240 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[August, 



Of the writer's success in the "Orchard House.' 

 who may be considered an old hand at the' 

 business among fruits and flowers, it was well 

 tested at Cleveland, several years ago, to the 

 satisfaction of all concerned. During the months 

 when the wind blew bitter and chill from off the 

 frigid -waters of Lake Erie, I successfully brought 

 to perfection abundance of the under-mentioned 

 fruits, namely : Peaches, Nectarines, Guavas, 

 Plums, Apricots, Psidiums, Figs, Loquots, Sweet 

 Limes, Grapes, Sapodillas and Strawberries, from 

 all of which good crops were gathered. They 

 were grown from ten to twelve inch pots, except 

 the strawberries, which were fruited in five and 

 six inch sizes. The Figs, Peaches. Grapes and 

 Strawberries began to ripen the first week in 

 April, and they, with the others named, con- 

 tinued to reach perfection as the season ad- 

 vanced, until a'l were gathered. 



They were forced, of course to bring them on 

 so early, and therein lies the chief difficulty of 

 management. No one, unless he has had pre- 

 vious practice, should attempt to grow them so 

 early, as both patient attention and skill are re- 

 quired to counterfeit a season congenial to their 

 nature. To manage them in the cold orchard- 

 house is simple enough to any intelligent person 

 who has a fair knowledge of fruit growing, and 

 takes delight in such operations. The expense, 

 too, is very moderate, when fire heat is not used. 

 And what is there, let me enquire, which affords 

 more real pleasure at less cost, than pot culture of 

 choice fruit? First, comes the interesting season 

 of swelling bud, and beauteous blossom, accord- 

 ing to their kind, with the tender formation of 

 incipient foliage, to the full development of leaf 

 and branch, among which, nestles the rich swel- 

 ling fruit unto luscious ripeness. 



The positive good, which thus fulfills the 

 promised expectation, is then to be realized, 

 while the tempting fruit bends down the bough , 

 ripe and ready to enjoy. 



To the man who knows what is good and is 

 able to get it, the orchard-house is the place to 

 find it. There let him wend his way to pluck 

 fresh fruit from vines and bushes, and feast 

 among the nectared sweets which await him, 

 and while enjoying the delicious offering Pomona 

 presents to his fastidious palate, he will heartily 

 thank God and the gardener for the rare things 

 he revels in. 



Enough, perhaps, has been said to make a 

 man's mouth water, to indulge in the paradisical 

 luxuries the orchard-house produces, if he only 



wills it should. There are other kinds, besides 

 those mentioned, both suitable and proper for 

 the purpose recommended, but they will amply 

 suffice to begin with, if any one elects to try. 

 Yet, incomplete as the subject is, it would be 

 still more so, if the Japan Persimmon was suf- 

 fered to go unnoticed. As the climate seems 

 somewhat unsuited for its general cultivation 

 in the Northern States, why not make a pot- 

 plant of it for the orchard-house, warm or cold 

 grapery, where it could be supplied with all the 

 conditions necessary to perfect a new fruit, well 

 worthy of cultivation ? 



In conclusion, had the good Mr. Rivers been 

 living now, the Oriental persimmon would have 

 been a God-send to him. He would have petted 

 and petted it into fructification, not more for his 

 own personal enjoyment, than for the diflTusion 

 of its worth among his fellow-men. 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



Making Thincs Pay. — Those who make the 

 most money in business are often those who 

 have the knack of making two or more things 

 work into each others hands. Now some people 

 will go to work to make a business of poultry 

 raising, and yet not make near as much profit 

 on them as he who raises poultry and also has a 

 good farm. The people who are settling on the 

 dry deserts of Colorado, and have to irrigate by 

 water from the snowy mountains, are now find- 

 ing that they may as well utilize the water by 

 letting fish swim in it, before using it for irriga- 

 tion. When in Salt Lake some years ago the 

 writer saw very successful trout ponds made from 

 the mountain streams on the farm of Mr. Wood- 

 ruff". Now there are companies expressly organ- 

 ized in some of these cities for the pur- 

 pose of combining fish culture with tiie water 

 supply. One has been recently organized in the 

 city of Greeley. 



Fruit Culture in England is said to be de- 

 clining, chiefly from the ease with which fruit 

 can be imported from the Continent and from 

 America; and also because the production 

 under glass by artificial means has been brought 

 to great success. 



The Steel Blue Grape Beetle. — This well- 

 known enemy of the grape, which bores out the 

 young buds as they grow in spring, has proved 

 very destructive the past season in the vicinity 



