140 



THE GARDENER'S MONTH L Y 



{.May, 



The lady's letter is pu1)lisho(l in full, so that 

 we may take occasion to say that such inquiries 

 are always welcome. What one wants to know 

 is j^enerally the want of hundreds of others, 

 and we are very glad to help them in this way- 

 — Ei). G. M.] 



Beai'tikil Cyclamens.— By what we read 

 in the English periodicals, we see how great has 

 been the improvement in Cyclamens; but a 

 sample from Mr. liarker, of Norfolk, Va., shows 

 that they are even more beautifully improved 

 than we supposed. This sample comprises 

 fifteen difl'erent shades of color or form. They 

 seem to be a mixture of three species, Cycla- 

 men coum, C. persicum and C. Europseum. 



Seedling Veruenas.— G. B., Colora, Mo., 

 sends bloom.s of a seedling Verbena. It is a 

 .soft and agreeable shade of vermilion. There 

 have been so many shades of Yerl)(>na intro- 

 duced of late years sime Verbena seed raising 

 has been so common, that we do not feel safe in 

 saying the color is novel, but we may say that it 

 is a very good variety. 



Variegated Cobora scandens. — Speci- 

 mens from Mr. C. Th. Scluujren, florist of Cleve- 

 land, 0., shows this to be a remarkably beautiful 

 plant. "VVe do not take kindly to many of these 

 variegated-leaved things. They look diseased. 

 This does not, but is bright and live looking. 

 It is a good addition. 



Fruit and Vegetable Gardening, 



COMMUNICA TIONS. 



PEARS IN CRASS. 



BY GODFREY ZIMMERMAN, 15UFFALO, N. Y, 



The sharp controversy of twenty years ago, 

 on the question. " Can pears be profitably grown 

 for market?" died away without any decided 

 issue. If the same men could again discuss that 

 point, the results, I think, would be far difierent 

 and of greater value to fruit growers. 



The statement that the pear is not well suited 

 to our climate, and will never be abundant in 

 our markets, has proved false; for so large a 

 quantity of this fruit now fills them, that thou- 

 sands of barrels have to be shipped ; an occur- 

 rence which was not then thought possible. On 

 the other hand, the notion that " cultivation by 

 constantly working the soil is the only success- 

 ful way," received a severe shock when the 

 Gardener's Monthly demonstrated that a 

 profitable cultivation for the pear is l)etter ac- 

 complished in a well enriched and frcquontly- 

 mown grass sod. 



It is known that the roots of the quince sufler 

 in light soil, or in cultivated ground. And I 

 Tiave found that injuries in the root cause the 

 pear tree to produce small, curled leaves in the 

 spring. But all our trees, especially dwarf 

 pears, suffer more or less from climatic influ- 

 ences ; and so far a.s these effect the roots, the 

 t)est treatment is protection by means of a thick 



:SOd. 



It was found that a large numl)er of the dwarf 

 pear trees, that died m the spring of 1875, were 

 frost killed at the roots, being planted in ex- 

 posed places or cultivated soil. On my own 

 grounds I found that dwarfs in cultivation, and 

 so protected from the S. W. winds that the snow 

 lodged in them, lived, but a few immediately 

 beyond this protection were killed ; while a large 

 lot near these, but six years in grass, did not 

 suffer at all, though in the most exposed place. 

 In fact, not any trees in my orchard (in grass) 

 suffered, though fully exposed to the winds. 

 The crop of pears that year (1875) was large, 

 besides a fair growth of wood. Last year there 

 were an extraordinary yield not only in quantity, 

 but in size and Ij^auty. The average income , 

 from dwarfs, in grass, was S400 per acre,except- 

 the Vicar, which brought twice that amount, 

 and some B. Clairgeau and B. d' Anjou brought 

 S12 per bbl. in New York. 



Having, during the past season, cultivated a 

 few rows of trees in the center of my dwai'f pear 

 orchard, to change the shape of the bed, I 

 found that the blight in these was much more 

 severe than among those in grass. The actual 

 record was as follows : 



Louise Bonne, cultivated, 88 trees 14 blight, 

 in grass, 87 " 8 " 



Vicar. cultivated, 12 ". 4 " 



"• in grass, 70 " 7 " 



I have not yet succeeded, and do not expect to 

 succeed, in making my trees of uniform beauty ; 

 but since thev have recovered from the first 



