M S 



EUITOU-S TADLK. 



1 wmn lo make a Btatcment or two, and osk n few questions, refiupstlnj; anhwrre for my own antl others boneflt : 

 Wo liBve tills n-nsoii lost iimny of our Tenr IukIh on tlie Angem Quinoo. Tliey were wt tlio enrly pnrt of Septem- 

 ber Inst, oil ilirifly sloeks, went into winter iiiiiirlers in fine eonditlon, iind nppeiiretl to be iill riplil, until ntiout the 

 letli of Mareli, when I iiotieed tlie tops I'f M>tne of tlie Quinees sliowed pi^ns of pliriiikiiiK lialf way ilown. About the 

 Ifilli the niuleliins was pnninlly removed, n« rools began tti strike out nliovo the ground. Or. Ibo Ifelh the weulliir 

 came off very cold, and continued to freeze for three days in sueecssion ; tlie tliennometer jiart of the time was down 

 to lb"-'. Ab.nit this time I nolieed a ehange in the appenrnnee of some of the buds, they beconiiiif: dark colored. (»n 

 frxaminaii'in I found they were discolored ln.--ide. On the '2Mh, 'JOth, a/.d •J7lh, it froze liard, the llurnioinet< r reaeh- 

 1ns l^"- *^*" '''^' ^'''"' •'"" thermometer stood at 70° in the shade. At this time the bark of some of the Quinces waa 

 shriveled from the top to the grouml ; others were only srij;hlly injured. Durin;j last autumn and winter, and March 

 and April, very little rain or snow fell. A few days in January it was severly eold, with strong winds. The ther- 

 mometer indicated 22" below zero. What should have caused the destruction— hard freezing weather in the winter, 

 or removing: the mulching loo soon with the late freezing weather, or the continued dry weather, or, in part, all? (1) 

 The excessive cold winter and severe spring haiidleil our budded Cherries unmercifully. Last fall was a very 

 warm one, and vegetation continued to grow freely, and unlil the first frosts, wliich was severe freezing weather, I 

 noticed the extreme tops, of (.'berries in particular, were injured by the sudden check. Some varieties did not lorin 

 terminal buds, such as X.tpoleon Sigarreaii, Doicnfr''» LaU', DarenporVn Early, TrddcscanCii Black JUart, Jiurr'a 

 S'l'lling, American Amber, Baumaii^s May, and Whit^ Heart. The Duke and Morrello families, and some few 

 varieties of the Heart and I'.igarreau formed their terminal buils. After the extreme colJ weather in January I 

 noticed the bark on the south side of our early Cherry trees was shrivelled and dark colored to the wood ; as sjjring 

 approached, it extended downward and around. ]?y April the extent of the injury was more visible— many were 

 dead below the intersection with the seedling. The Mazzard and Mahaleb stocks, where very rapid and late growth 

 occurred, suffered equally with some of the budded varieties— those with terminal buds suffering the least, in fact but 

 little. Should the fast growing have been headed back in August, or later? (2) Last year's buds did not wholly 

 escape unscathed, and of those varieties above named as not having formed terminal buds, the loss was the most 

 severe. AVe lose Pear and Cherry buds in the spring by some insect eating out the center just as the bud begins to 

 gt-irt. The ant (of which we have not a few) is charged with it It may be some other insect. Have you any 

 knowledge of what it may be? (3) Late frosts have destroyed most of the fruit in this section. Lewis Ellswohth. 

 —XupienUle, Du Page Co., III. 



(1) The high wind in January, with the the thcrraotneter at 22° below zero, was a suffioierit 

 cause of the injufies to the 8tocks; but the buds must have suffered more from the cold in the 

 latter part of March, after the mulching was removed and roots had begun to form. 



(2) Stopping in August will aid materially in ripening the shoots. "We practice it here with a 

 few tender sorts; but you will insure the greatest safety by planting on your poorest and tliinest 

 soils, and above all in sheltered situations. Ko nursery work can be successfully carried out in 

 riinois, without shelter. 



(3) Doubtless some sort of beetle ; the ant is innocent 



Feeling entirely confident that you are competent to give information respecting all subjects connected with horti- 

 culture, I solicit you to give me a little information respecting the following matters through the columns of your 

 valuable IloriicuUnriist. 



What kind of manure is best for Strawberries? What should be the relative proportion of staminate to pistilate 

 plants when planted in rows or in alternate strips? Is ^IcAroy's Superior jisaXvahXe Strawberry or. not ? What 

 k;nd of flowers does it produce ? Please name some of the best varieties for general cultivation. (1) 



How are stocks grafted in the winter preserved ? What time in the spring should they be planted out, and if they 

 succeed and grew well what height will they attain the first season ? IIow many stocks can a man well skilled in the 

 business graft in a day, and upon an average how many will grow ? (2) 



AVhen is the best time to cut grafts for root-grafting in the winter, and what do grafts of the best standard varieties 

 of Apples, Pears, Peaches, Plums, &c., generally cost? (3) 



Do nurserymen cultivate trees expressly for grafts, or do they pnine limbs off of the trees that they expect to "dis- 

 pose of? (4) 



I have heard it said that grafts or buds of the Heart Cherries will not grow on stocks of the Morello or Dukes. 

 Please give a little information on this subject, and inform me what kind of stocks should be used for Heart, Bigar- 

 reau, Morello, and Duke Cherries? (5) A Subscbibee. 



(1) You will find answers to your Strawberry questions in another part of this number. 



(2) Covered up in sand, and kept in a cool, dry cellar. Plant out as soon as the ground is in 

 good working order. Two feet is a good growth for root-grafted Apples, the first year, in this 

 climate. A good grafter can set 2,000 a day ; and, as a general thing, seventy-five to eighty per 



ill grow. 

 "We prefer to cut grafts here in the month of December, but it can be done safely from the 



''^s^ 



