SECRETARY'S PORTFOLIO. 337 



I have Wilson's Early and the Kittatinny growing by its side. Last winter 

 the Wilson killed down to the ground, the Kittatinny within two feet of the 

 ground, while the Snyder was sound to the tops on canes |roni four to five feet 

 in length. Witli me it has never killed back in the least, but has blossomed 

 full to the very tips of the long canes. Again, it bears heavily Avhile young, 

 producing as much fruit the next season after setting as the Kittatinny will in 

 three years. Besides, it bears a heavy crop every year. It certainly is the 

 most productive blackberry I have ever seen, the bushes being literally covered 

 with fruit of good size and excellent flavor. It is somewhat impatient of moist 

 soil, where it will mature its fruit larger than in dry soil. 



It is a rank grower even under ordinary culture, but will endure and rej)ay 

 high culture. 



I shall plant largely of it and Taylor's Prolific — the latter of which is claimed 

 to be very hardy and prolific — this fall, as I believe them both to be the best 

 now cultivated. 



QUINCES AND THEIR CULTIVATION. 



Why is it that the quince, which is as hardy and as well adapted to our soil 

 and climate as the apple, is comparatively scarce, and commands on the aver- 

 age three or four times as much in our markets? There is seldom, if ever, a 

 ''glut'' in the market, and prices are uniformly remunerative, bringing the 

 producers for handsome fruit from $3 to $4: a bushel in New York and Boston 

 almost every season. The apple, in the f resli or dried state, enters into the 

 annual supplies of almost every family, as cider, vinegar, jelly, sauce, and 

 other preparations, and is also a profitable feed for our domestic animals, 

 while not one family in ten knows anything of quince preserves and jellies. 

 It is really one of the most appetizing and Avholesome of the sweetmeats found 

 among the stores of our housewives; and the cultivation of this fruit should 

 be greatly extended. We know of no fruit that promises so good returns as 

 this to the intelligent fruit-grower. If we look at the quince plantations, as 

 we ordinarily find them, they are few and far between in the farming districts. 

 The popular fancy is that the bush flourishes best in a damp soil, and if there 

 be an undrained swale on the premises, we may safely look for the quince 

 bushes there. More frequently than otherwise, they stand in the grass, receive 

 no cultivation, and after a few brief 3'ears die, either from stagnant water or 

 the attacks of the borer. Under such treatment the trees have no chance to 

 bear fruit, and make themselves profitable. The quince wants a deep, rich, 

 rather moist soil, but it should always be well drained. Good corn land, that 

 will bear maximum crops of grain, will bear good quinces. No fruit pays 

 better for thorough cultivation, and the ground should always be kept under 

 the spade or plow, and should, if we want abundant fruit, receive a good 

 dressing of manure every season. The bush, or tree, requires very little other 

 care than the occasional thinnings out of the branches if they crowd too 

 closely. The thinning of the fruit, where ic sets too abundantly, will increase 

 the size and profitableness of the crop that remains. The fruit, as well as the 

 flower, is quite ornamental, and an attractive feature in October and Novem- 

 ber. The " apple," or "orange quince," is by far the best variety. It ripens 

 earlier, and brings the best price in the market. The quince is easily propa- 



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