WINTER PLEASURES IN THE COUNTRY. 



S73 



ing freely, especially while the plant is flow- 

 ering and fruiting, seems to be more important. 



We have been surprised to notice, in this 

 place, that large beds of Ilovey's Seedlings 

 have borne largely during the past four suc- 

 cessive years, although not a staminate plant 

 was to be found within 200 feet, on a repeated 

 close examination when in blossom. This va- 

 riety at times refuses to bear in some of our 

 gardens. It seems to be among the most 

 fickle and sensitive of any we cultivate. 



Burr's New Pine appears with us to com- 

 bine more desirable qualities than any others 

 we have yet been able to prove. The " Lord 

 Spencer," a new staminate variety of medium 

 size, great productiveness and hardiness, and 

 of the finest flavor, from Lord Spencer's gar- 

 den, England, gives us promise, after four 

 years' trial, of ranking next best. Another 

 season's trial from a large bed, transplanted 

 early in July, will most fully satisfy us with 

 regard to the comparative value of this va- 

 riety. Jenny's Seedling, Boston Pine, Crim- 

 son Cone, Black Prince, and the Princess 



Alice Maude bear well. The British Queen 

 bears a fair number of magnificent berries, 

 and I am unable to say whether it is more 

 tender with us than Hovey's or not, inasmuch 

 as I am accustomed to cover all my strawber- 

 ries every fall with a slight covering of leaves 

 or straw ; for I find the 'most hardy varieties 

 benefitted hy this treatment. The Ross 

 Phenix, Keen Seedling, Methven, Dundee 

 and Large Early Scarlet, do not thus far 

 give us satisfaction here, while, at Rochester, 

 only 22 miles distant, the Large Early Scar- 

 let is a favorite market fruit. 



Many other varieties are in the process of 

 being tested, and I doubt not, ere long, our 

 country will be abundantly supplied with the 

 most approved kinds of this mo(<t delicious 

 and wholesome fruit ; for some of our culti- 

 vators, on a large scale, assure me that thi-ee 

 cents per quart will cover the cost of producing 

 them in our favored soil and climate, when 

 planted in rows and tilled with the cultivator. 

 R. G. Pardee. 



Palmyra, N. Y., October, 1850 



WINTER PLEASURES IN THE COUNTRY. 



BY "WILD FLOWER," CO.WECTICUT. 



Dea'R Sir — Your kind reception of my letter 

 in June, has prompted me to venture again on 

 the forbidden ground of types ; and if my 

 feminine conscience whispers softly that I am 

 venturing beyond a woman's place, I console 

 myself with the child's excuse — "nobody 

 sees me." So, panoplied in my dear obscu- 

 rity, I desire your patience while I say a 

 few words to my own companions in po.«ition — 

 country girls. 



I must leave the metropolitan dames to 

 their own pleasures now, for summer has 

 passed ; operas have begun ; concerts wear 

 away the long evenings ; and " la belle Na- 

 ture" sighs, through the drooping willow 



boughs, her last regret for the flower nymphs 

 that once haunted wood, fountain, and sea-shore. 

 Yet I hear often strange utterances from 

 the lips of my sisters in the country — regrets 

 softly spoken, that they, too, cannot live in 

 the bustle of a town. " The country is so 

 stupid in winter ! No woods to walk in, no 

 flowers to gather, no excitement — nothing to 

 see or hear!" Is it so stupid, my dear 

 friends ? May you not want a little light for 

 your mental eyes ? Is there no pleasure in 

 the woods, when every step rustles in the 

 dry leaves, or stamps its mark on the crisp 

 snow, where the ground pine looks greener 

 by contrast than all summer's lavish verdure, 



