloom full in June, and then give a few scattering blooms along during the summer,
and a good display again in September, doing better or worse, according as they are
illy or liberally treated. This class, however, possesses the most brilliant colors,
largest sized flowers, and fullest and finest shapes, and is deservedly very popular. But
the true and real ever-blooming roses belong to those classes usually called tender roses
— the Bengal or China, Tea, Bourbon and Nosiette ; these, though more tender, and
less robust than the other classes, are not absolutely tender, but, in our latitude, by
selecting the hardier varieties, may easily be preserved through the winters by neces-
sary protection.
The simplest and surest method of protecting these classes of roses, is to peg them
close to the surface of the ground, then cover with a few inches of coarse litter.
Strawy stable manure is best in our opinion. Throw on a little soil to keep it in
place, and do not fail to cover the crown of the plant. Even if such manure is drawn
up around their stems six or nine inches high, the roots and lower branches are
saved ; and if the tops get killed, they can be cut down, and they will bloom as freely
as though all the top had been saved. This latter plan can only be adopted where
the plants stand closely together in beds, which indeed is the most effective way tp
grow these as well as the E-emontante roses, Beds should be prepared exclusively
for their benefit, and if the soil is a clay loam, well rotted manure may be added,
and the beds spaded deeply, raising the surface of the bed a few inches a,bove the
natural level of the ground.
The plants of these dwarf growing varieties may be distributed about three feet
apart over the beds, and a vigorous growth should be kept up by clean culture, stir-
ring the soil often, top-dressing and digging in annually.
The following would comprise a dozen good varieties for such a bed ; some one
would choose other varieties, doubtless, but these are believed to be as good as any :
Hermosa, pink ; Duchess de Thuringe, waxy, clear white ; Cels, creamy white ;
Grloire de Dijon, blush and yellow; Eugene Beauharnais, deep crimson; Madame
Breon, very crimson ; Bougere, bronzed rose ; Amie Vibert, pure white ; Daily Pink,
a profuse bloomer; Agrippina, rich velvety crimson; Triumphe de Luxembourg,
salmon buff; Saffrano, fawn color shaded rose.
Editorial Notes.
Crmihet'ries on Upland.
Three or four years ago I transplanted cranberry vines from my meadow to one of
my gardens, which is pine plain land. They have grown well, and they are now
loaded with fruit. I had compromised with them ; that if they would come and live
•with me on my land, I would bring them their native soil, so that they would not
suffer by emigration. I dug channels two feet wide, twenty inches deep, and three
feet apart. I removed the gravel, and filled the channels with muck from whence
they were to be taken. I took up the cranberry plants in small clusters, and set
them deep in their natural element. They appeared to be perfectly contented with
their new locality. They now occupy one square rod of ground, and they are begin-
ning to enlarge their borders. I keep this patch clear of weeds. The expense of
this cranberry square rod was about two days labor of one man, and one days labor
of one horse. The prospect now is that the cranberries will yearly pay expenses of
their new settlement. Muck and experiments well directed will prove successful.
Journal of Agriculture.
Where do our Flotvers come from ?
Some of our flowers came from lands of perpetual summer, some from countries all
ice and snow, some from islands in the ocean. Three of our sweetest exotics came
originally from Peru ; the Camellia was carried to England in 1739 ; and a few
years afterwai'ds the heliotrope and mignionette. Several others came from the Cape
of Good Hope ; a very large calla was found in ditches there, and some of the most
brilliant geraniums, or pelargoniums, which ai*e a spurious geranium. The verbena
grows wild in Brazil ; the marigold is an African flower, and a great number from
China and Japan. The little daphne was carried to England by Captain Ross, from
almost the farthest land he visited toward the North Pole. Some of these are quite
changed in form by cultivation ; others have become larger and brighter ; while
others despite all the care of the florists and the shelter of hot houses, fall far short
of the beauty and fragrance of the tropics.
Among improved ones is the dahlia. When brought to Europe it was a very simple
blossom, a single circle of dark petals surrounding a mass of yellow ones. Others
with scarlet and orange petals were soon after transplanted from Mexico, but still
remained simple flowers. Long years of cultivation in rich soil, with other arts of
the skillful florist, have changed it to what it now is — a round ball of beauty.
Orange Blossoms,
In this country orange flowers are worn by a bride on the occasion of her wedding,
simply as a fragrant ornament to lend still further grace and beauty to the fair being
who is about to give herself away for life. In the interior of France, however, these
Sditorial JVoles. 215
orange flowers are worn as a testimonial of purity, not only of the bride herself,
but of integrity and morality in the character of her relatives. In certain provinces
its adorunieut is considered as a sacred right, obtained by undoubted character, and
as such proudly maintained.
Plants for Window Gardens,
The Cotmtry Gentlemafi recommends the following : There are some few plants
which will grow and blossom with but little care or attention — but with others con-
stant care is needful. Among the former class, the Chinese Primrose takes front
rank. It will continue in bloom from nine to ten months out of the twelve ; and its
pure white or rich pink and crimson flowers are a great ornament. So tenacious of
life and health is the root, that if planted in cotton wool soaked with water, and not
allowed to wither for want of moisture, it will put forth its tender blossoms for
months. It can be thus planted in a china vace or saucer, or in a glass dish, making
a lovely ornament for a parlor or boudoir table. The cost of it is small; a twenty-
fi^ve cent scrip will procure a fine plant, and its flowers are a certainty.
The Czar violet blossoms all winter, and perfumes the air with its wondrous fra-
grance. The flower is single, its color of a light blue, but its sweetness is unsur-
passed by its sister flowers.
The double English violets are of a deep rich purplish blue, and will bloom for
several weeks in a shady situation.
Bouvardias adorn a window garden for many months with a quick succession of
buds and flowers of a rich coral hue. Bouvardia elegans, a new variety, possesses
larger flowers, of a trumpet shape, and ripe red hue. Ours is just bursting into
bloom, and is very beautiful.
The begonias are also very desirable, as they push forth clusters of waxen petals
during all the gloomy winter season. Their glossy foliage is handsome, and they are
rarely troubled with the pest of insects, which are so pernicious to all window culture
of plants.
Belgium daisies are very pretty dwarf plants, and additions to every collection.
The diff'erent varieties of cyclamens are particularly beautiful. The winged
flowers hover like birds over the dark rich foliage of the plant.
All the above named plants will rarely fail to produce a good supply of flowers
without much coaxing, and if we add a few of the variegated foliaged plants — some
sweet geraniums and several varieties of the zonale tribe, they will form a very
respectable window garden, and not only give great satisfaction to their owner, but
attract the lingering gaze of every passer by, and give pleasant thoughts to a large
number of people.
Gardening in North Carolina.
A correspondent of Hearth and Home states that the country near Wilmington,
N. C, is becoming filled up with fine truck farms. One truck farm in particular is
noticeable for its size.
Hogg, Cannon & Co., have 15 acres in asparagus ; 25 in strawberries ; 100 in
peaches ; 170 in pears ; 180 in Concord grapes : 16 in Madeira: 16 in Clinton ; 30
in Hartford ; 70 in Mist ; and 35 in Scappernong. Another farm belonging tp
Messrs. Willard, has 40 acres in peas and cucumbers, and send forward 40 to 50
bushels per day. Another, farm has 100 acres in peaches ; 30 in grapes ; 28 in
strawberries ; 10 in peas ; besides a large area in peanuts, potatoes, &c. The general,
testimony is, that owing to sharp competitors from Norfolk, and the sl^ortness of t\Q
picking season, the business is very risky and uncertain. Tl^e cpunty is better suited
to sweet potatoes, which can be gro\yn %^ith the greatest ease. The tomato does not
do well as a marke|; crop, neither gro'^s as well as farther north; the intense heat
seeming tp initerfe^e ^yitb successful transportation. The peach crop near Wilming-
ton, ^s j:^ot considered certain, owing to sonie climatic cause. The Concord grape is
216 JSdltorial JVotes.
a general favorite. The Hartford Prolific does not bear the long railroad transport-
ation. The Mist grape is a hybrid of the Scuppernong, and a bunch grape, has the
hardiness of the former with vastly more saccharine matter. Its juice makes a heavy
port, and it is thought that it will yet prove the great wine grape of the south ; good
wine has been made from it ; also from the Concord and Scuppernoug mixed
together.
The truck farmers think that with all these risks, the business is still more profita-
ble than cotton or corn ; and with land at five to ten dollars per acre, it is very easy
to make them pay their way. The great want now is good and regular water commu-
nication to New York.
J{us2>heffies for the South.
" Woodman writes to Hearth and Home that the following are the favorite varie-
ties : Philadelphia, Mammoth Cluster, Red Antwerp, Purple Cane — he rejects the
Clarke entirely. Of the Mammoth Cluster he says : " It is the largest, sweetest and
most abundant of its class ; and as a canning fruit, is without a peer. In fact no one
who has a cultivated taste for raspberry flavor can fail to discover the superiority of
the black caps over all other kinds for canning.''''
Profits of 3lnrh.et Gardening.
Mr. J. J. H. Gregory delivered three lectures, recently, at Cornell University on
" Market Gardening and Market Farming," in which we are glad to see he gave
some common sense ideas about the cost and profit of gardening. The expense of
raising an acre of cabbage, including manure, time, labor, &c., $150; market value
of the crop, $300 ; gain, $150. An acre of onions cost $260 ; price $500 ; gain,
$240. Squashes cost per acre, $140 ; price $180 ; gain, $40. " Market farming
must be carried on within twenty miles of the city. Ten acres is enough for a farm,
five for a gardener. More is gained by cultivating one acre well, than two acres
half as well. He must carry his own produce to maket in his own wagon. The
ground must be fairly stuffed with manure. Two crops must be cropped off the
same ground year after year. Hot beds are absolutely necessary, and incessant care
is unavoidable. It is a business that requires capital, energy and hard work, both
early and late. Small gardeners will often make their land pay $500 to $1,000
per acre annual income ; but the average farmer can hardly hope to get more than
$100 to $150.
Useful Hints to Fruit Groivers.
The following hints are given in the Country Gentleman by J. D. Jones, Jr. :
1. To Prevent the Dropping off of Grapes. — Make a circular incision in the wood,
cutting away a ring of bark about the breadth of the twelfth of an inch. The wood
acquires greater size about the incision, and the operation accelerates the maturity
of the wood, and that of the fruit likewise. The incision should not be made too
deep, and farther than the bai-k, as it will spoil both the wood and fruit.
2. To Protect Grapes from Wasps. — Plant near the grapes some yew trees, and
the wasps will so far prefer the yew tree berries as wholly to neglect the grapes.
3. To Preserve Plants from Frost. — Before the plant has been exposed to the sun,
or thawed, after a night's frost, sprinkle it well with spring water, in which sal-
ammoniac or common salt has been infused.
4. To Destroy Moss on Trees. — Kemove it with a hard scrubbing brush in Febru-
ary and March, and wash the trees with cow-dung, urine and soap-suds.
5. To Prevent the Blight or Mildeio from injnri7ig Orchards. — Rub tar well into
the bark of the apple trees, about four or six inches wide, round each tree, and at
about one foot from the ground. This effectually prevents blight, and abundant crops
are the consequence.
. Editorial Note. — This tar remedy is good for borers, worms or insects around
the trunk of the tree, but is not always g, sure cure for the blight. No experienced
JSditorial JVotes. 217
horticulturist can recommend one sure plan beyond that of repeatedly cutting back
the parts affected by the blight. Root pruning is often successful.
Vorclnii Straivberries.
C, of Burlington, N. J., would like to know how to force strawberries under glass,
and which berry answers best for this purpose ? The management will vary much
with circumstances, with the amount to be raised, and the degree of earliness
desired. We shall describe briefly the simplest mode, where a small supply for a
family is wanted. The plants should be potted soon after the out-door bearing sea-
son, or when the runners begin to form. One year plants are sometimes employed,
but the best are those obtained by causing the new plants from the runners to form
in the pot. Take small pots, fill them with a fine and rich compost, made of pulver-
ized turf or leaf-mold with some sand as its nature may require, and fourth, of fine
old manure, cow manure being best. The compost should have been previously
worked over in a thorough manner. Sink these pots to their rims in or near the
strawberry beds when runners are forming, so that the new plants may be made to
root in the pot, nipping ofi" the outer runner, and cutting off the inner when the
roots are formed. Then place the pots on bricks where worms cannot enter from
below. As the plants grow larger, remove them to larger pots, without breaking the
ball of soil. Water enough to keep them in a good growing state. Before winter,
remove to a warm, well lighted cellar, and water as sparingly as a proper condition
of the plants will admit, so as to make a season of rest. If to be forced in a hot-
bed, place them there as soon as it is ready for them ; if in a green-house, it should
be as low as may be, and the plants near the glass, where the warmer air rises.
They should now be well watered, but not water-soaked. Do not water them while
in bloom, when the anthers are bursting, and keep the temperature uniform. The
crop should be thinned early, if it sets very thick, The flavor is always less high on
forced plants, and the highest flavored sorts should therefore be selected. — Country
Gentleman.
Experiments in the Destruction of the Oyster Shell Bark Ziouse.
In a communication from J. W. Robson to the Jo Davies County Horticultural
Society, we find some unusually valuable ideas of what will and what will not destroy
the oyster shell bark louse, which is such a pest upon our apple trees.
One day, he says, "while cleaning a white-fish barrel, we thought we would try
fish brine. Having a young Rawle's Janet apple tree, close at hand, completely
covered with lice, we began experimenting, taking a common wooden pail, and filling
it with boiling water, dissolving therein one pint of brine. When sufiiciently cool
to handle, we syringed the infected tree, thoroughly drenching every branch and
twig.
Eai'ly next spring, on close examination, we found every insect dead and the scale
dry and shriveled up ; placed under the lens of a powerful microscope, they presented
the appearance of half burnt chips of wood. Other applications since then have
proved quite successful.
Those who have made this insect a study, know that the young are hatched about
the latter end of May, or first week in June, being earlier or later according as
the season is earlier or later. Immediately on issuing from under the scale they
commence their upward march toward the ends of the shoots, never making a retro-
gade movement unless in ease of storms, when they face right about and seek the
cover of the old scales. Their ability to move continues only for a few days, when
they lose their legs and tails, assuming the scale-like form, and become a fixture on
the shoots.
During the last week of May, 1868, the young brood began to move, and in greater
numbers than in previous years, so numerous that the shoots appeared to the naked
eye as if sprinkled with fine particles of corn ipeal. Anxious to try the fish-brine
218 ^Editorial JVotes.
cure, we syringed a large tree with two pailsful. It took two minutes by the watch.
Result : every louse was killed, and so was every leaf and every green shoot and
apple on the tree.
The second mixture tried was half a pint of common salt to a pail of water.
Result : the insect lived, but leaves and shoots were destroyed.
The third and last mixture was a quarter of a pound of whale oil soap, dissolved
in the same quantity of water. Time expended in syringing, two minutes. Result:
death to the insect, health and vigor to the tree, and a handsome and abundant crop.
Before closing we will mention a fact which we noticed last year, which, perhaps,
will be interesting to entomologists. While looking at the movements of the young
lice through a powerful magnifying glass, we discovered a round shaped, black lady
bug, with four distinct white spots on the back, feeding upon the young lice, com-
pletely cleaning the shoot as it went along. Farmers, spare every one of them, for
they are our best friends.
Notes for Cottage Oardenera.
Verbenas. — The Riiralist says: "Towards the latter part of summer, if your
plants show signs of giving out, give them a moderate pruning, and mulch them to
the depth of two inches with spent hops. This mulching process will be very bene-
ficial if commenced early in the season, especially when there is prospect of dry
weather. In getting up a collection confine yourself to a limited number of varieties,
let these be the very best. Ball of Fire, Pink Gem, Radiant, King of Whites,
Venus, G-igantic Celestial Blue, Scarlet Circle, William Dean, Sunbeam and
Saladesi, the latter really superb."
TAsts of Moses,
The Ruralist also mentions the following :
Tea Roses — Gloire de Dijon, Sombreuil, Marshal Neil, Madame Brevay and
Devoniensis.
Noisette Roses — America, Washington, Woodland, Margarette, Pellenburg, per-
fectly hardy and profuse bloomers.
The Remontante or Hybrid Perpetual, are generally exceedingly hardy, many of
them being fii-st class bloomers although shy. Among the best of the well known
older varieties, are the following : Victor Verdier, Maurice Bernardin, Count
Cavon, Cardinal Patrojii, Gen. Washington, Madame Victo Verdier, Giant des
Battailles, Madame Mason, Jules Margotten, Princess Mathilde, Leon Verges.
The Bourbon class is undoubtedly the best for small collections, as they are hardy,
and, with few exceptions, are constant bloomers. The following are hard to excel :
Hermosa, Omer Pasha, Souvenir, Malmaison, Imperatries, Eugenie, Countess de
Brabant, Mme Bosanquet and George Peabody.
Keepinff Qualities of Grajyes.
The Fruit and Wine Reporter says, there is a great difference in varieties for
winter keeping. The very early sorts are, in general, poor keepers. Hartford and
Adirondacs are examples of the earliest, and both are transient. The Delaware may
be kept for a while with considerable ease, but it soon loses character. The Concord
is, perhaps, the shortest lived of all. Its thin and tender skin will hardly sufiice to
carry it to market in presentable condition, and frequently cracks on the vines. A
tough skin and bunches not too compact, are excellent qualifications. The Isabella
is supposed to be a good keeper, but it too often loses its flavor after a few weeks,
particularly if allowed to become dead ripe, as it did last fall. Wherever the
Catawba perfects itself, it is a safe variety for winter keeping. The lona is one of
the best also. It retains it spiritus vinus flavor for a long time. The Israella is
^aid to keep well by those who have tested it.
Sojme of Rogers' Hybrids promise to be exceedingly valuable in this respect. No.
Editorial JVotes. 219
1 keeps well and seems to improve in quality. Some of the black varieties such as
4, 19 and 43, have succeeded well with me. Among the reds, No. 15 and Salem
seem to equal or surpass all others. Salem is much the best quality ; and to the
majority who eat it, not surpassed by any other variety. Fruit of this, gathered in
September, is still in perfect condition, and promises to continue throughout the
winter.
Culture of the Camellia eTaponica,
The Camellia is generally propagated by single cuttings, which, when two or three
years old, are strong enough to be grafted or inarched with double varieties. Graft-
ing or inarching is done in spring, before the plants commence growing. To insure
success in growing good plants they should first be trained with a single stem and
shortened back so as to make side shoots from the stem. Continue growing by keep-
ing the leading shoot in advance of the others, so as to form a pyramidal shape. As
they advance in growth shorten all straggling shoots which get beyond the proper
limit. To encourage growth the plants ought to be put in a warm house where there
is a little moisture. Old plants which are required to bloom early, should be treated
in the same manner and kept in the house until they have set their buds. At all
times they require a liberal supply of water, and should be shaded from the sun, as
every cultivator well knows that the leaves of Camellias are more or less liable to be
blotched and burned with the sun's rays if not protected. Camellias do not require
heat after having set their buds, only sufiicient to keep them from being injured by
severe frost. It is not advisable at any time to go to extremes, but there are no
plants in cultivation which sooner feel the efiFocts of sudden extremes than Camellias
advanced in bud. Excessive dry heat at night, or cold rushes of air during the day,
will go hard with their constitutions, and cause them to drop their buds like hail-
stones.
There are, also, other kinds of extremes which are alike injurious to these plants,
such as over-watering and under-watering, stoppage of drainage, over-potting and
pot bound. The plants which have been over-watered should be turned out of the
pot, all the sour soil removed from the ball without injuring the plants, re-potted and
put into a close house until they commence growing again at the roots. Plants
which have suffered through being under-watered, should be immersed in a pail of
water until the roots and ball get a thorough soaking. Plants with the drainage
stopped should also be taken out of the pot and re-potted in a well drained pot. Pot
bound plants should have the ball reduced, if practicable, and re-potted in a pot a
size larger. All plants of Camellias should be potted after blooming, and immedi-
ately placed in a warm, moist house to make their growth, and syringed over with
water in the evening. When old plants are potted in a good compost, they will not
require re-potting for four or five years. Top-dressing or watering them occasionally
with weak manure water, will be beneficial if the plants become infected with brown
scale and are dirty. Sponge the leaves with soft soap and water. Thin off the buds
when the size of a pea, where they are too numerous. — /. E. Booth, in Fartner's
U?iion.
Summer J'r^ining.
If we desire to improve the/or??z of a fruit tree and get rid of some of the super-
fluous wood, we should prunie in winter; but if we desire /rwzY and a perfectly healed
stump, we should prune from the fifteenth of June to the twentieth of July. We
have done this often with the happiest results. The fruit-buds form after this, and
the operation suddenly cutting off its growth, produces buds ; while the winter or
early spring pruning will produce only ivood.
In pruning ornamental trees in midsummer, the bark, instead of receding from
the stump, grows over it, and in a few years will completely cover it and make a
perfect amputation.
This pruning is done when the tree is taking its midsummer siesta, and then wakes
220 JEdUorial JVotes.
up refreshed for another start, and the bark gradually steals over the stump as if
ashamed of the shabby-loooking exposure.
When the tree is 'in full leaf, and presents its full form to us, we can see exactly
where the pruning should be done, in order that while the over-growth may be
removed, the symmetry of the tree may be preserved. Especially is midsummer
pruning to be preferred, first, to produce Wds on fruit-bearing trees as before stated ;
and second, when large limbs are to be removed. — Philadelphia Press.
Dr. Ball, of Kansas, says that trees which expend all their forces in the produc-
tion of wood can produce little or no fruit. Indeed, it is not possible for any tree to
produce fruit germ, and not again in some way disorganize it, unless the wood growth
shall cease in time for the leaves to elaborate food enough to grow both leaf and
fruit the following year.
Struivherrics--lIow many Quarts jier Acre?
Few persons are aware of the immense yield of the Strawberry plant under high
culture. We have frequent reports of crops ranging from 4,000 to 6,000 quarts per
acre, and we are informed that a Mr. G. H. Baker, of Illinois, produced 200 bushels
of Wilson's Albany Strawberry on one acre, giving him a clear profit of $1,500.
We read also in a northern magazine that Mr Augustus Parker, of Grove Hill Ave-
nue, Boston, picked 4,800 quart boxes of the same variety from one acre and a half
of ground. We have no reason to call in question these and similar cases, but, at
the same time, it should be understood that they are extreme cases, and not to be
looked upon as a fair representation of the results generally attained. We quote
them to show the possibilities of Strawberry culture under the most favorable condi-
tions. We have not the slightest doubt but that 6,000 quarts have been produced
in our own neighborhood — on Charleston Neck, for instance, but should consider
half that quantity a very satisfactory crop, and feel sure that it can be easily attained
with Wilson's Albany, and, perhaps, with other varieties. — Rural Carolnian.
Editorial Note. — The average production of Strawberries per acre, in Dela-
ware, Maryland and New Jersey, is but 1,500 quarts per acre. This is true of large
plantations for market purposes ; but where only a small piece of ground, one to two
acres is planted, the yield is often doubled, because the land is better cared for, bet-
ter tilled, and more amply manured. It is a good rule worth laying down in staw-
berry culture, that if all the manure and one-half the labor were concentrated upon
half the space, the product would be doubled, and the expense of culture would be
much less. It should be the desire of growers not to get more land, but to put more
manure upon the land they already cultivate,
We doubt if 6,000 quarts, per acre, were ever obtained upon the same land two
seasons in succession, or in average market plantations.
Quinces,
An Oh loan, who has three-fourths of an acre of quince orchard — from which last
year he sold 300 bushels of first class fruit, spades the ground in spring and scatters
a peck of coal ashes around each tree, also a quart of salt, and another quart when
the quinces are half grown.
Tojipina Stratcherries,
A Chicago editor has taken particular pains to learn from commission men the use
of topping out berries, with the following results. It does not pay to put selected
berries on top of each box. It does pay to turn the hull down so that the face of
the top of the box presents an unbroken field of red. Leaves on the top of boxes
are a positive detriment, they heat and rot the berry and do not help the sale.
Everything that has a tendency to improve the attractiveness of the box, berries or
Qr^rte, l^elps the S3-Ie,
JEditorial JVotes. 221
Consolidatiom,.
The Western Pomologlst and the Western Gardener have been consolidated, the
combined paper being published by Mark Miller, Des Moines,* Iowa, with Dr. J.
Stajman and Dr. Wni. M. Hously, both of Leavenworth, Kansas, as associate editors.
We are sorry to miss the face of the Western Gardener, as we had taken quite a
liking to it ; yet the Western Poynologist has so good a corps of contributors it will
be a beneficial centering of horticultural interests.
The Gardener's Soliloquy.
To sow ? or not to sow ? — that is the question,
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The greatest torment of a gardener's life
In poring yearly through " fat catalogues,"
Or to take means by popping them, when sent,
Into the waste basket, — to be looked to
No more ; and, by doing so, to say we end
The thirst for new and special nevelties
That flesh is heir to. 'Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To grow ? to sow ?
To grow ? perchance to cram our beds and borders
With useless rubbish — ay ! there's the rub !
For to pick out the best of the trade lists,
Full of " ennobled roots," and " improved seeds "
Must give us pause. There's the respect
That raisers have for their own progeny ;
For who would bear to look o'er all the lists
Now daily sent to gardeners and employers,
" Descriptive guides " " Vade mecums," " Little books,"
For teaching when to sow, transplant and reap,
When he himself might the commotion end
By never reading them ? Who would yearly bear
To sow the good old seeds of former lists ?
But that the thoughts of something after seed-time —
That the " ringleaders," " gems," and '• first crop " peas,
New brocolis, kales, French beans, and cauliflowers,
Might not turn out so profitable or early
As the well-tried old sorts, puzzles the will,
And makes us i-ather grow the seeds we have
Than order others that we know not of.
W T., in Gardener's Weekly Magazine.
Fears near Montreal,
In a report made to the Montreal Agricultural and Horticultural Society, by Mr.
John Archbold, that gentleman states that the following varieties are the twelve best
adapted to the climate of the Island of Montreal, viz. : Summer Doyenne, Dear-
born's Seedling, Beurre Groubalt, as dwarfs ; Bartlett and Bonchretien, either as
dwarfs or standards; Flemish Beauty, as a standard only ; White Doyenne, Glout
Morceau, Belle Lucrative, and Kinsessing. as dwarfs ; Oswego Beurre, as standard ;
Onondaga, as standard or dwarf; and Vicar of Winkfield, as dwarf. He adds that
the Beurre d'Anjou is a very fine pear, but does not seem to be hardy on the quince
stock.
Mr. James H. Springle reports the following summer varieties, viz. : Doyenne
d'Ete or Summer Doyenne, Osband's Summer, and Tyson, as hardy and coming into
bearing early, and recommends that they should be grown on the pear stock. As
Autumn sorts, he names the St. Ghislain, Beurre d'Amalis, Belle Lucrative, Flemish
Beauty, Louise Bonne de Jersey, White Doyenne, and Oswego Beurre ; and says
they are hardy, and the fruit of the finest quality. These French sorts seem better
adapted to that climate than many of the finer American varieties, such as the
Seckel, Kinsessing, Sheldon, etc. Of these, he says, the White Doyenne and
222 Editorial JVotes.
Louise Bonne de Jersey will do well on quince stocks. For winter sorts, Mr.
Springle recommends the Lawrence and the Glout Morceau. He adds that he has
fruited in his experimental garden, during the last twenty years, upwards of three
hundred varieties of pears on both quince and pear stocks, and his experience has
been that, with few exceptions, the quince stock in the climate of Montreal will not
cause the tree to hear fruit earlier than those grafted on the pear stock ; and that
it is also a fact that many varieties of pears which do well on the quince stock else-
where, make in that climate such a strong succulent growth that the wood never
ripens, and is mostly killed the following winter. He also states that he could have
given a longer list of varieties suitable for the climate, and also a number of seed-
lings of both apples and pears of great merit, but that he has confined his remarks
to the twelve best sorts.
One Way to Grotv Strawberries Successful li/.
John Ford, a very successful strawberry grower of Detroit, Michigan, raises
abundant crops for the Detroit market. He plants in drills or rows, three feet
asunder ; plants one foot asunder in the rows. He does not expect a crop the first
season, but allows the young plants to take root and grow together in the rows,
forming a mass of plants about a foot wide. The intervals between the rows are
kept clean with the cultivator. He gets a splendid crop the second year, and when
it is gathered the plants are turned down with the plow, and the ground prepared for
some other kind of crop. He does not keep the strawberries in the same ground for
more than two seasons. — Wester7i Rural.
Close Pruning.
We find it to pay in our own orchard, and trim our pear bark yearly to a foot or
less of the new growth.
Mr. Saunders, of the Department of Agriculture, Washington, who has hitherto
not believed in pruning at all, now we hear has at last concluded to trim his trees
more or less regularly.
The Flentish Seauty Pear,
This variety is now declared to be the only variety recommended for general trial
and cultivation in Minnesota.
Dwarf Pears.
The Gerinantown Telegraph says " dwarf pears " are all at this day that we ever
claimed for them, and we should not dream of possessing a garden without them.
Where room is scarce we should grow dwarfs exclusivel}^ and even where room is
unlimited we should have some dwarfs. If any doubter could have visited our garden
premises last autumn, he would have witnessed a pomological sight as to cause him
to raise up his hands and eyes in wonder and apologize for his ignorance on the spot.
We may add, parenthetically, that we prune our dwarfs excessively, from compul-
sion, not choice.
Xhe Curculio Mastered at Xiaat.
The following is one of the most sensible plans of killing the Curculio that we
have yet seen, even better than the jarring process in some respects, being much
easier ; still that should not be omitted. We quote from the Ohio Farmer :
"For many years past the Curculio has been an almost unconquerable enemy of
the fruit grower, and not a few have cut down their plum trees as cumberers of the
ground, not receiving any return from them. I have remaining a few nice trees,
left standing for ornament and shade, and year after year these trees have bloomed
and set full, but in spite of every efi"ort, until the present season, not a quart of
^diiorial JVotes. 223
fniit was received. While the trees were in full bloom last spring, my wife deter-
mined to try an experiment upon one of them, which she did, and it resulted more
favorably than could have been expected.
Early every morning, while in full bloom, corn meal was strewn over the ground
beneath the branches, and the whole flock from the poultry yard at once set to
work to gather up the particles of grain. The ground was daily thoroughly scratched
over, and meal, insects, and everything to the fowls edible gathered up. Later in
the season a brood of chicks were cooped beneath the ti'ee, and the operation of sow-
ing meal still continued. This operation was not omitted for a day from the time
of the putting forth of the trees until the plums were beyond the reach of the little
pests.
Now, for the result : This tree, and this alone, was loaded with fruit, to the per-
fect amazement of all who saw it. It was literally covered with fruit, as perfect as
could be desired. So heavily were the limbs laden that props had to be used all
around the tree. I really believe there were more and better plums upon this single
tree than all the township, and I am also disposed to say, all of the county.
Not a plum matured on any other tree on my premises, and all are of the same
variety as the one saved.
I would earnestly urge a trial of this method by all who have fruit trees. It will
certainly be continued by me, as I believe it to be a specific against the ravages of
insects.
Cultivated Slueberries.
A correspondent of the Farmers^ Union, Minn., says : " Some three years ago I
set out a few blueberry bushes in my garden. They have brought forth fruit ever
since, are exceedingly hardy and bid fair to be a success. Why not raise them in all
the gardens ? They were taken up and transplanted with the sod on their roots."
Belle de Fontenay JBeispberri/.
Dr. Hull says that he planted 500 plants of this variety in the spring, and they •
spread, by the next year, to 1,200 ; and gathered from them upwards of 1,200 quarts
in one year, only about quarter of which were grown on the old canes at the usual
raspberry season. The heaviest yield, on the new canes, was usually between the
middle of August and the 10th of September. He thinks that ever bearing varieties
will never become popular on account of the trouble to remove the sucker, and the
necessity of stirring the soil weekly.
Fine Yegetables.
The Prairie Farmer says that for special excellence, the following are note worthy :
Bergen Cabbage, the most tender and excellent of all. Cook's Favorite Tomato ;
White Japan and Skillman Netted Melons ; Black Spanish and Ice Cream Water-
melons.
JUillei' and Hayes' New Catalogtie.
Mr. Ch. H. Miller, of Philadelphia, and Mr. C. P. Hayes, formerly connected
with Henry A. Dreer, have formed a co-partnership for the purpose of devoting
special time to landscape gardening, laying out of suburban places, flower gardens,
&c., combining with it the business of florists and gardeners. Their new catalogue
contains a large variety of ornamental plants and flowers. Address is 5,774 Grer-
mantown avenue.
224 JSditorial JVotices.
Crtmno for Htrnwherriea.
The Observer sayp: " Let the guano be put into an old barrel, with some stable
manure, then add water sufficient to leach out the soluble elements of fertility, which
should be applied with a watering-pot. It will produce an abundant crop of berries."
The Scnrlet liouvardiii,
S. 0. J., in answer to a question in the New E71 gland Farmer, about the success-
ful cultivation of this Scarlet Bouvardia says : AVe have not always been successful
in the culture of the Scarlet Bouvardia. It will not thrive in the dry, heated tem-
perature of our common sitting rooms, but, like the verbena, requires a cool, moist
atmosphere, and a rich, loamy soil with a mixture of sand, at least a quarter of the
whole bulk of the soil. It is, also, like the verbena, subject to the ravages of the
aphis, which injure its growth and beauty. This season we had procured a fine
variety, the Bouvardia Elegans, which is a " novelty,^'' and has much larger clusters
of flowers, of a brighter and clearer shade, and far handsomer than the species usually
grown. In December, it was growing beautifully, the sandy, rich loam, and the
cooler situation, were doing their work, and it had four beautiful clusters of buds
beginning to show their rich scarlet tint. But they were covered with green flies in
all stages of life. Their presence was not to be endured — a warm water bath must
be given them ! So we prepared it, but the morning was chilly, our fingers were
cold, and the result was, the bath was too warm for the health of the plant. All the
green aphides were killed ; so, also, were all the beautiful buds and leaves !
The plant still survives, and is now recovering from its hot bath. Not an aphis
has dared to show its wings, and green leaves now promise a wealth of buds. We
hope that " Constant Reader " will profit by our experience, and will give her plant
a cool temperature, and a cool bath, and a rich, sandy home. If watered once a
week with guano water, it will flourish more luxuriantly.
Editorial Notices.
Did our readers notice that our last number reached the good round figure of
Thtee Hundred, and that we are now on the march with the first number of a new
hundred? Amid so many failures and changes in horticultural journalism, it is grati-
fying to find The Horticuitiirist just as successful after twenty-five years of varied
life, as it was when first started.
Forest Trees.
In answer to inquiries, we would say that Bryant's new book of " Forest Trees for
Shelter, Ornament and Profit," will be issued from our office, and ready for sale,
September first. We want agents everywhere in the West to canvass for it.
Change'of firtn.
The firm of Henderson & Fleming has been dissolved, and a new one has been
formed of Peter Henderson & Co., admitting as partners, his son, Alfred Henderson
and William Carson. The new location is at 35 Courtlandt street. New York. The
younger members of the firm start under excellent auspices, having so excellent and
well known a pilot at their front as Peter Henderson. The nev.' location is very
convenient to visitors from New Jersey ; and, in fact, easily reached from all parts
of the city.
WW
YOL. 26.
AUGUST, 18T1.
]^0. 302.
A Chat about Small Fruits for 1871.
1 N unusual number of new seedling varieties have been heralded forth tliis spring.
■^ Most of them seem to have come from the West, near Chicago. Two extraor-
dinary varieties have attracted notice, being crosses between the Wilson and Rus-
sell's Prolific, and described as real acquisitions. Near this city, there have been
shown some very fine new seedlings, but each lacking in some one or more particu-
lars. But few of the varieties that attracted attention last year, seem to have been
able to stand the test of criticisms this year, and have absented themselves from the
exhibition boards. The Champion, a very fine new seedling, originated by Robert
Turnbull, of New Rochelle, N. Y., was much the finest shown near the city. It was
of extraordinary size, beauty of form, color and productiveness, but not considered of
a quality, equal to a severe test running over a series of years. The New Jersey
is one out of a very fine collection of about ten seedlings originated by E. W. Durand,
Irvington, N. J. It is a fine flavored fruit ; very dark red, more so than the Wil-
son, reasonably firm, and received a number of good prizes. The Mrs. Grant is a new
seedling possessing a very high flavor, perhaps too pungent and spicy to suit some
tastes ; originated from the Lenuig's white, but not equal to it. The Late Prolific,
originated by Mr. Durand, exhibited last year, maintains its promise well, and bids
fair to continue a good variety and popular with amateurs for several years, until
something new and better takes its place.
We observe that nearly every new seedling never appears to as good advantage
the seco7id year as the first. And we must add, by way of caution to our readers, a
hint, which might be considered almost a safe rule, "-that new varieties of berries do
best in the locality where they originate, and are rarely as successful beyond it."
Occasionally a particular variety leaps its local bounds and achieves a national
reputation. On this point we commend the (Jhas. Downing, which is now consid-
15
226 -^ Chat about Small JF'rults for f87/.
ered one of our best family fruits, and included in every collection. The Strawberry
Exhibitions in New York, yearly, of B. K. Bliss & Son, and in New Jersey, of the
New Jersey State Agricultural society, as also the test grounds of Beisig and Hex-
amer, at Newcastle, N. Y., serve to keep us well informed of all new varieties and
the yearly success of the old ones in this vicinity.
The strawberry season among growers for the New York market has been, this
year, unexpectedly profitable to all Southern shippers from Delaware, Maryland and
Virginia. The amount of fruit brought from the line of the Delaware Railroad this
year is estimated, from railroad reports, at 3,000,000 quarts. Add to this fully
1,500,000 from Virginia, and about 2,000,000 quarts raised in New Jersey and
neighborhood of New York, and we have not far from 6,500,000 quarts of strawber-
ries raised for market this spring, near this city. Uniform prices have been obtained
by the Delaware and Virginia growers, ranging from 20 to 50 cents per quart. The
profits to the Virginia grower will average $500 per acre ; to the Delaware grower,
$200 to $300. Most of the berries in New Jersey were a failure, owing to late frosts,
and those that came from the Hudson River and Connecticut realized 12 to 20 cents
per quart. The success of this year is doubtless exceptional. The shipping season
was excellent — absolutely no rains — and the short crops of middle and lower Jersey,
has given a buoyant tendency to Southern fruit, such as it has never experienced for
five years past. As Delaware growers are all enlarging their beds and engaging in
the business more largely than ever, we fear that they too may overdo the business just
as their New Jersey neighbors have done, and create a glut among their own fruits.
If our fruit-growers and railroad companies will strive to keep up admirable shipping
and freighting facilities, an immense quantity of fruit can be safely disposed of in
the market. Most of the growers have sufi"ered once or twice every week from the late
arrival of trains. The market system is now so systematically arranged in this city,
that unless fruit is promptly on hand between 4 and 5 A. M, the groceryman goes
home without purchasing any, and when the train arrives at 6 A, m, the commission-
man is overwhelmed w'ith fruit, but his purchasers are gone, and his only resort is to
the peddlers, who are ready to buy at a sacrifice. An hour's difference in the arri-
val of a fruit train is sufficient to cause a decline in price of five to ten cents per
quart upon all the fruit it carries. Upon one train which was carried over the Del-
aware Railroad this spring there were stored 256,000 quarts. This train arrived
late ; part of the fruit could not be sold, and that which could be sold had to go at a
sacrifice of five cents per quart. The total loss to the growers by the late arrival of
that train, one hour, was between $10,000 and $20,000. Had it been one hour ear-
lier, it would have been entirely saved. We mention this single instance to show
the extreme risks of marketing perishable fruit, and the necessity of reform in
freight trains.
In the old standard varieties of strawberries to be recommended, either for mar-
ket or family use, we find a more than usual adherence to the Wilson. Growers have
at last become satisfied that it is time and money thrown away to try to displace it.
The market buyer prefers it to anything else, except fancy Triomphe and Jucunda,
and the universal cry now is nothing but Wilson. The Barnes Mammoth has received
^ Chat about Small I^rults for ^87!. 227
a fair trial this year, and the vei-dict is, " the Wilson in preference." The Barnes
is a large, handsome, firm berry, but loses its shining bright color when it arrives in
market, and besides yielding only two-thirds the quantity of the Wilson, does not
seem to bring an extra price.
The Romeyne Seedling is universally conceded to be nothing but the Triomphe de
Gand.
Peak's Emperor. — Same as Agriculturist ; we cannot observe any difference this
year.
Napoleon Sd. — More magnificent than ever ; must be grown on very heavy land,
cool, and be mulched, and it will produce the finest flavored berries that ever glad-
dened the sight of an amateur.
Boydeii's No. 30. — Has now been well tried near the city and met with uniform
favor ; is a very fine, large fruit, of agreeable taste and very productive ; seems to
do well on any soil.
Ckas. Doivning. — One of our standard sorts, valuable for every family garden ;
will do well on light land as well as heavy, but needs manure for producing the big
berries.
RusseWs Prolific. — Is rising in public estimation ; more calls for it than usual
have been noticed this year ; universally productive ; good flavor, pistillate ; needs
another variety close by to fertilize it.
President Wilder, equal in flavor to all that has been said of it ; not productive
here ; but does better the second year than the first in new beds.
hennig's White. — The Queen of all strawberries ; its spicy, delicious flavor is
unequaled among all fruits we have ever seen.
Golden Queen. — Handsome, showy, soft, productive ; good only for near market.
Jucunda — the most profitable straioberry ever grown. — Rarely ever sells for less than
50 cents per quart ; needs heavy shaly clay ; will carry 500 miles uninjured ; about
as productive as the Triomphe de Gand.
Green Prolific. — Very vigorous, productive, and a good, sure family variety.
Freyich. — One of our favorite varieties ; early, good bearer, excellent flavor, large
size, moderately firm; best of the very early kinds.
Louis Vilmorin. — A new foreign variety ; small fruit ; poor grower.
Scott Seedling. — Very poor flavor ; berries small ; pointed ; only few to the plant.
Ida. — Small ; sour ; very productive.
Colfax. — Capital for plowing under as a green manure.
Harrison — Very productive ; medium sized fruit ; as vigorous as the Green
Prolific.
Great Eastern. — Very productive, but fruit stalks are not firm, and fruit lies on
the ground.
Turner s Beauty. — Very remarkable healthy foliage ; large berry ; fair flavor ; not
firm enough for market.
Turner's Favorite. — Excellent flavor, but small berry; not a good grower.
Turner's Nonesuch. — Better flavor than the Beauty; hardy; prolific; berry like
the Lady Finger.
228 ^ Chat aboict Small I^ricits Jor /87^'
Turner's Prolific. — Excellent, productive, good flavor ; but the fruit hangs too low
on the ground.
Hartford. — Too small ; does not amount to much.
Early May. — Very early ; even ahead of the Downer's Prolific ; not very produc-
tive ; berries medium size.
In Raspberries there is little new or noticeable. The Black Caps have succeeded
indifferently in New York this season. It seems impossible to introduce them. It is
a pity, as they are among the most useful and enjoyable of all the small fruits.
The Westchester Black Cap is but one or two days ahead of the Doolittle, and
no more productive, but is of much better flavor.
The Mammoth Cluster is universally acknowledged to be the most productive and
profitable of all the Black Caps.
The Davidson Thornless is the earliest ; sweet and productive.
The Seneca — large, late, sweet ; best family variety.
Bed Raspberries, owing to the difiiculty of growing them successfully on warm,
early soils, are raised principally along the Hudson Biver, where they are very abund-
ant and profitable.
Blackberries attract little attention ; only one variety now takes the lead
— the Wilson Early. While any of this is in market it is impossible to sell any
other variety. The Dorchester, when grown on light land, is too email and unprofit-
able for a market variety, yet it is much the best flavored. When will purchasers be
willing to consider flavor equivalent to size and showiness ?
Kitlatinny. — Very productive ; berries large, juicy, delicious ; loses its color in mar-
keting ; is the least attractive and most unprofitable of all as a market fruit-; excellent
for family, but cannot be recommended for profit for this market.
Lawton. — Next to Wilson in profit ; sells well, and is as remunerative as ever.
When well ripened is delicious, but too often is picked before ripe. Is one of the
kind that is not ripe when it begins to turn black. Its reputation in the market is
so fixed that it cannot be displaced yet, unless the Wilson is more generally grown.
Success III Small Fruit.
We know of no branch of rural industry which requires so much capital and out-
lay for its space as the cultivation of strawberries, aud we know of no business so
risky or fruit so perishable. Still it is our first fruit of the season, is in great
demand and is very popular. Strawberry culture is yet unsettled. Most of those
who failed, did so because they did not have capital enough, or were not able to ha7tg
on. We believe that where expenses are light and shipping facilities good, and plants
reasonably well cultivated, that an average profit of $100 to $200 per acre can be
realized regularly every year. Our shipments this year average about $200 per acre
net over all expenses ; still fully $250 worth of spoiled fruit occurred during the
season. To make small fruits really successful in the highest degree, the grower
must have capital, own his land entirely free from debt, support his own family,
cows, horses, etc., on his land, spend no money off" the place for manures, but
make it all at home, and have a variety of fruits ripening from the earliest down to
Pleasant Thougfits. 229
the latest of the season, so that the expenses of the farm may be divided equally
among all, and not concentrated on one thing. Those who have been most successful
in small fruits have been so situated that they could sell plants as well as the fruit,
thus realizing double profit from the same area. An intelligent idea of the market
is necessary to a successful fruit-grower, otherwise he cannot eater acceptably to the
buying public. Growers often are misled by supposing that any thing is good and
profitable which will grow well and produce abundantly^ but they forget that, after all,
they are not the judges, for it is the market buyers who determine what to buy and
what to discard. This instance is well exemplified in the Kittatinny blackberry :
growers like to cultivate it, for it is very productive, but the market men decline to
touch it, for they buy only from looksy color ^.nd size, and hence discard it altogether,
in favor of the Wilson and Lawton. A good kijowledge of the fruit market is
indispensable to success in fruit culture.
Pleasant Thonglits.
Nrs. Malaiifop's Love of the Country.
MRS. M has been visiting for a few days in the country, and writes a friend
that it is looking very beautiful. Spring flowers are springing up in the most
luxurious confusion. Bandylions are abundant in the meadows at the back, and her
front garden is full of scarlet agapeneones.
The Lnngtiage of Flowers.
We often hear of the " pink of propriety," Can we not with equal propriety speak
of the " lie-lack of truth " ? Is holly-hock to be added to our list of wines? How
will the disturbed state of the Continent affect the coming-up of single and double
stocks ? Is it likely to interfere with the dividend on the Ten Weeks Stocks ? The
emblem of Ireland is a Sham-rock ; a pink would be more appropriate for a ear-
nation. Fun.
Piit Floicers on Your Table.
Set flowers on your table — a whole nosegay if you can get it, or but two or three,
or a single flower, a rose, a pink, nay, even a daisy. Bring a few daisies and butter-
cups from your last field work, and keep them alive in a little water; aye, preserve
but a bunch of clover, or a handful of flowering grass, one of the most elegant as
well as cheap of nature's productions, and you have something on your table that
reminds you of the beauties of God's creation, and gives you a link with the poets
and sages that have done it most honor. Put but a rose, or a lily, or a violet on
your table, and you and Lord Bacon have a custom in common : for that great and
wise man was in the habit of having flowers in season set upon his table morning, we
believe, noon and night — that is to say, at all his meals, for dinner in his time was
taken at noon ; and why should he not have flowers at all his meals, seeing that they
were growing all day ? Now, here is a fashion that shall last you forever, if you
please, nevei? chjvnging with silks, and velvets and silver forks, nor dependent upon
caprice, or some fine gentleman or lady who have nothing but caprice and changes to
230 Pleasant Thoughts.
give them importance and a sensation. Flowers on the morning table are especially
suitable to the time. They look like the happy wakening of the creation ; they
bring the perfumes of the breath of nature into your room ; they seem the repre-
sentative and embodiment of the very smiles of your home, the graces of its good-
morrow ; proofs that some intellectual beauties are in ourselves, or those about us.
Some Aurora (if we are so lucky as to have such a companion), helping to strew our
life with sweets, or in ourselves some masculine wilderness not unworthy to possess
such a companion or unlikely to gain her. Leigh Hunt.
The Wild Flotoers.
Ye field flowers I the gardens eclipse you, 'tis true,
Yet wildlings of nature, I dote upon you.
For ye waft me to summers of old,
When the earth beamed around me with fairy delight,
And when daisies and buttercups gladdened my sight.
Like treasures of silver and gold.
E'en now what affections the violet awakes !
What loved little islands, twice seen in the lakes,
Can the wild water lily restore !
What landscape I read in the primrose's looks.
And what pictures of pebbled and miunowy brooks
In the vetches that tangled the shore.
The Aintifantli.
The beauty of this robust growing flower is due to its ornamental variegated leaves.
An ancient floral writer •' Miller," says, " There is no handsomer plant than this in
full lustre." Gerarde, another of the very old garden loviug fraternity, thus refers
to it in his quaint old Anglo Saxon tongue :
" It farre exceedeth my skill to describe the beauty and excellencie of this rare
plant called Floramor, and I think the pensil of the most curious painter will be at a
stay when he shall come to set it dowue in his lively colours. Everie leafe resem-
bleth in colour the most faire and beautifuU feather of a Parrot, especially those
feathers that are mixed with most sundry colours, as a stripe of red and a line of
yellow, a dash of white and a rib of green colour, which I cannot with words set
forth. Such are the sundry mixture of colours that Nature hath bestowed in her
greatest jolitie upon this flowre."
TIte Moss Mos.e,
r The Moss Rose is familiar to every one as a most beautiful plant ; flowers possess-
ing a deep color, fragrant, and with a rich mossy appearance. The origin of its
mossy vest has been explained to us by a German writer :
" The angel of the flowers one day,
Beneath a rose tree sleeping lay ;
That spirit to whose charge is given
To bathe young buds in dews from heaven ;
Mybrid J^ruits. 231
Awaking from his light repose,
The angel whispered to the rose :
' 0, foudest object of my care,
Still fairest found where all are fair,
For the sweet shade thou'st given to me
Ask what thou wilt, 'tis granted thee.'
' Then,' said the rose with deepened glow,
' On me another grace bestow.'
The spirit paused iu silent thought ;
What grace vas there that flowers had not !
'Twas but a moment ; — o'er the rose
A veil of n>oss the angel throws ;
And, robed in nature's simplest weed.
Could there a flower that rose exceed ? "
Hybrid Fruits.
BY JACOB MOORE, EOCHESTER, N. Y.
TN the February number of the Gardener'' 8 Monthly^ the editor acknowledges the
^ receipt of some abnormal fruit, supposed by the raiser to be the product of a
cross between the apple and pear. As the ideas advanced in the editor's comments'
and the several communications of Chas. x^rnold, of Paris, C. W. and the raiser of
the fruit, published therewith, are directly contrary to my experience in hybridiza-
tion, I am induced to reply to them. The fruit is stated by the raiser (Dr. J. Law-
rence, Paris, C. W.), to have been upon the branch of a pear tree among those of a
R. I. Grreeniug apple tree. Another person \yas present when he picked the fruit,
and separating the branches of the apple and the pear, both of them ascertained
beyond a doubt that it was borne by the pear tree. Mr. Arnold, with certain other
horticulturists, examined and tested the fruit, and states as follows concerning it :
"All parties present were of opinion that the fruit much more resembled apples than
pears, both in flavor and appearance. Some fancied they could perceive quite a
pear flavor, but all were unanimously of opinion that there was no trace of R. I.
Greenings in the flavor." The latter part of this statement contradicts the former,
for does it not say that "some fancied they could perceive quite a pear flavor"?
Hence, it appears that all parties present were 7wt of the opinion (or fancy) that the
fruit much more resembled apples than pears, both in flavor and appearance. But it
is stated that " all were unanimously of opinion that there was no trace of R. I.
Greenings in the flavor." We are therefore led to infer that the flavor, in the opin-
ion of a portion of the judges, was like that of a7i apple, though not of the R. I.
Greening, the variety supposed to be hybridized with the pear. The comments of the
editor of the G. M. upon the fruit, are as follows : " There is no mistake here, for
on opening the specimen sent, the seeds furnished undisputed evidence that the fruit
is a pear, and not an apple. Then the insertion of the stem is not the insertion of
232 Sybrid Jf'rmls.
an apple. In the apple we know that the stem gradually fits in the cavity, until it
is tightly clasped — that is, the basin is funnel shaped, the funnel scarcely having any
outlet at the point as one would say, — but in this specimen the basin is rather bell
shaped, just as one could imagine it would be if a pear had its stem ptished in, the
pulp and skin going with it. In the seed and the stem-cavity or basin, there is not
the slightest relationship to the apple. The curious part of the affair is, that the
pulp is undoubtedly that of an apple. The apples were rotten when they got here ;
we could not judge of the perfect flesh ; but there is one character by which the
decayed pulp of an apple can always be distinguished from that of a pear : — Apple
pulp is fibrous — pear pulp is granulated. We carefully mashed this pulp ; there was
not the slightest trace of the gritty masses which characterize pear pulp. It was
apple pulp most undoubtedly."
The editor bases his conclusion solely upon the character of the pulp; but
as this was rotten, according to his statement, it certainly could not afford a
fair opportunity of analysis for the purpose of deciding the question at issue. He
says that the seeds of the fruit were like those of a pear, and not of an apple.
How then could the pulp be that of an apple when the seeds, which, as he well
knows, are the direct receptacles of the pollen, were not those of an apple ? That
the fruit was borne by a pear tree may be conceded, but that it was the product
of pear blossoms fertilized by apple pollen, I consider extremely doubtful. It is my
experience that pear blossoms will not take the apple pollen. I am not prepared to
say at present that the two species cannot be crossed, for the reason that I have not
made a sufficient number of trials to determine this question. Eut even allowing
that they can be crossed, and in this instance that they were crossed, this would
affect neither the color, shape, texture, or flavor of the fruit in the slightest percepti-
ble degree. Experience renders me positive on this point. I have crossed the
Concord, Hartford, Black Fox, and other native grapes, with the Muscats, Ham-
burghs and others of the finest foreign grapes, and have never been able to detect
the slightest approach to the foreign varieties used, either in the shape, color, flavor,
texture of the fruit, or the formation of the seed. The fruit would have precisely
the appearance and flavor of that of the same variety not crossed, and the seed
would likewise have the same shape and appearance. Such is my experience, also,
with crosses between varieties and species of the apple, pear, and other fruits. The
seedlings from the crossed seeds, however, have testified as to their origin very
plainly. It is my belief that the internal structure of the germ of the seed alone,
is changed by the action of pollen of another variety or species. Sometimes occa-
sional specimens of fruit may have the appearance of being crossed with another
sort or species, but it does not follow that such is the case. Such specimens are
merely natural variations, and may be borne by a variety entirely removed from every
other. Mr. Arnold, in his communication says, "We all know that if we plant a
few grains of dark purple corn, and near by we plant white sweet corn, that we will
find in the fail both varieties of corn in the same ear." I differ with him entirely.
I don't know any such thing. In fact, I am confident they will show no mixture
^hateyer the first yejjir, provided they have previously been Jiept ^distinct and pure.
'Pottmg Strawberry Plants. 233
It is true they will cross the first year, but it will not become apparent until the sec-
ond year, when the product of the crossed seed is obtained. Doubtless there are
few among horticulturists who will assent to this statement ; I am convinced of its
truth, nevertheless. Corn, as is well known, is fertilized by the pollen dropping from
the tassel upon the silk, descending through it to the point of the seed in the cob,
and there entering into the composition of the germ of the seed, popularly termed
the chit. A cross or mixture of two varieties is effected, simply, by the pollen of
one variety acting upon the seed of the other, precisely as its own pollen does. It
is a mistake to suppose that the pollen of the one changes the main body of the seed
of the other into that of the variety to which the pollen belongs, or into something
appearing to be a medium or cross between the two sorts. Such an effect is impos-
sible, according to my judgment and experience. The mixture will not become
apparent until the seed so fertilized is planted, as before stated. Several farmers of
my acquaintance, who hold the popular belief on this subject, have acknowledged to
me that they have planted seed of a variety of corn which to all appearance was per-
fectly distinct and pure, in a situation far removed from all other varieties, and
where it could not mix with any other, and yet the crop was badly mixed with
another sort. This could not have been the case without this apparently pure seed
had been mixed in the germ the year before, by the variety showing itself in the
crop. The popular belief, also, respecting the mixture of different kinds of vegeta-
bles, is erroneous. For instance it is generally supposed that squashes and pump-
kins will, the first year they are planted adjacent, show the mixture in the product
of each kind. Yet I know this idea to be a myth. The said squashes and pump-
kins will, the first season they are so planted, show no mixture whatever, provided
they have previously been kept distinct. It is their seed which will produce the
mixture.
In conclusion, I would like to hear from other hybridists on this subject. Doubt-
less many persons besides myself would be interested to learn the opinions of M. P.
Wilder, E. S. Rogers, S. W. Underbill, and others. I am specially curious to know
if they think that pear blossoms could develop into "apple pulp," in consequence of
their fertilization by apple pollen.
Potting Strawberry Plants.
ABOUT the first to twentieth of June the runners of the strawberry will be in a
good condition to pot. One who has never tried this best of all plans to get
thrifty plants for a new bed, would be astonished at the excellent success which would
attend his efforts in this direction. Plants propagated in this way can be put out at
any time during August or the three succeeding months, or can be left in the bed until
the following spring, and turned out in a well prepared plat, and bear quite a nice
little crop of excellent berries the same spring. I confess to being an enthusiast on
this mode of producing strawberry plants, but the marvelous success which has
always attended my efforts, created that enthusiasm. It is nice, light, delicate work,
and affords the amateur cultivator a most delightful recreation from the ofiice, work-
234 3)esigns of Hural A.rt,
shop or counting room. Any pottery will sell you small, two-inch pots for about a
cent each, and these will last for many years, with only a small per cent of breakage.
Get as many of them as you desire, and procure a lot of fine leaf mould or other light,
rich material, fill the pots even full, and after the runners throw out plants, plunge
your pot in the bed at a point convenient to a runner, lay it on and place a small
stone or clod on it to keep it in place. In a few weeks the pot will be a net work of
roots, and a fine plant will be in it. The straw which connects the plant in the pot
with the parent plant must not be cut until you are ready to set out your plant, unless
you design keeping them over until spring ; in which event you should sever all of
them after active growth has ceased. When you get ready to transplant, turn the
pot upside down, and give the bottom a strong tap or two with your hand, and the
plant, earth and all, will come out in a moulded form, precisely the shape and size
of the pot. Now make a hole with your garden trowel the size of your pot, set it in,
pour a tea cup of water around it, and draw dry dirt up, being careful to have your
plant no deeper than it grew in the pot. No shading will be required — your plants
will not wilt ; and if you do this work in the fall, no weeds will be in your bed.
Place straw an inch or two deep between rows and plants, and your work is done for
that year, and until after fruiting the next. You will get at least a third of a crop
of nice fruit the first season after planting thus, without any work. The following
year, keep oiF all runners, and keep the ground well stirred. If you desire to have
ripe fruit a few weeks in advance of the general season, put your potted plants, about
the middle of August, into six-inch pots (transplanting them from the small ones)
and before cold weather sets in place them in a green-house, conservatory or pit, for
winter protection, and about the first of February following, make a good hot-bed
two and a-half feet deep, placing six inches of soft, light earth on top of the fresh
manure, and in this plunge your pots to the rim, in rows about a foot apart each way,
and cover over with glazed sash, putting matting or old carpets over the glass in very
cold weather and at night, and give air and tepid water occasionally on warm days.
You can then eat strawberries a month or more in advance of the usual time.
Stanford, Ky. Woodman.
Designs of Rural Art.
FIGr. 1 is a sketch of a Rustic Summer House, simple, and easily constructed.
The attractiveness of it is enhanced greatly by the climbing vines, which are sup-
posed to be planted freely at each end, If evergreens are planted close by, they
will add greatly to the picturesqueness of the position and form an excellent contrast.
Fig. 2 is an out-door covered seat. The upright posts are each six inches square,
and set in the ground. The roof is of boards with battened joints, set ofi" with an
ornamented ridge-board and balls. The seat is made of hard wood, rounding on top,
and placed a little apart.
The effect can be changed by substituting rough cedar, unbarked, posts for the
square ones. A Wistaria vine planted at one end and allowed to grow over the roof
and hang dowij its clusters of drooping leaves and flowers, will add very much to its
Jbe.auty.
Designs of ^ural A7't.
235
IPig. 1, — Siinmier House.
Fig. 3. — A.n Out-doov Mastic Seat.
236 !Pickinff, "Packlnff and Marketing J^ruU.
Picking, Packing and Marketing Fruit.
AT a meeting of the Central New York Farmer's Club, at Ithaca, the above sub-
ject was discussed, of which we have the following report. Mr. Grridley said :
It is perhaps unnecessary for me to state the fact that tens of thousands of dollars
are annually lost to fruit growers and dealers in Central New York, in consequence
of pears and apples being bruised, badly assorted, poorly packed — sent to market too
early or too late. I propose to give a very few brief common sense directions, trust-
ing some one of the losers may be benefited. Pears and apples should be so packed
or gathered as not to bruise them. If growers or dealers are disposed to send
bruised or inferior fruit to market, it is better for all concerned, to mark the pack-
ages No. 2.
Summer and fall apples should be sent to market sufficiently early to arrive in
sound condition.
Picking Pears — The general test, as to the time to pick pears, is when the stem
will cleave from the spur, without breaking, when the pear is raised. The Flemish
Beauty, Beurre Diel, and some other varieties, are lessened in value very much if
allowed to remain on the trees until ripe. The Bonne de Jersey and Beurre d' Amalis
are frequently picked too early. The Bartlett, Flemish Beauty, and some other
varieties ripen so uneven they should have two or three pickings. When summer
and fall pears are to be sent to market they should be picked when green, and all
pears when not wet by dew or rain. Winter pears should be picked as late as the
weather will allow. The growers and dealers who forward to our principal markets,
will doubtless realize more to sort well, and pack carefully the best varieties of pears in
strong crates, like the peach packages. Inferior varieties may be put in half or
whole barrels.
Barreling apples and pears — A sufficient number of, say No. 1, in quality of apples
should be placed with the stem downward, to cover the head that is to be marked
and taken out. Then for No. 1 packages, such apples or pears as are fair, good size,
and not bruised, should be put in the barrel, so as not to bruise them.
When the barrel is a little more than full of fruit, having been well shook down, a
screw or lever should be used in pressing down the fruit, so as to put in the head so
hard pressed that the fruit cannot be moved by the shake or manner of transporting
the barrel. It pays better to do right, to so sort and pack fruit so that no purchasers
may be deceived. If pears or apples are to be forwarded to some of the principal
city markets, to be sold on commission, I suggest they be sent to a good, honest,
responsible commission man, and allow him to exercise his judgment when to sell.
Mr. Lewis asked if the barrel should be headed as soon as it is filled, or should it
be allowed to undergo the sweating process ?
Mr. Gridley would not head up immediately for keeping, but for marketing late in
the fall he thought it would be perfectly safe to head up as soon as filled. He would
use only clean barrels, New ones are the best. Salt barrels should not be used.
A flour barrel, Mr, Lewis said, holds a half bushel more than apple barrels, and a
gj^lt barrel a half bushel more than a flgur barrel. He has been accustomed to clean
kicking, backing and Marketing J^ruii. 237
flour barrels, by knocking all the loose flour from them, then using a broom, and
lastly a woolen rag, could not get them perfectly clean.
Mr. Tuttle thought the best way to pick fruit is to pick every apple by hand and
lay it carefully in a basket ; they should never be dropped so as to be bruised in the
least. In the packing, he would not drop a pear three inches, on to another pear,
but place them very carefully, Cover the heads of barrels with brown paper. Thinks
it keeps them from bruising. First layer of pears should be packed stem up ; apples,
stem down. He is acquainted with a fruit grower who picks his apples into baskets,
not holding more than a peck, piles them in small lots on the ground and allows them
to lay for some days, then packs them and heads up immediately. When they are
barreled, the barrels are not allowed to be rolled, and are carried in spring wagons.
Fruit that is worth taking to market is worth taking to market in the best style.
Mr. Butler, of New Hartford, had packed a great many apples for the New York
market, and had always succeeded best in packing in new barrels. He had found
that apples of equal quality, in a new barrel, will bring a half dollar more than in
second-hand barrels
Mr, Tuttle said that many buyers think that if fruit is brought to market in sec-
ond-hand barrels, the fruit is second-hand. Most pears should be picked as soon as
they will come off" the stem. Louisa Bonne de Jersey should be allowed to remain on
the stem until ripe.
Mr. G-ridley would ripen pears in a cool, dark, dry place. Some varieties will
ripen as easily as apples. Many winter pears, however, are difficult to ripen.
Mr. Tuttle had had good success in ripening pears, by spreading on the floor in a
dark room and covering with a sheet, to keep the air from them.
Mr. Lewis had ripened the best pears in a perfectly dark room, and one which was
not aff"ected by the temperature of outside air. In other rooms he covered them in
a manner similar to that adopted by Mr. Tuttle.
Mr. Campbell asked if this section raises much fruit for marketing. It was
answered that no depot, east of AVayne county, ships more fruit than Clinton ; and
the entire county of Oneida is famous for its fruit.
Mr. Gridley has found that the best way in which to pack pears for market, is in
bushel crates, and not in bulk or barrels. They sell more readily in market, for
families.
An objection was made by Mr. Tuttle, to this method, because it would ripen the
pears while exposed to the air; and the flavor would not be preserved. Mr. Gridley
thought the short time they are on the road would not injure their flavor.
Mr. Butler has been instructed by New York buyers to pick apples carefully and
put them in piles of 15 to 20 bushels and let them remain for several days, no matter
if it rained during the time. Then, on a dry day, take them from the ground, pack
them carefully in barrels, head them up immediately, and allow them to remain in
the orchard until buyers called for them. He never had known any complaint being
made of their condition when they reached market.
Mr. Lewis had had apples frozen in barrels in the fall or during the winter and
come out all right in the spring. He covers the barrels with sawdust, and the apples
238 Scott's Suburban ITome Grounds.
thaw out gradually in the spring and do not lose their flavor, because not exposed to
the air or light. While frozen they do not rot, of course, but rot more quickly after
they are thawed than though they had not been frozen.
All agreed that apples should be kept in as cool a place as possible until freezing
weather comes, and when put in the cellar the temperature should be as low as 40®.
Mr. Lewis would have it as low as 35*^ if possible.
Mr. Campbell keeps his fruit in his barn cellar during the winter, as his house
cellar is too warm.
Mr. Tuttle had tasted fruit kept in refrigerator packinghouse that had been picked
a year and tasted as fresh as if just picked from the tree. It will begin to decay,
however, in the course of three or four days after it is taken from the houses.
Scott's Suburban Home Grounds.
IT is nearly a year since we announced the preparation of a new volnrae on Land-
scape Gardening and Rural Taste, which would prove to be the finest ever issued
in this country. It has now been printed by D. Appleton & Co., and is offered to
the public. Mr. Frank J. Scott, the author, is an architect and landscape gardener,
whose early life was spent in one of the towns of the Hudson river, where he became
acquainted with A. J. Downing, entered his service as a pupil and became enamored
of the art. He was familiar with all Mr. Downing's plans, especially in literary pur-
suits, and had often heard Mr. Downing express a desire to write and issue a book on
American trees and shrubs, with plans for the ornamentation of home grounds,
which should be the most full and complete ever published for American use. His
early death prevented the carrying out of so happy an idea. Mr. Scott never forgot
it however, and since that time has patiently gathered all necessary material, has
taken Mr. Downing's ideas where he left them crude and unfinished, has weaved them
with his own into a harmonious whole, and for the past ten years has been at work
preparing,' revising, writing, and putting all the necessary tasteful touches in order
to render the volume unique, beautiful, complete, and a chef d'osiivre of rural art
and taste.
The result has more than equalled the anticipations we had formed of it. More
than $5,000 have been spent upon it in illustrations — and a lifetime of careful
thought, has made it almost faultless in its idea and details. The volume is devoted
to four objects.
1st. To the consideration of Rural Taste in itself, how to diffuse it more widely.
2d. Landscape Gardening, what it is, and how brought within the ordinary range
of the people.
3d. A complete descriptive list of all ornamental shade-trees, shrubs, vines, etc.,
fit for use in villa or cottage grounds.
4th, It gives over forty plans of grounds, as a guide to any one aljout to build
how to lay out his place handsomely.
blackberries for Market. 239
The author has aimed principally to meet the wants of that class of men in the
suburbs of large cities, who have small spaces of five lots to five acres, who wish to
make their area as handsome as possible, at moderate cost. A great deal of useful
information is given of how to select the proper ground, drain it ; what buildings to
erect, designs for them ; what color to paint, fences to put up; hedges, materials to
be used in decorative planting ; faults to avoid ; walks and roads, how to plant in
harmony ; the fitness of trees to diff"erent locations; plans for flower-beds; character-
istics of trees, their forms of growth, etc., 800 pages are devoted to this style of
topics, and 300 pages more are devoted to a detailed description of every species of
ornamental tree, shrub or vine, now cultivated and fit to be planted, numbering over
1,200 kinds. This list alone contains information worth $10,000 to every horticul-
turist in the country, and renders it the finest and most complete book of its kind
now extant.
The volume contains 600 pages in all, is sumptuously bound, and is sold at the
uniform price of %%.
Hereafter, to any one asking for the best book on Landscape Gardening, or the
best on American trees and shrubs for ornamental use, or the best book with plans
for laying out home grounds, our only answer will be, get " Scott's Suburban Home
Gi'ounds.''
Blackberries for Market.
WE shall be compelled to discard the Kittatinny and the Dorchester for market, on
light soil, much to our regret. The former because it is too soft and arrives in
market too dull in color. The latter because it is too small. These two have been dis-
placed entirely in our eastei'n markets by the Wilson Early. This berry is so large,
so bright, so handsome, glossy, and retains its color so well, that as long as it lasts
absolutely no other variety can be sold, and it usually has to be closed out at a
sacrifice. There is very little demand for canned blackberries, and the only resort
is to dry the fruit that cannot thus be marketed.
The Lawton is still among the most popular varieties wilh the market men. Its
large size and good color are its only arguments for a good sale, still it will outsell
in price any day the much better Kittatinny and Dorchester. The Kittatinny is
the very best family fruit we have. The Dorchester is quite as bright, firm and glossy
as the Wilson, but small. If, however, it is grown upon heavy land, or is mulched
heavily, say 3 to 4 inches, the fruit will be fully doubled in size and hence made
more marketable and profitable. We doubt very much if the Wilson will prove a
profitable berry in the State, north of New York. It is best adapted to light, warm,
loamy soil, and is more productive and earlier than on heavy lands. Hence we say
that for family choose the Kittatinny and Dorchester ; for fruit grown for market in
the South, on light soil, plant the Wilson or Lawton ; for the North, on heavy lands,
any or all except the Wilson.
240 Garden JP'towers.
Summer Pruning of the Raspberry.
CU^iTIVATORS too frequently allow raspberry bushes to run rampant the sea-
son through, and do the pruning the following spring, when much severe cutting
is required in bringing the plants into shape. A proper share of attention at
the right time, and a small amount of labor, will enable the owner to bring them
into a suitable form, retain all their vigor, and obviate much of the care required
for staking the plants.
With the Black Caps, the stems of which are long and slender, more attention should
be given to pinching back early, than to the others or suckering raspberries. In the
Northern States this pinching should be performed once, or as soon as the new shoots
are a foot or so in height. The thumb and finger will easily take off the tender tips
of the shoots, which is all that is needed. The new canes will then begin to become
thicker and stouter, and in a short time will throw out laterals or side branches.
These laterals should in turn be pinched off, so as to give the bush the form shown
by the dotted line. If the pinching is not done in time, it will be necessary to cut
off the tips, which by lopping a portion of the foliage, will give the plant some check,
but will be better than to leave it to grow into a straggling form.
As the suckering raspberries have shorter and stiffer canes than the Black Caps,
the pinching off may be done later, or when they are some three feet high.
In addition to keeping the bushes thus in proper form, it is recessary to thin out
supernumeraries which spring up in the shape of suckers, and the earlier they are
cut out with a sharp narrow hoe, the better. If left to grow for a time, they are
like weeds, and injure the growth of the selected and retained bushes. AVhile the
bearing canes are left for this year's crop, the new ones for next year should have as
good a chance as practicable. Four or five of the best are selected, and all the rest
cut away ; and as soon as the old canes are done bearing, they too should be removed,
giving the new canes full and entire possession for perfecting and ripening their
growth. The following season, when they are to bear, it is necessary to tie them
loosely to a stake, the tops being cut off at the same time to a height of about four feet.
Cultivators differ to some extent as to the propriety of pinching back the growing
canes so as to render them stiff and broad, and to obviate staking allow them free
growth the first year, and cut back the following spring, and then stake. But
there is no question that pinching back is beneficial, and should be adopted even
when the cultivator prefers to secure his canes firmly to stakes, inasmuch as stout,
■well ripened wood is better than long, slender and unripened ; and neat, well shaped
plants are to be preferred to stragglers. — Coujitry Gentleman.
Garden Flowers.
THE sketch on the opposite page, represents a floral scene in one of the most
finished of European villa grounds. It is the frontispiece to Daisy Eycbright's
new book " Every Woman her own Flower Gardener,'' the mention of whose name
is alone sufficient to promise a rich treat of contents to all floral readers. The book
will be ready September Ist.
J^loral Scene.
241
Floral Scene.
16
242 -^^ American ^omologlcal Sociefj.
The American Pomological Society.
THE next biennial meeting of this society will be held at Richmond, Virginia, in
Assembly Hall, Eighth street, between Grace and Franklin, on the 6th, 7th and 8th
of September, 1871. The circular just issued by the officers of the society states
that exhibitions of the Virginia Pomological and Horticultural Society will be held
in conjunction with it, and thus amplo opportunity is afforded not only to examine
the fruits of the South in comparison with those of the North, the West and of the
Pacific Slope, which it is expected will be freely contributed, but also to foster and
perpetuate the amicable and social relations which have heretofore existed between
the members of the Society, and to widely diffuse the result of its deliberations for
the benefit of our constantly expanding territory.
The climate of Virginia and adjacent States is believed to be admirably adapted
to the culture of fruits, especially the pear, the grape and the strawberry. It is
therefore hoped that there will be a full attendance of delegates from the South and
the West, as well as from other quarters of our country, thereby stimulating more
extensive cultivation upon which the North are so largely dependent for early sup-
plies; thus also, by the concentrated information and experience of cultivators, to aid
the Society in completing the second division of its Catalogue of Fruits, being that
part which pertains especially to the Southern States. This will be one of the prom-
inent subjects which will come before the Society, and we therefore respectfully
invite the various State and Local Committees to report to P. Barry, Chairman of
the General Fruit Committee, agreeably to the constitution of the Society, such
information and lists of fruits as may aid in determining what varieties are best
adapted to their several localities. These reports should be transmitted by mail to
F. R. Elliott, Secretary, Cleveland, Ohio, as early as possible.
Arrangements have been made with the various railroad companies, terminating in
Richmond, to return all members and others free of charge, who have paid full fare
in coming, and who exhibit certificates of the Treasurer that they have attended the
sessions of the Society. Similar arrangements can undoubtedly be made by the
various delegations, with roads in their localities.
Members and delegates are requested to contribute specimens of Fruits of their
respective districts, and to communicate in regard to them whatever may aid in pro-
moting the objects of the Society and the science of American Pomology. Each
contributor is requested to prepare a complete list of his collection, and to present
the same with his fruits, that a report of all the varieties entered may be submitted
to the meeting as soon as practicable.
Packages of Fruits with the name of the contributor, may be addressed as follows :
"American Pomological Society," care of H. K. Ellyson, Secretary Virginia Horti-
cultural and Pomological Society, Richmond, Va.
All persons desirous of becoming members can remit the admission fee to Thomas
P. James, Esq., Treasurer, Philadelphia, who will furnish them with transactions of
the Society. Life Membership, Ten Dollars; Ricnnial, Two Dollars,
The American 'Pomologlcal Sociefyy. 243
To encourage full attendance and a liberal display of Fruit, the following liberal
premiums have been oflered by private parties to exhibitors, besides the premiums of
the Virginia Pomological Society:
All fruits must be grown by the exhibitor.
1. The Virginia Pomological and Horticultural Society oflPer One Hundred and
Fifty Dollars.
2. Ellwanger & Barry, of Rochester, New York, offer Fifty Dollars for the largest
and best collection of Apples, not less than fifty varieties, three specimens
of each.
3. Marshall P. Wilder, of Boston, Mass., offers Fifty Dollars for the largest and
best collection of Pears, not less than fifty varieties, three specimens each.
4. Charles Downing, of Newburgh, New York, offers Fifty Dollars for the largest
and best collection of American Grapes, not less than twenty varieties, three
bunches each.
5. Thomas P. James, of Philadelphia, Pa., offers Thirty Dollars for the largest
and best collection of Peaches, not less than ten varieties, of six specimens
each.
6. G-en'l R. L. Page, Norfolk, Va., offers Ten Dollars or a Medal for best half
bushel of the Flowers Grape.
7. G. F. B. Leighton, Norfolk, Va., offers Twenty Dollars or a Medal, at the dis-
position of the American Pomological Society.
8. CD. Barbot, Norfolk, Va., offers Twenty Dollars or a Medal for best dozen
bottles of Scuppernong Wine.
9. L. Berkley, Norfolk, Va., offers Ten Dollars or a Medal for best dozen bottles
of the Flowers Grape Wine.
10. W. H. C. Lovett, Norfolk, Va., offers Ten Dollars or a Medal for best Dried
Figs, — cured within the territory of the Society.
11. Hon. Jno. B. Whitehead, Norfolk, Va., offers Twenty Dollars or a Medal for
best half bushel of Scuppernong Grapes.
12. W. S. Butt, Norfolk, Va., Two Premiums of Five Dollars each or Medals, —
one for best Figs ; the other at the disposal of the Society.
It is now expected that there will be large delegations from the New England and
Middle States.
For the information of those who would like to join, we will state that there will
be a large party of New York Editors and Horticulturists, who will make an excur-
sion by the Old Dominion Steamship Line, from New York to Richmond, leaving on
the Saturday before the session, and giving a trip of two days. This route is the
most direct, and also most economical. Information can be obtained of P. T. Quinn,
Newark, N. J., if any wish to join this party. Reduced rates, much more favorable
than railroad fare can be obtained of this line.
244 Moi'tlcuUural JVovelties.
Horticultural ISTovelties.
The following novelties are described by C. L. Allen, in the Horticultural Annual
for 1871, just issued:
Ziilinm. Sjieciostini I'vwcox.
It is closely allied to the well known Spedosum Album, but a more vigorous plant,
growing from three to four feet high, and bearing from twelve to eighteen flowers,
on very long pedendeles. Color, pure white, with a slight rose tint on the ends of
the petals ; form, perfect ; petals nearly alike. The fringe in the centre of the
flower is very long and fine, giving it an exquisite appearance. The lily is perfectly
hardy, and is readily propagated by scales and ofl'sets, which are produced in great
numbers. As yet very scarce.
TAliuni Tiffrinum Flore J'leno.
Double flowering Tiger Lily. This attractive variety produces beautiful double
flowers in immense numbers, of a bright, orange-scarlet color, thickly studded with
dark, brown spots. The plant is of vigorous growth and habit, from four to six feet in
height; foliage, dark-green and long.
ZjUluni Tif/riuwm Splendens,
Has the same general appearance as the common Tiger Lily, but of more robust
growth and habit ; foliage, very dense and beautiful ; flowers, very large and numer-
ous ; of dark, orange-scarlet color, with dark, brown spots, very large.
TMitiui Fortuncii.
Another variety of the well known Tiger Lily, is a splendid plant, growing from
six to eight feet high, bearing from thirty to forty flowers on a single stalk. The
lower flower-stems running out far from the stalk, giving the inflorescence a pyra-
midal outline. Color, a bright scarlet, thickly studded with small, dark spots. A
desirable feature of this lily, is the length of time the plant is in flower ; notwith-
standing the excessively dry and hot weather, we had one plant in flower, last sea-
son, in the open border, for upwards of six weeks.
Tiilium Tjedchtlinii,
Is a charming new variety, from Japan ; of unusually small, slender growth ; from
one to two feet high ; flowers of a pure, golden-yellow color, thickly spotted with
delicate purple. Very scarce variety.
JAlium, Humboldt ii,
Is a valuable acquisition. The plant is of stately habit, growing from six to seven
feet high ; flowers of pure yellow, spotted with scarlet, produced on low peduncles ;
drooping, very flowriferous, making it a magnificent variety.
Tjiliinn If'tishinfftoniaii iiiii,
Is a plant of rare merit, the finest variety yet found in this country. The flowers,
which are produced in great numbers, are pure white, spotted with bright scarlet,
peduncles erect. The flowers have a most delightful fragrance. The plant grows to
very great size, from twelve to fifteen feet high, and bears from fifty to sixty flowers.
The Geranium,. 245
A.i»nynntlius Jiicolo Rtihee.
Peter Hernlcrson speaks as follows of this splendid new bedding plant: " A mag-
nificent new annual, growing to tlie height of five or six feet ; the lower part of the
leaves is a dull red or brown, but when the full growth i^ attained, the terminal
shoots, for tea or twelve inches, assume the most brilliant scarlet. A few dozen of
these planted in St. Paul's churchyard. New York, last summer, were the wonder
and admiration of the thousands that daily pass there. As a plant for massing on a
green lawn, it excels, in gorgeous coloring, any thing that we know of in cultivation."
Erifintluts Jtnvemue.
Mr. Henderson also says : " We have had two plants of this majestic, ornamental
grass growing for the past four seasons, which have stood out during winter with only
slight protection. The past season each plant sent up over thirty flower stems to a
height of nine or ten feet, attracting more attention, perhaps, than any other plant
in our grounds. It resembles, somewhat, the Pampas Grass, but blossoms far more
freely, and being hardy, is far more valuable for that reason. It is easily grown
from seed ; some sown in our green house, last March, threw up flower stems eight
feet high by October.
Souvnrdie JTasntinoides.
" This supplies a want that has been much felt by the bouquet makers. Heretofore
we have had no white Bouvardie of free growth, but B. Jasminoides is all that could
be desired.
" It is of the freest growth, rooting from cuttings as easily as a Verbena or Geranium,
and blooms without cessation from October to April, covering just the season when
flowers are most scarce and most prized. The flowers are borne in panicles of six to
ten florets, each floret being star-shaped and about half an inch in diameter, of a
pure, waxy white, resembling a Jessamine rather than a Bouvardie. It has, also,
something of the Jessamine fragrance, particularly at night. Take it, all in all, we
consider it to be the most valuable winter-flowering, greenhouse plant introduced in
the past twenty years. Its origin is not well known, but is supposed to have come
from seed brought from South America."
The G-eranium.
BY WILLIAM F. PORTER, IN "OHIO PARMER,"
The Zonale geranium is one of the most popular of our bedding plants, and deser-
vedly a favorite. They are strong and healthy growers and stand our dry summers
well, continually in bloom from June until JS^ovember. Comprising a variety of
colors ; white, salmon, rose, crimson, scarlet, etc. There is no sight more efi"ective
than a large bed filled with the different kinds in full blossom. I had the pleasure
of seeing such a bed, containing nearly one hundred varieties, in the grounds of Peter
Henderson, the celebrated florist, a few summers ago, and it was a sight to be remem-
bered. A bed of the scarlet varieties planted in the midst of a green lawn, can
rarely be excelled for beauty and brilliancy, fairly dazzling the beholder.
246 ^^^ Geranliem.
There were fifty varieties of geraniums blossomed in my garden last summer, and
as I had a good opportunity of judging of their merits, I will give a list of twenty-
five, which comprises the best of the collection :
Light Colors. Aur(^a, cherry pink ; Beaton's Perfection, bright pink ; Helen
Lindsey, deep carmine pink ; Maid of Kent, richest shade pink ; Mons. Barre, rosy
pink ; Marie L'Albe, white, rosy pink center ; Philomena, white, salmon center ;
Bridal Beauty, white banded rose ; Bicolor, white, salmon rose ; Glorie de Corbe-
nay, salmon pink ; Belle Helene, salmon pink ; Aurantia Strianta, orange salmon.
Scarlet, etc. General Grant, dazzling scarlet; Union, light scarlet, white eye;
Hector, light dazzling scarlet ; Glow, bright scarlet ; Donald Beaton, light dazzling
scarlet; Successful, orange scarlet; Regalia, bright rose; Rosamond, bright rose;
Fire King, rich scarlet ; Sheen's Rival, scarlet, ornamental foliage ; Dr. Newham,
pink rose, ornamental foliage ; Paul L'Albe, pinkish crimson ; Little Dorret, sal-
mon rose, white eye ; a variety fine for center of hanging baskets.
The Gold and Silver variegated geraniums comprise some of the most beautiful of
the family, whose wonderful markings are a triumph of the horticultural art. But
there is one sad drawback connected with them ; that these beautiful colors will not
. stand one hot, dry summer, and though they are a striking ornament in the parlor or
conservatory, they are not effective in the flower garden. There were but two among
the twenty varieties, bedded out last summer, that did well, but they were very fine
and paid well for the disappointment in regard to the others. The Mountain of
Snow grew as vigorously as any of the Zonales, and retained the variegation of its
foliage during the hottest weather, and the Bronze Queen did nearly as well. The
Mountain of Snow makes an eflFective edging for a foliage bed, of which more anon.
The varieties, Mrs. Pollock, Sunset and Cloth of Gold, make a fine pot plant,
whose wonderfully marked leaves form a beautiful ornament for the drawing-room,
and no person should be without them. They also look well and do finely as a center
to a hanging basket, when it is hung in a shady situation.
The novelty of the past few seasons hgis been the double-flowering geraniums. They
are universally admitted to be far superior to all the other varieties, and though still
held at high prices, a few should be in every collection. They are of vigorous growth,
with rich, green foliage, bearing trusses of from forty to eighty blossoms; each stem
forming a bouquet. They stand the hot weather well, blooming as freely in the gar-
den as the green-house, and have one decided advantage which makes them valuable
for florists, that they do not shed their petals as soon as cut, as most of the other
geraniums do. The following are the best varieties:
Andrew Henderson. — A dark scarlet, vigorous branching habit ; truss of extraordi-
nary size, contains from sixty to eighty flowrets.
Triumph. — Rich shade scarlet, very full and double.
Stirpass Glorie de Nancy. — Bright rosy carmine, of fine form ; larger than Glorie
de Nancy.
Triomphe de Lorraitie. — Bright cherry carmine, habit compact.
Madame Lemoine. — Bright rosy pink, large truss, very double, free bloomer. The
queen of the doubles and the admiration of every one.
Editorial Notes.
To Ctirr. Troublesotne Jtlrds in Cherri/ Time.
It is recommended by experienced gardeners, that if a couple of trees of the black
mulberry are planted close to the cherry trees, or among them, the birds will leave
the cherries and devote their undivided attention to the mulberries.
We have found it almost impossible to keep the birds away unless we plant and
leave something for their benefit as well as our own.
^ Cool Surface for Fruit Trees.
It is curious to see how rapidly really useful ideas spread ; and also how strangely
perverted they get to be, sometimes, in raw hands. It is the fashion, now-a-days,
for every one to say that fruit trees need a cool soil, and good cultivation is now
understood to mean not stirring the soil only, but careful treatment and judicious
methods, even, sometimes, of non-cultivation.
We met a curious instance lately, where there was a perversion of this idea — a
fruit-grower (a Vinelander, of course), contends that grapes and blackberries ripen
better by having the fruit close to the ground; hence he does not believe in stakes
or trellises, but lets them ramble where they like. He has got the idea of a cool
surf ace for fruit into his head also, but he does not cultivate, does not manure, does
not mulch. He believes it best to let the grass grow in the rows and around the
hills, for it keeps the ground cool. He even don't believe in pulling up the weeds,
for they are useful in shading the land . Wonderful man ! like Nebuchadnezzar of
old, he will have to run to grass too, to get his living, if he expects to follow his ideas
out to perfection, after that fashion. We saw a specimen of his fruit beds, and we
felt like adding another part to the fruit-grower's creed, as follows :
" From strawberry beds over run with grass, from cooling weeds and running grapes,
Good Lord deliver us.^''
Bntvthornn for Ornament.
The Rzcral New Yorker advises the more general culture of the Hawthorns as
among the most elegant of the ornamental class of trees,
"They are in full bloom during the last half of the month of May, and with theiy
pink, white and purple flowers, make a splendid show. The single flowering sorts
are very handsome, but last for but a few days, while the double flowers remain for
two or three weeks.
"Few trees of so hardy a character as the Hawthorn make so brilliant a display
when in bloom, as the single varieties do when loaded with fruit in the autumn. The
flowers of the double sorts resemble small roses crowded into dense clusters, two or
three inches in diameter."
248 £!dUorial Azotes.
The Cut T^eaved Suniuch.
Mr. W. Robinson, in his new book of the ''Subtropical Garden" gives prominence
to an American plant little thought of by American ornamental gardeners, the cut
leaved variety of the common Sumach (Rhus Glabrc). The Editor of the Hearth
and Home says : " The plant, which, though it has been known these twenty
years, is scarcely to be found in our collections, is yet one of the most beautiful
shrubs we have ever seen. Its cut leaves have a wonderfully fern-like appearance,
and the whole habit of the plant is charming, while its appearance, when it puts on
its autumnal colors, is brilliant beyond description."
(Jolos-inl A.sparMgtis,
At the Farmer's Club, N. Y., a letter was read from James Smith, Pittsford, N.
Y., who bought, two years ago, fifty cents worth of Colossal Asparagus seed, and
transplanted it in the spring of 1870. "He is now cutting from it for the table,
liberally, every day. He urges that Mr. Bruen's advice that a farmer grow
his own roots from seed, is good, unless he can get them very near at hand. He
failed twice by purchasing roots. Mr. Bruen said he had not found Conover's Colos-
sal to do any better, nor produce any larger growth, than a bed of his common sort.
Dr. Trimble said it should not be judged by a single year's trial. So, also, said
Mr. Lyman, who found that the first year's growth was not strong, but it, thereafter,
grew stronger."
The Inducetnent to Plant Forest Trees.
Dr. Chas. Hay, of Warsaw, 111., read a paper recently before the Horticultural
Club of that place, saying : " That as an investment for our immediate heirs, tree
planting is better and safer than a life insurance policy. The growth of wood on
ten acres of land, in the older States, it has been proved by experiment, will, in
twenty or twenty-five years, equal the price of the land. In twelve years White
Maple grows one foot in diameter and thirty feet high ; Ash Leafed Maple, one foot
in diameter and twenty feet high ; Black or White Walnut, Elm and Chestnut, the
same ; Hickory, eight inches in diameter and twenty-five feet high. The different
varieties of Evergreens make an average growth of twenty inches in height, annually."
Mr. Scofield, of Elgin, III., says: "From his own experience, timber three feet in
diameter can be grown on our prairies within fifty years. He recommends the
Scotch and Weymouth Pines, for rapid growth, in preference to the Tyrolese Larch."
A. New Vse for the Ettcnlyptus.
In one of the French hospitals at Cannes, the Doctors have tried, instead of lint.
Eucalyptus leaves. The leaves have a catty smell, and are merely laid on the
wounds of the injured soldier. The balsamic nature of them not only cures, but
after a few hours, all the unpleasant odor of the matter ceases.
Eastern vs. California Fruit.
Calfornia Horticulturists are very anxious to have some of our Eastern fruit-grow-
ers send specimens of their fruit to the Pacific Coast, where it can be placed in fair
competition with some of California's best, and the vexed question of quality, ami-
cably settled. It seems natural for every section of the country to claim a special
pre-eminence for one or more points in fruit culture.
The Californians have always claimed that their fruit was the finest in size,
fairness and productiveness, and no one has disputed their claims, — but, as Eastern
horticulturists have, from time to time visited that coast, they have felt that the
claim for quality could not be as well maintained as the fruit grown on the Atlajitjc
slope.
The characteristics of California fruit, which we gained from careful notice While
JEditorial J\i'otes. 249
we were there last year, were, viz. : a sweet, pleasant flavor, dryish, mealy texture,
freedom from acidity, or but moderate sub-acidity, a lack of juice, spirit, or spicy,
aromatic taste. It is very natural for fruit, grown in a dry country, to be less
juicy^ than those grown in a land of frequent rains, hence more sweet, and less distinc-
tive in flavor. Here, our fruit has a spirit, aroma, and an abundance of juice, which
makes the eating of almost any variety perfectly luscious. Nearly every visitor to
California will, we believe, confirm these opinions. And if any of our friends could
send to California specimens of our Beurre d'Anjou, Seckel, Bartlett, or other pears,
to be tested faithfully in comparison with some from California orchards, we doubt
not it will be found there is quite a difference in Jlavor, if not size.
Successful Evefy Year,
The G-rape crop of California, it is stated, has never been known to have been a
failure. Wet seasons or dry seasons, and- every season they have done so well, as
scarcely to cause any complaint.
A. I'rofltnble Strawberry Garden.
A gardener near San Jose, California, planted in 1868 and 1869, fourteen acres ia
strawberries. In 1869 he sold forty-four tons of berries for ^6,000 ; in 1870, forty-one
tons for 85,800; and a total for three years of $21,800. From a space of 211 square
yards, or two and a quarter acres, he shipped $100 worth per week from March 1st
to May 1st, or $800, at six cents per pound. He has eighteen acres newly planted
this year in Conover's Colossal asparagus, planted five feet by three.
Mow the Xyeaves of the Grajte Vine Affect tJie Rii^enlng of Fruit.
A practical grape grower in his letter to the Country Gentleman, says, that he
observed that when the leaves of the vines were scant, the fruit did not ripen well, while
in another part where the foliage was thick, the clusters of fruit were larger and ripened
well. Where a Concord vine was close pruned, yet abundance of leaves retained,
the fruit ripened at the proper time, but where the fruit was unusually heavy and
close, it did not mature rapidly. Hence he forms the general conclusion that an over
heavy crop is tardy in ripening. The cure for this is thinning. It hastens maturity,
increases the quality and size of the fruit, favors the wood growth, and the set of
fruit for the year following. The same rule will apply to all standard fruits as well
as the grape.
A Kew Seedling Strawberry .
As some parties are giving, through the press, accounts of the high promise of
their new seedling strawberry plants, allow me to state that I now have the most
promising one that I have ever raised.
The seeds were from Downer's Kentucky.
Sown April 22d, 1870, came up last of May of the same year.
At the present time (May 25, 1871), the plant alluded to, has ten well developed
fruit stalks and about sixty-five berries on it, most of them large.
In appearance and flavor it resembles its parent, and it is, also, very late in
ripening. J. S. D., Fairview, Ky.
Xarhet Value of Cherries.
A greater number of varieties of cherries have been noticed in our market this
season than usual. The first cherries that arrived from the South were the May Dukes,
from Delaware, about June the 1st, and sold for twenty cents per pound. From
that time to July 1st, they were followed by the Grov. Wood, Black Heart, and
Black Tartarian. The last is a favorite variety, and large quantities are received
from Rochester and Central New York, selling from fifteen cents per pound upwards.
Pie Cherries, Morello, Early Richmond, brought six to ten cents per pound. By
250 £:dUorial JVotes.
far the finest cjierry for amateur culture, is the Napoleon Bigarreau. It is more
firm, but not as juicy as some of the others, yet is very handsome and large, and
receives an extra price, rarely ever falling below twenty-five cents per pound. Cher-
ries are apt to spoil worse than any other fruit, hence are valuable only for a near
market.
Cnrmnts for I'rofit.
Experienced cultivators say that they cannot discern the difference between the
Cherry and the Versailles currant, in size or flavor. Be this as it may, yet growers for
profit generally prefer the true Versailles, as being more productive. The crop of
currants, this spring was excellent, and more abundant than usual. Ordinary Red
Dutch currants brought but six to eight cents per pound, — while a few fancy Cherry
currants brought eighteen cents. It is estimated that at only six cents per pound,
an acre will yield S300, and at ten and twelve cents, IJ600 dollars profit. As they
cannot be grown in light, warm, loamy soil, and must be grown on heavy, cool,
moist soil, it follows that they are limited principally to Hudson River, Connecticut,
and further north, and when the crop ripens, it does so all at once. It is one of the
most profitable fruits any one can grow.
Cheap Pears,
Fine Bartlett pears sold, last fall, in Oregon for fifty to seventy-five cents per
bushel. They would average a pound each. The largest pear raised in the State
weighed four pounds four ounces, and measured twenty-one inches in circumference
lengthways, and eighteen inches in width. Pears are so plenty that the people now
dry them, and sell for twelve and a-half cents per pound.
Dried Apples.
It will pay SI per bushel to cut up apples and dry them. A New Hampshire
family cut up 250 bushels last fall, which when dried made 1,457 pounds, and sold
for 21 cents per pound, netting $300,
Dr. Warder Strawherry.
This is the name of the new seedling raised by Lous Ritz, of Plainville, 0., and
•which received the S50 cup offered by the Cincinnati Horticultural Society. Its
characteristics are as follows: — "great productiveness — every blossom bears a berry
— does not require high culture — has uniform shape — large size, and has sufficient
firmness for a market berry, has a better flavor than our market sort, and ripens later
than others (won't do for profit near New York), has a healthy foilage, and will
stand extremes of temperature well,"
Curious affect of Summer I'runiuff Grapes.
The London Gardener's Chronicle, in a recent article on "pruning the grape,"
states that vines in vineries, pruned in September, while the leaves are on, will have
the succeeding crop ripen fifteen to twenty days earlier than other vines pruned in
November, all other circumstances being equal. "The experiment has been tried for
years on vines that yielded a supply of fruit from June until January, and whether
in the early or in the late houses the result is the same."
Wash for Plants.
The Florist and Pomologist says, that the following is strongly recommended for
mildew, scale, red spider, etc., upon greenhouse plants and out-of-door shrubs and
trees : Flour of sulphur two ounces, worked to a paste with a little water ; sal soda,
two ounces ; cut tobacco, half an ounce ; quicklime the size of a duck's egg ; water,
one gallon. Boil together and stir for fifteen minutes, and let cool and settle. In
use it is diluted according to the character of the plants, which are to be syringed
with water after the application.
^^dltoriat JVotes. 251
New Catalogues.
Messrs. T. C. Maxwell & Co. have issued a new Catalogue of ornamental trees
with new illustrations of the Weeping Birch and Austrian Pine. Messrs J. S. Dow-
ner & Son, Fairview, Ky., have issued a very dainty Catalogue of fruits, containing a
steel plate engraving of Mr. Downer. It is quite tasteful, and the only Catalogue
we have ever seen thus richly embellished with steel engravings.
Memarbable Hose Bushes,
The oldest of all rose bushes is said to be one which is trained upon one side of
the cathedral of Hildesheim, in Germany. The root is buried under the crypt,
below the choir. The stem is a foot thick, and a half dozen branches nearly cover
the eastern side of the church, bearing countless flowers in summer. Its age is un-
known, but documents exist which prove that a Bishop Hezilo, nearly a thousand
years ago, protected it by a stone roof, which is still extant.
The largest rose bush is a white Banksia — so called after Lady Banks — in the
Marine Garden of London, which was sent there, the first of its kind, in 1812, by
Bonpland. Its numerous branches, some of which measure eighteen inches in cir-
cumference, cover an immense wall to the width of nearly sixty feet, and at times, in
early spring, as many as fifty thousand flowers have been counted on this queen of
all roses.
The Western I^omologi'st and Gardener.
The consolidation of these two, has been to the mutual advantage of each — and
the improvement of literary character. The June No. is much the best yet issued.
Mulching JEvergreens.~
Tens of thousands of trees were lost last season, throughout the West, from inat-
tention to mulching. Evergreens need mulching no less than fruit or other decidu-
ous trees — in fact more, for their fine fibrous roots will ramble near the surface, how-
ever deep the tree may be set. Never stir the soil about an Evergreen, but use
mulch unsparingly, to the full extent of the roots.
Cutting A.sparagus.
The Florist and Pomologist says, "don't cut asparagus when intended for
home use, but let it grow to the height of 6 or 8 inches, then break it off" at the proper
length ; it is as brittle as an icicle, and can all be eaten, which is more than can be
said of the article usually sold in the markets.''
Jtfagnitude^of the Strawberry Susiness.
Very few know how many strawberries are sent to our large Eastern markets. We
are able to give approximate estimates of the yield for this season.
Norfolk, Va., shipped to New York, this spring, about 1,200,000 quarts. Dela-
ware and Maryland sent to Philadelphia and New York about 3,000,000 quarts. The
crop of Southern and middle New Jersey, sent to Philadelphia and New York, was
about 1,000,000 quarts. From Northern New Jersey, Hudson Biver, Connecticut
and Long Island, about 1,000,000 quarts were raised. Boston receives about
500,000 quarts during the season ; so that the aggregate of strawberries consumed
in three great cities, and produced in a belt of country reaching from South Carolina
to Maine, is about 7,000,000 quarts annually. The value, this year, is about twenty
cents net per quart to the grower.
Kew J'ersey Strawberry JExliibiton.
The Annual Strawberry Show of the New Jersey State Agricultural Society, was
held at Elizabeth, New Jersey, where a fine collection of green-house plants were dis-
played, as also, some of Mr, Durand's seedlings, and the list of varieties of straw-
berries of the Union county Farmers' Club. The entertainment was good, but
not large, owing to the partial failure of the crop near that place.
252 Editorial JVotes.
Tiliss & Sons' Stratcbert'y Exhihiton.
The principal strawberry exhibition near New York, this season, was at the Horti-
cultural store of Messrs. B. K. Bliss & Sons. These enterprising gentlemen offer
premiums at their own expense for best display of fruits in their season, at least
twice each year, in the spring for strawberries and in the fall for grapes. It is hardly
necessary to say that they are very successful in inducing a great interest and bringing
together a great crowd of visitors. At the exhibition this year, upwards of $400
were distributed in prizes, and most of the fruit was unusually fine. The seedlings
of Mr. E. Durand, Irvington, N. J., were excellent; his Late Prolific, Black De-
fiance and New Jersey Seedling attracting considerable notice and drawing a number
of prizes. Prof. Huntsman, of Flushing, received the highest prize for best new
seedling, named the Kissena, a long, pointed berry, like the Lady Finger, but white,
like the Lennig's White, and of very fine flavor. At a little later period of the Ex-
hibition, there was brought in by Robert Turnbull, of Norwalk, Ct., a magnificent
new variety called the Champion. Its color was very fine, and size superb, but was
not firm enough nor of good quality to enter for the prize. Messrs. Reisig & Hex-
auier exhibited the largest collection of varieties and received eight prizes.
Xhe, Z,aivrence I'ear.
This pear does not receive as much attention by general growers as it deserves,
though it is beginning to be appreciated. We have few superior in point of quality
or for keeping late, and none in its early fruiting and steadiness of bearing, or in the
hardiness of the tree. It is very accommodating too in ripening. It commences to
mature in the latter part of October and goes on, as it is exposed to a warm atmos-
phere, or kept in a dark, cool place of even temperature, up to February ! We
should suppose it would just be the pear for general cultivation among farmers, who,
if they would give it the same attention they give to other crops of the farm, would
be sure to get abundance of excellent fruit. The tree can be obtained at almost
every nursery, and we commend it to the attention of our agricultural readers as a
substantial acquisition in the pear line and not a fancy article. — Germ. Telegraph.
The Pea Jitif/.
The same paper says that the Pea Bug can be effectually got rid of, by taking the
seed when ripe and dry; put it in bottles and cork it up perfectly air-tight. The
larvae, though not so minute as not to be seen by the naked eye, will die for want of
air, just like any other living thing.
The Jtrejeicnn Heerhearing Stratvberry.
The Germaiitown Telegraph says, that the Mexican and the old Alpine, grown on
the grounds of its Editor, are one and precisely the same, not a particle of differ-
ence being discovered in their growth for several years, and considers Mr. Fuller's
exposure as complete and final.
A. Curiosity in, the JHorlcet.
On Tuesday, June 27, there were found in New York, strawberries, black and red
raspberries, blackberries, whortleberries, cherries, currants, peaches and ripe apples,
all for sale side by side on the same market stand. When it is known that apples
are four months later than strawberries, it is something of a curiosity to see extremes
thus meet at this early date of the season. The strawberries came from Connecticut
and the apples from South Carolina, while the other fruits were gathered from all
quarters between.
Supportinif Gladiolus Sulhs.
A correspondent of the Country Gentleman prepares supports for his flowers as
follows : "I take inch boards and slit them up into strips 1 inch square and 30
i^cJles long. These are planed and cornered nearly 8 square, and sharpened at one
JS'dttorlal Azotes. 253
end, tapering them back 6 inches that they may set firmly in the soil. Then I cut
slats in the upper end | inch deep and § wide. Three stakes are used to a row, one
at each end and one in the middle. The slats in the stakes point across the bed
over the row. In these slats are placed either a coarse wire or thin strips of wood
cut from builder's lath, 4 feet long, and dressed to closely fit into the slats. The
sharp corner edges are dressed ojBF to prevent the flower stems chafing in high winds.
After the frame is set, each end corner is pierced with a brad-awl and a small nail or
wooden pin inserted. AVhen wire is used, each end is turned to form a small eye
through which the nail or pin passes. If the bulbs are planted so that the eyes
which form a line across the bulb are in line with the row, the flower stems may be
very evenly distributed and tied along this horizontal bar and give a very pleasing
effect, at least so it seemed to us last season.
"The gladiolus should be so planted that the dwarf varieties are not mingled with
the tall growing kinds, and the early separated from the late. Of course this will
suggest frames of different heights to accommodate different habits."
MaspberrieS' Cultivation and Value as a 3larhet Crop.
The following is a short abstract of a discussion before the Oshkosh, Wisconsin,
Horticultural Society :
Mr. J. Brainard said, that as the subject had been adopted at his request, he would
state that his reason for it was, his having ascertained that several parties in and
around the city, who, some three years ago, went into the cultivation of raspberries
as a market crop, were plowing them up, and if they were not acting thus because of
their unprofitableness, he wanted to know it before he proceeds to plant out more
extensively. Would like to hear from our president as to his experience with this
fruit.
Judge Washburn replied, that so far as his experience went, he thought they more
than paid for their cultivation.
Mr. J. Brainard. — The average wholesale price, last season, was less by six cents
per quart than the year preceding, and when we reckon the extra expense of culti-
vation and picking, I do not think they will pay like strawberries.
Mr. T. Payne. — If raspberries do not fetch more than 12c. at wholesale price
next year, I shall plow mine up, if I have to raise potatoes in their place. I would
rather raise strawberries at lOe. per quart than raspberries at 20c.
Gr. W. Washburn. — Is it really so much more expensive to raise raspberries than
strawberries ?
J. H. Osborn. — Yes.
T. Payne. — That is my experience, and then they are very much harder to pick.
J. Brainard. — And we have to pay our pickers just twice as much per quart for
picking.
J. H. Osborn. — Is the red raspberry any more profitable than the black cap?
G. W. Washburn. — I should think so, judging from what I have heard to-night.
W. L. Stroud. — The great objection to the red raspberry, is that it suckers so
badly.
J. H. Osborn, — This objection applies especially to the Antwerp. I think that
the Philadelphia will prove to be the most profitable. It is a prolific bearer ; does
not sucker badly, is not as soft as the Purple Cane ; and is a splendid berry for
jelly or jam.
J. Brainard. — They are not so easy to pick as the Antwerp, and I would like to
know whether the red would sell as well as the black, provided the supply was equal.
I. J. Hoile. — The demand for red raspberries has always been greater than the
supply in this market, hence they have commanded a higher price ; but if the supply
should at any time be as large as that of the black caps, the price would, in all proba-
bility, be largely reduced, and it is doubtful whether they would then sell as readily
for table use as the black cap.
254 JSditorial JVotes,
W. L. Stroud. — What has been the experience of gentlemen present, with the
Mammoth Cluster.
T. Payne. — I regard it as a first-class variety.
J. H. Osborn. — If the Doolittle black cap is properly cultivated, there is, in my
opinion, very little diiference between them.
J. Brainard. — I think the Mammoth Cluster is very far superior to the black
cap, but I give the preference to the Davidson's Thornless. Myself and brothers
propose to plant half an acre of them next spring, and if they should bear only half
as well as did the few plants we had last season, we shall certainly plow up all our
Doolittle's and substitute Davidson's Thornless.
W. L. Stroud. — I think the Red Antwerp would pay well to cultivate by the acre
if properly cared for.
J. H. Osborn. — I would like to enquire of Mr. Brainard, how many quarts of
Doolittle's he could raise to the acre ?
J. Brainard. — From five-eighths of an acre I raised 1,500 quarts last year; it is
my impression, that with proper cultivation, they will yield 3,0OO quarts to the acre.
W. L. Stroud. — In order to do this the plants must be heavily manured,
I. J. Hoile. — Yes ; and thoroughly mulched.
J. Brainard. — I regard mulching as indispensable.
Gr, W. Washburn. — I have never cultivated the black raspberries, and do not pro-
pose to do so ; but I have an acre of the Red Antwerp, and I think they will pay
for cultivating. I also think a great deal of the Brinkle's Orange, especially for
family use.
J. H. Osborn. — For richness of flavor the Brinkle's Orange most decidedly sur-
passes all other raspbarries.
W. L. Stroud. — But they do not yield well, and hence are not profitable as a
market berry.
Gr. W. Washburn. — The most tasteless and worthless of all raspberries is the
Belle de Fontenay.
J. Brainard. — I endorse that opinion. I would like to know whether there is any
more risk in fall than in spring trimming.
I. J. Hoile. — Nat any more ; and the advantage of fall pruning is, that time is saved
by so doing, for their spring work.
T. Payne. — Any time after fruiting will do, and I would rather trim when oppor-
tunity serves in the fall, than defer it until spring.
Cntnlogue of Green House lioUers.
A very fine Catalogue of Boilers and Green House material has been issued by
Hitchings & Co., 153 Crosby st., this city, containing 46 pages of handsomely illustra-
ted plans and designs, for all necessary fixtures. It is much the finest we have ever
seen, and will be of use to every one about to build a new conservatory.
The I'rrtctical Poultry Keeper,
The. public have been favored, within the past two years, with two separate
editions of the above work, by as many different publishers. A fact has since come
to our notice that will, when generally known, interfere seriously with its reputation,
as well as damage its reliability. It is this: Mr. L. AVright, in his concluding
chapters, devotes considerable space to an account of a remarkable poultry establish-
ment at " Charny, a picturesque village near Paris," wherein are to be found 1,200
laying hens with a due proportion of cocks, lodged in the first floor of an elaborate
building, with a verandah, railway, lifting tackle, boiler, stoves, hatching rooms &c.
There are some ten or a dozen engravings, and Mr. Wright most innocently informs
his readers that it is the most perfect thing of the kind in France, and has been con-
ducted for several years with complete success.
Here is the result. An English capitalist, after reading this account, determined to
JSditorial JVotices. 255
go into the hen business, and went over to Paris expressly to visit this famous poul-
try establishment, — on arriving at Paris he tried to hire a conveyance to Charny,
but no one knew the place. The Geographical Dictionary gave him no aid. He
gained access to the Minister of Agriculture, but his inquiries elicited only a
smile, but no definite information. He ascertained the name and address of the
author, inquired of him the way to Charny, and other particulars concerning this
successful establishment, and to his astonisment received this reply: '■'Monsieur,
c'est imagination,'''' or in American vernacular, " all in your eye." What a beauti-
ful volume, then, to foist off on American readers. After this exposure, what further
confidence can we place in it ?
Editorial Notices.
A-gricultural Ejccursion to the West,
Editors love a little freedom during the summer, especially when they can combine
pleasure, instruction and business in one grand rural excursion. Such an one, of
more than usual prominence, left New York on the 18th of July, for a westward
flight to the Rocky mountains. Their route includes the Mammoth Cave, Ky., city
of St. Louis, a reception at Leavenworth, Kansas, a ride by rail through the richest
of the Kansas river valleys, and a tour from Denver, of two weeks, through the parks
and mountains of Colorado and the Rocky mountains — a visit to the new settlements
of Longmont and Greeley, as well as a trip to Cheyenne, Laramie, and by special
train on the Union Pacific railway, through Nebraska to Omaha, and thence down
the Missouri river to St. Louis, are incidental features. The object of the editors is
to obtain reliable personal information about the agriculture and resources of the far
west, and publish the same in their respective journals. Such trips always accom-
plish great good.
The following is a list of the members of the party :
Henry T. Williams, Agricultural Editor N. Y. Independent ; Editor N. Y. Horti-
culturist.
J. B. Lyman and wife, Agricultural Editor N. Y. Tribune.
S. R. Wells and wife, Editor Phrenological Journal.
F. D. Curtis and wife, Agricultural Editor N. Y. Republican.
X. A. Willard, Dairy Editor Rural New Yorker.
A. B. Crandell, Agricultural Editor N. Y. World.
Mrs, S. 0. Johnson, Correspondent Country Gentleman.
B. K. Bliss and son. Representatives of The Rural Club, N. Y.
J. R. Dodge, C. R. Dodge, Representatives U. S. Department of Agriculture,
Washington, D. C.
G. M. Tucker, Editor Country Gentleman.
G. W. Brown, Correspondent Norwich Advertiser.
R. P. Eaton, Editor N. E. Farmer.
Thomas Meehan, Agricultural Editor Philadelphia Press ; Editor Gardener's
Monthly.
H. L. Reade, E. Cor. Prairie Fai'mer.
William Clift, American Agriculturist.
John F. Keily and wife, N. Y. Commercial Advertiser.
C. 0. Green and wife. Correspondent Troy Times.
George S. Noyes, Editor Mass. Ploughman.
W. M. Canby, Correspondent Germantown Telegraph.
Josiah Hooper, Correspondent Del. Tribune ; Rep. Pennsylvania Horticultural
Society..
256 JE^ditorial JVotlces.
George S. Bowen and wife, Correspondent Chicago Bureau.
J, Gr. Kingsbury, P]ditor N. W. Farmer.
The party return August 22. 'The combined circulation of the respective papers
rcprescuted is owe million copies, very significant as to the influence of the party.
Straivhcrriea in Ohio,
The varieties of strawberries named in your notes in the April number, with the
exception of the Lady of the Lake, have yielded to me, personally, twice as much
money, and in some instances considerably more than the same number of bushels of
Wilson ; but the Boyden, Fillmore, Green Prolific, if carelessly handled, may not prove
profitable at all. Several growers have, the last two seasons, realized for their Agri-
culturists and Triumph de Gands thirty-five cents per quart for all they could furnish,
while the very best Wilson's brought no more than ten to fifteen cents at the same
time. 1 have sold the Green Prolific, French, Fillmore, Barnes, Boyden, at from
twenty to fifty cents, and had to be satisfied with ten cents for Wilson. The latter
is not my favorite, and does not pay me as well as other kinds do if they are properly
attended to, but it is sure to give more satisfaction to a large class of growers who
raise clover and strawberries in the same patch, and who ship their fruit in bushel
drawers to market.
The President Wilder, with me, is a good berry, but will not stand our climate as
far as it has been tested. I took pains to inquire from the diff"erent parties who
received plants, and not one of them, as far as I could ascertain, have had any good
luck with them, every one having less plants in the fall than in the spring or sum-
mer. Dr. Warder and other prominent men saw the American and the foreign
Wilder on my place last year, at the same time, and the former was sunburned at
the time. The foreign variety did not do as badly as the American. It is a beauti-
ful berry, very firm, and one of the latest in my large collection.
One point is certain, the firmness of the home variety has been overstated by Til-
ton & Co., its introducers, and overrated by friend CampbelL Mr. Wilder informed
me two years ago that he considered it as firm as the Hovey, and this is correct, as
Mr. Wilder's statements usually are, but it does not compare in this regard with the
Wilson. Louis IIitz.
Plainville, 0.
Cnrbolate of T,itne for Currant Wornts,
A correspondent writes us that this is entirely ineffective in his experience. "At
a meeting of a Farmers' Club in this vicinity, held this past year, the subject of
diseases of vegetation came up for consideration, and the various remedies for the
' currant worm ' were discussed. Hellebore seemed to claim the first place for
efi'ectiveness, but one of our townsmen presented the claims of ' carbolate of lime.'
A question was asked in reference to its appearance, application, &c., which was
answered that it was a powder somewhat resembling hellebore, and could be used the
same, when a member present remarked, ^perhaps the ivorms think it is hellehore.^
I think its effectiveness must be attributed to this cause. The president of the New-
ton club informs me that they, in discussion, united in pronouncing it ' not sure.'
A neighbor of mine has made a thorough trial of it and says, ' if it kills after the
worms are three days old, it is by accident,' and from experience with it I am led to
conclude that when they first appear (more especially the first crop), it will destroy
them, but after they are more fully grown it is ineffective, in fact tliey sometimes
seem to relish it than otherwise. So I conclude that the worms have found out that
it is not hellebore after all. Hellebore loses its strength by exposure, and often
times where this fails I think it is from having been kept without proper protection
from the air, as it is a sure remedy when good, and yet it is not by any means a
dangerous article, because of its poisonous properties evaporating so soon after it
comes to the air by application." A. B.
Bird Cage and Flowers.
cm
YOL. 26.
SEPTEMBEE, 18T1.
E'O. 303.
The Rural Club of ISTew York.
Discussion nhotit Strawberries'
T^HIS new rural organization, of which Horace Greeley is president, held its quar-
■*- terly session June 24th, and sat down to an ample collation, after which straw-
berries were discussed, and many excellent papers and addresses made by Andrew S.
Fuller, on the origin of the strawberry; Mr, J. B. Lyman, on the strawberry market;
Dr. F. M. Hexamer, on culture and varieties ; and Henry T. Williams, upon the
difficulties of strawberry growing. We present condensed notes of the most impor-
tant addresses :
Address of jr. H. Tjyninn,
New York as a Strawberry Market. — I have been astonished at the evi-
dences of enormous growth in the strawberry business. From the frequency with
which this most delicate of fruits is met with on our tables, from the length of fruit
trains and the number and size of coasting vessels engaged in the transport of straw-
berries, we have supposed that the business had largely increased. But a day spent
among the commission men along our wharves has convinced me that we have now
three great national fruits, the traffic in which must be reckoned by millions of pack-
ages, and the proceeds from which make handsome incomes for thousands of farmers.
These great fruits are the strawberry, the peach, and the apple. The strawberry
season now covers one-fourth of the year. On the 10th of April 560 packages of berries
were received by the Charleston steamer. Last year the shipments from Rochester,
and the cool, late clay lands of Wayne and St. Lawrence and Niagara counties in
New York, lasted till the 20th of July. Beginning at the southern margin of the
Republic, on soils warmed by mellow airs from the Lower Gulf, and closing with the
growth of Upper Canada, the extremes of the season take in a hundred days. But
in a commercial sense the business commences its upward grade on the middle of
17
258 The 'Rural Club of J[^eh> York:
April, continues to wax and wax till tlie 10th or 15th of May, and then holds its
way on a table-land of perpetual demand and supply till the 20th to 25th of June,
when it enters on a down grade, which falls off quite rapidly till the middle of July,
when strawberry time is over. Charleston has begun the work of making April a
full strawberry month. By another year our receipts from that coast will number
thousands of crates. There is more profit in extending the season at this end than
from pushing it into Jul}'. In April it comes in competition with nothing but the
cranberry. In July and the last quarter of June it keeps up a brave contest with
the raspberry, with currants, with cherries and Arkansas plums, with early black-
berries and with Carolina peaches. Yet it dies game, for well in July such berries,
as Dr. Hexamer shows us, will command fifty cents a quart, when the finest raspber-
ries are slow at fifteen. About the first of June there often occurs that curious
phenomena, that crisis in demand and supply which the marketmen call a glut.
There are probably 200,000 of our population that eat strawberries about as often as
they eat fresh figs, yet while streets and wards full of the poor are languishing and
growing sick for want of a varied and generous diet, a pint of berries will sometimes
sell on the tip of this island for one cent. The last large glut happened two years
ago, on the 8th of Juue, 1869, and this is the description of it in the language of the
market:
" This is the greatest day ever known in the strawberry line, so far as receipts go.
The New Jersey Road alone brought in twenty-eight car loads, besides two expressed
loads and thousands of crates by boats. Never before were so many berries carried
over as remained unsold to-night. Besides the enormous receipts, the weather has
been unfavorable. In such a glut the peddler boys usually go in heavy, and help the
dealers out, but the showers of to-day interfered with them. Norfolk berries are
over. The stock to-day was half Jersey, the other half from Maryland and Delaware.
It is impossible to give any fixed quotations, prices varying from twenty cents for
fine to ten for medium. The sales of one dealer are a fair sample : thirty-three
crates Wilson, hulls on, at twenty, soon after same berry sold at sixteen — then fifteen ;
then, as they were in danger of going over, ten cents. Yet he carried a stock over.
Small baskets of hulled berries, four to a quart, sold at two and three cents, and
some at one cent." Yet seven days later we find Extra Wilson's selling at twenty,
five cents per quart, and Fancy Jucunda, Barnes and Agriculturist, commanding
twenty to twenty-five cents per pint. So, within a week, we find small berries selling
at two cents a pint, and berries such as these worth twenty-five, the former a slow
sale and the latter eagerly sought. Sometimes bitter things have been said of the
cupidity and hcartlessness of hucksters who would throw crates of delicious fruits
into New York harbor rather than lower the demand or allow a plethora to have its
legitimate effect in forcing down the price. Most of those strictures are unjust. I
find the truth of the old saw is perfectly understood on our wharves —
The worth of a thing
Is what it will bring.
The real cause of a glut is not overproduction ; it is large arrivals of fruit unfit for
shipment to Northern towns. For instance, two days of moist and hot weather will
The Mitral Club of JVew 2l>rX;. 259
fling 10,000 crates of Delaware and Jersey berries on our wharves. "We can con-
sume 5,000 in the usual course of trade, the other 5,000 should be shipped up the
Hudson, on the Fall River line, up Erie and toward Hartford, Springfield, and
Worcester, some should go to Portland, and Monti*eal would appreciate two or three
score crates. But the moist, dog-day weather sours the berries, shippers are afraid
of them, and leave them in first hands. This creates a glut. In short the producer
has two elements in his calculations. He may be sure that he is growing for a con-
suming population of 10,000,000 an article that every individual of those 10,000,000
likes and is willing to pay him for. On the other hand, his product is in the last
degree perishable, and if the weather is bad he cannot reach his consumers with a
berry which they will buy at any price.
Some of the largest planters of the strawberry are Virginians. In 1866 Norfolk
sent us about 100 crates a week for three weeks. Now Norfolk sends 10,000 crates
a week by water, and 3,000 a week by car. The Norfolk berry is mostly Wilson, of
medium size, and in gross sales at New York commands twenty cents. This means
from fifteen cents to seventeen cents to the grower, and from twenty-five cents to
thirty cents from the consumer.
For instance, E. Anderson's account, as shown me by his merchant, runs thus on
one shipment : The gross sales were $3,447 ; on another, the next week, $4,078 ;
next, $5,608; then, $1,101; total, $14,234 ; in alias gross sales in New York,
beside as much more sold in Boston, Baltimore and Philadelphia. He has thirty-
five acres in strawberries. There are four or five growers near Norfolk that produce
about the same as Anderson, and twenty that have from ten to fourteen acres of
fruit and a score or more who have from one to three acres.
A review of the strawberry market for 1871, has brought me to these conclusions :
First: The strawberry business is not overdone, and is not in a way to be. The
demand races neck and neck beside the supply, and often shows a clear length ahead.
The more people eat strawberries the better they like them. Some restaurants con-
sume from 600 to 1,000 quarts daily.
Lastly: There is satisfaction and profit for any small fruit culturist in any part of
the country not too remote from cities in growing choice berries. By choice berries
we mean large berries. Wilson's, as big as the tip of a lady's finger, will seldom
bring the grower above twenty and generally not over fifteen cents a quart. But
any quart of firm berries, the smallest of which are as large as the end of a man's
thumb, may be sold at from thirty to fifty cents at any time from the middle of April
to the middle of July. There is more profit to-day in producing such berries as we
are eating to-night than in any other branch of small fruit culture. All the commis-
sion men say they would prefer to receive and dispose of 500 crates of extra large
rather than 100 crates of mediums.
X)r. Heocnmer's Address.
" Which is the best strawberry ?" This is a question every fruit grower is asked
a thousand times, and it is a question that is as difficult to answer as it would be
diflScult to answer which is the best potato, the best breed of horses or the best breed
260 2'fie Hural Club of J\''ew Tork.
of cows. It depends entirely upon wliat you want to use them for. If you under-
stand, by the best strawberry, the variety that is best suited to the greatest variety of
soil or the largest area of country, or best for market purposes, that will do best in
all climes and in all soils, I say there is no such strawberry. It can never be
attained. We can never reach perfection, neither in strawberries nor anything else ;
but when I am asked which variety comes nearest to this, I say unhesitatingly the
Wilson. If we divide this question and say which is the best variety for market pur-
poses, and which is the best for the amateur, then I say, positively, the Wilson, for
market. The Wilson succeeds best under the largest extent of soil in different
climates, and is hard enough for market, though it lacks quality. It is sour, but
this makes very little difference in market. In the New York market strawberries
are not bought for their flavor, but for their looks. If the berry is hard and large
enough it will sell in market as a first-rate market berry, and as such the Wilson
certainly comes into the very first place. When I am asked which is the best variety
for general purposes, for home use or a near market, I say the Charles Downing.
It comes nearly up to the Wilson as a market berry, and it may in time equal it.
The quality is decidedly better than that of the Wilson. All that it is inferior to
the Wilson in, is the productiveness ; but in size and in firmness it is up to the Wil-
son. It is large, fine, and in appearance a much better quality than the Wilson.
When a single variety is wanted, I say take the Charles Downing. This variety
grows well under any variety of cultivation. It grows well in hills and in beds.
Very few varieties do this, and therefore this is very valuable.
But one variety to grow is not enough, for it gives you a very short season. One
variety is not more than from ten to twelve days ; when, by having a selection of
varieties, we can extend the season to two or three weeks. One should, if he values
strawberries for his own use, plant not less than three varieties. Then, again, we
have to make a division as to the soils. When three varieties of strawberry are
wanted for market, to be grown on a light sand}' soil, for early fruit, the Downer;
for medium, the Wilson; for late, the Green Prolific. None of these varieties are
strictly first class in qviality and for market. They are good, and for a near market
the very best that can be raised. For the main crop the Wilson, as I said before,
will give the largest yield. It is not a prime quality for holding out a long time,
but it gives a good medium sized berry and a very showy berry. The Green Pro-
lific is poorer when grown from clay lands, but when it does succeed it is a ver-y
valuable variety.
The three best varieties for clay lands are (1) the Nicanor, which, under' equal
circumstances, succeeds better on clay lands than anywhere else. The berries are
of medium size, but the quality is decidedly better than the Downer ; yet they do
not bold out long. Three or four pickings finish all the large berries ; but as they
come in so rapidly, they form a valuable variety. For late varieties on clays I
would take the Triomphe de Gand and the Jucunda. For the northern States, these
two varieties are the principal market varieties ; and I differ slightly from my friend
Lyman when he says there is no prolit in extending the length of the season. Next
week is the time for strawberries in New York. You can get, next week, double
The ^ural Club of JVew 2orl\ 261
the price that you could get for the last four or five weeks. The season this year is
peculiar, and diflFerent from all seasons that I have seen. That is, the strawberry
season is exceedingly short. The season at our farm has not been longer than two
weeks, when ordinarily it is three and three and a half weeks. So I will have to
make an allowance for this. The Triomphe de Gand is the very best market variety.
It is the handsomest, and much harder than any other variety. The Jucunda is its
rival; not quite as hard, but somewhat larger, of better shape, and of the very
finest appearance. There is one peculiarity about them. In some seasons the
Jucunda will do better than the Triomphe. They are very similar in their char-
acteristics. They ripen about the same time. The Agriculturist is a market variety
that has been considered a first-class variety, but I am confident that it will soon
run out, for it has not held its own. It was harder and better at first than it is now.
The quality was never very good, but it seems to grow softer.
This is the list of principal market varieties. There are several other varieties,
but it is not well to raise many varieties for markets — it is better to confine yourself
to one or two varieties. Then the grower can get a reputation for a certain variety.
They will command a much better price. Some of these varieties are also very good
for the amateur, that is, for one's own use ; and the main distinction between a
market variety and an amateur variety is simply the firmness. If our large berries
of good quality were hard they would be market varieties, but, unfortunately, many of
our very best strawberries are not hard. In the amateur list I would place for early
the Brooklyn Scarlet as the very best early variety. It is not very prolific, and not
hard enough for market ; but in quality it is not exceeded by any other variety.
It comes in with the very earliest berries we have. For a medium crop I will take
the same varieties we mentioned in the market varieties, because we have none
better than those ; but for late we have some varieties of exceedingly good quality,
which are too soft to be shipped. One of the very best varieties is the Napoleon
Third. It is hardly surpassed by any other variety. It lacks high flavor ; but,
nevertheless, it is so juicy and luscious that I put it in the very first rank of amateur
berries. It continues much longer than the Triomphe and the Jucunda, and bears
very large crops, and all the berries are of a large, uniform size. If it was as hard
as the Triomphe I would put it first in the list of strawberries. The very best
flavored strawberry that I know of, is the Lennigs White. It has the flavor of a
pineapple. It is not very prolific, but it is indispensable in the collection of any
lover of strawberries. It keeps its flavor better than any other variety.
A late variety is the Kentucky. It is hardy, very prolific, and may, if it holds
its own, become a valuable variety ; but it takes many years to decide about the
value of any one variety.
A variety that is too much neglected in the amateur's garden is the Alpine, They
are small, to be sure, but the quality is very good. They have the real strawberry
flavor, and as they are picked without hulls great trouble is saved. In my judgment
they are as good a variety as we have.
It was said this evening, one should be afraid to speak of strawberries, the subject
is so old ; but it is no hackneyed subject to say the sun rises, although one may see
262 T//e Tlural Club of A'ew 2^o7-k.
it rise every day, and it is no hackneyed subject when one sees the buds in the
spring time. It should be taken into consideration that we must strive for improve-
ment, not only from year to year, but from time to time. If we come hear and learn
something new about strawberries, we have gained something. It is little by little
that we increase our knowledge; so to come together and talk about strawberries is
not, after all, so very unimportant and trivial a subject. [Applause.]
j\.ddres» of Henry T. Williains,
The chairman called upon Henry T. Williams, as the next speaker, who responded
as follows :
"It is four years now since I purchased my farm at Dover, Del., and within that
time little Delaware has come up in the estimation of the people as a pretty important
State for peaches, strawberries, and small fruits. I have gathered some statistics
about the strawberry crop of Delaware. The amount shipped from Norfolk, Va., to
New York, is 1,500,000 quarts; from Delaware Peninsula, 3,000,000 quarts. The
strawberry trade from New Jersey, including those sent to Philadelphia and New
York markets, reaches nearly 2,000,000 quarts, and the strawberries raised on the
Hudson river, and sent to this city and Boston, amount to 1,000,000 or 2,000,000
quarts more. So we have an aggregate of berries raised within a reach of 500 miles
of 7,000,000 to 10,000,000 of quarts yearly for three or four markets only.
"Strawberry culture is not overdone; but there are a great many peculiarities and
difficulties to be overcome ; growers need, more than anything else, better transpor-
tation and the earlier arrival of trains. During the four years that I have raised
strawberries, I frequently lose a large portion of my fruit, from no other cause than
the arrival of the trains too late for market. One day this season the shipmeLt to
New York reached 256,000 quarts, but the train arrived one hour too late. And
the decline in price created a loss to the growers of fully $15,000. If one hour, or
one day, does that, what must the aggregate be for the season ? My loss during the
season was $300. The commission men tell me : ' If you will all get your fruit here
by four o'clock in the morning, even if you have 300,000 quarts, we can always work
them off. The grocers of the city get impatient at the delay of the train, aud when
the first dray-load appears on the scene they snap off one crate, and off they go.
If there was plenty of time they would select two or three. Hence, the grocerymen
don't purchase the fruit in sufficient quantities, and take no pains to stimulate the
sale.' If plenty of time was allowed in the market, 50 to 100 per cent more fruit
could be worked off, at still better prices.
" Mr. Lyman has referred to Norfolk, Va., as the best section to grow strawberries
for the New York market. Yet, Norfolk fruit has its disadvantages. Last year
there was a serious glut of this fruit, and the season was generally discouraging.
The Norfolk grower has to pick his fruit all day to-day, say. Then he brings it into
the depot, where it is to be shipped to-night, and it is twenty-four hours in reaching
New York. You will see that it is two days old from the time it is picked until it
reaches the New York market. Hence, it is unfit for shipment. Now, a very large
proportion of the strawberries received here are reshipped to Northern and Eastern
The ^ural Club of J\rew Tork. 263
cities. One dealer alone buying from 100 to 200 crates per day. As long as the
weather is cool, this Norfolk fruit is fit to ship, but the moment rains come, or warm
weather appears, the berries rot and wilt, and can be sold only to the street peddlers.
So that often a large arrival of Norfolk fruit has a glut of itself, and must be sacrificed.
A moderate quantity will always have a good. sale. This year they have had. a
splendid time. Their fruit has not fallen below twenty cents, and they had good
two weeks before Delaware fruit arrived. The weather was cool and dry — no rain.
But when Delaware fruit arrives, the Norfolk fruit is closed out at any price. And
Delawares have a splendid run. My fruit brought thirty cents steadily, while
Norfolks could not rise above twenty. The difi'erence is, that our fruit being one
day fresher, is in better demand for shipping, and brings a better price.
"The system of growing small fruits in Delaware, and marketing them, is working
up into fine railroad and shipping facilities. Two strawberry trains run during the
height of the season; one at the lower end of the road, and the other at the upper;
both connect together at Gray's Ferry, and proceed to New York on express time.
I have traveled on it at the rate of thirty miles per hour.
" But it often happens, that when there are the biggest pickings and shipments,
the train is late, and next morning there is a fearful glut. This glut is not one of
over-supply alone, but because of late arrival after the market hour is over. This
late train business is doing more to endanger the strawberry trade than all things else
put together.
"With regard to culture and 'profit, after an experience of four years, I must
candidly say, that there is no business under the sun that takes so much capital, and
is attended with so much risk, so much labor, and that gives so little satisfaction, as
strawberry culture. There is one fact in i;egard to seedling strawberries. There is
a rage every now and then for new fruit. It gets a big price, and figures in the
papers. I have been familiar with this system, and think that the seedling straw-
berries, as a rule, are successful only in the localities where they originate. I have
tried forty or fifty kinds of strawberries, and I can grow only one — the Wilson; and
that has its faults. The first year it is fine, the second year a little medium, and the
third year they will hardly bear inspection. In regard to the cost and profit: It has
cost me $500 to every acre to lay out my strawberry bed, and it takes a capital of
$150 to every aci-e for crates and baskets alone. I am satisfied if I can clear $100
to an acre. It hardly pays for the capital invested, but still it is profitable.
" There is a fact with regard to strawberries that has not been noticed here to-night —
that is, mulching the ground. Four or five years ago nobody thought of mulching
his ground. Now every one does it. What is the result? We are having better
fruit. It is rather the exception to see sandy fruit in the market, where formerly it
was the rule. The strawberry growers suff"er from varying seasons. Last year I had
to pick every day in the rain ; it arrived to market in the rain, and it was rainy all
the season. This year we have not had a drop of rain, and the fruit is small, as well
as very inferior in quality. That accounts for the fact, that so many of the straw-
berries this year are not fit to be eaten. The Norfolk, Delaware, and Jersey growers
have made money. In my opinion, the best place to grow strawberries is not alone
264 Matilda Strawberry,
in Delaware, Jersey, or Norfolk, but right along here on Long Island Sound, from
Bridgeport toward Boston. Some strawberries that we raised in Delaware, and sold
here for thirty cents a quart, were reshipped to Boston, and sold there for fifty to
ninety-five cents.
"I have only to conclude by stating, that, in order to make a small fruit-farm pay
its way, you must have everything complete in it, from beginning to end. You must
grow your own produce. Every man should raise his own potatoes, and his garden
vegetables — everything for his own support. Then you must make your own fertili-
zers ; your own compost heaps, and do some farming as well as fruit-growing, so as
to be sure of your daily bread. The future of strawberry culture is promising, I
think it is to be more profitable; but the railroad companies must do their work
better. The strawberry growers must undei-stand more than ever the difficulties of
their position ; I think there are to be but few more gluts ; there may be once in the
course of the season. I am always glad when I hear of a glut, for I know that I can
get a good price for my fruit to-morrow."
Mr. Fuller related his experience with the Brooklyn Scarlet. In 1862, he deter-
mined to kill out the trees in his Brooklyn garden, and plant strawberries. There
was then no strawberry trade of any importance around the city of New York,
excepting the wild Jersey strawberries. He commenced to plant and talk straw-
berry. Before that time he never had calls for 3,000 plants in a season. In less
than two years from the time he commenced talking strawberry he sold 600,000 plants.
He believed that the talk of a half dozen men in this country raised that strawberry
trade up fi'om what it was then to what it is now. Now everybody is supplied, and
it is pleasant to know there are now times when, in the city of New York, the poorest
child can get a dish of strawberries.
In reply to a question by the chairman, as to whether he had ever known a single
strawberry plant to produce more than one stem, Dr, Hexamer replied, that some
varieties will always produce two; that is, they will branch out and will be a mass
or collection of single plants. Wherever I have seen strawberry plants greatly
stimulated they have lost their flavor. A bed that illustrates this point had an open
ditch all around it, and was drained besides.
Mr. Quinn rose to answer a question about the President Wilder strawberry. It
had thoroughly disappointed him. It hugs the ground so much it is almost impossible
to mulch it. It was not so firm as he supposed it to be. Mr, Quinn spoke of the
Boyden No, 30, At his place in Newark, it was one of the most promising of the
new berries. The present season he could dump them upside down, and he didn't
believe there would be five bruised berries. He had no difficulty in getting thirty to
thirty-two cents for it in market.
•« •
Matilda Strawberry.
EDITOR OF The Horticulturist: In the June number of your paper you
speak unfavorably of the Matilda Strawberry, which originated with 0. J. Till-
sou of Highland, N. Y. You also quote A. S. Fuller as saying that " it is splendid
ip every respect except quality." Having visited Mr. Tillson's grounds when the
j\Culc?imff blackberry Seds.
265
fruit was in perfection, I had a good opportunity to examine them, and differ with Mr.
Fuller and yourself as to quality. To my taste they are of the class very good or
best, and compare very favorably with the newer varieties, such as Seth Boyden,
President Wilder, Chas. Downing, etc.. and being large, productive, good color and
quite firm, they promise well at least. At my request Mr. Tillson has furnished me
with a statement of prices as compared with the Wilson, and taken from the commis-
sion merchants' bill in New York, which please insert.
Matilda per qt. Wilson per qt.
June 8.
10.
14
15.
17.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
27.
45 cents. ... 24 cents.
36
21
15
27
27
24
24
24
24
30
22
16
10
20
18
18
16
15
18
18
You will see by this statement they average a little more than one-third more per
quart than Wilson. Chas. Downing.
Editor s Note. — Mr. Downing must not think that our opinion is a prejudiced or
unfair one with regard to the Matilda Strawberry. It has been exhibited two years
in succession at New York, and at each time the judges declined to give it a premium
because of its flavor, which was not agreeable. There is no accounting for taste, but
when such judges as Prof. Thurber, Andrew S. Fuller, P. T. Quinn, as well as the
Editor of The Horticulturist, are unfavorably impressed with it, there must be
some grounds for the statements made on page 183, June Horticulturist. A
fruit exhibited by itself may seem without objection, but when exhibited in competi-
tion with forty others of good flavor the ease is very different, and the comparison
often appears unfavorable.
*«
MulcMng Blackberry Beds.
WE had never heard or seen an instance where a grower had mulched his black-
berries for any length of time until we met a case near New Brunswick, N. J.,
last June. The proprietor planted an exact acre of Lawton blackberries four years
ago, scattered a ton of bone meal over the ground, and then mulched the soil from
beginning to end, four inches deep with shavings, salt hay and chopped corn stalks.
He has never been troubled with weeds to any great extent, comparatively few suck-
ei's have sprung up since in the line of the rows ; and he has never bestowed a dollar in
cultivation. The result is that he has always realized a large amount of fruit yearly,
and it has been uniformly double in size of same kind of fruit grown on land not so
mulched.
Most of our Southern fruit-growers know that they are liable to have droughts
during the blackberry picking season, sometimes only short, at others very severe
and prolonged, and cutting short the size of the fruit very materially. The plan of
heavy mulching is the only one we have yet seen which will i*emedy the difficulty.
Irrigation is good but costly, unless supplied from a reservoir at a greater height.
Mulching thus accomplishes a double purpose : it doubles the size and market value
of the fruit, and saves the labor of cultivation.
266 Grape Culture.
G-rape Culture.
AT a meeting of the Middlesex Couaty Agricultural Society, Capt. John B. Mooro
gave the following account of his experience in planting vines and raising grapes :
Aspect of the lot, a very slight inclination to the south ; soil, light sandy loam,
underlaid with a hard red gravel, full of cobble stones. In the year 1864 the wood
was cut from the land, which had formerly been used as a rye field for many years,
and was composed of a small growth of pitch-pine, white-birch and scrub-oak. After
the wood was removed, the land would not have sold for more than $15 per acre.
The brush was burned and the lot ploughed as well as possible when 'full of scrub-
oak roots and stumps, and then planted for two years, principally with melons and
squashes, and manured in the hill only.
In the spring of 1867 I planted on this lot five hundred Concord grape vines one
year old from the cutting, which have been trained on large stakes ; also two hun-
dred more of the Concords, and two hundred Hartford Prolific vines; which have been
trained on a wire trellis. The Hartford Prolific vines were nearly ruined by the last
two severe winters ; although laid down and covered with soil, the tops came out all
right in the spring, but the roots were mostly killed or injured by the severe freez-
ing. I shall be obliged to remove most of them and plant Concords in their places.
When these vines were planted, in the spring of 1867, there had not been any manure
applied to the soil, except the manure in the hills for melons and squashes, before
mentioned, and which is the only manure that has been used on this lot up to the
present time, except what I shall mention hereafter, in connection with the straw-
berries raised between the rows of vinos.
At the time of planting the vines, the ground was ploughed, harrowed, and made
as fine and level as the remaining stumps and roots would allow, and tlien carefully
planted in straight rows, ten feet apart, and seven from each other in the rows, where
stakes were to be used to support the vines ; between the rows I planted two rows of
strawberries, which were allowed to run into beds. In the spring of 1868, the edges
of these beds were trimmed, which left two beds three feet wide with a path on each
side of them ; from three beds I sold, in 1868, a little over $400 worth of berries
and plants, and the only manure or fertilizer that was applied to them was a lot of
ashes from a pile of stumps, gathered from the same lot, burnt, and spread where the
strawberries were to be planted, and two hundred pounds of superphosphate of lime
sowed in the spring of 1868. In July of the same year, as soon as the crop of straw-
berries were gathered, the entire beds were ploughed under. Since that time there
has been no crop raised between the vines.
These vines have certainly been grown without animal manure, and I might say,
almost without any manure ; still, I would not have it understood that I would not
use any manure, for I certainly should, if in my judgment the vines needed it. What
the grape-grower must have to produce the best crop of fruit, is a medium sized, short
jointed, solid and well ripened wood ; excessive manuring does not give that, but
rather a coarse, long jointed, immaturely ripened, soft, spongy wood ; the first will
produce an abundance of fruit of good quality ; the last, less fruit and later in ripen-
How jpears Sell in JVeff llyrA;. 267
ing ; perhaps I should say that withholding manure would apply more particularly
to the strong growing varieties, such as the Hartford, Concord, Diana, and most of
the Rogers.
Five hundred of these vines are trained on stakes, two arms and two stakes to each
vine ; one arm is coiled around each stake, and spur pruned with rather long spurs,
as the two buds nearest the old wood are very often only leaf buds, and would not
give fruit. This is the case with the Concord, more particularly than with other
sorts. The rest of the vines are on wire trellis, and are intended to spread out as
evenly as possible over the trellis ; in pruning, I cut out a large portion of the old
wood every year, and lay in new canes in its place. From these vines there were
gathered one hundred boxes, of forty or more pounds each, or two tons of grapes,
which were sold in Boston as soon as gathered, at from twelve to thirteen cents per
pound, in bushel boxes, without any particular packing.
I regard the grape as more certain to produce a crop than any other fruit we grow.
During the last ten years there have been only two se;isons in which the crop has not
matured very well under good cultivation, and those (1867 and 1868) were only par-
tial failures. Even in 1868 I averaged as high prices as the present year, although
the fruit was not nearly as good in quality. Could that be said of any other fruit 1 It
does not require much, if any manure, which is so much needed for the other crops
on the farms ; and to be a success it only requires ordinary skill in selecting the soil
and planting good, strong, healthy vines, of some well tried variety like the Concord,
which is the only kind I have found profitable. I have about exhausted the nur-
serymen's catalogues, and have been disappointed with many new kinds, coming
highly recommended and costing high prices.
A wire trellis, with good, posts, well set, and three strands of the best galvanized
wire, No. 13 costs about $3.50 for one hundred feet in length ; the same length with
stakes would cost according to the size of the stakes ; if they cost three cents each
with setting, it would be $1.12 for one hundred feet ; if seven cents each, for very
large ones, $2.24 for one hundred feet; it requires much more time and labor to
prune, tie and take care of vines on a trellis than on stakes. Which will produce
the most or best fruit in the end, is the question to be solved. I have only tried a
trellis five years; so far, one is as good as the other, as far as cropping is concerned,
with, as I have said before, a great difi"erence in favor of the stakes, in the amount
of tying, pruning and care.
How Pears Sell in New York.
In the vicinity of New York there is a large number of old trees of the Bell pear,
and they usually bear a crop every year. This variety always meets with a ready
sale, early in the season, for shipping to Boston and other Eastern cities, and is more
profitable than any other early variety that ripens before the Bartlett for New York
market This goes to prove that persons about starting in the business of pear-grow-
ing for profit, would do well, before making out their list, to consult with some of the
leading fruit merchants where the crop is to be sold. With the single exception of
268 STow Tears Sell in A^ew York.
the Bell, early varieties of pears ripening before the Bartlett, have not been profit-
able in our orchard, and for this reason they have been nearly all grafted with other
and later kinds. The Bartlett sold readily, even when the price fell to from $6 to
$8 per barrel, but later in the season the same quality of fruit brought $16 and $18
per barrel.
The Doyenne Bossock, not so well known, sold at from $5 to S8 per barrel of two
and a-half bushels. This variety is large, showy and of good quality, and is gaining
in favor each year.
The Belle Lucrative, a pear of fine quality, of medium size, was a drug in the
market, not selling for as much per barrel as the poorest quality of cooking pear.
At present it is useless to include this variety in a list for the orchard for New York
market. There is no demand for it, unless there is a great scarcity of other kinds.
The Beurre Clairgeau is a popular market variety, its size and color being in its
favor. This variety brought higher prices, the past season, than any other kind.
When first-class Duchesse were selling for $12 per barrel, the Clairgeau brought §18
and $20. Of course, the quantity of this variety that reaches market is very small,
when compared with Bartletts and Duchesse, and it remains to be tested, whether,
with a large supply of Clairgeau, the prices will keep in advance of other leading
kinds, as happens to be the case for the last half-dozen years. On heavy clay soils
that have been thoroughly drained, the Beurre Clairgeau has grown best, and held
its foliage much better than when planted in light soil.
The Duchesse d'Angouleme, when well grown, is a favorite sort in New York
market, and when carefully put up, finds ready sale at good prices. The fruit of this
kind should be carefully thinned when not larger than walnuts. One barrel of large,
well shaped fruit will bring more than two barrels of medium or small-sized fruit.
This fact is worth carrying into practice, not only with the Duchesse, but with almost
every variety grown extensively for market, even with the Seckel. I am of the belief
that it will pay the fruit-grower to go over the trees and thin out the fruit.
The Louise Bonne de Jersey is well and favorably known in New York market,
and it is safe to plant it when the tree grows freely. In New Jersey and Long
Island it is unreliable, and its culture has been given up by most growers on this
account.
The Flemish Beauty, once the pride of every pear orchard, is from year to year
being worked over in Eastern orchards, with other more reliable market sorts. It
cannot be recommended for profit now in any of the Northern or Middle States.
The Beurre Bosc still holds a high position among the choice list for amateur or
market purposes. The tree requires age before bearing large crops. It does well in
a wide range of territory, and is popular in market. The Urbaniste makes a hand-
some tree to look at in our orchard. The growth of wood is regular, making a fine
pyramidal form. The fruit is only of medium size, without color, and no sale for it
in New York. On this point I am thoroughly satisfied, because for seven years past
I have sent some of this variety each year to market, and have never sold them for
more than from $3 to $5 per barrel, and very little demand even at these low
figures.
Summer l^riinlnff as ctn Aid to J^ruiffulness. 269
The Seckel is, probably, the most popular pear on the whole list. It always sells
even when other varieties are a drug in market. The tree is a slow grower and the
fruit small, so that for profit the tree must have age before anything worth speaking
of can be realized.
Of Winter varieties the Beurre d'Anjou still takes the lead. Owing to the season,
this variety ripened before the Winter fairly set in this year. The fruit is large,
colors up well before ripening, and is becoming a favorite among consumers. When
young the tree is a shy bearer in our orchard, but this is overcome with age. The
Beurre d'Anjou may now be classed as one of the standard early AVinter sorts.
What we grew this year sold for 818 per barrel in November.
The Lawrence is of good quality, and surpasses other varieties in its keeping quali-
ties. The fruit is only medium size when well grown, and, unless under high cul-
ture, considerable of the crop is likely to run small. The tree makes a rapid and
irregular growth of wood, and needs early attention to keep it in shape. The Law-
rence brought from $8 to $10 per barrel, in quantity, last Fall. Like other varieties,
they ripened a month before their usual season, and growers were compelled to sell
in October and November.
The Vicar of Winkfield bore a large crop of fruit the past year. Early in the season
growers feared, owing to the abundant crop of apples, that Vicars of Winkfield would
not bring anything in market. However, almost everybody was favorably disap-
pointed at the prices. We sold ours at from $9 to $10 per barrel, at a time when
choice apples, carefully packed, were worth only $2 per barrel in the same market,
and persons who are familiar with fruit-culture, are well aware of the fact, that a
barrel of marketable Vicar pears can be produced on less surface and at less expense
than a barrel of Northern Spy apples.
Those about to plant pear trees with a view to profit, should make a careful can-
vass before selecting a list of varieties for orchard-planting.
In another article on this subject I will have something to say about some of the
new varieties. — iV. Y. Tribune.
Stunmer Pruning as an Aid to Fruitfalness.
BY P. T. QUEEN, IN " N. Y. TRIBUNE."
In all well-managed orchards, an intelligently directed pruning-knife plays an im-
portant part while the trees are young. I am not an advocate of an indiscriminate
slashing of lai-ge limbs of fruit trees, simply on the ground that all trees are better
for being pruned. This is one of the branches of fruit growing where unskilled or
untrained labor should not take part; better no pruning, than ignorant butchery of
any kind of fruit-bearing trees. Those who will take the pains to examine a young twig
or branch of a pear tree will find the largest buds nearest the end or top of the branch.
If left unpruned (such a branch, the second or third year) the eyes near the base, or
lower part of the branch, will become dormant; the tendency of the sap is towards
the extreme ends. This goes on from year to year, and when the tree ceases making
wood, and fruit spurs are developed, they will be located on the extreme ends of the
270 Summer Pruning as an ^id to Fruit/'ulness.
branches, where the weight of fruit is likely to weigh down the branches, and
they are always in more or less danger of being broken from severe wind storms, and
other causes, injuring and disfiguring the trees.
When the young branches are cut back one-half or two-thirds from the time the
trees are set in the orchard, and this kept up for six or seven years, always working
on the young growth of wood, very different results are brought about. By this
simple method, the tree is built up firmly, so to speak, from year to year, the
branches made stalky with the eyes well developed, so that when the trees come into
bearing, the mass of fruit will be positioned on stout, stocky branches, strong enough
to sustain the burden of fruit wtthout risk of breaking the branches. These very
desirable features are mainly brought about by what is known as Winter or Spring
pruning. There is truth in the old adage that says, "Prune in Winter for wood and
Summer for fruit."
Fruit trees planted in deep, rich ground, are likely to continue longer than is
necessary for making wood growth, and in such cases it is well to resort to some
method which will check this tendency of some varieties to wood, and cause them to
produce some fruit at the same time.
I am constantly receiving letters, stating that the trees have been well taken care
of, planted in a good soil ; but, although in places six to ten years, have borne no
fruit, asking for a remedy. Summer pruning, which is quite simple, is mainly
practiced to bring about fruitfulness. It consists in shortening-in the young growth
of the present year one-half and sometimes two-thirds, with a knife, or the thumb and
finder when the growth is fragile. This can be done at any time between the 15th
of July and the 10th of August. If shortened-in earlier than the middle of July, it is
likely a second growth of wood will start which will not often ripen, and therefore
may be injured by the cold weather the following Winter.
When the young growth is pinched back, the sap that would increase the growth
by extension is disseminated in the remaining part of the branch, developing the
wood buds, and bringing about by artificial means, in a single year, what it would in
some cases take five, in the natural way. If the trees are vigorous and inclined to
make wood, the tops become compact, excluding free access of air and light, both of
which are essential to the growth of perfect specimens of fruit. This surplus growth
of wood can be taken out while young, with great rapidity, during the Summer, in
going through the trees to shorten the branches that are to be left for fruit-
producing.
When a tree grows to a large size, and it is thought necessary to remove a limb of
any considerable size, the following Spring a number of suckers will start from
around where the branch was cut off. These can all be pulled of during the Summer
without causing any injury to the trees.
With apples, when two young branches are growing too close, or may interfere
with each other, it is very much better to remove one while young, with the thumb
and finger, or pruning knife, instead of waiting three or four years, and then be com-
pelled to use a saw.
In fact, I have found this a safe rule to follow in all my experience in growing
I{d7'ticuUu7'e in JEJngland. 271
fruit for profit, that it is better to shape the tree and do the main pruning when the
wood is young and tender, than to wait until the branches grow hirge, and then it is
very difficult to carry out any system of pruning that will do the tree much good.
On fruit trees that are inclined to bear fruit early, Summer pruning should be
practiced very sparingly. AVhile on trees that are not so inclined, this method is the
most easy and effectual to bring about the desired results.
Horticultiire in England.
Ohservntions of an ^^tnerlcnn Gardener,
BY CHARLES BARNARD.
Windoio flants.
THE first most noticeable thing about the dwelling houses, is the attention paid to
the culture of window plants.
Of the business streets or concerning the dwelling houses themselves we have
nothing to say. It is enough that nearly all the houses have windows with wide sills
or balconies. From the poor woman with her broken-nosed teapot with a geranium
growing in it, to the Prince of Wales with his elegant tile-covered trays in his pala-
tial windows, the love of window flowers seems universal. I should think that half
at least of all the first-story windows in London have flowers or plants before or
behind the glass. In some streets every window has its tray on the sill.
The I'nrnishing Florists
in London are those who make it a business to furnish or decorate windows. These
men make it their business to produce plants in flower and suitable for the season and
the place they are to occupy.
The beauty, elegance and taste displayed in so simple a matter as this is something
that puts Americans into the shade. The English young lady has four ways of
arranging her window ornaments. She may simply place the pots on the sill behind
the iron guard that is always ready, or she may plant them in a narrow wooden box.
She can have the plants in beautiful terra-cotta pots, or she may use tile-covered
trays. These last are very beautiful, and are the most fashionable. If she fancies
hanging baskets or brackets the stores present a bewildering assortment in every
form of cast-iron, terra-cotta, wire and moss, or wood.
The Prince of AVales fills his windows with zinc trays covered with Minton Com-
pany's glazed-ware tiles. This is considered the style. If Fifth avenue and Beacon
street wish to do the very fashionable thing they will procure these handsome tile-
covered trays and fill their windows with beauty.
Now for the places where the plants are produced. Climbing to the top of an
omnibus in Oxford street, let us take a ride. The wide street is crowded with a hur-
rying mass of vehicles of every style. See that donkey cart loaded with lovely
plants in full flower ! On one little box of a team are plants enough to stock an
ordinary New York flower store.
Where can they be going? Ask the driver. Driver: "Peddlers them is ; sells
272 Sbrticulture in JE^ngland.
'em round to folks' winders." Presently we come to another dealer. This time it
is a woman with a wooden tray on her head ; mignonette in four-inch pots and thick
with bloom.
Grecnlioxtscs.
On turning into the Harrow road and entering the newer parts of the city, we
notice several elegant little greenhouses about twenty feet square, tucked in between
the buildings and filled with plants in bloom. These are the retail furnishing florists.
After riding about half an hour we pull up before the establishment of a wholesale
florist. On entering the gate we find a light span-roof house filled with fine plants in
full bloom. The variety is not so great as one would expect, but the plants look
remarkably healthy and strong. An hour's walk and talk in this place shows that,
as far as the general carrying on of the business is concerned, there is nothing new
or specially valuable. In many details of culture improvements on our own methods
were visible. The greenhouses were nearly all span-roofed, and appeared to have
grown up around the proprietor's house in a confused and inconvenient fashion. The
mode of heating was entirely by hot water, and presented several features of interest.
The space occupied is eight acres, and is located in the midst of brick houses. About
half the land is covei-ed with glass. The number of plants on hand seemed to be,
roughly speaking, about one hundred thousand. They were nearly all ready for
sale. Many of the houses and frames, both hot and cold, were empty, the stock
having been sold.
A.vrnngenictxt of flants.
A careful examination of plants showed that they fully occupied the pots ; that is,
if they were designed to grow any longer, new pots would be required. But they
are not intended to grow. One full crop of flowers is all that is expected. The
flowers fade and the plant is thrown away. This is entirely opposed to the bedding
plant system, where a plant is bought for culture. These are for "furnishing" a
decoration. When they have done that they are abandoned. This is certainly quite
different from our method. Here it is understood that the plant will not outlast its
one crop, and is so treated. The price admits of this. If one can buy six new
plants, in the course of the summer, for the price of one that will last two months,
the gain is in the favor of the transient and fading plants. For instance, a pot of
mignonette can be bought for three pence. It is in full bloom, and will last three
weeks. Another three-penny piece will get a new one. At the end of the season it
is found the six plants have cost less than one cultivated all the time.
All of these plants are in small pots. The mignonette is sown in the pot it is to
bloom in. When about an inch high, it is thinned to eight plants. These are
grown slowly, in a moderate temperature, in frames. Each plant throws up one
spike, and as soon as it shows signs of opening, is ready for sale. Lobelia and other
small seedlings are treated in the same way. Eoses, geraniums, stocks, etc., one in
a pot. Very little repotting is done, I was told, and all the pelargoniums and some
of the other plants are carefully trained out on sticks. The pots ranged from four
to six inches. I saw many plants of verbenas and heliotrope, three in a pot, and
showing a fine bloom. It is plain that all these plants are fit for this one purpose,
window decoration, and nothing else.
Horticulture In Milgland, 273
QuicJc Returns,
To American florists we can recommend this branch of business as something well
worthy of their attention. It is plain that the grower gets a quick return with little
labor ; and with a great saving in the pot bills, as the pots arc returned when the
plants are set in the trays. To make such a business succeed cheapness is essential.
If the plants could be sold at very low figures success would be certain. My own
experience in the plant trade convinces me that it can be and in time will be done.
In families where a gardener is kept, and a greenhouse maintained as a part of the
household belongings, more plants are used than one house can supply, and the com-
mercial florist is called in. Besides, the plants so used are generally much injured
in one or two evenings. The family stock would soon be used up. The gas, heat,
dust, and, worse than all, the dismal London smoke that penetrates every room,
combine to destroy both foliage and bloom. So it has come to pass that gigantic
establishments, numbering their planthouses by the score, have sprung up to decorate
these endless parties, dinners and routs. This decorating rooms with plants has
been practiced in a small way in the United States. It should be more general. A
taste for the refined and beautiful will be cultivated and a new branch of business
started.
C^it Flowers
are quite general in London, though we doubt if so many people in proportion to the
population enjoy them as with us. As we said of the bouquets made here, so we
must speak of this matter. Flowers are plenty, but the taste to put them together is
wanting.
In the arrangements for holding flowers, on the other hand, the English are ahead
of us. A whole column and a dozen cuts would fail to give you an adequate idea of
the richness and variety of glass and other ware used to hold flowers. I can only
mention a few I chanced to see in the shop windows and at the Royal Albert Hall.
Among the prettiest things were cut-glass troughs about two inches deep and wide,
and of various lengths. Some were straight and some curved. When filled with cut
flowers and arranged in various patterns, monograms, letters, etc., upon the table, the
eff'ect is fine. Plate glass mirrors under them add greatly to the efi"ect.
Fertts find FoU<ri{/e I'lnnts
are used here for green. "Whole leaves of Croton, Dracaena, Begonia and Maranta,
and long streamers of Cissus discolor are freely cut and placed with the flowers. The
effect is something past description.
I have not seen a spray of that cheap and ugly Lycopodia, so much used in New
York, nor, on the other hand, a yard of our lovely Smilax. Much as the English
gardeners lack taste, in variety and profusion of cut flowers they distance us. Besides
these foliage plants they use many flowers not known in our markets.
Among other glassware I noticed what is here called an "iceberg" — an irregular
heap of rough glass looking like ice. It is made in several parts, and the sides are
pierced with small holes. Water is put inside, and Crotonp, Adiantums, and other
greens inserted in the holes till the glass is half hid with the falling sprays or glisten-
18
274 ^lantlnff Ornamental Trees for their Colors.
ing leaves. Imagine such a thing as that on a brightly lighted table. Time forbids
an extended account of this table ware. In a city of so much wealth and artistic
skill, we expect everything to be of high-class design and manufacture. Wedge-
wood and Flaxman have done a great deal for English art and pottery, and we can
only regret that the florists have had no Flaxman to teach them truth and beauty in
their art.
It is often the custom in America to decorate the chandeliers with flowers. We
tie the sprays to the lamps only to see them fade in the heat. Here they do much
better. Imagine a plain four-armed chandelier with an upright pipe for support, and
beneath it and securely fastened on, a handsome painted china dish. Inside is a tall
vase to match, with the gas pipe passing through it. The four lamps stand on the
edge of the dish and the vase hides the pipe. This is for holding water, in which the
flowers are placed. Seen from below when filled and lighted, it must make a fine
show. Even without the flowers the lamps so made are far superior to the usual
pattern. Such a lamp as this could be easily made by our gas-fixture men. At once
I hear the housekeeper reply : " Very fine, no doubt, but how am I to clean it out ?"
With a dipper, sponge, and some ingenuity.
An elaborate piece of glass and Wedgewood ware was also exhibited at the Royal
Albert Hall. It was made in parts and designed to stand upon a dining table. The
outside rim was of black and gold china, forming a curb for the glass lake inside.
Within this was another rim of Wedgewood ware, troughs ornamented with a Greek
pattern in foliage, and figures of men and animals. Inside of this more of glass
mirror. In the center rose a fine stand for candles, with places for bouquets among
them. Fruit dishes, flower stands and light holders were arranged at intervals
about the edge. The whole was filled with fresh flowers, and was surrounded by a
crowd of admirers. Such is English table decoration. But vvhat is the good of so
much art ? The flowers were cheap and poor, and placed in this splendid affair by
the hand of a bungler and novice. — From the N. Y. Eve^iing Post.
Planting Ornamental ITrees for tlieir Colors.
AVERY interesting address on the subject of choosing trees for parks and gardens,
as well for their colors, in spring and autumn, as their shape and vigor of growth,
was delivered by Mr. W. Paul before the Horticultural Congress at Oxford, England,
July 21.
We may have spring pictures, summer pictures, autumn pictures, and permanent
pictures. Summer and permanent pictures are the most valuable, because of their
greater durability. Specimens of these are before you, and a list of their names
will be given at the end of this paper. Thfe materials for spring and autumn pictures
can only be shown in spring and autumn. The varying tints of the unfolding leaves
of some trees in spring, and the glowing colors of the leaves of other trees in autumn,
must be familiar to all observers, and these trees are beautiful in their seasons,
whether regarded individually, or in combination. But they are transitory. The
varied and telling colors of spring, ordinarily, quickly subside into the universal
1
^lanthtg Ornamental Trees for theh' Colors. 275
green ; and the bright leaves of autumn fall speedily before the frost and gales of
that season. Yet, both are desirable. The warm, red and yellow tints of the
unfolding leaves are peculiarly cheering in the cold days of early spring, and should
be introduced freely when planting. The splendor of the American forests in autumn
is a theme on which many travelers have loved to dwell, and leaves from these forests
may be seen in that admirable institution, the South Kensington Museum. The
trees we have long had under cultivation, and they are not only available but capable
of being wrought up with magnificent effect in this country. Among the most
effective of spring trees the Corstorphine Plane (Acer Pseudo-Platanus flavo-varie-
gatum), yellow; the Acer colchicum rubrum (red); the purple Horse Chestnut
(JEseulus Hippocastanum purpureum), purple; and the Silver Poplar (Populus
argentea), white, may be instanced. The shades of green at this season are also
innumerable, although for the most part gradually subsiding into one nearly uniform
tint. The brightest among the leaves of autumn are, perhaps, the Scarlet Oak
(Quercus coccinea), the Liquidambar (L. styraciflua), the Stag's-horn Sumach (Rhus
typhina), the Ostrya virginica, and several varieties of Cherries, Pears and Maples;
these usually die off bright red. Of yellow shades may be instanced the Lombardy
and Ontario Poplars (P. fastigiata and P. candicans), the Norway Maple (Acer
platanoides), the Horse Chestnut (JE. Hippocastanum), the Salisburia adiantifolia,
the Lime (Tilia europjea), the Tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipiferum), the White
Mulberry (Morus alba), the Grleditschia triacanthos, the Magnolia tripetala, the
Juglans amara, the Acer Negundo, the Kolreuteria paniculata, the Birch (Betula
alba), and certain varieties of Cherries, Pears, Thorns, and Maples.
As examples of planting for pictorial effect, nothing can be more beautiful in the
flower garden than pillars or columns of Ivy, provided that they be appropi'iately
placed. Here we have a dark green, light green, green blotched with gold, and
green edged with silver, all calculated to form permanent pictures. Standard and
pyramidal golden Yews and golden Hollies, also, form beautiful permanent pictures
in the garden. All permanent pictures are, of course, also winter pictures, but the
common Beech (Fagus sylvatica) deserves special notice ; it holds its reddish, brown
leaves throughout the winter, and this color stands in warm and beautiful contrast
with the Pines and other evergreens at that season. The white bark of the Birch,
the white, purple, and yellow bark of certain species of Willows, the red and yellow
berries of the Holly, and the yellow and black berries of the Privet, are also
invaluable for winter decoration. I have often admired the effect of three large
trees placed in juxtaposition in a garden in my neighborhood, whether by accident
or design I have no means of ascertaining. Near the bend of a river is a Weeping
Willow, the pale, green, drooping branches appearing in the distance almost to sweep
over the stream. Behind rises a mass of the dark, feathery Yew, the plumes of
foliage waving in beautiful contrast of motion, form and color. Still farther behind
there appears in spring rigid masses of Apple blossom, the snow-white, crimson-tinted
flowers blending in beautiful contrast with the dark and pale green of the Yew and
Willow.
A. — Swnincr Pictures.
1. Light Green. — Larix europaea ; Taxodium distichum ; (xleditsehia triacanthos ;
276 2yie J^ruit Cabinet: at Was?i'Mf/ton.
Juglans laciniata; Acer Negundo ; Tilia curopoea ; Catalpa syringsefolia ; Kobinia
Pseud-Acacia ; Platanus occidentalis.
2. Dark Green. — Fraxinus crispa ; Fraxinus monophylla ; AInus glutinosa ; Cyti-
sus Laburnum ; Pyrus Aucuparia ; yFLscuIus Hippocastanum ; Betula nigra ; Fagus
sylvatica ; Ulmus, various kiiid.s ; Quercus Cerris.
3. Reddish Purple. — Fagus syh'atioa purpurea ; Ulnms campestris fol. purp. ; Acer
Pseudo-Platanus fol. purp. ; Acer japonicum atropurpureum ; Corylus Avellana pur-
purea ; Quercus pediinculata purpurea; Quercus nigra ; Eurberis vulgaris fol. purp,
4. Yelloiv or Golden. — Quercus Cerris variegata ; Quercus Robur var. Concordia;
Fraxinus aucubaifolia ; Castanea vesea variegata; Sarabueus nigra aure-ovarigata ;
Syinpboricarpos vulg. fol. aureis; 8pira>a opulifolia lutea; E-obiniaPseud-Acac. aurea.
5. White or Silvery. — Populus argentea ; Acer Negundo variegatum ; Tilia argen-
tea ; Pyrus vestita ; Pyrus salfcifolia ; Salix argyrea ; Shepherdia argentea; Hippo-
phiie rhamnoides.
a. — fertunnetit Pictures,
1. Light Green. — Pinus pyrenaica ; Cedrus Deodara (the green variety) ; Abies
orientalis ; Abies rubra ; Ilex balearica; Juniperus tburifera ; Juniperus virginiana ;
Juniperus chinonsis.
2. Dark GreeJi. — Pinus insignis ; Pinus austriaca ; Picea Nordmanniana ; Arauca-
ria imbricata ; Cupressus Lambeitiana ; Quercus Ilex; Cerasus lusitanica ; Philly-
rea ; Garrya elliptica ; Hollies and Yews, various.
3. Purple. — There are no suitable purple evergreens, consequently this color is
restricted to summer pictures.
4. Yellow or Golden. — Abies excelsa finedonensis ; Cupressus thyoides variegata ;
Ilex Aquifolium aurea; Thuja aurea; Thuja elegantissima ; Taxus baccata aurea;
Euouymous japonica flavescens ; Ketinospora pisifera aurea.
5. White or Silve?ij. — Cedrus Deodara (the glaucous variety); Pinus excelsa;
Pinus monticola ; Pinus nivea ; Abies alba glauca ; Ilex Aquifolium argentea; Juni-
perus virginiana glauca ; Rhamnus Alaternus fol. argentea.
The Fruit Cabinet at Washington.
THE Fruit Cabinet of the Agricultural Department at Washington city, contains
plaster casts of the fruits from all the different sections of the United States,
arranged so as to show at a glance tlie products of each region, and the specific
changes caused by transplantation. It has been ascertained, by examination of these
specimens, that Northern apples, when transplanted to more Southern localities,
enlarge in size, become more juicy and luscious, and acquire a large percentage of
saccharine matter. As a drawback to these advantages, however, they lose the
quality of keeping over winter. Thus the Baldwin apple grown in Massachusetts, is
a small fruit, but as the tree is transferred through Western New York, it becomes
larger and brighter in color, with an improved taste. It, however, cannot be pre-
served till the next spring. The Snow apple of Canada, and other varieties, exhibit
a tendency to shrivel up when planted south of Lake Erie. The Ilussian apples,
recently introduced into the United States, it is thought, should only be planted in
the northern parts of this country. The origin of the apple is not known. It is
mentioned in the Bible, and is therefore supposed to be a native of Palestine. At
the present day, however, in Canaan, and surrounding countries, it is worthless as a
fruit. On the walls of the Fruit Cabinet are hung diagrams, showing the character
and habits of the different insects that prey upon the fruit and fruit trees of the
United States, and in glass casts are preserved the native birds that feed upon these
destructive insects, which should be protected by the kind treatment of the agricul-
turists. Tiie whole arrangements arc neat and handsome, and well repay a visit to
this department of science and agricultural art, and rare specimens of artistic
splendor and skill. — Chronicle.
Editorial Notes.
It'rontisp ieces.
For this and the succeeding three months, we will print frontispieces of our
engravings, on tinted paper. Tl*e illustration for the present month is one of an
elegant Bird Cage with Floicers, exhibited at the recent Paris Exposition, where it
attracted the most flattering attention.
J-Jxcursion to the West.
The New York Agricultural Excursionists returned to New York, August 25th, after
an absence of five weeks, and a tour over 5,600 miles of Western territory. They
were received with special honors at every place visited and great facilities were
afforded for obtaining information. The note books of these correspondents are filled
to the edge and from front to back with solid information, and we suppose that for
three months to come the papers will be full of it. The Excursionists enjoyed a
most delightful time, having visited in their tour, the Indian Territory, Missouri,
Kansas, Colorado, the south part of the Rocky Mountains, Pike's Peak, Colorado
Springs, Denver, Greeley, Laramie and Nebraska. One important point in the
entire trip was demonstrated with distinctness, that deciduous aad evergreen trees can
be groivii on the dry 'prairies of far tvestern Kansas without irrigation, and make as
rapid a groioth as in any other portion of the West. We shall soon have some notes
on this subject.
CHliivatiiig Young Orchards.
The following is the experience of the two most successful peach growers in the
Delaware Peninsula :
' Mr. Cummings says : "You may raise some crops on the vacant land till the
trees and plants begin to yield their fruits, but after that the land ought not to be
taxed with anything other than the intended crops. The trees, etc., should be
manured and limed to keep them in heart, and the ground cultivated like a garden,
that no weeds or grass may interfere with the orchard. I plough my orchard, harrow,
and cultivate — the latter process three and four times every summer, when I lay it by."
' Mr. Fennimore says : "My long experience has taught me that all vegetables,
from the very smallest to the greatest, small fruit and fruit trees, require the very
oest and constant cultivation in due season; not to suffer small grain, and particu-
larly white clover, to grow around the roots. As the trees come into bearing, it is
very necessary that some stimulating manures should be applied.
Leached ashes are probably the best fertilizer you can get — one hundred and fifty
bushels to the acre ; the next best is well composted manure. In all cases plough
shallow ; the feeding roots are all searching moisture, and the best soil. Therefore,
as the roots work for the surface, where the manure is, if you plough deep you des-
troy the feeding power."
278 .Editorial JVotes.
Peaches ''or 187 J'
The croakers have certainly won a victory this year. Peaches have been overdone,
and growers have been obliged to stop shipments on account of unprofitable prices.
Peaches have sold in New York for twenty-five to forty cents per basket, which cost
the grower in freight every cent of that price, and often times brought the producers
into debt. It has been difficult to induce the peach growing community to take a
■word of caution in time to avoid such a disastrous glut. But the Delaware growers
have persisted in putting out new orchards every year, until their wild enthusiasm has
received this wholesome check.
There are enough Peach trees old and new, now planted in the State of Delaware,
wliich, if they were to yield a full crop, would supply the entire United States.
The shipments to New York averaged during the month of August fully one hun-
dred and fifty to two hundred car loads per day, or seventy-five thousand to one
hundred thousand baskets.
Xoif Prices of ifritit DverytvJiere.
Peaches are not the only suflferers. For pears, good Bartletts, have yielded only
five to eight dollars per barrel, and grapes have sold as low as four cents per pound.
Blackberries fell to two and four cents per quart when peaches made their advent.
Our city friends who have been hoping for the time when fruit would be so cheap
that the poor could eat freely, have now had their opportunity, but the situation is
unchanged. The retail prices are quite as high as ever, and the poor have not
bought at all. Surely our fruit philosophers must put on another thinking cap, and
seriously reflect, whether gluts help the poor at all, and if the grower does not suffer
enough more mischief from his losses, to overbalance all the possible good that might
accrue to the poor buyer from occasional gluts and low prices. Our sympathies are
entirely with the grower. The laborer is worthy of his hire, and those who grow
fruit and farm produce should receive a fair price for their labor.
Moiv Plants Spread.
Nature says : As an instance of rapidity with which introduced plants spread,
when soil and climate are congenial to their habits, w e may point to the Euphor-
bia prostrata. Ait, a little animal weed in Jamaica and Trinidad, which became in-
troduced by chance, about ten years since, into a garden in Madeira, situated some
400 feet above the sea ; from this spot it has rapidly spread down the steep road to
the town ; while up the other hills, separated by deep ravines from that down which
it came, it has scarcely crawled at all, a downward course, apparently, being far
easier for it than an upward one. It has, however, slowly crept up another hill
at the rate of about ten feet a year. The seeds are well adapted for sticking to
the clothes of travelers, and to be carried about, so that we might well expect the
plant to crop up in all directions. Mr. Lowe says that it is now to be found every-
where in Funchal below 500 feet.
strawberries in Ohio.
Mr. Bateham, the Secretary of the Ohio Horticultural Society, makes this report
for 1870, of the fruits in his section :
Strawberries were a full crop and of good quality. Generally planted in rows about
three feet apart, and the plants eighteen inches apart in the rows, letting the run-
ners grow, and taking off two crops, then plowing up and re-setting on fresh land.
Yield sometimes good — often poor. Some growers take pains to keep the runners
off the plants, and the crops are thereby much improved ; the plants also continue
longer in good bearing condition. The Wilson is the principal variety grow here for
market. The Jucunda has been tried and not found profitable with our usual mode
of culture. But with liberal manuring, keeping off the runners and mulching, I am
confident it will be found superior to all others. I have been very successful with
manuring my strawberry grounds with chip manure and fish offal (this contains no
weed seeds.)
MUforlal JVotes. 279
A. I'Hofnl Clock.
Hearth and Home mentions the curious characteristics of many flowers opening
and closing at different hours of the day.
"Some flowers close at night, some are closed during the day and open at night,
and others again are almost as punctual in opening and closing as a good clock is in
keeping time. Omit hog alum umhelLaium "is called in some places Lady-Eleven-
o'clock, becouse it closes its flowers about 11 A. M ; some species of Trago pogon, or
Goatsbeard, close their flowers at noon, and hence have received the common name
of Go-to-bed-at-noon. The Evening V vimr q^q {CE)iot her a bien7iis) o^ens its flowers
in the evening ; the Scarlet Pimpernel {Auagallis arveJisis) is called the Poor Man's
Weather-glass ; it opens its flowers about 8 a. m., but closes them again if the day
is likely to be rainy.
Linnaeus constructed what he called a floral clock, wherein the time of the open-
ing of certain flowers indicated the hours of the day. De Candolle also made one
from observations in Paris, which we subjoin, giving the hours of waking or opening :
Ipomea purpurea 2 A. M.
" Nil 3—4
Matricaria suaveolens i . . . . 4 — 5
Papaver nudicaule 5
Convovulus tricolor 5 — 6
•' siculus 6
Sonchus and Hieracium, several species 6 — 7
Nymphea and Lactuca " " 7
Specularia speculum 7 — 8
Anagallis arvensis , 8
Nolana prostrata 8 — 9
Calendula arvensis 9
Arenaria rubra 9 — 10
Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum 10 — 11
Ornithogalum umltellatum 11
Passiflora cerulea 12 M.
Pyrethrum corymbosum 2 p. M.
Silene noctiflora 5 — 6
(Enothera biennis 6
Mirabilis Jalapa 6 — 7
Lychnis vespertina 7
Cereus grandiflorus 7 — 8
Summer Pitichlng of Itnspberry and Ulackberry Canes.
A correspondent of the Gardeners^ Monthly, writing from Illinois, says that he has
found much benefit by pinching back the canes of raspberry and blackberry plants
in July, and enumerates them thus : 1st. Increases the size and self-supporting
capacity of the main canes. 2d. Increases the number of side branches, and conse-
quently the quantity of fruit.
Ontario Slack Cap Raspberry.
This is a new variety found in Fairport, N. Y., by E. E. Lord, Newark, "Wayne
county, and by him introduced to notice. The plant is vigorous and very productive,
equaling in this respect any of the Black Cap family. The fruit is sweet and juicy,
and quite as large, as grown upon Mr. Lord's grounds, as any of its class. It has
more bloom on it, is firmer in flesh, and will bear carriage better to a distance, judg-
ing from what I saw of the plantation a few days since, which did not appear to have
had any extra cultivation. I would think it a profitable market variety, if it suc-
ceeds as well in other soils and localities as it does with Mr. Lord. — Charles Down,
ing, in American Rural Home.
280 £Jditorlal JVotes.
Vtihlicnilona and Cataloyuea Received.
Annual report Mercantile Library, N. Y., 1871. Report Diseases American
Cattle, 1809. Iowa Horticultural Kcport, 1869. Transactions Indiana State Agri-
cultural Society, 1871. Wholesale Catalogue, fall, 1871. Nicholas & Newson,
Geneva. Catalogue of E. H. Krela§-e & Son, Harlem, Holland. Annual Report
Commissioner of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. List of Agricultural and Horti-
cultural Societies in the United States.
Jh'oreiffn tfudt/inenton A.tnericnn Wines,
An Ohio horticulturist, annoyed at the severe criticisms of foreign connossieurs on
American wines, without an attempt at careful judgment, sent samples of sufficient
numbers of varieties of wines raised and made in his neighborhood, to a place in Eas-
tern Germany, where usually choice Rhine, Moselle, and Frankish wines are drank,
better than are used even on the Rhine itself, and where the decision would not be
biased by local preferences. The specimens shipped, were served up at a fete in
Silesia, and was attended almost exclusively by men of eminent culture and stand-
ing, enjoying the best opportunities to know and pronounce upon these gifts of Bac-
chus. Excellent and indisputably genuine samples of German and French wines were
at hand for the purpose of comparison.
The following is the conclusion reached : — " We have nothing to say of your White
wines. It may be that they were bottled too early, or damaged by the heat in
transportation, and may, therefore, have a better taste there (in America) than here ;
but to us, notwithstanding their strength, they seem vapid, and sour besides.
" The Ives Seedling has a peculiar, too spicy taste, and is, therefore, not adapted
for ordinary beverage. Yet it is a good wine, and perhaps to be recommended for
medicinal purposes. It resembles certain kinds grown on the Grecian islands.
"The Virginia Seedling is an excellent quality, and already ranks even with petit
Burgundian, and under a perfect treatment it may yet rival the best Burgundiau.
" Your sparkling wine (Werk's Double Eagle) has astonished us. Some gave
it a decided preference over the French on account of its natural bouquet, and because
it has so much body."
The Kitldtinny Blachherry.
How much experiences and opinions do differ. jThe Kittatinny* is much the
most vigorous grower of all the varieties of blackberries, but here in our New York
market is the least popular with buyers, because it loses its bright shiny color so
quickly. In the West, however, it is the very best of all kinds. A Lacon corres-
pondent of the Prairie Farmer says:
" I have fruited this year, under favorable circumstances, at least thirty distinct
varieties of blackberries, and no other named variety is worth a moment's notice in
comparison with the Kittatinny. The fruit is the largest I have seen. I measured
several different berries that averaged an inch and a-half long, four inches in circum-
ference the long way, and two and a-half the other. When fully ripe it is all that
could be asked in the way of satisfying flavor. When just black, it is perfect for
cooking and shipping.
" But to be productive it must have peculiar treatment. Most blackberries make
more blooms and set more fruit than the plant can mature, therefore they should be
cut back severely early in the spring. The contrary is the case with the Kittatinny;
it never shows more bloom than it can mature fruit when properly cultivated, there-
fore it should never be cut back in the least in the spring, i. e., the fruiting cane
should not, but the young growing cane of this year that is to fruit next, cannot be
pinched back too often — the oftener it has the tips of its shoots pinched out, the more
it will branch, the more branches the more fruit; but all of these sub-branches should
have a natural terminal bud at the end of the season of growth, and this bud should
Beyer be cut off. This cutting back after tke reason of growth is over, has caused
JEdltoital JVotes. 281
the complaint of unfruitfulness of the Kittatinny almost altogether. There is another
point about this plant that has caused many to become discouraged. It does not bear
much until it has become well established, which takes from three to four years; we
get discouraged before that time and neglect our duty, and failure is the result. Any
one can have success with this fruit who will cultivate it well, on any reasonable soil
(without manure) and cut back the young canes as they grow after the first year. It
is perfectly hardy here. In six years it has never had an inch of wood killed.
"After considerable experimenting, I have adopted the following system as the
best for making a plantation : — Rows six feet apart, running north and south, on
deeply plowed land (light, dry clay soil is the best), plants from one to four feet in
the rows — would prefer one foot; cultivate thoroughly while young to keep the blue
grass from getting a hold in the rows, which is to be feared more than anything else.
Ashes is the best aud only fertilizer needed."
Tiittte for Fine li'oliageil Jflaiit.'s.
It is stated that at Fuchsia Nursery, Woolwich, England, there is one of the largest
beds of ornamental plants known. The bed is 34 feet long, 11 feet wide, and contains
2000 plants, costing $300, Here in America we may not possibly have anything quite
as costly as that, yet our American flower gardeners can produce some magnificent dis-
plays of flowers, which in gorgeousness of color will challenge comparison anywhere.
At the nursery of Ellwanger and Barrj", Rochester, there are two fine beds of orna-
mental plants, one of fine foliaged plants, the other of Gen. Grant Geraniums.
The bed of foliage plants is round, with a diameter of twenty feet. A group of
Cannas is planted in the center, then a row each of Abutilon Tkomjiscmi, G7iaphaliu7u
lantiun^ Ireaine Lindeni, Artemisia Stelleriana, and Alternanthera, all planted in
the order they are named, commencing from the center. The geranium bed is very
effective. It is twenty feet in diameter, and contains upward of 125 plants, with a
border of Ceiitaurea Candidissima, The brilliant red of the geraniums, the pure
white foliage of the Centaurea, and the green lawn, form a charming contrast.
Lxsifie Lindoii has proved to be one of the most valuable bedding plants. The
foliage is of a deep blood-red color, and the plant is of a neat, bushy habit. It can
be trimmed into any shape.
General TJlot Geranium, of more brilliant color than the Grant, with fine truss,
and a profuse bloomer, pi-oraises to supersede that well known geranium. For flower-
ing or forcing in the house, there is none better.
Grtipe JS'ote>
Passing through the experimental grounds of the Agricultural Department to-day,
I found among the grapes but three bad cases of rot — Antuchon, aud Rodgers' 33
aud 41. The earliest grape (now absolutely ripe), is the London — medium, black,
juice blood red, sweet and good. Hartford and Ives nicely colored. Bj- the way, is
it not singular that in Downing's new edition, there is not a word of Allen's Hybrid,
Anna, Lorain, London, all of which are to be found in publications of prior date ?
Washington, D. C. F, A- Simkins,
Sow to Grow the Verbena.
Dexter Snow, who for several years has made the propagation of the verbena a
specialty, says of its cultivation : " To grow the verbena successfully, plant them in
beds or borders cut in the turf chop the tnrf well, and thoroughly mix with it a good share
well decomposed stable manure ; never, on any account, plant them in an old and
worn out garden soil, as they will most assuredly fail. Give them a change of soil
each season, as they do not thrive well two years in the same bed. Let the beds, if
possible, be where they will have the sun the entire day. By following the above
directions, one may have a verbena bed that will be a mass of bloom the entire season,
amply repaying the care and toil they may require. — Exchange.
282 £Jdltorial J\rotes,
Old Rose Suahes.
A subscriber sends the following on the management of old rose bushes to the New
York Observer : " Never give up a choice but decaying rose bush till you have tried
watering it two or three times a week with soot tea. Take soot from the chimney or
stove in which wood is burned, and make a tea of it. When cold, water the rose
with it. When all is used, pour boiling water a second time on the soot. The
shrub will quickly send out thrifty shoots, the leaves will become large and thick,
and the blossoms will be larger and more richly tinted than before. To keep plants
clear of insects, syringe them with Quassia tea. Quassia can be obtained at an
apothecary's. The directions I enclose have been fully tested in my family, with
most satisfactory results. — Prairie Farmer.
strawberries at Rochester, JV. Y.
The Country Gentleman gives some notes on Strawberries by H. E. Hooker, of
Rochester. His list for a family supply is: Large early scarlet, Wilson's Albany,
Triomphe de Gand and Russell's Prolific. The early scarlet he finds produces about
one-fourth as much as the Wilson ; Triomphe de Gand one-fourth to one half; Rus-
sell's well fertilized, one-half to three-fourths ; Green prolific nearly or quite as pro-
ductive as the Wilson.
The lona, Crraiie.
F. R. Elliot writes to the Rural New Yorker that the lona is not a success as a
vineyard grape ; that it is a decided failure. It succeeds in some localities occasion-
ally, and is a good grape when well grown and perfectly ripened, but he thinks no
man of sound mind would plant it by the acre.
Winter Mulching fitiif Trees.
Peter M. Gideon, of Excelsior, Minn., a little north of St. Paul, says, of nearly
4,000 fruit trees well mulched last fall not one was injured during the winter, while
five of eight trees missed in mulching were badly damaged.
Rlood T^enved I'ench,
Mr. Meehan, the editor of the Gardener^s Monthly, has on his grounds peach trees,
the foliage of which is a very rich crimson red. The fruit is not equal to that of
some of the best varieties.
Professor of Horticulture.
Mr. Francis Parkman has been elected Professor of Horticulture in the Bussey
(Agricultural) Institution, connected with Harvard University.
The Peritvinhle.
A correspondent of The Prairie Farmer writes: — You would hardly have believed,
I think, that the beautiful Madagascar Periwinkle, planted in the house or hot-bed at
the same time with my balsams, and receiving similar treatment in all respects,
would come into blossom at the same time, making a far more beautiful and available
plant. Their heavy and finely-veined foliage is enough of itself to show their royal
lineage, and my beds of them have been a delight since they first went into the
garden.
Croton and Sennsqun Grapes.
At (Janandaigua Lake the Croton has been attacked with mildew and rot. The
Senasqua is, however, perfectly healthy and a strong grower.
JE^dltorlal JVotes. 283
The Jfoi'tulaca.
There is no otlier plant among our hardy annuals from which, in my opinion, the
cultivator will derive so great an amount of enjoyment, in proportion to the time and
trouble required for its cultivation as from the one above named. All that is neces-
sary to insure a gorgeous show of flowers during the whole season, is to prepare your
bed, or border, in the fall, or early in the spring, scatter your seed thickly over it,
and then keep it free from weeds. After getting the bed once started it will require
no further attention for years, except the loosening of the soil in spring, and the
destruction of weeds, as any number of plants will start, each year, from self-sown
seeds. For a bed, or border, the single variety is almost as desirable as the double,
but for single plants, or for special purposes, the double is preferable. I have a
border of Portulacas upon which I sowed the seed several years ago, since which it
has received no other care than I have named above, but from the brilliancy of its
many colored flowers, it attracts more attention and gives greater pleasure than does
my collection of house plants, the care of a single one of which costs more labor in
a month than this border has required in years. When beauty is so cheap, why is it
that any one will live without beautiful surroundings? — American Rural Home.
Dr. Mull's Fruit Orchard.
An account of this beautiful fruit farm is given in the Country Gentlevian:
" It is 180 acres in extent, of which over 150 are in fruit. The peach crop is
very good; Hale's Early had already been harvested, and were splendid; the Early
Tillotson were checked by the terrible drouth under which this country has sufi'ered
for months, but brought $1.50 per bushel in St. Louis; work had been commenced
the day before on the Early Crawford, Hale's Early and Early York, by marketing
150 baskets. The plums are the best money crop of all, and are now going to
market : Washingtons sell in St. Louis for 75 cents per box of two dozen — some
specimens of this soi't measure 6| inches in longitudinal circumference, and 2| inches
transversely ; Smith's Orleans and Columbia are not quite so large, but have a higher
flavor, and bring about the same price ; Jefi"erson, Coe's Golden Drop and Duane's
Purple were just coming into season. In pears, the White Doyenne had been sold
in St. Paul at $2 25 per box of one-third bushel ; Virgalieus (which do not crack
here), Bartletts and Seckels were to be attended to the first week in August ; this
fruit is less afi"ected by the drouth than others. Cherries had borne in great abund-
ance, and S800 worth met quick sale in Chicago at S3. 50 to $5 per box of less than
one-third bushel. Of grapes, the Doctor has three acres, with a general assortment ;
Hartfords are just coming on, and worth 20 cents a pound in St. Louis. No anxiety
is felt here about yellows on the peach trees, or curculios on anything. The remedy
for the former is short, sharp and decisive — to dig out the tree forthwith, root and
branch. For the curculio, the jarring process many times described in the Country
Gentleman , is found entirely effective, there being luckily no careless neighbors near
by to furnish new hordes ; we understand, however, that the Doctor has in view an
improvement, which will be introduced in due time ; the new Ransom process is also
sometimes useful.
We must mention, as among the interesting features of this place, the utilization
of what was formerly a noxious pond of five or six acres. It was drained by cutting
a tunnel, and the sides terraced for fruit, with a garden at the bottom, forming a
unique and attractive object. All Dr. Hull's grounds are in prime order, though
just now very dry and dusty. Their proximity to the river gives them another
advantage beside the fine view — exemption, namely, from the heavy spring frosts to
which this district is subject, and this advantage has been invaluable the present
season.
28:1 JBortlcuUural Azotes.
Horticultural Notes.
Successful Culture «f J''ine J''oliufjed I'lontit.
A contributor to the Country Gentleman, lately saw some fine specimens of floral
plants in Baltimore, Md. " A plant of Begonia Marsliallii, four feet across the
front, two plants of Caladium esculentum near five feet high, leaves thirty by twenty
inches, and Cissus discolor, with leaves eight inches in length and beautifully mark-
ed. These plants are in seven inch pots. Besides those mentioned, he has a collec-
tion of Begonias in the most robust health, and varieties which are usually considered
diflScult by the most skillful among us, flourish with him equally with the more robust
kinds.
" His Coleus, too, are models of splendid coloring and rampant growth. One plant
challenged my attention more particularly — a Pheris, in a four inch pot, with'
upwards of twenty fronds, the largest near five feet. I have not mentioned these
things as being very extraordinary, but to show that when a man can take hold of a
collection of plants in a sickly state, and in a few months bring them into the most
robust health, and in such small pots grow them to a size that many gardeners cannot
do after a long life of practice — I say when a man can do that, he is an honor to his
profession."
I'runiny Nvivly flanted Maples.
The horticultural editor of the Country Gentleman, says that newly set maples,
" should be severely cut back, only in case the roots have been roughly handled and
cut off. It is better to secure the roots as perfectly as possible, and to cut back
moderately, and always do it before the buds swell."
Unpid Growing Shade Trees.
The same editor, in advising a new beginner how to plant his ornamental grounds,
says : " It often becomes very desirable to plant trees that grow fast, and to select
those which will furnish a shade the soonest. Several different kinds properly
arranged, have a much better appearance than plantations of a single sort, andVe
would name among the rapid growers, the silver maple, the European larch, the
chestnut, the common or American elm, the black walnut, and for the remote parts
of the gi'ound a few ailanthus trees. The silver poplar is an exceedingly rapid grower
and one or two in a plantation make a fine appearance, the strong objection to its
suckering being partly removed by planting it where these would be less oVjjectiona-
ble, and by digging the suckers up carefully a few times while in leaf and growing,
and not in spring before the leaves appear. Some of the oaks, when they become old
and spreading, are the finest of all shade trees, and although slower of growth, should
not be omitted in a plantation of any considerable extent. A few cvergi'eens may be
interspersed among the other trees — the Norway spruce is hardy and a fast grower."
choice Summer feitrs.
W. C. Barry furnishes the following notes on Summer Pears to the American Rural
Home. He advises the cultivation of more very early sorts, as the medium ripening
varieties are marketed when prices are very low, a few sorts ripening before the great
bulk of fruit, or after it, will bring a much better price.
Bloodgood — This is one of the best pears of the season. It is of good size, high
flavored, bears abundantly and regularly, and being very early, is a valuable
orchard and garden fruit. It was brought to notice about 1835, by James
Bloodgood, a nurseryman in Flushing. Farther back than this its history cannot be
traced. Like other early pears, its quality is bettered by beingripened in the house.
In our garden, a standard tree about fourteen years old, bears from four to six bushels
every year. The fruit generally sells at the rate of 82 per bushel ; but this year,
the market being full of peaches, they brought ouly $1.50 per bushel. They were
picked August 8th.
Horticultural JVotes. 285
Benrre Giffard — A mfidium-sized pear, of very fine quality. Its flesh is juicy and
melting, with an agreeable vinous flavor. It ripened this season about the middle of
August and sold readily at $2 per bushel.
Brandywine — This variety originated on the farm of Eli Harvey, on the river
Brandywine, in Pennsylvania, The fruit is of medium size, flesh juicy and melting,
and of excellent flavor. We picked our fruit the past week, and it is now ripening
on the shelves. When perfectly matured it is a first class pear.
MavMhig's Elizabeth — A delicious little pear. As an early garden fruit unexcelled.
It is a seedling of Dr. Van Mons, of Belgium, and was named by Mr. Manning, of
this country. The flesh is melting, and the flavor is sprightly. It is now ripening
with us, and at this time is one of our best pears.
Tyson — A chance seedling found in a hedge on the farm of Mr. Tyson, near Phila-
delphia. The fruit is of medium size, and of good quality. It is very productive,
and bears large crops yearly. A standard tree of ours bears about twelve bushels
annually, which sold this year for $1 per bushel.
Dearborn'' s Seedling — A very desirable pear. Fruit small, but of fine quality. It
is very productive, and is now about ripe, It originated with Mr. Dearborn, of Bos-
ton, about the year 1818.
Osband's Summer — A very good pear. It ripened with us about a fortnight ago.
The fruit is round and small. It originated in Wayne county, N. Y.
T,iliuni CoUitnbiHmim.
The Rural New Yorker illustrates this pretty Lily, a native of Columbia and Wash-
ington Territories. The plant grows one to two feet high, and has a most graceful
habit. The leaves are produced in whorls resembling our common L. Supcrbum.
The flowers are small and petals rcflexed. Color orange yellow, spotted with dark
brown. The bulbs are as hardy as any of our native lilies, and thrive in a good
rich moist soil; on no account should rank barnyard manure be applied to lilies, as it
is sure to cause disease.
ji. Fine lied of Geraniums.
The American Rural Home describes a fine bed of Geraniums, at Elwood estate,
Rochester, N. Y. The gardener commences making cuttings for the next year's
bed in July, which he strikes in pots, and keeps in his green house through the win-
ter. He aims to grow a large number of strong, healthy plants to select from. The
bed, which is a large one, is laid out in the form of a palm leaf, the smaller end
pointing toward the center of the carriage entranoe from the street, and dividing the
carriarreway in front of the piazza, and main entrances of the mansion.
The preparation of the soil is a very important part of the process. The natural
soil is strong, heavy loam, into which he works a good quantity of fine barn-yard
manure, and well rotted leaf-mold from the woods.
The bed is thrown up higher in the middle than the outside, to give a convex sur-
face, or the same result may be produced by selecting the tallest plants for the middle.
The outside border of the bed is a strip of sod about two feet wide, the grass on which
is kept closely shaven, as is the lawn. Inside of this border are planted two rows of
Bijou geranium, a dwarf variety, with light green leaves, bordered and striped with
white. These are very shy bloomers, but their green and white foliage afi'ords a
striking contrast to the scarlet mass of the body of the bed. Inside of this border
the bed is closely planted with General Grant geraniums, the healthiest plant, and
most profuse and brilliant bloomer in the family. He aims to transplant into the
bed near the last of May, when all fear of frosts and chilling winds is past. After
they are once started, he uses no water upon them, but keeps the surface mellow
during the season by a free use of the hoe, and trims ofi" the difl"erent trusses as they
are done blooming.
Under such management the bed presents a slightly convex, but very even, regular
286 Horticultural JVotes.
surface. As seen from the street, five or six rods distant, the broad gravel carriage
road, the border of deep green grass, the inner border of light green and white-leaved
geraniums, and then the large center of brilliant scarlet, altogether form a picture
upon which the eye rests from day to day with unwearied delight.
Time for Planting t^all liiilbs-
" As soon in the fall as bulbs can be obtained, they should be planted, though this
will not generally be the case till October, but it is well to bear in mind that the
earlier they are planted the finer they will flower."
Time to Miike Currant Cuttings,
In the northern parts of the United States, currant bushes mature their leaves
about the time the early frosts occur. Shoots so matured may be taken for cuttings
as soon as the leaves are killed; but going south, the bushes are fully matured in
August, and in some parts as early as July, and shed their leaves without the action of
frost. In such cases it may be best to make the cuttings when about three-fourths of
the leaves are shed, or, better than this, strip ofi" the leaves as soon as about two-
thirds of them have fallen, and then wait a week and take the cuttings. Currant
shoots so treated will be more likely to grow than they would if cut later in the
season. At the north they may be heeled in and planted in the spring, but south
they do better if set as soon as made, — Prairie Farmer.
Sow to Gi-otv Raspberries Successfully.
My manner of planting and cultivating Black Cap Raspberries is very simple and
cheap. When I planted my experimental lot, I placed them in rows ten feet apart,
and at intervals of eight feet in the row I planted posts. On these posts I nailed
two strips of wood for a trellis. These strips were one by two inches iu size, and the
lower one was placed thirty inches, and the upper one four feet six inches from the
ground. I planted the roots on both sides of the trellis and twelve inches from it on
each side. They were placed four feet apart in the row and planted alternately, so
that for every two feet there was a cane to be tied to the trellis.
As soon as the berries are all picked, I lose no time in cutting away all the old
wood and removing it from the ground. The young canes are allowed to grow to a
length of five feet, and are then topped out and tied to the trellis. For tying I have
used twine, basswood bark and willow twigs. I find them all to be good, but would
give the preference to the willows, on account of their cheapness and durability.
After cutting back the young canes and tying them to the trellis, the laterals grow
very rapidly. I allow them to attain a length of about two feet, and then check
their growth by pinching off the end. This is all that has to be done to them for
one year, at the end of which time they will have borne their fruit, and in their turn
■will be ready to be cut away to give place to the younger canes of the following
season.
Experience has shown me that the rows should be wider than ten feet for such
rank growing canes. When the laterals have attained their proper length, and the
bushes are loaded with fruit and foliage, the rows become so blocked up that it is
almost impossible to move between them with any freedom. I have adopted fourteen
feet as the proper distance for the rows to be apart, and plant and prune as previously
stated. In describing this cane I should have stated that it is nearly as free from
thorns as the purple cane, and is similar in color.
In order for the canes to grow to the best advantage, it is necessary that the ground
should be kept moist and free from weeds. To effect this purpose, I mulch the
ground with straw six or eight inches thick. I have never tried leaves, but have no
doubt that they would answer the purpose fully as well. By this mulching of straw
the ground always remains moist and the weeds are kept back, thus saving work with
plow and hoe, and insuring a good crop of berries. — Remarks of Mr. Littleton before
Peoria Farmers^ Clvb.
Soi'ticuUural JVbtes. 287
JPototnao Fr^iit Growers' Association.
This is comparatively a new society, or, at least, has only become prominent within
a late period. An interesting discussion on blackberries and raspberries was held at
Washington recently, and among other things said and done, Mr. Saul remarked :
If I were going into the blackberry culture T would not confine myself to any one,
but would raise the Wilson, Kittatinny and Missouri Mammoth. There is none that
is superior to all others. 3Iy experience, however, is that here the blackberry is not
a paying crop. The wild fruit is so fine and abundant as to prevent the sale of the
cultivated variety at paying prices. The Wilson is with me two weeks earlier than
the Kittatinny.
Major King. — How does the flavor of the wild compare with the cultivated variety ?
Mr. Saul. — The wild fruit is just as good.
Colonel Curtis. — The wild is the best.
Colonel Chamberlain. — In my neighborhood there are wild berries as large as any
of these exhibited here, and very sweet.
Prof. William Sauders, of the Agricultural Bureau, remarked : — Regarding the
varieties of the blackberry, I found in going through one meadow in Maryland, four
distinct varieties ; if anything, more distinct than any of those now in cultivation,
and equally as good. It is wrong to confine ourselves to one variety. Persons have
different tastes; then, too, they ripen at ditferent times; and again, one might prove
a failure. They do not do well on rich soil; the vines grow so luxuriantly that the
wood does not ripen. In one case where they grew on the sod large crops were
gathered. One gentleman planted in rich soil 48 Lawtons, training up two canes to
a stake ; the next year he had twelve bushels of fruit, but after that he did not obtain
good crops. We have a great deal to contend with from unripened wood.
Prof. Howland. — Two years ago last spring I went out into the woods, and from
different localities got some black raspberry bushes. I set out three rows in my
garden, and when they came into bearing found a number of varieties, some of them
being very fine, like the ever-bearing, while others were worthless. Altogether, at
one picking, I obtained over three bushels from the three rows, 109 feet long.
Fall Planting of Trees.
One of the best ways is to plant very early. Do not wait for the fall of the leaf,
but commence as soon as the first heavy fall rains have thoroughly loosened the
ground. If the leaves have not fallen, strip them off. It is no more of an injury
for man to do this in the day, when a frost may and often does do it the same night.
If there be much soft and immature wood, cut this back, evaporation is much more
easy through this part than the harder and more mature.
Another thing in favor of fall planting, will be the selection of warm ground.
This will much favor the production of rootlets. In a cold, damp soil, the roots
already on the tree will rather die than new ones produce themselves. This is par-
ticularly the case with some trees which do not make young roots freely in the fall.
The tulip trees, oaks and the peach are familiar instances of this class. And again,
he who would have the very best success with fall planting, must guard as much as
possible against hot bursts of sun, or cold wintry winds ; and thus he whose place is
the best protected in this respect, will have the best of it over him who has not.
Some of our readers, we suspect, will wonder why we include the sun in our list of
winter enemies to the fall planted tree. But we see how it is after a winter's expe-
rience. The southern side of the fall-planted tree is often scorched on that side.
This is simply because the sun draws out the moisture there faster than the injured
roots can supply it.
In favor of fall planting there is yet one item which we can seldom have in spring.
This is in reference to the condition of the earth. It is often said that a wet day is
good for planting trees, but this is a mistake. The pasty earth does not fit closely
288 SbrticuUural JVotes.
to the roots, and the roots cannot well take up moisture unless they are in close con-
tact with the earth. Hence a half-dry soil, that will powder finely when crushed, is
to be preferred. Then every little root finds the powdering soil closing in about it;
and it is almost as if the root had pushed itself in the ordinary way. It is a good
thing in transplanting to have one man pounding with a rammer as fast as the earth
is being put in. In the spring, what with rain and frost, the soil is not apt to be as
friable, as gardeners say, as it is in the fall of the year. — Gardener'' s MoJithly.
IFruit in lotva.
"Writing to the Iowa Homestead, Suel Foster, Muscatine, Iowa, says the Michigan
strawberry, B. Hathaway's seedling, is a softer, richer berry than Wilson's Albany,
and he thinks it will be a strong competitor with that for productiveness and profit.
He prefers the Philadelphia and Miami raspberries, although the Clark does well
with him. The Kittatinny blackberry is hardy and productive of large fruit. He
is well pleased with the English cherry. His pears are over-bearing. The Bartlett
stands first, the Flemish Beauty next. His grapes are also overloaded.
The JVew Grnjte in^Missoitri.
Among the new grapes "Walter has done well ; foliage perfectly healthy ; fruit of
most excellent quality and very early ripening this season ; the first of full fruiting
along with Hartlbrd and before Martha, loua and some others. Martha is giving
entire satisfaction. lona not quite so fine as expected, but doing fairly; Goethe and
Meramec are full of promise. Among those not yet fruited are New Haven Red and
"Vallees' White Concord, both doing well, fine healthy foliage and very short jointed
wood. Hudson, a new white grape not yet sent out, is a beautiful vine with very fine
foliage, and is doing very well so far. Eumelan is very healthy and thrifty, promis-
ing very well ; the Herman is fully realizing expectations. The drouth and heat
have been very trying on foliage, and some varieties have suiFered considerably.
Among those that have been conspicuously worthless with us are, Mary Ann, North
Carolina and Creveling. The only point of vine in the Hartford, its earliness, has
been very neatly laid on the shelf here, by coming into competition with points
further south. — Rural World.
Strnii'berfies on Jitishes>
The editor of the St. Paul Press still maintains the existence of bushes at Pem-
bina, bearing strawberries thereon. It is not a raspberry, as some one suggested,
but a genuine strawberry,
"The berry in question has not only the full flavor and form, but the stalk of the
strawberry, and has nothing whatever of the raspberry about it. It is a misnomer to
defer so far to popular parlance as to call it a bush strawberry, for it does not grow on
a bush, but on an upright stalk ; the only diff^ercnce so far as we can recollect,
between the stalk and the creeping vine, being that the former is upright and termi-
nates in a group of stems supporting a cluster of berries. The stalk is in all respects
a straw, like that of clover or the vine of the ordinary strawberry, and has no resem-
blance whatever to the woody fibre and bark of the stalk of the raspberry bush."
The editor has evidently got a white elephant and don't know what to do with it.
The defense is a pretty bad one.
Hie J'lou'den i'eac/i.
Specimens of this new peach have now been tested in Pennsylvania, and found to
be ripe ten days before the Hale's Early — a good, distinct, delicious sort. At
"Washington, D. C , near where it originated, it is said to ripen twenty days before
Hale's Early ; but this is probably an exaggeration. The fruit is very much the same
shape and size as Hale's Early, but lighter in weight, fiesh white and remarkably
YOL. 26.
OOTOBEE, 18T1.
E'O. 304
Horticulture in the Far West.
Notes from Editorial Travel.
THE abundance of fruit in Missouri and Kansas is a constant topic of conversation
and admiration by us all. In St. Louis, just as we were leaving, we were treated
to luscious grapes and peaches as early as the 24th of July; and pears were in
abundance on every fruit stand at sti-angely low prices. For instance, grapes were
sold as low as 2| cents per lb. ; pears (Bartlett), at ^1 per bushel ; peaches, 50 cents
to $1 per basket. The entire country around St. Louis, and particulary toward
Kirkwdod, is a succession of groves and vineyards, and the trees appear to hang
loaded with unusual supplies of fruit. I notice that the trees bear at a very young
age, fully one-half earlier than with our growers at the East. Apple trees we would
at home consider too small, here are yielding a peck to a bushel to every tree, and
in form and color such glorious beauties as would make a New York marketman
smile. About ten miles out on the Pacific railroad. State of Missouri, Mr. Mason
has a vineyard of twenty-five acres devoted almost entirely to culture for wine pur-
poses. His crops will average about 12,000 lbs. per acre, or six tons. At the
present low prices of grapes, if sold in bulk, he would average but 3 to 5 cents per
lb., or $360 to $600 per acre, but very sagaciously he adopts another method
altogether ; with proper apparatus he converts all his fruit into wine, makes a good
sherry, packs it in cases, and sells it at $9 per case. His six tons of grapes will
yield him 600 gallons, worth $4 per gallon or $2,400 per acre. These figures of profit
stagger us, for we have nothing to compare with them in the East, and we would
doubt them were not the facts before us, and account books to prove sales.
In general the soil and climate of Missouri are wonderfully congenial to the pro-
duction of all classes of fruit. Such peaches as we saw would, both in size and
beauty of color, more than excel anything we ever knew from Delaware, while the
19
290 SdrticuUure in the Far Ifest.
grapes are noted all for their size and sweetness. The farther westward we
traveled, the more frequent appeared the fruit orchards ; and at Hermann, situated
upon the banks of the Missouri river, we appeared to have reached the most thriving
fruit center.
Fruit boys surrounded us on every hand at the station, and offered their peaches
at ridiculously low prices, two and three for a cent ; at this price, we emptied more
than one boy's basket. Beyond Hermann we noticed occasional orchards, but not as
old nor as frequent in number as near St. Louis. The summers of Missouri are con-
stantly warm, with slight change of temperature throughout the growing season ;
and fruits of every description are developed in the most extraordinary manner.
The grape is most noticeable for its luxuriance, and vineyards are portions of every
farm, all devoted principally to wine making. I understand that prices are now
very low. Col. Colman, who has a large fruit farm, the crops of which he expected
would yield him $30,000, will now yield him but §10,000 in consequence of low
prices.
Fruits in Kansas,
The excursion party were favored with a most entertaining banquet at Leaven-
worth, offered by the Kansas Agricultural and Mechanical Association. At this
banquet glorious specimens of Kansas apples were freely distributed over all the
tables. In size, I know of nothing that would equal them in any fruit region I ever
visited, while for beauty it would be impossible to find words fit for description. I
cut them open, but eat only one piece, and laid the rest down, never to eat again —
juiceless, dry and without flavor. I was more fortunate, however, in other speci-
mens, but I could not help expressing the candid conviction that such large size had
been obtained at the sacrifice of delicate quality. I also observed that some of the
larger fruit, placed the day before on the chandelier for display, had thus early
begun to rot, and, in some instances, one-fourth of the fruit had already spoiled.
This augured badly for keeping qualities ; still the varieties were early, not good
keepers, and the room was quite warm, and heated with gas ; so one must not judge
a whole country from a single apple. The general character of the apples I saw and
tasted, was fine in beauty of form and color, yet lacking in juice. The texfcure is
mealy and dry. I suppose I did not have a good opportunity to taste the best varie-
ties, it being too early in the season. In the afternoon of the next day, we visited
the grounds of several fruit-growers near the city, the principal one being that of
Marcus J. Parrott. Here, upon high bluff land overlooking the city, and distant
about two miles, Mr. Parrott has some specimen trees, which showed the capabilities
of the soil and climate. Quite a large number of pear trees wore bending down,
very heavily laden, and in point of color, size and lusciousness, equal to the best we
have ever witnessed ; at the side of the peach orchard is a small vineyard, mostly
of Concord grapes. One vine was noticeable for its breadth and prolificness. It
was only four years of age from planting, yet its arms extended about forty feet, bear-
ing the incredible number of 400 bunches. Many of the bunches were completely
spoiled in consequence of the cracking of the berries ; and indeed this is quite a
common fault throughout the entire vineyard, more or less berries ou every vine
Horticulture in tfie li'ar Wost, 291
being tluis spoiled. We attribute the cracking of the skin to too rafid, groioth; the
vines grow exuberantly, and seem impatient of restraint.
In another part of the farm is quite an orchard of apples ; these had been culti-
vated in clover, and apparently did not suffer from the grass occupying the same
ground. The trees were young, and seemed to be but four to five years of age, yet
were full of fruit of most beautiful color, and superior size. Kansas has certainly
not been over-estimated in the value of her soil or climate for fruit.
At Dr. Stayman's the novelty was witnessed of an orchard never pruned, and
alioays grown in grass. We must admit its success here, for the trees were over-
loaded with fruit, and the ground beneath was perfectly covered with fallen or decay-
ing apples. The branches of the trees ran in every possible direction, wherever
nature directed them in negligent confusion, yet such a sight of fruit is rarely wit-
nessed by any orchardist in the country.
In other small farms and gardens near the city, we saw strawberry beds, grape
vines and pear trees, all in good, thrifty condition. Considerable attention has been
paid to small fruit, and it has proved quite a profitable occupation, growers realizing
fifteen to twenty cents per quart, and the produce 4,000 to 6,000 quarts per acre.
Pear trees grown in grass or out of grass are alike healthy and productive.
I saw few evidences of blight, and, to the credit of my friend Meehan, I must
admit that every orchard or group of fruit trees grown West on the " grass syste7n,''^
as far as I saw them, were admirably successful. I should disagree with him as to
the application of this method in any portion of the East, but in the West, on the
rich prairie soils, I find it is a useful specific, and is attended with very few incon-
veniences or injuries.
Kansas is very well situated for the cultivation of fruit. Most of the soil is of a
limestone character, and in such countries fruit trees are always successful, often
pre-eminently so, for the color of the skins, and the size and perfection of form, are
unmistakable evidences. But it is able also to command good markets. Hitherto
Denver has been supplied entirely from California, at extravagant prices, but Kansas,
now close at hand, is able to come in and offer its choicest fruit at one-half the price,
and still be considered very remunerative, while Kansas City, Lawrence and Leaven-
worth, and other local markets will take all the fruit raised at remunerative rates.
Sorticitlture in Colorado.
Denver is a remarkable market for fruit. I was told by reliable parties that fully
$2,000 worth of fruit a day were sold there, and to judge from the frequency of the
fruit stands, the estimate is not an exaggeration. Fruit stores Hre as frequent as
news stands in the large cities, and often are seen adjoining each other several doors
in succession. On one block fully half the stores were devoted to fruit. All of this
fruit is shipped hither from California, and with its golden color, it is a most attrac-
tive sight. Nearly all kinds of fruit, plums, peaches, apricots, etc., are sold at the
uniform price of twenty-five cents per pound. Pears are very fine, and will average
two to the pound, or 12^c. each. Plums average five to the pound, and apricots three
to four. Peaches same as apricots. The freight from Sacramento to Denver, is $750
292 Horticulture in the JFar West,
per car load, which is the principal cause of their high prices ; from Kansas City
but $150.
Denver is a growing city, and business of all kinds thrives finely. Nearly all the
inhabitants indulge in fruit, buying it as freely as we would candy or sweet things at
home. Large quantities are shipped into the interior to the mining districts, and
right in Black Hawk, the center of the most thriving mines and stamp mills, amid
the crush of quartz and debris of mineral, I found a New York boy keeping a stand
of California fruit, and who was so glad at our advent, that his joyful memory of the
good, old days of the East, sufficiently impressed him to fill our pockets before he
would let us go.
Gardening near Denver is successful, wherever the gardener can command a good
supply of water. The Platte River is entirely unreliable, sometimes full, often dry.
Ditches have been dug to the foot of the mountains, but occasionally the mountains are
devoid of snow, atld the supply is cut short, but this is not often the case. Straw-
berries are very productive and very profitable. A fruit-grower by the name of Dil-
lon, who lives one mile from Denver, grows 2,000 quarts to the acre, and sold them
at wholesale for forty-five cents per quart ; they were then resold by the dealer at
still higher prices. They begin at $1.25 per quart, and rarely go less than 60 cents.
Potatoes are the universal crop of the Territory ; every one grows them and every
one makes money out of them. Mr. Dillon has raised as high as six hundred bushels
per acre, and sold them for four cents per pound ; this is at the rate of $1,440 per
acre. Can any Eastern gardener equal this ? Of late so many potatoes have been
raised that the price has fallen in some sections to two cents per pound wholesale, or
$1.20 per bushel. Nearly every kind of garden vegetables, except corn, will grow
here finely. Water-melons and cucumbers, as fine as at the East, are frequent and
delicious ; beets are superb. Peter Magnus, the most successful vegetable grower in
the vicinity, brought to our hotel specimens that would average twelve to eighteen
cents apiece, and potatoes that would weigh a pound. The soil being drift from
the mountains is full of mineral matter, of which potash is pre-eminent, and only
needs irrigation to set everything going with utmost vigor. Agriculture here is
prosperous in the highest degree. Most of the energy of the people has been
devoted to trading, mining and stock raising — little to agriculture. A few sagacious
growers have felt that the soil would pay better returns than the uncertainty of the
mines, and every one who has tried farming or gardening, has been succesful. Mr.
Dillon said if he had forty acres he believed he could make $40,000 in five years
and he would put one man to every acre, and grow garden vegetables entirely.
Colorado cucumbers sell for twenty-five cents each, and potatoes at retail, 3^- cents
per pound. The population of Denver is 8,000, and the increase of houses has been
33 per cent in eight months, still the area devoted to garden products does not
increase in like ratio, and the supply is behind the demand. I know of no place
with better opening for young, enterprising gardeners, farmers or tradesmen, than
here. Wheat crops average forty bushels per acre, and oats sixty. Tomatoes are
plenty, yet never sell for less than $1 per bushel.
An instance was related to us of two young men who had only a capital of $500
^ !Seautiful J^lower JF'arm. 293
between them. They selected a small lot of ground on the road between Denver
and Golden City, irrigated it, and planted in vegetables ; they had good opportuni-
ties to sell, either to the miners as they passed along the road toward the moun-
tains, or in the city of Denver itself. They were successful from the very first, and
to-day, less than five years from the beginning, they own 320 acres each, and are
making S5,000 per year. Cabbages are very profitable, and as an instance of their
profits, I may state that Peter Magnus sold, from one acre, $1,900 worth in one
season. Upon the ground of Mr. Bearce, President of the Colorado Agricultural
Society, I saw quite a nice little vineyard of grapes, mostly Concord, three years
old, generally in good health, still the fruit was a little cracked, and the berries con-
siderably smaller than with Eastern growers. Horticulture is as yet an experiment
in Colorado. Experiments are but one or two years old, and but little definite is
known ; still progress is very encouraging. My readers must remember that Denver
is nearly 6,000 feet above the level of the ocean, and located upon a treeless plain,
with no green thing in sight save the vegetation of private gardens. To grow vege-
tables under disadvantages like this is success indeed. We observe in private
grounds quite a large number of ornamental trees planted. The cottonwood is
especially pre-eminent, and uniformly a vigorous and quick grower. It must, how-
ever, be irrigated, or it will not live. Apple trees have been planted in some
grounds, and we must admit this year's growth displays the handsomest and smooth-
est bark we ever beheld on any apple tree, young or old. If protected by boards
from the hot rays of the sun from the South, they will stand the winters admirably ;
the protection needed is not from the North, but from the South, against extremes
of heat.
Gardening, in Colorado, I look upon as successful already, but the culture of
standard fruits is very doubtful and risky. The judicious planting of trees every-
where, and the raising of groves or belts of timber, may sensibly ameliorate the
climate and help fruit culture very materially.
H. T. W.
Denver, Colorado Territory.
A Beautiful Flo'wer Farm.
THE following account of Mr. C. L. Allen's flower farm, near Queens, Long Island,
is given by the editor of The Observer. Most of our readers know, that this is
the largest flower farm in this country, devoted specially to lilies, gladiolus, tuberoses,
and bulbs, generally. The grounds occupy about fifty acres of fertile garden soil,
very fine and mellow :
At one corner of the farm we found an extensire plat of pjeonies, embracing over
one hundred and fifty varieties, all in full bloom. The sight was gorgeous. Almost
every hue and color — from crimson to white, " ring streaked, speckled, spotted and
grizzled'' — ^beamed forth from the rich velvety petals. Some of the finest lilies that
294 ^ T^eautiful J^^towe?' I^fwrn.
Japan affords find a congenial home in this beautiful soil of Long Island, and some
that rarely perfect their seed, developed a full crop last season ; and the kernels were
allowed to fall at pleasure into the bosom of mother earth, where they remained
during the winter, and germinated the former part of the growing season. Tuberoses
and gladiolus, and extensive varieties of other flowers, flourish here in beauty by the
acre. The leaves of every flower and tree seemed more like thin leather than the
breathing organs of growing plants, shoAving, conclusively, that there is a wonderful
congeniality of both soil and climate to the production of both flowers and fruit.
Value of Stahle Ulannre.
Large quantities of coarse manure are obtained from the city by railroad, which is
dropped from the railroad cars about half a mile from the farm. The manure costs,
delivered at the station, over $1.50 per tub, equal to about eight bushels, which
swells the expense to some five or six dollars per cord for coarse manure. Tillers of
the soil understand the great value of manure so well that they feel warranted in
paying the enormous prices alluded to. Yet, much of this high-priced fertilizer is
not half so valuable as the tons upon tons, which a great many farmers, remote from
large cities, allow to waste away every season. Flowers, as well as garden vegetables
and field crops, need the stimulating influences of rich manure ; and horticulturists
and floriculturists have learned, that no fertilizer is preferable to good composted
stable manure for flowers, vegetables, or for fruit trees. The flower plats are thor-
oughly enriched with some sorts of fertilizing material. Mr. Allen esteems red
clover as a fertilizer of the first quality for all sorts of flowers.
How to Mukc Ijurye Flower Jiashets.
In several places in Mr. Allen's grounds were large flower baskets resting on the
top of a stump of a tree, which had been cut ofi" three or more feet from the surface
of the ground. A few stakes driven into the ground, or a small log placed on one
end, would answer the purpose of a slump. A large wire basket was then made in
the following manner : A wire ring about four feet in diameter was made of a rod —
say one-fourth of an inch in diameter — which is secured about one foot above the
point occupied by the bottom of the basket. Another ring about one foot in diameter
is prepared for the bottom of the basket. Then smaller wires — say one-sixteenth of
an inch in diameter — extend from the small ring to the large one, for the sides of
the basket. The side wires are all cut ofi" a given length, with an open eye at each
end to receive the two rings. The side wires are bent of a uniform curve, so as to
give the basket a swelled form. As fast as the open eyes of the side wires are attached
to the bottom ring, and to the ring that represents the rim of the basket, the ends
are bent around with pliers. With a few dimes' worth of galvanized wire one can
make a large basket in about one hour, that will last many years, especially if it be
housed after the growing season is over. These large baskets were lined with moss,
filled with rich earth, and were the receptacle of several species of beautiful flowers,
all in full bloom. Mr. A. estimates that he has now growing over 750,000 tuberoses,
and an unknown number of Japan lilies.
^ Choice Ztist of A.zalcas and (R?io(lodendrons. 295
A Clioice List of Azaleas and Rhododendrons.
THE finest collection of Azaleas in America can be found at the nurseries and
greenhouses of Parsons & Co., Flushing. Those kept in the greenhouses were
in full bloom in April, displaying a most gorgeous combination of colors. These
were the Azalea Indlca — a class of plants specially adapted for conservatories.
Mr. Trumpe, the skillful propagator, who loves his Azaleas as dearly as a child,
gives us a list of the very best varieties named below. Those starred are of extra
selection out of a list of 150 varieties:
*Adolphe de Nassau — Large, rose color ; a free bloomer, and a standard variety.
Aviaraiitina — Rosy purple.
A. Borsig — Double white ; fine.
* Bernard Andrea — Splendid, rose color; very large bloom; unusually fine.
*Coloris Novo — Superb crimson.
Criterion — Bright salmon ; distinctly spotted.
Delicata — Bose color ; every one likes it ; very popular with amateurs.
*Duchesse de Nassau — Large, dark rose ; shaded violet.
Eulalie Van Greert — Large, carmine ; variegated.
* Flag of Truce — Double white ; extra fine form.
*Gem — Dark salmon ; exquisite; clear.
Grande Duchesse de Bode — Large, salmon and rose ; fine form.
Marie Vervaine — Variegated ; crimped ; extra white stripes.
Minerve — Scarlet ; extra profuse bloomer.
Modele — Very fine, rose. Modele de Marque — Splendid form, rose. Both of these
are indispensable for every collection.
Prince Albert — Large flower ; rose ; old, but has a splendid habit of growth.
Punctulata — Splendid, variegated ; early bloomer. Punctulata onmicolor —
Splendid, variegated ; early bloomer. Both valuable for early forcing purposes.
* Reine des Roses — Red rose ; extra bloomer.
*Roi Leopold — Splendid form; scarlet and crimson on the petals.
* Rosea elegans — Fine rose; extremely brilliant color; overflowing with bloom.
* Souvenir du Prince Albert — Rose and white ; a new and splendid type, with
variegated petals.
Stella — Scarlet, with purplish eye.
Vittata crispiflora — Variegated.
Vittata punctata — White, spotted with rosy purple.
Ghent Azaleas.
This is a class for lawn decorations, or borders in the background, for a brilliant
show. They are very hardy — thrive in any good, warm, loamy soil, and are perfectly
overflowing with their exquisite bloom in early June. Here is a list of choicest
varieties :
Aretheusa plena — Dark orange.
* Baron Greorge Pike — Large, orange.
Bicolor — Orange ; yellow and white ; superb.
296 ^ C/wice Z,isi o/ Azaleas and 'Rhododendrons.
Calendulocea coceinea — Orange, scarlet.
Calendulocea elegans — Fine ; orange, scarlet and wliite.
Coceinea grandiflora — Scarlet ; larger than above.
* Concinna — Dark orange.
Cardon — Light orange.
* Cruenta — Scarlet ; fine,
Elegantissima — Pink ; late.
* Graf von Maran plena — Fine, rose.
Honneur de la Belgique — Crimson, dark.
Lateritia stricta — Salmon.
Monstrosa conspicua — Orange, scarlet.]
* Narcissi flora — Splendid, yellow.
* Ne plus ultra — Extra, orange.
Penicellata stellata — Straw color and salmon.
Plumosa — Light orange.
Pontica bouquet de flora — Pink and white : fine.
Pontica globosa — Yellow, with white center,
Pontica imperialis — Yellow ; large.
Prgestantissima — Large, orange.
* Punicea — Crimson, scarlet.
Radicans — Crimson.
* Viscocephalum — White ; very fragrant,
A^zaleas for Window Gardens,
The use of Azaleas for window culture in pots has, as yet, not been often referred
to by our horticultural writers ; yet, the idea is a most pleasant one. What can be
more delightful than an entire window filled with thousands of crimson blossoms,
from pot after pot, or raised stages toward the top ? The only thing necessary iu
their culture is to provide a suitable soil, The best for this purpose is a mijfture of
two parts loam, rich, vegetable matter; two parts rotten peat from the swamps ; one
part sand, Take good care for perfect drainage, and use no manure. These are all
the directions necessary. These plants during the winter should be put in the cellar.
About the beginning of February they may be brought nearer the light, and a few
weeks afterward carried up to the window garden. Here they begin to bloom at
once, and last about three weeks ; some of them six weeks. After they have done
blooming they may be removed, and new ones be brought up again from the cellar,
and thus the blooming season is extended over several months. The following is a
Belected list of those most suitable for window purposes;
Amaena — Very early.
Amarantina — Rosy purple.
Belle Gantoire — Rose and striped with white.
* Charles Quint — Rose.
Criterion — Bright salmon ; distinctly spotted,
Delicata — Rose.
stencil Marks by i/ie irtey, 297
Exquisita — Variegated.
Indica alba — White.
* Fielden — White ; very early.
* Minerva — Scarlet ; profuse.
Module de Marque — Splendid form ; rose.
Grrande Duchesse de Bode.
Iveryana — White, striped with rose.
Perfection — Rose ; good form.
Vittata — Variegated.
Vittata crispiflora.
* Punctata — Splendid, variegated.
* Punctata omnicolor — Early bloomer.
* Narcissiflora plena — Six weeks in bloom.
President — Scarlet.
TAst of Rhododendrons.
We are also indebted to the same source for the following selection of choicest,
hardy varieties:
Album Elegans — A large, white flower; plant exceedingly well adapted to standards.
* Bertie Parsons — Lilac blush.
* Bicolor — Dark rose color.
* Blandyanura — A very bright cherry ; one of the best.
*Candidissimum — The best pure white.
*Everestianum — Rosy lilac, with crimson petals and yellow eye; very fine.
Giganteum — A rosy crimson with large truss.
* Grandiflorum — A deep rose, inclining to crimson ; is an abundant bloomer, and
one of the most valuable sorts.
* Lee's dark purple — The very best of its color.
*Purpureum elegans — Purple, fine and showy.
*Roseum elegans — Rosy tinted; fine.
The above lists will be found valuable for future reference by all who intend to
plant — as the selection has been carefully pruned down to ten of the very finest of
each class. No one who has planted either Rhododendrons or Azaleas freely, has ever
failed to reap abundant satisfaction.
Pencil Marks "by the Way.
BY OCCIDENTALIS.
A. Western Straivberry Jteport,
I HAVE two cases of strawberry culture here in the west, which I aesire to report.
Probably neither of them present any extraordinary points to experienced fruit
growers, but they are certainly remarkable as showing the difference between difi"er-
ent modes of cultivation. The first case proves that a little care and skill, properly
applied, will produce favorable results ; the latter demonstrates that more care and
skill will pay in a proportionate degree. They both came under my own observation,
and I am familiar with the mode of culture in each case.
298 Pencil Marks by the iray.
Neiglibor A. had a tract of one hundred and twenty square rods of ground — ^just
three-fourths of an acre. The soil is a light hazel loam, overlying a limestone clay,
and with a small admixture of sand. It had been cleared and cultivated about two
years. This was planted, in the spring of 1870, with Wilson's Albany plants, at dis-
tances of about eighteen inches in rows of three and a half feet apart. The culture
consisted of one or two dressings with the hoe and as many plowings during the sum-
mer, and no mulching or other protection during the winter. The first portion of
the summer was extremely dry, hence they made no runners till late in the season ;
but the rains of July and August started them vigorously, and the tract became
nearly covered with fine healthy plants. In the spring no other attention was given
them than a slight hoeing and a pulling of the weeds.
From this tract he picked and marketed fifty-six bushels, and consumed at homo
about four bushels— in all 1,920 quarts. This is at the rate of eighty bushels per
acre.
The fruit was sent to market (unassorted) in the Beecher quart baskets, and sold
at prices ranging from twenty-five cents down to eight cents per quart — averaging a
little less than ten cents. The picking cost two cents per quart.
Neighbor W. had a small tract of five square rods — ^just one thirty-second part of
an acre. From this he picked 1hree hu7idred and fifty quarts — or seventy quarts to
a rod — footing up to the respectable sum of three hundred and fifty bushels to an
acre of ground. Whether the same ratio could be maintained for a larger tract, is a
question. Yet it would seem that what can be done on one rod or on five rods of
ground, could be done on ten or a hundred, provided the same care and culture is
given.
The culture given by Mr. W. was difi'erent from that given by Mr. A., in that it
was much more thorough during the first season after planting, and that the plants
were well mulched with forest leaves in the fall. The culture had given them a good
supply of roots, and brought into being the germs of numerous fruit stalks ; the
mulch of leaves being just what was requisite to maintain them in the best condition.
It is hard to conceive that difi'erent degrees of culture would produce such different
results ; yet so it is — as the soil in the one case was very similar to that of the other.
One other fact should be named — the groiuid of Mr. W. had been sub-soiled, that
of Mr. A. had not. The first case shows quite a satisfactoi'y result, especially for
this section, where fruit culture has not been reduced to a science.
If, however, it can be shown that an expenditure of twenty or twenty-five dollars in
labor and mulching material, for each acre, can produce so much diff'erence in the
result and the consequent profit, it certainly is a weighty argument in favor of that
expenditure.
A word on mulching material : Forest leaves are undoubtedly the best ; probably
cornstalks are the next best. Straw, of wheat, rye or oats is first-rate simply as a
mulch, but is objectionable on account of the weed and grass seeds it contains.
Bagasse, from the cane mills, is liable to smother the plants.
Banks of the 3iississippi, June, 1871.
A.mongr t?ie I^lowet's, or Gardening /'or Z,adles. 299
Among the Flowers ; or, Gardening for Ladies.
BY ANNE G. HALE.
Dried and J'reserved IFloivers.
rrHE perishability of flowers is a great hindrance to their more general use as
-^ articles of personal adornment, or for home decorations. Many times are miser-
able counterfeits of silk, cambric and paper substituted for the real presentment,
because even the most hardy soon wither when subjected to much handling, or to a
close atmosphere. And then flowers cost so much — every blossom represents a
great deal of time and money, even if we raise them ourselves — that few persons
can afford the indulgence very often of such short-lived ornaments. If, like pictures,
they held up their bright faces week after week, and month after month, with no
diminution of their attractions, the expense would not deserve a moment's thought.
But, when beside this, we incur the sadness of witnessing their rapid decay, we are
apt to reflect a good while before putting them to such use.
Flowers, we all know, do not sequester their charms for the sole benefit of the
individual who possesses them, even during their brief existence, so when on extra-
ordinary occasions, by dint of economy in other matters, we do gratify our com-
panions as well as self by surroundings of floral beauty, we would fain retain a
souve7iir of the event, as many a heap of shrivelled and brown petals, just ready to
drop to dust, that once were fresh and fair, hoarded carefully among valued relics,
can attest. Again, when love and friendship find most fitting expression through
the voiceless lips of flowers, how reluctantly they are yielded to decay — how much
is done to lengthen to the utmost their fleeting lives ; and when all traces of life
have left them, how, like so many mummies, they lie in their lonely sarcophagus —
the time-stained and tattered letters that accompanied them. And when the myrtles
and white lilies of death that have lain in the ice-cold hand now mouldering under
the daisies, made sacred by that touch, have been reverently rescued from the grave
for a few brief days, how jealously are they guarded from hai-m, with what affec-
tionate solicitude — almost as if they were the embodiment of the departed —
expedients are resorted to for setting far-off their final relinquishment to the fate of
all earthly things !
But this iron law, that, governing mortality, has laid its rigorous hand so heavily
on the floral world, may, in a measure, be set at defiance ; just in the prime of their
loveliness, bud and blossom, leaf and tendril can be so changed in tissue, and yet
retain their original appearance and individuality, as to be in a certain sense inca-
pable of decay.
Flowers prepared in this way are in great request for floral decorations of all soi'ts
in England, and the fashion is already on the rise in this country. Florists have
collections of dried and preserved flowers on sale, or, if a customer prefers to furnish
the flowers, will get them done to their order by some person in their employ. But
high prices are charged for this work, twenty-five dollars and upwards are often paid
for preserving a funeral wreath. And yet it is not an expensive nor a diflicult pro-
300
A^tnoiig t?ie I^lowers, or Gardetung for Zadies.
cess. Any lady will find it an agreeable diversion, as fascinating as painting, and
less unhealthy ; while the cost of materials, not counting the price of the flowers, is
trifling.
The first method of preserving flowers is by preparing them to present a flat sur-
face, with their colors undimmed, resembling a painting. This has been a favorite
style of making funeral wreaths and bouquets durable mementoes of bereavement ;
and, until the last few years, the only method practiced in this country. Dried in
this manner, flowers are employed in Europe for many purposes of ornamentation.
Our engraving shows a lady's fan, to be used at the theatre, or in the ball-room ;
when not in hand, to decorate the chimney-piece. The flowers upon this are pre-
served in a flat position, and are fixed with gum tragacanth to the material of the
fan. The best material to arrange dried flowers on is card board. It may be
covered with silver paper, or delicate black or white lace, according to fancy. To
this the flowers are gummed in any design ; this fan simulates a bouquet. Green
leaves, except those of the laurel family, lose some of their brightness, even with
the best management, and, unless resort is made to artificial tinting of their surface,
caunofc be used with preserved flowers. Hence, lycopodium and moss that retain
dmonff the I^ towers, o?' Gardening for Zadies. 301
their brilliancy so long, are the verdure most frequently introduced, as little as pos-
sible being admissible. The design completed should be set in a dark, airy room to
dry for a day or two ; then lace of the same sort that lies beneath the flowers must
be spread over them and gummed at the edges; a neat edging of the same, or a
small silk fringe, being affixed in the same manner, as a finish.
The requisites for drying flowers to present this uniformly flat surface are a quan-
tity of clean white paper, light and soft, with an undressed face (such as cheap
books are made of), two covers of wire cloth (sheets two feet long and one and a
half feet wide, their edges bound with a narrow strip of zinc), two stout leather
straps with buckles, a paper knife, or a small wooden spatula and a camel's hair
pencil.
The flowers must be freshly gathered ; buds and half-blown blossoms are best.
When wide-open flowers are used it must be in the first hours of their expansion. A
thick bed of smooth layers of the paper must be made, resting upon one of the
covers. For small flowers, half an inch deep of the layers is sufiicient ; for roses,
japonicas, and other large and double flowers and their buds, an inch will be needed ;
this is to absorb the moisture. Upon this bed lay the flowers, without crowding, in
a natural position, using the paper knife and hair pencil to arrange the petals, the
sepals and the stamens and pistils with great care. If possible, none but flowers of
similar size and appearance should occupy these drying sheets at once ; never admit
but one color at a time, else there is danger of dimness or discoloration. When all
are smoothly arranged lay a bed of the same thickness of paper upon them, place the
other cover, and make all tight and firm by means of the straps and their buckles.
Suspend this in the sun and air — out of doors is best; if in a light breeze the dry-
ing is hastened. The smaller flowers will dry in six or eight hours of summer sun-
shine. The larger often require two days. They should not be removed from the
drying sheets till all moisture has left them. Then take them carefully with the
paper knife or spatula to a clean sheet of stiff" white paper, and keep from dust and
moisture till they can be wrought into the intended design. The outline of the
design should be drawn in pencil upon the card-board it is to occupy. Within this,
brush lightly gum tragacanth of the consistence of mucilage. Place the flowers
thereon, and gently touch them here and there with the tip of a dry camel's hair-
brush to aflix them. Put no gum upon the flowers or the leaves, or other verdure
that accompanies them ; the gum must only be applied to the card-board. When
glazed and framed these floral designs make handsome cabinet pictures.
Flowers dried in the fullness and symmetry of natural form, with their colors as
brilliant as when living, are available for all sorts of ornamentation ; for the most
experienced eye can scarcely detect the least diff'erence between them and freshly
gathered blossoms. In all their flowing lines of grace, leaflet and bud curving and
drooping as when attached to the parent stalk, they may be seen in the accompany-
ing engraving, where, with crystallized grasses commingling their lustres, an elegant
coiffure — ladies' head-dress — is represented. It is a very tasteful and becoming
afl"air, designed for evening full dress.
302
A.mong the J^tofcers, or Gardeninff/or Z,adles.
The articles needed for drying flowers in rotundity of
form are, river, lake or sea sand (this is called white sand,
it is sometimes of a bluish grey tint), a wire sieve with a
wooden cover to fit its base, a paper knife and a camel's
hair pencil. The flowers for this method of preservation,
as for flat drying, must be freshly plucked, and without
dew or any other dampness. Everything about this work
mu^t be thoroughly clean. The sand must be rubbed and
rinsed in clean water till the water flowing through it is
as clear as that from a well. Then put it in clean
crockery dishes to dry. It must be perfectly dry and
just blood-warmth when the flowers occupy it.
When the sand is of the right temperature, close the
cover over the base of the sieve, and pour it in till it fills
the whole space beneath the wire cloth. Place the flow-
ers in an upright or natural position by inserting their
stems in the apertures of the wire-cloth till they
rest firmly in this sand below. Do not crowd them,
nor, if sprays or panicles are dried, let the flowers
overlap each other to injure their form. Fold a sheet
of stiff white paper to make a cone-shaped tunnel, and pour the warm sand
throueh this around and under and within the flowers. The cone should be folded
to give the smallest possible stream of sand, and it must be poured with great
care and gentleness, especially within and among the heliotrope florets, and the
heaths and other small flowers. It is a slow and careful operation. Within the
bells of mahernia, among the spireas, deutzias, acacias, verbenas, lantanas, bouvar-
dias, and the like, special attention must be given to cause the sand in falling to fill
all vacancies and to support every portion of the flower correctly. The sepals and
corolla of fuchsias require nice management, or, rather, patience enough to allow
time to pour the sand properly. Roses and japonicas also must have a particular
pains given to preserving the curves of their petals ; sometimes the edge of the
paper knife or the tip of the hair pencil is needed to hold or raise them while the
sand is poured under and upon them to efi'ect this. After filling in and under and
around the flowers, sand must be sifted over them, warm, to the depth of half an
inch. Then set the sieve where it will keep the temperature of 70*^ steadily, till the
flowers are dry. The smallest flowers will dry in six hours ; but the large, fall sorts,
with thick petals, require ten, twelve or more to get thoroughly dried. For this
reason those of about the same texture and size should occupy the sieve at one
time. When it is reasonable to suppose that the flowers are dry, take the cover from
the base of the sieve, and the sand will fall through the wires, leaving them as per-
fect in form as those in the bouquet here pictured, their colors as fair and bright as
when placed in the sieve, yet dry and rigid. Leaves should be dried entirely by
themselves, the thin and delicate sorts alone, because they are soon siccated; and the
Anion ff t?ie I^ lowers, of Ga7'd€nhifffor Ladies,
303
thicker ones also require to be treated separate from others. The foliage of the
myrtles and laurels give the best satisfaction; the more flexible and succulent species
lose some color and often need to be superseded by moss or Ijcopodium.
When both flowers and leaves are dry they may be clustered and tied like fresh,
ones in garlands, crosses, bouquets or any other device ; and as they need no mois-
ture to keep them in fair and life-like appearance, are very desirable as grave deco-
rations. In our illustration grasses are lending their airy grace to the group. A fall
of lace paper to finish the setting gives elegance to this form of bouquet, which
would serve admirably for a mantel vase, as well as for the hand, and could be made
a handsome ornament for suspension. Baskets of flowers dried in this manner are
very efi"ective hanging in an
arched doorway or window ; and
nothing more beautiful can be
designed for the dinner-table
than an epergne filled with an
assortment of these flowers taste-
fully arranged ; while as wall-
decorations, bouquets or wreaths
composed of a handsome variety,
well contrasted, gummed to card-
board and then glazed and
framed, lend a summer-like as-
pect to any apartment, and are
a perpetual delight.
Preserved flowers, properly
speaking, are these dried flow-
ers coated with wax, stearine,
or paraffine. They closely resemble wax-work, but are less expensive. Of course
the talent that is required for success in making wax-flowers is not needed for this
work ; only a certain tact and skill, gained almost wholly by experience, in manipu-
lating the flowers, and in using the coating material.
Y/hen flowers are to be preserved they must first be dried in warm sand as directed
above. Then melt white wax, stearine or paraflane — paraffine is preferable — to a
fluid state, in a clean bowl, which rests in boiling water. Keep the water hot over a
spirit-lamp, gas-jet or the stove, and then the fluid will be in right condition. Have
the flowers conveniently near, in a flat dish, on which they can lie while the calyx
and under part of their corolla is coated ; apply the melted paraffine with a camel's
hair pencil, with light, careful touches and strokes. When these portions are nicely-
covered — just as little as possible of the coating must be used, yet all must be
covered — take the flower by its stem in your left hand, and with the pencil drop the
liquid paraffine in and about the various divisions, letting it flow as it will, but not
enough to obliterate the finer parts ; and then with quick, gentle touches finish the
remainder of the flower. Proceed in the same way with the buds and the leaves
304
cimoiiff t7ie I^loH>ers, or Gardening for J^adies.
When the color of the leaves is unsatisfactory, some persons color a little paraffine
with paris green, and coat them with that. There is danger of making flowers and
leaves too clumsy if the paraffine is not in a fluid state. Be sure to guard against
this; and take care not to dim or hide the colors by too liberal applications of the
fluid ; there is less danger of this with paraffine, than with wax. because it is of a
more transparent nature.
Our engraving represents a group of these flowers arranged as a table decoration,
with a fall of lace or of lace paper to droop over the edge of the epergne. They are
very handsome for this purpose. Harps, crosses, wreaths or bouquets, composed of
these preserved flowers, are very beautiful, but they need shielding or screening from
the dust as much as wax flowers do. It is best to enclose them within a frame with
glass front. Even with blossoms eternalized in this way lycopodium and moss must
be used to fill vacancies between and among the flowers and buds.
Although when nicely done, these preserved flowers are elegant, and can withstand
the influence of moisture, drought, cold, andj a good degree of heat, yet those who
prefer nature in her simplicity, will choose only the process of drying (the second
method) for eternalizing their floral treasures ; which, if not perpetuating their charms
for a lifetime, as the last method docs, yet renders them permanent for several years,
Jf^mit at the West, 305
and with careful shielding from changes of the atmosphere, by enclosure in an air-
tight frame under glass, they may display their beauty for a still longer period ; so
that mother's bridal wreath may challenge comparison with Mary's, and Tom's
button-hole bouquet may be stolen from his grand-mother's Mayday garland.
Fruit at the West.
WE have had a very fruitful season. Although the apple crop has not been a large
one, it has been more than an average, and the fruit unusually fair and free
from worms. This is the reverse from what we might have expected, last year and
this being unusually warm and dry seasons, we might have expected such seasons pro-
ductive of insects. I have pastured my orchards with hogs, but my neighbors'
orchards not pastured, are also comparatively free from the codling moth. It is
observed by most of us, that whilst we have a full crop of most of our summer varie-
ties, many of our winter varieties are quite short.
I am of opinion that we Western men have been too fraid of high cultivation of
our orchards. It is evident that our fruit trees do best on our thin oak soil, and if
the rest of our trees could talk they would tell us why. Let us get down to the root
of the tree and see what is the matter. This will be a subject of further investiga-
tion by me, and my conclusions will be only suggestive and not of binding force on
the rest of the world. Suffice it to say here, that the roots, not only the " spongi-
oles," but all the rest of our fruit trees must have a certain degree of compactness,
porousness and freeness, touching every part of the bark of the roots, and giving
moisture to every part of the roots as well as the " spongioles."
Of pears, I never saw a more beautiful crop, nor finer fruit, and so early that our
Bartletts are nearly gone the sixth of September, and our White Doyennes and
Seckels ripe. My neighbor, Gen. J. Gr. Gordon, was bragging about his large Bart-
letts weighing 8, 12, and one up to 15§ ounces ; I went home and took down from
the shelf a Flemish Beauty, in a decaying state, and some of the juice lost, and it
weighed 15^ ounces. This weighed fully a pound when perfect.
The market price of pears in the city of Muscatine, is $3 per bushel for best ; $2
for common ; apples 30 to 50 cents ; grapes 3 to 4 cents per pound.
Crrapes. — We are surfeited with grapes ; the air is actually perfumed with their
fragrance as we pass along the roads ; Concords mostly, though we have some other
varieties doing quite well. The Northern Muscatine appeared in our market quite
plenty, and sold readily a little higher than Concords, for its sweetness, which out-
does its fineness a little. Some of the Rogers are doing well ; No. 15, No. 4 and
Salem, I am well pleased with. No. 1 is now ripening the best of all, and its usual
season was as early as September 10, but in this climate it is usually too late. The
Ives is very promising for an early grape, seven to ten days earlier than Concords. I
have fruited the Martha this year, and am well pleased with it.
SuEL Foster.
Muscatine, Iowa.
20
306 Sbi'ticuUure on t?ie S>elaH'are ^eninstda.
Horticultiire on the Delaware Peninsula.
IN the middle of August, a small company of eastern horticulturists spent a week
very pleasantly in a visit to some of the fruit farms of the Delaware Peninsula —
among them were Charles Downing, Geo. Thurber, P. T. Quinn, William Parry,
Randolph Peters, and Howard M. Jenkins of the Delaware Tribune.
The first fruit farm visited was that of Randolph Peters ; three miles from Wil-
mington is his residence and also his nursery, but bis orchard is located at Newark,
about fourteen miles to the west. Here upon the slope of a hill is a pear orchard of
ten thousand trees, the soil is stony, yet well drained, and position elevated over-
looking the county southward and eastward. The pear trees were planted nine years
ago, about half standai'ds and half dwarfs, the standards twenty feet apart, and a row
of dwarfs every ten feet. The spaces between the trees have been cropped with corn
regulaidy every year since the orchard was planted, and well manured with rotted
barnyard manure. Thirty or forty varieties are grown, but the most successful
varieties were Buffum, Seckel, Bartlett, Duchesse and Lawrence. The trees have
done admirably, and with such apparently negligent treatment (yet Mr. Peters says
it is the best to prevent blight), they have out-borne themselves with heavy crops of
fruit yearly. The crop of Bartletts would average, tree after tree, twelve ounces to
each pear, and in the opinion of Mr. Quinn, who had seen the same varieties in Cali-
fornia, nothing there would equal these Delaware Bartletts in size and beauty. The
Lawrence pear, both in growth of tree and size of fruit was thought to be unusually
successful, trees of six years' age fully showing as vigorous a condition and as large
a size as those trees of twelve years' age nearer New York.
Fear Orchard on the Grass System,
On the grounds of the Agricultural College Farm at Newark, is an experimental
farm and fruit garden under the direction of Prof. E. D. Porter. Here is a pear
orchard of one thousand trees, planted ten years ago. The ground was very
thoroughly prepared and trees rightly planted. Since that time they have been cul-
tivated entirely and literally in correspondence with the system of " grass cultiva-
tion,^'' advocated in The Gardener'' s Monthly.
The entire orchard was permitted to run into grass. It was cut several times
every year, and allowed to rot on the ground. In addition to this, a good supply of
well-rotted barnyard manure was spread over the land as an annual top dressing,
and pains taken to secure a good, vigorous, healthy growth as far as possible.
But notwithstanding all this, the trees have in large measure died. More are
dying, and of those that are left, the fruit is small and inferior. Prof. Porter con-
siders the ^^ grass system^' a failure for any orchard. Ten years of experience
entitles him to speak with authority, and he will plow up the soil this Fall with hope
of saving the balance left alive. There is a fine vineyard in connection with the
farm, and out of a large number of varieties planted, the best are the Concord,
Hartford Prolific and Clinton.
T,arf/e fcaeh farniSt
Near Middletown several large peach farms were visited. The farm of the late
Cantwell Clark contains one thousand acres, two hundred and eighty of which are
horticulture on the Delaware Peninsula. 307
devoted to peach orchards, and the balance to corn, wheat and grass, all managed
entirely by a young lady only twenty-one years of age.
The farm of J. T. Ellison contains a peach orchard of one hundred acres, trees
varying from two to eighteen years of age. Mr. B. T. Biggs, U. S. representative
to Congress, has orchards containing thirtj'-five thousand trees. These are divided
over four farms. Most of them are rented to tenants who keep the farms in excel-
lent order. While the present low prices of peaches were discouraging most growers,
Mr. Biggs still felt hopeful, for in his opinion, a profit of but fifteen cents per
basket would net the grower as much money per acre as hay or grain farming.
The farm of J. B. Fenniraore, which for years has been one of the largest and
most successful and most profitable in the State, was this year only bringing him a
profit of but fifteen cents per basket for his fruit, and most of it was his choicest.
The orchards near Middletown are in fine condition, the land being heavier and
trees more productive than at points further south, but not as finely colored, nor as
early as at Dover. The peaches are picked from the tree by laborers from Phila-
delphia and Baltimore. Their wages are $1 to $1.25 per day, and board. Good
pickers will average from forty to fifty baskets per day. Some prefer to pick by the
basket, and receive five cents per basket, and make $2 per day, others $3.
The farm of Samuel Townsend, near Smyrna, contains four hundred acres, and he
ships usually three cars of fruit per day.
Near Smyrna are the farms of four brothers, Greorge Cummings and three others,
who have been most successful in the management of their fruit, and have accumu-
lated large fortunes.
On the farm of Robert Cummings is a fine apple orchard, the leading variety of
all, " English Bed Streak," having an unusual quantity of fruit upon it. This apple
is one of the most popular in the State. Mr. Peters thinks the very early varieties
profitable, such as the Golden Sweet, Early Harvest, and Red Astrachan. These
four brothers have together one thousand acres, and one hundred thousand peach
trees. As an instance of the fluctuation of prices, one of the brothers (as stated by
Mr. Quinn) shipped fourteen hundred baskets one day to market, and when the
account of sale was returned to him, found only a net profit of three cents per basket.
Owing to the low prices, thousands of bushels were not picked and left to rot on the
trees in nearly every orchard on the Peninsula. One grower near Mount Pleasant
lost ten thousand baskets of peaches in this way.
At Round Top, Md., is the farm of Jno. Harris, who has one of the largest peach
orchards in the United States — one thousand mid thirteen acres, nearly all in full
bearing. All the crop is canned on the place. The canning factory is located in the
center of the orchard, and fruit brought right to it from the pickers. Five hundred
women and girls are employed during the busy season, assorting and peeling and
packing. They earn $6 to $10 per week. They get fifteen cents per basket for
peeling and quartering the peaches and removing the pits. The daily work is about
four thousand baskets, which make thirty thousand cans, and before the close of the
season, Mr. Harris expects his crop will fill one million cans. The canned peaches
are sold in Baltimore and Philadelphia, bringing at wholesale, $1.25 per dozen cans
308 Mortlculture on the Detayfare Peninsula.
of two pounds each, which is very low, the usual price being §2.75 per dozen. Cans
holding three pounds sell for %\ more per dozen.
Osage Bedi/eg,
Nearly all the farms are surrounded with Osage hedges, and the roads for many
miles are bordered on either side with some specimen hedges of enormous size — all
of them beautiful in extreme, especially in midsummer, when the Scarlet Trumpet
Creeper opens its gorgeously crimson-colored flowers atul runs over the hedge in its
wildest profusion. At Massey's Ci-oss Roads, Md., on the farm of D. J. Blakiston
is an Osage hedge of five miles ; the annual cost of trimming and keeping in order
being but $26. This gentleman has a pear orchard of eight hundred trees, planted
seven years, the fruit from which last year sold for $750 net ; but it was suffering
badly from the frozen sap blight and fire blight. Other orchards in the neighborhood
were suffering so much from the same cause as to discourage all further planting.
TJii; JiUjgest jfench Orchard in the Vnited Stfttes
Is that of Col. Edward Wilkins, who now has thirteen hundred and fifty
acres, with one hundred and thirty-six thousand trees. The peaches from
his orchard, which is located near Chestertown, Md., are packed in crates and sent
to Baltimore by the Col.'s own steamboat, to one canning factory who contracts for
the whole crop. In 1869 they netted him $1.10 per crate ; this year only thirty-five
cents, or 17^ cents per basket. Yet at this price he esteems it more profitable to
grow peaches than to grow corn at the rate of sixty ctnts per bushel for a crop of
sixty bushels per acre. Some of his trees, three years old, yielded him two crates
to the tree. This is unusual, for a basket per tree is a fair average. Each crate
holds two baskets.
A. Profitable PeaCJi Orchard.
A well known peach grower near Chestertown, favored the party with figures of his
gross receipts from a peach orchard of three hundred and twenty-five acres, during a
term of nine years. Trees in this orchard in 1862, were then but four years planted.
1862, gross receipts $12,600 00
1863,
1864,
1865,
1866,
1867,
1868,
1869,
1870,
32,340 00
32,339 00
48,042 98
16,804 00
9,989 00
1,850 GO
30,429 00
22,000 00
In these nine years, value of brandy made . 15,150 00
Total 6231,043 98
More than half of this went fur expense of marketing and gathering, the rest was
profit.
The trees in Delaware orchards are usually planted 20 by 20, giving 108 trees to
Sbrticultut^e on t7ic 2)ela>t^are Peninsula. 309
tlie acre. The third year from planting they begin to bear, and continue fifteen or
twenty, if well cultivated. Once a year they are wormed and branches are thinned
out after each crop. Shortening or pruning the tops is practiced only among a few
first class growers, who believe in it ; and some are trying the plan of growing low
heads, which is not fancied by the majority, yet it forms a self-protection.
Voir OfclmrdS'
Mr. R. S. Emery, near Chester River, Md., has a pear orchard of six thousand
trees. Four rows of Duchesse, six years old, are stated by Mr. Quinn, to be both in
growth of tree, size, uniformity and quantity of fruit, far ahead of anything he had
beheld in the State.
Dr. C. H. V. Massey, near Massey's Cross Roads, has also a pear orchard of
several thousand trees, but the blight was playing sad havoc in almost every orchard,
and pear growers felt dispirited.
Jjist of Peaches Vsually Planted.
Peach growers now usually choose a list like the following, named in the oi'der in
which they ripen : Troths' Early, Large Early York, Crawford's Early, Crawford's
Late, Reeves' Favorite, Ward's Late Free, Oldmixon Free, and Beers' Smock. The
finest of all the peaches are the Crawfords and Oldmixon, the last perhaps the
choicest in flavor. The Susquehanna is the largest grown, but not productive, single
peaches often measuring nine to ten inches in circumference.
The Hale's Early is now very unpopular among the growers, on account of its
tendency to rot on the trees before ripening, and is too tender for shipping. Mr.
Quinn, to whom we are indebted for notes of this excursion, states that fully one
million more trees will be in bearing next year over those of this year, and low prices
may be expected to continue for several years to come, and the lot of the peach
growers both very hard and unprofitable. The net prices of peaches this year range
only from ten to twenty-five cents per basket. All the excursionists unite in
expressions of delight at the beauty of the country visited. The farms are large,
and as the land is level, or slightly rolling and uneven, oi'chards reach on every side,
and the country has one uniform handsome appearance.
The system of hedges of the Peninsula naturally adds to the beauty of the farm,
and excites the admiration of the visitor. During the ride of one hundred and forty
miles in their carriages, the excursionists saw more than thirty miles of Osage
hedges, either facing the road or dividing lines for one farm from another, forming at
four years old not only fences of great size, but of utility, for they are completely
impenetrable by cattle or pigs.
Fruit culture in Delaware is on a rnore colossal scale than our Northern readers
have any possible idea of, yet it will be seen that like fruit grown everywhere,
there are discouragements at almost every step. Still, like all occupations, after
good lively competition, fruit growing becomes at last a settled occupation, and
after " fevers" are over, there is a permanency tq the trade, and a healthy increase
in demand year after year.
Editorial Notes.
Full Campaign. JReduetion of Terms. Keep Fushing Tilings.
Our offer of three months for thirty cents, as a trial trip, we again renew for the
last three months of this year. Send in the names by the thousand.
After December 1st, our Subscription terms per year will be reduced to $2, if paid
strictly in advance before February 1st, next.
Our Club Terms are also reduced, and are now so favorable that anyone can get
up a club easily, anywhere. See new Club List, in advertising pages.
Wntering Ketvlg Set Trees.
Care should be taken not to water too much A fruit grower once to our knowl-
edge, when planting a row of trees, used water too freely — by the buckets full.
During the night the temperature changed, the thermometer fell to below freezing
point, and the wet ground was entirely frozen, injuring the trees and roots as much
as if they had been severely scalded. Trees should never be water-soaked, and
until the leaves begin to form, they never need much water. The Country Genth'
man in discussing this point, says judiciously:
" When covered with foliage, a tree pumps water out of the soil and dissipates it
in the air at least twenty times faster than bare branches. Some young trees, and
especially pear trees, often remain fresh and alive for several weeks, without opening
leaves ; and in such a case, or when the stem is slightly shriveled, nothing is better
than to tie a little long straw around it, and wet this straw daily. The moisture is
absorbed precisely where it is wanted, at the bark ; and young trees that appeared
hopeless in condition have thus been restored to vigorous growth in a few weeks. As
a general rule, never water the roots of young trees, but depend upon maintaining
the moisture of soil by a clean mellow surface; and if necessary at midsummer by
mulching. Watering gives at best an intermitting supply, hardens or crusts the
surface, and commonly does more harm than good."
Grafting Soft-wooded Jiedding J'lants.
Quite a number of desirable curiosities were shown us lately in the form of grafted
Coleus. On one upright plant of the Coleus there were grafted three other
varieties: the Setting Sun, Her Majesty, and Verschfeffeltii, forming a curious yet
splendid constellation of colors and variegated leaves. One other plant was mentioned
to us as having eighteen grafts of all possible varieties on one stalk ; but we did not
see it — the other we did see. The Achyra^thus Gilsoni has been grafted in the
way upon the Lindeni, and formed another queer compound of colors ; odd, yet
pretty. Various geraniums have been so grafted, and the combination of colors was
admirable. This system of grafting flowering stems of fancy colors from one gera-
JEdltorktl JVotcs. 311
nium on to another, or of anyColeus, Achyranthus, etc., will not fail to bo popular,
and lead to many striking displays.
What could be more odd, yet beautiful, to see on the exhibition stand a geranium
with flowers, here and there, of the Gren. (irant, Warrior, Madame Lemoine and half
a dozen others for contrast, and then leaves of the Mountain of Snow, or Mrs. Pol-
lock intermingled here and there ?
It can he done; we have seen it successfully, and the credit is due to Grraves,
Selover, Willard & Co., Greneva, N. Y., for the first display in our knowledge of
plants thus treated, which was done at the fair of Saratoga Springs, Sept. 7, last.
Fall Sefthiff of Small Fittits.
The only small fruits we can recommend for fall planting are blackberries and
black cap raspberries.
Plow double furrows six feet apart, drop the roots or tips every three or four feet
apart, and apply to each hill a good shovelful of manure. No fruit can be expected
the next year worthy to be called a crop ; even the second year it will be but one-half
or two-thirds of a full crop. In the third year the bed will be in prime order for
heavy successive crops. If the soil is in a cold climate, it would be well to mulch
the plant each winter, and in summer, if dry, do the same when fruit is ripening.
Jtesults of Straivberi'!/ Cttlturc by Rows or Sills.
There are advocates of success of strawberry culture under three systems :
1. To get but one or two crops from the ground, allowing the vines to run broad-
cast, and then plow the bed under, starting a new bed each year. It is claimed that
it is cheaper to do this, than expend too much labor in keeping to the hill or row
system.
2. The row system, by which the plants are permitted to run in the row, while the
ground between is kept constantly cultivated by horse power and kept free from
weeds ; the rows grow a little larger each year, and the tliird year the old rows are
plowed in, and new rows are set out in the vacant soil between the old rows, hitherto
kept cultivated.
3. Entirely in hills : this is garden culture properly, and requires the very best
attention — manuring, mulching, and careful preparation of the ground. It is more
costly, but pays better; still a cultivator can not care for as much ground as on
either of the other two systems.
No association of fruit growers have agreed on any practice as definitely the best,
although the majority of best cultivators uniformly advise the hill system. It is the
one we practice, and which is the best conducive to the long life, health and produc-
tiveness of the strawberry beds. It is more easy to try the other two, yet when once
a cultivator has spent $200 or $300 in preparation of his bed, he wishes to feel it is
permanent for some length of time, and few care to repeat the same process every
year or two on the same ground. It makes strawberry growing almost too costly in
the end. We think strawberry beds should be made as permanent as possible, and
give as little charge or occasion for expense in renewal as possible ; still the habits
of growth require some renewal every few years.
We observe a strawberry grower, in the Small Fruit Recorder, has reported the
results of experiments in the hill system and matted row system : 1,500 plants of the
Wilson's Albany were kept in hills, the runners pulled ofi" every time they appeared ;
the other 1,500 were cultivated on the '■"matted row'''' system, thoroughly hoed and
cultivated. In the middle of November, both beds were mulched ; half of them
were mulched with straw, one-quarter with coarse stable manure, and one-quarter
were not mulched at all. The results are as follows : Those kept in hills and
mulched with straw, were decidedly the largest and finest berries ; those kept in
rows and mulched with straw were also very fine ; those in beds and mulched with
312 JSditorial JVotes.
manure, did not yield more than half as many berries, and of an inferior quality, as
those mulched with straw ; and those that were not mulched at all, were hardly
worth picking.
Although those kept in hills yielded the best berries, which might be called extra,
yet as the difference of price was not enough extra, it was found that more money
was realized from the rows midched with straw, while those kept in hills cost enough
less for labor and cultivation to more than counterbalance the difference ; so that
the verdict of profit proved to be in favor of the hill system as yielding better fruit
at less cost.
Those kept in hills did not begin to ripen until two or three days after the other,
and lasted continuously for a long time, while those grown in rows and mulched the
same, were all dried up.
Cfituivissa Raspberri/.
The best cultivators are now unanimously recommending to cut all plants of this
variety in the spring down to about two feet, and apply plenty of manure. Thus
treated, they will continue productive for any number of years — a splendid family
variety.
Grimes Golden.
An Ohio cultivator has about one hundred varieties of apples, all the best kind,
yet Grimes Golden is at the head of the list for hardiness, fairness of fruit, uniform
bearing and superior quality. The orchard has been twenty-one years planted, and
for sixteen years the Grimes has not failed to give an annual crop of good size fruit.
Soil for the flemish lienuti/.
The Westertt Pomologist says that for the West it is peculiarly fitted to a lightish
soil, for the finest fruit grown in Iowa and Kansas has been grown on a light sandy
loam.
Clnpp's Favorite.
Our opinion of this pear is two-sided. As a tree it is superb — cannot possibly ask
for anything more vigorous or perfect in form. As a market fruit we dislike it. It
ripens and rots too quickly. The ordinary cultivator, who waits for the fruit to
ripen on the tree, will find it begins to rot before it is a day plucked, and, if gathered
before ripe, it will rot almost as soon as it is fit to eat.
Doolittle Jient Yft.
The Western Pomologist says the Doolittle is still ahead in the West, the best
variety yet for general cultivation ; the Mammoth Cluster and Miami in comparison
with it being still in the back ground.
Purple Cane is the highest flavored berry, but too small and tender for market.
Cnliforiiia fruit for the fast.
The amount of California fruit shipped East last year to Utah, Colorado, Chicago,
etc., was 2,000 tons.
The JBifff/est Fruit Trees in the XInited States.
The inhabitants of San Buena\'enture, California, claim to have the largest pear,
palm, English walnut and olive trees in the United States.
In the old Mission orchard are three date palms seven to nine feet in circumfer-
ence, and from forty to fifty feet high. Pear trees eight feet in circumference, and
olives seven. Three English walnuts, the largest six feet in circumference, about
thirty feet in height, and a spread of top of sixty feet.
The Big Grape was measured by Dr. Logan, who states in the Rural Press, he
found it to be four feet three inches in circumference, four and a half feet from the
ground at the point of beginning of the first branch. This vine, still healthy and
JS^dltorlal JVbtes. 313
vigorous, was planted from a cutting some forty odd years ago, and its branches now
spread over a trellis seventy-six feet long and sixty-one feet wide, which they com-
pletely cover. It produces from 12,000 to 15,000 pounds of fruit annually, some of
the clusters weighing five pounds.
All l€titeri>risiiiff Nursery Ji'irni.
The White Springs farm, formerly belonging to James O. Sheldon, and located
near Geneva, has been purchased by the nursery firm of Nicholas & Newson. It
contains 300 acres of the most fertile laud, suitable for nursery purposes, and is
worth not far from $90,000.
This enterprising firm are still young in the business, having commenced but five
years ago. They already have 150 acres of nursery land, and in past years have
been quite successful in their sales. Some idea of their trade is gained when it is
mentioned that this summer they have budded 300,000 apple and 200,000 pear trees,
with other stocks in same proportion.
Too Early.
"Now and then,'''' writes the Rural New Yorker, that •' it is becoming pretty well
known that certain fruits can be sent to market sooner than wanted at profitable
prices to growers. The area devoted to fruit is now so large that fruit from one
section often arrives before it is wanted, and varieties are so interwoven and mixed
up, that we have too many at one time in our markets to make any of them profit-
able."
Cutting off Strawberry Xcai'e*.
Still another champion appears in behalf of removing the old leaves of strawberry
vines. A subscriber lately asked the Rural New Yorker if it was safe to cut off
these leaves, and in general soliciting the opinion of the readers as to defoliating
strawberry plants. To which another subscriber, M. 0. Bowen replies :
I keep from one-eighth to one-fourth of an acre in strawberries. My patch is
universally admired by every one that sees it. I have heard but one expression in
regard to it and that is they never saw better and they never saw as good. In the
first place it is all important that we have the right kind of soil in order to grow a
good crop. Mine is a clay loam, and I think for vigorous plants, productiveness and
flavor of fruit this is the best.
I set my plants twenty -four by thirty-four inches apart and keep them in hills.
After the fruit is all gathered I take a sharp sickle and cut off all the runners and
the old foliage and stems, being careful not to disturb the crown or new leaves that
have started. Then I go through them with a hoe, clean out all the weeds, at the
same time pulling out all weeds and grass that may be in the hills. I leave all the
foliage on the ground.
My advice to Mr. Calkins is never to spade or fork the ground among strawberries,
for in doing so he will disturb the roots and shorten the life of the plants. It mat-
ters not how compact the ground, if they are kept clear of weeds and grass. The
above treatment has enabled me to pick this season from less than one-quarter of an
acre forty bushels of berries, notwithstanding the frost killed very many of the first
blossoms. Varieties raised are Wilson's Albany and Jucunda.
Jtaisitis from California Grapes.
F. Gr. Jeffers, of Visalia, California, has experimented with raisin making from
the foreign grapes of California.
" I gathered and spread on scaffolds in the sun, about the middle of September ;
after they are partly dry, I put loosely in large boxes under cover to finish drying ;
in about six weeks they were dry enough to box.
The Rose of Feru averaged this year about forty pounds to the vine ; it took three
pounds of green grapes to make one of dry. The Fi her Zagos averaged twenty-five
1 4 Ediforlat JVotes.
pounds to the vine, and it also took three pounds of green to make one of dry. The
Muscat, of Alexandria, averaged ten pounds to the viae, and took only two pounds
to make one of dry.
Vhe Mtirthn Grape,
Boxes of this new white grape have been received in New York, and sold in our
Broadway fruit stores. Mr. Knox's label appears on most of the finer boxes, usually
of the three-pound size. The color of the grape is fine, as white as the Rebecca,
berries about the same size, and make a fine appearance, but flavor is very sweet and
musky, more so than the Concord or Hartford Prolific. The Martha is a fair pro-
ducer, but we look for something still better in quality.
Tlie Mount Vernon l^ear.
This is one of the most vigorous growing varieties we have ever seen. Grafts
inserted last spring, have made an extraoi-dinary growth. We have great hopes that
it will prove what we have long wanted, our best winter pear. Will any one favor
us with opinions of quality, color, ripening and productiveness?
I'ears for Dehitvnre and the South.
The Tribune coincides with our previously expressed opinion, that it is not advis-
able to plant those varieties of pears which ripen with peaches. Late varieties will
be far more profitable. The Beurre D'Anjou and Lawrence are recommended in
preference to the Bartlett, also the Beurre Bosc, which is not as much grown as its
merits deserve. " In growth and bearing it is quite similar to the Beurre D'Anjou.
The tree requires age before producing much fruit, but when it does begin it will
grow better each year." We need more good late varieties.
frunina or Not.
There are examples in abundance to support the efficiency of systematic pruning,
and again there are frequent instances to support those disciples of nature who
believe a tree is better if left to itself, and not pruned at all, except to remove
injured or diseased branches. Such differences of experience render it impossible
to lay down any fixed law in horticulture as to pruning. We have an example in
point: Dr. J. Stayman, of Kansas, has an orchard conducted on the natural system,
which is left by nature to its own tendencies, and untouched by the pruning knife.
He says, "after more than forty years of careful observation in pruning for various
purposes, suggested by different authors, the last ten being devoted to a practical
test and comparison of the relative value of pruning, 1 have become fully convinced
that pruning is in no instance of any benefit, but in most cases an absolute and
irreparable injury. Instead of pruning for form, vigor, health and transplanting,
they shall only be pruned as a remedial agent in disease, in overcoming injuries and
removing unnatural obstructions and deformities."
The Doctor does not believe that a tree should be pruned either in the nursery or
orchard, or at the time of setting out and transplanting, nor at any subsequent time.
The Doctor takes a radical position opposed to all the usual practices of horticul-
ture, and, like the ''grass theory of cultioatio?i,'^ is a pill not to be heartily swal-
lowed by the rest of the fraternity.
The Doctor's orchard is grown in grass, and is not pruned ; the trees grow in all
possible direction, unshaped and uncontrolled, and j-et are loaded with fruit year
after year — the orchard is a great success.
Yet wc advise no one heartily to do as he does. His soil is favorable for fruit
culture ; the climate is a great aid. Trees that are pruned are doing just as well as
his.
In another soil and another climate, not as favorable for fruit as his (Kansas), we
feel confident his system would be productive of total failure. In Delaware we have
;Been orchards unpruned that never were successful. We have in mind now a row of
JSditorial JVotes. 315
pear trees whicb have never been touched since they were put out, ten years ago,
yet have never borne a particle of fruit, while other trees of the same variety (Bart-
lett) pruned judiciously, have yielded regularly.
The finest pear orchard near New York, which yielded $10,000 last y ar, is a
monument in honor of judicious pruning. Mr. William Saunders, of Washington,
who formerly believed as Dr. Stayman did, that fruit trees should go unpruned,
has now, we believe, changed his opinion and practice, and considers pruning, more
or little as the case may need, one of the necessities of fruit culture.
Remember we have no sympathy for indiscriminate pruners, who cut at random,
or by the wholesale, in every part of the tree. A good pruner will take as much
care and time in selecting the right branch, and how much of it to trim off, as a cook
would do in fashioning the outside proportions of a handsome cake.
In some portions of the West, where growth is too rank, the grass theory can for
a time be brought into requisition with good results. We do not say but that it may
occasionally be useful, and so in some soils which have just the right food for the
tree, so it will grow without much urging, and produce good crops naturally, the
orchard may very properly go -without pruning for a long series of years. On a lime-
stone soil nearly all kinds of fruit will do well even if neglected.
But for the largest expanse of territory, and among the largest class of cultivators
there arc only two orthodox systems :
1st. Prune your trees regularly in summer to develop the fruit spurs, and in
winter for wood.
2nd. Cultivate your orchard, but allow no other crops therein, and mulch occasion-
ally. Other practices than these, or other advice, must have an unwholesome effect.
Doivning'a Selected Frtiita of America.
This is a condensation from the larger work of Mr. Downing's, which is of too
large a size and high price for most persons of moderate means.
The new volume has about half the number of pages of the other, and contains
descriptions of 200 varieties of our most popular kinds of apples, and other fruits in
same proportion. To the general cultivator it is as good for reference as the other.
The pi'ice is $2 50. We are glad to see that the price of the large volume has been
reduced from §8 to 05. At this price it is the cheapest book published.
Uerstine and Saunders Jtaspherries.
The reports of the committees of last year and this year are before the public ;
but committees are expected generally beforehand, owing to the courtesies they
receive, to give a good word for their patrons. The best way to judge a fruit is to
go alone, and be under no obligations. If our opinion is desired, we would frankly
admit, from the little we have seen, that the Herstine is a good variety, and equal
to what has been modestly (not extravagantly) claimed for it — a good productive,
large, red r£^spberry, growing well on light or heavy soils. The Saunders is iwt, in
our opinion, equal to the necessary test for market purposes ; is somewhat of the
same character as the Brinckles Orange ; choice, but not over vigorous or produc-
tive— a good amateur variety.
Fall Planting of Fniit Trees.
A point now well settled is, we think, an admirable one for both cultivators and
the trade, i. e., the fall is the best time for tree planting. If for no other considera-
tion than that of plenty of time fqjr careful handling, we would esteem it a point
well worth gaining. The spring often opens in a hurry, the nurseryman is often
caught, and cannot hurry trees off fast enough ; and some one is always behindhand
with his order till the last moment, and then growls because his trees are started and
putting forth leaves before he gets his order filled. Order early in the fall and plant
when you have an abundance of time.
316 horticultural JVutes.
HorticTiltural Notes.
The I'rofita of I'eachcS'
To show what peaches have paid in past years, we quote the following figures from
the note book of Mr. E. C. Fennimore, of Delaware. Mr. Fennimore has been one
of the oldest and most successful growers of the State, and for many years he was
unusually successful with his trees and crops when others failed ; but this year, with
many others, he has seen the time when they were grown and shipped in too large
quantities, and actually sold at a loss. He sold —
In 1861 191 baskets bringing $206 24
"1862 1,893 " 868 35
" 1863 18,423 " 15,051 81
" 1864 25,964 " 18,434 89
♦'1865 22,124 " 23,070 25
"1866 13,675 " 20,266 07
"1867 27,500 " 18,55140
" 1868 4,250 " 15,281 68
"1869 34,000 " 14,464 27
" 1870 16,029 " 15,607 76
164,050 baskets. $150,811 80
Should tee let Suckers Itemuin or Not on Fruit Trees.
We have always held the opposite opinion, and, with knife in hand, have whipped
them off from every tree we could possibly reach ; but recently a Delaware pear-
gi'ower called attention to a fact in his experience which gave a new idea. He says
he permits all his suckers to remain down to the end of the growing season, because,
they make the trurik inore stocky, and hence with young trees, less likely to be bent or
blown about with the wind. It is a question to be discussed whether the loss of
nourishment to the upper branches of the tree, by the maintenance of the miserable
little sucker below is counterbalanced by the extra stockiness of the trunk. We
thiuk not. The tree needs all the opportunity for life and nourishment it can get.
Suckers are like parasites, useless subsistants on the food that belongs to other
branches. We think the only common sense jnode is to permit the tree to carry no
more branches than it can mature well, and remove all superfluous shoots. The best
way to avoid all trouble with suckers is to cut them off as soon as they first appear. *
If delayed, the task of their removal will be greatly increased, and the risk of injury
to the tree become greater.
A cultivator states, in the Country Gentleman, the worst thing that can be done is
cutting the suckers off with a knife in such a way that short stubs are left to sprout
a second time. If the sprouts are small or only one season's growth, they can be
easily and well removed by grasfrtng them one at a time with both hands, and then,
with a stiff cowhide boot, place the foot next the tree and on the sucker, and one or
two quick jerks will separate it to the base. If this is impracticable, take a small
gouge and mallet and cut them off closely. When it is thoroughly done, they will
not be likely to reappear, and the few that appear subsequently are easily got rid of.
A neatly kept, clean orchard is better and more profitable in every way than one
infested with suckers, weeds, grass and bushes."
Canninu FrttH,
If it were not for the fortuitous opening of canning factories, to relieve our farms
and markets of surplus Iruit, we fear fruit culture would be a very unsatisfactory
occupation. One of the largest factories of the Delaware Peninsula is located at
Lebanon, Delaware, the property of Collins, (jreddes & Co. The building is 175 feet
Ippg ^nd 50 feet wide. The establishment contains si:^ bath tubs for processing the
Mortlcultural J\rotes. 317
fruit, fourteen copper kettles for cooking tomatoes and making syrup, scats for 300
hands, there being 400 in all employed. During the present season the firm will put
up over half a million cans of peaches, tomatoes, pears, strawberries and rasp-
berries.
It requires 30,000 boxes to pack the fruit of a single season, and 200 barrels oT
sugar. Two thousand dollars are annually expended for labels, and a thousand dol-
lars per week paid for labor during the canning season.
The canning factory of Richardson & Robbins at Dover, Delaware, is one of the
very first ever erected, and bears at present the reputation of producing the very
choicest quality of fruits, etc. During the fruit season forty to sixty hands are con-
stantly employed, and the greatest care exercised in the selection and preparation of
fruit for the cans. Specimens of their peaches, pears and potted meats we took
with us on the Western editorial trip, which were of unexcelled quality. It is quite
oommon now to find factories in every county in all our large peach growing districts
of the United States; and soon we may expect to see one to every town. Nothing
contributes so materially to the steadiness of the fruit markets as the presence of
canning factories. Where they exist the grower may feel sure of either fair prices
in market, or fair prices at home,
JUTxilclting A.gain^
An Indiana cultivator says : "After an observation of ten years past, I am con-
firmed in the belief that it is poor economy to try to raise strawberries without
mulching. A good mulch is a policy of insurance against dry weather, while in all
seasons, wet or dry, it keeps the fruit clean, as well as prevents the growth of weeds.
On the Weinbergher farm, near Indianapolis, I noticed the strawberries producing
a good paying crop, notwithstanding it was claimed that the frost had materially
lessened the result. The entire crop was heavily mulched, with perhaps the excep-
tion of a small patch, here and there, that was allowed to run in matted rows. The
latter yielded comparatively no fruit, while the former in single hills and well
mulched, would pay (I should judge) good dividends. In very favorable situations
and seasons, I have raised good crops without mulch; but such culture is unreliable,
and in the long run unprofitable."
Turn to the article we give in some of our previous pages, where we give the success
of a grape-grower who persisted in mulching his vineyard with straw. Has any one
failed who applied mulching ? Let us hear from him.
Davidson's Thornless.
Quite a number of growers are complaining this season of the smallness of the
berry of the Davidson's thornless raspberry. Perhaps soils and seasons do change
its size, but on lands with clayey texture, well drained, it excelled in size and pro-
ductiveness anything we have ever known.
Double Jialsanis.
I had such splendid success with my balsams this year that I must record my
experience for the benefit of others. I started seeds in a cigar box placed in a south
window ; when the seedlings had formed the second leaves, transplanted into thumb
pots, kept them there till May, when the weather had become settled and the ground
warm, then they were planted out. As the plants grew up, I broke off all the side
branches, allowing only the main stalk to grow. June tenth they began to bloom,
and grew rapidly until three feet high, when the stalks were perfect masses of flowers,
so thickly set that nothing could be seen but leaves and flowers. Such a blaze of
scarlet blotched with white, and crimson and purple, and white tinged with a faint
bluish, and other different shades ! Many were double, and fit rivals for the queenly
roses. It is a pity they have such short stems. The best way to display them is on
a plate or saucer, on a green bed of French Marigold, or some other plant with deli-
318 JSbrticuUural JVotes.
cate, spray-like foliage. Pruning the plants in the above manner causes them to
bloom earlier, and in much greater abundance. A few should be set out every two
or three weeks for succession, as when they began to ripen seeds, the plants lose
much of their beauty, and should be cut off and thrown away.
To occupy the spacce thus left vacant in the flower border, plant, at the time of
setting the balsams, a few seeds of Ahronia umbellata, a handsome trailing plant,
with trusses of very sweet scented flowers, of rosy lilac color, resembling the Ver-
bena in shape, but not so large. This will run over and occupy the ground and be
ready to bloom about the time the old balsam stalks are cut away. It is best to
start the seeds of Abronia in a warm window or a hot-bed, if one has that con-
venience in the spring. The seeds must be separated from the hard husks in which
they grow, else they will rot. — Iowa Homestead.
Ijaarel-T,eaved Willow,
It is a matter of some surprise that this very beautiful willow is not more gener-
ally grown. It is perfectly hardy, easily propagated, even from cuttings, and seldom
dies from removal if properly transplanted. The laurel-leaved willow bears the
pruning-kuife or shears well, and can be kept as a low dwarf bush in garden borders,
or grown as a medium sized tree on the lawn. It is, when grown as a bush, from
four to eight feet high, that the dark-green, polished leaves, flashing in the bright
sunlight, reveal its incomparable beauty. No laurel leaf is darker or more glossy,
and its slender branches permit its being swayed by the wind, and revealing its
beauty. When grown as a tree, and bearing seed, its leaves are not so dark, or so
highly polished, yet there are few, if any trees with so handsome heads, and trim,
inviting appearance for the lawn. — American Rural Home.
A-fhor Vit<e Screens.
Dr. Hull writes thus in the Prairie Farmer : The finest effect we recollect ever to
have seen, in growing a hedge of the arbor vitaj, was one in which the plants were
set two feet apart, and, after they had grown one year, the ground was then heavily
mulched — say three inches deep — with old horse manure and saw-dust, in about
equal parts, and small trenches were opened on each side, about twelve inches out,
and all of the branches which were trailing on the ground, were bent and buried in
the earth, with the ends turned up. Each branch so buried became rooted, forming,
as it were, a separate tree. On such trees as had lost their trailing branches, those
nearest the ground were bent down into the trenches, and held in place by wooden
pins or forked sticks. A mulch like that under the trees was then spread one foot
wide outside the rows of those buried branches, which kept the ground moist, and
caused all to emit roots and become, as it were, separate trees. It would hardly be
possible, by any amount of trimming, to make trees so thick or impervious as by this
method, nor do we recollect to have seen so fine a pyramidal screen secured by any
other means.
Croivn Imperials.
These plants are well deserving of being extensively cultivated, for, being
among the earliest tall flowers of spring, they make a fine appearance at a season
when such flowers are much wanted to decorate the flower garden. Dwarf flowering
plants we have in abundance at that season, but tall flowering plants are not so
plentiful.
Besides, the beauty of the plants, and the splendor of the magnificent pendulous
flowers, should ever secure them a place in the flower garden. The stalk rises to
the height of four feet or upwards, and is garnished two-thirds of the length on
every side with long, narrow leaves, ending in points which are smooth and entire.
The upper part of the stalk is naked for a foot of its length ; then the flowers come
out all round the stalk upon short footstalks which ^turn downward, and each sustain
horticultural JVotes. 319
one large flower. Above these rises a spreading tuft of green leaves, which are
erect, the whole giving the plant a striking appearance.
They may be propagated by seeds or offsets from tlie root, the latter being the
method generally adopted.
The roots may remain the year round in the soil, and need only be transplanted
every thi-ee or four years. When planted in mixed borders they should not be
planted too near to other flowers. They should be planted six inches deep at least,
especially the stronger roots. They delight in a light soil, not too wet nor very full
of dung. When planted in mixed borders they should ahvays be kept properly
labelled, otherwise the roots may be injured when the borders are being dug and
cleaned. — Floral World.
The Grape Cttlturist.
After two years' publication, this has been suspended, and is now merged into
Colma/i's Rural World. A grape and loine dejyartment has been opened in that
journal, and George Husmann and Dr. Spalding are still to remain in active connec-
tion with it.
The Mndeiva Vine.
The Bosto?i Cultivator, in a notice of this charming creeper, reminds the ladies that
its roots must be taken up, and preserved through the winter away from frost. " It is a
most elegant and beautiful climbing plant, a rapid grower, when planted in rich
loam, growing, under favorable circumstances, forty feet in season, and is, therefore,
an admirable and desirable plant for covering an arbor, or a screen, or the shading of
windows, where climbers are wanted. They may also be cultivated in pots under
windows, aff"ording a beautiful shading. The foliage is dark and glossy, and its
white flowers numerous and fragrant."
Straivberries,
A small fruit-grower says, that in order to keep two acres of strawberries in per-
fect bearing condition, it is necessary that one acre should be planted each year, and
one acre ploughed up each year after the third planting.
A. Pretty Tree Sotver.
The editor of The Gay-dener's Monthly says : Recently we saw a very pretty thing
formed out of a half-a-dozen Japan Catalpa — Catalpa Kcempferi. These seem to
grow only from fifteen to twenty feet high, and the branches form a dense mass over-
head, appearing in leaf as if the whole surface had been sheared. When not too
closely confined, the whole stem pushes out leafy branches. A half-dozen of these set
out by themselves, and trained up to single stems, will make one uniform mass of
foliage if left to itself; and gothic arches, or arches of any form, can be cut between
each pair of trees. The leaves around each tree stem can be left two or three feet
wide if desired — and the efi"ect will be unique.
Tuberoses,
The Agriculturist mentions a new tuberose growing only eighteen inches high,
and producing flowers double the usual size. If so, it is quite desirable.
Hie Best MnrJcet Pears.
If a farmer were to say to us that he was about to plant twenty-five pear trees for
profit — that is, for market purposes — and that he desired a suggestion as to the
varieties and number of each variety he should set out, we would have no hesitation
in giving him the following list : Two Early Catharine, two Giff"ard, four summer
Julienne, five Manning's Elizabeth, three Bartlett, five Seckel, and four Lawrence.
These ripen in the order they are placed.
It appears that these varieties do well everywhere, and are, therefore, particularly
adapted to general cultivation. They are very productive, the trees hardy and vig-
320 Editorial JVolice.
orous in their growth, and the fruit generally perfect. The Early Catharine and
Seckel are not early bearers, but when they once commence, they seldom fail in
giving an abundant crop.
In purchasing the trees, be careful to select good specimens ; have them taken up
with all the roots possible ; transplant with every attention ; stake firmly, placing the
stakes at an angle, with the head to the northeast ; keep the ground stirred two or
three feet from the stem all around ; and allow no cattle to disturb them. — German,'
town Telegraph.
Xist of Choice Gladiolus.
This list is recommended by American Rural Ho7ne :
Dr. Lindley. — Flowers large, of a light rose color ; edges of the petals striped
with carmine.
Due de Malakoff. — Orange scarlet, striped with pale yellow.
Imperatrice Eugenie. — White, striped with violet red inside, and lilac outside :
this is a superb variety.
James Veitch. — Hright vermillion, stained with violet.
Lord Byron. — Fiery scarlet, with pure white stain.
Meyerbeer. — Another superb variety ; flowers brilliant I'cd, stained with amaranth.
Mr. E. Brongniart. — Large and finely formed ; rose striped with carmine ; petals
creamy white inside.
Shakespeare. — White, striped with rosy carmine ; one of the finest varieties.
Cultivators will remember that as soon as the foliage turns yellow in the fall, the
bulbs must be taken up, well dried in the sun, placed carefully in paper bags, and
kept in a dry place until next spring.
Early Rose in JEtiffland.
Thos. Rivers, the well-known English nurseryman, writes to the London Journal
of Horticulture that he considers the Early Kose potato as raised in that country,
"watery, n»sty and uneatable." This was when dug for cooking in July; he tried
it again in September, when " on being cooked with great care they were found to,
be harsh and dry, with a hard center, and a flavor perfectly original, but so unplea-
sant— nasty, according to our cook — that I gave them up for that year. The mis-
named Early Goodrich came in with the Regents, but instead of being like that sort
in flavor, the tubers were earthy, with a peculiar 7i?iearthy, and most disagreeable
flavor."
Editorial Notice.
The Toadies', Floral Cabinet.
This new paper is devoted entirely to flowers for in-door ornament and out-door cul-
ture, as well as pictorial, home literature for the family circle. Its title head is an
exquisite gem in wood engraving, and pronounced by artists the finest in the world.
The entire number is illustrated profusely with engravings, and contains a large
variety of popular matter, devoted to home interests. It is the first and only paper
in America devoted specially to flower culture, and as it is supported by a more than
customary share of business facilities and favorable patronage, the public may expect
it will be a permanent and welcome addition to our list of rural and family periodi-
cals. Issued monthly at the low price of seventy-five cents per year, from the office
of The Horticulturist, 5 Beekman street. Speciman copies ten cents.
Design for a Farmer's Cottage.
First Floor.
Second Floor,
YOL. 26.
:N^0YEMBER, 18T1.
I^TO. 305.
Horticulture in tlie Far West.
EDITORIAL NOTES,
Forest Tree I'lantiuff on the Great 1*1(1 ins,
I OBSERVE an universal love of tree planting, both for shelter and ornament,
as well as profit. In some localities it is a great hobby, and a very sensible one
too. Beyond the central portions of Kansas and Nebraska, the country is so elevated,
oftentimes so cold, and so utterly devoid of water or rain for irrigating purposes,
that most agricultural writers have asserted, over and over again, it was useless to
attempt any sort of tree culture, for they could not possibly live in so uncongenial a
soil and climate. Mr. R. S. Elliott, Industrial Agent of the Kansas Pacific Railway,
has for several years past been studying thoroughly the characteristics of meteorology,
temperature, winds, and soil of this region, and at last became convinced that tree-
culture was a possibility, and therefore commenced three experimental nursery beds
in the most exposed localities, to prove that the plains did actually possess some
encouraging signs of success in tree growth, and to remove beyond further question
the prejudices of those writers who know so little of the subject. We were intensely
interested in these experiments, and eagerly waited for the trains to arrive at the
different points. The first plantation is at Wilson, a small station 239 miles west of
Kansas City, and at an elevation of 1,68G feet above the level of the ocean, or over
a quarter of a mile high. The second plantation is at Ellis, 302 miles west, and
2,119 feet high. The third is at Fort Wallace, 423 miles west, and 3,303 feet high,
nearly in longitude 102°, and very near to the western boundary of the State of
Kansas, Most of these experimental grounds were from five to ten acr.es in extent,
although all the ground was not fully occupied.
The objects of Mr. Elliott were two-fold ; First, to, see if young trees taken fro^
our ordinary commercial nurseries and transplanted here, would thrive either with or
21
322 Horticulture hi the Far Jfest.
■without irrigation, and, second, to learn what varieties adapted themselves most readily
to the situation, and made the most rapid and healthy growth. His facilities for the
purpose were rather rude. His only force consisted of two laborers, who knew nothing
of tree-planting ; the boxes of trees were opened at three different stations, and the
trees had to be transported from place to place, and subjected to considerable handling,
exposure and delay before all were finally planted. At each place the ground was
broken up last September, to the depth of six or eight inches, and again plowed
over this spring, when the seeds of some trees were sown without special care, and
the other young trees hastily planted. No artificial irrigation was resorted to, neither
had there been much subsequent cultivation of the ground, from the beginning of
spring down to the 1st of August. The ground was also not particularly advan-
tageous for the purpose, being a high, rolling prairie, very dry soil, covered with the
buft'alo grass, and considerably exposed to the driving winds. Each plot was
surrounded by a board fence five feet high, which, no doubt, had some ameliorating
influence, for it was noticed that the trees nearest the fences, under the lee of the
wind, made the best growth. The average age of the trees planted was two years.
At the three stations, about eighteen varieties have been set out, namely :
Evergreens — White, Scotch, Australian and Corsican pine ; Norway spruce, red
cedar. Deciduous — Ailantus, ash, box elder, catalpa, cottonwood, linden, silver leaved
maple, sycamore-leaved maple, Osage orange, Lombardy poplar, elm, honey-locust,
European larch, black walnut, tulip tree, white willow, golden willow. Fruits — Apple,
cherry, peach, plum, Concord grapevines.
The above were all transplanted. At the same places, there were sown^ in the fall
of 1870, and spring of 1871, seeds of ailantus, catalpa, chestnut, elm, black locust,
honey locust, soft maple, oak, Osage orange, peach, pecan, pinon (New Mexican nut
pine), and black wahiut.
At the head of the list for rapidity of growth, from either seed or transplanted
trees, is the ailantus. In every place, its vigor and health and hardiness are super-
eminent, and its growth would have done credit to any nursery of careful treatment.
It is said this is the only tree at Denver which thrives without irrigation, the eleva-
tion beinw 5,200 feet. The general opinion is that it may safely be put down as one
of the most successful and rapid-growing trees for any portion of the plains, and that
it would prove exceedingly valuable either for screens, for timber, or belts, or as a
help in ameliorating the climate and attracting rains. It needs so little attention,
and usually does so well on dry and even sandy soil, that its success here is unques-
tionable. Next to this, the most interesting is the larch. A large number of these
had been ordered and planted, but owing to the lateness of their arrival and careless
handling, only few were alive. Most of them had also been planted too deep, yet
those which lived made growth so satisfactory that Mr. Robert Douglas, the best
evergreen authority on the subject in the West, says they fully equal, and in some
eases excel, anything that he has seen in his own locality in Illinois, or any portion
of the West. The principal difficulty is in starting them properly. After that there
would be no question of their adaptability to the soil and climate. The testimony is
also confirmed by Josiah Hoopes, Thomas Meehan, andD. L. Hall, who were pi-esent
JBorticnUure in the J^ar IKsl. 323
with us. White ash has been largely planted, and at the time I saw them had made vigor-
ous shoots a foot to eighteen inches in length, and seemed perfectly healthy in all respects,
although suflfering somewhat from the attacks of a large green worm, which had
unexpectedly appeared. A black beetle (known also as the blister beetle) had eaten
the foliage of some of the trees, and may become a disagreeable enemy. Catalpa is
a rapid-growing tree, and its timber is very durable in the ground. Mr. Dunlap con-
siders it one of the most promising trees, notwithstanding the apprehensions which
are felt that its broad leaves will render it peculiarly susceptible to injury from the
prairie winds. Box elder and Osage orange are perfectly healthy and vigorous.
Willow — Also vigorous, but had been gnawed considerably by the prairie dogs. Other
trees suffered in like manner, but the willow much the worst. Soft maple is injured
a little by the winds, Cottonwood — A valuable tree, and a good grower. Chestnut
— A failure ; likewise European sycamore and linden. The evergreens seem to be
more uniform in their success. The Scotch and white pines have made shoots of four
to six inches in length ; the Corsican pine and Lawson's cypress a perfect failure.
The Austrian pine and Norway spruce are variable. At each station some one or
two varieties took the lead in vigor and adaptability to the location. At Wilson, the
lowest in elevation of the three points, the xiustrian pines are most successful, while
maples are thrifty, and Osage orange quite as vigorous. The larches, where they
were not planted too deep, have also done very well. Corn, also, shows good ears.
At Ellis, the proprietor of the hotel treated us to a fine dinner. All the vegetables
had been raised there in his own garden without irrigation (for there is no oppor-
tunity to secure water), and he proposes to start a twenty acre farm, and grow corn
and wheat ; his bread was remarkable for its whiteness and sweetness. He has taken
pains to keep a record of the rain storms this summer, and handed a little card to us
with the dates of rain, from March 25 to July 27, by which it appeared that rain
fell on an average of once every three or four days, or three times in the last week
in March, seven times in April, four times in May, seven times in June, and four
times in July, On the 1st of July there was hail, and all through the first week
there wer-o heavy dews. These facts are very important, as in previous years rain
had never been known here, while now, with the cultivation of the soil and the advent
of settlements, the rains were beginning to fall regularly, and in quantities sufiicient
to nourish growing crops,
Of the trees planted at Ellis, all have grown withoitt irrigation, and received no
water save from the showers of the sky. He has given fVW^y here and there along
the road, 80 to 100 bushels of black walnuts, and says, as far ^s he has heard, every
tree is living. The ailantus tree he esteems the most valuable of ^11 trees. Forty-
seven trees of this variety had been put out, and all were alive and healthy, exhibiting
young shoots a foot long.
The experiments in seeds were not quite as definite in results as from the trans-
planted trees, but gave great encouragement. This work was purposely done in any
rude style, such as a farmer would ordinarily practice. The seeds were sown broad-
cast on the plowed ground, harrowed in slightly, and left to take care of themselves.
Here, again, the ^.i^ntus takes the lead, and out-grows all competitors. The young
324 Hoi'ticulttere in t7ie J^^ir THest.
plants stand more thickly together than they would if properly thinned for a perma-
nent plantation, having grown in less than three months one to two inches in height,
and having a rich, healthy color of foliage. The other seeds sown here and there
had germinated in occasional spots, enough to show the possibility of growth, although
many doubtless will not grow before next year. Almost all these trees would have
done far better if they had been pruned back to one or two buds at time of planting.
Likewise, if a coating of mulch, if nothing better than prairie hay, had been applied,
the growth would have been double, but enough has been done to satisfy any sanguine
man that tree culture upon the far Western prairies is no longer a doubt or conjecture,
but has a reasonable prospect of success. The solution of these experiments is
calculated to have an important bearing, not only on the agriculture of those sections,
but also the climate, and may be looked upon as one of the most important discoveries
of modern times. At Denver, the people have exhibited commendable energy in setting
out shade trees. The eottonwood is the universal favorite, and wherever it has received
but the slightest irrigation it has done finely, growing with a vigor very remarkable,
throwing up its long shoots of luxuriant green leaves 3 to 6 feet in a single season.
Some trees, only four years planted, are 20 feet high and 4 inches in diameter. At
Greeley, attempts at planting lai-ches and evergreens have proved failures, principally
from inexperience in handling and want of proper irrigation. The streets have been
but very little planted with shade trees, although some have begun the good work.
The people are now, however, better prepared and better informed how to manage
them, and will continue experiments until something definite is known. Maple has
been the only street-tree planted, and although in some cases irrigated constantly,
yet they look sickly and doubtful. Even the apple-trees in the nurseries are far
more healthy. In Nebraska there is a much more favorable climate for tree-culture,
and the people are indulging in it freely. For 300 or 400 miles west of the Missouri
River there are regular rains throughout the growing season, and every kind of tree
appears to do well. In one county alone, it is said, over 3,000,000 trees have been
planted this year, and it is ^estimated that out of the 50,000 new settlers that have
come into the State within a year, fully one-half will plant trees largely. Near
Qmaha, Mr. Joel T. Griffith has forty acres of forest, black-walnut, cotton-wood,
etc., which he planted in 1854 and 1858, fourteen years ago. The trees of the
former are now bearing wagon-loads of nuts, and the cotton-woods are as big around
as one can clasp with his arms. He has also 20,000 small maples, and cuts all the
slats and fence-posts from his forest that he needs for his farm. Mr. Miller, of the
Herald, has in the same vicinity X20 acres planted in black-walnut, about seven by
eight feet, and forty acres in cotton-wood, eight feet apart. He has also laid out a
fine grazing pasture of 600 acres, which he will surround twenty feet deep with a
cordon of trees as a windbreak, and here will introduce the blue grass, to give a per-
manent home grazing field for sheep and other stock. Mr. Douglass advises him to
put larch between ; also to put in some white ash. Mr. Miller estimates the cost of
planting an hundred-acre tree-farm would be $4 per acre for plowing, S5 per acre
for planting, and with cost of land about $12 to $15 per acre. In ten years they
•yvould be worth $100 to $500 per acre. At Grand Island, 153 miles west of Omaha,
biennial Meeting of the A.mericaH 'Pomological Society. 325
a farmer, William Stolley, has cotton-wood trees, ten years planted, now forty to sixty
feet high, and one foot in diameter. Walnuts, twelve years from seed, planted six
by six, and eight by eight, are now four to six inches in diameter, and have borne
nuts for three years. He has ten acres in all. Every tree is successful, save that the
black locust needs to be sheltered by the walnut, or else it will be broken with the
winds. He "has a very curious group of trees called the Twelve Apostles, standing
alone, fine, large trees of noble stature and girth, each with the name of an Apostle.
A severe storm of thunder and lightning visited the locality one day, and after play-
ing havoc ill every direction demolished with a single stroke the one named Judas
Iscariot, and to this day poor Judy is as remarkable a fall from grace as the older
human ancestor in the land of Palestine. Upon the farm of Dr. Lowe, same county,
the growth of cotton-wood in ten years is twenty-five to forty feet high, two feet six
inches in diameter, and the apple tree one foot six inches in diameter. Mr. S. T.
Kelsey, of Pomona, Kan., who has tried all kinds, places first for his State the
black-walnut, next the cotton-wood, and last the silver-maple ; for evergreens, the
Norway spruce, white, Austrian and Scotch pines, red cedar and Osage-orange. I
have no doubt that throughout the vast country of 600 miles from the plains to the
base of the Rocky Mountains, and from the north boundary of Nebraska to the
southern one of the Indian territory, there can be grown on every variety of soil
some one or more kinds of valuable timber trees; and the facts demonstrate that
where trees are once planted, the climate gradually changes, and showers fall from
the skies and water them where rains never were known before.
H. T. W.
Biennial Meeting of the American Pomological Society.
THE reunion at Richmond of horticultural friends and members of the Society,
was held under many favorable auspices, and proved extremely pleasant and suc-
cessful. The utmost good nature and cordiality existed among all, and nothing
occurred to mar the enjoyment of the occasion. Quite an effort had been made to
induce a larger delegation than usual from our Northern Societies, in order to show
to our Southern friends our interest in their welfare, and encourage them by an
attendance which would elicit special interest. And it is gratifying to notice how
freely the response was accepted, and how well our Northern and Western Pomolo-
gists seconded the effort by attending in person in large numbers. Boston, Illinois,
Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Michigan, were well represented either by societies, promi-
nent individuals, or exhibitions of fruit. And it was hoped that now, since an
opportunity of unusually favorable character was afforded the South to exhibit their
product, it would be accepted and grandly responded to.
We need hardly repeat here our disappointment. For with the exception of the
fruits of Virginia, whose growers had manifested the utmost interest and zeal in
rendering the whole occasion a creditable success at least to the old Dominion, yet
the display from other Southern States was meagre, and indefinite. It seemed as if
326 Slennial Meeting of the A.fnerican ^omological Society.
there was either an apathy in interest, or a constitutional inertia and indisposition to
effort, which rendered it an impossibility to gather together the right material, and
form an union of heart, hands and products in supporting so worthy an institution.
We speak frankly, for the fact is not to be disguised that the South did not respond
as freely as was expected, nor as much as would have been to her credit.
But the overflowing generosity from other States, as well as from private indi-
viduals, more than relieved the vacancy, and as an exhibition of native American
fruits, it is truthful to say, it has never been excelled.
At the last session of the Society in Philadelphia, two years since, it will be
remembered that the first prize of honor was bestowed upon the fruits of Kansas,
and the award has been to her citizens a matter of pride, congratulation, and even
of National fame. That so young a State should thus distance all competitors from
the older portions of the country was thought remarkable, and an event of unusual
importance.
But at this meeting we are glad to see that the prize was awarded to a State
younger still, Nebraska, who we have long felt, if afforded the proper opportunity,
would distinguish herself in a worthy manner. Her capabilities are not one half
understood by our people, and the prize is all the more remarkable from the fact that
the fruit is grown in a country hitherto considered entirely unsuited to fruit culture,
and the latest of all our States, which has devoted any attention to the subject.
The discussions of the Society extended over three days ; considerable time was
devoted to business matter and the organization of its meeting, after which the
revision of the fruit lists received the attention of the members. Very little news
was developed in this line, and we must consider the occasion successful, principally
for the opportunity it afforded for a pleasant reunion of friends, and a fine display of
fruit.
The A.Hnnal Address o/ the President.
Marshall P. Wilder, of Boston, dwelt gracefully on some of the leading horticul-
tural topics of the day. He paid due tribute to the memory of those distinguished
Pomologists who were dead and gone. Then he contrasted the progress of the
Society from its opening, when it numbered but one hundred and seven members, to
the present time, when there are three hundred and eleven ; and also to the wonder-
ful extent of fruit culture and facilities for transportation, the evidences of which are
seen in the fact, that our fruit markets are now supplied with fruit from New Eng-
land, the Middle States, California, Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, Delaware, and other
points, one to two thousand miles apart.
The leading points of his address are as follows :
1st. The influence of warm, dry seasons.
2d. Draining of fruit lands.
3d. Preparation and cultivation of the soil.
4th. Manures and their application.
5th. Mulching.
6th. Thinning of fruit.
7th. Insects and diseases.
Sienniat Meeting of the A.nierican ^omoloffical Societj'. 327
8t.h. Shelter.
9th. Meteorology.
10th. Originating new varieties.
The fruit collections exhibited were principally as follows :
JFroin Xchraaha.
There were 146 varieties of apples, 15 of peaches, 13 of pears, one of plums, one
of grapes — contributed by the Nebraska State Horticultural and Pomological
Society, of which J. H. Masters is President, and R. W. Furnas is Secretary, and
were raised principally in the neighborhood of Nebraska City. Much of the fruit
had been a week on the journey, and it is Very much to the credit of the State that
its fruit should have borne transportation for sO long a distance and so well as to
make a better appearance than all others. It received the first prize of the Society
for finest collection.
ICnnSas
Was represented by contributions from the Kansas Horticultural Society, under the
supervision of Drs. Housley and Stftyman. Two hundred varieties of apples were
on the table, believed to be the largest number of any in the room. They had also
20 varieties of pears, and 20 of grapes.
Dr. Stayman also exhibited 50 varieties of apples from his own orchard. The
Kansas fruit was noticeable for its fine size and color.
Sent from Grand Rapids, [under the care of A. T. Lindermann, 108 varieties of
apples of very superior quality, 10 varieties of pears, five of grapes, and some
peaches. The fruit was packed well and arrived in excellent order.
Illinois
Through Parker Earle, exhibits 200 varieties of apples, and also a fine collection of
pears.
California.
The California collection attracted perhaps the most interest. A great variety
was displayed, and almost every specimen was remarkable for its superior quality.
The fruit had been carefully packed by experienced hands, and was. in excellent
preservation. Apples, pears of mammoth size, figs, grapes, plums and oranges were
on the table, but the grapes with their large luxuriant clusters far exceeded anything
else of the kind on exhibition ; the pears also were beautiful in color and size. This
collection was in charge of Dr. Curtis.
iotca
Seemed to win special admiration for her display of apples. These were represented
by two exhibitors, Mark Miller of the Western Pomologist, at Dcs Moines, and H.
Leonard of Burlington, Iowa. Mr. Miller shows 118 varieties of apples, which
attracted considerable interest, from the fact that they were raised in the vicinity of
Des Moines, where, twenty-three years ago, not an apple tree of any kind was
known. Mr. Leonard exhibits 115 varieties of apples and 35 of pears. All the
328 biennial Meeting oft?ie American iPoiuoloffical Sociefy.
fruit was in admirable condition, having been well packed and safely transported.
It was the center of quite an enthusiastic crowd of admirers, who were free in their
expression of praise of the beauty, size and color of the fruit.
From other sections, are the following : Ellwanger & Barry, of Rochester, N. Y.,
exhibited 150 varieties of apples.
Marshall P. Wilder, of Boston, shows 230 varieties of pears, a valuable collection
raised on his own grounds.
The Pomona nurseries of Cinnaminson, N. J., Wm. Parry, proprietor, is repre-
sented by 26 varieties of pears and three of apples. This collection is very fine.
Minnesota
Is also well represented. The localities represented are Minneapolis, Winona, Lake
City and Lake Crescent ; P. A. Jewell, of Lake City is the exhibitor. He dis-
plays 50 varieties of apples, several of pears, three of native plums, and one lot of
seedling grapes. His assortment of Siberian crab apples is probably the finest ever
shown at a national exhibition. Some of these apples are of the finest flavor, not-
withstanding the proverbial bitterness of their species.
Wasliington, I), C.
John Saul, of Washington, representing the Potomac Fruit- Growers' Association,
sends an attractive assortment of apples and pears.
The Agricultural Department of the United States Government contributes fine
specimens of pears and wine grapes.
l^irf/iniu.
The largest number of contributions are from Virginia. Much the finest display
of pears was made by G. F. B. Leighton, of Norfolk, Va. Their unusual size and fine
flavor were the occasion of considei'able attention. Quite a number of them averaged
nearly a pound each. The varieties most successful with Mr. Leighton are Duchesse,
Seckel, Bartlett, Louise Bonne, Beurre Diel and Beurre Superfine.
Capt. H. B. Jones, the veteran pomologist of Rockbridge county, is on hand with
his usual fine display of fruit, raised in his own orchards. He exhibits this year 110
varieties of apples, including 14 native seedlings ; 11 of pears, 8 of grapes, and 10
of peaches.
Franklin Davis & Co., of Richmond, have of apples, 100 varieties; of pears, 25 ;
of peaches, 15 ; besides several kinds of grapes.
H. R. Robey, of Fredericksburg, three varieties of grapes, 23 of apples, and 22 of
pears. Pretty assortment.
Wm. 0. Hurt, of Bedford county, 51 varieties of native apples — making a most
creditable display.
H. C. Williams, of Fairfax, six varieties of pears, 36 of apples, and six of new
native grapes.
Gillingham & Co., of Accotink, Va., display a fine lot of apples and pears.
Albemarle county sends a splendid assortment of apples, exhibited by Tyree Dol-
lins & Bro., of Batesville. They have catalogued 200 varieties, many of which are
superior native seedlings.
Sie7mial J^Ceethig of t?ie American !Pomotofficat Society. 329
The Virginia Nursery and Wine Company (Allan & Johnson, general agents),
show eleven bottles of Virginia wines, including samples eacli of Norfolk, Herre-
mont and Concord, and one each of Clinton, Catawba and To Kalon.
We have not space for enumeration of all the exhibitors, but the display from
Virginia was most creditable, and establishes beyond conjecture or doubt, that the
State is worthily pre-eminent in her advantages for fruit culture.
The proceedings were pleasantly varied during the stay of the members at Rich-
mond, by an excursion to Dutch Gap on one of the James river steamers, also a
reception by the Mayor of the city, and speeches of welcome with appropriate
responses.
Assembly Hall was tastefully decorated, and when the Society was dissolved, it
was admitted by mutual consent to be the most enjoyable session held since its
organization.
The next Biennial meeting will be held at Boston, in the Fall of 1873, when the
25th, or silver wedding anniversary will be honored with a greater display of fruit
than ever. The same officers were re-elected for the next session.
; Suggestions for Improvement of the Influence of the. Society,
Several members have expressed to us a kindly, yet firm, disapproval of the
manner of the literary exercises of the meetings of the society. For instance —
1st. Too much time is wasted in mere preliminaries of business organization,
etc. Sometimes an entire day is spent, and even then matters are left unfinished.
2nd. The revision of the fruit lists needs an entire change of management. At
present some person of careless or irresponsible judgment, may either undo com-
pletely the work of three or six careful pomologists, who have previously recorded
their careful observations, or he may unduly praise some varieties which have no
success beyond his own vineyard or orchard. Some of the members do not appear
to understand the system of starring, and will often double star a variety which does
not deserve it.
3d. The revision of the fruit lists is done in too great a hurry, and is at the best
a dry, unsatisfactory method of passing the time. Often more time is spent upon
one section than should be, and the close of the session comes so suddenly that
many other important departments are omitted entirely. For instance, at the Phila-
delphia meeting in 1869, the department of apples was first dwelt upon and com-
pletely, but when pears were reached it was necessary to hurry through it rapidly;
and, finally, grapes, apricots, peaches, plums, etc., went without solitary discussion.
And although the greatest interest was manifested in small fruits, yet it was com-
pletely shoved to one side. Some of the members then and there suggested that
time ought to be devoted to culture, propagation, insects, markets, profits, etc., but
everything of this nature was also put aside, only to permit the dry formality of
starring the list to be gone through with.
4th. We are reminded of the remark of a friend in New York, who, when asked
to join a new rural association, said : " Don't kill your society with a constitution
and by-laws^ And we remind the members of the American Pomological Society
that it will be the same with them unless they permit freedom of discussion on such
330 biennial Meeting of the A^^mericati !Pomological Societju
topics as fruit-growers are most interested in. The mere formalities of revision
of the fruit list, and the waste of a day's time in preparing for work, are not what
pomologists and fruit-growers want. Solid food is necessary, besides the pleasure of
reunion.
5th. We propose that at the next meeting of the Society slips of the fruit list be
printed and handed around to all the members to correct, and, after endorsing his
name thereon, to return to the -secretary ; and that no change in the fruit list be
made unless there are three signatures in approval of any single variety. Let the
time of the association be devoted to free discussion of varieties, pruning, soil,
insects, markets, profits, etc., with practical essays on fruit subjects, culture, etc.,
and remarks thereon.
6th. Such an association as the American Pomological Society should exert an
influence for good, and disseminate good, useful information. But we have watched
the reports in the papers for the past few years, and beyond the report of the fruit
placed on exhibition, or the description of the united enjoyment of friends who had
met again after a long absence, we have yet to see a single good idea developed, and
quoted to the vast body of fruit-growers outside, who were waiting for something
tangible and practical which would help them in the management of their orchards.
Not a single item can we trace, and the contrast is greater since so much was
expected.
7th. "We commend to the American Poviological Society the method of manage-
ment of the Pennsylvania Fruit Grower's Association, or the Western New York
Horticultural Society. A visitor to their discussions is always entertained, good
essays are always read, and each person goes away again, feeling he has gained some
really useful ideas which would pay him for his time.
We speak without censure in these remarks, for we wish the American Pomo-
logical Society to develop into a royal institution, but its devotion to the fruit list
and matters of business organization, to the exclusion of modes of culture, will
surely injure its opportunity for good, unless they are judiciously arranged in some
other way.
Pomologists are searching now for something practical and useful, and must and
"will have on such occasions some sensible remarks upon culture, propagation, etc.
The interest in small fruits also has become of late a national department of itself,
and should not be ignored. There are many new varieties of pears, yet we can gain
more information about them from the horticultural literature of the day than from
the volumes of the American Pomological Society. To be valuable, these volumes
should be complete and accurate, but, outside the members, not one hundred copies
find their way into the hands of the practical cultivators of the country. There is
very little demand for them, not even as much as for the annual volume of the
Illinois State Horticultural Society, which we have always esteemed a credit of
worthy honor to the State and Society.
The fruit exhibitions of the Society are pleasant to see, and are silent exponents
of our success in fruit culture, but we have yet to find that any of the exhibitors of
Gossip about Itoses. 331
the fruit have had a fair opportunity to say a word about success in their culture and
which varieties can be most commended to beginners.
These suggestions are merely oflFered in candor, to show that we expect a great deal
from these reunions of the Society. If our highest pomological congress is
intended to be only an occasion for united good feeling and enjoyment, and without
any literary character, then our suggestions have no place, for we require nothing
when nothing is expected. But the public look to the Society for some really valuable
information, and we are anxious that it should reach the mark in its objects and
opportunities of doing good. In its next meeting let us have less of business and
fruit list, and more of common sense remarks on fruit culture as it is.
Gossip about Roses.
Colmau's Rural World treats its reader's to some pleasant suggestions about Roses,
and remarks :
"Almost all persons give a preference to dark roses — those rich, deep, dark, vel-
vety crimsons, scarlets and shades, and they certainly are, many of them, exquisitely
rich, gorgeous and handsome, and the preferences are well bestowed.
" One of the oldest, and still one of the greatest favorites, because best known, of
the dark race, is the Giant des Battailles, now over twenty years old ; the aim has been
ever since among rose fanciers to beat this fine rose, and doubtless there are many
now that do beat it, both in color, size and form.
" Soon after the above, came the Lion of Combats, a darker rose, but semi-double
very showy withal. Among the dark roses. Lord Raglan, a very rich and brilliant
colored rose, may be taken as a sample of the flat shape ; and say Cardinal Patrizzi
of the cupped form — both fine, dark, rich colors, but very difi"erent.
" Gren. Jacqueminot is a justly celebrated rose on account of its brilliant color,
and the flowers standing high and clear above the plant, rendering it very conspicu-
ous. Vulcan, as it should be from its name, is a very dark rose shaded almost black ;
while Count Cavour is one of the brightest and richest of crimsons that are known ;
while all the three are not very durable or desirable on that account. Of course, of
the hundreds of varieties under name, a great many are so near alike as hardly to be
distinguishable except by the connoisseur, and fifty will embrace all the desirable
shades and qualities. A few good dark roses, besides those named good in many or
all respects, we mean, would be Pseonia, Nelson, Gren. AVashington, Madame Chas.
Wood, Glorie de Santenay, Jules Margottine, Louis Larigue, Monte Cristo, Beauty
of Waltham, Black Prince, and — we don't know where to stop, that's the trouble.
" Among the reds. Baron Prevost and La Reine may be taken as samples of both
shapes, the former flat, and the latter cupped or cabbage form ; both old but good
roses. Other good roses of these shades are John Hooper, Souvenir de Elbe, Alex-
andrine Bachmetafi", Augusta Mie, Souvenir de la Reine de Angleterre, Triomphe de
Valenciennes, Crlorie de Vitry, Louise Peyronny, and Louise Odier an exquisitely
cupped rose.
332 ^'^'^ Clematis for decorative 'Purposes.
" Of the light or flesh colored roses, we think an oldish variety called Caroline de
Sansal, is hard to beat; its delicate fleshy center blending into the white, and the
unfolding of its double form, with its closely set and numerous petals, is most exquis-
ite ; somewhat of the same color is Madame Knon, but more cupped. Sydonia,
Madame Rivers, Yoland de Aragon, Sappho Panachee d'Orleans, Mons. Rivers,
Queen Victoria, are all of this light, fleshy color, but of difi'erent habits and forms.
"Of the pure whites, which are much inquired for. Napoleon Triumphant and Dr.
Heron may be named, but both poor bloomers, and the last a miserable grower. A'^ir-
ginale is better in both these respect.
"While visiting one of the first rose growers in England last summer, on inquiry I
was informed that several new whites are really good, vigorous habits and free bloom-
ers, and of the purest white, and a great advance on former white varieties. Three
or four of the very best whites, as given by the best rose authority last year, are
these : Boule de Neige, M'dlle Bonnaire, Madame Gustave, Bonnet and Madame
Noraan."
The Clematis for Decorative Purposes.
VERY little has been done in American gardens with the Clematis for extensive
ornamental purposes. It has been used either in our green houses, or trained
over a few small stakes and arbors in our flower beds, but, by observing this illustra-
tion and also the frontispiece of our last No. (Oct.), it can be seen our English
horticulturists are employing it on a grander scale, and with many picturesque efi'ects.
A writer in The Gardener'' s Chronicle says :
" Those who have not seen the leading kinds in the full vigor of established growth,
have a real pleasure in store, for whether we look upon them simply as hardy bedding
plants capable of giving us sumptuous masses of matchless color for several months
during the summer and autumn, or as plants suited by their habit of growth to cover
masses of rock or root-work or any mural ruin with verdure and beauty, or whether
we regard them in the more classic form of plants adapted for clothing the massive
pyramid, or for wreathing the garden arcade or the basket with a chain of beauty —
suspended over chasms or rustic banks by the sinewy arm of the hoary oak — we shall
find them unsurpassable in splendor; so much so, that even the climbing rose must,
for actual display, sink into the shade when compared with the glowing colors of the
Clematis.
Nor is this all, for treated as pot plants, and trained upon suitable trellises for the
decoration of the conservatory, the terrace, or the balcony, the Clematis promises to
become one of the most useful plants in cultivation. Whether our great horticultural
societies have yet seen their way to ofl"ering prizes for well grown collections of these
plants, I know not ; but if they have not, I hope another season will not pass without
their doing so : for I feel certain that a well grown collection of these large free-
flowering varieties of Clematis would form a splendid group for exhibition purposes.
The following account, written originally for the ^Florist and Pomologist,' may
T/ie Clematis for Lawn and Garden Decoration,
333
334 The Clematis for Decoratlye 'Purposes.
not be without interest, inasmuch as it describes some of the finest groups I have yefj
seen:
' In the garden of Mr. Essington, Ribbesford House, Bewdley, there are two
magnificent and noteworthy beds, which, when I saw them in September last, were
apparently in the height of blooming. It is difficult to imagine anything more strik-
ingly beautiful than they were, or anything that could produce a more gorgeous efi"ect.
Being associated with the general arrangement of bedding plants, the superiority of
the Clematis was very apparent, the purple bedders being altogether eclipsed by the
masses of rich violet purple of C. Jackmanni, which is one of the best for bedding
purposes. The beds were round, about fifteen feet in diameter, and well raised towards
the center. In the center of one bed, which was planted in 1867, a few stakes about
eight feet in height were placed, and these being well covered with the Clematis,
formed a perfect floral pillar, which gave a good eff"ect. The other bed, planted in
November, 1868, was equally good. The plants were planted at about two feet apart,
and were carefully trained. Some attention is necessary in regard to training, for if
the shoots are allowed to become entangled, it is afterwards difficult to get them
apart, so as to rnaintain the perfect proportions of the beds. At Ribbesford this had
been scrupulously attended to. The plants are annually cut down and the beds well
manured. The soil they do best in is a light sandy loam, well manured, and liberally
watered during the growing season, for on maintaining the plants in a growing con-
dition, for the greatest length of time possible, depends in a great measure the
continuity of bloom.
' The idea is entertained by many that the blooming season of these plants is
not of sufficient duration to warrant their adoption for bedding purposes. lu this
doubt I frankly own to having been at one time a participator, having formed but a
vague idea of their capabilities ; but I have learned that by judicious treatment the
season of flowering may be so prolonged as to do away with any objection on that
point. To those who still doubt, I would say, give them a trial, and you will not be
disappointed with the result,'
It is a noteworthy fact, that the Clematis appears more at home in the open when
trained over the ground, or festooning from pillar to pillar, as shown in the engravings,
than when trained against a wall. When at Kibbesford, I noticed that the same
varieties, when trained against a wall, were not nearly so fresh and lasting as those
growing upon the open beds ; in fact, the former were a little seared in the leaf, as
if the situation had been too hot and dry for them, while those upon the beds, I have
reason to knoyy, remained fresh and vigorous so late as the end of October. Thus
these beds had been in fine condition for four months, and were really splendid for
three months — and that, be it remembered, at the end of the season, when tender
plants generally are getting shabby. So rich and glowing are some of the colors,
that at a distance the beds might be mistaken for dense groups of Irises, so unusual
are they in aspect.
One of the most useful purposes to which these Clematises could be put, would be
to drape a ruin, or to cover unsightly banks or slopes. They will grow almost any-
yyhpre, if the roots of other plants do not rob them of their fair share of food, and
Subtropical Gardening. 335
nothing more is necessary than to throw in a few tree roots or rough branches for
them to scramble over. While, however, it is evident that the Clematis will grow
almost anywhere, let it not be inferred that they do not well repay the use of good
soil. The most suitable for their cultivation appears to be a deep rich sandy loam ;
and therefore upon heavy soils it will be necessary to drain the beds, and to trench-in
such a portion of vegetable matter as will bring the soil to a proper consistency.
Good soaking of liquids, during the growing season, especially after the plants have
been planted a year or two, will be found to be of great benefit.
As to pruning, when the plants are once established they may, for bedding purposes,
be annually cut to the ground, in the manner of hops ; but for festooning it will, of
course, be desirable to retain the wood in its entirety so far as it is properly ripened,
and hence in the winter-pruning, cut with that object. When growing in a wild
natural manner, it will be wise to prune as little as possible.
The engravings, which it must be observed, are from photographs, and not draw-
ings, show very plainly what the plant will do when judiciously treated according to
the instructions conveyed in the preceding remarks. Among the best varieties for
decorative purposes may be mentioned: — Clematis Jackmanni, C. Rubro-violacea,
C. Rubella, C. Prince of Wales, C. Lady Bovill, and C. Thomas Moore."
Subtropical G-ardening.
BY ROBERT MORRIS COPELAND.
A FEW tender ferns introduced into the flower garden, or in the lawn near the
house, prepare the way for masses of wild ferns in more distant parts of the
grounds, where, with ferns, or amongst them, we shall set Weigandia, Solanum,
Nicotina, Uhdea, Heracleum, Azaliae, Ricinus, etc. The large leaves of these plants
stimulate the imagination, and clothe the edge of the wood with a rich mantle of
vegetation. Palms should be confined to the flower garden, and near the house, as
they are of slow growth, and are fine in proportion to their size, therefore we cannot
expect any one to have many ; indeed they will always be the rarest of plants for
summer decoration. The Muras and Ficus, and all the leathery-leaved plants suffer
from high winds, though they are hardy to the sun, and if we want to preserve their
entire beauty we must give them wind shelter. Ferdinanda Emineus, Musa Ensete,
and any of the lusty growing subtropicals take too much room to winter to be desir-
able, but to see one of them in its glory will repay one for a long journey. The sub-
tropicals, which depend for their beauty on the color of their leaves, like Dracena
Terminalis, the Caladium, Marantas, and the like, increase in value as they grow,
and as their foliage attains size and vigor, therefore it is an object to protect them
carefully in winter. A brilliant-leaved Dracena Terminalis is one of the most beau»
tiful plants for house decoration that we can have, and to make them available they
should be plunged in pots or tubs in summer, so that they may be moved in winter
without danger. Where plunging is made a business, it is not very tedious or burr^
336 Subtropical Gardening.
densome, and one can, by keeping his plants in pots, change the appearance of his
garden at very short notice. To maintain a fine show in summer, if a large number
of plants are to be used, requires a heavy outlay in glass, but to have a few plants
to give variety and contrast is a very easy matter. I have described these plants
thus far in relation to the ordinary country place, where there is a large area which
gives in itself opportunities of other kinds of enjoyment than that found in studying
and watching plants and flowers. In such places, as I said before, we may use them
sparingly, and ought always to expect our chief pleasure from other resources, using
the foliage plants rather as curiosities than the staple of our ornamentation, but there
are other kinds of ornamental grounds where they may be introduced more abun-
dantly, and made of more consequence. As a good stock of tender plants can be
raised and kept only by the aid of green-houses, gardeners naturally recommend
those to their employers.
Every man who loves his art or occupation, or who is reasonably well contented
with it, expects, or at least hopes, that his fellows will hold the art or his work in as
good estimation as he does, and where he labors to produce a result, finds a great
part of his reward in the praise it received. This makes all gardeners and florists
urge upon country people the pleasure and satisfaction they will find in cultivating
plants and flowers, native and foreign of all kinds ; and as flowers and beauty of all
kinds do aff'ect every smpathetic mind to some extent, the number of persons who
begin or carry on floriculture every year increases. But beautiful as flowers are,
and interesting as subtropical or curious-leaved plants become to one who collects
them, it cannot be denied that they are troublesome and often costly, and one who
goes into the country for quiet and repose, hopes he may be excused if he turns a
deaf ear to all who advise him to begin on any kind of floriculture which requires a
great deal of annual care, and continual replacement.
Whoever lives in the country beyond the smoke of city or factory chimneys where
the bells come only as soft music through the air, ought to have in lawn and shrubs,
woods, water and landscape, so much to enjoy that there is little need of any mere
local beauty or pleasure to attract his thoughts or wile away his time ; but the num-
ber who can live in that way are few, and most men must be contented with a small
town or suburb lot, where the acres are counted by feet, and the landscape bounded
by a neighbor's high wall or fence. In such small places the resident need not be
debarred from rural or floral pleasiire if he will make the most of the little land
which he has. The walls may be supports for running roses, woodbine, ivy and honey-
suckle ; the shaded corners suit the colored-leaved plants that suff"er from the sun
and dry heat ; the naiTOw borders may be enriched with the gold of Calceolaria,
Scarlet of Pelargonium, Crimson of Coleus. The smaller the space the greater
the need of thoughtful planning to get the utmost from the land ; and aided by the
colored leaves or large or quaint foliage of the subtropicals and ferns, the few hun-
dred feet of a town lot may become as varied and beautiful in its way, as the widest
landscape.
The owner of the town lot should at the outset throw aside all thought of cultivat-
Subfropical Gardening. 337
ing fruit or vegetables, excepting such fruit as will grow best on walls and espaliers,
like grapes, pears and peaches.
The vegetables which are so good when fresh, and so much better than the pur-
chased supplies of the market, occupy a great deal of room for the return they give,
and although a thoughtful man and good cultivator may get three crops in a season
from land well managed ; his peas following salads or radishes, to be in turn replaced
by tomatoes or celery, most men will not be careful enough, and will sacrifice a large
space to a crop of peas, that will be gone in three weeks, leaving empty land and
unsightly brush behind. It should be an axiom with the owner of every small place,
"that beauty is better than booty," and that the land he owns shall give, during
eight months of the year, a crop of enjoyment to the eye and mind rather than feed
the stomach for a few weeks without materially lightening the drain on the purse.
When discussing how to plant and group subtropicals in small areas, it seems
useless to get up plans for planting the many little parallelograms and squares that
might be devpted to such culture, for, whether the house is in the middle, or at one
side, in front or rear, the land is so limited that there is but little chance for other
variety than can be produced by varying the tints and colors of the flowers, and the
kinds of plants whose foliage is to contrast with the flowers or each other. The
single treatment I show, with its explanatory index, is not proposed as the best, or
only one, for with the multitude of flowers and plants, there may be infinite variety
in using colors. We may prefer this year to have only contrasts, and next year
harmonies of color. We may give our land one year to a few families of plants,
beginning with Spring Bulbs, then Roses, next Lilies, Gladioli, ending with Chrysan-
themums, never letting a Verbena, Heliotrope, Pelargonium or Coleus show their
heads; another year we may banish the Roses and their supporters, and carpet the
earth with Lobelia, Verbena. Gnaphalium, Clentaurea and Coleus, and dot the grass
with tufts of Tritoma, Pampas Grass, Cannas and Ferns. These plants, which may
attain a real perfection in a single season, can be changed very easily, and thus
permit endless variety. I do not care to dwell so much on the way of doing this
kind of work, as its importance, and to stimulate the owners of small places to give
ail their available land to combinations of hardy and tender plants that will yield
beauty of some kind almost all the year. During the winter, as a matter of course,
we can hope for very little vegetable beauty ; our reliance must be on evergreens,
and as evergreen shrubs and trees are few in kinds, and the trees great consumers of
room, we must, in small places, be contented with rather bare surfaces during the
winter, although beginning with Andromeda floribunda in the spring. The Andro-
medas. Rhododendrons, Kalmias and Hollies furnish a great deal of beauty from
spring to spring, particularly when combined with the smaller evergreen trees, small
in this latitude only, Cupressus, Retinispora, Thuiopsis, Pinus Mugho, Dwarf Abies
and Thujas. In cities, evergreens are less serviceable than in the country, because
of the accumulation of dust and smoke upon their leaves and wood ; but if one has
command of hydrant water, he can keep the foliage as clean in a city as in the
country, and really have more beauty from evergreen shrubs than out of town,
because the climate is warmer, and the plants better sheltered from wind and sun.
22
338 Ilj'brld JF^riots and yeffetables.
In city squares, evergreens are apt to look black and feeble, and to be so too, for no
one knows how or cares to clean the leaves, and as they remain on the branches for a
long time in the year, their pores become choked, and cannot give the air and moisture
the free circulation which is desirable. Evergreens drop their leaves as regularly as
deciduous trees, but only part at a time, and for that reason tangle up the smoky
yapours, and hold on to a greater amount of dirt than is easily believed, but city air
and vrarmth, manure and water, give the bedding and subtropical plants a climate
just suited to develop their perfection, and any man who has 200 square feet may,
in his degree, produce as much beauty and satisfaction as can come from one hundred
acres. The owner of a small place, who must confine his range to narrow limits,
learns to love and know his plants, and to note their minute differences, and it is
almost always among them that we find the most successful competitors for prizes in
particular class of plants at flower shows, and the most critical eyes to detect perfec-
tion and imperfections.
¥*
Hybrid Fruits and Vegetables.
IN the Horticultitrist of August, in a paper upon hybridizing and kindred matters,
Mr. Jacob Moore, of Rochester. N. Y., thinks the strange specimen of fruit from
Mr. Arnold, described in the GardeJier^s Mo7ithly of February last, as an apparent
hybrid between the apple and pear, could not have been produced by the influence of
apple-pollen fertilizing the blossoms of the pear. It seems to me, if we admit the
fact that such a fruit was produced upon a pear tree, differing entirely from its natu-
ral fruit, and which " much more resembled apples and pears, both in flavor and
appearance," and though it had seeds like the pear, had "apple pulp most undoubt-
edly," we shall be very much at a loss to account for it upon a«?/ other supposition
than that it ivas produced by cross-fertilization from pollen of the apple.
Though I have been engaged in hybridizing and crossing grapes and other fruits,
flowers and vegetables for many years, I have never tried to cross-breed the pear and
apple, nor have I seen any indication that it was practicable ; but I have noted
several instances where the pollen of fruits and vegetables^ especially corn, appa-
rently influenced the products of the same year they were fertilized. I well know,
however, that this is not the usual condition, and fully recognize such eases as abnor-
mal, or as variations or " sports " familiar to most florists and horticulturists.
The first fact bearing upon this subject which came under my personal observation,
was the following •. Two apple trees standing near each other, bore fruit entirely dis-
similar. One was bright red and oblong-conic or pointed in shape ; the other oblate
or flattened, greenish yellow, with no shade of red. Upon one of the small upper
branches of the red apple tree, within tj^e space of eighteen inches, there grew some
half dozen of the small yellow apples, oblate in form, and in all respects like those of
the other tree. Upon either side of them, both next the tree, and at the end of the
branch were the red apples, of their natural form and color. My first impression
was that this limb had been budded or grafted ; but the n)Ost careful examination
gave no such indication. And if so, a double operation would h^ve been required :
first, the yellow apple scion, and this afterwards regrafted with thp j-ed, Possible,
Ilj'hrid jFridls and J'cgetables. 339
certainly, but I think not without leaving marks or traces of the process, as the limb
where this strange freak occurred was only about half an inch in diameter.
A subsequent occurrence impressed me at the time as affording at least presump-
tive evidence of the direct influence of foreign pollen upon the fruits of the same
year. A cluster of the Logan grape which I had hybridized with pollen from the
Black Hamburgh, had larger berries, and colored earlier than the others upon the
vine. When they seemed well matured, I gave this bunch to a little invalid son,
telling him to eat the grapes, but save me the seeds. He ate them with great relish,
saying they were very nice. A week later, when the remaining clusters seemed fully
ripe he asked for more of them ; but these he pronounced sour and distasteful, and
not at all like the others. Nor could I induce him to eat any more from that vine,
as he persisted that they were wholly unlike the first, or hybridized bunch. I am,
however, compelled to say I have not since been able to verify this impression by
observations of my own.
Mr. Moore also does not believe corn will under any circumstances mix, so as to
produce apparent change the same year. As to the corn, I am obliged to confess
myself somewhat " mixed ;" but I feel quite prepared to take either, or both sides
of that question, as the following experience will show :
I have been for several years endeavoring to produce a sweet, or sugar corn earlier,
and with larger ears and larger grains than any of the early sorts heretofore grown.
To this end I first planted the earliest kind of sweet corn I could procure ; when
this was a few inches high, I planted an extra early small white variety known as
"Early Garden Corn," beside it. Upon the ripening of this corn, I certainly found,
in the first year, many grains of the sweet corn mixed upon the ears of the small
white variety. These grains I carefully saved, and the following year planted them
in a row adjoining the " Early Garden, " but at the same date. They apparently
matured at the same time, and both were mixed. The ears of the sugar corn had a
few of the hard, white grains of the garden corn ; and the latter, in the row nearest
it had also some grains of the sugar corn, though each mainly retained its distinctive
character.
The grains and ears of both these kinds were quite'small, and wishing to make an
improvement in these respects, the next year I planted the "Farmers' Club," a
medium early sugar corn of excellent quality, h,aving very large grains ; and when it
had grown about a foot high, planted near it a few grains selected from the earliest
of my small sweet corn. This I watched very closely, and as soon as the tassels
appeared, and before any pollen was formed, they were cut clean out from every stalk.
When the silk afterward appeared it was carefully dusted with the tassels from the
Farmers' Club corn. When the ears thus fertilized were matured, the size of the
grains, and whole appearance was precisely that of the Farmers' Club, and quite
unlike the small variety planted. It could not have been 'previously impregnated
with the Farmers' Club corn, for this was the first I had grown, and in the first year
of its introduction.
This corn was planted the next season, and the result was truly gratifying. No
vestige of the " Early Garden Corn" was apparent; but instead, a very early true
340 Jfulc/thfff Grape ? 'mes n't'i/i Straw.
sugar corn, reaJ3' for the table just seventy clays from planting, with large, full ears,
large grains and very small cob, and with one exception entirely unmixed
The exception above alluded to, is a puzzler. This corn was selected and planted
with my own hands, and none but the largest and most perfect grains of true sugar
corn were used ; and no other corn grew near it. During its growth, however, I
observed one stalk much stronger and taller than the rest, also considerably later.
From this stalk I carefully cut the tassels before pollen had formed, and upon the
appearance of the silk carefully dusted it with pollen from the surrounding tassels of
unquestionable sweet corn. My surprise, and I may also add disgust, may be
imagined, when I found the result to be an ear of the most common yellow field corn,
pure and unadulterated ; not a sweet corn grain upon it ! I intended to have planted
this yellow corn and noted the results the present season, but in the multiplicity of
other occupations neglected it. I still expect to do so another year, as I have care-
fully saved it.
The character of the early sugar corn produced as above described seems perma-
nent. I tested it the present season with Brills' early, and extra early from Bliss &
Sons, and am happy to say it came out triumphant a week to ten days ahead of all.
Delaware, Ohio. George W. Campbell.
♦♦ ■
Mulching G-rape Vines witli Straw.
BY D. S. CARPENTER.
Jtetul before Wisconsin State Ilofticultural Society.
I PL ANTED one thousand vines of Concord on ground plowed twice, but new and
full of live roots of oak trees that had been grubbed, so that 1 could not pul-
verize it as I wished.
I erected trellises before planting, and placed the rows five feet apart, with four
feet in the rows. Nearly all the plants had strong roots, and grew with a strong,
healthy growth. Immediately after setting, I covered the whole ground nearly six
inches deep with straw. Having covered my earlier settings with straw, instead of
earth, to protect them from the inclemency of our unfriendly winters, and having
met with such good success, with that material, I resolved to carry the experiment
to its ultimate, and so far as I am capable of judging, with the best results ; for the
straw not only preserves the cane and the fruit buds from sleet and frosts, which,
unprotected, are almost invariably destroyed in this climate, but it answers several
other valuable purposes :
1st. The straw keeps the frost in the ground in the spring longer than it would
be kept there if the ground be bare, thus keeping the buds retarded, so as to be
completely out of the way of the late frosts.
2d. This check in the spring is more than made up by the stimulating heat of
summer, aided by the retention of the sun's heat by the covering of straw during
the night, and this artificial stimulus ripens my grapes a week or ten days earlier
than their season without mulching.
3d. Straw covering has proved more efficacious, in saving the .vines from injury,
than any other covering I am acquainted with. I have never lost » single vine,
MulcMiiff Grape Vines liVtfi Straw, 341
while seven-eights of all the vines in this count}', covered with earth, a few years
ago, were killed by an early sleet and accompanying freeze.
4th. The straw covering keeps the ground constantly moist, even during the
obstinate drought of last season, and is supposed to greatly prevent rust, oidium or
mildew, rot and blight, as I have had nothing of the kind on my vines for the whole
period of my experiments, either in dry or wet seasons ; except last year, which was
exceedingly wet and backward, I noticed a few berries on the Catawba and Diana
that exhibited the dry black rot.
5th. It was predicted by others, and in fact somewhat feared by myself, that the
straw would be a burrowing place for mice and rabbits that would destroy my vines,
and be a nest for the propagation of insects, yet I have never been troubled in the
least with either. I noticed three seasons ago some few black aphis on the terminals
of some of the vines, which I cut off and threw into the lake, since which I have
seen nothing of these little black foes.
6th. The straw is an excellent gardener as well as winter protector, for if judi-
ciously distributed it not only keeps the weeds from growing, but it keeps the ground
" as mellow as an ash heap." It invites the bugs and worms (incapable of boring
tlie grape roots) to the surface of the ground, it always being moist and soft ; that
surface is continually pulverized and vitalized by these industrious denizens of the
soil. The straw not only accomplishes irrigation, but the finest cultivation, enabling
the long fibrous roots and rootlets to secure their proper nourishment on the surface,
in the richest and mellowest soil, without compelling them to penetrate hard sub-soil
in search of nourishment, and to avoid the burning effect of the sun's rays. The
straw mulching secures plenty of heat and abundance of moisture, which stimulate
the ripening of the wood and fruit to a remarkable degree.
7th. Straw contains considerable ammonia, which has a great affinity for nitrogen,
and collects that useful gas from the atmosphere and retains it for the diffusion of
sugar and the nitrates essential to the value of the fruit, etc. And besides, the
woody matter of straw returns to vegetable mould, thus adding vastly to the develop-
ment and strength of the cane, etc. Phosphate and carbonate of lime are also de-
posited and retained in a degree, adding greatly to rapid growth and early maturity.
I have now some 1,500 vines, and the weeding and cultivating have scarcely cost
me a dollar a year. I have had some weeds to contend with, but it was wholly owing
to a defective distributiou of straw. I use from eight to ten loads each fall, cover-
ing the whole ground to the depth of six inches. In the spring as soon as the lilac
leaves have half their growth, the vines should be uncovered and tied to the trellis,
and leave nature and summer pruning to do the rest.
In 1869 — the first bearing year of the 1,000 Concords I had planted in 1868 — the
vines were literally covered with fruit ; very few vines had less than ten pounds,
while some of them contained not less than thirtj^ pounds. The branches were
exceedingly well formed, with very large, plump berries. I could fill my bushel
basket with pound bunches. I estimated that on the whole piece (about three-
quarters of an acre) there could not be less than 10,000 pounds.
The crop, for the first one, being so intensely heavy, I did not expect to raise
many the present year ; but, though I was absent the whole summer, and did not
trim them at all, but permitted them to " run at large," I could not perceive much
difference from the bountiful yield of the previous season. I think the amount was
somewhat less, but they were of better quality and flavor, and ripened a month
earlier than last season.
I had never known straw to be used before, as a cover, a mulch or a cultivator,
but for ten years I have used it with most excellent success. I believe it saves one-
half the otherwise necessary labor in this climate, producing earlier and better
fruit. Hens should not be permitted to range in the vintage, for they will not only
destroy much fruit, by promiscuously picking open the berries, but will so scratch
and scatter the straw as to render it uselcsss for the purpose intended.
Editorial ITotes.
The Hot'tirultiirl.tt for ]S72.
Once more, the publisher asks the friends ftf The Horticulturist to assist him and
it in good words and faithful endeavors. Every one of its present readers knows it has
been vastly improved since it came into the present hands ; in reading matter it has been
filled with popular, useful, practical and dignified literature ; it has been printed with
taste ; its illustrations have been tasteful, and increasing constantly in excellence
and numbers, until now, we think, no one will dispute our claim that it is the best
and most abundantly illustrated horticultural journal in the country. Among later
improvements worth mention, is the introduction of Tinted Frontispieces in every
number, with superior printing, and at the same time, notwithstanding these increased
attractions and efforts to please our readers, its subscription price has been reduced,
both yearly and in clubs. Has not the publisher done his best ? Do not our readers
think it is worth some effort and good word or work of appreciation from them ?
Bring in the new subscribers and clubs — old friends, renew every name, and
promptly. Say a good word for it among your neighbors, and bring in the new
names freely. By special notice elsewhere, we have announced that, on and after this
date, the subscription price will be reduced to ^2 per annum to all paying strictly in
advance. For the coming year, we will be able to give richer and more tasteful
illustrations than ever, while the literary matter will be as fresh, pleasant, practical
and entertaining as ever.
The Trophy Tomato.
Much enthusiasm was elicited in the former^ part of the fruiting season by the
growers of the '• Trophy," and some ecstatic remarks have been freely quoted by the
press. We found recently, on a trip to Delaware and Maryland, and in the neigh-
borhood of Philadelphia, that, after trial, the New York Early Improved Smooth Red
is preferred to the Trophy for a market crop. The Trophy, in the southern portion
of tlie Middle States, does not seem to bear as large a crop as on the heavy soils
farther North. Likewise, it has been found to grow rough and more rugged in outline
each year, comparatively few specimens being entirely smooth. Gardeners say that
they can get more baskets to the acre of the Smooth Red than the Trophy, although
all admit the latter is equal to all representations as to flavor and solidity.
Grapes.
We believe grape growers this season have made money. The quantity raised was
not so overwhelmingly large as last year, and the varieties have been more gradually
brought into the market. The Early grapes from the South have averaged 10 cents
per pound to 12 cents, while other grapes from Central New York have brought
7 cents to 8 cents steadily. We may mention, as an evidence of the increase of the
BdUorial J\roies. 343
grape trade, and the enormous quantities sold in this city, that one dealer (Mr, C.
W. Idell, the Gi-rape King of dealers) sold in one day over 4^ tons, or 9,000 lbs., and
his daily average is from one to three tons. There are probably 30 to 50 other
dealers in the city selling grapes also.
The demand for grapes strengthens as cool weather approaches. Peaches are all
gone, early pears are gradually disappearing, and grapes reign alone as the prime fruit
of the market. The three greatest fruits of our city markets now are strawberries,
peaches and grapes.
drafting Grnjtcs,
The Old Mission Grape of California has been so extensively planted as to become
of very little profit to the vineyard owners. But a sagacious individual at Oakland,
Cal., has been buying up quite a number of these vineyards, and grafting the vines
over to the White Muscat of Alexandria and the Flame Tokay varieties. With three
men, he grafts 1,000 vines a day, and the success of the practice is said to be assured,
few grafts failing to grow, and in the first year of bearing yielding one ton of grapes
to the acre, the second year three tons, and after the third year a full crop regularly.
They are considered worth $100 per ton.
Jt£f. I'eterti's J'enr Orchard.
In our October article, we were unable to give precise statements about Mr.
Peters's famous pear orchard, but since that time he has favored us with additional
facts. There are in all, near Wilmingtim, 200 acres of land,,mostly in orchards and
nursery stock. Of pears, he has 5000 trees, mostly four to six years old, and many
just in bearing. Each year, varieties found worthless are re-grafted, until now the
list of varieties desirable for general culture is quite small. He believes that dwarf
trees, if properly selected, planted and cultivated, are quite as profitable as standard
trees, and will produce the same amount per acre.
In his fruit farm near Newark, Del., there are 150 acres more, with 10,000 trees.
The orchard is very favorably located upon the slope of a hill. The soil is loose and
stony, also naturally well drained. Trees are eight years old. Varieties most pre-
ferred are Duchesse, Lawrence, Vicar, Seckel, and Onondaga. The standard trees
are planted 24 feet apart, then a row of dwarfs between, and a dwarf between the
standards in the same row, so that all the trees are 12 feet apart.
The fruit is of extraordinary size and quality, and considered superior to even the
best California Bartletts Mr. Downing had seen.
The pears were packed in barrels and sent to Boston, returning prices of $13 to
$20 per barrel, or $5 to $6 per bushel. The following are specimens of returns :
Aug. 12. Shipment of 21 barrels $297 00
Deduct freight 24 57
" Commissious 29 70
54 27
Net $242 73
Aug. 15. Shipment of 18 barrels, 5 sold at $18, and 13
at $15 $285 00
Deduct freight 20 06
" Commissions 28 50
48 56
Net $236 44
Mr. Peters's success he attributes entirely to thorough cultivation, and believes
that the high quality of his fruit is due to tillage entirely. His orchard is also
entirely free from blight.
344 .Editorial JVotes.
The Israella Or<ii>e.
For Southern latitudes, we esteem this the most valuable of early black grapes.
It ripens as early with us as the Hartford or Ives, and, as an eating grape, is infi-
nitely better in flavor. Bunches are large, handsome ; berries never drop ofi"; and
fruit has a very fine bloom. The vine is a rampant grower, and just as healthy as
the Concord. Extremely productive.
The Kittntintit/ and Wilaon Ulachhcrries,
AVe find a large number of Southern growers this year very much dissatisfied with
the Wilson Early, and the tide seems to be turning again in favor of the Kittatinny.
In the West, one cultivator says : " No other named variety is worth a moment's
notice, in comparison with the Kittatinny. One great requisite of success with him
is not to cut back the canes in spring, as they never furnish more blossoms than they
can perfect in fruit. But thorough pinching back the previous season is of the
greatest importance.''
The popularity of varieties in New York varies with each season. Last year the
Wilson was most popular ; this year the Dorchester was the favorite.
JIfj*. Vich'a Floteer farm.
James Vick's flower farms at Rochester are more extensive than are generally
known. For instance : The Verbena bed meaures three-quarters of an acre ; Asters,
one and a-half aci'cs, containing about 20 varieties in all colors ; Phloxes embrace
about two acres, with 20 varieties ; Dahlias, two acres ; Lilies, one acre ; Tuberoses,
three-quarters of an acre. He has, we believe, three farms, numbering over 75
acres. The visitors to the Saratoga Fair, last September, also the State Fair at
Albany, in October, will remember the beautiful displays of flowers contributed by
him, and the grand sweep of first premiums he made in every direction.
The Wilder Grape.
Reports from Western New York this season agree in saying, " it is not excelled
by any variety this year in health and fruitfulness. '
Xoif Headed Trees,
The tide of favorable opinion for heading fruit trees low for orchard culture, is now
experiencing a revulsion. Orchardists, who cultivate their orchards, and are in the
habit of ploughing or stirring the soil periodically, say low headed trees will not
answer. It is impossible to approach near enough with the horse and implement, and
hence the high standard methods of training will hardly be given up. Low training
will answer for garden culture, and for orchards where there is a good deal of hand
labor. Apple and Peach trees must be trained high, but Pears, we believe, are best
if grown on the pyramidal system, and this must be low to attain success.
ViU it do to set Stnftll Jfruits anion ff Standard fruit Trees '.'
Once for all, NO. Very many, anxious to economize their land, wish to grow
strawberries on their land, while their trees are growing upward to bearing age. We
only repeat what we have often said before, such a course will be either a sure loss
to the trees, or a preventive of their successful growth. No crop exhausts the soil
so much as strawberries. The roots extract all the moisture from the soil, and the
trees have no odds against a soil doubly full of myriads of little rootlets, sucking the
life and food away from it. Blackberries are less exhausting than strawberries ;
currants appear to have very little injurious eff"ect, as their shade helps the soil to
retain moisture sufiicient for both. In general, no plant should be allowed to grow
within three to four feet of a fruit tree, and when in bearing the trees will thrive best
if they occupy the soil exclusively.
Mulch i tig.
We would remind all gardeners and fruit growers that this month is the time for
covering with mulch. One .inch deep will be sufiicient for strawberries. We use
from two to four tons to the acre.
^Editorial JVotes, 345
Conoi^cr's Colossal A.si>arnans.
This variety sold last spring for 60 cents per bunch, or at the rate of $1,200 per
acre. The earliest bunches came from Pennsylvania, and realized as high as 80 cents.
We observe cultivators are preparing to plant largely of it for profit, one grower
in Southern Delaware having already made preparations to put out 200,000 roots.
Prices have fallen about one-half since spring, and plants are now quite cheap.
Notes on Jtaspberries.
Doolittle and Miami, both abundant bearers, we think leave nothing further to be
desired in black caps. Should be planted about equally, for home use, and for mar-
ket plant mostly Miami, as it is a week later and thus comes less in competition with
Southern and Eastern berries.
Of the red, Kirtland gave us our first berries ; an abundant crop of rather small,
firm terries, of pleasant but not high flavor; canes perfectly hardy; needs a deep,
rich soil to give both cane and berry more size.
Hornet gave us the largest berries ; very firm, but of second quality. Franeonia
and Brinckle's Orange both productive and excellent. Fastollf very fine in quality;
runs terribly to suckers and yet makes but feeble canes. Clark, quite productive ;
very best in quality ; good size ; too soft for distant marketing ; suckers quite too
abundantly except where plants are in demand. The last five named must have win-
ter protection, and are all much improved by heavy summer mulching.
Catawissa will not stand a severe winter, and we have heretofore in the spring cut
the canes to the ground (the roots never injure) and only had from it an autumn crop.
In moist seasons we get a fair crop, but when too dr}', very little. The canes came
through the past winter without injury and have surprised and pleased us with a full
crop of excellent fruit ; little tart, but very bright and free from any musky flavor,
which injures some of the others. Hereafter we shall try, by giving slight winter
protection, to get a summer crop and an occasional one in the autumn.
Philadelphia is loaded with fruit as usual ; medium size ; second quality; too soft
for distant marketing, but in quantity making up for all other defects. In five years
with us it has never winter-killed^ and never failed to be loaded down with fruit ; does
not sucker badly. We think it is the berry for " the million."
Ellisdale after two years trial, and Ohio Everbearing after three years, we have
thi-own out as too unproductive to pay ground rent. — /. S. Stickney, in Western
Farmer.
Good Culture 2'ai/s.
Mr. E. H. Skinner, in an address before the Northern Illinois Horticultural
Society said that "where I have laid out the most money in cultivation and manuring,
I have realized the largest profit on the investment. Let me illustrate this : In the
year 1862, I planted 86 rods of ground to strawberries, it being my first setting
beyond a family supply. On this small plat I spent many days, hoeing, cultivating,
and raking, making it as fine as a flower garden. All through the season, I really
thought myself it would not pay, but I took great delight in having it look so nicely.
The result was that I had over fifty-three bushels of extra large fruit, and it being a
very dry season, I realized eight dollars per bushel for it, netting me over three
hundred dollars above all labor expended, for the fruit on eighty-six rods, or little
more than half an acre. This experiment induced me to plant four acres the next
season, and I took the same pains in the setting out and the first hoeing, but after
that I only gave good ordinary cultivation, and this field looked well ; but I could
see plainly in the spring following that the yield would not be equal to my first
experiment. I am not able to give the exact expense of this four acres, but it was
but little, if any, more than for the first-mentioned one-half acre. We picked one
hundred and thirty bushels of fruit, the season being quite a favorable one. The
crop sold for eight dollars per bushel, making a total of $1,040, or about $900 for
346 MUtorial jYotes.
the crop net ; $225 per acre in the last instance, and $600 in the first. Now, I
would ask, which mode paid the best ?
"In the above estimate of expenses for the first half acre, I should have mentioned
the cost of nine days' work with team, hauling and applying water during the drouth.
Artificial watering of the strawberry, or other small fruits, although expensive, will
pay five hundred per cent on the outlay. The same principle and mode of cultivation
will apply to the raspberry and all other small fruits. And if it pays to cultivate
thoroughly in growing these fruits for commercial purposes, it pays ef|ually well iu
growing them for home use.
AsparayuH.
The Grermantown Teleuraph says: — "We repeat our doubts that there is more
than one kind of Asparagus. The more we hear of the cultivation of the mammoth
— a size that we do not covet — the more clear does it appear that it is the result of
selecting the strong single roots for planting to begin with, and then plant them in
trenches six to eight inches deep, well plied with manure at the sides of the row, and
as the manured spires grow, fill in the soil, etc. As least, this is one way of getting
the very largest we ever saw."
Oui' Treading Varieties of feaches.
The following are the leading varieties of peaches, as sold in our fruit markets.
Among the most popular, and bringing the highest prices, is the Reeve's Favorite, a
very large and beautiful peach.
Hale's Early. — This peach is the first to ripen. The fruit is of medium size, nearly
round, skin mottled red, flesh white, juicy, and high flavored, but rots badly.
Troth's Early Red. — This peach, which is small, round and red. is ready for the
market about the time that Hale's Early is n-early gone.
Large Early York. — A variety known among growers by many names, among
which are New Rareripe, Honest John, Walter's Early, etc. The fruit is above
medium ; skin whitish, dotted with red. Flesh white, very juicy, and good flavor.
Season for them, the middle of August.
Crawford's Early. — It is of the yellow fleshed variety ; large, generally oblong,
but variable as to shape. Skin yellow, with red cheek. The fruit juicy and slightly
acid ; freestone.
Yellow Rare-ripe. — This variety, also freestone, ripens nearly at the same time as
the Crawford's Early, and is much esteemed for its flavor. The fruit is large, skin
orange yellow, with rich red cheek. The flesh is yellow, but red at the stone.
Oldmixon Free-stone. — This peach grows large, with a pale skin, flesh white,
tender and very rich.
Reeve's Favorite. — An excellent variety, the fruit being large, the skin yellow,
with red cheek. The flesh is a deep yellow, and red at the stone. The flavor is
rich.
Stump the World. — The flesh is white, red cheek and rich flavor. It closely
resembles the Oldmixon Freestone.
Crawford's Late. — Many think this peach to be the best of any grown, not only
for its beautiful appearance, but the richness of its flavor. The fruit is large,
roundish, with shallow suture ; the skin yellow, with dark red check. Ripens i'rom
the first to the last of September.
Ward's Late Free. — A fine white fleshed freestone peach. Skin white, with crim-
son cheek ; flesh white, and slightly red at the stone, and excellent flavor.
Smock. — This variety of freestone peach is well known for its productiveness and
value as a market peach ; also a favorite for pickling, preserving, etc. The
fruit is oblong, skin light yellow, mottled with red. Flesh yellow, but red at stone.
Season, last of September and first of October.
Heath. — A cling-stone variety of delicious flavor, and which generally closes the
season, coming to market as late as the middle of October. The fruit is large,
oblong, skin whitish, but slightly tinged when ripened in exposed places.
JFloral JVotes, 347
Floral Notes.
Double Xinninn.
These have been so vastly improved of late years, that a good full-blown one now
is equal in size and regularity of petals to one of the miniature or bouquet dahlias.
By the side of the double varieties, the older or single ones seem but little better
than weeds.
Soot as u BInnure.
Soot is as valuable as guano for fertilizing plants, containing a very large amount
of ammonia. Dissolve twelve quarts of soot in a hogshead of water, or in same pro-
portion for less quantities, and it will be found an excellent liquid manure. Apply
it to the soil near the plants, and not to the leaves. It would be worth trying
upon pot plants for in-door culture, not oftener than two times a week.
Sweet WillUitns.
A number of ladies have found that when their Sweet Williams and Diadem
Pinks (Dianthus), have been closely planted together, they will be beautifully varie-
gated with all the finer tints that usually characterize the Dianthus. One cultivator,
communicating his experience to the Rural New Yorker, states that he has produced
some very fine Sweet William hybrids, grown from a stock planted in the center of
a bed of Dianthus. " The beauty of both plants seems blended in one. The plants
partake generally of the nature of the Sweet William in foliage and growth; they
also commenced to bloom earlier than the Dianthus planted at the same time. The
flowers are almost all the colors of the Dianthus, and about fifty per cent are very
large, extremely double, and marked the same «s the Dianthus. The flowers are in
clusters of three or four on a stalk of some length. They have also the fragrance of
the Sweet William, which makes them very desirable for bouquets." Doubtless,
just as curious results may be obtained by anyone who will follow the same course
of planting the two flowers among or near each other.
Tnkinff Care of Glttdioltis Bulbs.
To make a good display of Gladiolus during the summer and autumn, the bulbs
should be planted at intervels of two or three weeks. Those planted first will, of
course, ripen first, and I have found that it does the bulbs no good to let them
remain in the ground for any considerable time after the stems and leaves are dead.
Many of the earliest planted are now ripe, and I am digging and drying the bulbs
preparatory to placing them in their winter quarters. When one cultivates an
extensive collection it is no easy task to keep each variety separate when digging,
drying and storing. After trying several diff^erent methods, such as keeping in
flower pots, bags and small boxes, I have adopted the following described style of
boxes : Select boards one-half inch or more in thickness and a foot wide, cut into
lengths of four or five feet ; then take common siding, six inches wide, and nail them
around the wide board, which is to be the bottom of your box. Put one strip of sid
ing lengthways through the center, and then divide the sides into small sections,
using the same kinds of boards for partitions. In this way we can have ten to
twenty boxes all attached, each holding six to twelve bulbs. Such cases are very
convenient, for they can be taken into the garden, and as the bulbs are lifted each
variety with the label dropped into one of the sections, and when the divisions are
all full, the case can be carried into some out-house Avhere the bulbs will dry without
further trouble. The cases are set away for winter just as they came from the
garden, and whenever a bulb of any particular variety is wanted, it can be found
without difiiculty, as the label should be placed on the top of the bulbs. In the
spring the cases are carried out into the garden with the bulbs, and the labels in a
convenient shape for using. By using such cases as described, I have been able to
keep from one to two hundred sorts of Gladiolus without the least trouble in the way
of their becoming mixed, or in lifting, drying or storing in the winter. — Rural New
Yorker.
348 JIo)'ticultu7'al JVo^es.
Tfie Trailing Arbutus for Hanging Jiaskets.
To those who may ever have experienced considerable difficulty in growing the
Arbutus in hanging baskets, the following plan may prove a help, having been sug-
gested by a reader of the liuial Neiv Yorker, who was successful. For three suc-
cessive seasons she beautified our little parlor with a hanging basket filled with
forest plants, of which the trailing Arbutus formed the principal part. The basket
was a home-made affair, fashioned of annealed wire and the skirts of a superannu-
ated hoopskirt. Then early in April, as soon as the snow was gone, we gathered
trailing Arbutus, partridge berry [Mitchella repe?is), winter green {GauUheria pro-
cumbens), ferns and moss, with sometimes a plant of the yellow-blossomed wild
strawberry [Fragai'ia vesca).
Having collected the plants the basket was first lined with soft moss and then
filled with light forest mold. A strong root of fern was planted in the center, the
other plants filled in, and the whole kept well watered. For many weeks the basket
was kept gay and fragrant with the successive blooms of the Arbutus, and as they
disappeared the delicate bells and bright scarlet berries of the Mitchella, nestling amid
the rich foliage and soft moss, made a thing of beauty during the entire season.
The slowly-uncoiling feathery fronds of the fern gave an exotic character to the
whole, which greatly heightened the effect.
The conditions observed were : 1st. To renew the materials of the basket every
spring. 2d, To select plants with good roots, growing in light leaf mold, and, in
case of the Arbutus, to obtain plants plentifully filled with buds. This plant will
not form buds in a hanging basket ;.and, indeed, so far as my observation goes, it
will only do so when growing over a rock. Where acres of it were growing not one
would have a bud or blossom except where there was a subcumbent rock within an
inch or two of the surface. 3d. And quite as important as all the other items, the
basket was kept well watered and in the shade. No sunshine was ever allowed to
strike it, a cool situation near a north window being found the most favorable place
for it.
Horticultural Notes.
In response to the question whether trees in the west should be transplanted in
the fall, Mr. J. B. Richardson, of Sheboygan Falls, Wis., answers no for his locality.
In the Middle States it will do, but not in a bleak, cold, snowless country like this.
But we do approve of taking up all kinds of deciduous trees (intended for spring
planting) in the fall and burying them for the winter for various reasons.
All half hardy, and even the most hardy, are more or less injured where left
standing in the nursery over winter, by the many severe changes from warm to cold
- sometimes half frozen to death ; such trees taken from the nursery in the spring
and planted, invariably half of them die or become sick, while those taken in the
fall, while perfectly sound, and buried and planted in the spring, will every one grow
and make a good growth. We speak from large experience, having practiced bury-
ing trees of many sorts for at least twenty years, and the trial in all cases has proved
most satisfactory.
It is surprising to iis that tree planters are so slow in adopting this practice, that
so few obtain their trees from the nurseries in the fall, rather than defer it till
spring. Certainly there is more time to make their selection and to prepare the
soil for an orchard in the fall, and get the trees upon the ground ready at the earliest
opportunity to plant them.
Do not wait for an agent to come round, but go or send to the nursery, get your
trees ; two year old is the best age, they cost less and you can get more roots
according to their size, and they invariably make the best formed trees for an
orchard in this climate ; bring them home, select a dry place in the garden or the
SbrHcidtural JVotes. 349
orchard plot, and for the first bundle of trees open a trench crosswise the intended
mound, lay down and single out the trees in this cross trench (just the roots) and let
the tops lay on the solid ground ; then lay on a thin stick or lath, then cover this
layer half under with fine earth, press down, and by doing this you will have opened
another cross trench for another variety or bundle. Lay down in same manner, fill
in with fine earth — same as before and so on until all are in, then dig a trench all
around the trees and cover so that the roots will be under about two feet and the
top six inches : the main point in covering is to keep the tops from the sun.
If the covering is with clean fine earth and well packed, so there shall be no air-
holes, they are perfectly safe. Take all weeds and other rubbish entirely away, so
there can be no danger of mice getting in, and your trees will come out as sound as
when put in.
All deciduous trees may be treated in the same manner, also grapes, raspberries,
gooseberries, blackberries, currants, etc. It will more than pay the extra labor, for
that is your insurance, that every plant you set is sound and uninjured by the severe
changes during winter. This is not my advice alone, but you have it from every
experienced nurseryman and orchardist in the Western States.
Jilue Glnss fcr Mot Ho^ises,
Robert Buist, Sr., of Philadelphia, endorses the blue glass theory from his own
successful experience. In a communication to Tilton's Journal of Horticulture, he
says he " applied a coating of Prussian blue paint, six inches wide, up the center of
each row of panes ; the result was electric, and the plants assumed their beautiful green
color in a few days, and the trusses of bloom came to maturity in a few days." The
glass houses had formerly been used to grow geraniums for bedding purposes, but
they had lost their color every year about the first of April. Now they were com-
pletely rejuvenated.
JEugenie XTgin,
All who possess orchard houses should procure a plant or two of this myrtle. It
fruits profusely, and possesses the most delicious flavor imaginable. In general
appearance it bears a close resemblance to the common myrtle (Myrtus communis).
It may be propagated freely from cuttings of the young wood in a moderate heat. —
Gardener'' s Weekly.
Sweet Violets.
The Florist and Pomologiitt says : " The sweet violets are among the most charm-
ing little gems of the spring garden, and they will grow almost anywhere, provided
they get pure air ; but what they most delight in is a rich, deep, loam soil, with
liberal soakings of manure water during the flowering season. The following are a
few of the most distinct : King of Violets, an improvement on arborea, dark violet, a
good grower, free bloomer, and fit for green-house or out-door culture. Reine des
Violettes, blush-white, very double and hardy, a free bloomer ; will do either
in-door or out. The Giarit and Czar, if not the same, are very much alike ;
both have large flowers, with long stalks ; which make them very valuable for either
bouquets or vases. Ruhra-ple?ia, double red or copper color, very distinct, hardy and
a free bloomer. Arborea alba, tree habit, pure white, one of the best for in-door
cultivation, as it likes a little protection. Devoniensis, in bloom the whole season,
and has a long flower stalk, which makes it valuable for gathering; is of a light
violet color. Neapolitan, one of the most beautiful, second to none, remarkably
sweet-scented, with charming pale-blue flowers. These are all worthy of general
cultivation."
Killing Jilnchberry Hushes.
One of the editors of the Rural Neio Yorker, in answer to the question how to
kill blackberry vines, says : I have not only planted but killed out several acres of
blackberry bushes during the last ten years, and have not found either a very
350 SbrtlcuUural J\utes.
troublesome task. Last suratner I destroyed a plantation by simply mowing off the
plants and thoroughly plowing up the roots. Not a plant lived, nor has a sucker
appeared this season ; and I attribute my success more to the time of doing the work
than to the manner or thoroughness. The time selected was immediately after
gathering the fruit, i. e., the first of August. The plants were then growing vigor-
ously, and the stems and roots immature, consequently the cutting and plowing was
too much even for a blackberry. This simple method is almost equally as certain in
destroying noxious plants of other species, but the time must be varied to corres-
pond with the growth of the plant, as some mature early and others late. Always
select a time when the plants are making or just finishing their most vigorous growth.
Grapes hi Vestern Neto York,
Mr. J. H. Babcock, at Lockport, New York, reports as follows: Hartford is the
first for market. First shipment, August olst ; September 14th, crop nearly all
marketed at good prices. The crop will net five or six hundred dollars per acre.
Delaware, a week or ten days later than Hartford. The foliage is considerably
affected by the thrip, otherwise healthy. Fruit meets a ready sale. Concord is a
full crop, and now ready to market. For a near market, there is much profit in this
grape. But it is tender to handle long distances.
lona is apparently as late as Isabella, and whatever may be said of the high
quality of its fruit, this is certainly not a variety for safe and profitable cultivation
here. Adirondack is a fine table grape, but will never yield much profit as a market
sort. Isabella makes close, compact bunches, but cannot be recommended for
general cultivation.
Wilder promises to surpass all the black varieties as a market sort. Its bunches
are as large as Concord, and much more showy and of better quality. It is an
enormous bearer. I think it is producing for me at the rate of four tons per acre,
and making a strong growth. Its period of ripening is a few days earlier than
Concord. Its shipping qualities are equal to the Isabella.
This is my third year of fruiting the Salem, and I am more pleased with it than
ever before. Among red grapes this surpasses all others that I grow. It makes a
good bunch. The berry is large and very showy, and my whole crop is fit for market
September l'2th. They are already in the Buffalo market, and a dealer says, " they
are giving better satisfaction than any variety in the market."
Rogers No. 15 is bearing a good crop and for keeping in winter this is probably
not surpassed. Rogers No. 3 is nearly or quite as early as Hartford, and may prove
a valuable sort for market.
Ejentninitiff Winter I'ear.i,
Make a point of regularly examining every week all the choice kinds of fruits that
may be approahing ripeness or which are found not to be keeping well, so that every-
thing may be used at the proper time, for the finest pears are worthless enough if
allowed to become over-ripe before being used, and the same is the case with many
varieties of apples. Also look over the whole stock as often as time can be spared,
removing any fruit that exhibits symntoms of decay, and put them aside for imme-
diate use. Any of the choicer kinds of pears that do not ripen properly in the fruit
room, should be removed to a warm, dry room for a few days. This will be found
to greatly improve them. Keep the fruit as dry and cool as possible, and if the
frost is excluded, the fruit-room can hardly be too cool when the object is to preserve
the fruit plump and sound for a long time. — Rural Home.
Ae»' 'PuhUcations. 351
New Publications.
loivn Jlorticiiltiiral Report, 1S70,
Contains 140 pages, with following list of topics : Fruit Reports from District Com-
mittees ; Care of Orchards, by H. C. Raymond; Early Richmond Cherry, by J. L.
Budd ; Iowa Hedge Growing Apples, E. H. Calkins ; Insects, D. Kriddelbaugh ;
Forest Trees, by Suel Foster; List of Fruits for General Cultivation ; Revision of
Apple List ; The Effect of Soils upon Fruit Trees, by R. P. Speer ; Landscape
Gardening for Farmers, by D. W. Adams. The officers are : President, James
Matthews, Knoxville, Iowa; \'^ice-President, Suel Foster, Muscatine, Iowa; Secre-
tary. D. W. Adams, Wankon, Iowa; Treasurer, David Leonard, Burlington, Iowa.
The Ohio State Moi-ticitlturnl Society's Jteport, 1S70,
Contains 78 pages, with Reports of the Summer Meeting of the Society at Berlin
and Vermillion ; Fruits at the Ohio State Fair in Springfield ; Annual Meeting of
the Society at Urbana. Among incidental topics of interest is a paper on "Experi-
ments in Clovering Vineyards," by Chas. B. Summers, of Vermillion; "Aesthetic
Horticulture," by F. R. Elliott; "The Farmer's Garden," "The Vine and its Cul-
ture," by G. W. Campbell; "Ornamental Shrubs;" "Value of Fruit Products of
Ohio." The officers are: President, Dr. J. A, Warder, Cincinnati, 0.; Vice-Pres-
ident, G. \Y. Campbell, Delaware, 0. ; Secretary, M. B. Bateham, Painesville, 0. ;
Treasurer, Dr. J. W. Dunham, Collamer, 0.
Wisconsin State Horticultural Society's Iteporf, 1870 and 1S71-
We are glad to find so creditable a volume, full of interesting subjects, bearing
evidence of enterprise on the part of Secretary, officers and essayists, who have con-
tributed to the interest of the meetings. Besides reports of Sessions of the Society,
there are thirty valuable papers contributed by various members, and all of good
practical moment. The volume contains 200 pages. The officers are : President, J.
S. Stickney, V/amoston; Vice-President. A. G. Tuttle, Baraboo ; Recording Secre-
tary, 0, S. Willey, Madison; Corresponding Secretary, Geo. E. Morrow, Madison;
Treasurer, George A. Mason, Madison.
Transactions Illinois State Jlorticaltnral Society, 1S70,
Contains upwards of 350 pages, and very neatly hound and printed. Besides reports
of Committees and addresses of the President, there is a large fund of valuable in-
formation elicited from the discussions. The system of classification of the State
into districts is a very convenient one, the value of which becomes apparent, particu-
larly when the reports are received from the designated correspondents. In this vol-
ume all these reports are of great interest, usually free from dry, tedious details. We
observe also a good tendency to throw in gratuitous suggestions as to culture, propa-
gation, etc. Among the papers worthy of special notice, is that of D. B. Wier, on
" The Vine;" Robert Douglass, on " Evergreens for the Prairies ;" 0. B, Galusha,
on "Pears;" Arthur Bryant, Sr., on "Forest Trees;" "Birds Beneficial and Inju-
rious to Horticulture," by Dr. J. W. Velie ; A. M. Brown, on "Packing Fruit for
Market;" Jonathan Periam, on "Economic Gardening;" Jno. Tunnell, "Osage
Hedges ;" and various others, on Small Fruits. The entire volume is replete with
useful and interesting information, and will be found very cheap at the price of mem-
bership, only a dollar. Officers for 1871 : President, Arthur Bryant, Sr., Prince-
ton, Illinois; Secretary, 0. B. Galusha, Morris, Illinois; Treasurer, Jonathan Hug-
gins, Woodburn, Illinois.
Itadclyffe's Ketv ^Catalogue of Jtalbs.
The new Autumn Catalogue of Dick Radclyffe & Co., 129 High Holborn, W. C,
Loudon, England, contains 68 pages of closely printed and richly illustrated horti-
cultural matter. It is one of the most useful of all the foreign catalogues we have
yet seen, and is embellished with many ornamental designs for household floral
decorations. The American trade will be interested in it.
352 Editorial JK'bHces.
Jtiversiile, in 187 i)
Is a descriptive pamphlet of GO pages, freely illustrated with engravings, and con-
taining literary matter respecting the progress of the Riverside Park, near Chicago,
Illinois. In one of the numbers of The Horticultuuist, for 1870, we gave several
illustrations of prominent buildings in this rapidly-growing suburb of the " Garden
City," and stated that we believed it to be the most successful and best laid-out
private park in the country. The pamphlet will inform everyone how it has been so
successfully managed. Published by L. W. Murray, Chicago, 111.
yew Catalogues'
Among the newer Catalogues of special excellence is that of Hoopes Bros., and
Thomas, of Westchester. Pa., and containing a very fine illustrated description of
ornamental trees and shrubs, very neatly printed, and valuable for reference. George
Baker, of Toledo, 0., also issues an illustrated catalogue of 60 pages, containing 16
full page engravings.
Narserif Agencies.
Of all that were started several years since, we believe only two now remain with
permanent business, viz. : Wood & Hall, Geneva, N. Y. ; Geo. T. Fish, Rochester,
N. Y. Both of these are enterprising business men, and conduct their business in
an honorable manner, and, we think, have thus far proved satisfactory in every respect
to the public. AVe are glad to have the poor weeded out ^ and the good well patronized.
Editorial Notices.
Jieduction of Terms.
We renew our offer of throe months on trial, for 30 cents, to any address ; cannot
our readers induce their friends to try it ? Surely there are a goodly number that
will be entertained with it at this low price. To all new subscribers for 1872, the
balance of this year is given free.
Hereafter our subscription will be but $2 per annum to all remitting us strictly in
advance, i. e., within 30 days of the commencement of each subscriber's year. After
that date, they remain as before, viz., 82.50. This oflfer of a reduction by us of 50
cents, or 20 per cent., is really equivalent to a premium to our subscribers for prompt
remittances and renewals. ^2 is a good, even price, and no one can hesitate to give
it for a good, first-class magazine of worthy character.
Notice, also, that our Club Terms are reduced ; two copies, only $1.75 each ; three
copies, only $1.67 each; five copies, only $1.50 each; ten copies, only $1 each. Are
not these terms cheap ? Now, bring in the clubs, strong and fast.
IPretniurn,
To any subscriber, old or new, enclosing his subscription of $2, between now and
February 1st, and desiring Premium Package of Flower Seeds of the Diadem Pink,
the same will be given free on receipt of postage stamp.
yew Jiooks,
Attention is called to the advertisements of new books, especially Forest Trees, by
Arthur Bryant sen,, and " Daisy Eyebright's" book. Every Woman her own Flower
Gardener. Published at office of The Horticulturist. Our Illustrated Cata-
logue of Rural Books, now ready, is the handsomest and most complete ever pub-
lished. Send 5c. stamp for it.
Club TAst of too Papers.
This Subscription Agency will be found very convenient and economical for every-
one who takes two or more papers. See advertisement.
CD
a
u
(0
\^
o
$1
o
VOL. 26.
DEOEMBEE, 1871.
1^0. 306.
The Flowers of the Prairies and Mountains.
Editorial Noteg of an Excursion to Colorndo.
AWOKD ought to be said as to the brilliancy of the flowers of the prairies and
mountains. While riding on the far Western plains of Kansas, from Salina to
Denver, our attention was called to a little shx'ubby plant, about eighteen inches to
two feet high, with symmetrically arranged branches, and entirely covered over with
a mass of white flowers, slightly striped with green in the center. They dotted the
plains here and there at distances of fifty to one hundred feet apart, and often were
seen in rows along the edge of the excavation for the railroad embankment. The
sweet little things looked so pure and bright in their profuse bloom that we never
wearied looking at them, and our expressions of delight became more and more
enthusiastic. It proved to be the Euphorbia, and for hundreds of miles it never
disappears from sight, seeming providentially to be placed there to adorn an otherwise
naked and uninteresting prairie. This flower seems frequent in southern latitudes,
for we never noticed it in the more northern latitude of Nebraska, and when we
began to ascend the Rocky Mountains, it disappeared entirely. Its home is evidently
in a moderately warm region, and the milder the climate the greater the luxuriance
of blossom. Its star-shaped flowers are always a blessed sight to the traveler.
After we had ascended into the mountains beyond Denver, we were at an altitude
of 8,000 to 9,000 feet ; riding along the beautiful grassy parks, studded with pines
and spruces, we came 'to a still greater variety of flowers and rare plants, which
afforded an interesting study for our botanists.
One lovely flower seemed pre-eminent — the Indian Pink. It grows to the height
of about six inches above the ground, has a small stem surmounted with a cup of
about one and a-half inches in diameter (when full blown), and of the most dazzling
scarlet or crimson. Usually the tallest stem is surrounded by two or three other
23
354 The JF^lowers of t?ie Prairies and J^foufi fains.
shorter ones, which cluster closely together, and form a bouquet. I rarely saw a plant
entirely alone ; there was sure to be one or more smaller attendant blossoms. This
plant is said to be a parasite, its roots living upon the roots of some other plant
beneath the surface of the ground, hence difficult of transplanting, or else we would
have made the effort to bring it back with us. There are often other shades of color
— white, cherry, cream, and deep red — six colors in all we observed ; and in many
parts the profusion of the little beauties over the plains was simply astonishing, often
as near as five or six feet apart for miles in every direction. From their distinctive
beauty of color and shape of blossom, which is not unlike a half-opened tulip, it is
in common parlance called the Painted Cup. No plant of our travels, or seen iu the
mountains was so gorgeous in color and so delightful to the eye as this brilliant little
bloomer.
In crossing the South Park one day from Hamilton to Fair Play, we came acci-
dentally upon three or four beds, about twenty feet in diameter, closely carpeted with
the (Enoihera. These little plants hugged close to the ground, but turned their sweet
white, yellow, and red blossoms upward to the air, and formed a prairie flower-garden
of beauty seldom seen. The flowers are about two and a-half inches in diameter, and
•were as thick as the blossoms usually seen in a bed of Fortulacca. It is hardly
necessary to say that the entire cavalcade of teams of the excursionists halted and
scrambled for the prizes ; and the ladies were in ecstacies over the welcome sight.
Among other flowers noticed frequently along the road were :
The Gilia, a plant with long, narrow stem and sub-branches, and tipped with lily-
like cups at the sides. The shades of color were of every description, from white
to scarlet ; but the latter was most frequent. The flowers were quite small, hardly
over an inch and a-quarter long, and the cup opened only about three-eighths of an
inch at the ends.
The Rocky Mountaiii Thistle is a very large branching shrub, ornamented at the
tops of the branches with very large white flowers, about six inches in diameter.
These are common at a little lower altitude, where they can enjoy a little more
warmth.
The Golden Rod, with its deep yellow seed-pods at top, is quite common in every
part, and particularly in the interior of the South Park.
The PentstemoiLS, with their blue or mauve colors, are seen along the valleys or on
the sides of the mountains.
The Blazing Star, with its straight stem, of a deep purple color, was seen in some
parts of the prairie, but not often. I noticed it most frequently about iiO miles south
of Denver.
As we were descending from the South Park toward Colorado Springs, we met in
one of the moist valleys an abundance of Lupins, a short shrub two feet high, with
stout branches, light purple flowers, and racemes about three inches long. There
were of:en large patches of it growing wild, which gave a delicate tone to an other-
wise flowerless sward.
The Geraniuyn, or Crane's Bill, a miniature bush, with a profusion of single light
7'?te JF lowers of IPic Trairics and Mountains. 355
pink flowers at the top and sides, was ofteu seen both in the mountains and on the
plains of the eastern slope.
"We clambered up to the very top of Pike's Peak, and there, nes^tling in close to
the huge boulders near the summit we found a strip of tender grass, a little stream
trickling its tiny drops down and saturating the sod, and over all grew two plants of
the Gentian, with its deep green leaf and pink blossoms. Truly wonderful, we
thought, that a flower thus lovely should grow so far upward in this cold atmosphere,
for it was 14,000 feet high.
On descending the divide between Colorado Springs and Denver, we came upon a
plain studded over with lovely Prairie Roses, ornamented with their beautiful pink
and white flowers. "They had doubtless been more luxuriant, for it was nearly beyond
the season, but a few of the latest flowers still hung expanded, seeming to show what
lovely objects the shrubs might be when the blossoms were in full prime. After a
while the Prairie Roses disappeared, and then came a mile-square patch of the Rocky
Moimtain Creeping Convolvulus, a sort of Ipovioza, of a thick shrubby character,
drooping over on the ground, its branches forming a head about two feet in diameter,
tipped with large white and red blossoms. It seems to prefer a sandy soil, quite
warm, where even grass grows with difiiculty.
Even the most casual observer, unfamiliar with botanical descriptions or names,
will be delighted with the rich flowers of the mountains. Our trip was taken in the
month of August, when many of the spring flowers had disappeared ; yet every mouth
has its own series of flowers, and from spring to fall there is always something in
bloom. But in June and July by far the largest number can be found, for then the
spring flowers are most abundant.
At Denver, and also at Greeley, I noticed in the gardens of amateurs how inex-
pressibly brilliant was the bloom of even our ordinary garden flowers. The colors of
every variety appear to be intensified, and every petal a marvel. In one garden there
were petunias and phlox, the bushes of which were so large and the color so vivid, I
could hardly recognize them as some of my Eastern favorites. Marigolds form little
miniature hills of yellow flowers, almost perfect in their regular form.
Double zinnias were even as lai'ge and fine as ordinary dahlias, and a pyramid of
ornamental gourds had covered a trellis so densely in one season, that I surely thought
it must have been made, not grown. The soil has a tendency to produce- flowers and
seeds in perfection, rather than foliage and stalks. This is explained by the fact that
the soil is full of mineral matter, and irrigation only develops the grains or
blossoms, while it does not excessively stimulate the foliage or stalks. John Seavey,
a florist from New York State, has a little flower garden at Grreeley, one hundred
feet square, containing little beds of brilliant dahlias, zinnias, gladiolus, blotched
petunias, and even canna in bloom, with finely colored leaves. The irrigating ditch
runs along in front of his place, and immediately over the trough he has erected
several floral vases and stands, which contain specimens of all his plants. So pretty
a floral garden, right under the shadow of the grim peaks of the mountains, affords
a contrast of a remarkable nature, only too truly realizing the truth of the remark,
" that man in his wildest nature, or in the wildest regions, is still a lover of flowers ;
356 The J^lowet'S of tJie 'Prairies and Jirountains.
and the greater the contrast of condition, the greater the love for such' simple
beauties.''
I ought to notice with admiration the exceeding fondness of all the Western people
for flowers. Sometimes when traveling among the wildest and most rude portions of
the Rocky Mountains, I often came upon a ranche with its rough log-cabin, where I
had least reason to expect anything but rough, coarse furniture or the rudest style of
living. Yet I almost always saw some flowers in the windows, or a little bit of flower
garden below, and some clustering plant clambering up along the window pane. The
old fruit-cans, which have been emptied by travelers and thrown away, have often
been picked up by the women of these cabins, filled with earth, sowed with seeds,
and now were blooming little flower-pots, full of balsam or other simple flowers ;
while in one case a larger can had been converted into a hanging-basket, and it hung
suspended before our gaze, full of the bi'illiant cups of the Portulacca. I often
noticed strawberry vines growing in the gardens of these mountain ranches, and
probably not one out of five cabins failed to have some flowers around the door.
In Greeley every yard has its share of flowers, and some one inside is sure to decorate
the window-sash with pots or hanging-baskets, full of green things. Everywhere in
Kansas this taste for flowers is universal. Many have brilliantly beautiful flower
gardens, of quite large extent ; and wherever such taste exists we may all know that
there is culture and refinement, even among the rudest surroundings.
GREELEY-
Greeley will yet be a success, I believe, although I am afraid too many are too
poor to be able to hang on. The climate is more windy and uncongenial in winter
than most are willing to admit, yet grain raising is a success, and I see nothing to
prevent successful irrigation. The location is well chosen, the best, in fact, in
Northern Colorado, and they have the advantage of good fuel close at hand at reason-
able prices. Denver is too near to prevent it from attaining any commercial impor-
tance, and it must remain, as it should be, dependent entirely upon the success of
agricultural pursuits. There have been a number of mistakes made, such as beginners
and inexperienced persons would naturally make, especially in wrong irrigation, but
experience is a good teacher, and the citizens are rapidly learning to use their facilities
rightly. Another year will place this settlement in a much more favorable light than
at any time in the past. Gardening has been the principal occupation since the
foundation of the colony. Nearly all the five-acre village farms have been devoted
to garden vegetables ; and, with uniform success, everything but corn grows there,
and fruits nicely. Melons, cabbages, potatoes, and all of like character for kitchen
use are sufficiently tested beyond a doubt of their success. Wherever there has been
a system of welLlaid ditches for irrigating purposes there has been no failure. '
Strawberry plants, where well watered, have done well. In several nurseries we saw
a most gratifying growth of apple trees, both from the graft and also plants two years
old.
Mr. Cooper, formerly of the Tribune office. New York, who is now town clerk of
the place, said to us that he had seen in Denver, raised oi> ^pil »pt so well watered,
2)esign for Cottage, 357
54 potatoes weighing 59^ pounds, turnips 22 pounds apiece, cabbages weighing 60
pounds, and barley reproducing 110 pounds from one pound of seed. The average -
produce of potatoes is 400 to 600 bushels per acre, and wheat 30 to 40 bushels. Of
raspberries, the Doolittle is best. Fruit trees had undergone different experiences
with various individuals. With one man they had proved a total loss ; while another
had lost nothing. The winds there are so cold and dry in winter and early spring
that they often prove a serious injury unless the trees are protected. Where they
had been protected against the rays of the sun from the south they had uniformly
been saved. At Denver, the Catawba grape is uninjured, and even some of the
foreign varieties have been successfully grown in the open air. One cultivator in
Greeley has great faith in grapes, and has planted 2,000 vines— 1,000 Concord, 500
Eumelan, and 500 Salem. The selection is very good. Although there is much
uncertainty about standard fruits, yet there is no question that all garden vegetables
and grains, except corn, are perfectly adapted to the climate. Wheat is admirable
in production, averaging 30 to 40 bushels per acre. The soil is rotten granite, washed
from the mountains, full of potash and mineral matters, and when irrigated will yield
the most astonishing crops. g, T. W.
Design for Cottage.
THE design for farm cottage, illustrated in frontispiece for Nov., is made entirely of
■*- brick, with slated roof, and built on somewhat inclined ground, so that the cellar
in the rear is mostly out of ground.
The foundation and cellar walls are of stone, laid in mortar, and are twenty inches
thick. They extend no higher than the grade line, so that the rear cellar wall is
mostly of brick, 12 inches thick. The cellar extends under the whole house, is eight
feet high in the clear, and the bottom is cemented. Having a northern exposure, it
offers conveniences for dairy purposes, and is principally used as such.
Above the basement, the walls are of brick, 16 feet high, being 12 inches thick in
the principal story, and eight inches thick above that. A verandah extends along a
portion of the front of the house, and from it opens the front door.
The hall is seven feet wide, and contains the staircase to the cellar and the cham-
bers. On the right of the hall is the parlor, 14 by 17 feet, having a bay-window pro-
jecting from it, and behind the parlor is a bedroom, entered from the hall ; this bed-
room is 14 feet square. On the left of the hall is the kitchen, 14 by 16 feet, with
a pantry opening out of it on the left and a scullery on the right, besides two closets.
The pantry is fitted up with shelves and drawers, the closets with shelves, and the
scullery has a pump and sink. This story is nine feet in the clear. The second
story has three bedrooms, of the same dimensions as the rooms below. They all
have a five-foot breast, and are 8^ feet high in the center of the room. The timber
used in this cottage is hemlock ; the floor beams are 3 by 8 inches, 16 inches apart,
and cross bridged ; the rafters are covered with hemlock boards, and the floors are
laid with pine floor-plauk, except in the kitchen and pantry, where hard pine has
358 Mybrid l^ruits, Btc.
been used. The windows arc all mullioned windows, having eight lights to each sash,
. hung Avith cord and weights m the usual manner.
The doors are all lour-paneled, inch and a-quurter thick, with mouldings on the
exposed side.
The inside trimmings are plain throughout, the bases being 6 inches high, bcTcled,
and the architraves \\ inches wide, the windows having stools and apron.
The walls are furred oif with inch furrings, and lathed and plastered, and hard
finished throughout. There are no cornices and no stucco-work, except a bead
around the arch of the bay-window. The scullery and pantry are of wood, being, like
the verandah, enclosed.
The inside wood-work is stained with umber, and the outside is painted and sanded.
Cost, near New York, about $3,500. A similar design in wood could be built in the
country for $2,500. Possibly either for a less price, if labor and materials are cheap.
Hybrid Fruits, Etc.
IN the August number, Horticultukist, Jacob Moore, of Rochester, N. Y., in
an article on Hybrid Fruits, asserts that, "even allowing that they (he is speak-
ing of the apple and the pear) can be crossed, * * * this would affect neither
the color, shape, texture, or flavor of the fruit in the slightest perceptible degree.
Experience renders me positive on this point. I have crossed native grapes with
* * * the finest foreign grapes, and have never been able to detect the slightest
approach to the foreign varieties used, either in the shape, color, flavor, or texture of
the fruit, or the formation of the seed. * * * Such is my experience, also, with
crosses between varieties and species of the apple, pear, and other fruits."
Again, further on, he says: "Corn, as is well known, is fertilized by the pollen
dropping from the tassel upon the silk, descending through it to the point of the seed
in the cob, and there entering into the con)position of the germ of the seed, popularly
termed the chit. A cross or mixture of the two varieties is effected, simply, by the
pollen of one variety acting upon the seed of the other, precisely as its own pollen
does. It is a mistake to suppose that the pollen of the one changes the main body of
the seed of the other into that of the variety to which the pollen belongs, or into
somethinrf appearing to be a medium or cross between the two sorts. Such an effect
is impossible, according to my judgment and experience. * * * The popular
belief, also, respecting the mixture of different kinds of vegetables is erroneous."
The several positions here taken by Mr. Moore, amount, in the aggregate, to this;
that neither fruits, grains, nor vegetables, can exhibit any of the effects of hybridiza-
tion the same season in which they are cross-fertilized ; or, in other words, that no
fruit, grain, or vegetable, is ever varied in its shape, color, flavor, or texture, by
being grown in juxtaposition with other fruits, grains, or vegetables, or other varie-
ties of the same fruit, grain, or vegetable.
In contravention of this doctrine, allow me to present, without comment, three
items of my own experience :
Interior of a I^ernery, 359
Firs^t. — Some fifteen years ago, I set a scion of the Beurro Bosc pear in a bearing
tree of White Doyenne. The first product of that graft — an only specimen — was
shaped and colored like a White Doyenne, and not at all like a Beurre Bose ; neither
would any one have suspected froro its texture, or flavor, that it belonged to the lat-
ter variety. So striking was the phenomenon, that I saved and planted the seed of
the specimen, from which I have a graft, not yet in bearing.
Second. — Three years ago a friend of mine presented me with an ear of black sweet
corn. I planted it beside Stowell's Evergreen. On picking the corn for use, I
found many black kernels in the Evergreen ears, but not an ear of what should have
been the Black contained a moiety of kernels of that color, while more or less of the
ears were wholly white, or very nearly so. It was certainly the first opportunity the
Evergreen had had of going in for amalgamation with its colored kin, on my soil ;
for I had planted it by itself for a number of years, and kept it in great purity. I
have had the Early Red corn and the White Pop corn mix in the same way.
Third. — Some twenty or more years ago (I cannot now lay my hand on the dates),
I planted a parcel of ground indiscriminately with Jackson and Mercer potatoes. In
digging the crop I was surprised to find, in a single hill, a handful of tubers entirely
different from either of the sorts planted, and from all other varieties with which I
was acquainted. The circumstance appeared to me so singular that I carefully
saved the specimens, and planted them the following spring. Finding at harvest
that they were a fixed fjict, and not a mere abortive sport, I furnished an account of
their origin to two or three of the papers of that day, the Albany Cultivator being
one of them. I named it the Graylock potato. It was very smooth, kidney form,
grayish purple in color, and of the very finest texture and flavor. Luther Tucker,
then editor of the Cultivator., pronounced it the finest potato he had seen, and ordered
seed of it by the barrel for his own use. No one questioned its being a new and
distinct variety. I cultivated it several 3'ears for my own table, until I was obliged
to relinquish it on account of its deteriorated yield.
The n)odus operandi in these cases has appeared to me so obviously beyond my
depth, that I have made no attempt to fathom it. It may prove an interesting sub-
ject for the curious, and with them I leave it. Asahel Foote.
Williamstow7i, Mass.
Interior of a Fernery.
THE illustration contained in our frontispiece, is a sketch of the fern house of
Veitch and Sons, at Chelsea, England. Its roof is low, and walls are built of
good thickness, to serve as supports for rockeries. Within this space are gathered
a large variety of ferns, both of large and small growth, and here and there are
niches or slopes for the mosses. The central plant, with the immense feathery leaves
sweeping downward to the ground, is the Woodwardia radicans, one of the most
splendid of all ferns. This is a cool greenhouse, that is, the temperature ranges
from 40° to 50°, and the plants most suitable for such a temperature are, Adiantum,
Asplenium, Athyrium, Gymnogramma, Polypodium, Polystiehum, Pteris, Scolopen-
driums, Woodwardia. Probably no such fern house as this exists in the United
States, unless it is provided for in the new conservatories of the Department of
Agriculture, Washington, D. C.
360 Tencil Marks by the TTay,
Pencil Marks by tlie Way.
BY OCCIDENTALIS.
Two of the Muuihuffs.
I KNOW it will not do to call everything a humbug that happens to fail on our
own grounds. To do so, would be to discard perhaps three-fourths of the varie-
ties of fruits known to horticulture.
But when anything is proven to be valueless everywhere — or even in a majority of
cases — I think it may very properly be classed as a humbug. Among these I under-
take to name the Crystal White Blackberry. AVith an over-zealous disposition to
test things, I procured some of them about four years since. Annually, until this
year, I have been anxiously awaiting in vain for its crystal white berries, but it win-
ter-killed to the ground each season. The past winter, however, it carried through a
fine growth of wood, and I have been rewarded with a prolific yield of fruit.
But, O, such berries ! Not so large as a majority of the wild blackberries of the
woods ; and as to color, they are not black, they are not white, they are not red.
Instead, they are a shiny Irown. How any one could have conceived the idea of
naming them Crystal White, passeth my comprehension. The color, however, may
do, but the quality is simply execrable. Quinine may be taken as a medicine ; but
few people can be found, I reckon, who will relish it as a dessert. This fruit very
strongly resembles it in taste, and is in every sense a vile thing — fit only to take a
place in the Materia Medica as an ague cure.
How any person who had ever tasted the fruit, could desire to introduce it as an
acquisition, or how any nurseryman could, after a trial of its quality, be induced to
place it in his catalogue and send it out, is one of the mysteries of horticulture. I
write this without knowing to whom the public is indebted for its introduction ; only
remembering that many most respectable and reliable nurserymen have it on their
catalogues.
In the same list I would place the Van Buren Golden Divarf Peach. For several
years it has persistently refused to bear a peach or show a blossom. It has been
winter-protected, and left exposed, always with the same results. Other peaches,
named and seedlings, hardy and tender, have borne abundant crops around it ; so
that it may be set down as a total failure. It may perhaps answer well enough for
the latitude of Georgia, where it originated; but he who plants it in the Northern or
Western states, will look for crops in vain.
Jianilnging Apple Trees,
As a means of trapping the larv£e of the Codling Moth, has not received that atten-
tion, I fear, the subject deserves. That bandages cf straw, or hay (cloth is much
better), do serve as a retreat for these insects, any one may have ocular demonstra-
tion on trial. During July, I placed hay bandages — for want of a better material —
around the stems of most of my bearing trees ; and now, the 25th of September,
I find beneath them numbers of these larvae, securely hidden away, and many of them
The Mount Vernon Tear, 361
imbedded in the bark of the tree beneath the band. The bands should be searched
several times during the season, and all found destroyed.
Professer Riley, the Missouri Entomologist, attaches great importance to this
remedy, and recommends that some manufacturer should engage in the production of
cheap coarse bands for the purpose.
Xron for Pear Jiliylit.
It has been suggested that an application of iron to the soil, is the true specific for
the blight ; that in soils where iron exists to a considerable degree, the disease is not
known. How is this ? I am inclined to the opinion, that there is force in the sug-
gestion, and that the application of iron will be found at least beneficial.
Bank of the Missippi, Sept., 1871.
The Mount Vernon Pear.
RIPE specimens of this new fruit have been received by us from Rochester,
N. Y. The fruit is of medium to large size, obtuse pyriform shape, with rich
russet surface, slightly tinged with red. Upon cutting the fruit, the juice is
found as free and abundant as in the Bartlett ; grain is fine, about like that of the
Beurre d'Anjou, and quality very spicy and aromatic; perhaps the word superb will
partly help out our expression of its delicious flavor. We have long wanted a first
class winter pear for profitable market cultivation, and nothing had as yet seemed to
fill exactly the need, until we observed the announcement of the Mount Yemon. Its
growth upon a small graft in the garden of a friend near Dover, Del,, was most luxu-
riant, even surpassing the vigor of the Yicar of Winkfield or Bartlett, and for two
seasons, it has seemed to become more and more firmly fixed in our favorable estima-
tion. The fruit now comes to hand, and our expectations are more than confirmed,
and the flavor is better than we supposed was possible. It fills the gap completely,
and the Mount Vernon we now crown king of the winter pears. We consider it
superior in quality to the Lawrence or Beurre d'Anjou. In vigor of growth we
know of no pear grown that can equal it ; the only point we yet lack positive infor-
mation on, is its productiveness and uniform bearing. This variety now helps to
complete the list of desirable sorts of pears for successive ripening. First, for early
autumn, comes the Bartlett; for medium autumn, the Seckel ; for late autumn, the
Beurre d'Anjou ; for early winter, the Lawrence ; for late winter, the Mount Vernon;
add to these five standards, the unapproachable dwarf variety, the Duchesse d'Angou-
leme, and we have a list of unspeakable value, every tree of which is healthy, hardy,
productive, and can be grown successfully in every portion of the United States.
The Mount Vernon has very rare qualifications. It ripens at a time when pears
are few and prices high ; it is an excellent keeper ; it is of good size ; has a hand-
some color, the best of all winter pears, in this respect, we have ever seen, and can
safely be classed as a market variety, quite as profitable as the Bartlett, and as
acceptable as the Lawrence.
362 Culture attd 'Pruning of "Pear Trees.
Culture and Pruning of Pear Trees.
IN some of the late numbers of the Horticulturist^ an extract is quoted to the effect
that I have recently changed my views with regard to pruning pear trees. Let
me answer these assertions by giving the following extracts from the last article that
I prepared on this subject, merely stating that it expresses the views that I have
held, and frequently expressed for at least a dozen years past :
The best mode of treating the soil in pear orchards is an important question, both
in regard to the health of the tree and the production of fruit. Lading aside all
special circumstances, it appears evident that the condition of the plants will indicate
the treatment required; the object being to maintain health and encourage fruitful-
ness. The measure of successful accomplishment of these conditions will greatly
depend upon the knowledge of the principles governing vegetable growth possessed
by the cultivator. When the trees are young the chief object is to encourage
judicious growth by employing expedients known to fiivor vegetable extension, such
as the application of manures, breaking up and pulverizing the soil, surface stirring,
and other similar operations. By judicious growth is meant a luxuriance not incom-
patible with maturity, and as this will depend upon climate and locality, it is evident
that a discriminating knowledge of cause and effect will largely influence success.
In northern latitudes where the season of growth is confined to five months' dura-
tion, it will be impossible to mature the same amount of wood that can be produced
on trees in a locality having seven months of growing season. In the latter case
stimulating appliances may be used with the best effects that would only tend to dis-
solution in the climate of short summers. The great desideratum in fruit culture is
ripened wood ; all useful cultivation begins and ends with this single object in view,
and is the criterion of good or bad management.
To cultivate, or not to cultivate, is a question to be determined by climate and
condition of soil. Where it is deemed advisable to encourage growth, it will be
proper to employ such appliances of culture as are known to produce that result ;
and again, when ample luxuriance is secured, and the tendency is still in that direc-
tion, all surface culture should be abandoned, and the orchard be laid down in grass;
cultivation to be again practiced when the trees indicate its necessity.
I'rtniing,
The pear tree is usually a victim of excessive pruning. It is pruned in winter to
make it grow, and pruned and pinched in summer to make it fruit. Why it is (hat
the pear, more than other spur-bearing fruit trees should be supposed to require so
close and continued pruning, does not appear of easy explanation. It is evident that
this immoderate pruning is not followed by satisfactory results, for while apple,
plum and cherry trees fruit with abundant regularity, with but little attention to
pruning, unfruitfulness in the pear is a frequent cause of complaint, especially with
those who pay the strictest attention to pruning rules, showing clearly that successful
pear culture is not dependent upon pruning alone. While it is perhaps equally
erroneous to assert that pear trees should not bo pruned at all — ao extreme which no
Culture and ^Pruning of IPear Trees, 363
experienced cultivator will indorse — it is worthy of inquiry, whether unpruncd trees
do not exhibit a better fruit-bearing record than those which have been subject to the
highest pruning codes. How far the proverbial liability of the pear to suifer from
blight, may be due to the interference and disarrangement of growths caused by
summer pruning, it may not be possible to decide ; but the tendency to late fall
growths, and the consequent immaturity of wood which is thereby encouraged, is
well known to be of much injury, and greatly conducive to disease. Perhaps no
advice that has been given is so fruitful a cause of failure and disappointment in
fruit culture, as that embodied in the brief sentence, " Prune in summer for fruit."
The physiological principle upon which this advice is based, is that which recog-
nizes barrenness in fruit trees as the result of an undue amount of wood growth ; and
that, in accordance with acknowledged laws, any process that will secure a reduction
of growth will induce fruitfulness. The removal of foliage from a tree in active
growth will weaken its vitality, by causing a corresponding check to the extension of
roots, but the removal of the mere points of strong shoots has no palpable effect in
checking root growth ; the roots proceed to grow, and the sap seeks outlets in other
channels, forming new shoots, which in no way increase the fruitfulness of the plant.
While it may be confidently stated that, as a practical rule, easily followed, and of
general application, summer pruning for fruit cannot be recommended except as an
expedient rarely successful ; it is also true "that there are certain periods in the
growth of a plant when the removal of a portion of the shoots would tend to increase
the development of the remaining buds, without causing them to form shoots. For
example, if the growing shoots of a pear tree are shortened or pruned by removing
one-third of their length, say, toward the end of June, the check will immediately
cause the remaining^buds on these shoots to push into growth and produce a mass of
twigs as far removed as may be from being fruit producing branches. Again, if this
pruning is delayed until August, and the season afterwards proves to be warm and
dry, the probabilities are that the remaining buds will develop into short spur-like
shoots, from which blossom buds may, in course of time, be formed ; but if the
season proves to be wet, and mild growing weather extends late into the fall, these
same shoots will be lengthened into weakly, slender growths, which never mature,
and are of no use whatever. There is no certainty as to the proper time to summer
prune, because no two seasons are precisely alike, and trees vary in their vigor from
year to year; and yet this uncertain, indefinite, and constantly experimental proce-
dure is the basis upon which the advice to "prune in summer for fruit," is founded.
The pear tree, in fact, requires very little pruning, and that only so far as may be
necessary to regulate branches in either of two exigencies. In the first place, when
the young tree is placed in its permanent position in the orchard, its roots will be
greatly disturbed, and many of them destroyed ; it will, therefore, be expedient in
this exigency to abridge the branches, so as to restore the balance of growth that
existed between the roots and branches previous to removal.
This pruning at transplanting has its opponents on the theoretical grounds that, as
the formation of roots is dependent upon the action of leaves, it must follow that the
more branches and leaves left upon a plant, the more rapidly will new roots be pro-
364 Culture and Pruning of ^ear Trees.
duced ; but there is one important element overlooked in this reasoning, namely, the
loss of sap by evaporation, which speedily exhausts the plant, while it has no active
roots to meet the demand. The proper practice is to reduce the branches so as to
give the roots the preponderance, and many kinds of trees can only be successfully
removed by cutting the stem off close to the ground.
If the tree has been pruned close back at planting, the first summer will develop
the foundation for a well-balanced, symmetrical plant ; but as this result depends
upon a good start, it is well to keep an eye on the young growths during the first
season, and if any of the shoots appear to be developing to the detriment of others
equally necessary for future branches, the points of such shoots should be pinched
off, but in doing so, let there be as small a removal of foliage as possible, the object
being not to weaken, but merely to equalize growth. As a general rule, no
advantage will be gained by pruning any portion of the shoots after the firwt season,
unless in the case of weakly trees, which will be strengthened by pruning down during
winter. The removal of branches during summer weakens growth, but when a portion
of the branches are removed after growth is completed, the roots, not having been
disturbed, will have the balance of power, and the number of buds being diminished,
those that are left will receive increased vigor.
It should never be forgotten that there is nothing more certain than that by short-
ening-in, or pruning back the ends of shoots, either in summer or winter, the fruit-
producing period is retarded, and the fruit-producing capabilities of the trees abridged.
Fruiting spurs will not form where the growths are constantly interrupted and excited
by pruning; but, after the third or fourth year, young shoots will, in the majority of
varieties, become covered with fruiting spurs the second year after their formation,
if left to their natural mode and condition of growth. Of course this refers to trees
in soils of moderate fertility, grown in a climate favorable to the plant.
The only pruning, then, that is really essential, after the plant has become
established, will be confined to thinning out crowded branches, and this forms the
second exigency for pruning. If low-headed trees are preferred, those branches that
have become destitute of fruiting spurs near the body of the tree may be cut out,
and a young shoot be allowed to take the place of the one removed. There will be
no lack of young shoots for this purpose, as they will be produced from the base of
the cut branch, selecting the strongest and best placed to occupy the vacancy, if
such occupancy is desired. This mode of cutting back branches will be more
particularly essential in the case of dwarf pear trees, as the quince roots are unable
to support a tall, heavy-headed tree, but in all other respects dwarf pears should be
treated the same as standards.
It may be instructive to briefly recite the history of a small dwarf pear orchard,
numbering about 130 trees, and consisting of as many varieties.
These were planted during the spring of 1865, being good two-year old trees ; the
leading shoots were pruned down to a uniform height of 80 inches, and the side shoots
cut back to two buds. No further pruning was deemed necessary until the winter of
1870, when some of the tallest center branches were removed, and others thinned out
by complete removal. In the spring of 1867, the entire surface of the orchard was
sown with our ordinary lawn grasses — blue grass and red top — and remains in sod up
to the present time.
For three years past these trees have produced heavy crops ; the fruit was thinned,
but not sufficiently, although thirty bushels were removed at one thinning in July.
Samples of fruit from these trees were exhibited at the Pomological meeting held at
Richmond last month. They hajipened to be placed alongside a collection from
California, and in ever^^ case where the same varieties occurred in the two collections,
the Washington fruit was equal in size and beauty to that from the Pacific coast.
Washi/iiTton, Oct., 1871. William Saundkrs.
Editorial Notes.
Profits of Gnrdenhig in New Jersey,
At. a meeting of the farmers near Woodbury, N. J., a short distance from Phila-
delphia, where the entire farm industry is raising market vegetables, valuable facts
•were elicited respecting the profits of garden crops.
D. C. Andrews stated, that with him early potatoes followed by cabbage, were
crops from which he realized the most money. He had taken from three acres, $250
per acre for potatoes, and $150 for citrons. For the potatoes he used about
$60 worth of manure to the acre. Sales of potatoes almost always averaged over
$100 per acre.
Clement Whitall gave the following copy of his own receipts from garden crops :
Citrons, net profit $115 43 per acre.
Early potatoes, net profit 41 24 "
Wheat, net profit 29 65
Tomatoes, net profit 81 16 "
Sweet potatoes, net profit 35 01 "
Asparagus, net profit 124 42 "
Cabbage, net profit 45 00 "
Beans, loss of 13 54 "
Pears, loss of 6 21
They paid only one year out of five.
Cooper Cloud had received as high as $500 per acre from early tomatoes, $100 to
$150 per acre for citrons. The Boston squash was also considered a good crop, and
met with a ready sale. One year the net profits were $200 per acre.
But it was evident that prices were very fluctuating, and the average net profits,
year after year, did not exceed $50 to $100 per acre. Those who had grown stock,
had done best. Every cow was worth $100 per year to its proprietor, and on a farm
of fifty acres, twenty-five cows soiled would give a much larger income than if the
land had been devoted to truck.
How to Start n Kursery.
W. F. Heikes of Dayton, 0., has published a practical little treatise of twelve
pages, with the above title. It appears to be very suitable to any one intending to
enter into this business, dealing practically with such subjects as soils, modes of
propagating, distances apart for planting, root grafts, cultivation, management of
seeds, transplanting, budding. It is the only publication of the kind we have seen
in a cheap form. Price 25 cents. The value of it is enhanced considerably with a
list of trees suited to different latitudes, from 37° to north of 40°.
JEdltorlul JVotes.
G'trdeninff for Women,
The Country Ge?iih>na?i gives un instance of a young lady who cultivated one-
half an acre of land, both for the sake of health and a little profit. The labor was
light, and the physical exercise gave greater zest to indoor enjoyments. At the end
of the season the account stood as follows :
Expenses of rent, seed, labor, etc. S34 63
Returns— 200 lbs. sage, 40c $80 00
160 bu. carrots, 30c 49 60
Radishes 6 85
3^ lbs. saifron, 90c— li lbs. $1 4 65
Grapes (old vine, pruned and improved) 3 00
144 10
Net ei09 47
Hasphcrries and Strawberrien.
For the earliest black-cap raspberry, take Davison's Thornless ; medium season,
Doolittle; late. Mammoth Cluster. Red varieties, Kirtiand, Philadelphia and Fran-
couia. Early Strawberries. Nicanor, Early Scarlet, Downer, French, and New
Jersey Scarlet, then the Wilson ; later, Kentucky, Triomphe de Gaud, Peak's
Emperor, Jucunda, Boyden's 30.
Concussinn, the Xcw Jtlethod of Killhig Tn.secfs.
At the recent meeting of the American Pomological Society at Richmond, Va., Col.
Hardee of Jacksonville, Fla., introduced a new method of killing insects — by con-
cussion. His experiments are as follows: " I placed two pounds of powder in the
hollow of a live oak stump, immediately in the vicinity where the curculios promised
to destroy entirely my plums, peaches, etc. The powder was fired off one calm
night, and it not only destroyed every curculio, but every winged insect in my entire
orchard." Other persons have been experimenting with this plan of killing the
caterpillar in the cotton field, but we have not yet heard of their success. We think
there may have been some predisposing favorable cause to help Col. Hardee, but
would doubt the general utility of the method. It is probably but of temporary
value.
The Jiloodffood I'enr.
A contributor to The Southern Horticulturist has had this in bearing at Atlanta,
Ga., for several years, and finds it "always of superior merit, a good bearer, fine
size, and quality unexcelled among summer pears. It has a peculiarity. Should
the blossoms all be killed by late frosts, it will in a month or six weeks, throw out
another crop, which never gets killed, thus rendering it a sure annual bearer."
The editor of the same paper, remarking thereon, says : " Out of five hundred
varieties iu bearing near Yazoo City, Miss., there was none of its season better than
Bloodgood, either as regards health of tree, productiveness or quality. It is not
quite as smooth and handsome as it ought to be for a market pear, but for a home
fruit, no collection should be without it. It should be grown as a standard, set out
at least twenty feet apart, and trimmed high, so as to give it all the air and sunlight
possible, otherwise its first crop is liable to be affected somewhat with the fungus
blight. It is not a rapid grower, but makes a handsome, conical shaped head, which
bears its fruit very regularly distributed all through it. It ripens about with Os-
bands Summer, a little earlier than Julienne and Tyson, and its average size is two
and one-half inches long, and two inches wide."
Eastern l<''ruit in Cnlifornia,
At the California State Fair, held at Sacramento. Sept. 18th to 23d, there were
on exhibition a considerable quantity of fruit from the Eastern States, to be tested
by the side of the California fruit. The editor of The California Hortiadturist says,
JSditorial JVotes.
that many of those varieties from the East showed a marked superiority in size and
appearance to the same varieties grown in California. And yet in other varieties,
the California fruit exhibited also a marked superiority. As far as late winter fruit
is concerned, the Eastern fruit was considered preferable, because its firmness and
unripe state guaranteed its fitness for long keeping. There appeared also to be a
distinctiveness in characteristics of fruit from each section. More apparent in the
Eastern fruit than in their own. The Eastern fruit was also noticeable for its
peculiar polish or metallic lustre. The quality is not reported upon. We would
like to hear further.
The Most PopnUtr Mnrlcet Apitles in Callfornin Market
Are the Gravenstein and Jonathan. The former of second quality, color bright
yellow with distinct red and orange stripes, and very handsome. It is good eating,
sweet and of a sprightly acid, and excellent for cooking. The Jonathan is of the
first quality, tender, juicy and rich, with a good deal of the Spitzenberg character.
It is very fine and attractive apple, from its rich red color, with light yellow ground.
— California Horticulturist .
California Fruit in X^ew York.
Mr. Reed of Yolo county, California, shipped three car loads of Bartlett pears to
New York, last September, and received $6.50 per box, or §4,000 net for the pro-
ceeds.
Benefits of Tree Hcdf/es.
The Prairie Farmer says that, with the planting of forest trees on the prairies,
there is a notable improvement in health, less ague and rheumatism, and less catarrh.
A few years ago, some leaders of the tree movement planted trees as wind-breaks to
their orchards and their dwellings. In every instance tliese have worked wonders
in giving increased fruitages, exemption from spring frosts, and unspeakable comfort
to the family and cattle in the barnyard. The saving in cattle feed is found to be
no small item, for every protection from adverse weather enables stock to thrive on
less fodder. Among other beneficial effects of the young forest may be mentioned
the opening of many permanently flowing springs, which had long ago ceased to run.
Treatment of Cherry Trees.
We remember, some year's ago, a neighbor bought a hundred cherry trees, and set
them out in an orchard, and began to manure and treat them in every respect as he
had done his apple orchard, which was in thriving condition. In a year or two many
of the trees burst their bark, turned black, and part died ; this continued until three-
fourths of the whole were dead, or nearly so, being quite worthless. It was evident
to the farmer that he had killed the trees by his kindness, and he stopped manuring,
sowed his land down to grass, and thus saved them. What would do for the appTe
tree would not do for the cherry. We know another orchard, now some years old,
that we set out for a neighbor, where the trees have been kept in grass ever since the
second year after they were set. These trees have made a good, sound, healthy
growth each year, and latterly, even for ten years past, except a single year, have
borne good crops of fruit. There is not a more healthy cherry orchard in the
country. These trees have never sufi'ered from the bursting of the bark, nor from
warts. — Journal of Horticulture.
Note. — This rule for cultivating cherry trees in grass is now so well-established by
proofs of success, that we think fruit growers will do well to adopt it generally.
. Currants.
A correspondent of an exchange, writing of small fruits from the banks of the
Hudson River, says : In view of the large quantities of currants under way, the
conclusion is forced upon me that it will not pay to plant any common sort ; none
808 Bdltorial JVotes,
but the best, and they given the best culture, to bring them to the highest state of
perfection. The most successful cultivator here is William Knifflin. He has picked
5^ tons from \\ acres — 2.^ tons of Cherry, and 2| tons of Red Dutch — the former
bringing from twelve to twenty cents per pound, and the latter considerably below.
He paid out for picking over f 100.
New I'earsm
A writer in The Gardener''s Chronicle enumerates all the varieties of pears raised
in England. The list numbers fifty-two, of which twenty-nine are first-rate, eighteen
second-rate, and five third-rate ; also twenty-five varieties that have been raised in
Scotland, all second-rate, and 120 varieties raised on the continent, since
1850, all first-rate. Besides the above, about fifty other new varieties have
been imported since 1869, so that during the last decade, above one hundred new
kinds have been added to our collections. The same writer also states that
" although I am ashamed, I am constrained to say that I have found the nomencla-
ture of fruit in England very much behind either America (from which I have 150
sorts of pear) or the continental nations from which I have imported nearly 1,200
kinds — very few of which belie their names."
Tulips for In-door Culture,
The Gardener's Magazine says : " When grown in pots, tulips are treated precisely
in the same manner as the hyacinth, but several bulbs are placed in a pot. When
required to fill epergnes and baskets, and other elegant receptacles, it is a good plan
to grow them in shallow boxes, as recommended for crocuses, and transfer them when
in flower to the vases or baskets. In common with hyacinths and crocuses, they may
be taken out of the soil in which they have been grown, and the roots washed clean,
and inserted in glasses for decorating the apartment. Eor general usefulness, the
early tulips are the most valuable of all, because of their many and brilliant colors.
Garden Wallts.
To make good dry walks, that may be used with pleasure and comfort at all times,
take three parts screened gravel, one part flour of lime (previously riddled), add as
much coal tar as will make it of the consistence of stiff mortar ; if the tar is heated,
it will be easier to work. For ordinary garden walks, this should be laid on from
two to two and a-half inches thick ; it should be slightly thicker in the center than
at the sides, which should be one inch below the edge, the center of the walk being
the same height as the grass edge.
Smooth over and beat the surface with the back of the spade as the work proceeds.
If the black color be an objection, take three parts of sand and one part of lime,
mix well together, and sift a little over the surface while still moist, and roll well.
Walks made this way have lasted with us over 13 years, and are as good as ever.
Care must be taken to have them laid upon a firm basis. These walks have a great
many advantages over ordinary gravel walks ; they are always dry, grow no weeds,
and are much more easily swept. Wheeling of manure and soil can be done at any
time, and very much more quickly and easily. — Foreign Exchange.
The Purple Cane Jtaspbcrry .
It possesses more than any other the true flavor of the raspberry ; it is full one
week earlier than any we know of; it is hardy; it is productive; it carries well to
the market, and is always saleable. Only give it the same attention bestowed upon
others, and our word for it you will agree with us that none excels it in the earliness
of its ripening, in its delicious flavor, or its popularity in the market. After culti-
vating it for thirty years, this is our opinion of the Early Purple Cane. — German- ■
towJt. Telegraph,
Editorial JVotes, 369
(fat'deninff neur Charleston, S. C.
The Irish Potato is a proGtable early crop on Charleston Neck. On one farm of
ten acres, there were raised 1,050 bbls., which sold at an average of ^^5 per bbl., or
$5,250 for this small farm. Another farmer realizes $15,000 annually from hia
potatoes only, having as much more land in other vegetables.
Irriynting Sti-uwberry BcdS'
In dry seasons, the produce of a strawberry bed may often be increased twenty-five
to fifty per cent, if the soil can be well irrigated. We observe that a Georgia grower
has adopted means of this nature to provide against a drought. He has erected a
windmill, which pumps up from five to eight gallons a minute. At that season of
the year — mid spring — there is usually wind enough to turn it. Erected on the crest
of an elevated part of the place, it will supply the field in any direction. The tost
is but $250.
The Ananas D'Ete Vear,
Near New Orleans, this pear is mentioned as first on the list for productiveness
size, color and flavor.
Select Tjist of Moses »
The following are recommended by The Ruralist as the best of their class :
Tea Roses. — Grloire de Dijon, Sombrieul, Marshal Neil, Madame Brevay, Devon-
iensis.
Noisettes. — America, Washington, Woodland, Margarette Fellenberg ; all are
profuse bloomers and hardy.
Remontants^ or Hybrid Perpetual. — Victor Verdier, Maurice Bernardin, Count
Cavour, 'i-ardinal Patrogii, General Washington, Madame Victor Verdier, Geant des
Battailles, Madame Marow, Jules Margotten, Princess Mathilde, Leon Verger. This
class is generally exceedingly hardy, many of them being first class bloomers, espe-
cially the Giant of Battles.
The Bourbons are undoubtedly the best for small collections, and, with few
exceptions, are constant bloomers. Hermosa, Omer Pasha, Souvenir Malmaison
Imperatrice Eugenie, Countess de Brabant, Mine de Bosanquet, George Peabody.
JPichinff StraivherrieS'
Women, as a general thing, are the best pickers, more careful than girls or boys •
but whoever may do the picking, tell them how you want to have it done send
careless pickers away as soon as you find them out, and give the good ones an encour-
agement by paying higher rates to those that do the best work — uniform rates are
impossible. In the neighborhood of Cincinnati, prices range from one and a-half to
two and a-half cents per quart.
Provide your pickers with a light box (with handles) containing two or four quart
baskets ; teach them not to touch the berry, but take the stem between the thumb
and forefinger, and pinch it off with the finger nails, which should be kept louf^er than
usual for that purpose. The large berries go in one basket and the smaller ones into
another, the latter, if more convenient, to be emptied out into half-bushel drawers
bushel drawers being less advisable. See that your rows are picked clean, but that
no rotten or half-ripe berries are thrown into the basket ; careless pickers to fill up
will do this often, and the sooner they are discharged the better ; the fruit must run
uniform, and by attending to this a reputation can easily be established that will
command a good price, even if the market is overstocked.
Never pick after a rain or when the dew is on, if it can be avoided, as the berries
will keep better ; see that the baskets when full are kept in the shade, and as soon
as one or more crates or drawer-stands are filled place them in a cool cellar, if they
are not to be shipped at once.
24
370 £!dUoi'ial J^otes,
T-iuruc DucJieas Jfears,
The premium pears, exhibited at the American Poraological Society's meeting in
Richmond, by Gr. F. B. Leighton, of Norfolk, averaged two pounds each — a record,
■we believe, not equaled or exceeded in any other part of the country.
XfnprofiUibleness of Reaches.
' The present unprofitable condition of peach culture can not be better illustrated
than in the case of a gentleman of Cambridge, Md., who sent to market peaches to
the value of $2,169, but only received net 8266.18, the difference having gone for
freight and commissions. When will growers learn that there is a limit to fruit
production 1
J>ivarf Jfenr Trees.
The testimony of Southern growers seems to be uniformly in their fiwor, notwith-
standing the efforts of some writers to run them down and pronounce them a failure.
Sagacious cultivators, however, plant the trees low, so that the union of pear and
quince stocks shall be a couple of inches below the surface of the ground. In this
way they all in time take root from the pear stock, and become virtually permanent
standard trees. Their growth then becomes stronger and more thrifty, and uniformly
growing more productive yearly. Their advantage over large standard trees is that
they make an early growth and quick fruiting, thi-owing the tree almost into imme-
diate bearing. The following varieties have all done well on the quince stocks in the
Middle and Southern States : Duchesse d'Angouleme, Louise Boune de Jersey,
Vicar of Winkfield, Beurre d'Anjou, Howell.
jL Prolific JPeur Tree. I
A single branch of the Vicar of Winkfield pear, cut from a tree grown in Cape
May Co., N. J., was found to have 65 pears on it.
Hen's Mammotli Quince.
The American Rural Home regards this with favor. " We have watched it for
some years, and find that it averages about one-third larger than the common orange
quince, and is uniformly fair and excellent in quality. It is quite inclined to the
pyriform shape. Specimens received from EUwanger and Barry weigh 21^ ounces.
On their grounds it is a good grower and prolific bearer.
JUnnuriiif/ Jfritit Trees in the Fttll.
Which is best ? One cultivator thinks the fall is best, for the trees will find the
fertilizing material more dissolved and ready to take up at the next spring for imme-
diate growth. Another disapproves of it, because manure will waste and wash away
during the winter. To his mind manure should be applied about the time the tree
be"-ins its growth, and then, if washed by rains, it is dissolved at the very time when
the tree needs it, and can take it up without waste. Our observation justifies us in
saying that the fall manured trees will invariably make the most healthy and satis-
factory growth the next season, over the spring manured trees, and so we have
uniformly practiced this method with success. We also find that a fall-planted tree
will make one-half better growth the next year than a spring planted tree, and keep
up the difi"erence each succeeding year. With us fall planting and manuring is about
equivalent to one additional season.
Grafting Quince Trees on JPear Stocks.
A skillful horticulturist of Delaware County, Pa,, informs The Practical Farmer
that, having some pear trees which produced only cracked fruit, he grafted on them
the common quince, and has those latter of very fine quality, perfectly smooth, and
of large size. Are there any others that have tried the same plan ?
Editorial ^otes, 371
Crv^ Apples,
Valuable specimens of crab apples have been received by us from C Andrews, of
Geneva, N. Y. (with Herendeen and Jones), of the Marengo Winter Crab Apple.
There has been considerable improvement of this species within a few years, until
now they are of a rich, spicy, pleasant flavor, and entirely free from any acidity.
The fruit is still of small size, yet very attractive in appearance, usually of a creamy
yellow color, with a few dotted here and there with crimson. Most of them are very
handsome, and would be excellent table ornaments. They are poor keepers, rotting
quickly. There seems now little to be desired in quality, for improvements in that
direction are already sufficiently successful. We trust some one will now labor for
increased size.
JTejp Seedling Gmpe.
Specimen bunches of the new seedling grape, No. 19, from Ellwanger & Barry,
Rochester, have been received. The characteristics are, uniform good flavor, but
sweeter just on point of ripening than when dead ripe. Berries large, deep amber
color, in some seasons liable to drop from the bunch, especially if fully ripe. Pulp
large, seeds large and loose. Skin quite bitter, less so if fruit is eaten before fully
ripe. Juice of a high vinous quality, resembling in some respects hybrids with
foreign varieties. ,
J'lants in Wardian Cases.
The Gardetier^s Monthly says, that in a true Wardian case there is very little growth,
a plant simply lives. If it grew, it could do so only by the decomposition of carbonic
acid, and this would cause such a dense mass of oxygen in the atmosphere of the
case, that the act of growth would be its own destruction. There are three essentials
to growth — light, heat and carbonic acid ; by supplying the two former only, the
plant simply lives, and does not grow ; hence a plant will remain an indefinite time
in a closely glazed case in this way. Fern cases are not Wardian cases, nor are the
plant cases often called Wardian. Air is partially admitted, and thus the plants
actually do grow.
Dotvninff's Selected Frtiifs.
This is an abridged edition of the larger work, containing some four hundred
illustrations, and the contents divided into thirty-two chapters, eight to propagation,
training, transplanting, soil and insects, and remainder to the varieties of fruit. Its
price, $2.50, will make it very acceptable, as it contains all the leading kinds of fruit
to which the ordinary fruit grower has need of reference. Published by Jno. Wiley
& Sons, N. Y.
Value of Irrigated T,ands.
Land under irrigation in Spain, sells for $500 per acre, while that by its side not
irrigated, will hardly bring $50. A company organized in Madrid, with a capital of
$1,500,000, has reclaimed 300,000 acres of land, and is paying dividends equal to
18 per cent upon the investment.
The Enemies of the Rose.
"One of the worst enemies is i\ie Aphis rosa, which sometimes covers all the
young branches and exhausts the sap from the tender leaves and shoots. The female
aphis produces her young throughout the entire year, and is particularly active on
plants which are kept in warm rooms. These are most eff"ectually destroyed by
brushing them with a soft brush into a basin filled with tobacco juice. They may
also be killed by fumigating with tobacco smoke or the vapor of burning solanum
and tomato leaves ; but it is advisable to sprinkle the plants well with water, so that
the atmosphere may not become too dry from the eff"ect of the fumigation. Another
very troublesome insect is the red spider (acarus tetarius) which is generally found on
the under side of the leaf. It sucks the sap from the leaves, which drop off. and
372 SbrtictiUural J\rotes.
the plant appears in a sickly condition. This pest may be destroyed by sprinkling
the plants, and particularly the under side of the leaves, with soot dissolved in
water; this remedy is at the same time a good fertilizer." — California Horticulturist.
The Williaius Jted Aiyi>le—A I'ro fit able Orchard.
The Boston Cultivator gi\es an account of the orchard of Capt. Pierce of Arlington,
Mass., consisting of eighty-six trees, thirty-eight being of the Williams Red. These
trees have averaged over S600 per annum. The orchard is cultivated in the best
manner, the spaces between the trees being occupied with potatoes and squashes.
He has no faith in growing trees in grass.
I'reservinff Flower Staltes from Jtot,
I have now in my possession flower stakes which have been in constant use for over
nine years, and their points are yet perfectly sound and good. I take common coal
tar and bring it to the boiling point in a kettle some ten to twelve inches deep; I
then place the lower part of the stake in the boiling tar, immersing it as deeply as
the pot will allow. After they have remained therein about ten minutes, I take them
out, allow the surplus tar to drain off, and roll the tarred portion in clean sharp sand,
covering every part of the tar. After they have become perfectly dry, I give them
another coat of tar, completely covering the sanded part. 'Then, after being
thoroughly dried, they will last for years. Some of them I have painted three times
with lead and oil paints on the upper part, and they are ready for the fourth, while
the lower portion is still sound and good. To treat a lot of stakes in this manner
costs but little and pays well, as it saves a great deal of future labor and annoyance.
— The Technologist.
Illinois State Ilorticttlturnl Society.
The annual meeting of this Society will be held at Jacksonville, 111., December 12
to 15, instant. It will doubtless be a very interesting session.
HorticTiltTiral Notes.
The Ifighf. JiloonUng Cerens.
Foui buds of a night-blooming cereus in a conservatory in Trenton, New Jersey,
gave indications, a few weeks ago, of sudden flowering. So marked was this, that
between morning and evening of one day the buds actually grew four inches in length.
Such a rapid enlargement naturally excited the interest of the owner, and a few
friends were invited to witness the unfolding of these strange blossoms. At ten
o'clock at night the unsightly plant still held the buds in durance close; but at eleven
there was a mysterious movement, a sort of struggle for deliverance, and four mag-
nificent beauties suddenly expanded into floral life, sending out such volumes of rich
perfume that the spectators were oppressed by its superabundance. Before the morn-
ing dawned every fair blossom had drooped, shriveled, and died. Not the slightest
trace of them remained, not a vestige of form or fragrance lingered — all had vanished
as a dream.
Chinese Wistaria.
No plant, says The Prairie Farmer, is easier of propagation than this. Even at
this late period, if the plant is still growing, you can lay down a shoot of this season's
growth, and bury a portion, leaving the end up. It would facilitate the rooting to
notch the part which is to be covered ; simply cutting through the bark at several
points, is all that will be required to induce a free emission of roots. May is the
proper month in which to do this work, and it is possible that roots made after this
will be rather succulent ; but a little litter thrown over the ground late will protect
them from injury during the winter.
JBbrticullteral JVoies. 373
Currant Cuttings.
"We notice that some very careful directions are given about setting out currant
cuttings in the fall. But why in the fall ? We should say that spring was much to
be preferred. If set out in the fall, they are liable to become loose in the freezings
and thawings of winter ; but if in the spring — say early in April for this section —
there is no difficulty about it at all. If the new wood is only taken, set firmly in
the ground six to eight inches, and well pressed with the foot, watered when neces-
sary, and mulched when hot suns come, ninety-nine out of a hundred will grow. But
remember if you want to raise trees, cut out every eye going into the ground ; but if
bushes, which are the most lasting as well as most productive, set the cuttings as
you take them, and from every eye a branch will come forth. This is the way we
do in our own garden. Properly set out, cuttings will bear fruit the succeeding
year. — Germantomn Telegraph.
I'i'ofits of Grape Culture in Missouri,
Greorge Long, in writing to Coleman's Rural World gives his experience with
grapes the past season, as follows :
I have twenty-five acres under charge, of which there were 8,400 vines in bearing,
mostly Concord, Norton and Hartford. From these 8,400 vines I gathered and
shipped to St. Louis and various other places, fifty tons of grapes, and a good many
thousand pounds went to waste by the birds and by gathering. I made the first
shipment of Hartford on the first of August. Could have shipped a few pounds on
the 25th of July.
To gather this crop, I kept employed five hands, four as pickers and one teamster.
I used the three-drawer crate, that would hold from ninety to one hundred pounds
of grapes. Had stands made to slip one of these drawers in, to carry in gathering.
Each man could take one of his stands put in his drawer, and take a row of vines,
and after filling his drawer would take it on his shoulder and bring it to the packing
shed, leaving his stand where he left off picking. This saves much time in looking
for the place where you left off, and also keeps the bottom of the drawer clean, as
one has to go on the top of the other, in the crates, for shipping. One man would
pick from five to nine crates per day, and bring them to the shed. I have three
miles to haul them to the station. Would make three to four loads per day. Would
take 1,000 pounds to the load. Now for the cost of running this vineyard, with the
very best cultivation :
A vineyardist one year $700
One man, eight months, $30 per month 240
Teamster, two months, $20 per month 40
Three pickers, by the day » 100
Cost of team, wear and tear 100
Commission on sales 700
Total expenses $1,880
Sold fifty tons of grapes at 7 cents per pound, amounts to $7,000
Now taking out the expense $1,880
Leaves a profit of $5,120
If any one has done better than this with the same number of bearing vines this
year, I would like to hear from him.
Next year I will have between 10,000 and 17,000 vines in bearing; and if we
have a favorable season, I shall have at least one hundred tuns of grapes.
374 SdrtictiUttral JVotes.
Keeping Evergreena in Winter,
An exchange remarks that trees purchased in autumn, and for localities where it
would be doubtful if they lived during the winter if planted, can be safely kept
in a cool cellar or a damp room, in which the temperature is but little below the freez-
ing point at all during the winter ; freezing will not injure evergreens in this situa-
tion, if they are excluded from a free circulation of the air, and do not rapidly thaw
again.
The small sized trees should be packed in a manner similar to ours for shipping in
boxes, only with tops more open and exposed to the air, and the roots more fully
enveloped in earth and moss, or straw, and kept quite wet all winter. We would
advise laying them in a horizontal position, with sticks among them in such a way
that the foliage will not pack and mat down and become wet and rotten, as it will rot
in such a condition. Fully and well cover all the roots with earth and moss, and
keep them well wet during the winter, taking care not to wet the tops.
The tops should be damp, neither wet nor exposed to a free circulation of air. A
free circulation of air while in this condition will dry out the moisture in the branches
and coagulate the resin, which will prevent the flow of sap in the spring ; to secure
this condition, the tops should be covered with straw, and occasionally dampened a
little. As freezing does not injure them, rapid thawing — after freezing — does the
harm. They can be safely kept out of the cellar, if carefully protected so that the
winds and dry air will not come in contact with the foliage, and yet so free to damp
air, so as not to mould and rot, and the roots well covered in soil and moss, and
supplied with an abundance of water.
Trees in this manner winter perfectly ; and if all the conditions have been strictly
complied with, the roots will be found to have formed the granulations necessary to
the productions of new spongioles, and the trees, if planted in a wet time, will start
into immediate growth.
If trees arrive frozen, they should be thus buried without exposure or thawing.
Z7te Egyptian Jteet.
A writer in The Prairie Farmer says : — We planted on a southern border, in soil
of second year from virgin sod ; planted March 3d ; May 1st were large enough for
the table ; by the last of May had fully attained maturity. The top is small ; the
body is round and smooth ; the tap root long, and without fibrous roots. The flesh
is juicy, highly colored, being a very dark red, and is tender and crisp. It will no
doubt prove one of the very best for early market use, being two weeks eai'lier than
the Early Bassano, but in productiveness it is inferior. Im May or June the Egyptian
will yield favorably with others, but if allowed to stand until July or August, the
Early Bassano, or blood turnip, will double the yield in bushels.
Jlotv they Groiv I'caehes on the Delaware I'eninsnla,
A committee appointed by one of the South Jersey Agricultural Societies, after
visiting Delaware, made the following report :
The trees are set 20, 24, and 30 feet apart ; the latter distance not being found too
great when the orchard has been five years planted. He found it a diflicult matter
to drive in an open wagon between the rows when the latter were 20 and 24 feet
apart, although the trees were only four or five years old. The trees covered a space
of 20 feet in diameter, and averaged 15 feet more in height.
He found evidence that the curculio had been at work among the fruit, although
not many peaches had fallen to the ground. It is the prevalent opinion among
Delaware growers, that ploughing and constantly stirring the soil among the trees,
has a tendency to keep the curculio within bounds.
Successful peach growers do a great deal of work among their peach trees. In the
early part of the season they thoroughly plow the orchard, then harrow it, afterwards
JBbrticultural JVotes, 375
cultivate both ways, and then, if any space around the trees is not touched by the
cultivator, it is thoroughly worked with hoes to loosen the soil and eradicate weeds.
This process is continued into July. Their cultivators are on a large scale, reaching
nearly half-way across from row to row, and drawn by a pair of horses or mules.
Some of the orchards he visited were 150 acres in extent.
Some of the most intelligent and successful growers never cut back the young
growth of wood, as many do in this region. Indeed, Dr. G. returned thoroughly
convinced by what he saw and heard that the practice of shortening in the branches
is not to be recommended ; that it tends to unproductiveness and to the formation of
a dense, unyielding, close head, which increases the difficulty of gathering the fruit.
Summer pruning, or, indeed, any pruning of the peach tree, is confined, among
Delaware growers, to cutting back or entirely removing a few of the lower branches
which may be in the way, and thinning out the center of the top in order to let in
light and air.
The borers do some little damage to the trees, and are hunted once a year, and
that in the Fall. It is the practice to put the land intended for an orchard into a
proper condition of fertility before planting the trees ; if this is not done, manure is
applied afterwards. Diverse opinions and practices prevail as to the necessity of
applying fertilizers after the orchard has come into bearing. But one fact may be
regarded as cei'tain, viz., all successful peach growers plough, drag, and cultivate
their orchards thoroughly, and no grass or weeds are allowed to grow among the
trees.
The varieties planted are, Hale's Early, Troth's Early, Early York, Stump the
World, Crawford's Early, Oldmixon, and Crawford's Late. A few other sorts might
be mentioned, but they are not extensively planted.
Hale's Early has proved a failure thus far with them, on account of its liability to
decay before it can be brought to market.
Upon the whole. Dr. G. is of opinion that Vinelanders who have farms of 40 acres
and upwards should be able to compete with Delaware growers in peach raising.
They should plant, at least, ten acres. The conditions of success, so far as these
depend upon human effort, seem to be —
I. Thoroughly to clear and enrich the soil.
II. To plant the trees from 25 to 30 feet apart.
III. 'Not to trim the. trees, but to train them so that the plough and cultivator can
run close to the tree.
IV. Corn and potatoes can be raised in the orchard for the first three years with
benefit to the trees, provided fertilizers are applied.
V. After the third year plant nothing, but cultivate thoroughly.
Bow to make n City Garden.
Take barrels and bore holes around the middle, and one hole large enough to admit
the nose of your watering pot. Fill the barrels with stones as high as the rows of
holes, and fill in with good, rich, fine earth to the top, in which plant cucumbers,
melons, squashes, tomatoes, etc. One barrel will be enough of each kind.
Be sure to have one flat stone lean over the large hole, where you will pour in
water until it runs out of the holes you have made, and which will prevent the earth
from filling this large hole up. Range the barrels around your yard, and plant your
seeds. Keep the barrels filled with water up to the holes, and you have all the
requisites for rapid, healthy growth, air, heat and moisture. You can raise all the
vegetables you will need, in the greatest perfection, and which will last until late in
the autumn, as they can easily be covered on frosty nights. Cucumbers and tomatoes
may hang over the barrels, cutting them oif when they reach the bottom. Melons
may be tied to the wall fence. The stones have an important service in holding up
the earth, and absorbing the heat during the day, which they give out at night, keep-
376 MorticuUural J\rotes.
ing the water at an even temperature. You will be astonished at the result if you
have never tried it. — The Prairie Farmer .
A.rr<iuffing Jb'loivers for Jiouqtiets,
It is an art, requiring no small degree of taste and skill, to arrange cut flowers so
as to form an attractive bouquet for the vase or basket. It is something, too, which
comes to one intuitively, and it can hardly be described in words. However, it may
be said in general that the more loosely and unconfused flowers are arranged, the
better. Crowding is especially to be avoided, and to accomplish this, a good base of
green of different varieties is needed to keep the flowers apart. This filling up is a
very important part in all bouquet making, and the neglect of it is the greatest
stumbliug-block to the uninitiated. Spiked and drooping flowers, with branches and
sprays of delicate green, are of absolute necessity in giving grace and beauty to a
vase boquet. Flowers of similar size, form and color ought never to be placed
together. Small flowers should never be massed together. Large flowers, with green
leaves or branches, may be used to advantage alone, but a judicious contrast of forms
is most effective. Avoid anything like formality or stiffness. A bright tendril or
spray of vine can be used with good effect, if allowed to wander over and around the
vase as it will. Certain flowers assort well only in families, and are injured by mix-
ing. Of these are balsams, hollyhocks, sweet peas, etc. The former produce a very
pretty effect if placed upon a shallow oval dish upon the center table. No ornament
is so appropriate for the dinner table or mantel as a vase of flowers ; and if you
expect visitors, by all means cut the finest bouquet your garden will produce, and place
it in the room they are to occupy. It will tell of your regard and affectionate
thoughtfulness in a more forcible and appropriate manner than you could find words
to express. If a small quantity of spirits of camphor is placed in the water con-
tained in the vase, the color and freshness of the flowers will remain for a much longer
period. Thus prepared, we have had flowers to keep a week, and at the end look
quite fresh and bright. — The Maine Farmer.
Soil for Jf'rtiit Trees,
It will generally be found that fruit trees in clay soils will be far more thrifty than
in sandy or loamy lands. The reasons are plain. A clay soil has more moisture and
retains it longer than the others, which are more porous. But if the clay soil is not well
drained, and has not a good subsoil, it may prove very injurious from an excess of
water. A good loamy surface soil, with clay subsoil, is always desirable, and better
than clay undrained.
Deep Planting of Fruit Trees and Preventive of JtliaJit,
Out of eight to ten hundred apple trees so deeply set that an ordinary spade thrust
square down will not reach the uppermost roots, we have yet to see the first case of
bark bursting or blight. We attribute the exemption of our trees from these dis-
eases, or whatever else they may be called, solely to deep planting, and nothing else.
We do not know of another orchard about us where the trees are set so deep, nor do
we know of one of older or equal age wherein cases of blight or bark bursting have
not occurred. — Western Pomologist.
Tntprovetnent in Southern Fruits.
At a recent meeting of the Potomac Fruit Growers' Association, held in Washing-
ton City, Mr. Sanders, superintendent of the experimental gardens connected with
the Agricultural Department, said : " They have an idea in Western New York that
that is the only region for making fine winter fruit ; but that is a mistake. I should
say that the hills of Virginia and North Carolina are the best region in the world.
In the future. Southern fruits will be taken North for cultivation. The great trouble
has been the planting of Northern varieties in the South, but Southern pomologists
have of late been paying attention to Southern seedlings, and now they have a list
superior to the Northern list. Some day the North will be astonished at the show of
Southern fruits."
f^
^'-^■^'^'{^■^:fm^
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11