436 



DOMESTIC NOTICES. 



Rules of American Pomology — It is gratify- 

 injT to learn that these rules are being adopted b)' 

 the leading horticultural societies over the whole 

 Union. They cannot but be most essentia.'ly bene- 

 ficial in regulating the nomenclature of fruits, de- 

 termining the real merits of new varieties, and es- 

 tablishing uniformity in names. The following so- 

 cieties have already adopted these rules: — The Hor- 

 ticultural Society of Massachusetts, of Penn- 

 sylvania, of Cincinnati, of Ni;w Haven, of St. 

 Louis, the Albany and Rensselaer SocietYj 

 and the New Haven Pom 'logical Society. 



We have also just received a note from the Sec- 

 retary of the New York State Agricultural 

 Society, informing us that that society had adopted 

 substantially the same rules, omitting the last arti- 

 ticle — rendered unnecessary by the fact that the so- 

 ciety, in March, 1847, passed a special rule, ma- 

 king our work on Fruit Trees, the standard author- 

 ity of the society. 



As there were several errors in the copy of those 

 rules first published, we reprint them again, from a 

 corrected copy, furnished us by the committee of 

 the Ma-s. Society, in order that other societies dis- 

 posed to adopt them hereafter, may have them in 

 a correct form. [Want of room compe's the prin- 

 ter to postpone the rules 'till next month.] 



" Gen. Hand Plum." — Why is this plum so lit- 

 tle cultivated? It certainly is meritorious. It has 

 fruited in our town several seasons — is a fair, large 

 yellow plum, and, to us, appears superior to many 

 others cultivated. Can it bean old variety, deserv- 

 ing of cultivation, and yet passed by? I see it no- 

 ticed in only one printed catalogue, out of a dozen, 

 in my possession, (Prince's, and there priced 75 

 cents.) I believe it is of American origin. It was 

 introduced into our county by Mr. Sam'l Carpen- 

 ter, nurseryman, who received it through Dr. 

 Hand, of Pennsylvania, I believe. I received a 

 tree of it, also, from Hon. Jas. Matthews. I can 

 furnish a few scions of it if desired. 



Permit me to bring to your knowledge, a necta- 

 rine, which was first brought to my notice by Hon. 

 James Matthews, of Coshocton, O., from wliom I 

 received a tree in bud, last spring. Mr. Ma( thews, 

 in a communication to me, says, "Baker's seed- 

 ling," a nectarine, which bore fruit in 1847 for the 

 first time, is an early and a splendid fruit, supposed 

 to have come from the seed of a peach planted by 

 Mr. Baker. 1 hope Mr. M. or Mr. Humrickhouse 

 will furnish you with a correct description of the 

 fruit. Respectfully yours, &e. ji. Fahnestock. 

 Lancaster, Ohio, Jan. 21, ]'^48. 



[We have procured the '' Gen. Hand plum," twice 

 from Maryland, of Messrs. Ctrse k Sinclair, Bal- 

 timore, who have cultivated it for some time, but 

 we have never yet seen it in fruit. Messrs. C. &. S. 

 were unable to give us its history, and it is little 

 known generally, though it has a high reputation 

 in Maryland. Will our correspondent send us spe- 

 cimens of the fruit and leaves the ensuing season ? 

 —Ed.] 



Fire-Blight at Cincinnati. — Your valuable 

 magazine for this month, is just come to hand. In 

 it, your correspondent. Dr. Wendell, of Albany, 



in taking exceptions to some of my views of the 

 causes of the lire-blight in the pear tree, remarks, 

 " I only wish, at present, to propound a question or 

 two. for response from yourself and Mr. Ernst. On- 

 ly for this, and so ne errors into which I think Dr. 

 Harris has been led, in the application of his Insect 

 theory, I should not again presume on your patience. 

 In reply to Dr. Wendell, " if frozen or scalded sap 

 causes this form of blight, why is it. that, as a gen- 

 eral rule, bearing trees, or those of bearing age, 

 are the only ones attacked?" I have <m]y to point 

 to his own exj)erience, in the case of the Bergumot 

 d'Esperin, and the Coiviar d'Aremburgh, which 

 were destroyed the next year after budding, as 

 proof against this idea. And that my exertions for 

 twenty years, have not enabled me to fruit more 

 than one variety to eight or ten, from this cause. It 

 is a very common thing for seedling pear trees, 

 grafts and buds, of the same year, to be cut down 

 with the blight. I presume that this is not the ef- 

 fect of a previous winter's frost, or the efl'ectof Dr. 

 Harris' Scolylus P'jri. 



I make no objection to Dr. Hahris' establishing 

 the fact, if it be one, that the Scolytus Pyri does 

 injuriously affect, and perhaps destroy the pear 

 trees. But I object to calling its ravages the Fire 

 Blight. I am not aware that any one entertains 

 the idea, (Icertainly do not,) or'' supposes that the 

 female Scolytus Pyri, by anticipation, deposites her 

 eggs only on those limbs which are to become af- 

 fected by fire-blight, or frozen sap blight." My 

 knowledge on these subjects being purely the result 

 of practical observation, and not scient ific research, 

 it is probable that I may have fallen into an error, as 

 to the Scolytus Pyri, oritshabits. One thing, howev- 

 er, I cannot be much mistaken in ; that of a strong 

 similarity in vegetable and animal substances to at- 

 tract insects, when in a state of corruption, or at 

 death, and that it hence is not safe to charge on all 

 such as may be found there, the sin of the mischief. 



The Dr. says, "Having no theory to maintain, 

 and no speculations to offer but such as are founded 

 on foct, I i>ropose to show that insect blight is a 

 disease distinct from tire blight and frozen sap 

 blight." I wish the Dr. had been more distinct and 

 clear on this point. The difficulty is to define where 

 the insect blight ends, and the others may justly be 

 charged with the mischief. 



" How can we reason but from what we know." 

 He further remarks, " It should be remembered that 

 the Scolytus Pyri requires a year, or thereabouts, to 

 complete its trar.sformation," and thinks '' it may 

 not be generall)' known that apple, apricot and 

 plum trees are attacked by the Scolytus Pyri." 

 Here in the M'cst, we find not only the apple, apri- 

 cot and plum trees, but the quince, and at times oth- 

 er trees are attacked by something that bears a 

 strong resemblance to some of the forms of the 

 blights I have seen in the pear tree. This, howev- 

 er, never jiroves fatal to more than the ends or a por- 

 tion of the branch in which it appears. I am inclined 

 to believe this may be the eiiects of the Scolytus 

 Pyri — that from this cause it has been confounded 

 with the fire blight, and that here is the true divid- 

 ing ridge. I do not wish to be understood as assert- 

 ing the fact, but I suggest it for inquiry. And al- 

 so, if this rriay not be the extent of its mischievous 



