] 84 American Horticultural Society. 



unmistakable Siberian, by its brilliant colors, its polish, its slim, hard stem, 

 and its prominent calyx. This fruit is of high excellence, approaching "best" 

 in quality, and about with Wealthy in keeping. The tree is not strictly 

 iron-clad, but is hardier than Red Astrachan or Fameuse. As a dessert 

 fruit it is the best of all the crabs, in my opinion, and well worthy of culti- 

 vation anywhere that it will grow. 



I shall conclude this sketch with a brief notice of a series of Vermont 

 crab-hybrids produced some fourteen years since by C. G. Pringle, of Char- 

 lotte, Vt., whose botanical and horticultural labors are probably not unknown 

 to most of the members of this Society. Pringle's Sweet, above mentioned, 

 was a chance seedling in Mr. Pringle's orchard. When he intrusted it to 

 me for propagation, in 1870, 1 urged him to work some crosses between our 

 hardiest winter dessert apples and the longest keeping crabs. He complied 

 with my request, and in the fall of 1883 sent me this series of nine kinds, 

 produced from seed of the Transparent crab, crossed by pollen from the 

 Wagner apple. They all show their relationship to the Wagner with re- 

 markable distinctness, and are otherwise strikingly alike, although there is 

 sufficient difiere.ice either in size, color, or quality, to distinguish them by. 

 They run about with Whitney's No. 20 in size, some of them being decidedly 

 larger, while I think none are smaller. The fruit was grown upon grafts 

 made in the limbs of a large tree, and the seedlings were not preserved, so 

 that, unfortunately, nothing can be said of the trees of any of them, as they 

 have none of them been propagated. 



Mr. Pringle's botanical engagements have kept him on the Pacific coast 

 and among the Rocky Mountains for the past four or five years, so that he 

 has given little or no attention to home affairs. I again last fall procured 

 specimens of these crabs and have distributed the best of them among parties 

 whom I thought would be interested in them. Had I thought of writing a 

 paper for this meeting I would have saved some really good specimens, but 

 as it is I can only send herewith some refuse fruit of a few numbers, which 

 I submit to your consideration as among the latest contributions to this in- 

 teresting class of apples, of which we need to know more, and which deserves 

 a great deal more attention than it has yet received. 



GROWING SMALL FRUITS AS A BUSINESS FOR WOMEN, 



BY MATTHEW CRAWFORD, OF OHIO. 



It seems to be according to the order of nature that man should face the 

 world boldly and bravely, rather seeking than avoiding its bustle and com- 

 petition, but that woman should be defended from the rough experiences of 

 life by the stronger arm of a husband, father, brother, or son. Were she 

 always thus happily situated there would be no necessity for planning what 

 woman can do. Not that she should lead a useless life — no person who is 



