244 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



\_Augufit, 



by lime-stone hills and clay soil. The surround- 

 ing jjrowth is Pine and Abies. The water of the 

 lake dries away during the Summer, as it is fed 

 by SHOWS. The growth in the lake is gniss and 

 cat tail flag, ^^'hen it is dry it is loose, and very 

 porous, like ashes, and the soil is fdlod with 

 minute shells. I can with small expense cut a 

 ditch and put in a gate, so as to draw the water 

 otrof the pond early in the Spring, and leave 

 it dry. During the Summer it gets very dry, but 

 not dry enough to kill out the grass and flag 

 roots. There is no chance to flood the land 

 when once dry, without waiting for Winter rains 

 and snows to do it. What I want to inquire is, 

 will it do to break this lake up in the Summer 

 time, so as to kill the present vegetation, and 

 then plant cranberries on it. Can I be certain 

 of a crop by so doing. I see that there are upland 

 cranberries advertised (I have little faith in 

 them), will you tell me whether that variety 

 would succeed any better than the swamp vari- 



ety? Can I grow apples, pears, cherries, phimg, 

 and small fruita on level clay loam that is not 

 too wet? The top soil for eight or ten inches is 

 loamy clay, below that is a kind of yellow or 

 raw clay; and has the appearance of being 

 washed from the surrounding mountains. I 

 have just received some very fine Geranium, 

 Pelargonium and Fuchsia plants from Mr. John 

 Saul of Washington. How shall I manage them 

 so !is to have them bloom next Winter?" 



[The development of cranberry culture in 

 this part of our country' is an important matter. 

 We at this distance hardly feel competent to ad- 

 vise. The impression is, that they could be made 

 to do well there ; but the matter is one wholly 

 for careful observation and experiment. We 

 should recommend a perusal of Orange Judd & 

 Co.'s publication on "Cranberry Culture," and 

 then an application as near as possible of what 

 they say to the circumstances and situation. — 

 Ed. G. M.] 



JoRESTRY. 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



ToRRKYA TAXiFOLiA.— We learn that our friend, 

 P. J. Berckmans, of Augusta, Ga., is making a spe- 

 cialty of propagating this beautiful tree, and 

 which, besides, will always be interesting as com- 

 memorating in its name one of the best and 

 most beloved of American botanists. 



Large White Oak in Michigan.— Mr. Dow 

 Lyon, of St. Johns, Mich., says he has a white 

 oak growing which at three feet from the ground 

 measures seventeen and a half feet in circum- 

 ference, and he judges that the first large limb 

 is sixty-five feet from the ground. It is very 

 symmetrical for the first forty feet or so. 



Growing Chestnuts from Seed. — Mr. J. S. 

 Budd thus gives his experience to the Western 

 Bural: "In 1871 I grew about 3,000 trees from 

 seed procured the previous Fall, perfectly fresh 

 in their burr. As soon as received I hulled 

 them and placed them in a common dry-goods 

 box in my cellar, with alternate layers of moss, 

 such as is used for packing plants for shipment, 

 scattering the chestnuts on the moss so as not 



to come in contact with each other. The moss 

 should be but slightly damp, and if the surface 

 becomes very dry during the Winter, it may be 

 .sprinkled, but the moss need not be disturbed 

 until planting time in the Spring, say the 10th 

 or loth of April. The nuts by this time have 

 nicely sprouted. Long roots will be attached to 

 the moss and adhering firmly to the fibers. 

 This should be allowed to remain and be planted 

 with them, and should the season be dry, the 

 moss will be rather a benefit than otherwise, by 

 retaining moisture about the root. From nuts 

 treated in this way I grew more trees than I 

 planted nuts, as some have double kernels, and 

 produce two trees. 



" I planted in drills, four inches apart in the 

 drills, and sufficient space between the drills to 

 use a small garden hoe, the whole occupying 

 less than one square rod, affording a good profit 

 at an average price of $3 per hundred, when 

 sold in the Fall. I have trees eight years old, 

 grown from seed in the above manner, that bore 

 nuts at the age of five years, and at eight years 

 produced a peck of hulled nuts. 



" The soil and situation in which to grow the 



