52 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[ February, 



fallen on old Newton's head, ho would never 

 have been able to tell us of gravitation. 



The Swen'ker Apple. — We have from Mr. J. 

 G. Younken, of Quakertown, Pa., specimens of 

 this apple. He represents that it is a secdlini,' 

 of some forty years ago, which appeared naturally 

 on the farm of Geo. Swenker, of Richlandtown. 

 As a rule we are opposed to any more new ap- 

 ples, unless thoy seem to have csiiecial points of 

 merit, which this one ajjpears to have. It is a hand- 

 somer looking apple than Baldwin,and has a more 

 crisp and pleasant flavor. Mr. Y. reports that it 

 will bear bad usage well, and this is one of the 

 points supposed to belong to Baldwin especially. 

 The specimen before us is ten inches round, a 

 little depressed (Di inches), tapering sharply to- 

 wards the apex, medium slender stem, small 

 closed calyx in a rather wide, shallow basin, and 

 of a deep red color, with splashes and stripes. 

 This is December 12, and it appears as if it 

 would keep for months yet. 



QUERIES. 



Grease for Pear Trees. — Mystic asks : — 

 " Some say fat will injure pear trees. Will fat, 

 or grease or dish-water from the sink, incorpor- 

 ated with the soil, injure trees or vines? If 

 beneficial in moderate quantities, is there dan- 

 ger in large quantities?" 



[It is no doubt only the salt in the dish-water 

 that injures the trees. — Ed. G. M.] 



The Sicilian Hazelnut. — J. C, Chelsea, Mass., 

 writes : — " In the December number of the 

 monthly I hud a communication from E. S. Ma- 

 son, Detroit, Mich., stating his experience with 



the Sicilian nut. Having had an opportunity of 

 teeing them growing for some years past, in a 

 garden in this city, I may state that I have had 

 the general charge of the grounds for many 

 yeai-s past. The gentlenian purchased one dozen 

 plants, it may be eight years ago; every one 

 lived, have grown vigorously, and for several 

 years back have borne a quantity of fruit, and 

 we think here that it is a superior nut, many of 

 them of extra size and quality; many of the 

 trees are also now of good size. We have pro- 

 pagated many by suckers, some of them make 

 wood five feet long in one season." 



Strawberries i'OR Market. — J. S., Allegheny 

 City, Pa.: — " I am desirous of planting three 

 acres of strawberries this Spring for market pur- 

 poses. I have plants of Wilson's Albany, Mon- 

 arch of the West and Kentucky. Can I get any 

 better sorts? I propose to plant three feet by 

 one. How much bone dust per acre, putting a 

 little to each plant? Your advice will be prized 

 by many readers of your valuable magazine." 



[You would do better with the rows two feet 

 apart than three. The best varieties for market 

 depends very much on the method of culture. 

 Your old-time neighbor, Knox, found Jucunda 

 and Triomphe de Gand more profitable than 

 Wilson's by his system of culture. You 

 might add Chas. Downing to yov.rgood list. It is 

 a good "standby." — Ed. G. M.] 



Name of Apples. — W. J. E., Indianapolis, 

 sends some very fine apples for name, the tree 

 supposed to have been brought from Ireland 

 originally. Some good judges, to whom we sub- 

 mitted them, pron it ounce "Ortley," but there 

 seems to us some points of difference. It is a 

 better apple than Ortley, as we generally see it. 



FORESTRY. 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



The Beech in Indiana. — S. M. Coulter says in 

 the Botanical Gazette that over one-third of all 

 the forest vegetation of Jefferson County, Ind., 

 is of Fagus ferruginea. 



Walnut for Timber. — Californians seem in- 

 terested in timber culture, like the rest of the 



world. The Pacific Rural Press says: — "It has 

 been discovered by the farmers on the plains in 

 Solano and Yolo counties, says the Colusa Sun, 

 that the black walnut, although a native in this 

 State of the low lands, is better adapted to the 

 plains tlian any other tree. All residents of the 

 districts of country at the Earst where the walnut 

 grows, will remember that a walnut stump is the 

 very hardest to get rid ctf. It sends down a 



