1878.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



49 



W. Saunders records an experiment where he 

 took a branch of a grape vine out of a vinery, 

 part in the house, and part in the open air, and, 

 while the plant inside kept healthy, .the exposed 

 "branch was mildewed, and this accords with the 

 ^experience of the best gardeners. Phylloxera 

 ■does a good deal, but far from all of our grape 

 -mischief. 



Tropical Fruits. — It is said that plants of 

 the Japan Persimmon are introduced into Califor- 

 nia, duty free, as " tropical fruits." "We pass 

 T»o opinion here on the policy of duties on trees and 

 plants; but are interested in the geographical 

 problem. We had no idea that even an Ameri- 

 •can Congress would regard Japan as "within the 

 tropics;" but then an American Congress is a 

 thing wonderfully and fearfully made. It was 

 ■only a year or so ago, we had to call its atten- 

 tion to the fact, that a Rhododendi'on, when it 

 reached the shores of Boston, from England, 

 l)ecame a "semi-tropical fruit." We are sorry 

 for the plants, but must keep our geographical 

 heads level. 



Testing old Seeds. — People often have seeds 

 ■on hand that they would like to sow, if only sure 

 •of their vitality. A correspondent of the 

 Gardener'' s Magazine gives the following for tur- 

 nips, and it may do for many others : — 



" Before sowing a field of turnips the seed was 

 Invariably tested in the following simple man- 

 ner : An ordinary dinner plate was taken, and a 

 circular piece of fine flannel just large enough to 

 cover the lower part was laid upon it. The 

 plate was then placed on a table before a win- 

 ■dow on the sunny side of the laouse. The whole 

 mass of seed to be tested was then thoroughly 

 mixed by hand, so that a fair sample could 

 Tae taTcen from it by a small spoon. The seeds so 

 taken were laid on a piece of "paper and care- 

 fiilly counted, but without selection for quality, 

 and a number, say 200 seeds, were then spread 

 evenly on the piece of flannel before named, 

 after which a little cold water was gently poured 

 'Over the flannel until it was saturated, but not 

 quite covered ; in this way it was allowed to 

 ■stand for a few days exposed to the influence of 

 light and air, when the swollen seeds were seen 

 to have germinated and thrown up long and 

 slender white shoots of half an inch or more in 

 height. All that was then necessary was simply 

 to count the number of dead seeds that lie ex- 

 posed on the flannel iu the same condition in 

 which they were placed thei^e, and hence the 



precise percentage of live and dead seeds were 

 accurately ascertained. When this percentage 

 was unsatisfactory, my father invariably returned 

 the seed to the merchant and bought some other 

 in its place, but he never lost a crop of turnips 

 from usin" dead .seeds." 



NEW OR RARE FRUITS. 



ScRiBNER Spitzenburg Apple. — J. W. B., 



Plattsburgh, N. Y., writes : " Referring to your 

 remarks on the want of a more hardy and vigor- 

 ous tree of the peculiar flavor of the Esopus Spitz- 

 enburg, and as abundant a bearer, I have to say 

 that I have that variety. I exhibited the fruit 

 at the annual meeting of the New York State 

 Agricultural Society, 1859, and received a silver 

 medal for it, named Scribner's Spitzenburg. It 

 is hardy and vigorous, of the form and peculiar 

 flavor of the Esopus variety, and the tree more 

 hardy and vigorous, color a lighter red than 

 Esopus. I propagated trees of this variety, and 

 sold it from my nursery for several years ; but as I 

 have not propagated any trees for several years, 

 I have none for sale at present, but can supply in 

 small quantities next Fall. I will, if possible, 

 send you a sample of the fruit next week." 



[The apple was a little over ripe. We should 

 judge from this that it is a little earlier than its 

 parent. The fruit is also more angular, but in 

 other respects very much like the Esopus Spit- 

 zenburg. So far as we can- judge from these, the 

 variety is nearly, perhaps quite, as good as the 

 original. — Ed. G. M.] 



Rescue Pear.— P. D. S., Hartford, writes:— ^ 

 " I sent you to-day through the post office a 

 small box with a pear of a variety, I think, un- 

 known, having never seen it at an 3^ of our pomo- 

 logical exhibitions. I esteem it one of the very 

 best late keeping Winter pears. Of its beauty 

 and quality you can judge for yourself. This 

 variety came into my possession some 10 or 12 

 years since. A friend living in the city of New 

 York knowing that I was interested in pear cul- 

 ture, stated to me that there was growing on his 

 uncle's place, in the upper part of the city, a 

 very old pear tree, which they had just discov- 

 ered was a very choice Winter variety. The 

 family had always been in the practice of cook- 

 ing the pears in the Fall of the year, thinking 

 them a common cooking pear, but accidentally 

 a quantity of them was put into a trunk and placed 

 away in a dark closet, and were left until some- 



