100 



DOMESTIC NOTICES. 



get rill of it. If allowoJ to run his course ami de- 

 posit his eggs, you will probably have an increased 

 number the next season, that will perhaps devour 

 every rose-leaf in the garden. — Ed.] 



Queries on Sea-Coast Culture. — Dear sir — 

 The preparation of several of tiic valuable articles 

 of the Horticulturist, appears to have been suggest- 

 ed to you by particular inquiries of correspondents. 

 I therefore presume to ask if the culture of the 

 quince is not of sufficient general interest to make 

 a subject worthy of a little sj)ace in your columns ? 

 lu the island of Rhode-Island, quinces are plant- 

 ed closely, in the most exposed situations, for 

 screens against the salt-air ; and in this way they 

 are said to vield very good crops of fine fruit. On 

 the coast generally an exposure to the sea is 

 thought to be an advantage, I believe, and it is 

 usual to select low, damp situations near the shore, 

 as the best place for this fruit. Some think they 

 do better if the sod is not broken over the roots. 

 You state in the " Fruits of America,^' and also in 

 a late number of the Horticulturist, that the com- 

 mon practice is erroneous- Do you condemn the 

 choice of low or damp ground, or wish simply to 

 inculcate the necessity of liberal attention, manur- 

 ing and cultivation? [Especially the latter.:— Ed,] 

 It is said that apple orchards do not succeed 

 on the sea shore, aiid that fruit trees generally do 

 not thrive. I think this is not always the case, 

 however, and as I intend to ,'_et an orchard, next 

 autumn, on a hill contiguous and exposed to the 

 sea, I should be glad to get any information or ad- 

 vice about it, and I think it would be valued by 

 many of your subscribers on the coast. Are not 

 some varieties, (the Roxbury Russet for one,) bet- 

 ter adapted to the sea shore than others? [The 

 Roxbury Russet, Baldwin, Yellow Bcllefleur and R. 

 I. Greening are best adapted to the sea shore. — 

 Ed.] What shade and ornamental trees and shrubs 

 are best suited to grounds subject to the influence 

 of the sea ? I have seen the leaves of trees and of 

 weeds shrivelled and black as if frost bitten, after 

 being wet with spray in a gale. Salt-manure, 

 (sea-weed, &c.) has been found an injurious applir 

 cation to apple trees, at a distance from the shore. 

 With much respect, your ob't scrv't. F. L. Olm- 

 sted. Sachem's Head, Guilford, Ct.,June29th, 1847. 

 [We refer our correspondent to the artic'.e on the 

 culture of the quince, in this number, and also to 

 the notice in the leader, on Mr. Tudor's successful 

 mode of protecting all kinds of trees and plants 

 against the injurious efiects of sea winds. — Ed.] 



The Pear-Tree Blight at the West. — If my 

 ob.servations are correct, I have witnessed the fol- 

 lowing facts, touching blight : 



1. Seedling pear treses die of blight the first sum- 

 mer, precluding the idea that freezing could be 

 the cause, nor had I ever seen any thing like in- 

 sect blight on my premises. 



2. A pear tree budded, and started soon after, 

 the same season, usually dies with all the ap- 

 pearance of blight — making, as I suppose, a clear 

 case of frozen sap blight, as frost overtakes the 

 tree in the midst of its growth. 



3. A pear tree, very thrifty and vigorous, if 



barked in the least by a single tree, in the last half 

 of the season of its growth, frequently dies with 

 leaves on, and just as if blighted. 



4. I have seen blight pass in a streak through 

 an orchard, and for which I could account only by 

 supposing it had been caused by a cold current of 

 air, or by insects brought in by a current of air, 

 but no insects could be discovered. 



5. The most frequent cause of blight seems to 

 me to be warm wet weather, succeeded by very 

 dry weather. 



To these I may add : 



6. Our friend, D. Thomas, observed much blight 

 to follow a severe frost in the spring of 1845. 



From all which, as heretofore, I hold blight may 

 proceed from different injuries, when the sap of 

 the tree is in a particular condition, and that con- 

 dition I believe to be a kind of plethora, or over- 

 fullness. In the human system, a small injury, it 

 is said, may produce locls-jaw ; and interruptions 

 in the circulation of the blood frequently produce 

 sudden death. 



As remedies for blight, Rev. C. Springer pro- 

 poses thin land : yourself mounds and root priming. 

 I believe a well drained soil, never deficient in 

 moisture, such as is frequently afforded by river 

 banks, will be likely to succeed. Yours. Eli 

 Nichol. Walhanding, 0., July 3d, 1847. 



Variation in the Peach Tree. — In the gar- 

 den of Mr. Willis in this city, is a tree, which he 

 planted as a peach tree, and which actually bore 

 peaches last summer, now inW of nectarines. There 

 is no perceptible diflbrence between this tree and 

 the peach trees on each side of it, which are well 

 filled with their natural fruit. 



Downing, in his " Fruits and Fruit Trees," says 

 the nectarine " appears to be only a distinct acci- 

 dental variety of the peach, and this is rendered 

 quite certain, since there are several well known 

 examples on record of both peaches and nectarines 

 having been produced on the same branch. The 

 Boston nectarine originated from a peach stone." 



The Boston nectarine, to which reference is made 

 above, is cultivated in the garden of Samuel G. 

 Perkins, Esq., of Brookline, and its origin is thus 

 described by him : " This fruit I obtained from Mr. 

 T. Lewis, of Boston, in whose yard it was pro- 

 duced from tiic kernel of a peach stone, as he and 

 his mother both informed me ; they, at the time it 

 first Ijore fruit, never having seen a nectarine. Mr. 

 Lewis, as the tree came forward, always supposed 

 it would produce what is called a peach ; but on 

 seeing, when it first appeared, this beautiful fruit, 

 with a smooth skin, was impatient to know what 

 it was, and carried it to the late Mr. S. Pomeroy, 

 who was then the leading cultivator of fruits in this 

 region. Mr. Pomeroy brought it to me, for al- 

 though he knew it to be a nectarine, he had never 

 seen any so large, and as I had the Red Roman in 

 perfection, he wished to compare it. 



" I immediately obtained buds from the tree for 

 Mr. Pomeroy and Mr. Preble, as well as myself. 

 All these failed, mine alone being preserved. The 

 original tree from which they were taken, was un- 

 fortunately soon after destroyed. 



" With regarxl to the original tree found in Mr. 



