380 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



THE CLINTOX GEAPE OX A DEAD TEEE. 



The Clinton is despised by some as being too sour ; and considered worthless 

 by others as too small ; but it is a valuable grape for jam, and also for vinegar. 

 I am fond of it for eating, as its spicy, sweet juice is very agreeable to my 

 taste. ^' Sweet?" I hear asked, " how can that be said of a Clinton grape?" 

 Well, let them get almost '^dead ripe," as we say, and particularly after a 

 frost or two, and then all who ^oartake who do not find them *' sweet" 

 have a different taste from mine. In the latitude of 40° I have had them all 

 through the month of October, but they did not begin to get their agreeable 

 sweetness till about the 10th of the month. Having a mulberry tree growing 

 near some vines, I girdled it and let it die. Up this the vines have clambered, 

 overspreading its dead limbs, giving them a new, larger, and more dense 

 foliage. The fruit on these is superior to that on trellised vines growing on 

 the same kind of soil near by. Some of these grapes are half an inch in 

 diameter, and the clusters are extra large. Festooning vines on trees still 

 prevails to a considerable extent in Italy, the same as in the time when Virgil 

 wrote his sreorsjics. The best wav to eat the Clinton is to mash the fruit in 

 the mouth, throw out the skins and seeds, and swallow only the luscious juice. 

 This is equivalent to sipping a pleasant *^must" — the unfermented juice of 

 the grape. — T. K. in Ne2o Yorh Tribune. 



CLEMATIS. 



Within the last ten years the hardy Clematis has been wonderfully improved 

 and the newer sorts now in cultivation are justly regarded as the most beauti- 

 ful and striking ornaments known for garden decoration. Contrary to the 

 general impression the severest winters do not injure them when slightly pro- 

 tected with straw or leaves. In order to induce a Ions: succession of bloom 

 liberal culture is absolutely necessary and a deep, well-drained soil consisting 

 of loam, rotten manure, and leaf mold is the most suitable to plant them in. 

 During the warm, dry weather in summer, liquid manure may be given them 

 advantageously, and every year the surface of the ground around them should 

 be mulched with manure to keep up their strength. The Clematis is a gross 

 feeder and must be fed well to flower freely. 



It may be used in many ways, either trained on verandas, walls, or trellis- 

 work, or planted, in rockwork or rockeries, or they make superb single speci- 

 mens on the lawn, trained to some ornamental support. They may also be 

 employed as permanent bedding plants and pegged down like tlie verbena, or 

 with a wire support of neat design raised about a foot from the ground — to run 

 on — very pretty beds may be formed. On trees and arbors their showy and 

 handsome flowers are very effective. W. C. Barry. 



ROAD-SIDE OEXAMENTATIOX. 



Country road-sides are usually unsightly and unprofitable. They are often 

 a refuge for stones, weeds and briers, or a tramping ground for teams in muddy 

 weather. Under most of our State laws a *' supervisor " or '^path-master" is 

 chosen for each road district, by vote, each spring. The position is no sine- 



