210 



THE GARDENER S AfONTI/LY 



[.A/''. 



Profitabi.k Ciierkiks. — L., Pittsburg, Pa., 

 writes: "I am thinkiii>; of settiii}:^ out two 

 hundred i-htirv frees for profit tliis Fall ; what 

 variety would you reeomujcud me to use ?" 



[The ouly answer we can Ljive, would be to 

 note the kinds that sell best in the market in- 

 tended for them. As a jjeneral rule, the Karly 

 Richmond is a very profitable cherry; but if, 

 the people you propose to sell to want eatinj^ \ 

 cherries, there will be little sale for these. I 

 Very few persons suecetul at fruit-ijrowing by ' 



poinr; into it in a blind way. It j^cenerally grows 

 by decrees, and in fact the market is seen, or 

 the grower has some distinct idea of where and 

 what will be wanted befon^ he plants. Judgini; 

 from your inquiry, you will not make out much 

 with your venturi', and in kindness would sug- 

 gest that you plant only twenty instead of two 

 hundred the first year, and in the meantime look 

 around and see what kinds are in demand in the 

 places where you think you may sell, after you 

 get the croj) ready. — Ed. G. M.] 



Forestry. 



COMMrX/C\lT/ONS. 



YELLOW AND BLACK LOCUST. 



UY H. F. IIILLENMEYER, LEXINGTON, KY. 



In answer to your query with reference to 

 Yellow and Black Locust, I would state that 

 there are two varieties. The Yellow Locust is 

 erect in growth, has ver}' thin sap-wood, is very 

 durable, and of smooth cleavage. A gate-post, 

 set to my knowledge in 1801, is as sound to-day 

 as a " trade dollar." 



Black Locust is irregular in growth, nearly as 

 much so as Catalpa, is rough in cleavage, has 

 darker wood, and is not so durable as the Yellow 

 variety, and has thick sap wood even when 

 mature. 



Yellow Locust is harder and more durable, 

 but not so tough as the Black variety. The 

 difference does not arise from soil or situation, as 

 both grow in the same groves here. I shall at 

 an early day send you sections of wood from 

 each, and in the meantime try to determine 

 other specific differences. 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



Tea Plants at Washington. — The Fruit- 

 xst and Florist says : Tea-plant bushes may be 

 seen at the Agricultural (irounds also, which 

 survive the winter almost like privet. We saw 

 bushels of the tea-seed or nut there, grown and 

 ripened in Georgia and South Carolina, a fact to 

 be remembered. Mr. Wm. Saunders, the Super- 

 intendent, has full faith in tea growing in the 

 southern portions of this country. 



Expense of Preparing Tea. — It has been 

 objected that the Tea-plant, though proved to 

 do well in the climate of our Southern States, 



could not bo prepared for a profit in this country^ 

 in competition with cheap Chinese labor. It is 

 well known that the Canothus Americanus waa 

 extensively prepared as " Pennsylvania tea" a 

 few years ago, and it is this which is referred to 

 by the following correspondence of the Phila- 

 delphia Press : 



" 1 noticed in a late issue of The Press an 

 article relating to the culture of Chinese tea 

 in America, and the only obstacle to a full 

 competition would be the high price of labor in 

 this country. You observed that Yankee 

 ingenuity would soon obviate the necessity of 

 hand labor in its manufacture. This is true, 

 as the following narrative will demonstrate. 

 A company was formed in this part of the 

 State to manufacture tea from an indigenous 

 plant growing spontaneously in our mountauis. 

 I was employed, with others, in its maimfacture 

 by hand at first, and subsequently by machinery. 

 I am acquainted with every department of its 

 manufacture, from the plucking of the leaves till 

 prepared for the tea-pot. By hand, it will cost 

 about twenty-five cents per pound ; by ma^ 

 chinery,such as we used, it can be manufactured 

 read}' for market at about ten or twelve cents 

 per pound. This includes the gathering of the 

 leaves and all other expenses. There were ex- 

 pended, I suppose, some $20,000 in different ma- 

 chines before a successful one was obtained. It 

 met every requirement, from the steaming of 

 the green leaves till they were given that bloom 

 and spiral shape so noticeable in foreign teas. I 

 write this letter that you may still urge its cul- 

 ture in America and bring to the notice of indi- 

 viduals that there is no barrier to successful 

 competition with any foreign nations. 



McElhattan, Pa. W. M. Q." 



