HORTICULTURAL DEPARTMENT. 279 



The collection embraces all of the leading varieties advertised by the 

 dealers, and, as many of them were offered under different names or as 

 special strains, it contained one hundred and forty-eight varieties. This 

 was still further increased by the fact that fifty-two of these varieties were 

 also grown from seeds saved from the first ripe fruits, making a total of two 

 hundred varieties or numbers. 



The seeds were sown in the forcing house on the 15th of March, and a 

 record was made of the per cent of germination. After being transplanted, 

 six plants of each kind were placed in the garden as soon as danger of frost 

 was over. They were planted five feet apart each way and, despite the dry 

 weather, soon covered the ground, making it difficult to gather the fruit 

 without injuring the vines. 



The first ripe fruits were noticed on the 15th of August, and the first pick- 

 ing was made on the 17th. The ripe fruits of each variety were counted and 

 weighed, and the gathering was repeated, at frequent intervals, until the 

 15th of September, when all of the fruits upon the vines were picked, 

 weighed and counted. The plants were also pulled and weighed. 



Typical fruits were selected and photographed and the seeds which they 

 contained were saved for next year's planting. 



In the following synopsis of the varieties an attempt has been made to 

 group together not only the varieties which are undoubted synonyms, but all 

 those whose habit of growth, time of ripening, productiveness, and the size, 

 color, and other characters of the fruits do not offer ready means of 

 separation. 



Although the number of varieties is not reduced by this, the difficulty of 

 selecting varieties for planting is greatly decreased, as the gardener need 

 only consider the groups instead of taking into account the dozen or more 

 varieties of which the group may be made up. 



CONCLUSIONS. 



The following resume is given for the benefit of those who do not have the 

 time for an extended study of the table. 



Varieties Recommended for Planting : 



For pickling and preserving, any of the pear and plum varieties will be 

 found desirable. The Green G-age and White Apple also answer well for 

 this purpose. Of the yellow, apple shaped varieties Jaune Grosse Lisse Vil. 

 proved most satisfactory. Golden Queen or Yellow Jefferson will also be 

 found desirable. 



The angular sorts are often recommended on account of their earliness, 

 but, although many of them reach a large size and are very productive, several 

 of the smooth sorts possess these characteristics in an equal degree, and are 

 therefore preferable. If any of the angular sorts are to be grown, Extra Early 

 or Cluster, Lan.,* will perhaps give best satisfaction. 



Eor ordinary table and cooking purposes the chief dependence should be 

 placed on the apple shaped sorts. A selection made up of the Advance or 

 Hathaway's Excelsior, for early, and of almost any found in the Cardinal, 

 Paragon, or Perfection groups, for the main crop, will answer every purpose 

 either for home use or market. 



* Lan. Neu., etc., after the name of a variety, merely indicates that the seed was obtained from. 

 Landreth, Neuman, etc. 



