STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 243 



better is at hand, but should be done while tlie plant is yet tender and 

 full of sap, as it is then much more easily accomplished. Probably the 

 best implement vet oftered to the public for this purpose is one manu- 

 factincd at the Douglass Axe Factory, and is Sold by dealers at three 

 dollars each. It i> much the shape of a corn knife, but is much heavier, 

 and is w ielded by both hands, with a long handle. With an implement 

 of this kind, it will not be found a great job to tiim any amount of hedge 

 usually found vn a farm of ordinary size. 



Hedges thus kept, while they stand the fury of our prairie winds, 

 and resist the encroachments of thievish animals, also give diversity and 

 beauty to our prairie firms, and go far towards removing the tedious 

 monotony whicli natuially attaches to a level prairie countiy. 



THE SIBERIAN APPLE. 



BY C. ANDKKWS. 



If we were to name a number of varieties of the apple as types of the 

 best in quality for all purposes, we might mention among them, perhaps, 

 the Early Harvest. Sweet Bough, Baldwin, Rhode Island Greening, Seek- 

 no-fiutlier, and the fanciful Ladv Apple 



Could these and others like them be grown with certainty^ and per- 

 fection in eveiy part of the country, it might seem that very little room 

 VvouUl, be left for improvement in that department of Pomology. 



But would such be the case.'' Can we conceive of no desirable addi- 

 tion to our lists, even thougli all our best apples were constantly reliable in 

 producing their annual crops of fruit? This certainly is putting the ques- 

 tion in the ver\ strongest terms of concession to those who would really 

 have Us seek-no-further for excellence in apples. For, as in everything 

 else, we have old fogies in fruit culture — men who would have us believe 

 that nature has no ''germins" locked in her secret cuisine which can pro- 

 duce fruits capal)le of giving a new sensation to our palates, or supplying 

 us witli new sources of sustenance, delight, and abundance. But even 

 when put upon these broad and liberal grounds, we believe that the fore- 

 going (luestion must be answered in the affirmative. To some it may be 

 a surprise to announce thai such fruits have already found their way into 

 our markets, and are silently solving the question of their claims to recog- 

 nition by the reports of veracious figures. The prices paid for fruits, 

 when in direct and continued competition with others of the same season 

 and in the same markets, ought to settle the question of their relative value 

 for the ))urposes required. For, whatever may be said to the contrary, 

 poor fruits can not long sustain themselves in competition with good, if 

 the latter are in constant and abundant supply. The reason why coarse, 

 showy apples sell, while dull, delicious ones do not, is that in most cases 

 the delicious ones are not there, or have not become known, else they 

 would sell in spite of more gaudy competit<Vrs. The Rhode Island 

 Greening always sells, though it has no color. The Rawles' Janet is no 

 beauty, yet in districts where it abounds, no apple can compete with it in 

 market. Novell}- and beauty may affect prices for a season, but the latter 



