56 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHL Y 



[February, 



way, always increasing, he began his labors. 

 Soon a market was discovered and a sale ready 

 for all he produced, and he soon added the cul- 

 tivation of Brussels sprouts, both articles esteem- 

 ed, particularly by foreign residents. He has 

 now commenced to compete for the mushroom 

 premium offered by the lately President of the 

 Germantown Horticultural Society of fifty dol- 

 lars, — and he will earn it. Readers may look 

 out for a supply of this delicious edible, and if we 

 are not mistaken M. Desire's ambition will be 

 rewarded with all he could desire. 



New use for soldiers. — Great damage to agri- 

 culture by swarms of grasshoppers in Hungary, 

 a large area being entirely devastated, " the 

 local authorities have been," says an authority, 

 "to apply to Budapest for military assistance, be- 

 sides availing themselves of that of the inhabi- 

 tants of numerous villages in the district." Is 

 not this a better use for soldiers than to employ 

 millions to kill other millions of men ? In con- 

 nection with the above, and t6 go from the sub- 



beyond any calculation that could have l)ecu 

 formed at the start. 



The California Horticulturist has an article on 

 the Siei-ra forests, pointing out the great risk 

 there is of these magnificent forests becoming 

 denuded, " as they are now and for many years 

 have been at the mercy of private greed and 

 public theft." America may wake up sometime 

 to melancholy facts, unless the exertions of pri- 

 vate planters continue effective. There are 

 cases where a paternal government is a great 

 good. The preservation of wood, planting the 

 cork tree, and many other examples should be 

 kept before the American mind. But what little 

 interest is felt by the great mass of our people 

 in these vastly important things, compared with 

 " Who shall be the next President?" 



Progress. — We must take the editor of " Pro- 

 gress " to task. He "wants to know" why no 

 means are taken to produce a supply of mush- 

 rooms in this country. His reading has not 

 perhaps extended to the Gardener's Monthly 



lime to the ridiculous, will it be allowable to say ' or to the proceedings of the Germantown Hortl 



here that the gentle, quiet guards of our Park 

 might occasionally, if they choose, pull up a 

 mullein or a dock going to seed ; they don't seem 

 to appreciate the situation, passing the most 

 noxious plants hourly, till the seed is dispersed 

 for another and greater crop. 



A Mr. White, says a Massachusett's paper, 

 " who is engaged in the pond lily business, has 

 picked 20,000 white pond lilies this season. Of 

 these 17,000 have been sold in Boston." A 

 horticulturist in I^ew York takes orders from 

 gentlemen to supply vases every morning to lady 

 friends, and one in Philadelphia had such an 

 order to the extent of twenty dollars a day dur- 

 ing a courtship. 



The Florida Orange raisers are reaping for- 

 tunes. Wine made from these oranges, three 

 years ago, now tastes like sherry. We are 

 not now writing of great operators like Baron 

 Reuter who took quick advantage of the tele- 

 graph's capabilities, and now lives like a prince 

 in a palace, with thousands to do him reverence. 



cultural Society. We are happy in the an- 

 nouncement in this number that preparations 

 are in "progress," and that the topic is not 

 new. Tons upon tons are sold every day in 

 Paris, and so will it is hoped, be here ere long. 



Sad if True.— Mr. 'N. S. Shaler in a thought- 

 ful article on "The Use of Numbers in Soci- 

 ety," {Atlantic Monthly for September), comes 

 to the conclusion that whoever will follow the 

 subject of the wearing out of soils in the fields 

 of Europe and America will be convinced that 

 a progressive lowering of fertility in the soils 

 of the earth, has attended and must attend 

 the continued advance of man. America, he 

 says, is using or rather misusing in a year the 

 treasures that a thousand years have been 

 preparing. But what a wonderful provision 

 was made that they have held out so very long. 



Keith Johnson. — The death of the younger 

 Keith Johnson, son of the great geographical 

 map and book author, is much regretted. He 

 was leading the Geographical Society's Expedi- 



but of more humble occupations within the reach i tion in Africa, and died of dysentery, 130 miles 



of humble means, etc. 



The production of butter and cheese in this 

 country, is four times greater in value than the 

 yield of gold and silver mines. 



Sixty Peach-packing establishments exist in Bal- 

 timore alone, some emplo3dng 800 to 1000 hands, 

 exclusive of tin can makers. This is an increase 



inland. He came of a famous house, and had 

 done good work in South America. His death 

 is a real loss to scientific geography. 



All who have traveled much lately, must have 

 remarked the improvements around stations and 

 the gardens distributed with taste at the water- 

 ing places, with the gradual introduction of flow- 



