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THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



\^Noviemher, 



elated press dispatch carried the news to the 

 morning papers that the authorities at Washing- 

 ton believed that the grapes in New Jersey were 

 really infested by Phylloxera, and that the gov- 

 ernment would probably take steps to look into 

 it. Similar ridiculous dispatches as to what the 

 government proposed to do in agricultural mat- 

 ters, have been given to the public of late. It is 

 not fiiir to hold the Department of Agriculture 

 responsible for newspaper dispatches. No doubt 

 wliat the Department has done, or will do, in 

 these matters has been misunderstood by the 

 newspaper men. A very slight change in phra- 

 seology will often make a sensible thing seem 

 absurd ; and the Department at Washington 

 must have known from the labors of Riley and 

 others, that the Phylloxera was a very bad thing. 

 There is, no doubt, some injustice done the De- 

 partment in these dispatches. 



La Versailles Currant. 

 — "John," Poughkeepsie, 

 N. Y., writes ; — "Anxious to 

 plant only a few of the best 

 Currants, I inquired of a 

 friend who replies, ' set out 

 only the Red Dutch.' An- 

 other recommends the Ver- 

 sailles, and a third the 

 Cherry, while an agent from 

 Rochester tells me the last 

 are both the same thing. 

 What do you say ? " 



[Taking all in all we 

 should plant the Red Dutch 

 in preference to all others. 

 Tlie Versailles is a very nice 

 fruit, with a long bunch and 

 large berries, but hardly so 

 good in flavor as the Red 

 Dutch. The Cherry is a 

 short bunch, with large and 

 few berries, and with a very 

 acid juice. We give an il- 

 lusti'ation of the Versailles, 

 by which you will readily 

 see the distinctness from the 

 Cherry.— Ed. G. M.] 



Utah Hybrid Cherry. — E. Y. Teas,in Country 

 Gentleman, has a good word for the Utah Hybrid 

 Cherry. It is a mistake to call it a hybrid. There 

 is no evidence that any such hybridization was 

 attempted. It is simply a natural improvement 

 on the Sand Cherry, Cerasus pumila, and was 



found in Utah by Mr. J. E. Johnson, though not 

 recorded in any botany of the territory. It is a 

 much stronger grower than the normal Sand 

 Cherry, and Mr. Johnson may well be pardoned 

 for considering it a hybrid, and giving it out as 

 such. 



I\Ir. Teas justly remarks that it has suffered 

 through the over-zeal of agents, and the high 

 wrought comparisons with other fruits. Wliile 

 " some like apples " and " some like oysters," 

 there is no reason why some will not like the 

 Utah Cherry on its own merits. 



Linseed Oil on Pear Trees. — A. C. L., Madi- 

 son, Ind., writes: — "I recently killed two fine 

 pear trees with an application of linseed oil." 

 As we know of many trees that have been bene- 

 fited instead of injured, it is an interesting ques- 

 tion why these varied results. We have made, 

 therefore, special inquiry into the oil question 

 by one in the secrets thereof, and we find that 

 there are three kinds of linseed oil in the mar- 

 ket — one, the pure extract of flaxseed, the other 

 half petroleum, and the third our informant could 

 not tell exactly what. But the petroleum ex- 

 plains. Such oil as that would certainly kill the 

 trees. 



Profitable Cherries. — Near all our large 

 cities the large sweet cherries are very profitable. 

 Very little really nice fruit comes to market 

 — when it does, it brings good figures. But taking 

 all things together, the Early Richmond is the 

 most profitable variety. It is more certain to 

 yield a full crop than any other kind, suffering 

 less from the curculio and diseases than the 

 others. The black knot is its greatest enemy, — 

 but this is easily kept down by continual watch- 

 fulness Avith the pruning knife in hand. 



Locality for Orchards. — In almost all cases 

 it is the universal experience that orchards are 

 more certain to do well where the spot chosen is 

 somewhat higher than the surrounding land. 

 Often enough the fruit will be killed by Spring 

 frosts, when those on land fifty feet higher will 

 escape. The cold air always sinks, and if there 

 is any low spot for it to sink in, the higher of 

 course escapes. Often trees on river-banks es- 

 cape, when others are injured, and people think 

 it is the contiguity to water, when it is really the 

 elevation — the cooler air being drawn to the 

 river-bed. 



The Dwarf Service Berry. — A correspondent 

 inquires what is this plant? We do not know 



