LIBRARY i OF THE iK^f %Mm ^yi^ MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE N O ._38j§3G DATE Jj^-a5.-_L312- sou rce -.WoMe,^e-„— ^-arvcjs. ^Per i^&Sp v ■ s THE HORTICULTURIST JOXJRISrA-L OF RURAL ART AND RURAL TASTE, DEVOTED TO HORTICULTURE, LANDSCAPE GARDENING, RURAL ECONOMY, RURAL ARCHITECTURE, POMOLOGY, Etc. Uttsfratetr toit^ Mnmezonz Kngrabings. VOLUME XXIII. JANUARY TO DECEMBER, 1868. NEW YORK: PUBLISHED BY F. W. WOODWARD. No. 37 PAEK EOW. 1868. HT3 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by F. W. WOODWARD, In the, Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York. DAVIES & KENT, STEREOTYPERS, BRADSTREET PRESS, 183 William Street, New York. 18 Beekman Street, New York. INDEX For small paragraphs not indexed, see Editor's Table and Correspondence. page 1 4 5 10 Apple-growing, Profit of " Bergner " Naigle's Winter " Utter " Grimes' Golden 23 " Caroline 89 " Bush's Beauty 39 " Chenango Strawberry 66, 368 " Sweet Bellefleur 68 " Moore's Extra 104 " Ogdensburgh 109 " Delaware Bottom 125 " Steele's Janet, or Hunter 125 " Marengo Winter Crab 136 " Quince of Coxe 146 " Baltimore Greening 179 " Ingraham Seedling 201 " Democrat (Varick) 264 " Styraers 264 About Peaches 10 Another Chat about Old Books 52 A Rare but Beautiful Pine 70 A Few Words about Port Wine 101 A National Gift 113 Amelia Peach 115, 155 Apples for Extreme Northern Sections. 136 An Hour at Home 151 A Flaw in the Patent Law 205 Arrangement of Flowers for Decora- tion 232 Apples for the South 273 A Little More Grape 358 B. Bergner Apple Bush's Beauty Apple Best Six Apples for Iowa. . . Bees Beurre de l'Assomption Pear Baltimore Greening Apple . . PAGE 4 39 71 84 178 179 C. Cider 16 Caroline Apple 39 Chenango Strawberry Apple 66, 368 Calabrian Pine 70 Clematises, New Hardy 82 Commercial Aspect of Horticulture . . 86 Cherry— Early Purple Guigne 162 " Rockport 163 " Knight's Early Black 164 " Coe's Transparent 164 " Governor Wood 165 " Pontiac 165 " Montreuse, or Great Bigar- reau of Mezel 166 " Red Jacket 167 " Dacotah 167 Culture of the Vine in Europe . . .193, 225 D. Double Pyrethrums Don't Mistake the Causes. Delaware Bottom Apple.. Designs for Covered Scats . 382315 5 72 125 203 IV Index. PAGE pA6E Distance Apart for Orchard Treet ... 307 Is Strawberry Culture a Success ? 238 Increase of Horticultural and Agricul- tural Interests 272 Evenings at Brightside 48 T Eastern Experience is of Little Avail to Us 146 Japan Pear Evergreen Shrubs 168 Jackman's Clematises Extracts from Foreign Journals 209 Evergreens Losing their Foliage 241 71 ■p Landscape or Home Adornment . . . . • 33 129, 197 Fastening and Stretching the Wires Lilies 70 on Trellises 51 Lake Shore Grape-Growers' Society. . 110 G. Grape Swindle 8 Grimes' Golden Apple 23 Grape, Rogers' No. 4 120 " Conqueror 124 " Challenge 124 " Duquett's Seedling 124 " Salem 116, 143 " Golden Champion 288, 362 " Walter 360 " Rogers' 44 361 " The Hine 68 Gathering Fruit 179 Gordon's Flowering Currant 189 Garden Adornments 203 Grape Leaves 296 Grass vs. Cultivation in Orchards 336 H. Horticultural Clubs 9 Hine Grape 68 How to Grow Quinces from Cuttings. 40 Horticultural Reminiscences 50 Hardy Seedling Peaches 137 Hardihood of Apple Trees 144 Hybrid Ferns, Asplenium Ebenoides. . 329 M. Market Grapes 37 Mount Vernon Pear 67 Marengo Winter Crab Apple 136, 240 Massachusetts vs. New Jersey 148, 174 Mammoth Cluster Raspberry 273 Model Fruit Crops 305 Moisture and Temperature in Plant Culture 309 Mixing Up 337 N. Naigle's Winter Apple 5 New Seedling Pear 81 New Jersey State Agricultural Society. 86 New Plum of Dwarf Habit 127 New Hardy Shrubs, Deciduous and Evergreen 199 Notes on Fruits in their Reason. . .236, 265 Novelties in Field and Garden 257 Notes of some of the Early History of Fruit Culture in this Country, with Records of the Prominent Ear- ly Actors and Abettors 302 Nut-growing 337 Ingraham's Seedling Apple 201 Ornamental Grasses. Index. v PAGE PAGE Ogdensburgh Apple 109 Relation and Effects of Pollen in Cross Orange Culture in Florida 292, 332 Fertilization 271 Ontario Pear 331 Rogers' Grape No. 44 361 P. Profit of Apple-growing 1 Pyrus Arbutifolia 3 Pyrethrums, Double 5 Peaches 10 Propagating Plants by Grafting. . . .12, 41 Pomological 65 Peach on the Plum . . 76 Peach Borer and Yellows 89 Passifloras 105, 138 Peach, Amelia 115 Pencil Marks 117 Peaches, Hardy Seedling 136 Peach, The 142 Patents in Horticulture 180 Pear, Mount Vernon 67 " Japan 71 " Beurre d'Avoine 73 " New Seedlings 81 " Beurre de PAssomption 178 " Stevens' Genesee 287 " Felix de Leim 303 " Cadette de Vaux 303 " Ontario 331 " Kelsey 363 Q. Quince, of Coxe Apple 146 Quince, Apple Shape 326 " Angers 327 " Pear-shaped 328 R. Reply to Al Fresco 82 Rural Cemeteries . 97 Rogers' No. 4 Grape 120 Reminiscences, What we have Learned, and How we have Learned it 182 S. Service Berry 3 Shelter for Orchards 47 Sweet Bellefleur Apple 68 Seedling Dahlias 77 Salem Grape— What is it 116 Strawberry, Kramer's Seedling 121 Steele's Janet, or Hunter Apple 125 Salem Grape 143 Some of the best Sweet Cherries 161 Scraps from my Note Book 184 St. Michael Archange Pear 20Q Strawberry Floral and Vegetable Ex- hibition 242 Something of Vines and Climbers, and their appropriate uses 260 Stevens' Genesee Pear 287 Summer Pruning the Vine 289 State and Horticultural Fairs 340 T. The Service Berry, Pyrus Arbutifolia. 3 The Grape Swindle 8 Theory, Practice, Science 45, 78 The Carbou Stiffen er 78 The New Hardy Clematises 82 The Passiflora 105, 138 The Claims of Horticultural Societies 114 The Peach 142 The Salem Grape 143 The Opinion of my Neighbors . . .152, 242 Tree Peonies 1 89 The Currant Worm 208 The Enemy 212 The Marengo Winter Crab and other Apples for Extreme Latitudes 240 Two Fine Apples 263 The Sedum as an Edging Plant 267 Tomatoes a Commercial Staple 321 The Whortleberry 335 The Lessons of the Year 35" v- Index. U. PAGE PAGE r Varieties of Melon o»* Utter Apple 10 w . ,TT' Olid " - Use of Gypsum in Wine -0O Window Gardening 3 Walks and Roads 7 v- What is the Matter with the Grapes.. 18 Verge of Walks and Road9 7 Walter Grape 360 Index. Into* to fcrfsptknk PAGE Al Fresco 9, 269, 293, 319, 334 Adams, D. W 148 Anion, Frank 152, 243 Andrews, C 241 Author of Ten Acres Enough 257, 305 321, 353 B. Brokaw, W. J 252 Burns, A. M 278 J. PAGE Jenkins, John H 89, 189 J. S. H 91 Jacques, D. H 293 Liber 54 Lane, J. T 248 Copeland, R. Morris 148, 174 C. W. S 191 Copley, F. S 203 Cay wood, A. J 208 Cushing, C. H 247 Cass, J. F 2.85 Delaplaine, G. P. . D. S Downing, Charles. 126 183 E. Ellis, John 45, 78, 342 Elliott, F. R. . .4, 10, 33, 68, 101, 129, 155, 161, 197, 236, 265, 358, 364 E 184 England, I. W 205 E. W 204 F. F. R. E . .3, 70, 77, 136, 216 Fuller, A. S 12, 41, 74, 180, 199 Fungus 18, 143 Ferrand, E 78 F. W 212 H. Heins, W. F Hordeola 40, 51, Henderson, Peter ... 16 105, 138 P.T. Q... Purdy, A. P. W. ... 242 273 277 Q. Quevedo 118 R. Rotundifolia 108 Rogers, E. S 144 Reid, John S 151 R. R S 330 Smith, John J 85 Slade, D. D 100 Thorn, A. T. S. K. 115 W. Waybridge, W 48 W. L. D 61 Woodward, W. A 85, 91, 122 Williams, Henry T 238 Y. Yeomans, T. G. 186 THE HORTICULTURIST. VOL. XXIII JANUARY, 1868 NO. CCLIX PROFIT OF APPLE GROWING. The apple is the great standard among fruits, as wheat is among grains, or potatoes among vegetables. Some localities, of course, give better returns than others, but everywhere the apple is looked to for a crop as is the potato, and it depends much on the cultivator's skill in managing and selecting varieties as to the amount of re- turns. Niagara County, N. Y., is put down this year at 180,000 barrels, and in that county one tract of apple orchard pro- duced for sale 600 barrels of fruit, which sold at $3 per barrel. One tree of Rhode Island Greenings produced twenty-six bar- rels. H. T. Brooks, Esq., at the New York State Fair, during one of the evening dis- cussions, gave, among other evidence of the profits of apple growing, the following : " A tree in Middlebury gave 11 barrels; four trees in LeRoy, 13 barrels each. Pat- rick McEntee, of Perry, took 14 barrels of Baldwins from one tree, and sold them to A. W. Wheelock for $60. Mr. True, of Castile, took 15 barrels of Gilliflowers from a single tree. Enos Wright, of Middle- bury, sold the product of two trees for $100. Two years ago Mr. Hammond, su- pervisor of Middlebury, sold the product of 33 trees of Northern Spys for $900. C. Crr akhite sold the apples on less than four 1 acres for $1,000 ; they were immediately re- sold for $1,500. He said that Edmund Morris, the admirable author of 'Ten Acres Enough,' who, by-the-by, with the usual consistency of preaching farmers, had added 13 acres to his ' Ten,' wishing to do some tall bragging, had told us of 20 apple- trees that paid their owner $225 one year. Here, said Major Brooks, is a story to match : Robert McDowell, of York, Liv- ingston County, has 22 trees, grafted nine- teen years ago to Dutch Pippins, Green- ings, Russets, etc., standing 35 to 40 feet apart — his soil sandy loam, annually plowed and cropped, being also heavily manured every year, and protected by woods on three sides. He sold from these trees, after reserving his culls, in 1865, 163 barrels of apples for $779 50. " Prescott Smead, of Bethany, Genesee County, from six acres, on clay and strong clay loam, sold as follows : isi',:; 1864. 1865. 18(16. .750 barrels $2,370 .590 do 1,790 .600 do 2,100 810 do 4,500 .150 do. 1867.(as«»iafed)..600 do 3,000 " Add to the above, copied from his in- come report (and reports of this kind arc not apt to be overstated), apples used in the familv, and we have 100 barrels to the The Horticulturist. acre, and 2| barrels to the tree annually, for the whole six years, paying $400 per acre every year for the whole term. " For practical cultivators there is an- other fact of great significance. This same orchard, after coming into full bear- ing for some ten years, received only ordi- nary care, which means scarcely any care at all, and its returns were very meagre. It was then heavily manured, plowed shallow, and suffered to lie one year; then cross-plowed and harrowed, and suffered to lie two years longer, all the time un- cropped ; then it was manured again, and the same treatment repeated. The results were as has been stated. " S. P. Lord, of Pavillion, bought a neg- lected, and, of course, unfruitful, orchard of seven acres — trimmed, manured, and plowed it, when it immediately commenced bearing, and during the next six years yielded $6,000. " He recommended careful and moderate annual pruning where necessary, as con- trasted with the too frequent slashing to which trees are subjected— keeping the heads of the trees low, which would favor ease in picking — objected strongly to the common neglect of cultivation, and also to the close cropping of the ground, in the attempt to obtain other products from the soil, the strength of which should be given to the trees. He cited cases where good clean culture had given high profits, and added that in nearly every instance where very large crops had grown on single trees, he had found those trees to stand near wood-piles, slop-grounds, barnyards, or on other spots where they received a good supply of enriching material. WINDOW GAPvDENING. Thousands of persons, fond of flowers, are, during a great portion of their lives, confined to the house, even if they have a garden or pleasure ground in which Flora's treasures are growing and blooming. To meet this love of the beautiful and gratify the taste, the common practice is to grow a rose or geranium in a pot upon the win- dow-sill, or a stand near the window. Those who have command of means have had aquarias constructed, but rarely with any satisfaction to meet anticipation. Some time since, the London Gardener's Maga- zine gave a representation of a case con- structed in the window by removing the entire lower sash, and then projecting a frame to cover the whole width of the sill, inside and out, raising the lights and curving them until the top met the lower part of the upper sash ; the bottom of the 2ase to be made like a draw, showing pan- eling, to give artistic appearance, and to have its drainage made so that any surplus water that should be given the plants would escape from the outside. In this v draw the earth is to be placed, and the plants either set directly in it or they may be in pots, and the draw filled to surround and cover the pots with moss. The cost of construction of this form of window- case would be quite small, and, except in severe weather, it would be no trouble, and mostly out of the way. It should be made, of course, to fit the window, and movable on approach of realiy cold weather. Another mode is to have a draw eight or ten inches deep, and projecting into the room four to eight inches, having the sides, or ends rather, carried up as panels next the window, and sash-doors hung on the inside opening into the room. In the draw, pieces of rock and soil are placed, and the plants set among them and trained as they grow up the side or end jjanel work. The effect of this in the long French window is very good, especially when care has been taken to get plants that are good climbers, and with broad glossy foliage. The Service Berry— Pyrus Arbutifolia. THE SERVICE BERRY— PYRUS ARBUTIFOLIA. From the journal of my son, Henry W. Elliott, during his three years' trip con- nected with the laying of the Overland Telegraph Company's wire in British Co- lumbia and Russian America, I take the ac- companying drawing of the arbutus-leaved aronia, commonly called service berry. Quoting from his journal, he says : " The mountains and valleys of British Columbia over which fire has swept, consuming all the timber, and leaving nothing standing after its departure, are covered with a growth of young poplars and the service berry shrub, which does not attain any great size, although I have seen them ten and twelve feet in height, but rarely ex- ceeding three and four feet. The berries are ripe in August, and hang on until frost. Fig. 1. — The Service Berry — Pi/rus Arbutifolia. The bears revel among them at this time of year. Millions of bushels ripen and fall to decay." Loudon says the grafting of the aronia, or service berry, strictly Pyrus arbutifolia, on Ihe common thorn, renders it one of the truly ornamental shrubs. Some years since I received from R. P. Fulker- son, Esq., some plants of a dwarf variety (.f the service berry, which gave a pleasant little fruit ; but its want of character on its own roots led me to neglect it, and I have lost it. As a novelty and an ornamental shrub, I notice this now. that our growers may take hold of and introduce it. F. R. E. The Horticulturist. TWO NEW APPLES. BY F. R. ELLIOTT. Among the many apples sent me this past season, the following certainly " prom- ise well," and I therefore send drawings and descriptions to be put on record, and to draw the attention of tree planters, that they may obtain and test them in other than their native localities. I am indebted to Mr. George Husmann, well known among fruit men as an energetic, enthusiastic, but careful observer and propagator, for the sample specimens from which my drawings and descriptions were made. BERGNER. Originated with G. Bergner, near Her- mann, Mo., and is there grown as a profit- able market variety. Tree, a rapid grower, with strong branches, somewhat drooping ; hardy, and an abundant bearer. Fig. 2. — Bergner. Fruit, large, roundish, flattened at both ends, obliquely angular. Color, a rich yel- low ground, almost entirely covered with clear rich red, and this somewhat striped and splashed with shades of maroon red ; near the calyx or bloom end the ground or yellow prevails ; yellow, gray, or russet dots and splashes over all. Flesh, yellow, crisp, juicy, sprightly; rich aromatic, slightly quince-like, flavor. Stem, short; cavity, open, regular, deep. Calyx, small, closed, basin shape, deep, very slightly plaited at base. Core, small, capsules well filled with seeds. Season, late winter and early spring. naigile's winter. Originated some twenty-five years since with one Charles Naigile. who is now dead. Tree, an enormous bearer of fruit, which is always smooth and perfect. Growth, upright while young, but as it reaches maturity becomes drooping in its branches, Double Pyrethrums. because of its loads of fruit which hang in perfect " ropes." Fruit, medium, roundish, flattened at both ends, slightly angular. Color, a bright yellow ground, covered in season with two closed, with long segments ; basin, open shades of red, and with many large yellow gray dots. Skin, quite smooth and covered with a clear light blue bloom, which when rubbed off leaves the skin glossy. Calyx, Fig. 3. — Naigile's Winter. rather than moderately deep. Stem, short, slender ; cavity, open, acute, or deep, smooth, and regular. Flesh, white, crisp, tender, juicy, mild, subacid, very much like the old Fameuse apple. Core, small, compact. Seeds, plump, broad, ovate pointed. Season, early, and midwinter. DOUBLE PYRETHRUMS. Our readers will remember that during the past year we noticed a fine show of Double Pyrethrums, in colors, which we saw at Messrs. Ellwanger & Barry's, Roches- ter, New York; and if they have been wise, they have determined that plants shall grace their flower-beds this coming season. The following, from the London Florist, describes many new varieties, and tells the whole story : li Any attempt to chronicle the improve- ments made during the past few years among the flowers employed for garden decoration would be incomplete without some allusion to the greatly improved forms of the Double Pyrethrum. Only a few years ago a Double Pyrethrum of the section now under notice was a thing un- known. But that patient enterprise that works out so many astonishing revolutions in the world of horticulture has been ap- plied with great success to this flower, and Ave have now among us a valuable summer- flowering plant for the open ground — one thoroughly hardy, being altogether an out- door flower, and at the same time thorough- ly valuable for the embellishment of shrub- bery and mixed borders. " The history of the improvement of this flower is just the simple process that has 6 The Horticulturist. worked sucli happy results in the case of other popular flowers. Received from the Continent by Mr. John Salter, of Hammer- smith, in a form suggestive of a much higher order of development, it was at once taken in hand, and by careful seed- ing, year by year, semi-double flowers be- came resolved into fully double blooms ; increased size both of floret and flower- head followed in the wake of fuller sub- stance, and with these came that coveted variation which always gladdens the heart of the florist— a breaking away into new colors, or combinations of color, even to a much larger degree than was at first rea- sonably expected. And so, bringing up the ' record of progress' to the present year, the rich and varying beauty of some of these flowers really surprises one who has inspected them, seeing what a com- paratively short space of time has been de- voted to perfecting them. They are cer- tainly a valuable addition to our hardy herbaceous plants. That they grow some- what lanky is really no tenable objection against them, as they can easily be tied up to stakes in common with many other herbaceous plants. But it is not improba- ble that this objection will soon be alto- gether removed, inasmuch as some very dwarf-growing varieties are now showing themselves in the seedling-beds, in the same way as has been observed among the An- tirrhinums for instance, and there is no loss of any good qualities in these dwarf-grow- ing kinds, while their dwarfness is a great gain. They remain in bloom for a con- siderable time, commencing early in July, if not earlier, and they are even now (the second week in September) in full bloom, as the plants throw out a succession of lateral shoots that become floriferous. " Then some single-flowered varieties of the Pyrethrum are also undergoing a col- lateral improvement, though they only bear about the same relationship to the double- flowered kinds that the single Anemone- flowered Chrysanthemums do to the splen- did and full double flowers. Still, they are moving along in the march of improve- ment, increasing year by year in size of flower, in breadth and roundness of floret, and in diversity of color. They are easily propagated ; this is another recommenda- tion in their favor. They can be multi- plied by taking off cuttings either in the autumn or early in the spring ; these should be put into a bed made ready for them in a cold frame, or else be put out on a shady border, and protected by a hand-glass. A good rich soil is all that is required to in- duce them to root. "I have endeavored to arrange under certain heads of color some of the showiest and best varieties. Under the head of Carmine and Red may be put the showiest and brightest colors. Of these the following can be well recommended : Emile Leomine, a fine continental variety, color deep rosy carmine with bronze center ; Modele, a fine shade of carmine red, but with a tendency to come single ; Carmina- tum plenum, dark carmine ; Fulgens ple- nissimum, dark red, a large and handsome flower; Imbricatum plenum, bright rosy carmine, the flowers of great size and showy ; Rose Perfection, a dark but pleasing shade of rosy carmine ; Prince of Wales, dark carmine shaded with bright reel, a striking shade of color, flowers large and full. " Rosy Lilac and Purple shades will well represent the next section. A distinct purple hue is evidently soon to be obtained, but at present it is somewhat mixed with rose. The most noticeable under this head are Miss PlinMe (Salter), new of 1867, pale rosy lilac, with a light center, the flowers large and full, and belonging to what Mr. Salter denominates the Ranunculus-flower- ed section, inasmuch as the florets forming the center of the head are flat instead of being quilled, as is ordinarily the case ; Lischen, another continental variety, rosy purple with paler center ; Madame Galot, deep rosy purple, a very effective shade of color ; and Barral, a very fine and double crimson purple flower, one of the best of the dark colors. Double Pyreihrums. "Of shades of Rose there are Salter's Alfred Salter, vivid rose, a tine flower ; Iveryanum, bright rose, the flowers large and full (this variety is somewhat dwarf in its habit) ; Nemesis, dark glowing rose, showy and fine ; Paul jburnou, soft rose with light center, another dwarf-growing variety ; Pompon Rose, a small but good flower of a lively dark rose shade ; and Wilhelm Kramper, a tall-growing variety, but of a good shade of color — namely, lively dark rose. "Pink shades are found in the following varieties : Nooilissimum (Salter), new of 1867, a very large flower, having broad guard florets of a bright pink hue with a white center, one of the most distinct kinds, and very attractive ; Yolande, rosy pink, flowers very double, and dwarf- growing; Carneum plenum, pinkish blush, flower large and full ; Fascination, a very pleasing shade of deep pink; Gustave Heitz, a continental variety of a pale rosy pink shade with bronzy center, a fine flower, but a somewhat tall grower ; Lady Blanche, blush, with a distinct rosy tint, very fine ; Miss Talfourd, bright rosy pink, a pretty and pleasing shade of color ; and Mrs. Dix, blush, shaded with pale rose, and very fine. " There is a clearly perceptible presence of something akin to Peach color in a few of these flowers, particularly in Ariane, rosy peach, the center lighter, a pretty and distinct flower; Cerito, clear rosy peach with sulphur center, a fine flower; and Pet, another pretty flower of bright rosy peach shade. " Shades of Yellow are as yet confined to yellowish sulphur and buff. Of these the best are Luteum plenum (Salter), new of 1867, pale yellow, but deeper in color in the center, free-blooming and dwarf-grow- ing ; Nancy, a continental variety, in color creamy sulphur ; aud Sulphureum, sulphur, with a deeper color in the center of the flower, distinct and good. " Of White flowers there are Annie Hol- oorn, white, with a deep blush center ; Belle Oalrielle, pure white, with delicate peach center, a fine flower ; Ne Plus Ultra, blush white, a fine and bold flower ; and Princess Alexandra, white, with a slight tint of cream, a very fine flower of great depth and substance, and dwarf-growing. " The following are the best of the single flowers : Giganteum rubrum, chestnut red, flowers large and bold ; Kleinlxoltz, bright crimson, fine and distinct ; Mons, glowing crimson, a fine shade of color, flowers large and fine ; Prince Alfred, purplish crimson, flowers large and bold; and Sparkler, bright reddish crimson, flowers very showy, and a fine shade of color." The Verge of Walks and Roads should always be made as inconsjficuous as possible. The less the verge is elevated above the walk, the less we have of harsh line to break the smoothness and harmony of blending from lawn to roadway or flower- bed. Some gardeners seem to think that a strong, harsh line, or verge of two inches deep or more, next the path, is a mark of skill ; but to our taste, it is only an exhibit of mechanical labor breaking in upon the softness of nature's own laws, which al- ways resolve into one another without any harsh or offendincr feature. The verlants should be re-potted. Give them a cool position and but little water until they have become again well rooted. Gradually bring up the temperature in February, and in March let them be placed where they will grow vig- orously, being supplied more liberally with water. As soon as they have made shoots, three to five leaves, cuttings may be made. Variegated Edgings. — A very pretty edging to a bed of dahlias we saw this last season, formed of the plain and variegated- leaved periwinkles. It was kept clipped about eight inches wide, and was very ef- fective. American Cherries Abroad. — We no- tice in the London FloralWorld, under the head of selection Of cherries for orchard planting, the editor names three of the va- rieties originated by Professor Kirtland, of Ohio, viz., Early Prolific, Mammoth, and Tecumseh. The first and last are good, but the Mammoth has, so far as we have known, proved a poor bearer, and hence unworthy. Editor's Table. 25 Cellars. — Too little thought is given Grafting Grapes. — Grapes may be to the care of cellars during winter, grafted during winter, and laid away in Vegetables are often allowed to decay, and, sand just as for apple or pear. Use ere the owner knows, some sickness occurs pieces of roots about four inches long ; in his family, to him unexplainable, but it practice whip or tongue grafting as the may be caused from decaying vegetables in mode ; have two eyes to each cutting or his cellar. The fetid air from such decay is graft, placing one very near the base of the just as bad as the malaria from a swamp, graft when set, and the other so as to come and it should be the care of every one to even with the surface when. planted out in frequently look over the vegetables in his spring. It is a good way to make sure cellar, and remove all that are in a state of of any new variety. decay, give air, and endeavor to keep the cellar dry and cool. Iowa Horticultural Society. — We notice this Society has issued a call for a Inside Protection for Hot-Bed meeting to be held early in January. Iowa Frames. — All gardeners make use of some is fast growing to be a fruit State, as the covering over the glass as a protection exhibit of its products the past year show ; to plants during cold nights and days in and we hope this meeting will be well at- spring. We have to suggest the nailing tended by every Western fruit-grower who of a strip along the sides inside the frame, possibly can. One hundred dollars in pre- about four inches below the glass, on miums are offered, as follows : which to lay a sash made of one-by-two- "Best and largest collection of apples, not less , . . , , ... ., , than four of each sort $25 00 inch strips, and covered with oiled can- second best 15 00 vas. We think it would protect perfectly £SSYa^ ^ oo from frost, and, if Obliged to be left On all Best single variety of winter eating apples.. .. 5 00 ' ' & Best collection ot winter pears 10 00 day, would give a shade to the plants. Best single variety of winter pears 5 00 T1 . ,, . . -, j, ,, , ,, , Best collection of grapes, not less than three It IS OU the principle of the double-sash, clusters of each variety '15 00 but more economical. ^t^^^lot ^ ^^e ^ 5 °° ten...?. 500 Salt for Asparagus.— We have no " Committees to be appointed at the doubt of the value of salt for asparagus, time. All members, and those who will but it may be overdone. The best way is then become such, are cordially invited to to sow a little at a time, and frequently, bring their best fruits, and compete for say from the 1st of March once in two premiums. weeks, until June or July. This will be " W. W. Beebe, Dubuque, Secretary." somewhat after nature's dressing by the We shall be pleased to receive an ac- salt waves and spray on the sea-shore, where count of the doings of the meeting. it is a native, as each rain will tend to dis- solve the sowing. In pruning apple or pear trees, be care- ful always to cut away all shoots of last Inquiries. — Some of our correspondents year's growth that appear shriveled, or complain that if they write for us, they are have not really and perfectly ripened their afterward annoyed by inquiries from our wood. ■ readers. We desire to say to our readers Shrubberies should have a top diess- that if they will address their inquiries to ing yearly of well-decayed manure, or, us, Ave will try and have them answered. better still, old leaf mold or virgin soil from the woods or forest, where such is ac- The Delaware Grape is reported as cessible. There is no better time to do fruiting finely in Canada West. this than some fine open day in the winter. The Horticulturist. Too Many Classes op Plants. — It is quite a too common failing with ama- teurs to gather into one house too many- classes of plants, without thought of the natural habit and periods of growth they seek to group together, and to grow suc- cessfully plants from the tropics and from alpine regions. The result, as a rule, is, that one or the other must and does suffer. There is a variety sufficient to fill any one house, which have alike natural orders and temperatures of growth, and it is advisable always to confine the collec- tion to them. work also that will save many an hour when the hurry and drive of spring comes ; preparing label sticks and stakes, mend- ing lights, making boxes for melons, etc., cleaning crocks, painting tools, and a thou- sand other things, which, if done, will often help a man to drive his work, instead of the work drivins; him. Buying Grapevines. — In buying grape- vines, make sure, if possible, of one thing, viz., that you buy a vine which fully and perfectly ripened its wood at the close of the season's growth. If the wood of a vine, by reason of late growth, does not ripen, the roots can not. The vine, if not re- moved, will probably grow the follow- ing season ; but if taken up and exposed to the air in transplanting, nine times out of ten it will either die outright, or make so feeble a growth as to be of no value. We have tried this to our satisfaction. Disbudding Potatoes. — A friend of ours has a strong belief in good seed, of whatever kind, and of the profit of good, sensible cultivation. Accordingly, he plants whole potatoes, and all of a full medium size, designed, as he says, to supply well- ripened seed — he holding that the extra overgrown tubes, as well as the small ones, are imperfect. As they grow, at the time the tops are four or five inches high, he goes over them, taking away from each hill all but one strong vigorous shoot. Our friend grows good potatoes. Work for Bad Weather. — It is well always to suit the work to the weather. Few can endure to work out in rain or snow, and, if thought be given, there can always be found plenty to do inside, when it is unpleasant or stormy out of doors — Geraniums. — It is not a good plan to wet the roots of geraniums taken up and hung in a dark cellar for winter's keeping. About the middle of March, if they are cut back pretty closely, root and branch, and potted in a light, sharp, sandy loam, and, for want of a frame, placed in the window of the living-room, and given but little water, they will start and make nice plants for out-door planting in May. In the Green-house. — It is policy to look over the plants regularly, to see that none are in want of water ; and when giv- ing water, be careful that it is tepid warm. On clear, sunny days, when the sun carries the temperature up above 60°, we like to give air, but always close the ventilator in time to retain for the night as much of solar heat as possible. It is better for the plants, besides being economical. All the cacti should be kept in the warmest and dryest part of the house. If the green fly get numerous, fumigate, or if only on a few plants, dust with snuff. It is a good time to prune now, while plants are com- paratively dormant. Root Pruning Grapevines. — We have, during the past year, made some comments respecting the advantage of root pruning grapevines, much as pears are done, with a view to check redundancy of growth. We hope some of our readers will try it. A Four-Legged Fowl. — At au exhibi- tion of poultry in Lancashire, England, the past autumn, a hen was shown with four legs — three of which were used for loco- motion. Editors Table. 27 Bedding Annuals. — The collection of annual flowers now embraces some of the most beautiful in form and color, and many people, in their novelty and the cheapness with which the seeds are now obtained, prefer to grow them rather than risk the loss and chances of plants trans- ported by express companies, often received in bad order, and again with some of the very choicest stolen out of the case. No redemption for losses is ever made, except by suit — the plea always being, " It was not lost on our end of the line," and the re- ceiver prefers to pocket his loss rather than hunt the matter up and sue a company at a hundred or more miles distant from home. Therefore it is that annuals will continue to be grown, and especially by all who are not located near a commercial green-house. With those, however, who can command bedding plants within a rea- sonable distance, there is no fear of annuals ever taking their place. But, as we have said, annuals now embrace beauty in form and color, and, besides, they bloom freely, when many of our bedding-out plants have exhausted themselves of their early first blooms, and are comparatively quiet there- to ;' therefore annuals are, besides their cheapness of procuring, desirable to have, even among large collections, and within reach of commercial gardens. The great error, however, with most who grow them, is that, as a rule, they are so distributed in the grounds as to produce little or no ef- fect. Scattered here and there, scarcely within speaking distance, are little clusters of annual blooms, leaving the balance of the bed or border, or supplied with some variety that, recommended by the seeds- man, has novelty, but no bloom or beauty in its composition. Massing of annuals is essential to an appreciation of their beauty, and especially should the growers confine themselves to those well known as free growers and bloomers. Plant no new va- riety as a mass plant, or for conspicuous- ness of bloom, on trust of the handbill or circular advertising it. Place every such novelty one year in the reserve or back border. Use such annuals as you know to be good bloomers in August and Septem- ber, freely among such of the bedding-out plants as at that time fail comparatively in giving abundantly of blossoms. Take no estimates for your guide of the heights of plants, as published, unless you know in what soil and under what kind of treat- ment they were grown. For filling large beds or borders, in positions of second- rate importance, we would use freely of annuals, but always intermingled with bedding-out plants of a like habit in growth or flower to make up the flower bouquet of arrangement as a whole when in bloom, and especially would we study foliage, that our bed or border should in its green lines always present shades and heights to please the eye of taste. Garden Soil will always pay for trench- ing deep, even if done with the spade; • but remember to keep all the time the good or surface soil at the top, and not bury it at the bottom, as we have seen done by some gardeners. If the expense of trenching the whole garden this year be too much for the purse, then select one portion for this season's improvement, and another for next year. Clay soils are es- pecially benefited by trenching, and while such soils are not specially adapted to early crops, the trenching will be found a great aid in the aeration it gives toward earliness, and for a dry, hot summer a clay soil trenched is superior to any of lighter texture. New Seedling Pears. — At the exhibi- tion of the Pomological Congress of France, in September last, M. Gregoire-Nelis ex- hibited one hundred and twenty unnamed seedling pears and forty-eight new-named varieties. The unnamed seedlings are spoken of by the London Journal of Horti- culture as "having nothing attractive among them," while the named ones are recorded as a list without description. The Horticulturist. Agricultural Illustrations. — In the whole range of agricultural and horticul- tural esthetics we candidly think nothing has a more pleasing and permanent effect than illustrations. It is almost as good to look upon the picture of a lovely fruit or handsome tree as to behold the object it- self in natural reality. In the management of the various agri- cultural and horticultural journals of the day, the editors have appreciated the value of illustrations in intensifying the effect of their literary matter, and money is freely spent in the production of anything of this nature possessing interest and attraction. An agricultural paper which from begin- ing to end is plain, bare, unadorned with some little cut of beauty or use, is like a pasture drear and forlorn. But just throw in a beautiful engraving of a fine fruit, or a sketch of a flower, or enliven its pages with the drawing of a house, and behold the interest which the reader immediately takes ! How eagerly he catches the paper and looks on the picture with admiration ! From picture he turns to explanation, and lo ! how indelibly the remembrance is stamped on his mind and memory ! Hence it is that we see agricultural pa- pers using illustrations more and more fre- quently, A description of a new fruit is too often as dull as a dark, cloudy day, un- less a sketch is given to throw it out into a full and tangible relief. A new shrub may be enthusiastically no- ticed, but its effect is greatly increased if the picture of its form and appearance ac- companies it. There are a few publications of the pres- ent day which are especiately noteworthy for the admirable display of this most agreeable entertainment to readers. "With what a peculiar pleasure does the possessor of a set of The Horticulturist take each volume carefully down from the wide library shelf and glance over the pages, rich with horticultural lore, and fraught with so many delightful memories of Downing, its founder, and of the various editors and contributors it has so well and prominently possessed ! His eyes first turn to the goodj illustrations, which come thickly thronging along. Now it is a shrub; now it is a cottage; now a fruit; now a view of some suburban villa ; and, as he approaches a still later date, they be- come more and more frequent, and of a more elaborate and tasteful execution. Since its possession by the Messrs. Wood- ward, large sums of money have been liber- ally spent in the production of engravings of the most tasteful nature, and no stint is made as to number or excellence. What has been the result ? A love of horticulture has been fostered and stimulated from year to year, to better and better results ; a desire for more tasteful cottage building has been kept up, and designs have follow- ed one after another in quick succession, and found a ready adoption. Country Homes and Rural Art, the collection of many of these designs, are the most popu- lar architectural books in the country, and together have reached sales of over 10,000 ; while regular editions are still constantly issued without any flagging of the popular interest. — N. Y. Independent. Three Hundred and Fifty Varieties of Pears. — At the meeting of the Pomo- logical Congress in France, September 19, 1867, one exhibitor had upon the tables three hundred and fifty varieties, or, rather, dishes, of pears — some fifteen or more of them being pronounced synonyms of others. Pits should be watched, and air given when the weather will admit, in order to prevent damp and mold. A Word about the Lawn. — There is always beauty and repose in a well-kept closely-shaven lawn ; but a lawn Avith scat- tering tufts of weeds or foul grasses, and the grass from six to eight inches high, pre- sents no idea of refinement, but, to use a common vulgar phrase, looks as if the owner " wanted to be somebody, but could not Editor's Table. 29 afford it." It is better, therefore, for your own eye, as well as for your credit in the judgment of the world, to have a small lawn, and have it kept in perfect order, than to have an acre or more loosely managed. If there are beds of flowers in a well-kept lawn, they can be visited at any time, without fear of disturbing the polish on boots or wetting the kid of the most delicate slipper ; but if it be badly cared for, woe to the boot or shoe less than a " stogy" that ventures upon it any hour before ten a.m. or. after four p.m. A well-kept lawn is an expensive fea- ture— expensive in its first cost, if well prepared, and in its after-keeping. If, therefore, you are about to plan your grounds, do so with a knowledge of your means for keeping them, and take no more into the lawn than you well know you can keep as it should be. the Dorking cock as producing the hardi- est, healthiest, best formed, and best layers of all. The cross, however, must be main- tained each year, breeding only from the pure Brahma hen and Dorking cock. Poultry. — "We notice that the poultry fever is again rising, and we rejoice at it. Few appreciate the great amount of food produced by the keeping and raising of poultry. Eggs and chickens are almost a necessity in sickness, and always good to take in health. At this time the popular tone seems to run between Brahmas and Dorkings as the two leading breeds. The latter have stood the test of years under all conditions, and certainly are a breed com- bining, perhaps, as many, if not more, good qualities as any other. Brahmas for town gardens are desirable, as in win- ter they are good layers, and they do not ramble, or seem to desire to do so, as much as some other breeds. To any one who desires fowls for their eggs alone, the Bolton Greys we regard as one of the most valuable breeds — equally as good layers as the Poland, and much more hardy. As a fancy bird, glossily beautiful, the Black Spanish are unsurpassed. We have bred at times nearly every va- riety, and our experience is in favor of the Colored Dorkings as a one pure breed; but we regard the cross of Brahmas with BOOK NOTICES. Hyatt's Hand-Book of Ge'ape Culture ; or, Why, Where, When, and How to Plant and Cultivate a Vineyard, Manufacture Wines, etc. Especially adapted to the State of California, By T. Hart Hyatt. H. H. Bancroft & Co., San Francisco, Cal. 12mo, 279 pp. Books devoted to grape culture are still in fashion. The Eastern States have been pretty well supplied with the home-made article in the past half dozen years, and now California comes forward to help complete the list, California is without doubt one of the very best wine countries known, and Mr. Hyatt's book will be read with interest by every one who has any inclination to go into the business of grape growing. The volume before us is a very handsome one, of nearly three hundred pages, filled with more or less valuable matter gathered from various sources. There is no doubt but that it will make many of our vine- yardists yearn for a California soil and cli- mate, and perhaps some may be tempted to migrate to a land where the grape, it is said, never fails to produce a bountiful crop. We fear, however, that Mr. Hyatt has painted the subject in too brilliant colors, and few will ever realize the result which he promises to those who follow his advice. We are told that no insect or disease is known to affect the grape in California, consequently they are always sure of a crop. This statement may be true at the present time, but that is no proof that it will always be the case. Other sections of the country have at one time been exempt from such pests, but they are plentiful now, and in many instances the culture of the grape has been abandoned in consequence. 30 The Horticulturist. |)0itltrjj g-eprfmeni. CONDUCTED BY A. M. HALSTED. With this number we present to our readers a " Poultry Department" believing that in so doing we are meeting the wants of many who, with a few acres, or even a few rods of ground, devoted mainly to horticultural purposes, have still room and time for a few fowls ; and as the two work most happily and pleasantly together, we feel confident that the majority of our readers will hail with pleasure this addi- tion to our pages. We purpose to make these columns valu- able to our readers, not only as a record of the " latest poultry intelligence" but to give full descriptions of the newest and finest breeds of poultry bz-ought before the pub- lic; also of the older and most popular varieties, fully illustrated with cuts taken from life, expressly for our j>ages. We shall also set aside a limited space for queries and answers. Diseases of the feathered tribe will be discussed, and remedies given. Plans for henneries and yards; feeding and drinking fountains — in fact, everything connected with the keeping and rearing of fowls will be Offer- ed in turn to our patrons. The interest in poultry seems to have taken a fresh start, and the late exhibition of fowls in this city has given it an addi- tional impetus. Gentlemen of means and leisure are eagerly discussing the claims of the different varieties to public favor, and the best method of constructing poultry houses and yards ; and in view of the new importance given to these matters, we are especially warranted in allotting some time and space to the interests of the feathered race. We would therefore solicit our readers — those who have devoted any time to rearing fowls, as well as those who are yet novices in such matters, to com- municate such intelligence as they can; also the result of any experiments; to answer such inquiries as they may be able ; to call the attention of their neighbors to the new department, and aid us practical- ly, as well as with their good wishes, in making it a success. THE EXHIBITION OP THE AMERICAN POUL- TRY SOCIETY, which took place in this city on the 3d, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th of December, we are assured, was a perfect success. The show of fowls was very large and of unusual ex- cellence— in fact, so far as quality, it was the finest ever held in this country. Of the older and well-known varieties, the Brahmas were the best represented. Some exceedingly fine specimens of Black Span- ish, White Leghorn, and Grey Dorkings were shown. And of White Dorkings one coop, entry No. — , seemed par excel- lence the . finest there ; they were indeed magnificent, and we think, as the owner claimed, the best on this continent. The new French varieties were not largely rep- resented, but made up in quality what they lacked in numbers. One coop of Crevecceurs, splendid birds, marked $250, were all that any one could desire. In games, the show was large and fine. The Black Breasted Reds were most prominent, and gave the judges some little trouble in making their awards, owing to the unusual excellence of all the specimens shown. Of Derbys, there was but one entry, which were imported birds. Quite a number of other varieties of games were shown — the Stonewall, White Georgian, and Brown Reds being particularly noticeable. The Bantam family were well represented — some beautiful specimens of Golden and Poultry Department. 31 Silver Sebrights, Black African, and game Bantams being exhibited, as also some White and Nagasaki Bantams. In ducks there was a very fine assortment, and the birds did credit to their breeders and owners. The Aylesburys and Bouens were unusually large and fine, while the Cayu- gas, Platas, "Wood, and Brazilian were well worthy of notice. Some very fine coops of China and African geese, and one superb pair of Einbdens, attracted a great deal of attention. In turkeys, the show was small, but we noticed some very fine Bronze and White. The display of pigeons was splendid. Some Roman seemed al- most to have outgrown their pigeonhood ; and the Pouters, Ruffs, Fantails, and Carriers would bring joy to any pigeon- hearted man. Had we space, we would publish the awards, but as we can not, we must refer the reader to the Secretary of the Society. (See advertisement in November number.) The past show was regarded by the Asso- ciation more as an experiment than as a certain success ; and although not so suc- cessful pecuniarily as it would have been in a more accessible location, still demon- strates that the Society can gather a col- lection of fowls surpassed by no other sec- tion on this continent. The arrangements were far from perfect ; but much allowance must be made, in con- sideration that this was the first, and that future exhibitious will doubtless profit by the lessons and hints here learned. The room was very poorly lighted ; but we are informed that it was the only one procur- able at the late day when the Society defi- nitely resolved to have a show. One fea- ture of the arrangements was especially commendable — the entering the coojjs by numbers instead of in the exhibitor's name. By this rule no coop was allowed to have the exhibitor's name appear on it until after the judges had made their rounds ; and if a name appeared, it was ruled out from competition — thus securing an impartial decision, as it was impossible to show favors, not knowing to whom they would be shown. Taken altogether, it was, as we heard a visitor express himself, " the finest collection of fowls ever brought to- gether on this continent in the poorest loom ever used for an exhibition of that kind." There were coops enough to fill a room double the size ; and we hope at fu- ture shows the room will be better suited therefor. We understand that the Society intend to have semi-yearly exhibitions — spring and fall — and cordially wish them success. IMPROVED VARIETIES VS. COMMON FOWLS. Does it ever strike the farmer, or any one who keeps fowls either for profit or pleasure, that there is a great advantage in keeping improved breeds of poultry over the common barnyard fowls ? Hardly a farmer but will acknowledge that it costs no more to keep a good cow than a poor one ; and that the improved thorough- breds are better than the ordinary cow, and that therefore it is more profitable to keep pure stock than mixed. But how many apply the same reasoning to the poultry yard ? The fifty or more fowls on the majority of farms could profitably be replaced by twenty of some improved va- riety— in fact, twenty pure-bred fowls, well kept and cared for, will produce more eggs in the year, and as many chickens, as one hundred common fowls allowed to run as they please and shift for themselves. Common fowls will average 50 eggs each per year, while many of the improved breeds will average 150 to 200, and some few varieties 250 to 300. I do not think any guide can be given as to the number of fowls any one should keep ; for while one could profitably keep 100 to 200, another would do far better with 20, or even a less number. My ad- vice would be, only keep as many as you can keep well. I am aware that many think it impossible to keep large numbers of fowls together and have them thrive. This is a mistaken idea, and arises from the fact, that where lame yards of fowls are, or 32 The Horticulturist. have been kept, they have not received proper care and attention, and have, there- fore, ceased to be profitable. One hundred fowls are not too many for a single yard, and even double that num- ber may be kept, if the same care and at- tention are given them that would be paid to a dozen or twenty. We are too apt, when we have so many, to provide insuf- ficiently— to be careless about their housing and keeping their quarters clean. It seems but little trouble to care for twenty fowls, and takes only a few minutes to see that they are all safely housed in cold weather ; but when one hundred or more have to be cared for,- we are very apt to begrudge the labor, thinking " it don't pay to spend so much time on a lot of chickens." We think there is less time and labor spent on poultry than on any other kind of stock ; and we do not know of anything that wrill better repay the care and attention given 'them. I believe there is double the profit on $500 invested in poultry (improved va- rieties) than an equal investment in any other kind of farm stock. At the prices paid for eggs in the New York market the past three or four years, a hen will pay for herself and keeping within the year, and all her progeny is clear gain, over and above the first outlay. We do not mean to say that everything will be paid for, but the first cost of the fowl and her feeding and the care bestowed on her. But in order to secure this result, good fowl houses and yards must be provided, skillful care and treatment given, and improved varieties of fowls kept. Onions and Poultry. — Scarcely too much can be said in praise of onions for fowls. They seem to be a preventive and remedy for various diseases to which do- mestic fowls are liable. Having frequently tested their excellences, we can speak un- derstandingly. For gapes and inflamma- tion of the throat, eyes, and head, onions are almost a specific. We would there- fore recommend giving fowls, and es- pecially young chickens, as many as they will eat, as often as twice or three times a week. They should be finely chopped. A small addition of corn meal is an im- provement.— - Genesee Farmer. The Hen and Duck as Egg Pro- ducers.— A paper has been received by the Paris Academy of Science, from M. Co- maille, on the comparative value of the hen and duck as egg producers. His observa- tions were limited to three hens and three ducks, all fine animals, hatched at the same time in the month of February. During the following autumn the ducks laid two hundred and twenty-five eggs ; they re-commenced laying in February, and continued to do so until the middle of August. The hens laid no eggs during the autumn, but began in January, and left oft* about the middle of August. The totals of each at the end of that time were : the hens, two hundred and fifty-seven eggs; the ducks, sis hundred and seventeen. M. Comaille next examined the nutritive value of each kind of egg, and found them nearly equal in that respect. Value op Poultry Manure. — There is no manure made on a farm so valuable as that of poultry. One ounce of it properly diffused in a half pound of soil, and placed in a hill of corn when planted, will be as powerful a fertilizer as ten times its weight in barnyard manure. A foreign writer says : In France, as well as in our own country, most eminent chemists have proved, by analysis, that poultry manure is a most valuable fertilizer, and yet, for want of proper system in housing poultry, it has not been rendered available to rura. economy. The celebrated Vanquelin says that when the value of manures is con- sidered in relation to the amount of azote they contain, the poultry manure is one of the most active stimulants ; and when, as a means of comparison, the following manures are taken in parts of 1,000, it will be found that — Horse manure contains 4 0 parts of *uote. Guano, as imported 40.7 do. do. Guano, sifted of vegetables, etc. .. 53.9 do. do. Poultry manure 83 . 0 do. do. THE HORTICULTURIST. VOL. XXIII FEBRUARY, 1868 .NO. CCLX. LANDSCAPE, OR HOME ADORNMENT— EUCLID AVENUE, CLEVELAND, 0. BY F. K. ELLIOTT. The value of everything that approaches the beautiful is enhanced by an appropri- ate setting. Even the most beautiful flower of nature is improved by its surrounding of delicately tinted green foliage. The artist when exhibiting his most perfect artificial representation of nature, places it, if possi- ble, with a surrounding which will measur- ably attract the eye, and yet cast upon the picture an enhanced breadth, and height of coloring combined with the softness which nature in her hazy moods gives to all her productions. Woman, in all her beauty, is rendered even more attractive in a setting of appropriate colors and forms of dress ; and woe be to the taste of a blonde who, robing herself in light blue, seeks to decorate for relief with coral ornaments ! The opaque red, to use a common phrase, would be " dreadful ;" while the use of a pale pink would light up and dispel the pallid moonshine of the blue, and give to all a rich pearly, hazy, rosy hue, as of early morn. These lights and shades being well un- derstood in our artificial " role," it would appear that in the more permanent matters of life, such as the decorations of our dailv homes, they should have control ; yet we too frequently find a mansion residence constructed after the best taste and truest principles of architecture with its sur- rounding fitting, as inappropriate as a bright yellow would be for a lady's walk- ing dress. The beauty of landscape or home adorn- ments that surround and decorate many of the residences on Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, O., has become proverbial, and a common- place record of all traveling letter-writers. I may therefore be pardoned if, in a few words relative to the subject, I present views taken from some places there as illustrative measurably of what may be created by the use of judicious taste and a knowledge appreciative of the natural habit in growth, form, and colors of trees and shrubs. " Turf and trees are the cheapest, most lasting, and most permanently and man- ageably enjoyable of all the essential ele- ments of an elegant garden, and should have the first thought, whether in making or improving one." That I do not proscribe flowers, none need be informed ; but, as a rule, they should be subservient to the 34 The Horticulturist. general scheme, just as colored decorations within the house are. " Window curtains we must have, but we do not cover our walls, pictures, and looking-glasses with them ; and flowers we must have, but in their proper proportion to all the rest of the essentials of a garden. In the fore- ground of a lawn, a few bold flower-beds are usually appropriate and desirable, and if well furnished, enhance the brightness of the turf, warm up the lovely shadows of the trees, and actually increase the appar- ent space set apart for pleasure. But when beds are dotted everywhere, when a scheme of a geometric kind is obtruded of far too great an extent for the place, the boundaries contract upon it, the sense of freedom is gone, quiet appears to be ban- ished from the scene, for colore are excit- ing— sometimes distracting, and quite an- tagonistic to the enjoyment of quiet and rest." From every dwelling-house situate with- in its own grounds, one set of windows should look upon greenness, and this view should extend over as great a space as possible, consistent with the dimensions of the property. An inordinate complexity of flowerbeds, numerous and close to- gether, tend to confuse the eye, and their mingled colors make an end of harmony and contrast ; while, again, a long bed or border on the promenade system becomes monotonous from its continuitv and want Fig. 17. — Group on the Bed and Border System. of relief obtained when the same plants are arranged in bed and border combined. Fig. 17 is a tolerably good representa- tion of a group on the bed and border system, and placed at a gentle curve in the footpath. In a short article, like the pres- ent, it is of course impossible to more than touch upon some of the leading features which are requisite to the making up of an effective setting for the mansion. Not only must a knowledge of tree and plant be possessed by the decorator — not only must he understand the principles and effects of light and shade — not only must he have regard to the architectural character of the building as the point to which his setting is to become fitting, but he must also have regard somewhat to the composition of neighborhood surroundings, especially when treating the grounds of a suburban villa residence of only a few acres ; and finally, nothing can be done satisfactorily effective without taste. Fashion, without "rhyme or reason,'1 as in other matters, occasionally sways in landscape decoration, and the use of some particular class of trees becomes so com- mon, and often so inappropriately placed, as to detract much from their real merits. The use of weeping trees may especially be classed as an instance, within the past few years, of the force of fashion; for while they are often in themselves of great beauty, their free use in all places and Landscape, or Home Adornment. 35 positions soon creates a distaste therefor. As single lawn trees, standing out by themselves, they must be used sparingly ; but where they can be planted on a mar- £ in of a stream, or in some way connected with water, they can be used more freely. The accompanying drawing — fig. 18 — presents the grounds of a place laid out by the writer in 1851, and then the property of John Shelly, Esq., now of Mr. Scowden, on Euclid Avenue. The house fronts the south, and on the lawn can be seen a very fine weeping tree, at the right ; in the fore- ground is a group of Norways, that, when planted, were for the purpose of breaking an outside unsightly feature. North and west of the lawn, evergreens prevail as a background feature, and for the purpose of a screen from cold winds. Directly in front of the steps, at the turn of the path- ways, are beds of plants: the one at the right having in it an African tamarisk, with its base and branches intermingled with English yew. A group of shrubs ^fMtmii^iMWMfi'Hff wmrujMmm Fig. 18. — Grounds of Mr. Scowden, on Euclid Avenue. breaks, at a curve in the path, the too great prominence of the entrance gate, leaving the balance in lawn so graded as to give appearance of breadth beyond reality. As an instance of what may be done, more by raising and shaping the ground than by much planting, is seen in fig. 19. It presents the present appearance of the residence of Colonel George B. Sen- ter, a gentleman well and favorably known all over the country, but more as a poli- tician and man of general enterprise than as connected with horticulture. This place, ere it was refitted, was deemed gloomy, damp, and unattractive ; the ground was on a level with the street ; trees were over- abundant, and placed without reference to form or effect. In the construction of the house regular lines prevail, and the steps leading to the front portico or colonnade are unavailable in use because of the en- trance door being placed at the side. In working up this place the ground was The Horticulturist. raised, so as to get the grade considerably above the street. The entrance footpath was placed directly in front, midway, and carried straight as far as possible, in order to keep a balance and harmonize with the straight lines of the building ; a group of low evergreen shrubs breaks the turn of the pathway to the side entrance, and at the same time the ground is there raised above the surrounding grades. The appearance of the place is now deemed quite" satisfac- torv. Fig. 20 presents a partial view of the house and grounds of Joseph Perkins, Esq., a gentleman of great taste and love of the beautiful and good, whether in art or nature. This place has been mainly the creation of its owner's brain in arrange- ment, and contains more rare and elegant trees and plants than any other one in the Western States. The house was designed by Upjohn — is of cut stone, plain, but massive and symmetrical. The lawn is of considerable breadth, and in its first --/ *> x \ Fig. 19. — Residence of Colonel George B. Senter. planting an attempt was made to screen it partly from the street view, by a planting of shrubs, which from the planter's not then knowing well the habit and growth of the various plants has proved in effect rather a failure. . This desire to screen and make the lawns partially private is a feat- ure in planting that should be more prac- ticed. The tendency is too much toward creation of scenic effect for the million rather than the use of one's own family and friends1 enjoyment. A bed, near one of the iront entrance gates, of low trailing evergreens, several magnificent shaped magnolias, a bed of rhododendrons and azaleas, a mass of mahonias, and a hedge of hemlocks are among the features of attraction and beauty that adorn this gentleman's home. Upon one side of the house a small green- house is constructed, while on the opposite side the flower-garden proper is laid out. and during the summer season is a mass of blooms from the opening of the early Landscape, or Home Adornment. 37 crocus, or snowdrop, to the late clirysun- in flower Seems to defy the blasts and tliemum, which with its brilliancy of color cold of winter. Upon Mr. Perkins' grounds Fig. 20. — House and Grounds of Joseph Perkins, Esq. there is also a feature of rock-work rare to scape beauty I will reserve for a future be seen, which with other items of land- article. Market Grapes, etc. — G. F. R, Toms River, N J. — " We are just below latitude 40° — some miles back from the ocean, and the soil a sandy loan, with considerable clay and gravel stones, and high and roll- ing ; would it be safe to plant the Catawba ? and what varieties would you recommend for market ? and at what distance apart \ and would you advise spur pruning or the annual renewal {" We should plant for marKct purposes the Telegraph, moderately, because while we have no doubt of its profitableness as an early market sort, it yet has not been grown over a sufficient extent of country to advise its planting largely. Next, we would plant largely, very largely, of Rogers' No. 4, because it is hardy, a good bearer and grower, and a bunch and berry that will always command a ready sale ; besides, it hangs well to the bunch and keeps well. Next, we would plant the Catawba; for while it will not, probably, in your soil, make a fine wine, it will color well, and sell in market, and keep well. Plant it on your strongest clay soil — not on light sand, and especially avoid soil with much vegetable matter for it. The Diana, we have no doubt, will prove valuable with you for market. Give it thin, poor soil, and train it long. We would plant Rogers' No. 4 and Diana in rows eight feet apart, and ten feet each from vine to vine; Catawba and Telegraph eight feet each way. The annual renewal cane system is the simplest mode, and we believe, as a whole, productive of the best results. •38 The Horticulturist ORNAMENTAL GRASSES. Fok the purpose of embellishing our homes in winter with elegant and pretty groups or bouquets of dried flowers, there are no class possessing more graceful and 1 % pV Mi (^ gathering, that many hesitate, and finally leave them until their beauty is lost. After cutting, simply place them on a shelf in -i dry, darkish room, where they will be free from dust, and in a few days they will be fit for use. Seeds of many beautiful varie- ties may be obtained of nearly all seeds- men, and if they are sown in pots some time in March, covering the seeds from an eighth to a sixteenth of an inch deep with fine sandy soil, placing them where they will get the light and heat of the daily sun, but protected from cold winds and frost, say either in a cold pit or on the window-sill inside the house, the seeds will soon vegetate, and by the middle of April or early in May be ready to turn out in the open ground ; or the seed of most varieties may be sown in the open ground about the 1st of May. During the past two seasons we have often examined clumps or masses of orna- mental grasses growing in the grounds of Fig. 21.— Pampas Grass. attractive forms than such as are termed ornamental grasses. They are very easy of cultivation, and the best way is to place them in a bed by themselves, as then they will be cared for, and be more likely to be gathered at the right time than if scattered around in the various beds or borders. For preservation, the only point required is to cut diem at the right time, and that is just before they be- gin to fade and drop their seeds, or, rather, when they are in the full flush and grace of beauty, whether it be summer or autumn. This season of gathering is another reason for placing them in a bed by themselves, as when placed connected with flowers, the our amateur friends; and recently our loss of beauty to the bed is so great from friend Jas. F. Hind, Esq., of Nottingham, Fig. 22. — Bambusa Gracilis. Two New Apples. 39 wrote us from England, in glowing terms, of the beauty of a clump of Pampas grass which he saw growing on a lawn, and. having over one hundred and seventy- heads or stems of flowers. The Feather grasses are perhaps among the varieties most grown here. They are delicate, and always beautiful, and when made up into bouquets, mingle beautifully with the coarser heads of the animated oat. Our friend sends us also a drawing of Bambusa gracilis, the stems of which, he writes, were six feet, while another variety, the nigra, had stems fifteen feet. TWO NEW APPLES— CAROLINE AND BUSH'S BEAUTY. CAROLINE. This and Bush's Beauty were first shown by D. C. Richmond, Esq. It is said to have originated near Fremont, Ohio. Tree, a strong upright grower and abundant bearer; fruit, medium, globular, slightly flattened; skin, smooth, pale, lemon yel- low, with darker suffused dots — slight brownish blush on sunny side ; calyx, rather large, with nearly erect segments ; basin, medium depth ; stem, slender, pro- jecting just beyond the surface; cavity, deep, sometimes with a knob or irregularity on one side, and slightly russeted ; flesh, white, crisp, tender, mild, sub-acid ; core, above medium, with large cajisules, and Fig. 23. — Caroline. open in center ; seeds, ovate pointed ; Sep- tember ; a most delicious amateur fruit. BUSH S BEAUTY. Original tree in the orchard of Captain Henry Bush, near Sandusky, Ohio. Tree, spreading, with large, coarse foliage, a yearly and abundant bearer; fruit, above medium, rounded, flattened at stem, and surface irregular or corrugated, uneven, glossy ; color, a clear creamy, white ground, striped and splashed in the sun exposures with a bright vermilion pink, and a little 40 The Horticulturist. of rough russet toward the eye on one basin, deep; somewhat corrugated ; core in side ; stem, short ; cavity, deep, open, a center of apple, open, and abundantly trace of greenish russet ; calyx, closed ; filled with seeds, four or more in a capsule ; Fig. 24.— Bush's Beauty. flesh, white, crisp, tender, acid ; fine for cooking, and about equal to Duchess of Oldenburgh for eating ; season, September and October ; valuable as a market sort. HOW TO GROW QUINCES FROM CUTTINGS. BY HORTICOLA. quinces grown from quince. I tied the cuttings, which were For pear-stock: cuttings are in many respects preferable to those grown from stools ; although I suc- ceeded well enough in growing them ac- cording to Fuller's method, that is, the cuttings taken off in the fall or early winter and preserved in sand or soil till spring, are put with their lower ends two or three inches deep in soil made into mud by the addition of water, in which they are kept two or three weeks before planting. They seemed to require considerable care after planting, and either copious waterings or mulchings to prevent their succulent rootlets from drying up. Having been in the habit of propagating my Para- dise apples by putting them in the soil about a month before planting, I tried the same plan last spring to propagate the about six inches long, in bundles of fifty each, and put them in the ground with their upper ends downward, after the lower ends had been puddled about two inches deep in a mixture of clay and water of the con- sistency of common paint. I covered them four inches deep with soil, some under a glass frame, some in the open air in a sheltered and sunny place. When I planted them, very few had made rootlets, but every one of them grew without any further care, so that I now have two hundred fine plants from as many cuttings I had made. I procured enough water in the little ditch which was to receive them to make the soil, when stirred with the hoe, semi- liquid. I stuck them into it, packing the clay soil firmly around them. Propagating Plants hy Grafting. 41 PROPAGATING PLANTS BY GRAFTING. [CONTINUED FROM JANUARY NUMBER.] BY A. S. FULLER. Roots are often used for stocks instead of the stems of plants. Cions may be fit- ted to a root, or a section of one, in pre- cisely the same manner as they are upon stems or branches. The mechanical part of the operation is very similar in both cases. Sometimes it is desirable to graft below the surface of the soil, that the cion may eventually take root and become capa- ble of furnishing itself with sustenance from the earth instead of relying upon the original stock. In all cases where it is expected that the cions will emit roots, the junction should be made below the surface of the soil, at least so low that only the uppermost one on the cion shall be above the surface. Fig. 25 shows a common method of crown grafting below ground. The cion B is then severed in about two thirds of its diameter, and this portion removed, forming what is called a shoul- der, at C ; the remaining portion is then pared smooth and thin at the lowermost point. The stock is then cut off at D, and the bark at C removed with a thin slice of wood to correspond with the lip of the cion, which is then fitted to it, the shoul- der of the cion resting upon the top of the stock. The cion and stock are then tied together with strings or waxed cloth, as in splice grafting. A, the surface of the ground. All the other methods, such as the splice, cleft, crown, side, and saddle graft- ing, may be applied to roots as well as the stems of woody plants, and it must be ap- parent that a large root or stock will sup- ply a cion with materials for making a vigorous growth than those of an opposite character. But while this is true to a cer- tain extent, it should also be remembered that no cion can use any more plant-food than can be assimilated by its leaves ; con- sequently, if the roots of the stock upon which it set gather more materials than can be used, there will be stagnation or en- tire inaction in some portion of the plant. When a large plant is severely cut back for grafting or other purposes, and thus Fig. 25. deprived of its usual amount of foliage, it will often expend the greater portion of its vitality in producing suckers ; but with some species few or no suckers are pro- duced ; and as the vitality of the plants can find no outlet except through the one or more cions, it is thus rendered very feeble, simply for the want of an opportunity to perform its natural functions. No root 42 The Horticulturist. will remain dormant and still healthy for any considerable time, under circumstan- ces which are naturally suited to promote growth. Knowing this, the propagator the branches of a large stock unless he can substitute a sufficient number of cions to supply their place, or at least enough to allow all of the roots to act, although if of plants should avoid cutting off all of it is but very little. To avoid the too se- Fig. 2G. vere checking of the stock when of large size, the branches of trees only are grafted, many cions being inserted upon one stock. The same principle is sometimes followed upon the roots ; one or more of these are severed, and the end nearest the stem is raised to the surface and a graft inserted, as shown in fig. 26. The cion is allowed to grow one or two seasons, then dug up and transplanted. Grafting upon large roots is seldom practiced except in rare instances, and where small stocks can not be obtained. The different methods of grafting are very numerous, over fifty being described in the various horticultural works extant, but they all produce nearly the same re- sults; many of them are so nearly alike that it would be difficult to point any ma- terial difference. The French works, in particular, give many different Avays of doing the same thing, the slightest varia- tion being deemed sufficient reason for bestowing upon the process a distinct name. For instance, instead of dividing the cion, as shown in one of our modes of saddle grafting, the French gardeners will divide the stock and insert the cion in the center, as shown in fig. 27. This method is called by Dubreuil the double V graft. Another method, which is applicable only Fig. 27. to small stocks, is shown in fig. 28. The cion is made wedge-shape at both ends, a bud being left on the bark about midway between the two points. The stock is divided as shown, but no wood is removed, Propagating Plants oy Grafting. 48 the cion being fitted into tlie incision ; af- terward the whole, except the bud, is in- closed with waxed cloth, if above ground ; but if Lelow, bass strings will usually an- swer the purpose. This is an excellent method for grafting on pieces of roots of many kinds of ligneous as well as tuberous- rooted species. The one great object in the simple act of grafting is to join a portion of one plant to that of another, and in such a manner that they shall unite ana oecome as one, therefore the more simple the pro- cess, the more readily and successfully will it be performed. HERBACEOUS GRAFTING. Grafting ligneous or other plants while in a state of active growth is usually term- ed Herbaceous grafting. The manner of uniting the cion to the stock is very simi- lar, and in many instances the same as grafting with ripe wood. In grafting plants that are in a dormant state, or nearly so, it made but little difference whether both stock and cicn were in the same condition of forwardness ; we usually, however, prefer to have the cion more backward than the stock ; but in herbaceous grafting it is quite necessary that they should be very nearly equal. The union between the stock and cion is to be made by the grow- ing process, which is active in both, at the time the operation is performed. It is not to be supposed that a growing shoot can be severed from one plant and joined to another without slightly checking growth, but the operation must be performed so quickly that the check will be but mo- mentary, the cion reviving soon after. The green growing shoots of one tree may be transferred to other trees, and made to unite with shoots of a similar age and growth, but not to branches of the pro- ceeding year's growth. One or more leaves should always be left on the cions, and those on the stock but slightly reduced. Splice or cleft grafting is the usual mode, but in some instances side grafting may be successfully practiced. Fig. 29 shows a mode of side grafting on the young shoots of the oak, fig, maple, and similar trees. The pine, spruce, and similar resinous trees may be successfully grafted with their young and tender shots. The time and manner of performing the operation will be fully given in a future chapter. Nearly all species of herbaceous or succulent plants may be successfully grafted one upon another, provided we keep within Fig. 29. certain limits, the same as with woody plants. Red beets may be grafted upon yucca beets, tomatoes upon potatoes, musk- melons upon pumpkins, and so on indefi- 44 The Horticulturist. nitely. "With all the methods of herbaceous grafting, it is generally necessary to pro- tect the graft from the direct rays of the sun until a union takes place. This shading is to prevent a too rapid evapora- tion of moisture from the leaves of the cion, which would cause the leaves to Avilt before they were enabled to receive any assistance from the stock. GRAFTING BY APPROACH. Grafting by approach is a very simple method of uniting any two stems . or branches. The time for performing the operation is the same as that of grafting, that is, early in the spring, just before growth commences. The bark and a small portion o': the wood should be re- moved at the point where the union is to be formed, and the two branches or stems made to join evenly, then tied firmly to- gether, so that the point of junction shall be immovable. INARCHING. This method differs from the last only in the manner of manipulation. To graft trees by inarching they must necessarily stand near together, so that their stems or • branches can be united without separation from the parent stock. Incisions are usually made similar to those employed in tongue grafting. Fig. 80 shows the stems of two trees ready to be joined near their base by inarching. The branches of different trees or of the same tree may be inarched, and in this manner hedges and other forms of live fences may readily be formed. Inarching is often employed instead of grafting by the ordinary methods ; and after the union has been formed, the inarched branch is separated from the parent stem. In this manner many varieties of trees which are Fig. 30. found difficult to propagate in other ways, are quite rapidly multiplied. For in- stance, young stocks are planted around a large tree, and near enough to it to al- low the branches to conveniently reach the stock when ready for use, at which time they are inarched ; and when the branches have firmly united, they are severed from the parent tree, and the stocks removed with their grafts. The weeping taxodi- um, beech, birch, and similar trees are often propagated in this manner quite rapidly. The Kitchen Garden. — Make no delay in getting everything ready for active la- bor in the kitchen garden. See that your manure heap is in condition for immediate and profitable application to the ground. Arrange on map the positions for your po- tatoes, beets, early peas, etc., that no hesita- tion or delay may occur when labor once begins. Look over your seeds, and test their vitality, and replace, by immediately ordering new, such as appear doubtful. Arrange them so that when wanted the whole case will not have to be hunted over to obtain the one wanted. Attend to the rhubarb and asparagus at the first escaping of the frost from the ground. For early potatoes or early planting, whole potatoes are better than sets ; to get them very ear- ly, start the eyes in a frame or box, some half inch or so, before planting. Keep off the ground whenever it is quite wet. Theory, Practice, Science. 45 THEORY, PRACTICE, SCIENCE. Mr. Editor : The Gardener's Monthly has in its December number an extract from the London Gardener's Chronicle on " pruning the grape." The deductions from that extract, aud inference suggested with its kindred subject, is What we wish here to speak of. " Tines pruned in September, while the leaves are on, will have the suc- ceeding crop ripen fifteen to twenty days earlier than other vines pruned in Novem- ber, all other circumstances being equal. The experiment has been tried for years on vines that yield a supply of fruit from June to January." How vines are pruned in September and still retain their crop of fruit till January, the Gardener's Monthly does not show, and we own wre can not well understand. " Fifteen to twenty days earlier than other vines pruned in Novem- ber, all other circumstances oeing equal." What are the " all other circumstances" that should be equal ? English practice for England and American practice for America. What would be the result of pruning in September here ? Bursting of the buds and going on with a vigorous growth. Why would this occur here, and not in England ? Because of the great difference here in the intensity of heat and light. How is it known that vines under glass in this country would burst their buds by being pruned in September ? From experience, knowing that vines have been pruned (with leaves on and off) in July, August, September, October, Novem- ber, and December. " All other circum- stances being equal" can not be applied to vines whose fruit is ripened in different months. For instance, fruit ripened in April or May can not possibly be in a cor- responding condition with vines whose fruit is ripe in August and September ? Why not ? Owing principally to the condition of the organism of the vines at the differ- ent periods of the specified times of fruit ripening. Vines in this country that pro- duce fruit in April and May, generally, and we may say invariably, commence ripening their wood for two or three weeks before the fruit uegins to color, which is not the case with vines ripening their fruit in August and September. Here, then, we see that there is no corresponding conditions on which the pruning in Sep- tember can be effected ; the latter, in fact, is anything but equal. Vines that are fruited in April or May for several years would be highly benefited by being pruned in July with their leaves on. Why? it may be asked. Because such vines will commence a second growth about that time ; and as this second growth is generally maltreated, the organism of the plant never becomes properly solidi- fied, and may be known after the leaves have fallen, by an examination of the al- burnum exhibiting an open spongy char- acter, which ultimately dies; and if the external bark be removed, this imperfected alburnum may be blown out from its posi- tion like snuff from a box ; the consequent effect seen the following season is weak- ness of growth, imperfect sexuality, and general debility, which effects are igno- rantly supposed to arise from early forcing, but which, in truth, arises from a lack of knowledge of the physiology of the plant's nature and organism, which, if properly understood and treated on the ground of that knowledge, vastly differ- ent results would consequently follow, much to the satisfaction of the cultivator, and with an uninjured organism to the vine. Vines of this class and condition, pruned as here suggested, in July, would become wholly resuscitated ; and if its con- dition be watched and understood through the different changes the plant experiences in being passed round the natural seasons into the artificial, natural, and back again 4.6 The Horticulturist. as time passes on, the " wearing out" by crops of fruit will never occur. Pruned in July, and the succeeding crop will not only ripen fifteen days earlier, but a month earlier, if by early be meant the time from bursting buds till the fruit be ripe. Here, then, it will be said that we admit that by early pruning the vine it facilitates the earliness of the crop. By pruning in July the plant bursts into the new growth almost at once; but vines started into growth in winter or spring require a month or six weeks of artificial heat be- fore the buds are seen to move. Reckon the time from the bursting of buds to the ripening of the fruit, and very little differ- ence will be found as regards "early ripening," whether we prune in July or November. Is early pruning any benefit to the vine? Most assuredly; but it re- quires the operator' to have a perfect knowledge of the condition of the plant, to be successful. It will not do to prune a vine back in September whose fruit is then just ripened ; such, for instance, as vines in a cold grapery. In England, all their vineries are heated by some means, either by hot water or flues. In cold graperies, here, in Septem- ber, it is pretty well known that such vines then are growing pretty freely, and we think it would be hard to find an intelli- gent gardener in the whole Union that would be silly enough to prune such vines back at that time; still, some persons may be induced to ruin their vines by following an English practice imported here — a practice far ahead of science. " Early pruning" should always be performed on the vines if perfection of fruit be an ob- ject. The sap should never cease flowing entirely before pruning is commenced, and then it should be effected by degrees. For instance, we notice the vine has ripened its wood, but still there is some young growth going on at the end of all the laterals, but not with force enough in the vine to burst the principal eyes or buds. In this condition prune back the laterals and leave the spurs or branches which have borne the fruit stand bare, with the exception of the proper leaves ; now watch the vine for five or six days, and if there be no indications of bursting the top buds on the spurs, then take the knife and cut out all the buds on the spurs, except about three or four from the base. The sap in motion will then swell up these base buds round and plump. In a few days more the whole of the wood or spur with leaves on may be cut back to the point desired without fear of damage. This requires much experience, however, and is to be practiced successfully only when much interest is taken in the vine, and by a person of a very observing mind. Such operations, indeed, can not be ex- plained in writing ; it requires practical examples. Vines " early pruned" will never bleed at the return of the growing season; this bleeding, however, the Gardener's Monthly contends, is no harm to the plant ; we would ask, is it any good ? Do we ever find vines oleeding in a state of nature, un- less by accident ? It may be said that bleeding is nothing more than the run- ning out of so much water, and that it is not sap. We don't believe any such logic. It evidently was sap the season be- fore, and became solidified through all the ramifications of the plant structure ; and when heat became applied to it the next spring, its gummy particles became liquid- ized, and of course expansion takes place in the pores of the wood ; and if it does not, or can not, run out at cuts at the end of its branches, it will run out at the points where nature intended it should run out, and that is at the buds. What is the motive power of growth? Sap ex- panding by heat The very force of this expansion is the sole cause of the bud moving. Now, let this water or sap run out at the ends of the shoots for a week or two, and does any intelligent person mean to say it is no harm ? The harm is a weakening of the system with a later Shelter for Orchards. 47 bursting of the buds. "Weakening, because the moment the bud is pushed out, a re- turn of the fluid to the roots is effected, which puts the roots into action, absorbing crude fluids from the earth. We know some are of opinion that there is no such thing as circulation of the sap in the plant structure; but we are not of that philosophy, for we well know that in the animal creation there is ; and we also know that when and where a law is established, it holds good, analogically, throughout the whole ramifications of God's creations; consequently there is circulation of sap in the vegetable creation. No circulation ! Why, the clouds circulate, the rains circu- late, the tides circulate, the earth, moon, and stars circulate, together with all the vast canopy, and sing in circulating praises to the great Author of so wondrous a cir- culating system. We have penned these remarks, not to prevent experiment or throw a straw in the path of scientific re- search, but to suggest caution in experi- menting. We know that many of our large and extensive horticultural pursuits are conducted with an amateur's experi- ence, persons in the business from a real love of it, and wanting that experience that can be obtained only through a long- period of toil and observation ; should such a one in a state of ecstasy rush into his vineyard in the month of September and prune all his vines, under the dreamy hope of bringing his crop of grapes — which formerly but half ripened — some fifteen or twenty days earlier into market, or with the thought of being able to ripen his much loved Maxatawney, the result may cost him more than if he had worked on in accordance with the general order of things. Our advice to the readers of the Horticulturist is, think twice before act- ing once. John Ellis. SHELTER FOR ORCHARDS. The value of shelter or climatic screens for orchards is becoming more and more apparent every day. As our forests be- come cleared away, the climate grows more harsh, dry, and absorbent of vital life, and our fruits evince it in their knot- ty and various deteriorated forms. The Western prairie country has been, through some of her most thoughtful horticultu- rists, urging the point and advantage of evergreens as shelters for many years ; and gradually the persistent efforts and urgings of these men are becoming ex- hibited in the free planting of evergreens and deciduous trees as belts or screens protecting the orchard from the severe cold winds of the west and north, and even on their prairie lands serving, as thermometrical records show, to assist in reducing the extremes of temperature. But it is not only the Western prairies which require this protection and ameli- oration of atmospheric influence; our New England and our Northern and Middle States, as western New York, Ohio, etc., all apparently exhibit the want of it, at this day, as strongly as do the bleak, open prairie regions. The records show that a quarter of a century since, fruit-grow- ing, from the peach upward, was just as much a certainty in the Eastern States as in the most favorable of the new West- ern sections; but while skill and know- ledge and attentive cultivation have in- creased, the production in quantity and quality of fruit has decreased, until many persons in the New England and Northern Middle States now hesitate to plant be- cause of their location being an uncertain one for profitable return. Few consider the extent of forest that is yearly being cleared away, and with it the change created from a moist, equable climate to one of a dry, harsh, and extremely variable character. 48 The Horticulturist. It is time we set about the labor of cor- recting this feature of climate, and hence we now urge on all our readers to plant screen belts of evergreen and decid- uous trees all around their farms or gar- dens, and esiDecially around their orchards, and those portions of their grounds oc- cupied by stock yards, out-buildings, etc. We would mingle more or less ever- greens among the orchard trees also, al- though some growers will tell us that the orchard trees contiguous to the evergreens will be spoiled in their symmetry, etc., and perhaps in the amount of product, on account of one side being swallowed up and overshadowed by the evergreens ; but we must be permitted to say that, having examined this matter pretty thoroughly for some years, we are now convinced from personal observation that trees con- tiguous to and sheltered from the north and west by evergreens, have yearly pro- duced their fruit and resisted late spring frosts, when those more exposed to cur- rents of air and all unprotected, have failed. The present record of hardihood of varieties of fruits, we have no doubt, will be entirely changed in twenty years, provided due attention be given to the planting of evergreen or other trees as cli- matic influential agents. It is less than a quarter of a century since all and every variety of apple grown in the New Eng- land States was regarded as perfectly hardy and successful in its order as an orchard fruit ; but now we are getting occasional records of the failure and want of hardi- ness of old varieties, corresponding almost entirely with records of the same varieties upon the bleak, open, unprotected prairies of the West. Again, we are getting con- flicting statements of the hardihood of varieties West, based upon the position of the orchard, location, and its sheltered or non-sheltered surroundings. All these point us most plainly to the fact, that while we practice skill in pruning, care in cultivation, we must remember that tem- perature is an all-important agent, and that if we expect to continue a successful and profitable fruit-growing country, we must take into account the effect produced on climate by foliage of trees, in their ab- sorbents, shades, and evaporation, and set ourselves at work with a will toward the production of a remedial assistant agent, by planting belts, masses, and groups oi evergreens and other trees, whose object is the creation, by their growth, of in- creased moisture and reduced extremes of temperature in climate. EVENINGS AT " BRIGHTSIDE." BY W. WAYBRIDGE, ESQ. 1 Old Winter has come with his cold, chilling breath." The early and the latter rains fell copi- ously and gave us an abundant harvest. Our gardens never made a better yield. Of peas, we had abundance for ourselves and neighbors; our watermelons — " Orange" and " Mountain Sprout" — were splendid ; our tomatoes — mostly " Keyes" — though late, exceeded expectation ; and our root crop was the best we ever had. We set out some six thousand (6,000) Concord grape cuttings in the spring, and about five sixths of them started, and have grown quite well. Our Victoria currants bore profusely; our Lawton blackberries sustained their reputation. "Brightside" is in a valley; the mean temperature is from one to two degrees lower than in the town above ; yet the soil is sandy loam, and the Isabella grape there ripened to perfection. The wild grapes in the vicinity were injured by the early frost. Our bee -hives were well stored with honey, which now is selling — if in small glass boxes — at about 40 cents per pound. Evenings at " Briglitside? 49 From ten acres — and ten acres is enough — - we have filled our barn, our pantry, and our cellar, and now enjoy the guerdon of our toil, and wait in hyemal — I had almost written hymeneal — rej:>ose for the opening of another season. A dazzling sheet of snow surrounds our comfortable dwelling, and stretches far away on every side to the ever-green forests. The long icicles bang over the door; the moon suspends her silver bow above a low line of stratus cloud in the west ; the stars shine out with a kind of "winterish sparkle," and the distant tinkling of a slender Avaterfall is heard. Old chanticleer — my little Florence thinks him very a-rooster-cratic in his way ■ — has " turned in," with his well-fed harem, for the night ; the " yearlings" are gently reposing near their dams, and u Charlie," the wounded war-horse, is profoundly musing on some battle race upon the "sacred soil," or casting " a long, lingering look" in front for his accustomed " ration." We ourselves are cosily seated, pater-mater familias, and the " little circle" negligently ' around us, for the long winter evening. Shall I tell you how we spend it ? Well, variously ; but this one night may serve you as a kind of sample. Our house, as every one should be, is well supplied with books; but books, as blueberries, are always better in their own appropriate season. This evening we therefore read aloud in turn a part of Shakspeare's "Winter Night's Tale;" then Thomson's " Winter," beginning, " Ah ! little think the gay, licentious crowd," continuing to the end. Burns' beautiful " Winter's Night" follows — ■ " When biting Boreas, fell and doure," etc. ; and then we close our poetry with " Janu- ary's Husbandry" of quaint and rare old Thomas Tusser — "When Christmas is ended, bid feasting adieu." We stop at every curious verse or word and criticise the fault or beauty; and on closing make a general resume of the whole, comparing it as to style and sub- 4 — FEBRUARY. ject matter with such other kindred writers as we know in German, French, or Italian We pass from poetry — and the little ones most gladly — to the items in the "Evening Traveller;" thence to the last number of the Horticulturist, which we always read with pleasure, even to the last advertisement, and then discuss the merits of the various articles. Then the " young democracy" bring forward Demorest's " Young America ;" and while the kitten sits in a kind of sleepy wisdom in the corner, amuse themselves with "puzzle- pictures," riddles, and conundrums till the number is exhausted. "Now for pop corn!" some one cries; and in a twinkling we hear the " popj)er" shaking over the red-hot coals and the bursting of a thousand grains of maize, like the explosion of the India crackers on a Fourth-of- July morning. We all partake of the snow-white luxury, and then pass round the luscious grapes, which careful culture has produced for " winter evening consolation." " A story ! yes, father, a story of the war," the young "wide-awakes" nowr cry ; and so we essay to charm their fancy and inspire their patriotism by telling how Kilpatrick started on his famous raid to Richmond ; how Gen. Grant went through the " Wilderness ;" or how the President was shot while listening to the " American Cousins" at Ford's Theater, Washington. The " regimentals" from the battle-fields are now brought in, and every one takes in the hand the identical minie ball that struck one of our number on the bloody field of Gettysburg. Music now comes on to close the evening. "Tramp, tramp, tramp !" for soldiering memories, and then duets — flute and piano — from "Norma," " Martha," " Somnambula," " Faust," and "Traviata." We sing a sacred song in harmony; we thank the glorious Giver for his marvelous mercy ; take the parting kiss, and say the kind " Good-night !" "father," "mother," "Florence," "Willie," " Emily," " Charlie," " Paul," and seek re- pose and slumber on the peaceful couch. 50 The Horticulturist. HORTICULTURAL REMINISCENCES. Progression is the great idea of this era and this community, and we move so rapidly that it becomes us occasionally to stand for a moment and look back, so that we may note the extent of our progress. The social and political ordeal through which we have passed, the terrors and achievements of which continue to surprise us, has made the history of the past decade quite exceptional in all its bearings. A peaceful art like that of horticulture, which has no attractions for the warrior or revo- lutionist, cannot hope to nourish at a period when military activity is the order of the day, and warlike prowess the first recom- mendation to distinction. Yet grateful as we should be that our Northern fields and gardens were not actually devastated by war, but preserved by loyalty for the con- tinued practice of peaceful arts and occu- pations, we have still to regret the loss of much of that happy spirit of improvement and progress which marked the first half of the past twenty-five years. While we can congratulate ourselves that we have not lost any material portion of the horticultural riches accumulated, we must regret the circumstances which prevented our having achieved much more. The suspension of that mutual intercourse among those devoted to rural pursuits over the entire national domain is not the least of the disadvantages experienced; the suspension of experimental culture in its various departments, and the recording of the results of the same, are material losses to the period through which we have passed. But we are again on the track. This year is the opening of a new era in which horticulture is destined to make rapid strides toward the ameliora- tion of the social condition of many of our suffering countrymen. And our horti- culture, to effect this, must differ, as it has done, from that of older nations : it must have the utilitarian aspect ; its aim must be still more, as it has partially been in the past, to produce the fruits and esculents in greater abundance, so that the masses may cheaply partake of them. The financial condition of the country demands this. Every acre or rood of ground hitherto lying Avaste or unappropriated to the uses of its proprietor, should be made to bear some crop of small fruits or esculents. How many thousands of acres of lots are to-day barren wastes, or but partially cul- tivated, even in the vicinity of our great cities, which by the expenditure of a little capital judiciously might be made to bear tenfold ! But we must not enter on this portion of the subject until we have taken a retro- spective glance at our progress in the de- partment to which the Horticulturist is devoted, and to which it has lent efficient aid for over twenty years. When first we became acquainted with the Horticulturist, it was full of the life and vigor of its energetic and hopeful editor ; it had been fully inaugurated, and was the medium for every fact, and even fancy, that enthusiastic amateurs and practical gardeners might offer. Such a liberal policy, if at times it encourages prolixity and the dissemination of vague ideas, supposed to be elaborate theories, also encourages novices to greater know- ledge and proficiency, and in the end lays the foundation of a sound horticultural literature, and promotes that skillful culti- vation which is the great desideratum. And it would seem that, after a long inter- val, the Horticulturist has again re- turned to its original design : that of a free and liberal exponent of practice and theory. But the presiding genius that ushered it into favor has long since passed away ; nay, is almost forgotten in the strife of compe- tition among grape growers and grape Fastening and Stretching the Wires on Trellises. 51 •writers. Periodically we must return to the tomb, and declare that here rests " one who feared not the truth." At the time that Andrew Jackson Down- ing took his i^lace as the presiding genius of American horticulture, we had not ad- vanced very far in comparison with our present position. "We do not pretend that horticulture had not made a fair start, but as the history of that time and its antece- dent cpiarter of a century is permanently recorded in the life of Downing and the transactions of societies then established, we shall leave it there. How great an im- petus Avas given to the improved landscape gardening of the country by Downing's writings and personal efforts we leave others to record ; to us, his great work was the recognition which he compelled the jealous and overbearing leaders of the irt abroad to give to the growing taste evinced here, and the rapid progress which the united efforts of liberal amateurs, skill- ful practitioners, and enterprising nursery- men had effected. The recognition of Downing's works by the leading horticultural writers of Europe was the first step to the inauguration of a mutual good feeling between those of whom it was necessary that we should learn and borrow — and ourselves. Our horticultural literature was then European. Our practice in the more diffi- cult and advanced branches of the art was little else. Our plants and seeds were to a great extent derived from the same sources. And our workers, our gardeners, or, if you will, our " professional horticulturists," were they not received by the same ships as our books, tools, and plants ? To-day, what is our position ? Look at our litera- ture ; volume after volume is thrown from the press, so rapidly that it would seem as if no thought was required to write and no skill to print horticultural works. Look at our commercial establishments; their extent is unknown, even to the best in- formed among us. Look at the man- sions built, each decorated with choice and rare arboricultural gems and speci- mens ; the conservatories filled with well- grown specimens of the most extensive exotic flora. Now let us pass to the more pleasing point of view. Look at our achievements in fruit culture ; at the immense value of the most insignificant fruit — the straw- berry. The working man can no longer enjoy his summer evening meal without his dish of strawberries on the table. We could wish they were cheapened for his use at least one half. But we shall take occasion at another time to point out more minutely how these things have been achieved, provided al- ways that the editor of the Horticulturist considers our reminiscences worth laying before his readers. Duns Scotus, Jr. FASTENING AND STRETCHING THE WIRES ON TRELLISES. BY nORTICOLA. Nothing is more desirable for the horti- times recommended, are too expensive, culturist and vine grower than to have the same is true in regard to hooks, about some cheap and convenient arrangement six inches long, with a screw cut at the for stretching and loosening the wires on longer end, and a winged female screw to trellises. M. Du Breuil describes and figures fit it. In order to use them, the posts must two in his works ; but either of them re- by perforated, by which process theii quires a greater outlay than warrantable, and more time to manage them than can generally be spared. They are, besides, not easily obtainable. Saw stiffeners, some- strength is impaired. Last winter I was present in a hardware store when a gross of tuning pins was sold. It struck me at once that they were just 52 The Horticulturist. what was wanted to fasten and stretch the wires of trellises as well as the strings of pianos. Those of the larger size were about two and a half inches long, nearly cylindri- cal, and a little thicker than a good goose- quill ; they have their upper ends flattened or squared to fit the tuning ley; about half an inch below this flattened upper part each is perforated with a little round hole, and a very shallow, hardly percep- tible thread is cut on the lower part. I bought immediately a gross myself, together with a tuning key, in order to try whether they would answer for the trel- lis as well as for the piano. As the holes were too small for trellis wire, I made a little drill, to make them larger, on a lathe which is in my possession. Any locksmith will do that little work very cheaply. All that is needed besides is a gimlet or bit to bore the holes in the posts, but of con- siderably smaller diameter than the tuning pins, which must be driven into them with a hammer. They will then only yield to the tuning key ; the stress of the wire will not loosen them at all. They are not clumsy in their appearance, and are so easily managed that I think it my duty to call the attention of those in- terested in the matter to them. My friend the editor of the Horticulturist saw them last summer on my grounds, and was very much pleased with their working. ANOTHER CHAT The December number of the Horticul- turist was a prominent item in my mail matter one day last week. I opened it, and looked first in front and then at the end to see if I could find a list of contents, but none such could I discover. Really, Mr. Editor, I felt angry with you for once, and I en- treat you not to let another series of num- bers go forth among your readers without at least a list of the more important articles being prefixed or affixed to each. There being no table of contents, I began at the beginning, and never stopped until I had read straight through — advertisements and all. Indeed, I did not quite omit even the index, but gave it more than a passing glance. Our friend Elliott's most interesting article, " A Little More Grape ;" the edi- torial on Geraniums; Fuller's article on Budding, with numerous shorter articles, followed up by the skirmishing columns of the " Editor's Table," seemed to indicate that if the Horticulturist has not yet all the talent of the country, it at least has its share. Among the pleasant things which caught my eye was the note by the well-known ABOUT OLD BOOKS. - writer A. S. F., in which he alludes to some former scribblings of mine. He seems to regard them as interesting as well as in- structive ; and as I claim no honor beyond that of a mere reporter, perhaps I may be pardoned for sending you another con- versation, to which the article just men- tioned gave rise. In the evening, as soon as supper was over, and I had attended to the various lit- tle duties incident to country life, I walked over to my friend B., having first put the Horticulturist in my pocket, for which, by the way, my wife gave me a good scold- ing as soon as I returned, as she thinks she has as good a right to it as I have. I found B. at home, and asked him if he had seen the article by A. S. F. B. Yes. It is a pleasant, sensible article. L. But is it true that McMahon's book is a mere reprint of Abercrombie's work ? B. Perhaps in calling it a rejwint, A. S. F. uses language a little too strong. McMa- hon borrowed largely from Abercrombie, but he modified the original a good deal, and he added much new matter. I had the misfortune to fall on the ice last night and sprain my ankle, so please hand me that Another Chat about Old Books. 53 green book and its companion in musty old leather, and also McMahon's book, of which the first edition stands on the shelf, just below Abercrombie. Here we have one of the latest editions of Aber- crombie. London, 1857. Edited first by Main and then by Glenny, and now form- ing a 12mo of 459 pages. The old edition is larger, and McMahon's is an octavo of 666 pages ; and if you examine it closely and compare it with Abercrombie, you will see that a good deal has been added and changed. Loudon* refers very respectfully to Mc- Mahon's book ; and as he was unquestion • ably familiar with Abercrombie's work (which was the pocket companion of most young gardeners at that time), it is strange he did not notice the plagiarism. By the way he describes the book — as a 12mo — I should like to know whether this is a mis- take, or whether the book was republished in Great Britain. Abercrombie was a good gardener, and wrote several works besides this. There are two books standing on that shelf — Johnson's " History of Gardening" and Felton's " Portraits of English Authors on Gardening." Please hand them down. Johnson gives quite an interesting account of Abercrombie. " He was born in Edin- burgh in 1726, near which city his father conducted a large market-garden." L. Why, I read the very same words not an hour ago. Have you " Wet Days at Edgewood" among your books ? B. I believe so. There it is. L. That sentence at least is transferred verbatim to "Wet Days." Is the whole article copied ? B. No. The materials are evidently al- most entirely from Johnson ; but then this is all fair. Mitchell has re-arranged them and converted them into a Life of Abercrom- bie, very different from that of Johnson. And so with McMahon. He took many of the paragraphs of Abercrombie, and many * Encyclopedia of Gardening (1850), page 339. of his directions are quoted verbatim from " Every Man His Own Gardener." But Abercrombie's work, if simply reprinted, would not have suited our country, while McMahon's book has been received with great favor. L. It would be interesting to examine how far this plagiarism is carried on. B. Yes ; but unfortunately the labor is great and the reward small. Still, we can find enough of it if we seek it. If our friend R. had not borrowed it, I could show you a recent book in which even typ- ographical errors have been stolen ; a well- known work on flowers is taken, cuts and all, from the work of an English author ; and we have recently had an instance of a standard English book being appropriated piecemeal by one of our periodicals, and published as original. This reminds one of the Western editor, who being shut out by a violent snow-storm from access to the world at large, promised to keep up the issue of his paper " as long as the stories in the old almanac lasted." You see those four ponderous folio vol- umes bound in rough old calf. They are Prof. Martyn's edition of Miller. Please hand me the first volume. I read in it the other day a curious passage in regard to this very subject. After giving a very com- plete list of authors, he says : " It would be a curious speculation to ascertain how much, or rather perhaps I should say how little, in this copious list of authors and their works is truly original. The vener- able Judge Fitzherbert, the father of En- glish husbandry, gave a good example, but it was not followed by many, except Sir Hugh Plat, Gabriel Plattes, and the writ- ers in the time of the Commonwealth — Sir Richard Weston, Hartleb, and Blith. The old gardening books previous to the Res- toration are of very inferior value, with scarcely any pretense to originality, if we except Scott, Lawson, Parkinson, and Austen." It would not be strange if Abercrombie himself had clone unto others as he had 54 The Horticulturist. been done by. Prof. Martyn seems to hint this in the following sentence : " Mr. Miller during his long career had no considerable competitor until he had aj:>proached the end of it, when several writers took advant- age of his unwearied labors of near half a century, and fixed themselves upon him as various marine insects do upon a decaying shell-fish. I except Hitt and Justice in 1755, who are both original, as is also Hill, after his fashion, but his gardening is not much founded in experience. Hanbury first appeared in 1758; Wheeler, in 1763; Abercrombie, under the name of Mawe, in 1766 ; Dicks, in 1769." L. Well, this does not argue much for the morality of gardeners. B. It is the same in all other departments of literature. Even theology is not exempt from it. A few years ago a very learned treatise on theology was published in this country. Examination showed it to be a mass of plagiarism. L. I have been looking over " Wet Days at Edgewood" lately. I see he refers to several works on the bibliography of Agriculture. Have you got them ? B. Most of them. Johnson's History of Gardening, Felton's Portraits of English Authors on Gardening, Weston's Tracts, and Donaldson's Agricultural Biography are the chief works in this department re- ferred to by him. L. I hope that if by " bibliotheca" A. S. F. means a dictionary of horticultural works, he will publish, it, as such a cata- logue would be very valuable. B. It would certainly be of very great assistance to all lovers of books. I had a letter the other day from the Professor of Agriculture in one of our colleges, and he tells me that he has been engaged for some years on a work of this kind ; He is now pushing it forward, and know- ing that I had a few curious old books, he wrote to make some inquiries about titles, dates, etc. I understand that he intends to include not only horticulture and agri- culture, but many of the kindred sciences. L. Such a book would be of incalculable value, not only to every book collector, but to every student, and I hope it will point out the most thorough and the best works in all departments of agricultural science. B. That would be not only a difficult, but a dangerous undertaking. L. Do any of the works previously men- tioned include American authors ? B. I believe not. The fact is, our American Agricultural literature is a terra incognita, to bibliographers. None of our American publications do us justice. Trub- ner's works on American literature is dis- gracefully meagre. Thus, Adlum's name is not given in it. Either Alibone's Diction- ary of Authors, or the New American Cy- clopedia, in whose pages every tenth-rate literary author is found, does not mention Adlum. I forgot just now which it is that leaves him out entirely, but it is not a mat- ter of much consequence, as the account given by the other is very meagre and very erroneous. L. Which was the first work on Agricul- ture published in the country ? B. Really I can not tell. Your question is a very difficult one to answer. The oldest work in my possession is that by Varlo, in two volumes. And then I took from their shelf a very curious work on Agriculture. But I see that I have taken up enough of your space and time with my rambling chat, so, if you please, I will defer to a future number an account of the first American work on Agriculture. Liber. The Lawn. — Look over the lawn care- place with a piece of turf, or rake up and fully, and remove every weed, root, or false sow thickly with lawn grass seed, rolling grass that may be found ; then either re- and pressing firmly. Editors Table. 55 EDITOR'S TABLE, To Contributors and Others. — Address all Communications, for the Editorial and Publishing Departments, to F. W. Woodward, 37 Park Row, New York. Chestertown, Kent County, Maryland, December 5th, 1867. Messrs. Editors : Our first snow is falling out of doors ; but within, the fire is cheery; and while the snow covers the garden with its blanket, I have thought it would probably not be uninteresting to your readers to have another letter from the " Eastern Shore." The year past has not been one of great prosperity to our farmers ; the wheat crop was light when compared with the great show of straw, and the crop of Indian corn is not two thirds of an average. The peach crop — the great money crop of this county — was too abundant, and low prices ruled ; yet, nevertheless, the fruit growers of this section unite in declaring that "peaches pay better than wheat and corn." Still, I am disposed to think that the cultivation of the pear will ere long be the leading fruit interest of this county. On our best lands here the crop of pears is abundant and uniform year after year. I am inclined to think that your correspond- ent from " Vineland," N. J., some months ago, had never visited this part of the country, for if he had he would never have decided that the poor, scrubby lands of that vicinity were the best for pear culture. Our land here is high enough for good drainage, very gently undulating, and of a texture which I can describe no better than by using the words of one of our successful farmers — " it breaks up just like coffee grounds," a dark hazel loam, upon which anything natural to the climate will grow luxuriantly. We can not boast of cheap land, to attract settlers, for our own farmers know too well the value of their lauds to allow any to be sold below their value. Within the past year or two we have had extensive land sales here, which were at- tended by men from all parts of the country ; but almost without exception the land was bought by Kent County men, thus showing that those who know the land best value it the highest. In no county in the State has there been a more rapid agricultural and horticultural im- provement, and in no part of the State is land advancing more rapidly in value. Some years ago a farm in this county was sold under a mortgage of a few hundred dollars. The person holding the mortgage went to see the farm, and concluded that it would not pay him to buy, that he would be glad if he made his debt out of it. The farm was sold. An enterprising man went upon it, and two years ago I passed the place while he was breaking fallow for wheat. I remarked to the proprietor that he was plowing very deep. " Yes," said he ; " but you see the plow turns no clay ; and that is the only fault I find with it — it is too rich ; all my small grain is liable to lodge and fall down." This farm, which years ago was thought dear at $10 per acre, can not be bought now for $150 per acre. But about the garden. Well, I wrote to you last summer that I had tried McLean's Little Gem Pea, and found it very superior as well as early. I wanted to try Carter's First Crop, and ordered the seed, and got a mixture of tall Marrowfat and Bishop's Dwarf. From jseed marked Lester's Per- fected Tomato, at least two thirds of the plants produced the old knotty Red To- mato. New York Improved Prickly Egg 5$ The Horticulturist. Plant turned out to be Long Smooth. Scarlet Turnip Radish was White. Dwarf Erfurt Cauliflower was mixed with a tall, no-head sort. From another source, in response to an order for Long White French Turnip, I received White Flat Strap- leaved. This hardly seems square, and I am not sure but it would be best to give the public the names ; but as the parties will probably see, and perhaps take warn- ing from this, I wTill let them pass now, hoping they will not serve any one else so. I also ordered two packages of " Keyes' Early Prolific Tomato seed — thirty days earlier than any other sort.'1'' In due time they came, with a flaming picture of a round red tomato on each paper. The seed was sown at the same time, or perhaps a day sooner, than my other tomatoes ; the plants grew vigorously, set their fruit early, and ripened about ten days later than the Smooth Red ; in fact, fruit of the Smooth Red variety raised from seed sown in the open ground was for sale in our market by the bushel before I had enough " Keyes" ripe for a mess. I am of opinion that the seedsmen were " sold" by the grower. One fact in reference to fruit, and I am done. The Catawba Grape was the only variety in my garden which perfected its fruit the present season ; Isabella, Northern Muscadine, Delaware, and others, mil- dewed, rotted, dropped; the Catawba, with its branches intertwined with those of the dropping Muscadine, brought its fruit to maturity. I have a great deal to say about fruit, but forbear, for fear that I have already tired you. Should you ever get a notion to look at a peach orchard of 100,000 trees in one inclosure, all cultivated as cleanly as a garden, pay us a visit, and we will show you several. Yours, etc., W. F. M. About Raspberries. — G. F. R., Toms River, N. J. — " I notice some writers re- gard the Clark as similar to Kirtland. Do you regard them as the same ? Would you recommend planting the Kirtland here ?" We believe it is pretty well settled that the Clark and Kirtland are distinct varie- ties, although one of our reliable fruit men has said that in his ground they were very similar. Probably his plants of Clark were incorrect to name, as most growers speak confidently of their distinctiveness. We should not hesitate to plant largely of Kirtland, although we do not regard the berry as quite firm enough for a market sort, but it is a great deal better than Phil- adelphia, which to our mind has nothing to recommend it but productiveness and hardihood of cane — no more so, however, than the Kirtland. In buying the Kirt- land, be sure of the true sort, as there are two or more sorts now growing under that name. Natural Soils. — It is often remarked that such and such a plant does well in its natural soil. We confess our inability to define what forms a natural soil for any plant, for many plants found wild are — al- though identical in themselves — embedded and growing in soils of entirely different components. Observation has taught us that one plant under our artificial cultiva- tion succeeds best in clay, another in sand or sandy loam, etc., etc., but at the same time we find that plants have the power to sub- stitute one element for another under cer- tain circumstances, as plants ordinarily re- quiring jjotash subsist in soils entirely void of that salt, provided in place of potash it contain soda. A Bed op Lilies. — By all means plant out a bed of Japan lilies. Select, if you can, a position where when they come into flower you will have to look up rather than down to see the flower ; make the ground two feet or more deep, working into it plenty of well-rotted compost ma- nure ; then get the varieties of lily in all their numbers ; plant them at distances of about one foot apart each way, setting the bulb in clean sand and covering about three inches deep. Editor's Table. 57 Hollyhocks. — The production of seed- ling varieties of the hollyhock has been very great during the past ten years, and at this time they equal, if they do not sur- pass, in beauty the dahlia, They are per- fectly hardy, and can be left in the open border with impunity. Seeds of choice kinds sown early in the season in a hot-bed frame, and got ready for transplanting in May, will flower the same season ; while divisions and cuttings from choice varie- ties already produced may now be made, and by giving them a slight start in a frame, will transplant and bloom finely, forming one of the cheapest and most ef- fective background features for a flower garden imaginable. Make the ground deep and rich with abundance of well-rot- ted cowdung. ■ Deciduous Trees and Shrubs should be planted just as early in the season as the ground will work freely. Do not de- lay ; for although many a tree succeeds when transplanted late in the season, should an unfavorable season occur, it will not grow as vigorously, and frequently gets so small a hold in the soil, that although alive at the commencement of winter, spring finds it without vitality sufficient to make a new growth. Hardy Annuals. — In selecting varieties of hardy annuals, seek rather a few of those that bloom freely and grow vigor- ously, than to make your collection one of varieties. Very little satisfactory effect can be obtained from a great variety, many of them possessing no distinctive charac- ter or color, however pretty and curious they may be to the botanist. Large masses of a few sorts and of distinct colors, white, crimson, etc., such as candytufts, phlox Drummondi, etc., will give, are very effect- ive either in small gardens or on extensive lawns. A cnEAP hot-bed frame will hold a great many cuttings, which may be grown for bedding out, and make gay the garden all summer at a very small cost aside from a little daily care. Prepare the bed in the ordinary manner for growing of early kitchen garden stuff; let the rank heat escape — or, rather, leave it a week or so, until it becomes sweet in its regular warmth ; then procure a few good bushy plants from a commercial gardener ; make up the cut- tings and plant them in sandy soil. Shade for a time, but give air and avoid too much moisture, as it is liable to create mildew and cause the cuttings to damp off. Herbaceous Plants. — ■ Hardy herba- ceous plants should be transj^lanted as early as the ground can be worked freely. After planting, cover the crowns with an inch or two of leaf mold or chip dirt, as it will greatly assist them in resisting the freezing and thawing until the full open- ing of spring. In digging over beds of herbaceous plants, be careful, as many plants, like peonias, campanulas, etc., are often destroyed by spading or forking, and thus destroying their crowns, ere they have shown their buds above ground. It is al- ways well to be in time ; but better wait a day or two more rather than dig, until each plant can be distinctly traced in its position. Making: Grape Cuttings. — In earlier days it was the practice to make grape cut- tings with three eyes, cutting anywhere be- tween two eyes at random, or rather always to avoid the bud, because of an im- pression that if cut too near, its vitality was lessened. Next came the practice of two eyes, and cutting as near the base of the lower bud as possible without cutting into it ; then came the single-eye system, which although old in green-house practice, was new to our native-born characters. Now we have another line of cutting, which is on a two-eye. cutting, to cut near the lower bud square across, then shave down the sides of the buds for an inch or more in length, it being claimed that this course induces a yet more rapid formation of roots than either of the others under the same treat- ment. 58 The Horticulturist. NORTHERN ILLINOIS HORTICULTURAL SO- CIETY.— An organization has been effected under the title of The Northern Illinois Horticultural Society, and the following gentlemen elected for the ensuing year : President — Samuel Edwards, La Moille, Bureau Co. Vice-Presidents — 1. Ira L. Bailey, Mt. Car- roll Co. 2. A. R. Whitney, Franklin Grove, Lee Co. 3. Smiley Shepherd, Hen- nepin, Putnam Co. 4. Tyler McWhorter, Aledo, Mercer Co. 5. Edgar Sanders, Chi- cago, Cook Co. 6. Bobert Douglas, Wau- kegan, Lake Co. 7. B. N McKinstry, East Sumner, Kankakee Co. 8. Alexander Strachan, Rockford, Winnebago Co. 9. W. E. Luken, Sterling, Whiteside Co. 10. C. H. Rosenstiel, Freeport, Stephenson Co. Cor. Sec. — D. Wilmot Scott, Galena, Jo Daviess Co. Pec. Sees. — H. D. Emory, Chicago, Cook Co. D. E. Peck, Marengo, McHenry Co. Treasurer — L. Woodward, Marengo. Executive Committee — Samuel Edwards, ex officio. Ira L. Bailey, Mt. Carroll. E. H. Skinner, Marengo. The Constitution of the State Horticul- tural Society, with slight amendments, was adopted. Kansas Horticultural Society. — The friends of pomology met at Lawrence, Dec. 11, 1867, and organized under the name of the Kansas Horticultural Society, and adopted a constitution and by-laws. Officers were elected as follows : President — Wm. Tanner, Leavenworth. Vice-President — C. B. Lines, Wabaunsee. Secretary — G. C. Brackett, Lawrence. Treasurer — S. T. Kelsey, Ottawa. The next meeting will be held at Leav- enworth, at which time the following Com- mittees will report : Apples — G. C. Brackett. Pears — Dr. Housely. Plums and Peaches — W. E. Barnes. Cherries and Small Fruits — Wil- liam Maxwell. Grapes— Dr. Stayman and W. E. Barnes. Evergreens, Forest Trees, and Hedges — S. T. Kelsey. We rejoice to note these movements in horticultural progress. The West is alive, and the expansion of the subject there has no restriction, but is rapidly swelling and developing a rich harvest of instructive knowledge. Drawings and Colorings op Fruits and Flowers. — We desire especially to commend to our fruit and flower growers an artist in the production of fruit an:l flower drawings and colorings whose works we have examined for years, and whose merits, owing to his own modesty and hesi- tancy in bringing himself before the public, have but by few persons been duly appre- ciated. If we recollect aright, when the lamented A. J. Downing prepared his copy of fruits, etc., with colored illustrations, the plates were first sent to France, for the pur- pose of being colored; but when returned were found so imperfect, that the author sought about for some one capable of re- touching them, so that they might appear passably if not creditably. That man was found in Joseph Prestole, Sen., then a resi- dent of the State of New York, now of Amana Homestead, Iowa. During the past two or more years we have frequently examined his work, and we now commend him, without his knowledge of our so doing, to all our horticultural friends, and we beg to say you will find his work quite satisfactory, and his prices reasonable, and at the same time you will be assisting a man whose love of his art has kept him far from riches. New Jersey State Agricultural So- ciety.— This Society held its annual meet- ing at the State-House in Trenton, January 15th. The meeting was well attended by persons interested in agriculture, from dif- ferent parts of the State. We will give a full account of the proceedings in our March number. Warsaw (III.) Horticultural Soci- ety.—Officers for 1868 : President— A. C. Hammond ; Vice - President — George B. Worth en ; Secretary and Treasurer — Thos. Gregg. Address of Scc'y, Hamilton, 111. Editor s Table. 50 Root Pruning the Grape. — In all of dwarf tree culture, when the system is per- formed upon a tree whose roots are of a free growing stock, it is the practice to root prune, because it has come to be well known that without root pruning the tree soon becomes gorged with sap, and productive of unhealthy water shoots in- stead of short spurs and fruit buds. The working of the pear on the quince, or the apple on the Paradise, because of these varieties making naturally but small trees, and mostly surface lateral roots, has the same result as root pruning of the roots of vigorous free-growing stocks. This necessity of a reduced root being a requisite for a reduced tree has become patent to all cultivators of trees, but may it not be applicable to the culture of the grape ? Nature makes no mistakes, when left to herself, though we may make enough of them in interpreting her mean- ing, and in our endeavors to turn her from her course. " Out of sight, out of mind," is an old adage ; and as the roots of the vines are out of sight, they are too often mostly out of mind ; nevertheless, the study of their condition is essential to true principles of practice, and it is fair to presume that a portion of the maladies- and diseases that assail the grape have their origin in the root. It is above ground that we see the results of disease, from whatever cause ; and were the roots as visible as the leaves, we should per- haps detect the presence of causes, and be enabled to apply the remedy before any effect could be produced. But the roots are out of sight ; and if causes indicative of disease exist in the soil, we are ignorant of the fact until advised thereof by mil- dew, rot, etc., in the leaf and fruit. Nature, as we have said, makes no mis- takes, and all attempts to alter her char- acteristics almost invariably produce un- desirable results. The vine is naturally of a rampant habit, growing luxuriantly and covering a large space, its roots corre- sponding to its vine ; and while we prune the roots of the pear to balance our desire for a certain form and size of stem and branch, we cut back our vine freely, with- out any regard to the root. Can any phys- iologist doubt the result which must sooner or later ensue? Can any one ex- pect a vine perpetually cut back and re- stricted to a space far below its natural re- quirements, to become otherwise than plethoric from over-supplies furnished by the unrestricted roots ? Can we continue to expect health and freedom from disease when one portion of the plant is permitted to overbalance its opposite ? Shall we not have to inaugurate a new system of vine culture, and with it invention of imple- ments for rapid execution of the labors connected therewith ? A Little Funny. — In one of the recent Western fruit meetings an essayist com- mences with saying : " Pruning, according to Dr. Warder, is done in summer for fruit, and in winter for wood." Now, as these principles of practice have been recited long before Dr. Warder was, we can but consider the object of this essayist to amuse himself a little at the expense of the good Doctor, for he, the essayist, is regarded as a well- read man, and, in the Yankee sense, "smart." It is barely possible he, like some others, is disposed to make a god of any one who tickles him under a certain rib. Wash the Trees. — Mid-winter is cer- tainly the most leisure time of the fruit- grower, and he should therefore work up his then leisure in the most profitable man- ner. All fruit-trees are not infested with coccus or bark lice, but all fruit-trees have more or less of foul matters accumulated on and in their bark, and it pays well at this time to go over them with a swab of lye water, sulphur, and lime-wash mixed. The first rain will reduce its strength and at the same time clear it from the tree, taking with it the eggs of insects, moss, etc., and leave the bark clean and pure — open to the action of natural laws of growth. 60 The Horticulturist. The Long worth Wine House Grape Premiums. — Our readers are doubtless all cognizant of the offer made by the Long- worth Wine House at Cincinnati — 1st, for the best general wine grape of our whole country ; 2d, for the best wine grape for the State of Ohio ; and 3d, for the best table grape for general purposes in the country, and that men of prominence were by them named to serve as the committee of award. This circular has been freely published by nearly every agricultural paper in the States, in the simple innocence of their thoughts that it was a liberal item, and deserved commendation. Even our worthy and valued co-operative at Boston gave it favor to the extent of illustrating their premium silver ware. Now, while we favor every advancement of horticultural intelligence, and are ever ready to lend a hand, regardless of cost, to that object which, in its ultimate even, shall serve to advance horticultural progress, we confess our reluctance to say a word of favor to this item. We freely acknowledge we look upon it as chimerical, and like the Greeley prizes, may have originated in a good and benevolent disposition ; but its results, like that, will be mere smoke, requiring the awarding committee to either rely upon their former laurels in silence, or else to sustain a discussion which can but result in discomfiture. Without presuming that the Long worth wine house estimated that they would make more than treble the cost of their offer by the gain in publicity, which could not be obtained by paying for advertisements, we can not for a moment believe that the good sense and discrimi- nating knowledge of some members of that house ever for a moment believed there was yet known a single variety of grape to merit any one of their premiums offered. We are certainly very much in- terested— at least to the number of 10,000 of our readers — in this matter, and shall most cordially hail the hour when it shall be declared, with any possible chance of being sustained, that there is one superior grape for wine adapted to our whole country — one for all the soils and climates of Ohio, and a table grape for all the land, without regard to soil or climate. After this expose, it will be useless to bring for- ward new seedlings. Apple for Profit. — We copy the fol- lowing from the Alton (111.) Horticultural Society's meeting of November 7, 1867 : " J. E. Starr asked what one variety of apple was best for profit on a lease of fif- teen years. Several sorts were named on a ballot being had. ' Gilpin' was the first choice, and ' Wine Sap' next." We hardly dare to make a comment, for we have great belief in progress, but this brings us right back to Cox in 1816 — and is only one more proof that " some old things are as jxoocI as new." Hardihood of Pinus Excelsa. — Some six years since I planted, for a gentleman now deceased, several of the pinus exeelsa. The ground is a stiff clay subsoil, only surface- drained ; top soil a good clay loam of about eight inches deep. Recently, passing the place, I found every tree in fine condition, apparently healthy, and presenting an ap- pearance fully to bear out its reputa- tion as the most beautiful white j>ine in existence. These trees have not made long shoots, but the foliage is fully as long as on trees that have made more vigorous growth. I have planted many trees of this variety during the last eight years, and I regret to say, nearly all that have been placed on well-prepared rich soils have been killed by the winter, evidently show- ing that a moderate slow growth renders this beautiful tree just as hardy as any of the common white pines. F. R. E. By an advertisement in our columns it will be seen that J. A. Requa has removed his propagating establishment from Ame- nia, Dutchess Co., N. Y., to Brocton, Cha- tauque Co., N. Y. Editor's Table, 61 " Always be Planting a Tree." — Con- sidering the cost, and small amount of la- bor, there is no one thing that so amply repays as the planting of a tree. Well grown, it becomes always an object of beauty, a source of joy to the owner and his family — a pleasure to visitors and to the residents of a neighborhood — adds an appearance of increased value to the prem- ises— iuqoroves the general effect of the scenery — becomes a protection from cold winds — reduces the severity of the temper- ature— enhances the rental value of a resi- dence— often more admired than the most costly building, and finally can never be viewed without a thought of the supreme creative Power which "doeth all things well." The Garden. — The first impression on entering a place is given by the appearance of what is generally termed the garden. Not the vegetable ground, but that portion of the ground devoted to the purpose of affording enjoyment and recreation from the labors and cares of life. If it be well furnished and kept, with shrub, tree, and flower, an association of refinement and in- tellect is at once conveyed; but on the other hand, if it be void of plant or flower, tree or shrub, or having abundance of these, have also an overabundance of weeds, it matters not how elaborate the building, or gay and showy the indoor decoration, the impression conveyed is one of sordid, expensive misery. A few plants of well-selected varieties growing in vigorous health, and arranged with regard to form, color of foliage, etc., to the making of a beautiful picture, is far better than an extensive display of varie- ties, or a showy mingling of colors, with- out regard to general effect. plant. One pinch of the thumb and finger is worth two cuttings after they have grown tall and rugged. April is the great month for their growth. Calceolarias should now be potted off in good, sharp, sandy loam. Keep them shaded after potting for a couple of weeks ; then gradually accustom them to strong light and heat. As they grow, stop them in frequently, to induce a stocky, bushy Blight from the Roots.— Of late, a theory has been propounded, in certain quarters, that blight in the pear-tree is caused by disease at the root of the tree. If this is founded in truth it would be well to make the following experiment. A few years after planting the young tree (or tree . already planted), let there be planted with- in a foot or so of it two or three seedling pear-trees ; and after these have become es- tablished (in a year or two), let them be inarched into the main tree. This would give three or four different systems of roots to the same tree, and perhaps would in- crease the chances of escaping blight as three or four to one, since if one system of roots suffers injury, the others might keep up a healthy vitality. The superior hardi- ness of such a tree would prove the theory, although the want of benefit might not disprove it. Let amateurs who love to ex- periment, and who know how to do such things, try it, W. L. D. [We have little respect for this theory, although it is true that the root being hid- den from our view we have no true oppor- tunity for examining. There can be no ob- jection to the test our correspondent sug- gests, provided any one is disposed to try it; but we think the components and con- dition of the soil would act alike on all the added plants or roots.] Hot- Air Furnaces are now in general use for heating dwellings both in city and country, and have almost superseded stoves in dwellings of any pretension. The ob- jections hitherto made are now almost completely obviated ; and this to a greater extent in the Gothic Furnace manufactured by A. M. Lesley, 605 Sixth Avenue, New York. We have in use one of these heat- ers in our dwelling, and it gives us pleas- ure to state that it is entirely free from es- 69 The Horticulturist. cape of gas, economical in the consumption of fuel, free from complication, and sup- plies abundant heat. Prices op Fruits. — To the grower of fruits it may be of interest to know a lit- tle as to the prices that choice apples, pears, etc., are retailed at in the leading fruit stores in New York. Choice speci- mens of Bcurre Bosc Pears, but of only fair medium size, sell at forty cents each. Ex- tra Duchesse d'Angouleme and some Beurre Diels we were asked sixty cents each for, or a dozen, embracing some two or three inferior specimens, at six dollars. Large and fine Baldwin or Tompkins Co. King Apples, one dollar and fifty cents a dozen. Lady Apples, fifty cents a dozen. Catawba and Diana grapes, forty cents a pound. Hot-house grapes, one to one and a half dollars a pound. Nectarines — only a few shown us — at one and a half dollars each. Preserving Crapes. — Mr. Editor: Among the various methods of preserving this valuable fruit during the winter, I have nowhere noticed a plan similar to that pursued by M. M. Dorn, Esq., of this city ; and believing it to be original with him, I present it to your readers. Gather the grapes when fully ripe, and l^ack in triple layers in oats which have been previously scalded and dried, letting the oats at top and bottom be at least four inches in depth ; keep in a cold room. I have seen, on the 15th March, Diana and Concord grapes kept in this way, that ap- peared as perfect in form and flavor as when packed in the fall, the oloom of the fruit even remaining; and Mr. Dorn as- sures me that he has had them well pre- served for four weeks later. The custom long prevalent in the West of packing ham, beef, eggs, etc., in this way, suggested to Mr. Dorn the experi- ment with grapes, resulting, I believe, in a most valuable discovery. G. P. Delaplalne. Majhson. Wis., Dec. 1G, ISO". BOOK NOTICES. American Horticultural, Annual for 1868, published by Orange Judd & Co., New York. Paper, 50 cts. ; cloth, 75 cts. This is the second issue of this year- book of Horticultural progress for the use of the gardener and fruit-grower. It contains many well-written articles, by some of our well-known nurserymen, po- mologists, and florists. The articles, Rho- dodendrons, by S. B. Parsons; Propagating Evergreens, by J. Hooper ; New Pears Test- ed in 1867, by Marshall P. Wilder ; Notes on the Small Fruits in 1867, by A. S. Fuller ; and New and Interesting Plants Tested in 1867, are particularly valuable. Suburban Homes for City Business Men on the Line of the Erie Railroad. This is the title of a neat little work of some sixty pages, published by the Erie Railroad Co., designed to call the attention of those in search of country homes to the advantages of the towns and villages lying along the line of their road, as places of residence, many of these villages being really nearer, in point of time, to the busi- ness centers of the city than dwellings in the neighborhood of Central Park. The work is compiled by Mr. Henry T. Will- iams, of the New York Independent, who has here brought together many facts and presented them in an interesting and read- able form. The work can be obtained at the office of the General Passenger Agent, Erie Building, by those who wish to exam- ine any of the localities described, with a view to purchase property. Annual Register of Rural Affairs. L. Tucker & Son, Albany. This is the fourteenth year of the pub- lication of this desirable hand-book, which has come to be a standard publication ; so much so that the back numbers are still in constant demand. The work contains a complete almanac for the year, and much valuable information on the subjects of agriculture and horticulture. Price 30 cents. Poultry Department. 63 5p0.ult.rg gcprtincnl CONDUCTED BY A. M. HALSTED. THE PENNSYLVANIA POULTRY SHOW. This exhibition, held at Philadelphia, Dec. 30th to Jan. 4th, was a most successful one. both financially and otherwise. Al- though got up with but little time for preparation, the collection of fowls was one that any society, even of a number of years1 standing, might be proud of. Comparisons are invidious, yet, compari- sons aside, Pennsylvania certainly excels in some varieties. We have never seen finer specimens of Brahmas and Hamburgs than were here exhibited. The former especially stood in the front rank ; and had we a " Frederic "William" in the poultry king- dom, he certainly could not have much trouble here in filling up his ranks with the desired height. We notice the names of Messrs. Tees, Todd, and Brown among the successful competitors in this class. The Silver Spangled Hamburgs exhibited by Mr. Armstrong deserve special notice, and were justly awarded the first premium. Mr. Bosler was also a successful competitor. In Golden Spangled Hamburgs, old birds, Mr. Fable carried off the palm, but was followed very closely by Mr. Armstrong with a coop of this season's chickens. The Cochins were fair, but not of notice- able merit. In Grey Dorkings, Mr. Herstine excelled, exhibiting a very handsome trio. Black Spanish were there in goodly numbers and quality, Messrs. Heuston and Upperman carrying off the first prizes for old and young birds, respectively. Mr. Duncan exhibited a very fine coop of Bol- ton Greys — Mr. Herdegen, White Crested Black Polish — and Mr. Schlem, Silver Spangled Polish, all of which were awarded premiums. In Gaines, the competition was not severe ; only about half a dozen coops were shown, but they made up in quality what they lacked in quantity — Mi. Armstrong in " Earl Derbys" (Black Breasted Reds), Mr. Ashford in Sefton& and Irish Greys, and Mr. Gibbs in other kinds, carrying off the honors. Mr. Tees seemed to enjoy the honor of showing the smallest as well as the largest specimens there, his Black Bantams leading the liliputians — Mr. Herclegen's Game and Sebright and Messrs. Pavonarius' Japanese Bantams calling for a passing notice. Mr. Sharpless claims the precedence in Bronze Turkeys with a magnificent pair of 18 months old birds, the cock weighing about 351bs. Some other coops were ex- hibited, but were not worthy of special notice. In the French varieties, Crevecceur, Houdan, and La Fleche, Messrs. Halsted & Co., of this city, were the successful com- petitors. Mr. Morris stands first in Bremen Geese, Mr. Jones in Poland Geese, Mr. Sharpless in Rouen Ducks, and Mr. Alteinus in Aylesburys ; not so much for their several excellences, but for lack of competition, this department being very poorly repre- sented. In the Pigeon class Mr. Armstrong again takes front rank with his Red and Yellow Tumblers, Mr. Lodge with his Blue Owls, and Mr. Herdegen goes up head with all other varieties, including Carriers, Pouters, Turbits, Barbs, Magpies, etc., etc. There was a very fine show of canaries, mostly Belgian and German varieties — Mr. Prossholtz in the first, and Mr. Himelback in the last, heading the list. There were many noticeable specimens not entered for competition, among which was a splendid Maltese cat, weighing 181bs., by Mr. Hankinson ; an educated Blue Jay, 64 The Horticulturist. which imitated the crowing of a Bantam cock, by Mr. Ott; a cage of California Quails, very pretty, by Mr. Coggins ; and numerous other things of interest. The room was a fine one for the exhibi- tion, and showed the fowls to the best pos- sible advantage. The arrangement, though, was very defective, the different varieties being scattered promiscuously about the room, so that comparison in some of the classes was quite difficult. We are pleased to hear that the Society's treasury has been the gainer, and hope that their future exhibitions may be as successful as the present one. DUCKS. "Why is it that our farmers, and fanciers, t»o, almost ignore the good qualities of the duck ? They are no more difficult to rear than chickens, if proper care is taken the first few weeks, and they mature much earlier. The common duck does not require any more care ; but it is not to these that we specially refer. We do not seethe advantage of raising ducks that weigh two or three pounds at maturity, rather than those that will weigh six to eight. And there is just about that difference between the common duck and either the Aylesbury or Rouen varieties. It cost hardly if any more to raise an Aylesbury or Rouen than the common mud-puddle variety ; and laying beauty (which is a great desideratum with us) aside, there is still the gain in weight as well as the gain in eggs the coming year. Either of the above varieties is de- sirable, and the choice may be said to lie almost with one's fancy. Both are excel- lent layers, frequently commencing to lay in the fall and continuing until cold weather, recommencing in February or March and not ceasing until July or August, and mature at about the same age, reaching about the same weight, which sometimes attains 18 to 191bs per pair. This weight, though, is very rare. It seems to be the impression with many, that ducks can not be kept except with a pond or stream on the premises. But this is a mistaken notion. True, a running stream, or when that is not to be had, a pond of water, is a great help, but it is not a necessity. We have known fine broods raised with a large tub or box sunk into the ground and filled daily with fresh water. A good way to do this is to exca- vate the ground under the tub to the depth of eighteen inches or two feet, and fill the hole up with stones ; have a hole and plug right over the excavation, and the water will run off easily and freely, and not keep the ground around the tub con- tinually muddy. " But they eat so much," is the reply ; " why, half a dozen ducks will eat a half bushel of corn a day." Now, reader, did you ever compare critically the amount consumed respectively by a duck and a hen ? If not, do so, and you may discover less difference than you persuaded yourself there was. The idea of ducks eating so much is a good deal like the Dutchman's pig. Hans had von leetle pig, no bigger dan von cat. He give ter leetle pig von pail of swill ; piggy eats ter swill all up ; den he puts him in ter pail, and he no fill ter pail half full. Food for Chickens. — A writer recom- mends for chickens, for the first week after hatching, hard-boiled eggs, to be given, chopped fine, at least twice a day, wheat steeped in milk, and coarse Indian meal, bread crumbs, etc. A change of food is necessary twice a week, substituting cracked corn for wheat. The Preservation op Eggs. — A writer in the Farm and Fireside recommends the dissolving of gum shellac in alcohol, when the mixture may be applied with a common paint-brush. When dry, pack in bran, points downward. Eggs so preserved will keep a very long time. When about to be used, the varnish may be washed off. THE HORTICULTURIST. VOL. XXIV MARCH, 1868. NO. CCLXI. POMOLOGICAL. With no disposition to criticise, or pre- sumption to knowledge, I unhesitatingly pronounce the whole of pomological liter- ature, at this present time, completely in- complete, or, in other and more common words, a " perfect muddle." We have vol- ume after volume, enumerative and descrip- tive of numberless varieties, and yet the most perfect pomologist is unable to iden- tify any variety, with which he is not fa- miliar, from any description or test, classi- fication or systematic arrangement publish- ed. Over two thousand names are applied as belonging to distinct varieties of apples ; the subject is multiplied in each new edi- tion or book published, but as I believe really without any definite knowledge on the part of the describer as to whether the variety he describes is a new and distinct sort, or one already known some two hun- dred years ago. Since the jmblication of Coxe's work in 1817, no one book has so completely met the subject of varieties with tests and illus- trations enabling the uninitiated to iden- tify and select, as did that publication. Kenrick was but a rehash of English works, with little or no knowledge personally of varieties, and with no disposition whatever to step out of an old beaten track. The 5 little work of Manning, good in its way, yet served as a trifle only beyond a cata- logue. Downing's was an advance, but not what that author was capable of or would have performed had he lived twenty years longer. Nevertheless it was an advance ; for while the author saw at a glance the utter uselessness of the old German classifica- tions to the general reader, or even toward enabling pomologists to identify sorts, he yet felt that a certain credit should be giv- en to those who had labored before him, and that as an aid greater than all others in the identification, local names or syno- nyms were essential. Thomas' work was, strictly, no fruit book. It combined a few sorts of fruits with a great deal of con- densed practical matter relative to the profit and values and modes of fruit-grow- ing, and was in that respect a really valu- able work. Barry's, again, was no fruit book in itself, so far as varieties, nomen- clature, or identification were concerned, for no attempt was made to classify, ar- range, or describe fruits beyond what had already been done ; but it was, and is to this day, an exceedingly valuable work, covering a field of culture in nursery and systematic training in orchard which the people want, and can not find outside of it. The Horticulturist. Elliott's book was arranged on an entire new order, viz., a classification of varieties as to their relative values ; and because of its author assuming to place many varieties in his third, or unworthy, class, which were then being popularly grown, and giving to the front rank some varieties not generally known, his work was discounte- nanced by all tree growers and dealers, be- cause it affected their immediate interests. As a work enumerative and descriptive of fruits, however, it was in advance of any previous one, and to this day covers many varieties not found in other works. Coles' Fruit Book followed as it were in- side of an old track, adapting itself to a few localities in New England, but cover- ing no ground which was not covered ; or embracing items of instruction not to be found in any yearly volume of a good hor- ticultural journal. Hooper's book is the veriest compilation ever foisted on a public anxious for infor- mation, and ready and willing to pay therefor. Warder has issued a work on apples alone, and has adopted, with some chan- ges, pretty much the mysticism of the old German authors in his classification, aban- doning most, or giving very few, of the lo- cal names. White's " Gardening for the South," without any attempt at originality in its order, sought only to enumerate and de- scribe, according to precedent, such varie- ties as were valuable there, and in that gave us our first knowledge of many South- ern fruits which otherwise would to this day have been unknown. So much for the fruit books : knowledge obtained from which is about like that of doctrines of religion — all based on a good cause, but varying according as man's fan- cy, knowledge, or skill may direct, but save in the main object at end, with no definite unity. To what use, I ask, is all this compila- tion without unity of system ? Is there no definite rule which shall govern ? Is there no system of arrangement, description, classification, etc., which is superior and shall rule ? Is there no guide for the in- troduction or raising of fruits beyond the fancy or knowledge of him who has seen or grown them ? Our pomologists and so- cieties are allowing descriptions of fruits to appear upon their records from year to year, ninety-five out of every hundred of whicli are of no value as compared with the old known sorts. Ought this to be ? Ought not our leading men and our pomo- logical societies, when a fruit is brought before them, to say at once, without fear or favor, their actual judgment of such fruit; and if it is only moderately good, although highly extolled by its originator or some one who has trees or plants to sell, say that it should at once go on record and be there killed ? I hope we shall some time arrive at a point when we shall have a book giving us only full and perfect de- scriptions of such fruits as the author in honesty and truth believes are really valu- able, while of those only " good," or even " very good," he will, while enumerating and describing, condense into as few words as possible, and yet give us the general contour of the fruit, retaining also all the local names or synonyms. A. Thorn. Chenango Strawberry. — Specimens of unequal. Color, a clear lemon yellow the Chenango Strawberry apple have been sent us from several sources. It is an apple of more delicacy than the Late or Autumn Strawberry, more conical in form, and often, if not always, angular, or having its sides ground, mostly overspread with a bright rich clear red and with scattered yel- low dots. We regard this as one of the very best early autumn or late summer va- rieties. Mount Vernon Pear. 67 MOUNT VERNON PEAR. A chance seedling which originated on the grounds of Honorable Samuel Walker, of Roxbury, Mass., and by him named Mt. Vernon. Specimens from which these out- lines and descrij)tions were made came from W. S. Little, Esq., Rochester, N. Y. Tree, vigorous, an early bearer ; wood, re- sembling Flemish Beauty in color; buds, more prominent, and forming a symmetri- cal tree, producing its fruit in clusters. Fruit, generally of full medium size, form varying, but as a rule resembling our largest outline, being globular, pyriform, and oblique ; skin, smooth, but not glossy smooth ; color, a rich cinnamon russet brown; stem, short, enlarged, and wrin- Cn Fig. 31. — Mount Vernon Pear. kled at junction with fruit. Occasional specimens are nearly globular, having the stem set with a slight depression. Calyx, small, with short open segments; some specimens have but a trace of calyx ; basin, smooth, even, varying in depth ; flesh, yel- lowish, granulated, juicy, crisp, melting, sweet cinnamon aroma, almost if not quite "best." Season, December. This is not strictly a new pear to the public, although it has never been dissem- inated. It has been before the Massachu- setts Horticultural Society from time to time, and received favor. 68 The Horticulturist. HIKE GRAPE. ELLIOTT, This is a new variety sent me by Charles Carpenter, Esq., of Kelley Island, Ohio. It was shown at the Ohio State Fair, Oct., 1867, by D. C. Richmond, Esq., as a seed- ling ; but the fruit was from a vine grown by Mr. Carpenter. The history is given as follows by our correspondent, Jason Brown, Esq., of Put-in-Bay, Ohio. " Putin-Bay, Nov. 25rolific bear- ers, and worthy of cultivation. I planted these many years ago to take the place of the Lancashire varieties, and they are very satisfactory ; the children under ten knew where to find them in great plenty last summer. W. A. Woodward. Winter Meeting op the Iowa State Horticultural Society. — From the rec- ord sent us, the meeting of this young State Society, held early in January, was numerously attended and the show of fruits quite large, numbering over two hundred plates of apples alone, besides grapes, pears, etc. We rejoice at this out- coming, as it were, of the knowledge and love of fruit-growing which that young State possesses. But we must beg to dis- sent from one line which the reporter or writer of the proceedings has incorpora- ted, viz., " Eastern experience is of little avail to us." If the writer thereof lives a few years, and makes fruit-growing his study, he will find that he was very far from the truth when he so wrote. It is the experience of those who have gone before us which must guide us in making progress. Without such reference and regard thereto we should only be repeating the errors that have been committed. Iowa is not so much a distinct climate or State, either in soil or temperature, that she can afford to throw aside the experience gained by the long and earnest labor of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, New York, and New England. And while we accord her cultivators equal in- telligence, we advise them to consult the records of horticulturists in other States. We have no doubt of the success of fruit-growing in Iowa, but at the same time desire to sav to those encasing in it. 92 The Horticulturist. do not count on success without very con- siderable labor and disappointment. We are glad to see the Society urge the exten- sive planting of trees, both fruit and orna- mental. We have long considered this one of the leading items which should be impressed upon the minds of all fruit- growers, and especially of those in our new Western States. The hardihood of varieties, we also no- tice, was slightly discussed, and the Early Harvest, heretofore considered tender, put down as " equally hardy with the Red June." We look for a radical change ere many years in all the foregone statements of such and such a variety becoming dis- tender, bark bursting, etc., etc. ■ WlLKINS, NEAR PlTTSBURG, Pa. Will you oblige a young florist by giv- ing a list, in your valuable magazine, of the best annual flowers adapted for cutting in summer for bouquets, and selling in market ? P. J. T. [There are really few or no annuals that are just what we should consider desirable to meet the wants of our inquirer. Hardy shrubs or perennials would better answer his purpose ; but if he must have annuals, we name the following as among the most desirable : Alyssum varieties ; Phlox Drum- mondii varieties ; Zinnia Elegans varieties ; Calliopsis varieties ; Candytuft, white and purple ; and for the latter part of the sea- son, Asters in their numerous varieties, all beautiful.] An Item for Tree-Growers. — Chas. Downing says that he once witnessed a re- markable change produced on the body of a pear-tree by means of wrapping it in straw. The tree was a Brown Beurre, grafted about seven feet high from the ground, upon a stock which for years had not grown as rapidly as the graft, and pre- sented a very decided bulge or swelling at the junction of the graft. This smaller portion was encased in straw about two inches thick, and at the end of two seasons it was found on removing the straw that the contracted, or heretofore smaller, stem had swollen to the full size of the graft above, presenting but a slight indication of the point of union between graft and stock. This is an item of interest, and many tree-growers who have trees with contracted stems, evidence of some natural want of affinity with the graft, may find in it a hint for practical use. We have our- selves practiced wrapping the stem of Morello cherries, when worked at a height of two or three feet with the free growing or sweet varieties, with moss, and thus kept them swelling regularly with the growth of the graft for years. Agricultural Editor of New York Weekly Sun. — We note with pleasure that the New York weekly Sun has secured the services of our contributor and corre- spondent, A. S. Fuller, Esq., as its agricul- cultural editor. While we are able to state that the Horticulturist will retain Mr. Fuller among its contributors, we at the same time congratulate the proprietors of the New York San on having secured the services of a reliable and practical man thoroughly acquainted with his subject. Terre Haute (Illinois) Horticultu- ral Society. — At the annual meeting the following gentlemen were elected officers of the Society for the year 1868 : Presi- dent, H. D. .Scott; Vice-President, Silas Price; Secretary, Jos. Gilbert; Treasurer, F. E. F. Barnes; Directors, H. D. Scott, Silas Price, Jos. Gilbert, F. E. F. Barnes, John G. Heinl, Wm. Patrick, G. W. Ed- wards, A. B. Pegg. Apples in North Carolina. — J. Lind- ley & Son, of New Garden, North Carolina, write they have two apples of great value, viz., " Golden Wilding," a roundish ob- late, yellow, very good ; tree, strong, up- right, and thrifty, and a great bearer. " Royal Limbertwig, large, roundish ob- late, dull red, covering mostly a greenish yellow ground ; great keeper." Editor's Table. Fig. 37. — Green-Jwuse Boiler. Greetv-house Boiler. — We have had several inquiries from onr subscribers about a chief and efficient boiler for propagating purposes, to be used in connection with the common brick flue. Until lately we have been unable to find such a contrivance that was satisfactory to us. A short time since, while at the establishment of Messrs. Hitchings & Co., 81 Centre Street, we saw a small saddle boiler which seems to us t» answer the purpose exactly. We have had an illustration made of it for the benefit of our readers who may desire such a con- trivance to heat a propagating tank or small house connected with a general green-house through which the main flue can not be conveniently built. It will be seen from our engraving that the boiler forms the top of the furnace immediately over the fire, and that all its interior surface is exposed to the direct action of the burn- ing fuel. The tank for bottom heat may be placed directly over the boiler, or the boiler may be connected by small pipes with a tank located in a back shed or other desirable position. Farmer's Manual. — I wish to recom- mend " Todd's Farmer's Manual." I think it ought to be in every farmer's library, and am sure no one will ever regret pur- chasing it, as it is an indispensable help in all branches of farming and mechanics. — J. H. R. in Country Gentleman. New Canadian Grapes. — From a little treatise on "Grapes, their Cultivation," etc., by D. W. Beadle, St. Catherines, C. W.. we extract as follows: " Laura Beverly. — This is a new black grape, much resem- bling the Hartford Prolific in bunch, berry, and time of ripening, but of better quality. It was raised by the Rev. Alexander Dixon, of Port Dalhousie, in this county, and never has received any protection or spe- cial treatment. It has the merit of being perfectly hardy, a great bearer, ripening early, of good quality, free from pulp, and hanging perfectly on the bunch. " Silver Cluster. — Originated with Will- iam Reed, County of Lincoln, is far supe- rior to Allen's Hybrid or Rebecca, or any other white grape yet offered to the pub- lic." J BOOK NOTICE. Rural Church Architecture, published by Geo. E. Woodward, New York. Large folio volume. Price $1 2. This work comprises a series of eighteen designs, twenty-eight elevations, and thirty- two plans of churches by the following eminent architects : Upjohn, Renwick. Wheeler, Wells, Austin, Stone, Cleveland, Backus, Reeve, etc. The designs are print- ed in colors, and all drawings are made to a working scale. Carpenters, builders, architects, and building committees will find this book a valuable aid. 94 The Horticulturist. mltxi jkprimeiti CONDUCTED BY A. M. HALSTED. CREVECCEUR FOWLS. Our experience with Crevecceur fowls during the past year having been solicited from many parties, Ave present it in this form. On February 19, 1867, we received from Europe two cods and six liens, and on March 25 two more liens. One of these last was sick when received, and died on April 2. The first egg was taken in March 4. On the 20th of the same month we com menced an accurate account of the number of eggs received daily. At that time we were taking in four eggs per day. On September 20 — sis months— we footed up ■^^^^k Fio. 38. — Crevecceur Fowls. Drawn from Life, from Fowls Imported by A. M. IIalstkd. Rte, N. Y. the account, and had received 1,084 eggs, or an average of nearly six eggs per day for six months. During the next month — to October 20 — we received loo eggs, and from that time to November 20, 71 eggs, making a total of 1,310, ot which an ac- count was kept. During the early part of March we probably took in 25 eggs, and after Nov. 20 about 40 more, which would make the entire number laid during the year, or, rather, in nine months, 1,375 — an average of almost 200 eggs per hen. Poultry Department. 05 During the whole season, not one of the hens showed the least disposition to sit ; and but one was sick, which was from the breakage of an egg in the ovary, and was cured in about ten days. During the past severe weather of this winter the fowls have had no more protec- tion than our Brahmas, Cochins, Games, and other fowls, and seem to have borne the cold weather better than all, except the Cochins, Games, and Hondans, all of which seem about equally hardy. "We had been told that the Crevecoeurs were especially tender in this country at the age of six months, and would be al- most certain to die off at about that age ; but were pleased to find that our fears were groundless. "We have lost but one fowl since they were four months old, and attribute that as much to neglect as sick- ness. As to their table qualities, we can speak only from hearsay. Those who have tried them here, and friends and relatives who have tried them in Europe, pronounce them superior to anything of the poultry kind ever before eaten. In regard to the eggs, we can speak. There is a peculiar fineness of grain and delicacy of flavor found in no other egg. We have repeatedly had them poached, with other varieties on the same dish, and could invariably tell the Crevecceur from any and all other varieties by the taste alone. The eggs are very large, and shell rather inclined to be thin, as is generally the case with pure-bred fowls. The fowls them- selves are large and handsome, and are an ornament to any poultry yard, as well as being of great utility. We append a brief description, plumage, etc. Plumage, brilliant black, sometimes a little golden or silver tinged ; a large and beautiful crest; large two-horned comb, sometimes toothed ; close and thick beard, and handsome pendant wattles of a brill- iant red color. The neck is of medium length, well arched, and covered with a very thick glossy hackle. The legs are black or slate color, short, and free from feathers. The thighs are large and fleshy, supporting a long and square body, with a broad, full breast, and rather large, closely- set wings ; the tail is full and well sickled, altogether giving them a very upright, handsome carriage. They are very tame, ramble but little, and seem better contented at home than wandering afar off. They are great layers, eggs are very large, and they continue laying a long time. They mature very early, and are fit for the table at three and four months old ; frequently weighing 6J lbs. when well fatted. Non- sitters. COMMON vs. FANCY FOWLS. No. 2. Probably every farmer who has had the chance of observing, as well as others whose attention has been called to the matter, will acknowledge the superiority of Southdown mutton over a common mongrel carcass, and also the preference in favor of a good shorthorn bullock for the shambles over a Western steer with the blood of a hundred or less mongrel stocks in his veins. Certainly your butcher, if he understands his business, will tell you at once which is accounted the most valuable; and if said butcher's patrons order South- down mutton, and examine their pass- books, they can see for themselves, and feel also, financially, the difference in value. And yet these same persons — farmers, citi- zens, or others — are very slow to acknow- ledge that there is any difference between one fowl and another. A chicken is a chicken, whether it weighs 2a lbs. at maturity or 10 lbs. ; whether it is tender or tough. And an egg is an egg: large or small, delicate in flavor, or tough and rank. " You can't tell me anything about fowls; why, I raised them before you were thought of." That's so ; and before steam was thought of as a motive power — before the lightning was tamed — before steel fingers worked our button-holes and made our The Horticulturist. pantaloons, etc. And you raise the same old kind yet, don't you ? — because your great- grandfather's grandmother did. And you get from 25 to 40 eggs a year from each hen, don't you — because your great-grand- father's grandmother did. And you let them roost under the hovel and sheds, and dirty up your carts, wagons, plows, etc., allowing dollars'1 worth of the most valuable manure you have on your farm to go to waste — because your great-grandfather did. Well ! how much money do you make by doing just what your above-mentioned venerable ancestor used to do ? That is a practical view of the question. How much money do you lose by keeping and feeding fowls that lay 50 eggs per year, instead of 150 ? — by breeding fowls that weigh 3 lbs. to 5 lbs. each, instead of those that weigh 6 lbs. to 8 lbs.? Just think this over until next month, and then we will " talk to you some more." Keeping Fowls in Orchards. — The public has yet to learn the full advantages of keeping poultry. Few seem to appre- ciate the service they may do among the trees in an orchard. Let any one try them in an orchard of a quarter or half an acre, where they may be kept by picket fence, four or five feet high, putting in say one hundred and twenty-five fowls, and observe the result. He will avoid the annoyance in the garden of which so many complain, while they will work among the trees, doing just what is needed, keeping the ground well cultivated, and destroying everything that can injure the fruit-trees in the shape of bugs, worms, or other in- sects, and lay a large number of eggs, which are a cash article, to say nothing of the chickens, which pay well for raising at the present time. I have tried it, and I know it is so. I have about one hundred fowls, which have worked admirably among my trees, keep- ing the ground in good condition, keeping off the insects, and promoting the growth of the orchard. I am satisfied that we have yet to learn the full benefits which may be derived from the proper manage- ment of fowls, and it is quite possible that the method I have suggested may offer the best way of getting our apple orchards into bearing condition again. — Cor. North- em Farmer. Poultry Raising and Profits. — From Moore's Bural New Yorker. — John Crane, Schuyler Co., N. T., writes: "I send you the results of my experience in rearing the Brahma variety of fowls, with my expendi- tures, receipts, and profits, for insertion in your paper. The length of time embraced in the following statistics was one year, commencing Nov. 18, 1866, and ending Nov. 18, 1867. The number of fowls at the first-mentioned date was 18 hens and 2 roosters, being the same number as lelt on hand at the last-mentioned date. The account stands thus: Cost of keeping the old fowls $15 45 Cost of rearing 90 chickens 19 TO Total expense $35 15 Number of egirs sold, at 35 cents per dozen— 155 5-12 dozen $53 39 Sold fowls to the amount of .'. 55 57 Total receipts $103 9(i Expenses as above 35 15 Nett profit $73 81 CORRESPONDENCE. E. S. B., of Broome County, N. Y., asks, " What is the peculiar excellence of the Bronze Turkey ? how heavy do they get ?"' First. They are more hardy, easier to raise; they do not roam so much as the common turkey; they are double, treble. and sometimes quadruple the size of the common, and are also more tender in flesh, besides being a much finer flavored bird for the table. We have seen turkeys that weighed up- ward of 40 lbs., and know of a number that have weighed over 50 lbs. Andrew John- son had a present of an old gobbler for his New Year's dinner that dressed over 50 lbs. We own a gobbler, seven months old, weighing 25 lbs., and a hen turkey weigh- ing 22j lbs. THE HORTICULTURIST. VOL. XXIV APRIL, .NO. CCLXII. RURAL CEMETERIES. Nearly twice twenty years have passed since the tract of country situated within sound of the Cambridge bells, and known to every college graduate of the time for its natural and, we may say, unsurpassed beauties was set apart for a rural cemetery. The selection of this spot for the purpose was indeed a great loss, not only to the lover of flowers, who could no longer roam with his accustomed freedom in search of the objects of his affection — for here upon its sunny slopes he was sure to find that harbinger of spring, the modest hepatica, days and even weeks before it dared to open its delicate petals elsewhere, and in its more hidden recesses, the blue-fringed gentian, white with the frosts of later autumn, long after it had disappeared in the regions adjoining — but also to the sportsman, who could no longer be per- mitted to tread its secluded covers. Great as was the loss to these, to the public it was a gain, for its very loveliness con- tributed to inspire the people generally with a taste for embellishing the resting-places of the dead. From the time of the conse- cration of Mount Auburn until the present, no one idea has been received with more favor in our country than the laying out of public cemeteries in the neighborhood of 7 our cities and towus. In fact, to such an extent has this been carried, that there is scarcely a country village that has not made the attempt to adorn its neglected grave-yard, or, not content with this, to lay out a new lot more in accordance with the prevailing tastes of the day. While it is not always feasible to select a suitable spot for a rural cemetery, that is,. one combining natural beauties together with the proper soil, and that, too, within a. convenient distance, the cemeteries in the- neighborhood of Boston have been most admirably located. What could we have better adapted to the purpose than Mount Auburn, Forest Hills, and Mount Hope, and a host of other cemeteries connected with and belonging to the neighboring- towns ! With their noble trees of every variety, with the rare shrubs and native flowers which have been so lavishingly bestowed upon them by nature, with the disposition of their surface broken up into eminence, gentle slope, deep dell — and these adorned with lake and rivulet — it would seem that they were already fitted, without the aid of man, as resting-places for the dead. And they are so fitted — most admirably fitted — in themselves for such a purpose ; but man's ambition, love of osten- 98 The Horticulturist. tation, and desire to outdo his neighbor cease not at the grave. And herein lies the object of our present paper — to set forth the folly, bad taste, and want of proper judgment, the effects of which sc frequently disfigure our most beautiful cemeteries. First of all, we would speak of that almost universal propensity that exists, to shut in the dead by fences and barriers of every description, as if the oc- cupants of the grave would encroach upon each other's rights. And what explana- tions can be offered for this wide-spread incongruity ? Certainly these barriers can be no protection against a trespass upon the property where there is a willful deter- mination for destruction or mutilation. Neither can they afford any sense of seclu- sion to the mourner who at the grave would seek communion with the dead. As to their use as defining the limits or bounds of the proprietor, the same end may be attained by means against which no objection can be made. No good rea- sons can be brought forward why such obstacles to all natural beauty should be tolerated. The most that can be said is, that their erection is simply a fashion into which people have been very unwisely led, and of which they have as yet failed to see the impropriety. If so much objection is offered to the act of placing any fence or barrier around the various lots in our cemeteries, words would fail us if we attempted to portray the senseless vanity so often exhibited in their construction. In this connection, then, we can not do better than to quote the re- marks of Downing on this very subject, every word of which meets our fullest approba- tion : " Few things are perfect ; and beau- tiful and interesting as our rural cemeteries now are — more beautiful and interesting than anything of the same kind abroad — we can not pass by one feature in all, marked by the most violent bad taste — we mean the hideous ironmongery which they all more or less display. Why, if the separate lots must be inclosed with iron railings, the railings should not be of simple and unobtrusive 23atterns, we are wholly unable to conceive. As we noAV see them, by far the greater part are so ugly as to be positive blots on the beauty of the scene. Fantastic con- ceits and gimcracks in iron might be par- donable as adornments of the balustrade of a circus or a temple of Comus ; but how reasonable beings can tolerate them as in- cisures to the quiet grave of a family, and in such scenes of sylvan beauty, is mount- ain high above our comprehension." The same remarks are applicable to the incongruous, uncomfortable - looking iron sofas and chairs ; as well as to the vases, flower-baskets, images, etc., which so often encumber the inclosures. Then, again, how little in keeping with the green turf and the natural slope are those large masses of masonry in the shape of steps, and those blocks of hammered granite, which with- out meaning attract the eye to the exclu- sion of other objects more in harmony with the spot ! And this applies as well to the country graveyard, where injudicious at- tempts have been made to beautify by in- closing here and there a family lot, and raising it above the surrounding level by this same means. In fact, it would seem as if many of our cemeteries— nay, all of them — had been selected by the iron mer- chant as well as by the stone-cutter as the very best possible market wherein to dis- play specimens of their handicraft. The universal desire to mark the sepul- ture of the dead by the erection of monu- ments has prevailed among all nations from the most remote antiquity, these monuments varying in design, from the choicest sculpture which distinguished the tombs of the Greeks and Romans to the simple cairn or pile of stones which desig- nated the resting-place of the barbarian. In the modern cemetery of our own land, where every one has the means more or less ample of gratifying his own tastes, we should expect to find — as we do — monu- ments of every design that the ingenuity of man could devise, some of them appro- Rural Cemeteries. 99 priate, but many, very many, wanting in the very first principles of propriety. Of this, while we may lament, we can not com- plain, for in such a matter it would be im- possible to carry out any restrictions beyond those of a general character. Having thus freely found fault with the rural cemetery as it now is, it becomes us to state what we would have, and where in our judgment we would suggest im- provements, although this may be inferred from the remarks already made. A suitable spot having been selected, one, if possible, already adorned by fine trees and combining variety of surface, and of which water shall be an essential feature, let it be surrounded by an appro- priate fence or wall of sufficient height, but not one which will give the impression that it surrounds a prison-yard. At present, wood would seem to be the most appro- priate material for the purpose, as it is the least expensive, and harmonizes with the rural character of the place. Stone, of course, should be used wherever practi- cable. The gateway should be invariably of stone, not hammered, especially in the small country cemetery, simple in design, making no pretension, and covered with our native vines. The same may be said of the chapel, and of all necessary out- buildings. In the larger cemeteries, es- pecially those in close contiguity with a city, the entrance gate and chapel may be more imposing, and form the principal features. Throughout the cemetery thus inclosed the drive-ways and paths should be laid out as an appreciative taste and convenience shall dictate. No interior boundary or barrier of any description should be allowed to interfere with the general effect. In this way, the entire cemetery would present a park-like ap- pearance, which is always pleasing, while the purpose to which it is consecrated would still be kept in mind by the monu- ments and gravestones rising on every side. It is well if the inclosure combines with other attractions a natural sheet of water. or, in default of this, a locality where, by the aid of abundant springs and judicious excavations, a lake of sufficient depth and size may be fo med. We strongly object to the small pools surrounded by a border of hammered granite, and their surfaces covered with green slime, which are thought to be an ornament in many cemeteries. And while it may not be amiss to intro- duce upon the surface of the lake the graceful swan, it seems hardly appropriate to convert the spot into a breeding-place for a variety of domestic fowls. Certain restrictions should be put upon the size of those unattractive mausoleums so often erected by those who would there- by seek to gain an amount of fame when dead that they failed to acquire while living. If possible, we would forbid the erection of a simple tomb above ground, not only on the score of beauty, but in a hygienic point of view, for in many cases there can be no doubt they exert a most injurious influence upon the surrounding regions. With the ancients, the erection of tombs was pardonable, for, as a general rule, they contained only the ashes of the deceased, placed in urns. If tombs are thought by some to be necessary, they should be entirely concealed from view. The grave is the proper resting-place for the body, except under some very peculiar circumstances. So also any object which necessity may require upon the grounds, as a pump, for example, should not be made more con- spicuous by attempts at ornamentation, either in itself or in the building which shelters it. On the contrary, it should be screened from view by plantations of trees and shrubs, or concealed by the draj>ery of vines. Everything about a cemetery should harmonize, not only with the natural beau- ties of the place, but also with the purpose to which it is devoted. And it should be specially borne in mind, that while its design is to please by its quiet and unob- trusive beauties, both natural and artificial, 100 The Horticulturist. at the same time it must contain nothing which shall tend to destroy those better emotions which should be there awakened. This I may illustrate by the following: In the early days of Forest Hill Cemetery, we Avell remember how much we were pleased with a simple and very appropriate little device upon which we came suddenly in rambling over the grounds. Just at the foot of a low hill, in a retired nook, and among some rocks, bubbled up a clear, cool spring. The small pool there formed had been slightly hollowed out, a few loose mossy stones placed about the edge, and upon one of them these words inscribed : " Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again ; but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst." A year or two afterward I re- visited the spot, solely for the purpose of again seeing what had given me so much pleasure. But the hand of improvement had been there ; the stones with the in- scription had been removed, and in their place an iron pump reared its unsightly head. Our remarks in relation to the public cemeteries generally, apply equally well to the country burying - ground. Burying- ground ! the very name seems less preten- tious than the word cemetery. And, after all, there is much that is interesting in such a spot, unadorned by modern innovations. It is not a work of yesterday. Here lie many generations, their graves marked by the simple slab of slate, over which the parti-colored lichens have gradually ex- tended, obliterating both name and date, while the frosts of many a by-gone winter have done their work too. The green turf extends everywhere ; no formal graveled walks deface it, and no assuming monu- ments, inclosed with iron fences, disfigure it. "What if it is what is termed a neglected spot ! What if the wintry winds as they sweep across the lowly graves rustle the long withered grass and bend the rank weed of the previous summer, the thoughts of the afflicted are as often turned toward the buried loved ones, and when the spring conies the birds sing just as sweetly there as elsewhere ! Better let the old burial-place of the fathers alone than attempt any embellish- ment, which, at the best, seems out of character here. Let a new spot be selected, combining all the natural beauties possible, and let the hints which we have given be carried into practice and improved upon. So shall we have a model rural cemetery. D. D. Slade. Chestnuthill, Feb., 1868. Soldiers' Graves. — We know of no record of a public cemetery where so much regard has been paid to the last resting-place of those who nobly gave their lives in our late national war as that of the Spring Grove Cemetery at Cincinnati. From a report of the Cincinnati Horticultural Society, which was the projector of the Spring Grove Cemetery, as the Massachu- setts Horticultural Society was that of Mount Auburn, we copy the following re- marks of Mr. Graham, who said he was re- minded that Spring Grove has at present 700 of the noblest sons of Ohio sleeping beneath her sod. Every soldier's grave had been properly marked and reported. One of the choicest spots in the cemetery had been set apart for their resting-place. All had been buried with the honors clue their station. Among these were numbered many of the noblest men of our country, who in a spirit of heroic self-sacrifice had abandoned comfort, home, and friends, and had accepted in their stead hardship, peril, and death. He hoped the time was near when a suitable monument would be erected to their honor. Mr. Resor remarked that many of the friends of soldiers buried here, coming to remove their bodies, had preferred to leave them when they saw how they had been buried. A Few Words about Port Wine. 101 A FEW WORDS ABOUT PORT WINE. BY F. R. ELLIOTT. At this time, when so much interest is taken in the culture of the grape, and its manufacture into wine, together with opin- ions respecting grapes adapted to the pro- duction of certain classes of wine, and the manufacture thereof, with or without the addition of anything to the juice, a slight sketch of the vine district in which the Port wines are produced, and somewhat of its manufacture, may not perhaps be found uninteresting. These sketches, my readers will please remember, are made from my readings — I not having been so fortunate as to have visited the region described in person — and they may be in some points imperfect, but generally, I think, truthful. The first use of Port wine in England was exclusively as a medicine, supposed about three centuries since, and was then produced on the banks of the Lima, a river running into the sea at Viana, Portugal, where the first British merchants settled, and from whence they shipped it to Eng- land. Afterward, it was discovered that the grapes grown on the banks of the Douro Fig. 40. — View on the Douro. produced a richer and far more generous wine, and soon the merchants engaged in the trade settled at Oporto, from whence the trade has continued to this day. The amount of the vintage in 1749 was esti- mated at about 50,000 pipes, which has in- creased so that now it is rated at over 120,000 pipes. THE wine country. The wine country proper is along the Lower Douro — a stream called the Corgo separating the Lower from the Upper Douro. Along each bank, for the distance of nearly thirty miles, and varying from six to eight miles wide, are the vineyards. Limestone rock, clayey slate, and red clayey soils compose the formation of the hills or mountains, sometimes so precipi- tous that it is no very easy task to climb them, as their elevation is many hundred feet above the river, with the vines planted frequently to their very summits. Every hill is cut into innumerable ter- 102 The Horticulturist. races, the walls forming their sides being about five to six feet high, and composed of large stones — for any slight structure would quickly be washed away. The situations regarded as best calcu- lated to produce the richest grapes are those on the sides of the hills facing the south, and which enjoy the greatest quan- tity of sun ; the lowest and most sheltered spots being in greatest esteem. The grapes growing near the summits of the mount- ains are more watery, and form a lighter and thinner wine. The labor and expense incurred in the formation of these vine- yards may be imagined. PLANTING THE VINEYARD. Supposing the side of a mountain thus prepared, at the expense of much labor and capital, the planting of the vineyard is per- formed in the autumn, after the vintage is concluded, by taking cuttings from the old vines and placing them flat down, cov- ering the butt ends only with earth, and leaving them so until they callus and form roots, when they are planted two feet deep in the ground and at about three feet apart. These vines take four to six years before they bear well ; in the mean time they require much attention, many of them dying, notwithstanding great care is be- stowed on them. Our planters in this country will remember this feature as applicable at times to their own practices, and I hope take courage from association, and not become disheartened under the impression that losses only accrue to them. PRUNING AND CULTIVATION. From what I can gather of the writer whose report I am condensing, no summer pruning is performed ; but as soon as the vintage is concluded, the vines then hav- ing a mass of shoots are pruned on the sin- gle cane spur renewal system. Any fail- ures are made up by layering a long shoot at the point desired to renew, and from these layers they gather a crop the follow- ing year. Trenches between the vines are cut, and twice the ground is thrown up around the vines and loosened. The hoe- ing is done with a two-pronged hoe, similar to that used by the Germans in this coun- try, the laborers working in gangs of about twenty, each upon a terrace, and all under the eye of an overseer. GATHERING THE VINTAGE. When once the vintage has commenced, time is invaluable ; but this period varies in seasons, same as here, from early in Sep- tember to the middle of October. Those who fear rain-falls and cloudy weather commence gathering early, even before the fruit is ripe, while the more bold and ven- turesome leave the grapes to hang as long as possible. During the gathering, the Fig. 41. — Grape Gathering in the Douro. vineyards are crowded with men, women, and boys — some plucking the choice bunches of sound grapes, some the rotten or imperfect ones, and placing them in bas- kets which are carried up and clown the steep hills to the press by a class of Span- iards called Gallegos, who labor there only during the vintage, returning to their homes immediately afterward. THE WINE PRESS. The presses are constructed in buildings and vary in size; they are tanks about twenty feet square, and two to three feet deep, built of massive stone work, and A Few Words about Port Wine, 103 raised considerably from the ground. The tonels or casks into which the wine is run sometimes hold thirty pipes. They are generally in a lower building, so that the wine may run oft* from the press by a chan- nel into them. Above the press is a vast beam, weighed down by a heavy stone, in- tended, by placing boards beneath it, to press the last remaining juice from the husks. Into the press the baskets of grapes are emptied as they are brought in, while a bare-legged urchin stands in the middle, and with a rake levels the bunches, and another picks out the bare stems or chance poor grapes, etc. The grapes are sometimes separated from the stems, but the latter are said, in good seasons, in no way to injure the delicacy of the wine ; and if the astringent quality so much admired in Port wine is desired, they are necessary ; besides, they assist to aid fermentation. The mashing and press- ing the grapes is performed by twenty or thirty of the men getting into the vat or tank with their trowsers' legs rolled up, and dancing, keeping time to the music of fifes, fiddles, and drums. The grapes are thus trodden under foot for two, three, and four successive days, with intervals only of six hours, or till the juice Fig. 42. - The Wine Pr is supposed to be thoroughly expressed and the skin well bruised to extract the color, for it is in the skin alone the color is found. The Avine is then allowed to ferment with the husks for about the same length of time, according to the greater or less degree of saccharine matter. The m ust, as the juice is termed, is then drawn off into the tonels, and brandy is added, when it is careiully sealed up till the winter. The husks are now pressed, and the liquid is designed for the use of the laborers, or for making into brandy. The Lagrima Ghristi, a delicious white wine, is made from the first juice run from the grape without pressing the skin. The impression of some persons, that pure Port wine has had no addition of brandy, it seems has no foundation ; for not only is brandy added at the time of pressing, but afterward, before it is shipped, the mer- chant treats it to a little more delicatt brandy, claiming that such is requisite to its keeping and retaining the character- istics desired. The grapes grown on the Douro from which Port wine is produced, become, when hung up in the sun, perfect masses of sugar, and give to the wine a rich fruity flavor. 104 The Horticulturist. APPLE— MOORE'S EXTRA. Specimens received from James Truitj ish conical, flattened at ends — occasionally Quincy, Ky. Origin, Scioto Co., O. Tree, angular or one-sided ; skin, smooth and upright in nursery ; spreading upright in glossy ; color, clear light yellow ground orchard, with strong, stout branches; an overspread and splashed in sun with bright annual regular but not profuse bearer. clear red, scattered minute raised russet Fruit, large to very large ; form, round- dots with light suffused surroundings ; Fig. 43. — Apple — Moore's Extra. stem, medium length ; cavity, deep, open, dium or above, open center ; seeds, very russet at bottom ; calyx, medium, open, dark. Season, early winter or December segments divided ; basin, deep, open, with and January. surrounding broad furrows ; flesh, yellow- These outlines show the varied forms of ish, crisp, tender, rather coarse-grained, the fruit, the larger one being the most subacid, aromatic, " very good ;" core, me- common. The Passiftora. 105 Fig. 44. — Outlines of Moore's Extra. THE PASSIFLORA. BY HORTICOLA. The tribe to which the Passiflora be- longs is called, in the natural system of Botany, the tribe of the Passifloracae. It belongs to the sixteenth class, second order, of the system of Linne. The tribe of the Passifloracse embraces the Disemma, the Murucuja, the Napoleona, the Passiflora, the Smeathmannia, and the Tacsonia. The Disemmse, Murucujae, and Tacsoniae resemble so much the Passifloracae proper, that formerly they all were called Passifloracae, and that I need not separate them here, their general habitus being' the same as well as their treatment. The Passiflora proper consists, according to Decandolle, of eight groups, viz. : As- trophea, Polyanthea, Tetrapathaea, Cieca, Decaloba, Granadilla, Tacsonioides, and Dyosmia. I omit, however, here to de- scribe the botanical differences of the groups from each other, because they are of no practical value to the amateur ; they are interesting to the botanist only. By far the greatest majority of them are natives of South America and the West Indies. Some few are found in the United 106 The Horticulturist States as far north as Virginia and Mary- land (/. i., P. incarnata), and, as far as I know, in the island of Madeira (P. Lowei). The Napoleona and Smeathmannia belong to Africa. Nearly all of them are peren- nial climbers. Only a few grow every year from the root, the canes dying in the fall. They are, with very few exceptions, most beautiful plants in every respect. The form of the leaves, their glossy color, in some kinds different on the two sides, and the great profusion in which they are pro- duced, together with the climbing habit of the plants, would make them very at- tractive to many, even aside from their flowers and the edible fruit of some. The latter, though different in flavor, accord- ing to the kinds which bear it, is not pal- atable to some, if their taste should not have been educated by early training. But the flowers are so beautiful and elegant, so peculiar and striking in shape, so bril- liant and varied in color, that even persons destitute of taste and obtuse in mind and feeling can not look at a blooming Passi- flora without some admiration. Several years ago I had a large number of kinds planted out ; sixty-one of them flowered together during the summer. They attract- ed the attention of those passing by to such a degree that they stood still to admire the magnificent and lovely sight. The pious fancy of some people imagined to see the crucifixion of Christ typified in the flower of the Passiflora, They gave to each part of it a certain significance, derived from the cross and the crown of thorns, and they beheld it with a kind of religious rev- erence. This fact shows the unusual pecu- liarity the flower presents. The size of the flower varies very much in different kinds. Some measure from five to six inches in diameter ; others not much more than an eighth of an inch : some bear their flowers singly from leaf to leaf, toward the end of young shoots ; others in long racemes — so I may be per- mitted to call them — often protruding from the old wood : some are of a pure white color ; others are blue, red, purple, brown, or have mixed colors in their dif- ferent parts. Even should they be less conspicuous, they all will, on closer inspec- tion, be found to be elegant. While many of them are inodorous, a good number are deliriously fragrant, only very few being fetid (/. i., P. filamentosa). I have been passionately fond of the Passiflora as long as I can remember. Be- fore I came to this country I had a large collection of species and varieties. Hardly had I found a sure footing here, when I commenced hunting up every kind within my reach. Messrs. Parsons, Buchanan, Donadi, Cadness, Fuller, and others, will perhaps remember how often I applied to them, either personally or by letter, for Passion flowers. After I had brought together what was to be found here, I im- ported largely from Europe, until I was in possession of a hundred and thirty-five kinds. Dr. Regel, of St. Petersburg, Rus- sia, editor of the Garden Flora, expressed in that magazine the belief that my collec- tion was the largest in existence. Then, however, it had reached its culminating point. Mr. Geitner, of Planitz, who died not long ago, sent me once a considerable number, carelessly labeled and packed. Unable to find out the names of many, and without any hope to accomplish this here, I turned away from them in disgust ; for even the most beautiful plant without a correct name is of little value to me. Now, another difficulty arose from the fact that I had no green-house ; my friends here having the management of such could not accommodate me any longer, retaining their old and getting new plants every year. Diffident in such matters as I am, I shrank from making an application to them, and they were prevented from offer- ing me the services of their houses. Being left to my own resources, I lost a great many during the next winter, which sad circumstance compelled me to give up the Is the Scuppernong Grape the Grape of America? 107 culture of the Passiflora with great reluc- tance and with an almost bleeding heart. In the attempt to get rid of them I suc- ceeded admirably, beyond expectation. A certain firm in New York, not now in ex- istence, agreed to sell them for me. I packed and sent to it 280 pots ; they ar- rived in New York and — disappeared. The remembrance of them is perfectly pure, it being not tarnished by any mon- etary transaction, for I never received a single cent for them. But, no, I am not quite correct. Accidentally, some few had been overlooked in my garden, which were bought and honestly paid for by a gentle- man in New York. So far as external circumstances are con- cerned, I have enjoyed every opportunity of cultivating them. In Germany, I grew them under glass ; here, I planted them out. I succeeded in dwarfing some ; I grafted them ; I propagated them by layers, cuttings, and pieces of the root ; I hybrid- ized and crossed them, and produced from the seeds sown some fine varieties. In the following article I will explain the method I have found to be the best by an expe- rience of many years. In doing so I shall not consult any books, but write from notes and from memory. I wish I were able to induce many to cultivate so charm- ing a tribe of plants ! [to be continued.] IS THE SCUPPERNONG GRAPE THE OEAPE OP AMERICA? So sayeth an enthusiastic gentleman of Iuka, Miss., who quotes an Episcopal cler- gyman as having " recommended it to the Southern people," and the New York Watch- man as having " delightful memories of sweet scents borne on the breeze near South- ern homes, where the Scuppernong is culti- vated." He further informs us that this grape " produces thirty-five bushels to the vine in Georgia, at Mobile in Alabama, Somer- ville in Tennessee, and on Tar. River in North Carolina; that it never fails to bear, never mildews, never rots, is never trou- bled with frost, (?) is long-lived, and may be called the poor man's friend." He also alludes to the Scuppernong wine as "sweet, rich, luscious, fragrant, very pleasant, and everywhere the ladies' favor- ite ;" and gives us the simple process of manufacturing by first " expressing the juice," and adding " a pint of whisky, or brandy, or two pounds of white sugar, or a part of brandy and sugar to each gallon." This makes out the case for the Scupper- nong, except that " it requires no pruning, training, nor placing on trellis ; while all others require study to prune, train, trellis, to prevent mildew, rot, or failure." All this goes to show that this grape is very well suited to the mild climate of the Southern States. But America (meaning the U. S. A.) is a big place, not including Alaska and St. Thomas, not yet paid for. The Scuppernong grape — sometimes called the Mustang, Muscadine, Bullet, and the Bull grape — is found native in Virginia, and the States farther south ; it is a ram- pant growing wild fox grape, with a large smooth stem, in this differing from other species; the leaves are round, thin, smooth on both sides, shining, especially on the under-side, dentated, but without lobes; fruit like the " Summer Fox" of our North- ern swamps, in small bunches, with but few berries; thick skinned, tough, of a delicious flavor, and very sweet to the taste. It is eminently a Southern grape; in their long, hot, dry summers it ripens its enormous growth and perfects its fruit, 108 The Horticulturist. which becomes " very sweet." North of the Potomac it loses all its valuable char- acteristics ; it neither produces ripe fruit or ripens its wood ; it mildews, rots, is troubled with frost, and is short-lived. The assertion that it is "the grape of America" is published in a Northern paper, coupled with the remark that " it has never been tested in the North and West ; and should it prove successful it would become a rich legacy in the hands of those who first propagate and introduce it." With all due respect to Mr. Miller, the Northern mind has already grasped and solved this problem — the verdict is TEKEL* — tried in the balance, and found wanting. As a fox grape, it ranks with the Mam- moth grape of Connecticut and the Char- ter Oak, producing fruit of similar charac- ter as to size, sweetness, and fragrance. This fragrance is to most persons very agree- able, while to others it is nauseating. The Scuppernong bears no comparison for ex- cellence to the Early Northern Muscadine, which flourishes in our cold northern cli- mate, always yielding a full crop, free from disease ; but then the fragrance ! says a friend at my elbow ; yes, the fragrance. I re- ply : When I run for Congress on the Grape question, I shall treat my constituents lib- erally to Early Northerns, sure of the votes of the million, while the fragrance scoffers will form but a small minority. This will account for the enthusiasm of the traveler when he inhales the sweet scents of the Scuppernong near Southern homes. Our Southern friends like it, and should cherish it until they find something more worthy of cultivation ; and while advising the Northmen not to cultivate it at all, I recommend Southern cultivators for every Scuppernong vine to plant one hundred Concords, and as many Crevelings ; and, if they like high flavors, to try the Early Northerns and Hartfords. Our Northern * Daniel v. 2T. grapes all do better at the South than theirs do with us. Mr. Rountree informs me that the Concord is his most estimable grape at New Orleans ; besides growing finely and becoming of high quality, he readily gets one dollar per pound for his surplus, because of its earliness. In the Southwest the Concord is said to make a fine vine. It may therefore be assumed that it will grow equally well at the South ; and if so, combined with the Scuppernong for its boquet, the long-cherished idea of the illustrious Longworth may be realized, to produce a pure, high-flavored American wine. The writer of this has lived in and trav- eled much in the Southern States, but has never had the pleasure to taste a glass of good Southern wine. That inevitable " pint of whisky* to each gallon" is worse than the rot or the mildew, and, as Mr. Miller states, " makes an exceeding strong drink, which readily induces intoxication." Sure- ly this can not be the ladies' favorite ? Then why not try to make pure wine from the juice of the Scupjjernong ? and if it has too little grape sugar,! or too much tar- taric acid, combine and ferment it with the juice of the Concord or Clinton, which will supply the deficiency ; but as for the whisky, better drink it with your tea than to spoil your wine with it. ROTUNDIFOLIA. * The writer was invited to take tea with a gentle- man and his family, with a few friends of both sexes. After the first cup of tea was handed around, the host suddenly recollected that he had forgotten to take the gentlemen to the side-board, and made profuse apolo- gies, and then added: "It is not too late yet." On our declining, he first offered to each lady, then to each of the other gentlemen, who all declined. Then he added: "This will never do. How could I be so negligent of hospitality ?" So, taking the bottle in his hand, he came up and poured a quantity into my tea-cup, saying, " I am told that whisky and tea go very well together." The same idea may prevail as to wine. t Analysis of Scuppernong grape juice by Dr. C. T. Jackson : Grape sugar, 9.8 per cent. ; tartaric acid, 1.7 per cent. Ogdensburgh Apple. 109 OGDENSBURGH APPLE. In the fall of 1858, Hon. A. B. James, of Ogdensburgh, N. Y., being in Milwaukee, purchased an apple in market, which he thinks resembled the Winthrop Greening. He saved the seeds and planted them the next spring. Of the seeds which grew, all but one were so full of thorns and evinced so wild an appearance that they were de- stroyed. That one grew stocky, and spreading like the Fall Pippin, with a leaf much like Red Astrachan, its young wood being a dark, rich, reddish brown, with many light gray specks, short-jointed, and its buds prominent, rounded. Soil, a sandy loam over a subsoil of hard-pan. The variety fruited for the first time in Fig. 45 ■Ogdensburgh Apple. 1867, producing about fifteen specimens, from examination of which our drawing and description have been made. DESCRIPTION. Fruit, medium size, globular, generally smooth and regular ; but some specimens are broadly corrugated. Skin, smooth, glossy, almost oily, like Belmont. Color, clear light yellow, with brownish red blush when fully exposed to sun — small gray dots in some of the sijecimens ; these dots seem to present an appearance in part as of decay. Stem, very slender; cavity narrow, smooth, moderately deep. Calyx, closed, with long-pointed divided seg- ments ; basin moderately deep, abrupt, slightly furrowed. Flesh, white, crisp, very tender, fine grained, mild, pleasant, rich, subacid — " best." Core, medium, slightly hollow in center. Seeds, broad, very dark brown. Season, late fall and early winter. This is an extremely deli- cate amateur apple, too tender for market shipping. Of great promise for private 110 The Horticulturist, LAKE SHORE GRAPE-GROWERS' SOCIETY. The annual winter meeting of this Society was held in Cleveland, 19th to 21st February, and, from the reports re- ceived, was well attended. The subject of growing grapes, inasmuch as it comes home profitably to the interest of the grower, must of course interest a large number, and especially in those sections where grape-growing is one of the most successful and profitable crops of the land. In the discussion on varieties, we notice the Catawba, for the Lake Shore, stood as one of if not the first. The Delaware had a good show when in rich soils and well cultivated ; and Norton's Virginia was spoken of as valuable for red wine. Mr. Lewis, of Sandusky, read some sta- tistics regarding the yield of last year in that vicinity, as follows : Lbs. table grapes shipped from Sandusky last year 1.822.000 Lbs. wine grapes shipped '. 260,000 Gals, wine pressed at Sandusky, Peninsula, Catawba Island, Kelley's Island, Bass Islands 400,000 Lbs. of grapes from which the above was got 4,fi00.000 Total grape crop of 1867, lbs 6,682.000 " money value $750,850 Yield per acre, average, 2 tons ; or a cash value per acre of $227. There were some other varieties of grapes included in the above, but the great bal- ance was stated to be Catawbas. The subject of keeping grapes was freely discussed, and from it we extract as fol- lows : " Mr. Saxton had kept his grapes in a cool room- — a dry cellar — as cold as could be without freezing. They were as plump now as in October. The grapes must be ripe first, he had learned, and then they could be kept easily. He thought fruit would keep better in a dark room than in a light one. His grapes would keep two months yet. " Several instances were related of keep- ing grapes in layers, with cotton batting or pajier between the layers. One man in Lake County, as related by Mr. Harrison, of Painesville, packed in saleratus boxes, with paper between the layers. Part lie put on high shelves in his cellar, and part near the cellar bottom. The former were badly shriveled, while the latter were plump. Both were well preserved, how- ever. " Mr. Wadsworth, of Madison, Lake County, said his grapes were raised on gravelly soil. Last year they ripened well ; were gathered and laid on a packing-table till the stems were withered, and then they were packed. They were kept in a cool cellar. " Dr. Dunham said that grapes, the must of which would weigh 90, would prob- ably stand a temperature of 27 degrees. Another gentleman said that he had tested the temperature in his grape-room and found it to be 16 degrees. Still another gentleman confirmed this statement in another instance. " Mr. Lowry said he used to try to keep grapes in cotton batting, setting them in a cool room. When one grape would rot, the juice would be communicated to others by batting. Cotton cloth remedied this, as it would not carry the juice from a rotten grape to sound ones. Catawbas keep better than Isabellas or Delawares. If grapes are shipped when the weather is pretty hot, with frequent showers, they are pretty sure to spoil. " Mr. Griffith said the whole thing was to keep the grapes dry and cool.- They should be Kept at least three days after picking, filling the boxes half full ; set them in an open room ; then, after setting three days, remove every grape that is loose, and the rest would keep without trouble. He always kept his grapes in an Lake Shore Grape- Growers' Society. Ill upper room. They must be ripe, and packed with care. " Mr. Caywood, of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., said it was not thought to pay to keep grapes. He had the experience of two men who had tried it for years, and had become convinced that the cost of build- ings, etc., for keeping, was more than enough to overbalance the profit. " Mr. Swan, of East Cleveland, referred to the keeping of grapes in fruit-houses, both in Cleveland and in New York. The temperature in these fruit-houses was stated to be 34 degrees the year round. " Dr. Dunham said that two years ago his grapes were bought to put in the fruit- house in this city. Mr. Nyce had them picked before he (Dr. D.) wanted them to be picked. They were not fully ripe. They did not keep." A report was made of the weight of musts, but as this has all been recorded and published in Mr. Elliott's article, in our December number, we do not copy it. The subject of wine-making was brought up by a few one-ideaists, and after some discussion we notice Prof. J. P. Kirtland, with cool, discerning judgment as to its ultimatum, moved the subject " be referred to the temperance societies, as it might be discussed in the Grape-Growers' Asso- ciation (where it was out of place) for a century, and never reach a conclusion. During its discussion, Prof. Rhodes, whom wTe know to have a knowledge of what he affirms, spoke as follows on this point : " He had last year been in Ireland, Scot- land, England, France, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Italy, Bavaria, the German States, Russia, etc. He had very distinct impressions of the drinking habits of the various people. In Ireland, you will see whisky ; so in Scotland and England. He saw much drunkenness in these coun- tries— more than in this country. The use of the whisky and strong ales in Great Britain jDroduced more drunkenness than in America. In France, he was struck with the abundance of wine and the little amount of intemperance. The wine is cheap— about ten cents for a quart. This is put with water, and with bread makes the food of the common people. In Bel- gium, beer and wine come in competition. In Holland, beer is used, also in Switzer- land. In Italy, again, there is wine ; then again, in Germany, you come to beer again. He saw no drunken men in beer-drinking countries. The beer in Germany has only 2 per cent, of alcohol in it. People on the Continent do not seem to drink as they do in England, merely for the animal enjoyment. It is a part of the social en- joyment of the people. They do not stand up to drink, but sit and read or converse while drinking. He thought the people frequently got drunk on wine. But they were brought up on it ; children four or five years of age drank wine and water mixed. In times of great festivity, like the gathering of grapes at Baden, there may probably be some excesses that would never be seen at other times. He thought temperance would be promoted best in America by reform in two respects. First. reform the manner of drinking — not gulp down a glass of whisky in a minute. Second, introduce pure wine and beer, such as is used in Europe. He did not think temperance would succeed on the total abstinence principle. It never had succeeded in any country. Where the use of wine is almost universal, he saw no drunkenness. He thought he was in places where he ought to have seen intoxi- cation if there had been any. He thought the freedom of social life in France affected the temperance habits of the people. They could get wild amusement and excitement almost free, and need not go to strong- drink to satisfy the natural cravings for some excitement. In England, wdiere peo- ple are kept most closely confined at wTork, there is most drunkenness ; after working twelve to fifteen hours, the men gravitate naturally to drink. " In Europe, he saw no such cases of 112 The Horticulturist. dyspepsia as we have here, and he thought the use of wine beneficial. In Paris, beer drinking is increasing very rapidly, but he saw no bad eft'ects. The police regulations of Paris against adulteration were very stringent. He regarded it the duty of a man abroad to see life in every phase, and he took occasion to go to all sorts of places, to see the people in their worst phase. His conclusions were made up from observations taken in all places." Climatology of Northern Ohio. — A very able paper was read by Geo. C. Hunt- ington, of Kelley's Island, on the Clima- tology of Northern Ohio ; and while in the main it was correct, we consider some of the points, from which records were kept for its making up, as unreliable as to the actuality. The object of the essay appears to give an impression that Kelley's Island is superior to any other section of country for grape-growing, and to sustain it re- cords are given, taken at Toledo, which is inland from the lake, and at Cleveland by one whose residence is in a low section, away from any immediate lake, influence. We like to see these essays — we like to see the mind of man at work ; but the time has gone by when any attempt to set Kelley's Island above all the earth for a fruit re- gion will prevail ; and any such attempt on paper simply shows a want of practical extended observation. Soils of the Lake Erie Shore. — Some discussion occurred on grape soils, but we gather nothing of value from the re- port except the following, by Prof. J. P. Kirtland : " Alluding first briefly to the Lake Shore climate, he proceeded to the subject of soils. No perfect analysis of soil from Kelley's Island and to Erie Co., N. Y., had ever been made. The shales of these localities, and the clays, came once from what is now the bed of Lake Erie, scooped out, Agassiz says, during the glacial period. On the soil thus formed the grapes are now grown. The analysis of Prof. Em- mons of the wood and bark of grapes was read, and the speaker said that according to Prof. Liebig's theory, no vegetable growth could be had on soil in which any element found in the vegetable was absent. Grapes, therefore, could not be grown on any soil which did not possess all the ele- ments found in the vine by Professor Em- mons. The soil about Cincinnati had enough lime and potash to sustain grape- vines for a few years ; but after some years' cultivation the vines began to show signs of starvation'. Then mildew or some other disease attacked the half-starved vines. On new land, the healthy vines might have resisted the attack. There are places — some of them in this vicinity — where the grapevines will last after we are dead and gone. There are others where a few years will see the vines grow- ing sickly and unprofitably, and dying. The soil about Cleveland contained plenty of lime — he had found a bed of plaster of Paris on his own farm. Every 100 lbs. of the shale of the Lake Shore contains from 7 to 15 lbs. of potash in the mica, which forms about half of the shale. Chloride of soda was found in the old deer licks all along the Lake Shore. Sulphur plays an important part in the nourishment of the grape, and it is found here in great quan- tities— so much that it is now contem- plated in this city to get sulphur from the shale of the Lake Shore, instead of import- ing it, for making sulphuric acid. In an- swer to an inquiry, Prof. Kirtland said, to manure sandy grape land, put on a dress- ing of about two inches of broken shale. At Kelley's Island and Sandusky, when the three or four feet of shales are ex- hausted, they must supply the loss some- how. But from the mouth of Huron Kiver, Erie Coimty, O., east to below North East, Pa., there is an e-xhaustless bed of shale. Grape-growing in this region must be permanent. At Kelley's Island there is no certainty of permanent grape raising. From Cleveland to Avon Point he knew every inch of ground, and take that strip a mile wide from the lake, you will find it A National Gift. 113 the richest in the organic elements for some places, but it would be too far from grape culture to be found this side of New the lake to get the influence of the water. Mexico and California. The strip may be There is but one soil — the clay soil — for four or five miles wide from the lake in grapes. A NATIONAL GIFT. Several of our associates in the ad- vancement of horticulture have spoken of the magnificent gift bestowed by the Hon. Marshall P. Wilder upon the floriculture of this country by a deposit of more than one thousand choice and rare plants in the care of the Massachusetts Agricultural College Institute at Amherst, Mass. It is not the present value of these plants — that could be measured by dollars and cents — which gives import to this gift of one of the noblest and best horticulturists which the world has ever known, so much as the item that by it we have a precedent— which we hope will soon be followed — whereby men of taste and wealth shall give of their rare and long life-cher- ished products freely to the demands of every lover of Flora — shall place, without regard to recompense, and with expectation only of perjDetuation, for the public good the results of their care, knowledge, and life-long practice. It is these points, not the mere cost, which to the horticulturist renders this gift especially valuable and calls for his blessings upon the giver. It is well known Colonel Wilder has for many years, while devoting a large share of his time to the testing of fruits for the benefit of the public, found time, because of his love thereof, for the care and propa- gation of Flora's offerings. In this pursuit, sparing no expense or labor, he provided himself at once with the germs which his study dictated for the production of new and valued flowers. As long ago as 1839 he pur- chased of Floy his original seedling camellia named Florii, and it is now in his green- house, over fifteen feet high and seven feet across. From this, by crossing, he produced the celebrated Abbey Wilder, 8 — APRIL. the original plant of which he yet retains ; but the propagated stock was years ago sought for and purchased by European growers, at a high price, because of its great superiority over anything they had, with their hundreds of years' practice, ac- complished. Continuing his love of the subject, and his practice, he has from time to time produced rare and superior varie- ties, until at this present time his list of seedlings, dedicated with respect, love, and remembrance to the members of his family, will outvie any collection of camel- lias known to commercial gardens. There has been now one of each of them, together with hundreds of other rare and beautiful plants, deposited with the trustees of the Massachusetts Agricultural College, to whom we may look for their propagation, dissemination, and perpetuation. The list of seedling camellias produced by Mr. Wilder numbers eleven distinct and superior varieties, and while all are beauti- ful, two have been sought for, purchased at a high price, and the stock, with excep- tion of the parent, carried abroad. There is one among those now sent to the Massachu- setts College which demands a special notice, and the obtainment, if possible, by all of Flora's votaries. It is named after the woman who has cared for him in his sick hours, when all the horticultural world were daily anxious for a favorable record, when a want of care and attention of but an hour from her would have lost us the man wTe all esteem — his estimable wife, Julia. The flower is in form regular, sym- metrical, imbricated, a rosy flesh color, say two shades darker than Lady Hume, each petal tipped with a lighter shade and striped with lake. 114 The Horticulturist. THE CLAIMS OF HORTICULTURAL SOCIETIES. Recently, the propriety of taking some steps toward the organization of a horti- cultural society in the Empire City Avas suggested in your pages. It appears that the want of some such society was felt by a writer in the American Agriculturist, and the Editor of the Horticulturist ex- pressed his willingness to co-operate in the movement. It was far from the purpose of your cor- respondent to say a word to dissuade from any judicious movement for the promotion of horticulture, or for the mutual enjoy- ment of its friends in New York, and I hoped that other correspondents might take up the topic and discuss the possi- bilities of forming an association suitable to the time and the people ; but the matter has been permitted to rest there. To prevent any misconception, I desire to amplify my remarks on the probable causes of the failure of the old New York Horticultural Society, and the want of en- couragement which attends all such socie- ties at the present time. We have ample proof that the spirit of the horticultural public has found its way into other and more pleasing channels, for with the most earnest and persevering efforts, at best, the results come far short of the reasonable hopes of the promoters. The New York Horticultural Society had a very respectable record ; among its incorporators were many worthy and emi- nent men. During the brief period of our particijjation in its operations it was merely struggling for existence. In 1852 it held" a very fair exhibition, and there we wit- nessed the fruitful cause of the discontent which creeps in among professional gar- deners, and which — too common in all horticultural exhibitions — eventually works their ruin. In 1853 it held a fair exhibition, but not such as to encourage the Society. Yet it managed the same year to inaugurate the holding day of con- versational meetings at which essays were read and discussed. Finally, an exhibition was arranged at Barnum's Museum, which it ajjpeared did not surpass in profit any of its predecessors. From that time we ceased to take any active part in its affairs, but we know it continued in operation to a much later date. The good people of Brooklyn about that time became strongly interested in horticultural displays, and drew over the exhausted though persever- ing friends of the New York Society. And though the Brooklyn Society was for a time full of high hope and animation, and carried its measures steadily forward for the encouragement of taste and skill, yet it, too, waned, and we look in vain for any symptom of life in its once energetic frame. We could not have been induced in 1854 to believe that in a few brief years all the brilliant schemes devised to bring together the best and most skillful amateurs, as well as gardeners, and their meritorious pro- ducts, for the view and admiration of the people of two great cities, would prove fruitless, and the exertions of high-spirited and liberal men be rewarded by oblivion to the claims of a society for the advance- ment of rural art and taste. The truth forces itself upon us, that horticultural societies on the old model are wholly unsuited to the wants of the present time, and not in accordance with the American idea, at best. We are indejoendent now of all such ex- traneous efforts; horticulture has taken a vital hold of the community. We see its footsteps alcng our rural thoroughfares. In the busy market-places of our cities Flora has established her claim to a position. The comfortable mechanic who has means prefers a few rods of ground at a distance from the busy city if he can reach The Amelia Peach. 115 it, and with the aid of one of the thousand cheap instructors he commences to work a little garden. The merchant, in the flowery season, can not be coaxed into the hot city to wit- ness an exhibition ; he prefers seeing the garden in its place, and chooses a quiet stroll through lines of glass structures, filled with choice exotics, at the country seat of a friend, to the display of long tables of tricked-out specimens in array, staked and labeled. But I may be (mistaken. There are still duties and functions left for horticultural societies to perform. True ; but these have no claim on the beau monde; they appeal alone to the thoughtful and interested student of the fair vegetable kingdom, and such are the horticulturist clubs referred to in your January number. A Member. THE AMELIA PEACH. In the Horticulturist for December, 1867, Mr. F. R. Elliott describes a peach- exhibited by Mr. George Husmann, of Her- mann, Mo., to the Committee on Seedling Fruits, appointed by the American Porno- logical Society, at their late meeting in St. Louis — which is called the Amelia peach, the original tree of which is now growing in Mr. Husmann's grounds. Mr. Elliott regards this peach as of such value that he took a drawing of the fruit, and gives a full description of it. As his report will be published in the transactions of the American Pomological Society, I wish to call his attention to the fact that the name Amelia has already been appropriated for a peach of very su- perior quality ; and it would therefore be better to change the name of Mr. Hus- mann's seedling, in order to avoid the con- fusion that will exist when the fertile re- gions south of " Mason and Dixon's line" are satisfactorily reconstructed, and pomol- ogists from that section are induced to co- operate with the American Pomological Society in their future meetings. The original Amelia peach is described by Messrs. Peters, Harden & Co., of Down- ing-Hill Nursery, Atlanta, Ga. ; by Mr. Jarvis Van Buren, of Gloaming Nursery, Clarksville, Ga. ; and by Mr. P. J. Berck- mans, of Fruitland Nursery, Augusta, Ga., in their several catalogues issued in 1858 to 1861. Mr. Berckmans describes it as, "A Southern seedling of the highest excel- lence; large, very juicy, and high flavor- ed." Messrs. Peters, Harden & Co. say it is, " Size, large ; yelloAV, with dull red cheek; freestone; flesh, yellow, juicy, and high flavored. The season for this peach is placed in July, after the Tillotson and Early York have passed, and just as Craw- ford's Early begins to rij^en. Mr. Downer, of Forest Nursery, near Fairview, Todd County, Ky., in his cata- logue for 1867, also describes the Amelia peach as, "Very large; skin, dull greenish white, red cheek; flesh, white, melting, juicy, rich, and excellent ; the best of its season ; free." Mr. Downer, in a list of se- lect peaches arranged in the order of their ripening, places the Amelia as next suc- ceeding Hale's Early, Early Tillotson, and Early Newington. It is therefore evident that he has the true Southern variety, not- withstanding the discrepancy between his description as a white-fleshed and the de- scription of it as yellow-fleshed in the Geor- gia catalogues. No one person has tested more fully and more thoroughly Southern fruits in Ken- tucky than Mr. Downer, and for correct- ness and accuracy no one is more reliable. Years ago he found out that in this lati- tude many of the Northern fruits ripened prematurely, and that it was necessary, in 116 The Horticulturist. order to have a perfect succession during the year, to select from the seedlings of the South such as were best adapted to the soil and climate of Kentucky. In this way he obtained the Amelia peach, and has exten- sively propagated and disseminated it as a Southern seedling. If this season permits the fruit to mature, Mr. Berckmans and Mr. Downer both should send specimens of the Amelia peach to Mr. Elliott, and as- sert the priority of the claim of the South- ern seedling to the name, and at the same time establish the fact as to whether it is a yellow or a white fleshed variety. Mean- while I trust, sufficient evidence has been produced to show that Mr. Husmann had better select some other name for his seed- ling before it is disseminated, and while the change can be made without much trouble or difficulty. T. S. K. THE SALEM GRAPE— WHAT IS IT? The information which has been given of this grape, through the pvess, seems to be of a very conflicting nature, and I think it would be well for the parties who are now engaged in its dissemination to ex- plain if they can. It is announced as Rogers' No. 53 ; and yet Mr. Rogers admits that it was origin- ally given out to some friends as No. 22. While he does this, however, he claims that 16, 17, 22, 45, etc., have thus far been withheld from sale, and will be offered at a future time. This has puzzled me. Mr. Rogers' original description of the color of No. 22 was " amber." No. 53 he describes as " light chestnut or Catawba color." In Hovey's Magazine for October last, Salem is said to be regarded by some cultivators as " so much like No. 4 that it is difficult to distinguish them." I. M. Ives, of Salem, Mass., who says he is well acquainted with this variety, de- scribes it as " same color as No. 15," which is well known to be red or copper color. In the American Horticultural Annual, recent- ly issued, it is described as No. 22 of Rogers' Hybrids, "blue, with a brownish tint." Here we have what purports to be the same grape, not only described under two different numbers, but as being variously blue, black, amber, chestnut, and red; one says it is like No. 4, which is black ; an- other says it is the color of No. 15, which is copper color. I am aware that it is not uncommon, nor strange, that different persons disagree somewhat in describing the color of a grape, or any other fruit ; this is accounted for sometimes from the condition of the fruit as to maturity, or other circumstances affecting the color, and often from the pe- culiar language or similes employed in the description ; but the discrepancies alluded to, regarding the Salem, are too great to be reconciled on these grounds, and ought to be cleared up, as I hope it can and will be. Grape-Grower. A Curious Fact.— W. C. Flagg, Esq., one of the best horticulturists of the West- ern States, writes that, " It is a curious fact that out of forty-one varieties of ap- ples approved in ten or more districts by the American Pomological Society in 1864, eleven were recommended by Coxe half a century ago. These are : Early Harvest, Large Yellow Bough, Summer Queen, American Summer Pearmain, Summer Rose, Maiden's Blush, Rambo, Fall Pip- pin, Yellow Bellflower, Esopus, Spitzen- burg, and Newtown Pippin." Pencil Marks. 117 PENCIL MARKS. Mr. Editor : Under the above heading I propose to send you a few occasional thoughts, from time to time, which, though coming to you in ink, I assure you are first thrown oft* in pencil. How Much Fruit is Enough? — "I think my family canned enough fruit last season to enable me to have it on my table every day in the year." Such was the remark made to me a few days ago by my neighbor L . It certain- ly was what but very few, even of our most enthusiastic fruit-growers, are able to say. And the facts led to some reflections which will bear stating here. Neighbor L , we will admit, has as much fruit as he and his family will be likely to consume the year round. I sup- posed that my own family was pretty lib- erally supplied also ; but his far exceeds mine ; and I am quite certain that mine as far exceeds that of one half — yea, of nine- teen twentieths — of my neighbors. I might put it in a still stronger light, and say, that while one family in a community have as much fruit as it will need or can consume, with a moderate daily use. there are not less than one hundred families who do not consume over one quart weekly. What utter nonsense, then, for men to be croaking about the superabundance of fruit, the prospect of over-stocking the market, and all such forebodings of evil to fruit-growers. And yet every community has one or more of this class of old fogies. I remember just such in my boyhood; and yet people have continued to plant, till the quantity is ten-fold greater everywhere, and the price has continued to advance. And even now, a large portion of the peo- ple have yet to learn that the small fruits — to say nothing of apples — can be made a part of their legitimate daily food. How long before all the people will be as well educated up to the use of fruit as is my neighbor L ? And how much will be enough to supply the country when that time shall arrive ? Wine — A Mode of Making it. — I do not profess to be posted in the methods of wine manufacture — not even with any method. But I have lately become ac- quainted with a mode adopted by one of my neighbors, which I propose to report to your readers, and leave them to decide upon its value, and the correctness of the reasoning which induced him to adopt it. The method and reasoning are these, as far as I can state them : The ripe grapes are first mashed in a tub or vat, where they are allowed to remain till active fermentation ensues. They are then drained — not pressed — for a given pe- riod. The liquid thus obtained is carried to the cask intended for it, and allowed to continue its fermentation through a sy- phon. This first drawing he calls his first- class, or No. 1 wine. He next adds to the grapes, still in the tub, water and sugar, in quantity, as he says, sufficient to give the mass as much sugar as it had in the beginning. This he also drains off, after fermentation, and places in another cask, to be treated as the first. This makes his No. 2, or second quality of wine. The grape mass is still to undergo a similar process for the third, and in some cases the fourth time ; draining, not press- ing, each time. This make his third-class of wine and vinegar. Now for the theory, if I can succeed in stating it. Nature, in the process of ripen- ing the grape, has only prepared a portion of the juice for wine ; while that retained in the pulpy or cellular portion has yet to be disengaged or set free by fermentation. His theory is, that this fermentation disen- gages it ; and draining is preferable as a means of separating it rather than press- 118 The Horticulturist. ure, which also brings out the pieces of the skin and harder substances. Now, Mr. Editor, will you, or some of your wine-making correspondents, tell us what you think of my neighbor's mode of wine manufacture, and what will be the character of the wine manipulated in that way ? I will add that I have seen a half-dozen specimens of his vintage of 1867 made as described ; but as I am not a connoisseur, I can express no opinion of their quality. Nomenclature. — Mr. Editor: Are we to forever have such an utterly Babylonish confusion in our horticultural nomencla- ture ? Is there ever to be — can there be — any plan invented by which the naming of our fruits can be reduced to a system ? Is there any scientific principle that can be applied, and which can be made effective in restoring such a chaos into something like order ? I confess to an utter inability to see it ; and yet to my mind a great ne- cessity exists for the inauguration of some method. The subject has doubtless often engaged the attention of the fathers of Po- mology long ago, but I take the liberty of urging them once more to give the subject a thought. Take the apple list, for example, and you are treated to names descriptive and non-descriptive ; outlandish and heathen- ish; good, bad, and indifferent ; pronounce- able and unpronounceable ; you find many good and very appropriate names ; but you also find " Black Coal" and " Sheep Nose," " Gate" and " Fill-basket," " Sine Qua Non," " Seek-no-Further" and " Stump the "World." Inappropriateness of names is not the worst, perhaps. You find an ap- ple known by one name in one section, and by another in another section; in others, by a third, a fourth, and so on, to a bakers' dozen ; so that you may make a dozen pur- chases from the nurseries, and only have one apple at last. I see no remedy for this evil, unless it be in the Societies taking the matter in hand, and by a standing committee, or in some other mode, assuming absolute control over all our nomenclature. " But," says one, in utter dismay, " have I not a right to the naming of my own bantlings ? If, by my own good fortune, I succeed in producing a fine variety of apple, or peach, or grape, have I not as good a right to give it a name as I have to name my own son ?" Let us look a little into this. If you are so foolish, or softly, so indiscreet as to name your boy Beelzebub, there ought to be some supervisory authority through which it may be changed. And there is ; the Legislature of your State has the right to change the name of your son without asking your consent. And so, I hold, there ought to be some high authority by which the names you give your fruits may be su- pervised and changed. But, conceding the absolute right to rest in the Societies or in a committee, there is still the lack of uniformity and system. QUEVEDO. Drawings and Colored Plates op Fruits. —In a former number of our journal we took occasion to draw the attention of our horticulturists to the value of Joseph Prestele, Sen., of Amana Homestead, Iowa, as a capable delineator, and one on whom patronage would be most worthily lie- stowed. We are not disposed to advertise free for any one able to pay, but we favor and appreciate talent, and when capacities of a high order have been overlooked and suffered to be comparatively lost, believe in bringing them before the public for the public good. We have never met Mr. Prestele; but when such men as the late A. J. Downing and Prof. Asa Gray employ his talents and taste over any European delineaists, we feel that we are right in di- recting the attention of those who desire careful and accurate work. Editor's Table. 119 EDITOR'S TABLE. To Contributors and Others. — Address all Communications, for the Editorial and Publishing Departments, to F. W. Woodward, 37 Park Row, New York. The Agricultural Department at Washington. — The guiding power of this Department has, by reason of the death of Isaac Newton, been changed; but whether it will be for the better, so far as horticul- ture is concerned, remains to be seen. The Commissioner has, however, done one good thing in extinguishing the seed de- partment according to the old programme. We know not what course will be pursued, and have kept back our remarks a certain time, hoping to see some shadowing forth of a programme of operations ; but noth- ing of the kind has come to our knowl- edge, and we are therefore left in igno- rance of what is designed to be performed by the Department or expected in aid thereof from the people. It is barely pos- sible the present Commissioner, like his predecessor, imagines he can run the ma- chine without aid or favor of the people at large, and regardless of the bearings or tone of Agricultural or Horticultural jour- nals and societies; but our knowledge of the man is such that we can not believe it of him, unless swayed by the harpies which ever congregate around public officers. What he shall or ought to do in Agri- culture we leave for our Agricultural jour- nals to say; and, by-the-by, we imagine they are like ourselves waiting to see if anything is to be done. But in Horticul- ture and Pomology we desire to offer one word of suggestion as to a course which the Department might adopt, and aid very largely the public good. It is in checking the introduction of any new variety of fruit or flower unless of a superior character. The rules of the American Pomolojrical Society make it obligatory that a fruit shall have some superior characteristic over a known kind in order to receive no- tice or be entitled to record ; but, unfor- tunately, it has no means to pay for knowl- edge which shall decide the point, and hence its rule falls to the ground. The de- partment of Agriculture, by establishing and entertaining a Bureau of Horticulture or Pomology, might employ one capable man with, in case of a new fruit or flower, power to call in aid two other men to ex- amine any and every new fruit or flower or vegetable in its native locality, compare it with others known to the committee, but perhaps unknown to the originator, and report thereon. The same with all new grains, vegetables, etc., and thus check the present increase of fruits, grains, vege- tables, etc., which are thrown upon the good-nature of the public at high prices without corresponding qualities, by the in- terests of designing speculator: or from innocence by want of knowledge of other and superior named sorts. Again : we all acknowledge the laborer worthy of his hire, and the producer of a new seedling fruit, grain, or vegetable as worthy a full recompense ; but too often some speculator reaps the gains, while the originator, by reason of want of means to pay for advertising, or perhaps a modest hesitancy to publish himself, has nothing but a self-consciousness of having origina- ted a good thing, to plethorize the pockets of some charlatan operator. We would that the Agricultural Department should buy any and every really valuable new grain or fruit, etc., if possible — propagate it one or 120 The Horticulturist. two years, and then disseminate It, either free or at a nominal price within the reach of every poor man. The committee of ob- servation named above should decide as to the value of these new sorts, and, failing to convince the originator, should offer a comparison open to examination of the public. In view of discarding a variety, they should fully and plainly state reasons therefor, and the same in advocating a new sort, giving the names of varieties with which they have compared and classed it. Thus we have named one item covering considerable ground that in our view the Agricultural Department might do to the advantage of the public good, and here- after we may speak of other points that would aid in making that Department a head instead of as heretofore a tail to Ag- riculture and Horticulture, a credit instead of a disgrace to the United States of America. Rogers' No. 4 Grape. — This 22d day of February, 1868, we have eaten of the Rogers' No. 4 grape in as perfect condi- tion as when gathered from the vine in October last. The fruit was kept in an or- dinary fruit cellar, in an open box, and the berries were a little shriveled, but yet clung firmly to the bunch, and were sweet, sound, and good. Southern Illinois for Peaches. — The amount of peaches grown and shipped from southern Illinois to points north, east, and west can with difficulty be estimated. From the address of the President of the Centralia (111.) Fruit-Growers' Association we gather that Marion County alone ship- ped last year over three hundred thousand boxes of peaches. Other points, it is esti- mated, more than doubled this amount. Boiling Grain for Fowls. — Experi- ments have proved that there is considera- ble economy in boiling corn and barley when feeding them to fowls, but that there is no saving; in soaking oats or buckwheat. Iowa as a Fruit - Growing State. — From a report made by W. W. Beebee, secretary of the State Horticultural Society of Iowa, to the Legislature, with a view to obtain aid and assistance in favor of- fruit- growing, we extract the following : " The great questions, whether our noble Iowa will ever become a fruit-growing State ; and whether and when its broad and beautiful prairie slopes will be lined and their summits crowned with artificial groves of timber ; and whether our home grounds shall be tastefully ornamented and thereby made choice and attractive, are prominent among the momentous questions that our Society was organized to solve. * * * And among the essays and statements that have come to hand, as prompt responses to the Secretary's recent call, none have tended so greatly to deepen our convictions of the vital importance which the above questions assume, as those that bear upon the bad reputation for fruit and timber growing which our State sus- tains among the would-be emigrants from the Eastern portions of our Union. In these essays, the causes for our hitherto fruitless failures will be found most cor- rectly portrayed ; while the true road to success is pointed out with so great distinct- ness that " he who runneth can read it." No necessity now exists for more experi- menting losses, or any further waste of pre- cious time. Orchards and grounds for all the hardier fruits can now be jdI anted with an encouraging certainty of good returns. " In the most northwestern county of our State, and still farther to the north- ward in Wisconsin, we have recently seen orchards composed of the hardy sorts of home-grown trees, that were fully equal in healthful appearance and productiveness to those growing in those Eastern States always highly rejjuted for their fruit-]jro- ducing capacities. Indeed, the farther north that success is attained, the richer, longer keeping, and more choice are the fruits, and the attending triumphs are pro- portionately complete and cheering." Editor's Table. 121 Our Fruit Books. — The remarks of A. Thorn, in our last number, set us to think- ing about our fruit books, and to studying up a little as to the sources from which their authors derived information. In ap- ples, peaches, plums, cherries, and the small fruits, Ave imagine they have most of the matter, as it were, in their own hands; that is, most of the varieties are grown in this country, and a large number of them originated here. The conqnler, therefore, if well posted as to men and their advantages for knowledge and com- parison, as well as to the fruits, can readily decide as to the probable, if not actual, dis- tinctness of the variety as well as its value. In pears, however, the matter is entirely different. Most of our varieties — and among them many superior ones — come to us from abroad. They are sent here to a dozen or more amateurs and nurserymen by different amateurs and nurserymen abi-oad; and the experience here is quite contradictory, some having a pyriform- shaped pear, others a roundish obovate one, but both received under the same name. Even our foreign friends conflict in their delineations of varieties ; and thus, without designing to mislead, we are often, while taking one man's views and descrip- tions, led wide of the truth. When we understand that few if any foreign authors have any but office acquaintance with the fruits ; that personally they never graft or bud a tree, or cut a graft to be sent away, but make their descriptions, propagate and send out their varieties as received by them from the foreman of their establishment, we can readily see Iioav difficult and how uncertain of being correct is any pomolog- ical work on pears. And this arises from the fact, that abroad there is no head ; it is every author for himself; and here we have no garden wdiere a tree of each varie- ty is grown and tribed. Practically, it may be said, the whole list of varieties is of little use ; there are but a few valuable sorts ; but we must remember that without this gathering and experimenting with nu- merous sorts, by men whose time has been given to the subject without thought of pecuniary gain, we should never have had our list of choice varieties. The Beurre dAnjou — long in the records of Loudon as Ne Plus Meuris, without a Wilder — would never have been known and everywhere esteemed as now by our people. Let us therefore take our fruit books and our fruit men for the good they give us, and com- mend them ; therefore, at the same time, let us one and all see what may be done towrard the establishment of one grand gar- den in this country, wherein every sort should be grown a tree by itself, careful- ly classed, recorded, and examined from month to month ; and one or more propa- gated from it each year, so that in case of injury its place could be supplied, and hence the variety never lost. Such a gar- den would soon reduce our fruit books of their inconsistencies; and also, by reason of a condemned list of sorts — which could be made from records gathered of the suc- cess of varieties in various sections, and from the comparisons in the garden — short- ly bring them to a limit of pages afforded at a jorice within the reach of all, and at a profit to the publisher. Kramer Seedling Strawberry. — Among the many new strawberries intro- duced the past season, the one above named received considerable favor in the place of its origin. What it wTill prove elsewhere we have yet to learn ; but as the originator has, through W. W. Beebee, secretary Iowa State Horticultural Society, sent us its history, we give it our readers. " It was grown from seed of Wilson's Al- bany, and selected out of seventy-two seed- lings, because of its hardihood of plant, productiveness of quantity, large size, and good quality of fruit. The fruit is large, very firm, deep rich crimson, flesh red to center, very sweet and rich flavor. It has the reputation . of holding its fruit after ripe without loss of character for many days." 122 The Horticulturist. Mr. Editor : I am pleased to see adver- tised " the Cedar Hill Tomato." Some nine or ten years ago Mr. John Sill, of Cedar Hill, N. Y., sent me a dozen plants in pots, which I cultivated, and found to be not only early, but superior in every other re- spect to any I had yet seen. So much was I pleased with them, that I offered them to my friends on all occasions ; but they had "no name," and on several occasions my efforts to give the seed away were answered with, "I prefer to get the new varieties." Of course I have cultivated the new ones too, being anxious to get some one that would "ripen three weeks earlier." You shall see how near I have come to it. Late in Feb- ruary last I planted my seed in the house ; in proper time potted them in thumb-pots ; later, transferred them to larger pots ; again, about the 1st of April, transplanted into the ground in my cold grapery ; and again, on the 18th of May, set in the open ground, Keyes' Early, Tilden, and Cedar Hill, all in the same bed, where they had equal care. On the 16th of July we picked our first fruit, each kind having some ripe. The Cedar Hill far excels the others in quality, is more solid at the center, smooth surface, and very productive, ripens uniformly, and when ripe (I never pick them for family use until they are all red) are quite deli- cious. I am indebted to Mr. Sill for another luxury, which I may as well acknowledge in this way with your leave. "With the tomato plants came a paper of melon seeds, which he said originated on his place, com- ing up among his Nutmeg melons. These I planted ; the product was a small whitish melon, with light green flesh of exquisite flavor. Saving all the seed, I wrote to the editor of the Rural New Yorker, proposing to give him the seed to distribute among his subscribers ; he published my letter and address. Soon there came over three hun- dred letters from all parts of the country, requesting seeds. In return I received many valuable seeds, though the most were melon seeds, which I did not want; but among them all, none were equal to the " John Sill melon." I send you the seeds saved last year, for your subscribers (pray ask them not to write to me for them), and also some very fine Nutmeg melon seed. At the meeting of the National Pomo- logical Society in Rochester, 1864, a gentle- man presented a melon, the product of seed sent from Japan by Mr. Hogg, which was almost identical with " the John Sill." W. A. WOODAVARD. A Little Funny. — Under this head we wrote a short paragrajDh in our February number, to which exception has been taken by the essayist there referred to. He con- siders that our quotation was unfair be- cause of the words. We wrote, " according to Dr. "Warder," and he says we should have added, " and others," which we now do. As no other names have yet been used, we continue by saying the essayist consid- ers our remarks as making him the cause, although innocent, of a slur upon Dr. War- der. Now, we beg most respectfully to say, that we had no desire or thought of casting a slur upon Dr. Warder ; and al- though having no personal acquaintance, yet we with the essayist " consider him a gentleman of ability, attainments, and ge- nial friendship," and we count the essayist as one of our most valuable and capable horticulturists ; but when we read the es- say, the few head-lines seemed so much like giving credit to one man by name over others of equal capacity, who had intro- duced the principles before that man was created, that on the spur of thought we wrote our paragraph. A Variety op Breeds. — A writer in the Cultivator states that it is a good policy to have several kinds of poultry. The Co- chin, Brahma, and Shanghai make good incubators, while for layers the Polands, Golden and Silver Hamburghs, Leghorns, and Andalusian varieties may be relied upon. Editor's Table, 123 Pomological Formula. — The Pennsyl- vania Fruit-Growers' Society have recently issued, through their Committee on Nomen- clature, a " Pomological formula of descrip- tion," for the classification, description, and identifying of varieties of fruits. It makes five divisions: 1st, the origin and history ; 2d, form and habit of tree or plant ; 3d, external characteristics of fruit; 4th, internal characteristics of fruit; 5th, mis- cellaneous characteristics of fruit. These are again subdivided into classes and sec- tions, the whole covering really nothing new to pomologists, but falling short of what is required to obtain correctness from an inexperienced clescriber in not delineat- ing forms and colors, and the applications of terms — two items which we have found pomologists to differ upon perhaps more than aught else in description. Accompanying the formula is a card from the chairman, announcing the inten- tion of the committee to prepare " a relia- ble history of all seedling fruits of merit that have originated in our (Pa.) State." Among pomologists it has long been conceded that the form and habit of tree, color of young wood and foliage, are more demonstrative and conclusive of identity or variety than the fruit; but the subject has become so immense, the number of varieties so great, that a work prepared, giving these points in detail, so as to be available for daily use, would be so mass- ive as to entirely ruin any publisher who should attempt its publication. No system of classifaction which has ever yet been attempted has resulted in any gain to prac- tical use. It is well to have — and there should always be — order and system in describing, and, if possible, a rule for forms, colors, consistency, size, etc., but the more plainly and simply it is written out, the greater, to our view, is the scientific and practical value. A system of classifi- cation into orders, sections, etc., which does not enable its author by it to identify any variety on examination, can have little value except to mystify and confuse. We shall look anxiously for the first report of the above committee, and suggest that one of their first labors be to tell us all about the Vandervere Apple. The Grape in Southern Illinois. — From a report to the Warsaw Horticultu- ral Society we gather a few items of rec- ord : first, that Concord, Clinton, Dela- ware, Hartford, and Norton's Virginia all did finely; that the Catawba, "the best grape for all purposes," rotted ; that this rotting was greatest upon close planting, and less on those of greater distance ; that two thirds of the rotten fruit was within two feet of the ground, one third within four feet, while that of five to six feet ele- vation was entirely free. Fruit-Growing in Iowa. — From a let- ter to one of our correspondents from Jno. Edgerton, of Coal Creek, Iowa, a man deeply interested in fruit-growing, we learn that the interest in tree planting is quite enthusiastic. He says : " One of my neighbors has bought trees and will plant 10,000 in spring ; he has 170 acres, and as soon as possible will plant it all in or- chards. Many others will plant 1,000 trees each, and as apples readily sell for one dol- lar to one fifty per bushel, their ideas are correspondingly elevated." Of cherries he says : " Many regard the English Morello as superior to Early May or Richmond ; both are grown on Morello and Mahaleb — the latter being preferred because it does not sprout." The Mahaleb should be planted deep, so as to have all of the stock beneath the surface. A Thornless Blackberry. — U. E. Dodge writes us that he has a blackberry as " free from thorns as a cornstalk ; the fruit large, oblong oval, large seed cells, like New Rochelle, and much sweeter; canes, hardy, very dark color, strong, erect grower, and prolific." This is a good " setting out," and we shall wait impa- tiently for a sight and taste of this new berry. 1U The Horticulturist. Neighborhood Improvement. — This month is the great month of the year for transplanting tree, shrub, and plants to- ward beautifying and improving our homes and their surroundings. By plant- ing fruit-trees we add to the prospective pecuniary value of our homes and farms, and also to the material wants of our families ; but by planting shade trees and flowering shrubs we add a feature of beauty to gladden the eye and make the heart re- joice constantly. But it is not our own homes that we should try to improve; we should remember that the planting of a few trees here and there on some barren place by the roadside, a group to cover some unsightly building, or a line of trees whose shade in summer would cause the traveler an hour's comfort, are duties that we should regard as pleasures ; and if we have in our grounds a few trees that we can well spare, or some shrubs which we wish to reduce in size by dividing, let us take them either to our neighbors who have not, or plant them ourselves on the roadside. If we have a neighbor who looks upon shrubs and flowers as " too much bother," and "an expense he cannot afford," but yet " is willing the women should have a few roses, etc., if they want," let us send him a few flowering shrubs, or in the proper time take his wife a few verbenas or scarlet geraniums, and help plant them. It will be but a year or two before this man will be one of the most zealous among us, and the improvement of his place, the higher tone which the flow- ers around his home give to his children, will return us the little mite, cast upon the wave of kindness, more than forty-fold. Few of the readers of the Horticul- turist but could readily do something, and many we know would improve their own places by dividing their shrubs and perennials or reducing the number of shade trees which, in their zeal at first planting, have grown so large as to crowd and destroy the extent and character of their grounds. No true horticulturist should ever permit himself to ride or walk daily past an unsightly place or building without an attempt to change it by offering to plant a few trees. There is one other motive, also, in this giving or aiding a neighbor- hood. A tree or shrub is a thing of life ; as a gift, it is received with feelings of respect ; its daily sight is a bond of good- ness ; its blooms and opening leaves yearly, if not monthly, remind the possessor of the giver. Do not, therefore, hesitate to give. Grafting the Peach. — This is a prac- tice of general and successful adoption at the South. Stocks that were too small to bud at the proper time last fall are grafted in the spring. We have practiced it many times, and successfully, here at the North. We cut our grafts early in sjiuing, before the buds start, just as we would for other grafting ; and as soon as the frost is well out of the ground, and the peach buds swell rapidly, we draw away the soil from the crown of the young stock or plant, cut it off just at the junction of root and stalk, and apply our graft of two buds in the common way of splice or tongue grafting, wrapping with bass matting or woolen yarn, and then drawing the soil up around the graft, so that only the point of the upper bud is above ground. We have rarely failed of success by this practice. New Grapes. — Among the newer grapes for public favor, we notice two from New Jersey — the Conqueror and Challenge, in- troduced by W. F. Basset. They are described as hardy, produced from a cross between Concord and Royal Muscadine ; both" black in color; ripening with and before the Concord, and superior to it. Another new one is named Duquett, or Duquett's Seedling, from Orleans County, N. Y. It is described as white, transpa- rent, with only one seed in each grape, nearly as large as Isabella, with flavor of White Chasselas; vine, perfectly hardy, and ripens 1st of September in its native county. Editor's Table. 125 From the South. — Our correspondence from horticulturists of the Southern States is of a cheering nature, for although they have suffered by the late war, yet we find the love of fruits and their culture brings man to man, and admits of no difference to intercept genial good feeling. We have many choice horticultural spirits at the South, and among them perhaps none of more repute than M. W. Phillips, of Chat- awa, Miss., and P. J. Berckmans, of Augusta, Ga. The former is a man of years ; we don't like to tell his age, fearing he may be sensitive, but we will say he has devoted thirty or more years, with means at command, to the advancement of fruit-growing at the South ; and although now somewhat advanced and impaired, as to pecuniary means, he is devoting his energies and advice to the extension of fruit-growing at the South as one of the profitable and blessed occupations of man. Although in years, and unaccustomed to work, he is giving a daily example of the dignity of physical labor when connected with the brain. He looks forward with hope and expectancy to see the day when the South will export corn and other ma- terial products of life's support to the North. He began his labors in pomology in 1832, and has continued steadfast to his love to the present time. He has fruited 250 varieties of the pear, 150 of the apple, 175 of the peach, and others in proportion, besides cultivating extensively ornamental flowering plants. The latter gentleman, P. J. Berckmans, is younger in years, with great enthusiasm, a successful tree grower, and to whose opinions relative to value of Southern fruits we ever pay respect. Delaware Bottom Apple. — One of our correspondents from Vernon County, Missouri, writes us that an apple under this name was a valuable variety, and a favorite with old and young when he was a resident — a little west of Baltimore, Md. Our correspondent describes this apple as, " Flat, with a red cheek ; good for any use ; cooks in a trice ; especially fine for table and for apple-butter making ; neither sweet or acid, only delicious, and ripens late in August. A small, umbrella-topped tree, throwing its branches out horizontally." Our correspondent suggests that perhaps David Prough, near Freedom, Carroll Coun- ty, Md., who is now the owner of the prop- erty on which this fruit is growing, may give us some insight of its history. Our correspondent seems to regard this as one of the good things not to be lost without a struggle, and we therefore hope some of our readers in Maryland will give it atten- tion. Perhaps N. H. Gore, of Freedom, Carroll County, will write us something of it. Restrictions on Plants and Seeds. — William Heaver, Esq., writes: "At a meet- ing of the Tennessee State Horticultural Society, it was resolved to memorialize Congress, and petition them to remove the restrictions on the importations of foreign trees, shrubs, plants, etc., by abolishing the duties on such articles." Other societies are invited to join in co-operation of this object. " Budding the Sweet Cherry on Mo- rello Stocks." — " McKinney, Warren Co., O." The sweet cherries, such as Purple Guigne, etc., do perfectly well on the Mo- rello stocks. It is perhaps best to bud or graft them near to the ground ; but if worked up three or more feet high, we have known them to continue healthy and productive over twenty years. The result and value of Morello as a stock is to bring the tree into early bearing and to produce a dwarf habit, the sap being mostly ex- pended in forming fruit buds instead of wood growth. Steele's Janet or Hunter Apple. — Dr. N. M. Harding, of Vernon County, Mo., writes us that an apple under this name is there common, and a favorite ; is flat, firm, a great keeper, and valuable to ship- pers. We respectfully ask of him more information of it. 126 The Horticulturist. Scraps from My Note-Book. — " Look- ing over my last year's note-book, I see a few little items noted that perhaps may be of interest to the readers of the Horticul- turist, and therefore I send them along without dressing. If not wanted, you can let them find their way to the waste-basket, and all right. E." [Thank you ; we conclude to print and send them to our readers instead of the waste-basket. Can't you send more of the same sort ? We should like them. — Ed.] Grape Bads. — " Some grapevines, covered with an inch or two of soil as winter pro- tection, when uncovered were found de- cayed ; they had evidently swelled by the warmth of the soil, and so were easily affect- ed. Mem. : After this I shall see to uncov- ering my vines as soon as possible in the sjjring ; and then let them lie on the ground, not in it." Farther on in my book I find, as con- nected with grapes: "Some vines pruned in March bled badly, and many of the last buds failed." Query: Was it the bleed- ing, the loss of the crude sap, or the effect of atmosphere acting through the sap-ves- sels? Currants. — "Looking over my sorts, I note down Red Dutch as best of all — best for table, for jelly, and if to sell to custo- mers that know anything, best for market. If to sell to know-nothings, then the Cher- ry or Versallaise is the thing ; it is large, sour, and juicy." Blaclherries. — " Have been studying the blackberry hobby some; visited A., B., C, etc., and then looked at my own. All things considered, guess the Kittatiny is best of the lot, and shall plant more of it." Italian Dwarf Peach. — " Been reading about this, and bethought me of one de- scribed by William Prince in 1828, as Dwarf Orleans; looked it up, and am in- clined to think this Italian has no business with the name." Whitewashing Walls. — " Riding along, saw a man whitewashing his board fence on the south side, against which he was training his grapes. Asked him why he did so. Said ' They all whitewashed their walls for growing fruit in JETengland.' " Query : Which attracts the greatest heat, black or white ? Hot-Bed. — " Started some seed in a hot- bed, others in cold frame; had no second hot-bed for replanting, and the plants got spindling, and when it was warm enough to transplant in open air, they did not ' go ahead' to please me ; but those grown in the cold frame went right along, and seemed to rather enjoy getting out of con- finement." Madison, Wis., Feb. 12, 1868. Mr. Editor: I have just learned from a gentleman, who heard it from a horticul- turist somewhere, that the Black Naples variety of currants should be pruned an- nually in order to produce good fruit. I want to know when and how to prune. Is it by cutting out or off? When I first ob- tained and set out the bushes, I was told black currants wanted to be let alone, but this gentleman says the crop can be more than doubled by proper pruning. C P. Delaplaine. [The Black Naples Currant requires just the same treatment as other varieties of black currants — little pruning, except to keep the bushes open and up from the ground. Unlike the white or red currants, its fruit is borne mostly on spurs and two- year-old wood, instead of on that of last year's growth. The best time to prune is immediately after the ripening of the crop, but it may be done any time when the knife is sharp and the temperature above freezing-point. Mid-winter, however, would be a bad time, as the ends of all the cuts would dry and crack, and induce disease and decay. Strong, rather heavy, but rich loamy soil suits the black currant best. On such soils it is one of the most profitable of crops. If not readily sold in market, the fruit can be made into a jelly that will always sell at a high price. The Black Grape and Black Naples are the two best varieties.] Editor's Table. 127 New Fruits in Utah. — James E. John- son, of St. George, Utah, writes us that the progress of fruit-growing in that Territory is wonderful, and while old varieties suc- ceed well, they have some new ones of surpassing merit. Among these he names Gates1 Apricot, which, he says, is a new seedling, much noted and widely dissemi- nated, size of the " peach,1' juicy, of rich flavor. He also writes of a new seedling grape, "raised from seeds of the Malaga, by Mr. Jar vis, of St. George, Utah, three years since. Vine, a great grower, stout canes, short jointed ; leaves, intensely lobed ; clusters, broad-shouldered ; berries, large, slightly oval, greenish amber; seeds, small ; skin, thin; pulp, tender, sweet, and deli- cious; vine, hardy." Layers of the Grapevine. — B. F. J. asks us to say when and how to layer grape- vines, to which we reply : Layers of the vine are made by taking early in spring a cane of the last year's growth and bending it down ; lay it along on the surface of the earth. After the buds have grown four to six inches long, rub off every other bud, and then dig a trench about four inches deep ; lay the cane along in it, and draw on about two inches of soil. In two to three weeks thereafter, again go over the ground, and draw soil on to render the surface level ; then place a small stake by the side of each growing bud or vine, and tie to it. In the fall, these should be cut apart in the soil, i. e., sepa- rate the original cane half-way between the buds by cutting with a sharp spade or knife, then take them up carefully, and heel them in in some location where the water will drain quickly and readily from the surface. Layers of the growth of this year are often made and sold, but we can not con- sider them as perfect plants. Such layers, if left to grow the second summer, may become mature and perfect ; but if removed in spring and transplanted, ninety-five out of every hundred, while they may live during the summer, will die the coming winter. We have watched this carefully, and our advice is, never to transplant a layer from green wood until it has had its second season in its natural bed. The lay- ers of green wood should not be separated from the parent plant until August of the second season. A New Plum op Dwarf Habit. — We have several letters respecting a new na- tive plum of quite a dwarf habit in growth of tree, found in Vernon Co., Mo. If the half that is said of it be true, it will soon find its way into favor of amateurs and commercial plum growers. It is said to be large, rich yellow, flesh melting and deli- cious, ripening in August. We shall look to our friends West this coming season for some more definite account of it. Raspberries at the West. — The cul- tivation of raspberries everywhere within the reach of daily transportation to large cities has become one of the items of rural commerce, and it is important to gain all the knowledge we can as to the compara- tive value of varieties. Recently looking over a number of letters from our far West correspondents, we were struck with the universal expression relative to the hardi- hood and productiveness of their native varieties ; and with this in our mind, re- membering that the best blackberries we have are merely chance gathered superior wildlings, not attributable to the skill of man for their production, we feel anxious and desirous that energetic attention and thought be given to examination of our native wild raspberries in our new West- ern States and Territories. We hope our Western fruit-growers will look at this matter carefully in its season, and note down such plants as appear worthy. We shall be pleased to receive plants, one or more of such as promise well, and will give them a fair trial, and report in due time. 128 The Horticulturist. Small Fruits an Aid in Support of One's Family. — One of our correspond- ents writes us that his first trial in the fruit line, to relieve from the expense of bread and meat, was growing strawberries. He says he commenced with twenty feet square, and increased in two years to nearly one eighth of an acre, set six kinds mixed to- gether, and that patch of ground furnished all the berries the family and children could use, besides realizing from sales a surplus of over seventy dollars a year. Another of his reliances was the sour cherry, and he practices heading his trees in each year, taking out small crossing limbs, and obtains fruit in great abund- ance, and he says of larger and superior size to that of his neighbors who practice the let-alone method. Discovered Remedy for Rot in the Grape. — Win. Sumner, one of our occa- sional correspondents from South Carolina, writes of a remedy for rot in the grape, as follows : " I have in my possession a most import- ant discovery which I propose to furnish applicants for a reasonable sum. It is a remedy for the rot in grapes, accidentally discovered, and tested with success upon the Catawba, Isabella, Herbemont, Madei- ra, etc., all of which rot badly in this cli- mate. The Isabella has rotted so badly for years, that in many sections it has been cut down as a cumberer of the ground; while the Catawba, so valuable as a wine grape, has almost been abandoned, and one or two inferior grapes (the Clinton, etc.), that are comparatively free from rot, have been taken up and are now being cul- tivated as the wine grapes of the United States. This remedy will restore the Ca- tawba to its place as the grape richest in glucose, and better adapted for making good wine without the addition of sugar than any other grape. The remedy is cheap, within the means of all who culti- vate the grape, and can be applied, if need be, with any of the other fertilizers with- out injury to their properties. If we all had not been left so poor from the war, the remedy would have been given cheerfully to the public ; as it is, it may restore us to a competency." We confess we ourselves have little faith in any of these so-called remedies, but it is worth while before denying a point to prove one's denial, and therefore we hope to see this tested. Seedling Cherries. — William Heaver, Esq., a long time an active member of the Cincinnati Horticultural Society, but re- cently moved to Nashville, Tenn., sends us a report of a fruit committee of the Cin- cinnati Horticultural Society, in which some seedling cherries are noticed as raised by Charles M. Buchanan, Clifton, Ohio. These were shown under numbers, and are of the heart varieties. Mr. Heaver writes that his " Nos. 1 and 4 are superior in quality ; and if they sustain the character they seem to possess, under other circum- stances of soil, situation, and culture, they will certainly be a desirable acquisition." Alton (III.) Horticultural Society. — We are indebted to James E. Starr, the live secretary of this live Society for copi- of its transactions, from time to time. Judging from the reports, the Society is doing a world of good. Its members are active in their love of the subject, and well disposed to dispense their knowledge, be- lieving that the more people know and think, the better they are, and the more progress toward the perfection of all things. In the report before us, as we write, of the January, 1868, meeting, we notice one rec- ommendation of the Secretary, which we especially commend as worthy adoption by all societies. It is as follows : " I rec- ommend that efforts be made by corre- spondence, to obtain complete sets of the publications of other societies ; and to es- tablish a library and reading-room in the city, which shall also be used as a fruit- growers' exchange in the fruit season." THE HORTICULTURIST. VOL. XXIV MAY, 1868. .NO. CCLXHI. LANDSCAPE OR HOME ADORNMENT. BY F. It. ELLIOTT. The readers of the Horticulturist will remember that in the February number a few remarks were made relative to home adornment, and a promise also made to de- pict further some features of beauty found in the grounds of Joseph Perkins, Esq., Cleveland, O., which are worthy of study and thought by every owner of a home- stead, inasmuch as they are good examples of true taste applied by principle to art in connection with nature. Of the fine arts in general, and of landscape gardening in particular, there are many amateurs whose minds are open to conviction and inclined to truth, but whose powers of observation are not sufficient to enable them to discov- er what is right and appropriate until it is pointed out to them. The art of compo- sition embraced in landscape gardening has certain principles which go toward forming a unity of the whole, and from which no deviation can be made without marring the result, Taste may be possess- ed in a greater or less degree ; but without reference to principles, it will fail to create a design of harmonious proportion or asso- ciation. It is to be regretted that so little attention is given to the subject of princi- ple and arrangement of tree, shrub, flower, and path, as a whole, in the decoration of our homes. Thousands on thousands of dollars are yearly expended in creation of new places, to be again remodeled the suc- ceeding year because of the apparent want, when completed, of congruity and har- mony necessary to an effective whole. It is not expected that every man will, or can, be a landscapist any more than he can be a physician or lawyer ; but he should have sufficient love for his own home to induce him to study the principles of the art, so as to be able to appreciate the reasons for arrangement of designs submitted by his gardener or landscape artist. A spirit of independence, a pride and love for the cre- ation of one's own, should imbue every citi- zen to the designing or planning for his own home surroundings: but ere he puts his plans into execution, he should submit them to some professional artist for criticism, and be prepared to receive and understand any and all reasons for changes. Were this the condition of things, the rapidity and beau- ty of creation of new home surroundings would be greatly enhanced ; and many a gentleman's grounds that now receive al- 130 The Horticulturist. most an annual remodeling, would exhibit most gratifying results within a period of five to six years from first planting. It may be pleasant to pass through an apprentice- ship of learning by practice the character of tree and plant, the requisite breadth of lawn or road to give the best effect, or to arrange them in one harmonious whole ; but it consumes years of time, and is a knowl- edge which may be bought and made ap- plicable whenever the purchaser has fitted his mind by reading and study to appre- ciate it. I make these prefatory remarks because at this time probably many readers of the Horticulturist are about to plant trees, form beds for flowers, etc., and pos- sibly may be induced thereby to think the subject over carefully before ordering the position of a tree or flower bed ; and be- cause by creating in their minds thoughts of the art, they will the better appreciate the illustrations exhibiting the work of others. " One of the most common errors in or- namental gardening is that of mixing her- baceous flowers with shrubs and trees," by which neither can thrive properly ; or if they do, the effect of the one is injured by that Fig. 46. of the other. However pleasing and pic- turesque it may be to see trees, shrubs, and flowers all striving together for the mas- tery in a natural wood, yet this sort of beauty is totally unsuited to scenes of art ; and however much the owner may desire to see and study every tree, shrub, and flow- er, it is better to plant the surplus in a reserve border in some part of the rear gar- den, than to destroy unity and effect by a crowding of varieties incongruously to- gether. Another error common to small gardens is the want of some leading feature of spe- cial interest, such as the creating of a flower garden proper, a fountain, or rockery ; the last one of the most difficult construction, but especially valuable, for the reason that it never satiates. The flower-garden proper is the most readily constructed, and within the power of all. It should be always near the house, and if possible so that more or less of the views from the windows of the house will look down upon it. Various patterns for the arrangement of the beds and paths Landscape or Home Adornment, 131 are found in all works on landscape gar- dening ; but in copying them, thought should be taken as to their adaptation to the position or form of boundary in which they are to be placed. For a plot with parallel boundary lines, the accompanying design, fig. 46, copied from the grounds of Joseph Perkins, is one of the simplest and yet effective which I have ever seen. By examining, it will be observed that the center is a simple circle from which four beds are formed, and from outside of that the paths and beds are made to accommo- date natural lines of travel, which the posi- tion of the house, being on the side where stands the vase, and the opening in the opposite hedge, seem to demand. Plant- ing these separate beds with masses, each of a distinct color, produces a constant fea- ture of interest and attraction. The fountain is the second available item of ready construction within a moderate Fig. 47. cost. In the suburbs of our large cities, when water is supplied from public reser- voirs, the cost is little more than the intro- duction and placing of pipes. In the coun- try, tanks have to be constructed ; and here let me say such tanks should never be placed in the house, because they can just as well be in the barn, and in the event of a leakage, the injury therefrom will be less. While water, in many ways, is one of the most pleasing and even attractive features of the pleasure-ground, it is at the same time most difficult of association with sur- rounding features of art. Commonly a basin of stone-work is constructed directly in front of the house, and contiguous there- to, in which some figure, or a succession of urns or basins, is placed, and from which a single little jet of water is forced continu- ouslv. Often this falling water, with its 132 The Horticulturist. silvery lightness, glittering as with myriads of diamonds in the sun, has for association some stiff and stately tree for its fore- ground, as seen in our figure, 47, where the owner has planted two Scotch pines within a very few feet of the fountain ; while the house, as a background, stands distant some forty feet ; the whole bringing out each feature distinct and prominent, but each an item of itself, without any associa- tion or harmony with the other. Had this same fountain been placed a little to one side, just where a glimpse of it could be had from the drawing-room windows, and then had for its association near by in the grounds a weeping birch, a weeping beech, and an American weeping willow, it would have been in itself and associations a fea- ture of beauty winter or summer, and in no way appeared as a foreground to the architecture of the house. I confess a dis- like, however, because of their want of harmonious association to all of these mar- ble or cast iron fountains when placed in the open grounds and in association only with an ordinarily kept garden or grounds. f//^% Fig. 48. In the conservatory, or in the center of an Italian garden, they are in place; but I have yet to see one in the open ground of a small place, kept in the usual manner of gardens in this country, that did not offend the eye when silent, and detract from all else when playing. As I have said that a fountain may be had at a little cost beyond that of the pipes and their laying, and at the same time be made to harmonize with tree and vine surrounding, I offer the illustration, fig. 48, which is simply varied pieces of rock laid x\\) around the center pipe, and having a wire-work frame, into the meshes of which are woven various colored stones as the basin or urn. A circular pipe sur- rounds it, over which is laid a pavement of stone in mosaic work, and from between which numerous smaller jets of water arise. In the plinth of the structure, amid the rocks, ferns and water-plants are planted. The mosaic pavement is level with the surrounding turf, with just sufficient dip Landscape or Rome Adornment. 133 13± The Horticulturist. toward the center to draw the waste water, which passes off by means of a pipe be- neath. Next we come to the rockery, with which, whenever it can be had in quan- tity, water is a pleasing and attractive the perfection of the work, as a study of our mountains and rocky glens will at once convince any one. Artificial rock-work, unlike the construction of a flower-garden, will not admit of the appearance of art in its formation ; the rocks can not be divest- feature. It is not, however, necessary to ed of their natural character, and any Fig. 50. attempt to give their arrangement aught but such as nature's own laws, in her up- heavals of the earth or breaking away of water-courses has exhibited, fails of satis- fying results. In an examination of hun- dreds of piles of artificial rock-work, dur- ing my travels, I have never vet seen but two that in any way deserved the name. or would lead one to suppose they were natural, not artificial creations. The expense attendant upon procuring material, together with the want of cul- tivated knowledge in its construction, are features that will always stand in the way Landscape or Home Adornment. 135 of any number of pieces of rock formation being artificially placed with natural effect in the grounds of our suburban homes ; but there is no one expenditure of im- provement which is so lastingly satisfac- tory, so constantly a feature of interest to the owner, and a point to exhibit to his guests, as that of an artificial yet natural rockery. The two pieces of rock-work named above, entirely the creation of art, are — one at Newburgh, N. Y., and the other at Cleveland, O. The first was, I think, the work of a Doctor Ward, and is situated in the side hill at the entrance gateway of property immediately in the rear of the once residence of the lamented A. J. Downing. The second is within the grounds of Joseph Perkins, Esq., Cleve- land, and entirely a creation from his own guidance and direction. It is situated a little one side of the center of his fruit- garden proper, and is built upon the basis of a little pool of water that in the hands of most men would have been drawn off by means of an open ditch or underdrain. Not so with this gentleman. After study- ing the amount of his spring of water for a year or two, until he fully comprehended its capacity, he proceeded to excavate a small pond, which, when filled, is conducted away by an apparent natural shallow brook- let, winding its way several rods and drop- ping again into another pool or pond of irregular form and somewhat less size than the first. The margin of these ponds and runway is broken with irregular ledges of rock, presenting the appearance as of some upheaval of nature, leaving in its center a deep pool of water, with more or less of broken fragments strewed on its margin or jutting from below. In the fissures of the rock, mosses and vines are luxuriating ; while in the places more abundant in soil, shrubs and trees, both deciduous and ever- green, have sprung into existence, over- hanging and outcropping the cliffs. Fig. 49 is a view of one line of cliff, taken from the lower side of the pond, and presents the northern face with the water in the foreground. Standing here upon the mar- gin of the water, no view is obtained from outside by which the association of na- ture's own work can be destroyed with items of art or garden life, and the visitor gathers no impress of anything but mother nature's own work. Surrounding this ex- quisite piece of art, outrivaling nature, the planting has been so admirably blended and conducted, intermingling fruit-tree and shrub — the flowering and the fruit- bearing — that it is difficult to distinguish any line of demarkation between the fruit- garden and the wildness of nature which greets you as soon as you pass through a rustic summer-house overhung with vines, which is the principal entrance to the pond. Fig. 50 is a view of this entrance, taken from the opposite side of the pond, and showing a glance into the summer- house, with one of the seats, and the broken path of rocks, between two ledges, leading to the water. The pebbly brook, the rustic bridge over it ; the little bays, recessed, in which are growing wild flowers, ferns, and mosses ; the glitter of the gold fish in the clear water of the pond, are among the additional items of interest and beauty connected with this gem of art in copying or outdoing nature, which, were it public property, would well repay a trip from one end of the States to the other to view it. Plant Murder.-— Many an amateur and gardener commits plant murder unwittingly by keeping up a heat in the green-house or propagating-pit during the night season. All kinds of plants will bear a low night temperature with impunity, evidence of which is given from the records of the low night temperature in the torrid regions. Heat without light creates a morbid and unhealthy growth, and loads the plants with disease, sooner or later to be devel- oped by yellow foliage, damping oft, etc. 136 The Horticulturist. APPLES FOR EXTREME NORTHERN SECTIONS. THE MARENGO WINTER CRAB. By reason of numerous letters the past year my attention has been drawn to the consideration of varieties of fruits adapted to our extreme Northern civilized limits of population. Very few varieties of ap- ples are found to be of sufficient hardihood to endure the great extreme of cold which the climate occasionally exhibits. Seasons when the thermometer falls to 36° or 40° below zero are found to destroy the life of nearly all of our cultivated varieties of the apple. The Duchess of Oldenburg and Tetofsky, so far as I can learn, prove the most hardy of any of our foreign varieties, while the Gilpin and Jonathan are among the next hardiest. Of the newer Russian varieties now being tested by Downing, Barry, and others, we of course as yet know nothing, but hope much, from the fact that many of them originated in very high northern latitudes, and may be pre- sumed to possess more than the usual amount of vitality and endurance. The different sorts of crabs, such as Hyslops, Transcendant, etc., etc., I believe all prove hardy in even the most northern cultivated limit ; but the fruit, besides being only eat- able where nothing else can be had, has also the failing of decaying early in autumn, and thus leaving the grower without apples of any sort for winter. It is a desideratum, therefore, with those whose lot is cast amid the cold and inhospitable regions of the North, to procure even a second-rate fruit that will keep all the winter and at the same time a perfectly hardy tree. To this end it is desirable to note all the new native fruits of the Northwest, that from among them we may possibly find the one wanted. I have now before me as I write, March 28th, 1868, specimens of the Ma- rengo Crab, sent by Charles Andrews, of Marengo, 111., and which he claims is per- fectly hardy in the tree. The fruit is small, as my outline shows, but it is now perfectly Fig. 51. sound, of a bright, handsome red color, and the flesh is yellowish, rather dry, but quite rich and quite good, as I have before said — when there is nothing besides it to be had. For those who live in regions where such varieties as the Jonathan, Fameuse, etc., can be grown and kept, this variety, except for cider or vinegar, is not worth ground room ; but for the extreme north it may prove equally as valuable to resi- dents there as the Shocklay, which is but little better, does to those of the Southern States. F. R. E. Pears in Iowa. — In Henry County, made into perry. Standards do well there, Iowa, we learn that large quantities of while Dwarfs do not receive the care in pears of ordinary qualitv, probably natural planting and pruning necessary to success, seedlings, are grown, and many of them Hardy Seedling Peaches. 137 HARDY SEEDLING PEACHES. The difficulty of growing and fruiting peach-trees in many locations makes every item of information toward overcoming it valuable. In a late number of the Country Gentleman, A. Babcock gives an account of a seedling peach orchard as follows : " Near Wales Center, Erie Co., N. Y., 50 miles south of Lake Ontario, and 25 miles east of Lake Erie, on a ridge of tolerably good land, is a peach orchard of 200 seed- ling trees, 24 years old, now in good bear- ing condition. This orchard had its origin from seed brought from the vicinity of Sturgeon Lake, in Canada, about 116 miles north of Lake Ontario. These trees are a freestone, red rareripe variety, with a red cheek, and most of them sweet and well flavored, though they vary some in color, flavor, size, and time of ripening. They differ from the old red rareripe in several points: they are better flavored, more dwarfish in growth, being very slow grow- ers, stone very small, blossom large, good bearers — generally bear heavy crops every other year. They bore large crops in 1858, 1860, 1862, 1865, and 1867. The interme- diate crops between those years did not amount to much. If the fruit had been thinned out about half while small, probably these trees would have borne crops annu- ally. These trees have never lost a crop by spring frost, though in the spring of 1865 the mercury sank to 28 ^ while they were in full bloom. " As near as I can learn, they have not received any extra care in culture or skill- ful treatment in pruning. They branch out about two feet high, their trunks now averaging about four inches through — their most notable peculiarities being slow growers, of dwarfish habit, having large blossoms and small stones. The owner of this orchard has three or four genera- tions of this Canada seedling now in bearing, and several farmers in that local- ity have fine young bearing orchards, and all seem to have the same characteristics of slow growth, hardiness, etc. " Our common sorts of budded trees and seedlings seem to have utterly failed there for ten years past, in fruitfulness and lon- gevity, when planted side by side with this Canada seedling, and this test, it is claimed, has been thoroughly made, show- ing conclusively the superiority of the latter. * * * The theory of the people who have this Canada peach is this: they say it is from the north, where the summers are short, and the roots, tops, buds, and fruit all ripen early." To this he adds, " I believe that peaches can yet be grown all through eastern New York and New England, at a moderate outlay of labor, by adopting a plan some- thing like this : get young seedling trees, or seeds from good flavored natural fruit from the north, say Canada or Grand Tra- verse Co., Mich. After one season's growth in nursery rows, take them up, and cut back to a stump within three to six inches of the collar; plant them in sheltered places, with woods, hills, ridges, or build- ings on the north and west sides of orchards ; keep them headed very low, like currant bushes, by cutting back annually or semi- annually, so that the trees will not be more than six feet high when six years old. Avoid tilling late, say after July 15, and mound them up with earth with plow and shovel, to protect the lower part of the branches from cold, and to keep out the borer." The Best Early Beet we have ever grows quick, cooks tender, and is just grown is the Bassano. In good ground it sweet enough to be delicious. 138 The Horticulturist. THE PASSIFLORA— {Continued). BY HORTICOLA. The treatment of the Passiflora is very simple. It requires rich but porous soil, which may be prepared by mixing leaf mold, perfectly decayed sods from old pasture grounds, and well-rotted cowdung together, with the addition of some sand. Peat, sweetened by long exposure to at- mospheric agencies, may be substituted for leaf-mold. The pots should be com- paratively large ; sufficient drainage is im- portant. During the growing season the plants need much water, and are benefited by often repeated syringing ; in the winter no more water must be given than is ab- solutely necessary, especially when they are kept in a rather cool temperature, otherwise the roots will suffer. They must be repotted at least every spring. A temperature varying between 45° and 60° Fahr. is suitable to all kinds. If the tem- perature is low, but moist, many kinds surfer from mold at the joints, by which they are injured very much. Some kinds stand our winters when growing in the open air, /. «'., incarnata. P. crerulea is hardy in northern Germany, when covered up a little. In this country I never suc- ceeded, even with the utmost care, to keep it alive in my grounds. Passion flowers grow very easily from the seed in a hot-bed, or even in a warm room. To open them a little with a pen- knife before planting, as recommended by some, is unnecessary, for they germinate without the least difficulty. Layering is always successful, but very seldom practiced, as cuttings will grow with certainty. They are taken from young shoots before the wood is too firm and old; if it is too succulent, the cuttings decay instead of forming a callus and making root. In long-jointed kinds two eyes are sufficient; in short -jointed,/. i,P. kermesina, the cuttings are made from two to four inches long. They require very sandy, light soil and bottom heat. Keep- ing them in a close atmosphere assists the process of rooting very much. Pieces of the root, provided they are not too thin, grow, if similarly treated, with fa- cility. The best time for making cuttings is the spring ; in a propagating-house they strike easily in the winter. Passion flowers may be grafted according to all the known methods; but as grafting them presents not the least advantage, it is only done occasionally by amateurs. There was a time when I placed some con- fidence in it for certain purposes, but I soon gave it up. Very important, however, is hybridiza- tion. We owe many very beautiful vari- eties to it, f. »., P. ca?rulea-racemosa (P. caerulea and racemosa G. princeps), alata- cserulea (alata and caerulea), Loudoni (kermesina and princeps), etc. The anthers as well as the pistil being so prominent in the Passion flower, any child may perform the operation with success. It is advisable to remove the anthers of the flower to be impregnated with the pollen of another kind as sooo as the flower opens, and a little later, when the pollen appears to be in the right condition, to cut off the whole flower, or a single anther, to touch with it the pistil of the flower to be operated upon. If the operation has suc- ceeded, the fruit will soon commence swelling, and will protrude from the de- caying flower. When the fruit is — accord- ing to the kind — of the size of a filbert or of a walnut, the decaying floral leaves, etc., and the remnants of the calyx, must be carefully removed, so that the fruit is freed from everything surrounding it, otherwise it is sure to drop prematurely, its footstalk The Passiilora. 139 and tube decaying along with the soft, succulent floral leaves. This is the only means to insure the ripening of the fruit. I am not aware that this all-important fact is mentioned in any of the books on horticulture ; but I remember how often and how sadly I have been disappointed before it occurred to me to resort to the expedient just mentioned. I have very rarely obtained ripe seed from the common P. caerulea, oftener from P. princeps and P. kermesina, and a few others. But there is a kind so ready to be impregnated by the pollen of almost every other kind, that I wish to call the at- tention of those interested in the matter to it. It is the P. coerulea-raceinosa, and a lighter variety of it. Both, it is true, are hybrids themselves, yet they produce hy- brids with so much facility and certainty that it is astonishing. I have raised from it a very large number of hybrids, some of which I flowered before I left Germany. One of them was exquisitely beautiful, its color being snowy white and its growth compact. I neglected naming it, and so it may have been lost. As P. cserulea-racemosa itself is one of the finest kinds in every respect, nothing better could be selected for the mother plant, P. discolor or Maximiliana takes also the pollen of others very readily ; but as its flower is rather insignificant, it is for the purpose of hybridization much inferior to P. caerulea-racemosa. Pruning in the fall, and pinching during the summer, are essential in the manage- ment of the passiflora. I never saw any injury arise from very severe pruning. The flowers are produced on young shoots, often protruding directly from very old wood. If not cut back annually very severely the Passion vines will soon become unsightly, bearing their flowers at the end of long, naked stems. If not pinched in during the summer as often as young shoots need it, to prevent them from grow- ing too long and slender, a number of kinds will not flower at all, when grown in pots; when, on the contrary, frequently pinched, the plants will be effectually checked and compelled to make new shoots, which will soon show flower buds. In this way I proceeded in flowering even Tacsonia mollissima and Pinnaetistipula, two kinds that have rarely been seen in bloom, except when growing directly in a border of a green-house. Those which I flowered grew in the open air. Severe pruning and pinching are also the only means of dwarfing Passion vines. This wTas a favorite object I had in view when I devoted so much time to their cul- tivation. Some kinds are, with a little at- tention, easily dwarfed, /. i., alata, alata superba, quadrangularis and its varieties. P. insignis and Decaisneana, also phcenicea, kermesina, princeps, and Loudoni, are a little more refractory, but yield to energetic perseverance. Cserulea, however, lauri- folia, maliformis, and the like, baffle very often the cultivator's well -planned exer- tions. Some of the readers of the Horticul- turist may remember a charming speci- men of P. quadrangularis var. Decaisneana, not more than seventeen inches high, with fifty -one buds and open flowers on it, which I had shaped in the way indicated. It was, when I lost it, several years old ; its woody stem measured an inch in diameter, and was a foot high. The first year I cut it back to about a foot from the soil in the pot, and by pinching the young shoots as soon as they had grown three or four inches, to two or three eyes, the plant formed a head like a willow-tree or the grapevines in some countries. At last, flower buds would protrude from the old wood or from very short branches. All kinds will bear planting out during the summer. It is not necessary to grow them when so treated on trellises sheltered by walls ; they did very well in my garden, however bleak its situation and exposure are. As some are very rampant growers, f. i., cserulea, laurifolia, etc., it is neces- sary to provide for the room indispensable 140 The Horticulturist. for their full development, and to separate such as are comparatively but moderate growers, /. i., kermesina, from others. The soil that suits them best in the open air must be very rich, deep, and porous, without any stagnant water below. Even in the open air, pinching is very advantageous; the two 'Tacsonise mentioned I flowered in the open air ; they grew in a border of my garden, and were very severely pinched. Some say that it is difficult to make Passion vines grow again in pots when taken up in the fall. This is, however, an assertion not based on facts, for they all grow very vigorously under proper treat- ment. They, of course, lose many roots. Most of them must be eut off, as their mass would, in many cases, be too large for any pot. The plants themselves must be pruned back to a suitable size. If, during the summer, branches have been provided growing from near the root, there will not be the least difficulty in keeping the plants within reasonable bounds. It is always judicious to have a supply of young plants of the kinds planted out to take the place of those which accident- ally may have grown too large, although there is not much danger of that if they are carefully and judiciously managed. They are as pliable as grapevines ; they yield with equal facility to the hand of the experienced cultivator. I will conclude this article with a list of the most beautiful kinds which have been in my possession. A strictly alphabetical order would hardly answer my purpose ; I will rather group them together, as far as practicable, so that the amateur may have a guide for selection. Passiflora alata. Do. do. superba. Do. phomicea. Do. Gontieri. Do. quadrangularis. Do. do. insignis. Do. do. Decaisneana. These are very similar, so that, when not in flower, they may be confounded by such as are not acquainted with them. They are very beautiful; their flowers are, to a certain degree, of a cup form, and are very large, from four to nearly six inches in diameter (P. q. Decaisneana) ; stems, angular ; leaves, without lobes, ovate, serrated, pointed. P. alata Gontieri and quadrangularis have from four to six glands at the base of the leaves. P. phcenicea has but two, of a bright yellow color, by which it can easily be recognized ; color of the flowers, dark red and blue. P. quad, insignis blooms when very small. P. quad. Decaisneana has the largest and most imposing flowers. Mr. Donadi, of Astoria, introduced it to this country a number of years ago. P. alato-ccerulea — a hybrid raised from the seed of P. alata, impregnated with pollen of P. ca^rulea. Flowers, very large, but more flat or open than those of the alata ; leaves, varying in their shape, some being lobed, others not. Not a rampant grower, but a profuse bloomer. All the kinds just described are very fragrant. P. alia — white. P. albida — white. P. amabilis — very beautiful. It is a hybrid of P. princeps (racemosa) and alata. Fragrant. P. augustifolia — yellow and blue. P. coccinea — red. P. ear idea — too well known to need description. Hardy in northern Germany, when covered and jjrotected from rain. P. carulea-racemosa — in two varieties, one of which is lighter in color. They are hybrids of P. caerulea and princeps (race- mosa). Both of them are very desirable kinds also for hybridization. Very profuse bloomers during the summer and fall. P. edulis — white and purplish. It ripened its fruit with me in the open air. P. Doroscondiana — red. Most beautiful in every respect, and similar in growth and leaf to P. cserulea-racemosa. P. filamentosa — blue, resembling P. cae- rulea; flowers, larger and brighter, but The Pas&i flora. 141 fetid. "With me it sprouted in every spring from the root, the stem dying in the fall. P. hybiseifolia — white and red ; fetid. P. holoscericea — flowers, when growing in a border under glass, so profusely that it excites the admiration of those who see it. Flowers, not large, bright orange and red, they close between two and three o'clock p.m.; foliage, very soft, like vel- vet. P. Imperatrice Eugenia — in every respect a magnificent plant. Leaves, very large, three-lobed, and of a very elegant shape ; flowers, sometimes more than five inches in diameter, of a purplish color, approaching to pink ; a prodigious bloomer. P. incarnata (May pop) — hardy here, sprouting every year from the root ; flow- ers, white or reddish, fragrant. It never bore fruit with me. P. kermesina and P. Tcermesina major — one of the most beautiful kinds. No col- lection, no green-house should be without it. Elegant and graceful in its habit and growth; leaves, three-lobed, of a glossy green, and when young, purplish red, on the under side especially; blooms when very young ; flowers, bright purplish red and blue ; the shape of the flowers reminds one of an Indian head-dress. P. kerm. major is larger, but the color is not so bright and pure as of the common P. ker- mesina. P. Loudoni — a hybrid of P. kermesina and P. princeps (racemosa). Flowers, red, but so bright that it is almost impossible to look on them for any length of time in the sunshine. I do not know of any other kind in the whole tribe that I could com- pare with it in this respect. P. laurifolia — white and purplish. P. Loicei — similar in color to P. quad- rangularis. P. lurcefoUa— rose. P. maliformis — white and blue. P. Middletoniana — very elegant and fragrant ; reddish and purple ; a free and profuse bloomer ; also the foliage very beautiful. P. Gomte de Kiseleff— received from Mr. Geitner, but I am not sure whether the name was correct. A most profuse bloom- er ; flowers, larger than those of caerulea, of a peculiar grayish purple. P. picturata — very beautiful; purplish and blue. P. princeps (racemosa) — leaves, tri-lobed, of a leathery texture, pale green, shining; flowers, red, in long racemes. One of the most beautiful kinds. P. serratifolia — white and bluish. P. adiantifolia (Disemma) — a most graceful, elegant plant. The leaves re- semble those of our fern called the Maid- en-hair ; flowers, dull red and brown. P. Murucuja (Murucuja scellata) — pale scarlet ; very elegant. P. pinnatistipula (Tacsonia) — red and white. P. mollissima (Tacsonia) — rose, charm- ing. Tacsonia Buchanani, recently introduced by Mr. Buchanan, is said to surpass all the Passionse in cultivation. I have not had any opportunity yet of seeing it. Dr. Blumenau, director of the colony bearing his name, in southern Brazil, about 30° S. L., a scientific, botanist, wrote to me last fall that he had received some seeds of a Passiflora recently discovered in Peru. Its fruit, of a delicious flavor, reaches the enormous weight of 81bs. Dr. Blumenau promised me a plant, which I shall receive during the ensuing summer. I shall take good care of it, and distribute young plants as fast as I shall be able to grow them among my horticultural friends. As it is very tedious to read lists of plants, I do not wish to make it more ex- tensive, although it contains hardly more than one third of the kinds I have had under cultivation. In making it, I en- deavored to select such kinds as will give the greatest satisfaction to the amateur. 142 The Horticultur THE PEACH. It must be honestly confessed that, as scientific horticulturists, the majority of us know very little about the peach. Stop ! I may be too fast in this propo- sition; well, let it be modified by saying that very little definite information is to be met with in our periodicals respecting the peach. Since A. J. Downing wrote up the his- tory and practice of peach-growing as an orchard crop, few satisfactory experiments have come within our observation calcu- lated to throw a satisfactory light on the want of success which has, in the majority of cases, attended the extensive culture of this fruit. Too much alike many other ventures, " peach-raising has had its day." This idea might be accepted without comment but for the fact that under cer- tain circumstances, and in various sections of the country, at intervals, fair crops of a fair quality are produced. But what is more important, individual trees, in many sections, are found to produce abundant crops of the largest and finest fruit, with- out, it would seem, any special care or at- tention. Such trees are produced from chance pits, either deposited as an experi- ment in private yards or gardens, or spring up spontaneously from the pits cast away by chance. In either case the result is of equal importance in demonstrating that good peaches and an abundant crop may be obtained from such individual trees, leading us to the inquiry, why this result in these exceptional cases ? That there are hundreds of such instan- ces of chance seedlings producing luscious fruit, and an abundance of it, it is pre- sumed no one will question who has been a close observer or frequent attendant at fruit exhibitions. Nothing connected with our fruit cul- ture is more striking than the rapid decline of the peach crop in many sections of the Middle States. It can scarcely be credited that, in twenty years, districts of New Jer- sey have fallen off from thousands of bush- els of choice fruit to a few bushels of like quality ; the remainder being spotted, sec- ond rate, or almost worthless fruit. Yet who can doubt but that negligent cultiva- tion and a want of due attention to the re- quirements of this unacclimated tree have been the chief causes of the deterioration ? Changes in the atmospheric conditions of our climate have, without doubt, had much to do with the recent failure of the peach, as all our orchard fruits appear to be on the decline during the past quarter of a century. Atmospheric changes can not, however, account for the entire failure ; several other matters bear a part of the blame. Various reports of reliable and in- terested growers combine to place consider- able weight on the nature of the soil, and many of them express their belief in the absence in many soils, otherwise apparent- ly suitable, of some " unknown ingredient" which the peach demands ; this is but neg- ative information. Other more certain de- fects are readily detected, such, for example, as the general exhaustion of the thin sandy soil chiefly selected for peach orchards; the exhaustion of the vigorous constitu- tion of the trees by injudicious selection of diseased or debilitated pits ; budding by selecting cions from one-year-old imma- ture trees, in which the wood-producing cells only have been developed ; inatten- tion to the selection of a proper site, in which the tree will be exposed during the early spring and late fall, so as to avoid the premature starting of the sap before the severe frosts have disappeared, thereby ex- posing the expanding buds, and in autumn or early winter shelter preventing the full development and maturation of the wood by the partial ripening of the foliage — The Salem Grape. 143 these are some of the causes which, in my mind, have led to the failure of the peach. To what extent the skillful and intelli- gent cultivator could avoid the evils arising from the causes above enumerated, we can not accurately determine. In addition to the presumed evils, the remaining well-defined causes of deterio- ration are, the attacks of the borer and other pests ; the winter killing of the buds in unusually severe seasons, and the blight- ing of the blossoms from the same cause ; the injury to the foliage from parasitic fungi, induced by want of vigorous devel- opment, and other contingencies. The condition of a tree can be deter- mined on inspection by a skillful cultiva- tor. The presence of a multitude of twig- gy shoots crowding the interior is an evi- dence of negligence in pruning ; the ab- sence of a healthy green hue in the foliage argues imperfect development of the color- ing matter — the best evidence of healthy leaves ; this you may call the " yellows." The presence of the " curl" or blister on the leaves, showing the attack of a well- known form of fungus which has secured a footing in consequence of the unhealthy state of the tissue, but which will tempo- rarily yield to a vigorous growth at a more advanced period of the season, and the presence of other forms of parasitic pests, are certain evidences of weakened vitality. Once for all it may be safely affirmed, that as the multitude of anirnalculse attack the fallen trunk and limbs, and reduce the or- gans of which they are composed to mere decaying matter, so these organized vege- table growths of the lowest grades attack the still struggling plant, and insinuating their peculiar roots or mycelia into the cells and passages, draw therefrom the juices destined for the support of its foli- age and appropriate them to their growth and nutrition. Without these wonderful agents— the scavengers of the vegetable world — we should fail to note the presence of imperfect vitality, and should prize our invalid trees as if they were perfect models of health, to be mortified and disappointed at the unprofitable result. The practiced eye, however, detects the various forms of minute parasitic fungi on the leaves or bark or wood, and thus is forewarned of the approach of insidious decay. Such, however, is the nature of these forms of the vegetable kingdom that they continue for months and years to in- crease and spread over and throughout the congeries of cells and vessels, until the tree, with its multitude of leaves and shoots, falls a prey to their insidious attack. So much, at least, has been learned of the phi- losophy of these minute but innumerable attendants on debilitated growth. How much remains to be learned, we dare not conjecture. The " curl," " mildew," or any other form of such parasites is but the evidence that all is not right within the tree. The sooner we set ourselves to stimulate and restore a healthy growth, the sooner these will drop their hold upon its vitals. " Fungus." THE SALEM GRAPE. A writer in the April number calls for information in regard to this grape, wishing to know the color, etc., stating that Honey's Magazine describes it as black, or, in other words, so much like No. 4 as to be difficult to distinguish them ; also, that the Ameri- can, Horticultural Annual describes it as blue, with a brownish tint. Now we do not wonder that " Grape- grower" is puz- zled if he prefers to take such authority instead of the description in the adver- tisement when the grape was offered last spring in the Horticulturist and Gar- dener's Monthly, especially when told in a notice appended that there was a spurious sort in circulation. 144 The Horticulturist. There has never been but one grape dis- seminated by me as Salem or 22, and that is as described in the advertisements last spring and in the circular issued at the same time. The grape is there described as a light chestnut or Catawba color ; but every one is aware that this color may be lighter or darker, according to season or location, but would never change to black like No. 4. In regard to the numbers, now that the grape is named, it would perhaps be best to drop them altogether. If " Grape- grower" will turn to the Horticulturist or Gardener's Monthly of last spring, he will find that fully explained ; he will there see that my original 22 and 53 — not those cir- culating about the country as 22 — are the same grape, and mere private marks to protect the public as well as myself from imposition. If the public is in want of this grape as there described, they can find it in any quantity by ordering of the friends of the late lamented Mr. Requa, of Salem-on-Erie, Brocton, N. Y., who pur- chased the principal part of my stock of this variety ; or it can be obtained of me to a limited amount. We will here state, for the benefit of " Grape-grower" and others, that before the Salem was offered last spring, and after- ward, we had letters from parties in different States saying they had 22 al- ready in fruit from other sources, describ- ing it as like No. 4, naming the parties of whom they bought, and to whom we had never sold a vine. This, of course, was the spurious sort. As it was generally known that we were about offering a new grape, the parties having the spurious 22 would at once put the name of Salem to it ; therefore we were led in issuing it to change the private number and substitute another ; but thinking that a few of the true sort might have been disseminated accidentally, and not wishing to impose on the public, we published the notice re- ferred to, although at a great loss, and to all who ordered gave leave to withdraw if they saw fit before receiving anything for the vine. One other remark from " Grape-grower" may need attention, where he says my original description of 22 was " amber." Although this description may be correct, as 15 is described as " amber" by Colonel Wilder, wTe do not recollect to have given this description of it publicly, as we never advertised it or described 22 in any of the circulars of the other numbers. We hope the discrepancies alluded to are now eleared up to the satisfaction of " Grape-grower ;" and will here repeat that there is but one true Salem, and that as described in the advertisement of last spring. E. S. Rogers. HARDIHOOD OF APPLE-TREES. The rapidly increasing settlement and cultivation of our northwestern territory, together with the increased interest and attention given to fruit-growing, is de- manding a knowledge of all the items tending to constitute a hardy tree. The comparative hardihood of any one variety when root grafted or budded some four to six inches above the crown, has been freely discussed, and we believe has resulted in a pretty general impression that the budded tree is the best. One capable writer has tried to soften down the generally con- sidered error of root grafting by distin- guishing a line between grafting on short or long pieces of roots, claiming that the great trouble is owing to the few and un- even roots formed on the short pieces, and the disadvantage or difficulty of taking up the trees without cutting them badly. As, in our knowledge, the roots, how- ever started, form in ratio to the growth Hardihood of Apple-Trees. 145 of the top, we do not see how a graft in- serted on a piece of root one foot or more in length gives any more hardihood to the tree than when the graft is put upon a root of only four inches in length. It has ever been our impression that the seat of vital- ity— the point of hardihood, if you will, because the more of vitality the more of endurance — lies in what is termed the crown, that point from whence, in a seed- ling, the root shoots one way and the top another. In any plant grown from a cutting or a root graft, this natural point is lost ; nature is forgotten, and art has assumed control ; a more ready and rapid propaga- tion is obtained, but at a measurable loss of natural vitality. In the study of our cultivated varieties we have learned that some have more of hardihood to endure climatic change than others, no matter how propagated; and as a rule, it is found that the nearer the culti- vated sort is allied to a natural or crab, the hardier it is. In vegetable life, as in animal life, all have not alike the same vi- tality and capability of endurance; and when we work any one of our cultivated sorts on any number of seedlings, the results are not alike, as every practical observer knows. Greater uniformity is maintained when a variety is root grafted than when budded upon an indiscriminate lot of seedlings, an item which we view as sus- taining our idea of the vital point and the influence obtained thereby. The recommendation of the Wisconsin State Horticultural Society to grow apple stocks from the seed of Siberian Crabs, because of their hardihood, is a good one ; but in order to follow our own views, and enable the grower to obtain the greatest hardihood for his permanent trees, great care must be taken, first, to see that the tree from which his seed is taken be per- fectly healthy. Second, to select his seeds, using only the largest and plumpest. Third, when his seedlings have grown one season, and stood over one winter, to go among them, and root out all that show any sign of feebleness. These three con- ditions performed, there is good reason to suppose the operator has material on which to build permanent growth, which he may do by budding or grafting at any point not less than four inches above the natural crown of the seedling. Nurserymen will of course object to this mode of procedure, as involving too much care and labor corresponding with the present price of trees. But if there is really anything in it, as according to our belief, then it would be better for the planter to pay four or five times the present price of trees, each one of which could be depended upon, than to receive the trees grown upon the present cheap and reck- less manner as a gift. As we have said, the northwestern por- tion of our territory is alive to this subject, and demanding attention and knowledge thereto, insomuch that we believe a stock of apple, pear, and cherry trees, grown upon principles tending to give them in- creased hardihood, would as soon as grown find ready sale at remunerating prices. The people are becoming rapidly educated in fruit-growing. Instead of the orchard being an appendage to the main objects of the farm, to be planted and then neglected, it is yearly coming more and more to be the leading item, one that can not be over- looked even by the owners of the largest of stock or grain farms; and with this knowledge of the value of fruit-growing comes a corresponding knowledge of the difference in value of trees and vines, and a willingness to pay therefor. Every kind of fruit is increased in size or peach left where two were, will often and improved in quality by attendance on become as large as both would, and be early thinning. If done early, the one pear vastly better. 8 — MAY. 146 The Horticulturist. QUINCE OF COXE APPLE. Fruit : size, large ; form, roundish ob- low with faint shades of deeper green suf- late, broad obscure ribs ; surface, glossy, fused — few minute dots ; stem, slender ; uneven, or wavy ; color, clear greenish yel- cavity, broad, open, deep ; calyx, nearly Fig. 52. — Quince of Coxe Apple. closed; segments, erect, slightly recurved; subacid with a distinct quince-like flavor; basin, open, deep, abrupt, slightly corru- core, small ; seeds, abundant, irregular, gated at bottom; flesh, yellowish, break- Season, December to March ; "very good." ing crisp, juicy, a little coarse grained, "EASTERN EXPERIENCE IS OF LITTLE AVAIL TO US.' This remark from the report of the an- nual meeting of the Iowa State Horticul- tural Society is made the " text" for an editorial article in the March number of the Horticulturist. The article dissents entirely from this statement, and says that " if the writer thereof lives a few years, and makes fruit-growing his study, he will find that he was very far from the truth when he wrote it ;" and " Iowa is not so much a distinct State in soil or tempera- ture that she can afford to throw away the experience of New England," etc. If I am not mistaken, the author of your " text" is a friend of mine who passed the meridian of life in the noble State of New York, and with ripe experience in Eastern fruit- growing, removed to young Iowa, and using that experience here, met with disaster; but now, after long years of extensive experi- Eastern Experience is of Little Avail to us." 147 ments here, having abandoned old notions, he has achieved a success that is a glory to his old age, and made the above remark guided by the light of more than a half century of observation and practice in loth the East and the West. Further : the wri- ter of this left the old Bay State fifteen years ago to make a home in young Iowa, and bore in his breast that self-sufficient, self- satisfactory feeling of superiority that near- ly all Eastern people feel who do not know the West. Availing myself of the best East- ern knowledge that I could get from books or men, I ordered a huge box of trees of Baldwin, R. I. Greening, Fall Pippin, Lou- ise Bonne de Jersey, Black Tartarian, Craw- ford's Early, etc. They were transferred to my new home, and after the lapse of one Iowa winter they were all dead or hopelessly crippled. Guided by the same light, a similar se- lection was ordered the next year, and a similar result followed. The third year a similar but smaller list shared a like fate. Chastened, but not discouraged, a gleam of light from a nearer but smaller luminary arrested my attention. It occurred that perhaps a totally different soil and climate might require a different selection of va- rieties and a different mode of treatment. Acting on this thought, I have now an or- chard of 3,000 vigorous young trees, from one to twelve years, planted in perfect health, and promising to yearly increase the amount of beautiful fruit they are now producing. Among them all there are not one hundred trees of varieties that I would select in New England. Eastern experience is of very little avail to us. It taught me that Baldwin and R. I. Greening were just the thing to plant. Western experience has taught me that they will winter-kill like a fig. Eastern experience taught me to prune in winter for wood, and in summer for fruit. West- ern experience has taught me not to j>rune in winter at all. Eastern experience taught me to train trees with open heads, to let in the sun and air. Western experience has taught me to grow trees with compact heads, to keep out the searching sun and winds of the prairies. Eastern experience taught me to manure all kinds of fruits liberally. Western experience has taught me that it will not do. In Massachusetts the soil is thin and poor ; in Iowa it is rich and deep. In Massachusetts the air is moist ; in Iowa it is dry. In Massachusetts the summer is cooler than in Iowa ; and in Iowa the winter is much colder than in Massachusetts. In Massachusetts the Bald- win apple is the most profitable ; in Iowa it winter-kills to the ground. In Massa- chusetts the Catawba will never fully ripen ; in hot, arid Iowa it seldom fails. Massa- chusetts is built on granite — Iowa on lime- stone. The soil, seasons, atmosphere, flora, geology, and geography are essentially dif- ferent, and of course require different treat- ment. My birth, boyhood, and early manhood were spent in the clear old Bay State. My manhood's prime till I have passed the half-way post of life's allotted span has been wholly devoted to fruit-growing in young Iowa, and I beg to corroborate the statement, that Eastern experience is of very little avail to us. I should not have written these lines, but your article was so typical of the opinion that pervades the whole East, that I thought I would give you the Western view of the subject. Even the American Agriculturist -^with cosmo- politan claims — advised a Minnesota cor- respondent to plant Baldwin, R. I. Green- ing, Fameuse, Roxbury, Russell, or any va- riety that succeeds in the same latitude East. Every one mentioned will kill but the Fa- meuse ; and the principle is wholly wrong, for some of our hardiest sorts are from the South. The American Institute Farmers' Club, New York, ridiculed a correspondent from the far Northwest who inquired for hardy sorts of pears. They replied, with a sneer, that all pears were hardy. They did not know what they were talking about. I will give one hundred dollars for one half 148 The Horticulturist. dozen pear-trees of any variety of fair quality that is perfectly hardy here. Iowa has often been condemned as a poor fruit-growing country, but it has been only by those who have tried it in the light of Eastern experience. We are slowly, but perseveringly, working out the prob- lem of fruit-growing on the great rich prai- ries of the Northwest. "We are already achieving success, and in due time shall be able to show results commensurate with the fertility of our soil and the vigor of a growing young State. D. W. Adams. Wawkon, Iowa. MASSACHUSETTS vs. NEW JERSEY. BY ROBERT MORRIS COPELAND. New Englanders are such a wandering people, and move from home so easily when they think they see a possible advantage in change of residence, that it will be diffi- cult to persuade them that it is not neces- sarily climate or soil which makes one part of the country preferable to another. The stubborn soil and cold climate of New En- gland seem to be unfavorable to profitable cultivation of the earth, and young men who would like to get their living by farm- ing emigrate to more favored lands. Those who prefer grain or stock raising go West ; cotton and sugar attract some South ; while New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware offer immense inducements to the market gar- dener and fruit culturist. The demand for fruit and vegetables has increased so rapidly in the last ten years that every available acre near the great cities has been in demand, and men have learned that the hitherto neglected sandy pine barrens of the three States above-men- tioned are the best kind of land for market gardening. The sandy soil is easy of cul- tivation, warms readily, and is responsive to manure. Every month the horticultural magazines give almost fabulous accounts of the bushels, baskets, and pounds of fruit grown to the acre, and almost convince the reader that he only is truly happy who has a good bit of New Jersey soil to culti- vate, and a family of growing children to help him take care of the crops and gather the fruit. But even the seductive stories of the profits which attend upon good market gardening fall a little when compared to the incomes which have been and may be derived from the vineyards and peach or- chards, which occupy favored places near the lakes or along the borders of the rivers of the Middle States. It is not strange that the repeated and verified statements of profits attract the men who have worn out a life in toiling among our boulders and gravel, and that fathers lend some of their hard -won earnings to their sons to go and reap in the new harvest fields. If six or eight hundred dollars per acre are to re- ward those who have the enterprise to go away from home, the wonder really is that any remain to till our own lands. But we who live in New England and make shoes and ships, sell cloth and leath- er, must live too, and must, and want to eat fruit and early vegetables ; and al- though we are very glad that our relations should grow rich by gardening, we do not like to pay them a fair price for theii crops and add the cost of transportation besides. We still believe, with the Protec- tionist, that the nearer the producer and consumer live to each other, the better for both. I believe I can show, by a few facts and a little reasoning, that there is no need of New England's looking beyond her own borders for anything which the soil and climate can give, unless it may be peaches ; but certainly all the small fruits and gar- den crops may be produced as early and Massachusetts vs. New Jersey. 149 cheaply in Massachusetts as in any other of the Northern States. As I propose to consider the profits of market gardening, it will be best to state at first that the principal element of suc- cess, as shown by increasing profits, is the control of the temperature with which plants are to be surrounded in their infan- cy. Of course it should be admitted that no man ought to begin this kind of work who does not love it for its own sake, as well as for the money it will bring. No occupation demands more attention and hard work ; and no one will succeed in it who is unwilling to give his whole time, thought, and energy to it. The market gardener's jjeculiar profit, as distinguished from those which any farmer may hope for, are derived from his extra early and late crops. Of course I do not mean to say that the middle or summer crops are unprofitable, but they have to compete with the supplies which farmers, from far and near, may pour upon the market. To grow early or late fruit or vegetables requires some previous educa- tion ; an investment of capital in hot-beds, green-houses, tools, manure, and other ap- pliances which are requisite for producing crops out of season. To use the materials, after they are produced, successfully, is the test of the skill of the gardener, and it is here that we find the most remarkable dif- ferences in men's success or failures ; and, at at the same time, this is the most interest- ing part of the business. It gives occu- pation when all other out-of-door work is suspended, and opens a very wide field for individual enterprise and progress. The successful man must be a careful observer of the weather ; must notice and remember the little advantages which plants derive, particularly when young, from variations in food and temperature and extra care, and must be quick to take advantage of every new discovery and invention which relates to his occupation. Early crops have the advantage that they do not compel their grower and vendor to be an absolute slave to the markets ; there are but few competitors, and no one is compelled to spend all his night getting to market lest he shall be too late for morn- ing customers. The earliest crops may be prepared and sold with as much delibera- tion as any other kind of merchandise. From the earliest crops, if economy has been observed in their production, and every advantage taken of the weather and good cultivation, profits may be realized which fully equal those derived for any other kind of gardening or farming. It is in this direction that Massachusetts farm- ers and gardeners may compete with any other men occupied in the same way ; but not all men are equally successful — in fact, but comparatively few succeed in the best sense of that word, even when they have invested all the money that their business seems to require. In order to understand the differences between the possibilities and realities of market gardening, I must first describe the common method of preparing and producing early crops. While describing, discussing, and per- haps condemning the ordinary methods by which market gardeners raise their early crops, I would not have any one suppose that I undervalue the results to which our market gardeners have attained ; but they are small when compared to what might be expected if men would only avail them- selves of their opportunities. The market gardener provides himself Avith a quantity of glazed sashes, six feet long by three feet wide; these sashes are laid on the ordinary plank hot-bed frame, well known to every reader; the frame ris- ing about a foot from the surface of the ground. At the proper time to begin winter forc- ing, a cellar is excavated beneath the sashes as deep as experience has shown to be best ; this cellar is filled with at least three feet of solid fresh horse manure, which is over- laid with about six inches of fine loam. Soon after the bed is made the manure begins to heat or ferment, and gives out a 150 The Horticulturist. great amount of heat, which warms the su- perincumbent earth and the interior of the frame. To preserve all the heat which is generat- ed, the outside of the frame is banked with fresh manure, and the sashes at night and in dark weather are covered with mats or shutters ; whenever a cold spell threatens, the manure on the outside is replaced by a heat — the one absolutely important ele- ment— is exhausted. Spring hot-beds fare better in this respect ; the heat of the sun will replace the waning strength of the manure, and the lettuce can be followed by radishes, cucumbers, tomato plants, etc. In spite of all this labor, anxiety, and chance, winter-forcing is often very profitable, but certainly pi-ecarious. It is not strange, then, fresh supply, and additional mats laid over' that market gardeners, who know all the the glass. As soon as the heat has moderated a lit- tle, the seed is sown or young plants prick- ed out in the earth of the hot-bed, where, stimulated by the bottom heat, they are expected, with the aid of air and water, to grow to mature plants. Of course it is very difficult to control or reduce the generating heat ; the only method is to let air in by raising the sashes. As the gardener can not get into the frame to judge of its constant heat by the senses, and can only get slight assistance from the thermometer, the adjustment of the temperature becomes the test of his skill. Too much heat will draw and burn the plants ; too little will damp thein off. Besides the extreme difficulty of manag- ing heat, is the inconvenience of getting at the beds to transplant and weed, and the impossibility of doing either of these things in cloudy and cold weather. At such times, however important it is to overhaul or re- set the beds, nothing can be done lest the beds cool off too much. Cloudy days are risks, should look longingly at the coast of Virginia, the Carolinas, and even Florida, as the very promised land for winter-forc- ing for the Northern market. In these fa- vored regions the spring sun can perfect far more than manure can even promise ; but there are difficulties in the way of growing early crops at the South for Northern con- sumption : they are of so perishable a na- ture that long transportation may ruin them, and the producer who lives too far from market to give his personal attention at least occasionally to his sales, will hard- ly rival the gardener who can carry his own crops to the consumer. Hot-bed culture in some form, then, will continue to be the source of all early crops for city use. The question now presents itself, do market gardeners avail themselves of the best methods for producing their crops ? If they do, it would seem to prove Nature to be capricious, and to show that some plants are willing to thrive under cir- cumstances very unfavorable to all other species ; for if florists, and those who grow the best for transplanting, as the plants fruits for early markets, are unable to at- suffer least from the check at such times, but the necessity of maintaining heat leaves the operator no choice. When one crop, as lettuce, has been ta- ken from the winter hot-bed, all the labor of preparation must be repeated, as the tain satisfactory results by using manure- generated heat, but can raise flowers and fruit at will by fire heat, may it not then be reasonably supposed that market gar- deners can advantageously substitute one for the other. [to be continued.] Trailing Arbutus. — For rock-work, the Leaf mold or peat sand in which to plant arbutus uva ursi, or bear berry, is one of it, is essential to its successful growth, the prettiest and best of our native plants. An Hour at Home. 151 AN HOUR AT HOME. BY JOHN S. KEID. For the past year my grape culture may be put clown as a failure, and notwith- standing all my enthusiasm in its success, candor compels me to admit this result. For these three years past my Catawba vines have produced no ripe vintage ; for although they opened splendidly, and sum- mer seemed to indicate a large yield, the rot finally ruined the prospect ; and when October came, almost nothing was found but shriveled and blasted fruit, unfit for any use whatever — no grapes, no wine ! After experimenting for almost twenty years, I find the Catawba, from some cause or other, in this section unfit for vineyard cultivation, and therefore last fall I dug up my vines of this description, and am replacing them with the Ives Seedling, a variety said to be much hardier, and free from mildew and rot. The Herbemont and the Diana are two other varieties which at one time promised well with me, but after one or two seasons they showed signs of mildew, and now I place them as vines suitable only for garden culture, with winter protection. The Iona, which yielded fruit of most excellent quality, and which was intro- duced to the grape woi'ld as the grape, superior and reliable for the table or the wine press, like the Catawba, has given way; and although it is a fruit equal in every respect to any grape cultivated here, it is fast following the misfortunes of the Catawba, of which it appears, to my judg- ment, to be a seedling. I have tried the Anna, Alvey, Adirondac, Allen's Hybrid, Clara, Elsinburg, Lincoln, Lenoir, and a number of others of fancy varieties, and have found them all failures, as out-door hardy grapes — not worth the attempt of cultivation. But there are a few varieties which, with proper common care, succeed well ; these are the Clinton, Concord, Hartford Prolific, and the Ives Seedling, which promise right. To these I may add the Delaware and Israeli a; the first for hardiness and quality of fruit, the second for earliness and size of bunch and berry. The Rebecca is a most beautiful grape, but has proved with me a complete failure, and so have the hybrids of Rogers. Perhaps it may be said that my vineyard is not suitable, or that I do not cultivate aright. My vine-hill lies east by south, and in bygone years produced Catawbas equal to any of Kelly's Island. In regard to the cultivation, I have spared neither time, skill, or money ; and in making wine, I have been successful as an amateur wine- maker. The climate also is not far wrong, being on the 40th parallel, and my resi- dence on the second bench of the beautiful White Water. Hence I am of the opinion, that when the grape suitable for this region is found, I may yet enjoy my otium cum dignitate under my own vine and fig- tree. I am now past the meridian of life ; the snows of fifty winters have powdered my once raven locks, and a few more years are all that I can expect to pass on earth ; how pleasant, then, to look forward through a vista of flowers and fruits, to sit under the blossom of the peach and the apple, and in autumn to enjoy their luscious produc- tion. Hence, notwithstanding my many failures, I continue planting and resetting, trimming and cultivating, preparing for that evening of life when the hands will refuse their cunning and the strong muscle its action, and labor becomes a burden. This season I shall jjlant five hundred Ives and a few hundred Concords, which with those I have, and the other varieties, I will look forward to the enjoyment of a feast of roses, of wine on the lees well 152 The Horticulturist. refined, such as I have had in former years, when I sent your predecessor a bot- tle of my red-cork to wet his whistle. This is Easter Sunday — cold, bleak, and stormy. The peach blossoms are opening their beautiful flowers, I am afraid, to be destroyed long before the fruit is matured. The green bud of the raspberry has bursted its winter covering and looks chilly and feeble ; the grape has begun to swell and the early pear to bloom. May we flatter ourselves that He who tempers the wind to the shorn lamb will so arrange the seasons that spring and summer and autumn and winter shall each in its own proper orbit pervade the world ? My own white and black seedling grapes I am carefully nursing, and testing their quality and strength. As last year was a failure with me in the grape line, they were no exception; still, each showed qualities of No. 1 grapes, and this season I hope to report satisfactorily their status in the list of grape excellence, or not at all. I wish some grape fancier, who enjoys the pleasure of having something nice in the way of a white grape not found in market, would send me in exchange a small rootlet or a few eyes of his variety, and I'll return in kind from my white. I am anxious to obtain a white grape the bunch and berry of which will equal the Catawba in quality, and excel it in durability and health or power to resist disease. O that I was on the shores of the Mediterranean, where the Falernian used to flourish, or the grapes of Eschol were found ! then I would wander amid the vineyards of the past, and perhaps find some vine whose fruit would unite the luscious sweetness of the Eoman with the size of the Jewish grape. THE OPINIONS OF MY NEIGHBORS. BY FRANK AMOS. A little more than a year since I ven- tured to write down a little of talk had with my neighbors ; and as the Horticul- turist very kindly published it, I am in- duced again to try my hand at tale-telling ; not that I have anything very new or strange to tell, but that possibly my neigh- bors' opinions and views, as they are prac- tical and good cultivators, may be of use to some readers of your valuable journal who are as yet but little acquainted with horticulture. My neighbor S., in talking of fruit-grow- ing, says that at one time he believed in confining himself pretty much to one kind of fruit, but that experience has taught him that it is most profitable to grow a variety, and therefore he last year made plantings, and is continuing, of all the small fruits, together with grapes, pears, etc., etc. He feels pretty certain that the use of salt as manure is going to keep his pears from blight. On this point B. says the salt may give nourishment and a stim- ulant to the tiee, and perhaps a healthy one, but he has no faith in its virtues as a remedial agent. He — Mr. B. — counts pear blight as sporadic or atmospheric, created by sudden and severe changes of temper- ature acting upon crude and undigested sap, the affection talking place in the leaf vessels, and thus the poison passing down the albumen and developing itself some- times at one point, sometimes at another. As for myself, I say nothing. I only try to keep my trees growing steadily, not too rapidly ; and when I see blight, out with my knife and cut it off way down below any tinge of complaint. The question of cherry-growing for profit being up, neighbor P., who has some hun- dreds of trees, said he would plant largely of Early Purple Guigne, Rockport, Pon- tiac, Red Jacket, and Louis Philippe. The Opinions of my Neighbors. 153 Most money can be obtained from Early Purple Guigne ; but the best cherry for all purposes is the Louis Philippe. P. says he wonders where the thought or knowl- edge of fruit men has been that this cherry has not become more generally known. Neighbor A. says that last year he tried to obtain this cherry at various nurseries, but could not find it. He wishes if any deal- ers have it they would advertise. He says, also, that he gives nurserymen credit for one thing, viz., they are gradually cutting down their lists of sorts ; and little by lit- tle the people who very largely depend on what the nurserymen say as to the value of varieties, are planting only the best sorts, and in a hundred trees but a few va- rieties. With A. I agree, and commend the nurserymen ; but I also desire to see the list very much reduced from present num- bers. The list of fruits now embraces so many of really superior quality that there is no occasion for growing a second-rate sort. A tree of the Jonathan apple will occupy no more ground than one of Cayu- ga Red Streak or Smith's Cider ; and while the fruit of the first is superior almost ev- erywhere, the others are only good to look at and sell to people who can not obtain better sorts. , While upon this point, I will remark that I have just been looking over some old catalogues, and am almost astonished at the confusion or duplication of one va- riety under many names which once existed. Truly a great change has been made, but more is yet wanted; as for instance, the Townsend apple is issued by some under that name, and also by its new Western cognomen of Hocking — both being the same. But the apple with perhaps the longest string of names is the Nickajack, which has twenty-eight synonyms, such as Berry, Red Hazel, Wall, etc., etc., and unfortunately is yet issued by some per- sons as distinct varieties under the syn- onyms. But enough of this : it was not what I set out to tell you. Neighbor E., who in talking of planting peas says he gives all credit as an early pea to Carter's Early, states that last year he planted it side by side same time with Tom Thumb, Early Gem, and some others, and gathered first from it. For late peas, he also says there is nothing as yet superior to Champion of England. Neighbor A. says in planting and grow- ing blackberries and raspberries he shall always practice the hedge system, i. by night. The soil in the pots and frames was the same as that used for all other green-house plants. After considering the natural habits of the violet, Mr. Calder decided to follow a different system of treatment. The violet is a spring plant ; blossoms most freely be- fore the weather is warm, when the tem- perature by day is about 60°, and by night about 40°. It seems to prefer rather damp and low places, and to select as soil decay- ing leaves and carbonaceous matter. Mr. Calder followed nature's method in his treatment. His first experiments were with five kinds of soil. He planted some of his well-rooted cuttings in sand, in loam, in manure, in manure and leaves, and in pure leaves. The leaves were not decomposed, but had been used to bank hot-beds during the winter. All the violets grew — those in the ma- nure being sickly, while those in the leaves surpassed all their rivals ; they made stout, stocky plants, with short dark green leaves, and set a plenty of flower-buds. During their season of growth he frequently lifted the plants to examine their progress, and found the clean white roots had, as it were, sewed masses of leaves together ; and when he lifted a violet it would raise by its roots a mass a foot in circumference. Accord- ingly, when he prepared his tables for win 176 The Horticulturist. ter forcing, he covered them with a thick After beginning to force, the thermometer bed of leaves, and no more loam than was kept as nearly as possible at a spring would fill the space between the plants, temperature — an average of 60° by day Fig. 65. — Sectional View of Caldcr's Houses. A, A, B, B, C, C, D, D, E, E, F, G, G, H, J. Outside posts and plank frame. Inside do. Plank bottom of tables. Joists spiked to posts to sustain water-pipes. Water-pipes. Floor of alley. Fixed sashes. Movable sashes. K, Plank ridge with half round molding for stop. L, Gutter. M, M, Outside earth. N, N, Mushroom beds (not in Calder's house). O, O, Lettuce beds. P, Violet beds. Q, Q, Subterranean ventilation (not in Calder's house) to introduce air warm. Ratchet for opening and fastening movable sash R, R, Air space between tables and walls (not in at ridge. Calder's house). and 4(P by night ; and as a consequence from the 1st of February. The flowers of the moderate heat and good food, the were engaged by a florist at 1 cent each, violet houses were purple with blossoms more or less ; in the week ending Feb. 22, Fig. 66. — Perspective View of Calder's Houses^-Hot water, boiler, etc., in end of middle house. there were 13,000 gathered, without seem- 3,300 were gathered ; and yet the follow- ing to be missed ; on the 28th of February ing day their places were all filled. Massachusetts vs. New Jersey. 177 Gardeners who visited these houses dur- ing the winter predicted their failure be- cause they were so cold ; but the result has proved that cold is better for the violet than heat. But violets have not been al- lowed to monopolize all the room ; the let- tuce has been of the best quality, and has eold in barrels readily, to go to New York, at $1 25 per dozen heads. Mr. Calder intends to stock his new houses with roses, violets, and carnations, reserving space for salads, strawberries, and cucumbers. He has at present 2,500 pots of Triomphe de Gand strawberries, which are beginning to grow, and occupy a part of the space left empty by the mar- keted lettuce. These strawberries will be kept at a low spring temperature, so as to bring them into bearing about the middle of May. Should they net 25 cents per pot, they will pay all the expenses of his season's experiments, leaving the other crops for profit. I might have selected some other market gardener florist to illustrate my argument ; there are many in the vicinity of New York who are pioneers, and very successful in this kind of culture, but I wished to show that Massachusetts is not debarred by cli- mate from successful market gardening. This sketch shows that the careful and in- telligent man may make his own climate and soil, at no very great cost. It is ob- vious that this kind of forcing is much cheaper than any other. To heat a house 136 feet long and 16 feet wide will require 8 tons of coal for the winter and spring, or $64. To put 100 feet of hot-beds 6 feet wide into working order would have required 14 cords of manure, which would have cost $140. The manure, as we have seen, for forcing purposes would have been value- less when once used, and to re-make the beds would have cost another $140. The labor of the two fillings and removals would have cost at least $25, or $330 against $64. Mr. Calder has also shown in strawberry field culture that Massachusetts need not yield the palm to any other State. He has cultivated his strawberries for several years in a peculiar manner : he sets the vines in beds 30 inches wide, the strawberries 10 inches apart in the row, the rows being 10 inches and the beds 18 inches apart. The plants were not allowed to make any run- ners, all runners being cut off as soon as they appeared, consequently each plant started making five or six heads. When strawberries grow in this single and indi- vidual manner, it is easy to keep them free from weeds, with the hoe or the hand ; if any grow large, they can be pulled up without fear of unsettling the new runners, which are the staple of most strawberry beds. By giving wide alleys and narrow beds, there is no temptation to the picker to kneel on the bed and crush the ripe or green fruit ; and as the plants are all of the same age, the fruit is all of uniform qual- ity from the first picking to the last. From one eighth of an acre cultivated in this manner with strawberries, Mr. Calder sold $600 worth of fruit, which was equal to the value of the crop wdiich his father gathered from an acre. Without wishing to discourage emigration to the vinelands of any State, may we not reasonably ask all who wish to get their living by culti- vating the soil, to first try what careful and well-directed labor will do with the lands where they have their homes at pres- ent. If these facts which I have given are of universal application, no NewEnglander need despair of getting a rich reward from the soil of his native State. I give a section and birds-eye view of Mr. ('alder's hot-beds, to show the method of heating, and their general arrangement. The Squash Bug. — We have saved our by covering the vine with earth half an melon and squash vines from the injury inch to an inch deep all along from the caused by the squash bug (cor em tristis), root to the first flowers. 12— JUNE. 178 The Horticulturist. BEURRE DE L'ASSOMPTION. This is one of the new pears described form, slightly obtuse, citron yellow, mar- by A. Leroy as of first quality. It is bled and dotted with reddish brown ; claimed to have originated at Nantes, in flesh, white, half fine, juicy, melting, vin- France, in 1863. The tree is said to be ous sweet, with a delicate perfume. Eipe, vigorous, with numerous strong branches, last of July and early August. and very productive. Fruit, large, pyri- "We take the above from the valuable Fig. 67. — Beurre de VAssomption. and carefully prepared volume on Pears, some variety already known under another by M. Andre Leroy, Angers, France. To name. If it prove a new sort, with the our knowledge the variety has not as yet qualities given it, it will be valuable here fruited in this country, and may prove for its size and period of ripening. Baltimore Greening. — Gathering Fruit. 179 BALTIMORE GREENING. Last autumn we received from John Edgerton, Coal Creek, Iowa, samples of an apple under name of Baltimore Greening. We have no record in fruit books of the variety, nor do we recognize it as identical with any variety under another name. "We made the accompanying outline and de- scription of the fruit, and shall be glad to learn more of it. Fruit, large, globular, flattened, some- Fig. -Baltimore Greening. what angular, greenish yellow with a brownish blush cheek in sun — some slight stripes of russet, and a few small but raised gray dots; stem, short; cavity, broad, open, and deep ; calyx, closed, or nearly so ; basin, open, deep, slightly furrowed next the eye; flesh, yellowish, rather coarse, tender ; mild sub-acid ; " very good ;" corer medium ; seeds, broad oval pointed. Season, December. GATHERING FRUIT. The appearance and value of fruit de- pend very much upon when and how it is gathered. Strawberries, if picked care- fully with half or quarter of an inch of the stem attached to each berry, and laid carefully into the basket, will carry better and sell for a greater price than when pulled hap-hazard, some with hulls and stems on and some with them off. Again, if they are gathered when they are per- fectly dry, they will keep longer and re- tain a better flavor than if gathered while wet. A little water not only hastens de- cay, but it rapidly destroys the flavor of many delicate, soft varieties. After being gathered, they should never be allowed to 180 The Horticulturist. ^tancl out exposed to the sun, as with many varieties it takes but a little while of exposure to hot, clear sun to destroy their brightness of color. Currants should also be gathered with their steins ; they should also be dry, and all leaves thrown out. Gooseberries, if for shipment, should be gathered dry, and a careful expulsion of all leaves will cause them always to command the best price. Like the strawberries, care should always be taken not to expose them to a hot sun after gathering, for such exposure soon gives them the api:>earance of being half cooked. Kaspberries and blackberries are too often seeii in market and on the table half broken and mashed. None but whole and perfect berries should ever go into the box or basket for market. It pays to carefully assort them before sending to market, for the mingling of a few bruised or mashed berries induces decay and detracts from their value in the judgment of the dealer. Cherries should never be gathered when otherwise than perfectly dry. We have known them to decay entirely in twenty- four hours when gathered while wet. It pays also with cherries for market to care- fully sort them over on a table, picking out any mashed or wormy or imperfect fruit before sending to market. Of course the stems are, or always should be, attach- ed, although we have occasionally seen them in market looking more like round cranberries than cherries. Peaches should be left on the tree until fully ripe, and then gathered carefully with thumb and finger, and at once laid into the basket or box in which they are to be marketed. If the bloom is rubbed off the peach by rough handling, its beauty of appearance is injured, and it will decay much sooner than if untouched. Formerly it was supposed that the peach must be gathered before fully ripe in order to ship it any distance; but practical experience has proven that ripe fruit, not quite soft, will carry just as well as unripe, and com- mand a much better price. Pears and apples should never be picked from the tree by breaking the stems. Un- less the stem will separate freely from the tree, the fruit is not ripe ; it will neither eat or cook good, and is only fit for those who want a touch of cholera morbus. Apples as soon as gathered may be sent direct to market ; but nearly every variety of pear is improved in appearance and quality by keeping in close, dark drawers, wrapped in flannel or soft paper, or packed in bran a few days. For profit, and in order to obtain the highest price, all fruit pays to be assorted into two or more grades. A few scatter- ing large berries, apples, or pears in a quart or bushel do not assist in advancing the price ; but if carefully packed by them- selves will bring the highest price, and often induce the dealer to buy the small fruit in order to get the large. PATENTS IN HORTICULTURE. If patents are necessary to protect in- ventors in other branches of science, why not in horticulture ? Are not the fruits of the earth of as much value to mankind as the glittering ornaments which may add splendor, but not one moiety to the real welfare, of the possessor ? We think if there is any branch of na- tional industry which would repay the fostering care of the government more than another, it is that of horticulture and its near relative, agriculture. The progress that we have made in the past half century in agricultural productions has in a great Patents in Horticulture. 181 measure been owing to the protection which patents have afforded to inventors of agricultural implements. What other great inducement could we offer the inventor to stimulate his genius than that of wealth ? Would honor or the gratitude of his fellow-countrymen be equally as potent in developing his inven- tive powers as money ? We think not; for just so long as money remains the great motive power which moves society, just so long must the glittering promise of it be given to individuals for the purpose of bringing out their latent talents. Secrets in horticulture we have always condemned; perhaps our opinion has been biased by circumstances, from the fact that Ave never were so fortunate as to meet an individual who happened to possess one, who was not pretty thoroughly ignorant of all other matters relating to the subject, This, however, is no good reason why there may not be secrets in horticulture, or that a man, otherwise ignorant, may not discover something that would be valuable to the profession. Steam as a motive power was at one time a secret to all the world except Watts ; but when he made the discovery known, others followed in the track, as readily as one wave of the great ocean succeeds another Every individual has a natural right to benefits derived from his own labors, and our patent laws were framed for securing this to inventors, while at the same time it encouraged the divulging of secrets. When an article is patented, it is no longer a secret, but the whole world is invited to make improvements upon the same, the original inventor receiving compensation by royalty, or otherwise, upon whatever portion his inventions may contribute to the whole. We want no secrets in horticulture ; but we do require some adequate means of protection to those wTho may by their indi- vidual exertions introduce, invent, or pro- duce any article or process of manufacture which shall be a benefit to his fellow- beings. Under existing laws, a man who invents a machine or compound to destroy his fellow-man may get the same patented, and derive wealth therefrom ; but one who spends a lifetime of toil in discovering or producing a new fruit, grain, or vegetable which shall save nations from famine, or add untold blessings to his race, has no protection against thieves except his own individual strength, which is often quite inadequate for the purpose. We will suppose a case, and in doing so we will not draw upon our imagination sufficient to exceed the truth. Mr. A. has been growing seedling grapes for twenty years, but in all that time he has produced but one variety that he thinks worthy of dissemination. This one is a great acquisition, and it will be largely planted ; hundreds of vineyardists will get rich from its products ; government will re- ceive a large amount, not only from the income tax of those who cultivate it, but from the vine from its fruit ; and as a whole, it will add millions to the wealth of the country. At present there is but one vine in existence, and that is in the garden of the originator. Now, it is well known that a variety may be valuable in one lo- cality and not in another, and the question naturally arises : how is Mr. A. to de- termine the real value of this variety ex- cept by dissemination ? We all agree that this is his only course ; but if he propagates and distributes the vines, what security can he receive that others will not propagate from them ? (and perhaps more rapidly than himself) so that while he is waiting to learn the true value of his production, so many thousands of it have been grown by others that he can make nothing by its propagation or sale. In fact, the very means which Mr. A. employs to learn the true value of his new grape has debarred him in a great measure from receiving any reward for his labor. It may be said that he should have placed the specimens in the hands of only 182 The Horticulturist. honest men. True, this would have been a partial protection against fraud ; but so long as rascality travels in disguise, and has access to honest men's gardens, this precaution would be of but slight advant- age. It is an easy matter for those who feel so disposed, to pocket a few cuttings or seeds of plants, and thereby become possessors, at least, of any new and valua- ble product of the soil. "We could cite many instances, if it were necessary, to prove that many of our horticulturists have been robbed of the reward of their labors by such means; and under existing laws there is no remedy. The author of a book is protected by copyright, and the compounder of a drug and the inventor of a machine — no matter how simple they may be — receive the fostering care of the government, while the agriculturist or horticulturist is left in a great measure to the mercy of thieves. We do not wish to advocate the protec- tion of monopolies nor the patenting of every process in horticulture which igno- rant or shrewd men may bring forward, but Ave do want to see some system adopted which shall protect honest men against rascality, and afford them means of receiv- ing a fair remuneration for their labor, Why can not we have an agricultural bu- reau at "Washington, where new fruits, flowers, or grains may be deposited, with an accurate description of the same ? — the depositor furnishing proof that he is the originator, and receiving a certificate therefor, and this shall secure to him the sole right to propagate and sell the article the same for a period of years, as in the case of patents. Perhaps it would be bet- ter to have such a bureau connected with each State agricultural college, and in the experimental classes of each the products of the State might be tested, and thereby furnish correct information as to the value of each plant submitted to its care. It appears to us that some such system is required, and that by its adoption our progress would be more rapid, and that the honest and industrious laborer in the cause would feel encouraged to put forth greater exertions than he does under ex- isting circumstances. We believe that others feel the necessity of some change in our present system as well as ourselves. REMINISCENCES— WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED, AND HOW WE LEARNED IT. A cofxtry that has passed its novitiate in any great art has good reason to be proud. When this art is at once a blessing and a riches to the individual citizen and the nation, our pride may well be excused by lookers-on. It is not, however, within tfie rules of either individual or national gratulation that we should refuse to ac- knowledge our obligations to our elder brethren in the art; nor full of the most high-minded recollections of the aid thus afforded, must we forget that we have learned by mere dint of energy and perse- verance more than ever has been taught us by extraneous assistance. Premising thus much, may we take a glance at the means by which we have achieved so much skill and experience in the ancient art of gardening ; while at the same time we have taken up as we jour- neyed along, a few principles of vegetable physiology, which we are unwilling in our varied practice and extensive reading to set aside. Practice first and theory after- ward, is the wise rule of action for all who would make the best use of their brief hour of earthly labor. We wish to learn something of the laws of vegetation ; plant a seed, a bean for instance ; cultivate it and study it ; follow Re m iniscences. 183 the workings of the hand by the reflections of the mind, and nature will teach you her most wonderful lessons; but without the growing plant, how useless the teachings of the learned physiologist ! True, science wrapt in its somewhat hidden laws may forget the mere worker in the garden, but the worker many a time and oft reaps harvests unknown to the sage. Thus have the pioneers in this grand field of beauty taught themselves the art which their children have so far developed, and it is now but the appointed time when the way through the desert begins to be made clear ; when the rose amplified by art is planted by the side of the wild one of the prairie, and both are acknowl- edged by the eye of taste to be alike beau- tiful, for are not both products of nature's storehouse, variously manipulated by the genius of man ? Our art is eminently a peaceful art, for while each in the rude manner in which he has been instructed by corrupted cus- tom, endeavors to bring to the common treasury his humble gifts, so his brother worker, imagining his achievements to be more worthy, but follows in his emulation the principle of aiming at perfection with- out the lesson of humility, so necessary as its counterpoise. It was thus in the early days of our American horticultural novitiate, that every worker emulated the zeal of his neighbor, and the results though occasion- ally a little discourteous, were soon adjusted. In the midst of this Babel of landscape gardeners and garden architects from every corner of the civilized world, Ave had a merry time. The ax was heard at every step, and the grand trunk of each prostrated giant sent a knell to the heart of the true lover of arboricultural grandeur and beauty ; but on this spot were to be raised new offer- ings to Flora. Here were to be reared the denizens of other climes, for had not our Bartram been trading in our trees and plants, gaining in exchange new forms, unknown to us, the types of a vegetation destined one day to be as familiar to our children as our commonest trees are to us ? So that we permitted the forest to be laid waste, and on the ruins of cedars and tulip trees and persimmons we planted the less sturdy growths of a much less severe climate. In the effort to obtain these stranger forms of tree, and shrub, and plant, what a world of that enthusiasm which still lives, but has well nigh cul- minated ; in the history of its earnest pro- moters we read the lives of the honored dead who have left their monument in an enriched and varied artificial landscape. The year in which the Horticulturist took its place among the aids of the new school of gardeners was over one hundred years later than the date of the introduction of our hemlock spruce to English gardens by Peter Collinson, and in that century of active experiment and research, what won- ders were accomplished. Wonders, indeed ! when we reflect on the means of intercourse between the old garden and the new, when we calculate the world of trouble and anxiety requisite for an interchange of trees and plants at that distant day. Such a romance is furnished us in the graphic memoirs of the Bartrams and their correspondents ; and should not your young readers have resolved to read of nothing but " new grapes" and " wine-making," just recommend them to take a hasty glance at "Bartram's Memoirs," by Darling- ton, a worthy memorial left by the modest author of the " Flora Cestrica" to a still more worthy arboriculturist. Have we now in the year 1868 any authentic available history of the successive stages of progress through which we passed toward our present position ? Is such a narrative worth the time and pains it would demand? If so, let it be forth- coming. D. S. 184 The Horticulturist. SCRAPS FROM MY NOTE BOOK. "Whitewashing Trees. — I often see this advised, and some of my neighbors adopt the advice, making their orchards and trees around their house good repre- sentations of tombstones in a cemetery. As the object of using whitewash or alkali upon the bodies of trees is to destroy any insect life that may have collected or at- tached itself thereto, and as weak lye is equally or more effectual than whitewash, and less glaring and offensive to the eye, I see no reason why editors of journals should ever permit the issue of advice to use whitewash without a word of com- ment. Possibly they may be jealous of their country friends, and thus advise them to destroy Nature's own coat and make the appearance as artificial and absurd as their own town views. Strawberries. — Oh, what a bother ! I have now about sixty varieties, over which I am daily looking for the superior excel- lence said by the originators to be wrapped therein, according to name. Among all the sorts, Wilson is the first to bloom ; and I have always been able to gather a little fruit from it as early as from the earliest sorts ; but its main crop of course we all know is not of the earliest. I do hope the next meeting of the American Pomological Society will weed out the " suckers" from this class of fruit. Astraciian Crab Apple. — Some years since I had a variety of the Siberian Crab under the above name. It was a half larger than the Large Red Siberian — so say my notes — " of a bright, rich red, very showy and beautiful." I have lost it, and would like again to possess it, if any reader of the Horticulturist has it. Honey Peach. — A nice little fruit that should be in every amateur's garden, and especially in orchard houses. I believe it was originally grown by Charles Downing from a seed received from China. Dandelion. — Although a common weed, and therefore disliked, yet a mass of dan- delions, when in bloom early in May, pre- sents one of the most gay and rich golden shows possible to be created. With a little care, to prevent them from going to seed, a bed may be kept within bounds, as I happen to know ; and no plant that we have will at the same season, and with the same amount of labor and care, present a more gorgeous display of flowers. Roadsides. — Riding along in the coun- try to-day I passed a number of places where new houses were just built, and evi- dently the owners were disposed to make their places " look smart." In so doing they had pruned away waste branches from the trees, thinned out the shrubs, and raked off all the stones and sticks ; but where do you think they put them ? I presume you will say in a brush pile back in the lot to be burned. No such thing. They were all thrown into the street to annoy every passer-by, and in full view of themselves and every one. Like the girl who combed her hair in front and neglected the back of her head, under the impression that no one saw her except as she saw them, face to face, so they forgot there was any view of their places except within their door yard fence lines. If there is any reader of these notes following this practice, I hope they will abandon it. Scuppernong Grape. — I have a vine growing on a large ailanthus, where I think the variety may answer, being about as valuable as a grape as the ailanthus is as a shade tree. New-mown Grass for Mulching. — Nothing that I have ever used equals new- mown grass for mulching newly planted trees or for placing among strawberry vines. It keeps its place, is clean and neat, leaves no seeds, and creates no fungi, as is often the case with old tan bark or rotten wood. E. Editor's Table. 185 EDITOR'S TABLE, To Contributors and Others. — Address all Communications, for the Editorial and Publishing Departments, to F. W. Woodward, 37 Park Row, New York. The Agricultural Department at Washington. — We are indebted to the Commissioner of Agriculture for copies showing some of the acts which that de- partment has endeavored to perform, for which he will please accept our thanks. The Commissioner is under the impres- sion that because the speakers at pomo- logical meetings do not agree as to the merits of particular fruits, the recommenda- tion we made to have new varieties ex- amined in the grounds of their grower or originator by a competent committee made up from well-known experienced pomolo- gists, can not be done, because it would perhaps give to the department a too dic- tatorial course. We confess we do not see it in that light, because our knowledge of the judgment of nomologists as to quality of fruits we find generally uniform, and a report made by such committee on the quality, and at the same time general ap- pearance of tree or jDlant as seen in the place of its origin, would have weight all over the country, and be duly regarded as the committee's opinion, not the depart- ment's. The Commissioner, however, would have one task to perform which be per- haps sees would be extremely difficult, and that is to name and make up the committee from the best talent without being com- pelled to work in one, two, or more of men who, having sold a few trees, or wrote a few articles for some newspaper, set themselves up as poinologists, and are anxious to bolster themselves before the public by association. If the Commissioner is going to wait until " pomological con- ventions and local societies agree" after discussion on the merits of varieties, he will have a good time of rest, because it is wTell known the discussions of pomological and local societies are participated in by the inexperienced as well as the experienced,, all free and open, and just so long, of course, the words of the man who has perhaps never seen but a dozen varieties of fruit, and those during the past half-dozen years, will be placed on record just as prom- inently as those of the man who has de- voted a whole lifetime to the study and observation of fruits. The public do not always know how to discriminate in these speakers, but the Commissioner should, and so seeing, be enabled to see that real pomologists differ very little as to quality and values of fruits. But while we have this point of checking the introduction of unworthy new seedlings in view, we shall not urge it as yet too strongly, nor shall we omit a knowledge that the Commis- sioner is evidently disposed to advance the- interests of our country in its agriculture and horticulture, as seen in his desire to have the duty on seeds, stock, etc., for propagation, rescinded, in his abolishment of waste of money distributing old and common varieties of seeds or plants, and in. many other ways not necessary here to' record. In a circular to State Boards of Agri- culture, etc., we notice a request for " aid to the propagating garden at Washington for testing the merits of new seedling fruits." So far as any test made there of the identity or correctness of a variety is made a point, it may be useful to the pub- lic ; but so far as a test in that garden is made, as respects its value in other sec- tions of the States, it is worth nothing; 186 The Horticulturist. and the record of capable men elsewhere growing the same things is just as valuable as the record of the garden superintendent. It is only a private garden of local in- fluence in reality, and the public generally know \%. Give the gardener a duty to perform in collecting one of everything, tree and plant, under whatever name, grow and compare them, and arrange them their true names and their synonyms, and he will be doing good for the whole country ; but a test of the value of a fruit or grain, or the hardihood and beauty of a tree, shrub, or flower, at Washington, is not worth a farthing to ninety per cent, of our territory. North Carolina Seedling Grape. — J. L. This is a hardy sort, as yet little known north of Missouri. It has a large, well-formed bunch, with large-sized black berries, of rather a harsh quality, showy, but not particularly good to eat. It ripens same time as Concord, but we do not think will jDrove valuable here at the East or North. Messrs. B. K. Bliss & Son, 41 Park Row, New York, have on exhibition at their store a fine collection of cones col- lected by an amateur botanist from the coniferas of California. They comprise many species, and are probably the best collection ever brought to the East. Any of our readers who are interested in the giant productions of the Golden State would do well to examine this collection, many of the cones being fine cabinet specimens obtained at the cost of much time and labor. Refrigerators. — The warm season brings with it a desire for the means of preserving meat, vegetables, fruits, etc., from rapid deterioration. Numerous re- frigerators have been manufactured and offered to the public, and many of them have partially answered the purpose in- tended, but at a large expenditure of ice. Lately, A. M. Lesley, of 605 Sixth Avenue, New York, has devised one, which, after a careful trial, we pronounce to be the best contrivance we have seen for the purpose intended. It is neat in appearance, sub- stantial in construction, economical in the consumption of ice, and what is so neces- sary to the proper preservation of articles of food — keeps the interior atmosphere dry. About Inquiries and Answers. — Edi- tor Horticulturist : I often read in your journal and others interesting articles by correspondents, but which lack much of the interest they should have, by not giving the residence or location of the author — for instance, " An Hour at Home," by John S. Reid, referring to success and failure of various grapes ; " The Opinions of My Neighbors," by F. Amon, referring to many varieties of fruits. Also, when inquiries are answered by the editor in a journal, and the inquiry not stated, the general reader is not, in most cases, informed by the answer. I have for many years noticed the omis- sions referred to, and thought them quite important. — Very respectfully, a subscriber from 1846, T. G. Yeomans. [The above from an old subscriber and a practically successful fruit-grower touches a point we have ourselves often desired to cover, but there are two or three things in the way to so doing. First — Some who ask questions and desire them to be answered, write at the same time desiring not to have their name appear; and while we endeavor to reply to all such personally by letter, occasionally a question comes which we deem pertinent to answer in our columns. Our readers, however, we think, will hold us blameless of copying " Idem," etc., from English journals and sending them out as original. Second — There is with many an impres- sion that whoever writes his views of the value of fruits or flowers for publication is public property, and therefore they can address him for all sorts of inquiries free of cost. This is a growing error, and should be checked, because it deters inanv Editor's Table. 187 a capable man from offering his name and character to the public. We have before us now a letter from one of our corre- spondents saying that he " has at one mail received seven letters asking for lists, and information of where to obtain, etc.," one man even asking for "a complete record of all the best of apples, and especially for those suited to Tennessee." All such inquiries, we think, should be addressed to the editor of the journal from whence they have sprung, and he will see to their being answered ; or letters may be addressed to writers and sent to the care of the editor of the journal in which their articles appeared, when they will of course be duly forwarded.] Monmouth, April 14, 1868. Mr. Editor — Dear Sir : I feel inclined to say a few words to some of the contrib- utors to the columns of the Horticultur- ist, and to request them to be a little more specific in their descriptions of cer- tain processes which they describe. For instance, at the meeting of the Lake Shore Grape-Growers' Society, as given in a late number of the Horticulturist, it is said : " Mr. Saxton had kept his grapes in a cool room — in a dry cellar," etc. They kept well, and would have kept until April. Now, the way to do this is what I great- ly desire to know. But he has given us no directions about packing them, or how to protect them from freezing in a cold room in winter. From all that is said on the subject by the different members of the Society, I am unable to understand how to do it. I confess I am a novice in the business, and I read the papers and peri- odicals to learn how to do properly every- thing connected with grape-growing. And when I read the communications of men who know all about it, and they fail to give all the manipulations necessary to success by a beginner, I feel disappointed, and throw down the paper with disgust. A year or so ago, Mr. Griffith, of Penn., told us of his wonderful success in grow- ing the Delaware and other hard-wooded grapevines in the open air ; but he failed to tell us how to do it. What benefit is it to the common, unlearned readers of your excellent paper to read of the great success of scientific men in fruit-growing, if they do not tell us common people how to do it ? It is like presenting a loaf of bread to a starving man, yet placing it beyond his reach. I am delighted with the Horticulturist, and with a little re- form in the direction indicated above, my joy will be full. J. F. Planting Roses. — It may seem out of season to write of planting roses in June, but our experience in forming a bed of roses leads us to consider this month quite as desirable as any. Formerly, only the tender roses were grown in pots; and if hybrid perpetuals were wanted, it was necessary to procure them early in spring or in the autumn. Now, however, the large rose-growers keep a stock of all sorts grown in pots; and we have found that when planted out in this month, they grow vigorously from the first, and bloom well late into autumn. The soil should be dug deep, say eight- een to twenty inches, and well intermixed with good rotten manure. Turf and bones are also good manure for roses. When the plants are turned out of the pots, if they are worked on manetti or any other roots, all suckers or sucker buds should be rubbed off, the drainage just removed ; but otherwise the ball should be disturbed as little as possible, although when the earth has been pressed well to it, a slight press- ure near the collar may be given just to insure the water passing through the fibers. After a good soaking of water, the ground around newly planted roses at this time should be well mulched, and for this purpose new-mown grass is one of the best materials. A watering of liquid manure once a week will cause the plants to make strong and healthy growth and produce abundant blooms. 1S8 The Horticulturist. Rearing Chickens. — A writer in the Lon- don Cottage Gardener gives the following excellent directions for rearing chickens, translated from M. Jacque's French work, " Le Poulailler." "When a hen takes to her nest she is the same evening removed from the yard to a (sitting) room, into which only a half light is admitted, and there kept on dummies for a few days until two or three hens are broody. I prefer three or more to two. They are placed in separate covered ham- pers 2 feet long and \\ foot wide, in which clean new hay has been spread. Each basket has attached to it a linen label bearing the date of sitting, the name of the hen, the number of eggs, with the date upon which chickens are due, thus — Betsy.— February 29. 14 Houclans, Due March 20. also a clean piece of old flannel. Every morning at the same hour each basket is opened in turn, the hen taken out and placed under a coop, being pre- viously supplied abundantly with food, both soft and grain, and with clean water. Fifteen minutes, neither more nor less, are allowed for feeding. While the hen is off the nest the eggs should be kept covered with the piece of flannel, and having put all the sitting hens to feed, each nest should be visited in turn to ascertain that no casualties have occurred ; and if any eggs have been broken, turn the rest out, put in clean hay, and cover up again as quickly as possible. On the sixth day the hens should have an extra ten minutes allowed them, and should be given an opportunity of dusting themselves while the eggs are being ex- amined for chickens, which is done by inclosing a lighted paraffine lamp in a box, in one side of which a hole about the size of an egg has been made. To this hole each egg is applied in turn, and returned to the nest or rejected, as it proves to be barren or otherwise. This should be done in a dark room. When a great proportion of the eggs turn out barren, a complete sitting should be made up to one or two of the hens, and the rest kept upon dum- mies for a few days till a fresh set of hens is ready ; hence the greater the number of hens put to sit on a given day the greater the convenience. On the twenty-second day the baskets containing the hens and chickens are brought to the light, the chickens reckoned, and regularly distributed between the hens. Some bread crumbs for the chickens, and grain for the hen, are put in a saucer at one end of the basket, and the whole taken back to the half light till the twenty-third day, when they may be turned out where it is intended to rear them. The above directions may seem compli- cated and unnecessary, but in practice will be found to facilitate the work, prevent many mishaps, and, consequently, increase the percentage of chickens, while the mothers will turn out with their broods much less exhausted, and consequently better fitted to take care of them, than if left to sit closely for several days, as many, and those the best sitters, frequently do, and then get up and stay off the nest for half an hour or an hour, which, if it happen to lie a cold day, may spoil the eggs or make the chickens weakly. Hardy Shrubs are readily propagated from cuttings of the present year's growth of wood. Plant them in a cold frame, and shade them the same as herbaceous cuttings. Bedding Plants require special atten- tion to pinching and pegging, for on this depends greatly the beauty of display as the plants come into bloom. Early in June is a good time to sow annuals for fall blooming. Sown at this time they frequently do better than those sown earlier, because the ground being warm they grow right along without check. Editor' 's Table. 189 East Bethlehem, Penn., May 5th, 1868. F. W. Woodward, Esq.— Bear Sir : Have you any experience in covering straw- berries during winter with sorghum bagasse as winter protection ? Or have you any letters from correspondents who have used it for this purpose ? There is a large quan- tity of it here (in a heap) one and two years old, and I had thought of procuring it for this purpose, and spread it out into small heaps this spring, and turning it over once or twice during the summer to have it all exposed to the rains and action of the weather before putting it on the plants in December. It would not do, in my opin- ion, to put it on more than half an inch deep, as one inch would surely smother the plants. "We can not use straw or fod- der or stalks here as a covering on account of the field-mice working under them ; but they rarely work under the bagasse. I have never found anything that would re- tain moisture like it ; hence, if it is not in- jurious, it would be just the thing as a summer mulch. In the spring it could be moved from off the crown just as straw is done. What think you ? Yours, etc., Jno. H. Jenkins. [We have witnessed the use of bagasse during the past two years on strawberries and among raspberries, etc. It packs very closely and retains moisture, and unless put on too thick answers well. There is an acid in it, but unless, as above said, it is spread thick, we can see no injury from its use. We should not advise its application until just before the straw- berries commence to ripen, and then we would remove it early in September, and replace after the ground was thoroughly frozen, again removing it in spring from the opening thereof, until near fruiting time.] Tree Peonies. — We have repeatedly written of the wealth and beauty of leaves and flowers possessed by Moutan or tree peonies, and we now again desire to call the attention of every lover of flowers, to an examination of their foliage and blos- soms. We have found them to be perfectly hardy, and now that a variety of shades of color have been produced by new seedlings, a bed of them when in flower presents one of the grandest sights we have ever seen created by grouping or massing of flower- ing shrubs. Gordon's Flowering Currant — Riles Oordoniani — is one of the prettiest and most showy of our very early and hardy shrubs. Its blossoms have been beautiful with us this year. It should be annually pruned back as soon as it has done bloom- ing, otherwise it will soon grow out of shape ; and besides by annual cutting back, it grows more vigorously ; and as its flowers are all on the wood of the previous year's growth, the bloom is consequently more abundant. Number of Varieties of Small Fruits Named and Described. — A glance which we have given at the number of varieties of small fruits now known, named, and described, counts up over three hundred of strawberries, about fifty currants, seventy raspberries, twenty blackberries, and nine of American gooseberries. The list of English gooseberries is almost beyond computation, and nearly all are valueless in this country. Grass Lawns, newly made, must not be so closely mown as old turf; but mowing must be performed with regularity, or it is impossible to obtain a uniform velvety green surface. To mow close a well-estab- lished turf is to encourage the fine grasses and kill out the coarse kinds. Salt and plaster are good manures to sow at this time. Use at the rate of one bushel of plaster and three bushels of salt to the acre, and sow just before a rain. Increasing the Size of Fruit. — While the fruit is swelling, the size of raspberries and strawberries may be increased by thinning out the number on a cane or plant, removing all suckers or newly-form- ing attached plants, and watering occasion- ally with manure water. 190 The Horticulturist. Hoe with the Rake. — This may be an Irishman's advice ; but we have found great advantage in the use of an iron tooth rake or toothed hoe during the early cultiva- tion of all garden crops. We go over our beets, parsneps, peas, beans, etc., with a twelve-tooth steel rake as soon as they show sign of coming above ground. For potatoes, corn, and for working among raspberries and other small fruits, and for stirring the surface earth around dwarf pears and recently planted trees, we use a four-pronged hook or hoe, with which a man will perform nearly or quite one sixth more work in a day, destroy the weeds, and leave the ground always light, loose, and even. Keep the Surface of the Ground Loose. — We have many years watched the varied results of the cultivator who keeps frequently stirring the surface of his soil, and the one who hoes or cultivates only when the weeds compel him to the work ; and as we have watched and recorded our notes, the result has always been in favor of the constant stirring of the surface soil. We do not advocate deep tillage during the growing season, but we would have the ground deeply and thoroughly stirred early in the season, whether it were an old or new plantation. Once, however, that vigorous growth of top and root has com- menced, all deep tillage should cease, because, by pursuing it, constant and con- tinued checks are given, and a truly healthy growth prevented by repeated breaking and tearing asunder the roots and fibers, the supplying pipes for elongation, ex- pansion, and evaporation of the branches and leaves. By repeated surface stirring of the soil, however, no roots are broken ; the sun, air, and moisture are enabled to penetrate and assist in the chemical trans- mutation of the earth's compounds and fitting them for absorption by the roots. made notched like the teeth or knives of a mowing machine, except that they are sharpened all from the under side. By this, he says, he feels confident he can always be sure of cutting all the weeds without regard to their size, an item that ordinary cultivators fail to perform. Experiment in Wine-Making. — Capt. John Spalding, near Cleveland, O., sends us two bottles of wine made from the refuse grapes of his nine acres of vineyard last fall. His course was to mash the grapes and leave them about twenty-four hours on the skins; then, after testing the weight of the must, he added grape sugar dissolved sufficient to bring up the sac- charometer test to 90°, and then let the whole ferment a day or two on the skins ; after which it was pressed and put into the cask, and is now a dark-colored, heavy- bodied liquid, without much of the grape aroma, and with considerable harshness, but yet far superior to many of the so- called wines sold. An experiment was made with some of the wine by bottling it, and then putting the bottles into water and gradually bringing the heat up to, "he says," 1803, and then corking tight. The wine so heated is more mild, but has a dead character, without any decided flavor, which we do not like, but may pos- sibly by some be admired. It will doubt- less keep longer than that in which the qualities of the grape are yet more distinct ; but at the expiration of time, say two years, we do not think it will be as good. Asparagus should not be cut too late in the season, or its value another year will be lessened. A dressing of well- rotted manure lightly forked in should now be given the bed. Saw-Tooth Cultivator. — One of our correspondents writes, he is having a culti- vator made, with the edge of the teeth Bush and Pyramid Trees, under the common name of dwarfs, should be care- fully watched and pinched back from time to time, if any special form is desired to be retained. Editor's Table. 191 Improvement of Public Streets. — The correct arrangement of the suburban streets of our large cities, as well as those of country villages, appears to us as de- manding more of thought and attention than has thus far been devoted to it. As a rule, no definite line has ever been mark- ed on the first opening of a street or road, except, possibly, that of the civil engineer to designate the line of drainage according to the elevation. No thought has been taken as to just how much breadth of road was actually necessary to accommo- date the public travel, or how the depres- sion or elevation of the road-bed would tend to improve or deteriorate the value of the abutting property. Street trees are yearly planted, but with little thought of the best position for their permanent re- sults in giving shade to the traveler, char- acter to the street, and harmony of asso- ciation with the grounds or lots adjoining. At the suggestion of one of our subscribers we shall endeavor to give this subject a careful examination during our visits to different cities and towns this coming summer, and publish our views thereon in the autumn. Meantime, we shall be much obliged for any suggestions from private parties, and would ask of our editors of papers devoted to the improve- ment of all matters of rural life, to bring up the subject to their readers and ask for suggestions. Some of the points we desire to have more carefully observed in estab- lishing the grade, etc., of a street, are : first, the width that is necessary for a road- bed for carriage travel ; second, the eleva- tion of that road-bed as connected with the natural grade of the land adjoining the road ; third, the distance at which shade trees should stand from the bound- ary side of the street and also from each other. Kibkwood, Mo., May 11, 18H8. Mr. Editor : Advertisements of poultry, especially of Brahmas, often mention "pea comb" as a desirable form for the crest of that variety of fowls. I have been frequently asked, " What is the difference between pea combs and rose combs ?" I confess my inability to give a satisfactory reply. A short paragraph defining the precise meaning of these terms and describing the forms of "pea" and "rose" combs would no doubt contain information which would be valuable to many of your readers. C. W. S. Answer. — Pea comb — low in front and firm on the head, without falling over to either side, distinctly divided so as to have the appearance of three small combs joined together in the lower part and back, the largest in the middle, each part slightly serrated. Rose or double comb — square in front, fitting close and straight on the head, without inclining to either side, no hollow in the center, uniform on each side, the top covered over with small points, with a prominent point behind. Greenhouse and Conservatory Plants that require to be placed out in the open air to complete their growth and ripen their wood, may often be made to highly decorate some bank, corner, or odd place about the premises, instead of hiding them awav back of the sheds or outhouses. Tomatoes will bear more abundantly, and occasion the least trouble, if the ends of the shoots, just beyond the fruit, are pinched off. A surface mulch of rotten manure, and if a dry time, frequent water- ing, well repay in increased size and abundance of fruit. Herbaceous Plants, as soon as they have done flowering, may be easily prop- agated by cuttings. These should be planted in a cold frame in a mixture of sand and loam, and kept shaded until roots have formed. Fuchsias should be shaded from the mid-day sun. It is a good time now to make cuttings and propagate. 192 The Horticulturist. Transplanting of annuals, tomatoes, cabbage, etc., should never be clone when the ground, is wet. It is also a bad prac- tice to puddle the roots, that is, to wet and so mud the roots by dipping them in a pail of mud as to cause them to adhere together. Our most successful practice in transplanting is to plant in the dry ground, when the earth pulverizes fine like meal ; sift the earth among the roots until the hole is half filled with earth ; then fill the hole with water, and as soon as it has soaked away, draw in dry soil to finish and level the surface. BOOK NOTICES. Darwin's Great Work. — The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domesti- cation. By Charles Darwin. Author- ized edition, with a Preface to the American edition by the Author, and one by Professor Asa Gray, of Cam- bridge, Mass. New York : Orange Judd &Co. This is the republication of an English edition of a work the value whereof it is difficult to estimate in words sufficiently expressive. The first English edition, it is said, was exhausted in a week, and the publishers of this, awake to the wants of the American people, secured the author's revision, with new and additional notes, making it the most complete as well as the most remark- able collection of facts concerning our domestic animals and plants yet brought together. Written in admirable English, using no scientific terms but such as are comprehensible to men of fair education, lucidly arranged, and indexed with scru- pulous care, there is not an agriculturist or horticulturist in the country who has any taste for the history or theory of his calling but will peruse it with pleasure and profit, and find it difficult to say whether he values it more as a storehouse of facts or as an incitement to observe and to think. Let the reader be of the learned profes- sions, or a child or novice in all that pertains to natural history, they will find in this book food for thought and instruc- tion, knowledge of animal and vegetable life, their origin and perpetuation in a healthy or unhealthy condition, and so mingled with anecdotes, observations, and originality, that its study will be a pleasure to every intelligent mind. The work is finely illustrated, and pub- lished in two volumes of over 500 pages each. Price, $6. The Book op Evergreens. A Practical Treatise on the Conifera?, or Cone-bear- ing Plants. By Josiah Hoopes. Messrs. Orange Judd & Co., publishers, Broadway, New York, have just issued a book with the above title, which we take great pleasure in commending as the labor of a scientific and practical cultivator. The subject is one of interest to all classes, inasmuch as evergreens play a very important part in the decoration of our homes and in the shielding of them, as well as our orchards, from harsh, cold winds and storms. In both popular and scientific language the author describes the many species, and treats practically of their propagation, their hardihood, etc., in such a manner as can not fail to make the work a necessity to every planter. Botanically, we have long felt the want of just such a work as is here presented, and are thankful to the author for the care he has evidently taken in striving to arrive at correct names. The book is gotten up in the usual good style of its publishers ; is abundantly illus- trated with engravings, executed in a very superior manner, and can not fail to take its appropriate place as a standard of authority on evergreens for this country. Price, $3. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. Our thanks are due to John Saul, Esq., of Washington, D. C, for a fine collection of the newer varieties of geraniums, fuchsias, chrysanthemums, etc., all in fine condition. Also to Peter Henderson, Esq., of 67 Nassau Street, for like favors. THE HORTICULTURIST. VOL. XXIII JULY, 1868. NO. CCLXV. CULTURE OF THE VINE IN EUROPE. The United States Commission at the Universal Exposition of Paris in 1867 ap- pointed a committee, composed of Mar- shall P. "Wilder, Alexander Thompson, William J. Flagg, and Patrick Barry, to report on the culture and products of the vine. The report is given in the monthly publication of the Department of Agricul- ture, but with some typographical errors corrected we give the report almost en- tire, as we consider it of great value. Al- though the committee embraced four members, we believe the main credit of attending to the interests of our country on this subject is due to Messrs. Wilder and Barry, whose knowledge of the great interest felt by our people in the culture of the grape induced them to make extra exertions and obtain a special committee for examination and comparison of our American products with those of other countries. " The exhibition of wines at the Univer- sal Exposition of 1867 was large. Every wine-growing country of Europe, as well as Australia, Canada, California, and other sections of North and South America, were represented. As there were no jurors from the United States, our American wines were not subjected to so full and 13 fair an examination as they were entitled to, and to remedy this omission a special committee, consisting of the undersigned, was appointed by the Board of Commis- sioners to make an examination of the wines of our own and other countries, and to report especially with reference to wine- making in America. " As regards French wines, full reliance can not be placed on what is furnished to the American traveler at hotels or cafes, or even what is sold him at the shops, no matter what price he pays. It would, how- ever, be doing French wines a great in- justice to judge them by the qualities sold in this way, or exported to America. The great body of American consumers have palates as yet so unskilled, and the merchants of Bordeaux, and fabricators and imitators are so adroit, that it seems impossible for the honest wine maker here to come into such relations with the wine drinkers there as shall secure to the latter the benefits, sanitary and moral, which the French people themselves de- rive from the pure juice of the grape so abundantly produced in this country. It is not an unusual practice for dealers to buy of producers in the back country a coarse, deep red wine for 30 cents per gal- 194 The Horticulturist. Ion, and a strong white wine for 45 cents per gallon, mix and bottle them, and send them abroad labeled with all the high- sounding names of ' Medoc,' to sell at enor- mous profits to unsuspecting foreigners. " Farther south than Bordeaux, in the country about Montpelier and Bezires, an inferior article, but perfectly pure, can be obtained of the producer at five and six cents per gallon, or one cent per bottle. Of late years, and since the abatement of the grape disease, the production of France has been very large, the 4,000,000 of acres in cultivation yielding an average of 1,200,000,000 of gallons, which would give to every man, woman, and child in the country a half bottle-full every day, even after allowing 200,000,000 of gallons for exportation. " Hungary, whose product is second to that of France only, can supply a wide range of varieties, and at prices extremely reasonable. As the Hungarian producers seem to know, as yet, but little of chemis- try, we suppose their wines to be gener- ally pure. " Besides the sherry, of which we con- sume so largely, Spain has an abundant and rich vintage with which American consumers would be better acquainted if her merchants had more of the enterprise of those of Bordeaux. " Portugal also produces plenty of ex- cellent and pure wines of which we know little, for hardly a drop is allowed to leave the country without being so strongly brandied as to lose its character as a wine, and become rather a spirituous liquor. Port wine is repeatedly dosed with spirits until it contains at least as much as 24 per cent, of alcohol. Fifteen years' age is re- quired before it is fit to drink, not because the wine is slow to ripen, but because the spirit needs to remain fifteen years before the disturbance it causes can subside, and the antagonistic ingredients of the mix- ture harmonize. " Notwithstanding bold and persistent assertions to the contrary, it has been satis- factorily proven to your committee that the adulteration is made, not to preserve the wine, but solely to make it sweet and stimulating. " As America is destined to become a great wine-producing country, her people ought to be better acquainted than they are with the higher grades of foreign wines, but they have as yet drunk so little of these, that their standard of excellence remains comparatively low. Now, except in California, none of the European vines will grow in America, and we are com- pelled to search in our forests, and develop in nurseries and vineyards the varieties which are in the future to be our reliance for competing with foreign producers, and finally, it is to be hoped, emancipating ourselves from them altogether. Of course, then, the higher our standard of taste is, that is, the higher our aim, the better will be our success. " Our American vineyards compare very well with those of France, and so do our cellars, presses, and casks. " SOIL AND EXPOSURE. " The soil of Medoc, where stand ' Cha- teau Margaux,' ' Chateau La Fitte,' and ' Chateau La Tour,' is a bed of coarse gravel, among whose pebbles the eye can barely detect soil enough to support the lowest form of vegetable life. In the vicinity of Bezires, on the other hand, the land is rich and strong enough to yield any kind of a crop ; yet Medoc grows wine that often sells for ten dollars per gallon, while that of Bezires sometimes sells for less than ten cents per gallon. In Burgundy there is a long hill on whose dark red ferruginous limestone sides a wretched thin covering of earth lies, like the coat of a beggar, revealing, not hid- ing, the nakedness beneath. Here stand little starveling vines, very slender and very low ; yet here is the celebrated ' Clos Vaugeot,' and this is the hill, and these are the vines that yield a wine rivaling in excellence and value that of Medoc, and Culture of the Vine hi Europe. 195 to the fortunate proprietor the Cote iVor is what it signifies, 'a hillside of gold.' At its base spreads out a wide and very fertile plain, covered with luxuriant vines, whose juice sells from ten to twenty cents per gallon. " If you go farther northward and ex- amine the hills of Champagne, you will find them to be merely hills of chalk ; and these instances only illustrate the rule de- rived not from them alone, but abundance of others, that, for good wine, you must go to a dry and meagre soil. Yet we should be sorry to have to extend the rule, and say that the poorer the soil the better the wine, for there are certainly very few patches of ground in America that can match in poverty the mountains of Champagne, the hills of Burgundy, or the slopes of Medoc. " PREPARING THE GROUND, PLANTING THE VINES. " This is probably as well understood in America as in France. In Burgundy, Chamjjagne, and some other districts it is the practice to renew the vigor of the vines by laying down the cane and rooting the plant in a new place, which quite breaks up the original lines, so the plow can not be used. This is doubtless a good way to renew the strength of the plant, but it is objected to by high authority on the assumption that the older the stalk is the better the wine will be ; on the other hand, Champagne vine-dressers have attributed to this practice in a great measure their al- most total exemption from the vine disease. " But then, again, others attribute that exemption to the general and long estab- lished custom of spreading over the vine- yards a bituminous shale containing sul- phur, a well-known antidote ; and here we would recommend most strongly to our countrymen a renewed and sustained effort to combat mildew with sulphur. The ex- perience of France and other countries is entirely in its favor, and its use is still felt to be necessary, and is still kept up. "We think Americans have not been thorough enough, and patient enough. Let them try again, and this time let them begin early, and to be sure to follow care- fully these rules on the subject, which have been hitherto much better promulgated than observed. On rich and level land, a common plan in some districts is to set out double rows of vines at wide intervals, in fields chiefly devoted to other crops. The free exposure to sun and air thus secured seems largely to augment the yield, and this will be understood by any one who has noticed the superior productiveness of such of his vines as grow bordering on a wide alley or other open space. This is very different from planting vegetables, etc., among the vines, which is a bad practice. "wire trellis. " These are becoming quite popular here, notwithstanding the cheapness of wood. The size of wire preferred is No. 16, and but two wires are used. They are stretched to strong posts set twenty feet apart, pass- ing intermediately through holes of smaller posts or stakes. On the lower line, about eighteen inches from the ground, the fruit- bearing wood is trained, while the upper line, about eighteen inches above the other, supports the new wood. Many prefer t<» allow the fruit-bearing cane to do service for two years, instead of one only. There is do doubt that with wire trellises the pruning, tying, pinching off, etc., can be much more cheaply done than where the training is to stakes, and from the way the clusters depend from the horizontal cane, it is easy to see that there must be also a superior access of sun and air, and a greater ease in gathering the vintage. " winter protection. " It is a common practice to go through the vines with a plow every fall, and throw up a good ridge of earth against the stalks. The Hungarians have a more effectual way of guaranteeing against the cold of theii rigorous winters, which is to lay the vines on the ground, cover them with straw, and 106 The Horticulturist. on the straw throw the earth ; without this, it is said, they could produce no wine at all. Our native grapes are generally hardy, and will live wherever their fruit will ripen; but- occasionally there is a severe season which seems to touch the very heart of the wood, and so enfeeble it that it falls an easy prey to disease. It was noticed that the mildew set in with great destructiveness after the two hard winters of 1854 and 1856. " The thorough covering employed in Hungary would secure it against such oc- casional risks, and also might render it possible to grow European vines in our country. By its means, too, we could, perhaps, make the Scuppernong live in our Northern States, and obtain from it a ling wine, of foam and flavor unsur- From these considerations and others, we recommend to the wine-makers of our more Northern States to lay down and thoroughly cover their vines regularly every fall ; and to those in milder regions, to bank up the earth against the stalks as is done in France. " We have derived most of our instruc- tion in vine-dressing from the Germans, in whose native country there are no sunbeams to spare ; and the celebrated Risling grape is said to hardly ever ripen, and thus, per- haps, we have been led to attach too much importance to letting the fruit remain on the vine as long as possible before gather- ing. If we have been in error, it would be well worth while to know it, for, besides the loss by shrinkage, the ravage of insects and birds, quadrupeds and bipeds, during the last fortnight of the vine-dressers' watchings, is most disheartening. Now, it is contended by good authority in France that early vintages are the best, and that it is important, not merely in regard to quantity but quality also, to gather the fruit before it becomes over-ripe. Possibly what is true of white wine may not be so of red wine, to which last-named kind atten- tion is so widely directed in Europe. Here the proportion of white wine to red is very small, and it may be said that red is the rule, and white the exception. " WHITE AND KED WINES. " Our wine-makers in America under- stand very well the principles to be ob- served in the manufacture of white wine, and many of them, as regards care and nicety, are as good models as need be de- sired. But it can not be denied that the practice of selling the ripest and finest grapes for table use, and converting the unsalable into wine, prevails to a great extent among American vineyardists, and the result is the manufacture of much in- ferior wine. This has already injured the reputation of American wines, both at home and abroad. Of the much more complicated process of making red wine, however, American manufacturers are but little informed, for the reason that until recently they have had no grapes suitable for the purpose ; but now that we have discovered those excellent varieties, the Norton and Ives seedlings — our estimate of the value of which has been very greatly raised by comparing wine from them with some of the highest grades of foreign pro- ductions— a few observations of methods of fermentation for red wine as practiced in France may be appropriate. " In France, they will make either white or red wine from the same grape ; but in America they have grapes whose pulp is so rich in coloring matter that they yield a very pretty tinted wine without any further treatment than what is given to make white wine, and a pure white wine can not be made from them ; of this kind is the Norton seedling. Yet not for beauty alone do they put them through the process of fermentation on the skin, but because that process imparts qualities which, as affect- ing the palate, stimulation, digestion, etc., are quite different from what the other process imparts; many persons find red wine essential to their health, who can not use white wine, and vice vena.'''' [to be continued.] Landscape or Home Adornment. 197 LANDSCAPE OR HOME ADORNMENT. BY F. 11. ELLIOTT. . Dipping into my portfolio a few days since, and looking over sketches of plans that I had made for various gardens, it occurred to me that perhaps some of these skeleton plans might be of use in com- municating ideas for working up some new place about to be created by a reader of the Horticulturist, and therefore I have transcribed and here offer two of them. As the style of the house, architecturally, as well as the association of the neighboring lots, has much to do with the kind of trees to be planted, I have omitted any detail, because such detail would be of little or no avail. I will merely say that if the house is of a square character, with a flat roof, and standing on nearly level land, t~;en the prevailing character of the trees should be of a round-headed habit ; but if the house is of a pointed gothic, or with many broken yet harmonious lines, and its location on some elevated position, then spiral and pointed trees should be largely introduced, and especially near the house. Fig. 69 was designed for a lot the eleva- tion of which at the house is some six feet or more above the grade at the public street, and the house situated about two hundred and fifty feet back therefrom. The owner of this desired as few paths and roads as could be, and meet the actual daily travel demand. Neither did he want provision for many flower-beds, as he only kept one man to care for horses, garden, and all work. The beds next the public road are designed to be planted with flowering shrubs, in order to break a lit- tle the lawn from open exposure. So the bed on the right of entrance footpath is to be planted with shrubs, and also that where the carriage-road comes near the boundary to the left. The beds near the house in front are tilled with low trailing evergreens, as Daphne cneorum, Juniperis squarnata, repens, etc., while the bed on the left of the footpath is planted with hardy perpetual roses and tree peonias, keeping the flower-garden proper up near the house and immediately in view of the EN I w Fio. 69. drawing-room bay window. As most of the landing is at the rear hall door, the turn-way is thrown in there, and a hedge borders the road on one side, separating it from the fruit or vegetable garden, barn, etc., beyond. Fig. 70 is a design made years since for a lot where the front next the street was level, but back where the house was to 198 The Horticulturist. stand was high ground ; and while it was desirable to have a lawn, etc., in front, yet the best view was in the rear. The plan of the house, therefore, was made for a terrace platform, and the roadways were cut down to a level with the front lawn, Fig. 70. so that, standing thereon, a distant view could be had of the prospect in rear over the road and turf border at the left of the house. Where the flower-beds are arranged is a terrace, and back of that the ground again rises to its natural form, and is planted with ornamental trees and shrubs. The ** are the positions of old oaks that were growing in the ground, and too good to be destroyed. The right of the carriage- way is hedged and massed with hemlocks, while the beds in the main front of the house are planted with dwarf evergreens, and a hemlock hedge along the front or street line shuts the grounds from the pub- lic gaze, except as they obtain glimpses at the gateways. The rear of these grounds contains an ornamental green-house or con- servatory, propagating-houses, pond, rocky cliffs, shaded walks, etc., making it really the most beautiful portion. The ground level, between the footpath and carriage- way from the street leading to the house, is somewhat higher than that of the lawn proper at the left, and although the path does not show it on paper, yet in reality it skirts a low bank. Seedling Tree Peonies. — One of our Cleveland correspondents writes us that he has lately been through the rows of seed- ling tree peonies raised by Prof. Kirtland, of which we made notice last year, and that very few have this year shown any blooms. The named varieties — Colonel Wilder, E. S. Rand, and Doctor J. S. New- berry have none of them bloomed ; but among those that have, is one of a most delicate, clear rose color, the flower very full and round and promising to be ex- tra fine. Another has the petals colored much like the old peonia Banksii, but the flower is full double with each petal most delicately fringed. These seedlings have not yet been propagated, and while the Professor may devote time to hybridizing and originating, it is not his forte to per- petuate. The first is a matter of scientific taste, the latter a matter of commercial business. Our correspondent therefore sug- gests that some good, careful propagator make arrangement for the perpetuation of these really valuable new tree peonies. New Hardy Shrubs, Deciduous and Evergreen. 199 NEW HARDY SHRUBS, DECIDUOUS AND EVERGREEN. FROM " RECORD OP HORTICULTURE," NO. II. JEsculus Michauxi, — This is probably a variety of our native species, iEsculus Pa- ria, or red-flowering buckeye. The plant, however, is more dwarfish in habit than the species, and the spikes of flowers much larger. When worked on the common buckeye or horse-chestnut, it forms a beau- tiful shrub or small tree, producing its large spikes of flowers in great abundance. We are indebted to Mr. Wm. S. Carpenter for a specimen plaut imported by him from France. Azalea. — The catalogues of European nurserymen contain long lists of new vari- eties of this beautiful shrub. The tender Chinese azaleas ;."e far better known in this country than the hardy species. This is to be regretted, inasmuch as the hardy sorts may be grown by every one, and not be confined to those whose circumstances allow them to build costly green-houses for the purpose of growing tender exotics. We shall not attempt the naming of the best foreign varieties, but merely call the attention of our readers to this most beau- tiful class of shrubs. Even our own coun- try furnishes a great variety, and by a little care in the selection, a splendid col- lection may be obtained from our woods and fields. We have found varieties of every shade of color, from the purest white to the darkest purple, and we have expe- rienced no difficulty in making the plants live when removed from their localities in the open fields to the garden. Those who are seeking for choice ornamental shrubs should not overlook the native azaleas. Arbor vitce (Tom Thumb). — This new va- riety of arbor vitas, sent out by Messrs. Ell- wanger & Barry, is really a valuable acqui- sition. It forms a dense mass of fine, del- icate foliage, not surpassed by any other hardy variety. It also retains its color well through the winter, not turning a sickly yellow, as many others do, thereby detracting much from their beauty as ever- greens. The Tom Thumb will certainly become one of the most popular varieties of the dwarf arbor vitais. Arbor vitce (Golden Tipped). — A variety of the common native species (Thuja occi- dentalis). It is a strong and vigorous grower, and apparently as hardy as its pa- rent. The foliage is a rich golden yellow, there being scarcely any green leaves, ex- cept in the center of the plant. It is quite distinct from the common Variegated American or Chinese Golden arbor vitse. It is the only variety which we have seen that is really deserving the name of Golden. Where or by whom it originated is un- known to us, our plant being received a few years since from a friend, who said that it was supposed to have originated in a garden in New Rochelle, N. Y. Gotoneaster Fontanesii. — A handsome shrub, with oval leaves and numerous small white flowers, which are succeeded by spherical-shaped fruit of a coral-red color (Revue Horticole, 1867). The cotoneasters are very pretty shrubs, with small but nu- merous flowers. A number of the species are evergreen in the Northern States, while the deciduous varieties retain their leaves until quite late in the autumn. Most of the species and varieties are readily prop- agated by ripe wood cuttings, taken off in the fall, and preserved in sand or moss dur- ing the winter. Deutzia crenata-pleno. — We named this shrub in our list of choice varieties in the first volume of the Record, and we again call attention to it, for it is worthy of a special notice. The flowers are quite dou- 200 The Horticulturist. ble, pure white within and a deep pink without ; the strong contrast between the two colors*gives the flower spikes a very unique and pretty appearance. It forms a shrub from four to six feet, of a dense, compact habit. The plants are now of- fered at a very low price, and no one should fail to procure this really very de- sirable shrub. Hydrangea Deutziafolia. — This new hy- drangea bloomed in several gardens in this country the past year. The flower spikes are of an immense size, white at first, changing to a dull purple or pink. Like all of the hydrangeas, it is a coarse-looking plant when in bloom, and only suitable for the open border. It is apparently quite hardy, a merit which will make it quite acceptable to those who have room for a great variety of shrubs. Hydrangea paniculata grandiJiora.-A.n- other new half-hardy shrub, with elliptic leaves and large, branched, pyramidal pan- icles of white flowers. — Flores des Serves. Hydrangea Japonica macrosepala. — A va- riety somewhat resembling the rosalba of Van Houtte, but having the segments of the sterile flowers one and one-third inch broad. — Gartenflora. Rhododendrons. — We have several native species of the rhododendron, all of which are beautiful shrubs, and well worthy of cultivation. They were, long ago, sent to Europe, where, through the skill of the gardeners of the Old World, hundreds of new varieties have been produced, many of which far excel the original species. There are also many species natives of the Eastern Hemisphere, and new ones are be- ing constantly discovered. Hybrids in great number have also been produced, not only between the different foreign spe- cies, but those of our own country, until it is quite certain that no genus of evergreen shrubs can at all compare with the rhodo- dendron for handsome foliage and gor- geous flowers. Many of the foreign varie- ties and species are not hardy in the North- ern States, but there is a sufficient number to satisfy the most ardent admirer of this class of plants. It requires experience with each kind to determine its character, therefore one must import many to find a few that are suited to the climate ; and the high price at which all new sorts are sold, prevents the majority of our nurserymen from testing them. There are, however, a few of our larger establishments that have expended thousands of dollars in testing the various species and varieties of rhodo- dendrons ; and they now offer to the pub- lic the benefit of their labors in lists of sorts which have proved to be perfectly hardy and reliable. We would advise those who want rhododendrons — and who does not ? — to examine the catalogues of these nurserymen. There are so few nurserymen who make a specialty of this class of plants, that we shall take the liberty of naming two firms whose stock we have lately ex- amined, and think it v \rthy of a special notice. We refer to Parsons & Co., Flush- ing, N. Y., and Hovey & Co., Boston. Spirwa callosa alba. — This is quite a dis- tinct variety of the old spiraea callosa. The flowers are pure white, and the plant is of a very dwarf habit. It blooms quite freely, and is altogether a desirable hardy shrub. Weigela nivea. — This splendid we'igela was introduced into Europe several years ago from Japan, but it is comparatively new in this country. The plant is similar in habit to the well-known weigela rosea. The leaves are large and conspicuously veined, and of a light green color; flowers, pure white, and produced in great abund- ance. A beautiful shrub, and worthy of a place among the many fine varieties of this species. Weigela Middendorffiana, purpurea. — A new purple-flowering variety of weigela Middendorffiana ; a robust, hardy shrub, with handsome dark-green leaves and large panicles of flowers, which are a purplish red, shading to black at the base of the petals.— Floral World, March, 1867. Ingram'* Seedling Apple. 201 INGRAM'S SEEDLING APPLE. The Journal of Agriculture, St. Louis, re- cently published a drawing and description writes us that it was grown from a seed of Rawle's Janet, by Mr. Martin Ingram, of an apple under the above name, since and that the tree is productive and the which we have received samples of the fruit, forwarded us by the courtesy of D. S. Hol- man, Esq., secretary of the Greene County (Mo.) Horticultural Society. Mr. Holman fruit keeping until July. We would sug- gest that the word seedling be dropped from the name, and that the apple be called simply Ingram. Fruit, medium or Fig. 71. — Ingram's Seedling A])ple. below, roundish oblate ; color, a rich orange-yellow ground mostly overspread and with broken stripes of rich, warm red, gray russet dots, and slight marblings, with suffused surroundings ; stem, medium length, slender ; cavity, broad, open, pretty deep, often with a moldy, almost downy, russet appearance ; calyx, small, open, with recurved segments ; basin, open, medium depth, sometimes slightly fur- rowed ; flesh, yellowish white, moderately juicy, rich, crisp breaking, mild sub-acid, almost sweet ; core, rather large for the size of the apple, with large capsules well filled with seeds, which are full and plump, and very dark brown. Received and eaten May 18th, 1868. Mulching. — This — July — is the month to apply mulch, and we have repeatedly written that new-mown grass is one of the best materials for the purpose. It keeps in place well, has no weed seeds, and is not unsightly. Stir up the ground well with the spading fork or hook hoe first, then apply the mulch around the tree fully four feet in diameter for newly planted small trees, and about four inches thick. Be prepared to remove the mulch again as soon as the fall rains and cool nights com- mence, to be again replaced as soon as the ground is firmly frozen for winter. The Horticulturist. ST. MICHAEL ARCHANGE PEAR. Synonyms — Dusnar,Plombgastel, Plumb- the sun and many dull russet specks; gastel, Plougastel. stem, stout, often inserted with a lip ; Fruit, above medium to large in size, calyx, medium, closed ; basin, deep, reg- ovate obtuse pyriform ; color, greenish ular, furrowed, or with compressed ribs ; yellow, with considerable brownish red in flesh, white, coarse-grained, esjDecially near Fig. 72. — St, Michael Archange Pe the core, melting, sweet, juicy, rich aro- matic ; core, small ; seeds, dark brown. Season, September and October. The St. Michael Archange is a variety of the pear long introduced, and yet com- paratively but little known. Wherever it is grown, it is found to steadily gain in favor because of the vigorous, upright form of the tree, its relative hardiness, and uniform good quality of its fruit. It is also a productive bearer, and grows well on the quince. Garden Adornments — Designs for Covered Seats. 203 GARDEN ADORNMENTS— DESIGNS FOR COVERED SEATS. COPLEY, ARTIST, TOMPKINSVILLE, STATEN ISLAND. Of all rural adornments, the covered seat is one of the first things that should com- mand our attention in laying out a garden ; if it be but half an acre, it would not be out of place ; only let its design and situa- tion be chosen with judgment so as to har- monize with its surroundings, then it will add to the mere beauty of the place, if we say nothing of the health, comfort, and pleasure it will afford our family and friends to quietly enjoy the pure air, a fine view, or a book. The following designs will be found par- ticularly interesting, from their novelty, simplicity, and economy of construction ; and may be built by any one with a little ingenuity, from the trunks, branches, and roots of trees ; only being particular that the wood is cut at a time of year when the bark will stay on. One of the prettiest and most novel of these is the Arbor Seat, and one of the cheapest to build, as it takes but one post, and has a trellis roof, with vines, which by judicious training could be made in a few years self-support- Fig. Arbor Seat: and may be built lighter and rougher than any other, with better effect, being covered Fig. 74.— Umbrella Seat. ing, forming a natural arbor. To carry this out in the most interesting way, select six of the best hardy grapevines, of differ- ent kinds and colors, and plant them (in prepared ground) six feet apart, and the same from the center post. (Lay down and train to center according to rule.) The center post is the only piece of wood that need cost anything, as all the rest is mere firewood and bean poles. Make this of red cedar, not less than nine inches thick and twelve feet long, set firmly in the ground three feet deep, in a bed of lime concrete, to prevent decay ; set the braces the same, as decaying wood is injurious to the vine. The lower braces should be five inches thick, of oak or hickory ; the upper ones three inches and the arms four inches, of cedar, with butts placed to center; the cross-pieces may be of wild vine, and the finial of roots. The seat should be made of half-rounded twigs, placed a little apart, round side up, to shed water and dust, 204 The Horticulturist. with angle pieces of root on braces, for arms ; and a piece of root or wild vine bent round to form a back to the seat and a protection to the vines. These should be trained up and round the post to the top, each sending out a branch along the upper brace (to take its place when removed) ; from the top, train each down its opposite arm, to the end, branching off at pleasure, and in- terlacing so as to be self-supporting when the frame decays. The floor should be raised a foot above the level, and the roots of the vines protected by a grating. When fruit is not an object, other hardy flowering vines may be used, such as the purple wis- taria, red trumpet creeper, etc. The Umbrella Seat is the same in size and plan, but differs in having a close roof; the design shown is of shingles, cut in pat- terns ; but pretty rustic roofs may be made of bark, moss, thatch, or sticks. The frame, however, should be stouter, and the post thicker for this design than any other ; being but one, the strain would be greater, and it would appear less. This is a foot thick, with six half-round pieces nailed round to form a cluster and receive the angle braces ; the foot of these with the post should be mortised into a sunk cross-frame, well coated with coal-tar and sand. The floor should be covered with small stones and gravel, mixed with hot coal-tar, using as little tar as possible. The plan of the third design is a paral- lelogram of two squares, supported by two posts, each six inches square, and set the same in the ground. The roof is of boards with battened joints, set off with an orna- mental ridge-board and balls. The seat is made of hard wood, rounding on top, and placed a little apart. For the sake of vari- ety this was made a little more architectu- ral, but the plan is equally well adapted for a rustic treatment as any. The plan of the fourth design is an equi- lateral triangle. This has a shingle roof supported by three cedar posts, a lattice frieze, and a rustic seat. A few inches of the branches should be left on the post, to Tig facilitate the training of ornamental vines, as these would form its best and cheapest ornament. Artificial Manure for Potatoes. — magnesia, 2 cwt. Mix and sow over sur- Superphosphate of lime, 4 cwt., sulphate of face before digging or plowing. A Flaw in the Patent Laws. 205 A FLAW IN THE PATENT LAWS. BY I. W. ENGLAND. The patent laws secure to the inventor such a monopoly of his machine or device as will richly repay him for his skill and ingenuity; the copyright act gives to the author the control of the fruits of his thought and genius ; but for the agricul- turist, the florist, and the horticulturist, who gives to the world a new plant or a valuable fruit, there is no protection what- ever, save that which his own prudence and foresight can provide ; yet agriculture is defined to be the basis of our prosperity as a nation. Why the maker of a new mouse-trap should be able to reap thou- sands of dollars from his invention, under our patent laws, while the propagator of a new plant, the discoverer of a new fruit, the producer of an improved variety of grain which shall minister to the pleasure and delight of millions, and perhaps add untold wealth to the resources of nations, should not be equally deserving of reward, surpasses our comprehension. Neverthe- less such is the fact. There is no protec- tion to this profession anywhere. May not this oversight of the law-makers have something to do with the want of enter- prise, the slowness of improvement, the comparative stagnation which exists in all branches of agriculture ? The patent laws are only about two hundred years old, and up to a com- paratively recent period patentees were* regarded with such distrust and suspicion as monopolists and extortioners, that in the courts a patent was seldom permitted to stand, if any ingenuity could detect a flaw. Yet, notwithstanding this illiberal policy, during this period what wonderful progress has been made in the arts and sciences under the stimulus of reward which even these imperfect and partial laws held out to the ingenuity of dis- coverers ! Compare the condition of the arts and sciences with agriculture, and what a vast difference do we perceive ! It is true that we have, made some progress in the culti- vation of the soil ; but do we not owe the great labor-saving implements which have superseded the spade, the mattock, the wooden plow, and the sickle to the benefi- cent influence of the patent laws ? Some- thing, too, we grant, has been discovered in regard to the chemical conditions of soils and their relative adaptability for plant-food. But howr little has been done toward overcoming the obstacles which now attend the cultivation of our most valuable fruits, roots, and grains ! Have we not been too ready to set down to the account of nature the failures aris- ing from our own ignorance? Does any one suppose that with an adequate incen- tive a remedy would not have long since been discovered for the ravages of rust, smut, mildew, and insects in the grain- growing regions ; that a more definite knowledge would not have been attained of the causes which are leading to the destruction of our apple, pear, plum, and cherry plantations ; our vineyards ; the failure of the potato crop, and the means of their prevention ? Undoubtedly ; yet what is everybody's business is nobody's business. We see rot and mildew7, mold and rust, decay and destruction yearly in- creasing where once was healthful plenty, and we stolidly resign ourselves to the reflection, that as Nature no longer smiles upon our efforts, it is therefore vain to fly in the face of Providence. So, instead of casting about for a cure of the evil, we cease to cultivate crops which have proved 206 The Horticulturist. so precarious and unprofitable. Hence our older States have almost wholly abandoned the growing of wheat ; hence thousands of acres of vineyards have been uprooted; hence the stone fruits have almost totally gone out of cultivation in vast sections; hence the orchards are going to decay, because their uncertain crops are so small and worm-eaten as to become worthless ; hence the cultivation of cotton is becoming hazardous and often ruinous to the planter. The same is true of tobacco, potatoes, and turnips ; even the humble currant is infested with a crawling spoliator that consumes the crop. Why is all this? Clearly, in our judg- ment, because while politicians and place- men have been ever ready to extol the dignity and the nobility of the tiller of the soil, they have left him to plod along his weary way without any special stimulus to improve the processes and products of his calling. It is all very well to say in public orations, that he who makes two blades of grass grow where but one grew before is a benefactor to his race ; but what does it amount to ? Suppose that some intelligent and thoughtful man devotes the best period of his life to experiments, and after years of labor and expense discovers a remedy for the diseases and disabilities now affect- ing the wheat crop in large sections of the country, or originates some variety of this grain that is proof against them — where is his reward ? Here is a case in point : The Rev. Mr. Goodrich devoted eleven years of his life, and expended large sums of money, in producing certain new varieties of the potato, from seed (not tubers) im- ported by him from Peru, the home of tuberosum solarium. That, surely, was a laudable and philan- thropic endeavor — a service to mankind worthy at least of national if not of uni- versal countenance and assistance. When we reflect how largely the product of this plant enters into the comfort, the health, and the sustenance of the community; how its failure has involved, and continues to involve, thousands and tens of thousands in heavy losses ; how it has repeatedly impoverished a whole people and brought dread famine to the doors of millions, one would suppose that the originator of a variety of this esculent that should be not only proof against rot, but immensely more productive than the kinds previously known, would be voted a public benefac- tor, and enriched out of the national treasury. Not so, however. That worthy minister of the Gospel, who literally went about all the earth doing good, derived just one poor hundred dollars from the sale of his tubers, and four hundred dol- lars from the gratuities of agricultural societies. Like most great benefactors, he died poor, bequeathing to his wife and family the sole heritage of a good name. Why was this ? Millions of dollars have been realized by the propagation of his jjotatoes ; why did not he come in for some share of this rich reward ? Simply because, like the honest, unselfish man he was, he proved the value of his tubers by disseminating them among societies and individuals throughout the country, either gratuitously or at a nominal price, to de- termine whether they were as valuable generally as they had proved with him. They proved invaluable, and those to whom they were sent speedily propagated an immense supply, which they sold at fabulous prices for their own personal advantage. Now, had we an agricultural department worthy of the great interests which it professes to conserve, this injus- tice would not have happened. Mr. Good- rich might have been protected in his dis- covery, and the profits to which he was so justly entitled would have gone into his own exhausted purse, to reimburse him for the years of pat i nt research and heavy outlay which he had incurred for the bene- fit of his fellow-man. Now we desire to suggest, and it seems to us that the accession of a new chief to the agricultural bureau at Washington is a good opportunity to broach the subject, A Flaw in the Patent Laws. 207 that what Congress has done for the liter- ary man and the mechanic, that shall it do for the farmer, the florist, the horticul- turist. Let there be, in connection with the agricultural bureau, an office of record, where the name, character, quality, de- scription, etc., of new varieties of fruit and grain, originating in this country, shall be entered, and secured to the ori- ginator. Let specimens be sent to trust- worthy correspondents of the bureau in various sections of the country, so that its value for general cultivation may be de- termined. Let the result thus arrived at be publicly announced under authority of the bureau, and the right to vend the ar- ticle be vested in the originator and his licensees for a term of years. Something of this kind would wonderfully stimulate to continued improvement in the produc- tion of choice varieties of plants and grains to the great advantage and profit of the country. While it would secure to the originator the just reward of his skill and labor, it would protect the public from a thousand impositions now put upon them by the venders of new varieties of untried and doubtful value. As this busi- ness is now conducted, we have no hesita- tion in asserting that many thousands of dollars are annually thrown away in the purchase and planting of fruits, for ex- ample, which, however valuable they may have proved in their original locality, are totally unprofitable and useless for cultiva- tion in other sections under an altered con- dition of soil and climate. The case of Mr. Goodrich is by no means a solitary one. We know of many similar instances where other deserving horticul- turists and agriculturists, who have devot- ed their best years to the public good, have had only their labor for their pains, other persons, to whom they have sent specimens of their plants, in various sec- tions, to test their value, having stepped in to rob them of their reward. Every year the nurserymen of the country are mulcted in large sums of money for the purchase of new and professedly valuable plants, which too often prove of little or no value. These being sent out at extor- tionate prices, for general cultivation, and failing to answer the expectations excited by the glowing descriptions published of their merits, tend to discourage cultiva- tors and bring the profession of Horticul- ture into disrepute. Were some such sys- tem adopted as we have suggested, how- ever, the honest experimenter would be protected in the product of his labor, the jnices of new plants would be set at a more reasonable figure, so as to be within the reach of all, because the originator would, instead of, as now, being compelled to realize his profits out of his first season's sales, be secured in their enjoyment for a term of years. We presume that a royalty of one cent per bushel upon the potatoes grown from Goodrich's seedlings for seven years would have made him and his family independent. Who shall say that such a reward was not richly merited ? Who would feel that such a price for the enjoy- ment of the fruits of his labors was a bur- den ? We know it may be urged that such a provision as this has never yet been incor- porated into the patent laws of any nation ; but of its necessity, its justice, there can be no question. As the United States, by its greater liberality to inventors, has stim- ulated the arts and sciences, and added to the industrial wealth and resources of our people more than any other government in the world, let it go one step farther, and, by judicious legislation, stimulate the husbandman to take rank among the high- est order of productive agents, and elevate and dignify that profession which, how- ever- much lauded by poets and extolled by politicians as an ennobling one, has heretofore been of the earth, quite too earthy. 208 The Horticulturist. THE CURRANT WORM. It is impossible for me at this time to give you a detailed account of my right with this new and most formidable enemy of the horticulturist; but according to promise "will try to put some of your read- ers on the alert for this terrible army which comes noiselessly and without banners, and ere we know it the foliage is gone. The curculio has nearly discouraged us in the cultivation of plums, apricots, nec- tarines, cherries, and some varieties of pears and peaches, having proven to be entirely too smart for us, notwithstanding the boasted patents and nostrums for his destruction. It is barely possible that some good may grow out of the loss of the above-named fruits. It is stated that all things are permitted for some wise pur- pose, but one could hardly imagine any good thing resulting from the destruction of this antibilious and corrective fruit, the currant. These worms undoubtedly are of very recent origin. We first heard of them hut a few years ago ; we must therefore con- clude that creation is not ended. If this is true, and there is no good resulting from the destruction of this variety of fruit, -it would suggest that the wise Creator has had nothing to do with it. About the mid- dle of May they begin to appear on the lower leaves near the ground, and what af- terward proves to be many hundreds may lie found on a single leaf. They travel slowly until they attain considerable size, which gives ample time to destroy them before they have done much damage. By the 1st of June small black skins, with the worm's head attached, may be seen on the ends of the branches, and in a very few days no worms are to lie seen. I have seen hundreds of worms on the top of a hush in the evening, and in the morning each one had left behind it its skin, and disappeared. Whether in one night the larva changes into a fly, unlike other insects, or whether it goes through the regular transforming process of a chrysalis1 life in a cocoon, in the earth beneath the bush, I have not as- certained, but intend to remove .a bush, sift the soil, and learn the facts, if possible. I placed three sizes of the worms, from one third to fully grown, in a glass vessel, and put in with them some currant leaves ; each of the sizes immediately concealed themselves at the bottom of the glass under a cocoon. This leads me to think that they enter the earth as above conjectured ; but why they should leave their old suits be- hind them on the ends of the branches seems to he a mystery. It is about two weeks since the larvas were placed in the vessel, and it is now swarming with beau- tiful yellow flies, in size and shape some- what similar to the house-fly, a little more slender, with large abdomen, and prepared to deposit an innumerable number of eggs, which they are now fastening upon leaves put in the glass for this purpose. We may therefore suppose that the eggs of the new installment are already upon the foliage, and I am watching daily for their reap- pearance, which at the farthest will not be longer than a week, as they have been gone from the bushes two weeks ; thus they ap- pear and disappear three times during the season, and each time they come in greater numbers. The bushes should not be allowed to touch each other ; if they do, the larvae will continue to eat and grow until they get to be an inch long. They do not in any ease leave one bush and creep on the ground to another, but always leave when they reach the top, not being particular about their size or age, if the branches of another bush do not intermingle. I have had many bushes uninjured, with others Extracts from Foreign Journals. 209 standing on either side entirely defoliated, when they did not touch each other. I find white hellebore a perfect remedy, and the De La Vergne sulphur bellows the most convenient instrument we have used. All sprouts and rubbish should be cleared away, that the worms may be readily seen. A slight puff with the bellows will kill them in twenty minutes. I think that this bellows should be in the hands of every person owning a garden, not only for ap- plying the hellebore to the currant and gooseberry bushes, but for the application of sulphur and Cayenne pepper mixed to destroy the rose bugs, thrip, and other in- sects, on grapes, roses, etc. I use it week- ly, with success, on valuable varieties. The druggists who retail hellebore usu- ally charge more than double the first cost. One of them, of my acquaintance, paid 30 cents per pound, and remarked that he ought to retail it at 75 cents. Last season I paid 50 cents at retail. I bought 100 pounds this year at 35 cents, and was of- fered it by other parties at 30 cents, and it is quite likely that these wholesale dealers did not pay more than 15 or 20 cents per pound ; and unless this article is so regu- lated that the consumer can get it at a fair valuation, it can not be used to any extent by horticulturists. As to its being poison- ous, I can only say that I have inhaled it for two hours at a time, this season and last, and so have other members of my fam- ily. It is very unpleasant to the olfactory organs, and causes sneezing. This may be avoided by keeping to the windward side. The bellows should not be used when the bushes are wet, as the wires soon fill with the dampened powder. A. J. Caywood. POUGHKEEPSIE, N. Y. EXTRACTS FROM FOREIGN JOURNALS. Dipladenia Amoena. — This valuable ac- quisition among stove plants has been raised from seed of D. amabalis by Mr. Tuke, of Bramley, near Leeds. The flowers are three inches in diameter, and the foli- age a more intense green than the parent. Mr. T., who is a successful grower of this fine genus, uses as a compost rough fibrous peat, sand, and a few rough bones. Gloxinias — Propagating from Leaves. — As soon as the young leaves have attained their full size, remove them with half inch of leaf stock, and insert around the edge of a pot in a mixture of loam, leaf mold, and sand, with a layer of sand on top to root them in. AVhen rooted, remove into small pots, using a compost consisting of two parts loam, one part leaf mold and thoroughly decayed cow-dung, with one half part clear sand.— Gardener's Magazine, p. 14G. 14— JULY. Viola Cornuta. — The color of this plant is quite indispensable in large mixed masses, and its combinations with most of the silver-edged pelargoniums are truly charming. The mixture of viola cornuta with mangles, pelargonium, and sensation chrysanthemum was universally admired. As a rule, all violas are gross feeders, and should be planted on good ground, plenty of rotten manure being used. Setting the Fruit of Vines. — Mr. Fowler recommends the collection of pol- len, and dusting (fecundating) those varie- ties that do not set freely. He recommends a night temperature of 72 ^ when the vines are in bloom. Contrary to the received opinion and ordinary practice, he does not reduce the amount of moisture in the house while the plants are in bloom, un- less there is a deficiency of sunlight. He likewise advocates a rather high day tern- 210 The Horticulturist. perature and a small amount of air during the night until the fruit is set. Pansies. — To grow them successfully use fresh soil annually. Slight shading from sun is found to be beneficial. Water- ing should be avoided, unless absolutely necessary ; and when required, to be done in the evening. Late Grapes. — Mr. Harman gives his experience with a house 102 feet in length for growing late grapes. He states that in December and January the Alicanthe sur- passed all others for form and appearance ; but that the race for late keeping seems to be between Lady Downes and Barbarossa [Gros Guillaume]. Last year he cut the last of Lady Downes on the 18th of March. Variegated Zonal Pelargoniums as Specimens. — Mr. Greive, the experienced cultivator of these charming plants, rec- ommends the selection of the best of au- tumn struck cuttings. In February shift into pots one size larger, keep near the glass and in a temperature not lower than 45° as a minimum. Turn the plants fre- quently, so as to expose all sides to the sun. Early in May shift into six or eight inch pots, using a compost of turfy loam enriched with a small amount of decayed manure. During the summer months, they succeed best in a pit or ordinary frame fully exposed to the sun. Any leading shoots may be topped. In June or July the plants will become beautiful objects for decorative purposes. Pyrethrum, Golden Feather. — The useful bedding pyrethrum, golden feather, comes true from seed, thus dispensing with the more tedious process of propaga- tion by cuttings. Fuchsia Golden Queen, in the coloring of its leaves, resembles that favorite, Mrs. Pollock Geranium ; it is a good grower, but blooms sparingly. Golden Fleece is strictly a bedding variety; it stands all kinds of weather during the summer, and forms a beautiful miniature golden hedge from six to ten inches high. Grafting Peonies. — The tree varieties are difficult to increase by division ; but can be easily propagated by grafting. From the middle of July to the middle of September obtain strong roots of herba- ceous varieties, and a graft with one or more buds inserted upon the side of the root. The grafted roots must be put under bell- glasses, or in close frames with a northern aspect ; the grafts soon become united, and produce roots for themselves. — Floral World, p. 117. Lady Downes' Grapes. — A correspond- ent referring to the difficulty of inducing this grape to break its buds regularly, was induced to remove the outer covering of the buds with the happiest results. — -Cot- tage Gardener, p. 323. Select Variegated Zonal Geraniums, excluding the most expensive : Golden — Mrs. Pollock, Sunset, Sophia Cusack, Lucy Grieve, Lady Cullum, and Mrs. Benyon. Silver — Italia Unita, Argus, Beauty of Guest- wick, 'Imperatrice Eugenie, Burning Bush, Silver Star, Bronze, Beauty of Oulton, Bronzed Queen, Mrs. Longfield, Canary Bird, Luna, Circlet. — IMd., p. 331. Raising Seedling Ferns. — Take pots or pans and fill them half full of rough pieces of crocks; then take fibrous peat, break it roughly, and thoroughly incor- porate with an equal proportion of sphag- num moss. Fill the pans or pots about two inches above the level of the rim and make it firm. When the compost is prop- erly moistened, take the fronds of the varieties desired and shake them over the compost, and draw the hand up the under- neath side of the fronds to dislodge the eposes. Cover in the bell-glass and stand the pots or pans in water in a shady place. — IMd., p. 148. Compost for Ferns. — For finer exotic varieties use a mixture of equal parts of sandy peat, leaf mold, silky loam, and cocoa-nut fiber, with a little silver sand. For large-growing kinds as well as British varieties, a mixture of half fibrous loam, Extracts from Foreign Journals. 211 and the other half peat, leaf mold, cocoa- bud has grown six inches, pinch it back to nut fiber, sand, and burnt clay. — Hid., three leaves and whip graft on opposite side. p. 156. Bind with matting and cover with clay, Hyacinths.— After blooming, these are and then with moss ove1' the clay- Keep generally thrown away. We can grow them the moss moist with water of same tem- in this country as well as the Dutch ; and perature as the air of the house. When the way to keep up a stock is to have the buds on the cion have commenced three beds, and let them follow one after growing, remove one leaf from the stock, the other: No. 1, for offsets and weak When the cion is fairly in leaf, remove the bulbs ; No. 2, for bulbs that have flowered, snoot from the stock, and are removed from glasses and pots to Value op Orchids. — At a recent public finish growth and ripen ; No. 3, for bulbs sale at Liverpool a specimen of Dendrobium to use next season for display. They Falconeri sold for sixty-seven guineas, should never be allowed to bloom in these Gladiolus Culture.— When the gladi- preparatory beds.— IMcl, p. 174. 0ius is gr0Wn in rich stimulating soils, it Pampas Grass.— To grow it well it will produce the largest and finest spikes, requires a deep moist loam, heavily en- but at the expense of health in the bulbs. riched with rotten manure aud leaf mold ; I find the varieties grown in poor sandy and during its season of vigorous growth— peaty soil have the healthiest bulbs. After from the end of May to the end of Septem- flowering, and as soon as the leaVes begin to ber— it should be frequently supplied with change color in October, the bulbs are weak liquid manure. Its natural habitat taken up and spread in a dry airy room, is beside the rapid and frequently swollen secure from frost. I find the best way to streams of South America. — IMcl, p. 174. raise seedlings is to sow the seed in April ._ r, _, . ,, , „ on a south border, the soil being made Root Cuttings. — This method of propa- .. ,, .,, , _, . n ,, * ,..,'■, ■ i . -,..,, , very hghtwith plenty of sand and leaf mold. gation, though not new, is but little known _„,:. , . * . , , , ,.,,, ~ n -vr It the seed is sown in pans and boxes, the and but little practiced. Neuman propa- , . •,-,,, , , _. . r. .„ ,. t, , . . . roots become cramped, and the bulbs never gated Dais cotmitolia, Jrawlonia unpen- „ . * .• ,. -. , ,. _. , . T grow so tast as m the open air. — Journal alis, Madura aurantiaca, Cydonia Japon- „ „ . , „„ . ' , . ,. , ' J . * or Horticulture, p. 39. ica, Halesia diptera, and Araucaria Cun- L ninghami. We have seen multiplied in YucCA Pkopagation.— In removing old the same way pelargoniums, peonies (tree Plants of yuccas, an ample supply of young and herbaceous) roses, mulberries, gre- Plants can be obtained by taking roots of villeas, etc. M. Josst raised by the same the size of a finSer and cuttiug them in mode Sarracenia rubra, purpurea, and flava lengths of three or four inches. If slightly by means of cuttings of the rhizomas of co^ered by soil> y°ung P^nts will be pro- these species. Mr. Bain, of Dublin, in- duced without trouble.— IUl%, p. 44. creased by root cuttings Ouvirandra fenes- Potato Produce. — The gross average tralis, Sarracenia species, Drosera binata, return per acre of numerous varieties was Dionsea muscipula, and Cephalotus folli- from — cularis.- V Illustration Horticole. j oz sets To™[ ^ *£^ Vine Grafting. — Cut back the stock at 2 " 12. ...15. ...2. ...is winter pruning to point where it is to be * [[ 16 13 1 ifi grafted, leaving an eye opposite to where 8 " '. 18!"]ll!.!!o...!l6 the cion is to be inserted. When this — Ibid., p. 47. 212 The Horticulturist. THE ENEMY." In the April number of the Horticultu- rist for 1866 is an earnest and able article under this caption. Many such articles, doubtless, appear from time to time. Some " watchman on the walls" gives the alarm, and earnestly and truthfully warns all of the great and present danger. But the masses do not heed. They only see their own individual losses, and never think of what the grand total loss amounts to. The great complaint is, a want of unity of ac- tion among those who are, or should be, interested in fighting this insect enemy. I will not dwell on this point, but will en- deavor to show some other reasons why this enemy Js not conquered. In the first place, the masses know very little of the nature and habits of this in- sidious f«id destructive enemy ; and this " little knowledge," always a " dangerous thing." in this case only discourages them. " Where is the use," say they, " in destroy- ing hundreds a day even, when we are told they increase by hundreds of thousands ?" And truly it does seem rather a small bus- iness to send a busy farmer u bug hunting" among his trees and plants when his farm crops demand all his time. He will tell you that he is " losing deal" crushing one worm at a time, when the chances are that one moth will produce more than he can destroy, in this way, in a whole season. I will endeavor to give a few ideas show- ing the nature of this enemy, when to fight him, and how to fight him successfully. However interesting to an entomologist the study of the natural history in full of each of the many forms of insect life, only a few general facts are necessary to those who only wish to rid themselves of what to them are truly " enemies," and such as they are not commanded to " love." When the warm days of spring are suf- ficiently advanced, the hosts of this insect enemy come forth from their hidden re- treats (from the earth, old farm buildings, hay-stacks, and forks and limbs of trees, where they have hibernated in the chrysa- lis state) as perfect winged insects. No matter what the size, from the diminutive midge to the great drowsily humming bee- tle, the rule is, they are all winged. In this stage of their existence they are not directly injurious to vegetation. The male seeks the female, and having passed a short honeymoon among the flowers containing their food, he dies, having accomplished all that he had lived through the long winter to perform, that is, the impregna- tion of the female. She, in a few busy days, deposits her thousands of minute eggs in places at once the most secure and convenient to the food of her future off- spring, and having finished her work, dies. These eggs are soon hatched out by the warmth of the atmosphere, and small worms appear, which at once voraciously attack the parts of plants which constitute their natural food. As they increase in size, and their local supply of food be- comes exhausted, they, by various means, transport themselves to other places, some- times to distant fields, to seek new sup- plies, and continue to be very destructive until this stasre of growth is finished, when, by another remarkable change, they pass through the chrysalis state, and emerge perfect winged insects again. Thus two or more broods come into existence in one season, and the number of offspring from one pair in one season is immense. Those who go into the chrysalis state during warm weather require but a short time to emerge to continue the work of destruc- tion through their teeming progeny. Cold weather never comes soon enough to cut off an entire race, though more are de- stroyed in this way in some seasons than others, accounting for their appearance in Greater or less numbers. " The Enemy" 213 From the above well-known facts it is evident that it is in the form of slugs, worms, and lice that insects injure vege- tation, and hence the general error of at- tempting to destroy them in this stage, and, because of the failure of such at- tempts, of despairing of ever accomplish- ishing any satisfactory results. I believe that farmers are more ready to give up try- ing, under such discouragements, than any other class of men, owing perhaps to the wide latitude of failure or success which nature allows them. Let them take a les- son from the grape-growers, who are still fighting their phantom enemy, mildew, with unabated zeal, though constantly, up to this time, losing ground. " An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Let them take the enemy at a disadvant- age : while enjoying the honeymoon, and reveling among the flowers with his spouse, spread snares for his feet. In other words, the only practical time to attempt the de- struction of injurious insects is in the moth or perfect winged state. The reason " why ?" is that by destroying one female moth, you destroy a thousand rapacious worms in embryo. But the question " how ?" brings us to the third, last, and most important part of this most import- ant subject. "In times agone," when the Southern planter employed all his time and means in the production of the one staple, cotton, the insect enemies of the cotton plant com- mitted such havoc as to lead the minds of the planters to search for some means to stay their devastating march. After the crop has passed the dangers of its infancy, and arrived at the time of flowering, when the vast fields appear a sea of luxuriant green, comes the dreaded " army worm," devouring every green leaf, leaving the fields bare, as though blighted by a hoar frost in midsummer. Scarcely have the plants recovered from this shock, and clothed their naked limbs again with ten- der leaves, when the " boll worm" comes in the track of his forerunner, and attacks the fruit of the plants, devouring the bolls themselves. Many expedients were resort- ed to to save a part of the crop at least. Some kindled fires at intervals over the fields on the appearance of the moths ; but though many were burned, many more were attracted from neighboring fields where no lights were kindled. Plates con- taining molasses, placed the height of the plants on stakes at intervals over the fields, were found much better, though very ex- pensive, as the rain washed away the mo- lasses, and the sun dried it up. The next step was a rude lantern with a tallow candle burning inside, and a tin plate or pan beneath, containing molasses, which was more efficacious, but more ex- pensive, than the plates, adding cost of candle, etc., to loss of molasses ; this was patented. An energetic and intelligent planter, Dr. J. M. Heard, of Monroe Coun- ty, Miss., then set himself carefully and resolutely to work, and never ceased from his labors until he had perfected an inven- tion known under the name of Heard's Moth Trap," which, with the careful study he has bestowed up it, leaves no room for improvement. A bait pan, containing mo- lasses and water, flavored with the oil of annis, or some other essential oil, covered with a broad cover, to protect from sun and rain, the cover supported by an in- verted triangular cone, the whole made of tin, and supported by a stake passing through the center of the pan, is placed among any trees or plants infected with insects, and you have planted the most ef- fective battery in the world to destroy this kind of enemy. It is necessary to visit the traps frequently to remove the dead in- sects and replenish the bait pans. For this work the operator provides himself with a sufficient quantity of the prepared bait, and a tin bucket with a wire gauze strainer fixed inside. The insects are re- moved from the traps and thrown into the bucket, upon the strainer, when the mo- lasses drains off into the bucket below, and is used ao-ain. The insects are thrown to 214 The Horticulturist. the poultry, and thus nothing is lost. The brightness of the tin attracts the moths at night as well as the odor of the bait. Fly- ing toward it, they strike against the sides of the inverted cone, and are precipitated into the glutinous fluid below, where they die a luxurious death. There are two modifications of this trap — one for the bee moth, roaches, crickets, etc., the other the best and most simple fly-trap in the world. F. W. V. Mekidian, Miss. EDITOR'S TABLE. To Contributors and Others. — Address all Communications, for the Editorial and Publishing Departments, to F. W. Woodward, 37 Park Row, New York. POULTRY. me have received the following letter, which we publish for the benefit of our readers, at least all of those who take an interest in the subject of which it treats. The writer has been long known to us as one of the most successful poultry breeders in this country — not for profit, but purely from love of the occupation. He proposes to give us, from time to time, articles in which the various breeds, their merits and faults, will be freely discussed, and in this he will avail himself of the ex- perience of another poultry breeder of note. T , Mass., May 19, 1S6S. F. W. Woodward, Esq., Publisher '• Horticulturist," New York — Dear Sir : Having received, through our mutual friend Mr. E , of your city, an invita- tion from you to become a contributor to the Poultry Department of your interest- ing and widely circulated monthly mag- azine, I drop you this hasty note to say that, whenever the demands of an active business vocation may be so far relaxed as to permit me, I shall take great pleasure in contributing an occasional paper upon a subject in which I take a very lively in- t( r st myself, and in which almost every household in the land is more immediately or remotely interested. Why, sir, the poultry question seems like a rather insig- nificant matter from a mere casual glance at it ; but when you critically survey it in its diversified ramifications it looms into an impressive significance, just as the pin does in the economy of the toilet and the demands of a refined civilization. With- out poultry and pins what would the dear women do ? Why, sir, I stand aghast at the consequences to the cuisine and to the drawing-room at the obliteration of these indispensables ! Just think, for a moment, what a wonderful commotion would arise in your great city if an immediate em- bargo were laid upon the transportation of poultry and eggs into the metropolis ! Why, the question of Presidential impeach- ment is a tame and insignificant matter in comparison thereto. Every household would rally in rebellion ; popular meetings would be called, and a monster indigna- tion meeting would fill the Central Park to denounce the cutting oft* of the omelets, the custards, the cakes, and the innumer- able other dishes into which the indis- pensable egg enters, and to clamor for the restoration of the broilers, and the capons, and the poulets, which contribute so large- ly to the necessities of the invalid and to the gratification of the epicure. Editor's Table. 215 There is a wide-spread demand for poul- try, and that demand is all the while swelling and enlarging, and he who makes the largest contribution to it is a real benefactor — a benefactor who is far more worthy of the applause and patronage of men than the blatant demagogue who in- flames the passions of party zealots that he may gratify a low and selfish ambition, or even the bedizened warrior whose guilty march to triumph and to power is not unfrecjuently over the forms of violated purity and innocence, and the prostrate remains of right and justice and liberty. I take it for granted that you desire to have me give you the results of my own experience touching the varieties and char- acteristies of the several breeds of fowls with which I am most familiar, together with whatever facts relative to their oreed- ing, management, diseases, etc., I may con- ceive to be of general interest to your readers. The bare mention of the more promi- nent points to be elaborated opens up be- fore the vision of the poultry fancier an almost boundless field. But when it is remembered that the space in your mag- azine which may be allotted to this subject is extremely limited, and besides, that the pressure of active daily business duties prescribe limits to the moments which I may give to the task, it will hardly be feared that any dissertation will grow into such voluminous proportions as to become burdensome. As I can not enter analytically into my prescribed theme in this initiatory paper, it will not be amiss to premise that the question will be considered mainly from a utilitarian stand-point — the point from which, no doubt, the mass of your readers who take an interest in it would prefer to have the subject considered. Some men breed jDoultry for pleasure, while the mass of them breed for profit— -just as some of your neighbors and friends, no doubt, of different tastes and views, cultivate their gardens and their fields. While the gar- den of one enchants the eye with the blushing and multiform beauty of a thou- sand flowers, and intoxicates the senses by the tide of incense which they pour upon the summer air, the field of the other spreads its smiling sheaves of plenty as a blessed ministry to the grosser needs of men. The beautiful and the useful blend together their charms and forces, and pay a grateful tribute to the poetry and prose of mortal life. Exjjerience is assumed to be the only sure and trustworthy guide in testing the merits or qualities of the different breeds of fowls. And though there must, of ne- cessity, be somewhat diverse results with the same kinds of fowls, because of the different management and care bestowed, yet the weight of the general and intelli- gent testimony assures a proper verdict in the end. There can be no assured and unfailing success in poultry growing with- out careful attention to the whole routine of duties demanded in the hennery. The generally accepted axiom, that " eternal vigilance is the price of liberty," carries an impressive lesson to the poultry breeder, whose experience will ultimately demon- strate, in that specialty, that constant watchfulness is the price of success. Some men seem to imagine that to secure a good treed of fowls will guarantee their success, irrespective of any agency on their part to keep them good by projDer feeding, breeding, etc. Never was there a greater delusion. No inherent .excellences in the entire scale of animated nature can bear up under the pressure of ignorance and neglect. Adam's great transgression has written the fearful word decay in such im- pressive characters upon all animated life, that we can only hope to bribe its swift consummation by paying the tribute of exacted toil and sweat. We can hardly win success without deserving it, and we shall not certainly deserve it, and ought not to expect it, without the employment of rational and well-directed efforts. Very truly, etc., E. W. 216 The Horticulturist. Dwarf Magnolia Conspicua. — A few days since (June 8), visiting Prof. J. P. Kirt- land, I saw in his grounds a seedling mag- nolia from the conspicua. In habit of growth it was about with purpurea, a little more upright, and with flowers about two thirds as large as conspicua, and the petals a pure clear white, but not opening until about a week or ten days later. It prom- ises a valuable acquisition to be embraced in first-class shrubs. F. R. E. Mr. Editor : As the young mathema- tician finds mistakes in his arithmetic, and detects the errors of Butler or Pinneo, so we beginners in horticulture discover in- consistencies in Downing and Fuller. They teach that if a tree is heavy laden with fruit this year, its vitality will be so taxed to perfect it that few or no fruit buds will be formed for the next. My neighbor, Richard Gosney, has a tree in his orchard which seemingly was not exhausted by ex- cessive growth, yet stood year after year without fruiting. But three years ago, while Ezra Hicks was hauling a load of hay out of the orchard, one branch was badly injured. ■ The next year that branch was literally full of apples, while the balance of, the tree" was barren as before. Of course the hay should not have been in the orchard; but you need not speak of that, as I intend to scold Uncle Dick for it when next I see him. And the Ezra Hicks above spoken of is no kin to the Hick's Apple, but a good fellow for all that. "Well, I know several other examples that seem to conflict with theory, but lest I get picked up on them, like the boys that find mistakes in their lessons, I will not mention them now. You see, this is a new .business to me, though when I was a boy my father often complained that my mania for tree setting made necessary a job of grubbing every year. But now I have a patch of hills of my own, and having a little leisure, intend to have my fun out. Said land is beautiful to look upon. The hills go up to the clouds most, and the hollows so deep that the sun never shines in them. It looks romantic — decidedly — unless a man feels concerned about his bread and butter ; then it seems more for- midable than picturesque. When the ti ruber is deadened, or cut off, the bushes come up as thick as the hairs on a dog's back. The soil is not deep enough, nor rich enough, to brag much about ; but any land that can sprout hop-poles like this will grow peach-trees. So I set out three hundred budded trees last fall while the ground was in fine condition, and they are making a splendid growth. I also set nine hundred this spring — budded— most of which are living, but not doing half so well as those set in the fall. Had it not been for the excessive rains, no doubt many would have died. I speak of them as being budded, from the fact that they are considered a very unsafe investment in this country, while seedlings average about three crops in five years. Budded trees are all full this year. I have an acre planted in seeds, and shall plant them as seedlings this fall, except a few to be budded with nectarines and almonds. By the way, I read an article in an old number of the Prairie Farmer (about 1858) from some man near St. Louis, who said that almonds would grow there. So, three years ago, I procured two trees, one of which came near dying ; but the other made a splendid growth, and is now as full of fruit as it can hold — as full as a peach-tree. On this land, beside the bushes which come up so thickly in old deadenings, wild grapevines also spring forth, and make a perfect tangle. These vines, about every other year, are full of grapes ; and people go miles to get them, and call them good. Can't say that I like them ; but their presence and productiveness under difficulties led me to hope that better kinds might do well. Speaking of these wildlings reminds me of an anecdote told me to-day, showing that the taste of our people is not well ed- ucated in the matter of grapes. The gentle- Editors Table. 217 man relating it had a splendid lot of Dela- wares, and also some fine Concords, and took a basketful of each to market, but found it very difficult to dispose of the samples, even, at a very low rate. People admired them as something of a show; but what use to pay eight or ten cents a pound for them when the woods are full of wild ones for nothing ? He finally came across a friend, a banker, I think, who con- cluded to take one basket, and was told that he might have his choice at the same price ; and, after tasting carefully, express- ed himself highly in favor of the Concords ! Having had symptoms of grape fever repeatedly, I read Husmann's book, and it took a deep set. Had a piece of old deadening grubbed out, and being too full of stumps, and rather steep to plow to ad- vantage, I had holes dug with a spade, wide, but shallow, and having them partly filled, set the roots near the top, and shall have the spaces between spaded up. I do not give this mode with the expectation that future generations will adopt it, but that it may go on record. With reference to the final result : the wild vines are upon the very surface; and if they can grow ten or fifteen feet in a year, Concords ought to grow some. I have planted eight hundred one-year- old vines in this manner, and they are making a fine start, scarcely one failing to grow. But I went out a few clays ago to break off all the buds, except one or two, and found the whole earth covered with locusts ; and as they were letting-in rather heavily on the young vines, I concluded to withdraw my services until I shall see what these things are going to leave. By-the-by, I feel interested about their proceedings, and will stop this epistle to go and see ; but I don't want to sign my name to it, for there are some people who would think I had better be attending to my old busi- ness. The names significant of the horti- cultural profession are already assumed by different writers, except, perhaps, it is the word " Amateur" Horticulturist, which is certainly a very pretty name, but is award- ed, by general consent, to the older and more eminent members of the profession. Come to think, Immature Horticulturist sounds nearly as well, and is so much more appropriate that I will adopt it as my nom de plume. There is no need of being over-particular. If a name sounds well, and is appropriate, that ought to he sufficient. With the eagerness characteristic of new converts, I sign myself, Fraternally yours, Immature Horticulturist. Central Indiana, May 28, 1868. A Fine Vine. — One -of the most remark- able vines we have ever seen is now in full bearing in Kaye's Nursery at Finchley. It is not so large as either the Hampton Court or Cumberland Lodge vines — much smaller, in fact; but in point of size of bunch neither of these, nor any other vines we are acquainted with, approach it. The Cumberland Lodge vine is considerably finer than the Hampton Court, and bears about 2,000 bunches, looking meanwhile as if cribbed and confined for room, as the shoots reach the extremity of the great house, and are there cut off, just as we are obliged to do in small vineries; but one of the Finchley bunches is as large as three of those we have seen at Hampton Court and Cumberland Lodge. The fact is, the vine may be grown to a fabulous size if supplied with all the root room it can occupy, and a suitable soil, and with house-room, so that there is not so much of the remarkable about those two famous vines; but the Finchley vine, while extra- ordinary as regards size, is still more so, as we have said, for the size of its bunches. The curious part of the matter is, that no unusual pains were spent upon the making of the border in which this fin6 vine grows. It is made on a hard clay bottom, a considerable quantity of brick rubbish being placed on that part, with a slope to a drain at the front of the border 218 The Horticulturist. which is about fifteen feet wide. It is not quite raised above the level of the sur- rounding ground, as most borders are with our great growers. The soil of the border is not that epicurean kind of loam recom- mended by most writers on the vine, but just the top spit which had been cleared oft" building ground in various parts of the district — now and then very sandy, occa- sionally of a stiff and unctuous clayey tex- ture, with here and there a lot of brick rubbish ; in short, a mixture of the better kinds of earth and rubbish which are so easily obtained in a suburban or other dis- trict where much building is going on. The border is about four feet in depth. No manure is mixed with its ingredients, except what little may descend from the remains of the annual winter covering of stable manure with which it is protected during the winter and early spring months. The house is 89 feet long by 18 feet wide, span roofed, and heated with hot-water pipes. The vine enters at the middle of one side, and goes across the roof, making five equal breaks, or, in other words, send- ing five fine opposite branches to each end of the house, the base of the main stem being of great thickness for a vine which has not been planted ten years. It quite fills the house, and would no doubt furnish three times the superficies it now does if the house and border were sufficiently extended. At the time of our visit it bore about 300 magnificent bunches of grapes, running from 2 lb. to 5 lb. weight each. What struck us as most remarkable was that the bunches were equally fine all over the house, the lowest and farthest extrem- ities of the building exhibiting bundles as heavy and as fine as the highest and most favorable parts. Usually, with ordinary vines, much discrepancy occurs between the bunches on the same rod. It is doubt- ful if such a crop of heavy bunches was ever before shown by one plant, as however large we may grow the poor Syrian and other grapes, of large bunch but inferior quality, to obtain such bunches as these of the Black Hamburgh, even on a vine of the ordinary size, is considered very good work. The attainment of the result we have mentioned by simple means is well worthy of record. It surely proves that vine culture of the highest character is a much more simple affair than amateurs and many practical horticulturists believe it to be. There are many glass arcade roofs that might be highly embellished and ren- dered profitable by such a plant as this. If the amateur instead of building a few distinct small houses, would erect a good roomy one, and cover the roof with vines, it would give much more satisfaction than is often attained by those who have not much time or attention to devote to glass- houses. A large span-roofed vinery of the sort might be made to afford a very agree- able promenade in winter, a home for con- siderable quantities of green-house and bedding plants, shelves for early-potted strawberries on each side, room for a fine bloom of chrysanthemums in autumn, and not a few other things for which special structures are often provided. In summer, when the fruit would be ripening, and the foliage occupying the roof, we care very little for the indoor garden, and are usually too glad to leave it, while the plants we have named must, for the most part, be out of doors or in frames.-- The Field. Hints on Plant-Gkowing in Living- Rooms. — Many persons are either deterred from, or misled in, growing plants in living- rooms by reading the lugubrious nonsense written about the danger of keeping plants in such situations after nightfall, or in perusing the mystified directions given from time to time for their cultivation under the head of " Window" or " Indoor Gardening." Such instructions, for the most part, consists of nostrums, secrets, and tricks, which are not only pernicious, but silly, and tend to puzzle and perplex the inexperienced, by creating a belief that there is much more art in growing plants in such situations than there really is. Editor's Table. 219 But as the former of such statements may with propriety be placed in the category of absurdities, so may the latter instructions be transferred to that of ticacldle ; for the principal cause why plants in living-rooms do not thrive so well as those which are kept in plant structures, is chiefly owing to the extreme dryness of the air in sitting- rooms, and consequently their being sub- jected to a constant drain upon the moist- ure in their leaves and the soil in the pots — the leaves under such circumstances being deprived of their water by evapora- tion instead of by perspiration ; and in the exercise of their absorbent functions being more or less disarranged from a deficiency of moisture in the air, for all plants are more or less dependent upon the vapor in the atmosphere as a source for their healthy development. Much, however, depends also upon the suitableness of the plants selected for the purpose, and the regular attention given to them, especially during the winter months ; for it is an unquestionable fact, that plants in sitting-rooms require greater care and attention, and suffer more from neglect during the dull months, from November to February, than at any other period of the year. Therefore the first thing to do in cultivating plants in living-rooms is to determine what are the most suitable kinds for such a situation ; and the more select they are, according to habit and culture, the easier will be their treatment. Plants of low and humble growth should always be kept in the front, and close to the glass, while the larger growing ones may be elevated behind ; and in order to favor in the greatest degree possible the harmonious growth of the plants, and obtain a uniform development of the branches and leaves, the position should be capable of admitting light as much as possible on all sides; and the best and only general rule that can be adopted is to keep those plants not in a growing state rather dry, for plants kept in sitting-rooms generally are over-watered; and it is not an uncommon thing to see plants flourish- ing in the window of a dwelling under the care of an uninitiated individual, while those under the charge of others, in adjoin- ing houses, only linger out a miserable existence, and which frequently is oc- casioned by the plants being kept stand- ing in pans, into which the water is poured when the plants are supposed to require watering ; whereas, whenever water is given, it should be gently poured on the top of the earth, in the pot. But as it is indispensable to have pans under the pots in sitting-rooms, small pans should be turned upside down within them, upon which to place the plants, and this precau- tion will prevent such water as may perco- late through the soil from again reaching the pot in which the plant is growing; and all cultivators of window plants will find it by far the safest plan to give too little rather than too much water during the winter time, for the juants themselves will give notice when they are in much want of water by their leaves beginning to droop, while the effect of over-watering is oftentimes not discovered till the health of the plant has been seriously affected ; therefore attention to this point is one of the most important in window gardening. It is, however, impossible to say how often plants should be watered, or how much at a time should be given them, as the same plant would require more or less according to circumstances ; that is, in regard to the temperature of the room, and the degree of activity with which the plant may happen to be growing at the time. It must also be observed that the tempera- ture of the water used in watering the plants should be at least equal to that of the room, and when the plants begin to grow in the spring, increase the quantity with growth and sun's power, keeping the soil at aS. times in a medium state of moist- ure. Many cultivators are quite uncon- scious of the injury plants receive by a sudden change from that state in which they have been long kept to one of an 220 The Horticulturist. opposite tendency — sucli as from drought to a bountiful supply of moisture, or from dark to light, such as placing plants out in the sun without their being first gradually inured to the light and air. Again, in winter, plants are frequently kept in too warm a part of the sitting-room, for they need not be removed from the window during frost, unless it be very severe, and then being placed on the floor near the middle of the room and covered with a piece of baize will suffice, as they will be safe where water placed beside them merely begins to freeze. Camellias, and similar hard -wooded and stiff- leaved plants, will even bear the soil in the pots being a little frozen; and frequently the cause of camellias losing their blossom- buds is from their being kept in too warm a part of the sitting-room in severe weather, and consequently in too dry an atmosphere. Finally, you must never let plants suffer from neglect. Many persons let them dwindle or die by forgetting to water them at the proper time, or shelter them from excessive sun-heat and frost. Again, without training and pruning, nothing is brought to the highest state of perfection to which it is capable, for cultivation is necessary in order to exhibit the good to which every earthly nature is susceptible. Therefore stopping and training must be attended to during the growing season, as well as repotting in the spring. — Floral World. American Pomological Society. — The official report of the Eleventh Session of the American Pomological Society, held at St. Louis last September, is before us. It makes a volume of over two hundred pages, exclusive of the catalogue, is print- ed on good paper and in bold, clear type. In the value of its contents matter it is perhaps superior to any previous report; indeed, the address of the President, to- gether with the essays of Meehan, Saun- ders, and Feudler, contain so much of valuable information that its possession should be had by every fruit-grower. The reports from committees and individu- als in various States are full of items of import, and we shall at a future time give extracts therefrom. To those who are in- terested in the progress of fruit culture in our Southern States, and the varieties best adapted there, this report contains very valuable and detailed information. Utah Territory and Canada are also reported from, giving us records of new fruits, and showing that not alone are the members of the old States alive to progress. The Treasurer, Thomas P. James, Philadelphia, has copies to supply all who choose to be- come members of the Society. Fruit Premiums at Exhibitions. — Extracts from awards of premiums on fruits at horticultural exhibitions as rec- ommendations of their value by interested dealers has become so general in use that it has come to be an abuse, which should either be at once checked by severe criti- cism, or else societies should instruct their committees in some formula of guidance toward prevention of the use of said com- mittee's report without the fruit being every way worthy of the money, time, and labor of the fruit-growing public. We have known three specimens of a new variety of fruit receive a first premium, because those specimens happened to be the best of their kind in the list exhibited, not because they were better than any other kind grown and perhaps known to the committee, but simply because they were the best at that time exhibited with which to compare. The report of the committee was then extracted from by dealers, and a nearly worthless fruit palmed on the public over the names of men as the committee no one of which could be got privately to speak of the fruit as at all worthy of cultivation. But what could they do ? The society had no rule except to report on the best exhibited, and award the premium. The same sort of thing is being continually repeated, and yearly our fruit-growing novices are led into exjoense Editor 's Table. 221 of time, money, labor, and disappointment, when a little timely care in the preparation of restricting rules by societies for commit- tees' observance would prevent it. So much has this come to be a part of some ex- hibitor's schemes looking forward to the use of the committee's report as an adver- tisement afterward, that we know of several good horticulturists unwilling to act upon committees, and often keeping away from the exhibition until a late hour from fear of being called upon to serve, and thus have their name and reputation errone- ously placed before the public. Now, in the season of exhibitions, when all are engaged, we call the attention of managers of horticultural societies to the subject, and ask of them, for the credit of their associations, the reputation of their fruitmen, and the great cause of pomology and general good of the country, to'act at once either in some united rule — or each for itself — any way, we care not how, so that there be some stop to the use of a leading society's or a good, honest fruit- man's name being attached, by means of an extract, to puff into sale any fruit not thoroughly known as of real value when obtained. Scraps from: my Note Book. — Thorn- less Rasplerry. — I know not what is the precise character of the Davison Thornless Raspberry, but I have one now growing in my ground, of the Black Cap family, the canes very strong, free of spines, and that ripens its fruit quite early. I hope to ex- amine it with the Davison this year, when I shall know if it is identical. But a thornless raspberry is no great novelty, and unless the quality of the fruit is su- perior, I do not see that it has any great claim to cultivation. Straicberry. — I have about fifty varieties, which I have been examining from day to day the past two weeks. Although Ida is condemned by one writer, and Agricul- turist by others — La Constants praised by some, and others give preference to Ju- cunda — I think all have some good quali- ties, but not sufficient to keep them long in general cultivation. Downer's Old Seedling furnishes me the earliest ber- ries and the most quantity at a time ; and although they are not very sweet, yet there is a rich sprightliness about them that I find my family all like, with the addition of a little sugar and cream. Bottom Heat and Tomato Plants. — I have failed with tomato plants started in the green-house. The first start is all right, but they do not continue to grow, and when set out in the open ground grow beautifully less from day to day. I ima- gine bottom heat, not general temperature, is what they need, unless I could keep them up continuously to a high temper- ature until midsummer. Looking back over some of my old notes, I find similar results and experience years agone. The Currant Worm. — I must watch daily and carefully for the first appearance of this destructive insect, and at once use powdered hellebore. Neglected it this year, and had my bushes nearly stripped of all their foliage. E. Alton (III.) Horticultural Society. Varieties op Apples, Good Cider, etc. — The reports of the regular meetings of this wide-awake Society always afford us items of valuable knowledge. The secretary will please accept our thanks therefor. At the meeting April 2d, we notice that Mr. Hilliard, after an experience of thirty-three years, recommends the following three as the best and most profitable varieties of winter apples for that section, viz. : Rawle's Janet, Gilpin, and Winesap. In planting on the level prairie, he plants shallow and plows up to the trees, so that they wTill be on a ridge and keep dry. Mr. Hilliard makes the most of his winter apples into cider, and finds it the most profitable way of disposing of them. His practice in the making is as follows : For good cider, late keeping, sound fruit is required ; add two ounces of sugar to a gallon of cider, or five pounds to a forty- 222 The Horticulturist. gallon barrel. It will ferment better and be cleaner. Granulated sugar is best. It should be added as soon as the cider is barreled. As soon as it goes through its fermentation, say in eight days, it should be racked off from the sediment and put into the cellar. It should be racked off again in January, and sometimes a third time in the spring. Whisky barrels are best. President Starr said, to prepare new oak barrels for cider or wine, use one pound of alum and four or five pounds of salt to four bucketfuls of water, heat boiling hot and put one bucket at a time in the barrel, rinse thoroughly, let it stand an hour, turn it out, and repeat the operation with another bucketful. Finally, rinse with cold water, and fumigate with sulphur, and it will be all right. Ripe Fruit a Preventive op Dis- ease.— Good old Doctor Kennicott, well known by a large number of our Western readers, used to say to us that in his prac- tice of medicine he found his calls upon a family reduced in proportion as they came into the daily use of good ripe fruits, from strawberries onward ; and it was with this practical knowledge gained from an extensive and daily ride over the Western rich prairie lands that he came in all his after essays, addresses, and writings to continuously and urgently advocate the use of ripe fruits as a daily food. Charles Downing, whose life held upon threads thirty years ago, and whose acquaintance at that time doubted his living from year to year, attributed his years of continued activity and usefulness in a great measure to the free and steady use of ripe fruits. Prof. J. P. Kirtland, in a medical practice of nearly half a century, says the habitual use of well - ripened fruits always assisted toward renovating, as well as continuing, the health of his patients ; and from his knowledge thereof he has practiced and preached the extended and improved cul- tivation and use of all good fruits. Understand, these men advocate ripe, sound, healthy fruits; not strawberries mashed, jammed, and sour from long keeping ; not early apples picked green in Tennessee or Kentucky, and yellowed in the box during transhipment ; not peaches picked just as they are colored, and offered for sale with one side as hard as a stone, and the other side almost rotten ; not grapes which have molded in the pack- age, and been washed off, trimmed, and made ready for sale by the dealer, who cares only for his money, and has no thought how big a fool you may be to buy them. No ; all this kind of fruit does not come into the list which sensible men as we have named would use or advise ; but it is the ripe, sound, fresh fruit, either di- rect from the vine or tree, or as near there- to as possible, which contains within itself food corrective and nourishing to the human system. Buy, therefore, and eat only of this. Use fruit freely at each and every meal ; eat it before breakfast and with your meals ; let the children eat when and as they will, but only of fruit per- fectly sound and ripe ; a rotten, specked, moldy, or half-decayed fruit is almost poison. If you buy or grow and eat really ripe and sound fruit, your health and that of your children will be advanced ; but if you eat — no matter whether it cost you money or be given you — unripe or partially decayed fruit, you sow the seeds of disease that may exhibit growth in a night, and may not in months ; but sooner or later the poor fruit will tell its tale in your blood and bones, with pains and aches, as the good will in vigor, activity, and general good health. July the Month to Prune Apple- Trees for the North and Western States. — We are aware that many advocate pruning in the spring, especially when in- creased vigor is desired to be given to the tree ; but we confess that careful observa- tion for many years has taught us that we really gain little on that score, and that in ninety-five cases out of every hundred we Editor's Table. 223 induce a cankered diseased wound, a ten- dency to water-sprouts, or great increase of sucker shoots. Very late fall or winter pruning generally results in a wound that dries and cracks, and requires two or more years to heal over, and in extreme cold sections we believe renders the whole sys- tem of the tree more sensitive. The month of July, however, is one in which the tree is making a rapid but healthy growth, with fully formed foliage to elaborate its sap, and a wound then made rapidly heals and is soon covered by the well-digested layers of new bark and wood which the tree is then in the natural course of its life increasing. Again, at this time the drain of foliage on the roots, in case of a little drought and by reason of the heat and rapid evaporation, is lessened by the removal of a part of the surplus foliage, and hence the whole health and life of the tree is increased and added to rather than lessened or rendered diseased as is the fact when spring pruning is prac- ticed. Kenosha (Wisconsin) Horticultural Society. — This young and energetic Hor- ticultural Society bids fair to outstrip all the Eastern associations in their exhi- bitions. Their first show was on the 25th and 2Gth of June, at which a most ex- tended and liberal list of premiums was offered, encouraging to the lovers of flow- ers and fruits, and retentive of character in the holding of the diploma of the Society as above money values. We tender our thanks for the introduction of our journal to the list of premiums. We shall use our best endeavors to make it of value to the recipients. Hardihood of Hollyhocks. — A corre- spondent suggests, or, rather, says, that we are wrong in classing the hollyhocks in our last number as perfectly hardy, be- cause he says that "while young plants will winter perfectly, the second and third winter generally finds them all destroyed." Our reply is : the hollyhock propagates itself from year to year like the Alpine strawberry, or other perennial, by offsets from sides of the main plant, leaving the center or crown plant to die out ; and if these offsets are permitted to remain at- tached to the main plant, their exhaustion of the surrounding soil and consequent loss of vitality renders them less capable of enduring severity of temperature, and therefore death. If, however, the young plants or offsets be taken from the parent plant and replanted in good soil, from year to year, they are perfectly hardy, and wTill endure as much as the young seedling. We will only add, that a safeguard to old plants, whose center crowns have flowered and died, and are now dependent upon the support of the offsets, should have yearly a mulch of leaves or straw applied in autumn around them, which will, to some extent, answer the purpose of re- newal by transplanting. The season of growth is however now about commencing, and we advise those who have old roots of the hollyhock to take them up, and sepa- rate and transplant them as early in the season as the ground will admit of being worked. Sweet Corn. — Never forget to plant sweet corn in July. We always plant some each week in the month, and the result is we have it into frosty weather ; and our last ears we cut up with the stalk and stack them in small shocks, to pull from even into December, near upon Christmas time. Liquid Manure. — Any manurial matters can be, to a more or less extent, dissolved in water for the production of liquid manure, and the strength of the material used must regulate the quantity of water applied, and the nature of the plants to be fed with it. The following proportions, taken from the London Gardener's Magazine, are considered useful mixtures : One part by weight of fresh cow-dung to six parts by weight of water ; stir, and leave it some hours to settle ; use only the clear liquid. The drainage from the stable and cow- house is a most valuable basis for liquid 224 The Horticulturist. manure ; add to it eight parts of water. The brown liquid that flows from new dung heaps is to be used in the same way. One part of fowls dung to eight parts of water ; sulphate of ammonia, half an ounce to every gallon of water ; guano, an ounce to the gallon of water. In all cases it is best to give liquid manures weak, and especially at first. If it is intended to give a plant strong doses, a few weak ones should be given first to prepare it ; but to be always weak is much safer and more beneficial in the end, for an overdose will cause the leaves to fall or become blotched, and do other injuries that need not be enumerated. The Best Stock to Bud the Cherry upon. — Considerable discussion has been had in the Western horticultural papers relative to the comparative values of stocks for working the cherry so as to insure hardy, healthy, and productive trees. The result of it all appears to confirm the views of Mr. F. R. Elliott, put forth some years since, that the seedling Morello is the stock on which to secure a moderate growth, with hardihood and productiveness in- creased. Morello suckers will, like Maz- zard suckers, if used as stocks, continue to sucker, and while rendering the ground unsightly, reduce the vigor and health of the main tree. The Mazzard and Mahal eb both give too strong growth during the first two or three years, to render the wood of a sufficiently close texture to endure the severe and extreme changes of heat in summer and of cold in winter; while in the Northwest the roots even of both varieties are sometimes killed in winter. Penstemons. — Every lover of flowers should pay attention to the penstemon, as one of the best and most continuous in blooming of all perennials. It is of easy culture, aud perfectly hardy. As we write (June 6th), we have before us in our garden blooms of one received under the name of OrandijJora, which is pure white, and with the fragrance of violets. New Seedling Cherries for the West. — We suggest to our Western fruit-grow- ers, gathering the pits of Louis Philippe, Early Richmond, Donna Maria, Belle Mag- nifique, Hortense, and other varieties of like habit or class, and grow new seedlings. If only one in a thousand prove of great value, there is a prospect that two thirds of the balance will prove as good as the Early May now grown, and all will cer- tainly answer for stocks on which to bud. Blossoming of Peas. — In our garden this season, out of fourteen varieties of peas planted the same day side by side, Carter's Early was the first to bloom and set its fruit ; Waite's Caractacus was the second ; while Little Gem and Dan O'Rourke were next, closely followed by McLean's Advancer. When we plant again, our choice will be for the first two and the last-named varieties. BOOK NOTICE. Delaware, the Garden State of the Union. — This is the title of a neat pam- phlet of 62 pages, edited and published by Henry T. Williams, of the New York Inde- pendent. Mr. Williams last season spent considerable time in traveling through the State of Delaware and gathering facts con- cerning the adaptability of the soil to fruit culture, as well as the general resources of the State, all of which he has here given. The New York markets have, for years past, been mainly supplied with early peaches from Delaware ; but it is only a com- ])aratively short time since the attention of growers has been given to the cultiva- tion of the smaller fruits, to which the soil and climate are so well adapted. Large profits have been realized by those who cultivate well, and it is only those who should undertake fruit culture even in Delaware. The pamphlet contains many items of information for those seeking a location for fruit culture, and to such we commend it. Price, 50 cents. THE HORTICULTURIST. VOL. XXIII AUGUST, 1868. .NO. CCLXVL CULTURE OF THE VINE IN EUROPE. [CONTINUED FROM JULY NUMBER.] STEMMING. The fruit having been gathered and selected, the next thing to do is to stem it. In " Medoc" and all the " Bordelais" this is invariably done. But in " Bur- gundy" and other districts they commonly omit it, and throw stem and all into the vat ; if, however, the season has been bad, and the stems remain unripe, they are of necessity excluded in whole or in part, lest they do more harm than good. The chief reason for putting in the stems is to cor- rect the disease called " teitter," for which the turrin acid, etc., of the stem is thought to be an antidote. Fortunately, we know comparatively little, as yet, of any wine disease, except acidity, but still it will re- main for us to decide, upon experience, which of the two methods it is best to adopt. Probably we shall arrive at the same diversity of practice as is witnessed here. Stemming is usually done by rub-- bing the fruit upon a grating of iron rods, but the better way, decidedly, is a grating of wood. It is made of bars two thirds of an inch square, carved into each other where they cross, so as to bring them down to an even face, leaving openings or meshes two thirds of an inch square. 15 This is established like a table with four legs, with a rim around it about ten inches high, and a proper receptacle beneath to receive and carry off the stemmed fruit as it falls through and the juice which es- capes. The table is four feet square and four feet high. About three bushels of grapes are put on to the grating, which four men with bare arms soon rub through, leaving the stems behind, which are then thrown into a small circular press, like our hand cider presses, which extracts the- juice of the few grains remaining on them. In this way four men can stem enough to make fifty barrels of wine per day. For one who makes but a small quantity, a deep tub and a three-pronged stick will do very well. CRUSHING. This is next to be done, by trampling the grape with the naked foot. It is said to be a better way than to use a large mill, for the reason the mill will crush the seed ; but the seeds are not easily crushed, and a properly made grape-mill need not bruise them in the least. At a well-man- aged wine-house, that of Messrs. Averons Brothers, in "Paulhiac," they put the grapes to ferment, with no further crush- 226 The Horticulturist. ing than what is given them in the pro- cess of stemming, which experience has satisfied those gentlemen is all that is needed. FERMENTATION. The crushed mass, with or without the stems, is next thrown into vats and allow- ed to ferment. The vats are large casks, generally without bulge, the largest at the bottom, and open at the top. In some of the large houses they are covered with loose boards ; in others the boards are jointed and made hermetically close by ]3lastering with cement or clay ; in others there is merely a floating mass of stems ; and in others there is no covering at all, except the scum of stems, skins, seeds, etc., which rise to the surface. After the fermentation has ceased and the wine becomes clear, it is drawn off and put away in close casks, which in France are almost uniformly of the size called " barrique," holding about fifty gallous. In Burgundy these are kept above ground and in the light until spi'ing, and then put into cellars, while in the Bordeaux country they remain in the light in store- houses above ground until one or two years old, and then removed to dark rooms on the same level. A careful way of making red wine out of grapes not fully ripened is to allow it to remain in the vats for a sufficiently long time after fermenta- tion to let the greenness held in susj)ense settle to the bottom. At "Latour," in the vintage of 1866, they allowed the wine to remain in the vat a whole month, though the fermenta- tion was probably complete in half of the time. After drawing off the remaining undissolved pomace, it is pressed and made into a wine of inferior quality. It is common in France, and it would be sometimes necessary in some parts of America, to provide means of warming the wine-house up to at least 20 degrees of " Centigrade," or 68 degrees of Fahrenheit, as well as to introduce steam heat into the vats themselves, which is done by means of a tin pipe, entering to the right of the faucet and a little above the bottom of the vat, bending to the bottom and rising again in the form of a letter U, and then passing out at the other side of the faucet, at the same distance from it, the steam entering at one end and the condensed va- por escaping at the other ; but heat is only applied in cold seasons and when the grapes are badly ripened. In France, the fruit of different varieties are commonly mixed together, and gener- ally but little account is taken of " cesaye" (variety) as compared with the quality of soil. Well-informed persons, however, are disposed to complain of the introduction, which has been quite general of recent years, of coarse varieties grown for quantity rather than quality. There is one variety of vine commonly seen on rich soil and deemed unfit for poor ground, except where grown for brandy, as in Cognac, that may possibly be of value to us. It is called " la folle" (the crazy) " en ragatt" (from enraged). Except in its infancy it needs no stakes, but holds itself erect by the strength of its stalk, which is trained about one foot high, and from which the cane or branches shoot out with great vigor, like those of the osier willow pruned low. Every winter all the branches are cut back to two or three eyes, and during the season the ground is cultivated in the usual manner, but further than this it demands no attention. There is no summer pruning nor any . tying, winter or summer. It is never hurt by frost, is proof against all disease, and is unfailing in its fruiting, and yields, when in good condi- tion, 1,200 to 1,500 gallons of wine per acre. Its most favorable soil is a sandy loam, and when grown on such, its wine, which is quite strong, is worth 40 cents per gallon. Of that produced about Bordeaux, a good deal is mixed with coarse red wine and made into claret for American consumption. Of itself it will not make red wine. It is possible that this hardy vine or grape will stand our severe winters, and, with or Culture of the Vine in Europe. 227 without winter covering, obtain a footing in American soil. Generally it is a bad policy to introduce a coarse plant of any sort ; but we have so vast a spread of land that is too rich for growing delicate wines, no matter what variety of plant is tried, and of late the mildew and rot have been so discouragingly fatal in many parts of our country, it might be well to give the " en ragatt" a trial, and, since we must drink the juice baptized with the names of " St. Julian," " Chateau Margaux," and all the saints of Medoc, we may as well enjoy the satisfaction and the very large profit of raising it ourselves. Not only do the French mix different kinds of grapes in the vat and on the press, but they freely compound together differ- ent kinds of wine in every stage of maturity. This is done of course with great careful- ness, and the success of the merchant in his business depending on his skill in con- cocting what will please the palate. Such combination may be agreeable to the taste of the consumer, and profitable to the merchant, but it may well be doubted if it is as good for the health as that which is simply natural, and made from one variety of grape. A French vine-grower has introduced the Catawba into his vineyard, and uses its juice to mix in very small proportions with that of native grapes to give flavor. Any considerable addition of the Catawba's musky quality would be more than the French palate, trained to like only that which is negative, could very well bear. When American wines were tested by the jury at the Exposition, the French jurors, whose scale was from one to four, with a zero at the foot, generally compli- mented our Catawba with a zero, and they remarked that the more of the natwral flavor the wine possessed, other things being equal, the lower they should estimate it. In America the very contrary is known to be the case. The German jurors, accus- tomed to wines of high bouquet, held quite different oj)inions from the French, and were much pleased with the American samples. In regard to the more delicate wines of Europe which do not bear exportation, an important discovery is said to have been made by the distinguished chemist Pasteur, of the Institute, which is exciting great interest, and promises nothing less than to secure wine against disease and deteriora- tion for an indefinite period, to enable it to be transported with safety any distance, and kept in any sort of storehouse. The best way to make known in America the discoveries of Mr. Pasteur would be to translate and publish his very valuable work, entitled "Etudes Sur le Vin," sold by Victor Masson & Sons, Place de l'Ecole de Medicine, Paris. Meanwhile we will give a brief synopsis of it. After explaining at length the nature of the different diseases of the wine, acidity, bitterness, etc., tracing them all to vege- table parasites, and detailing his experi- ments in search of an agent to destroy the parasites, Mr. Pasteur arrives at the con- clusion, that they are effectually destroyed by heating the wine up to a point between 50 and 65 degrees of centigrade, which would be between 122 and 149 degrees of Fahrenheit. The heating can be done in a "Bain Marie," that is, by placing the bottle or cask in a vessel filled with water and heating the water, or by hot-air closets or steam-pipes introduced into the casks. The heating should be gradually and carefully accomplished in order to enable any one to test the value of this invention, so important in its aims. We extract the following, which gives all the author has to say on the mode li6 has himself followed with wine already in bottle, whether new or old, diseased or sound : " The bottle being corked, either with the needle or otherwise, by machine or not, and the corks tied on like those of champagne bottles, they are placed in a vessel of water ; to handle them easily, they are put into an iron bottle-basket. 22S The Horticulturist. The water should rise as high as the ring about the mouth of the bottle. I have never yet completely submerged them, but do not think there would be any incon- venience in doing so, provided there should be no partial cooling during the heating up, which might cause the admission of a little water into the bottle. One of the bottles is filled with water, into the lower part of which the bowl of a thermometer is plunged. "When this marks the degree of heat desired, 149 degrees of Fahrenheit for instance, the basket is withdrawn. It will not do to put in another immediately, the too warm water might break the bottles. A portion of the heated water is taken out and replaced with cold, to reduce the temj>erature to a safe point ; or, better still, the bottles of the second basket may be prepared by warming, so as to be put in as soon as the first come out. The ex- pansion of the wine during the heating process tends to force out the cork, but the twine or wire holds it in, and the wine finds a vent between the neck and the cork. During the cooling of the bottles, the volume of the wine having diminished, the corks are hammered in farther, the tying is taken off, and the wine is put in the cellar, or the ground floor, or the second story, in the shade, or in the sun. There is no fear that any of these different modes of keeping it will render it diseased ; they will have no influence except on its mode of maturing, on its colors, etc. It will always be useful to keep a few bottles of the same kind without heating it, so as to compare them at long intervals with that which has been heated. The bottle may be kept in an upright position ; no mold will form, but perhaps the wine will lose a little of its fineness under such con- dition, if the cork gets dry and air is allowed too freely to enter." Mr. Pasteur affirms that he has exposed casks of wine thus heated, in the open air or terrace, with northern exposure, from April to December, without any injury resulting. Wine in casks may be heated by intro- ducing a tin pipe through the bung-hole, which shall descend in coils nearly to the bottom and return in a straight line and through the pipe imparting steam. If, after thus being once heated, there is such an exposure to air, as by drawing off and bottling, as to admit a fresh introduction of " parasites," the disease thus introduced may be easily cured by heating a second time. Mr. Pasteur claims also to have dis- covered and proved that wine can be advanced in ripening and improved by " aeration" conducted by a slow and gentle manner. This is a bold assertion; but such confidence is felt in the value of suggestions coming from him, that both of his methods, cutting, as they will, a tangle of old theories, will have a fair trial by his countrymen, and that without delay. Your committee would say, in con- clusion, that from what comparison we have been able to make between the better samples of American wines now on exhi- bition at the " Paris Exposition," with foreign wines of a similar character, as well as from the experience of many European wine-tasters, we have formed a higher estimate of our own ability to pro- duce good wines than we had heretofore, and from our investigations in vine culture we are now more confident than ever that America can and will be a great wine- making country. All that is necessary for us to rival the choicest products of other parts of the world will ere long come with practice and experience. We have already several excellent varieties of the grape born on American soil, and suited to it a soil extensive and varied enough for every range of quantity and quality. Who would discover a patch of ground capable of yielding a " Johannes- berger," a " Tokay," or a " Margaux," need only make diligent and careful search, and, somewhere between the Lakes and the Gulf and the two oceans that circumscribe our vineyard territory, will be sure to find it. Culture of the Vine in Europe. 229 SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT. The committee, since making their re- port on the third branch of the subject given them in charge, have visited the principal vine districts of Switzerland and Germany, and deem some of the observa- tions there made worth being embodied in the supplemental report now submitted. The vineyards to which attention was more especially given were those of the borders of Lake Geneva, those of Pflaz or Rhenish Bavaria, and of the banks of the Rhine, the Neckar, and the Main. With regard to the quality of the soil, we have the same remark to make here as was made in the former report, viz., that the vines yielding the best wine were found to be growing on the poorest soil. Geologically, the soil throughout all the above districts is very much the same, viz., basalt and sandstone, both formations usually seen in close proximity, the basalt uppermost and resting on the other. The only exceptions were a few patches of limestone and slate. The basalt soil is esteemed richer than the sandstone, and is often hauled on to the other to enrich it. For instance, the vine-dressers of Durkheim actually manure their thin, poor, gravelly land with tens of thousands of yards of earth, brought from the neighboring town of Deidesheim, and yet the Durkheim wine is quite superior to that of their neigh- bors. All this was quite different from anything we noticed in France ; there, calcareous rocks seem to underlie every- where, nor could we learn of any wine of high repute in France that derived its quality from sandstone or basalt. The vine husbandry of the Swiss and Germans is of the first order. Nowhere do you see in their vineyards the straggling appear- ance so common in those of France (the effect of frequent layering) ; but the lines were always beautifully true and even. Although the intervals or rows were wide enough for the plow to pass, nearly all the cultivation was done by hand, and done most thoroughly, too. In France, as in America, they stir the ground two or three times during the season. In the Rhinegan it is done four times; but about Forst Deidesheim and Durkheim they do it as often as every two or three weeks from the beginning to the end of the season. It is in the above neighborhood that basaltic earth is applied as a manure, as is also clay, to make the ground more retentive of manure ; and this they do to such an extent that old vine fields are seen which have been raised visibly above the level of the others adjoining them.* The expenditure of labor in a year on an acre of those fields amounts to about one hundred and forty days' work. In the Pflaz, it is usual to train upon hori- zontal laths or lines of wire running fifteen inches above the ground, very much as is done in Medoc, only that where wire is used, a second line is stretched above the other. Mr. Guyot, to whose book we have already referred, argues strongly in favor of everywhere adopting the method of training the fruit-bearing cane horizontal with the ground and very close to it. We ought, however, to note here, that the fields where this mode was more par- ticularly noticed, or connected with good results, were in gravelly deposits of nearly level surface. Manure is freely used in Germany, much more so than in France and is prepared and applied with much care and system. Cow manure, largely composted with straw, is the only kind thought fit to manure vines. They sprinkle the heaps almost daily, to keep them moist and allow the mass to rot, at least twelve months before being used. It is applied every three years. As to quantity, it is * Some years since the vineyard of F. T. Buhl, of Deidesheim, produced wine on the natural soil of a very inferior quality, selling at fifty centimes the litre, at a very great expense. The whole vineyard was covered to the depth of three feet by volcanic or basaltic earth brought from a distance of several miles. The experiment at the time was thought to be a very hazardous one, but the enhanced value of the wines after the addition proved that the owner wa9 wiser than his neighbors. 230 The Horticulturist. certain that some soils, like the poor and unretentive gravel beds of the Pflaz, should receive more than those of the neighboring slopes, and that the calcareous earths of France need less than the sandstone and the basaltic earths of the Rhine valley. Guyot, arguing strongly in favor of manure, recommends the French cultivator to put on at intervals of three years a quantity of manure that will be equivalent in weight to that of the fruit he has taken off at vintage ; while Mr. Herzrnansky, the steward at Johannesberg, who tills some fifty acres of vines, keeps about forty very large cows in his stables. But will not manuring hurt the quality of the wine ? In our former report we say that this is an open question as yet, and so it is in France, and Mr. Guyot treats it as such in arguing upon it. Of course no one will doubt that were a vineyard to be treated in this respect, as we treat the soil of a grapery, very poor wine would be pro- duced, and the only question is, will a moderate quantity do harm ? This is pre- cisely the question the committee put to Mr. Herzrnansky, the intelligent and tho- roughly experienced director at Johannes- berg, where the best wine in the world is made. His answer was, " No. As we apply it on this soil it does not impair the quality of the wine in any degree ; on the contrary, it improves the flavor." Then he led the way to his well-ordered cow stables, and pointing to the compost heaps remarked, " There is the beginning of Johannesberger." * * The vineyard of F. T. Buhl, alluded to in a pre- vious note, is fertilized by a compost made of wood- ashes, stable manure, and earth. This is applied in the spring in trenches dug to the depth of about ten inches and again covered with earth ; the application is made in this manner to every alternate row of the vineyard. The following year the same process is gone through with in the remaining rows, by the re- moval of the soil as previously stated, and the treat- ment of manure as just detailed ; this vineyard now produces wine of a very superior quality of a deli- cious bouquet, rich in saccharine matter and alcohol, and possessing all those excellences that we prize in a first-class wine, and is now readily selling at twelve francs the litre. Now, Johannesberger is the most deli- cate of wine, as it is indeed superlative in every respect. By the kind invitation of the Princess Metternich the committee were allowed to taste specimens of the best the castle cellar contained, including some that was 21 years old in the cask, and some from a cask that was, pa/r excel- lence, called the " bride of the cellar," and the opinion formed was that the quality of Johannesberger is such that it can not be described, and can be communicated only to the organs of taste ; nor can it be understood or even imagined, except by those who are so highly favored as to have a taste of it. But this marvelous wine is but the crowning product of the famous district of the Rhinegan, or that portion of the valley lying just north of Mayence, a strip less than ten miles in length, whose fruit yields a juice which surpasses all others of the world, combin- ing richness with flavor and delicacy with strength. The soil of the Rhinegan seems to be of a red sandstone mostly, if not wholly. Johannesberg hill reminds one strongly of the soil of some parts of New Jersey and Connecticut ; and in the neigh- borhood of New Haven, in the latter State, the " basalt" is seen resting upon the red- stone, just as it does upon the hills that skirt the Rhine. Nearly all the German and Swiss wines, and, indeed, nearly all the grapes grown in Germany and Switzer- land, are white, for which the soil and cli- mate of the former country seems pecu- liarly adapted, while at the same time unsuited for ripening colored grapes to the tint needed in a true red wine. The peculiarity of the -better sort of Rhenish wines is " bouquet," and of the inferior sort, acidity compared with them ; their French rivals are quite negative, and so are those of Switzerland. A French wine, white or red, must be very poor indeed if it shows any acidity, and must be very fine indeed if it possesses any easily-tasted " bouquet." Altogether, we must award the palm of excellence to the white wines Culture of the Vine in Europe. 231 of the Rhine, as we do to the skill and in- dustry of the vine-dressers who produce them. In considering the merits of the different soils as geologically distinguished from each other, we seem drawn to the conclusion that, so far as our observation has gone, the red sandstone is the superior one ; but we confess ourselves unfit to make any such sweeping generalization, and will only say that the soil in question, for aught we can see, seems as fit as any other to grow a superior wine. The difference between wine made by fermenting the bruised grapes, juice, skin, pulp, and seeds altogether, and called " red wine," and that made by pressing immediately after gathering and fermenting its pressed juice by itself, called " white wine," is not a dif- ference of color alone. For certain bodily temperaments, and for certain conditions of health, possibly, too, for the peculiar constitution of the German people, white wine may be the best. And to that of the Rhine country Liebig attributes the virtue of being an antidote for calculus and gout. But all this being admitted, the better reasons seem to favor the production and use of the red wine in preference to the white, where it can be done. The testi- mony we have obtained from the best sources of knowledge on this point amount to this : Red wine is much less heating, much more tonic, much less exciting to the nerves, much less intoxicating to the brain, and its effects are more enduring than white wine. As we of America are, by reason of our dry climate, as well as from moral causes, more excitable, both from brain and nerve, than* the Europeans, and at the same time much oftener in need of tonic diet, and our summer heats are so much more intense than in the wine lati- tudes of Europe, all the above considera- tions should have peculiar weight with us. So highly, at least, do the French people appreciate them, that they consume now little white wine, and it bears always a lower price in the market than red of equal quality. To the general consump- tion of this drink intelligent Frenchmen are apt to attribute the fine health of their peasantry, as well as their habitual gaiety and habitual temperance. (The habitual use of whisky has quite another effect.) An American gentleman, for many years residing in France, and for a time a pro- fessor in one of the universities, affirms that the greatest longevity is among those people who take red wine three times a day and abstain from both tea and coffee. When Americans consult French physi- cians, three times in four they are ordered to drink red wine as an habitual beverage ; and one of the commonest daily events among Americans residing in Paris is the cure of an obstinate dyspepsia by the same simple remedy, even in the unhealthful air of that city. The German vineyards have hitherto es- caped any very serious ravages from the " vine disease." It is met as often as it appears, and successfully combated with sulphur. Three applications are made, the first as soon as the berries have grown to be as large as the head of a pin. Early in the day, and before the dew is dried off, the flour is sprinkled on the lower sur- face of the leaves, where the moisture causes it to attach. At Rheims we were shown a large vine, trained to a wall, one half of which had been treated as above in the spring of the year before, and the other half neglected. The latter had, as a consequence, lost all of its fruit, and we visited the place and saw it the following season. It showed yellow and falling leaves in July, and very little fruit, while the other portion was perfectly healthy, and was loaded with a good crop of fruit. This experiment was made by a French gentleman, who had re- cently returned from a long sojourn in America, and visited that country for the purpose of satisfying himself if the sul- phur be really a preventive or not against the vine disease, of which he had heard so many doubts expressed while in America. The Horticulturist. ARRANGEMENT OF FLOWERS FOR DECORATION. BOUQUETS, WREATHS, ETC.* From time immemorial, flowers have been used by all classes and all nations as commemorative of tbe happiest as well as the saddest hours of life, and their ar- rangement in varied forms, or appliance toward the decoration of the person, of halls, tables, the altar, and the tomb, have called forth much of mind, skill, thought, and study into creation of what may be termed artistic taste. By this we mean that perfect degree of art in which no art is visible ; when everything looks so sim- ple and so natural that it could hardly be imagined other than what it is. It is, however, a rare accomplishment, the art Fig. 77. of arranging flowers gracefully and well, though, fortunately, flowers are intrinsi- * Our engravings are copied from the circular of J. C. Schmidt, Erfurt, Prussia. cally so beautiful that they can hardly be spoilt ; and it often happens, that by mere accident, caused from haste or want of time for the arranger to dispose of them according to rule, that the flowers look really lovelier than would have been had Fig. 78. the systematic line and rule, which we designate as the art' mechanical — not the art artistical — been adopted. Without any pretensions to ability to lay down laws and rules which should guide in the arrangement of flowers, we may say that one of the first and main points is to make a judicious choice of colors and their com- bination, as well as the size and number of the flowers, with reference to the place they are designed to fill. In the decora- Arrangement of Flowers for Decoration. 233 tion of the person, coiffures, or knots of flowers arranged upon the skirts of the dress, should have the flowers in accord- ance with the general color and style of the dress and ribbons with which they are to be worn. Strong contrasts should be avoided, and yet any attemjjt to match the colors is not desirable, because unattainable, it be- ing almost impossible to match the tints of flowers with colors of human dye. Much may be done, however, by avoiding any strong or startling effects of color, and seeking for soft and harmonious blending, bringing in those shades which soften and tone down color when contrasts can not be avoided. Cerise and scarlet flowers, for instance, look charmingly with white, but only when they have green to tone down the color. With black hair and costume light, flowers are very ineffective, while deep and rich colors light up and render the whole rich and beautiful. As the most of this article will address itself chiefly to ladies, we may be excused for entering upon illustrations which will be familiar to them. "We have said that we were not prepared to lay down fully any rules, and yet the mixing of too many colors is a rule always to be observed, as it never answers well. I^et us take, for instance, shades of wool, not for working a flower, but to form a pattern ; have we ever found crimson, brick red, scarlet, and pink to mingle well together ? The same rules that apply to dress and work in general will thus have also refer- ence to natural flowers and to their ar- rangement, while practice in this will per- haps, more than anything, render the ar- ranger an adept in the good disposition of shades and colors generally. The choice of flowers, although not always at control, yet if their adaptation be well understood, the effect of many a bouquet may be increased by the reservation of one single flower. For instance, fuchsias are graceful in a vase, where their natural graceful, drooping habit can be provided for ; but in a hand bouquet their flowers drop so easily, and are so readily crushed, that long before the evening has passed their beauty is gone. Again, in the green for intermingling, old foliage will last much longer than that which is new or young ; and again, the use of rose-buds and geraniums present a much more pleas- ing effect than full-blown roses and camel- lias, the last being only admissible when a distant view is to be had or some pat- tern or name arrangement created. In the making up of bouquets, either for the hand or vase, it sometimes happens that flowers are used without stems ; these are attached to small bits of wire, or tied by threads to small splints of broom corn or pasteboard strips,— the former the most readily obtainable and most in use ; by this means a flower that is broken from its parent stem is used and placed in the position desired, and its base is sometimes supplied with soft cot- ton, or wool of a similar color, which, be- ing wet, serves to keep the flower fresh a longer time than would otherwise be. The line-and-rule form of making the 234 The Horticulturist. round bouquets, so much, of late years in vogue, is so stiff and unnatural, so void of graceful outline, and generally so defi- cient in knowledge of harmony in color, that we rarely look upon one without its carrying us at once into association with the trade rather than beautiful in na- ture, so stiff and regular are the lines and circles drawn one around and below the other in enlarged but regular rotation. It needs but a glance at one of these machine-formed bouquets, in comparison with one like the engraving here, to sat- isfy any one of the fact, that in the mak- ing up of flowers to produce pleasing re- sults, something more than mechanical knowledge is requisite. We have had with us a number of gardeners, but never but one who could arrange flowers in a bouquet. In our earlier days it was the fashion to use flat bouquets more than round ones, ^w^r .•■■%. "Fig. and we are glad to see the style again com- ing round, because it is much more con- venient to carry, on account of the facility of putting it down without injury to the flowers. In former days we made the flat bouquets with backs of leaves, or sprigs of evergreen strung on fine wire and se- cured to a strong main stem or handle, around and to which our flower stems were attached ; but now lace fringes of paper have come in their place, giving a light, starry margin, that shows well at the same time that it requires less skill in arranging, because of this lace back cover- Arrangement of Flowers for Decoration. 235 ing readily what formerly occupied as frames of light wire are made, by having much time to prepare as did the arrange- 'a stem, or rather two or four separate ment of the flowers. The accompanying stems, with a space the size of a pen-hold- figure, 80, shows one of these lace-backed, er between them, fashioning the outside flat bouquets ; while figure 81 exhibits a circle or edge to the size and form desired bouquet constructed more by form and pat- by connecting from time to time with the tern rule and intended for use as a fan. nlain branches or stems, which again are For ready construction of flat bouquets brought together at the base and connect- Fig. 81. ed with a handle. Annealed copper wire, greened, is usually used, and by it and a little green thread a bouquet may be put together very quickly. In making up, be- gin at the center for the hand bouquet, and on the outside for the vase or basket, and, as we have said when referring to a single flower, the use of soft cotton or Wool wetted thoroughly and laid in next the base of a leaf or flower will assist in keeping it fresh a long time. "We may re- new this subject at a future time should our readers desire it, but for the present believe we have said enough, at least for hints to those who are disposed to prac- tice their taste and cultivate a knowledge which only requires practice to perfect. Grape-Growers' Meeting and Excur- sions.— The Lake Shore Grape-Growers' Association will hold their summer meeting and excursion for the inspection of vineyards, commencing at Cleveland, August 23th, and continuing two or more days ; embracing a visit on the first day (afternoon) to East Cleveland and Collamer, where are quite a number of very good vineyards, including that of Dr. Dunham, president of the Association. The second day will include a trip to Rocky River, Dover Bay, and Avon Point, where are quite extensive and promising vineyards, showing skillful and successful management. On the third day it is prob- able a party will go on a trip to Sandusky and the Islands. This will be a most favorable opportunity for persons from abroad to come and observe something of the condition and prospects of grape cul- ture in the Lake region. Free return tickets will be granted by the Lake Shore railroads to persons in attendance at the meeting. A programme of the arrange- ments will be sent on application by mail to the secretary, M. B. Bateham, Paines- ville, Ohio. The Horticulturist. NOTES ON FRUITS IN THEIR SEASON— (STRAWBERRIES). BY F. R. ELLIOTT. Another strawberry season has come and gone, and hundreds of cultivators have met once again to consult, compare, and comment for or against varieties — the results of which amount to just about the same as heretofore, viz. : favorable report of this variety and unfavorable of that, without one word to the reader of the soil and cultivation which the commentator or grower gave to it. All this may be well, and I have no cause to say it would per- haps be better were these reports accom- panied by some account of the kind of soil and the cultivation given by the grower ; but were I intending to plant an acre of strawberries, and without knowledge of varieties, I do think it would help me in selection to know the soil and cultivation given to any one named variety spoken of as superior and as receiving a first-class preiniuni as the best. I confess I have no faith in any record of a variety receiving a first prize by the showing of three or six berries, but look upon all such, and the dealers who gull the public by advertising them as new and very valuable, as direct impositions and humbugs derogatory to the cause and progress of horticulture, its honor and character. I suppose these remarks will not be agreeable to some speculators, and it is perhaps bad policy for any man to write aught except it be to the praise of all ; but never having followed the " tickle me and I tickle you" policy, I can not now assume it. I have said I have no cause for saying it would be better w.ere growers and speakers commenting on varieties, to tell the soil and cultivation given any distinct variety ; because having in my own grounds a small bed of nearly all kinds, and passing many a day in visiting others, growing nothing for sale, but only for my personal study and family use, it matters not to me pecuniarily what side is publicly uppermost. I have just— this 15th July — come from my bed of Ida, where I have gathered fruits firm, rich, and sweet, when from forty or more other sorts side by side in the same soil and cultivation I could not find a berry — and yet Ida has been condemned by some writers as unworthy of ground room. I have no doubt of the sincerity of declara- tion made by these writers, for they looked only to the money profit, and the fruit of Ida is too small to command high prices and ready sales side by side with many others ; but if a man has a piece of light loamy or gravelly soil, and wants a fruit the plant of which is perfectly hardy, and with little or no cultivation will produce abundantly a rich, sprightly, firm, regular medium-sized fruit, borne on high foot- stalks all out of the dirt, ripening among the first and continuing to the last, then the Ida is one of the sorts for his purpose. For canning it is superior. Nicanor is another that I have all con- fidence in ; and besides being of value as a first and last berry of the season, its firm- ness, size, and quality make it a variety of great promise. I have, however, seen it only under two phases, viz., cultivated as a field crop and in the same manner as, and side by side with, Wilson's Triomphe de Gand and Early Scarlet, and in my own grounds, a clay loam, poor, so poor that corn could not be grown on it, yet it produced a good crop of good-sized fruit, firm, regular, and attractive. I advise its trial, and believe if grown in good rich soil with extra care, it will repay and prove the truth of its name and signification, viz., Conqueror. Green Prolific has not, with me, this year proved up to its former mark, but my bed was of two years, and in a poor gravelly soil, without manure. I have reason to Notes on Fruits in their Season — {Strawberries). 237 believe, however, that those who have spoken in its favor have done so honestly, when they have said it was prolific, of good size, rather late, and somewhat too soft for market, but of great value as a family sort. Mead's Seedling has a peculiar flavor, is' of good, fair size, a tolerably productive sort, desirable if you have plenty of room, but of no use for market in any soil, and not specially desirable as an amateur sort. Belle de Bordelaise, Princess Royal, Emily, and a host more of sorts, are of fine flavor, good size of berry ; but they produce so little that it is not worth the trouble of cultivating them, except for the purpose of seeing and knowing how many humbugs there are in this world of horticulture. Napoleon III., Tillip's Rival Queen, King Arthur, Jucunda, La Constante, etc., are all sorts that in deep strong soils, clay loams, and under high cultivation — that is, kept from making runners, and annually manured, mulched, etc. — will give large crops and a majority of large-sized fruit ; but the stools must be renewed every second year, or the crop will hardly be worth the labor of keeping clean. In this class Dr. Nicaisse produces a few of the very largest berries, unequaled by any other variety, so that if a premium were to be awarded for six of the largest berries the cultivator of this variety would win. Jucunda and Napoleon III. are the next, so far as both size and productiveness compete. Triomphe de Gand stands next for size and productiveness, and at the same time has a flavor that, by some, is highly esteemed, and by others regarded as unbearable. La Constante is rich in flavor and of good size, but it is not as good a bearer as Tillip's Rival Queen or King Arthur, yet its superior flavor will always keep it in the list of an amateur gardener having soil of a deep rich clayey nature. It's of no use growing any of these sorts in light sandy or black mucky land. Longworth's Prolific, on some deep rich soils, continues one of the very best and most profitable sorts, good for market or table ; but the same sort in light soils, and as a rule throughout the country, is not profitable, although by all acknowledged of good quality and specially fine for canning. Agriculturist has a few friends who grow it for their family use, but, like Russell, it is too soft for market. Victoria, Methven Scarlet, Ohio Mammoth, Austin, and a host more of that stripe, produce a few large berries, handsome to the eye at a distance, but they are all hollow and tasteless on near acquaintance. Burr's New Pine was a superior-flavored berry, small, but a good producer for an amateur garden. I have no belief that it is now in existence, although some advertise it. If any one has it true, I will pay a dollar a plant for a half dozen plants. Lady Finger and Downer's Prolific are two more amateur sorts, productive early and continuous bearers, but not to the amount that gives most pecuniary profit ; and while I would be unwilling to do without them for my family use, I should throw them both aside were money my only object in growing the strawberry. It's of no use talking about sorts that are universally the most profitable when we leave out Wilson, for while Dr. Hull will grow only Longworth's Prolific, Evans & Co. are successful with Napoleon III. ; and Knox, of Pittsburg, with the Jucunda, nets a pretty little income of some $15,000 a year therefrom ; yet the great American people are ruled by the universality of the success of Wilson everywhere. It's sour, we know — but sugar is cheap ; and while a few can buy other varieties at fifty cents a pint or quart, the people must and will be fed by the people, and Wilson, until we know and prove something to equal it, everywhere will continue the people's berry. New seedlings have made less noise this year than usual, so far as personal observa- tion has made me cognizant. The best ones I have tested are Kramer, which is a very deep dark red berry, of a good size, 238 The Horticulturist. pretty firm, and a rich flavor. It has pro- duced well, but I must try it another year before saying more in its favor. Another new sort, a seedling yet unnamed, I received from Luke Bishop, of St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada, has borne me a few berries, and promises superior excellence, but I fear will be of the class of Triomphe de Gand, etc., and only prove of value under certain conditions. Charles Downing, for plants of which I am indebted to the originator, J. S. Downer, Esq., has not grown well, although the plants were strong when received, and have had extra care because of my respect for the name. IS STRAWBERRY CULTURE A SUCCESS^ BY HENRY T. WILLIAMS. "Within the last three years berries have brought extremely good prices, and berry growers have made goodly sums of money. Instances of good fortune have frequently come to light, passed around the neighbor- hood, and finally reached the newspapers, detailiug the large sums made from one or a few acres of ground. The figures are large — $500, $700, and $1,200 per acre. The prices per quart range from 25 to 50 cents. The attention of readers has been excited and their hearts have been inflamed with the desire to gain those goodly hun- dreds of dollars. The papers tell him the cultivation is easy, the plants are not costly, that the occupation is desirable, the supply not equal to the demand, that the markets can never be glutted, that population is increasing faster than cultivation, and growers may always rely upon good remu- nerative returns for any kind, and there need be no fear of failure. The present unsatisfactory strawberry season of 1868 will be a lesson to old cul- tivators, and a warning to new ones, for some time to come. The strongest arguments used to influ- ence the settlement of South Jersey and other points have been the so-called ease of berry culture, their prolific yield, and great demand in the cities for fruit, with the promise of good prices. Thousands have gone thither to engage in the busi- ness. Each year has witnessed a great in- crease of their number. In like manner, the area devoted to fruit culture has rap- idly increased, until this spring the result is manifest in a perfect flood of berries upon our markets from all directions. Norfolk growers, favored with cool wea- ther for transportation, have sent hither thousands of quarts in indifferent condi- tion, selling first for $1 per quart, and de- clining rapidly to 30 cents, and still less. Delaware berries came in first for 60 cents ; then fell to 40, then 20 ; a rain- storm of four days' duration mashed and ruined thousands in the fields, and the bal- ance were sold to canners for 10 cents per quart. But we have no words to express our astonishment at those from New Jersey. Commencing at 20 to 25 cents, the floods of poor, small, inferior fruit, shipped in all sorts of indifferent baskets, rapidly declined to 15 cents ; and the majority hardly real- ized 10 cents per quart net. Vineland sent 250,000 quarts per week ; Hammondton, the same ; Burlington, thou- sands more per day, and other points too numerous to mention sent their thousands also. Good fruit and poor fruit all shar- ed alike — all went cheap. Keyport ber- ries, better than any Norfolk ever sent, went under our eyes for 15, 10, 8 cents, — anything the buyer might give. Peddlers reveled in perfect bliss on the increased amount of fruit for their wagons and the cheap prices. Growers have footed up credit and debit. Some have made an $100 per acre ; others, Is Strawberry Culture a Success? 239 to our knowledge, show $100 on the wrong side. At last the unwelcome truth forces itself upon our minds, " Strawberries are overdone /" The season of 1868 in this city is a perfect failure. Like accounts reach us from many of our inland cities. Growers say berries sold so cheap, it left no profit. Ten cents a quart hardly pays for the trouble and care. One man reports a profit of $4 on two acres. Others let their berries rot sooner than pick them. "We doubt not hundreds of acres will be plowed under by disgusted owners, and devoted to something of more permanent culture and profit. One season's experience is sufficient to convince a majority of growers of their un- fitness for the pursuit. The lesson is hard, and they come to common sense at last. The key to all this ill-success comes sim- ply from neglect and inferior culture, rather than over-supply. Strawberry growing is like hundreds of other occupations ; if men wish to be successful, they must do every- thing well. First-class plants of paying va- rieties must be chosen ; cultivate them well and thoroughly ; do not take too much ground ; — an acre or two well cared for is better than five or ten negligently attended to. The fields must be hoed often — kept clear of weeds. Mulch must be used during the winter and the hot days of summer. Fruit must be assorted after picking, and only the best sent to market. No cheap baskets or crates must be used, — only good strong permanent ones will answer. Attention like this will never fail of paying a good profit ; and when once a grower's reputation is established, his fears are at an end. There will be plenty of customers who will stick to him through every variation of the market. It has become a settled conviction among buyers in this city, that the best and most valuable berries here are those which come before " Jersies" arrive, and those which come after " Jersies" are gone. It is as much of an object for growers near New York to raise late berries as early ones, because the prices are more steadily remunerative. The prospects for the future are not flat- tering. This spring has witnessed the planting of hundreds of acres by new culti- vators and candidates for public favor, and without doubt the next spring will show a state of things much worse than this year. I would not discourage fruit-growing, but the facts are too apparent that, except in special and favorable instances of loca- tion, culture, and customers, strawberry growing as now done for the general market is no longer a sufficiently paying thing. Liquid Manure. — We believe there is no system of enriching the land for small gardens, with a view to perfection of crops, so truly economical and so easily available as that of using liquid manure. We occasionally hear of a gardener, or an amateur grower of some special plant or crop, that has practiced enriching with liquids, but it is only occasionally ; yet the result of every record is in its favor, and a searching inquiry into any extra pro- duction of fruit, flower, or plant almost in- variably gives watering with liquid manure as the cause. There is in almost every family waste of liquids, which usually go into the sewer or drain, or possibly upon the road, where they are no avail, but if saved, by being conducted to a tank, would enrich the entire garden spot of vegetables, small fruits, furnish stimulus to the rose and other flower borders, and keep the grass plot green and fresh even in the hot- test and driest weather of midsummer. The use of a little plaster (gypsum) occa- sionally, thrown in and around the tank, would always keep it sweet and clean. By the use and practice of liquid manuring no delay need ever occur in planting-time because of the manure not being on hand, or not being in a sufficiently rotted condi- tion ; but planting could proceed, and the application of manure be made at leisure. 240 The Horticulturist. THE MARENGO CRAB AND OTHER APPLES FOR EXTREME LATITUDES. Since the appearance of the May num- ber of the Horticulturist I have been besieged by a fresh batch of inquiries con- cerning the Marengo Winter Crab, occa- sioned by your article on "Apples for Ex- treme Northern Sections." By that prompt and impartial notice of this new fruit you have, in my opinion, placed the people of the Northwest under obligations which they will not fail to remember. To men in the more favored fruit latitudes of the East, it may seem strange that an extensive region, already embracing several millions of people, should possess scarcely a single variety of the apple that can be relied upon as entirely hardy. Yet, judging from articles in Northern journals, none except the Siberian Crabs have fully stood the test of our late winter. Draw a line due west from Chicago to Nebraska, and it will be found that such apples as the Jonathan, Gilpin, and Fameuse, are not generally hardy north of that line. They are not perfectly so at this place, a point that has gained a reputation for growing more varieties of apples in perfection than any other equally far north in the West. I do not wish to be understood as say- ing that these varieties, and many others, are not grown to a great extent north of that line, but that there are seasons in which all of them totally fail from the effects of the climate, and sometimes the trees themselves are seriously injured or killed outright, while the Siberian Crabs uniformly bear heavy crops, and are never injured from climatic causes, even in the most extreme northern limits. You will thus see that, according to the terms of your own estimate, the Marengo Winter Crab is worth ground room, not only in the extreme north, but over the whole of that extensive territory known as the Northwest, a section destined to become, perhaps, the most populous, as it is now the most enterprising, portion of our country. A variety that will supply, with cer- tainty, the want of this vast region for a first-rate cooking, and even a second-rate eating apple, during the whole winter sea- son, can not fail to become one of those sectional blessings which it is so praise- worthy to promote. We have but to con- sult Northwestern journals to notice the perfect furore for the few varieties of fall and summer apples that have proved hardy there, such as Tetofsky, Duchesse d'Oldenburg, and especially the Transcen- dant and Hyslop Crabs. The Marengo Crab combines the perfect hardiness of the latter with nearly all the good qualities of the former. For the kitchen, its lus- cious cooking qualities are decidedly su- perior to either, and it is probably not inferior in eating flavor to the Duchesse or Ben Davis. In beauty and productive- ness it has no rival. Added to this, it can be kept till late in spring, while it is in prime condition for use in early winter. In bringing this new variety thus early into notice, through the columns of the Horticulturist, you have entirely tran- scended my expectations ; indeed, I should not have chosen to publish a description of the specimens sent you, as they were the very last and smallest of a lot which had been used all winter for exhibition, and had been, I think, frozen at the meet- ing of the Northern Illinois Horticultural Society in February last. Your outline could not, therefore, have done full justice to the size of the variety; nor could the constant handling and transportation have preserved its juices and flavor to fully attest its excellence, beauty, or keeping qualities. Specimens are now growing which I hope to submit to you with dif- ferent results as to size and quality. The apple crop is almost a complete Evergreens Losing their Foliage. 241 failure here this season, from injury clone to the buds in winter. The trees bloomed imperfectly, but dropped their fruit, while not a Siberian Crab that showed blossoms but is now loaded with fruit. Yours truly, C. Andrews. Marengo, III. {Bemwrks.— The writer of the article de- scriptive of the Marengo Crab desires us to thank Mr. Andrews for his compli- ments, and to say that in giving account of the fruit, his object was simply to draw the attention of fruit-growers at the West to this as a new fruit, and, like other new sorts, deserving their attention and careful examination, comparison, etc., relative to its future permanent value. It has ever been the aim of the Horticulturist to notice all new fruits, as well as to com- ment on old varieties, with a view to care- ful selection for the masses to cultivate ; and our Western readers and fruit-growers may rely upon our journal as one largely supplied with information from the broad prairies and fruit sections of the West. We have a large number of correspondents regularly keeping us posted, and from wdiose letters we constantly glean valuable items for our readers. — Ed.] EVERGREENS LOSING THEIR FOLIAGE. It is safe to say that cultivators, as a rule, know little or nothing of the capa- bilities of evergreen trees and shrubs to renew a loss of foliage or recover vitality when, through some careless handling or extreme winter's cold and winds, their leaves have been destroyed and fallen. The Mahonia is almost always denuded of foliage when exposed to winter suns, or in positions where cold, cutting winds sweep over it ; but it almost invariably renews its foliage with the spring vegeta- tion and blooms at the regular time. The rhododendron goes through the same course, with similar results, although not as common to be seen, because most grow- ers of it are instructed to place it in posi- tions sheltered from southern suns or se- vere winter winds. A fine specimen of the rhododendron maximum, in the grounds of one of our friends, stands on the north side of his house, and although shielded from winter suns, yet has to en- dure severe blasts of wind. Entirely un- sheltered from the north, this plant has for years almost regularly been denuded of much of its foliage, but it puts it on again with renewed spring growth, and blooms regularly and abundantly. An- 16 — AUGUST. other friend has an English yew standing in a similar position, which often in early spring presents almost the appearance of a deciduous plant, yet it soon becomes clothed with foliage, and yearly makes a regular growth. Some time since one of our friends received a quantity of kalmias ; from some cause they cast their leaves, and although our friend regarded them as dead, yet, as they came from a friend, and he himself was anxious to grow them, he planted them carefully in a shady position and mulched the ground with leaves. In a short time he noticed buds, and soon new leaves, and now, as we write, they are well clothed with foliage. Years since, before railroads were known at the West, a gentleman (Col. Simon Perkins) in Akron, O., received late in summer a barrel by canal. It lay in the warehouse several days after reaching its destination, and when opened was found to contain a quantity of balsam firs, all dry and without any special packing. He — supposing they came from some friend who might hereafter inquire about them — the Colonel, tried his hand at sav- ing them, although he considered them quite dead. He first immersed them in 242 The Horticulturist. ■water, soaking them, tops and roots, until the latter were pliable, and then he care- fully planted them out, saturating the ground thoroughly with water and then mulching. In the autumn he noticed the buds were green, and the next spring they pushed into leaf, and arc now large and beautiful trees. The Norway spruce, the hemlock, and sometimes the white pine has the foliage destroyed on the ends of the branches, on the north and west sides, by cold, harsh, cutting winds ; but they almost always renew them, and it is rare that we have found it necessary to clip back on that account. STRAWBERRY, FLORAL, AND VEGETABLE EXHIBITION The New Jersey State Agricultural So- ciety held their first exhibition of straw- berries, flowers, and vegetables on their own grounds at Waverly, on Tuesday and Wednesday, June the 23d and 24th. Owing to the unprecedented wet wea- ther, during the spring months, many hor- ticulturists were prevented from taking an active part in the first effort of the State Society in getting up an exhibition that would reflect credit on the Society and benefit the producer. In some sec- tions of the State the incessant rain, dur- ing the period while the vines were in blossom, materially lessened the crop, both in quantity, quality, and size, which de- terred many who would otherwise have taken part in the exhibition. Notwith- standing these drawbacks the exhibition was most creditable, and I have seldom witnessed a finer display of berries than were on the tables. The large concourse of people that visited the grounds during the two days of the exhibition were most agreeably disappointed, amused, and in- structed on examination of the articles on the tables. The exhibition was held under a large tent (80 X 125), on a beautiful position, commanding a fine view of the surround- ing landscape, which is singularly novel and picturesque. A full band of music was in attendance, which added very much to the pleasure of the visitor. The articles on exhibition under the Bpacious tent were arranged with a desire to produce the best effect, and still place the plants, berries, and vegetables where they could be closely examined by those anxious to do so. The three departments were creditably represented, and a number of single and choice specimen plants were sent by private individuals with a desire to assist the officers of the Society in mak- ing the show an attractive feature, with a hope that the Society would feel that they would promote the rapidly growing hor- ticultural interest of the State by holding a well-managed strawberry exhibition every year. Among those who sent collections of specimen plants were Amos Clark, Jr., State Senator, and John Hutchinson, of Elizabeth ; Mrs. T. B. Peddie, Henry Bird, James Galbraith, and J. J. Harvey, of Newark. Thomas Cavanagh, of Brook- lyn, sent a beautiful floral design and a handsomely arranged basket of flowers, both of which were awarded first pre- miums. There were several large collec- tions of cut flowers from different parts of the State, which made the floral depart- ment very attractive. The display of strawberries was certainly very fine, and called forth high praise both from pro- fessional growers, amateurs, and consum- ers. There were an unusually large num- ber of exhibitors, and the large size of the fruit of every variety gave evidence of careful culture. Nearly all the old vari- eties were well represented, and there were so many promising seedlings on the The Opinions of my Neighbors. 243 tables that the judges were puzzled in giving their decision in favor of the " best seedling not before exhibited." Among those who exhibited seedlings were John Brill and L. C. Winans, of New- ark ; E. Durand, of Irvington ; Elias Can- field, of Waverly ; D. D. Buchanan, of Elizabeth ; and J. H. Foster, of Ulster County, N. Y. Mr. Brill's No. 10 gives promise of be- ing a fine berry. E. Durand's Seedling, "Black Defiance," was awarded the first premium as the best seedling not before exhibited. Elias Canfield's Seedling, " Wax Berry," was spoken of highly by the judges. Romeyn's Seedling was awarded a special premium. Reisig & Hexamer, of Newcastle West- chester County, N. Y., exhibited fifty vari- eties ; Francis Brill, of Newark, twenty varieties ; E. Williams, Mont Clair, six- teen varieties ; P. T. Quinn, sixteen vari- eties ; John Crane, of Union, ten vari- eties ; William H. Goldsmith, six vari- eties; Amos Clark, Elizabeth, eight vari- eties ; F. W. Woodward, Rutherfurd Park, eight varieties. Among those who exhibited from three to six varieties were Gen. N. W. Halstead (President of the Society) ; Benjamin Haines, Elizabeth ; Francis Newbold, Harrison ; Joseph Quinn, L. C. Winans, and J. Hayes. There were several plates of Boyden's No. 30 on the tables, and in every instance this berry was spoken of in the highest terms. Mr. Schenck, of Irvington, exhibited the plants in fruit, and also two quarts of the berries. Mr. S.'s fruit were largest on exhibition, and deserve a special notice. The season being at least three weeks later than usual, the display of vegetables from the State was not as large as it other- wise would have been. Francis Newbold, of Hudson County, an energetic gardener, made a fine display of well-grown veg- etables. However, the deficiency from New Jer- sey was liberally supplied from South Car- olina. B. J. Quinn & Brothers, from James Island, S. C, sent on a large and choice display of vegetables from their " truck farm," which made one of the most attractive features of the exhibition. There were twenty different varieties of vegetables in this collection, and taken separately or collectively they were most creditable to the growers, especially as they were raised on land that previous to the war produced nothing but cotton. Fuller & Parsons, of Newark, exhibited their " Patent Berry Basket," with crates, and were awarded the first premium. I now use this basket for marketing small fruit the present season, and I am fully satisfied that it is the best basket that I am familiar with. Although this was the first attempt of the State Society to hold a strawberry ex- hibition, the results were satisfactory, and so encouraging that the officers feel quite confident that such an exhibition here each year will promote and stimulate the horti- cultural interest of the State. P. T. Q. THE OPINIONS OF MY NEIGHBORS. BY FRANK AMON. I have been lately among my neighbors, getting their views of cherries and straw- berries ; and as they are most of them good practical money-gaining growers, perhaps what they have said to me may be as interesting to some of the readers of the Horticulturist as it has been to me. My neighbor A. says that in the cherry trade his Rockports gave him a good return. He picked and marketed them before they were really ripe, but yet they were quite good and sold at a good price. His Gov. Woods all rotted, and so did the Cleveland. Elton was almost as good 244 The Horticulturist. a success as Rockport, -while the Red. Jacket matured well without rotting, and was with him a success. Neighbor S. had a tree or two of Purple Guigne that matured without rotting, and so did his Archduke. He is strong, therefore, in favor of these two sorts. Again, neighbor P. talks favorably of his old list, before named, viz., Early Purple Guigne, Rock- port, Red Jacket, and Louis Philippe ; but neighbor J. comes in strong in favor of Old Black Heart, which he says this year netted him more money than any of the other sorts. He is down on all the light- colored varieties. After all, cherry grow- ing, owing to rain-storms at period of blooming, the stinging by curculio, and decay just before full maturity, is in my section coming to be a doubtful item as regards profit — and yet neighbor E. has some seedling cherries that ripen a week or more later even than Red Jacket, and from which he gathers ripe and sound fruit. He says that it is possible as the trees grow older they may exhibit the same tendency to decay of named varieties, and therefore he will not at present note them to the public. Neighbor E. has a great aversion to any- thing like humbuggery in the horticultural line. As for me, I have been looking at all this cherry question, and while I am un- willing to give up the good-named sorts, I really believe some guardian spirit must come in shape of a remedy for rot, or we can no longer count on growing either sweet or sour cherries as a profitable crop. This year my Kirtland, Morello, Louis Philippe, and a quantity of seedling Morellos were all so much stung and rotted, that I have gathered but a tenth of what ought to have been my crop. So much for cherries ; and now to my neigh- bors' views on strawberries. Neighbor A. is a strong advocate for Wilson, and next to that, Hovey. He says on his sandy loam soil the Wilson is the only berry that will pay him pecuniarily to grow. He likes Hovey for its firmness and size, and having tried Triomphe de Gand, Russell, Jucunda, Victoria, and a number more of the same class, says none of them compare with Hovey. The old Early Scarlet, he says, is like Metcalf, not worth ground room. He grows his vines in rows, plants about one foot apart in the row, and the rows about two and a half feet distant from each other. After the winter has fairly sat in and the ground is frozen solid, he spreads over the entire ground about two inches in depth of well-rotted manure, and I can only say that whether it be a good or bad course, his crop is always good. Neighbor S. last year was strong on Jucunda ; this year his crop, in hills, well mulched with tan bark, has been a failure. Wilson and Green Prolific have been his best sorts, and Agriculturist next. Not willing to give up Jucunda, he has planted in a piece of new ground, a rich, well- drained, strong clay loam, and from it I hope next year to report favorably. I shall certainly be able to do so, if good culture and soil will give good returns to that variety in this climate. Neighbor M. last year went in strong on Metcalf, buying by the thousand, and ac- knowledges it has not come up to expecta- tion. He is a nurseryman, but don't take any but a local agricultural paper, and rarely reads even that. A good, quiet life is a good thing, but I for one don't believe in living about half a dozen years behind the rest of the world. I have had a good chance to see what my neighbors have done, and now for my- self. My best early crop was from Downer's Prolific; my best-sized berries were from Triomphe de Gand and French Seedling ; my best flavored were Lennig and Lady Finger ; my longest bearer was Ida ; my most pecuniarily productive was Wilson. My soil is light gravelly sandy loam, and not well manured. I grow in rows of about one foot wide, leaving about three feet space between. I don't mulch, nor Editor's Table. 245 can I lay any special claim to good cultiva- tion, but yet I get pretty good crops of fruit. I sometimes think, when I have fruit and my neighbors none, that I have either good luck on my side, or else I see one of your subscribers "wants to know who I am. Well, I'll tell him. I am an old fellow that has many years tried to learn something of horticulture, but as the years roll on, I often think I am repeat- ing matters much as a clock does the hours of the day, for I read an item, then memory brings up something in connection, and I look back over some old notes and volumes and find the world had some brains de- veloped years since ; nevertheless as new brains are grown, it is not always best to tell them they are like the old ones, but perhaps wise to keep with them, and while touching them with a little of the old leaven, possibly a new spark hidden for ages may spring forth and give light and life for the benefit of all men. Let us work and hope, trusting and believing while we enjoy. If your subscriber wants to know more of me, you can forward me his letter, and I will cheerfully respond. EDITOR'S TABLE. To Contributors and Others. — Address all Communications, for the Editorial and Publishing Departments, to F. W. "Woodward, 37 Park Row, New York. Variegated Zonal Pelargoniums. — At the June show of the Royal Horticul- tural Society, the Cottage Gardener says: The subscription prizes for Variegated Zonal Pelargoniums excited much interest among exhibitors, and they brought a multitude of varieties, many of them very nearly approaching each other, but be- tween which the shades of distinction were infinite. In Class 15, for the best Golden Varie- gated Zonal Pelargonium not in com- merce, Messrs. E. G. Henderson were first with Mrs. Grieve, a splendid variety, with large leaves having a broad, dark crimson zone and a distinct yellow edge. Mr. Stevens, of Ealing, was second with Achievement, also splendid, having a crimson and nearly black zone and a nar- row, yellow edge. Messrs. Carter were third with Ettie Beale, with a bright and dark crimson zone, green center, and reg- ular yellow margin, a very pretty variety. Mr. Mann, of Brentwood, was fourth with Masterpiece, having fine large leaves very well marked. Messrs. Lee, Turner, Grieve, Tanton, F. & A. Smith, Garaway, Salt- marsh, and E. G. Henderson also exhibit- ed in this class, and some of their vari- eties were also fine. The best Silver Variegated Zonal not in commerce came from Messrs. Lee, of Ham- mersmith, and was named Mrs. John Clut- ton. It has large leaves with a fine white edge, and a dark zone with fiery markings. Mr. Grieve, Culford Hall Gardens, was second with Lass o' Gowrie, having a broad, white margin, and a rosy crimson and dark crimson zone, a finely-marked variety. Messrs. Carter were third with Princess Beatrice, having a broad white margin surrounding a dark crimson zone, with flushes of bright crimson. Mr. Tur- ner, of Slough, took the fourth prize with Miss F. Stevens, with a finely-marked dark zone flushed with rose. For the best Gold and Bronze Pelar- gonium not in commerce, Messrs. F. & A. Smith took the first prize with Criterion, a magnificent variety, having a rich, deep 246 The Horticulturist. brownish red zone, which, as well as the golden margin and center, is very regular. The same firm was second with Arab, hav- ing a broader margin and a somewhat greener ground color, but with the zone \ery rich and distinct. Mr. Turner was third with Mrs. Simpson, also a handsome variety, but not so regular in outline ; and Messrs. Lee were fourth with Lady Farn- ham, with a broad, reddish brown zone and distinct yellow edging. The best Golden-leaved variety not in commerce was Golden Emperor, with large golden leaves, with a slight tinge of the palest green, and very beautiful. This came from Messrs. Downie & Co., and the second prize went to Messrs. Salt- marsh for Golden Queen, with pale golden leaves, scarcely less beautiful. Mr. Keeler, of Lewisham, was third, with a kind also called Golden Queen, and Messrs. F. & A. Smith fourth with Golden Gem. In the nest class, for the best Silver- edged Pelargonium not in commerce, Mr. Turner was first with May Queen, with a fine pure white margin, and apparently of free habit of growth. The second prize went to Mr. Turner for Bright Star, also an excellent variety ; and the third to Messrs. E. G. Henderson for Bridal Bou- quet, with a leaf flatter than most others, and broadly edged with white. The next class was for the best three Golden Variegated kinds not in commerce, and in this the first prize went to Messrs. Carter & Co. for Sir R. NajDier, having a splendid blackish crimson zone and being very distinct ; Prince of Wales, which maintains the high character which it gained as a seedling ; and Mrs. Dunnett, with a fine, broad zone. Messrs. E. G. Henderson were second, and Messrs. F. & A. Smith third, with Jetty Lacy, very fine, Viceroy, and King. The last-mentioned firm was first in the next class, that for the best three Silver Variegated kinds, showing Banshee, Peri, and Miss Burdett Coutts ; Mr. Turner being second with Excellent, Clara, and Miss F. Stevens: and Messrs. Garaway third with Silver Pheasant, Julietta, and Cup of Beauty. In the class for the best three Gold and Bronze varieties not in commerce, some very fine ones were shown. The first prize was taken by Messrs. F. & A. Smith with Goldfinder, having a broad, reddish choc- olate zone ; Plutus, darker in color ; Sibyl, with a broad, deep-colored zone and nar- row margin, the ground color greenish yellow. These varieties were very beauti- ful, bold, and effective. Messrs. Carter & Co. came second with Black Prince, with a broad, very rich chocolate zone, Cleopatra and Antony, very pretty, with a broad golden edge. Bulbs of all kinds, if they have been growing in the same place for two or more years, ought to be taken up as soon as the leaves begin to turn yellow and they show signs of ripening. If the bulbs were plant- ed last season, they are as well to remain another season, although the flowers may not be quite as large and fine as when the bulbs are yearly replanted in fresh soil. If left in the ground, well-rotted manure should be supplied liberally, and lightly forked in late in the autumn. When the bulbs are taken up, lay them on shelves where they will dry in the shade until wanted. Make the ground for replanting deep, placing plenty of well-rotted manure well intermixed ; then plant the bulb three inches deep, surrounding it entirely with half an inch thick of clean sand. The re- planting should be made at different peri- ods, as those first planted will be the first to bloom in spring, and by planting at dif- ferent times, a succession of blooms may be had next season. Winter Bouquets. — The flowers of the purple fringe tree— Rhus cotinus — gathered before they become ripened, may be tied up and dried in an ordinary room, and kept all winter without dropping or losing their beautiful feathery form. They are admira- ble in the making up of winter bouquets, along with grasses, etc. Editor's Table. 247 Summer Grape Pruning. — F. W. Wood- ward, Esq. : Can you not tell us in the Horticulturist what to do with our grapevines ? Rules made for the East are utterly at fault in this soil and climate — which crowds them forward at such tre- mendous speed. We may prune and pinch as much as we choose, but we can not keep them in the bounds prescribed in the " books." Hadn't we better " let 'em run ?" I mean, had we better set them fif- teen or twenty feet apart, and with high trellises give them sufficient room not to crowd the foliage, and dispense with so much " pinching ?" With such rankness of growth, I think it must gorge with sap and induce mildew and rot. We give grapes our poorest soil on hillsides, and no manure. Respectfully, C. H. Cushing. Leavenworth, Kansas, July 1, 1868. [The remark made by William R. Prince, Esq., some years since, at one of the Amer- ican Pomological Society's meetings, that " our native grapevine is emblematic of the American people, and must have room to expand," seems fully exhibited in the above and many other records we have received from those who are growing the named varieties in the rich virgin soils of the West. Our readers, if they have followed our remarks on grape-training during the past two years, or since the time of Mr. Mead leaving the editorial chair, will remember that we have con- tinuously advocated longer winter and spring pruning than is generally laid down in the books, and in summer prun- ing we have advised less severe pinching- in than most writers ; while if there is too much fruit set for the health of the vine, by 'reason of the long pruning, we have advised the disbudding or cutting away part of the bunches after they are well set. In our native varieties there is so great a difference in vigor, that no one rule of distance or length of training is found applicable to all. Each must have its appropriate distance in planting as well as length in pruning, and this again will vary in soils and climates, so that we now, as heretofore, venture the remark, that whoever writes on the culture of the grape must make his writings identical with and applicable to each variety in course ; and to do this he must have pre- pared himself by a careful observation of the variety whose culture he attempts to direct, in many different soils and cli- mates, or otherwise his teaching will apply only to one locality — viz., that of his stand- point of observation — and not become of much value to the public generally. We know not who there is to assume this role, but we are satisfied that a little work on the Concord Grape alone, written in a good common-sense view, regardless of all foreign authors, and illustrated to life, not fancy, would meet a ready and exten- sive sale. The Catawba would bear an- other view ; the Delaware another ; and so on with Norton's Virginia, etc. ; while there are many sorts so nearly allied to these, that with some slight changes, by means of intermediate notes in the text, the direction for one might be made to apply to another. — Ed.] Cuttings of almost any plant may be struck now, because the common soil is almost as warm as a hot-bed, and a sash placed over it almost anywhere, and shad- ed, will soon produce a mild, gentle, moist atmosphere. The best cuttings for this time are formed from the ends of the young growing shoots ; but any young wood, and even badly formed cuttings, may now be easily struck. It is a good plan for beginners to practice at this season, for if they fail with the first, there is time for renewal without loss or expense, as some- times results from inexperience during early spring propagating. Sharp sandy loam is a good material for the bed, and it should be looked at as often as once a day, and, when needed, sprinkled with tepid water. Morning is the best time to do this. 248 The Horticulturist. Editor Horticulturist : I am a nov- ice in grape-growing, but from statements made of the profits accruing therefrom, I, two years since, planted about eleven acres, mostly with Catawba as the great American wine grape, some Concords, some Delawares, some Ives, and some Norton's Virginia. Since the planting, I have drank of wines of all these varieties, and had I known then as much as now, would have have planted more of Nortons ; but having my vines now out and growing finely, the modes of pruning them have troubled me not a little. One of my friends cut all his vines, without regard to kinds, down to two canes of three buds each this past spring. But not seeing the policy of prun- ing all sorts alike, I practiced by the ad- vice of a close observer, but not a practi- cal man, and cut my weak and puny vines down to one or two buds ; left my next strongest with one cane of three or four buds ; and my very strongest canes, and especially the coarse, rank growing kinds, I left with two canes each, of six or seven buds each. My vines are now all looking well, and the weakly ones are rapidly be- coming strong, making very vigorous new canes. But without telling more of my own, I am anxious for information. As I say, my planting is mostly of the Catawba, which although it had a character, at my time of planting, for rotting, at Cincinnati, yet North and West no such statement had come to my knowledge ; and besides, I, after an examination of Cincinnati vine- yardists' practice, regarded them as behind the age, a class who were following dogmas introduced by the old country laborers, through Longworth, few or none of whom had any knowledge except to follow out a mechanical practice in grape pruning, ac- cording as their employer abroad had dic- tated. I may seem a little harsh in this statement, but I write just as I thought, and with no assertion that my views are cor- rect, therefore I trust no harm. The prac- tice above named of my friend this past spring in cutting his vines according to book, to me seemed also the carrying out of the Cincinnatian dogmas, and therefore my unwillingness to adopt it. Lately I have been looking at my vines and com- paring them with my friend's. His have more or less of yellow leaves ; mine are all quite green. Some of his Catawbas are showing signs of rot; nothing of the kind is yet evident on mine. He has pinched and trimmed from the first ; I have done nothing but take away the false shoots or sprouts from close down at the crown. Of course the season is only part over, and now I want to know what to do. 1 am getting a great quantity of foliage. Shall I cut away ? or shall I let it run ? I see, at a late discussion on grapes at the Cincin- nati Horticultural Society, that not only Catawba but Ives were reported rotting. Some disputed the fact of the Ives rotting, but conceded it a general thing with Ca- tawba, all except instances of vines that were left unpruned and grown on trees and high trellises, a point that seemed to me sticking out against their barbarous pruning practice so boldly that even blind men could hardly fail of seeing it. But now what shall I do ? My vines, Cataw- bas, are eight and ten feet on wire trellis. Shall I cut ? or let 'em run ? J. T. Lane. [Remarks. — Our correspondent is a little harsh on the practice of severe pruning of the grapevine as practiced by a large number of vignerons around Cincinnati, and yet all testimony of practice, and the ory of vegetable physiology, is concurrent in acknowledgment of a destructive or en- feebling agency produced on the vine by too severe pruning, either in winter or summer. For ourself, we do not think se- vere winter pruning as injurious as the de- struction of foliage or allowance of natu- ral action of the vine in summer ; and if we owned our correspondent's vines, all we should do would be to pinch at this time the last half inch off from the end of every shoot. After many years' prac- tice in training and study of the vine, Editor's Table. 249 a large part of it in the vineyard, we find each year adding to our impressions of the expansive character of our native vines ; and while we once planted a certain sort four by four feet, we now would plant the same sort eight by eight, and do not then feel certain that we have given it room. Every year's observation convinces us more and more of the necessity of giving such vines as Concord, Norton, Ives, Rogers' 4, 15, 19, etc., abundance of room in order to keep them in unimpaired health, and yet not reduce them by a too great expan- sion or surface, to the loss of perfection in swelling and ripening their fruit. — Ed.] Climate of Utah. — From the Times, published at St. George, Utah, we notice currants and gooseberries were ripe June 10 ; and at the same time pomegranates were in bloom ; figs promising a good crop, and the fruit of pears and quinces then of quite good size. Late Growths. — Do nothing to excite late growths in your orchard or ornamen- tal trees. Avoid digging deep or plowing among or around them. If they are stand- ing singly, then just loosen the surface soil with hoe or rake and lay on mulch. If in rows or cultivated orchard, run the cul- tivator among them just so as to keep the surface loose and clean of weeds, but in no case deep enough to break roots and in- duce renewal of growth. Late growth al- most always results in enfeebled condition of the tree and renders it less capable of enduring extremes of winter. stronger in vine, pods larger, but not as abundant. Knight's Dwarf Green and Prize Taker come at the same time ; the former is not quite as strong a grower nor the pod quite as large as the latter, but they are both among the best. McLane's Princess Royal is a stocky rather dwarf grower — a good pea— but not with me profitable. Napoleon is good, but the pea has no sweetness. Eugenie comes with Champion of Eng- land, and is not as good. Waite's King of the Marrows is a late one, a tall grower, productive, and a truly good late sort, with abundant and large pods. F. R. E. Chrysanthemums. — It often happens that, from want of care and attention, old plants of chrysanthemums become ragged and sprawling. These may be turned to good account by layering the shoots at this time, by which a number of small, well-shaped plants may be had, each of which will give a number of blooms and form pretty objects for the window or con- servatory late in the season. Camellias should be carefully looked over this month, and old plants that have filled their pots completely with roots will require abundance of water, while those in which the roots have not quite filled the pots, require only to be moder- ately watered. Notes on Peas. — I see by the London Journal of Horticulture that the variety known as Carter's First Crop proves iden- tical with Sutton's Ringleader and Dilli- stone's Early. Not having grown the two latter by name, I must suppose the record correct, and only note that for earliness and productiveness this variety has for three years proved the first and best. Waite's Caractacus is a variety that closely follows Carter's First Crop— is The Green-house, during this month, should be thoroughly cleaned out and, if needful, repainted. If not repainted, the wood-work should be thoroughly scrubbed, and the brick-work lime-washed, rat-holes stopped, and any other needful repair that is found necessary to make the house se- cure and healthy for the plants. After the work of cleaning is done, a week or< more should elapse before any plants are again placed therein. 250 The Horticulturist. Montgomery County (Ohio) Horti- cultural Society, N. Ohmer, President. — From one of our Western correspondents we learn of the establishment of a Horti- cultural Society at Dayton, Ohio, under the name of the Montgomery County Horti- cultural Society, and having for its Presi- dent N. Ohmer, a gentleman well known in that section for his enthusiastic interest in fruit culture. The Society holds meet- ings twice a month, and thus far has been successful in awakening interest and atten- tion to the great subject of fruit-growing, now become so important a feature of our nation. One of the recent meetings was held npon the premises of the president, about two miles from the city center, where one hundred and four acres are stocked with fruits, such as pears, peaches, quinces, grapes, etc., etc. Mr. Ohmer's strawberry patch of six acres, mostly of Wilson, has produced an average of one hundred and twenty-five bushels to the acre, which sold at an average of $5 40 per bushel. Weeds. — We must repeat our caution against letting weeds go to seed, because not only do some of our old readers forget its importance, but many new readers know not the great amount of labor and trouble they entail on the next year's work by reason of a little neglect at this time. Let no weeds go to seed on your grounds or those of your neighbor, if you can possibly prevent it. Evergreen or Deciduous Shrubs that have completed their growth for this year, may now be moved with safety from one part of the grounds to another, but it would not do to take them from a nursery and transport them any distance. After setting, water thoroughly and mulch at once. New roots will at once form, and the plants will start strong and vigorous next spring. Pelargoniums should be repotted this month, if not before done. In doing the work, trim off the outside of the ball and roots with a knife, but do not shake it clear of the soil or so as to break the ball. Use strong heavy soil with good drainage rather than light sandy loam. Roses propagated by means of layers this season should, as soon as it is certain they have become rooted, be taken up and potted off in good sharp, rich, sandy soil. It is no trick to form the layer, but many rose-growers know to their cost the loss attendant during winter of layered plants taken up and potted or heeled in at the close of the growing season. Pot them as soon as they have made an inch of root ; set them in a shady place, water carefully for a few days, or until there is no appear- ance of their flagging, when the pots may be plunged in the soil, out in the full light, and by the close of the season each will ])resent a well-grown and bushy plant. Of course tbey must be occasionally watered. Spinach for winter use, also lettuce and turnips, may be sown any time this month with good probability of successful crop- ping. Make the ground rich with well- rotted fine manure. Dipladenia Boliviana. — This plant was shown in flower for the first time in Great Britain at the Royal Horticultural Society's show on the 16th June by Messrs Veitch. The flowers are very distinct in color from those of the other dipladenias, being white, wTith a yellow throat, and measure about two inches in diameter. — Cottage Gardener. How to Make Wine. — Every man wdio wishes to know how to cultivate grapes well, and especially how to make wine, should get a copy of Husmann's work on the cultivation of the native grape and manufacture of American wine — a practi- cal book by a practical man ; fully illus- trated. Sent by mail, post-paid, from this office, for $1 50. Carnations and the varieties of pinks may all be lajered this month, and make good plants before the close of the season. Editor's Table. 251 Horticultural Books. — One of our subscribers writes us inquiring as to books on different horticultural subjects, and. remarks that he " considers it short-sight- edness in agricultural and horticultural book publishers that they advertise their publications only in journals devoted to the subject, and even there only to a limit- ed extent." He says : " Many persons buy books treating on the subject-matter to ■which their whole attention for the time is devoted — as, for instance, one man on grape planting, etc. ; another arranging his ornamental tree planting ; and they, seeing no advertisement, do not know of any book being published on the subject. But if in the leading news journal of his section a single line of advertisement ap- peared, he would often purchase, because of its then coming before him, the same man perhaps having read the advertise- ment a dozen times previously without thought of ever needing its information." [It is highly probable our correspondent is correct, and we therefore give his re- marks that they may be considered by booksellers and publishers. We ourselves think the booksellers in leading towns and cities would find it to their interest were they to give more attention to keep- ing on hand and advertising all of the horticultural books. We often send books by mail, to order of persons living in large cities, but who write they can not find copies of the work in any of the book- stores.] Ornamental Foliaged Plants. — At the Boyal Horticultural Show in June last, the Messrs. Veitch exhibited Croton Wisemannii as the best new ornamental foliaged plant. The leaves are beautifully mottled and marbled with green and yel- low, and a rich yellow band along the center of the leaf. The same firm likewise sent Alocasia Chelsoni, with magnificent bronzed leaves, especially when young, and being then re- markable for their splendid metallic lus- ter. For the best new garden seedling in flower, Messrs. Veitch took another first prize with a hybrid Cattleya, raised be- tween C. Chelsoni and C. Acklandise, in which the colors are purple, white, and brownish green spotted with purple. Mr. Bull was second in the same class with Ivy-leaved Pelargonium Princess Thyra, with for its class large pale rose flowers, lined in the upper petals with crimson. — ■ Cottage Gardener. Zonal Pelargoniums. — The exhibit for the best twelve Zonal Pelargoniums at the Royal Horticultural Show, on the 16th of June, resulted as follows : The best twelve Zonal Pelargoniums — Variegated, Gold and Bronze, or Golden- leaved — came from Mr. Turner, and con- sisted of Excellent, Beauty of Guestwick, Clara, Beauty of Salthill, Sophia Dumar- esque, Mrs. Turner, Mcllle. Christine Nils- son, Lady Cullum, very fine, Empress Eu- genie, Queen Victoria, Dr. Simpson, and Princess of Wales. Messrs. F. & A. Smith were second with a very evenly-grown set of plants, the kinds being Sunray, Ex- quisite, Bullion, Banshee, Coronet, Miss Burdett Coutts, Louisa Smith, L'Em- pereur, Enchantress, Plutus, very fine, Sultan, and Imperatrice Eugenie. Messrs. Carter & Co., who were third, sent Prin- cess of Wales with a beautifully colored zone, Goliath, Fairy Land, Aurora, Sultan Abdul Aziz, Royal Standard,- Ruby Ring, Marian, with a bright crimson zone, Jo- sephine, Egyptian Queen, very effective and good, Prince of Wales, and Daybreak. — Cottage Gardener. New Jersey State Agricultural Society Fair. — This Society will hold the regular fall fair on their own grounds, at Waverly, N. J., midway between Elizabeth and Newark. Every effort will be made by the officers to make this the largest and best exhibition ever held by this Society. Premium lists can be obtained by applica- tion to R. S. Swords, Esq., Newark, or Benjamin Haines, Esq., Elizabeth, N. J. 252 The Horticulturist. Currant Cordial. — We are indebted to N. Ohmer, Esq., of Dayton, O., for a sample of what is generally termed cur- rant wine; but as we think the use of the word wine should apply only to the juice of the grape, as cider does to that of the apple, perry to that of the pear, we drop the term in this connection. This cordial was made from juice of the white currant, using for fourteen gallons of juice ninety-five pounds of sugar, and water to make forty gallons. The liquid is clear, with very little color, mostly, we should think, derived from the sugar; is rich and sprightly, and for its class superior. Tree Suckers. — This is the best month in the year to remove suckers from around the crowns of trees. Removed now they will not sprout again ; whereas, if remov- ed in the fall, winter, or spring, they will grow again as strong as ever. Dig away the earth two or three inches deep from around them and cut clean down to their connection with the main trunk or roots. Leave the wound open to the air for a day 'or two, then re-cover with earth. Pinching or Cutting Back Rasp- berries.— It has been our practice, for some years, to pinch or cut back say one or two inches of the growth of this year's raspberry canes, intended for next year's fruiting, as soon as they have reached three to three and a half or four feet high. By so doing we find the cane to become more stocky, more branched, and better able to support itself the next season dur- ing fruiting. The stopping-in of black currants in this way Ave have also found practically of value. Gooseberry and Currant Bushes should have the earth plowed among them, and all thoroughly hoed or culti- vated as soon as the fruit has been gather- ed. This course will enable the roots to act more vigorously and supply the growth of young wood and the germs of another year's fruit, which are almost entirely formed in the latter part of the season, or after they have ripened this year's crop. Roses that have been layered this sea- son will be much benefited by having a mulch of some sort spread over the ground where the new roots are forming. It serves to keep the temperature of the roots more uniform and continuous in growth, as well as to supply or hold moisture, which, with the heat, is necessary to growth. F. W. Woodward, Esq. — Dear Sir : Will you, or some of the readers of the Horti- culturist, inform me, through the col- umns of the magazine, of the best method of making wine from our wild Fox grape, or summer grape ? and oblige, Very truly, yours, W. J. Brokaw. Rolla, Phelps Co., Mo., July 30, 1868. [We are not familiar with the mode adopted for the manufacture of wine from this grape. Will some of our subscribers supply us with the information ? In the mean time we advise our correspondent to consult Husmann's " Grapes and Wine," which is the best work on the subject ever, published.] Strawberry Planting. — We consider spring the best season for setting straw- berry plants on a large scale, but the work may be done at almost any season when the ground is open, free from frost, and you have the plants in condition. The common practice of obtaining plants grown in the open air from the runners of this year, and setting them out with a simple watering, and no after-protection, more often results in death of the plant than a vigorous growth. On a large scale we consider it unwise to plant at any sea- son of the year except the spring ; but amateurs, gardeners who wish to renew their beds, and those who desire to obtain and plant new sorts for testing, can do so now, or any time before frost sets in, with all chances of success. Having first Editor's Table. 253 prepared the ground, if you are to use the ordinary grown plants from runners of the current year, procure and plant as soon as you can ; and as you set each plant drench it thoroughly with water (if set in a dry time), so that the whole ground will be saturated ; then immediately cover the whole ground with some kind of mulch, either straw, new-mown grass, coarse ma- nure, etc., at least four inches thick, covering all but the crown of the plant. Such prac- tice will, ninety-nine times in a hundred, result in success. But a better course for those who desire to renew beds at this season, or any time this fall, or for those who are about to test new sorts, is to pro- cure pot plants that have this season been grown in the pot from the first formed runners. This practice is now quite gen- eral, we believe, with most nurserymen, and especially with those who have choice or new sorts to send out ; so that an order can be forwarded and filled, the plants received, and set out without regard to weather. To those who do not know it, we will say that the young plant is taken from the parent even before it has formed, outwardly, a sign of a root ; it is potted like a cutting in a small pot of good but light soil, largely of sand, and placed in a frame, and shaded, watered, etc., as with an ordinary cutting. It soon takes root and grows freely, so that even if not trans- planted until quite late in the season, it is safe to grow and fruit some the next year, provided it is well mulched for winter protection. Won't you give us your Name and Address ? — In the June number of the Horticulturist a few very cogent re- marks are offered on the advantage of writers appending their proper names and places of residence when they communi- cate their experience to the public. The party desiring this reform in the conduct of your magazine is known as a respectable nurseryman and fruit-grower, and if the writer does not err, he published his own experience on the management of pear- trees some years ago in circular form. In doing so he placed us under a great obli- gation to him. Having had something to do with wrriting for horticultural journals for the past fifteen years, and being some- what conversant with the pleasures and difficulties attending voluntary contribu- tors, I would add my testimony to your own on the impracticability of the course desired by your friend. The first thing that the publication of the name and ad- dress of your correspondents would entail upon the unwary individuals would be a crowd of trade circulars, specimen copies of back numbers of all struggling rural journals, from the large and imposing journal of horticulture to the latest country farm paper. Our country is wonderfully smart in such matters, always on the look- out for the main chance. Oh, no ! we must still lie under the cover of the Editor's honor, hoping at some future day to creep out of the tub, like Diogenes of old. "Young Diogenes." Quinces. — Mr. Editor : Where can apple on orange quince trees be had ? and of what age, quantity, size, and price ? Please inform a subscriber through your valuable journal. Kent Co., Delaware, June 30, 1S6S. [Will some of our nurserymen who have quinces to sell please advertise them, or notify us that we may inform our corre- spondent.— Ed.] Hollyhocks may now be propagated as soon as cuttings can be got from the stool. Cuttings from the flowering stems do not make good plants. The Walter Grape. — For the last six years horticulturists have heard more or less about the Walter Grape, a variety which is claimed by its owners, Messrs. Ferris & Caywood, of Poughkeepsie, K Y., to be earlier, hardier, and better than any other variety now in cultivation. It is adver- tised in our columns to be sent out for the first time next fall, beginning in October. 254 The Horticulturist. Native "Wines. — We notice that M. Werk & Sons, of Cincinnati, are receiving complimentary notices in the Cincinnati papers, as well as those of Paris, France, for the superiority of their wines made from Catawba, Delaware, Ives, and other grapes. Packing Eggs for Transportation. — A writer in the London Cottage Gardener gives the following as the best mode of packing eggs for transportation when desired for hatching : " During the last three years I have had about 600 dozen of eggs forwarded to places far and near, each egg rolled in paper and packed on end in sawdust — a layer of soft hay lining the top, bottom, and sides of the basket, which is tightly fastened with pliable wire. Their ex- emption from breakage when packed in this way is marvelous, and I can not learn that their fecundity is in the least impair- ed by it. Moss and cotton are difficult to manage, and expensive; rolls of hay are clumsy ; and, as your correspondent avers, sawdust is cheap, cleanly, and comatable." Grass Lawns. — It seems almost like a waste of words to repeat our caution rela- tive to the close mowing of lawns during this month ; but we have, as we sit down to write, just come from advising relative to recuperating a lawn that had become very sadly disfigured and injured, full of bare spots, foul weeds, etc., caused, as we think, by reason of a too severe close cropping during last August's hot sun and severe drought. To have a good lawn, it should be freely mown, and no matter how closely, early in the season ; but as soon as the hot season comes on, the mowing should be less frequent and less close ; while, during August, care should be had to rolling it often and early in the morning, while the dew is on, and the mowing high, or just so that no seed be formed. As soon as the fall rains com- mence, then the lawn may be closely mown again ; but near the close of the season it should be left to form a growth for a win- ter coat of protection to the crowns of the roots. These remarks will be found in practice just as applicable where com- mand of water for sprinkling is had as where it is not. The result, however, will not as soon develop. POULTRY. F. W. Woodward, Esq. — Bear Sir : In resuming my pen for the purpose of giving you the promised monthly dissertation upon the subject of Poultry, I have concluded to submit to you a paper upon that variety of chickens, which, as layers, as birds for the table, for quietude of habits and general thrift and hardiness, ranks at the head of the list of domestic fowls — I mean the Brahmas. There are two varieties of the Brahma family, known among breeders and fanciers as Dark and Light. In size and general conformation these varieties are strikingly alike, while in color they are quite distinctive. I shall confine myself herein to a description of the light variety ; and as it is jn-obable that many of your readers may not be familiar with the peculiar characteristics of this most excel- lent bird, I wall attempt to give you a rather critical portraiture of what I esteem a model Brahma. The cock should have a broad and rather long body, with full breast, and covered with a sort of pearl-white plumage ; legs large and strong, and in length sym- metrically proportioned to the size of the body, standing well apart, and feathered down the outsides to the ends of the outer toes ; wings small, with the flight feathers dark or black, and the points well covered by the saddle feathers ; the tail black and short, and not very upright (as Tegetmeier says it should be), with abundant bronze- colored coverts ; small pea comb (a pea comb has the appearance of three small combs united, the center portion being highest) with rather long neck, well curved and abundantly supplied with long neck- Editor's Table. 255 hackles which should be delicately pen- ciled above the shoulders. The hen should have the same general character- istics of plumage, etc., as the cock, except that most fanciers prefer to have them darker in the neck-hackle than the male, Avith a more liberal endowment of fluff feathers around the thighs, with very short dark tails carried almost horizontally. Year-old cocks, in fair condition and health, should weigh from 9 to 11 lbs., and pullets from 7 to 8 lbs. I have been thus critical in giving the predominant characteristics, and stating the sizes, so as to enable persons, who may not be very familiar with the points of this valuable fowl, to avoid the impositions which, I am sorry to say, are too frequently practiced upon the uninformed and con- fiding purchaser by ignorant or unscrupu- lous dealers. The weights I have stated are by no means the highest which the Brahma attains, for you will doubtless remember the eighteen-months-old cock (the finest, I am sure, that you or I ever saw) which I had the pleasure of submitting to your criticism last fall, weighing over 14 lbs., as well as the six-months-old pullet, which weighed over 8a lbs. While upon the subject of the weights of fowls, permit me briefly to refer to a com- munication from the pen of Mr. Thompson, of Staten Island, which I met with in the Albany Cultivator of the 10th inst. In his communication, in speaking of a lot of his young Brahmas, Mr. T. says: "This season, owing to the cold, the growth of my chicks for the first two months was not so rapid as last year ; and yet, strange to say, at the end of three months some of them had gained over a pound a month — the largest pair weighing, together, 6 lbs. 10 oz." Now, Mr. Editor, permit me to say that last spring I had a brood of thirteen Brahmas hatched in my back yard (25 by 35 feet) in this city, where they were kept till they were eaten or otherwise disposed of. They were well fed and remarkably thrifty, not- withstanding the limited space to which they were confined. When two months old, two of the largest (a cock and pullet) weighed three pounds each ; at three months I weighed them again, when the same pair weighed five pounds each, being a gain of two pounds each in a month. With a larger run, and free access to grass (which they could not get upon the yard where they were confined), I think they would have thriven still more rapidly than they did. When these younglings were served upon the table, it would have made the mouth of an epicure water to taste them, for they were as tender as marrow, and as sweet as fresh May butter. The partiality of the writer for Brahmas is predicated upon more than a dozen years' familiarity with the excellence of their qualities, and there is no knowledge or authority so satisfying or trustworthy as that of experience. That they are the most quiet fowls in their habits of any of the varieties which the writer has evei attempted to manage, admits of no contro- versy. A fence four feet high is quite sufficient to confine them within prescribed limits; and they do not seem to fret or worry over confinement. Touching the laying qualities of the Brahmas, I beg to be permitted to say that during a part of the past winter and early spring, I had the oversight of a flock of twenty game hens and three Brahma hens. From the middle of December (the season of the year when eggs are scarcest and dearest) till about the middle of March, the three Brahma hens laid more eggs than the entire twenty games did, and they were fed daily together and had the same walk. One of the Brahma pullets had laid two litters of eggs and was sitting the second time before the games commenced to lay at all. The same was the experience at another farm where the fowls were part Brahmas and part of the common dunghill breed — the Brahmas had laid and hatched their first broods before the others com- menced to lay. In the month of December last I gave to a gentleman a trio (a cock 256 The Horticulturist. and two pullets) of chicks which were hatched in the preceding September. In an interview with this gentleman, about the 1st of July, he informed me that the pullets which I gave him commenced lay- ing early in the spring; that one of them had hatched and reared a clutch of ten chicks, and was then sitting again, while the other was still laying regularly along, intermitting an egg once in ten or twelve days, and without ever having sat at all. Up to the period when this information was communicated, the gentleman informed me that his two pullets together had sup- plied him with over 140 eggs. One of the prime qualities of the Brahma is, that the pullets mature very early with proper care, and will generally commence to lay by the time they are six months old. Indeed, I heard of an instance this spring, of a pullet commencing to lay at 4i months old, and before she was six months old she had brought out a brood of chicks. Pullets hatched in April or May will lay through the winter if properly fed and protected. But eggs in winter may be looked for in vain, from any variety of fowls, where they have to scratch for subsistence, and endure the bitter neglect and exposure to which they are too frequently subjected. As birds for the table, the writer, who is now beyond the prime of his years, and who has had the pleasure of eating poultry in many lands, unhesitatingly declares that he is yet a stranger to that species of domestic fowl which is more savory or superior to a well-fatted and well-cooked Brahma. He is aware that there is a crude and ignorant sort of assumption on the part of some persons that all the larger varieties of fowls are coarser and tougher in their flesh than the smaller kinds. But this is a most egregious error. It is not so much the physical organization as the physical condition which gives flavor and tender- ness to birds and animals alike. It will hardly be controverted, that both animals and birds when in low condition are less savory and less nutritious than if the same were fat. And it is not unfre- quently the case that condemnation is pro- nounced against breeds, when a more dis criminating and intelligent judgment would fulminate it against the man who feeds, or rather who has neglected to properly feed the objects committed to his care. There is a so-called economy wdiich is so exact and austere as to go a great way toward balking, if it does not entirely circumvent, any well-intended efforts in the path of improvement. Not only seasonable but generous feeding is indispensable to the highest physical development of every species of animated nature ; and if early care is withheld till the framework of the animal economy is stunted or dwarfed, no after-care can atone for the neglect or super- induce the fullest physical development. That the Brahma is the most generally popular of all the domestic fowls in this country, has found verification at every fair or poultry show which the writer has attended for years past; for there have been not only more coops of them on ex- hibition than any other variety, but they have always attracted more attention, and called forth more favorable comment than any others. And that they stand high in England is evidenced by the prices which are paid there, as well as by a remark in the London Country Gentleman of June 25th, 1868, whose editor, speaking of the prizes to be awarded at their recurring exhibition, says: "The managers of shows may rest well assured of the simple fact, that no class are more popular than Brahmas." E. New Your, July 15, 1868. Moulting Season of Fowls. — During the moulting season of fowls it is advis- able to separate the cocks from the hens. This practice is not absolutely necessary, but experience with the writer has shown him that it gives greater strength to his old birds, and brings more eggs in winter and early spring. Young cocks especially should never be permitted among hens during their moulting season. THE HORTICULTURIST. VOL. XXIII SEPTEMBER, NO. CCLXVIL NOVELTIES IN FIELD AND GAEDEN. BY THE ATTTHOK OF "TEN ACRES ENOUGH. Some ingenious writer will one clay fa- vor the world with a volume whose title should be " The Curiosities of Horticul- ture " Neither literature, the sciences, the mechanic arts, nor any of the multitudi- nous occupations to which the human mind has been directed, contain more striking instances of curious discoveries than have been made in agriculture and its kindred pursuits. It is true that none of these have so extensively revolutionized the industrial world as did the cotton gin or the power loom. The masses who cultivate the fields or decorate the garden form but a portion of the great aggregate of hu- manity. Yet each subdivision of terra- culture has a world of its own, in which discoveries have from time to time been made, as sensational within its limited at- mosphere as was that of either steamboat or telegraph to the whole. Of these, the reaping machine was a triumph whose far- reaching value it would be difficult to es- timate. Vast fortunes have fallen to the lot of the oiiginators of many of these dis- coveries. Hence the yet unexhausted field of agricultural and horticultural invention continues to be explored by other minds 17 in search of new devices for the better ac- complishment of old processes, knowing that the world is waiting for them, and that they will be sure of being rewarded. So has it ever been in horticulture, and so will it continue to be. The history of this world-wide art abounds in curiosities, personal, pecuniary, mechanical, and sci- entific. Its chapters of vicissitudes and failures would be long and painful ones ; but, like the huge jumble of obsolete mod- els on the dusty shelves of the Patent Of- fice, they would be full of instruction, as well as of warning, to those who are to succeed us. Of its successes there would be brilliant and encouraging records ; for it is remarkable what fortunate results have been realized from small beginnings. A century ago only four pinks were known to English florists, all which were very dif- ferent flowers. James Major, a ducal gar- dener, bethought him that he would sow a few seeds, from which he succeeded in raising a few plants. When coming into bloom the following season, one of them proved to be the first double pink that had ever been seen. Great as was the superi- ority of this flower, its originator regarded 258 The Horticulturist. it only as the forerunner of still more brill- iant varieties which time and attention would enable him to produce. All these anticipations have been realized in the ex- tent and beauty of this attractive family of flowers. The advent of this first dou- ble pink created a sensation in the floral world of England a century ago. Major was offered ten guineas for tlie plant, but declined selling, and proceeded the next season to multiply the stock. The result of one year's care was a profit of £80, — a great sum in the pocket of a gardener a hundred years ago. The stimulating hope of reward is infi- nitely more potent now. Public taste has been educated to the highest point of ap- preciation, and wealth has become so ex- tensively diffused, that floriculture receives its full share of an unprecedentedly lavish expenditure. Novelties are appreciated and sought for, hence all classes are ambi- tious to originate them on their own grounds, or to discover them in the remote and waste places of the earth. The great European florists have their botanists swarming over distant countries in perpet- ual search after new flowers. They have thus made the whole world tributary to a constantly increasing public demand. Enor- mous expenses are encountered in main- taining these expeditions, but the univer- sal call for fresh varieties renders the re- sult a profitable one. It was these floral missionaries who caused Mexico to yield up the cactus and the dahlia. Their la- bors under tropical suns have made En- gland gorgeous with flowers, for nearly all she has are exotics. Southern Europe gave her the rose ; America, the honey- suckle and passion flower ; Hungary, the laburnum ; Italy, the daffodil ; while laven- der, rosemary, and mignonette were also from the south of Europe. The catalogue of English fruits will also show how largeb she has been benefited by foreign lands. Italy gave her the mulberry ; Syria, the plum and apple ; Flanders, the cherry, gooseberry, and strawberry ; Greece, the apricot and currant ; Portugal, the grape ; Persia, the peach and nectarine ; and America, the raspberry and walnut. But other countries have shared in this system of international exchange of fruit and flower. Our own fields and gardens are crowded with precious contributions from foreign lands, yet the unsatisfied ap- petite for novelties of all kinds increases, because the circle interested in them is an- nually widening. As the wealth of our country accumulates, so is our ability to in- dulge in horticultural pursuits enlarged. A crowd of able publications devoted to the science act as educators and stimulants. Architecture contributes its ornamental de- signs for rural embellishment and comfort, and great wastes of stunted oak and brush- wood are transformed by practiced hands into charming landscapes, wherein Flora and Pomona may find ever-fragrant and ever-fruitful homes. There is an expectant multitude for ev- ery novelty the earth can be made to pro- duce, whether it be useful or ornamental. If the originator of a pink receives an abundant reward, we may be assured that there is profit for the fortunate genius who first astonishes the world with a new and better squash. Plebeian though the latter may be, it might still prove as rich a spec- ulation as a new rose, seeing that there are hungry multitudes as prone to squashes as to roses. They have stomachs which, with painful regularity, require to be filled ; and these unwashed masses keep fat and hearty without develojjing even the most latent taste for flowers. The discoverers of the useful thus also have their reward. But few of us have the remotest idea of the skill, the patient waiting through years of trials and of proving, which the painstaking originators of even new vege- tables are required to exercise and endure, after all to find themselves disappointed. "We hear of the successes, but of the mul- titude of failures no sign is made. It is universally admitted that the la- borer is worthy of his hire, — the inventor, Novelties in Field and Garden. 259 of his reward. I have been thinking over the proposal of my friend Fuller, that the originator of a new plant should be pro- tected in his discovery by patent. The propriety of such protection strikes me as being eminently just. A man will devote years of patient watchfulness and skill in the production of a new and valuable va- riety of fruit or flower, and his reward is limited by the sale of such stock as he may choose to accumulate before offering his discovery to the public. When once in possession of the latter, it is multiplied in winter and summer, every conceivable forcing process being instantly invoked to manufacture a world-wide supply. The originator receives but an indifferent re- ward ; and though he may seek for a fair one by demanding high prices, yet this strictly honorable effort is unsparingly de- nounced as an extortion. Instances have been known of a new fruit having been stolen from the grounds of the originator, and secretly multiplied until he brought it into market, when the dishonest competi- tion robbed him of a large share of what he had laboriously earned. The Government protects the inventor of a clothes-pin or a goose yoke by a pat- ent running seventeen years. These im- plements are merely new developments of old processes. The materials composing them are well known, and are common property, the production of nature, whe- ther of wood or metal. It is from these that the inventor fashions and combines his new device, which, because of its be- ing new and useful, is secured to him by patent. He may fill warehouses with his improved goose yokes, refuse to sell them to an impatient public, and no one dare manufacture them, except at his peril. When he does sell, no one but himself can produce them, unless by license. His mo- nopoly of the market for goose yokes is ab- solute, and can not be broken up except by some more ingenious mind inventing a different and better one. The most tri- fling mechanical contrivances have thus become stepping-stones to fortune. How little ingenuity it required to invent the goose yoke or the clothes-pin ! yet the Government protected that little, and the protection secured rich rewards. Not so with the originators of new and better fruits and flowers. They labor in this vo- cation year after year, concentrating upon their efforts the experience and skill of a lifetime, and not succeeding oftener than once in five hundred trials. Even when signally successful, their reward is too often far below their merits. Take the Albany Seedling Strawberry as an illustra- tion. Here is a fruit of untold value to the nation, the unquestioned offspring of a single individual. That berry must have enriched hundreds of fruit-growers, and is destined to enrich thousands. But who can say that its originator received the re- ward to which he was entitled, or give the world a history of the time, and labor, and patient waiting which he went through before he succeeded in his great discovery ? There may be difficulties in the way of carrying Mr. Fuller's programme int6 prac- tice, but they may be overcome. As the law now stands, no one can manufacture a patented article without a license from the patentee. Let the inventor of a new plant receive his patent for it. When he sells the plants, let him also require pay- ment for the right to manufacture and sell other plants in a specified territory. If it be valuable, the purchaser of the right to that territory may dispose of rights to oth- ers, and thus refund himself for what he paid the patentee. Should the plant be offered for sale beyond the limits of the territory sold, the patentee will become aware of it, and can prosecute for infringe- ment, precisely as in the case of a machine or process. There ought to be no diffi- culty in having Mr. Fuller's excellent sug- gestion adopted. At first sight it will strike many as an absurd and impractica- ble novelty. But let its fairness and jus- tice be once admitted, and then make it law. It is protection alone that has given 260 The Horticulturist. to American ingenuity its present mighty progress in the arts. Extend that jirotec- tion to the arts of horticulture and flori- culture, and an inconceivable impulse will be given to the highest development of both. SOMETHING OF VINES AND CLIMBERS, AND SOMEWHAT OF THEIR APPROPRIATE USES. By the cottage porch, as well as the fin- ished portico ; by and in the rustic vase, as well as the marble fountain; everywhere that man seeks to decorate and adorn, do we find some variety of climbing vine. The showy and brilliant Tecoma, with its hundreds of scarlet trumpet-shaped flow- ers, attracts and commands admiration, to entire forgetfulness of the rude building which supports it; the light and airy Woodbine, " That loves to hang on barren boughs Her wreaths of remote flowery perfume," by its light, yet airy, negligent character, gives to the rustic porch an appearance of refinement, an impression that beneath its shelter there dwells a mind alive to the emblems and manifestations of God's love to man. Everywhere, in the wild wood, on the mountain, and by the river-side, in the green-house, and the flower parterre ; dec- orative of the brow of science, and cling- ing around the tomb of departed friends ; everywhere are found vines, and everywhere do they so harmonize with either nature or art, that no harsh lines or thoughts intrude when viewing them. In the formation of artificial rock-work, or over the edge of some bare yet needful excavation, a few vines relieve the want of taste or knowledge in the builder, or render what would be bare and harsh to the eye pleasing, if not romantically at- tractive. A few rocks, natural to the geo- logical surface of the country, and thrown together void even of any taste and art, but covered with the Ampelopsis, or Vir- ginian Creeper, will often give a better, more harmonious, and pleasing effect than any construction, no matter how artistic, of curious stones, slag of glass-houses, and scoria from blast-furnaces. The last two Fig 82. — Ampelopsis. are ugly in themselves, unprojjitious to the growth of plants, and only belong where an in-door mineralogical rock-work muse- um is desired. Among all the various vines and creep- ers, none possess such great luxuriance and beauty in foliage, more perfect hardiness or rapidity in growth, or so great a variety of colors and richness in autumn foliage, when it changes from a rich green to a mingling of scarlet, orange, crimson, and purple, as the Ampelopsis, or American Woodbine. Next among our native vines we have Something of Vines and Climbers. 261 the climbing Bittersweet (Celastrus), fig. 83. It is more woody in its character, and ad- mirably adapted to the covering of rustic arbors, as its stems as they grow and in- crease in size from year to year serve to sustain and prop up any decaying post or arch. Trained as a pillar on the point of a roadway or in the shrubbery, where its deep green and handsome foliage, followed by the orange scarlet of its large clusters of seeds in autumn and early winter, makes it ever an object of beauty and at- tractiveness. The Tecoma, or Trumpet Flower or Creeper, although of late years compara- tively little used, because perhaps of its becoming so common, has claims for cer- tain positions unequaled by any other vine. pet-shaped orange-scarlet flowers in July and August, with its pinnate-shaped, glossy light green foliage, make it always a fea- Fig. -American Bittersweet. Like the Bittersweet, its stems assist in the support of decaying wood-work upon which it may cling (tig. 84), while the great beauty and abundance of its trum- Fig. 84. — Trumpet Floy?er. ture to which the eye turns in admiration of its splendor. For covering unsightly fences, to shut from view some rude out- building, or trained upon the body of some old tree, there is no climber so easily pro- cured or grown, and few that possess more desirable qualities. It is occasionally a little tender while young, and in some northern locations it is well to cover, or in some way protect it for the first two win- ters. Contrasting strongly in habit, period, and color of flowers with the last-named is the Wistaria (fig. 85), of which there are several varieties, the best among them being the Chine?isis, or Chinese Wistaria, This also has a woody stem, and when once es- tablished grows freely in almost any soil. It is a very rapid grower, shoots frequently, making a growth of twenty to thirty feet in a season, so that in half a dozen years one The Horticulturist. plant will cover the whole side of a house, and with its hundreds of racemes of bluish- purple, sweet-scented flowers in May and June, can be considered one of our most magnificent climbers. There is a variety with white flowers, and when two or more are to be planted, it should be used. For training upon an architectural portico, or an iron balcony or rail, it is admirably adapted. The Honeysuckle {Lanicera) is a class of intermingled with the Wistaria, it adds much to the latter when in bloom. The Fig. 86. — Crimson Honeysuckle. orange-colored (fig. 87) is a variety with which we do not often meet ; but from its broad, dark, coarse foliage and orange-red Fig. 85. — Wistaria. climbing vines of easy culture ; all are beau- tiful in foliage and flower, and some varie- ties have very fragrant flowers, like the bel- gica and japonica. This latter (fig. 86) has a slender stem or vine, with various color- ed flowers, very fragrant, and when not exposed too openly to the sun, retains its foliage all winter. It blooms freely from May to September, and is one most desira- ble of all the varieties. Grown and twined Fig. IllilllllPill 87. — Orange-colored Honeysuckle. Two Fine Apples. 263 flowers is highly ornamental for covering among this family, of which all are beau- arbors, etc. The old scarlet flowering, or tiful and appropriate for rock-work, arbors, coral, is also another of the good ones or masses in the shrubbery. TWO FINE APPLES. BY CHARLES DOWNING, NEWBURG, N. T. DEMOCRAT — ( V ARICK) . Origin uncertain ; some claim it to be Trumansburg, and others say it was brought from Dutchess Co., N. Y., some forty years since, and was there called Varick Apple. It is considerably grown in Tompkins and Seneca Cos., N. Y., and is a fine winter apple, and worthy of a place in every orchard, especially for family use. George S. Conover, of "West Fayette, Seneca Co., N. Y., to whom I am indebted for specimens, etc., writes me : " From all I can learn, it is supposed to have originated in the vicinity of Tru- Fig. 88 - mansburg, Tompkins Co., N. Y., and known there as the Democrat. Tree, vigorous, upright, a good bearer, and generally produces a bountiful crop every other year, and often a moderate crop alternate years ; fruit, always fair, remark- ably so for so great a bearer. It is also a good keeper." -Democrat. Fruit, medium ; size, roundish conical, obscurely ribbed ; skin, pale whitish yellow, shaded, partially striped and splashed with light and dark crimson nearly over the whole surface, and pretty thickly sprinkled with small light dots ; stalk, rather short, slender, set in a large, deep, regular cavity; calyx, small, closed, seg- 264 The Horticulturist. ments small and short, coming to a point ; basin, medium, rather deep, corrugated; flesh, white, fine, sometimes a little stained next the skin, very tender, juicy, mild, pleasant, subacid; flavor, very good or best ; core, rather large ; ripe from Decem- ber to March. stymer's apple, a new promising late fall or early winter apple, originated on the farm of Jacob Stymers, in the village of Dobbs' Ferry, on the Hudson. Specimens were sent me by Dr. James Fountain, who informs me that the young tree came up under an old Spitzenburg apple-tree — the whole orchard being Spitzenburg. Tree, a vigorous grower, rather more upright than Spitzenburg, but resembling it some- what ; rather tardy coming into bearing ; young wood, dull reddish browD, slightly downy. Fig. 89.— Stymer's. Fruit, medium size, oblate, inclining to conic ; surface, smooth, and nearly regu- lar ; skin, yellowish, shaded, striped and splashed with light and dark red (nearly over the whole surface), with some of the splashes dark crimson, moderately sprink- led with light and gray dots ; stalk, short and small, set in a large, deep cavity; calyx, closed or partially open, segments short, erect ; basin, large, deep, uneven ; flesh, fine, whitish, tender, juicy, mild, pleasant, rich, subacid, slightly aromatic, very good, or best quality; core, small; ripe, October to January. Budding Marshal Niel Rose on Gloire de Dijon. — Those of your readers who possess a strong plant of Gloire de Dijon, will be well repaid if they devote a part of it to Marshal Niel. Two years since I budded a shoot about half-standard high ; last year by closely pinching all the shoots I formed a bushy head, which this year is a glorious cluster of blooms. The stock appears to have sufficient influence to color the outer petals of a rosy buff, closely resembling the Gloire de Dijon; the inner petals are the deepest yellow, and the flowers are wonderfully solid and well-formed. — T. F. R., in Cottage Gar- dener. Notes on Fruits in their Season — Raspberries and Blackberries. 265 NOTES ON FRUITS IN THEIR SEASON— RASPBERRIES AND BLACKBERRIES. BY F. K. ELLIOTT. Accokding to my observation and in- formation, the canes of raspberries in north- ern Ohio and a large portion of the "West matured well last year, wintered with com- paratively little injury, and in their due time blossomed and set full of fruit. The first berries matured well; but owing to the great heat of the season, the second did not fill as perfectly ; the third less per- fect ; and the last to form were mostly a failure. This has varied, of course, in va- rieties,— the False Red Antwerp — or as more commonly called Allen — and the thornless Black Cap maturing the first ber- ries and perfecting perhaps a larger pro- portion of the crop than other sorts. The Kirtland, Franconia, Red Antwerp, Hor- net, and Naomi followed in ripening about in order as I have named, while the Amer- ican or Doolittle followed the Thornless, and was again followed by Philadelphia and Miami, and these by Mrs. "Wood ; and these, again, as I write — August 15 — are followed by Belle de Fontenay producing its second crop. So much for their com- parative order ; and now for their values comparatively for family use and for com- mercial marketing. The price governing sorts has ranged at an average of six dol- lars a bushel for Black Caps ; and for the Antwerp class, such as Allen and Kirtland, an additional dollar per bushel was readily obtained ; while Naomi brought yet an ad- ditional dollar, and was readily taken by dealers. In this section, the Kirtland, Allen, and Naomi are just as hardy as the Black Caps ; and so far as a local market will take the fruit, the first two are in their season more profitable ; while Naomi, by reason of its firmness of fruit for shipping, large size, and superior quality, can not fail of value where even a distant market is to be sup- plied. The productiveness of the Allen and Kirtland is about the same, while the Allen is a little the most firm, and the Kirtland the largest and much the best in quality. I will here notice a little slur cast on my knowledge of the Kirtland by a late ad interim report of the Secretary of the Ohio Horticultural Society, where he states as follows : " An old bed of the Kirtland Raspberry was examined quite critically by Colonel Richmond and Mr. Lum, of Sandusky, as these gentlemen were inclined to the opin- ion that the true Kirtland, as originally named by Mr. Lum, was not the same de- scribed and figured by Elliott, or known by him and Dr. K. as the Kirtland, and this opinion they claimed was confirmed by the inspection of this old bed, which they asserted was composed mainly of the spurious sort, but had a few of the genu- ine in it, the latter being a larger and bet- ter fruit, and more conical in shape than the other." I have only to remark that I have a high respect for Messrs. Lum and Richmond, but believe my knowledge of the original Kirtland, from many years' examination and gathering the fruit from canes in the original bed (which bed, I may here say, was, and would have been, unknown, ex- cept by reason of my daily examination and comparison in tracing up the sort sent out by Mr. Lum), is perhaps quite as cor- rect as an examination made by Messrs. Lum and Richmond of half an hour, and with little or no fruit on the canes. To return : the Allen, Kirtland, and Nao- mi have been here grown on sand as well as clay soil, and successful in each. For mar- ket, the Allen and Naomi are most desir- 266 The Horticulturist. able ; but for family use, or a borne con- sumption market, tbe Kirtland sbould take tbe place of the Allen. Tbe Clarke bas not fruited well with me this year, nor did I have opportunity to examine it elsewhere. The Philadelphia is all in productiveness that bas been said of it, but the quality is so inferior, that I only wonder any good horticulturist could ever have the heart to advise his fel- low-men to grow it. If a man could grow it and nothing else, then on the ground that any fruit is better than none, it might come in, but otherwise it smacks too much of Wall Street, and has too little of tbe good- ness which belongs to the lover and grower of God's blessed fruits ever to have any hearty commendation. Like a crab apple or Windsor pear, it may do in absence of all else ; but woe be to th*e consumer ! Better to have looked at it admiringly, without any contaminating knowledge. I speak of it as when eaten out of hand. Cooking and sugar ameliorate, and so used it may be, and probably is, palatable, if not good. The Duhring has killed down every year; and even under protection one win- ter, it failed, giving two or three meager fruits only. I pass it as a humbug. The Franconia, Fastolf, Red Antwerp, etc., we know all about; and so knowing, know that when the canes are covered in winter, the crop is good, and the quality of Red Antwerp surpassed by few or none. Tbe Hornet is sometimes hardy, but again is killed, so that, like the Franconia, it can not be depended upon without covering. Covered, it is a productive and profitable firm market fruit. If among the perpetuals or ever-bearing sorts there is any desirable character, I think Belle de Fontenay stands at the head. True, it suckers most unmercifully ; but the suckers can be cut away as easy as any weeds, and it certainly does bear abund- antly, and of a good size and rich fruit. The Cxtawissa has good qualities; but of tbe two, for family use, give me Belle de Fontenay. It is larger, looks better, is of superior flavor, and produces more berries with me. The Lindleyana has every year killed with me, even when protected. The Prosser I have not fruited. Through the kindness of a friend I have a plant of it, but it looks and grows as if it were sorry it did not keep near the ten acres that noised it to tbe world. The varieties under numbers that have been sent by courtesy from Charles Arnold, Esq., to various amateurs in the States, are all good, but according to my test and comparison, only one — viz., his No. 1 — is worthy of continued propagation. The canes of this are perfectly hardy, and the fruit is abundant, fully as large as figured in the Horticulturist by Mr. Fuller, August, 1867, but not as conical. It is of a dull yellow color ; and for those unwilling to give Brinckle's Orange a winter cover- ing, it is the best light colored berry yet 'out. In other words, it is the best hardy light yellow raspberry known, and should be bad by every lover of raspberries. Brinckle's Orange (let us keep the prefix of BrincMe, from respect to one of the most honest and enthusiastic horticulturists the world has known) is the very, very best yel- low raspberry. It pays to cover its canes in winter ; but if left uncovered, nine times out of ten it produces good crops of fruit, so good, that if the grower, like myself, has children, he will find it hard work to keep the fruit, for most unconsciously — " only just one," do you bear the child ? — it will soon all be gone. Let us now turn to the Black Caps. I have spoken of the Thornless. Mine was not obtained as a new thing, or as the Davison ; and as I have not seen the Davison, may be all unlike ; but a thornless raspberry is no new thing, nor do I think the lack of thorns any item, unless the fruit is of abundance and quality to equal varieties having thorns. The plants I have were from one selected by myself some years since, say eight, out of a cluster of wild- lings which I was removing. I fruited my The Sedum as an Edging Plant. 267 first cane, found it early — in fact, one of the very earliest to ripen — abundantly prolific, of good size and flavor, not extra large, a good strong grower ; and so finding, prop- agated a small number for my family sup- ply. I consider it valuable for my family, and measurably so for market. The Amer- ican or Doolittle all know about. It has done well hereabouts this year, and is un- doubtedly one of our staple reliable sorts. Ellisdale, Surprise, Miami, and Seneca I have only had opportunity of examining on a small scale, and that under so high a condition of culture, I have nothing to say of them. I see, however, Mr. Fuller speaks confidently of Ellisdale; Mr. Husmann of Surprise ; and others of Miami ; but I, in my want of knowledge, have great faith in the value of Mrs. Wood as a hardy sort, extremely productive, of a fair size, mod- erately firm, of good flavor, and maturing so as to continue the season two weeks later than the Doolittle. Of blackberries I have very little this year to say. The New Rochelle or Lawton were nearly half killed last winter, but the remainder of the canes have fruited as of years before, large and sour. Crystal "White killed all down, so did Kentucky White ; and Claret, Mason's Mountain, Mis- souri Mammoth, and a host more of sorts, are growing for future notes ; but while I yet think Dorchester the very best flavor- ed, the richest berry, I grant the Kitta- tinny almost rivals it in flavor, is superior in size, more than three times as produc- tive, and is the best, all in all, of any sort yet fully tested. Wilson is a market sort, but too inferior in quality for any good horticulturist's table. THE SEDUM AS AN EDGING PLANT. Some years since we had a bed or bor- der, in which we grew annuals, encircled with sedum album ; and recently reading an article in the Cottage Gardener upon the use of sedums as edging plants, our mind was recalled to our former practice, and connected therewith we write to ad- vocate their use to a greater extent than has been commonly practiced. An edging plant should be hardy, and such are near- ly all the sedums ; it should be of close, compact growth, and always green, which is the case with the sedums. In our case, we remember that the last year we made a part of our edging with sedum Sieboldii, which, as it flowered later and its flowers were more conspicuous, attracted greater notice than the common sort. A change of position caused our loss of the sedum edge ; and our next planting of them was in delicate points and foreground of rock- work, where we have also found them a very desirable plant. The great number of varieties now in cultivation give the grower a fine chance to give variety to the edge of beds in a flower-garden, and at the same time retain unity. In copy- ing the descriptions and remarks of the writer in the Cottage Gardener we will add to his list recommended the follow- ing as desirable varieties, to be selected from the numbers catalogued : album Sieboldii, and three varieties of telephium. " Sedum Californicum. — This fleshy- leaved houseleek differs from the kind so often met with on the tops of low build- ings and other places where it is grown for its supposed medicinal properties, as the Californian sedum is of more sturdy habit, and the leaves are all deeply tipped with purplish brown. The plant seems- to thrive well in most situations, but like* a dry and sunny one, increases freely, and bears transplanting at any season. It The Horticulturist. forms an admirable edging to a small bed, and for places where a permanent edging is required it is extremely suitable. Occa- sionally it flowers, but not frequently, and when it does, the sturdy stem bearing a head or corymb of flowers is not without beauty. It is less disposed to flower than either of the two following species. In habit of growth it much resembles the common houseleek, the thickly-clustered heads pushing each other out of place, and by degrees rising into a sort of mound. As already stated, it is not particular as to soil, but likes the sun. "Sedum: Gxaucum. — Differing widely from the preceding, this low-growing, spreading plant quickly occupies its al- loted space, and unlike many others may easily be kept in that line. It is of a pale whitish green color, and looks well all the year round. About the middle or end of May it flowers abundantly, the bloom be- ing of a grayish tint, not by any means unsightly, but rather the reverse when viewed from a distance. The plant pre- fers a dry situation, and grows very fast, so that when once it has established itself it quickly covers the given space, and it does not seem to die off when it becomes old. Although I have had it in use for several years, I have never known the cen- ter or old portion of the plant die off or grow into an unsightly lump ; on the con- trary, it would preserve its original height of about two inches, and the flower doe3 not rise more than two inches higher. The plant appears to accommodate itself even to the most prominent point of rock- work, where there is only a very small quantity of soil. I have used it occasion- ally in winter gardening, and the gray hue of the plant was seen to advantage when the soil was dark-colored with moisture. For a permanent edging it is all that can be desired in habit. " Sempervivtjm Globifertjm. — In habit this is more like sedum Californicum, but less robust, and the whole plant is of a deep emerald green, the opening foliage looking like a partially-opened rose-bud. In most respects it resembles sedum Cali- fornicum, excepting that it flowers more freely, and the individual flower stems are remarkably sturdy for so small a plant. I believe it is less plentiful than either of the first-mentioned two, but I have had it for several years, and the hardest winter does not take any effect upon it. Like the other members of its family it delights in sunshine and a dry situation, yet with me it is grown in many instances as a per- manent edging around small circular beds containing a young specimen pinus or other tree, and for such a purpose it, as well as the other two sedums, is admirably adapted. It may be admired every day in the year, which is not the case with many ornamental objects." USE OF GYPSUM IN WINE. Some months since a friend presented me with a copy of " Husmann on the Vine ;" and after a careful perusal I am convinced that it is a reliable teacher, and based upon actual experience. In the preparation of his work, Mr. Husmann, however, seems to have ignored the existence of European writers; and as I have reason to believe :that the experience of some of the most unliable of the Continental observers may prove of value to some of your readers, I propose contributing an occasional com- munication giving their views, and shall condense as far as practicable the language of the parties quoted. As doctors differ, I shall give both sides of the subject, when I deem such course warranted, and allow your readers to judge of the merits and demerits of the practice. Our old friend "Hordeola" translated Use of Gypsum in Wine. 269 " Mohr on the Vine ;" and I trust that he From the action of the sulphate of potass may be induced to favor American vigne- on the human system, the slight quantity rons with a translation of " Mohr on Wine," contained in wine so treated can have no as this scientific and valuable work should injurious effect. The action of sulphate of be placed within the reach of those who potass, like tartar, is that of a laxative, and are not conversant with the German Ian- the quantity contained in wine so treated guage. can exert no injurious influence whatever. The use of gypsum was known to the Count Odart asserts that if gypsum is ancients, and its addition to wine has the used in moderate quantity, there could be sanction of ages. As experience is a valu- no injury from it ; but it is often used in able teacher, the use of this substance is the most censurable quantity. According worthy of consideration, more especially to this writer, at the base of the Pyrenees as the fault of the American wine seems to it is added in the proportion of two pints be the presence of too much acid. and a half to twenty-two gallons of wine. The question of adding to an im- It is acknowledged that the effect of the portant article like wine a foreign sub- plaster is to preserve the wine from acid- stance is one of moment. This question ity, and to increase the intensity of its was recently discussed by the Chamber of color. Commerce of Montpelier, and the experi- According to Dr. Dijon (an cenalogue ments of Chancel, Berard, and Cauvey of standing), the only beneficial effect of were referred to. The wine of Castelnau the gypsum is to preserve from acidity the- having been made the subject of experi- wines of the south, which are sweet and ment, gave the following results: saccharine and liable to this degeneration. _fr . , . weiihtnfARi.es. Wines, according to Dr. Dijon, saturated. Natural wine 2.048 grams. ' & . Wine with pure gypsum 2.740 " with gypsum lose none of their good saita contained in the Asi.es of tiw wine. ^'^ ^^^m_ qualities, and may attain a great age, as is- ( Sulphate of potass.... .260 .... 1.240 evidenced by the wines of Roussillon and Soluble .. < Carbonate ot potass . . 1.092 040 J { Phosphate of potass.. .064 015 Spain; and it would be wrong to call such I °"P ate° magnesia \ -m 980 wines insalubrious on this account, as the ^soluble] t!mfD.a:.::::::::::: 'Z :::: Z small amount of free gypsum they contain. Magnesia .044 084 js actuallv less than is found in many | Silica and sesquioxvd J I ofiron .080 080 springs. 1.980 .... 2.58T According to the experiments of M.. These analytical results require explana- Julien, the wine to which no gypsum was tion. The solid residue of evaporation added at the drawing of the vat, was quite was burned and the ashes analyzed, as the acid in the month of August, while that, most simple mode of determining the effects which received the gypsum was quite; produced by the gypsum ; but the results sound. must not be received as given above, for M. Bergasse (du Var), a proprietor and. the carbonate of potass represents the su- wine merchant, and an author of a treatise pertartrate of potass which was decom- in which he discusses this subject in a. posed by the process of combustion, and masterly manner, remarks : " I was shocked consequently reduced in weight. The the first time I saw put in practice a pro- analysis settled the most important point ceecling which seemed to belong to the — this was, that wine heated with gypsum ages of barbarism, and I even declined contained no new ingredient, and that the buying wine of proprietors who had made^ gypsum added may be considered nil, be- use of gypsum. But when I found that, cause it is entirely changed into sulphate wines treated in this way had a more lively of potass. and decided color, and that if the presence 270 The Horticulturist. of the gypsum could be detected at the drawing of the vats, the peculiar taste which it gave rise tended to disappear in proportion as the lees were deposited ; when, besides, I found that after long voy- ages there remained not a trace of it, and that the wine possessed a fine color and decided softness, I became persuaded that the gypsum, without doubt, produced good effects under certain circumstances." M. Joigneau, in La live de la Ferine, dis- cussing the wines of the south of France, says that the gypsum should be added at the time of the crushing the grapes, or im- mediately after. The proper quantity, ac- cording to M. Mares, is four pounds to 154 gallons of wine. In Rousillon and Nar- bonne the coarse, dark wines for mixing — the dearest and most sought after in com- merce— have gypsum added to the vat in proportion of from nine to twenty pounds to 154 gallons of wine. At the congress of vignerons in 1845, M. Baumes stated that good wine to which gypsum was added loses its body and del- icacy, becoming hard, sharp, and astrin- gent ; that it parches the throat and pro- vokes thirst. He condemned it as injuri- ous to health and conducing to fraud. The advocates for the use of gypsum, on their part, assert that wine to which it has been added is better, of a more lively color, keeps better, and is every way superior to that without such addition. Such is the positive opinion of M. Mares. Over twenty years since, at the congress of Di- jon, M. Cozalis Allut maintained that wines treated with gypsum clarified and kept much better than those which were made without such addition. On the same occasion, M. Baume de Nimes stated that they had used the gypsuni at St. Gil- les, and since they had done so, the wines of the Cotiere de Vauvert, which were very inferior, were now sought after by mer- chants ; and he affirmed that the gypsum prevented the ascescence of the wine made from the Bourre and the Aramon. M. Maumene thus expresses himself on the use of gypsum : " Experience shows that the red color becomes stronger the more the contact of the wine with the skins is prolonged ; but under such circum- stances it is necessary to reduce the activ- ity of the fermentation, and gypsum pos- sesses the power of doing so. It trans- forms the salts of potass in the wine into insoluble salts of lime and soluble sulphate of potass. This change may be of great importance, because many chemists attrib- ute to the tartar or supertartrate of potass the property of holding the ferment in solution, while the sulphate or potass does not possess this power. Finally, the gyp- sum very often contains a certain portion of carbonate of lime, and this carbonate, in neutralizing the acid of the tartar, assists, no doubt, to cause the deposition of the ferment which this salt held in solution.'' The use of gypsum is an ancient prac- tice, is common on the Continent, and has received the sanction of some of the best authorities, and it seems to us worthy of the notice of American vignerons. To the uninitiated we can most positively state that any compounds resulting from its addition will be found innocuous. Al Fresco. LONICERA PULVERTJLENTA. — Of the many varieties of upright tree honeysuckle none are to us more attractive outwardly and dissectively beautiful than the one under the above designation. Its petals are a deep rosy pink with a white edge, that makes it attractive at first; and the more, it is viewed, the more beauties are seen. Another year, make sure you have this variety in your group of tree honey- suckles. Relation and Effects of Pollen in Cross Fertilization. 271 RELATION AND EFFECTS OF POLLEN IN CROSS FERTILIZATION. Dr. Hildebrand, of Bonn, lias lately been conducting some experiments with maize plants and making observations on the apple, to prove the direct influence ex- ercised by foreign pollen on the proper- ties of the fruit thereby produced. In Darwin's recently published work are a series of observations which go to prove that in fertilizing a plant with the pollen of a closely related species or variety, this foreign pollen not only acts on the off- spring thereby generated, but may also exercise a direct influence on the shape of the seed vessel and seed of the flower ope- rated upon — a fact previously ascertained by "Wiegmann and others, which has, how- ever, been abundantly attacked and criti- cised of late by Naegeli and others, and re- jected as erroneous, but, it may be assumed, without good ground to the contrary. Among the observations quoted by Dar- win the following passages occur : " As long ago as the year 1751 (Philosophical Trans- actions, 1751, p. 206), it was observed that when different colored varieties of maize grew near together, their seeds were mutu- ally aftected, and this is now very gener- ally accepted in the United States as an established fact. Dr. Savi (Gallesio Teoria della Riproduzione, 1816, p. 95) carefully repeated the experiment. He sowed yel- low and black seeded maize together, and in one and the same cob some of the seeds were yellow, some black, and others speck- led, the different colored being either arranged in different rows or irregularly scattered." Without knowing anything of this observation, Dr. Hildebrand experi- mented with varieties of maize last sum- mer, one with yellow and the other with dark brown grain, and as this trial was most scrupulously carried out, and led to a decisive result, a description of it does not appear superfluous. In the experiments cited by Darwin, we find no guarantee that the plants employed were not raised from seeds which originated in a cross of two different varieties, so that the possibility of the seeds having become parti-colored, independently of the influence of foreign pollen, is not excluded. Foreseeing this probable objection to the value of his ex- periment, Dr. Hildebrand fertilized some of the flowers of a plant, raised from yel- low seed, with its own pollen, and thus saved cobs whose seeds were exactly like those sown. There can be no doubt, there- fore, that there was here a pure yellow variety of maize, and not a cross derived from two different varieties. Dr. Hilde- brand then raised plants of the pure yellow variety, and fertilized the female ears with pollen taken from a plant of the dark brown variety, similarly raised. The con- sequence was that two cobs were obtained in which about half the seeds resembled that of the mother plant, or which were perhaps a little lighter in color, while the other half were of a dirty violet color, and scattered about indiscriminately among the others, showing that the* pollen from the brown variety had exercised a direct in- fluence. In a third cob, obtained through the same process, all the seeds were pure yellow, but on one side of the axis, be- tween two rows of seed, there was a red- dish brown stripe, so that in this case it had even asserted its power in altering the color of the axis of the fruit. All the fe- male heads thus experimented upon were closely enveloped in paper capsules, and only partially opened to introduce the pol- len, and immediately closed after each of the numerous applications, so as to avoid all possibility of any grains that might be floating about in the air coming in contact with them. Some other varieties of maize were also tried, but without success in 272 The Horticulturist. effecting a union. Pollen from the yellow variety failed to impregnate the brown variety, although the same plant set seve- ral cobs fertilized with pollen from the same variety. Darwin alludes to the same phenomenon as observed in the different varieties of apples, to which Dr. Hilcle- brand adds the following observation: " The year before last he noticed an apple on a branch of the Autumn Calville that stuck out among the branches of a neigh- boring Red Calville, the color of which for the greater part was the same as the remaining apples of the Autumn Calville, namely, yellow, with small red spots ; but on one side, from the border of the calyx down to the stalk, there was a broad red band, just like the color of the Red Cal- ville. Besides this outward resemblance there was also a number of red vascular bundles in the flesh beneath, which is quite characteristic of the Red Calville, so that this part resembled the latter apple in all particulars. This seems to be a case in which the pollen of one variety acted upon the other, for there is no rec- ord of any other apples of the Autumn Calville variety with red stripes. For sev- eral years in succession Dr. Hildebrand has remarked a similar occurrence on a tree of the Strawberry Apple that was overgrown by a tree of the Red Stettiner, which he is inclined to believe was effected in the same way. In the face of the foregoing observations, and those collected by Dar- win, it can scarcely be further contended that foreign pollen does not possess the power of effecting a change in the nature of the fruit resulting from its application, although it is probable that such influence is rarely exercised, or only between very closely related species or varieties. Never- theless, so few trustworthy observations are on record that it is extremely desirable the question should be investigated further, as every additional proof might serve to con- vert some of the numerous unbelievers. — Gardener's Chronicle. INCREASE OF HORTICULTURAL AND AGRICULTURAL INTERESTS. It is both gratifying and surprising to note the rapid increase and extension of interests connected with the pursuits of rural life. But a few years have passed since the list of journals wholly devoted to Agricultural and Horticultural interests numbered less than a baker's dozen, and they were in the conditioxi of a neglected strawberry patch, literally struggling day after day to keep their heads in sight. Now our list of journals, weeklies and monthlies, in the cause, advocacy, and in- struction of the primeval and most blessed occupation of man is almost beyond count ; and we no sooner note a new laborer, and get accustomed to his tone, than another appears, until we have lately come to the conclusion that our people have really awakened, and while some may gamble in "Wall Street, or other like marts, some may traffic and trade, etc., yet the blessings of a rural life, the prospect which it offers to a long and happy life, are rapidly becom- ing appreciated. South and "West the peo- ple seem calling for more and more of reading matter relating to the garden, or- chard, and farm, and their calls are met by new papers, and the enlarged size of the older ones, the formation of Horticultural societies, and the records of increased in- terest at exhibitions of those heretofore or- ganized ; all are most gratifying tokens of promises for the future greatness and con- tinuance of our nation, for which we have reason to be thankful to the great Power that overrules and guides all things. Mammoth Cluster Raspberry. — Apples for the South. 273 MAMMOTH CLUSTER RASPBERRY. BY A. M. PURDY. Supposed to be a seedling of the Miami. Black, with a rich dark scarlet bloom ; extremely large. Charles Downing says : " Very much the largest black raspberry I have ever seen." Globular shape ; very juicy and rich; season very late, the first picking being made this year on the same day that the last picking of Doolittle's was made, and last picking fully one week later than the Miami ; surface, firm — so much so that they were shipped to the New York market (300 miles) this season with perfect success ; bush, very rank and hardy, with but few thorns. Its large size, great productiveness, and ex- treme late season of ripening, make it one of the most valuable sorts ever intro- duced, as it fills in a blank season for fruit long felt, especially by the market gardener. APPLES FOR THE SOUTH. William Summer, in American Pomo- logical Report, says of the cultivation and varieties for the South, as follows : Fruits were first obtained from the best nurseries at the North and from Europe. The result was that all the winter varieties of apples proved to be autumn kinds, and most of these rotted and fell from the trees before ripening fully. We at once had recourse to the introduction of native seedling varieties, and these were soon found to be admirably adapted to our soil and climate ; and so abundant were these varieties that we found difficulty, after we became engaged in the nursery business, to select from so many which were worthy of cultivation. The early Northern varie- ties almost invariably succeed well ; and some of the winter varieties are admirable fall varieties, producing fair and abundant crops. In the mountain or upper regions of this State some few of the best Northern varieties succeed, such as the Baldwin, Northern Spy, and American Golden Rus- seting. We give a few of our varieties produced in this State as worthy of general cultiva- tion in the South. 18 — SEPTEMBER. Carolina Red June. — This variety,, now so generally disseminated, was pro- duced within a few miles of Pomaria, by Henry Suber, and persons came a day or two's journey to get the cions for graft- ing. Aromatic Carolina. — Produced from, seed by the late Johannes Miller. Medium to large, and very productive; flavor delightfully aromatic, and considered an acquisition wherever cultivated. Augustine. — Large, red, rich, pleasant and productive ; a South Carolina seedling of great promise. Epting's Premium. — Large, greenish with red stripes, flesh juicy and excellent; received the premium of ten dollars from the South Carolina State Agricultural. Society. Epting's Red Winter. — Large, beauti- ful red, resembling a fine specimen of Carolina Red June; flesh yellow, with a rich pine-apple flavor; keeps well until Christmas. Lever. — Medium; ripe in November; keeps until April. A handsome red apple of best quality ; tree remarkably vigorous ; , produced near Pomaria. 274 The Horticulturist. Maverick's Sweet. — Large; ripe in November, and keeps well until March. A seedling produced by the late Samuel Maverick, of Pendleton, South Carolina; well known in Southern nurseries, and worthy of extensive cultivation. Cook's Red Winter. — Medium to large, and of best quality ; ripe in October, and retaining its flavor well until April. Pro- duced by Jacob Cook of this district. Tree vigorous and a regular bearer. Hoover. — Large, oblate, dark red, juicy, acid, crisp, good flavor ; ripens in October ; tree vigorous and very distinct. Produced in Lexington District. Greening Pomaria. — Large, juicy, rich, sprightly flavor ; ripe in November, retain- ing its flavor until March; produced at Pomaria, South Carolina, and one of the best of this popular variety. Hammond. — Medium to large, color green, flesh juicy; ripe in November, and keeps in great perfection until March; a South Carolina seedling worthy of exten- sive cultivation. Ferdinand. — Fruit large, pale greenish yellow, flesh tender, ripe in November and keeps well ; a seedling of Pomaria, worthy of a place in every collection. Susannah. — Large, oblong, oval, green- ish yellow ; flesh crisp, with a rich aromatic flavor; ripens in November and keeps till April. Premium apple of the State Agricul- tural Society 1859 ; produced at Pomaria. Crayton. — Medium to large, fine flavor- ed; ripe in November and keeps until April. There are many other varieties ; among them, Gore, Champagne Crab, White Crab, which are worthy of general cultivation ; but our limits will not admit of even brief descriptions. EDITOR'S TABLE. To Contributors and Others. — Address all Communications, for the Editorial and Publishing Departments, to F. W. Woodward, 37 Park Row, New York. POULTRY. F. W. Woodward, Esq. : Bear Sir — My communication in the August number of the Horticulturist, upon the subject of Brahmas, grew to such dimensions as to influence me to omit some paragraphs of commendation which I desired to in- corporate at that time. But, sir, allow me to say that the Brahma is a pretty " big thing," and that its merits, like the bird itself, can not be conveniently dissected and dispatched at a single sitting. You will remember that in the conclusion of my article I gave a very brief extract, from the London Cottage Gardener, referring to the popularity of these birds in England. I beg now to quote a paragraph fr*m the same journal, touching the merits of this well-tested and popular variety. u Every frequenter of our poultry shows must have noticed the gradual and steady increase, from year to year, in the Brahma classes, showing a correspondingly steady growth in the popularity of the breed. In fact, no breed of fowls has made such rapid progress of late years ; and with an utter absence of anything like 'mania,' this is a sure evidence that great and real merit is at the bottom of it ; and such is certainly the case. As layers, Brahmas are in the very first class ; as table fowls, they are much better than Cochins, though Editor's Table. 275 not equal to Dorkings ; and as sitters, while their behavior is unexceptionable, it may safely be said of them that the pro- pensity to incubate occurs just often enough to be reliable and useful, without being troublesome. Such merits are quite enough to justify their great and growing popularity; and the more so when com- bined with the very strongest constitu- tion, and capacity of bearing confinement, of any fowls we know of. It is these solid and useful qualities that are bringing the breed so rapidly into repute, and recom- mending Brahmas most strongly for family use, as the chickens may be reared with facility at any time of year." Assuming, now, that I have said enough relative to this specific variety, I will con- clude this article by attempting to give you the results of a portion of my experi- ence and observation in the management, feeding, and diseases of fowls ; and this experience dates back for considerably more than a quarter of a century. In selecting fowls of any variety for breeding purposes, the prime object should be to get those with the best and most clearly denned characteristics of their specific kind, and to get those that have strong and large bones, with broad backs and full breasts, and standing firmly and squarely upon their legs. Be sure to get symmetrical and harmonious proportions ; and don't sacrifice these to any fashion- able clamor for either short or long legs, to heavily-feathered, or slightly -feathered legs, or to any of that epidemic nonsense which sometimes sacrifices form and the highest developments of beauty to the de- mands of a crotchety judgment or the whims of a crude and uneducated taste. Remember that large birds, like the more spacious and pretentious edifices, must have broader foundations and stronger framework to give solidity and force, and loftier pillars to add grace and dignity, than the more diminutive and humble. And with birds right in form, robust in health, strong in bone, and true in charac- teristics, there will be, generally, not only success .but pleasure in the poultry-yard of the appreciative breeder. Being fully satisfied that poultry, like animals and men, degenerate from " in- and-in" breeding, I have always made it a point to select cocks and hens as remotely related as possible for breeding together. I have generally allowed upon my yards an average of ten or twelve hens for each cock, and my success has always been so satisfactory as to excite no desire to de- part from this habit. Mature cocks and hens produce larger and stronger clucks than those which have not attained to the highest force and vigor. Spring pullets, of the Asiatic breeds, will commence lay- ing, generally, by the time they are six months old, and if well cared for they will lay through the winter. Good health and fair condition in hens is indispensable to the production of eggs in winter. A Brahma pullet's eggs will weigh from two to three ounces each, and to produce these from day to clay, and to supply the waste of nature, demands something more than a snow-bank or the rarefied air of winter ; but this is about as much as some people concede to their poultry. I am fully convinced that the ground (whether under cover or otherwise) is the best place, after the winter frosts are over, for hens to make their nests and sit. A certain amount of moisture seems to be needful for the eggs while in process of incuba- tion, and this necessary moisture is sup- plied from the earth, which supersedes the customary sprinkling which many per- sons give to eggs under sitting hens. Hens which make their nests upon the earth are not annoyed by vermin, as is too often the case wfith those which have been put to sitting in boxes and baskets. I generally put thirteen eggs (" there's luck in odd numbers," you know) under a me- dium-sized hen, while hens of large size can easily cover fifteen. It is said that the sex of eggs may be ascertained by hold- ing the egg to a lighted candle, in a 276 The Horticulturist. darkish room or other place, or before rays of sunshine through a crack or chink, with the large end uppermost ; if the air- bladder is at the top of the large end, the chick is a male ; and if at the side of the large end, it is a female. It is not difficult to determine the fertility of eggs after they have been sat upon for four or five days. To explain : after the hen has been sitting five days, take a lighted lamp (or use the sun-light, as referred to above) into a dark room, and holding the egg near to the light, between the thumb and forefinger of the left hand, and making a sort of telescope of the right hand, with the eye at one end and the egg pressing against the other, no light will be ad- mitted except through the egg. If it is fertile, streaks of blood will be distinctly seen in the yolk ; if the egg is quite clear, there is no vitality in it. It is well to know this 'fact, — for where two or more hens have been put to sitting at the same time, all the unfertile eggs may be re- moved, the vital ones consolidated, and a fresh clutch substituted under one of the sitters. Hens, whether sitting or laying, require dust-beds (these are their bath- tubs), in which they may disport them- selves at will, and cleanse themselves from the annoying parasites which sometimes infest their nests and roosts. When con- fined to circumscribed quarters, hens should have burnt or broken shells and bones, lime and gravel, for these are indispens- able to the formation of the shells of their eggs, as well as to the preservation of their health. I have a native fondness for poultry ; and the leisure moments which I some- times devote to them are given more for the pleasure I find in them than for any profit which accrues in their management. I am in the habit of feeding my adult fowls regularly and abundantly twice a day ; the chicks are fed oftener, or food is so placed that they have access to it when- ever the cravings of appetite prompt them to seek it. An ample run, the larger the better, with a stream of running water, is best, as well for the health as the growth of poultry. Young chicks should be fed very early in the morning, so as to obviate the necessity of their wandering about through the high and dewy grass in search of something to appease their hunger. I believe it is now a generally conceded point, that feeding chicks upon the dough of Indian meal, and permitting their mo- thers to drag them at will through the high grass and the chilly dews of morn- ing, are among the main producing causes of gapes, a disease which annually carries off multiplied thousands of them. In this connection permit me to give two or three recipes for gapes, which are said to be very efficacious : 1st. " To kill the worms in the wind- pipe, which cause gapes, administer pills of camphor, about half as large in size as a garden pea. These pills should be ad- ministered one at a time, eight hours apart, till the chick is relieved. In slight cases, cures may be effected by giving the chicks water strongly impregnated with camphor." 2d. A writer in the London Cottage Gardener says a sure specific for gapes is found in "Twenty grains bol. armen., twelve drops spirits of tar, and one ounce of cochineal, — to be divided into pills of the size of a peppercorn, and given when the first symptoms of the disease appear." 3d. " Pour a small handful of wheat into a vial of turpentine, and let the same re- main for twenty-four hours; then give a single grain, night and morning, to chicks affected with gapes. A single grain, in slight cases, will sometimes effect a cure.'" The disease called Roup is one of the most common, and perhaps one of the most fatal diseases to which our domestic fowls are incident. My opinion is that it originates from sudden atmospheric changes, or by carrying fowls from the protection of comfortable rooms into ex- posed positions, thereby superinducing colds of greater or less malignancy ; these Editors Table. 277 colds, if neglected, frequently terminate fatally. My reason for this belief I will state. Winter before last I purchased in this city a pair of large and healthy-look- ing fowls. I took them from the warm quarters where I found them and put them into a comparatively open house. In the course of two or three days I ob- served that the cock had a sort of rattling and discordant crow, which indicated trouble about the throat or lungs, — twenty-four hours thereafter he ceased to crow at all. Hereupon I took him in hand, washing his throat with a solution of strong alum-water and then giving him a large bolus of flour of sulphur and lard. I repeated this remedy two or three times, when his voice returned, and in three or four days he was well again. By the time the cock was restored, the pul- let was attacked with the same disease, but more malignantly. Her head was swollen, her eyes running, with heavy fever in the head, and cankered mouth and throat. I washed her head and throat with castile soap and tepid water, then rinsed her mouth well with alum-water, and gave her a tablespoonful of sulphur and lard thoroughly mixed. This treat- ment effected a cure in about a week, but the hen was feeble for weeks after. Others of my hens became affected, when I re- called the old adage, that " an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure ;" so I went to work and put a quantity of sulphur in one of their drinking vessels, and in another about a half pint of tar ; from these vessels my fowls had to take their daily draughts. At this point the disease was arrested, but whether by the preventive means employed, or otherwise, I can not say. Not a great while since a Mr. Lockrow, of Conn., stated in one of the agricultural journals, that " burnt borax, wetted up with water, and applied once a day, for three or four days, to the inside of the mouth of a fowl affected with canker, is an infallible remedy." ' E. F. W. Woodward, Esq. : Bear Sir — In the August number of the Horticultur- ist I notice an article upon Brahmas, in which the writer assumes that the Brah- mas are the fowls most worthy the atten- tion of farmers and fanciers, and places them at the head of the list. Now, with all due respect to the writer, and acknowledging the Brahmas to be very fine and popular birds, I propose to say a few words upon the Houdans, which are birds of no ordinary merit, and are destined to become among the most pop- • ular fowls of the country. This valuable breed of fowls derive their name from Houdan, a town in France, and are also natives of that coun- try, where they are raised in large num- bers for market. Their rapid growth and fineness of flesh commend them as table fowls of the highest excellence. They have very broad and full breasts, with large, white or white-shaded legs, with five toes (although they sometimes come with only four) ; plumage, invari- ably black and white, spangled ; crest of same color ; tail, full and ample, well sickled, and carried rather erect ; comb, two-horned in shape, slightly sprigged at the base, and in the cock showing well in front of crest ; strongly developed whisk- ers and beards in both cock and hens. In the spring of 1867 I imported a trio of these valuable birds, and although hav- ing but a small yard in the city, with not a sprig of grass, they furnished me with a good number of large white eggs, which I intrusted to the care of others for hatch- ing and rearing. They succeeded, for various reasons, in raising but few. This year I have kept the two imported hens and three pullets, and although I have not kept an exact account of the eggs laid, I venture to say that no hens could have laid more or better eggs. With the exception of eggs sold, I have set them myself, and found them almost invariably fertile. (I will say here, that out of six eggs sent to Illinois, five hatched.) 278 The Horticulturist. The chicks, when hatched, look exactly- alike ; and says one writer : " The Hou- dan chickens are very pretty when in down and first plumage. The neck, back, and wings are black, the breast and under parts white. From the very first they are lively and hardy, feathering very early and maturing with marvelous rapidity." I have not had a sick or feeble chick this season, and in my fifteen years' ex- perience in breeding poultry never saw chicks grow so fast. The Houdans, taking them all in all, are among the very best breeds of poultry for all purposes, and can not fail to be highly prized by those that possess them. P. W. Taunton, Mass., Aug. 17, 1868. Editor Horticulturist : In the June number of the Horticulturist I observe that Dr. M. A. Harding, of Vernon Co., Mo., is of the opinion " that they have in that climate a dryness of atmosphere greater than any other of the States." If Dr. H. had accompanied me in a recent trip, 300 miles west of here, on the Pacific Railroad, he would have changed his opinion, at least so far as a portion of Kansas is con- cerned. If grapes do better in dry cli- mates, then western Kansas is the banner spot of all the States. I was told by the employees of the railroad that but two light showers visited them this summer. In traveling a distance of twenty or thirty miles, in many places as far as the eye can reach in the dim distance of the horizon, you will scarcely see a tree or shrub. In other places, along the margins of creeks that empty into the tributaries of the Kansas River, you will often see narrow groves of verdant forest trees. Here and there are seen the " dead carcasses" of the buffalo scattered over this vast plain, while the smaller inhabitants are the elk, etc. Thousands of acres are covered with the towns of the prairie dog, an innocent- looking little animal nearly as large as the common rabbit ; but they have no " lugs" over their ears. One of our company shot at one, the ball passing so near that it stunned the poor animal, by which means it was captured. I brought home with me some of the soil of this region, and comparing it with that of the valleys here, I can not help but think it just as fertile. The railroad track runs along a ridge for a great distance, yet, where the soil had been stirred in building the railroad, I found corn, that had been dropped accidentally by team- sters, growing luxuriantly. The weeds under similar circumstances were as healthy as in our own cultivated fields. Without occupying space in giving reasons, I would say that I am inclined to believe that all the authors, traveling cor- respondents, etc., who have pronounced this region to be a " barren waste," " a sandy desert," " arid plains," etc., are entirely mistaken. That this region is destined some clay to become one of the greatest agricultural and grape-growing regions of the United States, I have no doubt, notwithstanding the hundreds of travelers whose opinions I have read all believe to the contrary. My observations were principally made at the stations where we " laid over" sometimes an hour, too short a time, it is true, to examine the country, thoroughly, but sufficient to form an opinion. If the managers of this rail- road studied their own interests, they would send a "free pass" to every agricultural and horticultural editor in the United States, and make provision to board them while traveling. In this way would the great natural resources of this broad, fertile plain become known to those want- ing homes, and soon their lands would be worth ten times their present value, — but that is their business, not mine. At these stations there are " piled up" thousands of cords of wood, hauled many miles from the streams ; here also are the water pumps, operated by horse and wind power. The depth of the wells is from fifty to one hundred feet. At one place Editor's Tulle. 279 they had dug two hundred feet, but found no water; these wells, you must bear in mind, are on the highest portions of the plains, the ridges dividing the valleys ; in lower land, no doubt but that water could be obtained nearer the surface. Now, what is to be done with these broad prairies ? Even in this immediate region the time has come when, as A. S. Fuller says, " growing forest trees requires not only agitation, but action," and our people are planting them. Then let strong arms seek these plains, and with the prairie plow stir the soil, plant 160 acres of forest tree seeds on every section, plant orchards, vineyards, etc., and in seven years there will be plenty of timber. It will not require a lifetime (as it does in the East) to produce good-sized forest trees on the rich soil of the "West. In the mean time your herds of cattle can be pastured, and you can raise corn and other grains to support yourself. If necessary, you can dig wells and put in wind or horse power pumps and throw water over your farm. When the forest tree seeds grow, the climate will be the most delightful on earth. Your readers know the effect that trees have upon climate. My belief is that from the start the farmer could succeed in growing grain, but the benefit that the planting of trees would be to this country could not be estimated in dollars and cents. The United States Government would give 160 acres here to the settler who would live upon the land five years ; and I have no doubt the rail- road company would give an equal quan- tity, reserving one half to the com- pany; but 160 acres there, in five years, with the trees growing that one man could plant, would be an independent fortune for the hardy pioneer who would settle thereon. Whether this broad expanse will, in our day, be dotted over with groves of forest trees or not is not for me to say ; but of one thing I feel certain, and that is, at some distant period this region will be the garden spot of America, and above all other places the home of the vine. I care not for the report of a young army officer or a careless newspaper cor- respondent who, weary and thirsty, have hurried over these plains, their whole thoughts being, " how soon will we reach the end of our journey ?" Such men know very little about the capacities of the soil either for grain or fruit; and not even having an opportunity to have seen the scattered stalks of corn growing where the sod had been removed, or to observe the rank growth of different species of weeds, and at best but superficial observers in such matters, they have sent out to the world the idea that these plains are barren, and that nothing can ever be made to grow thereon ; but such, Mr. Editor, is not your correspondent's opinion, although I have never found a man or seen the state- ment of any writer that will agree with me in this matter ; and if I am the first to give publicity to the abo^ e views- of the fertility of those plains, I will willingly bear any odium that may be thrown upon me in case of a mistake. Yours truly, A. M. Burns. Manhattan, Riley Co., Kansas, July 14, 1868. Let us Know Where you Live. — Edi- tor Horticulturist — Dear Sir : Now that the subject has been revived again, in your August Horticulturist, may I have room just to second the very wise suggestion of Mr. Yeomans, in the June number, that correspondents giving their experience with fruits or plants should give us also their residence or locality? In a land as broad as ours, with such a wide diversity of soils, and subject to such ever-varying conditions of season and climate, the great object in our fruit culture must be to adapt our selections to the sections suited to them ; and whereas it is a truth of almost every-day experience that a kind which proves most desirable in one place may be- comparatively worthless in another, the- question of locality, in all criticisms upon the: The Horticulturist. success or failure of a certain variety, be- comes one of the first importance. No doubt the simple facts that Mr. A or Friend B finds this apple the best for his market, or that cherry to bring the largest returns, or some few varieties of grapes to be the healthiest and most productive, are all of interest, and add just so much to the reputation of the varieties recommended; but does not this, after all, leave us in the dark on one of the very essential points of all, and fail to answer the first question that a practical man would ask, namely : What are the localities and conditions in and under which such fruits can be successfully grown, so that he may adapt the experience to his own case, and follow or modify it as cir- cumstances require ? The objections presented to giving the full address are clearly well founded ; but why not let the locality be given, which, to our mind, will meet the great wants of the case, and conceal the address under such a nom cle plume as shall be an effectual shield from all the dreaded array of circu- lars, inquiries, and oonus communications, to which your humble servant is no stran- ger. By the way, would not H. T. W. have expressed his point full as well if he had headed his article in your August number, " Is strawberry neglect a success ?" He well says, after giving the particulars of some cases of loss on a few crops, that " that this ill success comes simply from neglect and inferior culture (which is not culture) rather than from over-supply." If such treatment has ever brought success since the decree went forth, " In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread," we are constrained to believe that the cases must have been very exceptional; and we are equally of the opinion that a good croj:> of strawberries, or any other healthful fruit of the best varieties, carefully gathered and assorted, and judiciously handled, will never fail to bring a paying price, which of course must vary to some extent with the season and state of the market. Over- supply of such fruit there never has been, nor will there be, in our opinion, as long as the American people are wise enough to es- teem, as they seem to now, fresh ripe fruits and heaven-painted flowers among the most grateful and healthful blessings given to make glad our sin-stained world. Old Castle. Geneva, N. Y., August %)th, 1868. F. K. P., Bloomington, III., asks us to tell — 1. What are the very best pears on quince ? Also those most valuable as stand- ards, if there are any new or noteworthy not set down in the books ?" 2. Also, " What is there new or noteworthy about cherries and grapes ?" He also asks : 3. " How have Wilson's Early and Kittatinny blackberries proved in fruit this year ?" 4. " What new raspberries promise best ?" [1. So far as relates to anything new in pears on quince, we have not a word ; for as " one swallow does not make a summer," so neither do one or two seasons of suc- cess in fruiting any variety of fruit on a foreign stock prove anything as to its value. As we now stand, the Beurre d'Anjou, Doyenne Boussock, Louise Bonne of Jersey, and Vicar of Winkfield are about the only really and truly tested reliable sorts on the quince. True, we have good records of Stevens' Genesee ; better, perhaps, of Saint Ghislain or Beurre Diel ; most un- doubtable authority that Duchesse d'An- gouleme is the only one fit to have a quince root for its base. Again : equally good authority gives us Sieulle, Duchesse d'Orleans, and Onondaga as undoubtedly successful permanently on the quince root. As the definition of durability or perma- nency is one that in defining requires the object to which it relates stated, we shall leave you to apply it. The most valuable standard sort of cultivated pear, accord- ing to John J. Thomas, in the Country Gentlemen, is the Buffum, because of " pos- sessing all the vigor and endurance of the old wild sorts." This is good authority, Editor's Table. 281 and the author has taken a good type as well as a proven tree ; but, nevertheless, we would not hesitate to plant trees of Fulton, Mary, Merriam with just the same confidence in them, so far as destruction by blight or climatic influence would re- sult. 2. We kuow of nothing really new or noteworthy in cherries. One or two seed- lings shown at the Cincinnati Horticultural Society, and two spoken of by Mr. Elliott, of Cleveland, are all on our record of the season. Your question of grapes is too soon for reply. With exception of the old vineyards about Cincinnati, the report promises a more than average crop, and with less of rot or mildew. Mottled, Iona, Israella, Adirondac, the Rogers' numbers, etc., etc., are all fruiting finely East and West ; and if nothing happens, we may look this season for the greatest show ever had of grapes in old and new varieties. 3. The Kittatinny Blackberry is, so far, a success — the best yet out. Wilson's has too hard a center for family use, but is showy for market. 4. The Naomi promises, from all we can learn, as the best among reds ; while Ar- nold's No. 1 stands high as a hardy caned white or yellow fruit. In black caps, or that class, Ellisdale, Surprise, Mrs. Wood, and one or two more, are highlv spoken of by good horticulturists.] of petal. There was not a really poor flower in the lot. The success and uni- formity of good flowers obtained by our friend he attributes to the uvery superior character of the seed, which he obtained of James Vick, Rochester, it evidently having been gathered by some careful and judicious hand from good stocks, and not as the majority of seeds are, from any and everything having seed." Of this we have nothing to say, only to add our item of testimony to Mr. Vick's general reli- ability ; but certainly we never saw a much better collection, even of named sorts, and therefore put the case on record. Newburg Bay Horticultural, So- ciety.— The eighth annual exhibition of this Society will be held at Newburg, September 29th and 30th. Premium list can be obtained by addressing D. Smith, Esq., Newburg, N. Y. Seedling Pinks. — A friend recently called our attention to his bed of seedling pinks, claiming them among the most beautiful ever grown. An examination satisfied us of the correctness of his state- ment, as we found blooms large, compact, and regularly round in form ; some with fringed petals, others without ; some almost black, so dark wras the shade of rich crim- son ; some pure white ; some creamy yel- low flaked with lilac purple ; one with the edge of petals deep rich crimson shad- ing down to a light rose color at the base ; one, delicate light salmon, with a broad, deep pink stripe from outer to inner edge Editor Horticulturist : Can you give me any information about the "Miner Plum ?" Some one has said it is not in- jured by curculio. Perhaps this is the kind after all. A Subscriber. Cobden, August 5th, 1868. [The Miner plum is a seedling of a wild variety, originating at or near Lancaster, Wisconsin. We have our doubts as to its being curculio-proof in sections where the curculio abounds. Other wild plums, with equally thick skins, are not so. We have not been able to fruit the variety in this locality yet, but hope to do so next season. See November Horticulturist, 1867, for illustration and description. — Ed. J The Night-blooming Cereus. — In Oc- tober, 1846, Mrs. T. W. Williams brought from Avon Springs to New London a slip from a plant of the cactus species, then comparatively rare in our country — the Cereus grandiflorus, or Night-blooming Cereus. It was a mere stalk, about six inches in length. After nursing it for some time, and finding the heat of her 282 The Horticulture conservatory insufficient to bring it to the flowering point, she transferred it to the green-house of Mrs. H. P. Haven, where it still remains, and has bloomed regularly every year. It now fills a large box with its roots and stems, and has five or six main stalks that are nearly three yards each in length. In its first years of bloom it bore only a single flower, and its opening was gen- erally watched with great interest. July 28, 1851, the expanded blossom was visit- ed by some seventy or eighty persons. In 1854 the number of blossoms had increased to six. In 1857 it had ten in all, and eight of these appeared in one evening, all unfolding together with artistic precision. In 1859 there was a still more beautiful exhibition ; July 22, twenty full blossoms were expand- ed at once, shooting from different parts of the square stems and presenting a mag- nificent display of floral beauty. Notice having been given to friends and neigh- bors of this expected show, it was wit- nessed by a throng of admiring visitors, and accounts of it published in the local papers of the day. This is the largest number of blossoms that the plant has exhibited at any one time, but the whole number produced in- creases rapidly from year to year. In 1866 it developed about sixty blossoms, spreading over a period of five weeks. The present year (1868) it has exhibited a much larger number, furnishing a series of splendid shows. In one evening nine- teen blossoms were displayed, eighteen at another, and again, some days later, fifteen in one evening and seven in another, with lesser numbers at other times, amounting in all, between July 9th and August 12th, to eighty, and not an imperfect flower among them, or a bud that failed to ma- ture and expand. F. M. C. ed, came in due course. As our suggestion was original, we have no knowledge of any person having saved seeds to meet its re- quirements. We advise you to write to Charles Pease, Esq., East Rockport, Cuya- hoga Co., O. ; F. K. Phoenix, Bloomington, 111. ; and James Vick, Rochester, N. Y., rel- ative to securing seed for another season. Seeds op Cherries. — C. G. Patten, Charles City, Iowa : Your request for infor- mation as to where seeds of Louis Philippe and other choice Morellos could be obtaiu- Dogs ! — F. W. Woodward, Esq. : Dear Sir — In glancing through the pages of the London Cottage Gardener to-day, my at- tention was arrested by an article from a writer styling himself "Wiltshire Rec- tor," entitled " My Dogs." A perusal of this article afforded me so much gratifica- tion, and was in such accord with a portion of my own experience, and at the same time paid such a kindly tribute to this much abused but most intelligent and faithful friend of man, that I determined to copy a few of its paragraphs and submit them for your approval, and the perusal of your readers, if they are deemed worthy and appropriate for your pages. In almost every country, and from the earliest recorded history, the clog has been the symbol of fidelity, the friend and com- panion of man, and the guardian and defender of his home and his flocks. He has illustrated his fidelity, his sagacity, and his courage so often, as to rear monuments in nearly all nations to his honor ; and to win the patronage of many noble and gifted minds. It will be remembered that Alexander the Great built a city in honor of a favorite dog ; — that the Emperor Ha- drian decreed the most solemn rites of sep- ulture to another on account of his sagac- ity and fidelity. Those who have once read them will readily recall Byron's in- scription on the tomb of his favorite dog, in Newstead Abbey. " poor dog, in life the firmest friend, The first to welcome, foremost to defend, Whose honest heart is still his master's own, Who labors, fights, lives, breathes for him alone : To mark a friend's remains these stones arise— I never knew but one, and here he lies." The love of Scotland's great novelist and Editor's Table. 283 poet, Sir Walter Scott, for dogs is proverb- ial— and he was rarely ever seen about home without having one or more of these faithful and attached friends by his side. The dog is the only animal which seems to take a real delight in associating with man and making himself subservient to his wishes, and that has gone with him over the whole habitable earth. The poet Burns says: "Man is the God of the dog — he knows no other ; and see how he worships him ! With what reverence he crouches at his feet — with what delight he fawns upon him, and with what alacrity he obeys him !" But in my admiration for this disinter- ested and intelligent friend, companion, and servant of man, I find that I am grow- ing unnecessarily voluble, and will yield to the extracts from " Wiltshire Bector," premising, by the way, that a good dog can show himself up to much higher ad- vantage, with ojjportunity, than even the partial friends who herein commend him. "Beader, if you have never read Dr. John Brown's ' Bab and His Friends,' the best bit of dog literature ever written, go out and get a copy ; it will only cost you sixpence, and you will thank ' Wiltshire Sector1 with eyes running over with happy tears, for introducing you to that wonder- ful ' bookie,' and for giving you an hour's intense pleasure, to be renewed as often as you read it. " Well, Dr. John Brown tells us, ' A dog in a house is a perpetual baby.' Think of that, ye whose hearts are yearning to love something — think of that, ye now not young fathers and mothers, who remember the joy in the house that baby No. 1 gave you from the first hour of its baby life, until baby No. 2 took its throne and reigned in its stead. But to have a perpetual baby — a toy — a plaything — a something know- ing much, yet not judged accountable, and so a large margin given to do as it likes, and all it does gives you pleasure ! A per- petual baby — that is, a dear good dog, who looks at you with intense loving eyes, all affection in their clear hazel, brown, or black depths — a being who obeys you im- plicitly, waits for the hour at the door of the house at which you call — a being who loves you just the same whether you are rich one year and very poor the next — who into the bargain takes upon him to defend your house, your.home, your castle ; and if you have no home, he does not leave you — no, he all the more defends you, yourself, as much as to say, ' Cheer up, my poor unfortunate master; you have got no home for me to take care of; never mind, I will concentrate my attention — I will watch and take care of you.1 Yes ! a good affectionate dog, to whom you are everything, who loves you with his great affectionate heart. Of such a one the old proverb ought to be strictly kept true, ' Love me, love my dog.' " Dog and man, how suited they are to each other ! And how they contribute to each other's happiness ! as in a happy marriage each party is made the happier. Man has not domesticated or reclaimed any animal so perfectly as he has the dog, for the dog does not even wish for liberty. His feelings are won over. He is no longer, as naturally, a gregarious animal. He passes by other dogs with a brief ' How do you do V but he knows better than to for- sake man and herd with his species — un- like the horse, who kicks up his heels in the pasture and fain would not again be stabled. But the dog does not even wish to be free. Man has raised him in the scale of existence. He is more sensible, in- telligent, and sagacious than his wild an- cestors (half wolves, perhaps). His heart has been won, and his heart is better since it was won ; so he no longer wishes — even wishes to be free. " The first dog I loved was scarcely mine, for I was rather his property, for cer- tainly I was much his inferior. My child- hood's home was one which for many years never lacked an infant within its walls, and each little one was duly presented to 284 The Horticulturist. old ' Keeper,' for that was his name, who sniffed and sniffed, and licked the tiny thing's face, and looked as if he knew all about it ; his old brown eyes saying, ' Ah ! I understand ! That child belongs to the house, and I'll take care of it — all right !' And he did. Keeper romped with it, kept it happy and out of mischief, save mis- chief with him, such as putting its tiny hand in his mouth and poking straws up his nostrils, both deeds permitted with good-humored patience." E. Peaches at the South. — P. J. Berck- mans, one of the best of our Southern po- mologists, says of the peach in the Ameri- can Pomological Society's Report as fol- lows : " This fruit seems to be indigenous to the soil, as it is everywhere found in abund- ance, and of most vigorous growth. Ex- cept the borer, the tree is free from insects, or any disease whatever. The former can be easily guarded against, by hilling up the trees with earth early in the spring, leaving this cone undisturbed until Novem- ber, then leveling off again, and repeating this operation yearly. The hard bark of the trunk of the tree prevents the insect from puncturing it and depositing its eggs. Orchards thus treated have been free from borers for years past. The curculio has, however, of late been very destructive to our fruit. Heretofore, it only attacked the nectarines and some peaches of very deli- cate skin ; but the past year, no variety, however downy, was free from its depre- dations. " The Yellows are unknown here, and it is a remarkable fact that a contaminated tree brought from the North regains its vigor as soon as transplanted here. Immense quantities of peaches are raised for distill- ing and drying, and the supply of New York market. This latter feature of peach- raising has again been revived, and from present appearances bids fajr to become an important and lucrative business along the main railroad lines, and especially in the lower portion of the State. Peaches grown in this section can be laid down in New York seventy hours after being gathered, and will net a handsome profit to the cul- tivator. For this special purpose, early varieties alone are advisable to plant ; so that the bulk of the crop is sent off before Delaware and Maryland fruit is ready for market. The best varieties for shipping are Early Tillotson, Large Early York, Early and Late Crawford, Stump the World, and Columbia. Hale's Early bids fair to be the most profitable kind, but has not been sufficiently fruited to enable me to give a decided opinion as to its shipping qualities. We have early Southern varie- ties vastly superior in quality to most of the above, but they are too tender in tex- ture to stand carriage. Clingstones are un- fit to carry to distant markets. They can only be appreciated to their full extent when picked from the tree fully ripe. The country abounds with seedling peaches, the bulk of which is inferior ; but as there are several types of peaches which repro- duce almost identically by seed, there are large orchards of seedlings, every tree be- ing nearly alike and of good quality. Such are the Indian, Lemon Cling, Heath types, etc. " Of- the Indian types there are many va- rieties ; some are yellow freestones, like the Columbia ; others, blood-red cling- stones or white clingstones ; all, however, have the peculiar brown red stripes upon the fruit, which characterize the type. This type is much esteemed, as it seldom produces an inferior peach, and, strange to say, it seldom hybridizes with other va- rieties. The Lemon Cling type seldom varies by seeds ; it never produces a free- stone, but ranges from pure white to dark orange flesh ; and this is always red at the stone. The Heath type, known here as White English, is very popular ; its varie- ties are numerous, but all have a family resemblance, and are white to the stone. In general, all the clingstone species, whose Editors Table. 285 being red near the stone, subacid, or even acid. For distilling, the clingstones are preferable, as they yield more juice than the freestones. Three bushels of good clingstones will yield, on an average, one gallon of proof brandy, whereas the bulk of freestones will not yield over one half that quantity. " The peach will produce the second year from the seed, and when properly cared for, will live twenty-five to thirty years. The great fault with most cultiva- tors is, that they allow the trees to over- bear upon the extremities of the branches, the weight of the fruit causing these to split and break off. Annual shortening-in is of the utmost necessity, and unless this is attended to, the peach-tree will soon de- cay. Spring frosts are often very destruc- tive. As a preventive, it is the custom to build fires in the orchards, so as to create a dense smoke. By this means many crops are saved. The season of maturity begins June 10th to June 15th, and some late varieties keep until the 10th of No- vember, a period of nearly five months." of the ground, except that of its placing the fruit so near the ground as to cause it often to be bespattered with dirt. Our idea of annual renewal system, however, is evidently very distinct from yours. We cut away each autumn all the old two or more years' old wood ; and as our young canes have been started and grown from eyes two to six inches from the surface- crown of the root, there is no trouble whatever in laying clown the young cane. We are glad to hear you are exempt from all diseases of the vine. May it ever be so with you. J Training Grapes. — Is there any objec- tion against the training of the long arms of grapevines (in the vineyard), pruned ac- cording to the annual renewal system, very low, say within one or two inches of the surface ? Then the shoots being annu- ally cut off an inch cr two from these arms in the fall wTould much facilitate the covering of the vines with earth for winter protection, as I have ever found it hard, or impossible, to bend old vines. Delaware and Concord grapes flourish splendidly on the Ottawa. Also, White Sweetwater will ripen here eight years out of ten. No mildew or diseases of the vine or grapes are known here. An answer to the above query in the Horticulturist will oblige, Yours truly, J. F. Cass. L'Original, Can. [We see no objection to training the hori- zontal arms of the vine within six inches Lachenalia Tricolor. — Amidst the numerous varieties of bulbous - rooted plants that adorn our green-houses dur- ing the earlier months of the year, few deserve or are better entitled to the gar- dener's attention than the one named above. Their beautiful spikes of trumpet- shaped red and yellow colored flowers, whether intermixed with other plants or otherwise, are sure to be attractive. Un- like the hyacinth, narcissus, etc., they do not require to be purchased annually, that sound and good flowering bulbs may be secured, as the Lachenalia increases every year in number and strength, it* the grower will bestow some degree of care. It is time now to turn them out of the pots in which they flowered in the spring, and to re-pot them for next season. In sorting them, the stronger bulbs are selected, and five of each planted in a six-inch-size pot, commonly known as 32's. Good drainage and clean pots are indispensable. They thrive best in a strong loam (not clayey), but of a silky or soft texture ; add to this about a fourth part of dry, rotten manure, with a little sand. If the manure be de- cayed cow-dung, so much the better, pro- vided it is free from worms. They should be placed in a cool pit, the object being, in the present stage of their growth, to check too rapid an evaporation in the soil,' as frequent waterings, when there is not an abundance of rootlets to absorb the The Horticulturist. fluid, is an injury alike to the plant and the soil. When they have begun to vege- tate freely, expose them more fully to the light and air ; their rich, dark green speckled leaves will then soon begin to strengthen in growth. That a healthy vigor may be preserved during the winter months, place them on the upper shelf of a green-house, near the glass, but do not neglect carefully watering them. As the flower-spikes become perceptible, allow the pots as much room as your means will admit of for the display of their vigorous foliage. During the blooming season, shade on hot, sunny days ; this will pre- serve the color as well as the flowers. When they have ceased blooming, gradu- ally ripen the bulbs by reducing the quan- tity of water, till you wholly discontinue the supply, when they may be put in any corner of the green-house till the period of disturbing them as above recommended. The offsets or smaller bulbs may be plant- ed, ten or twelve or more in number, ac- cording to their size, in a five-inch or 48- sized pot ; they will not all flower, yet you may increase your stock of strong- flowering bulbs for selecting from in the ensuing season. The Lachenalia will sub- mit to be forced, but it is at the expense of weakening both the bulb and the flower- spike. — Gardener'' & Magazine. The Farley Blackberry. — Mr. A. M. Burns, of Manhattan, Kansas, writes us re- garding a blackberry which he has known some years as the Farley. Its origin and history seem untraceable, beyond its having first been received by Mr. Burns from a friend in Pennsylvania, who obtained it of a man by the name of Farley. Mr. Burns states it to be "not quite as large as the Lawton," but to "ripen two weeks earlier, and in quality the best berry grown " We hope he will give us a more perfect account of it for our readers, as accounts of new and valuable varieties of small fruits are of great interest to the commercial as well as to the grower for family use. The " American Entomologist." — Wo have received the prospectus of this new monthly journal, to be issued September 1st, 1868, under the editorial care of Benj. D. Walsh, M.A., of Rock Island, Illinois, ahd Chas. V. Riley, of St. Louis, gentle- men who have made entomology their study for many years, and who occupy official positions in Illinois and Missouri as State entomologists. Price, $1 per Seed for Lawns. — This month is a good time for seeding down new lawns. Let the ground be first thoroughly pre- pared, that is, dug at least one foot — better to be eighteen inches — deep, and all of this depth to be of good rich loamy soil, not ten inches of poor clay or sand with two inches of top dressing, but all the depth of good loam suitable for growing a heavy crop of corn or a bed of carrots; make the whole depth and quality of soil uniform, without regard to the rise and fall of the grades ; in other words, do not form the soil in one place fourteen inches deep and in another only ten, and then calling it an average of one foot; because the lawn hereafter will tell of your work by its exhibit of rich green grass in the deep soil places and of yellow dried spots in the shallow ones ; but make it all an even, reg- ular depth, whether on a rising knoll or a low level grade. Rake and pulverize with the roller all the top surface as fine as an ash heap. When ready for sowing, pro- cure for one acre — or in proportions accord- ing to the surface to be seeded — two bush- els of Blue Grass, two bushels of Red Top, half a bushel of Creeping Bent, and one eighth bushel of White Clover; mingle them well together, and then divide into three equal parts. Sow first one part ; then go over the ground with a fine rake, say from north to south, raking the whole sur- face back and forth to lightly cover the seed ; then sow another third portion of the seed, and repeat the raking cross-wise, or from east to west ; then sow the last re- Editor's Table. 287 maining portion of seed, and with a heavy- roller, roll or press the whole surface, both for the purpose of cementing the seed in the soil for vegetating, and also to prevent measurably the wash liable to accrue from rains. We sometimes see advice of one bushel of seed to an acre; again, of two or three, with a sprinkling of rye, as they say, to shade the young grass, — the adviser prob- ably forgetting that the strong, rank roots of the rye clo more injury by extraction of moisture and food from the roots than the benefit, if there is any, obtained from its shade. Loudon, we believe, was in the practice of using from six to eight bushels of seed to the acre ; Downing, from four to six ; and our experience of twenty years over many and many an acre is, that if a good firm lawn is expected the first year, it is always unsafe to use less than four bush- els, and that the addition of one or two bushels more well pays in the thick nest of grass readily grown and the lessening of labor in extracting weeds, that, where no grass is, will surely grow. A top dressing of bone meal, ten bushels to the acre, with two bushels of salt, and one half bushel of gypsum (plaster), will also always be found a profitable expenditure. Gather pears as soon as the stem will separate freely from the tree by gently raising the fruit. Place the pears in single layers and cover with flannel, when a few days only will elapse before they will ripen and color up even more beautifully than when left upon the tree, besides re- taining, or rather developing, a more juicy character, — so that some varieties, of only second or third quality, when ripened on the tree, become nearly first-rate when house ripened. Large Experimental Orchards. — Our Western friends excel in large collec- tions of native and foreign apples, which they are growing and fruiting toward es- tablishing knowledge of their comparative values at the West, as well as aiding toward correction of nomenclature. We know of quite a number of gentlemen having four to six hundred sorts ; but the two largest collections, to our knowledge, are those of A. M. Lawver, South Pass, 111., who has somewhere about 1,500 sorts of apples, and E. H. Skinner, of Marengo, 111., whose collection numbers over 2,200 named varieties of apples, gathered from almost every part of the earth. " Stevens' Genesee is a poor pear, rots at the core, is never very good, and never was "worth growing for any purpose." We find the foregoing in the Fruit Committee's report for Massachusetts, published in the American Pomological Society's Transac- tions, and are not a little surprised at it. We have yearly met the pear, and eaten of it grown in many sections of the country, for over twenty years, and our experience with it has always been to place it as cer- tainly in the pomological rank of " very good ;" and often, when grown on light dry soils, we have found it to rank almost first in quality and of extra superior size and golden yellow beauty. We will ven- ture the statement, that long after Shurt- leff's New Seedling pears have been put in the condemned list, where they belong, that Stevens' Genesee will remain on the catalogue as a valuable sort for many sec- tions. Early Coloring op Grapes. — In our notice of grapes, this and former years, we find their first coloring about as follows, in order as we name them, viz. : Sherman, Mary Ann, Miles, Adirondac, Maxatawney, Ives, Logan, Hartford, Clinton, Concord. This early coloring, however, does not always indicate early ripening, as the Concord always really matures before the Clinton ; so, also, the Hartford before the Maxatawney. But sometimes sales may be made of unripe fruit to those whose palates will bear severe pressure to serve a pride in saying, " I had grapes for dessert at my table to-day." The Horticulturist. Golden Champion Grape. — This in all respects extraordinary grape was raised by Mr. Thomson, gardener to his Grace the Duke of Buccleuch, at Dalkeith Palace. "It was," Mr. Thomson states, "raised about five years ago from a seed taken from a grape that was a cross between the Champion Hamburgh and the Bowood Muscat." The bunches are large, of a slightly tapering form, and heavily shoul- dered. The stalk of the bunch is stout and fleshy; that of the berry stout and warted. The berries are extra large, obo- vate or ovate, slightly pointed ; in some instances almost round ; the skin is thin ; the color clear pale yellow or golden, in- clining when fully ripe to deep amber on the most exposed side. The flesh is firm, yet remarkably juicy and tender; the fla- vor rich, somewhat of the character of the best ripened Black Hamburghs, but ex- ceedingly luscious and agreeable. In short, the fact of its emanating from the source already mentioned is in itself a guarantee of its great excellence. The plant is remarkably free and robust in growth, and very prolific, requiring ex- actly the same sort of treatment as the Black Hamburgh. The leaves most near- ly resemble those of the Muscat ; they are slightly lobed and very deeply and sharply serrated, and the leaf-stalks have a reddish tinge. This is indeed a noble grape, and one which will take the highest rank among white varieties. It supplies a desideratum which has long been felt, viz., the posses- sion of a white grape .of easy culture like the Black Hamburgh, which latter is, far excellence, the very best constitutioned grape in cultivation, the gardener's sure and trusty friend. The berries of this new acquisition are of the very largest size, resembling in that respect huge Canon Hall Muscats, while the bunches are as large as those of the best variety of Hamburgh, the Victoria, or Frankenthal. Three bunches of this splendid new va- riety were exhibited at the meeting of the Fruit Committee of the Royal Horticultu- ral Society, which took place on the 6th of July, where it was unanimously awarded a first-class certificate. It may be added that this fine grape has passed into the hands of Messrs. Osbom, nurserymen, Fulham. — B., in Gardener 's Chronicle. Sutton's Ringleader Pea. — A writer in the London Journal of Horticulture claims the above-named pea to be at least ten days earlier than any other of the early varieties. Raspberries in Rows. — We notice A. M. Purely, an extensive grower of rasp- berries, states that he prefers growing the canes in rows or hedges rather than in hills, as being more self-sustaining. This is in accordance with a practice we named last year as followed by a good cultivator both with raspberries and blackberries, and has been our own practice for some half dozen or more years. A light dress- ing of rotted compost or manure, sprinkled among the canes in autumn and forked in lightly in spring, we also find to pay well in the crop of fruit. Mr. Purdy also states that he practices cutting in the new growths when about three feet high, as we have re- peatedly advised, and finds it successful. NEW BOOK. Todd's Country Homes. By S. Edwards Todd, author of Todd's "Young Far- mers' Manual and Wheat Culturist." Sent postpaid from this office for $1 50. A large 12mo volume, of about 600 pages, with numerous designs of villas and cottages, with directions to begiuners to aid them in the erection of all kinds of wooden buildings, as well as those of brick, stone, and concrete, with bills of necessary mate- rials used in the construction of the same. Plain and practical directions are given for digging and stoning wells, making cis- terns, and doing all kinds of plain paint- ing, whitewashing, and kalsomining, etc., altogether making a book of great value to those living in the country. THE HORTICULTURIST. VOL. XXIII OCTOBER, 1868 . .NO. CCLXYIII. SUMMER PRUNING THE VINE. In perusing the American journals, I have repeatedly noticed inquiries relative to summer pruning the vine. In the Au- gust number of the Horticulturist a cor- respondent remarks: " I am getting a great quantity of foliage; shall I cut it away, or shall I let it run ?" It seems to me that this mooted question requires ventilating ; and as it has not received from authors the attention its importance demands, I propose breaking the ice ; and trust that some more competent person will discuss the question in extenso. Now, Mr. Editor, some of your readers will exclaim that that fellow, Al Fresco, has a fresh attack of "Vito mania." I shall plead guilty to the charge, and in ex- tenuation simply remark, that to your humble servant, a vine, like a beautiful woman, is a "thing of beauty and a joy forever." I am not alone in my weakness, for from the most remote periods of an- tiquity the vine has been viewed as the type of plenty and the symbol of happi- ness. As the dog, in the animal kingdom, is the friend and companion of man, so may the vine among vegetable productions be said to be his associate and solace ; for wherever the Caucasian race finds a home, there also will be found the vine with its 19 welcome shade and tempting clusters. Like man himself, the vine seems designed for cultivation and improvement ; it is cul- ture alone which develops the latent pow- ers and qualities which in its wilding hab- itat are never called forth. Like a weak, dependent thing, we find it in its native woods clinging for support to its fellow- denizens of the forest, festooning their trunks and branches with its beautiful foli- age, or hanging in long tangled masses from the lofty boughs. It is this depend- ence upon extraneous suppdrt, and the ca- pability of improvement by care and cul- ture, that calls forth in the true student of nature a more than usual interest, — I may say affection, — for the vine. From no other of the productions of the vegetable king- dom will his care and attention receive a more grateful return than from this, his in- teresting and pliant nursling. If the culti- vation of Flora's gems has an ameliorating influence on the heart of man, removing his thoughts from the cankering cares of the world, the cultivation of the vine is pre-eminently fitted to solace and soothe his wearied spirits. "When the farmer resolves upon the de- struction of a hedge-row or nest of brambles, he resorts to summer pruning, — for ex- ^90 The Horticulturist. perience has taught him, that if bushes, vines, or brambles are cut during July or August, that the succeeding year's growth will be less luxuriant ; and that if the same treatment is adopted for several successive years, the bushes and brambles will be non est. The laws of vegetable physiology which apply to the bushes and brambles, equally ajsply to the vine. There are no specific set of laws applying to brambles and another to the cultivated grapevine, — on the contrary, a beneficent Creator has made his laws comprehensive. Every act of the vine pruner should be governed by and based upon the laws of vegetable physiology ; yet how often do we see these simple and admirable laws violated ! Judicious summer pruning is absolutely necessary if we wish to obtain perfect fruit; but the disgraceful muti- lation of the vine, and the wholesale de- struction of the foliage we so often witness, is, to say the least, horticultural barbarism. That acute observer and accomplished vegetable physiologist, Dr. Lindley, re- marked, " That he who would remove from a plant in full bearing a portion of its leaves, with the view of hastening the ma- turity of its fruit, would be acting with about as much reason as one who should take out part of the lungs and bowels of an animal by way of improving its digestion." But some of your readers will exclaim, " "What nonsense ! for my vines have grown so long, and the branches and leaves are so thick, that neither sun nor air can reach the fruit ; and without sun or air the fruit can not attain perfection." All very true ; and persons who allow their vines to arrive at this condition must do so through igno- rance or sheer neglect. If the former, they should at once seek information regarding the true principles of pruning and train- ing ; but if the latter, they are unworthy to be the possessor of such a plant as the vine. That acute observer, Cavoleau, correctly remarks : " It is with reason that the leaves are called aerial roots, for they inhale from the atmosphere much more nourishment than the roots do from the soil ; they not only fulfill in vegetables all the functions of lungs in animals, — they are also the stomach of the plant, and the aliments which are elaborated in them are decom- posed and recomposed like those in the stomach and intestines in animals. Brought to this state of perfection, these alimentary juices descend toward the roots, and in their passage they deposit all the materials necessary to form wood, bark, oil, resins, mucilage, and all the other vegetable principles. In short, it is this descending sap which furnishes to the fruit its juice, perfume, and all that makes it valuable. These effects can not be produced if the leaves are suppressed ; and the plant will be weakened in proportion to the extent to which they are removed." Every leaf is supplied with mouths (termed stomata) upon their under surface ; that these mouths perform an important function is beautifully illustrated by the effects of mildew. Mildew usually attacks the under surface of the leaves ; the func- tions of the stomata are arrested, the fruit, if any, fails to color, and usually shrivels and dies ; and if the disease is extensive, the vine will be seriously and permanently injured, if not destroyed. Of this I have recently had a practical as well as costly experiment. Owing to the puffing of vito - gasometers, I was induced, in the spring of '67, to plant about 100 " Extra No. 1, two-year-old," " hardy as an oak," vines, called Delaware and Iona. In August, '67, they were attacked by mildew ; and not deeming them worthy of the expenditure necessary for the purchase of sulphur, I left them, exclaiming " Mars omnibus com- munis.'''' They were allowed to " go it" on princijile of — " Man wants hut little here helow, Nor waflts that little long." The leaves died, the roots followed for want of leaves ; and at the present moment I can find but about one dozen microscopic specimens to illustrate the importance of Summer Pruning the Vine. 291 quantum suffl. of healthy foliage. These " grapes for the million" are pabulum Acherontes on my light soil. As an illustration of the importance of leaves, and the action of the descending sap, I would recommend some of your querists to try a simple experiment — as follows: Select on the same vine, after the completion of the stoning process, two branches of the same summer's growth, of equal size and vigor, and each bearing an equal quantity of fruit. Remove from each, near the old wood, a ring of bark one inch in length ; then remove from one branch all its leaves, and mark the result. Such an experiment would beautifully illustrate the importance of leaves, and the action of the descending sap. After the vine has perfected its fruit and developed the buds preparatory to another year's growth, the leaves continue their functions, and the descending sap contributes to the vine a certain amount of nutritive material. This nutritive ma- terial is stored up in the roots, and is used to develop new branches and foliage during the ensuing spring. This storing up of nutritive material can be easily demon- strated by carefully removing a vine from the open ground or pot, washing the roots and planting it in sand from which all soluble matter has been removed by wash- ing, and watering the vine with distilled water. A vine so treated will commence growing at the proper season, and continue such growth until the conserved material is exhausted. Such being the fact, leaves are useful for more purposes than perfect- ing the fruit and developing buds for the ensuing year. The leaves of plants are the important operatives in the laboratory of nature, maintaining the atmosphere in a state of purity for the support of animal life. Animals, through the functions of respira- tion from carbonic acid gas, — and plants, through their leaves, absorb it ; by some means they separate the oxygen from the carbon ; the oxygen being restored to the atmosphere to support animal life, the carbon is appropriated by and changed into woody fiber, and " the so - called hydrates of carbon, sugar, starch, tartaric acid, the coloring matter of the leaves, oil, and so forth, originate under the same conditions. If there are many leaves on the vine, large quantities of oxygen are given off to the air, and so corresponding quantities of grape sugar and wood fiber are formed. Hence it follows that the foliage is needed to nourish the fruit and render it sweet." In plants of rapid growth, the amount of carbon required is much greater than can be supplied by the roots, such plants are therefore supplied with ample foliage, in order that the materials of woody fiber may be obtained from the air. Hence, by the injudicious removal of leaves from the vine, the branches are not supplied with woody fiber, and fail to ripen. This fact is well illustrated by such vines as the Dela- ware and Iona. In some localities the foliage is destroyed by mildew, the wood is not perfected, and the frost of the ensu- ing winter destroys them. In confirmation of the importance of the leaf in the economy of plants, Liebig correctly states that " The power of absorbing nutriment from the atmosphere with which the leaves of plants are en- dowed, being proportionate to the extent of their surface, every increase in the size and number of these parts is necessarily attended with an increase of nutritive power, and a consequent further develop- ment of new leaves and branches. Leaves, twigs, and branches, when completely matured, as they do not become larger, do not need food for their support. For their existence as organs they require only the means necessary for the performance of the special functions to which they are destined by nature." In the earlier period of the growing season, the stems and leaves act as a con- tinuous drain upon the conserved resources of the plant and the nutritive elements 292 The Horticulturist. contained in the soil ; but as soon as the leaves attain a certain state of develop- ment, their stomata absorb from the atmos- phere certain nutritive principles, as well as elaborate important elements. If the extremity of a branch is removed, and its laterals continuously nipped, the efforts of the vine are directed to the early develop- ment of the remaining leaves, and to the rapid extension of branches nOt subjected to the stopping and nipping process. Upon the stopped branches the remaining leaves attain an unusual development, and have their functional power increased. This increased functional activity is well illus- trated in an ordinary vinery where vines are subjected to close summer pruning, or in a tomato plant that has been subjected to the pinching process — the leaves becom- ing larger and thicker. The development of roots is to a great extent dependent upon the number of healthy leaves, and as we remove the leaves during the growing period, so do we injure or paralyze the functions of the roots. To illustrate the dependence of the roots upon the presence of the foliage, I need but advise the skeptic to try a simple experi- ment— that of taking two vines of similar age and strength grown in pots; remove from one all its foliage, leave the foliage of the other uninjured, and at the expiration of two or three weeks examine the roots of both. It is a fact recognized by all who have made the vine a careful study, that the health of a leaf has much to do with the perfect development of the bud at its axil, and that laterals if vigorous and allowed to grow, interfere with the bud's develop- ment. The experienced cultivator who wishes to produce large and perfect bunches, carefully stops the laterals upon the canes intended for next year's crop, and as soon as danger is past of the buds breaking, he removes entirely the laterals upon that portion of the cane intended for fruiting. The importance of removing the laterals is well illustrated by the experi- ence of several writers who have found the best fruit to be produced on laterals, and who recommend stopping the main cane and encouraging the growth of the laterals. If a cane intended for next year's bear- ing is allowed to grow to an undue length, the lower leaves usually commence decay- ing in July or August, to the injury of the buds at their axils, and as a matter of course affect the future crop of fruit. From experience we are convinced that the laterals on that portion of a cane in- tended for next year's crop should be stopped at the first joints, and as early as safety will justify, entirely removed. Before the leaves at the base or lower portion of the future fruiting cane have their functions impaired and present an unhealthy appearance, it is advisable to stop the extension of the cane by nipping the end. Leaves exert an important influence in the nourishment, growth, and ripening of the fruits, and those situated near the fruit a greater influence than those at a distance. As the leaves situated near the base of the stem are liable to have their functions im- paired by the extension of the shoot, it is good and sound practice to stop a fruit- bearing shoot at a point one joint beyond the fruit. The leaves left attain a greater size, have their functions increased, and remain green and healthy until autumn. This process of stopjring prevents the pos- sibility of the vine being encumbered by an excess of foliage, and forces the vital power of the vine in another direction — that of producing and perfectly developing canes for the next year's crop. To prevent overcrowding of foliage, and to allow of the necessary extension of the next year's fruiting canes, they should be trained to the top of the trellis, and then right or left, as may be deemed advanta- geous. By this arrangement air and light will reach the fruit, and the canopy of foliage at the top of the trellis will protect the fruit from the effects of the noonday sun. If the laterals on the main canes Orange Culture in Florida. 293 grow too freely, they can be controlled by stopping. Leaves deprived of light and a sufficient quantity of air can not continue the per- formance of their functions in a normal manner. This is admirably illustrated in a " let it run vine." If the external masses of leaves a«d branches are raised, the leaves near the fruit and on the canes for next year's crop will present a jaundiced look — evidence that functional activity is giving place to chemical change. When this con- dition of things is arrived at, the advocates of " let it run" begin in earnest ; they take a huge unwieldy tool called a pruning- knifc and slash away right and left; re- moving the lungs of the vine ; expose the fruit to the scorching effects of a midsum- mer sun ; impair functional activity, and seriously injure the roots of the vine. In our practice, summer pruning the vine consists in pinching or stopping. During the summer months, the vine-pruner should lock up his pruning-knife, and use his thumb-nail for pruning purposes. This doctrine will no doubt be ridiculed by some ; but if the vine is subjected to proper winter pruning, the thumb-nail, or at most a small penknife, is all that is required for summer pruning. As our experience in vine culture is not based upon the experience of to-day nor yesterday, but from observation beginning at an early age, we sometimes fancy that our notions might instruct some of your readers ; and if you, Mr. " Horticulturist," are of the opinion that our notions are worth printing, we may at our next attack of vito mania dress our symptoms iu the drapery of ink. Al Fkksco. ORANGE CULTURE IN FLORIDA. BY D. IC JACQUES. THE WILD ORANGE GROVES. Millions of acres of the best land in Florida are covered with groves of the wild orange. How these groves originated is a mooted question. Some suppose that the tree is indigenous on the peninsula; but as no mention is made of it by the narrators of the early Spanish exploring expeditions, and as it is a matter of history that the orange was introduced by the first colo- nists nearly three hundred years ago, it seems probable that it is of foreign origin, esj>ecially as the fruit is known to deterio- rate very rapidly and to return readily to its natural wildness, seedlings of the best varieties generally proving worthless. Be their origin what it may, the present existence of these groves has an important bearing upon the prosperity of the State, as we shall see. The wild orange of Florida is of two kinds — the sour and the bitter swreet. Neither of them is palatable. The tree is very beautiful — far more beautiful than the cultivated varieties — and exceedingly productive. A grove loaded with its golden fruit is a sight one may afford to' travel hundreds of miles to see. ORANGE CULTURE AT ST. AUGUSTINE. The sweet orange has been cultivated in Florida almost from the first settlement of the country by the Spaniards, in the six- teenth century, but has not till lately become a prominent interest. The earliest groves were at St. Augustine — our " Ancient City" — and constituted for a long time almost the only source of income possessed by the inhabitants. In February, 1835, the " great frost," as it is called, killed every tree to the roots ; and not only every orange-tree but every fruit-tree of all kinds in East Florida north of the twenty-ninth parallel of latitude. 294 The Horticulturist. Groves subsequently planted at St. Augustine and elsewhere were attacked by the scale insect {Coccus Hesperidum), and most of them rendered worthless. REVIVAL OP ORANGE CULTURE. "Within the last ten years there has been a revival of the interest in orange culture. The scale insect seemed to have ceased its ravages. The groves planted since 1858 have, where any tolerable degree of atten- tion in the way of cultivation has been given them, flourished finely. In fact, some of them are now bearing heavily under almost total neglect. It is not true, as some have asserted, that the scale insect has disappeared. It is still present in many if not in all groves, but it seems no longer to be capable of its former destructiveness. At any rate, trees planted in suitable soil and properly culti- vated do not now suffer in any appreciable degree from its presence, and some of the old groves formerly ravaged by it and rendered unproductive, are now again in bearing. SOME BEARING GROVES. Groves of any considerable extent, old enough to be in full bearing, are far from numerous. Three or four on the Gulf coast, and as many in East Florida, are all that I have any account of. That of Mr. Dummet, about thirty miles south of New Smyrna, is said to be the most flourishing and valuable one in the State. The largest one on the Gulf coast is at Fort Myers, and consists of between four and five hundred orange, lemon, and lime trees. It might be made very valuable, but is now in a neglected condition. At Sarasota Bay, a Dr. Snell has a grove consisting of three hundred orange and upward of a hundred fine lemon trees. A gentleman who visited it last winter says that the lemon trees were bent to the ground with their im- mense loads of fruit, and that the orange trees, though not so productive, had a good crop. These trees have had no care for the last Jive years, and my informant pronounces the grove " a standing monu- ment of the occupant's laziness and stupid- ity." Dr. Snell does not reside on the place. NEWLY PLANTED GROVES. The young groves, planted since the war, are numerous, and some of them ex- tensive. They are generally receiving some cultivation, and where they were properly planted, are flourishing finely. In many cases, however, the planters have manifested the most utter ignorance of the first principles of horticulture, and if they succeed in producing good crops, the result will not be due to any skill in the cultivators, but to the astonishing vitality and recuperative energy of the noble tree they are so shamefully abusing. PROPAGATION AND CULTURE. The cultivation of the orange is as simple and easy a thing as the cultivation of the peach, and both thrive in Florida with very slight attention, but would richly repay more care than they are now re- ceiving. The orange will succeed on any soil in Florida, but on the poorest some manure is required. Good high hammock land, however, is best for it. Such land requires no preparation, previous to planting, except clearing and digging the holes. The plow- ing may be done afterward, and any low- growing crop planted between the rows. Several methods of establishing orange groves or orchards have been practiced. Some have procured young trees of the variety desired from a nursery. This is a very satisfactory way where but few trees are wanted, and the planter can afford to pay a very high price for them ; but orange nurseries are scarce, and the trees far too high priced for extensive j:>lanting. Others have commenced by sowing the seeds of the wild fruit and budding the stocks thus procured with the sweet orange, becoming in this way their own nurserymen. This is a judicious course, as the nursing and budding of the wild stocks are very simple Orange Culture in Florida. 295 and easy operations; I am told that in some cases the seeds of the sweet orange have been sowed, and the trees thus pro- cured transplanted without budding. Such trees will no doubt one of these days astonish as well as disappoint their owners by producing a crop of worthless fruit. The course now most commonly pursued in establishing an orange grove is to pro- cure from some neighboring hammock, where they abound, a sufficient number of wild orange-trees of suitable size and trans- plant them into the ground prepared for the new orchard. These wild stocks may be from two to three inches in diameter. They should be carefully dug up (preserv- ing as many roots uninjured as possible), cut off to within two or three feet of the collar, and then planted in large but shallow holes previously prepared. Twenty feet apart each way, giving 108 trees to the acre, is about the right distance, though some are planting much closer. The wild stocks thus planted will soon put out shoots in abundance, all but two or three of which should be kept carefully rubbed off. Those left may be budded as soon as of sufficient size (which will be within three months) with the variety chosen for cultivation. Some of these budded trees will bear in eighteen months from the time of budding, and all, if properly cared for in the mean time, will be in bearing the third year. The transplanting of the wild stocks may be performed at any time, but the winter is generally chosen for the opera- tion. Some, however, prefer August to any other month, and a gentleman who has had considerable experience informs me that he has transplanted orange-trees in that month when loaded with fruit, and that they have matured their crop in their new location and produced another the next year, as if nothing had happened to them. But the plan by means of which a bear- ing grove of the sweet orange can be secured in the shortest possible time, is to purchase land with a good wild grove upon it, and selecting suitable trees at the right distance apart, dig up and remove all the others and graft those left where they stand. These trees will commence bearing the next year, and will soon be capable of producing a heavy crop of fruit. VAKIETIES. The variety most extensively planted in Florida, I think, is the China, believed to have been introduced into Europe and thence into Florida from the country from which it takes its name. It has a thin smooth rind, and is very juicy. The St. Michael is a sub-variety of the China. The Portugal or Lisbon orange is nearly round, and has a thick rind. The Maltese or Blood orange is remark- able for the red color of its pulp. I have seen but few of this variety in Florida. The Tangerine is a small flat fruit about half the size of the common orange, with a pleasant odor and a very fine flavor. The Mandarin orange, recently intro- duced from China, has a fruit much broader than long, a thick rind loosely attached to the flesh, and much smaller leaves than the other sorts. It is classed by some as a distinct species (Citrus nobilis). It is one of the best kinds. FACTS AND FIGURES. The cost of planting an orange orchard must vary greatly in different localities, depending partly upon the original con- dition of the land and partly upon the expense of getting the trees from the wild grove. Formerly the wild trees were con- sidered as free to everybody, and people wishing a few to plant dug wherever they pleased; but now they are beginning to have a market value. It is not in all cases convenient or possible for a person to buy land with wild groves on it. A certain sum, then, must be allowed for stocks. One gentleman with whom I am ac- quainted, and who has already planted several acres, estimates the cost in his case as only $25 per acre. He does not, how- 296 The Horticulturist. ever, include the cost of clearing the land. I estimate as follows for ten acres of fresh hammock land with its natural forest growth upon it : Cost of ten acres at $10 per acre $100 Clearing and preparing 250 Inclosing with rail fence 200 1.000 trees at 25 cents each 250 Planting and budding 100 Incidental 100 $1,000 The use of the ground for other crops will fully pay for all the cultivation the grove will require for the first three years, after which there will be an income from the grove itself. With regard to the productiveness of the orange-tree, it is impossible at present to arrive at any very satisfactory conclusion. This is partly because there has been no systematic mode of culture pursued, and the real production has varied greatly in different groves; but mainly because people in Florida never weigh, measure, or count anything, and really have no idea how many oranges one of their trees produces. Some of the old trees at St. Augustine are said to have produced annually at least 8,000 oranges each. Mr. C. F. Reed, of Mandarin, on the St. John's River, gathered 12,000 from three trees last year, one tree bearing 3,200, another 3,300, and the third 5,500. I have been told that thrifty trees sometimes bear as many as 1,000 oranges the third year from the bud, but such pro- ductiveness I think must be rare. The conclusion I have arrived at, from personal observation, is that a well-planted and properly cultivated grove at ten years of age will average 2,000 oranges per tree. Taking one half of this, however, as a basis of calculation, ten acres will produce 1,000,000, which, at $25 per thousand, the lowest price of the last season in Jackson- ville, amounts to $25,000. The crop of the present season has in some cases been bargained for in advance for $25 per thousand at the grove. Florida oranges are the best in the world, and will always command the highest price in all markets. Some of the best were sold in Jacksonville during the last winter as high as $50 per thousand. It should be observed here, that north of the twenty-eighth parallel of latitude, crops are occasionally cut off by frost ; but a total failure from this or any other cause is rare. Glen Eveegkeen, near Jacksonville, Fla. Large Stock of Small Fruits. — Our West Jersey friends have had it all their own way with the small fruits for several years past, but they must look well to their laurels, or other sections of the country will take the lead. Parry, Collins, An- drews, and several others, have talked about their hundred acres of small fruits, and many of us began to look iqoon them as the aristocrats of the profession ; but lately a few of our Northern fruit-growers have let us know that they are also getting up among their hundreds. Purdy & Johnson, of Palmyra, N. Y., and Purdy & Hance, of South Bend, Ind., announce that they have 150 acres of small fruits. Well, this looks like business, and as though the time would soon come when everybody could get at least one dish of berries during the season. We understand that Purdy & Co. have planted largely of the Black Raspberry, and we would advise others to do the same, as it is a safe investment, and all the varieties are hardy and bear abundantly. Besides this, they can be always shipped to market without loss by being crushed, and they seldom become moldy, even in damp, hot weather, as is often the case with the red varieties. If there should ever come a time when the market is overstocked, then the fruit may be readily dried, and it al- ways commands a good price in that state. — WMtlocFs Recorder. Grape Leaves. 297 GRAPE LEAVES. An examining trip among acres of vine- yards in association with scores of grape- growers, and the frequent question of " What is this variety ?" put by many a vine-grower, caused us to think somewhat of the requisites of distinctive markings and detection or knowledge of varieties by means of their foliage. With the older and generally cultivated sorts, as Isabella and Clinton, the leaf has become so well known that few have to see the fruit before deciding on the variety; but with those of more recent introduction, although many of them are largely grown and widely distributed, yet knowledge of them seems known only to comparatively few, excejat by means of the fruit. Referring to the books, we find in de- Fig. 90. — Leaf of the Adirondac. scription of varieties that while the size of bunch, form and color of berry, etc., are depicted, it is rare to find the foliage even mentioned, and the vine itself more than remarked upon as hardy or tender. As foliage is a very important item in the making up of a good grapevine to meet the great extremes of our climate, and as a knowledge of it in connection with varieties would often serve to assist in deciding upon the identity of a sort, even without the fruit, we suggest that more care and attention be paid thereto by describers of new sorts, as well as the makers of books. To assist in the work, we have carefully gone over a number of varieties, made some outlines of leaves, and description of the color of leaf and leaf-stalk as they appear to us. We may not be strictly correct, but as we propose this as initi- atory for further knowledge by others, we 298 The ITortloultuvist. are perhaps near enough the truth. We shall be pleased to receive from any and all grape-growers and horticulturists ideas and corrections, and trust we may end in being enabled to see a written description of any variety so that it can as readily be detected in foliage as in the fruit. Our drawings have been made from mature leaves, and exhibit the general form of the variety. Commencing with Adirondac, we find the first growth or young terminal leaves a pale yellow green, and changing very soon to a dark sea green, and greenish white woolly beneath. Leaf-stalks dull reddish, a little moldy. Next, the Catawba has leaves at first of a light pale green, changing at matu- rity to a rich yellowish grass green, and Fig. 91. — Leaf of the Cataicba. underneath yellowish woolly. The leaf- stalk greenish, a little with red next the leaf or when fully exposed to the sun. The Concord has leaves at first of a bright grass green, becoming a very dark sea green at maturity, and yellowish woolly white underneath. Leaf-stalk dull green. The Delaware at first is of a light yellow pea green, and at maturity a dark yellow- ish green, yellow green beneath. Leaf- stalk green, becoming bronzed at ma- turity. Diana Hamburgh has foliage at first light yellow green, changing to a dark grass green at maturity, light pea green beneath. Leaf-stalk green, tinged on the upper side with a brownish red. Elsinborough has foliage of a dark rich pea green, with green leaf-stalks, until they are very mature, when they become bronzed. Grape Leaves. The Hine has leaves of a light yellow green at first, changing to a rich dark grass, almost sea green, at maturity, the underside slightly shaded with the white woolly character of its — labrusca — class. The leaf-stalks are green, becoming bronzed at maturity. Hartford Prolific has leaves a light sea green at first, and changing a sea green when mature ; greenish white underneath. Leaf-stalk a bright red. The leaf of Iona at first is a light pale yellow green, becoming a light sea green at maturity, woolly white beneath. Leaf- stalk pale red or pink. Israella has a leaf of a light yellow green at first, but soon changing to a dark rich sea green; the underside greenish, Fig. 92. — Leaf of the Concord. slightly downy or woolly, of a yellowish white shade. Leaf- stalk dull reddish green, with a slight mold or bloom. The foliage of Ives' Seedling is at first light green, but soon changes to a deep rich dark green, while the ribs continue prominent of a light green color. The underside is woolly and yellowish. The leaf-stalk is moldy, of a reddish brown midway, but green at each end. Laura Beverly, a new Canadian candi- date for favor, has foliage of a light yellow grass green at first, becoming, when ma- ture, a dark rich sea green, light green beneath, with a slight yellow muddy tinge. Leaf-stalks reddish. 300 The Horticulturist. Maxatawney is at first light' yellow green, becoming very dark rich sea green ; dull greenish yellow white underneath. Leaf-stalk red. Miles has foliage light pea green at first, becoming dark yellowish green, quite white underneath. Leaf-stalks at first downy green, becoming bronzed or a dark dull red. Mottled is at first a clear dark pea green, becoming at maturity quite dark, and very old leaves changing to a yellow- ish tint ; underside white woolly. Leaf- stalks bronzed. The Sherman has foliage a light yel- low dark green, and green underneath. The leaf-stalks dull reddish and a little hairy. Telegraph is at first a pea green, becom- ing a dark sea green, with rough whitish Fig. 93. — Leaf of the Iona. mold or woolly beneath. Leaf-stalk green. To Kalon is a yellow green, and retains its yellow tinge at maturity ; underneath slightly woolly. Leaf-stalk green. The Weekawken leaves are at first a light yellow green, and pea green at ma- turity, smooth beneath. Leaf-stalk red- dish brown. We have many more notes and drawings of foliage ; but, as we have said, our object is to draw attention toward some method of more surely detecting varieties by means of foliage, and the present is sufficient, we hope, for the purpose. If the grape-growing societies would take up this matter and appoint committees toward its completion, and have these committees Grape Leaves. 301 Fig. 94.— Leaf of Ives' Seedling. confer with one another, and then submit record, we should count them as doing a the joint conclusion to the American Porno- work of great value, to the grape interests logical Society for a final report and and horticulture at large. Burying Plants during Winter. — A writer in the London Florist and Penolo- gist gives an account of his experience in wintering geraniums by burying them in a trench under ground, below the reach of frost. The result was quite successful, only two plants out of fifty having decayed when dug out the last of April. The trench should be made in a location where no water can remain at a depth of two feet below the level — that being the depth at which the trench ought to be dug — the plants laid in by the heel in a row, then covered with straight straw, set so as to carry off water, and then covered with earth, according to the climate, to a depth sufficient to keep out frost ; finishing off in a ridge or roof shape to carry off water. Covering the plants over the straw first with boards set in a ridge form and then heaping on earth, we think, would render pressure less liable, and tend to keep a more open circulation in the trench, and thus lessen the liability to damp or decay ; but with a little care in this way, we see no reason why any half hardy plant may not easily be kept over winter in this man- ner. 302 The Horticulturist. NOTES OF SOME OF THE EARLY HISTORY OF FRUIT CULTURE IN THIS COUNTRY, WITH RECORDS OF THE PROMINENT EARLY ACTORS AND ABETTORS. One of our leading horticulturists has long been and is now gathering material for a record of the history of fruit culture in this country, together with short ac- counts of the most prominent men whose liberal minds and energetic actions have assisted in originating, introducing, im- proving, and disseminating the choicest fruits of the earth so widely and so cheap- ly that there is no man, owner of a half- acre lot, so poor but he can and does grow some of them. We have been permitted, at this time, to make a few extracts from the compiler's collection, and hope to get liberty to con- tinue them, as we believe all that relates to our pomological history will be received with pleasure by our readers. " The earliest nursery of trees for sale in this country (according to William R. Prince, of Flushing, N. Y.) was established in 1732, by his great-grandfather, William Prince, and it was by him that the New- town Pippin apple was extensively propa- agated and disseminated. His footsteps were ably filled by his son, William Prince, whose fair and honest dealings were pro- verbial and yet in the memory of many people, as the trees of his growing are yet in their orchards, yielding fruit correct to name. * * * " The first nursery established in Massa- chusetts was at Newton, by Kenrick. The first in New Jersey was by William Coxe, and the first in Maryland by Will- iam Sinclair. * * * " One of the most liberal of the early pioneers of horticulture in Maine was Ben- jamin Vaughn, who in early life was a member of the British Parliament, but for republican sentiments expressed, was cen- sured, and at the close of the Revolution- ary war he settled at Hallowell, where he imported, propagated, and distributed freely trees, plants, and seeds, contribu- ting largely toward diffusing a taste for fruit culture. Ephraim Goodale settled at what is now the town of Orrington, Maine, in about 1808, and at once planted an or- chard and a nursery, sparing no trouble or expense toward obtaining the best fruits then known, and freely distributing his knowledge in aid of others. " The old cherry-trees just out of New Haven, Conn., so well known by many hor- ticulturists— the Black Heart, Honey Heart, May Duke, etc. — were, some of them, plant- ed in 1775 by Benjamin Douglass, a lawyer of New Haven. Fruit by the bushels was gathered in after years from the May Duke as early in the season as the 10th of June. " Jonah Hotchkiss in 1780 introduced grafts of the Delancey pear from Red Hook, Long Island ; and as he brought no name with the grafts, it took the one of Jonah, by which many persons yet recog- nize it. " Nathan Beers was a nurseryman pre- vious to 1779, and cultivated many choice varieties of fruits yet counted as among the best — St. Michael or White Doyenne, Catherine, etc. " Nathan Beers, 2d, followed the occu- pation of his father, dying in 1849, at the ripe age of seventy-nine years. " Timothy Dwight, President of Yale College, was the first to cultivate straw- berries and assist in bringing them into gardens as a valuable fruit. " James Hillhouse, a lawyer by profes- sion, cultivated fruit largely, and at one time received a large collection of apple and pear grafts from the king's garden, in France. To him especially New Haven owes the noble elms that adorn many of its streets, for he assisted in planting them. Pears — Felix de Leim and Cadette de Vaux. 303 " Henry W. Edwards, at one time Gov- ernor of the State, planted pear seeds in 1817, from which sprang many new sorts that are now of high repute, as Henrietta, Dallas, Elizabeth, etc. " Noyes Darling was a man of enthusiasm in fruit culture, and gave great attention to insects and diseases of fruits. His re- searches have been in part published." Skipping over a number of records, we find— " David Thomas as early as about 1810 was propagating and disseminating trees and plants in western or central New York, and that about 1820 or '21 he had quite an extensive nursery." The extent and value of his teachings are yet well known and remembered with warm and kind appreciation in all of west- ern New York, and even into other States, where he is at this day quoted as author- ity in principles of cultivation as well as in correctness of names. As we said, we hope to be able hereafter to continue these notes ere they appear in full, as now proposed. PEARS— FELIX DE LEIM AND CADETTE DE VAUX. The outlines and descriptions of these might possibly prove identical with vane- pears we now give more to draw attention ties known under other names, but if so, of pear-growers to them, than to advise we have yet to learn. They are both for- their planting. It has been said they eigners. Fig. 95. — Felix de Leim. Fruit, medium size ; oblong pyriform ; calyx end, surface having a rough feel ; pale greenish yellow with faint marblings stem, slender, planted on one side with a and shades of russet, and scattered dots at slight depression ; calyx, with narrow long 304 The Horticulturist. segments, completely reflexed ; basin, round, small, shallow ; core, small, with a granulous outer line ; seeds, plump, obo- vate pyriform, blackish ; flesh, white, but- tery, juicy, melting, vinous, sweet. Sea- son, late autumn. The fruit of Cadette de Vaux is large or above medium, of irregular obovate ob- Fig. 96. — Cadette de Vaux. tuse pyriform shape, greenish yellow, with low, and the capsules partially hollow ; suffused green dots ; stem, rather stout seeds, light brown, long pyramidal and and fleshy at base ; calyx, large and open, pointed at both ends ; flesh, breaking, al- with long, completely reflexed, segments ; most melting, — sweet, juicy, aromatic. Sea- basin, shallow ; core, small,— center, hoi- son, winter. Potatoes.— An extensive potato-grower tells us he has found the Early Rose to mature early and perhaps fully maintain its character, but that, side by side, his crop of Massachusetts or Jackson Whites was more productive, A variety that he has under name of Shaw — a smooth, even tuber — he, however, considers best for table, while a new sort, called Lottridge, gives promise of having the qualities of earliness, goodness, and productiveness in greater degree than any other variety. Model Fruit Crops. 305 MODEL FRUIT CROPS. BY THE AUTHOR OF " TEN ACRES ENOUGH. The attentive reader of our numerous agricultural journils can not have failed to notice that about the close of every fruit season a' multitude of powerful stories find their way into the aforesaid journals, touching incredible crops which certain parties have gathered from one, two, or three acres. But the agricultural papers have no monopoly of these interesting details. The writers for the political dailies and weeklies are also found to temper their vitriolic partisanship with an infusion of horticultural information. I notice that these gentlemen almost invari- ably close their inflammatory accounts of a tremendous crop with exhortations to the reader to go and do likewise. A taking paragraph once set afloat by the press, travels on the wings of the wind, and is quickly spread before a million of readers. Like all other attractive stories, its marvels multiply by repetition, some- times by accident, sometimes by design. A careless proof-reader drops a figure here, or a knavish one will add another there, either of them doubling the original result. Thus exaggerated, it acquires a new popu- larity for all lovers of the sensational, and yet it will generally wind up a long career of travel without question or contradiction. The uninitiated believe implicitly, and become impatient to imitate ; but the experienced reader will only deprecate the original error, and lament the conse- quences. By this extensive publication of those extraordinary successes which certainly do occasionally occur with fruit-growers, the bright side only of the question is pre- sented for public consideration. No> one makes proclamation either of his own failures or of those of his neighbors. On the contrary, most of us are impatient to 20 — OCTOBER. become bearers of good news. It is an infinitely more grateful office than the bearing of evil tidings. Hence the compe- tition to report in print the earliest infor- mation of any exceptionally large crop, and the newspaper silence touching the equally exceptional small ones. The suc- cesses work encouragement to the down- hearted, but the failures depress them still further. Either way, our sympathies are contagious. I do not mean to reproduce the ample catalogue of overgrown stories of the present season, though many such have fallen under my notice. But two or three are worth reciting as illustrations. A leading monthly informs us that Mr. G. H. Baker, of Illinois, produced 253 bushels of the Albany Seedling Strawberry from one acre, " by simply running a narrow one- horse plow in furrows three feet apart, cutting off the weeds with a scythe, and giving him a clear profit of $1,509 for the one acre." Then an Eastern paper assures us that " Mr. Augustus Parker, of Grove Hall Avenue, Boston, picked 4,800 boxes of the same strawberry from an acre and a half of ground within ten days, and esti- mated that the unusual heat of three days dried up a thousand boxes on the vines.. He sold the 4,800 boxes on his premises- for thirty-five cents a quart — or $1,680 for the acre and a half. There may have been more animating instances of success placed on record the present season, but none such have come under my notice. Nor do I mean to. doubt the truthfulness of the foregoing,. But these results are far in advance of any in New Jersey, so far as my knowledge extends, as the greatest profit realized from an acre of strawberries, so far as I know, did not exceed $512, though I have known great fields of them to clear 306 The Horticulturist. $312 per acre. The past season has been one of unaccountable disaster to some of us. On one farm, very profitable crops of strawberries have been secured, while on that adjoining, the failure has been almost total. Such alternations, however, are in- separable from fruit culture ; and as with grass and grain, it is the average income of a turn of years which should determine the measure of annual profit. But I took up my pen to put on record a crop almost as remarkable as either of the foregoing. In the suburbs of this city there is a well-grown peach orchard, con- taining 2,600 hills of the Dorchester Black- berry. These are set about fourteen feet apart, and in the same row with the trees, the rows being also fourteen feet asunder. They were planted in the spring of 1864. If they had been set in a field by them- selves, as blackberries are usually planted, they would occupy exactly two and a half acres. When set out, two plants were put in each hill. From these 2,600 hills, the owner, Mr. John Mitchell, this season gathered and sold fruit to the amount of $2,365 90. It was all disposed of by one agent in New York, from whom net returns were received amounting to $2,057 64. The number of quarts was 5,121 ; average price 46 cents ; cost of picking at 2k cents, $128 02, leaving $1,959 62 clear. I have heard of even larger gains having been made per acre from the cultivated black- berry, but they were not sufficiently well authenticated to be relied on. The figures just stated I know to be correct. They can be verified to the satisfaction of all who doubt them. The previous history of this field is as follows : 1865. Product paid for tillage. 1866. Product, with low prices $600 00 1867. do 1,300 00 1868. do. all clear 1,959 62 $3,859 62 From this total must be deducted the cost of picking the crops of 1866 and 1867. It would be given now, but there are no means of ascertaining it. It probably did not exceed $159 62, leaving $3,700 as the clear net product of four crops, or $740 per annum for the five years during which the ground was in use. But during the first two years the portion between the rows was cropped with pickles and toma- toes, and the peach-trees were coming into bearing. In addition to these gains, great quantities of suckers have been dug and sold. So many were taken up last fall and this spring, that Mr. Mitchell is of opinion he would have had one fourth more berries had hie done no digging. Now then for details and explanations, such as are essential to a full understand- ing of the merits of the case. The land on which these crops were grown was cleared of pine timber the winter before planting the blackberries. It was not cleared up very carefully, and the plowing was done through the stumps. A shovel- ful of barnyard manure was put in each hill when the plants were set. There has been no manure applied since, excejit to the tomato and pickle crops between the rows. The blackberries have thus had no other fertilizer than the decaying stumps and rubbish of the new land. The soil is an exceedingly light sandy loam, and as it has no farm buildings, would not sell for more than $125 per acre. It is unfit for a grain crop, but is pronounced by Eastern men, who do not understand its jjeculi- arities, as of no value whatever. But, though in appearance so unpromising to them, it is the very description of soil which we prize most highly. It will pro- duce all the berries in perfection. No soil can exceed it for melons, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and asparagus, all staple envps with us. What it does for blackberries is seen by the dollar marks above. Taken altogether, this two-and-a-half- acre field may be regarded as a very profit- able investment. But the extraordinary blackberry crop of this year must be regarded as an exceptional one, not to be depended on as certain to be realized annually. In stating the profit, I desire to Distance Apart for Orchard Trees. 307 explain why it has been so much larger this year than at any time before, as well as why it can not be expected often in the future. The naked statement would be likely to hold out unfair inducements for others to rush into the same business, while a full recital of the causes of success will materially modify such impetuosity. Moreover, the yield per acre was so far in advance of what the most successful growers of blackberries have been able to realize in this neighborhood, that I was myself anxious to understand why it had been secured this season for the first time. The reader knows that the past winter was one of unexampled severity, and that under the long continued cold the fruit buds of all kinds perished. No such winter has been experienced here since the settlement of New Jersey. All our large fields of Lawton Blackberries were killed to the ground, except such as happened to be growing either in peach or apple orchards. The like destruction from cold had never been known. We had no other blackberry in extensive cultivation, as the Wilson Early has not yet been so multi- plied as to affect the market for fruit, much less to fill the gap occasioned by the extirpation of an old standard like the Lawton. The Kittatinny is not largely grown here, though it came out of the winter uninjured. Of the Dorchester there are even fewer plants, and no extensive field of them, the largest being that of Mr. Mitchell. Hence the supply of blackberries was cut off, and the few whose plants were growing under some kind of protection were the only parties who had fruit for market. Two of my neighbors, whose Lawtons were protected by trees, had good and paying crops, and such plants as were sheltered by garden fences bore as abundantly as ever. The market being thus almost bare of fruit, those who were fortunate enough to have full bushes secured a golden harvest. Prices averaged higher, for the season, than we have ever known. Mr. Mitchell was one of these fortunate men. His Dorchesters were effectually protected by the overhanging trees, and he marketed the best crop he ever gathered. Whether his plants would have escaped without protection I am not prepared to say; but my impression is they would have been uninjured by the cold, as others, having the same plant growing without protection, gathered good crops. Burlington, N. J. DISTANCE APART FOR ORCHARD TREES. We are gradually progressing and yearly learning to better and better understand our climates and soils, our trees and vines; and as we progress and come to know our own, we throw away much of the early-day teachings that were brought to us from across the broad ocean. Our vine-growers commencing with their vines at three to four feet, have gradually ex- panded them, until now the majority of planters give to them eight by ten or ten by twelve, and some even more, according to the soil and the habit of the sort. So, also, beginning with severe winter and summer pruning, from which they obtained a little fruit, sun-burnt and half ripened, and produced various diseases in the system of the vine, they have come to a knowledge of the vine's nature, and by almost leaving it alone are rewarded with luscious fruit and healthy foliage. In the apple and pear orchard we have been brought to place the first from thirty-five to forty feet apart, and the latter twenty-five to thirty, thus subjecting them to all the terrible burning heat of the sun's rays, in a long, hot 30S The Horticulturist. summer's drought, and to stand as it were alone, and brave singly the storms of wind that winter and spring bend their tops, and eraek and tear loose by leverage their roots. We have long been impressed with the view that these old advices of distance were erroneous, and our readers will bear us witness that we have before now ad- vised a closer planting, and as a break, also, and aid toward shielding our fruit- trees, the intermingling more or less in the orchard of evergreens. Our owu practice has been most success- ful iu apple orchards at twelve by sixteen feet, and we have known the best results from a like distance by some extensive orehardists in the West. The past two years we have doubted if even this distance had not better be reduced, and in exposed, bleak, wintry situations, on prairies or bluffs, we are satisfied it had. The closer trees are planted to each other, the more do thev assist each other in breaking the force of the wind, and in gradually ameli- orating the climate. They will sooner shield and shade the ground and their roots ; retaining thereby a greater relative proportion of moisture and food, they will come sooner into maturing and fruiting their blossoms ; and as they increase in size will acquire the rough bark that comes with maturity and belongs to them in health, so that as they become too thick for the light to keep them round and full in the contour and extension of branch, they will be the better enabled to stand alone, while the fruit that has been gath- ered from the trees requiring removal will be found to have more than repaid the first cost of the whole orchard. Were we to plant an apple orchard to- day, we think we should set our trees ten by fifteen feet, and if of standard pears ten by ten feet, if of dwarf pears or apples six by eight feet, and we would use occasion- ally an evergreen tree of some hardy vari- ety in the place of a fruit-tree. MOISTURE AXD TEMPERATURE IX PLAXT CULTURE. A healthy and vigorous growth of plants in green-houses is dependent so much upon a proper degree of tempera- ture and atmospheric humidity, that he who would be a successful cultivator must be a close observer, and devote much time and attention to the subject to secure the proper conditions for success. Plants may have a congenial soil, a proper amount of root moisture, and yet suffer from aridity, humidity, or a lack of proper temperature of the atmosphere in which they grow. The thermometer gives the actual temperature of the air : but all observing persons will acknowledge that we require some means of ascertain- ing the amount of moisture or the sensible temperature due to evaporation. We en- ter a proper regulated green-house, with a temperature of 65°, and feel a greater degree of warmth than in our furnace- heated dwelling at 70°. for the reason that in the latter we have abundant moisture, while in the former not enough for com- fort or health. Scientific men have made hygrometry a careful study, and it is due to their efforts that we have the hygrometer. This in- strument, as ordinarily constructed, re- quires a somewhat intricate calculation to arrive at the amount of moisture contained in the air at different temperatures ; and elaborate tables were constructed, which obviated the difficulty to some extent. A Mr. Edson has lately invented an in- strument which he calls a hvdrodeik. which Moisture and Temperature in Plant Culture. 309 is manufactured by N. M. Lowe, of 103 Court Street, Boston, which is so simple in its operation and indications as to be within the comprehension of almost every person. Fig. 97. Our figure shows the general form of the instrument, which is not self-acting. The pointers may be moved by means of the knob in front, as per following di- rections : To find the actual temperature, read the right-hand or dry bulb thermometer. To find the sensible temperature, or tem- perature due to evaporation, read the left- hand or wet bulb thermometer. To find the relative humidity, take hold of the small knob in front of the instru- ment, and raise or lower it as the case may be until the upper edge of the right-hand adjusting pointer coincides with the sur- face of the mercury in the right-hand thermometer; then, by turning the knob to the right or left, bring the upper edge of the left-hand adjusting pointer to the surface of the mercury in the left-hand thermometer. The instrument is now ad- justed, and the relative humidity, dew- point, and absolute amount will be indi- cated by the dial and index hand. Thus observing upon which of the nearly verti- cal lines the end of the index hand rests, let the eyes follow this line to the top of the dial, and there will be found numbers which give the per cent, of humidity sought. Observe upon the dial the diagonal line upon which the end of the index hand rests. Let the eye follow it down to the right of the dial, and there numbers indi- cate the dew-point sought. Upon this line also are two sets of num- bers, one of which gives, in grains and tenths, the weight of water (in form of vapor) in each cubic foot of air. The others give in inches of water the force of vapor. The use of the hygrometer will show why stoves, now so generally in use, are injurious to health from the excessive dry- ness of the air which they produce in a room, causing moisture to evaporate too freely from the skin, with all the painful consequences to the general health of those who come under their influence. The use of stoves for heating green-houses has been long discarded, from the aridity of the atmosphere produced, as well as from the escape of noxious gases, the product of combustion of the fuel used. A differ- ence of from six to eight degrees between the reading of the two thermometers, or about 60° of humidity, according to Ed- son's instrument, will be found to produce or to accompany a pleasant degree of moist- ure in a room. In the culture of plants in glass houses, some species will require more humidity than this. "We presume that most superior garden- ers are well acquainted with the nature of the proper climates of their plants. At any rate such knowledge is necessary for their proper treatment, not only as to tem- perature, but also as to moisture. If this knowledge is not possessed by the garden- er, his employer should be familiar with it ; and then, provided with such instru- ments as the hydrodeik and a self-regis- tering thermometer, he will be enabled to ascertain if the plants have been properly cared for in his absence. How often do our green-house plants become shriveled or weak before we have the least suspicion 310 The Horticulturist. that there is any alteration in the moisture of the air ! Then, as soon as we become aware of the fact, we drench them with water without taking their actual require- ments into consideration. On the other hand, if we fancy from our own sensations that the air of our green-house is dry, we sprinkle water about without measure. Mr. Glashier, an English author on mete- orology, observes, " that our sensations with regard to heat and humidity are very fallacious guides. Every one must have felt in summer the heat to be at times almost unsupportable, without any appar- ent reason, as shown by the reading of the thermometer. This happens when the air is nearly calm and moist; the air is already so moist that it can not take off our own moisture as we give it off in per- spiration, and so we say it is sultry ; but only let the air get in motion, if only by means of the Indian punkah or huge fan swinging about, and then we feel cool and experience relief. Yet the same hygromet- ric condition exists. It is only a very small amount of vapor and heat that we force the air to take from us by the pro- cess. But should the air get drier with the same temperature, then evaporation from the skin takes place with great activ- ity, and we feel a marked sensation of cold, and this result is as great a fallacy as the former. The fact is, that with the same temperature, and enjoying an equal state of health, we experience, according to our mere sensations, various changes of temperature, and so our senses can not guide us with regard to heat and humidity as far as our own health is concerned, and much less with respect to that of our plants. Therefore the hygrometer, prop- erly used, and its indications attended to, may be made the means of preserving many valuable plants which might other- wise perish in an ill-regulated atmosphere. In our gardens our tender plants are some- times endangered by changes in the hy- grometric condition of the air. Abundant dews at this season are often connected with white-frost, which may prove disas- trous to the plants. Now, if we consult the hygrometer in the evening, and find the two bulbs pretty much alike in their reading, while the sky is clear, even should there be no rain, there will certainly be a copious deposit of dew. After sun- set, all bodies on the surface of the earth, after having been heated by the sun during the day. radiate or give off their heat into space, get cold, and soon reach the dew- point, when they become covered with moisture, provided there are no clouds or other objects to check the dispersion of heat or reflect it back to the earth. If the temperature be low, the dew becomes hoar-frost. All gardeners know that it may be produced without the thermometer falling to the freezing-point. The reason is, that dew evaporates so rapidly that it deprives itself of a considerable amount of heat, so as to congeal into minute needles the water remaining on the plant or other bodies. " But the frosts of spring and autumn, which are so injurious, proceed generally, not from the congelation of moisture de- posited from the atmosphere, but from the congelation of their own proper moisture, which forms part of their composition by the radiation of their temperature, caused by the nocturnal radiation which, in other cases, produces dew or hoar-frost. Xow all this may be known beforehand by carefully noting the hygrometer, and then we can prevent or diminish the deposit of dew by covering our plants with a screen of some kind." The Best Manure to mingle with the is clear, well-rotted cow dung If well and clay loam and sand in preparing soil for thoroughly decayed, one part to every potting of roses, fuchsias, geraniums, etc., three may be safely used. Editor's Table. 311 EDITOR'S TABLE To Contributors and Others. — Address all Communications, for the Editorial and Publishing Departments, to F. "W. "Woodward, 37 Park Row, New York. POULTRY. "We have recently received a letter from J. C. G., of Granville County, N. O, where- in the writer inquires whether the accu- racy of the statement made by our corre- spondent " E," touching the weights of certain Brahma fowls to which he alluded in our August number, may be fully con- fided in. In answer, we beg leave to reply in the affirmative. And it may not be amiss to add that we bad the pleasure, last fall, of seeing the Brahma cock to wbich our correspondent referred, and we have no hesitation in expressing our belief that he was the finest bird of his species that we have ever seen. Having submitted J. C. G.'s note of in- quiry to our correspondent, the following note lias been received in reply : " F. W. Woodward, Esq. : Bear Sir — Permit me to acknowledge your kindness in submitting for my perusal the letter of Mr. J. C. G., of North Carolina. There is no question as to the accuracy of the weights of the Brahmas as stated by me in the August number of the Horticultur- ist ; and I am glad to have it in my power to give au extract of a letter from an in- telligent and impartial gentleman, refer- ring to the cock to which allusion was made, which is a substantial indorsement of all I have stated. Mr. E. C. Comey, of Boston, writing under date of April 4, 1868, says : " ' I have constantly tried to improve my stock of Brahmas (fowls which I ad- mire beyond all others), without regard to cost or labor, for the past six or seven years, and have traveled a great many miles in search of the finest specimens of this breed, but never found a bird that came up to my requirements and ideas un- til I saw your Brahma cock " Autocrat." I assure you that in him I was delighted to find what I have contended could be produced, while others said it was impos- sible,— that is, to have a very large Brahma, say 14 or 15 lbs. weight, and to have him handsome. Now, I am frank to admit that Autocrat is the largest in size, the most perfect in color, the most symmetrical in proportions, wTith the finest-shaped head and smallest pea comb of any Brahma cock that I have ever seen, and I would be will- ing to bet that his equal can not be found in the United States.' " You can say to your North Carolina correspondent, that any communication which he may desire to make to me, will reach its destination if addressed to your care. E." F. W. Woodward, Esq. : Dear Sir — My highly valued friend " P. "W.," of Mass., hav- ing contributed to your September number an article upon the characteristics and mer- its of one of the popular breeds of French fowls — the Houdans — has intimated the wish that I would call attention to another of the foreign varieties which takes a fore- most rank in France — I refer to the " La Fleche." Though the writer has never had any of this distinctive variety under his personal supervision, he has had the oppor- tunity of seeing them frequently upon the yards of his friends, and of learning some- thing of their excellences from various writers upon Poultry, and from what he 312 The Horticulturist. has seen and learned, he is satisfied that the La Fleehe will prove a valuable ac- quisition to our poultry yards. A gentle- men who is breeding these birds this sea- son, in a recent letter says of them : " The chicks from my La Fleehe fowls are rapid growers, are quiet in their habits, and are generally strong and healthy, and I am of the opinion that they will bear confinement as well as most of our domestic fowls. The La Fleehe attains to greater size, when mature, than either of the other French breeds which I have imported." As most of your readers are doubtless unfamiliar with this peculiar variety (as it has only been about two years since they were first imported into this country), it may not be amiss to describe them some- what critically. The cocks, in plumage, are of a brilliant metallic black color, with long and broad backs and broad full breasts ; combs branching and antler-like, like two horns pointing straight up ; ear- lobes large and white ; necks rather long, with thick but short hackles ; thighs long and strong, and legs black or slate color, and without crests. M. Simier, a French writer of acknowl- edged ability and of much experience, has recently written a pamphlet setting forth the specific merits of the different breeds of French poultry, and arrives at the con- clusion that " for eggs and the table the La Fleehe fowls deserve to rank with the very best." He says : " To this breed do we owe the grand poulardes so renowned, so remarkable by the delicacy of their flesh. They are better known as ' poulardes du Mans.' but they are all bought first on the market of La Fleehe. It is a large up- standing bird, high on the legs, and well shaped ; of a raven-black plumage, and possessing an abundance of white and del- icate meat, and is singularly adapted for table purposes, from the ease with which it is fattened. It is not an early layer, the pullet being generally from six to seven months old when she begins to lay ; she is not a winter layer ; but when she begins, (generally about February), she gives an uninterrupted supply of fine eggs until the moulting season sets in. She hardly ever sits, and when she does, is a poor mother." The London Cottage Gardener, in refer- ring to the La Fleehe fowls which have been imported into England, says that the cocks are subject to sudden fits of illness, from which the hens seem to be exempt. The hens are said to be layers of very large white eggs, but as table birds, are not es- teemed so highly as the Dorkings. The English epicures have an idea that no fowl with dark or yellow colored legs is as deli- cate in flesh as those with white legs ; hence their preference for Dorkings ; and this prejudice, I know, has followers to some extent in this country. "Without at- tempting to enter the lists upon one side or the other of this question, the writer will conclude with the remark, that any young and well-fatted bird of any of the popular varieties is quite good enough for him. E. Rometx's Seedling Strawberry is at- tracting some attention, and bids fair to take a place among the approved varieties. It was originated by William H. Romeyn, of Kingston, X. Y. ; is a cross between the "Wilson and the Triomphe de Gand, and has some resemblance to the Austin. It grows vigorously ; the foliage is abundant and strong, and the plants do not require frequent re-setting. In Mr. Romeyn's gar- den are some specimens six years old, and they produced largely during the past sea- son. Another advantage is in lateness, the Romeyn yielding good fruit ten days after the older varieties have ceased to bear. Charles Downing speaks favorably of the Romeyn. Valentine Burgeoin, of Kings- ton, a very successful cultivator, who has nearly all of the approved varieties, and grows largely for the market, says he gives preference to the Romeyn because he has found that it sells as well as the Triomphe, and bears better and with more certainty ; and Henry II. Reynolds, cashier of the Editor's Table. 313 State of New York National Bank, says that after a fair trial of all the favorite sorts, he has found none containing so many excellent qualities as the Romeyn. President Wilder Strawberry. — The following description of a new straw- berry bearing the name of one of our most valued horticulturists, we take from the American Journal of Horticulture, which states it as the " substance settled upon by the Fruit Committee of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society." "The plant is hardy, robust, vigorous, and very productive. The foliage is hand- some and well developed ; leaf, dark green, roundish, obovate, deeply serrated, of great substance, with stiff, short foot-stalks, and stands the extremes of heat and cold with- out injury. The flower-stalk is stiff and erect, the flowers perfect. The fruit is large, some specimens attaining to more than five inches in circumference ; and many berries this year weighed more than an ounce avoirdupois each. Their color is brilliant crimson scarlet ; form, obtusely conical ; the flesh rosy white, very juicy, but sufficiently firm for market; flavor, rich and sprightly, inclining to sweet, with a dis- tinct aroma of the Alpine or wood straw- berry ; seeds, small ; season, late. " This variety was produced in 1861 by Mr. Marshall P. Wilder, from artificial im- pregnation of Hovey's Seedling with La Constante." Watching, as we do eagerly, every pro- ject for advancing horticulture in all its de- partments, we look especially to an im- proved education for young gardeners as one of the most powerful means of further- ing the cause. Our profession is not a se- ries of dead rules or authoritative laws, to be once mastered, and then known or for- gotten for evermore. Neither is it, or ought it to be, an erratic series of progres- sions and restings, alternating with each other, — now marching onward under the banner of a Knight, a Loudon, or a Lind- ley, and anon standing still because no such leader appears. No ; such is not the road to the -highest perfection. Every individ- ual worker in the wide field of horticul- ture should feel that his path must be one of progress from good to better, from bet- ter to best. Because others have labored, can be no excuse for us resting upon their labors, but is a legitimate reason why we should enter into their labors, and carry them forward to a higher level. The high- est attainments of all who have gone be- fore us should be our starting-point on the highway of endless progression. Ench worker as he delegates his work to others should give the parting admonition — " Not as though I had already attained, or were already perfect," but you follow after, if it be that you apprehend that perfection in art and practice that I have failed to reach. To forget, so far as to rest in them, the things which are behind, and to reach for- ward to those that are before, must be our watchword. Always learning and never coming to the full knowledge of the truth, must express the state of our intellect and the purpose of our lives, if the garland of success is to enwreath our brows, and the grace of humility to adorn our characters. Between the fathomless mysteries of plant-life on the one hand, the immeasur- able capacities of intellectual life on the other, and the difficulties inseparable to the control of human life in its relation to both, there is work enough to tax the strongest intellect and to try the soundest heart. But it is only by rising to the dig- nity and grandeur of our work that it can be properly done. While, therefore, fos- tering and developing to the utmost the marvelous capabilities of vegetable life, let us also carefully cultivate the intellect- ual life within and around us. Only thus can the progress of gardening become real, constant, cumulative. Now, it is by far too much a thing of tits and starts. One great man acquires eminence, and it is years before the rank and file reach his high standard. They first oppose, then 314 The Horticulturist. ridicule, then examine, then adopt, and finally rest at his point of progress. How all this happens, and how even eminence itself becomes a drag on the chariot wheels of progress, is most eloquently pointed out by a modern author in the following preg- nant words : " It is true that an original man is per- secuted in his lifetime and idolized after his death ; but it is a less familiar truth that the posthumous idolaters are the le- gitimate successors and representatives of the cotemporary persecutors. The glory of the original man is this, that be does not take his virtues and his views of things at second-hand, but draws wisdom fresh from Nature, and from the inspiration within him. To the majority in every age, — that is, to the superficial and the feeble — such originality is alarming, peip>iexing, and fatiguing. They unite to crush the innovator ; but it may be that by his own energy, and by the assistance of his follow.- ers, he is too strong for them. Gradually, about the close of his career, or, it may be, after it, they are compelled to with- draw their opposition, and to imitate the man whom they had denounced. They are compelled to do that which is most frightful to them — to abandon their rou- tine. And then there occurs to them a thought which brings inexpressible relief. Out of the example of the original man they can make a new routine ; they may imitate him in everything except his origi- nality, for one routine is as easy to pace as another. What they dread is the necessity of originating, the fatigue of being really alive, and thus the second half of the original man's destiny is really worse than the first, and his failure is written more legibly in the blind veneration of succeed- ing ages than in the blind hostility of his own. He broke the chains by which men were bound ; lie threw open to them the doors leading into the boundless freedom of Nature and of truth. But in the next generation he is idolized, and Nature and truth as much forgotten as ever. If he could return to earth he would find that the crowbars and files with which he had made his way out of the prison house have been forged into the bolts and chains of a new prison, called by his own name. And who are those who idolize his memory ? "Who are found building his sepulcher? Precisely the same party who resisted his reform ; those who are born for routine, and can accommodate themselves to every- thing but freedom ; those who in clinging to the wisdom of the past suppose they love wisdom, but in fact love only the past ; and love the past only because they hate the living present ; , those, in a word, and slightly to change the language of the eloquent author, who set up the inertia of the dead past in opposition to the life and power of the actual present." It would seem impertinent to attempt to add to the forcibleness of these words. They are applicable to men in all ranks of life, but especially so to gardeners, who have too often attempted to bind the vig- orous freedom of vegetable and intellectual life by the narrow ties of red tape, and the green withes of a sunless routine. — Gar- deners' Chronicle. The Original Scuppernong. — J. Van Buren writes to the Southern Cultivator that "The original vine of the Scupper- nong Grape is growing on Roanoke Island, and was first discovered by the colony landing with Sir Walter Raleigh in 1654 or 1635, and is probably the oldest vine known at the present day." Mr. Van Bu- ren still considers his estimate of the Scup- pernong producing 1,500 to 2,000 gallons of wine to an acre, as a fair and not an extrava- gant one, where care and proper attention and cultivation are bestowed. We would here give one word of advice to those about to plant this variety, which is, not to use any stable manure, but simply rich earth from decayed leaves and other vege- tation. Those who expect this vine to grow vig- orously in an old broomsedge field, and Editor's Table. 315 yield an abundant crop of fruit, will find their expectations to end in disappoint- ment. And again : it will not do to plant in too rich a soil, for then its growth is too rampant for years, until it exhausts the soil, before it will produce fruit abundant- ly. Land that will bring 20 to 25 bushels of corn per acre is sufficiently rich for this grape — not low and wet, but dry, and in- clined to sandy. Our readers will remember that this grape, so far as well tested, is only valuable in the South. Wash for the Peach Worm. — R. J. Moses, in the Southern Cultivator, says: " After taking out the worm from the peach tree, make a solution (mixed with a little cow dung or clay) of the Plant Destroyer, which is a chemical result of petroleum, and can be had at 113 Elizabeth St., New York. Wash the trunks of the trees with this, and the fly will cease to deposit the egg by which the worm is produced. A yearly application of this solution will, I think, effectually rid you of the peach worm." This present month is a suitable time to examine peach-trees, and to destroy the worm — and it is a labor and duty in peach growing essential to success. If any of our readers should use the wash above named, we hope they will report to us of results ; but we advise them not to trust to it without looking over their trees next May or June. Glass-Houses, — Those of our readers who intend to erect houses for use the coming winter, or to be planted with vines or trees the following spring, should have commenced operations, so that everything may be in readiness before the approach of frost. Scarcely any lover of plants can dispense with protection of some sort for his half hardy pets, which have added so much to his pleasure and the gratification of his visitors during the growing season, and which must otherwise succumb to the winter's frost. To those who can not afford a more expensive structure, and who are willing to give to it a very small amount of attention, a cold pit has many advantages over the usual practice of putting plants in a cellar. Such a pit should be permanent in its character, and located in a spot easy of access to the house, that it may receive proper attention during the winter. A convenient size, and one sufficient for an ordinary garden, would be ten feet long by five wide, varied somewhat from these dimensions to suit size of glass in sashes. The pit should be excavated four feet and a half below the surface, and a hollow wall of brick built up to one foot above the surface. Six inches in depth of coarse gravel should be placed in the bottom, on which the pots containing the plants rest. Shelves may be also placed around the sides for the smaller plants. The wall above the ground should be u banked up" to within three inches of the top, and sodded. Double sashes, we have found, give great protection, and save attention in covering the pit. The bars of these sashes are u rabbited" on both sides and double glazed, thus inclosing a stratum of air affording a good non-conductor of heat from within, or cold from without the pit. The plants when first put in the pit will require to be watered, and the sashes opened during the day, until cold weather. But little water is required during winter, as the plants are in a state of rest, and partial dryness at the roots is of advantage. In very severe weather straw mats would be required, but the double glass would keep out 10 to 15 degrees of frost. Some ventilation must be given on mild days, when the sun is bright, to carry off the dampness, but in dull cold weather all should be kept closed up. Camellias and azaleas do admirably in such quarters, and can be brought into the dwelling and flowered at any time during the winter. Many plants grow; with surprising luxuri- 316 The Horticulturist. ance after remaining dormant in such quarters all winter. As the season advances, in the spring ventilation must be given during the day, closing the sashes at night until the weather becomes mild, when they may be gradually removed altogether. "We have never advocated the erection of cheap structures for growing plants, un- less they are intended for mere temporary use ; or if the owner is willing to repair them frequently to an extent of an entire renewal in from six to ten years. The general plan of horticultural struc- tures may be as perfect as possible, but if the details are not well carried out, and especially if the workmanship be not good, they will prove a source of never-ending vexation and expense. Insecure founda- tions, ill-fitting doors and ventilators, im- perfect glazing and inferior workmanship of every description, are evils that skillful gardeners have to contend with, and upon whom the consequences of such defects usually fall, when they should be placed upon the shoulders of the constructor. Methods for building cheap graperies and green-houses have often been described, and we find many of these imperfect and temporary structures scattered through the country. Such buildings may be cheap as respects their first cost, but their dura- bility is a question which should enter into the calculations of their builders, as well as the consideration of the original outlay. After a year or two we find them with open joints, leaky roofs, and decaying foundations. The inferior and temporary character of materials and workmanship is often a source of serious loss to their owners, and every building of this descrip- tion demonstrates the mistaken and short- sighted economy of its projector. It is much wiser and truer economy to expend at the outset a sufficient amount of money and care to make the structure permanent, and to obviate the necessity of constant repairs. Experience has taught us that if they are well and substantially built, these structures will endure for twenty years with very few repairs except an occasional coat of paint. It need not be demonstrated that the profit and gratification to be derived from a well-built house far exceed those accruing from a cheap and imperfect one, Avith escapes for the heat in winter, and inlets for cold air and driving snow and rain. Oleanders. — In our rambles about the country we are frequently asked as to the best time for cutting in or pruning olean- ders; to which we reply, cut them back just as soon as they have flowered. They will then push freely and bloom next' sea- son again. We have occasionally known them to bloom late in the season when pruned back in the spring, or when first brought out from cellar or store room, where oleander plants are generally kept by those growing and admiring them and who have no green or glasshouses. When cutting back, do so with reference to the leaving of some young shoots, and also of dormant indistinct buds. A little yearly pruning back and of shortening in side branches would convert many a tall, stern, ragged-headed oleander into a round, com- pact, beautiful-shaped plant — of half its former height, but double its breadth. Having noticed an inquiry some time since in the Tribune, which was made at the Farmers' Club, New York, and having pretty extensively examined Virginia on the subject of that inquiry, it occurred to me that some of your readers might be inter- ested in my investigations. The inquiry was, " Can the Catawba grape be successfully grown in Virginia ?" I have seen that vine in my travels here in all its stages of growth, and several times during its fruiting season. I have never noticed any mildew, and hardly any rot. There are vines on the place on which I am now staying, in fruit, — the clusters perfect as any I ever saw, the leaf perfect as in June. The wine from this grape was highly esteemed here during the Editor's Table. 317 war, and one large vineyard made a great deal of money. I think I can say, then, that the Catawba grape, as well as all our new varieties, may be successfully grown in this neighborhood — which is about twenty miles from Washington, and near the Orange and Alexandria Railroad. It is a healthy country, abounding in springs of soft water. Good grape lands sell at from $10 to $25 per acre. The people are friendly, and desire Northern emigration. The valley lands grow grass, wheat, corn, etc. Steuben. Centervillb, Fairfax Co., Va., Sept. 5, 1888. Hybridizing the Grape. — From a re- port, published in the Canada Farmer, of Hon. Wm. H. Mills, President of the Fruit-Growers' Association of Canada, we extract the following, showing the atten- tion our Canadian brothers are giving to- ward producing new varieties of the grape and other fruits. " Mr. William Saunders, of London, On- tario, has, with much skill and labor, pro- duced this season the following results in hybridizing, and has kindly permitted me to lay them before you. FEMALE OR BEARING VINE. Clinton— with Syrian pollen '• " Muscat Hamburgh, 2 bunches. 1 failed, the other set Buckland Sweetwater Muscat d'Avut Black Hamburgh Grizzly Fontignan— failed . Black do. do. ., Chasselas Musque Royal Muscadine Victoria Hamburgh Rose Chasselas li.'rria.i. set 18 Total OF GOOSEBERRIES. Houghton's Seedling with Warrington pollen . " " " Roaring Lion " " " Whitesmith " " " Brown Girl " " " Ashton's Seedling " " " Crown Bob — failed, Total " Eight or ten flowers were operated on in each case, excepting Crown Bob, which was used on live only. He also operated on six or seven flowers of the Philadelphia Raspberry, with the Brinckle's Orange ; such were his results. Mine were as fol- lows : I was unable to fertilize the Dela- ware with the either the Black or Muscat Hamburghs, while one took readily with the Diana. Meatedly to grow to a character meeting the reputation it has often received, but so far have failed. With us it is large, hand- some outwardly, of a light sulphur yel- low, but the flesh void of any but a sweet dead or flat character. In our Southern States it may be desirable, but according to our experience is not worth growing at the North and West. Huntington.— This variety we have grown two seasons. It is a strong spreading grower, quite productive, bearing a fair- sized fruit generally, long oval in form, as our drawing shows, with broad deep sutures, and broad lines of netting gene- rally longitudinal. When fully ripe it is Fig. 111. lemon yellow, with a creamy yellow flesh, swreet and rich, but not agreeable in flavor. White Japan or Japanese. — This is a quality of flesh one of the best, but with us not a productive sort. It is of a medium size, whitish green, slightly netted, flesh greenish white, melting, and delicately sweet. Henderson describes it as having yellow flesh, but none that we have seen possessed flesh other than a greenish white. Citron or Oreen Citron.~0£ all the va- rieties we have ever grown or eaten, none possesses the rich sweetness, delicacy, and perfume of this variety. It is of medium size, larger than Skillman's, Fig. 112.— Citron. but not as early ; a light blue green until fully ripe, when outwardly it is a pale yel- low or yellow green, ribbed and with broad raised nettings ; flesh, thick, green, very rich, sweet, and delicious. Were we to select two sorts we should take Skillman's and Citron, and for a third, Alvord's Hybrid. p Pruning Dwarf Pears. 367 PRUNING DWARF PEARS. Many suppose, when reading of the neces- •sity of pruning dwarf pear-trees, to make them bushy and induce early bearing, that the lower limbs should all be taken oft' and only an occasional end branch be shortened. We therefore, in order to dis- abuse any such impression, give an illustra- tion here of a Rosteizer 2>ear-tree, shorten- ed in annually from its first year's growth, and now five years old. We show it just as it is, although it is apparent that little extra care in cutting would have avoided the knobs of dead wood now seen on some of the earlier cuts. Recently we passed through an amateur's grounds, who, in showing us his dwarf pears, drew our at- Fro. 113.— Rosteizer Pear- Tree. tention, with great apparent satisfaction to copy from him, because in his summer himself, to his summer pinching, and the pinching he had waited until the branches consequent production of fruit buds at had grown one to two feet, and the result the terminus; but although we did not say is, that next year his trees will throw out a so, because of his sensitiveness, we con- world of cross shoots, with little elonga- fes^s we felt annoyed that any one should tion at ends, and necessitate a complete 368 The Horticulturist. cutting back the next year, thus losing at least one if not two years of time. If any of our readers have committed a like blunder, our advice to them is to cut back this coming fall or winter pruning, without regard to terminal fruit buds, but with regard to the ultimate form and durability of the" tree, for it is all-important that the leading supporting limb buds should be kept near the base or below fruit bud. CHENANGO STRAWBERRY-APPLE. Synonyms : Frank Buckley — Jackson — Sherwood's Favorite — Strawberry, accord- ing to Thomas. Fpuit, medium to large, roundish oblate conical, rich clear red on the sunny side, with a few suffused light gray dots in the shade a pale light yellow ground with broken stripes and shades of clear red and a few small raised dots ; stalk, short ; cavity, deep, broad, open, regular; calyx, large, Fig. 114. — Chenango Strawberry- Apple. open with erect, pointed, recurved segments; basin, round, smooth, even, rather deep ; flesh, yellowish white, crisp, tender, juicy, mild, sub-acid, aromatic, rich; core, medium ; seeds, ovate, rich brown. Season, September and October. Tree, an upright, spreading, but compact grower, with broad rich dark green foliage, young shoots light colored. This is one of our most valuable fall apples, compara- tively but little known, and yet one of the best for table, family use, and market. Burr's New Pine Strawberry.— R. A. years ago. He is not a dealer, only an Moore, of Kensington, Conn., writes that amateur grower, and therefore those want- he has this variety true, having had it ing the plants will govern themselves ac- from its first introduction, some twenty cordingly. Editors Table. 369 EDITOR'S TABLE, To Contributors and Others. — Address all Communications, for the Editorial and Publishing Departments, to F. W. Woodward, 37 Park Row, New York. POULTRY. Mr. Editor : In your valuable magazine for September you had a contribution from my highly esteemed friend P. W., of Taunton, Mass., on that variety of French chickens called Houdans. From a pretty critical investigation of the merits of this variety, both from personal observation and from reading, I have come to the con- clusion that my friend failed to do them the fullest justice in his communication, and I have made up my mind to present their claims to popular favor a little more elaborately than he did, in the article referred to. M. Jacques, one of the most intelligent and reliable French authorities on Poultry, in speaking of Houdans, says : " It is one of the finest breeds of fowls, and nothing is richer than the aspect of a poultry-yard composed of Houdans ; but their good qualities are far beyond their beauty. Besides the small weight of bone, the quality and delicacy of the flesh, it is admirably fecund and precocious. The cock chickens attain a large growth in four months, and with ordinary care put on fat and attain a large size. The pul- lets make magnificent poulardes, and, among all breeds, this it is that shows the least difference in weight between the cock and pullet. They lay abundantly at an early age, — the eggs are large and remarkably white. Like all large layers, this is a poor sitter." Mr. C. W. Gedney, of Kent, England, in a recent communication to the London. Horticulturist and Poultry Chronicle, says of Houdans : " I have reared an average 24 — DECEMBER. of nine chicks from every sitting of thirteen eggs during the past two seasons. Some breeders would call this good luck, but in my opinion it is what any person, by the commonest attention, might do with Hou- dans, in the most limited space for rearing chickens. I reared all my birds in a sandy yard for the first three clays, giving them chopped egg boiled hard with bread crumbs and lettuce; and after the third clay their staple food was middlings and lettuce, with an occasional handful of shelled oats. With this food, supplied little and often, the birds grew with wonderful rapidity, — and an aptitude to make flesh is a strong argument in favor of this breed for table purposes. Its flesh is delicate, tender, and nutritious. My Houdans, hatched in April, were fit to kill a month before Dorking chickens of the same age ; but, unlike other fowls, the hen birds are the most rapid of growth, and when only a few hours old may be distin- guished from the males by their superior vigor and larger crests. " As layers, the Houdans will hold their own against any fowls with which I am acquainted, — their eggs are large, of a fine rich flavor, and equal in weight to those laid by the famous Spanish. The Houdans never sit — they are gentle, very tame, and of a contented, stay-at-home disposition, and not at all dainty feeders. " As a proof that fanciers are becoming alive to the increasing popularity of Hou- dans, I may point to the fact that the ' National Poultry Company,' at their late sale, obtained $42 for their prize cock and hen, which was the highest price paid for 370 The Horticulturist. any two birds among the eight hundred sold." The editor of the London Cottage Gar- dener, in a recent number of his paper, and in reply to a correspondent who asked his opinions in reference to the popular French breeds of chickens, says : " Houdan fowls are very hardy, more so than the La Fleche or Creve Cceurs, the cocks of which latter breeds die by scores, and are subject to complaints hitherto unknown. They bear close confinement without injury to their usefulness. They are never sick — they are much heavier than they appear to be — have good square bodies, are broad across the back, have short whitish colored or speckled legs, and five toes on each foot. In color they are speckled, and have crests and muffles, and are superior layers." A writer in the Journal of Horticulture, of August 15, who signs himself "Lindum," says: "As egg-producers, Houdans are, I have no hesitation in affirming, unrivaled. They arrive at maturity at an early age, are extremely hardy ; and their deep, full breasts render them especial favorites with the cook." "An Amateur Breeder," in the same journal, of September 5, referring to " Lin- dum's " article on Houdans, says : " I can bear testimony to the unsuipassed qualities of this breed. I have four hens which have laid more egg?> this spring and sum- mer than all my Cochin-China, Spanish, and Hamburghs together, — and, moreover, they never incubate." Mr. W. Massey, in a communication to the Cottage Gardener, in speaking of .the French breeds of poultry, says : " Having imported and disposed of many hundreds of the French varieties of fowls, for the National Poultry Company, I think my experience may be of some interest to your readers. The three breeds, I think, are very useful introductions to our poultry- yards, and I rank them in order of merit — first, Houdan ; second, Creve Coeur ; and third, La Fleche. The two latter are more -especially suited to a genial climate and dry situation. The greatest, drawback in this country to Creve Cceurs is that, in change of temperature, they are subject to attacks of cold, approaching to, and not unfrequently ending in roup. The same may be said, in a certain degree, of the La Fleche, and there is in this variety an un- accountable mortality among the cocks. " The Houdans are a very hardy race, easily acclimated, have vigorous constitu- tions, bear almost any confinement, and are prolific layers of large eggs, which they continue to produce nearly throughout the year. They are very fertile, much more so than the other varieties of French fowls, consequently there is a large proportion of chickens, which are particularly harrly and easily reared. It is a common saying at the National Poultry Company's establish- ment, " You can not kill a Houdan chicken." Being non-sitters it will, of course, be necessary to incubate their eggs by some other breed. Brahma hens accomplish this in the best possible manner. An adult cock, in condition, will weigh from seven to nine pounds, the hens about the same ; and chickens from four to four and a half months old, five to six pounds, with a remarkably small projjortion of bone and offal. I am strong in the opinion that in a given breeding stock, with equal advan- tages, a greater weight of flesh and eggs would be produced during a season, and of first-rate quality, from the Houdans than from any other known variety of fowls." The testimony of breeders in France and England, as well as in this country, is so general and conclusive as to the merits of Houdans, that the writer is compelled to believe that, as egg producers, they are destined to take rank with the most popu- lar breeds in this country, — and, notwith- standing the high prices at which they are generally held, he has made up his mind to make a small investment in them, and test their qualities the ensuing spring. E. Braiimas. — An English gentleman re- cently wrote to the editor of the Cottage Editor's Table. 371 Gardener to inquire what specific kind of chickens he would advise him to keep, as being least troublesome and most apt to yield a fair return for the care extended to them. The editor in his reply says : " If you wish to have the best possible return with the least trouble, we advise you to keep Brahma Pootras. They are very hardy, good layers, good sitters, and good mothers. They are also very useful table fowls ; and will do well in such a space as you name." This brief but just tribute to the merits of Brahmas will meet the sanction of almost every breeder who has given them a fair and intelligent trial. E. , Fowls for the Table. — A writer in the London Times says : " That so strong is the prejudice in that city in favor of chickens with white legs, as table birds, that from fifteen to twenty per cent, more will be paid for these than for such as have black or dark legs." While it is true that many persons in this country prefer white-legged (white legs indicate white skin) fowls for the table, the great mass care more for the condition of birds than for the complexion of their legs. E. Roup.- — As this is the season when fowls are apt to be more or less troubled with Roup, permit me to give a remedy which may pi'ove useful to some of your readers. Wash the head of the diseased bird morn- ing and evening with tepid water and castile soap, and give a bolus of lard and flour of sulphur mixed, of the size of an English walnut. Alum water may be used to cleanse the throat and mouth, if these are much affected. The fowl should be put in dry and comfortable quarters by itself till the disease is arrested. An En- glish remedy for Roupe is to " Wash daily, once or twice, in tepid water, and give one grain of sulphate of copper mixed with oatmeal in ale, and give plenty of green food." E. Cure for Chicken Cholera. — Mr. Editor : Chicken Cholera has prevailed to a greater or less extent for several years in many of the Western and Southwestern States, and thousands upon thousands of valuable birds have been carried off by it. Having met with a remedy for this disease in my recent reading, I send it to you for publication, hoping that it may be of advantage to some of your readers. A gentleman of Iowa, writing to the " De- partment of Agriculture " of that State, says: " My chickens have been dying of Cholera for the last two years, — even turkeys have died of the same disease. When I notice the hens begin to droop and look sleepy, I give them three or four tablespoonfuls of strong alum-water, and repeat the same the next day. I also mix their feed (say Indian meal) with strong alum-water, feeding twice a day for two or three days, — afterward once a week. Since commencing this practice I have not lost any." Another gentleman, writing to the same " Department," says : " Take two eggs, one tablespoonful of finely pulverized alum, and a sufficient quantity of flour to make a thin paste, and force the chicken or turkey to swallow a portion of the mixture, and there are two chances to one that it will recover. I have used this remedy for two years with success. I have also used alum, once a day, in their food as a pre- ventive, when this disease is prevalent. Fowls should never have access to swill tubs or any other kind of sour food. E. Railroad Excursion. — The Illinois Central Railroad Company have the credit of being the first managers of a line of transportation, with sufficient acumen to recognize the value to the country, and thereby the increased value to their roads, by the observation and researches of lead- ing horticulturists. By the courtesy of the managers of the above-named road, a large company of Illinois horticulturists have been passed over it free, while visiting dif- ferent fruit-growers and fruit-growing points for the purpose of examining and 372 The Horticulturist. comparing modes of culture, varieties of fruits, soils, etc. "We commend the exam- ple to other railroad managers, hoping that ere long they will be enabled to clear their brains sufficient to understand that in fruit-growing there are many men who travel to obtain and disseminate knowl- edge without a thought of pecuniary per- sonal gain, and that to the labors of such men the increase of fruit-growing and con- sequent increase of transportation is large- ly to be attributed ; hence a little courtesy and liberality extended them would be creditable to the managers as well as pro- ductive of increased good feeling of fruit- growers toward the road. Time to Cut Grafts. — We have no doubt that the best time to make cuttings to be used for grafting the pear, cherry, apple, plum, or grape is just before severe frost of winter. The wood is then full of vitality, has lost nothing in evaporation by drying, cold winds, nor have its sap veins or vessels been in any way injured by contraction and expansion of extreme cold. The grafts or cuttings made early in or just before winter may be packed away in damp sand or moss in a cool cel- lar, where they will keep fresh, and when used in spring will be found much more certain to grow than grafts cut during or after mid-winter, and more or less injured or reduced in vitality from exposure to vi- cissitudes of climatic action. Lawrence, Kansas, Sept. 29<7i, 1868. Mr. Editor : Dear Sir — I have often read advertisements in the Horticultur- ist of grapevines two and three years old, and wondered if anybody would buy them, and if so, what could they do with them. But you, of course, will excuse my ver- dancy when I tell you that I have been in the far "West over twenty years, and for the last fourteen years on the great American Desert. Now, we grow vines out here, — yes, and grapes too ; and we make wine (not composition) of pure grape juice. I send you by U. S. Express, prepaid, one vine of Eogers' Hybrid No. 3, grown from a single bud; said bud was put in the sand-bed on the 2d of March last ; was kept in the propagating-house until the 4th of May ; then it was planted in the field, where it remained until September 21. This vine is an average of about 12,000 grown in the same way, and my reason for sending it to you is to know if in your opinion we have any need of two and three year old vines, or if you would prefer lay- ers or cuttings of vines to such as this ? Illinois. [The vine was duly received, and is the largest vine we ever saw that was raised from a single eye in one season. — Ed.] Detroit, Sept. 23, 1868. Mr. Editor : Dear Sir — Most authori- ties on " Grape Culture under Glass" ad- vise shutting graperies close at night. Adopting this theory in the case of a cold grapery, I was formerly troubled by more or less mildew. For the last three years I have tried the experiment of never allowing the grapery to be closed entirely. On the contrary, the three sashes in the top glass have not been closed at all after danger from frost had passed in the spring, during the above time, till into November. Not only this, — I have lattice doors at each end of the grapery, and these are the only ones used during the same time. "Whether the result is a consequence or merely a co- incidence, I am unable to say. I have not been troubled with mildew. I tried the experiment, however, on a hypothesis of my own, and have not had any reason to regret it. My cold grapery is 35 feet long and 15 feet wide, — a " lean-to." I am yours truly, J. "Wiley. [We have always practiced and advocat- ed abundant ventilation to grape houses, day and night, after the season is sufficient- ly advanced that the nights have become warm. The system of ventilation recom- mended by some authors, varying with al- most every hour of the day, we consider Editor's Table. 373 useless to a great extent. If sudden storms arise, or great changes of temperature take place,' we should close all ventilators for the time being, but in warm fair weather keep them continuously open. Any sys- tem of ventilation, however, will not pre- vent mildew. We have seen our corre- spondent's plan tried this present season, even to the lattice doors, and the vines were attacked with mildew in its worst form, which was only checked by sulphur applied with sulphur bellows. In another case, the house was kept constantly open, but mildew attacked the vines when in bloom. In former years these houses have neither of them suffered.— Ed.] amateurs, and also an additional testimony of the value of these varieties of grapes grown in Northern Ohio. Native Wines. — We are indebted to Captain John Spalding, and also to Mr. Oliver Alger, of Cleveland, Ohio, for sam- ple-bottles of wines made by themselves, and sent with request for remarks, which, accordingly, having drank the wine, we proceed to make as follows. The Norton's Virginia of Captain Spalding is a heavy wine, we think too heavy, and that the ad- dition of spirit he has made is against it for present use. If kept four years, care- fully, however, we think it would rival nine- tenths of the best Burgundy sold. The idea of reducing acid by addition of spirit to kill it, as it were, we do not coincide in. The Delaware, from the same source, would rank as about 86 to 88 in a scale calling 100 best ; and if, as the maker says, it was made from grapes, of which the best had been selected and sold, we can only say, Next time keep all, and you may be certain to make a wine equal to any grower of the same grape. Mr. Alger's wine is from the Concord, grown on a sandy loam, is one year old, viz., from the vintage of 1867, and without anything but the juice of the Concord grape itself. It is a good sample of claret. We have drank many a bottle of " Chateaux Margeux " label that did not begin to be as good. Our thanks for these samples. They show us progress in the way of wine-making in the hands of F. W. Woodward, Esq. — Bear Sir: Can you inform me by what means florists insure the germination the first year of the seeds of the tree peonia ? One of our most distinguished originators of new fruits and flowers, whose tree peonias have received the admiration of the public, has always been compelled to work at disadvantage in this respect. He tells me that professional florists have not been found willing to im- part to others their secrets. He has shared with me his seeds, and I take the liberty to make this inquiry. Truly yours, etc., Cyrus G. Pringle. Charlotte, Vermont, Nov. 3d, 1868. [In the ordinary process of nature, if the seed of the tree peonia is sown as soon as gathered, in sharp loamy sand, and in a cold frame, where it can have frost and moisture to dissolve and soften its outer rind, bark, or cuticles, without too much water to cause the seed germ to rot, nearly every seed will germinate the second spring after sowing. It is never safe to allow the seed to become fully dried. Occasionally, if the autumn after sowing prove warm and moist, a certain portion of the seeds become so softened in the outer rind as to 2)ush forth and grow the first season after sowing, but it is only occasionally, and can not be relied upon. If it is desired to has- ten development the spring following growth of the seed, then place the seed as soon as gathered in sand, and keep it con- stantly subject to a gentle, but steady, moist bottom-heat, such as is obtained over the tank of a hot-water propagating bed. We have known some growers to scald lightly before sowing, but our own experience is against it, we having lost our seed always when we scalded. It is possible we overdid the thing, as the process evidently must tend to assist in breaking loose the covering of the germ, and if at once placed in the soft, moist, bottom-heat of a propagating tank 374 The Horticulturist. or bed, there is good reason to look for an advanced season of sprouting.] The Black Cap Raspberry seems to be somewhat mixed up in names. Not being a special lover of Black Cap Rasp- berries ourself, we have paid but little attention to them, other than to grow a few of the varieties, and examine fruit whenever it came before us. We have received a number of letters asking us to unravel the mystery, which we should be happy to do if we could. Some of our correspondents hint strongly that the Mammoth Cluster and Big Miami or McCormick are one and the same, which, judging from the accounts of history published in the Prairie Farmer may be possible. We by request copy these histories, and trust to grow and fruit plants under both names another season. The following letter, from Mr. W. E. Mears, an old resident of Ohio and most reliable gentleman, gives facts regarding the Miami and McCormick varieties. Milford, Ohio, Sept. 23, 1868. About twenty-five years ago a cousin of mine named McCormick, living in Stone- lick township, of this (Clermont) county, Ohio, and on one of the streams that empty into the Little Miami, removed a small cluster of plants from the forest to his garden. In a few years he had so in- creased the supply of these, which he sup- posed the Common Black Cap, that he made his appearance in the market with the fruit always, somehow, a week or ten clays later than ours on the Miami. We sup- posed for years that it was his cold oak soil that made the berries so much later. After I engaged in the plant trade in 1850, I obtained McCormick's variety, and after growing them alongside of my own, was satisfied they were distinct; and Dr. Warder and myself called them the Miami, to distinguish them from the common American Black Cap in general cultiva- tion. To Dr. Warder I gave a hundred plants, which he sent to some one East, — I do not recollect to whom. The variety, I am pretty certain, was not much disseminated until McCormick sold out here, about ten years ago, and settled on the bluff east of St. Louis, in Illinois, near Collinsville. There he planted large- ly, and in two or three years sold out to his brother-in-law, Mr. Coombs, who is still there, and growing the " Miami McCor- mick " extensively for the St. Louis mar- ket. It has gone into other hands, and is at this time scattered broadcast — except in my old and the original raspberry commu- nity around Mt. Washington, as now called, where they have never cultivated the McCormick. Hence plants from that lo- cality would turn out " Little Miami," and the true McCormick, when obtained, would prove the " Big Miami." Last fall, at the Illinois State Horticultu- ral Society meeting at Cobden, I proposed changing the name from Miami to McCor- mick, in order to avoid the confusion I foresaw coming in these Black Caps, so different, yet all from the Miami region of country. It is due McCormick that his name should attach to that variety, with- out doubt the largest, lest, and most produc- tive Black Cap ever grown. I append a de- scription. McGormiclc Rasplerry, syn. "Miami," by which name mostly grown. Origin, Stone- lick Township, Clermont County, Ohio, on the farm of Geo. W. McCormick, and by him first cultivated about 1880 or '32. Growth, very strong and upright; canes, brown, covered with thick white bloom; leaves, darker than the common Black Cap ; fruit, of larger size than any other Black Cap, less seedy, and borne in large clus- ters, often as compact as a bunch of Diana grapes ; fruit, grayish black, changing to purplish gray after being picked a few hours. It is rich and juicy, but carries well to market ; very productive. W. E. Mears. LlLIUM AURATTJM RuBRUM VlTATTJM. — If any one has bulbs of this variety, they will oblige by informing us. Editor's Table. 375 All fruit-trees are liable under the best of cultivation to have more or less insects harbor on them. This month, as soon as the leaves have fallen, will be found a profitable season to paint or wash them, bodies and all, the main limbs and crotches, with some kind of alkali wash. We prac- tice putting up a leach of wood-ashes, and using the lye therefrom ; but a wash from commercial potash will perhaps be equally good. The mingling a little of flour of sulphur or common soot, so as to form a thin paint, is by some counted better than the clear lye. vignerons, and especially those who are troubled with excess of vine and foliage, will try root this autumn, and report to us another season the result. Hollyhocks left in the open ground should have the old flower stems cut down, and a covering of three or four inches of manure spread over their crowns, the manure to be lightly forked under in spring. Root Pruning Grapevines. — We practice root pruning of the pear, ajjple, etc., for the purpose of checking redun- dancy of growth, and believe the same practice may be useful in the cultivation of our native grapevines. In many soils such varieties as the Isabella, Clinton, Concord, etc., are disposed to form so much length of vine as to tax well the patience and skill of the most intelligent viticulturist. They often go elongated, and exhaust thereby the shoots, that few are left with strong buds fitted for fruit-bearing another year. The practice of annual winter pruning, cutting back severely, is only an induce- ment to creation of a great amount of new avoocI, for all the root is left, and its supplies must find vent in foliage at the proper season. If at the same time we prune the vine, say in this month of November, we also, by use of a long, sharp spade, go around the vine and cut off the roots, may we not reasonably look for a reduced tend- ency of the vine to elongate its wood branches, and a greater probable prospect of the fruit being supplied in a greater de- gree, by reason of the lessened action in the whole system ? We hope some one or more Surface Drainage is all-essential to young vineyards or plantations of dwarf pears. We have known young vineyards on underdrained grounds almost entirely killed out by leaving the vines to pass the winter without care relative to surface drain- ing, but depending exclusively on the uncler- drains to relieve the roots at all times from superabundant moisture. A slight strain of thought, sufficient to bring to memory the many days we often have during winter months, when the surface is free from frost two, three, and four inches deep, but all below locked in impenetrable rock by frost, should convince any reasonable per- son of the advantage, if not necessity, of giving winter surface drainage to all plants whose main dependence on life is from the surface roots. BOOK NOTICES. How Crops Grow. This work is by Professor Johnson, of Yale College, and contains a fund of valuable information for the student in agriculture or horti- culture. Besides giving the components and principles which make up plant life, it is also to an extent an explanatory dic- tionary of terms used in designating plants and parts thereof. The book is abundant- ly and handsomely illustrated, and printed in the clear bold type and superior man- ner that pertains to all of its publishers' works. New York : Orange Judd & Co., Publishers. Price, $2. The Wine-maker's Manual. By Charles Reemelin. The increased extent of vine culture in this country brings with it more and more of a desire for knowledge in the way of transforming the surplus of the crop into good wine. To meet this de- mand, this book before us has in it much of plain practical instruction, but without 376 The Horticulturist. anything specially new. The author ap- proves and advocates the practice of Gal- licizing, and through it imagines a wine standard will be created free from the spirit of the British, the acid of the German, or the sweet character of the Spanish. To the new beginner, the work will be found an acquisition, and it is well worth the at- tention of all vine-growers. Cincinnati, Ohio : Robert Clarke & Co., Publishers. Price, $1 25. Farm Talk. This is a series of short chapters upon various farming labors and cares. It is written in a plain and sup- posed common style of conversation, and while the practical teachings are good, we can not but dissent from the style. It may be too true, that some few of our farmers are so uneducated as to converse in the rude manner here presented ; but to place such manner in book form for the reading and education of the young, we do not think indicates a correct principle in the way of advancement of mind, and certainly its acceptance as a rule of New England farm-life conversation will not speak high- ly of the education of her rural popula- tion. It is published by Lee & Shepard, Boston. Price, $1. ANNOUNCEMENT. With this number we close our record of the past year's progress in pomology, flor- iculture, and rural topics, and look with a feeling of much satisfaction at our pages, tilled with descriptions and illustrations of nearly every new fruit and flower that has appeared in the horticultural world, many of which, through the courtesy of con- tributors and correspondents, we have been foremost in describing. From other jour- nals we have selected and condensed such items as appeared to us of interest as con- taining some new theory or practice, or as giving valuable information on topics re- lating to country life. With the commencement of the new year the proprietorship and editorial charge of the Horticulturist will pass into the hands of Mr. Henry T. "Williams, now connected with the New York Independent as Horti- cultural and Agricultural editor, who, in assuming the management of the Maga- zine, will make several important changes for the better. While retaining all the old corps of con- tributors, his endeavor will be to secure the services of many new writers on practical subjects. It will be the aim, as it is the in- tention, of the new proprietor to make the Horticulturist an indispensable com- panion to every one who owns a garden, an orchard, or plot of ground, however small. With one exception, the Horti- culturist is the oldest magazine of its kind in the country, and has long been considered by our best pomologists the standard work on the subjects of which it treats. Many subscribers have been with us from the commencement of this journal by A. J. Downing in 1846, now over twenty- two years, and the value to them of their volumes is far above a pecuniary one, con- taining, as they do, a history of the pro- gress of horticulture for nearly a quarter of a century. To such, as well as our sub- scribers and readers of later years, we say that the future of the Magazine bids fair to exceed its past. Energy, ability, and practical knowledge will be brought to the work of filling its pages with such infor- mation as no grower of fruits, flowers, or vegetables can afford to dispense with. In parting with the Magazine, the new pro- prietor has our best wishes for success in his undertaking, and we take pleasure in assuring our readers that they will be great gainers by the change. For the present, the publication depart- ment will be under our charge, and all communications relating to business may, as heretofore, be addressed to us. We cor- dially invite all our old subscribers to re- new their subscriptions for 1869 ; and should be pleased if each of them would send at least one new patron for the com- ing year.