1878.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



271 



general introduction. The tree is a vigorous, 

 upright grower, and an abundant bearer, ripen- 

 ing about the same time as the May Duke. It 

 is named after his daughter Ida. 



Fruit rather lai'ge, obtuse conical, slightly 

 compressed, suture slight; skin pale whitish- 

 yellow, nearly covered with light bright red, 

 more or less mottled, stalk of medium length, 

 slender, inserted in a rather large deep cavity ; 

 flesh very tender, jucy, rich, very good, if not 

 best quality, pit very small. 



CRAPE CULTURE IN TEXAS. 



B Y W. BUSTRIN, DALLAS, TEXAS. 



In one of the nuuibers of the Monthly, I 

 saw your remark, that according to Prof. Buck- 

 ley's report. Grapes did not succeed well in 

 Texas. What does the Prof, think to be the 

 matter? Let him come to Dallas, I will show 

 him successful vineyards, in spite of all the wet 

 weather past, though at the same time 1 Avill 

 show him Grapes of the Vitis vinifera which 

 have all rotted. 



Further, his remarks on Red Raspberi'ies 

 being a failure. Does the Prof, know that from 

 his own experience, or has he read that in cata- 

 logues ? Further : the Prof, says that Apple 

 trees will not grow unless from Southern nurse- 

 ries. I would advise him to acclimate his soil 

 first, by frequent stirring, the hot sun is very 

 much needed on it, and then select such varie- 

 ties as are best suited for the climate, no matter 

 where they are grown, but he must give his 

 order to nurserymen •, not to men who know not 

 how to handle a tree. 



FRUIT CULTURE IN KANSAS. 



BY JAMES TRUITT, CHAMUTE, KANSAS. 



One would not suppose that Southern Kansas 

 was adapted to fruit, especially the Apple, as 

 the "Winters are short and our Summers very 

 long, we Avould think that Winter Apples 

 especially would ripen before gathering and not 

 keep, such, however, is not the facts. I saw 

 as nice Apples at Fort, last Winter a year ago, 

 as I ever saw in Kentucky. They were good 

 size, high colored, fine flavored, solid, and keep- 

 ing well, and when I came out here last Spi'ing 

 I saw as nice specimens as could be grown any- 

 where. They were high colored, solid and 

 sound and very handsome. Last September I 

 sent a box of Apples containing forty varieties 



from my old orchard in Kentucky to Lawrence,. 

 Kansas, to some fruit men there, and they sent 

 me as a compliment forty varieties of Kansas. 

 Apples — some of these I was informed were 

 plucked from trees grown in my old Kentucky 

 nursery. I thought they were as large and as 

 handsome specimens as I ever saw in my life. 

 Southern Kansas, I think, produces as fine 

 peaches as can be grown anywhere. Amsden 

 was ripe here June 14th, and a few days ago I 

 visited an orchard northeast of Chamute and 

 counted fifty-five specimens on a tree, two years 

 from bud, six feet high, one inch at the collar;; 

 smaller tree had no specimen. I saw what 

 nurserymen would call a good second-class tree 

 loaded with fair specimens of this variety. 



We are having this season all kinds of fruit.. 

 I have visited several orchards containing all 

 kinds of fruit. Peaches hardly ever fail here. 

 Raspberries and Strawberries did well here. I 

 had a good laugh at one of my neighbors here ; 

 he said Stravvberries would do no good here. 

 He then had one-tenth of an acre in plants ; they 

 commenced ripening the first of May, and he 

 had a bountiful crop, gathering some days forty 

 quarts. When I commenced laughing at him, 

 well, he said, " this is the first good crop I have 

 had in seven years." I arrived here on the 26th 

 of February, and everything had to be shaped 

 up, and it was late before I set my plants out, 

 and had but little fruit this season, but enough 

 to indicate what can be done here. "The Dr. 

 Warder especially behaved finely, and I think 

 is one of our best market berries. Fruit of 

 fair size, very solid, good flavor, and colors up 

 sometime before it is ripe, giving the market 

 man nearly a week in which to handle them ; if 

 he is crowded, can wait on him, if he lacks a 

 few quarts to fill his crates, or wait on him to 

 ripen, as he pleases. I have known this variety 

 to bring treble the price of the Wilson, as thej'' 

 come in just as the Wilson is gone, and berries 

 are generally scarce and high. My Raspberry- 

 plant was cut short to save freight, and being 

 late planted I did not expect any fruit ; but they 

 surprised me, as every variety I had produced 

 some fruit, except Grey and a fpw other new 

 varieties. The Golden Cap is the first in order, 

 ripening here the 2Sth of May ; is one of our best 

 amateur berries. The Xesho Rlack Cap is very 

 common here, and does very avcU in size and 

 color; resembles the Doolittle, but hardly so 

 good, I think; comes in just after the Golden 

 Cap. The Philadelphia is doing fine here, and 



