THE GARDENEirS MOXTJILY 



\Stptt'mhiri 



;So is the Parnell, Kirtlaud, Mammoth Cliistor 

 and Thurston. Tlio hitter is tlie hirm'st and 

 .most pnKhutive Raspberry I have ever 3'et seen. 



THE EARLY PEACHES IN KANSAS THIS 

 YEAR. 



1!Y It. E. VAND12MAX, (.iKNKVA, KAXSAS. 



This is the eleventh day of July, and the last 

 •of Hale's Earl}' is just gathered. The season 

 seems to be about four weeks earlier than is 

 usual. The whole list of early peaches known 

 to the public, so far as fruited in Kansas this 

 year, is surpassed in both earliness and size by 

 at least fifty new seedlings of Kansas origin, 

 many of which have borne their lirst fruit this 

 year. It would be an arduous ta^k, and would 

 take too much space to give anything like de- 

 tailed statements of those which I have seen. 

 If I were to tell of all those heard from, it would 

 be much more tedious ; I will simply state con- 

 cerning a few, leaving out details. It will also 

 save space to say that all of these new seedlings 

 ai'e in shape, size and quality very much like 

 Alexander, and either known, or supposed to be 

 seedlings of Hale's Early. 



On my own farm, in a neglected Peach nur- 

 sery let grow for fuel, were about twenty seed- 

 lings that bore this year for the first time, and 

 all ripening, good sound specimens on June loth. 

 The trees had not been cultivated for two years, 

 and were crowded and shaded so badly that the 

 fruit could not possibly attain its perfection. 

 Specunens from these trees measured seven and 

 a quarter inches. Alexander, three rods distant, 

 on same kind of soil and with better care, did 

 not exceed six inches in circumference. A 

 friend, living two miles distant, had ten seed- 

 ling trees in his orchard that bore their second 

 crop this 3'ear, of like character with mine. C. 

 C Kelsey, of Humboldt, wrote me that he had 

 five seedling trees of the same description of 

 fruit, bearing this 3'ear for the first. Simon 

 Bucher, twelve miles south-east from Emporia, 

 has also found among his nursery seedlings some 

 twenty-five trees, all of like character. Mrs. 

 Louisa Burns, near Emporia, has one seedling 

 tree much like the rest. 



Geo. L. Kroh, of Wyandotte County, has a 

 new seedling i-ipe June 20tli. I could give the 

 names of a dozen niore persons originating 

 from one to three trees of a similar character, 

 the fruit of which I have seen or heard of upon 

 _good authority. As to the well-known early 



PoachcB, it seems hardly worth while to men- 

 tioii them, only loi- comparison, except tlif 

 Alexander. This variety is the l)est and earliest 

 of those generally disseminated and fruiled. 

 Wilder, Sauiuiers, Downing and Musser have 

 not yet fruited. Amsden proves generally small 

 and so very inferior in flavor that we deem it no 

 longer worthy of propagation. It did not ripen 

 here until June 2(ith, which was some five days 

 later than Ahwander. Early J3t'atrice, ripe 

 June 25th. A good little Peach that will bear 

 shipping well, but too small and late to be worth 

 planting where we have so many better newer 

 sorts. Early Louise was i*ipe June 30th. Rich 

 in quality, but too soft and dull-colored to meet 

 with favor except at home. Hale's Early have 

 nearly all rotted because of the wet weather. 

 It is a favorable sign for these new seedlings 

 that but few of them seem liable to rot, as does 

 their parent the Hale's. We propose to give 

 these seedlings a chance to show what they are, 

 and we really expect something better than is 

 now propagated. Some few are named, but the 

 number is so large and increasing so fast that it 

 seems probable that it is yet hardly best to name 

 and disseminate. In a few years we will perhaps 

 have seedlings from these early kinds that will 

 surpass what we now have. 



It seems a strange thing that all at once, in so 

 many places, there should spring up so many 

 extremely early Peaches. But Kansas far out- 

 reaches all other States in both number and 



season. 



>••• 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



English Importations of Fruit. — The 

 prevalent impression among the people of this 

 country is that the skilled gardeners of England 

 are enabled, by forcing and careful treatment, 

 to supply most of the fruit required in their 

 countr3\ But ^ve learn from a London paper 

 that large quantities are imported almost daily 

 from the continent ; many tons of Strawberries 

 and Cherries being shipped at Havre, St. Malo 

 and Honfleur, on board the steamers to Southamp- 

 ton, whence they are sent by train to London. 

 Judging from this, the continent of Europe beai's 

 the same relation to England, that Florida does 

 to us in supplying early fruit. 



Coal Tar on Fruit Trees. — We often see 

 the most absurd notions attributed to the editor 

 of the Gardener's Monthly, and have come 



